#season 7 costume meta

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Costume Meta 7x02

We are short on the costumes to look at this week as we continue this multi episode arc, so this meta is going to be a pretty short one! I’ve had a pretty busy weekend, so things have worked out for me and its also the reason why I'm only posting this on a Tuesday evening!!!!

There are a few things to point out before I get to the main costumes - we have more bright pink in play here - on the Mom in the car that got hit by the drunk driver. I still have no idea what its trying to tell us a this point, but I have my eyes peeled for more bright pink to appear in the next couple of episodes and see if I can unravel its use.

On the non costume front, on the ship - its a yellow cable that leads to the bomb that ensures communication cannot be restored to the ship when nit explodes - the fact the communications engineer also dies, just re-emphaises the point. Communication is a key theme in this episode.

Back to costumes an in the same vein as the cable, we see Captain O’s deputy in his yellow rain coat when she gives the abandon ship order, and the yellow wire is prominent on the radio when she tells him to do so. He is now the one responsible for communicating her order to the rest of the ship and getting everyone onto the life boats. This is good and effective communication and we see the results of it as we are shown the ship being evacuated. 

Hen and Karen are the only ones we get in a new costume this week.

Lets start with Karen - its an interesting choice - we have her in this navy blue shirt and trousers combo with a brown belt. the top has blue and green Richelieu (cutwork) design on the sleeves and the trousers are also decorated with Richelieu. There are two things at play with this costume choice - the almost entirely navy outfit places her in the same category as Chim, Buck and Eddie. this is very very intentional - Karen mirroring/paralleling them places her in the same position they hold - Karen is meant to be there to show that Hens thought process is flawed and as an outsider to proceedings thats really important for the audience - we need to see that Hen isn't this flawless captain that we've been shown up to this point. The other thing it's designed to do is maintain Hen as separate from everyone else. This visual device helps the script re-enforce things so that when she is then spurred into trying to get hold of Bobby and Athena we are focused on her because of her 'otherness' visually she stands out and we obviously need her to to help drive the narrative forward.

The other thing with Karens costume is the green and blue Richelieu which creates this visual representation of storm clouds swirling and moving in - a subtle reference, not only to Hen's currently cloudy viewpoint on things, but also to the impending storm brewing out in the ocean around the cruise ship. I really love it when they can drop subtle hints like this in set and costuming!

THen we have Hen!

Putting her into her white tee, jeans, green sneakers and this printed silk jacket, and not showing her changing out of her uniform into said outfit while the rest of the firearm are still in uniform helps to separate her from the ‘three Judases’ its a really loud and obvious visual way of separating her from the not only the three boys, but also from the firehouse as a whole. The way the scene is set up helps with this as well -she is on the same side of the bench and room as Chim, Buck and Eddie, until they question her version of events (Eddie is the one to actually ask the question and he is the one dressed differently to Chim and Buck - this isn't about putting him in opposition to them, more just visually signalling that he's the one to ask the important question that we as viewers should be ready for) and then she moves away from them and becomes visually in opposition to them. Its the perfect example of costume, set and direction working in perfect harmony to tell the story visually - we don't actually need to hear whats been said, we can tell it all from the way its shown to us visually.

Hens jacket is a fascinating choice - it plays into a couple of themes we’ve seen in action over the two episodes we’ve had thus far. I did write a little bit about it when we got the first stills of it (which I now cannot find - stupid tumblr search!) but essentially it is a jacket that has various places around California - the golden gate bridge, the redwood trees in Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, etc. as well as the victorian style rose pattern running along the cuffs and edges of the jacket.

The pink roses are a really lovely touch - and one I picked up on specifically because Hen is not a flowery kind of person, so seeing them on her means they are important. Pink roses are generally considered to signify a strong friendship or family bond - something that is ultimately at the heart of matters - the fire family are just that - a family and they might have argument's etc, but they still love each other as a family and will go all out to be there for each other. Its a low key piece of

then we have all that water - do we even need to talk about its meaning?!! Its a literal visual play on the entire them of this arc - water! We all know that water is a really key theme that 911 uses a lot in its storytelling, whether thats big water based events such at the Tsunami or this cruise ship disaster, or smaller low key water theming such as the rain being present at so many of the disasters we see. I'm interested that we now have it appearing on Hen - because it hasn't really been connected to her in many of her personal story arcs (by this I mean arcs such as her deciding and training to be a doctor, Henren's journey through parenthood, the ambulance crash or even Karens lab blowing up last season) so its interesting that we're now seeing her pulled into the water theming in a visual way like this. It is also a play on the two aspects of this episode - there is the loud water theming of the Cruise ship, but there is also the fact Hen has landed in hot water/ deep water.

Hen is also wearing her 'H' necklace, not her 'K' one. This is important because her necklaces tend to be a visual indicator of what her arc is about - the 'H' is worn when it's about her specifically and not her marriage/ family, which is when we tend to see the 'K' heart pendant being worn.

Thats all from me this week! Thank you as always for reading and I hope you enjoyed the shortness of this post - I doubt many of the others will be this short 😂

Tagged peeps below!

@theladyyavilee @mistmarauder @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @mandzuking17 @spotsandsocks @loveyou2thecore @rogerzsteven @wanderingwomanwondering @oneawkwardcookie @leothil @copyninjabuckley @shammers86 @crazyfangirlallert @missmagooglie @katyobsesses @radiation-run @gayandbifiremenofmine @bi-moonlight @crazyaboutotps @princesschez75 @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove @sherlocking-out-loud @evanbuckleysarms @satashiiwrites

[stellaluna33]

One thing I really love about the earlier seasons of Gilmore Girls is how unpolished and real everyone was allowed to look, even including the main characters. The clothes were ordinary and seemed to be chosen for personality instead of "hotness," Lorelai made weird makeup choices sometimes and Rory had days when her hair was a little frizzy and flyaway... The dress Lorelai "made" Rory for the dance REALLY looked like a homemade dress from cheap polyester satin and a wrinkle in the collar that never seems to lie completely flat... They felt like REAL people!

But the later seasons just don't feel the same. I'm happy for the show and their budget that they got clothing sponsorships, and the clothes are pretty to look at, but Lorelai and Rory look perpetually glossy and glamorous in a way that seems out-of-step with their personalities, income level, and situations (just like every other show!) and I MISS IT! I miss the messiness! College Rory should get to lounge around in her pajamas more, or just... SOMETHING! It just doesn't feel the same!

[khruschevshoe]

You know, there was a comment in an author's note of one of @aletterinthenameofsanity 's fucs that pointed out something that I can't stop thinking about: Rory's outfits. Taking aside the last centurion outfit for sight gags and his clubs from episode one, Rory in seasons 5 and 6 has one of the most consistent character style designs of any companion on the show (outside of Jack, but Jack kind of feels more Doctor-adjacent to me in terms of costuming in that he wears almost the exact same thing for Torchwood/later appearances, and he only has like three different outfits in late Season 1).

Rory is constantly identified with puffer vests, jeans, and flannel button-ups, with him occasionally having a striped polo (Impossible Astronaut) or a cardigan/jacket (Let's Kill Hitler). When he is wearing an outfit he picked out and not a uniform (so not Eleventh Hour, Pandorica Opens/Big Bang), he is wearing very similar variations on the same general outfit/style.

So why on God's green earth did the costume designers decide to change things so much in Season 7? I understand that there's some argument to be made that Rory "grew up" based on the 10 years comment, but hell, he lived 2000 years and that didn't change his sense of style at all from season 5 to 6 save for the introduction of the Last Centurion outfit into the mix for a gag/"badass" moment a couple of times a season (though never in Season 7). Why does he suddenly go from flannel button-ups and leather jackets to looser plain shirts and hoodies in Season 7?

(There's also something to be said for the change in makeup for Amy- much more emphasized eyeliner, for example- between Seasons 6 & 7 and the addition of a "sleeker" leather jacket. It's almost like season 7 styling of the Ponds is going for a more sleek, stylish, "cool" version of the Ponds, but I'd love guesses as to why outside of making them look more mature- unless you think that might be the sole reason.

Also, yes, I'm aware that Arthur Darvill apparently got to style his own hair in Season 7 so that at least solves the question of Rory's changed hairdo.)

[crazykuroneko]

Claudia's Celebration of Life: Spark in the Dark

As the title suggests, this event is to celebrate the wonderful Claudia; her personality, her aspirations, her journey. The heart for the past two seasons of AMC Interview with The Vampire. This is to take the narrative back to her, proving she's not just a shingle roof for us.

The event will be held for 30 days (from Aug 11th to Sept 9th) with 15 themes. Anyone can join, and you can post whatever you like, from gifsets, meta analysis, fic recs, fanvids, web weaving, fanarts, fanvids, even poems. You can post them on Tumblr, or Tiktok, or AO3 etc. The rule is just one: make sure to tag "#Claudia's Spark in the Dark" and her character tags #Claudia and #AMC Claudia. Let's flood her tags with posts about her again! (plus, please give TW or CW when it's appropriate)

Important point: This event is AMC Claudia & Madeleine focused only. Please try to minimize inclusion of other characters or iterations except when it's on the theme.

Themes and dates are under the cut!

(The order of themes are generated randomly. Feel free to interpret each theme. For the themes with 'OR', you can choose which one you want)

1. Aug 11th & 12th: Hobbies

2. Aug 13th & 14th: Alternate Universe

3. Aug 15th & 16th: Quotes (From TVC books, other cast, Anne Rice about Claudia OR web weaving with other media)

4. Aug 17th & 18th: Family (Her relationship with Louis and/or Lestat OR with the concept of family itself)

5. Aug 19th & 20th: Claudia's Voice and Lack There Of (e.g. Claudia's diaries as her outlet and how they're used by others)

6. Aug 21th & 22nd: As A Caged Bird OR In Solitude (e.g. the limitations Claudia faces as a seemingly 14-year old Black girl OR bird motif)

7. Aug 23rd & 24th: Happiness (Anything as long as Claudia is happy. I just want to see her happy)

8. Aug 25th & 26th: Favorite lines or scenes

9. Aug 27th & 28th: Womanhood OR Childhood (e.g. Claudia's relationship with womanhood OR the still childlike or innocent part of her)

10. Aug 29th & 30th: The Actress(es) (Bailey Bass and/or Delainey Hayles with or without Roxane Duran)

11. Aug 31th & Sept 1th: Finding The X (Claudia's quest in searching for love)

12. Sept 2nd & 3rd: Enduring (e.g. Claudia relentless determination to "make the best out of it" with her vampirism or how the abuse she suffers and witnesses shapes herself and her views)

13. Sept 4th & 5th: Fashion or Costumes

14. Sept 6th & 7th: FREE THEME!

15. Sept 8th & 9th: Claudia & Madeleine

Special thanks to my mutual (you know who you are) who has helped me with the themes.

Update! I also made a submission page available during the event, if that's your preferred way to post.

Feel free to ask by replying under this post or ask me on my account or on my Twitter @itskuronekos

Let's go!

[lover-of-mine]

Welcome to Anna writes another color meta because she's losing her mind.

I made half this point before, but season 7 has more evidence, so I'm gonna make it again, just stay with me. Buck wears a lot of red, right? Staple color for him.

And, well, the coma dream has many elements that make it uncomfortable even if we don't fully realize it, one of them is the way that Buck is wearing green.

(something else is the way he's wearing black vans when he usually wears white hightops, but that's not important right now, but 911 costume department, I worship you)

Why is the green part relevant? Well, red and green are complementary colors, that means they are on opposite sides of the color wheel, and the whole thing with complementary colors is to create contrast. So, since he's usually on this part of the color wheel, the green stands out, even if we don't fully register why.

But the thing is, they put Buck in green when something is wrong. The coma dream, yeah, but the talk with Ali that leads to the breakup, the whole thing with taking Red to see Cindy that completely backfires, and subsequently the conversation with Maddie about being the one who gets left behind, telling Taylor he cheated, talking to Eddie about how he's avoiding Taylor after the Jonah thing, breaking up with Taylor, the cemetery scene, the gym scene in 705.

Those are all scenes where something is wrong, Ali doesn't understand who he is, the whole thing with Red is Buck deciding to do the wrong thing over his idea of what Red needs, the Taylor arc is very self-explanatory, the cemetery feels like he's trying to convince himself of what he's saying a lot more than it sounds like that's something he actually believes, the gym scene he's stressed because he lied to Eddie, it's all at least Buck doing misguided stuff. I feel like at this point, it is very clear that they put Buck in green for this purpose. If Buck is in green, something is most likely wrong.

So, Buck has a something is wrong color. During season 7, I offered the possibility of the show using maroon with Eddie for a similar purpose. But where Buck is about doing misguided stuff most of the time, Eddie is about lying. In a sense.

Eddie's color palette is very earthy. I don't wanna say green is as much of a staple color for him as red is for Buck, but he is usually in army colors, he does wear his fair share of green, greyish-green stuff, it's enough to make sense to some degree if they use maroon to say something is wrong in a direct parallel of what they do with Buck, just going the other way.

But why the maroon during season 7? He's wearing maroon while daydreaming about an idealized Shannon and during the date with Kim. Both situations involve lying to himself, Buck, or whatever. There's also the maroon when Chris leaves. He's not lying, but to say he's pretending to be okay with the situation because it is what Chris wants is not that much of a stretch.

But, I just noticed this dude is wearing maroon when Lena takes him to the first fight, which triggers something dangerous for him. So now we're talking. We have bad shit happening to him and bad shit being triggered by him while he's in maroon.

It opens up a lot in the possibility of them using red in this way for him in other scenes he's wearing reddish stuff. First date with Ana, the nondate with Vanessa, the 612 talk, and I'm gonna throw in the Carla thing too because I need another screenshot lol

Granted, as long as the show doesn't come right out and say Eddie is gay or Eddie was lying about remembering the shooting, these are just speculation and wishful thinking for the most part, but Eddie is peer pressured into the relationship with Ana and ends up admitting he liked the idea of them more than he liked her, so lying to himself, and the Vanessa one, he just plain doesn't want to be there and is agreeing to lie to Pepa so, it's a stretch but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ the Carla thing, Eddie is at least hiding the Shannon of it all and he was lied to to get there, and while Buck does offer him the answer to a problem that scene, it is a problem he was struggling a lot with and pretending he had it under control. And I will live in a land where Eddie has been aware of his feelings since the shooting and it is lying to Buck about not remembering until the show explicitly proves me wrong, so in my head he is lying to Buck in 612. I'm not nearly as confident on this one as I am with the green and Buck when it comes to the whole show, but at least during s7, they did use it like that, and considering the way he was mostly in black or white during s7, the maroon has to mean something.

Now that we got that out of the way. Why am I telling you all this? It is not just because I think this is yet another way the show makes Buck and Eddie exist as mirrors of each other. It is because of the bachelor party.

Because Buck is in mint green and Eddie is in baby pink.

Buck is absolutely being misguided about what Chim actually wants during this, but I have no idea what Eddie would be lying about though. The interesting thing is that Buck loses the green and Eddie has the darker pink quite literally ripped out of him. Which is an interesting choice all things considered. And they get back to it once we find out Chim is missing.

This is pure speculation that even made me write a fic (self-promo if you feel like reading a confrontation about them almost kissing at the party), but the thing is, everyone involved in this damn show talked too much about this bachelor party for it to be a minute long montage with no lasting consequences and me to feel satisfied with it (rip karaoke scene you will always be wanted). Especially considering with the way we know the episode was actually 2 episodes long and they had to trim everything down (the fact that they tried to shove 18 episodes worth of plot into 10 is gonna make me mad forever, it was a reduced season, make a reduced season) and the ideal world madney's wedding would've been the 2 episode event it deserved to be and we would've gotten more. Do I think the show wanted something to actually happen between them, like a full-blown kiss? No. Do I think a "we are drunk and getting too close" situation was completely plausible? Yes. I mean, Buck was practically pulling Eddie to his lap. And it's not like this is something that can't come back to if they feel like it. Sudden triggers making them remember shit is a perfectly acceptable way to add some tension, push some realizations.

I don't know why, but Buck wearing green there will forever bother me. And with the added layer of Eddie and the maroon, I feel like there has to have a point for that particular costume besides making me want to make The Fairly OddParents jokes.

If we wanna go full conspiracy theory, considering the way the early renewal changed the way they dealt with 7b, I wouldn't be surprised if that party was going to trigger something and they decided against it. We'll never know unless they come back to it, but, nice to think about.

As always, if you read this, I love you.

Other color metas if you like my brand of crazy: blue and green masterpost, red and blue post, blue and yellow theory part one and part two.

[saltpepperbeard]

Poison into Positivity: A List of What I Liked in OFMD S2

Hello hello everyone! Things have been a little rough around here. Even away from the more heated takes, I've still seen a few "down in the dumps" murmurs. To which, I'm giving y'all big hugs, but also offering up some little bits of warmth! I wanted to share quite a few bullets of the things I enjoyed about this season. Maybe it'll serve as a reminder, or maybe it'll just serve as a chaotic, silly little read as per usual PFFF.

But I invite you to read along, and even add some of your own points should you feel inclined! Also, this might not even be my full list; these are just the ones that came to me quickly/off the top of my head. Still, let's dive on down like a fantastical, dazzling goldfish, shall we?

All the callbacks/parallels. My goodness. When I tell you I'm a SLUT for metaphors/parallels/callbacks/etc etc. Seeing so many things and being able to just *Leonardo Dicaprio pointing meme.* I know people might not share that same opinion because some might view it to be excessive, but I personally LOVED being able to point at my screen and be like "oH EYYYYYYY!!!" Maybe because it makes for such immaculate gifset/meta material <3 SJKJDLHSK

The costuming and makeup. WHEN THEY TALKED AT ECCC ABOUT EVERYONE GETTING HOTTER, THEY WERE NOT KIDDING LMAO. EVERYONE LOOKED SO, SO GOOD. and listen, i am on my knees begging for them to give ed with his hair up back to us. i need Her back,,,ALSO, SOMETHING SOMETHING COMPLICATED EMOTIONS TOWARDS STEDE'S LATTER HALF LOOK, BUT ALSO...GOD DAMN, MR. DARBY,,,,,,

Speaking of Mr. Darby, the acting in this season. The ACTTTINNNGG. Everyone acted their ASSES off. Everyone put their entire piratussies into this season. Though, I'm PARTICULARLY impressed with Taika and Rhys, because again with their "oh we're comedians lol so idk drama can be Difficult Difficult Lemon Difficult." MMMM I THINK THE FUCK NOT, MY GUYS LMAO??? They both did SO well with all the drama and painful moments. The acting in episodes 2, 3, 6, and 7 in particular like...God. GOD!!!

I loved so many characters in this season, and I'll of course have to give two individual shoutouts to my two favorite new ladies, but man. LET'S GO FRENCHIE!!! ALWAYS A DELIGHT!!! FANG/KEVIN MY ABSOLUTE SWEETHEART. JIM SERVING ABSOLUTE FUCKING GENDER THIS SEASON. OLU OLU DARLING OLU. PETE NEVER MISSING WITH HIS ONELINERS. LUCIUS BEING SO THEATRICAL AHDJKSDK LIKE NATHAN PLEASE YOU KILL ME. ROACH MAKING ME LAUGH OUT LOUD NUMEROUS TIMES AS HE DOES. WEE JOHN AND HIS KNITTING AND DRAG!!! AND THEN OF COURSE MY DEARLY BELOVEDS, ED AND STEDE. I JUST LOVE THEMMMMM!!! But okay okay okay-

Zheng my beloved. I just love this badass pirate queen with her sweet little pigtails and her IMMACULATE LINE DELIVERIES SDHJKSKL. A lot of my favorite deliveries from the entire season came from her quite honestly. Please see: "Girl, how ARE you?" and "Hiiiiiii. I KNOWWW it's been a day" and "I've killed mediocre men. I've killed exceptional men. But you're the worst kind: a mediocre man who thinks he's exceptional."

AND ARCHIE MY BELOVED. She kills me because I remember seeing like, those ~*~audition tape whispers~*~ WAY back in the day, and subsequently thinking she was going to be quite a different character. Only for this silly goofy bubbly energetic darling to pop up and snag my heart. HER deliveries kill me also, like when she goes "Like...STEDE Stede?" and the whole "I was IN the fuckin' snake!" also hhngngngngnershkfhslkds tattooed ladies Hot :(

Speaking of which, the comedy. THE DELIVERIES. THE WAY I LAUGHED OUT LOUD NUMEROUS TIMES THROUGHOUT, EVEN WITH THE DEEP UNDERCURRENT OF DRAMA/ANGST. The whole bit where Stede is in hysterics over his cursed coat is just hsjkdhsklds; it will NEVER not make me wheeze. And then, like I said, almost EVERYTHING Pete says this season kills me; another thing that will never not make me laugh is "a doggie...?" weird little pirate show with weird little humor my beloved

The ROMANCE??? I genuinely was going into the season with the expectation of getting maybe like, one or two Gentlebeard kisses. Imagine my shock and utter delight when we ended up with FOUR, AS WELL AS AN INTIMATE SCENE, THE LETTER SCENES, AND THE LOVE PROFESSIONS. Like, one of them dropping a legitimate "I love you" felt like an unrealistic expectation--the HIGHEST dream tier really. And then wouldn't you know it. And that doesn't even account for all the rest of the couples either! The murder wives having their chaotic little moments of fucked up affection??? LUCIUS AND PETE GETTING ENGAGED AND THEN MARRIED??? HELLO??????

The sets! I know people have pointed out that the world felt a bit simplified this time around, due to budget restraints and what have you. But I still loved what they did with the world even with the various constraints. The market in episode 6 is a PARTICULAR favorite of mine; it's just so lush and colorful. I also love what they did with The Revenge during episode 6 too!

Also, this might be an unpopular opinion, but I really actually liked that they filmed on location. First of all, love that the Kiwis got to be right at home in Aotearoa. Love that they have an even more special connection to the show now. But second of all, I just like when scenery is...actually THERE? It feels way more TANGIBLE. Don't get me wrong; that hugeass wraparound screen that they use to film a lot of sets is a technological marvel. But I'm a sucker for practical.

The deeper and more complex dives into character motivations/trauma. Like, homie lol...When I tell you episodes 6 and 7 utterly set my brain alight in the best way possible. I was CHUGGING through thoughts. You know those gifs where someone is walking around and ranting/passionately talking,,, yeah. Yeah. Maybe because a lot of it "struck a chord" with me indeed, but I love love LOVE getting brain food like that.

Speaking of brain food, in PARTICULAR, the deeper dives into Ed's self-loathing and into Stede's troubles with confidence and masculinity. A lot of Stede's choices were fueled by those two things, and it was SO friggin fun to catch all of them, put them in a jar, and shake them around. I've seen a lot of people fearing his actions in the latter half were out of character, but to me, I don't see it that way. I just see a man who has been so spurned, so left behind, and SO deprived, a man who is stuck thinking he has to be someone else to mean something. And I think that plays a lot into even the EARLIEST developments we saw in season 1, so it was just so intriguing to watch everything messily play out.

THE INNKEEPER. THE INNKEEPER MY BELOVED. SO much about that episode absolutely has my heart. All the different developments, the stakes, the pacing, and the payoff at the end. Not to mention that I had a FEELING that mysterious figure in the trailers was Hornigold, so it was so SO validating to see him pop up PFFF. And also, all those dream/gravy basket sequences were so so good too. I don't know if it's the chemistry between Taika and Mark, or the deeper symbolism, or the lines that have become vocal stims for me SJKDLS (please see: ooOOoooO eddie eddie eddie...you're laying some heavy shit on me, bro), but man. MAN.

And this one gets its own bullet because of course it does: the fucking mermaid scene. Like, are we kidding. ARE WE KIDDING. THE ROMANCE OF IT ALL? THE FANTASTICAL-NESS INDEED?? THE WAY IT WAS ALL FUCKING PRACTICAL AND RHYS SWAM DOWN TO TAIKA AS A BEAUTIFUL LITTLE GOLDFISH AND THEY HAD TO THROW HEART EYES AT EACH OTHER UNDERWATER??? WHAT THE FUCK!!! And don't even get me started on Kate Bush lol. This Woman's Work might easily be one of my favorite songs, if not my FAVORITE song from the season. And man. Man. The whole meaning behind Ed seeing Stede as this beautiful, sparkly being, and not some hypermasculine/extraordinary thing. He fell in love with Stede for who Stede really is. And so I ADORE that acknowledgement.

Speaking of songs, the MUSIC!!! Absolute bangers all throughout. And I loved how there seemed to be even more intermixed within the episodes. Like God... "These are the kids..." 🗣️ HELLO MY LOVE I HEARD A KISS FROM YOU 🦗🦟🦗🦟🦗🦟 . And all the beautiful classic piano pieces and NINA SIMONE AND JUST HSJKDHSFJKLHSKD????

Okay, I've always had and STILL have complicated thoughts and opinions on Izzy, but man, seeing him interact with the Revenge Crew was really something. Seeing Stede's influence come over the lot of them like a warm blanket, extending its welcoming and familial hands...It was just lovely. I love seeing our little sea family care for each other so much. They've probably all hurt so so much in different ways, so to see them all being a collective heart is just so nice.

Speaking of which, the queerness of it all, the queer celebration of it all. The way the whole crew is just...a representation of queer people finding each other, and subsequently finding love and family in each other. Like, when the whole world wants to cast you out, you pull each other in. When no one else wants you, you take refuge in each other. And just...the joy, beauty, and wonder that can be found in that.

And speaking of which x2, the overall care that was put into the entire thing, the effort that was put into the entire thing. I know Max fucked us over with the budget, which subsequently fucked things like the intricacy, the amount of characters, and especially the pacing. But, I don't know; I personally could still tell everyone involved was trying so so hard to deliver for us. Based on the little details, the little callbacks, and the little moments that felt so catered to us, it just seemed so...gifted to us. Not to mention of course, the way they so deliberately chose to end on a hopeful note in case we never get a third season. They care about us. They've always cherished our excitement and passion, so it just...idk; it feels so special to have a bit more of an intimate connection like that. I've never been involved with a piece of media that so avidly SEES its audience, and celebrates along with us. So, despite everything, despite any sort of troubles, despite any sort of lows, that's a big part of what has me clutching all of this so closely to my chest. And I really hope they can still see that love, because I want nothing more than for them to see this beautiful story through.

Also, getting to enjoy this with everyone. Getting to ride the wave from the beginning of filming, all the way through the finale. Getting to see all the excitement, all the theories, all the art, all the fanfiction, all the gif sets, all the meta, and everything in between. It has carried me through some nastiness in my personal life, and has subsequently served as a very welcomed distraction. It's been such a pleasure getting to delight in this new content with you all, and I hope we get to do so into the future. <3

[alexseanchai]

so on the one hand, Yuuko's massive nosebleed in ep 3 is an obvious example of the anime trope in which nosebleeds indicate sexual attraction and/or arousal, and the comically large volume of blood is equally obviously an indication of the strength of that attraction, exaggerated for effect

on the other hand, there's no scientific basis for sexual arousal to relate to nosebleeds:

and I'm not sure how to estimate the volume of blood Yuuko is shown losing, but it's plenty enough that Yurio shouting for help (in the English dub) or asking Yuuko if she's sick (in the Japanese dub) is an entirely reasonable reaction:

and after all, Yuuri and Yuuko would both be well aware of this anime trope, and there's no reason to think Yurio would be; it makes sense that neither Yuuko nor Yuuri would be concerned, but the fact Yurio is, and he's making no effort to pretend otherwise—Yurio, who until now has made such a point of growling at Victor and hurting Yuuri in order to not look like he cares about either—

and a week later, when Yuuko sees Yurio in what must be a costume from one of Victor's first two seasons as a junior, age thirteen to fifteen to Yuuko's eleven to thirteen at the time:

ah, so someone told Yurio about the nosebleed-indicates-arousal trope

fascinating characterization all around

...speaking of nosebleeds:

and I'll link to both these metas as soon as I find them again, which I'd appreciate assistance with since I'm blanking on who posted either:

one observed that Victor noticed Yuuri flubs his jumps when there's something on his mind, and that we don't hear Yuuri's thoughts for most of his free skate in ep 5, but we do see him screw up the last jump, and the final scene in the episode is Yuuri's love confession to Victor—which suggests Yuuri realized on the ice that he loves Victor, the mortal human he's been learning the past five months, even with all the ways Victor frustrated Yuuri earlier in ep 5

the other observed that Victor was wondering who Yuuri's defiance of his coach reminded Victor of, and he was surprised to realize it's himself, a thought he had only after Yuuri took his final pose—which suggests Victor was also surprised by Yuuri's final pose

connect those two dots and we get, Yuuri changed the final pose on impulse, same as he changed the final jump in ep 7 on impulse, because he realized on the ice he loves Victor

can't help but suspect, given the nosebleed and everything, that he's thinking of sexual as well as romantic love

(which yes also has the Watsonian explanation of he bounced his face off the boards, which might say something about Yuuri being ace or demi given Yuuko did not injure herself in ep 3 and was definitely banging at least one man as a teenager, but like)

[indigovigilance]

Aziraphale, Kermit the Frog, and Fraggle Rock

Inspo from @crowleys-hips, images shamelessly ripped from original post:

The costumes and set design in the Book of Job episode were supposedly inspired mostly by The Ten Commandments but I’m ignoring that for right now because this is more fun. Now that I’ve written it, this is actually one of my dark ones.

Ready? Let’s go.

read on Ao3

The Frog Prince

[Source]

Kermit, created in 1955, was originally an abstract character without a defined species. He did not [officially] become a frog until The Frog Prince episode in 1971. At the same time, he gained his pointed collar. Kermit is not the prince in this retelling, but is one of the many frogs, who don’t believe that the Frog Prince is actually human and try to convince the Frog Prince that even if there is a curse, they don’t need to try to break it, being a frog is great!

Sing out for the swamp and sing out for the ooze The life of a frog is the life you should choose Sing out for the mud and sing out for the bog It’s ever so jolly just being a frog We love the old mud hole, we say that we soak The feeling’s so good that we just gotta croak The muck and the mire, the slush and the slime Are the reasons a frog has a wonderful time

It’s a very weird musical number. I have exactly one semester of music theory under my belt but it sounds awfully minor key to me.

It’s very much about bullying someone who doesn’t feel like they belong into conforming. Exchange “frog” for “angel” and we’ve got a pretty on-the-nose parallel story here.

Two Interpretations

First: Aziraphale is a prince among frogs whose unique identity is being ignored. The ones he has turned to for help are ignoring his pleas and insisting that their way is the best way, even though it is clearly not.

Second: Aziraphale is the frog! Kermit gained his collar when he finally began to solidify as a character with a set identity. Both of these themes apply to Aziraphale’s arc in Book of Job.

*topic change*

Jim Henson & Richard Hunt

Coming back to the extreme queer theming of Season 2 (God bless you GO production team) we have a nod to Jim Henson and Richard Hunt. Much like Pterry and the Notorious NRG, both men began their artistic journeys very young. Henson began in high school, where he began developing what would later become the Muppets; he continued his work on puppets on Sesame Street. He is the creator of Kermit the Frog. He’s also well-known for The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, other queer culture mainstays. Some years later, at 18 years old, Richard Hunt shot his shot and asked for a job puppeteering on Sesame Street in 1972; he got it. He would continue to work as a puppeteer with Jim Henson on the Muppets and related works until he died in 1992 at the age of 40 due to complications of AIDS.

Gone But Not Forgotten || Terry Pratchett

If you have not read my meta on Terry Pratchett’s representation in the Final Fifteen, I will link it at the bottom as well and highly suggest you read it. It’s not necessary reading for what comes next, but it is relevant.

Richard Hunt was openly gay and heavily involved in the New York gay community during the AIDS epidemic. He was in a relationship with a painter named Nelson Bird, who died of AIDS related complications in 1985. There is some speculation that Fraggle Rock Season 5 Episode 7 is an artistic representation of Richard Hunt losing his partner. In that episode, Wembley makes a new friend, Mudwell, played by Richard Hunt, that he abruptly loses at the end of the episode following a confession of mutual affection. You can follow the link below to watch the full episode. The final-fifteen parallel content begins at 12:30:

Gone But Not Forgotten (Fraggle Rock S05E07)

The loss is followed by a conversation between two characters that centers around remembering those who have been lost by keeping the things and memories they left behind, and the partner who [survived] goes through rituals of grieving.

If you scrolled past it but would like to read it now, here’s a link to my meta Terry Pratchett’s representation in the Final Fifteen.

[mysteryandnonstopfun]

SWANFIRE APPRECIATION WEEK 2023 (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

It’s time to get ready for another Swanfire Week!  (the best week of the year!) Let’s celebrate our favorite OTP together. The event will run from September 18 to September 24 but don’t worry if you can’t do it on those days. Our babies thieves will always wait for you 〆(・∀・✿)

Please use this week to celebrate Swanthief in any way you want to, whether it’s making gifs, graphics, mixes, or fanvids, writing fic or meta, creating fanart, etc…

✧ SCHEDULE:

🦢🔥 Day 1: Favorite Important location  ||  Parallels || Writing Prompt: Emma and Neal playing on the swings at a small playground that nobody goes to anymore.

🦢🔥 Day 2: Family moment  ||  Season you associate with them  || Writing Prompt: Neal and Emma spend the night on the perfect hill for stargazing.

🦢🔥 Day 3: Love Languages ||  Favorite Episode  || Writing Prompt: Neal likes stealing Emma's phone to change Emma's phone wallpaper into something stupid. Neal is doing another routine swipe of Emma's phone but doesn't have the heart to change it because this time because Emma's phone wallpaper is a cute picture of the two of them.

🦢🔥 Day 4: A personal headcanon ||  Time travel AU || Writing Prompt: Emma and Neal go to a fair/amusement park and Emma wants to go on the roller coaster and Neal agrees. Later, Neal regrets their decision and ends up clinging to Emma for dear life.

🦢🔥 Day 5: Song/quote  ||  Holiday  || Writing Prompt: Emma and Neal wearing matching Halloween costumes or ugly Christmas sweaters. Or any matching outfits.

🦢🔥 Day 6: Favorite Trope ||  Meme  || Writing Prompt: Emma captions everything Neal does with 'That's hot/cute'

🦢🔥 Day: 7: Free Day || Writing Prompt: Emma and Neal sit outside together late at night and as the temperature begins to drop they snuggle up together. 

Don’t feel limited by the intention of the prompt! If you’d like to do something that’s not in the prompts, go ahead!

✔ The tag will be sfweek2023 so make sure to use it in the first five tags.

✦  Special thanks to @ljf613 for remind me of this important event and @claire-randall for her awesome ideas

Thanks all for being part of this and don’t forget to have fun. ଘ(੭ ᐛ )━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ

[losstboi]

(Spoiler Free) 7 Kings Must Die Review

This will be my spoiler-free review of Seven Kings Must Die!

It felt extremely rushed, given that it was originally meant to be a 6th season of TLK. It basically felt like I was watching a two-hour-long season recap. It didn't properly spend time setting things up, which I felt like the main series did wonderfully.

The rushed nature of the movie meant that not enough time was spent with the characters, which is weird considering this is the last time we're going to be seeing them. Still, as someone who has watched the 5 main seasons of TLK a concerning amount of times, I was still able to connect with our main gang.

The costume designs were on point as per usual, as were the hairstyles. The film, like the series, is very pretty (in both characters/actors as well as the cinematography). Everyone slayed, often in multiple ways. Uhtred's pretty boys continued to earn their nickname as per usual (who's honestly surprised).

There were many lines of dialogue that felt way too on the nose/meta for my liking, but hey, Netflix gotta Netflix. Overall, however, it still felt like TLK. It was another fun outing with Uhtred and his pretty boys and following the antics they get up to after everything that happened in the last season. Still wish they made this a 6th season but in this fandom, we have learned how to make crumbs into a Danish feast.

8/10 Kings

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Season 7 Costume meta

Buck, Eddie and Chris stills 4/2/24

7x01 Costume Meta

7x02 Costume Meta

7x03 Costume Meta

7x04 Costume Meta

7x05 Costume Meta 7x05 promo meta

7x06 Costume Meta

7x07 Costume Meta

7x08 Costume Meta

7x09 Costume Meta

7x10 Costume Meta 710 mini meta

Buck watches Buck 7x04 stills meta

[maya-matlin]

I love your takes on OTH and agree with nearly all of them! You and an anon had interesting thoughts on Julian and why he seems perfect on paper but was so meh in reality, and I laughed out loud when you pointed out that the writers radically changed his personality at least once or twice a season. I have a mutual who watched most of season six, skipped season seven, and was stunned when she tuned into season eight and was like ‘wait, since when is Julian the adorkable comic relief—-who is this?!’ I think for me I got a weird social climbing vibe from him, which would be annoying but understandable if we’d met him in high school but is a quality I find really off putting in adults. He’s obsessed with the so-called popular group of a high school he didn’t even attend and even says something gross (brulian fans fins it cute but no) after the first time he and Brooke have sex about now getting why she had been popular . He just seems to really care about popularity/social status and the fact that he himself was uncool in high school a decade ago and making a good impression in Hollywood and all that. I actually like that Lucas took an instant dislike to him because so did I!

Thank you! Yeah, Julian was an odd character. He's not a bad guy or even particularly irritating. It's just that the writers were unable to decide which personality to give him. So to begin with, Julian is this slick, underhanded guy who shows up in Tree Hill to make Lucas's movie while also fucking with Peyton. But once Lucas discovers Peyton's past with Julian, that goes away pretty quickly. They stuck with confident, almost worldly Julian when he first started hooking up with Brooke. Season 7 was kind of a mixture of season 6 Julian while also giving him more nerdy moments. Season 8 Julian wasn't even the same character. He couldn't do a simple high five. He did matching Halloween costumes with his mom. There were jokes sprinkled in about manly man Nathan who likes things like sports and beer vs Julian who is effeminate and knows how to pick out beautiful flower arrangements where it's clear who the butt of the joke is supposed to be. In season 9, they tried and failed to make Julian a darker, edgier character by having him go through a self destructive phase after leaving his son in the hot car. There's no actual coherency to his personality or character development. He's almost completely defined by being Brooke's love interest and to some degree, an awkward replacement for Lucas who doesn't quite fit in. It's to the point that Mark Schwahn apparently wanted to rip off the Dawson's Creek finale so badly that they once again decided to "go meta" by having Julian create a tv series about Lucas's book after they'd already done the same story line with the aborted movie back in season 6. Naturally, Julian writes himself into the series, stealing away Lucas's winning shot at the state championship and being the one to make the sex tape with Brooke.

That's an interesting take that I can't entirely disagree with. It's so fucking weird that the Julian we met in season 6 would ever care about this random group of high schoolers from a small town. We're invested because we've been watching their story lines since the first season, but you'd think Julian would have grown beyond trying to fit in with the popular kids and had met and bonded with his own "people" back in LA. I realize Julian being a regular required him to eventually mingle with Brooke's friend group, but it could have been done in a much more casual way. Oof, yeah. Brooke had tried so hard to define herself by things unrelated to sex and looks back on her sexual history during her teenage years as something.. not quite shameful, but also not something she's proud of. It wasn't the right thing to say at that moment, and if Julian read Lucas's book he would have known there was much more depth to Brooke than that. While I don't personally dislike Julian, I do think he was kind of desperate to fit in and receive validation from the popular kids. Again, I struggle to understand why he wanted validation specifically from the OTH characters considering he was already working in Hollywood when we met him. Julian Baker was basically two different characters awkwardly smashed together. I like him well enough, but in all honesty he's carried by the fact that he isn't Lucas. Lucas is so flawed and indecisive for most of the series that even though he's a far more dynamic and consistently written character, his massive lows make it easy to forget his highs.

[halliescomut]

Masterpost (Under Construction)

It will likely take quite a while to get this off the ground, so please be patient.

I will also be slowing instituting a new tag for my meta posts (because if I had been using one all along this would be infinitely easier). Said tag will be #HallieSMeta.

Until there's something more interesting to look at here, please enjoy Jeffrey being a little punk:

Look at this motherfucker!!!! How dare he be so goddamn adorable!!!

Be aware that many of these posts are written months apart and so sometimes information is repeated...it happens.

KinnPorsche

KimChay MixTape- This is my post-canon KimChay fic- as of 10/10/23 it's at 88k words and will probably be 100k by the time I wrap things up. The links below are lil preview posts I do when I update. This is the Google Drive link to the first 3 chapters (which is a complete arc in itself. Otherwise it is posted on AO3.

Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Ch 4 Ch 5 Ch 6 Ch 7 Ch 8 Ch 9 Ch 10 Ch 11 Ch 12 Ch 13 Ch 14 Bonus Chapters

KP Season 2 Unhinged Wants- these are a bit of an amalgamation, but all original posts should be link here as well and will be posted as I start to curate.

KP Week 2022: Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7

Meta-Posts:

Kim-Vegas and Main-Minor family relations: 1 2

Porchay: Post Break-up Behavior

Acting: Tong and Jeff

Porsche & __: Hugs Vegas Queer awakening (?)

VegasPete Sad Hours: 1 2 3 4 5

PrettyBoy ship (TankhunTay): 1 2

Kim-Hannah Montana theme song Kim-Kimhant-Wik

Masquerade Ball: KinnPorsche Pete Bodyguards

Pete and Morality

Theerapanyakuls and musical instruments

Jeff Satur Music

Song Theory part 1

Lucid MV Discussion

Lucid costar-Nene

You can also search the tag 'jeff satur menace' to see many posts of Jeff looking handsome as fuck.

BL Industry Musings

2022 BL opinions

Colorism Fanservice Assumption of Queerness

Faux Incest in BL

BL Botany 1 & 2 Jeff

My Personal Weatherman

Mashiko Atsuki appreciation

No-subtitle watch throughs (eps 3-8): 3 4 5 6 7 8

Ep 2 Ep 5 Yoh's drawings 1 Yoh's drawings 2 Finale thoughts

Minato's Laundromat S2

Midseason check-in I have feelings Amnesia trope

Asuka and Shu

Our Dining Table

Please watch this show: 1 2 3

Costuming Analysis

Kiseki: Dear to Me

Ep 5 Ep 8 Ep 9

Mame/MeMindY BLs

Love Sea: Intro to characters

Boy Next World: Intro to story and characters

Wedding Plan: They met as Children Lom Nuea

Love in the Air

Payu & Rain Conspiracy Theory

1 year Anniversary video

Sky becoming soft for Prapai

Pai/Sky oneshots

Prap-Eyes gifset

We were robbed

Prapai/Sky and boundaries

Prapai & Reformed Rake character type

Sky/Prapai thoughts

Episode 8 thoughts

Sky in the One Night Stand

Noeul’s acting

Rain is not a bad friend

Payu and having his hair down-hair care as a show of affection

Love in the Air is a Character-driven story

Naughty Babe

Ep 4

Tadaima, Okaeri

Eps 1-3 kind of intro

Ep 4- Meta discussion, discrimination allegory?

Ep 5- Meta discussion, portrayal of parenting

It's not letting me add the links right now, so I'll try again later.

Stray Kids

Social Path MV Analysis

Hallie is TOO honest on Tumblr:

Broad backs

Discovering my Asexuality

Human Imperfection

[heliza24]

A Roundup Post (Of all my fanworks for easy reference!)

All of my fic is on AO3 here! There's stuff for IwtV, Young Royals, and a bunch of other fandoms there.

Interview with the Vampire

Meta

Daniel and disability and the way the show deals with eugenics

Daniel, Armand, and Keats???

Armand thoughts: Before season 2, after episode 2.1, hair and costume stuff

Armand and Unbreakable Cycles (ep 2.3)

Louis, Armand, Visual Art, and Vulnerability (ep 2.4)

Thoughts about domesticity, carework, and the American dream in episode 2.5

No Children, etc in Ep 2.6

Holocaust Imagery in the Trial (ep 2.7)

Armand and Unbreakable Cycles, Again (ep 2.8)

Complicated thoughts on Daniel's turning and disability

Cosplay

Lestat (Leyendecker robe): Part 1 and Part 2 (at Lestat's house in New Orleans!)

1970s Daniel Molloy

Eglee

Young Royals:

Meta:

Radical Acceptance and Simon's Arc in Season 2

Analyzing the sex scenes in Young Royals (using cinematic language!)- Part 1

Analyzing the sex scenes in Young Royals (using cinematic language!)- Part 2

On the cinematography of season 2

Let's talk about the music in Young Royals! (Part 1)

Let's talk about the music in Young Royals (Part 2)

Analyzing the Lucia intimacy scene

Analyzing the Simon/Marcus intimacy scene

Analyzing Marcus Part 1 (Via class and personal experience)

Analyzing Marcus Part 2 (Via heteronormativity and race)

Analyzing Marcus Part 3, or a lesson in dramatic writing

Simon's trauma and Wilhelm and Sara as co-protagonists

On Felice, or the Lack Thereof, in Season 2

The Radical Act of Quitting (and Wilhelm)

Wilhelm Closing the Curtains

Simon Doesn't Repress His Emotions, Actually

Shakespeare Comparisons: Young Royals and the Henriad

Wilhelm and Sara as A Plot and B Plot Protagonists repost

Wilhelm, The Look (™), and Endings

Wilhelm's Journey of Radical Forgiveness in Season 3

Wilhelm and Sara parallels in season 3

Vids:

Wilhelm- Be Safe Be Good- Ride the Cyclone

Erik/Wilhelm/Simon (and what it takes to break a cycle) - Man - quinnie

Dimension 20

Meta:

Various thoughts on A Court of Fey and Flowers

Character arcs and Themes in The Seven

FHJY: Eps 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 and Kristen/Cassandra

Being a physically disabled D20 fan breaks my heart sometimes and Lydia and disability rep and Dropout and general accessibility

Cosplay:

Imelda Pulse from Mentopolis

The Bad Kids from Fantasy High

Andhera and Binx from A Court of Fey and Flowers

[cringefaildiaz]

For clarification, I was a Buddie shipper for the longest time, but because of recent episodes I’ve kinda abandoned ship.

I think that we (tumblr, reddit, Twitter) see the show differently than the general audience. I think there’s a lot of people who dig into things that don’t actually mean anything and call it in the name of Buddie. I shipped them because narratively it made the most sense, but I 100% think the shirt colors/water/beer theories aren’t complete and utter bullshit. Like, I enjoy reading them, but they aren’t anything. These are writers who 1: can’t remember their own details 2: are very open about any sort of metaphor, like the couch thing. The couch metaphor for a relationship was said on screen, it was real. Everything else is grasping. I’m an actor, I’ve gone through costume fittings before, I’ve seen wardrobe trailers, I’ve had a costumer. In a show that’s this expensive and that’s running this long, they will wear the same stuff a few times. Blue and green look best on screen. They can’t use product placement of real items. There’s a lot of reasons for stuff in the show that doesn’t have to do with Buddie and it makes me, and many others, not take Buddie seriously when people say things like “the lightning strike is the baking soda and it’s standing in the way of the beer which is their relationship” Nope. That’s just set dressing and props doing their job. “They made 3 s’mores because one represents Buck!” No… it represents Shannon, that was in the episode.

I also don’t think Buck and Eddie are a slowburn. Or if they are, and this is something they’ve planned out, they’ve done a terrible job. The point of a slowburn is for the audience to see, to feel, to root for the characters to get together. It has to be really obvious that it’s happening, albeit slowly. That it grows and they are so in love, and there’s feelings, and it’s a big will they won’t they. Buck and Eddie had a foundation for this, but the general audience can still call them brothers or platonic friends. Meaning that it’s not clearly romantic and therefore not a slowburn. It could be, if they wanna have Eddie really hate Natalia and openly reveal feelings for Buck even just to himself and let that drive them into season 7, then yes we would have an actual slowburn. It’s not impossible and it’s not too far gone, but if they keep down the path they’re on where it’s tumblr users grasping, it will be.

I also just think they’re writing the characters in circles and until they break out of that, there’s no hope for anything. I mean anything, romantically or not. Buck is currently a headache, at least Eddie seems to be having some growth, but his is also tied to a relationship and people telling him to date and him thinking he has to… ugh

so I actually mostly agree with you, but I think this might be a case of missing the forest for the trees.

I'm definitely with you that a lot of the fandom theories are...not realistic. I'm actually intimately familiar with how wardrobe and costume design operates on shows like 9-1-1 through my job, and I have never in my life heard of wardrobe operating on a set the way fans theorize they do. Not to say that things like color never mean anything, they can absolutely be used very intentionally (and are, by good designers), but they have very different reasons for making choices than what is popularly discussed here. (baby rant on costume metas->on a show like 9-1-1, the most important factor—beyond making your actors look good—is making their wardrobe choices believably human. It's about psychology and fleshing out character; it's rarely about storytelling. What would this real life person have in their closet? How would they choose to present themself in this setting? I'd also say there are some things the fandom DOES pick up on that I read as intentional, but on a show as big as 911, its a little silly to assume every outfit has a deeper meaning)

I also agree with your general point that people read a little too deep into metaphors and symbolism that aren't there on a textual level. You're right that the creators make it VERY obvious when those things are in play—because 911 wasn't a show that was made to be analyzed. Again, not saying that there's nothing to pick up on; I think it's pretty obvious Eddie's on the journey to find his soulmate, and I think it's pretty obvious Natalia isn't Buck's endgame, because they made it clear in the text. But that doesn't mean that every detail is put in to give hints on what's coming. It's a goofy procedural, it's not high art. I don't know how many people really believe those theories vs. how many people just have fun with them (like me), but I get what you're saying about it seeming really silly to anyone outside the bubble.

But re: missing the forest for the trees, I do think it's a little sad to get bogged down by the theories so much that it takes you out of digesting the actual media. You said that you "shipped them because narratively it made the most sense," and I guess I wonder if you don't think it makes narrative sense anymore, or if the popular theories seem so off the wall that you've written off any subtext that's actually coming from the show. And either is fine, but I remain firmly on the "it makes the most narrative sense" side of the aisle, although for more textual reasons than the goofy theories entertain (and I follow a lot of excellent blogs that do the same)

I think that you're really spot on with the slowburn aspect—s2-6a buddie was a developing close friendship, and a beautifully done one in my opinion. But it didn't read to me as romantic while watching casually, it read to me as a really significant platonic partnership. And I so agree that it's a really phenomenal foundation for an actual slowburn. After watching the episode last night, I think that might be the direction they're headed, and I don't think I'd feel that way if not for the couch of it all. But I've said it a few times on here, I don't see any way that this is the final act of their slowburn, because I don't feel there's been any burn yet. The fact that I'm starting to think there might be a reveal to the GA, a real will they/won't they, is what has me so firmly on the buddie canon train right now.

And yeah, Buck going in circles is how I'd put it, too. But as I said it to another anon, I get the feeling that this is the last circle for Buck before his series-long journey for happiness and self worth ends. I actually love the aspect of solving one problem with his perspective only to unearth another, deeper problem, but I can only watch that large man be sad in the exact same way so many times. As for Eddie's dating adventures, I'm feeling like they're making it clear that even though Pepa was the one to push him into it, he is actually interested in finding a partner for the right reasons.

Anyways, seems like we mostly agree and I'm either more optimistic or more delusional than you—only time will tell! Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me

drop your thoughts/theories/speculation on why you don't think buddie will go canon in my ask box because I'm curious (I'll be nice I promise)

I'm tagging all these posts with #anti-buddie and #buddie-neg if you want to filter

[westleywithatea]

My thoughts on American Born Chinese (TV series)

My sister and I recently finished American Born Chinese, the TV series. Now I share my thoughts. I'll try to keep them in chronological order.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

So...

After watching the first 2 episodes, my dad believed that the writers were racist towards Caucasians because the principal character mispronounced the 2 Chinese characters' names.

Note: My family is Asian. Both of my parents are born and raised in Vietnam.

I think the principal character was just clueless.

We accidentally watched Episode 2 and 3 out of order.

we get a flashback of Guanyin and Wei-Chen in Magic China. The trees are red, people are flying, you would think that you're watching the wrong show... If you had no idea what the show was about.

Flying people feels familiar nostalgic

Soccer team party and ... I'm pretty sure that's hazing

as long as nobody gets hurt

There's a lot yellow lighting. idk y

Sun Wukong hiding the staff in his ear is purely Chinese drama/TV only. according to my sister. Who read the novel? can they confirm?

Majority of episode 4 is a flashback in a style of an old Chinese Drama

it looks like something my parents would watch when I was small child age

You have no idea how many adaptations of Journey to the West there is. The original Classic novel is really old.

ALL BUDGET WENT TO COSTUME AND SET DESIGN!

Even the editing and CGI is low-budget. The way how the staff floats in the air, as if it's on a string. I love it. Very 1 on 1 with what I grew up with.

Episode 5: oh gods. NOT THE AUNTIES COMPARING CHILDREN!

Kế Huy Quan has a very Viet spelling of a name, but he's of a ethnic minority. My dad reads his name and knows Quan is Chinese.

(I'm still waiting for Wikipedia to fix the IPA pronunciation guide of his name. It's "Kay", like okay and hay. Not "kee", like Key or tree. )

His character, Jamie Yao, is very meta. I can tell the writers wrote him as someone who took on cardboard POC characters of the past. The writers and actors are using Jamie as that outlet to tell us what they always want to tell everybody from the beginning.

on to the next episodes...

transformations are never on screen. just off screen. play with cuts, lighting/ flashes, and other things. budget of this show went towards more important things.

Why is the dog in Ep 6 a yorkie? idk... I think they should've gone for another breed.

Episode 7: so... Did the Principal assumed Jin's mom as a tiger mom?

And shouldn't Jin's mom be using her maiden name? Or did Jin's parents got too assimilated in the American/ Western culture?

their names are Christine and Simon.

actually, they let Jin try out sports, go out with friends, and have a birthday party. With curfew.

They let him have a life!!

I wish my paretns are like that. >:(

I declined a birthday party invitation in 3rd grade because I was too afraid to ask my parents. I was so sure they would say no. They always say no to cousins sleepovers. (it's a sleepover of just the cousins.)

Episode 8: so the season finale ...

Jin's parents were fighting, now making up. There was no kissing. Thank you. Asian parents don't kiss. or people of that generation don't kiss. No kissing in East Asia.

flying people is normal. welcome to wuxia and xianxia. Let's GO!!!

Jin is so awkward. His kiss with Amelia is awkward. I appreciate. It's not a full on make out, like Hollywood rom-com. It's an awkward kiss done by awkward kids. Very real and in-character.

was that monologue about himself, Jin?

Very realistic ending. Very HISHE- moment. Jin asking for repeat and slower, because his Chinese isn't very good. Mood. Big Mood.

Where's Sun Wukong's monkey accent? Every CH drama has him in monkey accent. Including VN dubbing? (I'm talking about present day. I'm not talking about the Ep 4 flashback. idr if he spoke with monkey accent in the flashback.) Did he got too tired + stressed from parenthood that he turned super serious?

Sandy is now a woman

My dad explained this show to his sister as Sun Wukong but for kids of the 21st century. (She was staying over for a few nights and only watched like... 1 or 2 episodes.)

he is not wrong

occasionally, he explains the characters' Vietnamese names to me and my sister. The translation is still the same. Sounds are similar, because Vietnamese borrows a lot from Chinese.

Mom be walking in on the Mandarin-speaking scenes and asking what we're watching. Because we rarely watch films and shows in Chinese. It's either in English or Japanese (anime).

Imagine trying to explain Sun Wukong to your parents, who know the stories very well. But the catch is the language translation.

It's not Sun Wukong to my parents, It's now Tôn Ngộ Không (Tone Ng-oh Kh-ong).

Dad not understanding why Michelle Yeoh/ Dương Tử Quỳnh is returning to Hollywood because of her age.

I can not tell if he's being negative or positive or just plain confused. Or maybe he's confused on why his kids are watching her and not someone younger?

all story arcs get tied together in the very end. that's the point of drama writing. but there are few loose ends that bother me. like the pendant being lost forever.

This is a story about an immigrant family, written by immigrant families for immigrant families.

This is a story about being Asian, American, Asian-American, Asian in America, immigrants, and a child of immigrants.

Written by those people for those people

UPDATE:

It has come to my attention that there were on-screen transformations with special effects and CGI for the first few episodes

I guess the budget sorta ran out for the final episode??

I am disappointed in the cancellation of the show. Disney didn't advertise it well enough.