#it's really cute when the writer for any given episode isn't mean about it

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[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Weird Strange Warmth, Thailand

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Sept 2024 Week 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

Jack & Joker (Thai Mon IQIYI) ep 1 of 12 - Oh it’s fucking great. What a fantastic start! It’s a fun cast too. I adore seeing all of the familiar faces. This is a lot more fun than Kidnap (sorry GMMTV, do better). I mean both shows are serving the same kind of concept but with completely different energy. I love that War is playing phi in this series. I think it suits him much better. In fact. I really like these rolls for this pair. I think they’re gonna knock it outta the park. I am so happy this is good. I wanted it to be good. And it’s good!

Monster Next Door (Thai Thurs Gaga ) ep 8 of 12 - Oh no! He read the journal. No snooping! Well I guess they needed to get some tension for these 2 from somewhere, otherwise they are too good to each other. Meanwhile, I’m not sure about the sides in this particular series. I don’t hate them. The laundry jealousy moment was pretty well done. But I'm not sold, either.

Addicted Heroin (Thai Tues WeTV) ep 5 of 10 - I forgot that we were already on the ICONIC kidnapping section of the narrative. I miss Gu Hai's OBEY sweatshirt from the original. (Someday I will own that sweatshirt.) Hero should at least be wearing an OBEY T-shirt. Frankly I miss the harshness of the original too. Johnny Huang was just so massive, August doesn't have the physicality to carry this scene off. Nor does Thailand have the guts to push it into the creepy obsessive territory that made the first version so thrilling to watch.

The thing about the original kidnapping bit was we could feel Gu Hai's vibrating need to possess overriding everything else (including his sense of humor and frustration with himself). Gu Hai KNOWS kidnapping was an over reaction, he KNOWS he is being absurd, he just doesn't care. Because he doesn't just want to fuck Bai Luo Yin he wants to consume him.

We didn't get any of that from Hero. Hero, as a character, just isn't edgy enough to carry off a kidnapping, he's been softened too much in this new Thai form.

And then... An around the back of head not-kiss? Interesting choice. (Checks to see if BoomPeak are hanging out nearby.) Is that because the actor is under age? We in that head space for this whole show? (Pun intended.) Not sure how I feel about any of it.

It’s a much milder confession this time around, because it’s Thailand, but it’s still warped. So I’m still here for the weird strange warmth of this damn show. I did laugh a lot during this episode. 

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 2 of 12 - Oh I am very much enjoying this.

"You’re the worst kidnapper I ever ever met" is an apt accusation.

Battle of the Writers (Sun YT) ep 7 of 12 - I kinda enjoyed the little side romance story (wealthy writer intellectual + poor local salt-of-the-earth boy = Love Seaing all over my damn screen). It came outta nowhere but... okay.

I honestly have no idea what’s going on with this show. But the kisses are nice. And I pretty much like all of the couples. It’s wild how disjointed it is but simultaneously how pretty. It’s like Star Hunter got hold of Mame’s budget and aesthetic. 

I Saw You in My Dream (Weds Gaga) ep 9 of 12 - Boyfriend era to the max. Production is still ignoring the whole "dreaming the future" POINT OF THIS SHOW.

The Trainee (Sun YT) ep 11 of 12 - Jane is VERY COOL. Like tay-style cool… as it were. I like their dynamic when they're given one to play with. It’s the rest of this show I don’t enjoy. 

Live in Love (Sun Gaga) ep 2 of 5 - It cute. Bit odd but cute. I like the language play, of course. It’s an interesting pair to watch flirt because it’s all language play so that's fun but otherwise, I'm not convinced.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

The On1y One (Taiwan Thurs Gaga) eps 7-8 of 12 - This BL doesn’t drink from the water bottle to show off its neck. It quietly hands you the water bottle and expects you to understand that is not an act of generosity but of polite distancing. It's about the delicacy of the messaging, and the way themes are conveyed with such nuance.

This story is entirely about the two of them figuring out about each other, and then trying to be what the other person needs based on that information. It means they (and therefore we) are on this journey of discovering affection together. It's brilliant.

I must talk about the physical acting of these two for a second. That scene where they’re fighting over the book and then fall into the pool. That was one take. That’s amazing. These two are really fucking stellar not only at acting but hitting their marks. And let's be clear, that is NOT the same thing. I bet they both have stage training.

Define irony: watching two abandoned kids counsel their respective parents through abandonment issues.

Sugar Dog Life (Japan Sun grey) ep 6 of 10 - It is stupid cute and utterly charming. They are total boyfriends. It’s just that one of them wants to be and one of them assumes they already are. Actually, nevermind boyfriends, they’re married.

I Hear the Sunspot AKA Hidamari ga Kikoeru (Japan Weds Gaga) ep 12fin - It made me whimper a lot because they’re both hurting so much. But in the end it was... fine.

Summation

The compassionate story of a college kid going deaf and the one boy he can hear. I love this manga and was let down by the first adaptation (Silhouette of Your Voice), so I was expecting a lot from this BL. I expected the soundscapes in this one to be fantastic, and the were, but I didn’t expect the filming to be something special too. But it really is. The acting is great too. But the story? It was just fine. They spent far too much time on the build to a relationship, then wallowed in their separation and a problematic girl character, when they should have been showcasing Taichi's character arc and his capacity for connection. Perhaps Japan should pass this one off to Thailand, It's a soft story centering on "food as love" so they might do better with it. I am, yet again, disappointed. 8/10 but I want to give it a 7/10

First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) eps 9-10 of 12 - It’s fine. it’s cute. I enjoyed getting some backstory. More of the sides, please.

Seoul Blues (Korea Fri? YouTube) ep 7 - Honestly, why don’t they just call this entire series The Cheating Diaries and have done with it? I’m only watching it because there’s basically nothing else from Korea right now. But I’m generally mad about it. Including the fact that everybody is so pretty and the acting is so good in the series, but the stories are so terrible.

It's airing but...

The Hidden Moon (Sat WeTV) ep 1 of 10 - This is a supernatural romance (my ghost boyfriend trope) by Violet Rain (I Feel You Linger). A man is hired to write an article about an old mansion in Chiang Mai being converted into a café. He sees the ghosts of people who died at the mansion, falls in love with one of them. Was substantially recast. I loved IFYLITA except the ending so I think I'll let this one run it's course you can tell me if it's work tracking down... if they managed to land it. I have my doubts.

Happy of the End (Japan Tues Gaga) - A boy is disowned for being gay, dumped by his boyfriend, and ends up in a dysfunctional co-dependant relationship with his would-be kidnapper. We were due for another messy JBL and it's exactly as expected. I do not like it at all. And ya know what? There is plenty airing. DNF 

In case you missed it

The Time of Fever (Korea iQIYI & Viki) 6 eps - Side couple from Unintentional Love Story, HoTae & DongHee, return for a spin off backstory show.

It started out fantastic. And it was a relief to have a good Korean BL finally back on my screen, even a high angst one. But I did spend a lot of time trying trying to figure out whether they’re going to rehash or reboot from the previous series. Are we in Between Us territory or Don't Say No or (heaven forbid) To My Star 2?

None of the above, it turns out.

This was a pure prequel about lost first love. As such, it has no real finale beyond what we got in ULS. Which, for this pair, wasn't satisfying. Putting my disappointment over this aspect aside, it is enjoyable on the strength of the characters, actors, and chemistry (if not story). Yes I said chemistry, the kissing is fantastic, sometimes KBL can do that. This one featured the "teach me to kiss trope"!!!! Plus language play. Both favorites of mine. It is all angst, ache, repression, and miles of subtext. It did fudge the ending by not skipping forward and over the events in ULS to depict what happened next (what, no year long time jump when we actually need it, Korea?) It's a worthy companion piece, but should be watched BEFORE ULS for maximum satisfaction, and even then you're going to be left feeling like HoTae & DongHee's relationship was never adequately discussed or depicted in order to achieve resolution.

The little cameo of my baby in ep 5 was much appreciated. But the motorcycle should’ve been set up a little bit more. Of course I wanted it to be about them getting together after the events in the first series. But this was all backstory from start to finish. And while it was good backstory, it wasn’t ultimately satisfying for these characters. Still it’s a good little series. 8/10 

Meet You at the Blossom (China) - I'm eating crow, binging the fucker, and live blogging. It's just taking me some time. This isn't really a bingable show, not for me anyway. It's A LOT to take all at once. No new one this week.

4 Minutes (Gaga) Ended - Spies reported in to say the ending was not-exactly-unhappy and mostly lackluster. I'm torn over whether to watch. My natural disinclination to binge, meets my dissatisfaction with wishy-washy, is going up against my love for fabulous high heat and pretty pretty men.

Mitsuya-sensei no keimakutekina ezuke finished and it’s reported to be solid. Age gap treated with respect. I'm curious, so I'll check it out. Not doing very well on binging and catching up but it's on the docket...

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

Still Coming Sept 2024:

9/15 Love Sick 2024 (Thai Sun iQIYI) 15 eps - Remake of the original. I'm scared too.

9/15 Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) 10 eps - Assistant to a player boss who is in love with that boss decides to quit to save himself. The boss then makes a move. (A gay What's up with Secretary Kim?)

9/17 Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 10 eps - Lawyer and a con artist meet at a bar, pair up, fall in love.

9/28 Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YouTube) ?? eps - oh I don't know just Ba Vinh doing his thing with pretty boys again.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Love a teach me to kiss, teach me to fuck, whatever moment. (I Saw You In My Dreams sides)

Not gonna lie. I laughed. Addicted.

(Last week)

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in its infinite wisdom doesn't like too many at-ings.

[weaselbeaselpants]

I really dislike Chaggie being compared to Jally. I ship both, but....

Jack and Sally aren't a couple in Nightmare til the very end. Jack only comes around once he's literally been shot at and forced to see things out of his fantasies for once and realize that other people really do love and support him; like Sally. The entire rest of the time Jack's stuck in his own mind. Sally's in love with Jack but she's actually not supportive of his Christmas and even tries sabotaging it because she knows what he's doing is wrong even if it took an unexplained visionflower for her to get that hunch first. Her line is literally "although I'd like to stand by him" not "I support him even if I really don't want to". And in the end not only is Sally vindicated by being right like Santa says she is, but Jack suddenly realizes what she's done and falls for her right then. YMMV on how good a couple they'd actually make ((they aren't Diane and Mr. PB; eat shoot Lindsay Ellis *annoying cries*)) but that's what's cute about Jack and Sally: Sally does her pining maturely (stalking not included) while Jack instantly falls all over in love with her because he's Jack.

I understand there are different interpretations w people think Jack was always in love with Sally but obviously I digress and have always kind of disagreed with that reading, as did the writers of TNBC. Because, if you did have a version where Jack was always feeling something romantic towards Sally, or WORSE, was in a relationship- you would get Charlie x Vaggie.

If I'm right (seasoned hazbinnies feel free to correct me on this) Charlie and Vaggie were not written to be lovers initially but later retconned into being later into the writing process....which shows. I think promo stuff from back then called the two just "friends" and Vaggie and Charlie don't act very romantic. As I just laid out and as any shipper of Jally could tell you it's not hard to make that kind of dynamic cute and quirky. The problem is it isn't even THERE.

Vaggie is apparently Charlie's girlfriend and I guess just also believes in the hotel but is skeptical of it, though I wouldn't consider that on par w Sally who was straight up gonna poison Jack in one of Caroyln Thompson's earlier scripts. Especially given that she's an angel this could either work for or against her character but Vaggie seems more like an agent then a loving bestie, even. I think I remember one of the spin off comics for Hazbin which had Vaggie just straight up admitting she's doing the hotel plan because it makes Charlie happy and she'll do anything Charlie wants.

To be honest, it reminds me more of Dr. Mrs. the Monarch from Venture Bros going on about how/why she puts up with Monarch's shit when he doesn't listen to her and it's because he has "passion for a villain"...the difference is that in that case you can kind of get where Mrs. the Monarch's coming from in her emotions. With Vaggie, well, guess that's a sin of not having all the details of her feelings laid out yet. I mean, when you ever get Vaggie's feelings. Such little work about your main couple in comparison to Angel or Alastor.

AND THEN CHARLIE? You can really tell she wasn't written w Vaggie as her gf in mind.

Boy howdy I REALLY HOPE for the series that Viv and co listened to some of the crew complaints and gave Charlie a more empathetic and supportive vibe because ho mah gawd and I mean this as someone who ships them- Charlie is a HORRIBLE girlfriend in the pilot.

Again, thematically, Jack has the excuse of being in a manic depressive episode and also not knowing Sally very much at all in TNBC. He sees her as just another one of his Halloween Town friends who's especially talented but doesn't even realize she and the rest of the town cares. He's not listening to her when she comes to warn him because he's self obsessed. He's nice to her but also passive cause that's how he is at that point of the story, even if he's gentlemanly about it. Compare to Charlie who, while always adorable Didneyprincessesque, is dismissive of Vaggie's concerns, anger, fears and reform while she's not only aware of Vaggie's feelings WHILE BEING IN AN APPARENTLY COMMITTED RELATIONSHIP WITH HER is concerning. And that's before you get to Charlie not noticing Vaggie getting tossed around by Alastor right in front of her.

It'd be different if Al does his weird smarmy shit and Charlie is uncomfy but only stiffens up and shows her actual strong side to him when he touches Vaggie- "HEY! Don't you lay a finger on her!" but no, nothing.

I ultimately get what Viv wants and is going for by comparing Charlie and Vaggie to tnbc, but I think in practice in the pilot it fails because it

was never planned out to be a couple

they're supposed to be a couple but Charlie and Vaggie aren't all that romantic

they're supposed to be a couple but Charlie isn't very supportive or even defensive

People give Jack a lot of shit (rightfully, in the video games) and give the movie and Jally shit for being a "bad fit" but I again vouch for them not only on the grounds of tnbc being complete and at home in it's own skin. The rest of the franchise not so much, but the movie and the writers of the character know what kind of person Jack is and have his redemptive quality be that he falls for Sally; I love him and Sally both as characters but also as a couple for that reason. I'd feel totally different if Jack, say, was Sally's bf throughout the film and acted the way Charlie did. I can be critical of TNBC and I think some of Jack's writing is flawed and could be better, but y'know, I will defend it pedantically like I'm doing right now.

With Charlie and Vaggie, I ship them because they're my favorite characters from the pilot but dayum. I'm the kind of hermitshipper who's able to sustain myself off scraps and headcanons and even I'm saying these two need some work. Cuz they do. They need A LOT of work. And better writers.

If Chaggie is ''endgame'' in the final season then I hope "A Happy Day in Hell" is just an outlier scene or it's going to be retconned that they aren't lovers yet because if not- oh Vaggie! Get urself a Hasani Walker comic and fast my gurl you need it.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

I mean to be fair the writers in the latter half of the show were fully aware of all this fanon madness and threw them some bones. Katara and Zuko were trolled 2 times at being together, Toph hinted at katara having a secret thing with haru (whatever that means) amd she herself seemee very needy and jealous being the only one without a zuko field trip,suki and sokka did it.

When people watch the show without any social media or fanon influence after netflix aired atla all the canon pairings make total sense but when i think bryke indeed did some fanservice (the way zuko jumped in slowmo into the lightning) so the writers definitely knew what they were doing.

I really liked kataang in the first 2.5 seasons but the fact that tsr and eip are both 2 episodes in a row and we never see katara apologizing to either sokka or aang even had me like wtf (tsr is a good episode but still.) Then aang disappears on the lion turtle and katara is pretty chill compared to all the times before. It would be prob better to have a book 4 where they grew apart for a few years and saw how important they were to each other to give them the proper development but it is what it is.

While I'm all for a book 4, splitting the Gaang up would be a HUGE mistake. "This could ruin the whole show" kind of mistake. They all are at their best and grow the most when they are TOGETHER. Hell, that's the whole point of the life-changing field trips with Zuko. Let's not "fix" what isn't broken.

I wouldn't really say that Katara was "chill" after Aang disappeared. They were on the edge of the biggest battle of their lives so they had a LOT to focus on, and even Sokka just immediately thinks "He's probably in the spirit world doing Avatar stuff that will help save the day." Mysterious bullshit making Aang be away for a little while, be it physically or just spiritually/mentally, is a Tuesday for them at this point. They spent an entire episode waiting for Roku to be done telling his backstory with Sozin to him. Katara not losing her mind with concern because of something that happens regularly is not the same them growing apart.

And while an apology to Katara for the Ember Island thing or her apologizing to Aang and SPECIALLY Sokka after how she acted on Southern Raiders would be great, Avatar has a tendency of just skipping apologies that are kind of taken as a given - see Aang not apologizing to Toph after how he acted when Appa was kidnaped, or her and Katara not apologizing to each other after the events of The Chase. They tend to focus on apologies for bad behavior that lasted a whole arc (see Zuko apologizing to the Gaang and to Iroh).

And about the writers throwing shippers a bone with stuff like Katara and Zuko being mistaken for a couple - yeah, I can see how fan would like that. I also remember the characters getting visibly uncomfortable with it and that the show basically mocked the very concept of the ship through the Ember Island Players.

More importantly: fanservice is not foreshadowing, set up and/or development. For exemple: I LOVE Tokka as a ship, and I find Toph's crush on Sokka really cute. But it was always VERY CLEAR that it was one-sided and that the writers decided to make him end up with Suki. The fanservice made me happy, but it was not meant to be taken seriously, so I didn't.

Meanwhile Zutarians use five minutes of bait to argue that there was a whole conspiracy in which their OTP was meant to be endgame but evil Bryke ruined it at the last second. They've argued that Ember Island!Katara saying she likes Zuko and thinks of Aang as her little brother was a reflection of the REAL Katara's feelings, even though she explicitly said it was not the case and the show itself made it obvious that it is simply an INNACCURATE fanon take on the show.

No one would have an issue with Zutara shippers enjoying the little treats the writers gave them if they weren't so hellbent on claiming that those little moments somehow invalidate three seasons of Kataang, and one season (plus a few book 2 episodes) of Maiko. Not to mention the constant "If you dislike the ship/say it's not canon, then you're sexist/racist and I get to harass you."

You can't be "fair" to people that are asking to be allowed to be unfair to everyone else. They need to grow the fuck up first and realize that, if they want to be left alone, they shouldn't go around picking up petty fights with people then complaining when they get punched.

[iris-sistibly]

I look like shit right now, but hear me out: Episode 12 drove me NUTS!!!

📍For a moment, Hong Hae-in gave me a heart attack. I really thought that she wanted to spare Hyun-woo the heartache of her not being able to recognize him anymore and just went with Eun-seong. My brain cells weren't brain cell-ing, of course she had other reasons...duh. But it is really terrifying that she has moments when she can't recognize what's real and what isn't. I do however love the part when she knew that she was with the real Hyun-woo. In any scene or in any situation they've been, Hyun-woo radiates that kind of warmth that makes Hae-in feel relieved, secured, and loved. That right there is, "The heart recognizes what the mind can't."

📍I forgot to include this in my last post because I was in a hurry to finish it, but I laud Kim Soo Hyun for doing a great job during the final scene of episode 11. You can instantly recognize that something felt off with the way "Hyun-woo" called Hae-in, like I said earlier, the real Baek Hyun-woo radiates so much warmth, meanwhile the fake Hyun-woo was cold and I can say that he made me feel uncomfortable. What an amazing performance KSH!

📍Hyun-woo and Hae-in using their baby's due date as their pass codes just means that they still think about him/her. 🤧 Oh that baby could have been so loved by them had they been given the chance.

📍Eun-seong's delusion is worsening. When he was confessing all of his bullshit to Hae-in, I was like...so what? So what if he fell for her first? If he kept her necklace all these years, if he had "loved" her all this time? The point is, HAE-IN DOESN'T LOVE HIM AND DOESN'T WANT TO BE WITH HIM!

📍All the while, I thought that Eun-seong is a dangerous man. Turns out Mo Seul-hee is far more unhinged than him. You can see in Eun-seong's eyes that he was taken aback when his mother confessed to being the person behind the deaths of the people who abused him as a child. Bitch wasn't kidding when she said that she'd go as far as eliminating Hae-in for using him, and Eun-seong may be dumb but not-so-dumb to not know what Seul-hee is capable of. I still feel like he's going to betray his own mother to save Hae-in by either helping Hyun-woo or helping Hae-in in his own twisted way.

📍BAEKHONG IN THEIR MARRIED COUPLE ERA!!! I love that Hae-in can now freely say what she truly feels about Hyun-woo and the hubs gushing when she said that she'd still marry him in any lifetime.

📍The sunset proposal was the reason why I had to pause because I was bawling my eyes out, I kid you not. Hae-in wanting to be officially Mrs. Hyun-woo again so badly but stopped herself because she knew her condition was worsening and she doesn't want to burden him anymore. She wants to spend the rest of her life with him but it's far from possible, she wants to be the wife Hyun-woo deserves but the future holds no guarantee. She was torn between following what her heart wants and not wanting to rip Hyun-woo apart more than she already has (because of her illness). It was such a heartbreaking scene that's why I was crying so hard.

📍And then, the writer and the director decided to shift the scene to Aunt Beom-ja and (future) new husband, the part when they were looking for (future) new hubby's mother and they were kinda like too close to each other, I was smiling because they looked so cute together so you can imagine that I was smiling from ear to ear with tears still running down my face. Also, I did mention before that Aunt Beom-ja is a more unhinged version of Hae-in, actually...auntie and future new hubby are kinda like the older version of BaekHong, only crazier and more chaotic.

📍Da-hye finally realizing that she sided the wrong people. I'm just glad that she was able to get out safely and return to the Hongs. But I am so proud of Soo-cheol for manning up and defending Da-hye and baby Geon-u, he's really growing up 🥹.

📍But I didn't really expect that Hong Man-dae aka grandpa Hong would make such a huge sacrifice to save his family. He was an idiot for trusting Mo Seul-hee but I never wanted him dead. He didn't even get to see his family before passing (except Hae-in but it wasn't like a happy reunion) which was so fucking tragic. Though, I do hope that Papa Hong would finally have the courage to step-up as the head of the family, he's their pillar now and they need him more than ever.

📍Can we talk about the last clip for a bit? I know the show apparently loves to give us viewers cliffhangers and mind boggling shit but I'm overthinking rn. What if they found nothing in the panic room? Or Yoon Eun-seong found it first? This story is unpredictable, anything could happen, but what I do know is that Hae-in is gonna wear the ring Hyun-woo gave her in the next episode. Iykyk.

📍THE EPILOGUE!!! BaekHong has crossed paths many times already and in those times Hyun-woo has saved Hae-in. They're really meant for each other!!

[period-dramallama]

Becoming Elizabeth: the autopsy

I just realised I never did a review of episode 8. Lol. Lmao even. This isn't an episode review but rather a discussion of the show upon rewatch.

Basically this is a show where the whole is not equal to the sum of its parts.

When I talk about the problems with the writing, I generally mean the narrative choices. The literal writing itself is good. Particularly for Tommy S, because those funny and witty/endearing lines explain his charm and why he is able to win over people and make them think he's a nice guy he's a funny guy he's a lovable rogue he's an adventurer. Tommy S does need to have some charm/charisma in order to be an effective villain. He can't go around being obviously evil.

There are still too many F words, but i was pleasantly surprised that there weren't as many as I remembered. And some F words I couldn't bear to part with: "The fuck is that?" And "what the fuck is wrong with you?!" In episode 5 for example.

I've seen some people say that the quality of the writing dropped in the episodes that aren't Anya Reiss but.... I think the quality of the writing was consistent. The iconic "I wish to take my c***ing bath" was not in an Anya episode, and neither was one of my favourite scenes in the whole show (yes it's the Dudley swordfighting training scene but it's an objectively good scene and not just because it's cute boys in fencing gear).

I initially thought episode 7 was my least favourite episode, but looking back there isn't really a good episode or a bad episode. Every episode has something I like and a bunch of stuff I'd change. If I had to pick 2 favourite episodes I'd pick 1 and 6. But because the problems are with narrative choices they're spread across the series. Even in episode 1, we have Elizabeth "I said at 9 i didn't want to marry so a lot would need to happen to change my mind" Tudor suddenly deciding she wants to marry a man she barely knows because hormones and they had a nice conversation one time. The rot set in quickly.

After the first four episodes I started skipping Mary and Tommy S scenes. I won't say any more on Katherine Parr because I've already said all I have to say on her characterisation. I did do some soul searching because I wondered if my dislike of her was subconscious internalised misogyny, given my affection for morally ambiguous male characters. But no, she really does lack both charm and depth.

So why is Becoming Elizabeth so narratively unsatisfying? Aside from Elizabeth being OOC, I think it's that the story feels like it's going around in circles.

Jane and Elizabeth clash. They make up. Then in episode 7 they fall out again. Mary and Edward fight, make up, fight, make up, fight again. Elizabeth realises Tommy S is dangerous, then she forgets, then she realises again. Mary scolds this character and they don't listen and then this character and they don't listen.

Yes character development isn't linear but it isn't circular either. It GOES somewhere. Setup and payoff are mutually reinforcing. It's fun to watch the setup because you know what's coming as a result of it. Payoff is fun because you saw how we got here. But it isn't satisfying to watch something that you know won't result in anything permanent. I don't feel anything watching Jane be tactless to Elizabeth in episode 1 because I know she'll be even MORE tactless in episode 7. And I don't feel anything seeing Elizabeth reach out the hand of friendship to Jane after the recital fiasco because I know in episode 7 they'll just fall out again. Whereas with Mary and Elizabeth they at least end the series with their relationship in a different place (hell).

And I have every sympathy with the writers because I'm up to my eyeballs at editing and I know what it's like to take historical events and try and make a plot and character arcs out of them. But the letter subplot and the Danish marriage subplot were largely fictional anyway. And they kinda went nowhere.

I understand that the showrunners wanted a complex villain in Tommy S. I get it. My favourite characters in this show are people capable of great love and also great harm. But to humanise him you only really needed that conversation with Elizabeth in episode 1 establishing his uncertainty and confusion, and the excellent "goshawk hatching out of a goose egg" scene with Jane. That establishes that he has the ability to be good he just chooses to be awful. So yes, the show really did give him too much screen time. He's not the main character, Elizabeth is! He should not have screen time comparable with her and her siblings! This wasn't supposed to be the Tommy S show! Nobody asked for that!

Gardiner is another problem IMHO. Setting aside the fact he's way too young to be the real Gardiner. He really shouldn't be here. He spent Edward's reign in the Tower. I know he shows up as a result of the fictional plots... so why write those fictional plots to the point you have to bring him in?? Cranmer IS important. You could have had Cranmer pushing Edward to be radical, Ed pushing him to be more lenient, and Daddy Dudley balancing the two. Voila, a dynamic!

And I get that Elizabeth wasn't doing much politically 1550-3 but you could still show her reacting and learning from events around her rather than warping Edward's reign completely out of shape AND making her a side character in her own story.

[consumeronionbulletin]

Goblin / Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (2016-17)

This show is flawless. I guess if you don't like fantasy shows, you may have trouble getting into it, but this was exactly my kind of show, and once I started I couldn't stop watching it.

What's It About?

On the surface, this is a revenge story about a general in ancient Korea who was betrayed and had his whole family murdered. He got so mad about it that he turned into an immortal being as both reward and punishment.

But the story picks up with a meet cute between the Goblin and the young woman who is destined to both marry him, and bring an end to his immortality. So it's also about growing up, what it means to be really mature (at least in the writer's opinion). It's also about how growing up isn't an end state, but a process, and that process is not linear. It comes in fits and starts and some people never reach the end of it for a host of reasons—because of hubris, selfishness, and being unwilling or unable to see other people, or to work on their own flaws.

What Worked?

Everything, especially the characters and the way they interact. You've got all of the main themes from something like The Princess Bride—Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles—all stretched out into 16-20 hours of show. Also includes: ghosts, buddy comedy, school rivalries, terrible family relationships, past lives, travel, etc.

Each character is treated with care, they all have interesting and important arcs, and the show weaves them all together into something really special.

What Didn't Work?

I have no notes. I can see how someone might be annoyed with the pacing (it's slow in a few places), or the fantasy elements, or the predictability of some of the plot, or the may/december relationship. But I didn't have a problem with any of that. Because I knew right away that this was fantasy, and it requires a different lens than normal drama.

The Performances

(This is going to be a long list.)

Gong Yoo as Goblin / Kim Shin. I don't know how you even start playing a literal god, but this guy figured it out. His performance manages to be funny, petty, arrogant, and somehow also relatable.

Kim Go-eun as Ji Eun-tak. Kim Go-eun had a completely different brief: to be the eyes of the audience and the center of all the crazy story stuff while still managing to be a genuine, relatable person instead of a two dimensional magic pixie dream girl (which is what you often end up with when the show runners drop the ball).

She not only hit the brief, but she delivered an amazing nuanced performance. Goblin may be the title of the show, but this was her show too. She managed to portray the entire arc from naive innocence, to experience, to emotional maturity with each episode's performance building on the previous one. It's a quiet change, but I think it's the heart of the show.

Lee Dong-wook as Grim Reaper / Wang Yeo. You can't have a good buddy roommate comedy without the grumpy straight man, and Lee Dong-wook did a great job with that part of the role. But he also did a great job with the amazing (tragic) love story he was given. And he somehow also managed an interesting take on the Grim reaper--as an angel of death who is sometimes a grumpy judge, and sometimes an overworked public servant. And finally he pulls out the character's mystical backstory as (spoilers!) King who had his heart broken and given up on life. This character has a huge story, and this actor showed an amazing range bringing it all out.

Yoo In-na as Sunny / Kim Sun. I already loved her in True to Love. Yoo In-na was even better in this role. Funny, sad, grumpy, sweet, tragic. The only one of the lead characters that didn't get enough story (though she had tons of backstory). What we did get from her was amazing to watch.

Yook Sung-jae as Yoo Deok-hwa. A solid performance from someone who started out mostly in music. He was primarily the comic relief, but he did a good job as kind of a bridge between all of the different characters. He supported each of the main characters when they needed it, without disappearing into the background.

Kim Byung-chul as "No good, evil guy" Park Joong-heon. This actor is so good at playing characters that you love to hate. I wanted to punch his face every time he appears on screen, so mission accomplished Kim Byung-chul! What I like best about this character is that, if he had been born 900 years later, he could have been just as happy as like a minister of finance, or a really petty CFO, but he was trapped in the age of divine right of kings, so he had to go on a murder spree poisoning a bunch of royals to gain power. The tragedy of his character was that if he had been born in modern Korea, he wouldn't have had to turn evil.

Kim Sung-kyum as Chairman Yoo Shin-woo. This is one of those grandparent characters that you really love to watch, but you know that (since it's a kdrama) he's gonna be gone sometime around the middle of the series. The actor did a great job showing a character who was mature and thoughtful and someone you should aspire to be.

Go Bo-gyeol as Kim Yoon-ah. I saw her in Hi bye, Mama! and she did a decent job in kind of a thankless role. She was similar in this, but the part was even smaller. I wish the writers had given her more to work with, or else got rid of the character completely as I wasn't sure what her purpose was. Still, kind of nice to see this actor working, I guess?

Lee El as Samshin, Goddess, the creator of birth and fate. What was up with that terrible aging makeup? One of the few missteps, IMO. I liked the character, and you always knew something important was going to happen when Lee El showed up, but for most of the show, she was more of a plot device than a full character. It was still nice to see her in something besides My Liberation Notes.

Ji Eun-tak's terrible family. Again, the actors did a great job making me hate them in a very short time. It was kind of cool getting little updates on what they were doing, but I was glad when we stopped seeing so much of them by the middle of the show.

The Loan Sharks. Fun character work by these two actors. Still wanted to punch them when they showed up, so mission accomplished.

The Grim Reaper Squad. It was sometimes hard to tell them apart, but that had to have been a fun role to play, and you could tell the actors were (mostly) enjoying it.

Everyone else. The ghosts were a fun addition, the bullying school kids / school teacher were annoying (which is exactly what they were meant to be), the cute child actor with wind powers was cute, and the baseball player Oppa did a good job as well.

TL; DR:

If you like fantasy, even a little bit, watch this show. It is worth the time. Also, the soundtrack is pretty cool too.

[cf56]

My thoughts on episode 9

SPOILERS for season 3, episode 9 of the Animaniacs reboot

Finally moving on. I really liked this episode! I watched it yesterday for the first time, which was a mistake. I was still upset over the episode 8 review I had just written and I was trying to rush things so I could get this review out the same day. Both of those factors contributed to limiting my enjoyment of the episode the first time around. I watched it again today with fresher eyes and enjoyed it a lot more. It also would have helped if this season was released closer to the holidays so I was in the Christmas spirit when watching this, but oh well. Maybe I'll make a point of watching it again this December.

This episode gave me some of the heartiest laughs of the season, though I'm not sure if some of that humor was intentional. I'll start by covering the Warner segment.

Now THIS is more like it! Sleeping past one is far more relatable to me than waking up at 6 AM sharp. The explanation for the Warners sleeping to reach Christmas faster makes a lot of sense. I would suppose their sleep schedule is nonexistent and they just kind of sleep and wake up whenever.

I was happy to see Hello Nurse make kind of an on-screen appearance! I wish Yakko had given her just a little more reverence, though the joke was funny. It's nice to know that he still keeps posters of them stashed away in the tower. He's still the same old Yakko in some ways. (Say what you will about the sex pestiness of old Yakko, but it was an integral part of his character and made him feel like a real teenage boy, so I'm still fond of it. I don't care that the "Hello, Nurse!" thing is absent in the reboot, but I do care that Hello Nurse herself is absent from the reboot. Kind of sends the message that the attractive women themselves are the ones responsible for the verbal abuse they receive and that the solution to ending it is to take the women away- not just, you know, keeping them around but having the Warners be more respectful to them.)

I don't know how I didn't notice it the first time around, but on my second watch I noticed it immediately, and I went to the credits to confirm- John DiMaggio voices Santa. Now, it's extremely obvious, especially by the end when he starts yelling. All I can hear is Marcus Fenix as Santa.

It's not the first time a jaded and/or jacked Santa has been done in cartoons. I thought it was done as well here as in any other show.

This moment was SO cute to me, when little Wakko just automatically runs up to Santa and hops on his lap. It's always been a headcanon of mine that Wakko has a special love for Santa and Christmas.

I liked the banter between Santa and the Warners, especially when he informs Dot that one of those complaints were hers. These reviews are hard for me sometimes. I don't know if I should make a specific note of every joke that made me chuckle, but know that just because I didn't mention it doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it.

The song was just great. Super catchy and super clever, with both the concept and the lyrics. It points out the scientific impossibilities of what Santa does without spoiling the Christmas magic. It's really, really clever.

This HAD to be done on purpose. The more I look at it, the more I laugh, because you're definitely not supposed to notice it the first time, but when you do it's just so obviously ridiculous. Europe is just replaced by a giant UK. "Spain" is just Cornwall with a star on it. And Yakko clearly points to Cuba when he says Puerto Rico. Looking at how accurately everything else was drawn, I'm very confident this was intentional, and it's SO hilarious.

I loved to see another reference to Yakko's lactose intolerance, and for some reason it was sweet to me that Wakko sang that part and knows that milk would cause trouble for his brother.

You know, this segment is written by the same writers as WARnerGAMES. Isn't it funny that they know about Yakko's lactose intolerance, which was mentioned one time in a random end credits gag in the original, but they don't know how to-

Okay, okay, I'll stop.

The part immediately following this was what made me howl in laughter and fear. Because, look, sometimes I go on DeviantArt to find NORMAL Animaniacs art, but of course that also means I see the other stuff, too, and... I can't imagine what that Godforsaken place looks like right now. They must be feeling how I would feel if one of my fanfic plots was directly adapted into an episode, because this seriously looks identical to some of the horrors I've seen on that site. They even added an inflation sound in the background.

The ending of the song was great! Seeing Santa getting pelted with presents in silence as he stands in the wreckage of his shop was super funny.

Santa's yell at the end was seriously just Marcus Fenix. That exact voice line could be inserted into Gears of War and I wouldn't blink an eye.

Now, with "How the Brain Thieved Christmas", I feel really dumb. That's because, even with the blatantly obvious title, I didn't realize that Brain was supposed to be directly parodying The Grinch in this until the very end. I think I might've seen some people upset over how he's evil in this? I don't really have a problem with it. It's more of a "bah humbug" kind of thing than an "I want to cause misery to everyone" kind of thing, and he gets redeemed at the end like The Grinch.

Pinky's big ol' gremlin face silently rising in the background really got me!

Yes, when will we ever figure out what the fidget spinner is supposed to do? Will science ever find the answer?

At first I was skeptical that a Pinky toy would actually logically sell well, but then I realized how awesome it would be to have a basically sentient toy that responds with dumb, funny one-liners to everything you say. This future might not be too far-off in the real world...

It's really funny when the little girl starts singing, because you immediately know where the entire rest of the episode is going to go, and it's just a slow descent as Brain desperately tries to prevent what we all know is definitely going to happen.

This part through the end actually made me get a little watery-eyed. I know that wouldn't have happened if this hadn't been such a spectacularly emotional week for me already, but the emotional weight was well done here.

I question the logistics of returning hundreds of millions of presents in this manner, but whatever. I think this proves Brain always had a way to return the presents ready to go, so he wasn't entirely planning on destroying Christmas the whole time.

Again, would have hit harder if it was actually the holidays.

I thought it was a great episode. I don't really have any complaints. The longer, very clever song was desperately needed in a season that has been strangely devoid of them. I'm not sure if I like it more than Do It Yourself. I think DIY still edges it out for first place for me, but this episode's song was really great and will immediately join the upper echelon of Animaniacs songs in my mind.

This episode could go above episode 3 on the ranking. I'm not gonna put it there, though. It's a very solid third place for me.

Episode 6

Episode 3

Episode 9

Episode 7

Episode 4

Episode 2

Episode 1

Episode 5

Episode 8

Where we stand now, at least half of the episodes this season (down to position number 5) have been really good to me. Only one has been legitimately bad. Episode 10 has a lot riding on it, I think, as far as my final opinion of the season will go.

So, this is it. I'm approaching the end. One more new episode of Animaniacs to watch, probably ever. I can feel my chest tightening over the thought. You know, if I just decided to never watch it, I could always say there's still more new Animaniacs out there I've never seen. It would never end for me. Maybe I could watch one minute a year and keep the new content flowing for 25 more years.

I encourage you to add to the discussion of this episode if you want. Don't say anything about episode 10. I need to experience it for myself.

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Look at the molars on this guy

[thetaoofbetty]

Bad take being dropped right about now:

Am I the only one that’s more concerned with Jabitha than Barchie? BA is a hot ass mess and it won’t last but I get the feeling that they are trying to set Jabitha up long term? Everyone keeps talking about how perfect Tab is and how cute they are together. I feel like RAS REALLY wants us to like them and maybe that is for a reason like they are sticking around for awhile? Am I overthinking this? I have trust issues because of these writers sorry😭.

i say this with love (and exhaustion because work has kicked my ass for the last few weeks):

if everyone else isn't quite right, what makes anyone think that certain characters are going to escape it?

putting the rest under the cut:

tabitha being called perfect is...a tragedy, tbh. because it means she's been given no discernible flaws that create depth of character. people always amuse me with their fascination of background or side characters who they proclaim to be babies who are perfect and have never done anything wrong because those characters are easily self-insertable real estate but generally pretty boring if you take away all of fandom's projections of who people decided they are.

honestly, that the allusion of innocence and lack of flaws have made some perceive her to be jughead's perfect match is really gross to me but i don't think anyone wants to examine what they're implying with that when they do that.

(watch all the people who harassed me for months suddenly try and walk back all the ways they called her perfect for him based on her character being in service to his storylines in s5 in my inbox now)

also, we see that they're fighting at some point and that not everything is perfect so there's that. will it be as bonkers as the rest of them (veronica seems like her choices will be bad? dangerous? morally reprehensible? unknown)? i don't know.

all we know for sure is that it's not riverdale, it's rivervale, there's a horror element, and that anytime anyone says everything is as it should be, it's nothing like it's going to be in the end. i don't think assuming anything for the next 5 episodes is going to do anyone any good.

and, to be fair, always consider the source. and interpretation of the moment isn't a sum of the whole.

[mytvjunk]

Gossip Girl: S1 - EP 4

We're only on episode 4 and the Julien vs Zoya storyline is already getting tired. Every episode they fight, they make up and continue this toxic cycle of abuse for absolutely no real reason. Either have them join forces or just keep them enemies; because this hot & cold relationship is serving no one. Perhaps the writers need to introduce a new character that brings their circle a different kind of conflict and changes the dynamics of Julien and Zoyas relationship. OR perhaps remove Luna & Monet from the inner circle, as they are the true villains of this show. Remove them from the equation and Zoya and Juliens relationship would flourish. But we all know that's not happening...as they are singlehandedly keeping the drama alive, which is the heart of this show. And at this point, it isn't even sibling rivalry...its just straight up nonsense that's egged on by outside parties and unfortunately Zoya and Julien take the bait every...single...time...which makes them look like straight up fools by the end of each episode. ---Also that whole "I am a bully" scene was all sorts of ridiculous 😆😆 She's taking accountability for her actions but she's not getting any consequences for what she's done...in fact she'll be the one that ends up benefiting from it, cuz she'll look like the good person at the end of it all.

-Let's talk Georgina Sparks! I was so happy they gave us a glimpse of her in that collage of pictures (and also that random pic of Blair) as she was one of my favorite characters on the original series. Also can we discuss hows she's pictured with Putin, Kim jong un and Elon musk just to name a few 💀💀💀Which leads me to believe that she's still up to some wild shit as an adult LOL I wonder if that was a foreshadow to a possible Georgina/Blair appearance later on in the series 🤔 It was also pretty cool (but suped random) how they've included her son Milo in the story. He's even following in mama's footsteps with the schemes & messiness lol

Obie & Zoya - I like them together but I'm not convinced by them yet. They come across more like good friends than actual partners. I wish the writers would've built that relationship up more, because they just became an item after one episode and barely knowing each other....There was no grace period or internal conflict with that fact he was about to date his exes sister and vice versa. I wouldn't be surprised if they breakup before end of season cuz they don't have a solid foundation and Zoya is too worried about the outside drama which Obie wants no part of.

Monet & Luna - Do we care that we have yet to get any sort of back story or insights to their personal lives? As of now, for me, nope. Their entire narrative is Julien. They're like unpaid publicists, who do evil things in the name of Julien and many times without Juliens permission. The writers haven't given them any depth or point of view to make us care...they're just mean for being mean, which when done right can be entertaining to watch, but they're creating conflict and not really gaining anything out of it. But then again, it is only episode 4, so let's see if they surprise us before the end of the season.

The teachers STILL being Gossip Girl- It's creepy as all hell that they've become so aggressively invested in these kids lives just to divulge their every secret; however it is clear that the writers are keeping them as GG, so as a viewer, I've just come to accept it and not give a shit anymore, cuz this show is so obnoxiously camp. And honestly the teachers aren't terrible at it. Kate has a very solid voice & creative way of painting a story...it does help that she has a strong writing background. But honestly if she were to dedicate this type of energy into her writing career, like she does to running the GG account, she could accomplish so much outside of this school.

Aki & Audrey - They're cute but kinda stale together. They're both lusting after Max, while he's just using them as play things, but ultimately I do see them having a threesome at one point...especially now that Aki is discovering more about his sexuality. This is another couple I don't see lasting very long. Their communication is really bad & the chemistry is lackluster. I'm still having a hard time with Evan Mocks (Aki) acting. I don't know if this was the direction he was given or if it's his abilities that are not up to par, but he's scenes are a bit rough to watch. He's stiff & delivers his lines in this monotone lifeless way that's a bit unnerving. But if this is what production wants from him, then he's doing a stellar job! -- Side note, It will be interesting to see how Audrey's world is going to change now that her mother is filing for bankruptcy. I wonder if they'll be any possible power shifts within her circle of friends, when they find out or will she keep it all a secret hmmm

Max & Rafa - I really wish the writers didn't take the route of the teacher/student troupe. Its especially messed up that they decided to trigger their sexual relationship during a time where Max is clearly going through personal issues that's left him emotionally vulnerable. I do wish the writers would've handled his grieving differently. --Also can we discuss how Max looks about the same age as Rafa? 💀 Are no actual teenagers working in Hollywood anymore? Too funny.

With that being said, the writing on this week's episode of Gossip Girl was a special kind of terrible. But because I enjoy mess, I will continue to watch every episode, of every season.

Xoxo

[vickyvicarious]

Parker: "Teach me to like stuff."

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Okay, so. I have some thoughts about The French Connection Job's Parker+Eliot subplot. And I think I wanna approach it separately, scene by scene from each of their perspectives, because we have a couple different things going on here. It's still a little more of a Parker meta than an Eliot meta, but I have enough to talk about on both sides, and they're connected enough not to be in separate metas, that I am going to do it this way.

Also going to put this under a cut because it gets long.

Parker

This whole subplot comes on the heels of the last episode, in which there was a lot of banter throughout about Hardison and Parker's dates, and him wanting to branch out into other things than just bungee jumping or whatever. We have seen hints of this throughout S5 so far, even though we're only a few episodes in at this point. They went on a world tour that was pretty much just jumping off of stuff, Hardison said something about them figuring things out. We saw a cute domestic scene of the aftermath of them watching a movie together, except Parker 'fell asleep again' and missed most of it, and Hardison eventually went off to work on his laptop. Parker tried to comfort him last episode about dust mites and ended up freaking him out instead. She talked about how she liked fire and Hardison complained she was missing the point of his offer for a candlelit picnic. They did end on a very romantic note with her still making the effort to make it happen but getting rained out, and him recognizing her effort and listening to him, and projecting the stars around the dark room then having the picnic inside. They are clearly very happy together and both making the effort to meet in the middle, but there are still some disconnects. Which makes sense this early on anyway, but it's not out of place for Parker to start getting worried about her limited interests here given the context of them contrasting Hardison's more widespread interests.

Starting right off the bat - there's a picture limit so I can't show these early moments, but throughout the first part of the episode we see Parker looking visibly upset/pensive. Hardison notices and asks her what's wrong, but is immediately distracted by his package arriving, and then the team gets into the briefing and he doesn't get to talk to her again. (Sidenote that this is pretty OOC for Hardison, and I have to assume he would at the very least come back to her later, but they were clearly trying to get Parker talking with someone else this episode and apparently couldn't come up with a better way to do it. His writing outside of the kitchen stuff was kinda off this whole episode anyway, what with the whole tip thing.) She was about to open up to him, however, which is important. There's also a scene shortly afterwards where she confides in Nate, again after he notices her being upset and asks what's bothering her. She claims everyone but her has 'a thing', and names a few of them. He asks her what she thinks when she sees Michelangelo's David, and when her answer is an immediate assessment of how it's guarded and what she'd have to do to steal it, he kind of hesitates and then goes right back to running the con. He basically gives up on helping her with this once it becomes clear that a quick sentence or two isn't gonna cut it.

So after those brief, unhelpful conversations, that's when she makes a move. She was responding to others before, but this time she comes up to Eliot, clearly nervous. And she asks him to help her feel something.

(I find it very interesting that she doesn't ask Sophie. Sophie is the person who she would usually go to for something like this, after all. But, aside from this being an Eliot-centric episode and just like them sidelining Hardison's possible assistance earlier the writers want Parker to talk with Eliot not Sophie, I think there are maybe a couple reasons why she might go to him here. First, just distance. Eliot is right downstairs, meanwhile at the moment Sophie is however far across town at her theater. Certainly not saying she wouldn't go to Sophie eventually, but maybe that's why not first. Second, she and Eliot have an understanding, one that's been explicitly acknowledged since the start of S4. They are similar in a way entirely unlike the rest of the crew. So while Sophie may understand emotions best, Eliot is the one most likely to know what Parker is talking about when she says she just isn't feeling anything. Which by the way I'm gonna get more into later on. Thirdly they're in love but that's not actually relevant here since all of the team love one another.)

Eliot

On Eliot's side, she approaches him when he's busy in the kitchen. This whole job is stirring up a lot of old feelings in him right from the start. Toby was someone who 'kept him from falling all the way down', and Eliot is deeply concerned for him. At the same time, the way they are running this con is allowing Eliot to take on the role of teacher. Even though his students aren't anything like the eager students Toby has just had taken away from him, Eliot wants so badly to take advantage of this opportunity to teach them - maybe even all the more because they're resistant. He's being given a very rare opportunity to indulge his belief that food is life and to share it on a larger scale. To use the knife to create, not just destroy. Leverage often walks a line between doing both (taking down the bad guys and helping people) but Eliot doesn't often just straight up get to just do the 'creating' part. (I mean, he loves the destruction too, he genuinely loves beating people up and taking down bad guys, but this is a rarer pleasure.) So he's pretty preoccupied with that at first, and initially dismisses Parker just like the other two guys did.

But when she just looks quietly disappointed at his response, he goes still and watches her. We cut away from them here so we don't see his actual response, but it's immediately clear that he's realizing this is actually something deeply important to Parker, and well worth his time.

On to the next part of this scene below.

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[Eliot sets a dish down in front of Parker]

Parker: "...It's just food."

Eliot: "It's not just food! Alright, some people could look at it and just see food, but not me. I see art. When I'm in the kitchen I'm, I'm creating something outta nothing, you know what I mean? And sometimes I crush it, sometimes it's crap, but either way - it makes me feel something."

Parker: "Feel what?"

Eliot: "Just... feel."

Parker: [murmuring] "Feel... okay." [looks down at the food and hesitates]

Eliot: "You know, I didn't feel anything for a long time. Then Toby taught me how to cook, and after he did, I started to feel stuff again. That's why I share it through my food - this is my art. This is my art, Parker." [Parker nods, looking worried] "It's like lettin' a stranger in your head, just for a second. And you allow them to feel what you're feeling." [pause] "Look again." [he pushes the plate a little closer to her. Parker takes a deep breath and slowly sets her elbows down on the counter as she stares down at the plate. Eliot watches her closely.]

Parker

At this point I want to talk a little about what Parker means when she says "feel something" and talks about "having a thing." Because we've seen her have interests outside of straightforward thievery before. Sure, most of her hobbies revolves around stealing - casing local banks for fun, for example. But she clearly has a deep love for Christmas and for chocolate. So why doesn't she count those kinds of things as 'feeling something'?

I think it comes down to what Eliot's talking about here. It's a sense of art. Not even necessarily making it yourself, although that certainly applies. Parker likes sweet things like chocolate and donuts, but although she really really likes them they don't make her feel any truly deep emotion. It's more tactile than anything else, just a pleasant flavor. Her love of Christmas isn't the same either in her eyes because it's not uniquely hers. It's something she loves to celebrate but she can't do so all year round, and plenty of other people like Christmas too. This one comes a lot closer, because it definitely seems to be tied up more in community and family for her than something like enjoying chocolate and piñatas, but it still doesn't belong to her in the same way that cooking does to Eliot or theater does to Sophie. And while theoretically her love of base jumping and so on could maybe count, it is still so tied up in her thieving that it doesn't feel separate. She's really good at drawing but only thinks of it as a useful skill, not a creative outlet - this is similar to that.

She has been branching out into a lot of new experiences and emotions lately, and while she's struck out deep into uncharted waters with her relationship with Hardison, once there she's only seeing more and more things that she just... doesn't get. She loves spending time with him, and enjoys what they do together, but she doesn't understand all of those things. Not on a deeper level. She wants to feel that sense of connection to something, wants to feel deeply emotionally moved by something.

And honestly? I think she's way up in her head about it. I'm not trying to dismiss her struggle here at all, but I do think she is stressing herself out about having something uniquely her own. About having a huge interest that speaks so strongly to her personally. And those are amazing to have, but it's really not necessary. She doesn't need a strong secondary passion so much as she needs to let go of trying so hard to force herself into something.

And what's happening in this scene in particular is that Parker is trying so so hard to force herself to feel something. It's evident in her face throughout the whole scene, in her body language. And she is so terrified that it's not going to work that honestly, I'm not surprised at all that it doesn't.

Eliot

On Eliot's side of this scene, he feels like he recognizes where Parker is. This entire job has him remembering how it was to feel nothing. Her phrasing got to him deeply. He wants to reach out and teach her to see something more, just like Toby taught him.

He knew a bit about how to cook before Toby. But it was only seeing Toby's passion that struck something in him, that awoke a part of himself he might've never known before. For Eliot specifically, cooking being an art isn't just something he likes. It's something that brings him hope.

Eliot doesn't believe in redemption. But he believes in actions. And what Toby did, by teaching him to cook, was to teach him that his actions can be good. That he can create, not just destroy. That all is not lost - not 'for' him necessarily, so much as 'in' him. There is a deep empty place inside himself that he can enter so so easily. The difficulty is crawling back out again. Cooking was his rope out of there. He still finds it difficult to express his emotions very often, particularly verbally, but when he makes someone a meal he puts a part of himself into it. And yet doing so doesn't take anything from him, it just adds more.

This is all very vague and figurative and may make no sense, but the takeaway I want to have is that Eliot is opening up to Parker on a very deep level here. He feels like he recognizes what she's talking about, and it was a very bad place for him. (Again, I don't think she is quite that badly off at this point in canon, but I digress.) And while making food allows him to feel that he is demonstrating his love for someone, that he is sharing a part of himself with them, he recognizes that she isn't receiving that. What she's getting, is just a plate of food. Tasty food maybe, but nothing more than that. And so Eliot verbalizes everything to her in a way he rarely does.

And then he keeps trying. This scene obviously doesn't end up making her feel something, and we don't get to see the immediate aftermath of that, but we can glean a little about how they feel based on their reactions. And Eliot is deeply determined to help Parker feel something from his food. He insists that she play the food critic; even speaks directly to her and reminds her to consider what they talked about.

.

In the restaurant, we start out with Parker dutifully playing her role but feeling nothing much beyond just the role. Eliot checks in with Parker, she acknowledges that the food is good but doesn't make her feel anything, and he makes improvements based on her feedback. Then something abruptly changes.

Parker: "I can taste garlic, and mushrooms... and something else that makes me feel different."

Hardison: "Wait, was that for me, cause I-I don't get it."

Parker: "No, it's the food. I get it." [smiles] "I feel something."

+

Parker: "Mmm! These black noodles are amazing!

Eliot: "Parker, it's tagliolini nero con gamberi."

Parker: "Mmm." [eats a huge forkful] "Mmm. Mmmm. These are really good."

Parker

What just happened here? Last we saw from Parker, she'd failed to feel something from the meal Eliot made especially for her in the brewpub, and she was clearly disheartened. She felt it as a failure, very much in the sense of a disappointment. She didn't want to try again, didn't think it would work, and tried to protest when Eliot said she would be the food critic. Even once she got to the restaurant, nothing was happening for her.

The difference wasn't in the flavor of the food. The moment Parker started to feel something was right after she said she felt nothing and Eliot, instead of being disappointed or giving up, took it as a challenge. He changed his recipe, he improved it specifically to better reach out to her. He kept trying.

And yeah, maybe the bone broth helped it taste better. But that wasn't the point, not really. The point is that Parker had gotten herself stuck in a hole, trapped herself in this cycle of not understanding how things make you feel and then believing that she just couldn't. She wanted something of her own and she didn't have it and she didn't immediately get anyone else's thing either, and that was it. She just wasn't capable. She was other. This is an old old fear of Parkers, dating back to Archie or even before. Something in her just isn't capable of being like other people. She wasn't worthy of being in Archie's real family, and she's not able to feel passion for anything outside of stealing. (Setting aside the fact that she loves her team, that all she needed was the right family. That you don't have to be a creator to feel passion, and you don't need to be passionate about any particular thing in order to feel deeply and find beauty in the world.) Parker has empathized deeply with people, has felt so intensely before and is constantly trying to learn more and new ways to be. But because she is noticing her teams' passions now, she has this ideal that she wants to reach, and none of that is good enough for her. She doesn't even know exactly what her ideal involves, but she can't get to it.

But when Eliot doesn't give up, that gets to her. If he views his food as sharing himself with others, Parker finally gets what he's been trying to give all along. It's all about him trying again and again, changing his approach to match her better. That's what she feels, that's what she enjoys.

And once she starts, the floodgates open. She loves the black noodles. She is so happy, she is relieved. There was this huge resistance that she couldn't get past before, but Eliot persisting helped her to break past that and now that she is out of her head about it she can enjoy the food in a way she never has before. Because she feels his love for her in it.

Eliot

Eliot is trying so hard to connect to Parker. It's not really different from what I said in the last Eliot section, and basically the same as what I just said in that Parker section, but I want to emphasize a little more just how much this is about love on his end.

Eliot loves Parker. He loves her, and he wants so much to help her. It doesn't honestly matter that he does this with food, except for the fact that food is what matters so deeply to Eliot himself. He can't reach out to her in the same way through any other medium. And we don't get to see his reaction to Parker's moment of realization. But I think it would be such a deep sense of joy. This is as fulfilling for Eliot as it is for Parker. It's exactly what Eliot has been hoping for this whole episode, to teach someone else to see food in the same way he does. It doesn't matter if it only lasts for a moment or a single meal. That's enough. He has been the support Parker needed through this time of self-doubt. And it is all the more meaningful to him because this isn't just a random student, this is Parker.

He told her he loves her through his food, again and again, and she eventually felt it. She understood. That must mean so much to him.

.

I wanna end with one more brief note on Parker. Does she get her own "thing" this episode? No. No she does not, and this scene shows us that. Parker is not suddenly interested in food or cooking. The importance of that meal was purely derived from Eliot on the other end of it, focused on her and trying his best to reach out to her.

And I don't think this is something only Eliot could have done for her either, not really. The difference between him and the others this episode is mostly in persistence. However, it's also about her mentality. Hardison has built/done things for Parker before and she felt them just as deeply - but the context was different. She wasn't looking for a sense of beauty or art in the world at large then, and so even though she felt the love in the gift just as much, it didn't make her feel like she could find that kind of emotion in other things. She just wasn't looking for it. Also, it was made easier for Eliot to reach out because there's that connection Parker has with him, that understanding that they are on the same level somehow. She doesn't feel that with Hardison - and she loves him all the more for him being different from her, but he also I think can intimidate her with how good and open he is, with how much he can feel in so many different directions. It's part of why she got so worried about herself not being able to do so this episode.

Like, the team has scolded Nate for not having a life or interests of his own outside the job not too terribly long ago! And Parker has had her own joys before! But she isn't seeing that this episode, too caught up in this fear about not having her own 'thing', not feeling anything that way. So while anyone could have helped her through this, it was easiest for her to let Eliot do so + for him to understand what she needed from him. (Hardison in particular was rudely robbed the opportunity, but they all love and support her and could have reached her. Not to detract from Eliot doing so, but also I don't wanna sound like no other method of reaching out would've worked.)

But as soon as she feels something once with Eliot's help, that relaxes those fears. And then Parker is free to look in other places. She remembers Nate's comment about art, and maybe even tells him what she plans based on him knowing where she is at the end of the episode. And then she goes to visit this statue. In her own way which means breaking in, but without any goal of taking it. She just goes to look at the art. And she feels something again.

Parker doesn't gain some big passion at the end of this episode. She doesn't need to. She never did. She just learns how to let herself relax from that restrictive frame of mind. To simply be in the moment and enjoy things for the sake of what they are. To feel - not really in any way she was incapable of before, but intentionally now. It's a quiet victory, in the end. It doesn't mean she's going to get a new hobby or change her lifestyle at all really. But she's let go of a fear and is now intentionally seeking out new connections with the world beyond her once-limited parameters.

[sabrina-central]

What are your top 10 favorite MLB characters?

Oof top ten? I barely like these bitches afdjgojfrayeljgpiyigsyd okay okay fr tho let me think...

10) Lila - I think there's a lot of potential there, and if they just tap into it more often she might go higher on the list. I don't have high hopes that they will tho but I guess we'll see.

9) Zoe - what can I say, I love me a blank slate with a personality trait that I can relate to and use as a baseline to project on. Half of the fun of a character to me is trying to infer as much subtext as possible, and while I prefer having more text to work with as opposed to less, I also can't resist a challenge. Also, she has a cute design and I'm a bit of a simp like that.

8) Chloe - yes I'm putting her above Zoe and yes I like her more but as you can see based on the numbers, it's not by much. Chloe could best be summed up by the word potential imo. There's so much the writers could have done with her and still can if they bother to try, but at this point I've given up all hope that they'll take her anywhere interesting at all. Forget positive, I don't think they plan on making her anything more than a one note, shallow cardboard cutout or a caricature, a cliche used to conviniently move the plot along. Honestly she should be ranked lowest, shouldn't even be on this list with how she's being written recently. But I've reserved her a spot on the list because she did earn it at one point. As far as I'm concerned, this represents what she was, what she could've been, and what she forever will be in my heart.

7) Alya - I wanna like you girl, please be more likeable. Fr tho Alya is such a polarising character and I'm not even touching on fan reception and discourse and controversies, I don't feel at all qualified to talk about any of that. I mean she's polarising to me personally, in that when she's written well she's written really super well but when she isn't or when something she does rubs me the wrong way and it isn't properly addressed by the characters or story, it really pisses me off. There's something very compelling about Alya as a character, as even just a concept, a hero obsessed, genre savvy, cool and confident ride or die bestie who's super down for whatever whacky shenanigans the world throws at her, and it's remarkably easy to fuck up and make her unbearable at times. Overall I love her lots I just wish I could do that more consistently. Then again nothing is consistent in this fucking show, least of all the characterization of central characters, which brings me to!

6) Nino - FUCK ROCKETEAR, ALL MY HOMIES HATE ROCKETEAR. I'm so fucking mad at what that episode did to him! Nino doesn't do this!! He doesn't go around jumping to the worst conclusions about his girlfriend and a hero of Paris based on a movie that HE KNOWS is FICTIONAL and MADE BY A DUDE WHO DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE ACTUAL PEOPLE THE CHARACTERS IN IT ARE BASED ON! that's what sparks the conflict btw, if you recall, Rena Rouge and Chat Noir having a romance, IN THE MOVIE!!!! aside from this character assassinating episode tho, Nino is a consistently good character, one of very few, really. He's immediately down to be friends with Adrien the moment he meets him, he's got beef with authority figures like all good radical youths should, and he's fiercely protective over the people he cares about which really should be brought up more often even when he isn't Carapace in the episode, because it's one of his best qualities imo. And between movie directing and DJing, he's lowkey a pretty creative and even organized guy. He's a cool dude and deserves better from the writing of the show. And speaking of characters that deserve better!

5) Sabrina - surprise bitches! What, did you think she'd be number one? Come on, give me a little more credit than that! Do I love her? Yes. Is she my favorite? Also yes. Do these facts hold up when I compare her to other characters? ...weeeeeeelllllllllll. okay listen. She's great, she's cute, she's amazing, and there's both a lot of subtext to be inferred and a lot of text to be dived into and analyzed and think about. But all that being said, there's still not a whole lot to go on, not much to work with really. Even as a super mega hardcore Sabrina Stan, I can recognize that a lot of what I think and how I feel about her is headcanons and theories meant to fill the gap and self projection meant to help me relate to her more as I already do somewhat with the canon of her character, so I wish to extend that further. However, despite all this, who she is in canon, and more importantly who she could be if given the chance, and by that I mean a real chance that isn't immediately taken away from her by the end of the episode and makes her think she has no choice but to go back to what she's always been (I'm looking at you, Evillustrator), is very near and dear to my heart. And just for that, she earned the sweet middle spot on this list.

And with the list running so long already and my battery at 2%, I think I'll wrap it up here for now. And if you still want a part two after reading through this hot mess, please just let me know!

[oumakokichi]

I've seen your ranking, and I wonder why you like Juzo so much ? I can't help but think his redemption doesn't outweight his previous actions. He helped stopping the killing game but that was him fixing something he did and saving someone he cared about, which isn't selflessness. He assaulted people for reasons that were petty or unjustified, so it felt really forced when he saved Naegi. Also, he let Junko end the world because he didn't want Munakata to know he was gay ? Please enlighten me.

Personally, I like Juzo becausehe’s not supposed to be a selfless or a sweet or softhearted character. If Juzohad stopped the killing game for any of those kinds of reasons, or if dr3 hadsuddenly tried to play Juzo off as a character who was entirely selfless foreveryone’s sake, I’d have been incredibly disappointed. But as it is, Juzo’scharacter development was one of the few things dr3 managed to do right.

Juzo scores #3 on my personalcharacter ranking because he’s an incredibly well-written and flawed characterwho is given his own autonomy and has a compelling arc of development. He’s alsopretty much the embodiment of the Undying Loyalty trope, something I like in mycharacters—and even better is that dr3 managed to emphasize that that’s hisstrength and his weakness at the same time.

In a lot of ways, Juzo remindsme of a better-done Maki. Like Maki, Juzo is a bit of a throwback to some other“killing machine” characters, like Mukuro and Peko. While SHSL Boxer is a farcry away from SHSL Soldier, Swordswoman, or Assassin, it’s still a fact thatJuzo is thought of first and foremost as hired muscle, by Munakata, Tengan,Kizakura, and pretty much everyone else in the Future Foundation. He’s meant toact as an enforcer, act first and ask questions later—and he’s perfectly finewith that.

Juzo is no strategist or ideasman by any means, but he’s aware of that. His forte is punching problems untilthey go away, so that’s what he does, the same way that Maki’s first instinctis to eliminate a target so they’re out of her life completely.

But Maki’s characterdevelopment is ultimately hampered by having to center around Momota’scharacter, and all the frustratingly misogynistic “life lessons” he gives herabout how “women should take care of children, not use weapons,” “women shouldlook cute, not work as a hired assassin” etc. Juzo, on the other hand, doesn’thave that problem, because the sad fact of the matter is that male characterswho are cold and aloof and think of themselves as weapons will receive bettertreatment from the writers than female characters with the same flaws.

Just as Maki prioritizes Momotaover everything and everyone else in the group, Juzo does exactly the samething with Munakata. But again, unlike Maki, whose coldness and recklessnessalmost never gets called out by the narrative (not even when she tried to killeveryone else in Chapter 5, for which she received a slap on the wrist atmost), dr3 pretty much spends all its time calling Juzo out. And that’s exactlywhat I like. There’s hardly a character in Future Arc who didn’t allude to Juzo’sfeelings for Munakata or lampshade the fact that Juzo would throw everyone elseunder the bus in two seconds if Munakata asked him to. Characters like Kizakurawere smart enough to realize that Juzo will get angrier on behalf of Munakatathan he will on behalf of himself, even. And this is a good way to highlightthe fact that loyalty isn’t always a good character trait necessarily.

Juzo absolutely didn’tsacrifice himself for everyone else’s sake—he only did it for Munakata’s. IfMunakata hadn’t been involved in the killing game, I have no doubt that Juzowouldn’t have given two shits about pretty much anyone else involved, exceptmaybe Chisa or Seiko, who were in their same faction. But he wouldn’t have goneto the lengths he did to stop the game just for their sake. What really madehis sacrifice powerful and memorable is the fact that he was willing to stopthe game, willing to cut off an arm, all for the person he cared most about inthe entire world.

Juzo’s loyalty is tragicbecause it’s his primary character trait, both his strongest advantage and hisgreatest weakness. It’s tragic because he was loyal to someone who ultimatelynever felt the same way about him, who doubted him and suspected him and neveronce really had those same feelings towards him. His sacrifice to end thekilling game isn’t supposed to be taken as some selfless gesture for the group—it’sa gesture meant for Munakata only, and Munakata still arrives too late, unableto really understand or appreciate the lengths Juzo went for him.

I would hesitate to say Juzowas seeking redemption with his actions. Atonement, perhaps, but redemptionimplies receiving recognition and forgiveness from everyone he ever wronged.And there’s none of that with Juzo. Juzo’s hot temper, his excessive violence,and his pettiness are never excused by the narrative or played off as somecutesy character trait. If anything, the reason he saved Naegi is because he’sstill as angry and petty as ever.

He didn’t save Naegi for anygrand, overarching ideal. He didn’t do it because he wound up agreeing withNaegi’s idea of “hope,” or anything like that. No, in the end, Juzo saved Naegionly because he was angry at him—for having defeated Junko where Juzo keptquiet about her, for reminding him constantly of the ways in which he fuckedup, of his own role in the way the world is now.

By dr3, Naegi was essentiallyrevealed as some grand savior who stopped the Big Bad Enoshima Junko and herdespair with his platitudes about hope. For him to just give up and die supereasily from the same despair-brainwashing video that killed everyone else wasthe biggest anticlimax—it was anticlimactic and pathetic enough that it pissedJuzo off, and that’s why he savedNaegi.

This is also perhaps a bitoff-topic to the subject, but I’ve always been curious as to why people actedlike Juzo was more irredeemable for being violent and reckless and punchingpeople early on in dr3 than many characters who have actually committed murderor other atrocities. DR is a series about murder and death and killing—and yetJuzo was immediately deemed a more unforgivable, awful monster than characterswho have killed without any remorse whatsoever. I suspect it has something todo with the fact that many people were mostly angry about who Juzo was punching or kicking, rather than the fact that he wasviolent and reckless in general.

After all, without knowingalmost anything about Mitarai or his character, people were very up in arms about Juzo kicking himin episode 2 of Future Arc, because he seemed cute, innocent, and everyone waspegging him for an “innocent cinnamon roll.” People then said that this wasbecause Juzo got killed Bandai killed by violating his NG code—but it’s not asif Juzo did it intentionally knowing that Bandai couldn’t witness any violence.He was just as surprised as everyone else when Bandai died. But I stilldistinctly remember people bending over backwards to say that this automaticallymeant Juzo was the worst character in the franchise, despite the fact thatthere are many DR characters who have intentionally done much worse.

As for the final part of yourask, about Juzo “letting Junko end the world”… Haha, I guess this is somethingyou could probably only understand if you can relate with Juzo on a personallevel. If you honestly blame him more for Junko’s actions than Junko herself, Idon’t really know what to tell you. What Junko did to him was blackmail. It wasinsidious, horrible, and the absolute worst-case scenario for Juzo. It was “despair.”If you can’t understand the fear of being outed, especially to the person you careabout the most, then you’re probably very lucky, anon.

As someone who is gay andsomeone who has been outed to abusive family, I can say that it goes beyondjust normal fear. Gay people aren’t afraid of being outed to their friends andcrushes and family because “oh no, someone will know that I’m gay.” We’reafraid of being outed because there is always a chance that people we loved andtrusted will immediately turn on us when they know, will look at us and call us“monsters,” “evil,” “sinful”—all of which I actually did have thrown at me whenmy family found out.

Juzo wasn’t afraid of much, buthe was afraid of Munakata finding outand recoiling from him, disowning him as a friend, wanting nothing to do withhim anymore. Not knowing how Munakata felt was preferable because it meant henever had to face the “what-if” possibility of Munakata finding out andtreating him like he was “disgusting” for it. If that had happened, that wouldtruly have been “despair” for him.

He was blackmailed andpressured and manipulated into keeping quiet about Junko the same way thatJunko either manipulated or intimidated or brainwashed everyone into keepingquiet and doing what she said. It makes absolutely no sense, in my opinion, tohold Juzo more accountable for “letting Junko end the world” when Junko is theone who did it. And to be entirely honest, if Junko hadn’t been having so muchfun holding that threat over Juzo’s head and seeing his reactions, she would’vejust killed him. The only reason she let him live was to make him sufferfurther—but if he had seemed like he would’ve told Munakata regardless (andJunko could’ve predicted if he would’ve, I have no doubt), then she wouldn’thave let him leave those school grounds alive.

This has gotten pretty long,but I hope I’ve been able to summarize my thoughts pretty well. Juzo is mythird-favorite character in the franchise for many reasons. He’s well-written,his flaws and mistakes are never downplayed by the narrative or turned into anendearing character trait, and I can relate with him on a very personal level.I was overjoyed when he was confirmed gay, even moreso when it wasn’t played asa joke or retconned in future episodes. Dr3 didn’t contribute much to thefranchise overall, but Juzo was at least one really incredible character tocome out of it. Thanks for asking, anon!

[an-idiot-but-a-bit-more-refined]

I was laying in bed thinking of something and this made me laugh  for like a split second, then I got mad and then I started crying a little because, I imagined that I was a lecturer and I had to teach a group of Baby Swen about why their new fandom home was the way it was.

Me: Hello Babies, Mommy's back!

Student in the back: Sweet! Evil Queen references.. Umm, professor, I have a question.

Me: Yes?

Student: Why are our fandom grandmothers, mothers and aunts against Eddie and Adam writing Swan Queen?

Me, sighing gently: Darling, we're not against them writing it, but we have our reservations on the way they ARE writing it and most likely would attempt to write it.

Student in the back seems confused. Pauses slightly before nodding. I write down a topic that blankets the class discussion. "Swan Queen". BABY SWENS WHISPER AND SNICKER WITH EXCITEMENT, but I sigh once again. Someone notices

Student: Professor?

Me: Yes?

Student: What's the matter?

Me, slightly conflicted to do said discussion, but I feel it is needed.

Me: The issue the fandom is facing my dear younglings has to do with an ever running war on Tropes, Tokenism, Sexism and just all around 'fandom fuckery' as we've coined it. Some of you- rather, most of you may be familiar with how savagely Swen are dogged for wanting something that represents this current day and age. Be it a fairy tale that's never been told, or simple recognition in a way that does not make us feel as though we've been given a half-assed story that's tossed after it's done what writers and show runners believe it's supposed to...no-no, Your home- THIS home is a home that has to fight for the equality so that the younger generation may reap the benefits of the fight. Now, this may sound tragic- or seem catty, but I assure you, Swen are not known to be such. We like to leave that to...what was that other group's name, again?

Student with all the smart ass comments whom I adore: Crap tainted Swan!

Me: Yes, them.

I begin to write down a few categories and immediately hands go up.

Student: Professor, what exactly do you mean when you say- they will fuck it up?

Me: Precisely what I wrote. The Swan Queen fandom is not fond of being lied to, deceived or played for fools my young one. We know as well as anyone that 'pushing' is a thing for two overly hetero-normative men who run to Captain Swan with open arms and away from Swan Queen with eyes shut and ears deafened, will somehow manage to mess up a perfectly good story to tell.

Student somewhere in the corner: And when you say they'll make it more difficult- what does that mean?

Me: It means that Our ladies are difficult apart- NOT together and yet the writers seem to bring that as some valid way to deter the pairing. They believe by forcing these characters to appear as though they'd be difficult together would make it hard for them to have a lasting relationship. Trying to deter someone by creating this aura that they simply can't be around one another long enough before they become snarky and catty for all the wrong reasons is absolute bull. If anything- we have proof of countless times they have preferred to be with one another simply because it was obvious of the safety they felt. The care and concern they felt.

Student: Oh, so you mean like- Regina's stubborn and sassy and sarcastic when she and Emma are apart and when they work together, she's still sassy and sarcastic it's just in reference to everyone else and not Emma... it's like they're trying to make you think that Regina can't stand being around Emma when the only time we see the real Regina is when she's with Emma-or Henry-

Me, highly impressed: -exactly!

Another student in the front raises their hand: So, that ties into your next point of it being predictable doesn't it?

Me: It does. Have you all seen the consistent template that's written for a queer character?

They all nod and someone with a good bit of brains stands up to go on a miniature rant.

Student: Yeah, I have and it sucks. There's always the one gay character- (he manages to say with an eye roll.) But then there's all these other 'templates' that are stereotypical. Like if they do marry Emma off to Hook and she magically realizes she doesn't love him or that she's gay, they use Regina and it becomes that thing where the lesbian or in Regina's case- the bisexual, quote on quote 'turns' the straight housewife and she realizes she never needed a man; just some good love.. Or one of them dies- or in their case, both of them apparently.. isn't that what was happening in season six?

Someone whispers, Lexa deserved better and puts up a fist. Other students nod at the other baby Swen and agree.

Student who laughs sarcastically all the time: Or how about this one, She realizes she's not gay either after a bunch of passionate nights with Regina and then she goes back to.. the one handed wonder.. God, don't let her get pregnant-

Other Student yells in pain: -DEAR GOD, PLEASE DON'T GIVE ME IMAGES OF ANOTHER WHINY VERSION OF HOOK! But let's not forget the ones who argue all the time and can't keep a stable relationship and are secretive and all that other junk the L Word made beyond obvious.And if that's not bad enough, they both get beards and are tortured for seasons with men they have no chemistry with and these are women who have chemistry with brick walls and can't even make that shit work-

Me: -Alright.. alright, focus. Yes, these are the templates I'm referring to. But let us not forget the ones that gay male characters also go through.

Someone snorts because they only have one template for gay males.

Student: You mean they're difficult and mysterious and cute little twinks who get thrown with other cute twinks or big buff guys with daddy issues and bam- magical ending?

Me: Correct..moving on.. The third points says-

I'm interrupted as they all say it together

Students: Tokenism!

Me: This is just the TV way of saying affirmative action.. Fanciful in meaning isn't it?

Student: It's trash!

Me: Yes, I do suppose it is... however, would someone like to express why the word tokenism still would apply to Swan Queen?

Hands immediately go up.

Student: Well, if we're being honest here, We already got it once before and we don't even know what the deal is with that story anymore...Swen fears that tokenism can still be a thing for Swan Queen because Eddie and Adam only attempt Swan Mills episodes when their ratings drop and as that becomes a case, so does the question of will they just do Swan Queen to stay on the air and never explore it the way they should... We've been hearing of season seven being the final season and our worry is no longer that they will fuck it up. Quite frankly we don't even want them to write it anymore, we'll take it off their hands and make our own show out of it. The problem arises when they create the asinine plan to use it as a last minute crutch to 'go out with a bang' or something. Like, What if this season completely tanks it and season seven is in fact the last season,right? They get the plan, Hmm maybe we should do Swan Queen in the last episode and that'll justify all of the crap we've put these people through, just to say they did something some grande and amazing thing for us, when in reality, they were trying to save their shitty revenue.

Student directly adjacent: Can I add on to that?

Other student nods.

Student: It really is sad though when we were willing to settle for anything- any sort of thing, just to know we were being heard no matter how much we fought- no matter how much our fandom grandmothers have fought. I think deep down, a lot of us know they just won't do it, like they really won't and even if they do, the luxury of it has just faded. The luxury of it would have faded and they'll try to force it to be overly gooey and 'loving' or cutesy when that's not what we asked for. We asked for a story that was true to life and very much so a proper representation for us all. We asked for a story that proved that strong women can work together and fall in love with one another. That they go through ups and downs and doubts and sticking things out and believing in one another and all of the other good things we've seen.... If we get it, if we are blessed enough to have Swan Queen- We'll be happy, but we'll be tired. We'll be exhausted and still disappointed that it had to come to this for us to be heard... I don't think we'll ever be as happy as we were the first day in season one when they met, if only because of the pain and heartbreak and the amount of horrible things that have been said to us just seems to, hit too many nails in our coffins. The fight will never be over, and we have accepted that, but I think everyone's getting tired of having to fight for something that shouldn't even be in question... and it's not to say we've lost our drive or we're losing hope. We're just done with trying to tell men who clearly don't understand that this is a revolution that needs to happen. This is a change that needs to be seen.. we're done trying to prove something we have too much evidence for to still be called delusional and reaching and all those other things. Everyone's tired of watching some forced 'chemistry' dictate how women should be treated and seen in this world. We're tired of seeing people be criminalized and denied a second chance at a love that won't leave or die on them i.e Regina.. We're done and we are tired of feeling like what we watch is what it will always be- nothing but a dream, an illusion... A fucking fairytale.

Silence encompasses the room and everyone thinks on it. (I legit cried when I thought about this part, so I'm sorry)

Me: We are tired, young ones.. we are, but we fight for us and we fight for you until it's over. We march for us and we march for you until we die and you are right, we have not lost hope.. we've just lost that many damns to give on speaking to a group of people who choose not to understand.... And maybe it is true, maybe we truly won't be fulfilled even if they do give us what we asked for.. what we've pleaded for.. and maybe it will make it all seem like it was in vain and maybe we will feel like we've accomplished nothing because we had to force hand for them to cave or pressure them... your grandmothers, mothers and aunts for this fandom realized many things.. we will not force anyone to give us anything. We will peacefully protest the injustice, but if we are not given what we rightly deserve.... we move on from trying with them and you know what we do? We make a world of our own. Eddie and Adam didn't give Swan Queen life... we did, and you did. They didn't see what we saw. They didn't understand it and they clearly didn't want any part of it, but the dream lives on. The reality lives on- the world keep spinning and life goes on and guess what, so will the memory of Swan Queen....Now I need you all to say this last point with me..together we will do this..

Even if nothing happens. Even if your words fall on deaf ears to some, remember the many that you have made hear you. Remember the many who sat with you and held your hands and kept you together...when things fall away and the glamour goes goodbye, remember your reality, your worth and yourself in all of this- Remember YOUR fight.. Through all things, every hard moment and every distressing situation.. for every negative message- comes ten thousand positive soldiers. Fight on and keep hope..

When you open your mouth and words come out and you say "May I have your attention please?" Remember that those who listen are those who wish to hear.... Remember that your fight is a plea to be heard and someone will listen.. remember that actions and words are one and you fuel them. Remember that when the world around you dies- you are to flourish and bring light back to it... remember that you fight for you just as you fight for me and I do the same... remember from now until the end of time that you've done your part in this world and if it never happens... still, keep hope, because maybe, just maybe...one day it will

With Love, Megan

[cutegirlmayra]

I have a prompt: in a version of Mobius where Blaze and Marine isn't from another dimension and Silver is from the present, the three of them share a house. As Blaze's birthday is soon, Marine and Silver tries to plan the best birthday she could've ever wished for

I usually don’t do AU’s too often, and in the writing society, birthday episodes are very predictable, but they still happen. I’m excited to do something other than what I usually do, but I had to look at this a moment and try and think of something interesting I could do with it that won’t be super predictable.

Let me clarify, I’m super hyped to have your prompt! It’s a cute one! I like the prospect, I’m just conflicting with the ‘wanting to be a professional’ in me, verses ‘I want to write this!!’ in me. lol

So your idea is good! I stating the information to explain why this story may seem a little dull :) (I’m just not good enough -cry-) It’s hard for a writer to do something creative with a Birthday episode, but i’ll do my best! (I learned that at a Comic Con panel of famous writers, some for Teen Titans! :D)

World: Major AU. (Silver and Marine… I may need to change them for canon/personality purposes. But I shall do my best! :D)

Couple/Motive: Blaze’s birthday is set up by Marine and Silver.

Summary: -listed above with slight variations to try and make it more compelling as a plot-oriented story… So… no living together.)

Prompt:

“W-…what?” Silver looked confused, hovering in the air as Marine swung her arms around, shouting.

“A stinkin’ party, mate! A’, you listenin’ ‘ere?! Don’tcha know what a party is!?”

“…Um…” Silver raised an eyebrow, folding his arms. “Is it to gather a team to protect something?” He genuinely seemed to guess.

“UGH!” Marine threw her arms up, rolling her eyes and giving up hope as she turned around and started stomping off, Grumbling something or other about birthdays and if he even had one.

Silver, worried he had offended her, quickly floated after her. “Have I said something wrong?” He looked clueless as he asked casually, but still with a hint of concern.

Marine spun around, taking control, as she stood upright like a true pirate captain would. “For your information, our friend, the princess, is approachin’ her birthday, ay. If we don’t do somethin’, mate; she’s gonna be all alone.”

Silver, unsure of the meaning, narrowed his eyes in curiosity, “Birth…day?” he knew what birth was, and for a second, he thought she was referring to Blaze possibly being pregnant. When he put the two together, he quickly shook off the idea and looked back to Marine, puzzled. “So… it’s the date of her birth?”

“Yes! Congrats! The future boy can learn somethin’ for a change!” She once again turned around and headed towards the home. “She’ll be home any minute from her daily patrol. We should hurry and think of something fast!”

“Fast… yes… Something that could help her… why are we needing to help her? Is she alright?”

She abruptly stopped again, turning around with annoyance, and having a deeply fierce frown on her face, looking over her shoulder.

Silver flinched back, raising a hand up to crook it, looking slightly fearful and sad he had upset her with his questioning; frowning as well.

“Birth. Day. The two words combined represent a fusion of gift-givin’ and celebration for an individual. Did I say that to yer understandin’?” she spoke slowly, and with precision, which was uncommon for her natural tone and speech.

He nodded, “So… you celebrate when you were born? That’s.. different.” he smiled, looking up and thinking about the idea.

“The future don’t have those?” she drooped her eyelids, looking slightly amused at that. “Sad future.” she then replied.

As the two walked to the house, she motioned her hand in a fanning gesture back to him, while speaking as she walked with her head high and eyes closed. “I’ll go do the decor, ye get the present, comprehend-o?” She slightly mocked, as Silver stopped hovering and looked around, before looking surprised and seeming to take the objective seriously.

He took a serious stance in the air, straightening his back and looking firm in his conviction. “I’ll do my best.” he nodded.

“Geez, don’t be so serious with me!” She shook her head. “Just get on with it!”

“R-right. A gift… a gift… gift…” he looked at the ground, looking around. He saw something and his face lit up.

He moved closer to it, examining it on the beach, before finding another, and another, and quickly gathering the objects. ‘They’re not much…’ he thought to himself. ‘But maybe she’ll like this..?’

Coming outside, Marine took a deep breath, letting it out as she cleaned up Blaze’s humble home by the seashore that they often shared on adventures, and even dusted for a change!

Marine had spent the day making the house look decorative, though… it was her best attempt, Silver flew up and showed off what he wanted to do. She scoffed him at first, asking him whatever happened too ‘useful’ but he mentioned that Blaze might like something pretty, being that she usually doesn’t have time to sit and stare, maybe something to take with her.

Touched by his thinking, Marine looked back with a raised eyebrow, having before questioned him, before smiling sweetly, stating, “Maybe ye’re not such a dummy afterall.” she said this lovingly, in her own way.

The two spent the rest of the time they had making the present, as Blaze soon came close to her home, wiping her head and opening the door, seeing the lights off.

“…Now?”

“Shut yer trap!”

“…Hello?” Blaze took a stance, ready for anything, but slowly did so, not sure what this was, but keeping her defenses up, just in case.

“Surprise!” Silver shouted in the dark.

“Dummy!” Marine hit him upside the head, and then turned on the lights, folding her arms for a moment. “Well, that was a bust.” she concluded, before putting a tooting pipe in her mouth and blowing out of it.

She coughed, seeing as it was a spare part she had, probably wasn’t a clean thing to put to her lips…

“What… is all this?” Blaze looked around, confused. “Silver..?” she turned to him.

“Heheh…” he sweatdrop slightly, before looking away. “I heard from Marine, your friend, that you were having your birthday arrive soon. As in, the date of your birth, and since we’ve been allies for so long, I felt honored to serve in the tradition.” he put a hand to his heart, and bowed. “I hope I did it some justice..”

She was still confused, but smiled slightly at the gesture.

She looked to Marine, “Thank you. I wasn’t even aware it was my birthday…”

“WHAT!?” Marine looked as though she could leap out of her skin, jumping up straight in the air. “Yer kiddin’ me, right!?” she hollered, as Blaze and Silver looked a little more awkward at her outburst as she rambled on.

Silver then pulled out the present. “This is for you.” he handed it to her.

“W…what?” Blaze took the gift hesitantly. “You… really shouldn’t have.” her tail started to wag.

In her curiosity and excitement, she touched the package lovingly, skimming it’s surface.

She smiled sweetly.

Silver looked overjoyed, but kept it inside, and looked back to smile fondly at her swaying tail.

He chuckled slightly, bouncing his shoulders as he tried to keep the action secret. “I hope you enjoy it’s beauty.” he nodded, closing his eyes for a moment as he did.

“H-hey! I wanted to give it to ‘er!” Marine stomped forward, before leaning up to look, being too short to see very well.

Blaze looked down and smiled, before having a neutral expression, and opening the package. “What… is it..?”

“That’s a shell-necklace.” Marine proudly stated, rubbing the tip of her ear at her handiwork. “Silver collected the shiny shells and I strung them up with little drilled-through pearls I had deep-sea dived for recently. I thought it was a good idea.” she rocked on her heels, as Silver smiled kindly to her, but seemed also like he was respecting her acknowledgement of him with caution…

“This… is…” she pulled it out, as it dangled before her.

Her face held a frown, as the two worried for a moment stepping out in front of her to examine her face more closely.

She held it close to her heart, “Thank you… I’ve never been given a gift before.” she was holding back her emotions, but the two understood her well enough to get that, and their expressions changed to understanding.

“Aw, yer welcome! Go on, then! Princess of fire, now the princess of the beauty of the sea!” Marine hopped to take the necklace and then jumped higher again to put it around her neck, as Blaze looked touched still, and lowered herself in a bow to have the necklace placed around her, slightly curtsying as she did so; giving added shortness for Marine to gain the advantage in her jump.

She stepped a little to the side, looking down at it.

She lightly touched the beautiful shells… all with slightly different color pigments in shine… “Em. I shall cherish it. From the two of you, I feel deeply honored as well.” she smiled to Silver, poking a slight jab at him.

Marine burst out laughing, “Ye better! Took me forever to gather those pearls! har har har!” she laughed like a pirate, putting her hands to her stomach and leaning back…

The two looked at her strange laugh, before each other, and mused a chuckle themselves, smiling at the last sounds with closed mouths before looking back to Marine’s antics.

(I don’t know Marine very well, and the little research I did wasn’t very fulfilling… half was archie, and that made me question everything. But I hope I did this decent. Her accent was HARD. Australia, mate. And Silver sounded too dumb in some lines, and I tried to make him more attempting to understand than anything, a good, gentle soul lol xD bless his heart. And Blaze? Very to herself and not too open with emotions. Overall, I don’t know how this came out, I was hanging out with my friend while writing this and got distracted, but I hope it worked well enough!!! :DDD)