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feuqueerfire · 2 years

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The Eclipse Ep 12 Finale Live Blogging

watching it 13 hours after it premiered because of my night midterm lol so it’s really ending huh. ngl i’m not anticipating it as much as i was the middle few eps bc ep 11 part 4 is making me nervous about this last ep but whew, hope it’s a good one

Part 1

This meeting... so scary from the very first moment, I hate the thought of having to sit in front of any committee anything

dang, Akk having a breakdown in the middle of filming and the “my real life isn’t like your movie” okayy interesting

nooo aww Akk :(

girl, Chadok’s hug to the principal really took me back lmfao

Oops, got distracted last night and suddenly it was 4am so I went to sleep, so I’m watching at 1 the next day.

it’s just a bit weird to see Chadok be so different than how he was till ep 10 like obviously we’re seeing different, more true sides to him but it’s jarring and idk if the change has been done well. like we could’ve had him as a cautionary tale and seeing akk’s future in him without him suddenly being turned into such a sympathetic character. like i still don’t care about him but the show acts like i should be touched by him and like hmmm no you could’ve made him more interesting if he was still a dynamic character rather than going from kinda one-note villain to one-note sad guy. like both of these aspects of him could’ve worked together to make a more interesting character. whatever why am i writing this long ass paragraph for him

Part 2

damn, a two second apology to the Jums from both Akk and Thua? are we for real or will there be more?

and Akk calling Thua his friend like this would’ve been good if we actually saw them having more of a conversation and coming to terms with what they’ve done rather than just creating the movie and then being fine with each other again.

The show dealt with the fallout and conversations in ep 6 so well, so it’s disappointing that it’s so weak and disjointed in these last 2 eps

Damn, Akk’s parents so kind; taking the news of the suspension with gravity but not unkindness. First did so good at being Akk for those 2 minutes though, the emotions really shone through

Watching BLs is just me sometimes being consumed by wishing my parents were like some of these parents. this damn coming out scene aghhhh T.T just like with HCTM and Be Loved In House, I’m suchhhh a sucker for the child being like </3 sorry for disappointing you and then the parent(s) saying nooo not disappointed

ahh they’re so cute about ayan akk dating too

Part 3

face kisses are cute

oh damn hope they had fun lol

oh they’re shirtless the morning after

lmfao “how about we do it again and see about who’s more tired >:(” akk you’re killing me

first is so pretty in this picnic scene

kanthua cute like before as if the whole ep 11 debacle didn’t happen it’s just disappointing to see the consequences and conversations not be explored

not even gonna talk about Thua talking about the importance of coming out and supportive friends an episode after outing said friends

kanthua kissing at the beach between the palm trees with the waves in the background is very pretty

Part 4

The Jums better than everybody fr bc the prefects and thua get to give one word apologies but they still welcome them back to school and into their club

oh dang i thought Mes was never gonna be brought up again, interesting seeing it mentioned that Suppalo didn't actually prepare people for the world outside of it

would Namo be a good student prefect? Would he really?

ahh the conversation in the bathroom Ayan/Akk are sooooooo cuteeeee

oh he’s spreading Dika’s ashes into the water

pinning pins like they’re exchanging wedding rings ahhhh

Aww, the little bloopers so cute

Ep 11 part 4's flaws kinda continued onto this ep, so I'm not as satisfied with the ending as I would've liked (I just think they did a really great job with character development in the middle few episodes, so it was even more disappointing to see the tonal and character issues here in the end) but in terms of Ayan/Akk relationship + Akk's parents, I liked it

I think neither Chadok nor Thua's twists worked for me because I need the characters after the twist to still reflect who they were before and during the twist. for thua we're acting as if the whole speech that showed a different side of him didn't happen. for chadok the twist turned him into a completely different person; it makes sense in a way that his relationship with dika coming out opened the floodgates and he is a changed man now but the disconnect from him in the first 10 eps is hard to reconcile with how they're positioning him in these 2 eps. i have a clear idea of how they could've make thua's arc better but i don't really know what i would've liked from chadok except i don't like that it feels like 2 distinct characters before and after the reveal

oh yeah another thing with Chadok is I guess it's good that he resigned but... is it? We see at the end at the school is progressing but he hadn't known how the school would react to it all, maybe it'd try to stand still and continue punishing the protestors. so when he finally has the courage to not blindly follow suppalo rules, he just leaves and removes himself from the equation instead of trying to improve the situation and help sani (who is a very new teacher as well) and whichever other teacher would like to him. like idk now that you've changed, try to improve the environment you've created at this school over decade.

Maybe Chadok removing himself from the school and its rules and the principal was the best thing for him but is still not narratively satisfying to me. Definitely wouldn't be easy for Sani to make changes if the principal hired another staunch Suppalo rules supporter to replace Chadok. Could've waited a few weeks/months to see through some changes and then resigned when we saw the improvements at the end of the episode like ah, i've done my best but i must remove myself now for my well-being.

For Thua, flawed characters who make terrible decisions are good and fun and interesting characters only if their actions are dissected and we get to actually explore their actions and reasonings for more than 10 minutes before we ignore it all. i know the writers could’ve done better with thua so it’s annoying that they dropped the ball on that one. the other characters’ reactions to thua were just so empty, it was such a contrast to my own thoughts and audience reaction. wild

yknow i liked Akk’s breakdown on the roof because it’s not like self acceptance, esp if you’re in an unaccepting community and think your queerness will disappoint everyone, is an easy A to B path. some days it may be easier to accept or it may be easier to quietly have a boyfriend but not express out loud on camera that you’re gay and proud. realizing he’s playing a character who is in a better place than he is and being unable to emulate it really hit for me. but then that upsets me more that we didn’t get to see akk and thua talk about thua outing him in front of so many people but they’re just friends in the next episode like k

Fave Scene:

Ayan and Akk being cute in different moments like when they were arguing in part 4 about who did better on the test and the “blah blah blah” so cute

Overall

I'm thinking an 8 because I enjoyed the middle few episodes immensely, as well Ayan/Akk + the acting + how the plot and themes were handled for those episodes but the ending definitely took a hit and I wish it had tighter/cleaner writing and editing in general.

The show tackled interesting topics, including societal expectations and the status quo, fighting back, how characters we want to root for can be doing bad things and how they grow from it, mental illness, all the intersectionality of like queerness and financial situation and mental illness. It didn’t hit the mark for all of them because I think the script needed to be tightened and the editing needed to be stronger but it was well enough considering the budget + them filming and doing post-production while it was airing.

I loved Ayan/Akk soooo much, definitely one of my favourite couples of the year. I think I’m a bit burned out on them after checking in weekly for like 3 months straight but I imagine in a few weeks I’ll love them again. Think they’re one of my favourite couples of the year.

Kan/Thua were also really good, especially in ep 10; sad that the lack of communication after Thua’s stint caused me to not like them as much.

Rating: 8/10 7.5/10 7/10 [Jan 24, 2023 Update: Decreased by 0.5 stars when rerating my top BLs] [Jan 25, 2024 Update: Decreased by 0.5 stars when rerating my top shows: 7.5 -> 7]

Nov 1, 2022 views: TODO

11.5 Weeks Later

Ep 1 - 1: 2.40M (+190k) || Avg Ep 1: 1.61M (+110K)

10.5 Weeks Later

Ep 2 - 1: 1.48M (+100k) || Avg Ep 2: 1.24M (+90k)

9.5 Weeks Later

Ep 3 - 1: 1.42M (+100k) || Avg Ep 3: 1.18M (+80k)

8.5 Weeks Later

Ep 4 - 1: 1.56M (+80k) || Avg Ep 4: 1.25M (+70k)

7.5 Weeks Later

Ep 5 - 1: 1.39M (+80k) || Avg Ep 5: 1.18M (+80k)

6.5 Weeks Later

Ep 6 - 1: 1.32M (+80k) || Avg Ep 6: 1.32M (+50k)

5.5 Weeks Later

Ep 7 - 1: 1.46M (+90k) || Avg Ep 7: 1.30M (+90k)

4.5 Weeks Later

Ep 8 - 1: 1.54M (+100k) || Avg Ep 8: 1.21M (+90k)

3.5 Weeks Later

Ep 9 - 1: 1.44M (+110k) || Avg Ep 9: 1.22M (+90k)

2.5 Week Later

Ep 10 - 1: 1.25M (+120k) || Avg Ep 10: 1.27M (+130k)

1.5 Week Later

Ep 11 - 1: 1.36M || Avg Ep 11: 1.05M

2.5 Week Later

Ep 12 - 1: 1.07M || Avg Ep 12: 940k

Old Trailer:

I’ve watched parts of this before in gifs and clips (and maybe the first minute?). It’s definitely visually darker and more moody than the actual show ended up being. It really does seem to have a fantasy, perhaps time-travelling aspect to it. It’s cool even though it’s rough looking, makes it a bit raw.

New Trailer:

This trailer definitely focuses more on the relationship between Ayan and Akk and less on the protests and politics than the previous trailer and also some eps of the show.

Neither trailer was super incredible the way Bad Buddy OG trailer was nor as engaging and interest-piquing as Not Me both trailers were but it’s not a bad trailer either.

Ep 0:

Very interesting that First often checks the monitor after shooting a scene, which Khaotung doesn’t do but feels encouraged to by First

Beautiful Khaotung is beautiful, I love his vibe in the video

Khao and First both mentioned receiving emotions from the other, which makes them be able to act better. Louis mentioned it about Khao too

most of these clips are from early eps so seeing the ep 12 confession scene with parents is interesting but it makes sense that that was also filmed early with the earlier hometown scenes.

Khao and First both mentioning First holding Khao’s hand before dramatic scenes and that that helped

Louis talks very enthusiastically about everyone and everything, it’s nice to see that he seemed very excited about the project

Tiktoks and edits I’ve liked: (Last Update Nov 1, 2022)

Trailer edit (bg: rolling in the deep)

trailer kiss (bg: the only memory is us kissing in the moonlight)

Ep 0 KhaoFirst talking about touch (bg: Friends - Chase Atlantis)

[Fave] Ep 0 + other vids - KhaoFirst cuteness (bg: cake by the ocean)

Khao in THCT vs The Eclipse (bg: spanish? song)

Behind photoshoot where KhaoFirst are very close (bg: memories - Conan Gray)

“what can a big guy like you do to me?” (bg: i’ve got you all figured out”)

Trailer: Akk taking Ayan’s headphones (bg: Hayloft)

“We’re in an all-boys school, who would I like?” This you?

Ep 2 Aye “falling in love” bg music when Akk sprinkles water on him

[Fave] Ep 3 Akk dozing off and Aye falling for him (bg: snapping one two where are you)

Horny asf Ayan vs horny and hides it

[Fave] Ep 3 Akk-Kan-Wat’s dance party (bg Photograph by Ed Sheeran) ummm it’s insinuating a friendship breakup and I will cry. Update: no friendship breakup but tbh with the Thua stuff going on, some more conflict and resolution would’ve been good lol

Akk Ayan 99% fights vs 1% tension and cute

Tropes in Eclipse

Ep 4 edit Ayan/Akk (bg: “we should stick together you’re my best friend”)

ayan’s got a side quest - tbh it’s the comments with all the mind ruining quotes

‘you better not bring” trend

Ep 4 benches/bleachers/stairs moment

ep 4 preview of ep 5 khao putting his hoodie on first

Ep 5 Ayan catching Akk looking at the photo (bg: Unconditionally - Katy Perry)

Ep 5 Ayan giving Akk the sweater (Bg: Heather by Conan Gray)

[Fave] Ep 5 Curse Akk reveal

Ep 5 Akk staring like he’s into the previous prefect

Up to ep 5 how akk and ayan look at each other (bg: Habits by Genevieve Stokes) + part 2 up to ep 13 and sadder version

up to ep 5 edit of akk doing all the curse shit (bg: i fill my eyes with kerosene)

ep 6 fans watching the kanthua hw convo scene in theater

ep 6 cool edit “join prefect club for a boy? it’ll have consequences”

ep 6 ayan confidently getting into bed scene (this one is just bc of everybody in the comments being a khaofirst and ayan seme truther)

ep 6 kan “worried” and thua’s smile (bg: old enough to understand)

Bound to fall in love edit # 3 I’ve seen probably

Ep 7 preview (bg: Brooklyn Baby - Lana Del Rey) https://www.tiktok.com/@ownanon/video/7144112700174421253?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1

Ep 6 Akk cute to curse (bg: what hurts the most is that people can go from people you know to ppl you don’t) it’s kinda like the audience’s pov inch resting

akk -> yok (bg: unholy - sam smith)

akk secretly in love with the school “trouble maker” (bg galway girl ed sheeran)

Ep 7 Ayan Kan staircase talk

ep 7 akk ayan (bg: young and beautiful lana del ray) https://www.tiktok.com/@ownanon/video/7146597934782516485?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1

eclipse aesthetic

“are you gay?” “no” “do your momma know you gay?” “no.. yes. fCUK”

Ep 8 Ayan finding his notebook - thua on purpose? (bg: everything goes according to plan)

Ep 8 can you leave this school? (little lion man by mumford and sons)

ayan love languages

Ep 8 Chadok and Akk in that dark school (bg: tag you’re it - melanie martinez)

[Fave] up to ep 8 ahhhhh compliant, malleable akk to ayan’s wishes T.T

cult tactics in the prefect club

Ep 9 ayan/akk cute moments (bg: paper rings - taylor swift)

Ep 9 ayan/akk cute moments (bg: honeypie)

ep 9 “you’re blind if you think thua isn’t enjoying this” - thua watching ayan have panic attack

Ep 9 ayan/akk cute moments (bg: day 1 - rv)

Ep 9 vs Ep 2 parallel akk flicking water at ayan (bg: deja vu)

Ep 9 ayan/akk cute moments (bg: replay - shinee)

Ep 9 ayan/akk cute moments (bg: honeypie)

thct vs eclipse khao and neo

views trends up to ep 9

Ep 10 thua’s possible reasoning for being the new curse

Ep 10 The Eclipse vs Bad Buddy rooftop crying parallel

Ep 10 % of chance someone is the new curse

irl first confused by people saying khaotungfirst lol

Ep 12 parallels with earlier eps

#the eclipse #ep by ep commentary

2 notes · View notes

madneywedding · 2 months

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Hi! TWS-anon here!

I've been taking a break from tumblr/tech in general, but I finally watched the new episode yesterday! I was *shocked* at how quickly that pirate[?] situation wrapped up. I TOTALLY thought it was gonna turn into a bigger thing. Hilariously anti-climactic (positive). I love this show so much!!!

Of course the Bobby/Athena moments were exquisite, and I felt so bad for Lola's husband. After everything they went through, she CHEATED on him!? TERRIBLE!!!

I felt so bad with Hen's call being second-guessed. I'm glad that everything worked out on her end. A little scared about the fallout from chasing Athena and Bobby's cruise ship, but considering that she's CORRECT, I hope it's not too bad.

Affectionately, I could not take any of the ship tossing around scenes seriously because all I could think of is my beloved Star Trek.

If I could, I'd send you a warm drink and a snuggly blanket, or a cool drink if you're too warm <3

-TWS anon

asjdbfjskskjdk out of everything in that bonkers episode (affectionate) the thing that shocked me most was definitely lola’s infidelity. like. man. after he promised to visit her every day in prison? i thought they really had something :/

also man, as a bathena fan…..this episode really was something else 🥺 ep 1 left me a little worried but this one made up for it a thousand times over and also ruined me in the best of ways. that moment where bobby went underwater to lift athena up so she could breathe? yeah. it wrecked me. and i’m gonna be thinking about the shot of their wedding rings as they turn open the wheel for the rest of my life 😭😭

re the pirates. i don’t know if you count trailers as spoilers, but if so — spoiler under the cut!

i don’t know too much about the new ep but i’m 99% sure that we see the pirates again in the promo for 7x03, so the anticlimactic feeling you got after ep 2 was probably a false alarm!!

#and thank you for the well wishes <3 #i could use a warm drink #answered #anon #tws anon

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jemmo · 2 years

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the bedroom pas de deux // ep 11

i kinda dropped my whole comparison of the romeo and juliet ballet to bad buddy bc i dont have a full version of the ballet to watch and bc i was wallowing in my emotions so much that it was kinda above my mental capacity. but there had always been another pas de deux thats available on the royal opera house youtube channel that i was waiting and waiting to do a comparison for, that being the bedroom pas de deux. and i was waiting bc i wasn’t even sure if there was gonna be a good point for comparison in bad buddy. the bedroom pas de deux is the last time romeo and juliet see each other, before all hell breaks loose and murders happen and you know the rest. this is their final and most intimate moment together, and i wasn’t sure where the plot of bad buddy was headed so i wasn’t sure if we’d get something akin to this.

but i should’ve known better. p’aof is clearly sticking to his shakespearian parallels, and as soon as pat said ‘lets get away from here’ i had a suspicion that finally the episode to mirror the bedroom pas de deux was upon us, and by god i was right.

first off, we have to talk about the title, the bedroom pas de deux. we all know what goes down in ep 11 3/4 so there’s obvious parallels there that link these points in their respective stories. just as a side note, i find this interesting going forward for predictions as a lot happens after this in romeo and juliet, a lot a lot of drama, but we only have 1 ep left for bad buddy. obviously bad buddy isn’t a direct retelling and points that parallel have been out of order and inconsistent so far in my reading of a comparison, but hey its worth pointing out and thinking about in these long says wait. anyway, these scenes both in the ballet and the show are about the characters being intimate sexually and that after glow that follows. in romeo and juliet, this is more by the book, as in they’ve gotten married in secret and are making love for the first time, and with the youth and innocence of the characters there’s that classic air of the ‘loss of virginity’. as bad buddy is more modern, this has less of a focus. first off, its not said definitely either way whether pat and pran have been intimate prior to this or not, in any capacity, and that brings in the argument of what is virginity and when is it lost, through what acts??

but thats me getting side tracked; what i want to mention more so is all the marriage talk thats been happening over the past 2 eps. we get a mock proposal on the stairs and then the words are dropped again and again through ep 10. its as if, by playing with the idea, they go through the motions of a marriage, but obviously this discussion is something that has to stay fictional and fantastical due to the legality of gay marriage. we get some branching from the classic narrative as pat and pran’s parents find out, whereas romeo and juliet’s families never find out about their relationship, but then we’re back to a honeymoon phase. and while romeo and juliet can only have that one night of intimacy and the morning after as their honeymoon, this gets extended for pat and pran through their temporary escape. and i like this bc, compared to the original narrative, which is very much a stolen moment of passion, with lower stakes as they don’t know what is ahead and have no plans to part, pat and pran are dealing with a lot more. they’ve come here in the aftermath of a fallout, and with the looming and ever-growing threat of separation. its all there, in the front of their minds, and so they need more time, they need an actual honeymoon that extends beyond an evening of intimacy and a stolen morning before parting. and thats why, for this pas de deux, you can make more direct parallels to the morning after scenes in bad buddy, but also more generally see this pas de deux as the episode as a whole, bc both are the extent of the honeymoon they get, and therefore share similar emotions.

now comes the bit where i talk about the dancing even though i have no clue what i’m talking about but here i go.

(here’s the video of the pas de deux btw)

the world spins

what i first registered upon watching this pas de deux with fresh eyes was that there’s a lot of spinning. a lot. a lot of the partner work is spins, moves are entered into with spins, lifts are spins. and i think this very well reflects this moment of loss and confusion for pat and pran, the fact that the world seems to be spinning too fast, things are happening too quickly and they can’t keep up, and all they want is a moment of respite, which they find in each other. i’ve picked out some of my favourite spin moments here.

this one i love for its changes in direction, how the spin starts facing away before juliet spins in to face romeo, then spins away to look outwards before spinning back in to be lifted in romeo’s embrace. you can follow how the directions represent that exact push and pull between what they want, being together, and what the world wants, for them to be apart. and way they spin into each other and back out and then in again is also matched in their eyeline, looking at each other, then looking out into the world, and then in the lift there’s almost this merging of the two. juliet looks up into the sky, but to look up she has to look at romeo too, and similarly romeo looks up while also glancing at juliet. its as though the final lift is a wish for the world they’re looking out to to have each other in it. they spin lost in despair and confusion and look to the sky praying it will provide some kind of hope that out there somewhere is a world with the other in it, that its not one or the other. and yet at the same, that wish is also an acknowledgement of the facts, something that pat very much had to go through this ep. by wishing for a future with pran in it, pats also admitting that the future he knows is coming doesnt have pran. thats why when asked what he wants to do after graduation he says take over the family business. he’s known all along, its always been in the back of his mind that this cant be serious, its a pipe dream to try and commit to this. and so he sees pran and he sees the world and he looks to the sky thinking why cant it be simple? how can the two exist at the same time and yet seem to repel each other like oil and water? and when the push and pull is over, where are they gonna end up? when the world stops spinning, where will they land?

this spin i love for how erratic it is. i talked in previous comparisons to the ballet about the bourrée, and about how a bourrée backwards is a motif for juliet throughout the ballet, showing both her obedience and rejection of the expectations put on her by her family. and i find it so interesting here that we get a hint of that bourrée. its the only time we see it in the pas de deux, and its such a fleeting moment that you almost miss it, but those small movements of the feet are there. but here they’re much slower, and they’re moving forward. juliet’s bourrée is most predominantly backwards, her running away from both paris, bc she doesn’t want to be with him, doesn’t want the life set out for her by her parents, and from romeo, bc she subconciously knows that she should distance herself, they shouldnt be together. the forward movement here also speaks of subconcious control which very much fits pran, this time the messages his parents have drilled into her telling him to run away, move forward, go to them, some nebulous space off stage where pat isn’t. he starts running away from pat but slows into this bourrée that speaks of his weak and defeated retreat to what he’s been told is right, only for pat to grip his shoulders and send him spinning into his arms. its a spin of such speed that speaks of how completely dizzy pran feels, how things have been turned upside down, how him rejecting familial expectations has sent him spiralling down an unknown path. but the path ultimately leads to pat, he catches him in his arms and rights him on his own two feet, grounding him in that moment, telling him it might feel like the world is spinning, but i’ll hold onto you, i’ll control the chaos as much as i can. so much may be uncertain, but us in this moment is still and calm and true, and that helps the dizziness fade.

this final moment is just one of my faves in the pas de deux, and i put it here bc of how it contrasts the speed and chaos of the spins above and many of the spins we see in the piece. its a repeated move thats almost like romeo teaching juliet how to walk again, and i see this very much in pat and pran’s escape, where pran has just broken into a million pieces on the rooftop and by getting away, pat is finding away to put those pieces back together, bringing life back into pran when he thought he’d lost it all, showing pran that when he reaches the end of his tether, he can still put one foot in front of the other and move forward. and the spin is slower and simple, just a single turn that says the world turns on its axis just like i keep on living, an inevitability of life. and when you cant take it anymore, wish it would all stop, i’ll be there to slow the turn of the earth, hold you and keep you steady and guide you forward.

the weight of the world

there is also a motif of exhaustion in the piece, which we see through moments where juliet becomes deadweight in romeo’s arms, very reflective of pran’s exhaustion after breaking down and admitting he cant cope with it all anymore. he is well and truly at his breaking point, and in these moments, if it wasn’t for pat holding him, keeping him upright, he’d break down.

but these moments also speak of trust, again something we see when pran falls apart in pat’s arms. there’s trust there that pat will hold him, he trusts him enough to be this open and exposed around him, let his emotions be that raw and trusts that pat will handle them with care, handle him with care, not let him fall. its reflected in the movement, the way that juliet lets all strength leave her body, lets herself become truly weak, so that only romeo’s arm around her waist keeps her up. bc its only by letting go so fully that you can truly feel the strength of the other person holding you up. its when you’re at your weakest that you are hit with the the indisputable proof of just how strong someone can be for you. you let everything go and yet a single arm can keep you from falling. in the same way, by breaking down so fully, pran gets to see the simplicity in how pat takes care of him. and for pat, he’s not at his strongest in that moment either, he’s breaking down too. but by offering a shoulder to cry on, a hand to hold, an arm to keep pran upright, he can keep him from breaking even when he’s threatening to break himself. he doesn’t need to keep himself composed, bc the simplest of gestures can offer all the solace pran needs. it’s just an arm, and yet it keeps the both of them upright, and together.

i especially love the progression of this move. the united hands held together in the air is a repetition of the move before, and speaks of how in the midst of loss and confusion, they gravitate towards and can ground themselves in each other. they are the thing tethering each other to the moment, even when thinks spin out of control, even as exhaustion creeps in, even when they feel lethargic and weak, its that uniting action at the start that gives them the trust in each other to fall apart in the others arms.

this final example i find especially poignant, bc i think its reflective of a trend in pat and pran’s story whereby when they’re at their highest, they fall down to their lowest. we’ve seen it time and time again; the christmas concert, the curtain falling, running into pat’s dad. all these moments where they were at their happiest being brought crashing down. you can see it here with romeo lifting juliet, bc the lift makes it so juliet is faced with the world, she looks out. oftentimes its when pat and pran reach the heights of their happiness that they are most brutally faced with the reality of the world, so when romeo lifts juliet with strength and joy, only for her to be faced with the harsh truths of the world, thats what causes her to break, and she tumbles back down into romeo’s arms as deadweight, as if in that moment truly defeated by the world she saw. pat and pran have had these experiences before. its in the small moments, like when they talk about wanting to eat hotpot together. its said in a moment of happiness, and its born from wanting joy, but it brings to light everything they can’t have and just like that the moment dissolves into cruel pain.

i say all this bc i think the best example of this we get in ep 11. pat is dreaming of a life they could forge here, he’s trying to make it happen, he’s trying to lift pran into that world where they can be together. but when pran sees it, all he can see is whats not there, namely his family, and the difficulties of the situation. thats just pran, he was born a dreamer and forced to be a realist. and seeing all the harshness of it, being lifted into pat’s world of dreams but only seeing impossibility, it defeats him. he cant live in that world, and then pat has to see pran’s lifeless body and know that’s what he could become if he tried to pursue that life. pran has his own wants and dreams and he shouldn’t have to sacrifice them for their relationship to work, hence why they ultimately go home, bc pat sees that pran wants more, and staying there would only limit him, and he doesnt want that. doesnt want to see the life and glow of aspiration slowly leave pran as he lives their simple life. pran has had to sacrifice too much to sacrifice his dreams too, and pat doesn’t want him do that for him.

mirror images

throughout the piece, which predominantly has a lot of flow and and ease, are moments of rigidness, where the dancers pose stiffly in position. this is very likely me reaching, but i love how these moments tell a small story, namely the story of pat and pran coming to terms that separation is nigh, and that they must trust that the other has the strength to stand alone so that they can be united once again.

in this first pose, both romeo and juliet are reaching forward, each of their arms mirroring the others. this makes me think of pat saying ‘you fight alongside me’, bc here they are together, reaching towards the same thing, wanting the same world, one where they are together, bodies matched in their pursuit of that future. and also note that they are reaching forward, very much trying to go on, move on from the past that has subjected them to so much hurt. this is very much like the start of the ep where they’re united in their want for escape, they’re on the same page at this point, that page being we need to get away.

the second time we see this posture, its romeo leaning juliet into position. here, its not about them being together, its about romeo seeing that juliet can hold her own. it makes me think of all the times in the episode where pat is just looking at pran without him knowing, looking at pran looking wistfully at the guitar, looking at pran walking towards the dinner table and cherishing the moment of them being able to simply exist together, looking at pran as he looks out to the ocean and thinks of his mom and sees that he’s worrying about her. pat is continually trying to gauge where pran is at, how he’s coping, how he’s feeling, what’s on his mind. and here, romeo looks at juliet assuming this position and sees that she can do it, she can hold her own, she is strong enough. bc this episode was all about pat and pran reaffirming their relationship and strengthening it so that it can withstand whatever will come. so when romeo places juliet like this, its him seeing that she doesnt need all his strength to be in that position. pran has enough fight in him now, he doesn’t need pat to fight for them alone, he can do it too, he can hold his own. just hold him there and he’ll still be reaching forward, still trying to pursue that future where they’re together. even when he’s alone, he’ll still be reaching for it.

but then we get this reversal of the first pose, where romeo is still reaching forward, but juliet is reaching behind. bc this is where they get to, a point where they are at odds, a point where pat is still very much trying to pursue that dream life of him and pran, together, in peace, and happy. but pran feels himself being pulled back, hears the voices niggling in his head telling him he has to go home, it wont work, they cant do that. he cant sacrifice his whole life that fully, and even if he shouldnt, he still cares. still cares for his parents, worries about them, loves them. the familial bond is pulling him back while pat is pushing forward, and that is where the dream starts to break, bc they aren’t dreaming together anymore. pat is up in the clouds while pran has fallen back to reality, and they cant stay isolated in those worlds without the other. they need to decide, forwards or backwards, where are they going, bc they have to go together.

and we see that togetherness in this final move where they match each other, romeo placing juliets foot in front of his and juliet moving her other to mirror his stance. it speaks of both pat and pran reaching a point together, both meeting each other to be united. its not pat forcing pran to match him or vice versa, its them matching one another, assuming the same position through both their efforts. its not one sacrificing and the other not, its them both sacrificing something to be in this fight together. and then romeo reaches to the sky, bc he still feels the pull of that faraway dream, but juliet pulls his arm down into an embrace, as if to say ‘dont dream of the future when its not certain. dont wish for a world we cant have. just hold me now, in this moment, let us be together and treasure it. let us live in this perfect present before its lost’. thats what we see on pat and pran’s final night, them coming to accept whats ahead, but saying this final night shall be ours, and we will live it without sadness or fear or bitterness. we will not regret wasting time on dreaming, bc this moment with you is a dream. no more reaching, no more wishing, no more strength, just us and now, thats enough.

the world creeps in

i did a watch of this pas de deux just following romeo’s eyeline, and i found it fascinating. bc its always on juliet. he is constantly looking at her, or when he cant, looking in the direction she is. and this is so pat. pran is at the centre of his world and he just cant take his eyes off him, cant pull himself away, cant see anything past him. and after everything thats happened, all the external forces creeping in, he wants a world that is just pran, nothing else. he wants a world where he can just look at the man he loves and pretend nothing else exists. and thats what he starts out doing, he focuses on pran. he’s seen him break down and keeps himself so attuned to him so he knows how hes doing, if he’s ok, if he is feeling better. there’s so much shit going on but pran is and will always be his number one priority. but the more he looks at pran, the more he sees pran looking out, conscious of the world, and it makes it harder and harder for him to ignore it. when he sees pran thinking about all this stuff, it becomes more impossible for him not to think about it too. and thats when we get this moment.

romeo’s eyeline - on juliet until moment where they open up to and face the world and then becomes more conscious of environment (whereas juliet more constantly conscious)

its very much a turning point. they spin and look out to the world and open up, offer themselves to it, bare their souls, say this is what we are. we see you world, we know the reality of whats out there, but what more can we do than give ourselves to you, together and united in the honesty of our relationship. they face a cruel world, they see it and admit what it is, and it terrifies them, makes them recoil, turn to each other for comfort, bc its too hard to face. i love this moment, bc unlike a lot of male ballet, this pas de deux doesnt really contain any what i call ‘presentation moments’ for romeo, where he’s showing off to the audience. there’s only this. and it creates such an intimate mood for the whole piece, which is why this move feels so alien. it contributes to that expectation people have of pat and pran to present, to act, to play their roles. to be the perfect dancers, but all they want is to hold each other. they dont want to play that part, they just want each other. and this is not a dance for us, for the outside world, its a dance for them, a chance to be together.

and after this, romeo has a lot more moments where he too is looking outwards, away from juliet, by himself. he feels the world creeping in, he can no longer ignore it. reality is approaching, and he feels time slipping away, knows how much he must treasure now bc tomorrow is looming ever closer. he too has moments where he runs away, he too has moments where he looks out at the unfair world in defeat, pat tried to stay strong and positive for pran, but he slowly cracks, we see the veneer of hope fade as he too faces reality. we see him cry more, we see him pursuing comfort from pran. he’s slowly falling back to earth, where the world cant be just pran, and he has to find a way to deal with that.

a promise

i love this final move. if you wont watch the whole thing or if you dont care about any of this shit, at least appreciate this final move. its beautiful, and is the perfect physical metaphor for what pat and pran are going through. its repeated twice. juliet crumbles to the floor weak and defeated, but romeo lifts her and rights her on her foot, just like pran falls apart in pats arms and pat grounds him, holds him at his weakest and coaxes him back to life, shows him how to stand tall and strong again. and then theres this move of strength where they push away from each other. this is pat and pran having to be strong in their separation, having to push against the gravity that pulls them together with all their strength, stretch as far apart as their bodies will let them. bc they may be apart, but there’s still a point of contact in the hands. it may not be physical for pat and pran, but they will always be holding onto each other, and that will always bring them strength when they’re apart. and its through that strength, that push, that opposition of what drags them together, that when the time is right, they can let go, they can release hands, stop holding on, not have to be strong anymore. and they will fall back together. the gravity will pull them together again. they will fall into each others arms as they were always predestined to. when juliet lets go and lets herself fall, romeo will be there to catch her. and when pran doesn’t have to pull away anymore, he can be caught by pat like its second nature, like thats where he’s always belonged, bc it was inevitable that no matter how long it took, thats where they were always going to end up.

and i love that they repeat it. its like first they’re testing if this will work, if this way forward will lead to the future they want. then they do it again, reaffirm that they can do this, they have the strength to part. and the final time, right at the end of the piece, you see romeo right juliet on her foot. and instead of before, where she fell into his arms, as if to say not yet, i cant do it yet, im not ready to leave you, this time, she looks at romeo in position, shaking her head as if to say no, i dont think i can, i cant leave, this isnt right, this isnt what i want, but she ultimately leaves. romeo lets go, and for a moment she is suspended on pointe, feeling the absolute emptiness and unbalance of not being held, and yet she stays upright, she can hold it, she can do it, and so she leaves. i love this so so much. i love that subtle shake of the head that says i dont want to go. its the exact mood of pat and pran standing outside of their houses, knowing what they have to do, having decided the way ahead, and still thinking no, i dont want it. its like theyve gone over and over the moment in their heads, but stood there, apart, the future waiting for them inside, it kinda breaks them that theyve ran and ran until they cant run anymore. there’s nowhere else to turn to. all they can do is face it. and they hate it, but they leave. and the pas de deux, the honeymoon, ends.

if you’ve got to the end of this, congrats. i dont know is this makes any sense i feel like an emotional sponge getting rung dry at this point. i just wanted to ramble, but words have been escaping me this week, so i needed to channel my feeling somehow, and this framing of the ballet has just helped me get something out, even if its messy and incoherent. but yeah tl;dr is this pas de deux is ep 11 and its beautiful and im emo. enjoy.

#bad buddy #bad buddy series #wow ive been typing random bits of this across 3 days #can you tell im struggling to process???#but i had to get something out so here #its been honestly hard for me to rant about the ep just as it is bc i get 5 words in and start crying #so its a shock i could do all this through my tears #but yes my head is still a mess and i feel like an emotional fuse that has just burst #im not sure i could even find the right words to explain how im feeling #its a lot #and i just wanna kinda ride it out to the end now #i just wanna treasure being in this period still #no matter what it holds or how it makes me feel #i just really wanna treasure it #bc i know ill never be here again #and its so special #and i just wanna love it for every second i can #man jess stop crying in the tags #youre talking about ballet get a grip #ugh #made by jemmo

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jadelotusflower · 2 years

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Robin Hood Rewatch - 3x04 Sins of the Father

I bet they regret not saving this episode title for later in the season.

But I had absolutely no memory of this episode! I honestly thought this, episode four, was when Prince John/Isabella showed up but no, we have more filler. The only notable event is Kate being outlawed, which I knew happened at some stage, but had zero memory of how. Oh and a plot about a conman father and son pretending to be tax collectors, and hmm doesn’t that seem familiar?

But there’s no actual movement in the overall arc, to the extent that this season even has an overall arc. I mean the season is 1/3 over, and it feels like nothing has happened?

This episode also has the distinction of being one of the few written by a woman - Holly Phillips, although this was her only one. For those keeping track, the others were Bev Doyle (3 eps), Debbie Oates (2 eps), and Lisa Holdsworth (2 eps).

Vaisey’s bookeeper (?) Scrope is working the abacus hard trying to calculate the cash that can be sent to Prince John (still 1000 crowns - guess he didn’t get a discount for turning over Guy, who is again not in this episode).

He does get mentioned though, as Vaisey is paranoid that Guy is in London “gallivanting with Prince John, scheming against me” - well, you’re the one who sent him there ! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Scrope provides exposition that the new tax collector will be arriving, and his name is Rufus.

And his son, apparently, whose name is Edmund. Yeah. these dudes look trustworthy. But the Sheriff really couldn’t be fooled by a fake father-and-son tax collectors again, could he?

Meanwhile, the gang steal the Sheriff’s winter food store by setting loose some bees, and Rufus watches with interest and compliments Robin on the slight of hand.

He then reveals to Vaisey that Nottingham is his home town, and he’s come back to make them pay. DUN DUN.

He proceeds straight to Locksley to swing his dick around make an example of people who don’t pay their taxes. When Kate makes a comment that they do, he destroys their pottery stall, and the kiln explodes, starting a fire.

Now, this has been bugging me since the start of the season, but the pots could not look more industrially made right down to the perfectly glazed paint, so perhaps nothing of value was lost.

Kate stands up to Rufus, and honestly I think this is a pretty fair reaction and actually pretty steely of Kate to hold firm. However, when Rufus sees she won’t back down, he threatens to hurt Rebecca and she is cowed, agreeing to go to Locksley Manor to make him “smile.” Ah, our old friend, Threat of Sexual Assault.

I actually think this is an interesting position for Kate to be in - she has berated Robin for causing collateral damage by standing up to Vaisey, and now she’s experiencing the fallout of her own bravery. Will this prompt any self-reflection or character development on Kate’s part? Of course not!

There’s a very creepy and uncomfortable scene where Rufus makes Kate dance for him. A discomfort shared by Edmund, who excuses himself.

John thinks he knows Rufus from somewhere, but they rush of the Locksley when they hear of the fire. He tells Robin that he’s the new tax collector and started the fire, and Robin wonders where Guy is before rushing off to the Manor when he hears Kate needs help.

She pulls a dagger on Rufus just as Robin and Much barrel in through the windows.

A trope I really hate is someone in immediate danger proclaiming “I was doing fine on my own!” when another person arrives to help. I just hate it.

Now, maybe Kate could have fought Rufus of with that dagger, but he quickly overpowers Much who has a sword, so maybe not. In any event, Robin and Much weren’t to know she was “doing fine” so blaming them for Rufus forcing her into hiding kind of eats away the sympathy for her in the moment.

Scrope convinces Vaisey to send his guards to the Earl of Northumberland in return for gold, leaving him unprotected in the castle.

Kate says a very sweet goodbye to Maggie, who still has not spoken a word.

“First you get my son killed, now you take my daughter.” Rebecca continues to be The Worst. But Robin takes the undeserved blame very graciously, promising to look after Kate.

Allan spits some facts, but I think it’s meant to come across as flirty banter?:

Allan: You’re so angry we saved you Kate. Seriously, what were you going to do? Stab the guy?

Kate: Yeah, if I had to. No great loss to the world.

Allan: We helped you. We’re giving you a bed for the night. Aren’t you even slightly grateful?

Kate: Ah, I’m so grateful! Thank you all for ruining everything! I can really see why you’re so legendary.

Allan: Well aren’t you sweet and charming, eh?

Kate: And aren’t you full of yourself?

Allan: Full of myself? Oh now you’ve gone too far, Kate. I’m wounded! Truly my heart is broken!

I do actually quite like this exchange, I just wish they were going to remain foils - that would be a more interesting dynamic and undercut the overselling they’re doing of Kate - imo the key to any lead character is having another character that calls them on their bullshit.

Robin expresses concern for her that diffuses the sniping - honestly he feels rather paternalistic towards her at this point (twice referring to her a “little girl” in earlier scenes).

Much is still enamored with Kate for reasons I cannot fathom, and admits that she turned him down, but consoles himself that she thinks they (“the gang - not just Robin”) are legendary. No, Much. No. She’s been very clear, it’s time to back off.

Vaisey sends the guards away, and the castle goes into lockdown, while Rufus roughs up the locals in Nottingham.

He and Edmund find his father’s old butcher’s shop, which we learn was taken from him when Rufus was seventeen. The same age as Edmund - placing that event at least seventeen years before this episode, which is important to remember for a rant I’m going to go on later.

Rufus berates Edmund him for being weak i.e. not wanting to watch people suffer. Why are we spending so much time on these people? Rufus is getting more character exploration than Allan, John, and Much put together!

Back at camp, John resumes his role as resident Dad and comforts Kate that she’ll get used to being an outlaw. She asks if he ever gets used to being away from his family, and he says no, but that whatever happens she’s not alone. Now, this would have been an excellent time for John to actually talk about his family, to give some follow up to his breakdown/deathwish in 2x12, but he doesn’t, because we can’t have nice things.

The gang traps Rufus and Edmund in a stable, and Kate’s contribution is to trip Edmund as he tries to run away. Which is fine, except the TWO closeups we get of John and Tuck sharing impressed looks and this is what I mean by overselling a character. Just let Kate contribute without comment/emphasis, like everyone else does! Unless it is truly exceptional, which sticking out your leg to trip someone is not.

Honestly, the best critique I’ve ever seen of this is the Poochie episode of The Simpsons, something every writer should watch before introducing a new character to an established group, but clearly this seasons producers took as an instruction manual.

Although to be fair, I don’t think Kate is too bad in this episode.

Anyway there’s a fight, and Robin, Much, John and Tuck escape having captured Edmund (Robin riding backwards on his horse shooting arrows, which is impressive but gets less emphasis than Kate’s ability to trip someone over), and Rufus escapes having captured Kate and Allan.

The latter are imprisoned in the old butcher’s shop, and there is some bad banter. However, the thrust of the scene, in which Allan does in fact successfully distract Kate from anger at being captured and impending death, to annoyance at him, is quite nice. Allan is a good egg.

Edmund is tied to a tree while John asks for his family name, certain he knows Rufus. Hey, remember in 1x06 when the fake tax collector’s son was also captured by the gang and tied to a tree for interrogation?

The gang leave Tuck in charge of Edmund, and he uses Ye Olde Polygraph (i.e. feeling his pulse) to tell that he’s lying, then Ye Olde Talk Therapy to help him see that kindness is not a weakness.

We get a close up of Tuck sensuously rubbing sage leaves into a rabbit and it makes me laugh. Oh director Alex Pillai, what weird choices you make.

Oh, so Scrope was in league with Rufus because he threatened his wife, and Vaisey finds Scrope tied up and figures it out, realising that he’s all alone in the castle without protection.

“Underneath this harsh surface there’s just more harsh surface.” LOL.

Vaisey stabs Scrope, so bye bye oily henchman.

Tuck tempts Edmund with the chance to kill him, but he instead chooses to eat with Tuck. Look, it’s a nice scene for Tuck, and there’s some good stuff here about fathers and sons, the cycle of violence, the power of choice etc, and I wish I cared more but I don’t. Because it feels like there needs to be a parallel to one of our main characters - the plot of the episode should serve the overall character narrative, otherwise what’s the point? I think it’s pretty clear that the upcoming plot about Robin’s father had not been decided on yet, since it would have been the perfect episode to set that up.

Or it could have been about Kate choosing not to follow her mother’s example of blaming everyone else when things go wrong, and instead deciding that she can help her family best by working with the gang. But that would require Kate to have an ounce of self reflection in that scene with Allan, and instead all it is is her being angry then mopey, and him cheering her up.

Robin tells Rebecca Kate’s been captured and promises to save her, while Much finds a butcher’s hook, and this jogs John’s memory of the old butcher, a good man, and his son, who was not.

John and Rebecca recall a wedding from many years ago, and...wait, WHAT!?! I’m sorry, I refuse to accept that Rebecca has lived in Locksley for long enough to remember a time before John being outlawed (at this point around 13 years), and presumably when Robin was still a boy since he has no recollection of the family name or the circumstances.

Now, it’s perfect for John to drop some knowledge here, I like it when they let John be smart! But why include Rebecca in this scene it all, because it seriously strains credulity that she’s a Locksley lifer. I mean it’s just completely unbelievable based on what we’ve been presented so far.

This also means that Kate has lived at the very least most of her life in Locksley, i.e. lands under Robins control, so there is absolutely no way he would not have recognised her in 3x02. Robin remembers everyone! It is his thing! He greeted each and every villager by name in 1x01 after five years away! Ugggh this infuriates me.

It also makes the impending Robin/Kate nonsense even worse! It’s unclear if the family are serfs or not (I assume not, since Kate tells Matthew to “find them somewhere better” in 3x02) but there is absolutely a gross power dynamic between Earl and peasant, for all that Robin has technically lost his title (he has certainly called himself the “true lord of Locksley” more than once).

Anyway, Rufus stole the money from the bride and groom from the wedding...and I’m sorry, I can’t get over this. Robin doesn’t remember?!? A wedding in his own village where a major scandal occurred?

I suppose it has been at least 17 years, making Robin very likely less than ten at the time, but he was never even told about this extremely scandalous event? Unless all those concussions from season 1 are finally catching up with him.

Robin figures out Rufus would “go home” to the butchers, and rescues Allan and Kate. They fight, and Tuck and Edmund arrive to stop Robin killing him. Robin’s “no kill” policy has become, as articulated by Rufus earlier in the episode: “no killing unless he has to”. The “has to” is being interpreted very loosely it seems.

Vaisey arrives, and recalls that Rufus’s father Daniel was his “very first execution” and excuse me but this timeline is extremely fucked up. Vaisey only became the Sheriff while Robin was away, at most 8 years earlier, but Daniel was executed because he admitted guilt to save his son. Was this the same wedding theft we’re talking about? It can’t be, because Edward would have been Sheriff at that time, but John says Daniel and Rufus ran off after the wedding and weren’t heard from again, which again doesn’t make sense, because you’d think John would have known that someone was executed for the crime?

Unless this was meant to be a subsequent theft happening in a different town where Vaisey was in charge, but no, that doesn’t work either based on Rufus declaring that “this town took my father from me” and prompting Vaisey’s memory by urging him to remember “the old butcher”.

This whole backstory is a mess.

Edmund stands up to Rufus, who then tries to kill him, so Robin shoots him, and I am once again asking what was the point of this episode was.

Back in the forest, Edmund sets off on his own. Kate, sadly, did not die on the way back to her home planet, but agrees to stay with the gang after Robin in particular says he wants her to. At this point it seems more about his sense of obligation and general kindness, but Kate gives him heart eyes in return.

Allan and Kate banter again, while Much looks forlorn and makes a very gross comment that he saw her first.

Love quadrangle, everyone! What a joy.

#robin hood bbc #robin hood rewatch #3x04 #sins of the fathers

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absolutebl · 3 years

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This Week In BL

May 2021 Wk 2

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Lovely Writer Ep 12 fin - that was a long arse final ep, but solid performances. I liked that we focused on the fallout amongst the side characters. (Very clever of them to depict Chap with Tae, his Y-Destiny pairing. Especially as both actors are slated for new BL roles with different partners again, The Tuxedo and You’re My Sky.) The camera certainly enjoyed wallowing in Sib & Gene’s separation, but that’s an Asian drama for you. They like to DWELL. (Frankly, I like a bit of wallowing myself.) I thought the inclusion of the “actual” writer at the very end thoroughly unnecessary. I don’t think they had to beat us over the head with the 4th wall meta quite that much. Still, this is probably one of the best BLs we’re getting from non-GMMtV Thailand this year. RECOMMENDED

Y-Destiny Ep 8 - (Thurs) I found the first half uninteresting but once Casper the Friendly Gay showed up it was fine. The ghost reminded me a bit of Fuse from MIR.

Close Friend Ep 4: (Just One Life) - is it just me or is Talay insanely charismatic? Anygay, the director got ahold of a drone for this one and would like us to KNOW ABOUT THAT FACT. Look, I just don’t think YoonLay have great chemistry but this was alright, cute enough.

Fish Upon The Sky Ep 6 - This was a better installment than we’ve had in a while. I like the obsession vs love explanation from Mork, insightful if creepy. Meen & Duean are okay, I guess. A bit annoying. Everyone in this show is a bit annoying. But the wipe toothpaste then wipe eye crud got to me. Toothpaste in the eye, yech! And then I was all, oh that’s basically this show: toothpaste in the eye. It just reviewed itself. (Also why do they keep switching aspect ratio between the two pairs? It’s like they were filming with two completely different camera types... oh. ah. Weird, GMMTV usually doesn’t make mistakes like that.)

Call it What You Want Ep 6 fin - I skipped to the last ep on this, I told you I do that sometimes to find out what happened. So CIWYW ends happy for the main couple, but trigger warnings on: eating disorders, suicidal thoughts, depression, mental abuse, and a few other things. If you don’t mind your BL dark, gritty, self aware, and honest then you should be okay with this show. But if your preference is for fluff, then there are other fish in the sky. Speaking of...

Nitiman Ep 2 - Giving me My Engineer vibes. This is OLD school Thai uni BL. I kinda feel like it was meant to come out in 2018, the gap year that was, but I am SO GRATEFUL we’re getting it now. Pay TF attention FUTS this is how you redeem a tsundere uke. Also I love that Bboom is just a terrible flirt and the football match twist was great. I love this show.

Top Secret Together Ep 1 - it’s out there but no eng subs. It’s an office set romance with multiple couples all tangential to one building. A bit stilted and low production values but I’m intrigued. I hope we get subs... eventually.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

HIStory 4: Close To You (Taiwan) Ep 9 - gets the safe sex gold star for lube + condoms AND a verse discussion? Not to mention asking for sex advice from queer fam? Is this a first in BL? Might be. (I still think it’s weird that product placement hasn’t jumped on the lube bandwagon, too slippery perhaps?) I like the embezzlement drama. I always enjoy good outside conflict playing to setting, and this is the kind to be easily resolved in next week’s finale. What a roller coster this series has been.

Papa & Daddy (Taiwan) Ep 5 - I LOVE THIS SHOW. A heartbeat after i thought, “they better address what he’s doing to the girls he’s dating,” they did it. Clever scripting that. The messaging is gorgeous, the idea that pride and media coverage and knowing about a changing world can broaden minds and lead to acceptance was basically Taiwan making a case for itself paving the way for marriage equality in Asia. Genius.

Most Peaceful Place 2 (Vietnam) Ep 1 (AKA 4) - dropped with subs and improved production values, someone is learning (or got more dough). The younger brother’s drama is a bit confusing, but I am here for cute boyfriends being cute boyfriends together. And I love that they took the seme’s previous pair (from Nation’s Brother) to be the faen fatale, very crafty of them. Even though it’s not a trope I like, there’s great chemistry all around.

My Lascivious Boss (Vietnam) Ep 6 - I weirdly love this show, okay? I’m just hoping Long has known Minh’s secret all along and is playing a reverse long con cat & mouse game, waiting for Minh to tell him the truth. Because that would be THE BEST. I could do without the faen fatale but ya can’t have everything. (I’m so glad it’s not the standard 6 ep arc, MOAR!!!)

Gossip

Rumor is GMMTV Thailand started shooting Baker Boys (here’s the teaser trailer). This is a remake of Antique (AKA Antique Bakery) a 2008 Korean movie (you can watch it on Viki) which is a remake of Antique (a 2001 Japanese series) with is an adaptation of wildly popular manga Antique Bakery. Knowing the plot I’m not sure this will qualify as BL. I’m still predicting Lee gets his first gay kiss in this series from Singto. More details about this series here.

Breaking News

Love Area release pushed out, reportedly due to C19. (source DramaCool)

Be Love In House: I Do (Taiwan, of course, with that title) got a new softer trailer (no subs). It drops next week, May 19, 2021 on Viki. All the information I have is here.

Tangential to BL

Two BL-adjacent shows, both from Taiwan.

I’m watching Love is Science? on Viki which has a het foundation, but it’s a good one. There’s a BL side couple who are on an enemies to lovers slow burn trajectory; featuring a disaster bi slut meets elegant bad ass super gay. So there’s THAT. The mains are an older career woman and the sweet boy from her distant past who has pined for her for years. (He is the softest sweetest service sub you ever saw.) Props to Taiwan for a seriously underused het dynamic. As usual in Asian rom coms the straight boy love interest is a Perfect Cinnamon Role (yes I’m looking at you True Beauty & Love O2O) but I find Taiwan’s version more palatable than Korea’s or Mainland China’s. It’s not finished yet but... RECOMMENDED.

Starting this week is Love Outlet a 50 (?!) episode show about a mall that sells relationships. It is supposed to have a main gay romance, but it might be a side dish. Very little else known about it. Coming to Line TV.

Honestly, I’m at the point where if Taiwan makes it, I’ll probably watch it.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Some shows may be listed later than actual air date for International accessibility reasons.

Starting:

Be Loved In House: I Do (Taiwan)

Golden Blood (Thailand) we think, like Love Area this may be delayed due to surging C19 cases

Love Outlet (Taiwan) we think

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.

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fanficmaniatic · 3 years

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The "Anti-Chat" Theory.

(Which is also why Chat Blanc 2.0 wont work and why Ladybug needs to be akumatized).

This is a turducken on my thoughts for S4 and the future of the show so just roll with it.

So, Season 4 has been wild so far, and if clues given by the writers and people involved in show are any indication, this is only the beginning, we are in for a bumpy ride and things are just going to keep getting worse.

In all the discourse revolving season 4 something that we are all mentioning is how “Chat Blanc” is still a thing and there is no guarantee it won’t happen again. If anything it now seems more likely Chat Noir will get akumatized considering the imminent Ladynoir fallout, and how Adrien is still living with his Father, as his isolation keeps getting worse. And though I am always In for some good Character angst, and I feel like it is necessary for Adrien to know about Chat Blanc, and/or for Chat Blanc to reappear, I don’t think Chat Blanc 2.0 is something Adrien nor the show needs right know.

This theory has many parts, I promise it all ties neatly at the end.

First things first, I may be a little biased, Chat Blanc is an episode I really enjoy. I love Time Travel shenanigans, and I was dying to see Adrien finally find out about his father. The heavy consequences of the episode were obviously erased, but the impact of it all still remains trough Marinette, whom we see in the episode ‘Sentibbubler’ is having nightmares about the whole thing. But still, I love the episode, and I really don’t want an “Stormy Weather 2”… which is an episode I heavily dislike, compared to THE BEST formulaic episode of the Whole show, a.k.a “Stormy Weather” a.k.a My favorite episode. So yeah, this whole first point is just me REALLY not wanting an episode called “Chat Blanc 2.0” But there is more to it, and is the fact that I don’t see how it could work out.

“Chat Blanc 2.0” is unnecessary, and the reason why is that bringing him back wouldn’t actually do anything besides perhaps bringing Ladynoir further apart. Ladybug still CAN’T know Chat noir’s identity, (Let’s be honest and admit that’s prolly s4 finale OR happening during s5) so the show would go out of its way to make his dialogue as plain as possible without mentioning his father being hawkmoth. And yes, I do realize that Chat has been bottling his emotions and it all is likely to come out during THE ladynoir fall out… But people are ignoring the elephant in the room which is that Chat Noir DOES NOT fight Ladybug.

I promise this is relevant.

Chat Noir, unless mind controlled, would never attack Ladybug. The most clear example of this is in “Gamer 2.0” when he straight up says “I could never bring myself to fight you” as he sacrifices himself for her, that added to their classic “Is us against the world, My Lady” every season finale, and Marinette’s “In case something happens to me” In ‘Optygami’, it all could pretty well be a foreshadowing of a Ladynoir fight, where Ladybug is akumatized, and Chat has to willingly fight her. Yes, one could argue that he did fight her during ‘Chat Blanc’, but it could also be read as more of him trying to make her listen.

Where am I going with this? Chat Blanc 2.0 would be unable to bring the nuance the story needs right now. Chat Blanc still wouldn’t fight his father, because I doubt they won’t leave that for season 5. Chat Blanc still doesn’t have a motive to actually fight Ladybug. But the most important part is… What would happen at the end? What would be the change? What conversation are we having? What would be different than what we got in the original Chat Blanc?

To be fair, maybe I am wrong, maybe it can work out, this is just a theory. Maybe all the things I crossed out as impossible will actually happen, but I have been watching the show for 6 years, and If I have learned something about it, is that it is a slow burn, in ALL the aspects.

So yes, I believe Ladybug/Marinette needs to be akumatized, but I also think that Adrien has to learn about Chat Blanc, and that Chat Blanc needs to reappear, having a bigger Role than just a nightmare. So… how does that tie with everything I just said? Easy, the “Anti- Chat” Theory’

So you probably remember “Anti-Bug”, one of the best episodes from season 1, where Chole tries to help Ladybug, she doesn’t listen, and Chloe ends up being akumatized into “Ladybug but evil” … In theory, that is the deal, and is no wonder I am picking Felix Graham De Vanily to fill this role.

From an animation perspective, Felix is the obvious choice, he is identical to Adrien, and if following Anti-bug’s logic in costume desing, that would mean they can reuse Chat Blanc model with no alteration needed.

Now, How would this work? By giving Ladybug a jump scare. She thinks she has to live one of her worst nightmares again, to then find out “Oh… This is not Chat Noir” while still creating enough tension, by looking scared and distraught, that she HAS to tell him that she is scared of him being akumatized WITHOUT actually needing to mention the alternative timeline. This gives Chat noir the chance to lash out, once he realizes this is part of why ladybug is keeping him away, which can lead to Ladybug’s future akumatization.

Why this way? And please hear me out. Chat Noir NEEDS to let his emotions out, and I don’t think lashing out at ladybug is the best way but I see it as necessary. Adrien needs to take on more responsibility while being Chat, but he also needs to learn how to healthy express his emotions, because he is not allowed to do that in his current situation. Ladybug being akumatized because she feels guilty about Chat Noir allows Adrien to do BOTH. Because to save Ladybug he would have to realize “My emotions are valid, and is okey to let them out, but the way I did it was not the right one”, and both Ladybug and Chat Noir would have to apologize because this whole thing is not miscommunication… is a misunderstanding of their partners character. Ladybug needs to relay more on Chat and Chat needs to take on more responsibility… it won’t happen if Ladybug is the one that needs to save Chat Noir.

Adrien needs to realize that he needs to save himself, and that there’s people outside of his father that care for him. Ladybug is this figure that he looks up to and Admires, and is from a side of his life that his father has no control over, (At least from his perspective). So if she forgives him, if they are able to fix their relationship he will realize that things can get better.

Now, going back to Anti-Chat… his deal is way bigger than just bringing The Ladynoir fight… Is about setting up seasons 6 and 7.

What do we know so far? The Love Square and Gabriel’s Hawkmoth is going to come to an end by season 5. Which has left many fans wondering “Then what is happening on seasons 6 and 7?” And the best answer we have so far is in the episode “Timetagger” where Bunnix reveals that there is a whole team of miraculous holders fighting the Hawkmoth of the future, which is by the same episode confirmed to not be Gabriel Agreste. Besides this, I think it is safe to assume that the specials are quietly setting up themes that could come back In seasons 6 and 7.

Now, when speaking about characters that could be future villains the fandom seems to have its collective mind set on two individuals: Lila Rossi, and Felix Graham De Vanily.

Besides ‘Rocketear’, (E17), ‘Wishmaker’ (E18), and the special ’Shadow Moth’s last attack’ (Eps 25&26) we don’t know the names of the episodes of the second half of the season, which is really uncommon for miraculous ladybug, and the reason they gave us as to why is “You would know who is akumatized based on the names”… Which AGAIN, is really uncommon for ML. If you have been in this fandom for a long time you’ll realize that most people working in the show don’t really seem to care about spoilers. Now, this is kinda a conspiracy theory, but If you saw that there was an episode called “Anti-Chat” would you have assume it was any one other than Felix?…. No, right? That’s what I though. Miraculous has proven that it is good at subverting expectations, so when they are pointing at something (like a Chat Blanc 2.0 episode) it may not be as we want or suspected it to be. So I think an Anti-Chat episode makes a lot of sense.

Now, Why am I saying that this can set up future season? Buckle up, pals, here we go. What do we know about Felix?

He is evil, or at the very least seems to be ill-intentioned, if his attitude and look at the end of his episode is anything to go by.

He is after jewelry. Which, yeah, was only shown in that one episode he appeared, but this could pretty much be a foreshadowing of him later on going after the miraculous.

We know that he is bound to appear 3 more times

For this theory to work, I need it to happen in episode 22… Yes, the feared 100th episode of the show. It is not as important why Felix is akumatized, but what is happening WHILE he is akumatized.

Besides what has already been discussed, with Ladybug being scared, Ladynoir should not be able to work together. They are tumbling on each other because Chat Noir feels like she doesn’t trust him, but Ladybug NEEDS his reassurance right now, which he wont give.

This, is directly parallel with what is happening between Anti-Chat and Shadow Moth. Because Felix, even though he wants the miraculous, he won’t let himself be bossed around. He is demanding things from SM, and like in Robustus, Anti-Chat tries to, not just take Ladybug’s and Chat noir’s Miraculous, he wants to destroy Hawkmoth too. Which will lead to Shadow Moth being the reason he gets de-akumatized, instead Ladybug and Chat Noir saving him... bringing more fuel to the Ladynoir fire.

Now, Why should Felix have an attitude with Shadow Moth? Well, my friends… Do you remember, years ago, when the producers of the show said “The peacock miraculous holder will make Hawkmoth look like a baby”…. That’s not Mayura. Nathalie is a great miraculous holder, and she is really clever. But instead of making Gabriel look like a baby, she makes him look smart because he has someone like her on his team. What I am saying with this is that Felix, will suspect/ figure out Gabriel is Hawkmoth at the en of Anti-Chat, and that he will get the peacock miraculous during “The Last attack of Shadow Moth.” Thus, setting up a villain for future seasons.

This makes Felix 3 appearances be: In episode 22 (Anti-Chat), In episode 26 (SM last attack, part 2), and during S5’s finale. Felix situation will be much like Lila’s during s1 and s2 where she was introduced at the end of the first but not used until the end of the second.

Conclusion:

Felix Graham de Vanily has the potential to be a future villain and bring the Ladynoir conflict to finally surface.

And to clarify, The Ladynoir conflict, just like this Felix theory, is not something that will, nor can get resolved in one episode. If anything the fight will be around the end of season 4, and it will get resolved during season 5.

But again, this is just a theory, and I will probably be death wrong, but who knows?

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jacnaylor · 3 years

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I know you don't want to think about the story line, but what are writers aiming for with Rebecca with this romance?

ok so i have a lot of conflicting thoughts on it all. which @palaeolithicc knew when they said 'have you watched the ep because you will have THOUGHTS'. u were right.

1. let me start by saying some positives: in general, i trust this show very much. this is the first time they've done anything i've not been sure about, so part of me is still trusting it's all going to be ok in the end.

2. i think this is the dark forest that ted referenced earlier on in the series. the writers are specifically referencing rom coms and the structure of rom coms, and this is the dark forest we have to come through in order to get through to the end.

3. lets talk about why i personally don't like the sam/rebecca story and some reasons why i get what they're doing. so, ever since s1 rebecca and sam have had a lovely relationship, so it's not like this has come out of nowhere. he, along with roy, are they only players who actually bother to acknowledge her and interact with her. he compliments her, and they have a good connection. also we love to see rebecca getting dicked down by a hot younger guy because she deserves it.

4. HOWEVER. As mentioned by rebecca herself in the episode, she's his boss. She's a lot older than him which in itself isn't a problem since they're both consenting adults but. She is in a major position of power over him and it's....uncomfy. it just is. i also feel like she's seeing something really good and throwing herself into it because it's the exact opposite of her relationship with rupert and i think that's sort of blinding her to everything else? like do they really want this long term or are they just caught up in it all (also personally for me there's a lack of romantic/sexual chemistry)

5. i saw a tweet from one of the writers talking about how ted and rebecca are currently actively avoiding each other after realizing they are more emotionally dependent/connected to each other than they want to be. aka they possibly have feelings for each other and are now retreating. so this to me implies they may even be endgame. but then you have to ask yourself: if rebecca immediatley emotionally retreats from ted who she has a deep connection with, why is she suddenly ready to have this type of relationship with sam? which implies she's not going to be in it deep with him really.

6. so in answer to your original question i think they're getting ted and rebecca to a place where they can like, calm down, move on, maybe together in the future. ted has to be apart from rebecca because he does the full charm offensive instead of addressing his issues (which thankfully he is doing with sharon) rebecca has to experience an actual relationship that she lets her guard down in in order to be ready to do it again in the future. i feel like there's going to be a bit of fallout from sam and rebecca. i don't think they're endgame, i think they're going to be able to remain friends. but i think ted might be scared he's watching rebecca grow without him and away from him, but in fact, hopefully, she's actually moving towards him.

#thanks for the ask it turns out i had a lot of thoughts #ted x rebecca #ted lasso #keeley jones

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hellowkatey · 3 years

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post-finale thoughts on the bad batch below the cut

[I'm specifically focusing on story and characters. this doesn't even begin to address the issues with their animation design, coloring, and the whole lot of racial, stereotypical, and ableist themes that show up, they are important to be aware of and speak out against. resources that I have found helpful are linked.]

@revenge-of-the-shit has a great compendium with lots of resources for both TBB and SW as a whole | change.org petition

okay.

As a SW fan, I am no stranger to putting up with meh writing because of my love for the characters. I love found family and I love the protective space dad trope with all my being, so TBB caught me by the hyperfixation... but not until the last few episodes of the season.

I loved Echo and Tech from the beginning. As someone who is neurodivergent, I relate to Tech a lot. And I've had a soft spot for Echo since TCW. Wrecker and Omega are more neutral for me. I like them but don't connect to them as much. My like for Hunter decreased as the season progressed, and I disliked Crosshair until episode 15. After part 1 of the finale, I went back and rewatched TCW backdoor pilot and actually began to understand Crosshair.

Coming into the 2nd part of the finale, I sort of expected them to discover Crosshair still had his chip despite claiming to already have it removed, remove it, and they fly off in the Marauder into the sunset, brothers again.

Obviously that is not what happened. But I'm not mad about that. I'm actually glad this didn't happen, though it hurt to see that wide shot of Crosshair standing alone on the platform as his brothers flew away.

I do think Crosshair still has his chip. I think the Empire tricked him into thinking they removed it. It's a mind game. Because Crosshair thinks he had the chip removed, he stops fighting the impulses to support the Empire over his team. He genuinely believes he has chosen this.

And, because Crosshair by nature is severe and unyielding (as Tech says), his natural personality is not far off from the aggression and standoffish shift that chipped clones display. But compared to how Crosshair was in TCW and the first episode, he's definitely not all there imo. The fact he remained loyal to the Empire after they destroyed Kamino with him on it (and the scenes of him still having headaches-- I mean, hello, how did the boys miss that??) is why I believe he is still chipped.

But I am glad Crosshair did not go with them even though it messes up the premise of a fic I wrote between ep. 15 and 16 (rip). The finale was important for bringing the boys back together so they can see they all still care about one another, but there's a difference in ideology. And there's a breach of trust on both sides.

Crosshair needs to see for himself that the Empire has been manipulating him and he needs to come to that conclusion on his own. The Bad Batch, mainly Hunter, needs to realize that they did abandon their brother because as soon as they figured out about the inhibitor chips their primary mission should have been getting Crosshair out of there.

In terms of the conflict between Crosshair & himself and Crosshair & The Bad Batch, I think the show did a good job. It's an extremely complex issue, and they depicted the characters as true humans that make mistakes and have to atone for them. I hope season 2 focuses on what they need to work on individually to be ready to come back together as a team.

That is why I think I watched the show but didn't really connect to it until we actually got back to the main conflict from the first episode.

But this was a 16-episode season. They filled half a season with cameos and odd-jobs which were hardly used it to advance the characters' arcs. (At least when the Mandalorian S2 did this, the cameos contributed to the journey in some way.)

Tech, Echo, and Wrecker basically got no development when there were lots of opportunities to explore this-- I mean, we have Echo who was a POW, the last of his squad, pretty well acquainted with the Jedi, and the only "reg" among them. Before he was taken by the Techno Union, he was a huge advocate of following orders and doing things by the books. I feel like he would have had a hard time with learning about the chips and Fives' death amongst other things. Tech and Crosshair were depicted working together a lot in TCW, and he is one of the few that (sort of) defends Crosshair in the finale, but that dynamic isn't explored much either. And Wrecker's chip actually activated and he hurts his brothers. Yet, there's not really any sort of fallout there either. I also feel like they alluded to Omega having some sort of special ability at the beginning and then we just never touched on it again.

I point out these things not just as a fan, but as someone who studied writing and storytelling in college. You can have your round and flat, dynamic and static characters, but they still should have a complete arc. And they all can't be flat. Especially as being part of the main cast. I think they focused mainly on external struggles and forgot about the internal ones, which would have been much more profound. If The Bad Batch was an anthology of their missions during TCW I would be a little more forgiving of the mission-to-mission episode format, but this immediately following Order 66. One of the most emotional moments in the SW franchise.

Don't get me wrong, I loved moments of the show. It's inspired me enough to read (and write) fic for it. And I've read some really kick ass writing that has fulfilled a lot of the desires I had for the show in terms of addressing internal conflict and character development. I'm well acquainted with the fandom by this point to know emotional depth is not often a priority in SW. But I did not expect the show to lack basic character development for main characters. I've browsed The Bad Batch AO3 tag a few times now, and a very large portion has to do with creating character development and backstory that doesn't exist in canon yet. I think that says a lot on its own.

This is long so I'll stop but my overall opinion of the show is bittersweet. If someone asked me what I thought of it in one sentence, I would say "it has potential". But since S2 is confirmed, it sounds like they should have time to see fan responses, take the valid criticisms to heart, and I think TBB has the potential to join the club of a beloved SW show with a rough first season.

#the bad batch spoilers #below the cut #feel free to slide into my inbox/DMs to chat about the show #also remember these are my ~opinions~#and though this is a #long post #I did not address all of my thoughts on the show

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prince-of-elsinore · 3 years

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1, 6, 7, 28

1. Fave Ghost ep

Already answered!

6. What do you like about your least favourite season?

Tbh I'm not sure what my absolute least favorites season is. I'm not a fan of Dabbernatural in general. That said, on rewatches it's always season 9 that I tend to stall out on. Even if it's not objectively the worst, I find it hardest to watch for a variety of reasons. So I'll go with season 9. I like Abaddon! She was a really cool antagonist!

7. What do you dislike about your favourite season?

My favorite is season 2, because it is uniformly excellent and also nostalgia :) It's actually really hard to think of something I don't like... Okay, Sam's thing with Madison the werewolf in Heart is just so awkward and forced and melodramatic, imo! When she folds her underwear in front of him? Who DOES that? 😂

Ok but slightly more serious answer--I guess they could have gotten more mileage out of the special children. Developed more of them as side characters, had a three-part finale instead of two-part :)

28. Cruelest things TFW has done to each other?

Oh man this one is so hard, and hard to talk about.

I guess I’ll start with Castiel. I think him taking down Sam’s wall was very shitty! That’s probably actually the cruelest things he’s done to /both/ of them, considering how much Dean cares about Sam, and that the aftermath had terrible repercussions for them both.

Cruelest thing Dean has done to Cass—I honestly don’t know, I don’t really keep track. But he’s pretty rude to him in general? Like when he kicks Cass out of the bunker in s9 because of Gadreel, he doesn’t even try to soften the blow. I know he’s not happy about it, but he could have tried to help him more, I guess.

Cruelest thing Sam has done to Cass—has Sam ever been mean to Cass? I can’t remember lol. So okay, sort of tongue-in-cheek answer: being Dean’s no.1 and relegating Cass to eternal third wheel status. 🙃

For Dean and Sam, I’m excluding Soulless and Demon states.

Cruelest thing Dean has ever done to Sam: I have two answers, can’t decide which is worse. Obviously, tricking Sam into accepting Gadreel is one. I have such complex feelings about that whole situation. While I’m not unsympathetic to Dean’s (admittedly impaired) reasoning in his moment of desperation, it’s probably the worst thing he’s done in terms of repercussions. Sam had to go through the terrifying experience of possession again, and being used to kill Kevin was especially traumatic. (I have so many more thoughts about this arc but this is not the place… basically I just wish the show let them have the big blow up confrontation they needed and then actually talk about it and have Dean apologize.)

The other is MOC Dean telling Sam he had to die and nearly killing him. I don’t hold MOC Dean’s actions against him because he was clearly under the corrupting influence of an external power—I read a good meta recently likening the MOC to brain damage that would impair a person’s capacity for empathy, and I think that’s accurate. In this case, there was hardly anything separating Dean from demon-hood, so maybe it’s not fair to count this. But I’m thinking of the cruelty of Sam having to go through that. Sam, who so badly needs his big brother’s approval, needs to hear that he thinks Sam is good. Dean, who has gone to such lengths to keep Sam alive this long, going back on this core tenet of their relationship and Sam’s very identity. After Sam got a second chance at life after the Cage, he has to hear his big brother tell him he needs to die again for the good of the universe, when all he’s been trying to do is save Dean. :C

Cruelest thing Sam has done to Dean: Two answers, again. The first relates to the post-Purgatory fallout. It’s /not/ ‘he didn’t look for Dean!’ because I get that he was lost and in mourning. But it’s Sam’s reaction to Dean’s hurt that I take issue with. Now, don’t get me wrong: mostly, I blame the writers. It’s just not a very well-handled arc which is why it seems OOC. But Sam doesn’t really acknowledge Dean’s feelings, which imo stem from a misunderstanding, a lack of communication on Sam’s end. In a way, Sam not standing up for himself is the most hurtful thing he could do to Dean here. He doesn’t seem to care to explain his mourning process or mental state—he just leaves it at “but we promised!” which honestly makes it sound like he didn’t miss Dean, didn’t want to bring him back, was perfectly happy with his woman and his dog. He lets Dean believe that he really doesn’t care as much about their bond. Which obviously isn’t the truth, but if I were Dean in this situation, I’d be shook up too.

The other one is actually sort of a similar issue, and it’s also related to Gadreel. It’s about Sam’s ‘I wouldn’t have done the same’ comment. Again, don’t get me wrong—I understand Sam perfectly here. I know why he wouldn’t do the same, and I’m not taking issue with his stance at all. I also get that he is extremely, validly pissed. But here, again, though I’m not blaming Sam, I’m thinking about how it affects Dean. It’s another part of the Gadreel fallout I really wish the writers had addressed. Because Dean needs to understand Sam’s anger, but with that comment, Sam isn’t really trying to make Dean understand anything. He’s not bothering to explain himself, and not caring that it hurts his brother (right now, can’t blame him given his anger. Down the line though, they should talk). All that Dean hears with that statement is “I wouldn’t save you”—a reiteration of the problem with communication in s8. So again, Dean is left believing that Sam really doesn’t love him as much, and it’s a terrible blow. His confidence in the one thing he cares most about is utterly shaken and it sets him on a dark path. Sam wasn’t wrong to say it, but I wish at some point he’d tried to clarify (which I think he was trying to do through his actions in s10, with his desperation to save Dean—but that still doesn’t clear up the misunderstanding! Grr writers)

Hm, interesting that Dean’s worsts are actions, and Sam’s worsts are words (or silences). Not sure what it means, take it as you will. And please don't hate me 🙃 I love both brothers so much!!

Thank you for the ask!!

Ask game

#spn critical #castiel critical #dean critical #sam critical #just to be safe lol. the point is kinda to be critical of everyone 😂#my meta #ask #spn

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the-woundupbird · 4 years

Text

Hello Dracula Recap 1/4

Okay I will try to organize all my translations and thoughts about the drama into this post so that I can stop info-dumping on my poor friend who has kindly let me go on and on about the show. I’ll post some links to videos so you can watch and understand as I go on with my review/thought dump.

Essentially it’s three different stories nested into one but the central story is about Anna, an elementary school teacher who has been hiding her 8 year relationship with her girlfriend Sojung from her mother. The relationship between Anna and her mother is the central source of conflict in the show, more so then the emotional fallout that happens when Sojung breaks up with Anna.

Personally I think the show had if not at least a lesbian writer than some queer women in charge of shaping the show. People were saying on twitter that it felt too real, almost like a documentary of the painful reality for so many closeted women in South Korea. To be honest, even as a Korean American I saw so much of my mother and my own relationship with her with regards to my sexuality in the exchanges Anna had with her mother.

The show begins with Anna and her mother, shaping the major relationship with the show. Her mother teases her that her face looks bloated and that men care about women’s skin. Anna straightforwardly says she doesn’t like men and her mother tries to laugh it off but there’s a heaviness to the exchange that is examined later.

In the next scene Anna is at school working as an elementary school teacher. During break she keeps checking her phone, even contemplating texting the recipient, “Are you busy?” I was able to pause the show and read some of the earlier messages Anna had sent this person who is revealed to be her girlfriend Sojung and yikes:

Ah… Food?

You ate and you’re working, right?

It seems like you’re sleeping.

Good night.

Busy? I saw you didn’t respond so I’m worried are you sick?

Okay, I understand. Did you get home? You must be so tired. Get some rest. Sleep well. Did you sleep well?

Anna is stressed because her girlfriend is blowing her off pretty blatantly. As someone who’s dated in Korea it’s mandatory to be texting every day and even do a phone call. The level of hands off-ness is a cause for major concern from Anna. Especially with her girlfriend of 8 years.

When Anna goes to a dinner with her co-workers from school she finally gets a text from Sojung: I have something to tell you.

youtube

Anna picks up the phone in an instant and zooms out of the room, ignoring the guy across from her who I totally think was flirting.

The conversation with Sojung is painful in that it is so evident that Sojung is pulling away and Anna is holding on.

“It’s me.”

It’s noisy. Are you outside?

“Yeah I’m at a company dinner.”

Let’s talk later, then.

“No now is fine… I feel like lately I’m the only one chasing after you… I’m the only one trying to hear your voice.”

Did you drink a lot?

“What? No I didn’t drink.”

We said we were gonna meet on Saturday, right? I don’t think I can meet. Sorry.

“We haven’t met in almost a month.”

I’m sorry.

“Why? Why can’t you?”

I’m doing a blind date. My mom is making me.

“With a guy?”

Of course. With a guy.

“You’re not even gonna lie?”

Anna-ya. I don’t want to hide anymore.

“Can’t you just lie?”

Let’s talk again tomorrow.

“Sojung-ah!”

Talk to you tomorrow.

And then Anna runs off to chase after her girl, even going to her girlfriend’s house. Quick comment her girlfriend definitely seems well-off. It sort of makes me wonder how the two of them met. One person on twitter was musing that maybe instead of being a cc or college couple they met through volunteering and fell in love that way. Regardless the contrast from an apartment to a house intrigues me because there’s definitely a difference in socio-economic class here. But I digress.

Anna grabs her phone, after hesitating to rush into Sojung’s house.

I’m outside your house. Come down for a sec.

Let’s talk when you’ve calmed down.

Also my parents are home right now.

It can be just for a little.

Just show me your face.

But Sojung refuses and you have the image of Anna trudging back home. She sees her mother hugging some man and even though she calls her mother, her call is put on silent and she storms off to go sob at the bus station in frustration. I want to focus more on Anna but it’s important to note here that her mother sort of chases after men a lot but can’t seem to settle down which is a point of stress for Anna.

youtube

Growing up, Anna struggled to pretend to be happy for her mother meeting new guys and feeling sort of neglected as a result. All the while Anna puts on a brave face for her mom’s happiness because when she was little Anna’s mother had held her close and whispered “I don’t need anything but Anna. You’re the most precious thing to me.” The loving words were both a deep compliment but also an unbearable weight on Anna. It was something that she felt like she had to live by.

This burden only gets worse when Anna was in middle school and was caught presumably kissing or hooking up with her girl friend and got dragged by her gf’s mother to a Catholic church to repent.

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When Anna’s mother is able to pull her out of the church she tells her about how when she was young she also was super obsessed with a girl and she even wrote her letters and followed her around. “It’ll pass,” she tells Anna. “You’re just young. Remember when you liked that guy next door? You said you wanted to marry him! So that’s why I’m not even a little worried.”

“But what if it doesn’t pass? What if I stay like this forever?” Anna whispers, staring right at her mother.

And a world of painful silence is Anna’s answer as her mother just walks away from the question, attempting to forget that the encounter ever happened.

It flashes forward to high school Anna just watching her mother find a new man and she begins down a journey of hiding her true self to keep things safe for her mother.

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But then things come to a head when Sojung sends Anna a text to break off their relationship:

Actually I’ve been going through a lot lately. Our relationship isn’t like what it used to be. Anna-ya, I don’t want to hurt my parents. I can’t win. I can’t throw it away. Let’s end it like this. Thanks for everything. I’ll send your things to you through the mail. It’d be good if you did that too.

Ignoring how that’s probably the coldest thing I’ve ever witnessed in the history of breakups, Anna wonders to herself, will I be okay like this? Later on in episode 2 I think I understand better why Sojung did this but I’ll share my thoughts on the second ep review.

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Anna comes home after that devastating day of having her girlfriend of 8 YEARS break up with her to her mother misunderstanding Anna as being upset with her, setting up a ton of Christmas decorations.

“It’s nice right? My kind daughter, what’s wrong? I don’t like when you’re like this.”

“It’s pretty.” (Yikes at Anna pretending like she isn’t absolutely gutted for the benefit of her mother as per usual in the dynamic)

“I’m going to head in.”

“Are you still mad? You should tell your mom.”

“I’m going to head in.”

“You ah, you were like this when you were little. You were always sulking after it’d all passed.”

“Mom.”

“Isn’t it better to just say it right away and let it all out?”

“Mom.”

“I did this all for you to see! You said you wanted a tree when you were little.”

“Mom, when I was little, when? When I was little, when? And what passed? Nothing’s changed!”

“What didn’t pass?”

… “Christmas didn’t pass. I’m so tired today.”

And Anna closes the door and leaves her mother to stare at a picture of her and her daughter together under a Christmas tree. Personally here I adore the dynamic of Anna just almost barely teasing at the secret the two of them know, her sexuality. But her mother doesn’t quite push her because she’s a little afraid to know. I’ve had a similar conversation with my own mother and that line between ambiguous and crystal clear is so much harder to parse out than people think.

Anyway I’ll continue this if you guys want but hopefully you like the translation and commentary. Let me know in the replies or my messages if you’d like me to just do straight translation with the clips or continue this style!

#hello dracula #I'll finish this tomorrow #I can't add all my videos in one post apparently so I'll do bit by bit #seohyun #WATCH THIS SHOW SUPPORT QUEER STORIES IN KOREA PLS

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hazard-and-friends · 3 years

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canine intervention 2: return of the poor netflix decisions

i watched my store trainer try desperately to convince owners to take the prong off their dog, and she worked from a place of "you can have the prong on for some things, but when i'm working with the dog, the leash has to be attached to the flat collar, and our goal is that at the end of class, you throw that prong collar away".

so i'm sympathetic to him working with clients whose dogs are wearing prongs. but 1. should that be shown as one of his example clients on tv? and 2. he's not working at all to get the prong off, there's no mention that a dog who you're playing with should not be on a prong with a leash attached to your wrist

NOW. THEY'RE MAKING THIS EXPLICIT, which is GOOD: there's a loooooot of racism in dog culture, and there's a loooooot of people of color who don't come from a dog owning family, who've never had dogs in their lives at all, and who don't know how much they don't know. and it's really, really important that dog trainers not just be reaching out to these communities, but also that dog trainers be from these communities

which is fantastic!

anyway this week's dog is another young adult GSD/husky mix, couple admit to no dog experience, and i can tell you that this dog is not getting his exercise needs met--bc he's impossible to walk on leash so they don't

ah yes the other thing behind my and jo’s proposed tv show: like 75% of behavior clients also feature marital trouble

i'll tackle the dogs, she'll take the humans

LMAO he's 18 months that's perfect timing, that's the fucking peak of energy levels and the absolute nadir of brains

"it's so important that he gets the pack leadership that he needs" no

i do NOT have her name to hand but there's a trainer i know of who has had two pits (among others): [eta: this is Trish McMillan, founder of the FB group losing lulu which is for behavioral euthanasia] one was born in foster, came home with her at 8 weeks. eventually had to be euthanized for aggression. and this is a top behavior specialist. one was a genuine dog fighting rescue from a known fighting history. lovely dog, good with other dogs, now her demo for absolutely everything.

there are dogs who absolutely cannot live in society. their owners have suffered enough, we don’t need to be making it worse through trendy phrases.

this IS how i would walk in and get a handle on an excited dog tho, you rapid fire some treats, then slow the rate of reinforcement, use sits and downs (where the dog is already parked) and make sure there are reinforcers ready to hand

text: a dog without a pack leader is a dog who will ignore obedience commands. literal lol

and again: correctly identifying that part of the problem with walks is that the owners have never ever trained him to WALK, and so you shorten up the leash and start shoveling treats in

there is ZERO need for "corrections" on this dog

he needs some rules and he needs a lot more exercise

[impromptu couples therapy]

the box is wildly unnecessary

i mean, it's like. platforms are a big thing right now! there's definitely advantages to teaching your dog to hit a platform and stay on it! but for pet owners? let's go teach him to relax and talk about taking him for some more walks

"avoid crouching during training to convey pack leadership”

there's two very good reasons to avoid crouching and they don't have jackshit to do with leadership

if the dog is nervous, crouching can look like you're bending over them and can trigger a fear response

if you train the down by crouching/bending, your dog will learn that as part of the cue and it's annoying as hell to train away

oh fucking hell, he's on a narrow rope collar to deliver a better correction

[question from a friend about the quadrants]

the correction specifically is P+, it's adding something (sharp rope tug) to reduce behavior (the dog walking ahead of the owner)

when the dog is pulling it can be R-, where when the dog stops a behavior (pulling), something is removed (tight collar)

this ep wasn't as bad as the last in the sense that there's no aggression/fear issues and so the potential fallout is. less.

#ethics in dog training #dog training #ask to tag

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why-this-kolaveri-machi · 5 years

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what does this have to do with clownfish?

i know this was a mostly sad episode that ended on a rather disquieting note, but i was grinning from ear to ear by the end, you guys. I LOVE THIS SILLY SHOW SO MUCH, and i want to tell you why, so let’s talk about titans 2.04:

SPOILERS ahead

1. i get why we’re getting a flashback episode now--the titans’ ~sordid past~ with deathstroke has gotten a fair bit of build-up, and now that slade has jason, we need the history between him and the og team to contextualise the upcoming confrontation. still, i was really looking forward to having kory reunite with the team, goddamit!

1.5. i like the convivial, almost collegiate vibe that the original titans have about them--the idea of them getting together both desperate to prove that they are more than what their origins and youth might suggest, and to dick around (pun not intended) and just... be, in a way that their individual circumstances wouldn’t allow them. costumes on, in mission-mode, they are trained and hyper-competent, but in their downtime they apparently like adorably warbling off-key at each other and re-enacting 90s/00s cheesy rom-coms. it’s great! i would’ve loved to see these kinds of flashbacks drip-fed to us right from the beginning of the season--putting it all in one episode, from aqualad’s introduction to demise all in forty minutes, not only screws up the pacing, but also robs us of more of garth’s genuinely warm chemistry with the rest of the team.

1.67. besides, the immediate contrast between this and the way dick conducts the titans now would’ve been funny and quite impactful.

2. for all that dick seemed standoffish and genuinely frightened of himself in s1, the slightly less filtered look we get into his mind in this flashback--well before his existential crisis--is somehow even more disquieting?? the way he talks about batman and his relationship with dawn and even his friendship with donna smacks of an alarming emotional disconnect; a space where his sense of self has fallen and been replaced by a role that he has been trained to play. he smiles more in this episode than probably all eleven of s1 combined, but he’s far more reserved, afraid of vulnerability, and completely unwilling to express any emotion that would come in the way of him being who he Needs To Be.

2.45. this episode puts into sharp relief just how far dick has come to make peace with bruce in 2.01. here batman is a glowing symbol against the night sky; a shadowy figure promising justice is vengeance and not the other way around; a hulking figure that he can hate and love without reserve, that orders him to be better no matter how exhausted he is, even while standing between him and incomprehensible evil like a bulwark. at the heart of the titans tower--a skyscraper on the opposite side of the country from gotham--is another batcave, a sign that how no matter how far he goes, dick’s perception of himself and his relationships is still inextricably tied to batman and his ways.

it’s the missing link between the angry, grieving boy we saw in flashbacks last season, and the man rapidly spiralling into crisis at the beginning of season 1. he’s internalised batman’s mission before he can decide for himself what he wants to be, and he’s been like this well into his adult years (unlike the comics). no wonder when the moment he goes Too Far finally comes, when he’s so burrowed into himself that vengeance becomes an end rather than a tool, it’s such a violent upheaval, and one that he hasn’t quite been able to put to rest in over a season.

2.65. honestly the matter of fact way he talks about being dawn’s rebound relationship after her breakup is haunting me?? dick grayson--robin, batman’s partner, the First Sidekick, leader of the titans, friend, brother, lover, a valuable asset with trackers in his arm and neck--is so utterly subsumed that his feelings, his self, automatically comes second to the role he’s playing. i wonder if he had found that he’d had a tracker installed in his body without his knowledge at this point, he’d have accepted the cold logic of it (of course batman needs to keep track of him), instead of the visceral reaction he has five years later, when he immediately picks up a knife and cuts it out of his skin.

2.95. (retrospectively it lends so much more meaning to the opening scene of 1.08??? where dick says he needs to go off on his own to get his bearings right instead of staying on to be the Leader after their traumatic time at the asylum and kory and the others are quietly accepting of it?? where’s that ‘that’s growth’ gif when you need it)

3. donna! it’s interesting that her role as a titan was always meant to be a pitstop before she moved on to Greater Things, and her struggle to reconcile that with her growing attachment to the team came across really well. jillian’s never really pressuring her to leave immediately--six months! two weeks! idk, forever! really, it’s your pick!--but donna tells dick she needs to leave that very night, either because she’s hoping that he’ll protest and ask her to stay, or that she’ll fall for garth and lose her wavering conviction to leave if she stayed any longer, or both.

3.5. donna and garth’s relationship followed so many wonderfully cheesy conventions, with all of their attendant adorableness and Problems. the scions of two different royal families of two different races falling in Forbidden Love! garth clumsily flirting with donna even as she keeps turning him down! (not cool, garth!) bonding over reminiscing about quirky childhood memories! consulting a put-upon mutual best friend! the last minute reconciliation and confession of love at the airport! garth dying right after celebrating his birthday! (that cop was just a day away from retirement!) PERFECT

like. i have NO IDEA why people still insist on calling this show ‘dark’ and ‘edgy’. don’t let the weird lighting and occasional blood spatter distract you from the goofy, well-intentioned heart right at its centre, you guys!

(but man, dick and donna’s quiet heartbreak at the prospect of separation was harder to watch. for a moment, dick really let himself feel the burden, sinking onto his haunches, his head in his hand like he was about to cry. just a moment.)

4. the others’ reaction to garth’s death is very telling. donna is devastated; hank and dawn are upset, but in a distant way that suggests that they didn’t really know him very well or for very long; and dick... well dick is hard at work in his batcave, because that is how he knows to react to disaster.

4.5. i know that i spend quite a bit of my reviews harping on and on about dick, but he is more than just the team leader, or the one with the most well-defined arc so far, or the connective tissue between the old and new teams: the titans is HIS, in ways both subtle and insubtle. batman is funding the whole thing; their resources, their tech? all wayne enterprises. by extension, this shindig is dick’s idea, dick’s operation, something he shaped after himself--serene, beautiful, somewhat impersonal on the surface and batman-the-symbol, batman-the-phantom, right at the centre.

4.65. so when the burden of morality-bending vengeance falls squarely on dick’s shoulders, it seems natural. it also seems entirely natural that when dick does follow through on what the team wants from him, the fallout is also put square on him: he’s the one that’s gone completely off the rails, the one that would sacrifice anything for a mission (like hank implies in the previous episode), the one haunted by his own darkness. this, of course, is patently false, as trigon demonstrated earlier this season.

5. the opening scene of slade wilson doing the Thing He Does Best was so fun to watch. i love that this show is always trying to do interesting things with the camera. (tho i wonder, who hired him to take out donna troy in san fran? was that even his original objective? was it dr light? i am Confusion)

5.5. ... even tho the villain-confrontation scenes seemed hampered by low effects budgets and a lack of... kineticism. i can’t figure out how dr light works even after two episodes of seeing him do his thing. he can apparently implant light bombs in people but never seems to use this awesome ability again, when it can actually help him against the titans?

6. the moment i saw joey wilson’s profile through the window of his home, i knew he was going to be my favourite character on this show. i love him and his enthusiasm and his cute shoes and his love for vintage records SO MUCH! i know it’s been hinted that he died, but i can’t bear the prospect for even a second. HE’S ALIVE AND WELL SOMEWHERE HAVING TEA AND LISTENING TO GREAT MUSIC WITH AMY ROHRBACH, I JUST KNOW IT

6.5. dick (and the others) wouldn’t be so horrified with themselves and think about shuttering the titans for good if they hadn’t felt some kind of attachment to jericho. dick especially i think is going to fall into an actual honest friendship with joey and is going to extremely disgusted with himself when it all ends in tragedy anyway.

6.75. we’re probably not going to find out what actually happened to joey for a while, but here’s hoping the Unforgivable won’t happen.

7. on the brightside tho, KORY’S BACK NEXT EP! can’t wait.

#titans #titans spoilers #dick grayson #donna troy #garth #joey wilson #jericho #meta

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