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alyazirr · 3 years

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So let me talk about the Dame Event story for a hot minute here

Another long one sorry,

In my last text wall rant that I was sleep deprived as hell writing I went over the events pretty much as a whole as well as just explaining that the event dissapointed me, now I’ve had some time to digest the story as a whole and really think on it I’d like to dive into the story and what really got under my skin.

Let me just preface this by saying clearly that we as the fandom were absolutely baited with this event, many players are members of the LGBT+ community and I myself identify as bi. This entire event and how it was handled in my opinion was not done well and has left many feeling like they used the premise as a quick cash grab from that part of the fandom – I absolutely believe this to be the case.

Now the story, the first issue I had was the reason the boys had to dress up as ‘dames’ to begin with. The idea that this queen we have never met have no reason to care about and wasn’t even given 3 lines of characterisation just shows up and demands that everyone dress like ladies because ‘down with all demon men’ is incredibly concerning to me. Diavolo the prince seemingly got out of her requests, he is after all royalty himself but I think a lot of the time we forget just how high ranking in society the brothers are. This ‘I hate all men’ attitude is incredibly childish and a toxic mindset that has literally set the feminist movement back for years. It’s equally concerning that I’ve seen fans take this ‘queen’ and raise her up as this absolute bad bitch who is awesome and death to all men when she is in fact just a bitch in my eyes.

The reason why they need to dress up aside Lucifer’s handling that they all have to ‘act like dames’ had me flashing back to visions of ‘ladies finishing schools’ and a stepford wife type situation. The way their personalities had to be obliterated in the process to fit Lucifer’s notion of ‘the perfect lady like behaviour’ is incredibly demeaning to me. As a fashion major I’ve read and researched my fair amount on the psychology of clothing and how it can both confine or embolden us. I hoped that the dames event would be handled better, Asmo is obviously our number one candidate to cross-dress and throw ‘gendered’ clothing out the window and I love him for it but I have to agree with Mammon’s wording that he ‘doesn’t mind dressing up but doesn’t like the performance with it’. The ‘perfect personality’ that had them all walking the same, eating the same and using the same etiquette stripped them of any individuality and just had me thinking back on how women were ‘expected’ to act in society and still are to a degree and it was pretty uncomfortable and I’m not surprised that by the end of it even Asmo who loves any excuse to steal the show and dress up was exhausted by all the ‘etiquette’ he was forced through by Lucifer to seemingly appease some queen.

There was no need for the etiquette, Satan is arguably one of the most refined brothers having many friends in high places, artists, directors and so on. He’s well connected and established and he clearly knows how to handle himself with dignity, asking him to abide by all these rules was overkill when he could’ve put on a dress and acted completely acceptably all by himself. Not that there were even many interactions with the brothers to begin with. Typically there is always a brief moment of affection with each brother but this event was just ‘Beel can’t walk in high heels, neither can Satan pick one to cheer on and screw the other one’. I hate how any interaction was boiled down to ‘praise’ or ‘you aren’t trying hard enough to act like this dignified lady’.

Clothing is an extension of our personalities it is part of who we are and how we are perceived. It is COMPLETELY valid for people to wear whatever they want, for women to dress more ‘masculine’ and men to dress more ‘feminine’ but there is nothing wrong with men dressing like the ‘societal men’ and women dressing as the ‘societal women’ if that is what empowers them and has them most at ease. Satan was clearly not comfortable in heels and Beel really struggled, clothing should be enjoyable not a trial to get past with pain and brute force. It is also incredibly important to point out that it is canon that Levi and Asmo do cross dress and therefore enjoy it it’s not like these boys aren’t down for it but it should be THEIR CHOICE and what makes THEM COMFORTABLE. Not the same old ‘Diavolo said so and god help you if you don’t’.

Honestly the whole putting them in dresses came across with a strong element of fetishization which I didn’t like, the mc only able to babble on about how beautiful they looked, stare or say the ‘wanted to see the boys as dames more’. In concept this event could have been EVERYTHING and in the end it was a let down that borders on uncomfortable. I don’t appreciate the undertone that if they want to wear a pretty dress then they HAVE to act like a dignified lady. As I touched on the choice should have been theirs, it should’ve been an empowering situation and not a constricting one. Lucifer actually had me holding my head in my hands in anger with how he was acting in this event and you don’t even end up with the very typical ‘romantic event ending’ with him. You just tell him he looks great and he totally brushes you off. Not even mentioning the fact that as soon as they arrive at the demon castle the ‘bomber’ has been stopped and the queen is suddenly ok with everyone just being themselves because ‘haha I don’t hate you demon men you can dress like men from next year 😊’. So as Levi said literally what was the point in all that work when they just defaulted to acting like themselves anyway. It would’ve been completely understandable if Lucifer had lectured them on behaving at the event, Mammon not trying to steal something, Beel not eating everything etc but wasn’t.

All I wanted was 2 crumbs of attention from Solomon in this event and despite the SSR card he basically may as well not even be there. Not to mention I was super excited to see what Mammon and Satan looked like but I guess I’ll have to draw that out myself. What was the point solmare, seriously what was the point.

I guess we confirmed that Mammon is literally the only one we can trust since he runs to your aid screw the queen which was the only moment I really enjoyed.

Basically this event has me feeling several kinds of fucked up and it’s clear to me that the devs are just pushing out events to sell cards and grab cash off the audience. I love this game I really do, I’ve played more otomes than I care to admit and this is honestly one of the best I’ve come across main story wise but if they keep pumping out there half assed events to grab cash off players then I’m sorry but it’s gonna turn the majority of players off. People will be willing to spend that £10 on your in game currency to support you when you put out a quality product you worked hard on, I’ve been playing this for a year now and I still love the boys and the half main story line I’ve got through. I’m sure I’m not alone in saying I would far rather wait much longer on events and enjoy a good fleshed out well written event instead of these lazy cash grabs that honestly have ended up really missing the mark and with the angel and now this event really rubbing me the wrong way.

#obey me shall we date #obey me #obey me event #obey me luficer #obey me mammon #obey me asmodeus #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #rant #long post #this will be my last rant on this sorry I just have so many feelings about this

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kingdomtual · 3 years

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Okay I just finished watching Imitation and I’m gonna give a review, idk why but I have a lot of feelings LOL gonna write this without giving away big plot points so no spoilers for you if you wanna know if you want to watch it or not (probably everyone already has but whatever I’m usually late to the show)

Things I liked about it:

- Imitation was a really interesting drama because it didn’t focus on all the fun stuff of the idol world like a lot of idol dramas do. It’s main focus ends up being more on the struggles idols have to deal with, mainly pertaining to the dating issue but instead of putting it fully on the labels for keeping their artists from dating it also focused on how sasaengs think, talk, and react about their idols dating which I thought was a nice touch because that SURE IS REAL LIFE. (unfortunately they kinda drop that plot point as it goes on, but whatever)

- It also had plot points pertaining to mistreatment of idols by the industry and their labels, which was another thing that I liked about it. It’s a tough world, and it should be more mainstream that we know about and find ways to help idols as they’re dealing with all of this. Idk it’s just something that should be talked about more, so I’m glad they did.

- The cast was beyond fantastic. I think that’s honestly what made the show for me. Obviously the casting director knew the draw would be having actual idols in their show, but even those who were just actors were absolutely fantastic and did a great job in each of their roles. Dojin and Hyuk were obviously my favorites, but I think they’re everyone’s favorites LOL their acting chemistry was spot on and it really felt like they had been bffs for years.

- LA RI MA. Queen, icon. Absolutely in love with her tbh. What I really loved about her is that she started off being a rival for Ryeok to Ma Ha, and I thought to myself, ‘Great. She’s gonna end up being a flat character.’ but I think she ended up having the most character growth in the entire story, besides maybe Ryeok. The way she is so confident, knows her worth, and takes care of those around her makes her such an enjoyable character to watch. Every scene she’s in she totally steals, I love her LOL

- The last two episodes definitely make the entire show worth watching. They’re really full of heart, you get so excited, and watching them perform is really cool. I won’t give away any of the ending, but it is worth it!

Things I didn’t like:

There are a few things that made me feel ‘meh’ about the show. It kinda felt like there were a lot of plot points that dragged on a bit too much for me. This is totally a personal opinion so like obviously you might feel different! Cool.

- So, the idea that the story starts out with a love triangle didn’t appeal to me at all LOL I hate that trope, but even after that ends it starts going through the whole ‘we’re idols that have to date in secret’ and all that angst that comes with that and I have to admit there were a few mid series episodes that had me so bored because it felt like I’d already seen this to some degree before. I ended up mostly enjoying whatever subplots were going on instead of the main plot. It’s not that I didn’t like their romance, but sometimes it was just SO uncomfortable because they were uncomfortable LOL idk, romance plots are not usually my jam, but there are enough other elements to make the show enjoyable for me.

- Struggles would come up and then immediately not be an issue by the next episode. I know this is only a 12 episode drama (which I think is a shame, I think if it had been 16-20 episodes then it actually would have fared so much better but alas) but I feel like...I mean if a massive contract issue comes up and can be resolved with a quick call or an article being written, then it wasn’t an issue...and yet the fact that two idols are having angst over dating can be drawn out over the course of 4 episodes just didn’t make sense to me LOL like you’d think the dating issue would have been resolved faster than a contract issue? idk maybe it’s just me.

- Eunjo’s plot, which is essentially a subplot until the end of the show, is far more interesting than most of what goes on LOL I almost would have liked to have that mystery be woven more thoroughly through the show instead of it being sprinkled in occasionally and then BOOM at the end it all comes together. I just think it might have had more impact.

- GROUP DYNAMICS. Bruh! This is what I really wanted okay? LOL I mean obviously the focus is mostly on Ryeok and Ma Ha but god I would have loved having more scenes with group dynamics and seeing how they actually all get along instead of making the other members all side characters until the very end when we see that they actually all care about each other. I didn’t even know Jaewoo was the leader of SHAX until the end of the show, man LOL like it would have been nice to see more from him, and all of the others, especially since Jaewoo was essentially a snitch to the their label owner for so long and ending up having so much guilt over it, but we never saw that until the last episode.

I also think I would have preferred to have seen more of the past SHAX with Eunjo, because Ryeok was apparently his bff and yet we don’t really get to see any of that, you know? We just hear about it. This show does a lot of telling instead of showing and I do think that’s because of the episode limit, but it’s just a shame. I think the ending would have been more impactful if we’d gotten to see them altogether more at the beginning.

- If you’ve decided to watch Imitation solely for Seonghwa and San, I’d advise against it LOL they have like two lines per episode they’re in (which isn’t all of them, Sparkling is barely in the show aside from Yoojin(Yunho)) and basically they don’t get to say or do much of anything until the end LOL I get that Sparkling is a secondary character group, basically, but it would have been nice to have seen more dynamics from them, too. I think Seonghwa and San could have honestly been like Dojin and Hyuk, the comedy duo of SHAX, but they just didn’t have the time or whatever, I suppose. Like I don’t even know Seonghwa’s character’s name LOL the only reason I know San’s character’s name is Minsu is because they said it once at the second to the last episode. LOL so, just a warning. But you atinys will be fed by seeing much Yunho and Jongho, I promise.

I also would have loved to have seen more group dynamics from Sparkling, as I said, because until the 11th episode, I think, I don’t even see them really being like, “guys! I love you all, let’s stick together until the end!” which really confused me bc my dude Hyun Oh was literally causing property damage and giving them a problematic image but apparently they were good with that LOL idk idk

- The whole sasaeng issue gets dropped right before the ending and I thought that was rather strange since up until that point sasaengs had been one of the main roadblocks for the romance plot and they had been rather vile and annoying LOL unfortunately the show often had to skip over or completely drop or quickly resolve a lot of the large ongoing issues in order to come to a conclusive end and I thought that was a bit sad but I do understand why. Can only do so much with 12 episodes.

Overall opinion:

I really enjoyed it. I know I have some critically things to say, but as a writer I just kept seeing plot holes and had to talk about them briefly LOL (or not briefly because idk how to be brief) I think that the tone of the story was good, and that what they were trying to convey through this story was also good. I think it does give an idealistic image of idols freeing themselves from the oppressive evil labels and living the way they want, because unfortunately that’s not always a viable option, however it did remind me of Hyuna and Dawn’s story in a way and that warmed my heart! Love conquers all, my dude, we love to see it.

I would honestly love to watch more idol dramas like Imitation that star idols and therefore we get some sick performances and awesome music and it tells an interesting and somewhat realistic story! I think it’s something anyone can enjoy, even if for me it did get a little long in the middle with all the romance stuff LOL the ending was totally worth it for me, I think it’ll be worth it for you!

#imitation kdrama #kdrama #uhh yeah just me talking I guess!#tl;dr I liked it LOL and it's fun #but some of it was long :)

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prettywordsyouleft · 4 years

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Labelling Love | Part 2 (Collab)

Summary: Meeting you changed the way Eunwoo viewed romance and love entirely.

Pairing: Cha Eunwoo x female reader

Genre: university au / romance / fluff

Warnings: none

A/N: Welcome to the second series in the monthly Love In Fours Ways collab with @jackiejacks923 @noona-clock & @this-song-thats-only-for-you . In the final week of each month during this collab, we’ll be each sharing a mini-series using 4 of the pictures/concepts illustrated in the book that inspired our series that I’ve credited below.

Credit to: Puuung - Love Is In The Small Things // #76 , #60 , #4 , #33

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 // Collab Masterlist

Part 2 - The Moment Just Before The Actual Kiss, Which Is Sometimes Even Sweeter Than The Kiss Itself

Blinking at his admission, your eyes then grew unfocused. “You… you what?”

“I know it’s ridiculous. Believe me, I don’t understand it either,” he continued hastily, letting go of your arm and running a hand through his hair. “But ever since I first saw you, I’ve been distracted like this.”

A small smile ghosted over your lips. “I see.”

“I’m normally rather efficient, not at all a bumbling mess like this.”

“And I make that harder?”

“You’re enjoying this now,” he lamented and you giggled before biting at your bottom lip. Eunwoo couldn’t help but groan at your elated expression. “Meanwhile I think I’m going insane.”

“I think you’re just being really romantic.”

Eunwoo laughed, shaking his head. “Oh no, that’s not me.”

“It’s not?” you echoed, pursing your lips together.

Oh god, why had he noticed them right at that moment?

Blinking rapidly, he sat back in his chair quickly. You watched him before grinning. “What’s not romantic about a guy telling you the reason he can’t think straight is because of you? Most girls dream of being told this, you know.”

“Really? But it’s so…”

“Romantic,” you repeated, your smile splitting your lips further. “Thank you for telling me the truth, Eunwoo.”

He sighed, glancing at you cautiously. “What do we do now about it?”

“Well, if sitting next to me is a bother, we could try moving apart so long as you don’t use this confession as something to avoid me entirely with.” Eunwoo didn’t mention out loud that it had been a thought he possessed, but you seemed to notice and hissed at him. “You can’t!”

“I dislike being this hopeless,” he told you with a pout which only made you further unable to remove your amusement. “Stop having so much fun at my expense!”

“You haven’t asked me what my thoughts are around this situation, Eunwoo.”

“Do I have to? It’s a ridiculous problem to have and I’m already struggling to navigate it myself.”

“We could do it together,” you offered airily, not quite meeting his gaze. “You know, like a team.”

“A team?”

“Yeah, we could work on extending your comfort zone whilst in my company. I’m sure the more time we spend together, you’ll find your footing again. Attraction only bothers people with a crush temporarily.”

Eunwoo glanced around the café before shooting you an exasperated look. “A crush?! Y/N, come-”

“I could take away the crush aspect of your problem, if you want, Eunwoo. Who’s to say I don’t have one too?”

Eunwoo stared at you dumbfounded until he started to grow dizzy. Yearning for fresh air, he barely breathed out an excuse me before dashing for the exit, walking briskly down the sidewalk whilst breathing in deeply.

You caught up to him a moment later. “You’re so dramatic.”

“Not usually,” he replied with a side glance in your direction. He couldn’t help but scrunch up his face when he realised the itch in his palm to reach out for yours.

He pocketed his hands deeply into his jeans.

“So you like me. And perhaps I like you.”

Eunwoo stopped walking and stared at you imploringly. “Did you like me before or after I admitted to being bothered by you?”

“Does it matter?”

“You’re just stunned because a guy said some nice things.”

“No, it’s nothing like that,” you corrected and stepped closer. “I haven’t met someone who I can easily talk to right away like you. Normally I’m really reserved. Plus, I can’t deny that you’re rather handsome, either.”

Eunwoo couldn’t help but laugh then. “So normally we’re both different from how we’re representing to one another now.”

“It means something.”

“I don’t believe in love at first sight,” he warned and you shrugged.

“Did I say I was in love? I just suggested we explore this. I’ll help you get over this issue you’re dealing with and see if what I feel is something worth acting upon. What do you say?”

Eunwoo sighed and after a moment’s thought, he nodded. “That sounds like the best option we have.”

Much to Eunwoo’s surprise, your idea worked well. It took enduring through another two weeks of less than stellar performances from him in class before he found the rhythm needed to be productive at your side. And because this was achieved by spending all his time in between classes with you, you were now efficient study buddies. You bounced ideas off one another, even with your other subjects that you didn’t take together. Eunwoo was also able to spend hours just reading across from you and whilst he still had moments where he stopped and stared or felt his heart racing, he was no longer incapable.

The physical reactions hadn’t stopped though. If anything, they had intensified. He would often find himself itching to reach out for you and sometimes he did that, relishing in the moment of connection. Holding your hand or letting you lean against him when you grew tired at the end of a cramming session made Eunwoo feel more in control of the reactions. He was empowered every time he gave into them.

And that made him realise that things had progressed in his mind further than just a crush.

“What are you doing over the weekend?” you asked during lunch and Eunwoo glanced up at you and shrugged.

“Probably nothing aside from a bit of study.”

“Nothing?” you asked and then shook your head. “That won’t do!”

“Being lazy and not attending school sounds like it’ll do just fine,” he admitted with a smirk and you rolled your eyes impatiently.

“But you could do more than that.”

“I could?” he wondered, looking at you curiously. “Like what?”

“We could go to the arcade or see a movie or-”

“Like a date?” he interrupted and you clamped your mouth shut, giving a small shy nod. He grinned. “Did you just try to ask me out on a date, Y/N?”

“Well you’re taking forever to do so and I just thought that it would be nice to spend time together outside of the university campus and explore more of what this feeling is between us.”

It was his turn to be delighted at your expense, chuckling when you started to grumble incoherently. Eunwoo leaned towards you with another smirk. “When will you pick me up?”

“You’ll go out with me?” you breathed and then a smile grew on your lips. “Really?”

“You’ll have to be prepared for me though. I’ve barely been holding back these last few days from you. If we’re going on a date, who knows what will happen.”

Actually, it wasn’t much different from daily life at your side. So far, you had enjoyed the arcade together and even saw a comedy that made his sides hurt from too much laughter. Now he was holding your hand and swinging it lightly as you ate ice-creams walking alongside the river. Conversation had flowed freely as had the smiles. Eunwoo was pretty sure the corners of his mouth were going to ache tomorrow after how much he’d curled his lips up in pleasure today with you.

Still, there was something that was different.

All day long, he had wanted to kiss you. At little moments, like when you grinned up at him after winning a game you’d tried several rounds on at the arcade. Or when you offered him a piece of popcorn and he had stared at you instead. You had even let him try your ice-cream flavour and for a second, Eunwoo had contemplated the age-old technique of kissing you to taste it instead.

Yet he held back each time, searching for a better moment.

“I guess I should take you home,” you mentioned once your ice-creams were finished, looking up at him with an unreadable expression. You then smiled when he laughed.

“I can’t believe you held to your end of the deal.”

“Well, I did ask you out on this date. Gender roles mean nothing in the modern age. A woman can pick a guy up and drop him off at his front door after an enjoyable time together.”

“You going to kiss me goodnight too then?” he wondered cheekily, only realising what he said a moment after.

Before he could apologise for the impromptu response, you were already slyly grinning up at him. “Maybe I should. Then one of us would have acted upon it.”

“You noticed?”

“How could I not?!” you exclaimed, shifting in closer. “You basically stared at my lips more than any other guy has before.”

Eunwoo rubbed his neck awkwardly. “Hah, I guess so.”

“It’s okay. I’ve been doing the same too. Wondering when I’d get to feel them against my own mouth.”

Eunwoo reached out to cup the side of your face, searching your eyes momentarily before leaning down towards you. He hesitated but not because he was nervous.

Watching as you fluttered your eyes shut when he was mere inches away from your face, Eunwoo’s heart started to thump noisily in his chest. He felt a surge of emotions wash over him as if he had already kissed you and had fallen trap to your enchanting ways. He witnessed the pursing of your lips, waiting for his own.

This moment.

This was more than he had ever experienced before in his life. He had dated girls when he was younger and even held a relationship for over a year during high school. But all of that paled to the way you willingly wanted him now.

It urged him to take your lips with his own, overwhelming all his senses. The kiss was soft, caressing right down to his soul. As he pulled you closer and deepened the embrace, Eunwoo knew he wouldn’t kiss anyone quite as well as he were you. Much as he tried to label the first moment, he searched through his mind for the reason why you made him feel like this now.

He couldn’t come up with any ideas that fitted perfectly, but your mouth sure felt as if it were made to be against his.

Finally, you stepped back, breath staggered and a hand upon your heaving chest. He watched you recover, his mind swirling with thoughts of you and his body was tingling from the experience.

“You’re beautiful,” he confessed and you eyed him again, a giddy smile crossing your swollen lips.

“And you’re mine now, right?”

Mine. Maybe that was the term Eunwoo was searching for. He nodded. “I’m yours.”

_________________

Part 3

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#kwritersworldnet #cha eunwoo #eunwoo fiction #eunwoo fanfic #eunwoo fluff #eunwoo romance #eunwoo au #astro #astro fiction #astro fanfic #astro fluff #astro romance #astro au #pwyl; labelling love #love in four ways collab #kpop fiction #kpop fanfic #kpop fluff #kpop romance

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80scartoonfan · 3 years

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My Review of Masters of the Universe Revelation - Better late then Never...

It has been two months now, and wow... Not, not many fans of the entire franchise like the Kevin Smith Masters of the Universe series do they? As an aspiring writer myself I can't say I blame them.

I know this comes literally on the heels of the LATEST series being released (obligations to projects, work, family and other things got in the way) and I have to say I wasn't all that impressed with it. If anything, compared to the dumpster fire that was Season 8 of Voltron Legendary Defender that season was more enjoyable than this first part of the mini-series.

And if I am being honest from the first leaks of Skele-God, to the drama with YouTubers like Clownfish-TV and others, to the "race swapping" of Andra and King Greyskull, to spoilers Kevin Smith himself even made, I would give Part-1 a GENEROUS D-Minus. This is a shame because I really wanted this series to exceed all expectations and be equal to the original like 2012s TMNT is or 2011s ThunderCats. But there is too much against it.

First, let’s talk about the animation. It was absolutely breathtaking! It was crisp, the world-building in just the scenery was a masterpiece. Out of what I saw of all of part 1, spotted one goof - dealing in episode 1 with Evil-Lyn's staff, which shows that their animators care of what they produce. I loved the animation so much that if the rights to my favorite anime were purchased by a studio to do a continuation from 2005 or a second reboot, I'd gladly give Powerhouse Animation my salary for the next 5 years!

The music, the music was gorgeous! But then I am biased towards Bear McCreary. Even though He-Man seems a bit knew to compose music to, he immediately got my vote of confidence when it was announced he was attached. Reason being, his work for the movie Godzilla King of the Monsters! His music made me actually tear up during that movie. Something I didn't do since another Godzilla movie.

With the exception of Mark Hamill - as shocking as it comes and Sarah Michelle Gellar, the voice acting was phenomenal! I loved Kevin Michael Richards as Beastman, Tony Todd as ScareGlow, even Liam Cunningham as Duncan! Chris Wood was spectacular as Prince Adam/He-Man for just being introduced to him. But the one who really stole the show for me was Lena Headdy. She killed it as Evil-Lyn, so much that if the Eternity War Saga or 2 part crossover event ThunderCats and He-Man/Injustice vs Masters of the Universe were made into live-action or animated movies, I'd pay whatever she wanted just to have her return.

I also want to applaud the effort of getting a diverse group of voice actors. Something which I noticed few if ANY have. Actors who are both known for their VA resumes and those who are new to voice acting. But also the actors themselves, besides the white and black VAs there were if I am not mistaken a Native American and I think 2 Mixed-Race voice actors. I don't remember if there were any Asian or Middle Eastern VAs, but it is always Part-2!

As for Mark Hamill, at first, I was excited that he was going to do the voice of Skeletor. But upon hearing him as Skeletor, I'm not sure anymore. Granted this is just the first part of the mini-series, but it didn't feel like Skeletor if that makes sense? To me, it felt like he was trying to mix Joker/Alvin the Treacherous/and Firelord Orzi all into one character.

Sarah Michelle Gellar is another one I wasn't sure about. I admit I found it hard going in unbiased because I never liked Sarah. Not as Gwendy Doll, or Andromeda, Daphne and certainly not as Buffy - mainly because I preferred Kristy Swanson as Buffy, but that is beside the point. She had some nice emotional spots, but for the majority of her performance as Teela, it just wasn't there for me. If the writing and script had been better than what it was, she could have won me over for Teela, but as I write this I am more excited for Kimberly Brooks to voice Teela.

Now let’s talk about the things I hated. This will involve anything from Characters including designs to the writing and other things. If you don't want to be triggered I advise you to stop reading this and move on. If you are still here and get triggered, like one person who always seems to be, don't say I didn't warn you. I am always open to engaging others civilly in talking and debate. But if you can't even do that, don't bother engaging. These are my opinions and MY THOUGHTS, and I will hold nothing back regardless of the topic. You have been warned!

The story, the story absolutely sucked! You can tell the writers, if you can call them that, just didn’t care about what they were doing. I’ll go into this shortly. But those writers should be ashamed to even call themselves that. Sure it was catered to be modernized and appealing to potential new fans, but they should have been more aware of what they were doing. Just in this first part, there are so many plotholes and questions I was asking myself that I filled 4 whole pages of paper asking questions and thoughts - which to the fanfic writers I will put in at the end of this if you want to explore them.

I watched the mini-series five times now, trying to be as objective as I possibly could as an aspiring writer and not as a MotU fan, and each time got even more painful. Let’s be clear on one thing, I wanted this series to succeed. But too many things brought it down, and like with Ghost in the Shell 2045, I’m not sure I want Netflix to release part 2 or that I would watch it if they did.

Let’s start with how it was advertised as a “direct sequel to the original.” It was not a direct sequel to the original. I have seen someone bring this up and I have to agree with him. This mini-series is more in line with Nickelodeon’s Voltron-Force from 2011. I remember watching that series when it premiered and then had to hunt down my VHS tapes that had them to get a feel for the series again.

Both played off their respective originals as direct sequels, but both are in fact pseudo-sequels/soft reboots. They have the characters we grew up with and we can identify these characters because they are close to their original counterparts, but that is as far as the “sequel” goes. They bring in newer characters who we know nothing about or characters who have maybe been unimportant to the main characters, but we have to accept them now. It was like that with Mona Lisa in the 2012 TMNT who I enjoyed WHEN they used her, Larmina of Voltron-Force being Allura’s niece, and Andra of Revelation who had maybe 2 or 3 appearances in the entire run of the Masters of the Universe franchise.

Like Voltron-Force, Revelation, had no real ties to the original. There were no mentions of battles, events, and characters who played critical roles in the original. Instead, it starts off with a narrative deposition to set the series up (not matching how the original ended) and just starts in with new adventures. For it to be a direct sequel to an original, you need to have more than just characters we can identify as He-Man/Skeletor/Keith/Lotor/Allura/or Teela.

Next, let’s talk about the length of this mini-series. This is still a bitter subject amongst Voltron fans because so much Netflix could have done more with it if they didn’t do four seasons that were 6/7 episodes. We can all agree that with the “story telling” they wanted to do, just five episodes just were not enough for the first part and potentially the second part. The amount of time needed to portray the journey from Adam’s death to Skeletor taking the power sword and becoming Skelegod could have easily been an entire season. Even 9-10 episodes would have been acceptable with the proper writing that wasn’t going for deliberate shock value goals or “shipping.”

With a 9-10 episode first part, they could have given everyone what they wanted. They could have had He-Man solidly in the first 3 episodes killing him off in the 3rd in such an emotional way it would leave us old-timers not only devastated but eager for more. Use episode 4 to transition into a dying magical world trying to survive with the loss of He-Man and Skeletor and set up the following episode where we see Teela and Andra meet, rather than “next episode we meet Teela and her ‘friend’ Andra on a practically dead world.” Hell, if this was supposed to be a series which wanted to emotionally cripple old timers like me, I’d have been fine if were three season 13 episode series where He-Man dies at the very end of season 1, season 2 picks up with the aftermath of his death, and season 3 is He-Man’s return to defeat Skeletor.

Let’s now talk about the plotholes in this series which tie together with the amount of episodes. These are the biggest things that damage the series the most! The biggest plothole and the most important one is “SPAN OF TIME!” How long has it been since Prince Adam’s death and we see Teela with Andra - days/weeks/months/years - WHAT?! When did they meet? Where did they meet? What happened to Eternos? Did King Randor go all Mad-King Targarian or was Eternos get sacked and destroyed now that He-Man was no longer there to protect its people? Did King Randor put a bounty on Teela’s head for leaving? Remember she was a sworn member of the guard to the King. I doubt he would have just let her leave unless he had a good reason not to go after her. What happened to all the other Masters - Clamp Champ/Ram-Man/Stratos/Buzzoff/Tusk Man and many others in the aftermath of Adam’s death? These are questions and things fans should have been focusing on rather than “will Teela and Andra be together?” Kevin Smith said this series had what others didn’t... STAKES. What are those stakes?

Speaking of Teela and Andra and I know this will be a touchy one for most. I feel that their dynamic is directly done to “queerbait” people. Now I am not saying we can’t have LGBT couples in series, it’s just that writers either need to commit to establishing these couples or not at all. Only doing glimpses or hints at, is for a lack of a better term a Kobayashi Maru - (a No Win Scenario for the Non-Star Trek fans) like it was with Shiro in Voltron Legendary Defender. And if and when this blows up in their faces, like it did the Voltron writers, they have no one to blame but themselves.

Star Trek Lower Decks like every other Star Trek since “The Next Generation” have no qualms in establishing certain characters as LGBT. It is how you do it, and many of these shows need to follow the example from Star Treks TNG/DS9/VOY/LD. This series are a clear testament that you can have Straight/Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual relationships without “queer-baiting” or overtly shoving it in people’s faces.

The writers have made it clear that there is something between Teela and Andra but while also making it clear there is still something between her and Adam. Which regardless of how part 2 ends is liable to upset the fans they “catered” this series to. Who do you make happy and who do you ostracize? And with today’s social media are you going to handle the backlash of giving one and not the other? I personally would prefer Teela and Adam to be what kids today call “Endgame,” but ever since the Keith & Allura tradition was soundly destroyed in Season 2 of Netflix’s Voltron, that when it comes to Netflix series I just simply don’t care anymore who ends up with who, I want a well thought-well developed story.

The character designs of Teela/Andra/Evil-Lyn I understand they wanted a more “modern” realistic feel to them, which I am neither for nor against. Because let’s face it spandex-clad or barely covered barbarian fantasy women with chainmail is a product of the 70s/80s/90s. It is alright to have modern designs for characters but not too modern. Especially when we have shows like Game of Thrones and others to draw references from.

I do admit, I am not a fan of Teela’s design. I understand the reasoning is to make her a “Strong Female Character” but there is more to being a strong female character than looking strong. Strength is also one’s character, how they grow and develop. Teela’s stubbornness, fear, and anger at her “past life” are preventing her growth. If this is the way they portray a strong female character then they have no business doing so.

Kimberly Brooks’ Allura is a far stronger woman than this Teela ever will be. The burdens she shouldered, admitting she was wrong and not gloating when she was correct, the forgiveness of a race responsible for the genocide of her’s, being a diplomat while also being a warrior, sacrificing her well being for others all contributed to her growth from “Princess who just woke up” to Strong Female Character by the end of Season 6.

Teela understandably was hurt by the lies that filled her life. Sure she built a life away from those lies, but she was running away from them. Rather than confront the reason why she became bitter and ran away essentially. She was only forced to confront those lies to save Eternia and the universe and even then there really wasn’t any humility about it. Instead, it is all about her. Not once in this series have I seen growth for Teela’s character like Legendary Defender’s Allura, and let me be perfectly blunt - I had no love for Allura after Season 2. Not once did she admit she was wrong or apologize. Not once was she willing to sacrifice her life for the greater good - instead she was willing to let the whole universe die because of the lies she was fed her life.

Now let me address the whole Race-Bending “controversy.” As with the new designs, I am neither for nor against them. I understand the arguments on both sides when it comes to Andra and King Greyskull. One side argues it appeals to young black girls and boys while the other argues they are being tired of being handed “Hand-Me-Down” characters. Both sides have valid arguments. But honestly, as an old Masters of the Universe fan, it took the so-called “race-swapping” of Andra for me to even remember her because she was never that important and even betrayed Teela for Faker in the Injustice vs Masters of the Universe comics and even then she appeared in maybe 5 panels at most.

Now King Greyskull, at first I was against, I’ll admit it but then I changed my tone looking at myself and my family. See I am Bi-Racial, my mother is white and my father is black. My father’s sister married a white guy and had 6 bi-racial kids. Two who in turn gave birth to white-skinned blond-haired blue-eyed kids. Had they gone the “bloodline” path Prince Adam could have been a representation of not just blacks, whites, but bi-racial and mixed-blood peoples.

I realize this is coming out on the eve of that new He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series, which as a He-Man fan since 1984 (when I was potty training) I will give it a shot, maybe even write a review of it. But I still have my reviews of Godzilla: Singular Point, Pacific Rim: The Black, Star Trek Lower Decks, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2045, and other series to write on top of work and my family life.

-------------------------------~ Question and Thoughts Time ~---------------------------

As I mentioned above, had many thoughts and questions which I believe were pivotal in the development of this series. Questions and thoughts should have been vocalized during the writing stage rather than fans asking them. These are of the first 3 episodes and some of episode 4. If you are a fanfiction writer who wants to explore these feel free to do so, I will be more than happy to read if they answer these questions and make the mini-series more enjoyable.

Keep in mind these are questions and thoughts I had because I am also an aspiring writer of my own fiction - that I am keeping close to my chest until I feel ready to release it.

Any true He-Man fan would question why is He-Man on a mechanical horse when he would be using battle cat

I do like the celebration happening at the same time quote-unquote He-Man is approaching Castle Grayskull it makes you think Adam is missing out on an important event

In the original series, Castle Grayskull had defenses that the Sorceress could call upon to confuse and combat an enemy who breached its walls how did Skeletor learn about the true secrets of Castle Grayskull when it should only be the Sorceress that knows of such secrets

If the Sorceress is so powerful and so smart why was she tricked by the faker He-Man he doesn't have the power sword?

I love that Orko is still a bumbling magician in Eternia’s realm. Shows how different realities have an effect on others

Adams entrance to “I have the power” let alone his playful jab at who “He is” should have been a hint to Teela

I do like the scene between Adam and Teela in the hall. It really makes you think that they actually are friends from childhood that grew up together and possibly have a future together.

My knowledge of the 38 years of the canon may be a bit shady now, but hasn’t Skeletor always needed the Power sword to get into Castle Grayskull like he always needed it in the comics?

They hinted that his mother knows he's He-Man and that she does reveal that he is He-Man after the battle. I know a mother knows these things about her child. But how did she learn Adam was He-Man and how did she not tell King Randor

Again how did Marlena know He-Man was her son and not tell her husband?

King Randor’s response is feasible but Teela’s response, because everyone lied to her is understandable - but she's a warrior. She is also a sworn captain of the royal guard, sworn to the King. She can’t just quit like that, can she?

How much time has passed between the death of Adam and when we see Teela with Andra

What has happened to the Royal Family in this time? What about Eternos? Has King Randor and Marlena revealed that he-man was their son Prince Adam? With He-Man out of the picture Has Eternos Fallen? Did Randor go all Mad-King Targaryen and become a ruthless tyrant?

What has happened to all of the other Masters? Ram-Man/Buzzoff/Clamp Champ/Fisto/Stratos/ and so many others? Were they killed off? Did they disband? Or were they exiled, WHAT?!

What about Snake-Mountain? What happened in the aftermath of Skeletor’s apparent death? Did Triclops and Beastman betray Evil-Lyn?

How did Teela meet Andra? What is the “When, where, and how” behind their meeting? What did she do to gain Teela’s trust when she felt betrayed by the world?

What is Andra’s background or history in this series besides being an engineer?

When old hag gives Teela and Andra their mission you can obviously tell it's evil-lyn

He-Man flashbacks are kind of nice but it would have been nice to have a build-up for such flashback or have a series season before his demise with such flashbacks that way it could be more poignant

I do like the idea of Triclops and Trap-jaw building a technical but what put them on the path for this techno cult

The cult kind of feels like the Borg as much as I like the idea of Trap-jaw and Triclops making a cult I don't know how I feel about it being Borg-like

This may be controversial but Andra feels like the stereotypical POC Rooky sidekick you see join the main character on their quest.

Like Grace Randolph said this whole Teela/Andra angle may come up and bite everyone in the ass later on if they don’t follow through which will piss off all the old-time fans and if they don’t follow through with the Teela/Andra angle and make Prince Adam/Teela are a couple then all the LGBTQ fans will be pissed off about that

I can already foresee it happening just like it did with Voltron Legendary Defender with Shiro being gay and his ex-partner Adam being killed in combat

We do get a hint of what the king did after the final battle but still what happened in that time after Prince Adam was killed? Did king Randor go off the deep end and become a dictator, what? These are questions that needed to be asked and answered during the writing stage

When did Evil-Lyn, Cringer, and the Sorceress make an alliance to save what little magic is left and in essence the entire universe?

I have the suspicion that was the Sorceress finally trying to tell Teela she's her mother Ford Shadows that the Sorceress is going to die and Teela is going to take her place

Did Teela really name Cringer, or was it something to boost her up in this mini-series?

Did cringer really tell Tela the Adam loved her?

Thus Begins the quest to reforge the sword to go to heaven and hell to get the parts and rebuild the Power sword thus queue Duncan

How much time has passed between the end of the previous episode and the beginning of this new one?

How is time measured on Eternia?

If Skeletor truly wanted to kill He-Man why didn't you take his power sword when he was shackled up?

Kevin Conroy is ma as Mermaid Man if he gets more roles as mermaid man he might grow on me

Instead of gloating, why didn’t they take He-Man’s sword if it was their prize all along?

Typical 80s cartoon ponds very nice

If Evil-Lyn preached that Man-at-Arms was the most dangerous man in Eternia why didn't they act like it why did they act like He-Man was the most dangerous one?

I do love the jobs both Teela and Evil-Lyn take at each other because they are pretty much the same. Evil-Lyn is Skeletor’s version of the Sorceress and Teela is practically He-Man sorceress when she accepts her destiny.

Teela has seen her father fight hundreds of times how could you not recognize his fighting style?

I like how beast man's loyalty never swayed from evil when I also like Kevin Michael Richardson parentheses? As Beastman I thought I would like him as King Grayskull but I I do like him as beast man

Orko like Castle Grayskull does provide a little hint as to King Randor’s reaction to Prince Adam’s death. I feel this is something they should have put into the series

I feel that all of Orko's scenes in episode 3 and my Following episode 4 are tainted because of Kevin Smith revealing he gets killed and why he decided to have Oracle killed

Why should Beastman show a little fear to Andra who is she to him?

I like that you can still see that Man at Arms still loves the Sorceress and I also find it funny that when it comes to that one huge secret something always gets in the way

Again I hate how they portrayed the span of time in this?

How did they go from a Forest Village so halfway across the world?

Something's been nagging me lately could Evil-Lyn be related to both Teela and the Sorceress somehow?

It could be a reference to how similar the Figures were in the 80s but in some scenes, Teela and Evil-Lyn’s facial structures look almost identical could you be separated sisters?

The further this point it's funny how Evil-lyn and Kela can just cut through the bullshit between their infatuation with He-Man and Skeletor

Again what time something happened between evil-lyn and Merman we don't know what just that he seems bitter that she didn't take over the land while he took a while he tried to take over the seat

It seems that there are undertones to a massive war and the wake of Prince Adam’s death.

I kind of like how even evil-lyn kind of shows that she may be afraid of subterranean

With half of part 1 ended could Skeletor have them influencing her? Why did she have to retrieve the Havoc staff head?

How does Evil-Lyn know so much about the Subterranea?

Teela facing a false He-Man could be a hint of her feelings for Adam. But I think it would be more of a visceral scene if it was Prince Adam and not He-Man.

Was that a hint of Teela becoming the new sorceress?

Scenes between Orko and Lyn were a nice touch. Maybe a better connection between Orko and Lyn than Teela, He-Man, and the others?

Orko’s sacrifice could be the beginning of the Dark-Orko storyline?

Was that the Sorceress’ most recent ancestor, Teela’s Grandmother or GREAT-Grandmother?

Why didn’t Adam finish the chant? If Kevin Smith borrowed aspects from everything relating to He-Man, then why didn’t Adam finish the chant? A few times Adam has been run through in which he could finish the chant to become He-Man.

If Teela is such a badass, why didn’t she attempt to stop a reconstituting Skeletor from stabbing Adam?

Really Andra? You are going to sass Skeletor? He doesn’t know you and would sleep like a baby dispersing you. You are nothing to him, you are lucky he didn’t decide to run you through with the power sword.

And really Skeletor? Because no woman could love a face like your’s? Thats your motivation?

#masters of the universe revelation #motu #he-man #teela #skeletor

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smallersocksx · 3 years

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Why the Wallace Cup Arc is one of the best returning character arcs

Introduction:

For those who have been following the Pokémon Journeys anime, know that Dawn was one of the latest former cast members to return the series for a two-episode arc. As I admitted in my episode 74 review (I’m contemplating reviewing episode 75 as well), should know I hadn’t really been keeping up with the anime up to that point as I felt all the issues, I had mentioned in one of my previous posts all culminated and I needed to take a break as I wasn’t enjoying the series. It felt more like a chore to watch the Journeys series rather than a pleasure and I felt horrible feeling this way about a series that I had loved for such a long time. However, if you’re enjoying the series, that’s great and I’m glad you find some enjoyment watching it.

Nevertheless, those that have read my posts or know me personally know DP is one of my favourite Pokémon series and I absolutely love Dawn, her Pokémon and Contests to pieces. So, when they announced she would be appearing for two episodes, I knew I had to watch. However, after sitting on these thoughts for a couple of weeks, I had to admit overall I was a little disappointed. This is a shame because I absolutely love Dawn but the reasons, I felt disappointed were:

The pacing/length – in both episodes, I felt like some areas were really slow and could have easily been cut out which in turn caused the areas that should have been slower and more fleshed out to feel incredibly rushed such as the battle with Matori Matrix. I felt like another area that could have been sped up was the exposition/discovery of Darkrai and Cresselia’s symbiotic relationship, don’t get me wrong it was interesting but I feel like it could have been handled better. I think if this DP arc had been four episodes long like the Sword and Shield arc, the pacing could have been better, we could have explored Ash and Goh’s side of the story more and we could have actually seen some Contest action. Additionally, it would give us a break from the episodic and slightly disjointed nature of the Journeys series and engage more with the story.

Chloe’s development – Now for those that have read my previous posts, should know that I like Chloe and I’m interested to see where they go with her development. Especially considering she’s meant to meeting an Espeon and Umbreon trainer in the upcoming episode. However, it kind of felt like the only reason they brought Dawn back was to help Chloe develop. It would have been nice to allow Dawn and her other Pokémon to shine more. Also, as I mentioned in my episode 74 review, the argument between Chloe and Dawn felt completely unnecessary to me. In my opinion, one of the ways Chloe had subtly developed under Eevee’s influence was that she learnt to relax a little bit and not take things so seriously. This is why I was finding her behaviour in episode 74 to be a little annoying.

Also, it would have been nice to at least see Chloe attempt to participate in a Contest and at least try something out once even if it's not for her. Considering, Pokémon is an anime tailored towards children, it's better to send out the message of at least trying something even if it's not something for you in the end. This was something I would have liked to have seen with Serena, as before discovering Pokémon Showcases, she didn’t really try to find her goal/path. However, judging by the preview, at least the writers are acting on the idea of Chloe meeting other Eevee and Eeveelution trainers.

Dawn and her Pokémon – As I mentioned previously, it kind of felt like the only reason Dawn was brought back was to contribute to Chloe’s development. Whilst, it was nice to see Dawn and her Piplup again it would have been nice to have seen Dawn’s other Pokémon outside of a flashback. We did have that brief scene where Dawn gave Chloe a demonstration of a Contest Performance but outside of that we hardly saw anything else to do with contests. They could have done something similar to the Darkrai film and show the contest in the end credits as a one-off/special ED. Or if the arc had been longer, they could have devoted more time to the contest aspect and we could have seen Chloe and Dawn participating in the Eterna City contest. It just would have given Dawn a better opportunity to shine and show off her skills as a Coordinator.

They could have featured the rest of Dawn’s Pokémon in the beach scene at the end of Episode 75. I just wanted a Buneary and Pikachu reunion ToT

Apologies, for turning this into a critique of episode 75/this mini-arc. However, it brought me back to this point and I’ve seen people always make this comment or have made videos on it when critiquing Journeys. The problem Journeys has is that any returning characters have basically been treated as fan service that the older fans including myself have eaten up. But when you think about it, it's honestly doing these characters a disservice, and they deserve so much better. Take Korrina and Iris, Iris, in particular, they had hyped up their returns to the series and it ends kind of falling flat as they both lose to Ash to help him to further his goal (which contributes to Journeys pacing issue). Nevertheless, their losses end up diminishing all the development they built up to that point, particularly with Iris’ Haxorus, this was a Pokémon I would have loved to have seen develop more on-screen and when we see him fully evolved as he has always dreamed it was sad to see him lose.

This brings me to this point that I’ve made and so have others, that the Wallace Cup arc has arguably been one of the best arcs/methods of utilising a former main cast member. And it’s due to the reasons, I had listed were the latest DP arc fell short:

The pacing/length

May and her Pokémon

Dawn’s development

The setting

I feel like the setting, in particular, was one of the main reasons why the Wallace Cup arc was so successful. If you’re still reading this, thank you and sorry for the incredibly long introduction.

The pacing/length:

I feel like these two aspects go hand-in-hand so I decided to place them under the same bracket. Now I don’t know whether some count the Wallace Cup arc as five episodes rather than four as May does briefly appear in Our Cup Runneth Over! But I count it from A Full Course Tag Battle! Nevertheless, whether it be four or five episodes, this arc didn’t feel like it dragged on or rushed, it was the perfect length in my opinion. A Full Course Tag Battle! Was a great way to re-introduce us to May and her character, to learn of her progress/struggles in Johto and to see some of her Pokémon again. This episode had helped integrate May back into the main cast perfectly as we learn she keeps in contact with Ash and they both still have their halves of the Terracotta Ribbon and we see that May and Dawn develop a fast friendship through their shared interests and current hardships. In addition to this, I like the call-back to May’s Kanto Journey, with her fire-water combination in the Tag battle as well as the food-loving aspect of her personality (same May same).

The following episode, Staging a Heroes Welcome! Showed off one of my favourite aspects of Contests in the anime, the Performance Stage. In addition to this, it allowed us to see May’s new skills and style in a Contest setting. I really enjoyed May’s performance, as we learnt her timid Squirtle had evolved into a confident Wartortle (one of my favourite starter Middle Stage evolutions) and I loved their simple performance, it reminded me of a pebble/stone skipping across the water and you couldn’t take your eyes off Wartortle. I really enjoyed Ash’s performance, it’s not the first time he’s competed in a Contest but I love the fact he competed with Buizel, who wasn’t that interested in Contests under Dawn’s ownership. Additionally, I love the fact Ash used Dawn’s feedback to help with the performance but it honestly felt like an Ash performance, just showing off his and Buizel’s love of battle.

Finally, it’s getting closer to Dawn’s turn and naturally, she starts to have doubts, causing Piplup to launch a Bubble Beam at her face. It was a short but cute display of Dawn and Piplup’s relationship and how they support one another especially as Piplup tried to gently encourage Dawn throughout her slump. In this case, he decided to be a little more forceful. Despite a little stumble, Dawn and Ambipom ultimately delivered a simple and clean performance taking on Zoey’s advice. Ultimately being rewarded with a place in the Battle Stage. Overall, this episode was a brilliant way to introduce to the Wallace Cup, the beginning of Dawn re-gaining her confidence and seeing the Hoenn cast of characters.

Pruning Passel of Pals! Personally, this is the weakest episode of the arc, just for the fact it has the least amount of battling but we expand on DP’s main plot with the Lake Trio as Ash catches sight of Azelf and we expand on the Sinnoh lore. We also get a cute Team Rocket moment, where James and Meowth arrange for Jessie to act as a TV commentator for the competition, their sense of comradery is so cute (also if Jessie’s happy they’re happy). I liked the fact we got to see Dawn’s first battle of the competition after renewing her confidence and I did enjoy the battle, as we hadn’t seen Buneary in a Contest battle for a while. Up to the Quarter Finals, we mostly got still-shots or brief cuts of the other battles which is what makes this episode weaker in comparison to the others. However, it allowed us to see May’s Skitty and that her Bulbasaur evolved all the way to a Venusaur.

Once, we reach the Quarter Finals, we see Ash battle against a Coordinator named Kyle. Sadly, Ash ultimately loses the battle and is eliminated he didn’t entirely lose out as he and Buizel are more in sync and the Ice Aqua Jet that Dawn couldn’t perfect with Buizel under her ownership was finally successful. However, Kyle brought up an interesting point during his battle with Ash that stuck with me, that in these types of contests such as the Wallace Cup and the Grand Festival, varying your Pokémon is vital so your opponents can’t figure out all of your strategies. This was what led to Solidad defeating May in the Kanto Grand Festival as observed May’s tactics and battle style. I just found this observation interesting and it was something that stuck with me.

Finally, my favourite episode of the arc and probably one of my favourite Contest episodes ever, Strategy with a Smile! Now, this is how you conclude a Contest arc! There was plenty of action, the first Semi-Final Battle we have is between Kyle and Dawn, what I loved with this episode and subsequent battles was seeing Dawn confident once again and having faith in her skills re-using the spin tactic, she developed in Oreburgh City and combining it with Bide causing Piplup to glow purple and turn his opponent’s attacks against them.

Then we have May vs Zoey, which allowed us to see May’s new skills and battle style on full display. We also get to see May’s Beautifly again! One of my favourite Pokémon. Once again, we got to see, why Zoey is one of Dawn’s toughest rivals utilising the pool to electrocute Beautifly. However, I liked the way May turned the tables on her, something I don’t think we saw too often with her in previous Contests. But she didn’t give Zoey the chance to counterattack either. I just really enjoyed seeing this new fierce style, May had developed during her time in Johto.

However, the next battle had to be one of my favourite Contest battles of all time. What better way to conclude the Wallace Cup arc? Then having our two main Coordinators go head-to-head, DP was the series when the visuals for Pokémon began to increase in quality and I really loved the visuals throughout this battle. Not to mention we got to May’s newly evolved Glaceon shine in a Contest Battle as we hardly got to see it in action as an Eevee.

Some fans were upset at the fact, May the more experienced Coordinator had lost to Dawn and I’ll explore factors and reasons why this could have happened. But I felt the need to hammer this point, Dawn only won by half a point and Contests aren’t about strength, the winner is the Coordinator who best displays their Pokémon’s traits in a Performance and Battle. And say if May won, either way, both Coordinators would have had a positive experience, it would have been similar to the conclusion of Dawn’s battle with Maylene. Despite the loss, Dawn still would have regained her confidence but I think her winning the Aqua Ribbon gave her that extra sense of affirmation, as Dawn won a Contest that attracts competitors from all over the globe. I can’t think of a better way of renewing a character’s sense of self-confidence than in a setting such as this. All in all, it was a great way to conclude the Wallace Cup arc.

It felt like every episode set out to fulfill the job it was meant to do and succeeded. Naturally, they couldn’t show off every battle in the competition and it’s the same in other Contest episodes, utilising still-shots. But I generally enjoyed every battle they chose to focus on and the way the pool battlefield was utilised throughout the competition. In addition to the character development featured throughout this arc, we had some progression to the overarching plot of DP. This section ended up being an episode-by-episode review of the arc but I hope it gets the point across!

May and her Pokémon:

The issue I’ve been having as of late is that it kind of felt like the only reason former main cast members were returning was to help develop a current main cast member and that just doesn’t feel right. These characters deserve to shine and we want to see how they developed. This is why one of my favourite aspects of the Wallace Cup arc is that we truly got to see May shine and see the progress she’s made from the naïve beginner trainer she was in AG to the fearless Coordinator she is now. In addition to May, we got to see all of her Pokémon shine in their own way at least once (yes, I’m including still shots). Which is why I’m glad we had the Full Course Tag Battle! The episode gave us the chance to see her Blaziken, as using a fire-type in a contest that celebrates water-types in a battlefield with a pool probably wouldn’t be a good idea.

One of my main reasons, May split off from Ash, was because she felt like she was imitating his battle style and she wanted to develop her own. And we got to see that in the Semi-finals and the Finals of the Wallace Cup, where May defeated Dawn’s toughest rival, Zoey by utilising her own tactics against her in a very Ash/Drew-like style.

Nevertheless, we also saw that old habits die hard, as to some extent as May still relies on luck-based moves as shown in the final where May had Glaceon use Secret Power which worked the first time and paralysed Piplup however, the second time it backfired and ended up making Piplup shine more in comparison to Glaceon.

All in all, we also learnt of May’s progress in Johto we essentially got to see it for ourselves, which is something fans who have followed May’s journey appreciate all the more.

Dawn’s Development:

As I mentioned in the previous section, it felt like as of late former main cast members was being brought back to help develop members of the main cast. What I love about the Wallace Cup arc, was that even though May was the more experienced Coordinator, at the time they were going through a similar experience and were both on losing streaks. In Dawn’s case, she needed to regain her confidence after two consecutive failures in the Performance Stage, the second time in which she over-compensated for the previous loss.

However, from this experience, Dawn didn’t just regain her confidence, she learnt that simplicity is best and can allow her Pokémon to shine and be the focus. This can be seen in her later Contest performances and in Arriving in Style! In which her Pokémon do something as simple as spinning or jumping whilst uniquely utilising their moves and remaining the focus of the audience.

Moreover, many fans were upset that May, the more experienced Coordinator had lost to Dawn in the Finals. All things considered, Dawn only beat May by half a point, Dawn could have edged May out at several points in the battle as Contests aren’t about strength, the victor is who best displays their Pokémon strengths. With May, having relied on luck-based moves too much, to Dawn utilising previously used tactics such as Piplup riding his Whirlpool (from Dawn’s second Contest) to using May’s water curtain tactic from the Semi-Finals against her.

To this day, this is still one of my favourite battles from the Pokémon anime, not only because I love Contests, seeing our two main Coordinators going up against one another but seeing Dawn having the confidence in her own tactics but being influenced by those around her as well.

The setting:

As I mentioned in the introduction, I believe the setting is one of the core reasons why the Wallace Cup arc was so successful. Having May’s return be featured in a Contest setting just makes so much sense. Not only that, but it allowed us to see May’s growth alongside Dawn. However, we also got to see Ash and Buizel’s relationship develop and to see Ash successfully execute one of his best strategies for the first time with the Ice Aqua Jet.

Conclusion:

Overall, in my opinion, the Wallace Cup arc is one of the best narrative uses of a former main character. As it not only allowed our current cast to develop but it allowed us to see first-hand, May’s growth and aggressive battle style that she’s developed in Johto, especially those who had been following May’s journey from a naïve beginner trainer to the fierce Coordinator she is today.

Dawn’s growth was great from re-gaining her confidence and not allowing it to become over-confidence. Learning simple is best, and that tactic allowed her Pokémon to shine the most. Ash developing new strategies and bonding with his Pokémon. And some slight plot progression to the overarching narrative/story of DP.

The pacing and length of this arc, was just right, as it didn’t feel too long or too short and every episode fulfilled the job it had set out to do. It's nice to experience short story arcs, as it gives the audience a chance to be gripped to a story/narrative and I enjoy having that sense of focus in a story.

Honestly, I think the writers had hit the nail on the head, with this arc and it's sad they couldn’t really replicate the success of the Wallace Cup arc with future character returns. I have seen over the years that the Pokémon anime is capable of some great story-telling and amazing character arcs as shown by this entire post. This is why, I’m finding some aspects of Journeys frustrating, that they set up some amazing plot lines or potential development and fall flat on the delivery or don’t even act on it.

I don’t know if it’s just me setting my expectations too high or I’m being overly critical. I would like to think it's healthy to have some criticisms of a series rather than to just blindly love it. Initially, I did enjoy Journeys but after the episode 60 mark, my enjoyment began to wear thin which makes me sad as I genuinely love to watch the anime alongside playing the games. Anyways, I feel better getting this off my chest and if anyone actually read the entirety of this post thank you! I’m thinking of making another post possibly focusing on why I’m not enjoying the episodic formula of Journeys but that might be another day!

#pokemon #pokeani #analysis #may (pokemon)#dawn (pokemon)#ash ketchum

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fy-yongsun · 4 years

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[TRANS] 200520 Solar for Marie Claire (June Issue)

Your solo album’s activities ended well. Are you satisfied? Because it’s my first solo album, there was a lot of pressure. I went back to having the heart of a rookie and worked really hard preparing. But I still remember being more nervous during the first broadcast than my debut stage. There was a strong pressure that I have to do everything myself. But, as if they were anticipating it, I was really touched seeing my fans pouring everything out and supporting me.

I feel it would have been a lot more different than when you promote with your group Mamamoo. Solar’s music, not Mamamoo’s, was not known, so I wanted to make it known that Solar does this kind of music and likes this type of thing. It also feels like a process of finding my real self. I’ve gathered everything I normally wanted to do and put it into this album. Liking all genres like hard hip-hop and exciting dance, this album showed what kind of color Solar’s music can create. However, it felt empty not having my members who are always by my side. Until now, if I made slight mistakes, the other members would fill that in, but going on stage completely alone, it’s something that needs a greater responsibility than I thought.

How was the reaction from Mamamoo members who watched your stage? Wheein and Hwasa cheered me on a lot. And, (Moon) Byulie kept acting like a senior (laughs) I remember laughing a lot when I would give an opinion, she would joke a lot saying, “How dare you [say that] to a senior”

On stage, your visuals stand out. Whether they’re your nails, gloves, or lipstick color, you paid attention to details. I collected a lot of various references. Because style is a part of the stage. Whether they suited me or not, I attempted bold lipstick colors. Of course, the thing I paid more attention than style was my singing. ‘Spit It Out’ live is a lot harder than you’d think, so I spent a lot of time in the practice room.

In your revealed teaser photos, the one where you had a shaved head/bald makeup garnered a lot of attention. It was intended to show my raw appearances. Of course, I can’t show all of me through that one thing, but I wanted to attempt something that I haven’t living until now.

You’re in the position where you receive judgment from the general public in every moment. Aren’t you fraid of the response to your new attempts ? Honestly, I’m scared (laughs) 99% of my company staff was actually against my shaved head makeup, too. It’s something I did because I wanted to do it, but I thought some people may not like it. I just followed my heart. I like myself being brave and attempting new things, and attempting things is one of the ways I live enjoying life.

Would it be because of the sense of accomplishment you feel after succeeding? There are people who dislike it, but, on the other hand, there are people who do like it. I’m proud when I feel my attempt is meaningful and valuable. Most of the things I do are because I don’t want to have regrets.

The attitude touches on this title song, ‘Spit It Out’ It’s a song that had my thought to get on with my work with passion, even in adversity. I like fun and enjoyable things. That position also applies when I stand on stage for Mamamoo’s performances. It’s the reason why we always attempt new styles, and sing while actively communicating with the audience.

You’re consistently working on composing and writing lyrics, too. I talk about myself the most. In a past Mamamoo’s album, the song ‘Hello’ is a song where you can think about the person Solar. It’s about a lover, the first verse being what a woman says to the guy, and the second verse being what the guy says to the woman. One day, I wanted a ‘Big Booty’, so I wrote a song titled that. Rather than my writing songs with a particular style, I portray emotions or situations I experience at that moment. Our fansong, ‘Never Letting Go’ as well.

Solar also enjoys various collaborations. Is there an artist you want to meet up with in the future? While working on music, I grow musically and see the positives of other artists and learn from that, too. If I have the chance, I want to work with the musician Changmo. I listened to his song ‘Meteor’ a lot, too. The way he treats music is cool.

If you were to have a solo concert, what kind of stage do you want to create? Until now, I’ve made various attempts through solo stages as Mamamoo concerts. I’ve done pole dancing, and flew around [tied to] wires. If I was to do a solo concert, I think it’ll become a set of art performances. Like a circus (laughs) I have a lot of interest in circus performances, so I’ve looked them up myself as well. I’m usually in charge of high notes as a group, but fans have said my low notes are charming too, so I want to present a song where I can let them hear my low voice. Whatever the genre, I’m planning on changing it to my own style.

It seems your attitude wanting to make various attempts are in the Youtube channel you run, ‘Solarsido’ as well. The Youtube channel name also has the meaning of ‘Solar’s challenge’. I started it at first simply because it seemed fun, but, reaching 1 year now, I think it’s now another window for me to express myself.

I feel you’d have to be diligent to run a channel. Since you have to plan, film, and edit. How do you feel about living as a Youtube for a bout a year? It matches me really well. I relieve my stress from music promotions creating Youtube videos. ‘Solarsido’ is my only hobby. So, Mamamoo’s members worry saying, ‘We need to play with Solar unnie’. But, even while having music activities, if I get an idea whenever, I create filming plans. Normally, I plan content about a month or two in advance, and Byulie occasionnaly does the filming. Editing is something that’s impossible with my own power, so my company is helping.

The way you bravely read malicious comments for your Youtube content was impressive. It’s already been 7 years since I debuted as Mamamoo. As time goes on, I’ve slowly become dulled and stronged toward malicious comments. I can tell if a malicious comment is sincere advice for me, or if it’s just criticism to criticize me. if it’s sincere advice, I’m the type to carefully listen to it.

You also showed the process of your album preparation in a vlog. The way you kept asking for advice from staff around you also stood out. When it’s difficult to make objective decisions, I always ask people around me. Occasionally, I am told, “the answer is already there, you just have to say it” (T/N : shortened phrase that basically means it’s a rhetorical question / the person asking it already has their decision made in their head), but I listen to and take in as many various opinions as I can. Because there are areas of things that I know really well, and some that I don’t. It’s for greater results.

Your ‘Yonglish’ content where you learn English is also fun. I heard you’re good at Japanese and have various certifications. Are you greedy when it comes to learning things? I’ve forgotten almost everything [I know of] japanese (laughs) Recreation leader or laugher therapist certifications were things I attempted when I was in college, suggested by my professor. At times, certifications that don’t seem to have any relation are helpful in my activites as a singer. I started leaning english because I wanted to write better lyrics, but it’s so hard that I’m at a stage where I’ve kind of given up (laughs).

What video had the best response ? I think my singing or dancing videos have the best responses. I feel happy all the time when I hear compliments.

Is there content that you want to attempt in the future ? I’ve been doing small projects so far, but I want to attempt a bit, long-term project. For instance, spending 1 night and 2 days on a deserted island (laughs)

There are a lot of people waiting for Mamamoo’s album. When will we be met with a group album again? I’m not sure when it will be, but the members and I are working hard preparing. You will be able to meet another different Mamamoo that we haven’t shown before.

What do you want to do when today’s interview is over ? Eeven in this moment, I’m shooting a vlog for ‘Solarsido’, I’m thinking of organizing videos when I get home. Solo album promotions have ended, but I’m still busy. I like being busy. That way it’s Solar-like (laughs)

#mamamoo #kim yongsun #solar #t:interview #t:trans #marie claire #200520 #e:sio #e:black #solarsido #t:long post #long post

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marvella15 · 4 years

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Astaire & Rogers Rewatch Part 7: Shall We Dance

• Something I didn’t consciously realize about this film until reading Hannah Hyam’s book is that Astaire and Rogers don’t dance together until nearly an hour in. That hasn’t happened since Gay Divorcee. What was anyone thinking??

• Shall We Dance suffers from a lot of extra crap that it didn’t need, such as extraneous characters, far too many interruptions in the Astaire and Rogers relationship, and a bunch of weirdness like life-sized dolls, life-like masks, and backbending ballerinas. The film also has a lot of wasted potential, including a great score and songs by George and Ira Gershwin.

The Gershwins were already well acquainted with Astaire and Rogers. The duo had first met when she was starring in the brothers’ show, Girl Crazy, and Astaire was brought in to help with choreography. Rogers was close friends with George and even dated him. Astaire had known the brothers prior, having starred in a few of their shows with his sister, Adele.

• Our characters/actors: Peter “Petrov” Peters (Fred Astaire), Linda Keene (Ginger Rogers), Jeffrey Baird (Edward Everett Horton), Arthur Miller (Jerome Cowan)

• Around the time I was first really into classic Hollywood films, including these ones, my family and I adopted a new dog. I annoyed my parents to no end by suggesting we name him Peter P. Peters. Don’t know why I latched onto that name but I did.

• Even in the massive portrait of Petrov, you can see Astaire has his fingers curled in rather than fully extended.

• Astaire’s ballet attire lets us once again see just how skinny he is.

• Always loved how Peter does a little tap at the rhythmic sound of his name and birthplace: Pete Peters, Philadelphia PA.

• Rogers’ cardigan with all of its baubles is truly awful looking. It will only be out done by a terrible floral dress she wears later.

• I do however like that she shoves her handsy stage partner into a fountain. Why are men constantly the worst?

• “And why must there always be a kiss at the second-act curtain?” is YET ANOTHER example of these films trolling us. Not once up until this point has any act of an Astaire/Rogers outing included a kiss between them.

• Linda’s disinterest in even meeting Petrov is based on the assumption that he’s a “simpering toe dancer.” While that’s incorrect, she’s not wrong that he is indeed another man who has seen a picture of her and wants to tell her he can’t live without her. So she gets partial credit.

• If Peter wasn’t totally smitten before, Linda’s jab, “It’s just a game little American boys play” gets him.

• As a mixed race number, “Slap That Bass” is incredibly unusual for the era. Astaire was a great admirer of African-American dancers and was strongly influenced by Bill Robinson and John W. Bubbles. I love the blend of all of the voices in this song.

• The dance portion of “Slap That Bass” gives Astaire a chance to show off more of his innovative mind and choreography. He dances in time with the sounds of the ship’s engine and compels the camera to follow him across and up the vast set. The dance is also special in that we have behind the scenes footage of Astaire rehearsing, thanks to a home video shot by George Gershwin.

• Peter making Jeffrey believe the boat is rocking may seem a bit unbelievable but having been on a large ship myself, sometimes you don’t realize it’s rocking until you see other passengers weaving or a giant chandelier swaying.

• I usually skip most if not all of Jeffrey and Arthur’s scenes together. They slow down this film soooo much.

• Like in all of their films, songs are sometimes heard in the background before the actual musical number they appear in. But because this film is scored by the Gershwins, there’s an array of shorter pieces of music that are all their own, such as the whimsical score heard while Rogers and then Rogers with Astaire are walking her dog.

• The dog Peter borrows to give himself an excuse to talk to Linda hits his bark cue perfectly and looks extremely happy about it.

• I would love to know what exactly Astaire and Rogers are talking about while walking her dog. Maybe they were given lines that were then not recorded or maybe it’s improv. But it seems very natural.

Rogers did say that Astaire was a wonderful conversationalist and was adept at talking while dancing, something she noted most men couldn’t manage.

• Wow do I love it when Rogers gets to be extra sassy

Peter: “Isn’t it wonderful being here tonight like this? Still on the same boat together.”

Linda: “Oh, I seldom change boats in mid-ocean.”

• “Beginner’s Luck” is such a charming, fast song that Astaire delivers wonderfully. He hardly seems to take a breath.

A jazzed up version of “Beginner’s Luck” is the song Peter tried to dance to in Paris but the record kept getting stuck.

• Something this movie fails at is letting Linda and Peter’s relationship continue to progress before throwing more obstacles in their way. We know from the gossip of the ship’s staff that they have been spending a lot of time together. When we see them, they are having a relaxing evening that’s incredibly domestic: sitting side by side on the deck while she knits and he smokes. Wouldn’t it have been nice to see more of this part of their relationship?

• Why on earth did Peter think sending Jeffrey to fix the false baby rumors was the right decision? Jeffrey can’t handle a single thing.

• Infuriated at the rumors that she’s married to Peter and pregnant with their baby, Linda tries to call him. “Operator! Get me Mr. Petrov. What? Don’t you dare congratulate me!”

• The theme of this movie is supposed to be the blend of dancing and music styles. Peter’s ballet and Linda’s jazz styles are one example, George Gershwin’s varied score, which switches from jazz to waltz to foxtrot to classical, etc, is another. But it’s a fairly weak concept that doesn’t quite land and reportedly, neither Astaire or Ira Gershwin was wild about it.

• I love the new version of “Slap That Bass” that plays as Peter and Jeffrey enter the rooftop club.

• When Rogers sings “They All Laughed,” she is singing to an off-screen Cary Grant, her friend and sometimes date who was visiting the set at the time.

She is also wearing a dress with a horrible pattern. It’s supposed to be floral but it always makes me think of amoebas. Maybe it looked better in color?

• Astaire clearly has fun during the part where Peter hams it up a bit with his ballet next to Linda’s tapping.

• In some ways, “They All Laughed” is reminiscent of “Isn’t it a Lovely Day.” They’re testing each other, trading glancing as they see whether the other can keep up with the increasingly complex steps. Until now, Linda didn’t know Peter could dance this way so her surprise and amusement unfolds slowly as the routine progresses. But he has been grinning since the start because he’s hoping to win her back through this dance.

• This is another duet where it takes a long time before they touch. The first physical contact is just her executing a series of spins with the help of his fingers. And it’s during this part that Rogers finally breaks into a wide smile.

• When he spins her up onto the piano the first time, she happily waits for him to retrieve her. And when he spins her into a seated position and upright again a few times don’t miss how he looks at her with a wry, slightly mischievous smile.

• The Linda doll is so creepy and not lifelike. Who was fooled by this?

Also, Arthur is terrible. Jeffrey is terrible too but he’s an idiot so I’m more willing to let it slide.

• Peter walking out of Linda’s bedroom in the morning in his robe right in front of her fiancé while she is in her negligee is pretty funny.

• Peter and Linda’s nice day out is just further proof that this movie should’ve spent more time on the two of them together rather than breaking them up every few minutes.

• “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” is a fun song, though Astaire gets most of the good words imo. However, Rogers does do an extra affectation to some of her lyrics and that makes them funnier.

At one point when she’s singing, he turns to her and for just a moment his face goes soft in that way it does sometimes when he looks at her.

• Some film historians have labeled this dance as not that great when compared to other Astaire and Rogers numbers. But I’ve always found it very enjoyable and innovative. While Gene Kelly probably takes the gold medal for dancing on skates in It’s Always Fair Weather, Astaire and Rogers did it first, did it well, and deserve some extra credit for a duet on skates rather than a solo.

Rogers also deserves some extra credit since the idea to dance on skates was supposedly hers. And probably deserves even more credit for doing this dance on skates while also in heels.

• For some reason I really enjoy that they perform this number in their hats and street clothes. It’s so informal and feels like something you do on a fun date.

• Throughout this dance, Peter continues to be the playful one, as he’s been in their interactions in the film, and Linda is the more serious one who needs to be coaxed into having fun. Maybe this is why Astaire frequently glances at her and even spends long seconds watching her at different parts as they move into the next series of steps. Rogers is more reserved in her expressions but whenever they are face to face, she appears happiest.

A few times she looks triumphant, leading me to wonder if they or she had finally nailed a section that was giving them or her trouble.

• Can’t say for certain but I swear she almost falls when they do the backwards steps. She just baaaarely snags his hand in time.

They had to film this dance something like 150 times so I imagine there was more than one time where at least one of them did indeed fall.

• The circular dance they do leading up to the end is based on a dance Astaire and his sister made famous in their time on the stage.

• Apparently the grassy bank they tumble onto wasn’t padded so those fake grimaces of pain aren’t that fake. Their exchange after the tumble feels very much like married banter to me:

Peter: “Yes, it was my idea.”

Linda: “Have you any more of them?”

Peter, exaggerating: “No.”

• They’re such a good match:

Linda: “Peter, you’ve got to marry me.”

Peter: “Why, Linda, this is so sudden.”

• Oh 1930s Hays Code humor. The cop who overhears their conversation thinks she’s pregnant and pressuring the father of the baby into marrying her. Hurr hurr hurr.

• Heh:

Linda: “I beg your pardon but what are grounds for divorce in this state?”

Clerk: “Marriage.”

• It will never make sense to me that a dance was not planned in this film for “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.” It’s a truly lovely song. I know Astaire and Rogers will dance to it more than ten years later in The Barkleys of Broadway but it’s just not the same.

It’s also a good reminder in the film that Peter has legitimate feelings for Linda and she does for him but they’re far more conflicted. Though he must sense he’s hooked her in a bit since he becomes very aloof once they return to the hotel in the stupid hope of making her want him more? Idk, men are dumb.

• “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” carries special poignancy because it became a form of consolation to Ira Gershwin after his brother suddenly died two months after this film was released.

• Oh Linda’s face when she walks in to see Peter with the loathsome Lady Tarrington is so sad and crestfallen. Ever thought you and your crush were finally on the same page only to find them canoodling with someone else?

Although, she could’ve knocked first instead of just walking straight into his room…

• The ballet portion of the finale is weird and unappealing in every way. Harriet Hoctor was known for the backbend dance she does in this film. Maybe it was something spectacular in 1937?? but it doesn’t hold up.

One thing I’ll say about Astaire’s duet with Hoctor, it’s a great chance to see him in a romantic duet with someone other than Rogers and notice how different he acts. No secret smile, no lingering looks, no whispered words, no soft expressions.

• “Shall We Dance” is another upbeat song that deserves more than being featured in the remaining few minutes of the film. Their dance is far too short but wonderful all the same. Her delight when he finds her always makes me smile. She also executes some impressive full length lunges that I couldn’t do at this moment much less in a dress and heels in the middle of a dance number.

For a few seconds, his fingers press into the exposed dip of her spine in yet another example of Victorian hotness.

• And so we finish film number 7. Shall We Dance underperformed at the box office and wasn’t a critical darling. Everyone, the actors included, started to feel the magic was coming to an end. Coming up next is a film I pretty much never rewatch: Carefree.

#fred astaire #ginger rogers #shall we dance #classic hollywood #old hollywood #fred and ginger #astaire and rogers rewatch #all astaire/rogers gifs without credit are mine

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iwriteaboutkpopsometimes · 3 years

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Hyunjin "Play With Fire (Feat. Yacht Money)" (원곡 : Sam Tinnesz) | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER] ~A Love Letter~

I talk about why I love this video so much and deliver an excruciatingly detailed play by play of it, but why read a two thousand word, five page essay on a three minute video when you can just go watch the aforementioned three minute video? Forget me spending hours writing this, why are you here, seriously, it would take you significantly less time to watch the actual video. Regardless, enjoy my attempt to refrain from saying the same three things, “he's so cool”, “I love him”, and “this is so good”, in exchange for a more, hopefully, academically professional sound.

Watching him perform never fails to put me in a trance, it’s incredibly captivating how precise and sharp while simultaneously lively and energy-filled his movements are. This video feels reminiscent of enjoying a movie I’ve seen countless times, memorized every line of dialogue from, and genuinely think of every part as the best it has to offer. I greatly missed seeing him dance and having this as his grand welcome back into the spotlight is nothing less of a gift. Every second leaves my heart pounding and as excited as the last, as he continuously tops himself the longer I watch. I feel that revisiting the video is the least I can do, for giving it only one view doesn’t feel morally acceptable if I intend to truly appreciate it for that art that it is. Dramatic of me? Perhaps, but I can’t help but perceive it as more than just this one video that was uploaded onto their YouTube channel. It isn’t just about all of the work he and others put into the making of this particular video, his choreography for the song was a result of years upon years of practice and learning different techniques. A performance this good doesn’t only involve technical skill though, but also skill in regards to one’s inner mind. To have confidence in one’s self, to hit every move powerfully, to know what you’re doing and be unapologetic about it, that is skill. Sure, the performer is at the focus of any performance, but don’t forget that it’s also about the audience, it is after all for the enjoyment of the viewer. If the audience senses your doubt and insecurity and uncertainty, it will make your stage that much less enjoyable. Whatever you feel, they can feel too. When I watch him, I don’t feel any of that. In fact, I feel the exact opposite, I feel inspired, motivated, confident, excited to advance in my own endeavors. The emotion that this video evokes from me goes beyond anything Stray Kids or K-Pop or even dance itself, it makes me want to be a better person, be kinder to myself and work harder. That might sound like a lot for one video to do for someone, but it’s the truth. All of the details, even down to the individual frames, it all works together to create the most gratifying viewing experience. At the time of writing this, the video has just hit five million views and has over one million likes, only a mere three days after its initial upload.

The first shot of his footsteps alone, as he goes to stand in front of the mirror, I already feel this sense of importance coming from him, delicate, yet powerful. The setting, cold and empty, yet inviting, it makes room for him and gives him just enough light to be seen, for he doesn’t need all that much help to surely shine. The credits that pop up use a dark shade of pink-red for it’s background color and white text that acknowledges the same deep red imagery and text associated with the material of the original work. His outfit is neat and pristine with some sparkle, resembling one a prince would seem fit. He stares at his reflection, holding a sheer white ribbon in his mouth, gathers a section of hair behind his head and proceeds to tie it with said ribbon. The music starts as he finishes tying and lets his arms fall down at his sides. The over the shoulder shot looking into the mirror, shows that his expression is neutral, almost calm. This can most certainly be described as “the calm before the storm”, except the storm itself is antonymous to a tragedy, because when the singing starts, it’s as if his performance persona was turned on by a switch, a charismatic possession that took place in a matter of seconds that sends chills down your spine in the best way. His previously neutral, calm-like expression and gently resting arms are quickly replaced by the sudden placement of his right hand around his neck and a look that resembles more of a vengeful, hesitant, and somehow playful one. Similar to what I’d imagine a villain would look like right before being bested during an epic fight sequence at the climax of a film. It’s satisfying to see him popping to the beat’s rhythm, his arms, wrists, and head smoothly illustrating the flow of the words, his focus and the secure angles he’s able to form before even fully utilizing his lower body. On the line “Got secrets I can’t tell”, he delicately places his pointer finger in between his teeth, as he turns back to meet the camera with his eyes, the shot now semi-closely focusing on both Hyunjin and his reflection as opposed to just one or the other. He extends his right arm, his hand forming a fist, and the camera movement making it as if I’ve been punched and sent flying. He stumbles to the middle of the room, does an opening gesture with his arms, like a proud baker showing off their completed wedding cake, along with a dramatic spin incorporating his thin, white, flowy cape. Reaching the pre-chorus, we get to see the room more clearly, like the stone pillars and the contrast of the small, warm lights on the walls to the grand grayness radiating from the large window that makes him appear as a near silhouette. There’s a certain holiness about him spending a count with his head down and arms out, much like the Crucifixion of Christ, before showcasing more of a demonic energy when he faces the window with his body, but bends backward and looks to the camera upside down. He rips off the cape, tosses it behind him, to his right. This could symbolize a transformation, an abandonment of a particularly purer image of oneself, a liberation. The music picks up, and the manner in which he dances is like a visual representation of one’s inner turmoil combined with an agenda to seduce those watching, wanting to dance for himself while taking us along for the ride. Now that the first minute of the video is out of the way, let’s continue.

The music fades into the background and the video takes on a sudden widescreen and grayscale appearance as he falls back on his right hand, flings his left hand over to his right shoulder, as though he’s been shot, and is being supported by his knees. He leans forward, places his right hand on the ground in front of him, uses his left hand to push his right knee over to achieve ideal balance, setting up his body roll. He extends his right leg back, getting close to the ground, and there’s something quite feral, yet intimate about the way he traces the length of his arm with his face and left hand. It looks like he’s taking out his frustrations through his moves while never sacrificing the detailed quality of the performance as a whole. It reminds me of how it’s more than common for artists to use their pain in their art, whether it be a point of well-intentioned expression with a specific purpose or simply an outlet for them to channel into. Hyunjin is the definition of aggressive elegance. The fullscreen, colorful display and music entirely return when he spins and lands on the ground in a Spider- Man esc pose, the room a lot warmer than even before the stylistic grayscale section. There’s hints of red, acting as a match that’s set to illuminate and ignite the puddle of gasoline that is him and his performance, that replaces the once colder, icy blue that previously enveloped his silhouette. He bounces to the beat showing off his proud, devilish smile that, instead of striking fear, makes me feel proud, as I’m essentially rooting for the villain in the movie. If the transition to the grayscale widescreen was him getting shot, then the transition back to fullscreen color is him emerging from his grave, an awakening. His shirt is no longer neatly tucked into his pants, but rather, hanging very loosely and mostly unbuttoned. He covers his face with his left hand, pulling it down for just a second before revealing his expression that has swiftly reverted to a roughly indifferent one. The inner conflict has greatly subsided, and focuses on the hesitant-free embracing of his newly discovered self, one of immense confidence and sex-appeal. Although, something about the flow of how he averts his gaze, looking to the left and not the lense, while pointing and doing body rolls at the camera, covers his eyes with crossed arms, and then allows for his hair to cover his eyes as well, makes me feel like he doesn’t want the viewer to know he is still at least a little bit shy. He quickly makes you forget though, because the next and final minute exaggerates everything he’s shown us up until this point, taking it to a whole new, spectacular level.

The bridge of the song creates a slower, softer atmosphere, which is beautifully interpreted with how Hyunjin carries himself during this part. Bigger gestures that blend into each other seamlessly, centering on really taking up the space he’s in. He gently and precisely lowers his body to the floor, collecting a white rose between his teeth. As soon as he returns to his upright stature, the setting changes dramatically. His hair now completely down, he’s under a spotlight in an otherwise pitch black and foggy room. There’s blue and red light reflecting off of his white top and his skin as he dances. This part feels more humane compared to the rest, with more of an obvious balance between sharp, impactful moves and tender, compassionate ones. He draws attention to his shoulders, brings his hands and feet close to his body, and showcases his red lit back. I particularly enjoy when he flicks his wrists and twists his ankles to the right in unison on the second syllable of “unstoppable”. For the “legendary animal” part of that line, his arms create a cage-like structure by doing a climbing motion and carrying it over all the way to the left. A cage in which he destroys the walls and breaks out of, shown by him punching downward on beat. From holding the rose in his mouth to holding it in his hand, he brings it over his head to his left shoulder, and raises his heels. He carries the rose down and around his left arm, his left arm momentarily resting at his waist, his right arm extended downward, he raises his heels again. His whole body lowers as a rigid wave starts at his up flicked wrists and subsequently elbows and shoulders. This collection of gestures results in petals falling off of the rose. He then inevitably throws it into the void, out of the reach of the lovely spotlight. I see this spotlight dance as a danse macabre, or dance of death. The white ribbon, white shirt, and white rose all coming together to illustrate this innocent and pure quality to him, that through this dance, he finalizes the renouncement of. He is more than ready to embrace a new and different side of him, but especially to get rid of the older and repetitive side that felt restrictive more than anything. The spotlight dance ends with Hyunjin looking directly into the camera, tracing his right hand down his chest and to his side, and the camera backing away. The last chorus of the song brings us back to the oh so familiar main room, Hyunjin’s hair back to being tied up, the lighting is the same, but there’s something that stands out. His shirt is on the verge of being completely unbuttoned and that allows for something alluringly shiny to be fully in view compared to before. The video comes full circle with Hyunjin’s hand around his neck, he stands in the hallway, and walks away a new man as the screen fades to black.

As I wrap up this essay on Hyunjin’s “Play With Fire (Feat. Yacht Money)”, original song by Sam Tinnesz, Stray Kids: SKZ-PLAYER, the video has reached six million views, a million more than when I first started writing this, and I feel proud to have spent a day simply pouring my heart and mind out on this wordy display of my appreciation. Don’t be fooled though, for my necessary research, I guess you could call it, for this project may no longer be so necessary, I shall continue to watch and applaud the masterpiece and experience that is this video for my own personal enjoyment, much like how this whole piece was written for my own personal enjoyment. It was an interesting challenge to properly voice not only the contents of the video but also my thoughts and feelings on it. Hyunjin is a highly valued dancer, member of Stray Kids, and person and five pages isn’t ever going to be enough to fully explain the respect and admiration I feel for him and his various projects. I think he’s really cool, I experience all sorts of fiery euphoria watching him dance, his rap and singing alike are addictive as hell, and he’s pretty, haha. I missed him a lot while he was inactive, and I’m so happy to have him back and doing great things as per usual. I’m excited to see what he and the rest of the group have left to show us this year. I advise you to watch the video if you haven’t, but somehow ended up reading an essay on it first, and if you’ve already seen it, watch it again, yeah. I’ll leave you with lovely thoughts and lovely vibes and I hope you too can appreciate the work he’s put into the video, as well as my work on this essay. Thank you for taking the time to read my love letter, essentially, and bye for now ^ ^

#straykids #stay #hyunjin #skzplayer #lovestay #kpop

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404fmdtaejin · 3 years

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famed idol life / career meme

notes: once again, a big mega post because i didn’t want to flood dash with answers. thanks to everyone that sent in!!

1. what is your favorite single you’ve released?

“solo wise? i’ve only released one solo portal song, which was a self-written song called that’s okay. well, bc forced that one on me when they took pages from my diary — still, my only one solo release, and that’s the favorite since i’m left with no other option. in regards to group? everyone knows, amigo or not — my favorite will always be view. something special about that time, i tell you.”

2. what are your favorite b-sides/non-title tracks you’ve released?

“since i haven’t released any songs by myself other than the one mentioned before, i’d have to go through decipher’s discography. lovesick, odd eye, prism, honesty, stranger, better off — there’s a lot to sift through in the past few years. unfortunately, there’s a point where my interest had started weaning off idol-dom, and you can observe that when i stopped paying attention and interest into what decipher did conceptually after 2016. at least the enjoyment was fun while it lasted.”

3. what is your least favorite song (title track or b-side) you’ve released?

”that’s an easy one. you take any b-side we’ve released in the past few years, and that probably makes the list. the comeback with the b-side shot was awful. that’s probably the worst, in my head. never was a fan of that comeback, now that i think of it — i call it the dark blip of decipher’s early career. perhaps it’s just ambivalence at this point that i have no real strong feelings towards bsides nowadays.”

4. if you could do a duet with anyone in the industry, who would you choose? what do you think of your/your group’s concept?

“i’d want to do a duet with duri — we’ll have a tale of the oldies. the two 1990 liners inside bc’s walls doing a ballad song. though, duri would have to take the high notes on that one seeing as how he’s a power vocalist. there’s rarely times where i’m able to keep in touch or have people around my age, and for that — i’m always grateful when i come across that. we’d manage something interesting given the same age, and the ballad concept.”

5. what do you think of your/your group’s concept?

“decipher doesn’t really stick to a concept, and i suppose our concept has always been to branch into new avenues. there’s good things and bad things about it, obviously. we’re given new things to try, new stylings, and what not. however, we’re also subjected to that risk in case it doesn’t turn out how bc envisioned. to put it short — it’s either a hit or miss.”

6. what is one thing (a concept, a genre, an outfit, etc.) you would least like your company make you do?

“decipher’s novelty in the industry is that we’ve been here so long that we’ve managed a lot of different concepts. from the house pop to retro vibes, even spring ballads in soft tunes — we’ve done it all. the least? i’d say another electronic heavy music where we’re dancing like madmen. i wouldn’t mind a powerful choreography to show i can still ‘hang’, but to the sounds of techno-ish music? i don’t think so. at least, not with my age.”

7. what one thing (concepts, genres, styling, frequency of comebacks, etc.) would you like to change about your current career as an idol?

“i don’t want to comeback so frequently — it seems we’re coming back more frequently than other rookies. it would be nicer to stay back and relax while we let the hoobaes have their time to shine. genres and concepts aren’t really on the top of my list to complain about, though i would enjoy an old throw-back to decipher’s glory days where we’re given something newer. perhaps, that’d be enough to rejuvenate my attitude towards the industry.”

8. if you could be in any idol group, which one would you choose?

“with my age, i don’t think i’d fit any group. perhaps, i could assimilate myself to knight, but the bad boy niche doesn’t really match mine. say, i was a few years younger — then, you’d have me inside charm. i think i’d do a pretty good left and right if you ask me.”

9. if you could say one thing to your ceo, what would it be?

“i respect the business model you form. however, i’m still trying to understand it when applied to me. thirteen years, and i have yet to sit down and have a conversation with you. it’d be nice to have one someday.”

10. if you were auditioning for your company today, what would you perform for your audition, or what would you change from your original audition?

“my audition was so long ago. fourteen, fifteen years now, and that’s nearly half of my life. i wish i could remember parts — but there’s only the snippet of a ballad i sang, probably kim bum soo. all alongside some awkward dancing that bc shaped me up for. i’d probably pick a sung sikyung song instead.”

11. if you could do any special stage, what would it be and who would it be with?

”call it a weird match, but i’d have a set with duri, andy, joohwan, my maknae and jiah. well, those would be the people i’d know well enough to collaborate with, though the outcome might not be as promising as i initially thought. case closed, never make me do a special stage.”

12. what career opportunities would you like to pursue that you’ve yet to, or what achievements would you like to obtain that you’ve yet to?

“maybe a bit of variety? i’m completely happy where i am with acting, though it’d be better if decipher’s comebacks were rarer. however, i’m taking what i can get and variety might be a chance to show the side that doesn’t get shown when i’m playing a role on tv. i’ve heard from some people that i can be funny at times.”

13. if you could become a model or ambassador for any brand, what would you choose?

“as much as i like high fashion, i haven’t done any modeling in regards to brand deals with high fashion. a luxury brand would be nice — i hear prada has changed with the entrance of raf simons. i’ve been into the streetwear look lately after itaewon class, so that would be a current go-to. otherwise, i think i’m happy promoting good feel and credit cards.”

14. if you could be on any variety show, which one (or which type of one) would you want to be on?

“i live alone would be my first pick. only because i’ve decorated my house nicely recently, and haven’t had a chance to show it off to many people as i’m not home as often these days. however, that’d require an off day and i don’t have many of those lately. i think people would be shocked to see what i do when i’m around my house, lounging and rarely moving around.”

15. if you were offered the chance to become a ceo of an entertainment company, new or existing, would you take it? why or why not?

“as much as i’m leader of decipher, i don’t think i could handle leading a company. i wouldn’t want to become a ceo. it distracts from my own schedule, and i’d be too focused on my company rather than the hobbies and interests that appeal to me. sure, i’d make more money — but what’s more money on top of the money i already have? it’s counterproductive and i’d rather do what i like doing.”

16. what changes would you implement if you were the ceo of your company?

“each company runs on a specific pattern of events, and there’s a reason for that. a reason why routine shapes each group, so i wouldn’t necessarily change much. my trainee year was difficult, but it also fostered friendships within the group that i consider irreplaceable. the only change i can think of? maybe getting to know my artists rather than staying far off.”

17. what do you do to relieve the stress of idol life?

“i work out. i run a lot, and go to the gym as cliche as it sounds. but each role requires me to be in top shape, and after all that i’ve found a love for working out each morning. other than that, i like to shop and cook, even walk my dog. normal things any other person does on their day off. by the end of the day? finishing it off with a cold beer becomes my saving peace.”

18. what tips would you give to a trainee about to debut?

”push through it because it’s only a matter of time till debut happens. the trainee years are taken for granted, and you need to learn to treasure those moments. once debut happens, there’s no looking back and you’re constantly on the move — so, you’re better off enjoying now. also, don’t be afraid to approach sunbaes. we’re all in the same boat, been there and done that, so let us help where we can.”

19. what was the hardest part of being a trainee?

“singing while running around the room? i remember running too many laps, out of breath belting a high note. looking back, it was probably the time i thought i was going to end my trainee career right there and run to my parents. other than that? learning to live with others? i’ve lived a blessed life, and i’ve never had to share a room with anyone. that felt like a culture shock.”

20. did you enjoy the lifestyle of a trainee or of a debuted idol more?

“call me weird, but i’d say the trainee life. there was something special about those days, and now i’m so many years in my career and i miss the days crammed in the dorms. i don’t think there’s anything like it. the structure of it, the tears of joy and sadness all into one — every emotion all there. it’s rare moments like those i’ll never get back.”

21. what one song or album by another group or soloist would you have liked to release yourself?

“i’ve heard a lot of songs, but i heard a song recently by a charm member. one of the solo projects of dai, and his song let’s love was something that made me want to release music as well. maybe, it’s just inspiration just at that moment, but the song was something i enjoyed listening to. knight’s tempo was also something that i wish decipher was given, just because there’s a certain spark when it comes to the song.”

22. describe your dream sub-unit (members and concept).

“my dream sub-unit? does that relate to in-group or out of group? for the sake of this question, i’ll keep it in-group to simplify things. i’d like to keep our main vocal, myself and our lead rapper only because the maknae already has his thing in champion — though conceptually, i’m not sure what we’d be able to do. something non-dance related, i’d hope. perhaps, a power house vocal because i know our lead rapper can belt a few notes better than most main vocals of other groups.”

23. out of the following six options, would you rather be allowed to play a major hand in the lyrics, production, choreography, styling, music videos, or concepts you release?

“no lyrics, production or choreography. i’ve never been talented in that market, and maybe that’s why i don’t take part in any of these things. instead, i’d keep to the styling, and music videos — though, i don’t have an artistic eye. perhaps, i’d keep to styling as it lies most with my interests. my members might get bored of wearing the same dress shirts and slacks for each comeback.”

24. which of the two other companies (out of bc, dimensions, and gold star) you are not currently signed under would you rather be an artist in?

“none of the other two. i’ve said it time and time again that i’m loyal to bc — i might complain about it, sure. but in hindsight, i don’t see myself being in any other music company. now, if you had asked me in terms of acting? then, we’d have a different story between namoo, artist and vast.”

25. what is your least favorite part of being an idol?

“there’s no breaks, not for age. there’s little opportunity to cease the past, and continue on a new future. instead, i’m always tethered to the role of an idol, and despite how much i try — they still reel me back in each time for another comeback. on top of that, some songs don’t age well with time — decipher has a few of those. yet, because they’re fan favorites, i have no choice but to dance and sing along as if it’s 2009 again.”

26. what is your favorite part of being an idol?

“ironic, but there’s a lot of opportunities to try new things. i wouldn’t have thought of cf modeling or acting, if it weren’t for the opportunities presented to me. as a result, i’ve found a new enjoyment in an acting career due to the idol life. plus, along the way i meet different people to give me new insight — suppose it keeps me young again.”

27. would you rather be incredibly famous with a terrible reputation and hated by most or be fairly unknown with a good reputation and adored by those who know of you? why?

“i don’t know how to answer this one because being incredibly famous with a terrible reputation is just a cheapened output of your career you’ve built thus far. that would simply become a life unenjoyable, so by default i suppose i’d rather have the latter. fairy unknown with a good reputation because that way, you have a basis to build yourself up.”

28. what moment in your career are you proudest of so far?

“i’d either attribute it to parasite, which did win a lot of accolades not only in the country but out or i’d give it to the recent baeksang nomination for the dramas i was in. i don’t think i’d ever predict the success of stories i had a pleasure of working on. in retrospect, it was nice that so many people were able to relate and get along with the characters i was given the honor of portraying.”

29. what have you learned about yourself and/or society since becoming a celebrity?

“i’m no longer an extrovert. in fact, i’m more of an introvert. i used to think i was an extrovert, and one time i was when i was busy running around getting assimilated to those new faces. however, over the years, my circle’s only run short and i’ve been given little things here and there that make me want to preserve my small circle of people i’ve gotten to know along the way. i don’t like going out and partying, and much rather have a night in with dubu in peace.”

30. what would you like to change about how society views or treats idols?

“it’d be nice to be given more freedom — but isn’t that what everyone wants? i’m talking about stepping into something without facing backlash, or how we’re seen as approachable because we’re public figures. it’d be nice to sit down and have a meal without the thought of dispatch finding who i’m with, or scrutinizing any of my friendships. there should be some level of normalcy given, and i think that’s the least anyone could ask for.”

#fmdmeme001 #thanks to everyone that sent in!! :)#fmdkiana #fmdtaeyong #fmdjihoon #fmdsunghee #fmdjoosung #jiwonfmd #fmdting

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unibrowzz · 3 years

Text

Mod (finally) reviews all 67 winners of the Eurovision Song Contest Part VII (FINALE)- The 2010s

And we’re on the home stretch! Just 10 songs left now.

The 2010s stands as the only decade I watched live and the only decade I haven’t yet rewatched, mainly because I have no interest to. I’ve already seen the contest anyway, if a song didn’t stick with me then, it probably won’t now.

Also prepare for some hotter than usual takes, mostly down to the 10s contests being the most well known due to recency bias. I can say whatever the Hell I want about older contests and what songs I despise from there, but one non-positive comment about Euphoria and suddenly about five butthurt anons appear in my inbox telling me why I’m wrong.

But without further ado, let’s finish these off!

2010: Satellite

Country: Germany

Artist: Lena Meyer-Landrut

Language: English

Thoughts: I used to defend this song a lot, for some reason. I used to get super defensive when people dismissed it as a cheap lazy pop song that shouldn’t have won over (insert song here, but let’s be real here, 99% of the time it’s Turkey's equally cheap lazy emo rock song) and that it robbed so many better entries, blah blah, you know the drill. And I think it’s because it was the first winner I saw as I started properly watching in 2010, so I didn’t want to shit all over the winner that introduced me to the contest. Or maybe it’s that it makes me really nostalgic, or something to that effect. But, dear God, why did I? It’s so… not worth it. I appreciate it for being a much less instrumental-heavy winner, with its skippy, snappy beat and bouncing vocals which sound closer to plain talking than actual singing, but… How many times were the lyrics ran through GoogleTranslate before they were finalised? What’s with the janky, overexaggerated fake-English accent? Why does the singer look embarrassed to be a part of this? Why was this written? And how the FUCK did it win? It’s so weird and awkward to listen to. It’s the song equivalent of trying to make small talk with that one classmate you never talk to because they’re shy and boring. It’s like listening to an old person laugh half-heartedly at their not-that-funny old person joke. It’s canned laughter in a mediocre sitcom. It’s just an awkward, painful to listen to song that’s made all the more painful by the fact that Germany has sent much better songs that easily could have replaced this as their one post-reunification winner.

Was this my personal winner for this year? No

If no, what was? Spain- Daniel Diges- “Algo Pequeñito”

Personal ranking (out of 67): 60th

2011: Running Scared

Country: Azerbaijan

Artist: Ell and Niki

Language: English

Thoughts: Look, this one isn’t as bad as people make it out to be. Doesn’t mean it’s good, or that I find it particularly good, but the worst winner of all time? Goodness no, it doesn't even come remotely close. What we have here is a mildly pleasant ballad duet song with a distinctive sad-boyband vibe. Like you can definitely hear the “X-Factor winner’s first cover song” energy just radiating off it from the first few lines. I suppose you could argue that that does make it feel a bit clinical and like it’s trying too hard to be a big hit, but come on, it’s not like this is the first winner like that. The singing is alright; better than half the singing that won in the 2000s anyway, and the male singer especially has a nice voice. The lyrics aren’t exactly poetry, sure, but again, other winners have terrible lyrics as well and don’t receive nearly as much hate as this one does. And… that’s it. Why all the hate? No idea, but I can only assume the people who declare this song to be the worst winner ever haven’t heard anything that won before 2010.

Was this my personal winner for this year? No

If no, what was? Denmark- A Friend in London- “New Tomorrow”

Personal ranking (out of 67): 42nd

2012: Euphoria

Country: Sweden

Artist: Loreen

Language: English

Thoughts: Ugh. Listen. This is not a bad song. It’s decent, middle of the table, listenable, marketable, well sung, well performed, well shot. I must stress, this is not a bad song. But the best Eurovision song of all time? Absolutely not. Euphoria is one of the few winners I would describe as “overrated”, and that isn’t a term I use lightly (since it’s overused as Hell), because frankly, I don’t see what people see in this song. Hell, I forgot it completely until the 2012 voting, and further still until mid 2013 when a friend said he liked it. This song left that little of an impression on me that I completely forgot everything about it for a solid year. And considering how many fans regard this to be one of the best, if not the best song to ever come out of the contest... that baffles me, I just can’t wrap my head around why so many people hold this song up on a pedestal and worship it like it was dropped from the hands of God himself. And I'm not sure if it's because this just isn't a genre I care about, or if it's because this was WAY back when I was a casual fan who didn't follow any of the songs or artists so didn't know who'd be the favourite going in like I do now, and therefore didn’t know to keep an ear out for this one. Or maybe you have to be piss drunk and at a nightclub to really feel the impact of this song. This song triggers absolutely no response from me other than “Oh, a Eurovision song”. I feel no emotion towards it aside from complete indifference. I can’t deny that this song made an impact, it just… didn’t make an impact on me.

Is this my personal winner for this year? No

If no, what is? Spain- Pastora Soler- “Quedate Conmigo”

Personal ranking (out of 67): 40th

2013: Only Teardrops

Country: Denmark

Artist: Emmelie de Forest

Language: English

Thoughts: Let me ask you a question: What do you get when you sandwich an otherwise decent pop song between two of the most iconic and recognizable winners of the decade? You get this. Only Teardrops is a weird, weird winner to me. On one hand, the fandom acts like it might as well not exist, you go straight from Euphoria to Rise Like a Phoenix, who cares about that filler song which came between them. On the other hand, I know a lot of people who really like it, yet all of them are either very casual fans or not fans at all. So this makes me feel like this song’s main weakness is that it’s too mainstream, at least for Eurovision fans. What are my thoughts? It depends. For one, I enjoy this song a LOT more than Euphoria; I always have done and I’m not ashamed or afraid to admit that. I find this song has a lot more personal appeal, particularly a much bigger finale in my opinion, and being surrounded by people who like this song has admittedly kept me fond of it. BUT, I still wouldn’t necessarily call it a favourite of mine. Maybe a favourite of the 2010s, but not overall. At the end of the day, it’s a little too generic, a little too normal, a little too like every other song you’d hear on the radio. It’s not really a song I find myself coming back to again and again and loving every time, it’s the song I stick on to shut my family up when they want to listen to Eurovision music and I’m too shy to show them the songs I actually really like. It's just a decent song that's unfortunate enough to be stuck in between two more iconic winners, doomed to be little more than the answer in a pub quiz question. And even though I do prefer this one to some of those icons, and don’t really have anything else to say about it, it’s just enjoyable yet kind of bland.

Is this my personal winner for this year? This or Iceland

If no, what is? Iceland- Eyþór Gunnlaugsson- “Ég á Líf”

Personal ranking (out of 67): 16th

2014: Rise Like a Phoenix

Country: Austria

Artist: Conchita Wurst

Language: English

Thoughts: Ah yes, the man who made the entire continent of Europe collectively forget what a drag queen is. What a shitshow that night was. But I'm not here to talk about that, I'm here to rate/say some things about the song, and honestly? This is arguably the most vocally impressive winner from the 2010s. Seriously, there’s nothing I can fault here; this guy’s got some serious pipes. Every time I go back to it I just end up blown away by how powerful and raw this song is. And obviously good vocals alone can’t carry a song forever, otherwise I would’ve had nicer things to say about the early 70s and mid 90s, but with this song the vocals go hand-in-hand with the gimmick. Without the powerful vocals this would just be a knockoff Bond theme sung by a drag queen with a beard, like it’d just be another sensationalist gimmick song to throw onto the pile with all the other gimmick songs. But with the good singing, this has the distinction that it’s a gimmick entry that still had every right to win because the singer was actually competent. Also unlike the 70s winners this one actually has strong emotions tied to it rather than it just being a bunch of pretty French words, so there’s that.

Is this my personal winner for this year? This or the Netherlands tbh

If no, what is? N/A

Personal ranking (out of 67): 17th

2015: Heroes

Country: Sweden

Artist: Måns Zelmerlöw

Language: English

Thoughts: Fun fact: I was so bitter this won that I stormed off before the voting was done and cried in my room over it. I hated everything about this song: I hated how Sweden won just three years after their last win, I hated how the staging was just BEGGING people to vote for it, and I ESPECIALLY hated how it beat out the televote favourite because the juries were too busy wanking off to this one to care about anything else. I just despised everything about this song, and it turned me into an obnoxious jury-hater for a solid year. And yes, I'm extremely embarrassed of all that because honestly this song is fantastic. I would go as far to say it's my favourite Swedish winner, maybe not one of my favourite Swedish entries but definitely my favourite winner of theirs. Everything about this is just so appealing to me, from the brooding intro and vocals, to the lyrics, to the staging, my GOD the staging! It’s one of the best performances of the contest to date; It's impressive without being tacky or try-hard, he interacts with his background, and that little doodle boy character he’s created is adorable. I just love this performance, it’s so mesmerising.

Was this my personal winner for this year? Not then, is now

If no, what was? Then? Serbia- Bojana Stamenov- “Beauty Never Lies”

Personal ranking (out of 67): 11th

2016: 1944

Country: Ukraine

Artist: Jamala

Language: English, some Crimean words

Thoughts: I mean… it’s good until she starts singing. Now I am by all means not an advocate for bringing back the old language rule, but songs like this sure as Hell make me one. This should have been left entirely in Crimean. Simple as that. The English lyrics are bloody awful, no way to sugarcoat it, and absolutely annihilate the potential this song is otherwise seething with, because the instrumental to this song is fantastic and the chorus and climax give me goosebumps. The performance at the contest was chilling as well; a perfect blend of both simple yet flashy staging to set up a really uneasy atmosphere that compliments the song perfectly but, God, the lyrics are bad, man, especially for such a serious song about a personal topic. That said, it's still the only song in the 2016 top 3 that seemed winner-worthy, unlike Australia's obvious Jurybait and Russia's obvious Telebait. So… it has that.

Was this my personal winner for this year? No

If no, what was? France- Amir Haddad- “J’ai Cherché”

Personal ranking (out of 67): 57th

2017: Amar Pelos Dois

Country: Portugal

Artist: Salvador Sobral

Language: Portuguese (Translation: “Both of us”)

Thoughts: I still question why it took Portugal until 20-fucking-17 to even reach the top five, but that's a rant for another day. Not that this is a rant, far from it. Anybody who knows me knows that I love this song after all, and that it’s one of the few winners I remain rather defensive of, though that’s mostly down to the amount of hate this song and its singer receive. I will defend Sal and his hot takes on pop music until I die. Now I’ll admit, this song surprised me in more ways than one. Namely by actually winning the televote; given how this song has split opinions clean down the board as to whether it’s spine-tinglingly beautiful or soul-crushingly boring, I was expecting it to come mid-table in the televote whilst some other country swiped first. Yet somehow it managed to stomp the televote just as hard as it stomped the jury vote. I guess I wasn’t the only person this struck a chord with after all. Also, I can’t be the only one who thinks this is a perfect dance song? Like it’s great for ballroom, or contemporary. It’s so dreamy and flowy, and I usually HATE dreamy flowy songs, yet this one just resonates with me for some reason and I’m not sure why.

Is this my personal winner for this year? Yes

If no, what is? N/A

Personal ranking (out of 67): 4th

2018: Toy

Country: Israel

Artist: Netta Barzilai

Language: English, some chicken noises, cringe

Thoughts: And here we have another case for bringing back the language rule, because if this song had a Hebrew version I would 100% listen to it more often. When I heard Israel was sending an, ahem, "feminist anthem" about the #MeToo trend on twitter, my first reaction was "ew". When I heard it was the favourite to win, my reaction was also "ew". And when I heard the song for the first time? "Hm, not as bad as I thought." And also "ew". This song is just embarrassing. I’m embarrassed listening to it, I’m embarrassed watching it, and I’m embarrassed when someone mentions it when I’m trying to convince them Eurovision actually has good music. You can just tell from the first few lines that it was written by middle aged men trying to shill themselves out to gullible young women who think listening to a song by some Israeli DJ “empowers” them. And let’s be honest here: “empowering” is just media speak for “shit”. The only thing stopping me from putting it at the VERY bottom is the instrumental and performance because without the cringy lyrics you’re left with a pretty good club song, and I swear to God Netta Barzilai could sell herself sneezing for 3 minutes. If “Toy” had been entirely in Hebrew I would’ve given it a pass, and maybe a cheeky vote or two. But, alas, that was not to be.

Was this my personal winner for this year? No

If no, what was? Italy- Ermal Meta & Fabrizio Moro- “Non mi Avete fatto Niente”

Personal ranking (out of 67): 64th

2019: Arcade

Country: The Netherlands

Artist: Duncan Laurence

Language: English

Thoughts: You know, in my 9 or so years watching the contest, I don’t think I’ve ever felt genuinely ecstatic watching a song win. Most of the time I either feel neutral (most of them) or a more general, content kind of happy (2014 and 2017). Like I’ve never let out a shout of joy and slid on my knees across my living room floor in sheer, blind happiness. But that’s what I did with “Arcade”. I’m not really sure why that is because, I must confess, it wasn’t my personal winner of the night, and, looking back, I preferred other songs, but… God, I just can’t explain how overwhelmingly happy I was when this song won. I’m not sure if it’s because I was alone or if I was rooting for this deep down (or if it’s because it was between this song or fuckin’ Sweden again). But that’s by the by. How’s the song? Honestly? Really good. One of my favourites of this decade, if I’m honest. It’s the kind of song that’s grown on me a lot since the night of the contest; even though it wasn’t my favourite song from 2019, I’m not mad at all at it winning.

Is this my personal winner for this year? Honestly I had about 10

If no, what is? I could list them if you want

Personal ranking (out of 67): 6th

#AND IT IS DONE #eurovision #mod's winner reviews #esc winners #finally glad to get these done lmao these were so tedious to format

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hamitome--imagines · 4 years

Text

Puerto Rican Koala

Lin x Reader

Modern rpf

Requested by anonymous

Request: Can I have a fluffy Lin x reader where he’s clingy drunk and accidentally confesses his love for her?

A/N: Done! Writer’s block sucks. But here is this one. You guys seemed excited for this one. Hope this is a good as you guys hoped! I want to give you guys a longer update about my ability to post more here coming up. Life is getting bust again, but I don’t know when that will be.

Also, I got the title from this [x] tweet.

Word Count: 5, 310 ~~

You luckily got cast as happy and bubbly Peggy as well as seductive and flirtatious Maria. They were two very different characters but most of the cast said that you embodied both of them very well. You had a hard time believing that at first.

Peggy was easy. Happy and charming, a pestering little sister. You had that figured out nearly right away. And you, Pippa, and Renee all got along great and easily slid into the sister role. It was when you put on that metaphorical red dress that you felt a little shaken. It wasn’t so much the character, it was the acting and the choreography. It was kissing Lin. The first few weeks of rehearsal, Lin and you got right up to those parts and just didn’t actually kiss. And you both stood near the chair, not quite rehearsing the moves just yet. But eventually you had to rehearse all the moves.

Lin was experienced. He was a lead role during In The Heights. You had acted before, but never as a lead romance option. So a kiss was already uncharted territory. And then sitting in Lin’s lap was another thing all together. The kiss went off mostly without a hitch. Lin took the initiative. You were a bit startled but relaxed and followed his lead. Sitting in the chair was a bit worse.

You and Lin either started laughing or it took too long to figure out how you wanted to go about it. Eventually, Alex Lacamoire suggested trying it through with only a piano playing the main tune and the two of you not focus so much on the singing, you knew the song after all. It helped, the two of you alternated between mumbling the words and humming just so you knew where you were and a few ensemble members singing as well. It is a very odd run through but you and Lin made it through with very stiff choreography. It was successful in getting the awkwardness of the first time of running through the dance.

It took some time, but you and Lin mastered the dance. At least without the costumes. Apparently it would be harder in the dress. Lin would just have a stiff suit. But still in sweatpants, you dropped into Lin’s lap and guided his hands to your body. His hands roamed and you fought a blush. The song ended and you exited stage right. You came back out as Tommy Kail wrapped up rehearsal.

“Good job.” Lin said, suddenly appearing behind you.

“Oh thanks.” You replied, giving him a smile. “You did good too.”

“Uh, so a bunch of us are going to get drinks. You wanna come?” He asked. You pondered it for only a moment. It wasn’t like you had anything else planned for the day. And tomorrow was a rare day off, you didn’t need to worry about being into work after a night drinking. So you nodded. Lin’s grin grew. “Great, we can walk over as soon as you’re ready.” So you packed your bag and got ready to leave before finding Lin and Chris. “Ready?” Lin asked.

“Yep.” So you walked to get drinks with the two men. One thing you really liked about this cast was the bond that nearly instantly formed. You were walking with two men who you knew were good friends. However, you were able to easily contribute to their conversation instead of feeling like merely an outside observer. You figured it was probably due to becoming friends with Lin rather quickly and Chris being a friendly person. But it made for an enjoyable walk to the bar.

You walked in and easily found your friends. They were all sitting around drinking and talking. Daveed, Oak, Anthony, Pippa, Thayne, Renee, Jon. That was just a few you noticed right away. You approached the table and were only slightly startled when Lin pulled out your chair for you. You chuckled at his chivalrous nature while you sat. Ever the gentleman it would seem. Lin sat beside you.

Drinks flowed as the night progressed. It wasn’t anything unusual. But Lin’s intake was a bit strange. He was drinking more than usual it seemed. “Hey, Lin.” You said softly at one point, drawing him into a small private moment between the two of you. “Maybe you should slow down with the drinks.”

He shrugged, his movements very slow and obviously drunken. But they were also very fluid, his limbs and muscles very loose. “I’m fine.” But the way his words slurred together conveyed otherwise. You gave him a small smile, clearly unconvinced. You turned back to the group and Lin did as well.

“Chris?” You called to the other side of the table. He looked at you and you tilted your head to the left, silently asking for him to stand and join you separate from the group. He nodded and you both stood.

“Hey, where are you going?” Lin asked.

“I’m just going to talk to Chris for a minute.” You patted his arm gently and walked off toward Chris.

“What’s up?” Chris asked.

You sighed and glanced back at Lin. “Lin’s getting pretty drunk. I tried to ask him to slow down but he didn’t listen to me. Do you think you could convince him to stop?”

Chris glanced behind you at your drunk friend. “Oh yeah, I’m gonna cut him off completely and get him home.” He headed over to Lin and mumbled, it seemed mostly to himself, “Before he makes a fool of himself.”

You walked back to the table in time to hear Lin whine, “But I wanna stay.” He sounded like a pouting child.

“I know, but you’ve drunk a lot and you should call it a night.” Chris suggested.

“Fine.” Lin conceded. You waved to the men as they walked off. Chris gave you a small wave while Lin waved happily. You smiled at him and his slightly amusing drunken nature. You already made the decision to check on him tomorrow.

So the next day, you found yourself outside on Lin’s place. You debated actually going in though. Lin knew how to take care of himself. He didn’t need you worrying over him. But he was pretty drunk last night. You could at least stop in and if he was fine tell him you were just passing through and wanted to stop by. He wouldn’t mind, he would probably even find it thoughtful. So you knocked on the door.

And no one answered.

So you knocked again, a little louder. This time a very tried looking Lin answered the door. He also looked slightly annoyed. “You’re loud.” He commented.

“You’re hungover.” You observed. He nodded and stepped aside to allow you into his home.

“How much did I drink?” He asked. You shrugged.

“I wasn’t keeping count. But it was more than usual. Chris brought you back here eventually. I figured I’d come check on you.”

Lin rubbed his head. “I don’t even remember Chris getting me home.”

“I’m not surprised.” You gave him a sympathetic smile. “Do you need anything?”

“Well I wanted some breakfast. I can cook it myself. Do you want any?”

“I came to check on you, and now you’re offering me breakfast.” You commented with an amused smile. Lin just smiled back. “Sure, I’ll have some breakfast.” So you and Lin talked. At some point he asked you to get him some medicine for his hangover from his medicine cabinet. He made you a great breakfast and you sat on his couch while you ate. And you enjoyed every minute of it. But eventually you had to leave and actually do things, and you told Lin just that.

“Oh right. Well, thanks for checking in on me.” He told you.

“Well thank you for breakfast. It was good.” You went to leave but paused in the door. “See you at rehearsal.” He smiled and nodded.

—

You stared at your costumes. A white “narrator” dress, a yellow “Peggy” dress, and the red “Maria” dress. All dresses. All wide. All inconvenient for dancing in. You knew Lin had a plethora of coats but they at least had pants. For today, you had to wear the red dress. You needed help getting laced into it. you walked out of your dressing room and played with your skirt. You heard a whistle. You looked to the source to find Lin standing there, in an olive green suit.

You raised your brow at his costume. He held his arms out and spun, showing off his whole attire. In response, you spun quickly, making your skirt flare wider for a second. “Well, we look good.” Lin said. “Though you look much better than me.”

“Thanks, but I don’t know how I’m supposed to dance in this.” You said and played with the wide skirt again.

“You’ll figure it out. You’re a talented dancer.” Lin said simply. You hoped he was right. And as you danced, you did figure it out. As you and Lin perfected the scene, the first kiss in the scene got longer and more passionate. At least the two of you acted like it was. But, as scripted, Lin had to pull away quickly and hastily as if he regretted the kiss. And you were sure Alexander Hamilton did regret the kiss. But you hated Lin pulling away from you like that. Even if everything is an act.

And as you pleaded with Lin, reassuring him you were unaware of the letter, he had to pull away and act practically disgusted with you. You understood why, but the act of it still hurts a little. Then he has to back away from you saying, “I don’t want you.”

However, as you went to sit on Lin’s lap, you nearly missed his legs entirely. Your wide skirt made it hard to tell where you needed to stop. Thankfully, Lin reached out and placed a hand on your waist and helped guide you down. You finished your scene at the end of the song and Tommy Kail called cut. “Thanks for helping me.” You told Lin, coming back onto the stage from the right.

“Well I couldn’t just let you fell. Maybe try gathering the dress and moving it out of the way in the future.” He suggested. You told him you would try that. You rushed to your dressing room. You put far too much thought into your performance and interaction with Lin tonight. There was a knocking on your dressing room door. “Drinks tonight?” Lin asked from the other side.

“Sure.” You said happily. You needed it. You found Lin outside your dressing room, ready to go. You looked around. “No Chris?”

“Nah, he had to get home to his wife and kids. I think one of his kids has a school function tonight.” Lin answered. So the two of you walked into the bar, side-by-side. Like before, Lin pulled out your chair for you. Often during the evening, you and Lin were having your own conversations. You sat with the crew from the show still, but the two of you got caught up in private conversations between the two of you.

However, you noticed Lin getting a large number of drinks once more. Chris wasn’t here this time to cut him off. So you’d have to be the one to do it. “Hey, Lin. Let’s get going.” You softly suggested. This time he made no protest and followed you from the bar. You easily flagged down a cab, not wanting to walk back to Lin’s apartment with him as drunk as he was now. You let Lin get in first and you climbed in after him. The driver started heading in the direction of the address you gave him.

Lin let out a sigh and leaned against you. You looked over at him as well as you could with him using you as a human pillow. “You ok, Lin?” You asked softly.

“Mm-hmm.” He mumbled and nodded with his face still leaning against your arm. “Just a little sleepy.” All of his words were slurring together and you chuckled at him. You let him stay leaning against you for the whole ride. When the taxi slowed to a stop and you paid the driver, you started to get out. Lin whined. “No…” He said, dragging out the word.

“Lin, we’re at your house. Trust me, you’ll feel better once you’re in bed.” You urged. He seemed unhappy but allowed you to pull him out of the taxi. He was stumbling, but seemed mostly able to walk by himself. However, he reached over and grabbed your hand with his left. You gave him a slightly curious glance but decided not to question it. You were friends so this wasn’t the weirdest thing, and perhaps he was more unstable than he looked. “Where’s your key?” You asked when you stood at his door.

He refused to let go of your hand, even though his key was in his left pocket and he had to awkwardly reach across his torso and fumble in his left pocket with his right hand. You immediately grabbed it from him, not wanting him to have to fumble with it and the lock. You pushed the door open and brought Lin inside.

You lead him to his room and pushed him onto his bed. His eyes almost immediately closed. You rolled your eyes and started to take his shoes off for him. You grabbed his comforter and tossed it over him. You went to leave but Lin grabbed your wrist and pulled you down onto the bed on top of him. He immediately wrapped his arms around you, holding you in place. “Lin, what are you doing?” You asked.

“Stay…” He whined drawing out the word.

“Lin come on, let go.” You tried. This was not a position you really wanted to be in. You could sit on his lap, even kiss Lin deeply, for a show. But you refused to deal with whatever was happening now. Especially when Lin was too drunk to even know what he was doing.

“Fine.” He relented. Even drunk he would respect your boundaries. “But I don’t wanna.” He complained. You chucked and sat on the bed next to him.

“Well I appreciate you letting me go.” You commented. You reached over and began playing with Lin’s hair. It was a bit tangled but you gently worked your fingers through until it was mostly smooth. You enjoyed his long hair.

“Y/N?” Lin voiced softly. His voice was practically a whisper at this point. You abandoned toying with his hair and laid down facing him. His eyes were still closed but he was apparently still awake.

“Yeah?” You whispered in response.

“I love you.” You absolutely froze. “It took me a while to figure it out. We were always dancing so close ya know. Then there’s the kiss too. But it’s weird cause that’s acting so I never knew how you felt. But I love our one song. I get to hold you close and kiss you. I get everything I ever wanted…just no way of knowing if your feelings are genuine. That’s why I swore to myself I’d never tell you how I felt.”

You actually smirked at that last part. He was drunk. He wouldn’t remember this in the morning. And you wouldn’t remind him. He startled you when he opened his eyes slightly. A small smile appeared on his face. Then he leaned closer and ever kissed you. Gently and softly and perfectly. You pulled away as soon as you could bear to break the contact. “Goodnight, Lin.” You said and quickly stood.

“Goodnight, Y/N.” You slept on the couch, just in case. But you woke up when you heard Lin moving around in his room. You left the apartment before Lin even emerged from his bedroom. You don’t know if he even knew you were there.

—

You messed with the mass of red fabric around your waist. You didn’t want to do this. Not today anyway. Not after last night. You had been actively avoiding Lin, and you were sure he noticed. There was a knocking at the door. “Y-Yeah?” You stuttered out, expecting Lin.

“Can I come in?” Instead Chris was on the other side of the door. You raised a brow. You didn’t expect that.

“Sure.” You replied. He opened the door and gave you a small smile, which you returned. You were a bit confused when he shut the door behind him.

“So…” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Lin said you’re avoiding him.” You stayed silent, staring resolutely at your skirt as it blocked your shoes. Your silence was all the confirmation Chris needed. “Why?”

“Why weren’t you out for drinks with us?” You snapped instead feeling defensive. To Chris’s credit, he didn’t get angry. You sighed. “Sorry, I know you had to be with your family. It’s just…without you there, I was the one who had to take a drunk Lin home.” Chris’s eyes widened as he started to piece together what happened. “He said some strange things when he was drunk. And he most likely doesn’t remember a single thing.”

“What exactly did he say?” Chris asked cautiously, clearly worried how deeply his friend dug himself.

“We need all necessary actors to stage.” A voice called over the speaker, cutting your conversation with Chris short.

You started to walk past him but paused. “Well, let’s just say I have to go perform a very intimate dance with a man that I know, for sure, loves me.” You heard Chris swear under his breath as you left the room.

Say No to This was a struggle today. Lin tried to give you his bright, welcoming smile when he saw you. You could only give him a tight one on return. A smile he noticed. You cut the kiss short, very short. It left you and Lin a few beats off, but you quickly recovered. You paused for a moment before sitting on Lin’s lap, again getting you off beat of the song. It was one of the worst run throughs of the song in a long time. Lin’s touch practically made you jump out of your skin.

“Alright, we made it through…somehow. Look, guys you had this song down great. What’s wrong?” Tommy asked.

“Beats me.” Lin said, you noticed he also sent an accusatory glance your way.

“My bad.” You said sheepishly. “I’ll fix it. Can I just…can I have a quick break?”

Tommy looked a little annoyed, considering you just started, but allowed it. You stalked off to your dressing room. You paced your room. You didn’t need these problems. You were a professional, damn it! But you knew how Lin felt now. He loved you. It shouldn’t be a problem. You and him cared about each other. You supposed you could tell him how you felt. But what did that mean for you? That unknown worried you. You knew you had feelings but were they on the same level as Lin? Or maybe they only stemmed from the scene with Lin that was extremely passionate?

Lin suddenly barged in the room. “Ok, what’s up?” He demanded to know.

“Do you remember anything about last night when we went out for drinks?” You asked. Lin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“No. I know I got wasted because I woke up with a massive hangover.”

“I know you got wasted to because I was the one who ushered you into a cab. I was the one who got you in your bed and took your shoes off. I was taking care of you and you told me you loved me.” You told him angrily.

Lin’s gaze snapped up to you. “I what?”

“You said you loved me. You had for a while. You were confused because of everything that happens in our song. And you swore you’d never tell me.”

Lin sighed. “I guess that explains why you acted the way you did. You have to kiss me and sit on my lap and a whole lot of other things. And you don’t feel the same.” You could hear the detection in his voice.

“Lin…” You began.

“It’s fine. And I’m sorry I was such an ass. I shouldn’t have gotten so drunk I couldn’t control myself.” He interrupted. “We can still perform, right?”

You crossed your arms and sighed. He deserved to know that you at least felt something. “No. I can’t. At least not yet.” Lin looked up at you in confusion. You took a step closer. He didn’t move. His stare went from curious to hopeful. Another small step and you were so close. You leaned in but Lin leaned back. You almost fell forward against him.

“I want this, so badly. But I need you to tell me it’s not because I stupidly admitted something.”

You paused and thought. “Honestly? I know I feel something. I don’t quite know what it is. Because you’re right. We have very intimate moments on that stage and it makes this messy and confusing. But if just once, when we’re not acting and you’re not drunk, we can try this then maybe I’ll know. Because I want to know, and I’m very hopeful.”

Lin studied you for a moment then he leaned forward to close the space between the two of you. His lips pressed gently against yours. He didn’t pull away after a scripted time. He just stayed there, putting all the truth he could into the kiss. This wasn’t like his drunken confession. His confession when he was drunk was empty and meant nothing. But this meant everything. You knew in that instant that he meant everything he said. This was just a much better way of putting it.

And in that instant, you knew exactly how you felt. You grabbed the edges of his stupid, green suit coat and pulled him as close as you could. He hummed happily against your lips. When you finally pulled apart, he rested his forehead against yours with his eyes closed and a dazed smile on his face.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry that I was drunk and told you that I loved you. But I need to tell you now, completely sober, that I do love you. I wish I could tell you how long I have been or what it was that made me fall in love, but I can’t. I just realized it out of the blue.”

“Was it when we were kissing on stage or another part of the song we perform?” You asked jokingly with a small smile.

“It wasn’t.” You pulled back to study him curiously. “You were just talking to Anthony and Thayne one day. You weren’t doing anything special but that’s when I realized how completely I had fallen.” He shrugged slightly. “I don’t know how long I loved you before then.”

You gave Lin another quick kiss. “Let’s go. We have a song to perform after all.” The two of you executed a perfect run-through of Say No to This and a few other scenes before you were no longer required for rehearsal, there were no other scenes required for you. So you settled in the first few row of seats in the audience and watched your friends perform. At some point, Chris settled in a seat behind you. He leaned forward and leaned against the seat next to you with his forearms.

“So? Did you and Lin figure things out?” He asked.

“Yeah, we’re fine.” You told him. Better than fine, you thought to yourself as you watched Lin. But Chris, or anyone in the cast, didn’t need to know that yet. Considering you and Lin just figured it out, they could wait.

“Good. Lin was pretty upset that you were ignoring him. So he’ll be glad to get it figured out.”

After rehearsal, a group of cast members met up at a pizza parlor. You sat next to Lin, as usual. What wasn’t usual, was how close your seats were. Or the fact that Lin kept eating the pizza toppings you had removed from your pizza. Or when you wanted another breadstick and Lin gave you his, and you immediately tore it in half so you could share it. The two of you slid so easily into this new relationship.

The only one who seemed to take any notice was Chris. He studied the pair of you, very closely. Eventually, he grabbed Lin by the arm and pulled him off. You glanced over at the friends. You knew their posture pretty well at this point. Chris was asking him questions, lots of questions. Lin was responding with lots of hand gestures but he shoved his hands in his pockets after each response. A sure sign he was lying.

Chris crossed his arms and stared at Lin. You decided to just spare him. He was trying not to even look in your direction and hint to Chris that you were a couple. Lin wasn’t sure how you felt about people knowing yet. But you didn’t care if Chris knew. He wouldn’t run around telling people until you and Lin were ok with it.

You walked over and leaned your head on Lin’s shoulder. “What’s up?” You asked, injecting yourself into the conversation. Chris looked between the two of you accusingly. “What’s wrong, Chris?”

“Lin says nothing major happened between the two of you earlier today.” His tone said that he didn’t believe you at all.

You leaned away from Lin and shrugged. “I guess it didn’t seem that major, I mean it was bound to happen eventually. Right, Lin?” You leaned in and pressed a quick, soft kiss to his cheek. Lin froze.

“That’s something major!” Chris accused.

“You don’t care that he knows?” Lin asked you. You shook your head. “Ok. You know I drunkenly confessed and then Y/N told me she felt the same way. So completely sober and off-stage, we kissed. We’re dating now.”

Chris smiled. “You two are idiots if it took you this long.” Then the walked back to the table. Lin left the restaurant completely sober but you two still went to his house together.

—

The next drinks night was when the cast figured out. Lin wasn’t intentionally getting drunk this time. It was getting closer and closer to the premier of Hamilton. He was getting anxious. So cast member were buying hims drinks to ease his nerves or to congratulate the approaching premier. It wasn’t long before he slipped into his calm state with slurred speech.

“Lin, I think it’s time to stop drinking.” You told him.

“That’s probably a good idea.” He commented. “Last time I drank too much, I accidentally told Y/N that I loved her.” You started laughing at him. “But it’s ok because she loves me too.” He was smiling so happily.

“Yes she does.” You agreed in a whisper. Lin leaned over and let his head rest on your shoulder. The cast wasn’t suspicious yet. This was actually normal for the two of you. Lin managed to snake his arms around your waist and cling to you. “Lin, you realize you’re clinging to me, right?” You were still whispering to not alert the cast.

“Of course I’m clinging to you. I love you.” He said. He said it loud.

“What did Lin just say?” Anthony said, immediately leaning close to the two of you.

“Nothing.” You said quickly and evasively.

Anthony started to smirk, a shit eating grin. “Nah, I totally heard the L-word get said over here.”

“No you didn’t, Ramos. Drop it.” You warned.

“Oh, that was me.” Lin piped up cheerily.

“Shut up.” you begged.

“No.” he whined. “I wanna tell Anthony how much I love you.”

“Lin, stop.” You tried again.

“Do go on, Lin.” Anthony urged. “I want to hear all about it.” But then Anthony paused and looked at you. “Why aren’t you freaking out over what he’s saying? You should either be super excited or pushing him away. Unless…” You groaned as Anthony realized the extent of you and Lin’s relationship. “Holy shit, you two are together!”

“Did you need to shout it?” You grumbled as the whole table looked over at the two of you.

“What?” Renee asked with a smile.

“Knew it.” Groff grinned. And various other comments from the cast. You were able to detach yourself from Lin at one point. The two of you left the bar together, with whistles and suggestive remarks from your cast-mates. You got a cab and ushered Lin inside. He leaned his head against your shoulder and wrapped his arms around your waist. You played with his hair.

You got to his house and like before, got Lin in the bed. You grabbed some medicine for him when he woke up. But this time you pulled open the bottom drawer of his dresser and grabbed a pair of pajamas. You changed in climbed in the bed next to Lin. You felt his arm drape over you and pull you close. Your back was against his chest and he was holding you tightly there.

—

You woke up to someone toying with your hair. You rolled onto your back and found Lin propped up on his elbow, slightly leaning over you. He pressed a quick, soft kiss to your lips. “Good morning. Thanks for taking care of my drunken ass again.”

“What exactly do you remember?” You asked.

He sighed and dropped back onto the mattress. He flung an arm across your waist. “Honestly, not much.”

“I’m setting you a drink limit when we go out.”

“Fine. I wouldn’t mind waking up and remembering the night before.” Lin said. “So what did I do to embarrass myself this time?”

“Well you were super clingy, Lin.” He grinned sheepishly and shrugged a little bit. “But you didn’t only embarrass yourself. Lin, the whole cast knows we’re together now because you just had to talk about how much you love me.” You told him with an accusatory look.

He paled and his eyes widened. “I did what?”

“You told everyone.” You mumbled.

“Shit. I’m sorry.” He pulled you even closer and kissed your cheek. “How’d they take it?”

You shrugged. “Jonathan said he knew.”

Lin chuckled. “Of course Groff does. Everyone else?”

“They gave us shit for it, but they seem happy and ok with it.” You told him.

“Good.” Lin said. “Cause I really don’t want to let you go yet.” He emphasized his point by holding you even closer.

#hamilton #Lin-Manuel Miranda #lin manuel miranda #lin x reader #lin-manuel miranda x reader #Lin-Manuel x reader #hamilton imagine

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razberryyum · 5 years

Video

The Untamed/陈情令 Rewatch, Episode 6, Part 1 of 2

(spoilers for everything MDZS/Untamed and a little for Princess Weiyoung)

[covers MDZS chapter 18 and a bit of chaps 56 and 66]

WangXian meter: 🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰

(a 🐰 is earned every time there is a WangXian scene or even when they’re just thinking of each other…there’s so much Wangxian-ness in this episode, one post couldn’t contain all of it)

Team CQL went rogue for the two major events featured in this episode—the Cloud Recesses drinking incident and the WangXian bathing scene—and really, bless them and their ancestors for that decision. Not only did the changes provide Wei Ying and Lan Zhan with additional bonding time, but they actually had significant bearing on future events.

Originally in the novel, Lan Zhan didn’t actually partake in the drinking incident that got Wei Ying punished: some nameless disciples, Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng were the ones who actually took part in those activities. Lan Zhan only found their drunk asses the next morning and dragged Wei Ying off for disciplinary action (although, from the way the scene was described in the book, it actually seemed like he was more angry at Wei Ying for looking at porn, lol). However, for the live action, that entire scenario was transformed into Lan Zhan actually getting drunk for the first time, albeit against his will. Of course it would have been better if he willingly joined in, but at that point in time, that would have been illogical, not to mention completely out of character for him, so even though Wei Ying sort of did Lan Zhan wrong, there was probably no other way he could have gotten him to share a drink with him otherwise.

I am especially grateful for this change because that is the moment when my eyes were finally open to Wang Yibo’s talents as an actor and I started to really appreciate his performance. Prior to this episode, I was actually wondering if he was playing stoicism so well because that’s really all he was capable of doing, but then, when he dropped that rigid façade and gave us a charmingly adorable drunk Lan Zhan, I realized that everything that came before were indeed acting choices, that he was definitely able to do more than that. Not to mention, he also had pretty good comedic timing. I started to look at him in an entirely new light after watching this episode, and the rest is, as they say, history.

Upon revisiting this episode last night, I finally realized something that I never thought of before, and I feel actually pretty stupid for not even making the connection until now. During the Koi tower scenes in the present, when Wei Ying as the paperman was eavesdropping on Jin Guangyao and his wife’s conversation, I couldn’t figure out how JGY was able to put Qin Su under his control the way he did, but in watching this episode again, it finally came to me: he probably used a modified version of the charm that Wei Ying used on Lan Zhan in here. After all, JGY was one of the many people who raided the Burial Mounds and took over the Yiling Patriarch’s possessions after his death, so it would make sense for him to discover this particular memento as well. When I first watched this episode, I was mainly just impressed by how powerful the charm is that it would be able to put someone like Lan Zhan under its spell, considering he’s not just some lay person, but rather someone who already had a pretty high level of cultivation by then. I simply saw it as yet another indicator of just how talented and powerful Wei Ying was even at that young age. But now, thinking that Team CQL may have laid the groundwork for something that was going to happen so much later just makes me so much more impressed with their planning.

Of course I could simply be overthinking this whole thing and JGY’s magical powers could just be his own magical powers, or something common to the cultivation world that my dumb brain just overlooked, but for those few seconds when I thought I came upon a fascinating connection, I was quite proud of myself, so allow me to coast on that sense of euphoria just a little while more.

Bonding and other cuteness

Of course I loved every single moment of the Drunk!Lan Zhan sequence, starting with that tiny little flirtatious gesture by Wei Ying. Seriously, how CUTE is that?? Makes me smile every time I see it, and I’ve rewound that little moment numerous times. How anyone can be resistant to Wei Wuxian’s charms I can never understand, but clearly Lan Zhan was still holding out on him. I’m glad that Team CQL chose this incident to reveal the nature of the Gusu Lan head ribbon since it directly led to Wei Ying’s bonding moment with Lan Zhan. Even though the other man was still generally cold to him, it was really sweet that Wei Ying still felt comfortable enough to share the precious memory of his parents with him.

It’s a real shame that Lan Zhan didn’t remember any of it the next day, but I did take comfort in the fact that he still knelt by Wei Ying like a united front to receive Uncle Lan’s wrath and punishment. I’m sure most of that was motivated by his own pride and sense of righteousness, but I still found it touching, especially with how much Wei Ying was defending Lan Zhan so that he would be spared the disciplinary action. Wei Ying was much less protective in the novel during that scene–he was mostly indignant–even though he was still the one to blame for Lan Zhan’s involvement in the whole incident by basically tricking him into breaking curfew. I love that even though Team CQL changed the drinking incident, they still managed to maintain the spirit of its novel counterpart, much like they did with the Phoenix Mountain Hunt.

And then of course there was this:

Which was obviously a treat for our imaginations to get our creative juices flowing so that we can imagine on our own what might have taken place during the night that led to Wei Wuxian waking up in his half-dressed state. For this gift, I am eternally grateful to the production team.

Jiang Cheng Has Fun For Once

I was actually surprised that Jiang Cheng would join in on the drinking party because up until then he had spent most of his time basically disapproving everything Wei Ying did while also seemingly in a constant state of worry that he would embarrass their sect. Imbibing alcohol was clearly a violation of Gusu Lan rules so it’s kind of amazing that Jiang Cheng willingly join in on such an act of rebellion. Nie Huaisang, on other hand, I totally expected to be a part of the shenanigans…I would’ve expected nothing less from him…but Jiang Cheng was a pleasant surprise. I really enjoyed seeing him let loose like that, especially since we got to find out what he looked for in a mate.

The sad thing is Wen Qing actually fit all of his requirements for a wife, except for that family one, which i in the end, proved to be the most important one after all since it became the deal-breaker, dooming their relationship before it even got a chance to get started.

Another rather sad aspect of seeing Jiang Cheng so at ease and acting like a total goofball is that this really would be the only time we would ever see him this way. His time at Cloud Recesses was probably the most enjoyable and carefree for him. I doubt he was ever able to enjoy himself the same way again. It actually makes me wonder if he EVER was able to have fun, period, during the last 16 years. Just thinking about what he’s gone through makes me wish I could give him a great big hug.

Reason #10 for Why I love Big Bro Lan Xichen

His amused reaction to hearing about Wei Ying’s transgression:

…which was immediately followed by his “oh shit” response to hearing his little bro was also involved.

Big Bro Xichen is just too adorable, AND HE DESERVES ALL THE LOVE IN THE WORLD DAMMIT.

Uncle Lan is One Mean Mofo

Seriously, what’s with Lan Qiren’s obsession with the number 300? I really need to know if there’s some significance to that number since it’s featured in BOTH of the major disciplinary incidents in the show that were carried out by Uncle Lan. For this first outing, those rulers looked downright brutal; it’s a utter miracle that Wei Ying and Lan Zhan were even able to survive being beat 300 times with that medieval torture device. At the very least their spines should’ve been broken, paralyzing them for the rest of their lives. In the novel they were only caned 100 times, which is still a lot but it’s still a somewhat grounded enough number that I could believe they would be able to heal from their injuries. But 300? They should be maimed. I’ve noticed that with chinese dramas though: they tend to be excessive when it comes to inflicting punishment. I actually stopped watching a show once because the main character was being beaten repeatedly in the stomach (Princess Weiyoung) while being held prisoner. That particular character should not have survived that beating…at the very least he would’ve needed his nutrients to be delivered by IV for the rest of his life (even though IVs didn’t exist yet) because there was no way his stomach was ever going to work again after that. I was almost offended by how ignorant the screenwriters were about basic anatomical and biological functions so I decided to just stop watching (well, the fact that I wasn’t that into the show anyway probably contributed to my decision as well) Of course the 300 floggings weren’t enough to discourage me from continuing forward with The Untamed, but it did throw me out of the show for a good moment because I couldn’t get over how ridiculous that number was. Uncle Lan really has a sadistic streak in him

Not to mention, he was also surprisingly tactless. He had just learned about Wei Wuxian’s mom from big bro Xichen and I couldn’t believe that he would just throw that info at the Wei Ying in such a careless way, only to shut him down when the poor guy desperately asked for more details about his mom. Uncle Lan had to know enough about Wei Ying’s background to understand how sensitive he would be in regards to his deceased parents, so I was actually taken aback by how heartless Uncle Lan was being during that scene, so much so that for a while after, I really wasn’t feeling much love towards him. Although, now that I think about it, love is probably a misnomer any way since I doubt I would ever love Uncle Lan nor can I even say I ever actually liked him–he’s too much of a fuddy-duddy for my tastes. It’s more like I just accept his existence, appreciate his importance to the Lan brothers, and I find his disapproval of Wei Ying kind of amusing. But in that moment, I definitely did straight out dislike him for being such a cold SOB, especially towards Wei Wuxian.

To be continued in Part 2…(posted)

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chazukekani · 5 years

Text

BSD Animate Times Interview

Uemura Yuto (v.a. Nakajima Atsushi) & Miyano Mamoru (v.a. Dazai Osamu)

Overall, what’s the difference between Season 1 and 3?

Mamo: Comparing to Season 1, my impression towards Atsushi-kun has changed a lot.

Yuto: Since being rescued by Dazai-san and became a member of ADA, I think Atsushi-kun started to recognise the good deeds of his own ability. Meanwhile, he also faced the question of how to use his ability properly, but I think he is getting closer to the answer.

It has been three years since I performed in Bungo Stray Dogs. This project enabled me to host radio programme as a MC, which is a new challenge for me. I think I shared some similar experience with Atsushi as well.

In terms of acting, what is the difference between Season 1 and 3?

Yuto: Rather than being the same old story that we used to, I think there is various new elements introduced in Season 3. Under this changing circumstances, I always wonder how should I portray Atsushi.

How about you, Miyano-san?

Mamo: I think Dazai has been well described from various perspectives. In series of Fifteen Years Old, Dazai’s personality has been enriched. His personality has always been stuck in my head, which I can’t easily forget.

Dazai’s changing perception in life and death also enabled me to have a deeper understanding towards him. I feel more related to Dazai since then.

After performing in Fifteen Years Old, did this make any impact of your state of mind?

Mamo: Although Dazai has been a prodigy since then, I still find Dazai somehow acts like a child. I think Dazai still concern more about himself, rather than showing care to others during that time. I think Dazai’s encounter with Oda Sakunosuke, Akutagawa Ryunosuke and fellow ADA members is when Dazai truly started to grow.

What do you think of each other after performing in BSD for such a long time?

Mamo: Bungo Stray Dogs is the first anime that we are actually working together with. Audiography director (Wakayabayashi Kazuhiro) once told me, ‘Your junior is now the protagonist, please take good care of him.’ , whilst I answered ‘No way’ (laugh)

Together: (laugh)

Yuto: I heard about that recently!

Mamo: No! I didn’t mean I don’t like you! Since I couldn’t meet Uemura-kun regularly in our agency, I really concern about his thoughts towards the characters. I really value his opinions much. As the first time to perform as a protagonist, I am really glad to see him endeavour in this project.

I once joked that ‘Just act as if you have to do or die!’. Yet Uemura-kun seemed to take it serious, and really tried his best to act. I can really feel his guts while he was Atsushi.

The coherence between Atsushi and Uemura-kun also pushes him forward. I can feel the passion in his vein during recording. This is indeed an treasurable experience for Uemura-kun.

It seems to me that Uemura-kun struggled in first two seasons, and somehow shown his dark side when he was confused (laugh). However, I think such conflicting thoughts also contributed to him as an voice actor. I think this is also a remarkable growth for Uemura-kun.

When we were preparing for Dead Apple, I was not able to record together with him, but after watching the movie, I feel relieved. I think Uemura-kun can also do very well even I wasn’t beside him.

During Season 3, we once managed to have a dinner together. When we talked about topics relating to acting, Uemura-kun became serious again! So the director just joked that Uemura-kun will behave weirdly during any dinner with me. (Inside joke from BSRadio)

When we were having dinner, I told Uemura-kun, ‘ You have found your own way to act, aren’t you?’, and then he just became serious again! I think it is really interesting to know how much Uemura-kun has grown.

Uemura-san, what is your thoughts on Miyano-san’s advice?

Yuto: Dead Apple has indeed granted me many opportunities to examine my technique. Although Atsushi has been fighting along side with Kyouka and Akutagawa, Atsushi rarely has a time to stay with Dazai, and just fight without his assistance. This is also the first time which Miyano-san wasn’t by my side during recording.

During the recording of the movie, director Igarashi-san told me to that Atsushi is the protagonist in the movie. During the battle scene, I really tried to act as if I were fighting in that circumstances.

I always try to immerse myself into Atsushi’s personality and situation when I was acting. These kinds of thinking particularly emerged when I was recording for ‘Portrait of a Father’ and ‘Addict’.

Season 3 seems to be slightly different from the previous stories, whereas telling the story of battles between Port Mafia and Guild. Season 3 seems to focus more on characters’ own development and description.

I think the acting skills required for this season has been levelled up. I am really glad to meet Miyano-san once again in the recording.

Mamo: Same, it is really nice to see you again!

Yuto: Miyano-san has been taking care for me since Season 1, and it has never changed. However, since the skills required in portraying Atsushi is more demanding, I can feel Miyano-san has a different approach in coaching me too.

Mamo: I always remind Uemura-kun to act in the way which he enjoy himself the most. I think it is good to have your own style. I once asked Uemura-kun, ‘Did you have a great time?’, and he told me he did Sauna recently, but it wasn’t what I means! (lol)

Yuto: Yeh I finally got what you mean afterwards... (laugh) But I really couldn’t stop talking about sauna! It seems that all our conversation is related to sauna recently...

Mamo: We shouldn’t be chatting about sauna okay?? (laugh)

Yuto: Yeh I think we messed it up... (laugh)

Mamo: Yet it seems we have a topic in common!

Yuto: I understand that it is really difficult to convey by words... but I really tried to fulfil Miyano-san’s advice, and acted with enjoyment. With the aid of the script and animation, I was managed to balance the characteristics of Atsushi in various aspects.

Although I received advice from Miyano-san, directors also gave me some instructions. I treasure their advice really much, and it is very important to consider ‘authenticity’ when you are acting.

Mamo: I think there is no absolute answers in terms of acting. That’s why it is difficult to explain it through words. However, our job is nothing without words at the same time, so I think we have to solely put our heart in it.

At last, what do you want to say to the fans?

Mamo: I am really grateful that our fans have been supporting us till this time. I love the conception of world structures in BSD. It is certainly my honour to be part of this story.

Various perspectives have been adopted in writing this story, and I feel myself definitely in love with Dazai. I really had a great time with all the other voice actors in this project.

It is a precious opportunity for me to work with my junior in the agency, so BSD absolutely holds a special place in my heart. Thank you so much for all the support!

Yuto: When I was informed to be the protagonist in this anime, I couldn’t believe how should I manage it. Bungo Stray Dogs is indeed inseparable in my life.

The director told me that he almost getting confused between me and Atsushi because we are so similar! I actually think I share some points in common with Atsushi as well. As time flies, I feel myself more connected to Atsushi.

I am really glad to be chosen as the voice actor of Atsushi. Thank you very very much for staying with us in such long journey!

Season 3 is a fusion with all the climaxes and emotions. This may be a battle about special ability, but also please pay attention to the character interactions!

#bungo stray dogs #bungou stray dogs #nakajima atsushi #bsd osamu dazai #bsd nakajima atsushi #dazai x atsushi #dazushi #dazatsu #uemura yuto #miyano mamoru

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augustpch · 4 years

Text

The Significance of BTS’ Dionysus

Note: Although it's a bit late and there are probably many theories about this song already, I still want to give my take. I was actually supposed to post this two months ago but didn't finish it due to my schedule. Also, I’m afraid I have to warn you that this analysis is really long.

All song on Map of The soul: Persona are unique and meaningful in their own way, but Dionysus is possibly the track that we need to pay attention to the most, for so many ideas could be interpreted from it. Not only is the song a certain kind of a statement from BTS to the public, but it is also important in term of narrative to Map of The Soul series. To understand the underlying messages of this track, we may look at what the myth of Dionysus tells us.

(translation of the lyrics from twt @doolsetbangtan)

PART 1 – The Allegory of BTS Phenomenon

I’ll begin with the origin of Dionysus and its relation to BTS’ career history.

Among the Greek gods, Dionysus is special as the only one who is half-human, half-divine. Granted that the tradition of consuming wine has been an intimate activity of human since nearly the beginning, the god of wine is one of the two “best friends of mankind” alongside Demeter, the goddess of fertility and agriculture. Rather than being regarded as the one who belongs in the upper world, he is consider to be a great god of earth.

In much the same way, BTS stands out from other idols or celebrities, who were commonly deified by the public and their fans. While the artist holds the reputation of being the divine, they openly acknowledge and encourage the mortal side. That is to say, they don’t establish a kind of relationship consisting of the worshiped (celebs) and the worshipers (fans), but communicate with us like a person to a person, reducing the distance separating the gods from the followers.

BTS are not preoccupied with maintaining a certain image constructed to impress the audience. They aren’t afraid to show weaknesses, flaws, and worries, coming across as not different from us normal people. The band speaks with sincerity and eliminates the boundaries between the state of being divine and human. This closeness is what tightens the bond they have with ARMY. For this reason, BTS is also “the best friend of mankind” just like Dionysus.

What is more, the story of Dionysus’ life from birth to death can precisely represent BTS’ journey into the world of music. The myth covers the concept of embarking on a journey as a sign of entering adulthood, battling against the non-believers, and transcending suffering and death—or like this part of Yoongi’s verse:

“Born as an idol, then reborn as an artist.”

BTS’ success in breaking into America is how they proved themselves to those who looked down on them in the past. Nonetheless, they still can’t avoid the same old unwelcoming attitude, now coming from another industry. The fight against racism, xenophobia, and the attempts to damage their position at the top still goes on, and they will have to continue to find a way to survive it.

The same scenario happens to Dionysus. When the god reaches his hometown, the king of Thebes, Pentheus, who is actually his cousin but doesn’t recognize him, thinks that Dionysus and the maenads are “queer,” “objectionable,” and “should be stopped” (familiar, isn’t it?) No matter how Dionysus tries to persuade Pentheus, he strongly refuses to acknowledge him as his god. The king’s final destination is far from favorable, as he rejects and insults the divine.

This raises some questions: Is the king “blindness” towards Dionysus’s divinity “ignorance” or “prejudice”? Which one, then, defines people reaction when hearing BTS’ name? Regardless of the answers, those who dare to threaten the god will eventually meet their doom like Pentheus. It doesn’t matter what opinion you have against them, BTS is here to stay, they’re here to celebrate. And that’s exactly what the Greeks do to worship Dionysus. The god’s glorified resurrection was celebrated by doing plays in theater.

Similarly, performing Dionysus is how BTS proclaims their victory over the sufferings they have experienced, which made them stronger and shine brighter ever than before. The stage is the theater for their play, and we are the audience invited to witness their glory.

I’m at the door of the world now

The loud cheers I hear as I step onto the stage

Can’t you see my stacked broken thyrsus

It’s only now that I am born again

The myth of the god of wine therefore is the perfect allegory for BTS’ story. It’s suitable that the track was placed at the end of the album because it shows that this is where they ended up being after the long journey over the past 6 years. It’s also the fact that BTS chooses not to be resentful towards their past; they’d rather celebrate it, meaning they are not willing to let any obstacles restrain them. This song is a way to present themselves as the greatest boy band in the world. Whether you agree or not, one thing still stands: it’s certain that you won’t be able to escape from them.

Breaking a new record is a race with myself, a race, yeah

Raise the glass of celebration, one shot

But I’m still thirsty

What

PART 2 –Enjoyment & Pain

Since Dionysus is a symbol of wine, it’s impossible not to discuss about alcohol as a coin with two sides: it can give rise to both enjoyment and pain. Dionysus can be, as he was sometimes regarded, “the god of holy inspiration,” motivating people to act bravely or creatively, but at the same time he can be cruel, driving men on to madness and frightful deeds. His character clearly depicts that of alcohol.

The dynamic between enjoyment and pain in alcohol illustrates that it’s not possible to enjoy something without experiencing any resistance or limit. This leads to the conversation about two relationships: one between BTS and their audience, the other one between art and artists.

Comparing BTS to wine is pretty accurate. There is no need to say more about how much fun, joy or inspiration they can offer to their fans. And who are the ones that are the most drunk in BTS? While Dionysus has the maenads, BTS has us, ARMY. Our force and dedication for the artist is unstoppable to the point of madness.

All drink, drink, drink, drink my glass, ay

All fall, fall, fall for a mad artist

Still, one thing that needs to be noted is the opposite side of the situation, for as much as BTS offers immeasurable satisfaction and amusement, there can be a few drawbacks as well. This is an appropriate occasion to bring back “Pied Piper,” a critical and playful track about the negative effects of falling into the BTS loophole. It’s the same as getting drunk at a party knowing that you’re risking to be late or miss work the next day. In addition, too much dose of BTS can lead to excessive obsession and the loss of decency, the kind of behavior we see in sasaengs/stalkers.

Though I’m a bit dangerous, I’m too sweet

I came to rescue you, I came to ruin you

In this way, BTS has beneficial and destructive side. In them there exists the ability to generate enjoyment and pain like alcohol. And while the band is the best gift to those who appreciates them, they are also the industry’s worst nightmare.

BTS climbed their way up and succeed without any external help and cheating, which makes some people really mad so they are trying every way imaginable to undermine them. Some even enjoy doing it without realizing that in such a way they are somewhat addicted to the artist instead. Even this kind of obsession is still an indicator that those antis are being under the influence of the wine called BTS. After all, it has been said before that a hater in a way is a fan too. This highlights the fact that BTS needs not to fear or worry about antis because making people mad is Dionysus’ specialty. Without this characteristic, BTS cannot be like wine/the god of wine. Considering this, we may say that haters are not actually ruining BTS but making them who they are (by giving them the quality that constitutes their identity.) That’s one way to look at it.

I’m going to move on briefly to the relationship between art and its creators. Art to artists is the same thing as what BTS is to ARMY. It was already stated in the lyrics. The song clearly addressed the pain of creative process, for it’s not something that can be avoided.

Drink it up (the pain of creating)

One sip (the scolding of society)

Drink it up (the communication with myself)

One sip (Okay now I’m ready to sho)

For both artists and consumers, art indeed produces pleasure as well as comfort, but the agony that artists have to endure before they can create a work is tremendous. And isn’t that often pain itself is what gives birth to a work of art? Here I quote Herman Hesse’s Steppenwolf:

“Thus, like a precious, fleeting foam over the sea of suffering arise all those works of art, in which a single individual lifts himself for an hour so high above his personal destiny that his happiness shines like a star and appears to all who see it as something eternal and as a happiness of their own.”

The song itself is a proof to this statement. BTS have been through so much to reached where they are today, and thus “Dionysus” pays homage to their hardships. In a way, those difficulties are what enables them to fully cherish the value of their achievements and provides them with inspiration for their works.

All in all, the two cases associated with the theme of enjoyment and pain point towards the idea that joy and suffering can co-exist in one thing and cannot be separated. We’d better embrace this truth so that maybe we can profit from the two of them. This can be applied to several aspects in life as well.

PART 3 (END) - What the Song May be Telling Us

So, where do we go from here? Where do all of the topics I’ve mentioned above come together? As Map of The Soul: Persona refers to, according to Carl Jung’s theory, “the aspect of someone's character that is presented to or perceived by others,” Dionysus is a song that speaks about what can obviously be seen about BTS: the story about their success, their fans, the obstacles they face as an artist. These seem to belong to BTS’ persona.

Meanwhile, the song also lets us get a glimpse of more serious topics that might appear in the next comeback. There are clues to possible discussion about the bad side of their fame or the path they walk on, together with how they have or have not come to term with it. This might be the overall message of the upcoming album. BTS might also talk about how they identify themselves as an individual and as a superstar —the struggle to find a balance between being a god and being a human —or about the hidden negative part of themselves, as it was included in the definition of shadow.

It’s also interesting that Dionysus wasn’t called an outro, which may mean that the song is a kind of a transition into the next album. Because Map of The Soul is a journey into oneself, all parts in this series are connected to the same path. This track is like a checkpoint leading us to the next destination. And the whole series itself seems to be the representation of the self (That’s probably why we only have hints about persona, shadow and ego). Compared to the LOVE YOURSELF series, divided into parts with different themes and tones as it narrates a sequence of an event, each album from Map of the Soul is likely to be integrated into one big part, which I would say makes sense to me #.

#bts #dionysus #bangtan #bangta boys #bangtan universe #bts theory #bu theory #map of the soul: shadow #map of the soul : persona #map of the soul #mots shadow #mots persona

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beatrix-wright · 5 years

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‘JOKER’ drove at 100 kilometres per hour in peak traffic while I was tied to the passenger’s seat

This will have spoilers for Joker in it, but I will not synopsise the film. Most of this will be about my experience watching Joker rather than the story of the film itself. I greatly appreciate anyone who takes the time to read this.

Joker, directed by Todd Phillips, starring Joaquin Phoenix, wasn’t what I expected…

That’s both good and bad. I have praise, undoubtedly. I don’t think it was a bad film by any means, but I also want to say up front that I don’t think I’m ever going to watch it again. At least not for a very long time.

I have seen a number of Todd Phillips’ films, through many unhappy mistakes. Frankly, I wasn’t expecting much of the cinematography, but really, Phillips knocked it out of the park in some sections. The movie has high and low parts in this category, but overall, regardless of what was happening on screen, Phillips has tried his best to make it as visually appealing as possible. Certain shots, zooms and camera movements perfectly encapsulated the emotion of the scene or of the characters and it really helped immerse viewers. This film unquestionably has a beating, feeling-driven heart. Although its a weak pulse that many would miss if not invested, it’s there, trying desperately to claw its way out from under the vicious and cool exterior that the film puts up. If Phillips and Scott Silver, the other writer on board the project, had the poise to take the film that direction, I truly believe that it could have been a meaningful, heartfelt tragedy. But we’ll get to that later.

Something else many people have applauded in Joker is Joaquin Phoenix’s performance, and they’re right. Phoenix, while not the first to play Batman’s most iconic villain by any stretch of the imagination, has made it his own in a way that works for the tone and message of the film. Joaquin Phoenix’s passion for this project comes through so clearly in his portrayal of Arthur Fleck/Joker. There’s a humanity and empathy that Phoenix manages to build in the beginning of the film that is missing from most portrayals where the Joker is only a raving lunatic. The only time I’ve seen anything similar for the character is in Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke, which was an inspiration for the film, but even that isn’t quite as authentic as the show given to us in Joker. The heart that Phillips emphasises wouldn’t be present without Phoenix. Joaquin Phoenix really was the best part of this film and I cannot commend him enough for the tastefulness he tried to bring to the project. His portrayal of Arthur Fleck’s mental illness is really nothing to be sneezed at, which brings me to my next point.

Joker has an almost truthful, although greatly exaggerated, portrayal of mental illness, something that surprised me while watching in the theatre. I have personally dealt with depression and anxiety and found many aspects of Arthur Fleck in the beginning to be somewhat relatable. Truly, this exploration of mental illness wasn’t something I’d seen before. While Fleck’s diagnosis is not not disclosed, simple sentiments such as “I just don’t want to feel so bad anymore” really hit home and yet again Phoenix’s delivery helped to bring genuineness that wouldn’t have been there otherwise. Many other minor things that I don’t have the time to go through really sold me on the character and the performance, and Arthur Fleck truly came alive for me and the others in the cinema. The film also establishes Fleck’s laugh as a signal for when he’s feeling depressed, lonely, anxious or anything of the like and it helps to guide the viewer through the confusing reality of mental illness. Laughter, too, helps myself and many others cope with our mental illness. I find it hard to be frank about how I’m feeling without turning it into a joke of some sort. It was odd watching a film about a well-known villain and sharing a number of experiences with him, knowing of his sheer insanity from other forums. But this was what really made the first section of this film so compelling.

My praise for Joker stops here, however.

Joker has been described as “dangerous”, but I don’t think dangerous is the correct description. Joker, in the best way I can possibly put it concisely, is ill-conceived, tactless and lacking awareness. It’s a bit like driving recklessly through peak hour traffic. For some people it might be enjoyable but to many, it is generally considered poorly thought out and foolish. And oh boy, oh boy, does Joker take you for a ride. For a film that initially seemed to somewhat understand mental illness, it falls flat on its face as it proceeds to blame Arthur Fleck’s mental health problems for his violence. This isn’t to say that some people who have mental illnesses can’t be a danger to others and themselves but the sheer standardness of Fleck’s symptoms at the beginning compared to his shocking acts of cruelty later left a bad taste in my mouth and I found myself thinking ‘I’m not a time bomb’ over and over at certain sections of the film. Stigma against people with mental illnesses permeates the story and I don’t think even Joaquin Phoenix, for all of his ingenuity in playing this character, could escape the demonisation of this group of people.

I’ve seen Joker interpreted as a “cautionary tale” about how “society’s ignorance of those who are less fortunate will create a person like the Joker”, but if it really wanted to be that, Todd Phillips and Scott Silver have missed the mark by a longshot. The message ends up garbled, and comes through more strongly as ‘If we, as a society, don’t watch out for mentally ill people, we may have a real life Joker on our hands’. Despite acting like someone who thinks he knows what’s best for society, Todd Phillips can hardly bring his message about it across properly in his own film. Most of us with mental illnesses aren’t going to suddenly snap and go on a killing spree, but Joker supports the opposite and isn’t particularly concerned for the damage it might bring to mentally ill people.

Like I said, I enjoyed the accuracy of Arthur Fleck’s mental illness but the rest of the film misses something that the beginning had: taste. I support the pushing of boundaries in film. I think it is very important to test the limit and explore new concepts and ideas no matter what. But it needs to be done well, and Phillips, who doesn’t have much experience with serious and poignant cinema needs to steady his aim before firing off a film like this. Many may decry me as a softy who can’t handle serious, disturbing or confronting films, but that is simply not the case. I just propose that if you’re going to be all that, you might as well do it properly. One such confronting film is Blue Velvet (1986, dir. David Lynch) which handles a variety of heavy topics. Lynch, in contrast to Phillips, however, wove his story delicately, creating a tasteful and seriously disturbing film that is still considered one of the greatest of all time to this day. When I got into the first act, I was deeply hoping that Joker would be something like that. It held so much promise and I genuinely think the beginning is magnificent as well as certain sections throughout. Again, this isn’t a bad film at all. I just believe it mishandled some of its ideas in a way that could be potentially damaging.

Something else I find to be an issue is the view of the Joker as a hero by real people. Arthur Fleck’s drive is largely based around his mistreatment. I personally really love complex villain who have relatable incentives, but the difference is that the Joker as a character is already idolised by a number of less-than-brilliant groups. The Joker has sympathetic motivations and while he absolutely turns into a villain he’s still framed as somewhat correct in these views which turns into a larger problem when narcissists who feel they are down on their luck identify with the Joker and use their misfortune to justify terrible actions against others. While for Fleck, it’s his poverty and mental illness, for some real people it can be something like not getting a girlfriend or having people of colour “invade their country”. To most people who watch Joker, it could seem absurd how this film would encourage violence but as someone who could relate to Arthur Fleck initially, I can easily see how someone with something more wrong with them than just mental illness could identify with him throughout the film. Because it isn’t just mental illness that creates mass murderers and serial killers. Its something far more deep-seated and vile. An ingrained dismissal for the value of human life. The pit that Joker needed to dig itself out of was that of misanthropic reddit pages and 4chan posts. It would have been hard, but frankly the film did itself no favours in having a nod to “we live in a society” memes during the Joker’s monologue towards the end. I don’t think that all of this was intentional and honestly, if you’re a normal person, have no fear of being radicalised. I just don’t know if Phillips completely comprehends what he’s toying with. There was a shooting by someone inspired by the Joker in 2012 at a screening of The Dark Knight Rises. These things occur, unfortunately, and even though if something were to happen now, in no way would it be the film’s fault, we do have to be careful what sort of an impression we can leave on people with our media.

Joker isn’t a bad movie. Is it everything it’s made out to be? No, and really that comes down a lack of precision in its creation. I really can’t watch it again, due to how monstrous it made me feel but I won’t disavow anyone who wants to go see it or enjoyed it for the right reasons, because there is a lot to enjoy if you’re not bothered by those aspects of the film. It was a really interesting character study of one comics’ most mysterious and iconic characters, but I believe the message they wanted to send about said character was poorly handled. Personally, I think I’ll stick to Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke. I’d rather the Joker’s origins be a bit more multiple choice.

Also if Joaquin Phoenix is nominated for or wins an Oscar, I won’t be mad, he really was pretty great

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