#I'm such an awful fan for not watching the new season yet

[absolutebl]

Hi!!! I'm a big fan of BLs, I really love all types, but I stopped watching and keeping up with the news ones around the summer of 2023. Do you have any recommendations of BLs that I should start with again that have come out since spring 2023. Or like a best of 2024 list? It's a bit overwhelming trying to jump back in and I'm not sure where to start again! Thanks :)

My top 2 BLs of 2023 both got 10/10s from me and they were:

I Cannot Reach You AKA Kimi ni wa Todokanai

Japan Netflix?

This classic friends-to-lovers BL is everything Japan does best. Angsty. Emo. Aching. Driven by real thirst. Yamato is deeply in love with his childhood bestie, Kakeru, and has been for ages, unable to hide his ungainly damaging high school need. He wants Kakeru in every way possible and it oozes off of the screen. Kakeru is silly and a little simple, but not frenetic or overly camp about it. He is earnest, and genuinely wants to keep Yamato in his life which means giving a romance (and gayness) a fair chance. We watch him realize his affection and what form it can take in a truly authentic way. This show was impossibly kind to both of its lead characters and I felt almost honored that I got to watch something so lovely and rare play out on my screen. Full review here.

Our Dating Sim

Korea Viki

This is a perfect short form KBL, an office set reunion romance featuring geeks that really suits 8 eps with no fluff and no chaff. Just comforting and yummy. I adored every aspect from the casting to the pristinely simple premise to the quietly smooth execution. Sure it’s low stakes, but that makes it high domesticity and extremely warm and gentle. This is a fuzzy blanket of a story - a cozy BL. It lives in my rewatch pile and you know what’s best about it? Every single episode is in that pile. There’s no skipping with this one, it might be good natured and calmly sweet but it’s tight and the pacing is excellent. Full review here.

Here are the rest of my best of 2023 round ups:

Best of 2024?

I haven't started any 2024 round ups yet but here's my current working top BLs of 2024. These are the ones I gave a 9/10 (no 10/10s from me this year, sadly):

Century of Love

Thai Gaga

This is a very pretty drama about a young man who fell in love with a nice girl 100 years ago, and when she died in his arms, he was cursed to live until he could meet her reborn self. Only this time around, she’s reborn into the body of a man. Or is she?

 Cherry Magic (Thai remake)

Thai grey

A soft charming warm hug of a show about crushes and mind reading and self worth that really worked for me. With no-fuss execution from a consummate team (at GMMTV) and an OG lead pair (proving why they remain eternal and deserve to grow up). Look, here’s the thing, Cherry Magic is a great Thai BL in its own right - not comparing it to any other iteration.

Cosmetic Playlover

Japan Gaga

I love this little show more than most. It's a classic office BL about the older workaholic who loves his job and the younger upstart who unexpectedly loves his boss.

Love For Love's Sake

Korea iQIYI

KBL isekai about a man who must win a game by convincing a reserved teen outcast to fall in love with him. Of course, that teen represents himself and his own unhappiness.

Sugar Dog Life

Japan grey

This is a phenomenally charming and adorable little romance about a forlorn university kid and the police officer who adopts him. They are relentlessly kind to each other, in fact it’s an extremely kindly show over all (everyone in it is so nice to everyone else including us) so there’s very little tension. But what it lacks in drive and complexity it makes up for in earnest acts of service and simple affection.

The Rebound

Thai iQIYI

Actually no one liked this as much as me. This was a sports romance Thai BL pulp with everything I could have asked for given this sub genre. More, actually, since MeenPing are both great basketball players and the team component really did form part of the connective tissue of the show (vital in a sports romance). Meen has his shirt off within the first two minutes which is all I needed but he's still pretty great as the sullen secret keeper against Ping's cheerful survivor - childhood sweethearts torn asunder and now reunited.

The Sign

Thai YouTube

This show is literally everything (except straight) all at once. It's BL, queer, band of brothers, romcom, erotica, PNR, fated mates, police procedural, fantasy, mystery, suspense, and slasher. It’s the king of genre mash-up chaos. Sure, it's madness but there is genius in it.

Unknown

Taiwan YouTube & elsewhere

Unknown is a wonderful BL with a pitch perfect portrayal of long term pining, age gap, and the stepbrothers trope. The acting and chemistry are ON POINT (especially from the leads) which made the resulting characters very believable.

Wandee Goodday

Thai YouTube

A charming quintessentially modern Thai BL about a doctor and a boxer who start as a one night stand and then fall in love. Great rep for everything from Muay Thai, to safe sex, to FUN sex, to ace, to bisexuality, to smiley kisses, to the first legal gay wedding in a Thai BL.

For me this was GMMTV's best of the year.

We Are

Thai iQIYI

I unabashedly loved show. It was slow to find its stride (I didn’t get into it until ep 6) but I’m so glad I gave it a chance. It’s a soft ensemble piece with multiple couples and very little plot, but I didn’t care because it’s not trying to be anything more substantial.

There you go. Hope these hold you over until the end of year round ups.

Welcome back!

And HAVE FUN!!!

It's been a good year for BL.

[peachhcs]

please something with Sammy and will after tonight’s (Chicago’s) game! he looked way too good

ok i know umich women's soccer isn't doing the best this season and they lost their game last night, but let's just pretend for this tehehe. will looked fine affff in that intermission interview phew

au masterlist

samy’s phone buzzed in her hand while she helped hannah unlock their apartment door and shuffled in with their stuff. the brunette smiled seeing her boyfriend’s name flash across the screen knowing they probably just finished the game an hour ago.

“damn, is he ever not on time with those calls?” hannah teased when she saw her friend’s phone making the two giggle.

“he’s very consistent with calling every night,” samy hummed, dropping her bags by the counter for now so she could answer will’s call.

his face appeared a moment later, curls damp and face flushed probably from the shower. hannah quickly waved when samy propped her phone up on the counter, “hey will! about to go watch the highlights!” the duke sibling exclaimed before disappearing from the frame.

will chuckled. “hey hannah. hey,” he directed his focus back to samy, expression worn from the long day and the even longer night ahead as they headed to canada for tomorrow night’s game.

“hi, i haven’t watched the highlights yet. we just got back from my game as soon as you called,” samy smiled a bit, but it faded when she saw the blonde’s faded expression.

“ugh, you don’t have to even bother. we lost 4-2,” will rolled his eyes a bit, the defeat clear in his system still. so far, the season hadn’t really been off to a great start yet.

“aw, i’m sorry. how long were you on for?”

“i was on every period, but i dunno. bedard is fucking scary sometimes on the ice,” will huffed making samy giggle.

"yeah, you're right with that one. i mean at least you tried your best that's all that matters. i'm sure it will pick up. you're still getting used to it and everything. plus, these guys way faster and way different from college hockey," she offered her best advice to hopefully lift the hockey player's spirits. will did manage a smile.

"i know, i know. still hurts sometimes though. i can count how many games we've won on one hand," he held up his fingers.

"it will look up, i promise. i'm still proud of you, and i did catch your first intermission interview. you should see the comments under that video," the girl giggled referring to the all the other girls fan-girling over her boyfriend because of how good he looked between periods.

will's cheeks flushed in embarrassment, shaking his head a bit, "so are you saying you agree with them?"

"i mean, you did look pretty good. they have a point," samy grinned making her boyfriend deeply blush.

"i'll remember that then. too bad you aren't here to see it all in person," he teased back which had samy blushing as well.

if anything, samy was always right along with those girls making edits and thirsting over her boyfriend. she loved seeing the edits come in her for you page and more times than not, she was sending them to will so he could see himself.

"maybe next time when i don't have a game keeping me here."

"you guys won right?" will wondered and the brunette eagerly nodded. "i caught some of it during intermission. 7-1's pretty good."

"i know. we're super excited about the season. coach definitely thinks we're winning it all," samy chuckled.

"i mean, with you there it's pretty much in the bag," the boy's words brought another blush to her cheeks.

"you're just saying that," she rolled her eyes, but will just shrugged.

"i've already bought my tickets for the finals," the couple shared a smile with one another.

"bold move, but i appreciate it."

"hey will, we're packing up soon," a new voice entered the call and samy quickly recognized it as macklin.

the younger brunette stuck his head into the frame, waving. "hi samy."

"hi mack. i'll let you guys go. have a safe flight, text me when you land," samy blew a kiss to will through the screen.

"i will. i love you," he did the same back, ignoring macklin's snickering.

"i love you, too! bye mack," she waved to them before ending the call, excited to finally get into the shower to get all the dirt and sweat off her body.

"is this how gabe felt last year when you were always calling samy?" macklin teased while will threw his phone onto the bed to get the rest of his things together.

"oh shut up," he shoved the boy, sharing a laugh. "when you get a girlfriend, i'm not gonna leave you alone either."

[instant-delusions]

‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚. ᵗᵃᵏᵉ ⁱᵗ ᵗᵒ ᵗʰᵉ ᵗᵒᵖ

gojo satoru x f! reader

au: canon

cw: smut (public sex), cursing

nsfw under the cut

⋆｡🌊𖦹 °.🐚⋆❀˖°

you watched as your melon soda flavored popsicle dripped down your fingers and sighed - summer was definitely not your favorite season. currently, you were laying still to sunbathe (get a perfect tan to rock your new colorful clothes!) and absent-mindedly babysat your hyperactive boyfriend, aka gojo satoru. "look at this abomination, (y/n)!", peeking at your boyfriend from underneath your huge hat, you saw him standing in the water with a big grin. satoru was wearing black swimming trunks and a hawaiian shirt which was unbuttoned, meaning the sunlight hit his muscular body and snow-white hair just right, plus his eyes twinkled like expensive sapphires. in awe from your lover's beauty, you almost failed to notice the big, slimy, disgusting sea cucumber in his hands. "oh my god satoru, ew!" completely annoyed, realizing it's just another one of his antics, you laid down again, plopping your headphones in to drown out all his noise-making.

it's not like you didn't enjoy his absolutely hilarious schemes, but it's been a super busy week full of curse-hunting and you wanted to enjoy a vacation in the tropical climate of okinawa. dropping your ruined popsicle into a handkerchief, you turned your body around to tan your backside, sighing at the comfort of a new position. although you had your music at full volume, you could hear satoru's muffled voice coming closer to you. sliding down your sunglasses, you glared at him and pointed to your ears, signaling you couldn't hear him and laid down again. just a few seconds passed until one of your buds was ripped out by him, causing your string of patience to snap brutally. "satoru, I swear to fucking god!-" standing up with an intimidating pointed finger and a hand on your hip, he knew he was getting the lecture of a lifetime. "wow, satoru. wow. I'm asking for ONE quiet, relaxing day. what is this behavior?" with a strict tone and wild hand gestures, your vent goes on - almost as if you were disappointed in the actions of a pet, instead of your boyfriend. with every passing sentence, said man's pout grew bigger - he stepped closer to you to caress your waist in an apologetic way. "I'm sorry, baby." satoru pressed a sweet kiss to the crown of your hair, "let's take a nap, yeah?". you definently liked the sound of that and nodded, burying your head in his chest.

cuddled up under the parasol, nose filled with the smell of satoru's sauvage and seasalt, his wet body pressed against yours, you surprisingly found it hard to relax. with your legs and arms wrapped around him, you wondered if he's really napping or teasingly waiting for you to make a move. unbeknownst to you, satoru had the image of your ass on full display behind his closed lids, thanking the sun, the first humans and whatever else discovered tanning enthusiastically. he felt you big-spooning him, crotch pressed against his lower back, of course your arms around his waist, breath fanning his neck. if this is a competition to see who's giving in first, he won't regret losing.

"babe." satoru turned around, a smirk gracing his face. his gaze dropped from your eyes to your lips, lifting his hand to trace them with his fingers. "yeah?" you whispered, leaning closer to his lips, eyes closed in a dreamy state. he tutted, pitying you for believing he'd give you what you want without firing up his ego first. wrapping his arm around your waist, he pulled you onto his lap. "you want to fuck here?", the sorcerer grinded his half erect dick into your thin bikini bottoms, making your face turn red. thinking for a few seconds you whispered back; "it's not tourist season yet, so whatever." , he nodded with a grin, watching you drop your hands to his damp trunks. "not even gonna make out first? am I just a slut to you?" you sighed, rolling your eyes at him - watching as he puckered his lips in a kissing motion. sometimes, you're confused as to why he gets you wet at all. grabbing his face, you pressed your lips against his heartedly, moving against him with eagerness. it was almost as if you could feel his childish facade drop as he rubbed and grabbed at your thighs, sucking on your lower lip. satoru tickled the first moan out of you and giggled, putting one of his fingers behind the knot that held up your bikini top. slowly, he pulled to string, kissing all of your beautiful skin now revealed to him. oftentimes, he gets the feeling you don't understand how engrossed he is with you, almost obsessively so - satoru admits, he might be overprotective and possessive, he feels it especially in situations like this, having his hands and mouth full of you. obviously he covers this with jokes and a sort of playboyish persona, rarely showing his anger or jealousy, but once his mind gets hazy...

spit was dripping down your nipples, boobs decorated with red and purple hickeys. satoru continued with undoing your bikini bottoms, throwing them into his open bag - "for when I'm on missions without you" he smirked. getting frustrated feeling his clothed dick against your weeping pussy, you pushed his trunks down his thighs, almost drooling at his fat cock slapping against his abs. it was rock hard and huge, pre dripping down the veiny length. excited, you wrapped your hands around it, feeling its warmth and his pulse, spitting into your other hand you jerked him off slowly. "(y/n), stop that. wanna fuck you." the sorcerer snarled impatiently. satoru positioned you by guiding your hips, each of your legs caging him in. "oh? I'm on top." you teased, making him grin, though there was a sort of wickedness in his expression. "don't get cocky." with his enormous strength, he pulled you down, fitting his whole length in instantly. hearing you scream like this was music to his ears, feeling your pussy tighten around him in shock. it felt like his dick was everywhere, warmth engulfed you as you felt him growing inside of you, filling you over the brim. your hands were grabbing at nothing as your thighs started shaking, he didn't even start moving yet.

deeming the wait long enough, satoru started grinding into your heavenly pussy, feeling the sand move with him. "stay quiet now, don't wanna traumatize the elderly." at this point, you were so overwhelmed by the feeling of his dick moving, you didn't hear his remark at all, plus he knew you couldn't stay quiet. watching spit and tears running down your face, he set his goal to completely ruin you this time. grabbing your sides so tightly they'll definitely bruise, he started pistoning his cock into you, bullying through your creamy walls, watching as your juices drip from his balls to the towel on the ground. grunting, he watched as your eyes criss-crossed and started lifting you up by your ass, hitting deeper spots. "y-you on the pill, right, babe?", seeing you nod weakly, he went completely feral, driven by the thought of filling you up with his cum. with his constant, fast and hard thrusts, you came without even feeling it build up, scratching his back open with a loud shout. "fuck baby, cumming on my cock like a good girl. watch." he grabbed the back of your head, making you watch as your pussy fluttered and squirted around his huge dick. satoru wrapped his arms tighter around you as he felt your body going limp, slowing his thrusts down to heavy grinding. with a long, breathy groan, your boyfriend came in a constant flow, filling you up with his warm, sticky sperm- his cock so big it didn't let anything slip out. a thought crossed his mind as he watched you whimper, feeling the heaviness of his dick softening inside- "mine"

coming to your senses, you cupped satoru's cheek, surprised to see such a serious look on his face - though it almost vanished instantly, replaced with his signature goofy smirk. "damn, I fucked you good." slapping him playfully, you rolled your eyes and chuckled - wiggling your hips.

"round two in the hotel?"

[richardlawson]

The End

After a few years away from that particular couch, I started seeing a new therapist at the end of last year. It had been long enough, I sagely determined, after I was felled by a series of really nasty panic attacks—one happened while I was doing a Q&A on stage with some filmmakers. They didn't notice, nor did the audience, nor (most importantly) the publicists. But it was happening. Me contemplating running off stage, into the Soho afternoon. It was a terrible feeling, and eventually feeling terrible starts to be a drag, so I found, after a fair amount of searching, someone new.

He is in his late 50s and has a kind, open comportment. He's much more giving and lean-in-and-nod than my last therapist, a sort of prim and watchful gay guy who retired to Florida. I like this new gay guy, I think. Or, I am warming to him. At first, I thought his platitudes and constant quoting of various people were corny. But I have resisted such sentiment for so long, and lack of sentiment hasn't cured me, so maybe I should try the earnest stuff. He has me meditating for one minute a day. The panic attacks went away.

For a little while, anyway. They've been creeping back, when I least expect them, and when I most do. I am afraid of what I am afraid of, I hate what I hate, I feel increasingly indifferent to what I love. Winter hardens care. Do I like movies anymore? Do I like a play, seen on some chilly Saturday afternoon? Maybe it's just seasonal. Or it's media malaise in a time of such austerity. They're trying to lay off the best people while the worst people watch, safe as houses. They're trying to take the whole thing apart and replace it with nothing. I have worked in my business for 16 years, well over a third of my life, and for the first time it now feels truly dire and terminal and like I need to start making other plans for what to do with the rest of my time here in the waking, working world.

Something I talk about a lot with my therapist is inertia—I use the word constantly. Why can't I just, why can't I just, why can't I just. I know something's in me, latent under my lazy skin, but it never makes its way to the surface. At least not yet.

Which causes panic, this stasis. I am scared of the drugs that might help, and am resistant to other concrete life changes that might make this better. (I like a glass of wine too much; I'm a fan of my vape.) I have tried avoiding things, I have tried not avoiding things.

I guess it's not circumstance, really. I have panic attacks when I'm home at night, Andrew asleep in the other room, me watching some murder show or YouTube video (same thing) and suddenly a feeling hits me, the conviction that a blood clot or some other lurking thing is making its way up my body and that this is my sorry, lonely little nighttime end. Here it is, the moment when I'm carried off, when I disappear, when I slip away into nothing.

My parents just finished a cruise, a lifelong wish fulfilled, in South America, hooking around Cape Horn and then exploring the fjords and inlets of Chile. All the reports were good. They had the best time. I had worried about my mom itching for her work email, about my dad being newly 90 years old and maybe feeling exhausted by all the activity. But it seems they managed well. They saw Patagonian cities, they saw mountains rising out of the sea, they saw the shy, retreating edges of glaciers, so quiet and demure in their dying. My mom sent us pictures and I thought most about the glaciers, those last cracking murmurs of a time before. When I was in Alaska for a wedding, years ago now, we went to a park of some kind and the visitor's center that was once built over a glacier then stood cantilevered over dry land. The ice had crept much farther up the mountain, winking goodbye.

How awful. And yet, in the depths of my hypocrisy, I relish an unseasonably warm day. Whatever lifts me out of winter, I guess. Whatever can drag me out of the feeling that everything is indeed going to ruin—a career, a life, a liver, a future. My best friend moved out of my neighborhood recently, which is sad. But it also affords us the opportunity to explore new territory, to find backyard bars with good deals where we can huddle in forgiving late-winter winds and make uneasy escape plans, where we consider what parachutes could ever be made of.

It's not always enough, of course. I too often have nights, far too late, when I go pacing around the living room, circling the coffee table in a weird sort of marching step in my underwear, shaking my hands to get the dread to go away. My new therapist has urged me to find what centers me. To think of all that is known and steady.

I try to gather myself and remember the people I have, arrayed across the planet. Andrew, in restless sleep down the hall. My sister in her Los Angeles canyon, surrounded by trees. I walk the room, knees high and somehow defiant, chest straining with worry. And I see my parents, on a boat at the tip of the world, dreaming of lost things.

[octoberwren]

So I hyperfixate on shows, I always have. I love storytelling. I'll be obsessed with a book/show/movie for a time and for whatever reason that fades. It fades rapidly if i don't care for the writing or the way its heading. I enjoy storytelling that grabs me and I'm a romantic at heart so typically I like shows with romantic relationships and friendships as the overall theme. (Fairy Tail being one of them)

Outerbanks was one of those obsession of mine, i got into it last year but to be honest that hyperfixation faded when season 4 was gearing up for one reason or another. And to be honest I'm glad it did. I've had writers fuck with the show i loved before, I've had to watch characters that deserved better than death as their "salvation" die for "stroyteling purposes" when honestly it was due to bad writing. Ben Solo comes to mind (Don't get me started) I've already lived a life filled with death, grief and trauma. I don't need that in my media. Death is not the redeemable action they think it is. Life is worth living, wanting peace and happiness with those you love, forming new bonds, growing and changing and loving yourself and those around you is the fucking goal and the fucking point. It's what makes life worth living and celebrating. i can not say this enough.

So to turn around and spit on that character for the sake of bad writing is fucking bizarre man. (I know about the drama, i also dont want to talk about that. The actors personal life is none of my business.) If for some reason the actor playing JJ Maybank couldn't continue playing that character anymore? Cool, unfortunate but like i said, none of my business. It was on the writers to create a better send off for him, than to blatantly disrespect the character like that. I'm not saying you can't explore grief, I'm not saying you can't write a gripping story about that. You can. But nowhere in my silly little comfort surfer show did I expect for them to kill one of the main characters off. Their parents? Sure. The sides characters? Yeah. But not them. You don't set up 4 seasons of them escaping frankly unbeatable odds, asking the viewers to turn off their critical thinking skills as the pogues defied the realms of relaity when it came to death, to turn around and have one of the fan favorites die. You just weren't clever enough to write a better conclusion. And luckily my hyperfixation did die or I'd be more pissed than this.

I may make a more in depth YouTube video on this subject as a whole because honestly i can talk about writers killing off depressed and abused characters as a self scarifice "move" for hours.

I have depression, PTSD, and so on. i have gone through unspeakable parental abuse, i have attempted suicide. i have survived by gritting my teeth and making fucking sure my mental health is taken care of. I have dug myself out of the abyss time and time again. I am a survivor. A final girl thank you very much. Do not tell me that the woman i used to be deserved a tragic end. She did not. It makes me so fucking mad seeing posts of fans that found comfort in this show, that related to JJ as someone free and filled with hope and loyalty despite his horrible childhood get death as his ending. It makes me livid that, that is what the writers chose as his legacy of thier own godamn show. Pain at the end of it all? And for what? Put him in a coma (to stick with your soap opera of a show that you set up) take him somewhere where he can't get back yet but still maintain the narrative that you made. I don't know be creative??? Thats your job??? Not the same old fucking dying trope that you knew would piss off your fans.

Listen, to the fans that are struggling with it. It's bad storytelling. It's bad writing. You'll find another story to relate to. Another character to find joy and draw strength and inspiration from. (And hopefully they'll take the care needed to tell such complex stories and themes)

If you have survived awful things, if you relate to him in one way or another, that is not your legacy. That will not be your story. You will find peace, and friendships and love. Don't let bad writers make you feel like your destiny is pain. It's not. It never was. You matter just for existing.

Anyway, I'm done ranting now. Be safe and take care of yourself.

[popstart]

Hi, i was the anon who sent this ask, and now that you are talking about this issue, i will talk about one of the accounts you talked about.

"Oh yeah, let's ignore ALL the good things Duncan Said about Courtney and ALL the times Courtney defended him in the season, and Just sum up their ENTIRE relationship on one of their worst episodes"

Now, don't get me wrong, i hated Duncney in "Top Dog", but summing up them in Just it is so weird.

Also, the "Duncan was scared of Courtney 🥺" pisses me off so much, like can his fans STOP babying a whole criminal?

Oh my fucking God, this is a low blow.

Again, summing Duncan and Courtney's relationship in Just "Top Dog" is weird, but doing this just to make Gwen and Duncan's relationship less worse is disturbing.

Ok, let's see Duncan's ENTIRE confessional.

"Aw, man! I only came back for Gwen! She better not sulk the whole time, or i might as Well date Courtney-"

Wow, dehumanising Duncney and Gwourtney shippers by calling them maniacs. Incredible. Also, i've seen her (the user goes by any pronouns) Interacting with the shippers, and they were Nice?! This Just makes her look like an annoying and immature child.

Again, dehumanising Duncney and Gwourtney shippers by calling them terrifying. Incredible.

Ok, she reblogged this shit. Oh my god, the way i'm gonna scream now.

SHE THOUGHT IT WAS PART OF THE CHALLENGE! THIS ISN'T COMPARABLE AT ALL! ALSO, DIDN'T YOU WATCH THE EPISODE? OR YOU JUST SAW THIS CLIP OUT OF CONTEXT AND WENT LIKE "Oh, yeah, this one is gonna work to make Cuntney like a Cheater hehehe"? BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE IT!

The way Courtney antis try the most possible to make Courtney look like the Devil incarnate is uncomfortable as fuck.

Also, I'm really Glad this post's OP is now deactivated. I was already not standing this user in the Duncney tag talking shit anymore.

This is an excerpt of her fanfic (The Wattpad account is on the bio)

The fanfic is about a Duncan in xem (the pronouns in the fanfic) 30s now who, along other old contestants (Courtney and Gwen are two of them) and new ones, is kidnapped to a new reality show hosted by Chris. During this reality show, xe finds a magic necklace, which is obviously important.

I'm going to admit, i actually liked the fanfic and (*GASP*) Gwen and Duncan's relationship in It, but i would've liked It more If, every time Courtney appeared, she wouldn't be treated like a "monster who traumatized Duncan forever and should die painfully 🥺".

Anyway, talking about the necklace, It is obviously searched, so one of these people invades the show with a gun and threatens Duncan and the people with xem, but Duncan DIDN'T give them It, so they actually tried to shoot xem, making a whole mess.

Now, that's my problem with this excerpt: Courtney is, again, treated like an annoying bitch, even though she has ALL the right to Get angry over Duncan.

Like, what do you Mean that you will not give a necklace to a person who threats you with a gun BECAUSE of it, which is worse when you are along people, including MINORS, who didn't have to do with it, threatning their lives too?!

Seriously, the way some of Courtney's haters Go as Far as they can to disregard her feelings is so disturbing i can't-

(Sorry about the bad English, It isn't my First language)

YEAH i saw all of this on their account and i just sighed. that one post they reblogged about how "unfaithful" courtney is especially pisses me off because they showed way more evidence for duncan being the unfaithful one then ended up spinning it into a duncan baby boy gwu'ncan win moment. what! that entire post was about how all three people in that situation werent good yet the conclusion they (and the op) came to is that gwun'can good courtney bad duncney bad 🥴the reach of all reaches

its honestly just double standard after double standard and it pisses me off so much. they just jump through hoops to defend their hatred of courtney and any ship with her that they end up missing a key point of their own damn posts LMFAO. its just sooo uncomfortable how much theyre willing to defend a white boy and a white girl that they provided textbook evidence themself about them not being saints yet praise them for being good people yet completely demonize the hell out of courtney and for what 💀

also the cherry picking is EXTREMELY prominent here. the "how duncan looks at courtney vs how he looks at gwen" thing is extra amusing to me because literally 3 seconds later duncan talks about how much he loves courtney DJSHGSFKJA. extremely amusing. anyways, anyone that knows their shit will see through the complete bullshit these kindsa people post but the thing that scares me is that theyre not just posting into the void, they have plenty of notes on their pretty blatant creepyness and it just. auhgghhh.

it really gets to me and the thing is, they dont care a damn bit. they see anyone who likes courtney as completely demonic so they WANT to piss people like me off but they end up going about it in completely misogynistic and racist ways. at the end of the day, i dont think i can change anyones opinions about what they should or shouldnt like, i just hope people can look inwards about why something like a fictional character being a "bad person" can anger them so much more if the person in question is a 16 year old brown girl rather than a white boy of the same age.

[atiredfangirl]

Why do you dislike Bucktommy and Tommy so much? Is it due to his last behaviour, or better yet, that he didn't stick up for Chim and Hen and was, therefore compliant? If this is the case, aren't they showing that he has changed by showing that he is now cool with Hen and Chim? I'm asking as a black queer person.

Or is it because they've become quite popular in a matter of weeks? If so shouldn't people be allowed to ship, write and enjoy what they want?

Also, isn't it hypocritical of you to ship Buddie when the actor who plays Eddie has expressed some awful racist and homophobic views and things?

Since I had never posted about Tommy on this app before today, I am assuming you found me on Twitter and came here to ask this anonymously, but if you follow my Twitter, you can see that I did not hate Tommy or Bucktommy to begin with.

Yes, I was hesitant when they brought him back because of his history with Chimney and Hen, but I was not one of the fans that “hated” him. I was willing to give the character another chance. But I also haven’t forgotten if “honestly if I thought about you at all, I probably wouldn’t” or how he was compliant with what went down at the 118 before Bobby arrived.

But I was willing to forgive that because he seemed to have changed a lot! When 7x04 aired, I retweeted several tweets supporting them because even if I am a Buddie shipper, I can respect that this is a big deal for Buck and I’m really and truly a Buck stan at heart. Literally just want the man to be happy.

Then 7x05 aired, and after seeing how nervous Buck was, he still made that stupid little closet joke in front of Eddie, knowing damn well Buck wasn’t out to Eddie. That wasn’t okay with me (also as a Queer woman), and then he leaves Buck alone on the sidewalk, doesn’t even tell him until the Uber is there that he called one for himself.

And now I’m watching the sneak peeks for 7x06 and he’s put zero effort into dressing up for the party (being on call is a weak excuse - it’s not like he’s going up in the helicopter in jeans and a Henley - he’s gonna have to change either way) and even the Henley comment felt condescending and rude.

I’m not delusional, I’m well aware Buddie may never happen, but either way, there’s no way the writers are writing bucktommy as endgame either, so it’s not like it’s coming from a place of fearing he’s a threat to Buddie. I just don’t like him for Buck. It’s not new or personal - I’ve had reasons to dislike literally all of buck’s love interests. I just wasn’t particularly active on social media about this show before this season, even though I’ve been watching it since it began.

As for Ryan, I don’t associate the actor with the character. I learned a long time ago that if you want to enjoy fandoms and ships, it’s very important to separate characters from actors.

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: Wordsville's Official Release -- Is It Really an Odd Squad Clone? (Part 1)

You can bet your fine ass I am, because, to put it nicely, the fuck is this?

All right. Anyway. So part of what I used to weaponize my YouTube channel for was doing Seren Reacts videos on new PBS Kids shows. Basically, I'd take the first episode they'd upload and react to it. Since I don't have the capacity to actually do that for this show, and since I did tell you all I'd do a Seren's Study on Wordsville when it came out and I had a chance to see it...here ya go. I watched the first episodes of this thing so you don't have to!

...Uh...well...if you don't want to, anyway.

In this essay, I'm going to put the final nail in the coffin as to the issue of whether Wordsville is truly an Odd Squad ripoff or not. I'll also be picking apart the first episode screencap by screencap, just like I used to do in the good old days of Odd News.

(At the very least, the America's Funniest Home Videos animation I'm not a fan of. At least with Tom Bergeron it was funny.)

Below the break we go!

(Just as a side note: this will be split into multiple parts because Tumblr apparently has a photo limit now. That's...gonna make these followup Seren's Studies just a bit trickier.)

Ohhhh they're really trying, bless their little hearts.

Look at that, they even threw in a goddamn university degree like these kids up and went to Harvard. Because Odd Squad agents didn't go to university and aw God man you gotta be shitting me.

Man, the theme even follows the same schtick of Odd Squad agents explaining who they are and what they do! I guess that's one for the Half-Ass list...

(And on a related note, because I don't think I brought this up: Gabby's actress sounds like she was on Odd Squad at one point, but hell if I know where. Guess I'll know when the credits come up.)

Hm. Hah. Just like, y'know, Olive and Otto, Orla and Omar at one point in ti- really, do I have to keep going?

You could tell me this was an Odd Squad sequel spinoff in disguise and I'd 100% believe you.

(Also is that...is that a rainbow bead design in the upper right there? Does Sly is gay or am I just going nuts because this episode was uploaded in Pride Month and Sinking Ship already has some LGBTQ+ rep under their belt?)

I will say that, unlike with Odd Squad, I appreciate them not making this out to be some stupidly thinly-veiled Zoom or Skype parody. It looks like a new fresh platform that isn't supposed to reference anything. I like that!

...Nah, not even I'm desperate enough to pry an Odd Squad jab out of this title.

I am, however, getting flashbacks to Wonderful Precure and people speculating about the colors in the title. If this were one of those seasons we'd have a group of five with a blue-green Cure as the leader, which would melt the Internet. Definitely. Maybe.

Also, unless they're working on Odd Squad UK and we don't know it yet, Christin Simms is not an Odd Squad name I recognize. Seems they've worked on pretty much every modern Sinking Ship series but Odd Squad, which I choose to take as intentional just due to the similarities between the two series alone. I mean let's be honest...if it were an Odd Squad writer, it would really only reinforce a few of my points.

So I've chosen to watch "The Case of the Disappearing Donuts", mainly because I believe that's the episode that was featured in the sample script I talked about in the previous Seren's Study. Just...y'know, as a heads-up. I tried to go for the first episode.

And needless to say...I'm not sure if this is it (TVO released five episodes in a bundle and your guess is as good as mine as to which one is the series premiere) but I can already see a striking difference with Odd Squad, in that yes, Wordsville does indeed launch us clear into the plot without any warning. Yeah yeah they explained it in the intro but I do not care. Let me get to know your characters first!

Once again, I will reiterate for you all: this show being purely digital instead of live-action completely hinders it. It is 2024. The pandemic is not an excuse anymore. I'd get more enjoyment out of this if it weren't two people communicating through mock Apple laptops.

And if you aren't getting what I'm picking at, imagine if, for the nearly ten years it's been on, Odd Squad was a purely-digital show. Would we get the worldbuilding? The lore? The character development? The funny interactions? No, no, no, and no. It's like the difference between talking to someone in video chat and talking to someone in real life. One boosts your health. The other one, not so much.

Clearly they didn't really try for this bit in the audio department, because this cookie is all about that bass with absolutely no fuckin' treble.

(To be fair, though, Odd Squad has soundbytes like this from time to time too. So I can't really complain all that much.)

Something I was shocked to find out about Wordsville: each episode is all of 8 minutes long. Which...doesn't really help the series' case because the pacing is utterly atrocious. For Odd Squad, which has mostly 11-minute episodes, the pacing is smoother for a lot of them. I can take my time, understand what's going on, and enjoy what I'm seeing. Hell, even Tiny Time Travel's pacing isn't awful for the short time it has, and I wasn't gonna even touch that show for this Seren's Study because it's not made by the same people outside of Tim...until people brought up similarities, and I felt at least obligated to mention it once.

This falls squarely into the category of "if I go on an acid trip, can I drag out this episode three times longer than it actually is?"

We.

Are 55 seconds in.

And we are already getting to the conflict.

...Hand me the bong. The BIG bong. If you see dogs in my front yard, just tell 'em to get inside and glow upstairs because I'm goin' hard.

BIG BONG.

...I'm not touching the timing of this call because convenience is in literally every piece of media with video chatting ever. It's not just a Wordsville thing.

The Town Baker walked so Baker Graham could work his hand at a whip.

No but seriously, I can't look at this character and not think of Chef O from Odd Squad UK. The brainrot set in once I viewed the trailer. It hasn't left.

Hey, it's a good marketing tactic.

And it makes a great gift for your SO if they happen to have a name that starts with any of the letters. Hell, get the U, the T and the I and you'd have a winner!

...

Waaaaaaait a second-

In this era of super-powerful processors and AI seeping into anything and everything, there is no scientifically possible way Gabby can pull up a computer dictionary within milliseconds.

And when Odd Squad, the show that has ironic low-tech stuff, is more realistic than your high-tech show, you got a problem.

Minute and a half into this thing and this is the only bit that got me close to smiling thus far.

But something I wanna point out is that I've gotten cookies from bakeries that look a lot better than that. Hell, the cookies at my local supermarket look better than that! Just as big, and far yummier!

I see they switched around the personalities for Sly and Gabby, and I can see why.

Gabby emotes the most.

So does Olive.

Gabby is Olive with a braid and a fedora.

Gabby is the serious o- guys, really, must I go on?

Something something substituting bagels like in "Soundcheck" for donuts instead.

This is what happens when you let your co-CEO binge-watch all the Shrek movies, Sly.

Careful, Gabby...please don't drop the title.

Odd Squad doesn't drop the title all that much, but the fact that the episodes are referred to as cases in-universe sells the comparison. Wordsville's cases are just...different. Copyright infringement and all that. When Oprah sues, she sues hard.

Thank you. I hate it. Off you will fuck from my lawn.

...Look, I know what the "Sly-mation" is and y'all are not being slick. You don't get to wave a fucking stylus in my face and say what you're doing is animation but with a fancy name. Animation is hard. Animating stuff halfway and slapping your client's head on their animated body instead of drawing a face resembling your client is a disservice and I will abso-fucking-lutely take that personally as a fan of animation.

I mean, hey, if I were an animator, I'd fully commit. You people remember that the studio who made this worked on a Spongebob movie. Lemme repeat: a Spongebob movie. And yet this is what they decide to do for animation.

When Odd Squad does animation, it's good in most instances. (I choose to forget "Olive and Otto in Shmumberland", TYVM.) Not anything stellar, but it certainly is passable. Here? Lol. Lmao, even. God no. This feels like a way to insert animation into the show but without employing the CGI that other shows, Odd Squad included, have. Like a "lol I'm so quirky" thing.

Get out.

This is like if Disney had Disneymation. Dreamworksation. Laikation. Netflixation. Huluation. So on and so forth.

Point being, it's dumb. Just say it's animation and stop plopping flowers onto it. When you get more of a time limit, then you can be quirky all you want.

We are now 2 minutes into an 8-minute episode. I know what's happening. Kids know what's happening. Unless you're banking on the research that kids' attention spans are the size of a pea, we do not need a recap.

...Is this really the same person who wrote for Endlings? Because apparently they can't handle something in an 8-minute timeframe.

You either get the Chad Blender/Flash/ToonBoom, or you get the Virgin Mock Scratch.

I just feel cheated. Disappointed. Like when your mom and dad drove by McDonald's when you were a kid after they promised you they would get you some. I've seen good animation. They had the chance to do better, and didn't. That's what pisses me off the most. It's that complete utter wasted potential.

I know Vet Wilder is a reference to some celebrity (the name is at least somewhat familiar), but I'm at a complete loss as to if they did the same thing for Athlete Glory or if they just confined a girl named Glory to one destiny in life.

So she'll become...a Faded Glory.

(I'm sorry, I had to.)

Okay, they're reiterating this for the young children, and I- guys, this hurts. It's like they're trying to differentiate themselves from Odd Squad but tripping over their own feet in the process.

Ten cookies Gene Vet Wilder gave it to an animal named Yummy and that this series will go down another Odd Squad route and defy biology.

Either that, or "Yummy" is his pet name for Not-So-Faded Glory, which I am banking absolutely nothing on because romance.

...No, not Baker Graham's cookies. I'm sure dude's good at what he does, but I know of a better bakery, thank you very much.

*aggressively takes out the ibuprofen for the headache this shit is giving me*

This reads like TVOkids font, and I'm not even mad.

I'm only sad I didn't get the "I know so much about fonts" autism.

(Also, this is really just called The Bakery? They have one bakery? That's it? Even Toronto has more than one!)

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

Onward to Part 2!

[possibilistfanfiction]

I would love bea and Ava's reaction to Rihanna's super bowl performance

[this is silly goofy i loved it (the prompt & the halftime show, obviousy), thank u @gohandinhand for the good laugh abt ava's team]

//

'okay,' ava says, sitting back with a hand to her chest, 'that fucked.'

she's so sincere, so genuinely floored, that you just have to laugh.

'like, this is a great game,' she says, 'but, guys — that was... whew.'

it had been a surprise, that ava randomly decided to learn about american football, memorizing rules and asking about players every time they came over to watch your beloved eagles — or, mostly, to eat good food and listen to beatrice lament how awful a sport it is. it had been a little confusing until she had arrived at ray's one sunday wearing a giants jersey, smiling happily, beatrice trailing along with takeout. you had looked at ray — a diehard 49ers fan — who had rolled her eyes.

'ava,' she had said, 'the giants, really?'

ava had just grinned. 'i like new york,' she had said and shrugged. 'the last time we visited i fucked beatrice against a floor to ceiling window —'

'— jesus christ, ava,' beatrice had said from where she had been unpacking the box of wings in the kitchen —

'— and, anyway, every team deserves someone to cheer for them.'

'mad annoying,' ray had grumbled; a worse offense, even, in your book: the giants.

but, yeah, rihanna at halftime? not that it makes up for all of ava's season-long nonsense, which will undoubtedly continue, but, 'that really was incredible. she's the best.'

beatrice leans back against your couch, her feet propped on your coffee table. 'i feel reborn.'

you and ava share a glance and start to laugh; ava kisses her cheek. 'now you understand why rihanna is number one on my list.'

'oh, i always understood,' beatrice says, turning to ava seriously. 'i just don't think i would be capable. rihanna wanting to sleep with me would be too intimidating. she's so talented and beautiful.'

ava pouts. 'you're not intimidated by me? i'm not talented and beautiful?'

beatrice rolls her eyes, but she wraps an arm around ava's shoulders and tugs her into her side. 'of course you are.' she winks at you, though. 'not quite as much as rihanna, though.'

ava waits a beat before laughing. 'love you, silly.'

'ugh,' beatrice groans, and you want to groan too, but you mean yours; if shannon could see beatrice — contained and serious and uptight and repressed as hell — blush about rihanna and act fake-annoyed at her partner calling her silly, you think she might combust. you raised her well, you feel with a sense of pride; you loved her enough to get her through the fear and the ache and to become in her own time. 'i'm not silly.' she kisses ava's forehead anyway, which really diminishes her argument. 'i love you too, though.'

'break it up,' ray says, sitting next to you and handing you a beer. 'i need to watch the eagles lose.'

you shove her but ava is laughing and beatrice pulls up an article about yet another coach who has done something reprehensible — 'it's a deep character flaw to enjoy american football, we know, beatrice,' ray says — and they bicker about what the best part of the rihanna show was throughout the third corner. your apartment is warm and there's copious amounts of food and beer and your family.

and, yeah, rihanna too.

[heronpoxed]

I decided to re-watch SOA, idk why because I know how painful it will be lol. Anyways, I loved tara when I first watched the show and I love her now. I truly do not understand the hate she gets. I have my own theories on why she get's so much hate, but I'm wondering what your take on it is. I find it especially disgusting the hate she gets from many women in this fandom. They seem to hate tara yet give a free pass to all the horrible things most of the men on this show did, its wild lol

hii<33 i’m so happy you deemed me worthy enough to ask for my opinion on this topic lol

First off, don’t be hard on yourself for rewatching SOA. God knows I’ve rewatched it way too many times even though it always results in my anxiety and unease.

Anyway, I truly believe that i’m gonna get k!lled for this but still, buckle up we have much to discuss. Honestly, this is gonna be a long one.

SPOILERS for anyone who hasn’t seen the show till the end!

There are many reasons why people hate Tara and I’m sure you notice most - if not all - of them but at the end of the day it all comes down to misogyny, internalized misogyny and favoritism. As you said, they excuse every horrible thing that men do because it’s a men-centered show with very attractive male characters. Trust me, if Charlie was not conventionally attractive everyone would’ve hated Jax lol and it’d be absolutely laughable if anyone said otherwise.

It shouldn’t come as news to anyone how sexist and misogynistic most of the SOA fandom is. I’ve talked about this before and say it again that the fans of this show (especially women) are so quick to put blame on female character’s horrible behavior for the shit that male characters build the foundation for. For example, as much as I dislike both Ima and Colette it wasn’t exactly their fault that they were so present in the club life. It wasn’t as if both Jax and Opie hadn’t been more than willing to sleep with Ima. They both let her be a part of SAMCRO, which as a result affected their families. And then seeing both these men treat Ima like shit and even get physically violent with her was fucking awful to watch because they were the ones who had done the damage in the first place. Same goes for the Colette situation. Jax was the one who allowed her to sleep with him yet the fandom is calling her a wh*re. As if sex doesn’t happen among multiple people.

Disgusting and frustrating as hell!

People hate Tara for numerous reasons:

- they think she’s annoying

- they think she’s indecisive

- they hate that a wife tried to take the sons away from a father

- they think her methods were questionable

- ‘she had an out and she didn’t take it and now reprimands Jax for it’

- they think she never cared about Jax and didn’t love him as much.

- ‘she betrayed him’

- she knew what she was signing up for when she decided to date Jax

- she doesn’t own up to her mistakes.

- some of them actually hate her because they don’t see chemistry between Maggie and Charlie which blows my mind. You may think that a couple lacks chemistry but hating a female lead for it is a bit extreme, not to mention utterly misogynistic.

To me, Tara’s only crime was her hair in season 6 lol but on a more objective note:

Y’all see selfishness and betrayal while what I see is Tara prioritizing and choosing Jax over and over again because she’s holding onto the promises that Jax made to her (that he ultimately kept breaking), the idea of having a peaceful family and onto the bond that they had when they first fell in love (she says as much in 6x13). Anyone who says that Tara was selfish and never cared for or deserved Jax is completely out of line because if anything, Tara loved and valued Jax more that he ever did her (see: constant infidelity). The answer to why Tara didn’t leave until the last possible minute is simple: she loved him.

People also seem to ignore the fact that leaving Charming and giving their children a peaceful life was what both Tara and Jax wanted. The guy literally gave his baby up to some strangers FFS even after everything that he and SAMCRO went through to finally track Abel down (one of the saddest scenes on the show, mind you). Taking one look at Abel’s adoptive parents was enough for Jax to know that his life would only be harmful for the baby. I don’t see anyone reprimand Jax for that?!?! If it weren’t for Gemma’s non-stop gnawing and Opie’s death, he wouldn’t have lost sense of what he wanted since the fist episode(!!) - to give his kids a better life.

People accuse Tara of being ‘indecisive,’ saying that she willingly turned down an out when she had it etc. well let me ask you this: and Jax wasn’t?!?! It literally goes both ways. I could write a whole goddamn essay on this one. Tara couldn’t make up her mind on whether or not she should’ve stayed with Jax just like Jax couldn’t make up his own on if he wanted Tara gone or not. I’m sick of people ignoring that. Jax and Tara’s entire dynamic is this constant back and forth between their morals. People call Tara annoying and indecisive for this but call Jax ‘complex’ and ‘complicated’ and ‘conflicted’ while doing the exact same thing. Another case of sexism and misogyny.

When people say that Tara knew what she signed up for when she decided to be with Jax, they aren’t wrong. She did know. However, it was very clearly shown on SOA that despite being involved in a risky illegal business, this constant trouble and bloodshed was not normal for the club. The entire time Tara was gone, everything unfolded discreetly and with minimal trouble that never affected the families of the club members. Almost the entirety of seasons 1 and 2 Gemma kept assuring Tara that it wasn’t always this troublesome with them and Jax kept assuring her that he’d fix things. Tara just came back at a bad time when everything went to shit and kept going to deeper shit. What Tara signed up for was the promise that things would go back to normal because peace and discretion used to be SAMCRO’s normal.

To all those questioning Tara’s methods for taking Thomas and Abel away let me tell you this: while it was risky and morally gray, it was literally what Jax wished John Teller had done for him and his brother Thomas. If you rewatch 4x01 Jax says that John should’ve ran Gemma’s ass over, taken him and Thomas and gotten the hell out of Charming in response to Tara reminding him that Gemma wouldn’t have let them go. This, once again, comes back to Jax losing his sense of direction after Opie’s death. If Jax was okay with John ‘running’ Gemma over, then he’d also be okay with Tara doing the same thing.

So this is what Tara did, ‘ran Gemma’s ass over’ (in a sense) to get her kids away from that life - something that Jax wanted his own father to do for him and something that he himself actually would’ve done if it came down to it.

And don’t forget that it was the circumstances that forced Tara to consider being a rat. She never wanted to rat on her husband and the club. She says as much to Lee Toric in prison. And those saying that she wasn’t owning up to her mistakes clearly ignore or fail to see that Tara hated her plan the entire time and she was constantly at war with herself. She knew full well that her plan wasn’t that of a saint but she did what she thought she had to do. Her heart was in the right place from day 1 and if anything she was the one who got betrayed in the end because Unser, Wendy, Lowen - they all chickened out and left her to fend for herself in complete chaos.

People even prefer Gemma to Tara even though she’s literally evil incarnate willing to kill her husband to maintain the power that comes with the club. It’s all because Gemma is a w*t dream of every person that’s a victim of patriarchy. Most of the fandom believes that you only deserve rights as a woman if you’re badass like Gemma lmao.

We all know the entire point of the show I’m not gonna elaborate any further on that one. The scene between Jax and Patterson in 6x13 speaks for itself. Tara, as a character, served as a reminder of that point. People literally take Jax’s side over hers only because he is hot lol. Every single decision that Tara made in the entire show is literally backed up by logic and reasonable evidence within the TV show itself. Even Kurt Sutter was shook on the amount of hate that she got and has stated multiple times that Tara was always right.

However, it is also worth noting that most of us Gen Z are team Tara, which makes me think that the hate toward her comes from the more closed off mindset of the older generation (obviously this doesn’t include everyone).

So yeah, the answer to your question is misogyny.

Sorry for this enormous answer but I can literally defend Tara non-stop till the day I d!e. If there’s anything else you’d like to know you can ask me or message me any time It’d be my pleasure<3 and feel free to share ur theories. I’m very curious about them.

[the-power-of-stuff]

Just sat through the first three NATLA live els and have so many thoughts - the first thing I did was come straight over to your blog because why wouldn’t I?!?

A part of me LOVES Suki’s awkwardness. In fact, none of the gripes I have with Suki and Sokka aren’t about Suki and Sokka and their characterisation themselves, but rather just the execution.

But anyways — the vibe I’m getting is that Season 2 (Book 1? I’m not sure if they’re going by seasons or books) is laying down the groundwork for some of the characters. We know they’re doing that with Azula (and the Fire Lord fam as a whole), but it seems like they’re sort of doing the same with Katara, where they’re starting off with her being a traumatised, almost-shy 14 year old girl who comes into her own as the season progresses.

While I haven’t watched the show in it’s entirety — I probably should have before sending this ask in — I’m assuming this is all leading up to her confrontation with Pakku and role in defending the Northern Water Tribe towards the end of the season. And then that new found confidence in herself and her waterbending carries though to season 2, where we’ll (presumably) find a more fiery, outspoken Katara after I’m guessing a somewhat lengthy time jump?

Anyway — back to Suki. My question to you is, if I’m right in my theory about Katara (and all the others, tbh… I feel like what I said for K can apply to pretty much any of the gaang at this point), do you think the same could be said for Suki and her own development?

We see Suki at the start of ep 2 as a fierce yet slightly socially awkward, sheltered warrior who wants to leave her village and aid in the fight against the Fire Nation and travel the world. As it goes, she does leave her village, and perhaps becomes the confident and sassy (and awful at puns) girl we all know and love, all through her experiences aiding in the war and travelling the world?

Of course, this would mean that her development would largely happen off-screen… but even still, Suki was more familiar towards the end of the episode. She was the one who initiated the kiss, she made her feelings and mostly gratitude known to Sokka by giving him her fan, she told the gaang they had to leave.

It feels like that’s the route Albert Kim is going. He’s made it clear that it’s a re imagination and not a 1:1 adaptation. He clearly wants the show to have its own identity to some extent (e.g. the genocide actually being shown and basically being a mini prologue to the series) and this is his way of doing so through characterisation.

I’ve written way more than I intended, so sorry for this long winded tangent. But what I mean to ask is, do you think in season 2 we’ll see a Suki more similar to the og (while of course still being her own).

I’d love to know what you think! x

Ahh, this makes me so happy!! Thank you so much for enjoying this blog, and for sharing your thoughts and sending this ask! <3 (And absolutely no need to apologize for writing so much, either! Goodness knows I could go on forever about this stuff.)

I think you make a really good point about characterization in the LA, and the potential for certain traits (like Katara's fieriness) to develop more over time. And I've been thinking about it in terms of what we already know about LA Suki that could get built upon in later seasons.

I definitely think it would make sense for us to see Suki come out of her shell a bit more in season 2, although there are some things in the LA that make it hard for me to imagine Suki being quite as sassy as her animated counterpart, just because of the sort of foundation it gives us for her personality.

For one, there's Suki's interactions with her mother. If anyone were going to be on the receiving end of a teenage daughter's sass, even if that sass is buried too deep in shyness to come out around said daughter's crush, it would be her mother. And while we kinda sorta see Suki get a little petulant with Yukari (her delivery of "I'm not too young, I just haven't seen the world" is kind of a swipe? but is really very heartfelt), she overall seems like a well-behaved, obedient daughter. This isn't a King Triton/Ariel situation where you get the impression they've had this conversation a million times before and Yukari is exasperated by Suki always questioning her authority. In fact, it feels like the first time Yukari's even considered that Suki might want something more, and she seems pretty amenable to it, if the fact that she didn't storm into the dojo to break up Sokka and Suki's near-makeout session is any indication. So, even in these private moments where you'd assume Suki is more herself, there isn't much sass to be seen.

(Somewhat related to this, I had a funny sort of "Huh!" reaction to Yukari's, "Such a fierce warrior. And yet such a kind heart." Not that I don't think Suki is kind! It's just not one of the first words I would use to describe her. And not that I would've expected Yukari to say, "Such a fierce warrior. And yet also kind of a pill because you're always giving me lip." But that bit of dialogue is there for the audience's benefit; it was a choice the writers made to tell us what they think is important for us to know about Suki's character. So I had a moment of, "Oh, that's the takeaway we're supposed to have? Interesting...")

And then there's Suki's later interactions with Sokka. On the one hand, when they're training together, the romantic tension is through the roof; it's all very new and interesting for them and it makes sense that they'd still be a little shy about it. On the other hand, Suki gets comfortable enough around Sokka at this point to 1) remove her makeup, 2) have a deep conversation with him, and 3) touch him on the chest. We don't see her show the same awkwardness from earlier in the episode, but she also continues to be very serious. When Sokka pins her, and then she flips them over while he's mid-celebration, she follows up with a useful tip about fighting, and it's delivered completely straight (if a little breathless). No little jokes or jabs. No "Don't get cocky" or knowing smirks.

However, we are not completely without sass! There are a couple moments in particular that I feel have some of that familiar Suki flair.

First...

Lookit her smirky little "come at me, bro" face! That face 100% says, "C'mon then, let's see it, if you're so tough." There's a playfulness here, too, which we know is very much a part of her relationship with Sokka in the animated show. (This Suki up here? I could easily see this Suki saying, "😠I'm an elite warrior who's trained for many years in the art of stealth... I think I could get you backstage!😁")

And then...

The thing I love about this is that she's all, "Nuh uh, I don't think so" (her little head wiggle!), but a fraction of a second ago she was staring blatantly at that boy's mouth. Nice try, sweetheart, but you ain't foolin' anybody. (This Suki is the Suki who smacks her forehead when her boyfriend tells terrible puns to actor-Sokka but who later gazes at him adoringly when he absolutely loses his shit because actor-Sokka actually said "rocky relationship" on stage.)

So...I guess the tl;dr answer to your question is, kind of? I can't see LA Suki getting to "Sorry, Warden, you're my prisoner now" levels of sass, but that's not really the tone the LA is going for anyway. I think we'll see her being very bold (a la taking the initiative to kiss Sokka) and very compassionate (saving Appa—I hope!!), and it makes total sense that, next time we see her, she'll be way more confident than the girl who could barely say a single word to Sokka before attempting to strangle him by way of flirtation. I also hope we'll get to see more of her playfulness! Maybe even some successful flirting? Probably not as forward as "Look at you, sleeveless guy...been workin' out?" but I'd settle for a sly head tilt and a cheeky little grin. And based on what we know of her so far, I don't think that's too much to ask. ;)

[deanthe]

//vent I really need to get this off my chest. After Splatoon 3's final splatfest comes to a close, I'm probably going to stop interacting with the Splatoon community as much as I can. It's been four years since I've gotten truly into Splatoon, (that's a complicated, yet much nicer story for some other time) and while I don't regret it by any means, it's definitely been an exhausting ride, and I kinda want to get off of it before I barf.

Getting the most obvious thing out of the way, the way Nintendo has been handling Splatoon 3 has been really disappointing. It has far more improvements than flaws, but this game has had some really bizarre decisions made with it compared to the first two games. Maps, kits, ETC... I'm not gonna delve into the specifics, you probably already know what I'm going on about. Secondly, while what I just said still holds true, I feel like the community reactions to these changes have been... a bit too much? Like, yeah, splatfests are imbalanced. Maps have been bad. (up until Drizzle Season 2023, at least) But these problems have been absolutely blown out of the water. Fucking, death threats have been sent to people who join the Shiver's teams. Despite the whole appeal of the Splatoon community being a place of self expression and lack of judgement, a lot of Splatoon subcultures really... aren't that great. Being deadass, competitive Splatoon is boring, and its players are super rude and annoying. I don't like to generalize, but I've yet to interact with a single comp player I enjoy talking to. Every single one I've met has tried forcing me to play a certain way, no matter if I'm even fucking playing with them. I was harassed for using sticks. In a B- lobby. Back when I was new to Splatoon 2. The hacking scene is a dumpster fire. The main person who's created the most well known and fun Splatoon hacking system is a piece of shit, for one. For two, have you even touched the first game anytime after 2017? Yeah, it's full of hackers. Can't play turf war for 15 minutes without having to sit there and not play the game because someone is hacking and getting away with it because Nintendo doesn't moderate the servers anymore. The Coroika fandom is if you took Splatoon fandom and infected it with My Hero Academia fans. Yeah. Are any of you familiar with Splatoon Florida? It was an old parody account on Twitter that I used to own that got popular SUPER fast. Could not handle it. It spawned nearly 50 clone accounts based on the other 49 united states, and I had even gotten impersonation accounts pretending to be me and saying really, really awful things. This paired with the queerphobia I faced and hatemail in general stacked on top of my mother having multiple strokes and almost dying at the time, pushed me over the edge, and I deleted SplatoonFL after someone told me that they hoped my mother had another stroke and died. Now, I feel like shit for name dropping people in my vent, as it's been awhile since most of this garbage has happened and I don't want to seem petty, plus this isn't intended to be a callout post. But I really do feel the need to let this shit out of my system, and frankly I'm tired of watching these people be appreciated while remembering what they've done to me, small and insignificant or not.

Theecorner, AKA Danniee, banned me from their Discord server after I loudly expressed distaste for jokes being made about Dream, as I was one of Dream's victims and felt very uncomfortable bringing him up. Keep in mind that insinuated that I did not enjoy the conversation multiple times.

Pufuu had made a Twitter post with a screenshot of our DMs. I was irritated that he had kept making fake Splatoon leaks with zero indication of them being concepts, and he thought that was wrong. A couple Tweets before this, ironically, he boasted about getting another annoying fake leaker to block him.

Caitlin Koi had acted aggressive towards me after I expressed concern for her after a seizure which, her seizures are very much real and very dangerous, though I should mention she also uses them as an excuse to be an asshole and guilt trip people.

Vaqeii. Fuck you. (He has very few actual fans, I just wanted to express my hatred towards that fucking slime since he's also one of the Splatubers who had traumatized me.)

I'd like to restate that I don't regret my time in the community one bit. I love it here for the most part. It's just gotten far too much, and I'm. Frankly a little bit done and ready to move on. I'll try to keep strong and stay for a bit so I can enjoy the rest of Splatoon 3's update cycle with my friends and the people I enjoy being around. After that though, unless something happens to change my mind, I'll be gone after that.

Knowing the current state of the Splatoon community, I wouldn't be surprised if I started getting harassed again for this post. Hell, wouldn't it be hilarious if THIS vent post got screenshotted and edited to be about Roller Coaster Tycoon, to? Yeah, that was a thing that happened. No, I haven't forgotten about that. You know who you are. Real fucking proud of you, I am.

[applescabs]

tagged by @phoenixfangs yayyaa get ready for paragraph assault. it's vacation so I'm watching lots of shit.

reading: oof. lots and lots of things. plenty of ongoing mangas (i mostly follow by the volume) most notably I'm almost done w Homunculus (2 vol left) and King in Limbo's last omnibus is dropping on tuesday (i preordered it) so im excited for that! ig I'm also playing through slow damage rn, which is mostly a visual novel, but it has more gameplay than the usual nc visnov. its a mystery, which im always a fan of.

currently watching: 4 things w my brother; -boku no hero season 7. yes, season 7. yes, I still like this series, in fact I think it's really good and it's kinda funny to me how there's so many joke posts going around (made by people who havent even seen it) about it being shit. it airs on saturdays but we usually watch it on sundays (because that was more convenient last season and it sorta stuck) -isekai suicide squad. its entertaining/interesting enough and has some good animation sometimes. it airs on thursdays so we literally just watched the newest one. i like clayface n deadshot in this one. -blue lock. i went to the Nagi movie w another friend and then managed to convince Finn to watch the show with me. he's not a sports anime guy (this is his first) so we'll see how it goes, lmao. we're trying to watch s1 before s2 drops in october, but we're keeping it a weekly thing, watching it alongside new releases. -jojo part 3 ova. we watch this one sporadically since the episodes are longer than the standard nowadays, so he's not always in the mood. the music in this one was made by one guy with his midi soundboard, but I love the vibe of the whole thing, very different from david prod p3. I'm also watching 4 things myself; -Cowboy Bebop. constantly in awe of how good it looks. the fine details on the ships and weapons... augh. its making me want to check out more 90s animes. i'm also a big fan of how it does its storytelling, its got good visual language and utilises "show dont tell" well. i exclusively watch this one on the tv instead of my laptop, its too good for the laptop. -Shuumatsu Train. one that i didnt finish last season that i decided to pick back up, since its strange and interesting enough that it seems like a waste to leave unfinished. -Boueibu s1. im rewatching s1 so that i can immediately watch s2 afterwards (havent seen it yet) -Tasogare Outfocus. what can i say. i always watch anything gay that comes out (not that i always finish them...) i do also like movies and moviemaking so the backdrop interests me as well.

currently craving: im actually like. full af i just had icecream for desert plus an iced coffee afterwards. ig im craving brushing my teeth.

coffee or tea: see thats the thing. cant choose. im choosing both. i like to have both coffee and tea at night, coffee as a nice after dinner treat (mostly iced coffee, if it's hot i usually drink it in the afternoon) and tea late at night when I'm chilling. might make some tea after i stop being so full. also zach i might just have to take you to court over the sweet tea thing. better find a good lawyer.

tagginggg @kuwupikaa @sunflowermews @isleofair @drakefisher @xrd n anyone who feels compelled to do thisss

[msfbgraves]

People need to stop and realize (and accept) that Cobra Kai is not written the way The Bear or Interview With the Vampire are. Those shows are actually written with skill, love, respect and rich understanding of their characters—something which CK dreadfully lacks.

The sad thing is that CK had huge potential in season 1 (minus the way Daniel was written several times because the writers hate him) to be an Emmy award winning and critically acclaimed show. But by the start of season 3, it was over.

I am not, and never have been a Johnny fan by any means, and I’m only here for Daniel, Chozen, and of course Terry (all 3 of whom are fucked up in the writing department already, especially the latter 2). Still, I will be shutting off my brain and watching it. And after it’s over, I will be resuming my Danzen and Silverusso fanfic reading.

But Nonnie, I want to complain about us not getting to have nice things! Now you mention it, was it all Netflix' fault? The dropoff in S3 is abysmal (pun intended). Or did they get, in their own words, 'so far up their ass they could see out of their own mouth'? (Also, why the crass language all the time? I could see Daniel dropping a jersey infused F-bomb once in a while, but his Mama taught him to be respectful and so did Mr. Miyagi...) I still think I am a reluctant fan of CK because there would be a balance between 'this is ludicrous' and 'this is accidently brilliant'. Who knows the last season may show us some of that but I feel like watching Game of Thrones in S5 desperately trying to convince myself it was still good, when we all know the show killed itself with the Red Wedding. The ludicrous reigns, and the brilliant? Um. Case in point: casual Youtubers are going: "Johnny and Daniel at each other's throats again? They should be over this." It's just, why can't we have nice things? If you can't tell good stories without constantly bringing in new villains you're a bad storyteller, and it feels awful when you've felt hoodwinked into something as an audience. I mean, at least Wednesday told me what it was from the first episode - bait with no respect for the characters, so I didn't have to waste my time on it. Now, though, going by the trailer, I'll have to slide off of a cliff with them because of how much I love Daniel LaRusso in spite of what they've done to him. Will I get to see Ralphie in a meaty part ever again? And where is the cutoff line? I pretend that Sherlock ended after series 2. I can't pretend that with CK because where would that leave Terry? And yet S5 is giving it too much credit! It's intermittent reinforcement with ever less reinforcement! Also all the 'teens' are nearing 30. I'm simply disappointed because sometimes you can smell that it could be better than it is if the writers weren't so blinded by their own desire to make the point that bullies deserve more empathy than victims and we should all try to be 50 year old boys with a child's understanding of what deserves status. Because an unkempt drunk who thinks of no one but himself and acts like a fifteen year old boy is superior to a family man who likes girl things, like fancy food and manners and not pissing on people's cars. And oh yeah, all people from Asia are magic. They can't simply be capable, they have to be exotic.

I think we deserve to complain about that.

[mania-sama]

Hello, just found your blog and I love your posts. Thanks for sharing them.

When I first saw your blog, I thought it will be about classical books like Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, etc (sorry for my mistake). I'm new in anime/manga (about last 6 years), before that since my school days, I only read classical books.....So not young in age but young in fandom :D

Are those seven are your fav media : BSD, JJK, Genshin Impact, AFTG, Voltron, Demon Slayer, Haikyuu? Can I ask why you love them? What made them special for you?

P.s

Are you excited for the Haikyuu movie, new season of Demon Slayer, and new spin off for AFTG?

Thanks 🌻

Thank you for sending in another request!! I smiled wide when I saw that sunflower 🌻

I completely understand where you’re coming from. The A Tale of Two Cities is sure to through anyone off. Sorry!! I mainly use this blog to post my ramblings and creative projects that I can’t really put anywhere else, plus a few one shots. I might transfer more of my one-shots to here from Ao3, but I simply haven’t gotten around to it.

Love to hear that you love the classics, though!! I wish I had the patience to read more than I have already. I’m an extremely slow reader, so it makes it difficult to get through classics (even though I love them dearly). For anime/manga, I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan myself. Not that I don’t enjoy it, but I don’t go out of my way to read or watch something in that genre because it’s in that genre. I watch or read anything that may pique my interest, regardless of the format, be it on Youtube, Hulu, Crunchyroll, etc. I haven’t really even seen many animanga myself, to be honest.

I wouldn’t say the seven that you listed are my favorite media, they are just the ones that I have written fanfiction/analyses about and posted it on here. I use that list as a masterlist guide for people to find my meaningful posts easier! So, not my favorite, just whats available to peruse on my account. As for my actual favorite… it’s hard to say. I don’t think I have seven I can list off the top of my head, but I do have some favorites in general.

Interestingly, for most of my “favorites”, I have never written a fanfiction for, nor do I read many fanfics for (with the exception of a couple of favorites). I don’t know why this is. Maybe because I find the original story too good to be expanded upon? I can’t say for certain.

A Silent Voice is easily favorite movie. It’s also my favorite anime, if you don’t require the anime to be a series. I haven’t watched any movie better, animated or otherwise, and I’m not sure I ever will. The characters are all so beautifully human, who say and do the wrong things, who are awful to each other, but who also do kind things, who develop, who change, even as others stay the same. Not to mention that the animation itself is beautiful. I could go on and on about this movie; I cry every time I watch it. I’d say it’s my favorite piece of media in general. Everything else falls behind it. Nothing can top it (at least not yet). Fun fact, if you didn’t already know: the English voice actor for Shouko, the main female lead, is actually deaf. Wonderful voice casting as well, just to top things off.

Bungou Stray Dogs is my favorite manga as of right now. I love it for many of the same reasons I love A Silent Voice; the characters are horribly human and complex, despite their inhuman abilities. Each character is interesting and unique, and while I do have gripes with the main storytelling, Asagiri’s Bungou Stray Dogs: BEAST really makes up for it. All of the character designs are also very unique and thought-out. Each character and their design leaves me spiraling as I think and analyze. It really triggers the autism LMAO.

Child of Light is my favorite video game. While I do have the most hours logged into Genshin Impact (and it is a close second in terms of favorites), Child of Light is simply one of those games that I can never forget. I have a lot of good childhood memories tied with it. I also completed the entire thing in one sitting in about 10 hours, which is the first and probably last time I ever speed-run a video game (speed-run is used loosely here because I am not “speedy” in any sense of the word). Anyway, Child of Light is a very beautiful game both in visuals (with its watercolor game design) and music (one of the best soundtracks in any game, in my opinion). The language in the game is also very unique — every character speaks in a rhyming pattern, all except the Jester character, who you would THINK would speak in rhymes but fails miserably every time. Each character is as fantastical as the next, ranging from a water droplet to a mouse. I wish everyone would play this game, because it’s so fun and so beautiful.

The Grishaverse is my favorite book series, though there are multiple series within the universe. I just don’t have a favorite (definitely not the Grisha Trilogy though 😭). Although it’s been a while since I’ve read the books, I seriously couldn’t put them down when I was reading them. They are a perfect blend of fantasy and realism, with believable characters and powers. While the OG series is genuinely not good in my opinion, the Six of Crows and King of Scars Duologies are actual masterpieces. Six of Crows is full of action, intensity, and found family, while King of Scars balances it out with political intrigue. Very, very well written and well done book series in plot, character, and setting. The TV show is a crime against the books, honestly, but it’s okay, Just read the books, they are better.

Merlin is my favorite TV show. I actually really love watching medieval settings. Not as much reading (not that I don’t like them in books, I just don’t search them out for the purpose of being medieval), but I love to watch them. I like admiring the old settings, buildings, clothes, and lifestyles that are being presented. I also love Arthurian retellings, so Merlin kind of hits the spot. I don’t have as many good reasons for loving this series, I just do 😭. Best (b)romance of the century. I did cry at the end when I watched it. Also, thank you to the Merlin fandom for reaching me what a good fanfiction is supposed to look like.

That’s all I can think of. I don’t really have a favorite individual book, classic or otherwise. I think that’s kind of impossible for me. I’ve read many great series, and I assume I will read a great many more to come.

I’m not sure if I’ll watch the Haikyuu movie. It’s been a long time since I’ve watched the anime, but if I come across it and I can watch it for free, then I’d be down honestly. I have been keeping up with Demon Slayer, with plans to read the manga maybe, so I am pretty excited for the new season!! And don’t get me started on the new All for the Game book!! I need it in my hands right now.

Thank you so much for asking!! I love talking about my favorite medias lol

[dracimexidae]

I was tagged by @sirtadcooper - thank you!! 😃

Tag someone you want to know AND/OR some of your besties.

(mandatory under the cut because I'm an idiot who can't keep it short to save her life 😅)

Favourite colour: this is an easy one, I'm in an established relationship and still madly in love after so many years with practically every shade of violet/purple that exists! 💜 Maybe I'm slightly more drawn to colder hues, but I'm not really that picky when it comes to this family of colours!

(This is a picture of a portion of wall in my bedroom I have asked to be painted with this shade of violet - which is a bit darker in reality but y' know, artificial light, that corner is way too dark to photograph otherwise... the whole room has various hues of purple scattered around: curtains, decorations, blankets, pillows... here's a special appearance of my beautiful boat lamp! ⛵💕)

Last song: thanks to a suggestion from Youtube, which probably hates me, because I'm still recovering from a flu and generally weak so it would be wise to avoid any kind of unneccessary emotional outburst:

Not technically a song, but still... I'm not sure if I was crying while watching this because I haven't had the chance to listen to them live yet, since they made a European tour twice but never touched my country and I couldn't travel abroad to see them, or because of... whatever it is that is going on with this performance and these artists, "epicness" to me barely covers it, I know I'm exaggerating but that's how much I love Two Steps From Hell, what can I say... In any case here I am being even more of a mess than I already am, you'd think I have had enough of using handkerchiefs these days! 😭❤️‍🔥

Last movie: I think it was Imagine me & you, which I finally watched after seeing a lot about it here (unpopular opinion no one asked for, I thought I would have enjoyed it more... ☹️)... It was either that or Bros (which I actually enjoyed it more than I expected instead 😁), at the moment I don't remember exactly which came last...

Currently watching: Fellow Travelers as for new shows (fuck me, seriously, what am I doing to myself 😭 - I'm crying quite a bit in this post 😅), rewatching Blackadder after having finished A bit of Fry and Laurie 😆, and sports as well, mainly tennis, padel and basketball atm!

Other stuff I watched this year: Oh my, I didn't watch an awful lot of things, but I'll surely forget something - I'm terrible remembering this kind of stuff (if only it was just these things 😅)! Let's see, in no particular order, I can recall Minx (so far this year the most pleasant surprise in terms of TV series I've watched for the first time, silly [affectionate] little show), Wednesday (it was a bit meh for me, not sure if I'll watch next season), Red, white & royal blue (likely one of my favourite movies this year ❤️... yeah, it's not certainly a big deal of a movie ofc and I'm not even a rom com gal, especially for those Hallmark style movies, like this kinda is, but idk, it was cute and warm and brought good feelings and probably I watched it in the right moment for me, or one on which I just needed good vibes, what can I say), Call me by your name (even more than watching the movie reading the book was... quite an experience - I'm not saying it an entirely bad way, but I'm still so utterly confused about my feelings about this novel), What's love, The kissing booth (don't ask me about this one, the things I do to watch an actor I like 😅 - there's a whole trilogy of it but I only watched the two movies that had in the cast the actor I was interested in, really can't be bothered to do more than that, it was enough suffering I endured 🤣), Only murders in the building, The witcher, National treasure: edge of history (I don't care what anyone says, this show deserved at least another season, it was far from perfect but there has been way worse that still sticks around, and I'm speaking as a fan of the movies foremost, especially the first one, which is one of my comfort movies, as absurd and silly as it is 😊), Shadow and bone, The witcher (as for these, I'll probably keep watching an eventual next season only for some of the cast, because both were an utter disappointment and I wouldn't bother continuing otherwise), let's see, what else, oh yeah, Smiley (this was another nice show tbh, and in this case I could also train my ear a bit on the language since it's in Spanish and I'm trying to learn and improve it 😝) and two other Spanish shows (guilty again for watching mainly for an actor I wanted to see ah ehm), Merlì/Merlì: Sapere Aude and Alguien tiene que morir, and Érase una vez… pero ya no, all pretty much forgettable... I don't know what else, probably there is something more, but I'm making it lenghty already, I should stop anyway!

Shows I dropped this year/didn’t finish: damn, I should make a sheet about tv/movies as I do with books, it's honestly hard remembering what I watched or dropped! I can recall not going through the second episode of Warrior nun: again, another show I was curious about having seen things here on Tumblr, but I didn't feel it after the first episode, I'm not even sure exactly why - it's possible I'll try again someday, it's way too early to have an opinion after only one episode! I also didn't finish Lockwood & co., this one wasn't really for me tbh... I'm not even mentioning something I've been watching only and exclusively because it's a sort of joke I have with a friend of mine... All right, I'll say, it's High School Musical: The musical - the series 😅 Truth is, my friend likes the movies and low key also the series, whereas I hate them all, and she knows they piss me off and she has fun hearing my comments and teasing me about it... I have a bit less fun submitting myself to this "torture" but whatever! 🤣 I try to watch the series when I'm particularly willing to waste my time, because the only reason I'm doing it is to have a laugh with said friend, anyway rn I'm at the last season and it's so bad, sooooooo bad (mind you, meaning it's just not for me, I'm likely too old and too millennial to watch this kind of shows anymore), I don't know how I am supposed to endure any more of it lol!! I guess at some point I'll force myself to finish it to end my suffering and hoping my friend and I will finally close this questionable chapter of our watching experience, but damn it's hard! 😝 As for shows of which I completed a season but didn't watch the next, I could say one was Abbott Elementary: pretty bummed about it because it was actually cute and was enjoying it, I finished the first season when the second didn't air yet and when it did, I had moved on and lost interest a bit and wasn't in the mood to continue my watching (happens to me a lot)... I think at some point I will resume this one, just have to find the right inspiration! 😛 (I'm rather complicated and picky about my watching/reading experience in general, ops) And I have to mention as well, even if it will surely grant me some disapproval from the person who tagged me in this game 😆, I couldn't pick up Our flag means death after the first season as well, and for now I don't think I will resume it: I didn't really feel this show, I don't know what to say... 🤷 Should I mention that I also tried rewatching The Terror but I was like "oh hell no!" after the first episode?! 😅 In my defense I watched it at night, and the show is A LOT and nearly killed me the first time, yeah ok I'm making excuses but I have to be in a certain state of mind to watch certain things and The Terror is one of those cases - I already mentioned I'm complicated with my watching experience, yes?! 😜 Anyway it was a rewatch so it shouldn't count sssshhhh 🤫😁

Currently reading: more like, the books I've put on hold atm, ouch! True that this year, especially in the first half, I've read way more than I expected and definitely way more than I usually do, but that's not an excuse to make a pause - still, I'm realizing that it's been few weeks since I've picked up my readings! Anyway, what I've been reading is Mercanti avventurieri by Attilio Brilli, which collects stories about merchants and their travels and trades through the centuries; Columbus by Lawrence Bergreen, the account of Cristoforo Colombo's voyages in America - not happy enough of ending up horrified and outraged by the chronicle of Magellano's expedition (by the story and events, not the author's writing, which I actually appreciated a lot), I decided to educate myself more about another so called "pioneer" who thanks to his hubris committed terrible atrocities in the name of "progress" and "religion" and "civilization" and so on 😡 , since the little knowledge I have about Colombo comes mainly from my years at school... Despite the fact that my respect for this man is nowhere to be seen, I'm still somehow fascinated by the narration of sea voyages, which in the end are actually my main interest when reading this kind of stories; Atlante delle fortune di mare di Cyril Hofstein, an account of tales about (mis)fortunes at sea, involving incidents, lost treasures, mysterious events, discoveries, disappearances, disasters and so forth - btw, in the book there is this particular chapter:

The disappearance of the Erebus and Terror is the title - the real story is terrifying enough even without creating a fictional horror show inspired by it jfc!

And lastly, this is definitely the less "serious" reading, The Lawrence Browne affair by Cat Sebastian, one of my first attempts at reading "proper" (meaning they're not fanfictions, not that I don't consider those "proper" literature, on the contrary many of them are written far better than some published books I've read, so yeah, I should say "published" instead) erotic novels lmao 😝 This was a whim really, I felt I wanted to read something light, "wicked" and not to be taken seriously (it also was probably some sort of "knee-jerk reaction" to many of the queer books I read this year, which were sad, depressing and/or tragic 😔)! Romance novels are not really my jam in general, but every once in a while they don't hurt, since I'm doing it just for fun! This one is actually the second book of a trilogy, more disappointing than the first book I have to say, which was more "juicy" and entertaining! 😁

Currently listening to: ah, this is a tough one to pinpoint, because lately my Spotify is on shuffle most of the time (I have a folder literally called "Miscellanea" that keeps a bit of everything, it's a glorious mess lol), and my music preferences are rather varied... Let's say that if I have to consciously choose something at the moment, there would certainly be Poets of the Fall, Gaelic Storm, The Irish Rovers, Santiano (in general celtic folk/punk songs, especially if inspired by sea and sailors stories- those are good for all seasons 🥰), Two Steps From Hell, J2 and "epic music" in general, and dance-pop music from '70 to '00, original or remixes, especially when I work out in the last case!

Currently working on: do crosswords count? It's my newest pursuit lol 😆 Because otherwise I'm afraid I'm not working on anything in particular at the moment (and I should start, since I had a couple of ideas for gifts for Christmas that alas, have to be handcrafted in order to be created, and if I want to have them done I am the one who must work on them, ugh can you believe it, outrageous, what has the world come to 😂)... I occasionally do a bit of calligraphy, create costume jewellery or create little macramè things, again usually trinkets but this summer I bought thicker yarns so I could have a go at something a little bigger like coin purses, wallets and little bags, and all in all it didn't go that bad:

The problem is, at least with the purses, that with these dimensions I can't fit half the things I usually bring with me when I go out because "you never know what might happen I might need this thing", so these purses were more like first tries and will likely not be used by me very much because they are too small for my necessities! 😅 In any case, I had to put this activity on hold for a bit because I lacked some time to dedicate myself to it!

Oh, wait, does trying to repair a porcelain ornament that fell on the floor (not because of me, I want to clarify, for once that I don't accidentally bump into stuff and make a mess - which happens more often than I'd like 😅) count? Hardly but whatever, anyway it's going to be complicated to glue the pieces back, some have shattered in such tiny fragments, sigh...

Current obsession: I'm almost shocked to report that at the current moment no particular obsession has consumed my every waking hour 🤣 I mean, even the flame of padel, which I've been following almost religiously all year, has dimmed a little, but it is the end of the season/year, everyone is tired and so am I apparently, rooting for couples who almost never have significant results (story of my life lol), so I guess I'm recharging the batteries for another round of hopeless cheer next year, yay! 🥳 For the rest, in terms of media I believe there is nothing of significance to report in terms of proper "obsession" for the time being, so yeah, that's it 😌 (the times of Black Sails or even Agents of SHIELD are far behind me, I miss being that "obsessed" tbh ☹️)

Tagging @thelifeinmyshadesofgrey , @whitestnoise , @lives-ruined-and-bloodshed, @valentinaonthemoon , @mednay , @tirairgid (ofc if you want to and haven't done it before) and whoever wants to give it a go really!