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#i've seen some actors in other shows and they're great there
tumb1rprincess · 2 months
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Okay, I just binged the rest of the Hazbin Hotel episodes.
Carmilla and Zestial are hot. And Carmilla is so interesting. I loved her and Vaggie's song. I actually didn't expect them to reveal who killed the angel so quickly. But I love how they're showing that even some of the top overlords in Hell care. The only question now is what Alastor is going to do with this information.
I love Vox. He has a great voice and his rivalry with Alastor is hilarious.
Sir Pentious is such a fucking loser and I adore him.
Nifty almost reminds me of Little My from the Moomins with her little gremlin energy. I don't know if we'll get any serious moments with her like we have with the other characters, but I guess we'll see.
I love how Alastor's room is a literal bayou/swamp. And him eating the whole fucking deer was hilarious.
I didn't expect for some of the others to find out about Angel and Val's toxic relationship so quickly, but I did like how it showed an uncommon angle: how trying to save someone from an abusive relationship can make things worse for the victim. I can't think of any other media off the top of my head that shows that kind of thing. But with Charlie and Husker knowing about this (and Cherri Bomb if we're counting Addict as canon), how long before everyone else finds out? And what are their reactions going to be?
I haven't been the biggest Angel/Husker shipper, but holy hell, am I on board now. Husker once being an overlord and pretty much implying that he sold his soul to Alastor much like how Angel did with Val was a development I didn't expect, as well as drawing parallels between his addiction to gambling and Angel's addiction to drugs. Hell, I really didn't except this angle they took with Husker. We only saw his bitter attitude in the pilot, and we still get plenty of that here, but I didn't expect him to also be a good people reader and being able to see how the other characters really are and what they're hiding. He's almost empathetic in a way.
All of the songs are fucking bangers, Poison especially. I listened to it once before the show and I liked it okay, but seeing it in context, it hits you ten times harder. I almost cried.
The show is so good at making the viewer feel so uncomfortable with how Val treats Angel, it's almost too hard to watch. I've seen shows tackle abuse before and they've done it well, but this was very raw and in your face and it makes your insides twist. And I love it.
Looking at the show's cast, Vivzi got so many people with Broadway experience and I love that. I feel like a lot of popular media nowadays just like to cast popular actors regardless of whether they can actually sing or not (I'm looking at you live action Disney remakes). But every actor who's sung so far is fucking good at it and it shows.
So far, I am in love, love, love with this show. I remember first watching the pilot when it was causing some controversy and I fell in love with it immediately. It almost became a comfort thing for me for a while. I was watching it over and over during 2020 when Covid was running rampant and everything was shit. I'm so proud of Vivzie and everyone else for their hard work and dedication and love. This show is so different from everything else out there. I hope now that it's out, even more people can fall in love with it.
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shijiujun · 2 months
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A Summary: The Spirealm | 致命游戏 (Kaleidoscope of Death 死亡万花筒 Live Action) & Why You Should (Eventually) Watch It
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Talk about the most short-lived drama release ever, not even totalling two hours if I recall. Creating this summary as I've seen a handful of confused friends, so here it goes!
It's going to be a long review because I sped through all 78 episodes and only properly watched the first two doors, but I got you. You'll get both the brief book rundown and the drama parts!
If you just wanna see the bromance (LOVE) parts please skip to section 4!!!!
1. Overview
Title: The Spirealm (kinda awful I'm sorry it's a mouthful) or 致命游戏 which means fatal game
Adapted From: Danmei (BL) Kaleidoscope of Death by Xi Zixu
Novel Prints: There are GORGEOUS Thai, Vietnamese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese versions printed, AND Singapore publisher Rosmei has signed the license for the ENGLISH version, probably going on sale this year (preview is here). You can still access fan translations by Taida on I think wordpress and someone else on Tumblr sorry bad memory (they did half and half each) if you'd like to read it for context. It is one of my FAVE danmeis EVER and I am a die-hard OG book fan, check out my full danmei review here.
Total Episodes: 78 (20 minutes each with the exception of last episode which 10 minutes, with several BTS not that I think we will get to see all of them yet)
Where to Watch (LOL): Erm considering that iQIYI China AND International took the episodes down, there is no legal way to watch this, BUT thanks to some cnetz with super fast and great wifi, we managed to get ripped HD versions without subs. iQIYI is very hard on copyright though, they've taken down several subbed and unsubbed versions already on YouTube, but you should type the titles of show into Twitter and the top tags will tell you where to access the raws and very little subbed episodes, that may also be taken down at any point. I have the Chinese raws but as it's hosted on a cloud, I had to pay to access it.
Main Characters: Lin Qiushi & Ruan Nanzhu/Ruan Baijie (in the novel) and Ling Jiushi & Ruan Nanzhu/Ruan Baijie (in the drama)
Produced By: iQIYI so for SURE they won't film it fully BL even if the original is, but I've seen enough bromance cuts
Main Actors: Xia Zhiguang (Ruan Nanzhu/Ruan Baijie) + Huang Junjie (Ling Jiushi)
2. Summary
Book (drama follows closely if not removing the supernatural premises): Lin Qiushi, a designer, opens the door to his home one day from inside and sees 12 iron doors outside. Confused, he opens one of them and arrives at a snow covered village in the mid of winter, and meets Ruan Baijie, who's a pretty, unusually tall and whiny/timid woman. They realise that they're in a horrifying door game, and they'll have to find a door and a key to get out, while battling a long-haired, human-eating deity. They, along with a few others, have to survive day after day until they get out, and on the first night, two people have died in gory ways. Ruan Baijie and Lin Qiushi partner each other, and despite seemingly timid and crying all the time, she saves Lin Qiushi a few times mysteriously, and Lin Qiushi finds himself trusting in Ruan Baijie.
They get through the door together and when they leave successfully, Lin Qiushi realizes that the people who died in the door will die in real life by some freak accident too - car accidents, forced suicides, a robbery gone wrong, a lift trapped in the air and going ablaze, and more. That night, Lin Qiushi wakes up to see a super handsome and tall Ruan Nanzhu at his bedside and this man feels familiar to him, but he can't put a finger on it. All he can think of when Ruan Nanzhu says his name is Ruan Baijie (ahem he would later find out who it is of course). Ruan Nanzhu takes him to his mansion in the suburbs where he meets a group of other people just like them, who're forced to go through the doors for survival. Ruan Nanzhu then invites him to join Obsidian, his organization.
Through various doors, Lin Qiushi grows and supports a super intelligent and powerful Ruan Nanzhu, falls in love with him, gets through many many scary doors with him and some of their other team members, makes friends, loses them to the cruelty of the doors as they ponder over what the door means, and what being alive/dying means.
And at the end of it, at the end of of it all, when they're all good and living their life, Lin Qiushi also finds out what Ruan Nanzhu's secret is, and the lengths to which Ruan Nanzhu went to, just to be with him.
Drama: Ling Jiushi is a VR game designer who gets pulled into a game, and he meets Ruan Baijie (in his male form) right off the bat (SO NOT CROSSDRESSING I AM SAD). All the parts are actually the same as the novel, albeit with the game setting and Ling Jiushi and Ruan Nanzhu's identity adjustments to suit the game premise. Most of the other doors and their lines are the same, just that the ending is a bit more confusing than it could be. There's a big bad as well and they actually show the opposing organizations when in the novel, these other organizations aside from Obsidian didn't even actually have a face or goal to them.
3. Characters
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^ Them in the book (based on manhua that never got to go live LOL) (RNZ/RBJ left, LQS right)
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^ Them in the show (LJS left, RNZ right)
Ruan Nanzhu/Ruan Baijie: MY HANDSOME CROSSDRESSING INTELLIGENT ALOOF BUT WHINY (WHEN IT COMES TO LIN QIUSHI) SASSY BOSS!!!! He's super mysterious and super thick-skinned too, and all he wants is Lin Qiushi's attention the moment he meets him. He's intrigued by Lin Qiushi's calm and his brains and the way he handles things, and has a lot of trust for him right from the get-go. This is also shown in the drama itself. As the leader of Obsidian, he cares a lot for his team members and his friends even if he doesn't show it most of the time, and the last thing he wants to do is lose Lin Qiushi, and he would do ANYTHING for Lin Qiushi, ANYTHING!!! Just look at him whining:
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Ling Jiushi (Lin Qiushi): In the novel he's super calm, has quite a lot of brains, a little bit of a blur in the beginning but he's super smart as well. Worries a lot for Ruan Nanzhu and is also a loyal friend to some of his only friends, and feels a lot when he loses them. Falls gradually in love with Ruan Nanzhu in the novel, like they just belong together. In this drama, Ling Jiushi holds that same trust for Ruan Nanzhu, but in demeanour he seems a bit more like a klutz and and not as cool as he was in the novel, but I guess it's acceptable. Literally like the only thing he loves more than RNZ (maybe) is his cat Chestnut LOL and RNZ is NOT really happy about that but Chestnut LOVES RNZ
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Yixie and Qianli: CUTEST TWINS ;-; WHO TREAT RNZ and LQS as their big brothers LOOK AT THEM BOWING AND RNZ/LJS like parents LMAO
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A handful of other characters who will keep turning up and get your hearts ;-;
4. ALL FAVE BROMANCE MOMENTS + TROPES
THEY TOUCH EACH OTHER A LOT LIKE HOLDING HANDS AND TOUCHING FACES, PIGGY BACKING?!?! DID I MENTION FACE TOUCHING
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WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP WHUMP THEY HELP EACH OTHER WHEN HURT OR GET HURT FOR EACH OTHER
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AND WHEN THEY WAKE UP IN BED THE OTHER IS AT THEIR BEDSIDE
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AND DID I MENTION HE FEEDS HIM IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE
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AND THAT THEY DATED UNDER THE FIREWORKS LIKE THE NOVEL DOES NOT EVEN HAVE THIS SHIT
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AND THE KABEDONS
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AND FINALLY RUAN NANZHU RIZZ OMG
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5. Settings
They REALLY OUTDID THEMSELVES. THIS JUST FROM DOORS 1-6:
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THEY LOOK EXACTLY LIKE THE NOVEL DESCRIBED!!!!
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6. Overall Thoughts
PROS: This was NOT a cheap production, I'm telling you, they followed the cases very well and there're a lot of super recognisable lines, if not ALL of them, even if they changed the cases a little. I think they did it because in the novel originally, the author DOES leave a lot of details hanging like someone dies and you know he had a background and there are some shady things happening but the author NEVER actually goes into detail. So the drama did their best to cover these loopholes, even if it felt a little awkward at times. Money went into settings and attires and every damn thing, this looks EXPENSIVE. And if you've ever imagined each door and the bosses inside in your head, you might have felt chills go down your spine because damn did they really colour the book's settings for me (despite its differences). DID I MENTION that Xia Zhiguang really got the damn memo and he was a passable Ruan Nanzhu/Ruan Baijie who knew how to turn on his BL eyes. PLUS they really did some of the character deaths really well - they're technically some of the biggest parts of this story so ;-; (not two main of course)
CONS (maybe): They did away with the supernatural/horror premise and replaced it with a GAME premise, which means that there's a scientific element to it and the try to explain away stuff with the game, including the ending. I don't 100% get the ending, but the feel/vibe is about the same. Might not be for hardcore reader fans tho! They skipped out on a couple of doors, some of which were my faves, but it's fine, it's long enough LOL. They give away/explain some of the clues and surprises super early which means you don't get that added boom at the back as well. Despite that, I have to say they tried to round up the loopholes from the book as much as they could and give it an explanation while tying elements/conspiracies across doors (probably also to save cast fees LOL). And as always it's not a solid ending, it's an open confusing one, and even more confusing than the book itself because THERE IS NO CERTAIN HAPPILY EVER AFTER WITH HUBBY for it (there is in the book tho, they live together happily every after). Secondl,y, I'd say HJJ's acting is a bit stiff and OOC compared to the novel, but Xia Zhiguang really made up for it.
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HOPE THIS HELPS YOU GUYS!!! But I guess if you need subs it's going to be a long LONGGGG ride, considering that iQIYI doesn't seem to be going to be able to put it up anytime soon CRIES.
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absolutebl · 19 days
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These Weeks in BL - This Is Very Late, Or Right on Time depending on where you sit on the temporal debate team
Sorry I got distracted by work. In my defense: I was paid.
Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.
March 2024 Wk 1 & 2
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Ongoing Series - Thai
Cherry Magic (Sat YouTube grey) ep 12 fin - Unfortunately, there was singing. But what can we do?
A soft charming warm hug of a show about crushes and mind reading and self worth, with no-fuss execution from a consummate team and an OG lead pair proving why they remain eternal and deserve to grow up. Look, here’s the thing, Cherry Magic is a great Thai BL in its own right not comparing it to any other iteration. But even when I do compare (and I've seen all the Cherries and read the manga) it still stands. This is a great show, a solid adaptation, and a pleasing take on the original yaoi. I personally like it better than the Japanese live action, but I think that’s because I just really like Thai BL and I LOVE TayNew. I doubted them for this and I shouldn’t have. They did a great job, as did the sides. I will say all the kissing was both present and better than any other iteration. As it should be. Definitely one for the rewatch rotation. 9/10 
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Deep Night (Thurs iQiyi) ep 1 of 8 (10?) - Damn it, I love it. And I don't want to. It’s more classic BL than I thought it would be, and far less Only Friends or Playboyy. (Thank fuck.) We got a big cast and a lot of tropes going down out the gate, including SMITTEN popular hot guy versus nerd with secret identity. (Incidentally, Khem did drop into rude / informal when arguing with his Aunt and defending his ma. Bratty boy.) The leads have good chemistry (First always does), and everyone is very pretty. The main boy reminds me of J-Min's role (and look) in Love Class 2. I am entertained. (And faintly wonder why this isn't a MosBank vehicle.)
To Be Continued (Thai C3 Thailand grey) eps 1-3 of 8- High school sweethearts who had a bad break up reunite a decade later when both of them have full time jobs (celebrity & doctor). Dr Ji is a familiar face (hi Dream it's been a LONG time) and everyone is way too old for high school, but I guess I prefer this to child actors?
I'm enjoying it, actually, the cast may be older but they're solid as a result and the chemistry is on point for a pulp. Whether our celebrity is on the DL or cheating or something else remains to be seen but he sure is smitten. The way he LOOKS at Ji = hawt.
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Frankly? Celebrity/doctor is a good pairing and this is a solid Thai BL. I hope we have a nice angsty reason for the break-up and we're not in another Promise situation. I like the sides too. Carry on, little show, I'm disposed to be pleased with you.
City of Stars (Fri iQIYI) eps 5-6 of 12 - I am enjoying it, actually. It’s incredibly silly. But I don’t really mind. STOP SINGING. 
1000 Years Old eps 3-4 of 12 - I love that these kids basically adopted a vampire pet. And one of them accidentally got a vampire boyfriend. This suddenly turned from a PNR into a family drama about domestic gays opening a food stall and I'm not mad about it. Nothing makes sense and I don't care because... rainbow umbrella!
A Secretly Love (Thai WeTV grey) eps 1 of 10 - I don’t love it. I make no bones about the fact that a pining uke rarely works for me, especially if he’s younger (cute supportive besties not withstanding), the power dynamic isn’t good. I always like Kimmon, he’s a stiff actor but v pretty. (I shallow af.) Still it’s time he started acting his age… literally. Having to watch ads again as well… for this? Ooof. I'm not sure I'm strong enough.
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Ongoing Series - Not Thai
Perfect Propose (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 6 fin - It was very cute. I liked that there was uke instigated kisses. However I have some reservations on this one, much as I enjoyed it.
Adapted from Mayo Tsurakame’s manga, production team included Tadaaki Horai (My Love Mix-Up!) and Takeshi Miyamoto (Old Fashion Cupcake). Essentially Perfect Propose was about finding hope in a person when all other hope is gone. This show focuses on apathy, and perforce is somewhat apathetic and un-engaging especially as the pacing was off (and with only 6 episodes? now) However, this is countered by great visuals, good archetypes, and a clean story of childhood sweethearts reuniting after loosing their way in life. I landed on 8/10 mostly for a demanding younger seme and some great kisses. 
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Unknown (Taiwan Tues Youku YouTube) eps 2-3 of 11 - Oh it’s great. I love it. I’m still worried by how gritty and "Taiwanese short-esk" it feels, but wow does this hit all my favorite taboo tropes and buttons. I also adore the little found fam, they the cutest gay older bros ever. The younger one who wants so bad to grow up and take care of the older one and pushes himself because into self sacrifice that’s the only model of love he has. ARGH. BOYS. Why so much pain, just smooch already! Sheesh. It's on YouTube for some of us, here's the schedule.
AntiReset (Taiwan Fri Viki/Gaga) eps 6-7 of 10 - They remain questionably cute, and that is probably going to be my ultimate review of this show. Awe cameo! (Hi babies, hope the ghosts are leaving you alone.) The irony does not escape me that the person in the relationship with the most emotional acumen is, in fact, the robot and not the human. I'm sure that's meant to be deep.
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Love is Better the Second Time Around AKA Koi wo Suru nara Nidome ga Joto (Japan Gaga) ep 1 of 6 - A tortured second chance romance featuring a reported and a successful celebrity(?) academic. The kid actors look nothing like their adult counterparts, but they do look much younger. So, okay. Ah the utter embarrassment of first love. Oh I like it a lot, so very messy Japanese emo. Sigh. Here we go again.
Although I Love You and You AKA Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka (Japan Thurs Gaga) eps 8-9 of 10 - They are a cute couple. They both trying so hard and so confused and awkward and polite in trying to understand each other but TERRIBLE at communication. 
My Strawberry Film (Japan Thurs Gaga) eps 3-4 of 8 - I don’t know how I feel about this. But I do know it’s not my thing because it’s not BL. I’ll finish it because it’s short but… meh. 
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It's done, ready to binge, but I have no time
What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - will binge when I have any spare time. 2024 is crazy busy for me so far.
The Servant and the Young Master (Vietnam YouTube) - I will try when I have a window of time.
Began Beginning (Myanmar YouTube) - A Burmese BL? @heretherebedork vouched for it, so I will watch eventually.
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It's airing but...
Dead Friend Forever (Thai iQIYI) - finished it's run and I won't be watching it. It's horror with BL elements and the ending, well, let's just say that's a "no thank you" from me.
Ossans Love Season 2 (Japan Gaga) - 5 years later, will anything have changed? This is Japan so… no. I'm not watching this. I dislike this franchise.
Time the series (Tue Gaga/YT) 10 eps - dropped it at ep 4.
Takumi-kun (2023) movie version AKA Takumi-kun Series 6: Nagai Nagai Monogatari no Hajimari no Asa released on FOD 3/5/2024. The original project was a 6 ep series. Having seen all the previous iterations and read the (terrible) yaoi I admit to being intrigued. If anyone finds eng subbed please let me know with a link in comments or in a DM? For those intersted in this show, probably the world's first true BL franchise I chat all about it here.
Gossip
James Supamongkon has withdrawn from the series Love Upon A Time and the NetJames pair is no more. Net Siraphop will continue with the historical BL project alongside a new partner. Can I interest you in Tod Techit... almost as pretty, legs for days...
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The Complete Chronology of the Assault Case Against GMMTV Actor Win Pawin
I'm merely directing your attention to these articles, I do not wish for discussion of this content on this blog. Please don't ask for further info, I don't know the answer, follow the link that's why it's there.
Next Week Looks Like This:
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Still Coming
3/21 Two Worlds (Thai IQIYI) 10 eps - announced here. One of those "he's dead Jim so time travel" thingames staring MaxNat. I'm over them but Asia flipping loves this trope and I do adore MaxNat. Phupha (Gun) and Khram (Nat) love each other but Phupha is murdered. Then Khram is pulled to a parallel world where, 12 years ago, Khram and Tai (Max) were in love. However, Khram was killed by Thai’s dad. Now Tai finds alter-Khram apparently alive. But then there is ALSO an alter-Phupha (played by Gun Thanawat who is Khom the repressed butler bodyguard from Unforgotten Night).
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Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.
THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS
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How flipping adorable is this vampire with his big gay umbrella? SUCH A DORK and we got more vampire dorks coming.
Thailand has found its vampire line and it's awkward and geeky and quite cheerful. 'Bout what we expected, to be fair. It's a good look for them.
And vampires.
In other news...
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That's your random moment of thirst, Lim Jimin shirtless AKA my Just B bias (I mean, I could talk about how good his extensions are and how I love a husky voice in Kpop but really, just LOOK at him). I'm very very very shallow, remember? Full vid is here.
Why am I mentioning Lim Jimin (aside from the obvious)? If Just B doesn't break soon, I could some of them transitioning to BL. Jimin in particular would be a win for us, obvs.
Also, can we talk about Bain (my bias wrecker) KILLING it on Build Up? I had no idea he was that good. Anygay, this has been your Kpop end note.
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Seriously tho, is ANYONE else watching Build-Up?
(Last week - well, 2 weeks ago)
Streaming services are listed how I'm (usually watching) which is with a USA based IP
The tag bragade: @doorajar
If ya wanna be tagged each week leave a comment and I will. Easy peesy.
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terapsina · 6 months
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Now that the writers and actors strike is about to begin being felt (and as we wait for those greedy billion dollar companies who are refusing to negotiate fair pay and conditions to give up) here's 10 of my favorite (all around best) fully finished older series you should definitely check out if you haven't watched.
I mean it, these are the shows with continuously great writing and a satisfying endings that manage to actually deliver on their promises.
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1. Leverage - (containing 5 seasons, or 77 episodes) - trailer here.
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Hitter, Hacker, Grifter, Thief and Mastermind. Heists and cons. Stealing from the rich and giving to their victims. They provide... leverage.
Meant for anyone who enjoys bad guys being the best good guys, who will burn down the lives of evil CEOs and then gloat in the background. Very satisfying.
Hands down the best example of a found family trope I've ever seen on screen. Barring none.
2. Killjoys - (containing 5 seasons, or 50 episodes) - trailer here.
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Space Bounty Hunters. Another case of found family trope. Bisexual space princess assassin. Quippy sentient ship. Green alien goo. Evil lesbians (but like... in a good way). The warrant is all.
More seriously though, it's a story about three killjoys and the bounties they go after. Initially. And then they have to save the entire Quad from some very terrifying... stuff.
Contains one of the best friendships I've ever seen on television.
3. Orphan Black - (containing 5 seasons, or 50 episodes) - trailer here.
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Found family trope but with clones.
Low level grifter sees a woman who looks exactly like her kill herself and plans to take over her identity long enough to cash out. Except then there's two other women who also look exactly like her. And apparently they're all clones and someone's killing them.
Enter a global conspiracy. Human experimentation. Lots of clone shenanigans. Some serial killings. And a few murders 💖.
4. Person of Interest - (containing 5 seasons, or 103 episodes) - trailer here.
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Okay I'm beginning to see how I might have a found family trope issue.
Former CIA agent gets recruited by a reclusive billionaire computer programmer who developed a... machine that can predict acts of terror before they happen. But it also predicts 'irrelevant' acts of violence that will result in someone's death.
Unless someone interferes.
I'd really like to spoil some stuff to get you all to watch this one. But I'm going to maintain self control and just mention that early on they get a dog named Bear. Bear is a very good boy. Watch it for Bear.
Also for excellent commentary on rights of privacy, government surveillance and what does 'greater good' even mean? But mostly Bear.
5. 12 Monkeys - (containing 4 seasons, or 47 episodes) - trailer here.
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The very best time travel show out there. What starts out as a confusing mess of causality basically exploding, by the end of the series all makes complete and total sense.
(when that final timey-whimey loop slid into place and revealed the entire pattern it was like a choir of angels started singing in the back of my head. It was freaking glorious).
Anyway, a man from a post apocalyptic future travels into the past to stop a plague from decimating nearly the entire world population.
He has the name of the man who released the virus and it's supposed to be a single trip. One trip. One bullet. Simple. Done.
Except then things keep escalating, and escalating until time begins eating its own tail and it might start looking like the end of the world might be a better ending than erasing all of time and space from reality.
Because when our guys screw it up, they screw it up GOOD.
And oh yeah... found family.
6. The Good Place - (containing 4 seasons, or 53 episodes) - trailer here.
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A self-proclaimed Arizona dirtbag opens her eyes and finds out that she's dead and got accepted in the Good Place. Except that as soon as she arrives the Good Place starts glitching, and she really, REALLY needs to become a better person before she can be found out and kicked out to the Bad Place.
Luckily her assigned soulmate was a professor of ethics and moral philosophy.
One of the funniest, most thoughtful and clever comedies I've ever watched. Ever. The characters are delightful and by the time the final minute rolled around I had sobbed my heart out multiple times (which, as we all know, is a sign of the very best comedies out there).
As for the question of whether or not this too contains Found Fami- Yes! Obviously, yes.
7. Avatar: the Last Airbender - (containing 3 seasons, or 61 episodes) - intro here (couldn't locate the trailer but it's basically the same thing in this case).
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The four nations lived in harmony. Until the Fire Nation attacked.
It's been a hundred years since the beginning of the war when two kids from the Southern Water Tribe find a boy frozen in ice and wake him up. A boy who's able to bend all four elements... though not very well.
Enter multi-nation flying road trip (thank you Appa, we love you most of all) as they try to find teachers for the Avatar and save the world.
Includes found family (shut up), amazing fight scenes, the most heartfelt and vivid characters ever, and the best example of a redemption arc actually done well.
8. Love Between Fairy and Devil - (containing 1 season, or 36 episodes) - trailer here.
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This one gutted me. I'm saying this as a compliment. But it had to be said. Completely destroyed me. I just haven't been the same.
A love story between an Orchid Fairy and the leader of the Moon Tribe that starts out with her accidentally releasing him from millennia long imprisonment and then takes you through the caleidoscope of all possible human emotions (it's a body-swap comedy through the first part, then a romcom, then a dramatic romantic tale, and finally a tragic love story).
But it's such a satisfying slow burn.
And it carries this... humanity through the whole thing that makes it so visceral.
If you're a romantic who's very tired of instalove and characters dropping all their morals because 'ooh, attractive person' then you've got to watch this. Because this story does NOT take the easy road there.
(my more extensive rec for this series can be found here)
9. Star Wars: The Clone Wars - (containing 7 seasons, or 133 episodes) - fanmade trailer here (it was better than any of the official ones).
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This series did so much. Introduced Ahsoka Tano, and made us love her. Gave names and faces and souls to the Clone Troopers (okay, it's the same face but you know what I mean), to a point where their endings during Order 66 destroyed me just as much as the ending of the Jedi Order. And somehow made me both love Anakin AND be a million times more angry with him.
There are some arcs in this series that might be a bit weaker. But there were some... god, there's a reason I love Clone Wars more than any other series or trilogy in this universe. And I'm not even a little ashamed to say it.
Must watch for Disaster Lineage shenanigans; for the vod'e; AND for the Jedi (who did their best okay? They always did their best 😭💔).
(and on the subject of found family... do I even need to comment)
10. Nikita - (containing 4 seasons, or 73 episodes) - trailer here.
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A rogue assassin that escaped Division - covert government agency that takes recruits out of prison, fakes their deaths and then forces them to become spies and assassins - has come back to take it down. Brick by brick if she has to. With guns and explosives too when that works better.
Contains soooo many cool fight scenes. Is full of incredible characters you'll fall in love with (and hate with) very quickly. And most of all has an incredibly complex relationship of mentorship and friendship between two women that holds both great admiration and betrayal, real care and love as well as rage and hatred, forgiveness, mutual respect and an unbreakable kind of bond that so very rarely involves even one female character on TV, let alone two.
(as usual, found family tropes up the wazzoo).
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In conclusion. We all know there's going to be a large space between seasons of our favorite shows now (and some shows that aren't going to survive it). Let's fill that space with some excellent TV we haven't had a chance to see yet.
And direct the blame for the wait towards the right place (i.e. the studios).
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bcacstuff · 1 month
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Hi. Does he think he's a Hollywood star? Doesn't he see what's going on around him? He continues to walk around as if it were nothing, his career is at an end and he doesn't see it. Starz already is replacing him with his father (the actor who will play Jamie's father). The mothers are already sighing for him. Starz no longer cares because they know people will want to see the end of OL. It will soon be SH who? Does he think he will be beautiful and attractive all his life? I'm sorry he wasted the opportunity he had in his hands. I think his future will be sad, when he sees that he has nothing. And with that, friends will disappear and so will the girls. He will be alone, how will he deal with it?
I had to think about your message today and to be honest your messages contains some things I have been thinking about for a longer while.
I was a bit hesitant to publish your message and question, as i'm sure some will just see it as negativity or criticism they don't like to see and say how good, lovely, hot whatever he is.
I'm aware there are some in the comments that are always quite negative and just like to be negative about everything and will say he's mediocre, has a self inflated ego and all these sort of statements that make them more sound like a broken record without adding any real substance.
These two opposites constantly collide and their way of 'discussing' only widen the gap between these 2 'opinions'. I've put opinions and discussing between quotes here, as I don't feel they're real opinions anymore and their discussions don't lead anywhere else than trying to upset the other.
Anyway, I don't see your message as such Anon. I think you make some good points, that to me are worth to discuss in a good way and we, or the people in the comments might differ here and there in their opinions or views on things. But that is just what helps broaden the view on what we see.
You ask, 'doesn't he see what's going on around him?'. I actually think or perhaps hope he does see it and it is a subject he might worry about, talk about with people, how to turn things around, or maybe better said, how to move forward from here. I think he knows it in his heart, but he doesn't show it. And I can understand he doesn't show it, I wouldn't either if I were him and keep that inside. And silently would look for opportunities and work on creating these opportunities to get to a next step.
Is his career already at an end though? As you state it Anon, and I can understand why you come to that conclusion. Because of what we've seen. An actor that started to get momentum when he landed his role in Outlander, good looks and a series that had great appeal. It opened doors and he got some good chances, use that momentum to build that wanted career into something bigger. But it didn't came to that. Was it his acting, was it the sort movies he chose, or the roles he played? Or was it a combination of it all? Something that can be discussed endlessly and everyone will have their own views on it, but the conclusion is it didn't land him as an A lister or big HW star.
And yes, I see what you mean, and agree Starz knows they need their new hunk, another heartthrob for their stable. Something Sam has been for a long time now but they know it wont last much longer that way. He can't rely on his looks all his life and I'm sure he knows that himself as well.
The 'friends' he surrounded himself with, we've had that discussion here many times. And it's a given fact, when you're successful you have thousands of 'friends' but the real friends are those that are still around when the success starts to fade. Personally I think he let himself get too much into the trap of 'how can we monetize this' and the 'friends' that 'helped' him with that. Made him believe in his own hype and how he could (or should?) use that to turn it into some sort of empire. Just a look at his IG shows it all the way to you. And no, I don't say his IG is who he really is, but it is the image he puts out there and it's far from the image he had when he started out as an actor.
And at itself there's nothing wrong with it, anyone would make hay while the sun shines. You'd be dumb if you didn't. The question is more, to what price? And here I think it might have gotten a bit out of hand and too far. How dedicated is he still about his craft, how passionate? I miss that passion for his craft to be honest. Earlier interviews showed his passion, the way he talked about a character he played or the ideas he had. Today it is more like he studied his lines and sounds like a broken record in interviews. Just sometimes I see a little glimpse of the passion.
I do however think, he's still trying. These photoshoots last week, the fact that we saw JA present, it made me think. I can almost hear the conversation, how he wants pics of him out there that are not the Jamie/OL related ones but show a different face, a different side? Try to get projects interested in him. But I just don't think a photoshoot is enough. I said it a little while ago, he's distanced himself from the industry, from his craft. We've seen nothing since TCND wrapped that was acting related in any way. We've not seen him interacting with people in the industry or at events connecting with them.
He has nothing up his sleeves acting wise. I know, you come at me and say how would I know that. I don't, I admit, I'm not his agent. But really the signs we see are that there is nothing. And yes, he has OL for the next 8 months or so, and he said things like he might have a break afterwards... but is that really true? Or is he afraid there will be nothing?
Long answer, I know Anon. And I hope we can have some good and healthy discussions in the comments. Not the ones that sound like broken records without any substance, but thoughts that we can all contemplate about. And at the end of the day consider that we can think and discuss a lot, but only the future will tell.
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waitmyturtles · 3 months
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SOME GOOD SHOWS THAT I LIKED IN 2023! (AND SOME THAT I DIDN'T)
I watched A LOT of stuff that did not originally air in 2023 by dint of my Old GMMTV Challenge. This list is inclusive of this recognition!
THE BEST SHOW I WATCHED THIS YEAR: HE'S COMING TO ME
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I have no other words: this is my favorite Thai BL of all time. Perfect length, perfect plot, perfect celebration of Thai culture, perfect acting, the greatest coming out scene of all time, the BEST of the best BL moms. Perfection.
THE OTHER BEST SHOW I WATCHED THIS YEAR: BAD BUDDY
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I don't even want to think about how many words I've written on Bad Buddy this year, but they're well deserved for this REMARKABLE show. I've got a thing for shows by Aof Noppharnach that feature Ohm Pawat, what can I say!
THE MOST INFLUENTIAL SHOW(S) I WATCHED THIS YEAR: LOVE SICK AND SOTUS
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The influence of Love Sick and SOTUS can be seen in SO MANY Thai BLs, even through today. Without having watched these two shows to start my OGMMTVC project, I wouldn't have the context for what later shows like Bad Buddy and Theory of Love were commenting on by way of their content and structures. Love Sick in particular was a HELL of a lift -- but I am damn glad I watched it, and I certainly feel nostalgia for it today.
Honorable mentions of influential pieces that had impacts on Thai BLs: Love of Siam and Dew the Movie
MY OTHER FAVORITE OLD SHOWS I WATCHED: UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN AND THEORY OF LOVE
BANGERS!!!
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If New Siwaj ever tops Until We Meet Again, I'll fly to Bangkok and give him a gold medal. That long-ass show, 17 EPISODES, I WANTED MORE! OhmFluke's chemistry was great, the story delved SO deeply into historical homophobia and how culture and acceptance changes over time -- scrumptious. Theory of Love, man, the way this show ate up implicit compassion bias and gave it right back to us. I loved it. KHAI FOREVER!
THE BEST SHOW I WATCHED THAT ACTUALLY AIRED IN 2023: MOONLIGHT CHICKEN
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Not only was Moonlight Chicken my first real live fandom experience on Tumblr, it was a hell of an amazing show, incorporating so much of what I love particularly about Thai BLs, and how many Thai BLs do not shy away from celebrating Asian cultural touchpoints. From exploring Jim's internalized homophobia by way of his rural upbringing, to juxtaposing Pattaya's spiritual symbols with growing development that upends older strains of local culture, Moonlight Chicken offered a lovely commentary on what it means to be queer in an ever-changing Thailand.
THE OTHER BEST SHOW I WATCHED THAT ACTUALLY AIRED IN 2023: WHAT DID YOU EAT YESTERDAY?/KINOU NANI TABETA? SEASON 2
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BRILLIANTLY ACTED by literally the best actors in the Asian BL game: we are blessed that Nishijima Hidetoshi and Uchino Seiyou have given so much to this franchise. It's hard to write about this show because it's so perfect -- it needs no extraneous words. Plot, pacing, acting, character development, gratuitous food shots. It has it all.
THE OTHER OTHER BEST SHOW I WATCHED THAT ACTUALLY AIRED IN 2023: I CANNOT REACH YOU
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Just like Bad Buddy looked at Thai BL tropes in the eye and said, "over my Nong Nao," I Cannot Reach You asked Japanese BLs about the efficacy of almost every trope we've gotten used to, and questioned them with efficiency. The biggest shocker for me? REAL COMMUNICATION, encouraged by the CIPHER, Hosaka, that allowed the two lead protagonists to confirm their love and understand each other. It was straightforward and FUCKING GOOD.
A SHOW THAT AIRED IN 2023 THAT I HAVEN'T WRITTEN ABOUT YET, THAT I NEED TO REWATCH IN CHRONOLOGY, THAT ALSO DID SOME TROPE/GENRE ASS-KICKING THAT I'M STILL THINKING ABOUT: LA PLUIE
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La Pluie was FEARLESS. The show had a LOT to say about romance and soulmates not being as much of a realistic thing as content-makers... and, frankly, majority society would like us to think. La Pluie made its characters WORK for love and understanding, and had us viewers face our implicit biases about how romantic content should and could work. I watched this show out of order of the OGMMTVC watchlist to see it it was one of the best of the year, and it certainly is. I'm planning a deep rewatch for early 2024 to pen my words on it.
A SHOW THAT ALMOST TOPPED MY 2023 LIST BUT GOT DOCKED BECAUSE I ENDED UP LIKING THE NOVEL A LOT BETTER: I FEEL YOU LINGER IN THE AIR
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@neuroticbookworm and @lurkingshan know that I flipped THA FUCK out over this show -- FABULOUSLY acted by Nonkul Chanon and Bright Rapheephong, FABULOUS cinematography, great story up until the end of the series. My fangirling led me to read the original novel by Violet Rain, and -- I found out that Jom was a lot more damn sassy than we got in the show! Tee Bundit's penchant for sadness won. This is not to dock the show, but the novel had more than enough material to carry the series through without repeating themes in the end. So it fell on my 2023 list, womp womp. BUT I STILL LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS SHOW, DON'T GET ME WRONG.
TWO SHOWS THAT I'M SUPER GLAD I CAUGHT UP WITH WHILE THEY WERE AIRING: THE EIGHTH SENSE AND BE MY FAVORITE
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Be My Favorite looked at Krist Perawat's checkered past as a BL idol and said: we are going to examine this and make an honest BL out of inspiration from it. It wasn't a perfect show, the time travel shit didn't end up adding up in the end, BUT -- excellent acting from two GMMTV VETS made up for those tangles, and I loved the contextual philosophical references throughout the series. The Eighth Sense looked at the tug-of-war that Korean BLs have with K-dramas and their tropes and said, actually? We will have these dudes full-frontal kiss, and placed that energy against commentaries on mental health, both topics that Korea hasn't quite embraced as quickly as other countries.
HONORABLE MENTIONS OF OTHER AWESOME SHOWS THAT MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE AIRED IN 2023
Make It Right, Our Dating Sim, Dark Blue Kiss, Gay OK Bangkok, Dirty Laundry, 10 Years Ticket, I Told Sunset About You, I Promised You the Moon, 3 Will Be Free, Lovely Writer (underrated?!), Our Skyy 2 x Bad Buddy x A Tale of Thousand Stars (UNDERRATED!), and Manner of Death.
And the shows that are airing that I know will stay with me well into 2024: Last Twilight and Cherry Magic Thailand.
I had fun!
WHAT ELSE, WHAT ELSE: THE "NO" SHOWS: THE PROMISE AND STEP BY STEP
I'm not even hyperlinking my thoughts on these shows, nor gifting them with gifs. Insert Bugs Bunny NOOOOOO gif here! We got Man Trisanu, though.
THE SHOW I WAS THE MOST OBVIOUSLY DISAPPOINTED BY: ONLY FRIENDS
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Despite my passionate disappointment for this show and how it ended: in the context of the OGMMTVC, Only Friends is still an incredibly important inclusion to the list. Some amazing Tumblr bloggers offered commentary that the bias against sex that OF contained within the show was actually importantly and culturally contextual to the still-conservative state of acceptance that Thailand is currently in (here and here for more reading).
Only Friends reminded us that despite any kind of marketing that we here on Tumblr, as a majority non-Thai audience, may receive about a Thai show -- that we are still not fully plugged into the non-verbal expectations of what a show like OF could promise to do, and to be okay when it doesn't reach those heights. In light of the seemingly pro-sex marketing blasts that previewed the series before its airing, OF ultimately seemed to want to take casual sex, chew it up, and spit it out. There might be reasons why that happened that we just don't know about as outsiders to Thailand. But as an Asian-American viewer that was hoping for neutral -- and maybe even supportive -- commentary on single folks having casual sex without judgement, OF did not deliver for me.
I'm ending the year reading Dr. Thomas Baudinette's book, Boys Love Media in Thailand, the first book-length ethnographic study on the impact of BL on queerness, media, and more in Thailand and across Asia. Baudinette comes from the world of Japanese queer media studies -- as someone who came to Thai BLs this year from Japanese BLs, I appreciate his trajectory. It's clearly a necessity for me to read this book in the context of the OGMMTVC, to understand how Thai BLs have changed over time, and to understand the incredibly larger impact of heterosexual/heteronormative media and themes on Thai media as a whole, as larger and larger swaths of Thai, Asian, and international societies welcome and watch BLs with open arms.
All of this feeds into my ever-growing body of knowledge about the impact of Thai BLs, both in Thailand and across Asia, as Baudinette writes about, and how these shows have and are developed/developing over time. It's been an AMAZING YEAR of watching old and new dramas for me, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the genre grows even more in 2024.
I also made AMAZING FRIENDS on Tumblr -- y'all know who you are! What a year of growth and discovery for me: this has been a fabulous experience, and I'm looking forward to even more growth in the new year!
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neko-loogi · 3 months
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Alright, I'mma give my opinion again. This time with Hazbin Hotel..
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So I saw the trailer for Hazbin Hotel a few days ago and honestly, I am so disappointed. Like, you're telling me I waited years for them to release a trailer for the series, and this is all we get??
I'm not saying it wasn't enough, no, on the contrary, I think they revealed way too much. But what I mean is, I was expecting something else, because this ain't it, chief.
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Alright so first off, we have the voices. I'mma be hella honest with y'all, this shit sounds unfinished, as in, it sounds like Viv got confused and published the behind the scenes instead of the finished product because omfg, the voices sound bad.
I genuinely don't understand the weird obsession Viv has with hiring celebrities or broadway actors into her shitty shows, it's not like she's rich enough to afford that- plus she does this often, doesn't that mean it affects the budget of the show? (I don't know much about that stuff so bear with me).
It's funny cuz, she hires these super famous celebrities to voice characters in her shows, but she doesn't need to, like, you can be a professional, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're a great VA. It almost feels like she does that because she wants to feel important, she wants to show off like "Oh look at me, I have celebrities voicing my characters! Aren't I cool?"
But anyway, going back to the voices, I have to say this, my least favorite are Alastor and Angel Dust. I just think it's absolutely ridiculous that Viv got rid of the pilot VAs just to replace them with broadway actors, only for them to make the characters sound flat and emotionless.
Like, it's funny because she makes these broadway actors imitate the voices from the pilot, however it doesn't come naturally for these actors and it shows. It almost feels like they have no idea what they're doing. It legit sounds like they're reading the script but not putting any effort into it. (Y'know how people shit on anime dubs because they don't sound good or whatever? That's exactly how I feel about this-).
The next thing I wanna talk about is the animation. Don't get me wrong from what I've seen, in some moments the animation looks alright, but other times it looks choppy as hell. I thought this show was supposed to be more 'professional' since they literally got A24 and Bento Box ent. for this. But yeah, all I can say is, the animation hasn't changed at all, the only thing that is slightly different is the art style but aside from that, the animation still sucks.
And finally, the last thing I wanted to discuss is the plot of the series. So as we all know, in the Pilot, it was established that Charlie (along with Vaggie) opened the Happy Hotel in hopes of redeeming sinners so that they can go to heaven because Hell was too overpopulated (plus the whole extermination thing). But the whole point of the plot was that she wasn't entirely sure she could actually do it or if it was even possible, and that's what made the plot more interesting back then. But here? It's absolute garbage. Not only did the trailer basically reveal way too much information already (before the series could even come out yet), but the plot was changed entirely!
Like I mentioned, Charlie's motives were to redeem sinners, but here she's more focused on having some kind of war with heaven/the angels. And that's the thing, now that we know that heaven is a thing in this series, plus the inclusion of Adam, it just makes the series feel so predictable, because now we know that the sinners can be redeemed, which beats the entire purpose of the show. It's like, "Hell bad, but heaven is worse" and "Good VS. Bad!!", cliche type of thing. You think a series 'made for adults' would have a more interesting plot than a kids show, but nah, we get these basic ass levels of writing. I swear a fucking five year old could come up with something better and far more creative than this nonsense-
***
So yeah, I'm honestly hella disappointed that this is what the series has turned into. I had high hopes for Hazbin Hotel (since Helluva ain't shit-), but nope, it turns out, Viv is capable of making herself look even more stupid by completely butchering her own series. Hell, I actually have Amazon Prime, but I am probably not even gonna watch this shit, I'll just wait till some dumbass on YouTube uploads the first episode or something stupid like that (so that I can watch it and critique it later). Because I know that someone definitely will.
Anyway, that's all for today, thank you for reading my dumb post- alright bye!
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dorkynerd23 · 9 months
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Okay. So, this has mostly been going on over on the toxic dumpster fire shithole that's known as Twitter, (including TikTok as well from what I've heard and seen from others pointing it out) but I think this DEFINITELY needs to be said here as well. Although, the fandom isn't as horrible here as it is on Twitter, but you get the idea. Anyways, this situation has gotten even more horrible and awful and the way the fanbase has gotten is just saddening to me and this needs to be discussed and talked about because it's gotten too far and it's just an upsetting situation.
But to any of you out there that harassed and attacked the VA's over on Twitter when it comes to the shipping and if you harassed Michael for saying he's in support and doesn't mind Nuzi, you guys are disgusting and just straight up awful. You guys just suck and you really need to stay off the internet if you're going to the point of harassing people, please get some help and just fucking stop. Please don't attack or harass any of the Voice Actors, Liam or any of the crew who work at Glitch Productions, these are REAL people with actual feelings and boundaries and they don't have the time for this bullshit, none of them deserve to be dragged into these toxic shipping wars and arguments some of you fans keep on getting yourselves into, they have lives and things to do and they don't deserve to be mistreated and harassed like this or at all. The people who are doing this aren't real fans and they don't care about the show or the talented people behind it, they don't care about the passion, love, effort and all the things to appreciate and love about MD as a whole.
These "so-called fans" don't care about the actual show, they just care about the characters ages and the shipping aspects and wonder which characters will get together and who'll be a couple, they just care about shipping. That's all they care about and that's just so damn disheartening and very unfair, Dude. :( As I've mentioned and said before, there's SO MUCH MORE to appreciate and love about Murder Drones, MD as a show has more to offer and things to love about it. There's clearly so much love and passion that goes into the show and Liam has a very fun and unique way of storytelling when it comes to Murder Drones!
SHIPPING ISN'T EVERYTHING, PEOPLE!! STOP MAKING IT A BIG OF A DEAL, BECAUSE IT'S NOT! It doesn't matter whether you're a fan or don't care about Envy, Nuzi, or any of the ship pairings in the show, whether you're a fan or not, it is NEVER OKAY to bully and harass anybody. It's especially NOT okay and doesn't give any of you the right to harass anybody that's working on the show, that is disgusting and unacceptable behavior and any of you who have/do this is disgusting and you should know better, especially when some of you are grown adults doing this mess, please set a better example and just stop. Any of you who are doing this JUST STOP IT, PLEASE. These are real actual people and they have actual feelings and lives and they don't have the time for this, they're just actors on the show and they have nothing to do with this and don't have time for it either. Everything planned out for the show and the ones who know what's gonna happen and can say what is/isn't canon are Liam Vickers himself and Glitch.
I've said this before and I'll say it again because it seriously needs to be said, honestly. Shipping shouldn't even be something you go into for a show, you should watch and go into a show for more than just that, that shouldn't be the only thing to look forward to, there's more to shows than just ships, it's just childish and straight up unfair if you're only watching shows for the romance and wondering who'll get with who in the end, and not appreciating the other great things and aspects about the shows you watch. Shows like Murder Drones have so much more to them, so much more to offer, be loved, adored, enjoyed and appreciated for! 💙
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Ngl 'm kinda salty that instead of having Sun, or Solar, or Monty in today's gaming video on Laes, they had Roxanne, someone who is irrelevant to their channels besides being a running gag for teasing Sun. I know that Davis is probably too busy to record with Kat, Reed, and Valentine but I'd rather wait for him to be available for however long it takes than to watch a gaming video with Roxanne in it :/
My only theory as to why the Roxanne Show did this huge collab was because that they have recorded a VR lore collab episode with them as well and they were available.
Which.........
Isn't great.
I don't like their portrayal of Vanny.
That's my woman blorbo and you screwed her up.
Keep her away from me.
Although, I've never been a big fan of their Roxanne portrayal either.
My personal opinion. Take it with a grain of salt.
I thought the Christmas Special was terrible.
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"Did everyone enjoy the Holiday Special?" "No RAGS... only you did." "Oh... well that pretty much my target audience anyway..."
*i watched the whole thing so you don't have to. Honestly, if you have seen the two very short clips of Davis's Sun and Earth/Kat singing, that's all you need. Because they're the only two of this musical that can actually... well... sing.*
The singing made my inner choir kid cringe.... and I just... did not care for the plot.
Roxanne was stressed over the holidays... because of the drama SHE created.... She whined about her estranged on again off again father not liking Christmas, whined when Gregory tried to invite Cassie over, Whined when Gregory was upset and dealing with drama of his only ghost friends potentially leaving the astral plain, Was annoyed when Freddy was trying to be a good boyfriend because she wasn't happy that not EVERYONE was having "the best christmas ever" Cus "Who doesn't like Christmas?" I don't know, Roxanne... people who are busy, people who work retail, people with dead relatives (like Cassie by the way) .... people who don't CELEBrate Christmas???
And I was waiting for the other shoe to drop so much in this special. Because so far, All they've sung about what makes Christmas Great is the Commodification and the Commercialism of Christmas.
That's what makes Christmas great. The cookies, the presents, the colorful lights.....big parties, traditions... etc etc....
Which, come on, I do NOT expect animatronics to get up like the Peanuts Holiday Special and tell me about the Birth of Jesus Christ.
But what I did expect them to do, was talk about the importance of family, and why being with the people you care about is so important... and there was... an attempt at that. But it didn't really land for me.
They didn't even bother to get into how other people celebrate Christmas.
It was all hyping up the commercialism of the Hoilday, and getting excited about that... I understand Gregory, cause he's a literal child... but every single animatronic was either for Christmas or anti Christmas for very commercial reasons.
And what's the crisis.... Roxanne is upset because not everyone likes Christmas and no one is falling into line for her plans for the Holidays... Not everything is about you. Gregory's friends are literally dying and Cassie is mourning her Dad over the holidays.
I thought the special would be about appreciating what you have, even if things don't work out. But no, everything works out and even her estranged father makes up with her for no reason other then because.
Respect for all the voice actors, talent and origination to get the RAGS Christmas Musical together... I just did not care for the plot. And People are free to disagree with me on this... but I found the whole Musical rather shallow and I have seen Hallmark Christmas and Rankinbass Movies with more meat.
I will say.... TSAMS (and MAFS to some extent) did a much better holiday special with far less production... because that's what it's really about, just spending time and exchanging gifts with people who you know care about you. And Earth and Solar experiencing Christmas with others that care about them for the first time and a feeling of warm togetherness and family that wasn't about a big planning or party, while also packing in some of the stressful feeling of the Holidays as well.
And yeah. If Sun was on "Vacation" they could have used this as an opportunity for Solar to be in gaming videos, since Davis himself isn't sick.
We've never seen Solar and Moon play a game together, and I know I'm not the only one asking for it in the official server.
Just involve Solar in more gaming videos. HE ASKED to be in them more. Just DO IT.
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heirtotheempire · 6 months
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I know this is a bit of a touchy subject right now, but I want to discuss the differences between creating alien species and making them look non-human, versus simply having bad makeup. Because there is a distinction! Putting it all under a read more because it got a bit longer then intended😵‍💫
For starters, none of this criticism has anything to do with the actors. This is purely directed towards Disney's makeup department. I think the actors fit the bill appearance-wise, end of story.
Hera and Thrawn, in short, do not look all that great in terms of facial makeup. And as someone who adores these characters, it is frustrating! Disney, one of the largest entertainment companies on Earth, couldn't find the time, budget, or artists to work on the appearances of two main characters in this show they've been building up to for years.
Personally, my main problem with it is the lack of contouring. I've been saying this to my friend for weeks as well as mentioned it in reblogs on and off, but neither Hera or Thrawn have any sort of contouring done to enhance their face shapes. There is no emphasis on the cheekbones, or for Thrawn's forehead bumps, none of it. They rely on the actors' natural facial structures to do the work for them. Which, if it was cosplay or otherwise in person, is fine. But with studio lights, it causes a washed-out look, especially depending on where the light is coming from. To combat this (in an acting setting), makeup artists emphasize things such as the eyebrows and the cheeks and especially any wrinkles, to help bring out any facial expressions made.
How does this differ from aliens being, well. Aliens! Considering we don't have a real baseline for what real life aliens would look like, it's only fair to allow filmmakers to go wild with speculation, even if it's off-putting. But that isn't what the issue is here. The aliens we're focusing on here, Twi'leks and Chiss, do have similar facial structures to humans. They're humanoids! So their faces would reflect light and cast shadows just as much as a human face would. By all accounts, make aliens freaky looking, but basic rules of light still apply. We should be able to clearly see Thrawn's cheekbones and forehead bumps without having to pull out a magnifying glass, something that is possible via, you guessed it, contouring!
Also, considering this is fiction, things looking bad is more of a reflection on the effort being put into the show than anything else. They could have done more but chose not to. Star Trek has some fantastic examples of humanoid aliens being distinctly alien without being poorly designed (I've been watching TNG and it is quite fun!). As said before, I'm all for freaky looking aliens. But bad design and bad makeup ruins that. What is and isn't bad design and makeup does fall into a more subjective range, I won't shy away from that truth. But I cannot get over the lack of contouring in a show that can be so brightly lit! Disney's shooting themselves in the foot here!
At the end of the day this is a television show though. Lets not get mad at people who do or do not like the makeup, and people are allowed to critique it as much as others are allowed to enjoy it. No one is any less of a fan for not liking the Ahsoka show, and no one is less of a fan for loving the show. I've seen some... very nasty things in the tags in relation to this specifically as well as for the whole show. Not very fun.
To end this on a lighter note, here's a very wonderfully done makeup job on a cosplayer! I don't know how to make the embedded stuff go away whoops😭
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gotylocks · 9 months
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Willow Month 2023- Day 3: TV Show (Full Series/Specific Episode) or Movie
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If you read my entry for Day one, you'll know I went into the show without seeing the movie. In fact, I actually made a point to wait to watch it until the finale, because it was a rare opportunity where I could watch one of these years later follow ups without nostalgia for the original (unlike, say, Star Wars), so I wanted to see if it worked on its own.
The fact I'm writing this should tell you, I truly believe it does. Now, I don't want this to come off like I don't like the movie, because that is not the case. I love the movie! I'm wearing a Sorsha and Mads shirt as I write this! But I would still love the show just as much without the movie.
Some hard numbers may make my point. I have watched the movie once, and while I often think about watching it again, I haven't yet. By contrast, I have watched the full series 13 times through at this point, and at least 8 of those times were marathon sessions where I went from episodes 1-8 in a single sitting.
Why is that? Well, I think the movie is missing some key ingredients that keep it from hitting that obsession level. Namely, Kit, Jade, (grown up) Elora... ok it's the entire crew. Their interplay, the way their relationships build over the course of the season, and the way that by the end of the finale every single one of them has been improved by the others being present in their lives.
The party of six, all with their beautiful, layered arcs and emotional storylines, they're the ones that make the show something special. I've said in the past that typically in shows with ensemble casts, there's usually at least one character that I find annoying, or one actor that I don't like for one reason or another. That's another thing that makes the show so incredible. I love every single person involved. From the main six, rippling out to the supporting cast and cameos like Hannah Waddingham and Christian Slater. Not only does everyone understand the assignment, they bring their own unique flavor and quirks so nobody feels like they're phoning it in. You can tell everyone is having fun and that translates to the audience.
And while fun is first up on the menu for the show, there's also so many moments of heart-rending drama. As someone who lost their dad at 26, I connect to Kit's feelings of grief and abandonment over the disappearance of her father. I connect with Jade feeling lost and purposeless. I connect with Elora desperately wanting to help despite struggling to believe in herself. I connect with Graydon carrying a lot of guilt over things he had no control over and wanting to prove himself as more than what his father believes he is. I connect with Boorman regretting his selfish choices and wanting to make up for his past mistakes. I even relate to Willow, thrust into a position where he has to be a believer despite feeling like a fraud.
Whether it's due to the run time or the time in which it was made, the movie just can't compete with the variety of character arcs, the layers that get peeled back the more the crew spend time together, the realization how each person has something to learn from the others and how they've grown to rely on each other.
By the time they reach the Immemorial City to fight the Crone, they have grown into one of the best found families I've ever seen. They have each other's backs, they trust each other implicitly, and they're willing to put everything on the line to save the world, sure, but more importantly, save each other and facilitate their rises to greatness.
The dialogue, while not to everyone's taste, I felt was a great choice. It immediately plants a flag on its own territory and says confidently "We are not Game of Thrones. We are not Lord of the Rings. We are our own thing." I love that shit! It is never a show that feels like it's chasing a trend, because it is so uniquely itself. That extends to the music, be it the fantastic score by James Newton Howard and Xander Rodzinski or the fascinating modern song choices deployed in each episode, which while I have opinions about songs I would prefer in different places, I cannot deny that they set the show apart from everything else that has come before. And "Crimson+Clover" by Pom Pom Squad will live in my brain forever thanks to its absolutely pitch perfect use in episode 5.
The fight scenes are fantastic, because they're never there for the sake of having action. Instead, major character beats are woven throughout, making each fight hugely meaningful to everyone involved. Whether it's Willow going from his weakened, nigh magicless state at the start of the show, to being the great sorcerer he was always meant to be thanks to working with Elora, or its Kit and Jade connecting and expressing emotions that words may not be enough for through their shared love language of sword fighting, or Graydon finding the magic within at the moment he needed to and killing one of the Gales pursuing them. Action has a purpose in this story and I love that after so many hollow and emotionless cgi fight scenes we've been inundated with over recent years.
This is why I can't simply choose one favorite episode from the series, because they are so intertwined that I cannot separate them. However, unlike many straight to streaming shows, Willow doesn't just feel like an 8 hour movie chopped into parts (despite my tendency to watch it like one long movie lol). Every episode has a unique identity that I can immediately point to when prompted. Every episode is important to moving both the narrative and character development forward, and there isn't a single one you could cut without everything feeling askew.
So. When I saw this prompt I was like "Maybe I'll make this one short", but we all know now that was going to be impossible. The intense emotional connection I have to this show from front to back just brings this out of me. To the only Fellowship I need in my life. I wouldn't be here without you.
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To quote Erin from the making of doc, "These people are my family."
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jays-nook · 2 months
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Watched the First 4 Episodes of the PJO Series, Here are My Thoughts:
Cast:
I absolutely love the cast!! They are just so perfect for their roles!! I've seen my fair share of clips and behind the scenes footage to know the chemistry between the actors and how perfectly the main trio embodies their characters, but actually seeing their acting and how well they fit together just makes sense in my brain!! They're all so small as well and adorable that it really puts it into perspective how young they truly are to be going through all of this and the things the characters go through as the books progress. It hurts but it's also endears you more to the actors and the characters.
Walker is just absolutely perfect as Percy. He's such a little shit and the way he delivers his lines, whether they're angry/emotional/sad or just comedic, is simply amazing!
"I am impertinent" THAT PART HAD ME WHEEZING FR
Although I don't have an issue with Lin Manuel Miranda as a person (I absolutely love his works and stuff) it does not make sense to cast him as Hermes, and that's just going off the elevator scene when he delivers the package! Like I honestly can't imagine this man as Luke's father :// It could've been better.
But the others are just great! Their energy is amazing and omg Mr. D was a blast! It's a much different portrayal than I was expecting since Mr. D is so chill and like aloof in the books, but seeing him yell and stuff at Percy to take on the quest just made me look at him in a new light!!
Filming/Aesthetics:
Every scene is shot so beautifully! And the choices they made with the places they add the music too!! Like the entire fight with the Minotaur being void of music was such a good choice. It just makes the entire scene so much more emotionally charged and tense while keeping the audience on the edge of their seat!! It was filmed so well and god it transported me to how it felt like when I read the books for the first time and went through that scene~
And omg the scene with Sally just sitting in the rain on the windowsill :(( That one was so soft and sad istg- any scene with Sally was just perfect, love her and the actress who did such a good job with her!!
Changes from the Books:
It's been around 5 or so?? years since I last read the books, so my recollection of what actually happened and what didn't was a bit fuzzy while watching the series but I was able to see how things changed. And so far, I don't mind the changes that much, like yes some had me staring at the screen like "hm" because they wetn a different way than I was expecting, but overall not too bad!
I did enjoy the scenes with Medusa, I liked having Percy wanting to hear her out and trusting to follow her inside because of what Sally had told him when he was a kid. I liked the conversations between Percy and her in the kitchen and even when she was explaining her side of the story to the trio. It was such a good way to present the scene, to show her resentment of both Athena and Posiedon, and also to show how she interacts with Percy to lure him in and play on his trusting and albeit naive nature at that point in the quest.
I did see people talking about episode 8 and the big reveal tho and I'm both excited to see it but also wary of the change they added cause I've seen a lot of mixed reactions. Some prefer the book version, some the version in the series.
General Thoughts:
I'm honestly enjoying the series, it's exciting seeing it all come to life and the dynamics and just sitting there in anticipation of what's to come.
I'm currently watching it with my big sis and let me tell y'all it's so much fun!! She hasn't read the books so all she knows is purely from when we watched the movies together a long time ago so she doesnt remember much (but unfortunately the big reveal at the end isn't going to be a surprise for her). I'm having the time of my life being a little shit and laughing at her confusion or whenever she'd start yelling "WHAT" at the screen like when Sally dissapeared HAHAHA she keeps turning to me and trying to come to conclusions and theories for things while I just smile or shake my head at outrageous ones. I am excited to see her reactions to certain scenes in the other books, especially when it comes to a certain someones end in the last book (she does not like him rn so I'm like 👀 rn to see if that might change along the way).
Uncle Rick did such a good job with the series so far and I'm excited to watch the rest of it, especially now that news of it being renewed for season 2 came out HEHEHE
And thats it for today! I'll be watching the rest of the series at some point this week and will be sharing the rest of my thoughts then. Thank u for reaching the end haha. Till then, have a good day folks and stay tuned! <3
*Last 4 episodes here*
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njazzy123 · 1 month
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Atla LA live commenting:
Ep 1:
Disclaimer: this is merely my personal view on the first watch of this show. Perhaps you had a better or worse experience.
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It's not the worst I've seen but it feels incredibly rushed. They're spewing out all the info at you without giving time to allow the watcher to take it in.
Though I loved the extra time given to see the first attack of the Fire Nation against the Southern Air Temple.
Some of the actors are better than others and it's unfortunately obvious. Though everything seems incredibly cheesy. Which I can mostly ignore since it's a live action from a cartoon.
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I adore the name of the Southern Water Tribe Village. Wolf Cove :)
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I'm incredibly sad that Sokka didn't put on his war paint and helmet before approaching Zuko :(
They're fight seen is way more dramatic than the cartoon lmao
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I notice that Aang already has some hair growing in as he's being taken to Zuko's ship. Nice touch. I like that detail.
Kinda stinks they didn't take the time to check out the old war ship
Sokka: "let's go save the weird kid"
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GASP, Uncle Iroh and Aang talk in the jail cells!!!! :D.
Aang: "Is that what you believe?"
Iroh: *ah shi- I'm blabbering too much* oh hey, fam, gotta go- I'll send you some tea
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The Force is strong with Aang. That jail key scene is air fire.
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AANG IN ZUKOS ROOM. HEY STOP READING HIS DIARY PUNK
He took the staff in Zuko's room, instead of already having one. I'm okay with this difference actually. I like that, it's funny.
Zuko's hinted at obsession with Airbender artifacts is gonna help the Airbender. Gotta love it.
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Aang escape
Zuko angy o.O
BUT YEAH GO KATARRA!
But are we gonna see some Avatar State?? ...Nope, guess not.
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The way that they show that nature has been taking over the S Air Temple over the course of 100 years is making me very happy. That's a great addition.
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OH NO, ARE WE GONNA SEE THE REMAINS OF GYATSO AND THE KIDS OH NO
Oh geez, there he is oh geez. Ouch ouch ouch
THE FLASHBACK IT HURTS
Oh here we go :/. Avatar State time
"you will always be my friend." Dang. New phrase to torture myself over.
The hug 😭
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Is he gonna keep Gyatso's necklace?
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Ending with some deep truths and Zuko slightly going nuts. Good 1st EP end, ngl.
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OH YEAH THE MUSIC
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Despite some things that I wish could have been done a little better.... I'm truly enjoying it.
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thankskenpenders · 1 year
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Sonic Prime!
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The first eight episodes of Sonic Prime are out! I've been busy for obvious reasons this past week (I kinda released a video game), but I've now seen all eight episodes, and as such can give more structured thoughts on them.
Overall: pretty good! I like it! ...But it's not 100% there yet for me. In the spirit of Festivus, I'm here to air my grievances.
Let's start with one of the highest points. First and foremost, this show looks great. We FINALLY have a Sonic cartoon that actually looks like the games with no asterisks attached, even across multiple wildly different AUs. And everything from small acting choices to big, bombastic fight scenes is a joy to watch in motion thanks to the fluid, expressive, fast-paced movement, with characters pleasantly squashing and stretching in fun ways. It's so fun literally to just watch Sonic's face move in dialogue scenes. God, I wish the cutscenes in Frontiers had animation this good. I get why they don't, but still.
And those action sequences! Man, some of these are the most fun fight scenes in any Sonic cartoon ever, period. Lots of great shot choices, a good mix of recognizable moves from the games combined with new ones and improvisations, I could go on and on. The shot of Sonic leaping backwards down that long stairwell, only for the camera to pan around beneath him and show his friends following suit? There's a reason why they put that in the trailer. It rules. This isn't the greatest action series ever - it still has your typical kids' action cartoon problem where the stakes rarely feel adequately high and you can turn your brain off during fight scenes - but it's fun to look at in a way that previous Sonic cartoons haven't always been.
Really, with how strong the presentation is, it's the writing that tends to let the show down in this first batch of episodes. The writing isn't even bad - there's some really cool stuff to latch onto, and I'm optimistic about them leaning more into what's interesting as the plot continues to develop. It's just... well, it's a Man of Action cartoon.
I'm going to nitpick a lot here, so I want it to be perfectly clear that I like Sonic Prime. I think it's a solid cartoon, and firmly on the high end of the Sonic cartoon spectrum. There's a lot that I'm into, and if someone told me it was their new favorite Sonic cartoon, I could absolutely see why. It mainly just has three things working against it:
It can't decide whether or not it actually wants to be wholeheartedly faithful to the games.
It was very clearly written to be a weekly TV show and not a Netflix show dumped in large batches.
The bar has been VERY high for Sonic content this year across every other medium.
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Faithfulness to the games
As has been touted in interviews, Sonic Prime is actually canon to the games, and in many ways it's slavishly faithful to them. Which only makes it weirder when it isn't.
The thing that'll immediately stand out is the new voice cast they had to get because Canadian production laws blah blah blah. Now, they're all good here, particularly Deven Mack as Sonic. His take definitely sounds similar to previous takes on Sonic, but I think he manages to find a nice middle point between the youthful enthusiasm of movie Sonic and the more experienced heroics of game/IDW Sonic. He's great. And not to knock Cindy's performances, but I think Shannon Chan-Kent's voice might actually fit Amy just a liiiiittle better here. But the problem is it gets harder to view this as the regular game cast and alternate timeline versions of them when everyone always sounds a little off. Knuckles in particular is really weird because his AU counterparts have a completely different voice actor, and neither particularly sounds like his current voice in the games. I have no idea why.
For another example, Green Hill is used as a setting in a cartoon for the first time ever, and it looks exactly how you remember it. Cool! But it's also framed as the place where Sonic and all of his friends live 24/7, which has never, ever been true in the games. Even Knuckles is here with no explanation for why he isn't guarding the Master Emerald. (One might think that not drawing attention to Knuckles' job allows the writers to just pretend it doesn't exist, similar to what Sega does in many games, but then we get a literal 16-bit flashback to him guarding the Master Emerald in Hidden Palace.)
This would be a totally fine concession if this show was just doing its own thing like every other Sonic cartoon. The different universes are all different bad timelines for Green Hill, with Sonic spotting the unique iconography of the level buried beneath whatever's taken over South Island this time - a smog-filled Eggman city, an overgrown jungle, an abnormally high sea level - to drive home how wrong the AUs are. It also explains why Sonic can always find the AU versions of his friends in Green Hill, and it probably cut down on the number of sets they had to model. But because it is canon to the games, things like this distract me as a hopeless Sonic nerd. It also leads to some repetitive dialogue in the first few episodes as characters constantly comment on the presence or lack thereof of palm trees, because their only reference for what the world is supposed to look like is Green Hill.
Rings are also treated as a minor plot point early on to incorporate another thing from the games, as Sonic is late for the big battle against Eggman because he was off collecting extra rings. But despite how often it's brought up in that context, they aren't actually a factor in the fight at all, and then rings are never seen again in the AUs.
Also Orbot and Cubot are in this in the regular universe and then we never see them again? Are they going to come back??
This extends beyond these pedantic nitpicks, though. To me, the worst offender of the show selectively choosing when to care about the source material is the dichotomy of the character writing in the alternate universes.
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Every AU will have one or two takes on one of Sonic's friends (Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Rouge, and Big) who are The Interesting Ones, the spotlighted characters for each subplot. These are the ones that get actual character arcs, and they feel like they're written in conversation with their original game counterparts in interesting ways.
In the dystopian world, Tails is known as Nine, a cynical loner inventor who was never saved from his bullies and inspired to be a hero by Sonic - but who, when pushed, is still a good kid deep down. In the jungle world, Amy is the extremist Thorn Rose who rides around on a giant Flicky like it's a chocobo and prevents foragers from "stealing" from the forest, possibly riffing on her bond with the Flickies in SA1. She's still looking out for the little guy, she's just doing so at the expense of everyone else. And in the pirate world, Knuckles is the captain Dread Knuckles, who instead of diligently guarding a magic rock was a pirate obsessed with obtaining a magic rock, and who swore off of that quest (and fighting in general) after it cost him the trust of his original crew.
These characters and their interactions with Sonic are all fun - Nine in particular provided a lot of my favorite emotional moments so far - and it feels like it gets at why you would do a multiverse story like this in the first place. You get to examine the characters from other angles! It's just that then there's... the rest. Characters who aren't the focus will just kind of get inserted into roles as Man of Action rests on broad cartoon tropes instead of actually doing anything with the Sonic source material. The dystopia of New Yolk City feels like a good fit given the history of the franchise, but then the other two worlds we've seen so far rely largely on stock "tribal" tropes and pirates going yaarrrrr.
I'm biased, but the worst off here seems to be Rouge, who has yet to get her spotlight universe (assuming she gets one next). This really stings because she's spot on in the regular universe. She hasn't been retconned to be part of Team Sonic, she's invited herself over because she's got her eye on the Paradox Prism (even dropping in unannounced at Tails' workshop). She's got a bit of that playfulness that makes her so fun, and the animation is able to lean into it. But then you go to the other universes and it's all gone.
Pirate Rouge is pretty fun, I'll admit, but I'm shocked they don't play up her love of gems there. Rebel Rouge (yes that is her literal name, the other rebels call her Rebel) gets to be a spy with a fun dynamic with Knuckles at first, but it quickly devolves into her just being the serious, responsible girlboss leading the rebellion who acts as a straight man to Sonic's snark. In other words, she's a lot like... Sally? I hate making that comparison because SatAM/Archie fans have been derisively comparing literally every new female character in the franchise to Sally since the '90s, but it's really hard to shake. (Similarly, it's hard to shake comparisons to Bunnie and Mecha Sally with Rusty Rose, the evil cyborg version of Amy with extendable limbs.) And Rouge's jungle universe counterpart ("Prim Rouge") is also just kind of there as the no-nonsense leader of the tribe, similar to Rebel.
And it's in scenes revolving around the blander of the AU characters when I'm like... man, I kinda wish they'd just made a show about the regular game universe without having to watch Man of Action bust out the pirate joke book and write the dollar store version of Princess Mononoke. I want to spend more time with the actual characters. Because they nailed the tiny glimpses of the game world that we got. This isn't a constant thought I have - again, I like the show, and the major AU characters are cool, and I like seeing new things be done with Sonic. But I'd be lying if I said I never wished the show had gone a different way. My perfect Sonic cartoon continues to elude me...
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Story construction
Let's back up a bit and describe the basic premise. On the regular version of Sonic's Earth, things are business as usual, although Sonic seems to be getting a little too cocky and taking his friends for granted. During a fight with Eggman, Sonic accidentally shatters our new macguffin, the Paradox Prism, creating a series of new bad timelines in which he never existed. In that way, I might almost compare it to a multiverse-hopping adventure version of It's A Wonderful Life. A pretty solid emotional throughline to give the show a little more heft. In each of these worlds, Sonic helps set things right with the alternate versions of his friends and finds another shard of the Paradox Prism in an attempt to restore his world. He also usually faces off with the Chaos Council, a team of five alternate Eggmen who are all different ages.
Beyond the fact that there are like five versions of most characters, it's not THAT complicated, especially in a time when damn near everything in pop culture is doing multiverse shenanigans. Which is why it's frustrating that the script seems to think it's fucking House of Leaves.
For the first few episodes, Sonic has a VERY hard time grasping the fact that he's in an alternate universe. This is to be expected to some extent - Sonic is our point of view character through all of this, and it's a kids' show, so he's got to go through a process of figuring things out so that it can be explained to the kids at home. The problem is that it takes him damn near the entire first mini-arc in New Yolk City to figure it out, which starts to come off as insulting and leads to EXTREMELY repetitive dialogue where Sonic wonders why his friends don't remember him and where all the palm trees went. You'd think that by the time Nine explains that his personal history is completely different from how Sonic remembers his time with Tails he'd get a clue, but no, not really. He continues to meet alternate versions of his friends, stubbornly refer to them with their original names, and wonder why no one remembers their previous adventures together. This then somehow even continues into the second universe, the jungle one, where he somehow thinks he's still in New Yolk City and wonders why the cyberpunk rebel versions of his friends are all covered in leaves and wielding spears now. Thankfully, by the time he reaches the pirate world Sonic finally gets a clue, so this isn't a pattern that's going to continue. But it does make the first few episodes a drag.
This, the many recaps, and the out-of-order presentation of scenes back in Green Hill so that they can have a flashback to the regular universe in every episode for context really make it clear that this series was written for TV, not for Netflix. It's assuming that every single episode is going to be some 7-year-old's first episode and that they need to have everything explained again. I'd probably be a bit more sympathetic towards this repetitive, patronizing writing if it actually was airing on Cartoon Network, rather than being a Netflix show where they're dropping eight episodes at a time.
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Stiff competition
This is the least fair of my complaints, but I gotta say it. As solid as Sonic Prime is for the most part, it looks worse at the tail end of a year when we've been FEASTING as Sonic fans.
We got a movie sequel that pivoted HARD into game elements, giving us both really great takes on the characters and interesting remixes of old ideas. The IDW comics are still going as strong as ever, with the continually compelling arc of new villains Surge and Kit and now the wildly inventive and downright beautiful to look at Scrapnik Island. And, of course, we got Frontiers, a return to form for the series that adapts it to a semi-open world with the best and most interesting story we've had in god knows how many years.
And then we've got Sonic Prime, a pretty good cartoon that between fun action scenes and interesting story ideas frequently relies on genre pastiches that were tired 30 years ago and jokes that aren't particularly funny.
I think reading Scrapnik Island #3 really put this into perspective for me. Which, again, isn't fair. The comics target older kids and are ALWAYS heavily tied to established continuity, and a comic miniseries can afford to go way more niche than a Netflix show. But Scrapnik is just doing such amazing and original things, bringing back long-forgotten elements of the games and recontextualizing them in fascinating ways. That mix of both the heartwarming sight of the Scrapniks finding happiness in their new lives and the EXTREMELY atmospheric horror aboard the ruins of the Death Egg. It rules! It takes elements hardcore fans wanted to see again and tells a totally new story with them that's unlike anything we've seen before in the franchise. It's really, really hard for "what if Knuckles was a pirate" to compete with that.
But we're still early in Prime. Things are getting more interesting over time, with Sonic acclimating to the dimension hopping and more crossover between the different universes. Nine discovering a completely dead, empty world and wanting to start from scratch there was also really interesting, and I'm curious if that goes anywhere. Again, I've been nitpicking a lot, but the show is pretty good and I've enjoyed my time with it overall. I just don't quite think it's 100% there yet. But I definitely think it could get there within the next 16 episodes.
Misc thoughts
Rouge sleeping like an actual bat is cute.
I like that the environmental themes of the series are such a big focus here! They fall to the wayside too often
I like that the AU characters have different names for the sake of telling them apart, but some of them are pretty bad (the aforementioned Rebel Rouge) while others I just don't get. Why is the old man Eggman named Dr. Done It? Why is the teenage one Dr. Don't?
I thought the scene where Sonic was trying to talk to the New Yolk City crew after a battle and they had to keep ducking under a laser that was still slowly circling the room was funny
The new shoes and gloves are ugly and I think it's really contrived that they magically transform into the perfect tools for every new universe
Between this and Frontiers it's becoming a pattern that Tails and Knuckles can get explicit flashbacks to previous games to highlight their histories with Sonic, while Amy can't. I don't know what to make of this
Thorn is pretty good overall but I do think the flashback depicting her as just randomly snapping one day when her friends pick one too many berries is so hokey that it wraps around to being kinda funny
I've neglected to mention Shadow, but I like him okay in this. It's definitely modern Shadow, but I think "hardass, no-nonsense rival who thinks Sonic is an idiot who acts without thinking and thus wants to kick his ass" is a decent place for Shadow to be in, compared to just The Vegeta, even if it's not my favorite version of the character. I'm curious to see what his role is in the rest of the show, especially given the cliffhanger, and hope he's able to work together with Sonic instead of just being a pissed off antagonist the whole time.
I hate baby Eggman
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stoopid-turtle · 8 months
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Miscellany and Such
I'm just a clown with things to say. You shouldn't believe me.
Intro post for this series
Okay, so that addresses the bulk of my need to splurge. I do want to get into some of the ancillary questions/mysteries though.
- The Timeline
Like most turtles, I have given thought to the question of "the timeline". This question is complicated because there are so many different stages a relationship can go through and they aren't always linear or one-way.
Like, when I think about when GG and DD "got together", do I mean sex? Being exclusive? Romantic commitment? An actual date? Promise of being together for the long-haul? These are all different questions and there's no real set pattern for them.
I guess I'll run through the common theories I've seen and just give an overview of my thoughts.
1. The Consensus Timelines
I feel like this is what I see pop up in fanfic a lot. Basically, DD and GG don't make a long-term commitment till after filming, sometimes way after filming. (Some fanfic opens years down the line with them only getting together in the fic) This often includes casual sex during the filming, but it doesn't have to.
I definitely feel that if DD had his druthers, he and GG would have been married one week into filming. GG's feelings are kinda the deciding factor in pacing for the relationship. Still, it is very difficult to believe that they were not physically intimate during filming.
DD was fucking bold and thirsty, and GG was clearly likewise smitten. I know what guys are like in their 20s. I know this sounds like I'm spouting stereotypes, but genuinely, all of my actual experience tells me that guys who are that outwardly flirty are not the type to faff around before diving into bed.
I doubt it was "just sex" given the romantic undertones of their flirtiness. At the same time, it might have been some feeling each other out and they may not even have decided to be exclusive at the beginning.
Even if they had decided to be exclusive, they were clearly insecure about how the other one felt about them. I think a lot about their (hilarious) English conversation about DD chatting with men and GG chatting with a girl. DD also spent a lot of time reading through GG's messages on his phone, so DD clearly felt some insecurity as to whether GG might be seeing other people.
(It's not really a great thing to anxiously read through your crush/partner/boo's phone messages like that. But DD was hella young, and I know the anxiety and insecurity of love at that age. I think the fact that they quickly built up enough trust to commit to what's essentially a long-distance relationship shows that they both matured past some of that early behavior)
(Also, I can see that if DD was GG's first male partner, DD might have felt especially insecure. Even if he wasn't GG's first, there's often times a special anxiety that non-bisexual gay folk feel when dating bisexual folk. The fear that their partner will leave them for the opposite gender is intense. Just speaking from my experience as a bisexual lady)
It's interesting to me that GG was open to letting DD read his messages. I doubt he'd do that if he were seeing anybody else, so that suggests they'd decided to be exclusive early on. That doesn't necessarily mean they're committed to the long-haul, but it's a serious step given how relationships between actors on set tend to go.
The consensus seems to be that the long-haul decision wasn't made until after GG's Japan trip. That makes sense to me, but I'm not completely attached to it. I don't think we know enough either which way to tell when the commitment happened. There is something romantic about the Japan trip story, and GG's later quote about waiting fits nicely.
I've heard various rumors that GG turned DD down the first time he confessed. This is interesting to me and especially ambiguous. I guess by "confess" we mean "confess to being in love". That confession can come with a desire to commit long-term. This makes me think of DD's Weibo post about things he decided at 21, he hopes to still feel at 81.
In my head, I have a little story that that's a response to GG having turned DD down due to the age gap (and maybe because of the possibility of character bleed muddying feelings). DD is especially sensitive about the age gap being mentioned, and we know he also had complicated feelings about LWJ.
My story continues with another attempt to make them a thing at the end of filming, prompting the Japan trip (and DD's "I miss you" hat). I also think about GG's interview response about having received a confession from someone he liked, and I wonder if he was thinking about DD. About liking DD but also not being sure they could really maintain a relationship outside the relative safety of the film set.
Basically, I have a million stories in my head about how this could have happened, and I'm not incredibly attached to any one of them.
2. DDU Variation
This Timeline isn't mutually exclusive with the consensus. The gist is that DD developed a crush on GG during GG's DDU visit about a year before filming. The rumors attached to this theory posit that DD got GG's WeChat info from DLS but then never did anything with it.
GG and DD have said in interviews that when they tried to connect on WeChat at the start of TU production, they'd found they'd already connected but had never talked to each other.
The evidence for this is heavily linked to a post DDU made in response to GG wishing them a happy birthday where they implied someone in their production was a fan of theirs. This post included a minions emoji, and DD was into minions at the time. Course, a lot of people were into minions, so this could be nothing.
If we take GG and DD at face-value, then there's 2 options:
1. DD had a crush on GG, got his WeChat info, then never did anything with it. 2. DD did not have a crush on GG but got his WeChat info some other way, then never did anything with it.
#1 is frankly hard for me to buy. It is absolutely inconceivable to me that DD would have a crush on someone, have that person's WeChat, and NOT DO ANYTHING WITH IT.
This is DD. He doesn't faff around. When he wants something, he goes for it.
#2 is plausible. I don't know the c-ent industry conventions, but I know in industries I've worked in, social media accounts are traded like business cards to network. Maybe that was commonplace at DDU with their guests, and they just added each other in one of those business card swap networking things.
But what if GG and DD are lying in interviews? They've lied before, after all. This leads to two alternate possibilities:
1a. They didn't have each other's WeChat until they started production on The Untamed. 2a. They did have each other's WeChat and they'd been chatting before The Untamed.
#1a is weird. I can't think of any reason to lie about that. But #2? Plausible. Maybe they did connect and start up a flirtation. Maybe even a relationship. Could be anywhere along the spectrum from early friendship -> light flirtation -> heavy flirtation -> online relationship -> secret in person relationship. Or maybe they just hooked up without a strong relationship attached to it.
It would add a different angle to the fact that they both tried out for The Untamed cast. They weren't necessarily going for the lead roles, as GG tried out for Xue Yang, but maybe they wanted to work on the same production together, and TU was their opportunity to do so.
This does mean they were pretending not to know each other at the script reading and the booting ceremony. This secretiveness implies that whatever relationship they might have had on WeChat already went beyond the bounds of friendship, or else why pretend not to know each other? It shouldn't be a hard thing to explain. "Oh, he guested on DDU last year, and we connected then." That's it. It's not even a suspicious explanation.
But it they'd hooked up or were even just being super flirtatious, then they wouldn't want to divulge that to those around them. (Counterpoint: They were pretty open about the relationship they did have eventually on set, even thing so far as to flirt, fight, argue, and have lewd conversations while getting their makeup touched up)
I can buy the DDU variation. The evidence is thin, and trying to "read" their behavior in the bts is always a little ambiguous and limited. But I'd say, if DD did get GG's WeChat because he had a crush, then it's highly likely they already had some relationship before filming. If DD just acquired GG's number in some routine industry business card swap, then this timeline variation is unlikely.
C. THE DEVIL'S TIMELINE
I love the name of this one. Basically, the speculation is that DD and GG might have been together even before the DDU episode. I think I've seen some Uniq fanmeet highlighted as a potential meeting point, given that GG was into K-pop at that time.
The evidence is even thinner for this than for the DDU variation. There's a picture DD drew of a person with a mole like GG's (I have no clue the context of his drawing that picture) and they have some Weibo posts that are kinda similar.
The Weibo post evidence is always confusing for me. I can see couples having some back and forth in their posts. Like, if your partner starts posting photos of ridiculous desserts, you might post similar photos. Or your crush develops an interest in foosball, so you do too. But some of the evidence is apparently photo sets that bear some resemblance to each other and I just...is this like a known thing for couples do to this? I've never come across this outside of this fandom. I don't know why you would. If my wife started subtly mirroring my photo posts, I don't think I'd even notice. (Hell, maybe she already does)
So I guess I don't find those incredibly convincing. After a point, if you look at any two people's posts long enough, you'll probably be able to find some similarities if you keep the criteria broad enough. If this is a known thing in Chinese social media for couples to do this, though, I might find that more compelling.
Other than that, the main evidence is kinda subjective in that its based on their behavior towards each other. This is real hard for me to gauge, so I'm not placing bets on it.
I don't think the Devil's Timeline is impossible. But I just don't see anything to indicate it as a thing. But who knows?
In sum, overall, I think DD and GG were physically (and romantically) intimate pretty early on in filming, earlier than many in the consensus seem to think. I'm undecided on when the big, serious commitment happened. And I'm open to the idea that they had a flirtation or an early online relationship via WeChat after that DDU episode. I'm not sold on the Devil's Timeline though.
Do I want to know? I mean, yeah? I find their whole romance interesting and compelling. It's like a romance novel, and I like romance novels. If they were non-famous and I met them at a party, I'd be totally into asking the "So how did you two meet?" question and learning that story.
But I'm just a rando in a different country who doesn't even speak their language. I don't get to know everything I want to know, much to my consternation. So I just have to shrug and move on with life (and read fanfic).
If in the unlikely event they come out with their story, though, I'd buy the shit out of that book.
- Fanfic/Shipping
I read a lot of fanfic (and have done for most of my life), but I felt some discomfort with the first bjyx fic I started reading. Not cause of the fic, itself, but because it felt weird to read fiction about real people. It's a side of fandom I'd never gotten into.
Fiction is a way to take stuff from the real world and make sense of it. This is something I've always appreciated about reading and books. Fanfic and bjyx fanfic fills the same need. I know I'll never get the full story on the truth behind bjyx but I can share ideas with others. I can engage in what-ifs and work through moments that are emotional.
I think sometimes people take a single fanfic to mean that the writer is making a Statement of how they think things are. With real people, they think the writer is seriously ascribing actions/thoughts/whatever to the celebrity.
Writers really aren't doing this, usually. Most writers have multiple fics with different situations, premises, character dynamics, universes. Writers are playing around with ideas, with dynamics they enjoy. Sometimes, they may feel they're hitting close to reality, but they know there's no way to be sure. Sometimes, they just want to write something with a silly premise to make their friends laugh.
Fanfic can be beautiful and compelling and amazing, but it's not real. It's words on a screen, and every fanfic reader moves on to the next fic with a completely different premise afterwards. It's not useful to read so much into any particular fic.
Can some fics and fans cross a line? Sure. But they're rare. And I honestly think people who write fic are less likely to be the crazy stalker fans just cause, well, they're spending their time writing, not stalking their celeb.
I do find the division of fandom into top/bottom weird and offensive. I don't have a preference on the mechanics of sex bc...whatever. But since fic writers tend to base their characterization on those mechanics, sometimes I'll be in the mood for one dynamic vs another. It's not about the sex though. There's just lots of aspects of Yizhan that I like, and I like to read a lot of different takes on them.
Again, it's fiction. Just like everything turtles believe.
- Fanservice
During my development as a turtle, I had a moment where I read a rumor that DD had played up the fanservice intentionally. It threw me back because I'd gotten pretty fond of DD and that sort of behavior was not in line with how I saw him.
I mean, I know actors are actors. They act. Part of that acting involves promos for their roles. But I've always appreciated DDs no-nonsense straightforwardness, so thinking of him playing a role in the bts was hard to stomach.
So I thought about it and did some reading around, as I do, and finally concluded that this whole "fanservice" thing wasn't very believable.
1) Fanservice doesn't look like the bts.
Honestly, there was a point while watching the bts when I felt DD was just kinda bullying GG and GG was putting up with him (I think this is a common takeaway). Even when I cottoned onto the fact that GG was just as flirtatious, I recognize that DD was just as obnoxious as shit.
He wasn't doing the actual romantic fanservice stuff that you see, say, Thai BL actors do. He was acting like a young boy with a crush. And I say this as someone who was a young girl DD's age once who had a similar (unreciprocated, in my case) crush on a coworker and who was as obnoxious as DD was. None of it resembled normal, stereotypical romance, because especially at that age, that's not how you do romance. No offense to DD. I know he hates to be recognized as young, but he was quite young and often acted like it in his clear affection for GG.
2) The experts say so.
By "the experts" I mean BL fans. I lurked around some BL spaces to see what that crowd's impression was. The overall consensus was that ggdd had great chemistry but never actually did fanservice.
True, being a Chinese show, maybe Chinese fanservice is just especially toned down. But that takes us to the next few points.
3) My understand of the release of the bts is that a lot of the bts is "unofficial" and was not planned to be released ahead of time. It was only with the popularity of the series that more came out.
Why fabricate a backstage, weirdly chaotic but low-physical affection relationship on a show that you're not even sure will get aired?
4) Fanservice ends.
Especially for a BL pairing, once the promo is over, the actors have to be separated from teh gay to make room for future het pairings. But there is every indication that GG and DD were still together after this point, and they're still dropping candies to this day.
So in sum, I know gg and dd are gay. The odds are much more likely that they are in a relationship than that they're doing long-term fanservice. They are gay. They fell in love. They're together. That's not so hard to buy.
Also, I went ahead and explained my turtledom to my wife. She easily bought that the two were together during filming. She wasn't sure about them still being together, so I explained about the necklaces. She asked me, "Could it just be fanservice even now?"
I started trying to explain my reasons I listed above and then I also mentioned they were signed with different agencies. As soon as she heard that, she said, "Ah, yeah, that wouldn't make any sense then."
Not saying that my wife knows everything, but she's really smart, y'all.
She is also a clown, though, like me. Absolutely raving mad.
One more post in this series! Some closing thoughts, and I'm also working on a little prezzie for turtles before I retreat to lurking.
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blackjack-15 · 3 months
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this 80s romcom lighting outside is hysterical oh my land
"wanna see the restaurant?"
"there are about 10 things in here that could kill you" 11, counting Syd
and among all this chaos he has one pertinent question:
"why didn't you call me?!" "i should have called you!"
this is going age like milk when syd sees who else is here!
syd was right last episode that carmy should have called her; carmy's right this episode that syd should have called him they're great at knowing they're a partnership. right now, they're not sure what that actually means, however, and it's causing massive friction, miscommunication, and stress
wow claire great time to introduce yourself there. like a bucket of cold water. she didn't really need to is the weird thing? nat was already talking to her, already greeted her? most people would have been like mm let me take a step back, maybe even come back later. but not claire! no she strides in like the elephant in the room and does a dance
oh ho. syd's face when claire says her name. that's a whole look
"this is my friend, claire" most honest he's been about this whole arrested development situationship
"sorry to interrupt, you all seem really busy" mm. no kidding.
"i'm sydney, it's really nice to meet you, i'm also sorry that you're here" SYD I LOVE YOU
she explains what she means and all but like. what a choice of dialogue, huh? and carmy's face. holy eff this is amazing
"interesting" oh richie. and nat's face when he says that -- the Wheels are Turning. direct comparison to his "ooooh" from last ep.
also i do love carmy's noticeably softer with Richie here. he knows richie really is just trying to help, and -- more than that -- knows that nothing else is gonna get done tonight
OH. INCHRESTING.
he tells everyone great job and to go home -- syd's rolled eyes here are a Pleasure -- and then when syd does that? carmy's reaction?
"what?" "i'm saying good night!"
very reminiscent of carmy's "what are you doing" when syd's quitting in S1E7. hmm i wonder why there's a bit of betrayal there.
this. this is beautiful. and he watches her go, too. beautiful direction, dialogue, etc etc
richie and nat are having similar problems to syd and richie last season. looking like we're gonna have a similar blow up. nat please keep the knives away from richie's ass, he's already a cheek down
the camera pan and hold on "carm/syd menu review" and then back to carmy and claire? i think that's the least subtle thing in the show, and we've seen richie's behavior + syd's temper almost literally bite him in the ass
"we're very fast" the subtlety is just...any more subtle and we'd have neon lights going. this is enjoyable because holy crap the telegraphing is Blatant
also this is some of the worst flirting i've ever seen. we're back to the total lack of chemistry and the two of them talking like 8th graders.
"i did that." "i know you did, and now you have to go" i'm still amazed that this is all text? none of this is implied? the writers are normally a little more subtle, so like...this is on purpose.
and the predictable kiss! you knew it was gonna happen, and they don't care. carmy going in with the same hand thing claire did earlier? either i can see the future or they're flashing the cliche, high-school nature of relationship with big flashing signs
and i can't see the future.
as a final note? i'm just gonna say. carmy is inexperienced, etc etc, yaddah yaddah. his actor on the other hand, is very much not. well done there sir.
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