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internacionalista · 4 years

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1. MA’AM? 2. PROTECT GERRI AT ALL COSTS

BuzzFeed: That moment where Roman [Kieran Culkin] defends your character was such a subtle and wonderful moment for those two. What do you think it said about their relationship as it’s evolved this season in this kind of weird and twisted but also loving way?

JSC: Right! It’s loving! I know, you’re right! It’s funny that you mention that — I actually want to go back and rewatch it — because there were two more Gerri-and-Roman scenes that were just tête-à-têtes. There was much more than just the exchange when we’re all sitting around together and he’s on the sofa with me and he’s almost got his hand on my shoulder practically.

That’s all that’s left there, but we had two other tête-à-tête scenes that we shot that aren’t in the final version, so there was much more discussion about what our relationship was in the episode at the time that we shot it. And that informed the way we played that scene around the table because we thought this other information was in it.

But one of the really interesting things about our business is that now with those things subtracted, it is a great example of less is more — because the emphasis that puts on the little private looks, the little looks that are going around the table, those moments are now more weighty because we don’t have all that other material.

Roman and Gerri had such an interesting development over the course of the season. To see him be the one who ultimately stands up for her — it was quite moving in a weird way.

JSC: Definitely! But when we shot it we thought there was so much more! When I heard it was not going to be in it, I thought, Oh no! They’ve just kind of extracted Gerri and Roman from the story of that episode. Because we had scenes where there was a lot of information about Gerri and Roman. The stakes were higher by the end of the episode between the two of us, so it’s just so funny. I have to go back and look one more time to really see what I would think if I were watching it and I didn’t know anything about it, how I would read it. I think I agree with you. He’s very loyal to Gerri in that moment.

Also, it gives Roman, by paring away other funny stuff — we really see him step up in that episode. The whole stuff about the pseudo kidnapping and him daring to say “I don’t think this is bankable.” He has kind of stepped up. He’s very manly in the whole episode. He’s very grown-up and much bolder than we’re used to seeing him, and smarter.

I think all of that gets underlined by having some of the funny things that were pared away when they edited the episode. It’s just very clear that what’s left is him being a new Roman: less glib, less silly, and more sober and bolder. So that when he does defend Gerri and steps up for her, it’s coming from this burgeoning sense of adult polish that we haven’t seen from him before.

When we shot it, it was kind of a little muddied because there were all these little twists and turns between different conversations that our characters had that we don’t get to see now. And I don’t want to talk about them, because maybe they’ll rewrite versions of those scenes in upcoming episodes. But we definitely had some juicy, juicy stuff that was cut!

Well, we look forward to that!

JSC: Yeah! And I haven’t had a chance to ask Jesse whether those are gone for good or if some of those will come back. Maybe he doesn’t even know. Maybe he’ll get in the writers room and see how he feels.

So if you were writing next season, what would you want to explore with Gerri? What would you want to be in store for her?

JSC: I feel like one thing that happens with her that seems to ring true with a big organization like that is that her status always seems to be in flux — whether she’s in with Logan or whether she’s on the outs with Logan. […] So now, in the wake of this big shake-up, I wonder if her influence with Logan will flame back up, and I wonder if her ambition will flame back up with that.

But also I think that something a little bit more than the sum of its parts is happening with Gerri and Roman. What started off as sort of a funny perversion then, maybe now — as you pointed out with that time that he stands up for Gerri in Episode 10 — there’s actually a real bond forming, so that will be really interesting to see. Because this isn’t a world where there’s many real bonds; Shiv [Sarah Snook] and Tom [Matthew Macfadyen] have this very compromised sort of bond, and then we saw in this last episode how much stress it’s under. Although she does sort of choose him over everything else. In the moment of truth, she has that scene with him where she sort of begs for it not to be Tom. And I thought that was so interesting and so well done. I’m just such a fan of those two actors, and the writing on that storyline, I think, is fantastic.

I have no idea what [the writers] have in mind, I truly don’t. But I think it’ll be really interesting to see what happens if there is actually a real bond between these two human beings that’s really viable — whether it’s romantic or business or some kind of emotional bond — that Roman and Gerri seem to be forming this actual attachment. And that’s not a world that supports many attachments, so that will be really interesting to see.

#gerri kellman #roman roy #j. smith-cameron #kieran culkin #succession #gerri x roman #roman x gerri #3. COWARDS #protect gerri at all costs

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thesmilingfish · 4 years

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APRIL 30

Teddy, the dog, seems better today. He’s eaten some boiled chicken and rice and kept them down. He was running outside a little bit earlier and his tail his wagging nicely. We’re keeping an eye on him.

Today I went through that huge box of my Mom’s sewing stuff and got it all separated and cleaned up. Thankfully there was a big magnet and tweezers in the box so I didn’t poke myself too much. Now I just need to vacuum to make sure I didn’t miss anything.

I found 20 promotional patches for the movie Independence Day. Yes, I’ve had these silly things since 1996. I’m giving them away to you guys. It’s one per person and it’s on a first ask basis. (I’ll pay for the postage.) I’m talking about it here so the folks who follow me get first shot because I seriously doubt anyone else looks at these posts. I’ll do a giveaway post tomorrow if there are any left.

I also have a few discs to giveaway if anyone wants them. They’re all burn copies, all Region 1, all in paper sleeves. Again, I’ll cover the postage.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent - Season 4 (5 discs)

The Monkees - Season 2, Disc 1

Jonathan Creek - Season 1 (2 discs)

Spartacus: Blood and Sand (4 discs)

Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2 discs)

Doctor Who: Remembrance of the Daleks

Doctor Who: The Curse of Fenric

Tesis (1996)

The Hound of the Baskervilles (2002)

Hell’s Crossroads (1957)

My quarantine cinema stats for March 19 thru April 30:

Movies - 108

Documentaries - 3

TV - 60 episodes

Theater - 1

This, of course, doesn’t include the stuff that I watched again. I mean, there was a lot of Homicide Hunter reruns and miscellaneous movies in there.

Legend (1995) - Finished the series today. I think my favorite episode was the one written by Peter A. Fields, who was also my one of favorite writers on The Man From U.N.C.L.E.. It was a fun show but kinda schticky although it did get more serious and cover more weighty subjects as the show progressed.

A Discovery of Witches (2018) - I’d watched a couple of episodes back when they were on demand but I didn’t get very far before it disappeared. I found the DVD at Wal-Mart a few months ago but it’s just sat on my shelf until today. I’m watching the entire season because I can’t remember what I did see. I liked the series, which I picked up because of Matthew Goode and Alex Kingston (although why she had to use an American accent I don’t know), and it was good but the only reason I’d be interested in the next season is because it ended on a gosh darn cliffhanger. The IMDB says supposed to be three seasons, but with the way of the world right now everything is up in the air.

Frankenstein (2001) - The National Theatre production of Danny Boyle’s Frankenstein is available to watch on YouTube for a limited time. Both versions with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller trading places as The Creature and Dr. Frankenstein are being presented. Tonight I watched Cumberbatch as The Creature and he was magnetic. The set design and the production on the show were amazing. I can’t wait to see Miller’s version. You have until May 7 to see the Cumberbatch version; the Miller version runs May 1 through May 8. You won’t want to miss it.

#quarantine cinema

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lightsandlostbells · 5 years

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so, overall, what did you think of season 3 of stranger things?

It took me a while to answer this question because I had to sort out how I felt about this season! I guess if I had to narrow it down to an overall opinion: enjoyable, but very messy. Had some of the series’ best moments but also, while I was watching, I had far more grumbles and gripes than the previous two seasons.

I’ve never really been hung up on whether this show is derivative or plays too into nostalgia or w/e. Plenty of media does that. And despite all the time I’ve spent dissecting micro-expressions and weighty silences in European teen dramas that are filmed for the cost of a candy bar … I am way into genre films and TV shows. I love monsters and superheroes and spectacle! I watched Stranger Things the weekend it premiered because I love ‘80s movies about kids on bikes having adventures, I eat that shit up. So I don’t expect this show to be a hardcore deconstruction and re-imagining of those tropes (though that sounds like a pretty great show), I’m fine with it being what it is: a solid, spooky sci-fi/horror throwback series. What matters most is whether the story and characters work. Personally, I would say whatever criticisms you can make of S1 and S2, they had heart, and unfortunately I think some of that heart was missing from S3. Much of that, IMO, comes from sidelining some of the familial relationships that were at the center of the narrative in S1 and S2, like the Byers family and Hopper & Eleven, and to some degree the important friendships like the party, although there were other friendships introduced in this season so that wasn’t as glaring. It’s not a surprise that one of the best-received parts about this season, Steve and Robin’s friendship, is also responsible for one of the most heartfelt scenes Stranger Things has ever done.

There was also a way larger emphasis on comedy in S3. Comedy is probably my favorite genre, and I did laugh at a lot of humorous moments in this season. But I also felt like there was more comedy for comedy’s sake, like long sequences created intentionally to make the audience laugh. Whereas in S1 and S2, I can’t remember any scenes like that? The comedy was more understated and came from character personalities and relationship moments rather than joke set pieces. That’s perhaps another reason why S3 felt like it had less heart.

My hope for season 4 - and I am assuming there is a season 4, because apparently this show did mega ratings for S3 - is that they don’t add more major new characters (except love interests for the gay characters, go ahead with those, lol) and instead focus on the existing cast, which is already a very strong ensemble, yet many of the characters have gotten pushed to the sides. I would love if they added to the episode count: a lot of Netflix series drag out their seasons, like they have enough story for 10 episodes but have to stretch it out to 13, but Stranger Things has the opposite problem. I feel like if they had 10 (or 11, ha) episodes they could have more time for breather moments and more space for character arcs. This season was really fast-paced in my opinion, and although that’s a positive in many respects, I missed a lot of the down time.

Also, I think every season has taken place over like a week maximum, not including the epilogues, and like … you can make the story last longer than a week! Not everything has to go to hell in like a day or two.

Some more specific opinions underneath, obviously lots of spoilers.

First of all, I gotta say, I feel like a weirdo, because so many of the reviews for this season are like A RETURN TO FORM AFTER A DISAPPOINTING SECOND SEASON and UP THERE WITH SEASON 1 NOT THAT CRAPPY SEASON 2 THAT NO ONE LIKED and uhhhh … I liked season 2 just fine? It’s probably my favorite. There are things I don’t like about it, but the stuff I love is stuff I really, really love. Hopper and Eleven’s relationship, for instance. Steve and Dustin teaming up and Steve Harrington becoming a guardian to four children. Those are not just great elements to the series, but directions that I think only a second season could have taken - Hopper and Eleven’s bond wouldn’t have had half the weight if they weren’t established as traumatized, broken people in S1. Steve Harrington becoming a babysitter would not be nearly so delightful if we had not known him as the popular douchebag stereotype from S1 - if he were just a cool dude hanging out with kids from the get-go, the impact wouldn’t be as great. After S1 used Will Byers as a MacGuffin in S1, S2 gave Will a much larger role and that little actor acted his ass off. His performance generated a lot of genuine suspense and chills. There was Sean Astin being lovable! Paul Reiser’s character being a surprisingly good guy! Yeah, there are big flaws in the season, and you can argue it’s too much of a repeat of S1, but to me it was a version of S1 that made the characters more specific and interesting. I’m just … genuinely baffled by how it’s supposed to be demonstrably worse than the others. Because of the Kali episode? I didn’t think that one was terrible, either. I think it broke up the momentum of the chaos at Hawkins Lab, and Kali’s friends were obnoxious, it’s certainly not the greatest writing of the series, but as a whole the episode is like. Fine. It’s fine. It’s mediocre, not atrocious. It’s not the worst thing ever. It doesn’t ruin anything about the story or direction or the series. Most importantly it’s easy to ignore or skip on a rewatch if you don’t like it. The backlash was way overblown.

My biggest disappointment with season 3 was Hopper. Whaaaaaaat. Whaaaat did they dooooo.

Hopper in previous seasons is a flawed, messed-up human being, but I always knew where he was coming from. When he yelled at Eleven in S2, I still got why he did it. In this season he felt cartoonish. The overprotective paternalistic dad trope is annoying BUT I might have been less bothered had they connected it more to Eleven’s lack of experience with the world, less RAWRRRR KEEP BOYS AWAY FROM MY GIRL. Or if Hopper had not demonstrated like, actual rage toward Mike and we just saw him fuming about it to himself or venting to Joyce, if he was trying to keep that shit under control. (I did laugh at him singing “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim” in the car, I gotta admit.)

But his attitude toward Joyce was what really bummed me out. I’m not into this show for shipping reasons, but I low-key enjoyed the possibility of Joyce and Hopper hooking up based on previous seasons. This season felt like they were writing a completely different dynamic for them, one that was much more aggressively obnoxious. I think their intentions were clear - they were going for a Sam-and-Diane relationship, something that was referenced early on in the Bob flashback - but the problem is that their relationship was not like that at all in S1 and S2. When I think of Joyce and Hopper from those seasons, I think about him supporting her after Bob died, or listening to her concerns about her son, or working together to find Will. They didn’t have this combative dynamic! Frankly watching giant-ass Hopper yell at tiny Joyce was viscerally unpleasant. (Side note but in the first trailer there was a shot of Hopper running at the Fun Fair with someone else who I assumed was Eleven, but no, turned out to be Joyce, Winona Ryder is just that tiny next to David Harbour.)

Also, considering this season ended with his death (and we all know he’s not really dead but OK) it’s such a waste that there were few Hopper&Eleven moments! Only the finale brought some quality content on that front. But otherwise their relationship was out of sight, out of mind for almost the whole season, which wasn’t a great choice, both to maximize the emotional impact of the ending, and to expand upon their situation post-S2. I mean, it’s been months since then, how has their relationship changed now? Hopper’s letter talked about the stuff he enjoyed doing with his daughter - why didn’t we see any of that on screen this season? It could’ve helped with the Mike angle, too, like show Hopper and Eleven watching TV together and laughing and having a good time, and then the phone rings and it’s Mike and suddenly Hopper’s watching TV alone as Eleven’s now focused on her boyfriend, we see his disappointment, etc.

Scoops Troop - Now they were a delight. They had such a ludicrous story but for the most part it worked due to the characters playing off each other and because the writing/acting/directing embraced the silliness.

Steve Harrington is easily one of the best characters on this show. I fucking love that guy. He’s consistently entertaining, he’s had possibly the best character growth out of anyone in the series, he’s evolved from a stock ‘80s asshole stereotype into someone who’s funny and sympathetic and likable. He’s this amazing blend of the ridiculous with the heroic. Steve and Dustin were great together, as they were last season, and I’m cackling that Steve acquired YET ANOTHER CHILD under his supervision without even trying. But the MVP of the season was the Steve & Robin friendship. Holy shit do I love that relationship. Holy SHIT.

Robin herself is a terrific new character, smart and funny and once you know she’s half-Uma, you can’t unsee it. I was loving her already and then the bathroom scene happened and I YELLED. I was so utterly overjoyed. If they had made Steve and Robin hook up, honestly … I would’ve been fine with it, like this show doesn’t need more heterosexual romance but at least they had a fun dynamic, but man, the friendship angle was so so superior. It’s a type of relationship that media is lacking, and the specific circumstances of this friendship made it genuinely moving to me. I keep wanting to write like a meta post devoted to just this relationship because I just have so many emotions about it! But they play well off each other as a comedic duo and as an odd couple friendship, and they’re really what each other needs, IMO. Steve needed this close friendship more than he needed a girlfriend; in this season he’s clearly adrift and we’ve seen the kind of shitty friends he had in like season one, is Dustin the best pal he had at this point? And I love Steve & Dustin but Steve needed a good friend his own age. Robin is a lesbian in small-town Indiana in the ‘80s, and she was clearly full of fear that Steve would hate her if he knew, and for him to accept her so easily, not even making a big deal about it? That’s kind of life-saving, really. I can’t wait to see more of them, if Netflix wants to make the half-hour Clerks-esque spinoff about them working in a video store and shooting the shit, I would be 100% down for that.

I have some mixed feelings about Erica because I think she could have benefited from getting the same humanization as the other kids (and I’m going to leave the discussion of racial tropes gently by the side at the moment but … yeah). The other child characters are played more like actual people with vulnerabilities, which has been part of the show’s appeal since the first season, and Erica was more like the sitcom kid who always has a snarky quip ready; however, she did make me laugh and I like that they tapped into her being a nerd, I wish they’d explore that in future seasons with the character. “I’m ten, you bald bastard” was one of my favorite lines of the season, I lost my goddamn mind.

Billy - Lmao, so Billy in S2 was the woooorst. This dude had ZERO redeeming qualities. His abusive dad creates a smidgen of sympathy, I guess, but Billy goes so far beyond normal teenage assholery that it didn’t make a dent in my opinion of him. You can redeem someone like Steve Harrington, first of all because Steve actually feels regret and works to correct his mistakes, but Steve also didn’t go to a point of no return in the first place. Billy did, for me. Physically and verbally abusing his younger sister? Attacking a black middle-schooler for the crime of being in the same room as his white sister? What a piece of shit.

With that in mind - I have no problem focusing on him as a villain this season, I really don’t. It justifies his inclusion in S2 other than as a human antagonist who’s ultimately not really connected to the main plot, as it retrospectively establishes him as an even greater threat in this season. I also think the actor did a good job with the material he was given. However, ultimately this dude’s arc was underwhelming. The thing is … I can tell they were trying to show Billy struggling with the Mind Flayer, but Billy is so lacking in any positive qualities that it’s kind of like, where does that struggle even come from? Yeah, even the worst people aren’t going to be wild about having a monster from another dimension hijack your body and use it to collect people for spare parts, but this is the same dude who was about to run over Mike, Lucas, and Dustin on their bikes last season for absolutely no reason. He beat Steve to point of unconsciousness and could’ve put him in the hospital. He assaulted Lucas. So I really need some evidence of Billy’s moral compass because it is not inherent and there’s in fact plenty of evidence that it doesn’t exist. I’m not very enthusiastic about redeeming a racist, abusive creep, but I also think if you’re going to go for him helping Eleven at the end … you have to show some current potential for goodness, not just “used to be a nice kid.”

A really glaring omission: the lack of any family/home scenes with him, Max, and their parents this season. We left off last season with Max telling him to leave her and her friends alone. How is their relationship since then? Is there still a lot of friction? Is there a tense peace? Has their relationship improved in any way? We really needed to see that follow-up. I get that Max crying over Billy this season makes sense in that he’s still her family and we can still have love for those who hurt us … but I also feel that we needed something between them to justify her pain, like even just the potential of their relationship being a fraction better, or the suggestion that Billy used to be OK to Max before he went full asshole. And I think we really needed to see Billy’s dad being currently abusive in this season - tbh, missed opportunity that the dad didn’t get flayed like, out of revenge (which would have been both satisfying and horrifying), missed opportunities for suspense when we think Billy might serve up Max and her mom to the Mind Flayer, etc.

Another missed opportunity: drawing parallels between Billy and Will. Both are possessed by the Mind Flayer. Both had shitty dads calling them homophobic slurs. Both could be read as gay (I’m not hungry to claim Billy as LGBT representation or invested in this interpretation but his scenes with Steve in S2 admittedly have that sweaty homoerotic dick-measuring vibe, if you want to take it there). Their names are both William, FFS. The difference is that Will is a sweet and gentle kid surrounded by loving family and friends who fought to save him, and Billy is a violent, cruel dude who probably doesn’t have any real friends, just shallow connections. You could show how the Mind Flayer could more easily possess and manipulate someone like Billy, but that wasn’t really explored.

Also, is anyone going to dwell on the fact that like … Max is living with an abusive man as her stepfather? He’s shown hurting Billy’s mom. Does that not concern anyone that he is very likely to attack either Max or her mom?

Oh, and thank God they didn’t take the Billy/Karen thing all the way. In retrospect, even weirder considering Billy’s mommy issues.

Joyce - I get that it’s a big leap downward in emotional investment to go from “must save my son” to “fucking magnets, how do they work” but I liked that she had her own investigation that wasn’t full of emotional turmoil. Winona forever.

Mike - Everyone is ragging on him but I think he was less terrible than people are making him out to be. He was bratty in a teenage way, but he wasn’t the worst kid ever. I didn’t take his now notorious line to Will (“It’s not my fault you don’t like girls”) as something intentionally cruel or homophobic, just something that came out wrong and that he instantly regretted, and he and Lucas did seem genuinely apologetic over the D&D game and went over to Will’s in the rain out of concern. And the reason he lied to Eleven was because SCARY ASS HOPPER threatened him??? Also, his concern over Eleven overexerting herself was not misplaced, lmao! It really took that long for anyone to go, “Hey, should we be worried about the amount of blood coming out of her nose? Should we be concerned about the effects on her brain?” Sure, Eleven has the final say in whether or not she uses her powers, but tbh… she didn’t have a normal upbringing and her view of her powers is probably skewed. Like, would Eleven have enough basic medical knowledge to be worried about brain damage or nosebleeds, or would that just be the norm to her? Is she making these decisions with a full grasp of the potential consequences? Anyway, I don’t have a more negative opinion of Mike after this season.

Eleven - I loved Eleven a lot in this season. I don’t know if it did a ton for her character arc, but it’s nice to see her slowly develop into more of a normal girl. And the season was rough for her in terms of getting her ass kicked, she goes through so much mental and physical pain! In the end she loses her dad and her powers!

Of course one of the bright spots was her and Max becoming friends! Not gonna lie, there was something a little … simplistic about some of that depiction of friendship for me - just that so much of it was SHOPPING and GIGGLING and BOY TALK, girls being GIRLS, when Max has been portrayed as a tomboy and Eleven is a telekinetic kid raised in a lab, that maybe their interactions shouldn’t have fit the mold quite so much - but it doesn’t truly bother me because they were so sweet and fun. I loved them tracking down Billy together and I appreciate that their friendship carried throughout the season, that Max was the person shown carrying an injured Eleven along with Mike, Eleven comforted Max after Billy died, etc. That was a definite sore spot of S2, the girl-on-girl jealousy and Eleven flat-out rejecting Max’s friendly introduction, and I do think they took that feedback into account for the better here. I also like that Eleven was clearly taking cues from Max, the more “worldly” of the two about boys and clothes and teenage attitudes in general - it gave their friendship a more specific shape.

I cannot WAIT to see her living with the Byers family next season. Like if they don’t spend significant time on that dynamic, it will be the biggest disappointment. There could be 8 episodes of just boring mundane Byers domestic scenes and I would love it, please inject it into my eyeballs, Duffer bros. I want to see her bonding with all of them, trying to fit in at school, attempting the most normal life she’s ever had. Also lmao, she and Will can finally have a goddamn conversation??? I hope they’ve been withholding that relationship because they were planning to go all out with those new sibling vibes in S4. They are the two characters who have been most traumatized by the Upside Down, we deserve to see them connect.

On that note, I have a lot of thoughts about Will in this season! Mainly - underused as FUCK. After all that trauma of being possessed by the Mind Flayer last season, they barely utilize this connection in the second half of S3. Even his Spidey sense hardly came in handy??? Now that was really weird, IMO, because the least they could do was have that feeling alert the others or be useful, but lmao it was practically pointless.

It’s weird because I’m not sure if they just don’t know what to do with Will if he’s not being a victim (which is stupid because there’s plenty you could do with him), but at the same time, he has one of the most poignant subplots of the season. From the reactions I’ve seen, Will feeling rejected and left out as his friends move on really resonated with a lot of viewers. But then this thread is abandoned after episode 3, for the most part. Will cries and destroys the place that represents his childhood, a place that was created specifically in response to trauma (mentioned in S2 that he and Jonathan built it after their dad left), this is very rich emotional territory … and then the show’s just like ehhhhhh moving on. He’s just hanging out in the background and touching his neck for the rest of the season.

And now I gotta talk about that other thing with Will.

I am so confused by what the Duffer brothers are trying to accomplish with Will’s sexuality, because on the one hand it seems like they have a really clear idea about it and on the other hand they’re just like¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The thing is … it seems very obvious they have always thought of Will as gay. This is blatant from the original pitch from the show as well as one of the S2 scripts (the only one that’s available publicly, so who knows what else they’ve written). I accept that people have different interpretations, but The Line this season is far from the only textual support for Will being gay, and I think it makes for a much, much stronger narrative if you read Will as gay in addition to not wanting to grow up as fast as his friends and being stunted from trauma - that is an entire meta post in itself, though.

What gets me about the ~ambiguity is that the Duffer brothers planted the gay hints in the first place! They are absolutely not there by accident! Like I’m not speaking for the teenage actors but lmao, the adults involved in the writing and directing of this series absolutely fucking knew how that “not my fault you don’t like girls” scene would be interpreted, especially considering fans were debating Will’s sexuality from the beginning, based off the many homophobic comments leveled at him in S1. There have been TV shows where fans latched onto gay “subtext” that was likely unintentional, but this isn’t one of them.

IDK, man, it’d just be nice to have some confidence in where this is going. I loved Robin and the bathroom scene made me think that yeah, they might do a decent job with Will’s sexuality, something I might have doubted before. Under no circumstances do I expect a Skam S3-style coming out arc for Will, but I’m also uncertain if I should expect anything from the show on this front at all or if they’ll play it coy to the bitter end. Though I guess I’d still take the ambiguity over giving him a female love interest after everything. Lol, that would be a giant oh-fuck-no.

Real talk, though, let’s discuss what an utter waste it would be to not write a scene where Joyce tenderly accepts her son when he comes out to her. You really aren’t going to bring that instantly iconic moment to life, assholes? You’re not going to provide that for Winona Ryder’s and Noah Schnapp’s Emmy reels? MAKE IT HAPPEN, BASTARDS.

Nancy and Jonathan have a reputation for the most boring plots but they’re fine, w/e. I’m not deeply invested in their romance but I don’t want to fast forward their scenes or anything. Nancy is an underrated character; she’s extremely proactive and always has been, and I enjoy watching her shoot things. I think the best thing they could do for both characters, though, is to separate them next season, not just physically but storyline-wise. Jonathan would be best in a subplot involving his family, because he’s at his most likable as a son and brother, and Nancy should either go off with Mike (a sibling relationship that is VASTLY undeveloped), or she should team up with Robin. I mean it, Nancy and Robin would be a power pairing, let me show you my manifesto. Both are smart young women who are good at solving mysteries. Would Robin think Nancy is a priss after Nancy unloads several rounds into the latest demogorgon chasing them? Would Nancy find Robin a refreshing alternative to the crushing suburban conformity that she claims to want to avoid? Oh, the possibilities. Meanwhile, Steve tags along in the background, all like OH SHIT, my lesbian BFF and my ex-girlfriend are in cahoots!

Lucas and Max were playing relationship counselors to Mike and Eleven through much of the season. Max still had a fair amount to do, but Lucas needs a meatier subplot next time. I feel like they’re not sure what to do with him? I would like to see him and Erica interact more since their dynamic so far is one-note.

There is one hell of a conversation to be had about the Evil Russians of this season, but I’m really not the person to do it.

Also about the depiction of capitalism this season. That’s more thinkpiece-y than I am equipped to do right now.

The product placement is something that should bother me more but I’m just like … shrug. Except that New Coke bit because that was an actual mood-breaker.

Could have done without Russian Terminator guy. That was a blatant ‘80s homage so I get why he was there, he just wasn’t all that interesting. And was that guy supposed to be superpowered or something? Was he getting jacked on Upside Down steroids??? What was his deal???

Alexei/Murray was the true OTP of the season, let’s be real.

The trend of lovable, doomed minor characters continued with Alexei. Props to that actor for making you root for the guy. He even made me kind of love Murray? I was very WTF over that guy encouraging two teenagers to fuck in S2, and I’m still not into his habit of telling people to bang even when they’re adults, but I guess he just needed a sympathetic Russian buddy to win me over.

There were a ton of moments where I felt like the characters made stupid choices as opposed to earlier seasons. Will getting dragged into the Upside Down in the first 10 minutes of the series is an impressive example of a horror movie character doing everything right and making good decisions - a 12-year-old, no less. And he was still overpowered by the demogorgon so it’s not like making good decisions will always save you! Whereas this season I was like LORD some of these characters are drinking dumbass juice.

There was also so much silly stuff happening, like things that are even more far-fetched than previous seasons, but I just kind of went with it. Yeah, of course there’s a secret Russian base under a shopping mall. Sure.

This season is objectively disgusting in terms of gore and yet I was fine with it? And I’m someone who was repulsed by Barb’s corpse in S1. The Mind Flayer being made of people was some nasty shit but effective horror. I felt bad for the poor little rats :( Oh, and the flayed humans, too. Some of them. Was sad to see Mrs. Driscoll bite it but FUCK those cartoon misogynists from the newspaper.

Visually beautiful! Starcourt Mall is an amazing set and I’m rather sad that the mall was destroyed, although that was basically a foregone conclusion. Some great cinematography, too. On a purely aesthetic level I had a great time just blasting this season into my retinas.

I have had the motherfucking NeverEnding Story theme song in my head for almost two weeks and I’m suffering.

#lillypedalsxx #replies #stranger things #also they referenced my university this season so i dug that thx 4 the shoutout

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conjugate-wumbo · 5 years

Text

GOT 8x5 Penultimate episode here we go….

You ever notice how right when you’re watching the credits to any movie or tv show and there’s a part where you’re like really jamming to the music - like damn that’s some good stuff - is exactly when the “music by” credit shows up? Coincidence? Where’s that gif of Edna?

If Varys ran for president, he would have a real shot at winning just based on the number of his own spies voting for him alone.

VARYS WHAT DID YOU WRITE IN THAT LETTER

Yo Tyrion and Varys were besties.

I am not satisfied with this ending.

“Far more people in Westeros love you than love me.” What do you think that means. Return of D is for dum dum.

“Is that all I am to you? Your queen?” “Nah fam you’re also my aunt.”

Just sayin, Jacob Anderson sounds like a native speaker of Valyrian. Def has the best accent to the language.

I don’t see that there’s any time for Dany to redeem herself and be worthy of becoming queen. This attitude is getting real tiring.

It’s just a bunch of frowns all over the place isn’t it.

“I’m Arya Stark. I’m here to kill Queen Cersei.” LOL “I need to go talk to my captain.” LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Back to beginnings with prisoner Jaime.

Damn even after all this shit, Tyrion just loves his big bro so much. Tyrion just wants a family. Tyrion is Iron Man.

How many scorpions do they have wow.

Ok wtf is up with the travel times in this show. How is Jaime already there. How did Dany pull a there and back again so quickly. In the first episode weren’t Robert Baratheon’s party riding for a month to get from King’s Landing to Winterfell?

What?

FUCKING EVERYONE IS THERE ALREADY

WHAT

I smell some expendable-story-telling-reshirts stuff about to happen.

Does Euron have stars on his jacket?

K that first dragon quick-spin shot was pretty sick.

So when dragons breathe fire... It must be some expulsion of gas right. And it’s just ignited internal right before it leaves the dragon’s mouth. Because otherwise how is the fire hitting things with such weighty force.

Golden Company definitely realizing that they don’t get paid enough for this shit.

It would have been fun to see Daario fight the leader of the Golden Company. Missed Opportunity.

Are all those other scorpions just waiting until everyone else gets their chance at a close up before trying firing at Drogon? How considerate. Equity in screen time.

Daenerys, if you’re planning on living there like maybe try to save yourself a little bit on renovation fees.

WTF IS DAVOS DOING RIGHT AT THE FRONT OF THE LINE

THAT’S NO PLACE FOR WESTEROS’S DAD

Not gonna lie, it’s weird seeing Jon against the backdrop of King’s Landing.

I can just see it on the Lannister soldiers’ faces, “thank god, I didn’t want to be the first one to drop my sword.”

Ring a ding ding. Cersei whatchu doing.

DAMMIT DAENERYS

YOU’RE RUINING IT

STAAAAAAHP

BRUH THAT IS NOT EVEN THE RED KEEP

WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING

GREY WORM DON’T YOU DARE

YES JON YES

OH MY FUCKING GOD GREY WORM DON’T. YOU. DARE.

Grey Worm’s gonna die isn’t he.

...Maybe not...

Time to bring back this meme to encapsulate the episode: Everyone: Daenerys NO Daenerys: DAENERYS YES

Come on Jaime, we need a Queenslayer You can do it Where the fuck are you even

LISTEN TO JON YOU FUCKS

FUCK RETURN OF THE REDSHIRTS

JON SAVE THAT LITTLE GIRL

Dany u gotta stop All that good architecture just going to waste.

Wow if Euron kills Jaime that’ll be the most unsatisfying shit in the world. However. If Davos saves Jaime and kills Euron like a badass. That would be something that Westeros’s dad deserves.

Well fuck I am unsatisfied. I feel nothing. Like obviously I’m sad because it’s Jaime, but like story-wise.

If Jaime dies here by the hand of Euron. Like what was I waiting for?

What is this episode

What WHAT WHATWHATWHATWHATWHATWHAT

That’s it Jaime YESSSSS JAIME Ok this is more satisfying Should’ve been Yara who killed Euron but whatever (Also where is Yara??????? We just killed her brother and then we’re just never going to see her again?)

OMG FATHER FIGURE HOUND. LOVE IT. THIS IS WHAT I WANTED FROM ARYA’S ARC. LEARNING TO MOVE ON FROM REVENGE. YESS ARYA. THIS IS THE WHOLESOME CONTENT I WANT TO SEE. TOO BAD THEY JUST RUSHED THROUGH IT IN TWO SECONDS. THIS DESERVED A WHOLE SCENE WITH BUILDUP AND TENSION AND AN AMAZING SCORE AND MAYBE EVEN A SMOL TEAR FROM ARYA.

Ok if Cersei just dies from falling rubble... THANK GO SHE SURVIVED that would have been the MOST unsatisfying.

OH SHITTTT. CLEGANE BOWL ABOUT TO BEGIN. HERE WE GOOOO. LET’S GOOOOO. (The Mountain has no neck?) Qyburn killed by the Mountain = oddly satisfying. Not what I thought but I’ll take it. WHY IS THERE NO SCORE FOR CLEGANE BOWL. Damn boy Gregor u gotta start wearing sunscreen.

YESS LANNISTER BOWL. JAIME IF YOU DON’T KILL CERSEI I SWEAR- Cersei: “You’re hurt” Jaime: “It’s only a flesh wound”

Not Found: Any dramatic tension in this episode

WHERE ARE THE EMOTIONAL BEATS IN THIS EPISODE

Sandor just stabbed Gregor and like. I have no reaction.

What is this episode???

If the Hound dies. I will be so unsatisfied.

ARYA SAVE SOME OF THE INNOCENTS COME ON. FIND JON. HELP HIM. If Arya just fucking dies from bricks. I will be so unsatisfied.

WHAT IS THIS EPISODE

Where is any dramatic tension?

Like I care, but I don’t care? At least the score is back. Some good cinematography though, for these cuts switching back and forth between Arya and the Hound. BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN THEMATICALLY? WHY ARE THEY BEING CONNECTED? What is the narrative message????

WHAT DOES IT MEAN. NOTHING.

YASSS RETURN OF THE RED SHIRT

Damn if I haven’t said it enough times already. If the Hound just dies here. I’ll be so unsatisfied.

“FUCKING DIE” lol OKAYY you can’t give me three seconds of score and assume that means the dramatic tension in Clegane bowl was relieved.

YOU CAN’T RELIEVE WHAT WAS NEVER TENSE. THE HOUND IS ONE OF MY FAVES. AND HE JUST DIED. AND I’M LIKE MEH.

WHAT IS THIS EPISODE? ??????

Lol ok wildfire I guess we’re in act three now?

THIS SCORE MEANS NOTHING NOW. YOU CAN’T FOOL ME.

Lol D&D would never have the guts to kill Arya. But what does she have left to do even? What is her arc now? It’s done??? She’s technically in the danger zone, but like what does the danger matter now? She’s just running again.

Ok leadership let’s go.

What is this episode???? Why is this sequence so long???

And there go the redshirts.

DID WE JUST KILL ARYA????

Ok some dramatic tension back now. I guess Cersei and Jaime are dead now.

LOL I KNEW THEY COULDN’T KILL ARYA. THEY WOULD NEVER HAVE THE NARRATIVE INTEGRITY.

Here’s how they can salvage this dramatic tension, First of all take some of that plot armor off of these major players and just bite the bullet and let Arya die. You could even make it a legendary tragic scene. One for the ages. Just milk it for all it’s worth because it’d def be worth 10000x whatever this is. Like literally everyone else around her is burnt to a chalky crisp. And yet she’s not only alive, but mostly uninjured. Not a single burn. Not a single broken limb.

HOWEVEr

If you insist on keeping her life. Pull an Eowyn. Arya becomes a maester. Realizes how silly war and violence are.

Is that Shadowfax. LORD OF THE HORSES. What does this scene have to do with anything? What does it mean? Did Arya request that horse on Lyft?

AND THAT’S THE END

WHAT

What was the point of this episode?

Nothing happened………………. None of the story, that’s for sure

If this were the book, this would have been like half a chapter. With how little the course of the story changed.

WELL THAT LEAVES ONLY LITTLE OVER AN HOUR TO WRAP UP THIS BEAST OF A STORY.

HOW ARE WE GOING TO KILL DAENERYS IN A SATISFYING WAY AND STILL HAVE TIME FOR AN EPILOGUE WITH ONLY ONE EPISODE LEFT.

I have a strong feeling that this next episode is also going to feel incredibly rushed.

WHAT IS THIS EPISODE

#got #got spoilers #game of thrones

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quagmireisadora · 5 years

Note

Could you write jinki having narcolepsy? Either ot5 friendship or onkey focus please :)))

A/N: I did a mix of both? Haha?Based on this song

Warning: NC-17, but only just

The grass is cold against his thighs. He runs his hand over the tips of blades, green and yellow surrounding wild flowers he doesn’t know the names of. Usually he likes to pull out his phone and look for them - scientific name, botanical family, what the flower symbolizes. Usually he likes to look up stuff like that and then read it all out to the other. But right now… right now it doesn’t matter. The hill is rolling and their slow footsteps are rolling with it. He carefully follows the other through the overgrown grass. “Taem ah,” he calls out to slow them down, but even when the boy turns to look and smile, their pace remains steady. Onew doesn’t try to check his wrist for the time or wonder why his stomach isn’t rumbling yet. It does not matter. There is no more hunger in him, no more sleep either. He is free.

“Hyung, come,” Taemin reaches with his hand. Onew grasps it without question and immediately the ground falls away. Or maybe their feet leave the hill. He isn’t sure, but they’re no longer tethered down by gravity. Their eyes don’t look below but above – to what is coming, what they are approaching, what is waiting to gather them in its embrace. Onew sighs at how peaceful everything is, how blue and bright it all looks. He closes his eyes for a moment to take in the smell, the sound around him, and when harsh laughter assails his ears he suddenly jolts in his place.

“Yah,” manager hyung’s voice is urgent in his ear. “What the hell? Don’t let the organisers see you dozing off!”

He blinks a few times in confusion, in shock. He looks around for Taemin in a and finds him signing a copy of the CD for an excited fan. When the younger is done, he turns to the leader and raises his eyebrows. Unseen to other’s eyes, a set of cold fingers presses into Onew’s thigh and he is suddenly aware of where they are–of what this is.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he mumbles back to the unspoken question on the other’s face. Then he musters his best smile for the fans waiting and pushing in line, and keeps the expression fixed on his face for the rest of the evening.

“Haha, but he’s bald!” Minho laughs from his seat on the pulley machine, pausing his exercise for a minute because he’s quaking so hard from laughter. “He works out so much that he’s bald!”

“Yah, it’s a kids’ anime! What’re you doing watching that sort of stuff?” Onew chuckles from the treadmill, raising the speed by a little. When Minho doesn’t respond, just laughs harder at whatever his brain is imagining, the elder shakes his head. “You like it that much, huh?”

He likes to spend his free time practicing on the piano, but his body is starting to get weaker and weaker. He is always tired, whether it’s before or after dance practice, before or after a live performance, before or after a good night’s sleep. In fact, he hasn’t had a good night’s sleep in months. He yawns all the time, dozes off in the car, starts nodding in the middle of management discussions and advertisement pitches. It’s disrespectful but he can’t help it. He pinches himself every time he senses an oncoming wave of drowsiness, but it doesn’t always work. He can no longer sit through a full movie, or watch a whole concert. When he goes out on a date, the other person is always embarrassed or insulted when he suddenly falls asleep in the middle of dinner. He drinks to make himself feel better but he has a habit of taking it too far, and when he’s found sleeping in odd places, it gets him in all sorts of trouble. The fans notice and leave comments, the company notices and sends him to the gym.

“More exercise will improve your lifestyle,” he’s reprimanded. “You’re not very healthy right now, and that’s bad for public image. Think of the group!” He hangs his head and takes all of the criticism, but Minho grabs him by the elbows every week and leads him away. They don’t talk about it, don’t discuss it beforehand, and if the younger has any comments to make about Onew’s fitness or physique, he doesn’t ever share them. He simply smiles and makes silly jokes about silly things. Like usual.

The laughter evaporates and they fall into their routine again when their instructor comes in to scold them, but a few minutes into his run Onew starts to feel a familiar heaviness. He shakes his head to disperse it, and he’s successful, but only for a short while. He blinks hard, once, twice, thrice. He squeezes his eyes shut, and when he reaches for the emergency stop button it isn’t there–

What wakes him up is a shaking to-and-fro. He thinks someone is trying to nudge him back into consciousness, but it’s just Minho carrying him. His arm is around the boy’s shoulder and his feet are dragging on the ground but they’re definitely moving. The sun is shining, the cicadas are crying, the trees are swaying in a light wind. Everything is calm in the world and yet… he frowns and squints ahead of them. They’re walking back to the car.

“W-what are we…?” Onew tries, but the light is too bright and the movement is too much. “Wait… no, wait, wait,” He pulls on the other’s sleeve to stop because he’s dizzy and about to throw up.

He wobbles a little on his feet, and his hand finds the solid surface of a wall fast. It is warm, surface heated from hours of sunlight. He pants as if he’s run a long and tiring marathon, trying to find balance, trying to stay upright. He pants and imagines it rising into the hot air around them like steam. He tries to move again but his body is simply too weighty. He bends till the top of his head is scraping against brick. It burns a little against his scalp. He tries to calm his breath and focus his sight–focus! he orders himself. Slowly, very slowly, things start to appear more clearly with every blink. His forehead stops throbbing, his knees stop trembling, his inhales don’t rush to follow his exhales.

He straightens up and pushes off the wall. He feels a lot calmer now, and he can walk by himself. When his eyes find Minho, he wants to tell him the same thing. But his eyes find Minho, he realizes he doesn’t have to say anything.

“H-hyung?” the other asks, his voice is meek, his hands are shaking. There is panic visible on the skin of his face. He reaches out like a lost child looking for its mom. “Hyung a-are you…?” he looks close to tears as he takes a tentative step forward. Onew tries to remember if he’s ever seen Minho look scared out of his mind. He can’t think of a single instance.

So he walks up to the other and folds him in a hug.

Taemin practices his Japanese out of a book, lips moving quietly. One hand traces over the words and another writes them out on a piece of paper. His hair falls over his eyes and his back is crouching on the stool. Onew walks around and taps the bumps on the boy’s spine to signal him to correct his posture. The maknae makes an annoyed sound but does as he’s told, shifting and sitting up straight, pushing his hair back and rubbing his neck tiredly. The fridge is opened and a pair of cool tamarind-flavored drinks are brought out. Onew puts one next to Taemin’s study paraphernalia, and they share a look, saying nothing.

In the middle of their living room, Minho plays a video game with Jonghyun, explaining how the controls work. They giggle with something weird appears on the screen, but when Onew points at all the wires lying around in a mess they quickly clear it all up. He doesn’t linger to check if they finish the job, simply walks away from them and heads for his bedroom, where the rest of his TV show is waiting for him. It’s a hot afternoon, they have no schedules planned, their manager is not coming over to talk to them about any new work, and soon they’ll all head back to their homes for a break from all the madness. It’s their well-established routine, and it does a good job keeping them motivated. Keeping them energized for the next set of promotions. Of course, they’ll still get phone calls and offers for commercials, of course they’ll still have to cut their break short and come back when some big-shot producer suddenly sells them a new song. Of course all that would still happen, but this afternoon is just theirs, and they use it all for themselves.

Just as Onew reaches halfway through the episode on his laptop, the front door opens and slams shut, followed by heavy footsteps walking to his room. “What dirty things you up to, old man?” Key leans against the door frame and asks, smelling like food and cigarettes.

“Hello to you too,” Jinki pauses the video. Outside, Minho lets out a frustrated sound and Jonghyun laughs at him with a how am I better at this than you? The elder raises his eyebrows, and rolls his chair back from the desk. “How was everyone?” he asks.

“Good,” the other replies, messing his hair and shrugging off his jacket. “Bored. Woohyun says he’s thinking of moving to America.”

“Is he now.”

“He said hi, by the way,” Key passes the greeting with a wave of his hand and starts to walk away.

“Listen,” Onew calls him back, but the other simply yells a what? from the hallway. He imagines their eyes meeting through the wall between them and stares at the plasterboard like he’s trying to reach the other. They don’t exchange anything else for a minute and the only sound in the apartment comes from the game console, a pair of competitive men who have nothing else better to do stomping and screaming around it. After a while he hears Key walk to his own room and rustle around for a while before coming back in clothes that don’t stand out as much.

He throws a face mask to the leader and says, “Better use that.”

He wakes up to the sight of Kibum’s ceiling.

The other is sat next to him in bed, fingers moving swiftly on his phone. The sound of message alerts comes and goes through his consciousness. He shifts a little, still caught in the confusion of waking up to a bright afternoon sun and the warmth of another body next to him. “Ugh… how long was I out?” he rubs his eyes.

“Ten minutes,” Kibum responds with some disinterest. “Maybe fifteen.”

The relief of not having lost a day is short-lived. He tries to sit up and is hit by an ache in his lower half. “Ah…!” he gasps, rolling to his front then looking down at himself. He is naked and hard under the sheets, and so is Kibum. “W-what…?!” he begins to demand, but when the other looks at him with curiosity it all comes rushing back into his brain.

He remembers leaving through the rear exit of their building and getting into a car that they drove through hardly any traffic. He remembers unlocking Kibum’s door while the other parked. He clearly recalls coming in and greeting the dogs, playing with them and feeding them before their nap. He remembers taking in the art pieces hanging on the walls and how much the place had changed since his last visit. He recollects running a hand over the kitchen counter and tapping his fingers on the wood before the other walked up behind him and pinned him forward, whispering softly against the back of his neck. He remembers palms running up and down his sides before he took hold of them and coiled them around his waist.

They do this sometimes. They walk out of the company housing in the middle of a meaningless day and come here, to Kibum’s home, which he keeps closed to guests and family at most times. They come here and they say nothing, share no words about the outside world. They close the doors and lock themselves in, shedding their clothes and taking off everything that makes them Onew and Key–coughing out the parts of them that are famous and loved. They become Jinki and Kibum here, in this sanctuary, two people looking for comfort in a world that has none to offer. They come here sometimes, give each other what they need, and when they leave they revert back to the cautiously crafted personalities the cameras demand of them.

He remembers Kibum being gentle, like always. He remembers how the man kissed him slowly, held him close, undressed him reverently, like anything could break him. He remembers how Kibum led them here, to a messy room and an unmade bed, maneuvering them so they didn’t trip over all the junk on the floor. He remembers feeling completely safe, secure, guarded in a warm embrace even when Kibum’s movements grew fluid and his eyes shone with a little danger. He remembers feeling a gate inside of him being forced open, the lock picked and the latch wrenched around in its slot. And when he moaned with want he remembers the gate creaking open easily like it was never shut in the first place. He remembers all of it and when he looks up at Kibum, he blinks in confusion.

“Why’d you stop?”

“You fell asleep,” the other shrugs. “I couldn’t just keep fucking you.”

Jinki lifts himself on his arms, passing a short and grateful kiss. “Want to try again?” he murmurs between their lips. Before the other can answer, his response is clear in his gaze. So Jinki shuts him up with another, deeper kiss, moving so he is straddling Kibum. He positions himself so he can take both of them in his grip and work them together, just the way Kibum likes it–

“No, h-hey, no!” he’s pushed away. “Stop it.”

“Did…” he frowns, looking around them. “Sorry, did I do something wrong, I–”

“You’re not well, Jin,” Kibum says in a low voice, but it sounds like a scream. Like a loud and harsh alarm going off somewhere very close to them. “I’m not going to do this with you again today. I can’t. It’s… it’s not right.”

“You’re getting pious on me, now?” Jinki asks incredulously, even though he knows what the other means. “After everything we’ve done?”

“Don’t,” Kibum shakes his head. “Look, I’m–we’re all worried OK?” he looks like he’s finally admitting something he’s been keeping hidden for years. Jinki tries to get away from the man but he’s held back by the shoulders. “No, hey, listen–listen. You’re losing weight. You don’t eat well, you forget things. And you keep falling asleep all the time. We’re worried if it’s like… like a…” he struggles to find the words to describe what he himself doesn’t understand. “Baby, I’m worried OK?” his hands cup Jinki’s face, and the panic on Minho’s face from all those days ago is reflected in Kibum’s expression. “I’m really fucking worried.”

“I’m fine,” Jinki struggles out of the hold and starts to look for his clothes.

“Please, go see a doctor,” Kibum suggests, and when he’s paid no attention, a short scuffle ensues between them. “Ji–Jin! Listen to me! Hey–”

“No, get away, I–”

Jinki is pulled into a tight hug until he stops fighting back. “Please,” Kibum begs him. “For me, please.”

A large square of light shines on the wall opposite them. The shadow of leaves rocks in and out of the square like it’s dancing to a song. Heat covers their backs through their clothes. The waiting room is quiet, and the hallway isn’t crowded like he remembers it from a drama shoot. Back then, there had been too much talking from the cast and crew, and there were too many lines to rehearse. Back then, the world was too full, too bursting for Onew to find his place in it and feel satisfied with what he did find. Now zelkovas tower over them outside the windows, saying no more than what he wants to hear. Nurses stop by once in a while to ask if they’re OK and if they need anything, and they reply with the chairs are too uncomfortable or the sun feels nice to explain their place on the floor. Onew shifts against Jonghyun’s shoulder, already feeling sleepy in the peace of the moment.

The doctors have seen him. They’ve done their tests, and the results are about to come out any time now. But he isn’t worried about any of that. They could tell him he isn’t human and he wouldn’t bat an eyelid. He thinks the results are not that important. What’s important is the moment. Everything is where it should be, how it should be. Their seats in the sunshine is where he feels he belongs for the rest of his life. There is no noise, no urgency, no effort needed from him to be here. Everything is quiet. Everything is warm and snug. He doesn’t feel Taemin’s confusion, or Minho’s fear, or Key’s distress. He doesn’t have to deal with any of that. He doesn’t have to explain why he’s tired or make excuses about not getting enough sleep the previous night. Jonghyun is just plain and simple in his tranquility. He doesn’t express it, or offer it for sharing. It radiates from his body like light from the sky.

“You want to go for a walk?” the younger asks him softly.

Onew shakes his head. “This is OK.” A few minutes later, a blanket is wrapped over him and he snuggles even closer to the other, finally feeling like he deserves the sleep that’s threatening to make him captive.

#30 day challenge #with soapy #jongyu #onkey #onho #ontae #in case it cuts off like last time #please use browser to read

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someobscurereference · 6 years

Note

Would you recommend listening to critical role? I’ve been a long time fan of taz and I’ve heard a lot of people refer to it as the lesser version of taz, which I’m 99% sure is just people trash talking it because it is similar. I’d like to hear your opinion and what’s the story building like? Is it taz like where they get really invested into their characters and the plot or more pure shenanigans and random plot lines?

I’ll first preface this by saying that I only listened to like the first 10 or so episodes or Critical Role’s old campaign, not because I didn’t like it, but because there were already so many episodes out by the time I found it that it became daunting to get into. However, I’ve listened to all the episodes in the new campaign that just started (except episode 5 because I need to wait until Monday for it to come out because I didn’t catch the livestream), and with both campaigns I’ve enjoyed myself a lot.

I’ve never heard anybody call Critical Role a lesser version of TAZ. That seems really rude and kind of senseless, actually, because they’re both D&D podcasts but they run kinda differently.

I think one of the key differences between Critical Role and TAZ is that DM Matt Mercer sticks to the rules more than Griffin did. Like that train scene in Murder on the Rockport Limited. Griffin let Travis do that and Magnus would have died if he’d made a bad role, but even though it was kinda silly and almost impossible to pull off, he let Travis do it. DM Matt from Critical Role, on the other hand, probably would have made the player do about four different rolls to see if they could manage it, and they probably would have had disadvantage on most of them because flinging yourself out a train window while the train is running super fast and then expecting to fling yourself around to the back totally uninjured is both unrealistic and dangerous. And there’s a good chance they might have failed pulling off a move so risky and died just like Griffin warned that Magnus could have. This may not sound very different from TAZ, but making sure a move like that succeeded in CR probably would have been more complicated and difficult than Griffin’s version of it. (Also, the worlds Matt uses are much less steampunk than Griffin’s. I don’t think there ever would be a train in the first place, though there are occasional airships or large boats and the like. But you get the idea.)

In other words, the rules don’t get bent as much. This allows allows the CR campaigns to take on a kind of more realistic (though still fantasy) feel, and some actions that might not have been as weighty in TAZ are a little weightier in CR. The CR crew has to regularly pay attention to how much money they have, whether they’re doing something suspicious that will get them arrested, whether they’re a high enough level to pull something off because being a low level and really trying your luck has a strong possibility of getting you killed. Not that Matt is overly mean at all! He’s not working with the intent to kill all the players, and remaking a new character is a lot of work, so he very much doesn’t want that to happen. He really only throws events and enemies at his players that he knows they can handle, so long as they’re smart about it. So he’s not making a “Take one wrong step and you die” type of game at all! But if you don’t pay attention or get a really bad roll, there is the possibility of bringing something bad upon yourself because you chose to be risky.

There are a few home-brew elements that get brought in occasionally as well. For example, in the first campaign, one of the player’s weapons was a gun. But overall, because Matt is working within the confines and rules of what D&D allows, the world and what can happen in it is pretty understandable. You can scale up the side of the building if you want and because you’re a rogue maybe you’ll have advantage on being stealthy about it, but hey, if you fall four stories up because you get caught, that’s gonna be bad for your health. Maybe that doesn’t sound very different from TAZ at all, but I think if you listened to a few scenes of CR, the way the world and scenes feel different from that of TAZ would become clear.

I want to make it clear that any of the above is not a deterrent or negative to me at all. CR is different from the slightly looser way Griffin runs TAZ, but it’s very fun and the pictures it paints of the world is very clear. And I do mean clear! DM Matt is a brilliant storyteller, and the NPCs and the worlds he paints are very descriptive. You can very much see them in your mind’s eye. Because the DM and the players are all professional voice actors as well, the character voices are very well done too! The voices are all distinct, and you get an idea of how a character’s personality feels pretty quick.

Again, I want to make it clear that I mention these things not because CR does these things better than TAZ in some way (or to imply that TAZ doesn’t have good storytelling or voice acting), but only to note that they are done well in a way that is different from TAZ.

Okay, on the character and story building stuff.

Just like TAZ, the CR crew get really invested in their characters. They put a lot of time and effort and feeling into them, and in the first campaign, they’d been playing those characters for quite a while before they show started. There are tears sometimes! The players are very invested in their characters and their storylines and their friends, and the idea that something bad could happen to them is treated seriously! They get torn up about it! The male players cry when they emotional occasionally too; nobody is above getting emotional or sad. On the flipside, good things are celebrated too. On particularly good roles, the whole table cheers. They laugh together. A lot of emotions are had, and the CR crew loves their characters and each other the same way the TAZ crew does. It’s a serious game, but nobody is above having fun with it.

Though the world is a little more realistic in CR like I said, there are a lot of goofs too! The exchanges in and out of character are funny, and sometimes events go wrong in very funny ways! One time it took three characters ten minutes, two spells, and several failed attempts to open a very, very simply locked door. Sometimes characters shave each other’s faces while they sleep. Some NPCs are very eccentric. There are a couple one-off episodes where someone replaces Matt as DM or something and often those episodes are very funny too. The plotlines aren’t often too random for the sake of being random, but one-offs like that can be fun. Usually there’s some kind of goal the players are trying to reach though.

Story building is a bit different too. TAZ: Balance functioned as a “collect 7 items and save the world” type story with a plot that was clear early on. (When they met the BoB, I mean, most listeners realized it was going to function as a collect the artifacts type game.) With CR, the focus is a little more on the characters. This is not to say there are not overarching villains like TAZ, because there are, but if you listen to CR’s first campaign, you realize that some arcs are more focused on certain characters than others (Not with anyone getting ignored! Just as a result of where and when the characters are in the story. For instance, the Character A may get a bit more of a focus if they’re near Character A’s hometown, but that’s just for the arc plot. Everybody else is getting attention too.)

All the characters in CR have a type of backstory that haunts them or a goal they are trying to achieve, so when I say “character arc”, I mean the arc is then shaped around helping that character fulfill that desire. Usually through a lot of fighting, because nothing is ever easy. But it becomes less “gotta collect this item and save the world” and more “I’m going to kill the monsters that murdered my family and live on our land” or “I’m going to prove to my clan that I’m worthy of succeeding my mother as leader.” Things like that. And then there are less character focused arcs in between! It’s not always “time for Vex’s story” or “Time for Grog’s story.” There are times where it’s like, hey. There’s a dragon. Or a swamp monster. Or for some reason the children and elderly in this village are going missing. Time to solve this mystery and save these people or unravel a bigger mystery behind it. So it varies a lot too!

The episodes are very long and there are a lot of them, so the story can sometimes move a little slower than you’re used to in TAZ. That’s something to keep in mind too. But it’s also a benefit if you’re interested in stories being very detailed and fleshed out as well.

If you’re interested in listening or watching at all, the new campaign just started! It takes place about 20 years after the first campaign and on another continent as well, so new listeners have an easy time of jumping in. New characters too! Episodes livestream on Geek and Sundry website on Thursdays, and archived episodes appear on Monday on YouTube. I think they appear in podcast form at that same time too, but you may want to look that up to be sure. The first episode of the new campaign is on YT here. The last campaign is fully archived in video and podcast format!

tl;dr Like TAZ, CR has some goofs, a lot of character building, a lot of world building, and really interesting stories are told. CR goes about these things differently than TAZ and is thematically different as well, but so long as you can enjoy a good story and aren’t too worried about all the D&D podcasts you listen to being told the exact same way, you’ll probably have a good time with it! The episodes are longer than TAZ’s for sure, but it’s easy to listen on the go or play in the background while you do other work.

tl:dr 2: I would definitely recommend giving it a try! Maybe listen to the first episode of the new campaign first to see if you can get into that sort of style (because everyone has new characters and so they’re learning again just like you), and then maybe go back to the first campaign if you like it! And if you don’t like it in the end, that’s okay too. Some things appeal to different people.

I hope this helps!

#my text #asks #taz #critical role #long post

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comparativegeeks · 7 years

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I’ve wondered the same thing, hypothetical question-asker! Fortunately you’re in luck, because the original Star Trek is a cultural artifact of huge importance. Anything that big gets revisited over and over again, and I’ll read, watch, or listen to anything that makes an effort. There’s a huge variety to suit any taste, but for this post I have one major recommendation and I challenge you all to guess what it is by the end.

In the realm of “real” stuff, as canon as Trek gets, you can always watch Star Trek: The Next Generation and revisit old plotlines and characters. You’ve got the original cast movies, which are in some ways “the same” but almost different versions of the same characters. You’ve got Star Trek: The Animated Series, which used original actors for voices and was better than it sounds. And there’s the series of reboot movies, particularly Star Trek Beyond which most closely approximates something like the original.

Jaylah, Kirk, and Spock in Star Trek Beyond

Novels are a great option too, and there are roughly a gigglety-jillion. If you’re looking for something really specific, to revisit a guest character or something like that, you may only find one or two but you’ll probably find something. I’ve mentioned some wacky ones here but there are plenty closer to the original series in tone — some off the top of my head are The Eugenics Wars by Greg Cox, Timetrap by David Dvorkin, Invasion: First Strike by Diane Carey, and Tears of the Singers by Melinda Snodgrass. Plus it’s not exactly, er, normal, but you’re missing out if you don’t read William Shatner’s Shatnerverse books.

A step further and you’ve got fanfic or other fanworks. Quality varies from bizarre paragraph-long vignettes about Spock as a dentist to multi-novel sagas with better characterization than some episodes from season 3, but as with the published novels, there’s something for everyone. Whatever you’ve wondered about, someone’s written it (with of course the glaring exception of the one thing I really want to read, a take-off on “Balance of Terror” where it turns out Spock really is a Romulan spy. Rec me if you know of one). I won’t do much reccing because it very much depends on what events you want to see, but there are episode addenda, episode retellings, episode followups, new episodes, a detailed episode-by-episode analysis of why Kirk/Spock was a real thing, anything you want.

But let’s take a step back toward the novels and talk about comics. Even fans who like fanfic sometimes think they won’t like comics because they’re associated with being confusing or difficult to access, and I get that, but I promise it’s not as confusing as superhero comics. With the resurgence of interest after the reboot movies, it’s easier than ever to get collected editions of comic series, so you don’t have to figure out issue numbering, just think of them the same as novel series. You can get stories about Khan and aliens and whatever, just like the novels. You can also get reprints of the original Gold Key comics from the 60s and 70s, which are hilarious, or the newer Star Trek: Ongoing series that retold original-series plots using reboot-movie characters. But most importantly, you can get Star Trek: New Visions by John Byrne. It’s a comic series that uses collages of original episode stills to create new episodes.

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It sounds silly — and kinda looks silly at first glance — but hear me out! John Byrne isn’t just some guy, he’s been a major comic author and artist since the 70s, and clearly knows his Star Trek. The New Visions series ran for two years and four volumes, with each (long) issue as a new episode of original Trek. It captures the rhythm of an original Trek episode, the style, the story functions of each character. (And while it’s a bit limited as far as diversity based on original images, he also pastes together a few new characters and does a much better job including women than Star Trek: Ongoing. Much better).

It doesn’t have the same variety of tones — original Trek could be serious, fun, goofy, self-important, intense, but these mostly fall into a “weighty” category, a feeling of pondering the mysteries of the universe. The “Where No Man Has Gone Before” sort of tone. I don’t mind that, it’s as authentic as anything. Most plots revisit original episodes, extending concepts to see how they might play out, but always in character. Some plots are new, but in the same spirit, the same general classifications of episodes and the same concerns. Even the sciencey sci-fi bits don’t make sense in the same way that original episodes didn’t make sense! Once you get used to the slight choppiness of the images, it’s really truly like watching new episodes of Star Trek. I’ve even seen each episode enough times to recognize the pictures, but I still forgot they were reused most of the time.

I honestly never expected New Visions to be good, but it’s great. It may be more like the original series than anything else I’ve seen. But I’m always looking for more recommendations, so feel free to leave them in the comments!

“I Loved Star Trek: The Original Series, Where Can I Get More Episodes?” I've wondered the same thing, hypothetical question-asker! Fortunately you're in luck, because the original Star Trek

#canon #fandom #fanfic #John Byrne #Science Fiction #Star Trek #Star Trek Beyond #Star Trek: The Original Series #William Shatner

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