#but its not slowburn if its all 1 episode | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

raayllum · 9 months

Note

I just finished Book 5, and do you think that Ezra’s arc will have him learn that words aren’t enough? Some fans do think that he’s the least emphasized of the Dragang

I don't think Ezran is going to learn that words aren't enough (they have been, often times in his life, and trying non violent routes are important) but I do think he's going to be presented with more and more situations where it is, as he acknowledges, "Not that simple" (4x03).

In Arc 1, you had the transformative trio of characters (Callum, Rayla, Soren) who were rapidly changing as people versus the more "circumstances change and drag out certain personality traits either more or less" stagnated trio (Ezran, Viren, Claudia). In Arc 2 thus far, it seems that Soren, Claudia, and Ezran are the 'stagnant' ones and Viren, Callum, and Rayla are the transformative ones. That being said, I do think S5 focused on Ezran as much as S4 focused on Rayla, so it's not surprising there's a bit of a trade off (especially with Janai very much being a Main Character in arc 2) with Callum (always our main Main protagonist) getting a decent amount every season. There's definitely a lack of Ezran in the first four episodes (he gets about one scene a-piece) but I do think it's over quality > quantity, in some ways. (Bow from She-Ra for example is in every single episode of that series, but gets very little by way of arcs or conflict or interiority, y'know?)

That said:

I talked about this a bit more in a podcast review I did for the season / this meta, but I think Soren and Ezran are having slowburn arcs that will come to fruition in S6. Soren, after all, hasn't really changed as a character since the end of S3 - he's on team good guy, he's reaffirming his choices and love for his friends, he still cares for Claudia and still views his father as a cruel villain (which, Viren is/can be).

Ezran, likewise, is dealing with his own well, slowburn of problems. In a lot of ways, Ezran has to hold it together when everyone else is falling apart (Rayla is MIA, Callum is a mess; staying level headed even when they're arguing; being the main negotiator seemingly between the Pentarchy and the dragons of Xadia; and ruling is own kingdom). He takes his duties seriously and wants to broker peace further, if maybe a tad faster than people are ready for. Like Janai says, I think, his priorities have changed since becoming king. His duty first and foremost is to his kingdom/the world. (Not that it wasn't his mindset before, but it wasn't his responsibility before pre-series, y'know?) Which is very Rayla of him, I think ("I let them all down" in 3x04 / "I just feel like I'm letting everybody down" for Ez in 3x03).

And we see how much this weighs on Ezran based on how heavily he takes responsibility for his perceived and or literal mistakes. Whether it's speeding things up too fast / not giving enough room for his people's, or his own anger...

E: I had a speech planned for today. It was about peace and love and hope. But I think I left something out. I ignored something that was true. I denied something that is undeniable.

or in doing the right thing in saving the Baitlings, but putting his friends in danger.

And Soren acknowledges that this isn't really fair for Ezran, either:

Soren: This is all too heavy. It's not fair you have to struggle through this alone. You deserve time to do kid stuff. If you spend all your time doing adult stuff now, you'll grow up weird, like your brother and Rayla.

Now, on the certain level, Ezran is alone because he's like - he's the King, and that's its own unique position. However, if you look at how close Viren and Harrow, and Harrow and Sarai were, in their decision making, they did everything together. In spite of being a single dad, Harrow was never alone in what he did as king (for better or for worse): "I accept that tonight I may pay the price for our mistakes."

So I think it's interesting this emphasis on loneliness/alone in the same season we have Amaya and Rayla's conversation about it too:

A: My big sister Sarai was the smartest, strongest, bravest person I knew. When she died, I felt lost and weak without her.

I hated feeling that way, so I learned to be strong alone. Stoic, strong, and lonely. [...] To have that kind of strength, it is not enough to love someone. You have to trust them to share the burdens you're carrying.

So who does Ezran depend on to carry that burden with him? Because Ezran isn't supposed to be alone as king, and Harrow spelled it out for us:

When I am gone your brother Ezran will become king, and you will be his partner, his defender, and his closest advisor.

So the question is... has Callum really fulfilled his role for his brother? Callum isn't crownguard, so actually protecting Ezran is primarily in Soren and Corvus' hands, exemplified by Soren being the one to get angry over the ruined painting in 4x03, to run to Ezran in 4x09, and for Callum to be absent from the Dragon mission in S5. And when Callum is there to have a duty to fulfil:

Then we see the brothers - not Ezran and Rayla - disagree on how to proceed forward with Aaravos, getting momentarily a little heated before they both turn to Rayla (and remember those Rayla parallels I mentioned earlier?):

Now, it's not surprising that Ezran wants to take the diplomatic / least violent route. He's the one primarily appealing to Akiyu rather than barrelling onwards, and expresses great concern for her (even after she tried to kill them). Claudia thinks she can appeal to him in 5x09 because of his empathy. A more compassionate, reasonable route is what he's always done, trying to reason evenly with Finnegrin and with Rex Igneous, even if it doesn't precisely work out... simply because they, like his brother, don't exactly Value the same things Ezran does.

Alright, so the broyals disagreed once, and Callum is a little flighty as a High Mage. So what? Well: Callum now knows, and has already committed himself, to helping Rayla free her parents from the coins, including Runaan.

And Ezran's short story going into S5 hints that this may not exactly be something he's happy about:

Ezran gripped the arrow tight. The thing in his hands was a terrible letter, the ribbon its message: the king of Katolis was dead. King Harrow. His father. Something cold lurched inside him. He fought against it. He’d fought it before, that same hurt, years ago—when he’d found out what really happened that night in Katolis. Still, it haunted him. He couldn’t help but imagine the scene, all of it playing out like grim theater before him, as though he’d been there, as though he’d stood by and watched it happen. That Moonshadow elf upon the castle ramparts, skulking toward his father’s chambers.

It stared up at him. Ezran felt a coldness twist its way around his heart. It took his lungs, too, and for a long moment he could not breathe, could not feel anything but an unfamiliar anger so potent it seized the whole of him, inside and out. Ezran stepped towards the arrow— —and stomped down on it as hard as he could. He wished he were bigger, stronger, he wished his boots were made of iron and not something soft. Still, it was enough. When he pulled his foot away, Ezran glared down at the arrow’s hawkish head, flattened and broken. Its ruby eye slipped from its socket, its black metal bent like frayed feathers. He left it there in the dark.

Full short story here.

So Ezran is going to find out, or possibly feel, that Callum and Rayla are keeping a secret from him (again, just like S2, which didn't make him happy then, either). Callum is going to side with Rayla over him if he mandates that Runaan shouldn't or can't be freed, giving into his anger and grief much the same way his father did. He may pull rank - and Callum is going to disregard it. A very similar fallout repeating itself...

Ezran being increasingly isolated (especially if Callum and Rayla are working, or leaving, to find the Starscraper), his disapproval and grief, trying to manage the possible fallout of Zubeia being injured/MIA, feeling undervalued and disregarded by his brother... There's little doubt in my mind that Callum and Ezran (and Rayla) will reconcile and find their way back to one another, healing their hurts, but Ezran has a lot of potential anger and angst to express and a lot on his upcoming plate, steadily added to and set up by the previous seasons.

Which in a lot of ways, makes sense. Ezran as king and Callum as high mage, and as brothers, have to prove they won't fall apart the same way that King Harrow and Viren did, more necessary than ever now that Callum has done dark magic again. Ezran was there to pick up the pieces after Rayla left, but he may still have anger over that and their joint secret keeping from him / feeling like they're treating him 'unfairly' like a child. We've also never really seen Ezran have this type of conflict before, nevermind for the trio as a whole (most of the time it's been Callum and Rayla disagreeing, a couple brief instances of Ez and Rayla, and Callum and Ez a few times in S1 / 5x05) so for Ezran to be what starts falling apart would really rattle all three of him, and seems to be where he's headed, character wise.

And I for one cannot wait to see it.

TLDR; Ezran's slow burn arc, much like Soren's, is being steadily set up and is going to likely be a big focus in the next two seasons, pushing him and other characters in brand new directions and with some really emotional, powerful storytelling to upstage our previously held status quo in all the ways.

142 notes · View notes

cosmicghafa · 2 months

Text

i’m on season 4 episode 15 of suits and holy SHIT I NEED TO UNPACK.

THE DARVEY CONTENT IN THIS EPISODE IS INSANE I NEED A MINUTE TO BREATHE HELLO??????

1.DONNA APOLOGIZING AND HIM LITERALLY GETTING RAGED BY HOW MUCH HE CARES ABOUT HER ?????

d- “i’m sorry harvey”

h- “i know you are but this just got a thousand times harder to get out of”

d- “you mean for you to get me out of”

h- “donna you of all people should understand by now that to me theyre the same thing.”

HELLO??????? MR SPECTER YOURE LITERALLY IN LOVE WITH HER????

2. THE CONVERSATION BETWEEN HIM AND MIKE

h- “well you got the job done by risking her.”

m- “and how is that different to all the times you risked me?”

h- “because she’s different.”

3. DONNA BEING SCARED AND BASICALLY BEGGING FOR HIM TO TELL HER HE CARES AND COMFORT HER?????!!?!? HIM IMPLYING HE DOES CARE AND WOULD FALL TO HIS KNEES IF SHE EVER GOT ARRESTED????? EXCUSE ME WHILE I GO SCREAM INTO A VOID

4. THE. ENDING. SCENE. WHERE. FADE. INTO. YOU. IS. THE. BACKGROUND. SONG. DONNA THANKS HIM??? AND HE ??????

“i told you i’d never let anything happen to you and i wont ever, so you dont ever have to feel scared like that again.”

AND THEN THE;

d- “i’m sorry i doubted you”

h- “i’m sorry i snapped at you. anyone else ever loses faith in me, it doesnt matter, with you its different.”

he literally. just. implied. that. her. opinion. is. the. only. opinion. he. cares. about. and. when. she. wanted. louis. to. take. the. case. he. was. hurt. because. he. couldnt. stand. the. thought. of. her. not. believing. in. him.

the looks. they exchanged. in this scene. that was literally donna realizing that shes in love with him and him saying he should leave bcs he just realized that what he just said made him feel something. ???????

and then LASTLY

the “why?” donna asks after he says with her its different.

and him replying “you know why.” AND THE PAUSE AND THEN “you know i love you, donna.”

HARVEY SPECTER WHEN I CATCH YYOOOUUUUU?!?!?! IM LITERALLY FALLING TO MY KNEES

i’m gonna jump off a cliff i love them so bad this is the best slowburn i’ve watched ever????????

#suits tv #darvey #harvey specter #donna paulsen

38 notes · View notes

givesupp · 1 month

Text

The Ones Who Live (episode 4 spoilers)

My head feels like it's going to implode in on me and I just need to vomit my thoughts somewhere before it does. I remember hearing about the The Walking Dead (literally everyone and their mother was talking about it). I remember never wanting to watch it because it was SO popular and I've never been a huge fan of watching anything while it was still going live and everyone was into it. I'm weird IDK.

I had just finished up another TV series and was feeling empty, as one usually does and just wanted to dive into a new series. I chose The Walking Dead, finally deciding to give it a chance. I binged the first 4 seasons on Netflix and as I was doing this, it was literally becoming life saving. Only a few short years prior to starting the series I had just started dealing with severe depression. It was crippling. IYKYK. And to make a long story short, falling in love with this show, falling in love with Rick Grimes gave me something to hold on to.

'It's just a show' - this has been said to me many times. But it's not just a show to me. It's a lifeline. Its taking an inspiring moment and grabbing it with the only strength you have left and burning it into your head because if they can do it you can do it. You'll think about it the next time you feel like you can't get out of bed because there just isn't a point. It's taking a character and watching him fight for his sons life while everyone around belittles his character as a father and leader and using that the next time you feel like your chest is about to cave in from the sheer force of anxiety that just hit you like a mack truck. And you think about this character persevering while you sit in the corner of your bathroom floor with a cold rag on your face just simply trying to breathe.

So many examples, so many moments TWD has breathed life back into me when nothing else could.

And then Richonne.

RICHONNE.

Oh my god, what a fucking absolute treasure to emerge from this series. The slowburn of it, the showcasing of patience and friendship, love and trust and overcoming loss and hardships - together.

Finding your person. Camaraderie. True, real love. A soulmate. This? Despite loss, death at the hands of others, death at the hands of your own, tragedy, hopelessness, mental illness, losing your child? I can't even find words to express what Rick and Michonne mean to me separately, but as a couple? I am unable to express in words because it just would not do justice to what they actually represent to me in my own personal life.

Nearly a month ago we were given The Ones Who Live episode 1. And I remember watching that and having to physically remove myself from my home, go outside, sit down on the ground and reflect while sun soaking near a river. That's how blown away I was over the writing, the story, the emotions centered around this character that I have watched and grown to love over years.

Episode 4? EPISODE 4 is a fucking WELLSPRING of emotions, struggle with mental wellness, disagreement, unconditional love, immense hurt, understanding and patience. A relationship struggling to be what it was, if not anything at all. A broken man and a broken woman. A son, who has DIED years ago still finding a way to be the one who brings his parents back together. Who brings strength to his dad even after all this time...

Carl placed in the palm of his fathers hand as a sketch on a broken phone breathing life back into him. This, from his wife. Finding a way to save him. Giving him a sense of purpose, meaning back to him after he declared his own death not that long ago because he could not and does not ever want to live without her.

You cannot tell me that this show isn't important.

That it isn't life saving.

That it isn't at the very least forcing us to reflect and discuss and acknowledge our own lives, our own relationships, our own mental health, our own circumstances, our -

No.

This isn't just a show to me.

Thanks for reading my vomit novel.

#richonne #rick grimes #michonne grimes #towl #twd towl #the ones who live

47 notes · View notes

ivfrankenstein · 2 years

Text

— HOW I SEE YOU;

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: Aaron Hotchner x fem!BAU!reader

— a collection of episodes that give us a glimpse of love growing over the years, from its different sides, from beginning to end — 1.

𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘: “I cling to you like the tear clings to the eye, like the knife clings to the wound.” [based on 4x15]

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: slowburn, mentions of violence (typical cm stuff).

𝐀/𝐍: that’s maybe chaotic, but I hope u’ll like it <3 gif: @hotch-girl inspirations edit 📠

[2009, february]

Of what happened in those 20 minutes, she could only remember the feeling at the end — a relaxing inexplicable sense of relief; like after a grueling race, when you're at the finish line you don't care if you won or lost or how you did it, you're just grateful that it's over.

He was frightened away, and in his haste he must have thought she was dead. Perhaps, that's because she stared motionless for a while into the dark sky above them. She found it amusing, at the end of the hour — it was 5:20 when she left the station, seven minutes later she was walking here, 20 minutes it lasted, now about 5:47 — the park was beautiful, warm, the grass was a little long; she felt it with her left hand and touched the damp asphalt with her right.

Voices were heard distantly, she saw the red light from the ambulance, and Hotch's face was the first one she recognized among the others.

“Y/N, you’re safe now,” he looked anxious — the way she rarely saw him, “They’ll take you to the hospital, you’ll be all right.”

She knew Hotch needed to hear a word from her, but she could barely move her mouth, just stared at him and blinked. Blood from her nose got on her tongue.

“God,” Hotch wiped the trickle over her lip with his hand, “Don’t..” his own lips moved silently.

Y/N reached up to his forearm, hardly perceptible squeezing it — it wasn't that bad, she wanted to say.

She remembered him praying.

“Did he say why her?” Aaron was focused, keeping his eyes on the board; to keep so much in his head he had to constantly strain himself physically — the body movements served as a defense mechanism for him as much as anything else.

“He didn’t know Y/N’s one of us, he just met her on the street,” Rossi didn't want to tell everything he got from the guy: I have no idea why, I see a guy walking down the street with a stupid look on his face and I want to bush him over the head.

Hotch couldn’t get the river of blood on Y/N’s face out of his mind; he broke away from the photos of the victims and turned to Dave, “Her jaw is dislocated from hitting the ground, she goes with metal plates unable to speak for the next six weeks and will only eat liquid food. There’s a wire mark on her neck and I want to believe it won’t stay with her for the rest of her life.”

He blurted it out in the single breath, but never once called Y/N by name, “I know that, Aaron,” Rossi waited before continuing, “I also know that it might remind you of Kate–”

“She’s not Kate,” he cut him off.

“She is not,” Dave meets his gaze, “It was you who told me not to take this case personally this afternoon,” Rossi read it well — the fact that Hotchner's good friend died in his arms was still fresh, and the possibility of it happening again with Y/N was too much.

“What did he say?” back again, professional and collected, he wants to know.

“That he liked her, that she looked like his girlfriend, that’s all,” Rossi admitted after all, “Aaron, Y/N’s a strong agent, she hurt him just as much.”

“Could that even be enough?” at times he was overcome with rage toward all the scumbags they were dealing with — he know about that part of himself, but the rage had a tendency to escalate into something more when it affected his team, and felt so personal.

Hotch let Dave take a couple of steps toward the door before he stopped him, there was one single doubt about what had happened, beyond what he had no control over, there was something he could change.

“Rossi, Gideon once told me that I was doing wrong by always keeping Y/N out of the field,” Aaron said, “that as a mentor I should have stopped holding her long ago.” His frown didn't translate all the confidence in Gideon's comment, and that's why he needed an outsider's perspective.

Dave exhaled heavily, he really was sorry, at the realization that Hotchners post carries so much responsibility for people you already consider family, “As I remember, when Y/N first joined you, she didn't need to have field agent skills, right?” no answer was required, Rossi already knew about that, “You may not agree, but I think Jason is the one who should have taken care of this issue. If we're talking about a mentor.” Hotch remained in a waiting silence, and Dave went on, “I’ll explain only by asking, because maybe my eyes are failing me, but isn't Y/N your partner whenever we got a case?”

It wasn't something Aaron would normally think about, but it was true, “I suppose, yes, she is.”

“Then make this decision as her partner. If you think she could do more than she did, then send her to retraining,” he added in the end, “only after you discuss it with her.”

Aaron nodded briefly in response. What else could he say that hadn't been said before?

His silent panic, which had enveloped him at home, this evening turned into silent despair at the service. Now he was, once again, left alone struggling against himself with the necessity of going to family, and the inability to put all the emotions down. Ultimately, he knew in advance that he ended up staying at the hospital, with Y/N, because of an equally overwhelming need to be there, too.

#Aaron Hotch Hotchner #aaron hotchner imagine #aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotch imagine #aaron hotch x reader #aaron hotch x you #aaron hotch x y/n #aaron hotch hotchner imagine #aaron hotchner x you #aaron hotchner x y/n #aaron hotchner x female reader #aaron hotchner fluff #aaron hotchner angst #cm imagine #criminal minds imagine

643 notes · View notes

silviakundera · 3 months

Text

DRAMA REC: So I feel like any real review of Thai drama Moonlight Chicken is hard without heavy spoilers because honestly I don't know how to talk about what makes me passionate about it without discussing all the character relevations that occur over the course of its 8 episodes. I'll try to be generic as much as I can.

The thing about why it's hard to discuss without spoilers is that the characters and their full baggage are revealed slowly episode by episode, because like in real life you often learn about new friends & love interests slowly as intimacy deepens...

But from what I can see online, it's very subjective for viewers - depends on the person if they find these themes and personal challenges compelling or not. This doesn't fit with the typical "BL asian drama" format.

My personal viewing stake: There's an otp that has TAKEN OVER MY BRAIN. I have been searching for this energy ever since finishing Lighter & Princess. Gotta confess that I couldn't care less about the second couple who are teenagers. Apparently MDL and a lot of tumblr only liked the teen couple (valid!), but I just skipped over them mostly because when my brain locks in on Real Adults with Adult Problems I often cease to connect to high school student storylines. But the age gap couple with a 39 year old character who is FEELING his age... Jim & Wen. I've watched all 8 episodes now and they are like cocaine to me.

Ep 1 setup: We're not in Bangkok! (gasp) Jim is almost-40 and runs a late night diner in the less upscale part of town. Wen, about 10 years younger, is drunk at his diner as he's trying to close for the night. They pick up on the unspoken signals, instant electric connection, and end up wandering back to Jim's place and having what looks like fantastic sex together (without exchanging names).

But then after that first night, in the remaining 7 ep of the show you get a slowburn build up from zero as Jim doesn't want a relationship - with anyone. This is truly, sincerely a 'it's not you, it's me" situation. He is mired in baggage and the angst is SO DELICIOUS to me. Angst and soft hand touches and late night conversation. There's YEARNING. SO MUCH YEARNING.

And then my darling Wen! Who brings almost the same energy as the Lighter and Princess FL. @dangermousie I never thought I'd see this irrepressible determination and tender, good humored patience again! He is deeply sure that there is something special here with Jim and is unrelenting about trying to scale Jim's walls. I know that sounds like psychotic SML material lmao but it's all about the tone and context. It's very clear that Jim is allowing Wen in his life and doesn't, deep down, want Wen to give up on him. He's damaged and scared but I always felt he wants Wen to be right - that they are falling in love and can build something real together. He just can't make himself take that step. I mean, in their 2nd meeting he is EQUALLY INSANE to agree that it's v normal and hinged behavior to let his 1 night stand start randomly showing up to work shifts at his diner as 'temp staff' he can't afford to pay because... um. Basically to stalk him? idk I don't think it's stalking when u have a mutual agreement?? 🤔

Wen falling deeper into Jim and KNOWING the feeling is mutual no matter how many times he's (so gently!) pushed back... can be sooooo personal. 😭😭😭 The vibes of this "we're Not Together™" but it's inevitable, I'm just waiting for the timing to be right... reminiscent of the last 10 episodes of Lighter & Princess. This building intimacy and tenderness that stretches on until as a viewer you feel like... They ARE in love, they're together but just without the sex. They just have to stabilize their lives first before committing whole-heartedly. THE BITTERSWEET PINGING. (screams)

One thing I've observed is many people seem to struggle to connect with Jim's character. The closest thing we have to a protagonist (?) Maybe. Anyway, I suspect it might be a generational thing. I found the drama incredibly compelling, but I grew up queer in the 80s and 90s. I'm well into my 40s, a bit older than Jim, but I think the generational queer experience overlaps pretty well considering the sociopolitical differences btw us/thailand.

The screenwriter is an older out gay man, so I presume that's also a factor in how he did a pitch-perfect depiction of Jim's struggles to find home.

Wen has his own baggage that feels very real and raw. I loved his storyline because I could personally relate to it also from my queer relationship experience.

I've blabbered on here before about how I feel like there's something different about queer stories being told to other queers, not targeted to straight viewers primarily - I'm not saying it's better than the big brands and popular international media including lgbt rep. It's just different imo and I do think it's valuable. I want to see stories about the complexities of the experience & about the gay community that can't just be mapped to straight people. Where the story would not feel the same if you flipped the sexualities. That's what Midnight Chicken was to me: the characters of Jim and Wen and their personal development & slow love story together felt very queer and the age gap was a relevant part of this. And that called to me. I could recognize parts of myself in them and my personal experiences as a gay woman.

I was impressed by the writing. Strong acting. The directing of individual scenes is excellent BUT the 1 big flaw is the editing. Very amateur, super abrupt scene changes! Just jarring. But whatever, I've seen some terrible editing in cdramas too. Also note the storytelling tactic is to show a series of meaningful moments & interactions over like 6-8 months of time. Events progress in ways we don't always see and it's not always spelled out to the audience, everything that happened since we last saw them. That may or may not work for the viewer.

[Plus there's a very sweet & wholesome teen love story that also gets a happy ending, if you're into that. One of the teens is deaf and there's no "cure the disability" nonsense, don't worry. I was adult-focused but I did appreciate the complicated family relationship subplot with Jim trying to caretake his nephew and their relationship to the mostly-absent sister.]

ok so now into spoiler territory. Letting the relevations come out organically would be a much better viewing experience BUT...

SPOILERS ON JIM & WEN BACKSTORY

Jim's whole deal is he had a big love in his late 20s-early 30s that fucked him up good. He grew up being told gay love isn't real, leaves his rural farming town with his sister in their teens, disconnected from his family... But even his sister, who loves him, had the perspective that it's Just A Phase. Jim expects to Prove Them Wrong. Then his boyfriend cheats on him.... With a woman. Activate that generation's internalized homophobia and self-doubt. And then before he gets to truly confront his partner, his partner dies in an accident. So he never gets resolution.

And he's stuck under a mountain of debt, on the edge of poverty because he didn't get any of the guy's assets when he died of course. No rights under Thai law. Partner's family takes it all but the old car & the cat. All he has is the small chicken rice shop they had bought and ran together and it's killing him, he both hates and loves it. He's this amazing member of the local community but doesn't see himself and his own worth clearly.

Wen is working through the guilt of falling out of love from his 1st gay relationship that lasted 5 years of his 20s. Broken up but still living together. Trying to stay in each other's lives (I've seen this a lot, because in small gay communities you don't just cut ties with good people you care about). But living together is toxic for both of them, despite the real care that's there.

He also feels disconnected from a community at the start. He has work collegues, all straight friends, and his now-ex boyfriend. But you get the subtle sense that his local ties are all with the boyfriend Alan's family and mutual friends with Alan who don't all know about the breakup yet and he doesn't know how to interface with them anymore now that he and Alan aren't the same. He's the one who fell out of love, so he's "the bad guy" here and the straight friend he tries to talk to about trying to co-habititate with his ex and stay close friends doesn't really get it, because that's just way more typical behavior for older generation queers - it's notable that when the situation is fully explained to Jim, he doesn't seem to find it bizarre at all (as said, I've gone through that myself, and known friends in that situation; found that subplot to be very well done.) (I read that many viewers were disappointed this wasn't a standard infidelity situation where Wen is just regular cheating on Alan, but I have to say that I feel the opposite. The subplot and how it played out felt very relatable to me. I didn't need a cheating angst plotline in this drama that could be transplanted into a straight drama. I wanted more stories that represented my lived experience as an adult lesbian, and Wen's narrative gave me that.)

Wen keeps searching for a home even while living with Alan and having loved him in the past. Which to me was a sign that he'd moved to this smaller city, living in Alan's condo and in Alan's life with Alan's extended family... He started eating beef because Alan did and following along. He doesn't know where HE feels at home, what Wen needs to be comfortable and happy. When he more & more starts to believe he can make this home with Jim, he's determined to make it happen.

#really long post #agonizingly long meta #sorry to my mutuals #ily 😘😘😘#drama review #drama recommendation #midnight series: moonlight chicken #jimwen #moonlight chicken

30 notes · View notes

dumbdolphin3 · 3 months

Text

OK THIS IS A RANT WITH ZERO PUNCTUATION IN ALL CAPS AND SPOILERS FOR HAZBIN HOTEL EPS. 1-4!!!!

OK SO I JUST FINISHED WATCHING THEM AND OH MY FUCKING GOD I LOVE IT SOOOO MUCH ITS AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL AND OH MY FUCKING GOD IM GONNA RANT ABOUT THE CHARACTERS AND THE EPISODES MAYBE IDKKKKK

CHARLIE GIRL YOU ARE SO WHOLEOSME AND I OOVE YOU BUT GODDAMN STOP TAKING PEOPLE’S SHIT JUST BECAUSE YOU AHVE TO BE NICE. ALTHOUGH WHEN YOU WENT DEMON FIRM AT VAL FOR FUCKING ABUSING ANGEL HELLLLLL YEAH THATS MY gIRL ILYSM. AND HER FEELING GUILTY FIR EVERYTHING LIEK IT WAS PARTLY YOUR FAULT BUT NO STOP REVEALING MY OWN PROBLEMS TO ME “YOU FIX EVERYONE’S PROBLEMS EXCEPT YOUR OWN” STOP IT HUSK STOP IT.

SPEAKING OF HUSK MY FAVORITE CHARACTER, MY BELOVED. I OOVE THIS WISE OLD BARTENDER. HIM IN THE 4TH EPISODE… AHHHHHHHHH MY HUSKERDUST HEART!!! AND IF HIS AND ALASTOR’S RELATIONSHIP AND PAST DONT GET DEEPLY DIVEN INTO IN THE SHOW I WILL NOT HESITATE TO FUCKING MAKE JY WAY TO FUCKING HEAD WRITER AND MAKE IT HAPPEN. AND HIM TAKING CARE OF ANGEL. GET FUCKING MARRIED (JKJK I LOVE A SLOWBURN (SERIOUSLY ATYD TOOK LIKE 70 CHAPTERS AT KEAST FOR FEELINGS TO EVEN HAPPEN)) AND HIM RELATING TI ANGELLLL AND THEIR DUETTTTTT!!!

AND NOW ANGEL. MY GOD I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU VAKENTINO YOU DO NOT GET TO HURT MY SECOND FAVORITE CHARACTER AND JUST EXPECT ME NOT TO BRANDISH MY FUCKING KNOFE JUST BCUZ YOU ARE FICTIONAL AND THERE IS NO POSSIBLE WAY I COULD KILL YOU. I WILL GET A FUCKING ANGELIC WEAPON AND SKEWER YOU. NOW ENLUGH ABOUT THAT SHITHEAD ONTO OMGGGG ANGEL NO ONE CAN BEAT HUSK BUT GODDAMN ILYYYYY HIM AND VAGGIE HAVE A SUBLING RELATIONSHIP AND NO ONE CAN CONVIBCE ME OTHERIWSE. THEY ARE JUDGEMENTAL SHITS WHO HATE EACH OTHER AND WOULD THRIW EACH LTHER IN FRONT OF A CAR BUT WOULD KILL SOMEOBE IF THEY SOMUCH AS LOOKED AT THE OTHER THE WROBG WAY. ALSO IN EPSIDOE 2 HIM BEATING THE SHIT OUT OF SIR PENTIOUS. YES. AND HIM FEELING LEFT PUT UGHHHHHHH!,!

OK SIR PENTIOUS TIME BCUZ HE IS VOICED BY ALEX BRIGHTMAN AND I AM A FUCKING BEETLEJUICE STAN, AND ALSO A FIZZAROLI STAN (HE IS THE BEST THING THAT HAPPENED TI HELLUVA BOSS AND NO I WILL NOT DEBATE THIS) AND OMG HES SO SILLY HOW DID HE EVER GO TO HELL I CANT HES SO SWEET AND APOLOGETIC. I MEAN HE WAS AN ASSHOLE FOR LIEK TWO MINUTES AND HE DID ONLY APOLOGIZE AFTER GETTING THE SHIT BEATEN OUT IF HIM BUT THEN HE SANG A WHOLE SONG WITH CHARLIE AND HES SO SWEET I CANT- ALSO HIS WHOLE THING WITH NIFFTY SPEAKING OF NIFFTY…

I LOVE THIS LITTLE GREMLIN SHE IS PURE COMEDY GOLD AND SHE IS EVERYTHING. SHE HAS PROBABLY KILLED MORE PEOPLE THAN ALASTOR AND I LOVE THAT FOR HER. JUST WATCHING “INNICENTLY” WHILE ANGEL PLAYED HIS PORN VID… AND HER AND SIR PENTIOUSSSS “OOH HES A BAD BOY” AND THEN HER WALING IN RIGHT AFTER THE MUSICAL NUMBER BEING LIKE “I HATED THAT YOU’RE NOT A BAD BOY ANYMORE” I LITERALLY LOVE HER SHES SO UNDERRATED!!! AND HUSK JUST REFUSING TO SHARE WHAT KIND OF SHIT SHOW SHE IS!!, FUCKING LOVE HER.

ANYWAY VAGGIE AND CHARLIE ARE LITERALLY SO CUTE (I HAVE SOME CHAGGIE FANART I MADE I JUST UGHHHH LOVE THEM) AND VAGGIE IS SO SWEET ALSO HER WHOLE THING IN THE 3RD EPISODE WHERE SHE’S KINDA LIKE SHES A GENERAL IN THE MILITARY? I FEEL LIKE THAT MIGHT BE A POINT FOR THE VAGGIE IS AN EX-EXORCIST (IF THE EXORCISTS ARE STRCTURED LIKE AN ARMY (LOOK AT ME THEORIZING MATPAT WOULD BE PROUD)) ALSO HER BEING READY TO FUCKING KILL ANYONE LOVEEEEEE!!!

UM ANYWAY ITS ALASTOR TIME AND IF ALL THE COMPLEXITIES OF HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH LITERALLY EVERYONE IN THE CAST AREN’T EXPLAINED IN DEPTH I WILL FUCKING KILL SOMEBODY (PROBABLY VALENTINO I HATE HIM SO MUCH I JUST WANT TO TAKE A KNIFE AMD-) ANYWAY ALL OF ALASTOR’S MONENTS ARE AMAZING I LOVED THE CALLBACK TO “HA! no” AND HIM AND THE EGG BOIS——— ALSO HIS DUET WITH VOX??? AMAZING AND DID ANYONE ELSE NOTICE THAT IT LOW KEY KIND OF SOUNDED LIEK “INSANE” AT SOME PARTS? MY HAZBIN OBESSED MIND ATE THAT SHIT UPPPPP!

WELP THATS PRETTY MUCH ALL I HAVE TO SAY ON THE MAIN CAST ALSO JUST WANT TO MENTION THAT I LOVE HOW WHEN CHARACTERS SING THEY ARE ACTUALLY SINGING!!! LIKE I LOVE IT WHEN MUSICALS ACKNOWLEDGE THE SONGS IT MAKES ME HAPPY

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel husk #hazbin hotel angel dust #hazbin hotel charlie #hazbin hotel sir pentious #hazbin hotel niffty #hazbin hotel alastor #hazbin hotel vaggie

17 notes · View notes

kuno-chan · 1 year

Text

The Satisfaction of The Dragon Prince, Season 4

I don't want to go too deep since I'll likely talk about s4 in the podcast, but my general thoughts:

I really liked this season. It didn't make me scream and lose my mind the way season 3 made me scream (and I'm also just emotionally a different person than I was 3 years ago), but I was rather satisfied with this season. It feels like season 1 in its own right where it's good, the writing is great, but it doesn't feel like enough. In a good, gripping way. I want more. Because it's a new beginning. Season 1 was like that because it was the beginning, albeit I was more feverish with season 1 and Sides of the Moon was born in the time before season 2 came out to fill that craving for me.

I almost thought I was going to be disappointed by the ending despite how much I had enjoyed myself because it felt like a lot had happened but not a lot happened and I was so used to the pacing of Seasons 1-3, but those seasons were written under the pretense that there might not be 7 seasons. Stuff had to be paced quickly while also making all the developments (plot, character, relationships and otherwise) believable in 9 episodes.

But what ultimately made me feel really rather satisfied with what we got and excited for season 5 was Callum hugging Rayla, in the end, and telling her "I'm glad you came back" because that's what it was leading up to. That's the kind of slowburn grow-back-together dynamic I'd write. I even have been doing it in Sides of the Moon.

That's what Callum's development and their relationship development this season was really leading up to: him just being able to be comfortable around her again, friends with her, being able to openly say that he's happy she's back.

He couldn't do that in their reunion. He's not dealing well. Still not, but that milestone of being able to say: I am happy that you are with me again.

It's not a "I forgive you" or a "We're totally cool and are past everything, including my hurt feelings." It's just him being able to acknowledge her in his life again, that he wants her there, he missed her and he chooses to have her in his life again. That's big for someone who was, frankly, abandoned.

He still loves her. We know that. He knows that, but there's a lot of pain there to heal through first while also trying to save the world and not fall to darkness.

That made this season, among other things, really satisfying. Rayla and Callum's hug, then followed by the group hug. The gang's back together.

This season was a buildup season. It's laying the groundwork for some satisfying payoff later in the series.

Remember: we don't have to wait to see if we're getting more seasons. We know that season 5 has been in development.

Seasons 1-3 were building up to what could have been a series finale. Seasons 4-7 can take a more paced approach and let the characters breathe, let the world breathe, let the lore breathe and it can tell us "Hey, don't worry. We got this."

So, this season said "We're back."

We're back at the start again.

#the dragon prince #tdp #rayllum #rayla #callum

283 notes · View notes

prbni · 2 years

Text

My controversial Kdrama opinions

1. Ko Moon Young was just a psychologically messed up girl. She isn't the 'girlpower' or 'badass' that the Kdrama fandom likes to dub her into.

2. In 'Hotel del Luna', they could've just chucked the entire character of Gu Chansung out of the window and gave Chang Myung a rebirth/rebirths,make him go through various trials and tribulations to repent and earn Man Wol's forgiveness. Didn't have to make it unnecessarily tragic.

3. Unnecessarily tragic reminds me, the 'realistic' ending of 2521 was a JOKE. There was NO point of developing such a power couple if they were to break up for such a mundane reason.

4. Romance genre isn't Song Kang's 'thing'. He shines better as an actor in non-romance genres.

5. Had they focused on developing Ju Kyung as an individual character who finally learns how to completely take a stand for herself instead of dangling her between Suho and Seojun, 'True Beauty' would've become a more popular and appreciated drama.

6. The love line between Hwang InYeop and Seo Hyun Jin's character in 'Why her: Oh Soo Jae' was absolutely unnecessary and awkward.

7. Jo Bo Ah and Ahn Bo Hyun and an amazing chemistry in 'Military Prosecutor: Do Bae Man'. However, they could've developed a slowburn romance between them instead of abruptly putting a kiss sequence in the last episode out of nowhere.

8. In 'Snowdrop', Eun Young Ro forgiving Soo Ho later on didn't make sense. Their kiss sequence was purely fan service,nothing else.

9. Individual acting aside,Kim Hye Yoon had more chemistry with Lee Jae Wook(2nd lead) than Rowoon(main lead) in 'Extraordinary You'.

10. Writers are overusing 'Let's kill off the main character and make the show tragically memorable' trope wayyy too much.

11. As much as it physically hurts me given the chemistry of the actors,Choi Do Il and Oh In Joo not having any proper romantic sequence till the end of 'Little Women' makes sense to the storyline(the shipper me might've wanted a hug though).

12. Also the writers should stop doing the 'lets make the second lead better than the main lead'. Its annoying to see one person actually making sincere effort for the girl but the girl ends up totally ignoring their effort and like the ML. Not in just Kdramas but in all sorts of dramas. I actually saw a Chinese drama where the second lead finally turned into a villain. I LITERALLY commented 'good for him' lmao.

13. Sunho in 'Cheer Up' is problematic. Neither his sad backstory nor his sincere feelings for Haeyi changes that fact.

14. The Heirs(2013) drama wasted an opportunity to pair Young Do(Kim Woobin) with Yoo Rachel(Kim Jiwon). No, they didn't need to be 'siblings'. I'd have chosen the two heartbroken yet sassy and tough people romance over the sappy romance of the main couple in a heartbeat. And the actors would've NAILED it.

15. Jojo not ending up with Sunho in 'Love Alarm' finally broke the 'Cinderella and Prince Charming' fairytale trope of Kdramas. That girl was too messed up in the head . She didn't need the rich,fierce and impulsive lover, but the quite,patient and thoughtful one. So don't go ahead and say the ending sucked. Maybe they could've made things more coherent, but no the ending didn't suck.

16. Moon Dong Eun should have remained single, with the last episode ending with him crossing paths with Do Yeong, with Yeonjin & gang & all the revenge agenda gone, she could hv offered him a smile and a game of Go, keeping an open ending for them. Lee Do Hyun was fabulous in playing Yeojeong and their chemistry was amazing. But they could hv just been partners in crime with their teamwork without the romantic plot between them.

17. No. Ryu Shi Oh doesn't give second lead syndrome. Byun Woo Seok is a very good actor but he plays the villain in 'Strong Woman Kang Nam Soon' and not anti-hero. Lee Yoo Mi and him should be paired opposite to e/o in some other project in the future but Shi Oh and Nam Soon ain't the 'enemies to lovers' you think it is.

251 notes · View notes

firespirited · 2 months

Text

NOPE 2022. Review with spoilers under the read more

Nope didn't quite work as horror for me but was a decent action flick, I'd have enjoyed the experience better if it wasn't under "sci fi" and "horror": spent the time expecting something else instead of properly being in the moment - I was tired, had specific ideas about what might happen, then immediately wanted a rewatch because I'd missed the good stuff looking for other stuff (will do that rewatch as soon as possible)

It didn't work (as sci fi horror) partly because I'm a know-it-all/super nerd who gets all the sci-fi references and knows all the tropes and partly because Peele really doesn't do subtle.

Entertainment chimp chaos + ufo + horse wranglers = space chimp chaos, it was clearly a people and horse eating creature from jump so no build up there. I'm totally used to aliens being either creature based or beyond our understanding.

// or that wonderful balance in between that films like Arrival and Annihilation (or Evangelion) found where there's a logic but it's larger than we are, we're space dogs compared to their space humans.

That's my jam. The existential horror/wonder of encountering something advanced enough we can interact but to understand it? That's beyond us: might blow our minds or change us forever or leave us without answers because we're just not good enough. Yeah. Tangeant over lol //

- The second very specific thing is the sound of screams. I have trouble telling the difference between good and bad ones, I have had dissociative freezes at fairs and theme parks looking at people clearly enjoying themselves. For some reason that I cannot rewire or logic away, my brain assumes 1 of the people on the ride must be in genuine distress. Occasionally it happens with playground screams too. It's something I've had to work on as I lived close enough to hear fairgrounds every summer from age 15 - 30. I've heard them on the wind in july here for ten years. I cope well nowadays, a brief shudder then it's fine.

Anyway, Nope also didn't work as horror for me for two very specific personal reasons:

-the first that I won't really expand on here is trauma turned into a good story: dealing with something bad (and also very much NOT dealing with it) by having a good story to tell. The fact that this story dropped that into the narrative then didn't follow up meant that I briefly thought there might be something to break my heart in two... but that wasn't the point being made, the point clearly was a childhood exploitation turning into a pattern of exploiting everything.

// If you know of stories about trauma turned into a story to avoid confronting it directly or giving a good end send me reccs I'm ready to pick at that wound (okay okay maybe not 'I May Destroy You' final episode levels of ready, Michaela Coel is too powerful). //

So I was looking for that and it didn't happen.

So I knew exactly what the opening sound was, what the faint sound in the wind was. So the only reveal was that it wasn't mimicry or psychological tactics by the alien (i was still in the mode of thinking of various sci fi beings who used/enjoyed fear instead of just a wild creature. I was primed to puzzle solve and there's no puzzle just layers of meaning).

But I did love OJ the cowboy hero and his sister Em on the motorbike. They had very believable sibling energy despite one of them being in a deep funk at the start. And yeah the Akira bike slide was awesome. I really liked the alien design, starting with something we think we know but actually more of a sand dollar then popping into the jellyfish form but with the non-organic, not quite working within our physics square.

If it's an action film, it takes its time to really start which is why I was stuck on slowburn dread sci-fi mode for so long but that could be western film pacing. I honestly have no understanding or knowledge whatsoever of westerns: the whole genre stank as ahistorical attempts at myth making.

// It's one of the reasons I don't watch war films, often about myth making, post hoc justifications, glamorising a life of 95% boredom 5% hell. //

But yeah my expectations were a little too high: it hit me way too late that it was a 1:1 chimp metaphor not a more vague tampering with something we can't control and really thought the creature would be playing with fear or have somehow been formed by fear (like the boar in Annihilation having taken on its victims traits).

Also suffered from way too dark syndrome. I loved the well lit final action, if it'd been well lit during the creature choking over the house scene that would have been so much cooler. I have a low tolerance for ooh it goes bump in the dark for half the movie, I'm just squinting and cursing you for padding the film with anything but character moments in the aftermath or in dread that would make the human impact feel more real.

Solid action flick: We need dashing Daniel Kaluuya on a horse in more films. Keke Palmer is a scene stealer I look forward to seeing more of her. I liked the emo tech guy. Film dude was wack without being funny. Why did they give him so much screen time? Steven Yeun does what he can with what little he had. I would have liked to have lingered a little longer on his conflicting relationship to fame.

My review? No yet rated. Gonna rewatch it as an action flick in the dark and enjoy it for what it is. Something tells me it's very rewatchable! And... I need to stop making assumptions based on genre expectations.

#saf #Movie reviews #nope 2022

8 notes · View notes

thelastharbinger · 2 years

Text

What a strange feeling to have. Your ship finally comes together but just not in the way you wanted. Or rather, the timing you wanted--even though you've been waiting 3 years.

#everything about that finale was forced because there was just no time!#what even was the point of ricky's confession getting caught on camera??#the this is me solo felt forced given how little time we spent with that character #ej's storyline didn't really get a resolution and also fuck his dad #big red coming out as bi was a pleasant surprise but his scene with ashlyn was a lot and also too little #nini leaving without personally explaining to her best friend that she'd be moving was a choice #the whole trailer reaction scene was befuddling bc all of a sudden ppl were getting upset abt drama they knew was edited in #and yeah...i wish rina got to have their slowburn into season 4 and for ricky to be the one to initiate that conversation #also what in that 1 month time skip made gina realize that she was still willing to bank on ricky?#when a month ago she was head over heels for ej #the whole rina ending was so forced in there i kept thinking maybe it was a dream scenario fake out #also gina is finally lead in a show and we saw her perform nothing!#we barely saw any of the show!#i just wish everything was given more time #like if rina had to happen this season it needed five more episodes #two of them being post camp still during summer break #like as someone who has been patiently waiting for rina the writing has minimized all impact for me #but im still excited to see them be all cute and coupley next season #its just that we followed ricky this season pining over gina so not having him getting to air out his feelings is a missed opportunity #but whatever its fine ig #portwells have it way worse rn so imma shut up #cause this ending made portwell seem like a distraction in the way of rina. it waa giving it was you all along #which it wasn't and that's fine! but at least wrap things up neatly #damn #but ig we won so hey!#hsmtmts #rina #portwell #rina endgame #ricky x gina

4 notes · View notes

binarybitex · 14 days

Text

writing updates for this week :] (04/14/2024)

this week's writing is largely comprised of thoughts, brainstorms, and a few revisions to chapters 9 & 10.

here's a snippet from the upcoming ch 9 "boss babysitter"

in total, i wrote over 5600 words on the document!!

as i wrap up book 1, ive been thinking a lot about the structures of books 2 and 3. timing is key to me bc this is slowburn after all. but aaaaaaa its just as painful (/pos) to write slowburn as it is to read it....

ive also been thinking about zekes journey up to heart hollow, pa. what he's seen, where he's been, what brought him to the resort, yadda yadda yadda.... and so my brain continues to flesh out things that will probably never be brought up in the main narrative

ive been deeply considering cherry and zeke's friendship. theres a pretty pivotal chapter in book 2 that touches on this, and i want to make sure i grasp it right. i wrote a big dialogue chunk down in my notebook.... i cant wait to write this episode !!! its been part of my arc list since the very beginning. eeeeek

aaughh ive been laboring over chapter 11's details. lots of research, lots of planning. there are....... so many moving pieces. im a little intimidated but i think itll be an excellent challenge. some stuff abt lewis gets dropped this chapter. thats all ill say.

added and tweaked chapter 10 a lot. this is the one thats been killing me... its going to end up being longer than ch9. fuck me for writing 30+ page chapters ig. (again.... slowburn is so painful but good god that slow dopamine release is therapeutic asf)

made some final revisions to ch9 "boss babysitter". i think i understand now why ive been so hesitant on posting it; a few more things needed to be added before the books finale..... i........ dont mean to cause alarm, but as soon as im done drawing the promotional artwork............ i think im ready to post it.

thats all for the week. monday starts tomorrow and i only have one task i have to accomplish. will probably work on ch10 and finish up the promo comic for ch9 "boss babysitter" :]

6 notes · View notes

dattuff · 3 months

Note

#1 is funny because Byler DOES look like the interactions of canon couples in the show, and this is one of the most commonly cited pieces of evidence so you’re basically saying they would’ve done something they’re literally doing. If you actually analyze the show’s details, the parallels of Byler to Jancy, Lumax, Jopper, etc. are quite astonishing. The same “tender, emotional music” used for other couples was even used in S4 Byler scenes. And one of the clearest parallels to Byler actually comes in S4 with Rovickie. The whole Robin/Dan/Vickie situation is framed identically to Will/El/Mike.

#2 is a matter of perspective. I get that argument but I believe not breaking mileven up for good in S4 serves a significant narrative and thematic purpose. And also from a meta POV, wouldn’t you save your big relationship twist for the final season if it’s indeed a slowburn? I don’t think that renders anything about S4 pointless. I also wouldn’t say they’re “finally on the same page” after Mike’s monologue. The show goes out of its way to show they aren’t talking and to show that things aren’t fully resolved. And I don’t think it’s fair to blame Mike if he’s lying/not telling the full truth because repression/internalized homophobia especially in the 80s is no joke.

I believe those inner struggles make a more nuanced character, which means the writing would be far from terrible. It’s also canonically true that it’s Will’s painting lie that sparked Mike’s monologue, and that hasn’t been addressed yet. Will IS at the center of Mileven (literally speaking in S4). The GA would be confused if they don’t explain things next season but I believe they will. I get that Mileven is canon on the surface, but I believe the setup for Byler is clear if you look a little deeper. I used to ship Mileven until I couldn’t look away from Mike’s queercoding and I had to switch teams. I don’t think it’s subtle or hidden

#1 the biggest parallels that I can see is with jancy which isn’t really a good thing considering jancy’s issues were left unresolved bc of Jonathan choosing not to confront them. ending the season with same problem as it started with. The Vickie/Robbin “parallels” aren’t that convincing either considering half of that ship is literally unknown and we don’t even know if they even get together or not.

#2 if it were a movie I guess but as a series it would be 100% the better option to break mileven up before the last season. Not do a complete 180 from the literal last episode wasting all that time spent on milevens relationship just for it to end up serving 0 purpose. With it being the last season the show will already be crowded with other things not to mention the multiple other unresolved life threatening issues needed to be touched on. All of that while s5 has a shorter runtime than s4.

#antibyler

2 notes · View notes

variousqueerthings · 2 years

Text

where to start, where to start

(starts with “dreams” because I’m still screaming about it and will until time immemorial)

also was thinking about how one of the big things about this show that I haven’t seen before outside of... deep space nine perhaps... (and not done as well)

is that the way it does continuation is so fascinating, as I’m sure is one of the main things that people go crazy about -- which is the fact that it’s syndication which gives you these long lines of episodes that standalone, but then it keeps referencing back to characters and events

and these self-references for the most part are either subtextual or single lines, but then every once in awhile you’ll be seeing something in a character (ex. BJ and Peggy are irrevocably changed, Margaret is constantly fighting herself in who she is and what she wants and who she’s expected to be, Hawkeye is falling to pieces, etcetc) that’s been growing for awhile and could have just stayed in the background and that would have been fine

but then certain episodes are like “hey, you know those things you’ve been seeing? we’re going to make them Text so that you can stare at a wall for a million years and think about the slowburn of it all”

which you also don’t get from modern TV, because the seasons are so short and the arcs are either so focused on plot, or the character-stuff has to be resolved within a season, so this really really long-form exploration of character psyche is... you know??????????????????????????

and so “dreams”.... and also “war-correspondent” for BJ specifics as an episode that follows on right after dreams and yeahyeah syndication but it fits!

dreams first (out of order, I cannot remember the orders of the dreamers):

dreams really just took whatever it is the “dear [x]” episodes do and intensified the character exploration beam by a million percent, so that you’re left feeling like you’ve just stared straight into the sun and the afterimage is hurting your retinas and can never be fully explained (does that make sense???)

1. Margaret in the wedding dress with the guy in the bed being taken away from soldiers, then for dying, bleeding soldiers to pile up in her bed, and then for her wedding dress to be covered in blood but!!!! ok how much on purpose was it that the blood could also be read as the aftermath of a miscarriage? it was the first thing that I thought of because of the placement of it (usually when the characters have blood on them it’s spraying across their chest and it’s not in one big patch like that) -- obviously we’ve had a few episodes of Margaret making decisions about who she is and what she wants, but to see it haunting her like this, and (if one does read miscarriage) the death of her dreams of family, of being able to balance all these sides of herself, of the ways the violence of war has also stripped her of the ability to “just be” a woman in the traditionally expected and demanded sense.

How do you fit into a box like that after what you’ve seen, what you’ve done, what you’ve become???

2. Father Mulcahy is a character who always exists juuust a little more on the periphery for me. He’s not got quite as much POV episodes as the others, and a lot of his inner life episodes are around this idea of what his “use” is (the wondering if he has any use). And so his was so brilliantly done to, yeah, play with that, but there’s more there to to pick apart. I remember the interview, when he talked about how cutting into a body releases warmth, and it felt like it was hearkening back to that as well.

I need to think more about it, but I’m sure the Mulcahy aficionados have broken it down expertly (AND I wonder if it will be in some way given even more in hindsight, since there’s still 3 seasons left), and will check on what’s been said further about it there -- I don’t know if it’s the religious upbringing in me, but this one also felt like it was the most visceral (ahead of Margaret’s even) in its surrealism. The soldier hanging on Jesus’ cross dripping blood onto his bible???? hello????????? Mulcahy has some feelings about this war, that’s for sure.

3. Potter’s is one that I’ll also talk a bit about in my longer post on him, because he’s really grown on me -- not that I didn’t like him from early-on, but simply that I kept him at arms-length for a few reasons (also to be gone into in that post), but the ongoing arc of age, of nostalgia, of a life well-lived, but with a longing to have been closer to family, of family and friends dying becoming commonplace, of the ways he balances out mourning the death of others’ innocence with his wisdom... and just remembering that he was a little boy once, who loved riding horses (and he still loves to do that)

4. Klinger and Potter gave us the first shots of America? right? like, sure, dreams, but... Potter was in a field in his home, and Klinger was in Toledo. That was... that was something for sure.... somehow terrifying. Something about how you can never go home, even if you return to the same place (which is also a future I predict for Hawkeye -- oh also the lake he’s on... Crabapple Cove?)

it’s a more straightforward dream than the others (maybe because he’s quite a straightforward guy?). Klinger misses home desperately and is afraid he’ll die in Korea and never see it again. But interesting to see the streets empty like that.

5. Charles!!! Charles!!!! oh I need to write a post about Charles too, because speaking of “things that were hinted at and even shown, but never as in-your-face,” the pressure to be Charles Who Is A Wondrous Surgeon! the performance of it! the eyes on him! (also Klinger as his sort-of-assistant wearing the earrings??? I will make it homoerotic).

I mean, it’s obvious what the dream is saying, but he doesn’t allow himself to show those emotions (and we’ve seen him fail -- in major ego, with the piano player, in a small way by judging the acupuncture techniques -- and his failures often seem based in the assumption that He Knows What’s Best (also outside of medicine, see Honoria’s marriage), but!!! As we’ve been seeing throughout, it’s not that he simply “wants to know best,” it’s that he’s clinging to what he has -- the order of the world as he understands it, his place in that world, what his worth is -- something interesting there as well about some of the overlaps between him and Hawkeye that neither dares to acknowledge!)

so to finally allow that to happen -- to be that intimate with him for a moment!

6. I dunno whether to make BJ his own post, because I’ve mentioned it several times already, and may just keep doing so (so maybe I’ll wait and see what happens Next, because BJ’s journey has been a fascinating knot for me to untie since he was first introduced), but all of these things -- does Peggy still need me, are we still the same people (will we be able to create something new when I return), is anything from my old life still reconcilable with who I am now, should I let Peggy go???

and then -- because again I feel like they belong together -- what is Peggy to me, and that whole life that’s back home... what do I see when I look towards her and Erin and home? Why do I have to do that in order to keep sane?

(the line -- war correspondent -- where he says he has to live for tomorrow because he can’t live for today -- sir! Sir!!! the life-ring that Aggy illustrates around him! Fuck! anyway yeah, it’s whole own post I think or I won’t stop here)

7. And then... you know... Hawkeye Is Not Okay the saga continues -- I’d SEEN an image of that boat with the limbs floating around him!!! I’d seen it on hastily-scrolled-past posts, often also including an image of Hawkeye in a blue dressing gown and I mention it again because I note that in the dream his gown was blissfully still red (which I guess just means worse is yet to come)!

I mean! I don’t even know you guys! He’s removing his own arms! which have become prosthetics! so he can give them to others!!! so he can no longer be a surgeon!!!!!!!!!!! because he has no arms!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so he can’t do anything to help!!!!!!! and they keep coming anyway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and the boat!? the limbs floating all around him?!! while he’s in the boat?????!!! and he has no arms!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the young boy in class sequence before that????!!!!

I don’t even. and then in s9 we got “letters” in which a young boy accuses (rightfully) doctors in Korea of being a part of the war machine, which, again, the show has intimated several times, but to just! Say It!! AND in the aftermath of “heal thyself” -- fucking! madness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

he can’t be a surgeon if he has no arms you guys... he can’t do the thing that gives him purpose that’s become a monster because now it’s in service of war, because he’s falling to pieces, and maybe he wants that in some way, wants to be unable -- physically unable -- ,so that he’s relieved of the duty of it, but they’ll keep coming regardless, whether or not he has his arms mind

and is the lake crabapple cove?????????

most of them feel like they’re reaching forwards in time as well as backwards (Potter’s the main outlier, but then, he’s not afraid of the future, he’s seen it all). they’re not just about where they are, they’re where they may go? sometimes in a literal sense (Klinger and Toledo), sometimes more abstract, but quite obvious in its questions/fears (Margaret, BJ, Hawkeye), and then the ones that I’m waiting on, because their potential futures feel less defined/like they may still shift (Mulcahy dressed as a... Cardinal? but unable to divorce himself from the violence he’s seen in favour of personal ambition perhaps? Charles performing surgical tricks with growing desperation as he loses his audience)

this episode feels prophetic...

#MASH #hawkeye pierce #margaret houlihan #bj hunnicutt #max klinger #charles winchester #sherman potter #father mulcahy #im watching MASH #i wrote 'syncopation' first and then looked at it and was like... ah you're having a music moment... but syncopation as an analysis of MASH #is what it made me think about #rhythms as an analysis of MASH youknow?#because syncopation IS what im talking about here -- the way the rhythms are disrupted on a meta and a narrative level #they're placing stressors on rhythmical moments that are usually subtext you get it???#fuck #ok i have to go but youknow???????????

31 notes · View notes

gayofthefae · 1 year

Note

I have spent the past weeks randomly, probably every Tuesday? seeing a massive inflow of posts about 911 from you and you've got me. It's happened, I'm here and I'm caving in and I'm asking what is this show?????

What is going on???????

Is this a supernatural magic type show? Is this just a normal drama about firefighters? Is this a slowburn romance show? What is going on, what is this, what is happening?

Who are these dudes I keep seeing on my dash and why do you love them so much lol?????????

Haha, happy to answer! They have the trauma levels of a supernatural show FOR SURE lmao but the show is called 9-1-1, it's a regular-world procedural drama about first responders, mainly focusing on a group of firefighters (but it also has a 911 dispatcher and a police sergeant). And it is VERY much a found family show.

The romance has not gone canon yet but it is VERY popularly shipped and widely believed that it will go canon (there are lots of in-show parallels to other couples on the show, queercoding, and subtext as well as just - unlike many past queerbaits - their general relationship being repeatedly plot central and above all: they have MOMENTUM). Overall, the two are very much treated as life partners by the show and its cast). (Of course, if you don't wanna risk it, I would understand).

I love them because I love a good slowburn, I love friends to lovers, and these two are just adorable in general. They are wonderfully communicative, attached at the hip, and they've built a sort of life together as life partners, like I said, frequently being treated like all other life partners (couples) on the show narratively as well as directly paralleling them (and even being the source of parallels the other couples make to them).

I can't really describe my love for them except by saying they're a hyperfixation, lol, but they check all the boxes of criteria for me to be one: slow burn, communicative, just generally adorable. It's just THE VIBES okay.

This show does a great job at fleshing out individual characters' and their trauma and arcs very well and the two are both wonderful individual people as well as incredibly complimentary in their personalities and mental health arcs (oh yeah, mental health arcs are a BIG thing with this one and they are incredibly supportive partners through it, although there is some angst it isn't contrived). So they really just have an ultimately very sweet and healthy relationship while simultaneously working through things like abandonment issues and such.

Really it's just -GAH!- [note: I want it to be known that I initially mistyped "gah" as "GAY!"]. As far as character arcs go. This ship is "man who wants to be loved x man who wants to allow himself to love". The general state right now is that "not knowing what you've been searching for has been slowly building and under your nose the whole time." Also, the really great general romantic thesis of the show is "you don't find [love], you make it" aka you find a person you're compatible with and then you choose every day to love them by putting in the work and grow with them.

tldr: They are incredibly complementary to one another's mental health arcs, they are a slow burn, they are best friends to lovers, they are life partners, they are communicative and great representation of healthy relationship behaviors not only when you're at your best (but still realistically flawed, just not to a contrived extent), and most importantly, they are just visibly happiest together (Eddie has repeatedly smiled immediately literally just from seeing Buck's face))

Also, if you start watching this show please tell me and post about it for entirely selfish reasons because I love living vicariously through people's first watches. (Warning though if you do watch: Eddie is not introduced until episode 1 of season 2, the 11th episode of the show)

To close out, here is my favorite gif of them:

#buddie #911fox #loved answering this ask thank you so happy to share my love of these two!#buddie <3 #eddie diaz #evan buckley #evan buck buckley #thank you fr i joined tumblr to be able to rant about my excitements without the shame of being 'annoying' so the INVITATION to makes me so #happy #also very happy to known that my spam somewhat filterless and analytical posts coming out like word vomit every tuesday (when it comes out #on hulu) is coaxing more into the fandom!!

9 notes · View notes