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three--rings · 7 months

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One thing I haven't seen a lot of talk about in the fandom so far is about the financials of this season.

It took us two whole months to get a confirmation of renewal from Max, and I talked at the time that I think there was probably a lot of heated negotiations going on at the time with contracts and that's why it took as long as it did.

I think we see a huge number of indications of the compromises that were made in order for S2 to be made. One obvious one that has been talked about is being making in in NZ instead of LA, to save $.

But there's also the eight episodes instead of ten. And then the cast aspect. One downside of moving overseas was having to fly out and house the cast, not just pay day wages.

We knew immediately about Guz Khan not coming back, losing Ivan as a character. At the time I was sad but I thought it had the air of a pretty harshly practical call. If you went through the main recurring cast and said okay which character will affect the fewest things, has the least character interactions of anyone? It would be Ivan. (With the only competition being The Swede IMO, but he's Stede's crew and therefore a little more central.)

And then this season started and we got first The Swede sidelined and taken out of major scenes. And then I noticed that different members of the crew were simply absent for long stretches, like Wee John isn't around for ep 5 at all. And then Buttons takes flight.

Lucius and Pete aren't at the party for most of it. Fang isn't in the torture scene. Roach and Fang aren't in the bar. Etc. SCHEDULING IS HAPPENING.

The new characters are almost entirely played by NZ local actors, which is great, but also...cheaper.

In other words there are big signs that they did everything possible to give us a giant cast of almost everyone we love from S1, and cool new characters, in the most economical way possible.

And I'm grateful for it. I'm grateful we got S2, and it looks great, and it's well written, I'm having a blast, and we get to spend more time with this awesome cast.

But I also kinda think it needs to be said that the cost-cutting shows. That it shouldn't have been only 8 episodes, the pacing is off. That we miss every time someone from the ensemble isn't on screen.

That despite what they've put on screen looking very good, there's far less costuming budget, there's less elaborate sets, and it's a little disappointing. And it's clear it's not a lack of will or talent or vision but blatantly lack of money.

Look, streaming networks want brilliant shows that people love (that will get them to subscribe) but they very don't want to pay anyone to make them. That's like, the whole moment we're having right now.

Max puts out promos about how great it is to not have unions messing shit up in NZ. Well I have friends who are union costumers in LA and guess what union costumers did amazing last season. This season, well, I guess Stede got three whole shirts, so that's cool.

So I dunno. It's just stuff I think about. I'm not trying to be negative about the show in any way. I'm extremely happy with this season; I love it more than well, possibly any show I've ever been in fandom for.

But I see you, Max. You're cheap. You weren't that cheap when you were called HBO.

#ofmd #ofmd s2 #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd meta #I guess #my meta

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anyroads · 2 years

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OK you know what, if we're gonna talk about Bake Off then fuck it, let's do this.

It used to be this wholesome, lovely show! We used to watch it for the bakers! And the learning! And the light banter and occasional bit of coy innuendo! What happened?

Channel 4 happened. When they bought the show they made a number of changes, most of them Not Good™️. Not just in the sense of them resulting in a lot of 😬 and 🫠 moments, but in the sense of how they changed the show's purpose, atmosphere, and brand.

Look, I know most people are just like, "whatever, it's just a baking show," and yeah, sure. But it's one of the UK's most successful TV exports, and where it once shifted the tone of reality competition to being wholesome and supportive of contestants, it's since moved towards creating tension at the contestants' cost. So aside from the fact that most people watching it signed up to watch a nice show, it has also shifted the goalposts of what that even means. And that, lovelies and gentlefolk, is some bullshit.

I decided to break my rant analysis into four main parts: theme weeks, the hosts, the judges, and the bakers. Let's get to it!

Theme Weeks:

If you watch Bake Off, you know the show's always had a specific theme for each week. The staples that come up in most seasons are:

cake

biscuit

bread

pudding/dessert

pastry

patisserie

Less common but consistent are things like caramel and chocolate week.

Then there are the fun episodes! When GBBO was on the BBC, this started out with things tea week, tarts, pies, tray bakes, basically little tangents still focused on emphasizing specific baking skills. In Series 6 (still on the BBC) they had their first nation-focused theme week with French week -- fairly innocuous given that a lot of patisserie is French, France and England share much more culture than either cares to admit [Norman Flag dot gif], and it was a nice change from watching Paul make the bakers do recipes that involved boiling things while talking about how wonderful boiled doughs are (are they, Paul? Are they?).

The show kept mixing it up with innocuous themes like advanced dough and alternative ingredients weeks, European cakes, Victorian week, batter week, and botanical week. And while it was frustrating to watch Paul Hollywood mispronounce things like the Hungarian Dobos Torta and lecture bakers on babka when he clearly knew nothing about it (or about Jewish baking in general, go off Past Me), the show's general attitude was that the judges had their own opinions, which were separate from the immutable facts around the chemistry of baking (more on this later) and shouldn't affect how bakers are judged.

After the show moved to Channel 4, the number of themed weeks increased and more of them focused on specific countries. In 6 seasons on the BBC, there were only two country-focused theme weeks, and in 5 seasons on Channel 4 there have been five. And while they've also had themes like vegan baking, roaring 20s, the 1980s, spice week, etc. the show has really started to go hard on exoticizing other cultures in outright disrespectful and racist ways. There's been Italian and Danish week, German, Japanese (it wasn't, it was East Asian week), and now Mexican week (which doesn't touch on interspersed Jewish bakes that didn't get a theme week, like versions of bagels and babka set as technical challenges that were borderline hate crimes and mansplained by a guy who has no idea how to make either and once wrote in a cookbook that challah was traditionally eaten during Passover). Each time the hosts played up the theme with racist bits and jokes that can be used as evidence in court if your case is "why should shows with scripted content have a professional writing staff."

Which touches on other issues the show has now...

The Hosts:

When GBBO was on the BBC, the show was hosted by ✨Mel Giedroyc✨ and ✨Sue Perkins✨. They encouraged the bakers! They'd hold stuff for them sometimes! They were interested in them! If a baker had a breakdown, they would start singing copyrighted material to render the footage unusable! When the show moved to Channel 4, they left, though I'm not unconvinced that Channel 4 offered them impossible to accept contracts to force them out so they could rebrand the show. They replaced them with Sandy Toksvig and Noel Fielding. Sandy was a lovely host in the vein of Mel and Sue, and she and Noel had a relatively sweet rapport, but she left a few seasons ago and was replaced by Matt Lucas.

Noel Fielding is mostly known for his quirky brand of comedy, a sort of British Zooey Deschanel who's goth from the neck up, an upperclass British gay divorcee from the neck down, and basically an early 60s Beatle re: trousers. Matt Lucas has almost definitely never watched a single episode of GBBO and his most redeeming quality is his thinly veiled contempt for Paul Hollywood.

The two treat the baking tent as their personal playground. Far from the supportive attitude of Mel and Sue, they tend to get in the bakers' way during the most stressful moments, especially when they try to do hilarious "comedy" bits (I can't not put that in quotes) like Noel's talking wooden spoon thing, or Matt talking over Noel to do time calls. During theme weeks like Japanese and Mexican week, they do culture-specific bits that are both racist ("just Juan joke" and "is Mexico a real place?") and unsurprising, given that both Matt and Noel did blackface on their respective sketch shows and absolutely could and should have known better because it was already the current fucking century.

All this to say, there's now a separation between the bakers and the hosts, as if they're on different shows. The hosts are doing their own thing and the bakers are doing GBBO. The show has gotten meaner to the bakers, and the hosts aren't there to support them anymore, they're just there to be comic relief. Because when you refocus your show on stressing the bakers the fuck out, you need a forced laugh I guess ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

The Judges:

First of all, a sincere congratulations to Paul Hollywood who managed to squeeze I jUsT cAmE bAcK fRoM mExIcO aNd YeT sTiLL pRoNoUnCe PiCo De GaLLo As 'PiKa De KaLLa' and I aM aN eXpErT oN s'MoReS wHiCh aRe MaDe WiTh DiGeStiVe BiScUiTs AcCoRdiNg tO mE, aN eXpErT oN s'MoReS, just two in a giant pile of astoundingly wrong hot takes, into a short enough time span that they all aired within Liz Truss's term as Prime Minister. A true man of accomplishments.

In the interest of fairness, I need to preface this with a disclaimer that, due to the fact that I've been watching Bake Off for most of its run, I'm biased. Specifically, I can't stand Paul Hollywood's smarmy, classist, egomaniac ass because he's proven time and again he's more interested in looking smart than actually knowing what he's talking about. Since the show moved to Channel 4, they've changed the occasional handshake Paul would give bakers to the HoLlYwOoD hAnDsHaKe™️. It's gone from being an emphasis of someone's skill to a goal, a reward, and one that emphasizes the judges' place above the bakers.

The judges used to function as teachers, imparting their skills and insights to the bakers. When the show was on the BBC, the voiceover leading to a judging would focus on the bakers' work being finished, saying how it will now be evaluated based on their skill and how well they met the brief. The voiceovers now, on Channel 4, focus on the judging (literally saying something along the lines of, "the bakers will now be judged by Prue and Paul"). There is a clear distinction Channel 4's producers have made, to mark that the show is now about whether or not the judges approve, not whether the brief was understood and executed well. On the BBC, it was irrelevant whether the judges liked a particular flavor, as long as the bake was well-made. Now, the bakers are expected to know the judges tastes and cater to them, which is frankly bullshit. A judge doesn't have to like a flavor to know whether or not it was executed well, ie. is it carrying a bake and was it meant to etc.

The judges have been turned into a brand. Cynically, Channel 4 knows that by building them up and focusing the show more on them, they can exploit their image more for profit. In the process, they've become much more biased and their own biases have come out as well. Most recently in the flaming dumpster fire that was Mexican Week, Paul Hollywood tried to intimidate a baker by telling them he had just gotten back from Mexico (which must have been a fruitful learning trip if he couldn't even learn how to pronounce pico de gallo correctly). Where do I even start with this? Here's an amateur baker from England (the show specifically casts middle and lower middle class bakers for the most part??) who likely can't afford trips to Mexico, who lives in a country with incredibly limited access to Mexican cuisine, who is expected not only to understand the cooking and baking traditions of a completely different culture but to do so well enough to play with it and do something creative with it. On top of which, one of the judges is now using his privilege of traveling halfway around the world as some kind of leverage, as if this were a bar that any amateur British baker could clear.

Prue, meanwhile, has openly asserted her biases against cultural flavors and textures, prioritizing her own personal preferences over them, as if they were in any way relevant to the skills and knowledge necessary to execute the tasks she sets to the bakers. She has also been consistently elitist, criticizing bakers for choices they made that were clearly informed by their experiences within income brackets that are too low and foreign for Prue to comprehend. She once had a go at a baker on a Christmas special because his Christmas dinner themed bake didn't have a turkey, even though it was clear from the stories he shared of his own Christmases that his family likely couldn't afford one. "It's not really Christmas dinner without a turkey," Prue said into the camera angrily while sitting on a chair made of live orphans and telling the ghost of Christmas Future to come back when he had another museum gift shop necklace for her to round out her collection.

The show is no longer about which baker has the best skills. It's become about which mortal can appease the gods of Mount Olympus, ie. the judges.

The Bakers:

Remember when the show was about them? Channel 4 doesn't! Because this is a reality competition show, the bakers are chosen both based on their skills, as well as cast-ability. They're cast as characters, distinct from each other, from different areas, age groups, ethnicities. All of them are amateurs. All of them are middle or lower middle class. They've ranged from college students to supermarket cashiers to prison wardens to scientists.

Something I noticed when the show moved to Channel 4 is that the baker who goes home in the first week is always wildly behind the rest in skills. I have no proof of this other than my eyeballs and deductive reasoning skills, but I think that Channel 4 deliberately casts a ringer each season who they think will be an easy send-off in the first week, just to get the audience's feet wet.

Anyway, like I said, this show used to be about the bakers - about them building skills and learning, and having walked into the tent with a self-taught foundation and understanding of the processes and chemical reactions involved in baking. When the show was on the BBC, the end of each round had some (often brief) moments of tension - will they finish in time? Will they get their bakes on the plate before time is up? Did they forget to add sugar to their batter and only remember at the last minute? In the end, they usually managed to finish and we'd all breathe a sigh of relief and think, yeah! You go, Bakers Who I'm Rooting For!

Now, on Channel 4, the end of round drama has been stretched to be so much longer that they've composed extra music for it. The bakers often seem out of their depth, whether because the instructions for the technical challenge are too vague (bake a lemon meringue pie??? As if anyone in the UK under the age of 60 has had one in the last decade???), or because they were expected to bake something that required a more than a basic foundation they weren't told of. Often it seems like they just aren't given enough time, a tactic used by reality competition shows to manipulate contestants into giving the cameras more dramatic content. On top of all this, the hosts get in their way, instead of helping them plate their bakes. As has been pointed out before, when everyone fails the challenge, the real failure lies with whoever set it.

In conclusion:

The show no longer exists to teach the bakers - and the audience - skills or knowledge. It now manipulates contestants for dramatic effect and prioritizes showing conflict over wholesome content. Channel 4 sees the bakers as social media content they can churn out season after season, and don't care about them because in a few months there'll be a new batch to exploit. Meanwhile, the judges are also out of their depth, co-opting recipes from other cultures and butchering them horrendously, while the camera gives them nothing but status as they hold bakers to the expectation that they learn how to make things very much the wrong way. If you saw any of the tweets about Mexican or Japanese week, or read my post on how Paul Hollywood isn't allowed to go near babka ever again, you'll understand.

So what would fix all this? Scrap the current judges and the hosts altogether. Bring back Mel and Sue, and replace the judges with expert bakers who have a love of their craft and want to share it with others. The draw of GBBO used to be its warmth and comfort - if Channel 4 isn't going to start its own version of Master Chef For Bakers, then it needs to stop trying to find a balance of how it can insert that vibe into GBBO. It can't. That's not a thing. Stop trying.

#GBBO #paul hollywood #prue leith #the great british bake off

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city-tickles · 2 months

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When you try and make your crush laugh with tickles

Source: A Sign Of Affection Episode 5 (Sub & Dub. Characters are adults)

#tickling #ticklish #anime tickling #mainstream tickling #cute tickling #couple tickling #m/f tickling #tickle community #tummy tickling

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yonae · 3 months

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Rin Fujishiro | A Sign of Affection episode 5

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absolutebl · 5 months

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This Week in BL - I'm finding rankings difficult, there's a lot of middle of the pack action and some serious top contenders

Organized, in each category, by ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Dec 2023 Wk 1

Ongoing Series - Thai

Last Twilight (Fri YT) ep 5 of 12 - I love how they’re slowly revealing bits of their past to each other. It parallels the slow burn of them falling in love with each other. Knowledge + understanding = affection. I cried during the part with his doubles partner, of course I did. As has been mentioned many times in this blog, I am a sap. Also I’m realizing that there is something particularly clever about this show: Because Day is blind, there must be a ton of physical touch. And physical touch is something that Thai BL does really well.

(I gotta say, while I ADORE JimmySea in these roles, a small part of me wonders how JoongDunk would have handled these parts.)

The Sign (Sat YT) ep 3 of 10 - Phaya is SO DAMN SMITTEN. It’s great. Have I mentioned recently how glad I am Billy got this role? This was the: “it’s not a date” date ep.

I gotta say these 2 BLs are neck and neck favorites right now.

Cherry Magic (Sat YouTube) ep 1 of 12 - Uh oh. I like it a lot. I think I was always going to because I have a soft spot for TayNew on screen. It is such funny to watch Tay play such a stiff character. I like it. This is very fast paced for a Thai BL I wonder where they’ll take it with this speed, are they’ll following the manga more closely?

My Dear Gangster Oppa (Thurs iQIYI) ep 7 of 8 - Wait, no. Wahl you’re such a problem. The pacing of this is very KBL. I’m not mad about it but it feels odd in Thai. Still enjoying this one the most as my "early in the week" offering.

For Him (Thurs iQIYI) ep 2 of 10 - The booty call flirting is next level with these two. Like Bed Friends but with less pain. I love that Nail is such needy evil wild child - the story gets all its tension from that.

Baby boy gives off so many danger signals I wouldn't tap that with a 10 ft… pole. Him is a braver queer than I. I do like how the high heat is being used to drive the story. It stands in stark contrast to Playboyy. Which is using high heat to drive, well... piles apparently.

Twins the series (Fri GaGa) ep 6 of 10 - I'm enjoying it again, the main couple is getting more BLish.

Bake Me Please (Mon Gaga) ep 3 of 6 - Shin and Peach flirting is very cute. Although they got into that sack swiftly. Guy leaving was contrived and reactions overwrought but okay babies.

Absolute Zero (Weds iQIYI) ep 11 of 12 - Now I'm mostly just confused.

Which timeline are we in?

Do they know each other in this one's past or not?

Have they met yet?

Who has which memories of what?

I feel like I’ve been through a lot for the show.

I’m not saying the reunion scene in the theater was worth it, but it was a really spectacular reunion scene. I’m terrified that there’s one more episode. I wish it had ended here.

Cooking Crush (Sun YT) 2 of 12 - I’m just not that into it.

Pit Babe (Fri iQIYI) ep 4 of 14 - A new ship has been set afloat, we are now Team #WayKim / #KimWay and if you're not with us, you're against us. Trash watch happening here.

Middleman’s Love (Fri YT & iQIYI ep 5 of 8 - oh look, it’s everybody’s favorite big brother!

That was a kind (and kind of lovely) coming out sequence. KingUea being the worst best Gay Advice Dads is awesome. Mai is SO SWEET. And we end on some good old miscommunication / misinterpretation, so that Jade can behave in an even more unhinged manner next ep. Our brief respite from absurdity has ended.

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) Fake Love ep 16 of 24 - They cute fake bf but it’s oddly unappealing. I mean most us queers have slept with each others exes, that’s swimming in a small pool, for ya. In my experience, only hets get butt hurt about it. (Hets never use enoug lube, they butt hurt about everything.) So the whole drama just felt confusing to me. Or maybe that's just my experience with swimming in lube? 4/10 whatever... not recommended

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 4 of 14 eps - I’m seriously considering dropping this.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

VIP Only (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 4 of 10 - They cute. Are aquariums now gay? That’s not the definition of fish that I grew up with.

Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 2 of 8 - I'm suffering from terrible second lead syndrome. Glasses guy is new Best Boy. Also, Rise is trying to earn the Namgoong Award for Best Wingman.

It Finished But...

SHADOW (Thai Gaga) 14 eps - completed it's run. Reports are:

It's pretty good horror but not BL. Ending is unresolved.

Given that info and this review here, it's not for me. DNF

It's Airing But...

Behind the Shadows (Korea movie) - a historical I'm interested in (if it's BL) but have no idea how to find.

The Whisperer (Sun ????) 10 eps - Thai horror BL that ALSO involves cheating (what joy is mine). I don't think even the perfect single dimple can motivate me to watch. Word is... it's terrible.

7 Days Before Valentine (Weds WeTV) 10 eps - Giving me Luminous Solution vibes. I'm waiting to binge if it's safe.

Beyond The Star (Weds iQIYI) 8 eps - House of Stars meets Boyband. I was NOT impressed with ep 1. Been told I shouldn't bother.

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - I find this series more fun to binge, so I'm waiting until after it completes its run next week.

Next Week Looks Like This

12/14 Dear Kitakyushu (Thai/Japan movie) in theaters in country only, I know nothing about distribution.

Still coming:

12/23 Dead Friend Forever (Thai horror) iQIYI

Original 2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED). With the end of the year upon us I'll do an "announced for 2023 but never happened list" soon.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Of course I loved all the little language moments. I am here for the kinkification of phi.

That request for a shirt was v sexy phi+na. Thank you Jimmy.

Last Twilight bringing the pronoun and particle game to play hard.

It was a nice kiss. (Absolute Zero)

This as a perfunctory flirting kiss, I anticipate we still have The Kiss to come.

I love that Phaya's personality seems to be spin doctor, just accuse the boy of doing that you are already doing to him (or want him to do to you).

Boyfriend shirts!

And a meta reference.

The Sign is basically made for me.

(Last week)

#this week in bl #bl updates #Thai BL #Last Twilight #The Sign #my dear gangster oppa #cherry magic #for him the series #absolute zero #middleman's love #My Universe Fake Love

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anitrendz · 3 months

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A Sign of Affection Episode 5

This scene is so special because this is the first time Itsuomi heard Yuki's voice. It sucks that Yuki has been made to feel she sounds "weird" because she can't hear herself, but it's also great to see on Itsuomi's face what an important moment this is for him and how much he's cherishing it. There's such delicacy to the portrayal of their budding relationship, and the communication as a theme just makes my heart flutter every week.

I've been seeing discourse on Itsuomi's character lately, and I think people who say that he's problematic has grossly undervalued Yuki's own consent. Yes, he is physical and forward and oftentimes in her face, but Yuki has made it plenty clear she's pursuing him romantically, and she has also made it pretty clear to him that she's okay with these advances - made EVEN MORE explicit this week. He never disrespects her boundaries, and he's honestly very careful on what she's okay with. She even said in previous episodes she's okay with him touching her! I think we need to put this discourse to rest.

#a sign of affection #yubisaki to renren

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animehouse-moe · 3 months

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A Sign of Affection Episode 5: The Answer

The most important part in love is communication. How you display that love, how you're able to share it with the person that you love. It's a very intimate act, and is quite delicate as well. Though, for A Sign Of Affection, you might just call it another Saturday because they make it look so effortless.

This series always impresses me, in some form or another. Be it direction, art, animation, story, whatever topic comes to mind. This episode though I was most certainly swept away by the expressions of love between Itsuomi and Yuki.

It was just such an incredible watch. The way that their communication slowly builds steam using shared spaces and physical touch is beautiful. The way that Yuki connects the dots between Itsuomi's gestures to show how much he cares is wonderful. And the icing on the cake being Itsuomi kissing Yuki's hand.

The typical idea is that mouths are for speaking, yeah? Well, in the case of Yuki, that equivalence extends to her hands. So, with Itsuomi kissing her hand, not only is it meant to be an equivalent to kissing her lips, it's a display of his resolve in regards to sign language and earnestly communicating with Yuki, both in matters of love and otherwise.

And Yuki? I love her character here. While she's clueless to Itsuomi's voice, she undeniably picks up on his physical traits. Even things as simple as how she describes how he held her hand that first night- that information makes a world of difference when you see how delicately he was holding her hand in this episode.

A Sign of Affection really has it all, and displays it in such an effortless package. It has a near perfect grasp on all of the pieces that comprise the whole, and expresses it in the most ideal way possible. I really can't get enough of it.

#a sign of affection #yubisaki to renren #ゆびさ��と恋々 #yubiren #yuki itose #nagi itsuomi #anime and manga #anime #anime reccs #anime recommendation #anime review

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emblazons · 1 year

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Thinking about that post that said Will had to be 'written out' of some of the S3 narrative because so much of it was about performing heteronormative relationships…& as an emotionally intelligent gay kid he quite literally stands entirely outside of both of those things.

Like. The Duffers said the premise of S3 was puberty, but in truth it's more like kids trying to act more mature than they are, not only by pretending they’re not into “childish” things but also emulating the relationships of the adults around them (for good & bad).

In S3, Lucas is literally just parroting his dad (and whoever else) when it comes to explaining relationships to Mike, and Max is projecting her displeasure/fear of divorce (because of her own parents) by repeatedly breaking up with Lucas and encouraging El to do the same while quoting Cosmo to her. El has her own streak of performative influence from her time watching all those soaps while locked up for a year—and Mike is just doing the best he can to keep up, seeing as (as we see with the Karen considering but then never actually cheating with Billy plot) Wheelers are often motivated by responsibility and duty to their relationships more than actual feelings or depth with their partners.

From the very first episode though…Will literally says “I’m not gonna fall in love," and while I know a lot of people like to talk about how that's kind of a sign he’s already falling in love with Mike, it’s also showing us that he stands apart from all the other people and “couples” we see this season…because he’s not performing social rituals trying to emulate the relationships of the adults around him.

Will is the only character outside of Dustin (who also comments on this tendency to be fake in love to Steve, ironically enough) who is refusing to take part in the ritualistic gambits of "dating" with his friends, on top of embracing his desire to continue doing the things he enjoys even as we are learning he is genuinely in love with Mike.

Will is the only one being genuine about his interests and desires rather than performing normativity (social and heteronormative) like the rest of his friends--the only one who is in love with his chosen interest because he enjoys being around him, and its that dissonance from the "play"/ sandbox narrative of S3 that makes it seem like The Duffers "forgot" about him (which, given the fact that S5 is confirmed as Will's Coming of Age season, obviously isn't true).

...I just think it's interesting that the season where everyone starts being shallow (because...thats the word for it. We should bring that word back lmao) is the season where it feels like Will gets neglected the most—not because he isn't important to the story, but because Season 3 was when The Duffers introduced dishonesty and ongoing romantic relationships as a concept for their "kid" characters, and Will's heartfelt affection for Mike and unwillingness to lie to anyone stands apart from that.

Bonus Thought: If you really want to get into it, you can also pull on how watching Will lie to Mike in Season 4 about the painting hurts all that much more because its the first time he's betrayed his character to "match the energy" of his peers—him "ripping off the bandaid" was him not only choosing to save Mike & El's relationship by sacrificing his own feelings, but also him choosing move into the same kind of dishonesty and shallowness he's been watching everyone around him get away with for two seasons now, even though it was going to break his heart to do so.

S4 got Lucas and Max back to the honesty and closeness they hadn't been mature enough to manage in S3...but that's not something Will got to see for himself. Getting us back to honesty for El, Mike and now Will (who have also been lying to themselves and each other in their performances of normalcy) will be a critical part of the "repair" that happens in Season 5.

#will byers #byler #I have so many thoughts about this fr #like. WILL SEEMS UNIMPORTANT BECAUSE HE'S THE ONLY ONE WHO STAYED HONEST IN A SEASON FULL OF LIES #AND THE GA DON'T SEE IT BECAUSE THEY'RE USED TO SHALLOW NARRATIVES. I SAID WHAT I SAID #duffer brothers #st commentary #my st commentary #stranger things

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darkbluenostalgia · 3 months

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I've just been living in a state of numbness the majority of 2023 and fell out of love with Kdrama.

However, I'm having an anime era resurgence thanks to JJK and the 2024 January line-up for ongoing anime is so good...

Here are some of my recs for dealing with the aftermath of lobotomy kaisen in no particular order.

1. Solo Leveling

(MC just gets infinitely hotter the moment his life falls apart. The way he switched up from baby girl to shadow daddy. He's so Dorian/Rhys coded. I am but a simp. Live, Laugh Love, Sung Jin Woo forever 🥰😘)

2. Apothecary Diaries

(Black cat/golden retriever dynamic. I just love Japan/Korea's takes on fictional ancient China like Alchemy of Souls and Akatsuki no Yona. Lots of court intrigue, some mysteries to solve and what not. Also, the frog. 🐸)

3. A sign of affection

(Cute. Wholesome. Pretty art. Top-tier shoujo romance. I just fold when their love language is being known 💖)

4. Frieren

(Elf mage is immortal and spends the rest of her life remembering. Sad but healing. The episodes just make me cry but in a good way 🥲)

5. 7th Time Loop

(Idk what to say just like the title says villainess regresses back in time everytime she dies. I will live and die by this trope. You will have to pry it from my cold dead hands🔪)

#jjk #jujutsu kaisen #solo leveling #sung jin woo #the apothecary diaries #kusuriya no hitorigoto #akatsuki no yona #yona of the dawn #alchemy of souls #a sign of affection #yubisaki to renren #frieren: beyond journey's end #sousou no frieren #7th time loop #lobotomy kaisen #anime #dorian havilliard #rhysand

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tetrix-anime · 3 months

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Yubisaki to Renren (A Sign of Affection) - Episode 5 Preview. Premiere: 3 February 2024

#yubisaki to renren #a sign of affection #preview #anime

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zmickmilk · 2 months

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So gonna be ranting about this mf on twitter

Major Ian gallagher defence coming.

OKAH FIRST Ian 100% deserves mickey the same way mickey deserves Ian. When mickey is first introduced he is a homophobic closet case with no support system by the end of the show he is happily married to his fucking high-school sweetheart with his own apartment in a nice area and he has his own business. HE HAS ALL OF THAT BECAUSE OF IAN. Ian became mickeys support system and was always pushing him to become a better person. He shows mickey that he's not 'fucked for life' and he trys his hardest to protect him. Even if the way Ian did it , he got mickey to come out. Mickey needed that push. U think he would have come out if he didn't have someone he loves telling him to?

Now the cheating. The only time Ian cheats on mickey is during his manic episode in s4/5 AND HE GOT HELP AFTER. It's crazy to me that people don't think Ian regrets that and seriously use it as a reason to hate Ian. U better hate fiona and Debbie and Lip too. Yk what better hate mickey too cause he did have a wife and boyfriend (this is a joke don't kill me)

Ian not signing the marriage papers is upsetting but it's not hard to understand why he did it. Ian grew up around frank and Monica , his main representation of marriage is an absolute shit show. He's scared of turning his relationship with the man he loves into that. This is an expected fear from Ian given his worries about being like his mum. He doesn't want to complicate things. And he talks to mickey about this. Ian not signing isn't him being horrible it's his way of trying to protect mickey from himself because he loves mick.

And Ian is always trying to protect mickey, he backs him up in fights, when mickey breaks out of prison he doesn't go to the cops, he breaks up with mickey when he thinks their relationship is hurting him, he tells lip "hit my husband again and I'll fucking kill you". CLEARLY PROTECTIVE.

I don't have ss but mf was also like "Ian laughs at mickey being raped" so talking about that now.

The first time Ian "laughs at him" is in s3 when he tries to talk to mickey right after it happens. I don't think it takes a genius to know that Ian was trying to lighten the mood, not laugh AT mickey. He was also traumatised when Terry catching them happened. He laughs nervously because he has no clue how to navigate a situation like that at such a young age. He's a child making a badly timed, uncomfortable joke because he watched something terrible happen.

The second time Ian does this is with Caleb. During his relationship with caleb, Ian tries to convince himself that mickey was bad for him a few times. Making yourself hate someone is a lot easier than accepting the fact that they are gone. He shouldn't be telling someone he basically just met about that, but in his defence, he's talking about something he probably feels happened to him as well. Ian is affected by all that happened with mickey, and it makes sense that he tells people. In the same way, it would make sense for svetlana to tell people about the day it does for Ian too. All 3 are victims of Terry. Ian also has people telling him how bad mickey is all the time (mainly fiona tbh what if her problem with the milkovichs ) so he's trying to believe that, a easy way to do that is get validation from someone who hasn't been been around mickey. Caleb has never met mick, he has no reason to try defend him. I also don't really think what Ian was saying was making fun of mickey, it's not nice but yk?

This is getting long omg

On him being ugly

UGLY?!?!?

Cameron monaghan is GORGEOUS. He is the definition of cutie pie AND fine as fuck.

When mickey punches Ian because he didn't sign the marriage papers, HE DID NOT HAVE IT COMING. No one deserves to be hit by their partner. I mean, Jesus crist mickey literally broke his leg. His is probably the worst aspect of their relationship by that I mean the violence. A lot of it is playful, but it's not always healthy. Mickey was understandably upset but he shouldn't have hit Ian.

Okayyy now the hall of shame stuff. To me, that shit doesn't count cause Ian and mickey both act kinda out of character. I really don't like Ian saying that, and he shouldn't, but it's hardly a reason for Ian not to deserve mick. 87% is still the majority of his heart, and Ian wasn't saying he doesn't love mickey. Also acting like mickey hasn't said worst things.

"Ur nothing but a warm mouth to me"

"better than going off and having another bipolar episode"

LAST THING. Yes, mickey sacrifices a lot for Ian, like when he goes to prison for him, but not everyone shows love through large reckless actions. You shouldn't expect Ian to give things up to prove he loves mickey. Sacrifice isn't the only way to show affection. U can do it through words or gifts or quality time. Ian shows his love a lot through words, like when he tells mickey, "we have nothing to be ashamed of" early as s2. He makes him feel better when mickey is scared he would be a bad dad.

Ian gallagher haters are DUMB . Some people shouldn't be allowed to watch shameless cause how can u be so small-minded. People who say 1 of them doesn't deserve the other are just aggravating. Gallavich has a lot of ups and downs, and its part of what makes them so appealing. Despite all the bad things they go through, they always love and fight for each other.

Rant over

#shameless us #ian gallagher #defending him with my life #how can u hate him #ian shameless

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shatcey · 2 months

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1st anniversary (William)

William Victor Victor epilogue Liam Liam epilogue

You know how it happens… Someone shows you affection, and you become curious about this person… Will recently shows up with the most beautiful 5⭐ card I've ever seen in this game, and that's the reason I decided to read his story in this event. Not because I liked the description of his story more than the others. No, no, no, no! It's just because he definitely likes me. And it doesn't really matter that I chose his route about a week before I got the card. This is just a... coincidence, yes, coincidence.

So...

You expect some flashbacks from the events dedicated to the anniversary. And this one is no exception. The story is from his perspective (which is really rare), so it is even more precious.

After Victor's instruction, Will feels a bit conflicted. Will respects the wishes of others, and he doesn't like making decisions for them. But Victor forbade him to tell Kate about it. So he went to play the piano, but Kate didn't answer his call as usual… So he went to look for her. He finds her in the garden with Harry and Liam. They were playing cards and laughing happily.

Will feels a bit nostalgic and recall the impression of her at their first meeting.

Harry jokes that it's written on her face that she loves Will. They laugh and at that moment, the man himself appears. The boys immediately found a reason to leave them alone. Good boys.

Will said he was a little tired and would like to take a nap on her lap and listen to her story. She agrees and asks what story he would like to hear. The day they met… He wanted to know in details how she spent that day. And she tells him (I'm actually impressed. It was a year ago, and she remembers it so well… I don't remember what I did a week ago, at least not in so much detail, that's for sure).

The next day… thanks to the combined efforts of the Crown members…

They repeat step by step everything she did on that remarkable day. She wakes up late (Alfons played the role of an alarm clock, oh, his magic fingers), Ellis brings her bread from the bakery (she used to lives to the second floor of the bakery and eats their bread for breakfast). Liam asks her to write a love letter. When Harry came and said that because of the season at the post office, where she used to work, there were not enough staff and they needed a hand. Kate is a good girl, so she agrees to help.

Will escorted her to the post office and went for his business. But at the same time as before, he was at the same place where they met. While waiting for her, he remembers their meeting…

I'm not sure, but I think it was in episode 0…

So… Kate appears and points out that this day is remarkably similar to the day they met.

In the normal ending, she instantly figure out that this is Will's doing, and when she asks why, he offers her to reveal it herself. So she did. And then she begs him to let her stay by his side.

After that, Will came to Victor with a signed agreement.

I actually find it so Will's like… "until the final day separates us"… poetic and a bit depressing)

And they recall their conversation on the same topic when Kate first appeared in the crown.

I think he ment "not soon" or "as far as possible"… But I'm not certain…

In the premium ending they continue. He sends her to deliver the last two letters. And the last one leads her to the same mansion where she meets all the boys from the crown (prologue).

Will mentioned that in this mansion he once again killed someone…. This place somehow attracts bad people.

He was playing the piano, and Kate (of course) happily approached him. She realized once again that this was a test of her determination.

If you've finished his route, you know what it means… If not… don't think about it, you'll figure out eventually.

After that, Will recalled his thoughts…

Yet again I think it was in episode 0…

And in the end, he expressed his usual hope..

And for once, something sweet, not gloomy.

I didn't expect it to be so grim.

I finished his route, read his events, so I knew about his fatalism and I cannot say I was surprised. But it's still too dark…

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🔝 Start page 🔝

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hushhushplzzz · 1 year

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An Underrated Aspect of Wednesday and Xavier

Not really underrated in a traditional sense, but one of the things that I enjoy about this ship is the way Wednesday develops an unconscious trust in Xavier. Despite her suspicions of him being the monster and believing him to be an elitist snob, she relies on him for help when she doesn’t know what to do next.

One thing that stood out to me is that Wednesday—a proven and shown outspoken young woman when she wants to be—is pretty reticent regarding her visions. She withholds confirming Weems’s suspicions even when Weems presses her about it in e2. She withholds the visions from her bestie, Enid, in e6 (via: “What happened? It looked like you were having a seizure.”). She withholds only the information about her visions from Tyler despite involving him in every aspect of her investigation and telling him all her findings (including Nathaniel’s diary, what actually happened the night Rowan died, needing the location of the pilgrim meeting house, showing him the gate, and even when she reveals she’s figured out he’s the Hyde, etc). And prior to finally making up with Morticia in ep 5, she has withheld her visions from her family since they started a while ago despite knowing her mother also has visions and can certainly help with understanding the nature of the thing.

I find it significant that in canon, aside from her mother, the only person she has freely and comfortably told about her visions, is Xavier.

When Xavier figures out that she’s having visions, this happens:

Unprompted. The only thing he asks her is when they started, and keep in mind, her default for anything regarding the visions is to ignore or deflect the question. Despite her being suspicious of him here, not only does she confirm her visions which is, to her, clearly a deeply personal part of her, but she is also freely forthcoming regarding the stuff she has seen in visions and how unsettling it feels when it happens. She doesn't withhold from him what she sees in her visions. For Wednesday? This is theeee definition of oversharing lmao.

But anyway.

What was it about him that made her freely give up that information when she’s usually largely discerning of who she tells?

My point is, she relies on Xavier on a deeper level and seems to like confiding in him. He’s a decent sounding board to help her parse out her thoughts and theories, even with all these signs pointing to him being the monster. And I think because he saved her from the gargoyle, because of his own psychic abilities, because of his innate understanding of how not being able to control the visions is affecting her, and in my personal opinion, because she knows he not only sees her, but likes her for her, she feels some sort of subconscious connection to him.

The trust in telling him she even has visions is one example of it, but also, when she finds herself stuck, stagnant, or lost, she turns to Xavier.

One huge moment of this is the Gate mansion gate vision and pic in e6. She believes Xavier to be the monster and is cold and closed off to him at the beginning of the episode when she’s trying to decipher the message burned in the grass. But… she still goes to him for information about the gate when she hits a "dead-end". When she could literally ask anyone else who has been in Jericho, even Sheriff Galpin, who she’d spoken to earlier and by that point, she was sharing her investigative results with.

Another moment is after the Tyler as a Hyde reveal in e7. She winds up expelled from Nevermore with the knowledge of Tyler’s masterful ruse, authority figures have completely shut her down, she can’t figure out how to beat Tyler at his own game, but of anybody she could have gone to, she goes straight to Xavier for help. Xavier, who is the absolute least capable of helping her because he’s physically chained up in jail. She definitely regards his insight highly, and I think it's because 1) all his warnings had proven true, 2) he’s proven countless times in little ways that he actually understands her, and 3) when he gives up on helping her (temporarily due to anger), she officially gives up for the first time in the entire series and takes heed of his words to leave.

(Which, quick aside, but that scene was so fucking hilarious to me. He’s in chains looking like hell because of her and she sees absolutely zero qualms telling him she made out with Tyler and he is so miserable 😂 Girl...).

With Wednesday, her choices always speak more substantial volume than any words she could possibly say. She’s an asshole sometimes and speaks thoughtlessly and viciously with words meant to wound, but then acts upon her instincts in the most selfless, self-sacrificial, bleeding heart, and/or Care Bear kind of way towards all the people she has come to care for at Nevermore and her own family as well.

And her actions point to some level of trust in Xavier, not just vision-related. Like telling him in the library—her suspected monster—everything she’s collected as evidence pointing to him as the monster (why she would alert her suspect to the full details of her investigation and evidence is beyond me lol); keeping the gifted phone (despite being anti-tech); him being one of the few people she allows to see more of her emotions beyond just deadpan (blinking-gate plus looking down/averting her usually steadfast gaze during conversations with him when he gets a little too close to her erected walls).

Of course, I view their dynamic as a slow burn, but romantic or not, their energies and vibes are kind of in-sync and her growing implicit trust in Xavier is an underlying aspect of their burgeoning deep friendship/relationship that I think the show did pretty well in subtly establishing this season!

#wavier #wenvier #wednesday x xavier #wednesday addams #xavier thorpe #it's the subtext i tell ya the subtext #iykyk #yes she does speak sometimes #meta

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loki-is-my-kink-awakening · 7 months

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Time loops. Repeating cycles. Time is a flat circle.

Here’s why I think Loki S2 is repeating the same episode structure as S1.

Let's go through the similarities between S1E1/S2E1 and S1E2/S2E2.

In episode 1, we have:

S1. Loki runs away from the Avengers

S2. Loki runs away from a Mobius who doesn't know him

S1. Loki meets Casey (at reception after appearing through a Time Door)

S2. Loki meets Casey (in a bay after coming through a large rectangular window)

S1. Mobius is investigating in France, 1549, when an agent comes and tells him Loki has appeared

S2. Mobius is looking at the timelines branch on the chronomonitor when Casey comes and tells him Loki has appeared

S1. Loki makes his way through TVA processing

S2. Loki makes his way through the TVA to reach Mobius, timeslipping as he goes

S1. Loki learns about the TVA through a recording (Miss Minutes)

S2. Loki learns about Kang and Ravonna’s relationship through a recording (a tape)

S1. Loki attends court, Mobius appears and interrupts proceedings

S2. B-15 and Mobius attends the war room (and have to give evidence like a court case), Loki appears and interrupts proceedings

S1. Mobius leads a suspicious Loki away from the courtroom

S2. Mobius leads a distressed Loki away from the war room

S1. Mobius reveals the truth of his life to Loki

S2. Loki reveals the truth of Kang and impeding war to Mobius/everyone else

S1. We see Loki affect human history by being D.B. Cooper

S2. We see Loki affect O.B’s history by talking to him in the past

S1. Loki faces the prospect of his own death (by watching the time theatre screen)

S2. Mobius and Loki face the prospect of their own deaths

S1. Loki runs through the TVA looking for the Tesseract

S2. Loki runs through the TVA looking for a Timestick

S1. Loki is distressed he can’t return to his life on the timeline

S2. Loki is distressed Mobius will die and he will be lost to time

S1. B-15 attempts to prune Loki (and prunes a cart instead) and Loki returns to time theatre

S2. Someone prunes Loki and Loki returns to present Mobius

S1. Mobius asks Loki to help find Sylvie

S2. Loki tells Mobius they need to find Sylvie

S1. We see a glimpse of Sylvie in Salina, 1858

S2. We see a glimpse of Sylvie at McDonald’s, 1982 (branched timeline)

In episode 2, we have:

S1. A hunter (C-20) goes missing

S2. A hunter (X-5) goes missing

S1. Loki and Mobius go to a ren faire

S2. Loki and Mobius go to a movie premiere

S1. B-15 points out the “variant” sign on Loki’s jacket

S2. Loki points out the collar on X-5/Brad’s neck

S1. Loki and Mobius work together to find out where Sylvie is

S2. Loki and Mobius work together to find out where Sylvie is

S1. Loki attempts to lie to B-15 and Mobius

S2. Loki attempts to lie to X-5/Brad

S1. Mobius sets Loki with a task (to find where Sylvie is from reading reports) and Loki succeeds

S2. Mobius sets Loki with a task (to find where Sylvie is by interrogating Brad) and Loki succeeds

S1. Loki and Mobius have a cafeteria date talking about existential things

S2. Loki and Mobius have an automat date talking about existential things

S1. Loki and Mobius go to a shopping mall to find Sylvie, a mundane average American place. That place is about to be destroyed by an apocalypse.

S2. Loki and Mobius go to McDonald's to find Sylvie, a mundane average American place. That place is about to be destroyed by a bomb (to prune the branch).

S1. Sylvie is not interested in what Loki has to say, sees him as working for the TVA, and wants to remain focused on her own mission

S2. Sylvie is not interested in what Loki has to say, sees him as working for the TVA, and wants to remain undisturbed in the life she has chosen for herself

S1. Sylvie enchants C-20 to find out where the Time Keepers are

S2. Sylvie enchants X-5/Brad to find out how/where/when the timelines will be bombed

S1. Sylvie sets off hundreds of reset charges in various places on the timeline

S2. General Dox sets off hundreds of bombs on branched timelines

S1. TVA agents and Ravonna become aware of the issue

S2. Casey, B-15 and TVA agents become aware of the issue

S1. Sylvie leaves through a Time Door, Loki follows

S2. Sylvie leaves through a Time Door, Loki doesn't follow

There are some differences, of course, but the main moments are pretty similar.

So, I believe that Loki S2 might be structurally replicating S1 to enforce the idea of the cycle repeating and time loops on the viewer.

If this is the pattern and I’m not completely mad (which is always possible), we should see Loki and Mobius spend most of their time together at the World’s Fair in episode 3 (because Loki has chosen Mobius this time around).

How did I reach this conclusion? The idea of doing things again and again was sealed into the Loki S2 trailers.

And loops are coded into several names: Mobius, Ouroboros, but also Loki. In etymology, one of the meanings behind Loki’s name is loops (and tangled webs).

We also know that He Who Remains said, “Kill me and this all just starts again,” (I’m paraphrasing). He told us that time is a flat circle in his monologue, with the shape of the multiverses stacked on top of each other being a flat circle.

Ragnarok in Norse mythology is also a cycle that is doomed to repeat time and time again.

I’m fully fine to be completely wrong with this idea, and I can see that the episodes are not an exact replica, but it had enough story beats and overall length in time devoted to certain aspects (how long it takes Loki to find out where Sylvie is hiding through detective work in S1 versus how long it takes them to interrogate Brad and discover where Sylvie is in S2) and that’s why I consider it a strong possibility.

Only time will tell (pun very much intended).

And I also fully expect to see us go back and repeat things from S2’s episode 1 and 2 in later episodes. We have to see how Loki is pruned; that’s one of a few unsolved mysteries. And something will continue to push the angst over Loki losing his friends and Sylvie exclaiming that everything has fallen apart (again paraphrasing).

#loki #loki series #loki season 2 #mobius #lokius #loki x mobius #loki laufeyson #loki s2 #loki spoilers #loki theory #my loki theories #long post

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