#I actually started skipping by the end of 7 ep

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Alan & Jeff Forever!

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Jan 2024 Wk 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

The Sign (Sat YT) ep 10 of 12 - I am a little concerned that this is getting too big for its britches, rather like Phaya’s recently recovered snake… shall we say? Adding in yet another character at this juncture isn’t the best idea. Still, I love how this show makes me cackle laugh with grandmas + Yai and then TENSION.

It’s a wobbly kind of balance but a balancing act is happening nonetheless. It makes the pacing of this show good. It may be all over the place but I'm never bored.

Pit Babe (Fri iQIYI) ep 11 of 14 - No trash talk this week, I was charmed & delighted. Who knew I would actually enjoy this show? Certainly not me. (not much of a...) Trash watch happening here.

Cooking Crush (Sun YT) ep 8 of 12 - I am pretty much skipping most of the 3 chef friends, and all of the side dish action (sorry Neo). And with OffGun apart for most of this ep, it didn’t hold together since they are the glue. Sigh.

Last Twilight (Fri YT) ep 12fin - Okay let’s talk about it.

Mhok should have gone off with someone else. Day treated him like shit and never once apologized. To assume an apology isn’t necessary is to pity Day in the exact way he didn’t want. (On a complete aside, one of my favorite Thai restaurants back in my mispent youth was in Hilo, HI… ah memories) meanwhile the "passing escalators trope" activated in the land of malls (it’s been a while my old friend).

Anygay, I hold that Mohk was not a fault and Day was the one who needed to apologize.

Although they did have one of BL's BEST ever face touch moments. 

In conclusion: 

The story of a blind man and his caregiver falling in love. Mark is great. JimmySea are spectacular. The support cast is GMMTV-good. And for the first 3/4 this BL was something rather special. But it was let down by its ending (for which I entirely blame the author). In order to like this show you must buy into the premise that Mhok was in the wrong and caused their breakup. If you don’t believe that, you won’t like this BL. Also "fixing a disability = true happiness" is gross messaging. For me, endings counts for a lot and this one was ultimately “happy” but felt like a failure. 7/10 and I was sorely tempted to go as low as a 6/10, so it should count itself lucky 

I dithered my darling BLabies... I dithered A LOT over this one. But JimmySea alone held this one up.

GMMTV we gotta talk. You're fielding some of the world's best pairs right now. It's time to get them equally good scripts.

For Him (Thurs iQIYI) ep 9 of 12 - This installment had too much of the side couple in it. Although it was nice to see First/Dream (Twins) again. He's still a cutie, even playing a straight. 

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) ep 23 of 24 - I have to say I’m very glad we are on the last installment of the series. Narcissistic hairdresser starts seeing a spirit in a mirror. Turns out to be a friend from his youth who he thought was dead. This one is kinda sweet, and I find the premise interesting. Is the kid actually dead and a spirit? Or is there something else going on? I am intrigued. And I like the actor playing the kid in the mirror. I suspect this will be sad tho.

Time the series (Thai Gaga) ep 3 of 10 - I don’t exactly know what is going on. And frankly I don’t particularly care, either. So far nothing seems to be happening, and I really intensely dislike one half of the main couple. DNF welcome 2024 here we go 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Love For Love's Sake (Korea Weds iQIYI) 1-2 of 8 - based on the Manhwa Love Supremacy Zone by Hwacha (they should have kept the original title). I adore the premise. IRL person has been sent into fictional universe to save a side character from doom. Fantastic. Every fanfic author's dream. Also, I love that our POV was the bad boy in high school so there’s also a redemption arc going on. I adore this kind of isekai (if you wanna call it that). Puppy/cat pairing too! 

Although I Love You and You AKA Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 3 of 10 - Oh my goodness they too cute. Basically dating. Although only one of them realizes it, and he is such a drama queen. It’s GREAT. Also they are both so damn gay. I love the supportive bestie trying to cope with the girl who has a crush on his gay bff. 

Happy Ending (Korea Tues YT) 1 of 3 - Strongberry is back and it’s very them and very atmospheric and cute. I’m enjoying it. 

Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 7 of 8 - Japan giveth and Japan taketh away again. Look, I just like the lost love teacher/teacher couple better. I'm assuming they'll have to do a time jump in the final episode to make this one work at all. 

I am SO GLAD we have KBLs back on our screens.

It's done

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - will binge when I have any spare time. 2024 is crazy busy for me so far.

The Servant and the Young Master - from Vietnam so I assume it's on YouTube. I never even noticed. Anyone?

Began Beginning (Myanmar YouTube) - Is TRUST Entertainment bringing us the first ever Burmese BL? I don't know if it's really the first, but @heretherebedork vouched for it, so I will give it a watch through.

Beside You (Thai ????) - a 3 ep short that's supposed to have aired but I can't find it.

It's Airing But...

[NO INTERNATIONAL] Cherry Magic (Sat YouTube) ep 3 of 12 - yeah Japan put the smack down on our boys. Sadness. You can use a VPN if you like. Read all about it here.

Ossans Love Season 2 (Japan Gaga) - 5 years later, will anything have changed? This is Japan so… probubly not. I won't be watching this. I disliked Season one and actively hated the follow ups. No thank you.

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 14 eps - Dear Playboyy, it's not you, it’s me… I hate you. You’re about as deep (and as palatable) as a shot glass of cum. While I'm sure you’re someone’s kink, you're my weakest link. Goodbye. I DNFed this at ep 5. Frankly I'm impressed with myself for getting that far.

The Whisperer (Sun ????) 10 eps - Ends next week. Thai horror BL that ALSO involves cheating (what joy is mine). I don't think even the perfect single dimple can motivate me to watch. Word is... it's terrible.

7 Days Before Valentine (Weds WeTV) 10 eps - Giving me Luminous Solution vibes. I'm waiting to binge if safe.

Dead Friend Forever (Thai Sat iQIYI) - horror, meh, tell me if it's worth my time?

In Case You Missed it

All my year-end round ups:

TOP 10 BL Trends of 2023

Top 10 BL Secondary Pairs of 2023

2023 BLs Best Trope Execution Awards! TOP 10

All the BLs Announced for 2023 that didn't happen

BL 2023's Best:

Back Hugs Thailand & Elsewhere

Cute Bits of Domesticity

Boys Feeding Boys

BOOP!

Best Cuddles

Heads in Laps

Touching Head Touches

Thailand Put His Head on Your Shoulder

Put Your Head on My Shoulder (not Thailand)

BEST KISSES (not Thailand)

BEST KISSES FROM THAILAND

Next Week Looks Like This:

2/2 City of Stars AKA Fueangnakorn (Fri YouTube?) 10 eps - An actor falls in love with a programmer and the narrative intends to “explore the ramifications of being public figure in the social network era who must endure critics, bullying, and defamation.” Looks like another Lovely Writer/Call It What You Want sort of thing. But helmed by Star Hunter? Chaos will ensue.

2/2 Anti Reset AKA Anti-Reset (Taiwan Fri Gaga?) 10 eps - from Vidol (who aren't doing us very proud right now) - Human and robot find love.

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Say what you like about this show (and I have) they do some very gay cuddling. (Him the series)

I LOVE THEM SO MUCH.

This show, damnit, so close to being genius. (Last Twilight)

I don't that's a hardshi,p grandma ... although it may be a hard ship... get it.

I'll stop now.

(The Sign)

(Last week)

[originallypoki]

Our Flag Means Death S2 Spoilers!

Something people doesn't seem to realize, is that pacing has a key impact to a story. Yes, the tale you want to tell can be the best someone has ever come up with, but if your pacing of it is awful, it pulls the whole story down with it. To rushed pacing? It loses meaning and impact, because there's no time to become attached. To slow paced? It becomes boring and uninteresting, finishing the book, show or movie feels more like a task than actual fun.

The first 4 episodes of season 2 of OFMD were awesome. The pacing was perfect, we had enough time to register what was happening and to sort out our emotions. I was a bit thrown off by ep 5. Because, while still good paced, you can start the see the problems because of the missing 2 eps ( for example the skipped fight, instead choosing to tell, not show. )-

Then episode 6 and 7 happened. And oh boi, I wanted to drop the show, only my love for it keeping me going.

I know that it isn't David Jenkins and the production team's fault, since the 2 episodes got cut, giving us the total of 8. But I can't excuse the decision to cram the plot of 10 eps into 8. If you have so little time left, why don't just cut some 'unimportant' storypoints?

Like Ned Lowe, he was introduced and died in the same episode. His purpose was to give GentleBeard development I know, that still doesn't give him enough importance to let him stay in the shortened version. Just like the second break-up from GentleBeard we got in ep 7.

Instead we got very out-of-character characters, Stede for example. I can see why he acts the way he does in ep 7. It would make sense, had he more time to have proper character development! Instead he feels weird, plus the very very uncomfortable second-hand embarrassment scenes (like the fight with Zheng). And sadly after ep 3, I couldn't feel the same chemistry GentleBeard had in S1. While there were cute scenes, like the end of ep5, I felt like something was missing to make me actually care. It's just my feelings, so not very important, but it was a bit disappointing.

The end of ep 7 gave me hope. Because it was a perfect way to introduce a villain, who's a genuine threat to our heros. And I maybe like Prince Ricky a bit to much. Then ep 8 came crushing down while drowing my love for OFMD, that made me ignore everything wrong with the second half of S2.

I like ep 8, well the first few minutes. It felt like I finally had time to see what's happening and David Jenkins didn't leave us completely clueless. ( Let's ignore the logic holes since it was is a comedy show and they were always there. ) And I was way to busy squieking like a pig of happiness to think critical.

I have many criticism points, but will only focus on one;

Izzy's death. And by god, I. Am. Pissed. Killing a character that is beloved by the fandom isn't the problem. While I love him, he's my favorite, I also love a good ol' angst. But he was in the middle of his redemption arc, and ending this with death is just such weak writing. I have nothing against killing a character off for development. Iron man for example, his whole story is about becoming a better person and jumping over his ego. And it ends just like Izzy in death. But Tony was through his arc, his death was the final, showing he has changed, showing he would do everything to save the universe and more important, the people he loves.

If Izzy died at the start of or before S2 I wouldn't complain, because it would've been perfect for him. Maybe if he died a more impactful death I wouldn't write this. But you can't make a character finally change and then destroy the meaning of it by killing him off in the fucking middle of the change. It would've had so much more impact seeing how he becomes a part of the crew he loathed not even a few weeks ago. Episode 5 did that great, while a bit fast. I like how he and Stede get along. Growing closer. It was a bit too fast paced, and I hoped for them to finally communicate, not talk. The same with Ed, I wanted him and Izzy to finally talk to eachother and not through eachother. However, giving us acutally communication while Izzy's fucking dying is not how you give impact. (And credit where credit's due; I really like that dialog, it was beautiful and the right words choosen to explain how Izzy feels)

Not to forget what a meaning it conveys. Izzy always did what he thought was right, even when it was completely wrong. But when he finally grows and begins to do actually what is right and let's go of Ed, he dies?

Still, I wouldn't say that they shouldn't have done a season 2 at all. It has great potential and I can see what they were going for. So, while it has it's problem's, it's nothing what a good fanfic can't fix. So I look forward to the amazing works that will build up on this hot mess and / or 'correct' it.

So bye, I'll go cry and give the last three episodes of S2 of OFMD, the last 20 minutes of S2 Go treatment T^T (except that GO S2 was fucking fantastic through the whole season)

[didiash]

*Takes the leaf from my mouth*

IF ALL OF THEM WERE GONNA DIE AT THE END WHY DIDNT WE GET TO SEE

A: BETTER MOTIVATION FOR THIS END CHOICE (why didn’t we spend the the season with them realising they missed their powers and were better off with them and actually (ACTUALLY) hated their life without them, subsequently realising that because it would inevitably lead to the end of the world, they’d actually prefer giving up their life to save the world. Just change the choice (Sake) at the start to all of them voting to get their powers back and then it’s an ACTUAL tragedy)

OR

B: HAVE A SCENE WHERE THEY (at least (at FUCKING least)) LAY THEIR LOGIC OUT, about their end.

Also: the world is grim enough as it is. I don’t need a blob swallowing the heroes, without them getting bare minimum a semi-happy ending.

(Why didn’t anyone (Viktor/Allison) believe Klaus when he talked about how Ben died??? Why were they all apparently clueless? Cuz RH could’ve messed with Klaus’s white matter, but Klaus has been hanging out with Ben ever since)

Also, also: how tf does the family exist without them? Like… that doesn’t track at all? How? And why/how is Reggie the voice-over, for the end?

Furthermore: I don’t necessarily agree with the read that Lila and Five would not have started a relationship. What I don’t get is

1) why it would’ve taken them so long (Lila and Five have had a whole Enemies/Lovers thing since she showed up) (In my opinion this should’ve occurred during the time-skip (I don’t agree with Lila/Five, but the “sub”text has been there))

2) Why Five would’ve withheld the fucking map. Like. Why? It makes no f*cking sense. (AND WHY WOULD HE NOT JUST HAVE LOGIC’ED IT HIMSELF. THEY WERE THERE FOR SEVEN. YEARS. If we were gonna have a betrayal, make it his own work that Lila then finds, for crying out loud.)

Also what happened to the Ben on the tube in Japan? Or is that me just having a Mandela effect memory?

Adding: If you wanna give me a tragic ending, give me one. But then you gotta make it so that it is all of (or bare minimum, most of) the heroes choice, that we end up there. Like… The simple quick fix here is that a way back in time is found, to stop Ben with the sake, and subsequently everything else.

(If you wanted to make Abigail Hargreeves an Anti-hero/villain type, then make her “adopt” all of them, the second they came to this timeline. Would’ve made the twist WAY better.)

Which brings me to my last point:

2 ways the series could’ve ended, that would’ve been way more interesting/dope:

1: Everyone (semi-)unanimously vote to get their powers back. The season follows much of the same plot, except they’ve all SELECTED it. It becomes a tragedy, about heroes so unwilling to let their powers go, that they would rather not live at all/end the world, than be without them.

2: Abigail is the “mastermind” in the “true” timeline. This still leads to the Umbrella Academy, but the Jennifer Incident does not play the same:

A) Reggie is killed before ‘89, leading to Abigail (who honestly seems WAY smarter and more caring than Reggie), to not lead them on the Jen mission, but something else, way more juicy happens (cue ep 7 & 8, a)

B) She “instructs” Reginald to only kill Jennifer, since Jen&Ben do not touch skin to skin. The Durango is still loose (cue ep 7 & 8, b)

I will come back to my to proposed 7&8’s soon. Promise.

Also what’s up with good series f*cking up their endings recently? The hells going on???

[etherealnoir]

Found Ep. 7 Thoughts

Spoiler Warning!

So this wasn't my favorite episode. While I did like the show bringing attention to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (sort of...it would've been nice for them to add an info card or something at the end of the episode, but ok), the episode itself left a lot to be desired.

TL;DR: The highlight of this episode was learning more about Hugh's abandonment triggers, because I feel like it added a ton of context to his behavior in the past and in this episode. Everything else was a chop. I feel like they spent too much time on some things (Trent), not enough on others (Lacey), and overlooked a lot of things as well (Gabi being held accountable).

I wrote a lot, but please feel free to skip to whatever part you care the most about lol

1. The Story

It felt weirdly disjointed and all over the place. The natal doctor being the culprit at the end, despite there being NO previous indicators, kind of annoyed me. It was lazy to have it be this random man we barely saw, with a motivation we learned about in the last 5 minutes. They could've EASILY introduced that he worked with many indigenous/marginalized people early in the episode and also mentioned that he lost his own child.

It would've made more sense if he was a part of a ring of people taking babies of color and putting them up for adoption--because that's a thing that actually happens. I feel like they were originally going to have the culprit be the neighbor whose brother lost his baby and blamed it on Aida. As sort of like an eye-for-an-eye thing. But then they realized it'd probably look bad if a bunch of Non-Indigenous people demonized an Indigenous woman like that, so they changed it at the last minute.

2. Lacey

Lacey is always severely underutilized, but this time it felt just sadly egregious. They emphasized that Lacey was uncomfortable with being in the area because of the kidnapping, but...that was about it. It would've been a good opportunity to show a flashback of Lacey and Gabi together as children, or even a great chance to show Gabi and Lacey connecting over their shared experience in adulthood. Better yet, it would've been the perfect time to explore how the kidnapping has affected Lacey in adulthood, because it's clear it presents as a fear more intense than Gabi's.

Also her randomly kicking in the door and rushing into the house was odd, no matter how much they said in-show that it was ooc. Sometimes it feels like scenes are cut out that would add clarity to the scenes they leave in.

3. Trent x Gabi

As much as I love them together, I get really REALLY tired of watching Gabi use Trent and his network without any repercussions or hard pushback. I know that Gabi agreed to work closely with the police to make sure the people who committed the crimes face punishment, but I can only suspend disbelief BUT SO MUCH. Like what do you mean Gabi and Dhan can threaten a potential suspect into confessing? What do you mean they can just find things about people in less than a day, whenever they ask for it? WHY are they able to break rules with impunity, when doing so would absolutely cause the case to get thrown out in court????

As much as I know that Trent cares about Gabi and is willing to risk his job for her, I'm failing to understand why. What has she done for him that has made him want to give up his job for her? Because, from what we've seen so far, she hasn't really...done...much? We know they slept together at least once, that he has feelings for her, and that she relies on him a lot. But I feel like this show is constantly telling us that Gabi is worth sacrifice without illustrating why.

If this show is going to improve, they REALLY need to stop trying to make us believe that Gabi can do whatever she wants because reasons. It's starting to feel very Mary Sue-ish, and I don't want that to happen to her.

I at least hope that she takes accountability for taking the thumbdrive.

4. Hughbert "Sir" Evans

The one thing I did like about this episode is that we learned a lot about who Hugh is, and what his triggers are. If they choose to stay consistent anyway. Because they said in one episode that one of his triggers was mess/dirt, and then it was never brought up again lol.

In this episode, we learned that Hugh has abandonment issues. I believe that Hugh suffered from Parental Neglect as a child, which ties into this quest he had to "save" Gabi from her own perceived neglect. Hugh illustrates all the traits of someone who grew up not feeling heard or paid attention to: forcing Gabi to debate with him, him lecturing at her when she's eating, him having a meltdown when she ignores him or walks away. He threw a temper tantrum when he suspected that someone else might be taking attention away from him, because he finds comfort in knowing that it's always just him and Gabi in that house, and that she's consciously aware that he's there.

Obviously his traumatic past doesn't excuse the shit he's done. But it does add a ton of context.

These are a lot of thoughts, sorry lol This episode just bugged me. I feel like the writers room doesn't have their shit together. Maybe in S2 (if they get one), they'll find a rhythm that works. They need to. Because I shouldn't be able to tell a better story than these people who were PAID to do so.

[aprillikesthings]

HELLO EVERYONE

it is Thursday night which means it's my weekend which means IT'S SHE-RA TIME

On a related note a bunch of the stuff for my cosplay (like, clothes) gets here tomorrow and then I can put it all together and look in front of the mirror and make weird noises at myself and take terrible selfies, so stay tuned for that yeah? Yeah!

OKAY

I'M STARTING SEASON FIVE oh god

s5 ep1 Horde Prime

My semi-frequent reminder that these are a re-watch, spoilers ahoy, I make a lot of dumb jokes

I'm going to tRY to scale back on how much of the episodes I like, describe. Those last two eps of s4 I ended up just telling the whole thing, to the point of copy/pasting a shit-ton of dialogue from the damn fan transcripts.

BUT THERE WAS SO MUCH LORE AND STORY AND SHIT and I want to remember everything uggghhhhh

okay I just noticed the rating, and I can't screenshot it bc it disappears when I pause, but the show is rated for age 7 and up and says "fantasy violence, fear"

Fear??? I mean that's...not wrong. But it feels like a weird way of wording it?

This was pretty, but then the damn Horde Prime ships showed up.

you broke the sword, girly

(for good reason! but still. also the music actually starts the little rah-rah transformation tune and then cuts off)

I hate it when creepy dudes watch me via bot soldiers

I remember reading that there are parts of the intro that change multiple times across this season, and I know Daci and I just skipped the intro every time when we marathoned this season back in 2020, so I'm watching them all this time, and

O_O

And she's not She-Ra! Just Adora!

the shards of Narsil....wait wrong fantasy story

Ohhhh they're all hiding under some kind of invisibility/protection shield constantly maintained by sorcerers. That makes sense.

ALSO I remember noticing this the first time, but you can tell they got a higher budget this season.

ugggh let it go

Everyone else says the same thing lol (along with "literally we can't because we don't have She-Ra anymore")

Adora's obviously still engaging in her self-sacrificial bullshit and Perfuma's like "no u gotta take ppl with u" but then

NOT. HELPING.

I mean Glimmer's room on the ship is nice (if sterile and too brightly-lit) but oof

oh, are you also lonely? do you also long for someone at least a little familiar? Hm????

;_;

Horde Prime just like "yo my bro hated your guts when I showed up lol did u know that"

(referring to the Heart of Etheria) yeah sweetie that's not gonna save your ass for long

He's so fucking creepy!!

Also I know they were inspired by megachurches and conservative Christian stuff when making Horde Prime's ship, but the music here even sounds kind of like an organ!

(...which is funny when you remember that megachurches usually have, like, rock bands)

Stop doing your self-sacrificial bullshit....without us!!

Does anyone else always wonder what they use for bathrooms?? The ones in the Fright Zone didn't have obvious restrooms either. Anyway.

So I know people were shipping Glitra for obvious reasons before this season but this whole storyline was just fucking great on that front lol

But also look at how fucking SMUG she is!

bahaha the "how's it going, Princess?" line is said almost as unnecessarily sexy as the "hey, Adora" thing

HAH. Glimmer is RIGHT.

Catra: nah man I'mma kick my ass to the top like I did last time Glimmer: u will get crushed like a BUG you DIPSHIT Clones: COME TO DINNER

oh sure, NOW you're looking at her for sympathy pfft

Clone: PRAISE THE LORD Everyone else: oh please shut the fuck up

("April aren't yOU Christian" yes but like, not that kind.)

Who else read A Wrinkle in Time? Remember that meal they had on Camazotz where everything tasted like sand to Meg because she was the only one who was completely resistant to the hypnotism bullshit IT did? Anyway that's what I'm reminded of.

the little she-ra doll :(

Even Catra's not thrilled to see this. (That or she saw Scorpia fighting and feels guilty)

When says "Adora," Catra scratches the table

GLIMMER GOD DAMMIT (but also look at poor Catra's face)

OH RIGHT because if he knows this he has no reason to keep Catra around.

But she can't stop looking at the screen where Adora just was ahahah

YOU COULDN'T DO IT ALONE BEFORE

lol Bow says it. "You're not alone. You've never been." But he's nicer about it than me.

Catra: oooh, princesses and their *~feelings~* Horde Prime: lol you're not any better

I am actively resisting the urge to make a BBC Sherlock reference. IYKYK.

"Adora means something to you." 👀

His little speech about "you Etherians are all alike, such strong connections to each other...it's what makes you weak," is such a great way of contrasting him to the actual Good Guys. Empathy and compassion, caring for others--those aren't weaknesses!

But if your goal is ruthlessly destroying everything in the universe for your own power, then yeah, they would be.

And of course, Catra does think her connections to others is what makes her weak, at this point in the story.

augh

"Now that I know about She-Ra and the weapon, what purpose do I have for you? Your little ploy of parsing out information like a bartering chip was never going to last long out here... I see all. I know all. But fear not. I have great plans for you. Every part of the machine is of value. Even you...little sister."

AAUGH

(and that's why the rating for this show warns for "fear" lol)

And then Adora has one of her weird dreams about She-Ra and shattering the sword but while awake, and clearly it pains her--and then she passes out, end of episode.

Anyway I managed to make it all fit in one post but only barely, I had to go back and delete a few, lol

TBH I should probably just assume these are all gonna be two-parters, there's so much plot.

[gothicbarbie]

BL’s I’m watching right now...

I'll order from fav to least as well...

1. Minato's Laundry 2 - Okay, I haven't watched ep 1 yet but I loved season 1 so I am stoked about this returning!

2. His Man 2 - Amazing series. It's a reality show that's highly dramatic and addicting. Not as good as season 1 so far imo, but there is potential for more pairings this time I think???? Totally rooting for the roommates pairings right now, but expecting to be disappointed in the end lol.

3. Tokyo in April is... - So far, really impressed. I love the japanese BL style in general, especially ones that are high heat. I also love a friends with benefits type of storyline, so this is fun so far!

4. Be My Favorite - I skip a lot of this one, and I find the plot a bit confusing with the time travel aspect but I am really enjoying the main duo's chemistry and storyline so far.

5. 21 Day's Theory - Okay, this is an older BL I only just started, and I've only seen 1 episode so far but it found it pretty entertaining.

6. Step by Step - Not as into this one as everyone else. I actually am far more interested in the side pairings storyline and sadly, they haven't been given a whole lot. The main duo has good chemistry and their kiss scenes were great, so that's something, but overall i find the plot a little bland and i am not a big fan of office romances tbh.

7. Be Mine Superstar - Only just started, but it was a bit boring and cheesey... will be skimming a LOT of this series lol. But I love jafirst, and the side pairing seemed interesting too.

8. La Pluie - Not sure why I am still watching because I dont really like this one. Def. not on the same level for me as it is for other people. I like the side pairing okay but mostly just skim this one.

9. Win Jamie's Heart - another older bl. Pinoy. Only JUST started and only saw 1 ep so its hard to tell right now. But seems okay.

10. House of Stars- Mess of a series. Lots of drama. Confused me from the start so I started skipping around. At this point I'm only watching to finish it off cuz its almost over lol.

11. Luminous Solution - Hot hot mess, quit the first time, trying to get back into it and having a difficult time. Will prob. end up dropping it again, but for now i am skimming through.

[feuqueerfire]

Pit Babe Live Blogging

This show is finally ending, I've been stopping myself from starting it since like December I think when I saw Tiktoks from those early episodes (honestly younger, cute boytoy top Charlie who is so beautiful to me had a hand in that lol). The chatter also seems to really like the show, maybe unexpectedly for quite a few people (also I think at least a certain amount of it is for the side ship? Alan and Jeff or something? who I know nothing about because I only really know some plot points until like ep 4 or smth because I'd look up Tiktoks)

So I really hope I like it! I've only been like "meh, sure" for the 3 shows/movies I've watched so far this month, so I'd love it if this one lives up to my expectations.

Ep 1 (Feb 7)

girl what's going on? okay we're starting with fucking but he's gotta blow off steam bc his senses are too sensitive? Or what's going on?

alpha smell, i died

ohhh dubcon sexual coercion racer/fan hookup as payment <3333

charlie doesn’t have a smell (smth about an enigma in the tiktok comments?) and babe can’t stand alpha scent

fuck off iqiyi ad, right in the middle of the scene

i wonder if Charlie does have ulterior motives other than the car bc tiktok comments hinted at it but i stopped looking at them after a couple eps so didn’t find out

ohhh the objectification and using Charlie as a bet is a doozy

Charlie talking about not exploiting Babe is the funniest shit ever

random villain

I need to sleep almost 2am agh - 28m

back the next morning hehe

Why is this guy who seems to be around the same age as everybody else being called Uncle and referring to himself as old man lmfao is it like how Gumpa was maybe supposed to be older than he was in Not Me?

oh, i like these scenes actually, I usually have a 50-50 on whether I'll skip through these makeout/NC scenes but I'm watching these lmao

Babe being so irritable/standoffish after an orgasm is so funny like why lol

kalsdfjlk;asfjlk;asdfj talking about roleplaying as a maid/wearing maid costume/Charlie calling Babe master omg

Babe doesn't know how to appreciate maid Charlie, give him to me instead

the holes in the walls of Babe's house are so funny like what

Also how old are these people? I think I remember a Tiktok of Charlie going to uni (and Babe following him because he's suspicious lol) and I'm guessing Babe is a couple years older than that?

[Linguistics] Pom and Phi for Charlie while Gu and Mueng for Babe

Babe calling Charlie docile awooga

So was the villain whose face we kinda saw earlier the UAC Corp leader? Tony Chen?

"report about Babe"

okay I'm reading the on-air thread for this on r/boyslove and some people are like hmmm about their chemistry so far and are like why is the NC stuff so tame/vague but personally... I can watch the NC scenes when it's like this, so it's going well in my books lol rip, though I kinda assume it might get more heated in the later eps? Also hm idk about Charlie and Babe's chemistry, it seems fine but not magnetic/magical yet.

Also people in that thread seem to have little to no experience with omegaverse or have mostly read alpha/omega and also seem confused about what's allowed vs not allowed when in fact, there's no rigid rules with omegaverse because it's a literal fanfic concept and you can make it whatever you want. Personally, I haven't read any original book/manhua/etc. with omegaverse but am so well-versed in fanfic a/b/o lol a/a o/o a/o are all great, sometimes with a beta though beta/x do tend to be quite rare, even more than a/a and o/o I feel like?? Also have read OT3 a/b/o or a/a/o or a/o/o etc. Love all the different types of fics omegaverse has to offer: the 4k explicit fics and 20k romances and 60k of criticizing society/trying to break out of the rigid molds/mirroring real world issues/etc. Traditional, medium trad-nontrad, and nontraditional omegaverse can all also be interesting and good.

I'm expecting this one to just be like the 20k kinda non-traditional romances w/ a/a.

Ep 2 (Feb 7)

Oh Tony Chen investor is Babe's literal father?

The fiery flashback transitions lmao

Babe's adoptive father

What's Charlie planning?

the menopause comment is so interesting cuz wtf do you even mean but I'm pretty sure I'm also heard it in reference to men in other BLs maybe Thai ones? So it's probably a different word that refers to a similar thing but not exactly menopause

working for free, not suspicious at all lol

This new repairman kid tuning the car to have more horsepower or whatever is reminding me of a high school class where we were doing AutoCAD and stuff but then also had to ?? create a digital car but neither my partner nor I knew shit about cars so we were fr just trying out whatever and seeing the specs go up and down

[Linguistics] Alan addressing Jeff as Nuu lol

lol the germophobe so I don't touch anybody thing

I did think Jeff and Charlie were working together so this makes sense but I thought the guy who was scheming with Charlie was the same age as him but he calls Charlie Phi and is 20 years old (so Charlie's older than that)

Wait Alan just said Jeff and Charlie are the same age? But Jeff called Charlie Phi, so did Jeff age himself up by a year or two?

Did nobody notice how weird Jeff and Charlie were behaving toward each other?

Why'd they zoom in on Way like that when mentioning the UAC Corp

dang, what plan Jeff and Charlie got cooking up

What is this random physical fight that's Charlie's doing lol

Didn't like the camera work during that fight scene, keep it still

And also this one Red Racing member's an annoying character as he's meant to be but the acting itself annoys me

ahh, Charlie choosing the car he knows is Babe's favourite and Way being like Babe doesn't let anybody get in it but Babe letting Charlie borrow it

"I'm Pit Babe, I don't decide on the wrong people" is crazy omg I hate such expectations

Ouchhhh terrible driving lesson flashbacks when my instructor would yell at my stupidity from the passenger seat like this lmfao

Ouch lol Way being like haha what if I fell in love w you and Babe being like lmfaoooo if we were gonna have sparks, it would've happened long ago

Is Way not an Alpha? why did Babe say I'm good with just chewing alphas? Or did he mean he'd rather do that than fall in love with them?

Alan and Jeff barely exist so far beyond Jeff ignoring Alan and everybody laughing about it but I'm into it. The age difference + Nuu thing is also uh good

The Glances that Alan and Babe share whenever Way's talking and kinda sidelining Charlie makes me think that Babe must know that Way likes him, right?

Red Racing aka the team Tony Cheng (Babe's foster father) is investing in wants to poach Babe?

Saw through some reblog's novel spoiler tags that Jeff's an omega

Ep 3 (Feb 8)

Pouty, whiny, dramatic Charlie and Babe's smile peaking through at the act so cutee

Aw, our tough guy sad backstory

damn, tf he fostered a bunch of kids and did what with them

unexpected telekenesis - if I hadn't been spoiled through a post like 2 hours ago about how it just randomly appears in ep 3, I would've been shocked lmfao

and Babe breaks his no kissing rule

Jeff’s reaction after the sniff kiss from Alan akhdjaja threw him off fr

Alan’s hiding that Pete will take % of price money? or is that just understood?

tbh i dint rlly get the investment and returns cuz the show doesn’t explain it like why couldn’t they do smaller races before but now they can? cause of cost to join the race and fuel and whatever else needed for it without the guaranteed winning money to subsidize it? would it be so expensive to do that they couldn’t go to smaller races at all without investments? how were they doing it before this though like why does it matter if red racing is getting this investment, how does that mean x hunter can’t do the same stuff they’ve done so far?

Ah, I've seen tiktoks of the suspicion and Babe following Charlie

Can Babe tell that it's Jeff

damn girl, how are these thoughts even come into your mind as you drive such at high speed with high concentration

Winner is such annoying character I really cant

Ah, so the driving accident wasn't in this ep but ep 4 I guess

Lol caught a glimpse of the next ep preview and I remember seeing people discuss whether the Way and Babe talking about being boyfriends in the preview is in the past vs present (It looks like the past to me)

This show must actually be insane to watch on air, first the surprise omegaverse and now surprise telekenesis

I understand Way's suspicion of Charlie and he's right to be lol but the way he talks about how nobody cares about him and Babe and Babe shouldn't get too close to people is... I wonder if he really has power to hypnotize through touch bc I did see murmurs about that on the tiktok comments. And I didn't think about this, but Way should've waited a couple days to mention to Babe the results of stalking Charlie since it'll affect Babe's performance

Ep 4 (Feb 9)

Annoyed that I was too busy today to actually watch more than an episode yesterday and I think it'll be the same case today, maybe I'll try to squeeze in 1.5 eps.

Is Babe specifically not mentioning seeing him and Jeff together because he wants Charlie to come clean himself?

Damn, Way really is clutching Babe's arm as he tells him to be alone and not trust in love

Babe so mean for pulling that "shall I be your bf?" thing on Way aksdfj

also young Babe is sooo pretty omg

mopey sad Babe :(

How did Charlie get there?

Oh, Jeff watching but unable to outwardly show concern for Charlie in front of everybody

would Tony do this fr though? I thought it was fuckass Winner

Damn, Winner tryna bribe someone to cut the fluid line or smth in Babe's car idk what that means but sounds bad. stopped by Kim but Winner does say he didn't send those people to beat Babe up, so did Tony really do it? Did Charlie...?

Charlie's endless cooking for Babe ahh

Jeff and Alan hehe

Oh yeah lol Babe's upset at Jeff cuz he thinks Charlie went behind his back w Jeff

woah Jeff can see the future via touch?!?! No wonder he was averse to touching so cool

So does this mean that Charlie and Jeff were also in that house raised by Tony along with Babe? The kids were all separated from each other, so it'd make sense if Babe didn't know them. Interesting

The Tony and Co. have been looking for somebody with Beyond Group Pete's power for a long time? Archery? Hand-eye coordination?

Finally, the car crash. Not much happened this ep tbh since it's continuation of last ep's tensions but hopefully we'll move forward at a faster pace now, either in terms of relationship or plot. I also stopped checking the tiktoks at this point, so I don't know as much now and haven't really seen stuff after this except stuff I've already mentioned like Enigma Charlie? Omega Jeff?

omegaverse + racecar + xmen powers & evil father foistering said powers

Agh, fuck, people are writing novel spoilers obviously and accidentally saw it I think say "Charlie and [Babe I'm guessing] have the same evil foster dad" well the on-air thread people who guessed this like 2 eps ago were correct, gj

Ep 5 (Feb 9)

hmm is it indeed somebody on X Hunter who betrayed Babe? I refuse Charlie and Jeff, would Way do it? Would Tony?

Did Jeff go to that car at night in secret because he wanted to try to prevent the fire since he saw it in that vision?

I mean Alan’s not completely wrong, though Way and Dean came off real strong

exploiting Jeff’s sadness for an ad smh

the person avoided the cameras seeing his face as if he knows where they are…

Pete being like “I thought you guys had a mole and didn’t know”

oh i went to ep 4 on air discussion and ppl were discussing whether charlie can suppress powers/steal powers apparently shown in teaser for this ep and immediately as soon i start this again we get Babe being like why can’t i sense you

choosing Charlie (guy who barely just started training and has never done an actual race before) to take Babe’s place is crazy esp amongst others who may not be good but have actual experience before being thrown into the deep end

well at least they’re gonna test Charlie

wdym? Isn’t Babe too hurt to do a fucking competition?

getting v strong insider job vibes but idk if they’ll make it be Way (suspicious), Dean (suspicious just cuz he’s eager to side w Way), or the youtuber dudes (they seem useless and it’d be boring if it was them)

Ep 6 (Feb 10)

Well, at least they still made Babe win by a fair amount while rookie Charlie who has never competed won by a hair compared to junior Dean who doesn't really win

The directing was bad in this though i literally couldn't tell who was ahead because the cars look the fucking same

Charlie looks sooo good with the kinda mushroom hair here idk omg

What even is this argument? Dean is not acting well here and somehow neither is Alan even though Alan's been fine thus far, though he hadn't had to express too many outward emotions until now

Oof, Way watching Babe walk away from him down to Charlie and going with him

so does this cafe thing happen often or no? and in which countries? First Twinkling Watermelon also had some "story" about their table that the guy had submitted for Se Kyeong and now here Alan did a apology thing for Jeff

Ahh it's so cringe but I'm kinda into it, idk esp the way Jeff keeps trying to not smile

babe and charlie looking at stars scene so romantic

omg children

sorry this mama papa thing is killing me so bad

it’s also killing babe lol he keeps laughing during the roleplay

actually okay idk role playing as each other during the first meeting is kinda fun fr and them giggling through it hehe so cute

Pete watching Way drink at the bar?

Dean so annoying

What did Pete see in Babe's future?!

Ah, publicly saying they're bfs but rip Way

Babe doing that smoke thing was crazy cuz if I was Way, I'd be like damn is he boutta step out of his relationship with me rn

ouch ouch ouch ouch

Unrequited crush on a friend is so saddd even though Way's being annoying about it

broooo that spot when Babe and Way are sitting on the car, looking at the sky - is that the same spot Babe took Charlie?

man, ouch!

I seriously wish the subs were better man

but Babe and Charlie were so cute this ep hehe >.< and Babe was just sooo smiley

I want Charlie to get some more personality soon though because we don't know shit about him and I also can't tell what's genuine vs not with him since he's so secretive

Ep 7 (Feb 10)

Ah, so Babe indeed feels suffocated by how Way tells him to be alone and feels like he can't love anybody

I don't get it, I thought Jeff touching Babe would mean he sees Babe's future, so how can that guy lying in the car not be Babe?

Oof, Way and Pete

Also, I try to track when someone's putting on shoes for a romantic partner/candidate but taking off shoes is also so good and intimate, like now Pete taking Way's shoes off

Are Kim and Kenta supposed to ba thing? Can't remember but hope Kenta stops being Tony's laptop someday

As expected, it was Tony's doing

omggg so many things happening at once, exciting

Kim doing a little investigating to find that Tony sells his kids and Babe's the highest price

and also he called Babe to the place he knew that Charlie would be meeting Tony and Kenta omg

and Tony asking about Jeff

oh yeah lol Babe last ep being like since you're Charlie's nong/brother, you're my nong too :) at Jeff like girl first of all Charlie is also your adopted brother technically so let's not get too familial here lol

Tony seeing Charlie and Babe's interaction... Also, I wonder why Tony doesn't know that Jeff is a mechanic at X-Hunter c'mon

On that note, I also wish Charlie had somehow blurted out that Babe shouldn't tell anybody about Jeff being Tony's son also or tell anybody about Jeff's location

Aw, crying and regretful Babe and heartbroken too

Charlie just SAY it while following Babe around instead of being like P'Babe x10 and asking him to listen/being like let me explain. LIKE JUST EXPLAIN BRUH

Charlie doesn't have a power for real or it's just a power like stealing/suppressing powers that Tony's teachers couldn't sense? especially because Charlie specifically mentioned that Babe was just buying time by running away since they were still after his powers - so maybe Charlie thinks the solution is to suppress those powers and that's why Babe doesn't have them anymore

sorry what are we even talking about right now, they're suggesting that Tony intends to get an Enigma (different even more powerful sort of alpha - 1%) to impregnate Babe????? Because that child will be even more powerful? Like what are we doing right now klajsdflkasdjfk

But anyway, this means no hope of Omega Jeff? Since apparently only Alphas have powers.

Kenta doing these "mistakes" with being sloppy enough so that Kim can find evidence + letting Charlie live with Babe... is he on their side?

Oh, Charlie did indeed make Babe's sense disappear by absorbing/stealing it (and being able to do it so well because he's closer to Babe)

ow ow ow ow owowoowowowowowowoow owwwww Babe thinking back to the first night and how Charlie touched him

oh my goddd all their encounters T.T

tf Charlie can't return Babe's powers unless he dies? no way...

girl why is Charlie even thinking of reconciliation right now, you just told Babe all this stuff you hid from him including the way you stole his powers and can't give it back unless you die

stop, I'm really annoyed by this tone change, this is not the time for mama/papa, I want Babe to blow up on Charlie now to dare to make light of the situation and how much Babe's hurting

ah I can't even appreciate the making up T.T

Also, is the fact that Charlie's not mentioning Jeff gonna be considered a secret later on?

Way waiting for their dinner which he took as a date to the sentimental restaurant vs Babe riding Charlie in the car on the road with the roof down

okay sorry this is a whole lot, too much in fact um

Bro Way gotta escape cuz Babe is fr stringing him along for too long let's end this, make some bad decisions but in terms of drinking too much/fucking random people (Pete) but not hypnotizing Babe or anything. and then, let's move on

broooo why are Alan and Babe just discussing Tony and everything in the garage where there are other people

I thought Babe realized that Way liked him... does he not?

woah soooo much info

Wish there was actually more angst/longer drawn out period before reconciliation because Babe would need time to come to terms with everything. but oh well

The spoilers I found right now while going through gifs is that: Apparently Way is the Enigma that Tony's planning to use to impregnate Babe... I'd seen hints that Way is evil/does something against Babe and if we're going with the fact that he has hypnosis through touch powers, then he'd been with Tony but the fact that he's the enigma was new to me

Ep 8 (Feb 10)

Aw fuck, I keep watching this instead of doing my much-needed work D:

Kenta has to somehow not let Kim get killed and his organs harvested right

Aw, Jeff telling Alan his secret special power

Way talking about revenge and being a bad person and doing what he was originally supposed to do...

ahh Charlie not telling Babe about Jeff's vision is scary, even though Charlie consoling Jeff is nice

omg blood everywhere enough investigating let's leaveee

First time seeing Charlie use his powers and he uses it to be kinda stupid lol

Did Tony pick up on the fact that Babe lost his powers?

Ken? Do Pete and Kenta know each other?

Damn, Jeff's visions, he's getting them without touching anybody?

Also, how are you sneaking around in Tony's house lol cameras gotta be everywhere

ah, I wish I wasn't spoiled about Enigma way cuz I might've been like gasp but actually probably not since I already knew about Way being from the other side

Jeff no don't get caught

the fact that Charlie is still like -khap at the end of his sentences with Babe despite having fucked like 50 times and being boyfriends and also having held secrets from him is funny

they're doing doctor/patient roleplay while jeff's in trouble D:

ah, all the plans in front of Way

This must be a trap as well right, set up by Way? I'm afraid Andy's gonna get killed or smth? Or even if it's not a proper dangerous trap, like a trap t somehow save them to gain trust?

Why did they even get out of that room though lol

Winner's soooo annoying, like not even an intriguing semi-antagonist like Way, just irritating and bad at acting

North, Sonic don't both go into the cell cuz what if it's locked from outside

They left Kim again? man...

Jeff I believe in you

Ep 9 (Feb 10)

Charlie can't you at least once wonder where Jeff is? WHAT ABOUT YOUR BROTHER? Literally everybody at the garage is staying at Alan's except Jeff?

you know Tony's looking for Jeff and you're just chill about the fact that neither you nor Alan can contact him? Man, cmon Charlie wtf

girl not Babe finding out about Pete being an Enigma at this place where they're auctioning kids D: and then Immediately going to tell Way about it bruhhh

aw fuckkk not Way hypnotizing Babe when Babe's at the auction place alone with Way and has just found out about Way beingthe Enigma through Charlie. I hope Pete comes out and sees them

ahhhhh aklsdfjalks;fj ewewew I can't watch this like I watched 0.2 seconds of it in the reflection and no aghhh and Babe's sad face in that reflection T.T

Or I hope Charlie immediately goes to Way's apartment or smth after informing Alan of what happened

okay at least Charlie did come

This is so fucking sad, poor Babe D:

And every Babe and Way montage is so sad, first when Way was going through his heartbreak and now because Babe got sexually assaulted by Way agh

abusive father Tony fr but also what power or whatever does he have? He said Way's Enigma can't compete with me

man, this is so fucking sad, the way Babe's trust in me people is shattered and doesn't wanna be betrayed again

Anyway, Charlie learned than his brother Jeff was captured by Tony and crew but has called him and hasn't heard from or seen him since, he should be a little more concerned about him I think

Well, it's good that apparently Jeff is all good and safe

Alan and Jeff are sooo cute, espp because age gap but Alan and Jeff are both so skittish lol... Jeff asking if he can be Alan's boy is crazy though

what are Charlie and Jeff planning, yikes

Also, Charlie being like okay at least father doesn't know that my powers will go back to Babe if I die... so if he fakes his death, Babe still wouldn't have the powers back but the father wouldn't find it questionable?

Is Dean trustworthy?

Ah, this time Charlie getting overwhelmed with the senses and Babe helping me out with an orgasm... romance <3

why is the sex scene surrounded by the car race lmfaooo I kinda wanted to see it and choose to skip parts if it was too much for me, not have it spliced

Ah, they spoiled that Dean's a traitor/snake in the preview, that's dumb smh

oh omg, okay I remember seeing some stuff about main character death in Pit Babe just a few weeks ago (esp when Last Twilight was ending) but as I started this, I was like hm this doesn't seem to track, maybe that was about The Sign. But now I just glimpsed the words "The cross on Charlie's grave [...]" in a text post and seems like this really is for Pit Babe. Not to mention that Jeff and Charlie's plans seem to involve Charlie's death, though I'm assuming it's a faked death.

Ep 10 (Feb 10)

I'm dreading the scene from last ep's teaser where Charlie is against Babe driving and Babe's like you don't have any faith in me? I'm so disappointed in you

ouchhh "you don't believe in my skills" because of the lack of sense? ah it's true like charlie can't control babe just because he wishes babe well but I'm nervous that Charlie planned something terrible what with their plans and Charlie dying/disappearing

ah yep, Charlie's plan is to flip the car over, so scary but Jeff knows at least.

dang, did Babe not finish his lap and just came off in the middle of his last lap? Makes sense, I didn't expect the car to be right there

Jeff's pretending that he did that to Charlie's car to kill him in order to get Tony to do something on his end? Or does Tony also know Charlie's not dead?

Bro what the fuck what do you even mean that Babe got his senses back

This is actually devastating for real

How has Kenta not turned his back to Tony yet fr

Also, so I guess Jeff was telling Tony that he'd crash Charlie's car + with Kenta's help but Jeff was really planning on it killing Charlie

Babe's "I don't want my senses back, I don't want anything back. I just want charlie back" askldfjaskdlfjsadf owwwwwww

This montage is so fucked up

Oh, can you walk over the grave just like that to give the flowers omg? I'd be like D: there's somebody's corpse right underneath my feet and I'm stepping on them...

fuckkk this grave scene is also so devastating

Jeff really and truly is the only person getting anything done, so he got Kim in exchange for the Charlie thing?

girl, not the Jeff and Alan flirting in the midst of devastation. cute thought :( jeff being so done with Alan's inability to flirt that he has to do it himself here too

aklsdfja;sdlkf ow Jeff so cute, coming back to give him a little kiss on the side of the mouth and then running away

The fuck, Dean hit Babe with a HAMMER?!?!?! to the head

So was it Jeff (or Kenta w/ Jeff) who punctured the oil rigg while Dean did something else (gas smth?). or was it that Dean and Kenta together cut the gas line to crash the car but Jeff punctured the oil rig to kill Charlie?

Oh man, the fucking devastation. How did people who watch weekly go through this fr? I wonder... if I could get away with just looking at Pit Babe archive tags or if I'm gonna be spoiled with ep 11/book spoilers... ig I'll try to be very careful? agh idk

Also, I wonder how they're pulling off this fake death if Babe got his senses back? And we saw the dead body? Though ofc Jeff "took care of everything" on his own afterwards so we didn't see him be buried or anything but yknow

Ep 11 (Feb 11)

Good morning, time to watch the show and hopefully finish it toda

Man, I would've rooted more for Way/Pete if Way wasn't gonna rape Babe when he got the chance... makes me a hypocrite since I'm a Vegas/Pete enjoyed but yknow

Oh my bad, seems like Dean did stuff to the gas lines but Jeff had done stuff to the brakes

Ooh, okay, we get to see Charlie already

ugh so did Kenta tell Dean to do stuff to the break lines? I thought Dean did gas

who is this Uncle Reval and what's his backstory? Anything to do with Babe? He's not his father or something right?

lol a secret drug that fake-kills you and gives Babe his powers back

so what's the plan after this? How we catching Tony guys?

Ah, I love Alan and Jeff :( And Jeff telling Alan to think a lot because he knows he's the one who made Charlie's car crash like that + is hiding Charlie from them all

They sometimes treat Jeff like he's a mourning brother and other times they don't lol

Oh that bracelet with the A is crazy like oh Alan you're marking him laksfj oh and he's got one with J, very presumptuous to wear it first before letting Jeff know but loll I guess he's finally stepping up in the flirting department and not leaving it all to Jeff

I can't believe we're not getting proper Omega Jeff though, so he's just Alpha :(

Why did Jeff say I like no love you and Alan's like I got it already and didn't say it back

Jeff's actor is 28 and Alan's is 30, I wish at least Jeff's one was like 20 (That's Charlie's actor's age) so that we could at least feel the difference in age when they're talking as if there's a big age gap cmon

omg sorry the "Nuu, cooperate" "How?" was so good in terms of experience gap

okay Enough, this is going on forever actually lol

ah, Kenta and Pete were playmates and brothers while growing up in that house, thus the Ken and familiarity before when Ken had his knife to Pete's throat

Does Pete not a special power other than just being an Enigma?

oh ngl I thought they were finally doing a pair of Tony's kids who actually saw each other as siblings and not as lovers lmfao but seems like Kenta liked Pete

God why did they leave this dynamic for the end, Kenta crying (or is it just intense sweat?) while trying to harm/maim/kill Pete and thinking of their times together, it's the perfect dynamic - ToddBlack & VegasPete vibes

Wild turn from last week (Babe's still devasted though, I knew I could trust him) and it's like glad AlanJeff is finally happening but it's really happening a few days after Jeff's brother died lol

Also okay idk how to feel about Alan and Jeff sex scene cuz it's like... Alan is very subtly pressuring Jeff just a little? Like when Jeff was like shouldn't we get to know each other a little? but Alan's like that's for later bc he's so intent on fucking Jeff tonight. + the "Nuu, cooperate" when I guess he thought Jeff didn't want to let him take off his pants. the thing issss I could be so into age gap slightly dubcon, slightly immoral relationships but that's not how it's presented here + Jeff's supposed to be in mourning, so idk how I'm supposed to take this

Ep 12 (Feb 11)

Please please please please please Kenta and Pete scenarios and scenes and moments please please please idec if it's a happy or sad ending

agh no i don't want peteway anymore i want petekenta

oh Pete can read minds, woah

Aw shucks, they're kidnapping Jeff

Is the sense going back to Charlie and disappearing from Babe?

girl every 3 hours? that's all it takes before Charlie's senses start coming back from Babe?

okay I'm sorry but literally why are you bringing Way to meet Babe randomly like that fucker would've raped Babe and gotten him pregnant to forcibly make him have kids like we as the audience could be like oh tortured angsty Way but why is Pete randomly bringing Way to meet Pete. Anyway, Kenta now also knows Way's on Pete's side so it's not necessarily like Way can infiltrate the other side either unless Kenta keeps his lips sealed

ah I wonder who is "working for" Tony now...

Pete, Babe, Kenta, and Way lmao for sure there are not gonna be any betrayals and this team isn't gonna go up in flames. It'd be hilarious if Kenta does manage to finally join the other side but Way or something betrays them

Sorry that I was thinking of kicking Kenta (in a fun sexual way) while he was kneeling down like that and then Tony actually did it (in a mean abusive way but I was unfortunately into it)

oh my god okay sorry this is actually so devastating that Kenta is learning how the man who he's ready to give his life for doesn't see him as a son but as a dog but I'm actually losing my mind at his kneeling and crying and begging and getting kicked and giving his hand like a dog gives its paw

Did they also leave the bag this time? Girl, they're so bad at rescuing Kim and not retrieving the bag

I like don't even want Way and Babe reconciliation for real, so I'm glad we're not getting that already at least

ah, as expected he's Babe's father

All these people know that they're buying the kids right? Is it gonna be like Gifted when they're like making a disruption to let the world know what's really going on but they all already know?

Alan trying to drag Jeff away while Jeff wants to protect the kids, this uncle man is annoying me lately

Charlie just zooming in at the end lmfao

The lack of Charlie and Babe was so interesting. Like yeah, makes sense that the two wouldn't be together in Ep 11 and 12 but we got so much airtime for side characters in these 2 eps but it didn't make me feel like no, go back to the mains, because there are so many characters and threads here. And even gave me Kenta and PeteKenta brain rot in these 2 eps.

Ep 13 (Feb 11)

Last episode, like 50 mins long and I don't know what I'm hoping for. like at first, the show was mostly about Babe and Charlie and I want a good closure for them too, esp after like 3 episodes without them together. But I'm randomly so invested in like Kenta now and I don't know what I want from that end. I don't care that much about Alan and Jeff anymore, unfortunately but I'm guessing we'll get some time with them too. Also want to see how the huge and elaborate child trafficking ring is dealt with.

Bro stop explaining everything right now and escape, even though I get Babe's conflicting emotions of "am I dreaming?" unbelievable amounts of happiness and confusion at why Charlie fakes his death

Kenta okayyy

damn, the reaction to the socmed vids seem dumb from Tony's part but who knows

loll Sonic dgaf about pushing away Winner's gun

What happened to all the other patrons and guards?

ah, you did it Kenta even though you cried, you still killed your father. stabbed him in the back, poetry

oof, rip Way

Man, these scenes of Way dying and everybody mourning him at his grave are objectively sad (esp the Way and Babe compilation again) but I don't care as much about him as I did in the earlier eps when he was going through his unrequited crush but before he attacked Babe

The part with Babe and his dad is so sad man but I hope this is heading toward a better future

Charlie and Babe will never stop having public sex and they shouldn't

negl for a second I got scared that they were implying Babe's pregnant or smth like what

Y'know I realize that Charlie and the other drivers a bit of a public figure, does nobody in their audience wonder why Charlie's not dead suddenly? Or was that not public knowledge, just that Charlie crashed real bad

public-ass kiss frr

Where is Kenta? my beloved

Overall:

This show had everything: non-traditional alpha/alpha relationship (w concepts I wasn't aware of like Enigmas but somehow no Omegas lol), racecar competitions, x-men like superpowers (heightened senses, stealing powers, hypnosis, mind reading, telling the future), child trafficking, pseudo-incest if you think about it (from Kenta's side at least) and more. And it didn't have a super strong script, there were nonsensical elements and plot holes that didn't get addressed and things that happened to just move the plot along, but it was a fun watch nonetheless, both for the novelty and the entertainment factor.

The most important aspect of the show was definitely the characters and relationships despite there being like a wrong human trafficking ring and everything involved; it well went back to how it affected the people and their relationships. Babe was a very compelling character with his past and how he behaves in the present and his relationships with Tony/Way/people in general. Also helped that Pavel did a really good job with him and acted his ass off, there were quite a few emotional moments in there.

I agree with some people's comments that I wish Charlie's actor Pooh as a better actor. And his character wasn't as developed or with depth as the other ones either, like in terms of emotions I guess. I could never quite tell how much in love with Babe he really was at a given time because he didn't quite... look it, it looked more like a little puppy fanboy who may or may not be playing it up to conceal his true intentions. Alan and Jeff were cuter in my head before they got together tbh. North and Sonic are dating to me, they're so cute.

Although I really liked Charlie/Babe, my true ship winners might be Pete/Kenta in a Not Me ToddBlack fashion, to be honest, with Kenta as maybe my favourite character (2nd is Babe). They gave us like 2 tiny hints that they might know each other and waited until literally last 10 mins of episode 11 out of 13 to lay out their history and baggage and relationship and Kenta's crush, all the while showing them in a fight where Kenta's trying to hurt Pete (but Pete knowing Kenta can't kill him). They have an interesting friends (-> brothers/crush) -> enemies -> allies again at the very end dynamic where I think that they could become lovers post-canon. And I love how pathetic and desperate for love Kenta is and how he was willing to do despicable things for Tony's approval before finally, finally knifing him. Really had me writing a fic idea in my notes app after my few months of no drive to write, I wonder if I'll actually finish it or not because it's kinda... more explicit and intense than the fics I usually write but it was really good in my brain.

Once again, I'm shallow, so here are the people I find most beautiful: Charlie specifically when he has his glasses on and is being a cute puppy, Sonic omg pretty girl for real, Babe is so attractive - esp the younger version of him without the gelled hair but even in the present day when he smiles and is happy he's so beautiful. Jeff sometimes but I think I'm more into his vibes than specifically his face. Way is gorgeous omg, also aside but that actor has mentioned dating men before including a 7 year relationship.

Rating: 6/10 [May 12, 2024 Update: Decreased by 0.5 stars when rerating shows I’ve watched in 2024: 6.5 -> 6]

Tiktoks:

Several of the most liked Pit Babe edits from Ep 1 - 2 because that's when I first saw it and went through the tag

Charlie (song: Honey, I Hate You - XIS)

Ep 3: When Babe stops Charlie from kissing him before the race

Ep 4: Babe telling Charlie they're done

^ Those ones I added before I watched the show and these ones I added now:

Kenta with Tony (Song: Mama's Boy)

Ep 11 Kenta and Pete history (Song: Take Me Back to the Night We Met)

PeteKenta interactions

[xian1na]

buncha words bout some spring animes #5

Now that I'm a Serious and Employed Person I appreciate series like Skip and Loafer or SpyFam even more. There's nothing better than coming back home and relaxing with some cute and funny anime. It may well be that if I rewatched some older series which I'd dropped or skipped altogether because they seemed boring, I would actually like them much more now. Well, for now let's stick to spring shows. Enjoy!

The Witch from Mercury (season 2, ep. 1-3) - one more week and I'll finally catch up to GWitch. These first three episodes were a real rollercoaster - we started with a pretty chill one, just reestablishing the characters and plot for the second cour. AND THEN! Episode two was wild. I gotta say, what's really amazing about the writing in this series is how it keeps introducing asshole characters, only to make you feel sorry for them after just a couple of episodes. And it actually works, I really care about these guys. I want to believe they're going to be alright... I don't know how dark Gundam endings usually are, but I get a feeling it's better to expect the worst and get a nice surprise, instead of the other way around.

Oshi no Ko (ep. 6) - yeah, yeah, I've watched another one. I planned to give it one last chance before dropping it but then Oshi no Ko had the gall to drop the best episode since the prologue. I still have some issues with it but I think it did a great job characterising Akane (and Yuki, too), making her relatable and sympathetic. What helped a lot was that Aqua was barely present in this one. You know what guys, I don't think I like Aqua very much. Which is a shame, because acting and film stuff in this series interests me more than idol stuff. Methinks I should look for some anime/manga about acting.

Skip and Loafer (ep. 7) - The highlight of this episode was seeing the drama club pres guy actually doing something decent for a change. And of course we have a brand new character introduced in the last minutes of the episode. I guess she's either Shima's family or one of the people he met when he was an actor. I wonder how will this plot develop and how will this person be neutralised by Mitsumi. Or hey, maybe she won't be! There are some people with whom you just don't get along, and I don't see that a lot in anime, I don't think.

Heavenly Delusion (ep. 6-7) - We got less school and more Maru and Kiruko's adventures, I'm definitely fine with that. Episode 6 had some great jokes, faces and cuts of animation, and episode 7 on the other hand got really disturbing towards the end. I like how this series treats the characters' sexuality (so far) - I mean, they're kids, they're figuring things out, and it's presented with honesty you don't often see. These episodes were also a bit thinner on plot elements and mysteries, but I liked that. I guess it could be a breather before what comes next.

Hell's Paradise (ep. 7) - Last week I speculated, that something major was going to happen this episode. That... turned out to be wrong, more or less. We now know a little bit more about the island and the elixir of life, but the majority of the episode was devoted to lighter character moments. So now I don't even know what I should expect next week. To be honest Jigokuraku is also close to falling off my watchlist but I'll give it one more chance.

Insomniacs after school (ep. 4-6) - Aaaand I caught up to Insomniacs. I think it's growing on me - the side characters were nicely fleshed out in the recent episodes and the relationship between the two leads is cute (not my top ship of the season, but they're nice kids!). Am I really going to watch another romance series this season? I almost never watch them!

I skipped Yamada-kun this week, but I'm definitely coming back to it next time. And finally:

Spy x Family (ep. 10-12) - Ok, two things: 1) Bill Watkins (6) was even better than whatever I was picturing before watching the episode and the whole game of dodgeball was a riot. 2) And then episode 11 had some brilliant Anya Starlight Anya moments. I can't wait to see the pupper. Thankfully I don't have to wait three months, I can jump right in the second cour. Episode 12 was kind of a weak follow-up to the two preceding episodes and a weird finale to the whole season, but the penguins were cute. So really, it's impossible to say if it was good or bad.

And that's it from me! Thanks so much for reading, have a great week and see you next Saturday!

[boysplanetrecaps]

Boys Planet Recaps, Ep 7, Part 8, Tomboy

Well, my loves, we’ve made it. It’s time for the most important stage performance that ever humankind has beheld: Tomboy. Let’s see if my recap can live up to it. 

Click "keep reading" or whatever and let’s go!

So, we start in Episode 6, at time 2:04:17. 

Huta introduces the team, and then we hear from the judges, who are gushing about how good the members are, as we look at how good they look backstage.

I mean, they do look good, though I have a few questions. 

Stylist noona, what’s with the leather… shoulder… holster… chestbelts? I don’t understand them. 

Stylist noona, why did you put Gunwook in that loose pink shirt? It just makes us lose the definition of his body so he looks sort of vaguely large instead of big in a beefy, sexy way. Don’t get me wrong, boy has a nice bod, but I think the pink shirt confuses the eye into thinking otherwise. 

The audience is super psyched for this team, and so are the other trainees. 

Anyway, our tomboys are: 

Trainee name (rank)   Star Level test Challenge 1 age final star level

Sung Hanbin (1) Beautiful Beautiful /Love Me Right - K 21 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Zhang Hao (5) Kick It - G /Kill This Love - G 22 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Hui (7) Shut Down /Love Me Right - K 29 ⭐⭐⭐

Park Gunwook (10) GBTB /Kill This Love - K 18 🌟🌟🌟🌟

As I said before, this team is a little TOO stacked. We spent 5.5 minutes with them earlier this episode, and in that time, we mostly just saw international sweetheart Hanbin get the killing part, and Hao practicing the rap with Hanbin. 

Let’s see what happened in their rehearsal, before they definitely perform, this episode. There’s no way that the won’t perform right at the end of this episode, right? 

They introduce themselves as the Aces, and Hui does this really cringe aegyo thing that makes Huta laugh. (Remember, they’re from the same agency and are probably friendly with each other.) 

The judges continue to gush about these trainees, and they apparently particularly appreciate Zhang Hao’s pronunciation of Korean. Again with that. I agree that it’s important to pronounce Korean well if you’re going to be a k-pop idol, but they’re obsessed. 

We cut to their first rehearsal. Master Lee makes a joke -- it’s so unfair that they didn’t give Gunwook a jacket like the other three! Then they ask Bobby (from Ikon) what he thinks of the group, and Bobby says, “They’re all so tall.” I looked it up, and Bobby is apparently 5’10, and Hui is 5’8. ::shrug:: I guess he couldn't think of what else to say.

Anyway, they have their singing and rapping rehearsal. It sounds great, of course, even though they’re currently singing in the original high key. (They’re planning to go down two steps for the actual performance.) When they’re done, the judges don’t say anything at first, and Zhang Hao’s voiceover tells us that he was expecting to be scolded. Finally, though, the judges say it was great, and Bobby tells Gunwook that his rapping was good enough for him to debut. Aw, yay, Gunwook! That’s probably the kind of feedback he’s daydreamed about getting.

I’ve already ranted a LOT in these recaps about how abusive the judges are on this show, and I just want to point it out AGAIN. Because seriously, for Zhang Hao to EXPECT to be scolded after doing an obviously good job, it just shows that at this point the trainees are traumatized by the constant insults and harsh criticism. Yes, people need honest feedback to grow, but it shouldn’t be insulting. Anyway, you all know how I feel, so I’ll move on. 

At 2:10:05 the show makes it look like they’re going to perform, but they don’t, because we have to wait until next episode. 

Instead, they give us a brief preview of each of the new songs that the top 28 will be performing for the next challenge mission. I’ll give my thoughts on those in the end-of-mission wrap up, which will be coming soon. They also give the most recent ranking, which I’ll also discuss in the recap. There isn’t anything too surprising in it. 

So, let’s skip to Episode 7, 1:47:05. Again, team Tomboy is taking the stage, and again, we’re reminded of how popular and highly ranked the team is. 

Again, we cut to a flashback, this time to the trainees’ group self evaluation. All the trainees are excited to see Team Tomboy and think they did a good job, but still, somehow feel a little let down. It just wasn’t quite as good as they’d hoped or expected. In the feedback forms, Team Tomboy is ranked second by many teams -- my guess is that when they’re second, they’re second to Limousine. Just my guess. Apparently, on many of the feedback forms, Zhang Hao is the member who most needs improvement. 

We hear from Zhang Hao that he’s lost a bit of confidence on this team that didn’t need him as a leader or main vocal. What is he here for? He feels out of ideas.

Hanbin notices that Hao is a little down, and decides to practice with him so they can come up with some ideas together. Soon Hao is feeling much better. (Meanwhile, in the background, you can see Hui and Gunwook working on something together, something written down on paper -- my guess is that Hui is helping Gunwook tweak his rap.)

But then when Hao is feeling better, Hanbin starts feeling sad! Sure, he’s ranked number one, getting more than a million votes more than the person in 2nd place. Sure he’s the center of k-group and king of the killing parts. Sure, he was voted the trainee on his team who is doing the best currently. But what if… he’s NOT the best???? And what if he doesn’t improve?

So that night, he finds himself wandering around the dorms, and ends up crying to Wumuti and Dang Hong Hai, who are just sorta hanging out on a staircase.

I feel him on the whole “why am I crying???” thing. I’ve totally done that -- just started crying over something minimal and then just kind of can’t stop. 

Also, I think DHH is dying his roots. Stars… they’re just like us! (I’m like 90% sure that’s DHH -- am I wrong? It’s hard to see clearly. I only know it’s Wumuti from the captions because we never see his face.) 

Later, Hanbin goes back to his room, and Zhang Hao ends up visiting him and “hugging” him for a bit (that what Hanbin says, though we don't see it happen). Also, Zhang Hao talks Sungbin into giving him a back massage. That’s a unique way to cheer someone up, Hao. I’ll have to try that going forward. When my fella is having a bad day, I’ll offer to let him give me a backrub. …. Well, I think he would be a fan of that, but for a different reason. Anyway.

Ok, I am of two minds about all of this. Part of me is like, yeah, Hanbin has shown vulnerability in the past, rating himself with just 3 stars on the first day, and usually being quite humble about the judges’ feedback. And it’s understandable that being ranked number one with a bullet would create its own form of pressure. You don’t want to have the public turn on you, as it is so prone to do. 

On the other hand, Hanbin is very camera aware. He must know that the public likes you better if you overcome some sort of trial, right? So what if he’s having some sort of rough time, and is uncertain if he’s good enough -- but does that in a nice big obvious way? And what if that somehow leads to quasi skinship with one of the other popular trainees? 

On a third and totally unexpected hand, what if Hanbin is so ideally crafted for going on a show like this that he genuinely and truly does all those exact specific things that make the audience love him? Like, some sensor panel in the back of his head can measure audience support meter and when necessary, prompts him sit down with Kim Gyuvin and chat about how he wanted to be a kindergarten teacher, or fix Matthew’s shirt, or… cry? 

I guess the world will never know. 

Anyway, Hanbin makes it through the long dark teatime of his soul, and gets back to rehearsal the next day, and soon, it’s performance day!

The performance

Link

If you’re wondering what Hui is saying when he draws the tear on his face, it’s

“Why are you cranky girl? What’s that frown on your face?” 

Gunwook’s rap:

“That’s right, you’re a tomboy, genealogy twisted because of me who is a fast ‘05, I don’t want to hear excuses, so talk no more, Bluffing NO, I have a lot to say, but I just… Too many people and too many problems, too many proudly and too many cute.  Girl I’ll be a rock star, get out my way, pray for me.”

My take

This was flawless, in the sense that it didn't have any flaws. And yet, I don’t know, it wasn't my favorite. 

The singing was universally excellent, the rapping was great. The dancing (weren’t they cheating a little bit to also dance?) was a nice touch. They looked great, they executed it all correctly, there were no mistakes at all. And yet. 

Here’s where I think it goes wrong for me -- the song itself. Not that I specifically don’t like this song, because I do like it, Soyeon’s rap aside. It’s a cute little punky rocky pop song, and more importantly, it’s Jeon Soyeon continuing to push feminism in a country that really needs it. For one thing, South Korea has worst gender pay gap among industrialized countries. And I mean, do you remember that story of Irene from Red Velvet being seen reading a book about feminism, and getting backlash for it from angry fans? So Tomboy is more meaningful when you really think about what Soyeon is doing with it -- pushing feminism onto the national stage and making people sing along with it.

So, for me, it’s sort of inappropriate for a male group to cover this song and change some of the lyrics to say “girl” instead of “boy” (“why are you cranky, girl?”). This is a song about the restrictive and prescriptive gender roles that women have to put up with. Take away that meaning, and it’s about as powerful and meaningful as when a white kid covers Jay-Z’s 99 Problems at a karaoke bar. 

There’s no concession to the idea of the song being about blurring gender roles. There’s no meaning to it when Hui sings “do you want a blonde barbie doll? I’m not a doll!” No one thought you were, Hui. There’s no meaning at all to the song as performed by these male trainees, and all their posturing comes to nothing. 

What if they had made the song into a song about how feminism isn’t just for women, that everyone would benefit from relaxing gender roles? What if they had displayed a bit of vulnerability about it -- about liking things that are considered feminine sometimes, maybe? I don’t know, just something. SOMETHING. The topic of gender and gender roles is so big and broad and powerful, there’s so much to talk about and so many angles to approach it from, and they just sort of made a song about wanting to be a rock star, I guess? 

It is asking a lot from them to do something like that when they're playing for audience votes, and maybe I'm being unfair. But it's just that this is the only song whose performance had no meaning. Limousine and Feel Special have obvious meanings, but the other songs have meanings too. Man in Love is about being in love. Love Killa is about fucking. Even Zoom has a meaning -- it's "I'm totally frickin' awesome!" That's a meaning. Not all meanings have to be... meaningful. They just have to exist. What is Tomboy, as performed by these trainees, about? I don't know, and so the performance is weird to me.

They did a fine job. I just think there was no way for a male idol team to cover this song in a straightforward way and make something that I’d want to watch. To be clear, I’m not offended by it, I’m just… bored. Bored and let down. 

I still like all four trainees just fine though. They're good at singing and dancing and that's what I want in a Kpop idol. I'm just trying to explain why this performance left me so cold.

The edit

Everyone loves it, there are constant reactions, everyone has goose pimples, it’s the best thing anyone has ever seen ever. The judges even say that the guys really “understood” the song, and I agree that Hui understood the music and attitude of the song and managed to bring that out in the arrangement. However, I disagree that they understood the meaning or message of the song because if they had, they probably wouldn’t have wanted to perform it in the first place. 

Also, everyone massively overreacts to them saying “fuck”. It’s not a curse in their own language -- are they really that titillated by it? I’m not overcome with naughty surprise every time Bibi says the Korean equivalent of the c-word in “Vengeance.” (The link is to a live stage where they bleep it out every time.) So yeah I don’t get it, but whatever.

The voting

They’re all waiting to find out who won, and everyone’s saying it could be anyone, but is probably Sung Hanbin. 

I love how Krystian is just sort of calmly zoned out.

Turns out number one on this team got 849 votes! That’s the highest score of the night! Who could it be? 

It’s Zhang Hao!

Everyone is pretty surprised. Zhang Shai Bo pops up like a jack in the box with an almost comical look of surprise. I don’t blame him -- it is surprising that a Chinese trainee would win the night. 

His team is super happy for him. Really, it seems that everyone is happy for him. I'm happy for Hao too -- he seems like a real person, you know? Like, there's no act here, as far as I can tell. And he needed the confidence boost.

Hao interviews, in that halting way of his, “I finally won for the first time. The feeling of being acknowledged is such a valuable memory to me. I want to hold onto this feeling. So I’ll show you an unexpected side of me.”

And that brings us to the very end of the Dual Position Battle, and the end of this recap! In the next one, I’ll go over my final thoughts on the challenge as a whole, including favorite performances and whatnot, and also talk about the last few minutes of episode 7.

As always, kamsahamnida for reading.

You, dear reader, are definitely in my top 9!   

[lenakluthor]

i heard not everyone was a fan of season 6 too. i wish i could say im brave enough to actually skip seasons but my brain might not be able to handle all the questions. my brain is weird like that but def taking that into consideration. i swear i had glee lines memorized at the top of my head but the last time i saw glee was 6-7 years ago?? i think it was the nosejob ep where quinn & rachel got close. so much tension. im gonna end up rewatching glee & watching supergirl at the same time to see if my brain could handle it.

season 6 was just all over the place and i really did not like what they did with lena. and listen i say start from the beginning. but IF you wanted to skip, that’s what i’d do. i only skipped seasons in glee because otherwise i may have never gotten to melissa’s seasons and i really wanted to see them

[baelatargaryen]

Aemond is 18 actually

that's physically impossible. aegon is 19 which is pretty easy to calculate and he's two years older than helaena.

aegon is born 15 months after the show starts, just a little over a year. rhaenyra and alicent are both 15 when aegon is born. then by episode 3, we know rhaenyra is 17 (nearing 18) and that aegon is 2 years old. also, alicent is quite clearly at the end of her third trimester with haelena and soon to give birth.

we know by episode 9-10 that roughly 20 years have passed since the first ep, as stated multiple times. aegon is therefore 19, which adds up. he has his second name day in episode 3, then in episode 4 he is called "the little princeling of 3" (and haelena is roughly 1). we know 10 years pass between ep 5 (directly post ep 4), bringing aegon to 13, and then another 6 years pass between ep 6-7 and ep 8-9-10, making him 19, all of which adds up. since aegon is pretty much exactly two years older than haelena, she is 17.

for aemond there are only two options then:

alicent is visibly not pregnant in episode 4 (the episode in which i believe we see her brewing moontea?). presuming that she in fact didn't manage to take said moon tea or it didn't work, aemond could have been conceived in ep 4, meaning alicent is in her first trimester in ep 5, placing aemond at roughly 9 and 15 yrs of age after both time skips.

alternatively, since a year pass between ep 3 + 4, and aegon is now 3, and haelena one, it's possible alicent had already had her third pregnancy if she became pregnant directly after helaena (e.g. within three months at least). that would mean she could conceivably have given birth to aemond already and we simply don't see him as a newborn. you can get pregnant as little as 3 weeks after giving birth, so there's always the option that there's only 9 months between aemond and helaena, making them not even a full year apart.

eitherway, he's either 9 or 10 at most, if he was already born in ep 4 and we simply don't see him. that means after another 6 years, he is either 15, or 16. given that he still at least 9 months behind haelena, i doubt he's turned 17.

[gobacktosleepsweet]

The "idontwanttogotoschool" chronicles ep.1 :)

Hey....

Wake up...It's an usual school day.

But...what is a usual school day for me?

well....

I wake up at 6:30 a.m. Dutch time with 0 will to live, but i dont have anything better to do so i just wake up.

Next, I take a shower because that may be the only thing keeping me awake for the rest of the day.I take it fast and don't wash my hair, because i'm going out with fucking -4 degrees Celsius outside so wet hair is a big no. And of course, I don't have the patience to blow dry it.

Then I choose my outfit which is the same outfit as the day before (it's always stupid jeans, that are ripped even if as I said it's -4 degrees Celsius outside, a random hoodie, Jordans and my favorite necklace).I always stop with my pants half-way up to stare at my wall thinking "what the actual hell i'm doing with life?". After being called out by my mom for being slow,i finish getting dressed up and i run to get breakfast.

Breakfast: a meal eaten in the morning as the first meal of the day (Shotout to Cambridge). For me, it is simply milk poured into my 30002938-year-old mug, with 5 biscuits inside.Yep, that's my breakfast.

Then I have literally 20 seconds of peace, 'cause between brushing my teeth, brushing my hair, taking asthma meds, and preparing my backpack cuz I was too lazy to do it the night before, it's already 7:40 a.m., as known as the time I leave for school.

So, let's start with the fact that I am indeed lucky. I live in the rural zone of my city, in a building full of immigrants, as I am, in fact, an immigrant myself. But despite that (NOT SAYING THAT IF YOU LIVE IN A RURAL ZONE YOU ARE UNLUCKY OR WTV) , i'm lucky, because almost everyday i go to school by car with one of my parents, and i have access to everything i ask for.Anyways, that not the point. By the time i was talking to you, i arrived at school.

As soon as i arrive i run to the only person i know that arrives earlier than me: Lara. Lara is literally one of the people I see the most at school because, despite her being of a different friend group, she's my deskmate (if such a thing exists lol), so we talk during ALL THE LESSONS. Anyway, as soon as I reach her, she asks for my phone. Ever since I got an iPhone 15 as a gift, my phone became her property. She knows my password, she uses it daily, but that's alright, she's my friend anyway.

Then, there's Matilde. She's been there way more time than Lara. But I don't go up to her. She's older, and her other friends are older too, so I feel embarrassed. But 2 minutes before getting to class, she comes up to me on her own and just starts telling me all the juicy gossip drama or whatever, and I listen to it, not cause I love gossip, but it is because she's my friend. Anyways that's one of my favorite parts of the day, because Matilde is beautiful.

It's 8 a.m right now, and my BORING school day started. It really doesn't matter which subject it is, everything bores me.Thank god i have Lara by my side, Eva and Mathilda behind, and Giorgia in front. I literally chat or draw during the entire lesson and then...

9.45 a.m, it's recess and I go to my chosen friend group of the day, cuz im unstable as fuck haha. I usually steal other people's snacks, even if I have mine (I don't tell them). Then,it's time for other boring lessons and then another break, so i'll skip to the end of the school day.

It's 2 p.m,and from this point,things are pretty different each day

MONDAY

Recapping,i have flute lessons go home at 3.45, gym at 5,00 and then i have my night routine

TUESDAY

Italian extra lessons, home at 4.00 and i'm done.

OTHER DAYS:

i go to this place after school where i lunch, do my homework, or atleast i'm supposed to cause i literally use my phone.

P.S:it's full of nuns

P.P.S: Matilde goes there too :)

Now, it's 7 p.m, and i'm at home having dinner.Sometimes my family isn't at home for dinner,so i have dinner alone with my sister.After dinner i use my phone or read.At 20.30 i'm setted to sleep,but i start overthinking about very random stuff.Then,i fall asleep.

Usually i wake up at 2 a.m for various reasons:

1.I need water more than everything

2.I need to pee

3.I just woke up and now i can't fall back asleep

After this,the cycle restarts,and this goes up 5 days a week.

Well folks of tumblr, this is my usual school day,hope you disliked it as much as i do,se ya next post

bye

Oh right this shit was wrote with Grammarly on a late night with annoying kids at home

Btw I ain't sponsoring Grammarly, it's all paying and no english

[irishanimefan]

One Piece Anime Watchalong: Alabasta Saga 1/5

Episodes 62-130

Reverse Mountain (Eps 62-63):

Started: 19/7/23 Finished: 19/7/23

Since we've skipped over the Warship Island arc, we are now moving onto our next saga: Alabasta! I expect that the further we get into the series, the longer these story arcs will become. Fortunately, Alabasta does have smaller arcs to ease us into this new chapter of the story before hitting us with the one-two punch of the Drum Island arc and its eponymous arc where the saga gets its name. The first of these smaller arcs is the Reverse Mountain arc.

The Straw Hats ride up a mountain where the current flows up that leads to the Grand Line. However, coming down the mountain, they encounter a giant whale called Laboon, which initially try to avoid before Luffy provokes it for breaking the masthead of the Going Merry. Laboon then decides to swallow the entire ship so the Straw Hats, apart from Luffy who manages to narrowly escape, are stuck in Laboon's stomach. They then meet a man named Crocus, who's also inside the stomach, and his job is the look after Laboon.

I felt sorry for Laboon, even before we are told about it's backstory. This gigantic whale with scars all over its face looking solemnly up at the sky is a striking image. When we did find out more about Laboon and the pirate crew he befriended, but they never came back for him even though he was waiting for them for over 50 years, howling at Reverse Mountain hoping that they would someday return, was of course a gut punch to the feels. In that case, Laboon reminded me a lot of Chouchou from Orange Town, almost down to the fact that he didn't get on with Luffy initially before forming a mutual bond over their shared beliefs. Or at least that's what I was expecting to happen but things turn out a bit differently at the end. What Luffy does instead to Laboon is provoke him to fight him but Luffy cuts it short by vowing to him that he'll resume it once he conquers the Grand Line. It establishes kind of a friendly rivalry between the two, suggesting that Luffy is establishing a new bond with Laboon that may not replace the love Laboon had for his first crew, but will act as an avenue to direct his anger towards instead of inflicting it on himself.

I also thought Crocus was pretty good too. The way he was introduced made him look very sinister and someone you shouldn't mess with. But, the way those expectations quickly flipped on their head and he is actually so unserious, especially when the anime plays all those freeze frames that build up to Crocus potentially blowing up in rage but ends up giving a pretty calm and mundane response, was a lot of fun. Although in saying that, there are a lot of moments where he does get serious, mostly pertaining with taking care of Laboon. He turned that whale's entire digestive system into this steampunk-esque contraption to in order to make it easier for Crocus to sedate him. That's some level of commitment to your craft! It is also hinted at the end of the arc that he might've known Roger on a personal level, pondering to himself if Luffy was the pirate Roger has been waiting for. Interesting stuff.

Speaking of Roger, even though this is a pretty short arc, there's still quite a bit packed into it when it comes to the lore. We find out that that the Grand Line is a far more mystical place than what was given beforehand. I was under the impression that it was this impossibly difficult task to embark on, and here we're told why it has that reputation in the first place. Traditional forms of magnetism don't work in the Grand Line, so they need a special compass called the Log Pose, which they get from Crocus. However, while we do now know the location of where Roger hid the One Piece, apparently there are seven different paths that will take you there, with varying results. With Luffy proposing that they'll try other routes if one wasn't successful, it does possibly explain why OP has gone on for as long as it has. Oda read those choose-you-own-adventure games as choose-EVERY-adventure game!

If there were some drawbacks to this arc, I would say that the inclusion of Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday was kind of irrelevant. I like the dynamic they have, as a kind of Bonnie and Clyde duo type, but you could've taken them out of the arc completely and it wouldn't have changed anything. However, since the Straw Hats have taken them onboard and they will be featured in the next arc, so I am holding out hope that they do get more interesting as we go into this next arc.

Again, this was a pretty short arc that didn't give me a lot to talk about this time around. But, overall, I thought this was a pretty decent arc. Hopefully by the time it takes me to get to Whiskey Peak, there will be a quicker turnaround this time...

[bl00dlight]

I've been struggling with this lately. I don't think HOTD2 is a piece of shit. Like if you watch most TV series, you'll see how unbelievably incredible HOTD2 is in comparison. I think the trouble is, they've fucked themselves by making the season eight episodes. They've had to CRAM in so much set up, sprinkle so many seeds that each episode feels unsatisfactory because we are constantly waiting on the next to find resolution within conversations/ideas/etc. They also fucked themselves by making B&C on the first episode. We should have started the season after Luke's death. We should have seen the build up of grief, tension, panic between each side which means we would have TWO WHOLE ASS EXTRA EPISODES setting up the characterisation for the remainder of the season. And it would've allowed us to actually feel the bubbling of the war, which in season 1 (BECAUSE WE HAD TEN EPISODES) we could feel that tension getting worse and worse. At the moment I've not felt the tension as much as I should. We still feel so stagnated because they are at war now technically but the characters still feel like they are processing that fact, we've skipped what should have been the two first episodes of building the lead up into B&C. The entire season feels like it's missing the lead in. It would also have given the characters clearer motivations. Because right now? I really still can't tell what motivates half of these characters. Like what is motivating Alicent at this point? Does anyone know????? What is motivating BAELA FOR FUCK SAKES? What is motivating Daemon? There are surface level answers to give but, those are all answers which feel disconnected to what we see on the screen.

Also Harrenhal? And Alys Rivers? Yea no one wants to admit it, but Alys has gotten too much screentime and Daemons haunted house trip was added in by the writers, the book clearly stated Daemon wasn't asking affected by Alys. I suspect they are doing this because they aren't implementing Nettles, so they need a Daemon arc in which he "betrays" Rhaneyra in order to prove himself worthy again. Because in the books he is unwavering in his loyalty to Rhaneyra, betrays Rhaneyra with Nettles and then comes back around by the end of the Dance. Alys being set up has taken so much from other, and lets be real - more important characters. The Targaryens are the important characters. They should have been set up properly before everyone else.

That includes the Dragonseeds. All of those Dragonseed scenes are ridiculous and time consuming, they weren't relevant in the books until they were needed. Last episode should have been the first episode we were introduced to them. Because, I'm sorry - NO ONE CARES ABOUT THEM. The smallfolk? NO ONE CARES ABOUT THEM. Let's be real. What we wanted to see, what was pitched was an in-depth look into House Targaryen during the dance. That's what we are watching for. But the writers are attempting to set up this GOT mutli layered, multi perspective story in which FUNDAMENTALLY does not work, because it means they have to write random shit into the storyline.

If they had done what was done in season 1, which was focusing solely on the Blacks and Greens, we would have gotten tighter writing, clearly character motivations and more expanded character chemistry. We haven't spent alot of time with the older cast, like we've spent eight episodes with this cast (ep 7 s1- ep5 s2). Now is the time to set these reltionships up properly before delving into everyone else's. Think of how streamlined GOT was in season 1? How we spent the early seasons setting up the core characters and plots, before branching off into everyone else?

They've rushed it. It's not that the writing is bad, or the acting (Harry is shaky at times), or the set, directing etc etc. It's the pacing.

They've also given us incredibly compelling characters with the Greens and then not spent any time WITH THOSE CHARACTERS. What we have gotten is Alicent and Cole fucking. Well I'm sorry, love Alicent... but we can't afford her screentime hogging anymore.

And the Blacks? Holy fuck have they stripped them of their complexity? Daemon was complex because he was morally grey but fundamentally loyal to Rhaneyra. Now? He has become one dimensional.

Rhaenyra? God what a waste of Emma's talent. Rhaenyra used to be my mother, my favourite. Now... she is fucking devoid of all personality. Her whole "restraint" arc should have been resolved after Luke's death WHICH IS WHY WE SHOULD HAVE SEEN THE DIRECT IMPACT. It would have given her two episodes to battle with that arc ans then let loose. Where is my righteously angry Rhaenyra? Where is my episode 6 Rhaenyra who was complex and messy and desperately trying to do the best she could but was ultimately flawed? Why am I not getting her? Why am I not getting her shouting down her council and taking control of them WHERE IS MAEGOR WITH TITS!!! Where is Rhaenyra making mistakes???? Inaction in war kills as many people, at this point the writers feminist arc is turning into "women are fucking incompetent and can't read the writing on the wall and have unnatural levels of stoicism." Okay I want to see complicated women. Bro that's why GOT was amazing. Every woman was complicated and mortally grey to a point.

Jace? Boring as fuck. Mewing on screen too much. Where is his complexity? His little brother is dead, where is his rage, his grief? Why didn't he cheat on Baela out of grief? Why is he so good?

Baela? Boring as fuck. Where is her complexity with Daemon's neglect? Where is the anger she should of had at Jace for betraying her? Her drive to prove herself a true Targaryen. Her being given one liners of "I am blood and fire" blah blah blah. Are you? Right now Rhaena is giving more bite and she's been given 0.5 seconds of screentime. Where is Baela finding her identity within being a Targaryen after years of being rendered a Velaryon?

Why are the Blacks devoid of what makes them so compelling? Is that they DO love each other deeply, they are stronger as a family and are in the moral right? But grief and pain is tearing them apart?

And don't get me started on the Greens. Where is my messy, uncommunicative, hateful, cluster b personality disorder off ass family?

It's not that the writers are bad and haven't thought of it. It's the writers haven't given themselves time to write develop it. They sacrificed that for pacing. They want to rush to get to battle. But I'm not here for dragon sequences in war, I'm here to see the CHARACTERS!!!!

Why are people unable to admit that Hotd2 is a piece of shit? this show is pity, stupid and boring, I can't stand what they've done with Daemon... everyone on the black council act like a jerk, nothing has sense, the greens have known how to act faster and better; it's a shame that having everything to make a masterpiece, they've done this, To think I waited months and months for this and If it sucks for me that I haven't read the books, I don't even want to think about those who expected something more to the original... or do they really like it? I guess then some people's standards are really low.

[alaffy]

The Baby, Ep.7 – The Curse

I am now watching this show, not necessarily because I enjoy it, but because I’m trying to figure out what in the hell is going on.  Again, I can absolutely see why the critics are saying how this show becomes muddied in the middle because….Well, let’s put it this way, it is very clear after this episode that there is more then one message that they’re trying to do here. And it’s not working.

The recap is going to brief. Bobbi meets up with Sam for this audition for a show, I guess?  Bobbi tells Sam that they’re going to have to wait six months to adopt.  And it’s not that Sam isn’t sympathetic toward Bobbi, but it’s also clear Sam isn’t really concerned about waiting six months.  It’s clear that Sam is more concerned about the audition.  Long story short, Bobbi breaks up with Sam during the middle of the audition.

Natasha take Nour and the baby back to the apartment.  Natasha believes Nour should be in a hospital, but Nour refuses.  Nour believes that it’s the curse that has created the baby and she needs to find Jack to end it.  Natasha gets a call from her dad and because he doesn’t need her to do his shopping anymore, feels like she’s needed even less by the people she loves; which kind of makes her bond more with the baby.  

Skipping ahead a bit, Natasha finds that Jack is in the hospital.  Natasha tells Nour they’re going to rest tonight and go see them in the morning.  As soon as Natasha falls asleep, Nour leaves the apartment with the baby (who suddenly is cool with the woman trying to kill him taking him anywhere).  They go to the hospital and Nour takes a can of gasoline with them.  We see that Jack has actually remarried and had several children.  They all leave for the night and Nour goes inside with the baby.  She starts to pour gas on Jack as she tells him she’s here with his son.

Jack, at first, denies the baby is his and says that Hellen drowned with the baby (is it possible this is true?).  Then, he says there was something always wrong with that baby because Hellen didn’t love him.  He then rips off his oxygen tube and starts to strangle Nour.  But he’s not able to kill her, as the baby kills him.  

While this is going on, Natasha has a dream of a younger Nour.  Natasha wakes up, realizes that everyone else is gone, and rushes to the hospital.  She gets there just in time to make sure Nour can’t set the lifeless body of Jack and herself on fire.

Natasha takes the baby. Then, she tells Nour that she’s figured out why the baby is the way he is.  He is not the physical manifestation of Postpartum Depression; it isn’t because of a curse; the baby is violent because of a violent world.  He chooses the women, women who don’t want children, to be his mother as they remind them of his mother.  And, to defeat him, the best thing to do is give him what he wants.  Nour says that won’t end this.  But Natasha doesn’t listen and takes the baby away.

Ok, so they’re saying that the baby is the way he is because of the violence in the world.  Going back to the baby’s origin, we do see a lot of violence and hatred.  You have the violence and hatred shown against lesbians.  You have Helen being kidnapped, imprisoned, drugged, and her being forced to carry and deliver a child.  You have Helen’s escape, where she kills the brother’s wife and nearly kills Jack. Even when Nour confronts Jack, there are threats of violence (although Nour’s where coming from a place of defense, while Jack’s are clearly threating the safety of others).  So, yes, maybe the baby is a manifestation of the violence in his life.  

But, if that’s the case, why wait until halfway through the series to bring this up?  Or rather…the is what I mean by muddied.  Look, the baby definitely has a violent streak.  We know the baby killed other people then the women he chose to be his mother, but it isn’t like some random pattern.  Like it’s not violence for the sake of violence (which would make sense if he where the manifestation of violence).  It only happens when someone threatens to take him away from his surrogate or if his surrogate tries to leave him.  Which means it’s probably something else.  Which is normal in the horror genre it’s just that…well the series relied so heavily on the subject of Postpartum Depression, that if it doesn’t play into the ending…why focuses so much of the first six episodes on this one topic, if you’re explanation for the baby is going to rely on something different?  But if Natasha is wrong and the baby is the manifestation of Postpartum Depression, then why was that subject more or less dropped from this episode?  Or rather, it’s like episode five where there are things that could maybe represent Postpartum or they may represent violence.  

[pineforphantompain]

2022 Drama Year in Review

My 2022 in Asian Dramas + Film

As usual starting with the movies: (HK) Come Drink With Me (1966) Rating: 6.5/10 (HK) Mambo Girl (1957) This was assigned viewing, but is very much the sort of thing I enjoy watching anyway. Rating: 7.5/10 (HK) Centre Stage (1992) A woman-focused movie combining film history and personal tragedy!? Yeah, I loved it.  Rating: 9.5/10 (HK) Police Story (1985) I would not have likely watched if I didn’t have to for school, but it was surprisingly quite fun and I can now say I’ve seen at least one Jackie Chan movie. Rating: 8/10 (HK) PTU (2003) Rating: 6.5/10 (HK) The Big Boss (1971) Rating: 6.5/10 (HK) Chungking Express (1994) Rating: 7/10 (HK) Durian, Durian (2000) Rating: 7.5/10 (Australia/HK) Floating Life (1996) Rating: 7.5/10 (K) Kongjui and Patchui (1978) So, I stumbled across this while working on a paper and knew I had to watch it once I finished. I have no idea if it is a masterpiece or total garbage, but it has a certain charm and was oddly quite enjoyable. Rating: 8/10 (C) Never Said Goodbye (2016) I had high hopes for a sad love story with a terminal illness plot starring an actor I really like, but alas, it was kinda disappointing. Not bad, just not great. Rating: 7/10

Now onto the dramas: Money Heist: Korea Part 1 (2022) 6/6 eps watched  I was just here for Hyunwoo, but it was good. Rating: 7.5/10

Anna (2022) 6/6 eps Excellent vibes and Suzy (*-*). Honestly cannot tell if it was actually good storywise, but it was exactly what I watched it for. Expectations were met, no more and no less. Favourite drama of the year. Rating: 8.5/10.

Remarriage and Desires (2022) 8/8 eps I like Kim Hee Sun and it had the right vibes, but was mostly just meh. Rating: 6.5/10.

Money Heist Part 2 (2022) 2/6 eps watched (I have now finished it. Rating: 7.5/10)

Green Mothers’ Club (2022) 5/16 eps I started watching when it was airing, got behind and put it on hold, but I have just revisited it and hopefully will finish this year. (Update: I’m now 10 episodes in so making progress!)

(Rewatch) Judge vs Judge (2017) 32/32 eps Surprise, surprise I’m rewatching the same things again. What can I say about this drama (too much actually). It has such a hold on me and I desperately wish more people watched it. I considered watching PEB’s new legal romance drama, but instead I just watched this again. Must a show be “good”? is it not enough to permanently alter my brain chemistry? Rating: 7.5/10

(Rewatch) SUFBB (2012) 16/16 eps I have rewatched the first two or three eps many times, but this is the first time I have rewatched the whole drama. On my initial viewing I had to force myself through pretty much the entire second half, but I enjoyed it so much more this time around. Over the years I had realized I was too harsh, stopped considering Ji Hyuk one of my most hated male leads (he truly dropped from fifth place to probably not even making top ten, maybe not even fifteen). So I decided it was finally time to not be unfairly bitter and revisit the rest of the show, at least for the elements I did like (and turns out there was even more of that than I remembered!). Still don’t care for the romance (the main couple especially, but I’m not into the other two either) and did skip through some scenes.  Also the mentor figure of the teacher/manager still bothers me. The end is basically the perfect narratively satisfying ending, but getting there was a little rushed in the final episodes. I’ve always liked the OST, have a soft spot for the cast, the set up is phenomenal, and it is just a solid show overall. Previous rating: 6/10. Updated rating: 7.5/10.

(Rewatch) My Lovely Girl (2014) 16/16 eps This is my new rewatch obsession, not because it is good (far from it), but it fills a particular desire for me and just really takes me back to 2014 (and in a (mostly) good way!). I love the music and the cast is filled with my faves. Also Shi Woo is so so special to me I do not care. (Still upset by Dal Bong’s storyline, the last several episodes are so bad especially the very end, and also the male lead is reprehensible). Same rating: 6.5/10.

Welcome (2020) 6/24 eps If it wasn’t obvious (see the rewatches) I was kinda on a Myungsoo kick (I love him and playing an actual cat is an even more perfect role for him than Angel’s Last Mission was). The cat stuff is fun and cute, but once I saw him sit in a box I didn’t feel an urgent need to continue. I’m sure I’ll return to it eventually. (Would be better in my opinion without any romance between the leads; let it be slice of life roommate hijinks and maybe a romance subplot with the second lead please!).

Plans: How did I do on last year’s? (Not great) I didn’t do any of the extra ones, so I’ll just ignore those. 2/3 movies watched (not for class - if only I hadn’t set that criteria, I watched plenty…) Kongjui and Patjui and Never Said Goodbye. 3/3 dramas from 2022 watched (YAY). They were all short, so feels a little like cheating, but oh well. Rewatched Judge vs Judge (that one was easy). Did not watch F4 Thai or anything from the backlog (unless I can count Remarriage and Desires since I did leave it on-hold for months lol).

Hope to watch 2023: Watch at least 5 dramas including: 1 or more from 2023 1 or more J-drama 1 or more from the partially watched backlog. Watch at least 3 movies. Complete some episodes of my Nail Shop Paris rewrite (yeah, that’s a thing I am doing, but since I was mostly planning and watching clips instead of sitting down and watching from the beginning I didn’t count a rewatch this year, but it’s something I’m working on and being normal about).