#i aspire to be this level of deranged

[oldmoneymenacemalcolm]

I'm gonna chop off your hand.

-Malcolm Bright, 01x01

[jay-s-antics]

Mammon’s first kiss

The first time MC kisses Mammon in the original timeline, he chases after them and demands more. He lets his greed take over. But the first time they try to kiss him in Nightbringer, he pulls back. It’s not like he doesn’t want to kiss them! He does, case in point, his intimacy level goes up. It’s just…that you can’t go stealing his first kiss just like that.

The Mammon we meet at the beginning of the exchange program loves to party; he has been around and he has experience. He can get adorably shy, sure, but when it’s just him and MC all alone, all farse and pretence come crashing down and his confidence and charm shine through. But by the time MC magically pops up in the would-be-council-room for a second time, Mammon has only been in the Devildom for a year. A year that he spent trapped in the Demon King’s Castle. A year he spent being shunned by the pure blooded demons who saw him as nothing more than a lowly traitor of an angel. It’s not like he had much of a chance to date during that time. Not to mention that angels are meant to love humans, but not like that. So, it’s not like he got any experience during his time as an angel either, especially because he would have been taught it was a sin.

Thus, when innocent, unexperienced Mammon finally gets a taste of freedom only to have this “demon” be so forward with him, he short-circuits a little. It doesn’t help that this is the same person that, unbeknownst to him, he is fated to love.

A love that transcends space and time. A love that starts off as a little flame, only to turn into a raging inferno in his chest every time he meets them. Whether they are an angel, a human or a demon…they will be loved. Mammon loves their very essence, one that has etched itself so deeply into his psyche that he cannot help but feel this warm sense of familiarity every time he meets this mysterious stranger. He doesn't love them yet, not by the time they try to kiss him, but he'll be damned if he doesn't feel a spark of...something!

MC is Mammon’s soulmate, which is why he takes so much pride in being their first. But now it’s their turn to be his first! And Mammon can’t help feeling bashful, elated, and likely even a little terrified. He has fallen in love with their every iteration, but they have also fallen in love with his every facet. They love him in a way that leaves him vulnerable, all of his insecurities exposed, and that's horrifying. But it's also so much better than Goldie and all the Grimm in the world. So Mammon pulls back once, but he will not do it again. He cannot do it again, because he is oh so entangled in this all consuming love.

They are soulmates, your honor.

[quiets-cradle]

every year of so i'll reflect on the warrior cats series and remember how batshit that entire thing is. they had those cats running dictatorships. they discovered religion, except there's actually empirical evidence that the religion is real so maybe it's not exactly a religion? and somehow there's still an atheist. also this religion was originally centered around a hunk of quartz except now its mystical power has been transferred to a pond. there's cat xenophobia. healer cats can't fuck. there was that one saga where three cats got superpowers. and there's still more lore. the series is still ongoing. the erin hunter team is going to keep going until the sun explodes. warrior cats cannot be real

[lingerina]

⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ 𝐈𝐌𝐏𝓡𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐃 // kim minjeong

➛ gp prisoner!minjeong x prison warden fem!reader ➛ pwp, g!p, panty gagging, hair pulling, use of handcuffs, mating press, implied multiple orgasms, squirting, creampie ➛ 1k words ➛ you’re shown who’s the real prisoner here.

💬 a belated birthday present for the most deranged beloved winter stan @wintersera ♡

Nightfall has long shrouded the city in darkness, but what’s the difference between night and day when your work environment is darker than midnight woes?

You aspire to be like your aunt: authoritative, firm on her feet, and can rattle fear in even the toughest men.

Because unlike her, you’re soft. You fall apart when someone raises their voice at you. You may have gotten slightly better at keeping your chin up but you’re nowhere near your aunt’s level. A part-time job you worked in high school improved your social skills, so a challenging job where you may deal with some hardheaded individuals—like being a prison warden—should be able to toughen you up even a little bit, right?

You amble down the cell hall with a flashlight in hand. Most of the prisoners have fallen asleep, but you have a specific cell to visit.

Not that you need to.

Your eardrums almost vibrate from the deafening thumps of your racing heart, your clammy hand squeezing the flashlight to your chest as you come close to your destination.

Once you reach her cell, you shine the light directly into it and find her, Kim Minjeong, sitting in a chair in the middle of the small enclosure. Slouched, legs crossed and outstretched, and arms folded over her chest as she arches her brow, she smirks.

She has you wrapped around her finger, and you make no opposition.

“I thought you’d never come,” she chuckles.

The clank of the cell door locking reverberates. Maybe the cellmates several doors down can hear it, but you still wince due to how loud it is in your head. Not only does the pin-drop silence amplify every little sound, but you’re concerned that the prisoner you deliberately locked yourself in with may hear your heart threatening to leap out of your chest, and take advantage of your fear.

And excitement.

“Don’t be shy now. Come take a seat.”

It’s shameful. 

You acknowledge your weakness, but you didn’t realize just how low it can go. There’s no excuse for you to engage in relations with a prisoner, but something about Minjeong draws you in.

She’s gorgeous. She shows no sign of inflicting violence on you and doesn’t look down on you as some ‘little girl posing as a guard’. Though she’s heavily flirtatious, she still treats you like a human.

Except in this very moment where your own cuffs are around your wrist and your mouth is stuffed with your soiled panties. She was quick to get rid of your clothes, which have been thrown aside, but she still has her uniform on. You had taken a seat on her lap when she offered and now you’re bouncing on her cock. She’s occupied by your chest, curious hands squeezing your tits together while her lips are latched onto a nipple, sucking and tugging and flicking it with her tongue. Whenever you started slowing down, she’d tangle her fingers through your hair and tug.

Hard.

“Come on, baby.” She pouts. “You can do better.”

Except you can’t.

You’re certain you can’t. Your thighs are shaking—burning—and you can’t control your hands. You can’t balance properly, and you can’t rest for a second. Your pleas and grunts are muffled by the fabric gag. You look utterly pathetic, but Minjeong doesn’t sympathize. She only utilizes the power she has over you.

When you don’t improve, she carries you to her bed and tosses you down. Landing on your cuffed wrists is not ideal but you don’t dwell on it for too long when she presses your legs up to your chest. The pressure of your thighs being crushed against your abdomen nearly folds you in half. A new angle is offered and your eyes immediately roll back as she fucks you.

Her hips don’t slack. You feel the force of every thrust stretching you open and hitting all the right spots. You practically feel her in the pit of your belly from how hard she’s pounding you. Fortunately, the darkness masks your late night rendezvous because you know that one look into her piercing eyes would have you falling apart. To be looked at like prey is to experience a swift downfall.

You like being her prey.

You didn’t get to recuperate after your previous orgasm, so your next one quickly hits you. It crashes over you in waves and you gush around her cock, creaming her with a messy release. She groans as she’s forced out of your squirting pussy, the ample wetness soaking the edge of the mattress and spilling to the floor. You were certain you didn’t have that much to give, but she always proves you wrong.

She will always get as much as she wants.

You’re spent. Shaking. But never mind that. Minjeong is quick to slide back into you, courtesy of your overflowing slick, and your cunt is subjected to another round. You feel so close to breaking. You try to escape her grip but what use is there when you’re cuffed and possess only half the strength that she does?

Who’s the real prisoner here?

“Oh fuck,” she grunts between gritted teeth. “Oh fuck, I’m gonna come. I’m gonna fucking come, and you’re gonna take it all.”

Fulfilling her promise, she bottoms out. You’re beyond full of her dick, and now the warmth of her release floods your insides, filling you up in ways that no one else can. She draws back, then shoves back in, pushing her cum deeper into you. Slow and steady thrusts like that leaves your head spinning.

She slowly removes her softened cock with a delighted sigh, and you feel her cum dribble out of you. It pools onto the sheet beneath you and you lay there lifelessly, trembling and panting.

You hear the sound of a zipper. Minjeong didn’t step out of her uniform so it should be easy for her to fix herself up. You, on the other hand, have been completely unraveled. It will take much longer for you to get yourself together.

“You can rest a little more, but don’t stay in here for too long.”

She gathers your clothes and gently sets them at the edge of the bed. “Don’t wanna get caught fucking your prisoner, do ya?”

You laugh once you catch your breath. 

“… When do you get out again?”

[soupdrinkinglincoln]

Okay I’ve decided to make some tumbls here about the worlds smallest and least discussed stage play fandom because it’s one I did for my A-levels and it’s one that I absolutely adore and need to see performed at some point by someone who isn’t me and my theatre kid friends (great of a job as I think we did).

It does not matter if Katurian Katurian is a guy, or a woman, or non binary or whatever. Literally none of that matters. All that matters is that they’re an absolute freak. All they need to be is fucked up enough to realistically be both from an abusive household, and also somebody named Katurian K. Katurian. You don’t have to be David Tennant to play the role, but you gotta realise that the role was played by David Tennant and aspire yourself to be that deranged in general. That’s my take on it but I can’t give specifics; I was the Ariel in the situation after all so all I needed to be able to do was feed people toes.

[kpforpresident]

Good Vibrations // Part Two

Part One

Lexa blinks so rapidly that she feels like she could take flight. The Gamer Boy and his girlfriend have inched closer, clearly trying to eavesdrop on the incredibly bizarre conversation that is taking place in the store entryway as the pair pointedly examines a red bejeweled buttplug so large that Lexa would wager a guess it would rival the diameter of her fist. 

Thankfully, as the store closes at 9:30 and Lexa can see the last tails of sunset disappearing behind the horizon, she doesn’t have to customer service her way out of crazy for much longer. She can see the headlines now- aspiring bright young journalist slaughtered with sex toy by deranged blonde customer. 

“I- you- orgasm?” Lexa splutters, inching backward behind the safety of the employee counter, so that two feet of speckled plastic separates them. “Miss-Ma’am-”

“Clarke,” The blonde helpfully supplies, once again waving the vibrator around in the air as if to punctuate her point. 

Lexa manages to give her a disbelieving once over as the girl, noting Lexa’s discomfort with the flying handheld sex toy, gently sets it on the glass counter.  Oblivious both to the gaping stare of Gamer Boy and Lexa, Clarke strokes a loving finger over the silicone curve of its frame before clasping her hands on the counter and staring expectantly at Lexa once again, bright eyes boring a hole into Lexa’s gaze

. Clad in frayed denim shorts and a threadbare cream-colored Matisse t-shirt, Lexa notes the small splotches of paint that dapple the girl’s tanned arms, the bright blue suede Birkenstock clogs that complete the outfit. She looks entirely normal, not like someone Lexa would peg as a girl to run like a bat out of hell into a sex toy shop brandishing a clit focused vibrator like it is her own personal brand of vigilante justice.�� “Well Clarke, I, you…wait, how do you know my name? How do you know my last name?” Lexa says as she levels an accusatory finger at Clarke, electing to ignore how breathtakingly gorgeous she’s slowly realizing her would be attacker is.

[souleatherr]

I aspire to be on the level of deranged simping that Dy and Dino are on…

[elizakai]

More IDOL AU thoughts.

Oops :) I just um, ok.

I’m a spitballer, analyst, conceptualizer, visionary 😞✨whatever the heck. i get so many ideas and have to entertain SOME of those ideas. Legitimate ones and illegitimate ones… this is just for fun don’t take me to seriously.🫠

⬇️ CHAOS BELOW ⬇️

Uh oh. You looked. What have you done.

Anyways.

There’s a level of intrigue when it comes to the twins (ik, Ik, again.)

BUT THINK about it. If we are assuming that this au tones down some of the more, erm. Mystical elements of these characters. (Like, being basically gods and such) (also it can’t be said yet how far this goes! Does error still have glitches? Is nightmare corrupted? Does ink have a soul? Do the twins sustain some sort of empathetic abilities? Is killers soul thing normal? Who knows!!!) they would have different origins!! The twins are probably the most in depth of a switch, considering their origins are the MOST bizarre💀

assuming they aren’t buddy buddy (which they could be, we won’t know till zuchiyeni spreads forth their hand into the abyss and reveals to us the flames of canon ✨) they may have had some sort of falling out…

so ahem

THOUGHTS!!

Is Nim their mother.

if an alternate version of Nim(their mother/creator in dreamtale) is, in fact, their mother, it can be assumed they have been adopted in some way :) maybe not depending on how you would view uh, monster coupling💀 but they aren’t visibly of split heritage, and she isn’t a skeleton. In Dreamtale, Nim never put the effort into KNOWING the twins. If that carried over, it could cause some really interesting dynamics. Is NIM associated with the music or entertainment industry? 👀 imagine a cold, uppity Nim. Maybe she isn’t horrible, maybe she is, but She’s got expectations, and is distant.

in this hypothetical, we could question what path the twins really wanted to live. Did they ORIGINALLY want fame? Or did they feel trapped. Did they have to learn to navigate their own way? Do both of them leave her? One? Neither? Does she die? (within this concept , again.)

if she isn’t at all associated, did the twins have dreams and aspirations of fame? Did they….at some point…have a career together??? How sad would that be.

(maybe she isn’t their mother, maybe she’s someone they contracted under. Also YES she easily might not exist in this world I’m just having fun with potential parallels 🫠👏)

NOW. MY BRAIN DEMANDS TO CONSIDER THE OTHER DREAMTALE DEITIES. I could see Quetzalcoatl and Lanny being big in the music industry, which would be INTERESTING if those two and Nim were all affiliated with that life. It would make sense for them to still have the affiliation and possibly competition?

IT ALSO OPENS AGNST OPPORTUNITY. (And you know we love angst in this fandom.)

again, in dreamtale, let’s mention Lanny. Dreamtale is unfinished so keep in mind we don’t have 100% solid characterization, but the creator HAS discussed character personality and bias, and has carried the information to the making of the story so far.

Lanny …is implied to have…had a thing for her fellow guardian, Nim. Lanny hated Nightmare for what he did, for how he ruined everything with the corruption and destroying what’s left of Nim.

but she…also resented and despised Dream. Blaming them both for what happened, and with nightmare having gone rouge, all of that pressure then falls on dream. Dream, who had lived 6 years of life out of the hundreds he was trapped in stone.

She is, not sure how yet, the reason Dream was able to break free of stone, and she went on to mentor him. Train him. But she’s portrayed as being unnecessarily harsh and disdainful towards Dream. (IF WE INCLUDE Neil, yk the cat/ father figure/friend of dream, that would be interesting cause he really cares about dream and seemingly didn’t appreciate lanny’s treatment.)

(also I realize how deranged this sounds without context, there’s WAY to much of dreamtale lore to actually explain here so if you need more context go check out dreamtale lore💀I promise I’m not bs’ing, just criminally simplifying.)

ANYWAYS this is so unorganized. Adhd brain uh—

LANNY. Imagine Dream and Nightmare split ways for whatever reason. Dream signs a contract with this Lanny person. Lanny already knows who he is ofc, and he probably is familiar with her, as she knows their mother and probably has been keeping an eye on them. It would be interesting for Lanny to be a past ( or even current idk) contractor or something to Dream. I don’t imagine he’d have a lot of freedom in that space. She would have a lot of expectation too, and is rather unsympathetic and overworking. Maybe he pulls a t-swift and manages to escape that with the stars 😌 maybe not. Probably manipulative. Gaslighting even.

She could give “caring“ aunt energy.

“wouldn’t want to disappoint them, do you? Disappoint me? LOVELY! I knew you’d understand!”

IF DREAM GOES TO LANNY. What If Nightmare goes to Quetzalcoatl?

this seems odd. But hear me out. Quetzalcoatl is implied to be the one who ends up getting Nim killed in dreamtale. It’s complicated. Anyways, if he has it out for her, and Nightmare grows to resent his mother and/ or her way of doing things, a young nightmare going to the guy who “understands him” is interesting. It would give creepy uncle energy💀 but like. It also makes sense on some level because, again, in dreamtale, the person who attacks Nim and gets her killed is a human. The human is implied to have been a creation OF Quetzalcoatl. (Guardian of the life tree) said person gets killed and perished on the roots of the feelings tree. His um….consciousness is like. Absorbed into the negative side of the tree. (I am SO sorry if you haven’t read about this.) anyways. That GUYYYYYY. Yk nightmares corruption??? YEAH, THAT’S HIM!!! The voice that manipulates nightmare isn’t ‘just negativity’, dreamtale often highlights that negativity also has positive outcomes,just as positivity has negative outcomes, and that balance is important.. it was the GUY being involved that changed things :,) . I don’t think nightmare knows this actually? ANYWAYS NOT THE POINTTTTT. what I mean is. Quetzalcoatl manipulating nightmare makes sense, as he indirectly did so in dreamtale.

he could give vibes of the “cool” creepy uncle.

“They just don’t understand people like us, do they? They never will.”

I can imagine nightmare getting older and more self sufficient and being like F that. Especially as he makes his own friend (mtt trio? 🌸) and realizes he isn’t codependent. But maybe it changed him in a lot of ways.

maybe the twins were in a normal sort of family, and dreamt of life in the spotlight. Maybe one did and one didn’t. Maybe their entire family has more drama than “just them” does, and that complicated things for them. Maybe they’ve been trapped and manipulated and naive in this world too. And they had to grow up and find their way. Maybe those situations have affected them and their worldview. And…their relationship. maybe they weren’t little kids when they fell out, but young, unknowing adults who don’t know who they are and made messy mistakes that affected more then just themselves.

maybe Nightmare can’t stand being misunderstood, and seeing people taken advantage of. Maybe Nightmare needs to be heard, and he’s learned to translate this to music and such. Maybe Nightmare has an easier time being aloof and angry towards his family because it means his own feelings are valid. He enjoys the ability to connect with a lot of people, an audience, while being distanced. He can’t be hurt. He can flip off the people who have hurt him and make his OWN way. The ability to overcome people opinions of him, to prove his own worth to himself. His voice will be heard.

Maybe he want’s to be seen.

maybe Dream desperately needs to have a mask on, he’s not allowed to express himself openly. Maybe he’s confused and can only take on blame for things that have gone wrong. Maybe he feels indebted to this industry , or people around him. Maybe he enjoys the audience as individuals but feels isolated among them, undeserving. Maybe he’s guilty of the fame. Maybe he wants close connection. But people can only see him for the perfect image he puts foreword. Get too real, and people leave.

Maybe he fears being seen.

….ANYWAYS THATS ENOUGH FOR NOW. *snips off the list of concepts here*

Idol! Au belongs to @zucchiyeni

*runs away*

[moutheyes]

The Year in QL: 2024 Top 10 and Appreciation for Original Scripts

For the first time in five years I managed to sit my ass down and finish a yearly roundup post, so I'm cross-posting some of it here. You can read the whole thing (including expanded blurbs) HERE; it has some number breakdowns and the rest of my ratings.

Top 10 of 2024

10. The Rebound (8.0)

My good friend C. has excellently articulated a “grand theory of anime” that I kept thinking about while watching this show:

an anime is any series that combines (1) “manic purity,” (2) internally consistent, if deranged, character motivations, and (3) suspension of disbelief wrt worldbuilding/setting.

The Rebound is anime. It is anime in the form of a batshit insane live-action basketball BL that was tailor-made for me as a viewer and for Meen (a real-life basketball player! I’m not sure if hoops is his side gig or if kissing men is his side gig, and honestly I don’t care!) and Ping as actors. There is absolutely no way to fit this series into any sort of real-world logical framework, and in fact its closest comp title might be the under-appreciated sapphic-ish anime Birdie Wing: Golf Girls’ Story, because it follows a very similar trajectory in which the first two-thirds of the show takes you on a series of sharp descents into chaos involving mafia elements, underground betting on street ball, toxic old man yaoi, and wildly disproportionate stakes like kidnapping and worse, the culmination of which made me black out from the sheer amount of adrenaline coursing through my veins, but then they… go back to high school? to play high school basketball? You have to respect a script that does not respect reality.

The actual basketball in this show was barely recognizable as an organized sport, but on the other hand the story was so engaging, with thoughtful emotional arcs, multiple instances of unrequited love, and a second lead people could actually root for—and did, to the point where some folks felt poly-baited. I don’t know if I want to fight Golf Tanwarin or if I want to give them all of my money to make more shows like this.

9. Only Boo! (8.0)

Sometimes a show doesn’t need to do anything groundbreaking to win me over. Sometimes it just needs a protagonist who is a charming bundle of hopes and doubts and desires and unceasing gumption, and a love interest who is Doing His Best, and enough youthful earnestness to melt a cold dead heart (mine). Only Boo! was a triumphant debut for Keen (Moo, who I wanted to eat with a spoon) and Sea (Kang, stoic and self-sacrificing), and the first two-thirds of the story—everything leading up to the idol arc—was pitch-perfect, as bad student/aspiring idol Moo shamelessly flirted his way past food vendor Kang’s measly defenses, opening his eyes to not just the possibility of love, but also his own dormant dreams of being an artist. While the last third, centered around Moo’s idol life, suffered from uneven execution, especially regarding some of the subplots, the show had done enough by then to establish Kang and Moo’s relationship as one that was worth seeing through, and every bit of sweetness at the end felt earned.

8. Dead Friend Forever (8.5)

This was unlike any other show I watched in QL this year—an anguished, ambitious horror fable that showcased BOC’s best young talent at the time. DFF was a mashup of ’90s slasher flicks, even older closed-room mysteries dating back to Agatha Christie (And Then There Were None, obviously), contemporary horror as social critique, and folk and spiritual elements from Thai horror.

This was dark as hell; the shit that Non (played by Barcode, who broke me with this role) went through, at the hands of his supposed friends as well as almost every single person who was in a position to help him, was really difficult to watch. As vicious and manipulative and cowardly as the teens were, though, the more tragic and enraging failures happened at the adult and societal level. Family that shunned instead of accepted, enabled instead of educated, adults that preyed instead of protected, police that obfuscated instead of investigated, and so on. The visual storytelling was stunning, the thrills and twists were more of the hold-your-breath variety, and the final set piece was a bold choice that required a lot of careful setup to pull off, and I loved the way it all played out.

7. Peaceful Property (8.5)

This was GMMTV’s best show of the year, as well as its most creative offering since The Warp Effect, boasting a fresh concept and original script, solid production value (the vibrant color palette made me so happy), and a main cast that not only played off one another well (a real challenge when it comes to comedy!) but also had genuine chemistry beyond the romantic kind. Also, a personal weakness: the repeated motif of a communal dining table. The ghost hunter/exorcism setup served as a natural backdrop for slapstick, supernatural/horror elements, and camp, but there was an intentional gravitas baked into the story from the outset. I was really hooked by the socioeconomic commentary (should have seen it coming with the real estate angle, dammit) vis-a-vis the ghost of the week, which asked some important questions—who gets to have their story told, whose lives are deemed valuable and whose are deemed disposable, and, of course, the true meaning of a home.

6. Jack & Joker: U Steal My Heart! (8.5)

Perhaps more than any other project this year, J&J represented a truly maverick vision. The script was a maximalist whirlwind, the production quality was superb, and for the most part the show accomplished what I think it set out to do. Every episode was jam-packed, which meant the series itself felt laden in the best way, like a holiday feast. There was an increasingly ill-advised series of heists! So many disguises (including drag)! Pointed commentary on the cruel realities of socioeconomic disparity! Sadistic rich people behavior! Lovable grandma and young neighborhood spitfire stealing scenes! So much groveling!

The focus on community was a strong thread throughout, with Jack and Joke’s individual journeys woven firmly through. My personal preference would have been a grittier, more bittersweet ending, given the build-up to a high-stakes climax, but for a largely self-funded and self-driven passion project, this was genuinely impressive from start to finish. It managed to balance heart, humor, action, romance, and social commentary, while showcasing powerhouse performances from YinWar (these two men can Cry), and will remain one of my favorites purely on those merits.

5. Love in the Big City (9.0)

There was no way I wasn’t going to watch this, but the more I learned about the production process and its struggles and triumphs, the more invested I became, to the point where I was worried that I had overhyped it in my mind. Turns out, one of the best novels about queer urban life can in fact also produce one of the best shows about queer urban life, one that celebrates all the joy and wonder and messiness of dating and romance while still foregrounding the intense loneliness that can make a person self-sabotage, or leave them unmoored despite having a solid support system. Nam Yoon-su delivered a layered, poignant performance as Go Young, showing all his human parts—the likable and difficult sides alike—and portraying his growth over time along with the relationships that came and went. Speaking of, the elliptical structure of the novel posed an interesting adaptation challenge, and the series took a creative approach by employing a different director for each of the four “chapters” of Go Young’s story, which paid off with subtle but appreciable differences in each of the two-episode arcs.

4. Knock Knock Boys! (9.0)

There was something magical in this original script, which gave the four housemates room to establish real platonic intimacy, talk frankly about sex and love, and otherwise become real bros, and the romantic relationships developed out of all that healthy organic communication, which was quietly kinda radical for BL. Outside of the feelings stuff, the show also packed in slapstick, hijinks, sex ed, family drama, and most importantly, the Awkward Sex Scene Of My Dreams. Latte was rightfully a fandom-favorite character of the year, but the show succeeded on the back of a real team effort, and I know I’ll go back to this show as a comfort watch in the future. Amazing how four dudes sharing a chaotic home-cooked breakfast (see also: personal weakness; visual motif) after a night of hard drinking can alter your brain chemistry!

3. Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo (9.0)

After struggling to fully connect with some of Hwang Da-seul’s previous work, I can say that she did something special with LFCT. The way the script dealt with the titular curse — which encompasses cycles of abuse, childhood trauma, and debilitating societal pressure — was sometimes feather-light and required deep attention paid to the small visual details, but it never pulled its punches when it came to Big Feelings, nor did the un-cursening progress along a linear path, which felt frustratingly realistic. Do-hoe and Ju-yeong were but mere babes at the start of the series, navigating through late adolescence while hiding deep scars and shouldering heavy burdens. After things went terribly wrong, that rupture affected each of them differently in the 12 years afterward. Watching them try to reconcile while picking at old wounds was painful, but it was so easy to root for them, both separately and together, both in their teens and as adults—and even more than falling back in love, I wanted them to heal, to experience that moment of catharsis when the curse was finally lifted.

2. My Stand-In (9.0)

This show was actual catnip for me. It wasn’t on my radar at all, but I followed the buzz from fandom and was rewarded with an utterly thrilling second-chance narrative featuring two of the most compelling characters of the year. The concept of a stand-in (stuntman, lover, body) pulled triple duty to delicious effect, the post-transmogrification part was handled especially well through the use of mirrors and other reflective surfaces, and there was also a welcome streak of absurdity to balance out the pathos of Joe’s story. My Stand-In was just excellent on all fronts, from Poom and Up fully embodying their complex characters, to the elegance of the adaptation, a sustained sense of high drama, and sweeping romance. I knew the show had me by the throat when I found myself deliriously anticipating the moment when Ming and Joe would finally fuck in missionary.

1. 4 Minutes (Sultrier Version) (9.5)

From a technical standpoint, no other show I watched this year came close to the cinematic qualities of 4 Minutes—the use of visual motifs, framing, and editing were all exquisite, and the acting was also superb across the board, with Fuaiz giving a breakout performance in the role of horny vengeful twink Tonkla. But I was also deeply impressed with how the themes played out, as characters grappled with the repercussions of guilt and redemption, vengeance and acceptance, life and death. To me this was a story about how flawed the human heart is and how rare the chance for salvation is. It wasn’t quite perfect—the speculative aspects didn’t resolve all that neatly (perhaps they are saving it for the tentative sequel?), and I think the pacing could have benefitted from one more episode to let the story breathe a bit—but I loved that it was a serious, mature show that asked metaphysical questions and managed to strike an ending note that was both bittersweet and intensely hopeful.

Originals vs. Adaptations

I started tracking original scripts vs. adaptations this year, and actively used it as a tiebreaker to determine my top 10 rankings, because to me there’s value in rewarding creativity when it comes to pure screenwriting. Obviously there were some standout adaptations this year—there are many thoughtful posts on Tumblr about the choices My Stand-In made to transform the source material (a Chinese danmei) for a Thai audience, for example. And Love in the Big City took a well-known, internationally beloved novel and brought in four different directors to helm each of the story’s four sections, which enriched the viewing experience. But when it came to QL as a genre, I found myself genuinely captivated by the diversity of the original scripts, to the point where they counted for 7 of my top 10 series of the year; put another way, 7 of the 9 originals that I watched this year were extremely high-quality shows.

I mean, look at the scope of material! Deeply unhinged high school sports/crime BL (The Rebound); queer ensemble mystery-horror mashup that was sad as fuck (Dead Friend Forever); ghostbusters found family bromance (Peaceful Property); we found love in a hopeless place.mp3 with heists and crying (Jack & Joker); a romantic dramedy with four housemates—I know it sounds so mundane next to everything else but I promise they are all hot messes (Knock Knock Boys); nostalgic angst-fest that wants to know if the couple that trauma-bonds together can trauma-break together (Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo); and time slip speculative thriller sponsored exclusively by Durex and cat food (4 Minutes).

Spectacular, give me 14 (more) of ’em right now.

Some scattered thoughts:

Part of my struggle with adaptations is the fact that Thai-language Y-novels aren’t more readily available in official English translations outside of the more popular creators, so it’s hard to use them as a reference point. Every time I’m watching a QL adaptation, there’s always the questioning voice in my mind wanting to know if there were any substantial changes made, how different the end product was from the source material, etc. Sometimes a Thai speaker will pop into a Reddit thread to share their thoughts, and I’m endlessly grateful to Tumblr users like @clairedaring who provide comparisons and commentary for adapted series like My Stand-In and Spare Me Your Mercy, but access to that information across the vast swath of Thai BL is patchy at best if you don’t know the language.

While it’s important to evaluate work independently if it spans across mediums (or even adaptations by different countries)—and I do it out of necessity for most Thai shows, as explained in the previous point—there’s also a natural compulsion to want to make those comparisons. If a show starts to go off the rails a bit, and I know it was adapted from a novel, then I get curious about whether the problem is rooted in the source material itself or stems from the adaptation process. I’m inclined to start my criticisms at the screenwriter and director level, since they are responsible for the final script and on-screen product, but without knowing how the original work unfolds, it’s hard to determine what the ideal fix might be. You can’t just say screw the source material, after all.

I think Sammon is a great case study on the challenges of taking a completed work and trying to retrofit it for a different medium (i.e. adaptation) versus working freely within certain parameters from the beginning (i.e. original script). Until collaborating with BOC this year on the original scripts for Dead Friend Forever and 4 Minutes, we’ve only seen her own work made into shows, with varying degrees of success. Even as recently as this week, we saw that tension play out in the fandom reception to Spare Me Your Mercy, which was adapted by a separate writing team; the challenge of trimming down two volumes of plot into 8 episodes while maintaining the thematic richness of the story resulted in certain sacrifices being made by the screenwriter. On the other hand, with 4 Minutes, you didn’t have to wonder if there were parts of the story that were left behind in the adaptation process, because presumably the show more or less reflected the exact story she intended to tell. (Obviously things get cut in the editing process, but Sammon isn’t sitting there having to discard entire years�� worth of plot because of time or budget constraints, unlike what happened with SMYM.) Thus you can evaluate any flaws in the storytelling directly.

I’m going to make a separate post looking ahead to 2025 but I will say that if I do find myself needing to prioritize my time, originality may become a bigger deciding factor. GMMTV actually has a decent slate of non-adaptations coming up, and I’m also looking forward to whatever WeTV and Viu have in the pipeline as original series, since they had a pretty good track record for me this year. (Not to spoil anything before we even turn the calendar, but Caged Again is well on its way to making that top 10, so count that as another WeTV win.)

[proximacentaurib]

alright this is for the second ask game, the 1-50 one

1, 2, 6, 10, 11, 13, 15 (i expect a classical and a periodic), 19, 23, 24, 33, 35, 40, 44, 47, 48, 48.5 (Describe yourself with one quote (be serious (no ironic humor))), 50

get perceived again bucko

Going to speed through answering these because I do have a paper to write and if I don’t answer this ask now then I’ll keep thinking about it instead of writing my overdue essay

1. Do you prefer writing with black or blue pen?

Honestly don’t have a strong preference but I’m leaning towards black

2. Would you prefer to live in the country or the city?

City, probably

6. Do you prefer baths or showers?

Showers. Baths got ruined for me in 6th grade when I overheard this girl telling her friend “ew omg you still take baths? I just think that’s gross. You’re like just sitting there in a soup of your own dirt. With showers it just washes right off” and I thought “man she has a point. Guess I’m never taking a bath again” and I kid you not I literally have not taken a single bath in the 8 years since

10. Do you like your name? Would you ever change it?

I think my name is cool as a name by itself but I actually kind of hate it (and have for the past several years) in reference to myself because the vibes are all off and it really just doesn’t feel like me. I forget I even have a name most of the time. Unfortunately no other names sound right either so I guess I’m stuck with this one

11. Who is a mentor to you?

I have been asked this question countless times in my life for random icebreaker questions and personality assessments and whatnot and I never had an answer because I don’t consider anyone a mentor. Like I do admire a fair number of people for different aspects and aspire to reach those levels, but none of that is mentorship

13. Are you a restless sleeper?

Not at all, as evidenced by the 15.5 consecutive hours of sleep I got the other day. I mean I will get bouts of insomnia occasionally but that’s been happening really rarely since I got out of high school

15. Which element best represents you?

Air, probably. When I was 4 I was genuinely convinced I had magic powers that let me control the wind, and I kept believing that until I was about 9

When Shem asked me this question the other day I think I did put bismuth down as an answer, or at the very least I considered adding that as an answer (genuinely don’t remember. What if I never even answered the ask and only imagined answering. What if there never was any ask. Who can say, really). But anyway I just think bismuth is cool. As for what periodic element actually represents my personality…maybe like argon or something. If I remember correctly the etymology of argon points back to “lazy”, and it’s also a noble gas and I’m not only the noblest person around but also the world champion of mental stability

19. What is the strangest thing you have eaten?

I am an EXTREMELY picky eater so I avoid strange foods. I think my grandma made me try kholodets (meat jelly) when I was a kid and it was…not good, to say the least

23. Have you ever met someone famous?

Not like FAMOUS famous but I’ve gone to some book signings before if that counts??

24. Do you keep a diary or a journal?

Come on, you know the answer already. Do you really think someone who keeps a diary or journal or has literally any normal method of cataloguing daily events would act the way I do and have texting patterns as deranged as mine

33. What is your favorite scent?

I’m not particularly attuned to scents, so I don’t know. I like the way some of my favorite teas smell?

35. If money was not a factor, how would you live your life?

I would have so much cool art and so many cool other items and have the best interior decorations you’ll ever see in your life. And I will also be extremely humble about it

40. If you had to have a tattoo, what would it be and where would you get it?

“Had to”? Are you trying to fucking kill me or something? I’d get a heart attack and die instantly at the first touch of the…apparatus (forgot what they’re called. The multi-needle contraptions with the ink. Is there even a word for that?). I also don’t have any pictures in mind

44. If you could travel back to any era, which would you choose?

I don’t know, I don’t care enough about the past to have an answer for this. Maybe I could silently skulk around Ancient Rome or something

EDIT: this isn’t a historical era but it’s an era to ME and I’m the only one that matters here. I would travel 4 years into the past because I have quite a few bones to pick with my 15-year-old self. I think a punch or two and several bits of prophetic advice should be able to solve and/or prevent a good amount of the issues I graduated high school with

47. How would you spend your ideal day?

Genuinely don’t know what would actually qualify as “ideal” but just any day where I can comfortably hang out with friends, I guess. My standards are extremely low so I will genuinely be overjoyed to do people’s chores for them or something

48. Describe yourself using one word

Halfhearted

48.5. Describe yourself using one quote

First one that came to mind was this quote from Crime and Punishment:

“Existence alone had never been enough for him; he had always wanted more.”

Second one that came to mind was this quote from Shriek:

“He is not a human being at all, but composed entirely of digressions and transgressions.”

Third quote that came to mind:

“You are the smartest funniest coolest most awesome most amazing most talented most beautiful most brilliant most well-rounded most amicable most enlightened brightest warmest kindest and overall best entity in this whole galaxy” —my legion of 20000 devoted fans

50. Invent your own word. What does it mean?

What, like on the spot? Uhhhhh blorgle and it’s what I did to your mom last night

There, finally done after 30+ minutes. God I am so far behind on this paper it’s insane

[malhare-archive]

OC lore posting 😏👍(<- deranged)

Rivera Molina is Domingo Molina's younger brother. Growing up, he was acquainted with his brother's friend Nacho Varga though he was personally closer with Jesse Pinkman (who he knew through his cousin, Emilio Koyama).

Rivera was a directionless adult; Like with his brother, his father shot down his future aspirations in favor of encouraging him to take over the family business. When Domingo quit working at Tampico Furniture so did Rivera, who opted to work at Los Pollos Hermanos instead to make ends meet. When Domingo got involved in the cartel drug trade Rivera followed suit, becoming a low level seller.

Rivera developed a nasty meth addiction which worsened his already existing paranoia and caused him to often dip into the stock he was supposed to be selling for Tuco. Just by coincidence, another dealer entered the bathroom before closing time as Rivera was cleaning it and Rivera, in a panic because he thought he was about to be shaken down or attacked for the missing money, stabbed him to death.

Seeing an opportunity to get a new pawn on his board, Gus Fring stepped in: With his connections it was easy to make the body disappear and erase any connections to Rivera. Gus also gave him enough cash to make up for the missing drugs. From then on Rivera acted under Gus' will as a mole within the Salamanca's drug trade, being forcibly weaned off drugs and becoming more deeply entrenched in the criminal world.

It's kind of hilarious that both Rivera and Domingo become moles, family trait

I was gonna go a bit into Gus' manipulation of Rivera and how he reacts to and changes as a result but this is ALREADY too long. Maybe another time.....

[rosykims]

hiiiiiiiiiii sorry it took me literally 3 months to do this but here she is !!! my tav, vierynrae drisune — viera to her closest friends and vierie to her doomed-by-the-narrative boyfriends. disclaimer please immediately disregard her hair bc i still havent found a hairstyle OR fit i like for her, but since she would realistically change her look every 6 to 10 hours im happy just waving some selections of note @ u all <3

truly unfathomable lore dump under the cut (tw for physical assault and miscarriage)

she/her

209 years young <3

astarion romance with a generous sprinkle of dream visitor sexual tension for reasons i'll get into (tldr the emperor takes the form of her dead fiance bc they both know its the only form that could ever hope to get through to her 😍)

"seldarine" drow! formerly a lolth sworn menzoberranzan girly, now a well established and famed diabolist of neverwinter (we'll get into it lol).

nowadays shes lolth's no. 1 hater but — having regrettably served her pretty contentedly for 100+ years — she feels too alienated from the seldarine pantheon to truly consider herself a follower. she does toss a prayer eilistraees' way for good karma's sake every now and then, though !

fiend pact (of the chain) warlock ! outside of the power her patron offers her, she's relatively useless in a fight (ie no multiclassing for her lol). the majority of her skills are in leadership, social maneuvering and underhanded political subterfuge. forging her pact was a very deliberate and very necessary move from her perspective to like. add some bite to her bark going forward.

im saying that her level one feat (if the mod ever drops lol <3) is magic initiate: bard and while she isn't canonically a multiclass, she could very easily become one if her pact fell through.

she's canonically a noble background, though she could easily be mistaken for a sage. truthfully all of her interest in the arcane stem from political ambition, noble is the correct answer (and a background she tries to keep under wraps)

lawful evil alignment, bordering very close - and eventually transitioning - to lawful neutral. evil is a sort of unfortunate necessity from her pov right up until the start of bg3, but her character is more aligned to the Lawful part as opposed to the Evil part. she follows a strict code of professionalism, unscrupulous loyalty, and also sometimes "just business, sorry kid" :/ but outside of those circumstances she's as charming/kind/reasonable as they come lol

ok. whew. heres the full unabridged off the walls loredump. prioritizing her menzoberranzan history over her diabolist career bc otherwise i'd need a whole third month for this lol.

viera drisune (later taking the elven adult name vierynrae) was the 13th of 21 total children borne to mistress viciiva drisune, matriarch of the 17th house of menzoberranzan

only vierynrae herself and 2 other sisters actually survived to see viera's elven 'adulthood'. one sister was xaeszara drisune- the firstborn and heiress. xaeszara saw herself as an aspiring proxy of lolth, forsaking politics as she became utterly consumed with fanaticism and religious fervor. she perceived acts of heresy against her goddess in the everyday routines and familiar faces of her kin, and often took to culling her siblings and cousins in sporadic ritual offerings to the spider queen :)

arac'nene drisune, the 16th child and vierynrae's younger sister, also survived - specifically because she was just as deranged as the eldest. she didn't possess xaeszara's zealotry, but still relished in lolth's simpler tenets of chaos and slaughter. the two essentially allied together to pick off the other siblings and minor family members, arac'nene acting as xaeszara's attack dog against any she deemed undevoted to lolth. which was all of them, naturally.

vierynrae only survived because she clued in to the alliance early, and knew the only way to survive was to win the favor of their matriarch and mother, viciiva, by making herself an invaluable asset in all matters of house affairs. and she did! what she lacked in combat prowess she made up for in charisma and intelligence, and quickly earned the trust (and protection) of viciiva after overseeing several successful raids/assassinations of rival houses and improving their overall position in drow hierarchy. the other two siblings couldn't touch her without dooming their house's winning streak or worse, earning the mother matriarch's wrath.

for almost 70 years viera enjoyed the relative safety of her mother's protection, while being groomed by her into a natural leader. vierynrae's actions helped house drisune ascend the ranks of nobility until they were eventually named 10th of the great houses.

in all those years she dutifully followed the tenets of lolth, the only faith she'd ever known, until one day while skulking about in the caverns just outside of the city, she met kiryn'kel nathril , a handsome, bewilderingly sweet man whom she would soon come to learn was not only a seldarine surface drow, but also ironically a cleric of eilistraee, who would regularly venture deep into the underdark to save its denizens from the tyranny of lolth.

against all odds (and in spite of several dozen death threats and attempts viera would make against his life) they fell in love, and began an affair in secret that would last for over 15 years. during this time kiryn taught her about the surface; about sunlight and freckles and kindness and what an honest, earnest hug felt like. he was patient, and successfully de-radicalized her, soon even convincing her to begin aiding him in his efforts to undermine lolth and free any who might stand a better chance on the surface

try as he might, though, he was never quite able to convince her to leave menzoberranzan and marry him up in his home in neverwinter. she had too many ambitions in her own city and still held on to the drow superiority she'd been indoctrinated in to. what's more, she still held a stubborn, optimistic hope that she could miraculously change her home from the inside (while conveniently consolidating all her power and authority over the other houses, too, of course)

this didn't happen, obviously. vierynrae's family's suspicions were growing due to the subtle change in her attitude over the years, all culminating with her abruptly learning that she was pregnant with kiryn's child. she knew her child was a son, and that her house already held the two total male heirs allowed (ie: the two surviving men xaeszara hadn't murdered), and so she finally accepted kiryn's proposal and began to make bittersweet plans to flee the only home she'd ever known.

the plans were short lived, and the pair were inevitably caught by house drisune mere hours before they had agreed to leave. to avoid the shame - and consequences - of the truth getting out amongst the other houses, the matriarch viciiva allowed vierynrae to live, but only after cutting off her ring finger, confiscating its band, and forcing her to watch as kiryn'kel was publically and sadistically executed.

but this wasn't enough for xaeszara, who noticed during the execution that viera's hand hovered a little too long - a little too protectively - over her stomach. in her grief, vierynrae barely noticed her two siblings' whispers, nor when her mother was invited into its fray. the gravity of her situation only dawned on her when her mother bid her halt during the long walk back home, and asked her one grim question: "is it a male?"

her silence was the answer, and viciiva nodded, permitting xaeszara to push vierynrae down a flight of stairs carved into the stone. arac'nene was waiting at the bottom, laughing, to kick her nearly to death - more than enough to guarantee the child would never be born.

minutes blurred into hours, and vierynrae -grieving, raging, but mostly numb - knew her days in house drisune were numbered. she never went home, instead limping her way out of the city gates and on towards the secluded place she had first met kiryn all those years ago.

from there, she began bargaining, first to the gods - who would not answer a lolth-sworn - and then to the anyone in the nine hells who would listen. she screamed at the cavern walls that she was willing to bargain, and after three days, the fiend who would soon become her patron emerged from the dark. she offered up his soul to him right there in exchange for the power to raze the city of menzoberranzan and everyone in it, but the devil only laughed. "do you truly think your little soul is of equal value to that of the city of spiders?" he asked. "how many souls call menzoberranzan home, i wonder? thirty thousand - fifty? not to mention the wrath of lolth this tantrum of yours will inevitably bring about . . . why, that price alone is worth as many souls as you have hair on your head."

and with that, the terms of a pact began to form. a drop of infernal power for every act of service - and for every soul sent to the styx - tallied by the silver hair on her scalp. each deed's value would be measured in strands, turning black as the underdark itself to mark the progress of such an insurmountable price. once every hair had turned, she would know at last that the pact was complete, and she would be powerful enough to return to the underdark and attempt a final stand. until then, she would serve her patron in any and all things.

her first kill was her mother, matriarch viciiva. her patron was true to his word; as 17 strands of silver hair turn blacked, she felt an equivalent surge of power - just enough to make the weeks long trek out of the underdark and up into the sunlit lands, alone.

i hit the block text character limit oh god 🤪

and so her new life began. she navigated a hostile surface world with only her patron's whispers to guide her, eventually settling in neverwinter, in spite of a population vastly hostile to her kind. over the years, her uncanny ability to sniff out a desperate soul - and then cordially offer then aid - made her a recogniseable and accepted figure in the city, eventually putting her in the position to make a legitimate business out of it.

business flourished, and as her renown grew, so did her power, forever measured by her rapidly darkening hair. by the start of baldur's gate 3 she is formiddable — a diabolist and the right hand of her patron, feared and respected, secretly amassing every resource, ally and advantage she has at her disposal through low whispers and coded letters. all of it to pay the price of marching — one day, perhaps centuries from now — on menzoberranzan, and having the power to take it.

[lenorethequietbookkeeper]

What might each of the holders do to impress someone they want to date?

OOOOO this is a fun question!

(Read tws in tags before proceeding)

---

Charles- This psycho could never get with anyone who's not on his own level of crazy. Charles is extremely possessive and emotionally stunted, so I imagine a lot of his techniques involve him stalking you to know everything about you, only to be a tactless dick to your face because he has no charisma. Also he's insanely self centered and will always lean towards violence.

Examples of what I mean:

burning down your house for the insurance money because he heard you had money problems

buying you a new house but it's entirely decorated by him (based on the information he got from stalking you) and he won't let you change anything

killing your neighbor because you got in an argument about something stupid

stealing the neighbor's cat because you wanted a cat ever since your last one died in the house fire

I think you get the idea, lots of solving problems he himself causes.

---

Ferris- Much like Charles, him and his tactics are absolutely insane. Ferris would probably have more success with dating since he sometimes can be selfless and has some sense of romance, but it's extremely twisted by his insatiable bloodlust. Probably some stalking as well, although he'd be more discrete about it than Charles ever could. God help you if Ferris is trying to be your suitor because you'd have endure;

bouquets of extremely toxic/carnivorous fauna from the Park

takeout (usually inedible to humans due to it being from insane pocket dimensions) for dinner every night because he can't cook

everyone you even mildly dislike being murdered

him sending you tapes of said murders

using you as a muse for his fleshcraft projects and torture theatrics

Only real benefit is that he would at least try to correct his more deranged behavior if you directly ask him, but that's really a bandaid on the bigger problem since that might make his tactics more bloody.

---

John- No stalking this time, but you'd still want to avoid him like the plague. John is an emotionally-dependent dumbass who will be utterly subservient to anyone that shows him a modicum of affection. He'd follow you around like a lost puppy unless you told him off, but if you're not careful about your wording, he may leave and never talk to you again (usually where most of his romantic endeavors end). If it gets past that though, feel free to deal with;

frequent gifts of random stolen junk that vaguely reminded him of you (can range from expensive jewelry to just plain candy wrappers)

a lot of sappy Hallmark esc cards for the most random, obscure holidays days

obsessive questions about what you like, but no information on what he likes

a shit ton of drunken phone calls lamenting his love for you only to veer off into trauma dumping (the only reliable way to get any information about himself)

Basically, unless you're an aspiring psychologist, tell him off and never talk to him again.

---

Jeagar- Feels no romance towards anyone or anything, but can feign it if he thinks there's something to gain.

He'd pretend to give a shit about what you think and want, let you pour his heart out to him, maybe even get you a small gift or two.

Then the next thing you know, he either abandons you after getting what he wants, uses you as a part of some big evil plan and leaves you to clean up the mess, or he kidnaps you to turn you into some horrible flesh-magic machine/beast.

Or he'll sense that you're an emotionally-dependent dumbass and use said dependence to keep you under his thumb forever...

---

Daniel- Actually the most well adjusted of the bunch in this area! Daniel has a very conventional and restrained sense of romance.

He would be the only one of the group to just straight up ask you on a date after knowing you for some time. He'd obviously spoil you with expensive gifts, but would space them apart and make sure not to overwhelm you. You think staking would be a problem, but he'd actually want to get to know you himself and would give you space to yourself.

Honestly, Daniel would be a dream partner. Just remember that if he finds out you're using him or you break his heart, he's gonna make you hurt.

-From Biblically Accurate Producer!

[lukiepoooo]

I aspire to your level of autism (deranged)

so if youre like me (autism deranged) u may know in heartgold/soulsilver you can only get 1 of each kanto and hoenn starter in the game, but only in postgame, and only like in POST post game like after you have defeated red. (who has a team of pokemon all in the 80s level range. when the highest level wild encounter pokemon is in the 40s. sigh)

and (due to the insanity) im trying to complete a livedex of the complete gen 4 national dex (livedex meaning physically having one of each pokemon of every evolution stage, ive done it before in sun/moon) i need all the starters. and while i have both heartgold and soulsilver, and heartgold is finished and im working on soulsilver again (i have played these games 31 times now) i will still need to replay one of them AGAIN just to getfucking. Charmander. Just Charmander. because i have torchic from my emerald copy. it is literally the *last* pokemon i will need to get to complete my collection.

but on that note thats made me realize the ability to play soulsilver again means i can build another team.... possibly even a bill team

[newsnigeria]

Wole Soyinka: Fascism on course

May I seize this opportunity, by the way, to condemn the sanctions imposed on Channels Television, which anchored the performance of the LP candidate? Oh yes, could these rabid parochial minds of easy excitation also kindly stop flattering themselves that one’s energies are consecrated solely to the nation space known as Nigeria? The whines of “silence” are relative to the reading scope and world knowledge of idle complainants, as well as their grasp of the chain of continuity. I choose my methods of intervention without the permission of social media border patrols, so where you find a gap, just pick up the baton where you last deposited and stop whining and belly-aching… It would appear that a record discharge of toxic sludge from our notorious smut factory is currently clogging the streets and sewers of the Republic of Liars. It goes to prove the point that provoked the avalanche EXACTLY! The seeds of incipient fascism in the political arena have evidently matured. A climate of fear is being generated. The refusal to entertain corrective criticism, even differing perspectives of the same position, has become a badge of honour and certificate of commitment. What is at stake, ultimately is – Truth, and at a most elementary level of social regulation: when you are party to a conflict, you do not attempt to intimidate the arbiter, attempt to dictate the outcome, or impugn, without credible cause, his or her neutrality, even before the hearing has commenced. That is a ground rule of just proceeding. Short of this, Truth remains permanently elusive. The ensuing cacophony has been truly bewildering. It strikes me as a possible ploy to smother recent provocations by other far more trenchant issues, such as the revelation of declarations of a religious war. If so, let it be known that I have long declared war against religious fundamentalism, the nature of which justifies the butchery, kidnapping, and enslavement of students in the name of religion. That aspirant’s alleged gaffe cuts no ice with me. Far more alarming was the grotesque fantasy of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court disguised in a wheelchair, zooming off into space to a secret meeting with other parties to the conflict. On its own, that is sufficiently scary. Swiftly followed thereafter by a television tirade of intimidation, it strikes one as more than the mere antics of the mentally deranged. The tactics are familiar: ridicule, incriminate, then intimidate. Objective: undermine the structure of justice. Just as a reminder: I was not being rhetorical when I declared, on exiting prison detention: Justice is the first condition of humanity. The instigating contest – Nigerian Democracy 2023 – has witnessed much that is innovative – largely in the retrogressive vein. Violence and ethnic profiling. “Spiritual” warfare in the shape of sacrificial rams to keep “disloyal” communities under restraint – in short, intimidation yet again! Easily overlooked, however, are those missives of violence directed against dissenting voices, real or suspect. Such, for instance, were the virulent attacks and threats to the musician, Seun Kuti, his family, and the iconic music Shrine. His crime consisted of nothing more than declaring the name “Obidient” derogatory to his sense of civic dignity and activist history. Such beginnings – and instances are numerous – have culminated in the open intimidation of the Court of Last Resort, even before proceedings have begun. By the way, I do agree with Seun Kuti; ‘Obidients’ is one of the most repulsive, off-putting concoctions I ever encountered in any political arena. Some love it, however, and this is what freedom is about. Choice. Taste. Free emotions. By contrast, I have no quarrel with “Yes Daddy”. Roman Catholics are used to saying “Yes, Father”. Secularists say “Enh, Baba”. The context and content are what matters, and lies – where established – raise bothersome issues such as Integrity Deficiency. Let us remind ourselves of the following: In any adjudication, society finds it unacceptable that a party to the dispute resorts to influencing tactics by extra-judicial means – such as bribery. Intimidation and threats are merely the obverse complements of material inducement. Those who fail to appreciate this are entirely free to their existence in an illusory world. What the nation needs to know right now is if you are planning to send assassins after such negative analysts! Coming to terms with an unpalatable projected eventuality – sorry – possible eventuality, counsels deep reflection, not demonisation of the bearer of sour news. For the seriously committed, it requires pulling back the horns a little in order to regroup, rethink and resurge. Democracy is sometimes a long haul. Some of us have been at it for quite a while. We shall add the following pointer for this particular electoral tussle – the news may be unpleasant, but here it comes. Quite a few pundits have set out in some impressive – not necessarily persuasive – detail the possibility that the complainants in this presidential election are not as strongly planted on the victory podium as they presume, see – for instance – Ambassador Haastrup’s fascinating analysis in Newspeak, etc. of 6 April. Right or wrong? That is not the issue. What the nation needs to know right now is if you are planning to send assassins after such negative analysts! Coming to terms with an unpalatable projected eventuality – sorry – possible eventuality, counsels deep reflection, not demonisation of the bearer of sour news. For the seriously committed, it requires pulling back the horns a little in order to regroup, rethink and resurge. Democracy is sometimes a long haul. Some of us have been at it for quite a while. I am well aware that the foregoing is a further invitation for a more nauseous bilge from the besotted. Please, be my guest. It is, after all, one of those special seasons of convergence of two seasons of self-flagellation. Fasting makes bearers of constricted minds even more light-headed. Delusions fill the vacuum. Oh yes, could these rabid parochial minds of easy excitation also kindly stop flattering themselves that one’s energies are consecrated solely to the nation space known as Nigeria? The whines of “silence” are relative to the reading scope and world knowledge of idle complainants, as well as their grasp of the chain of continuity. I choose my methods of intervention without the permission of social media border patrols, so where you find a gap, just pick up the baton where it last deposited and stop whining and belly-aching – “He stopped talking all this while, why now?” etc., etc. ad nauseum.  Flat, easy disposable lies that gain traction by repetition. However, even more importantly, they remain irrelevant to the rights and wrongs of ongoing material issues. Sadly, these virtue vigilantes succeed with the ignorant and susceptible – especially among the younger, confused generation. The consequence is that the nation is plagued by fake CVs compiled by all kinds of amateur commentators, still wet behind the ears, who have too few truths to build on before they are corralled into positions of No-Retreat. Nowhere has this been more evident than in the effrontery of attempts to place the present contention on the same podium as the twenty-year-old anti-Abacha struggle! This gross abuse of historic licence actually provides smug satisfaction for rookie activists. I advise them to seek out the school of survivors where pertinent lessons still exist for those with sufficient humility to LEARN before MOUTHING! Otherwise, their world of false mythologies will collapse under their feet, and leave them dangling in the void. Project Nigeria, I must confess, has become near terminally soul-searing. Do I still believe in it? I am no longer certain but – first, we must rid ourselves of the tyranny of the ignorant and the opportunism of time servers. In any case, there is not much else to engage one on a foundation of ownership stakes. There is, of course, always the possibility of a Revolution, with a clarity of purpose and acceptance of all attendant risks, including costly errors. May I seize this opportunity, by the way, to condemn the sanctions imposed on Channels Television, which anchored the performance of the LP candidate? As stated, I watched the programme keenly – saw the valiant efforts of the interviewer to ensure a fair hearing. I fail to understand just where the station could be faulted, except for a disposition for injustice. To sustain that penalty is to give joy to others who turn the Internet into a soakaway for their rancid emissions, yet feel that others should be silenced. If Channels feels up to it, I offer myself willing to engage Mr. Datti – or any nominee of his – on its platform on this very bone of contention – one-on-one – without the malodorous intervention of media trolls, and with the same interviewer as mediator. That should be taken as a serious offer. Project Nigeria, I must confess, has become near terminally soul-searing. Do I still believe in it? I am no longer certain but – first, we must rid ourselves of the tyranny of the ignorant and the opportunism of time servers. In any case, there is not much else to engage one on a foundation of ownership stakes. There is, of course, always the possibility of a Revolution, with a clarity of purpose and acceptance of all attendant risks, including costly errors. Revolutions are not however based on the impetus of speculative power entitlement. No matter, until that moment, the structures that ensure just and equitable cohabitation must be protected from partisan appropriation – be it from material inducement, fake news, or verbal terrorism – the last being the contribution of one who is positioned to assume co-leadership of the nation, no less. Revolution is not about lining up behind the nearest available symbol. When a symbol does emerge, however, we are still obliged to examine every aspect of what is fortuitously on offer and continue to guard our freedoms every inch of the way. Before I take myself off for – well, next port of call – the final word goes to a favourite maverick, propagated even as he matched his words by action. I suspect that in this instance we find ourselves on opposite sides of the strategic fence – that is democracy. This now coopted watchword of his formulation remains apt and applicable to all who strive for authentic social transformation: Your mumu don do!  Ramadan Kareem. Happy Easter! 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Pearl and X movie reviews

X is pretty good, but it's not Pearl.

Horror movies have never been my favorite genre of film. I've never been a fan of jump scares or the eerie vibe your typical slasher might produce. I tended to avoid them, for the most part, when I was younger. However, over the years, I've become more lenient about dedicating time to check out something horrifying if the premise is intriguing, critics or audience reviews are stellar, or any other reason. I never heard about X until I heard about Pearl.

My FYP on TikTok introduced me to Pearl. A couple of stand-out scenes from Mia Goth, playing the titular character Pearl, endeared me, making me seek out the film.

In Pearl, Mia Goth plays a farm girl who lusts for a glamorous lifestyle seen in movies during World War One. The film released in 2022, several months after the release of X. Pearl is a prequel to X, and I firmly believe should be watched before X. X is a competent movie, but Pearl has more for the viewer to latch onto. Pearl is a dark character study into a daydreaming murderer. Our main character desires a lot as a young twenty-something in 1918. The local films that play at her local cinema captivate her. She desperately wants to leave the farm life but feels trapped as she has responsibilities. Looking over farm animals and caring for her sickly elder father plagues her. Pearl wants so much, and in the process of attempting to gain happiness, she makes bloody choices. The gore is cringe-inducing at some points, but it's hard to turn away as Pearl endures emotional outbursts from those who reject or prevent her from her wants. She recognizes that something is wrong with her, but that doesn't stop her from doing what she does. There are layers to her character. The complexity of Pearl, combined with Mia Goth's show-stealing performance, adds to the film immensely. The film cemented itself as one of the best movies I had the pleasure of seeing in 2022.

Now, X takes place sixty years after the events of Pearl. In 1979, Maxine minx, an aspiring porn actress, travels to Texas on a road trip with her producer boyfriend, two fellow actors, their director, and the director's girlfriend. The group looks to shoot scenes for their adult film while taking temporary residence on a farm. The same farm that Pearl worked on during her youth. She and her husband, Howard, run the farm and keep a steady eye on the crew during their stay. It's worth noting how Mia Goth knocks it out of the park once more as she pulls double duty, playing the role of Maxine and an older Pearl. Although, her performances in X are not quite as awe-inspiring in this film. She does an admirable job but also has to share a lot more screen time with a cast of acceptable characters. None of the film crew harbor the same level of depth that Mia Goth did as Pearl in the other film; Though, to see who she was and who she became makes for a fascinating yet saddening development.

If anything, what carries X, besides Mia Goth in dual roles, arguably is the gore. The death scenes in X are harder to watch than those in Pearl. Once we skip past the pretenses and the old couple starts tormenting our cast, the film starts to pick up a little speed. Seeing Jenna Ortega in the film was a surprise. The same could be said for Kid Cudi. Ortega's character in X was almost as charming as her portrayal of Wednesday Addams. Ditto for Kid Cudi on his character's charm and charisma.

Overall, this duology has set up a pleasantly delightful storyline. X is a solid film carried by its scenes of gore and suspense, and Pearl provides a thoughtful look into a deranged and deeply disturbed young woman vying for success. Both are definitely worth watching, but I prefer Pearl. I look forward to the next film in the series, Maxxxine.

X- 3.5/5 Pearl- 4/5