#i just had a lot of brainrot over the last episode

[almosteverythingnerd]

I'm still very early in gintama but I just finished episode 13 and I'm obsessed with how gintoki describes having important people in your life and loss.

It's inverse to the widespread way that it's generally described in both media and life- that being, loss as a heavy feeling that weighs on the soul, negative emotions in general are described as heavy, connoting burden; whilst the opposite of that is a feeling of lightness, usually referring to how significant (in a positive sense) people in our lives can lift us up and help us carry our burden, as well as the fun, genuine joy that can be experienced around the people we love.

This is a very valid and real description of it, in my own experiences I have felt heaviness, so I completely understand where this representation comes from and I recognise and appreciate it. But the difference is why gintamas depiction sticks out to me.

Gintoki describes the deep care he feels for his friends as 'heavy'.

He quotes Tokugawa Ieyasu, saying, "To live a full life means to carry a heavy burden throughout a long journey." Gintoki's words are as follows:

"It's not really a burden...Everyone's got both hands full of something that matters. You just don't realise it when you're carrying it. It's only after you drop it that you realise how heavy it was in the first place."

Later, when he's literally carrying kagura and shinpachi he says, "you guys are heavy, damnit."

And I'm just really in love with this flipping of the negative connotations of 'heaviness'! Because yeah, love and care is weight on the soul, not in a way that drags you down, but in a way that grounds you. Lightness in this context now connotes something like empty space, a feeling of nothingness or numbness. Love and care is weight as opposed to lightness because weight means it impacts you, matters to you. You're carrying around all this love and it's not a burden, it's fulfilment.

[waitmyturtles]

I've Caught Up With Wandee Goodday, and here are some cons and pros (aka, am I ever burnt out on GMMTV)

HELLO. I'm back temporarily from my summer travels (before I travel again!). I was in Thailand! I should have brought a box of chappals to chuck at the GMMTV building for where Wandee Goodday has gone. Anyway, I need to process my thoughts on this show, so here we go. (And I apologize, I have NOT looked at the tag for this show, so I don't know if I'm repeating what other people are saying here.)

PROS

CONS

1) This show had so much brainrot potential! Remember the first, like, four episodes? Potential homophobia in multiple workplaces? Delicious bisexuality? Ace storylines??? Wandee's PUTZ deception and manipulation? Yak going along with it, why?? There was a lot going on here, a lot we could have chewed on.

I've been sitting on my historical review of Golf Tanwarin's The Eclipse for my Old GMMTV Challenge for about two months now because I can't get over how pissed I was that that show took some unnecessary, and frankly insensible, turns in part to showcase the damn center ship of First and Khao. I don't think Golf's WG has taken similar turns specifically to center the GreatInn ship, per se -- I just think the writing got messy and lazy right before WG's midpoint in general, and punched a lot of the excitement I had about the show right before I paused around episode 8.

Wandee Goodday is an EXCELLENT example of how Thailand's hourlong QL dramas could be made INCREDIBLY more impactful, by way of forced editing and clarity, if Thailand could follow Japan's suit by making 10- to 12-episode series with 30-minute episodes.

The Dr. Ter storyline was over before it actually, really ended, in, what episode was that, 9 or 10. It was over! Why drag it out? In Japan, that storyline would have been two episodes, mayyybe three, MAX. Shirasu Jin was barely in Kieta Hatsukoi for an episode before he was banished. Takeda Kouhei barely made it through two episodes of Minato's Laundromat 2 before he went bye bye! We don't need these middling dudes. There was enough happening with Dee and Yak to not need this Ter shit! Sorry, LOVE YOU PODD, but Ter was made irrelevant so early on, and then they actually had to work together on a huge case?! And NOW HE'S CHEESING ON TAEM? Like, no. We don't need this.

2) There's still a lot of confusion and conflict between Dee and Yak by last week's episode 11. Dee's got issues receiving love! This is big.

(By the way. Showing Dee ONE video of his parents cheesing on him as a newborn is NOT THE WAY to explain away future parental neglect as an older child. YIKES.)

I love that Yak wants to invest in Dee, and we do see Dee doing a lot of reciprocating there to Yak, but this parental neglect reveal, along with still not knowing enough about the back story of Dee's parents dying, is out of order and not helpful to me getting enough knowledge about Dee for me to feel a holistic sympathy towards him. This makes me wonder if romance is really Golf Tanwarin's bag: if Golf didn't have to focus so much on the DeeYak/YakDee romance, could we have gotten better emotional representations of these guys, gotten a better picture of WHO THEY ARE, before they got into each other? Maybe? I dunno.

3) Considering that homophobia in systems seems to be a theme that Golf is interested in, why did the show drop Yak's concern about being out vis à vis his boxing career? Showing up at the hospital early on, in front of Ter's people, was already a big risk that wasn't given consideration; and now Dee's gone ahead and put the big pre-match smooch on full display by episode 11! I know Yak's gone full tilt for Dee, but I think we needed to put a bow on Yak's early macro-level concerns about being out for that loop to be closed.

[I feel like I have similar concerns here about 23.5 as well, so I'd like GMMTV to know (REMEMBER BAD BUDDY????) that you can have romance and big social commentary in a show at the same time without sacrificing lovely, intimate moments. Neither 23.5 nor Wandee Goodday needed to scrap heavy emotional moments for social media memeable clickbait.]

TL;DR this show, this script, could have been so good, there was so much there by way of storylines.

ANY FUCKING WAY.

PROS

1)

I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS SHOW WENT HERE WITH THOR. THIS IS DISSONANCE, THIS IS CONFUSING! THIS IS MAGNIFICENT.

And the follow-up scene with the FABULOUS Fluke Nattanon. Fucking Thor. He's so good. They're so wasted in this show!

2) Great Sapol and Inn Sarin. There's a con here: the elephant pants do nothing for Great's butt. But otherwise, Great, and Inn as well, are DELIGHTS. THEY ARE GOOD ACTORS. They are wasted on this script. I hope they never work together on a GMMTV show again. If they're ever paired again (which I hope they're NOT, down with the ships), I hope they can get cast in a big ol' queer lakorn, à la JamFilm, and escape the need for the meme moments.

The thing is, about Wandee Goodday, is that if you admit you're into the show FOR THE DUDES, then I get why this show is watchable (AND IT'S WHY I'M FINISHING IT, GODDAMNIT), because the actual intimate moments ARE lovely. They're just not coherent with everything that we should know about these guys by the end of a series, and that makes me sad.

Anyway, this show ends this week, and that's it! I wish GMMTV's shop had had the WG items in stock when I was there in person; fuck these shipping fees, I want the Phadetseuk shirt so bad! If I had known this would be a kind of light and fluffy watch, I would have set my expectations WAAAYYY differently, and I would have likely had a better time watching this. As it stands now, I'm better suited to enjoy the finale, so I'm glad I got these complaints out of my system, and I'll say sayonara to all these dudes in full ogle mode later this week.

[thoughtsthatgounnoticed]

Swept up in Expectations

As an anxious and curious person, I couldn’t help but check every now and then to see what the vibe was for P2 before watching it myself. After all the excitement during the wait between P1 and 2, nothing could have prepared me for the whiplash I felt reading disappointed and equally ecstatic posts from reactions to Eps 5 to 8.

Now that I’ve seen the episodes myself I’m trying to make sense of how I felt so I’m putting the figurative pen to paper and hope anyone as confused as I am can ruminate with me.

To put simply - I think we were all swept up in the excitement of Nic and Luke’s press tour (a whole other can of worms for some) and the many spoilers, speculations, and info from cast interviews during the wait between P1 and 2 that appeared to have been Polin positive. This energy then ballooned our expectations. I personally forgot that although Bridgerton is endearing and fun, it’s ultimately not a BBC or HBO production (I love Bridgerton but it’s no Pulitzer Prize winner in writing). So I think we expected more and are crashing from our collective highs.

Then there’s Polin and Penelope. As someone who didn’t personally enjoy S1 and 2 stories, S3 was going to be one I could truly enjoy and romanticize, and experience that Bridgerton brainrot everyone keeps taking about. Admittedly, it took me listening to some discourse and a second watch to truly appreciate P1. I’ve come away with so much love for Polin and their unfolding love story as well as Pen’s journey. The friends to lovers trope is beautiful, sweet, endearing, romantic, with a lot of history between two people. It had me singing along at the top of my lungs to Taylor Swift in the car even though it’s not my usual type of music. I was swooned and romanced.

But Part 2 was…. rough…. (Ramblings below)

At least after episode 5. It felt like I wasn’t watching the same season. I knew the weight of LW was going to put Penelope through the wringer before we can ultimately move on in peace. I expected the angst, it didn’t bother me, even if it meant seeing the worst of Colin’s anger temporarily.

I think what bothers me is the wasted potential of Polin’s season brought on by unnecessary side plots that could have given more time to Colin, Penelope and Eloise’s complex relationship and individual feelings. It was a season that absolutely needed to flesh out these characters alongside LW’s plot. Instead we got lengthy scenes of side characters with no payoff or stories that could have waited to be told next season. Polin felt like side characters in their own stories, their scenes so cruelly cut between other people’s dramas - I was swooning one second to wondering why we’ve jumped to sideplot A and B, then back to swooning over Polin again (their wedding dance for example 😭).

Then there’s the question of intimacy and how we would have loved to see more - probably brought on by a rumored missing montage. Instead after all the pain, the culmination of intimacy between Polin was the 5 second scene towards the end that looked like one of Anthony or Ben’s random brothel end-of-episode montage scenes in S1. I didn’t need plenty of intimacy scenes, I just wanted there to be growth in their intimacy evolving beyond what they had in Ep 5 and after all that drama.

Part 2 should have focused on how Colin, Penelope and Eloise came to terms with the LW revelation and the aching healing process it took to overcome that because the love they have for one another was stronger. I found myself thinking how in hell they could resolve all of this and it became progressively clear that the resolution was going to feel underwhelming and rushed. Especially, when the last episode alone had another wedding, Colin and Penelope still not communicating, and like 4-5 scenes of Ben and his mistress and their lover. We sat there in complete shock at how we kept going back to those scenes when the season had bigger fish to fry.

Although the show attempted to delve into Colin’s journey post revelation, the process of overcoming his sadness/jealousy was not fleshed out satisfactorily. I’m not saying it isn’t there (the very quick scenes of him looking through Penelope’s letters, listening to her speech at the end, his speech to Cressida, interactions with Kanthony/Eloise etc) but it lacked…something. Maybe it needed just a beat longer, a few more words, a bit more time. I don’t need it to drag, I just needed more within the depth of the scenes. Funnily, some of the side plot scenes lasted longer, which was so evil. Colin deserved a concise arc like Penelope’s. I hope Luke Newton’s back wasn’t hurting from carrying all the weight of Colin’s journey through his delivery and face acting because the writers were not giving him much to work with.

And so, the ending of the season felt odd. On one hand I was happy Polin got their happy ending and in theory their progression made sense, but on the other I felt like the show did a disservice by not taking us carefully and deliberately on that progression journey we wonderfully started in S1 and 2. I will always have ep 1-5 to look back on fondly and I was teary eyed when Colin delivered his ep 8 love speech to Pen. It felt like a glimpse of what we could’ve had and what they did have in P1. However, there’s this feeling of anti-climax that is so palpable given how impactful the press tour was. Am I still walking away from this season loving Polin and enjoying the scenes we did get of them? YES. Am I satisfied with it? NO.

This is 70% an emotional rant that may subside once the excitement dies down. I have thoroughly enjoyed everyone’s input and analysis and may have just been swept up in expectations.

[aihoshiino]

It's Hoshinover: Oshi no Posting Post Oshi no Ko

Hello gang! I thought I'd make a quick post outlining what my plans are now the series is over. Like I mentioned in my 166 chapter review, I still have a lot to say and I don't plan on going anywhere! But I also thought it would help for me to still have that bi-weekly structure for discussions that the release schedule gave me... so here's my plans going forward now the series is wrapped!

Bi-weekly series re-visit!

Every other Wednesday, I'll be alternating between episode reviews and volume reviews as I make my way through the series again! Episode reviews will be a more in-depth continuation of my OnK Rewatch I started a bit ago with the intent to focus on the adaptation itself as an experience.

Volume reviews will be my re-read of the whole series now we have the full thing in front of us. Basically, just an expanded & less speculative version of my chapter reviews! I'll be following along with the YenPress translation of the manga as well, so I'll be commenting on the TL choices there too because I'm annoying <3

Askbox is remaining open!

I'll get to everyone's questions eventually I prommyyyyyyyyy

Fanfics

YES I STILL WRITE THESE I PROMISE!!! I had some creative commitments elsewhere over the last two or so months so I had to take a break from working on my current projects but I've got a lot of things cooking! Chapter 5 of An Invincible Girl is in the works, as is chapter 2 of Atonement or Sacrifice. I also have chapter 1 of Oshi no Gohan and Rotten Happy Heart mostly drafted and am hoping to get those up eventually as well!

I also have a big, long term-project that's in the planning stages with the gang on the OnK Brainrot server so please look forward to... whenever we're ready to announce that!

[macky-ccall]

My buddie brain is brainrotting

Season 7 screamed Buddie in it's writing and one of the moments that was the loudest was all of buck's coming out, I know it's been talked about before but if you take it piece by piece it's just insane. Mind you, let's also remember that they all know that Buddie is a big thing online and have a big following yet they keeped thoses choices and didn't shy from them

They decided that Eddie would get to be the one Buck have an emotional coming out to. It's a big cast there is a lot of characters, they couldn't dedicate the whole season to Buck coming out individualy, it makes sense so they had to make their choices. The fact that Eddie was the one to be chosen is shocking. Usually coming out are hard when it's with family and yet the decided that while maddie is the first she doesn't get to have the same emotional impact as Eddie. Heck the only reason Buck come out to Maddie is because of Eddie, because he “lied” to Eddie about his date.

The fact that they made it so what was important to Buck in this situation, what the whole episode focus on regarding Buck is telling Eddie. They didn't have to make Eddie the center point of Buck just like they could've shied away from eddie after the kiss in order to get the buddie aspect, that they knew would loom over them, away but instead they dived into it. A deliberate choice.

His first attempt, Buck deflect and doesn't clear the air. He shy away from Eddie when he would never turn him away, Buck is scared. It could mean that Buck is scared it could change, but why would he think that if there isn't anything there? Eddie doesn't have a problem with people's sexuality he has been shown to be accepting and Buck knows him and know he wouldn't have a problem. He was scared that it would be a problem with their relationship and that is what has been chosen to be focused on.

Last but not least, the reactions. Sure we could argue it's an acting choice, but the director guided the way they'd react and how it would show on their faces, then the editing also chose the sequences we got. While to me Buck's face when Eddie says it wouldn't change a thing doesn't really open up to anything because he spent the whole episode for this exact moment (once again bold choice) his slow reaction might just be relief. But it's Eddie's reaction that has me thinking, his best friend is being vulnerable and opening up to him about this brand new part of himself while the hug and reassurance show his support and his care for him, his reaction to Buck's attraction to Tommy is another matter. He should be happy, thrilled that his friend while discovering himself found this crush, this attraction he gives none of that, heck he give less then that with the comment about the failed attempt being fast even for Buck. Sure he then double down on it with the comment of him being an idiot if he doesn't love Buck like they all do, but even that feels like a backhand comment to Tommy.

Not trying to make a discourse or anything, just the writing choices for this season are astonishing, sure sublte hints like camera shots and certains clothes choices have been made too but to me it's the writing that feels more solid cause thoses are active choices that aren't subtle that tell us this story.

[reikurusu]

Because apparently I can't let anything go... So a few days ago I made a post about Buddy Daddies' first anniversary coming up and I wasn't going to make something "official" but the brainrot is too strong so here we are... This Sunday, January 7th, it's exactly one year since the first episode of Buddy Daddies was released! And I think that calls for a celebration! I put everything under a cut because this got really long

I came up with a few things that the fandom could do to celebrate this adorable family! Of course these are not exclusive things! If you want to contribute anything that's not listed below, go for it! 1. A weekly rewatch of the episode that aired a year ago Starting Sunday January 7th, we rewatch the episode that aired on that date last year. Nothing is stopping you from binging the rest of the episodes that day, of course! It would just be fun that a lot of us watch the same episode on the same day (or through a watch party if anyone knows how to do that)! 2. Create!! This is literally what it says: create! Just anything related to the episode of that week! There are so many options, but I'm just giving a few things I could come up with - Fanfics surrounding that week's episode. Dive into a scene you wished had more details. Write a scene you feel should've happened in the episode but didn't. Write a scene for a headcanon that you have. Really anything you want (it would be fun if it had something to do with that week's episode, but no one's going to punish you if it isn't). - Make a gifset for that week's episode. Make a set about your favourite character from that episode, your favourite moment, favourite quotes, favourite outfits,... Anything goes really! - Make fanart! There are so many talented artists in this fandom who make amazing pieces of art! It would be fun to see you make something that links back to that week's episode. I'm thinking about redrawing your favourite screenshot in your style. Draw your favourite moment. Draw a scene that you wish happened in the episode. Redraw your favourite piece of Lily art in your style! (I know this last one is less linked to the episodes but who cares). You brilliant people can probably come up with other things still! - Write a theory/headcanon/character analysis/... I have seen so many people write insightful posts about things that weren't explicitly shown on screen. There are characters we get very little background info over. Characters that we know a few things about but it feels like there can be so much more written about them! Write about your headcanons, both for past and future versions of the characters. Write your theories about certain things. It feels like there's still so much to say about this anime and a lot of people out there who know how to put those things into words! - Make an edit! This can be a video edit, a literal photoshop edit. Make wallpapers, phone backgrounds, profile pictures, memes,... Anything you want really! 3. HAVE FUN!! I know it sounds like it, but there really aren't any rules to this! Just have fun! It would just be fun that whatever you decide to post is in some way linked to the episode, but that's not set in stone, obviously! Just enjoy! I think it would be fun to dedicate a week to each episode (so a 12/13 week event if we count the recap episode), starting on the day that episode first aired last year and ending the day before the new episode aired (ex. for episode 1: starting on Sunday, January 7th and ending on Saturday, January 13th). You can decide if you just want to post something about your rewatching the episode or if you want to create something. If you want to make something, you can do multiple things if you want. And again: no one is going to punish you if you posted something from episode 1 during episode 2's week! We're all busy and don't always manage to get something done in time, so don't stress about not being able to finish something "on time". Lastly, I think it would be fun to make this into a hashtag as well! I thought of using the tag #Buddy Daddies Anniversary (very on the nose, I know, so if someone knows something more fun, please share it with the group). And like I said before: HAVE FUN!!

[sapphoshands]

I’d be curious about your Agatha thoughts (gives you a corn chip) because I too have feelingsTM about the “discourse” but I just wanted to say thanks for being a fun person to follow who has also been consumed by AAA brainrot but in a FUN way…like can we just enjoy fun things? Oy.

ONE CORN CHIP, you have poked the bear successfully (and thank you for saying nice things; i am glad my breakdown is enjoyable all around hahaha)

okay a couple people have actually poked me about this soooo. snark activated. rant unlocked. disclaimer, i have mostly been avoiding the tags so i'm sure this has been litigated elsewhere, but a few things annoying ME:

people saying the show last night is the wrong kind of queer. because. look. we are all just queer, okay. the show is queer. the show is SO MANY kinds of queer!

also did we accidentally erase the first five episodes because i don't know what show you [generic you] were watching but there has been intense lesbian activity on my screen since 'agnes' first sat down on her couch.

i also will be v sad if agatha and rio don't get at least one smooch, but we have three eps left? a third of the show? so i'm not exactly throwing a fit yet!

even if they don't smooch, their relationship has been such a joy to watch on screen and is so intense and involved and complex and fully-realised. like, we might not get a kiss, because i sure don't think we're heading for a happy ending, but... it's not like a kiss is what legitimises the whole thing, you know? IT'S THERE.

agreed that it's unfortunate we had a short ep last week and a long one this week, but i don't understand people who are saying we were short-changed last week specifically in agatha's trial. because. it is agatha's show. this whoooole thing. it is about agatha. all of it. all along. and it's not like a) she doesn't get the spotlight in everyone else's trial, or b) we didn't get enough character development for many many fanfics.

plus we got a long ep this week specifically so we could get more agnes and more agatha. i'm surprised they got away with putting so much agnes in the ep but oh my god i loved every second of it. kathryn hahn the manspreader dykespreader that you are.

fan hat off, notes hat on, i don't know what i would've cut out of the billy section. maybe a couple minutes of hospital time? couple minutes of bohner? not a lot of fat there! lots of stuff that's almost certainly going to have meaning to agatha's story!

some people will say cut the boring boyfriend but look. look. i am genuinely emotional about the interrelational queerness in this show now. i think this is a spectacular example of how stories that are overdone in pop culture generally can get a whole new life and vibe when they are seen through a diverse lens. this commentary on witchiness, queerness, otherness, coven as found family... it's saying some things, and it's not beating us over the head with them. we needed the queer billy backstory to make those work. plus, we're unlocking all new agatha feelings through billy and so the show has to give us some billy so we know why agatha has those feelings!

maybe i sound like too much of an apologist, and let's be real, i'm certainly not going to be rewatching the first two-thirds of that ep anywhere near as much as the entire rest of the season (so far). i'm not telling anyone they had to love it. i will also say, i've seen some reviewers talking about how this was the best ep so far and i REALLY side-eye that (and now i trust them much less). but i enjoyed the ep, way, way more than i expected. i almost kind of give a shit about billy now, and i absolutely give a shit about agatha's feelings about billy.

that said, it's not an attack to not have rio in the ep (when jac schaeffer has literally said they were rationing her). and neither rio nor billy are the most important parts of agatha's story. but they're both building towards it, in my opinion. we haven't lost anything by getting a little billy; we've immensely deepened the world of the show and agatha's character.

so there is one corn chip worth of thoughts! and now, back to writing fic.

[kero-cure]

Me, The survivor of past long term tormenting by Toei that playing with my shipper heart (lol)

After latest episode of Boonboomger, I was looking at my room ceiling for a while. My thoughts mixing betweeen "Well, Nothing to worry. This is kid show anyway. I believe in their eyes-to-eyes communication. Everything is gonna be okay." and "Ahhhh... When this suffer gonna enddddddd? SHOW ME HAPPY ENDING GODDAMMIT!!!".

Then I thought again "I didn't suffer that much with my otp-related story when I watch toku for a while now... Last time was when...?" And then I remember that recently I talked with my local friends about how Tiremeter become my toku ship that I went so crazy about them a lot since last time that was...

The best match bois from Kamen Rider Build.

Yes. That long. When it was on-airing period I was on full brainrot over them. I read lots of doujinshi/fanfiction and thought about story of them a lot. But because that time I didn't know how to access and go blend inside JP shippers community. So I don't have much doujinshi of them. I have 5 and all of them I found on secondhand shop. If I was able to access that community at the time it was on-airing, I could have more of it.

After that I didn't have a ship that I went so crazy like them. I had some fun and good time with Zi-O trio related ship or some dynamics in Revice. (When I was on student aboard in Japan, I went to watched Evil-Live & Demons V-Cinema 2 times and I really like that duet song. But the actual reason I went to watch 2 times is first time was for avoid spoiler (and take the information back to my friend who's actual shipper) and second time was for Demons henshin sound card. I'm Hiromi stan and that sound card with his voice was sooooooo gooooooooooooooooood lol) But after Build ended, I couldn't found the ship in tokusatsu that I enjoy & brainrot as much as The best match bois, Until I met Tiremeter. It took 7 years to me to finally have another full brainrot ship in toku fandom.

And then I remember one time that I was tormented a lot by how story of Build was going that time. And I experienced it real time....

That was... Episode 34-39. You know damn well what was happening that time.

And this is my reaction back then...

....

EP 34: The Severing Best Match

Oh no! New enemy that look soooo strong! This will be tough fight.

What! My bunny boi got poisoned and about to die!? PROTECT HIM AND HELP HIM WITH ALL COST MY DRAGON BOI!!!!

Wait... My dragon boi got possessed by that alien!!?? WTF!!!!!! WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!?????

EP 35: Tower of Destruction

YOU FUCKER!!!!!! YOU TRICKED US!!!!!!!! GIVE OUR FRIED SHRIMP HEAD DRAGON BOI BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EP 36: The Star Hunting Evolto

TIME TO GET YOUR ASS WHOOP PARASITE!! GO BUNNY BOI!! SAVE THE DRAGON BOI!!!

NOW DRAGON BOI IS SAFE.... AHHHHH!!!! DANG IT!!!! NOT AGAIN WITH BUNNY BOI!!!!!!!!

EP 37: The Ultimate Phase

LET'S GO MY DRAGON BOIIIIII!!!!! BEAT THAT ALIEN UP WITH THE POWER OF LOVE!! YES!! FINALLY MY BUNNY BOI IS SAFE...

....GODDAMMIT IT'S NEVER GONNA END!!!! JUST END THIS SHIT, END MY SUFFER, AND BRING MY BOIS BACK TOGETHER FOR REAL PLS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EP 38: Mad World

Look how sad my boi is... "That should be you but it isn't you who I know..."

All around me are familiar faces.... Worn out places, worn out faces... Bright and early for the daily races... Going nowhere, going nowhere...

EP 39: The Unstoppable Genius

Are you gonna come back home now bunny boy? This episode will be your ultimate form debut so pls pls pls...

YESSSSS!!!! FINALLY!!!!!! FOR REAL THIS TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY BOIS FINALLY BACK TOGETHER AGAINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...

It took 6 episodes, 6 weeks, finally my suffering came to the end.

Now Boonboomger have 5 episodes left. I don't think this situation will continue until the end since Sentai will come with peak and hopeful last fight. So that mean this time torment will never go that much longer than, or as long as that time.

I'm a survivor of that period so... I'M GONNA SURVIVE THIS TIME TOO!!

Think about this made me relief a little bit. I think lots of toku girlies had been face a long otp torment like this in other series too. So... Let's look forward for them until the end :D.

//back to inhale more copium, just in case

[julietsbb]

So I saw fans on twitter saying they were disappointed we didn’t get the aftermath of the soft phumpeem kiss from last week (which, valid and same), but then I also saw some say that phumpeem were acting as if it had never happened in this ep. This I vehemently disagreed with and ended up doing like 20 tweets about why >.>

I figured I would share my thoughts here too, because might as well, my phumpeem brainrot is pretty strong and tumblr deserves phumpeem thoughts too!

I do Not think they are acting like it didn’t happen. Peem is acting much more ‘engaged’ with Phum this episode.

1) he doesn’t seem annoyed with him seriously at any point

2) despite hurrying off when he sees Phum show up, he still opens conversation with him by asking if he wants to come on the first ride with him. They have a mutual back and fourth during the ep, Peem is much more willing to engage, also seen when

3) Peem *texts Phum first* and says he’s gonna show up at his place. Like we SEE how surprised Phum is about this. DEVELOPMENT.

4) the *flirting banter at the café* is on a new level. It’s much more mutually aware that there’s something more between them! The Phum before last week’s ep could tease him about ‘oh are you looking at me because I’m handsome?’ but could not, in my personal opinion, have said ‘oh so you’re saying I’m not special to you? 😏’ - the way they’re both leaning in over the counter really says it all - they’re much more ‘meeting in the middle’ with their interactions/flirtations than before, where, until the kiss, (and please correct me if I’m wrong here), it was much more only Phum who initiated and Peem who responded in one way or another.

5) we also see this meeting in the middle thing when Peem has been teasing him about joining the amusement park rides (btw me 🤝 Phum about those fr), where he teases him into joining, and is ENJOYING phum’s reactions, because they both have fun fucking with each other, but he also knows not to take it too far. Like how Phum’s orders were douchebaggy in nature first, but turned teasing/pigtail pulling/‘I just want your atteeenttionnnn~~~’ later.

tl;dr they’re both much more aware of where they stand and the dance they’re doing after the last ep and it’s NOT as if the second kiss didn’t happen, there’s been a noticeable shift in how they interact.

But if they know this, have become more self-aware, why aren’t they just boyfriends already, you might ask?

WELL, I believe there’s character reasons for this.

We know Peem is in the process of figuring out exactly what his feelings for Phum are, so even if he’s more open to it, is enjoying exploring it, he hasn’t settled on his ‘final answer’ yet. Also, as he mentions to Q, they had an atypical beginning to their acquaintance, so to speak. Also I’m sure there’s many parts of Phum he’s struggling to understand. He’s often visibly confused by who he is/his character, so he probably doesn’t feel ‘certain’ about him yet. Also I bet Peem has personal reasons to maybe not wanting to let someone too close, which I hope later episodes will delve into.

As for Phum, he’s very aware that he’s extremely drawn to Peem and likes him a lot, he’s just a doofus who really doesn’t know how to be open with his emotions, probably to anyone other than Fang. We know he’s only (often alone in his flat, mentions Peem is introducing him to social experiences he hasn’t had before, only beer & fang would play with him etc.) plus it seems like he has had extremely absent parents and has a very strained relationship with his father especially. He probably has 0 frame of reference for what a relationship looks like AND was never taught how to communicate his emotions. That’s why his default setting to ‘new people’ was poser-ish probably; my guess is that’s probably what he saw his parents doing. He’s only starting to open up re: his emotions *because of* meeting Peem, who refuses to take his shit and refuses to let him get away with hurtful nonsense and whom Phum suddenly realises he doesn’t want mad at him and he doesn’t want to hurt.

We see him struggle to navigate this as well. He doesn’t know when or how to apologise, asks his friends for advice because he’s struggling to even *see* how he fucked up at all.Phum was probably treated like that by his parents and his parents acted like that was okay and didn’t apologise, so why should he?

Phum literally says “i don’t know how to make you less angry” and suggests Peem keeps the stuff he bought because maybe his parents had tried to placate him with material gifts? Beer’s advice is to apologise and he does it 3 times because he literally has no idea what else to do.

tl;dr 2: Peem is confused and uncertain in parts still + potential other stuff and phum does not know how to constructively and productively talk about and act on his emotions or express what he wants based on that. Emotional needs & wants? What are those, how do I detect them & like, asking for help to have them met? Is that something you can even do? <- Phum probably

[dismounts soapbox]

[brightmalcolm]

Oh I feel you there, the supernatural brainrot is real and pervasive, but I do understand wanting to break free of those 15-season-long chains haha. Okay so let me introduce you to my new special boy. Apologies in advance, this got out of hand lolol I'm assuming you aren't a Marvel girlie or a superhero girlie (you just don't give off that vibe to me) but I could be wrong. I'm also gonna assume you haven't seen Daredevil. Not the new one that just came out but the one with three seasons, 2015-2018. I think I thought of you because Matt Murdock (aka Daredevil), as played by the brilliant Charlie Cox, gives mad Malcolm Bright vibes at times. Big, sad puppy eyes. Seems very innocent and meek but could absolutely kill you. Guilt ridden, weight-of-the-world human disaster type. Constantly getting whumped within an inch of his life but refuses to quit. So assuming you don't know anything about the character Daredevil/Matt Murdock he's basically known for being a blind super hero. Lawyer by day, face puncher by night. His other senses are heightened to an insane degree, though, so he can kind of "see" by using his other senses. No one knows that Daredevil is blind, though, and you wouldn't know it unless he told you. Matt Murdock, lawboy, is very obviously blind, wears the sunglasses and uses the cane and everything. So people kind of pity him, and obviously would never suspect he was a crime-fighting vigilante on the side. Now, if you're not into super heroes, maybe all of this sounds a little goofy to ya, and I get that. But what I love about the show Daredevil that Netflix did (it's on Disney plus now, and the new season is made by Disney) is that it doesn't have your typical super hero vibes at ALL. It's very unique. There's lots of fighting, but it's not PG-13 fighting. It's TV-MA and for good reason, very violent. Kind of like John Wick vibes, almost. Great, intense action scenes and very dark, grisly, gritty bad guys who don't have super powers but are just doing very bad things for money, and the crime rot goes very deep. What I love about Matt's crime fighting origin story is that it's so relatable. He's got this insane hearing he had to learn to channel, right. He's just trying to keep his head down. And one night in college, he can hear a little girl being abused by her father at night, in the building next to him. Just has to keep hearing it over and over, until he can't take it anymore and calls CPS. Nothing happens, they can't prove anything, and the girl is still unsafe. Well, that's when Matty Murdock takes the law into his own hands and finds the dad while he's out one night, beats him senseless, and tells him he'd better not touch his daughter again or he (Matt) will know. Just stuff like that, at first, because he's a very good boy, and because he's afraid of his own anger and violence but has a soft heart and wants to do good and help people (another similarity to Malcolm Bright, I think). But I just love that very human question... just, if you knew something bad was happening to someone innocent, and no one else was lifting a finger to stop it, but YOU could stop it, what would you do? And how could you live with yourself if you did nothing? (I made this too long and have to send the last bit separately, so sorry)

And then the poor guy gets involved in stuff way beyond what he ever knew was happening in his city, gets in over his head very quickly, and things escalate from there. The whump is great; I think by episode two Matt is half dead in a dumpster and an off-duty nurse has to patch him up. The show itself is VERY well done, just paced very well, and the stakes get higher and higher and everything gets more intense, and it's just very addicting. Like, I could NOT stop watching it, even if you put a gun to my head. I don't even want to say how quickly I binged this show haha. It just had my brain in an absolute chokehold and would not let go. And Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock is the absolute GOAT. Like, that actor absolutely brings this character to life, similar to how I can't picture anyone but Tom Payne playing Malcolm B. Matt is a precious beanie baby who has never done anything wrong in his life (except for all his many mistakes lolol) while also managing to be incredibly sexy as Daredevil. The show ended in 2018 but Matt Murdock is a fan favorite Marvel character and has so many run ins with other characters, in their own shows and movies. Like, he had a great cameo in the last Tom Holland Spider-Man film, and everyone went wild for it. Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock is just very beloved, and it's awesome that they brought him back for another Daredevil show. But yeah, it's the original three-season show I'd be interested in your opinion on. I haven't seen the new one yet, but I'm going to watch it soon, as soon as I finish the last season of the original show. Anyway!! Sorry for rambling on so much! This is a monster huge message! But I freaking adore Matt Murdock, and there's something about him that reminds me now and then of sweet baby Malcolm Bright, so maybe you also might enjoy him. <3 IDK, I thought of ya!

lol thank you for sharing! I have definitely heard of daredevil, but have never seen it. I did have a small marvel phase around when the last two avenger movies were coming out bc it was such a big pop culture moment and my friends were into it and I wanted to know the Lore. but all I really did there was catch up on the movies (and not even all of them). never watched any of the tv shows bc while I enjoyed the movies enough I didn't really care about the universe that much and didn't want to have to catch up with all the shows. haven't watched anything marvel in a while though, I think the last spiderman movie was the most recent???

anyway I will definitely have to check it out!!! I enjoy legal shows so the fact that he's also a lawyer intrigues me haha. also cool that it was canceled in 2018 but they're remaking it with the same cast now...imagine if that happened to prodigal son omg we can dream I guess 😭

[booksandabeer]

Catching up

I got tagged approximately one million years ago by @burberrycanary 💙 and @somanywords 💛. Sorry it took me so long! 😬

Last song: I don't know the exact song, but I've been listening to the album Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert a lot. I'm not a particuarly big fan of Bob Dylan, or a fan at all, really. However, I am absolutely a die-hard fan of Cat Power and I think that Chan Marshall is probably the best cover artist of...all time? Well, certainly of her generation. That's not to shade her original compositions, which I also love, but she's brilliant at taking songs that you thought you could no longer listen to because they've been played ad nauseam everywhere for decades, and then teasing something fresh and original and truly moving out of them. Listen to her covers of "I'll Be Seeing You" or "Mr. Tambourine Man" or even "New York, New York" and tell me they don't excite you in any way (if they don't, I suspect you have no soul). She's even great at covering herself! Please go and listen to her 2008 cover of her own 1998 song "Metal Heart" right now. It's one of my all-time faves and also, yes absolutely a Stucky song.

Relationship status: I have a person.

Sweet/spicy/savory: Everything all at once, please.

Favorite color: Blue, blue, blue. International Klein Blue to be precise. I cannot get enough of it. Also, I will die on the hill that chartreuse is actually a great color.

Last movie: The Last Stop in Yuma County which was a fun neo-western/crime thriller that didn't take itself too seriously and didn't outstay its welcome. Imagine that! A 90-minute movie. They still make those! Wild. If you like Tarantino and/or the Coen Brothers, but played at a faster, snappier tempo, you will probably enjoy this one too.

Last show: So many. Bodkin, which is the epitome of "this show doesn't know what it wants to be." Is it a quirky comedy? A crime show? A (very tepid) satire? It's not like you can't combine these genres, but the show doesn't combine them, it swings wildly between them. The ending was terrible. I've finally started watching Hacks (a delight!) and I'm still slowly making my way through Kings (only 2 episodes left). Also following along with the new season of IWTV, which remains an absolutely bonkers show. If *this* is what made it into the final cut, can you imagine what didn't? Oh, to be allowed to read the studio notes for this one!

Last thing I googled: The origin and meaning of a Norse/Russian name. For reasons.

Current obsession: The Terror brainrot is still going stong. I have learned so much about Arctic Exploration in the 1800s over the past few weeks. Also, in a curious turn of events, I have started reading Masters of the Air fanfic? I was unfortunately pretty disappointed with the show. I had hoped it would trigger a level-11 hyperfixation but instead it just kinda came and went and I didn't even think about it anymore. Then an author, who I still follow because they used to write Stucky, started posting one Buck/Bucky (yes, they are two different characters) fic after another, and one day I said, 'Why not give it a shot?' Well, here we are, tens of thousands of words later, and for the first time in my life I'm beginning to understand the people whose general fandom attitude is 'I don't care for the source material at all, but the fic! Oh the fic compels me!' I have been compelled. I'm now a person who reads fanfiction for a pairing that includes a character played by Austin Butler (sorry Butler heads, I just don't get it).

Wonders never cease.

--

Like I said, I got tagged for this ages ago, so I don't know who's done this (recently). I'm gently tagging @bromcommie, @aimmyarrowshigh, @zenaidamacrouras1, @shackleton2 and @hail-americas-ass. Also, I mean it when I say I want to know what everyone else is watching/eating/obsessing over/etc. Tell me! Open tag for everyone who wants to do this.

[kalosian-woods]

unhinged thoughts on southern kalos?

You have enabled my brainrot, anon, now get ready for the rant of a lifetime mwhahahaha!!! >:D

But seriously, this is such a fun question/ask. Ever since I heard about the ever-forbidden Southern Kalos I just wanted to get it into the AU heh... probably the way how I stopped seeing this as just a 'rewrite' and more 'alt universe'. It didn't help things when I saw this one tumblr post talking about how those episodes where the gang where going to so many towns in XYZ could be in Southern Kalos, like YES that's such a great idea!!

This might get long, so posting this under a read more :P

I've been scratching my head about what can Southern Kalos have as a destination a lot ngl. We know thanks to Sawyer's badges (that we actually see) that there are at least 3 other Gyms in Kalos beyond the main ones- Fire, Water and Flying.

(Don’t get me started on the order of his last ones. Why did you go to Anistar only to backtrack to Valerie again before running down the other side of Kalos for the Iceberg Badge?? Is Sawyer okay?? /lh)

To be fair, two of these are already taken up as Elite 4 Types, as well as these just plain being references to Hoenn (the 4th, 6th and 8th Gyms there), but it really got me thinking. Kalos does have a really big culture centered around Sky Battles, and even reading up about France there's this well-known strong wind near the south of it (called the Mistral lol, which apprently means master wind). What if there were Gyms down there? We can't really judge the distance considering how almost no one apart from Ash are getting the badges in order in Kalos (Alain's last badge being from Shalour, hopefully Trevor had more than one badge by the end of S2 considering his latest known one was the Bug Badge, and I have no idea what Tierno was doing), so it's plausible that these Gyms could be in Southern Kalos.

I mean, let's look at the map from the beta designs of Kalos:

(easiest one to look at for me heh)

The big blue dots are cities and the green ones are towns, with purple (with yellow borders) being significant buildings/artifical and purple (with purple borders) being significant places/natural. Those two islands were going to be, from left to right, Mirage Island and the Battle Facility (presumably Battle Maison). The town that follows Kiloude seems to be a port, and the two leftmost purple on purple dots are assumed to be 'outdoor dungeons' (e.g. forests) while the northmost and southmost ones are 'indoor dungeons' (e.g. caves). I know it would make more sense to have a 'Water' Type Gym over at the port, but hear me out:

Let's have the Flying Type Gym over there instead.

Look at the geography. Lots of winds can come through the sea or the land/I hope they are mountains, and especially since there is Mirage Island (that pops in and out of existance... thanks Hoopa :p) the winds can be pretty unpredictable there. The city can be Water themed considering how close it is to the coast, and at the furthest reaches could be Fire-typed. I’ve heard about the caves being where the Mythical mons could be, like Volcanion, so having the Water and Fire places being next to each other would be pretty cool imo.

But what would the purpose of the Gyms be, if most people go through the main 8 instead?

This is what I posit: these Gyms are training/lower level Gyms, as holdovers from the past in an area where people aren’t so inclined to battle. I mean, we’ve seen the Kalos League—only 64 people showed up, and we already know quite a few of them (and how overpowered they are). I’d like to think that Southern Kalos, and to an extent the whole of Kalos, are extremely used to peace. Their Legendaries are asleep and are alike to Mythicals in their infrequent encounters, the war was 3000 years ago and Mega Evolution is just now becoming more wide-spread and well-known. There’s this subtle theme in XY with what path you want to take your life in: passively, living by, surviving no matter the costs, or willing to be active and making a change. Lysandre proclaims that the world is leading towards a worse tomorrow and that not everyone can continue to live the way they are now— Serena has been seen by her mother as the continuation of the Rhyhorn racing legacy— In the games the Rival Trio have different views on their futures (Shauna wanting to collect memories, Trevor wanting to explore Pokémon and their potentials/differences, Tierno just wanting to have a good time dancing with his Pokémon). Clemont in the anime (I mean what does he have in the games tbh NO HATE btw) has been stuck without an outside view until Ash came along and changed his worldview, Ash is faced with being one of the few strongest and most active people around and facing the consequences of it.

In a world where people and Pokémon live in harmony, where nothing has changed, what would you do? The same thing day in and day out, probably. Following your parents footsteps or just slightly veering off into your own life, eking out a living until you die. Life and death and maintaining order, always. While Northern Kalos is more hectic and running around with new devices, new fashion, new crazes, I feel like there would be a much more calm yet almost aimless (is that the right word??) structure to Southern Kalos. Tbf Vaniville is also pretty south overall, so it would work well I think heh. While even Shalour has started to embrace the future, Southern Kalos would probably stick to what has been proven by time to work best, and so Gyms wouldn’t be so much as to gain a badge but to be prepared for outside. They probably do have Badges but for most it would just be a sign that they can handle Pokémon rather than using it for the League. Not very well-known unless you take the side roads, which may be what Sawyer was doing heh.

(I think in that way of living passively/actively, both sides of Kalos have their own brand of passivity— with north living busy but quickly tiring lives while south being peaceful but a little empty and removed. Man I wish I could explain this better but hopefully you get the point.)

(Yes, I am still workshopping on it but I've Got Thoughts and this really helped me direct some of it outwards. Seriously, feel free to add whatever ideas you want to this heh, I like seeing things from a different point of view.)

More misc ideas ig:

In the actual AU itself I really want the main gang to go to Southern Kalos and just get hit by the totally different vibes lol. Tossing up between after the Lumiose Gym Battle/5th Badge so they get some time off after that arc buildup or after Wulfric. Definitely around there for me.

There will be other characters who go there (it’s not a journey if you don’t travel to some random place) but it’s going to be a ride for sure for everyone involved :P

Mega Evolution will be kept to particular families there I feel like, and people will be pretty friendly but also wary at the same time. Lots of nature and agriculture but also signs of technology and civilisation taking its toll on the land.

Have some sort of idea for the not-really Gym Leaders (going to have to make a name to explain their job heh)?? I think I actually wanted Fire to be Ground instead (to match the secondary typings of the Legendaries with the Gyms) but we'll see. Especially since the furtherest town is surrounded by five locations, so it can symbolise how the ground is connected to all things *wink wink hey Zygarde*

Yes I'm moving the gadget festival here and no one can change my mind

Also c'mon free space for Showcases!! For Ash to battle beyond the Gyms and random people he finds!! For Clemont to see beyond Prism Tower!! For Bonnie to do Bonnie-like stuff!! There are so many possibilities here and we can take those here!!

This has bascially been one big brain fart but just understand that you gave me a good thought today, especially with all of the stress lol. Might revisit this post for more thoughts when I'm less bogged down. But also:

Southern Kalos Real In Anime?? (Not Clickbait) (But seriously whyyyyyy did we miss out on it???)

[parkeryangs]

OK BUT THIS IS REALLY INTRIGUING ACTUALLY. tell me more about this 'mattkey' ............

YES ABSOLUTELY OH MY GOD

SO in episode 1 participant observation, the main character, mike walters, claims to be "investigating" a secret online game called woe.begone out of curiosity/boredom, via actually playing the game. w.bg is a series of challenges, the first being that mike had to call his ex-boyfriend and tell him the worst thing he ever did to you.

mike does this, explaining that his "lifelong best friend" (matt) had unexpectedly died in a car crash, and his ex wasn't home at the time/didn't realize how serious the situation was, so he left mike to worry alone before matt's death had actually been confirmed. he tells his ex that he doesn't forgive him and has a breakdown, then waking up the next day to realize that matt wasn't dead and there was no trace of the voicemail he left for his ex. (so, at this point, mike continues to play w.bg, with matt as his "prize")

there's several other challenges he completes, along with another old friend of theirs also playing woe.begone, but the next marker of their relationship is in episode 11 this is only temporary, when mike's woe.begone challenge is to kill the prize from his first challenge— which is obviously matt. he explains the situation, a future version of him shows up to "prove" everything to matt, and ultimately matt slides his gun across the table, mike apologizes, and tells matt he loves him. (i talk more about this in another post)

at the end of season 1, woe.begone contacts mike to tell him that he has to relocate to a government job, a place called o.v.e.r./oldbrush valley energy & resources. he does, with season 2/3 following the start of his time in the valley & continued problem-causing due to w.bg lol. then in episode 35 safehouse, he kills another character and flees o.v.e.r., driving 26 hours to matt's house. he doesn't tell him all the details of what happened, but episode 36 respite is mostly dedicated to mike talking about the few days he spent with matt ("we didn’t need to do anything other than be in each other’s company") (i ramble about matt in 35/36 here)

there's a lot of non-mattkey events that occur, lol, but it gets to a point where matt essentially wants to be involved with a time travel org mike creates called base, but mike kind of keeps him at a distance for reasons unknown (coughs. mike does have a boyfriend he meets at o.v.e.r. and not saying it has anything to do with that but i'm also not Not saying that) and in episode 84 panther, matt helps with stalking two "rogue" iterations of mike and his boyfriend edgar (and i believe this is the first episode where matt has a voice actor?) and continues to do so throughout the current point in the podcast/"about a year" in canon time.

at the end of episode 120 true story, a (drunk) mike transports to matt's house as there was a timeline they'd been in (~e104 to 120ish iirc) where matt was dead once again because of mike. mike gives matt a box of his old stuff, and matt, worrying over mike using time travel when he's drunk lol, brings mike to stay in his spare room (that he mentions he's kept open since mike was last there). mike tells matt he loves him, and matt returns the sentiment.

so YEAH. mattkey my absolute beloved. imo their dynamic is very much "knowing one another better than they know themselves" if that gives you a more direct idea jksdhfjksdf. also college-era mattkey has been brainrotting the fandom recently which might be my fault LOL but pre-wbg mattkey is SO compelling even if only mentioned in passing - i talk about college mattkey here, here, here (kind of), and here, and i wrote a short fic about them here. overall, essentially the catalyst for everything in woe.begone is literally just. matt. like... mike literally rewrites time to keep matt safe and while it's true that mike has a deep relationship with most of his friends, matt is so intrinsically tied to him in a way that nobody else is.

[chvoswxtch]

👋 hi, i'm back again already :)

i'm so glad i'm not alone in being completely feral for those set pictures. like it's insane what just seeing them has done to my brain chemistry. i saw them like an hour or so before i had therapy on wednesday and i felt like i was going insane for the rest of the day. the frank brainrot is real and i will be binge-reading ur fics again (bc i love ur portrayal of frank and i need that man in my life) and just UGH, i can't even explain how this man makes me feel without sounding fucking nuts.

and okay after finishing season two, i just, i have no words. i know that the fandom doesn't always love amy but genuinely, she has such a special place in my heart. and the lengths that frank went to protect her actually just made me want to sob. he absolutely melts my heart and i remember when i watched the start of season 2 all the way back in like september last year, i literally sobbed at the end of the first episode after he had that conversation about maria with the woman he met at the bar. like i am such a simp for this man, it's insane how emotional i get over it sometimes.

also i know you've watched criminal minds (the two fics u wrote were absolutely delicious btw) so i feel like you will understand this but pilgrim's actor being the same as will's just made it slightly hard for me to take him seriously. like the actor did a phenomenal job but i just couldn't help but see him as will. it was so jarring and also just a little bit funny. either way, i didn't hate the storyline as much as i thought but the connection between him and the schultz family did seem a little jarring? or like out of the blue? but i'm not sure if that's because of the writing or because of how long it took me to actually finish the show. but i think it was such an interesting way to connect the two plots even if it confused me?

then okay, like billy this season, he was a complete fucking psycho and usually ben barnes can make psychos be so hot but after he and dumont tried to like break frank by making him think he killed innocents, bro i was not on this man's side anymore. like i honestly was so mad at him. i haven't like been that mad at a character in so long, i was concerned for myself. honestly, i could have strangled billy in that moment. also dumont was just such a kind of dull character? i think the scene in like episode 12 when dumont and madani are having that conversation about like the trauma she (and billy and frank) went through was so good but that was like the most interesting i found her. i'd love to know your thoughts on her!

and like madani? i can't talk about madani without going too feral. like her and frank are my definition of bisexual panic. any time they are on the screen together, i go insane. the thought of the two of them actually is just- it's too much. i feel like madani doesn't get a lot of love in the fandom which always makes me sad because she is (to me) a literal goddess. but anyway.

i have so many more thoughts (mainly about how much i love frank and how fucking good a job jon does at portraying him) but this is already such a long message. i am SO sorry, i can do nothing but apologise

(the only reason it's so long is because none of my friends have actually watched the punisher so i have no one to talk to. sorry court <3)

i'm gonna ramble below the cut with you, please step into my office <3

those set pictures are ruining my life. like it still feels surreal that it's happening?? but i'm so happy they listened to the fans and seem to be taking the reboot seriously. also I know how protective charlie and jon are over matt and frank, so I trust they're making sure it's done right. akjdfhdfh you're too nice to me pls

I loved season 2, personally. it felt a little rushed, but I think that has to due with the fact that they planned more storylines and got cancelled because of the disney plus thing. I liked that we got to see a more fatherly side of frank with amy because it added so many more layers to his personality. we got to see it with the micro's kids, but we got to see it so much more with amy and I loved that

OMG WHEN WILL SHOWED UP I WAS LIKE SIR WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?? WHERE IS JJ??? it's so funny you say that bc the first thing I saw that actor in was a horror movie and then criminal minds but I always think of those two when I see him lmao. the pilgrim/schultz storyline was a little strange but again I think it's one of those things where they planned for more and weren't able to do it with the cancellation

I did not care for dumont's character at all to be candid. I don't really feel like she added much to the storyline. my main complaint about billy in season 2 is he still looked too pretty LMAO. like I get it, it's ben barnes, they can only do so much, but frank rocked his shit too hard for him to have a few scratches. I would've preferred to see him be more evil and psycho and bloodthisty for revenge but that's just me

DINAH MADANI THE WOMAN THAT YOU ARE. she and frank are the definition of bisexual panic. she's just...like that scene of her and karen in the conference room when she's asking her if she knows anything about frank being alive?? karen is a stronger woman than me bc I would've let her bend me over that table. dinah doesn't get enough love in this fandom and that doesn't sit right with me and I feel it is my civic duty to keep the thirst for her alive

pls don't apologize! I am happy to chat about frankie anytime :)

[cowboymantis]

(Spoiler free for the Yakuza amazon series, just vague thoughts! HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT WETHER YOU'VE PLAYED YAKUZA BEFORE OR NOT!!)

I didn't want to finish it yet (because that means it's over), but I have now finished the Yakuza show, and BOY did I already love the first episodes, but it was even more peak in the last ones 😭😭😭😭

I was so excited for it, although the fandom showed its annoying side again, but I didn't let that influence my happiness for it, and I just enjoyed it to the fullest 🙏 Of course I had some worries before watching, but it was just really good. Perfect? No, but let's not act like Yakuza 1 is perfect either (I'm saying this as someone who had Yakuzer brainrot for many years now and is never escaping it), and the fandom now all of a sudden wants to act like Yakuza 1 is the greatest masterpiece ever and how everything that changes it is BAD

Anyywayy...

Definitely really loved the focus being more on the Sunflower kids and how they grew up and eventually got tangled into the Yakuza business! It made one scene in particular WAAY more emotional and sad than in the games 🥺

And wow. They really bamboozled us with hiding a certain character from us, huh...

Loved how many actors I recognised :'D Some were definitely a surprise, because we didn't know much of the cast beforehand!

I remember when they first showed a photo of Indy, and I thought, huh. He kinda looks like Namioka Kazuki (Sid's actor from Kamen Rider Gaim). But I might imagine things because I've been watching some dramas with him in it (I absolutely love his roles they're so embarrassing but funny but also kinda adorable (like Sid for example 😭)). BUT THEN HE APPEARED AND IT TOTALLY WAS HIM . AND HE WAS WEARING A COWBOY HAT HELLO???

Another thing I enjoyed was the mystery around the demons! Something completely new that leaves you speculating from the start. I was guessing who they might be other than that they're working with a certain character, for the longest time I thought maybe they could be the Jingweon, because of the masks. Of course not saying anything to that, but yeah. I cannot really tell how much I liked the resolution to that, since uh. I have questions left ldjdkf

The finale was just great too, and this one scene that looked a lot like the Yakuza 7 finale...

And so so many beautiful and aesthetic scenes with Nishiki 🥲 He's truly the goat in every version... And a poor little meow meow 😭

At first, I was unsure if I could take him seriously because I knew his actor from the drama Super Salaryman and . Well. Let's just say he's unbearable (in a funny way).. But his actor really did SUCH a perfect job in portraying him, and sometimes his voice reminded me so much of game Nishiki 🥺

Speaking of Nishiki, a Yakuza stageplay Nishiki and Amazon series Kiryu collab would be funny. It would be like a Kamen Rider Gaim X Kamen Rider Drive collab, but Yakuza 💀 Kamen Rider and Yakuzer are always weirdly connected...

Oh!! And another thing, the soundtrack fr sounded like straight out of the games sometimes, it was really cool! And the music during the finale was so hype it probably could be a cool final boss theme in the games :) Or at least a final long battle theme!

Majima was fun too, although I feel like if you know absolutely nothing about Yakuza and Majima, you'd be a bit confused about him. He really feels like you have to know him to be excited about him, if that makes sense?

But then, on the other hand, there's a big "plot twist" at the end of the show, and it almost even feels like a dramatic cliffhanger. But it's something everyone who played the game knew, and I kinda assumed it a bit to be canon to the show too. So yeah, I feel like this is a bit of a problem with this show: It can't decide whether it is purely for fans of the games, or newcomers. Or maybe they just added a mix of game canon and new canon to make it more exiting for both sides? I always try to see criticism I give in another light, aka "why did they do it this way?", so I'm a bit conflicted in certain choices!

[hanasnx]

you and indy are on the couch while the baby sleeps, he's got those dark circles and sunken eyes that signify his lack of sleep. you're only in a little t-shirt that's squeezing your tits and some green underwear. you guys aren't together anymore and it's probably better that way. your relationship was as catastrophic as driving a car with your foot on the gas into a moving train. it didn't work out and maybe that was okay. you're sat on his knee and he bounces it periodically. you pass a bottle of beer between you two as you both focus on the episode of batman beyond that you had watched about a million times during your relationship. the lowlight of the TV is all that shines throughout the living room, he's got baby toys littered all over the floor while little jedi onesies are folded in a little laundry basket beside the mess. he's such a nerd. indy passes the bottle back to you though, and you bring it to your lips as his arm almost instinctively wraps around your waist as you lean forward accidentally.

indy's got those little glasses on that makes your heart-beat between your pliant thighs. and you try to ignore the fact that his fingers are lazily playing with the waistband of your underwear and his digits dip into the front and your neck cranes while a mewl climbs up your throat. "what're you doin' ind?" you're asking as his fingers rub little circles on your clit and you nearly choke on the last bit of alcohol in the bottle. he hides a little evil smile that you can't see behind you. "nothin' just keep watchin' the show, ma" indy tells you as you bite back little whimpers and moans but you try your best to not make a lot of sound but you yelp once he pulls you back into his chest. your ass is directly on his crotch while the show continues. as two of his fingers sink into your soaked, puffy cunt he moans into your ear. "christ— m'gonna get you pregnant again, doll." indy tells you as you bite on the neck of the glass bottle and all he does is smile while you gasp and clench around his fingers.

THIS WAS SO BAD GANG. but indy brainrot quelled.

fave bits: the dark circles under my eyes is true all the time; "you're only in a little t-shirt that's squeezing your tits and some green underwear." so cute <3; "you guys aren't together anymore and it's probably better that way. your relationship was as catastrophic..." i love break up fantasies god i love them so much. like yes its better we're not together, but lets talk about the good times and remember why we had them with my fingers in your holes; the bit about passing the beer, sitting on my leg, watching batman beyond is all so fucking cute and personable

the jedi onesies, calling me a nerd, talking about my glasses made me so endeared. especially because i wear my glasses at home and at night the most, so youre used to the sight more than others.

wrapping my arm around you, messing with your waistband, messing with your clit all while we're watching and i'm testing those waters with you had me sighing lovingly.

""what're you doin' ind?"" adorable. "ind" especially feels so intimate and familiar.

fingering you in my lap calling you ma had me smiling <3 loved this anon thank you sm