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courage-a-word-of-justice · 4 years

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Maou-jou 1

I sampled this manga with what’s called a “Viz sampler”. I only ever seem to find those at libraries, so I’d assume only they and bookstores can get those.

…Twilight looks like Maou Sadao (Hataraku Maou-sama!).

“Dawner”??? I can read katakana, ya idjits. His name is Akatsuki. Update: The translator must’ve gone, “Dawn is a girl’s name. Let’s tack on an -er so it looks like a guy’s name.”

Aw, Hiro Shimono is Akatsuki. If it were Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, we could’ve gotten a Kirito joke out of it.

Oh! 快眠 (Kaimin) = good rest, literally “happy sleep”. Hence this is the nation of Goodreste. I see.

The lightning effect is soooooooooo cool! *eyes glitter at the particle effects*

I’m gonna die from cuteness from all the teddies and seals!

The little fanfare is so cute and the yokudekimashita reminds me of my days playing the arcade game Bomberman (which had a flower sticker much like this one). I wanna see this get a dub and succeed on all its merits! It’s basically my baby already…bar the fact it took a bit to work up to the first good bit of comedy.

The teddy demons are called Debiakuma, a pun on kuma (bear), devil and akuma (devil). Lessee…After “lesser demon”, there’s more text…“Fluffy bears that can be also used as pets. They give in easily to temptation. A lot of them live in the demon castle, so the princess likes to gather their fur, dye it and spin nice cotton out of it. Warning: A lot of them will either run away or call you their friend./Occasionally act as friends for the princess.”

LOL, I recognised that voice of the Scissors guy straight away…although I didn’t know who it belonged to. That’s Suwabe. (It doesn’t sound like Suwabe, I would’ve thought it to be Takuma Terashima or something.)

Aw, the Japanese version is more boring this time. It’s just Scissor Magician (in the singular for both).

*hears Scissors Demon going -ageruwa”, which is a feminine sentence ending…that’s Suwabe trying to (voice) act effeminate???!!!

These trumpet sounds never get old.

LOL, Siberian huskies dressed as Russians…

Okay, my turn again: Hari means needle, toge means thorn. Next to “His stomach is soft”, part of the subs are cut off due to Funimation’s hardsubs, but I can read “he is proud of his defence” on the 2nd line, “is the type to not refuse when relied on” on the 2nd-last line and “his favourite food is strange bird chawanmushi” on the last line.

I love how parts of the castle are upside down for no reason at all except to look cool…architects must hate that, though.

I hadn’t heard of “seesaw battles” until now. but the metaphor does make sense...kind of.

What about changing the mattress? Update: She does do that…kind of.

Gaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Kirito was under my nose all along! Damn Demon Kinggggggggggggggggggg!

Kamina glasses on one of the background trees! Cute tapir! Ahhhhhhhh, it’s so cuteeeeeeee!

Anyways, that’s a fun show. Not as fun as HypMic, but still fun after it gains momentum.

Munou na Nana 1

I remember seeing spoilers for a twist at the end…let’s hope I don’t anticipate it. That would kill the entire anime for me.

The message actually says something about how the island is a nest for enemies of humanity.

There’s the ice narcissist I saw in the promo stuff, right on cue. I’ve never heard of his voice actor Hiromichi Tezuka before, although he does sound like Hiroshi Kamiya or someone much better.

Why do I get the feeling once the title character arrives, even Nanao will get powers…? Or maybe Nana is the catalyst for Nanao’s powers awakening or something? (Just realised having a Nana and a Nanao together in the same anime is confusing…)

Subbers spelt “noblesse oblige” wrong, unless it was deliberately done as such.

I predicted the “duke it out” line.

There’s a menu on the wall of the restaurant.

Maybe Nanao’s “talent” is his leadership stat or something?

Or maybe even Nanao is an enemy of humanity and doesn’t know it? (Sorry, speculation going into overdrive…that usually happens with superpower works like this for me, because I like to analyse them.)

Maybe Nanao can see the future, like the protag from Koi to Producer?

Technically, shouldn’t ice be weak against fire…? Or am I too used to the Pokemon system?

Called it! Nanao has a hidden power! (That reminds me: I still don’t know what Lucien’s (from Koi to Producer’s) power really is.)

Vigilantes is really good at exploring how people can expand on their own powers.

…wow, I heard rumours that the main character was going to die, but I’d pegged Nana to die, not Nanao.

Onodera is clearly important…maybe he was the one with the wind powers? Or was Nana lying about that?

…dude, the red eyes are kinda obvious that Nana is evil in some way, or at least really devious.

Grace of the Gods 1

All I really know of this is that it’s got slimes and it’s an isekai/SoL hybrid…That’s it.

…I am not, I repeat NOT, on board for a harem centred around an 11 year old!

Ryoma speaks with an unnatural amount of starts and stops, hence the caveman speak.

What’s Jil’s role in the party…?

Why would you even need to know 4 high-level skills? Isn’t it better to know all of them?

LOL, I knew the isekaid guy was meant to have a hard life so he could start over with slimes, but…stick Doppo in this and it’s basically the same thing. At least Doppo tries to resist his bosses behind their backs, this guy just did the whole gaman thing and look where that got him!

If he worked for a black company with no overtime and so forth, how did he know about a recent anime trend, eh??? Sounds suspect. Update: Unless he was thinking about 90s isekai, which still involved less reincarnation than this.

I noticed the gods have senbei (the rice crackers with the seaweed). Western-looking gods probably shouldn’t have senbei, unless…they did that to make Ryoma feel more at home?

Seriously, how does a guy with no overtime still have time for online games? Even if he were getting just ads for them, he probably wouldn’t have paid enough attention to be able to figure out what the cliches are, right? Either that, or the Dragon Quest system is older than I think it is.

Slimes don’t have paws…or hands or other appendages…to give…

…I’m not sure what to think there. Am I meant to think the slimes are cute? Am I meant to think the catgirls/animal girls are cute? The answer to those questions is “no”, so…eh.

IWGP 1

Basically, I chose this for associations with HypMic.

…the best first impression involves a CGI car. Of course. <- (sarcastic)

Given HypMic, I almost expected a rap battle…nahhhh…Rap battles don’t look so cool outside HypMic, man.

The owl is a pun. Fukurou (owl) matches ‘bukuro (bag, which is the 2nd character in “Ikebukuro”). There’s also an owl statue used as a meeting spot, much like Hachiko in Shibuya…(I learnt a bunch of things about the division territory through HypMic. Let me show off…)

I think the character designer for this anime also did Joker Game…that’s throwing me off a little. Also, they had a prime opportunity to use a Buster Bros song, so I’m still a bit miffed about that – this OP’s kinda standard. Update: The character designer is Junichiro Taniguchi – my insinct was wrong on him. He did Touken Ranbu Hanamaru’s character designs.

“Smoking kills” – Yuuuuuuuup. That’s true.

Why do I get the feeling all the male otaku will wanna bang Makoto’s mother (to put it lightly)…?

Curiously, the one who hates drugs in HypMic is Jyuto, who’s not from Ikebukuro Division at all. Hmm…

Yokoyama’s voice sounds familiar…but I’m not sure why. Update: If I had to guess, I’d say he’s Saito Soma or someone who sounds similar, so maybe Takuma Terashima, Daisuke Ono or something like that. Update 2: Takahiro Sakurai. See? I knew I knew that voice.

“Big Rei” (“Rei-nii”). That’s different from Ichi-nii (what Saburo calls Ichiro) and could also be goroawase for 02.

Uni of Tokyo is the most prestigious uni in Japan. It has quite the reputation.

…is it just me, or does Makoto have a piercing in his left ear? IWGP also happens to happily work with my existing character, although said character has a piercing in his right ear.

Zero One kinda looks like Uta (Tokyo Ghoul), LOL.

…and of course the girl has to rely on the dude. *sigh* Welp, we can throw drugs off the list for “things that count as TV-MA to Funimation” – IWGP is rated M (not 15+ explicitly, but that’s what it stands for normally) in my region.

This ED song…that’s the sort of song I was expecting from HypMic, Akudama or this.

Seems both Makoto and Takashi have earrings…maybe in both ears? Takashi’s are yellow, I could confirm that much.

…this is decent, but putting it up against its competitors is a bit harsh.

Crusade 1 (cont. from sneak peek - it’s in the title here because this is where it’s completed)

Turns out that preview was most of the episode…like “14 of 24 minutes” long.

Wait, how did Alice fall forward and end up in the princess carry pose? I remember having trouble with that when a character in a story of mine had the same problem.

…Iska-nii…(?)

That opera house looks pretty darn modern to me…

…eh…that was middling. Nothing any ol’ adaption of Romeo and Juliet couldn’t do, bar the CGI for the magic fight in the middle. (There was a fluffy griffin thing in the middle there, though.)

Akudama 1

Ume + Kimura and a cool urban aesthetic. Let’s go!

This is kinda Tron-like, eh?

Ooh, now it’s more like Cop Craft.

Kimura seems to use his gruffer voice more than his Ichiro voice, but Ume is actually worse on that fron with his ordinary voice…Welp, at least his ordinary voice sounds like it fits right in with the Courier. I almost expect an Ocean’s Eleven thing (or Now You See Me, since I’ve actually watched that) from this. Update: Turns out Kimura is the pompadour guy, not the fighter.

You can tell Ordinary Person is an okay person because she keeps saving cats. A bit cliché, but it’ll do.

Ohhhhhh…I can see where this plotline is going. Ordinary Person pretends to be Swindler to get herself out of this mess, but then she keeps getting involved with the Akudama. It’s a typical plot for a typical gal, common to insert a viewpoint character in series that require one, or a magical girl ally.

Wow, those missiles look like a**.

LOL, Hoodlum’s sentence is kinda measly in comparison to most of them. Plus, when he yelled, that sounded more accurate to Ichiro than Fighter was, so…yeah, sorry I messed up.

…Ordinary Person has some real bullseye…uh, eyes.

This could be a top contender…aside from the CGI, which does look a bit funky. I’m getting a death game vibe here, but I don’t know if that’s really the case. Also, it’s a lot of fun, but the possible intolerable thing here is Ordinary Person’s screaming – the pretense she has to keep up seems like it’ll fit right in though.

JJK 1

I read the manga once, dropped it and then read it again and didn’t realise why I dropped it.

Fushiguro has long eyelashes, tbh. Itadori comments on that at one point, I think.

Oh, it was a fish (carp) in the manga. I couldn’t figure out what the Japanese equivalent was just from the Kokkuri board.

This track club teacher is a bit of a freak, honestly. Meddling in kids’ affairs is probably illegal to some extent.

Itadori is known as “tiger” because the kanji for “tiger” is in the surname. Update: Also, the Czech dude Mirko was called “the Croatian tiger”, if a tweet I read is any indication.

I like how there’s more comedy in this one. They show the world records, so you have standards to compare Itadori against.

This is an almost beat-for-beat adaption, bar the slight comedy of the records being added (and not explaning who Mirko is). The contrast makes this better.

“People really can die.” – That’s summoning some real energy of “People die when they are killed.”

(Brief thoughts on the dog and cat short: I enjoyed that more than I thought I would. The picture of a realistic cat – someone’s actual photo of their cat?- that serves as a punchline never gets old and in fact, sometimes contributes to the humour.)

HypMic 2

LOL, TV-MA warning strikes again.

“Kore wa prologue/Hajimete no ippo/Fumidasanai yatsu ni wa/???? shinpo.” – The translation is really good for the bits I can read…the problem is I can’t read the bottom left corner. Update: The part in the bottom left is nai...That’s it.

…uh, even people from around the world can read 24 hour time??? You don’t need subs to read Arabic numerals???

…couldn’t you have just told Ichiro verbally, Saburo…? Update: Come to think of it, kids these days are more on their phones than ever, so it makes sense but also kind of doesn’t.

You don’t really need subs for laughter either…

I’d never heard of “pulling rank” before…hmm: “to use one's high position in a society, organization, group, etc., to order someone to do something or to get special treatment or privileges.”

…and here comes the F word here to mess with us again. Japanese nastiness is conveyed using words that might be considered “soft” in English, hence the sudden jump to use the F word a bunch, but the subbers could use some variety in their swearing. I mean, “dips**t” worked where it did because subbers made Samatoki go overboard with the F word, but…you could stand to use that more, maybe(?)

I like how even the Tenderloins guy rhymes where he’s meant to. It’s the prelude to a battle, after all. (He kinda looks like Kotaro from Zombieland Saga.)

…I freaked out for a second. I swore I saw a similar-looking restaurant (udon shop, located on the left of one of the shots) while in Japan. Also, we finally get to see Ichiro’s reputation at work.

…I still have no idea what a “steelo” is after all this time, but I didn’t realise I was staring at a part of Ore ga Ichiro until I saw it in context. Also, it was kinda derpy – but still really in character – for Ichiro to run to his destination with his arms up like the Glico man in Osaka (except he had his head down).

I get a weird feeling the subbers may have used the wiki translation because I’m using it as a reference and the language seems oddly similar for the most part…

The kick Ichiro does seems like it references the OP.

Notice the location is Nishiguchi Kouen…the West Gate Park. *raises eyebrows at the IWGP anime*

…oh! It occurred to me that the sign the BB do with their hands is…well, a lowercase B. (LOL, if you read my previous line funny, it rhymes.)

Gentaro doing the peace sign to his chest…that was random the first time, because it doesn’t seem in character, but then it does for Dice and possibly Ramuda, so Gentaro probably just chose to go along with it (“to add to his image as a rapper,” maybe…?).

Oh, Saburo has airpods in…those aren’t good for blocking sound, are they…?

Notice the owl on the…uh, café(?)…Ichiro goes to.

That one “holy shit!” made me laugh like a madman. Where it came from, I don’t know, but it was so random I had to laugh at it.

This makes me wonder…if you use a mic that’s different to your personal mic, does it produce the same speakers? No one’s ever addressed that before (much like how no one questions if magical girls always need the same transformation device – I wanted to make a plot on that someday, but I can’t seem to find a comprehensible way to pull it off…LOL, that reminds me, I even had a HypMic version of that featuring Samatoki at one point, but it probably makes even less sense than the standard one because it activates via physical contact. It’s notable – in my head – for Nemu’s version of the “power” being “Samatoki can’t swear, no matter how hard he tries”).

I’m pretty sure that round thing wasn’t part of Ichiro’s rings, ever. (…Unless that was the head of his spoon or something.)

…Microwave? (referring to the shot inside the hospital, which seems to be based off ARB)

The series normally transitions from BB -> MTC -> FP -> MTR, so it was interesting to see that shuffled up. Update: That’s if it has to have an order, but notably ARB breaks this standard a lot by assigning colours to each solo and then arranging interactions based on not repeating those colours (aside from the Sky High Tower event). With 4 things there are 4! = 24 possible combinations and 6! = 720 possible combinations if you count DH and BAT, so as we move forward with those 2 divisions...prepare for more shuffling.

…is Jiro gonna steal a ball? I thought it was just bikes anime characters stole. (LOL)

The mic changes the background, too, huh? Never expected that from more than the speakers.

…and of course, s*** explodes and the day is saved once again....by the Buster Bros!!! (LOL, but also *sigh*)

Hmm, so this anime’s real plotline probably involves this trio: Rex, Tom and Iris. They’re probably foreign in some way, judging by Tom and Rex. Maybe they’re aligned with a foreign government or something? Update: If you look at the credits, their full names seem to be Tom Whisper Weathercock, Iris Innocent Traiter (sic) (LOL) and…Taroumaru Rex…? (romanisations confirmed for all katakana)

Sadamezuka was voiced by the ubiquitous Kenjiro Tsuda.

It seems Cola Bintarou (aka Subaru Kimura) was on the case again today. He wrote the new song for BB, called RUN THIS CITY, along with Gesshoku Kaigi.

Of course, I’m going to keep this anime on my list...I’m just a bit worried about myself going forward, because I realised my ego got a bit inflated trying to defend the series from haters. I’ve never had a series where I’ve been a fan from the beginning that wasn’t already a known quantity for a while (Muhyo and Roji’s, Furuba). With Boueibu, I was discovering things alongside other people (or even later in a lot of cases) since it was anime-original.

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lightsandlostbells · 5 years

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Druck season 2, episode 2 reaction

Carmen might as well become the sixth ranger of the girl squad.

Episode 2

Clip 1 - Last-minute gift options

Mia’s reading in bed. Seems like a nice, relaxing afternoon. She checks her phone, where are messages from the girls. They’re talking about the meetup at Hanna’s place, which will include a Secret Santa. Mia is suddenly not relaxed, because she forgot to get a Secret Santa gift. D’oh!

Making it even worse, she had drawn Kiki’s name! Better get her something good to make up for your fight, Mia.

She goes through her drawers and her books, searching for a last-minute gift that she can hand to Kiki. One option is The Little Prince. Another is “Eating decently” and ohhhhh boy, as much as I think Mia might want to give that to her, I’m sure she knows it’ll cause drama. (Also, another nod to Mia has dealing with eating-related issues herself.)

She goes to her computer and types in “printable gift cards for a friend” which might be kinda on the nose since I’d probably just type in like “(store name)” and find a gift card from an actual shop, but I get what she means. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

I was kinda wondering why she didn’t haul ass to a store to pick out something quickly, so I looked it up, and most German shops are closed on Sundays, when this clip aired. There are eight Sundays a year when Berlin stores can be open on Sundays, including that Sunday (December 23) but they’re only open from 13:00 to 20:00, and Mia has to be at Hanna’s at 12:00. The more you know, for people from cultures where this isn’t the norm! Germans, feel free to weigh in or correct me.

I actually loved this small scene, though. I like that we’re seeing Mia not on top of everything, since the Noora characters are so frequently presented as something like an ideal girl. In Eva’s season she’s the cool new girl that Eva’s desperate to befriend, in Sana’s season she’s the perfect pretty blonde Norwegian (viewed with frustration by Sana, but also supported by the narrative). In Noora’s/Mia’s own seasons, we’re obviously getting a look into their less perfect parts, seeing them from a different POV, but this moment with Mia feels very mundane, like I don’t recall Noora flubbing like this, just a simple common mistake. Other than forgetting to fix her lipstick after William make-outs. Speaking of...

Clip 2 - That lipstick’s gonna bite Mia in the ass

The girls are drinking mulled wine and doing their Secret Santa. Hanna opens her gift. It’s a stuffed camel. Carmen?? The legend herself???

Actually it’s Carmen 2.0! This one less used, which I’m sure Hanna appreciates. Hanna can’t climax when she tries to get herself off, she has trouble relaxing (a throwback to that S1 scene where the girls help Kiki relax before meeting with Alex, as is Carmen of course) so Carmen 2.0 is a tool to help her. Lmao, well, that’s actually a thoughtful present. Nice work, Sam!

Kiki had drawn Mia for Secret Santa. She got her a nice red lipstick. It’s about three times as expensive as what they meant for Secret Santa, but Kiki just had to get it for Mia, it suited her so well. Mia protests a little, but Kiki says it’s also an apology for being so bitchy. Ouch. Just rub it in a little for Mia, making it worse that she forgot Kiki’s gift.

She puts on the lipstick and the girls approve. You know that lipstick is gonna come back to haunt Mia. I can see it happening: either Mia gets the lipstick smeared over her mouth after making out with Alex, or Alex gets the lipstick smeared over his mouth and Kiki sees it.

Mia hands Kiki her gift certificate. It’s a generic shopping voucher for 10 euro. Kiki is polite, but seems disappointed at such an impersonal present. Should’ve gone with The Little Prince, Mia!

Kiki’s gift was more than the agreed amount, because she wanted to get Mia a present that was perfect for her. Mia’s gift was the minimum amount and showed the minimum thought. I’m sure if Mia had remembered to do Secret Santa ahead of time, she would have gotten Kiki something better, but from Kiki’s perspective, I wonder if she has doubts that Mia cares about her as much as she cares about Mia. Combine that with Mia clearly disapproving of some things Kiki is doing - even if Mia has good reasons for that, I can see Kiki perhaps not feeling that Mia likes her very much right now. Not that she hates her, but that Mia doesn’t respect Kiki or take her seriously. Which is never going to feel more evident to Kiki than when she learns about Mia and Alex, probably.

Clip 3 - Christmas Eve dinner

Mia sits on the couch as Hanna and her dad get ready for Christmas Eve dinner. Hanna’s dad is impressed that Mia seems to know a little about art, like wow, one of Hanna’s friends is interested in something besides Instagram! Well, I like Hanna’s dad, but I’m sure her friends can talk about other stuff if he asked them their thoughts.

Hanna and her dad get into a spat where he complains that she talked to him for five minutes but spent 3 hours looking at Instagram, and she snarks back that the food must have cooked itself. I love bearing witness to other families being passive-aggressive to each other, it doesn’t make me squirm at all! I’m sure Mia feels the same way!

Mia brings up that the Banksy campaign that the dad mentioned involved posting people’s reactions on Instagram. So, a nice attempt to bridge Hanna and her dad’s argument. (She also said that she didn’t like to cook at all, and while that may be true, it also feels like trying to downplay herself to play up with Hanna did.) Hanna is happy, but pushes it too far by telling her dad he doesn’t know anything. Her dad meanwhile says that Mia used an argument and didn’t get offensive.

I’ve been in this situation before, where a friend’s parents were far more polite to me than their own kids since I was a guest, and man, it can be so awkward, because you don’t want to offend the parents but you don’t want to hang your friends out to dry. Mia handled it pretty well, I think. Though this setup makes me think again of how Mia is the golden girl, loved by parents, too (except her own), much like that group chat where she was told she could be anything while her friends were all getting microaggressions from advisers.

The tension worsens as the phone starts ringing. I think it’s the dad’s new wife who’s worried about the kid being sick? Hanna gets up and walks off. I’m on team Hanna’s dad here if a relative is is ill; however, I get why Hanna would react like this. She cooked and set up the meal apparently, and her dad instead goes to talk to his “new” family, which is already a sore spot. Dad follows her, leaving Mia alone as he and Hanna argue. Ohhhh my God, I have been in Mia’s position before and it’s the worst. I get that sometimes shit just happens but it always annoys me when people can’t save their petty, recurring arguments for when the guests leave. It puts everyone else in an uncomfortable position because mostly you sit there in silence, wanting to leave. Unless suddenly they want you to weigh in and take sides and THAT is the worst.

Axel texts Merry Christmas to Mia. Mia doesn’t answer at first, but then looks at her phone again. It’s Axel in a red and white striped sweater, with Toilet Sam and his family. That’s a nice detail, that Axel is tight with Sam’s family rather than his own. I always felt we needed more of glimpses into the William/P-Chris friendship since honestly that seemed to be the best, most stable relationship in his life. And I know we didn’t leave Alex on the best terms, but the Waldo reference is genuinely funny, sorry.

Mia asks if he got adopted, and Alex says, I wish, which is a nice little hint at his shitty family. Toilet Sam’s family seem like a cute, happy bunch, by the way!

When she explains her situation, Alex asks whether she’s a Christmas refugee, too. Again, a nice observation, that both he and Mia come from bad and negligent family situations. (One of my favorite tropes is when people who have crappy family situations manage to create a functioning home in each other. I don’t think Axel and Mia are going to scratch that itch due to the other drama with them and their overall dynamic, but I enjoy that concept).

Mia says if he says they should look for other similarities between them, she’ll report him for harassment, which I think is a nod to the singalong scene in season 1. Alex is like, should we joke about something so serious? He says they can find more serious topics to joke about on a date, Mia is like, nope! Hanna and her dad come back, with their argument resolved (for now) and everyone sits down to have a happy Christmas Eve dinner.

Why did Mia engage in this conversation with Alex? I mean, we know that despite herself, Mia is into Alex. Her disgust and irritation at parts of him are real, but you can’t deny that she’s also contacting him to continue their debates (the Israel discussion was continued via text message). And I think in this instance, her being an outsider in Hanna’s home, and dealing with this family argument she’s not part of, where she’s hungry, might actually push her to answer Alex just so she’s not sitting there bored and frustrated and starving at the table.

I have to say, if you take this scene alone, out of the larger context of Mia and Alex and Kiki and everything that goes with that situation, there are some good moments in their conversation. The Waldo reference is cute and we saw a point of connection between Mia and Alex both being Christmas refugees. But ... Alex is with Kiki at this point, and he’s asking Mia for a date. He’s approaching it easily, with flirting and jokes. That’s incredibly shady of him, it’s hurtful to Kiki. Even if he’s not obligated to have a serious relationship with her, he does owe her respect. There are some aspects where I think Alex has improved on William’s behavior, but this isn’t one of them; this is actually worse, because while William used his contact with Vilde to get Noora into the date, he wasn’t actually hooking up with her at the time. Alex has some sort of arrangement with Kiki going on and he’s still doing this. It’s very dishonest and shows a lack of respect for Kiki’s feelings.

And now Mia is engaging in this flirtation! She knows this isn’t right, she has to, but she’s not ignoring him. She can probably justify it in her head as innocent, but we know it’s not. This is wrong of her. Even apart from the flirting, she knows that Alex is willing to throw aside Kiki just like that. Shouldn’t that reveal enough about his character? If she thinks Alex is making Kiki’s eating issues worse, what about this proof in front of her face of just how easily he’ll discard her?

Clip 4 - Mia’s parents

The clip is called “Hetero Hans,” lmao.

I super dig Mia going for her phone and sliding across the floor in her socks.

She gets a video call from her parents. It’s friendly at first and then they start getting passive-aggressive.They guilt her about not being with them for Christmas, they complain about this becoming an argument again. You can tell this is a usual cycle for them. Kind of interesting how Hanna’s dad praised Mia while he and Hanna fought, and here’s Mia fighting with her own parents. That’s pretty typical for families, but I think Mia’s issues are more severe than usual. Obviously most kids don’t move away from their parents like Mia did unless there’s a big reason.

Mia tells them she spent Christmas with Hanna and her dad. When Mia has to remind them who Hanna is, Mia’s mom says, Oh, the chubby one! Mia gets upset and says Hanna isn’t chubby, but even if she was, what kind of statement is that? Things get tense again and Mia is going to end the call.

You know, Mia’s parents should probably know to be sensitive about this issue considering Mia’s ED. Unless they don’t know about it. Whatever the case, you can imagine that these kinds of comments perhaps encouraged Mia’s eating issues.

Mia’s parents complain that she always does this and attacks them. They said it was embarrassing when their friends or whoever learned they didn’t celebrate Christmas together. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but it’s telling that they’re embarrassed because other people learned they don’t celebrate together, rather than being hurt about Mia not wanting to be with them. It seems more about their public image than their connection to their daughter.

Hans goes into the bedroom looking like Clark Kent. He does an Eskild-worthy pop round the door and flings himself onto Mia’s bed.

Hans had to dress “straight” to visit his family. He’s out to his family, but it’s too hard to be his usual self (flamboyant) in front of his older and right-wing relatives, so he’s “straightened” himself up. If he looks more stereotypically hetero, he can avoid the conversations about why gay people just can’t be normal. So there’s no stress. Hans has been delivering this in a more light-hearted way, but it’s clear there’s some sadness involved, that he’s out of the closet but still can’t be himself with his family.

Wow. I really love this detail. Not that it’s great for Hans, but that it’s a great observation about how one of the ways gay people have to deal with homophobia - he has to be a more “respectable” gay person who tries too adopt more “straight” mannerisms and style. It goes perfectly with Eskild’s Pride speech from S3, when Isak tries to do the same thing and distance himself from those super gay guys with their tights and mascara, although Isak himself has those hangups and with Hans it’s more about self-preservation - he clearly doesn’t want to do it. I already can’t wait to see Hans and Matteo interact more, I hope Druck gets to S3 so we can see Hans’ take on that speech.

Also, Mia’s parents asked who that was, which might have been because they didn’t recognize Hans in his hetero ensemble, but also maybe because they’re so out of the loop they don’t know the guy their daughter is living with.

Hans plays it off again, though, and he and Mia hug. Awww. Nice parallel to their family situations in this clip - Mia also has to “play nice” with her folks. They’re castoffs as well. I’m sure they’d rather celebrate Christmas with each other rather than their parents.

Clip 5 - Alex’s gift

The girls go shopping after Christmas. It’s almost comically picturesque how they walk together arm in arm. Sam and Kiki are even skipping!

We see Kiki looking in the lingerie shop window and gesturing, probably telling Sam about her plans to bra shop when she gets her breast implants, as it turns out.

Apparently the girls are going to Hanna’s grandma’s cabin for the week of New Year’s. Nice! I guess that’s how we’re getting the slumber party scene.

As they’re walking by the lingerie shop, Sam asks Kiki if they should go in, since she’ll be needing new bras soon. That gives the other girls pause. Sam thinks she might have given away Kiki’s secret. Kiki tries to go away and change the subject, but Amira grabs her arm and wants to know the secret. Little detail, but Kiki suggests they go to another store because “Alex doesn’t like her perfume.” And it just makes me so deeply sad, because on the one hand, stuff like this sometimes gets brought up in relationships, and if your perfume irritates your partner, it’s not entirely unreasonable to stop using it when you’re with them. But I also know how thoroughly Kiki values Alex’s opinion, how she wants his approval, so in context of everything else, it’s Kiki trying to change herself based on what Alex likes, not what she does.

Mia even jokes that Kiki better not be getting breast surgery, and Amira laughs with her. However, it’s no joke, as Kiki says that Alex got her a voucher for breast surgery for Christmas.

That sound you heard was the RECORD SCRATCH in my head. It reverberated internationally.

Mia is like … seriously? I can tell that Kiki really doesn’t want this conversation with Mia in particular. It’s telling that Sam was the only one she’s told; she probably knew the other girls might not be so receptive to the gift. She says that she and Alex were talking about body parts they didn’t like, and he said he wanted better beard growth, and that she’d like to buy new breasts. She forgot about the conversation until she got the voucher a few days ago. Kiki knows that the girls don’t seem cool with this, but she points out, it’s a little bit cute, right? Mia is like, sure, “cute.” When Hanna asks if Kiki is really going to do it, Kiki is like, “NO! …. Well, why not?”

Sam is all on board with this plan. Hell fucking yeah, that’s an expensive surgery, go for it! Kiki points out it’s even cheaper if you use your own fat and ohhhh fuck, that’s even worse. I bet that seems like a 2-for-1 deal to Kiki: get rid of the fat from somewhere else on her body, her stomach or thighs or wherever they’d take it from, and put it somewhere more “acceptable” like her breasts.

Mia has more questions, but Kiki says that she’s 18 and can make her own decisions, and that she’s not doing it for Alex but for herself. Mia responds that Kiki is doing it because men talk us into believing that big breasts are beautiful. Kiki says that women talk about it too, Mia says yeah, because men convinced us of it.

Amira intervenes and says that she’s on the side of women, and if a woman wants to change something about her body, then it’s her body. Her cousin had lip surgery, for example, I guess because she had a complex about it? I mean, then you should ask why she had a complex about her lips in the first place, and where that dissatisfaction came from.

Mia says she doesn’t reject plastic surgery in general, but she wants them to see what Alexander is doing. Before Mia can explain more, Amira more or less cuts her off and is like, it’s cool he’s paying!

Hanna tries to put a stop to this argument and suggests they continue shopping, but Mia lingers behind as the girls go ahead. There’s a nice shot of her in front of the lingerie shop window, with the mannequin in the bra hovering over Mia’s shoulder. Kinda like a weird angel on the shoulder. Those breasts are prompting Mia to take action, basically.

Mia texts Axel and calls him out for the gift. Axel’s like, what’s the big deal? It was her wish and the doctor is his uncle. She yells at him to stop, she knows what he’s doing. (A Santa walks by behind her, lmao.) She says he’s only doing this to provoke her. Alexander replies with a 🤔 emoji.

After clarifying that Alex will end this thing with Kiki if Mia meets with him, she agrees to meet with him on Friday. Mia looks off screen, toward Kiki up ahead, before she types her decision.

Ohhhhh boy what to unpack here.

There was a lot of discourse and discussion following this scene. I’m not sure I can add anything that hasn’t been mentioned. When it comes to feminism and plastic surgery - and makeup, and anything else to do with appearances that mainly affects women and achieving the ideal, or at least a more appealing look - there’s this complicated mix of personal feelings and individual choices versus societal norms and patriarchal pressure. Because while Mia may be confronting Kiki in a way that’s unlikely to be productive, she’s not wrong about the influence of society on body image, particularly the influence of patriarchy on what women “should” look like. It’s not fun to think about our cosmetic choices being influenced by forces other than ourselves, but it’s a necessity if we’re going to talk about feminism and body image in a way that yields constructive change. I like to paint my nails. No one’s making me do it. But I also didn’t get that idea in a vacuum. And that’s a fun thing that I do to my appearance, not something I dislike but feel obligated to do. I also pluck or wax the hairs on my face. I inspect my chin multiple times a day. My tweezers get used almost as much as my toothbrush. No one is holding a gun to my head when I do this. But I know it’s not acceptable in society for a woman to have hairs on her chin or above her lip, and that I would be judged if I went out and had stubble. I could face negative effects in a professional setting. If I grew up in a society where women’s facial hair was seen as normal as men’s and they walked around with it, it’s doubtful I would go through the pain, or the time and money consumption, of plucking or waxing, because it wouldn’t occur to me that there was anything wrong with having facial hair in the first place.

And I get where Amira is coming from, because regardless of societal norms, we also have individual choices. Shaming or judging one woman for her choices, even if we think they go along with the demands of a sexist system, is not going to dismantle the patriarchy. Mia’s approach is not the best; she would be better off treating Kiki as an individual, asking her why she wants big breasts, rather than going at this from the more confrontational angle about societal sexism that’s going to likely make Kiki dismiss her comments and put her on the defensive. I mean, no one wants to be told they’re brainwashed by the patriarchy, lol. The way Mia reacted was probably exactly what Kiki expected and dreaded. But I also think Amira’s comments are on the simplistic side, overall.

In the first season, Amira actually takes the opposite stance from Kiki. When Kiki sends nude pics to Alex, Amira objects strongly, and when Kiki says that women can do whatever they want with their bodies, attributing it to feminism, Amira says it has nothing to do with feminism. Now, you could take that as some kind of character progression (and I would hope that this isn’t the case, because there are some dodgy implications there) but I think maybe it’s just inconsistent writing. They might have needed someone to stand as a “voice of reason” besides Mia, taking the opposing side, and the other clear voice of reason in the group is Amira. I do appreciate the attempt to show the issue as nuanced, but I’m not sure how much I buy the execution. Getting one’s body permanently modified via surgery is even more drastic than sending nudes to a guy - I get that maybe there are differences in the situations that would lead someone to think the first is empowering while the second is foolish, but I’m not sure Amira would jump so strongly on Kiki’s side, other than to prevent a fight from breaking out in the squad. I hope that maybe later we can hear more of her thoughts on the issue, in detail.

Also, Kiki has very specific issues regarding her body, that are more than just wanting breast surgery. Mia is not going to expose her in front of the other girls about her eating cotton pads and working out too much. Amira doesn’t seem to know about any of that; I wonder if she’d be so quick to say it’s Kiki’s choice if she was aware of the full context of the problem.

Something else I want to add: Alex is the one who gave Kiki this gift. It’s a man giving the woman he’s hooking up with - but not dating - a voucher for breast surgery. You can’t ignore that it’s Alex’s gift in particular, and you can’t ignore the potential gender politics, which Mia is absolutely going to be aware of. Does Mia think Kiki will feel pressure to go ahead with the surgery, in order to keep Alex’s interest? Or the fact that he gave her such an expensive gift, will that add to the pressure? Does she think there’s something selfish behind the motivations, like Alex is giving Kiki a gift that he will end up, well, “enjoying”? What about the fact that Alex barely knows Kiki and they’ve hardly been dating, and he’s giving her this rather extreme present based on one conversation? Alex is giving Kiki a very expensive, permanent body modification. It’s her choice to go through with it, but there’s still a lot of baggage attached to him giving it to her in the first place.

If I look at this from the most charitable perspective toward Alex, best case scenario is that he remembered this conversation, thought, “Huh, that’s something she’d like,” pulled some strings with his uncle, and gave it to her without thinking of any of the implications. Like he just thought it was a nice, normal gesture, and wasn’t thinking about anything more complex than that. And honestly, I feel like that was his canon intention. Because any other motivation feels kind of evil - it’s fucked up if he did that to piss off Mia, it’s fucked up if he did that for his personal enjoyment. I’m not a fan of his but that’s something that I don’t think they’d depict, no matter his other faults.

I wrote another post about this but, while I don’t approve of his gift, it probably feels to Kiki like Alex got her a voucher that was very personal, based on a conversation they’d had about their body insecurities, whereas Mia got her this cheap generic voucher with no thought put into it, like Alex’s voucher probably seemed even better on top on that. Mia complaining about his gift is not going to land with her when Alex seemingly put more thought into his gift than Mia did. I wonder if that’ll get thrown into Mia’s face.

You know whose opinion I’m also kind of interested in? Hanna’s. Because while Hanna has not been shown to have body insecurity on the level of Kiki, we do know that she was apparently bullied for being “the fat girl” before she befriended Leonie, as she told Leonie in season 1. Hanna here also seems to have reservations about Alex’s gift. I don’t know if they’ll feature her take on the issue, but it’d be nice to know.

Clip 6 - The date

We see Mia has her own little slogan taped onto her wall, “Follow your heart but take your brain with you.” Which seems like it’s going to be a big conflict of the season for Mia.

Mia gets ready for her date with Alex, including putting on the lipstick she got from Kiki, yikes! I guess that’s a reminder why she’s doing it, or why she’s telling herself she’s doing it. We see her glimpsing at herself in the mirror but it’s not a good full view of her, it’s filmed so she’s not centered, which I supposed is to make us feel how off-balance and out of character she feels doing this, or how she’s questioning herself.

Just a side note, but I like how casually and comfortably Mia has dressed in much of the season so far. Here she’s in a hoodie and jeans. Maybe it was because Noora always looked like a style icon - don’t get me wrong, I loved her outfits - but I like that Mia dresses down so much and is not just copying Noora’s wardrobe. It’s another thing that makes her seem like her own character.

She gets a text from the girls, who are looking to hang out. Kiki mentions that Alex said he was hanging with his friends tonight. OK, so he lied to Kiki. Not surprising. Not great of him. (Not great of Mia, either, to be clear.)

Mia doesn’t respond. Not that lying is great, but just tell them you have cramps or a migraine or something. I think the og girl squad were setting up these Friday plans earlier during the week so it was harder for Noora to make up an excuse to get her out of these plans, but spur of the moment hangouts on Friday? You can just say you don’t feel well.

Hans comes in as he’s gotten word from Mia’s friends that they want to party, too. He asks what they’re doing, Mia says she has a date and stops Hans before he can ask Mia’s friends for more details.

Mia makes him swear not to tell anyone, Hans says he’s swearing on his mother’s life. Mia says to swear on something that’s important to him, and so he swears on his own life. Lmao. That’s funny, but kinda sad in conjunction with the “Hetero Hans” clip, you have to wonder if he has that bad of a relationship with his parents.

Mia mentions the guy Kiki’s having a thing with and Hans knows it’s Alexander immediately, so he probably heard alll about the guy from Kiki when they were partying last week, lol.

Mia explains to Hans how she’s going on this date with Alexander for Kiki, so Kiki doesn’t get hurt further, and Hans is like … but won’t she get hurt if she finds out about this? Mia says she’s not gonna find out, it’ll be one date with this jerk and that’s it. Hans laughs to himself like he knows better as Mia leaves.

Mia bikes to where she’s meeting Alexander. I wonder if maybe she didn’t want to meet him at her own place, because then he would know where she lives? Alex pulls up in his fancy car. They debate a bit because Mia doesn’t want to get in the car, Alex wants to take her somewhere far away, then Mia just wants to go somewhere near, etc. Not a great thing for him to pressure her to go somewhere with him!

Mia says, OK, but I drive. LMAO. That’s actually great. Though I was waiting for her to drive off with his car at some point.

It’s not a very scenic drive, which is fine. The music is a little eerie and the camera is focused on their faces, with some shots of the street that are focused oddly upwards rather than street level. It adds to the uncertainty of the situation.

They go to what looks like a random building? Mia wants to know why they’re there, Alex just wants her to come with him, Mia argues, he’s mad that she’s mad. Dude. You’re taking a girl to an undisclosed location when she didn’t want to go with you. Just give her the details already.

She asks him if they’re going to see his dealer, and he says nah, he lives somewhere else. Lmao, I think he’s kidding? I think.

Mia’s like, let me guess, we’re going to the rooftop and there’s an amazing view. Alexander’s reaction makes her think she is right. She’s like, aha, you thought showing me the city and the bright lights would make me forget that you’re an asshole! It’s funny and all but it’s kind of frustrating that this season is pointing out the bad boy romance cliches at turns while still indulging in them. (That was a problem in Noora’s season, too.)

They get in an elevator. Alexander is kinda grinning/smirking behind Mia, I guess because she figured out his plan for the date, but also because she still got in the elevator with him.

Sure enough, it’s a rooftop with a view. Alex offers her cocoa and she turns it down. I want to point out the full context of this gesture, which was ignored in the original Skam; that if you got pressured into going on a date with a guy (especially one who didn’t take no for an answer, as with William) and he took you to a deserted location and had a drink prepared for you, it would seem extremely fucking shady and you would not want to drink that. I wonder if that’s why Mia rejected the drink at first, or if she just didn’t take it on principle of rejecting Alex. (I’m not saying Alex, or William, is a date rapist. I’m saying that I think this fear would be completely reasonable to have. In fact the later part of S2 even suggests that maybe Noora’s drink was drugged by Niko, though it’s never confirmed, so it’s not an angle to dismiss, when that very topic comes up in the season.)

Alexander tells her about this house being built by his great grandparents. He drops in that his sister loved this place, but Mia doesn’t follow up on that (or the past tense, I guess) and grills him on him sharing this information with her, as if it’s going to change anything.

He has the audacity to call her mean, Lmao, shut the fuck up, dude. You told Kiki she wasn’t worth it. You pulled that shit with who knows how many other girls. You’re on this date while ostensibly having an exclusive thing with Kiki. And you’re going to call Mia mean with a straight face?

Mia says he’s blackmailed her into coming, and ugh, I hate to say anything in his defense when he’s pissing me off, but the thing is, while Alex did present this deal, he didn’t pursue her like William did, to where she was telling him no and dodging his texts and comments. He brought it up after she started contacting him. And from what we can tell, he didn’t start this thing with Kiki because he wanted to get at Mia (HOPEFULLY) whereas William was talking to Vilde again to mess with Noora.

He brings up one semi-decent point, because Mia says he was continuing to hit on Mia behind Kiki’s back, so she had no choice but to go on this date, and he points out that she could’ve just told Kiki about him hitting on Mia behind Kiki’s back. And I do agree that this was also an option that Mia could’ve and should’ve taken. But also ... this is him blaming Mia for not telling Kiki about his own shithead behavior. ‘Gee, Mia, you could have just told Kiki that I’m flirting with you!” How about you don’t flirt with her in the first place? Creep.

Mia argues that she doesn’t want Kiki to be hurt. Well, she will be hurt either way, if Alex breaks up with her or if Mia shows her Alex’s texts or whatever. I think Mia doesn’t want to be the bad guy, to a degree.

Alexander pulls the exact same bullshit that William did, about wanting to hurt Kiki before, about Kiki hitting on him and not giving her any expectations, about seeing it from his perspective because Mia was mean to him. About Kiki’s self-image not being able to be destroyed with one sentence. alsdjfalsdvaasdflkasd;f why why why must we redo this scene each time with the male love interest being such a defensive dong

I already complained about this scene when I reacted to Skam France’s take on this clip, and man … it makes me so exhausted having to repeat these same points, because they don’t fix the scene to be less infuriating. So I’m going to recycle a lot of what I said in that review, because it still applies here.

Alex is trying to get Mia to see his POV, but there’s a strong sense here that he doesn’t consider Kiki’s POV when it’s inconvenient for him to think about her feelings. The hypocrisy is all over the place.

Alex brings up that Kiki pursued him. This is such an asinine defense. He didn’t have to sleep with Kiki. He could have ignored her advances and let her down before anything happened. He’s not required to hook up with any of the girls who want him. What happened between them was consensual, and therefore he needs to take responsibility for his role in what happened. Like are we supposed to think Kiki put a magic spell on his dick and he was powerless to do anything about it?

Alex did not owe Kiki a relationship. But he does owe her respect. He disrespected her by ghosting her and by making a cruel comment to her. Notice he didn’t start acting like a jerk until after he got what he wanted from her. Then suddenly he has to be mean to her, because he has to drive her away. Okay, if the problem was Kiki pursuing him, why couldn’t he be mean to her to drive her away before he slept with her? I mean, he was helpless to Kiki’s advances, right? Not that this would have been great, either, but isn’t it just so funny and coincidental that he became a jerk after they hooked up and not before? He’s trying to justify his actions when they’re as simple as the dude wanted to get laid, nothing more, nothing less.

Also, Alex being like “you insulted me in front of my friends, Mia” when a) there was one other dude, lmao b) YOU DID THAT TO KIKI. YOU INSULTED HER IN FRONT OF HER FRIENDS.

Finally, this garbage about not being able to ruin Kiki’s self-image with one comment. I do agree that Kiki’s issues are much larger and likely started before Alex. But he’s dead wrong about one comment not mattering. One comment can matter a ton. One cruel comment can stick in your brain for years. It can make you hate things you didn’t know you were supposed to hate. It can drive you to do things that you wouldn’t have done otherwise, things that wreck you. Where do you think people get many of their insecurities? And just because it’s “one comment” doesn’t mean it’s okay to say it! What kind of jackass do you have to be to believe that? You’re implicitly excusing every terrible thing you could say to someone. I mean, it’s just one comment, so it won’t matter, right? And this is the guy who has the nerve to tell Mia that she’s mean. Lmao.

By this logic, if someone throws an Islamophobic or racist comment at Amira, it’s not their fault if that affects her self-image, because she must have some deeper issue inside. If someone uses a homophobic slur around Matteo, it shouldn’t matter if it affects how he sees himself, it must be a problem with him, not the person using the word. This was enraging about Skam and William because we literally saw how the comments of others affected their self-image. It isn’t even limited to Vilde or Kiki. Sana gave a whole speech about how she was angry so much because she didn’t fit in anywhere! Isak felt insecure about being gay because of societal attitudes towards gay men and tried to distance himself from people he thought fit gay stereotypes! Eva was affected by people slut-shaming her to the point where she wanted to switch schools! Fuck, Noora had a previous boyfriend who treated her like crap and that contributed to her eating disorder. Mia likely heard all kinds of comments, like her parents’ casual fat-shaming, that ended up contributing to her eating problems. And yet we’re also supposed to believe Alex/William has a point here, as if we didn’t frequently see his argument flat-out contradicted? No thanks.

For what it’s worth, I don’t think Alex/William necessarily has to be saying all the right things. But my issue is that his POV here is not challenged. It’s actually framed in a way that makes it seem like Mia concedes that he has a point, with her taking a sip of the cocoa she had previously turned down. Now we don’t know how this will play out with Alex, because who knows, maybe they’ll change the narrative so it’s not the same as with William. But if it follows the same path, William never comes to change his mind about Vilde after this point. He never reconsiders what he said here. That’s why it’s so frustrating, because it’s like we are supposed to think he’s right.

GOD I HATE THAT MIA IS SILENT ABOUT THIS. I hate hate hate that we can’t get a Noora to point out the obvious flaws in his bullshit! And I get that characters don’t always know the right thing to say. But I am flabbergasted that we have to watch these outspoken young women be stunned into silence by this guy’s supposed logic and rightness, when nothing he’s saying makes any sense, nothing he’s saying is defensible, everything he is saying can be easily torn apart as self-serving apologia for his mistakes.

And note again, nowhere is there actual remorse in his statement. With Alex it’s not as bad as with William, because Alex’s previous apology to Kiki wasn’t part of a bargain to get a date. So that seemed genuine, while William’s was rendered hollow by the deal and his lack of regret during this scene. But still, it would be nice if Alex had said that he wished he hadn’t approached it that way with Kiki, that he wished he could take back what he said, or that he was sorry, just to enforce that he learned from that incident and he’s not just standing here defending his ass.

Mia takes a drink of the cocoa, I guess as a conciliatory gesture. He asks if she wants a warmer cup and she says she likes it cold, and the way that it’s filmed, it’s kinda meant to represent this thing she has going on with Alex: she could have someone warmer but is going for this cold dude instead.

Mia asks the obvious question. If he wanted to get rid of Kiki so bad, why is he spending time with her now? But Alex is distracted by his text message, takes the cocoa and pours it out (lmao, let her finish the fucking cocoa, let her drink it in your fancy-ass car if you want to be a standup dude) and says he has to go, so that’s still a mystery for now. God, if the answer does turn out that he was trying to get Mia’s attention ...

Mia says that she’s fulfilled her part of the deal and he says yes, she has. So basically, he better break up with Kiki shortly.

We get some of Druck’s awkward slow-mo at the end, lol. One thing they haven’t improved between seasons!

This is one of my least favorite scenes in the entirety of Skam and unfortunately, they didn’t change enough here. All I really enjoyed was Mia driving the car. Disappointed they had Alexander spew the same dumb points. Disappointed they didn’t incorporate more of the changes they’ve made so far this season. It’s too bad because I’m still on board with a lot of the other things they’ve done.

General Comments/Social Media

I really love Mia this season. Last season I started on the fence about her; I was on board with all the other girls, but Mia’s performance didn’t quite sell me on her at first. Noora is supposed to have a certain fierceness and Mia didn’t seem quite as convincing with Noora’s lines and actions. She ended up growing on me a lot based on the writing of the character. This season I’m totally on board with Mia, and I think the actress has been doing a solid job. I buy her having doubts and being torn over her friend. I think they leaned into her a lot as her own character, certainly having similarities with Noora and going down some of the same path, but also being her own person with her own beliefs and personality.

Also, the majority of the scenes have been different from the original S2 so far. Some of that is necessity, being set around Christmastime means they have to account for the holiday, and of course we’ve still gotten some of the big clips from Skam - Mia’s date with Alex was extremely similar to the original. But I love that so many of the clips are different and unique to these characters. It’s much easier to judge the story and characters on their own terms, and despite not being the biggest S2 fan (understatement), I find myself really engaged with following the story in real time, because I can’t quite predict what’ll happen next. I hope we keep receiving brand new scenes rather than copies of the originals.

Sam and Kiki partied all night with Hans and had a great time, apparently. But Kiki was working out hardcore the night after the party … girl. Did Mia’s comments get to her, and make her want to push herself even further, as a kind of defiance?

The girls work out their New Year’s plans. Alexander is having a party, but Kiki asked him and he didn’t respond. HMMMM. Kiki thinks he must be super busy. I think he’s super shady. Which one of us is correct?

The girls talk about how this might be their last chance to do something before graduation, and don’t you DARE do that to me, Druck. I see those subscribers increasing, those views going up. Don’t stop when you’re gaining so much steam we’re all sweating.

When the girls make resolutions, like more sex and more pizza, Kiki’s is “more Alex” and AHHHHHHHHH no thank you. Girl. No.

She also brings up how it would take much shorter to get to Alex’s place than the cabin, and Amira is very tired of her Alex references, but Kiki tries to play it off like she’s joking. Pretty sure she’s not joking. Pretty sure this is a very bad sign of how things will go down once she learns about him and Mia.

Okay, Kiki’s issues run pretty deep, and having the validation of men is absolutely not the solution to her eating disorder or low self-esteem, but I’m praying for someone to dangle Carlos in front of her to distract her from Alex, much like you would distract a cat with a bit of string. Pls pls pls give up on this dude. Get the D from elsewhere.

Mia mentions that she could drive in that text so it was a little foreshadowing to her driving Alex’s car, I guess.

Hans partied with the girl squad while Mia was out with Alex. He loves them! How sweet. And when he says, “Your girls are the fucking best!” Mia replies, “I know!” Awwwww!

There’s also a text between Alex and toilet Sam, where Alex says he wishes Sam repeated the year so Alex wouldn’t feel so lonely. There’s something potentially interesting in exploring Alex as the king as the school last year vs him repeating the grade without his friends, a loser, but I’m not sure we’d go into it. Like I’m already bleh with him, but I don’t mind more introspection into his character that’s not “he’s actually right with his dumbass excuses.”

Samuel says he saw someone named Björn at the kebab shop near Alex’s place. We don’t know who Björn is. I’m guess that’s either Alex’s brother or the equivalent of the Yakuza guy. I’d prefer it to be his brother. The Yakuza storyline has always felt awkwardly integrated into the story, detached from Noora’s perspective, and contradictory to the supposed values of the season.

There are a couple group pictures of the girl squad sans Mia, for various reasons, so I wonder if we’re going to focus on her being an outsider in the group as she keeps secrets about Alex, or later when Kiki finds out about her and Alex.

There were various Christmas posts showing the characters being merry and festive, it was fun! Perhaps my favorite was Jonas showing off his grandmother.

Matteo continues to post mostly memes rather than anything personal. Matteo probably had a shit Christmas, too.

I’m not German so feel free to correct me on anything context I may have missed.

If you got this far, thank you for reading!

#druck reactions

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mgcmind · 6 years

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soulmate au pleeeeeeeease!!

Between a new supervisor position, the holidays, and wedding plans, I’m finding very little time to write! But this prompt just…took on a whole life of its own in my head. So this turned out much longer than expected. lol

I hope you like it, @quaintaffairs!

What’shilarious is…he doesn’t even believe in Soulmates. Well, yes, he believes inoxytocin and dopamine and the biological drive to procreate. He even believesin love, on his more romantic days.

Buta Soulmate? This one person who givesyou everything you never even knew you needed? Someone destined for you? No.

Whichis why it’s hilarious that he’s breaking into the Soulmate Letter Directoryright now.

It’snot because he wants to find out who is listed as his soulmate. Whatever name scrawled there in red cursive on thedirectory would be of no consequence to him.

Hejust wants the government to be held accountable, is all.

Becauseeven if the very concept of a Soulmate is rubbish, L still needs truth out there.He can’t stand the conspiracy. The cover-up.

Andthis is one of the greatest cover-ups of all time: that an oligarchy in controlof the SLD actually knows everyone’sdestined partner. They keep track.It’s not that those letters people send addressed to “X’s Soulmate” get deliveredby magic, or by spiritual energy, or that the soul actually pulls the lettertoward itself when it is sent, as so many people believe.

No…Lhas found out that a select group of powerful individuals send the letters –and use the knowledge of who a person’s Soulmate is against them.

Aselect group of individuals know whoeveryone’s most important person is. And L is certain that they who control thatknowledge are using it for personal gain. After all, what greater token of blackmailcould one find than the identity of a Soulmate?

Why,one threat against them and you could control a person’s entire fortune. Youcould control their future, too. You could do anything to them, and they’d bepowerless to stop it.

Nobodycould stand to risk their Soulmate’s life.

(Well,no one except L, who doesn’t believe in those things. But L is an aberration inmany ways, and doesn’t consider himself one of the masses.)

Backto the point. The point is: the vast majority of the world does believe in Soulmates, and people have killed (or worse) toprotect theirs.

SoL is breaking into the SLD. He’ll take the Directory, and make the knowledgepublic.

Destroywhat makes the oligarchy powerful, destroy the oligarchy. Simple. Elegant. Llikes elegant solutions.

It’sdark, and deceptively still. L is just inside the first layer of security: afifty-foot wall, sealed with retina scanners and surrounded by security guardsbuilt like linebackers.

Inother words, a joke.

Afterslipping past the wall, he had found himself inside of a vast, circular innerroom – cold and dark and seemingly deserted.

Now…wherewas that second layer to be found?

Lis inspecting a suspicious-looking blinking green light when a sound catcheshis attention: a sharp intake of breath, like the sound someone makes when theystub their toe on something in the dead of night.

Weighingthe odds of getting himself killed if he speaks and finding them favorable toremaining silent, L calls out, “Who’s there?”

Onlysilence greets him, but it’s a tense silence, and L knows he wasn’t imaginingthe sound he heard.

Someoneis there. Someone who doesn’t want to be found.

Interesting.

“Speak,”L commands, in a clear voice. “Or SLD security will make you.”

Whoeverit is apparently decides to reveal themselves, because instead of an answer, Lhears a soft laughter – bell-like but decidedly masculine, and from someone whois either young or naïve to cigarette smoke. Or both.

“Youaren’t SLD security, or any other kind of security,” says his companion, and Lwas right – it’s a young man. He speaks in a low, thoughtful voice. “Andneither am I. So we can either let each other go about our business, or we cancall even more attention to ourselves and actuallybring security here. Which do you want?”

…interesting.

Thinkingthat his silence will be answer enough, L goes back to inspecting the greenblinking light. The knowledge of the loaded Beretta tucked into his waistbanddoes him some small amount of comfort.

Afteremploying some thoughtful reverse-engineering and a miniature welding torch, Lescapes the dark circle. Evidently his companion has chosen to take a similarcourse, because L is followed out of it.

Whenhe looks over his shoulder, he sees that the man is wearing black from head totoe, including the hood he has pulled over his hair, and the long scarf wrappedaround his neck, which covers his nose and mouth.

Theireyes meet, momentarily, and L feels a flash of…something…before the man looksaway.

Llets himself stare for a few moments more, then remembers his mission.

Theyhave emerged into a room filled with brilliant golden light. The ceiling is sohigh that L cannot see it, and all around them are shelves upon shelves,stuffed with envelopes and small packages, tied with red string.

Lwas expecting to find someone, anyone, here…someone who could lead him to theoligarchy that controls the SLD, if not the oligarchy itself. But the room iscompletely deserted.

There’sa raised dais in the center, with a notebook lying open on it. It can only bethe Directory. L is drawn forward, as if by something outside his own power.

Inchesfrom the platform, inches from taking a closer look, snatching the notebook,and completing his mission, his companion halts him.

Lfinds a Colt .45 aimed between his eyes, held out fixed and steady.

Luckythat he is possessed of reflexes that are faster than average. They have neveryet failed him, and do not choose now to begin. Without even thinking, he hashis Beretta similarly aimed.

Theyare nearly of the same height, and there’s a pretty sort of symmetry to howthey hold each other at gun-point.

“Look,just find your letter and go. Don’t make me say it twice.”

“I’mnot here to find a letter,” L says.

Thisisn’t the first time he has been held at gun-point. And if he is to die here,then die he shall. It would have happened eventually, anyway. L is not afraid.

Andat least one part of the oligarchy has been identified. L is sure this manknows something.

Maybehe knows everything.

Theireyes have met again, naturally, and L feels that same…flash…again. And he iscloser now. He can see better. There is something shimmering in those brownirises. Japanese words?

HisJapanese is rusty, especially when it’s not written in romanji, but L makes do.

Night. God. Moon.

Whaton earth?

Allof a sudden, his enemy’s eyes widen, and suddenly L finds that the gun pointedat him has begun to lower, just slightly.

“Itcan’t be,” his companion whispers.

“Whatcan’t be?” L asks, and he will remain curious right up to the end, won’t he?

“Younever sent anything!” the young man suddenly shouts. “If you’ve been alive allthis time…why would you never send anything?Was even a postcard too much to ask?”

Slowly,things begin to coalesce in L’s mind, and he feels the first few tremors offear that he has experienced all night.

Hedoesn’t know what to say. It’s not a common feeling, for him.

“Youwon’t even speak to me, either?Unbelievable!” the young man continues to shout. He flings his gun across theroom, and it hits the marble floor with a clash that echoes all around them.“Oh, put that thing down already, will you?” he snaps with audible distaste.“It’s no use against me. You can’t kill your own Soulmate.”

Lstill cannot speak, and doesn’t like the feeling.

“God,you must understand what I’m talkingabout. You were smart enough to break in here, weren’t you? I’m your Soulmate.Your One and Only. Your True Love? The person most compatible with you in thewhole world?”

Lopens his mouth, then closes it again.

Theman makes a frustrated, animalistic noise, and pushes the hood off of his head.He rips the scarf away too, throwing it angrily onto the floor.

“Isaw your name in your eyes!” he shouts. “L Lawliet. And I know you saw mine.Light Yagami?”

Lknew his Japanese was rusty, but not thatrusty.

But…bythe Gods, this…this Light Yagami…is beautiful. L still doesn’tbelieve in Soulmates, but he is not so proud that he won’t admit to finding himthe most beautiful man – person, actually – that L has ever seen.

Shiningbrown hair, perfect nose, eyes like those of a doe (but sharper, clearer, andmore ruthless somehow, but in the most attractive way). Lips like they werecarved by Michelangelo.

“Willyou say something?” Light demands. Heeven goes so far as to stamp his foot.

Lsays the first thing that comes to mind.

(No,no, he doesn’t. He says the third thing that comes to mind, the thing hebelieves will frustrate Light Yagami the most. Just to see what will happen,and how easily L can push his buttons, and test whether or not L will beleaving this place with more than just the Directory in his hands.)

“Hasanyone ever told you that you are absolutely stunning?” L asks. He makes apoint of looking at Light as though he is a piece of filet mignon on special.

“Ohfor God’s sake,” Light snaps. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re absolutely infuriating? Will you answer my damnedquestion already? Why did you never write?”

Oh yes, L thinks. Ohhhhh yes.

“Asit happens, I don’t believe in Soulmates,” he answers, with deliberate unconcern.“Why should I have written? And I might just as well ask you the same question.Why did you never write yourself?”

“Youdon’t believe in Soulmates?” Lightasks, aghast and seemingly disgusted. “How can…who would…that’s like saying youdon’t believe in the moon! Or the stars! Or…or…the atmosphere!”

Lshrugs. “To each his own, I suppose. But you haven’t yet explained why you didn’ttake it upon yourself to write to me. You clearly knew who I was.”

Colorrises high on Light’s cheeks, but his expression doesn’t betray any embarrassment,or shame. On the contrary, he seems nothing so much as furious.

“Sonot only do you have no belief in Soulmates, but you also lack even one romanticbone in your entire body,” he bites out. “Fine. So long as we’re doing this thedifficult way, I’ll tell you. I had access to the Directory. You didn’t.Forgive me if I wanted to know the way in which you’d…reach out…to me. Forgiveme for the apparently unspeakable crime of wanting to be surprised. Dare I say, wooed.”

Lightrolls his eyes in further disgust and turns away. When he speaks again, it iswith his back toward L.

“Iknow you want the Directory. You’re not getting it. Not in a million yearswould I let you take it. Especially when you don’t even believe in it yourself.The world could use a little more joy in it. A little more love, or do you notbelieve in that either? It doesn’t matter. I’m keeping it. I worked damn hardfor it and not even my Soulmate” – hesays the word with dripping sarcasm – “will take it from me. People are goingto keep getting their letters, and keep sending them, and finding their One andOnlys, and having that small bit of magic in their lives.”

“Youexpect me to believe that you – and you alone – manage the letters for the entireworld’s Soulmates?” L asks.

Lookingover his shoulder at L with a dry, almost pitying expression, Light says, “Yousay that like it would be difficult.”

Ldoesn’t believe in Soulmates. He doesn’t.

“Andyou do all of this for…what? Profit? Do you charge for postage? Influence?Power? Blackmail?”

Lightturns away again, presenting L with his back once more. “What kind of life mustyou have lived, to think that someone would only bring lovers together forprofit or for power?” he asks quietly.

Ldoesn’t dignify that (piercing, painful, compassionate)question with a response.

“Itisn’t right for one person to have all this knowledge,” he says, instead. “Youcould easily turn the world into one of your own making. You could be a god.”

Lightsighs, heavily. “If I were anyone else, you might have a point, Mr. Lawliet. ButI’m not like everyone else. I’m different. And I suspect that you are too. Soleave it be. And leave me be, while you’re at it.”

Lspares several moments’ thought on his next move, then steps up very close toLight. He comes close enough to feel his chest against Light’s own back when hebreathes, to smell his cologne, to speak his next words right into Light’s ear.

“You’renot infallible, Light Yagami, even if you do come very, very close,” L says. “Andas determined as you are, I would wager that I am just as much. So…even if Idon’t believe in Soulmates…I believe we could be something.”

Lleans in, using his voice to his advantage. He’s been told that it is rich anddark enough to penetrate even the most obstinate of ears. “Enemies? Lovers? Both?”

Lightdoes a fair job of hiding it, but L can read his desire in the slight quicknessof his breath, the fine trembles in his fingertips.

“Ifyou plan to use your soul to seduce mine into giving you the Directory, you’llbe sorely disappointed, L Lawliet,” he says quietly.

“Oh,Light Yagami,” L chuckles. “I’m counting on it.”

#my fic #writing #ficlet #asks #thank you followers #lawlight #soulmate au #will this even make any sense?

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