#no one talk to me the grain in this scene is so bad omg
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I'm so happy I found your blog! This show has been my hyper-fixation ever since it came out and it's nice to find people who still talk about the show :)
ANYWAYS, I just started reading The Count of Monte Cristo (for totally normal reasons, and not so I can deeply analyze S1E13 "Wait & Hope") and I wanted to know your thoughts on the fact that The Count of Monte Cristo was Malcolm's favorite story growing up. Because this book, like said in the episode, is about a man murdering for revenge (take this with a grain of salt I'm on page 73). And I can't help but think about Martins though process of reading this story about murder to Malcolm. Because in the episode, We get a flashback of Martin reading the story to Malcolm, and He's acting out a scene from the book where I think the Count kills one of the men who betrayed him (again I'm only on page 73 I'm not completely sure). And he makes the act of murder seen fantastical, fun, and light-hearted. Which makes me think that when he reads this story to Malcolm, not only to get Malcolm used to the idea of murder, but to also prematurely downplay his crimes. So when Malcolm found out that Martin's a Serial Killer as a kid, Martin could then say, "Well you didn't have a problem with it when I read those crimes to you, why do you have a problem with it now?" And we see the adult version of this when Malcolm is an adult, Martin brings up the fact the he never killed anyone on his operating table, he only killed people when off the clock. Which of course means that his crimes aren't as bad as they really are because he could have done so much worse!
AND THE WAY MALCOLM WOULD HAVE LOOKED BACK AND THOUGHT HE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BECAUSE OF THE BOOK!!
because of course Martin the Murder would read a murder book instead of a normal Fairytale, of course Martin would only act out the murder scenes from the book. It just gets the trauma ball rolling, like give my guy a break please he's had enough.
hi omg it's nice to hear from you!
so obligatory I have not read the count of monte cristo so take everything I say with a big grain of salt bc I am just going off the wikipedia page and conversations I've had with people who have read it. I like to think everything (or at least most things) with this show are intentional so I enjoy looking in to these kind of details to see what they might mean. I think one way to look at it is the writers trying to do a short hand for malcolm being an intelligent and precocious child and a bit kind of like "ha ha of course malcolm's favorite childhood book was an old french classic about revenge and not like the magic tree house bc he's so eccentric and pretentious." also it ties nicely into a murder investigation that they can base on the story to give malcolm more reasons to know a bunch of random info to help with the case.
but when it comes I think with martin basically anything can be used as a tool for manipulation, even if in another context it wouldn't be by someone else. like the count of monte cristo doesn't seem like something super out of left field for a parent to read their child in my opinion, yeah it involves murder but a lot of books involve heavy subject matter and are still read at any age. so I don't want to imply it's like bad or odd for a child or their parent to read something like that, I was reading things like the outsiders and the hunger games around malcolm's age which are both kids/young adult books but also contain death and violence. BUT I think with martin he definitely could have had some more ulterior motives and again, the show deliberately made reading the book a memory malcolm had with his dad so I think the writers definitely had intent behind details like that.
so yes I get what you're saying and could 100% see it being used that way in martin and malcolm's dynamic. I think it's in the vein of how malcolm collects murder weapons in that it demonstrates how death and murder kind of consume his life even in to his interests and hobbies and how martin's shadow is always there (again, not saying reading about murder or being interested in it mean you're a serial killer obviously but in the context of like themes in the story, a reoccurring one is malcolm's preoccupation with death and how it relates to his trauma from his father). like the example you gave, martin is very good at justifying what he has done, especially and specifically to malcolm bc he knows his son is already traumatized by his actions and desperate for some logical reasoning behind them when there just really isn't one. the way martin acts out the story is also an interesting point. again, not trying to imply this is like inherently something bad or problematic but specifically in the context of this show and this relationship it definitely shows how martin kind of presents murder to malcolm. like it's all about the larger context for me; what does this mean with the information we already know by episode 13 and what conclusions should we draw from it. and I think it makes sense how you interpret the episode!
anyway TLDR the way martin talks about murder with his son is a vital part of their dynamic. martin knows malcolm wants to understand his seemingly incomprehensible actions and he uses this multiple times in the show to try and manipulate him in to thinking different ways about them, whether that is by telling malcolm he is somehow responsible for him murdering people (see 1x02) or that he saved more people than he hurt (see 1x07) or that he has changed completely (see 2x13) ect. ALSO I just remembered how interested I am in how this show portrays the concept of monstrosity and wow this TLDR is getting long specifically in the episode you referenced eye of the needle 1x14 and how martin says something along the lines of "I'm the monster, so vanquish me" as if simplifying the concept down to that of a storybook, like he's a dragon to be slain and how he tells malcolm there's no such thing as monsters in the pilot, conjuring the image of like a child who thinks there's a monster under their bed or in their closet. so the lines kind of get blurred and martin will ultimately use every tool in his disposal to manipulate malcolm in different ways, even using things that are innocuous on their own or in a different context. would love to hear everyone else's thoughts especially if you've read the book :)
#omg this got LONG sorry i love this show i love overinterpetting this show#answered#anonymous#likeeee ugh makes u think
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Heyyyy this is genesis creation story anon- ty fr giving me permission to ramble more about biblical stuff haha this is definitely an area I don’t have as much knowledge of and its very complicated so take this with a decent grain of salt (also this will be long sorry) but basically: The second coming is part of xtian eschatology where Jesus comes back for the final judgement and establishes his kingdom. The details of this have changed a lot over time and between subsets of xtianity. (1/7)
In the gospels jesus talks about how the Son of Man will soon come and bad things will happen to the wicked, and the righteous will be a part of Gds kingdom on earth (with JC as king). Xtians generally see the SoM stuff as jesus talking about himself in 3rd person. The implication from the gospels and paul’s letters is all this was expected to happen very soon- jesus is quoted as saying ‘this generation will not pass away’ before the SoM comes and paul expected it to happen in his lifetime. (2/7
Later writings like the gospel of john arent as big on the immediacy of this. The book of revelation gets into this in much greater detail, using 1st century Jewish apocalyptic imagery which is pretty wild to read, and describes Jesus doing some pretty horrific things to the ppl he doesn’t like and establishing Gd’s kingdom on earth. (3/7)
At some point in the 1800s someone decided something from one of pauls letters meant that the good ppl would get raptured up into heaven and so be spared from some or all of the terrible things happening on earth. Those who had already died would be resurrected and join in on the being raptured thing. (4/7)
Certain sections of xtianity today have very specific theologies wrt when the rapture, the tribulation (7yrs of horrible things happening on earth) and the millennium (1000yr reign of JC) will happen compared to each other. I think most ppl go for the rapture-> trib -> millenium timeline. (5/7)
Theres also different opinions on whether or not ppl can get saved during the tribulation or if youre screwed if you haven’t already given yourself to christ by that point it all gets messy and very specific. also wrt Metatron being human- one of the books of enoch has enoch become Metatron after Gd takes him! very fun idea I love it (6/7)
(Also side bar that revelation is written in 1st century israel about 1st century israel the beast/whore/666/616 stuff is all about rome and nero ppl need to stop getting excited about awful things happening in the world and saying it means JC is coming back its weird and shitty) (7/7)
OMG GENESIS ANON HIII CHEERING AND CLAPPING! hope that our words did not pressure you into answering and that this was in fact fun for you to talk about bc i had fun reading! this is all very cool (though i am sorry ppl are misreading revelation Like That) and i wonder which elements will be incorporated into s3... that deleted scene in the show / the existing scene in the book where aziraphale says there won't be any rapture and humanity won't be part of armageddon at all still exists, but the second coming will be a different flavor and the metatron claims he wants someone with earth expertise to lead it... also hell yeah enoch lore that is a neat idea. tysm again!
- Crystal :)
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I did not finish watching all of the Academy Award nominees this year but I made some progress so ahead of the show here are my unsolicited opinions:
Best Picture:
- Top Gun: Maverick - I had a lot of fun and it was so much better than a sequel to a movie from 40 years ago had any right being…but best picture? Really? I will always love plane go fast movie but I’m not sure why it’s up here.
- Women Talking - saw last week, it was OK. It was really well directed and the cinematography and performances were great but the script was terrible. If this wins a writing award I will scream. It felt like it was striving to say something profound but just ended up being really pointless. There are better examples of this genre than this script which literally has the line ‘not all men’ in it.
- Everything Everywhere All At Once - I definitely cried, this would be the popular choice, there is going to be uproar when/if it doesn’t win.
- The Banshees of Inisherin - the more I think about this movie, the more I like it. There’s such a great mythic quality to it, I would be happy if it wins.
- Triangle of Sadness - SO WEIRD. I liked it. Will never stop thinking about that dinner scene. It was so, so weird though 😆
- The Fabelmans - haven’t seen it, won’t be surprised if it wins and everyone is pissed, because my understanding is it’s a movie about making movies and the academy loooooves that
- All Quiet On the Western Front - I liked it but it did feel a little derivative and I think it’s going to be too bleak to win.
- Avatar: The Way of Water - if this wins I will be the one rioting. No I haven’t seen it. No I will not be seeing it. (I might have if I found the time before the awards.) I am one of the people who hated the first movie, no it was not to be rebellious and go against the grain, I just saw it on a tiny screen and was bored out of my mind and believe that if you have to say ‘well you should have seen it in the special format…’ it doesn’t deserve the general award. Technical awards, sure, but not best picture.
- Elvis - god this was so bad. I don’t even hate Baz Luhrmann as much as some people do but this was just all bad. Script was bad, performances were weird and overbearing, the frantic directorial style didn’t lend anything to the story. I feel like they just needed a biopic up here but omg it was terrible and I wish I had not watched it.
- Tár - did not manage to see this one before the show, I wish I had seen this instead of Women Talking but the theater was only showing it at matinee times for some reason. Probably won’t win but is probably way better than some of the others on this list.
International Feature:
- All Quiet on the Western Front - see above. Also I feel like there should be a rule about this, I don’t think movies should be nominated for both best picture and best international feature.
- Argentina, 1985 - this was nice. Pretty classic legal film but it was good and I would not be sad if this one won.
- The Quiet Girl - seeing on Tuesday! Will report back but even having not seen it I want it to win just because it’s in Irish #biased
- Close - didn’t manage to find this one, no idea what it’s about
- Eo - this was playing close to me but there ended up being a blizzard the only day I could go. Love Polish cinema though so I would like to see it eventually.
I don’t have many other thoughts aside from Ke Huy Quan should definitely win best supporting actor.
They’ve probably already announced awards before I posted this, haven’t checked, anyway those are my thoughts on what I managed to get through, hopefully I will do better next year 👍
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I CARE SO MUCH PLEASE LET ME SEE UR QUACKBOYHALO WIP… omg do i need to dm u will u post it 😳😳😳
hey,,,,,
this is very muc a wip mind u literally just a middle of a scene tore out from a bigger fic hdsuajdkha and yeah unrequited love quackhalo from q's side
(this scene may feel ooc but its based after a LONG emotional talk quackity had with bbh sohe'slike emotionally exhausted at this pount adhsidasjl)
His head falls softly on Bad's shoulder. Bad tenses underneath him.
"Sorry." Quackity scrambles, suddenly remembering their previous conversation. After the emotional exhaustion of this one though, he doesn't even try to make it into a joke as he did then. Doesn't try for the sarcastic quip that wavered throughout his words for the whole day. "You said you're not a fan of touch, I-"
"It's okay" Bad's hand touches the top of Quackity's head. "I'm fine with it right now." The palm travels across the beanie, to the side, bringing Quackity down again. Delicate. Delicate but firm. "I just wasn't feeling it earlier."
Quackity almost submits to the guilt again, especially as his thoughts make unneeded observations. He can't hide them in levels of irony, not from himself. There is no audience in his brain, no matter how much it feels like there is sometimes.
He lets himself sink into the couch and onto Bad's shoulder.
The hand is still on his head. It stays there, but moves down, to the back of Quackity's neck, where his hair sticks out from under his beanie. Bad's nails press against his scalp softly, fingers moving in a confident manner.
Again. Delicate but firm.
When Karl cuddled him that one time, warm body pressed to his side, all of his energy went into controlling his breath, all the focus into trying to normalise his heartbeat. Karl didn't seem to notice then or at least didn't mention anything. But Quackity still remembers the struggle of almost suffocating by not providing his body as much oxygen as his pounding heart demanded. Anything not to make Karl uncomfortable. Anything not to make Karl think he's…
But now all of his energy is gone. All of it went into hushed words, uncovering secrets he burrowed years ago, showing the vulnerability he fought so hard to hide.
His breathing picks up and he doesn't try to stop it this time.
Bad continues, seemingly not bothered by it.
The fingers keep threading, Bad keeps still and soft next to him. Slowly, but surely, Quackity relaxes.
Somehow, along the way, his face gets hidden in Bad's neck. Somehow, Bad's hand gets to the side, now playing with the hair just by Quackity's ear.
[more nice pets]
His breathing gets shaky each time Bad's fingertips graze on the bare skin, instead of threading hair, but he doesn't care, doesn't want to care when it all feels so nice, so nice that he can't bear it, so nice that he has to show Bad somehow that-
He doesn't even have time to push the thought away. He isn't even sure if there even is a thought, or if his body just decides to work on its own, to curl up to Bad more, take in a deep breath and press his lips to the junction of Bad's jaw and neck, like it's the most normal thing in the world.
Except it's not. It most definitely isn't, not for him, not for them.
He moves away. The apologies scramble from his brain but get lost on the way to his tongue, making a ruckus inside his body instead, making him unable to breathe.
Bad's eyes are wide. He glances at Quackity’s lips.
He glances at his lips.
Quackity moves forward. Bad flinches, moves back.
"Quackity, I don't-"
The shame catches up to him, falling on him like a bucket of cold water.
"Me neither." He quickly says, not even waiting for Bad to finish his thought. 'I don't' what? Like men? Like you? Want to kiss you? Whatever the end of that sentence was, Quackity's response feels like it has a grain of lie in it. Because whatever Bad doesn't, Quackity obviously, painfully does.
"Sorry." Bad says as if he has anything to apologise for. As if Quackity didn't just…
He feels bile rise up his throat. Hot, burning acid, eating away at his ability to communicate.
"I think I got too relaxed. You know, the loneliness." He tries to laugh, but the acid eats away at the corners of the sound. "Forgot it wasn't a hot chick comforting me."
Bad doesn't laugh, but he does offer him a soft smile. It's worse. It's worse than even a stern stare.
"I can keep doing it if it relaxed you."
He opens his mouth to say no.
"Yeah. Sure."
And he knows he’s doomed.
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LITERALLY you running thru the before trilogy on letterboxd is inspiring meee what are your (no spoiler) thoughts on it ???
i love that so much omg and i’m so glad u asked because at night while i am trying to sleep i’ll just be lying there like oh remember 1:19:04 of before sunset or something and i have Not recovered. this got really long so im putting it under a cut lol
anyways take all my opinions with a grain of salt because i haven’t watched before midnight yet but i love the first two a lot. despite waxing poetic about them in my dreams it’s a lot harder to actually put the feeling in words. before sunrise really just is a dream julie delphy and ethan hawke have so much chemistry it’s absolutely insane. there are so many scenes where i feel like i should watch them again because their body language is so dependent on whichever one of them is talking. ur so crushed when they talk over each other without meaning to and it’s so special in the first movie to see how they balance first-meeting jitters with the connection they feel that lets them have real conversations. like you know how you always want to agree with someone new u just met who u like so that they’ll like you? u can see how they feel like that and how at the same time they end up telling each other the truth (in roundabout ways). they’re just so sweet and nervous and, yes, kind of pretentious. a lot of the conversations are at times a bit embarrassing but i think that’s the point so i’m forgiving of it. i was super attached to before sunrise and i am still it’s definitely my favourite but i’m such an idealist i expected that lol. i was on guard for before sunset and it didn’t win me over until 15 minutes in i think? and then everything just suddenly clicked. the last 20 minutes were incredible. i spent ages trying to write a review for before sunset and then i just discarded it because everything i said didn’t seem to hold up to the feeling i had while watching it. the best most clever part of before sunset in my opinion is the real life 9 year gap (which before midnight has too but it’s more effective the first time around) and the time limit that feels like it’s enforcing itself on the audience as well as the characters which definitely influenced both my anxiety and excitement for the end. i also love how short the first two are like the first one is only 1 hour 40 minutes and the second is 1 hour 20 minutes!! that is so great for my attention span! which is part of the reason i haven’t watched before midnight it’s longer lol. the real reason i haven’t watched it (and probably won’t?) is because i feel like it’ll ruin my experience of the first two. i’ve seen clips and bad reviews and good reviews and so i’m undecided on it, but i just feel like the first two movies exist in their own separate worlds, and the third movie exists in the real world and sort of changes the personalities that won me over in the first place along with playing into a few repetitive stereotypes. which! might have been the point, but the first two are now so special to me i don’t want to risk not liking the third lol. i am so sorry this is so long.
#i would have put paragraph breaks but idk where to put them dhdjdk im sorry#i hope u like the movies if u get to watch them and if u watch before midnight let me know what you thought!!#🧡🍑🍊🌼🌟🌻🌙💛#a#romancepdf
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rant #2: internet watering down alt subcultures
(before or in case some ppl jump me in the replies i just want to clarify that ik this acc revolves around anime content but i’ve been into the goth subculture for a few yrs now and i don’t want ppl to think i’m a poser talking out of my ass just bc i don’t post or repost any goth topics/have a gothic style for my blog )
but um
why do ppl call anything remotely alternative ‘goth’ or ‘emo’…..
im sry but the ‘“i need a goth mommy’ or ‘i love goth girls’ mfs are actually unbearable like no u don’t even know what goth is, you just want a hypersexual e-girl with black hair and bangs with heavy eyeliner (same goes for the ‘i need a metalhead bf’ mfs who just want a tall guy w pretty long hair who plays the electric guitar)
those same ppl have started saying shit like ‘noooo i actually want a trad goth 🥺…um! well..no trad goth wants u..😁😁😁😅
like pls u didn’t know what a trad goth was until goth ppl started joking abt this sort of situation and using them as an examples for ‘goth girls’ that aren’t onlyfans models wearing skimpy black clothes and using goth as a buzzword for engagement, u just want to look good😭
also h8 the people that call themselves goth or emo and get defensive when u tell them they’re not bc they don’t even listen to the music or know about the culture of those scenes
‘omg im so emo😂😂😂’ be srs ur wearing a black t-shirt and u bully actual emos
and i’m not ‘gatekeeping’😭 u called ur self goth, we asked around and heard u said ur fav goth band is deftones LMAOO (b4 u get on my ass im not saying deftones is bad, theyre p cool, just not goth😭)
i genuinely fw people or babybats who take time to learn more about things they’re interested in rather than being an annoying trendhopper who thinks listening to shoegaze, wearing alt clothing and being freaky or smth makes them a ‘dommy goth gf’ or a metalhead😭
one of the biggest perpetrators of this have to be the is abt the tiktok #affliction #y2k #jncos male manipulator ushanka wearing cornballs. some of them r chill but a lot of them STINK!! bc of gekkasanctuary (zero hate i actually love him and follow him on all my ig accs ‼️) getting on some of their fyps they’ve started trendhopping once more and begun to waste their money on jp archive fashion and if six was nine just so they can thirst trap to malice mizer and tag their posts w #vkei. hate them💔
anywho this rant is mostly abt the watering down of the goth subculture and not vkei so don’t let me get carried away, i’ll probably rant abt this sometime next yr since i literally do not post at all😭😭
lastly i do NOT fw the onlyfans ladies who tag their posts w #gothgirl or gross captions with more ‘goth mommy’ stuff and continue to perpetuate stereotypes of all goth women being hyper sexual and dominant ☠️
if ur a goth lady and ur like this there isn’t anything wrong w it or wtv, you do you😭i really jus don’t like the stereotype bc it leads gross men to think all goths want to be sexualized without their consent, barked at in public and asked to peg someone (which has happened to me b4 sadly)
ummmm anwyays conclusion of this rant, i don’t fw trendhoppers , weirdos and ppl who water down alt subcultures and use them as buzzwords to perpetuate stereotypes
this is p much a word salad and nothing i wrote down is going thru my brain anymore so pls take this w a grain of salt, if i made any mean comments i was literally just pissed writing this 😭
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In defence of Joe Goldberg Part One
Joe Goldberg is the protagonist of the Netflix show: You. He’s a stalker who develops obsessions with women and manipulates and worms his way into their lives to become their boyfriends, and acts behind the scenes doing deceitful things to ensure his relationship with them flourishes.
Let me be clear: my “defence” of Joe is not that he is actually a good man or not all that bad. On a moral level, Joe is a terrible human being. Anyone who would question that is either disconnected from his actions as they are fictional or in need of psychiatric help.
My defence more lies within the fact that many narratives that are not accurate have been spun around the character. There are many things believed about him that are false, and I actually believe the producers, cast and crew of the show are intentionally supporting these mistruths. I do not mean this post to be a personal attack on anyone, I do however wish to expose the mistruths behind the show and it’s central character.
Myth 1: Joe is a widely popular character who people defend on a moral basis because they love him so much
The story going around is that many people love Joe and think he’s a great guy despite the fact he very very clearly isn’t. The idea is usually that he’s handsome and hot so people look past his evil and judge him based on his appearance. While there is a small small grain of truth to this, it’s heavily exagerated. To see that it’s exagerated, look no further to what people say about Joe’s actor, Penn Badgley’s, twitter and then take an actual look at it, and you will see they are not compatible.
The idea is that Joe fans take to Twitter to defend his actions, and Penn has to respond to them to talk them straight, and that his twitter is full of weirdos defending Joe. The most famous examples people use I will now show, and explain how not one of them defends a single thing Joe did.
What defence has this person made of Joe’s evil actions? What justification have they made?
None. They have simply said they find Joe attractive.
This one is very clearly a joke. Read what the person sent. It clearly isn’t serious.
Again... In what way has the original tweet defended Joe’s actions? They just said that Joe “breaks their heart”, as in he makes them sad. And at the end of the day, Joe is exactly the kind of character who would make you sad. I honestly suspect the person meant that they like him and it’s because of that, that he “breaks their heart” by doing evil things. Alternatively the person may have meant that he breaks their heart because they find him to be a tragic figure, which regardless of how you feel about him; he is. He is a victim of child abuse both physical and psychological at the hands of Mr Mooney.
And so you see... The idea that Joe apologists are replied to by Penn who points out the flaws of their logic just isn’t true. If it were, wouldn’t the famous examples be a lot more evident of this rather than people just saying Joe is hot, tragic or making a joke?
Myth 2: Joe is a pure evil character who has selfish intentions 100% of the time
Many people would read the title of this myth and instantly throw stones like “ARE YOU SAYING JOE’S A GOOD PERSON OMG WHAT THE HELL HE’S A KILLERR MANNNNNNNN FAHDKGHAKJK”. And that’s the first thing I want to bring up.
Stating that Joe as a human being is capable of doing good deeds for the right reasons and has done so is not akin to saying that he is a good person. People aren’t black and white, everyone has aspects of good and bad in them. One aspect of reality that You tries to show us is exactly that. They intentionally create such an evil character in Joe and show him sometimes being kind and supportive to others in order to show the point that even someone so horrible like him can sometimes be genuinely nice to people.
Often people will try to come up with alternate explanations as to when Joe does something for someone else to try and prove that he was actually doing it for himself. These explanations include:
1. “Joe only helps others to feel like a good person”
Honestly there may actually be some truth in this. But really this literally could be said about anyone.
Be honest, think of times when you have been kind to others. In every single one of them, can you honestly say that you took no pleasure just in the fact that you were being nice? A sense of pride?
People typically do help other people partly in fact that they want to feel like they’ve done a good thing. You see it in charity workers all the time. That doesn’t mean they don’t actually care about the people who are benefiting from their actions.
2. “Joe did not actually care about Paco/Joe killed Ron because he was suspicious of him, not to help Paco and Claudia/Joe only helped Paco because he saw himself in him”
The murder of the character Ron is a morally ambiguous murder because of one of the most overlooked scenes in the show; when Joe visits Claudia (Paco’s mother) in the hospital. I advise you to watch that scene if you don’t remember the revelation that was made about Ron in it, once you notice it, you see him as even worse than he already was, and that’s saying something! We learn from Claudia, that the only reason she is staying with Ron in the first place is because he is a parole (or probation?) officer who is threatening to use his “connections” to have Paco removed from Claudia’s custody since she is a former drug addict. Since Ron works within the law, he has power and privilege and won’t be easy to take down.
But what is not so ambiguous, is that Joe was doing this simply out of care for another human being; Paco. Joe gains absolutely nothing from killing Ron. In fact, it’s detrimental to him, it’s another murder for him to cover up that he could end up in prison for.
Paco on the other hand it does benefit. Paco no longer needs to decide between being separated from his mother, or being abused for the rest of his childhood.
Joe did something drastic that hurt him and helped Paco. Regardless of the justification of the act or lack thereof, Joe genuinely cared about Paco.
One person suggested to me that Ron was suspicious of Joe and that’s the real reason he killed him, and helping Paco was just an excuse he used for himself. If this were the case, how come earlier in the show when Paco poisoned Ron to try and kill him, Joe literally warned Paco that if it got found out he’d be taken away from Claudia and then made sure Ron was ok? If Joe just wanted Ron out the picture for his own sake, why not just let Ron die then and there? Paco would go down for it, and Joe would be ridded of his enemy.
More importantly, if Joe is scared of Ron because of said suspicions, why does Joe constantly act in ways that he knows will annoy Ron? Ron threatens him to stay away from Paco, but Joe still goes to see him to help him. If Joe is just looking out for number one, why not just back away from Paco altogether or move house?
Also, the show literally makes a point even past season 1 of showing how alike Joe and Paco’s childhoods are.
In season 2 we learn that when Joe was a boy, he was raised by his mother and her abusive boyfriend. Just as Paco is raised by Claudia and abusive Ron.
Paco tried to steal a gun from Joe’s store to kill Ron with. Joe freaks out on Paco for planning this. When Joe was a boy, he killed his mother’s abusive boyfriend with a gun and as a result his life went into ruin. The parallel here is clear; Joe doesn’t want Paco meeting the same downfall he did. That’s why he’s so aggressive when yelling at him, he knows what he’s talking about here....
Why all the parallels if Paco is actually just some random person to Joe he just happens to use to get rid of his suspicious neighbour?
Another alternate explanation is “Joe only helps Paco because he sees himself in him”. Yes. This is true. But this is also literally the definition of empathy; “this could have been me...”? I never really understood how this argument allegedly proves Joe helped Paco for himself.
Are all the people who follow vocational careers that consist of helping people who have struggled with things they have themselves just trying to help themselves too? Like former drug users who help other addicts get rehabilitated? No, this simply means the person has a better understanding of the situations they are dealing with and therefore can empathize and relate better.
Myth 3: Joe is equally as if not more responsible for Delilah’s murder in season 2 as Love Quinn
In season 2, we meet another serial killer: Love Quinn, and Joe’s new landlady in LA; Delilah Alves.
Delilah happens to find out about Joe’s storage unit where he keeps people captive and his manslaughter of local comedian, Henderson. So Joe traps Delilah in his cage within the storage unit, gives her cuffs that you set a amount of time on and they naturally free the person they are holding after that amount of time, cuffs her to a table with them, and then commences an operation to leave the USA and go to Mexico before the timer on the cuffs runs out, so Delilah can get back to her life and he can escape her inevitable police reports.
Yes, this is horrific behaviour. Caging another human being is utterly horrendous, and Joe is a disgusting person for doing it.
Love Quinn then breaks into Joe’s storage unit and murders Delilah.
Joe’s caging of Delilah led to her murder. It’s his fault.
But it is also Love’s fault. In fact it is MORE her fault. Joe had no idea his actions would kill Delilah, Love knowingly and willingly took her life. The level of responsibility is not anywhere near equal, Love’s far surpasses Joe’s.
Yet the fanbase will often state that they wish for Ellie, Delilah’s younger sister, to get revenge on Joe and not mention Love’s name. Joe receives far more criticism for Delilah’s murder than the actual murderer. Heck, Love’s fans criticize him for it!
Joe kidnapped and imprisoned Delilah and set things up so she could free herself in 24 hours. He hurt her badly.
Love took out a knife and murdered Delilah. She hurt her far far far far more.
I’ve been accused of being a Joe fanatic who will defend all of his actions and make him out to be a good person just for pointing this out. People throw around the “you think Joe is a good person” card wayyyyy too easily, which also gets me wondering if there are half as many people praising Joe as they say.
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I don't know if this is asking for spoilers or not... I throughly enjoyed Donny's pov and take on the attempted rescue mission of lfls - definitely believe that was the most powerful pov choice. However I'm massively curious of Leos inner monologs while having to deal with Donnie running after him? I could only image it was a cross between "omg, you're here!" And "Nonono, Donnie, BAD IDEA!" Also, did you struggle with whose's pov to write that scene between Don and Leo?
Not spoilers at all~
And yeah, I actually debated bouncing back and forth for Donnie and Leo POV’s, but that just wouldn’t work out smoothly for me. Had to cut my losses and choose the option with world shifting knowledge that would heavily affect Donnie’s emotional arc over Leo, who knew all of this info and could somewhat give people insight to his thoughts throughout the next arc.
That being said, this is my blog where I don’t have to keep things short and flowing well, so here. A rougher cut of what could have been. (Rougher meaning I wrote this in one go at 2 am after being in a slight writer’s block so. Take it with a grain of salt lol)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Warning for depiction of strong emotional distress and a panic attack.
“Nardo!”
The voice was familiar. Familiar in a way that Leo hadn’t expected it to be, hadn’t dared hope that he would hear it again, let alone recognize it just as comfortably as Raph and Mikey’s voices.
He turned his head slightly to check, and yep.
It was Donnie.
And oh thank god it was Donnie, he would know how to fix this, he could fix anything–
But as his brother darted towards him, a heavy feeling settled over his shoulders. What if he couldn’t? Not to mention that it had been Donnie of all people to invent this shock collar, even if Leo knew he hadn’t meant any harm by it.
Donnie seemed to have no idea what Leo was thinking though, because he skidded to a stop in front of him slightly out of breath, shooting nervous, quick glances at Raph and the kraken. “Okay, Leo, that’s our cue. I’ll give you a lift,” he said, still slightly distracted.
Leo took a deep, shaky breath and turned fully to face Donnie. His brother opened his mouth to say something else but stopped, his eyes scanning Leo.
Surely you’ll know how to fix it. A voice command, or... or something. Tell me you can get this off. Do something, Dee.
Donnie’s brow scrunched in confusion, the purple-clad turtle taking a step forwards, towards Leo.
Draxum leered down at him. “Your brother must have felt quite strongly about this to have put so much work into fixing your flaws.”
He– he suddenly couldn’t breathe. No. Donnie was here to help him, he should be fine, he should be okay. So why couldn’t he breathe, why couldn’t he breathewhycouldn’thebreathewhy–
“Leo?” His brother started to advance, faster, and Leo wasn’t ready he needed a moment to think because what if it was dangerous, what if it hurt him he didn’t want to hurt anyone why couldn’t his brother just give him some space–
“Leo, it’s okay, we’re going to get you out of here. Talk to me, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
Talk to me. A command. He should follow that, commands were straight forwards enough. Except that one contradicted the first order, so what was right?
His neck prickled, a warning, and Leo wondered if it was charging up to punish him for not answering. He touched it with one hand, wondering if the growing heat was his imagination or if he was actually doing something terribly wrong.
Donnie moved forwards again, this time reaching a hand out towards Leo’s neck.
Draxum’s hand brushed against the collar, a new tone signaling an even tighter net closing around Leo as the advanced mode activated.
What would it be like for the collar to get even worse?
“Leo…?” his brother whispered. “That– that looks like my tech. Why does that look like my tech?”
The piercing tone sounded, a warning, a promise, the same thing that had stopped Leo from taking Mikey’s hand.
He had to go. He had to go right now, or something bad would happen.
He didn’t wait, didn’t turn to acknowledge his brother’s confused exclamation as he ran, feet slapping the coliseum ground as his eyes bounced around the surrounding area.
Draxum had told him no contact with other turtles. Even if Donnie knew what he was doing, the collar would mean that Leo couldn’t be around him for help. So, with that in mind, he had to keep going with Plan B.
He had to find Splinter or April and get them to help him.
As ragged gasps filled his ears and his heartbeat filled his head, he heard Donnie come after him in hot pursuit.
#glitch answers#lfls#like father like son#glitch writes#extra scene#ITS ROUGH I AM WARNING YOU LOL#sometimes you ask a question expecting the writer to have an eloquent reply#sometimes the author just dumps more writing on it as an answer#zelmyna-dragonheart
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(Hands you detective au)
WOW!!! OMG THANK U!!!
IWBFIEB im /j of course fr thank u for this ask I've had a detective kinda au in my mind 4EVER.. multichapter pg/kawhi detective au... I won't write it yet because uhhhh looks at mountain of wips... looks away.. but YEA it's definitely a THOUGHT. My hatred of c0ps vs my love for detective aus.... FIGHT!!!
But BASICALLY the idea I have with the detective au is like... kawhi leonard was just some guy looking for a job to support his adopted son, Terance. One day he helped with a crime near his house and badda Bing badda bang! A detective agency liked his 'eccentric' thought process. It's basically a play on monk/Sherlock where detectives find a guy who thinks different than them so they make him do everything basically LMAO.. except kawhi doesn't Want to so everything. Despite being known for his austere exterior, the deaths stack onto him. He really hates his line of work but just suppresses it all deep down. To his quiet dislike, he ends up climbing higher into the forensic ranks due to his knack of solving cases. He gets pushed up from Arson with Kyle Lowry, a funny but kind of sad little fellow who misses his old partner transferred to another state agency, to Vice (AKA drugs) with Paul George.
Paul George isn't your ordinary humbug black and white detective. Though he did carry a pack of cigarettes and a lighter with his own initialed insignia, he only carried it for Style Points and Aesthetic. He takes most his cases with a grain of salt, just glad to be getting a good pay. He shows up to scenes wearing flashy, expensive suits and a cute hat with a bow. His shoes are always shiny and his baby blue corvette (fitted with it's own radio and sirens) is worth more than Kawhi's shitty apartment. He's flashy and shines his badge to all the ladies. A failed actor, He's obsessed with acting like his job is a movie and he the handsome main character.
He's recently new to the job, having moved up to replace Damian Lillard -- who suddenly quit. Paul's vain and jealous of Kawhi having quicker success than him just for 'being weird'. He constantly shoots offhand comments and let's Kawhi know who's the leader in this forced partnership. Kawhi could honestly care less.
I think I want chapter 1 to be them getting to know each other whether they want to or not. Chapter one is pg's big asshole era so it starts off with them getting sent to their first case together by the commissioner. The commissioner gives his complaints to kawhi rather than pg so that gets pg all annoyed. Insert a bunch of sarcastic and biting comments here. This continues even in the car ride, with Pg lowkey trying to flex his flashy accessories and higher authority to Kawhi's silence. Then the car stops at a red light and who do they see but Damian Lillard driving his rinkadink motorcycle. He quit to become a private investigator, saying he won't work with corrupt cunts. He throws Kawhi his number, flips off paul, and tells them Goodluck on their criminal case before speeding off before the light hit green.
This sends Paul back into a spiel, ranting to Kawhi about how Stupid Dame was and how he must be outta his mind. Then he starts putting up dumb ground rules to reestablish his superiority like rule 72 always say I'm right. Rule 56 always tell me I look sexy rule 57 always follow that up with a no homo though rule- You get it. That goes on for a Long while, and when pg is finally done he looks back at Kawhi, who hasn't said a single word since getting in the car, and asks if he has any questions. Kawhi nods and asks "can you turn on the radio."
Pg does. Reluctantly. But only because his voice was starting to get sore from all that talking.
Chapter 2 ... I am still thinking. I have a case in mind for them to solve but... it's a lot to think!
But I really want there to be a scene where they have to chase a runaway culprit but his sprinklers turn on so pg refuses to run through them and get him. So he just kinda points at the culprit's retreating form and barks at kawhi like "gO GET HIM!!! THAT'S MY MONEY RUNNIN OUTTA THE BUILDING, YOU BOZO!!"
And I want there to be a scene where pg and kawhi are scoping out a suspect at a diner so they have to squeeze really close together in a booth and snoop in a dark corner. Pg ask kawhi to light his cig for him (while it's in his mouth that's very important) ... they start bonding a bit. Kawhi talks a little. Pg starts noticing that kawhi isn't this kinda special golden boy detective but just a guy whos trying to make a decent living. He comforts kawhi after he sees a bad body.
I also want a scene down the road where kawhi gets shot and the closest place for treatment is his apartment so pg drives (and kawhi gets blood all over his nice car MAN!! "Leonard I swear you're gonna live and you're gonna wash this SHIT off my car, man!!") him home and kicks open the door to start getting to work on healing that wound. Kawhi is more concerned with not letting Terance see him like this... pg shows his Caring side and is really nice to terance.. gives him his badge to play with in another room. Also hands him his sketchpad he uses to draw the suspects so he can doodle away. Mandatory terance asking if Paul is kawhi's boyfriend. Mandatory Paul dodging the question by saying he has to go help dad-KAWHI. And he does and paul REALLY realizes that kawhi is just some guy who just thinks different but that doesn't make him any better or worse than pg and it's like "oh. Maybe he's not so bad..."
And YEAH. I think I want the end to have a twist. Blah blah they find out the agency is corrupt (probably take money from drug dealing gangs to not bust em all). They both end up quitting detective work to join Damian's private agency to put a stop to dirty work.
BUT YEAH!! Those are my ideas for it!!! Kinda long I dunno!!!! Ummmm ! Yeah! Lmao! Buddycop dynamics have me by the THROAT 😭
#pg/kawhi#ted drabbles#they are a found family sir!!!!#pg probably ends up selling his car for more financial support#and he has kawhi and terance move in with him#and it ends with them getting kyle to join their private instigators group#so hes like YEAH but first i need to phone someone...#(demar(#YEAH#a little cheesy but most detective movies are i think so i can play on that vibe#thank u for handing me this#this FOOD#ted asks#little anons hand me aus like im a duck and theyre handing me bread
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April 14: 2x15 The Trouble with Tribbles
Back to watching TOS on Wednesdays! We’ll see if I can keep this up because I do prefer it to Fridays.
Today’s episode: the Classic (tm) Trouble with Tribbles.
Starting out with a little test for Chekov lol. Just Chekov, his mentor, and his mentor-in-law.
My mom called Chekov “Kirk and Spock’s little project,” which I think is hilarious but also probably true. Only 22 years old and on the bridge crew? Private quiz by the top two people on the ship? Legit interpretation.
“It was just a little joke.” / “Extremely little, Ensign.” Classic Spock burn.
The Organian Peace Treaty--from Errand of Mercy??
I really do feel like Kirk is genuinely amused by Chekov.
You would never guess from this intro about tense diplomatic situations and number-one-top-priority-triple-red-alerts that this was going to be a crack-y episode about space bunnies.
Oh no, a fake red alert! Kirk is really angry now.
Kirk and Spock are very Married today.
STORAGE COMPARTMENTS?? StOrAgE cOmPaRtmEnTs?
WHEAT??
Do not try to imply that Spock doesn’t know things; he is contractually obligated to show off.
Canadian wheat.
Honestly, just let Kirk call it wheat.
Spock is using diplomacy to reign Kirk in. Sarek would be proud. And Spock would be insulted that Sarek is proud.
Kirk is very Sassy today.
Omg the waitresses have little wings.
Spock taking the wheat from behind his back and giving it to Kirk like a magician’s assistant.
I feel like Kirk is bitter about the wheat because it’s the one (1) thing he’s not a nerd about. And he’s from Iowa too!! He should know!
Uhura listening to the salesman; well she IS here to shop, after all.
Is it alive? Is it cute? Oh who am I kidding, I can see it’s cute!
Oh no the tribble is eating the grain.
Uhura is truly adorable.
I can’t believe she just made a joke about never getting any shore leave and here she is, back at her station again.
Can you even imagine AOS Kirk being tasked with protecting a bunch of grain? HE would make Iowa jokes.
And Spock is trying so hard not to laugh.
Tbh I have a real soft spot for these frustrated Kirk episodes. Poor, long-suffering Kirk. So much more serious than all of the nonsense going on around him.
I like this space station design.
Klingons on shore leave. They just want to have some fun. No bowling alleys on their ships!
Technical journal time for Scotty!
“I am immune to their effect....” Sure. What’s funny to me is that Kirk actually is immune to their effect. Truly at no point does he seem charmed or amused by or even interested in the tribbles, except in their capacity as Klingon detectors at the end
“I think they’re old enough [to be adopted].” Lol how can you tell?
One look from Spock reigns Kirk in. #spacehusbands
Oh, you noticed there are 11 tribbles instead of 1? How astute.
“What do you get when you feed a tribble too much?” / “A fat tribble.” This is ACTUAL DIALOGUE. Oh, Kirk.
Honestly McCoy is a medical doctor, so it kind of would make more sense for Spock to be doing these tribble experiments but he has his hands full with Kirk
Kirk is awfully insistent upon Scotty taking shore leave when he should very well remember what happened last time
“You’d think he’d be a vodka man.” And he is!
Klingons don’t understand Kirk at all. He IS a little soft <3
Where’s that post that’s like ‘the AOS writers just listened to this one Klingon speech about Kirk and wrote his character based on that?” I mean... not totally inaccurate.
Actually it is a potentially interesting speech. Is this really how his enemies see him based on his reputation? Or is it just, like, a bunch of generic insults you could apply to pretty much any captain of a group you didn’t like?
Poor Kirk, missing out on this fight scene.
Lol the drink joke. Does it make sense? No, but it’s funny all the same.
“Captain’s log: I am forced to cancel shore leave.”
Angry Daddy!Kirk and his unhelpful children. You’re ALL grounded!!
“No this is not off the record!” Not even gonna debate that Scotty.
This whole Kirk and Scotty scene deserves an Emmy.
Spones + Tribbles
The extra hilarious thing about Spock talking about the uselessness of the tribbles and Bones defending their cuteness as being an end in and of itself is that Spock DOES canonically like soft, pleasing animals. Even in this episode!!
The tribble wants to be captain.
Kirk collecting tribbles lmao.
“Don’t look at me, it’s the tribbles that are breeding.”
The tribbles are bisexual. Just like Captain Kirk. (Yes this is two different uses of the term that mean totally different things and I do NOT care I just like hearing the word “bisexual” in DeForest Kelley’s voice.)
I feel like Uhura must be so lonely.. Trying to talk to Spock about the moon. Meeting shape shifting aliens who become native Swahili speakers just for her. Trying to buy love in the form of small, cute animals.
The tribbles have been taken from their predator-filled environment. I am VERY curious about their native environment now. What eats tribbles?
“It’s you I take lightly.” Honestly this level of sass almost makes AOS Kirk seem IC.
“Licensed asteroid locator and prospector.” Brb changing careers.
“But he is after my grain!”
Kirk saying “au revoir” is funny on its face for how he echoes Cyrano what’s-his-face but also because it reminds me of Shatner saying “I’m from Canada, so I speak French.”
No, the tribbles got in his food! That is the last straw.
It’s hard to tell because it’s covered in tribbles, but Spock appears to have a very odd looking salad. (Or that large piece of fruit is a tribble, really hard to tell.)
Spock’s “fascinating” was so quiet.
“They’re into the machinery all right.” First, lol, and second, isn’t Scotty supposed to be in his room thinking about what he’s done?
You can really see that missing finger.
Gonna beam down some tribbles too.
And now to top off this bad day: the indignity of having a bunch of dead tribbles fall on his head. To wacky music.
“Gorged? On my grain?” It’s more likely than you think.
And like........you realize someone off set is just continuing to throw little puff balls at Shatner's head at regular intervals during this whole scene? One just bounced right off it.
And the answer to the tribble problem is literally “stop feeding them” which is so obvious that I assumed it was just harder than one would think not to feed a tribble. Since no one fed them. And they continued to eat.
I also love how Bones comes into his best friend literally buried in tribbles and doesn’t even blink.
Whereas Spock’s here with his mouth this thinnest possible line, trying not to laugh.
They like Vulcans! They have good taste.
Spock is definitely that type that has secret low self esteem so he builds himself up with confident comments at every opportunity.
“He’s a Klingon, Jim.”
Kirk REALLY likes threatening the Klingons with tribbles.
I feel like leaving Cyrano to single-handedly clean up the tribbles over 17 years is not a punishment that makes sense because like... must the station live with the tribbles until then? Also, where is he to put them?
I think they should be returned to their native habitat to be eaten by predators according to the natural cycle of life.
Are we to understand that SPOCK suggested beaming the tribbles on to the Klingon ship? Perhaps I have underestimated his prank war abilities.
I’ll be honest, this ep is very entertaining and for that reason one of my favorites, but I don’t know that it paints the Enterprise, and Kirk in particular, in the best light.
Like... I am really torn on Kirk’s treatment of the undersecretary. I know he often doesn’t much like administrators and diplomats and other people who don’t seem to have much RL experience, and certainly this Federation official got on his bad side immediately and understandably by misusing the red alert.
But... Kirk isn’t at all subtle about not liking him. I mean he literally says “I don’t like you” and that’s just objectively unprofessional, which he is not. The sassiness was way unsubtle, which could be funny, but it just didn’t seem IC.
I can almost justify it because of the red alert mix up--that’s everything Kirk hates: violating regulations, showing disrespect to him and his crew, uncalled for manipulation--and I think he has the right to be upset about it. But he continues holding this grudge for a long time. It feels like it’s just as much about not personally caring about the grain as about anything else. Like he’s dismissive about the grain because he personally has never heard of it. So obviously it’s not important.
That’s too much that conventional-wisdom arrogant, dumb Kirk for me.
I guess I just don’t understand, why so much hatred for the undersecretary? Because his two biggest sins were the red alert and employing a Klingon. But as I already said, I think Kirk’s ire is disproportionate to the first offense and no one knew about the Klingon until the end--because a tribble, not Kirk specifically, found him out.
Otherwise..this guy was right! The grain was important, losing it or having it sabotaged would have very bad consequences for the Federation, it is Kirk’s job to guard it, and he should do it well. He was also right that the Klingon threat was real!! He’d brought in the Klingon threat but he was still right about it existing. The Klingons did in fact sabotage the grain! And although we hear at the end that there was magically more grain out there... I don’t get how or from where.
Furthermore, he used the red alert specifically because he seemed to think Kirk wouldn’t rush over to protect the grain otherwise, and Kirk is so dismissive of this “just wheat” that he kinda proves the guy right!
Anyway, I can see the grains of this Kirk (lol pun not intended) in his general characterization, but it’s too over the top, to the point where it’s OOC. He does take his job, including the diplomatic aspects of it, very seriously, and I think an IC Kirk would protect the grain, and maybe be only occasionally, subtly sassy to the undersecretary.
But this was such a crack-y episode overall... it was like everyone was turned up to 11 and pushed slightly to the side.
It was a fun ep though with a lot of very classic scenes, and it’s another reminder that Spock likes soft, adorable animals.
I will admit that I actually do not think the tribbles are particularly cute. They kind of weird me out. They’re just lumps of fur.
Next is The Gamesters of Triskelion, which I vaguely remember as a decent but not great episode.
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Episode 22: The One with ANOTHER Other Moonlit Rooftop Scene
WE’RE ON A ROOF, GREAT START!
THERE’S MOONLIGHT, GREAT START!
BC WE ALL KNOW THAT THE BEST THINGS HAPPEN ON MOONLIT ROOFTOPS (except for that one time that we’re not gonna talk about rn bc it’ll give me the Sads)
OUR BOYS ARE SITTING TOGETHER ON A ROOF IN QINGHE
TOGETHER!! ON A ROOF!! IN THE MOONLIGHT!!!
WE LOVE ROOFS AND MOONLIGHT IN THIS FANDOM
Wwx: does this seem familiar to you? Weren’t we chilling on a roof like this together back in the cloud recesses during Ancient Fantasy China summer school?
And lwj is like, no, we were fighting with swords and stuff
Wwx: right, right, you caught me breaking curfew!
HE LAUGHS, REMINISCING. HE LAUGHS!!
Wwx: too bad there’s no emperor’s smile
Get help wwx, problems are not solved with copious amounts of wine
Oh god, and he just slouches back on the roof, leaning on his elbows and SPREADING HIS LEGS LIKE A SCARLET WOMAN
WWX WHAT ARE YOU DOING
MAKING YOURSELF LOOK ALL ENTICING LIKE THAT
And lwj has an iron will apparently bc he’s still sitting upright in a meditation pose
Oooh, now they’re going to have a Serious conversation
Lwj: things change. How could it be the same as before?
And wwx gives him this sad little smile
Wwx: lan zhan, thank you
Lwj: for what?
Wwx: thank you for not telling shijie
And then HE SMILES AT LWJ
SINCERELY. THAT’S A SINCERE SMILE ON HIS FACE
Like, okay, it’s not as big and bright as his usual sunshine smile BUT IT’S STILL THE HAPPIEST SMILE HE’S DIRECTED AT LWJ SINCE THE BURIAL MOUNDS
Ofc lwj goes and ruins the mood (why does he keep doing this)
Lwj: these tricks harm your body and mind as well
Wwx: i know, but i’m not using wicked tricks, i learned CRAFTY tricks
Lwj: crafty tricks?
Lwj’s tone changes here! It has a hopeful edge to it rather than the solemn note it carried before. THINGS ARE LOOKING UP, GUYS
Wwx: that’s what i learned in that sunless dingy place for three months
ah, guess i spoke too soon...wwx gets this faraway look on his face like he’s back in that awful place anD IT MAKES ME SO SAD
Wwx: anyway, i have to thank you for Lan clan’s Temperament Technique bc my crafty tricks require
HE USED LAN CLAN TEACHINGS TO DEVELOP HIS NEW CULTIVATION
LAN CLAN!!
LAN!!!!
EVEN AT HIS LOWEST, HE STILL CLUNG TO LAN WANGJI. LAN WANGJI STILL WAS ABLE TO HELP HIM EVEN THO HE WASN’T THERE
AHHHHHHHHH
And lwj is just watching him here, yearningly like always
Wwx: with my bamboo flute, everything can be controlled~! *twirls the demon flute*
But lwj is not gonna be distracted by his fancy flute twirling here
Lwj: do crafty tricks rely on the spirit?
Wwx nods in response
~Their Song~ starts playing in the background (the flute version of it, even!!)
Lwj: mastering it by mind is like taking a grain of rice from a fire. If not done carefully you risk falling into demonic cultivation. The consequences will be unimaginable
Okay, 1) pretty sure that’s the longest string of sentences lwj has made in the entire show so far, so kudos to you lwj. You used your words!! I’m so proud!!
And 2) THE CONSEQUENCES WILL BE UNIMAGINABLE?? LWJ DOES NOT WANT TO IMAGINE THOSE CONSEQUENCES FOR WEI YING. HE DOESN’T WANT TO THINK OF HIM SUFFERING THAT WAY. BC HE LOVES HIM
Wwx: i know. Lan zhan, i understand your concern.
OUR BOYS OUR COMMUNICATING.
LOOK AT THEM!!
COMMUNICATING ALL OVER EACH OTHER!!!!
THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER
And here wwx does HIS LITTLE SCOUT’S HONOR THING AND HIS VOICE PICKS UP A CHIPPER TONE AND IT’S SO CUTE AND SO REMINISCENT OF BEFORE
Wwx: i, wei ying, promise you that i will never degenerate into demonic cultivation
STOP MAKING PROMISES YOU WON’T KEEP WWX
Wwx: do you believe me?
Lwj nods
AND OH, THE SMILE WWX HAS IN RESPONSE
IT’S ALMOST LIKE BEFORE
ALL OF THIS IS ALMOST LIKE BEFORE
Now wwx does a little floaty jump thing off of the roof (it doesn’t look ridiculous for once!! It actually looks pretty neat here!!) and starts to walk away
Lwj elegantly stands up (still on the roof!!) and says “Let me help you.”
Wwx freezes in his steps for a moment, not quite turning back, and says “okay.”
He says that AND HE SMILES AGAIN
Lwj is left standing alone on the roof
ALL THIS AND WE’RE ONLY 5MIN INTO THE EPISODE
MY HEART, MY HEART
GOD I MISSED MY WANGXIANTICS.
IT’S BEEN SO LONG, MY LOVE, I’VE MISSED YOU SO!!
Oh, and now it’s daytime
Plot Things are happening
Nmj is giving a rousing speech to the troops, very imposing, very stern, very soldier-y
AND TOTALLY DOES NOT MATTER SO WE’RE MOVING ON
Everyone’s leaving Qinghe for plot reasons. Jc and jzx go ahead on their swords but lwj and wwx are traveling by horse
They’re on horses!! Idk why that makes me happy but it does!! I don’t even like horses that much???
Wwx is twirling his flute!!
Lwj: why didn’t you go ahead with them?
Wwx: i don’t want to join in the fun with jc and that colorful peacock
Lwj: aren’t you the one who prefers to join in the fun?
GUYS, GUYS LWJ SAYS THIS WITH A TEASING TONE (well, teasing for him; it’s a very subtle change BUT IT’S THERE, I SWEAR!!)
HE’S TRYING TO BE PLAYFUL WITH WWX!! IT’S SO CUTE!!
OMG, OMG we get a brief moment of Jealous!LWJ. Courtesy of NHS, of course.
Nhs is at the top of a tower in qinghe waving goodbye, right? (he’s adorable, i love him)
BUT HE CALLS SPECIFICALLY TO WWX
Nhs: wwx, wwx, take care!
and lwj lets his eyes drift a little towards the voice but HE DOESN’T EVEN DEIGN TO LOOK AT NHS DIRECTLY before his eyes flicker to face forward
it’s such a disdainful little movement; IT HAPPENS SO FAST
BUT THE JEALOUSY IS SO POTENT HERE, OMG OMG
chill out lwj, nhs is just a friend!!
Ugh, evil wen lair time
WE DON’T CARE ABOUT THE PLOT DEVICE OR WEN RUOHAN
Oh, now we’re in the middle of a battlefield but no lwj or wwx in sight, how boring
Battle battle battle
Fight fight fighting
Ooooh demon transformation. That was interesting for like, two seconds
Gotta say, the makeup/costuming they use for those demon things actually looks pretty decent, all things considered
Actually, most of their group fight scenes are pretty good
UGH MORE EVIL WEN LAIR TIME?? Plot plot Meng Yao is revealed to be a wen flunkie suddenly plot plot
Back with the good guys now! At soldier camp!! (or whatever those are called, listen, i’m not a war general, terms escape me)
Plot plot nmj, jzx, jc are inspecting puppets blah blah don’t care don’t care
OH WAIT, LWJ AND WWX SHOWED UP
THEY LOOK VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE PUPPETS. I SUDDENLY CARE ABOUT THE PUPPETS
Nvm, we’re back at a boring strategy meeting blegh
Blah blah invinceable puppets blah blah kill wen ruohan blah blah
Nmj: I WILL SNEAK INTO NIGHTLESS CITY AND KILL WEN RUOHAN
I’m sorry nmj but you don’t have a sneaky bone in your entire body
That is a terrible plan. Jzx agrees with me.
Nmj: if i die, lxc can just take charge nbd
Suddenly lxc shows up with a Sneaky Map
Everybody’s excited about the Sneaky Map
I AM NOT
I AM NOT EXCITED ABOUT THE SNEAKY MAP
THIS IS BORING
LET’S MOVE ON NOW PLZ
Ah, we’re back with wwx and lwj who are inspecting the Suddenly Interesting Puppets
They’re being all clever together!! I love it
OH NO, SOME RANDO JUST INTERRUPTED SAYING JYL NEEDS HELP
WWX TAKES OFF IN A FLASH, OBVS
We’re at jzx’s tent!! WHERE JZX MADE HER CRY
I DEMAND BLOOD IN RECOMPENSE
Wwx: what happened? Don’t cry!
Wwx: was there someone who bullied you??
Omg his words are like, dripping with venom as he says this and turns to glare at jzx
POOR JYL IS SOBBING, OUTRIGHT SOBBING
Jyl: i’m fine! Let’s go, come on, come on
SHE SAYS THIS THROUGH HER TEARS. SHE’S HEARTBROKEN
I DEMAND BLOODSHED
Mianmian shows up to explain the situation
Details don’t matter
What matters is that we see Lwj about to join them in the tent
Like, he’s one step in and everything
But once mianmian starts talking, he steps back out? And just loiters in front of their tent thing?
HE DOESN’T WANT TO INTRUDE ON A FAMILY MATTER
BC LAST TIME HE DID, WWX SNAPPED AT HIM AND PUSHED HIM AWAY
AND THAT SHIT HURTED
WE DON’T WANT THAT AGAIN
We find out that jzx was a total utter DOUCHEBAG to jyl and HUMILIATED her in public BECAUSE HE’S A DICK AND DOESN’T DESERVE HER
YOU’RE LUCKY I’M NOT THERE RN JZX BC I’M READY TO MURDER
Oh look, wwx is ready to murder too
he punches jzx right in the chest AND SENDS HIM FLYING, HELL YEAH
then uses his demon flute TO SMACK DOWN THE JIN DISCIPLES with resentful energy
then goes and DECKS JZX RIGHT IN THE FACE
YESSS!!!!!!
HIT HIM HARDER WWX
But nooo, mianmian and jyl have to be decent people and try to hold wwx back
Lwj hears them cry out and rushes into the room!!
He grabs wwx’s arm, which was already poised for another punch
Lwj: wei ying, calm down
DON’T TELL HIM TO CALM DOWN LWJ
JZX DESERVES WHAT’S COMING TO HIM
DON’T YOU SEE YOUR SISTER IN LAW CRYING???
But it seems that lwj’s words cut through wwx’s rage (even tho he didn’t raise his voice at all!!) bc wwx lets his arm be lowered by lwj’s grip
He looks at lwj’s concerned face and turns to walk out of the tent
We cut to some Sect Leader Time featuring NMJ and LXC
Nmj: soooo, how’d you get the Sneaky Map
Lxc: ...I know a guy
Then they go on for awhile and i get the impression that they’re trying to Flirt but are doing it Badly
HA, losers! (they say, even tho their OTP consistently fails to communicate their Emotions well)
We’re on a battlefield again!
Kinda sucks how our guys get possessed and turned against us.
What a bummer
MORE BORING PLOT STUFF
Blah blah, nmj disappeared, blah blah our guys are forced into a trap blah blah
Oh wait, there’s a bit here
Wwx asks lxc who gave him the Sneaky Map and lxc is all “a good friend” and wwx is like oh okay and walks off
As he walks away, lwj turns to ~gaze longingly~ at him
It was kinda weird, bc contextually it doesn’t make sense for there to be a longing gaze here
BUT WHO CARES!
SINCE WHEN DO WE NEED A REASON FOR GAY YEARNING??
IT JUST IS, MY FRIENDS, AND WE LOVE IT
More evil wen lair time (at some point we watch nmj be a badass at this lair, but we’re not here for him. Sorry nmj, still love ya tho!)
MoVInG alONg
Battlefield has moved to the Nightless City
For real for real, these group battle scenes are pretty cool. I like them.
AHHHH!! AHHHHHHH!!! WWX NEARLY GETS A SWORD TO THE THROAT
BUT LWJ NOTICES IT AND IS BLOCKING THE HIT IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE
THE WAY IT’S FRAMED MAKES IT LOOK EVEN MORE AWESOME!!
Bc he just swooshes into the frame from the right, all fluid movement and elegance
BLOCKS THE HIT LIKE NOTHING
And ends up on the opposite side of the frame, not even looking at the baddie he just blocked; he’s all straight-backed and regal
I am Shocked wwx didn’t swoon right there and then
WWX AND LWJ ARE NOW BACK TO BACK
FIGHTING TOGETHER
I AM IN LOVE
Ugh, we’re back at the evil wen lair
Gross
Can we not? Nobody cares.
BACK ON THE BATTLEFIELD!!
Everything stops suddenly, and lwj and wwx are side by side
Bc ofc they are
They’re soulmates!!
Uh oh, some of their guys get Literally pulverized
Aaaaand, here come the massive amounts of puppets
Wen ruohan - creator of the world’s worst puppet show
Omg, we just keep getting shots of lwj and wwx standing next to each other, or standing back to back
They’re not even doing anything AND IT’S STILL AMAZING TO WATCH
UGH, JUST HAVING THEM BE NEAR EACH OTHER ON SCREEN MAKES ME SO HAPPY
Wwx: lan zhan, what method can we take now to escape?
Lwj: Fight.
Wwx: *smirk*
GOD I LOVE MY BOYS
And the cameras give us close-up shots of their faces in that exchange and it’s amazing
THE EXPRESSIONS, MAN
GRIM DETERMINATION
LIKE, WE’RE PROBABLY DEAD, MIGHT AS WELL GO DOWN FIGHTING
THAT’S WHAT THEIR FACES SAY
I! LOVE!! MY!!! BOYS!!!!
They just look so awesome fighting here!!
Lol wwx is just whacking people with his flute
Very intimidating, wwx, very scary
One of the demon things just tried attacking wwx aND GOT BICHEN THROUGH THE CHEST FOR THEIR TROUBLES
THAT’S WHAT YOU GET, DEMON THING!!
And then lwj goes and blocks another blow meant for wwx
Lwj is so awesome in battle??
I feel like shang from mulan trying to compliment lwj
“YOU...YOU FIGHT GOOD”
i mean, come on, he literally just now took out a demon thing with a BLAST from bichen
BICHEN DIDN’T EVEN TOUCH IT?
AND THE DEMON THING WAS COMING FROM BEHIND HIM??
HE DIDN’T EVEN TURN AROUND TO LOOK!!
HE JUST HAD BICHEN BLAST SOME SPIRITUAL ENERGY BEHIND HIM TO KNOCK OUT THE DEMON THING
WHAT A BAMF
Uh oh
Wwx just did his floaty jump thing and perched on a winged creature statue overlooking the battlefield
Lwj has his eyes on him
He’s watching him all worriedly
WWX STARTS TO PLAY HIS DEMON FLUTE
listen
listen
i know the demon flute and resentful energy is bad for you or whatever
BUT HE LOOKS SO DAMN COOL HERE
ENSHROUDED IN BLACK SMOKE
HIS FACE A PICTURE OF CONCENTRATION
Meanwhile lwj is cutting down enemies left and right AND STILL MAKING TIME TO THROW WORRIED LOOKS AT WWX
WAIT A MINUTE, wwx has just TAKEN CONTROL of the demon things
Bc he’s BADASS
And the music gets INTENSE here
THIS IS SO EXCITING!!!!
LWJ still looks so concerned even tho the demon things start fighting for them rather than against them
Bc he doesn’t care about the demon things or the battle
He cares about how this will affect his wei ying!!
And the episode ends with wen ruohan throwing a hissy fit bc his demon things aren’t under his control anymore
WE DID IT GUYS, WE FINALLY MADE IT TO AN EPISODE WITH QUALITY NOT-COMPLETELY-HEARTBREAKING WANGXIANTICS
OUR BOYS WERE NICE TO EACH OTHER!!!
ON A MOONLIT ROOFTOP!!!
AND THEY FOUGHT SIDE BY SIDE!!
IT WAS ALL SO BEAUTIFUL
Return to Masterpost
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1x07 - Victor, Victrola
Finally! This is one of the most iconic episodes of this show and one I’ve been dying to get to since I’ve started with these recaps, Here we go!
This one got so long I’ve decided to post it with a keep reading brake.
Thoughts I had while watching the episode:
I love that it opens with a vintage filter, which I don’t think I’ve noticed much the first time. I do remember thinking of this little preview “Guess Chuck’s meeting someone who’ll give him a run for his money”
Also how good is that shot of the those hills climbing up the steps, or maybe is just that I love the shoes
These is one of my all time fave Blair’s school outfits, she looks so pretty, and I love the obnoxiously big red bow.
Things I should have wondered, wasn’t this something Chuck would have show Nate before her? But this scene is a quick way to show that they’re in fact really good friends
“What happens at Victrola stays at Victrola” Not really Chuck, not really
God I hate Nate’s Dad
I don’t know why but I found a bit funny how the Captain’s office has so many little nautical details, kind of oversell
“I think I saw it next to that ambiguous vague shape” hi mom!
Dan lamenting that new Yorkers don’t have cars and therefore teens can’t make out in them, yeah Dan about that…
Nate’s attempt at bribing Jenny it’s so lame it’s almost funny
Chuck casually pointing out to Lilly that she missed a button, oh Lily!
It’s almost endearing to see Chuck put so much effort with his dad and how eager and accommodating he gets when his father says yes.
I love the scenes were Serena and Blair have typical best friends conversations.
OMG I had totally forgot that Dan was reading the Kamasutra in search of inspiration, also getting this anxious and picturing all these scenarios in his head. I feel you dude.
Does that cherry stem trick is actually possible? Ugh why am I even thinking about that. Though didn’t the show used that bit on a poster?
That dress does looks ugly in a hanger
That was a good analogy of Vanessa’s role in this show.
Lily was so nice to Chuck from the start, as early as this episode, theirs is one of my favorite parental relationship in the show
How does Vanessa knows all about Serena’s hook up history though? Didn’t she went on Gossip Girl or Dan has a big mouth? Well I guess is the same thing.
“Game recognizes Game little J” Oh Blair you have no idea, also no, the Vanderbilt is ring is not the most amazing ring you’ll ever see.
Gotta admire the show’s attention to detail, Serena and Nate may be making out on Dan’s kitchen, but they still use the same background music they used the first time we saw that scene, but relly I had forgot how much fun I laugh with all his imagined scenarios.
For once I actually feel bad for Dan, having your own father tell you to get rid of those sheets. Akward.
Aside from Nate’s dad, and maybe Eleanor everyone else at that dinner really looks like they want to be anywhere else but there.
“I tried Blair” oh please Nate, you call her once, it went to voice mall and you couldn’t bother again, but I guess it was just easier to go to the palace to talk to Serena.
I remember the first time I watched this I was like “Yes Blarir finally! You tell him!
It should have been obvious since earlier in the episode, but when she steps out of that car it was the first moment it hit me that OMG the girl at the start of the episode was Blair! It is funny how while I already knew that now, the same thought kind of hit me again.
YOU GO BABY VAMP!
‘You still would do anything to get a girl on her back though’ it would not be S1 episode without a bit of Lily and Rufus banter
“Nobody’s ever looked at me the way you just did” what a telling line. Though did Dan and Serena did it or not?
Iconic scene is iconic. Vintage filter and all.
Gossip Girl was never the same again
What a good episode in every way. Normally I always get bored with one of the little subplots, but not on this one. Hell I actually liked Dan and Serena this week, which hadn’t happened like since 1x01, and even then it was with a grain of salt. This episode is also hilarious, I didn’t watch this when it aired so I don’t know if they hinted at Blair and Chuck in one of their promos, but I hoped they didn’t because I like the way the episode flows a lot, we spend the whole episode seeing Dan getting anxious about losing his virginity, and then out of nowhere it’s Blair the one that ends up the night no longer a virgin.
Also I did enjoy this episode so much more this time around not only because well I’m a chair fan but because there are a lot of little details, almost like Easter eggs that point out to the last scene, like Dan pointing out the tragedy of New York’s teens without car where they can make out, or when Serena tells Blair that maybe planning and thinking too much about it may ruin the moments, and then you have Blair at the end of the episode losing her virginity on Limo without planning it at all.
In the Dan and Serena front though this episode is one that gives a bit more insight on the why’s Serena can’t never really forget a about Dan. She had being treated awfully by most guys she ever came across, and Dan’s the first that actually treats her like she’s worth it and worries about her feelings, we know it’s not as perfect as she sees it, he had been pretty judgmental of her in half of the episodes so far, but she doesn’t realize it because she’s used to man objectifying her for a long time now, she doesn’t see her own value, and that’s the tragedy of Serena’s character and why she deserved so much better.
This episode is also the one in which Nate’s family issues get to a boiling point, we finally see the amount of problems Nate’s dad has and why he’s absolute trash, and things are only about to get even worse. Really this episode almost everyone in the parental front is keeping a secret or being in denial, trying to keep the status quo in their lives, in contrast most of the teens are at the verge of really taking a step into action, Nate finally does something to put a stop to his dad lies by getting him arrested, Serena is experiencing a loving relationship for the first time, Dan gets ready to leave his virgin status behind, Chuck is taking his first steps in the business goals and Blair is finally ready to accept that his relationship with Nate must end. In the end though, of course Chuck and Blair went through something else this week.
Honestly, what can I say about Chuck and Blair in this episode that hasn’t been said before. This is the start of one the most iconic couples in T.V. I mean if they were real people this was the night that changed the course of their lives forever, it’s a monumental moment for so many reasons. There’s Blair who up until now, has never contemplated a future that doesn’t includes Nate, but as each previous episode showed holding up to that future gets harder and harder, no matter what she does, he seems farther and farther away from her reach, she tries being sexy, ruining Serena, elaborate games and none of it goes, by the time the family dinner comes to be, she’s exhausted, she’s all prim and proper, Vanderbilt ring in her hand and she’s never looked more miserable. And so she lets go of Nate, and goes to the one place she can escape from it ill, it’s a very obvious visual image but still I love the moment the dress came off is the moment one can tell she’s finally free from it all, basking in that relief she said she felt.
So she dances, and she does it for Chuck Bass. It may have happened because of a dare but really it’s almost logical that she let’s all her uptightness on the floor in his company because if one goes back and looks to the previous six episodes she’s at her realest with him, since the first episode he doesn’t sugar coats her thoughts with him, doesn’t pretend to be nicer, makes him a part of her plots and he knows about all her issues with Nate, their friendship is a lowkey constant in the background, and this episode starts with a reminder of that fact, he takes her to Victrola because he trust her judgment above all others, his second toughest critic, only behind his dad. Their friendship is one factor about them that I feel got lost as the season go by, but it’s one of my favorite aspects about them, because that was the very first layer of their relationship.
They probably never thought about their friendship being something especial, about the fact that they shared bits of each other in a way they didn’t do with Nate and Serena, they always had chemistry and in some deep part of their brain they probably knew it all along, but it was much better to ignore it because what was the point, but is funny how as soon as Nate is out of the picture and it’s just them without inhibitions, this happens.
It’s not hard to imagine that Chuck had always thought she was “10 times hotter than pretty much anyone” This is Chuck Bass after all, and he also admired her personality, it wouldn’t surprise me if he thought that Nate was probably the worst match for a girl like Blair, and yet the way he looks at her while she’s dancing, he’s in complete awe of her, he already had her in high regards, but he had no idea that when she lets herself be free she’s the most mesmerazing thing he has seen, and oh how he wants her, it’s written all over his face when he says how amazing she was up there, and Blair who’s used to be unwanted by Nate can’t help but be drawn to it and so she kisses him, and he knows he could go for it and she most likely won’t reject him, still he asks her if she’s sure because he knows that while sex is not a big deal for him, the first time was important to her and how she only tried to rush into it until she felt she was losing, he had first row seats to all the drama that was her relationship with Nate, and so with that little question he lets her know that there’s no pressure, and also a first clear nod to how she’s different for him, he may be all for encouraging a girl to sleep with him, but not this time, and she knows it and she takes the leap, she’s doing this for her, because she wants to, not forcing it as she always had to.
Iconic scene is iconic.
Random bits:
I can’t remember if it was mentioned before but Chuck’s line “he was born poor; I was born loaded” is the first mention of the fact that the Basses are new money.
Without you ends up being a really accurate song for their whole relationship.:
I don't want this moment to ever end
Where everything's nothing without you
I'll wait here forever just to, to see you smile
'Cause it's true: I am nothing without youThrough it all, I made my mistakes
I stumble and fall, but I mean these wordsI want you to know: with everything, I won't let this go
These words are my heart and soul
I'll hold on to this moment, you know
'Cause I'd bleed my heart out to show that I won't let go
#as you can tell by now if you follow me i rant and rant and i can't help myself#gossip girl#gossip girl recap#gossip girl rewatch#chuck x blair#victor victrola#1x07
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okay wow whew so, i’m still not sure if i should talk about it or not, but since 2/3 of the posts have over 100 notes, they’re clearly circulating and me posting about it won’t change a thing. either way, please take it with a grain of salt/don’t treat it like gasp gasp breaking news, etc, etc,
i saw the leak posts and they both made me feel physically weak AND indeed morbidly fascinated, because... bad. that was bad. i mean, the xuanwu scene is okay, whatever, but... the ending? the ENDING? my bones are rattling.
overall it doesn’t change my feelings about the final product itself, but yeah, the mere idea of how bad it could have been is an undescribable feeling. i’ve heard the rumors before, but never in such detail. ow. ow ow ow.
because like, tsomd way of making sure the gay subtext isn’t Too Gay was... super bad. i watched cql before, and guardian after, and compared to them tsomd was a gentle breeze, so i have no idea why would they even need that, but... bad. guardian was nice! it didn’t make me want to drop the series, it wasn’t pulled out of completely nowhere, they kept it one-sided and the way the characters involved dealt with the thing was cool in general.
so while i hesitate to put all blame on the screenwriters and so on, because even the hobbit got hit with the sponsors? i think? wanting to add some things that Everyone Hated But Had To Shoot. in the end, wgxn’s dynamics, their relationship and how it changes is still what pulls people towards the show, so you can see the crew put a lot of effort and love into this thing. still: fucking bless the chinese fans omg
also, yeah, i just checked ep 13 and the mouth movements really don’t match. crying
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(1/18) *peeks from behind the wall* I hope I am still welcomed here hahaha cricket anon is here! <3 I am very sorry for making you worry last time O.O, for sure no matter what happens to the story, I'm going to be right there to read it! Huehuehue, I literally was not lying when I mentioned that this story is bringing me lots of joy this year :3 Cricket anon is fine now! hahaha my last work place was really bad, kind of black-company-level-bad, and it really took a toll on my mental health…
Dear cricket nony, I already answered one of your non-anonymous asks privately because I was so overwhelmed by the sheer amount of email notifications I got from tumblr and Ao3 that I had to thank you right away, but I still want to do it publically because even after days I’m still overwhelmed that you took so much time to write me a whole essay. I’m still all soft and wobbly and squishy on the inside. Your notifications really made my day, week, probably month – so thanks so much again. It really means so much T___T
(2) so, I kind of took two months? break from social media and just literally try and figure out my life lol basically quarter-life crisis also happening, but yeah slowly getting better now! I hope you are doing fine as well, sending you lots of hugs and love ~^^~ Firstly though!! I wanted to say sorry too that it took a while for me to reply hahaha… BUT!! Let me tell you omg during my rest of 8 weeks, I have managed to re-read ALL. SEVEN. CHAPTERS!! So many things to share!!
I’m so sorry to hear that your last workplace took such a toll on your mental health and I really hope that you are going to get better. I cross all my fingers for you and send you good vibes only. Please don’t feel pressured to comment at all. I mean everyone loves receiving comments, but it shouldn’t feel like a chore. So if you feel like sharing your thoughts I’m always glad to read them, but if you don’t feel like sharing them, please don’t feel bad about it. <3
(3) However, since my comments were a grand total of 4,000 words lol, I inserted them in AO3 under "cricket anon" in every chapter! :3 You might get confused as you read them because I take notes as I read the chapter lol hahaha I hope my comments might bring some joy <3 Ahh! By the way! These anon messages are partly not anon since anon asks are limited to 10 per hour? I didn’t know that! :( But since I accidentally have revealed myself to you lol I think it should be okay!
I’ll also try to answer your comments on Ao3 in the upcoming days because (if I remember correctly) you had some questions and I hope I can answer some of them. ^^ But I’m impressed that you went through all the chapters again. We’ve reached 150k now, which is quite fascinating to me because there are still quite a few chapters left. I wonder how long the story will be in the end *hides* I didn’t know that either! I’ve been on tumblr for so long and yet this 10 ask limit is new information for me, but it makes sense in some way – if I think about spam accounts or people going around spreading hate or something.
(4) Also, I think I’m going to make my snorts reactions straight onto AO3 from now on, rather than spamming your ask box with 10+ anon messages hahaha but I’ll still come here to share you my overall reactions and analyzations huehuehue and also to possibly warn you about the length of the comment lol something I noticed, from chapter 1 to chapter 7, the comment got longer lol more things to discuss about, I guess!? But yeah!! Let me reply to your reply to my previous ask here!!
LMAO I admire your dedication. Do whatever is most comfortable to you, I will be happy either way ^^ I think it makes sense that someone can comment more on later chapters because the painted picture gets fuller and fuller with details, there is more information about the different characters, the storyline is more developed and so on… ^^
(5) Is the sad scene in chapter 6, you were referring to the conversation that Jong-Taem were having, and then Jong tried to diffuse it into another lighthearted banter, and Taem is just. tired. of. Jong avoiding the conversation? and despite all that, Taem still let Jong come into his room and cuddle to sleep? idk... I find that scene really heartbreaking :( or maybe it was another scene?
For me it was the shower scene tbh. I don’t know, but it always struck something inside of me (is it weird that I’m saying this although I’ve written it?) There is something very fragile about Jonghyun in that scene and Taemin does feel a little helpless and is so caught up in his own thoughts, in his own needs, what he wants (and doesn’t get from Jonghyun) and yeah – it always makes me go :( but yes, the follow up scene is sad as well because you sit there and think – you two are just so damn dumb, which is something most people, who read this story so far – seem to think constantly, because yeah, they are very dumb – each in their own way. ^^
(6) I think I mentioned in the AO3 comment somewhere that even I started to feel like Taem can just leave Jong because Jong is not trying to understand Taem, I mean, nothing to do with his mood swings or his claim that Taem will get bored of him, just that he isn't trying to see things from Taem's perspective whereas Taem is trying! so! hard! and he even tried to ignore the fact that Jong avoid the vital conversations for like the 10th time already :(
Feelings are a very difficult topic – and while chapters 1-9 are very focused on what Taemin does, thinks, wants, needs, wishes etc. the focus does shift a little over to Jonghyun starting from chapter 10. So the reader does get an inside of why Jonghyun might have acted the way he did. If his behavior makes sense is up to the reader (and Taemin as well) to decide – but I think it shines a little more light onto Jonghyun, who the reader doesn’t know much about – feeling wise –, although he’s one of the main characters of the story. ^^ It’s the onion layers that get peeled one by one. ^^
(7) Yeah, re-reading this definitely showed me muCH MORE parallelism in Jong-Key and Taem-Jong dynamics. Even with Taem's mood in a sense? Like how Jong used to be really upset when Key has a new friend, and then suddenly okay when they do sexy times. Before, I only noticed the puppy-love-ness parallel, but then there is more to it, like I said, Taem's mood affected by Jong a lot, just like Jong's by Key, and also the way Jong claims that Key doesn't understand his feelings,
(8) well, it applies to Jong not really wanting to understand Taem's feeling? by just brushing it off as Taem will get bored of him or Taem doesn't know what he is talking about. I mean as a reader, I am also not sure, if it’s either Jong doesn't care or he is scared to show himself or both or maybe there is another reason? Hahaha ^^;;
This is true and done on purpose. ^^ This knowledge doesn’t play a key (haha) part in the storyline, but it is there to show how blinded one can get by one’s own feelings. After adapting to his new life in a dorm Taemin sees through Jonghyun and Kibum’s relationship quite well, but later when it’s about his own relation to Jonghyun he’s completely blindsided and doesn’t see how unhealthy it is at first – him going back and back and back over and over again in the hope that Jonghyun’s behavior towards him might change.
(9) You mentioned that there will be more Jongtae drought, and honestly, I think they need it? I think some space for them to think about things and you know do other things and talk to other people about other things lol maybe it will clear up their heads hopefully? Ahh!! You said the beginning of chapter 5 is for your own sanity lol I totally understand ;), it was a very sweet scene, soft, and kind of endearing compared to what is coming in the next chapters TnT
It depends on how we describe the drought. The hard cut was done in chapter 8. I went in like a warrior and just cut all the strings, not showing any mercy. ^^” I don’t want to spoiler anything, but yeah – the hard drought will continue throughout chapter 9 – soft drought from chapter 10 …… till ….. *closes mouth* 6v6
Working on chapter 8 made me write two lovey-dovey JongTae oneshots because I couldn’t stand seeing them fight in my own fanfic, in front of my salad. T_T so yeah, the beginning of chapter 5 was for my sanity. While writing chapter 8 I also realized again while I never really write angst, fights – anything dramatic really, because I’m a very chill person in real life, and I like my fanfics to be very chill as well – so writing this was completely out of my comfort zone. For others it’s writing smut for me it’s writing angst lmao. I usually want to wrap up all the characters in fluffy blankets and make them tea, and yet here I am – letting Taemin suffer for so many chapters. I’m a monster T_T
(10) Yeahhh, about the fact that we don't see Key so much since it is in Taemin's point of view, and also the fact that our (the audience)'s perception of Key is very much influenced by how Taem sees Key, right? I think I even mentioned somewhere in the comments, that in a way, a Rashomon effect is present as the readers read the story right, since they are all on accounts of Taem's witnessing, but then also maybe I am just reading too much into this lol
It would be the Rashomon effect if I wrote the same fic out of Jonghyun’s perspective and Minho’s as well for example. In this case Taemin is just a very unreliable narrator and we don’t (well I do :’D) but the reader doesn’t know what’s really going on, if everything Taemin is experiencing is true or if it should be taken with a grain of salt. Considering that everyone in the dorm, except for Taemin, gets along well with Kibum, we might want to believe that Kibum isn’t the bad guy Taemin wants to make him out to be. ^^
(11) Honestly, I could hear my English Lit teacher saying "maybe that is not the author's intention" hahaha xD Yes yes yes!! more chapters for Taem's development!! I am ready for it!! I mean the end of chapter 7 marked the sign of the broken vase, and paired with the JongTae drought, I am looking forward to the next part of the story!! Some character development at this point is perfect I think!! And also!! About the advices, I think I commented a few times on some of the chapters.
(12) I didn't notice that before! And after you pointed it out, I think I made some comments on Minho's, Key's, and Onew's advices to Taem and definitely, based on how the events unfolded, we could argue that the advice was bad - in a way though, I can't seem to tell (yet, maybe?) if the advice giver was genuinely trying to help or do they have ulterior motives? hmmm but either way, I like how you placed a lot of thoughts in the story, even on things such as advice.
(13) Because for sure, in reality, people tend to give bad advices, and act on bad advices. It is true that most fics tend to focus only on the good advice and then the story ends happily ever after. Real life is most definitely not like that :3 your "slice of life" tag is holding up to its name ;) Thank you so much for your hard work!! You added 10,000 words for chapter 7?? omg… huhuhu (insert a bowing LINE sticker)... yeah, for sure, the way the story unfolds in my head,
(14) probably is different to other readers, right? And for sure, very different to you, the author! There are probably a lot more instances, scenes, implications, interpretations? that we as readers are unaware of! Thank you so much for all your hard work TnT, as readers, having more context into the story does give much more clarity on the flow of the story and the feelings of the characters, etc. Thank you for all your hard work! (bow bow bow)
That was something @hwarang-number commented on as well while betaing the story. What if Minho has ulterior motives?!?!?!?!? In Minho’s case it does make sense to give out bad advice to lure in the innocent lamb haha but for example what would Jinki’s or Kibum’s ulterior motives be? Sometimes people want to give out good advice, but in the end it just turns out to be bad advice – unintentionally – humans are just humans after all – and none of us is all knowing, we all perceive things differently, and what might work for one person might not work for the other. I did add 10k to chapter 7 and 25k to chapter 8 – because chapter 8 felt like the most incomplete out of all the chapters in this story.
I think I’ve mentioned it before but hwarang_number is super attentive while reading and figured most things out that I’ve implied – even smaller details which I thought might get lost in the chapters – which I’m still impressed by, but I also said before that everyone reads stories differently, and some aspects that might not be important to me as the author of the story might be important for the readers and the other way around. For the past chapters I just tried to fill in the gaps that might confuse readers unnecessarily. In the original draft of chapter 8 Taemin is doing the deeds with Minho far more spontaneously because he’s so frustrated with Jonghyun – it made sense like that as well – but I think his frustration got more depth through the added scenes. :)
(15) Ah!! By the way!! Please don't feel like you are forced to reply to all of my messages! Having you read them already makes me happy! I don't want to make it feel like an obligation to you because... well omg my comments like super loooooong hahaha ^^;; And yeah!! Take your time with the next chapter by the way!! I am rooting for the development of the story no matter how it will go :3 I will be waiting for the next update (though no pressure, just want to put it there haha)
Dear cricket nony, if you write me 50 message I will still try to answer all of them ㅎㅅㅎ I might just take a little longer. I hope you will like chapter 8 as well, despite the drought ^^
(16) Next time, this cricket anon will bring some more noise ~ I hope your real-life stuff works out well too :D Once again, thank you for answering all of my messages, and for writing this awesomely written fanfiction! While I wait for the next chapter, I think I'm going to re-read songs of siren hehehe :3 Please stay safe!
Please do! Song of Sirens is definitely a story I would have loved to treat like “Dorm Life” in a sense that it would have turned out better if I had worked on it longer, but I’m still a fan of the big brain energy I had running through my veins when I came up with the mythological aspect of the story…lmao So I hope you will enjoy re-reading it. ^^ Chapter 8 is longer than Song of Sirens (just as a side note haha)
(17) Ah!! I forgot to mention!! After I re-read it, my most favorite literary device that you used in this fanfiction (lol this commentary is beginning to sound like a Literature essay) is the Biblical Allusions? I am not sure if this was your intention, but the juxtapositions of Bible verses or reference to God, in Taemin’s thought reminds me heavily of Taemin’s songs, particularly Heaven? It be a sexy time song if you look at the lyrics, but the composition is that of a choir church song
(18) I find the contrast chilling, and maybe you were trying to invoke that feeling to the readers? Orrr maybe I am perhaps, indeed, reading too much into this hahaha ^^;; but really! I really enjoy reading your fanfictions and coming up with analyzations, it’s very fun, and the fact that I can discuss or ask you questions about it is just makes it even more fun – since in Literature classes we can’t actually ask the author of their true intentions right hahaha okay!! I am done :3 Thank you!! <3
It was my intention and still is, so I’m glad you picked up on that. ^^ I always wanted to write a fanfic in which Taemin’s religion plays a role – even if it’s just on the side – I always make some references to Dante’s circles of Hell (when Taemin is being dramatic again) or I also made a reference to Hieronymus Bosch’s painting The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things in chapter 8. (I’m a big fan of his work – that dude was wild – the way he painted blows my mind every time I look at one of his paintings). So yes, dramatic Taemin talking about religion and throwing around with biblical references is my brain being wild. ^^
I would say that ‘Dorm Life’ is not a really deep story, but I did put a lot of thought into it to not make it your regular smut/romance fanfic. I mean it took time, still does – but I’m glad when people, like you dear cricket nony, appreciate it. So thank you so much for your kind words and sending me all your thoughts and interpretations. <3 I hope you will have a lovely December – please stay healthy and please take good care of yourself. <3
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OMG. California scenes. I'm a SoCal girl and I just realized that this... is true. I think of myself as guarded, but wow. I think I've actually sat down and opened up to a relative stranger over lunch and then coffee. But I don't do it to seem centered! Anyway, gotta go back and look over my unpublished fics and make sure that I don't accidentally put too much of myself into them...
hi there! I swear I’m gonna write a bit about your message, but for reference, for others reading this, I think I need to provide a bit of context first. :) This is regarding this post about writing exposition:
https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/190756281185/cthonical-gallifrey-feels-fanfic-authors
Disclaimer time! I reblogged it specifically for that highlighted bit at the top:
And my specific intent in reblogging this was every complaint I ever read about why Dean and Cas don’t just ~talk to each other~ and deal with their issues. Every single “but they could’ve dealt with this years ago and been together!” I will counter “No, they really couldn’t! Because that’s not the story they’ve ever been telling!”
But, I’ve heard argued, if they really wanted to, they could change the story they’re telling. They could so easily make it obvious, explicit, textual between them. And of course they could! If they had zero authorial integrity, they could do whatever they wanted.
The way they have set up this story for the last decade and a half has established-- through the slow unfolding of more and more important facts, of gradually uncovering details, as above in purple, that become necessary for comprehension of the characters and their progression through this story-- that Dean’s relationship with Cas has been established in an ever tighter orbit around their mutual most deeply buried and tightly guarded secrets.
For reference, I’m not pulling this line of thinking out of nowhere. This is literally a rephrasing of something Davy Perez said in an interview when he first started with SPN back in s12. I never finished transcribing that podcast, but the relevant bit of the two hour conversation is included in this post:
https://mittensmorgul.tumblr.com/post/160988290690/12-while-i-do-not-ask-this-to-be-negative-at
but the tl;dr of the handful of paragraphs of full context from that post:
Television is about a character that you become invested in, and that you fall in love with. That character grows in incremental ways. Not only do they grow in tiny little increments, and sometimes don’t even grow, they go backwards. You don’t close the loop. You keep the loop open, so that hopefully when you know that okay, this is our final season, this is our final run of episodes, that’s when you can find those landing points, and that’s when you can sort of say this is the end of this journey.
And Supernatural has been narratively riding around on that loop, on that spiral, for 15 years. And this is now the final season, and they’re gliding toward those landing points now. They’re homing in on those “painful truths the characters don’t want known,” those huge personal issues they’ve all been grinding down over the last 15 years and inching ever closer to unveiling. Because that’s how stories work when authors are writing to the narrative rather than writing instant gratification for a fickle audience. If one thing has been consistent over the years, it has been this progression of character. And Dabb era has chosen to lampshade all of this in text, through Chuck the Original Author.
And that is effectively the exact writing advice from this random post about how to write a believable and engaging story that has been all over my dash over the last few days. Like... the irony, right?
So now that I’ve explained my vagueing with this post, I’d be happy to address your actual question, from the rest of that page of writing advice. Thank you for bearing with me... :’D
I’d venture to say that the description of that sort of “identity info dump” that the article described as “California scenes,” where characters just spill their deepest secrets, isn’t always a negative thing. And it’s not a phenomenon exclusive to California, or borne of a need to prove someone’s authenticity, or angst cred, or whatever. Because it’s something we see happening on the internet, too.
And it’s absolutely something you can USE in your writing. I find it hilarious because it’s actually a major theme of my pinefest fic this year, which will be posting in April. Sorry I can’t point everyone to it yet, or really give too many spoilers... other than trying to explain this phenomenon.
Social media creates a weird sort of culture of identity. There was a post on tumblr years ago that explained it rather well. It said something to the effect of “in real life you meet people and slowly feel them out and reveal your deepest secrets only to a select few people after they already know your whole life story, but on the internet you’re just a screen name and an avatar and you might reveal your deepest secrets without any of the people who read them even knowing your NAME or what you look like or anything else about you.”
Because it’s not about complete open honesty, you know? It’s about understanding what carefully selected bits of information you present in a given circumstance. It’s social engineering.
Revealing your deepest desires or darkest secrets is an entirely different prospect when, say, sitting with a new acquaintance over a cup of coffee face to face or with a coworker in the break room than it is in an anonymous internet chat room. And it can be fascinating to understand what we’re willing to reveal about ourselves in these very different circumstances.
And once you sort through that sort of character analysis, you can write a truly believable and entirely in-character info dump like that without it feeling like an info dump. Because what the character chooses to reveal about themselves in a given situation can be as informative of the character and their relationship to the other characters as the details of what they say.
So, I guess the takeaway here is the reminder that you should still take all writing advice with a grain of salt, and remember that it’s not a blanket rule and all these “California scenes” should be excised in order for your story to be good, you know? If you know your characters well enough, they can be strategic moments of character insight, or even a complete misdirect. The key is to be aware you’re writing one, and then use it to illustrate a character’s weakness, or strength, or the dynamic of the relationship being exposed, rather than being a strict infodump of facts. Because infodumps are always boring if that’s actually the scene you’re writing and there isn’t a deeper layer of understanding going on or a deeper insight for the reader to gain.
Lol, this reminds me of another quote about writing that’s perfectly related:
“If the story you’re telling, is the story you’re telling, you’re in deep shit.” Robert McKee
If the only thing the reader takes from a scene is the words coming out of the characters’ mouths, you done screwed up... That’s why so many of these California scenes are just bad writing. They serve no other purpose than telling the reader a series of details about the characters’ backstories and fail to provide any deeper insight. The key to writing a GOOD scene is make it less a backstory catch-up bit of filler text, and more about what the characters aren’t revealing, or why they’re revealing any of this information in the first place. Because “to inform the reader of these facts” is never a good enough reason for a character to spill their guts like that.
#writing is hard#spn meta meta#lol because i can't control myself sometimes :'D#this is how stories work#Anonymous
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Top 5 Dislikes of Red vs Blue: Season 1
(Top 5 Likes)
So back a few months ago, in the lead up to RWBY Volume 7, I did a Top Likes/Dislikes list for all six volumes. I also did this for RvB Seasons 16 and 17, so… why not do it for the other fifteen? Especially with RvB18 on the way? Not only gives me an excuse to rewatch everything, but I get to have some fun~ So I will be covering RvB seasons 1-13 and 15. S14’s is gonna be a little bit different. But anyways, we’re gonna begin with the one that started it all, Season One~
Honestly though, critiquing Season One is hard. Mainly because this was a season made when RT was just a back bedroom with mainly Burnie and Geoff doing the machinima. We’re a long way away from RWBY-level quality. In the Blood Gulch Era, it was just a bunch of friends making dumb stuff. Quality dumb stuff, but dumb nonetheless. So the five Dislikes are honestly minor and I don’t even really consider them bad. If anything, they show how far the show has come. So take the Dislikes list with a grain of salt, ut I needed to do it for the necessity of the list. So then, let’s get started~
#5. Not Fully Fleshed Out Characters
This is on the bottom because it’s really not that big a deal. The characters are kinda just somewhat exaggerated versions of the people that Burnie cast. They certianly have character, but aside from really Matt with Sarge, it’s just the cast playing exaggerated versions of themselves. It does kinda stand out because here, the characters don’t really have any defining personality traits or roles. We know a few things like Simmons being a kissass to Sarge, Grif is more out of shape, Caboose is a little dim-witted compared to the other Blues, etc. But when you look at all the future seasons, the lack of fleshing out is very noticeable. Especially for characters who are nothing like they were here, like Donut. I mean I don’t think he spouted even one innuendo here, it’s weeeeird.
Like I said though, this isn’t that big of a deal. The characters still have character and are still funny, it’s just clear that they hadn’t been fully developed. It’s a first season of what was originally meant to be a comedic miniseries and is very forgivable in that regard. It’s honestly fun to rewatch this season and then say Chorus and see how far the characterizations have come. Still, it is a tad noticeable and I needed five picks, so I’m gonna put it here. But again, it’s honestly fine. As is our Number FOur pick…
#4. The Voice Acting
These guys, aside from like… two or three of them, were not actors. They hadn’t done a bunch of material like they have now either, so this is again very forgivable. But it does make the voice acting lover in me kinda cringe when I hear it. You can tell that they’re trying, but as I said, this was still in the early days when no one really knew what they were doing. The one who did the best were either already actors (Joel, Yomary) or had more of a character to play with (Burnie, Matt). Everyone else, as I said, was pretty much given an exaggerated version of themselves and I think it kinda shows in the voice acting. They were all okay, but compared to their later performances and when they are given more characterization, this was not their best work.
But again, this is not that big of a deal. This was the early days and as I said, you can tell that they were trying. I think ti honestly adds tot he charm of early RvB. A bunch of friends making dumb stuff with a video game. I mean Gus outright recording his lines over the phone while living in Puerto Rico, he and the others were clearly dedicated to this thing. It’s not the stuff of legends, but given the tone of Blood Gulch, it works. It’s a dislike because like I said, it annoys my voice acting loving self and it’s weaker to their later performances. But still, it’s very enjoyable… even if some of the voices some chose are kinda jarring. Speaking of…
#3. Sarge’s Voice/Not Fully Fleshed Out Character
This one is super nitpicky, but it bothers me! We all know Sage and his overly exaggerated Southern accent, right? Well… in this one, he is much, much more subdued. Like I said, the characters weren’t fully fleshed out and so Sarge isn’t quite the same as we know him now. The voice reflects this. Here, Matt plays him like a stereotypical Nasty Drill Sargeant. IDK why, but the voice just… bugs me. I guess it’s just because I’m so used tot he current one, but it jarred me so much I had to check if Matt had been the one doing the voice in Season One. Sure enough…
Yeah, this one is very nitpicky and again reflects how I don’t feel the characters were very well fleshed out. I mean even comedic wise, Sarge didn’t really stand out and was really just there to give Grif a hard time. Even his hatred of Blue isn’t really there. Fortunately, this would be fixed in Season 2. Every time I look back at this though, it just takes me out for a minute cause ‘OMG this is not the Sarge I’m used too!’. So a nitpick, but a dislike nonetheless. But hey the fact that this is a minor issue speaks of how much I enjoy this season, haha!
#2. The Afterlife Scene
OH GOD THIS SCENE! IT CONFUSED ME ALMOST AS MUCH AS THE S3 TIME TRAVEL SCENES DID! ALMOST!
So… Blood Gulch is very weird. I mean it had Ghost Church, is this a surprise? But that wasn’t even the weirdest part of this season or even the entirety of the Blood Gulch Chronicles. No, that honor goes to this scene where, after Caboose shot Sarge when Church was possessing him, Sarge found himself in the afterlife. Church and Shelia are also there. Now, fortunately, Sarge comes back via Grif using CPR… on a bullet wound… yeah… but God this scene was the first time the show made me go ‘WTF am I even watching?!’ especially since unlike Chruch’s ghost thing, it never comes up again. Church having been an AI the whole time didn’t help.
Now I know it kinda got explained later as part of Recovery Mode, but it still leaves a lot of questions. Why was Church there? He got kicked out of Sarge’s body when he got shot. Maybe he went back in hopes of making it work? IDK. But maybe we can just say that since Church was possessing Sarge, he left some kind of trace and the Recovery Mode picked up on it. Cool… then why was Shelia there? Sarge wasn’t even at the canyon when Shelia was unleashed. Did Recovery Mode pick up on that from Church too since it was so recent? I guess that makes sense? And yeah I know that when they wrote this Church wasn’t intended to be an AI so maybe it really was the afterlife, but that’s no longer a possibility, so… AAAAHHHH!!!
Yeah… this is why I don’t try to think through Blood Gulch stuff too much. Doing so does nothing except make my brain hurt when I try to go over how it makes sense in canon. Don’t get me wrong, the scene was funny especially with Grif and Simmons trying to revive Sarge. Kinda feel bad for Grif for getting scolded when he just saved Sarge’s life, but it’s Sarge. Of course, he would. I also like the more muted colors int he afterlife and the weird wavy effects with the scenes in the world of the living. It’s a funny scene, just one that hurts my head whenever I try to make sense of it. Stupid me and my stupid need for logic…
#1. The Audio
This was by far the biggest thing I noticed, including back when I started this back in 2017. The audio is… not good. I think this might help explain some of the amateur voice actings because half the time, the filter effect distracts you from the performance. Now I actually do like them using the filter since it makes sense that they’d use mics int heir helmets to talk, but I think that they tuned it up a little too much here. The whole reason they did this was to hide the fact that people like Gus, Jason, and all the guys in California had to record their lines over the phone. It’s one of the better decisions that they made, but like I said, in this season it is super distracting.
The only thing maybe worse is the mixing when it comes to explosions. There are a lot of explosion effects in this due to all the guns, grenades, and tanks. They are loud. Really loud. Like I remember watching the scene where Church dies. I was watching it on my laptop with headphones and I had the volume at a fairly modest time. The explosion noise made me jump. It can sometimes also overpower the voice acting like I think there were a few times I couldn’t fully make out what the Reds were saying when Shelia was firing at the end. Add that tot he voice filter and… yeah.
The audio wasn’t bad. Like I could tell what characters were saying. The effect was just distracting though and clearly they needed some work on audio mixing. Which they, fortunately, did by the next season. I think Burnie even mentioned how annoyed he got at the constant complaints about the filter int he Season 2 commentary, but hey he listened! Still, for Season One, it was by far the thing that annoyed me most and while I know it’s because they didn’t have quality equipment, it still distracts me when I rewatch. So it’s going to be my Top Dislike for Season One.
Final Thoughts
As I have tried to make clear, I don’t view any of these as major issues. Heck aside from Audio, IDK if I’d even say I disliked them. Thrown off by them sure, but not outright dislike. It honestly helped the show I think. It’s certainly mature and kinda crappy work, but it added to the charm and appeal to the show. It’s why they still use stuff like and photoshops, it’s endearing. Even with the improved production quality and while they have maintained a lot of what made RvB such a fun series, the original seasons still have this unique charm that despite how stupid it is, you just wanna tune into it over and over again. So these may be Dislikes, but they’re ones to be proud of. But hey I’ve still got plenty of Likes to talk about, so stay tuned for that~
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