#meanwhile with eps like these I cannot even choose

[zelkam]

— the untamed (2019), episode 27

[clairedaring]

preliminary thoughts on my stand-in ep.6

i actually have quite a few thoughts on msi ep 6 but because i was/am busy moving out and settling in a new house this week, i completely forgot to join the msi discussion space on twitter 🥲

perhaps if i have time this weekend, i'll have a proper post for my thoughts. but i'm also very scared of accidentally spoiling things for others (although i do think non-novel reader audience are spoiling themselves way more with their 95% accurate theories than my vague novel spoilers here and there)

but in general, i really like the following points:

i like how confused ming looked throughout ep6 because you can feel that there's this conflicting feeling in him about trying to get close with joe 2.0 while still missing joe 1.0

ming getting himself a role into this film to get close with joe 2.0

i was so glad they kept joe breaking into his house again to 'ruin' his crime scene so we got that scene of him wanting to break the kintsugied cat mugs but he just couldn't bare to do so. ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ

joe trying to make ming drunk was really funny because i feel like ming was fully aware of what joe was trying to do anyway but he just let himself get drunk because joe 2.0 reminded him so much of joe 1.0

joe putting ming to bed pleaseeee that's the fucking joe i know and love. being kind (to the shitty ex that kidnapped and cause you to be blacklisted from the industry) does not make you weak. and joe knows that.

sol describing joe PERFECTLY like how i've been yelling about him the past two weeks. joe is SELFLESS and HUMBLE. he simply cannot trouble others AND will take on the pain himself. -> which also explains joe choosing the worst money lender out of all the financial aid offers thrown at him

joe resisting ming during all the kisses in ep.6 until the very last kiss where ming pulled out after joe gave in •́⁠ ⁠ ⁠‿⁠ ⁠,⁠•̀

joe refusing to believe ming could actually love joe 1.0 and choosing to think that ming still likes tong even after he saw the kintsugied cat mugs and ming saying he REALLY MISS P'JOEEEEE when he was drunk.

my stand-in ep 6 really captures well the contents of chapters 50-60 of professional body double. one of the most engrossing things about the 188 novels is how the protagonist ends up in a tangled relationship with the scum ml again in the wife chasing arc. more often than not, 188 scum mls tend to threaten to harm or isolate mcs from their friends and family. which is why i really liked how this was handled in pbd/msi because joe got to negotiate his term and deliberately chose to make this devil's deal with ming on his own, meanwhile ming isn't out there ruining sol's life and his money is gonna actually help mom ing.

[alexiethymia]

ML s5e9 Elation

I loved it and I have a lot to say

Marichat given and taken in one ep. *sobs*

Marinette is having a hard time of it. She’s just a fourteen year old girl, and every time she has a crush, everything goes wrong.

Andre represents the hardcore shippers. He represents all of us.

This ep was insidious. Hawkmoth knowing Marinette is Chat Noir’s weakness is dangerous. But it is also hilarious in that I am absolutely sure he’s going to want Marinette around more often for the chance to manipulate her which gives more chances for Adrien to make her fall for him again which means Gabriel is both endangering and helping out his son’s love life. Good luck with your avoiding Adrien plan, Marinette!

Adrien is amazing. His heart and strength and kindness and ethics is amazing to me. Marinette needs that reassurance of Chat Noir loving Marinette, but also can’t help but feel hurt he no longer loves Ladybug. Meanwhile, Adrien despite having what he wants being literally there for the taking (and make no mistake he wants Marinette desperately, that doped out look proves it, he probably has since way back that first time she kissed him), has enough sense and conscience to get a hold of himself. I really appreciate this show taking the time to explain the power imbalance of loving a superhero with a secret identity (which I think applies in a lot of scenarios) and that despite how much Marinette wants it, Adrien won’t even take the tiniest risk of taking advantage of her

In connection to the above, it is his utterly selfless care for the people he loves that saved this love square from getting even more complicated. Despite how much hurt he must feel like probably having lost Marinette because it felt heavy to love him (and to find out she loves his alter-ego which must compound his self-confidence issues), Adrien of all people to hear that and to think that Marinette might have been burdened with loving him, what with all his hang ups about fame and loneliness, to still not take the easy way out as Chat Noir - I just, I just really have to applaud him. He’s come such a long way from that boy who let his jealousy akumatize someone. This may be a kid’s show but I lived (and guiltily loved) through some problematic shoujo leads so Adrien has always been refreshing to me in so many ways. I loved him as Adrien and Chat Noir in determination, so I’m really excited to see his progression throughout season five.

Marinette is amazingly brave, but Adrien too is unbelievably courageous with his heart. Multiple times he serves his heart on a platter, but rather than be cynical, he still chooses to be true to himself. It is this eternal optimism, in contrast to Marinette’s pessimism (which she has good reason to have, thinking you’ll end the world if you fall in love will do that to you), that allows him to face both Ladybug and Marinette, and rather than resent or even feel hurt by Marinette, psych himself up to win her over again. He can believe that Marinette would love anyone under the mask even though he hesitates to reveal himself now that he thinks Marinette must have been burdened when she loved him, because that’s how he felt/feels in regard to Ladybug. His hang-up is more on the secret identities thing. He wants to court her properly and honestly. He truly is a good boi.

Also, I cannot believe with how many speculations and theories we’ve had of how Marinette’s feelings for Adrien get revealed, she gets outed by ANDRE OF ALL PEOPLE?? I don’t know whether to call him king or clown. He’ll probably be overjoyed the moment they reveal their identities to each other, and he sees Adrien and Marinette holding hands and happy, as well as Ladybug and Chat Noir, like balance has been restored. (And then go berserk again and Glacer 4.0 the moment he sees Ladybug spiderman kissing Adrien Agreste in an alleyway or something.)

[its-chelisey-stuff]

Love Between Fairy and Devil eps 1-10 (thoughts and feels!)

It's been a while since I made a post like this (and since I wrote one this long lol) but it feels right that it is about this drama. Because I love it!!! IT'S AMAZING!! I was suffering a drama slump and then decided to give this a chance, pressed play and now this has become my new personality! I love every second of this deliciously glorious, well-told, magficently acted and gorgeously looking drama!!

It's even more amazing because I didn't think much of it in the beginning. Right on ep 1 I couldn't see what they hype was, but then it all changed on ep 2. I was wrong about you, drama!!! Forgive me, Moon Supreme lol. Also, so many kisses!!! Hehehe I always love it when dramas get creative with these or touching between OTPs and especially those who initially cannot tolerate each other. And the fact that the kisses here are actually a tool for the plot to keep evolving is *chef's kiss*

The fact that this is how he was freed and simultaneously trapped to her forever, is so silly, but I LOVE IT!!

And how funny is it that this evil lord, the most feared and powerful in all three realms, cannot touch a single hair on the head of this adorable and kinda silly fairy unless he wants to suffer the same as her??? hahaha and then he just decides to move in with her to keep her away from any potential danger for them? Which in turn ended up being the reason he has come to care for her in a surprisingly healthy manner for the "villain" of the drama.

I love that the progression of their story wasn't rushed but also, wasn't totally a slowburn. Cause even if they're not together after 10 eps, it's pretty clear the foundation of very strong feelings is already there (even if on Dongfang's part is more of a possesive feel rather than actually love or adoration, I'll take what I'm given as long they deliver my favorite tropes lol). They were reluctant at first (he wanted to kill her hahaha), then they got used to each other's company (he was exasperated with her), then they started to understand each other (I love that he didn't pity her, he just told her feelings were gonna be a problem for her, and she had many of them) and then they became friends and he was actually worried and was sincere in helping her. Also, everytime he was there to save or help her, I was madly cheering and clapping. It made me so giddy.

But of course that domestic life wasn't going to last forever and I love that the pace of it was just right.

BURN!! It is now that I see the value in having the villain of the story as the man who loves you, ‘cause he’d be devoted to you entirely, but the hero would choose to sacrifice you...not a good look, Changheng.

I've never seen anything Esther Yu has been in before, but she's so lovable and cute in her role as Orchid. At first I thought she was gonna be one of those overly cute and annoyingly stupid characters but nope! She manages to do something that I think it's hard, because barely anyone ever does it right. Most roles like this I've seen in the past, end up looking like a grown woman acting like a five year old, which is odd to say the least. But Esther's Orchid is wonderful and smart, and of course it makes perfect sense that a lovely character like her is what has melted Moon Supreme's cold exterior. Well, kinda.

Meanwhile, our second lead suffers from the sterotypical stupidity that made me sure within 5 eps that he was not gonna get the girl (I know, shocker), even though he had her in the palm of his hand (despite the odds being against him after he erased her memories of him!), but was too much of an idiot and a coward to actually grab her and to not let go. Still, I do not hate his character. I mean, he's a genuinely good God which in a xianxia drama is like finding a unicorn. Of course, I think Zhang LingHe does a very good job, even though I don't like his character that much.

One thought about this whole drama and my experience with it that couldn't be more true, is that I've never enjoyed Dylan Wang or any of his characters, as much as I have in this drama, with his performance of the Moon Supreme. He was born for this role and I never knew he had this much talent in him, but now I know, and everyone else!

And now, to watch ep 11, ‘cause they just changed bodies hahaha

[yjwhatif]

okay but can we talk about how saturn girl, chameleon boy and phantom girl (+ lor-zod, technically) are the only people who experienced and remember their timeline and presumably the only people who ever will (we'll see what happens in the remaining eps), and how awful that must be for them, but like. at least they have each other. meanwhile bart is completely alone in the experiences and memories of his timeline and always will be, has no one he can talk to who's also been through what he has

Not only is Bart alone in remembering his timeline experience, but he’s still surrounded by people that possibly still existed in his timeline. Obviously we only have confirmation on Neut and Jaime - but it must be a strange experience living amongst people who he potential has up to 40 years of history on - all of which he either can’t or chooses not to discuss. Managing perceptions is hard enough without an alternate timelines worth of information still in your head. Also I was doing a run through of Bart’s moments from S2 and what struck me this time was how nervous he seemed around having to talk to Black Canary in Cornered - and it just makes me more intrigued to know what Bart’s relationship is with the mandatory check in sessions - does he avoid them or just lie through them? I’m pretty sure he’s still not reached a point where he’s comfortable fully opening up yet to anyone - for the safety of the timeline and all. There may be small moments where he’ll say something and someone will pick up on it, but he will ultimately deflect from delving deeper. Or maybe he’ll go against all that and actually talk with Dinah - she would definitely keep his secrets… though I am personally of the mind that Bart’s even harder to get a hold of than Gar when it comes to the mental health check ins.

I remember Greg saying something like the future Neut would have to re-educate himself on his new timeline memories as the Chronotron radiation would cause him to remember either only the original or both timelines - which really does sound horrible. I suppose, unlike Bart, the legion intend to go back to their time zone and will have to deal with a similar aspect - they’ll be the ones who remember while all around them will not. No matter how much others might try to understand what the time travellers went through - they cannot truly know because to them they’ve never known any different. I guess Bart’s staying in the past allows the comfort of experiencing a different side of life with different people, rather that living amongst ghosts of a time only he can ever know. He can be whoever he wants where/when he is now - and doesn’t have the burden of trying to be the person he never was for people he no longer truly knows. Similarly, it will be interesting to see how the Zod family reunion goes down - as I don’t think it’s gonna be quite like Lor has maybe imagined. Dru and Ursa may be his parents, but Lor is not their son - they don’t come across as the type of parents who possess an unconditional love for their child - no matter when he comes to them. To them I suspect he was only ever an heir to the name of Zod, with a role to fulfill instead of just simply being their loving son. 

It’s nice to finally start seeing the different perspectives of the time travel element of the show - for a while it was starting to feel forgotten about. I’m of course looking forward to seeing what’s to come. Bring on the time shenanigans!

Thanks for the message Anon!

LB

EDIT: There’s a mistake in this… it’s corrected here.

[theshy1sout]

Six Eared Shadow

Do you remember the analysis about Mei and Red Son? That was me, and I'm doing this again, but now about Macaque and Sun Wukong

Because what the heck why do they hate each other so much

Ok, so this... This is such a messy chaotic really chaotic mix of a few headcanons and theories I made up and it SOMEHOW turned into a fanfic that I wrote so long that other people made many similar things in meanwhile and now this sounds not original at all, but I wrote it not to keep it in my deep hidden shelf so here we go

(It's based on what I know from the lmk series. I've started to read JTTW, but I'm still not so far to get to know anything about Macaque, but I won't change anything about this theory from now on)

Let's gather some basic information for the start.

-> Macaque is made with a shadow or even he is a shadow (kinda shadow demon, the demon of shadow). I mean, shadow is not only his power, he literally is made with shadow matter. We know that because he can not only manipulate shadows but also go through walls and turn yourself into a shadow.

-> I'm not sure if someone made him or he just "poof" out of nowhere just like Sun Wukong, but according to the story he told about how close he and Monkey King used to be, there's no doubt they had some master/student relationship which later turned into almost equal partnership. What is said, Macaque followed Sun Wukong for a long time, learning a lot from him, 'being his shadow'. They grew in power together, fought together, and (as it is said) Macaque started casting as Sun Wukong shadow, which (surprisingly) looks like he did willingly. Just look at the picture - the shadow is big and bright, it’s powerful and smiling, proud of his strength. He doesn’t look like someone forced to be Sun Wukong’s shadow. It shows how much Macaque admired Monkey King, that he wasn't just a friend for him, he was his idol.

-> We all know Macaque is a shadow demon, he can easily change his appearance, he does not have to look like an evil clone of Monkey King, especially if he hates him now or something, SO even if he used to look up at Sun as his ex-student or ex-partner, and now we know he is NOT, he would prefer to not look so similar any more.

He can choose any other look, but he doesn't. Why? Well, maybe he actually cannot. Maybe this isn't an appearance he has specifically chosen, maybe this is his 'basic' comfy form and any other form would just take too much energy to keep up. And looking at the really tiny probability of two very similar monkeys just "poofing" out of nowhere, I dare to say, Macaque wasn't born (I mean like Sun Wukong or any other demon), but he was specifically created. And here is a question: on someone's purpose or not? Maybe the power of great Monkey King was so strong so the part of it just jumped from him and formed into another similar creature, but let me say it's just weird and I prefer the theory of Sun Wukong being so bored and lonely after his master's (Tripitaka) death, and he created a brother for himself from his own shadow. Just to have someone, anyone.

So Wukong created Macaque and then what? He trained him, he taught him everything he knew, maybe even he shared his powers with him. Some great great bonding time. But as Macaque said, something drew them apart. It is visible that Macaque blamed Monkey King for this, for 'forgetting him'. Before speculation of what happened then between them, let's focus on what Macaque showed us what he wants now.

We have two episodes, both show different sides of him. In season 1, Macaque's main goal is to steal Monkey King's power from Mk, and then to very specifically revenge. He visibly does not want to defeat Sun Wukong, he wants to hurt him as much as possible. Look: when Monkey King showed up, Macaque totally forgot about Mk. And then, when he's so close to defeat him, instead of that he turned to Mk and tried to kill the teenager. Mk is just a tool to hurt Sun Wukong.

And we can't forget how Macaque constantly pointed out all the weak sides of Sun, he's basically just saying on and on "you're weak, you're weak, you're so weak, I'm so strong, I'm strong, you are so weak". Which really fits the feeling of being forgotten because he was weaker and Monkey King was stronger, better, glorious and famous. Macaque really feels like that, he really tried to make Sun Wukong feel his pain by dominating him.

On the other hand, we see that Sun constantly striked off him. He said almost nothing to him, just "Aren't you bored of keep being in my shadow? It's time to give back what you've stolen" and that was fricking all. For Monkey King, Macaque is a just shadow, always behind him, something you turn around and leave behind to not see it and to forget, like an unwanted past. An unnecessary problem, that irritatingly keeps returning to him. He does not want to interact to not make even a slight more bond between them, he wants to delete him from his life forever, and omg WHY. At this end of the ep, Sun Wukong did not even mention Macaque. He really doesn't care at all (or extremely tries to not care). His HATE is almost touchable, ouch.

In season 2, Sun Wukong LEFT US ALL ALONE. Macaque showed up again, he played with Mk a bit, and... Left? That's the thing, you see, he doesn't need to hurt or kill Mk. All we see is Macaque talking about his past and then letting Mk experience something the 'hero' in the story should have felt. The guilt. When Mk interpreted his story differently, seeing himself as the warrior, Macaque corrected him. Cause he doesn't care about Mk at all. He heard how Mk told him about what hurt him, and here is a funny point, because if Macaque needs to be understood, listening to Mk and talking with him (such a simple act of empathy, they both needed it then, guh) should have been enough. Mk really felt the 'warrior' character in the story, so he understood what Macaque felt. But surprisingly, that was not what the demon carved.

Macaque chose to make Mk feel like Monkey King at the moment something drew the demons apart. He wanted to force Mk to be sorry, to apologize, to regret his mistakes, cause he failed with forcing Monkey King to feel that. But! Maybe he is not as purely innocent and poorly forlorn. We see the flashback for a half of second before Mk hit him with Staff:

We see Sun Wukong attacking Macaque who's in his demon (true) form.

Let's repeat this: Macaque felt as if a friend left him in the past. He said a friend did this to have all the "hero's glory" for themselves. We know Sun Wukong could do such a thing, especially before he met Tripitaka, but 1. In my theory Macaque is created after Tripitaka's death and 2. If (as my theory said) Sun created Macaque to not feel so lonely, he would never leave him for such a thing. So Macaque hides something for sure, something he did, something so terrible that made Sun Wukong attack him and not want to know him anymore. How horrendous thing Macaque did that made Sun Wukong choose to be alone again and to forget his dear brother he created by himself?

Back to the great bonding time, repeating speculation of "oh maybe they even share the powers" and comparing it to Macaque wanting to steal Mk's power, my theory here is saying:

Sun Wukong taught Macaque the technique of the same powers as he knew, but Macaque overused it (probably wanting to see how powerful he is, probably showing off and killing so many harmless people) doing terrible terrible things. So Monkey King took all of the powers from him and left him alone, powerless, with the last painful words: "Dont you dare to show in front of my eyes ever again". Of course Macaque was hurt, of course he didn't see why he's the bad guy, because he did not care about people at all. And of course Sun Wukong was hurt too.

Maybe he came back to the village Macaque had destroyed and following a quiet crying he found a little baby with a heart so clear and he put into him all Macaque's powers, making them sleep until the time will be right... But back to the series!

Yes exactly. Why did he destroy the lantern and leave? Why did he suddenly lose interest in teasing Mk and stop forcing him to feel guilty?

First thing, he saw Mk is ready to fight for his friends seriously. He still cared so much about them, not like Monkey King about Macaque. That was hard to swallow, that was hard to watch for the demon. That was't the thing he wanted to see. And second, the flashback. Maybe the sudden realization that he actually did something bad. Cause Sun Wukong didn’t just leave him, he cast him out. It was hard to admit that he actually deserved this (or maybe much more), it’s much easier to blame others, not yourself. So Macaque felt “that’s enough” and left. Mk brought him to this uncomfortable point of admitting the truth. Which he didn’t want to. Maybe in the following eps, he will see it, but now Macaque just isn’t ready yet. But the last talk with Mk gives me a little hope. He stopped treating him like a tool or toy, he was actually talking with him like with a person, he even warned him about Lady Bone Demon.

Maybe (maybe) one day he'll see that humans aren't just useless creatures he can carelessly kill, maybe Mk will make him care and realize what he's done, but that's just speculation in speculation, he could die before he reaches that point, maybe he is already dead....

And that's it. That is all I wrote on ao3, but in the fanfic I put much more details and I build those characters up much more than here. This is only rough rough short-saying, I'm really sorry if you read it all

Oh and here is a link if you liked this above i'd love if you read the fanfic thank you

[sometipsygnostalgic]

Okay some thoughts on she ra s5 ep 2 (Launch):

This ep is a tricky one, it's controversial, because it's trying to tell a serious story about disability, while also trying to stay as a kids cartoon with kids cartoon logic.

So, to illustrate my point: The Hero characters drag a disabled character on the battlefield. The assumption is that, because she is a Princess character like them, she will perform adequately. That is the only metric they have for Entrapta's field skills. She has had no training, whereas they have been on the field for several years.

So... Entrapta does badly. Really badly. In fact, she cannot pay attention to the hazards at all, and keeps getting *herself* in danger, more than anyone else.

Then they yell at her as if it's her fault?

That makes no sense! That's not her fault; if she's unfit for the field duevto her literal disabilities that the episode is trying to treat seriously, it's the field leader's fault for dragging her out.

Why was there no recognition of this?

I had to ask myself the question: Is this how the rebellion treats all of its field operations? It drags out any volunteer regardless of age or ability on the front lines, then blames them when they are physically or mentally unfit for the task?

Well... yeah! It does!

None of the characters were ready for the Glimmer rescue mission in Season 1. They were all unprepared, their only basis for working together was that they were apparently leaders (Entrapta is a leader of nothing except robots).

More obviously, "Flutterina" was accepted as a member of the front lines, despite obviously being completely defenceless. Like. A literal unarmed little girl. She even gets kidnapped several times! What! What is this child doing on the front lines!!!

The HORDE meanwhile.... Well. I know things were difficult for the Rebellion in season 5, but the Horde offered training for all of its troops, kept them away from the front lines if they weren't ready, and if their place WASNT on the battlefield, well, let's say Entrapta and Shadow Weaver never saw the front lines.

Of course, they really pushed their soldiers hard and all that, but im just pointing out that the Horde is easier to understand in the context of a more serious story.

I think the issue is the Rebellion side of things was never thought about for more than 5 seconds. All the Horde-related characters are just better; Entrapta's side of the conflict is far more sympathetic and easier to understand than that of the other Princess characters, because no time has been spent developing them, their actual tolerance, and their perception of her. The Brightmoon environment is taken out of a kids' fantasy story and no examination is ever done, it's assumed we will like and side with them because "they're the good guys", but She-Ra had already disproven the "good guys are automatically right" hypothesis with the First Ones' control of She-Ra, so why not apply a similar level of depth to the aristocratic and... apparently exclusionary Rebellion?

Of course the answer to this is She-Ra had to pick and choose what to take seriously and what to not.

Writing a serious story about ableism with a sympathetic and well-developed character, but having the "opposition" be good guy characters who are never examined, it had to decide whether to criticise those characters and spend time deconstructing ableism, or "brush it off" so it doesn't have to waste more time outside of the initial theme they were going for. Unfortunately it did the latter, which i can more than understand, but i think one or two changes would've prevented this from being a point of debate in the first place! (Remove the genuinely offensive leash joke and make the resolution a touch more twosided, or have a followup moment in a future ep.)

[jeriafterdark]

Day 6: Favorite Line from WOH/SHL

Masterpost here

Back with my Junzhe/Wenzhou daily prompt! There are so many great quotes from this show, I had to list more than one. I've already quoted ZZS's "Three meals a day/why worry about eternal sorrow" line a few times in my posts, so I won't add it here. But it's up there!

Here are 3 of my favorites:

Ep 9: ZZS: Only inexperienced people yearn to be heroes. The experienced know that each character of the word hero is written in blood. If it's not their own blood, then it's the other's.

Ep 20: When you grow old, you will know that nothing is more precious than the people around you, especially the one you love. One day of staying together means a lot. One more day of that is your fortune. Just ignore the trifles. - Liu Qian Qiao

Ep 12: To do something even while knowing it's impossible and to trust people even though they are hard to know. Lao Wen, it is difficult for us at our age to show our hearts to others. I cannot do this myself and there is no way to ask you to do so. So I decided to be the first to try and take a gamble. You are the one that I know.

In episode 9, when A-Xu talks about being a hero, I knew this show was more towards a mature audience. There's a lot to say about how we view heroes. They're these powerful, morally good people who will triumph and earn happiness while saving everyone. They can do no wrong, and if they did, it was an accident, they're righteous and just. But it's not real. A-Xu is a character written with a lot of experience, life experience in how good intentions can twist your character. And over time, you choose to do bad things, of your own free will. Every step you take when you call yourself a hero is written in the blood and sacrifice of others. So no one who is experienced would want to be a hero. That's when I realized Wen Kexing really started to fall in love with A-Xu. They both share this view of the world, that being a hero isn't worth it, and it's not realistic. Just try to do your best, be happy, enjoy as much life as is given to you for the time you have it. Together, they can walk a different path away from heroism.

In episode 20, Beauty Ghost aka resident queen with all the wisdom and looks aka Liu Qian Qiao imparts worldly knowledge to A-Xiang, from an older sister to a younger sister. Worrying about little things like secrets and trying to predict the future are just trifles. Meanwhile, you're afforded another day to be with the ones you love. That's luck. That's real fortune. And if you get one more day of it? Even better, everything else is small change, just ignore it. This theme is also an undercurrent throughout all of WOH/SHL.

To trust others even when they are hard to know.

Taking a gamble.

Even though it's impossible to know if your affections will be returned, or if it'll last long, or if the future is uncertain.

This is certain. Love while you can, everything else is an afterthought. (Episode 9) (Did I tell you how much I love A-Xu? Not enough times, clearly)

[raymondebidochonlifechoices]

Season 6: the horror! the horror!

The tight 5-episode format should generate anticipation and, yet, somehow it doesn’t.

A brief recap of 6a based on RAS’s podcast interview and The Trailer (now™)

Disclaimer: Though I saw the trailer with my own eyes (oof!), I didn’t hear the podcast with my own ears. All the podcast info will be linked. If there’s no link, it’s from the trailer.

* S5 was supposed to have varchie and bughead getting back together but that changed: “it felt like after the time jump, if we were going to sort of reset or shake up the status quo, it was the time to do it and then we sort of were like ‘okay time to bring Varchie back together, time to bring Betty and Jughead back together’ “

Simply put: we’ve been knew.

*In 6a supernatural is a real thing: Sabrina and Satan both make an appearance.

*6a’s genre is horror. (Let’s be real, the horror started in 4x17 …)

* 6a (5-ep event) is going to both have its own arc and be in continuity with s5-s6. 

...

...

There are no words.

I take this to mean that, from 5x19 to 6x6, episodes will unfold chronologically but the writers are going to pick and choose which 6a storylines will apply in 6b and which will not. I mean … surely, I’m not the only one thinking that Satan will not actually become a Riverdale fixture … So, yeah, it still kind of is an au, RASNightmare Child.  On the other hand, the writers have been doing this since s2, so, you know, whatever …

* Somewhere between the show’s 96th and 100th episode a new canon will be established, according to which Cheryl and Sabrina have been acquaintances/friends all along. Riveting stuff.

* Remember how Kevin took his remaining kidney and left for Broadway? Well, you won’t believe it: he’s back in Riverdale …

* Also back in Riverdale are Dilton Doiley (#justiceforDilton) and Ethel Muggs. Are they real? Are they a hallucination? A dream? A flashback? 10 bucks says they won’t be there for the 101st episode.

* Nick StClair is also back. 

* WHERE’S BRET, YOU EFFING COWARDS?!?!?!

* Toffee will probably not be back for the 100th episode. The writers decided she died off-screen. Probably just after someone asked Evan about her. It’s not as if showing a feeding bowl would have been that difficult. Toffee’s sole raison d’être was to munch on that severed hand in 5x04 and you cannot convince me otherwise. She’s savage, Toffee is. Meanwhile, Hero Archie’s new dog has appeared not only once but twice after his debut in Reservoir Dogs. Priorities.

* Cooper the Cat might appear in 6a. Or maybe his scene will be cut. Cooper the Cut?

* The artwork for the 6x05 script looks like TimePolice!Jughead. The artwork -much like the film references in the titles- is usually very loosely related to the plot. Take that as you like. Time-travelling? Lots of flashbacks? It’s the 100th episode, where everyone (AGAIN: EXCEPT BRET?!) is back.

* Also, this is the episode with the big shocking ending to tide viewers over till 6b starts… (one supposes).

* During 6x05 Betty (and Cheryl?) will wear identical clothes with 5x07. Could be a coincidence. Or not. At one point Betty will also wear a 50’s pillbox hat with a birdcage veil. Because why not?

* There will be more singing. (See above: 6a’s genre is horror).

* At one point, Nana Rose, Cheryl, inner circle cousin Betty and ex-girlfriend Toni will attempt to perform some magic.

* Nana Rose is in what appears to be her deathbed? Absolutely unacceptable. Cheryl and (I think?) Betty are with her.

* Is Betty there because she’s an FBI agent or is it because she’s simultaneously Cheryl’s 3rd cousin and the descendent of a totally different family (dating back in the 1890s)? Sometimes you don’t even have to choose between canons, ya know?

* Is the TBK still patiently waiting for 6a to be over or is he a part of it? Who knows? Who cares?

* Not Betty. In 6a Betty wants nothing more than to have Archie’s baby. Maybe it’s real. Maybe it’s a curse. I could come up with 10 different scenarios where that’s not even real and still not an au and another 10 where it is but if there’s one thing I will never do, is waste any time thinking about b*rchie.

* Tabitha is still at Pop’s. Presumably (5x19) Pop is also still at Pop’s. If/when I bindge watch s6, I shall note down how many times Alvin Sanders makes an appearance. Just for laughs.

* I’m taking bets as to whether we shall ever see Tabitha’s parents ever again. Also just for laughs.

* Jughead is speaking directly to the camera. Because this is not The Twilight Zone but a direct no-nonsense-about-it canon continuation of s5. Sure.

* Jughead’s fluffy rebellious curl is missing and you want me to believe this is not an au?! This is reason enough not to watch 6a. 

* Jughead’s telescopic hand did not make an appearance around Tabitha but I’m presuming it will.

* RAS Nightmare Child still doesn’t know what “endgame” means.

* “We don’t have a set endgame in mind at this point.” What does this mean for Betty’s baby story? Don’t know. Don’t care. This was probably said as a means to entice the bughead and varchie shippers, yet I still can’t believe a showrunner publicly declared that his writers don’t have any set plan about s6. How is this supposed to entice viewership is anybody’s guess.

* This is the second time in 2 seasons that a trailer showing explicit b*rchie supposedly airs unbeknownst to the showrunner. What is even happening with this show?

* Nothing means anything anyway: RAS’s podcast interview discredited Evan’s interview which discredited Ted’s summer interview which … So, you know … whatever …

Yeah ... 

So long, and thanks for all the fish, I guess.

[chalkrevelations]

Huh.

Well, this is not the next episode reaction you were expecting, but a while back, in the middle of the night, while I was ready to cry from working on a pharmacology paper, out of nowhere, Youtube threw up Street Dance of China S3 Ep1 at me. And yeah. I am, admittedly, f’kn weak for a dance show. (There are enough SYTYCD episode reax on my old Livejournal that I feel there’s no point denying this.)

So – no, actually, wait. FIRST of all, I do NOT believe the “towel vote” we ended up being given for the opening routines from the four captains. That was the most blatant bit of bullshit chicanery I’ve seen in my LIFE, and I say this as a person with a ton of SYTYCD episode reax on my old Livejournal, and I also say this not because Wang Yibo ended up last (well, not entirely), but because I saw Wallace Chung’s routine. As someone closer in age to him than to the other three captains, I have to give him props for trying, but come on, man. The critique that Yibo got from random contestants – if the subtitles are to be believed, so I realize this needs a grain of salt - basically boiled down to “it was too good for the stage lighting.” :hands: Also, I saw your face at the reveal, Wallace, and you were as shocked as I was. No way you got more towels/votes than Wang Yibo. Not unless there’s some super wild undercurrent of nostalgia propping you up, which, I guess could happen, because literally all I know about pop culture in China, current or otherwise, is filtered through Tumblr and Youtube, both notoriously suspect, but … anyway. There’s got to be a TON of behind-the-scenes manipulation going on for Yibo to be rock-bottom with last pick of teams but then also to end up with THAT pool of possibles. Are you kidding me with this?

ANYWAY, what I wanted to say is that I actually really like Wang Yibo here, and it’s not just because he’s the only captain I have even a sliver of familiarity with, and it’s not just because Lan Wangji was banging Wei Wuxian. I do realize all of this is influenced by whatever edit they’ve decided to give a particular captain or contestant, but I’m impressed with the way Yibo immediately starts team building by getting his group into a warmup, getting them dancing together, getting them dancing with him before they have to worry about dancing for him. (I mean, come on, Jackson Wang. The way to get people to stop being nervous is not to say “Stop being nervous! It will make you fuck up!”) The way Yibo immediately recognized and responded to his group’s concerns about that one dude copying someone else’s routine probably also bought him a lot of return investment. He’s dressed to work it, in his sweats and his flannel (what IS that fake-leather TAC vest and random leg holster-looking thing, Jackson Wang?). He’s convincing me he really loves to dance, he can’t hold still while he watches the contestants, he’s wandering over into other captains’ turf when it sounds like there’s a dancer performing who he might like to see, he’s being the best Yibo he can be, and I’m grooving along, wind in my hair, totally down for this ride. He’s also adorable at the beginning when all the other captains are like, my goal for this season is to slaughter the competition and dance on their graves! And he’s like, well, I’d like to … make some friends? And learn some new stuff? I don’t know if the perpetual Humble Student schtick is natural or persona, or whether it’s general or specific to dancing, but it’s working for you, my dude. This is also made better (read: ironic), by the fact that it’s immediately before the towel reveal, when he flips over to utter disbelief and gets all sulky for a while over the “fact” that his dance routine got the least votes.

Also, OH WAIT. This is where that clip of Yibo dancing with his crew ALL OVER HIM came from that I saw floating around a few months ago, isn’t it? You’re telling me those guys had never danced together before and had like, three minutes to throw together that routine? I’m even more impressed than before. Meanwhile, the towels symbolize courage and challenge, Mr. Emcee? OK, fine, cheesy reality show blah blah whatever. Can we get to the dancing now?

I’m going to put the rest of this behind a cut, because it got super long, because it turns out, when you watch in 5-minute increments, it takes two and a half weeks to get through a single episode, but you actually can see and have opinions on all 5,328 contestants, plus every single one of the captains’ battles. Meanwhile, I’m trying to convince myself this is not going to be another series of episode reactions, but 1) I do have the benefit of not having a ton of hometown media giving me a next-day play-by-play, so even though this is six months old, everything’s a surprise; 2) I am, admittedly, f’kn weak for a dance show; and 3) it’s easy to watch in 5-minute increments between researching drug interactions in hypothetical hypertensive patients with stable ischemic heart disease, erectile dysfunction, and seasonal allergies. So, I guess we’ll see. It’ll be slow going, though, because I don’t ever have two and half hours to sit down and watch an ep cover-to-cover – if it happens, it will likely keep happening in 5-minute increments. Meanwhile, there is a metric shit-ton of nattering below the cut, so caveat lector. No, seriously, I kept adding to this little by little until it became a monster. Hashtag long post (remorseful).

OK, I am generally out of my depth here, as this is not at all my area of dance not-really-expertise, but some reactions:

Team Wang Yibo: I can see why he didn’t want to choose between Colin and Dian Men – Colin might have been a touch better technically and a better showman, but Dian Men didn’t seem to have a single wasted move – but, also, my dude. Yibo. You maybe should look a little bit less stunned and overwhelmed by the mere presence of Colin, it’s giving me ideas about your taste in men. Continuing with the powerhouses, I probably shouldn’t even attempt to critique Klash, but I did feel like he was a bit stiff in some of his footwork; that final V kick, though, shit, that’s what having that kind of upper-body strength is for. Bouboo … I mean, excellent flexibility and control, of course, but mainly I’m just terribly amused that Yibo got last pick of teams but somehow ended up with the guy who’s literal world champion, and who’s just as useful for getting into the other captains’ heads – without even trying – as he is for his talent. And then there’s a montage of Yibo giving out towel after towel after towel, and my dude, you cannot keep up this pace. There are still too many dancers to see, and you don’t have that many towels. AAANNNND Towel Battle #1 (See Footnote 1).

Team Jackson Wang: I do like Gai Gai, although that may be influenced by the fact she’s working in the twilight area between hip-hop and contemporary that I have more familiarity with - but also, I suspect she’s pretty good in her genre. I thought Xiao Jie was inconsistent and didn’t stick the landing on his initial attempt, so I have to give you that hesitation, Jackson, even though you’ve somehow ended up the villain in my inner narrative for this show, for no particular reason I can yet discern. Maybe it’s that you’re the direct competition for Yibo’s team in the towel battles. Good enough. Anyway, Xiao Jie definitely stepped up his game for the battle with Bingo, so I can kind of see why both of them got a towel, but we’re not even halfway through this, and most of y’all are giving away towels like you have an endless supply. Yang Kai is a fucking menace with fantastic musicality, and I’m just gonna say it and take the fallout - I think he gave a better performance first time out of the gate than any of Yibo’s powerhouses did. Whatever power Klash has got, whatever skill Bouboo has got, Yang Kai feels more explosive and engaging, at least in these initial showings. He’s going to be one to beat, I’d hug him too, if he was on my team and was going to help me WIN. Yibo’s probably lucky that happened during his little stroll over to check out the competition, so that he can see they’re definitely competitive and be prepared for it. Also, Jackson, I have to admit - that face you made when Chao really kicked in? That was the same face I made, because wt actual f, you have a literal secret weapon – secret because he CAME FROM NOWHERE and NO ONE EVEN KNOWS him, how is that even possible, how did he get that good – fluid, creative, controlled, incredible musicality - without anyone having any idea who he even is? And then there’s a montage of Jackson just giving out towel after towel after towel, and my dude, you need to slow down. You can’t just be like, “THEY LOVE DANCE WITH ALL OF THEIR WHOLE HEARTS!!!!1111!!!!11!” I get it, but everyone there loves dance with all of their whole hearts, and there are not enough towels to send all of them on to the next round. ANNNND, Towel Battle #1 (See Footnote 1).

Team Lay Zhang: lol at how diplomatic you’re being, Lay Zhang – your team’s fierce roar startled you, OK. At this point, I suspect you’re the street most likely to have a knife fight break out before this is all over. I do like Alex, I think he’s got a lot of interesting, super-clean details in his moves, and he’s engaging - I cannot BELIEVE you made him battle that dude whose moves were so mushy, Lay Zhang, it leaves me doubting your ability to judge this thing. At first I thought maybe you were just looking for an excuse because you wanted to see Alex freestyle, but then you actually said something about both dancers being equal, and my estimation of you plummeted, and also sadly, my sound dropped out for the actual battle, including the part where the clearly inferior dancer fell over and then accidentally POPPED ALEX ONE IN THE EYE, and I TOLD YOU SO. I do agree it’s a good idea to make dancers in the same genre do some battling, so you can kind of plan out your towels and put together a team with broad strengths, instead of giving out towels like you’re making it rain for the first 20 contestants, and then you have 1,375 more people to get through, with 3 towels left, as EVERYONE ELSE seems to be doing, so it’s nice that at least one of you guys is thinking – if not actually acting - strategically. That was clearly not even a contest, though, GIVE ALEX HIS TOWEL and send him to the next round. Xiao Bao is hilarious, with his concern that his team captain, who’s into krump, which is “beating,” isn’t going to appreciate his waacking, which is “slapping.” I also don’t know a whole lot about waacking, so thanks for the primer, Xiao Bao, and don’t worry, your performance is just as engaging for those of us who don’t know what we’re watching as you are generally. You deserve that towel for your ability to interact with and engage your audience, alone. Lingo is a good solid performance, although he’s got his team captain strategizing edited over some of it, and here’s the thing: we are 1:56:00 into this, at this point, with another half hour to go, and all of you are starting to disappear into the sea of dancers who are very good at what you do, but at generally the same level? Anyway, Lingo, I approve of your ability to interact with your audience (read: your captain) to ensure engagement, too, so keep that up. Annnd, we actually haven’t seen that much of you guys, but it’s time for Towel Battle #2 (See Footnote 2).

Team Wallace Chung: I’m glad Su Lian Ya insisted on performing, I thought she started off slow but warmed up, and that ending was creepily fantastic and had me spontaneously grinning at the screen in delight. Then we lose sight of this group for a really long time, actually. We go back to find Wallace putting through a couple of urban dancers who we barely see, but who apparently claim to have some choreography experience, and he really likes that. TI shows up, and they’re solid, but honestly, not as good in this performance as they were in some of the stock footage the show threw up to introduce them, but Wallace remains super-excited about the idea of choreography and sends at least choreographer Zhang Jiang Peng through to the next round. And then, we really haven’t seen that much of you guys, either, which maybe doesn’t bode well, but it’s time for Towel Battle #2 (See Footnote 2).

FOOTNOTE 1, aka TOWEL BATTLE ONE, Team Yibo vs. Team Jackson, 3V3 freestyle: First of all, I have to say, I love Yibo - Mr. I Just Wanna Make Some Friends And Have Some Fun - being all, “I have three crappy white towels I’m stuck with for coming in last place that I can’t use to send dancers to the next round and that I DO NOT DESERVE, and I am getting BACK the colorful towels that ARE RIGHTFULLY MINE. I am coming for whoever is in my way.” Team Yibo is Bouboo, Klash, Dian Men, and OK, given what we’ve seen so far, that’s the safe choice, but honestly, I think we’re just taking some things for granted right now, and I’m not sure they actually have given the best performances so far. Yeah, I said it. Team Jackson is Yang Kai, Chao, and Xiao Jie, and … ok, on that last one, I think you probably could have substituted Bingo, but all right. Yang Kai is a definite yes. Chao will be great if he can stay out of his own head and not psych himself out, but given what we’ve seen so far, he’s an obvious pick. First round, Yang Kai vs. Klash, and Yang Kai is still a fucking menace, with super lines. Klash definitely stepped up his game for the battle, and I can’t get over the upper body strength he’s got, to get that kind of airy bounce in his moves, but to be honest, I can’t even be mad the first round went to Yang Kai and Team Jackson. Second round, Yang Kai is still … y’all, the beautiful lines from this guy in his poses, I can’t get over them, but I think he doesn’t have the stamina, his footwork is getting sloppy. Bouboo also steps up his game for an actual battle, his fluidity and control is amazing, and yeah, round to Team Yibo. Round three, Xiao Jie gives it a decent effort, but the polish isn’t there; meanwhile Bouboo is still in champion mode, and I was kind of surprised this was a split vote and went to another round. Xiao Jie absolutely surprised me, coming back stronger on his second try, although I suppose a more familiar genre helped, but Bouboo continues in champion mode. Round four, Chao looks like he’s going to throw up right before he steps out there, and then as soon as the music starts, it’s like, he doesn’t even think. The music just moves him. I feel like his dance vocabulary is more limited than Bouboo’s, though, and Bouboo’s flow is amazing at this point, so I feel like the judges just want to drag this out and see more dancing when we go to one more round. Strong effort all around, but yeah, round four and two towels to Team Yibo. I can’t really complain about that. I do feel like Yibo’s powerhouses have been holding back until now, though, and I’m not sure how I feel about THAT.

FOOTNOTE 2, aka TOWEL BATTLE TWO, Team Zhang vs. Team Wallace, 3V3 w/ captain: lol, Team Zhang really wants someone to pick the Sailor Moon song because they know Xiao Bao and his waacking will tear it up. Anyway, Team Zhang includes Lingo and Xiao Bao, who does not get his Sailor Moon song and continues to be hilarious in his disbelief about being chosen to participate in this battle, when he’s not looking almost as sick as Chao from Team Jackson before HIS performance. Team Wallace includes Su Lian Ya – and honestly, despite how I’m getting ready to bag on him for the entire rest of this battle recap, I like that Wallace put one of his female dancers up there for the battle - and some dude named Ba that they haven’t given us any footage of, up ‘til now, at least that I can remember and who I … don’t even know has been formally given a towel and sent on to the next round, yet? Oh wait, he must have, because there’s talk in the pause for choreography about somehow using the towels during the battle. Wallace relies on Su Lian Ya and Zhang Jiang Peng to choose Ba, and then Ba ends up choreographing a lot of the performance, at least from the edit we see. I continue to feel you may be in over your head, Wallace. This feeling … is not assuaged by your performance in the first round, which is fine, but not really up to the level of almost anyone whose name I’ve bolded so far in this entire recap. Also, using the towels was a cute idea, but it doesn’t translate well, and Team Wallace has a lot of wasted time throwing the towels around instead of actually. You know. Dancing. Lingo gets a credible solo during Team Zhang’s performance, and even though Xiao Bao is clearly lost during a good bit of his backup dancer duties, he manages not to throw up, which – given this team’s general skill level – should be enough to give them the first round, EXCEPT SOMEHOW Team Wallace gets the point from the judges, who then try to justify this inexplicable decision by saying Team Wallace had better interaction, I guess because of the hot mess with throwing the towels around, but adding that Team Zhang was more scattered, which what? More scattered than the hot mess with the towels? I’m not buying this. I can’t tell if they’re propping up Wallace or fucking with Lay Zhang’s head, but I’m having bad acid flashbacks to the many and varied ways dance show judges will try to gaslight you, telling you that things you just saw with your very own eyes did not actually happen when it’s right there! On camera! Visible, despite whatever edit bs you’re pulling! ANYWAY, they’re definitely managing to fuck with not only Lay Zhang’s head, but Xiao Bao’s, and Xiao Bao still doesn’t seem to have his choreography down, but they manage to pull it together enough to take the second round, which to be honest is kind of a muddled mess on everyone’s part. The only one who really stands out to me on this go’round is Su Lian Ya, but OK, Team Zhang might have had it slightly more together as a unit. And then, yeah, OK, I think they were fucking with Lay Zhang’s head, because we then find out that, holy shit, the song the show powers-that-be chose for the tie-breaking third round is that gd Sailor Moon song, and we can all see the writing on the wall. Poor Team Wallace is no match for Xiao Bao, who frankly, carries this entire round on his shoulders without breaking a sweat and barely needs any backup dancers to do it. There’s some ridiculously dramatic reveal of scoring, with the judges dragging out their decisions like this was any actual contest - I’m beginning to suspect that some of them grew up with Wallace Chung posters on their bedroom walls - but finally, round and towel to Team Zhang.

Cut to a little bit of Next Time On, and wow, the first two-and-a-half-hour episode is over, and we aren’t finished with the initial round yet. It’s gonna be Christmas before I make it halfway through this season.

[baoshan-sanren]

NiF semi-live blog eps 2-6

I’ve watched the first episode like 3 times over the course of six months so idk what I can even say about it like

I think it’s only after the third watch that I finally understood what’s happening and definitely remember everyone’s name and/or title

also i’ve had prince jing for 5 seconds and I would commit mass murder for him

did anyone else have to pause the scene where mei changsu meets prince yu and the crown prince just from the overwhelming second-hand embarrassment? 

mei changsu, sweetie, i’m so sorry these bitches are like this, oh my god

and they just don’t stop 

ah yes, bicker with each other instead, that makes it less mortifying

GRAND EMPRESS 

OH MY GOD SHE RECOGNIZES MEI CHANGSU WHEN SHE RECOGNIZES NO ONE ELSE

bitch, no one told me i’d be crying in 2nd episode of this damn drama wtf

like i knew this was a serious drama but this train of emotion in the first hour and a half? not okay

i assume the princess has to know who he is, right? no? 

I guess not

I have to know if prince jing is as blunt as he sounds. i’m learning slowly, and i still suck, but i’m def getting an impression that the dude doesn’t waste words

ahhh general meng definitely recognizes our boy, and we’re only now finding out that mei changsu looks different than he used to so I guess it makes sense no one else recognized him 

and immediately general meng is like “you’re in danger, move in with me” 😂

“who has the time to help you? who would help you knowing it’s a crime?” dude, you… literally just offered to do that

i love how the princess is all like “this man is a mystery” and then the camera pans to mei changsu sleeping in a chair with all the graces of an old arthritic cat

i would die for him 

“You didn’t even tell me you were coming. how am I supposed to help you?” aww meng dage, you’re just a big ol’ softie

I can’t believe I waited all this time to have english subtitles on viki just to acutely feel the lack of mandarin subtitles

watch my stupid ass hop from russian to turkish subtitles just in case I’m missing something in english  

HE CALLS HIM XIAO-SHU

dude, this is really kind of cruel, they basically want mei changsu to decide who his ex fiancee is going to marry? like, I get that no one knows who he is, but still

can I just say that baili qi is my kind of man. good for you sweetie, you’re doing great

two ladies going into labor at the same time? more likely than you’d think

this whole story is bizarre, they just… mixed up babies like that? so jingrui might be a prince, but he might not be a prince? 

“we’ll just share him” the emperor says, and no one bats an eyelid

i have a feeling that this will become less confusing at a later point in the drama (i hope)

the main theme song fucking slaps, I’m already getting a dopamine rush every time i hear it

so jingrui about to have his ass handed to him by baili qi

and my boy mei changsu is over here just calmly peeling a fucking orange like it’s got nothing to do with him 😂

I KNEW I RECOGNIZED THE DUDE WHO PLAYS BAILI QI he was in both and the winner is love and the wolf

if he lands one good punch, jingrui is gonna be out for the count

meanwhile mei changsu

*munch, munch, spits out a seed*

have I mentioned that I would die for him?

this shit doesn’t seem fair tho, like i get that baili qi is um… a bit larger and stronger than anyone expected but still

you shouldn’t just get to whip out a sword bc you can’t beat him

THE PEOPLE SLOW MOTION SCRAMBLING OUT OF THE WAY AS JINGRUI COMES FLYING AT THEIR TABLE jghfdghdjhfks I know it’s not supposed to funny but I’m shrieking 

it’s been three episodes

i’m fucking hooked 

choosing to throw your support behind the unloved, frequently overshadowed prince, is something that can actually be so romantic

seriously tho, if someone could just go ahead and give prince jing a break that would be great

I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT STUPID TWAT ACTUALLY DRUGGED THE PRINCESS

oh dude, I am so disturbed by this whole thing

there should be a rule where you get to slap the imperial noble consort if she does something that fucked up

is that supposed to be translated as the grand empress? not empress dowager? PLS GIVE ME MANDARIN SUBTITLES

fhjgdksdhfdkslaljsdh when the emperor finds out how sima lei got his legs broken 

“that seems fair”

oh come ON just get off prince jing’s dick for like 5 minutes would it fucking kill you

fuck

of course prince yu would swoop in and take the credit for saving the princess (I assume mei changsu planned it that way)

but I bet you money that prince jing misunderstands and feels betrayed

oh sweetie

THIS WAS THE ORIGINAL BL PAIRING WASN’T IT

WASN’T IT

my romance radar is tingling all over the place on this one

yes he’s angry but it’s not his fault pls be nice to him

I DON’T WANT YOU TO USE THEM AS STONES IN MY PATH

OUCH DUDE

how about you try and be a little nicer to mei changsu too??? 

“pls be direct” does prince jing know how to be any other way?

we’re negotiating boundaries this is good

this is a whole ass fanfic just waiting to happen I caNNOT have another obsession right now stop it with the goddamn tension

oh my god so prince jing is upset because these methods are exactly how mei changsu (MY FRIEND HE SAYS) and his own brother were framed and “killed” MY HEART

pls I want to wrap him in a blanket and feed him soup for a year

THIS FUCKING CONVERSATION

THE SWELLING MUSIC 

GOOD GOD

yup crying again

I blame @wangxianbunnydoodles​ @hunxi-guilai​ and @merelhyn​ in that exact order

you guys suck I don’t need this

awww jingrui is just a giant puppy isn’t he?

okay you know what? when prince yu absolutely loses his shit he’s actually kind of funny? and likeable? I can’t believe i’m looking forward to him getting frustrated/pissed off in the future 

oh my god I’ve binged 6 episodes what is happening

[dangermousie]

I think this is the most formative event of Minglan’s life - her mother dying in childbirth and nobody in the household doing anything to help and Concubine Lin actively preventing help. I mean - think of it - a five or six year old has to climb over the wall and escape the house to seek help because there is nobody else to do it! And not just that, but ultimately her mother and unborn brother die and nobody is punished for it, and nobody cares - here is where she first learns to lock her heart behind thick thick walls because the people who were supposed to love and care for her - her father, her family - have done none of it and she learns she cannot rely on or trust her family, so how can she trust anyone else?

And the other thing - nobody outside is helping either. A small child from a clearly wealthy family is running in a panic and nobody at all stops to help her except Tingye, a child who briefly met her once when she beat him in a game. That’s horrible. Also, Tingye’s tendency to help strangers because they are in trouble is clearly innate and sometimes ends badly (Manniang clearly took advantage of that nature) but sometimes very well (after all, that is how he first met the future emperor and his son.)

His giving her his cloak. Awwwww.

The thing that I love the most about Tingye is how efficient and competent he is. Think about it, here he unhitches the horse to go to the doctor faster, convinces the doctor to come back (on horseback, no less), leaves someone to care for Minglan meanwhile so they won’t be slowed down, finds the gate closed and realizing the situation doesn’t waste any time knocking but climbs over and opens the door from the inside. He is a very self-sufficient person and that serves him well when his family kicks him out and he has to fend for himself. Unlike a lot of the characters in this story, Tingye would always be all right as long as he wasn’t deathly ill or something, because he can rely on himself when all else fails.

Using his status for good.

But of course it’s too late, and Minglan’s mother dies anyway. I think what scars Minglan so much isn’t so much her mother’s death - because back then it wasn’t too uncommon, sadly - but the household’s lack of reaction to it. Nobody cares. Nobody except Tingye who is almost a total stranger. It’s a nonevent and the family moves on happily and Minglan has this huge hole in her life, this huge burning injustice, and everybody is too busy enjoying themselves and living their lives to care. It’s as she says to Tingye many years later, when they are both adults - that he, a stranger, was the only one who cared, and her family treated it as a nonevent - the deaths, the murder, the lack of help.

Also, the total awfulness of her having to refer to her mother as Mistress Wei. Yikes. When Minglan marries Tingye, she never orders his daughter to call her mother, even though she’s legally and societal custom entitled to it. When the girl eventually calls her mother (and Minglan’s face at that!), it’s because the girl has come to love her and view her as a mother so calling her as such is an expression of, not suppression of, the child’s feeling. And I think Minglan does that precisely because she remembers what it felt like to have to do it out of obligation, what that felt like as a child. Both the Shengs and the Gus are messed-up, even abusive families, in their different ways, and the family members cope with it in different ways. Some, like Molan or Tingye’s stepmother, choose to spread the misery around. But both Minglan and Tingye actually take the lesson from it of what not to do, what they do not want in their own adult families, how to do better - because they remember what that felt like to be on the receiving end. Minglan unlike her father, is fiercely loyal to those in her circle and pays attention to all the details of the household. Tingye is a caring father who does not place the sins of the mother against his children in the least and only sticks to one woman. Etc etc.

I wonder which father is worse - Papa Sheng or Marquis Gu? At first glance, it seems an easy answer when one remembers Tingye’s back - that scene in ep whatever where he bares his back and the old empress dowager who hates him freaks out clearly shows Marquis Gu should be roasting on a nice skillet in hell. And we are not even going to get into gaslighting. But the thing is, Marquis Gu hates Tingye as the offspring of a woman he hated having to marry. Papa Sheng does not hate Minglan. In fact, he probably thinks of her fondly when he remembers her, once a year or so. But he doesn’t care to take care of her or about anything but his own comfort and so lets her be neglected, her mother killed, and just it’s an emotional wasteland for her. (The irony is his childhood was also abusive and full of neglect due to his father’s care for nothing but himself but he has learned nothing and repeats the same patterns in his household.)

Tingye aka Job’s Comforter. But once again, in the large household supposedly full of family, he’s the only one who tries.

This is one of Minglan’s most abiding characteristics - she will seek vengeance where she has to but if one has done her a good turn, she will remember it and repay if she can.

[neuxue]

I rewatched The Untamed up to where I stopped before (ep 10), and ended up thinking a lot about how there's an aspect of highly competent characters beyond the competence itself that I love, which is watching characters cope with that competence.

Competence is a funny thing. Faced with someone in whom they cannot immediately find a weakness to complement the excellence...people don't respond well. So for all that it is supposedly a virtue, extreme (and, particularly, generalised) competence can be intimidating, off-putting, and isolating.  

Which brings us to Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian, who are both highly and broadly capable, and who both deal with that by taking a kind of arrogance and turning it into a shield, but in almost opposite ways.

Lan Wangji accepts being set apart, and so makes that a part of himself, turns it into armour. He is untouchable, so no one bothers to even try, and because they do not try, they cannot be repelled, and so he cannot lose them. People look at him and see perfection, and so perfection is what he gives them, icy and unassailable. (And he tells himself he is not lonely).

And then there's Wei Wuxian, who takes the route of this self-effacing arrogance of obnoxiousness: at once drawing attention to himself and yet deflecting it away from his formidable capacity. It creates the illusion of approachability, of -- perhaps ironically -- harmlessness, even as it exasperates every breathing creature within screaming distance. He doesn't quite downplay his competence, but instead sort of masks it. It lets him pretend to have peers, because if they're exasperated by him, then they're not in awe of him. And if they're not in awe of him, then he's not a threat. (And he tells himself it does not hurt when they roll their eyes and dismiss him).

It's about choosing how to be perceived, because when you have that kind of capability, people will look. But if you direct that focus, it becomes a shield in your hand rather than a weapon in theirs.

And while there are a lot of factors that play into why they each take the route they do, I think part of the reason Wei Wuxian basically defangs his competence is because if he's not a threat, then he's not a threat to Jiang Cheng.

Because the sibling dynamic here is...complicated. As the elder, Wei Wuxian should protect his younger brother. But as a not-quite-adopted not-son, he should not overshadow or challenge Jiang Cheng, the heir. And Jiang Cheng seems to have a great deal of insecurity, especially around his position in this world.

Meanwhile Wei Wuxian seems incredibly protective of his siblings, and I wonder if some of this deflection of attention away from his own competence, painting himself as an easy and obnoxious target, is a way of protecting Jiang Cheng by making sure people don't compare the two of them in Wei Wuxian’s favour.

Whereas Lan Xichen doesn't seem to have that same kind of insecurity; he doesn't appear to feel threatened by his brother's capability, or uncertain of his own. (He's also possibly the only person in the series thus far who understands the concept of 'chill', which helps). So Lan Wangji doesn't need to protect anyone else from his competence; he only needs to protect himself.

And it all feels like the beginning of a polarisation where both Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian let people's perceptions become reality, but opposite. Lan Wangji allows himself to be put on a pedestal. And Wei Wuxian allows people to think the worst of him, by shielding himself in irreverence and obnoxiousness. Early on, it's harmless. ‘The worst’ just means shaking their heads and seeing a troublemaker first and a talented cultivator second.

But it would be so easy for that to shift into something more sinister. Because what happens when the stakes are higher? When it's not just mischief but some greater transgression? And when he’s already conditioned them to not look past the surface, to never think he has truer motives than mischief?

Maybe I'm just desperate for this to be a story of Wei Wuxian hounded into villainy by people’s perceptions that he himself helped craft -- because it's all too easy for 'let them think the worst of me, if need be; I can take it' to become 'what's to stop me becoming in truth the monster they already think I am?'

[stranger-who-writes-fiction]

Been having a weird/off week. But you know what’s made it better?

Spending some more time in Midvale with Supergirl Ep. 6x06, “Prom Again!”

Spoilers!

So! Last week was the fun shenanigans/set-up, THIS WEEK we get the emotional pay-offs and oooooh. So good. So good.

Historically, Supergirl kinda struggles to stick its landing when it comes to paying off its set-ups, but I think this episode is really solid in that regard.  

And thus, we begin! With the forest showdown! And I love it. Love every part of it. Love Kara flying in and freeing Nia and Brainy with her heat vision, love that one of Kenny and Kara’s go-to plays is called ‘Speed Racer’, love Brainy’s whole, ‘my buddy’s gonna BLAST YA if you don’t cooperate’ and Kara just. Threatens the bad guys from the shrubbery.

She’s supposed to be scary and intimidating with the heat vision eyes but dagnabbit...it’s just kind of cute.

Last week I completely forgot to mention how much I love that Kenny and Kara have go-to plays WITH NAMES. (NERDY names at that!) And also that Alex is so exasperated by it.

JUST YOU WAIT, KIDDO. 

Fast forward to the Fortress and everyone’s happy! The day is saved! The timeline is restored! Alex apologizes for being a bit of a grouch!

*cough* understatement *cough*

And Brainy doesn’t get the fist bump, d’awwwww. XD

Nia has a lovely chat with Kara wherein SHE is the elder hero who inspires the youths. Nice. NICE.

And THEN, the first of some good Danvers Sisters scenes...we’ll call this one ‘the mini-van chat.’ 

Kara apologizing about the ‘Zookeeper fight-y thing’ and the GLASSES FIDGET.

Shout out to the writers, who were ON-POINT with the dialogue for both parts, and shout out to the young actresses as well. It’s...honestly uncanny, how well they nailed playing Kara and Alex. 

(I mean, we knew this already, of course, but GOSH. What a wonderful showcase. So, so glad, that we got such a large Midvale story in the final season.)

Right, so, another dialogue highlight from the mini-van chat (but like, not in a silly way. More in a, ‘oh wow that’s very sweet’ way) Alex, to Kara about her choice: ‘It’s the right one because you made it.’

THESE KIDS.

Then we go to Nia and Brainy on the Legion Cruiser!

Nia’s outfit? Outstanding. Brainy’s mask? Admittedly a little distracting because it didn’t look like it was fitting quite right.

But A+ song choice for their dance, show. 

(Really, A+ song choices across the board. You can tell they were absolutely LOVING getting in all those needle drops.) 

And then we discover--ALL IS NOT WELL! THE TIMELINE IS STILL BROKEN!

Cat Grant has released the aliens! And she has been captured! And yet she remains heckin’ fearless!

Love that she calls Mitch ‘Mr. Blue Sky.’

It took me a while to warm up to this ‘new’ version of Cat Grant but this episode really gave her some fun stuff to do and yep, I dig it. Great stuff. 

Meanwhile, back at the prom...

I'm taking this moment to applaud the Supergirl folks for their very nice workarounds for ‘crowded’ locations this season thus far. The episodes have never felt like, overtly obvious in terms of Covid protocol impacts (I mean there are a few scenes here and there where you’re like, ‘oh, yeah, this is set up in this specific way to probably account for some production changes) but I’ve never felt that the episodes are losing anything, you know?

Case in point! Two episodes, set in a crowded high school! But most of the stuff takes place before/between classes, or outside!

(Specifically enjoyed all the outdoor stuff and natural lighting. It’s not quite the same as that LA sunshine, but. Still nice.)  

Anyways, in “Prom Again!” the action/discussions are set in the hallways/classrooms outside of the actual Prom. Inobtrusive! Makes sense for the story! Doesn’t compromise!

Gold stars for everyone. 

Kara and Kenny are BOTH unrelentingly cheesy--Kara even says as much--and it’s wonderful.

‘Hey Stargazer.’ Kara, you smooth operator you.

Shout out to Kenny’s bowtie, it’s great.

...Shout out to Kenny in general.

(Like, Will is great, but he’s got a lot to live up to, now.)

So FURTHER PROOF THAT THE TIMELINE IS BUSTED: Kara is going to stay in Midvale!

:O

Me, knowing full well that Kara has to go to National City, but also being...just a liiiiittle bit team Kenny: 

And then...THE METEOR!

That Kara just. Body-slams.

It reminded me of another Danvers, who also body-slams some space stuff:

But UNLIKE Kara’s cross-company cousin, this particular move does not end well!

Because there’s KRYPTONITE! And also, a CLOAKED SPACESHIP, BLOCKING THE FALLING METEOR DEBRIS! And, you know, ALIEN HUNTERS THREATENING HIGH SCHOOLERS! And Kenny SACRIFICES HIMSELF FOR KARA!

(Well, okay. It’s tonight but you get the idea.)

Poor, sweet Kenny. Who feels WAY out of his depth as he’s imprisoned alongside Cat on the alien ship...but it does bring us one of her patented ‘tough love pep talks.’ Wherein she calls Kenny brilliant.

And also, Kendall.

Never change, Cat. Never change.

Also, “Go, go.”

Okay, some more rapid fire specifics that I enjoyed so that this list doesn’t get...too? Long? ...No promises.

Smol Kara squaring her shoulders in that classic Kara Super Pose! 

Alex being able to pick a lock!

Kara using the reflected sunlight from the moon to heal!

‘That’s an 80% failure rate’ ‘Oh yes it’s terrible.’

The scene where the police have Kara, and Alex comes rushing out all, ‘that’s my sister!’ and Kara’s gonna just RISK EVERYTHING to fix this?

100/10, excellent, love to see that Danvers Sisters angst in the Worst Timeline. Also? Alex’s desperate little headshake, silently pleading for Kara to NOT DO THE THING???? Devastating. In the best way.

‘The world will know that name...Keira.’ 

No Plutonian Landshark sightings!?!? Not even a graphic on a computer screen? FOR SHAME!

(Personally, I’m imaging that they look like Jeff, pictured below.)

Kara stowing away on the Cruiser, and her very cute, ‘Don’t be mad!’

Her entire speech about her future--She’s just seventeen! She doesn’t have her driver’s license yet! Eliza’s only let her do the laundry once! She’s not even sure she can make rice!

(Eliza, I love you, but for Pete’s sake, let your kid do her own laundry.) 

Brainy and Kara trying to play it cool upon being discovered by Kenny and Alex! 

Their story involving an excess of formal wear!

Nia inspiring Cat to start CatCo, and telling her she’s CAT FREAKIN’ GRANT!

“If you say Lois Lane I will expire.”

Wait, did I mention the lucid dreaming power yet? ...Nia’s lucid dreaming power!

The entirety of Kara and Kenny’s talk in the gym!

Kara in the Worst Timeline tell Alex, ‘you don’t have to shout’. And then in the Fixed Timeline: ‘inside voice please.’

And she quotes Monty Python that lil GOOBER.

THE WHOLE EPISODE(S) was a GOSHDARN DELIGHT, I TELL YA. (Did I say that last week? I might’ve said that last week, but I don’t care.)

And now, some slightly more in-depth, overall thoughts:

So, How ‘Bout Them Danvers: Not surprisingly, the girls end up in, if not the exact same place as the end of “Midvale”, then pretty darn close. I’m trying to avoid, like. All of fandom, these days, but unfortunately, the bad takes are numerous, and often untagged. So I did see a bunch of people insisting that Kenny living ‘ruined the Danvers’ relationship’ and that the show is ‘taking away everything that makes Kara Kara’

To which I say:

In the broadest terms, what needs to happen by episode’s end to match up with “Midvale”, and prep the kiddos for the stuff that happens in the Pilot - Kara needs to put the aspirations of super-ing on the backburner, and Alex needs to like. Not hate Kara, but also be committed to helping Kara keep her secret, you know...secret. 

All of these things are set up. I repeat: All. Of. Them.

And Kenny didn’t have to die!

(I will admit, I chuckled that they so blatantly teased an untimely demise for him...because I know it will annoy select corners of fandom.

Muhahahahaha.)

But anyways, back to those key ingredients for making a ‘Danvers Sisters in the same emotional place they were in @ Midvale’s end’ soup: Alex deals with that simmering resentment. Seeing Kara handle herself well in a super-ing context gives her that little, ‘hey, this isn’t so bad!’ outlook.

BUT INTERESTINGLY, in the Fixed Timeline, Alex and Kara don’t have that chat in the supply room, where Alex is like. ‘You CANNOT reveal your powers, BAD THINGS will happen if you do.’ 

That is saved for the Pilot!*

MEANWHILE. The Kara ingredients! She puts super-ing on hold. 

Her chat with Kenny functions as a replacement for her chat with J’onn-as-Not!Alura, in the sense that it’s here that she reveals that she didn’t choose to come to Midvale, she didn’t choose these powers. 

(...I can already sense fandom using those lines to prove their end-of-series theories and like. Ugh. Ugh.) 

But anyways. It’s also here that we get shades of Pilot!Kara, what with the season one conflict of being Super vs. being normal. 

It’s ALL THE SAME STUFF.

Fandom needs to like. Chill. 

And their (fake) concern for Kara’s characterization is entirely misplaced, because this was a really wonderful showcase for Kara in particular.

Like. The first episode was really Nia’s time to shine, and we still got solid Brainy and Nia action in this episode!

But man. That good Kara content.

THE CONTENT I CRAVE!

So speaking of good Kara content in particular, I LOVED Kara’s prom dress. It's got both a SKIRT. AND PANTS!

Amazing.

I know nothing of fashion, but it was very cute, very girly, and okay. Though I hate the comic, the one thing I actually liked about Future State is Kara’s costume. This was similar!

(Thank goodness it looked nothing like the prom dress from Rebirth. That...was a bit of a train wreck.)

(Look, not all comic artists are great clothes designers, it’s just how it is.)

We see the empowerment theme come up with Kara inspiring Kenny; he describes her as ‘an amazing light in a world of darkness’ and tells her that, ‘you changed me, Kara Zor-El.’

We love to see it. 

They also agree that stargazing and Monty Python make for the perfect prom these absolute NERDS I love them.

*Quick wibbly-wobbly, timey-whimey note WRT making this episode ‘fit’ with the Pilot: I’m not saying that it 100% does. There’s already the change with the Kryptonite, and the added info/awareness of the DEO. 

Those little changes, though, don’t really impact the overall arc of Kara and Alex, the way the emotional stuff might. 

Thus! The ‘Pilot’ of Earth Prime, and in fact, the ENTIRETY of the show’s run thus far most likely involved little differences throughout, but the emotional core is very close, if not the exact same.

BUT EITHER WAY, it doesn’t matter, because our Kara and Alex are still our Kara and Alex thanks to the multiple sets of memories! 

(So all of fandom’s freaking out is for naught. As it almost always is.) 

I bring this up because, again, as much as I talk about setting stuff up for where we find Kara six years from now--this Kara is a little different! She comes across as more confident, something Izabela Vidovic mentioned in an interview, when discussing her approach to playing Kara this time around. 

And now, Alex: Admittedly, she gets less focus as like, a solo-entity in these episodes--she really is there to serve the more Kara-centric plot. Personally, it didn’t bother me too much because outside of these flashback episodes, Alex has had some solid development and screen time, so. It balances out.

And the scenes we did get with those 2? Solid. Top tier. There was even a couch scene! Like, technically. Because there was a couch in the supply room. XD  

Spotlight on Kenny: fandom kinda loves to insist that all the men on Supergirl are trash, because, ya know. 'Feminism’ or whatever. It’s ships, it’s always ships. But, in fact! The dudes on Supergirl? Are actually wonderful! And Kenny is another example of a guy who isn’t afraid to be emotionally vulnerable, who 1000% supports Kara, but is also like. His own person. 

GOOD JOB, SHOW. GOOD JOB.

Brainy too, had some really nice stuff in terms of dealing with his emotions!

And it’s Brainy who gives us our closing line, as Nia asks him how he’s feeling now that they’ve accomplished their mission:

“Hopeful.”

NOICE.

In conclusion! “Prom Night” and “Prom Again!” were EXCELLENT! They had heart! They had stakes! They had the promised time-travel do-over alluded to in the titles! Outstanding performances from the entire cast! Tthe ‘young’ versions of characters in particular! And I WILL be watching these episodes on repeat throughout the three-month hiatus! XD

But before the Super Friends take their break: NEXT WEEK! The Quest for Kara Concludes!!!

[alphaketoglutaricacid]

@onehithero said: also we know theres at least some actual animals besides gadoll liek the scorpion n cows tht show up for a sec in ep 1 so tankers hav tht going for them re: food sources ..SORRY FOR RAMBLING SO MUCH deca dence essay got sleeper agent activated

onehithero said: i rly like what usaid abt kabu from natsumes pov too but i cannot form a half cohernet thought abt tht one

onehithero said: ALSO ALSO i think its interesting how the ep 8 conversation w minato is i think the only time kabu talks abt being jealous of humans being able to choose their own paths

onehithero said: also how minatos convinced hes like a good lil cog in the machine yet hes done 50 things tht wuld get him labeled as a bug but he just ignores all tht. the both of them can be so disconnected w reality

onehithero said: like minato didnt know abt 1)natsume 2) how the system has made kabu so severely depressed n he culdnt put up w it anymore.n minato continues pushing the just go along w the system shit he doesnt understand tht he was contributing to kabus misery.. n bc of tht kabu doesnt trust minato enough to tell him abt natsume for so long but then he goes n asks smth so big of him as go against the system

onehithero said: thinks abt how kabu n minato r obviously so important to each other but minato understands him less n less over time & kabu kinda already knew its risky to confide in minato like minato did know abt pipe which was a long time ago but he didnt know abt natsume til kabu was already sacrifing himself for her sake. n yet kabu then goes n tries to get him on his side anyway cuz he wants tht so badly..

onehithero said: OMG OMG CHEWS THESE WORDS SLOWLY N THROUGHLY SO DELICIOUS THANK U THANK U u get it u understand i love reading n writing essay lengh responses abt deca dence & again u just hit the nail on the head w this

Please let me know if this @ u 8 times and sorry if it did.  I will reply under this readmore but i love this enthusiasm! I like discussing this stuff so if u want keep it coming. I wanna understand deca dence better and i think i will by sharing ideas w other ppl. 

I think kabu and minatos relationship  is as good as it is because theres clearly a lot of mutual love and respect between them even when they don’t understand each other and thats why minato still runs after him when he hears kabu going suicide mission lets go baby. I think its interesting that minato was like ready to lie down and accept getting mass scrapped until he hears kabu go im about to be hilarious and hes like actually living and staying alive sounds great actually forget what i said about it being over.   you are so right about kabu and trust and natsume. I will always cherish episode 5 where kabu gives this big rousing speech about how natsume inspired him and saved his life and minatos there like ..who? ..what?? I think they may not be used to hiding things from each other. Also I think them drifting apart mirrors natsume and feis drifting apart tho I think while feis the instigator on that side kabus more on his side and minato like natsume is like wondering what in da world is going on. I think someone else wrote about this better than I can.

I do think minato does know kabus severely depressed because theres this line in ep 4 where he puts his hand on kabu and says like you’ve toiled enough at that awful job. and also in episode 11 when he and kabu talk and kabu says he was in a similar place as minato now in that he was waiting every day to be scrapped minato has no reaction until kabu says but that bug saved me. I think he knows kabus very depressed but he does not know how to address it cuz the system never gives either of them the tools or options for it. Though also I feel the system discourages meaningful relationships between the cyborgs so I think what minato and kabu have is likely pretty rare. Kabu donetello and turkey also fought together for a long time but turkey turns on donetello in a second even tho they fought together, he was his number two, and they were in prison together, and were pretty much all they got and donetello kills him in turn. I also think minato probably knew because he’s empathetic. Like I’m not sure about compassion but he’s very good at understanding where other ppl are and how to meet them in the middle so both parties get something they want. That’s how he got all the gamers to collect the old deca dence parts. Not by cashing in on ppl doing the right thing but by framing it as the final mission. He gets his lgbt community center coworkers for fight with him one last time by appealing to their sense of duty. He got the system to put kabu in jail instead of getting scrapped when Mikey got scrapped for a lesser offense. The list goes on. A tangent but I think the fact he acknowledges the living conditions of the humans are gonna get worse if nothing’s done even tho he’s apathetic at best towards them shows even when the system tries to mold the cyborgs into the roles it wants, sometimes the traits they have just keep on going despite themselves. I’m gonna stop myself before I go into jill and this theme but I’m gonna talk about it someday. So I think its more likely than not he knew but he didn’t know how to navigate around it also because it’s heavily implied he’s going thru the same thing and I think kabu might genuinely have no idea Bc kabu lacks empathy but his heart... is huge. When he hears minato express his feelings of not knowing what he wants he instantly tries to reach out and explain minatos not alone in what he feels. This is why they’re good foils. while kabu moves past where he was in the start where he states he does not intend to oppose the system and his compliance while also trying to do the bare minimum drives him to suicide, and finds the willpower and a reason to live and rebel against the system through his connection to other people (first natsume , he hangs out w kurenai sometimes too, and then with the jail robots). Meanwhile minato whos stuck in his literal ivory tower (it’s a Metaphor) never makes any of these connections. It’s the irony of kabu working at a armor repair job giving him some ability to connect w others vs minatos higher position isolating him from everyone else. I think kabu living amongst the ppl he harmed drove him to give up on life quicker, while minato being far apart shielded him from rlly having to see the effects of his actions I think he was headed a lil slower in the same direction. I think we’re led to believe minatos okay where he is but I think towards the end it’s clear minato has spent most of the series also in a bad place. I think he views things very similarly to kabu in that he wants to use what power he does have to protect the ppl he cares about similar to how initially kabu tried to just convince natsume to quit several times and he was like whatever at the rest of the humans who are natsumes comrades dying but he chooses to put it all on the line and try for some systemic change when he sees natsumes determination to fight. Also I think minato holds very little loyalty to the system cuz he doesn’t only like breaks 1000 rules for kabu (the hypocrisy) but he also looks the other way a lot. For example, when he overheard the top rankers talk about limiters he’s like I’ll pretend I don’t hear it also turn on private mode next time and he doesn’t berate them for considering cheating. Also donetello has been using an illegal avatar to climb to S rank again (isn’t it interesting that even after the ranked system is abolished something similar took its place). And his avatar looks the same as it did when minato worked with the guy. There’s probably like not that many ppl in s rank. And he calls himself donetello. Minato knows he’s supposed to be in jail but does he tell anyone? He’s like well.. that looks like someone else’s problem if they notice *goes and vapes* it’s so funny how little minato cares but it’s also not funny Bc some of minatos cruelest actions and things he’s complicit in are born not outta malice but apathy to everything. I think it shows (tangent number 4?) how the systems use of excessive force is counter productive cuz neither minato nor kabu are willing to report anything to disrupt the order Bc neither of them think the level of punishment is warranted. I also think that minato is probably the first person kabu really opens up to about why on a personal level he feels the system needs to be destroyed after Ep 7 is really interesting. It really speaks to how deep their [mutual and not platonic relationship I don’t know how to label ] is. I also think that he admits to minato that he envies human is rlly interesting and would like to hear what u have to think! I think it’s interesting that what really sets minato off is kabu saying he wants to choose for himself and also wants other cyborgs to have that freedom and I think it’s one of the few times we see minato get genuinely angry and have it not stem from worry. Tangent 5 I’m really extrapolating here but I think it’s very likely given how high up minato is that he likely knows of several cyborgs that rebelled against the system for similar reasons as kabu and knows how it ends and I think it probably feeds into his defeatist attitude. I think his role in the system must really kill whatever grasp of whatever minato has cuz he constantly has to act like it’s almost the end of the world and he’s strapped for resources all the time for like decades and decades of having to fake that type of desperation to entertain ur player base and cuz ur also on tv to entertain the general populace to distract them from their soul sucking jobs. I think that’s gotta mess with his perception of himself and also his ability to see that struggle as real and genuine. I think that’s also gotta be hard cuz he seems like out of his whole fuck we r under attack persona he seems like he’s a lil closed off but generally chill and somewhat upbeat to ppl who know him and he just wants to be isabella from animal crossing. I got really off track here. I think what really gets me is their relationship is built on knowing each other so well and so long , and how it’s managed to survive and persist through all this tragedy. They really mutually respect and love each other and that’s why kabu let’s minato walk away from his revolution even tho it compromises everything he works for. It’s why minato ultimently accepts kabus willingness to die for a tanker even tho he really doesn’t get it at all and it means it’s goodbye forever. But it’s still not enough to save either of them. Minato can’t save kabu from trying to passively starving himself to death and I’m not sure if kabu even knows where minato is at mentally. Sometimes no matter how close u are to someone there r things u miss and things u can’t help each other with. Even tho the two resolve to fight and then die together cuz this seems like the best choice Bc the system they were born into offers no alternatives, the deca dence doesn’t even activate without the help of other ppl. I think it shows one relationship cant support all that weight. In the end it is through their bonds with other ppl that gets them to an ending where they both survive when they decided alone their only option is death. Also u are so right about the other animals existing I totally forgot ty I cannot believe I forgot about the scorpion which calls to natsumes hairstyle which is a visual gag on how natsumes a bug and how like a scorpion, although unassuming, and fucking kill u, just like how her trying to get her boss to open up eventually leads to the whole thing toppling down. I also have a lot of thoughts about natsume but I’m still thinking of them and thinking hard Bc sometimes she becomes kabus inspiration Pinterest board and I don’t like that. When she shines she really shines but it starts getting sloppy towards the end so I have to think a lil longer about it. Okay I’m done. Also it’s kinda hard for me to look like I’m agreeing to ur points and nodding in this format but I really appreciate ur thoughts and will try to convey this. Maybe by formatting as a response to each of ur replies next time

[thegirlwholied]

Omg I can’t with sams grey wig I just burst out laughing it was so bad😳 and he just looked constipated. On a different note though I had the same thought as you that the masked men were gonna be normal, which would have given it a different spin. And I kept thinking during deans death scene that he was pranking Sam - it felt so weird to kill bc of being impaled something when he’s survived so much worse. But I guess that might have been the point idk

Old Man Sam looked like he was wearing a Halloween professor costume! Some blame must go to the makeup department but, I’m sure they tried. Putting them in that situation is down to writing. 

I can’t believe I’m about to give the Vampire Diaries finale, another show I skipped MANY seasons of, credit... but at least when doing *their* afterlife ending & indicating characters eventually died of old age they did not go the cheesy bad makeup route! LOST’s finale also looking pretty good in comparison now. (Afterlife endings are not my jam, to say the least, but out of the afterlife endings that come to mind, LOST’s is solid). 

Tell-not-show does have some advantages! There is a time to tell and a time to show! There is a time to leave things mysterious and open-ended and a time to spell shit the fuck out! 

For instance, that Jack!God let there still be vampires around. Why he left them around, OK, I still think we could have used at least a line of speculation there, but leave that a question. That he left them around -- spell it out! Especially when we see Sam & Dean looking for ‘weird stuff’ and all they find initially is a pie festival. We don’t even know if there’s anything to find anymore!

& when the villains of the episode did not do anything that clearly marked them as supernatural and not crazy cult evil humans -- until we see that guy wake up with the bullet in his head, we can’t be sure Sam/Dean are right, that they are vampires, because we’ve gotten no post-Jack confirmation monsters are still around! Did the writers just assume the audience would assume all the ‘hunting things’ are automatically back? Or were they intentionally trying to make us wonder if Sam & Dean are killing humans for a sec?? I lean toward the latter, as the episode played with a few too many trying-to-be-clever fakeouts.

I think it’s a mistake that weakened the writing, either way, and a minor example of the episode’s overall issues. Supernatural used to be masterful at the balancing act between showing & leaving to the imagination: the ultimate example being Castiel’s shadow wings & that whole season 4 premiere really. Did we really need to see Sam in hospice, or couldn’t Bobby’s line about time passing differently have cut it? Did we need more from the son than the tattoo and a pull-away shot of him from behind, in flannel with long hair? Did we really?

Meanwhile we went from Sam going to Austin, apparently to fight on alone, to Sam-with-son, with zero transition. We get Faceless Wife, with not even, y’know, a phone call to or from Eileen or a line confirming if she’s alive or dead. Those... might have been more useful to show.    

I agree how simple the death is was definitely the point. It was a poorly-delivered point. 

So okay, it’s the ‘one good day’ ending. And I’m quoting Spike’s speech on Buffy in calling it that. How does a Slayer lose, how does a Slayer die? And that speech is precipitated by Buffy having a close call: she gets beat, on a random patrol, by one random vampire. Not multiple vampires, not a super-vampire, and it jars her, leading her to look into what happened to her predecessors. What’s ultimately, presumably, going to happen to her, no matter how many stronger foes she’s taken down. All the bad guys need is one good day.  

In and of itself it’s a good concept. It’s a pretty natural concept for the Winchesters. Except where in the story it’s placed makes it feel wrong; it both had too much and too little buildup (the wrong kind of buildup!); and the execution was just... horrible. 

Namely, the ‘one good day’ ending does not work the same week you beat God, or even a god. And especially not when new!God is basically your kid who loves you. A handwave of ‘hands off’ doesn’t cut it. And it was a handwave ~ very generic, no specific rules of the road of what Jack can and cannot do or why he’d choose not to save them. 

...I also kind of feel we passed the ‘one brother lives a normalish life without the other’ cutoff a good few seasons ago ago. It was believable enough when we leave Dean there in s5 - painful but it worked! The pain was part of why it worked! But they’ve re-committed to the forever fight so many times now, it’s too *late* for the ending to feel right with just one of them. Also to what extent is Sam’s life normal v. still active in hunting? I’d rather have a sense of that than how he died! 

So, so many tweaks could have improved this episode. So. Many. On a big-picture level, yes, I wish the entire thing was totally different. But assuming we’re stuck with the same basic bones you could *still* fix so much.

I keep thinking how satisfying the opening scene would have been, with a young mother & father home with their two young boys, if that scene ended with Sam & Dean busting in and saving them. That’s what they do, that’s the whole point: to keep from what happened to their family to happening to others. 

If more time had passed, between their fight against *God* and the random fight that takes Dean down -- there is a time to montage and a time not to montage!

 Instead of Sam & Dean’s random morning, we could have gotten them back on the road for an indeterminate stretch, we could have seen them going through pictures & trying to find the precious few they’ve actually taken with Castiel & Jack, interrupting a crossroads deal, exchanging emails with Claire or Jody etc -- there are ways to include characters even when you can’t actually show them! -- that also would have worked better. 

And then, if you were going to ‘one good day’ it, then imho it should have been more classic. On Buffy, ‘classic’ is the Slayer v. one, ordinary vampire - that’s the whole point of fearing that day. I guess Supernatural’s writers decided a nest of very un-vampiric vampires wearing creepy masks was ‘classic’ for them. But especially after the first hour of looking back at the show’s roots... not much of an urban legend, there. That’s what I missed the most in these last eps: the sense of legend.