#I gave up on the backgrounds. all that matters is that they're in an alley and there's a stack of boxes/wooden crates they utilize

[captainhysunstuff]

19 more images below the cut (WARNING: Some PG-13 saucy shenanigans ahead)

Part three of their date: an unconventional visit to a nearby alley so Light can clear his head and try to get to the point of the outing. The events lead him to becoming confident enough to move onto the next stage...

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[itsclydebitches]

I'm just adding my voice to the growing choir but yeah, I don't think Trent is going to out Collin:

It would be an extreme moment of regression. I mean, this guy gave up decades of high-profile journalism due to his distaste for how the job was making him compromise his ethics. He's not gonna just turn around and out a player after that.

(Headcanon-y side-note, but Trent is HEAVILY queer coded and based on my personal readings of his character he's someone who would not just respect Collin, but understand him.)

I've been noticing that each episode has a small "Don't print that" moment where Trent seems legitimately open to keeping the club's personal secrets. The ones that, frankly, have no bearing on football and thus the public has no right to them (changing manicurists, diarrhea, etc.) None of these scenes have implied that he's merely humoring his worried friends and planning to air all the dirty laundry when they're least expecting it. A player kissing another man in an alley on their night off absolutely counts as 'Personal and none of the book's business.'

Outside of the book, how would Trent publish this? He doesn't seem to be doing freelance. It's possible he could pass the tip off to someone else, but we haven't seen any journalist buddies he's friendly with and giving that to a stranger (from the audience's perspective) would feel like even more of a betrayal. You're not just outing him, but using someone who we can't trust to spin the story in an empathetic light, as Trent did with Ted's panic attacks?

Trent doesn't snap a photo of them, despite having the time to get one (they're oblivious). He doesn't write anything in his notebook. He doesn't interrupt and hound them for a quote like he might have in season 1-2. He just walks off, looking contemplative/a bit worried.

So I don't think Trent is going to out Collin, but I do think he might try and do something about it. Meaning, this episode has shown that Collin is, well... pretty bad at keeping his sexuality a secret. He's sneaking out of his boyfriend's house, trying not to draw attention to himself, but then he hits a whole bunch of trash cans while leaving. I got a huge spike of anxiety when he looked at his phone with the other guys standing right there, given that a selfie, kissy emoji, and "thirst" are all pretty damning texts. He's obviously kissing right next to the main road, just a street or so down from where half the club is eating dinner, in a remarkably lit area. And though he tries to deflect a lot - fine he's gay for Zava too, this is my wingman, story about trying to seduce women - it comes across as trying too hard to anyone who's paying attention. Because, you know, Collin is trying very hard, despite his missteps.

The point is that Collin is constantly on the cusp of being outed. If the story doesn't have that happen next episode (that would put a damper on Richmond's win streak) I think Trent is going to step in somehow in an effort to provide damage control - or at least try to, even if he winds up being too late. The use of "Everybody Knows," while obviously a pertinent title, is also a list of how all these awful things have already come to pass - "That's how it goes" - and contains such gems as,

"Everybody knows you've been discreet But there were so many people you just had to meet Without your clothes Everybody knows"

(The context here is cheating, but for a background snippet of a song I think the general vibe of bad things + lovers + not being discreet wins out.)

So Trent may try to step in, even if it comes to naught. After all, if he spotted them it's only a matter of time until someone else does too. Collin is lucky it was Trent who saw them and not someone else.

Cue the emphasis on how much he's changed as a journalist (Collin wouldn't have been lucky a year ago), viewers get a cool new relationship between characters who haven't interacted yet, as well as the canonizing of Trent as a queer man without giving him a coming out story because frankly a 50ish character doesn't (necessarily) need that. He's already got the "vibe" 🌈😎

[hopeymchope]

True confessions from an RE:Zero convert

This might be more of a ramble than my better-organized reviews, but I have a lot to get off my chest.

Personal Backstory: The stuff you skip when reading a recipe

For a long time, I avoided isekai stories. They were so pervasive in anime/manga that I found them quite annoying.

When I first caved, it was only for comedies. I figured that, hey, they're taking the piss out of the genre; that sounds up my alley. So I felt it was safe to enjoy Konosuba. After that, I fell in love with Trapped in a Dating Sim... and to my surprise, it wasn't solely engaging for its overarching comedy. There was more characterization and interpersonal relationship stuff that grabbed me in that one.

That's probably what made me feel more receptive when I saw a couple of people call out Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion as an underappreciated anime highlight of 2023. I gave it a shot one afternoon with only mild expectations for it, and guess what? I adored it.

Yet despite ALL THAT? My expectations for RE:Zero were close to the floor. Raeliana had opened the floodgates, leading me to try some other isekai stories... yet I repeatedly found the ones I tried quite lacking. Furthermore, almost everything I'd read about RE:Zero over the years had been resoundingly negative in spite of its seeming popularity — a real "Sword Art Online" situation, basically.

But eventually, I was curious enough about why some people are invested in these characters that I started giving it a watch. These low expectations left me perfectly disarmed when it began to weave its spell over me.

Storytelling and Worldbuilding: Returning by death

You can neatly divide the show into story arcs, each representing a unique event/hurdle that the protagonist has to get past using his unique power.

The first arc of the story is mostly just setup for some of the important characters and the basic conceit. Our freshly isekai'd Japanese protagonist, Subaru, meets and bonds with a half-elf girl named Emilia, only to soon get tragically murdered. However, he just restarts his life from roughly one day earlier. He can go back in time by dying, giving him a new chance to take new approaches to situations and to accumulate knowledge via loops. Eventually, his "save point" advances to a new point in time... but what causes that to happen is left unknown for now. Making matters even worse is that if he tries to tell anyone about this superpower/curse, he feels intense chest pain as though he's about to be killed... so he has to keep this under wraps. (Though I still wish he'd try to tell people that he can't tell them. We never see if that'd work.)

With Subaru and Emilia established, the second arc introduces the most important supporting characters — Beatrice, Roswaal, Rem and Ram — and also puts one of them through a significant stretch of development. And finally, the third arc takes up the bulk of the series' first season, dealing with... frankly, a LOT. There's a lot crammed into it. You could even argue that it's got multiple smaller arcs stacked inside of it, and that would make complete sense. The third arc definitely does the bulk of the world-building/stage-setting for the future of the series, but there are details and background provided all throughout to get you up to speed on how people think here, how the government works, some of the existing races, etc.

I was initially taken aback by now blasé Subaru is about being transported to another world. This isn't a "death and reincarnation" thing like I've seen in most isekai stories; Subaru just blinks, rubs his eyes, and suddenly he's in a fantasy world just like that. And he... is completely unconcerned and unimpressed by that? It's a weird choice. Combine that with a point late in the first arc where he literally talks to the camera, and I thought maybe we were getting some kind of Deadpool-esque comedic commentary on isekai conventions.

It's the severity of the violence and related agony that makes me take it more seriously than that. I still find animated blood and gore extremely affecting — moreso than fake blood in live-action. That's probably because I was raised on Western animation that contained little to no sign of such violence, whereas Western movies and TV are full of corn syrup and other blood stand-ins. I'm just saying that when the deaths/kills come around in RE:Zero, they hit hard and often quite intensely. They're not showing entrails hanging out (even if they talk about it), but you can expect to see snapping bones and arterial spray. It's still a minority of the time, though; this is NOT a gorefest, and it's better off for that fact. When you suddenly get two minutes of ultraviolence after four episodes of relative peace, that makes it feel all the more effective.

It's not lookin' good there, chief.

I'm an easy mark for this stuff. Some of my primary entry points into anime were horror anime, so playing up this kind of horror gets me to sit up and take notice. It's not going to be anywhere near enough to keep my attention, though. I've certainly watched AWFUL horror anime that had nothing to boast about beyond their gore levels. That's where the quality of RE:Zero's character writing really saves the day.

What's really important to understand is that, through the strength of its gradual buildup of intensity helped along by showing the repeated consequences of failure Re:Zero manages to make some of the big anime shōnen  battles EXTREMELY hype! And yet, thanks to the great characterization? One of my favorite episodes in the whole show is an ep where two characters are just talking the entire time from a single location. THAT is the mark of something I love: If two characters holding a discussion for nearly half an hour has me COMPLETELY GLUED to it.

I've glossed over season two here because, although it still has some excellent moments, it's just not as good as the first. A big part of that is because it's just one giant-huge arc that covers all 26 episodes... and that's a LOT of time to spend on a single ongoing challenge/hurdle. It not only becomes exhausting and kind of boring to be confined to this problem/situation for so goddamn long, but it also makes it extremely obvious when Subaru is going to reach his final time loop and succeed. So once you piece together that the entire season is going to be stuck on this one arc, you realize you're stuck just waiting for him to get close enough to the season's end to finally achieve real progress. Once he does, though? It weirdly manages to feel like it's too soon -- like he didn't do enough to prepare all the problems at hand and somehow just won this time around because he tried super duper hard. There's also the fact that my favorite character from the first season is entirely sidelined (and apparently won't be in season 3 EITHER) — and nobody new manages to step into any similar shoes to pick up the slack.

Sounds like a good time to talk about that that character... as well as the rest.

Characters: The value of growth and change

One of the reasons I got into this so much is because the characters have flaws, go through changes, grow and develop. Rem is an early standout of this. As is apparently a common opinion, she quickly became my favorite character. Her shift from being suspicious and disdainful of Subaru to being 1000% supportive of him is EXTREMELY well-handled, and her sympathetic backstory is also one that we get before most other characters share their own. But when you get down to brass tacks, the main reason I think she's great is because she flips out and goes into violent combat mode whenever anyone she cares about is threatened. :D That's always a favorite archetype of mine. I love me a bloodstained hero or heroine who will march through hell and take any measure of punishment to save someone. Honestly, it makes it hard to understand why he'd so hooked on Emilia when Rem is so peak. And as I mentioned above, a big downside of season 2 is that Rem is completely absent past the first episode. In fact, she won't even be in the upcoming season 3!!! Alas, there is no "person who absolutely tears shit up and covers themselves in the enemy's blood to protect the ones they care about" character who steps in and picks up the slack, so I'm missing my favorite archetype after the first season. TSK.

She's not a princess (a lot of anger in it). Not your cutie girlfriend, oh no, don't you know?

I find it literally depressing that, to date, Rem is STILL not truly back in the cast of the source light novels - not in any way that matters. She makes her cameos via illusions or flashbacks or what-have-you, but she's not really there until she's physically AND mentally present once again. So until she returns to the team with all her memories (and therefore, her all-important character development) intact, I must legitimately ask: WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, NAGATSUKI?!

Enough about Rem: We need to talk about the lead protagonist. Subaru is pretty brave throughout all this but really has to grow over the course of the first season and learn to be less self-serving and invest a lot harder into self-improvement. It's nice to see someone who clearly has blatant personal flaws but also is never a detestable person. I actually first saw him when I watched a few episodes of Isekai Quartet a couple years back, and frankly? I found him pretty loathesome over there. I was fully prepared for him to be a shitheel that I was inexplicably expected to like. I'm so glad that this isn't the case. In fact, I love having a character who wears his heart on his sleeve. He's not too manly to weep openly, and he's not afraid to act like a total doofus... or maybe he’s not smart enough sometimes to realize when he does. And although he may be frequently selfish and kind of stupid on multiple occasions, he never becomes one of those perverted male characters or too egotistical. Well... he gets a bit egotistical at times. Too much for someone like me, but... still not overmuch compared to many, many anime protags.

Panic! After Repeated Trauma

And yet... he does get a bit exasperating by the end of season two, imo. Partly because he doesn't grow too much in season two. At least he gets to confront his bottled-up feelings over leaving his homeworld behind, so that's nice. But otherwise, he's pretty much treated as this perfect man whose only major remaining flaw is a lack of combat skill. By the time you've got him convincing yet ANOTHER long-lived character to never give up and put all their faith into him personally just like he's done multiple times before, and it yet AGAIN works? The swelling music and the emotional reaction of the characters to him speechifying about how he'll always be there for them and needs them... that lands well maybe two times, but by this point — when he's talking to a character who has mostly treated him with disdain/avoidance and whom he's only hung out with maybe five or six times — it's pretty hard to swallow, honestly. But I'll try not to hold that against Subaru... I just want him to show some more flaws in future stories that go beyond just "He's not good at fighting." I want him to lose more arguments again. Besides, one of the best things in season two is when his mind starts to crack under the stress and pain of all the deaths he's endured. I think we should dig deeper into that.

I honestly love seeing a hero begin to crack under the pressure.

I kinda cheated by talking about Rem before Emilia. Emilia's the main female lead, after all, whereas Rem is a supporting player. The thing about Emilia, though, is that she's good and noble and pure-hearted from the start. She doesn't grow at all during season one, though at least she does show us a different side of herself when she questions Subaru's behavior during their argument. Season two sees her face her past and gain new inner strength, but she still undergoes far less change than Subaru or Rem in even just the first season. I'm glad they took the time to show her failing and then needing to learn in order to move forward, but Emilia's maybe just a little too perfect, y'know? One thing that garners her a lot of sympathy is that most everyone who meets her dislikes her just for being born a silver-haired half-elf. So many people associate that with one of the gravest threats to ever exist in this world that Emilia has to endure a lot of racism, and honestly? Confronting that racism is when the character is most engaging. So while Emilia is clearly likable and not totally uninteresting, she's not as interesting as a lot of the other players in the story. Most of the characters run deeper than her or have more mysterious goals. Compared to them, Emilia is an open book who rarely changes. The author of the books has said that Emilia is his favorite character, and maybe that's why he never sees much need to develop her. I think it does her a disservice.

On top of being beautiful and kind and intelligent, Emilia is also a powerful combatant. Because of course she is.

Her relationship with Subaru is a major focus, but it seems sort of hollow at first. Subaru admires her kindness/helpfulness and thinks she's beautiful, so he follows her around and dotes on her as much as he can. It's easy to see why he'd admire someone so good-hearted, but it starts to become a little cringe just how obsessively he dotes on her... and that cringiness peaks right around the moment when the two have a big argument and a falling out. It's an important scene that helps both characters, because it shows us Subaru's flaws on full display and also makes him confront just how cringey his devotion to Emilia can come off. Emilia, meanwhile, walks away to spend time without him for a while... though she never really rejects him, either. She really struggles with being independent. She keeps thinking about him and wishing he'd come back and make up with her. Clearly, she's gotten addicted to having a Hype Man around... and goddamn, I can't even blame her. Subaru looks at Emilia the way Stilgar looks at Paul Atreides. Who doesn't want that level of positive reinforcement available 24/7? By the end of season two, although both of them have grown, Subaru's still relentlessly hyping her up. He did criticize her (softly) in one major season two moment, but despite his claims otherwise, he still acts like she's an angel on Earth. And so, although he pool of their romance has grown deeper, it still feels like we've stepped out of the kiddie pool and into the shallow end. It means a lot more to see a character and their feelings grow and change over time, y'know? I suppose part of why we don't see that happening much is because Emilia is treated as so flawless to begin with.

Something I love in a long-running story is when a minor background character slowly starts to appear more frequently until - surprise! - they become a major cast member and full-time supporting player. Season two does this very successfully, and I love the character they expanded and brought into the cast. I feel like I shouldn't say too much about them for anyone who's a newcomer, because the gradual increase in their presence is so enjoyable. But it's a character who first appears in season one and has to wait numerous episodes of season two before they become important enough to get a front-row seat. It's very satisfying to watch them shift slowly from "fifth-tier supporting character who shows up for two scenes" into "major player."

Other characters? Ram is Rem's sister, and she's... not exactly a wealth of depth. Not yet, at least. She's mostly there to act tsundere. Her exact relationship with Roswaal remains hazy by the end of season 2, but she's clearly devoted to him and he's clearly doing... something for her? Roswaal and Beatrice both get by on acting mysterious. We learn a lot more about them in season two, and what we learn makes it hard to tear your eyes off Roswaal especially — he's a fascinating and weird bastard. Puck is a cat-like spirit with a lot of power and a very mischievious attitude. There's a surprising darkness lurking within him that keeps him from being some cute mascot-type. Season 2 also brings us some new characters whose long-term presence among the cast is still in question, but Echidna (not an Australian monotreme) is a standout. She really made me question everything I thought I understood about the moral good-and-evil situation in this reality.

Get those eyebrows under control. We ARE on television, y'know.

Serial Killin'

The series a whole is SO serialized and SO intense that it's really hard to watch it with gaps in-between episodes. Even taking one day off from the show mid-viewing proved too agonizing for me, so I was really grateful I could tear through seasons 1 and 2 in a rapid binge. I say this because... yeah, I don't see myself watching season 3 as it airs. Maybe I'll do a binge for each story arc it contains when they wrap up, or maybe I'll just wait for the whole season to conclude. But either way? This is something that demands to be binged in rapid succession.

I guess you get my point by now. I'm pretty hype about this series in spite of it holding some noteworthy flaws. I'm surprised I can still get so invested in something that dates back as far as 2016 that I haven't seen yet... and that gives me hope for what else I might discover going forward with my anime viewing.

[bookloover35]

Snyder the Spider, Part 2.

The sun bathed the dusty streets of Santa Fe in golden warmth, the kind of light that promised peace after a storm. Jack leaned against the porch rail of your little adobe house, the brim of his hat tilted low over his eyes. You watched him from the kitchen window, your hands resting on the swell of your belly. He was still the same Jack Kelly—the same sharp grin, the same steady presence—but the lines etched on his face told stories of battles fought and won.

You smiled softly to yourself. It had been years since the chaos in Manhattan, years since you'd run from the grip of your father and into Jack's arms. Now, here you were, far from the clutches of Snyder, living a life you never thought you'd have.

Jack turned, catching your gaze, and that familiar twinkle lit his eyes. "Hey, sweetheart," he called, stepping inside. "How's my girl? Both of 'em?"

"Both of us are fine," you replied, laughing as he bent down to press a kiss to your cheek and then another to your belly. "But if this one keeps kicking like this, I might have to teach them a lesson before they're even born."

Jack chuckled, his hand resting gently on your stomach. "That's my kid, all right. Already got a fight in 'em."

The two of you settled onto the worn couch, the comfort of home wrapping around you like a warm blanket. Jack's arm draped over your shoulders, and you leaned into him, your head resting against his chest.

"You remember that night in the alley?" you asked softly, your voice tinged with nostalgia.

Jack stilled for a moment, his gaze distant. "The night Snyder almost tore us apart?"

You nodded.

"Yeah," he said, his voice low. "How could I forget?"

You closed your eyes, the memory flooding back. The fear, the anger, the overwhelming weight of your father's control—it all felt so distant now, yet so vivid in your mind. "I was so scared, Jack. I thought I'd never see you again."

Jack tightened his hold on you, his voice steady. "I was scared too, Y/N. Not of Snyder—never of him. But of losin' you. I woulda done anything to keep us together."

You smiled, your hand finding his. "And you did. You fought for me, even when I couldn't fight for myself. You gave me the courage to stand up to him."

Jack shook his head, a bittersweet smile on his lips. "You had that courage all along, sweetheart. You just needed a reason to use it. And I'm real glad that reason was us."

Silence settled over the room, the kind of silence that was full, not empty. You traced circles on Jack's hand, your thoughts drifting to your father. "Do you think he ever thinks about me? About us?"

Jack's jaw tightened, but his voice was calm when he spoke. "Maybe. But it don't matter, Y/N. He don't get a say in our life no more. We built somethin' here, somethin' he could never take away."

You nodded, your heart swelling with gratitude and love. "I used to think I'd always be his prisoner. But you showed me what freedom could look like, Jack. You gave me a home."

Jack turned to you, his eyes soft and full of affection. "We gave each other a home, Y/N. And now we're buildin' it bigger, with this little one comin' along." He rested his hand on your belly again, his smile widening. "They're gonna have the kinda life we never dreamed of back in Manhattan."

Tears pricked at your eyes, but they were tears of joy. "I love you, Jack Kelly."

"I love you too, Mrs. Kelly," he replied, his grin as wide and unshakable as the desert sky.

The two of you sat there, wrapped in each other's arms, the past fading into the background as the future stretched out before you. Whatever challenges lay ahead, you knew one thing for certain: you'd face them together, just as you always had.

The End.

[pretend-pretend-vampire]

just had session 0.5 of ilaria's game, in which the storyteller and I established a bit of the background surrounding ilaria's Embrace. here's a small timeline! it's very fucked up (cults, suicide, vampiric age differences, charm and blood bonding, infidelity, head trauma, etc.)! they're hecata though, what do you expect.

ilaria married their husband durante when they were 30 and he was. well. we didn't establish his age exactly. they'd been dating for 2 years at that point. we did not cover this in detail

what we DID cover in detail was how cool his adoptive mother evelyn is. cool enough of a mother-in-law that she invited ilaria to a bahari church and with a little bit of... persuasion... got them to commit some very sadistic infidelity with her + one of the bahari believers and then blood bonded ilaria afterwards. awful stuff, but again. hecata.

hubby was annoyed that ilaria was out longer than usual without telling him but he's pathetic and annoying so that was unimportant

despite not being religious, the bahari church and the lilins within were pretty cool. there was a nosferatu, claire, who answered a lot of questions. also injuries are fun to look at. lots of worrying vague cultish talk that didn't bother ilaria that much because that's just how religions are and it was amusing. plus evelyn is just so damn charming they can't help but stick around

and then, 6 months after the blood bond, the walk. they took a turn down a dark alley and WHAM evelyn got hit in the back of the head with a metal baseball bat. ilaria went protecc mode and despite getting hit in the shoulder for 1 point of damage they managed to rip the guy's bat out of his hands and scare him off.

they checked on evelyn, who hadn't moved since being knocked to the ground with a caved-in skull. except... her skull started knitting itself back together. she got up of her own accord and was very suddenly on top of ilaria.

the bite came next. the single most agonising thing ilaria had ever felt, far beyond any 10 most mortals would ever experience. even a big tough dom like ilaria was reduced to a crying, writhing mess who couldn't escape no matter how hard they tried. they were completely drained of life.

after that, an after you'd never expect to happen... they awoke with a wrist at their lips. evelyn's wrist, bleeding into their mouth less than you'd expect for how deep the cut was. evelyn retreated when they stirred and loosely bandaged the wound. ilaria felt this... need. they weren't sure what for. it was like a hunger, like a thirst, something fundamental they couldn't quite place.

evelyn offered them something. bags of red, bags of blood. almost mindlessly, barely even aware of themself and entirely incapable of stopping themself, they slaked their all-consuming thirst with the liquid.

when they calmed down, evelyn gave them some basics on the situation and expectations. ilaria couldn't help but listen, having had 2 sips from her already. she was so sweet, so kind, even if she had just inflicted something so incomprehensibly horrible on them. the aura of unease that had followed her while ilaria was human had vanished.

a few days of experimentation and growing, growling thirst later, ilaria approached evelyn about feeding. evelyn explained some more about how if they want the pangs to leave, they'll have to drain someone to death. they talked about blood resonances for a bit (ilaria rolled their eyes at the 4 humours) too

the first kill was decided. ilaria went to a bridge on the river and, luckily, found a lone man there ready to jump. ilaria went to Get Him and it was. pretty bad. he accepted their offer to end it for him, but hecata bites make it not so easy, and, despite himself, he struggled. they didn't let go. they drank up every last drop of life from him, enjoying it as both a sadist and a vampire. those weren't the only sensations in the mix though, and they! were! traumatised! yay!!!

evelyn was sympathetic for how bad that was and ilaria' felt incredibly conflicted about how it went. evelyn handled corpse disposal not by chucking the man in the river but by turning him to dust.

the two had A Talk in the car, and it turns out that was maybe kind of slightly unnecessary. ilaria didn't have it in them to HATE evelyn, but there was definitely anger bubbling over. hooray for composure as a dump stat!

durante was waiting at home, and when he saw ilaria's bloodstained chin and clothes, he got angry. he confronted them about the Embrace, saying he'd been waiting for his turn for 70 goddamn years. apparently he'd been ghoulified when he was younger by his now-deceased biological parents and he'd waited for his parents and then his adoptive mother to sire him.

unfortunately for durante, he had never been vampire material! spineless, weak, subservient, pathetic. exactly what had made him a good partner for the commanding ilaria, though things had become more and more strained over the years.

strained enough that after a talk about how incompetent he was and how maybe he should try harder, lol, he threatened his wife. he told them if they stayed the day they wouldn't see the next night.

ilaria got the last laugh and left, managing to duck out of the way of a statuette he tried to throw at them. they returned to evelyn and explained the whole "your son and I are getting a divorce" thing and they laughed together about it because god he's a loser

more information on the kindred world was passed along to ilaria. the masquerade, the factions, the clans. also, turns out evelyn is close to 200 years old!

a few months later, ilaria and evelyn attended a hecata family gathering. a charismatic samedi, jackson, recognised evelyn and greeted her there. he (and evelyn) explained a bit about the different families present, as well as The Family Reunion. ilaria listened, but was fascinated by the rotting state of the man and got a little too excited! yay messy criticals! their Beast spoke to and as them about how he'd look so pretty all cut up, which intimidated him into leaving.

more soon!

[benka79]

Queer Subtext in "The Guest" (Korean Dorama)

Or... how I justed wanted to watch a Gen Supernatural show and ended up falling for it's Beautiful M/M love story.

I don't know if you watch korean doramas, I do. This time I was on Netflix with my husband looking for a supernatural show, after watching a couple of it, and we crashed into "The Guest".

This attempt of analysis of the queer Subtext will have some spoilers so, If you don't want to be spoiled, jus scroll down. But go watch this show. Hahahaha

Disclaimed that, let's go to the East Sea...

Pansexual Flag for CHOI YOON and gay flag for HWA PYOUNG.

First apparition of Father Choi YOON, walking down a dark alley. You will find by his right, against a closed business shutter, Pansexual Flag Colors. What a presentation card for a priest, and is so symbolically beautiful, because philosophically, the spiritual leader should have the ability to love every creature, no matter what. So it applies to the decision of the writers to make Yoon linked to that kind of love.

Then we have Pyung, the medium. This boy is very enthusiastic, but he has surrounding him his grandfather and his best friend asking him, almost continually, to find a girl and get married. The poor medium doesn't answer, and he looks annoyed each time they mention that.

In one opportunity his grandfather asks if there's something wrong with him, and the boy snorts slightly, avoids eye contact and says, frustrated "No, grandpa."

Jumping to another scene... Yoon and Hwa Pyung are in the car, and Pyung's best friend, the shaman, is alone in another car. While they're talking by the phone, we can see behind the shaman the pride flag colors. And now you will ask... Why? Well... There's this part of the dialogue between Pyung and the shaman, in which he asks why he has to be alone in the car and Yoon and Pyung are together in the other car... Ahem... Pyung hungs the phone without answering. And the scene cuts to the shaman, with the pride flag in the background. The shaman frowns confused.

Nothing to add here...

Heart broken

There's two opportunities in which Pyung shows how heartbroken he was... Because of Yoon and how the writers wrote it with romantic subtext.

The first time Pyung faced Park Han, the assamblywoman, Choi YOON got mad and tells the detective he won't work anymore with Hwa Pyung.

Scenes after this, we have a very sad Pyoung in the shaman house, and his friend notices his sadness and asks if he was dumped.

Pyung looks somewhere and he repeats: "Yeah, I was dumped..."

Who just had dumped our cute medium? Well... Our cute priest.

Another scene in which he is in a worst depressed shape, again, in his best friend's house, he mentioned, gloomy, that at least someone is bothering him... Why? What had just happened in this episode? Well, Choi YOON said to him he couldn't trust him.

The shaman, insightful as he was, says that he looks too sad those days. And when Choi YOON goes surprisingly to his house, the shaman asks the priest if Pyung's depression is because he is in love with the detective. Well, kind of. I can't be very specific with the dialogues because I watched it with spanish subtitles. But that was the idea they transmitted.

Always looking when the other is not looking. And the handsome priest...

And remember in the police station when Pyung called Yoon the handsome priest that gives advises to the congregation in front of the cop?

Gif credit @setsmaker

Another huge subtext is Yoon looking at Pyung when he's not looking and Pyung looking at Yoon when he's not looking. Always related to sad things of their last being revealed or called back. And why is this meaningful and it has to be taken as queer Subtext or romantic?

Kang Hil Young is their female detective friend. As a very insightful person, she notices the relationship between these two boys and in the scenes, she's always separated from them but also she's a kind of nexus. Because both boys talk with her, instead of talk with each other, as the stubborn and shy boys in love they're.

All the "stealing glances" scenes are centered between Pyung and Yoon. And less about Hil Young. This is written on propose to show Yoon and Pyung relationship is different to Pyung and Hil Young or Yoon and Hil Young relationships. Because the boys have this aura between them, this romantic tension always around them. That doesn't happen when they're with Him Young.

The precious one, the fight and the "Titanic like" scene.

Pyung will ask Hil Young to save Yoon instead of him. He is determined to give his life in exchange of the priest. He calls Yoon THE PRECIOUS LIFE THAT YOUR MOTHER SAVED, when he asks Hil Young to take care of Yoon. Why would a bro ask to his friend to take care of his bro? Why he didn't ask to this bro to take care of his friend instead? 🤔😜

Pyung always showing up at Yoon's place after a hard day? Why Yoon? Why not Hil Young's place too?

Also the scene of Pyung trying to hide a talisman but at the same time, sliding his hand with it inside of Yoon's pants and Yoon gay panic face yelling: 'What are you doing?' And Pyung insisting in puting that talisman inside Yoon's pants and then failing, frustrated because Yoon discovered it was a tasliman?

Gif set credit @achiara

Priceless... And gay.

The scene of the fight between Yoon and Pyung WAS HELLA DRAMATIC AND FULL OF ROMANTIC SUBTEXT!

First of all, we had that music playing while Yoon tried to force himself to believe Park Il do (the demon) was inside of Pyung, because if he wasn't... That's would mean the demon was possesing Father Yang, that was like a second father to our cute priest.

Second, both friends had UNSHED TEARS in their eyes.

Third: Pyung was too heartbroken to react.

Fourth, the Yoon ended up ON TOP OF HIM WITH HIS HAND ON HIS THROAT, that, my friends, was one of the most hot m/m scenes. They remained like that, not strangling, but just his hand holding his throat. Like... Yeah. Go get a room.

When they thought everything was finished. Pyung was staying in his town and called Hil Young asking her to bring his stuffs from his apartment. To which she replies 'why don't you ask Yoon?' And our shy medium replies "He's too busy."

So, Yoon and Pyung didn't call each other, but they both called Hil Young.

She asks Yoon to be nice with Pyung because PYUNG HAD ASKED HER TO TAKE CARE OF HIM INSTESD OF PYUNG. (Yeah, she confessed that to the priest)

And i suspect she told Yoon about Pyung asking her for his stuffs because the medium considered Yoon was TOO BUSY. Why? Because the scene in which Yoon shows up in Pyung's town to check the people that had been posseses, he calls Pyung.

Our cute medium goes immediately : BUY MEAT, I'M FEELING SICK, STAY TONIGHT TO SLEEP IN MY HOUSE, and what does reply the priest? I'LL THINK ABOUT IT. NOW I HAVE TO GO BECAUSE I'M TOO BUSY. And he hangs the phone smirking!!!! Translation?

'I'm too busy because you said I'm too busy to bring your stuffs! I thought you didn't want to see me and now you are too happy to see me!!?? Watch me flirt with you and show you I'm not that easy.

And also, the poor girl is so tired to be the third wheel...

When they said goodbye in the road, Hil Young goes inside the car but Yoon and Pyung were there... Trying to sound cool, and 'You did well's 'Yeah, you top's, like two dorks, while the female friend watched them as if she was saying COME ON!!! ARE YOU SERIOUS? At the end Pyung confessed he was about to give his life in exchange of Yoon's life... And shy priest just goes inside the car.

But everything goes to hell when Park Il Do posseses Pyung and tries to strangle Yoon.

What did our cute medium yell to the demon? 'Don't touch him! Don't you dare to touch him!"

Gif credit @knights-in-whumperland

Okay... Those are not words you would say for a not boyfriend bro.

Then... Scene in the water...

They-fucking-held-hands!!!!

Gif set credit @r-a-n-x-i-e

The scene is so romantic I showed my friend (who didn't watch the show) a gif and she said WTF IS THAT? TITANIC?

Because, yeah, hella gay. They hel hands and then... Pyung reacts and before pushing Yoon's hand to release him to the surface, he rubbed his freaking fingers!!!!!

Not to mention he wss carrying with the rosary the priest left in his hand under the water for one entire year even when he wasn't catholic!!! HE DID IT BECAUSE YOON GAVE IT TO HIM!

To Conclude:

The subtext of a queer love story was magnificencia displayed, but it was more beautiful to see how inncoents, and shy and cute these two were with each other. So if you wanna see a cute m/m love story plus friendship loyalty and action, watch this dorama. I plenty recommend it!

PS: I'm calling this ship PYOON!

Buenos Aires, February 19 2020, 00:15 AM

[obscureoperations]

Random af but just got this idea 👀

What if one of Christina’s friends was a biker chick? Like hear me out! One day she’s in the kitchen waiting for Christina and Martin walks in. She’s friendly and just asks him random little questions and they just start crushing on each other? Even better, one night she pulls up on a classic Harley and revs it while looking up at his window like Sally at Jack when he was in his lab 😳😳😳

Just a random thought. Happy early Halloween bro! 🖤🎃☠️

This is the cutest thing! I really think her overall demeanor would really throw him--why was she so nice? He was used to the guys from the local biker gangs who would taunt him as he crept through the alleys. When you say biker chick, hope you know I'm thinking totally decked out. The jacket the patches, leather pants and all. He's probably completely enamoured with her style from day one.

Martin with a biker s/o

Whoo boy, wanna talk about a way to stick it to Cuda, Martin is proud to have her on his arm. I guess, it a way it wasn't that big of a shock seeing as how she was Christina's friend. But still, he liked to imagine. He seems to walk a bit taller when she's around.. the fact that someone like her actually liked him. He was honestly surprised when she gave him a second glance, he was sure the feelings were unrequited.

The outfits. She seemed to have a new jacket every other day, Martin couldn't begin to keep up with the patches. He could never tell the difference from the ones she'd earned..or simply decided to add because she thought they looked cool. Surprisingly enough, they weren't as expensive as he thought, she loved to visit thrift shops on the weekend. Some of them were on the other side of town, in fact, that was one of their first dated.

Music. Martin always felt that he had pretty diverse taste, he could listen to almost anything. From prog rock to classical. He prided himself on not being too picky. When not listening to talk radio he constantly flipped the dials until something caught his attention. He'd never even heard of some of the bands she'd listen to save for The Stooges, they were actually one of his favorites. Black Flag, The Damned, The Dead Boys were always blasting somewhere in the background as they spoke on the phone.

Riding along. He never could forget the look on her face when she asked if he wanted to go for a ride. She was so excited, he had to admit that he was as well--but wouldn't the other bikers laugh at him? What on earth was he doing on a motorcycle..and as a passenger no less. He tried to knock the idea out of his head--it didn't matter if he was with her. She could sense his anticipation and she laughed it off-- "If they say anything, they'll have to answer to me" "Besides, Dave..Charlie and the rest of the guys--they're cool. Nobody's gonna say anything.

Night rides. Those were the best, especially after a particularly long week. Martin had to admit, he could recognize the sound of her engine form a mile away--if was far less obnoxious than the others. Anticipation coursing through his veins as he waits patiently at the windowsill. She looked like something out of a movie when she pulls up in front of the house. Fully decked out, helmet and all--it always caused his heart to skip a beat. It didn't matter if he was alone in the house or not, he'd immediately bolt down the stairs.

[dea-certe]

Buddy, I live in TX, not Cali where there's a bunch of rules. Twice a year we have a 3 day long yard sale that stretches for 30 miles called Antique Alley and I have bought a gun from there before because it was hot pink and really cute. You know the steps it took me to get it? I pulled $150 in cash out of my pocket and handed it to the guy, and then put it and a box of .22 RIP rounds in my glove compartment (which is locked with a key because, you know, safety first). I have seen AR-15s for sale. One brother of mine sold an AR-15 to another brother of mine out of the truck of his car in my front yard (my baby brother was a dumbass who thought you should sell a gun you fired a few times at a discount price because it was used, which shows you how much he knew about guns which is why the older one was buying it because the younger one didn't know a damn thing about guns and someone like that doesn't need to have an AR-15). There are no regulations on private sales in TX. Hell, you can buy one from someone you don't know on FB and keep it in your car and no one ever has to have any record of you owning it.

Around here, it's not necessarily illegal to have a gun on campus, if the 30.06 sign is missing, you can concealed carry any fucking where you want. I've picked up my sister from school during hunting season and half the senior class had bolt action hunting rifles (including a really cute little set of his and hers Remingtons with a heart and their initials in it) strapped to the back of their damn beds on their trucks. Nobody gave a shit. And you're also just assuming that stalking and hitting your girlfriend is a felony. You're assuming you can't plead it down to a lesser charge, like is done in over 90% of criminal cases. And again, I know it's illegal to kill someone. What I want is for the cop to be able to put the fucker in jail BEFORE it happens. You want it to happen afterward.

See, you showed me exactly where you stand. The victims' lives are just the cost of doing business for you. They aren't for me. They matter to me. Clearly they mean less to you than your desire to own a gun. And there's like a hundred other guns that fit those qualifications.

As for the common sense regulations, they're easy to explain. Step one, every gun sold (and currently owned) needs to be placed in a federal database that shows who owns it, where they live, what the serial number is, and proof that it is kept in a secure location out of the reach of children and dangerous and potentially damgerous person's. Step 2, in order to purchase (or own) a gun, the owner/buyer must be cleared by a mental health professional (a ph.d, not a counselor who took a 60 day online course), who will state that they show no signs of being a danger it themselves or others, and that they are mature, responsible adults with a handle on their tempers, and who are capable of understanding gun safety rules (for example, my ex thought it was a funny joke to point loaded guns at people and say he was gonna shoot them, he owned 6 guns when he got evicted from my home because he locked me in a bathroom and I had to call the cops on him to make him let me out, he is not someone who ought to be having a gun). Step 3, in order to purchase or own a gun, they need to go through a training and safety course that teaches them how to properly shoot, store, and care for a gun, which will include a written and practical exam. This cannot be completed in a weekend, like it currently is in TX. Step 4, only licensed, authorized dealers may sell guns. Period. None of this "private sale, gun show, yard sale" loophole crap. A licensed, registered seller only can sale a gun. Step 5, all people who wish to buy or own a gun must pass a background check. If you are on the no fly list, you fail. If you've been charged with a felony, but pled it down to a misdemeanor, you fail. If you've charged with a domestic violence or sexual violence crime (rape, assault, harrasment, stalking, unlawful imprisonment, sexual battery, indecent exposure, sex with a minor, etc), you fail. Step 5, if you are ever caught at any point with your gun on you while you are intoxicated with any substances you lose your right to own or purchase a gun for 60 days. A second offense loses that right for 6 months. A third offense gets you a lifetime ban. Step 7, you get one box of ammo for every caliber you own. In order to get a new one, you must return the spent shells. If you cannot you must explain why you cannot and that must be an acceptable reason. Step 8, all gun owners must have insurance on their guns, to cover the cost of medical bills and funerals in the event of an accident or in the event the screenings fail and the owner kills someone, or in the event the owner has a lapse in their responsibility and someone else gets a hold of the gun and uses it to harm or kill another person, animal, or destroy any property without just cause, ie, acting in self defense. No grandfathering in. All gun owners who wish to keep their guns must obey these rules. All new owners must obey these rules. Period.

Christ how'd you piss off all the gun guys

I told them they don’t need an AR-15 for any reason at all unless they plan on killing a bunch of people. Apparently, that’s something they disagree with. Loudly.