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whomst-art-thou-whomst-whomst · 3 years

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Guardian post-Canon Headcanons Not Even The Regent Can Ruin*

*everyone in this show is alive and well and you can’t tell me otherwise, THEY ARE FINE

1.) Zhao Yunlan was once asked to give a speech at a banquet (Minister Guo kindly/naively invited him to do so) and while he was gesturing for Shen Wei to join him at the microphone (not going to happen), Yunlan accidentally flung the contents of his wine glass in Minister Guo’s face. Zhao Xinci and Chu Shuzhi, trapped at the same table, scoffed loudly and simultaneously. Neither of them have recovered from this moment.

2.) Zhu Hong and Ye Zun have formed an unlikely alliance. Not a friendship, they both insist. It’s just that Zhu Hong was struggling with some Snake Tribe asshole relatives who keep trying to subtly undermine her, and Ye Zun took that personally with all the righteous outrage of someone who used to undermine his own family but was sooo much better at it, really it’s embarrassing to see Zhu Hong getting bullied by these amateurs, he couldn’t just watch—

3.) Ye Zun and Shen Wei struggled to find something in common to do together that doesn’t involve their displaced lives and familial relationship—they have a couple of false starts involving cooking (gege will be doing that for them going forward, Ye Zun decides, it takes too long and it’s boring) and going for walks (students keep recognizing and coming up to Shen Wei and it makes Ye Zun first socially anxious, then envious, then territorial), but finally Zhao Yunlan has the idea to get Ye Zun his library card. They go several times a week—the twins prefer to curl up with books on beanbags Ye Zun “borrows” from the teen section (Shen Wei had to be convinced to sit on a bean bag, a conversation Zhao Yunlan would have paid serious money to see) hidden behind stacks of books where it’s quiet and calm and they can explore their own interests while still being close to each other.

4.) Lin Jing once convinced Shen Wei to let him test his self-defense reflexes without active power usage, curious whether Dixingrens had faster reflexes than Haixingren in stressful situations. Shen Wei agreed, because science! and learning! Unfortunately, Zhao Yunlan walked in just as Lin Jing was enthusiastically swinging a bat at Shen Wei’s head. Despite both of their protests that I was dodging it easily, A-Lan and it wouldn’t have hurt him, Boss, it was literally plastic, Zhao Yunlan actually followed through on canceling Lin Jing’s bonus for the month.

5.) Ye Zun and Zhao Yunlan love Game of Thrones. Zhao Yunlan claims himself as a member of House Stark, he keeps trying to coax Da Qing into appreciating the dire wolves. Ye Zun bought a Lannister mug at first, loving the scheming while kind of unaware of any of the family dynamics, which is why it took a while for him to figure out the incestuous twin thing. Yunlan both gleefully enjoyed and was kinda traumatized by that days’s epiphany. Ye Zun now considers himself a Targaryen (Zhao Yunlan hasn’t had the heart to point out the incest stuff in that family). Shen Wei tried to watch it with them but kept getting disheartened at the backstabbing and political intrigue halfway through the first episode (Zhao Yunlan and Ye Zun made a silent decision together not to bring up the Lannister thing) so that’s more of an A-Lan and Didi activity now, and he’s secretly so excited that the two people he loves most are able to sit and yell advice and criticism at the screen together.

6.) The university insisted Shen Wei get a counseling mental health assessment before returning full time, due to his “ordeal”—except Shen Wei got confused using the online booking and somehow accidentally signed up for weekly appointments that he felt it would be rude to cancel. He’s now going to therapy regularly and it’s been good for him. He and his therapist are working on his perceptions of relationships to self and others.

7.) Zhao Yunlan doesn’t give Shen Wei jewelry for their first official anniversary as a couple—his excuse is that Shen Wei is so beautiful that any ornament would be disgraced by proximity (which is true) but really it’s because after Shen Wei lost the jade necklace during the big Dixing battle, Zhao Yunlan privately vowed (clutching Shen Wei’s cold hand in the hospital) that the next thing Shen Wei would wear around his neck would be a ring. He has one ready, he’s just waiting for the anniversary of their first meeting on the campus. Chi Shuzhi was initially reluctant to assist him at the jewelry store in choosing something appropriate for Shen Wei’s tastes and background, until he decided to consider it an honor to choose any part of the Envoy’s regular attire, Zhao Yunlan’s influence notwithstanding.

8.) Zhao Xinci and Ye Zun have been in the same room exactly once. The only thing they managed to agree on was that they should never be in the same room again.

9.) Ye Zun spent the first week at Shen Wei’s apartment curled up under a table. Da Qing eventually hung a blanket over the table because he understands, as a cat, that even his human’s former nemesis should get to have some space to lick his wounds and recover some dignity.

10.) Ye Zun pulls a knife on a drunk guy who loudly starts an argument about Dixingren with an uncomfortable Shen Wei at a party. Shen Wei is horrified by the situation in general but mostly worried about the strange blend of desperate panic in his brother’s eyes. He doesn’t quite put it together that this aggressive jerk bears an unfortunate resemblance to the rebel chief who ruined their life 10,000 years ago. Zhao Yunlan realizes he should be mad about the paperwork and bureaucratic nightmare this causes, but he accidentally buys Ye Zun’s favorite foods for breakfast the next day instead. They exchange one (1) glance of understanding.

Bonus:

One of Ye Zun’s former lackeys came after him—this is the only time Shen Wei and Ye Zun have both knowingly dressed completely identically, to keep Ye Zun safe by dividing attention and confusing the guy. Zhao Yunlan hated this week of twinning with a passion because a.) Shen Wei was putting himself in danger, b.) it was weird enough having the twin fantasy when Ye Zun was a bad guy, and c.) whenever Shen Wei and Ye Zun are side by side near Zhao Yunlan, Ye Zun keeps staring at him and murmuring “Come Play With Us” in a high voice

#whomst #guardian #weilan #ye zun

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tanyaodebra · 4 years

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You 2.10: “Love, Actually” – Bitch, I Told You So

I fear I may have ruined things for any viewer who was reading as they watched, because as Love’s opening monologue reveals, I was absolutely right about every single thing. As a soap opera fan, expository monologues are usually very enjoyable to me because they’re so funny, which is why this one struck the wrong tone. You is normally better at covering its soap opera tracks. Joe has expository monologues, but they’re much craftier. Here we get the who, what, when, where and why with nothing left to puzzle. Maybe it was fun for those who hadn’t already figured everything out. Love admits to killing Delilah, the au pair, and Candace all in the same brand of throat-slashing. Love lays herself bare for Joe to see: a mirror image of himself, with everything inverted. He doesn’t have to wonder what he could have been like if he had been raised with money by his biological family. Poverty doesn’t raise a killer, nor does abandonment, nor does wealth, nor does family. Love has the very same je ne sais quoi as Joe; they are a different sort of twin. In finding his match, Joe experiences the karma the first episode promised. Joe is horrified when Love’s pedestal comes crashing down, but Love has the opposite reaction to Joe’s true self in that she loves him even more because of it, a fact she calls him out on. She’s angry that he only sees a fantasy, but it’s a fantasy she created, a purposefully constructed manic pixie dream girl tailored specifically to his taste. Joe’s not the only one who built his own cage.

Any euphoria Joe felt about having finally been caught has evaporated. He has been bested by a woman, and that won’t stand with him. Of course, he’s still himself, so he twists this situation into a more palatable pretzel; he has to break free so he can save Ellie. He devises a way to kill Love; he’ll slash her throat with the handcuffs he used to dangle freedom in front of Delilah. But handcuffs are not freedom’s tool. When Love arrives with muffins, I’m absolutely positive that she’s poisoned them. Wrong – it’s another red herring. She’s too smart for that. After all, you can’t be a black widow without getting married first. Joe convinces Love to open the cage, and she does – but then she sees the handcuffs in the refection in the glass. He almost goes through with his plan until she says the one thing that can stop him; she’s pregnant. That’s why she HAD to kill Delilah and Candace – to save their baby’s future! Joe grapples with what to do. He had just come to terms with his own punishment, but Love spoon-feeds a smorgasbord of excuses why their murders were justified and why they are good people. She’s such a skilled manipulator that she quickly switches tactics so he can feel as though he’s rescuing her when he agrees not to kill her. She plays the victim and he at least pretends to fall for it. The two are in this strange paradox where their lies allowed them to be emotionally honest with one another, but the truth forces them to lie about their feelings. Neither can truly trust the other now. At the wedding, Joe begins to see how hypocritical it is to hold Love accountable if he’s not going to do the same for himself, and he wonders what kind of father he’ll make. Sunshine’s vows plant the idea that he and Love sincerely are soulmates – they know everything about each other, so theirs could be the most honest love of all. Joe convinces himself to love Love for the sake of his child. After the ceremony, they both receive a flood of texts from Forty as soon as they’re allowed to turn on their phones. Joe is to meet Forty at Anavrin, and Love is warned she is in danger. The two head to Anavrin together.

Poor Ellie. Joe has one plan for Ellie, Love clearly has another. They will not be raising her together, as he would prefer. She may be a kid now, but she won’t be forever, and Love knows that. Ellie has to go. But even Love has a soft spot for damaged kids, so murder is not in the cards. When Officer Fincher shows up at her door at an ungodly hour, Love’s lemony light pours through the windows – her fingerprints are all over this scene. She’s dropped an anonymous tip with the police, telling them Ellie was at Hendy’s on the night of his murder. Ellie is too smart to fall for the cop’s trap, though, which is what Love is counting on in order for her plan to fall into place. As per Love’s plot, Ellie will ultimately have the full resources of the Quinns backing her and she won’t see any jail time, but this failed investigation will somehow keep the heat off Joe. Delilah’s body will be found with a suicide note. Love knows these implausible follies will only work because her family is so rich they can bribe cops indefinitely, and because they are in a soap opera. When the cops follow through on Love’s tip, Ellie calls Forty to bail her out. That only goes so far, because Office Fincher wants to find Delilah. He threatens Ellie with CPS, then tails her himself. Ellie hides out behind Anavrin, but Joe sees her. Joe blames Delilah’s disappearance on the Quinns, and he convinces Ellie to leave town. Officer Fincher watches the whole exchange, but maybe he can’t hear them, because he just sits there like an idiot. Joe brings Ellie inside, empties out the safe, and instructs her to get on a train and start a new life. He knows this is the only way to keep her safe from Love. Joe thinks he’s rescuing Ellie, but again, Ellie is too smart to miss the fact that Joe is responsible for everything that’s happened to her. She’s right; he ruined her life. She hates him, but she must follow his advice in order to survive.

After learning the meaning of the names Forty and Love, I felt so confused by the numerical symbolism. Forty is clearly the zero in the early episodes. He slowly redeems himself over the course of the season, especially when he figures out the truth about Joe. When Ellie calls him for help, he can’t go to the police station himself, because he’s across the country visiting the only living witness left: Dr. Nicky. Unfortunately Dr. Nicky is too Christian to help in any real way, caucasian-ly encouraging Forty to put his faith in the universe instead of trying to actually stop this serial killer. Forty texts Candace to no avail, because she’s in Love’s trunk. This time, she’ll stay buried. Forty heads straight to the wedding after his meeting with Dr. Nicky, desperate to pry her sister away from Joe. Gabe stops him, though, thinking Forty’s just high again. Gabe might be a wizard with acupuncture, but he’s a terrible judge of character. At Anavrin, Forty tries to save Love from an abusive partner, but he is exactly as successful as she was in keeping him sober. You can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped. The previous episode made it seem like Forty was ready to adopt Joe into the Quinn family, but as soon as Forty realizes his actual family is in trouble, Forty rescinds that status. He, too, will do anything for his family, and he proves this by pointing a gun at Joe. Love threatens Forty, claiming he’ll never see her or the baby if he kills Joe. Forty pops off, disgusted she would even have a baby knowing what kind of person she is. After all, Forty knows his twin. The gun is at Joe’s head, but Forty stalls too long and Officer Fincher shoots Forty before Forty has the chance to kill Joe. Forty’s not the killer Love is. And really, from the moment Love arrived at Anavrin, it was clear she was going to have to make a choice between her biological twin and her psychological twin. Fincher walked in behind Forty, but Love was facing in that exact direction. There is no way she did not see Fincher come in with his gun drawn. Love could have told Fincher to stop, but instead she chose Joe. She’s devastated by the loss of her brother, but ultimately she’s the one who killed him. When it comes to Love and Forty, it turns out Love really is the zero after all.

The Jungian flashbacks continue with a CPS worker waiting to remove young Joe from his home while his mother packs his bag. He calls her a saint, but apparently the state believes her to be unfit. The viewer sees the group home Joe lived in before his time with Mooney. The only real new piece of information is that Joe’s mother is still alive when he is taken away. Is this the last time he ever saw her? Alas, the flashbacks are the MacGuffin of this detective story. They seem like they’re going to be the key to everything, but really, there is no key. We’ll probably never know why Joe is the way he is, and the why isn’t important, anyway.

Joe circles back to the concept of karma. He settles on the idea that some people get everything they deserve and some people don’t. “And each day that passes, justice seems more and more like a literary conceit.” Again, I hate it when Joe and I agree. He ties things back to Crime and Punishment, a book I pretended to read in high school. I guess it’s time to pick it up again. Anyway, Joe seems to think he, like the main character in the book, can be redeemed by love. His reaction to his home with Love, calling it a Siberia, makes it clear that her love will not redeem him. This prison of his own making is very cushy, though. And as luck would have it, there’s a brand-new white woman for him to project all his desires onto – someone to stalk and probably to eventually murder. It’s a satisfying enough ending to a show that must have been hedging – good enough to be the finale, but also open-ended enough for a third season. (Hire me!)

The season finale wraps up everything that had been established in the first episode of the season. Viewers will recall the image of Candace lying dead in the street and the relief they felt when it was just an actor on set. In a nod to You’s non-linear timeline, a director yells “we’re going to go again from the top,” and the Candace look-alike rises from the puddle of fake blood. The moment appears to be an allusion to Candace’s coming back from the dead, but really it is a clue into Candace’s grim future. Candace promises to show Joe who he really is, and once he sees that terrible person, he’ll beg Candace to turn him in. While she delivers on that promise in the ninth episode, Love enables him to return to his savior complex, shielding him from the punishment his crimes deserve. Joe wishes for a home in the first episode, and Love provides it in the last. When Forty’s character is introduced in the first episode, Love claims he is starring in his own movie. She’s right in that Forty is the third twin, the one who was snipped off. Aside from a few missteps, this was a well-made season of television. I wanted Joe to get what’s coming to him, but it’s unfortunately more realistic if he doesn’t. An overarching message in this season seems to be about vigilantism. Every character who seeks justice outside the law either kills or is killed. Additionally, every character who seeks justice within the bounds of the law is left to languish in the ineptitude of law enforcement. In the world of You, there is no justice. There can never be justice even if Joe and Love are caught. Those who were killed are gone forever, and no amount of prison time can bring them back. Even individually vivisected scrotums are not enough. But a girl can still dream. Joe’s favorite meal is roasted chicken, so hopefully they’ll all come home to roost in season three.

#you netflix season2 episode10 finale recap

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misssakurapetal28 · 7 years

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The One Thing I Disliked About Lolirock’s Season 2 Finale...

I did enjoy the season 2 finale of Lolirock and I’m glad there’s probably going to be a season 3 due to the results of season 2, but there’s one thing that I dislike about the finale though and that’s what had happened with Mephisto and Praxina.

Warning: This post contains spoilers from Lolirock’s S2 Finale! Read at your own risk. If you can, take a look. Your might find something I said interesting.

What I dislike about the finale was Praxina turning into the main villain. This is because not only any possibly of her redeeming was thrown out the window, but I also dislike how the one (and probably the only) time she shows any consideration for anyone other than herself was to revenge Mephisto's death. Also, I feel like making her a villain was really forced. Did Mephisto really HAVE to die? I just feel his death only happened to make Praxina the villain and push another season of Lolirock.

Don’t get me wrong, I really do like Lolirock, but I just feel that all of this was hella forced. I don’t know? Maybe I’m just a bit bumped out because Mephisto was my favorite out of the twins. I just think that he should have at least have a proper send off if he really isn’t coming back (I mean hell, Praxina didn’t even get to say goodbye to him). This is also probably because I feel like there’s never really been that much development on Praxina’s part like with Mepisto’s (well there was that Forget You! episode, but it seems like that episode was probably worthless now due to the ending). You know, I know that the creators/writers are not obligated AT ALL to do what I think it’s best, but still.

I just really dislike this whole thing with what happened with the twins. Though despite me not liking/agreeing with how the ending turned out, that doesn’t mean it was completely stupid/illogical or not understandable. First off, we have to realize that Mephisto and Praxina were brother and sister (and basically KIDS no less). I feel like that out of the two twins, Mephisto is still mean, but he’s probably a bit more light-hearted than Praxina is, plus more redeemable. There has been a couple of episode where despite his selfishness at times, he DOES care for his sister, even going as far as teaming up with Lolirock to save her ("If you can’t beat 'em", “Statue Game”, “Forget You!” etc).

This is why I get the impression that he is redeemable because I really do feel he’s a good person, he just needed to he steered into the right direction (probably even like his sister hinted in Forget You!). I have NO IDEA what their background was like AT ALL nor I know who they are or where they come from and what their lives was like BEFORE the series began, so the only thing that I can probably assume is that the twins only had each other up to this point. Just thinking about what happened in the end is really messed up if you think about it because if you DO think about it, Praxina has only her brother (I honestly don’t count Gramorr at all because I doubt her cares about them). He’s her only family, what she has left and what would happen if he’s killed off? She would lose it (which is what I think that happened in the S2 finale).

I feel like the only thing that kept her from going crazy is her brother (and maybe some of kind nature), but now he’s gone? She’s gone. Thanks for Mephisto’s death and that mask, I don’t think there’s a ounce of good left in her anymore (if there was any to begin with). I always thought that Praxina was more rude than her brother, but evil? Meh, maybe but I think her brother plays a big part in this. Maybe she was just a selfish brat who liked to cause others pain and destruction, but now she’s serious and evil?

Your know how family can bring the best AND the worst out of someone? I think the latter is no exception for Praxina. I just think that Praxina thinks that she has no real reason to care for anyone else now since the person she probably care for the most in this world is gone. Now I feel like she solely exist for revenge, nothing else really. Now she’s just a kid who had to grow up fast because of all of this. Or maybe she’s just a brat who would have turned evil somehow at some point regardless of her brother’s death or not? I don’t know, this just my thoughts. This is concept that makes sense.

Does this excuse Praxina’s actions? HELL NO! Like with villains like Blue Diamond from Steven Universe, she doesn’t get a free pass to go on a killing spree and take it out on innocent people just because she’s lost someone close to her (Hell, I even understand how it feels to lose your brother, but I don’t go around making people’s lives a living hell!). In fact, she has no logical reason to blame Iris for her brother’s death. Both him and her were just at a bad place at a bad time.

I also find it funny that she blames her but not that jerk Gramorr, who pulled a Unalaq (from Legend Of Korra) move and basically just have gave them a BIG middle finger, not giving two shits about either of them. And if she’s really (or ever) going to use the “if you haven’t fort Graymor in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened!” bullshit then....no. Just no. So, ok, maybe Iris SHOULD have left Gaymorr (who is also a traitor to his people) alone and let him do what he wants. Maybe she should have let him harm her love ones and the people of Ephedia and possibly even Earth if he fucking felt like it! Maybe she should have LET HIM hurt Dozens of OTHERS just to prove how strong and powerful he is, just because it’s all fun to him! Sure people will die and worlds will be ruined, but it’s all good as long as your brother is still alive right? :) Heh, WRONG!

I’m sorry, but Iris and the girls HAD to defeat him one way or another and like I said, what happened was a TOTAL accident! You think she WANTED to kill him? Even if she did (which she didn’t), I don’t think she (or the others for that matter) would kill unless it’s completely necessary (which that being the case most of time!). Also, it still doesn’t change the fact that IT WAS A MISTAKE. So she shouldn’t dare to use that kind of logic to hurt Iris’s love ones (everything that she loves and home).

I think she really blamed Iris because she’s just hurt/sad/angry about her brother’s demise and she just wants someone to blame (also that mask). The formal is understanble, but that’s still no excuse for what’s she’s doing now. Reveage doesn’t solve anything, it only gets you screwed over. My point overall is that even if I don’t like how this turned out, I DO understand why this happened and it does make sense as far as a story premise goes. Don’t get me wrong, I do like the finale and how all the princesses band together to stop Gramorr and I like how everyone was set free, but Mepisto’s death and Praxina’s turning into a villain is what I like the least about this finale.

Even though I do feel sorry for Praxina, I’m not trying to justify what she did (or about to do). I understand her reasons, I don’t agree with it. If the Lolirock girls mange to redeem her, kudos to them, but honesty? I wouldn’t count on it. Agree or disagree, just do it respectfully. Have any thoughts? Comment and Reblog.

#lolirock #praxina #mephisto #gramorr #lolirock season 2 #spoilers #cupcakeforever20

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