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bookaddict24-7 · 6 months

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REVIEWS OF THE WEEK!

Books I’ve read so far in 2023!

Friend me on Goodreads here to follow my more up to date reading journey for the year!

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188. Evil Eye by Etaf Rum--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have a very short list of literary authors that I know are auto-reads for me--Etaf Rum is one of them. I don't know what sorcery Rum has over words, but her stories always seem to pull me in so completely. I feel so many emotions whenever I read one of her books and my only wish is that more people I know would read her books so I can discuss these books with them.

EVIL EYE begins with a mother who is starting to feel the weight of her married life and motherhood. While she definitely doesn't regret her daughters, she is starting to feel incredibly unsettled in the life fate has carved out for her. She vowed to never follow in her mother's footsteps and even though, on the surface, her husband presented himself as wholly different from her father, she is starting to realize that maybe, just maybe she hasn't made such different choices in her life than her mother.

First off, I want to comment the irony that we, as women, are sometimes truly cursed to find men who resemble our fathers. Some are lucky and others tend to find men who personify the lesser qualities in the fathers some women are trying to escape in the first place. But going off that, Rum also explores the complexities of family and how much we yearn for their approval and love even when THEY are the ones causing us harm.

Secondly, there is such a hopeful friendship in this book that I wasn't expecting at all. Whereas there was so much loneliness in Rum's previous novel, there is the hope of companionship in this one. I expected it to go one way, but I was so happy that she didn't go that route. It made the story feel wholesome in a way that the MC didn't get to experience during her home life.

I am not a part of this culture, so I honestly can't comment on the customs and the expectations. If I were to comment on that, it would be commentary on cliches and I'm not here for that. The way the MC reacted to everyone else making assumptions about her life based on her culture's cliches is enough of a warning that it is so easy to make uneducated assumptions. Sometimes all we have to do is read the story and hope that the MC finds what is best for her, regardless of her culture and its expectations.

Finally, though I do not have the same life the MC has, I found myself empathizing so much for her. There were times where I wanted to throw the book in anger on her behalf, and other times where I audibly gasped with the audacity of the caucasity of people, or the audacity of her asshole husband. The MC, despite the gaslighting and the condescension, navigated herself and her situation to the best of her abilities. She was such a strong character and I loved her not in spite of the flaws everyone else (including herself) saw in her, but because of them. She was imperfectly perfect and so relatable. She fought to understand herself and what she wanted.

I loved this book. I got angry, I wanted to cry, I laughed, and I was rooting for the MC all the way through. Another amazing read from Rum. I absolutely can't wait for her next book!

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189. My Fault by Mercedes Ron--⭐️⭐️

I won't lie, MY FAULT had me at the beginning. I love stories that have an MC move into a rich household because their parent remarried. I love stories with dual perspectives because it gives me a more rounded storyline. The beginning of this book felt very much like PAPER PRINCESS, minus the strip club and multiple brothers to be hellions towards the impoverished MC.

PAPER PRINCESS was messy, but it was a good and addicting mess. This was just...a mess.

MY FAULT was so insta-love that I got whiplash. It was the kind of over-the-top romance I would have read in my early twenties. It was toxic, a little too quick, and a little too easy when the relationship was discovered? It also reminded me of this KDrama I watched once where you never knew what ridiculous thing would happen next because they just felt so out of place.

Halfway through this book, we go from reading a bully stepbro romance to a suspense, potential stalker thriller novel. I get the infatuation with this, I do. But I do think that a resurgence of these books is a little worrying. At least it wasn't as bad as the kissing booth. LOL.

Will not be reading the sequel.

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190. Field of Screams by Wendy Parris--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

FIELD OF SCREAMS was another satisfying middle grade horror novel that featured a lot of the things I love in horror: The jump scares, the spooky moments, the new friends that help you solve the horror mystery, and the depth of emotion and exploration of character that well-written horror features. Parris' novel introduces a main character who is not only experiencing a sense of loss because she doesn't get to spend her summer with her best friend, but she's also still processing her grief over the loss of her father. We see this in her hesitancy in letting her mother potentially date a new man and start a new life. As the MC grows around this topic, we also see her exploring a ghostly mystery that appeared to have also consumed her father when he was a child. I thought this was such a sweet and haunting way of dealing with one's grief. I really enjoyed that aspect of how even though the MC feels alone, she has the memory of her father and this mystery to help overcome her anger and disappointment. I normally dislike how parents condescend to their kids in books like this because it feels like the adult author is inserting themselves into the story as a parent themself. It frustrates me because its an insertion of logic and meanness that so many older parents seem to hold against their children's experiences and imaginations. I think that Parris did a good job with this topic because it all leads up to an explanation as to why the parent was so dismissive and even angry with her child, the MC. Overall, I thought this was one and nicely spooky. The setting was really well done and the characters added life to the story. This felt very much like a great summer read for the young reader who wants a spooky summer story with heart. There's the pivotal middle grade crush, the mean girl who is experiencing her own form of grief, and parents who seem to just not get it. I recommend this for readers who love horror--but especially for any young reader who is also experiencing a harder emotional time in their life.

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191. Top Story by Kelly Yang--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I think this is my favourite FRONT DESK novel yet! I loved the setting and the exploration of the different topics that are always so impactful in Yang's stories.

We get to see various events happening and a surprising arc for our young MC, which just shows us how much she's grown, not just as a character but also as a person. We also see her continuous spirit that makes her such a memorable and important character for young readers to get to know. She fights against the injustices in her world and the racism she faces.

One of the main things I always love about these books is how Yang doesn't shy away from the bigotry and the racism that even children face, no matter whether this is a historical novel, or in her more contemporary novels.

I love this series and I think the books are incredibly inspiring. This is a must-read for fans of Yang and immigration stories from a kid's perspective as they navigate their ever-changing and expanding world. Also, LOVED the exploration of family and culture in this one because it was very eye-opening to learn about the customs and love found in a China Town!

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192. The Revenge of Seven by Pittacus Lore--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a great and emotional follow up to the last book, which had a heartbreaking ending. I really appreciated the exploration of grief and how it can look so different from person to person. And even as this topic is explored, we still see the same kickass moments and the connections between all of these characters. We also get another piece to the puzzle of what is coming next.

I'm super excited to pick up the next book in this series!

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193. Video Night by Adam Cesare--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed this one by Cesare! It wasn't a perfect read, but it's honestly such a perfect Halloween season book. It was a lot darker than CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD and had a lot more Scary movie tropes, which is also incredibly fitting because it's set in the 80s, some of the best years of spooky films.

Keeping the fact that this is set in the 80s in mind also helps combat the misogynistic ideas that the characters had in this book. It all felt like it was genuinely taking place in that decade and it felt like I was watching a movie with all of these creepy moments. There were some serious jump scares and I remember questioning my life choices when I was reading this in the middle of the night.

If you enjoyed INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, I think you'd like this. It's bloody, creepy, full of funny moments, and teenage hormones. Highly recommend!

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194. I Survived Hurricane Katrina by Lauren Tarshis--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed this one!

Getting to know the family and the friends of the MC helped give this addition to the series a more rounded feel. Especially when we hear about the hope and belief people had regarding the magnitude of Hurricane Katrina. Overall, this was an enjoyable and truly terrifying read in the sense that it actually happened to people and so many lives were lost.

I did mention in one of my last reviews of one of these books how unrealistic some conclusions were. Trust me, I want happy endings for all of these kids, but I think this sometimes does these stories a disservice. Kids can handle the realities better than adults give them credit for.

Anyway, another fun book read in this series. I don't know if it will be my last since I'm starting to grow a little jaded with this series.

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195. Look Both Ways by Linwood Barclay--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Although this was a very different Barclay story than his past works, I really enjoyed it. I liked the suspense of seeing what the cars would do next, and who the real villains in this story were--especially because with Barclay there are always a million layers and players leading up to surprise twists and reveals that we never anticipated.

I immediately thought that this book reminded me of that John Marrs book that featured rogue self-driving cars, but that's where the similarities end. These cars seemingly had their own personalities and I had to suspend my disbelief a bit. Despite all of that, I found the survival moments fun and not knowing what would happen next enough of a push to keep me reading.

I wouldn't recommend you start your Barclay adventures with this one, but it was a fun and quick read that will definitely keep a reader entertained.

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Have you read any of these books? Let me know your thoughts!

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Happy reading!

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heartsinsync · 3 years

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She’s super cool, and you’re... someone who deserves someone super cool.

#never have i ever #neverhaveieveredit #nhieedit #ben x devi #mygifs #excuse me i finished the whole season in one night and i have so many feelings!!!!!!!#it was amazing all round like. i loved everyone's storylines and exploring all the characters on a deeper level #i loved how they dealt with devi's grief and trauma and how this was just as much a part of this season as the last #i'm so happy they gave paxton his own episode and that we learnt a ton about him!! and that he is now a much more compelling match for devi #don't get me wrong i'm not a fan of love triangles in general lmao #but if they're pursuing a relationship storyline between paxton and devi i'm pleased they've made it so much more believable now #if there's any kind of endgame on this show though like. come on. it's ben and devi you can't convince me otherwise #that doesn't mean this last scene didn't hurt me very badly!!! just look at his face!!! he's legit heartbroken #a+ way to end the season though tbh like *chef's kiss* the writers really know how to hype the fans up #1k

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gallavichprompts · 2 years

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Gallavich ‘Meta’ March

A Gallavich-themed trope challenge for March (or whenever you’d like to take part!) If you are new to writing or a writer who’s trying to get back into the swing of things - why not try writing some meta? (And you don’t have to be a writer, this is really a challenge that’s open to everyone!)

So, what does “meta” mean?

Fanlore:

In fandom, meta (also meta essay) is used to describe a fan-authored piece of non-fiction writing discussing any aspect of fandom, fanworks, or the source text. This can include discussing characters and their motivations, fanfiction tropes and trends, fan activity, particular plot elements, choices by canon creators, alternate possibilities for canon and much more.

Meta [is] a blanket term to include things like headcanon, ship manifestos, theories, and character analysis.

Fandom talking about itself or its interests in a thoughtful way is the best description we can come up with. When it comes to intention, pretty much anything that isn't fictional or conversation would count. Meta can be very long (even a series!) or it could be just a few paragraphs.

Meta is thoughtful, respectful discourse and analysis about characters and storylines. It is a thought, or a series of arguments with examples of the character’s actions that helped you draw a specific conclusion OR an analysis of the situation that you’ve focused on. Anything with detail, evidence, and explanation is a meta discussion.

What’s the challenge?

With 11 seasons and over 14000 fics on ao3, there’s a lot to discuss when it comes to Ian and Mickey and their relationship. So, whether it’s a topic or idea that’s been discussed many times before or something that hasn’t been analysed quite as much - try writing some meta!

It’s a casual challenge meant to encourage people to get writing more or try writing a different format. There’s no set time to submit fics, or a limit to how short (a paragraph) or long (an essay) the work can be. You can share your work anytime in or after March - tag it with #gallavichmetamarch and @gallavichprompts.

And don’t forget meta can be very casually written. There’s a lot of amazing meta that people put in the tags of posts that they may not realise is meta or may not feel confident sharing, but just know that you can and people would love to read it. You could even just share questions or ideas you think other people might like to explore.

There’s a list of Gallavich meta prompts under the cut, rounded up from previous prompt posts, as well as some new prompts!

Three lovely people who have written some excellent meta have very kindly shared some quotes:

@gallavictorious - “Sometimes you sit down with a finished observation or theory and you put that into words because you want to share it with others. But sometimes you only have this vague notion – something that tugs at you, an inconsistency or contradiction or hole in the text – and then the very act of writing becomes the act of exploration: as you put the words down, new ideas suddenly occur to you, new patterns become visible. By hashing it out on the page, you hash it out in your mind. Then you release it into the wild, and in the best of worlds someone pick up your tentative thoughts and take them further.

This process of shared discovery and discussion is what I love most about meta; I think that some people see excessive meta-ing as a compulsive need to explain away any and all inconsistencies in the text, but for me it’s not a pursuit born of frustration, but of curiosity and joy and a lust to engage with the text. For me, meta is an (often) intellectual game but it’s also, and more importantly, play: let’s pretend that all this is real. Let’s do it because it’s more fun if we do.” (meta)

@dreamylyfe-x - “When I finished binging Shameless and picked up the show live I was SO hungry to talk about it. I had this deep, insatiable thirst that fic couldn’t touch and the only thing that satisfied was reading meta. I just wanted to know what people THOUGHT. Really great meta reveals something you didn’t notice or think of. It brings a different perspective to the whole thing. It points out patterns, observes new details, or breaks down fandom ideas that maybe don’t have the deep roots you think they do. I love to write meta about Mickey and Ian because I love these characters down to their atoms. I am interested in the most granular details. So much of this story is in the subtext and meta is where you find people discussing that. One of my favourite things about this fandom is how deep people here go.” (meta)

@whaticameherefor - “I love reading and writing meta because there is so much to explore within these characters and storylines that simply wasn't addressed or presented as best as it could have been in the show. Especially with characters like Ian and Mickey who either hold things so close to the chest or need to present a false front -- it's really fun to get into their heads, figure out why they may have done something or what their thoughts were during a certain moment. Meta can help bring a better understanding of two people often misunderstood. I also really love the sharing of opinions and ideas. The sort of validation you feel when you see someone think the same way as you, or the lightbulb moment when reading someone else's meta like, "Wow, I've never thought about that before!" It's just another level of loving and appreciating these characters and their love story. I love meta!” (meta)

Resources:

@you-are-so-much-better-than-that - Shameless Timeline

Ian Gallagher - Shameless Wiki

Mickey Milkovich - Shameless Wiki

Fanlore - Fandom Wiki for everything fandom related e.g. tropes, genres

Gallavich Meta Prompts - Part 1 // Part 2

What underrated tropes/genres would you like to see more of in Gallavich fanfic?

Do you have any headcanons about Mickey’s mother? What impact do you think she had on his life?

Are there any moments/scenes that you feel aren’t discussed or explored much when it comes to Ian and Mickey and/or their relationship?

What kind of relationship do you think Mickey has with his siblings post-finale?

When do you think Ian and Mickey realised they were in love with each other?

Do you think Ian stays working security with Mickey post-finale or do you think he decides to try a different job?

What kind of conversations do you think they had in early seasons that we didn’t see in canon?

Do you think they see themselves as best friends?

What things do you think they have learned from each other over the course of their relationship?

What songs or music do think worked well for their scenes? Or what songs or music do you think would have worked better?

How you think Ian and Mickey express themselves through their clothing/style?

Which serious issues do you think the show failed to explore when it comes to Ian and Mickey and/or their relationship?

How do you think Ian and/or Mickey see themselves at the beginning of the series versus the end? How have their opinions of themselves changed over time?

Which reunion do you think is the most important to them?

What sort of parallels do you see across the series - could be in terms of their behaviour, or their emotions, or things that happen to them?

Are there any underrated lines of dialogue or non-verbal actions that you think should be explored more? (Think about looking at gifsets and edits, you never know what you might not have noticed before that could be interesting!)

#gallavich #ian gallagher #mickey milkovich #ian x mickey #shameless #gallavich meta #challenge #metamarch #gallavichmetamarch #meta #prompt

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lovely-v · 3 years

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LOTR (films) Review

So I finally watched the LOTR films (20 years later). I’m super excited to review these because I read the books very recently so I feel at least a little prepared to voice some opinions. Overall I loved the films, here’s a very long (but by no means exhaustive) compilation of my thoughts, which are of course, totally subjective:

(Warning: a lot of me saying “well, actually, in the book...”)

THINGS I LIKED

- Casting! not much to say here, I thought the casting was great. One of my favorite actors that I didn’t think i’d have a huge opinion on was David Wenham as Faramir. I was kinda ambivalent on him when I saw pictures but i thought he did a great job. he showed his quality.

- Music. so much has been said about the films on the music front. I can’t offer too much original insight but when a bit of the Shire theme started to play as Frodo tries to make his way up Mount Doom I cried a little.

- Boromir and Aragorn. I liked the scene where they interact a little in Rivendell. I also like how Aragorn saves Boromir in the Moria battle and gives him this little nod of friendship. I think the films did a great job portraying the dynamic they have where Aragorn is clearly suspicious of Boromir’s motivations but grows to respect him to the point where he doesn’t even blame Boromir for being corrupted by the ring because he understands that, at heart, Boromir is a good person.

- Sam and Frodo in Osgiliath. I expected to be kind of annoyed with the way this plot point played out (I knew ahead of time that it strayed from the book), but I actually liked it a lot. As I’ll say later, there’s some gripes I have with the way the films extremely play up the disagreements between Frodo and Sam, but I loved the scene where Frodo pulls the sword on Sam and then seems so defeated when he realizes what he’s done. I was pleasantly surprised by how emotional this scene made me. It’s admittedly A Lot, but it was done nicely, especially in conjunction with Sam’s “there’s good in this world” speech.

- Treatment of the ending. I almost think I should dislike the ending as it is in the movies, but my heart is soft and I like that they sugarcoated it a bit. I know the whole point of the Scouring of the Shire and Frodo’s depression conveys a lot about war and trauma and I think that is important, but after watching these things for twelve hours I just wanted Frodo & co. to be happy and I was kinda relieved that they cut the Scouring. Does that make me weak and perhaps bad at film analysis? yes. do I care? no. I was also very glad that the movies didn’t portray how depressed Sam was about losing Frodo in the end. Yes, he cries, but when he walks home to his family he seems happy and in the books that scene came off so much bleaker. I definitely liked the lighter tone.

THINGS I WAS NEUTRAL ON/DIDN’T LIKE

- Arwen. (Neutral) I don’t hate her, I don’t love her. I think the story she and Aragorn have is compelling and I 100% get why the filmmakers decided to add it to give her character more depth, but it felt misplaced at times. maybe it’s just because it was the only storyline I didn’t know in depth, but the scenes with the Arwen/Aragorn flashbacks felt a bit confusing and disorienting. Don’t have anything against Arwen as a character though, I think she’s pretty alright.

- Gimli. (Complicated thoughts) I want to start off by saying I don’t dislike Gimli. I like him a lot! I just think the movies did him a bit dirty. He had some good movie-exclusive moments, but I think his character really fell into this place of being the butt of too many jokes. Would have liked to see some more serious Gimli development, especially with his relationship to Legolas. Their friendship felt too much like subtext here, whereas it’s explored far more in the books.

- Two Towers Pacing. (Didn’t really like). The pacing of TTT was...weird. maybe I’m going into this with a closed mind because of the books, but it was odd to have the movie begin with Frodo and Sam and then have them only appear for a few rapid scenes after that. I think the fact that a WHOLE LOT of what happens to Frodo and Sam in TTT is moved to RotK is what makes it feel that way? In the books, Two Towers ends with Sam discovering that Frodo isn’t dead from Shelob’s sting, and I was surprised by how long it took the movies to get to that part. However, I will give the films a little leeway because I think they needed Frodo & Sam content for RotK, since most of what happens in that book is them walking through Mordor basically starving and dying. Doesn’t make for great cinema I guess, so they had to put the whole Shelob/Cirith Ungol saga into the final film. Still, I think there’s a weird lack of Frodo and Sam’s presence in TTT.

- The go home/missing bread arc. (Full of rage abt this one) yeah. so. my criticism of this is gonna sound pretty tired because people complain and complain about this part of RotK. but I’m gonna complain some more!! I don’t think the split between Frodo and Sam does anything for the plot. I really don’t. I guess it emphasizes the fact that Sam doesn’t understand how much Frodo is projecting onto Gollum, but it’s just. unnecessary angst? They had enough angst in the Osgiliath scene! Which I actually liked! And it simply doesn’t make a lot of sense for Frodo to suspect Sam of eating the bread when Sam had already offered Frodo his own food and made it clear that he would very much starve if it meant making sure Frodo could eat. But what I hate most about this scene is not that Frodo gets mad and tells Sam to go home. No. It’s that Sam actually... thinks about doing that? he actually? goes down the staircase? emotionally this is bad because Sam clearly cared enough about Frodo to follow him this far, to nearly drown for him, so why would he leave now. Practically this is bad because 1. how would Sam get out of Mordor alone and 2. where would he go. He turns around almost immediately, yes, but what was his plan. where was he going. why.

THINGS I LOVED

- For Frodo! This line, and every other shoutout to Frodo. In the books, they didn’t really actively talk about/worry about Frodo (and Sam) as much as they do in the movies. I like that they talk about Frodo more in the movies! I like that they’re thinking about him! I know it was implied that they were in the books, but I really like how it’s shown here. I think it gave a more complete picture of how much they all care about him on a personal level in addition to just needing him to succeed from a pragmatic standpoint.

- Merry and Pippin! I feel like Merry and Pippin were so well rounded in the films. I’ve heard criticism about them being turned into comic relief characters (which they always were a little bit) but it honestly didn’t feel that way to me. They had a bit of a rough start because the films didn’t make their motives for going with Frodo as deep as the books did, but I think that by TTT they were absolutely amazing characters in every scene. In RotK their respective arcs hit really well and the scene where Pippin is singing to Denethor? *chef’s kiss* poetic. beautiful. sad. idk man I just feel like I have such a newfound appreciation for Merry and Pippin.

- Parallels! people have pointed out the parallel of Frodo and Sam’s hands before (drowning scene/mount doom scene) and I love how the movie did that. Just stunning. Also! The moving of the Smeagol & Deagol scene to RotK surprised me because in the books it was like,,,at the beginning of Fellowship, but I think the placement of it in the movies really helped emphasize the similarities between Smeagol & Deagol and Frodo & Sam (and how much Frodo fears this similarity.) There were a lot of other well done parallels between storylines and a few bits of dialogue that were repeated with great timing, but I can’t remember all of them at the moment.

Edit: here’s one I remembered! when Frodo wakes up after being rescued and sees Gandalf, he says Gandalf’s name in a very similar tone to the one he used at the very beginning of Fellowship. It was a nice little subtle connection.

- I can’t carry it for you...alright this is self-indulgent. everyone knows I love this line. I’m just so glad it made it into the movie intact. Sean Astin’s delivery was amazing. I cheered. My mom cheered. It’s a raw line and it makes me feel secret emotions...like if shrimp colors were feelings. that line makes me feel shrimp feelings. idk i’m so tired i just watched twelve hours of movies this review is decreasing in quality by the minute but i’m about done for now anyway

Various silly afterthoughts

- I would have liked to see Sam kiss Frodo’s hands at least once. This happens 50 thousand times in the books, they could have given me one scene. one little extended edition scene. Please Peter Jackson I’m dyin’ out here

- They literally made Gollum so hateable. kinda the point yes, but I was so on board with Sam’s murderous rage. I know why Gollum’s a profoundly complex character, I know why Frodo pities him, I know why murder is bad, but I too would throw hands with that creature. also he literally body shamed Sam so much what was that skdjksdjksd. Sam is lovely. let him commit a small homicide.

- the scene where merry and pippin drink the tall boy juice (as someone once referred to it in the tags of one of my posts)... not accurate to the books (since they don’t ever drink it with the end goal of getting tall) but so accurate to life. if I found some water that made me taller than my friends? let me at it

- Frodo panicking when he falls into the spider webs. so real bestie. i felt just as panicked watching that. i am terrified of spiders and Elijah Wood did an amazing job doing exactly what i’d do in the situation. yelping a lot and falling down.

- I feel like it’s never stated that Sam’s a gardener (or at least that he’s specifically Frodo’s gardener) until he tells Faramir he is. Did I miss this. Or do they really never say. are you just meant to know. are you just meant to pick up gardener vibes from him.

This has been a very chaotic lotr movie review. Thanks for reading.

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amphtaminedreams · 3 years

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Farewell to Spooky Season, AHS Style: Lookbook no.12

Hi to anyone reading,

Happy belated Halloween!

I capitalise it because if I'm gonna recognise any day as sacred, it’s the spookiest one of the year! Halloween 2020 obviously hasn’t been as exciting as usual, parties and club nights being banned has meant there’s been far less opportunities to dress up, but I still managed to get out for the night before they announced the upcoming second lockdown and do a couple of spooky movie nights (and carve a pumpkin!)!

I originally intended for this lookbook to be last minute halloween costume inspo but I was lazy and didn’t manage to get it out on time-a lot of these looks minus the makeup and maybe an accessory or two could work on any day or night out so I thought I’d go ahead and post it now anyway. Celebrating the fashion moments of American Horror Story is something I’ve wanted to do for a while; it’s probably not the first show you’d think of for sartorial inspiration but Mr. Ryan Murphy has fucking fantastic taste in stylists and the first five seasons of AHS in particular, which I’ll be focussing on in this post, have given us SO many amazing looks. The man may be guilty of many things-subjecting us to the character of Will Schuester, trying to turn Richard Ramirez into a thirst trap, embarrassing everyone who raved about how good Scream Queens was when he wrote season 2-but costume related laziness is not one of them. We see more consistency in a Ryan Murphy character’s wardrobe than we do in their story arcs and I respect that because honestly, as much as I love joining in when it comes to ripping into his ability to cohesively bring an AHS season to a close when it airs, I’d probably be the same; if you put Lady Gaga in front of me and told me to write her lines I’d probably end up getting overly invested in what her character was going to be wearing in the scene too.

So! Enough Ryan Murphy bashing from me! I’ll get on with it! Starting with 3 season 1 inspired looks:

Murder House: Elizabeth Short, Tate Langdon and Violet Harmon

-striped jumper from caitlinlark on Depop, kick flare jeans from ellagray-

When it comes to reflecting on season 1 of American Horror Story, all I can say do is thank the internet overlords that Tumblr has moved on from the romanticising school shooters and wearing normal people scare me tops phase to instead collectively taking the piss out of the “GO AWAY, TATE!”, “YOU’RE ALL THAT I WANTTT! YOU’RE ALL THAT I HAVEEE!” exchange.

In terms of fashion *moments*, whilst season 1 doesn’t stand out as much as the seasons that come after, Violet and Tate’s wardrobes did give birth to a bit of a 90s grunge renaissance with their oversized knits and faded jeans and layering of textures. It did also give us good costumes in the form of Alexandra Breckenridge’s Moira O’Hara and Mena Suvari’s portrayal of the Black Dahlia, Elizabeth Short; unfortunately, I didn’t have a slutty maid costume lying around so I did the best I could at giving the outfit Elizabeth wears when she makes that fateful visit to the Murder House a modern, more party appropriate update.

In terms of season rankings, Murder House isn’t my favourite. It starts off really great but lulls a bit towards the end and I could never get behind Violet and Tate as a couple because you know, one of them is a school shooter who sexually assaults the other’s mum, and that’s a hurdle that I think most couples might struggle to get over irl. That being said, it was the season that started it all and showcased some of the most innovative writing and directing on TV, and it opened up a spot for horror on primetime television which as far as I know was kind of unheard of before then. Back when I first watched it, I had no idea what to expect not only because I’d never seen horror in a serial format but also because it seemed to be able to get away with the kind of storylines you’d expect network executives to fire people over. It introduced us to Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters and Denis O’Hare who would go on to make the show what it is today and more importantly, through Jessica’s glorious portrayal of Constance Langdon, provide us with an endlessly versatile meme format for this trying time.

Asylum: ‘60s Lana Winters, ‘70s Lana Winters, and Sister Mary Eunice McKee

-afghan coat from louisemarcella on Depop, red AA skater dress from julietramage, pink gingham co-ord from zshamim-

I think we can all agree: Asylum would’ve been a perfect series of television if it wasn’t for the completely unnecessary alien storyline. Like, I get that they fit in with the whole good vs. evil theme as a kind of non-biblical alternative to the idea of a higher, all-powerful being but there was already so much going on that it just wasn’t needed. Aside from that, I think the general consensus amongst watchers of the show is that Asylum has the best writing of any season and I think I’d tend to agree. It’s not my favourite because it’s too depressing to rewatch but if we’re talking the first time round, this is the series that had me hooked. Lana Winters?

Iconic.

Sister Mary Eunice? Iconic. The Name Game? Iconic. Remember when you couldn’t go a day on Facebook without seeing that one photo of Naomi Grossman as Pepper used as the go to “what I really look like” photo in one of those “expectation vs. reality” style posts on your newsfeed? Those were simpler times.

Because this season was mostly situated within the hospital, we didn’t get that many proper outfits but when we did, they were stunning; if I had to state my absolute favourite AHS character of the entire show I’d probably go with Lana Winters and the part her wardrobe played in her characterisation would 100% play a part in that. The late 60s/early 70s was such a wonderful period for fashion and through her character we get to see both of those explored a little. Of course there’s also *that* Sister Mary Eunice scene with the red slip dress and suspenders too which yes, could be a perfect halloween costume, but I also strongly believe should be a perfectly acceptable outfit for any day of the year.

Coven: Misty Day, Madison Montgomery, and Zoe Benson

-chiffon dress from rags_to_riches on Depop, pinstripe corset from hanpiercey, and tennis skirt from mollie_morton-

I hate to be a basic bitch but I have to say it: Coven is my favourite season of American Horror Story. Once you get over the complete waste of Evan Peters’ acting capabilities that resulted from the *choice* to have him play Kyle, the unnecessary rehash of the Evan/Taissa pairing from season 1 in what I can only assume was an attempt to capitalise on the popularity of the questionable Tate/Violet relationship, and the subsequent sacrifice of any interesting character arc we could’ve foreseen for Zoe Benson beyond her obsessing over a resurrected, non-verbal frat boy, it’s a perfect season. A supreme (heh) balance of horror, humour, and character drama, as well as the stunning aesthetics and forever quotable dialogue, make it my go-to season if I’m ever considering a rewatch. And if you disagree, let me jog your memory with the most mainstream (not to get all “normal people scare me” and suggest AHS is not a mainstream show, I literally just mean in the sense that even those who have never watched the show will have seen this) reaction GIF set any FX show has even spawned:

Buzzfeed employees had a field day, Emma Roberts enthusiasts (I mean me) finally saw her cemented as the pop culture icon Scream Queens has since showed us she deserves to be (because not enough people have seen Unfabulous, Nancy Drew or Scream 4) and the gays everywhere rejoiced at the year’s worth of meme fodder they’d been provided with. It was Madison Montgomery’s world and we were truly just living in it.

And the fashion! I mean, Stevie Nicks meets 21st century teenage witches! Come on!

Freakshow: Dandy Mott, Maggie Esmerelda and Elsa Mars

-olive green satin skirt from morganogle on Depop, headscarf from tonijordan, platform sandals from elliefewt, PVC skirt from bethpin_, corset top from sadieflinter, beret from house_of_erotique, flame detail platform boots from mad_rags_vintage-

When people talk about the declining quality of AHS, they usually point to Freakshow as the beginning of the end, but I have to completely disagree. I wasn’t a fan the first time round but on rewatch it’s probably the most emotional season of them all; no, there aren’t as many “horrifying” moments as in other seasons and Elsa is probably Jessica’s worst performance (which is still an incredible one by anybody else’s standards), however it makes up for it with the most sympathetic bunch of characters yet, and on the flip side, also one of the most amusingly depraved with Finn Wittrock’s Dandy Mott. Fans usually argue that the season went downhill once *SPOILER* Twisty the Clown was killed off but for me, he really primarily served as the catalyst for the far more interesting devolution of Dandy, who, imo, is the show’s strongest villain to date, rivalled only by Bloody Face. Then there was the episode Orphans too which made me cry buckets, the sole AHS episode to do so.

We got a lot of great fashion content in this season too: the theatrical opulence of Elsa Mars’ wardrobe, “Maggie”’s nomadic fortune teller costumes, and all those twee suits we saw Finn Wittrock in. Highly underrated if you ask me. It seems an odd choice for me to use Elsa’s Dominatrix look as an inspiration for one of my looks here when we have that Life on Mars performance outfit and all the extravagant robes Jessica got to waltz around in for reference buuuut I didn’t really have anything to do the vibrancy of either of those justice so I went with the black leather option which is much more me. Am I saying I moonlight as a dominatrix? Maybe. Lol, no. I wish. It’s not for lack of trying. WHERE ARE ALL THE GENUINE TWITTER PAYPIGS AT!? Your girl wants to insult creepy men and get some new clothes out of it xoxo

Hotel: Hypodermic Sally, Liz Taylor, and The Countess

-silk white bralet from xlibby_maix on Depop-

Hotel is another season that I liked a lottttt more upon rewatch, once I knew I was okay to tune out the (completely predictable and utterly nonsensical) Ten Commandments Killer storyline that so much of the season initially seems to hinge on. I love Chloë Sevigny but the fact that her and Wes Bentley’s wooden John and Alex Lowe are positioned as the protagonists at the expense of the far more interesting Liz Taylor, James March and Hypodermic Sally really does a disservice to what is an otherwise great season upon initial viewing.

The visuals this season are magnificent and I think if I had to pick one character’s wardrobe to steal from the entire cast of AHS characters, it would be The Countess (a toss up between her and Misty Day tbh, so I kinda just settle for low-key channelling both). No fucking idea where I'd wear any of her clothes to but I’d make it work. Liz Taylor and Hypodermic Sally have some amazing looks too-there’s just honestly so much to choose from; that being said, this post wouldn’t be complete without a specific ode to the vampire goddess Elizabeth Bathory, who is everything I want to be in life minus the murderous qualities:

Everything. EVER-Y-THING. LOOK AT HER!

Lady Gaga is really a fucking goddess isn’t she. And people were claiming before they’d even seen it that she couldn’t act? A patriarchal society doesn’t like women that can do it all. Just saying.

Anyways!

That’s it for now! I hope you enjoyed the post if you did read til the end! Sorry I couldn’t get this out before Halloween, I was typing and Picmonkey-ing madly from 2 in the afternoon on the 31st but I taking fucking forever to get ready and had to abandon all hope of getting it out on the day by 4PM. I’ve got so much content planned and it sucks because a couple of them are lookbooks which now feel completely redundant given we’re heading into a second lockdown, but maybe I should just do it anyway? The grunge inspired moodboard I just did seemed to get a good reception too so I’ve got some more of them planned.

As always, hope everyone is keeping well, and feel free to inbox me with any suggestions, queries or even just to say hi if you need someone to talk to! I check here quite a lot so I should see it. Lots of love to everyone in this time!

Lauren x

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romancing-lady-whistledown · 4 years

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S6 overall thoughts

What I loved

- Lola. While no Skam-main will ever reach the levels of love and attachment I have to Lucas Lallemant, I think that especially concidering that Lola was literally introduced in the last scene of S5, her being my second favorite main of the show is quite an accomplishment and I think Flavie deserved alot of the honor for that. She needed to catch my attention right away, and she did.

- Eliott. Although I have a big complaint about how the later part of his storyline was concluded in this season which I’ll get back to, I still loved what I saw of him. With all his lovable traits and his flaws, to me he felt as well-rounded and lovable and interesting and relatable as I always found him. I loved seeing him get to direct, act in and eventually show his first ever movie, I loved that he got to talk about his illness again in the Luquette-clip, and I also loved how the video-store became a safe place for Lola to go when things weren’t going well with her family or with Maya.

- The Lecomte-sisters. Easily the best executed part of this season. Even as someone who hasn’t been the biggest fan of Daphne since S4 even I still felt their connection through the entire season and it was definitely my favorite love story in this show after Elu’s in S3, although an entirely different type of love.

- A lot of the clips. Although Skam France unfortunately struggle with solid narratives with satisfying endings, they are amazing at creating moments, and this season had a ton of clips and moments that I loved, still probably outweighing the number of clips I didn’t like so much.

- The acting. Skam France owes so much of their cast, they are really carrying the show.

- The cinematography. The blue and purple aesthetic was perfect for this season, and I also loved the red aesthetic of Eliott’s video store alot. I have never had a problem with Skam France’s cinamatic look, in fact that’s one part of their style that they really rock and that I really like even though it gives a totally different vibe from og Skam.

What I liked that could’ve been better

- Mayla’s storyline. The chemistry was there and I liked them, but I didn’t fall in love with them. I think it’s something in how their development was written. The romance was very much a side-plot in this season, which I’m not complaining about because I think it was fitting for Lola’s story, but a side-plot romance like that just didn’t need the Char-drama, especially after we already had Maya avoid Lola for a week. The development of the relationship just kinda lost me somewhere along the way so I unfortunately didn’t grow to love them the way I wish I did.

- Eliott’s arc. While I’m happy with what I saw from Eliott, his arc doesn’t feel fully completed. The sad thing is it would’ve been so easy. If they just gave Eliott and Lola a longer conversation about the club incident and one POV clip for Eliott and Lucas to talk about the insecurities that were brought up, that would’ve made a world of difference for me. And concidering how short episode 9 was there was time for that, so it’s not like I’m bitter or anything.

- Most of the storylines tbh. Like I really found most of the storylines in this season interesting, I really wanted to see them play out and get to a satisfying conclusion. But because of the way they chose to use their time, so many of those storylines never lived up to their potential, and it’s frustrating.

What I didn’t like

- The ending - This isn’t really so much about the last clip which was cute and all, although I have some complaints about it (Why did Charles have more lines that Lucas? Why did they drag S5 down with a love triangle just for Alexia and Arthur to suddenly get back together in the finale? Why miss the opportunity of a Lucas/Jo interaction when you’ve basically been setting up what could be a really funny scene all season? Shouldn’t Lucas and Lola at least exchange a look after the fight they had? Shoudn’t Eliott at least send a look in the direction of Mayla after he pushed so hard for Lola to bring Maya to the premiere?). But my main problem is about how significant storylines were left without a satisfying conclusion. Yes, there was alot of stuff going on in this season but also there was some poor use of the time they had, by either wasting time on unnecessairy and undeveloped side-characters or making the episodes short for no good reason. A lot could be done with that time. The angst kept going all the way into episode 10 and that shouldn’t be the case when you have this much to wrap up and you wrote this as if it was the last season of the show. In S3 there was angst in episode 9 and a tiny bit at the start of episode 10 when Eliott had his depressive episode, but since they already had wrapped up all the other conflicts in episode 7 they could focus almost entirely on giving that storyline a fullfilling and satisfying conclusion.

- The lack of communication - the truth is that alot of the issues brought up in this season would never be fully resolved in 10 weeks. Lola’s addiction-problems, Daphne’s eating disorder, Eliott’s insecurities. That won’t go away within the timespan of a season, all we can hope for is to leave them in a better spot where the future looks hopeful. But we can have conversations about these things, and while I’m glad we at least got confirmation that both Lola and Daphne are getting professional help, so many conversations about different issues and between different characters were missing for this season to wrap up in a truely satisfying way.

- The unnecessairy side-characters and the side-plots that came with them makes their own point on my list of things I don’t like because when I see them all I can think is how they took time away from giving the other stories better conclusions. I’m talking about Tiff and Char. I can see what their roles in the story were, I can see what purpose they were supposed to serve. Tiff and her squad served as a contrast to Lamifex at the start of the season, but then she was also dragged through the rest of the season with a cyberbullying plot that had very little impact and this whole thing was dragged out until the very last episode. As for Char, she sure pushed Lola to admit her feelings to Maya but I don’t think we needed her for that and I think having Maya and Lola making up after Maya avoided Lola for a week only for her to immediately start dating someone and kinda start avoiding her again was a poor use of time, both in the Mayla storyline and in the season as a whole.

- Making the episodes in the second half of the season super-short while the conflicts kept piling up was...a choice. And certainly not one I agree with looking at how everything concluded.

The short version is: I enjoyed alot of it, it was definitely the most I’ve enjoyed watching a season of Skam France since S3 because the parts I loved I really loved, so I would rewatch S6 over S1, S2, S5 and most definitely S4 any day. But the last portion of the season left me highly unsatisfied, both as an ending to Season 6 and as an ending for the original generation of characters. Yes, I know the last sequence of S5 was supposed to be the goodbye to the original generation, but that doesn’t make the situation any better to me because that scene, while there was a type of beauty to it, was just as underwhelming and unsatisfying as a goodbye to those characters as this clip was, and this was the last time we’ll see them. It’s of course bitter because there is so much lost potential to explore in alot of the og characters and even a 5 minute clip for each couple/single character could’ve made a huge difference there, which makes it harder to let go of the characters than it would be if the ending was at least somewhat satisfying. But on top of that it leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth that it shows a certain lack of respect for the attachment the audience as a whole (not just the most passionate fans like us but even the more casual viewers) have to the original characters. I don’t think they can ever satisfy everyone but this kinda just feels like a “Get over it and move on” kinda attitude and it definitely doesn’t make me feel any more enthusiastic about investing in their new characters and seasons. Because for me the strength in this show is in the characters, they’re what keeps me interested when the storytelling is weak which happens...quite a bit.

#skamfr #skam france

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catherineflowers29 · 3 years

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Hi! I'm the anon from before! Oh, thank God. I was worried I upset you because JB shippers get so defensive when someone is critical of their ship or Jaime (btw I'm a Brienne stan before a JB shipper.)

I think your story is so great and feminist... the fact that Brienne was allowed to be angry at Jaime and make the choice to fuck Addam and still be the doting mother and a warrior who inspires women (also thank you for no boring Sansa/Brienne friendship). I loved how she said "fuck that" to any of Jaime's weakass explanations and whenever that bitch was like, "are we good? have you forgiven me? can we fuck?" and she just went like "wtf no you're the worst." like YES. It fucking bothered me the way those S8 apologists defended Jaime's "addiction" and liked the offensive disgusting white book scene. FFS LET WOMEN BE ANGRY. LET WOMEN HAVE A STORYLINE THAT ISN'T TIED TO SOME GARBAGE MAN. LET WOMEN SLEEP WITH MEN INSTEAD OF THEIR ASSIGNED LOVE INTERESTS AND LET THEM ENJOY IT TOO. LET WOMEN BE BITTER AND UNFORGIVING AND COMPASSIONATE AND MOTHERLY AND BRAVE AND AWESOME AT THE SAME TIME. ALL THESE THINGS CAN EXIST IN ONE WOMAN. IT'S ALLOWED. AND BRIENNE IS NO BETTER OR WORSE IF SHE CHOOSES TO BE UNFORGIVING. I HATE DUDEBROS.

I don't think you should be unhappy with your story! Your story has amazing dialogue and internal thoughts, well-rounded characters, and Brienne of Tarth being awesome. If anything, you were too nice to Jaime by having him be happy and giving him a purpose. You should subvert my expectations, lovely author! Don't have Brienne forgive Jaime and get into a relationship with him! Make her kick him to the curb! Break his heart! Piss on his corpse! Probably JB shippers will be mad at you but I've got your back. The REAL Brienne fans know that Jaime did Brienne so dirty, and no bs addiction or duty can justify that!

Ok that's enough... and WTF why would people think your fic is controversial. IMO we should bully the writers who had Brienne easily forgive Jaime and take him back just like that. Fuck them all. I only respect YOU. You got me into shipping Addam/Bri and also validated my anger. Also I was busy, didn't know you updated your fic. Gonna read it now. Not gonna lie, I'll be a little upset if she chooses Jaime because I thought the glass throwing scene was written to show the tragic end of their relationship and how there's no coming back, but I did want to know your thoughts.

Bless you, kind reader.

I’ve had a lot of thoughts about why my fic is considered controversial. The subject matter in it really isn’t that “dark” in the traditional fic sense. There’s no rape or major character death, it’s not torture porn or anything. And yet, there was rage about it on Reddit, it was banned from being discussed on Discord, and a BNF decided (very hurtfully, I might add) to call me out on Twitter because she had formed a judgement based solely on my tags. I have also been blocked by numerous people in the fandom that I have never so much as had an interaction with. I’ve also had a LOT of shitty comments and anons here and there from people who seem really angry that I had the temerity to write this fic.

That genuinely surprised me. I knew it wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea - what fic is? But there have been times when I have felt like a total pariah and not wanted to interact with other members of the fandom in case they feel the same way. Whatever way you slice it, that’s shitty behaviour.

Largely, when we ship something, particularly when it’s an OTP, we think of that relationship as an ideal. It’s escapism, it’s perfect in ways that our real relationships never can be. I think that’s why, for so many of us, 8.04 was really devastating. Jaime and Brienne are also a ship about acceptance and understanding, of a deep connection that transcends surface impressions - they both see each other for who they really are. That means a LOT to us, I think. I think we all long for that kind of relationship and exploring it in our fandom gives all of us so much happiness. We are in love with their love.

In their portrayal of the JB relationship, D&D ABSOLUTELY got that wrong. I absolutely do not dispute that. I think a LOT of people were angry with me because they confused what I was writing as being supportive of D&D’s take in some way, because I treated it as canon. Some writers were able to paper over the end of the show, dismiss it as bad writing and move on, or write fic where Jaime changes his mind, Brienne forgives him, and then they carry on with what we wanted.

I just couldn’t do that. God knows I tried. But if I had been in Brienne’s position, I absolutely would have been as pissed as fuck about what Jaime did. I don’t accept that he went back for Cersei as a brother, or that Brienne wasn’t crying for herself but only for him and his lost honour. Being dumped HURTS, particularly when you loved someone and thought you had a future, and then he walks out in the middle of the night without saying goodbye. Brienne had SO MUCH backstory about being hurt and humiliated by men, having the first man who loved her, the man she gave her virginity to, treat her that way would fuck her up.

I’m not saying that anyone who disagrees with me is wrong, and I never have. I don’t have the definitive knowledge of these characters, none of us do. I only have my take, my experience, my style.

I just couldn’t write about their relationship as being idyllic and perfect any more. Is it a reflection of who I am as a person and as a writer? That’s certainly been the accusation several dozen times. Maybe. It’s certainly a reflection of how I feel women put up with too much shit from men and are expected to be kind and forgiving in return. I HATE that with a passion.

Angry women are really controversial. They make people of all genders feel very uncomfortable. Sexually confident women do, too, and I think my story was the perfect storm of those two elements, really. People who want escapism from realistic relationships where people don’t live happily-ever-after really took exception to its very existence.

I don’t hold it against anyone for it not being their cup of tea, or if they disagree with my take. God knows there are kajillions of fics out there that aren’t my bag too. Things I’ve rolled my eyes at, things I’ve fundamentally disagreed with, things I’ve been horrified to read. But not once have I ever felt the need to be a public douchebag about it. I’ve never felt the need to make a writer stop writing.

So thank you so much for taking the time to send me this. It does make a really nice change to get an anon be so positive and affirming to me as a writer!

I really hope that you enjoy the end of the story. And that you will enjoy the reboot in a few weeks where we stick with Brienne’s POV and I turn the volume down on some of the elements that I don’t like about the story myself. Not the rage though, or the Addam banging. That’s staying!

#braime #jaime x brienne #s8 salt #fanfic #fic discussion #Anonymous

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deltaengineering · 3 years

Text

What remains of Fall Anime 2020

You might have noticed that I haven’t been keeping up with my season impressions, mostly (but not exclusively) because it’s really boring to come up with new ways to say “it’s isekai, which means it’s garbage for stupids”. So here’s what I ended up finishing, in ascending order of goodinosity.

Hypnosis Mic -Division Rap Battle- Rhyme Anima

Ostentatious rap battles in an insanely stupid universe are very fun. The thing is that this doesn’t want to be a good anime, it wants to sell us on these characters, and the characters are pretty terrible on account of all of them being one-word gimmicks. So, let’s give them three rounds of introductions and have them solve lame, generic crimes for 8 episodes instead of setting up the rivalries that everyone suddenly has later, when the show gets good - because it does start delivering towards the end, and becomes really all I wanted. So I can’t even say I’m disappointed, but the first half of the show is almost entirely worthless. 4/10

Assault Lily Bouquet

I don’t want to be the guy that’s all “I’m mad at this show not catering to what I want”, but I do have to say that Salt Bucket is much better at being a goofy, lighthearted yuri comedy than it is at action (though there are a few choice cuts) and at having an engaging storyline. This is again just an ad for some game or other, so it’s no surprise it has about two dozen characters too many, but it also has quite a lot of superfluous plot - so much so that I suspect it was initially planned to be twice as long. Apart from that, it’s cool and all that some Gainax old hand got to make his own Gunbuster-like, but it’s just not very good at that and all I wanted was Kaede antics and bath scenes, of which 1 per episode is clearly too few. 5/10

The King's Avatar 2

King’s Avatar got a sequel and overall I have to say, I kinda like it more than the first season even though it looks much less ambitious and even the character designs were changed towards the bland. But I honestly don’t care much about the esports aspect of this and much of S2, especially in the back half, is more about schemes and social engineering - as close to an Eve Online anime as we’re ever going to get, I guess. It’s still very chinajank (why the hell does every episode come with a redundant chibi summary of itself, etc), and while I can’t call that “good” it does remind me of a time when I wasn’t filled with useless knowledge of anime tropes and was just enjoying the weirdness. Also, Ye God’s antics is as close to “looking for anime with OP MC” as I’m comfortable with getting. 6/10

Heaven Official's Blessing

Now how about some Chinimation that isn’t very janky? I only became aware of Heaven Official’s Blessing when it suddenly rocketed to the top of the MAL charts, so I gave it a looksie and oh boy. The first few episodes of this show are flat out gorgeous, quite funny and very very gay. So I was ready to agree with MAL for once, except it then launches into an arc that mostly consists of our dudes sitting in a dark pit telling each other stories that aren’t very interesting and seem barely related to the setup. Yeah, the back half of this just isn’t very good at all. And the subs are hot garbage. Still, the beginning is so impressive that I would recommend this show despite the middling rating it’s about to get. 6/10

Ochikobore Fruit Tart

You know the problem that these 5girls4koma stories have, where one of the characters is an annoying pervert, yeah? Well, in Fruit Tart every character is that character, and they’re rather cultured as well. Yes, it’s often of questionable taste and it has a terminal case of 4koma storytelling but dammit if I didn’t enjoy it. It certainly helps that this show’s greatest asset by far is Broko and it seems to be aware of this, because there’s a lot of Broko material. It would have probably have gotten a 6 but the last episode is just so... maximum Fruit Tart. I’m down for some trash if it’s as well made as this, and I do like my kiraralikes spicy, so thumbs up over here. YMM definitely V on this one. 7/10

Majo no Tabitabi

Speaking of things that are hard to recommend despite me liking them a lot, Elaina here challenges the very notion of what a TV show even is supposed to be. I assume most people tune in every week expecting to get something roughly similar. Not so with this one, you could get everything from slice of life antics to Higurashi-style gore, or reasonably deep character study to pervert comedy. I would say that the only unifying thread is the presence of Elaina, who is a very fun character, but there’s an episode she’s not in, so there you go. But I’m a connoisseur of the weird and I also have to say that I enjoyed every episode in its own way. Also, each episode stays remarkably consistent by itself, and in the end it wraps it all up with a sort of neat “life is like a box of chocolates” thematic bow, which isn’t earthshatteringly profound but hey, it’s there. Just don’t go in with expectations, especially not expectations based on the first episode. 7/10

Love Live! Nijigasaki

It’s Love Live. Good old reliable Love Live. Really not much to say about this one, any discussion of what makes this different from previous iterations is going to end up in minutiae only people who already watched this could possibly care about. I do have to say that while the musical numbers are as good as Sunshine’s were towards the end and there’s also a lot more of them, “looking budget deficient outside the CG” is the one thing I didn’t expect from something that’s ostensibly a Sunrise premium product. So boo on that one, apart from that it’s idols (an anagram of solid). 7/10

Garupa Pico Oomori

The chibi SD shorts based off Bang Dream are still better than the main show. Even if S3 was actually quite good, this is just the best thing you can do with 30+ characters that aren’t that deep. Garupa Pico specializes in absurd humor setpieces that at points is better at being Pop Team Epic than Pop Team Epic itself was. Take that, memelords. 7/10

Fire Force S2

Fire Force is just weird, man, and it’s sort of great. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a property of this magnitude show this much of the ol idgaf spirit. How about an episode where the A plot is the most evenhanded exploration of religion i’ve seen in anime, and the B plot is about blowing up a tryhard edgelord by exposing him to panties? How about a subplot where Batman and Thor infiltrate the vatican to kill the pope, only for that to lead into a gay rape backstory, only for that to be resolved by dank weed and dismemberment? It really is quite a thing, as they say. Now, Fire Force certainly delivers hard at points, but it’s also very scattershot, even if S2 is somewhat more consistent than S1. The weakest parts are unsurprisingly still the ones where it’s remembering its fighting shounen template, and that’s not only because I don’t like that, it’s also because it’s particularly and consistently bad at scheduling these huge, simultaneous multifight setpieces it often crescendoes with. But hey, at least these tend to look super cool. In short, Fire Force is a land of contrasts and still the only fighting shounen I give a damn about. 7/10

IDOLiSH7 Second Beat

Did you know that I think Idolshi7 is the best one of all of these huge-ass commercial idol franchises? Yeah, I think it’s better than Love Live, and as of Fall 2020 also the better looking one because Troyca still delivers where Sunrise apparently can’t. I guess still don’t like the music much, thankfully there isn’t a lot of that. It also still specializes in gigantic drama, and to its credit S2 is now much better at either getting to the point or at least making it silly and fun. You show that door who’s boss, Sou. Still fantastic Tsumugis all over the place as well, in fact I think I like all the characters now. Even Banri gets his big moment in this season! Yeah, this stuff is pretty cool. 8/10

Adachi and Shimamura

So here’s the AOTS, and it’s the lovechild of Bloom Into You and Tsuki ga Kirei. While it definitely isn’t as good as either of these two, because it lacks the “about more than just teenagers being hyperbolic about a crush” part from Bloom and the part where it has an actual ending from TgK, it carves out its own niche with its loopy, almost stoned tone that’s full of side weirdos and yuri hyperspace. It’s also uniquely focused, with a tiny core cast and even Shimamura doesn’t really matter all that much. This is all about Adachi, and thankfully Adachi is amazing. Amazingly awkward, that is. It’s very cute. So yeah, this is a bit too lacking in substance to aspire to classic status, but it’s a great time nonetheless. 8/10

#anime #review #fall2020 #Hypnosis Mic -Division Rap Battle- Rhyme Anima #Assault Lily Bouquet #The King's Avatar #Heaven Official's Blessing #Ochikobore Fruit Tart #Majo no Tabitabi #Love Live! Nijigasaki #Garupa Pico Oomori #Fire Force S2 #IDOLiSH7 #Adachi to Shimamura

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eventyrstuff · 4 years

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Every Kdrama I’ve watched under the cut, to keep track and for recommendations.

Warning: Spoilers, few unpopular opinions ahead, please bear in mind: to each their own.

2009

· You’re Beautiful – 16 amusing episodes (Finished)

o Is the plot interesting? This was the era of female leads pretending to be male (Hana Kimi, Ouran etc), but I still loved it. We follow the story of the female lead (who was a Nun at the beginning) who pretended to be her twin brother and become a part of the country’s current hottest band because her twin had a cosmetic surgery mishap (lol). It’s mostly trying to fit in and try not to get exposed but of course our male lead discovered her true identity thus begin her suffering and second also knows but did not admit it thus begin his unrequited love and comic relief and best character in the series was left in the dark thus begin questioning his sexuality 7/10 o Am I emotionally invested on the Main Leads? YES. Park Shin Hye is love and Jang Geun Seuk’s smile is freaking adorable. 9/10 o Did I grew attached to the secondary characters? JEREMY AND SHINWOO AND JOLIE YES. 10/10 o Are the OSTs compelling? MOST DEF. I fell in love with PSH’s “Lovely Day” and “ Without Words”, ANJELL’s “Still” and “Promise” though I prefer Lee Hong Ki’s version 8/10 o Would you rewatch? I’ll definitely rewatch, I would love to compare my opinion back in my tween years and opinion now o Favorite Episode/Scenes: Episode 6 – Shin Woo and Mi Nam’s pseudo date (totally heartbreaking for tween me) Episode 11 – supermarket scene was the best, Episode 13 – Cooking scenes was hilarious, every scene with Jeremy, TAE KYUNG AND THE PIG o Words Association: GO MI NAM, Pig-Rabbit, JOLIE!, Fly me to the moon, “hyung, vinegar?” o Yes it has overused plots, common conflicts and family drama but the characters and their dynamics are truly worth watching this and if you need a good laugh (this drama has a looooot of funny scenes), this one is for you. 8/10

2011

· Heartstrings – 15 forgotten episodes (Finished)

o Is the plot interesting? It’s a college drama involving modern and traditional Korean music. I honest to God forgot the whole drama, I think there was rivalry between the main leads? 6/10 o Am I emotionally invested on the Main Leads? Not sure, but if it’s Park Shin Hye, I guess so, sorry I’m shit at remembering this drama o Did I grew attached to the secondary characters? I forgot so I guess not? o Are the OSTs compelling? I am pretty sure it got an amazing Osts with having Park Shin Hye and CN Blue’s Yong Hwa but the only thing I remember was the song “Byeul” or Star and it was sung by the secondary character but it was really catchy o Would you rewatch? Looks like I need to rewatch since I mostly forgot this drama o Will rate once I have rewatched but if you shipped Yong Hwa and Park Shin Hye’s characters in You’re Beautiful, this one is for you.

Then after years of Jdramas, Anime, Mangas, YA books I returned to Kdramaland in…

2018

· Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo – 16 charming episodes (Finished)

o Is the plot interesting? College athletes’ coming of age drama, added a dash of love and friendship and dreams. Strong female lead and affectionate male lead, sign me the fuck up. 9/10 o Am I emotionally invested on the Main Leads? I AM EMOTIONALLY INVESTED WITH THE LEADS PERSONAL AND LOVE LIVES. YES. 10/10 o Did I grew attached to the secondary characters? YES EVEN THE CAMEOS (Hello Lee Jong Suk who I haven’t watched any of his drama yet at the time and Ji Soo) 10/10 o Are the OSTs compelling? I downloaded 2 of their OSTs (You&I and Dreaming), it was the first Korean songs in my playlist 9/10 o Would you rewatch? Absolutely o Favorite Episode/Scenes: “BOK JOO, WATCH OUT!”, “YOU DIE, I WILL KILL YOU”, Snow kisses, the gang in the amusement park, THAT SCENE WITH JISOO AND JOO HYUK o Word Association: SWAG, Messi, Chicken, Samgyupsal, WHAT, Chubs o I totally recommend to everyone, it has a unique plot, still not over the main lead’s chemistry, you’ll fall in love with the whole story. 10/10

· The Heirs – 20 clichéd episodes (Finished)

o Is the plot interesting? It’s your typical rich man poor woman plot, high school setting oozing with alpha males and lots of trope scenes, if only female lead was also an heir or they develop more on her character it will be memorable, I can’t really differentiate with other dramas with the same plot – well except the male lead’s mother is not your typical mother who absolutely hates the female lead 3/10 o Am I emotionally invested on the Main Leads? No, not really more on the secondary characters, both male and female leads are meh 2/10 o Did I grew attached to the secondary characters? With the mute mother and FL’s bestfriend and his girlfriend yes, everyone else is forgettable 3/10 o Are the OSTs compelling? I only remember “Love is a moment” because it was used by fanmade crack videos on youtube ahahaha 2/10 o Would you rewatch? Probably no. o I guess if you are a big fan of Boys Over Flowers and looking for the same genre this one’s for you, this did not really age well for me, probably would have loved this if I watched back when I was in highschool – reminds me of wattpad days. 3/10

· W: Two Worlds – 16 enthralling episodes (Started 2018 Finished 2020)

o Is the plot interesting? The plot is what compelled me to watch this drama, male lead is a webtoon character created by the female lead but made famous by her father. Male lead does not have your best childhood experiences but became really successful as an adult but there are mysterious instances that put his life on danger, the female lead (doctor) was drawn in on the comic and saved his life, unknowingly her actions changed the course of the story and it reflected on the comic in the real world – this was truly a good concept 9/10 because I actually forgot I started this drama last 2018 then rewatched and finished this 2020, I am still confused. o Am I emotionally invested on the Main Leads? THE CHEMISTRY WAS ON THE ROOF ON THIS ONE. I DIDN’T EVEN CARE ABOUT THE OTHER CHARACTERS 10/10 o Did I grew attached to the secondary characters? I was actually more focused on the main leads, did not exactly give much attention to other characters 3/10 o Are the OSTs compelling? I only liked “Where are you” but it was sung by that guy who was jailed among other things so I don’t know how I feel now. Still the opening was lit o Would you rewatch? Yes, I will try to fully understand what the mechanics or rules of being a webtoon character and being alive in the real world o Favorite Episode/Scenes: KISS IN THE JAIL was the first thing that came to my mind, also real life scenes to comic scenes and vice versa- kudos to the artists, slap and kiss scene, the flashing scene, 4 romantic concepts scene, the adorable scenes recreating the illustration book, the transition when yeon Joo dropped her ring, the hospital bed scene o Words Association: #4, handcuffs, all the winks, sudden “saranghaeyo”, ring, bus stop, ��to be continued” o This drama was amazing for the first 10 episodes then became complicated after, I loved the chemistry between the 2 main leads but unfortunately overpowered the whole story – don’t get me wrong I love love stories, but my reaction was the same as those who read the comics – too much cutesy stuff they forgot the storyline, I wanted them to explore the W show, but they focused on filling the plothole for the murderer which created more conflicts and confusing scenes. The line between the comic and real word created plot devices and more questions. This drama has flaws but cool premise though, I hate amnesia plot on any drama but it was well incorporated on this one. 8/10

· Goblin – 16 amazing Episodes (Finished, rewatched 2020)

o Is the plot interesting? A general in Goryeo dynasty got punished by the Gods to be immortal and his sword still in his chest only the Goblin bride can take it off so he can be at peace and die. Immortal lead with a side of grim reaper as best friend, charming female lead with a confident female boss – a story with reincarnation and ghosts, scenes that will tug your heart – yes, one of Kdrama Masterpiece 10/10 o Am I emotionally invested on the Main Leads? At first no no with the age gap but yes, I say while crying o Did I grew attached to the secondary characters? HELL TO THE YES, DEOK HWA, GRAMPS, SECRETARY KIM, HELLO CUTIE TAE HEE, SUNNY AND GRIM REAPER 10/10 o Are the OSTs compelling? HAUNTINGLY BEAUTIFUL OSTS, particularly “Round and Round”, “I Miss You”, “Stay with Me” and even without lyrics I still worship “When the time stops” aka the music that speaks to your soul 10/10 o Would you rewatch? YES ALREADY DID BRUH WILL DO AGAIN o Favorite Episode/Scenes: Every bromance scene, I got hooked by the scene in the first ep where Eun Tak celebrated her birthday with her ghost mother, epic goblin and grim reaper modelling in the highway, everytime sunny flips her hair, grim reaper and his guests in the tea shop o Word Association: Canada, sad love, candles, rain, chicken, tea, car crash *sorry not sorry* o Totally recommended, well-deserved on its popularity. Will make you laugh and cry, at the same time. Acting skillz man. 10/10

· Strong Woman Do Bong Soon – 16 whacky episodes (Finished)

o Is the plot interesting? Female lead has super strength which was actually passed down to every woman born in her family, she wants to be a game developer but instead got hired as bodyguard of our male lead who is a ceo of a gaming company 8/10 o Am I emotionally invested on the Main Leads? I remember that I did, I was? I need to rewatch haha o Did I grew attached to the secondary characters? I remembered I did not like Ji soo’s character and don’t really remember other characters… o Are the OSTs compelling? Can’t quite remember so I need to - o Would you rewatch? Yeahp, will do o I’ll do a rewatch before rating

I had a watch list back in 2018, but then I became busy with work and life until…

2020 (Details will be more longer since every Kdrama is still fresh on my mind)

· My ID is Gangnam Beauty – 16 pretty episodes (Finished)

o Is the plot interesting? Basically, female lead deems herself ugly and undergone a plastic surgery to fully change her face before attending the university – but a popular guy back in highschool (junior high?) was also attending the same uni and recognized her – it’s a mellow sort of drama tackling Korean beauty and it’s extent, still cute story tho 7/10 o Am I emotionally invested on the Main Leads? We must protect Mi-rae at all cost, Cha Eun Woo’s character is a little bit emotionally constipated but Eun Woo is *swoon* 8/10 o Did I grew attached to the secondary characters? I am all for Mi-rae’s family and childhood friend, Kyung Seok’s sister, Yoo eun was very notable as well, I love how her character is completely fair and understanding 7/10 o Are the OSTs compelling? “D-day” and “True” is a bop to listen to, everytime I hear “Something” all I remember is Cha Eun Woo’s slow mo glance, other OST is a bop but not enough for me to put on my playlist 6/10 o Would you rewatch? Probably but not right now o Favorite Episode/Scenes: New face dance, bathroom scene with Kyung Seok beating the shit out of their senior, whenever Kyung Seok is annoyed with Soo-A but total heart eyes mode with Mi Rae, Cinema pseudo date – eating popcorn using straws, when he changed the color of his hair, Kyung Seok’s ID when he was a waiter, their high school date, and that last sweet scene in the final episode o Word Association: gangnam, perfume, plastic, umbrella, soju o I wasn’t planning on watching kdramas again after a long time but this quarantine just makes you do things and no regrets at all, MIIGB probably isn’t the best of the best but it definitely made me want to watch more kdramas and lo and behold more kdramas watched in a span of 2 months than in a year back in 2018. I love how it tackles on true beauty and female oppression and how idiotic alpha male trope is 7/10

· While You Were Sleeping – 16 not enough episodes (Finished)

o Is the plot interesting? A prosecutor, a reporter and a cop can see the future when they sleep, which helps them in solving cases and do their best to change it. Every case is fascinating makes you say “ohhhhh” when they present their defense and I am like *chef kiss* I love the premise and the supernatural part of the story. 10/10 o Am I emotionally invested on the Main Leads? YES. JAE CHAN AND HONG JOO ARE ADORKABLE AND HAS INSANE VISUALS 10/10 o Did I grew attached to the secondary characters? HAVE YOU MET JUNG HAE IN, THE PROSECUTOR TEAM WAS THE BEST. YES. EVEN THE SIDE CHARACTERS ON CASES AND THE VILLAINS 10/10 o Are the OSTs compelling? I usually don’t hear the OSTs while focusing on a scene but boy oh boy, OSTs stole everything, I am obsessed with the whole album. The melody and tune is very captivating everytime you hear it you just want to embed it on your brain. If you are still having second thoughts watching this drama, listen to it’s OSTs the feels they give is the same feels when you watch 1000/10 o Would you rewatch? I’ve watched it again after finishing it so yes, 100% yes, need more episodes still having withdrawal syndrome, still watching fanmade videos on youtube o Favorite Episode/Scenes: Every episode lol, the opening sequence, the outro scenes in episode 2 and 3 (with that background music), everytime “It’s you”, “You belong to my world”, “When night falls” and “I love you boy” is the bg music, every Jae Chan and Hong Joo parallel (Episode 2 and 16 particularly), OT3 scenes, the shadow picture, KISS IN THE RAIN, IN THE SAKURA TREE AND THE ALMOST KISS IN THE CAR if I list down all of my fave, I will be writing the whole summary of each episode. Hmmm. o Words Association: Snow hug, sakura kiss, batman and robin, scarf, JUST ICE, choir, seatbelt, samgyupsal, femme fatale, lip balm o I HIGHLY RECOMMEND. ULTIMATE FAVE. I AM BIASED SHUTTUP. JUST WATCH. NONE CAN COMPARE. NUFF SAID. 100000/10 SOMEONE FANGIRL WITH ME

· Pinocchio – 20 important episodes (Finished)

o Is the plot interesting? This whole drama is about mass media and its major influence on anyone’s life and it is so powerful. We have a male lead whose family has experienced the impact of misguided news and it is painful to watch because this really happens irl at worse, this is due to a reporter which is our female lead’s mother. Now our female lead has Pinocchio Syndrome hence the drama title, she can’t help but hiccup when she lies, it’s very interesting to know why both leads wanted to be a reporter given their situation 10/10 o Am I emotionally invested on the Main Leads? YES, I JUST WANNA HUG THEM. Imagine having a condition that forces you to tell the truth, you can’t keep your feelings, privacy or secrets at all and to add an indifferent mother who did not care for your dreams but more on publicity. Imagine having a dream and working hard to reach it but after college you fail every job interview and it’s so realistic I just ashfdsjfha (Except the Pinocchio syndrome part but come on) Imagine experiencing a childhood where you don’t know what happened to your firefighter father, is the news about him running away true because it was his fault all those other firefighters are dead? Imagine your brother doing his best to hold your family together because your mother is on the verge of nervous breakdown to the point of pushing her to choose death, pulling you to a hug and just jump? Imagine this male lead fighting every chance to not love this girl who is the daughter of the reason why his family is gone now and could not leave her because she is also the reason why he decided to fight for the injustice done to his family and to others victims of fake news and they are so supportive of each other. It freaking hurts and I’m sorry I just have a lot of emotions for these two 1000000/10 o Did I grew attached to the secondary characters? YEEEEES, GRANDPA AND FATHER, I LOVE THEIR FAMILY DYNAMICS SO MUCH WHEN GRANDPA CRIED I CRIED! EVEN JA MYUNG HYUNG who has not enough episode in THEY DESERVE TO BE TOGETHER NOT JUST FOR ONE EPISODE. EVEN BEOM JU, YOO RAE, NITPICKER JANG, CAPTAIN, BOTH CAPTAINS ACTUALLY, CHAN SOO AND HIS FAMILY EVEN I LOVE TO HATE THE VILLAINS 100/10 o Are the OSTs compelling? I was too focused on the intensity of the story but I do love the bg music –“First Love”, “The Only Person”, “Pinocchio” are few notable OSTs 8/10 o Would you rewatch? YES FREAKING YES, I REWATCHED AFTER WATCHING IT o Favorite Episode/Scenes: Episode 16 as a whole, because main lead conflict with each other was resolved and that dinner scene is one I always rewatch, of course episode 1 introduction for Dal Po is freaking hilarious, Episode 2’s “Because I like you” damn feels, snow kiss, all the grandpa scenes and brother scenes, that scene when In ha remembered being drunk, that scene where Dal Po meets his brother again and I just ahjasgdjhsdgf, the intense debate and paralleling it in the seminar, the Christmas episode pyung pyung pyung my heart huhu o Word Association: Six Degrees Separation, rumor, button, MSC/YGN News, traffic cones, hiccups, piggy banks, text messages, family o EVERYONE SHOULD WATCH THIS. I LOVE EVERY PART. IT WAS ON MY WATCHLIST LAST 2018 WHY DID I NOT WATCHED IT THEN. THE ACTING THOUGH YOU JUST FEEL THEIR INTENSE EMOTIONS THROUGH THE SCREEN. FEELS EVERYWHERE. 100000/10

· Romance Is A Bonus Book – 16 heartwarming episodes (Finished)

o Is the plot interesting? It’s about romance and books! Lee Jong Suk is on it what more can you ask for? Kidding aside it tells a story of a 30 something mother who to go back to work after 12 years which left a huge gap on her resume, she also got recently divorced and experiencing the repercussion of that, all of the job she applied for has focused on her work gap instead of her skills (which by the way as an HR a very hard truth). She applied as a support role on a publishing company and got hired but by omitting a lot of things on her resume. Oh and her childhood friend, our male lead is actually a co-owner and editor of the company. And he is also in love with her since high school. 9/10 but the fluffiness of the whole series is worth 10/10 o Am I emotionally invested on the Main Leads? YES, Dan-I is totally relatable and Eun Ho is lovable. I love their relationship so much they are each other’s home. 10/10 o Did I grew attached to the secondary characters? With Hae-rin (COME OOON UNREQUITED LOVE AGAIN WITH LJS CHARACTER?), Seo Joon, President Kim, Manager Seo, and our very own Gangnam Leopard YES. Others not so much. 8/10 o Are the OSTs compelling? The OSTs are feel good, the kind of playlist you want to hear when you read or travelling, point to “Rainbow”, “Walking on Sunshine”, “Happy End”also the heart churning feels when “You’re Beautiful” and “ A Story I couldn’t see” begins playing in the bg 10/10 o Would you rewatch? YES over and over and over again o Favorite Episode/Scenes: The first episode with the wedding visuals, so aesthetic with the running in the highway, the power dance was so out of place but it was adorable, the scene where Dan-I reminisce her married life and it just breaks your heart, the essay part of her application is just motivating and sad, WHEN EUN HO WAS DRUNK AND WENT TO DAN-I’s PLACE BECAUSE HE ALWAYS GO THERE WHEN HE MISSES HER AND I JUST AHGSHJAGDKJGHJ, “If that’s love, I love her then”, GANGNAM LEOPARD CLUB SCENE, the subtle Snow confession (what’s with LJS and Snow???) the long brown overcoats comes out I’m there, when Eun Ho rejected Hae Rin so nicely I cry, movie date, the day Dan-I and Eun Ho spent together at their house, all the book pages at the end of each episode o Words Association: THE MOON IS BEAUTIFUL, noona, power pose, love letters, books, seasons change, cucumber allergy, April 23 o This drama is literally a warm blanket on a rainy day. Recommended if you want a pure love story with almost no conflict and mellow storyline – just the thought of finding love and home in the same person is truly heartwarming. For aspiring writers and book lovers! Love the quotable quotes in it and the warm feels it gives 10/10

· Extraordinary You – 16 extraordinary episodes (Finished)

o Is the plot interesting? We follow the story of the extras in a comic book. Get it? EXTRAordinary you, haha okaaaay, anyway, its fictional characters becoming aware that they are fictional characters and trying to change their fates, having a life of their own outside the “stage” and all around creating chaos – breaking the 4th wall if you will. We have your cliché high school filled with rich kids and an elite group called A3 (which was funny bc it was almost mocking F4), then we have the female lead who thought she was the main character of the story but was only the love bridge extra for the main characters. And our beautiful male lead who does not even have a name. Very attention-grabbing 10/10 also just found out the drama was based on a webtoon, so it’s a webtoon inside a webtoon nice. o Am I emotionally invested on the Main Leads? Dan-Oh is a fun character to watch, her range of emotions and the way she acts in and out of the stage deserves a standing ovation, I don’t mind Ro Woon’s visual too haha 9/10 o Did I grew attached to the secondary characters? Yes to Lee Do Hwa (Because violin playing cutiepie), Joo Da (girl became aware and finally got claws at the end) and Dried Squid Fairy and Su Hyang (because their history is interesting) , not really into Bae Kyung or Nam Joo (who was 2dimensional character until the end) 8/10 o Are the OSTs compelling? I loved all the instrumental background music especially “Highschool Runway”, Also “My Beauty” which was very kdrama-esque ending song 7/10 o Would you rewatch? BIG YES o Favorite Episode/Scenes: Every Dan-Oh and Do Hwa’s internal monologue and their bromance, every time Dan Oh breaks character but the page flips, every time she curse and criticize the writer, checking the male population’s back, when Dan-oh opened the umbrella and we got to see Haru’s face *dokidoki*, every reaction when they transition from stage to shadow, I mean kudos to Kim Hye Yoon’s acting from crying to laughing then from head over heels over Bae Kyung then cringing at herself , “It’s Bae Kyung Time”, the scene where Haru and Dan-oh was holding hands and here comes third wheel Do Hwa the way they reacted with Dan Oh’s “Annyeong Lee Do Hwa” made me rofl o Word Association: AYUUU JINJJA, HARUYAAAAA, stage, shadow, page flips, October 10, secret, flower o I love the concept and how it felt like writing fanfiction, you put your favorite characters in alternative universes or different setting and watch them fall in love all over again – in this case destiny also plays a huge part since the writer continuously separate them but they still fall in love with each other outside the stage. It’s fun to see the other side or the fillers whenever characters are not on acting on stage, they have more character depth and development. I definitely love the Sageuk and College AU part. 9/10

· Graceful Family – 16 wild episodes (Finished)

o Is the plot interesting? It’s a drama full of Makjang so we are riding on a rollercoaster ride, I am here for all of it gimme gimme that outrageous plot with a dash of crazy family on the side and a group of people who cleans up their messes 9/10 o Am I emotionally invested on the Main Leads? SEOK HEE IS THE BEST FEMALE LEAD YET FREAKING BADASS BITCH QUEEN. Yoon Do is okay but really overpowered by Seok Hee’s strong personality 10/10 for Seok Hee o Did I grew attached to the secondary characters? I am very interested in Ms. Han and the Top Team’s deal unfortunately it was not addressed further in the series, wouldn/t mind a mini sequel with them as the main characters, Choi Na Ri and Seo Jin is loooove, and I love Wan Soo with all my heart even after everything that happened 9/10 o Are the OSTs compelling? “Liar” is on my playlist solely for me to feel as badass as Seok Hee and “Black Diamond” because it plays with your emotions 8/10 o Would you rewatch? Solely for all the WTF moments o Favorite Episode/Scenes: ALL THE DINING TABLE SCENES, opening scene in the first episode got me hooked, all Seok Hee scenes made me stay, Wan Soo’s hilarious scenes, that whole hanbok shop scene, whole jail fiasco, when Seok Hee fights head to head with TOP management, PICASSO’S FUNERAL SCENE, Episode 9 when Choi Na Ri moved in, episode 15’s biggest plot twist, Episode 16 and it’s whole 1 hour and 45 minutes of drama o Word Association: Home sweet home, Cannes, Picasso, power vacuum, kingmaker, Auntie o It has a lot of flaws, plotholes and characters you wished was fleshed out but man what an exhilarating ride it was. I love all the dirty secrets in the closets and plot twists (won’t spoil just watch it!) but Seok Hee is definitely the show stealer for me. Soo Hyang’s character here is starkly different with her character in My ID is Gangnam Beauty and it’s really amazing. 9/10

· Hi, Bye Mama – 16 heartbreaking episodes (Finished)

o Is the plot interesting? This is all about mother’s love and the life she left behind. Our female lead died in an accident and has been a ghost for five years watching over her family especially her daughter, she watched how her family moved on – her husband remarried and her daughter grew up with a different mother. The Gods has given her a chance to live again if she gets back her place within 49 days – this means she get the chance to become human again and finally meet her daughter. 9/10 o Am I emotionally invested on the Main Leads? I AM EMOTIONALLY INVESTED IN ALL OF THEM. 10/10 o Did I grew attached to the secondary characters? SEO WOO YAAAAAA, Min Jung, her whole family and best friends even the other ghosts and their painful stories YES. 10/10 o Are the OSTs compelling? I was busy crying and could not really hear the bg music because all I hear is my heart breaking a million times. But “Happy” made me happy and sad at the same time and the haunting “Same Town, New Story” instrumental is love o Would you rewatch? I am not sure if I’m ready to cry again o Favorite Episode/Scenes: whole episode 8 is where I broke down crying – I know this whole series is about mother’s and their unconditional love but episode 8 showed fathers and their incomparable love to their daughters and I just asjhdajksd the epilogue in this episode just made me cry nonstop – I am actually crying just remembering that scene, every epilogue will make you ugly cry, every time Seo Woo smiles, Episode 11 and that epic showdown in Kid’s café, when Yu Ri became human again and how happy she was she can hold Seo Woo, every scene with her and Seo Woo bonding, Gang Hwa and the egg, the list of things she wants to do, when Seo Woo finally called her MAMA o Words Association: mother, stepmom, ghosts, “I am happy”, shaman, egg, 49 days o I am emotionally exhausted watching this show, I cried on every episode, this definitely hurt me in every way possible. Highly recommended if you want a good long nonstop cry 10/10

Dramas I did not completely watched sans a few episodes, finished by skipping scenes or reading drama reviews. Warning: total unpopular opinions

2009

· Boys Over Flowers – we all know Hana Yori Dango is superior, I just got bored of recycled scenes and I really don’t like LMH here, sorry

2018

· Scarlet Heart Ryeo - Plot is very interesting but Sageuk dramas are not my cup of tea, reminds me of Fushigi Yuugi which I hated when I was a kid dunno why haha, will look for my motivation to watch the whole drama · Oh My Ghostess – got spoiled, skipped and just read episode summary

2020

· Hello Monster – did not even finish 1st episode, skipped through episode 2 -3, too many plot holes, just read last episode spoilers · Hotel De Luna – finished 7 episodes got distracted by work and life. Plotline is interesting and characters look promising, will rewatch but I already know the spoilers and ending · School 2013 – just read the dramabeans episode reviews, may watch but reminds me of Gokusen concept (which I do love but very repetitive) so may not · Suspicious Partner – I liked the plot but unfortunately did not care too much on the main mystery of the whole show which was who the actual murderer is, did not like the shared childhood trauma, but acting still was good, its just the storyline · Doctor Stranger – I seriously would have loved to finish this because LJS’s acting skills on point (how can he be that seriously angry in North Korea then be clumsy adorkable in South? Howww) but alas, the female lead storyline is cringy I stopped at episode 6, read reviews and it would have been 20 wasted episodes for me · What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim – full of stereotypical tropes I could not finish, too romcom for me and could not invest too much about their history

Watchlist (2020)

· Hospital Playlist · Crash Landing On You · Kill Me, Heal Me · I Am Not A Robot · Sky Castle · Love Alarm

Hit me up with your recommendations, better yet your favorite kdrama and reasons why it’s your fave!

#kdrama #kdrama list #You're Beautiful #Heartstrings #Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo #W: Two Worlds #goblin #strong woman do bong soon #the heirs #my id is gangnam beauty #while you were sleeping #pinocchio #romance is a bonus book #extraordinary you #graceful family #Hi bye mama #eventyrstuff

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kattahj · 3 years

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Review quotes of Booboo Stewart’s performance in Let Him Go

Okay, yeah, so I totally checked over 100 reviews of Let Him Go just to see what they had to say about Booboo Stewart. Relevant quotes under the cut, but let’s just summarize first:

Apparently the film starts out as a slow drama and ends up as a bloody revenge flick, which means that there are some reviewers who go “it takes forever to get started, but once it does it’s great!” and other reviewers who go “it started out really nice, but wtf was that ending?”

Likewise, Booboo has a small role, and there are some reviewers who go “what was even the point of that character?” and others who go “I wanted the whole movie to be about that character!” Also plenty who don’t mention him at all.

The important bit: while I have seen some criticism of the writing of his character, I have not seen a single reviewer criticize his acting. Everyone who mentions his acting is praising it.

And here are the quotes (spoilers!):

"For the stunner of the film, Booboo Stewart plays Peter" (Military Press)

"The supporting cast is strong, with impressive performances from Booboo Stewart [...] " (We Live Entertainment)

"The supporting cast presents a solid ensemble, most notably Booboo Stewart of Twilight and X-Men who plays the only ally of the Blackledge’s, the tragic and heroic Peter Dragswolf." (Republic Times)

"But it’s lesser-known actors like Kayli Carter and Booboo Stewart who really shine, making the most of smaller, quieter roles." (AZ Central)

"Booboo Stewart (from Walt Disney’s Descendants films) offers a rich turn as a young ingenious [sic!] man who ran away from a brutal “Indian School” and to whom Lane’s mourning mother implicitly looks at as a second chance." (Forbes)

"With strong supporting roles from the likes of Booboo Stewart [...] " (KGun9)

"We also get some strong supporting work from Booboo Stewart as a Native American loner who befriends Margaret and George." (Flickreel)

"The list of great performances in Let Him Go only grows once Margaret and George hit the road, including a nice turn from Booboo Stewart as a skittish residential school runaway who reluctantly helps the couple on their journey. " (The Gate)

"Booboo Stewart, in a sensitive and winning performance" (Chicago Sun Times)

"The Blackledges are never fleshed out beyond what they represent, but there’s another character worth caring about — a young Native American runaway (Booboo Stewart) called Peter by the people who stole him away to the Indian Residential School from which he’s just escaped. Stripped of his name, forced to forget his language, and alone in a country taken from his people, “Peter” is a poignant emblem of what people like George and Margaret are only learning in their twilight years: America has always been a country that takes without asking, and we’d sooner burn it to the ground than stop living all over each other. It’s only with Peter’s help that “Let Him Go” is able to find something worth saving in the ashes." (Indiewire)

"Booboo Stewart brings real emotion and empathy to a handful of scenes as a fugitive indigenous man who ran away from a brutal “Indian school” and provides some backup for Margaret and George." (The Wrap)

" Booboo Stewart (the Twilight saga) as a horse riding loner the couple encounter along the way is terrific, serving in a key capacity late in the film." (Deadline)

" A Native American drifter (Booboo Stewart) who befriends them and briefly recounts his traumatizing experience at a culture-crushing boarding school offers a wistful glimpse at the kind of character-driven storyline that the film deserts halfway down the road." (Slant - which hated the rest of the film)

"With powerful supporting characters such as Booboo Stewart[...]" (Eminetra)

"And then along the way the story does introduce us to some characters that have stories of their own that unfortunately aren't explored as much, and one of those characters was probably one of the more interesting parts of the story for me. It's a character played by actor Booboo Stewart, and he's really good! I don't know, there's not another word I can say without spoiling anything, but he's very, I don't know, you can tell he's carrying a lot of his past with him, and I wanted the story to almost explore more of his character, rather than anyone else's. Unfortunately, that's not the case." (Reel James - youtube video)

And the cast is rounded out with a new generation of promising performers in Brittain, the excellent Carter, and Booboo Stewart as Peter, a young Native American man who the Blackledges encounter. His personal story of being taken as a child to an abusive “Indian school” is part history lesson, part a look into Jimmy’s potential future should he stay with the sadistic Weboys. (LA Times)

"The only time Let Him Go really comes to life is when it puts the main story aside so Margaret and George can spend time with Peter Dragswolf (Booboo Stewart), a young Indigenous horseman they meet on their journey—and who, because this is really just a pulp Western, becomes an invaluable ally in the back half of the story.

(cont.) "Bezucha treats Peter as a source of exposition and white-knighting—a chance for us to understand that George and Margaret are more evolved than the other white folk Peter has encountered in his life—but Lane and Costner don’t condescend to the material the way their director does, and they bring out a wounded, cautious quality in Stewart he doesn’t often get to show.

(cont.) "I don’t think I’ll spend much more time thinking about Let Him Go, which is ultimately just a junky revenge movie that wastes a lot of very talented actors’ time and will probably also waste yours if you let it, but I expect that from time to time I’ll think about Stewart and Lane and Costner, just sitting out in the badlands together talking about horses, and wish someone had made a whole movie about that." (Straight)

Bezucha seems compelled to accentuate more compassionate moments, such as the Blackledges’ fairly contrived but still welcome relationship with a young Native American man played by Booboo Stewart. Best known for playing Seth Clearwater in The Twilight Saga, Stewart shows nice depth here as a peaceful drifter who helps George and Margaret pull off a hard-fought family reunion. (Collider)

They also meet others along the way, including Peter (a nice turn from Booboo Stewart) (Blu-ray.com)

Among the latter: an incongruously placed but engaging young Lakota man named Peter (Booboo Stewart) (Original cin)

I definitely want to give props to Booboo Stewart, who played Peter. If I'm being honest, I would have loved to have seen a movie just based on his upbringing. I thought that that young man, Booboo Stewart as Peter in this film, kind of this outcast in a sense, hearing his story was so tragic, and again, I would have loved to dug deeper into that, but man, this guy did a really good job in the little bit of scenes that we spent with him, and the scenes that he shared with Diane Lane I thought had a lot of emotional impact, and I thought he did a really good job in this movie as well. (Movie Files - youtube video)

Booboo Stewart does a solid enough job at offering a sympathetic new take on typically well-worn character tropes. (comingsoon.net)

In the supporting cast, Carter is fine, but Stewart invests greater poignancy into Peter, a young man robbed of his birthright but retaining the nobility it confers on him. (One Guy's Opinion)

Booboo Stewart also has a nice role as a local Native American escapee of a residential school, who helps the older couple in their quest, but has enough agency to know the two are pushing things way too far with the Weboy clan. (Joblo)

I do have to call special attention to the amazing Booboo Stewart who plays a Native American lad who helps the couple, this being his second great role/performance of the year after The Grizzlies. (The weekend warrior blog)

Booboo Stewart of “Twilight” fame has a small part but elevates a handful of scenes as an ousted Native American looking for purpose. (Galveston Daily News)

Another standout is the very quiet Booboo Stewart, who plays Peter. He's a self-sufficient loner who is really kind, despite all the terrible crap that has happened to him. (Movies and Munchies - youtube video)

Plus, there is an actor by the name of Booboo Stewart, and he plays an American Indian in the film, Peter, who befriends the couple, and he is just outstanding in this film. I really enjoyed his performance. (Jackie K Cooper - youtube video)

And the supporting work from Donovan, Stewart, and Carter are all equally excellent. (CJ at the movies)

Another character worth mentioning was Booboo Stewart as Peter Dragswolf. He didn’t have a ton of screen time but the scenes he was in were filled with so much emotion. My heart went out to his character. (Funtastic life)

[...]Even so with Booboo Stewart's character, they're great on screen, I don't have any qualms to their performances, but because you do... especially with Booboo's character, I got really invested in his story, but there's nothing else that's really done to, like, explore his character, almost to the point where his character wasn't needed. I wanted to actually see more of that character. (Pay or Wait - youtube video)

1: I did also want to mention Booboo Stewart [...] as this young Native American they encounter who has run away from what they used to call Indian schools, where they basically, like, force you to learn English, and you know, it's the same kind of anti-Indigenous stuff that the British used to do in Australia, and we have our own sad, awful history of that in the United States, and so, his character I think is there obviously as a plot function, but I think he brings a real humanity to the role.

2: I was going to say, I wish there was more to him, though, because he does feel like an idea, like a device, and he does very conveniently show up when he is needed to, to help make things happen, and that feels a little contrived and I wish there was more to him.

1: But not the actor's fault!

2: No no no, it's in the script! (Breakfast All Day)

Booboo Stewart of “Twilight” fame has a small part but elevates a handful of scenes as an ousted Native American looking for purpose. (The Daily News)

A side-story involving an Indigenous man, Peter Dragswolf (Booboo Stewart), is as poignant and, in certain ways, historically urgent as it is extraneous to the main thrust of the story. (Rolling Stone)

The hardest thing for me to deal with was that it had some slow moments that I didn’t think needed to be there. But on the other side of that, if they weren’t there, we wouldn’t have seen the nice performance of Booboo Stewart, who ends up becoming an important fixture. (Power 98.3)

Another underused character with a strong part is Booboo Stewart as Peter - he has some of the best lines in just three scenes. (Oakville News)

While their roles were smaller, both Carter and Stewart left strong impressions as Lorna and Peter, each wounded and abused in their own way. (Rick's Texan Reviews)

Booboo Stewart is even more heartbreaking as a young man who ran away from an Indian boarding school and runs into our questing couple. While I’m not sure what his larger purpose is in the movie, he brings a healthy dose of warmth and heart every second he’s onscreen. (Vail Daily)

One of my favorite characters was Peter Drags wolf (Stewart) a young Native American man living out on his own. (Portsmouth Daily Times)

Delivering a poignant counterpoint to the high stakes is Booboo Stewart (the Twilight series) who plays a young Native American nomad on the plains who forges a connection with the Blackledges. (I can't unsee that movie)

A revenge thriller that leaves no easy answers “Let Him Go” stars Kevin Costner and Diane Lane with some meaty supporting performances by Lesley Manville as a powerful matriarch and Booboo Stewart who helps navigate the Dakota landscape. (testset)

Even cast members in smaller roles, like that of cast-out Peter Dragswolf (Booboo Stewart), are solid and make an impression. (Gallup sun)

Other good performances include Carter, who holds the viewer’s sympathies for the entire film as a victim of domestic abuse, and Booboo Stewart, who delivers a powerful performance as Peter Dragswolf, a Native American who helps the Blackledges on their quest. (Northern star)

[...] and Booboo Stewart are also well-cast in their respective supporting roles. (Seongyong's private place)

#booboo stewart #let him go

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ardenttheories · 4 years

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I don't expect a super serious answer from this, but I'm just curious. in a perfect world, how would hs^2 be written? do you have any particular headcanons or plot lines that would be interesting to explore? I understand the hesitation in answering a question like this, because other people might try to discredit your critiques under the guise of "well its not ur headcanons so that's why ur mad". anyways, just curious because I respect your perspective and ideas

In complete honesty? The first thing I would consider vital is a diverse team of people - genuinely diverse - to consider every point of representation with. I’m talking people of different races (to avoid the anti-black coding of Gamzee), with mental illnesses (to avoid the ableism in both Gamzee and Dirk), with different gender identities (to more accurately and healthily portray Jade, Roxy, Vriska, June - any character we could feasibly want to make trans or nonbinary), with different romanticisms and sexualities (so that we could write genuine MLM and WLW relationships without falling into homophobic pitfalls; to avoid biphobic stereotypes), and overall, with different traumatic experiences and triggers (so that we could more accurately gauge what triggers would need to be tagged and how to go over them in an appropriate and respectful manner).

We could never be 100% perfect, but with a team like that, we could at least get close to it.

Additionally, I’d bring back either fan prompts or closely listen to fan theories and conversations. Homestuck^2 was touted to be written with the fandom in mind; to consider the direction we were asking it to go in, while basing it around a general barebones structure. I’d want to make sure we were including as much of that in as humanly possible. So, if a fan theory seemed like it’d fit into the story? I’d want to include that with the rest of the text; if the fans liked a specific character? I’d want to try and include them more often. Little things to show that we’re listening and that we’re writing the story WITH the fans - like how early Homestuck used to be.

On an actual storyline basis, I really do love the concept of Meat and Candy; that there’s one timeline that goes off the rails and one that is very rigidly stuck to a track. I wouldn’t want to change that concept entirely, but I would want to make it more palpatable for people to read.

This would mean, for me, absolutely getting rid of anything to do with Yiffany. I’d completely replace that with Dave and Jade having a child together via ectobiology; how Jade has to raise their child in Dave’s absence after he goes missing, how that affects her, who she turns to for comfort and help.

I’d want to focus Candy more on that feeling of helplessness and dissociation. On John feeling adrift in a world that doesn’t quite connect with him, that doesn’t entirely feel real; how that would affect his relationships, his friends, his family. In this timeline, all of the rebellion stuff would be completely background to the interpersonal connections everyone has (the things that supposedly don’t matter, as is the point of Candy), with much more emphasis on how useless and frivolous the whole war is. It’d get to a point where nobody actually knows why they’re fighting anymore except for the fact that they are, and that even Jane, who started it out of a genuine fear for the human race, is getting tired of it, is losing resources, is starting to realise that she’s drifting away from her own child.

A truce would be garnered, started by Jane who just very much wants to reconnect with her son, with Karkat taking on the role as troll emissiary. It features long talks in a large, empty room, pouring over papers, where Jane admits that she doesn’t actually know what anyone is up to these days, how long it’s been since she’s seen her husband, since she’s seen John, and Karkat quietly confesses that it’s been several years since he’s seen Dave or Jade, and that he misses them both.

After that, a lot of the content of Candy would focus on healing. They would get back to their happily ever after, even though some things would never be the same, and there would still be inconsequentialities. It would also correspond with John coming to the slow realisation that he really doesn’t need a plot to be happy at all; that just because it doesn’t matter to the overarching story doesn’t mean it can’t matter to him.

The Candy timeline, therefore, would close early; it would fade from our view just as Dirk feared, but it would be happy and content, and free from any further meddling. I’d essentially want to enforce this idea that, yes, we can still have happy endings - even if they aren’t “full of meaning”. They can still be satisfying.

The Meat timeline, on the other hand, would have a significant focus on Dirk and his attempts to continue the plot. I think it would be fun, admittedly, if nothing went the way he thought it would. That after all of his villany and his acceptance of destruction in order to facilitate something he thought would be better, he actually just lost complete and utter control.

The plot isn’t something that he alone can continue. It’s created with character conflict, with motivations and rises and falls and losses and gains; trying to recreate SBURB, to try and restart the cycle, isn’t what a plot needs to be. It isn’t what he thinks it will do.

I’m unsure if you’ve seen this recently, but there’s been a lot of fanwork around the Lord!Jake English idea that went around several years back (when people saw the Caliborn sona). Now, this I’d want to put into it.

Jake, fed up with being stepped on, walked over, hurt, suffering from the trauma of being completely and utterly ruined by Dirk, absolutely flips shit. He chases after Dirk to seek revenge, to cut short whatever bullshit he’s trying to do, and therefore much of the comic becomes this constant back and forth with an increasing fear for Dirk the closer Jake gets as he traverses Paradox Space.

It’s very much clear that when Jake arrives, Dirk will lose. There’s no question about it. Nobody suggests that anything else will happen. There’s several arguments on Meat’s Earth C over whether or not they should try to stop Jake, or let him stop Dirk - and whether or not Jake will calm down afterwards or continue his rampage.

In the end, Dirk fails. Jake catches up to him, and just before he hits the killing blow, the entire thing goes dark. Our narrator dead, the plot abandoned; there is nothing more to see. This I would want to use to enforce the idea that, yes, plot can still be satisfying as hell and still have integral moments and be heavy and harsh - but it can also end in a way that leaves open questions because that shows that it isn’t the best ending you can get.

And then we jump back to Terezi, using her Seer powers. Both timelines have been her trying to use her powers to See what’s in store, where she should go, what she should do. She’s still floating through Paradox Space, looking for Vriska, and as such she’s met with this... sort of internal dilemma.

She knows, now, that the chances of her dying out here are high. She also knows that even if she does survive, she’s pretty much never going to see Vriska again anyway. She knows there’s a chance at a happier relationship with John, and that the only way she can get that is if she somehow manages to make a timeline where Meat and Candy merge together at once.

So, she flies back. She manages to arrive on Earth C the day of John’s big decision, and interrupts him before he can go to the picnic. Through their dialogue, John gets it stuck in his head that, hey, there’s something BIGGER out here that you need to do, but you need to do that amazing thing again where you make a third Choice.

When John arrives at the picnic, he decides to eat some of the pumpkin instead - to which you might be thinking, what pumpkin? The one he put there, of course, using his retcon powers.

So we start on the Pumpkin timeline, written entirely in the 1st person narrative from John’s POV. It’s a completely biased interpretation of what’s going on, but it’s honest to John’s own thoughts and feelings, too, allowing everyone to act the way they usually would do without any influence, but still having a narrative touch.

It shows John actively fighting to free the timeline from Dirk’s and Alternate Calliope’s narrative controls, those little hooks they’ve planted in it since time began, with a lot of back-and-forth as the two talk to John through the narration (which, he hears their voices as thoughts in his head).

John attempts to free them both from their own biases and chains, encouraging Alternate!Calliope to leave the space she’s isolated herself in and join Earth C while convincing Dirk to undo the bullshit villain schtick he’s on (and that plot or no plot, there’s still a reason worth living for).

It’d be a timeline filled with references back to original Homestuck (and funny quips from both Alternate!Calliope and Dirk along the way), a lot of morality discussion, plenty of theorising on narrative control and arcs and the placement of plot and fluff in a satisfying story, and have plenty of representation and romance and hints towards kids, too (such as nonbinary RoxyJaneCallie, DaveJadeKat, aromantic Jake, JohnDirk [because I couldn’t stop myself, honestly, with how their Classpects work so well hand in hand], and definitely RoseMary being the first to adopt a child that they absolutely do not call Vriska).

It’d fill plotholes the fandom wants to be filled, and it’d have drama, of course, in the form of figuring out a way to destroy Lord English that doesn’t inherently lead to the Candy timeline. But it’d go back and forth between the heavy, plot-filled moments and the slower, relationship-based moments, with more humanising and development of Dirk and Alternate!Calliope and John as rounded characters.

That’s the best my tired mind can come up with right now. It’s something I’ve daydreamed about a lot, actually; how I’d rewrite Homestuck^2, or what my own ending to Homestuck would be using it as a foundation. I hope it makes sense! It’s a fun little thought experiment, honestly.

#long post//#ardenttheories #homestuck^2 critical #Anonymous

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troped-fanfic-challenge · 4 years

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Who will be on the CHOPPING BLOCK!?

Eight fics were written following a [Dystopia] theme, including [Partner in Crime] and [Bed Sharing], with a Character focus on [John Murphy]! Voting determined the 4 who would continue on in this competition…

We had eight (8) INCREDIBLE fics this round, but, unfortunately, not everyone can move on to the next round. In this round, four (4) authors are on the CHOPPING BLOCK! Thank you so much to all the authors who participated, and, to the authors who were Chopped, we hope you’ll consider joining future Chopped events, and we are so happy you decided to be a part of Chopped Madness!

Our reviews can be found under the cut!

The four authors who have been Chopped are:

@probably-voldemort: don't mess with the flow, oh no (stick to the status quo) [Murphy x Clarke] [Rated T]

Qualifying Round Fic: to dream about a life (where you’re the shining star)

Round 1 Fic: something more than momentary

@she-who-the-river-could-not-hold: Survivor’s move [Murphy x Emori] [Rated T]

Qualifying Round Fic: straight on until morning

Round 1 Fic: and the road gets tough

@justbecauseyoubelievesomething: even heroes have the right to dream [Murphy x Emori] [Rated T]

Qualifying Round Fic: seeds in silence (exploded in riot)

Round 1 Fic: into a cloven pine

@captaindaddykru: poison but tasty [Murphy & Josephine] [Rated M]

Qualifying Round Fic: When the party’s over

Round 1 Fic: venus, planet of love was destroyed by global warming

—-

Now that you have been Chopped, all the fics you’ve written in Chopped Madness have been revealed and you can post about your fics! Don’t forget to tag us!

But don’t be discouraged if you were Chopped this round (or unable to participate)! We’ve created a non-anon collection, where you can submit your fics if you would like to write for other rounds, keep pace with the writing period, etc, in a non-competive way! That’s where you’ll find us!!!! We’d love to read your fics and will gladly share them on our tumblr! The non-anon collection can be found here! To submit your fic to the collection, simply enter ‘chopped_non_anonymous’ as the name of the collection when uploading your fic!!!

Non-Anon AO3 Collection Link: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Chopped_Non_Anonymous

To all the remaining Chopped Madness Authors, we hope you’re excited for ROUND 3, which starts TONIGHT, 12:00am (EST) April 2nd!! Please be sure to check our google doc for theme and trope explanations! Good luck!

@probably-voldemort

Mod Review: This was a really cool concept that fit both divergent and high school musical together in a really cool way! All character choices worked and were so fun to see! “People were split into Cliques, signified by the colour of the pendant around your neck. Red for Jocks. Green for Nerds. Blue for Artists. Orange for Stoners. They had real names, proper ones, but Murphy didn’t care enough to remember them. No one called them their proper names before Graduation, anyway. Your Clique determined everything: where you lived, where you worked, who you loved.” Such a great way to world build right away! Murphy and Clarke teaming up was so good! Such an interesting way to wrap the HSM conflict in with the factions! We liked that you hinted at the darker elements of your dystopia, like mentioning the patrols passing with guns, and how Murphy was wondering what factions they were in! It added a lot of depth! Murphy dressing up like a Nerd instead of an Artist when he went to Clarke’s house was a great way to give us an image of the different factions, very well done! We also loved the touch of Murphy secretly being an Artist, and Murphy not caring! Not being allowed out after curfew was a great way to enforce a bed sharing trope! The ending left us wanting more! Will there be a revolution? Will Clarke become an artist?! We have to know!

@she-who-the-river-could-not-hold

Mod Review: We loved the world building in the beginning, showing us how the world looked and felt through Murphy’s eyes, showing us the people in his building and all that. Very nice touch, especially all the little nods to canon Settings and Characters!! This dystopia is so cool! The concept of the Judges is super scary, and we’d love to know more about this world! We really loved that you had Murphy harbouring a fugitive! It was such a cool ‘crime’, and it allowed for the focus to be on them as a pair rather than anything else, and it was a nice character focused fic! Also, Emori just being in his house when he got home? Excellent. Memori as Exes was SO good!! It added a level of angst and also seriousness to the fic, because them being together was hard for Murphy, but also he obviously still loved her, making the stakes so much higher! “How long had it been since he had last seen Emori? Probably their breakup. It had been an ugly one but he couldn’t help but think to himself that she looked just as beautiful now as she had then.” This quote really pulled us into the Exes plot line, because pining is always a good idea in a fic! The characterisation throughout was PERFECT! We loved that you weaved Emori’s hand into the fic, Murphy noticing it was wrapped up and acknowledging it was because she was running with people who didn’t appreciate her the way he did was so good. The bed sharing was excellent! 1) murphy… bro… clean that couch!!! And 2) the rom com of it all! Them being rigid and awkward! So good! And such a great ending! A daring escape is always a great plot line! What happened to them, we have to know!

@justbecauseyoubelievesomething

Mod Review: This was an amazing concept, and so fun to read!! We really liked how you tied in the canon plot of Murphy bailing and giving up, while everyone else kept going, it was a nice character touch that helped you weave in the world building in a nice way. Murphy having powers, and trying to quiet them however he could, not wanting the burden of those powers felt super in character, and added a really cool dynamic between him and emori! Speaking of Emori, her power was SO cool!! Such an interesting choice and so well used in the story! We really enjoyed how they kept constantly saying the wrong thing to each other, it really added a nice level of angst, especially in such dire situations when any conversation could be their last! Murphy’s reoccuring dream being about Kane was such a nice way to weave his power, the plot, and the emotional stakes together in a super cohesive way!! The use of the canon settings as settings in your story was awesome! Shallow Valley sounded beautiful! We especially enjoyed the description “Almost paradise. If you could ignore the armed guards stationed on key street corners and the sniper rifles peering through second story windows. A shiver runs down Murphy’s back.” Such a nice way to show tension! Future Emori showing up at the end was SO angsty!! So well done! And Murphy finally having to open back up and use his powers, even though it terrified him, was such an emotional scene, and it gave way to a very cool scene where we got to see Murphy really using his powers while self sacrificing. Such a good ending, and an overall wonderful fic!

@captaindaddykru

Mod Review: This concept for a ‘crime’ was so interesting! It tied in so nicely with the dystopia itself, and the motivations for Murphy and Josephine, being so different, added a really nice layer. Josephine’s reason and Murphy’s reason also allowed for an exploration of the impact that this world has on different types of people, which was very cool! Murphy and Josephine have the best dynamic for reluctant Partners in Crime, and Murphy as the narrator makes it even better!!! “Josephine just smiles slowly. “At first I was going to go all Rumpelstiltskin--““Bless you.”” -hilarious. We loved the imagery of everyone living on islands due to rising sea levels! Eerie, and a little timely, but SO cool! Very nice world building! Emori being sterilized because of her hand, SO creepy and terrible. Such a nice touch that makes the world seem even worse. Josephine’s introduction is so good, so cavalier, so unbothered, but underneath so much fury just festering. A great exploration of her character! Her reason for wanting to take the baby sort of changing every time Murphy asks, getting a little closer to the truth before she finally divulges everything, was such a nice way of exploring her and their world! And also… SHE STOLE MORE THAN ONE BABY?!?! We were super impressed with how you were able to weave such intricate backstories for all the characters into this fic! Bellamy cheating the test, Josephine’s whole story with Gabriel, Murphy’s reason for being unable to have kids, and Emori’s storyline too! SO interesting, we’d love to know more! And your ending was so good!! Them being unable to sell the baby because everyone knew whose baby it was was an excellent touch, and the “wait, you guys are getting paid” was so funny!!! “Pointedly, Emori looks to him and Murphy’s smirk grows slowly. He already has a partner in crime, and he has to say she’s much better at it. “Nah, you can keep her.”” Such a great memori moment to tie the fic up!

#Chopped madness #chopped madness: round 2 #chopped madness: chopping block #round 2: dystopia #author reveal

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recentanimenews · 4 years

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Bookshelf Briefs 5/19/20

After-School Bitchcraft, Vol. 1 | By Yu Shimizu and Kazuma Ichihara | Yen Press – Afterschool Boobcraft would be a better title for this supernatural romance about Ririki, a ditzy high school student who accidentally discovers that her chemistry teacher is a sorcerer. Though Ririki quickly realizes that she, too, has hidden powers, nothing about her giggly, helpless behavior suggests that she’s competent enough to tie her own shoes, let alone cast a spell. Renji, her teacher, is even less of a character, defined primarily by his brusque demeanor and perma-scowl. Anyone reading for plot will find the the crude, obvious fanservice irritating, while anyone reading for fanservice will find the series’ pedestrian efforts at world-building an unwelcome distraction from the parade of costume failures and panty shots, all of which are drawn in salacious detail. Not recommended. – Katherine Dacey

Animeta!, Vol. 3 | By Yaso Hanamura | J-Novel Club – Miyuki Sanada is making gradual improvement as an inbetweener, though she’s been told that if she doesn’t pass the key animation exam within a year, she’s fired. Meanwhile, her fellow new hire, Maria Date, seems to be leaving her in the dust, is actively campaigning to take her place with the prestigious Studio 7, and gets invited to enter a character design contest by the big boss. I appreciate the sports manga feel this rivalry evokes, but the most compelling part of Animeta! for me is the plight of Yuiko Fuji, the inbetween checker who once tried to become a key animator but had no flair. She’s amazing at her current job, but seeing new talent getting promoted over her is tough. This series has really grown on me, now that its been fleshing out its characters more, and I reckon I’ll stick with it for the long haul! – Michelle Smith

A Certain Scientific Accelerator, Vol. 10 | By Kazuma Kamachi and Arata Yamaji | Seven Seas – Last time I said the cliffhanger was chilling, this time that extends to much of the book. The Index series has usually been too concerned with action and harems to get into pure horror, but its spinoffs have no issues with it, particularly this one. Cannibalism of a scientific sort continues to be the norm here, with our tragic villain continuing to be sympathetic. As is Yomikawa, possibly the nicest character in the whole Indexverse. For those who aren’t reading this for nice, the good news is that Accelerator is back in action by the end of this and ready to beat villains up while continuing to state what a villain he is. Index fans will enjoy this, though may also be creeped out. – Sean Gaffney

Cocoon Entwined, Vol. 2 | By Yuriko Hara | Yen Press – Yes, it is still tempting to review these volumes by just saying “hair” and being done with it. I mean, the start of the second volume seems to be narrated from the POV of a former schoolgirl’s hair, which is now made up of the uniform of our heroine. But there is a bit more to it than that, as we cycle back a bit and get more insight into the mysterious Hoshimiya, whose hair drifting down in single hairlets (hairlets?) continues to be an emotional gut punch for most of the school. There’s also discussion of traditions, why they’re kept and when they might have to be broken for the sake of moving on and fixing things. It’s quite an emotional drama. And rest assured, it’s filled with hair. So much hair. – Sean Gaffney

The Golden Sheep, Vol. 3 | By Kaori Ozaki | Vertical Comics – The third volume of The Golden Sheep is its last, and while it was nice that the four friends at the center of the story ultimately resolved their differences, it all felt rather too easy and anticlimactic. I did like that Yuushin finds purpose in striving to achieve enough independence to live with the stray kitty he rescued, though. (It is an extremely cute kitty.) The volume is rounded out by a twisted short story called “Love Letter” in which an unborn soul chooses to be born to a teen runaway and ends up dying from neglect, but loves its mother so much that it opts to return to earth in any guise that allows it to see her, including another cute kitty who soon meets a tragic end. It left a weird taste in my brain. – Michelle Smith

How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?, Vol. 3 | By Yabako Sandrovich and MAAM | Seven Seas – The first volume it was the fanservice that got my attention. The second volume it was the advice on keeping fit. And in this one it’s the comedy that’s really reaching out to grab you, taking the series in places I was not expecting it to go, like turning the main girls (including their teacher!) into a muscle-bound idol group, something that is impressively different but goes over like a lead balloon. Zina has fit in well with the others, and moreover she knows Satomi cosplays, so can cheerfully use that for blackmail. There are also hints that romance may come into this series—Hibiki has always been attracted to Machio when he’s not bulking out, but there’s a suggestion that her feelings may run a bit deeper than that. That said, I expect comedy to prevail. This is fun. – Sean Gaffney

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, Vol. 14 | By Aka Akasaka | Viz Media – The first half of this book is almost all dedicated to Kaguya and Shirogane finally, finally, confessing—not through words, but through actions. It’s the payoff everyone has been waiting for, and it’s handled perfectly. The second half of this book then drags it all back to hilarious comedy, with the chapter about Kaguya french-kissing Shirogane being the highlight of the volume and possibly the series. Of course, there’s the question of where do we go from here—Kaguya ends up breaking her brain so much over this that she reverts to her old icy persona, and there may be a new love triangle developing around Ishigami. So don’t stop reading just because Kaguya got confessed to—there’s still plenty more fun. – Sean Gaffney

My Hero Academia: Smash!!, Vol. 4 | By Hirofumi Neda and Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – The gag series has caught up to the main storyline, or at least wants to avoid the Overhaul Arc, so for the most part this volume is original material. Sometimes that’s good—the author shows a surprising taste for very dark character-based jokes when they want to, including one with Todoroki talking about his mother that made me gasp. There’s also a parents’ day again (it goes a bit better than the one in School Briefs), which allows us to see parents we forgot existed, like Uraraka’s mother. That said, there’s also a sense that the series is starting to get a bit tired. The next volume is signposted to be the last, and that’s a good thing. Go out while you’re still flying high. – Sean Gaffney

Nori | By Rumi Hara | Drawn & Quarterly – Born in Kyoto and currently based in New York, Hara has been creating comics for about a decade, but Nori is Hara’s graphic novel debut. The volume has its origins in a series of self-published mini-comics which earned Hara multiple award nominations. Nori collects six short tales of varying lengths which feature the adventures of the titular Noriko, an imaginative three-year-old, and Hana, her grandmother and caregiver. Except for a surprise trip that takes Nori and Hana to Hawaii, the stories are largely set in Osaka in the 1980s. All of them are incredibly charming. Hara effortlessly blends mythology and legends with the characters’ day-to-day lives and Nori’s fantastical imaginings. Some of my favorite moments are Nori’s interactions with older kids—some of whom really aren’t sure what to do at first with a precocious toddler hanging about as they explore the natural world together. Nori is an undeniable delight. – Ash Brown

That Blue Summer, Vol. 4 | By Atsuko Namba | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Rio Funami is a Tokyo girl who’s been sent, along with her bookish little brother, to stay with her grandmother in the countryside for the duration of her 40-day summer vacation. She’s fallen in love with a local boy named Ginzo Izumi, who initially rejected her, believing they belonged in different worlds and valued different things. However, as time has gone on, Ginzo has come to see that’s not true. In fact, Rio seems enraptured by the village he calls home and understands the calling he feels towards graphic design while simultaneously feeling obligated to stay and take over the family liquor store. This is more than just a generic romance—it’s about passions versus practicality and finding reasons for joy in any situation. I’m enjoying it a lot and isn’t that cover a beauty? – Michelle Smith

Yowamushi Pedal, Vol. 14 | By Wataru Watanabe | Yen Press – The race that would never end has ended! And yes, our hero manages to capture first place, The first half of the book is really fantastic, showing off how good the author is at wringing drama and emotion from every last meter. The second half pales in comparison mostly as it’s setting up the next chunk of book, though seeing Onoda suddenly fail so hard simply as his mentor has left (transferred to another country) is poignant, and I suspect he needs another race or two before he can get back into form, so I expect more failure. Oh, and Kanzaki shows up briefly to remind us she exists and also help the core team get new bikes that work to their strengths. Still excellent shonen sports. – Sean Gaffney

By: Ash Brown

#Anime #News #Manga Bookshelf

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actuallyspencerreid · 6 years

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Off Screen | ch 3

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2

A/N: I have an idea for maybe two or three more parts for this storyline, so please let me know if that’s something you’d actually be interested in. :) Also if anyone has the link to this ^ particular interview, that would be greatly appreciated. :))

Word Count: 1.1k

Tags: @the-unfortunate-fangirl @cynbx @princesswagger15 @obsessivereader36 @hearts-to-the-sky @mantlereid @dreamxcollide @qu3n-elizab3th @hiya-imthatgirl @literallyprentissstwin @bauboywonder @everyday-imfangirling @spencerreidreads @alixcharmedworld @writer-of-camelot @grubler @10kcriminalsatthedisco @extremeobsessions101 @spideysstarks @likeashot

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“Cut!”

You pulled away from Matthew. With a smile, you reached up and gently wiped away the smudge of lipstick on his cheek. He leaned into your hand, but you stepped back further.

“That is a season wrap on Matthew Gray Gubler and (Y/N) (Y/L/N)!” Everyone cheered and clapped as you two made your way off set, holding onto each other. Before you left, Erica made sure to remind you of the wrap party the next evening.

“So?”

“So what?” You looked over at Matthew as he drove.

“Have you thought about it at all?”

“I don’t know.” He sighed, so you reached over to place a comforting hand on his thigh. “I’m not ashamed, I promise. It’s just that this is still new. We’ve only been dating for five months. As far as the world knows, we’re two very private people who don’t do things like go on talk shows or discuss our personal lives. Now, you’re suggesting we do both.”

He slowed to a stop a at the red light, looking over to you. “I know it’s a huge step but I think I love you and I want the world to know.”

“You love me?” You’d never heard those words come from him in this context before. Of course, you’d seen him with a couple girlfriends in the past, but you couldn’t recall his voice every being so serious about any of them.

“Well, yeah.” He smiled and leaned over the center console to kiss you softly. Over the last half year, you’d felt his lip quite often. You’d been written as a serious couple in the back half of the season and the writers had decided to make Spencer a lot more intimate than before. None of those kisses compared to this one though. This one had purpose, a message behind it. A message you were eager to return.

I love you.

“Let’s do it.” You whispered as you pulled away.

“Really?”

“Really.” You laughed softly, pressing another peck against his lips. “I’ll give Jimmy a call in the morning.”

-----

“Our next guests have stolen our hearts as the beautiful Dr. Spencer Reid and Dr. Elizabeth Webster on one of television's longest running drama series. Please give a warm Tonight Show welcome to Matthew Gray Gubler and (Y/N) (Y/L/N)!”

Matthew squeezed your hand before leading you through the thick blue curtains. You struggled slightly to keep up with him, your mind focused on greeting the crowd rather than getting to your seats. After a round of hugs, you finally got settled into the seat closest to Jimmy’s desk, Matthew right there next to you.

“First things first, thank you guys for being here.”

“Thanks for having us, Jimmy.”

“And might I say, you two look absolutely amazing. I am in love with the outfit coordination.”

You wore a pair of jeans with a navy blue blouse and black blazer. Matthew had originally planned on going with a traditional black and white, but when he saw you getting ready, he changed into his navy blue suit. Even your jewelry matched; his cufflinks had the initials EW on them, while the bracelet you has Spencer etched into it. The accessories were Criminal Minds props that you’d been allowed to keep.

“Project Runway over here picked out the clothes.” Everyone laughed at your joke and Matthew squeezed your knee.

“Well you look wonderful.” Jimmy held up a square card with a photo of the two of you on set. “Let’s talk about Criminal Minds. (Y/N), your role as Dr. Elizabeth Webster really helped launch your career a few years ago. How does it feel to be promoted to series regular?”

“It’s amazing. Working with this cast and crew again has been like coming home. Everyone has been so amazing and this season’s story arcs were so much fun to shoot. After Serenity wrapped, I’d originally planned on returning to movies, but Matthew called and offered me the role on Criminal Minds. It was just too good to pass up.”

“We love having her back.” Matthew added. “Getting to explore Dr. Webster’s character and her relationship with each member of the team has been so much fun to do.”

“Let’s talk about that kiss in the winter finale.” You felt your cheeks heat up at his words. “Rumor has it, that was your first on screen kiss, (Y/N).”

“Rumors are correct.”

“I can’t help but ask, what does this mean for Elizabeth and Spencer?”

“We can’t tell you that!” Matthew laughed. “We can say that this will definitely be a topic of discussion when the show returns in the spring.”

“So mysterious. Another topic of mystery,” Jimmy dropped the photo he was holding to reveal another. This one was of the two of you from a couple weeks before, after filming wrapped. It was a grainy traffic photo and the two of you were staring at each other, smiling and basked on green. “The status of your relationship. You guys look kind of dreamy here.”

You both shared a knowing smile. “We were on our way home from filming.”

“Deciding whether or not to make our relationship public.” There was an eruption of cheers as you leaned into your boyfriend.

Jimmy waved to the crowd to ask them to calm down. “Congratulations!”

“Thank you, thank you!”

The conversation continued, but you were barely paying attention at that point. Matthew had to squeeze your hand to get your attention.

“I’m sorry, what happened?”

Everyone laughed, but you just smiled in confusion. “I asked what’s next for you guys?”

“For now,” You chuckled. “A break. Then we have a project that we’re going to start working on in about a month or so.”

“Well we are excited to see what you’ve got cooking up.” He stood, so you and Matthew did as well. “Thank you so much for coming on the show. Ladies and gentlemen, Matthew Gray Gubler and (Y/N) (Y/L/N)!”

You took a slight bow, then allowed yourself to be lead off stage. When you were back in your dressing room, you let out a long sigh.

“That was okay right?” You paced as Matthew loosened his tie. “I didn’t make a fool out of myself?”

“You were fine.” He grabbed your hand as you passed in front of him. Pulling you down on his lap, he pressed a soft kiss to your cheek. “A lot better than I was my first television interview.”

“I love you,” you whispered, draping an arm around his neck.

“I love you too.”

#matthew gray gubler #matthew gray gubler imagine #matthew gray gubler fluff #spencer reid #spencer reid imagine #erica messer #criminal minds #criminal minds imagine #criminal minds fluff #criminal minds fanfiction

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theonceoverthinker · 5 years

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OUAT 4X02 - White Out

White Out? More like Girl’s FrostBITE Out!

...They don’t get better from here.

This is one episode that prior to this rewatch, I constantly found myself coming back to. A lot of that comes down to the dynamics, and I’ll get into that soon enough, but I think there’s more to the story here than is often given credit for. It’s definitely not the “best” episode, per se (Though for me, that just comes down to some episodes simply being better rather than failings on the part of this one), but if I had to take ten episodes to a deserted island, this would be one of them without question. I’ve watched it by now at least five times and in lieu of an actual Christmas episode of the show, I’d this episode gives off constant Christmas-y vibes for me with the use of snow and the theme of hope and right now, that’s exactly what I need and want! I’ve been looking forward to doing it for a long time and now’s the perfect moment to gush about why I love this episode!

So, if you want to read my review, please head below the cut because this could very well be one of my most personal reviews in a way!

Main Takeaways

Past

So look, I love the past segment for it’s themes and David’s backstory and Anna’s support and all that, but I LOVE it for one thing and one thing only: BO PEEP! THIS WOMAN ROCKS! She’s hammy as FUCK and everything from her costume to her over the top accent to her NAME spells that out. She Cruella before Cruella was Cruella! Robin Weigert did an AMAZING job capturing that funny yet intimidating presence. That hamminess is exactly the kind of thing that a show like Once Upon a Time was made for. We’re supposed to encounter ridiculous shit all the time and Bo Peep is such a beautifully blunt part of it! She’s probably my favorite one off character for that reason. AND at the same time, her character is a a perfect challenge for David. Her character’s abilities juxtapose David’s original flighty instincts and put him in a position where if he wants to look after those he loves, he has to step up and fight. She presents a strong ultimatum. YET, she’s kind of like Biff from “Back to the Future:” symbolically the representation of all of David’s fears but at the same time, someone who he can beat. She’s such a balanced antagonist and is so underrated by the fandom at large! I would’ve KILLED for her to come back in a later episode, even just to spew some snark!

Okay, now that I’m done gushing about Bo Peep, let’s get into the meat of the episode.

Anna and David just have a great rapport. They were so close to making my favorite dynamic and that’s because Anna is a great support for David’s journey here. Her optimism is presented in a light that gives way to both cheeriness and a bit of annoyance which is just the kind of character that Anna is.in addition, David’s story about his father (Which is SO much harder to hear in hindsight, btw) makes his stubbornness toward fighting Bo Peep make sense while still being framed correctly as something he needs to step up and overcome. Overall, the storytelling is very effective here in terms of buildup and most of the payoff.

I will say though, I wish that David’s turning point -- or rather, what he says to be the payoff -- was a little bit more strongly written. When Anna asks what changed his mind, it feels like Jane Espenson improvised it because the connection to Elsa’s story wasn’t all that strong. In truth, he changed his mind because Anna was taken, as shown by the fact that prior to that, he was going to give up, and I feel like if the change of heart connected more to his father than to Elsa’s story, than the resolution would’ve connected better for me.

Present

For as much as I love the main interactions between Emma and Elsa (And we will GET to that shortly), I want to gush for a moment about the fantastic supporting cast here, and by that, I mean David and Killian. Killian basically just exists to be himself in this episode and serve as support for David and Emma, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with him just doing that. But David’s support is what really steals the show here. This is clearly a man who internalized Anna’s lesson about not giving up and passes it on well. He is everyone’s rock throughout this panicked situation and because of that, everyone’s able to get through.

By contrast to what I said about David’s resolution in the past, Elsa’s resolution in the present is far stronger. Elsa’s friendship with Emma and David’s connection to Anna and her lessons makes Elsa’s show of abilities feel earned this time around. Just listen to the music when Elsa makes the hole in the ice! It’s one of my favorite pieces of the score in the entire series. It’s so triumphant and hopeful. It has the tempo of a heartbeat and really feels like Anna’s spirit is part of it as the hole proceeds to form! The storytelling melds together to make this scene into something truly special.

So for as much as I do love the episode, I will admit to take issue with a two things here and both of which have to do with Snow’s plot (Though neither involve Snow herself). First, fuck C*leman. That’s all I have to say on that matter because he doesn’t deserve any more attention. Second, yeah, the dwarves and Granny are excessively harsh towards Snow here. Like, they are going after a new mother who they know knows fuck all about power systems while knowing full well that Emma and David are investigating what happened.

Do these aspects ruin the storyline for me? The first one makes it really hard to watch the segment, but as for the second one, somewhat. It’s out of character, I admit, and the subplot itself feels more like an excuse to establish Snow as the new mayor than anything else, but it’s harmless in the grand scheme of things and gives way to cute lines.For me, Granny’s character ultimately doesn’t suffer too much from it for me and just acts as an example of how some aspects of their new lives have affected their personalities.

I saw a thread last week about the plot holes in this episode (Why didn’t they go to Regina to get Emma out of the ice wall, why not just make a smaller hole with a fireball, why not take Emma to a hospital afterwards?) that just got on my nerves a bit. Maybe it’s because this episode just means so much to me, and honestly, no offence to anyone involved in the thread (I’m pretty sure one of them reads these reviews and if that’s true, I hope you know that I mean that in earnest), but I feel like (1) the plot holes in this are so small that it’s honestly needless nitpicking, something that just gets on my nerves and (2) misses the forest for the trees. It’s missing the story, character payoff, and dynamics in order to complain about matters that just don’t matter, and I feel like that happens a lot in this series. I mean, I can be pedantic about filling the plot holes up myself (They didn’t go to Regina because Rumple shop was closer to the ice wall and by the time they could’ve, they had a solid lead on Anna’s location and that was their bargaining chip with Elsa, fire blasts in this series tend to just be giant in general, and the loft is closer than the hospital and the priority was getting Emma warm), but even as I was writing that, talking about the story elements felt like the more fulfilling thing to write. And I get that plot holes have their times and places to be picked on and picked apart, but I’m also of the mind that some episodes just don’t need it.

All Encompassing

The theme of this episode is not giving up and that’s a theme that really sinks in throughout this episode. While more of a direct story point as it pertains to Anna, David, and Elsa, it’s more indirect in the ways that it applies to Emma and Henry. At the beginning of the episode, after receiving Regina’s note, Henry gets depressed at the prospect of Regina not wanting to see him for the time being and Emma, unable to get through to him, laments her failure. But both of these characters learn through David that to stop trying is a mistake. Thus, Emma gives getting through to Henry another go, one much more successful and Henry gets through to Regina. And both of these developments have a very organic feel towards how they come about and are fantastic with how they resolve.

When people say that the Frozen characters got too much screen time, I often go back to this episode. While Anna and Elsa are big presences in this episode, no one is sidelined as an expense. David, Killian, Emma, Snow, and Henr all play integral roles in the story and blend well with the Frozen characters.

This is one of David’s best episodes. His character gets to be both a powerful lead and support across the two segments and shows a well rounded versatility to him that often isn’t explored all that much and so well.

Stream of Consciousness

-I love the angles of the cars in the opening scene with Elsa. Not only are they all great shots with fitting sound effects, but narratively, they serve two story points. First, they play to Elsa’s fears. She’s alone in a town that has technology she knows nothing about. Second, the cars themselves show their speed, and that helps make Elsa’s choice to create the ice wall make so much sense to me.

-Will my heart ever not break at the sight of the “Leaving Storybrooke” sign? No, it will ALWAYS break!

-The more I see the Josh Dallas Fabio hair, the more I like the Josh Dallas Fabio hair, and I already loved it!

-”I’ll find out your name at the wedding.” I’m really sad that David never got to go to the wedding now. :(

-I LOVE the Baby Neal scene in the loft! It’s nice and goofy and gives off a small domestic moment without overstaying its welcome.

-”3? I see the optimism returning.”I never noticed this joke before! This episode never runs out of funny things! XD

-Dude! Full props for Emma for going to bat for Regina! She really does get it and gets that Regina’s doing what she can to spare Henry from experiencing any of the pain she’s feeling right now. And while it hurts, sometimes people have their own ways of coping with things, for better or for worse. Like, that was just a fantastic moment!

-Also, props to David for helping alleviate Emma’s guilt! Great parenting and it shows how much he understands both Emma and Regina, so it’s also a good Regina and David moment!

-...There is a lot of Captain Charming squeeing going on right now in the ship section.

-”I found it in the store filled with things.” Elsa, that was the least helpful explanation I have ever heard! XD

-I LOVE that deafening sound effect right after Elsa puts up the ice wall. It’s so terrifying and allows for the fear of the situation to really hit the audience.

-Elsa’s “evil lady” act is so fucking adorable! Yes, you’re very scary, baby! XD

-”I’m starting to get why Regina was evil. It wasn’t her, it was you.” I know a lot of antis take issue with this line, but sometimes a line is just meant to be a joke and given how the preamble to Snow’s rant was about how tired she was, I’m gonna pretty sure this was a freakin’ joke, and a great one too! XD

-”It [the cold] never bothered me.” Oh my God, ALL of the Frozen references! While there were probably one too many of them, they never fail to crack me up.

-Minor gripe, but I do wish that we saw some of Emma’s magic fluctuating a bit more prior to her scene with Elsa where they discuss a lack of magical control. Apart from the time portal shenanigans and the crane game encounter (Which she forgot and came after this episode), Emma’s had pretty good control over her magic as of this moment in the present.

-”You only want to know more because if I sleep, I’ll die.” ...Yes! That’s why you should talk! About your son! The main reason you want to stay alive! ...Like, that was a legit terrible line! Just have her fall asleep because that was dangerously close to anti Swan Believer material and in a bad way!

-Not gonna lie, Butcher Bo Peep is reallllllllllllyyy pretty. I am legit attracted to her.

-David giving Anna the horse is the equivalent of Emma repurposing her red leather jacket, granted in a smaller way.

-”I hope I’ll see both of you at the wedding.” Oh man! Ruth couldn’t come either! Rip my heart out, why don’t you?!

-David, I get the symbolic gesture, but that is a HORSE! A horse is a useful animal for a farmer and that horse might love you and its home! XD

-Not gonna lie, I’m pretty sure “I missed my room” was the line that snapped Regina out of her full-on funk. It also cracks me up! XD

-”This is kind of cool. Pun intended.” And THIS is why I love you, Emma! <3

-Ingrid, I’m no germaphobe, but EW! XD

Favorite Dynamic

Frozen Swan. Emma and Elsa’s first episode together is the dynamic equivalent of a Lindt truffle. It’s well rounded, satisfying, and exquisite with a delicate contrast. I think an episode like this is so important for Emma because it shows that while she has walls, they’re not as paralyzing as people think they are. In a lot of respects, this is a Season 4 Emma looking back on some of her more Season 1-esque qualities. But Elsa’s no slouch either! This dynamic does so much to show how Elsa’s more than just a two-trick pony of ice magic and sister longing. She cares about helping innocents, is competent, and her excitement towards finding another magic user is adorable. My favorite part of their dynamic is how they compare their worries about handling magic and leadership. Those are two very big connecting points for these characters and I’m glad they were touched upon.

Writer

Jane Espenson starts off our season here and she did a bang up job with the writing here. The past lends itself to generally great storytelling and the present has this great feeling of tension throughout it as everyone’s either trying to save Emma or reason with Elsa. The only moment to breath is the Snow plot which I feel was just straight-up made for purposes of levity and to make the plot point that Snow’s the mayor. Besides that, I do think the writing is strong here. The theme of not giving up is so solidly present throughout the episode and lends itself well to everyone’s journeys. Apart from one or two weird lines and character moments, the dialogue itself was well developed and the pacing was en pointe!

Rating

10/10. I really wanted to give this episode a Golden Apple, but as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t justify it. It doesn’t mean my love for this episode is any less valid (I’m saying this more to myself than to anyone in particular), but yeah, I can’t give it that score if I want to be honest with myself. The chinks in the armor of the episode are small bit by bit, but they do add up. That said, I love this episode so much! We get so many amazing character moments, a good (if not somewhat loose) story, and a strong message about the benefits of perseverance. The ending is so optimistic and feel good that my earlier claims of it being one of the closest things OUAT has to a Christmas episode aren’t too far off.

Flip My Ship - The Home of All Things “Shippy Goodness”

Captain Swan - As you might have guessed, Captain Swan goodness makes up a GREAT deal of why I love this episode. I read this once before and please let me know the source of it if you know it, but “it’s says something about your ship when one of your favorite episodes of theirs doesn’t even have them kiss.” Well, this is easily in my top 5 favorite CS episodes of all time. They get so much development, both while together and as they communicate with other characters. First, I love the “ice bucket” banter. Emma just can’t take that hotness between them! Second, that Captain Charming scene just fucking says it all! “I wouldn’t risk my life for someone I see as loot. Whatever we become, it’s up to her as much as me.” I CAN DIE A HAPPY WOMAN NOW! Put those words on my fucking tombstone, ok?! If we JUST had these two lines, this would still be one of my favorite CS episodes, but oh my golly, we have MORE! “Emma, say again.” The fucking worry in Colin’s voice. Just...I cannnnnnn’t. *wails* Just...Killian is in such distress throughout this entire episode. He’s so worried he’s about to lose another person he loves and it kills him and it kills me. And once she’s safe, ICE WALL CUDDLES!!! That hug is so fucking romantic. I don’t know what’s better! The Captain Charming conversation from earlier or the Ice Wall Cuddles, but I love both of them sooooooo fucking much! The way she cradles his head and the way he carries her!!! It’s perfect!!! And then the hand hold. Just..I’m so happy!!!

Hopeful Hero - ...I love Snowing, but I’mma ship this ‘till the cows come home! David and Anna just have a fabulous rapport and had there been a kiss akin to Snow and Hercules’ from “Labor of Love,” I wouldn’t have complained!

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And there you have it, one of my all time favorite episodes! It’s a bit flawed, but I just adore it with every beat of my heart. Did I change your mind on it or even make you love it more if you were already a fan? Let me know!

As always, thanks to the fabulous folks at @watchingfairytales for making this awesome project and shoutout to my awesome and supportive friend and regular, @daensarah! (If you want notifications for when I post these, hit me up!)

Next time, we go further down the road of the Frozen Arc and just a warning: Things are about to get rocky. XD

Season 3 Total (19/230)

Writer Scores:

Adam and Eddy: (9/60) Jane Espenson : (10/40)

*Links to the rest of my rewatch will no longer be provided. They take posts with links outside of searches and I spend way too much time on these reviews to not give them that kind of exposure. Sorry for the inconvenience, but they still can be found on my page under Operation Rewatch.

#ouat #once upon a time #watching fairytales #ouat 4x02 #ouat rewatch #jenna watches ouat

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zukadiary · 6 years

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The Sky is on the Banks of the Red River / Citrus Breeze -Sunrise- ~ Cosmos Troupe 2018

For the first time ever I’d been here a full month without seeing any of *my* ladies, and while BADDY was an absolutely thrilling experience worth the sacrifice, my first viewing of Soragumi felt so much like a long-awaited return home I teared up as soon as the prologue started.

Amazing prologue aside, Red River was not my girl Koyanagi-sensei’s best work. Watching it I can imagine why it was tempting for her; Soragumi must be a tricky troupe to write for right now. Not only are they absolutely stacked with tracked talent, tracked?? talent, and non-tracked upperclassmen who nonetheless never fail to land high-profile roles, but they’re unusually stable. With Kiki’s move coming right after Maa’s taidan, essentially the only spot to open up in the last 3+ years has been top musumeyaku. Everyone—particularly 95th downwards—is 3+ years stronger, more polished, and more charming... but they have nowhere to go. Take that and add the retiring Magee and it’s an even bigger conundrum. Red River has A LOT of characters, and it definitely succeeded in giving every one of those people a solid principal role. However, it’s also a very long manga, and in an effort to give everyone a juicy character I think Koyanagi tried to stuff way too many storylines into a measly hour and a half. I got everything because I read the manga ahead of time, but I think it would have been difficult to understand even for a Japanese person who has not read it (it almost felt like watching the shinko of a 2-act, where they abridge it on the assumption you already know the whole story). Also unfortunate: while the characters’ storylines do all ultimately intertwine, they unfold very much separately, such that it often doesn’t make sense to have them on the stage at the same time. As a result a bunch of the major roles, while distinctly juicier somehow, wound up with less actual stage time than some of the more minor roles. On the plus side it was visually nice, pretty good for some unexpected people, and definitely gets a passing grade for stage fighting, which, I’ve recently come to appreciate, is something that gives certain troupes a great deal of difficulty, making it oh so satisfying when it’s done well (I assume? It’s possible it was only done well in my very narrow Soravision). Makaze and Madoka have also DRAMATICALLY improved their harmony sound since West Side Story. It hit me right in the chest.

People will be quick hits, as there was not exactly room for deep character exploration in this show:

Makaze seemed to relish all the campiest parts of playing a shoujo manga love interest, from her delivery of the ridiculous lines to her execution of the overly aggressive “romantic” gestures. Plus she’s just downright handsome, and absolutely believable as the greatest warrior prince given her stature.

I thought Madoka was absolutely wonderful given the limitations of the role, which winds up fairly badass but is still a sixteen year old girl. Madoka played Yuuri with amazing strength, and she’s such a natural actress even the groan-worthy manga lines came out passable. Someday I hope they let her play an actual adult though.

Kiki was a favorite less in terms of Ramses as a character and more in terms of this continued evolution of New Kiki. It was not as much of a shocking portrayal as some of her recent characters (Bernardo, whatever that dude’s name is in Yamataikoku), but still definitely a progression for how effortless it came off. Even as the nibante she’s not exactly on stage all the time, but outside of the prologue she gets the best song. A+++ on the visuals too.

Aichan as the Prince of Darkness and Akkii as Nefertiti kind of fall into the same category for me (I just realized writing that that they play siblings, but that’s not why). I feel like they both had extremely minimal stage time and storylines stuffed in at great pains (especially Aichan), and relied entirely on the wow factor of their visuals to give their roles weight—Aichan as the stereotypical dark sexy dude in an impressive floor-length wig, and Akkii as a very glitzy queen. If we hadn’t had to send off Magee and thus had one more prominent role open, I’d say the story would have benefitted from cutting the Prince of Darkness storyline entirely.

Seiko as Queen Nakia and Magee as her sidekick Urhi are the real villains of the manga, and in the rushed storytelling I think we lose a bit of how truly diabolical they are. I think I’m less frustrated with Nakia simply because I’m delighted that that’s the role Seiko landed, but Magee’s involvement felt extremely subdued.

Zunchan is once again the perfect little brother, but is betrayed and killed fairly early.

To my VERY PLEASANT SURPRISE, Riku, Sora, and Makise, who I assumed would wind up being Nobodies 1, 2, and 3 respectively, somehow wound up benefitting from the storyline battle among the principal characters; while they weren’t exactly blessed with a wealth of lines, they were on stage a lot, and actually contributed quite a bit to the general progression of things with their wordless background acting. No idea how much of that will show up on the DVD, but in the theater it was a joy to watch. Special shout-out to Sora slow-motion kicking Moeko’s ass all the way on the right wing of the stage while Makaze and Kiki have their dramatic final wrestle in the middle.

And a few people really lucked out! I have no idea who Mitsuki Haruka bribed to land Ilbani, but that’s the most I can ever remember her doing in a Grand Theater show (not complaining, I adore her). Fuuma Kakeru was a disheveled old man, but got her OWN! SOLO! and a very passionate one at that (more solos for Kakeru 2k4ever). And Manami Hikaru, armed with youth and shortness, benefitted from the fact that Tito, a fairly major character, is a literal child.

I LOVE CITRUS BREEZE WITH ALL MY HEART.

I remember thinking right around when Tsukigumi started in the Grand Theater that Citrus Breeze is the perfect thing to follow BADDY, because one has no choice but to forgive its lack of innovation in light of Soragumi’s 20th anniversary. I TAKE IT BACK because that implies that there is SOMETHING TO FORGIVE. It’s old, and it’s definitely on the wholesome side, which is not usually my thing... but it’s perfect. I love the songs, I love the dance numbers, I love the costumes, I love the big round 1970s music variety show light bulbs screwed into the sets that radiate nostalgia. Much of it is the same old Citrus Breeze, but—and it’s possible this is because I’ve only seen past versions in the form of mediocrely rendered Sky Stage recordings—this one felt so bright and polished and perfected. I’m pretty certain it’s my favorite.

Highlights, though it’s hard not to just say all of it:

Kiki’s Paradiso scene, basically only as long as it takes to saunter across the ginkyou once, but plenty to take in in that short time (I was most struck by how expertly she spread her hand on her hat at the final pose)

Mr. Bojangles, a shoo-in for favorite if Asu e no Energy didn’t exist, for a) Kumichou center b) SPATS and c) Sora dancing on a level so OTHER that it hurt my stomach

The chuuzume, which instead of being the fire-up type is just beautiful in a heartbreaking way

Madoka’s opera. I knew she was talented but I didn’t know she had that in her. She’s so stunningly beautiful in that scene too (and something about a heartbroken Kiki throwing down a glove to duel just kinda makes you wanna cry).

Chiaki hamming up the center of the rockette with these knowing expressions that are mostly fun but definitely also a little dangerous

Asu e, I bawled through it both times and listened to it on loop through my full 8 hour work nights 3 days in a row. The old Japanese lady next to me the second night screamed WOOOO all by herself at the end of it and I was so happy. Sora’s dancing, once again, a whole other level.

More than one lovely sendoff scene for Magee

And the SUNRISE bit, a very classic otokoyaku dance in bedazzled white tails in front of a burning sun, not out of place in the wholesomeness of the rest of the revue but with just enough fire to melt you the exact right amount.

I’ve SEEN IT and I knew I’d LIKE IT but I didn’t expect to love it THIS MUCH. I could watch it 1000 times.

#takarazuka #reviews #red river #citrus breeze #might as well just tell people I live here

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