#i will say. the one part of the ep that didn't quite work for me was webb's heroic turn. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

13thdoctorposts · 2 months

Text

Highlights from Jodie Whittaker’s Gold Coast Panel

Host

So have you got any stories from Attack the Block?

Can I think of stories from attack the block?

I would say that when we were shooting it just as a little like genius of Joe Cornish.

He is an encyclopedia of films and television. And every single element of it is some kind of homage to something you’ve seen. One thing that was really clever is there is no accidental lighting, so the entire thing is set at night so that every single light is deliberate. This stuff or that, like the kids train, is like, every single element is a choice. And you can't say that for most things, because the sun will just appear sometimes, and the sun can take full credit for the lighting. But in that film, he chose every single element. And that's why I think it's such a great film, because it's detailed beyond belief.

Host

Thank you. Wow. Can I see that.

What's your favorite memory of playing The Doctor?

My favorite memory? There's so many, I'll tell you what, I'll give you a moment that's relevant to something like this. One of the highlights of playing The Doctor actually happened to me at a con, and it was San Diego, and so it was before the show would come out.

We were filming, and I got invited to come to this kind of the cosplay show. And when I got there, I was like, a special guest. And because I was just feeling really confident, I was like, can we not announce me? Can I pretend I'm a model?

I came out in my costume, slowly walking down, and I thought I was gonna get to the end to do some big reveal. But I must have a very obvious walk, because people started to realize, and the really narcissistic part myself, absolutely loved it because I got such a big round of applause just for walking. So that was a really amazing moment.

My question is about one night. Your character Tess has tattoos. They're only shown in two scenes, one in the first episode and one in the last I was wondering if they were both shot together, even though characters in different places, at different times, and the system of putting those tattoos on, because there's quite a lot.

Yes, it was. It was one of the most influential stage directions I've ever read of a character when that doesn't necessarily feature as a main part of the story. So my character Tess, in a Australian show called One Night, I’m very proud of it is covered in tattoos and every tattoo was a choice, and designed by the incredible designer and all the creatives. And so there's no accident. But the first time we did it, it took about 4 Hours and we stood like this for what is a very small scene as well.

And then the next scene, which is however many months later, I think we got it down to 3 Hours but it was still, it was a long time.

But it was such an amazing character choice, the writer, beautiful writing that gave me so much, but I didn't have to necessarily articulate what that was. It was just she gave me this armor to be able to play tests.

And that is when I started to read it, it's only a few scenes into the first ep, I was like, I'm playing that part. I'm absolutely playing that part. because I just thought that was such an incredible choice.

I was just wondering, in regards to Doctor Who, was there anyone that you wanted to like come and appear on the show alongside you, like an old companion?

Ah, I suppose I was spoiled for companions. So I think with that, I was, I would have loved, oh, it's difficult before, before we got to the point where I met my master, who is played incredibly by Sasha, and I adored every single scene I was in with Sasha.

There was a part that was like, oh, wonder if I get to work with Michelle. I thought that would have been incredible. So if anyone's out there and they write episodes of Doctor Who, I think that might be a good one.

Hi, and why did you decide to become an actor? Oh, that's such a good question.

When I was probably a bit younger than you i watched a film called goonies and if you haven't seen it highly recommend it stood the test of time and it is such an amazing film and i think what it does is it celebrates the inner child's because as a kid. I watched it and thought, oh my gosh, they're going on this amazing adventure. But then as I got older, I realized that could be a job, and then I got to play the Doctor. So it really is a job that you get to play pretend in the most epic scale, and anything is possible. So I think that's what I wanted to continually feel, was that I could be my inner child till I'm 99.

my question was, I love seeing, you know, Thasmin play out on screen in Doctor Who. And I know that you and Mandip had a bit of involvement in making that happen. So I was wondering, could you, explain how we got that.

No, no we didn’t, so I think just the fact that Chris obviously knows us and knows how much we love each other. Yeah no we had no influence on any of the story lines. Obviously, we had that, the characterization, and we fully, you know, believed in and loved the direction that our characters went in, and it played out perfectly for me in my head. That is absolutely my kind of dream ending of where I saw my doctor. And the to the point of regen was with that side by side with Mandip .And for those two characters as well, I thought it was beautifully played out, but it was all Chris Chibnall. So I can take no credit, which also the video in the cupboard during lockdown.

I think people were really generous and thought I'd written it, but I didn't write that. Chris wrote it and sent it to me and said, I think it'd be really brilliant if the doctor could maybe, you know, say something. And so that was him as well. So I love that. I keep getting all this credit there. But, but I absolutely adored where our story line went.

You have obviously played such a diverse range of characters, and I'm just really curious about your process when you sort of get the script and how you create them.

Do you know what? I can't write at all, and I don't want to be a writer. And because it's not within my skill set. And I think because of that, my appreciation the next level, I think 90% of my job is generally always done, I’m so lucky to work on extraordinary scripts, and a lot of your hard work is there, like I was saying about, Emily (one night writer), with one night. This wonderful stage direction is she's covered in tattoos. But those kind of details are just the best. Sometimes an entire character can be given to you in a tiny stage direction, or in a use of punctuation. Something can be a dot, dot, dot, and it has a completely different meaning than an exclamation mark.

I think that, for me, is the absolute side point. Take what you can from the script, and then I've been looking at what the directors and cast do it’s a really collaborative effort My main thing is, I don't like to decide or even kind of go there on how I'm gonna do something before you say action. Because if I do, I'm just a bit cluttered, and I overthink it, and I wouldn't listen to you. So however you were doing it, my brains go, well, I'm gonna do it like this, and it doesn't work for me. So for me, I kind of, I need to be kind of completely unprepared to be prepared, that not even answer. I don't think I should teach a drama school. Basically, not everyone can teach. And I can't.

If you could be in any episode of Doctor Who that already come out to 13, which would you choose? And why? The ones that you haven’t already been in

I am furious if no one's seen it I'm REALLY sorry I'm furious I MISSED an episode with spice girls i Am Sorry… But how did that happen when i wasn't IN it? spice of your life i devastated, I was like, I'm sorry. What? But it's only because It was so amazing. Sorry if that's a spoiler.

I just wanted to see if you could tell us a bit about your audition process for Doctor Who.

So it was an interesting one because it's secretive from the second the words are spoken. And my initial meeting was what I thought was just a cup of tea with my name Chris, because we did Broadchurch, and we were doing the junket and he was in town. He doesn't live in London. So we met up and we were chatting, and he’d been announced as the show runner. And I said, please, can i be a baddie? And then that was when it was, can you keep a secret? Depends. And it was, would you like to audition to play The Doctor? Um…I'm sorry? (Laughs)

But then it was a lot. It was quite a few rounds. It was about three And some of it was my husband taped me when, you know, at like, 09:00 p.m., when my kids asleep, and not gonna come in the room and ruin it. And I got, like, iphone wires and had to defuse something.

And we did it. Most tapes I've ever done, I've been sat on a couch and you make sure it's like a really tight two shot there. So my I was running around with an iphone as I was jumping on a couch and then trying to do the gobbly guke. And I say that with up most respect. And it was so stressful. And then when I got it, they were the most fun. I was so scared of those scenes more than anything. And, that's always the most fun when the doctor's just fizzing and working out. So, so it was over months, and it was very secretive, but then I finally got it.

I was wondering about your doctor. Is there a facet or an aspect of the of your doctor that you wish you could have explored more?

I don't know. That's a good question. Um.

Is the one you like me to have explored?… No, just because I feel as if there's a lot of versions of The Doctor that I really enjoyed. And I love it, particularly around The Timeless Child, where there was this kind of deep rooted rage that would come out in a kind of slightly spitty, you know, frustrated way I enjoyed playing the distance sometimes when i wasn't quite connecting with the people that i was with i enjoyed THOSE elements because i follow such a contradiction to the not a contradiction. Just such a journey away from the kind of energized, childlike version of The Doctor that I loved to play But can you answer that? What would you have like me to have done it?

I think the depth of the distant of the doctor, was amazing But I think that I would have liked to see a bit more, um, a bit more unhingedness.

Okay, so we'll get an episode of me and Michelle, because we're really unhinged.

You've done so many roles that have legit, ripped my heart out. when is this trauma gonna turn into a villain arc?

Oh, I know. I keep saying that, so keep, I keep contradicting myself, because I get asked specially after Doctor Who, what is it that you want to do? And I was like, oh, you know, I'd really love to play, like, I'd love to some comedy, maybe, or explore a character that has a lot of darkness and potentially not very likable. And then, you know, wanna kind of steer clear, maybe of, like, drama. And then I did one night, time. And this other thing. It's very emotional, and I don't know why, but I kind of keep breaking my own rules.But I would love to explore a villain. I mean, that was my initial thing.I want to be a baddie.But I'm glad Chris didn't listen.

I'm a big fan of Attack the Block, and especially the horror sections of Doctor Who, and I was wondering, what was your approach, and how would you think about doing the, your characters different in that sort of horror setting compared to other genres?

Oh, do you mean, like, how would I do it or if The Doctor was in more of a horror genre or if me as an actor got to be in that?

Both. But you as an actor?

I'm into horror. That's kind of, let me say, to reference. It's like, one might be a bit young for it, but there was a classic horror for me that came out when I was like, 16, and it was right at the beginning, of the Internet so being able to have this mystery, because now we're so used to information been given to us by the Internet.

But when I was 16, it was that there was this found footage of these guys in a wood And then I went see the film. I was like, this really happened, oh boy, which it's really, really happened. And now you can't really create that that kind of, like trickery in a way, during a press junket, because we know it's a film. But I that kind of horror that plays that doesn't give you too much, I don't wanna see everything chopped up. I'm just not into it I'm too much for whim. But the psychological horror of the when you hear it, but don't see it. Those are the kind of things that I think brilliant to play.

But then when we did have things like that, with the Dregs, and we were filmed in I was chasing me and once you were stuck in a cage, and every time it hit the railing, it was really loud. And I go, ahhhh… I know the doctor's probably braver okay you know I, don't know how i did it ha ha.

Some Doctors have had input into their outfit. Others have been told by they can't have that. How much input did you have into the outfit?

Well, so I had a hugely collaborative experience with the costume designer, and it started from the second we met. We met in a bar that he recommended. And the surrounding wallpaper was this petrol blue which became the trousers. I had a photo that I sent to Chris when I was trying to trick him into giving me the part I sent him all these photo references. And it was a woman. It's a black and white picture. I Don't know where it's from. I don't know if it's fake, black and white, and it's modern or I don't know but it's someone walking with purpose short trouser, tshirt boots so to me all of that, the coat was very much collaborative with ray because I would say things And he came back with the design of the coat that was so perfect.

I Didn't want buttons because I felt like it was pointless. Of course, wanted pockets. I wanted a hood, but I wanted the colors to be representative. Because of my first episode, I wanted to transition from was space through to Earth, sky. So the entire lining on the inside is a dark blue, black for space. The exterior is a kind of like sky blue light color. But also the into the the Suffragette colors are inside the sleeves. And it has my pride stripes everywhere, and yellow braces because it's my favourite color. So the whole thing, the jewelry was collaborative with Alex Monroe. It was amazing. I think I take more credit for it than it was me, because i felt like I'd go oh i came up with that and then actually, when i look back on it it was drawings that ray had done. Very much you gave him A pebble and he created a statue out of it. It was amazing.

I just first wanna say thank you for making a very queer, coded doctor. I just wanna quickly ask, we've seen David tenant come back for the anniversary just past, and we've seen doctors come back in the past. Would you ever consider coming back again and putting back on the coat and the zonic of everything?

Hundred percent. I would love to, and I really, if that's not, I would be really offended, because I would love it, and it'd be so amazing. And you just, you never wanna say goodbye to It is the the gift role forever. And I'm still, I'm gonna grieve it forever. But I suppose the feeling is that you don't have to necessarily let go, because, like you say, other doctors have come back. There was loads in my last ep, so there's no reason for me not to bob up somewhere. But I want to.

Did you take anything from like the set, all your costume?

I've stolen it all. I've got my jump suit, the prison jump suit. And just as a little fun fact about costume, all of the dates are personal to me. So there's dates all the way down the side, and there's a lot of Gallifreyan you know, kind of design. But all of them are a meaningful date to me. So that was, that's the kind of joy thing you can put into your doctor. So I've got that, so I've got my costume and me and Mandip very clearly heard ‘that is a rap in the TARDIS’ So we heard that on the last day of filming and she had a hold on the console that was like this massive ball thing. I snapped off the tiny mini TARDIS that spun And then, we hear and we're gonna do some pickup shots in the TARDIS without any actors. So I think there was a bit of swift editing there, because I absolutely wasn’t my fault. I heard cut.

When it comes to Doctor Who, do you have a favorite doctor from any era?

I got asked this the other day. I'm not saying, it's not saying you don't like the other ones. I got asked recently about classic, and so I said, Sylvester But you said any you didn't say classic. I'm gonna say, Jo Martin. The episode to shoot with her, and the moment when her doctor is revealed and the costume and the energy she bought was amazing. And so, Jo Martin, hahaha.

I was just wondering, were you interested in doing the Big Finish audios? And if so, what kind of story would you like?

I don't know. I get ask all the time. And I don't know. I mean, hopefully, is this something I ask them? Do they ask me? Big Finish? Well, obviously, if it, then if I was gonna do it, I'd really wanna do it with Mandip, but I would love to, I mean, this is, what is this job? You know, I've not been the doctor now for two other doctors, and it's amazing that you still get to experience it and be a part of it. So if being a part of things like big finish, or any of you the… I suppose, departments?, but all those other things that celebrate Doctor Who I'd wanna be in them all.

It's such a loved program. Is it what you thought it would be playing the Doctor like?So you're the figurehead of that program. You know, is it what you thought it would be? in as big as you thought?

I think it's, it's bigger and more magical than you can kind of ever describe, because it's as a new whovian as well. And I'd said to Chris in the process of audition, look, I've not seen loads of it. I've seen, you know, bits when I was a kid, but we didn't have it on those in house. But then also, I've got mates that have been in episodes. I've done those auditions and not got in, you know, things like that. And so it has a very unknown quantity about it. To me, I was very much walking into something and going, okay, what is this? And I think from the second you get on set, and the crew, the crew I worked with, had been working on the show for twelve years. It was such a magical family and to shoot it in Wales.

Wales is one of the most beautiful countries you can ever visit.

So to be there and to be in this ready made family of something that all the hard work's been done because all the other doctors build up this family , you just shouldn't lose it. And so then to have our journey and our story lines, and to then have this opportunity where we went out to press or we met fans, and to have the interaction and to speak to people, to see how much it's meant to them through their life, is so extraordinary, because for me And I can definitely say it and for Mandip as well, that it's our happiest time as actors. We've never been happier, and we knew when we were in it. Ah, this is this. It's just so nice, and there's just so much, just wonderful about it. And I think that needs forever. This is so easy to talk about, so easy to be in this room and do it because I wouldn't have to, I've never fake how much I love it. I loved it, but as a new whovian. And I'm like, oh, I get it. Hahaha. I one of a family then. Haha. That's it. I'm in.

Do you ever get nervous when you're playing The Doctor?

I was nervous all the time. I know The most nervous, I think I've ever been on a set was in my first week of shoot in The Doctor. It was my hero speech at the end of episode one. So my very first day involved jumping between cranes. Mind you I’ve only ever run around and cried on most jobs. So jumping between cranes was a whole new thing. And on day two, I think it was my huge kind of realization of, I know who I am, I am the doctor, and saying that for the first time, and thinking, if you mess this up, there's still time to recast I've been here two days. So that was the most nerve racking.

And I think sometimes another time when I was nervous as well, we had Stephen Fry come in And I was a bit like, you might not remember me, but I was in St. Trinian's And we kind of had a scene in St. Trinian's, isn't it was, you know. And so him being on set, I was just so nervous, because I was just like, he's a legend to me. So this is very… I think if you're not scared and you haven't got the adrenaline of nerves, you're taking it for granted.

Who is your least favorite doctor?

There's nobody, the craziest answer. I haven't got one.

Did you ever think you would have had such the impact on the doctor who community?

The thing that's such a joy for me playing the Doctor, the thing that I really quickly realized was that it. I adore this community, and I feel that everyone in the fandom should feel represented and what I feel really proud of with ours, which has nothing to do with me, like you saying about, when, you know, with me and Mandip had credit to that story, and we didn't in that way, but it was, that was the beautiful transition of this gorgeous journey that we'd been on. And I think that because it then resonated so powerfully to so many people, that is the all of a Christmas Day gift, because what you want is you want your work to, to speak to people, and you also wanna feel as if everyone feels seen. And I think that that's what I'm really, proud of.

Whenever I have these wonderful interactions with people, they say that the doctor means this or someone else's doctor means that for me, that very often is having that wonderful moment where someone feels like that storyline really spoke to them. And I think I can't take any credit for it because I didn't write it, but I loved being a part of it.

#thirteenth doctor #13th doctor #13 #thirteen

56 notes · View notes

forpiratereasons · 8 months

Note

okay I'm with you the "forgiveness does not have to be earned" thing but I think you're missing what the show is telling us: Izzy becoming part of the crew happens before 2x4-5. Jim says "he's our dick" in the first episode! Fang is heartbroken when he's shot! The narrative suggests that he's advocated for their interests with Ed, and he saves them by stopping Ed from firing a cannon into the mast. This strikes me as more of a narrative about community/solidarity than one about unearned grace.

ah no worries i see where you have misunderstood me. i agree that there is, at the very least, solidarity between izzy and ed's crew in eps 1 - 3. of course, the "he's our dick" line comes because archie has asked why jim and frenchie even care about izzy who seems like kind of a dick - archie doesn't know him and doesn't really care about him and is kind of baffled that anybody does, so you know there's still quite a bit of distance between the crew generally and izzy. i think izzy feels responsible for them more than he feels like he's a part of them - "we cannot let this crew suffer any more for our mistakes." so his relationship to the crew is still very much dependent and tied up in his relationship with ed. this also plays into the crew's treatment of izzy versus ed - izzy is a lesser source of conflict to the crew specifically and they also didn't have as much of an emotional connection to him prior to the kraken era, so his position lacks the feeling of betrayal that ed's has. but yeah sure i agree that there's a level of solidarity there.

in ep four though, izzy is separate from the crew. physically, even - he's hanging out at the forepeak with the unicorn figurehead getting smashed. he's not included in ed's crews cleaning of the deck, and he's not included in stede's crews attempt to cheer up ed's crew. he hides in his room alone and when they knock on his door he shouts and tells them to fuck off and says they're harassing him.

this is why the note and leg scene is so good. it's the crew extending a hand to someone who hasn't earned it, and telling him he has a position among them - as a figurehead, no less. they see izzy and what he needs (a leg and a purpose) and they give it to him. that's about the crew deciding what kind of crew they'll be. he takes it. that's about izzy deciding to join them.

so when i say that the crew accepts izzy into their fold in eps four and five, it's different from what was going on in eps 1-3 for three reasons: 1) it's collective, from both ed and stede's crews, now united and from a position of safety, and 2) izzy's no longer viewed as being aligned with blackbeard by the crew and/or by himself, and 3) izzy is physically and emotionally separated from the crew at the start of ep four.

as far as community/solidarity over unearned grace - i guess i disagree that these are that kind of distinct as concepts? community always involves a level of unearned grace.

the point is that it's in extending grace to izzy that the crew forms their community - their acceptance of izzy, who has now separated himself from the crew, into the fold is what drives them to work together and become a cohesive unit - and establishes its values - if you need help, we will help you, if you need kindness, we will be kind, if you need purpose, we will give you purpose.

that's growth, baby!

#darcy answers #ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd s2 #ofmd s2 spoilers

122 notes · View notes

heinzpilsner · 4 months

Text

Hmm, while there is a grain of truth in the popular zutarian take on "Southern Raiders" ("Aang is preachy and Zuko cares for Katara's feelings"), reading this episode as an evidence that Zuko is a right partner for Katara still doesn't sit quite well with me (and I'm a zutara trash, mind you!)

The problem with this ep in general is what it mixes too many complex topics together, and it becomes difficult to entangle the mess.

Basically, Aang was wrong talking in terms of "revenge" and "forgiveness" and "Jet" and "Appa" instead of "Katara's mental health", but he was right in his general concern. Hatred is not some precious right a person needs to hold on. It's a destructive feeling which is better to manage adequately for the sake of a person's own well-being.

But wait, someone may ask, isn't that exactly what Zuko was offering? To help Katara manage her hatred?

Well, yes and no. Yes, he was trying. No, this wasn't a good way to achieve it.

What many people don't seem to understand is that you don't need to confront the actual physical person you hate to deal with your hatred. Quite the opposite, actually. It's the person's imprint within your psyche what keeps destroying you from inside, and facing the person himself doesn't dissipate this imprint magically. It will only make things worse (*the only exception is when the both sides are genuinely interested in fixing things between them). You need to work with the imprint, and it's much easier to achieve when an object of your hatred is physically distant. No matter what kind of person you are, or what your moral/religious beliefs are, this is universal.

(It's a complex psychological topic I'm not really an expert on, so I'm not gonna go into much detail here. I'll just say what therapists have their ways to work with it).

I suspect Aang intuitively realized the problem, but with him being a 12-year-old monk and not having the needed skills or categorical apparatus, "forgiveness" was the best approximation to a right solution he could think of (I have no way of proving it though, so take it with a grain of salt as well as this whole post in general, lol).

While some idealization (and a lot of preaching) on Aang's part may have taken place, he saw "Katara's inner darkness" for what it was - a self-destructive tendency. She may think confronting Yon Rha is what she needs (although before Zuko introduced the idea, she didn't even think of the possibility), but it wouldn't be good for her. Sometimes, your loved ones are not right. Sometimes, they're about to hurt themselves. And it's not disrespectful to try and dissuade them from this (You'd think post-redemption Zuko of all people would agree with the sentiment).

Now, Zuko. While it's not his fault by any means I'm looking at you royal family, the way he dealt with the problem wasn't exactly the healthiest (or most selfless, as some people insist). He meant well, but offered a wrong method, and held on this specific method because it was something he personally could help Katara with. "It's the same as doing nothing!" - these are the words that kinda gave him away. I suspect it's not Katara's revenge or justice he was so passionate about, but his own chance of action. He was desperate for it. He didn't even stop to listen to her brother's and best friend's perspective, because it was interfering with his opportunity to be helpful, to be on the same side as Katara. In general, when your partner is too eager to side with you against your loving family, it's not a good sign, even when the family isn't perfect. (Well, okay, Aang's spectacularly poor choice of words had something to do with it as well. And where were you, Sokka-with-the-beard, when you were most needed?)

No one really offered a better practical solution to Katara's problem than Zuko though, that's the sad truth. And to be fair, after Katara had agreed to his plan enthusiastically, where was no better option for him than to go with it, I guess.

But... The bar was so low that offering nothing in the first place would be a better solution than this, honestly. Because no matter what the actual script of the episode says, I don't think this "life-changing field trip" would realistically do much good for Katara and result in her forgiveness. I think it would only hurt her more and would add to her list of irrational reasons to hate Zuko.

It may hurt, but as Katara herself made clear, there was nothing Zuko really could do at this point to help her or earn her forgiveness. It was something out of his control. He had to accept this and keep trying to do the right thing, simple as that.

I'm still a zutara trash, but not thanks to their interaction in this episode, I have to conclude.

(I guess what I'm really saying is that all those kids just need their therapy, lol)

Still typing on my phone and ignoring tumblr notifications. I wonder If anyone reads this at all lol

#atla #zuko #zutara #aang #katara

56 notes · View notes

seirei-bh · 28 days

Text

MCL NG ep 3 - my opinion on Jason and Amanda's routes and differences between the park and house choices

Since I'm playing on my two main accounts, one for Jason and one for Amanda, I had the opportunity to play episode 3 with very different choices. Depending on who you go to the mall with, depending on your lov level with Jason and depending on where you celebrate the party on chapter is quite different, and I love that! It makes the re-plays more interesting and varied. Thanks for that Beemov! I love episodes like this!

If anyone is curious, I will tell here the differences between both options that I played (*SPOILERS)

With my sucrette Lily, in Jason's route, I went with Devon to the mall and he asked me what kinds of stores I liked the most, and when I meet Jason the scene develops in a quite intense way, especially if you choose the special scene. Not only there is a lot of chemistry between them with a show of competition and fun rivalry, but Jason even advices you, and offers you the possibility of working for him in Goldreamz! Sucrette rejects him and tells him that she will show him how good she is at her job in Devemenentiel as a rival (that's my girl!), and both toast the future failure of the other company. I LOVED sm their interaction, I wished it was longer, and it was also intense and hilarious to have that scene with Jason right in front of my own boss, lmao Jason, you shameless, what are you doing flirting with the competition in front of you! smirk

Then the party was at Sucrette's house, Elenda, Devon and Roy came, the others didn't and Amanda seems very upset by your decision. They meet Taki, and there's a pretty entertaining and fun scene of the three of them playing truth and dare trivia. They ask Elenda if she hates anyone and she answers that only a girl from high school who bullied her. Then they ask Devon what his first time was like, Devon is not very specific, but Roy tells you that he knows details about that because Devon told him when they were in high school XD They ask sucrette what she would do if she were invisible, my Lily answered that she would get revenge on her ex-boyfriend by making him believe that there was a poltergeist in his house (the horrified expressions of Elenda, Devon and Roy during that scene are pure gold XD) And then you can choose between a scene with Roy's kiss or one with Devon's sexy massage. I chose Devon and he gave me a massage without heasitation, but if you choose Roy he tells you that he can't kiss you on the lips because he's dating Brune.

I laughed a lot at the comments of the three characters at dinner at home. Also, Elenda was a sweetheart and I'm looking forward to having more scenes with her and becoming besties in future chapters.

Now, on Amanda's route, my other Sucrette decided to go with her to the mall. They both have a scene that I really enjoyed, looking at store windows and talking about clothes and picnic baskets. It was very cute!! My encounter with Jason here was VERY different, because on this account I've a low lovometer with him, so the conversation was shorter and drier, without any job proposition and you don't feel as much competitive tension, just contempt by his part, and then Amanda insulted him quite a bit, saying that Jason is a bitter and a loser, Amanda has no mercy XD Devon was more peaceful here. The date was in the park and Amanda's reaction to you changes a lot. Here she's very sweet and friendly. Devon shows up, but then has to leave, Brune is the first to show up and brings Spanish tapas (as a Spanish person I felt at home at this moment, haha), Thomas also shows up with his motorbike!! :D He looked gorgeous in a helmet and leather jacket omg. The next scene is very nice and calm, with everyone sharing food and chatting. Then you can choose between Amanda and Thomas, if you choose Amanda, you try the cake she brought, then you go for a walk with her and ride the seesaw in the park. The special scene is very cute and fun <3 and you can see Amanda beautiful with her hair down! And then you both talk about your respective childhoods.

In conclusion, both options are worth it, the key is which type of party you like best and which characters you prefer to increase your lovometer with.

Extra curiosities: -Devon's old high school love was a girl named Lou. -Brune is half Spanish, and she really likes motorcycles, just like Thomas. -Amanda seems to have (or had) a good relationship with her father. -Elenda was the first employee to work at Devementiel, along with Devon and Roy when they founded the company. She considers herself the "fairy godmother" of the company! -Amanda loves to cook, while Thomas doesn't like it too much. -In truth and dare, your sucrette can answer between three options for what he would do while invisible, the other two being that I did not mention: rob a bank or be an investigative journalist. I chose to annoy her ex-boyfriend, and if you say that, Elenda comments a bit worried and sad that that man must have been very bad to you, and Roy makes a joke about how he would never dare make you angry XD

#my candy love #my candy love new gen #mcl #mclng #jason mendal #amanda de lavienne

34 notes · View notes

dangermousie · 6 months

Text

I am living for the gender reversal trope where she's the perfect killing machine who doesn't know normalcy or feeling and considers emotions a burned out nuisance and he's the functional one who actually values relationships. And the thing is she has decided he's breedable (sorry, will never be over that! :P) because he's competent and smart and good at killing but emotionally she is being drawn, without even realizing it, because he combines competency with still keeping a soul. If he was just a weak person she'd just assume he's incompetent or deluded. But he's clearly good at what he does and can kill quite competently and defeat his enemies quite competently. And yet - he treats his companions as friends and they do the same and she is fascinated by it the way an alien would. She knows she's lacking and she is trying to figure how to remedy, how to stop being a machine.

I mean, he tells his men they can laugh at him but to treat her with respect and something in her softens (especially since it's clear he didn't say it to impress her.) She has always been treated with disdain or fear and has always been an implement of seduction or murder. But he treats her as a person.

It's like that conversation she has with the princess, where she says she and he are the same and both left any ability to feel behind and that if princess really disobeyed, he'd kill her, same as FL could. She ends that convo on this piece of advice:

But the thing is, the narrative is clearly set up to show she's wrong. Not just in terms of ML - he may be ruthless and smart but he still hasn't lost his ability to feel, because his life has been so much more normal than hers, but also to allow her to trust others at some point. The English title, "A Journey to Love" really is apt for her, isn't it? It's her going from being a perfect instrument to being able to feel. This reminds me a little of Romance of Red Dust with Shu Qi and Wallace Huo. The latter is a lot darker and grittier and bloodier because it was made a long time ago before restrictions but the tale of a tired lady assassin who is drawn to something she can actually care for is similar.

I mean, look at this convo - she does not talk as a flesh and blood human who wants a baby to love or even desires ML - it's once again an alien trying to understand how humans interact and why.

God, I love him. It's an odd thing to say about a character who calmly stabbed a man in the neck with a pin within ten minutes of us meeting him but he is so damn decent.

This cracked me up - talk about gender reversals...

But the thing that I really loved about this conversation is that he turned her down while letting her know he finds her desirable and giving her his true reasons as well - which is it's not safe for people with their personalities and jobs to be entangled. This was pretty amazing.

I love that she genuinely asks him about how he's friends with the men under his command because she realizes her lack (she said empress called her a sword and she wants to change because she always feels a distance even with her, but she doesn't know how) and that she doesn't want to be distant from her own child. It's actually a huge thing that she realizes that there is something missing and she wants to remedy it. I don't think the woman at the opening of ep 1 would have thought so.

(I am WILD for the gender reversal of him being the softer one to make the perfect murder machine understand and develop emotions!!!)

But this was my favorite part, because isn't this the crux - she should think for herself; does she even want children, does she even know why the empress wanted her to have one? If it's just another order she's carrying blindly what is the point?

It makes sense for a man with his line of work, but he actually thinks things through and I love it. There is that scene where he explains why he doesn't want to be with her and it's so logical - she's the perfect assassin but she has a bloody life and he just wants to retire so what future is there (any time a character talks about a last mission I freak out btw, but also it's telling he's thinking relationship when all she asked for is ONS. You developed feelings, spy boy!)

But also, there is this bit. Where he says he feels pity and it's very insightful but it reads much more as sympathy and understanding than pity.

I love that he knows her true self - assassin, sex spy etc and his main reaction "but she's never had free will, it must have been hell."

God, I love this drama!

#cdrama #liu shi shi #liu yuning #a journey to love

61 notes · View notes

silviakundera · 6 months

Note

I'm gonna need kunning palace to give me a lot of the main otp in the last episodes, we have 8 left (this is why I don't f*ck with this 40 ep rule because now that we're getting the main relationship the show is over and everything that came before was also necessary). I'm gonna need to see how deep JXN's love for him becomes, I know people are obsessed with dedicated ML but I enjoy otps where it's more equal and I love seeing a female lead protect and support her otp the way he does her, even if it takes a while like in ming lan she had completely reasonable issues and took a while to warm up to him but when she did she was 1000% in and showed just how much she loved him, I personally don't appreciate unbalanced relationships where it's just one party sacrificing and being a lot more dedicated no matter the genders.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS WARNING MAJOR SPOILERS

Hard to say, depends on how close they stay to the book. They've been quite faithful to the novel so far but at the point we are now is where I feel fairly confident that we're gonna diverge. Because in the novel the otp gets VERY dark before they get better. There's a reason why Xie Wei has been holding himself back & restraining his emotions. He's a whole mess of anxiety & PTSD and he has to work through his traumas. Both these characters have been a burningdog.gif meme and saying everything is just fiiiiiiiine but in the novel when they finally get alone on center stage together things get REAL because it's masks off. And underneath they are a whole mess.

imo the key to this pairing, and why we don't get a love confession from her until the very end, is what she thinks when she finally publically claims him (fittingly, she doesn't claim the lauded scholar but the unhinged figure that the public now finds monstrous):

Shen Zhiyi asked: "Ning Ning, do you know what kind of person he is?”

Jiang Xuening said, "I know."

This person forced her to kill in his previous life; even in this life, he still thought about taking her to die with him. He is definitely not a good person. How could she not know?

It can even be said that she knows better than anyone else. Because she has seen his truest and craziest side.

Shen Zhiyi asked again: "Do you like him?"

Jiang Xuening thought for a while and said, "I like him."

At this moment, Xie Wei's palm trembled slightly, but there seemed to be thousands of lights and shadows passing by in his mind, and finally there was nothing left, just staring at her blankly.

Yan Lin stood too far away, no one could see his blurred expression clearly.

Shen Zhiyi also didn't speak for a long time.

She didn't fully agree, she was afraid that her Ning Ning would be sad because of the wrong choice, but she couldn't stop her, and all her worries finally turned into one sentence: "Then you really know what you are doing now?"

Jiang Xuening smiled at her: "I understand."

And not only know what to do now, but also what to do in the future.

So calmly: "I want to marry him."

"..."

That night, he asked her once, but she didn't answer, so he never dared to ask again.

But now she says she wants to marry him. Xie Wei suddenly couldn't tell whether this was real or a dream: didn't she want to leave him and go find Zhang Zhe?

Jiang Xuening also saw that he didn't comprehend. "You are really, extremely smart, but you just don't like people."

Talking about love, this person is stupid to death.

I am too afraid of losing what I have, and I seem to think that what I have will eventually be lost, so I am paranoid, extreme, and I refuse to show weakness to others and say all those words.

Jiang Xuening felt that this person was too similar to her previous self.

There are some things that I don't understand, so I bash my head against it.

She blinked, with tears in her eyes, but took his hand, tiptoed to kiss his cool thin lips."

Part of the reason she feels so deeply for him is their deep down similarity, but the novel is Jiang Xuening's journey to love & accept herself, letting go of the pain & shame from the past. She doesn't reach this point until the end, where she recognizes and accepts her own darkness and thus his, and also believes it doesn't need to define their future. Everyone now thinks she is the saint and he's the sinner but she knows they are both.

The novel epilogue shows they are finding a peaceful life together, the urge to fight and claw at life and each other has finally passed. But though in the last 30% of the novel we get tons of couple-time, all the gestures of devotion are coming from him. She's not ready. I frankly have no idea how much the drama will change the last 30%, and it won't land the same cause I'm sure they have to tone down how scary the ML gets...but regardless I do think we won't get a confession until the last act.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

#story of kunning palace #cdrama #spoilers #meta #guuuuurl extreme doesnt even cover it 😂😭#why are u guys like this #tbh anon i dont think this will be to your taste #but we are almost there so just hang with us 😘

54 notes · View notes

eriexplosion · 1 month

Note

I never let myself really believe they'd bring Tech back (because Occam's razor, or whatever). And I'm so used to weird/bad writing choices from other works that I'm mostly able to shrug my shoulders and go "aw rats, disappointment again :\" about TBB's ending.

... But I still feel kinda hollowed-out, post-finale. I'm not autistic (I think), but my sibling is, so it meant something to my old withered heart that a Star Wars show about family would have a confirmedly-ND character among their cast (though, somewhat tangentially, I agree with your post about all of the Bad Batch being arguably ND-coded). I was delighted that he was well-written, and that he'd eclipsed the stock "smart guy" trope he'd started out as in TCW.

And, I dunno. I feel like a sucker, having hoped for a brief moment that the writers wouldn't throw all that away. And for what? People on reddit were saying for months on end that "his sacrifice is meaningful and shouldn't be wasted", but I can't agree. I think it would've been more meaningful had he lived.

I feel disappointed with the trajectory the back half of S3 took, and I don't think that's unreasonable. Even beyond the disappointment of "dang, they really did that?", S3 after the first handful of eps (imo) felt kind of... rushed? Underexplored? Like there should've been a season 4 (for pacing/development's sake) and various changes to the plot, but there weren't.

Told myself several years ago that I'd reserve judgment for the writing until the series was over and done with. And now that it's all just wrapped up, I suppose I'm stewing with my thoughts, a little. The character arcs all feel like they fell short of their potential payoff, to me -- and maybe I'll change my mind in a few months, but right now? Eh.

Crosshair's got PTSD/trauma that makes his hand shake? Cut off the hand. Omega's got potential force sensitivity/a decision to make concerning what to do going forward? Who cares about that. Tech's getting a decent (and suspicious, in hindsight) amount of character development? Better kill him off so the audience really feels the sting. Cid, Phee, CX-2, Echo, Scorch? Who cares about them; they can show up when their skills are needed and fuck off without halfway-decent closure when they aren't. The familial/sibling themes that were open to being explored? Eh; let's focus predominantly on this one father-child bond. Omega doesn't even need to say goodbye to Crosshair and Wrecker, lol. Foreshadowing and setup? What foreshadowing and setup.

... I'm realizing that I'm actually Quite disappointed lmao. In a lackluster "I don't know what I expected" kind of way. Time to read so many fix-its

There's just a lot that was set up that never came to fruition and it's frustrating when the show has been so good up until that point. And the thing is that Tech being CX-2 would have resolved at least some of it! The CX-2 plot obviously but also, Crosshair's guilt and trauma being helped by being able to fix at least one of his mistakes? Omega's guilt over putting her family in danger being relieved because she finally has them all back?

It didn't even need to be fleshed out, I wouldn't have cared. The only thing I wanted this whole show was the family to be together and complete. And not only did we not get Tech back but yeah Echo was basically just not counted as part of that and Phee was ignored in the end.

This season feels like it needed another editing pass to work as a whole, even though I'd liked everything up to the finale it didn't really end up coming together for me. I'd even have accepted Tech being gone if they had put actual mourning in the first half, instead of stringing it along with little mentions and the CX-2 stuff. I'd be frustrated and mad, but at least it would have felt like they respected him as a character.

Really the only good things I have to say is I think Nala Se blowing up the databanks was a fantastic end to her character that didn't really redeem everything she's done but did bring her to an interesting stopping point. And I am glad everyone else made it out alive. I'm glad that Crosshair especially did after everything he's been through, he's still my boy after all this time even if the Tech stuff has overshadowed a lot of his growth in my head.

#the bad batch #the bad batch spoilers #tbb spoilers #fandom salt #If anyone wants me to add a different tag to block these out with let me know #I know that it's a lot of feelings all over the place and I don't want to bother anyone who did enjoy the finale

33 notes · View notes

mindmeltonabun-blog · 6 months

Text

My Demon: Theories and Analysis for Eps 7-8

Hello Readers!

The episodes this week were top-tier! Some quick thoughts I had about this week's eps: Kwang Chul gave a whole new meaning to the phrase, “step on me”. I totally wasn’t expecting this drama to have any blood or gore, but here we are. Did they have to make Gu Won’s stabbing so violent and gruesome?!! Blood was spurting out everywhere! It seriously made me want to vomit.

Other thoughts I had were that all of Madam Ju’s family members should be in prison or at least a mental institution because they're all so freaking crazy. The only good thing about these episodes was that Do Hee and Gu Won finally admitted their true feelings to each other.

I'll try to keep this post as short as possible, but you know me, I still end up writing a shit ton. Anyway, let's take a deeper dive into some of the many mysteries in "My Demon". Time to put on our thinking caps to analyze and theorize!

Demons' Limitations

In Ep 7, we were finally given more information about demons. Specifically, the writer provided us with information about demons' limitations which are quite similar to the limitations of the genie from Aladdin.

For those who don’t remember the rules of Aladdin's Genie, here they are:

1. Can’t kill anyone 2. Can’t make people fall in love 3. Can’t bring anyone back from the dead

There are some minor differences between the two sets of rules. For instance, instead of the rule that prohibits you from making people fall in love, there are rules against interfering with God's work and preventing natural disasters.

I believe the writer is presenting these rules to suggest that Gu Won will eventually break one of these rules to save Do Hee's life (see the section "What's Best for You is What's Best for Me" for more). Something interesting to note is that Netflix didn't translate the whole page in this scene. There is a part of the text that says, "Killing the living, saving the dead, etc are part of God's domain". This means God is allowed to kill the living, bring back the dead, prevent natural disasters, etc. Basically, God can do all the things demons can't. Seeing this translation also made me realize what God meant when she said "turf" in Ep. 7. I'll further elaborate in the section titled, "God/Lady".

Demons vs Guardians

I'm curious about the differences between demons and guardians. When a demon becomes a guardian, do they acquire a new set of powers? Or does becoming a guardian simply mean they return to being human without additional abilities? Based on the information presented so far, it appears that for a demon to transition into a guardian, they must learn to love and be loved in return. Achieving these milestones would essentially enable them to regain their soul and humanity. It would be cool though if, upon becoming a guardian, demons retained their powers but without an immortal lifespan, similar to Lee Yeon from Tale of the Nine-Tailed!

What Landed Gu Won in Hell? Love

Being a demon is comparable to the life of a genie. In both cases, the individuals are bound to fulfill the desires of others. However, for demons, this servitude isn't a mere obligation--it's a necessity for their continued existence. Unlike genies, demons must grant wishes to sustain their own lives. When I think about it, the life of a demon is quite sad because they have to spend their entire existence granting others' wishes without ever having an opportunity for their own wishes to be fulfilled. This got me thinking about what exactly was Gu Won's greatest desire or wish. Side note, y'all should check out the show Lucifer if you like mystery, devil and human romance, family drama, etc.

Throughout the show, we have witnessed that our deepest wishes and desires, can ironically, lead to our demise, sending us straight to Hell, where we are tormented by these very wishes. Take for example, Park Bok Gyu's wish to never go hungry. After he died, he was tortured by creatures with fish heads. Conversely, the mob boss, who sought wealth and power, faces a fate in Hell that, according to Gu Won, would be even more severe. These examples show us the larger the wish, the steeper the cost--meaning that if your wish is significantly large, your soul could end up in far worse places than Hell. But what's worse than even the deepest levels of Hell? Becoming a demon. Unlike in Hell, where you could finish your punishment more quickly and be reincarnated, being turned into a demon means becoming a slave for all of eternity. All hope isn't lost though because as I mentioned earlier, if you learn to love and be loved returned, you can be free of your demon existence.

I'll now provide you with what I think Gu Won's wishes were and the circumstances surrounding his transformation into a demon! Let me just say that Gu Won's wishes were astronomical. They weren't common wishes like wealth or power which would be easily granted by demons. They were wishes only God could grant.

(DISCLAIMER: DO NOT PLAGIARIZE MY THEORIES, I BETTER NOT BE SEEING MY THEORIES ON ANY SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM WITHOUT CREDIT).

So, Do Hee and Gu Won were in love, but their societal positions created significant barriers. Being a kisaeng and a nobleman, they faced the harsh reality their love could not flourish in that lifetime. Now, Do Hee was forced to work as a kisaeng to provide for her family.

Due to Do Hee's status as a kisaeng, she was either sold off to someone else or, in an alternative scenario, their forbidden love led to her tragic death (who knows, maybe Jin Star's past self killed Do Hee in a fit of jealousy; maybe they were sisters?). In either situation, Gu Won would've felt a profound sense of insignificance and weakness, unable to protect Do Hee from these tragic fates. Like he must've really hated himself.

In his pit of despair, Gu Won wished he could've saved Do Hee from her enslaved position as a kisaeng or untimely death, protected her, and married her one day. Now, those are some big wishes, and remember what I said? The bigger the wish, the larger the cost. In a twist of fate, God/Lady heard Gu Won's fervent wishes and offered Gu Won a deal. God would fulfill all of Gu Won's wishes if he agreed to work as a demon.

Sometime after this, Do Hee found out Gu Won became a demon because of her and felt immense guilt. Do Hee who was a devout Christian, prayed to God wishing Gu Won would be spared from suffering such an existence as a demon. Now, God mostly fulfilled this request by erasing Gu Won's human memories (I'm going with the Grim Reaper/oblivion tea theme here haha). Since Gu Won's inability to protect Do Hee tortured him deeply, the act of forgetting lessened his emotional pain. I say mostly because God wasn't quite done with fulfilling this request.

Just imagine being God, you would have to shuffle so many things around to fulfill both Do Hee and Gu Won's wishes. Make Do Hee rich so she's not working in a slave position...check...create a situation where the two would meet (i.e matchmaker got the hotel name wrong)...check...create a situation where the two would have to depend on each other (i.e shut off Gu Won's power on the road)...check..... make them get married..check and check.....free Gu Won from his existence as a demon...ongoing. IT'S A LOT Y'ALL.

How do you save Gu Won from a sad existence as a demon and spontaneous combustion? You turn him back into a human by introducing him to the very girl who would be capable of bringing out his humanity through her love. She's the water that extinguishes the Hellfire that is about to consume him. Gu Won freed Do Hee from being an enslaved kisaeng in the past and now she's freeing him from the shackles of his enslaved existence as a demon.

Gu Won and Do Hee are each other's salvation. One cannot survive without the other. If one is killed, the other one will be too. For example, if Do Hee dies, Gu Won would either be stuck as a demon for all of eternity or combust. And if Gu Won dies, it would leave Do Hee unprotected and she would probably get killed. It's like Do Hee said, they share the same fate and are in the same boat.

What’s Best for You is What’s Best for Me...Danger on the Horizon!

On the surface, the quote "What's best for you is what's best for me", said by Madam Ju and echoed by Gu Won may seem sweet, but upon deeper reflection, it reveals a bitter truth: what's best for you is not always what's best for me.

A brief digression: I have a suspicion that Gu Won might be a long-lost ancestor of the Ju family. Why would the writer intentionally give Gu Won similar personality traits as Madam Ju or have him repeat things she said if not to suggest there was a possible familial connection? While shared traits don't always indicate a blood relation, the repetition of the same phrases is highly suspicious. I guess one reason the writer did this was to convey that even though Madam Ju was gone, Do Hee would still have someone similar by her side. However, they could've accomplished this without having Gu Won be the male version of Madam Ju.

Another explanation for why Gu Won and Madam Ju say the same phrases could be that they crossed paths in the past. Maybe Madam Ju heard Gu Won say it or vice versa. Who knows. It would be sweet though if Gu Won were a long-lost Ju family member because then Do Hee would be related to Madam Ju through her marriage to him.

Ok, sorry for the brief tangent, it's my ADHD brain haha. Now, let's get back to discussing how what's best for you is not always what's best for me. Taking the example of the mother and her sick daughter, from the mother's perspective, signing away her soul to ensure her daughter's health might seem like the best thing to do for her daughter. Yet, it wouldn't be truly best for the mother as she would be damned to Hell. Similarly, from the daughter's POV, what's technically best for her (i.e not being sick anymore), wouldn't actually be the best, as she would be fraught with guilt knowing her mother suffered because of her.

When it comes to Do Hee and Gu Won, what's best for Do Hee is to continue investigating the deaths of her parents and Madam Ju. However, this poses a significant risk to Gu Won, who is almost fully human now and no longer invincible.

This leads me to my next point. Gu Won would stop at nothing to ensure Do Hee's happiness. He's well aware that for Do Hee to continue her investigations, she would need to remain alive and safe. For that to happen, he would need to have his powers fully working so he could protect her. What this means is that Gu Won will become a full demon again. I believe this is about to happen soon because, in Ep 8, we see God/Lady looking at the moon which is now a "waxing gibbous". If you recall from Ep 2, Park Bok Gyu hypothesized that they would have to wait until the next full moon to attempt transferring the tattoo back to Gu Won so he could be a demon again. And well, the next phase after a waxing gibbous is a full moon.

I think Gu Won isn't going to tell Do Hee about his decision to become a demon though. He's going to take Do Hee to the beach and make her think it's a romantic outing and she's not going to suspect anything because they’re in a relationship now. Then bam into the water they go! The betrayal she'll feel after Gu Won does this will be astronomical. It goes back to Madam Ju's quote about having someone on your side who, if they stabbed you in the back, you would understand. Even if Do Hee understands why Gu Won did this, it still wouldn't change the fact it would still hurt like Hell.

Would Gu Won doing this be really what's best for Do Hee? Or the both of them? Yes and no. While it would keep Do Hee alive and safe, she would be riddled with guilt knowing Gu Won sacrificed his soul and humanity to ensure she was protected. At the same time, Gu Won would become immortal again and able to protect Do Hee better, but he would no longer be able to feel love for her since demons are devoided of human emotions. Gu Won would simply view her as someone he just needs to protect to keep his end of the bargain.

Following this, I think there will be a situation where either Kwang Chul or Abraxas gets ahold of Do Hee and I think this is where Gu Won’s latest dream will come into play. To save Do Hee, Gu Won will have to kill whoever, and this will force him to break the rule that states demons can't kill. Subsequently, he'll spontaneously combust. Well, that's going to suck. Had Gu Won remained human, he could've killed whoever and not spontaneously combust. However, since he's a demon again, those consequences would apply. Don't worry y'all, I feel like Do Hee is going to wish or pray to God/Lady that she'll take pity on them and bring Gu Won back to life lol.

Abraxas..It's Still Seok Hoon

So earlier this week, I posted on Twitter how I now thought Abraxas was Seok Min or Do Gyeong based on the pillows. However, after thinking through some more things, I'm going back to saying Abraxas is Seok Hoon. That's my final answer.

Seok Hoon is a trickster/magician! He makes things "disappear" including money and people. That's why Madam Ju said in Ep 4, "You killed someone on top of all your dirty tricks?". He even suggested Do Hee let his department buy shares of her company to offset their losses which is a form of trickery since it would appear Do Hee was engaging in stock manipulation or insider trading.

The biggest trick Seok Hoon is attempting to pull on Do Hee is to make her believe he's really on her side and that he's her real guardian. Going back to Madam Ju's quote about having someone on your side means you would gladly let them stab you in the back and understand. When you trust someone completely, it means you would let them stab you in the back because at the end of the day you know they have your best interest at heart so you would understand.

Throughout this show, the writer has made it a point to emphasize how Seok Hoon is the only one on Do Hee's side. Here's the thing though, Do Hee doesn't completely trust Seok Hoon as evidenced by how she doesn't tell him everything. The same goes for Gu Won, but he's not a suspect in the death of Madam Ju.

Between the two men in the show, who do you think is the real demon and guardian? Btw, Abraxas is sometimes seen as a demon in mythology. For me, the real demon is Seok Hoon. Even though Gu Won projects an image that he's a big bad demon, he's actually an angel on the inside. In contrast, Seok Hoon projects an angelic persona, but he's really a devil on the inside. Gu Won is the real guardian who's trying to protect Do-Hee while Seok Hoon is the real demon who's trying to kill her.

One major question I had from earlier episodes was how Abraxas/Seok Hoon knew the identity of Gu Won was the Director of Sunwol Foundation before the wedding news articles came out that said as much? Furthermore, how did Seok Hoon know the Wild Dogs were looking for him? If you remember, the Wild Dogs only found out Gu Won was the Director of Sunwol and Do Hee's bodyguard after Kwang Chul passed the note revealing as much. There was no explanation of just how exactly Seok Hoon and Kwang Chul found out Gu Won was the director of Sunwol and that the Wild Dogs were looking for him. I looked through earlier eps to see if there was ever an instance where Do Hee told Seok Hoon that Gu Won was the Director of Sunwol, but there wasn't. I think Seok Hoon probably found out this bit of info from Secretary Shin. She probably mentioned it in passing to Seok Hoon because she thought Seok Hoon was Do Hee's ally.

I'm sure many of you are probably wondering how Seok Hoon can be Abraxas when we see Abraxas chilling at Seok Min's home. Well, the thing is, we haven't seen Seok Hoon's place for a reason--he doesn't have one. Due to his "hippie" lifestyle, he engages in communal living, meaning he lives with relatives. More specifically, he resides at Seok Min's home, and that's why we see him as Abraxas there. There's a strong possibility that he and Seok Min are probably working together too. Additionally, I'm ruling out Do Gyeong as being Abraxas because I think he's trying to help warn Do Hee in his own creepy way. When it comes to the pill switching of Madam Ju's medications, I suspect Se-ra may have some involvement. According to the info on SBS, Se-ra is the daughter of a leading pharma company. As someone with a background in pharma, I was like wait a minute. While I'm not sure about the rules and regulations in South Korea, in the US, diclofenac is a prescription medication. I'm just going to guess it's the same in SK. This led me to think that maybe Se-ra provided the diclofenac to Seok Hoon.

In Ep 7, Abraxas/Seok Hoon informed Kwang Chul that Gu Won was only a demon when he was around Do Hee. This revelation led the duo to believe Gu Won's access to his powers was somehow linked to his proximity to Do Hee (they just didn't know how close). To test this hypothesis, they decided to separate the two lovers so that they could eliminate Gu Won. When this plan failed, they went back to the drawing board. At this point, the duo remained unaware of the tattoo and its connection to Do Hee and Gu Won's powers because there was nothing in the book about the tattoo transferring or how to get it back. I wouldn't be surprised if the book didn't even say how the tattoo was connected to demon powers.

It was only after Seok Hoon saw Do Hee place Gu Won's hand on her wrist with the tattoo that he realized the connection between the tattoo and Gu Won's demon powers. This is going to be important further down the line.

After realizing this, Seok Hoon messaged Kwang Chul, saying, "There's something wrong with his powers." Although not explicitly shown on screen, I believe Seok Hoon knew precisely what was wrong with Gu Won's powers. He deduced Gu Won was becoming human through Do Hee's love. This is why Seok Hoon chose to tell Gu Won he was the reason why Do Hee was giving up the Chairwoman position and investigation of Madam Ju's death. Seok Hoon strategically revealed this information to Gu Won with the intention it would encourage him to pursue a relationship with Do Hee, ultimately leading to Gu Won becoming fully human through her love. If Gu Won were fully human, he wouldn't have the powers to protect Do Hee, making them both sitting ducks for slaughter.

Seok Hoon's little plan is going to backfire, though, for two main reasons: He doesn't know one can get the tattoo back and he doesn't understand the power of love. Remember, the book doesn't tell us how one gets the tattoo back. Bok Gyu and Gu Won are the only ones who know this bit of information because they figured out the conditions (i.e full moon and ocean) had to be the same as the night the tattoo was initially transferred. Furthermore, Seok Hoon doesn't know the lengths Gu Won would go to protect Do Hee. He doesn't understand that Gu Won would essentially sell his soul and humanity to protect Do Hee (Gu Won's already done it once before in past), meaning he would become a demon again to protect Do Hee.

God/Lady

I don't know about y'all, but I'm quite frankly done with God in disguise figures in fantasy dramas. It's like in every single fantasy drama, there's always a God in disguise character that gives you hints of what will happen in the form of riddles, leaving many scratching their heads to figure out what they mean. We have seen these types of characters in Goblin, Tale of the Nine-Tailed, King Eternal Monarch, Doom at Your Service, Alchemy of Souls, etc. The list is endless.

The latest God in disguise is Lady... who goes around saving "recyclables", more like saving people. Anyway, I've seen many questioning if she’s really God. Y’all if she’s wearing a hat that spells out G-O-D in bold letters and she’s always asking money for Jesus Corporation, what does that tell you??? I don’t know how much clearer it can be that she is God. Instead of questioning whether she is God or not, maybe it would be a better use of our time if we spend it trying to decipher what she says instead.

Let's get to dissecting the many things God has said. Now, I've already gone over most of the things she said from Ep 1-6 either in the previous post or on my Twitter act so I won't really discuss more here. However, the are a couple things I forgot to mention in my last post though. Here they are:

The roulette wheel has 18 odd and 18 even numbers (36 numbers total). (18) 1+8=9 and (36) 3+6=9 all correspond to Gu (9) Won. The sum of all the numbers (0-36) on the roulette wheel is "666" which I already said in the previous post is the number of the beast/devil and corresponds to Gu Won (the combination to his safe is 666). When you flip “666” it’s “999” which is an angel number that symbolizes completion and new beginnings.

In "Divine Comedy", there are 9 realms of Hell + 1 with Lucifer = 10. The same pattern is present in Purgatory and Heaven. Gu Won's soul was in Hell and now it's in the purgatory on its way towards Heaven. Demon-> Guardian. Hell-> Heaven

On a broader level, if 1= new beginning and 0= end, our couple who's represented by the number 10 symbolizes they are each other's end and beginning. They complete each other.

The bill God is holding when she's saying, "I'm betting all my money on the odd numbers", is a 1000 bill. 1000 or "cheon" means "heaven". That scene could be intrepreted as God or the heavens are betting everything on our couple to win. Also, Madam Ju's first name is Cheon which probably means she went to heaven.

The overall conclusion I'm drawing from what God said about odd numbers from eps 1-6 is that our couple will have a happy ending after they go through some shit haha.

Moving onto what God said in Eps 7-8! When Gu Won called God/Lady, "Arabica woman", my mind lit up! Does anyone see the connection? Arabica...Abraxas. Abraxas is 7 letters and Arabica is 7 letters. In some belief systems, Abraxas was viewed as God. So, Gu Won calling her "Arabica woman" could be another hint she's God. The word "Arabica" also sounds very similar to "Abracadabra" which is related to Abraxas. Just so we’re clear, I’m not implying God/Lady is the Abraxas who’s trying to kill Gu Won and Do Hee. Seok Hoon is a wannabe Abraxas while God/Lady is the real Abraxas haha.

I also found it hilarious that God was constantly begging for donations for Jesus Corporation. It made me think about that time Madam Ju said she bribed God through donations after Do Hee said liars can't go to Heaven. Guess Madam Ju bribed God enough to earn a spot in Heaven.

When God says she knows this place like the back of her hand, she doesn't mean the train station, she means the whole world...because you know, God is omnipresent. God then tells them, they've intruded on her "turf" which means they've intruded on her domain.

What's her domain? Matters of life, death, natural disasters, fate, making people fall in love, etc. This was why Gu Won's powers would fail at the most random times or rather not-so-random times. God already has a grand plan for these two and she's keeping up her end of the bargain of the contract she made with them in the past (refer to "What Landed Gu Won in Hell? Love" section). However, these two would interrupt her work so she would shut off Gu Won's powers so that they follow the predetermined path she has planned for them.

Gu Won's power failed in Ep 1 because God was creating a situation where they would depend on each other, get to know each other, fall in love, etc. In the latest power failure, God turned off Gu Won's powers to prevent them from escaping so they could kiss each other. Consider this scenario: If God hadn't prevented them from escaping, what would've happened? They wouldn't have kissed. That kiss set the wheels in motion for the romance between Gu Won and Do Hee. God was just giving them a nudge in the right direction.

The next time Gu Won experienced another power failure was later in Ep 7 when he and Do Hee were attempting to leave Sunwol Foundation. Once again, we should question why God didn't want them to leave at that particular moment. Remember, because Gu Won and Do Hee were unable to leave precisely at that time, they encountered the Wild Dogs, who then proceeded to pledged their allegiance to Gu Won. Based on Ep 9 preview, it appears the Wild Dogs will play a crucial role in finding Kwang Chul.

As Gu Won and Do Hee were leaving, we saw God telling them, "What flickers would eventually go out sooner or later". Many interpreted this scene as God saying Gu Won's powers would eventually go out. Well, duh. I interpreted this scene a bit differently because I noticed God was looking at the clock that was flickering and pointing at 1.

What does 1 symbolize in numerology? New beginning. My interpretation was that she was saying Gu Won's life as a demon along with his powers was coming to an end and that he was about to begin a new life as a human.

Gu Won should really be nicer to God lol. Look at what happened to the Prince from Beauty and the Beast after he wasn't nice to the old beggar lady...she turned him into a beast. Ohhh now I get it....Gu Won needs to learn to love or he'll remain a beast forever aka he'll remain a devil/demon forever haha (666=beast=devil).

Later in the episode, one guy advises the other to let it go and blame it on fate. This refers to an earlier scene where Gu Won was blaming Do Hee (Fate) for losing his powers. God's message is clear--Gu Won shouldn't be blaming Do Hee for his current state; rather, he should be blaming himself. After all, it's not her fault that he's falling in love with her and becoming human. Moreover, there's the possibility that becoming human was one of Gu Won's original wishes in the contract he signed with God.

In Ep 8, we don't see much of God except in the beginning. Many interpreted what God said in the following scene as meaning Do Hee had special powers that allowed her to heal Gu Won. However, I don't believe she possesses any supernatural abilities. Instead, I think she saved him through the power of love, and, perhaps prayers. If you look at the end of Ep 7, you'll notice Do Hee's hands were in a prayer position right before they zoomed in on the cross tattoo. Do Hee likely wished and prayed for Gu Won's salvation, and God granted it.

Regarding the second thing God said, I believe she was referring to the moment when Do Hee was trying to save Gu Won. Seok Hoon witnessed Do Hee placing Gu Won's hand on her wrist, setting off a chain of events that would eventually threaten her life (refer to "Abraxas...It's Still Seok Hoon" section).

Tarot

Whew! We are almost near the end of this post! There wasn't really anything of significance in terms of tarot in this week's episodes. One thing I found interesting was that the social influencer had asked Gu Won if he was a magician. For those who don't know, the 1st tarot card is "The Magician". You can make multiple connections between that, the number 1, and Gu Won, but since I'm tired of writing, I won't be further elaborating on it. I think we'll see a situation in the future where everyone really thinks Gu Won is dead, but he'll show up very unexpectedly and say "Abracadabra, I'm back!".

One last thing I found interesting was the tarot card pulled by Jung Mi in Ep 8. She had pulled the 19th tarot card, which is the Sun. This card usually indicates success, good fortune, happiness, etc. Also, 1+9=10 and Yi Sun...Sun haha. I think this card conveys the same message that everything will be okay after we go through some Hell.

I bet you all that we'll be seeing the following tarot cards in future eps: #1 The Magician, #8 Strength, #11 Justice, #12 The Hanged Man, #13 Death, #16 The Tower, #18 The Moon, and #21 The World!

Other Random Thoughts

Gu Won and Do Hee's red and green didn't refer to Christmas or Battery Charge Status. They referred to the colors on the roulette wheel. There is only one green space on a typical roulette wheel and it corresponds to the number 0. Number 1 is usually red. So 1...0....10 and 1+0=1 completion. Also, odd numbers are usually red and even numbers are black. Oh, I get why Do Hee was wearing a red dress and Gu Won was wearing a black suit now haha.

What determines if one remembers their past lives or not? Why is Park Bok Gyu the only one who remembers his past lives? Will Do Hee ever remember her past lives?

I can't believe Park Bok Gyu compared Gu Won to being a meat eater who ended up becoming a vegetarian because he met a very special pig (Do Hee) that he didn't want to eat haha.

With Madam Ju, is she suppose to be a spirit in limbo or is Do Hee schizophrenic? In Ep 8, it almost feels like she’s a real ghost bc we see her tapping her cane in hesitation after Do Hee said she didn’t know who killed Madam Ju and her parents.

I hope the Wild Dogs or Park Bok Gyu will find the bug underneath Gu Won’s desk when they’re cleaning haha. Did Seok Hoon put bugs in Do Hee’s place?!!

Was Gu Won a prince when he was human?

Do Hee’s birthday is Oct 29 (look at her phone in ep 1) which means she is a scorpio. On the SBS site, it tells about the story of the frog and scorpion. In the story, the scorpion stings the frog who’s carrying it across the river. They both end up dying and the scorpion is basically like oops it’s just in my nature to. Also, on the lovers tarot card (Rider Waite deck), there is a snake which equates to the 8th zodiac sign…scorpio! The other zodiac sign on the lovers tarot card is a lion which means Leo (5th zodiac sign). I guess Gu Won’s zodiac sign is Leo. This would also explain why he likes those lion bookends haha. Oh and lions are considered “apex predators” haha. Leo’s element is fire and Scorpio is water….hahaha Fire and Water…Gu Won and Do Hee. In most tarot decks, the 8th tarot card is justice. In the Rider Waite deck, the 8th card is strength which shows a lion.

The kiss scene with the garden backdrop looks like the lovers tarot card where Adam and Eve are in the garden of Eden. I can totally see people start making theories about how Do Hee is Eve and Gu Won is Adam after reading this post 🤣. And talk about “original sin” and “forbidden fruit”. Good luck haha.

Number 15 is associated with the devil tarot card as well as the full moon (the full moon comes 15 days after the new moon).

One other theory I had for Gu Won and Do Hee was that in the past, they were in so love that it became detrimental to everyone around them. Gu Won was a rule breaker and instead of doing whatever job he was suppose to do (I.e work as a government official), he was always going around “flower watching” aka hanging out with Do Hee. Him and Do Hee forgot about their responsibilities so God punished them. Gu Won’s punishment was to be turned into a demon so he could learn to follow the rules (Gu Won did say the demon manual was a book filled with many threats haha). For Do Hee, maybe her punishment was to always be alone, meaning she would always lose those closest to her. I feel this theory is just meh haha. The other theory aligns more with the many themes in the show than this one. I would be surprised if the writer goes this route haha.

END

Overall, I don't think we'll have a sad ending. I'll definitely let y'all know if I see anything in future eps that would indicate otherwise! I hope in this week's eps, we'll get to see what actually happened in Gu Won and Do Hee's past! I'm dying to know the circumstances that led to Gu Won's transformation into a demon! Alright, that's all I have for now!

#my demon #gu won #do do hee #do dohee #jeong gu won #kim yoojung #song kang #tarot cards #there are probably grammatical mistakes #oops I sound repetitive

45 notes · View notes

ideasarestuckinmyhead · 24 days

Note

Given that the content sometimes has quite a bit of spice (like auron for example) how do you think the yv boys would be with an Asexual Listener? (Ik the answer is probably 'supportive' but its been nagging me and i dont want to bother the big man about it cause i Understand the spice Comes With The Territory yknow? )

Asexual S/O

As you said before yes, the boys would respect that you are asexual and not push you into doing any sexual intercourse you don't want! The boys would probably rather die then make you uncomfortable for something you know you don't want to do.

If you only want to make out that is completely fine with them, if they did get really worked up over the make out they'll go somewhere else to release themselves. Honestly I think many of the YV boy's need to have nice moments without spice because take Alphonse for example he said he never really did any of the picnic dates with people. And Boo was able to help him see what he was missing, as we all know he really did like it.

For Seth I have a feeling he probably wants to get to know someone first before fully getting hot and bothered with them. He had like one other relationship we know of and it went sideways (see bittersweet).

Charlie would just be happy that Casper even got with him, because he's like them since they were kids. He'd also know what your comfortable with and wouldn't care if you both never got intimate with one another.

Finn I feel like is the same as Seth for this, because we don't fully know about his old relationship but I can assume it wasn't all that good. So he's happy to just be with someone that respects his boundaries as well.

Faust as we can see from his little bit of story he has so far, needs to learn how to open up to Star before ever really getting with them. He also doesn't want them to think he's only getting with them to get something out of them. He'd probably just enjoy the cafe dates and gaming session the both of you will have.

Auron does have a lot of spice in his story but he did tell Rook during the lap sitting ep if they didn't want to do anything he'd back off. Auron is big on consent, with the things he does do with Rook in his spice part of his story we can see that he makes sure Rook is comfortable with what they're doing. If you don't wish to do anything with spice he'd just enjoy Rook's company because in the new ep of his story we were told by him that we give him peace. Also in the car ride to his penthouse we were given a option to leave him and he was just happy we chose him.

Lucien probably would ask about it but when told he probably knows some people that are like that too. He'll just ask what your okay with doing and just do those things. He'll just enjoy more of asking about human culture and food making with you.

Jack we don't really have a lot of his story since he doesn't have like a set one compared to the other boys. But I can see him just saying okay then telling you about a story from one of his side jobs he was working at this week. He def knows a lot of places you both can go to just enjoy time together.

As you know YV knows that he cannot please everyone with his work. And he's totally okay with that, he only gets snappy with people if they keep like shoving it in everyone face about one particular thing that doesn't suit them alone.

#red rants #yuurivoice #yuurivoice auron #yuurivoice alphonse #yuurivoice seth #yuurivoice faust #yuurivoice charlie #yuurivoice finn #yuurivoice lucien #yuurivoice jack #asexual #asexual reader #just like other writing if i ever put something that feels wrong or is just tell me ill fix it!!

39 notes · View notes

ronsenthal · 5 months

Text

Part five and final of Jess Reads Fierce Valor as we reached his post WWII military career, his retirement and last years of his life

Notes: Please read the book and take your own conclusions if you can, this is my view and my own clonclusion from my experience reading it

okay now really not much happens, he got married for a second time, stayed in the army, got divorced again

he came to the veterans reunion in 1947 and then never showed up again until some 50 years later

he made his final combat jumps in Korea, he had like 4 which was like a LOT

btw do you guys remember Albert Blithe from the series right? Right! the guy lived after recovering from his wounds and actually served in the 187th Infantry Regiment, guess who was the company commander? thats right! our very own bald man

ok so he worked and had time studied Russian and became the governor os Spandau, at this time there was already some cold war shit going on

speaking of shit, his german was shitty (so is mine!!!) so he couldn't quite undestand the prisioners but played chess with one of them??

Ah yes got married and divorced again

trained and organized some stuff for the the Royal Lao Army and some more army duty??? but nothing interesting is said really

he was then Lieutenant Colonel and worked with the Pentagon, it says that his army duty came to an end in 1964 but his name came up in army records in 1965 at a special division, so he had some function? was he a spy? we will never know for sure

okay now he is retired, married again (the man was a machine), had some health related problems and had to do some heart surgeries, like 5 of them or even more

at this point he was really introspective over his life, then the Ambrose book came and old man was PISSED because guess what??? Ambrose didn't even bothered to actual fact check his book and Speirs felt that he did dirty to his first ex-wife and even to himself

Dick became his biggest advocate and tried so many times to reunited him to the last members of Easy but he couldn't, he even begged Speirs but remember he is a Taurus so he said no again and again

toward his late years and after the release of the book he was afraid some n30-naz1s would come after him for some kind of vengeance so he asked for his name adress and personal info to be removed so Dick was the only one who knew hot to contact him

then there was the reunion for the screening of Band of Brothers and he finally showed up after his last wife made him show up and it was really emotional, Matthew Settle just watched the real Speirs and Dick watching the first ep and then Matthew showed up on his door and asked him to sing his cast, cause he got hurt his feet somehow

oh right forgot to mention that he loved his poodles, he was really into square dance (I don't know what the hell this is don't ask me), had some weird hobbies like pan for gold on rivers??? also normal ones like playing golf and he was also a nice elderly to his grand-sons and great-grand-sons, nephews, nieces and stuff

he had really bad PTSD specially while sleeping ans even after being retired he couldn't relax while sleeping and always eat his food fast.

he wouldn't let people kill spiders, like black widow spiders because of the William Wallace story and because he served in a company that the symbol and nickname was one

also he didn't talked about his army life like AT ALL, he said it was harder for him to remember things since he spent great part of his life om the army while the other guys served like with one company and that was it, for me it's clear it was bullshit he was so hard on himself and self critical on the basic stuff he didn't so one can only imagine how he dealt with the heavy stuff

his final years he was losing his strength, already loss great part of his hearing and was so ashamed of it and was really frustrated and miserable

after his death this one person of his family took his ashes and spread somewhere in a beautiful lake near the Canadian border where he rests today, quite emotional really

Okay so overall this was such a great reading, it's really a testament to how complex, mysterious and sometimes twisted his character really was.

I loved how the authors didn't pushed any agenda or narratives, I feel like they did a good job because they didn't tried to justify any of his actions, they just wanted to bring as many facts to the table as they could so we, as readers, could come up with our own conclusions

Mine is: He was crazy indeed, he did some questionable stuff and it took it's toll on him during and after the war, but also really cared for the man on his side, he sure could be cruel, flawed, cold blooded, impetuous and a true killer, but at the same time protective, respectful, really smart and incredible skilled as a leader, so much that everyone respected him for it, some loved the man dearly, some despised and that it was what truly amazed me by

A big thank you to everyone who followed my dumb takes during this reading, it was really fun to do!!!

taglist: @mads-weasley, @mutantmanifesto, @love--persevering, @gorgeousundertow, @grumpy-liebgott, @wexhappyxfew, @latibvles, @1waveshortofashipwreck and @executethyself35

#ronald speirs #band of brothers #dick winters #jess reads fierce valor #mw*

34 notes · View notes

rivetgoth · 11 months

Text

2020s Industrial/EBM & Friends

Hi all! I decided to go ahead and make a Spotify playlist of current artists in the industrial/EBM [and adjacent] scene. I am very tired of stumbling onto countless threads of people saying that industrial music is "dead." It is in fact currently experiencing an incredible booming renaissance! So here is a place where one could hopefully get started.

The requirements for this playlist are simply

Must be within the industrial/EBM scene or close enough to count by my own standards. Trying to avoid anything too far off, so keeping "sibling" genres to a minimum (for example, darkwave or aggrotech), but obviously the genre has evolved very much over the decades and there is still plenty of fusion and diversity in sound!

Must have released new music since 2020 or onwards. This playlist is a combination of older artists who are continuing to release new music (such as PIG and IAMX) as well as brand new artists who have just begun their career with debut EPs (such as Normal Bias and FUEDAL). The only requirement is making new music from 2020 to present; this isn't about new bands per se, just currently active ones. I would like to keep updating this playlist as time goes on and more artists release new work, but that may end up being a time commitment larger than I can promise, so no guarantee on that. But hopefully!

One song per band. This is just to keep things consistent. I wanted to pick a song for each band that's either somewhat popular so as to give an idea of what they're doing that's catching people's attention, and/or a personal preference of my own that I think is cool and worth checking out, lol. Order doesn't matter at all, you can shuffle it as much as you like.

While artists from all backgrounds are featured and I want to make an active effort not to tokenize, I did try to include a wide range of diverse artists, with numerous artists of color, female artists, queer artists, neurodivergent artists, etc on this list.

A few other preemptive Q&As:

"[x] band I like isn't on here!"

I am absolutely, 100% confident I have missed more bands than I can even fathom, this is a massive genre and this playlist is in no way whatsoever meant to be comprehensive. I definitely want this playlist to continue to evolve over time. I also admittedly may have not included a band because I just don't really personally care for them enough, or because I didn't feel like they quite fit the sound I was thinking of here. Feel free to send me an ask if you feel like I'm missing something important, and even if I'm not huge on a band, if it seems like they're high in demand I might add them for posterity, lol.

"[x] band isn't real industrial"

Again, this genre has evolved massively since its formation in the 70s. We all know that. I don't really care about splitting hairs too much when it comes to genres; I'm basing this on the scene as it's currently evolved, the community surrounding it (including who these bands play with and the festivals booking them), the cited inspirations and self identification of the bands themselves, and if I personally would be able to sleep at night if I called them industrial in casual conversation, LMAO. I also consider fusion genres a very important part of the life and evolution of a genre, so industrial hip hop, industrial metal, and the likes all make some appearances.

"Spotify sucks"

Yeah. Agreed entirely, cannot argue with you there. But this is the easiest avenue I know of to make a decent, accessible playlist for a wide variety of listeners. Please do check out these artists offsite, follow them on Bandcamp or their other social media sites, buy their music and merch, etc. Unfortunately this also means that many artists who are not on Spotify aren't featured here, which sucks, since there are some absolutely amazing industrial bands coming out of Bandcamp right now who deserve recognition. Here is a link to the "industrial" tag on Bandcamp if you want to dive deeper.

Hopefully at least a few people can get something out of this!!

#industrial #industrial music #ebm

128 notes · View notes

starcrossed591 · 5 months

Text

KDrama Year in Review 2023

While I watched more KDramas this year than CDramas, none of them consumed my heart and soul quite like this year's crop of CDramas did (CDrama review post here). And I dropped KDramas more readily than I have in years past, in part because there were so many more things to watch than I had time for (also I had to finish my dissertation and graduate, etc etc). Still, there were definitely some that I really, really enjoyed, so here's this year's KDrama round up:

16. My Lovely Liar: Started strong, got boring real quick. Dropped for homophobic murder plot. Still, glad to see that Hwang Min Hyn can actually act (although full disclosure, I did still enjoy him in Alchemy of Souls, wooden as that performance may be). Hoping Kim So Hyun can catch a break and get a role in a drama more worthy of her in the near future.

15. Crash Course in Romance: Excellent performances and chemistry by the ML and FL. Romance between two middle aged people instead of youths is also a treat. Dropped around ep 12 because of the unnecessary, homophobic murder plot. Pass.

14. A Good Day to Be a Dog: Surprisingly stronger than the goofy premise suggests, largely on the basis of Park Gyu-Young's performance as the FL who turns into a dog upon being kissed. Pacing problems in the third act around the origins of the whole dog curse thing. Can't say I recommend unless you're really in the mood for some shenanigans, but largely inoffensive if a little silly. (Also it turns out Cha Eun Woo *really* leveled up his kiss game for this one!)

13. Love to Hate You: Perfectly serviceable rom com. Nothing too special, but a nice weekend binge if you're in the mood for that. Also a good way to see Kim Ji-Hoon's v handsome face and that *hair* without having to deal with everything involved with his rather murderous run in Flower of Evil.

12. Joseon Attorney: A Morality: Perfectly serviceable law procedural/Joseon historical. If you don't like either of those genres your mileage may vary, but I had missed having Bona on my screen, so it worked well enough for me.

11. Welcome to Samdal-ri: I seem to like this one more than literally everyone else I know, and I fully admit that my enjoyment of this drama is more vibes-based than plot-based. I guess I have a soft spot for Shin Hye Sun yelling at people at Ji Chang Wook going a bit unhinged over a woman who ran away from him (see also: Lovestruck in the City).

10. My Demon: Very much enjoying Song Kang as a cranky demon falling in love with a human. Very tropey in the best way, and feels like a return to form for the supernatural romance genre. Remains to be seen if they'll land the ending as of this writing, but enjoying as it goes.

9. Doctor Cha: A contribution to the slate of divorce comedies I watched this year (see also: Strangers Again (KDrama) and Let's Get Divorced (JDrama)), a surprisingly touching story about growing older when you've devoted your life to someone who has not done the same for you.

8. Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow (Part 2): While Ko Joon-Yung never quite managed to replace Jung So-Min as the FL for me, I definitely still enjoyed the closer to this fun fantasy series. Special shout out to Shin Seung-Ho as Prince Go Won and his pet turtle

7. Strangers Again: I didn't see a ton about this one on tumblr as it was airing, but I found this rom com? melodrama? divorce procedural? makjang? story about relationships and why they end unexpectedly profound. I tuned in expecting mindless makjang hot mess, and instead got a thoughtful meditation on divorce. Left me feeling unexpectedly melancholy at the end, but glad I watched it.

6. The Secret Romantic Guesthouse: Very fun sageuk! Probably won't knock your socks off, but it does what it does very well. Bonus points for a B couple as compelling as the A couple. I've also been a big Kang Hoon fan since Little Women, and there are a couple of other actors in here that I'm always glad to see working.

5. Perfect Marriage Revenge: Tour de force makjang. Came out of nowhere and blew me away. Hits all the right beats, and unexpectedly fun (and was a nice break from the heaviness of My Dearest for me). This was a good year for jaded and slightly unhinged transmigrated FL's back for their #revenge (see also: Story of Kunning Palace in CDrama land), and I was here for it. Also features one of the spiciest make-out scenes of the year, 10/10 recommend

4. See You in My 19th Life: Absolutely loved this haunting, melancholy, and sometimes unexpectedly goofy reincarnation drama. I loved the webtoon and had high expectations, and this drama largely met them! The continuing relationship between sisters Ji-Eum (Shin Hye Sun) and Cho-Won (Ha Yoon Kyung) was a special highlight for me, and while Shin Hye Sun is already a never-miss for me, I'm especially looking forward to whatever Ha Yoon Kyung does next. I prefer the ending of the Webtoon to the KDrama, but I'm still delighted this drama exists and am glad I watched it.

3. The Interest of Love: Look, I loved this drama. Even though it seemed on the surface like nothing but *mess* in the interpersonal lives of these characters working at a bank on the border between a rich and poor neighborhood in Seoul, it nonetheless had some of the most searing class commentary of the year for me. I also love an FL who will (spoiler) pack up her things and disappear at the drop of a hat, even if no one else will understand her decision to do so, because she just cannot deal anymore (see also: the FL in Lovestruck in the City, whom I also love but everyone else hated). This drama kept me gleefully coming back every week in a year where not a lot of others did.

2. Call It Love: A revenge slice of life melodrama that I found unexpectedly touching in its deep melancholy. Loved not only the main couple, but the relationship between the siblings and their pharmacist bestie. A lovely character study. (Also I somehow ended up watching this at the same time as Till the End of the Moon and Li Susu as Ye Xiwu's hidden identity/revenge plot, which was unexpectedly stressful! Had a very "it's the same picture" moment despite two dramas in two genres that could not be further apart.) If you missed this one (and since it aired on Disney+, you might have--Disney+'s effects on the KDrama streaming ecosystem will be the death of me), it's worth seeking out!

1. My Dearest (Parts 1 and 2): Kind of feels like everyone has said everything there is to say about sageuk of truly epic proportions, but it blew me away as well. Epic romance? Check. Twisty political machinations? Check. Heartwarming friendships between women? Check. Strong ensemble cast? And my top FL of the year, Lady Gil-Chae, played to perfection by Ahn Eun-Jin. I've adored her since Hospital Playlist, and am delighted that she's getting the attention and the roles she deserves. Namkoong Min also a top contender for ML of the year as Lee Jang-Hyun. Part 2 dragged for me a bit in places after a nearly perfect Part 1, but such a great drama overall.

Favorite Drama of the Year: My Dearest. See above.

Favorite Female Character: I mean, it's gotta be Gil Chae from My Dearest, right? She starts out as such a spiteful, spoiled noblewoman, and then turns out to have a core of pure steel. Turns out all her conniving and strategizing, which went towards causing mischief in the village, really just needed a proper outlet. While I would never want to be in the circumstances in which she found herself, if I did, she's exactly who I would want on my side.

Favorite Male Character: Everything's coming up My Dearest this year, because this one is Lee Jang-Hyun in My Dearest as well. Checks the box for my competence kink, and has a knack for showing up just when Gil-Chae needs him, even at great personal cost. Also a smart-ass, which I probably like a bit too much in a man.

Favorite Secondary Female Character: Cho-Won from See You in My 19th Life. Her relationship with her reincarnated older sister was almost more compelling to me than the main romance sometimes, and really helped develop how the ties that bind us are not just romantic ones. Also she was just super cute

Favorite Secondary Male Character: Could have picked anyone from Team Himbo in Alchemy of Souls, but gonna have to give this one to Go Won, himbo prince of my heart

Favorite Ship: Again, it's gotta be Gil-Chae and Lee Jang-Hyun in My Dearest. Sometimes, there are drama couples that nearly cause me pain when they are apart, and these two quickly became one of them. Though their relationships is hardly functional for much of it, through all that push and pull, they ultimately learn how to show up for each other. Also, their *chemistry* is insane!

Favorite Secondary Ship: I loved Hye-Seong and Sung Joon, the B couple in Call it Love. Seeing the SFL grow more comfortable with herself after a truly shitty ending to her previous relationship was a nice respite from the hidden identity stress of the A couple in this one. I'm also a sucker for a good romance where you start to see someone you've long taken for granted differently. (Close Runner Up: Cho Won and Do-Yun in See You in My 19th Life)

Favorite Platonic Relationship: Gil-Chae, Eun-Ae, and their maids, Jong Jong and Bong Doo, in My Dearest. I loved loved loved the relationship between these women in this drama, and part of the reason the second half of the drama suffered a bit for me is because of how far it moved away from this core relationship. They were ride or die for each other more than the majority of the men in their lives, and I loved that for them.

Trope that Needs to Die: While I find murder plots in rom coms tedious at the best of times, homophobic murder plots are really not it. Quit it, y'all. It's not cute.

Dramas I Missed: Moon in the Day, The Story of Park's Marriage Contract, and Tell Me That You Love Me (grrr Disney+ on this one) are on the list for next year. I'm probably missing others.

Non-2023 Drama Spotlight: Finally went back and watched Do You Like Brahms? for a hit of Park Eun-Bin. A lovely, if also melancholy, slice of life romance that's just as much about what to do when a (career related) dream that you've worked really, really hard for just isn't going to come through as it is about the main romance. Also made me fall in love with Kim Min-Jae and his lovely deep voice, enough so that I also then went back and finally watched Dali and the Cocky Prince, which was also a treat. Recommend both.

Most Looking Forward To: I continue to yearn for a Yumi's Cells 3, and who's to say if that one will ever come through, but I'm putting it out into the universe anyway. More realistically, I'm looking forward to the surprisingly stacked line-up of sageuks coming up, including Captivating the King and Love Song for Illusion.

40 notes · View notes

ghost-doodles · 4 months

Text

Alastor's deal

okay so I had my initial thoughts about Alastor's deal way back with episode 5 but I didn't say much because I wanted to wait it out for the series finally and boy am I glad I did.

so here are my thoughts both past and present on Alastor's deal since we now have a shit ton of information

initially like most of the fandom I thought that Alastor had something to do with Lilith especially given husk's comment and the 7 year gap however I didn't quite think he made a deal for his soul. Given the fact it seemed like he had strength already and is a smart character I just figured maybe he didn't actually deal his soul away but was working for Lilith somewhat freely, I say somewhat because that woman is powerful

however, we now have episodes 7 and 8

first I want to nose dive into Alastor's deal with Charlie

Since the pilot Alastor has wanted a deal with Charlie and it's been very clear that he has had alternative reasons for being at the hotel. While I do think he has grown "fond" of the hotel and its participants it evident that isn't why he is there. Now that we actually have the contents of his deal with Charlie I think it really shows he is there for his own gain of freedom. While owning Charlies soul would be quite a feat I think Alastor knew that would be to much to ask for but he's also smart enough to get what he needs, which is a favor

A favor for what, that we don't quite know yet but a favor, that frankly has no limitations, with the princess of hell is one fuckin score. it also seem that he is locked within the bounds of another deal and what's interesting is his look during the making of his and Charlies deal

the main thought floating around is that this is his true self and what his deal has done to him. I've seen two theories popping around that either the string on his mouth is either meant to keep him quiet or is meant to keep him smiling. Honestly I think it's both. Given his lack of comment on his own deal and his cleverness with speaking it would make sense for whoever made the deal to try to keep him quiet. Also given how Alastor speaks about smiling I wouldn't be shocked if even before his deal smiling bastard with the same beliefs on smiling. The little shit has a tendency to piss people off so I also wouldn't be shocked if someone didn't purposefully make it so he couldn't stop smiling as a way to fuck with him.

anyway whatever deal he is locked in is seems quite restraining and strong. strong enough to make him fight for the hotel in order to get that favor from Charlie. While I love the idea of found family I don't think it was his fondness of his friends who made him fight

lets analyze his portion of the song shall we

the portion of the finally song "'Great Alastor Altruist died for his friends'" was put into quotes and followed by "sorry to disappoint but thats not where this ends" which wasn't in quotes. I think this part of the song is suggesting others may think Alastor died protecting his friends but is having Alastor correct that notion and reveal that isn't the case. or at least not fully (for those who like the fond familyness of the hotel I do think he cares for the others but ultimately its his freedom he cares more about)

the nexts lines are "I'm hungry for freedom like never before" obviously the first part is fairly straight forward as it means Alastor wants out of whatever deal he has made. But this part has me split on whether it's involved with the 7 years missing and how. On one hand I think this ties into those 7 years as he badly wants people to question what happened then, as seen in ep.3 with the over lords. I think this is his way of trying to get help or at least someone to understand. But given how he reacted to husk making a comment about his deal if it happened during the 7 years I doubt he would want people snooping as it seems he doesn't want to acknowledge his own leash.

the next part of the song is "the constraints of my deal surely have a back door". Whatever this deal he made he wants out of it so badly he's lookin for whatever loop hole he can. Frankly this line along with the final lines, "Once I figure out how to unclip my wings, Guess who will be pulling all the strings" makes be question what he got in return for whatever he gave.

Whatever he gave it is something thats got him controlled enough to feel like he has clipped wings. Sure it could be his soul, and just given the series so far it seems like the most plausible answer, but he doesn't quite have the same restraints others who signed their soul away do. While clearly trapped he is still practically doing as he pleases, as far as we know, so I dont quite have a clue as to what he could've given. My only other half thought is that he maybe gave up parts of his power but that still doesn't quite work.

But what really has me is what did he get in return. that final line suggest that once he's out of his deal he will be this all powerful being able to control the game. His arrival to hell also supports him by himself having mass power. So clearly he doesn't seem to be lacking in the power category as it seems like his overall goals are for total control. And if he didn't have power to start with then he wouldn't be tryin to get out of a deal that gives him power. Maybe someone healed him, but given my thoughts above who could've possibly wounded him that much. Sure Adam damn near killed him but adam's on a different power scale as he went toe to toe with lucifer for a bit, plus Alastor recovers from that. And sure Vox claims to have beat Alastor but both Alastor and Valentino counter claim this and tbh I just doubt Vox could destroy Alastor so well.

the last line clearly shows Alastor wants to be in control of everything so his deal just baffles me as it doesn't seem to be helping him at all

also with the current Lilith in heaven thing this might just be but I'm to sure its her he made his deal with anymore

this is quite the interesting little mystery that I am so excited to get to see more of when the next season comes out.

#ghost rants #hazbin spoilers #hazbin hotel spoilers #hazbin alastor #alastor the radio demon #alastor #text #first long post sorry if its a bit much #but this man and his deal are driving me insane #I thought I knew shit #but NOPE #viziepop

51 notes · View notes

writersarchivex · 2 years

Text

International Hotel Pt. 2

Elvis x Reader

part one

i don't like this one as much as the first, but the first one did surprisingly well. enjoy, or don't either is fine.

you can imagine the real elvis or austin. whatever floats your boat.

summary: part two pls read pt. 1 first <3

word count: 1621

"I've missed you darlin'" Elvis spoke as the both of you pulled away.

Reality was finally setting in. He was here, and he certainly wasn't okay like you hoped.

You wanted him to be okay more than anything in the world. Looking at him now you could see a glimpse of him, and who he was. It was heartbreaking for to see, but you had hope.

You still couldn't get past what he did. He left you, for fame. It worked out for him for the most part, but what about you?

He left you. Never called. Never wrote.

He wasn't there when your mama died, or when daddy's drinking got worse. He left.

"EP, you left." You said sadly, trying to remind yourself of how angry and resentful you've been for years.

It was pathetic really, you were never able to fully forgive.

He was the love of your life. You would've done everything for him. You did, do everything or him.

"Mama I-"

You shook your head as you stood up.

"Elvis you left. Simply because a man you met less than a month prior told you it was what was right,"

"And now you're here saying things. Things that I've wanted you to say for years. It's not fair."

A tear finally fell, much to your dismay. The last thing you had ever wanted to do was show him weakness.

"I woulda' never made it anywhere. I had to show the Colonel that I knew how to listen to him. " He replied, sparking up anger inside you.

Really. That's all he had to say.

He wiped his face with the back of his hand, still sweating from the show. You walked over to the towels, and threw him one, not quite feeling ready to walk out yet.

He nodded sensing, that you quite weren't ready for him to talk.

"I loved you through everything. You- You threw me away like I was nothin'! Didn't even have the decency to drive me home."

At this point you were pacing through the room. Thinking of what else to say. This was probably the most oddly relived you've felt in a long time.

You finally can let go.

"I coulda helped you damn it! I coulda been there when Mrs. Gladys died. Or when you decided to start abusin' pills. I coulda been there, Elvis, and you shoulda been there for me."

At this point you were crying, and you couldn't tell if it was out of anger, or sadness.

tw: mentions of abuse.

"You shoulda been there when MY mama died. Or when daddy decided he wanted to start beatin me black and blue because he blamed me for her death. You shoulda been there."

You wanted to be his person. From day one when you met the young boy with the gorgeous eyes and the dreamy hair, you wanted to be his person.

"Sweetheart I had no idea," He spoke, looking at me with sad eyes.

You threw your hands up.

"How would you! You weren't there! You made your choice, fame over everything, family, love, your health."

He stood, obviously something you said upset him.

"Now honey, you ain't got no right to stand here and question how I care about my family." He pointed a ring clad finger at you, staying in place.

The anger you felt was quickly getting more intense. What are you even doing here?

"You threw me away like a piece of trash and now I'm back here tryin' to take care of you!"

He threw the towel he had on the floor, taking a step towards you.

"If you hate me so God damn much then why are you here, hm? Just go!"

"I can't go because I don't hate you EP! I love you. I never stopped."

You let out a sob.

You finally broke. You had been holding it together for years. You grew numb after your mama died, and right now it was like the flood gates had opened.

He wrapped you in a tight hug, and you struggled to get away.

No, you're mad at him. Furious even.

"Darlin quit bein' so damn stubborn and let me hold you."

You gave in, grasping at his shirt, knuckles turing white.

"I shoulda been there. I'm sorry baby." He said quietly, voice low and raspy.

This is what you've truly always wanted. To be with him. To love him. To help him. He deserves a good person.

"I forgive you."

----

The two of you sat in the dressing room for a while. Talking about his career, and yours. Admittedly, his was much more interesting to listen to.

You've both calmed down. He wasn't angry, and you weren't-

well, you weren't pacing back and forth with all those thoughts running through your head anymore.

"You really ain't watched any of my movies, tv, shows, nothin?" He frowned.

Your face heated up in embarrassment. You were trying to decide what to say. Should you give him the satisfaction of saying yes? Or should you try to tease him a bit.

Teasing. Teasing works.

"Well. I did see the one with the butler outfit and the dog in a wagon." You grinned taking a sip of your drink.

"Have mercy." He put a hand on his head.

You let out a laugh placing the drink on the table.

"Elvis Presley. You are the most famous man in America. Of course, I watched it all. Some of it was quite low brow, but still. I was proud." You smiled.

He laughed.

You had missed this. Talking. Just talking. About anything and everything. In the peace and quiet, just the two of you. No one harassing you. Or him. Just the two of you.

After just a moment of silence, you eyed a clear bag. That had a ton of little orange bottles in it.

No. Please tell me this is not.

No.

"EP what's that?" You pointed at the bag standing up, moving quickly towards it.

He grunted, looking down at his lap.

You picked up the bag, taking hold of the various bottles.

What in the hell.

Phenobarbital, Ethchlorvynol, Nordazepam, Ethinamate.

"Why are you 'prescribed' four different anxiety medications. Insomnia, Morphine? Elvis why,"

"Morphine and Ethinamate are highly addictive. We have drug addicts come in the hospital all the time looking for these. Beggin' for them."

He looked at the bag, seemingly in a trace.

"Dr. Nick says I need em'" He simply stated.

You threw the medicine in the bag, walking over to him.

You place your hands on either side of his head.

"Please tell me you don't have all this in your system right now. Please honey."

He said nothing.

"Where is he. Where's that crooked Colonel."

He stood, following you as you walked out of the dressing room

You were on a mission.

As a nurse, this was wrong. Medical malpractice.

This so-called doctor had no right to have a license. To practice medicine. Was he even a doctor? Those medications didn't even have anything on the label but the name and dosage.

He needed to be in jail.

Speaking as a nurse, you were angry. This wasn't right.

Speaking as someone who loved the man who was being poisoned with these medications, you were seething.

Elvis had a lot of time to make up for.

You haven't fully forgiven him.

That doesn't mean he doesn't deserve to be protected.

You stormed through the hallway, looking for the Colonel, or the doctor. Not caring much who you found first.

Elvis was walking as quickly as he could after you, but of course you were faster.

He did need to exercise a bit.

You heard voices coming from a studio, and you walked through the door.

Dr. Nick, Vernon, and the Colonel were sat, drinks and cigars in hand.

"There you are you no good dirty, rotten-" You began, but you were quickly cut off

"Y/N" Elvis boomed behind you, causing you to turn to him.

You don't know what kind of emotions were controlling you right now but, the confidence you had was radiating.

"Shut up."

You walked over and stood dangerously close to the doctor, which meant you were equally as close to Tom Parker.

"You will never, prescribe another medication to that man do you understand? I will personally make sure you never have access to anything a doctor would. I will destroy you. You will have nothing." You said to the doctor and turned to Tom.

"You made him feel like he could depend on you. He believed in you, that you would take care of him and his family," You broke looking at Vernon and Elvis.

"I saw through it from the beginning you fat bastard. You're killing him."

You stood up straight, realizing suddenly Elvis had stopped his protests, instead he stood, staring. With an unrecognizable look on his face.

"Mr. Presley, I am a real nurse. I am telling you that this doctor is not the man to help your son. If he continues, he will die. Those medications are highly addictive, and not to mention dangerous. Please. Stand up. Do what's right."

Vernon nodded, standing with me. I turned to Elvis, and walked towards the doorway.

"Come on honey, I'll help you."

You hoped he would take up on the offer. You begged the Lord even.

He took a hard look at the Colonel, and the Doctor, then slowly took hold of your hand.

---

Elvis invited you to stay with him for a while. He knew that he needed you.

Part of the need was because you were a nurse, and he knew you would be able to help with his health, and with getting him off the medications.

The other was because he missed you. He had tried to find love after you, and truly he believed what he had with Pricsilla was great. It was really, he truly loved her.

You were something else though.

Of course, things had changed, you have, he has. He loved you though, and you him.

#elvis fanfic #elvis presley fanfic #elvis presley #austin elvis x reader #elvis x reader #elvis one shots #oneshot #austin butler #elvis 2022 #elvis film #elvis movie

429 notes · View notes