#bad guy my boss ep 1

[hughungrybear]

I was with people when they said this series looks like the gay version of "What's Wrong with Secretary Kim?" until I saw this scene.

After that, it's all "WTF??? 😱😱😱" from me 😂😂😂😂

[pointlesscandies]

Bad Guy My Boss Ep. 1

[mysterygrl20]

Bad Guy My Boss | Ep 1

[blorbingqls]

Karan and Achi beyond the mask

okay, so i am not okay from the last episode of Cherry Magic Thailand. i personally relate to Karan and Achi a lot, and i felt like writing something on this.

so, in ep 1, we saw Karan to be this perfect guy in the office: winning the awards, getting better oppurtunities and being a great cheerleader for everyone. but, we saw the "mask" shatter when Achi heard his thoughts.

our thoughts, which are so personal in real life and usually are so restricted to ourselves - its hard to imagine what they might get out of it. and, the fact that Karan, while being so perfect, is so mysterious and private of his feelings, really hits hard when you see him internally squealing over being so close to his crush. And, that is why, his crush made us go:

(but in a relatable sort of way...)

As we moved on from episode to episode, we are seeing the said mask get shatter every moment or as shrek goes:

and we first see that reflect once we understand how Karan feels about having those feelings for Achi. which he thinks is beyond shameful. but isn't love something we are told to cherish so fiercely? and thats where i related it with my initial feelings of being queer. societally, we have been told us much on not being gay that when you actually do feel it, it feels guilty. it feels wrong to have these feelings; its a shame to have them because its only just you who has it. (but it is not like that)

Karan, in his whole life, has only been perceived as a mask. a mask of good looks who somewhat can do the job. he's perfect, mysterious and flawless. but, unknowingly, he's very sad and tired of it. so much so that he was scared for Achi to discover that he reads manga. his life, beyond his office is comparatively lonelier.

then the incident happened. his first year of working with the company: in a meeting with his seniors to learn all about the trade. he has prepared everything, he did the research and practiced what to speak in front of the client, only for his boss to reduce him to "the junior who has good looks."

Achi noticed that and later, was the only one who saw beyond the mask at his lowest. Achi said things which made sense to him, because he understands how bad it is be reduced to that mask because Achi goes through that low self esteem every day. however his kindness doesn't let him get it to others around him. for him, he is okay to be behind the scenes, as along it makes him feel happy.

cheering up Karan wasn't something Achi did in order to get something out of Karan. he only did it because he wanted Karan to feel better. and Karan saw that.

to like someone who sees you beyond what anyone is willing to show to the outside world and doesn't demean for it, means a lot to someone like Karan. and that's why, Karan's small acts of care for Achi made sense. because Achi's small acts of kindness towards the office is so similar to what Karan does for Achi. that's why, even though Achi doesn't believe it yet, but, Karan and Achi are similar in a lot more ways than he thinks.

so when Karan gets so close to Achi, he starts feeling so so special. initially, he was so happy with this small acts, it would make his day when he could just interact with Achi. but as Karan and Achi got to know each other more, with Karan's feelings out there for Achi to know, Karan also started feeling so special to Achi, even though the uncomfort lingered around.

with Achi's mask of being the ordinary, clumsy guy as the world sees him, his esteem made him fear the love Karan gave him, as he got closer to him. but he didn't understand how his ideas of buffers actually left Karan feeling so unacknowledged of his place in Achi's life all of a sudden.

so even if Achi knew Karan's feelings way before than Karan expressed it to him, he still didn't know what to say 'cause his heart couldn't reassure him of the genuinity of the feelings he felt for Karan or Karan's feelings for him.

with that post it note, Achi figured out the sincerity of Karan's love.

and for me, that is both of them reaching out beyond their masks and come out of their comfort zones to embrace the said love.

[silviakundera]

Snowfall watch comments backlog, ep 7-8

Ep 7

me trying to sight-read the actual drama name: 冰雪谣 ..ice...snow... FUCK. FUCK. that's the language radical, right? um. 😭 hi google translate, help me yet again por favor.

vocab so tiny I always know like 1.5 characters in a drama name and it gets me nowhere

"My feelings for you make it impossible for me to forget you. I feel restless and cannot bear you might disappear from the world."

Loser Li. bruh.

We pause this gay programming for a check-in on doctor bestie and blind girl

Doctor bestie is not at all pressed. Because he's mildly evil? or he simply can't imagine this loser as a threat? or.... cause he really hopes that Shen Zhiheng will break and eat him, thus chilling the fuck out? 🤔

Blind girl says goodbye to her dad, who is worthless as a parent but clearly succeeded in business with such brilliant insights as: when mysterious animal attacks besiege your town, LEAVE. IMMEDIATELY.

I like that both her parents are different aspects of terrible. The dad isn't a 1 dimensional monster, he just is shallow & selfish. Only willing to do the bare minimum for her, as she doesn't bring him value.

There are peaceful protestors trying to get the protagonist released, so in the grand tradition of corrupt institutions everywhere, Team Warlord turn it into a riot

Doctor Bestie is now concerned and getting involved, going to rich nepo baby for help. Not a bad plan. He's calling Zhiheng not just a friend, but like his closest family. 👀👀

"Mr Shen, I've come to rescue you."

Blind girl makes the most badass move, to falsely accuse him of assault in order to get close enough to give him strength by kissing him with a bloody mouth. Legitimately clever!!!!

Superintendent Chi has our vamp released, I presume due to the press and power brokers in Xia getting involved

Most important: now we're getting the Mu family involved. The 32nd heir of the Mu family 👀

Vamp Daddy Shen Zhiheng and Barely Legal Blind Teen Mi Lan continue checking all boxes of their hurt/comfort trope

Ep 8

Vamp Daddy is taking an ice bath. Because I guess that's a vampire medical treatment now. sounds awful but you do you. Perhaps say something to the blind girl instead of letting her stumble around your bathroom as you sit there naked, though. ??

Nepo baby comes to harass Loser Li but as it pales in comparison to the layers of neurosis in Li's psychosexual fixation on Vamp Daddy: I do not care and you can't make me

Things have become very cute at casa Shen as doctor and teen have invited themselves in. Everyone is having a great time together and Li Man is very satisfied with being bossed around by Vamp Daddy, as long as she gets to fuss over him in return.

Nice scene of Mi Lan with the printing press. Vamp Daddy is getting so cranky about everyone in town knowing she's obviously his girlfriend, when he's the only person who's bothered (including said girl). Let it go, man.

The Mu heir shows up with an entourage giving me TMNT Foot soldiers flashbacks

Can't believe that Vamp Daddy and bestie just feed Mi Lan his blood to see what happens, hiding round the corner to spy on the side effects GUYS. THIS IS HUMAN EXPERIMENTATION ON YOUR GF. asdfghjk

I do appreciate that when he explains simply that vamp blood is not a good cure for her blindness, she actually just accepts his expert opinion and doesn't stubbornly run around trying to do dumb shit. I have a pet peeve about characters who have no knowledge about something but won't listen to the people with actual expertise, and persist in stubbornly chasing after their idea. just to cause plot annoyances.

She's 18 but more mature than some 30 year old characters.

The Mu foot soliders demo their strange shadow powers. Many boxes died this day. RIP.

Again Mi Lan proves to be very sensible: "What would you write?" "If I were to write the ending, I don't think I'll die." She would like her & her boyfriend to survive together, thanks. I feel u, girl.

[7thingsnbeings]

Full Moon episode - takes and feelings

Hello everyone.

Last post I announced that I will be making a post about Helluva Boss' new episode 'Full Moon' where I'll state my own feelings, takes and probably add some of my own theories as to what comes next afterwards. And of course that I will be spoiling the WHOLE thing. So for those who haven't seen an episode, please go watch it before reading this whole text.

CW: Spoilers ahead

... and a very looooong text

First things first, HOLY SHIT! WASN'T THAT THE BIGGEST TRIP OF EVERYTHING I HAVE SEEN AND FELT IN JUST ONE ENTIRE EPISODE?! I mean, it wasn't extremely bad as I had thought it would be, but it still left me speechless and shocked throughout some of the scenes which I'll get to later. And the ending, oh boy I can't wait to get to that.

I haven't honestly expected for Stolitz duet to come so soon in the first few minutes. I mean I was already aware of it, but still. It was great though, and kind of funny, especially Blitz's lines and the transition where they kind of censor (but also not) the...intimacy that they usually do once a month. Not to mention how both of them are kind of nervous during the duet. Dammit, they're nervous wrecks made for each other XD.

Then we have the unexpected guests of the party. Agents D.H.O.R.K.S. and CHERUBS. I have not expected them to appear this early in the show. I mean, I have heard a theory on Twitter that the CHERUBS would appear, managing to steal the grimoire and such. I honestly thought they would show up in 'Mastermind', which makes me wonder...whats going to happen there now that those characters have already appeared? Would they appear again? Next time, actually managing to open a big enough portal to Hell, creating further conflicts in the future?

CHERUBS were interesting to me. The way they redeem mortals at the beginning, spread 'goodness' but also pickpocketing them unnoticed. And the way they differentiate, especially Keenie and Cletus, who had definitely gone south when they had gotten banished from Heaven, while Collin possibly remained the same, still hanging onto his morals, questioning his peers' actions. Based on the interrogation scene, I believe that he'll be the only one to return to Heaven, while the others will likely die or serve their punishment in Hell.

I jumped when Cletus mentioned they were the 'Exorcists' sent from above, because it made me think of the Exterminators from Hazbin Hotel, since both of these shows are from the same Universe. He probably meant something else, but I digress.

And then there are the agents D.H.O.R.K.S. I knew these guys would show up later on, especially since the ending of 'Truth Seekers'. They managed to catch the main cast on video, which would explain why they got such a massive upgrade with their weaponry. The Pope army, the portal to Hell and robotic suits which if you look closely, look close similar to IMP gang, along with Loona furry costume XD. I bet Agent 1 is a furry...

Before I close a part of this ep's main villains, I just wanna point out how innocent CHERUBS are when they spend their time following Blitz in the Lust ring. They think Blitz is buying some kind of weapons to kill mortals on Earth, when in actuality he was just buying some sex stuff for tonight XD. And when they assume Ozzie's is the armoury for demons to go to. Well I mean it could be, but for something else...

It's worth mentioning the rest of the IMP gang. It's good to hear Loona's VA again, I kind of missed it. Along with M&M whom we haven't seen for two episodes.

It was also surprising, but in my take out of nowhere, for them to have a 'deus ex machina' moment with Cherubs in order to protect Blitz. I'm probably looking at this wrongly, since they live in Hell (the place you as a mortal DO NOT want to visit) and safety to them is number 1 priority, especially when Blitz had grimoire with him at that moment. The destroyed buildings and street in Lust might come to awareness to the higher ups, but probably not as much as the ones in 'Mastermind' as I theorised before.

Before I get into big meat of the plater, I cannot forgot to mention the cashiers. Like, WHAT are they supposed to be??? Are they hellborn hybrids, the Goetia, Sinners or something else? Either way, they look cool.

Also Fizz. Not much about him, I like his new outfit and how he helps Blitz with the stuff. Now, I BET that he uses that giant vibrator with Ozzie. Boys like it rough sometimes, don't they?

Finally, the moment we'll all been waiting for. The night of the full moon.

I knew that their last transaction would end painfully. And yet, it was by far the hardest to watch. Blitz's yell was marvellously done and it truly beat to the core. And so did Stolas' last line.

'You folks think you can do this EVERY time that you can just play with our feelings because we're smaller and not as important!!'

'Blitz, I think so highly of you, I didn't realise you think so low of me.'

Words cannot express how I felt when I heard those lines. It's easy to say that I was shocked, mind blown, sad, but honestly it would feel cheap as a result.

I mean...

It's obvious FROM A FAR that the only thing standing in the way between them is lack of communication and misunderstandings. There is NO ONE who can convince me that these two FUCK EACH OTHER for the sake of PLEASURE AND GOD FORSAKEN TRANSACTION.

They LOVE EACH OTHER!

But Blitz is too scared to get hurt again, it ACTUALLY happened to him and Stolas now believes that Blitz doesn't LOVE him, let alone never cared for his feelings!

I may be exaggerating, however this is how I see it now.

Based on the scenes from trailer, I believe Blitz and Stolas would begin their relationship on bad terms after FM, then Stolas would stand up for Blitz in 'Apology Tour' where seems Verosica is hosting 'Blitz Sucks' concert and Blitz, covered in stained fabric all heartbroken, looks up at Stolas and realises his true feelings for him.

That's just a theory, we'll see what an 'Apology Tour' has for us this June.

Ooof, I wrote so much here. Might be my longest post I have ever written. I probably went into whole summary of the ep I didn't focus enough on takes, critical thinking etc. I nearly have none, because I enjoyed FM at most, so I have no prejudice whatsoever. I'm also tired of writing as you can see.

So in conclusion, 'Full Moon' was worth the wait. The outcome might have been predictable, but it still hurt. It did surprise us with few things, and for now, we can only contemplate as to what's to come next for Helluva Boss story.

Thank you for reading my long ass post.

And also thanks to Vivzie and Spindle Horse crew for FINALLY giving us 'Full Moon'.

I, as always, am sending kudos and look forward for their newer work in future. <3

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - No Thoughts Only Bed Friends

March 2023 Wk 3

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Bed Friend (Sat YT, GaGa & iQIYI uncut) ep 5 of 8 - Consent King is great. The nail clipping injury thing was absurd. I love King’s admission that he’s attracted to Uea’s cool aloof meanness. Also I like that office politics and nepotism have come in to play, this is an office romance after all. King’s “back the fuck off” expression is one of the best. And then there are bits of the friendship/work dynamics that are laugh out loud funny. This is a great show. 

A Boss and a Babe (Fri YouTube) ep 3 of 12 - I honestly can’t decide about the babe character. Do I like him or is he too much an idiot? There is a way to play innocence where it’s cheeky not frustrating, but this is edging on frustrating. Mr Boss is a hard core flirt. What is this I feel? Just… old fashioned trope exhaustion. I HATE the younger brother character but love the home family. All in all, this show still makes me smile, not sure why, but it keeps me watching.  

Tin Tam Jai (Tues Gaga & iQIYI) ep 3 of 12 - Continues to be slice of life sweet and somewhat silly. Second lead syndrome strikes... and then vanishes. 

Pastsenger (Thai Weds Gaga) 2 of 12 eps - I just don’t like any of the characters. They’re boring. Also we are back to that old pulp mistake of not matching foundation properly and not blending at the jaw line. Which I find endlessly distracting. I do like that the sunshine idiot time traveller is trying to take care of his dead bestie’s kid and said kid is hella gay for it. 

The Promise (Thai Weds YT) ep 3 of 10 - I’m bored. 

Chains of Heart (Sat iQIYI) ep 5 of 10 - A confession is not an excuse. Do we trust Leu or not? Now a random doctor character has shown up? It feels like we are watching the whole thing out of sequence, not just the flashbacks but as if the story hasn’t been edited together properly. what is going on? 

Our Winter (Thai & Korea YT & TikTok under ThaiMiniSeries) ep 12-13 of 14 - whatever. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Our Dating Sim (Korea Thurs Viki) eps 3-4 of 8 - I can’t. It’s so good. They’re so good... and so bad at flirting. And SO into each other. The saddest part of my week is reading the phrase “the next episode will not be available for 7 days.”

All the Liquors (Korea Thurs Gaga & Viki) eps 5-6 of 8 - That’s it, that’s the reason? The chef is allergic to alcohol? I don’t understand, why such a big deal? What happened to that plot point? Why did he change his mind? OK, I guess that is the end of that conflict? Now we’re in it just for a cute romcom? Fine. Who needs story structure? Especially when they have a date that is all about tasting local food and baby boy has a cute striped sweater with extra long flappity-flappy sleeves. The credit extras sequence was GREAT! I found the two gay boys expressions over the hets flirting = one if the most relatable moments in BL cinematic history.  

Unintentional Love Story (Korea Fri iQIYI) 1-2 of 10- Ji Won Young is intent on winning over the heart of Yoon Tae Joon as he's the boss's favorite artist. Plot: evil corporation is evil, artist is DEEP and not evil. Opens with a wrongful termination, debt issues, bird poop, & broken plate = our poor sunshine cutie can’t catch a break. Gongchan (maknae of B1A4) is GREAT in this role. Like really good. The tsundere ceramicist better be in hiding for a DAMN good reason. I don’t wan’t to be in another Liquors sitch. Meanwhile: “just a little kabedon to see if you’re gay“ really? That’s your excuse? Love the cafe owner & combative foodie romance boys, side dish syndrome coming on strong already. (The guy playing the muscled waiter is the lead from You Make Me Dance). [FYI I had to search on Google to find it on iqiyi, for some reason they weren’t listing the first 2 eps internally: Ep 1, Ep 2]

A Shoulder to Cry On (Korea Tues Viki & Gaga) eps 1-2 of 7 - Adaptation of Dongmul's manwha, high school set, features a teasing confident gay, and a rich/poor pairing. Star idols Jaehan & Yechan BOTH from OMEGA X, a first for the industry. AND..... I don’t like it. Very bully romance, without the mature teasing of Semantic Error or the kinky hotness of My Beautiful Man. I HATE outing with false accusations (implication = to be gay is evil), aided and abetted by adults. (It’s as close to a trigger as I get.) It makes for an unforgivable bad-boy character. Lots of the “crash into me“ trope. (Who do they think they are? Taiwan?) I’ll keep watching but I’m not happy about it, and I don’t see how they can possibly redeem the bad boy - tragic past or no. Now that he switched to flirting the dynamic is better, but I will never trust him. 

Jack o’Frost (Japan Fri GaGa) ep 5 of 6 - Honestly? Perhaps their relationship should end. Why do I care? They seem ill suited. 

It’s Airing But ...

Love Syndrome (Thai Sat WeTV) stopped at ep 2 of 12 - I’m just not into any aspect of it (except Lee Long Shi and I can watch him in Tin Tem Jai) - saving to binge if the end is solid.

Blue Sky Complex (Japan ???) 5 eps for VR - Kei Ichikawa's manga is getting a JBL adaptation. Weird distribution though, it started Feb 27 sequentially on 360 Channel (SHOCHIKUch) a VR video distribution service. Will inter-fans ever get to see this, and if it’s filmed for VR will it adapt without being overly dark and fuzzy? I have questions. But as usual, you do you Japan and we will wait (im)patiently to see if you remember the rest of the world exists. This is my preferred kind of live action yaoi, so fingers crossed.

Boyband (Thai) ep 2 of 10 - Stopped airing on YouTube, and only available in Thailand & Japan. Not sure if they’re working a distribution deal or just fucking with us.

Cafe In Love (Thai ???) 10 eps on Ch3+ - Thai pulp, about trying to save a coffee shop. FairyGodBLer came through for me, but I’m collecting to binge just in case. It’s my new policy with the grey stuff.

Destiny Seeker (Tues WeTV Thailand) 10 eps - it’s not on any WeTV I can get ahold of. Bad Buddy the pulp rebirth meets Japanese handsome host club action. Same as above.

Heesu In Class 2 (Korea Thurs unknown, I check Viki Gaga iQIYI & WeTV nada) - A gay(er) version of Sex Education. I’m still not sure this one is actually happening.

In case you missed it

I’m putting this here because I missed it: Ready?

Laos produced their version of Boys Over Flowers called Oh My 4. It is... not very good BUT 2 of the F4 have a BL arc with each other!!! (The bad boy and the musician.) You know I’ve been wanting the all gay BoF for YEARS but this is as close as we’ve gotten. Don’t ask, I have no idea how to get it all. But some of it is on YT. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Liquors & Jack both end. 

Tomorrow: Future (Thai Sun YouTube & Gaga) ep 1 of 5 - Based on a y-novel by Faddest (En of Love) about an engineering student and a dentist. We can expect this one to be soft, it’s from the 21 Day Theory people.

3/22: Make a Wish (Thai Weds YouTube) from WaGa Creative staring Fluke Natouch (OhmFluke UWMA etc...) & Judo (The Miracle Of Teddy Bear) in a medical-fantasy. It seems to be a light-hearted romance with a comedic flair. About a doctor who sees ghosts and a deity who resides in a Bodhi tree that earns merits whenever he fulfills a wish based on a y-novel by Sammon (Manner of Death, Triage). 

Full list of upcoming in March 2023 is here.

2023 forthcoming BL master post. (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED)

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENT

Definitely Top 10 MINE glares (Bed Friend). 

(last week)

Current Kpop earworm? Team B cover of Dang Dang Dang. Look the tiny corner of my heart not occupied by BL is entire taken over by Peak Time. 

[uninformedartist]

So a review on Helluva boss So2 ep 6

Ok so gonna break this review down into positives and negatives with my additional thoughts.

Positives:

So always start off with this, big props and love to the animation team we know know and see your struggle working under Vivienne and animating her over-complicated designs. Props to the BG team really stunning backgrounds, was actually a bit over the top for me (Ozzie's palace and especially the dildo factory shit was moving way too fast) but did pause to have a look at the BGs it is really pretty, the shit pacing made everything a visual blur tho.

VA work stunning love always a joy to hear Alex and James in any VA work tho Fizz's song was eyyy not the best but don't blame Alex it was a shittly written song in general especially when it went to the heavy metal part, overstimulating af and again shit pacing during the song and the flashing visuals gave me a headache. Striker's new VA, Ed's voice really grew on me he should've been Striker in the 1st place because I know for a fact Norman couldn't reprise his role for future episodes.

I loved Ozzie and Fizz's relationship especially the end scene where you can see Ozzie development or got hold of the best technology to give Fizz functional limbs, was a tender scene their relationship and interactions made me smile. I'll give Viv 1 ty for not fucking up their relationship, ty Viv (I can be nice to her :). Tho 1 scene that bothered me... the 12 sec Ozzie dong scene 💀 my soul it was just so jarring especially with the fast pacing. Felt like a race car coming to an immediate stop then speeding off again. Would've like the scene replaced with Fizz telling Bliz something nice about Ozzie, why Fizz likes him. I'm tired of queer couples/pairings in this show describing their partner in 2 ways, 1. how good they are in bed or 2. they got x anatomy that's amazing. But its Viv writing this ep, sigh her and her damn middle school sex jokes I'll let it slide.

Now negatives:

I said it before I'll say it for all eternity, the pacing was dogshit bad oh my soul wtf... Viv, Adam whoever I know you guys don't listen to criticism but if any criticism you take fix your damn pacing 😑. I had to pause multiple times just to see what has happening, what was said, what this paper/sign etc said. It was bad, and that paired with the overdetailed BGs and character designs, for the 1st time ever I got overstimulted from a HB ep and had to take a 5 min break to rest my eyes (was by Fizz's song). Its a noisey spinning kaleidoscope this ep, so unpleasant and its all pacing. Stay on certain scenes a bit longer and allow the audience to take in the scene before them (that flackback scene) its makes a difference. If you get overwhelmed/overstimlated ect by such visuals I recommend watching the leaked episode its much better in terms of pacing since its mostly storyboards and there is no color, plus its just the VAs talking with no background music and zero to minimal sound effects.

I didn't care for Crimson in this episode, I know he became Viv's favorite 😒 but seeing this fucker back so soon, it wasn't enjoyable, especially since the only reason he's in this ep is for a "big score" 😑. Also I'm tired of this over convenient plots, Fizz so happened to be in the greed ring and so happened to run into Blitz and Striker so happened to be in greed meeting with Crim who need a man for a "big score" AND SO HAPPENED Striker sees Fizz/Blitz fighting outside the window 🙃. Its all too convenient for me it takes me out and I then think how the plot coming together is ridiculous.

Striker is so under utilized. Since Viv hates him (confirmed by sources I can't pull now apologies) and she wrote this episode, everything established of Striker in So1 is destroyed. He's a husk of his intended character, all talk no show, a misogynistic clown who you can see Viv has no care writing him properly because she doesn't like him which is fucking horrible, this woman will butcher an integral villian, one with a good motivation (he hates blue-bloods) all because "oh I don't like him he's not in my fav OC list", petty af.

Fizz's disability and how its handled, spoke about it in this post:

It still remains the same though now we see it wasn't Wally holding the cake just some other imp and the card Bliz made for Fizz was a love confession still doesn't justify his reaction shoving the imp and his still underlying jealousy of Fizz since they were young. Yes it was backing off from a love confession/ashamed he's not as good a performer as Fizz, Blitz was jealous of Fizz. Made another post saying how I like how Fizz sees his disability, he's content, happy, has Ozzie who understands him and even made/went out his way to get Fizz the best prosthetics to better his quality of life, I like that good on Fizzy :).

5. Going to be a separate long post on (ಠ_ಠ) Blitz, THE FUCKING BIRD IS BACK 💀💀💀 why your rotisserie chicken ass not in hospital or we just skipping past that and how Viv keeps I'm gonna say it, forcing her characters to have daddy issues by writing this fucking irritating basic fanfic trope of killing the mother offscreen/not having the mother in the picture/us seeing her face. A commenter pointed this out and it irritates me because its the 3rd time she does this, she show Tilla (Blitz's mom) in pictures, you think there would be an episode revolving around Blitz's childhood etc but no she's "in" a fast paced pitty party flashback. This woman really can't show an ounce of respect to any female characters.

This is all for now, will be making more posts the more this ep settles in.

Score: 4.7/10

[cloudmancy]

i don't want to be mean or anything but like. the cr/t/cal r/le girlies in the dimension 20 tag are just sending me like, i just Knew these people be just all over this season and diving in and dissecting every little detail and speculating for the larger picture (of six episodes) (plus a season that's already been out for a year) as though people like. haven't been having to Sit with the Very, Very unfinished/untold part of the world of this campaign setting for Years already? (the Widely Established Fanlore of it all XD) although that's also been also been folding in the face of. all the colin posts (like Specifically colin too past even colin+raphaniel or colin+deli). like they fell for the cr bait so hard- group of fans starved for mlm content based on their typical cr diet, see a guy (Just Some Guy) looking the way he was, see his mysterious past and divorce and arc and glowup and post-divorce talks and. yknow. whaddya gonna do. that's all they're gonna talk about when the EXPLICITLY mlm radish priest who's been grooming that VERY SAME cheese guy for five years is right there.

anyways i'm going to write all that off anon and pretend i'm not deathly scared of invoking the wrath of cr fans after that thing on twitter

IT'S ACTUALLY REALLY FUNNY YEAH. gonna address the colin part first then talk about my problems with the season under a spoiler. listen I think deli & colin are very real in that deli wants him SO bad but it's crazy that people are dancing around colin's whole thing with raphaniel. like what do you guys think was going on there 😭 'he's his babysitter' SAY IT OUT LOUD! he was fucking that radish

now for my thoughts about the plot and pacing of ravening war

I do not like that this season (that was supposed to be about a war covering 7+ years of intense political conflict and full-scale warfare involving every country in the continent) got boiled down to 2 massive timeskips & 3 battle episodes of five guys fucking around in a cave because the entire war was actually started by a secret cult. there were no battles involving the actual war + 1 skill check for entire 5 years at a time + almost nothing politics wise + they missed the ENTIRE climatic final push for the end of the war because they were underground. it's so poorly paced, I really don't know what to say. am I the crazy one here for wanting a season about the ravening war to be about the war? it just doesn't feel like the characters had any impact on the plot past episode 3 and they ONLY because they kill the queen of candia because a cult told them to. because we get alliances forged and broken and conflicts ended and rulers crowned within the span of a single sentence from the DM before we chug back off to the mycelium hivemind main plot. hot take but every season does not in fact need a plot twist big bad to fight

all of the characters in the season are genuinely the most interesting characters I've seen in YEARS. it's a goddamn shame we didn't get to spend more time with them. it sucks that each of them brought so much intrigue and backstory to the war, but every single one of them ended up contributing not much at all to the scale of the campaign because, again, the final boss turned out to be a cult within the top secret cult of mushrooms that was ALREADY a secret but there is also ANOTHER, more powerful deity to fight in the very last episode. we needed more episodes, or less time spent on battles. we needed to not bring on a DM known for having all the time in the world to wrap up years-long campaigns in 5 hour chunks at a time, for a 6 ep miniseason. we did not need two more powerscaled deities for no reason to a war that should have been about the people and not... random alien eldritch forces. we needed closure on amangeaux's child, we needed to know WHY raphaniel was poisoning the king and starting a war in the first place. aabria wrote a whole essay about karna's backstory that I would've loved to see in the show itself, but... we didn't get to see it! there were almost no politics. we did get 4 separate secret underground mushroom fights though. in a campaign about a war.

"real life is messy! not everything gets wrapped up neatly! it reflects real wars!" this is a dnd show sir and when you spend 20 minutes out of 12 hours of content actually talking politics and the rest of the time fucking around with mushrooms in a cave, it starts to look less like a deliberate artistic choice and more like poorly paced plot threads that didn't get a chance to finish.

[jenyifer]

The Trainee ep3 Initial reaction

Bad news I only have screen shots of part 4 but considering how S L O W the show is no big loss.

Let’s chat a little before the photo review. I like that Jane isn’t auto in love with Ryan it’s like they are slowly getting on the same frequency. I don’t think he was a bad boss in any of the previous eps either. Yes. He’s busy. Pressed like a panini. It’s very sweet. Ryan is confused as to why things are going so well but I think it’s because Jane is getting slowly attuned to him. Like they were made to be a pair. It’s a beautiful slow dance. But it is slow. I’m not bored it’s just not a ton to speculate on. We all saw the episode? It’s mostly Meta Content about production which is interesting. I enjoyed Pie’s friendships and her struggles. But as it comes to Ryan and Jane the biggest indicator of affection is the Ryan game they are playing. I adored the saving private ryan refs very cute and unexpected. I really hope romance wise things get going soon anywhere. I really like prop guy but I get hella annoyed with the str8 couple. But I assume I’m supposed to. I’ll keep watching but I’ll am a little cool towards things if that makes sense. It’s fun but… give me something to think about.

Photo review

I watched pt 1-3 on my tv so don’t have any snaps but our girl is 100% correct. Jane is intimidating. He doesn’t have time to make things easy for Ryan and Pie. The difference is Ryan wants to know Why Jane is the way he is and try to assist in making him relaxed. Ryan is happiness when Jane has his peaks of soft. But Pie respects Jane puts him on a pedestal of what she wants to be. She doesn’t see him as a human. More of a goal she wants to be. Also Off Jumpol is 50/10 on the sexy scale.

Okay so my dad likes to tell me when I start a new job, “you aren’t doing it right if you aren’t crying in the bathroom and in the bed after work questioning why you thought you could do the job in the first place” I find this applies to switching teams or any new work situation. No one trusts you and they really shouldn’t you are new and will make mistakes. However if they don’t depend on your or make you feel strong the pressure builds and builds. It’s hard you feel so defeated. You finally get chance to break out of the minmal space of being new or the intern and things turn to flames then find out no one expected you to do good anyways. Eventually you’ll find a team member who will push you into chances then you’ll find your niche. I had to be on a team with a new member to understand what was going on with this. I think… it’s easy when you are new to blame yourself. It’s everyone’s duty to help the new person feel part of the team and train them up. Yes they are going to mess up but I find that’s easier when they think of me as someone who will help them not make mistakes next time.

But on an ADHD human who struggles to get medication I have to go through the Why am I like this? Judging others then fucking up because of my brain and it is horrible but… you work in a team. I hope Pie realizes that.

I love these brother sister in the neurodivergent buddy coded vibes we have going on here in my opinion. I feel like Pie is very ADHD masking medicated but I’m bias. She doesn’t understand humans and can’t care about things beyond her special interests. Ryan is also very much hiding in his head. Pie is jealous of Ryan but I think she likes him in his own newbie ways. He’s hard not to love. Also their shirts.

“Find out who you are doing it for” obvs answer is Jane

“Good, good!

Time, time!” Maybe a reference to completing a task or finding the good times in tasks is getting to know her coworkers.

We have to protect Ryan he’s a clumsy silent bby I’m thinking about kuuderes like Mori from OHSC they just usually aren’t smol like Ryan.

Extremely beautiful that Jane stopped his everything to focus on Ryan. He didn’t have to. Jane wanted to this is where I was finally feeling the more than coworker vibe. Idk maybe it’s just a friendly vibe but it’s something new.

Jane wants to care for Ryan and keep him around. I adore these shoe themes even if the shoes are weirdly matching???? Am I crazy? Didn’t get a good shot but I think black white Nikes. Jane is being slowly boiled in Ryan’s actions to show Jane is a person who can trust Ryan.

He’s impressed Ryan is thinking of him outside of work. I’m triggered cause now I wanna go watch saving private Ryan again. However I think I’ll settle for Ghost Of You by my chemical romance.

I adore Ryan’s relationship with Ink. I love the lighting and the set dressing of the shop crowded but not a home the home for Ryan is the people. What they can offer with their hands and time.

[tillychmo]

S1-Izzy's Foreshadowed Road to Redemption in s2

(And me slightly gushing over Con O'Neill's acting on the way.)

Right-o. We need to talk about our man Izzy Hands. More specifically we need to talk about Izzy in ep110 and through to the second series, because I have yet to see anyone else comment with this particular angle, so here's my hot take:

(This will include obvious spoilers for all of the current two series of Our Flag Means Death)

I've seen some people talk about Izzy's character change as something that happened 'way too quickly' – I've seen others talk about Izzy not being a bad guy in series 1 at all – and I've seen a lot of people come away from the scene in ep. 110 where they're throwing out Stede's books and Fang/Kevin asks Izzy what happened to his foot with an understanding that Izzy's reaction to that question is one of gloading satisfaction, and because I kinda disagree with all of these takes (but especially the latter), here's my wee take on the lot – with particular emphasis on that 'smile' in ep. 110:

Jumping right in: The second 'Krackbeard' cuts off Izzy's toe Izzy knows that he has f*cked up and finally pushed Ed too far. Sure, Izzy has been used to Blackbeard cutting the toes off of other crew members and make them eat it "for a laugh" for years and years – but Blackbeard/Edward has never turned his violence on Izzy before.

Izzy wanted Blackbeard back, yes, and all the way through s1 he pushed and pushed and pushed him, even though Ed clearly didn't want to be 'Blackbeard' anymore.

We see this in the 'soft' manipulations – like him saying "My boss would like a word with you" to Stede, but telling Edward "I explicitly told him 'Blackbeard desires his company'" – and we see it more and more prevalent as Ed grows closer to and more and more fond of Stede – like Izzy ordering Fang/Kevin and Ivan to back him up in his demand that Edward kills Stede (based on Fang's & Ivan's reactions in the previous scene "This is the most open and available I've ever seen him", I feel OK with surmising that Izzy probably ordered them to back him up here) so that Edward will 'lose face' or even be looked at as weak if he refuses to do it; like insisting on a swordfight with Stede – directly against his captain's orderes – and choosing to not just banish Stede from the ship when it looks as though Izzy is going to win, but actually going in for the kill; like selling Stede (the man Ed loves) out to the English, while also basically treating Edward as a commodity, by making him the 'price' Izzy will earn from the British, when they've captured Stede.

The latter of which – and this is equally as important to note – literally sets the whole trajectory of Ed's fall into Krackbeard in motion.

Ed is the one who returns to the Revenge – not Blackbeard. And Izzy is continually at his wits end, because he has now done nearly every single manipulative thing he can think of (Izzy obviously doesn't think of these things as 'manipulative' – in his eyes he is still doing the 'right thing') to get Edward to 'snap out of it'. But Ed is still refusing to act the part of Izzy's preferred understanding of what masculinity is. In fact, after his return Ed slips even further into the kind of 'feminine'-masculinity that Izzy despises.

And Izzy finally cracks – insisting that 'Edward' and 'Blackbeard' are not the same, and then taunting Edward with his percieved weakness of being heartbroken. This finally goads a reaction out of Ed.

And for the glimmer of a second Izzy thinks he sees 'Blackbeard' in Ed – and you can see the sheer satisfaction on his face:

But Ed doesn't want to be Blackbeard. And the moment Izzy touches his face (other people have written brilliantly on Ed's reactions to physical touch – if I can find it, I will add a link to it here), Ed doesn't go in for the counter attack. Instead, he pushes Izzy's hand away, let's go of Izzy's neck, and takes several steps back. Even here, when he is being actively threatned, he is still refusing to 'act the part' of overt violence that Izzy is demanding of him.

And because Con O'Neill is an actor's absolute dream (side-note: seriously, I cannot get enough of watching his micro-expressions when a thought changes and you can see it so clearly in his eyes) we can see the split-second where Izzy realises this:

(Seriously that thiny change of his eyes is so easy to miss and yet it speaks VOLUMES for Izzy's character and character arc – Con O'Neill you brilliant bastard.)

So at the point where Ed is at his absolutely most vulnerable – because the crew has made him feel safe to do so – Izzy goes for the final 'trick' he has left: He threatens Ed on his life.

And this brings us back to the beginning of this post: Krackbeard cutting off Izzy's toe. Supposedly this should have been an indicator to Izzy that 'Blackbeard' is back and is "himself again" and Izzy even says this himself:

And here we arrive at the whole reason for why I've made this post (yeah, sorry, I know it took a while) :

Izzy is telling us that he finally got what he wanted: "Blackbeard is himself again". In other words: "I WON. YAY."

BUT – and I cannot stress this enough – look at the reaction that follows those words:

"I WON ... YAY?"

THIS is the look that clued me in on where Izzy's character arc was heading. Because there is only one reason to allow the antagonist of your story to crack even the flicker of an inch and acidentally show their true feelings like this – and that is if they are on their way to redemption. And with redemption more often than not also comes their inevitable demise.

THIS is not the face of a man who is happy. THIS is the face of a man who knows damn well that he just cosmically f*cked up and now has to live with the consequences.

Which is why we see him, immediately after this accidental facial honesty, putting on the face of a man who actually got what he wanted. Because he is suddenly finding himself in unchartered territory: Izzy knows who 'Blackbeard' is – but he has no clue who 'Krackbeard' is or how to handle him, because 'Krackbeard' is born from the lack of Stede, the heartbreak that followed, Ed's self-hatred, and the threats from Izzy. And Izzy didn't understand this ... Until he suddenly starts to realise it, when it is seemingly already too late.

So when series two started and we see a completely broken down Izzy, I was not surprised at all. Because not only did Izzy realise in ep. 110 that he had finally pushed Ed too far – he has, in the intervening weeks and months, seen Edward (the man Izzy was/has been/is coming to realise that he loves) deteriorate, doing more and more drugs and abusing alcohol and becoming more and more depressed and suicidal. Izzy has finally realised what antagonising Ed actually costs: Ed's attachment to life – Ed's willingness to live. And the reason why we see Izzy change his tune towards Stede fairly/incredibly quickly in s2, is because Izzy has realised that the only way to save Ed, is to accept that Stede is what brings Ed to life. Not 'Blackbeard', or 'Krackbeard', or any other performative persona, but "just Ed".

Which is why mirroring the 'attack' scene in 110 with the words "There he is" in Izzy's final words to Ed is so damn beautiful.

IZZY: "Just be Ed." Ed breaks down crying. IZZY: "There he is."

(An afterthought: Writing this I'm realising that Izzy's final scene with Edward in 208 actually beautifully mirrors their scene in 110 in more ways than "There he is". In 110 we see Izzy being pinned against the wall; he is 'finally' being touched by Edward, but it happens with violence and agression and with no hint of care or love – but in 208 Izzy asks Ed to sit with him, and not only does Ed stay with him, he is literally holding him, caringly and lovingly in his arms. No agression and no violence. Just care and love and familarity and warmth. Not telling Izzy that he loves him, but showing him. And I think that's quite a nice thought to end on.)

[voltrixz]

 Why YOU should go vote for Montana/Shocker (TSSM) in @cartoon-character-competition​

Once again, this is the first time I have managed to get Shocker into a competition which once again is a crime in itself 

And like before you guys might be familiar with Shocker or Montana (even if they are a bit less known then villains like Electro or Doc Ock) (especially for Montana)

You see in TSSM, Montana is Shocker, not Herman as he’s known in the comics. Montana and Herman are different people in the comics but here Montana is essentially Herman but cooler and more skilled.

Montana is your usual merc hired by the big bad guy (or the big man as they call him) that runs a lot of the crime in NY. In episode one he’s hired to defeat spiderman along with his partners and they’re known as the enforcers 

(The enforcers as seen in ep 1) (From left to right: Fancy Dan, Ox and of course Montana) 

and well they’re defeated of course but Montana never gets capture and manages to run off

So when does Montana get that funny pineapple patterned suit? Well in ep 4, Market Forces, Montana is seen stealing that exact funny pineapple patterned suit and handing it over to his boss before about to go on his merry way and putting on his cowboy hat again before being stopped and told to wear the suit and stop spiderman as he still owes them (visibily pissed off at being told to not wear his hat (which is silly to me) (LET HIM WEAR HIS COWBOY HAT!!!!)but grins when being told about his new assignment)  

and so peter is led over to where shocker is by flint and alex (2 criminals who will become major villains later) 

and well shocker does what he does best, FUCK SHIT UP!!!!!!

and whats funnier is his first line to Spiderman is “I reckon that came as a bit of a real SHOCKER eh bug” He fuckin starts off a fight with a fuckin PUN (I love him for that)(its in his subtle himbo coding) and you want to know what else? When asked who exactly Montana is by Spiderman, Montana comes up with a villain name right on the spot and well guess what he chooses? He chooses his INITAL FUCKIN PUN (still love him for that) and well he absoutely destroys spiderman and even picks him up like a wet cat 

either spiderman weighs like nothing or shocker is just REALLY strong 

and well Montana goes off to his bar, just to enjoy a game of 8 ball with a job well done 

(hehe look at him, just enjoying a game of pool ^^ )

that is until well obviously spiderman isnt just gonna say down so Montana is stopped by his boss (cant believe he interrupted his game of pool, you cant do this to him) and he’s sent right back to fight Spiderman 

and well you know how it goes, he’s defeated (SPIDERMAN LITERALLY DROPS AN ENITRE BUILDING ON THIS GUY LIKE??? OK????) but yeah off to jail ig

So what happens next is basically 

- Thanks to Doc Ock and his plan to form the sinister six, he breaks out of jail and joins the sinister six by orders of his boss

- is defeated once again by Spiderman and taken to jail

- doesnt join the next formation of the sinister six sadly (crying coping tossing everything)

- however he comes back with his enforcer partners, now with his partners rocking new suits too 

(as seen here) (they’re robbing a bank btw) (cute things to do with your boyfriends: rob a bank!)

- but yeah once again defeated by spiderman and all of them are tossed to jail

- seen in big jail breakout scene but sadly does not escape 

- and who knows maybe we could have seen Shocker rejoin the sinister six or get up to new silly things (criminal activity) with his partners but erm

Tssm got cancelled as I mentioned before in my electro post so yeah (crying dying coping sobbing kicking everything tossing everything RAGHH)

but yeah shocker is cool as hell and gives me immense gender envy 

like LOOK AT HIM!!!!

need to be him so so bad (the gender envy he gives me is INSANE)(also has made me realize hm i may be queer aroaceflux) 

(he has a resting bitch face and its so silly to me) (yes im just using this as an opprtiunity to show you images of him)

sigh sigh LOVE YOU SHOCKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

also he is gay and polyam coded as hell!!!!!! um something something why do you work in such a man dominated field? Do you want to be dominated by men? And also um that one thing of “detectives will always go: here’s my partner. erm ok???? 🏳️‍🌈???? but its just “mercs will always go: here’s my partner(s) like ok???🏳️‍🌈??? (not kidding he almost always refers to dan and ox as his partners and also just look at him, he is THE gay cowboy merc ever

but yeah LOVE YOU SHOCKER!!!! THE GAY COWBOY MERC/VILLAIN EVER!!!!!!!!! GO VOTE FOR HIM!!!!!!!!!!

[mysterygrl20]

Bad Guy My Boss | Ep 1

[1800duckhotline]

https://www.tumblr.com/1800duckhotline/748414044204154880/i-seriously-think-this-show-was-created-in-a-lab?source=share

hi! im not able to send you dms but i really want to know what you think about hazbin. i downed the entire thing in a day out of morbid fascination of seeing how that artstyle animates, but the quality of the script and handling of the structure of the show are so dogshit that the show has been lodged in my mind. and my friends who i can rely upon for their thoughtful analysis are not people who would watch it.

basically Hello Send Help

Honestly you summed up most of my plights within the show already, its just dogshit all around flaming and whatnot and i cannot believe there's 30 years old who eat this slop up. i can forgive teenagers for liking it (i am very self-aware as someone who read fucking homestuck when i was 13) but i cannot forgive fully grown adults for thinking this show has any sort of nuanced or well-written story

i finished watching the show feeling less aggravated by the designs and visual dev of the whole thing (though obviously its still really bad), and instead more by how insultingly and exhilaratingly bad the writing was.

i could literally take out my blocknote review of the whole show starting from ep 1 to ep 8 but i want to spare my friends who dgaf about hearing about this show. so ill just try to resume concisely my thoughts using my notes as crutches

this will be a very long one and again to spare people of pain ill put it under a readmore

vivienne medrano does not care about the female characters in her own show. idk about helluvaboss and i honestly dont want to watch it unless someone watches it with me, but from what i hear hazbin hotel was supposed to be the show "focused on the girls" while helluva boss was supposed to "focus on theboys". you'll never guess what happens in this show. the main 2 girls, who are supposed to be protagonist, are completely flat characters, that are given the slightest margin of spotlight THE LAST TWO EPISODES OF THE SEASON, and no 8 episodes isnt a justification for the dogshit writing they have. vaggie is the "angry mean militaristic lesbian of color who also coddles her white girlfriend" and charlie is "goody two shoes who doesn't use her powers as literal PRINCESS OF HELL because it's 'too mean' and who is babied and is also written like a baby that doesnt know how to act besides being 'positive and whimsical'". they are literally a ship trope shipped together because idk.

most of the development in the show is handed onto the guys, obviously, as they get the most songs, most exposure to their backstories, and most interactions that are somewhat written less one-dimensionally than the girls. (not to say the guys aren't also walking ship tropes for fanfic purposes). like you can't spin this in a way that doesn't sound bad, the men just get more spotlight and that's a fucking fact. so much for "focus on the girls". fucking SIR PENTIOUS GETS A SONG AFTER HIS DEATH, GUYS

none of the angel vs hell lore makes any fucking lick of sense, and i dont mean to say it needs to be biblically adjacent, it just doesnt make fucking sense even in the "original" lore it is constructing. how is hell supposed to be a threat to heaven when hell denizens dont have access to heaven?? this question alone makes anyone question what the hell the exterminations really are for. also, like, i really fucking hate adam, he's literally the most annoyingly written villain, like he's not even funny in a trashy way. if you want to make your main villain a hypocrite who's also a massive misogynist and sexist, writing him like a frat bro makes sense if your story is set in a college campus. this is HEAVEN AND HELL. all of his lines are just stupid and senseless for the context this all takes place in (also like lute being essentially a tradwife for him is literally such a stupid choice, if you want to make a meaningful commentary about misogyny among women this isnt how it works)

all of the sin and pure shit and repenting deal is like... literally awful. for a show that prides itself on owning the bigots who think gay sex and doing drugs and doing crimes is all inherently evil, the writing really does not do itself a favor of subverting this real-world bigoted way of thinking. as unintentional as it might be it kind of just reinforces it when the character they decide to 'repent' is fucking angel dust, a literal sex worker stuck in a cycle of abuse with an abusive rapist pimp and who does drugs as a way to cope in his life. because obviously sex work (and bdsm) is inherently sinful and disgusting and the only way to repent is to give up disgusting gay sex and sinful drugs and just stick it to the abuser that has you literally by the leash! i dont think this was intentional but it comes off as hilariously stupid and straight up tactless. (also we don't talk about how the storyboarded for the song poison apparently also drew rape comics of angel dust and valentino before as a kink thing)

oh on the topic of valentino, i dont fucking get people liking him. he is literally shown to be abusive and a rapist. people will see a thin man who's not straight and hump his legs like their life depends on it. at least he isnt white but i'd actually say this makes everything worse because vivienne medrano LOVES making the characters in her show of ambiguous ethnicities/backgrounds and ends up making most of the awful ones, of color. again dont think this is INTENTIONALLY done but it still comes across as horrid nonetheless. whew!!!

also i hate alastor in all types ways sauces and forms. he exists to attract fangirls and rabid fans who love tumblr sexymen. other than his design being tremendously aggravating, he's literally just fucking useless, and i hate that the show tries to shoehorn in halfway that he's supposed to be a "dad figure" to charlie when he literally never has done anything dadlike for her in the whole show (and yes i watched the pilot, i still dont think this counts). the only saving grace for alastor is his voice acting. everything else needs to go. there is no saving this one

and, on the topic of alastor, i'm not the first one to point this out but something about him owning husk's soul (the one character being voiced by a black VA, who coincidentally also has a design that is conveniently ambiguous with him being a fucking. winged cat furry demon ig) has like some really bad vibes about it that i can't quite put my finger on. i'm not entirely qualified to like dissect the issues this whole show has with like... the way certain implied characters of color act within it (i say implied because vivziepop is allergic to giving the main characters of her shows actual dark skin colors that arent grey, except maybe some one-off side characters) but it was just so jarring i had to mention it

i also hate lucifer because again, made for purely fanfic ship tropes and rabid fans who are obsessed with 'pathetic sopping wet cat men' with that signular character trait. his persnality is: Depression and Dad. I literally hated every fucking moment in this show where he was in a scene and was treated as "just some guy". same with charlie. Like the lack of authority they have for a supposed KING AND PRINCESS OF HELL is just... i dont know? stupid?

conclusion is that i hate the show, i will however bee seeing season 2 just because at this point im in it for the long run, its just like, other than the visuals being awful; it was legitimately the least aggravating part for me (THIS DOESNT MEAN I LIKE THEM, I DONT, I HATE THEM TOO) but the whole writing is just... wow. i just don't understand how they got a24 to back this up. like you cant make this shit up this bad even if you tried. and im sure there's a trillion other things other people have more eloquently explained in how and which ways they are bad; these are just some of my thoughts.

my concluding statement is that i also feel really bad for people who do entire rewrites of this thing as 'fans'. i dont get it. like i get doing redesigns because it can be an exercise and because lets be real, like, everyones design is bad, hardly anything is salvageable or makes sense. but rewriting... guys please just make your own stories from scratch. at the cost of being told "omg this is just like hazbin hotel!" you have to persevere and just write your own shit. because doing the redesigns means unpacking heaps of 'lore' that doesnt make any whatsoever sense...

[ohanny]

dangerous romance: main couple mania ep. 1

so i love how sailom's instroduction is this is a budgeting king, in debt eating stolen rice porridge. he has a very pre-kinn broke ass porsche-chay dynamic with his brother (?) which is very sweet and also means it won't last five minutes.

oh okay so we get this ship sailing with a wall slam and a classic "do you understand my father funds your scholarship you poor piece of trash" and alksdflkfj

i know i am supposed to see sailom as the victim but he is like full on pete-ing this. he never breaks eye contact. he is like daring kanghan to escalate with his entire body and kanghan did not just go full "since you're my class mate i will be generous and forgive you if you get down on your knees" like that is a) spicy as fuck what the hell and b) going to backfire so hard

HE DID NOT JUST BOW 90 DEGREES JUST TO SPIT ON KANGHAN'S SHOES AND WALK AWAY WITH A SMIRK

he is puzzled by both sailom's actions and by what is happening inside his uniform shorts

honestly, kanghan is the villain here but i struggle to take him seriously as the bad guy because perth a) always looks like he is about five seconds away from bursting into tears and b) has bangs that form a literal heart. no matter how nasty kanghan tries to be - and he tries a lot - the inherent bitch baby-ness just shines through.

literal heart bangs what did i say

this entire car shop sequence is just pure gold for so many reasons. 1. kanghan shows up in his business leather pants looking like he walked off the set of enhypen's blessed-cursed music video and he's driving a mercedes. like honestly, with all that talk i was expecting a lamborghini. 2. sailom's boss actually like... needing some evidence instead of just bending over backwards to please a rich client 3. sailom fucking uno reversing that credit card sneak and humiliating kanghan with the smuggest lil good boy smile and THAT is why chimon is the ultimate snake-cat like he has a face made for scheming.

i am really loving sailom because he keeps his head, is really resourceful and will not take any shit. boy does not hesitate to drag this bastard for filth every chance he gets, beating kanghan in his own game without ever stepping down from the high road.

ooh, we are meeting kanghan's family and they are... both not as trash but also as trash as i expected? like i kinda thought more mafia vibes but if laws of attraction - and real life - has taught me anything it is that politicians are garbage.

on the surface his dad seems almost a jolly good fellow but the conversation with this random girl just confirmed there is something so much darker lurking under the surface. as much as it hurts to have a hyper critical parent, having one who has seemingly completely given up on you can be just as bad.

he's basically been called stupid twice in under five minutes. someone save him.

sailom will not be fooled by a shady ass phone call and neither will he leave a friend behind. this boy will not be distracted by tits with a side of toast. he is a man on a mission.

the way i gasped when i saw this court set up and i have so many questions. do the students just have a cardboard gotham in the basement or - based by the fact we see loose boxes and a shopping cart - did kanghan build this just to prove how big his dick is to sailom ???

chimon's acting is honestly a+ and he is carrying this show. the tension! the absolute rage that is bleeding through! the way he doesn't have to go big with gestures and expressions to convey everything sailom is feeling perfectly - and not just that. you know what sailom is feeling AND you can see his brain working.

kanghan, sweetie, you might want to take a moment and reflect on your obsession with getting this boy out of his clothes and making him kneel.

not gonna lie, i kinda saw this move coming because tropes but god was it satisfying :D the reactions of kanghan and sailom's friends are hilarious (10/10 i am evil tea, he totally ships it) and then the camera pans and you can see all these bystanders just standing stock still, filming giving major horror movie vibes and aaaaaaah

side notes:

i love how his best friend is just "auto." like his parents were "we are poor, naming the kid a vehicle will be fine. no need to bring brands into it."

auto's mom is an actual queen

the teachers are so fucking infuriating but also, that is kind of a sad truth? even when it's not like RICH rich people involved. like for too many adults, it is easier to it off as kids being kids and boys being boys over having to deal with the why and the parents and the drama of it all.

i was bullied in school so like this bubble tea waterboarding makes me feel some type of way? like some of the bullying is very oof-spicy-trope but a lot of it is actually cruel and i really wouldn't recommend this show to anyone who gets triggered by stuff like school violence.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Drunken Shenanigans

May 2023 Wk 4

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Step By Step (Tues WeTV & Gaga) ep 6 of 10 - this is Thai BL living its best life. Wait, who is Kong? Another ex? Ah just a Boy from the Past. (HI BIG, I love you, when you gunna lead a BL?) Chot & Pat’s friendship is giving me LIFE! It is the best thing in BL right now. Also this show is defining slow burn. Jeng & Pat both primping for their date? Come on! I am so glad I get to start my week with these boys. Also I would like to see the BL (within this BL) staring Up & Rice. They are VERY pretty together.

La Pluie (Sat iQIYI) ep 5 of 10 - I end my week with this one and it’s almost as good as starting with Step. The brothers relationship is pitch perfect younger to middle. P’Pat is serving up yacht rock visuals. (I’m not mad about it. Reminds me of Tay in DBK.) I do like them as a couple I just mistrust Pat’s constancy and motives. Although I am beginning to wonder if his motivation might feel suss because it’s pure lust (and we see that so rarely in a BL we innately mistrust it). Meanwhile, I like that Tai has a younger guy interested in him and with whom he has chemistry too. And it’s the one his brother likes. This is messy gay in a good way. 

Our Skyy 2 (Boss & Babe) eps 11-12 - I was drunk for this one, so I thought it was mostly just foolish. While Book seemed to be having a bumper of a time with his role as Lord of Misrule I fast forwarded through a lot of it. It did make me laugh with some of the wordplay, but the fact that they involved an entire office (non-consenting) in their kink rollplay was a bit weird for me. 6/10 

Luminous Solution (Sat Gaga) ep 1 of 6 - The subs are truly bonkers (including a few captions that seem the be the subbers notes to themselves). There are 2 lead couples: 1 is an LTR with an overworked doctor & his recently fired husband and the other is an E2L jock+nerd with high school students (way more my thing). It’s actually pretty good for a pulp, the acting is decent and the pacing on point. I’m not mad at it especially now Dome has shown up. 

Be My Favorite (Fri YouTube) ep 1 of 10? - I’m doing a trash watch! I was drunk, it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting, but the first 1/4 of a JittiRain BL never is. 

Past-senger (Weds Gaga) ep 12fin - thank fuck that ended but also: WTF is with that ending? Guess that’s a massive prospective age gap relationship. I’m… unsettled. (And age gap doesn’t bother me.) Anygay, anydaddy that’s the lingering flavor from this BL: unsettling. You know I tend to judge on endings... full review below. 

The Promise (Weds YT & WeTV) ep 10fin - did’t air to YT this week

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Our Dining Table AKA Bokura no Shokutaku (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 8 of 10 - I love this show. I know everything that’s gonna happen and I’m still riveted. Sweetly awkward confession. 

Star Struck (Korea iQIYI & Gaga) ep 3-4 of 8 - I’m enjoying the complexity of this one. It’s like a combo of Shoulder and 8th but somehow easier-going than either. Not totally my cup of tea, in a way because of that complexity, but also I faintly mistrust its BL-ness. Also: That was one of the most painful confession scenes ever. Ouch. (Meanwhile, have I mentioned recently I hate icky’s interface? Well I do. Also iQIYI is now officially icky henceforth!)  

Love Mate (Korea Thurs Viki) eps 7-8fin - The asshole ex was perfectly cast but I felt a touch let down by this ending - it didn’t have the strength of its convictions. Full review below. 

Naked Dinner AKA Zenra Meshi (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 7 of 12 - I like the Taiwanese boss, he knows what’s up. Cool dude. Arranged a sleepover and everything. Also... we win when there is experimental kissing but odds are Japan is faking us out. 

Vian the series (Vietnam YouTube ) - is it me or did this not drop? If it did I missed it. 

It’s Airing But ...

My Story (Pinoy Sat YouTube) 10 eps - I bounced at ep 4. Someone will tell me if I should bother with the rest after it ends.

House of Stars (Thai Mon iQIYI) 12 eps - I bounced at ep 3. Will binge if told it is worth it at end.

The Day I Loved You (Pinoy YouTube) eps 6-7 of 10 - Terminal illness for the sunshine. I bounced at ep 6. DNF. Ends next week, someone tell me if it’s as bad as I thought it was gonna be. 

Takumi-kun Series 6: Nagai Nagai Monogatari no Hajimari no Asa (Japan Sun ????) ep 1 of ? - NO ONE ASKED FOR THIS and no, I have no idea where to get it, why would I? (Say it with me everyone: Oh Japan, must you?*) also I’m really not inclined to hunt. 

Ended this week

Past-senger - Marc (My Gear & Your Gown) & Copper (My Engineer) star in a time slip story of a 90s kid who travels to 2022. The central premise was solid and the actors gave it their best but the show was bloated with unnecessary awkward side couples and the ending went from confusing to unsettling to plain old (and I do mean OLD) not good. 4/10 NOT RECOMMENDED, FATALLY FLAWED

Love Mate - Launched very much openly gay older uke with commitment issues and a romantic if arrogant younger seme with no respect for boundaries. Workplace harassment much? That’s BL for ya. (Also a nonBL Kdrama specialty.) So yeah it’s questionable, but so is my taste. The ultimate premise that someone badly hurt shuts themself off to romance is very similar to Happy Merry Ending or 8th Sense but this version was more about fear than abuse or trauma. For me, this made Love Mate more relatable since fear of love makes it about the couple rather than one person’s self-acceptance journey. However, because the denouement in Love Mate was driven by a late in the run faen fatal and not the central relationship, the conclusion felt forced. I can, however, see myself rewatching this one, so if falls into the general rank of 2023′s KBL AKA solid high standard and eminently watchable. 8/10 RECOMMENDED 

In Case You Missed It

Both the Egoist (Japanese movie) and Tie The Knot (Pinoy series) got picked up for international release. Tie is coming to Prime. Not yet sure who bagged Egoist but at least it has distribution. These both seem more “messy arse gay” than BL but I have been waiting for them. About Us but Not About Us (2022 Pinoy movie) is also coming to Prime. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Starting: 

6/2 Stay (Pinoy YouTube) 7 eps - Andre, a film maker from the Philippines, works in LA. He finds a Korean-American roommate, Joshua,  who helps him navigate the challenges and uncertainties of living in America. The two develop a bond, but then it’s time for Andre to go home. It’s mostly in English and set in LA so I won’t watch this. 

6/3 Let’s Eat Together AKA Aki wa Haru to Gohan wo Tabetai (Japan movie) - Japanese cinema release means no inter distribution. Looks cozy: daily lives of college students and roommates who enjoy meals together, and a v codependent, adaptation of yaoi Let’s Eat Together Aki and Haru. I’ll keep an eye open for it but assume we can’t get it for now. 

June 2023 Line Up

6/7 Love Tractor (Korea iQIYI) 8 eps - announced in 2022 from WATCHA (Semantic Error) I've been WAITING for this one. About a stressed-out law student who family obligations force into the countryside where a series of strange encounters and misunderstandings with his hunky young farmer neighbour. Will this be an extended version of Strongberry’s Some More? Or Korea’s take on Restart After Come Back Home? I'm chuffed. Country boy meets city boy is a very underused romance trope in BL.

6/9 Boys Love Omegaverse AKA The Boys Love sequel no one asked for (Japan movie) - everyone jockeyed to release the first ABO but it looks like Japan will take it. They do like to do all things BL FIRST. This seems to just be borrowing the branding of Boys Love, showing little resemblance to either original, since it's about 4 men in an idol group. (But could go very dark with that title. Boys Love is technically the first and one of the darkest BLs ever made.) Movie+Japan = no inter distribution. 

6/15 Tokyo in April AKA Shigatsu no Tokyo wa (Japan ????) 8 eps - Based on a yaoi, this is a reunion romance that takes place in an office. Japan does Our Dating Sim? Cool. Of course no idea where to watch it. Oh Japan, must you? 

6/22 About Us but Not About Us (Pinoy movie from 2022 on Prime) - A professor grieving the loss of his partner meets an ambitious literature student.

6/24 Why You (Khmer BL ????) - Billed as a horror romance, not sure if this is a movie or a series where it will air... nothing except that it exists.

6/24 Tie The Knot AKA Under the Same Sky (Pinoy movie on Prime) Trailer - I guess Prime is coming for our Pinoy BL? From OXIN Films (Rainbow Prince), announced for 2022 based on a true story, Briggs's family runs a bridal business but he has never had a chance to fall in love until he meets Shao, a groom to be.

6/25 Dinosaur Love (Thai ????) Trailer 5 eps - from Ultimate Troop about a cute uni student, Rak, whose partner cheats on him with Rk's best friend. This gives bad boy hazer Dino an opportunity to hit on Rak at last. From The Yearbook people so I will not watch this as it airs. After Remember Me? Never again with them.

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED)

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

This bit made me bark laugh. The more Thai BL I watch the more I get the word play jokes the funnier they are. Language is so cool. 

Dear Boss & Babe your ForceBook is showing. 

Yes! One of my favorite dishes too! Nam Khao! Try it some time, you will not regret it. (Step by Step) 

These too are gonna break us. (Star Struck) 

(last week)

Current Kpop earworm? P1Harmoney’s Peacemaker