#considering all of that for me it's more enjoyable to take the series one episode at a time

[n1et]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is that not basically the entire premise of Michel as a character?

We never see most of the developments that led him to becoming how he is (was?) And it's outright stated that most of them never happened and will not be discussed.

He said "You turn into me, remember that" which might come true in the coming episodes, but not at all in the sense implied at the time. Without intervention Mike Mikey Michael and M.W. all remained distinct characters, without much drift into eachother's personalities.

This of course isn't *the same* but I think it shares some narrative parallels with the concept. There have been narratively significant events, that led to the cast developing, that nobody is privy to because those events never happened in the first place, with said characters being the only person still affected.

I think without that tie in to the story line, the question becomes slightly moot. If a tree falls in a forest but the only witness gets deleted out of the timeline along with it, does it make a sound? The answer I think is no, because the tree never existed, and it's not like the only guy who can disagree ever existed either.

listen the thing that really sticks in my head about woe.begone is the potential that the utilization of time travel within the canon storyline changes the events relative to the way we (the audience) experience it.

maybe this has been addressed in the pod or is altogether just too meta, but the idea that, for example, something could've happened to some version of mike that now, thanks to continuity/corrections/ the like, we (as meta w.bg pod listeners/in-canon listeners to w.bg as "mike's podcast"?) don't remember, because the iterations of him that initially experienced the event in their timelines, for one reason of another, are equally unaware that it ever even happened.

[ophelia-writes-fics]

the thrill of the rush [martin whitly x reader - 18+]

You had always known that Martin wanted kids, but you hadn’t realized quite how badly until you���d agreed to start trying for one.

Tags (please read!): fem!reader, breeding kink, pregnancy kink, lots and lots of praise, like so much praise, pet names, overstimulation, multiple orgasms (fem receiving), daddy kink, begging, mild degradation, rough-ish sex, a bit of biting, aftercare, weirdly soft and tender considering martin is a serial killer but honestly this could be read as an AU where he isn't

Word count: ~1.9k

CWs/TWs:

reader and martin are trying for a baby, but there's no in-depth discussion of pregnancy, and reader isn't pregnant (yet)

full disclosure, i'm only on episode 5 of prodigal son (but i've seen a ton of clips and edits) so if martin's a bit out of character i apologize. i tried to capture his softer, family-oriented side a little bit - i like it when he's scary, but sometimes a bitch just wants to be lavished with love, yk? <3

i'll write some really kinky shit with him later, i've got some fun requests, but for now, enjoy! (oh, and 10th doctor smut will be posted tomorrow, so stay tuned!)

You had always known that Martin wanted kids, but you hadn’t realized quite how badly until you’d agreed to start trying for one. 

However, now that he had you pinned underneath him, practically bent in half, and was pounding into you with reckless abandon, you were starting to realize what exactly you were in for. 

“Oh, f-fuck, please, Martin, s-slow down…” you begged, your hands scrambling for purchase on his forearms as your eyes rolled back from pleasure. 

“Shh, darling, you can take it. You’re my good girl, aren’t you? Just lie there and let me take care of you,” he murmured before gently kissing your forehead and doubling down on his already brutal pace. 

“Mnn…c-can’t take it…too much…” You shut your eyes tightly, thoroughly overwhelmed with pleasure. 

He’d already made you cum twice by going down on you, then twice more while fucking you like this, and despite how overstimulated and sensitive your entire body felt, you were rapidly approaching another orgasm. 

“You can and you will, sweet girl. I’m going to make sure you get just as much enjoyment out of this as I do, and if that means I end up making you cum a dozen more times tonight, then that’s how it’s going to go. You’re going to take it.” He pressed a series of desperate, open-mouthed kisses to the sensitive skin on your neck. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this. Do you know what you do to me? What your body does to me?” 

A particularly hard thrust made you cry out, and from the look in Martin’s eyes, you could tell that was exactly the reaction he was hoping for. His grip on your thighs tightened as he bent you further back, pinning you so that your knees nearly touched your shoulders, fucking you deeper than you’d thought possible. He leaned in close to whisper to you as he pounded you mercilessly, his hand moving between the two of you to rub against your hypersensitive clit. 

“I’ve been waiting on this for ages, darling. I’ve been waiting -- fuck, you feel amazing -- waiting so long to have you like this, all mine for the taking, at long last.” 

Martin groaned, closing his eyes as your cunt tightened around him. You opened your mouth to try and tell him you were getting close, that you needed him, that it was too much and not enough and you needed it so badly, but before you could speak, he pulled you close and kissed you passionately, a stark contrast to the absolutely brutal fucking he was giving you. 

He pulled away, leaning his forehead against yours. “I know, sweetheart, I know, you’re so close, I feel it,” he purred, interrupting himself every so often to kiss you again. “I can feel how badly you want it. It’s all right, darling, let it happen. I’ve got you. I’m not going to stop for anything, I promise. Cum for me, baby, I know you can do it.” 

You could barely even process the words coming out of his mouth, but still, your body obeyed his orders, almost instinctively. You couldn’t have held back if you wanted to, your desperate moan becoming a scream as your orgasm hit you like a ton of bricks, leaving you trembling and whimpering for Martin to please, please slow down, it’s too much, even though you both knew full well that you could take it. He fucked you straight through it, only barely slowing down as you came, then picking up the pace again, thrusting into you with deep, hard strokes. 

“Such a good little girl,” he praised, giving you that look you knew so well as he smiled at you; that thrilling, dangerous look in his eye that made you feel like a cornered prey animal, completely helpless and at his mercy, and you wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. His hand wandered to your neck and wrapped around it - not nearly hard enough to restrict your breathing, but enough so you felt the weight of it, so that you knew you were his and only his. 

You practically melted beneath him at the feeling, letting yourself float away in the waves and waves of pleasure that never stopped. You lavished in his praise, in the feeling of his hands all over you, in the light graze of his beard against your face, your neck, your chest as he kissed you over and over again. 

“Martin, please, I’m ready…”

He pulled back, fixing you with a look that betrayed his own desperation. “Ready for what, sweetheart? Use your words, I won’t know what you want if you don’t tell me.” 

“I -- ngh! -- I want you to cum, please, I wanna feel it, I want…” you trailed off with a gasp as he hit a particularly sensitive spot inside you. 

“What do you want?” 

You moaned, barely able to string a coherent thought together, feeling yourself getting more and more lost in your fog of pleasure. 

Martin grabbed your chin firmly, turning your face to him. “I said, what do you want, hmm?” His gravelly voice was like music in your ears. “Say it, sweetheart. Tell Daddy what you need.” 

You stared up at him through blurry eyes, trying to focus on him in your fucked-out state. “I want…I want you to fill me up. I want to have a baby with you, Martin. I - I need it, please, I’m ready, I want - oh, fuck, oh my god, yes, right there…fuck, I - I want to have your child, please, I need it, Martin…”

That did it. Without even pulling out, he turned you over and quickly positioned you so that you were on all fours, pressing your face into the mattress with a deep moan that was almost a growl. He grabbed your hips hard, using them as leverage to fuck into you even harder, with shallow thrusts that hit the most sensitive places inside you, never pulling even halfway out. 

“Oh, yes, that’s it, my filthy fucking girl. You want Daddy to breed you?” 

He knew the answer, he’d known it since the beginning, that was what had started this past hour of overwhelming pleasure for you, but you knew that he wanted to hear you say it. He wanted you to beg. 

“Yes, yes, fuck, yes! Please, please, I need it, please…” 

“Ah, there’s my good girl. You’re so sweet, aren’t you? Begging like a whore for me to fill you up. There you go, let me hear you moan for it, let me hear how desperate you are for me to put a baby in you, come on…Mmm, such a good girl, lying there and taking it like the slut you are.” 

You could tell from his tone of voice and the way his pace was starting to grow erratic that he was getting close, and you knew that you weren’t far behind him. You absolutely loved it when he got like this, dominant and possessive and half-mad with lust. You could barely hold yourself upright with how badly your body was shaking. 

You felt his grip tighten on your hips, fingers pressing so hard into your soft skin that you were sure you’d have bruises tomorrow, and you whined desperately, the sound growing muffled as Martin shoved your face back into the mattress, his hand tangling in your hair and pulling slightly in a way that sent shivers down your spine. 

“God, you have no idea how hard it’s been for me to hold back, I’ve wanted to do this for so long…can’t stop -- oh, shit, darling, just like that -- god, I can’t stop fucking thinking about how pretty you’ll look carrying my child, how needy you’ll be for me for those nine long months,” he panted, voice shaking ever so slightly. You knew he meant every single word. 

“I’m going to take such good care of you, my perfect girl. You hear me? Daddy’s going to take such good care of you.”

He wrapped an arm around you, toying with your clit in a way that he knew would drive you over the edge at any moment.

“I’m going to take care of you just like I’m doing now. I’m going to make you feel so good that you’ll never want to leave this bed. You won’t have to. Just - oh, god - just say the word and I’ll be at your beck and call. But right now, what I need you to do is cum for me, because--” 

His words broke off with a deep, feral moan before he collected himself enough to speak. “Because, my beautiful darling, I am getting so fucking close to cumming inside you, and I need to feel your needy little pussy take every drop I’m going to give it, do you understand me? I’m going to count down, and when I tell you to, you’re going to give me everything you’ve got, yeah?” 

You moaned and nodded, feeling thoroughly drunk and light-headed with pleasure. 

“Three…” 

You felt yourself tighten around him as his fingers sped up against your clit. 

“Two…” 

You could feel yourself getting closer and closer, so close, so fucking close…

“One…”

It was so much, it was all too much, you couldn’t hold back for even a moment more…

“Fuck, yes, there you go, cum for me, angel, cum for me!” 

You cried out as your final orgasm of the night washed over you like a tidal wave, your throat feeling sore and raw, your body feeling electrified all over as shocks of pleasure coursed through every inch of you, inside and out. Martin had done the same as he came deep inside you, his voice rough as he moaned for you, panting hard, his head thrown back in ecstasy as he filled your cunt with his seed. 

After what felt like an eternity, you collapsed onto the bedsheets as you came down from your high, unable to hold yourself up any longer. Martin laid down beside you, pulling you into his arms, holding you close as he wrapped you both in a blanket. 

He pressed a kiss to your neck before resting his face against your shoulder, sighing contentedly. His arm was wrapped around you, his warm hand resting protectively against your lower stomach, right where you could still feel his cum inside you. 

“You’re incredible,” Martin sighed, his soft exhale tickling the shell of your ear. “You did so well for me, sweetheart, you were wonderful.”

“Yeah?” You gave him a sleepy smile as you settled yourself into his embrace, floating in the afterglow. 

“Mm-hmm,” he replied, and you felt him smile against the curve of your shoulder. “I can hardly wait until you start showing, I won’t be able to keep my hands off you.” He pulled you closer, playfully biting your neck as you giggled, then tilted his head upward to gently kiss your lips with a loving smile. 

“Let’s get some sleep now, sweet girl. I know you’re tired, and you’re gonna need plenty of rest soon, hmm?” 

You nodded, yawning and pulling the blanket tighter around the both of you before settling back into Martin’s warm embrace. 

He hummed quietly, contentedly, and you felt the sound vibrate in his chest. 

“Sleep well, my beautiful girl. I love you with all my heart.”

A/N: thank you so much for reading! if you have any other ideas, my requests are open, so ask away! and again, i've got another fic coming tomorrow, so be sure to check it out if you're interested. feel free to like, comment, rb, share, whatever you like :) love you all!

[memento-mori-twilight]

One of the best things about My Adventures with Superman as a DC Comics fan is just how many deep cuts they are allowed to put in, some a lot deeper than others.

A lot deeper!

Some so deep that the origins of some things have become a bit muddied and come seemingly out of nowhere (or from solely the creator's imagination)

But as comic enjoyers know, if you've thought it, some writer/artist all the way back then has more than likely considered it too

And I figured I'd help start a series of posts to help shed some light on these original to help show my appreciation to the attempts and takes the show has undertaken adapting to help makes these concepts more mainstream and palatable for a non-comic audience.

(Also I'm aware this is just an excuse for me to get out my nerdy Superfam rantings, but indulge me here a little, will ya? Hahaha)

Introducing...

MAWS Concept Comic Book Origins

And what better place to start than where it all starts: Krypton!

Let's start in chronological order:

1) Kal-el's semi-sentient high-tech baby ship

(without the ship growing aspect, of course)

2) Kryptonian Bio-tech suit

Yes, the Magical Girl Sequence does have some kind of comic precedent!

Krypton being an invading force

Yep, the comics came up with it first before Invincible and roughly Kryptonian Battle Ship design since they have the similar space gun shape in the show.

The Fortress of Solitude

Specifically a form of the Golden/Silver Age interpretation (from the outside design, sans giant lock and key)

Kryptonian Battle Tech Suits

Kara's and the Big Guy on the Right's battle suits share some huge design similarities in particular

...and last but not least (spoilers for episode season 02x06)

Kryptonian Thought/Memory Projectors

Now with a modernized headband design!

(Note: this is going off solely of the info we're given of the tech based on the early promo, not any truth that may come out about the tech later in the season)

Anyway, that's all I could find/think of in a short notice.

I know I haven't found all of them, so if you can come up with/think of any other examples, put them in the replies or comment them in a rb!

Talk to you all next time!

[torturedblue]

Part 2 of endless Disaster Twin parallels, the not so fun version

Part 1, the fun version

Considering the series shows Donnie coming off as autistic, he’s portrayed that way much more in fan art and fanfics, etc. We often see it in fan portrayals through an aversion to touch or his senses getting overwhelmed, etc. In the show I noticed Leo actually has a consistent aversion to anything with a gross texture too: like in the first episode when they’re all sliding down Draxum’s vines and he’s tripping over himself, the only one bothered by them “I hate this!”

He also starts flailing in a panic after a worm jumps on his face (and do I even need to bring up how the texture of worms ain’t all that enjoyable let alone on your face), recoils when that evil Hidden City massage guy pours hair serum all over his head, and he’s the most visibly repulsed when Raph gets trash all over them in the beginning of Battle Nexus: New York. So on multiple occasions he comes off as pretty texture or germ averse as well

Both also have insecurity issues about their role to the team: “If mystics can do everything I can but better then why would you guys even need me?” “I’m nothing without them!”

Ironically, in Many Unhappy Returns, Splinter thinks Leo doesn’t know what he’s doing and isn’t taking the mission seriously, saying he should’ve brought Purple. But in the same episode during fights with Shredder Donnie’s seen texting on his phone half of the time. Which is also very parallel to Leo making quips in the beginning instead of helping fight like Donnie and the others

In that same fashion, Donnie’s also goofiest when everyone’s acting serious in Insane in the Mama Train, while Leo’s the unserious one in the following episodes. Another role reversal from their norm

The show also portrays these two as feeling the most affected by Splinter’s history of emotionally distant parenting. Donnie constantly talks about his unmet need for parent-aged-adult approval/validation, and Leo shows his struggle in a more Leo-like way, constantly finding father figure connections in other people like Jupiter Jim and The Dunk. He also rejects/roasts Splinter a lot too, which seems more like a form of overcompensation; acting like he doesn’t totally need or crave Splinter’s attention. The exact opposite of Donnie’s methods. “No! I’m not going back to what’s-his-rat.”

“He’s my all-time favorite actor/role model/father figure!”

“That eccentric billionaire, who was kind of a surrogate father figure to me, has shown me a version of myself I don’t like.”

Leo acts like he doesn’t pine for his affection. I’m sure he sees the way Donnie openly, desperately goes after it when it’s offered and then gets crushed even harder with disappointment (ahem Turtle-dega Nights). No way Leo’s opening himself up to that. I mean come on how sad is the moment when Splinter says they should do something together and Mikey is so eager to jump on the opportunity before it gets taken away, only for Donnie to have to pull him aside and remind him it’s usually some kind of trick or he’s likely possessed? Just for Mikey to immediately respond, “You’re right, I always fall for this!” Ouch. Honestly considering Mikey’s empathy and emotional maturity in mind, the reason both he and Raph seem to handle Splinter’s lack of attention so well is probably also because in addition Raph became a second parent himself, and taking on that role like Splinter, he knows from his own experience that even though their dad doesn’t show it in the ways they wish he would, of course he loves them and what he does do to take care of them as a parent proves that

I think the parallels and direct contrasts between how Leo and Donnie show their dissatisfaction in their relationship with Splinter is probably the most developed and interesting one to me 💔

I mean Leo’s the only one who would actually say something like this to Splinter and you can’t tell me there’s not some deep-seated resentment in the way he looks and the way he says it…

So yeah. There’s the sad edition of Disaster Twins parallels. Let’s all cry together 😃

[thecoolerliauditore]

Recently (A couple of months ago I just finished like a week ago) I decided to rewatch all of Scott and Pearl pov and idk why, but I'm getting yandere vibes from Scott and not Pearl. Like isnt it supposed to be the other way around???? Idk maybe it's just because in secret life Scott was more mad that Pearl didn't say "I love you" than Jimmy, and in double life when supposedly Pearl was a 'yandere' Cleo said "I have everything you want" which made Pearl confused for a second of what Cleo meant, until it hit Pearl that it was Scott and replied something like "Wait you think I want Scott?". That's really all I have rn, but idk I feel weird about it cuz Scott is gay.

This is why I'm here cause your the Scott expert, am I delusional or is this vibe no one is talking about?????? (Pls help)

First off being called the Scott expert is wild to me I think of myself at most as a grad student taking notes for my research paper studying his behaviour but this feeds my ego so keep going.

Anyway you are totally insane anon I totally don't agree.

Definitely have not made multiple posts in the past basing my analysis of Scott's character on him being weird about Pearl.

Definitely have not had other ppl in the past happy to hear they're not insane for seeing it too.

Or addressed it feeling illegal to acknowledge this aspect of Scott's character.

don't look under the cut haha nothing is down there

HE'S CRAZY HE'S FUCKING CRAZY HE'S INSANE HE'S THE WORST HE'S LITERALLY THE WORST THE WORSTTTTT THE WORST MAN ON EARTHHHHH UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

LL they were like. Very affectionate but it was just cute to me (I think I was watching with a friend and even remarked that they acted like siblings at one point. oh how naive). Like yay they're besties! Double Life was when I was like. Oh something's. Something's strange here.

The way Scott automatically slaps the "ex-girlfriend" title on Pearl despite that not being true. The way Scott is the one constantly using romantic terms to refer to her while Pearl never does the same for him. The fact that Pearl explicitly said she "felt like (she was) being broken up with" which means she didn't see their relationship as romantic.

Also that's an insane thing for Cleo to say ?? I don't remember this but that's. That sucks. That sucks so bad. If you can give me the episode/timestamp I would thank you forever.

She literally didn't see him in that way anon she literally never did. It was never about forcing Scott to be her boyfriend/soulmate/etc it was about being abandoned and lacking closure. <-- my totally correct opinion.

Maybe slight side note but I really need to study the way people use "yandere" when referring to Pearl because as a weeb and a former yandere enjoyer it's. idk. fascinating to me. The culture I mean. Because the life series fandom is relatively less weeby than what I'm accustomed to I think "yandere" is like. slotted in as a sillier way to say toxic/obsessive female love interest And because at least in fanon Pearl kind of fits the description for your standard yandere which is conventionally attractive weirdgirl but Evil!!!!

And there's like. Something about that and the way like you mentioned if anything it's Scott who possesses more yandere tropes i.e. referring to Pearl as his (ex) girlfriend without her knowledge/consent, fishing for affection from her and even killing her friends.

Just FYI I wouldn't personally consider Scott a yandere and I would definitely do a double take if I saw someone referring to him as one in the wild. But I do think it being completely unacknowledged by fandom is interesting not only as a byproduct of the"scott can do nothing wrong" fanon but also as a reflection of how the yandere trope is approached In General when applied to male characters. I remember there being like a fairly big discussion back in the day within the anime community regarding male yanderes and how they weren't as enjoyable/iconic as their female counterparts because they were "too real" -- lots to unpack there, very fun for me specifically. That sounded sarcastic in text somehow but I'm serious I find that super interesting.

(side side note getting this ask made me really happy. I love that people agree with my opinions whoaaaa. )

[transmascutena]

finding a good reaction series for any anime is so hard, and then trying to find one for utena is like trying to find a needle in a very small haystack, i think i've only found like one or two??? that have actually been pretty enjoyable?? and by that i mean, like, where the reactors actually take the show seriously and try to analyze and understand all of the symbolism/meaning/commentaries on society instead of being just like 'woahhh that was weird ig, oh well' and just moving on. although one of the ones i enjoyed also completely missed that juri was in love with shiori in her first episode but honestly i found that more hilarious than frustrating considering how good they were at picking up other small details and how blatantly it was spelt out hfsiuacjk. suffice to say, they figured it out later.

but like when I found the other good reactor to utena it was SOOO nice. like. i don't need the reactor to be absolutely correct on everything and catch every single detail, i just need somebody WILLING to actually engage with the show, and have the ability to look deeper than surface level. i've watched this reactor regularly for a while and i figured utena was the type of weird symbolic stuff he would really enjoy, but when I was proven right and he loved the show and loved the characters and created well-reasoned theories and predictions it was SOOOO satsifying. and i can probably never recommend him to anyone in good faith because he can make some tasteless jokes that i've been pretty desensitized to over the years because he says them more as a bit, but it's still to the extent that I can't tell how other people would take it if they were to watch him for the first time. but when it came to the utena and akio stuff he immediately understood that the show was depicting grooming and abuse and treated it as such in his commentary even before episode 33. and i know like that's probably a low bar, but after seeing people think it was a legit romance, it was so gratifying to see the actions of akio being responded with immediate disgust. he said that utena was probably in his favorite shows of all time at the end of the series, and he was so excited at almost every twist of the plot, so altogether my favorite reactor.

anyways, all that's to say, do you have any reaction series recommendations for utena that you think were a good watch? thanks for your time and all of your great utena posting!

only utena reaction series i remember liking pretty much all the way through was the one by semblance of sanity. there were probably things they missed or whatever as there will always be on a first viewing, and some of the things they said about the final episode in particular were a bit odd (though i've forgotten what exactly it was), but generally it was very enjoyable to me. you could tell they liked the show a lot and wanted to understand it and i think it also helped that they were two people who could bounce ideas and theories off each other. most reactors do it alone which can in my opinion get a bit stale at times. it was really just one of those things where i was looking forward to the new episode from them every single week (maybe helped too that it was only my own second or third rewatch and i was looking for new stuff myself still). i even subscribed to their patreon for a month towards the end so i could view the full uncut reactions, meaning i effectively watched the whole thing twice, but i don't think that was the smartest use of my money or my time lol

[stormyoceans]

We are really that good? I'm scared off by the large number of couples. Is each of the couples sufficiently disclosed in the script? You're so excited about this show. I'm skeptical, but maybe I should try?

I MEAN. MUST A SHOW BE GOOD. IS IT NOT ENOUGH FOR IT TO SPARK JOY AND GIVE YOU A BRAINROT SO DEEP THEY HAVE TO GET YOU INVOLUNTARY COMMITTED BECAUSE OF IT

but all jokes aside, let's talk about it. when it comes to reviewing shows, i always try to be as honest and objective as i can, so im not just gonna lie to you and pretend we are is a masterpiece. it's very much not. if you enjoy plot driven stories then this series is very much not for you because the plot is basically non-existent, or rather.. all the different dynamics between the characters ARE the plot. to me the show is a slice of life in the connotation that's given to it in anime and manga: a narrative that takes place in a recognisable everyday setting, often in a school, and that focuses on interpersonal relationships. this isn't to say slice of life shows with a character driven story can't be masterpieces, they absolutely can, but we are is not..very refined, there are some things that do not make much sense to me and the way the story is told can be a bit frustrating at times, not to mention that for a director who likes to show a million angles of the same moment you'd think the editing would be top notch but it's just. it's not, okay, it looks like my hair after i chop it off over the bathroom sink at 2 am when i cannot sleep, that shit's ROUGH

all this being said, im still enjoying this show TREMENDOUSLY. and believe me, no one is more surprised about this than i am. tbh i can't quite explain to you why it works for me when other (maybe even better) shows don't, it just feels very genuine, the humor isn't over the top, the characters are all extremely likeable, and i love that they're giving the platonic relationships the same weight and importance as the romantic ones. and i mean..im mostly insane about phumpeem because apparently that's THEE Dynamic™ for me, but since there are four different pairings i feel like there's something for everyone

although when it comes to development, since you asked, i do want to point out that pondphuwin and winnysatang's pairings are clearly the main ones (before anyone comes at me, i do remember the cast saying this), but aouboom still get a fair amount of screentime and they're the heart of the show tbh. the only pair that's suffering in this regard is marcpoon, but honestly it makes sense considering they had to reshoot stuff

so, um. yeah ;;;;;; this is way too long and it's probably a mess but i wanted to give you an honest and complete overview so you know what you're getting yourself into if you do decide to give it a chance. i actually started to like the show more and more after episode 3, so maybe if you have a free evening you could just try it out and see if you can get into it!!!!!!

tl;dr: it's not a masterpiece and it has its shortcomings but it's highly enjoyable and although not all couples have the same amount of screentime and development i think everyone could find something to like in the show

[lucianalight]

Hi! I'm back :) after another long hiatus😅 I have missed all of you❤️

First of all a huge thank you to everyone who were worried and asked about my health and how I was doing. I wasn't doing well tbh. I'm one of those people who had the misfortune of never quite recovering from covid. I already had one chronic illness that was messing up my life and health. Having another on top of that takes a lot of physical, emotional and mental toll and limits my energy greatly. So I needed time to get used to my new reality and condition and learn to how manage it and live with it. It's still a work in progress and doctor appointments are seeming endless but at least some meds are helping. So there's that.

You probably already know the second reason why I wasn't doing well. I've seen terrible things…And you need time to process them. To grieve, to deal with trauma and survivor's guilt, and nurture your anger and keep fighting, keep resisting…

And well, internet connection still sucks so using social media is kind of an ordeal :D

There were a lot of times that I wanted to come back on tumblr but every time some issue would come up and take my motivation and energy. Then two weeks ago, after I couldn't crush the little ray of hope that maybe this time I'm going to see sth I like, I started watching season 2 of Loki. I watched it while promising myself that I'm not going to care anymore if it's bad, reminding myself that I might see sth as bad as season 1. Still I was surprised that I didn't hate it. On the contrary there were moments that were entertaining and even enjoyable. And those moments were more than the ones I dislike. It was better than season 1 and admittedly that's a low bar since I consider S1 one of the worst tv shows I've ever seen, but there were noticeable changes in pace and tone of the narrative and characterization in S2. Some issues in S1 was addressed. Loki was actually the main character of his series and got to do badass magic stuff :D The characters were flesh out and three dimensional and likable(I love OB so much :D). There was no romance. The ending was great.

There were of course things I didn't like. Removing Loki's backstory and his issues with his family from the story is one of them. How some of his moments in past was addressed. The episodes at times got boring or very predictable. There were times that Loki was ooc or comedic moments that weren't delivered well.

It wasn't perfect but at least acceptable. And probably the best Loki content we got since TDW. And I liked the ending a lot. I found myself keep going back to rewatch some scenes. I found myself analyzing the content happily. I had things to say. So here I am :D basically I'm 100% back to my Loki bs and I'm making it everyone's problem :P

Whether you loved the series or hated it, you're welcome on my blog and you're welcome to send me your opinions and engage with me in discussions and metas. I will tag posts accordingly in case you want to avoid certain content(tbh I still don't know what the new tags will be because I haven't written anything yet but I will make a post when I do).

There will be posts of some new fandoms so block their tags if you don't want to see those posts. The new fandoms are Sandman tv show(I haven't finished the comics so plz don't spoil them for me), Wednesday, My Hero Academia, Shadow and Bone, and The Bifrost Incident.

As I mentioned above I'm dealing with multiple chronic illnesses and have a limited energy each day. I will try to answer your messages, comments and asks as soon as I can but it might take a long time. Sry about that.

And finally a warm welcome to all the new followers and thanks to everyone who are still following me❤️

[beybladefanboy]

Metal Fury Has The Weakest Villains

After thinking about it, I have to admit that as much as I love Fury and still consider it my favorite season of Beyblade, one thing Fusion and Masters have over it (besides a better written Kyoya, still the only problem I have with Fury that majorly affects my enjoyment) are the villains. Aside from Johannes, who is very memorable and honestly does way too much of the heavy-lifting for a henchman, Fury's villains are really forgettable.

Starting with Fusion:

Its main villains are definitely Ryuga and Doji but I'll throw Reiji in as well since despite being in fewer episodes than some of Fury's villains, he's far more memorable than them.

Reiji, along with Doji and Ryuga are very memorable villains. I remember their goals, their beys, how they battle, how they look and sound, and just who they are in general even when it's been a long time since I've seen the series. Destructive purple dragon, giant torture snake, and wolf that drags people into darkness are just very distinct. These characters' goals are very simple. However, I will always remember the way Doji and Ryuga go about those goals by manipulating notable characters like Yu, Testuya, Tobio, and Ryutaro into the Dark Nebula to ultimately just use them and all the ripple effects that causes. Not to mention the way Reiji is merely Doji's sadistic puppet, the way he gleefully and viciously tortures children, his breakdowns that they never properly utilized, all of that sticks in my mind and creates a set of very memorable villains.

Masters, while less iconic, also does its main villains really well.

Ziggurat is probably the most realistic villain in the entire series. Slight goofiness and generic design aside, a mad scientist who's so concerned with whether or not he can do something that he didn't stop to think if he should is very rooted in reality and quite frankly, that's terrifying. And like Doji, Ziggurat also manipulates Bladers into his cause like Damian, Jack, and Zeo, the last of which causes so much interesting conflict for Masamune and Toby. Damian and Jack as well, while technically "henchmen" too, are very memorable thanks to how they look and how they fight. Like the Fusion villains, Peacock the Ripper and dog who drags people into hell are memorable and interesting. Plus the way Ziggurat swayed characters from earlier in the series to join his cause like the Garcias and Julian, and the ripple effect that especially the latter caused was very engaging to watch, and similar to Fusion with the Dark Nebula, makes even the henchmen interesting.

And then there's Fury.

Johannes, I think, is actually done well. He's, despite fandom perception, actually competent as a henchman, knowing when it would be most optimal for his plans to flee or fight and cleverly swaying both Aguma and Chris to his side with just his words. He's also got a distinct look and way of acting in and out of battle. "Cat boy thingy" is memorable, if on the silly side.

The other Fury villains though...

While it's cool that Pluto works in the shadows and wears a mask most of the season, he doesn't have anything besides that to make him stand out like these other villains do. Often when I rewatch Fury, I only remember he's the masked man after he takes his mask off and when he does, he just becomes some guy to me. He doesn't do much outside of the big semi-final battle when he uses his special move to separate the legendary bladers and prevent them from making Zeus's Barrier, which is cool and engaging in the moment but easy to forget about when I'm not actively watching those episodes. It's more memorable because of how Kenta breaks through it and saves the day rather than anything Pluto does.

And then Rago...

Rago just sucks. I'm sorry. He's again just some guy who showed up out of nowhere when the villains literally brought in to control Nemesis. Yeah, I know Reiji was also kind of just "some guy who showed up" but him never being seen before (even by others in the Dark Nebula) was something that was used to add to his creepiness and intimidation factor, and build up the feeling of uneasiness throughout his battle with Hyoma. Plus, Reiji was basically kept in the Dark Nebula's basement prior to "showing up", not off some undisclosed somewhere in the world like Rago was.

What else is there to Rago? Well, he killed Ryuga... rest in peace, legend.

That and the whole "copied bey spirits" thing (which admittedly is a really cool visual) are the most memorable things Rago does honestly. He's also, I think, descended from the original controller of Nemesis. Or maybe that's Pluto. I don't know. They blend together in my mind so I can never remember which is his descendant when I'm not actively watching Fury.

Hell, for that matter, I can't remember anything about either of these characters when I'm not actively watching Fury. Who are they? Why do they want to destroy the world? Who are they outside of that goal? How do their actions (not Johannes's) affect the main cast?

For Fusion and Masters' villains, I, and probably you reading this, can answer all these questions easily.

For two random examples from each:

-Doji likes orange juice, uses a Dark Wolf, hates cacti and childrens' happiness and is a manipulative sociopath who wants to use the dark power to take over the world.

-Damian is a brainwashed germaphobic child who uses a Kerbecs bey and believes using the arrangement system is the best and only way to become a powerful blader.

Hell, I can even do this for Johannes in Fury: He likes cats, using a Lynx bey with different spin track lengths, is a bit of a weirdo and a coward, and believes in Nemesis's cause to destroy the world and bring about a newer better world.

Pluto and Rago don't have any traits like these that make them stand out. I'm not saying they need to be silly but my god give them something. Or at least consolidate them into one character. Why couldn't Pluto just be the one to control Nemesis and maybe be unmasked earlier? That alone would've made him at least a little more memorable than what we got.

Tldr: I love Fury but compared to Fusion and Masters, its villains are lacking.

[smilingperformer]

Me: "Yaaaay it's Horizons anniversary soon!!"

Others: "It's been a year since Satoshi's journey ended"

I... I didn't even think about that |D

Guess I was that ready to just let him leave the story.

Considering that none of the original series staff stayed in the writing team, they were too.

Since it's soon been a year and we're reaching the end of act 2, I can confidently say this is like, my favourite Pokémon series. Alongside Sun & Moon. And both are favs for wholely different reasons, as in, love Sun & Moon for tackling mature topics and for having wonderful humor, alongside good world building and nice focus on family theme. While Horizons I love the story focus shift from normal, cast that is super enjoyable and a take on a found family type of group, new original villains that I've come to like a lot, etc etc.

I love how different both shows are. I love how both dare to try new things out in different way. Liko is one of THE most relatable characters to me, and I love the whole entire cast to bits. I even adore the Explorers, esp. Sango is slowly making a hole in my heart that wants me to call myself a fan of hers. Yes. She's been that enjoyable to me. Even Amethio's grown on me immensely, I like how his character works, and excited to see his role this upcoming ep.

At the start Roy felt a tad bit too alike to Satoshi, and at times I can see that similar type of "forget about a skill and then do the skill" writing from Satoshi era is thrown on him, but he's still mostly his own character. But that is probably why I'm more drawn to the likes of Liko, Dot, Friede, Amethio and Sango, because their fighting styles are so refreshing for me. I even like how Onyx and Sango pairing works, with Onyx fitting Sango's oni-speaking pattern (srsly wtf that must have been intended and now I want to know if dub has ANYTHING to match this speaking pattern with.)

There's been clear growth, clear character progression, much much slower team progress than whatever the fuck JN did (not jabbing at anyone who likes JN but I won't deny that I really hate how fucking fast most Pokémon evolved there. It seems Horizons knows not to rush things).

Act 1 suffered from pacing issue where stuff happens in one episode and then the next ep sort of shrugs it off and continues the plot in a really weird tone-shift, but I don't think act 2 had that, which I liked. But act 2 also had more fill-ins compared to the action-packed act 1. But imo, it was good to have a more slower, calming pace for a while. It helped build on the characters more, and show how the Rising Volt Tacklers exactly live like. Which makes the Brave Asagi breaking in recent episode ever so more heartbreaking aaaaaaaaah-

I'm also kinda glad I was wrong on the "only a one year long series", because so far I'm quite attached to the cast and definitely wouldn't have felt happy to see them go yet. So knowing that Horizons seems to follow the usual 3 year pace (maybe 2, maybe 4, who knows) makes me happy. And I totally look forward to act 3 that is definitely caused by the Brave Asagi needing long, long time for repairs.

So um yeh. This was a weird ramble lol. But like, love Horizons, don't exactly miss old show as I felt it told whatever it wanted to and had the danger of just, butchering characters further from what I enjoyed it for. Sometimes it's better to let go. Fanfics and fanarts will still exists for a long long time, I'm sure. But my enjoyment on Horizons has definitely caused me to not miss the old days at all. And I'm glad.

(Do I want Satoshi to return? Honestly? No. 26 years is long enough for me.)

[agentnico]

Agatha All Along - season 1 (2024) review

Down down, down the road, down the Witches Road…

Plot: A spell-bound Agatha Harkness regains freedom thanks to a teen's help. Intrigued by his plea, she embarks on the Witches' Road trials to reclaim her powers and discover the teen's motivations.

I’m not going to waffle about my complaints with the current state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I’ve already rambled on a substantial amount in my previous reviews regarding this subject matter, so let’s leave it at the fact that my opinion and thoughts have not changed. That being said, WandaVision was one of the few enjoyable projects in the post-Endgame MCU era, as it had that original and unique flavour with messing with different television formats, and additionally was interesting in how that show explored the effects of trauma and grief. Naturally due to its success, Disney being Disney and Marvel being Marvel meant a sequel or a spin-off was inevitable. In this case it’s Agatha Harkness, who was played with a lot of funky energy by Kathryn Hahn in WandaVision. As enjoyable as she was, I never considered her to need her own show. I guess really anyone can get their own Disney+ series these days!

Kathryn Hahn is the primary reason to watch Agatha All Along. She’s as enjoyable as ever, cackling and wincing her way through each episode, and it was entertaining to constantly question her moral code, if she’s a villain or if she was turning to the good side. Hahn is great, and I am so glad she’s getting the recognition snd good roles now. As for other cast members, they are okay. Joe Locke as the teen came off a little pretentious, and Patti LuPone was the only witch I actually cared about. Aubrey Plaza as the mysterious Rio ends up being exactly what you expect her to be, and though Plaza nails the sarcasm, it’s nothing you haven’t seen her do before.

In regard to the series’ style, it’s really campy. The trailers in my opinion promised more horror aspects which were not present in the final product, but my main complaint is with the show’s look. It feels cheap. From the costumes to the sets, the whole thing is reminiscent of a CW or SyFy show, and you can tell Disney is probably tightening their budgets following the backlash of recent releases. But with something like Marvel you still expect to see something of visually interesting style, especially as they are sourcing a lot of narratives from comics and graphic novels, which one would assume would inspire more colourful and memorable set pieces. Unfortunately this show doesn’t offer any of that. The best you get is some rip-off witch costumes from other Disney projects, which I felt was more so for Disney to show-off how much Hollywood they own.

As for the narrative, for the most part this show is dull. It’s a very repetitive concept where in every episode our witches take on yet another trial, and though some trials do stand out more than others (episode 7 where a character time-jumps using tarot cards was particularly memorable) as a combined package it meant that catching up every week with a new episode was at times a chore. The other infuriating factor was the endless foreshadowing. This show consistently would bash you over the head with clues of what’s to come, but the clues were so predictable that when the reveals finally did pay-off they were not surprising even remotely. Reminded me a little of that Walk Hard segment where the kid says “ain’t nothing bad gonna happen today” only for him to get spliced in two 5 minutes later.

Superhero fatigue is real everyone! It’s happening! I’m kidding of course, I’m still holding out hope that Marvel and DC will get back to their former glory, but evidently there is still a long ways to go. Agatha All Along didn’t do it for me, however I do admit that Witches Road song is a banger and has been stuck in my head ever since!

Overall score: 4/10

[miss0atae]

Random thoughts about Pit Babe the series ep 13:

This is the last episode and what a ride it was. I'm sad we have to say bye to the first Thai BL Omegaverse and every characters from this series. Friday won't be the same.

▪️ Of course, Babe and Charlie are back together. Babe didn't really resented Charlie for making him experienced grief and faking his death. As always, Charlie has always been very lucky with Babe. It must be the power of love. I know I should be disappointed they didn't give them the time to talk about it but it was the last episode and to be honest I'm glad we didn't spend too much time on it. Babe experienced too much sadness and grieves in this series. At least, he didn't have to do it more for Charlie. They are very much in love and happy together and I'm glad for them.

▪️ Babe had his reunion with his father after so many years. He got the chance to express how he felt about this separation. It wasn't my favorite part of the series but it was needed for Babe. I felt like his father appeared too late on the story. It came at the worst possible moment, for me. I wish he was more involved. I can't even understand why he didn't come to Babe when he escaped Tony's place and became a racer. At least, they mended their relationship.

▪️ As for Alan and Jeff, I was really waiting for them to be together in previous episodes and I'm glad in this episode they didn't have to face any hardships. Alan saved his boyfriend and they are happy together. They may be less demonstrative than Charlie and Babe, but what matters is that they are in a loving relationship.

▪️ Winner was still a sore loser. It's funny how his name don't match his personality or actions. He got what he deserves. He was a terrible person. I never had any interest for him. It's not like he never got a chance to be better. Kim tried several time in the series to make him understand that his actions will face consequences and he never listened.

▪️ Tony died! Now, he will never hurt anyone again and all those children are free from his abuse and greed. Kenta is the one who killed him and I think it was the perfect choice. He has been the one who stayed the longest with him and he was brainwashed into believing crumbs of affection (mostly giving him a shelter and not letting him dying alone) was love. He did many bad things in the name of love because he thought he would one day be loved the way he deserved or because he thought he could only do that. This character moved me a lot. I'm glad his free now. It's sad that we didn't get anything after he killed Tony. We don't know what happened to him. Is he taking care of the children? How does he live with the guilt? Is he in contact with Pete?

▪️ Finally, it's time to talk about Way. He wasn't my favorite character but I felt pity for him. In the last two episodes, he tried to redeem himself. He apologizes for his wrongdoing and lies. He actively helped Way and Babe to take down Tony, as well. He also sacrificed his life... and I'm not happy about that. I'm not used to see people dying in BLs. It's mostly the bad guys who are dying because when it's not the case it hurts too much (Yes I'm talking about you History 3: Make Our Days Count. I will never forgive you for the pain!). Way wasn't exactly a good guy but I wanted him to have a real chance to make amends. I wasn't expecting him to die for real. Until the last moment, I thought his death wasn't real and he would appeared. Pete and Way never had a chance to have a relationship. I thought they were supposed to be together. Why?!

The series ended with a positive note because Charlie x Babe, Alan x Jeff and Kim finally being able to compete in a real racing team. However, I'm still feeling a little letdown by what happened to Way, but also about Kenta and Pete in some way. I still consider Pit Babes a really enjoyable series and I had so much fun watching it. It will be a pleasure to watch it again sometimes.

I also hope we'll get to see every actors again in another series, with maybe another pairing because they are all very good and have amazing chemistry. Special mention to Pavel and Nut who know how to be pretty criers. I'm not against any special episode (I know some people don't like them, but I like to stay more in a well-known world with characters I love).

[pinkprettycure]

You talking about Ultraman frequently has made me interested in the franchise myself. What shows/movies/etc would you recommend to a newbie like me who wants to get into the series? ^_^

Blazar was very newbie friendly and it has a lot of good standalone episodes like Planet of Music, Betwix Morn and Dusk, and The Wandering Zangill so you can pick up something like one of those and see if you want to watch the whole thing or not.

Arc is currently airing. This is the season that has Clover's VA as one of the main characters btw! it's only 6 eps in and I believe this weeks ep is going to be a recap episode so if you start right now you won't really be all that behind or anything since we're effectively on a break week right now . it DOES have references to Return of Ultraman but I haven't seen Return of Ultra and I don't feel like I'm lost or anything.

R/B is one of my favorites and I think it's one that would be very appealing to people who are fans of magical girl series. the plot heavily revolves around the friendship between the younger sister of the two Ultras and the villainess and the theme is family.

There's also the Ultraman Rising film and Shin Ultraman. Rising is an animated film that's an american take on the franchise in collaboration between Tsupro and Netflix, while Shin is a live action film thats an adaption of the original Ultraman series and is considered part of Anno's Shin series of films (Shin Godzilla, Shin Kamen Rider, and the Shin Evangelion/Rebuild films. "It's"Shin Japan Heroes" is just a marketing name but they do have commonality by being remakes and reimaginings of older stories.) Ultraman The Next is a good movie too but I do think you should watch it as part of a Nexus watch rather than as a starting point, and Nexus might not be a good starting point since it's more for like a teen and older audience with a darker vibe and does a lot of different things from other series so it could give the wrong impression. It's an excellent series but I think something like Blazar gives a better impression of what to expect from Ultra than Nexus.

A LOT of Ultra references itself also. but while I think references to older series definitely are more meaningful when you're familiar with them, I started with Mebius and I definitely think i'd appreciate it more on a rewatch, but those things don't mean you won't find enjoyment from the season, remember: Ultra overall is a family franchise so every season is somebodies first season! They're made with both the parents and grandparents who grew up with them AND their young kids who would be seeing them for the first time! Even Nexus being made for teen audience would have still been a lot of these kids first season, so it's always being made with the assumption that a good chunk of viewers have never seen another Ultra show n_n

[stxriisk]

My theory on the orange side: HE'S NOT LOGAN'S OPPOSITE?

WOW PLOT TWIST I KNOW

so basically I was watching through sanders sides the other day (as you do) and I was making a couple of theories on the orange side, yk average TSS enjoyer activities, WHEN SUDDENLY I WAS STRUCK WITH SOMETHING GLORIOUS

THE SVS REDUX

This is the first hints we see about the orange side (see from the cover screen showing a 7th side and the famous 01134 on the street fighter game sequence) BUT HAVE WE EVER STOPPED TO CONSIDER WHAT ELSE IS IN THIS EPISODE?

At 40:06 of the SVS redux, there is a MUSIC CHANGE (to a track that in my personal opinion sound WAY too funky to be "just for instrumental") and furthermore, Roman says at 40:12, "how long must we act selfishly until Thomas is ready to start putting more... good into the world?". Janus then responds, "A good question, for another time."

Now one might take that as Janus avoiding the question, but I think its strange that it is ONLY IN THIS PART OF THE VIDEO THAT THIS MUSIC PLAYS, when they are talking about being TOO selfish, to the embodiment of LIES. So what does it mean? I believe it symbolises Thomas lying to himself about the existence of the orange side.

SO THE QUESTION YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR THE ANSWER TO - WHO THE FRICKLE FRACK IS THE ORANGE SIDE? In my opinion, I believe it is Narcisissm. Or at least, that's what Thomas VIEWS it to be.

LET ME EXPLAIN-

The first time orange appears in the series is in the episode about SELFISHNESS, and how it shouldn't be mistaken for self care. This is extremely similar to how society treats self-love as a narcisisstic, hence why Thomas would believe this is what the orange side represents.

Now let's look at my favourite thing: COLOURS. WHAT DO THEY MEAN? • Red - This colour mainly represents Passion and Courage (like Roman, the passion is for creativity and the courage is the whole "ill always be your hero" thing) • Yellow - Many people respond to this colour in different ways, some find it cheery, others find it grating (Much like many people have different views on lying and Deceit) • Green - it is sometimes associated with sickness, and too much of it can evoke isolation (much like how intrusive thoughts make people feel sick and that they are alone with these thoughts) • Blue - light shades of blue often represent confidence, peace, honesty and reliability (literally aligning with Patton's existence in a whole) • Indigo - This colour can be seen as knowledgeable, representing integrity and intuition (Do I even have to say anymore, it literally is knowledge, aka Logan) • Purple - Shades of this colour have been used in the care of mental of nervous disorders (Maybe this is why Virgil started wearing purple, to symbolise thomas's better management of his anxiety?)

And now, what about orange? One of the negative connotations of this colour is self-indulgence, which is characterized by doing or tending to do exactly what one wants (much like BEING SELFISH). This would explain the appearance of the orange side in the SVS redux.

"But what about the colour wheel? WHAT IS ORANGE THE OPPOSITE OF?" Before I continue, I'm leaving virgil out of this because thats a whole other can of worms I DONT WANT TO DIVE INTO TODAY, BUT LEMME EXPLAIN

Red and Green are opposites, much like Remus and Roman. They represent both sides of Thomas' creativity - dark and light - so it makes sense.

Heres where things get tricky. LEAVING VIRGIL OUT OF THIS (bcus he's more of a... neutral side I guess? I feel like he doesn't really have a clear opposite anyways) The colour closest to this is actually yellow. This kinda makes sense, as Logan is based on truths while Janus is based on lies.

SO THAT LEAVES PATTON, THE EMBODIMENT OF MORALITY AND SELFLESSNESS. AND THE ORANGE SIDE, WHO I'VE JUST THEORISED TO BE A FIGURE REPRESENTING NARCISISSM AND SELFISHNESS, much like the entire plot of the svs redux.

You might be thinking, "BUT WORKING THROUGH INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS !!! LOGAN WAS ORANGE !!! HOW DOES THAT WORK????" That's because Logan had a selfish goal behind Thomas's schedule, which was being listened to for once. Many people who have narcisisstic tendancies tend to crave attention, much like logan. This part where the "orange side took over" wasn't the orange side himself, it was a representation of Logan's need to be listened to.

Am I saying Thomas Sanders is a narcisisst? No, not in the slightest. Earlier I said that this is how Thomas percieves the orange side, because they're HIS SIDES. He views his self love and desire to be listened to as narcisissm because that's what he's been brought up to believe. It can even be reflected through Patton's behaviour in the SVS redux.

Again, this is JUST A THEORY. I'm not saying any of this is fact. Also special note for these guys:

Colour theory experts (I can't art so my colour wheel analogy is probably so off

People who have NPD/actually know more about it (I want to clarify that this is how I think Thomas PERCIEVES the orange side, not what it is. I'm not diagnosing)

Virgil lovers (HE DOESNT MAKE SENSE IM SO SORRY)

PEOPLE WHO KNOW THE SERIES BETTER THAN ME (Yes I know that the line seperating "opposite sides" is a little blurry)

Thank you and goodnight (you should totally repost this)

[asherlockstudy]

I enjoy gmm because it's low impact and relaxing. Wonderhole (especially the sci fi one) is really heavy even in the first few minutes and I don't know when I'll be in the right head space to watch it. after making me love Sandy and Horst and killing them off (same as killing off the guys weirdly in their second season of Buddy System), i'm wary of their fictional efforts. Don't get me wrong, the cloud episode was lovely! But their work can be very hit or miss - sweet and enjoyable, or *very* dark, often both. I don't have the capacity for weirdly dark codependent death stuff right now. They do tend towards that, however artistically, however deep they want it to be, and NOT everyone loves watching death stuff about characters they like. I don't want to watch dark humor right now. IMO, their daily show is easy, calming, background content - but their fictional efforts are (often) extremely dark. I don't know why people are pretending the audience should be the same for both. Yes they're in L.A. but realistically not everyone loves dark experimental fictional short films. I would be more impressed with a promise of happy endings than how much budget / creativity their work involves. So I am not the audience, and I am not the only one among regular viewers. I wish them well, of course, but really? How is this shocking to anyone? The audience they've cultivated really doesn't like surprises. (Sometimes due to mental health or neurodiversity reasons, sometimes due to life situations, etc. They like the routine shows, the familiar format.) Don't make me love a character and then kill him (and his best friend or other half) off so you can feel something. I really do wish they can get what they want out of the series. I just find it odd how they don't understand it's not for everyone.

This is an interesting take. I admit I never considered their scripted work “dark” but just having some dark moments but now that you said that I am literally surprised at myself because I have been making these very posts about their scripted content largely being about one sad story… I’m not being much of help here but I remembered that one thing Rhett has said that made the most profound impression on me, many years ago, I remember it vividly, in the EB about laughter and jokes, he had said “We are fundamentally sad people”. It’s the one thing that left a mark and shaped from that point entirely the way I view them and what I think of them.

We don’t disagree though. That’s pretty much what I was saying - they have created a fanbase that does not exactly match their artistic vision. GMM, sure. But their art style needs to build a separate fanbase, with some overlap of course for people like me. However, they base all their hopes on people of routine, on people who want only lighthearted inconsequential content, on people who watch with their kids. It never ceases to amaze me how they have all these dozens of people working and monitoring and quizzing for them and they still can’t bloody understand their own fans.

[kenjiyabuki]

so here are some thoughts about DMD Friendship the Reality while we are nearing the end

yeah yeah its not that deep but actually no one caring/talking about a show makes me want to write a LONG ASS POST bc i cant get gratification from going through the tags and reading opinions lmaoooooo so HERE damn okkk i will make the content i want to see in the world i guess dont mind me......😞

im not even the biggest Domundi fan but i was intrigued by the premise of this show. i mean it's a basically fake dating show (like one of their challenge rewards was getting to sleep in a suite together as if they are there to date for real) and the end prize isnt just an acting opportunity as it comes w the big decision of choosing a looooooong time acting partner. so i wanted to see how they would do it. BOC did a similar thing w The Hidden Character which i dropped halfway in bc it was too long and i found the challenges to be irrelevant to the ending goal. this show is the opposite of that and thats why ive been enjoying it.

it is edited to be concise (only 5 eps) and honestly, is quite tranquil. all the challenges were about things they will be required to do in the future as DMD actors/idols and stakes aren't even that high. You could always guess who would win before they even started (((like of course broody model guys won the photoshoot challenge and guy w two series under his belt won the acting one, DUH))) but it was still enjoyable to watch. show's goal isn't to generate tension and competitiveness. it is more of a workshop/chemistry building camp and also a way to introduce the new generation and get the fans warm up/attached to them.

as i spent time in bl fandom sphere, i've come to realize introducing a new gen is tricky. i thought everyone would be ecstatic to see new blood and a lil bit of mix and match but BL fans are reaaaaaaaaaaally attached to their faves and generally see newcomers as threats who will take opportunities from their already neglected (!) precious babies (e.g. just couple weeks ago FortPeat fans were protesting the new lesbian side couple in the upcoming show for stealing screen time from their faves, which is a joke in itself). this kind of show is genius way to get people to warm up to idea of new faces. at the end of the the day, these fans' weakness is two beautiful boys indulging in sweet moments they can be delulu over and considering how ships were already born from the first episode, DMD FTR succeeded in their goal.

LETS TALK ABOUT THE BOYS :-) *this starts playing*

I had to make this during first ep bc they are all dark haired boys w similar builds so I kept confusing them lmaoooooo (Tle not pictured as he joined later)

i will firstly talk about the fan favorite possible "couples";

KengNamping, the quiet visual couple and yes I love em!!!! they were kinda the only "conflict" in this very conflict free competition.

is Keng the CALMEST person I've ever seen? Latte is laid back too but Keng is just seems zen. sometimes (in the face of conflict) he just seemed hard to read but mostly he has such a calming presence. honestly, he should open an ASMR channel if this acting gig doesn't work out.

Namping also comes off very warm and graceful. him being "wow I'm finally in the winner suite" to Keng after finally getting chosen in ep4 made me laugh like DAMN he really was offended by what happened in ep1 and kept letting it slip. Idc, you are so right my prince and don't ever let Keng forget what he did to you...

when it comes to the possibility of them as a couple: i am kinda here for it while also not knowing if i actually believe in their "moments" in the show? Namping definitely set his sights on him from the beginning but Keng seemed nonchalant about it. Keng finally choosing Namping after his win, their sweet moment on the bed etc. seemed to me like classic reality show moment prompted by production to fit a certain narrative WHILE ThomasKong's pseudo-date-night chats seemed very real and spontaneous.

they do visually have chemistry, i'm not gonna act like i wasn't blushing when Keng trying to flirt during dinner or Namping softly touching a sleepy Keng's chin in the bed etc. Or even in ep2, when Namping tries to confront Keng about his pick but they are too timid and just unable to talk about it openly!!! arrghhh it's a hard to watch moment but still, made them more intriguing because they had such a tension between them. it would be a shame if it wasn't explored more. that tension can be channeled into an angsty series, just saying...

So, they def have a long way to go in their bond and arent comfortable like LatteFirst or ThomasKong but still, they are a strong contender and I would be glad to see them as a couple in a show. Namping already got my attention in the acting challenge and wonders can be achieved w a lil bit of workshop. they got the juice already!!!

Now, lets talk about ThomasKong.............

me watching Thomas relentlessly chatting Kong up since THE FIRST EPISODE

so I knew LatteFirst are set be a side couple in upcoming Love Upon a Time but i was confused to see why everyone on Twitter was already going cuckoo over these two random boys until i saw them interacting... Wow, like Thomas really came here w one mission: get Kong and leave.

because Thomas is such a flirt like DAMNNN😳😳😳😳he needs to be jailed for carrying lethal amounts of charm... IT MUST BE SAID: I love his fits w those thin glasses, he should've been wearing those in those office BLs he was in because he has been serving "office siren". Tiktok girlies eat your heart out.

while Kong isn't the best at acting or singing (he is the best KengNamping shipper tho and i LOVE a fudanshi BL actor), he definitely would win Mr. Congeniality if they were giving that title. he naturally and effortlessly has great on screen charisma. he is a certified cutie and the only one who can get real full belly laughs from Thomas!!!

i think what they managed in the acting challenge is the testament to their palpable chemistry. acting wise they weren't perfect (naturally, their uneven acting experience levels were apparent) but they were the only one who managed to tonal shift in their scenes. it's because they were the only ones who played into the romantic subtext of the scene. they also held eye contact for the longest (because they are comfortable w each other and not shy!!!), which elevated their chemistry and made me AND the judges giggle and roll our hair and kick our feet and shit!!!!!!!!!!!!

they are obviously the most likely to win the show and they deserve it too. no matter the result of the show, i want see them carrying a series as mains because they can and should. i also believe DMD won't fumble their bag, so i am not worried about it.

to conclude, I will quote Zee,

then we come to LatteFirst, the kinda established couple: in the ep5 preview, we see First trying to choose between Latte and the newcomer Tle, which seemed random to me and could be a production touch to create conflict in this very smooth sailing show.

i loved seeing Latte being nonchalant about the possibility of First choosing someone else, what a laid back guy. like Mio in THC, every BL reality show needs a half asleep and occasionally funny dude.

now i am thinking; what if First chose Tle, would he also replace Latte in LUAT bc DMD doesn't really fuck w mixing matching their couples. i honestly don't know where did all that come from but i feel like the result wont be too shocking, First and Latte are already really close and comfortable and got The Chemistry. need i remind of Latte punching the air a la Judd Nelson at the end of The Breakfast Club when it was announced they both chose each other for the dinner date? and their sweet and comfortable banter on that said date??? let's put our pens to work and write a friends to lovers rom-com for the boys based on that material please...

i dont think they are likely to win but might be strong contender. i just want to see them as a side couple in LUAT (hopefully this year!!!!) so they can develop themselves and their bond a little bit more before getting to a main couple level. their sweet friendship shouldn't go to waste!!! (is it obvious i am more drawn to BL couples who are besties in real life?)

damn this post is about to be a novella so i will make it short about Gems, TeeTee and Tle, i hope Gems won't be too upset about getting slighted again 😥 like i said, stakes aren't high on this show and results are always obvious: these guys are going back home empty handed, we all know it. they are all charismatic and VERYYY talented but i just felt like none of them really focused on "getting a partner" part of the show, not just the main challenges. even TeeTee who was picked by Thomas and Keng seemed kinda uninterested about partnering up. but you cant really force chemistry and i am sure they will get many more opportunities in the future. they already started their fanbase!!! i cant stand to see Gems so upset, i hope he wont be too sad.

these are my opinions. maybe the ending will do a whole 180 and idk, GemsKeng or TleKong or some other random couple will win, who knows???? cant wait to watch the new overly airbrush filtered, Cheewin directed DMD show up to like 5 episodes and then get bored and drop it and follow the rest from gifs!!! good luck to the boys <3