#i finished ep 4 and i have no idea if what i did was right

[vilnan]

you can flirt with wayne............... inchresting

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Bit Slow Round These Parts

Organized, in each category, by ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Dec 2023 Wk 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

Last Twilight (Fri YT) ep 8 of 12 - Mhok is about the most indulgent boyfriend on the planet. Why they dressed as 1930s gangsters for the wedding? I have no idea idea, but it’s adorable. IFYLITA mark 2? And they’re even dancing together using bits of the same steps that were used that show too. Cute nod.

The Sign (Sat YT) ep 6 of 10 - Everything but the kitchen sink includes lesbians apparently. Excellent. Carry on. Also a lot of filler about the sides. (Boring, stop that.) I wish the doctor were a little bit more of a multifaceted character (and less evil snakey), and that we had some of his backstory + Tharn. If we saw them as kids, having a longer true friendship, it would make Tharn’s attitude a little bit more sympathetic and forgiving.

For Him (Thurs iQIYI) ep 5 of 10 - I like this show, but it’s awfully one-sided in the romance arena. I mean shouldn’t they be trying to support and make each other happy? Why does it always have to come from Him? Also, I’m constantly worried about the fact that Nail doesn’t eat any vegetables. His digestive track must be in serious distress. And if the boy is a bottom?! Look I have concerns is all I'm saying, I hope he's getting his fiber along with the dk. Meanwhile... Mom confrontation! Always fun.  

Twins the series (Fri GaGa) ep 9 of 10 - Now I’m having a hard time keeping the twins straight. Who’s getting beat up for whom, what’s going on? No matter who, First caught himself a live one. I like those bits.

Pit Babe (Fri iQIYI) ep 7 of 14 - I got little crumbs of my sides but not enough, and then they dropped the mpreg bomb. Kinda like blowing the BL diaper. Trash watch happening here.

Cooking Crush (Sun YT) ep 5 of 12 - They are so cute. And mostly such good communicators. Except evil dad is evil! I didn’t have OffGun tango on my bingo card, but I'm happy to check it off. After making everyone sing, GMMTV is now making everyone dance. I much prefer it. Kiss came a bit out of nowhere. But it was sweet. 

A few minutes later...

Bake Me Please (Mon Gaga) ep 6fin - I don’t know, I feel like this just wasn’t good enough for the class of talent involved. Which means it’s mostly the story and script's fault. In the end I kinda just wanted Guy to get the guy.

In cluclusion:

A lack-luster story about a group of bakers coping with (mostly) a shoddy script that could not be saved by either the beauty nor the talent of the actors involved. It suffered for lack of narrative backbone and so did I. 6/10

Middleman’s Love (Fri YT & iQIYI ep 8fin - Mai is an adorable clingy boyfriend, and that bit was kind of cute.

Summation:

Office clown, Jade, a manic pixie dream dork, is courted by the new intern, Mai. This show is right in my wheelhouse but it fell flat for me. I wish it had lived up to the concept behind the title (if nothing else). If we had done more of Jade‘s family and the reasons behind his self-worth struggles and self-acceptance issues, they might have been easier to bare. Without backstory, the show had no through line. In the end, Jade was a largely intolerable character, and Mai felt flat and lacking in personality. I was disappointed with this show, and I hope they don't blame the pair for the poor ratings. 6/10

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) 1626 ep 19 of 24 - Meh. So dull. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

VIP Only (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 7 of 10 - I’m not really interested in the late addition love triangle concept.

Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 4 of 8 - a bit too frenetic and manic for me, this one. Glasses boy is best boy. But I’m kind of confused as to was actually going on with this show. Including whether I like it or not.

I Became the Main Role of a BL (Japan Sun Gaga) ep 1-3 - AKA BL Drama no Shuen ni Narimashita: Crank Up Hen - it should finish airing at the very beginning of the year, so I decided to wait and watch all 3 back-to-back. 

It's Airing But...

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 14 eps - Dear Playboyy, it's not you, it’s me… I hate you. You’re about as deep (and as palatable) as a shot glass of cum. While I'm sure you’re someone’s kink, you're my weakest link. Goodbye. I DNFed this at ep 5. Frankly I'm impressed with myself for getting that far.

Night Dream (Sat YT) 6 eps - It’s a pain to track down and I really didn’t like the first episode so… DNF  

The Whisperer (Sun ????) 10 eps - Thai horror BL that ALSO involves cheating (what joy is mine). I don't think even the perfect single dimple can motivate me to watch. Word is... it's terrible.

7 Days Before Valentine (Weds WeTV) 10 eps - Giving me Luminous Solution vibes. I'm waiting to binge if safe.

Dead Friend Forever (Thai Sat iQIYI) - horror, meh, tell me if it's worth my time?

It's done and I didn't, or we can't

Beyond The Star (Weds iQIYI) 8 eps - House of Stars meets Boyband. I was NOT impressed with ep 1. Been told I shouldn't bother. So I won't.

Behind the Shadows (Korea movie) - This is a historical I was interested in, but I've been told they kill the gay so I'm OUT.

[INTERNATIONAL] Cherry Magic (Sat YouTube) ep 3 of 12 - yeah Japan put the smack down on our boys. Sadness. You can use a VPN if you like. Read all about it here.

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - will binge when I have a spare day.

Crazy work load right now so no idea when that will be. (End of year is a bear for me.)

Honestly I'm gonna have an epic number of dnf's this year for me.

Next Week Looks Like This

Original 2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED). With the end of the year upon us I'll do an "announced for 2023 but never happened list" soon.

Also my best ofs are coming.

Don't think I'll do a stats round up this year, everything progressing as before.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

(Last week) - sorry, forgot to link it.

It's 2024 people! Round ups are coming!!!! Leave a comment or an ask, if you have something specific you want addressed.

[igotanidea]

Empty promises: Nikolai Lantsov x reader

A/N: first of all, sorry to everyone wainting for "Traitor", but I felt the need to write something sad and heart wrenching so here;s that. For now. Angst coming right next. Oh, and you have been warned, this is sad. And got spoilers for ep.4/5.

***

„Alina? Are you decent?” Y/n peeked through the door the very second the queen’s seamstress left the room.

“Y/n! Please, come in. It’s so good to see your face.” Alina struggled in the dress “I wish I could greet you properly but I can’t, quite, move in this.”

“Oh, yes, I’ve heard some rumors about certain Saint and the outfit trouble.” Y/N laughed wholeheartedly ”I don’t think it’s really your style, no matter what the queen mother may have to say about that. I may have an idea to save you from that torture though. If, you let me, that is.”

“Please. Anything.” Alina shook her head

“All right then. You know, a tailor would probably be better with the fitting, but as an Inferni I can surely give you something to boost your confidence” Y/N started turning around, picking another outfit for sol koroleva.

“Y/N.” Alina said and the timbre of her voice made the other Grisha stop in her track and look up “How… How are holding up? With me and Nikolai….?”

“I’m fine” Y/N assured quickly. Too quickly to make it believable. “I just ….” She sighed deeply, gathering all the strength she had to finish that sentence “I just wish he told me sooner, you know. Not just leave me like that. Given all we have… had….” she corrected and covered a little tremble by coughing “But he just left me as surprised as any other Grisha in the room when he announced your engagement and  it feels like betrayal, Alina. “ she went silent for a minute “but yes, apart from that I am perfectly fine. Now, let’s focus on the suit.”

“Y/N” Alina grabbed her hand gently “I am sorry for what you are going through right now.”

“Well, we all have our burdens to carry, right? I suppose this is mine.”

“I know it does not make anything better, but I know about heartbreak and making tough choices. Nikolai loves you in a way he would never feel about me. And I feel that for Mal. This is all just a political alliance, nothing more.” Alina assured.

“You know, sancta, when Nikolai left to be Sturmhond I spend two years searching for him, east to west and south to north. And when I did and we got together this was the best time of my life. And I shouldn’t have enjoyed the sea so much, but with him, I did.  And even then I always had this little tingling inside my head. A sneaky voice that was telling me, that we would not last. Turns out I was right. And truly, no one is to blame for that.” The Inferni smiled sadly “This should do the work” she raised the garments she prepared for Alina “I should better go before the seamstress came back. Just for now pretend you’ll wear the dress , all right? Can’t show all the cards at once.” And with such words, she left the chamber, unnoticed by anyone.

The next person to come to Alina was not even remotely as welcomed as Y/N. Vasily came for a little chat coated with veiled threat and perhaps a bit of a warning, but Alina was too strong to let him beguile her.

And then, when time came Nikolai appeared at the door for a little pep talk.

“Well, you look lovely” he smiled eyeing Alina already up and ready in her second army regimentals.

“Y/N came and helped me put this little thing together. So much better than….” Her gaze focused on the dress nearby and the girl rolled her eyes.

“She’s been avoiding me.” The prince said sadly “not that I blame her, but how can she not miss my company even a little? Am I so easily forgettable. She really acts like I’ve grown a pair of horns or started breathing fire…..” he tried to keep his cool and joke around but Alina knew him well enough to see through it.

“She’s an Inferni. A little fire could never discourage her.  But she’s hurt. Twice as much since you kept her in the dark about this whole arrangement.”

“I wanted to save her pain. And possibly myself.”

“’You failed at that.” Alina pouted

“Anyway, I got something to complete the look.” He took a step closer and reached inside his pocket retrieving a green gem “the Lantsov emerald….”

“Nikolai, we don’t have to do this, if it’s too hard. “

“Let’s just keep the pretenses up, shall we? Just remember, shall you decide to punch me, you will probably take my eyes out with this on, and I would not like that.”

***

 “Have you seen Mal?” Alina started spinning around, searching for the one face she so desperately needed to see “It’s not like him to be late.”

“Perhaps your little tracker is not such a fan of festivities as you.” Vasily approached the pair from behind, with some drink in his hand and Alina immediately excused herself, leaving two brothers alone.

“You know, my little brother” Vasily started “I always knew you would not end up with that little Inferni. Why settle for a commoner when there’s a living saint in the palace.” He laughed and took a sip on his drink. “now you will get fire from someone else! I’m sure the Sankta had a lot of it, judging by her actions. And Y/N. Waste of time. She was always a challenge, even when she was a kid.”

“Don’t you dare talking about her like this.” Nikolai hissed, but still kept straight face in a prince-like manner

“Why do you even care at this point, brother? From what I know, she’s been avoiding you, am I right? But look” he pointed out in the crowd, where Y/N was talking to Nadia and Tamar, laughing for the first time in a while “she’s right there. Don’t you wanna talk to her. If has any dignity, which I doubt, she would not cause a scene in public.”

Even though Nikolai knew his brother was only goading him, his brain shut off when legs carried him towards the other side of the ballroom, straight to her.

“Y/N.” he spoke and all three girls turned around, each one of them showing different expression. Tamar was curious of what was going to happen, Nadia a bit stressed out about her friend, and Y/N…. Y/N was just in pain and nothing could have hid it.

“Moi tsarevich”  she bowed, avoiding his eyes

“Please, stop it. Can we… can we talk for a minute? Please.”

“We are  not going to interrupt you….”Nadia started, but Tamar was on the other side of the barricade in the matter.

“I will. I’m not leaving her with you in this state, Nikolai. You know, you are both my friends, but she’s the victim not the other way round. “

“Tamar” Y/N put a hand on her shoulder “it’s all right. It will be just a minute to clarify this little misunderstanding . I’ll be with you before you notice I was gone.”

“I still don’t like it…” Tamar muttered, but let Nadia drag her away to have a little chat with Adrik and watch Alina. When they both left Y/N took a deep breath and before Nikolai was able to say a thing she took the lead of the conversation.

“Nikolai. I don’t really think it’s appropriate to leave your fiancé alone. Especially with Vasiliy acting like a predator tonight.”

“Vasiliy is drunk.”

“He’s been drunk since the age of 18. Remember that time when we played a prank on him and had to run through the palace in the middle of the night?” she smiled

“And when we ended up squeezed in the cupboard to avoid his wrath? Yes, I remember that.” Now they were both laughing outloud “I also remember what happened later on….”

“Nik. Stop it” she warned, her cheeks getting a bit flushed. Of course he had to refer to the moment they shared their first kiss “this is not the time or the place.”

“My feelings for you did not change.”

‘And do you think mine did? But you are engaged now. And I get it, Nik, I really do. You did what you though was right, as always and I can’t blame me for that. We are all pawns in this crazy political game and the point is to minimalize the  damage. If that means you getting with Alina then I cannot interfere. I still be there for you both. Even if it is in the sideline.

“Y/N…. I….”

“It’s all right” she raised her hands almost embracing him, but stopped herself in the last minute. “You should probably go join your family, your mother has been eyeing us for a while now and she knows we have past. Can’t risk anyone getting suspicious, right? Moi tsarevich” she bowed and went back to join Tamar, Adrik and Nadia, who pulled her into a hug.

From then on, everything started happening extremely fast. Vasiliy came onto the podium to gave some mockery speech about his brother, the man of the hour, but in the middle of it, Darkling’s shadow monster decided to drop by and well, cause a little havoc, killing the speaker and some other gathered people. It was chaos. Alina, Tamar, Adrik, Nadia and Y/N were trapped on the one side of the room, while the Lantsov (or rather whatever was left of this family) where stuck on the other.

“They have no heart, no pulse, no nothing!” Tamar exclaimed trying to use her heartrender powers

“Every creature has a weakness” Adrik spit, observing the monsters carefully from behind the table they used as some sort of shield, Y/N following in his steps.

“Those are shadows” the girl said “Look, Adrik, you were right, they have to be in their full form to touch and hurt someone!”

Before another shadow could attack Nikolai and his mother, Adrik came from one side throwing a gust of wind his way, Nadia doing the same on the other. Y/N used this as an opportunity to grab a spark from the nearby candle and throw a fireball straight into the middle of it. For a second, when the monster was tearing apart her gaze met with Nikolai’s who was just frozen like a deer in the spotlight.

“GO!” she yelled at him “Take whoever you can and GO!”

“Everyone into the tunnels!” Nikolai ordered, but before he himself rushed off, he just threw one last glance at his one true love and moved his mouth silently.

“Come back to me.”

***

“You three go find Alina, I’ll go check if there’s anyone lost in the corridors to get them to safety” Y/N commanded her friends ready to run the other way

“Have you lost your mind!?” Tamar spit at her “You are not going anywhere alone.”

“I’ll be fine Tamar.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that from you hundreds times before.”

“And I am still alive. A little bruised and scared but alive. Not planning on dying today, I swear. Alina needs you three and there’s no time, so I’ll just see you downstairs. GO!”

***

 She was running one of the palace corridors, stating with the greatest relief that all the Grisha that were not killed were off the palace and probably on the way to the tunnel. She almost reached the entrance, but mere meters before, another shadow monster blocked her way.

“Oh, Saint!” she hissed annoyed and focused her energy to gather just a little bit of flame since sadly, there wasn’t any external source of it anywhere near. It was always harder to get fire from nothing, but it used to work for her. Most of the times.

Not this one.

The fire that came out of her hands were so weak it barely reached the shadows let alone cause them any harm.

“Oh, shit…” she mumbled when darkness enveloped her whole and tried once again, this time fueled by fury and worry about her friends. Maybe Tamar was right and she shouldn’t have left them. Nonetheless that was not the time to dwell on the past mistakes, since it was extremely hard to breath inside that fog the monster were created from. It was like all of a sudden she found herself in the fold again, broken and scared. “Hell no! I am not dying today” she put her hands up causing a flare and dissipated the shadows finally getting herself free.

If only it wasn’t for that cut with sharp, thorn-like edges on her  leg, which she did not notice or feel.

***

“Is everyone safe?” Nikolai came from one entrance to the tunnels, meeting with Alina and Tamar coming from the opposite.

“Adrik got hurt in the arm, Nadia is with him.” Alina explained “the healers are taking care of the injured. What about the ones you came with?”

“Saved as many as possible” Nikolai turned around “where is …..?”

“That idiotic girl left us and came for the rescue. I told her she should not….” Tamar’s voice broke a little

“Where is she, Tamar?!”

“We… We don’t know…..”

“I’m here!” all the emotions he felt upon hearing her voice where just too much to handle and not caring about anyone  or anything or whether he was acting like an engaged prince he took off running towards her, wrapping arms around her and pulling her close to his chest.

“You’re safe, love. You’re safe.” He whispered again and again caressing her back, tangling fingers In her soft, messy hair and just getting lost in her.

“Nik…” she gasped taking a sharp inhale “I… I don’t really feel so good….” She stumbled a bit and this made him worry.

“I know, darling, but you were so brave up there. You saved my life with that little trick of yours. And you always said you couldn’t do fireballs. Guess me being in danger enhanced your…..”

“Nik, I really do not feel good” she mumbled and all her strength suddenly left her when her legs gave up and she collapsed into his arms, the embrace being the only thing shielding her from falling straight to the ground.

“Y/n? Come on, tell me, what is it, where does it hurt?” he started panicking just in the slightest.

“My leg….”

“May I?” he hesitated before lifting the material of her pants.

“Saints! Stop being a gentleman now! ” Tamar hissed and started tearing the pant-leg “I wish you were this polite at all those night on the ship instead of giving the crew sleepless nights “Oh….”

“How… how bad is it?” Y/N asked, raising her head from where It laid on Nikolai’s chest and he quickly turned her head away.

“It’s gonna be fine” he assured, grabbing her righter and kissing her temple “I’ll get you to a healer, all right?”

“Mhmmm……” she mumbled, slowly losing consciousness.

“I’m gonna lift you now, ok?” one of his hands sneaked around her back, the other went below her legs when he moved her from the ground “you’re gonna be ok, just don’t close your eyes, love.”

Out of instinct Alina wanted to join them on their walk to healers, but Tamar stopped her.

“Don’t” she shook her head, eyes a bit glassy.

“No.” Alina just stated. “Please tell me it’s not….” bus since Tamar was a heartrender there was really no point in arguing.

***

“Nik…. You smell so good.” Y/N hid face in his chest, locking arms around his neck

“I am all sweaty from the fight and running, honey. As much as I love what you are saying I do not smell good.”

“You smell like the ocean.” She smiled lightly “Like the sunny day on volkvolny”

“We’re going to have a thousand more of such days so you could dwell on the smell.”

 “I…. I don’t really think so, Niki.” She hissed in pain when he reached one of the makeshift flop and called upon the healer

“Always a joker, aren’t you?”

“I wish” she started coughing, a little blood appearing on the hand she tried to cover her mouth with. “Tell me the truth, Nik. How bad is it. Cause it hurts like hell.”

“I don’t want to look. I;m not a healer, I don’t have any experience…..”

“You…” she gasped “are a trained soldier. You know about wounds. Tell me.”

“It’s not good” he closed his eyes almost like those words caused him unimaginable pain and grabbed her hands. “but the healers…..”

“The healers have too much work on their hands. And judging by your voice….” She coughed  a bit more

“Sh, don’t say anything more. Let me just… Grigori!” he called upon one of the corporalki “she needs help.”

“Immediately, moi tsar” Grisha answered and it was probably the first time Nikolai realized that he was the king now.

“Moi tsar” Y/N smiled faintly “it suits you so well, lapushka. Auch! It hurts….”

“I’m sorry Y/N, this wound is unusually deep and it seems like there’s some kind of venom in your veins, going straight to the heart and…..” Grigori started slurring

“There’s nothing you can do, right?” she asked simply

“I’m so deeply sorry, Y/N, moi tsar.”

“Not your fault.”

“Leave us.” Nikolai hissed through gritted teeth and Grigori practically run away trying to avoid king’s fury “Y/N….” he leaned toward her, cupping her pale cheek and caressing it gently “I don’t want you to go….”

“Selfish. As usual. You don’t want me to go, mhm. Do you think I…. auch, want to die like this?”

“I need you with me….” He kissed the top of her head

“Selfish. Again. You got the sun summoner now."

"You are my sun."

"Stop flirting with me on .... on my .... death.... deathbed" she squirmed trying to lift herself up but it was too painful “Help… me….” She panted and Nikolai grabbed her waist with one hand and supported her back with another “I don’t have much time left… I feel it almost in my heart….”

“I don’t want to go on without you.” he whispered

“I know.” tears started showing in her eyes and he wiped them away breathing heavily “I’m scared Nik” she admitted trembling “I feel so cold. Can you just hold me? I don’t….” she gulped “I don’t want to go alone….”

“I’m here with you. No matter where you go, afterlife, I will find you, I swear.”

“Not if…ekhem! Oh, saints, it hurts so much” she cried and his heart broke at that sobbing coming from her. The sounds he would never recover from. Reminded that he failed to protect the only person he ever truly loved. And to think she was dying in his arms, while he was about to marry another woman. This was like a punch in the guts “not if I hunt you first.”

“I love you” he just had to say it. Maybe it was selfish again, but he needed to know that were the last words he said to her “I love you and I will always love you.” he kissed her knuckles, looking straight into her eyes. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Nik. And I’m sure you will….” Her voice was becoming so small, so quiet, almost audible in all commotion “… have a long, happy and fulfilled life. You’ll be great king. And a father…. I….” she closed her eyes “I’ll see you later, Nik…..” and just like that there was silence.

And this was the exact moment Tamar clenched her fist and faced the wall, her back to other Grishas so no one would see single tear falling from her eye.  

She said she’ll be fine…….  Empty promises always hurt the receiving end  of those.

***

“Nikolai? We need someone to get everyone together and ….” Zoya was blissfully unaware of the tragedy that just fell upon the king and was her usual self when she entered the part of tunnels were healers were stationed “what… what happened?”  she stuttered at the view in front of her eyes.

Nikolai was not a king at the moment. He was just a broken man who just lost the love of his life. Not crying, just sitting next to her still figure, holding and caressing her cold hand, unable to stop. Almost like he was in a trance. For what he cared the world could stop spinning and it would not make any difference for him. But for her…. He was going to do anything to avenge her death. But he would do that in a second, for now, he just wanted and needed to stay with her a bit more, even if that meant just watching her face, surprisingly peaceful and running a hand through her hair.

If only he could indulge in that greedy need.

“Goodbye, my love….” He whispered planting one final kiss on her forehead and tugging at his hair stood up to protect and guide his people, his subjects.

[magpod-confessions]

Honestly i wanna hear opinions on season 4, cus im gonna confess i could NOT finish it (didnt move on to season 5 either lol). Got to like ep 135 & i just couldnt tell any of the episodes apart it felt like such a drag; just a slog of misery with some offhand Important 5 Minutes once in a blue moon. I hate repetition & i got the sparknotes from fandom/wiki stuff so yeahhh i just stopped listening; i still love TMA & it’s story & characters, it’s just the execution that got to me RIP

Everything felt kinda forced to me ig? Like there was some shoe-horned “humans are more monstrous than the actual monster” that snuffed S1 Jon’s fun cockiness/jackassery just to make him ? The best one in the archive ??? & all of his wrongdoings are either off-screen or justified by him being tricked into becoming a literal monster against his will (who would STARVE w/o his ‘evil-doings’, which didnt even kill ppl). Also felt like everyone got needlessly dumbed down except for Martin (the Love Interest ofc, who got 180’d from his pre-established incompetency to be some mastermind in a playing field he should have REALLY been inept in) just so they’d be blind to Jon’s situation & be mean to him LMAO

They started trying to make Jon accountable for “choosing this” & i couldnt handle it, held no fucking water to me—the guy being explicitly puppetted & manipulated as the entire plot? That guy is expected to take responsibility here? Felt like some after-thought theme they threw on top of it all. Anyways uhh feel free comment either on what i said and/or your personal thoughts on the season, or nothing if ya got nothing lol

🗣️

Ehh disagree. S4 isnt my fav but I dont think its bad. S1 Jon to s4 jon feels like natural character progression to me. He starts as acting all high and mighty to try hide the fact he has no idea what hes doing and is terrified, and then experiences a lot of ppl dying that he feels is due to him and is his responsibility. At that point his thought pattern is 'I keep messing up and making mistakes and getting myself and everyone around me hurt, so other ppl surely know better'. Hes got a lot of black and white thinking around him, which has been consistent throughout his entire characterization

I dont think any characters were dumbed down either

Melanie was always angry, she only go worse bc she had smth making her think everything she did was justified and when that stopped she became avoidant and stopped lashing out. She was still angry, just managing it better

Basira has always been Daisys no1, the person to justify all of Daisys actions. She knows what daisy did and why its bad but she holds onto the idea that daisy is right in doing so. She blames jon for what he does bc logically she knows its wrong, hurting ppl who havent done anything is wrong, but still excuses daisy bc she needs to. Bc that was a fact of her life and it cannot be wrong. In the unknowning she focuses on facts to keep her grounded and to her 'Daisy is a good person' 'Hurting ppl is wrong' and 'If you hurt ppl you are a bad person' are all facts she needs in her life to stay grounded. How she justifies Daisys actions is by saying that the ppl who daisy hurt were worse and it ultimately helps more ppl to have them gone. Not only can she not do that with Jon, as she believes those he hurts are entirely innocent, she also doesnt care to. Shes not close with Jon and she doesnt have 'Jon is a good person' as a fact in her mind, so she doesnt need to work to excuse his actions. Its all or nothing with her, if you hurt and continue hurting ppl, no matter your reason, you need to stop and the only way you will stop is if you are gone. She also has a lot of black and white thinking, gotta love the autism podcast

Martin being a mastermind in s4 also makes sense bc him being stupid is an act. If ppl think your stupid theyll underestimate you and ultimately leave you alone. They wont scrutinize you, they wont attack every part of you, they will brush it off as just a typical normal thing. It will get you ignored and you cannot be hurt if nobody knows who you are or how to hurt you. Its a lonely miserable existence but its one martins used to. Martin rarely drops the mask of 'Sweet but stupid' bc he needs that to survive and tbh he probably learnt that from needing to survive his mom LOL. Martin just knows and picks the best method of getting ppl to like him, which for him is doing exactly what they want and keeping their expectations low so they wont hurt him as much when they mess up. Honestly in s5 I see him as hes finally got to a place where he doesnt care if everyone hates him, bc he has someone who does and thats all he needs. Hes survived the worst of it and he doesnt care anymore

Part of the reason everyone blames Jon is bc he is there and he is the one who is currently causing the most problems. Also they dont actually see the extent that Jon is manipulated. Elias talks and interacts with Jon differently to how he interacts with others. All of them met Jon when he was already at the institute, they meet him when it does actually look like he made his choice, entirely of his own free will. It doesnt help that daisy is there, someone who completed their transformation like Jon did and turned back on it, and she looks like shes managing well enough. She is surviving without feeding so why cant Jon do the same? Also basira does trust elias on some level. She trusts he knows more than she does and can be an asset if used correctly, which definitely doesnt help things. Also the idea of Elias is locked up, he cant affect Jon anymore so why is Jon still acting this way. Elias has very effectively vilified and isolated jon and jon doesnt fight back against it bc he believes it as well. Other ppl are normally right so why wouldnt everyone be right abt him?

Oh my god that was an essay and I absolutely missed sooo much stuff but idk take that - rosette

i literally have nothing to add . rosette sincerely you are insane and i love that . i honestly don't have a lot of s4 opinions that i could really put down , but i also disagree anon . s4 may not have been the best , but it certainly wasn't Bad or not enjoyable to listen to . coming from someone who has listened to the podcast twice now [ and who is planning on a third relisten ] , i really do enjoy s4 as a whole . martin's buildup and his manipulation of peter lukas is honestly one of my favourite parts , because it has been said that martin was originally going to be apart of the mother of puppets ! this shows that part of martin we didn't get to see but has been there . i got distracted and don't remember what else i was gonna type um . whoops - deceit

[zabala0z]

Okay so, I just finished MAG 100 (Wild guys holy shit) and I saw the next ep is like 50 minutes long??? (EDIT: okay I was wrong so ignore that) So I’m gonna post my 4 episode thoughts now since whatever MAG 101 is gonna be, it’s gonna make me have a lot of thoughts:

MAG 97: We All Ignore the Pit

Okay, so, there’s a lot here that I didn’t realize at first glance. Who the hell was that old man??? My first thought was Simon Fairchild because he said “nothing for you down there. You just go and enjoy your sky” but then he like spat mud and that’s something Simon had never done before, not even like a hint of dirt shit. He also was described as mean and Simon, from all the statements, was a pretty chill guy?? Like he was friendly, amiable, etc. so I don’t think this is Simon.

Who was the old woman and the blue eyed guy? I thought it was Gertrude since she would be alive around this time. Wait hold on I just thought of something. Like I’m writing and I just thought “man what other old woman is there??” Fucking Mary Keay. Could be. And the boy could’ve been Gerard or something. Or maybe I’m overthinking. I think I am. God.

ALSO NIKOLA??? WTF BRO. The fact she was like “yeah I stole this voice box” implied to me that she strangled the boss in Drawing a blank for it 😭😭 poor Jon, he keeps getting kicked around. Also creepy ass voice. Jesus.

I’m wondering how Gregor is her dad. Like I don’t think she met blood related, right? And how did she end up in the department store. Like duh it was the delivery service but what led there??

MAG 98: Lights out

Maxwell Rayner strikes again. Douchebag. Another darkness theme. Not much else to say but Melanie trying to poison Elias? Respect.

MAG 99: Dust to Dust

MICHAEL. MICHAEL WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE??

Guys you have no idea the scream I let out when Gertrude said his name. Like genuinely, this is like top 5 most crazy moments for me which is probably gonna get trumped in like 3 episodes but still holy shit. Like. I was fully hyperventilating.

Michael was Gertrude’s assistant. Like he was a human. I figured he was one but him being an ASSISTANT at the institute was not a thing that crossed my mind. How did The Spiral get him? Or did he go to The Spiral??

The Buried. Fun name. So I’m guessing it’s deal looking back is claustrophobia, dirt, earth, etc. gotta keep track of that. Now all the names entities we know of are up to 7! Funsies. Congratulations to Jon on getting kidnapped. We’re now adding to his trauma.

MAG 100: I Guess You Had To Be There

I’m dying of laughter what was this. Okay so every statement, while disjointed and not very said well, is important. The girl who saw a ghost on fire?? Well could be related to The Desolation. Y’know. Fire. The guy who lost his friend in the subway station, The Buried, I think. The guy who got lost in a maze and then just left because he was late? By the way, funniest thing ever like what the hell. Anyways that’s The Spiral and the guy with the spiders, I still have no idea. It’ll have a name soon.

ALSO PETER LUKAS. LUKAS. DUDE. The way how he says stuff, how cheerful he sounds, reminds me of Mike Crew? I don’t know if the Lukas family is also related to The Vast but the experiences sounds vaguely similiar enough.

Poor Brian. Bros now gonna be lost like forever 💀 okay so I think that’s everything. I see there’s a lot of parts coming up so anyone who wants to see me melt from lore won’t have to wait too long!

[sphaxcca]

My Candy Love New Gen ep. 4 Review

Here I am after finishing the last episode of MCL New Gen ready to give my honest and unasked opinion about it. Fasten your seatbelts cause we are about to start and i'm not gonna be gentle

LET'S TALK ABOUT IT...

So the episode opens with Elenda who's basically trying to drag us so bad to the Cosey Bear because apparently Castiel was serving there ( No judgement toward Elenda, i wanted to see my husband too). Unfortunately for me and her, he already had left when we showed up to the Cafe. >3>.

Seeing Lynn animated was so cute and a little bit nostalgic but nothing compared to the GASP I emitted when she started talking to Thomas and he told her he was in love with her. GEEEEZ, now i get why that kid was a pain in the ass and RUINED my pic-nic date with Tomato head, THE DOTS CONNECTED. Btw it was a very cute scene and a tribute to Iris that I hope she will show up in Thomas' route.

Moving on, inspired by Thomas' love confession, everybody starts talking about their love life (expected since the episode's name is hearts looking for love). And this is where things went horribly cringe and outrageous: Ofc i'm not talking about Elenda and Devon ( It was cute to know that she had a crush on Devon and, about him, a little peak to where the story is possibly going to lead - a busy man that works his ass off so bad for Devenementiel and has no time to date)or Amanda but about ROY and BRUNE.

Hoooooly shit, the chill of second hand embarassment that I got just by reading the interractions between these two was undescribable I swear( Elenda became basically my guide spirit: her reaction was the same i had. ). Everything was so outofcontext and nonsense that I'm actually wondering why Beemov decided it was a great idea to give space to something so....childish? I mean, we're talking about (almost) 30yo people.. and they got together because they were...desperate??????? - "Yeah with my exes things weren't doing good so we decided to date even tho we don't talk, don't touch and fell uncomfortable with each other" - COOOME ON, BFR, you guys ok? Also, I really hope that we're gonna discover something deeper about Roy (or that he's going to get a development at least) that makes him more that what i can pick up and feel from him right now: childish Gymrat fixed on pool that give us nothing. I'm genuine deluded about the way they handled this.

Moving on to JASON PART. He basically shows up when we're still talking sitted by the table. I was obviously expecting the part where he was going to be pointed out as a "womanizer" but what I DID NOT EXPECT was the reaction he had when he overhears our conversation: I felt him being sarcastic as usual but at the end i felt he was kinda....hurt??? idk if you get what i mean, he literally said he had REASONS why he doesn't want to be in full term relationship and this opens my mind to an INFINITE AMOUNT OF THEORIES

Connected to what I've read on some theories here, someone said it's because of the condition ( or the pathology) that made his hair go white...

This is a really good point but I genuine think about something else that is connected to this and the SHOCK NUMBER 2: Why Devenementiel hates Jason so much?

Apparently our "proud and superior" man with an incredible fragile ego had PLAGIARIZED the project the would have helped Devon to found Devenementiel and, because of that, he was fired and disqualified by the contest. So...first things first: PIECE OF SHIT. Secondly, I genuine would have never thought about him doing something like this and that's the reason why i don't think he did it because he wanted to but perphaps he WAS PUSHED to do so.

Another theorie said that probably he was helped by a third person that played dirty and suggested him the same project Devon did

And I have to admit that this is something very likely, but stil don't really convince me too much.

We can clearly see that Jason has a lot of money, A LOT, and by the way he has so much money i'm assuming he comes from a family that at least has the same amount of capital he has now. We got told that he was basically working as an employer (if i remember correctly) so why trying to steal something from others if you are satisfied and don't need a job? perhaps because you NEED that first place to REDEEM yourself and PROVE someone wrong at least so that.. THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS. That's where his family and the white hair make their part: A Dad Ceo that basically disgraced his Son because he couldn't follow or keep up with the family business or - he wasn't good enough- for the role ( and that's why the white hair, because of the stress) . Another thing that might prove this is the fact that Devon told us that he had "private investors" and...i mean, if you're broke, i don't think you can find them just by snapping your fingers and make them appear in front of you, especially when you get fired and disqualified in a competition. He could have use the "family" name and hi charisma to persuade the investors to help him found Goldreamz. And THIS leads me to the last point: Why no long term relationship? Because his family has to end with him and he's scared of the consequences that a partner can have in his life. This reminded me so much Simon from Bridgerton btw. So yeah...I might be wrong (99%) but i want to think that he's a piece of shit just because he's hurt.

His special scene was normal i guess, i love the way my candy was looking at the instagram photos be like - "i'm just studying the enemy...not doing something wrong..maybe".

In the end i decided to try for the Thomas illustration and nothing to complain about, the scene was genuine one of the most cute one in the game so fare and the ilusstration 10/10 chef's kiss and handshake by the president.

[kadextra]

so on a whim I started reading omniscient reader’s viewpoint manhwa

..and got hooked on the story so hard that I easily blasted through all available eps in less than a week. istg they put dr*gs in this thing it’s so good???? 😭

[SPOILER WARNING! big ramble ahead. if you’ve never read it, leave this post. consider checking it out you won’t be able to put it down]

lets get this out of the way first.

RAHHHHHH KIM DOKJA….. KIM DOKJA I LOVE YOU

GUYSSSSS 🥺 LISTEN. HE’S SUCH A GOOD PROTAGONIST. MY TRAUMA BOY. MY DUDE WITH THE POWER TO INFODUMP PEOPLE TO DEATH. YOU SELF-SACRIFICING IDIOT. his cunning intelligence makes him super attractive what can I say, I LOVE smart mcs with ambiguous morality and self sacrificial nature

here’s a big ✨shut your mouth✨ to every character who’s said he’s ugly- get your eyes checked, get a job get away from him (I know it’s because of the fourth wall’s filter it’s not their fault I’m just being silly)

the fourth wall is such a cool power to have. the complexity of how it acts based on his perception of fiction vs reality as the reader …. that’s very interesting and well thought out!!! how it lowkey has a consciousness too and it’s so tied into his mental state makes me want to psychoanalyze this guy even more. probably one of the most unique powers I’ve seen created and explored in a story tbh

I think the entire system of how the world works is really well done in general. constellations watching the apocalyptic bloodbath via livestream and sending donos to their favorite little guys shouldn’t work as well as it does and cracks me up so much 😭 (uriel is the best). I enjoy learning about all the irl different fables, history & mythologies too. plus doing my own research is fun! I did a deep dive through the web to learn about dokkaebi folklore lol I’m having a good time

I also related hard to how dokja read TWSA throughout his life, the story was a companion for him. got choked up bc I reflected on how much my own favorite companion stories for years mean to me. there’s been situations I’ve thought “what would (character) do?” dokja saying stuff like “what would joonghyuk do?” felt like I got called out <3 I’d probably be the same as him if my favorite characters suddenly came to life

anyways yeah I caught up with the manhwa looked online and discovered it comes from an already completed novel with over 500 chapters and the manhwa is barely a third into adapting it though it’s been releasing every week for 4 years. and that it’ll take like 10 more years to finish. I then planted my face in my hands and screamed with despair

I’ll shrivel up waiting to see what happens……………heyyy woahhhh.. whats this light of salvation ? the novel file just completed download on my phone ? that’s crazyy wow I opened it ? im scrolling it right now ? omg I’m telling myself in the mirror “pace yourself, try to space your reading out do NOT read too fast” ?

jokes aside im excited, first I’ll take some time to read back through the earlier chapters for extra context of scenes! >:D after I finish doing that…. pls pray for my self-control to try stretching this for as long as possible. I’m pumped to see what happens next with this demon king part so maybe I’ll read along with the manhwa unless I get too impatient heh

to conclude- I had no idea the fandom of orv was so passionate. while closing my eyes to spoilers, I was looking at beautiful fanart and animatics (watched this one and ascended that’s one of my fav rin songs). I can tell how much you guys love the story, there’s always going to be people like me who get interested so keep it up :D if the fandom does end up reading this, ummm *knocks on the door* hi im new

I will likely talk about it more in the future!! tagging under “#kade reads orv” ! might draw fanart on my art blog too bc brainworms <3 happy reading everyone

[moononmyfloor]

Dashing Youth Ep 1-10 Commentary

Ep 11-16, Ep 17-21, Ep 22-25, Ep 26-32, Ep 33-35, Ep 36-40

Alrighty let's organise all my thoughts in neat lil piles.

1. Personally the type of Wuxia I enjoy is the more subdued, mature and philosophical vibe like that of Sword Snow Stride and Mysterious Lotus Casebook. I rarely watch youthful, lighthearted, rom-comey wuxia/xianxia/xuanhuan. I didn't enjoy BoY a lot and I still wonder how I managed to finish it, the few characters I loved were Wuxin, Tang Lian, Zhao Yuzhen, Prince Chong and Prince Lingchen, because they had the acting style and character arcs that were closer to my preferences.

I clicked on Dashing Youth just for the curiosity and out of "since I watched BoY anw, I'm kinda obligated for this" feeling, but unexpectedly, within 10 mins I was in love lol. Many of the actors I already know and love, the bromance is instantaneous and strong, the promise of a good tragedy is alluring, and I could enter the worldbuilding faster because I already know what to expect from this universe.

AND I ADORE how the casting directors seem to have chosen actors with BLs/BL-vibe shows under their belt for all the important roles, they all know exactly what to do and like:

I for one am not mad about all the CP pushing promo the showmakers are doing. I mean, even if this was a super straight story we'll end up with gay fanfics anyway, right? So just as well we get to see our fantasies haha 😏

Like, that's an adorable thumbnail!

OK without further ado, getting myself invited into the Daddies' party time!!

By ep 4, Dongjun has so far charmed the asses off of Spear daddy, Lei daddy, and now Liu Xueyi's daddy. At this rate, I'll have to assume that the future kids are gonna be procreated not via their future wives, but through the consummation of the daddies' elaborate spiritual bodies when they flirt-duel lol

(Exactly like that)

Now I really wanna see a 重回我爸的高中时代 (Back to My Dad's High School Days) edit for Dongjun and his harem from the kids' povs Like here .

Ep 6- You did indeed, Wu Xie 2.5!

Hou Minghao collects new boyfriends, old boyfriends and his own other-selves like pokemon😆 Also gotta say that everytime I see Bai Shu now I feel like a proud parent. He's grown so much from the grumpy scrawny bb Wu Xie era huhu

Ep 9- It's amazing how I personally didn't really enjoy BoY, but Wuxin instantly got my love and while I'm 10x more drawn to Dashing Youth, the one who won me over above everyone else is again, Wuxin's dad. Also, Wuxin's dad is a chef! How can I not love this baby!

Everyone showing off martial arts while they are in their own world, serving a buffet lmao

Lei Mengsha looking at this poster: Yep, I can see this polycule is not a good idea. Usually I'm all in but I'll sit this one out and go make my two kids in peace. I'll have my chance with HMH in another universe anw

Despite being the silliest of them all, LMS is the only one who gives the vibe he'll always stand straight on his two feet even if the entire world goes topsy-turvy. I don't even need to look at BoY to be proven correct.

Ep 10- Ever since his intro from ep 1 where he went all, "wow, what a fate!", I love the parts they do these crossover jokes

(In fact, instinctively performing Qimen Dunjia is possibly how LMS figured out the trajectory the other boys were going to be in LMAO)

Now they need to add some tomb robbing jokes when Bai Shu and Neo interact and it'd be perfect!

Also it feels kinda fateful that Lei Wujie would go bond with Xiao Se, Lei Mengsha was best bros with his uncle Langya.

[shortpplfedup]

Only Friends Character Rankings Episode 5

It's The Date Episode! And honestly, fucking outstanding. The core six pair off and spend the day lying to themselves and each other. It's mostly cute and sweet but the undercurrent of shit about to hit the fan hangs over the entire episode. It's sort of the calm before the storm. Last week, Boston held onto his top spot in the viewer rankings for the second week in a row, with Ray and Nick rounding out the leaderboard. Can the most miserable bastard in the world do the hattrick? Here's this week's winners and losers.

🔺1. Top (2)

Why don’t you try Lasik? A friend of mine had it, and they said their eyesight is so much better. But now that I think about it…I don’t want you to get it now. I like you better looking like a nerd.

Look, ain't nobody more surprised than me, but this man legit got every goddamn thing he wanted this ep. Top putting on the perfect man act (and I am more convinced than EVER that it's an act) was fascinating to watch. Studiously ignoring all the various signals put out by various other men all day, knowing Mew's eyes are on him. The fucking INSTAGRAM COUPLE PHOTO. And then the knockout blow: when he looked Mew dead in the eye and said 'I love you' I said out loud OH YOU MANIPULATIVE MOTHERFUCKER WELL PLAYED. Do I think Top has bad motives towards Mew, no. I just think he likes the idea of Mew a lot more than he actually likes Mew. And now that Mew's given up that bussy, I'm counting down to Top finding a mistress to give him some variety.

🔺2. Nick (3)

-You’re acting weird. -Weird how? I’m just… I’m just shuffling up my style.

Speaking of getting everything you want, Nick looked like he won the lotto when Boston started talking about settling down. Never mind that Nick is doing ALL of Boston's work for him. Never mind that 3 separate people have now told Nick that Boston ain't shit. Nick is euphoric. Nick has ascended. Nick is doodling 'Mr. Nick Boston's-last-name' in his Trapper Keeper. Nick is going to the gym and dressing more upscale. Nick is giggling when Boston asks to spend the night instead of fucking off as soon as they finish fucking. Nick is headed for a crash so great I'm SALIVATING.

🔺3. Boston (6)

I feel like I should stop sleeping around for a bit. It’s been feeling so empty lately. In the end, I want to have sex with someone I can… talk to for a little, you know? Like, have great sex, have good chats, and…someone I can get affectionate with. Right now…there’s only you.

Told y'all you can't keep a bad bitch down for long and Boston's already bouncing back. He might have had a moment of weakness and tried to be nice for exactly one day, but Nick getting drunk and stoned and running his mouth about how cute Sand and Ray were activated his asshole glands. He smelled happiness and said NOT ONE FUCK OF THAT ON MY WATCH. Boston is that Marie Kondo gif, he fucking LOVES mess no matter how much he goes on about hating drama. He will always poke the hornet's nest. Shutting the fuck up was free, but he just COULDN'T. And thank god, because Ray punching him in the mouth was like 3 of the 5 top things that happened this ep.

🔻4. Ray (1)

-That’s a nice top. Where did you get it? -This thing? It’s secondhand.

Whew Ray's day slummin' it was so classic I shed a tear. I can't really adequately describe his facial expression through the whole day, but 'condescending amusement' is closest. His enjoyment of Sand's company is very real, as are his attraction and hints of affection, but he absolutely does not consider that man his equal, and that's why he doesn't even consider the 'boyfriend' label. No matter what Ray's feeling, Sand's demi-monde, not part of his world. He likes that Sand treats him like he's special, he likes that Sand seems to always want him around, he likes that Sand will take care of him, but he'll never take Sand seriously. This would be true even if he wasn't in love with Mew, but being in love with Mew makes it all worse. Pathetic, I love it.

🔹5. Sand (5)

I work. I save up money. I sleep. I dream. I go to bed alone, wake up, and go to work. Until…he came along. It’s like somebody presses pause on all my 24 hours. Next thing I know…I’m living my 25th hour. Ray’s extra hour.

Oh SAND. I've been saying from jump this is hurting most because SAND KNOWS BETTER. When Sand called Ray his 25th hour I wanted to SCREAM because BABY BOY YOU KNOW BETTER. This dude is either drunk or hungover all of those same 24 hours you are grinding out a living, but you wanna spend your birthday with him because he makes you feel sparkly. He stays sneering at how you ain't got no money and work 17 jobs, but because he does it with a twinkle in his eyes you're blind and deaf all of a sudden. He told you HIS MOTHER DRANK HERSELF TO DEATH and you pour him another drink. I ain't feeling sorry for Sand anymore, he did this to himself.

🔻6. Mew (4)

-Does this mean I passed your test? -Yeah. You’ve convinced me that you really only have eyes for me.

Mew really tried to play a player and ended up playing himself instead. Like, in one way he's won: Top's his boyfriend, and honestly very likely to stay that way. But Mew should have been careful what he wished for because 'boyfriend' and 'faithful lover' are two very different things.

⭐7. Sand's mom

You keep nagging at me, you know that? Who between us is the mother, exactly?

WE AIN'T MET THIS LADY FOR NOTHING! My Sand/Top half brothers theory LIVES!

⭐8. Summer

Sorry to chat you up, but I’m alone, after all.

Poor girl's a hottie but didn't stand a chance.

[fandoomrants]

Bruuuuh, just finished ep 8 of aaa, can't wait to watch ep 9... In 3-4 hours after work 😭😭

All I wanna say, I excuse all of Agatha's war crimes. She never did anything wrong, hands down.

ANYWAY, QUICK SPOILER-Y THOUGHTS ABOUT E8 UNDER THE CUT:

I just... Love how everyone was like: Teen is Billy! Rio is Death! Billy/Teen/William made the Road same way Wanda put Westview under a spell.

And for all of these I was like "Oh, yeah. Makes sense. Anyway, I don't believe until I see.... 🙃🙃

Also. Confession time: I didn't think Jen's an interesting character, tbh. Only started appreciating her sass in ep 7 and now in ep 8. I'm ashamed of myself. Thoo, I was starting to believe she would really have a bigger role. What was that?

On this trail of thoughts. Jen and Billy/etc discussing Agatha and Rio's relationship? DIED (like Agatha). They really said the stuff people had been saying out here all week.

Idk why I was surprised Rio and Agatha are so toxic.... I KNEW THEY ARE.

But ngl, I really, really felt bad for Agatha. She... She really hated Rio. By the end, I wasn't sure if I wanted to see that kiss... :/

Still happy we got it, thoo.

Despite everything. Rio. The woman creature, you are!

She did love Agatha and wanted her dead so she'd be with her, huh? She was sooo hurt.

Also, again. KNEW IN THE END IT'LL BE A CHOICE BETWEEN BILLY AND AGATHA!

And omggg, I was right! Agatha's never walked on the Road before, lol. Because everyone else was right and it's a scam, it doesn't exist.

Love how she played along, thoo.

Back to what I said about Agatha's war crimes excused??? Yeah, laughed soooo much when I heard she's the one who did this to Jen. Awful but. Come onnnn. Crazy woman. I LOVE HER.

And the whole "idea" of the Road is that you get what you want and... Then you die?! I mean... Sorta poetic.

Ughh. Agatha's ending :/ Saw it coming, still sad. Good ending, though. And well. We got that Aharhario kiss. BUT AT WHAT PRICE!? Rio seemed sad too... Was chasing Agatha around her crazy type of foreplay?

Love how she made her corpse flowers.

Is it bad it was so bitter yet I still ship them? Probably. Now I know I'm not only into milfs but batshit crazy people too.

And Billy's ending??? Honeyyy. EVERYTHING FROM THE ROAD WAS IN YOUR ROOM. YOU DIDN'T FIND IT STRANGE?!

And that laugh in the end?? Whaat??

One last thing before I'm late for work!

KNEW THE ROAD GAVE ME WIZARD OF OZ VIBES WITH THE PATH!

[canonically47]

here I am :) review?

I LOVE YOU ANON!!! <333 (seriously you are the best!! i love sharing my thoughts and receiving your message straight after the episode is over you are the best ever <3)

as always, let's break this down in bullet points!!

SPOILERS FOR DCAS EP 4! (duh.)

right off the bat, i gotta say, why is yul so VIOLENTLY racist? 'curry girl' are you KIDDING ME??? oh my god WHEN is he leaving?

they are... running out of ideas for the challenges, just like in TDAS lol. what do you mean an ALL-STARS CHALLENGE is a race to dig up sandbags LMFAO?? we really are getting TDAS quality with this season, pushed relationships (grett & yul, connor & riya), exaggerated antagonists (riya when i catch you riya), well at least the generations are interacting with each other :3 not all in a good way though

also why are they still in their swimming stuff i don't. get it did they forget to redress them? i get that they were around digging in the sand but i think they could've done that in clothes no?

jake continues to piss me off and despite her sob story i continue to care very little about ashley. i like what they're doing for her i think?? but i really don't care about her shrug

TOM AND AIDEN FRIENDSHIP WOOOOOOOO I LOVE THEM SMSMSM MY FAVORITE M/M FRIENDSHIP IN THIS SERIES EVERRR

jake got ran through the DIRTTT in this episode I AM LIVING FOR IT also he talked SO LITTLE WOOOOOOOO FUCK YOU JAKE I AM LIVING FOR THE JAKE ERASURE

VILLAINS ALLIANCEEEEEEEE <333

oh my god miriam literally scared the shit out of me with that reveal. this series is so unpredictable so i was ready to say goodbye to alec BUUUT if we go by writer/total drama logic we know that his arc not being finished (i.e. him not having made up with fiore, which is clearly his main plot point) means he would not be going home anytime soon. i really expect, by this logic, for him to last long. i think there are 20-21 episodes this season, and i expect him to be there until at least 15. he will definitely make the final six, and no way will he not make merge. i'm rooting for the guy so hard

i never expected to cheer at miriam's elimination, but here i am. she's been asking for it this season i think... and she actually got really downgraded?? like her whole shtick was "omg the youngsters can't communicate i gotta talk some sense into them" and that. was it. which was SOOO BORING i KNOWWW you can do better queen!! :( and i hateee how they made her rude again like her whole thing in s1 was becoming less rude through her friendship with jake come onnn how can you mess up THE QUEEN HERSELF

so, i have a theory, which immediately everyone started talking about in the chat but i'll try to speak it into existence quicker so it seems i am original: grett voted for yul. i am going to stand by this until i die. we didn't get to hear the sixth vote, but there was no need. grett voted for yul. we know connor, alec and yul voted for miriam, so that's her three confirmed votes. we know miriam voted for alec. that leaves riya and grett; and while i do admit that it's likely riya voted for him because she dislikes him, and i hate to say this because i hate her, riya is smart. she knows yul is a bitch boy and not a threat. she would absolutely jump at the chance to vote either miriam or alec, so that's another vote for either of them. grett. voted. for. yul. and i am so excited for where this will take us.

although i enjoyed this episode, i think it was one of the weakest of the season. the challenge was absolutely boring, jake existed which like?? ew?? also yul was there so massive thumbs down, and riya was there so automatic dislike, also jake and yul had lines? disgusting ew. yul and riya had some plot relevancy this episode which disgusted me.

but seriously jokes aside the episode was pretty solid aside from the challenge, that's a hill i'll die on. ellie and alec still have a good dynamic which is GREAT to see, i cheered when i saw alec pop out of that bush to talk to her, and i am so happy to see the four s1 and two s2 villains uniting forces. i cannot wait for the fanart we'll get of these six (says girl who wants two of them dead)

[homestuck-archive]

HOMESTUCK NEWS UPDATE!

"Hi, James here. Hope you had a good holiday! New year, new me! New you! Whatever, man! We got the usual patreon updates for you. Wahoo! Did you know that's a kind of fish? I watch a lot of fishing videos. If everything goes right and nothing goes wrong we should have something very exciting very soon: a new website! What does this mean for you? Stick around and find out!

Thanks for coming to our AMA, I hope we were able to answer some questions. I especially liked the one where Haven said he was going to fill Dirk full of Milk and slap him against a wall. Great job team. In other community news, the folks over at SAHcon are having their New Year's showcase around 5 pm PST today. Wow! I'm excited to see what the community is cooking.

We got another great comic update coming mid month, and in the next few we're letting some of the new writers shine. I'm excited for you to read them!

Speaking of updates on things… some of you sleuths may have noticed some changes. I'd like to go into a little more detail about them to the extent that I am able. I also wanted to do this in an official newspost, and not on socials etc, so that there is no question about it.

The contract with VIZ media has been restructured. What does this mean? Well, let's start a little further back. We have gotten a lot of questions about Andrew's involvement with HS:BC and Homestuck as a whole. I mentioned before that Andrew approached me to finish HS:BC. As many of you know a few years ago Andrew stepped back from having a creative role. This has allowed him to focus on oversight, and some behind-the-scenes stuff. A large part of that was regaining a sort of legal control of the brand as a whole.

So who "Owns Homestuck?" Well Andrew still does. Who has the publishing rights? We're working on that! The HICU has a license to do what we want with the property, which is what has allowed us to do some of the more creative things we are trying to do. Is the Website going to be fixed? They're working on that! I have very little to do with that, personally, but once there is something solid to announce there and the concerned parties are comfortable with it I'll let you know. What does this mean for the commentaries? Behind the scenes, some ideas about how to handle the issues with the way Homestuck is going to be published are being discussed. Some of these ideas may include a new way to release the future book commentary in absence of the books themselves. Wow!

With regards to VIZ, as some of you have correctly surmised this is good news for us. It has allowed things like HS:BC and HICU licensing etc to happen, as well as the SAHcon license. Hopefully, this can also include some additional fan-friendly licenses Andrew is considering. This all will take time to fully unfold so more details will be forthcoming about what this means for Homestuck as a whole. All in all, I think we are in for an exciting year.

Man what else is goin on? Some good news on the Vinyl is that I talked to the printer and with such an overwhelming response from you guys, instead of a simple Best Of EP, we actually want to try and do a print of Vol. 1-4. This makes all my very scientific and organized data gathering completely useless. I am humbled by something new and mundane every day. Anyway, this represents a completely different beast logistically, but as a fan of those tracks I am very very excited about that. I will Literally buy a Record Player for this. "James, you don't own a record player?" No! What do I look like, an old man? Please don't answer that. (Yes James, you do. -Homestuck Archive, 2024.)

This month (January 2024) we are also going to start seeing some of the bonus content go public. I ran a poll for the Patrons, and the general consensus is that after 2 months, they're ok with the bonus content going public. This includes Bonus strips, the Illustrations, and the commentary. They're really fun to do, so I hope you guys are into it. If you want to see these as soon as they go up, they are available to subscribers. Thank you for that, btw. It means the world to be able to pay some of my team's bills. Look at me, getting all sappy on New Year's Day. Maybe it really is a new year and a new me..."

SUMMARY -

New HS:BC Website in the works, with some new features.

Update mid-month as usual. Some of the newer Team Writers.

VIZ deal has been "restructured." (that's good for us)

Andrew still "Owns Homestuck."

Working on a solution to homestuck dot com debacle.

There are plans for commentary.

Homestuck Vinyl will be Vol. 1-4, pending some light Logistical Upkeep.

Patreon Bonuses from November will be going public this month.

[sapphire-weapon]

i just finished Infinite Darkness and have a lot of Thoughts™️. please indulge me if you'd like.

spoiler + long post warning

i went into it with pretty low expectations because everyone kept on calling it a shitshow. it's not bad per se, but it wasn't good either. it was.. meh. 2.5/5.

afaik ID takes place in 2006, and RE4 in '04. so why tf does Leon look like he's at least 40??

that honestly fucked it up timeline-wise for me. was the show purposely designed not to fit into the timeline in any way whatsoever a la "welcome to raccoon city"?

if that's the case, Leon and Claire still somehow are able to remember the events of Raccoon City in this timeline.

my brain can't come to a logical conclusion over the timeline, so i'll leave it at that.

i wish they gave Claire more screen time. they did her so dirty imo.

what were they trying to set up with Claire and Leon's interactions? a loveteam? if this was so, what even was their last conversation in ep 4?

the Claire on top of Leon scene. tf? what the hell were they trying to set up? were they going to fuck and continue the redfield bloodline right then and there? kiss? hug? maybe punch each other's lights out?? i'm seriously so fucking confused.

Shen Mei and Leon too. Leon asks her out and she declines. what was the point of that conversation? i'm just going to assume it's to show the locket with Jun See's picture in it.

(were they trying to show how bitchless Leon is at least in this series?)

why the hell did Jason kill Shen Mei? what was the point? why didn't Leon give a shit when she died? it was like he just forgot about her.

i love how President Graham believes anything as long as Leon is involved. in ep 1 when Leon's late: "it's fine bc you saved my daughter." in the last ep when Patrick tells him that Wilson was behind everything and cites Leon as source, Mr. POTUS decides to wing his speech ON THE SPOT just because of that fact. what if Patrick was making it up? that really would have fucked up international relations and all that. i don't know. Graham really loves Leon i guess.

going off of that, i wish we got to see more of Patrick. i would have loved to see him interact more with Leon.

what is gonna happen to that chip!?

i have no idea if a Season 2 would be able to salvage/explain the plot, but honestly i don't think the series deserves a Season 2. it might be a waste of time and money plus an even bigger disappointment to fans.

alright, onto performances.

Nick Apostolides to me sounds like someone who's breaking in a new pair of shoes. it sounds like he's still getting used to walking in them and therefore tries different things (which i find ironic since he'd already voiced baby faced rookie cop Leon S. Kennedy atp, but also understandable as Leon sounded young in that game). he's all over the place imo. he sounded like RE2R Leon, RE4R Leon, and someone else entirely throughout the four episodes. but as you said in another ask, he really made up for it in RE4R. solid voice acting all around imo.

Ray Chase. before i saw him here i knew him as Neuvillette (aka "according to the judgment of the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale") in Genshin Impact. his line delivery is stellar. i hope that's also him voicing mutated/infected Jason because he sounds fantastic there. but there's a line that he says there that sounds so awkward because the delivery is so sped up that the emotion is gone.

Stephanie Panisello also voices Claire in RE2R, but i haven't seen too much of her there to compare it to her performance here. i will say, however, that i honestly enjoyed her performance here, but there are times when she sounds like she's holding back a bit. it would have been perfect if she let go a little bit more.

Jona Xiao as Shen Mei was also great, but i think she also suffers the sams problem as Stephanje in that she sounds like she'a holding back.

Doug Stone as Wilson was perhaps the most enjoyable for me, as well as Billy Kametz who voiced Patrick.

this (https://youtu.be/HN2OkCu6FbE?si=jl7K8tILCYoheGCX) was pretty badass tho

https://youtu.be/7lnFgfhVW-E?si=RZ-EF-WN2vVDY8PS holy shit.

the unfortunate thing is

most of my responses to your reactions boil down to "welcome to the RE CGI-verse." like:

why tf does Leon look like he's at least 40??

i wish they gave Claire more screen time

why the hell did Jason kill Shen Mei? what was the point? why didn't Leon give a shit when she died?

all fall under that category LMAO

now, in terms of things i can respond to:

was the show purposely designed not to fit into the timeline in any way whatsoever a la "welcome to raccoon city"?

no. just because leon's character model looks bad doesn't mean that the story exists out of universe. it takes place in 06 and is part of the regular OG canon timeline. period.

what were they trying to set up with Claire and Leon's interactions?

nothing.

the CGI-verse is the reason why a few true cleon diehards still hold onto hope that cleon will still somehow be endgame, but the fact of the matter is that leon and claire just have That Kind of Friendship. it goes nowhere; it's just how they are.

Shen Mei and Leon too. Leon asks her out and she declines. what was the point of that conversation? i'm just going to assume it's to show the locket with Jun See's picture in it. (were they trying to show how bitchless Leon is at least in this series?)

both explanations are correct. ID adds a new dimension to the running "OG Leon is a Fucking Slut Who Can't Actually Score" gag by making him an actual homewrecker this time around. but ultimately yes it was to show the locket.

what is gonna happen to that chip!?

nothing and you know it lmao

this (https://youtu.be/HN2OkCu6FbE?si=jl7K8tILCYoheGCX) was pretty badass tho

this is the best moment that OG leon has in the entire series and i'm not joking. it's not the best in the sense of "this is when he, as a person, is at his best." it's the best in the sense of "this is the only moment in the entire series where we get to see leon do his Actual Job and know what he Actually Does outside of outbreak incidents, and it serves to add more context and perspective to so many other facets of his character." i could write an entire fucking essay about this scene/moment. god.

goD

[blackjack-15]

finishing up ep 4 --

return of the love scene lighting while marcus is making the cake. they're really not subtle with how any shot is framed, which as a lighting/set direction geek i appreciate

i keep calling pete paul gosh dangit this is what i get for pirating without subs...the feds were right

pete's very slurred speech about him following carmy's career and how sugar did too? so cute. carmy has no idea how to handle praise that's directly tied to him rather than tied to his cooking directly and it's a little heartbreaking. it's not just that he doesn't have the language to express himself, he doesn't have the ability to receive it from others -- we're hitting another repression and abuse flag right there

"we spilled a whole bottle of xanax in it?" "...are they dead?" "no, just sleepin" "keep up the good work" hilarious outcome, i'm giggling like a schoolgirl carmy's relief is Palpable

"i can't be in [the Beef] five minutes before i start thinking about dark shit" "that's prolly why i like it so much" carmy i love you baby you have Got to not self-flagellate, the world does it enough to you

cicero's dream about carmy's father is another great example of the bear's ability to have a stripped down, simple scene full of dialogue with a present, dark undertone. carmy's "what happened to the kid" is so sweet and soft -- i wonder if, like a lot of youngest children, carmy has a soft spot for/always wanted a little sibling. his sadness at hearing the kid in the dream sat there waving as his father is palpable

syd learning that being rougher, not more hesitant, with tina being the way forward is wonderful, and a hugely important lesson for bother her and the viewers. people are like ingredients -- they each need to be treated in individual ways in order to bring out the best in them

"thank you jeff. chef." THERE WE GO TINA YES GIRL

"love you, bear" "love you" WE GOT AN I LOVE YOU FROM CARMY HUZZAH not quite an un-asked for i love you but close enough. he's like a skittish deer combined with a raging asshole (deer with boxing gloves for antlers?) -- you gotta let him come to you or you're gonna regret it

carmy trying to hide his laughter at pete being zonked is really cute

"sorry, pete" i'm calling it now end of S3 pete/carmy bromance bring it in

syd watching carmy in the restaurant before marcus comes in with cake....the crumbs are Delicious thank you

super solid episode all the way around -- i think ep3 had higher highs? but way lower lows, while ep4 is good all the way through

let's keep truckin halfway through s1, so the Problems are gonna start cascading p soon, methinks...

[fandomscraziness22]

37 and 56 episode…4? of tcp caleb/adam but caleb had a nightmare and adam tries to help in the only way he knows (knew) how

hi friend! ok this is ep 3 au where they fall asleep before exploring! i did not reread this so hopefully it makes sense lol

as comfort (37) and out of habit (56)

Adam can't sleep, and he'd like to think it's the anticipation of exploration tomorrow. But he's pretty sure it's because of the boy in his living room. 

With a sigh of frustration, Adam climbs out of bed and pads to the kitchen, hoping a glass of water will ease his mind. (It used to work, when he was little, before he met Caleb. Then it was Caleb who helped him sleep.) 

I can't think like that, Adam berates himself. They've been broken up for a year now, and he needs to get a handle on himself, because that isn't how you interact with your ex. 

He fills a cup from the sink and takes a long drink, trying to settle himself. Bed, rest, sleep, relaxation, restoration… The exercise from long ago crosses his mind, and Adam spends a long minute trying to think through more word associations. His body relaxes, and as he finishes his water, Adam finally feels ready to sleep.

Until the night is split by a low moan.

Adam startles, because he recognizes the noise. Having slept in the same bed as Caleb for years means that they are intimately aware of each other’s nightmare habits.

And Caleb’s start like this exactly.

It’s not my place, Adam thinks. They’re not together, and comforting after a nightmare definitely veers into boyfriend territory. This is what he’s not supposed to be doing.

But then the noise comes again, and Adam can picture Caleb’s face crumpled up, his eyes squeezed tight as he battles whatever his mind comes up with. 

A good friend wouldn’t leave someone in turmoil, right?

Adam knows it’s a bad idea, but the instinct to help Caleb is so ingrained in him that he’s stepping into the living room before he can stop himself. Caleb is on the couch, blankets twisted around him from thrashing. 

Caleb takes up so much physical space, Adam had almost forgotten that extended to his sleeping habits too. He's as spread out as he can be on the shitty couch Caitlin bought, and his face is scrunched up just like Adam thought. It sends a pang of longing and sadness through his heart—a reminder of what he lost.

Caleb grunts, then mutters, “No….didn't mean…”

The fear in his voice is enough to shatter the last of Adam's defenses. He slides down to his knees by the couch, calling softly, “Caleb, wake up.”

Not that he really expected it to work. Caleb’s dreams have always kept a tight hold on him. Physical touch is the only thing that will wake Caleb up.

This close, Adam can't remember why they broke up. The last year is wiped from his memory—he's just a boy trying to soothe someone he loves.

Caleb whimpers, and Adam reacts. He presses his lips to Caleb's, just enough pressure to let him know that he's there, to pull him out of the depths of his nightmare.

Adam pulls back, and Caleb’s face has smoothed just a bit. He's almost there (and Adam doesn't want to know what it says about him that he knows what the different stages of Caleb's nightmares look like), so Adam doesn't let himself think, just leans down and kisses him even softer.

“Wake up, Caleb,” Adam says.

And there it is—Caleb’s eyes shoot open and he breathes sharply, taking a moment to orient himself. Adam leans back, giving him space.

The sudden realization of what he did hits Adam like a stack of books to his chest. He's done the exact thing he wasn't supposed to—that isn't his to do anymore. He kissed Caleb, without asking for permission or thinking it through. And now Caleb's ability is probably going wild.

“Sorry, you were having a nightmare,” Adam whispers, not daring to look at Caleb. “I'll just go…”

He stands shakily and makes his way to the hallway. He hesitates, but Caleb is silent behind him. Shame fills Adam, and he walks back to his bedroom, cursing himself the whole way.

Maybe bringing Caleb here wasn't the smartest move after all.

send me a ship and a kiss!

[snowandwolves]

questions for when lighthouse au is done:

is there a scene or plot point that you didn't expect to write/surprised you?

how much of the story did you plot out/have in your head before you started writing?

is cold hot chocolate just hot chocolate with ice? / do you have a recipe for it bc i'm intrigued

do you have an idea of what cam was texting bea during that bit when bea basically questioned if ava could top?

does ava have a fav character or ep in grey's anatomy?

how much does bea lift?

does jillian have her own helipad and private jet and all that?

is there a scene you loved writing? or were like so eager to get to?

uh pls don't feel pressure to answer any or all of these! was rereading from the start and had lots of feels and love for this fic <3

lmao i can finally answer this [sobs]

1. definitely diego making a surprise visit. that was supposed to be resolved through a phone call but i got tired of writing phone calls so i was like “hey maybe just have him go there?” 😂

2. i got the idea while i was writing sixth to the ninth hour and then immediately jumped into planning it right after i finished that fic. i have,,, so much content on this fic it’s mildly insane 💀 it started in a notes app then moved to notion then to a word doc then just all of the above. i have fragments of it in work files akhdjadk

3. yes! and i don’t actually have a recipe for it. anything chocolate will do though, and i’d recommend drinking it like 5 seconds after you put the ice in for maximum confusion.

4. also yes! just cam being casually chaotic in bea’s inbox and telling her how they’d be a perfect match because ava radiates bottom energy 💀 and also being a menace by reminding bea that she was the one who told them all about her bedroom activities before she went with lilith and fucked up a homophobe.

5. you know that episode where they sing for the whole of it? ava nearly died laughing.

6. this, i haven’t actually thought about. let’s say exactly ava’s weight and chalk it up to fate 😌

7. she’d get an earful from her children about environmental awareness if she ever tried to buy a private jet 😂 so no, i don’t think so. maybe a friend with all of the above though because rich people connections ig 😂

8. definitely the storm. that was the very first scene that popped up in my head vividly waaay before i started planning this fic. i waited months to write that 😭 also the ending! i spoiled that way back in chapter 5. so for anyone who might catch that easter egg, you have my whole heart.

this was genuinely so much fun, anon. thank you so much 🥹💙 and also sorry it had to wait til now 😂