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absolutebl · 3 years

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This Week in BL

April 2021 Part 1

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Second Chance Ep 1 - living up to its name since it looks to be a series of redemption arcs. Launched with a college confession and a broken friendship, then a flash back to them as seniors in high school. Pairings include friends to lovers, nerd/jock, and maybe cafe boss/employee. There’s a lot going on, but it’s still... quiet and sweet. The script is pretty pat but it’s still WAY more watchable than Cupid Coach or Brothers and most of the acting is solid. Ep 1 tropes included: he’s in engineering, wound tending, fast & bicurious. This could turn into what I wanted My Gear & Your Gown to be. Fingers crossed.

Love Poison 2 Ep 1 & 2 turns out I did watch and report on season 1 (8 eps), season 2 seems equally unmemorable. Thai countryside setting, strong dialect, incomprehensible plot, camp side characters, and ghastly singing.

Y-Destiny Ep 1 (eng subs?) - opened with the sports romance enemies to lovers (they aren’t going in the teaser order). When the couple got over fighting, the flirting was v cute, but the flipping SPONGE BATH trope had to rear its ugly head. Still, this series is shaping up to be less coy and more frank than most BL, better than expected. It feels, I don’t know, gay-er or something? *** Sources were correct that each couple is getting (at least) 2 eps, and MDL has been updated to say this is a 15 episode series (not 7).

Cupid Coach 12 fin - The new Nite was great and should have been a main all along. It felt like we got a tiny nugget of what could have been in about 10 minutes worth of this last ep. It was way too slow with terrible editing and a criminally bad script, but at least it ended happy. Mostly, like Friend Forever, I’m just disappointed that these two actors were done dirty by the series. Bad Cupid Coach, no screen caps for you.

Lovely Writer Ep 6 - breaking news, there’s a het couple I like: toppy bi femme + soft boi = such a good pairing! I know, but this NEVER happens. Meanwhile, Sib’s secret is out, Gene is a bit of a drama queen, and the plot thickens. We half way through.

Brothers Ep 9 - Kaow had a serious moment of advice giving that was truly lovely. Lots of family dama made this a superior episode to... well... any of the others in this series. Which isn’t saying much.

1000 Stars Ep 10 fin - at the start this series didn’t grab me the way GMMTV’s last BL, Tonhon Chonlatee, did. But boy did it end 1000x better. Might have given us 2021′s best forehead kiss. I enjoyed the ultra romantic cliff-top reunion kiss, and I LOVED the stinger flirting scene. That was an absolute gift we had no right to expect. This drama is a poster child for finishing on a high note (always focus on that dessert course). Final thoughts? This was FAR more a classic romance than it was BL. There were some BL tropes used but not many and most of them originated in the romance genre not yaoi. A picture perfect ending bumped 1000 Stars much higher up my best-of list than expected. Not sure how often I’ll rewatch it as a whole, but this last episode? I’m probably rewatching it right now.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Dear Uranus (Taiwan GL) Ep 3 fin - I guess that’s it? Okaaaaay

HIStory 4: Close To You (Taiwan) Ep 3 (AKA Ep 5-6) - we got actual legit gay culture not just BL (always appreciated) from XingSi. I’m starting to find LiCheng’s “show them we fucking” hijinks hilarious rather than annoying (not sure why, maybe I just love a rubber chicken, or maybe it was the STUFFED CORN WITH THE TASSEL that did it).

-- H4 Moment of RANT --

Tropes included beach trip, there’s only one bed, cook for him, baby is a floppy drunk, carry baby to bed, and.... drunk non-con. Whoopdedoo. Here we go again. Did TharnType teach us NOTHING? (Apparently it taught us if the chemistry is good enough, I have no morals at all.) At least H4 seems to be taking us out of cheese into serious when it comes to assault. Or is it?

I take back what I said last week about XingSi & YongJie being codependency + salvation trope, that only works if YongJie is the uke. He’s NOT. So we got us an obsessive predatory villain with a possible redemption arc. That’s more common in crime dramas, mafia romance, and epic fantasy than BL. It’s real hard to redeem a sexual predator in a reality-grounded universe like contemporary romance (See Kla in LBC1&2).

Next week is gonna be a test of the whole damn franchise. Imma remind both me a you that this was ep 3 of 10 so we got a ways to go yet... but ooof, what have we wrought, BL? (I ended up doing a whole post about the stepbrother trope because of this sub plot.) Taiwan is killing me.

-- RANT ended --

Word of Honor (China) Ep 19-21 - over half way point so we got ALL the back story (in a classic 4 act story structure midway reveal). Now we know who WKX really is and his lineage. We also got some cute hugs and hand holds. Moving along at a nice clip despite being 36 eps total. Still gayest thing to come out of we-not-gay China since Advance Bravely.

Most Peaceful Place (Vietnam) Ep 2 - takes them a while to get eng subs together and ep 2 didn’t drop until late. So I’m putting this in a Thurs time slot going forward. Miscommunication already cleared up and a 2nd couple has been introduced. The pacing on these Vietnamese BLs is always a bit... off. But it’s still better than most of its ilk, enjoyable. I’m thinking it’s a 6 ep arc.

We Best Love 2 (Taiwan) Ep 5 - after the initial drama DRAMA of ep 2, the current external crisis at work is much quieter, giving this whole season a top heavy feel. Taken along side the first season, I think it’s fitting nicely into a 4 act structure, but that might be my bias. I hope I’m not wrong, we’ll find out next week. Shi De puttering about being domestic with Shu Yi on his back was the best execution of the piggyback trope EVER. Meanwhile, our little D/s side couple of codependency, salvation trope + mental illness is becoming weirdly appealing. I don’t know. H4 done mess with my head.

Stand Alones

Absolute BL AKA Zettai BL ni Naru Sekai vs Zettai BL ni Naritakunai Otoko (Japan) Ep 1-4 mini series. Found subs under A Man Who Defies The World of BL. IT’S HILARIOUS. It’s Japan making fun of us, but also itself for having started this whole BL nonsense - from yaoi roots to present day. It’s parody goddamn gold. Utterly cheeky unto the very last line. We are not worthy.

Apparently the most powerful tropes of all time are: baby is a floppy drunk and the piggyback fo nobility. Oh and chocolate. {Full review here.}

Honestly, this show may have been made with only @heretherebedork and I in mind. I don’t know if you’d even understand half of it if you don’t have a history with the manga source genre and an obsessive interest in underlying narrative devices. I haven’t seen much chatter in the blog’o’sphere on this one because, in the end, it’s not a romance at all, it’s social commentary.

The ending line was a masterclass in lampooning a genre. I’m going to rewatch the whole thing just to catch all the digs I missed first time around. It is a thing of beauty and a joy forever.

Thank you Japan. I forgive you all your hair-styling sins of the last decade.

Breaking News

Spring Line Up:

Scholar Ryu’s Wedding Ceremony AKA Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding (Korean historical BL) April 15th

Close Friend the series (Thai trailer) April 22.

2gether the movie (Thai trailer) April 22 to Thai theaters.

Nitiman (Thai) May 7 on One31.

I Told Sunset About You 2 (Thai) May 27 on LineTV

Ossan’s Love (Hong Kong) June to Viu

Gossip

Bad Buddies released its first promo op via Arm Share, which means GMMTV is at least *thinking* about filming it.

Fun behind the scenes gossip sesh with eng subs for Tell the World I Love You (that Perth Bas movie we are maybe getting someday but will likely be sad).

New Thai BL Bite Me (adapted from novel Grab a Bite) dropped a teaser. It stars Mark Siwat (Kla in LBC) as uke character Ake, a delivery boy with special foodie powers, and chef Eua (seme played by Zung Kidakorn) who discovers him. It’s from the same author as Manner of Death so we might even get some actual plot. Since it’s an established BL actor who I happen LOVE, a known author, and a plot about FOOD, I could not me more excited for this one.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Some shows may be listed a day later than actual air date for accessibility reasons. Some are dropping multiples at a time but just started so I’m not sure on numbering.

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.

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alwaysahiccupandastrid · 3 years

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His Dark Materials S2 Ep 6 - Rambling/Thoughts

I really cannot believe that we’re at the penultimate episode already, oh my gosh. It’s gone by so fast??

Again, because I’ve reread TSK in the last couple of weeks, the book is fresh in my mind but I’ve probably still missed stuff

Also last week was so intense and seeing the “previously on” section made me remember just how intense that was, so it’s a hard job to top that!

ANGELS AHH RIGHT AWAY IM GEEKING OUT

“The last time they were seen was to make war” - IT’S HAPPENING ASDFGHJKL

Ruta going off to see Asriel and me just remembering what exactly went down between them while she was there with him... heh

So Will’s hand looks AWFUL oh my god poor Will 😭

Pan is REALLY into his Red PAN-da form oh my goodness

So the other kids out for revenge terrified the living SHIT out of me, dear god I don’t think it could be any creepier than dozens of them appearing out of the shadows like that, like it’s genuinely terrifying

Serafina just dropped right in to rescue them and I was both relieved and a little disappointed? Because in the book the whole chase sequence is so much longer and more important, like it takes up most of an entire chapter I think, and here it’s like two minutes?

Serafina: What does this edge cut? // Lyra: Everything (Will at the same time: Nothing.) - 😂

I missed Lee and Jopari tbh so yay to seeing them once more! And they’ve crossed into the next world!

Oh hi again Mary!

^ I wasn’t expecting to see Mary again this series because in TSK book, her last appearance is going through the window (which was last episode), so I’m a little curious as to whether we’re going to get a TINY little peek into The Amber Spyglass here (it’s been years since I reread it, I apologize). Because last series they did a bit of TSK (namely introducing Will + him crossing into Cittagazze), so it would be interesting!

“Good, something I can understand for a change” - LOL Same

Serafina wants to take Lyra back to her world?? Really??

Not gonna lie, the two girls spying on Mary was kind of low-key creepy

Lyra mentioning that she crossed worlds to find out about Dust and mentioning Roger 😭

Also I’m so emotional over just how much she wants Will to be safe, like she would really do anything to keep him safe and I love it

Lyra asking the Alethiometer where Will’s dad is and “he’s in this world” - ahhh it’s going to happen!

Also I really hope that the BBC/whoever decides to sell replica Alethiometers because the design is so beautiful?! I would fork out serious dough for one, and it would go nicely with the one I have from the film

No but seriously, words don’t describe just how badly I want a replica

“I wanted to fly so I summoned you here, now I’m flying” - LOL OKAY THEN JOHN

Ooh damn, that outfit Marisa is wearing is FINE. I’m slightly gayer than I was before, ngl

I was like “nooo Mary don’t be nice to these kids, they’re awful”

But it’s very sweet that she offers them food?? Like she pulls a chocolate bar out and is like “it’s no good for you, it’s full of sugar”... I love her

The way that Mary was so happy and excited when they mentioned Lyra, only to tell the girls off for trying to kill her - more of a mum than Mrs Coulter tbh

“Miss, can I have a hug?” - AWWW OMG WHY AM I SAD

They asked Mary to stay and look after them omg 😭😭😭

“Come with me, I’ll bring you to your adults” - ooh okay this could go any number of ways... Either she actually reunites them with their families and all’s well, or she takes them up there and their parents/adults are all dead (for lack of a better word)? Or the Spectres attack after Mary leaves them with the adults??

Jopari talking about meeting his dæmon and also a little bit about trying to get back to his family :(

“Can you magic us up a fire?” “One moment” *presents a box of matches” - LMFAO

Wait did Serafina seriously just imply that she thought Will might hurt Lyra?!?

Serafina saying that if protecting Lyra means protecting Will as well... Yes, protect Will please! Protect BOTH of these children, I literally BEG you, they’ve gone through far too much

Ooh okay so the witch ritual/spell was kind of cool to see!

Lyra saying “please tell me he’ll be alright” 😭♥️

The fact that Lyra curled up close to Will and then Pan (in ermine form) curled up CLOSER to Will is so cute, they both love Will so much

Pan: “We feel safe her... don’t we?” / OOF OKAY THIS IS F I N E

I already know what Lyra’s “other name” is because I read the book but the hints are anything BUT subtle tbh. “Mother of us all, cause of all sin, tempted by the serpent”... I’m not even that religious but I think it’s pretty obvious.

Also, if Mary is playing the part of the “serpent” within Lyra’s destiny, does that mean that Mary has tempted Lyra? Or that she will?

Boreal being nervous about being in the city and Marisa is just so unimpressed by him... Mood

That smirk she had when going up to that Spectre victim was so chilling, we have to stan Ruth Wilson and her incredible acting

Also, fun fact, Ruth Wilson went to my sixth form college and is from Surrey (like me), and she grew up in Shepperton, which is where my Nan used to live when she was alive (my uncle and aunt live there still), so that’s super exciting!

“We could learn from this” - PLEASE DO NOT MA’AM

God I hate the Magisterium so fucking much, the patriarchy is so strong with them

Oh great, now they’re gunning to kill Lyra :/

Also, off topic, I’ve only just connected that Will Keen, who plays Father MacPhail, is Dafne Keen’s dad?!?

“She’s lost a lot for one so young” - AND SHE’S STILL GOING TO LOSE PEOPLE, WHY IS THIS FAIR PHILIP PULLMAN 😭

“She must be protected” - AGAIN, they BOTH need protecting PLEASE

The Spectre noises reminded me of the noises of the Smoke Monster from LOST, so that’s definitely trippy for me

Thanks, I hate it

I nearly shouted “WHAT THE FUCK IS SHE DOING” out loud in front of both my parents, I seriously thought she had a damn death wish

I have never been so damn tense in my entire life as I am watching this show - and I KNOW what happens

HOW DID SHE DO THAT WITH THE SPECTRES SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN

Lee’s so worried about Lyra - 11/10, Father of the Year

The Magisterium airships... NO. FUCK. WE’RE AT THAT POINT ALREADY AND IM NOT OKAY BECAUSE I KNOW HOW AND WHERE THIS ENDS AND I HATE IT

I deadass thought Marisa and Carlo were about to kiss when he ran up to her and I actually said out loud “NO please don’t”

Look I must just be so dirty minded but when she said “let’s celebrate”, my immediate reaction was “NO NO NO NO EW EW EW NO” and “I hope she just means having a drink and not doing the frickety-frack”

I was so close to tearing up as Will was talking about his mum, her illness, and the boys who were mean to her because of it. His love for his mum is so beautifully written and the way Amir Wilson is playing Will is so wonderful

I was also close to tears when he was talking about his dad and how he used to imagine about his dad, so maybe I’m just emotional anyway

“Could go to school... have friends” - okay yeah no I’m definitely crying 😭

“I couldn’t trust anyone.” “Until you met me.” “Yeah.” - EXCUSE ME ♥️😭 my HEART

I love one (1) soft boy, and one (1) feral girl and her dæmon

The relief I felt when I saw Marisa and Carlo were literally just having drinks 😅

“They consume what makes us human, so I just suppressed that and hid it” + *cut to the monkey looking kinda sad/uncomfortable* - Umm fUCK OKAY THEN

Why am I feeling sorry for the monkey?!?

“You think we’re equal?” - LMFAO RIGHT

EWW THEY KISSED. No, just... nO

When I saw his snake dæmon moving towards her monkey, I thought one of two things was about to happen: 1) the monkey was going to pet and paw and the snake as Marisa seduced Boreal, or 3) the monkey was going to strange the snake and kill Boreal

OKAY THIS TOOK A SHARP BUT NOT UNWELCOMED TURN

“You’ve NEVER been my equal.” “You’d only hold me back.” - OH MY GOD YES THE SHADE

She’s not wrong though let’s be honest here

So she poisoned him I’m assuming? She poisoned his drink because the monkey didn’t actually touch the snake... damn.

Her just sitting there and continuing to drink with his dead body there is... damn.

“Into that valley” NO NO, please no

Jopari really just summoned a whole damn storm huh

Also the fact he fully trusts in Lee’s abilities to land them safely :3

Lee: “Can we trust him?” // Hester: “Do we have another choice?!!” - LMFAO I love them so much

THE WAY I NEARLY SCREAMED WHEN THAT WITCH GOT ATTACKED BY A SPECTRE OMFG AT LEAST WILL WAS THERE TO SAVE HER

Okay but did Marisa REALLY sit there for HOURS with Boreal’s corpse sitting opposite her?!?

Her burning her hand on the flame in front of the monkey, and the monkey clearly whimpering and in pain was so agonizing to watch, I can’t take this show

Also, you have to wonder just how many times she’s harmed herself (and him) for her to keep doing it with next to no problems (like separating from each other all the time)

I was so excited to see the birds attacking the zeppelins, like it was one of my favourite details in the book, and I worried that they wouldn’t have the budget for it but yay!

I do kind of wish that we’d had Sayan Kötor as the “eagle Queen” leading them though - she probably was but I wish we’d actually seen it or heard Jopari say it or whatever

THEY SHOT THE GAS CANNISTER OH SHIT THEY’RE GOING DOWN HARD AND FAST IN THAT BALLOON

HOLD ON BBC YOU CANNOT END THIS THERE?!? EXCUSE ME?!

The last episode is next week and on an hour earlier, so that’s exciting! I have no idea what I’ll do once this series ends, or when we’ll even get the third and final series because of COVID and filming delays, but I’m excited for it nonetheless and hoping it’s next November/December or something!

#his dark materials #hdm #lyra belacqua #lyra silvertongue #marisa coulter #mrs coulter #will parry #serafina pekkala #ruth wilson #dafne keen #amir wilson #pantalaimon #john parry #lee scoresby #hester

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konaizumi · 3 years

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Fish Upon the Sky ep 7 thoughts/reaction

i can’t take this first scene seriously with the mix stix and pi being all sentimental about them

also them using the mix stix as a coming out metaphor and pi said his brother ate them first and introduced them to pi and his brother is also gay lol

pi still has mork wrapped around his little finger

well technically he didn’t pass out

drunk pi being great at DDR and mork being terrible is great

“i just wanted to bug you” are you sure you didn’t just want his hand on your chin?

mork don’t act like you don’t love pi having his arms around you

i can’t decide who had the more awkward role, phuwin who had to brush pond’s teeth, or pond who had to have his teeth brushed by phuwin

also who just carries around a toothbrush and toothpaste? i know he’s a dental student but still

mork laughing outside the bathroom at pi was cute

we didn’t get to see mork gay panic at seeing pi’s chest and that’s just not fair

the dad trying to cheer up the mom is so cute, i love their dynamic

soon as they said wan was bring home a girlfriend i was like oh you know it’s going to be a boyfriend

duen what did you do that made the gown smell so much

meen’s got some bite and i love him for it

every episode in fact i love him more and more

he’s truly the perfect match for duen’s bullshit

would love if we could get more backstory on mork liking pi, like even if there’s not a specific reason/event that’s fine but just like when and how did it start, it seems like they never interacted before the show starts

also them being livestreamed was super creepy

also would be nice if mork was a bit more bothered by the fangirls, for pi’s sake if nothing else

i will pay gmmtv for one of the characters to hug pi and tell him that he can take all the time he needs to figure out his feelings instead of rushing him

*face palms* duen just tell him the truth he won’t judge you

duen just throwing out the dirty boxers, my boy is such a mess

can i give meen a hug? pls?

no comments from the narrator this time?

the argument over the cars was pretty funny, i like the kitty gang

at first i thought the secret texting friend thing was cute but now its a bit uncomfy knowing pi is spiling private thoughts about mork that he wouldn’t tell if he knew he was talking to mork (and mork is using this to be kinda manipulative)

god damn it duen, if you had waited like another minute before barging in he would’ve figured it out

duen is such a good brother tho

i wish mork would actually act like just being friends is fine

the family seeing the woman and child and thinking it’s wan’s girlfriend was super funny lol “and she has a plus one”

and the look on everyone’s faces when the boyfriend walked in

so the mom still doesn’t know about duen’s boyfriend so i hope we can see that confrontation as well lol

i thought they were building up to have wan as like the perfect older sibling who the younger ones resent bc of comparisons and the eldest sibling having a superiority complex, and who was one of the reasons for pi’s insecurities but instead they delivered this wholesome sibling content and it’s so much better than i thought it was going to be

duen unconsciously petting pi bc that’s what he did for meen

i still don’t totally understand the conflict between pi and the mom but i’m glad it seems to be resolved

istg all the medical students and none of them know how vaccines work, the implication is that pi is already lovesick, you don’t give a vaccine to someone who’s already sick

also morkpi is a slowburn and i wish the writers knew that instead of insisting that pi’s already in love with mork

“i’m so lost here” honestly same duen, i’m a little lost in all the metaphors

*face palms* pi, i don’t think you’re in love with mork yet but i know you’re not still in love with nan

but also, pi acknowledging that the nan he liked was part fantasy and now he has to go after the real nan: growth--not quite fully there yet but growth

next ep: looks like duenmeen is finally going somewhere, i really hope but doubt that mork as secret texting friend is revealed next week before it gets worse, otherwise doesn’t seem like anything huge happening next week,but i demand more nan content to make up for the fact that he wasn’t in this ep at all

anyways, good ep, some key development going on, just really need mork to back off a bit and give pi some time to think

#futs #fish upon the sky #futs spoilers #fish upon the sky spoilers #konaizumi reactions

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delicatebluebirdruins · 3 years

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Heartland s14 ep 1 take 2

tumblr was supposed to save my previous post to drafts so I could add to it (and did not do it which I did not realise until I looked at my notifications and someone had reblogged it in other words OOPS sorry)

to repeat myself anyone criticising Graham for his decision to leave and the timing of it will be blocked, and I wish Graham himself all the best for his future projects

under a read more because spoilers, a rant with some swearing and lots of rambling so it got long

so first I’m going to go off topic a little bit and rant because this hurt a lot when it happened. Last September I woke up one morning to the news that my favourite character (Bellamy) from the numbers show was shot and killed by my other favourite character (Clarke) for the most stupidest reason ever (she killed Bellamy over a sketchbook which he wanted to give to the bad guys... to protect her daughter... AND THEN SHE JUST BOUNCED AND LEFT THE SKETCHBOOK THAT MIGHT HAVE ENDANGERED HER DAUGHTER ON THE FLOOR NEXT TO THE BAD GUYS THAT WERE STILL LIVING). So i was still dealing with the death of my favourite character and the subsequent dragging through the dirt of both Bellamy he died alone thinking everyone hated him. No one really mourned him, he was all but forgotten except for a few throwaway comments that ‘he was right’. No one felt regret about not believing him. No one spoke up and said they wished he could have been here on the beach at the end. He was erased from the narrative and a minor character who died in S3 and whose story had already been wrapped up overshadowed him (and almost everything else that happened in the already shitty finale*- like seriously all of humanity was forced to join a universal consciousness and you don’t have to know a lot about science fiction to know it is really bad). (and everyone thought he was dead and his gf was ready to go on a killing spree about it for revenge but when they found he was actually dead they all just shrugged it off and said he died the moment he joined the bad guys when they were standing in the presence of another bad guy who was on that side for a lot longer and was only a recent turn coat) and Clarke who was the hero of this show was turned into cause of all of humanities sins and not a hero who tried (and then gets rewarded by being let to stay with her “friends” on a beach unable to bear children because aliens turned up as a master race and killed all of humanity and those that were left were made barren? yes in the last ever episode of a seven season show we got introduced to aliens- honestly putting all I know of season 7 into words like this still makes no sense)

*link to the youtube video The 100 Finale... May We Never Meet Again: Talis the person who made the video went off you know if you are morbidly curious

Bellamy was one of my favourite characters and he was done hella dirty. And Ty was another and he got given multiple love letters in just one episode and probably more to come as season 14 progresses. (I laughed as yesterday a youtuber called Hannah King made a video about the first episode of season 14 and I read the comments one of which saying that Ty was done dirty by the writers and I just??? I was hella tempted to put that rant above this part in a response to that comment good lord)

so onto Ty and Heartland

I watched the entire of season 13 in a day and cried a little when Ty and Amy got shot... and it hurt but was also very cathartic to watch because the worry and care was brought to the forefront like Ty not even realising he was shot and his panic was a very real moment

so when fandom started speculating about Ty’s death my only thought was if he did die he would do it with a complication with the gunshot wound and I was right. But it didn’t hurt as much to think about because I trust the writers even if they have made some missteps in past seasons. However, because of Bell and the faith I had in the writers back then (I trusted the writers until I remembered after the death because main character hater was promoted to head writer) I was also worried because of that.... Heartland is essentially the only ongoing show that I’m still actively watching and not just searching for spoilers.

I rewatched the first episode of season 14 twice (will probably do so again maybe)

Ty’s death was handled well, the blurring of the doctor delivering the news and Amy mentioning that the funeral was a blur (I kind of hope we get a flashback)

So it goes without saying the timing of Graham leaving and Ty dying is hard because of Covid-19 and the loss (all forms like normal routines, lives and you know what i mean I hope) that comes with it.

Because of everything in real life and the real life grief a lot of people have been going through, one of the many parts during the episode that made me tear up and cry a little was Grandpa Jack’s and Amy’s heart to heart in the fishing cabin. It was a very real moment the mentioning of how difficult Grandma Lyndy’s death was for death despite it being expected and how unexpected Ty’s was. And Jack saying “there is no right way to grieve” is possibly the most important part of it as there is no right way, and grief is not linear its not a straight line it will be very hard to deal with for a long while.

“keep me in your heart“ was a very strong start and I can’t wait to see what comes next (I hope at some point we see some old friends and Scott turn up and react to Ty’s death). And I am so glad that the cast and crew are talking about it in videos as a message to fans

in the end Ty was loved completely by the family and he loved them the same. the rest is confetti

#anti jason rothenberg #heartland #long post #my post

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katybirdy95 · 4 years

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The Spanish Princess (Season 2, Ep 1): My Thoughts.

Hello Everyone!

I guess it’s that time of year were we all collectively come together to roast another PG production. I know that a few others have already written their thoughts, but I have stayed away from them for the moment, until I have written my own opinions just so my perspective of the episode is more original.

I will try and write some things I liked and obviously things I did not and would love to hear everyone else’s opinions as well.

Warning: SPOILERS

Right! Here we go!

1) We start the episode off in 1511 - three years after the final of season 1. I guess they didn’t want to show Henry and Katherine’s wedding night (I can’t quite remember if it was shown in season 1), so we don’t see Henry’s reaction to Katherine not being a virgin. Although, it seems to me that throughout the episode, it’s hinted that Henry already knows that Katherine consummated her marriage to Arthur, but out of love for her, he’s keeping his mouth shut.

2) I think Mary Tudor is the first character in this universe that actually resembles her younger self. I feel like EF just casts any child actress and then the adult version looks vastly different.

3) I like that they have shown Mary to be an intelligent woman with a good knowledge for languages.

4) The costumes have been upgraded and some are actually really pretty, but they are a few decades too early - more Elizabethan and Katherine is sporting some Lucrezia Borgia inspired hair.

5) When Ursula Pole states that Charles V has very expensive clothes, I nearly laughed. His clothes are very plain in comparison to what Mary Tudor or some of the background extras are wearing.

6) I do like that the women in this season seem a lot more friendlier with each other, instead of seeing each other as enemies and trying to rip each other apart - I hope this continues.

7) King James has entered the building and poor Margaret looks like she’s about to jump out a window. Ray Stevenson’s accent is actually quite good and I don’t think I cringed once and being Glaswegian that’s good coming from me, but why did they make him so old. Although, I will say that the term “hen” is more what a father would say to his daughter, but given the age difference, I suppose it makes sense.

8) They are really trying to ham up that Scotland is full of uncouth barbarians, almost like the producers don’t know that Scotland is filled with varies accents, we don’t all have that gruff harshness to our voices and every city has its own accent.

9) Why would you bring a newborn to a jousting tournament, the noise alone would distress the poor thing and why is the baby the size of a six month old?

10) Oh God! Edward Stafford just tore his eyeball off, I don’t believe the real Buckingham lost an eye, I know that Sir Francis Bryan lost an eye, but not Buckingham, but I might be wrong.

11) I wish I was as calm as Buckingham when I burnt the skin of my left hand (don’t worry It healed), I mean this guy pulls his eyeball out and still has time to flirt with Katherine.

12) I guess the producers are of the opinion that eye patches are the fashion in Tudor England, although I would have been partial to a glass eye or a jeweled one.

13) Well, I guess my redheads are gone. Henry and Margaret are sporting their actors natural hair colours and Katherine’s seems to be a lot darker this season too. Why go to the trouble of dyeing their hair in the first season if they weren’t going to bother their arses for the second season and that’s directed towards the hair department and whoever made the decision to make Henry a brunette than the actors themselves.

14) Looks like not only was Isabella of Castile abusive towards Joanna, but Ferdinand of Aragon was abusive to Catherine. Can’t we just have loving, supportive parents like Jacquetta from TWQ.

15) The abuse is just lazy story telling because it has just now occurred, yet in season one, Catherine was shocked that Joanna had been abused, surely she would have been more sympathetic to Joanna given their shared experience, but they probably didn’t know they were getting a second season to develop that.

16) Katherine is breastfeeding her own baby, but I don’t know if there is a source that said she actually did this. I have heard that Anne Boleyn thought to feed Elizabeth and was told not to and after that decided it was for the best so that she could produce a new baby quicker. I wonder if we will see Elizabeth in this and see the contrast between Katherine and Anne as mothers and given how awkward the cast has been about Anne Boleyn, I’m guessing she won’t be shown in a good light, but who knows.

17) I do like that they are showing Thomas Boleyn as an adviser and friend to the king, usually Thomas only appears when Anne Boleyn is about to be introduced, but in reality Thomas was actually good friends with Henry and Henry trusted Thomas a great deal before Anne came onto the scene.

18) I actually liked the Scots scene when they are slagging off the English, it’s pretty accurate to how even Scots today feel haha. Although, I don’t like that they have reduced Margaret to a governess, but Georgie seems to have some chemistry with Ray Stevenson, but I doubt Margaret would have slapped James IV in front of his courtiers.

19) Why do productions always use the tool of having one part of the couple refuse to have sex with the other to show that they’re struggling, like most couples don’t have sex every night and it’s a sign of a healthy relationship that if one person wants sex and the other doesn’t - for numerous reasons - then the one that doesn’t, shouldn’t have to feel guilty for saying “not tonight love”.

20) I did think that Bessie Blount was going to appear from the shadows when Katherine left the room though.

21) Why would you put a newborn on a cold, dirty chapel floor. I mean what do you expect to happen.

Okay, I will say that I actually enjoyed this episode for what it was there was some good things and some not so good, but still it has potential. There seems to be more extras as well, instead of like eight to a room like the last productions have been and I liked that the actors had more than one costume change. Also, the couples are all in matching outfits, will we see the same happen for Henry and Anne when she comes on the scene.

The strongest actors in this episode would have to be Stephanie Levi John, Ray Stevenson (mainly for the accent) and Sai Bennett. I think that’s it, the other actors were good like Ruairi and Georgie, but didn’t stand out as much to me yet.

Sorry it’s not as funny, I was uninspired.

#the spanish princess #tsp #katherine of aragon #henry viii #bessie blount #thomas boleyn #margaret tudor #mary rose tudor #personal #my thoughts #edited

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generic-foucauldian-project · 3 years

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Some thoughts on Hanyo no Yashahime ep. 15 (some serious, some not):

1. Hats off to Riku for being at least a mildly interesting OC. I care about his motivations enough to keep watching the show, which is more than I can say about most anime-only characters. Congratulations to Riku and his amazing eye makeup, here’s to the rest of the season

2. Inuyasha finally got to live the life - more or less - that he and Kikyo originally dreamed about, and I think that’s nice! He has a little house with a garden, and a “job” exterminating demons, and a local community of friends and neighbors, and friends from further afield who come and visit him, and his social circle is a nice mix of humans and youkai. Inuyasha is fully and (by the looks of it) happily integrated into his found community without having to sacrifice either his demon or human side, and I THINK THAT’S NICE

3. In modern times, Kirinmaru would be known as “our family friend” and Sesshomaru would be obligated to introduce him as “Uncle Kirinmaru - well, not my real uncle, I just call him that because he’s known my dad for, like, forever”

4. At first blush, this would make Zero Sesshomaru’s mean auntie, but what with the whole “humiliated by your father” line and the Gold and Silver jewels being made from her tears, I suspect she’s actually a jilted lover - or would-be lover - of Toga’s who now lives to stir up trouble for his kids. Toga probably tossed her aside for Izayoi and she’s clearly still salty about it

5. Rin’s childbirth scene is the worst thing I’ve seen in a long time, but not for the reason everyone’s fighting about. It unfortunately exposes two major flaws, one of writing female characters in the shonen genre, and one of Rin’s character specifically. The first problem is that shonen writers usually have no idea what to do with pregnancy and childbirth, because, I suspect, they have no actual interest in the mother’s experience; for them, pregnancy and childbirth serve purely as plot devices, and the postpartem female body becomes a problem to be gotten rid of as soon as possible.

Usually this is ‘solved’ by killing off the mother right after giving birth. Rin escapes this fate, only to be subjected to having both her babies and her agency taken away. Shedding a single tear? Uttering such an inane line as “I have faith in Sesshomaru-sama” when he didn’t say a single word to her after what was likely hours of being in labor? I confess that this is the point when I lost it and just started laughing, the scene was so bad-hilarious. Nobody is this long-suffering and trusting about being ignored by their husband as he silently kidnaps her children literally from under her nose. Nobody. Rin was done dirty by this scene, and it just underscores the misogyny running through the shonen genre.

Unfortunately, this scene also doubles down on Rin’s role as a device for Sesshomaru’s character growth, which is itself pretty problematic. Her (multiple!!) deaths in IY prompt Sesshomaru toward emotional turning points in his character development, and here again in HNY her confusion and sadness over losing Towa and Setsuna lend pathos to Sesshomaru’s actions. We, the viewers, know that Sesshomaru is hiding the twins away so that Kirinmaru and Zero can’t find and kill them; I think the writers somehow wants the viewer to feel anguish on Sesshomaru’s behalf that he must commit such a seemingly cruel act for the sake of his family’s safety and can’t tell anyone about it because he’s such a tough guy loner etc. etc. But instead it comes across as confusing and unnecessary, especially since Kagome already knows the whole story and asks Sesshomaru point-blank about it. [Edited to add]: This model of stoicism-as-masculinity has not aged well from the original IY run. Female characters should not have to passively accept pain and confusion inflicted on them by male characters in the name of male characters acting “for their own good.” Sesshomaru’s refusal to communicate anything, ever, is not a romantic character trait: it does not make him mysterious or cool or badass, it just makes him kind of an asshole to the people he supposedly cares about, and I hope the rest of the series will actually grapple with that. Sesshomaru, in this scene, kicks off a whole chain of events that end up going disastrously for his family. One daughter stuck on “the other side”? One daughter with her memories and sleep stolen? His wife stuck in a tree? I have a hard time believing all of that was planned. The whole scenario is contrived and stupid and I hate it.

6. Not least because Sesshomaru’s proposed solution makes no sense! What are these babies going to eat? Where will they sleep? If Sesshomaru is ok with bringing newborns into a forest and leaving them under a tree, why wouldn’t he just bring Rin at the same time and make her recuperate from - again- a physically grueling ordeal under said tree? It’s not like he knows what the heck childbirth involves anyway! His whole decision-making process is bizarre and confirms my suspicion, held for some 15 years, that Sesshomaru is not some cool lone wolf type who has it all together, but instead is merely a fuck-up like the rest of us. As any quiet person (*raises hand*) knows, a great way to pick up a reputation for being ‘aloof,’ ‘cold,’ or ‘intimidating’ is to say as little as possible, even if on the inside you are hopelessly just trying to keep your head above water.

This is HNY Sesshomaru in a nutshell:

Where were you going to get all of these things, Sesshomaru?! Oh that’s right you didn’t think that far ahead DID YOU?!????

7. If Sesshomaru is at his mom’s house, and Jaken is at his mom’s house, then who is watching the babies????? (Tbh probably Sessho-mama)

Anyway this episode was A Mess but it was nice seeing Inuyasha and Kagome again. More of them and the rest of the original gang, please!

#just to clarify my take on infant nutrition is 'fed is best' but obviously formula did not exist in the feudal era and more importantly the #text didn't fit #i promise the next post will be about things i actually like about inuyasha and not just ranting #but sesshomaru is for real a disaster #hanyo no yashahime #inuyasha #iy #iy meta #iy analysis #kagome higurashi #sesshomaru #iy rin #hanyo no yashahime spoilers

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mikereads · 4 years

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A lot of people in the fandom like to compare Buddie to Hen and Karen considering they are the only canon same sex couple in the show which also happen to be series regulars. I do as well but not for that reason in particularly. I like to compare Buddie to all canon couple Bobby/Athena, Chim/Maddie etc.I even like to do so with their weekly stories. I did start to think and the writers have drawn some significant parallels between the two couples whether that was intentional or not. Before the scene in the park aired many fans wondered what the scene would entail. Before it did I made a comparison to the scene with Hen, Karen and Denny in the park from 1x05. Even though both scenes are different containing content matter. I think the overall comparison is still there which is this an activity a family does together. They take their son to the park and have fun together as a family. They even had Karen/ Hen do something similar in another ep in s2. It signifies they are family unit and this stands out even more because this was also the same episode where they introduced Eddies new “LI”. They had it where she was the one to bring up the conversation but they had Buck be the one to give Eddie advice. They had the scene end with Buck not Ana. If they wanted to establish Ana as Eddies future “LI” wouldn’t she have been there and not Buck. They would have started to built it up in the viewers mind that it’s a possibility but as of know it seems as though she’s nothing more then Chris’s teacher. If I’m being honest If I didn’t look up articles from bts or was interactive with the fandom I would have no idea that was the direction they were going in even outside of Buddie as canon. I think most passive viewers atm don’t see it either. They didn’t build it up but they did continue to build up Buddie even comparing her eye color to Bucks having Carla ask if her eyes were blue like come on. He only has one person with blue eyes on his mind and that’s Buck.

(side note) I think it’s very interesting how they have similar clothes on. Denny and Chris wearing red and black striped shirts. Having the adults wear neutral clothes that complement one another. (white, grey, black, orange, tan).

Their exes/ Shannon, Eva

Each of these women have different backgrounds and lives but overall have big similarities especially in regards to their partners. They both love their families very much but struggle with themselves. Which stems from the fact that they both have a sort of mental illness. Eddie/Hen began dating them from a young age and were their first serious relationships.They both have a child with this person. There relationship faces many hardships along the way. In the end Shannon/Eva leave them in shambles for different reasons and both scenarios happen in different orders.Once they were gone there families were in disarray more so the parent of the household. After they left the two of them slowly started to rebuild their lives without them in it. Once there lives are back to normalcy they come back and mess everything up. They have moved on and began a new life without them and they just come back hoping to start things where they left off having little to no concern for the person they left behind. They wanted the person to forgive them right away and let them back in even though they had already moved on. In these cases that is with Karen/Buck. The biggest difference is that Eddie tried to reconcile with his ex as with Hen she didn’t try that part her life was over that was her past. They both eventually come to the same conclusion even before Shannon passed. Both of their stories end in tragic ways partially because they never got the help they needed. It highlights that Shannon/Eva represent their past Karen/Buck represent their future.

For an example as to how prominent the Buckley-Diaz is as a family unit lets compare them to another popular t.v family. Rick, Michonne and Carl from TWD. There is many examples you could use but they were the first/most similar that came to mind. In twd when Rick and Michonne first meet they didn’t get along right away they respected one another but weren’t friends. Over time Michonne started to become closer with his son Carl. They both needed to fill some type of void within themselves. Michonne had lost her son and Carl lost his mother/ needed a friend. Then Rick came into the picture and as the three of them started to spend more and more time together they became close and started to become a family unit. They started coparenting Carl together long before they became a couple. The show ultimately did them dirty but they had a beautiful story and made an amazing found family together. Similar to Buddie in many ways one being how they weren’t initially supposed to be a couple but after positive fan reaction to the couple/ support they decided to pursue it and make them canon which even though this is a het couple at the time a lot of people didn’t think was possible. When you even see a snippet of there story you can see the similarities between the two. Buck and Eddie started off on the wrong foot somewhat competitive. The more they worked together they began to slowly respect one another more and more. Having them initially bond over Eddies son Chris, having one of the ways they grow close be through Chris. Eddie is a single parent who needs a partner, Chris is a young boy who needs another parental figure in his life/ a friend and Buck is a person who just got out a serious relationship who is looking for his partner, family who is also amazing with kids and wants to be a father one day. The set up is their, it makes perfect sense. They have built an amazing family until between the three of them. It would be a shame to let is go to waste by trying to put them with out people.

#Buckley-diaz family #Buddie #911 fox #evan buckley #eddie diaz #christopher diaz #richonne #twd #not my gif

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waejinyoung · 4 years

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Can’t Swim - EP . 2

word count: 4.6k+

a/n: thank you all for the great response of the first episode! im having so much fun writing up this series. as of right now there’s no certain direction im going in for the plot so it’s unpredictable even for me where this series will go but i can assure you guys that im putting in all my effort to make it enjoyable to read! see you in the next episode! 💚

warning: minimal swearing, mentioning of violence, typical dirty minded jaehyun lol

EP . 1 , EP . 2 , EP . 3 , EP . 4 , EP . 5 , EP . 6 , EP .7 , EP . 8 , EP . 9

It has been 6 days since your last encounter with Jinyoung. Tomorrow is Monday. To be honest, you thought he’d be on your mind more often than usual. He’d appear in your frequent daydreams and that’s about all. You praised yourself by giving yourself a pat on the back for not becoming attached to this mysterious being you had only met a week ago on one encounter.

Sunday afternoon was your favourite. A glass of wine looking out to Jinhae’s bay. You could hear the waves slightly crashing towards the parked boats. A deep breath in. and out.

Your mind drifted to Jinyoung again. You’ll be seeing him tomorrow. You did feel a little giddy about it but also reminded yourself, professionalism in the workplace. Max wasn’t happy about your ‘behaviour’ last week so you’ll need to be on your best behaviour or that pay rise will take longer to obtain. You didn’t need the extra money too much but being rewarded for good performance would be nice.

Alongside your wine you jotted down the things you wanted to teach for tomorrow’s lesson. You hadn’t introduced your dodgeball game to this group. Last time you played it was during your last lesson in Seoul. You loved water dodgeball. Main reason being that dodgeball is such a versatile game. All age groups enjoy it no matter how good or bad you are at the game. You noted to suggest playing it for the last 30 minutes of the lesson. Leaving the pen on the desk, you headed towards the shower to prepare for the busy week ahead.

Monday morning

“Good morning Jooheon!” you greeted boss/best friend.

“Wow Y/N you’re early for once. Good morning!”

Jooheon was scribbling down on his paperwork. Most likely got to do with the financial department.

“There’s always time for change Jooheon. For you, this is a good change. For me, well… it’s going to take some getting used to.” You waved around your hands showing a maybe sign.

“You’re spot on. I like the new energy, keep it up!”

“Will do, Sir!” You headed towards your locker to grab your suit and changed in the staff changing rooms. You checked yourself out in the mirror. Going good Y/N, you thought to yourself and headed back to the staffroom to catch up with Jooheon.

15 minutes later, Max and Soonbin walked in. Soonbin was absent last week. He took his week leave last week to take advantage of the summery weather.

“Long time no see Soonbin, how was your leave?”

“It was good Y/N, thanks for asking.”

Max and Soonbin are good friends. Opposites attract but, they are such complete polar opposites. You were surprised that they actually got along well. More than expected.

“Good morning Max.”

“G’morning.”

That wasn’t a typical Max response. Was he still acting like this because of last week? You questioned yourself. Jooheon gave you a look. He picked up on the strange response by Max too and you felt relieved to know that you weren’t the only one who thought something was up.

“What’s wrong with you three? Did something happen whilst I was gone?”

“No” “Yes” You and Jooheon declined but Max suggested that something had happened.

All 3 of you turned to Max waiting for him to continue.

“Y/N threw being professionalism out the window last week-”

“Max are you still thinking about what happened last week? Grow up, what is wrong with you? Just because Jinyoung asked me if I was single doesn’t give you any right to throw dirt on my name. What exactly did I do wrong?”

“Looks like I took my leave during a bad time. Max calm down.” Soonbin patted Max’s shoulder encouraging him to stop whatever he was getting at.

“Guys! It’s Monday morning. Can we please drop whatever it is between you two in the past and continue with your work? Y/N you have your swimmers in 15, go warmup.”

“Yes, boss” You eyed Max straight in his eyes and grabbed your register. You left the tension filled room with a loud bang.

Ugh, what is wrong with him? You thought to yourself repeatedly. You tried to shake off the bad start to the day. You didn’t want to reflect the bad energy to your students. You walked down the corridor as you reread over the plan you jotted down last night. Backstroke + dodgeball. Your favourite swimming style. You were always placed into the Backstroke slot during swimming leagues when you were younger. You would also bring back the gold medal every time too. Good old days.

You jumped into the pool and practiced backstroke for the next 10 minutes.

“Good morning to you too Y/N.” You had completed blanked your usual routine of greeting Jaehyun in the mornings.

“Ah, Jaehyun. I’m sorry. Had a rough morning. Good morning.”

“I’m always here if you want to talk about it.”

“Thanks, Jae”

“Here comes your lot!” Jaehyun pointed at all the kids waddling toward the edge of the pool with a tall figure behind them following along.

“Good morning everyone!”

“Good morning Y/N”

You smiled at Jinyoung with a welcoming nod. He reciprocated the same action back.

“How has everyone been since the last time I saw you?”

“Good, Miss” Jinyoung didn’t reply.

“What about you Jinyoung?”

“I’ve been well. And you?”

“Me too, thanks for asking.”

The warmup song and exercise didn’t change from last week. This time Jinyoung wasn’t doing the warmup alone though so you could tell he didn’t feel as uncomfortable as last week. You all finished up with a round of applause. Everyone entered the pool waiting for your instructions.

“So last week we introduced staying float and front stroke. I believe you all practiced the new things you learnt, right?”

“Yes, miss!”

“Great to hear. Now this week we will all be learning backstroke and then I have a surprise for the second half of the lesson.”

The kids started clapping like seals. It was always heart-warming to see the kids so excited over something so small.

“We all know the drill. I’ll first demonstrate what backstroke looks like and then you guys will attempt the new style purely on what it looks like and then I’ll come around helping you guys to correct where you guys are struggling on. Alright?”

“Yes, Miss.” And with that, you kicked of the wall and demonstrated backstroke to your group.

You came back to your group looking at you in awe. You knew you were good at backstroke but didn’t expect it to create this sort of reaction. Jinyoung started clapping and the minions joined him in seconds.

You waved your hands around trying to get them to stop with the exaggerated response.

“Guys, lets calm down. I’ve done my part. Now let’s see how good you guys will do backstroke. I’m sure you will nail it!

Ready, set… GO!”

The kids kicked and kicked with all their might and to your surprise Jinyoung was putting in the same amount of effort as the little munchkins. His muscular legs left the kids behind and in no time was back to your side leaving a large gap between him and the other swimmers.

“Good job. As expected you’re much quicker than the kids but your technique is a little off.”

“Lucky for me, I have a great teacher that can fix that.” Jinyoung smiled innocently despite the flirtatious comment.

“That’s what I’m here for.” You smiled back.

The kids came back all out of breath.

“You guys seem tired already. If that’s the case I have to reschedule my surprise for another day- “

The kids all shook their heads no and insisted that they were all fine. You laughed at the load of cuteness written across their faces.

Now began the individual tutorials. You seemed to have left Jinyoung last again. You still hadn’t gotten used to there being 9 students now. You just follow the order of the register and the newbie was obviously last on the list.

“Everything going well?”

“That’s up to you Miss.” Smartass.

“True, can you demonstrate your attempt at backstroke for me again? If you don’t mind.”

“My pleasure.” Jinyoung proceeded to start kicking his legs and must you say you thought you were facing Niagara Falls for a second. You were caught off guard with a load of chlorine water coming towards your face leaving you with no choice but to shut your eyes.

“Oh… Y/N!” You heard Jinyoung call out your name. Damn, did your name always sound this attractive when it fell out of people’s mouths or was this something only Jinyoung was capable of? You snapped back to reality to face a worried Jinyoung right in front of you.

“I’m fine,” you chuckled,” Maybe next time scoot a little away from the people surrounding you to avoid this from happening.”

“I’ll bear that in mind next time. Sorry.” He scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. Cute.

“Shall we try this again? With a little more distance this time.”

“Yes, sure”

You watched Jinyoung eagerly trying to solve what he had to improve. Was it his legs? Nope, he was kicking fine. Ah, you spotted it. He wasn’t moving his arms correctly. He was rotating but his arms had to brush past his ears as he rotated them backwards.

“Jinyoung!” He stopped swimming and saw you coming towards him.

“There’s just one thing that needs solving,” He nodded,” When you rotate your arms back they need to brush past your ear to reach the optimum rotation. The wider the circles you create with your arms, the quicker you will swim.”

Jinyoung listened with full concentration and seemed to have understood what you were getting at. He tried again and was showing improvement immediately. You thought to yourself, wow he’ll be in the next level group in no time. As you thought to yourself aimlessly, Jinyoung had reached back and realised you were in your own world.

“Y/N?”

“huh? Oh, right. You’ve understood my feedback. With a little more practice, you will have perfected your backstroke.”

“Thanks to you.”

You just smiled. You were losing your control. Why did he have to compliment you every chance he got? Was he like this with everyone? Was he simply trying to be nice? There were so many questions flying through your mind that you couldn’t keep up with your own brain.

You both re-joined the rest of the group. You noticed something was up with Woojin, but you didn’t mention it in front of everyone. Maybe it was something personal that was bothering him.

“Now that everyone has achieved a basic knowledge of backstroke, we can move onto the surprise I had mentioned earlier. For the second half of the lesson we will be playing water dodgeball!”

The kids were more excited than you expected. Many of them were clapping and smiling at each other. This is why you loved your part time job.

“Before we start we need to declare two teams. There is 10 of us so there will be two teams of 5. I’ll be one captain. We need another captain for the other team.”

Woojin splashed to get your attention. “Yes Woojin.”

“I think Jinyoung should be the other captain.” Woojin had a small smirk on his face. What was this kid up to?

You turned to Jinyoung to see if he was up for it.

“If I’m on the opposite team to Y/N then there’s no chance she’ll win. Do you want Y/N to lose?” Just a week ago this parrot was shy and now he’s acting cocky. Someone needed to be put in to place.

“I don’t think you know who you’re messing with,” you eyed Jinyoung. He was declaring a competition,” Right, me and Jinyoung are the captains. I’ll pick my first team member. I pick Woojin.”

You guys continued picking your members whilst Jaehyun brought the balls to the midpoint of the pool. Jaehyun found someone to cover for him whilst he conducted the game.

“If both teams are ready, when I say go members from both teams can head to the middle to grab balls for their teams.” Jaehyun bursted out laughing after reciting in his head what he had just said.

“Ya, Jaehyun! Stop being so dirty minded!”

“Sorry, noona! Ready… set… GO!”

Your team had planned to have you go fetch the balls and throw them back to your side. You were a very competitive person. Definitely wasn’t a fan of losing. So, you were willing to do anything to make sure your team won.

As soon as you heard the word “go” escape Jaehyun’s mouth you swam underwater to where the balls were.

You came face to face with Jinyoung as you surfaced from the water. It felt like the world around you both had slowed down and it was just the two of you alone in the pool. You both stared in each other’s eyes until you realised one thing. You weren’t going to lose your cool now. You grabbed a close by ball and lightly tapped Jinyoung on his temple and sent him a wave.

“Jinyoung, you’re out!” Jaehyun shouted in our direction.

You sent Jinyoung a sneaky smile and headed back to your team with 3 out of 5 of the balls. Jinyoung had discovered another side of you and he liked it. He liked how versatile your personality was. When you needed to be mature and serious you were and when you needed to be little more childish and patient you were. He made this conclusion today and realised how your flexibility makes you a really likeable person. Very likeable indeed.

The round ended quickly with your team winning the first round.

“If Y/N’s team wins the next round they are the winners so Jinyoung,” Jaehyun gave Jinyoung a stern look,” Show the world what a man’s team is capable of”

Jinyoung gave Jaehyun a solid thumbs up.

“Let your actions speak instead of your words lads, come on count us in Jaehyun.”

You and your team couldn’t apply the same tactic this round. It would be too predictable. Your tactic this round was to let all the kids go and get balls whilst you stayed back. They’ll throw the balls back to you for you to then get all the kids + Jinyoung out. Sounds simple but it’s going to be difficult considering the built up tension between your team and Jinyoung’s team.

Woojin managed to send back two balls but was hit with a ball from the opposition. The sad expression on his face was adorable but he was out.

“I’ll get the rest of them out for you Woojin, don’t worry!” you cheered at Woojin to keep him happy. He responded back with a bright smile which made you less worried.

With that, using the two balls Woojin had sent back, you hit two of the kids on the opposite team and Hyeji had gotten another opposition member too. Jinyoung took this opportunity to get Hyeji out and unfortunately it was a successful throw. Now it was Jinyoung VS you and Hyungwon. Hyungwon tried to swim towards a ball but failed miserably with Jinyoung getting to it faster and catching Hyungwon out immediately. It now meant 1 v 1.

“Looks like it’s just me and you, Jinyoung”

“That’s right miss. I would be worried if I was you.” Oh, he’s really confident.

Jaehyun and the kids that were out were watching with beady eyes eager to watch the final battle between the two adults.

“I wouldn’t speak so sure if I was you Jinyoung.” See, you had a ball behind you since the start of the game that no one was aware off. You were sure Jinyoung wasn’t aware of it too. To him it seemed like you had no balls.

“Y/N, you can give up now to make it easy for yourself.”

This could be the perfect timing. A bit of dirty play wouldn’t hurt anyone, would it?

“Jinyoung, fine let’s shake hands and call it truths”

“That was easier than expected.” He thought.

You both approached each other at midpoint to shake hands. Jinyoung was all for it. He was willing to compromise and call it a draw for this round. You on the other hand was a fan of dirty play. You approached Jinyoung and slowly reached out your hand. Just before you shook his hand, you raised the ball that you had hid behind you but Jinyoung was quicker than you thought.

Jinyoung had known you had the ball with you since it had dropped to a 1v1 battle. It was simple to figure out considering there were 5 balls at the start of the game and now only 4 to be seen and since he knew he didn’t have the missing ball then you must have it. He gripped your wrist before the ball could make contact with him.

For the second time in the 30 minute period, the world slowed down again. You were left starstruck looking into Jinyoung’s golden brown eyes. The eye contact was intense. Far too intense for your poor little heart to handle. You could feel it trying to leap out of your chest in the hopes to elope with Jinyoung’s. The grip on your wrist was gentle but strong enough to limit your actions. You were inches away from each other. A slight push and your nose would graze his. If you were honest, you would be more than happy if a kid would push you forward at this very moment but that was out of question.

“You surprise me every time Miss. Who knew you could be this sneaky? I need to keep an eye on you during future games.” You just looked him straight in the eyes and gulped. This effect that he had on you was dangerous but the little common sense that you had in you gave you an idea.

His hand was still on your wrist with the ball still in your hand. The ball being straight above his head. Bingo

You let go of the ball only for it to hit Jinyoung’s head lightly. You smiled liked a kid and Jinyoung let go of your hand realising the defeat. Your team cheered and their cheers echoed around you. You swam to your team only to be crowded with kids chanting your name.

You looked back at Jinyoung. “Better luck next time, Mr Park” He was left gobsmacked as you waved the kids goodbye and guided them to the changing rooms. The end of another Monday morning.

You came back to the pool to see Jinyoung and Jaehyun chatting.

“Lessons over, you can leave.”

“Jaehyun do you hear a sly fox around? I’m sure I just heard it say something like “Lessons over”.” Jaehyun bursts out laughing and Jinyoung joins him seconds later.

“An alliance being set up against me already, wow. Since when were you too such close friends?”

“Jinyoung hyung and I were just introducing ourselves to each other. It’s nice having a hyung around.” Jinyoung smiled at the appreciation of his presence.

“Am I not enough, Jaehyun? Do I not fulfil your needs at this side of the centre?”

“Hmm, Y/N noona. What needs are we talking about specifically?” Jaehyun had a smirk planted on his face.

“YA JAEHYUN!” You smacked his shoulder knowing what the year younger was referring to, “When did you become such a dirty minded child?” Jinyoung was trying to sustain a straight face whilst you two bickered.

“Well Y/N noona. As a male grows his needs add up. And some of those needs relate to the male’s bod- “

“Jaehyun, nobody asked for a biology lesson. Get back to work.” Jinyoung let out the giggles he was trying to keep in this whole time. You look at him with seriousness remembering the comment he made minutes ago.

“A sly fox? Is that how you should be referring to your teacher?” Jinyoung caught up with the stern look on your face and stopped giggling immediately.

“You are older than me Jinyoung but, that doesn’t mean you can talk in a friendly tone.” You were proving the analysis he made earlier on correct. You were a very flexible person hence being unpredictable.

“I apologise Miss. I took it a little too far. You’re right, I shouldn’t be referring to my teacher in such a disrespectful way and manner.”

…

You bursted out laughing. Did he really think you were actually pissed? This gave you more material to use against him in the future. Perfect.

It hit him that you were joking around.

“Wow, Y/N. I’m in awe. How can you be so sly consecutively in such a short period of time? You’ve blown my mind away again.” Did he just say ‘again’?

“Again? When else have I ever blown your mind?” Jinyoung’s eyes went wide. He may have just disclosed his growing interest towards his swimming teacher just like that. His mind was rushing, trying to find a lie to cover up his fuck up.

“The game?” The time Jinyoung was actually referring to was the moment he saw you for a couple of seconds before his first ever lesson. The corridor to be exact.

“Ah, right. You’ve been to only two of my lessons. There’s still a lot to learn about me.”

“I’m sure there is Miss.” He didn’t know why he switched between calling you Miss and calling you by your name. You hadn’t really informed how to refer to you, but you didn’t mind. Both worked.

Then it was just silence whilst you both stared into your eyes. Was this the type of eye contact films tried to portray? If so they were spot on. Although it didn’t last as long as you had hoped.

“Y/N…” Jaehyun’s sudden mention of your name drifted your eyes from Jinyoung to his face. He had an uncertain facial expression. You hadn’t seen it before and neither did it seem good. You looked back at Jinyoung and he had a really stern look on his face but not towards you. He was looking at something behind you just like Jaehyun.

You slowly turned around. It was Max. You couldn’t read what emotion he was expressing but it looked fierce. His hands had clamped into a fist. Both of them. He looked like a cheetah ready to pounce onto his pray but his target wasn’t clear. Was he going to start throwing hands at you, Jinyoung or Jaehyun?

You eliminated Jaehyun off the bat. No one would hurt Jaehyun. If he was going to fight you, you were pretty sure fists were not necessary. That left you with one option, Jinyoung.

Nope, this was not happening. Violence was not the answer, especially when nothing had happened directly between both sides. You were pretty sure that these two hadn’t even had a proper direct conversation before to even know if their personalities clashed.

Max’s sudden charge towards you and Jinyoung took you out of your thoughts. He was actually going to resort to violence. He was willingly to throw his well-paying job out the window over what? Jealousy? Jealousy my ass.

“Max” You yelped in the hopes for him to get back to his senses, but it didn’t work. But you won’t go done without a fight. Not a literal flight, but you get it.

Jaehyun dropped down from his lifeguard dock to help you stop Max from committing acts he would regret later. You hadn’t seen Max like this before and you weren’t a fan either. With Jaehyun’s help you were able to stabilise Max in his place before he could lay a finger on Jinyoung. He was still pushing but it wasn’t enough to get through the barrier you and Jaehyun had created. You weren’t the emotional type but if things triggered a bad memory from your past you became a bomb ready to blow.

Your family weren’t exactly the most harmonious. They didn’t really listen to law when it came to teach their children discipline. When we showed any form of disobedience, a beating in their minds did the job. My older brother was extremely disobedient. Especially after reaching his maturing stage (puberty) he wasn’t listening to our parents. More or less every night was the same scenario. You would be pushing your dad in the hopes of him calming down before he would beat the crap out of your brother for being a ‘brat’. It never worked but you always tried to stop him instead of just witnessing the wreck in front of you.

This scene you were in now hit deep. It hit your core. It’s cool showing the confident and cheery Y/N most days but everyone has their breaking point and yours was nearing as the heated collision continued.

Jaehyun was verbally trying to knock some sense back into Max but it wasn’t working. Similar to how your mum would try to get your dad to stop with your brother. What worked then worked now. Your commands for Max to stop and calm down was no more demanding, but fragile. Everyone noticed the vulnerable voice within the vicinity, and they were very unfamiliar with it.

You never liked showing this side of yourself. You always thought people would take advantage of it or put a weak label on you. So, you would always try your upmost best to present a confident steel woman in front of everyone. It was about time you hit your breaking point and let your feelings out. It wasn’t going to be healthy keeping it in any longer.

The 3 males’ faces dropped. The sorrow, the pity and the emptiness they felt. All at different intensities. Max felt pure guilt. Jaehyun felt a deep feeling of sorry and Jinyoung… Jinyoung felt useless. Yes, useless. The woman he’s being trying to discover more about had become a broken mirror in a matter of seconds because of a situation regarding him.

“Max, I be-beg. Can you please, please stop acting so malicious towards him? He hasn’t done anything wrong. He’s just my student. That’s it.” Ouch, that hurt Jinyoung a little bit. He wasn’t expecting you to be so straight forward with defining your relationship. Let alone describing him as ‘just your student’. He knew it had only been a week of knowing you, but his hopes were for changing the student-teacher relationship into something more meaningful.

You were still clinging onto Max from the barrier you and Jaehyun had formed earlier on although it was just you now. Max gripped onto your shoulders moving you slightly off him but still keeping you supported.

“Do you want to sit down?” Max signalled Jaehyun to bring a glass of water immediately as he sat you down on the bench. You were more or less out of it. Kind of oblivious to what was going on now.

“Go.” That wasn’t towards you for sure so you knew he could only be talking to Jinyoung. Jinyoung didn’t question it. He was definitely worried but going against Max right now wasn’t going to make the situation any better. He left without any noise through the common corridor. Max turned his attention back onto you once he saw Jinyoung leave for good. At least for this week.

It didn’t sit well with Jinyoung knowing you were in such a state a couple metres away. The least he could do was talk to you later. Whether it be face to face or on the phone an update from you and how you’re doing will keep him at ease up until next lesson.

Jinyoung slid into the staffroom having realised it sounded very quiet. His observation was correct. The staffroom was empty. He knew which desk yours was considering the form situation from last week. He grabbed a post-it note and jotted down his number, name and a quick message.

‘Jinyoung XXX XXX XXXXX

I hope you’re feeling better, coffee?’

———

I feel like you guys might not like this ending but I have a great idea for the next episode so I apologise if you weren’t a fan of it. We’ve got to understand a little more about Y/N’s past. Max’s patience is being tested but for what reason?

see you next time!

writer-nim

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luckystarchild · 4 years

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INUYASHA Volume 01, Scroll 01: “The Accursed Youth”

Welcome to Lucky’s INUYASHA recap—a recap of the Inuyasha manga by me, Lucky, an anime fan who has somehow never read it or seen the anime before.

Over the course of these posts, I’ll be recapping and reacting to the events of a chapter (or series of chapters) of the Inuyasha manga. I’ll be using the official VIZ manga volumes as my source material. References to Not Quite Kagome (“NQKagome”) pertain to my ongoing fanfiction series, Lucky Child.

And without further ado... chapter 01 of Inuyasha (or volume 01, “Scroll 1,” as VIZ titles the manga chapters.)

We begin in media res; Inuyasha has stolen the Jewel of Four Souls (the “Shikon Jewel”) and is rampaging through a village. He wants to use the jewel to become “a true demon.” Kikyo, mortally wounded, shoots him with an arrow and pins him to a tree. Her body is burnt along with the jewel by her young sister, Kaede.

I don’t generally like prologues that employ flashbacks in writing, as they sometimes seem like a way to shoehorn in backstory that either isn’t necessary OR backstory that could be imparted through the reader more organically. (They’re all-too-often lazy, basically.) But this is a manga, so maybe it’s not so bad. Not sure how I feel TBH.

Was sort of surprised we learned what Inuyasha’s goal concerning the jewel is so soon; thought maybe that would get dragged out a bit longer, though IDK why I got that impression exactly. I’ve seen a few random eps of the anime and know he isn’t fond of his own half-demon status. Perhaps I feel like we should’ve earned this revelation during the narrative and on Inuyasha’s terms, rather than have it handed to us right off the bat by a faceless narrator. But that’s me being overly critical, perhaps.

Flash forward to 1997. The day before Kagome’s 15th birthday. Her grandfather tries to tell her a legend about the Shikon Jewel, but she shrugs it off.

Kagome’s family lives inside a big temple, and everything has a legend attached to it (including the massive 500-year-old Go-Shinboku God Tree), but Kagome never pays attention to them. Later, her brother loses their cat in the mini-shrine, specifically in the well house (which a sign declares the home of the Bone-Eater’s Well). Kagome bravely ventures inside to search for the cat.

Right off the bat, we get the impression that Kagome is a pretty average teenage girl—a bit of an airhead with a sharp sense of humor who isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty or shy away from a dark and spooky well house. Nice bit of characterization in just a few panels. Well done, author-san.

NQKagome Bonus: She’d probably pay more attention to all the legends her grandfather tells, which could give her an edge in the Feudal Era.

Kagome hears odd noises coming from the covered well; the cover pops off the well and a horrible, Noh-mask-faced women with a skeletal snake body to leap out and drag Kagome into the darkness.

Her body regenerates, turning into a... centipede body. Not a snake. D’oh. Frightened as they fall, Kagome emits a light from her hands, breaking off the woman’s arm and sending her careening away into the dark as she cries something cryptic about the Jewel of Four Souls.

Soon Kagome stops falling and finds herself at the bottom of the well, but upon emerging, she’s lost in an unfamiliar forest.

I gotta say that as far as first-chapters go, this one is pretty good! We immediately know who Kagome is, where she’s from, what she’s like as a person, and this introduction to the supernatural is spooky and interesting. The stakes are high and the action is fast-paced, without an overload of exposition.

Kagome spots the God-Tree and hurries toward it, noting that she always used it to find her way home in the past, but she does not find her familiar home at its base. Instead she finds Inuyasha pinned to the God-Tree.

We’re treated to this gorgeous two-panel spread:

She notes that the boy pinned to the tree has inhuman ears before some villagers find her in “Inuyasha’s forbidden forest” and bring her to Kaede, the younger sister of Kikyo (who is much older than she appeared in the earlier flashback). Kagome realizes she is in the Sengoku Period (1467 to 1615 CE). The villagers theorize that she’s a spy, a kitsune, and similar before Kaede realizes that Kagome looks identical to the deceased Kikyo.

Kaede tells Kagome briefly who Kikyo was before the centipede woman attacks the village.

That bit where Kaede tells Kagome about Kikyo is where I would’ve placed the flashback from the start of the chapter, FYI. Would’ve given the earlier parts of the chapter more mystery to withhold some information from the reader.

Also we have TOO MANY K-NAMES. Already three of the four named characters start with K, and two even start with the “ka” sound in Japanese. We have this problem with YYH and I foresee it being a problem as I type these names a ton, LMAO 🤣

So... Kagome realizing what time period she’s been magically dropped into after approximately seven seconds seems… IDK, kind of handy? Easy? The only info she has to go on are the vague references to “battles” a few villagers shout at her, and maybe the way they’re dressed. She supposedly doesn’t pay attention to old legends, so it doesn’t seem plausible that she’d pay enough attention in history class to discern what period she’s in now based on the cut of a kimono.

(Disclaimer: I’m American and the American education system is notoriously horrible at teaching the subjects of history and science with any accuracy, so I might be projecting my experience onto hers to some degree. Maybe Japan is better about this stuff. IDK, but thought I’d mention it.)

ALSO, Kagome jumps to the possibility of time travel really fast. I would jump to “this is a dream” or “I have fallen into a historical reenactment amusement park in which no one will break character” (a special hell of its own) first. Again, though, this chapter is moving quickly to draw in readers, so I can see why they didn’t give her confusion more screen-time. Especially with serialized manga, you have a handful of chapters (if that) to grab readers, so it’s gotta move fast as a matter of necessity.

I appreciate that some of the villagers mentioned “kitsune” in this section (and not just because it reminds me of all the reasons Yu Yu Hakusho is so easy to cross over with this manga). It shows that the supernatural is something the locals consider on a daily basis, which helps with worldbuilding.

Also, I wasn’t expecting the nipples on the centipede woman??? In her first panels, her breasts were covered up a bit, but now we’ve got detailed nipples. I’m guessing the scant few episodes of the series I watched were censored quite a bit. I’m wondering if there’s going to be more fanservice in this series than I expected, especially after reading that the series’ author, Rumiko Takahashi, advised the anime team to avoid using Kagome for any pantie-shots…

The centipede claims Kagome has the Shikon Jewel, and Kagome flees the village (toward “that light” in the east, which Kaede notes she shouldn’t be able to see) as the centipede woman gives chase. Elsewhere, Inuyasha wakes, stating he can smell the scent of the woman who killed him.

So I know a few things about this series already thanks to the research I did for Lucky Child, and chief among these things is that Kagome is Kikyo’s reincarnation. We can already see this tidbit coming through in obvious ways: Kagome’s resemblance to Kikyo, the Jewel being connected to her somehow, etc. Kagome seeing that light is probably a power she got from Kikyo, too.

It’s interesting that these connections are as physical as her having the same scent as Kikyo, though; scent is informed quite a bit by genetics. Obviously we’re dealing with magic and not science in this story, so I’m not looking for infallible logic when it comes to this reincarnation plot device… but it’s almost like the magic here overrides things like genetics and the extreme differences in what Kagome and Kikyo must’ve eaten in their respective times when determining their scent and appearance. The soul is more important than the body, etc. Wondering how consistent that will remain over the course of this admittedly massive story.

And that’s it for chapter 1. This was super fun! I’m guessing I’ll have more to say once we get past the set-up and are introduced to more characters, but overall I think this was a really strong start to this feudal fairy tale.

If you enjoyed this recap, feel free to buy me a Ko-Fi☕, and subscribe to the tag “lucky’s inuyasha recap” to see more!

NEXT CHAPTER

#lucky's inuyasha recap #inuyasha recap #inuyasha manga recap #inuyasha manga #inuyasha anime #inuyasha #kagome #higurashi kagome #kagome higurashi #kaede #kikyo #luckychildfanfic

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letterstothemidnightsociety · 3 years

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Yesterday I watched the beginnings of The Purge happening in real time and wondered where, exactly, I was, both physically and ecumenically. And since this season of The News is starting off even more ridiculous than the last year’s season, I’m not just gonna bury my feelings, I’m gonna salt and burn them. It’s Supernatural

Alright, previously on SPN, I thought we were finally ramping up on the Main Arc for season 2 and boy was I WRONG. The next few episodes clearly put the Main Quest on the back burner. Which, actually is pretty standard for Supernatural - you get a good run of quest episodes and then a switch to self-contained episodes that just sort of brush up against the season arc.

Next up is “Nightshifter” - a pretty solid stand alone episode about a guy who is definitely not robbing a bank.

I love Chris Gauthier, our Extra of the Week. Sam really does him dirty by refusing to give him the Truth is Out There deal. I think my biggest question coming out of that whole scene is why??? I mean, cool, Sam’s worried about Ronald Reznik getting killed, I get it, but how is Ronald’s story any different from any number of hunters that they’ve met in their lives? Ronnie even has his own John Winchester Patented Murder Board™. He did do a lot of the leg work for the Winchesters, even if he wasn’t 100% right. In Sam’s defense, Ronald does die almost immediately, but he had a great run.

You did good, kid. You did good.

More questions that I had about this episode? Special Agent Henriksen. Now don’t get me wrong, I do actually like Henriksen as an antagonist. I appreciate that the show is acknowledging just how shady hunters are. I mean, sure, they’re saving lives and killing evil sonsofbitches, blah blah blah, but also, they are regularly breaking and entering, finding dead bodies, leaving prints at crime scenes, impersonating officials, desecrating graves, not to mention that they are the last person seen with people who end up dead or missing. Like, it was only a matter of time before that came back to bite them.

Some A+ work from Charles Malik Whitfield

But here's the thing - season 2 already has SO much going on. Like, they gotta avenge their dad and kill the yellow-eyed-demon. On top of that, they gotta keep Sammy from turning evil. Oh and also, they’ve gotta keep Sam safe from other Hunters who might think he’s turning evil, specifically Gordon. Now on top of all that we have to worry about the cops? Now it feels like you’re just throwing obstacles in their path to be a dick. Listing it out like this, it feels like season 2 is turning into a bit of a hot mess? Ok, Because I know that Henricksen comes back as a recurring antagonist, I’m maybe reading too much into it, but the next episode he recurrs in is episode 19 of this same season, so...maybe not?

As a side note, I’m just gonna reiterate that I like Henriksen. I like him specifically because he is an Antagonist, not a Villain. Same goes for Gordon, in this season at least. They are not Villains in the traditional way this show presents Villains = Monsters. Both Gordon and Henriksen think what they are doing is for the greater good and they’re both going about it within the boundaries of their own moral codes. It’s just that those moral codes are in the way of our Protagonists, the Winchesters, and that’s actually some neat writing, so good job Season 2 Writing Team.

Next up is “Houses of the Holy”, the first ever SPN episode about angels, and if you know anything about SPN but haven’t seen this episode (or seen this episode in a while), you will laugh out loud at this line:

AHAH! AHAHAHAHAHA! AHAHahahah.

I will briefly point out that after this line I gave myself a sad by responding to my TV: “Do you need proof Dean? Or do you not believe in angels because that’s easier than thinking they don’t believe in you?” So you know, that’s where I’m at these days.

And that’s basically it for this episode? I mean, there is a brief mention of the Main (???) Quest (???) when Sam talks about wanting/needing the angel to be real, as it gives him hope that he’s not all evil yet. It’s a nice piece character that comes out in a season that feels very Dean heavy in the emotions department so far. And so it does feel like a real hard let down when Sam finds out it’s not an angel, just spirit and he loses all that validation.

Oof. That’s rough buddy.

Next up is “Born Under a Bad Sign”. On the surface, it looks like a return to the Main (???) Quest (???) but it brings me back to the question, what IS the Main Quest on this season?? IS it Sam Goes Evil? Like...shouldn’t the Main Quest still be Hunting the Yellow-Eyed-Demon? But I guess technically, Sam Goes Evil is part of the yellow-eyed-demon’s plan so stopping that from happening is stopping the yellow-eyed-demon and so technically that’s still...the Main….Quest?????????

It’s a little murky. In the same way that I think it’s smart that the Winchesters don’t defeat the yellow-eyed-demon at the end of season one, I also think it’s smart that they differentiate the through-line on season 2 from season 1, but when you pair the two seasons together it does feel like they’ve abandoned the part about defeating the Villain - the actual Villain, evil plans and twirling mustache and everything.

But then we find out that, no, no this has nothing to do with the yellow-eyed-demon, this is just Meg Being Meg. She’s not here for some grand purpose, she’s just here to dick around with the Winchesters. That bitch is powered by Murder and Spite and I love it. And I’m not gonna lie, Jared Padalecki is hecking CRUSHING Being Meg Being Sam Being Meg again. Just like, CRUSHING it.

Of course, the bigger issue at stake is, unsurprisingly, the relationship between Sam and Dean. Sam wants Dean to make good on his promise to kill Evil!Sam, and Dean just loopholes his way out of it, even when he’s shot and drowned and beat to shit.

WHY is Dean driving in this scene? Between the head trauma and blood loss and the alcohol and whatever pills Jo gave him at the bar, he should NOT be operating heaving machinery.

He says he’ll save Sam if it’s the last thing he does and like...he’s probably just gonna die trying? Which like...ok, sure, but also you’d end up with Evil!Sam probably taking over the world or some nonsense, so it’s not a great strategy.

On the other hand, based on Jo’s general vibe this episode, I believe that she would not hesitate to take a shot at killing an Evil!Sam and I kind of love her for it.

That bitch is gonna do what it takes. Or you know probably just think up a better solution, she’s not so close to the situation and also she’s defs way smarter than all the Winchesters put together.

So this episode is not about the Main Quest, not really, although it ties into the major emotional arc of the Main Quest so maybe??? It is??? Anyone???

And then to round out this disc, we have “Tall Tales”. What would Supernatural be without the one two punch of Highly Emotional Episode followed by That Funny Episode??

And “Tall Tales” is great. Jared Padalecki is, again, CRUSHING it and Jensen Ackles is so committed to that eating gag, just *chefs kissy fingers* c’est magnifique!

I legitimately love this episode - the format is screwy, the narrators are both unreliable, DadBobby comes back. I want to complain that putting this episode in the same season as “The Usual Suspects” - another episode that breaks format - feels too soon, but you know what? You do you, guys. I love this episode and I love that the Trickster is a recurring...uhh, let’s call him another antagonist who thinks what he’s doing is for the greater good and he goes about it within the boundaries of his own moral code. Bless him he’s a delight and also he has a doggo so he can’t be all bad, right??

Also, yes, I know he turns out to be the angel Gabriel and you know what? I’m fine with that.

I gotta say, for a quartet of standalone episodes (ok yeah, I’m officially calling “Born Under a Bad Sign” a Side Quest), these were hella solid. These are not just filler episodes, these are interesting and emotionally complex and very enjoyable. I’d argue these standalones are more interesting and enjoyable than quite a few of the standalones in season 1, so it really feels like the show is in its stride.

This is why 20+ episode seasons are still relevant. Yeah, the throughline for the season does feel a little muddled and messy, but on an 8 or even a 12-13 episode season, you don’t get this kind of room to play and experiment and make fun of yourselves the way that SPN does. There’s all this breathing room to try new things. There’s space to introduce new characters and play with dynamics and surprise your viewers.

A 20+ ep season is a daunting (and expensive) task, but there’s gotta be a certain amount of freedom that comes with it too. Freedom to just have fun with these characters and this world that you’ve created. I don’t mind shorter seasons - honestly, it saves me, personally, a lot of time and the writing gets sharper and tighter and better at telling the one story the show is here to tell. But I hope that, if television continues to shorten seasons, that they also allow at least a little time for standalone episodes like these.

#Supernatural #SPN #Supernatural Season 2 #supernatural rewatch #Nightshifter #Houses of the Holy #Born Under a Bad Sign #Tall Tales #ronald reznik #special agent henriksen #Bobby Singer #Meg #Jo #Trickster #Sam Winchester #Dean Winchester #Sam and Dean #TV #TV structure

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razberryyum · 5 years

Video

The Untamed/陈情令 Rewatch, Episode 8

(spoilers for everything MDZS/Untamed)

[covers MDZS chapter...none, really...Team CQL pretty much goes completely rogue for this ep]

WangXian meter: 🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰

I really thought that Wei Ying should have named his binding technique “无聊” (“wu liao”, aka “lame”, “silly”, “boring”) in honor of Lan Zhan, since that’s his favorite response to Wei Ying. It’s a shame he didn’t end up doing that, felt like a total missed opportunity, especially since he never did decide on the actual name. The two names he came up with, “sharing clothes” and “no clothes” (according to Viki's translation), felt little more than just Easter eggs for novel readers since we know eventually the two of them do partake in both states of dress and undress. In the context of the actual technique, they really don’t make much sense. However, interestingly enough, in the WeTV subs, the two name choices were actually translated as “binding” and “bonding”, which definitely seems more applicable. Based on my limited knowledge of Chinese words, the Viki translation seems to be a more literal translation of the words used, so I’m not sure how the WeTV team came up with binding and bonding instead, unless those are the figurative meanings of those Chinese characters. I would love it if a fellow fan who is much more Chinese literate could school me on which is more accurate translation, but seriously, how much cuter would it have been if Wei Ying had just gone with 无聊?

Team CQL deciding to throw in more yin metals to the story was really a stroke of genius considering how much mileage they got out of that little invention: they got to introduce Xue Yang and eventually the Yi City boys earlier, provide a more extensive backstory for Lan Yi which of course also impacted other plot elements downstream, utilize Wen Ruohan more as a villainous character (which I personally consider a minus), stretch out the running time for more episodes, and most importantly, create more bonding opportunities for Wei Ying and Lan Zhan. First time I watched this episode I straight out cheered when Wei Ying skipped out on his Yunmeng fam to go after Lan Zhan; I thought that was so adorable. I was so looking forward to their adventures together. Too bad their alone time only lasted a few minutes...literally less than 4 minutes; I actually kept track this time around. Originally I thought that Nie Huaisang was brought in to be a third-wheeler because it would have been too suggestive for Lan Zhan and Wei Ying to spend time together off on their own, but after finishing the show and seeing all the other times they've spent together all alone, I soon realized I was totally overthinking things and it really was for the story's sake. One point I was never clear on was how did NHS clue into the fact that Jin Guangyao was behind his brother's death, since qi deviation actually seemed a reasonable explanation for his demise. Guy was bleeding through all his face holes, but he also had the ghost puppet lines on his neck. Because of NHS' experience here with Lan Zhan and Wei Ying when they faced off against the Wei villagers he was able to see firsthand how people affected by the Yin metal looks so I wonder if that's how he made the connection with what happened with his brother since Nie Mingjue also had those veiny markings on his neck. This had to be the only opportunity he had to see ghost puppets up close since he didn't really participate in the battle part of the Sunshot Campaign.

I could be way off base of course and perhaps the actual answer is more obvious than that, but one of the reasons I look forward to rewatching the show is filling in these gaps I have in terms of the plot and seeing if my conjectures to what I previously hadn't figured out yet are correct or not.

Another benefit to NHS' sudden appearance was seeing how Lan Zhan seemed almost jealous at how chummy Wei Ying was being with him. He didn't look thrilled at all when NHS popped up, and then that look on his face before he turned away from them was really the epitome of disapproval. Actually, he looked a little pissed. I wonder if he was actually disappointed to be reminded that Wei Ying's overt friendliness was not just reserved for him, since he was just as exuberantly social to NHS as well.

But progress was being made in their relationship just the same: take the fact that he didn’t fling off Wei Ying’s hand when he grabbed hold of him. Prior to their time in the cold pool cave, I doubt Lan Zhan would’ve allowed anyone to touch and lead him that way. In fact, he’s straight out said before that he doesn’t like physical contact with others. Obviously that’s no longer the case anymore, especially when it comes to Wei Ying. It's only the first of many more instances of hand grabbing and other touches between them. It's so exciting watching their relationship slowly but surely growing all over again.

Although, when it comes to Wei Ying, I think it takes a much longer time for his feelings toward Lan Zhan to undergo any change from close friendship. I'm probably alone on this, but while I think he likes Lan Zhan a lot, I don’t think his feelings went through the same transformation to love that Lan Zhan’s did until much, much later. Or at least, not in the way that he is actively aware of. He clearly felt an instant kinship with Lan Zhan, but I think it takes a long while before he even understands that it’s different from how he feels towards someone like Jiang Cheng or even Nie Huaisang.

Watching him as he admired Lan Zhan's beauty, I was naturally tempted at first to ascribe more meaning to his reaction than just appreciative appraisal because I wanted Wei Ying to be enamored with Lan Zhan already. But the truth of the matter is, now that I’m able to take a step back and really assess their relationship, I don’t think Wei Ying was quite at the maturity level yet to be able to properly comprehend what his admiration may actually be an indicative of. Wei Ying has a big heart, which is one of the most lovable qualities about him, but because of his heart and it's boundless capacity to love and care for others, I think even he himself can't decipher the differing levels of feelings he might have for different people. And because it will take him a long time to realize the greater significance behind his attachment to Lan Zhan, it’s really heart-breaking how he almost carelessly friend-zones Lan Zhan at various points in this first part of their lives before he finally wakes up. In fact, I can pinpoint the exact moment when I believe he wakes up, but since it's still in the far future, I’ll save my further ramblings on that matter until then.

Bunny Time with the Yunmeng Sibs

I love bunnies a lot and I also love the Yunmeng siblings a bunch, so naturally I wanted to love this moment completely as well, especially since seeing Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng nuzzle bunnies is just one of the cutest sights I've ever been laid eyes on. Unfortunately, there was one thing that put a damper on the scene for me and it was seeing Wei Ying throw that poor bunny at Jiang Cheng. That wasn't a stunt bunny he tossed, it was the real thing. I rewound several times just to confirm it. I winced so hard the first time I watched the scene that I think I gave myself a toothache, and even now I still grimace a little when I see it. For my peace of mind I have to assume Wang Zhuocheng (who of course portrays Jiang Cheng) did catch the bunny and the take we saw was not a do-over because he actually missed it so they had to redo the scene again. I will also have to assume that the bunny was the same bunny throughout the rest of scene which means it survived the toss and it was just fine afterwards since bunnies are usually fragile little creatures and are susceptible to heart-attacks at just the slightest shock (and being suddenly tossed in the air would definitely qualify as that). The alternative is just too gloomy otherwise. Chinese productions don't generally have a good track record when it comes to animals so...yeah...I gotta stop thinking about it and just focus on the siblings cuddling the cute rabbits.

I hope someone adopted the bunnies and the cast and crew didn't just cook and eat them afterwards.

ChengQing

It actually just crossed my mind tonight that Jiang Cheng and Wen Qing's ship name actually sounds like part of the Untamed's Chinese title. I don't know why I didn't notice it before. The extra "g" probably threw me off. Anyway, the way this scene started was rather odd because based on the way they greeted each other, it was as if Jiang Chen and Wen Qing were on the outs, like they just had an argument or something. Which doesn't make sense because the last time they saw each other was at Cloud Recesses, where Jiang Cheng was still making puppy eyes at Wen Qing while she was making her lantern wish, but then cut to here and it's like he's not even that thrilled to bump into her again. What happened to his little crush on her? I was kinda disappointed.

Wen Chao is a Close-Talking Creep

I don't like Wen Chao but I absolutely enjoyed He Peng's performance of him because he is so effectively creepy and shitty. Just the way he purposely invades Big Bro Xichen and Wen Qing's space as he threatens them totally made my skin crawl. More than once I've wondered how the hell Wen Qing was able to grow up around him and not get harassed in the worst way. He's also such a petty dick, with the way he purposefully dirtied big brother's rug for no good reason other than to be a shithead. But then, later on, when he's called to be totally pathetic to the point where he's downright sympathetic, he was able to pull that off with equal aplomb. So even though I almost hate his character, I do want to take this moment to give some love to the actor, whom I think did a really good job. Playing villains is sometimes an equally thankless job as playing the straight man, especially with villains like Wen Chao which aren't meant to be alluring like Xue Yang or likable like Jin Guangyao. He could have easily veered into caricature territory, which I actually thought the actor for Wen Ruohan did so that's why I didn't like his performance nor was I able to take him seriously as a character, but He Peng's Wen Chao always seemed grounded to me. I think a big reason for that is because the actor, in his own words, viewed his character as an arrogant, spoiled rich kid instead of a soulless villain and therefore chose to play him that way. As a result, I think he was still able to infuse Wen Chao with a small degree of humanity. The fear he felt whenever he had to face his dad was palpable. He's basically like a bully because his upbringing allows him to be one, but ultimately he's still a weak human being. That's why, when he turned into a sad, sniveling shell of a man under Wei Wuxian's torture, I found him really pitiful and actually felt bad for him.

Odds and Ends

Seriously, why the hell was Wen Chao able to hold the yin metal with his BARE HAND like that??? They've been saying time and again how powerful the metals are, how full of resentment they are, how normal people can't just handle them cuz even a highly cultivated person like Lan Yi was done in by just one piece, so how come a medium-powered mofo like Wen Chao was able to just hold as if it was just a some rock he picked off the ground? Even if the yin metals were only just activated from their dormancy, they're still soul-sapping implements of evil, so this really should not have been possible.

The dear translators kept on calling Wen Chao's bird an "owl" and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out WHY. There is nothing about that thing that resembles an owl, imho. It looks more like a raven with eagle talons and the sounds it made were like that of a hawk, so I really can't figure out how they got owl from that. Even the Chinese words for owl ("猫头鹰") is completely different from the characters used for that bird. I mean, I guess it could be one of those deep dives like how they came up with "Childe" for all the male honorifics, but seriously why even bother? Probably would’ve been easier to just call it a raven since that's what the cloudy mass looks like the most. Although I must say, I do love the way it looks: I like that they use the evil smoky effect for it since it’s suppose to be a bad birdy. I think it's one of the more successful CGI effects in the show.

Team CQL can be proud of themselves for the owl/raven/whatever effect, but then they should also dunk their heads in the toilets for this shitshow at the Wen Village. There was no consistency to these guys...some had the whited out eyeballs that up until then, all ghost puppets on the show have been shown to have, but then some, like that female extra in the front had regular eyes. And then some of the extras were rolling up their eyes. It's like, was there NO direction give to these guys? This whole Night of the Living Not Dead scene was a complete embarrassment. Any tension they were trying to build up for this scene was completely destroyed as soon as these walking jokes showed up.

Lastly, I had to laugh when Wei Ying quickly divulged the secret of the yin metals to Nie Huaisang without much prompting whatsoever. He JUST pledged himself to secrecy in front of Big Bro Xichen and Uncle Lan in like the last episode, and he already broke the promise by this one. What was more amazing was that Lan Zhan didn’t even bat an eye at it nor did he even try to stop him. I guess they both completely forgot about the promise already.

Question I Still Have

Actually, I’ve had this question since the beginning but now seems to be a good time as any to ask this, since this episode ended on those guys: WHY they're called "ghost puppets"? I've actually never heard of the Chinese words they used for the zombies before, on any other show. Was this terminology just a creation of the Untamed’s scriptwriter just for the show. And if so, I still don’t understand why they have to be called ghost puppets since they’re clearly NOT ghosts. Calling them "living" puppets would’ve been more appropriate. If someone has some insight on this, I’d appreciate the knowledge drop.

Overall Episode Rating: 7 Lil Apples out of 10

Disclaimer: The Untamed would not be possible without Mo Dao Zu Shi and Mo Xiang Tong Xiu-laozi. I mean no disrespect whatsoever with my humble comparisons between the novel and the live action, even when I sometimes favor the changes in the show. All hail MDZS and MXTX-laozi always and forever!

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katiekeysburg · 4 years

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sousa update ep 7.5

GOOD or BAD: I still don’t wike it

characterization is still good. and his presence with everyone else is making the show more interesting, also asking the right questions like maybe the AOS always pull him from history...

he’s threatening to jump off the time ship, which noooooooo there’s still 7 more episodes, don’t abandon us (he will still be around next episode anyway)

in the vein of the hilarious, Daniel is a captive at the end of the episode. Which is a thing I have written more times than I remember. (#stopkiddnappingdanielsousa2k17) perhaps the writers will see it as I did and have him be a very clever prisoner indeed

the tedium

this episode is a good example of why I call it agents of tedium. it spent its whole running time introducing new mysteries and obstacles and not making any progress on the ones we already have, making it feel like we were treading water and not accomplishing anything the entire freaking time

and while they were trying to do the 70s thriller thing, it is totally cheating to crib from Winter Soldier and it’s political thriller plot with Project Insight. booooo

I am disappointed they didn’t leave anyone behind in the early 70s to infiltrate and sabotage Insight (a very spycrafty and 70s thriller thing to do)

I am disappointed they aren’t using the info they have about history to foil the chromicons - they have a list of Hydra targets, people we know are not Hydra... if you insist on all this greatest hits of history shit, that seems obvious. Get Peggy freaking Carter to help you! (I still hope this is coming)

Daisy ending up potentially a victim of Whitehall’s methods, just like her mom... gross. It’s gross enough how this show keeps re-inserting the Maliks to remind her of her history with them, and with Ward, it’s like Ward keeps betraying her again and again. It’s not improving the character to keep her hostage to that old pain because she’s not working through it, and bringing in Whitehall is supposed to incur some sort of dread since she knows what could happen.

But that’s gross and tawdry and one of my other problems with AOS as it leans waaaaaaay too hard on the body horror, and has since TAHITI was revealed... or the guy absorbed by the Gravitronim or whatever that was called. Spyfi is an incredibly rich genre for setting up mindfucks and creating doubt and issues of trust, wondering if you trust yourself to be doing the right thing, to make the right decisions... relying so heavily on the body horror/ disconnection thing with all the loss of limbs and latent alien powers and brain reprogramming and can I even trust myself or my fellow spies when they are partially mostly machine, or have weird powers, or their powers aren’t working...

it’s a cheap and dirty way to get to the same place you can get with straight up spy hijinks (not to mention spyfi hijinks with all the technology) and it’s both personally distasteful to me because I hate body horror for its own sake (I say this as a person who has written it) and seems like the lazy way out instead of actually building complicated relationships and real suspense.

the good I guess:

enoch is back with the gang and his entrance was clutch

if Jemma is an LMD or chromicon replacement, hopefully that means the real Jemma is having a happy ending or middle out there somewhere with Fitz, not that they would do that on this show that loves pain

also mac in those black jeans? holy shit man

#agents of tedium #more ranting #45 minutes of tv that was both boring and annoying and just barely mediated by the delightful daniel sousa #he really is delightful though

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dame-c · 5 years

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So I just watched the Ukrainian dub with partial English Subs.

For those of you crying about the end of the love square.... Seriously, stop being such drama queens. We have 2 more seasons and a movie. Let them have short-term relationships with other people, their relationship will be stronger for it.

Overall this ep felt pretty rushed and didn’t have the same impact as Love Eater/Heart Hunter.

I admit I’m kinda annoyed with Kagami, but I’m hoping her line about being hurt by Adrien not being ready for kissing is a bad translation. But at the same time I’m reminding myself that she is a socially stunted child, so I still feel for her.

How Chloe and Hawkmoth used the miracle box and the other heros was not that interesting or innovative, they could have done so much more.

I think Andre was already zombified, so Adrien transforming did not register as a thing.

LOL Chloe and Marinette have similar taste in guys (Adrien and Luka).

I don’t really understand what happened with the Miracle box when Fu passed it on to Marinette... I’m hoping rewatching it once the English dub is available will clear that up. Like why did Hawkmoth and Chloe give up on it after that? Did all the Miraculous that weren’t currently active stop working? Cause I legit flinched when I saw her throwing them on the ground and Marinette not scrambling to pick them up. Also why wasn’t Chloe at least visibly suffering physically from wearing so many miraculouses?

I’m glad Marinette had both Luka and Adrien to comfort her. I’m super stressed for her thought with all this added responsibility when she was already struggling.

I think with Marinette being the guardian now if she and Adrien find out each other’s identities they won’t have to give up their miraculous, since I think that was Fu’s rule, just like how he wouldn’t give out the other miraculous on a permanent basis. Marinette will make the rules now.

Also not super impressed with this new bit of lore with the Guardian’s losing their memories when the main guardian of that box passes it on. Like I would have been fine with wiping Fu’s memory if it was a spell he cast on himself separate from giving Marinette the box. I’m assuming that most Guardian’s pass on the boxes to their apprentices on their deathbed.

I am so stressed that Gabriel and Nathalie have the translated book. That is what is freaking me out the most right now. A close second is if Hawkmoth realises that all of the part-time heroes are Adrien’s friends and he starts paying more attention to the class.

I’m sad that the current supporting heroes won’t be able to be these heroes any more, I am hopeful that we will just have a miraculous shuffle for some of them.

I’m wondering if this is the end of the school year... like season 4 will start with them in their first year of Lycee/High school, which is how they will introduce the new Bee miraculous holder and other new characters to hold some of the others.

Quick and dirty timeline analysis. We don’t have a lot of hard “dates” in this series, so it’s difficult (up until feast I thought we were between 1.5-2 yrs). Origins was the first 3 days of their last year of college/middle school/junior high (in Zombizou they said they were in 6th grade which is the last year). Santa Claws establishes that Adrien’s birthday is before christmas and that his mom has only been missing for less than 1 year (it’s his first xmas without her).

The next hard times I can think of is that there are 3 months between Volpina and Chameleon. So season 2 happens in about 3 months. SO I’m assuming that each season is 3-4 months. Which would move us from September to June.

#miraculous ladybug #ml spoilers #love eater #heart hunter #miracle queen

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letstalksymphogear · 5 years

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Symphogear, EP. 2

Last time, on Symphogear!

An adorable little girl, stood up by her date for a reasonable explanation, jams it out with her favorite pop duo, caught unawares that they are also a monster-fighting syndicate experimenting with the power of sound (the power to make you dizzy) to activate an ancient historical relic. Shit goes south as the jams prove to be too powerful, guaranteeing tragedy amidst an otherwise baller concert. Hibiki is rescued by The Bigger Of The Lesbians before she self-destructs to make sure the entire threat is neutralized, leaving The Smaller Lesbian sad, yet still incredibly gay. Years pass as our protagonist goes to Music School, for Music, to bunk it up with her girlfriend as she tries to figure out what the hell happened. Her prayers are answered when she tries to rescue a little girl and is promptly cornered, activating the same outfit The Bigger Lesbian that saved her had on. Gungnir Dattos all around, The Smaller Lesbian loses her shit as everything goes downhill from there.

Now, where were we?

...right. The piss beacon.

And the person taking the piss.

Hibiki has nary a clue what to do. Symphogears don’t actually come with manuals, you see. They’re sort of a “close your eyes and wing it” kind of experience. In Tsubasa’s case, it’s quite literal.

“FUCK that was COOL AS SHIT, tight as FUCKING HELL”

Take pity on this face. This is the face of someone who’s last memories will be a confused lady wondering why she is suddenly part machine.

“imma save you widdle kid”

Something to note about this show is that all the fighters sing while fighting. Hibiki is no exception, even after being confused about what the hell she’s doing. It helps that her voice actress is a professional singer.

It helps that every voice actress here is some sort of professional singer.

This picture basically summarizes why Hibiki is cool despite being so goddamned dumb. She’s angry, and she’s gonna protect some kids even if she dies doing it. Kanade would be proud, if she wasn’t too busy being dead.

No shit!

Have you ever watched the original Sam Reimi’s Spiderman? Like, the very first one? You know all those awkward scenes about Spiderman learning how his powers work? Hibiki basically does that under crunch time. There’s a long segment about how she’s forced to figure things out while protecting a kid and Not Dying.

It’s going pretty great.

I can’t believe she’s secretly Steve Urkel.

“cannot FUCKING believe that girl my girlfriend saved managed to GET HER HANDS on her FUCKING CLOTHES that I WANTED to ENSHRINE IN A MEMORIAL to her how the FUCK did she do that cant BELIEVE i have to SAVE HER IDIOT ASS because she just CANT EVEN DO THAT-”

Tsubasa, preparing herself as a contender for the World’s Angriest Lesbian, barrels through the Noise in her motorcycle...

...which she smashes directly into the Noise. It does nothing.

Tsubasa has many a motorcycle to smash. It’s a testament to her dedication following her aesthetic.

She fueled the tank completely before smashing it in.

Tsubasa... is petty.

As Tsubasa t-poses to assert dominance (a woman ahead of her time, this first aired in 2012), she comes down ready to kick some ass and vent some frustrations. And frankly? She’s all out of ass.

“oh my god she’s even hotter up close i cant believe it”

“fucking knock-off outfit looks like it came out of a bootleg flea market”

You don’t need to know what happens next, because you already know what happens when someone shows up with a fucking sword ready to sing about their dead girlfriend and the conflicting feelings about seeing her armor pop up again on someone else.

Murder.

Lots... and lots... of murder.

“we’re so fucking useless why do we even exist”

After Tsubasa finishes what could only be described as a massacre, we’re treated to how people clean up the aftermath.

“hey, you know, make fun of me all you want, but at the end of the day, im the one holding the vacuum cleaner, and you’re literally turned to dust, so”

Even this little girl knows shit’s about the go down. Got the tea and everything.

This is one of the minor characters of the series. She works for the 2nd Division. Who is the 2nd Division? You’ll find out soon.

“i didnt die! fuck yeah. today’s a good day.”

“OH WAIT NO-”

Hibiki learns that her outfit unsets after a while, like bideo game. Who catches her mid-fall?

Her new best friend, of course. Don’t be fooled by this look. Tsubasa tragically suffers from resting angry face syndrome. It is, unfortunately, incurable.

“i hate how cute she is”

Hibiki reminds her that this is technically the second time Tsubasa has saved her, which in the large scheme of things, seems incredibly innocuous for someone who escaped a major tragedy many years ago. Unfortunately, time doesn’t move forward for Season 1 Tsubasa. Not for quite a while...

The funny part is it doesn’t even hit her initially. She never actually saw Hibiki personally during that moment, so she actually doesn’t even have a clue what she means.

Look at her. Look at this clown. How could you hate her. Look at that smile.

All the survivors are always forced to write NDAs about what they saw. This grows to comical levels at times, given the scale of what happens eventually. It might as well be the world’s biggest open secret by now.

“aight homies looks like i gotta go home, the wife’s gonna be lonely an-”

Oh.

“sorry holmes but you’re going to gay baby jail like the rest of us singers”

Hibiki’s face is riddled with guilt. The guilt of someone who just saved a little girl. How dare you, Hibiki. This is what you get for doing The Right Thing.

And so she’s taken to “jail.”

“sorry pal but you literally turned into a huge weapon and you have no idea how to use it so!”

And so, Hibiki was never seen again...

Alright, so she really isn’t going to jail. She is genuinely being taken into custody, though. To be honest, this kind of handcuff procedure is sort-of ridiculous for someone who literally just saved children, and you could probably bribe her to join them with a 10 piece chicken dinner, but hey, fuck it. 2nd Division has protocols, and that is to arrest people.

“i cant believe i was a fan of a narc all this time”

The school has a giant elevator that goes deep into the Earth. Also, look at that symbolism. Hibiki’s the only one looking at her own reflection. Deep.

Thanks, Tsubasa.

The interior decorator for this elevator is wild.

Tsubasa forbodes where they’re all going as some ominous, strange, and evil place where joy and happiness die. Where good feelings and innocence are destroyed, and hope is crushed and ripped at the seams.

As it turns out, Tsubasa is just an angsty piece of shit.

So here’s the situation:

The 2nd Branch, which are the people in charge of poking relics until they glow with the power of music to study and harness the power of as weapons to kill the Noise, live in a several mile deep high tech basement of an all girl’s boarding school dedicated to music. This is because, for the record, that the girls recruited to this school have the habit of being a little bit attuned to these relics. Hibiki, a newly christened Gear user, is now being recruited into this organized by Genjuro.

“i never got this kind of party when i was recruited”

“thats because nobody liked you, hans”

“im skipping my soaps for this”

“fucking hate my twin brother hans”

“she?????? gets a party??? SHE. gets a party. I DON’T GET A PARTY. SHE... GETS A PARTY? and i dont get a fucking party. i was literally BORN into this job. NOBODY gives me a damn party. this MORON who CLOWNS AROUND with her SUBPAR SONGS. gets a party. oh my god. oh my GOD. FUCK. FUCK!”

“if this is what its like to get arrested i gotta be gayer and do more crimes”

“I’m not actually surprised. I’m just pretending to be. I’m just really not good at pretending to be surprised.”

“fucking hate this family, im gonna eat all of hibikis cake and cry in my room”

Remember: This show first released in 2012. Ryoko? Trendsetter.

Ryoko’s screen is very dirty and foggy. Don’t ask why. Don’t even remember why I pointed this out. Just forget this point completely.

Hibiki understands that handcuffs just aren’t fashionable.

Genjuro casually explains that they’re the fictional japanese equivalent of the NSA, all while doing magic tricks. Truly a man of many talents.

Tsubasa is already plotting how to vent about all this in her diary, which she addresses as letters of Kanade every time she writes in it.

Genjuro and Ryoko introduces themselves as everyone else apologizes to her, except Tsubasa.

Ogawa also intro- yes, I’m recycling a picture- introduces himself. He’s pretty cool, too, and serves as Tsubasa’s ninja bodyguard, butler, and all around mentor. We never get a backstory on him, and likely never will. It’s best to keep it that way; it only adds to the mystery of who the hell this guy is.

“weird flex but okay”

Hibiki realizes she’s being recruited, after being told she’s being recruited. Given some brain cells remain in her head, she asks the obvious and wonders what the hell happened to her.

“ryoko, care to explain?”

“well, it’s simple. you’re the protagonist now.”

Ryoko, who has no sense of boundaries, subjects Hibiki to a medical inspection. As creepy as her tone is, its to inspect the state of Hibiki’s newly formed gear.

She’s finally freed from that long winded event and returns home to her wife.

“buddy you smell like shit. and french fries.”

“hibiki. you’re not dead, hibiki. come on, get up. i just cleaned this floor, hibiki. hibiki, please. this is genuinely unbecoming of you. hibiki, oh my god.”

“miku please i learned how to kick ass and im tired and please let me enjoy this nice floor”

Tsubasa does the thing real life Symphogear and all related products never actually bother to do.

“god she’s so gay for her but i know she’d never cheat on me so”

Hibiki ruminates on the day she’s had. This is where the really dumb angst comes in. You see, Hibiki can’t tell anyone about what happened, and Miku, now a civilian in her eyes, cannot know about her alter ego Symphogear antics. Hibiki feels bad about this.

“y u no trust me. y u no tell me troof. im wife.”

After a brief heart to heart Hibiki smiles and snuggles her girlfriend.

They’re gay.

“im gonna marry her knowing full well she’ll sleep through the ceremony. god.”

#symphogear #symphogear season 1

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kinetic-elaboration · 6 years

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August 9: The 100 2x01, The 48

Okay, settling down to rewatch 2x01, the start of my favorite season...

I love this Clarke so much. Badass Clarke, sneaky Clarke, a Clarke who will fearlessly do what she has to in order to escape and to get to her friends. A Clarke with convictions and guts.

How DO they know everyone’s names lol? Is that ever explained? (ETA: Monty was obviously the informant.)

Mount Weather is one of my favorite parts of this show, honestly. I love that their mission is in part to preserve the beautiful things humanity created, like art; they gave their prisoner Starry Night. The ORIGINAL Starry Night. I just find that very moving. All of these non-essential parts of being human... the show has abandoned them and that’s part of why it’s so hollow for me now, I think.

Level 5: where it all begins and it all ends.

The Clarke/Maya relationship could have been so much more, tbh. Like they had their good moments, like threatening to kill each other etc., but they could have gone deeper.

Surprise! Underground executive branch family dinner! This is the sort of twist I can get behind.

Haha remember when actual delinquents still existed? I joke but truly the later canon has ruined parts of this show for me.

I forgot Tristan survived into 2x01. Not for long. Such Grounder hypocrisy: “That’s one. I lost 300.” He makes it sound as if Finn marched into a village and killed 300 people--they were fucking soldiers on the attack you dum-dum.

“Only our warriors speaking English.” Well that sounds like bullshit based on literally everything we see after this point.

The statue of Lincoln is “the place we go to settle disputes.” First, please don’t say they settle disputes to the death or some nonsense, and second, that’s his namesake... Significant? I mean, objectively, no, but can I make something out of it somehow?

I disliked Luna but she COULD have been so interesting and she and Lincoln COULD have had quite a dynamic. I headcanon them as exes. I want to know their whole backstory tbh. When they met. How. If he wanted to go with her to the sea. If he did perhaps and then came back.

Drink every time someone cauterizes a wound.

You know what else they should have done? Story line about the meeting of Grounder and Sky People medicine. Oh wait that would have taken away from the repetitive war story lines never mind.

That dropship is so fucking impressive. WHERE ARE THE AWARDS FOR THE SET PEOPLE?

And the costume people for those awesome masks.

Am I supposed to feel bad for this Grounder and his charred friend? I do not. Next time, don’t attack the children for no reason and you won’t get burned to a crisp. Easy.

The thing is I can never get behind the Raven + Murphy friendship 100% even though their S5 dynamic looked interesting because he literally fucking shot her and that’s just not a bygones are bygones thing. But they do have personalities that mesh well together so in that way it’s sort of a shame. Also he 10000000000000% had a crush on her don’t even try to argue.

She fired that gun at him. I forgot that. She fired but was out of bullets, that’s the only reason he didn’t die right there. “Yeah I would have shot me too.”

I’m p. sure that’s the real Mount Weather?

I know the Mount Weather people have no leg to stand on when it comes to the Grounders and that they’re...pretty obviously racist, but in their defense--the Grounders were written to be pretty savage, so “savages,” while unforgivably racially tinged, is a fair descriptor of them.

I know I’ve harped on this before but Mount Weather has a judicial system of some sort and it’s possible to press charges there. Somehow. The world building on this show sucks balls.

“They also said you were their leader” is like some retconning, okay. Because you will not convince me that for most of S1 BELLAMY wasn’t the leader in the eyes of the delinquents.

“Kiddo.”

Fucking love Dante. Where are my Dante + Clarke mentor/mentee or ex-mentor/mentee or different-gen-rivals fics?

“We prioritize safety over sentimentality.” As Maya takes blood she absolutely doesn’t need but is having just in case and that she knows comes from someone else’s tortured body because she’s accepted this as something they do, because she’s not sentimental. But she already feels guilty.

Clarke is already using the word “capture.” I had a discussion with someone once about Clarke’s vision of Mount Weather versus, say, Jasper’s, and why it was different and I said some poorly phrased stuff that didn’t really reflect my thoughts and opinions and it still haunts me but I feel like this is...relevant to that. How she immediately feels ‘captured,’ trapped.

Clarke’s devotion to her friends and her people was still so pure and right here.

Dante really does believe he “saved” them. I wonder what his thought process was... I really hate the “savages” so I must save these children? These children look interesting, let’s meet some new friends? She’s right of course that if they were really guests, they could leave.

Multiple crash sites over 100 square miles = I should go on google maps to confirm my Pennsylvania/Farm Station theory but I’m too lazy.

GOD THOSE CLOTHES. I love that Clarke picks the pants and the high heel shiv.

There’s no way there’s actually time for natural selection to work that fast in 97 years and also I’m pretty sure the Sky People are genetically modified because their original pool was way too small for the process Dante is describing but whatever this show is all la-di-da science.

Also: this is how you run an underground Bunker OCTAVIA.

Dante was the only rival/antagonist/whatever Clarke has ever had that rivals her instincts and intelligence yeah I said it; fight me. I know she needed to be on the outside for this season to work but he should have been her mentor. He basically set her up to be mentored and then she ran off and into L who basically destroyed her and she’s never recovered.

THAT REUNION. Heartwarming. Though hard to watch too because this show did both Jasper and Monty so dirty. (Yeah I said that too WHAT OF IT.)

“Dying. Same as you.” Murphy gets all the good lines. That’s why people like him, forget this “redemption arc.”

The Grounder Raven killed was Murphy’s guard and honestly--hilarious. He abandons his post, realizes all his friends are skeletons, pickpockets one, then is shot by what he must initially assume is a dead body. Better character than almost anyone introduced from S3 on.

This cake scene is the most iconic. Jonty were scene stealers stfu. They’re children--basically. They get to act their age. They get to be happy and silly and they loved each other so much.

“Pretend like you’re happy to see me.” / “We are happy to see you.” See? Adorable. I know he’s no cinnamon roll but gosh, adorable.

And then Clarke comes in like secret espionage time and they just look so Tired TM.

I feel like Monty knew, or suspected on some level, that Jasper wasn’t just ‘bummed out’ by Clarke’s suspicions, he was panicking a little.

I can’t believe Jasper and Maya have known each other for like 10 seconds and she’s already seen his O face.

“Clarke’s the only reason we survived.” Um ex-CUSE me but I know you didn’t forget Bellamy’s existence, Jasper.

Clarke’s so smart!

Maya brings out the big guns, literally.

“I’m the one who fired the rockets. Should I not have done that?” is so heartbreaking. Mostly because of the delivery. I love this entire scene. There are like 8 different scenes I love in this episode, like whole-heartedly and truly love.

Clarke’s suspicions really do look like paranoia. Like I see what she’s picking up on, saw it even the first time I watched this ep, but there’s a sense in which she does appear irrational.

There’s actually something kinda funny about Bellamy running out with a spear in one scene, looking around blankly, and then getting chained up as a prisoner in the next scene. At least he inspired his little protege Monroe. Scenes like this are the reason she joined Pike in S3.

Tristan’s like “Who are these fucking children running at me and screaming?” Then he gets shot in the head. Goodbye Tristan you won’t be missed.

“We’re here now. Everything’s going to be okay.” This sounds like Kane playing out a hero fantasy he’s had since he was a child. Except he’s talking to two mud-stained kids who are looking at him skeptically instead of, like, a captured heroine or something.

I feel like they set up this conflict where the adults/Sky People elite come in and, like Kane says explicitly, assume they’re in charge and everyone will fall in line, but then the delinquents don’t see it that way or want that: they have their own priorities (their friends) and their own relationships (Finn and Bell don’t even LIKE each other but they’re still communicating by look) and their own knowledge (the pipes that allow them to move through the dropship camp quickly and without permission). But then... it sort of plays into the rest of the season...but not that much?? Not as much as I would like.

“You are not animals. There are rules. Laws. You are not in control here anymore.”

This show sacrificed a lot of complex relationships to just either make people buddy-buddy who had no reason to be or just arbitrarily assign relationships to scenes or episodes without regard for continuity at all.

Raven took Jasper’s goggles.... never over this.

How was bringing Octavia to TonDC faster than collecting some beetles for her to eat?

“Loss, pain, regret. Time eases these things.” I’d say this is the sort of line the show should be repeating but God when it gets a line in its teeth it never lets the fuck go so I guess it’s better this one remains pristine.

I find Dante very sympathetic but also so creepy.

They weren’t really patrolling for other people, were they? Because like...surely they would have found them. They’re at the dropship and close by. He was just bullshitting here. But why don’t they want to make even more new friends?

Dante’s stationery is presidential themed lol. Glad we stocked up the bunkers properly with the important stuff.

The crashed Alpha Station is beautiful. I believe this was the first time it was shown on the show? Ugh, this whole sequence with the music, it’s perfect and so touching.

Jaha is the most tragic and heartbreaking figure on this show. He also doesn’t get the appreciation he deserves. Just...the image of a man alone in space, talking to his loved ones, hoping they can hear them, not knowing if they can... I almost can’t handle it. I used to be very unsure if I liked where his story line went after this (seeing it in its entirety, I defend it) but surely he could not have died this way.

....I really gotta sleep now.

#the year 2018 #2018: fandom thoughts #2018: the 100 s2

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