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liesoverthec · 3 years

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OG 911 Character Details from Canon Pt 2

Hi y’all I’m back! I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who reblogged the last details post - I sort of just thought people would like it and it would die, so to see it travel and hopefully reach more writers was so great so thank you again!

Details under the cut since I went a little crazy 😅 and if this is your first time seeing this, the first part, and any future parts, can be found under this tag here!

Quick note before I get to the details - always, ALWAYS take details from dialogue or plot over details from the set or props if they contradict each other. The writers have the ultimate say over what happens on the show/for the characters, so whatever they say goes, even if it goes against something props has already laid down (eg, Chim’s birthday, sorry Libra crew. He’s an Aries or a Pisces). So keep that in mind for the future in case some of these details I have which are from props/set are changed in the future, or if you’ve noticed something yourself!

Also if you have questions, I am MORE than happy to answer them, although if you leave them in the tags on this post I’m probably gonna lose them, so if it’s something you’d genuinely like an answer to, drop it in my inbox! Besides my standard “ask” tags, I’m also tagging asks about canon details with this tag here. Every time I make a big post like this, I’m going to link all the asks I’ve gotten since the last post, but if you’re looking for more info in the mean time, that’s the other spot to look!

Buck has a grill on his patio.

Eddie doesn’t hang Christopher’s art on the fridge - instead it is either hung on the corkboard in Chris’ room to the left of the door, or Eddie puts it in an actual frame and hangs it using a hammer/nails in Christopher’s room. All the Diaz family has on their fridge is a bunch of bendy people magnets. (I absolutely ADORE him putting all this effort into treating Christopher’s art like it’s something you’d buy from a professional artist).

Info on everyone’s ages can be found here. (Little more discussion of Chim’s situation here).

Albert has a bachelor’s degree! I don’t know in what though, except that it’s some field for which is a Master’s is useful.

Athena was in a sorority in college, Delta Sigma Theta. Their website describes them as “ ...a sisterhood comprised primarily of Black, college-educated women ... [that] considers the issues impacting the Black community and boldly confronts the challenges of African Americans and, hence, all Americans ”, which I love for Athena, and feel is very in-character for her at that time in her life!

Chim is an aviators dude. When he wears sunglasses, they’re always aviators.

Athena also wears nothing but aviators.

Bobby wears square aviators.

Eddie, on the other hand, always wears Wayfarers.

Buck either doesn’t really like sunglasses or he constantly forgets he owns them, since we’ve only seen him wear them once in 60 eps, in a move I’m pretty sure was ONLY for dramatic effect.

Hen’s sunglasses change style over the seasons like her regular glasses do, but she tends to like browline sunglasses.

Info on Christopher’s school can be found here!

There are two colors of dispatch polo, and there doesn’t seem to be any rhythm or reason for who wears what. Maroon - Maddie and Linda. Blue - Josh and May. Jamal has actually worn both maroon and blue, so it doesn’t seem to be TOTALLY set in stone although I’ve never seen anyone else switch. Sue is too badass to wear a dispatch shirt.

Both Bobby and Eddie drive 4 door pickups. Bobby’s is navy. Eddie specifically has a black, 2020 GMC Denali 1500 pickup truck (in case you want to specifically look up what the inside of it looks like or what features it has 😂)

Info on the 118’s medical certifications can be found here.

Correction to Eddie’s living situation from last post: no next door neighbors, but instead UPSTAIRS neighbors. (Pointed out by Abigail in this ask). Also since someone else was wondering the notes of the last post - no, there is absolutely no discussion on the show of whether or not Eddie rents the apartment or owns it. But based on the fact that it’s 1) LA and 2) an apartment, my guess would be he rents it.

When Maddie isn’t feeling like herself, she tends to straighten her hair rather than curl it. It seems to be more when she’s uncertain about her place in her own and other people’s lives, rather than just when she’s simply worried - eg it’s straight in 2B, when she’s uncertain if she wants to continue working as a dispatcher/is unsure about her relationship with Chim.

For work, Chim, Eddie and Buck all use black duffel bags with a LAFD patch on the top. Hen uses several different cute bags, and Bobby seems to have a plain black duffel bag.

Watches - Bobby, Athena, Chim, Hen and Buck all wear their watch on their left wrist (but Athena ONLY wears hers for work, she takes it off at home.) Eddie wears his on his right wrist, and Maddie doesn’t wear one.

Chim (and Maddie by default) literally still have the exact same couch as in the pilot. (Which means that Chim has cuddled Tatiana on that couch, AND Albert has had sex on it. TIME TO GET A NEW ONE, BUCKLEY-HANS 😂)

The 118 has five different rigs - the engine (E118), the ladder truck (T118), two ambulances and the captain’s truck. 95% of the time, when the team is chilling in the cab of a rig and chatting (eg the ‘stuck under a live telephone pole’ scene in Jinx), they’re in the engine, not the truck. (Which I personally learned recently are NOT interchangeable terms!)

Athena and Michael got married when Athena was 37.

If you’d like to give Maddie a full name beyond “Maddie”, you should use Madeline. (I know, I know, in 4x04 she says Maddie is the name on her birth certificate, and that you should never use props details if they contradict script details, but I always thought that was a super weird exchange in 4x04 which could be explained by Maddie getting a nickname since she was born when Margaret and Phillip, you know, actually loved their kids and showed it, so of course Buck doesn’t get one, and in 4x04, Maddie was trying to avoid the entire issue of why she got one and Buck didn’t. But! Do what you want, and use Madeline as the full version of Maddie if you’d like, since that’s what’s on the BOLO in 2x13 😂)

Athena’s call sign is 727 L30, but she doesn’t have a specific squad car - the number changes throughout the series.

Chim really likes chewing gum, but he’s the only one out of the entire family!

The station has an Xbox One S, and it’s white.

In the real LAFD, there are stations 1 through 114. To avoid confusion while filming on the streets (I’m assuming), our fictional LAFD never uses the number of a real station. So if you want another station for a fic, and you want something that would be real in OUR universe, use the numbers 115 and above. They’ve gone as high as 221 in our universe.

Battalions - station 118 is in Battalion 7, which is also not a battalion in real Los Angeles. The 118 has interacted w/ Battalion 1, which is a real battalion, but other ‘non-real which makes them more likely for our universe’ battalions include numbers: 3, 8, 13, 16, 19 and above.

S1 Buck knew the term Jedi, but based on context, didn’t understand AT ALL the context provided by Star Wars, so there’s another edge of his pop culture limits for you.

Chim is the most tech-savvy out of everyone, hands down.

Athena has a VERY active Twitter account.

Abuela’s house number is 8902. I don’t have a street name for you unfortunately though. :/

Athena’s favorite flowers are white roses. None of the other women are really flower people.

Michael likes to wear purple.

When they’re at a call, Buck does pretty much all of the stuff with the hammer and the saw. Eddie does all the work needed with the drill.

Harry goes to Meadowbrook Elementary.

Buck lives on the fourth floor of his apartment building, across the hall from Apt. 416. The lovely @lovelessmotel found this listing for what is more or less the apartment. What happened was: the set crew rented this apartment for the one episode at the end of s2 when Buck moved in, and then over the summer before s3 built their own set of it, and changed some things - eg giving him an island, and moving the sink to a second counter against the far wall, you can see the changes here in this amazing gif set by the awesome Austen, but the listing should let you click around a little more upstairs and figure out dimensions better than what the show provides!

When Athena and Hen go out to eat together, it’s always fast food burgers and fries.

Waffles are Athena’s favorite food, and tiramisu is her favorite dessert.

Every takeout we’ve seen Buck eat has always been in a Chinese food takeout container, and we know he likes Thai food the best. EXCEPT! The one time we see him eat takeout with Eddie and Christopher, they have pizza. So take from that what you will......

Eddie has a cell phone and a landline.

Chim is a shameless multiple texter.

Chim and Bobby sleep closest to the door in their respective bedrooms (both right side of the bed if you are standing at the foot, facing the headboard), and Athena and Maddie sleep furthest away from the door (left side).

Some canon last names for other firefighters at the station in case you wanna add more people to a fic - Mitchell, Sanchez, Serrano (woman), Porter, Meyers (woman), Maxwell, Voyta

Hen and Karen really love decorating their house with dark/red wood.

Karen is Mommy and Hen is Mama.

Bobby has a brother, and a grandmother, and that’s literally ALL we know about his family outside of Marcy and the kids.

Evidence points to Eddie being the oldest child in his family.

Karen has multiple brothers (no sisters), but no idea how many - just that one of them is named Trey, and one of them lives in LA and has kids. They might be the same brother and they might not be.

Both Hen and Athena are only children.

Athena has been on the police force for 30 years.

Christopher and Denny are the same age (born in 2011), and Harry is two years older than them.

Michael lives in apartment 308.

The bank in this universe is CalAm.

Hen and Karen have a picture of Denny, May and Harry on their fireplace mantel.

Eddie having a black thumb + a lot of plants in his living room = him buying fake plants bc he likes the aesthetic ™ or someone (cough Carla cough) is taking care of them for him.

The COVID timeline in OG’s universe is fucked up compared to the real world’s, so it shouldn’t be used as a way to measure time! They just throw it in wherever it makes sense for the story they want to tell (eg the vaccines in s4 ep 8), since s3 was both done before COVID hit but also airing while it was happening. It makes absolutely no sense for May to graduate in March nor for Chris to be going to what is specifically labeled summer camp, and the vaccine plotline was INCREDIBLY early, even for real life, so don’t use anything from that as a measure of time. I’ve found except in specific examples, eg the two tsunami episodes, it’s very safe to say every episode covers a week - fall holidays on the show line up with their real life counterparts, indicating about the same amount of time is passing for us and them.

On that note - Jee-Yun was born in late January, early February 2021. (Conceived in Pinned, which was end of March/beginning of April, meaning Maddie was around a month along at May’s graduation in May ➡ 42 weeks + 3 days from then = late Jan/early Feb. Which unfortunately means we most likely won’t see her birthday celebrated on screen. If we assume she was conceived on the date Pinned aired, aka the very sexy hotel scene, then January 21st or 22nd would be Jee’s birthday, depending on if she was born after midnight or not.

Buck has had at least one other Jeep between the one Maddie gave him, and the one he has now, which means that when he needs a new car, he is purposefully choosing Jeeps.

I hope this was all as interesting/enjoyable to you as it was to me! And just to repeat - I love answering questions so pls let me know if you have any at all ❤

🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝

Tagging: @buckbuckley

#911 fox #911 canon character details #athena grant #bobby nash #chimney han #hen wilson #maddie buckley #evan buckley #eddie diaz #bathena #madney #henren #buddie #userac #hey yall if anyone else wants to be added to these tags let me know #im happy to do so #I feel like I have v little for Bobby here sorry :/#I’ll work on getting lots for him next time

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half-bakedboy · 3 years

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jumping to (the wrong) conclusion (read on ao3)

Pairing: Evan “Buck” Buckley/Eddie Diaz Rated: General Summary: “Buck, Eddie was trying to tell you he’s in love with you,” Taylor said, her voice more serious than he thought she’d be capable of with so much alcohol in her system.

“He— No— Wait, I— What?” Buck’s mind came up with rapid-fire responses because no part of him was truly ready to handle the fact that his best friend might feel the same for Buck as he had for the last two years.

Or Eddie realizes something about his best friend, Buck finds his courage and Taylor gets to witness it all.

A Season 4 Episode 11: First Responders Extended Scene (contains minor spoilers for the ep)

The adrenaline was still pumping through Eddie’s veins even after he had changed out of his sweat-soaked uniform and taken a longer than necessary shower at the station. His blood was thrumming under his skin and he was sure he would vibrate right out of his body if he had the ability. The gunshots still echoed in his ears, Bobby’s quick actions flashing across his mind, and before Eddie realized it, he was pulling up to Buck’s apartment building.

He should have figured that’s where he would end up. Chris was with Hen, Karen, and the kids for the night, and Eddie had planned to drink a few beers by his lonesome while watching the UFC fight he had missed a few days prior. He had set it up to be the perfect night in his head, but he realized that his night couldn’t be nearly perfect because Buck wouldn't be there. Buck was just… inevitable.

Before he could think about what that meant, he got out of the car and locked the door with his keyfob, knowing that Buck would recognize the familiar beep of his car. He was lucky enough as he walked in that one of Buck’s neighbors that Eddie knew to be a night nurse was just leaving for her shift.

“Eddie, stopping by again already?” Becky shouted with a wiggle of her eyebrows. He jogged up the steps and grabbed the door from her, picking up the water bottle she had dropped on the floor to help her out. While Becky was very sweet and often let Eddie in when Buck wasn’t awake yet, he didn’t really feel like sparking up a conversation when his mind was racing as it was.

“Yeah, is Buck around?” He asked, making sure to keep a safe distance between them.

“He is, I think he came back with—“

Before she could finish, Eddie interrupted, “Thanks so much. Have a good shift!”

He was pretty sure he sprinted up the steps, unsure of how his feet were moving so fast. His mind was still racing, over and over with only thoughts of Buck clouding his conscience. Buck, who had been his best friend for years and had saved Eddie - not to mention Christopher - more times than he could count. Buck, who was the only thing Eddie had thought about for the last few months like a stream of what if’s and what could be’s that spiraled around his mind. Buck, Buck…

“Buck?” He called as he pounded his fist against the door. It was overkill, he knew. Buck had never not answered the door for anyone if he was home because he was just too kind to ignore someone who may be in need. Eddie’s smile widened on his lips at even the mere thought of Buck and he ran his hands over his face in both frayed nerves and sheer excitement as he waited for Buck to answer.

When the door opened and Buck’s confused look turned into a wide smile, Eddie pushed himself past the entrance and turned on Buck before either of them spoke. He thought at first that he wouldn’t know what to say, but then his eyes met Buck’s and he couldn’t stop himself from once the words started.

“I almost got shot today. Again,” Eddie added with a laugh, and Buck’s face contorted into that deep concern he seemed to always have for everyone but himself. “I’m fine, we’re all fine, but Buck, I was caught in the crossfire of yet another person with an indescribable amount of evil in their heart and it was like I was back there, in Afghanistan with enemy fire coming at all sides. That adrenaline, that fear, that instinct to survive kicked on in full force.”

“Eddie, are you—“ Buck tried to speak, his arms reached out as if to inspect Eddie for injury, but Eddie stepped closer and grabbed his hands tightly instead.

“And all I could think about was you,” Eddie admitted, shaking his head in disbelief that he had actually said it. “I heard the first shot and I thought, ‘thank god Buck isn’t here so I can focus on the girl I’m here to save’ and at no point did I stop to question why that was. Then I was loading her into the ambulance, about to crawl outta my skin with— with thrill just vibrating through me and somehow I found myself here.”

“Maybe we should—“ Eddie barely noticed Buck suddenly tense and glance over his shoulder.

“I realized that I am always going to find myself here because you’re my person, you know? My partner that I trust in times of severe danger, my best friend that I want to be around when anything exciting happens to me, and Jesus, Buck, I want you—“

“If it isn’t the one man at Station 118 that can’t stand me.” The voice had Eddie’s bubbling blood freezing in his veins and if he had hackles, he was sure they’d be standing at attention. Eddie turned and saw none other than Taylor Kelly - Eddie refrained from calling her the reporter from Hell because he knew Buck hated it - making herself comfortable in the kitchen with a half-empty champagne glass in her grasp and a knowing smirk on her face.

“I didn’t realize you were coming by, Eddie, I—“ Buck began, but Eddie held up his hand. It was then that he noticed Taylor’s discarded shoes next to the kitchen island and the already empty bottle of champagne on the counter.

“No, I’m— I’m sorry for barging in like this. I’ve clearly interrupted…” Eddie trailed off, tearing his eyes away from Taylor to gaze back at Buck, “whatever this is so I’ll just head out.”

“Why don’t you join us, Firefighter Diaz? We’ve got extra champagne to celebrate our successes today and I’m definitely not one to turn away fine looking men on such a beautiful night,” Taylor commented and Eddie noticed the glare Buck shot at her. He also noticed the twinkle in Buck’s eyes and the way his lip tugged up at the corner like he couldn’t help but be amused by her.

“You two have— a night. Together. Without, uh, me,” Eddie said before he rushed out the door.

-------------------------------

The door slamming interrupted the giggles bursting from Taylor’s lips. Buck knew she was tipsy - they both were, in all fairness, - but the way she snorted and then laughed some more told him she was far beyond safe to drive home that night.

“Oh my god, that poor dude, he just— came in here guns a-blazing,” Taylor said and then laughed more, presumably at her own ridiculous joke. She took a deep breath and shook her head, staring up at a wide-eyed Buck. “Well, what the hell are you still doing in here, idiot?”

“What? Where else would I—?” Taylor grabbed the cork from the counter and threw it directly at Buck’s head. It bounced off his temple and hit the floor before Buck reflexes could catch up to him. “Damn, Kelly, you play softball at journalism school or something?”

“Yeah, it’s what gave me such a good gaydar,” she replied. Buck was unsure how that was relevant to the conversation and tilted his head at her, pursing his lips in questions. “Buck, Eddie was trying to tell you he’s in love with you,” Taylor said, her voice more serious than he thought she’d be capable of with so much alcohol in her system.

“You’re not stupid, Buck, and I know I tell you all the time that you are, but you know I don’t mean it,” Taylor said, walking over to Buck and resting a comforting hand on his bicep. “Eddie was just spouting poetry at you, dude. You heard what happened over at dispatch today. If Josh hadn’t been so on his game, there’s a solid chance that Eddie - the entire team - might have—“

“Oh my god, he—“ All of sudden, Eddie’s words caught up with him. All I could think about was you. You’re my person. Forever. The words flashed in Buck’s mind like lightning on a hot summer night and he wasn’t sure he was breathing anymore.

“He loves you,” Taylor reassured, nudging him toward the door. All it took was the familiar beep of Eddie’s car unlocking for Buck to surge into action.

He threw himself down the stairs at least two at a time and pushed the door open with a huff and a shout for Eddie; his partner, his best friend, the person he had been in love with since the very beginning. Eddie stopped but didn’t turn, and Buck could see the white-knuckled grip he had on the door handle even in the limited light.

Buck was never good at saying the right thing. He spoke without thinking more often than not which anyone that had ever had a conversation with Buck would attest to, but he knew that he couldn’t do that then. Whatever he chose to say at that very moment would make or break their relationship even further than it might have already been the moment Eddie laid his eyes on Taylor.

He had it all planned out before. He would ask Eddie out on a real date and when he inevitably thought they were getting dinner as friends, Buck would declare his intentions with a brave voice and hope with everything in him that Eddie felt the same. He straightened his spine, brought his shoulders back, and crossed his arms over his chest, but the voice that followed did nothing to match the strong stance.

“Athena arrested me today,” Buck noted, cursing himself at the ridiculous start. When Eddie didn’t turn around, Buck took a cautious step forward and rested a hand on his shoulder, grateful for the way his grip eased on the door. “I got into trouble that I shouldn’t have to try to do the right thing and it was probably reckless and stupid, but I did it as I’m sure you knew I would,” Buck laughed and shook his head as he admitted, “and the entire time I wished it was you beside me.”

He ignored the shout from Taylor who apparently didn’t like that comment.

“I didn’t know you were the one getting shot at, but if I did, I— I don’t think Athena could’ve kept me in that interview room,” Buck said, grateful when Eddie turned on him with wide eyes.

“Wait, Thena literally arrested you?” Eddie asked incredulously, but Buck saw the little bit of amusement in his eye anyway.

“I mean, nothing that’ll show up on record, cause you know I would’ve called you to bail me out,” Buck noted. Eddie laughed and looked down at the keys in his hands and Buck took the chance to move one step closer. “I didn’t know you were there, putting yourself in the line of fire, Eddie. The second I heard you say it, I couldn’t hear anything else because I was too worried that even though you were standing right in front of me, there was a chance you could not have been.”

“You didn’t… hear me?” Eddie asked, glancing up at Buck like his worst fear had come true. Buck was pretty sure the adrenaline rush Eddie had was washed away by seeing Taylor in his apartment and if that was Buck, he wouldn’t have the courage to say all that he admitted again. So Buck let himself take the reins.

“Do you wanna get dinner?” He asked, just as he had practiced so many times before.

“Do I want to…”

“God, Diaz, just say yes so that I can go pass out on Buck’s couch with the satisfaction of all the good I’ve done today,” Taylor yelled and Buck glared at her once again.

“Does saying yes to you mean I have to like her?” Eddie asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Buck huffed out a laugh and said, “She grows on you.”

“Sounds like someone else I know,” Eddie commented as he locked his car doors again and pushed past Buck as easily as he had a few minutes ago.

“Is that a yes, then?” Buck asked as he jogged to catch up, bumping his waist into Eddie’s as they reached the front door.

“Got any more champagne?” Eddie asked, avoiding Buck’s question. Taylor let out a snort as she followed them into Buck’s apartment.

“Oh, I like this one, Buck. He’s gonna be good for you,” Taylor said before throwing herself on the couch and leaving the two men in the kitchen.

“He already is,” Buck muttered, staring over at Eddie who had helped himself to a beer he had no doubt left in Buck’s fridge. “Except he still hasn’t answered my—“

“Yes, Buck. Dinner sounds great.” And it really, really did.

#buddie #evan buckley #eddie diaz #buck x eddie #eddie x buck #buddie fic #coda fic #911 coda #911 on fox #911 spoilers #ish #its not that spoilery i dont think??#idk asldkjf;as #HOW THE SCENE SHOULD HAVE GONE IMO #my writing #hope you like it!

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popsiclemania · 3 years

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mad for each other: a review of sorts cw: abuse

(i went into this show not knowing much except that it was about mental health and that people found it progressive. it’s 13 thirty-minute episodes, so it’s not much of a time investment.)

The first two episodes are pretty choppy in that the two “mad” leads dissolve into hysterics or uncontrolled rage every time they meet. It’s meant to show how they are misfits in regular society and also “crazy” by its standards. The man (Hwi oh) is a suspended cop with a history of assault and getting mandatory therapy sessions for his anger problem. The therapist is iffy at best.

Once we get past this setup though, the show becomes primarily about the paranoid female lead (Minkyoung) who lives an isolated life and in constant fear. She’s suspicious of everyone and takes steps all the time to ensure she can be safe in any situation, which often means she screams in terror and attacks people if they get too close or walk behind her for too long. (Which the male lead happens to do by coincidence) But is it really paranoia if your fears are real?

This is the part that’s amazing part to me: how they unfold exactly why she behaves this way. Why does she read into situations that seem harmless? Why is she suspicious of every single person she comes across? Why does she keep forgetting things she does all the time?

The narrative slowly delineates her history of abuse and the effects its had on her memory, her emotions, how she presents herself in public and her living situation. The focus is more on her and less on the events. I love how she consciously uses people’s assumptions about her “craziness” to protect herself. Hence, the open hair, the sunglasses and the flower behind her ear.

So far, Hwi oh is barely tolerable as a character, nor is his problem something that moves me. (He’s an angry cop!) What bothers me also is that in a story populated with women, there are mostly two kinds: absolute villains and ones the ML admonishes for being terrible people.

The writer saves this from being insufferable by writing the main secondary characters— women’s association president Kim Inja, part-timer Suhyun and Samantha— with some complexity and their own storylines. (I love all three of them)

It also helps that Hwi oh’s primary function from episode 3-12 (apart from romance) is to serve as a device to understand Minkyoung’s past and the journey she is on in the present. This is in addition to the arc we’re already on with her character.

Which brings me to why Minkyoung’s story is so compelling. She’s set up as an unreliable narrator of any scene she is witness to. It’s drummed in that she doesn’t trust herself either. This is what the writer uses to chalk out the complicated aftermath of trauma and abuse. From ep 3-12, the show centres her and peels of layer after layer to help us understand her behaviour. This is a person committed to survival, to her truth, and to learning to rebuild a life she has lost. She is shrill, hysterical and rude, everything that makes it easy for people around her to write her off. But the writer shows again and again, how in the face of suspicion and disbelief, even from a well-intentioned Hwi oh, she is right about everything and has absolutely valid reasons for how she does and does not defend her behaviour in public. Each time I think ‘surely, they will not take this particular thread to its realistic conclusion’, they do. WHICH IS WILD. Because every drama I’ve watched so far (except Law School) has hedged on a story like this. It’s also not held the "good men” accountable for their own toxicity.

All of this is why the literal and figurative car crash of a last episode absolutely ruins everything they’ve built till them. Hwi oh is shown to begin coming to terms with his anger until he absolutely loses it for “good reason” in defence of Minkyoung. The scenes where she confronts him about how his treatment of her, despite his best intentions, is just a degree removed from her abusive ex are so great. Then they fuck it up trying to tie up the romance between two “misfits” with a big bow. Except Hwi oh isn’t a misfit, he’s a cop with a history of going off the rails for “justice” and “catching the bad guy” and one who doesn’t fix himself. (This a trope far past its expiration date in murder mysteries, it doesn’t have a place anywhere anymore.) And he gets her back using tactics very similar to her abusive ex.

(In a limited way, I’m coming to understand why dramas make this U-turn. The writers are usually women, PDs are often men, and South Korea has a not-so-great relationship with feminism right now. I’ve also seen women there talk about what it’s like to confront men in public places.)

Popular media takes so long to catch to up how it validates violent male behaviour and what that violence even encompasses. (Like Bollywood has barely caught up to its stalker heroes, and the Salman Khan industrial complex is still at its peak. How do we even begin to talk about emotional violence?) I understand that and it also fills me with rage. It’s effect is so visible here in India. I would love to know what South Korean women thought of this show. In conclusion, watch for Minkyoung’s story and Oh Yeon-seo, for a stellar performance by Gil Hae-yeon as Minkyoung’s mother, for Bae Ji-won, Lee Suhyun and An Woo-yeon and end at episode 12. Episode 13 does not exist.

(ps: why is a drug lord, trying to zealously hide his face, getting his food delivery in person🙄)

#mad for each other #as an aside #i just realised the law school yesul storyline reminds me of bollywood's pink #there's probably a way to right about upright angry men #it's not this #i also have zero patience think about it #coz my primary mood on most days is f*ck men

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akajustmerry · 3 years

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with episode 5 of TFAWS, I felt very cheated: because while the friendship scenes with Bucky and Sam were nice, they were such a whiplash from the previous four ones that it was all unearned and hollow. It wants the two of them to be friends because they are in the comics, but just ruined it with all the racist and poor storytelling beforehand to make one sick of it all before. The show is has bits and pieces that are good but they're overshadowed by the bad and it's frustrating. Hope ur well.

hello i am well, thank u 💖

you have every right to feel cheated. overall, tfatws’ core issue, apart from being full-on disney-military propaganda is that it’s trying too much in limited time. the show is trying to be across so many elements all at once (veterans issues, ptsd, grief, trauma, institutionalised anti-blackness, the multifaceted legacy of the shield and other patriotic symbols, illegal experimentation, etc) on top of general mcu character shit, which would be fine if the writers had the willingness/time to show how all these issues intersect in a meaningful way. but they don’t + disney-military complex means they can’t really be THAT critical

the whiplash you’re feeling is mostly cos sambucky went from 0-100 in ep 5. while the pair have defs spent time together, the only time the show laid the groundwork for their issues with each other was in ep 2. i don’t think the friendship fruition is entirely unearned tho because there was certainly enough common ground between them as veterans/ mutual grief over steve/ distrust of institutions so they could get away with not having to say everything. but again, i get you. there could easily have been more groundwork.

as for the racist storytelling, I’m assuming you’re referring to how for most of the series the audience is positioned to side with bucky as he reprimands sam for giving up the shield, how karli is also Black, how the series has way too many white people and how bucky’s rehabilitation is built on Black emotional labour. these should have been handled better, but please don’t erase that Malcolm Spellman, who wrote the series, is biracial and Black and has done a decent job of holding Bucky to account for his racism throughout in this episode.

episode 5 was all about Sam, Isaiah and Karli’s perspectives as Black people in this story. Yes, it's very overshadowed by the military propaganda and poor time management, but don’t let the well-handled moments in this show that were written by a Black man be belittled. Isaiah and Sam’s conversation, Sam and Sarah’s conversation, and Bucky’s apology for his ignorance were the majority of that episode and they were really well handled (for a marvel project lol).

“tfatws handled things poorly due to centring whiteness likely out of necessity to keep a majority white audience interested” and “Malcolm Spellman, a biracial Black man, has written great scenes even if the context wasn’t fully realised because of poor time management and Disney’s propaganda obligations” all co-exist.

i’ll reserve my judgement for the series as a whole until the final episode is out, but i’ve been making notes the last few days for my upcoming rewrite so i am feeling excited because whatever the show does next, good or bad, is gonna be very interesting!

#tfatws #anon

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multimetaverse · 4 years

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HSMTMTS 1x10 Review

Act 2 was a great finale that capped off a great season though somewhat marred by Disney censorship. Let’s dig in!

Finally Ricky and Nini have found their way back to each other. Sweet callback to Ricky lighting Nini up with his phone as Nini does the same. Breaking Free was great though I had to keep pausing during the EJ to Ricky transition because it was so cringey. Ricky and Nini really do have the best chemistry on the show and it shines through this ep. Joshua did a great job improvising Ricky’’s confession to Nini as did Olivia reacting to it. Tim mentioned in an interview that originally Ricky was supposed to tell Nini that he thinks he kinda you knows in a callback to the premiere but on set he realized that it was too cheesy and decided to let Joshua come up with a confession based on memories of his and Olivia’s real life friendship. That was certainly the steamiest kiss we’ve yet seen on Disney + but it was well earned

It speaks well of Tim that he recognized that his own writing wasn’t good enough and that he trusted his actors to take charge. It also goes to show how much of a difference it makes having the showrunner actually on set in Salt Lake, whether that was Tim or Disney’s decision. It’s a sharp contrast with Andi Mack where Terri the showrunner was based in LA and only rarely visited set while Michelle Manning was the producer in charge in Salt Lake, a split which I think hurt the show in some ways

That rainbow heart sign from the Mathew-Smith family was lovely. It’s great to see Seb’s family of Utah farmers being so supportive. This also confirms that Seb is out to his family, and since Miss Jenn seemed to greet Carlos’ father near the beginning of the ep it’s likely that Carlos is also out to his family

A historic first for Disney with a Seblos cheek kiss. Though of course while it’s progress it still isn’t equality. It’s not so much the Rini kisses that really drives home the inequality since they’re the main couple and were always going to kiss in the finale but rather it’s the Redlyn kiss. It’s not like Redlyn has gotten any real development nor did their story line really need a kiss so early. They got to kiss simply because they’re straight. That being said, it does once more show that the limits are looser on Disney +, we never would have gotten even a Tyrus cheek kiss on Disney Channel

Unfortunately Disney for the second ep this season released promotional photos of Seblos scenes that were cut from the episode itself. It’s not queerbaiting in the traditional sense but it is baiting the audience as they know that a lot of people are very invested in Seblos and seeing that rep on screen and Disney is willing to use that to draw in viewers while cutting the actual on screen rep down. What’s worse is that if it wasn’t for Disney itself letting us know that these scenes existed we’d never know that Seblos scenes were being cut. And of course, it’s a waste of time and money for the show to film these scenes only for them to be cut. A big complaint with Seblos this season has been their lack of development but that seems to be less on the writers who are in fact giving them more scenes then on Disney which is cutting them down to the bare minimum

It’s all shameless triangulation on Disney’s part, trying to be progressive but not so progressive as to alienate conservatives. It’s not like any homophobes are still watching the show after Seblos got together. So far it seems like the Disney censorship on HSMTMTS is coming mainly in post production like it was in Andi Mack S2 with the cut bash mitzvah scene and the edited look back which is awful but is still better than the much heavier censorship we saw in Andi Mack S3 that was coming in pre-production when things like Cyrus being able to talk about his feelings for TJ and vice versa were just never being written. Hopefully Seb being a main character in S2 means that the censorship lessens at least a bit or at the very least stays in the post production stage

In an interview done early on in the season, Tim talked about sometimes taking giant leaps and some times taking small steps in terms of the representation on the show and know we have a much better sense of what that means in practice. There was the giant leap of Seblos getting together at Homecoming and the small step of them kissing on the cheek. Afaik Tim hasn’t addressed the Seblos cheek kiss which is probably for the best and if he does I hope he has the good grace to not lie to the audience about his ability to have gotten an actual Seblos kiss approved. I do think we’ll eventually see a Seblos kiss though I think the earliest that could happen would be the S2 finale

Very telling that Ashlyn assumes EJ is behind Ricky’s exit and not a good look on EJ’s part to not tell Miss Jenn at least that Ricky left. . Good for him though for playing to lose and giving up the role of Troy to help Nini and Ricky. Confirmation that he paid for Gina’s ticket and we got our first Hell Yeah on the show. I don’t like it but it does seem like that scene was set up for Portwell in S2; at the very least it seems like Gina may have started to feel something for EJ

Pour one out for those poor audience members having to sit through that trainwreck of a second act. You know you’re really in trouble when you have to send your choreographer out there as an understudy

I loved Big Red’s little xylophone during the intermission

Nice to see Nini and Gina end on a friendly, supportive note. Hopefully that continues next season

Kudos to Olivia and Matt for really selling the high school theatre actors barely keeping it together on stage aspect of the performance. Nini and EJ have so little chemistry that it’s almost hard to remember that they were dating for several months

Mr Darbus’ office set looked great. Nice touch to have Miss Jenn mouthing the lyrics to Wondering off stage

Lynne really sucks. Can’t say I’d miss her if we don’t see her in S2

Will be interesting to see how Miss Jenn and Mr. Mazzara save their jobs

Realistically I don’t think Nini’s performance was strong enough to earn a spot at YAC; someone like Gina or Seb would have been a much more credible choice imo. Nice touch to have the Dean leave through one door and Ricky the other

Now that the season is done it’s hard to see any traces of whatever more mature direction former showrunner Oliver Goldstick wanted to go in. The whole season seems very coherent and consistent in terms of tone. We did learn from Tim and Olivia that her song All I Want was a re-shoot so maybe it was a replacement for a song or scene that was pushing the envelope more than Tim and Disney wanted

One thing that may or may not be connected is that EJ’s panic attacks from the original character breakdown made no appearance this season and who knows if we’ll ever seen EJ having panic attacks or suffering from anxiety. Disney seemingly had no trouble showing Jonah’s panic attacks on Andi Mack which is doubtless where HSMTMTS took the idea from but it’s also true that Jonah’s anxiety story line was abandoned halfway through S3 and though it’s likely just the result of bad writing it can’t be ruled out that Disney got cold feet over focusing on mental health in both Andi Mack and HSMTMTS

Looking Ahead:

One benefit of this review being so late is that we now know the spring muscial! Beauty and the Beast which seems to suggest that all future musicals will be Disney owned properties

Tim also confirmed that they will still be incorporating songs from HSM 2 and 3 into the show which will certainly help pad out the 16 extra songs they’ll be doing in S2. Having 12 eps will be a big help to the show; 10 eps just wasn’t enough to properly deal with all the characters and plots

HSMTMTS really turned out to be a delight and while I think S2 will be as well there are definitely potential issues ahead that will need to be deftly dealt with. Nini either going away to YAC and then coming back to SLC or just not going to YAC is probably going to be wrapped up in an unsatisfying manner. In all honesty this kind of plot would have worked much better if it had been saved for Nini’s senior year

Whatever plan Ashlyn is cooking up to keep Gina in SLC is also probably going to be poorly done as there’s no reason Gina’s mother would willingly leave her daughter in another state

EJ is either leaving the show after he graduates or they’re going to have to contrive some way to keep him around East High in future seasons

Seb now being a main will be interesting, if nothing else to see what Disney’s limits are. Tim has hinted at their being drama for Seblos in S2 and I hope that it serves to develop them and is not just a means to keep them apart so there can be two gay mains but no gay relationship. As an aside Tim revealed that Joe originally auditioned for EJ which is wild; it’s funny that both Joshua Rush and Joe Serafini auditioned for EJ when neither of them had any realistic chance of being cast

I have no strong feelings on the cast list for Beauty and the Beast though I do think it’s likely that either Kourtney or Gina end up playing Belle as I think having a black girl play Belle is just the type of subversion that would appeal to Tim. Miss Jenn did say that she wanted Kourtney to come speak to her over break and while Gina is a bigger character I’m not sure if Sofia’s singing is quite good enough to carry the lead in the musical while I think Dara’s definitely is

I’d say it’s very likely EJ ends up either as the beast or as Gaston since he’s in what should be his last semester. And if Gina also gets a big role it would make it easier to play with Portwell in S2. If EJ is the beast I could see Seb getting Gaston in another subversion of expectations. Regardless I think with Seb now being a main and with Joe having one of the strongest voices in the cast that he’ll play an important role

Until next season Wildcats

#HSMTMTS #Rini #Seblos #Ricky Bowen #Nini Salazar-Roberts #seb mathew-smith #carlos rodriguez #EJ Caswell #Gina Porter #HSMTMTS Reviews

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popculturebuffet · 4 years

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Ducktales Reviews: The Lost Harp of Mirvana!

The ducks head under the sea, no accusations just friendly crustacians under the sea.. along with some sorta monster, mer hippies voiced by voice acting legends and della being unable to enjoy any of this because she’s hiding back at the sub. Take a dive under the cut.

I’ll confess this wasn’t one I was even remotely excited about going in: I’ts not that I thought it’d be bad: the series is at it’s peak right now, I figured i’td be entertaining like last week, it just had the misforutne of being right before we finally get Daisy next week, and recent episode solicits for the two afte ronly made it worse: Fenton’s third episode (hopefully he gets two this season), that’s also hueycentric and will hopefully make gyro less dickish, and a wrestling episode because i’m a casual wrestling fan and huey having to play the heel against a norse snake god sounds fucking amazing. SO yeah “Hippie mermaids and Louie being suspcious only to oh no be proven wrong about being suspcious” as I predecited the episode would go sounded boring in comparison. But i’m not afraid to eat crow... metaphorically, literally I don’t want to eat a crow it’d taste miserable and I don’t want to eat this crow because I love him.

But on dreading this ep.. I was blown away. Part of it is low expectations: I had really none other than “it’ll be decent” going in, but that only carries you so far. No this episode was fantastic, adressed a problem i’d had since “Timephoon!”, if not earlier, and had some great guess casting. It was a throughly enjoyable, funny episode. Will it probably end up on my faviorites list like the premire duo might? no, but it’s still damn good. Let’s get into the why shall we Our story this week is fairly simple: The Ducks are headed under the sea to find the lost harp of mirvana, sans Launchpad because he had to go help an ex girlfirend, hang out with darkwing, it was his day off, they had enoguh characters to juggle as is, he got his head stuck in a jar again, I dunno. But refreshingly Beakly is present! Seriously this IS something I wanted since season 1: her coming along with the family more. She rarely does, which makes some small sense given she’s the housekeeper but has made less and less since they have a ghost butler and sh’es family at this point. I get she has to earn her keep and what not, and wants to show up her ghostly rival, but come on. Thankfully they have come on and while i’m not sure if it’ll be a common thing going forward, it IS nice to have her for this one. The story itself is nicely divded once our heroes run into the mirvanans themselves, zen mermaids, our focus ones voiced by hyden walch and greg cripes, who you may know as starfire and beast boy from the teen titans cartoon... andtheotherone... as well as voicing Princess Bublegum and 2k12 Michealangeo respectivley. I Love these two and it was a treat to have them voice mermaid hippies. Our party quicklky splits up into three plots that converge at the end: Louie, being naturally suspcious after nearly being sacrificed by seemingly benevlonet societies 20 something times (and Dewey having 71 according to the tally given this episode that I painstakingly counted. The boy is one braincell starved for attention) is suspcious this is a midsommar type thing and he’s in the middle of some sorta death cult as usual, while webby, a trusting soul, belivies nothing is wrong and the mer people are genuine, with Beakly backing her up despite seemingly going against her nature. Now this plot alone seems stock for any show, but works here since it’s rooted in character; Louie sees all the angles and thus all the cliches adventurers run into. He’s been at this for at LEAST a year, he’s seen just enough to get how a certain story will probably go and being a grifter by nature, he dosen’t trust easy to begin with. In contrast while Webby CAN be suspcious, her being naturally trusting has also been part of her character from the start. She genuinely TRUSTS people and gives them a chance first and unless their a clear enemy of scrooges, will not turn her back on them. This is best shown with her relationship with Lena: even AFTER getting clear evidence Lena was a spy the whole time, and even without the evidence that after a certain point it was a lie, she refused to fully belive Lena had betrayed her... and was rewarded with Lena giving her life for webby. She trusted Violet even after Violet had been hiding her intentions and had a dangerous magical artifact from her arch enemy on her, and was again rewarded this time with Lena coming back and getting another lifelong friend out of the deal in Violet. Webby has a faith in people that pays off more than not..t hough we’ve also seen that faith backfire, mostly in scrooge as scrooge is a flawed man and has serious issues, whether it’s a combination of flu and gaslighting driving him insane, or him lashing out at her at his weakest moment. Her optimisim both fuels her and has made her life better but has sometimes blindsided her to the flaws in people, especially her hero. It’s as bojack horseman put it “When you look at life through rose colored glasses, you miss all the red flags”. What keeps this intresting as the two go into an off limits danger cave to find out what’s inside, Louie to find proof he’s right and Webby to go with him to prove he’s wrong, is Beakly. After saving the two from a monster, Beakly keeps boosting webby..then privatley admits as the audience probably guessed she’s also deeply suspcious and simply dosen’t want to shatter her niece’s worldview until they have evidence. And this is where that thing I wanted comes into play: see last season during “Timephoon!” beakly is directly conrasted as a parent with Della, having raised two children and being wiser. And while she was in that moment.. Beakly isolated her grandchild, and basically kept her in a guilded cage while training her to be a weapon out of fear of loosing what little she had left. LIke with Donald’s smothering parenting, it’s understandable, but it should be adressed.. and this episode does, but thankfully dosen’t make Betina unsympathetic either: Every parent, or in my case uncle, has to lie once in a while, especially now with the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s natural. But Betina has gone overboard to try and protect Webby’s inoccence.. and it’s backfired. Not preparing her for scroog’es worse behavior lead to him outright destroying her during “Last Crash of the Sunchaser” when he temporarliy disowned her. And here it leads to a damn powerful scene with great acting from both Toks and Kate . The trio find the harp, voiced by Rhetta aka Donna from parks and recreation, whose basically the harp from the “raiders of the lost harp” episode of the original, the first episode of said show I ever saw and a classic about a harp that would melodically say “no no no, your fibbing fibbing fibbing” when someone lied, which this harp does, if not every time. She reveals her former owner, the king of mirvana who the hippies build their society after his example, basically ducked repsonsiblity while things fell apart and spent too long underwater (the mirvanans can also walk on land) and became the monster from earlier, and the rest will share his fate if not told

The powerful part comes when Beakly tries to lie.. and the harp keeps shutting her out till she’s forced to admit the truth: you can just.. feel the pain coming from the poor woman, and webby folds into a depressed state. Naturally Louie realizes, once they get back to the rest of the family, more on that in a second, and seeing that the mermaids did NOT realize their king was a monster nor plan to feed them to him, webby was right and tells them to have hope and that the society they built IS valid even if their king was a dipstick, he rebuilds webby and after everythings wrapped up webby and beakly apologize and hug. It’s a damn good plot even if the “Louie realizes he was wrong and wasn’t right abotu them being evil” parts were predictable.. it worked due to the excellent character work, with Louie also realizing being a cynical dick is kind of obonxoious. A damn strong a plot The subplots are also rooted throughly in character while still being entertaining,especially once the a-plot gets heavy towards the end: Della in the c plot stays behind because she’s afraid of fish, only conquering it breifly at the end to help her family and punch a man in the face, but it’s nice to not only see some new bits to her as well as some neruosis of her own. She is donald’s sister: he can’t hog all of it for the two of them. The main subplot though centers on the remaining family trying to earn their way to the harp by doing zen arts and crafts and works due to character: Donald becomes a hilaroius zen master in moments (though earlier he rebuffed a gently pat on the chest by the lady mermaid, though given she’s super pretty and he’s, for now, single and has been for a while.. jsut go for it. You’ll probably get a three way with the other one (who isn’t my type but it’s more the man bun than anything. Loose that and.. yeah i’ll be int hat mer sandwitch), but I digress, Donald finds inner peace, likely because well. he WANTS IT. He wants to be happy and calm, even if the world smacks him in the face and tells no. Granted said peace is disrupted in the most hilarous way possible simply by Huey telling him they think his barbeque is merely okay, but he deserves credit. The boys also quickly find it, Dewey making a mermaid tail with hot rod flames and huey making a woodchuck one but what makes the subplot is that scrooge..c an’t. He hates this society, he hates hippies and he LOATHES self reflection. It’s like this society was magicaly generated to piss him of and i’ts wonderful to watch. And as a quick aside bit before we go Rhetta is awesome as the harp, not the parks cast member I woudl’ve chosen as my first round draft pick for the series but she does greatly and has great timing (especially when Louie talks about selling her) and it was nice to see a bit of my first ducktales experince come back in an intresting new way. Overall this episode was a VERY plesant suprise, and taught me to be more open to an ep in the future even if it dosen’t look like it has a huge personal draw. It was excellent.And now before I go i’ve decided each week, especially now we have a enough, to put the episode in the ranking of each and every episode this season and placing them in comparison of one another. I might do a list ranking the first season and second seasons on their own for fun. But for now here’s season 3 so far, so you can see where the ep stacks comparitvley: 1. Quack Pack! 2. The Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchucks! 3. The Lost Harp of Mirvana! 4. Double O Duck in You Only Crash Twice. I”ll see you next week for DAISY AT LAST, the return of my boys the cablleros and some suprises and pies of all sizes ashurldy. Until then, courage.

#ducktales #mystery science theater 3000 #the lost harp of mirvana #ducktales spoilers

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klaineownsmysoul · 5 years

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hello. i've just started glee (lol i know i'm super late) and i'm obsessed with klaine. could you explain why you don't like season 6 klaine? should i not watch it

First off - welcome to the Klaine fandom! Its never too late to join. I’m pretty sure as long as this show is streaming somewhere, new people will be discovering it all the time. I myself am notorious for wandering into a show after 3 or 4 seasons - Modern Family, Supernatural, 24 - are some prime examples of shows I was late to the party to and then lost my mind catching up on. Secondly - congratulations on having excellent taste! 😉 Klaine is really the only thing worth remembering Glee for.

With regards to your question about season 6? Well, I’m not sure where you are in terms of episodes and seasons and I don’t want to spoil anything for you if you don’t want to know, so consider the rest of this post as one giant spoiler. I would also never want to dissuade someone from watching, so please keep in mind this is just my opinion on things. I watched through to the end as did all of my fellow Klainers here so its doable. Its just not the easiest or prettiest thing.

**********Spoilers below************

I think for me, the word that comes to mind most and sums season 6 up best is waste. They were utterly and completely wasted in those final 13 episodes. These were going to be the last eps we were going to get with them and my reaction week after week was “tick tock bitches, where’s my Klaine?” Their storyline - if you can even call it that - went nowhere. People’s opinions on season 6 varied - some liked it, some like me loathed almost every moment of it, some disliked it as it aired but have mellowed since - but I think one thing we could all pretty much agree on is that no one wanted to go back to Lima. Doing that erased any forward momentum they gathered during the last half of season 5 episodes when they finally dumped all the dead weight holding this show back and concentrated solely on an NYC arc. As off kilter as those eps felt Klaine-wise, at least they were interesting and a move in the right direction. Watching Blaine waste away in Lima alone for all of season 4 and then ¾ of season 5 pissed me off to no end. It shouldn’t have taken so long to get him and Kurt back in the same place and I’m not going to get off on a rant here about how they never should have been separated in the first place. I could write a dissertation on how that one decision - de-aging Blaine and making him a junior - was the dumbest fucking thing this show ever did. And considering the dumbass decisions this show made along the way, that is really saying something. But I digress. They ended season 5 in such a good place relationship wise that to decide to break them up again in the season premiere and then have their story grind to a halt for 7 episodes before they got married was a knife to my heart week after week. Breaking them up in a cold cruel flashback was bad enough. Having Blaine be so upset that he was kicked out of the school he worked so hard to get into, his so-called friends forgot all about his existence and he had nothing and no one to lean on so he had to move back home to Ohio was terrible. But the worst of the worst - Blaine and DK. That was an unforgivable sin as far as I’m concerned. It goes against everything that makes Blaine Blaine and was nothing but a giant glowing middle finger from RIB to the Klaine fandom. To bring back a character that was not missed, not even mentioned during season 4 and only once in season 5 and placing him in a romantic relationship with the soulmate of the boy he physically and emotionally abused for months on end was in the most appalling taste possible. It was deliberately aimed at our fandom by RIB as the ultimate “fuck you.” Nothing more because they are petty little assholes. Every single time he was within 50 feet of Blaine or god forbid touched him, my soul died a little. The Blaine I know and adore would never ever ever in a million years look at him and see anything but the guy who drove Kurt to Dalton because he feared for his life. And Kurt? He realized he fucked up, left NYC to come back to Lima for Blaine and then…nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. He spent more time as Rachel’s god damned cheerleader than he did trying to woo Blaine back, which would have been the only redeeming piece of them being apart. Because it had to come from Kurt. He was the one who ended things; Blaine never wanted to leave. So the apology and reasons and the heartfelt declarations of love that we are accustomed to coming from Blaine had to come from Kurt to make this worthwhile. But sadly, like every other aspect of season 6, they fumbled this too. Badly. They danced around each other awkwardly for 7 episodes and nothing was accomplished or moved forward. I can’t get into an angry rant here about their wedding; I will be here all damn night. I have made my feelings crystal clear about that already during many a rage post, but let’s just say that ep may be the biggest disappointment I have ever experienced tv wise. Nothing was theirs, nothing about the wedding had anything to do with them as a couple. They were a throw in and then thrown aside just as quickly. Their 30 second “reunion” if you can even call it that after 7 eps of pure hell was yet another slap in the face. Blaine’s “there’s no one else” was everything that he needed to hear from Kurt and a small novel of explanation more. But no. We weren’t gifted with one of those trademark heart to hearts that we got during season 3; those convos that separated them from every other couple on this show and made me believe that even though they were so young, they really were meant to be. And then once they were married, they disappeared. Sure they were around physically, but that’s it. Dalton burns down and Klaine is given fuck all to do story-wise. A place that held so much importance for them as a couple was destroyed as a plot device and their reaction was limited to Blaine’s sad puppy eyes at the beginning of the ep. We got one sentence from Kurt in some ep I can’t remember about Blaine getting into NYU for the next semester and that was the extent of their future plans. They never had a conversation about moving back and what they would look like, what that would entail in terms of living arrangements and how they would do better as a couple now that they know what they have and how much they don’t want to lose each other again. Nothing, Season 6 should have built upon 5x20 and culminated in their wedding. We should have gotten wedding planning and vows and honeymoon destination discussions and ring shopping and they should have had a wedding that reflected who they are as a couple. It should not have been a means to end so Glee could show off their super awesome double gay wedding that managed to unite 2 fandoms that generally don’t get along in their utter dislike. Congrats - RIB managed to craft an ep where 2 fan favorite couples got married that was panned by both fandoms. That takes a special level of obliviousness.

More newbies introduced in season 6 that no one needed and just took up valuable time that could have been put to Klaine or wrapping up the stories from the already bloated original cast. I wasn’t going to invest myself in characters with an expiration date, so spending endless time on them was time I wasn’t going to get back. Everyone and their mother propping Rachel up and telling her how great she is, how much of a star she is, and how nothing that’s happened to her could possibly be her fault because she is perfect was infuriating. Pointless duets between her and Sam when we all knew their weird sudden relationship wasn’t going anywhere. Having Mr. Schue and Coach Sue getting as many duets as Klaine did during season 6 is a sentence I should never type but I just did. Neither Kurt nor Blaine getting a solo at all. My god, how the fuck did that happen? Why did that happen? It was like they went out of their way to screw Kurt and Blaine as individual characters and and as a couple. Having an entire episode centered on some bratty preteen who sang more than Klaine did. Having 2 episodes without Kurt and Blaine at all and the only reason they threw Blaine into the 2009 flashback was because people flipped the fuck out at the idea of him not being in a 3rd episode out of 13.

There’s a reason why during 3 @comewatchklaine rewatches, the only full ep from season 6 we watched was 6x13, the series finale. Some kind soul pulled together the Klaine bits from eps 5 and on and all of that was only about 40 minutes long. 40 minutes. 40 minutes worth of Klaine in like 7 episodes and that doesn’t include the first 4 because those were a complete waste. The locker scene and flash forward were the only bits that felt authentically Klaine to me. That is what I choose to remember because the rest of it taints this show to me.

So long story long, that is why I loathe and despise season 6 as a whole. I’m sorry I don’t have more positive things to say. Please don’t take my words as a reason to skip the end - if you want to watch, go ahead. I would never want to be why someone missed out on something they might enjoy. Season 6 could have and should have been amazing; so amazing that saying goodbye to them would have been heartbreaking. Instead, I was glad I got to see them get married and that they got the happy ending they deserved, but that was about it. If that’s how little this show thought of them at that point, I was glad to see it end. I will always be grateful that it gave me Klaine because I will love them always. I will never forgive them, though, for the appalling way they were treated and its why I make a concerted effort to avoid anything RIB has a hand in now and in the future.

#klaine #still hate season 6 with a fiery passion #I guess not enough time has healed this wound #anonymous

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ettadunham · 5 years

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A Buffy rewatch 5x03 The Replacement

aka how to handle your evil twin

Welcome to this dailyish text post series where I will rewatch an episode of Buffy and go on an impromptu rant about it for an hour. Is it about one hyperspecific thing or twenty observations? 10 or 3k words? You don’t know! I don’t know!!! In this house we don’t know things.

And today’s episode once again has me rambling about how season 5 brings us adult Scoobies (most specifically Xander in this case of course), and maybe also talk a bit about the Riley dilemma. Let’s see how far we’ll get with this.

If there’s one nitpicky thing I have about The Replacement, it’s all the red-herrings they pull to try and sell the audience on suave Xander as a body-switched demon. It might work on a first watch, but once you know the twist, you’re starting to wonder what Xander meant when he told Anya that he can relate to her sudden human fragility, and shit like that.

I also have questions about the real estate agent lady coming onto Xander. I guess suave Xander has all the asshole qualities since he isn’t shutting it down… but neither would the other Xander based on his lines??? Hoo boy.

Then again, I’m also wondering now about what power real estate agent lady has regarding Xander getting this apartment (maybe she’s actually landlord lady???), and now that’s a whole different yikes. On yet another hand though, the so-called suave Xander used a line mentioning Klingons on her, so this also seems like a very specific nerd fantasy.

But I digress.

Overall, this episode is about Xander coming to terms about his own adult life. And I know I keep going back to this word, and using it to describe the season, so I want to make a few clarifications.

When I say that the Scoobies are all adults in season 5, I don’t mean that they abandoned all childlike qualities or have fully matured. (Mostly because that never actually happens to any of us…) Buffy still fights with her sister like they’re both 5-year-olds. When it comes to Anya, Willow is petty af.

But so is Giles sometimes. Being an adult is much more about the ability to think ahead and knowing yourself, including your potential and limits. This is what Xander is faced with here - his supposedly best and worst qualities.

I do think that definig the two Xanders we see here as his strength and weaknesses is a gross oversimplification though - and one that the episode doesn’t really rectify either. It’s fun seeing confident Xander, and having this affirmation that he’s really taking charge of his life at this point… but I do wish that we’ve also had a bit of an appreciation for our other Xander. It would’ve helped driving this whole theme of how his character can’t be whole without both of these parts.

Another meh element was the gun. Buffy, the show, rarely uses guns, and when it does in a context like this - where a character is just waving it around to make themselves feel more in control -, it pretty much always leads to tragedy.

And yet… not here. The tension of the gun gets resolved without consequences. We also learn that the gun belongs to Anya, but we’ll never bring it back again. Which is just as well if you ask me. (Chekhov can go and sit in a corner for all I care.)

So I guess I actually have more than one nitpicky stuff about this episode, but overall, I still enjoyed it like most of this season. Seeing how I’ve been non-stop gushing about s5 for the last three episodes, I think it comes as no surprise that this always has been one of my favorite seasons of the show. And that opinion appears to hold up for this rewatch so far.

One of the other things I wanted to point to before moving onto the Riley section of this post, is Xander and Willow’s mention of Anya when they’re talking about Xander’s double taking over his life.

Xander: He can take anything, but he can’t have her. I need her. Willow: Really? Xander: He could be with her right now! [...] I gotta find her. Willow: Xander... You already knew he was taking over your life, and you didn’t think about Anya till just now?

The most important detail of this exchange is the tone of Willow’s voice when she says “Really?”. It’s easy to take Willow on her word when just doing a reading of the lines, accepting her perspective on Xander and Anya’s relationship… But Willow is an extremely biased narrator in this case.

And it’s all evident in the way she says that one single line. She almost seems disgusted and clearly annoyed with Xander’s sudden outburst of desperation for Anya. Willow just really doesn’t like Anya - thankfully we’ll have a whole episode this season dedicated to this where we can dissect the layers of those emotions.

On the other hand, it also doesn’t mean that Willow isn’t not right? Xander has a huge problem of not appreciating what he has in the moment, and trying to chase something new to move his life forward. But that’s why this episode is so important to him.

That last scene with Riley’s speech is just as much about Xander as it is about Riley. Xander clearly sees himself in Riley in a sort of what-could-have-been scenario. It’s debatable if he’s every got over his crush and entitlement to Buffy’s affections, but here’s this guy, who adores Buffy just as much as he used to. And he’s the luckiest guy! He’s actually got the dream girl or whatever…

…And yet he’s also just a saddest thot, ‘cause the girl of his dreams doesn’t seem to reciprocate those same affections. Because of that, i read that last close-up on Xander’s face as him realizing just how goddamn lucky he is to love someone who loves him back. And perhaps finally giving up on his last shred of daydreams about that one girl who turned him down back in high school.

On the other hand, it really is also just about him watching one of his best friends and wanting to see her happy. And realizing that that’s not the direction her relationship with Riley is headed.

Now, the problem we run into here too is that we’re accepting Riley’s perspective on Buffy’s feelings about him, and you know what? I’m not so sure about that.

Buffy definitely feels like she can’t share all of her life - especially the Slayer parts - with Riley at this point. I pointed to some signs indicating this in earlier episodes, but she actually makes it explicit here.

Buffy thinks that Riley would rather just have Buffy without the Slayer parts and so she asks him. But Riley reassures her that that’s not the case. That he loves everything about her because it’s what makes her who she is.

It’s a nice sentiment, but one can also see moments that seem to support Buffy’s instincts that Riley might be uncomfortable with the whole package deal. There’s also an argument to be made that Buffy distancing herself makes Riley blame her Slayer qualities for her detachment on some level, which in turn informs Buffy that she can’t let Riley fully in, and so on. A neverending feedback loop that’s slowly but surely expanding the rift between them.

And yet it’s not even about Riley really - Buffy this season, more than ever, struggles with understanding her Slayer powers. In that sense, her asking Riley about whether or not he wished to have been able to separate the Slayer from Buffy, is more a question to herself. Buffy doesn’t yearn for that “normal life” quite the same anymore, but she doesn’t know how the Slayer fits in with Buffy either.

Going back to theme of adulthood being about knowing ourselves, Buffy knows Buffy. She’s yet to fully understand the Slayer.

In a way, it really isn’t about Riley at all, even though he appears to think so. Riley feels like Buffy can’t love him, specifically - but in reality, her detachment goes much deeper than that.

Buffy will have trouble opening up for the remainder of the series, and Riley eventually leaving won’t help, but it’ll also just exacerbate an existing problem. Probably more on that later.

You know what I love though? College Buffy being too engulfed in her history studies to enjoy the movie. And once she does look up, she spends the whole movie criticizing the fighting strategy of the protagonist. What a nerd.

I also laughed at Riley’s line about wanting to lock the Xanders up in separate rooms and study them. You can take the boy out of the Initiative, but… wait, the show already made that joke last episode, whatever.

Meanwhile Joyce is having a headache, and Buffy and Dawn joke about which one of them gave her that. I’m sure it’s fine.

Unfortunately, Tara skipped out on this ep. She’s probably getting prepared for a visit from her evil cousin from hell, Amy Adams.

I, myself, am not sure I’m prepared for that tbh.

#buffy rewatch 2k19 #btvs talk #btvs

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novarasalas · 6 years

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Second Look Review: ‘A Little Adventure’, Part 2

Part 4: It’s Complicated

So, last time I talked about how Shiro has a chronic illness.

This time, I’m going to talk about how Shiro has a boyfriend.

..uh….had?

Hoo boy.

This scene lasted all of one minute, but it gave us so much insight into Shiro’s character. It also stirred up a lot of shit.

I’m going to be honest about what this is: a defense of Adam.

To be fair, I try to avoid the drama, but it just wasn’t possible with this particular plot point. People seemed to be pretty evenly split between ‘omg OTP boyfriends forever’ and ‘Adam is evil and deserves whatever happens to him’. The truth is, as is almost always the case, somewhere in the middle.

I, for one, believe that this was a very well written scene, obviously written by someone who’s had relationship troubles. And all relationships will have troubles. No one is perfect, and when you put two imperfect people together, disagreements will happen.

And even when two people seem perfect for each other, in the end, there may be that one thing that drives them apart.

In this case, that “one thing” is Shiro’s recklessness with his own health.

Now, in my first part, I talked about how much I could relate to Shiro in our shared suffering of chronic illness. You can’t let it stop you; you have to live as best you can while managing yourself and your health. You must learn your limits, and adjust accordingly if you want to keep living. Learning to do that takes maturity, and is something that you must grow into.

So, yeah, I’m saying that Shiro’s being immature. And I say that as someone who’s been there. I was immature like this once, too. And Shiro’s very young here. Both of them are, I suppose. We don’t get any info on Adam other than the knowledge that he and Shiro are together.

Aside from the illness, though, is just the nature of being with another person. You have to take them into consideration: what they want, how they feel, which direction they’d like to take the relationship. It’s why a couple is together. If you want to act completely on you’re own without thought to others in your life...well…

Yeah. This mess happens.

Adam feels like Shiro’s already made the decision to leave him. And hasn’t he? He elects to go on an already dangerous mission, complicated by his own worsening condition, when instead he could be as home with the man who loves him.

You can tell by the dialogue that they've had this conversation many times before. How long are two people suppose to suffer through this?

And now, I want to say this, specifically for the ones I saw mad that Adam would leave a sick man.

Shiro is sick, yes. But he’s not dependent on Adam. He’s well enough to have been considered for missions still, and while I’m sure that he appreciates the help he gets from Adam, he’ll be fine on his own.

I’m sick. If it would come down to something like this with me and mine, I wouldn’t want them to feel trapped in a relationship just because of my illness. I could use some help everyday, but in the end, I can still take care of myself.

I say this because I immediately saw people comparing Adam leaving to, say….a spouse leaving another after a devastating accident, or during cancer treatments, or something heavy like that. Those are unequivocally douchey moves, no doubt about it.

That’s not what’s happening here. If you were to remove Shiro’s illness from the equation, and just have Adam be worried about him being just generally reckless, the outcome would be the same.

And I’m not saying this is all Shiro’s fault, either. It’s a partnership. And in this case, we only really get to see what’s happening as far as Shiro himself is concerned.

We know that the relationship ended. We also see, later on, that Shiro still cares for Adam. The actual break up happened off screen, but it was probably still amicable. It’s entirely possible to break up and still care for each other.

Do I think they would have ever gotten back together? Nah, probably not. And that’s ok. It’s really, really ok.

For more on this, please read this interview with Lauren and Joaquim from Hypable: _Exclusive: ‘Voltron’ EPs break down journey to LGBT+ representation, Shiro’s connections, ahead of season 7. _They say it all better than I can.

Also, please tell me how to link without breaking the tags.

Oh, and another thing. That ultimatum? Crazy, evil and manipulative?

From Psychology Today, in the article How to Issue a Relationship Ultimatum:

The worst part about ultimatums is that sometimes the recipient desires the same outcome as the person issuing the demand, but the ultimatum feels so aggressive that it forecloses the mutual desire.

The best way to avoid ultimatums altogether is for each partner to be perfectly clear about their values, goals, and intentions from the beginning. But sometimes even the best planning doesn’t prevent a situation in which one person is ready to move forward when the other isn’t.

When that happens—when it’s time to move forward or move on—it is entirely possible to deliver ultimatums in a compassionate and non-coercive manner. Instead of forcing the hesitant partner into a corner, ultimatums can honestly be presented as choices that highlight options and freedom, rather than pressure and sacrifice.

Please read that for more good insight. Nothing is as black and white as people on here would have you believe.

Part 5: He’s Gay

So I went on a lot about the chronic illnesses thing, but the real news was that Shiro loves men.

This is amazing. Don’t let anyone tell you different.

I really enjoyed how casual it was. There was no exposition, no stopping and explaining it. Shiro knows himself and has for awhile. It’s just a fact at this point. Was is subtle? Understated, maybe. But not everyone’s queerness is Pride parades and glitter. I know mine isn’t.

And the fact that it’s Shiro, Mr. Voltron himself. The main guy.

The main guy. Because the fact that Shiro is male and queer is a big deal.

Now, I must admit, I’m really not up to date on what’s going on rep wise in children’s media. I know of two wlw relationships happening, which is a very good thing. I’m 100% on board with that.

But it needs to be acknowledged that it’s because they’re girls(and not the main characters, as well), it was easier to be more obvious with their relationships.

Why? Because our society still sucks.

Gay women? Hot.

Gay men? A threat.

Across all media, I’ve seen far more lesbians and bi women than I have queer men of any kind. To a particular set of men who run most things these days, gay men can only be dangerous. They’re predators, and they’re out to get both them and their sons.

So for Shiro to be allowed to be gay, however subtlety you see it, is a huge step forward. This is a main male character, who is in a cartoon primarily marketed to adolescents, who is queer.

I never thought I’d see the quiznacking quintant.

However you found this revelation, you must admit: this is progress, and this is a good thing.

Also, there will never be perfect representation, because there are no perfect people to represent.

I feel good about it though. Shiro is chronically queer, just like me.

In Summary:

Wow, that was a certainly something. That was a very strong start to the season. Heavy, too, which honestly sets the mood for the rest of the episodes. It’s still rated Y7, though, which will never cease to amaze me.

A few things that I didn’t mention:

Let’s be honest, we all thought he was going in for a kiss here.

And this, which is one of my favorite things I’ve seen all year.

I call it

The Gasp of Knowing

youtube

Next up: The gang hits the ol’ dusty trail and set out to mosey on home.

#second look review #shiro #vld shiro #voltron #vld s7 #meta #long post

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softnorwegians · 6 years

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hi there! i've loved your blog and skam insights for so long, and was really intrigued about what you wrote in your tags about how the use of cherry wine re even's pov was masterful. if you were interested, i'd love to here more about your thoughts in relation to even and cherry wine. no pressure though! sending lots of love, esp after your recent car accident - i've been in one before and they really are so scary and traumatic. i hope you're okay xxx

Aww, thank you, that’s so sweet~ I’m sorry to hear you’ve been through it too but yeah, it shakes you up even when everyone is okay. I think it’s one of those moments that just makes you remember how much is out of your control. I’m honored to have been a go-to blog for so long, it’s hard to believe someone could still be interested in more over a year later! hahaha, I keep thinking I’ve meta-ed all I possibly can… yet somehow, there’s still a little more to scratch? I don’t think I have too much to say except the obvious but I’ll say that for you! 💕

Okay, so, at that point, we’d already established a lot: song lyrics as a mode of communication from Even, his love of Nas, and more than that, the music in Skam s3 had already been very meta, it’s almost a larger-than-life part of the show. The use of Cherry Wine stands out for me because it came at this heightened moment; there probably wasn’t a time in the season when viewers more wanted an update than after that Friday when everything fell apart. So, we wound up in this interesting place, where we were more ready and anxious to hear from Even than Isak was. The lyrics of Cherry Wine are moving in and of themselves but I think they were even more so because… we immediately get it. That Even doesn’t feel like he can reach out more than indirectly and his meaning with this one is really transparent. It starts here:

The noise in my head, the curse of the talented

Which pings right away as him acknowledging his bipolar, an emotional moment in itself because it’s really the first time we get to see him do that. It’s the first time that Isak and Even and the audience are all on the same page here. In the same text we get:

Strong communicator,vagabondI gallivant around the equator, And that would get me off the radar

Less direct but there’s this sense of owned unreliability (vagabond, gallivant) and also not wanting to be seen (get me off the radar, though I like the other copy of the lyrics that he didn’t use better “if that would get me off the radar”) that really clicks with Even as we’ve seen him; seemingly confident, unpredictable, and in this place of not wanting to tell Isak (before it came out on its own).

Then there’s a break and next:

It’s so intense, I’m on my Lilo and StitchPour my Pino Grigio with some lime what is this?

Again, it’s an easy read to see him relating this to being bipolar with “It’s so intense, I’m on my Lilo and Stitch”. There’s even a sense of being in a usual state (with on marking it as not always something happening but my marking it something reoccurring and personal) of being pulled in two directions (Lilo and Stitch) there.

An immaculate version of me and my babyWith all respect ‘cause you the only one that gets me

This keys in perfectly with us just having established ‘baby’ as their petname of choice in the scene the night before. And “an immaculate version” fits really well with that night too, with the white sheets and “uendelig” and the purity of that moment, as well as all the different ‘versions’ of Isak-and-Even being their thing. (This is especially notable as a lyrical pick Even would have had to make himself, because that’s the clean version of the lyrics and not the original ones.) And obviously “With all respect ‘cause you the only one that gets me”… my heart. 😭😭😭 That line really hurts because Even is putting it all out there, how much being with Isak has meant to him, how real it’s been for him and how he’s felt like Isak really gets him… but it’s only coming after Isak is thinking he doesn’t really know him at all. Which Even would be well aware was likely to be happening right now.

Where is he? The man who was just like meI heard he was hiding somewhere I can’t seeWhere is he? The man who was just like meHeard he was hiding somewhere I can’t see

And then obviously this hurtssss too because you know it’s a question Even probably asked in more than one way, he probably did ask where Isak was when he was coming down from the episode and now he’s more figurative asking it. And once again reinforcing the connection and similarity between them, right as he’s aware it might be breaking… ouch.

And I’m alone and I realize that when I get homeI wanna go through my red and my cherryYes, I’m alone and I realize when I get homeI wanna go through my red and my cherry

“And I’m alone and I realize that when I get home” just… it makes me think Julie Andem had this song in mind all along when structuring the end of ep 8. This is why it feels so masterful, it’s speaking for Even without requiring him to actually speak. We couldn’t really get anymore from Even at this point because Isak is our pov character and he isn’t ready to talk to him again but Cherry Wine brings us through exactly what Even must have gone through post 15:15-1:01 himself. On one hand, there’s an underlying unease you get from the resignation of “And I’m alone” moving to “Yes, I’m alone”. It fits into how he feels alone in his brain and also how he was talking the night before about losing what they had, anticipating it before it happened. The melancholy and yearning feeling of this section, the reaching out with “I wanna go through my red and my cherry” is perfect to bring you from Even last night to Even now. It’s especially poignant, how much the lyrics are about searching and calling out. As he’s showing by sending these lyrics in the first place, Even might have been telling himself that losing Isak was inevitable but he doesn’t want to. He’s still reaching out with this, it’s just in a very heartbreaking way.

Yeah, yeah, let’s pour some cherry wineEverything’s good, everything’s fineYeah, yeah, we bring it every timeYeah, pour a little cherry wine

Yeah, hey yo, salaam, yeah, I think they know the timeEverything’s good, everything’s fineYeah, pour a little cherry wine, yeahLife is good, life is good, yeah

Life is good, no matter whatLife is good, life is goodLife if [sic] good, yeah, no matter whatLife is good

And then the lyrics end with this repetition of both “Everything’s good, everything’s fine” and “Life is good” that here reads like an attempt at self-reassurance, an attempt to keep things together when things clearly aren’t fine and Even isn’t able to see that “life is good” at all. The staccato repetition of the end is something that becomes a good split between Even and Isak’s perspectives too: for Even, it feels like he needs to keep repeating this to himself, keep trying to tell himself this and for Isak, it emphasizes how all of this is speeding past as he reads, not really getting through and seeming an incomprehensible stream of words.

That’s the other real point of genius with this, it’s well established to us that Isak isn’t getting all this from the lyrics. The clip opens with this tense, ominous guitar riff and Isak reading about bipolar disorder and the sound of all these texts coming in close together that he’s ignoring. So of course we get it, that he doesn’t get it. That it seems like maybe another inexplicable thing Even is doing because he’s manic, that it reminds Isak too much of the incoherent strings of biblical texts that he gets from his mother and ignores. It also opens with this already in progress (the first thing we hear is a text arriving) and since the lyrics we get are the end of the song, it’s very likely Even has been sending him the whole thing. Which makes it easier for us to do a targeted reading on what Even means by this but harder for Isak.

And then there’s this really nice other layer that comes with Skam being very grounded in the real world, that you can go read about the song and any meta about it does exist for them too. So this time, it was such a punch in the gut to have someone point out after this clip:

Annnnnnd know that Even would most likely know that as a fan of Nas. You can even go back and pick through the rest of the lyrics we didn’t see him send and do a deep read on them too, like “I want some who like the champagne I like / My a-alike, someone to talk me off the bridge any day or night” and know Even is over there connected to this too. So now we get to go into this week hearing about what Even is feeling from Even himself… and yet we kind of got this message under Isak’s nose. He was there, he read it too but only we fully got the message. This was just such a smart way to make use of his limited perspective.

Cherry Wine is more vital than it might seem because it’s really our one window into Even’s thoughts before we get his text in at the end of ep 9. I think it serves to get us there, to see just how deeply this could have effected him, when we have an idea of how much Even much is trying to say and the response being “Hi Even. I don’t understand shit right now. Stop texting me.” It allows us to be more in Even’s head with the depth of the loss he feels, which is important when he’s about to go to such a low place after this.

#anon #replies #skam #even bech næsheim #isak x even #9.10 part 1 #nas's cherry wine #music #my posts #I... had more to say than I thought #this is like my FAVORITE though #it's such a payoff of the way they've been using music all season #btw anon #if you ever want to come talk personally feel free!#I feel like I want to reciprocate your investment in me here!#❤❤❤

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seenashwrite · 7 years

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The Nail: July 2017

The Nail isn't about perfection. It isn't about award-level contenders. It's about seeing focus and effort and hard work radiate off of the screen.

The Nail's purpose isn't to highlight genres of fics or specific ships written during a certain time frame - the sole focus is quality.

Character dimension. Writing with clever readers in mind. Solid world-building. Tension through boundaries. Crazy crisp dialogue. Incredibly tight plotting. Big emotion.

And though yours truly - nice to meet you, new folks, I’m Nash! - is editor of the list, the goal is for YOU to curate the content.

Read more about how all this came to be, find past editions, see what factors are considered when constructing the list, and how to get your recommendations in/be a curator HERE.

Hey, ramblers? Let’s get ramblin’.

For your reblogging convenience, here’s The Nail Master Post of Editions!

Quickie Nash Note:

I've not had opportunity this month [June] to give individual three-point reviews. So, something a little different here for July's reads - and it just might be the way The Nail rolls from here on out [and yes - I still will review on my "own time", as it were, once I... y'know... have more time].

Aside from the typical short blip of a summary that reviewers provide for their readers, you'll see a handful of reasons these pieces made the list below that, labelled "Q". In other words, the "Q"s are a handful of elements we [curators & I] look for when it comes to an author nailing it.

Quite wonderfully, the curator submissions are increasing in number with every edition! So much so, many stories have been shifted to upcoming months. If you enjoy curator selections & found them to be of quality, please consider not only giving the authors feedback, but also thanking the curator(s) for bringing the story/series to your attention. I suspect they'll dig it.

XO - Nash.

* ~ * ALL FROM THE WORLD OF "SUPERNATURAL" UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED * ~ *

SPEED READS [from scene do-overs to gif-inspired one-shots to dripping drabbles, all 500 words or less]

These won’t be reviewed separately in Nash’s usual three-point manner à la #Nash Gives [Feed]back due to their length, excepting those cases where the author pulled off a fleshed-out plot/character or had a unique take that was well-covered in the short amount of space. If there is no title provided by the author, Nash/the curator will pick one for them.

THE YEAR IS 2050 - @mishasaurus

Years on the job, and still the occasional surprise.

Q: crisp, quick, no more words/detail than necessary; executed a call-back and wisely eschewed any [uneccessary] explanations; wonderfully delightful, spot-on humor

FIFTEEN - @teamfreewill-imagine

Time always has moved differently for Dean.

Q: Concise while still giving character dimension; exploratory without explaining every finite detail; subtle and realistic tipping point in character arc

RESERVED SPACE - @supernaturalfreewill

Rather than take action, Dean observes and wonders.

Q: pitch-perfection descriptions that gave just enough vs. too dense; took a prompt that inferred a certain direction/instead chose a thoughtful path to show a different side of a well-known character; pleasant change of pace/atypical use of reader inclusion/insert

STEP-BY-STEP - @veneredirimmel

A short character study, considering what exactly is behind this hunter's smile.

Q: careful and considerate exploration of a characteristic that often bends shallow and sappy; flow is pitch-perfect, each section adding a bit more gravity, growing more personal as it goes on; kept in line with the portrayal we know while adding believable layers; leaves the reader with a feeling of "I want to go back and read this again"

---> Unable to tag author, if someone would kindly let them know <---

THE LONG, FULL YEARS - @ariannnawinchester

What happens in the life story of the Winchesters after "The End" has been written.

Q: fantastic example of a heavy topic in the hands of a sharp author who can make it feel "light" & not depressive; written with clever readers in mind, painting a picture fluid enough to allow for interpretation; absolutely knocked it out of the park regarding the "main event", in that those details weren't important as the aftermath is the point; fleshed-out OCs whose personalities were clear & enjoyable despite only a few lines between them

THERE IT WAS - @deathtonormalcy56

There's every reason to believe he'll be back - after all, he's always come back before - and now begins the time in between.

Q: good contrasts between objectives & subjectives/how "dulls" can be "sharps", etc.; took the risk of going with little/no dialogue that can often go awry for many/go sluggish; strong protag in the face of sorrow/doesn't fall apart/introspection without broodiness; 2nd person almost fading into 3rd omniscient

ON THE SHORT SIDE [500-ish to 1.5K]

Works via curators will not necessarily receive Nash's typical 3-point review

URBAN LEGENDS - @sasquatchandleatherjacket

Seems that some legends are more than the stories we use to contain them - and just how frightening they are depends on your perspective.

Q: creative take on the subject which made absolute perfect sense; nice, slow burn - despite the crisp pace & length - to the ultimate reveal, nicely camouflaged by the initial, more intuitive reveal; atypical choice regarding perspective, one not often utilized; leaves reader with the feeling of "I'd definitely read this again"

---> Unable to tag author, if someone would kindly let them know <---

SHEETS - @klaineaholic

The basic skills for hunting include weapons and the lore, but when it comes to hunting with the Winchesters, one must also master snark, sarcasm, sass - and those skills may just be the most important of all.

Q: well-done characterization; nice, quick pace; awkward moment handled realistically; fleshed-out protag in a very short amount of time/showed a sharp wit with a softer side that didn't bend sappy

TEA TIME WITH MILDRED [on AO3] - @grey2510

Crowley has help this time around with his critique of Dean and Castiel.

Q: in medias res with steady pace; excellent characterizations, including fleshed-out & highly enjoyable minor/here-and-gone character from a past ep; doesn't waste time on things superfluous to plot, nice flow

TRANSPLANT - @zepppie

Dean takes a moment to give thanks for a gift, one that's given him a very different perspective on life.

Q: very unique/original plot that fits within the universe of the show; excellent characterization [minor OCs & protag alike]; written with clever readers in mind; big emotion while calmly introspective

THE BEST OF FOOLS - @fanforfanatic

In which Castiel learns that a gift he's received holds more than simply music.

Q: in medias res; scene exploration with unique/original concept; tangible descriptions of the object in question, paints picture of sound extremely well; multiple fantastic turns-of-phrase/keeps a steady flow/prevents a bogged-down information relay

STICK 'EM UP - @seljepw

Dean finds himself in a slightly atypical situation, though he also finds the family mantra still applies.

Q: Solid beginning/cap-off; very believable characterization/verbiage/behavior of protag; tight plotting with crisp dialogue; little-to-no extraneous detail

MIDDLE-OF-THE-ROAD [around 1.5K - 2.5K]

Works via curators will not necessarily receive Nash's typical 3-point review

LET'S SWAYZE THIS MOTHER - @emilywritesaboutdean

They thought Gabriel had been taken out of the equation. They were wrong. Oh wow, were they ever wrong.

Q: in medias res; incredibly creative plot [bonus points for perfect title choice]; both the overall story/structure and characterizations left the feeling of having watched an episode of the show; seemingly effortless humor

THERE YOU'LL ALWAYS BE - @deansdirtylittlesecretsblog

It was a different relationship for Sam, this woman who understood his lifestyle and his secrets completely, though the feelings of contrition seem to find him all the same.

Q: beautifully fleshed-out, introspective view of the stoic main character that rings true to canon/believable interaction with secondary canon character; moderate borrowing from source material used appropriately; killer last line to cap off

Curated by @klaineaholic, who said: "This is so so sad and beautiful! The [pieces of dialogue were] such Eileen things to say, I’m so glad you wrote this!”

LONGER [around 2.5K to 3K-ish]

Works via curators will not necessarily receive Nash's typical 3-point review

CRAPULOUS - @butiaintgonnaloveem

A tale of a hangover, a vampire stake-out that went awry, and mysterious underwear await.

Q: well-plotted story with just enough detail/purposefully does not reveal every facet/encourages readers' imaginations; quick, witty, crisp dialogue beyond prompt(s); phenomenal featured OC; believable take on canon character; seemingly effortless humor

THE REST - @mrswhozeewhatsis

Deferring to author's pitch-perfect summary - “It’s all about what you give away and what you keep for yourself.”

Q: excellent weaving together of a fleshed-out OC's story in a very plausible behind-the-scenes-canon vignette; limited/no laborious describing of situations/surroundings/appearances; well-done choices of breaks/flipping to next scene/kept flow; bonus points for utilizing a seldom-seen character

Curated by @klaineaholic, who said: "I'm falling more and more in love with these fics that explore what's behind the canon. [This story is] like following this thread and going until you think you know how it's going to play into the canon and then the end just tugs your heart unexpectedly. Michelle clearly put so much thought and creativity into her pre-canon story on [a] beloved, oft-written about part of the Supernatural universe."

DEEP DIVES [3K and beyond, including completed multi-parters with 2 to (roughly) 5 parts of modestly sized chapters totaling at minimum 3K words]

This does *not* include series, which have their own section. Works via curators will not necessarily receive Nash's typical 3-point review.

THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS - @hannahindie

On a much-needed night of relaxation for the crew, Dean’s picked a happy hour - with the hope of a happy ending - that doesn’t quite go as expected.

Q: rarely seen use of a narrator to help tell the story - and it is pulled it off seamlessly/does not detract or add a cumbersome nature - this is one of those few exceptions to the likely-never-to-fail-you in medias res kickoff; crisp, witty dialogue/interactions; solid all-around characterization

SCAR TISSUE - @fanforfanatic

It's nothing new when Dean meets a woman in a bar - only this time, as the author puts it, "their damaged parts seem to match."

Q: took an oft-seen locale/situation and went deeper/introspective without being depressive; lovely, subtle touches sprinkled throughout for adding character depth - particularly O.C. - that add up by the end (bonus points for inventive "naming"); multiple well-crafted turns-of-phrase

SERIES SPOTLIGHT : SUPERNATURAL & SPN CROSS-OVERS [works that are completed series, as well as ongoing series with at least 3 parts published as of/prior to the edition of The Nail in question]

Due to time constraints, series are not read in full. They are given a cursory once-over for the quality basics, most importantly that the author has put maximum effort into world-building.

The first chapter / first handful of chapters / first third of the first chapter - depending on length - are read to ensure there are no gross grammar / spelling errors, as well as ensuring the story’s premise is made clear.

Summation line(s) below are taken from the author/the story, edited/shortened only for length/clarity if needed. Same applies to series from other fandoms featured on this list.

LIKE A ROLLING STONE - @stori-teller

"Cas Novak stumbles across a dead body - enter the Winchesters."

Q: in medias res; character dimension; descriptions of people/places/things unfold organically; plot unfolds organically/no long expositions/etc.; bonus points for mini-summaries/appropriate warnings for each chapter

SENSATION - @littlegreenplasticsoldier

"Sam is cursed to live without his senses and you are left to look after him at the bunker."

Q: [Deferring to our curators this go, seems they covered it, yes? ;) -N.]

Curated by @butiaintgonnaloveem, who said: "It's one of those fics that is heavy, while maintaining humor which is tricky. And the way she manages to describe the senses and the lack thereof just boggles my mind."

Curated by @klaineaholic, who said: "Being inside Sam's head as he loses all of his senses, following along as you (the character) try to keep him sane and make him feel not-so-alone when he can't help BUT feel alone [...] Sam's internal voice is captured perfectly, his characterization is so true, and the plot is just phenomenal."

BLOOD & PERFUME - @helvonasche + @madamelibrarian

"A pair of sisters must learn to navigate a life they're not used to, without a family, and with a power that should not exist."

Q: in medias res - and with a kick/thrown right into the action; unique ability/power/skill not seen/rare to see in this fandom; inventive name choices for original characters that fit the tone without being cumbersome or distracting; lets plot unfold organically

YOUR YOUNG MEN WILL SEE VISIONS, YOUR OLD MEN WILL DREAM DREAMS - @winchester-family-business

[SUPERNATURAL + INCEPTION]

"Dreamsharing: digging through the secrets that should stay locked up tight - and no secret is safe from the Winchesters."

Q: see my review for more detail on how this author essentially gave a master class on how to start a story, particularly in the action/adventure genre; takes inspiration without carbon-copy; characterization on-point; tension through boundaries; writing for clever readers

Nash Note: The link on the right - the second part of the title - is to the first chapter. The one on the left - the first part of the title - is to the brief primer on the “Inception” universe

RISE FOR YOUR KING - @thran-duils

“You were betrothed to a prince, but when a neighboring king - a mage - decides to dole out justice to your future father in law, he destroys the royal family... and takes an immediate liking to you.”

Q: well-styled fantasy/pseudo-historical AU with solid world-building; in medias res; tension/drama/action that ebbs/flows; gift/power/skill for protag which is atypical/rarely seen

Curated by @klaineaholic, who said: "JaNae is the queen of AU!Cas and she throws this character into new positions and life experiences and draws from the various Castiels that we see on the show in order to play with her AU!Cas' personality. This fic reminds me of Godstiel in a way, and how power-hungry that Cas was. Definitely imaginative, truly unique, and sexy to boot."

THUNDER ROAD - @tankcupcakes

“Sent back in time to stop the murder of their parents, Sam and Dean are met with unforeseen circumstances that strand them in the past.”

Q: in medias res; crisp dialogue; tight plotting; spot-on/fleshed-out characterization [familiar + OCs]; evident critical eye regarding appropriate detail for time period; nice formatting/flow

POEMS & POETICAL PROSE [mostly quick reads, these are actual poems of any structure/length, as well as short prose that sings like a songbird]

These will not be reviewed separately in Nash’s usual three-point manner à la #Nash Gives [Feed]back due to the typically short lengths & structure. For poems: an excerpted line is used in lieu of summary. If there is no title provided by the author, Nash/the curator will pick one for them.

WHAT ANGELS NEED - @justrandomspnstuff

"...counting freckles like they’re flecks of gold."

Q: stanzas arranged with common strokes vs. carbon-copy repetition; sweet/thoughtful without bending saccharine/broody; kept clever readers in mind/lets the reader fill in the finer details

HIS CREATION - @vintagesam

"...enough tiny stars to make you believe in infinity."

Q: impeccable structure; steady through-line with nice break in form for ending; imagery without using over-the-top vocab/kept it simple & sharp yet expressive

HE KNEW - @trexrambling

“The hunting continued while a different dream was born from the ashes.”

Q: nice change of pace with pseudo-”insert” approach in 3rd person/engaging readers with choice of 2nd protag; good formatting to help flow/segments of their time together separated; no "real" dialogue but without loss of pace

[ETA: Caught it on a subsequent glance - I have no idea why only Rex’s got copied from draft when I had it in another category initially, but it’s fixed now! -N.]

RANDOM FANDOMS [all types, all lengths, all the things that aren’t SPN but are still pretty dang super]

Works via curators will not necessarily receive Nash's typical 3-point review, same standards apply per genre as noted above

TWO BIRDS [series] - @whotheeffisbucky

[MARVEL]

“Set in the roaring 1920s, Bucky Barnes runs Manhattan like a kid with a toy set. There’s perhaps only one person who should be more feared than him - and she’s asking for his protection.”

Q: phenomenal/well-researched world-building; tone, verbiage, descriptions that read like they're somewhere in the Gatsby family tree; appropriate to this time period/genre - winding and packed with rich - not laborious - detail

WHAT'S A LITTLE TRAUMA BETWEEN FRIENDS - @withstarryeyes

[STAR TREK]

An injury proves traumatic to more than just the person on the receiving end.

Q: wonderful characterization/explored side of a protag only seen glimpses of; nice cadence/flow; appropriate use of "breaks" in formatting that didn't disturb the flow; refreshing style to see regarding a distinct lack of laborious descriptions [setting/characters/etc.] in lieu of shots of tiny details sprinkled along paragraphs

LOGIC AND ANGELS - @oneshot-twoshot-redshot-blueshot

[SHERLOCK + pseudo-SPN]

The great Mr. Holmes adds to his vast amount of knowledge.

Q: in medias res; excellent characterization of protag; kept air of mystery/no explicit explanations/ambiguity - written with clever readers in mind; multiple well-crafted lines, both internal and verbal

---> Unable to tag author, if someone would kindly let them know <---

ORIGINAL WORKS [anything from haiku to novella]

Works via curators will not necessarily receive Nash's typical 3-point review, same standards apply per genre as noted above

I DIDN'T GIVE YOU THE FRUIT - @medeae

"I forget that ichor is gold."

Q: imaginative/original; vivid but not overbearing/atypical imagery; crisp, tight structure/verbiage

LIKE THE SUN - @louisamayanniecat

"He looked at her like she was the sun, in that he never looked at her except in frustration."

Q: subverted the concept and made it infinitely better; not a space/word/letter wasted; conveyed a multitude of thoughts and incited as many feelings in a crisp, quick, organized manner

---> Unable to tag author, if someone would kindly let them know <---

THE JUDGMENT - @impala-dreamer

One person's journey through.

Q: good use of imagery; platitude pulled from the facile & given framework; contrast of easy nature with intensity of setting

BOOKS ABOUT BETTER GIRLS - @inkskinned

Not every princess spends her days alone in the tower.

Q: above and beyond, fantastic, exceptional execution of a trope twist; fleshed-out characters; plot unfolds organically; written for clever readers; lovely world-building/character depth as compared to the length of text [read: many authors would take more words and likely accomplish less]

Shameless Self-Promotion:

See Nash Write : Master || See Nash Write : Mobile

Now get out there & read, read, read!

#The Nail #Nailed It!#Quality Writing #Must Reads

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angelfireeast · 7 years

Text

Superman was the test run for Mon-El

It feels like the CW & writers were testing the waters with Superman to see fans would accept shift to a shiny white pretty boy as the unofficial male lead who is given equal screen time as Kara. Shift the style of show from girl power all things from s1 to more CW formula with lots of ships and pretty white boy head lining things hoping to bring in ratings. It’s eerie how some things played out to parallel 2x01 & 2x02 with Superman & Mon-El, other character reduced roles playing the same across the season.

2x01 & 202 New white male character upstages Supergirl. The heavy promotion of new white male character which over took SG almost which not so subtle hint on who the CW thought would sell and thus prioritized. Shifting the focus from Kara to a male character who wasn’t part of season one cast. It’s SG’s opening on the CW but everything was Superman, Superman, Superman. Tyler H was at comic con for crying out loud. I know Superman’s a big draw and I don’t want to downplay how big he is but every interview was more about him then celebrating & selling Supergirl. Some fans of the show where okay with Superman being so heavy promoted because they are fans of Superman as well. Other fans of the show were less impressed and saw how problematic it was.

2x03 to 2x14 New white male character upstages Supergirl. Shifting the focus from Kara to a male character who wasn’t part of season one cast. Mon-El took center state building more strength with each pass through each episode like a wracking ball. Heavy promotion of the new white male character again. Mon-El is in every press release, every trailer, every series of photos released, and even got a episode poster. Kara becomes defined by Mon-El because she has no other story. His screen time equals hers & at times she feels like side player in his story. The romantic plot overtakes the characters instead supporting the character’s story. The promise of Kara’s big journalist career fizzled out. Kara’s relationships have all taken a back seat to Mon-El as he becomes the center of her world thus the center of the show. Everything Kara does is tied back to Mon-El. Mon-El has well and truly taken over SG.

2x01 & 202 James Olsen had very little screen time, he was of main story nor had an independent B story and karolsen ended. Kara & James’s feelings light switched off because writers decided they wished to go racism with new white character Mon-El as love interest. You have Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen on screen at the same time but still James was in the episodes for 5 minutes? Seems pretty fishy when best friends with Clark, Kara & Winn & works with Cat & as connect to the Luthors being Superman’s best friend & photo journalist YET still they couldn’t find anything for him to do in 2 eps. James was promoted to C.E.O of CatCo off screen and had major romantic storyline ended rushed in the last 3 minutes of episode in badly written manner. Heck we heard more about Winn’s change in career quitting the CatCo and being hired at the DEO then James being promoted to C.E.O. James Olsen was ghost not a leading man in these two episode despite having many logical & easy connections to many characters and plot & being the leading male actor.

2x03 to 2x14 James Olsen’s screen time has decreased over 11 9 episodes. He was just missing with no explanation for 2 episodes in a row. James and Kara’s interaction has decreased as well. He was subjugated off with own small story with Winn about becoming a hero Guardian. Since James still mostly at CatCo he still largely only interacting with Winn since Kara is hardly at Catco anymore. James only appears if something major happens like the secret of Guardian came out or there was upset over Guardian. With Kara’s lack of interest in her career and normal life, which was very important theme in s1, James, CatCo & journalism fall by the waste side. James at not being at the DEO really keeps him isolated because do no have real interaction anymore. Everyone is off in their own corners doing their own thing. James is still listed as the leading man of the show but sure doesn’t feel like it as he loses screen time, still doesn’t seem important to over all plot, to Kara, or very connected to anything. Winn feels more important then James right now. Mon-El feels 110% more important then James. James Olsen is becoming more then ghost. Ghost appear from from time to time. People are posting missing person flyers every episode for James.

2x01 & 2x02 Danvers sister relationship takes a back seat to Superman. Alex and Kara’s relationship becomes strained as Kara chooses to spend all her time with Clark ignoring of Alex. Until there is big fight over Kara’s wanting move to be closer to Clark. 2x02 ends with Kara sitting besides Mon-El’s bed talking about how she’s going to help him on Earth and they he attacks her. That’s some serious foreshadowing there for their relationship but also for what’s to come with Alex and Kara. No longer will episodes end with Kara and Alex together.

2x03 to 2x14 Danvers sister relationship takes a back seat to Mon-El. Each sister goes off towards their respective love interest and only come back to meet each other here and there. The sisterly relationship becomes secondarily to ships to the writers. Also Sanvers is secondary to Karamal which gets all screen time because Mon-El gets all screen time. When it should be Kara and Alex together it’s Mon-El with Kara such as 2x14 Homecoming. No longer do episodes end with Danvers sisters together in Kara’s apartment. The sister talk but it’s mostly about their love lives. Even Kara’s earth birthday is made into a ship thing aka all about Mon-El instead a Danvers sister thing.

Under the cut is Winn, Lena, Cat, Mon-El & Kara and my final thoughts on this as whole.

2x01 & 2x02 Winn works at the DEO thus interacts with everyone. He’s big fan of leading white male star and interacts with him. He loves Superman and gets hug before he leaves. Winn is suddenly super useful being able to suddenly read kyptonatian writing and be able to build anything they need to fight the bad guys. It felt to me like they wanted Cisco Ramon but they had Winn so they upgrading his skills and stuck him at the DEO. Winn interacts with Kara, Alex, Superman, J’onn. Cue witty joke.

2x03 to 2x14 Winn working at the DEO still remains more more at the center of things and connected to everyone. He gets slightly more scene time then James but first half of season that wasn’t always meaningful screen time. Sometimes it’s just make witty comments. But over all he’s had more development with Guardian, being buds with Mon-El, almost being killed/going off world first time and now getting romantic sub plot rushed though it maybe. Winn’s relationship with Kara is still extremely minor much like everyone else relationship with Kara. He talks to her at work but again it’s like ships passing at night hardly anything meaningful. We see them in the random group friends scene or he talks about the her but Winn is victim like Alex and James of Kara’s lack of relationships. Winn seems to character the writers care more about them James. Which was something we saw in 2x01/2x02 Superman episodes and is played out long term over season two. I think Winn gets more love from the writers because he’s Mon-El’s bud, he’s easy with witty comment and sits at easy juncture point at the DEO unlike James, Maggie, Lena, or M’gann. But you can’t deny the is some racism at play in this because J’onn is in same place as Winn but has had reduced screen time and even more reduced interaction with everyone. With stupid reasons to get rid of J’onn but involve Winn & mostly Mon-El like J’onn can’t breath air on that planet. J’onn is sick or just busy.

2x01 & 202 Lena Luthor is introduced but it isolated character that is only Kara’s friend.

2x03 to 2x14 Lena Luthor is a isolated character that is only Kara’s friend. We get backstory about Lena, we see Lena choose being good over her family and we see Lena has awesome friend to Kara. But Lena is as isolated as James is. It’s like ships passing in the fog when characters interact. James, Winn, Alex and even Maggie met Lena but there nothing there between the character. Zero connection. The writers simply don’t care at all connecting characters or relationships or Kara’s normal life. If this was s1 Lena would be at game night with James, Winn, Alex, Maggie & Mon-El. Having Lena so isolated limits her and limits how far relationships can grow. Just like James off in his corner and Maggie off in her corner and Alex off in another corner limits them all. It feels like nothing is growing or developing as whole. Think of 14 episodes in s1 wroth of development and you feel the complete lack of development on the show in s2.

2x01 & 202 Cat Grant decides to move away. Kara feels abandoned and says she doesn’t cope well with change in her life and lost without her.

2x03 to 2x14 Cat Grant has been gone for 11 episodes. Kara is struggling with abandonment issues due to the changes in her life. Kara is coping badly without Cat helping be the best she can be. Half the show seems to have left with Cat as Kara’s normal life is no longer important. Cat is mentioned once but not when she should be. She isn’t mentioned when Lirewire escapes jail instead she’s mentioned during the Valentines Day ep as ‘Mrs Grant use to eat here a lot I can get you a table.’ Another sign of show treat of not focusing on what’s important details for characterization but prioritizing ship related things.

2x01 & 202 Kara sitting besides Mon-El’s bed with open heart talking about how she’s going to help him on Earth and they wakes up he attacks her for no reason.

2x03 to 2x14 Kara opens her life, her day job, the DEO, her family, herself to Mon-El in every way possible and get gets a lost grief back from him for her trouble. First when she gets him job, then when tries to make a better person, then when they start dating it kicks into a whole new level of grief. When the going gets tough Mon-El’s default seems to be lash out verbally attacker Kara. Which how it mirror 2x02. I could list all times it’s happened and ways he’s hurt and how she keeps coming back opening herself up to him with hope of better things but that would make for very long post. It’s not the biggest parallel but I thought I’d add it on anyway.

Of course this doesn’t cover everything. Like J’onn’s reduced screen time over the course of the season. OR how M’gann’s storyline was going to turn out. Or how Maggie and Alex only get five minutes of screen time here and there. Though you could argue that Alex’s reduce screen time in 2x01 & 2x02 foreshadowed Alex’s ongoing small screen time because Alex=Sanvers small screen time. It’s all symptom of the same disease.

I just thought about it mostly with James and went ‘wait a minute this playing out the same as it did in Superman episodes’. I don’t for one minute think the writers are sitting deciding “I’m going to James no screen this week because that’s what we did in the Superman episodes.” That’s not what I’m saying at all. I just think the CW and writers were testing the waters of plan for season. Less James, less importance on Danvers family, make shiny white male the unofficial lead and give him equal screen time as Kara. Shift the style of show from s1 to more CW formula with lots of ships and pretty white boy head lining things hoping to bring in ratings.

I think one of many reasons the Mon-El will work because Superman worked for two episodes line of thinking fails is

It’s Superman. Big comicbook following. Beloved character. Nice guy. People wanted to see him and the show did pretty good by the character. 2) Superman was short term. He took over 2 eps but he at least had family ties to Kara which made things interesting. Again comicbook history which lot of people were interested in. Not sure how long term it would’ve lasted. Because it wouldn’t be Supergirl’s anymore just like it now I don’t feel like Supergirl anymore.

Clark Kent is good man. Mon-El is misogynist who openly complains that he misses being on world where he could objectify women. He’s not hero or good man or even decent person. This story of Kara making him into good person is painful. Watching him date her and disrespect her and treat her badly but say ‘I’m sorry give me another chance I swear I’ll do better next time’ but next time he does the same is disgusting. I’m sorry I don’t want to watch five minutes of like Mon-El let alone have him take over the show hurting every relationship and taking screen time from all the characters. At least Superman was good character but Mon-El is just worst. Like the worst. He’s the opposite of everything I think of when I think of this show. He’s the opposite of Supergirl and everything she stands for. I watch this show to get away from characters like him or at least I use to. For some god forshaken reason the writers decided they wanted to add pretty white boy to show who take over show and get equal screen time to Kara and they DECIDED TO MAKE HIM A MISOGYNIST?! WHY THE FUCK DO YOU THINK PEOPLE WANT TO WATCH THAT WHEN THEY CAME TO WATCH SHOW ABOUT BASE OF THE IDEA OF GIRL POWER?

#supergirl #anti mon-el #alex danvers #superman #james olsen #kara danvers #winn schott #lena luthor #catwoman #supergirl season two #problems with supergirl #where it all went wrong #I did a lot of thinking about this and rewrote it like ten times #I don't think I'm over reaching but if I am just tell me #I tired so hard not to rant about mon-el but I failed in the end #because I hate him so very very much all he's done to the show I loved so much #and may have to just quit watching because it's turning into something so terrible

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multimetaverse · 5 years

Text

Andi Mack 3x18 Review

Something To Talk A-Boot was a pretty good ep that was surprisingly fillery and made apparent the cracks in the show’s writing. Let’s dig in!

We got some great Tyrus scenes that more than made up for the crappy writing we’ve seen the last two Tyrus eps. For once they got to end on a happy note which was much appreciated. We returned to the same fun and flirty dynamic we saw before costume day and it’s like that whole mess never happened (which I’ll discuss more in the negatives).

We’re back to the confident and flirty TJ we had been seeing up until costume day and it’s good that the show has abandoned it’s incredibly ill advised and poorly done internalized homophobia story line which is necessary because Tyrus can’t canon in the finale if TJ and Cyrus aren’t both comfortable with themselves and with each other. Luckily for the show, most of the audience will never know what the hell was going on with TJ in eps 13 and 15 and will just ignore it as bad writing.

Lot’s of completely unnecessary touching between Tyrus in this ep like holding on to each others shoulders after the verdict and TJ tapping Cyrus as he was putting his seat belt on. I was pleasantly surprised by the full on hug we got; I didn’t think Terri would get a hug approved in this ep and be able to get hand holding approved in the finale but looks like she pulled it off. It made for a rare rule of three for Cyrus as we saw three increasingly gay hugs between him and TJ this season. I loved the whole you’ll visit me on the inside bit, that’s the kind of thing only couples say.

Man was that Tyrus golf cart scene ever romantic. Just pure flirty fluff and it was wonderful to see. Really the only reason TJ stole the golf cart again and drove off to find Cyrus was to flirt with him. It’s the closest a show with 14 year olds can get to a classic drive off into the sunset ending. Has there ever been a better nerd/jock ship? The golf cart scene was a perfect encapsulation of their dynamic and showed such growth on Cyrus’ part from the scared kid who couldn’t imagine breaking the rules to the more confident self TJ has helped him become. It’s a bittersweet thought but even though a good chunk if not most of the audience still thinks Tyrus is a friendship or one sided crush, everyone who ever starts the show after the finale will know that Tyrus is a romantic relationship and for them subtext will be text from the very start.

I think it was very deliberate that all of TJ’s scenes were at the school, we needed to see him interacting like normal with Cyrus at the place they’ll spend most of their time. This ep really was in many ways a glimpse of what canon Tyrus will be like after they get together and come out to the world; supportive, flirty, comfortable.

They really took advantage of Luke being 17 and a good driver. I wonder if ‘leggo’’ was in the script or if that was a Luke ad lib.

This was the last confirmed ep they ever filmed at the school and there’s an extremely good chance that the very wholesome and very gay Tyrus golf cart scene was the last scene we’ll ever see at the school. Which is a hell of a way to say goodbye to the school.

We got just under 5 minutes of Tyrus screen time and just over 5 and a half minutes of total TJ screen time this ep (excluding TJ cheering in the stands). This is the most he’s had since 3x06 and may actually be the most he’s had or will have all season. And this was more Tyrus screen time than we’ve had in 3x11, 3x13, and 3x15 combined which is a damning indictment of Disney’s censorship. Partly this was likely because the writers were trying to pad his screen time a bit since he was originally supposed to be gone for 3 eps in a row instead of 2. Funnily enough, because his story line was left intact even with the cut ep and re-shoots it now looks as though he may actually get a little more screen time in these final 7 eps than Marty does.

It’s impressive too because all of TJ’s scenes were filmed over two days; it makes such a difference when they’re actually allowed to have him on set for more than one day and that they let Luke and Josh actually have scenes together and took advantage of them being older and able to work longer hours.

This ep really built TJ’s character back up and it’s easy to see that the writers knew they had to get the audience back on TJ’s side and remind them of his and Cyrus’ dynamic especially since he was supposed to have been gone for 3 eps in a row instead of 2.

Josh did a great job hamming it up at the trial. Loved the ‘’you’re showboating’’ ‘’thank you for noticing your honour’’ bit. And Cyrus adding ‘’sir’’ when he was pretending to respond to himself from the witness box was good too. Love that Cyrus took the time to change back into a suit before hearing the verdict.

It makes such a difference for Cyrus’ character is TJ is in an ep or not and I don’t even mean from a shipping perspective. In non TJ eps Cyrus is almost always reduced to therapist friend or comic relief, when TJ is an ep he usually gets to be an active character and actually get to do things.

We had Buffy saying he used to be the worst and is now the best and Cyrus taking credit for seeing the good in him which was a nice reminder of the amazing growth TJ has had. And of course, there was no real reason to have TJ be the one to help Buffy get to class except to make him look good in the audience’s eyes.

I know a lot of people wanted to see more of Buffy and TJ’s friendship but I’m fine with their brief interactions. The only reason he had so much time with her in S2 and why the end of S2 set up a friendship between them was because Garren had left and they didn’t know they could get him back.

Such great growth on Buffy’s part from the girl who wouldn’t even pass the baton to her team mates back in S1. The Spikes have largely been treated as a joke but we really saw a great dynamic between them and Buffy tonight; they all felt like a real team for the first time ever. And it was interesting seeing Buffy’s room and seeing her doing normal teen stuff with people outside of the GHC. Glad the Spikes got a win and glad Buffy was able to bounce back from her injury and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Very sweet last scene between Jonah and Amber, it was a nice call back to 2x01 when Amber confided in Jonah about her family’s money problems. It was messy but they did help and support each other. I’m happy that Jonah will now be in a more secure place.

This was also the last confirmed ep they filmed at the Spoon and Jonah watching Amber get him a milkshake is a sweet way to say goodbye to a location that was almost a character in and of itself. We also got to see one last glimpse of the ginger waitress who we’ve seen in a couple of eps.

I liked that Jonah pointed out how well the GHC know each other; he’s a part of the friend group but he’s always stood apart from the GHC itself.

I also liked that Jonah didn’t know what an existential crisis was. Always funny when they lean into dumb Jonah.

Jonah and Andi had a sweet scene; glad he’s self aware enough to know he’s not a good advice giver. Liked the callback to Jonah scaring Andi.

Bex is doing her best. Andi is definitely reacting like a teen.

No Kira this ep which was great.

Shout out to the FBI and SLPD for shrinking the gap between TJ’s appearances. As much as cutting Ham has ended up damaging the other story lines it will definitely make Cyrus’ story line age much better. Having TJ be gone for 3 eps in a row only to come back after the wedding and only being able to have this kind of screen time and nice scenes after the wedding is so transparent that even kids would have noticed why that was.

Negatives:

I plan to have a happy finale night so I’m going to get my criticism of Terri’s handling of Tyrus out of the way now. I’ve seen quite a few posts on different social media sites wondering if TJ was in the cut ep and that’s why Kira isn’t mentioned or if there were cut Tyrus scenes but the plain simple truth is that this is just bad writing, some of the worst Terri has done. It’s not a satisfying explanation but it’s reality.

I’d like to hear Terri one day explain what she thought she was going to accomplish with this internalized homophobia plot line on a show with so many restrictions and with an audience that doesn’t know TJ is gay. I don’t think there is a good explanation but I would like to know what the hell she was thinking. She’s always shown such care with the gay story line and to just drop the ball so badly when the show is almost done is more sad than anything else. Thank god Disney let her have canon Tyrus in the finale.

It’s clear from the writing of S3 that they knew from the very start that Tyrus couldn’t canon until the finale, if at all. It’s been nothing but drama that keeps them apart up until now: Buffy is still kind of mad at TJ, Reed had a gun, Jonah is mad at TJ, Bubbe Rose dies, Kira comes in. TJ isn’t even involved with the Spikes after 3x04 and barely had any scenes with Buffy and he hasn’t had a single scene with Jonah since so it’s not like those plots were meant to have an impact. And Terri would have known that TJ could only be in 9 eps max this season and she was the one who cast a 14 year old to play Kira, knowing that Raquel just wouldn’t be able to be on set nearly as long as Luke which of course she did because she knew it didn’t matter how old she was because Kira and TJ would have limited screen time anyways. And she would have known that the look back had been edited to make it look like TJ was straight and yet she still went ahead.

Honestly, Terri is lucky that most of the audience will never know that TJ was supposed to be struggling with his sexuality in 3x13-3x15 because if they did this story line would come off as much worse than it does for them. I can buy that she wouldn’t have known how far she could go with canon Tyrus until close to the finale itself but that just makes her decisions even more baffling. If she ends up being able to have a textual ending then she has to have TJ be confident or it just won’t make sense. But if Disney said no to canon Tyrus then there’s no way they would have let her properly explore an internalized homophobia arc anyways which makes it all pointless.

Now that we’ve seen up until 18 we can see just how defensive Terri’s instagram post back in November about not complaining about Disney censorship or queerbaiting was. At the time all she had actually accomplished was Cyrus saying the word gay which was historic and wonderful but only one ep. There’s obvious censorship by Disney and it would have been even more apparent if it wasn’t for Stoney’s arrest. And up until now there’s really nothing differentiating Tyrus from queerbaiting as Cyrus hasn’t even been able to say he has a crush on TJ. I know she’ll do a good job with Tyrus in the finale but I really hope she doesn’t do something egregiously bad with Kira’s ‘redemption’

It doesn’t make sense that no one would mention Kira. We had TJ scenes over 4 days in universe and no Kira in sight. So either she’s not clinging to him or he told her off. It’s all just so her appearance at the party can make Cyrus flee to the bench for one last bit of contrived drama.

We finally ended the very poorly plotted Jamber arc. It’s clear that they first decided to get Jamber back together, likely to keep Jandi apart and as a shocking twist, and then worked backwards from there to figure out how to make it plausible and settled on Jonah also having financial issues. The problem being is that those financial problems were largely ignored and we never got an in depth exploration of Jonah or Amber’s psychology. It’s not like they didn’t have time for it since Amber set a new record for recurring characters, excepting S2 Bowie. It’s hard to say Amber has had a true arc over the series. She definitely got nicer but we’ve only really gotten character development from her these past couple of eps. She’s in the same place she was back in 2x01, newly broken up with Jonah, with parents who fight, and forced to work at the Spoon to help support her family.

Loved that the Spikes were watching footage of their game with the Spartans, which hadn’t happened yet, at their sleep over. Back in the S2 finale when Buffy announced that she was founding a girls team I never imagined that they would be written as a joke and barely shown. I’d guess that was another casualty of them being able to get Marty back for S3.

Looking Ahead:

I’m a lot more content with the show ending after S3 after seeing these recent eps. There’s been way too much filler and a lot of bizarre decisions. Yes the cut ep and the re-shoots hurt a lot of plots but it doesn’t seem like the originals were all that much better. It’s clear that the Muffy plot in 3x17 ended after the bowling alley and Amber’s plot ended with her leaving Cyrus’ house which means that Marty went with Buffy as her date to the wedding in the original 3x18 only to friendzone her and tell her to get her foot checked. And Amber still went with Jonah even though she knew he had been lying to her and they only broke up at the wedding. I’m sure the Mack family A plot would have been great but the B and C plots look like they would have sucked.

Terri’s never had a show that went beyond 2 seasons and I think in some ways she struggled with plotting out 21 eps worth of story lines. Better to end now when the show will go down as historic then drag it down in a potential S4. And better for Terri’s reputation as well, she gets to end the show as a visionary whereas if we got a S4 she’d likely end up with more of a Michael Jacob’s type reputation.

Also this ep shows that any hope for seeing canon Tyrus in S4 was just a dream. Disney is clearly only willing to let things get textual in the finale itself. Even Mack Chat didn’t mention Cyrus once tonight despite him having a big role in the ep. An odd game Disney plays with showing the bench scene in promos but not letting Mack Chat get too gay.

New finale promo sheds a little more light on things. Two Cyrus waving scenes, probably one is before the bench scene and one is after. Bench scene starts with some extras near the fire and once they leave is when things get textual. TJ and Marty will probably have an interaction after both Tyrus and Muffy canon. Looks like there doing something with Jandi but again I don’t think we get canon Jandi, just something ambiguous. Bowie and Bex dancing in the back ground, Bowie in his dad’s tux and Bex possibly in her wedding dress. Obviously they’re already married but it’s probably them re-creating the wedding they had planned for but didn’t end up having.

Next ep is one with a ton of re-shoots and should feature the new wedding. We’ll see how smooth it is. My one hope is that we get some word that Jonah has told his parents about his panic attacks, even if it’s off screen.

#Andi Mack #Tyrus #TJ Kippen #Cyrus Goodman #Buffy Driscoll #Jonah Beck #Amber #Kaitlin #Bex Mack #Bowie Quinn #Andi Mack Reviews #Andi Mack Season 3 #Andi Mack Meta

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noiseartists · 4 years

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Mexican Shoegaze, Dream & Noise Pop, a quick guide, Vol.1

To present the great Mexican scene, we asked a specialist: Jairo Manzur, Editor of Sonidos que Permanecen (ex ‘Shoegaze Latino America’). And what a superb introduction it is.

Thanks to Lorrelle Meets the Obsolete, Lasitud, Los Kowalski, El Glum, Acty and Rilve for providing some of the material for this article.

INTRODUCTION

“I find it hard to introduce a genre so global (and kind of diffuse nowadays) as shoegaze even in a single country. In my mind, any attempt would just leave things out. So, instead of introducing Shoegaze in Mexico, I will try to propose a way to approach the genre in two different ways: a historical one and a geographical one. During this brief introduction, I will also refer to other articles that have highlighted bands and musical scenes.

Shoegaze in Mexico: a historical perspective.

When I was asked by Noise Artists to write an introduction to this guide, the first thing that came to my mind was to find and explore the roots of Shoegaze in Mexico. In general, Shoegaze become a musical phenomenon in Latin America during its resurgence around the 2010’s (a resurgence prompted by Internet communities dedicated to the genre and the worldwide availability of equipment and gear that was before too expensive or hard-to-find).

Nonetheless, many countries had seminal bands during the 90s; even if the examples are scarce bands like Silvania or Resplandor (both from Peru), Mellonta Tauta (Argentina) or Un.real (Puerto Rico) were pivotal in the development of shoegaze in Latin America. To my surprise, there is little information about bands doing Shoegaze during the 90s in Mexico.

In his introduction to the Pitchfork's list "The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time", Peter Kember (founder of Sonic Boom and Spacemen 3) reminds that:

“If you had told me in 1991 that, 25 years later, I would be prefacing a list on Shoegaze, I would probably have told you it would never happen. Few of these bands paid even the slightest, fleeting lip service to commerciality. I couldn't see it.

But things change; even by 1993, I was redressing my views. I played a show that year in L.A. at Johnny Depp's Viper Room. The support band, to my complete amazement, was a Shoegaze band—a Mexican shoegaze band. The thought that this music might cut through cultures with such broad swathes had never occurred to me before, but now I could see this genre might have long legs, in between that gaze and those shoes.”

Kember does not state (and probably doesn't remember) the name of that Mexican band. Still, the mention is priceless and problematic: that band (and probably others) existed, yet we don't have any valuable information about them. So, that is a (re)search that needs to be addressed in the future. The location of the gig is also important: areas like Baja California (with Tijuana on the lead) have become important musical centers thanks to its proximity to the United States border. As noted by Erich E. Mendoza on "Tijuana's Independent Spirit Has Made It Home to One of Mexico's Most Exciting Music Scenes":

“To understand why the Tijuana scene is experiencing a revival, we have to dive into the early 90s, when a local band named Staura was just getting its start. Staura was made up of Gaby Spica, René Soberanis (better known as Loopdrop, another key band in this scene), and Omar Foglio, who would go on to become Tijuana's top independent promoter and launch Swenga Fest in 1995.

It was during the career of Staura and Loopdrop that the local public began to turn their heads and notice what was going on in the few venues and bars that had performance spaces for bands at the time. And it was through these initiatives and with this support that other acts like Ibi Ego and Shantelle began to come to life in the early 2000s.”

Shoegaze in Mexico: a geographical perspective.

Though Mexico City concentrates most of the population of the country, the musical scene in Mexico is well decentralized. As already commented, Baja California has been an important and fervent musical area for decades.

In recent years, bands like Lorelle Meets the Obsolete or Mint Field (mixing Shoegaze, Dream Pop and Psych Rock) have risen to global fame, by so increasing the already notorious presence of the area on the musical map of the country.

Aguascalientes also seems to have a strong bond with Shoegaze: bands like Le 1991, Bleak Boys, Car Crash Sisters and others, have explored the genre with success; the same happens to other states like Guanajuato (with interesting bands like DUVVI. Clan de Venus or the already disbanded Candy Colors) and Morelia.

Differently from other Latin American countries, the music in Mexico is not centered around the capital city. So, any attempt to think any genre has to encompass the country as a whole.

Lorelle Meets the obsolete

Mexico’s Lorelle Meets The Obsolete conduct a mind-blowing experiment in restrained noise. Bringing their intense new album ‘De Facto’ to the stage they now push electronics to the fore of their wall of sound. All elements (the surging guitars, clattering electronic beats and heavy live rhythms) coalesce into a wave of sound, like an acid rock Factory Floor. They sing mainly in Spanish with some detour through English.

There is an interesting article in the Guardian that points out that

A mix of shoegaze textures and darker psych stylings has earned Lorelle meets the Obsolete acclaim far beyond their native Mexico, with Robert Smith and Henry Rollins among their fans.

An other article in Sonic Cathedral points rightly about the evolution of the band’s sound on the last album:

De Facto isn’t just a progression from 2016’s acclaimed Balance, it’s a new start which sees Lorelle Meets The Obsolete ripping up their own rulebook and building everything up from scratch. When they returned to Ensenada after touring Balance in 2017, they built a new recording space with their roommate and touring synth player, José Orozco. As a result, a lot of the songs were initially conceived without guitars.

“There’s nothing unusual about this, but for us it was all new territory working this way,” explains Alberto. “Having a new palette of musical equipment gave us the chance to develop the songs in a different way, so songs were constructed around drumbeats and synth lines – most of the guitars only came at the end.”

The line-up is:

Lorena Quintanilla (Lorelle): Vocals, electric guitar & electric bass.

Alberto González (The Obsolete): Drums & percussion, electric bass, casiotone, electric & acoustic guitars.

Their music work to date is (we included links to some good reviews):

2011: On Welfare, album

2012: Ghost Archives, EP

2013: Corruptible Faces, album; Live In Mexico City; What's Holding You?, EP

2014: Chambers, album; Live in London

2015: God Unknown Records Split, EP

2016: Balance, album

2017: The Sound Of All Things, EP

2019: De Facto, album; Unificado (Pye Corner Audio Remix)

Some songs we love:

SADFIELDS

Sadfields are a Noise Pop band from Mexico City formed in 2015. After a fantastic first song, "Falling apart", the band released their first 6 songs' EP/LP. If you like a huge sound, cranked guitars, beautiful melodies, look no further. The Band and Noise Artists did a full artist presentation that you can find HERE

They sang in English but have started lately with lyrics in Spanish with gusto. The music work to date is:

2016: Falling apart, single

2017: Homesick, album; I don’t know why, single

2019: Atrás / Desaparecer, singles

The current line-up is:

Daniel Espinoza - Vox/Guitar

Miguel Lara - Bass

Erick Román - Drums

Some of the songs we love:

LOS KOWALSKI

The Kowalski are a band from Mérida, formed in 2011. They sing in Spanish and mix progressive rock and reverb Pop very efficiently.

“We create a color palette by means of distortion and echo waves, where melodies of reverberated voices appear, combining organic sounds with electronic sounds.”

The current line-up is:

Pablo Fuentes: drums, keyboard, guitar, voice

Manuel Gutiérrez: guitar, keyboard, voice

Arturo Ponce: bass, guitar, theremin

They have 2 EP, 1 album (see below) and are currently working on our second album, which they hope to release in early 2020:

2015: Sputnik, EP

2017: Sónica, EP

2018: Dejarte ir, album

2019: Sputnik, EP

Some of the songs we love:

ACTY

Formed in mid-2015, ACTY (Amparo Carmen Teresa Yolanda) is a band originally from the state of Hidalgo.

The 4 names making the acronym come from Compadre Lobo, a novel written by Gustavo Sainz. The band’s taste for literature is reflected in their songs, the lyrics narrate youthful anguish, while music envelops us in atmospheres of noise (Shoegaze, Kraut, Noise, Post -Punk.)

They are currently belong on the independent label "Amigos Records" with whom they have released their two albums in Cassettes. They have released 4 official videos, the most recent being "Nothing is what They Want." According to the band, their last album, ‘Once Veinte’

“is the turning point between what it would be and what it is. We follow the path of what it would be, renouncing what it is. That is why we are here, living that utopia that we always wanted but we never dared to discover.”

The music work to date is:

2016: Amparo Carmen Teresa Yolanda, album

2018: Once Veinte, album

The current line-up is:

Iván Aguilar: voice, guitar

Oscar Aguilar: drums

Emmanuel Cerón: bass

Some of the songs we love:

SPRAY CANELA

Spray Canela is an independent Mexican band and ‘always will be’:

“One day we realized that what is believed and said about the Mexican music scene is very partly a lie. Unhappy with the national scene we decided to take action by our own hand and stop limiting our ideas and sound, expanding out of our area of comfort. We record our own music and produce our own merchandise, we like to keep it that way.

Since 2017 Stupid Decisions has been our hallmark for sharing our vision about sound, as well as our taste for cassettes, independent distribution and other things that could be called D.I.Y.”

Their sound is always changing, song after song, from Shoegaze, Raw Post Punk and progressive Rock, giving them an almost organic life.

Their music work to date is:

2019: Síntomas De Un Punto Muerto, album; Domio Mundial / Ciccone, singles

2018: Milagro Adolescente, LP

Some of the song we love (the second piece is absolutely epic):

LASITUD

Lasitud is a Shoegazing / Dream Pop / Post-Rock band from Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico. They mix the experimentation and stridency of Shoegaze, the soft harmonies of Dream Pop and the sensitivity of Post-Rock, resulting in a deep sound full of unique textures.

“Listening to Lasitud is like taking a long journey of dream landscapes”.

The music work to date is:

2018:Lasitud, EP

2019: Fantasma , EP

The current line-up is:

Paola Vidal,voice and keyboards

Julio Beli in voice, guitars

Andrés Contreras, guitars

Max Campos, bass

José Gorrochotegui, drums

Some of the songs we love:

EL GLUM

Hailing from Guadalajara, Mexico, EL GLUM is the solo project of Eduardo Vela, the guitarist of alternative rock band Aurum, with a debut EP (Uno) in 2018. Seamlessly melding ’90s influenced dashes of shimmering shoegaze reverberations and atmospheric, lulling dream pop with energetic rhythms, mesmerizing synth and blurred vocals, El Glum has just dropped a new single “Lejos”. The music work to date is:

2019: Fuera, single; Lejos, single

2018: Uno, EP; Presente. Single

Some of the songs we love:

RILEV

RILEV is a Shoegaze / dreampop band originally from Mexico City. Their first EP was done and released totally independently. They are mainly inspired by nature and love and believe in music as a catalyst for strong emotions

The current line-up is:

Manuel Grados: Guitar, voice

Alexis Guzmán: Bass

Alfredo Reyes: Drums

The music work to date is

2018: Rilev EP

Some of the songs we love:

BLEAK BOYS

Bleak Boys are a band from Aguascalientes. They released their first music in 2014. Their music is a powerful ensemble and loaded with a loud sensibility,

Describing their music, the bands says:

We met somewhere in a dreamy landscape

The current band members are:

John: Guitars, Vocals, Synthesizer

Paco: Lead Guitar, Vocals

Cruz: Bass, Keyboards

Noel: Drums, Vocals

The musical work to date is:

2015: Part Time Punks Sessions, album; Tensegrity, EP

2014: Corrosive, EP; Ræd, single; Bleak Mates, single

Some of the songs we love:

#Mexico #Shoegaze #Dream pop

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carlculationinfinityinterviews · 6 years

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CAT ELIZA T INTERVIEW

https://www.facebook.com/events/269342836938347/

Cat Eliza T is a musician based in Southampton with an affinity for stringed instruments. Her music encapsulates the sound of folk, indie and classical; exploring the concept of personal experiences.

CAT ELIZA T : CEMENT

youtube

Tell me about your introduction to music and the first time you heard music that made you want to become a musician?

My mother told me that when I was little I couldn’t learn the alphabet until a melody was applied to it so, learning through music could be an innate skill of mine.

The first song that I ever knew all of the words to was Two Become One by The Spice Girls. I remember becoming excited I’d learned a piece of music all the way through!

My dad is a Bluegrass musician, my mother a pianist, my older brother a violinist. A house where music and instruments are being played by everyone will naturally make you want to become one. I don’t think I had much choice.

How did you think you would turn out as a musician back then in comparison to what you do now and what led you to performing as Cat Eliza T?

I am nothing like I thought I would turn out like, I didn’t actually think that I’d become a musician. I wanted to become a philosopher or actress whilst at college.

At Uni I began performing covers but I wasn't enjoying playing them and kept forgetting the words, so I figured that if I wrote my own songs then it wouldn't matter if I remembered the lyrics or not. I found I enjoyed performing my own songs much more and remembered the words better!

Tell me about the processes that you go through when writing?

I’ll be doing something completely unrelated and will suddenly get a lyric or riff in my head. I have to grab the nearest instrument available and get my ideas down.

The basic skeleton of a song takes about 15-20 minutes to write, it tends to be a very quick explosive creation. I'll keep revisiting it after that to finesse parts.

CAT ELIZA T : HUMOUR ME

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Most of my early songs typically follow the standard progression of verse, chorus, bridge/middle eight. Over time my composition style has changed to be more through composed, I try to arrange it in a way where the song transitions through like a story.

What methods do you use a lyricist?

It varies.

The first song that I wrote was called Try, which isn’t based on personal experience but I did enjoy creating a story for the song… a story about being in a relationship that changes your identity completely past the point of self-recognition, I took references from the story of Pandora's Box and being left with the remainder of hope.

Not In My Familiar was inspired by Ru Paul’s Drag Race, one of the episodes featured the phrase and it got stuck in my head, so I built a song around it

My new music is written differently.

If I hear something that sounds poetical then I’ll write it down. I have a vast collection of random phrases. I cut them all up and reshape them to make lyrics which was a method used by David Bowie. These songs are about so many disparate things so they can be interpreted in many ways. It’s ‘The Death of The Author’ I suppose.

Do you write as a part of therapeutic release?

Music is definitely cathartic: to write, to listen to and to perform.

There are times where I’ve listened to music that has caused me to break out into tears but equally I’ve cried when writing.

I never sit and purposely think I want to write about a given subject, but it’s a representation of emotions I’ve had over a length of time. Once a song is written I’ll discover its meaning often some months later. At first, I didn’t realise that I was writing from experience with Humour Me but looking back it’s clear to me that I used songwriting as a method to express what I was feeling at the time. I think this could be some kind of coping mechanism, but I enjoy the latent epiphanies.

How do maintain your skills as a musician and what disciplines do you apply to the music you make?

I never give myself a large set of rules, I want to be free creatively.

I don’t practice as much as I should! However, I can obsess over things/songs until it's completely finished. I’m currently playing Faithless by Flyte over and over and over.

Tell me about your influences and how they have shaped the musician that you are today and the music that you make with as Cat Eliza T?

I like many kinds of music.

I’m influenced by folk and Bluegrass having watched my Dad perform as I’ve grown up.

Classical music has really shaped the way that I approach writing, playing viola in orchestras from a young age. I adore George Butterworth’s pieces as he loved the viola and always allowed moments for us to shine. I try to follow suit in that. Violas never get enough stage time.

Sivu has been another big influence as well, his music is so beautiful and interesting and driven by strong melodies.

Kishi Bashi is a current favourite, his album ‘String Quartet Live’ is so breath-taking I can’t stop listening to it.

I’d like to shout out the artists based in Southampton too. They always offer something new to see or hear. It’s a great community to be part of and work with.

CAT ELIZA T: ALL GOD’S ANGELS COVER

youtube

How important is it as an artist to progress?

Depends on what you mean by ‘progress’?

You are never the same person twice. The experiences that you go through in life shape and form you. If you don’t change then you’ll be listening and producing the same material over and over. I don’t think listeners or artists want that at all, I don’t want to hear that, I want to hear all the aspects of what an artist has to offer.

What was the last thing that exceeded your expectation with music and how did that effect you as a musician?

Seeing Sigur Ros, it wasn’t just the music, it was the whole experience! The lighting was amazing and the gig had a beautiful buzz to it. One of my favourite feelings is of communitas. It is the feeling of connection, emotion being shared… I care a lot about how the audience feel and think a lot about how I can create the best live experience for my audience.

As a DIY musician how do you have to operate in the modern music climate?

Creating a theme that fits with everything is crucial. The doll I made in the music video I’ll be releasing with my EP is wearing a purple dress, so I’ve linked everything to that when designing merchandise. Lot’s of purple.

Doing as much as you can yourself is the direction the music industry going. Find something which is undeniably ‘you’.

I studied puppetry at university and using that in my music videos is another element of me and who I am as a creative person.

What advice do you have for other musicians that are starting out and what were the trials you faced when starting out?

The most important thing I can think of is to just be a nice person and help everyone that you can in your musical community.

Start with the community that you live in since there’s lots of artists that are making great music, especially in the Southampton scene.

Most musicians are nice people too.

What would you tell yourself as a young musician if you could visit yourself now?

I’d tell myself not to worry and that everything will happen when it happens and just do what you want to do. There’s nothing that I would change.

Tell me about your upcoming EP and what was the writing process for these songs, did you use any of the previously mentioned methods or did you move onto experiment with other ways of writing?

These songs were written five years ago. The songs basically wrote themselves and they stuck. They are still favourites of mine and my supporters.

I decided it’s time to properly release them online and on CD. I think five years is long enough to wait!

What were your creative goals from when you started writing the EP?

During 2016-2017 I was sponsored by Beefeater Gin and travelled Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. I recorded three tracks in my friend’s bedroom put them on a limited CD and took them with me on tour.

This year I decided to rebrand these tracks as a collective EP since I wanted to take my music more seriously. It’s been a very enjoyable journey.

Will there be differences between live and what people will hear on the EP?

The launch show is essentially just me playing all of the tracks solo. A friend or two may join me on stage though, but don’t hold me to that! The EP has multiple instruments, all of which I play (apart from the Drums). However, a band is slowly building on the horizon! So future gigs could have the full experience.

What do you want people to take away from the EP and what is next?

I just want people to enjoy listening and recognise it as something that is the first part of my musical life… and to know that there’ll be more puppets, short films and music.

You can follow Cat Eliza and stream her music at the following links: https://www.facebook.com/CatElizaT/

https://www.youtube.com/user/catelizaT

https://soundcloud.com/catelizat

Cat Eliza T will be releasing her EP on the 24th of May at The Art House in Southampton:

https://www.facebook.com/events/269342836938347/

Cat Eliza T EP + Video Launch // 'Antelope' Short Film

Tickets are available here:

https://catelizat1805.eventbrite.co.uk/

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