#i still have like 14 episodes to go in this series so I don't know if they potentially mention it again but I'm really doubting it

[deepwoundsandfadedscars]

Watching the Cowboy Bebop anime and there have been multiple episodes that end with me going

like PLEASE. How do you end an episode with the entire crew unconscious and dying from being bitten by some mysterious creature and just go *hand wave* "They're fine" and then never mention that ever again??

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - I'm using the word "ridiculous" a lot

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

Dec 2024 Week 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

Your Sky (Sun iQIYI) ep 5 of 12 - OMG they’re so fucking cute I can’t stand it. It’s too much. Everyone is adorable. Including the father. (That said, I wouldn’t recommend watching Naughty Babe with your dad. That’s a big leap there, cutie pie.) The 10 minutes of holding hand negotiation and then finally walking together across campus was truly fucking fantastic. This show is GLORIOUS. Now we also know when it finally does move from dreams to reality, that these two can kiss.

Actual name of this show?

How to Train Your Seme

Speaking of names, Fah's brother, whose name I forget, is now going to referred to by me as Sarcastic Cupid. Because that is his role in this narrative. I love him very much.

On a completely different note, and I know this is not that kind of show, but this is me so I have to say it, if these two ever do have sex it’s gonna take them hours. They just gonna spend half the night negotiating. Which is kind of tantric, but my goodness would they even make it into bed?

ThamePo (Fri YT) ep 2 of 12 - i just love this show!!!! so happy to have this one my screen. The dads have to save the little musical family! So cute! And illegally pretty.

Love Sick 2024 (Sun iQIYI) ep 14 of 15 - They substantially took steps to fix Phun‘s dad character in the new version and I really like that a lot. I'm chronicling my experience with 2024 as compared to 2014 here. 

Caged Again (Fri Gaga) ep 7 of 10 - Why is this absurd show so damn good? When Sun has to beg it’s just too much. It’s too sweet and aching and hurtful and wonderful. Catnip = the sex herb trope was not anything I’ve ever thought I would see in my lifetime. Okaaay now. Relax little show. Too far.

Fourever You (Thurs YT) ep 12 of 16 - The extended version is clearly better. But I’m not gonna bother to pay for it. Again, I’m liking the new couple more and more each week. I still prefer the first couple of course cause Pond but it’s enjoyable enough.

Note: I'm super grateful for those posting them as clips here on the hellsite. Because man can these boys kiss!

The Heart Killers (Weds Gaga) ep 4 of 12 - this show is so entirely and utterly ridiculous. I don’t even know what to do with it or myself. Or what to say. Carry on, I guess?

Also I don't know what GMMTV is smoking to tease this one, but I'll take a hit next time they pass the BL bong.

Perfect 10 Liners (Sun YT?) ep 7 of 24 - I am living for Pond & Sand. they are pretty much all I care about. Yes including the upcoming couples. I just want pond sand. sure the main couple was fine it was a perfectly serviceable ending to their arc such as it was. All in all I enjoyed this episode big smile on my face most of the time.

Secret Love (????) 1-60 of 81 eps - Someone dropped a cut together of episodes one through 60, and I actually quite enjoyed it. It’s a total soap opera and very much a pulp. But I kind of love that right now. Frankly, 1-60 is a completed story arc. If you want that. I will probably watch the whole thing if anybody ever uploads it or it turns up grey anywhere. But this was quite satisfying. Ridiculous but charming fluff about two stepbrothers, who aren’t really stepbrothers, who have loved each other forever and are reunited under trying family circumstances. 7/10 passes the sniff test

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Our Youth AKA Miseinen: Mijukuna Oretachi wa Bukiyo ni Shinkochu (Japan Tues Gaga) ep 7 of 11 - ARGH. The pain. what an absolutely stellar show. I can't believe we are only on ep 7!

See Your Love (Taiwan Weds Gaga) ep 9 of 13 - I love it. This show is fantastic. It’s classic BL, it’s hitting all of the tropes, and it reminds me of some of the best that Taiwan has done in the past. I’m charmed and enjoying it immensely. Taiwan isn’t great on endings so I’m reserving judgment, but what a current highlight to my week. I like these boys so much. Please be kind to me and them, Taiwan?

Eternal Butler (Taiwan Fri Gaga) eps 1-2 of 12 - Ever 4, a sophisticated AI combat robot, becomes the personal butler/bodyguard to Luo Bu Shi, a spoiled yet lonely young heir. And I like it a lot. Odd with a very old fashioned yaoi feel. Also actually kinky (not Thai kinky), I mean it's no JBL but I like it. Dommed into reading = hot. 

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 12 of ? - I love our new rescuer, he v cute! Nice addition to the cast. I hope we get more of him. Otherwise, this was more of the same. I’m getting pretty fatigued with this bully stuff at this juncture.

Love in the Air: Koi no Yokan (Japan Sat Gaga) ep 8 end - A lackluster adaptation of some already questionable content, that managed to lose all the limited charm and massive chemistry of the original. It was a mistake to do with less runtime not to mention put both climaxes in the final episode.  Too much all at once. By dividing up the two rescues and keeping them exclusive to their respective couples they highlighted the formulaic nature of the narrative and weakened the foundational friendships. The best thing about the original was the friendships both between the semes and the ukes. By having each boyfriend simply rescue his own boy without help, we didn’t get to see the depth of those friendships at all. For this reason, this installment was weaker than the original. My final feeling at the end was simply “OK whatever” not a ringing endorsement. 7/10 but barely that.

It's airing but......

Spare Me Your Mercy (Thurs iQIYI) ep 5 of 8 - on hold because it went out side genre conventions and I'm not sure what to expect. I'm waiting until it ends, then if safe I will binge.

Be Moon - Falling for my enemy's son (China YT) movie from HBD Studio airing in short bits but I couldn't find any this week.

Winter Is Not The Death of Summer (Thai ???) - has been picked up to air on WeTV, or something? Criminals who meet in prison fall in love. I did find it on YouTube, initially un-subbed, then subs happened by which time I got distracted. The first episode seems to be only six minutes long. It is very pulp. But it is intriguing. For now it's to the wayside until someone tells me it landed safely. Occasionally Thai pulps want to be edgy and it's not a good look on them.

0.5D (Japan ????) 4 eps - Supposedly a completed short. "Sales ace, Sada, has a secret that only his junior, Daiki, knows. He has pretended to have a gf for years, resulting in him being a virgin. But now Sada has fallen in love. Confused, Sada seeks advice from his junior." I sense another queer Cyrano De Bergerac. I can't find and it's good very poor review so Imma stop looking. Info here.

The Renovation (Thai mini One31) 2 eps - Writer turns his blossoming romance with holiday resort owner into a novel. Eh is it worth trying to find?

It Ended But?

Blue Canvas of Youthful Days (China Sun Viki) paused at eps 9-10 of 12 - I have been told the ending is OK if not great. I’m gonna hold off for a bit.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Final still to come:

12/29 Sangmin Dinneaw (Thai ????) ??eps - trailer Childhood friends (Thai & Korean) reunite after being apart for ten years. As the boys reconnect, their bond matures and feelings of romance begin to develop, in Thai.

Impression of Youth (Taiwan ????) ??eps - rumors are this is supposed to start this month.

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

10 years later and it's still one of BLs best cuddles (Love Sick)

Always like a seme who asks permission. (Perfect 10)

(last week)

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

[sirfrogsworth]

My recovery is going at a snail's pace. As I knew it would. Sometimes it is hard to notice if I am actually making any progress.

If this were a video game, I think I just beat the first level. With an unknown number of levels left. Probably 4 or 5?

I hate being so vague about what I'm going through. But it's hard to explain. And I just do not have the energy to write much. I almost broke my brain explaining a Trump photo the other day. I need to write for my own sanity but it is so hard to push myself.

I would say the hardest thing aside from the physical symptoms and the constant fatigue is the loneliness and the boredom. I miss my parents so much. Not having people around to help me and take care of me and keep my spirits up just shines a light on how big of a hole they left in my life.

I don't have much energy to reach out to friends. I make it a point to let Katrina know how I'm doing. She's the one person in my life that doesn't take much energy to talk to. I can only finish half a sentence and she still understands me. I'm glad I have a friend like that.

But the boredom is almost as hard as feeling lonely. I don't have much concentration so paying attention to things can be difficult. I keep watching a few episodes of something and then stopping because I can't follow it. Or I will watch something too sad and I can't emotionally process the sadness. I'm going to have like 5 shows I have to finish when I feel better. I didn't even attempt to watch Arcane.

Weirdly the one thing I could follow was a 5 hour video series on Joseph Smith. It had the Mormon perspective and the historically accurate perspective. If I were to summarize... that dude sucked. He was a world class charlatan with an... interesting... imagination. He reminds me of L. Ron Hubbard with less sci fi.

And he married a bunch of 14 year olds. Which is why I laughed when he got tarred and feathered��most likely for messing around with a 14 year old.

Smith destroyed a printing press to stop people from saying he married 14 year olds. And then a mob killed him while he was in jail. And I think the painting of his execution might be funnier than him being tarred and feathered.

That's him falling out of the window.

Is it still defenestration if you are thrown out of a window due to being riddled with bullets?

I'm pretty sure this painting is the equivalent to...

*Victrola scratch* "I bet you are wondering how I got in this predicament."

If your guess does not include staring into a top hat for long periods of time, you are way off.

Wow, I wrote a lot more than I expected. Shitty religious leaders are motivating I guess. My brain is on fire now. So I guess I'll end it here.

[genericpuff]

And so the titan finally falls.

Its corpse will be hung on display for the public's gawking until August 29th, after which it will be sent into the lockup known as Daily Pass, where completed series go to die.

Okay, all jokes aside though, this day was always coming so if you're unfamiliar with Daily Pass, here's the gist of how it works:

Any Originals series completed on Webtoons is eligible to go into their Daily Pass library. Any income made from this system is, theoretically, meant to go to the creator, but I say theoretically because we don't know what the split is between creators and WT's, and if there's any sort of Minimum Revenue Threshold shenanigans like with FastPass that would prevent a creator from receiving their share. That said, there are creators who have confirmed that Daily Pass is meant to help creators profit off their works after they're completed, so we at least know that.

As for how Daily Pass works:

Once behind Daily Pass, the majority of episodes (save for the first several episodes to give people enough content to get hooked on) are re-locked and only available under any of the three following conditions:

a.) Once per day you get one Daily Pass ticket per Daily Pass series to unlock any locked episode from that respective series. Meaning if you spend a Daily Pass ticket on Lore Olympus, you don't get another ticket to use for Lore Olympus for the day, but you'll still have a ticket to use for any other series you haven't unlocked yet that day. Ticket unlocks remain unlocked for 14 days, after which the episode will be locked again;

b.) If you have already spent your one Daily Pass ticket on a series you're reading but you REALLY want to read more episodes and don't want to wait until tomorrow, you will have the option to either pay for episodes with coins (which, unlike the Daily Pass ticket, is a permanent unlock) or use Ad Pass on eligible episodes (this is a temporary unlock like the Daily Pass ticket, but is only applied for THREE DAYS unlike the 14 you get from the Daily Pass ticket);

c.) Any episodes you FastPassed from a series original run are permanently unlocked, so if you were someone who paid for episode unlocks of LO every week, then congrats! None of those previous qualifications apply to you and you can re-read the series to your heart's content! You win at Daily Pass!

Now if you got through all that and are now thinking, "why is this so confusing???" don't worry, you're not alone! Readers fucking hate this system! I can't wrap my head around how it's in any way profitable for the creators when the people who are willing to pay for it ALREADY FUCKING PAID AND DON'T HAVE TO PAY AGAIN and the people who AREN'T willing to pay for it probably didn't see it as worth paying for the first time around when the comic was still new and updating - so why in the world would they pay for it NOW when they could just use Daily Pass tickets once per day when they were already willing to wait each WEEK for free unlocks?

Granted, the coin cost on Daily Pass series are usually lowered to accommodate the fact that they're completed, but the reality is that many Webtoon readers are already pretty reserved when it comes to spending coins on the app. This is largely due to WT's demographic being predominantly made up of teenagers and children, and while that can make for great viewing metrics, it's not so great in turning around a profit, because kids and teens don't typically have disposable income to spend on webcomics, let alone disposable income that has to be paid through an app store which typically requires credit cards/Paypal/etc.

The bitter irony is that the audience that has the most time to burn on the app also have the least amount of money to go around. So oftentimes - at least from what I've observed after using the app for years - readers will often be VERY picky with what they put their coins towards. Which begs the question again but in a different light - why in the world would someone choose to spend coins from their limited allowance on the app on a completed series that was once available to read for free and technically still can be read for free through ads and Daily Pass tickets?

I realize I'm digressing quite a bit, but all of what I'm going off about is already being reflected in the reactions I've seen from fans of LO who aren't excited to see it go behind Daily Pass (at least, the part of the audience that's been informed, god knows there will be a huge chunk of people asking where tf LO went after it goes behind DP lmao). Daily Pass in and of itself is just a crappy, inconvenient way to re-read completed comics. Even if you opt to do the Daily Pass ticket system, that's still essentially turning the act of re-reading comics into a chore, as it restricts you from binge-reading episodes which you typically would want to do with a series that's already been completed. The concept of new episodes every day might sound appealing as it's more frequent than the original once-a-week schedule, but in practice, it can often have the opposite effect of ruining the reading experience by turning it into a daily task rather than a pass-time the reader can freely participate in at their own pace.

All that said, it will definitely be interesting to see how LO does once it goes behind that Daily Pass wall. I think at best it will probably see an influx of traffic in the coming weeks from the people who either want to re-read it one more time, or the people who never finished it in the first place and see this as motivation to do so (and yes, if you haven't finished LO yourself yet, absolutely do so if you want to see for yourself how it ends BEFORE it becomes an inconvenience LOL). After that though, it'll probably be entirely on the physical copies to drive future sales, but those are a long way away from being completed.

When all is said and done, August 29th will mark the true end of the LO era of Webtoons. If the series finale was a funeral, then this is the moment we set its ashes adrift in the sea and say our final goodbyes.

It certainly was a hell of a ride. The good, the bad, and the absolutely insufferable.

[blambotheclowngirl]

In Defense of Korisu Morino: A Character Analysis

So I read and watched Makoako and for the most part a really enjoyed it. I see a handful of people sharing the sentiment of "mahoako would be good if they aged everyone up and got rid if korisu" or something along those lines. And I have to say I disagree, and no it's not because "yippe a loli" because I don't actually like lolicon :/ I may not care about it but that doesn't mean it's my cup of tea. No, I have my gripes with mahoako, but Korisu isn't one of them.

See I don't really mind that the cast is, for the most part, 8th graders. I like the idea of this story being about queer teenagers figuring out their sexuality as I feel like kink is a pretty big part of queer spaces and queer people owe a lot to kink. I understand that may not be the actual intention of mahoako, it's an eechi series where 14 year old girls do kinky shut to eachother, clearly a lot of the audience is going to be there for the horny nature of it. But I'm coming at this series from a sapphic asexual perspective, sex is always in the same realm as fantasy to me and it's not something I super care about.

All that said, coming at the series from the angle of "queer sexual awakenings and explorations" I think that korisu works very well and is really well written.

Korisu is unique from the other main characters because she represents the prepubesent sexual curiosity that a lot of children end up experiencing. In that way, Korisu reminds me a lot of myself as a young girl.

TMI about me, but I (and I'm sure many others) started masturbating around 9. I would not reach my first period until age 12 so I was very much still prepubesent. It wasn't a lot, but vague sexual attraction was there. I was trying to figure out what exactly I was attracted to and well at the time, gay was still an insult on the playground so my 9 year old brain was doing it's best to deny that I liked girls. I thought to myself, surely I can't be gay, I just think girls are pretty and I like boobs, but surely I'm straight. I was, in fact, not straight. And I had my confused little sexual fantasies every now and then.

Korisu in that way is very reminiscent of my own childhood experience with sexuality. She clearly has a little bit of a passive interest in sexuality, given some of her battles with tres magia. But she's also still written to be a child. A modest and shy child at that. Korisu is very soft spoken and childish. One if her main interests is toys. She loves to play with toys, and this seems to be the reason she joined enormita in the first place. She thought venelita was a toy and said yes to joining the evil organization so she could play with her. I also think that a lot of care has been put into how korisu is depicted. She's never directly sexualized. She projects her sexual fantasies onto others, but she is never the one in a sexual situation unless she is warping reality to pretend that she is an adult. Korisu is treated with a lot more modesty and decency than the other, older girls. You never see up her skirt, you never see any lewd expressions from her, the only time she is depicted naked is during a 1 panel heavily censored transformation sequence that isn't meant to be sexual, her swimsuit in the beach chapter/episode is almost comically conservative being one of those old timey looking striped suits with the shorts and sleeves and even a swim cap.

Her clothes always cover a lot of skin. It just seems like she's being purposefully written to be more than just the series resident loli, ya know? Like that's not why she's there. They could have written her to be permiscuous or to be obliviously and accidentally sexualized, but they didn't. They wrote her to be a child.

Diving into korisu's sexuality, as stated before, she tends to merely project her fantasies onto others with her powers, not getting directly involved. In our first encounter with her, when she shows off her powers as nero alice for the first time, she essentially just traps tres magia in a dollhouse and plays with them like dolls, having them act out a very sexually charged, but still rather childish and idealized game of house with a mommy, daddy, and child. House actually seems to be one of korisu's favorite games, sexual or not, which we will get into later. She doesn't involve herself in this game of house, just plays with her living dolls for a while before getting too sleepy to continue.

There are currently 2 instances where korisu directly involves herself in her little sexual fantasies, both if which I might argue are not entirely intentionally sexual on her end. The first of which, Utena has just given her back her favorite doll which she has stayed up all night to fix and has caught a cold with a fever as a result. Korisu decides to use her powers to place Utena and herself into her hospital doll set. She uses her powers to age herself up into an adult doctor and through a series of honestly comically childish ideas of what a doctor might do, despite the sexual twinge of the scene, cures Utena's cold. Not just treats it, but cures it outright. In like 5 minutes of playing doctor. What does she do? Presses a stick on Utena's tongue, places a stethoscope all over her chest, turned sexual by the fact that Utena has taken off her shirt and korisu just puts it right on her nipple, and then gives uten a shot. This is absolutely mostly just korisu playing doctor with her magic powers, it's just also a sexual fantasy of hers to be older and in a position of power, specifically in a caregiver role, something that comes up again later on and that we will delve deeper into later.

The second instance of korisu being directly involved in her sexual fantasies come to life via magic powers is during her play date with magenta. This I would argue is less sexual that the playing doctor scene for a few reasons, but first let's analyze this chapter/episode. The anime makes the argument that this scene isn't very sexual even more plausible by giving magenta an actual reason to regress. In the anime, magenta, who has been feeling like a burden to her team for not being very strong, is referred to as the mom friend. And she latches onto that. She takes her role as team mom very seriously and starts babying her friends, packing them lunches and such. This is a role magenta is comfortable in because she has 3 little sisters, and it's also clear it's making her feel useful to the team. Later on she ends up playing with korisu at the park, where they play a game of house, one of korisu's favorite games, in which magenta is the mommy. When she leaves she tells korisu she's always willing to play the mommy and then runs off to do her errands. We get like one mention of her having to pee. Back at the park, korisu is bummed about her play date being over and had the bright idea to keep playing house by using her powers to get magia magenta to show up and sucking her into a fantasy. Magenta obviously falls for this, and we flash into korisu's fantasy of magenta being a literal baby. She's in her crib scared and alone when suddenly her mommy shows up! And who is her mommy? Well it's adult korisu of course, ready to play house where this time she's the mommy.

Magenta is having a great time she regressing, playing with her "mommy" until she has to pee and ends up peeing. And then she starts to slip out of that regressed headspace and realizes she's not a baby and the person changing her diaper is nero alice and panic sets in alongside embarrassment because this is her enemy and she just pissed in front of her and she's not wearing pants and-

she rejects nero alice, who dejectedly starts to leave. And magenta sees that sad face and changes her mind. She can't jostled nero alice leave all sad. She was just playing. She wasn't doing anything evil it was all just fun and games. She plays the role of a baby a little while longer so alice can have her fun playing caregiver. Which results in one of the funniest shots in the manga and the anime.

The rest of their time together basically consists of korisu bottle feeding magenta a lot of milk and making her pee into a diaper again. And then she's done. Neither of them really seem to come away from this encounter with the idea that it was sexual. Sure magenta felt embarrassed and yeah alice wanted her to pee again, going so far as to press lightly on her stomach, but at most the sexual fantasy for korisu stopped there. I genuinely don't believe her intention in this game of house were sexual, I think she really did just want to keep playing house but with her in the caregiving role this time. That doesn't change the fact that the scene was obviously pandering to age players and people with a piss kink. But yeah I just feel like the character's motivations were innocent. In the Manga this chapter is a little harder to read as purely age regression because it doesn't give her the stress of being the team mom and the need to regress. The chapter is more over the top about her needing to pee because she drank too much water at the park, and i don't think it's ever specified that the game they played at the park was house. Manga said piss kink age play chapter, but anime said piss kink age play chapter but give it some character depth.

Moving on from that way too long play by play of the piss kink age play chapter.

The rest of the time we see korisu she doesn't really use her powers sexually at all. She makes her toys bigger so she can ride them around, she traps people in doll houses, and sometimes she'll make a special dollhouse for Utena to use and then fuck off for the rest of the chapter so Utena is using Alice's powers sexually but alice herself is off doing kid stuff somewhere off screen. One of my favorite examples of korisu using her powers in a way that really displays that she is in fact a 9 year old kid, is when she gets so excited about the new toys she just got at the toy store that she transforms out of pure joy and decides to use her godzilla toy and wand toy to have a kaiju battle with her riding godzilla and fighting magenta who she turned giant. She's not doing this for sex, she's doing this because she wants to have a kaiju battle with her new toys. Utena and kiwi making it sexual by crawling into magenta clothes is just aiding her in yhe kaiju battle. She didn't even win the battle but at the end of the day she's so happy.

Outside of her own sexual fantasies, korisu doesn't seem all that interested in sexuality. She either doesn't care, or, particularly with kiwi, gets annoyed and shoots her a disgusted "really?" look.

So looping back around to the consistent theme of Korisu's sexual fantasies either being a game of house or placing herself in a caregiver role. Why do I think she does this? This is just speculation on my end, but I really do think it has to do with her mother being so neglectful. Korisu is left home alone constantly because her mother is at work. She leaves her money to buy food, not even prepared food to eat, just money and a note on the kitchen table. Korisu is allowed to wander the city alone and does so often. The only reason she was able to join enormita is because she was by herself playing with sidewalk chalk in an alley. It's expanded upon that korisu really doesn't have any friends her age. Her first real friends as far as we know are her teammates at enormita, all of which are 5 years older than her. From what little we see of korisu's mom it seems like they love eachother, but she's just never home and her father is out of the picture for one reason or another. I think that this is why korisu is so enraptured with the idea of a perfect loving family. Why she wants to be a good caregiver, to give the love she craves from her mom, and to have a complete household, whatever she thinks that may be.

If you didn't have the experience of being sexually curious you may find yourself thinking why? Why is korisu the way that she is? Why is she having these sexual fantasies at such a young age but also is seemingly bothered by sexuality at other times?

And well, there could be more than one answer. There's the reading I've put forth that she is just having prepubesent sexual curiosity, the answer I think is the most likely to be intended if any. It could just be because the author wanted a loli and the fact the she's written modestly like this could be a coincidence (though I really think there was intent writing her this way especially when compared to how imitatio is written). There's always the possibility that korisu's past is darker than we know, that maybe she's experienced abuse of some kind, she's already experiencing neglect, who's to say there's not a reason her father is out of the picture, another reason her fantasies often revolve around family. We really can't say. I hope that we learn more about korisu when the author decides to pick the series back up again. I think it's likely that we will considering the last chapter introduced roboko.

I dunno man I don't know what I want the takeaway for this long winded post to be other than I think Korisu Morino is a well written character and a good representation of prepubesent sexual curiosity. She's written like a child, not like a sexualized fantasy of a child. When I was first reading through mahoako and got to the chapter where they introduced Korisu, I almost dropped the series. I thought "oh great they had to include a loli what the fuck she's 9" and then I kept reading, just to see what they'd do with her. And they didn't do what I expected. And by the end of reading I thought "wow. It's kind of refreshing to have a child character, especially in an eechi series that is THIS sexual, not being the object of sexualization." And that sentiment has stuck with me.

And then they introduced Imatatio and I wanted to throw my laptop 😤 but we'll that's a post for a different day because I have a lot of thoughts on her, not all as positive as my thoughts on Korisu, but it's more of a mixed bag.

At the end of the day I know that mahoako is a series that is meant to be arousing, it's eechi, it's a magical girl series about kink and bdsm that puts 14 year old girls in sexual situations for the audiences viewing pleasure. I get that. The series is by no means a masterpiece and I know it's very likely that I and a lot of other fans are reading too much into it. But I really think there is something there with the representation of queer kids exploring sexuality in a way that doesn't make them feel like outcasts for liking what they like.

Anyway, stan Korisu. Nero Alice best girl.

[notsogoodangel]

Traffic Series: Who is the best player?

I was watching this video by Eddache in which he investigated who won the Wacky Races, in which he made a point to differentiate who won the most first places AND who is consistently the best player (such as who always came in second place), and I wanted to do the same.

This was very easy because, luckily, the Traffic SMP wiki (which I usually don't like to use) did give me the order of elimination for each season, so I didn't have to go through the last 2 to 3 episodes of every season just to do it. It was just a time saver.

Some disclaimers:

THIS IS NOT ABOUT KILLS, IS ABOUT POSITIONS ON WHO DIES FIRST. Kills require skill, but that is not as necessary as just surviving. Is a survival game after all. Plus there are plenty of graphs that show who has killed the most in a certain season across all seasons.

Originally I wanted to use the Nascar/F1/Mario Kart scoring system since it made the most sense, and is technically what inspired this investigation. The problem is that it doesn't give points after 10th-12th place, which wouldn't work for a game with 14-17 players.

Instead, what I did for the scoring system is that I put the number they placed (ex. Jimmy came in 14th), divided by the number of players in the season, and then divided those numbers by the number of seasons they have played. The reason why is because, for example, Mumbo placed 16th in a season but only played for 2 seasons, his number will be bigger than Jimmy, who has come in last every season and is, objectively, a worse player.

This is still not a perfect system because some players only have played once or twice, so I don't have enough data to truly reflect their average. Although the players who only played once or twice (Mumbo, Lizzie, and Gem), are about where you believe them to be.

Lastly, despite Double Life having pairs dying at the same time, I did give them individual scores. The reason is because there IS a real winner in that season, so I just used the positions they used in the wiki. I don't know why they gave them those positions, but I just used them for simplicity.

There are some ties, but what I did in those cases: I just chose who was on top based on another table I did, but didn't end up using because of the previous Mumbo-Jimmy problem. So, I will just use it as a tied break and fun facts!

ALRIGHT LET'S SEE THE RESULTS!!!!

PEARL IS THE BEST PLAYER!!!! SLAY QUEEN!!!

Here's the results in order:

PearlescentMoon

GeminiTay

Scott Smajor

Martyn Inthelittlewood

GoodTimesWithScar

Grian

impulseSV

RenDog

BdoubleO100

Ethoslab

Joel SmallishBeans

BigB/Bigbst4tz2

ZombieCleo

TangoTek

Skizzleman

Lizzie LDShadowLady

Mumbo Jumbo

Jimmy Solidarity

To be completely honest, I was surprised that Pearl is one of the best players. She is usually someone that people, players, and fans, don't tend to pay much attention to in this aspect. Like, THIS GIRL HAS NEVER BEING IN A PLACE LOWER THAN 4TH.

We know that Scott (3rd) is usually one of the last to survive and is almost a good luck charm for whoever he is allied with, or the players calling Martyn (4th) a survivalist and constantly considered a threat, and both know how to play the game VERY well, but people don't do that with Pearl.

What I was most interested was that middle section because we all knew that Jimmy, Lizzie, Mumbo, and Skizz are the worst players in the entire series. Everyone is very much aware of it, including themselves.

Who could have guessed that Grian is, statistically, a worse player than Scar. Grian and Scar have won once each, but Scar is consistently in 9th place aside from 3rd and Secret, while Grian is all over the place. He sometimes is on 4th, and sometimes he is 10th. Which is the same with Impulse, who he is tied with score-wise.

Fun fact: Etho and Joel, and BigB and Cleo, were tied in the other table that I didn't end up using, and that is reflected here in which all of them are VERY close to each other score-wise. So, if Etho is washed out/bad at PvP, Joel is, and BigB and Cleo are worse about it and shouldn't say anything about it.

Bdubs, Ren, and Tango are so interesting to me, because what do you mean Bdubs is better than half of the server???? How is Tango so bad he is under that big dip (He is 14th with 0.74, and Cleo the 13th is 0.56)!?! HOW DID I FORGET REN WAS 2ND PLACE IN LAST LIFE?!?!?! IS THAT REALLY MY WET PATHETIC DOG OF HERMITCRAFT SEASON 10?!?!

Also, here's the table with every place of every player and how many players were in any given season, for easier understanding:

PS: The winners of every season are the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th best players. It might help their overall average, but not fully because Impulse has the same score as Grian(6th), and has never won a game. As I mentioned, Pearl has never been a placed lower than 4th, and aside from Martyn and Scott hitting 10th and 11th, are always in the top half.

[fountainpenguin]

Riddle watches New Wish - Post #18

Operation: Birthday Takeback

Dev's birthday!! Look at him. For some reason, the fact that his drones are here in 2D is funny to me... He's a little cartoon guy. Hazel is very cute.

I have a note here that says Dev's birthday is separated from Founder's Day by 9 years, 7 months, 14 days. So, he's had Peri for 4.5 months?

-> That is not too shabby in a universe where it's rare [in the OG series] to keep godkids for a year. Nice job, Dev!

...... Do you think they'll bring back rule-free fairyversary muffins (There WAS a full movie about it), because I have a pretty good idea what he'd wish for. Smells like trouble...

Okay, let's go! ... Peri does not think his parents are cool. And Dev is SHOCKED they came over. Also, he has no idea what to do with this much attention. He's SO red.

Hm. Peri looks really unimpressed... Did he already give Dev every birthday wish he wants and now it'll be awkward when Hazel gives a gift, because what can she possibly give that Peri didn't?

-> Dev still seems delighted Hazel's here! I think her friendship is the best gift :)

-> I do not think Peri knows enough about Dev's interests to surprise him, especially since they weren't getting along in the Dimmsonian episode because Dev was frustrated Peri couldn't "make a better cupcake" and Peri was frustrated Dev couldn't figure out what flavor he wanted.

-> Peri gives me "by the book" learning vibes; he's frustrated Dev doesn't listen to him and is harder to work with than the theoretical child he had in mind, I think.

-> Okay yeah, Peri is having NONE of this. Okay, Mr. Jealous Clingy Boyfriend Vibes...

Aw, Cosmo is trying to cheer Dev up... Peri, you wanna... jump in, or...? No?

Also, I'm enjoying watching what at this moment in time seems to be a healthy friendship and/or romance develop. I'm all for tormenting children, but this is nice too.

Peri...

Also, Dev thinks Hazel is like, the coolest person ever. And Peri is SO jealous Dev would rather hang out with his human friend than with a magical fairy. That's hysterical.

Something something, Juandissimo spent 3 seasons getting fired and bounced around Fairy World because he couldn't stop crying over how much he loved and missed Remy and finally broke Da Rules to return his memories, something something, Peri came here for a good time and he is honestly feeling so attacked right now.

I don't know what I'm trying to say, but... u get it. Two spoiled bullies, two very different dynamics. It's not the kid; it's the willingness of the fairy to meet them where they are... and love unconditionally.

Local celebrity kid who spent his Spellementary School life getting fawned over never developed the social skills to make friends and doesn't know how to deal with people viewing him as a flawed three-dimensional person.

For some reason I'm getting flashbacks to the end of "School of Crock" when Poof referred to his classmates as "his friends and Foop."

Okay, I thought Dev would freak out (/negative) over seeing boots since his dad literally unveiled a statue of him kissing his beloved boots while disregarding his son, but... he likes them! Despite that emotional blow, he is a Dimmadome to his core.

-> Dev getting his very first pair of little cowboy boots with tiny spurs 'fic, please.

-> Toddler Dev trying on his dad's or grandpa's boots 'fic, please.

Dev: Why didn't YOU think of getting me [rocket boots], pickle-brain Peri? Peri: Because my job is to grant you wishes! Not to read your mind!

Yikes... It's been a long few months for them.

Also, Cosmo and Wanda choose this moment not to overstep on the parenting relationship here and that's fantastic. Sorry, Peri- You're on your own for this one.

-> Wanda's totally willing to get Peri out of here if he needs it. So... she probably did notice Dev being snippy with him, but actively chose not to step in since Peri told her not to overstep in "Lost in Fairy World." Interesting.

Hm. I wonder if Peri has an animal form? I imagine he takes the form of tech or something that wouldn't catch Dale's eye. He probably sleeps in Dev's bedroom though (and/or "Hassle in the Castle"-esque pocket space).

-> Peri in his debut: /confidence oozing from every pore

-> Peri 4.5 months later: my crops are dying. I'm crops.

I love this family.

Though I feel like... it puts a weird level of stress or professionalism on Peri and Dev. I don't really have the words for it, but something something, maybe Peri's first assignment shouldn't have been so close to his parents because they are clearly struggling to let him speak or handle things himself. It's nice he can ask advice, but I feel like if they're around too often and Peri defers to them, that blurs lines and will be really confusing for Dev.

Who do you listen to if your fairy is telling you "Yes" and his parents - who have no technical authority over you but have ambiguous semi-authority in your fairy's mind - are telling you "No?" That's workplace tension waiting to happen.

And Peri is clearly trying to set his workplace boundaries - we saw that in "Lost in Fairy World" especially - but Cosmo and Wanda keep kinda undermining him and bringing family vibes into work, and he's also grown now, so... Yikes. I love them, but that's rough, buddy.

Forget that- Is that Vicky?

?? Vicky is still young? Or is this Vicky's daughter? MARK, what did you do? I know you literally have clones of her, sir.

I mean, I guess it's not out of the question she'd look the same years later- she had the same hair when she was 5 back in "The Switch Glitch" and she clearly likes that style, but I wasn't expecting it, especially since she's probably close to Dale's age and he's clearly beefed up (and I think gotten taller). Huh. Well, all righty.

The golden cowboy boots on display with the "In honor" plaque are not doing anything to disprove my tentative theory that Doug Dimmadome has passed on and that's why Dale is so clingy towards his boots.

Pfft, the "Icky Vicky" song is still a thing.

SLKJDF, I'm amazed they carried through with Vicky being the one to put Dale to work at the lemonade stand. I'm still confused as to whether she started it at age 9 or took over from someone else.

DEV DOESN'T KNOW HER???

Dale, you are a terrible dad. How can he be so bitter about his past and tell his son horror stories about Vicky, and/or not keep constant watch for her? I can't believe he hasn't sued her into oblivion.

-> It's because he doesn't tell Dev stories unless it's to gripe about how he needs to pull his weight because "My life was so hard when I was your age," isn't it?

I like how Dev is trying to lightly call to Peri for help without attracting attention or moving his lips. Geez, man- That's gotta be so stressful when you're trying to rely on someone new to help you and they don't show up. He didn't have him in the Hocus Poconos and he can't get him out here when he needs him. This is gonna be great on his trust issues, I'm sure.

Peri looking at his dad vs. Wanda looking at her sexy husband:

Dev will hang with his friends, but he's not putting down his stuff.

This next face he makes (without words) to signal "Hey, I'm doing my best" is so funny to me. He's like. "Yeah, I don't have to say anything; she knows what's going on here."

... I'm confused. What is up with Wanda and Cosmo right now? Why are they leaving notes to Dale that out Hazel as a godkid and them as fairies (who are disguised as humans)?

I get that they're not thinking ahead and are spelling out notes while they talk to each other, but surely they should know better than to leave evidence, especially after they saw Cookie get 10k years in prison for revealing the existence of Fairies and we know Hazel could be separated from them. Peri clearly knows this is a bad idea. Utterly incomprehensible to me.

"Icky Vicky" remix!!! Also, Dev handles rocket boots way better than Kevin Crocker did.

Dev "It's not a children's party; I'm a BIG KID!" Dimmadome - Dude, you just turned 10. I mean... That is double digits and you're just a little guy, so... good job.

I'm so glad I was right and that Dev isn't allowed to drink lemonade. That's hilarious. I'm obsessed. He wants it so much...

A.J., Poof, and Crocker sure changed a lot considering Vicky looks the same.

I love Dev covering Hazel's eyes so she doesn't see the partially naked money-covered mural of his dad.

The fact that this is even in the show is hilarious; it says so much to me. Dale "Obsessed with flaunting where I am now in life" & Dev "Instantly doing damage control so my BFF doesn't feel uncomfy or think I'm weird and ditch me" Dimmadome.

....... I said BFF, but I'm pretty sure Dev said Trev was his BFF in Episode 1 and now I'm wondering why we haven't seen them together at all. Hm. I'm gonna have to circle back to Episode 1 later; I might be misremembering.

Their names are Dev and Trev... Where is this silly duo? We're bein' ROBBED!

Peri's grown out of calling Wanda "Mama"- just "Mom." Good note for me in case I want to write something in line with New Wish's canon specifically, since I've always used "Mama" in 'fics even when he's older.

Peri watching his parents make innuendo jokes:

Oh, INSTANT panic on their end at the news of Vicky in the house. More so than with Crocker!

50 years of deep-seeded trauma... This would be a fantastic title card or redraw. Maybe I'll draw it someday.

Cannot believe Peri has been whiplashed back and forth by being snarked at, coddled, reminded of his Hocus Poconos trauma, and now he's facing Vicky trauma all within a couple episodes. It's been a long 4 months.

Peri @ Vicky: "She's REAL!? I thought I imagined her as a baby!!!" is he ok.

-> This is very funny to me because it plays into my headcanon of Poof growing up to forget most of his time with Timmy, including his name, and beating himself up about it.

I don't think Peri has gone one episode without going full panic mode over something. This kid's not lasting long as a godparent. Dev's gonna crack him like a nut and then Jorgen's going to wipe the floor with him.

omg, Dev needs his godparent to stand up for him against Vicky and Peri's having a MELTDOWN and hiding behind his mom. Um???

Holy cow, I've never seen him break like this, except maybe when he gained his fear of the dark in "Lights Out." That includes his many brushes with death and when Fairy Court unraveled his existence from the timeline.

-> I cannot believe I made a joke about how I wasn't sure how things could get more traumatizing for Peri than having to face the Hocus Poconos and yet here we are. Yeah, he's gonna put in his two weeks' notice like... tomorrow.

He ditched his godkid! Peri!!! You are a grown-up now! You can't do that!!

Okay, so Vicky is as tall as Cosmo and Wanda, so she can be an adult, sure. Also, Cosmo and Wanda finally getting the chance to stand up to her <3 I don't remember her tormenting them that much but maybe it's secondhand spooks.

-> Peri's meltdown continues in the background. That is some DEEP trauma.

Even if this was a non-Vicky person, would Peri be mentally equipped to deal with it? Because he's reacting badly for a guy whose memories are so wobbly, he can't remember if they were real. He's not there for Dev and he clearly has some issues to work out.

-> I think he needs more godparent training; he is NOT ready.

(Full moon!)

Ooh, Dev feels like his dad replaced him with Hazel... Dev out here like "Wait a sec, the reason my dad's not been around in 4.5 months is because apparently he's obsessed with you?" Oh boy... Those three expressions just tell it all (The horrified realization, the despair, the anger...)

omfg, Dev just found out Hazel "wished to become friends with him" ("I wish I knew why he acted so mean") and he feels like he's not good enough to be liked without a wish and everything was a lie, and he is CRASHING and screaming. Oh, geez louise. Terrible job, everyone!!! Everybody loses!!

I really like this night city skyline. It's so pretty. I love this decompression scene. Really good storytelling move and also nice to look at. I want to write with these vibes.

Man, Hazel's comforting herself and turning to Cosmo and Wanda for support (and making plans of how to make her evening better after getting yelled at).

I bet I know who's NOT about to turn to his fairy for support~

Dev: And where tf were you!?!?

"I was calling for you; why didn't you answer me? Why is no one ever there? Why does everyone else 'matter more' than me, even the people who are supposed to look out for me?"

Peri: D':

-> I like how the poof clouds still have words in them. Also, the scribbling scene is really well-done; Dev is losing his marbles.

Oh man... Thaaat's a big mess. Welcome home, child trauma show <3

Also, fanfic timeline notes under the cut:

[Contains a small timeline spoiler for Along the Cherry Lane, which is a 'fic I won't be starting for a long time. This is already in my Timmy's Timeline notes from the sideblog, though, so if you've already seen it, it's nothing new]

Wanda said it's been a "couple decades" since her encounters with Vicky. So... is Vicky like, 36?

I could've sworn Vicky and Dale were close to the same age; he has a teen body design in "Nectar of the Odds."

His age might've been adjusted though, or at least he may have started at a very young age. He told Dev in "Stanky Danky" that "when he was his age, he was working in a factory making lemonade every Saturday" and missed all the Saturday cartoons. This is Dev's 10th birthday, so maybe the thought here is "Dale started at age 9 or 10, then stopped at age 16 or 17."

If that's true, then yes, he's Vicky's age.

So. In that case, that screenshot of distraught Dev I put up in my "Battle of the Dimmsonian" post and captioned as "This is probably how Dale used to look at Vicky and then she kicked him down the stairs" is probably age-accurate too, and that's even worse.

Let's say it's been 2 decades and Dale was 16 then, now 36. That would mean he had Dev... Let's say around age 26 or 27.

-> That would jump us from 2002 [in my 'fics] to Dev being born around 2012, with New Wish taking place more or less around 2022. I think I'm okay with that- We saw in "Fearless" that the Enrichment Academy's most recent champion win was 2019 and they win every few years, so that makes perfect sense.

I think my 'fic Along the Cherry Lane ends with Tammy and Tommy close to age 10 in 2020? Let me see...

Riddle's Cloudlands AU notes: - Timmy parts ways with Cosmo and Wanda on October 15th, 2010 - Chloe parts ways with Cosmo and Wanda the night of March 20th, 2011. - Tammy is born September 2013 & Tommy February 2016 - Tammy and Tommy receive Cosmo and Wanda as godparents in 2023 (He's 8 or 9, she's 10 or 11)

Hmm... That's riding really close to Hazel's timeline. New Wish will probably be over by the time I'm done with my current longfics and ready for Along the Cherry Lane, so I won't worry about it for now, but it'll be nice to have these notes later in case I do want to try fitting this into my canon. We'll see if we get any hints about Tammy or Tommy in future episodes. I'd love to see Hazel meet Timmy with his kids, though I doubt we'll see that.

-> I also would not be opposed to kicking "Channel Chasers" out of New Wish's canon because it's not an episode I have attachment to and, well... we don't have flying cars or robot babysitters yet.

... If I were to keep everything, I feel like I'd rather take New Wish as canon and then put "Channel Chasers" after it (even if that violates the "20 years later" label) than commit to "Channel Chasers" and kick Hazel away. I was dreading worldbuilding a society that gained flying cars and robots within 20 years anyway, so I wouldn't be mad.

-> But I'll have to decide how much New Wish I want to incorporate into my canon, seeing as I usually prioritize the OG series in Cloudlands AU above spin-off media. Hmm.

Again, I won't be finishing this 'fic for a long time, so New Wish might be over by then and I'll have more information to work with.

Thanks for reading my liveblog!

[silvereyedowl]

How long Ruby has known the Doctor: an analysis

Five episodes in, I wonder if series 14 is setting up some sort of reveal involving just how long Ruby has actually been travelling with the Doctor. Because there have been too many inconsistencies, in my opinion, for it to be a mistake.

In "The Devil's Chord", dialogue about Ruby's present now being June/July 2024, after she began travelling with the Doctor the previous Christmas, implies a six-month time skip. In the same episode, however, the decision-making process that leads to Ruby and the Doctor picking their destination at the beginning feels very much like they still haven't been travelling together very long. (Especially the part where Ruby is concerned about them sticking out so the Doctor introduces her to the TARDIS' wardrobe.)

"Boom" is Ruby's first trip to an alien planet. We all know Earth is the Doctor's favourite world, but Ruby taking over half a year to get to see another world is... odd.*

In "73 Yards", Ruby tells Kate that she didn't know the Doctor very long. It has been over a year since his disappearance at this point and if she'd only known him for a few months that might not feel long, but it feels odd. Carla and Cherry also don't act like Ruby's been missing for ages when she returns home earlier. And the fairy circle accident happens in winter, the same season Ruby met the Doctor in, although it's unclear if it's the same winter.

In "Dot and Bubble", Ruby makes a comment about learning to trust the Doctor implying she's known him for quite a while.

*Rose Tyler didn't visit any alien planets in her first season, but she's unusual in that her first visit to one was explicitly not depicted onscreen, but in the tie-in novel The Monsters Inside.

One detail that might be related as well is that in both "The Devil's Chord" and "73 Yards", the Doctor seems to be having some trouble remembering exactly when Ruby's home time is.

So what we have here is a possible plot point, maybe connected to the theories I've heard about this season actually being an in-universe TV show, and/or that Ruby is an in-universe fictional character. Or maybe it's something else.

Either that, or I'm totally wrong and I'm going to feel silly.

We'll see!

[watchingblsnowandforever]

We Are Ep.14: Part 1/3

Hello!!! =D

Welcome back to my crack posts!

Part 2, Part 3

Ep 14 ruined me, just so y'all know. I'm honestly scared for what the next episode will do to me. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

Warning: long, long post 😊😅 (also divided into three parts this time because I wanted to screenshot the whole damn thing, but this is next best)

I did not expect Q to be the one to stand up for Phum, but I wasn't really surprised after the last ep. Previously, he'd be the first one to go up in arms, but he's starting to understand maybe everything isn't that straightforward, and despite his friends meddling in his own relationship, he wants to leave Peem alone.

Conclusion: he's a very good friend.

Of course. I should've known something like this would come up 😭

Of course they've taken baths together.

I love this friendship so much.

You again. 😶 I swear to the gods, this guy will give me high blood pressure or something. Please please just leave Peem, alone. Learn to take a 'no' and mantain social distancing.

Peem... you're too kind for your own good. (I get it though)

You have no right to say that, especially without knowing the full story. But I'm feeling kind, so you're still a (mostly) decent human to me. Try not to ruin that impression. And never, ever again say anything to my babie Phum. Ever.

Oh my gods my heart broke for Tan 🥺 Here he was, probably never having dated after he fell for Fang, so knowing that Fang had dated even after whatever they went through must be so painful to him.

FANG KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT'S WRONG AND HOW TO FIX IT.

Just like we see Tan waving away Fang's insecurities every time, Fang does the very same for Tan.

I love them. <33

🥺🫶🏼

They're both so whipped-

Fai: I didn't see anything 👀😗 (we all know she's fangirling so hard inside)

Fai is me, I am Fai.

No but, Phum, are you sure Peem staring at you for a long time won't make your heart race?

Whipped. They're both so goddamn whipped. *sighs fondly*

The horns I'm dying 😭😂

Phum wasn't even surprised 😭👍🏼

Okay, not the best impromptu band performance/concert I've seen, but this is Thai BL, and they need some music and at least like 10 scenes with some band to pass whatever standard of approval, so I'll let it slide. Also, I'm terribly fond of these idiots. <3

HANDS.

They're besties for a reason hehe

You're asking the question, but are you ready for the answer?

I have already gone crazy over this too many times, I really don't have the energy anymore.

Peem is definitely winning Best Non-Confession Confession of the Year Award.

Are we still talking about the painting, or...?

Honestly though, when he was saying this I got actual flashbacks of Phum kicking the ball into his painting and how their relationship developed from there till where they are right now.

HE-

He named it "Happy" because it's all the things that make him happy. 😶

I had to pause here to take a deep breath so I didn't break out in tears two eps in a row.

WHAT IS THIS SERIES DOING TO ME.

Also, taken together, they are a story in 3 pics.

I'm just gonna go sob in the corner.

When faced with that smile and that "na, Peem, na" how could he ever deny Phum anything 😭

Textbook definition of a blushing boy who just became boyfriends with his crush the boy he loves. <3

No, he thinks he's a babygirl and rightfully so.

THIS HUG. That's it. That's all I have to say. I have no words for how this made me feel, and will make me feel for the rest of the forseeable future.

I end Part 1 here. Part 2 and 3 will be out tomorrow (because they are quite a bit long and I have Thoughts about them that I need to write in detail)!

If you've gotten this far, thank you so much for reading!! 😊

Here, have a taco 🌮

[kero-cure]

Oh hell no...

IT DIDN'T END IN ONE EPISODE!!! GWADDAMMITTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WARNING: This post (yapping) have maximum level of copium and I turned into super shitty pathetic loser fangirl mode to write this. (Yep, I became the shitty fangirl for real this time) My brain isn't in the normal status so don't mind me.

Even though while I'm sooooooo sure that Ishiro will never ever gonna betray Taiya and Boonboomger for real. We saw so many of him since the very first time. We have YEO, We have EP 37. Super Sentai his the series of uniting. (At least until Gozyuger lol) He have his reason to do that for sure. so in the end it's gonna be okay. But seeing him like that make me depressed.

But one thing that relief me a little (very little) is...

I don't want you to become enemy of the world...

Not "you guys" but "YOU" specific to one person that is Taiya. And moreover, Is his voice trembled a little when he said that??

Ishiro is a spy that do the underworld jobs for his entire life. So he was living in the darkness and had seen so many dark side of the world. Then one day he met Taiya who he felt that is a light, Shine brightly in the hopeful world, Have lots of dream and doing so many positive things. When he investigated on the enemy side he might knew something so terrible. So he doesn't wanna see that light fade away and fall into the darkness. He love and trust Taiya more than anything else. He'd rather fall into the darkness alone than seeing the enemy shut that light down. We already seen before that he's the one who sacrifice himself easily (like EP 14 or how he usually become human shield for Taiya) so I think this time is the same. He set his determination, To protect something more important.

And he love Boonboomger a lot even though he didn't say out loud. If he really gonna betray everyone. He can do more harsh way like say it out loud that "I'm gonna follow them instead", Actually shoot his friend directly, Or destroy his BoonboomChanger. But he didn't.

"If you will keep going to this way, I'll become enemy of you guys instead."

.

Or more positive "Okay. If you said so I'll do my part. You do your part. And we'll meet again after that."

Because as you might realized, Taiya didn't seem angry or feel betrayed, Instead he still look confident when he answered Ishiro. I think (or more likely, believe) that he might able to read something from that eyes like usual. They came so far and we have YEO and EP 37 to keep us sane. I believe in their eyes-to-eyes communication.

.

Oh! Maybe it was their way to ask and give a permission to investigate deeper or attack from inside the enemy's side. Other member didn't realized that because they couldn't read that gaze so they're angry. But these two knew so well.... They're already shared lots of secret that only they know. So why not this time?

You might ask why Ishiro had to do that way even though he knew that his reputation will be ruin (for a while)?

Because this woman kept an eyes on them!! YEAH!! It was acting to gain more trust from enemy!! And he used this chance to asked for permission with the eyes!! As you guys might heard somewhere before that if you wanna trick an enemies you have to trick your allies first. But Taiya is the only one he couldn't trick because their eyes-to-eyes communication are too strong so they shared this plan together instead. BELIEVE ME!! BELIEVE MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But yeah... It surely make him feel sad. His partner have to do his mission in more dangerous area and decided to do that way. We didn't saw his face because he had a helmet on but we can feel from how he look at changer and empty seat. When you lost something that you're so sure that will never go far away, You'll realize that how important they are.

And how Ishiro looking on his wrist that used to have his changer on that is kinda sad too. We saw in transformation lessson promo video and EP 6 of YEO that he absolutely love BoonboomChanger. And he have to take it off to gain a trust from enemy. This is his resolved. He's ready to face more of the darkness to end this fight. Even though that's mean he have to leave them.

Don't forget that the monster of this week have an ability of "stealing important thing" So that's mean, For Ishiro, his changer and Boonboomger is important thing. And for Taiya is Ishiro (I'm so sure lol)

.

And...

The guy that you wanna rely on is him, right?

I know that Gokaiger is another Sentai that have "absolute trust on each other" Red & Blue dynamics that make lots of fangirls go crazy over them. As senpai that have this dynamics, He might realized that dynamics from them too and came to say something to reassure.

.

Wait... Is that "I wanna rely on you even though we became the enemy of the world VS I wanna keep you safe and don't wanna see you become enemy of the world so I have to leave you" dynamics!? HOLY SHIT THIS IS DELICIOUS!!!

But before we reach the happy end.... I need more copium. I have to write some precious moments that I know from nation comrade who went to G-Rosso.

PS. Lots of nation comrades from around the world said that BoonboomChanger is like a wedding ring for Ishiro. And now Taiya have it. When they reunion I wanna see Taiya give it to Ishiro by his hand, Not just like "Here you are. Take it" like in EP 37. And since changer is usually put on the left hand that's mean... HE WILL TAKE ISHIRO'S HAND AND PUT THE WEDDING RING BACKKKK!!!!!! YES PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

Currently Watching - July

aka The Masterlist

Because I love a good little list - in alphabetical order! 😊

Regularly updated during the month, latest update 31.07.2024

A little link to my favorite bl-tropes-collection 💙

gif-requests are currently closed🌼

Here you can find all of my gifs.

At the end you can have a look at what we can expect in April with a MDL link and a link for a trailer (if avaible).

This is guaranteed to contain spoilers!

1. 4 Minutes 🇹🇭 (1/8)

The first episode was interesting. The second couple just stole the show for me. It was... yeah... It was intense. And because I can't watch it in HD there are no gifs from my side. But in my mind I did some. I am really interested how the story will progress. I haven't seen the trailer, I am just going in blind and this is exciting! But please give Fuaiz a happy ending! I am still not over the DFF ending...

2. Bad Guy 🇰🇷 (2/4)

Our bad guy from Blue Boys is back with his own little show. And it is good. I like it. Riu is getting married soon, but before that he gets in contact with his ex-partner and old feelings are coming back to the surface. And yes, I think he is the bad guy. But I understand him. He feels like he has no other choice and can't live a happy life being a gay guy in a relationship with another man. I am really looking forward to how this will end!

3. Century of Love 🇹🇭 (7/10)

This series is really good! I was hooked in today's episode. The tension was really good and I can't wait to get to know how this all turns out. What will happen next week? Even though I knew Vad was the bad one, I am really curious which role she is really playing. And I really felt heartbroken for Vee and San. Such a good story! Damn!

4. Hidamari ga Kikoeru 🇯🇵 (6/12)

I love them. I want to watch it again and again. It feels just so... real. So relatable. So honest. So raw. The struggle Taichi has to understand and accept his feelings for Kohei is so good to watch. He is so happy whenever he sees Kohei or speaks about him and I love his friends, who I guess, already can tell Taichi likes Kohei, but they just let him discover this on his own and are just there for him, poking him a little bit in the right direction. Oh I love this series so much!

5. His Man Season 3 🇰🇷 (12/14)

Okay, the new episodes were not as bad as the previous ones. I still don't get why everyone is crying and Jaeseung's whiny behavior because he can't get a date with Seongmin is a little bit annoying, but okay. The dates were okay. I think it is interesting that there are so many "couples", and I am curious who can stay in contact after the show and who become a real couple in the end. I don't feel it that much, but who knows how they feel.

6. I Saw You In My Dream 🇹🇭 (2/12)

I started a new series... Yay for me and my wednesdays 😭But this one really looks promising. I haven't heard of it that much and just blindly started watching. So Ai dreams and his dreams come true and he dreams he has his first time with Yu, his neighbour, who usually teases him and it is really cute. Not the first time, but the story so far.

7. My Love Mix-Up! 🇹🇭 (6/12)

I see so many posts from people not liking this one and I am sitting here enjoying most of this story. I don't compare it to anything. i just enjoy some awkward fluff and the cringe that comes with it. And I think the casting is quite good. I don't have the strongest feeling for the japanese original. I really enjoyed it and it is a great series, but I think the thai one is entertaining too and the chemistry between those two is still there. This epsiode we had a cute date and they finally progressed a little bit in their relationship-state and holding hand, which is now causing problems.

8. Takara no Vidro 🇯🇵 (5/11)

Still get some stalker-vibes from this one. But it is okay. Taishin slowly realises he likes Takara. It is kinda cute. And you can tell me what you want, but Takara is already very smitten by his little stalker friend. But it was a cute episode with them helping the little kid finding back home.

9. The Trainee 🇹🇭 (5/10)

Jane is nice to Ryan. I like it. Jane opens up to Ryan. I like it. Ryan smiles like a little sunshine because Jane is nice to him. I like it. I like this series. It is such a feel good show and OffGun are really good! And the side stories are interesting as well! Such a good sunday-watch!

10. Word of Honor 🇨🇳 (20/36)

Those two flirt a lot and are a married couple. Everyone knows that. And I love and enjoy that! Overall this is such a fun watch and the different sects and intrigues are sometimes a little bit confusing, but interesting. I love this world of martial arts and I love how protective Wen Kexing is over Zhou Zishu. I haven't felt like watching this lately. I wasn't in the right mood.

Finished in July

Series

Blue Boys Part 2 🇰🇷

Okay, we got our happy ending. I always say you can have feelings for other people when you are in a relationship. That is normal. And I am totally on Namyi's side when he asked Jaemin to trust him and to talk to him about such things. Keeping it a secret, especially when something happend, is not good. So I am happy both found their happy ending with each other and Jaemin finally allowed himself to be loved by Namyi. Over all for this second part I give a 7 out of 10.

My Stand-In 🇹🇭

Isn't it wholesome when everybody gets a happy ending in the end? Hm. Not really. Tong shouldn't have got his redemption. He should have ended up alone. Ming's dad should suffer because he finally lost his son, while the son is thriving on love. This last episode was really just a very long happy ending. And for most parts I really enjoyed it! After all the pain and the tears and the toxicity, there was finally wholesome shit on my screen! Overall it was a good show, not my favorite, but it was very much watchable. I give it 7 out of 10.

Wandee Goodday 🇹🇭

What a let down with the last episodes. This series started out so strong. The Vibe was so cool with casual sex and asexuality representation and after a few episodes... pufff... nothing. Kao has just a few scenes and when he was on camera, he was just a supporting act for Dee to get back with Yak or to think about his emotions. But his storyline was just left aside and squeezed back in the last episode, because they needed this closure... Oye never had to deal with any consequences for his actions. He just paid and now they live happily ever after... come on. Cher loves him, but this is such a big deal that I wished there was a little bit less product placement for them and some real talking about the whole stuff. And Dee and Yak. I love GreatInn together, but the script did them dirty! Yak became such a puppy, and Dee was confused and surprised all the time. And those open love expressions! I really don't like them! Especially when you have the main character telling people he can't be in a same-sex-relationship because of the media and his reputation... aha... sure... And this whole Ter gets his redemption in the end... Fuck that guy! He don't deserve anything! Just let him be miserable and alone in the end! He played with everyone! And don't get me started on the break-up-idea... Just talk about stuff and perhaps think about shit before it is almost too late! Oh, I am a little pissed... Overall I gave it 6,5 out of 10, but perhaps in the future I change it... The story was really not that strong and every little piece of problem was solved in the last episode and that just felt wrong! And it is wrong! You can't cure such a big trauma which includes halucinations just with love and some good words! No! I correct myself, I give this 5 out of 10...

The Boyfriend 🇯🇵

We've got our Happy Ending! Not just for Shun and Dai, but also for Alan and Kazuto. Now I am curious how life played for the contestants and I am looking forward to the reunion, which I won't be able to understand, because it will air in the Netflix Japan Youtube Channel without subtitles... Well, I wait for the fan-translations. I just wish all of them are happy! And my thoughts during this last moments of the show: AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Happy. And I give this show a 10 out of 10.

We Are 🇹🇭

I am really glad I waited with this one to binge-watch it. So I dodn't have to wait that long for the next episode. It was such a fun watch. There was nothing much happening, and yet it was very entertaining. We just saw friends getting together, having a good time, developing new feelings for each other and facing every day problems. I was quite surprised how well it was written and how much I liked it in the end. I give it 9 out of 10.

Movie

Short Film

Dropped in July

This love doesn't have long beans 🇹🇭

My first drop after a while. And with such a popular show. But I really can't stand Plawan at this point. I guess I will come back from time to time, to have a look if I cringe or not, but I just know that this one isn't for me. Guess I will watch it mostly through gifs here on this heavenly hell site.

Looking forward to in July

Takara no Vidro - Trailer (July 1st)

This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans - Trailer (July 5th)

The Boyfriend - Trailer (July 9th)

Century of Love - Trailer (July 10th)

Heavens x Candy (July 13th in cinemas)

4 Minutes (July 26th)

Battle of the Writers - Trailer (July 29th)

Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - THERE IS SO MUCH ON RIGHT NOW, it's crazy-making!

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

July 2024 Week 1

Ongoing Series - Thai

Wandee Goodday (Sat YT) ep 10 of 12 - I am with Dee, noodles do solve everything. The brothers were SO GOOD together. I’m getting to really love a back drop in BL, it’s like the mic drop of gay boys smooching. This is such a good show. I had a big grin on my face while also crying a bit. Everything I want from a BL is happening right here, in front of my eyes.

Did they gloss over the trauma a bit? Yes. Do I care? No. I don't like dwelling in trauma in general, mine, friends, online, or in my BL.

The Rebound (Weds Gaga) ep 2 of 12 - All Thai mafia is gay… again. Yes, it’s still great. No, I have no idea why they’re dropping so many eps at once. That’s not normal for a Thai drama. But I’m not gonna complain except there’s a lot on right now. I like the side couple too. I also like Frank’s poor little rich kid side dish action. I mean, Meen is an ult for me, but Frank is giving excellent second lead syndrome. Suspiciously aggressive and a touch stalker, but I don’t mind a boy that sus if he that cute. And of course, with the mafia involved there is kidnapping.

Look, is this the best show currently airing? No. Which is why it slid a little in the standings. But that's only because Wandee hit it out of the park this week. Frankly, this may not be the best BL airing right now, but it’s the best BL for me.

Sunset X Vibes (Sat iQIYI) ep 4 of 12 - That oppa bit was fucking genius. (You get it right? If you don't, I can explain.) And I immediately adore the secretary character as a result (I typed that as "reslut" and that works too.) Pleased to have such a "rich man and his spoiled boy" dynamic it going already. A dynamic I am personally IRL familiar with from the 90s. Also, kiddies stop filming adults at play! Sheesh.

I pretty much love all the couples in this show. It’s lots of fun. SamYo’s cat and mouse thing is delightful. Meanwhile, the mains are so sweetly hesitant about kisses and everything (hilarious coming from this pair). I love them and their awkward first time, or whatever is going on.

Do you know what? After that "oppa" comment this lead pair makes me feel a little bit like I’m watching a gay K-drama, similar style of personalities and everything, even the random martial arts ability. And the outing. I'm getting Business Proposal vibes. Nothing wrong with that, I was weaned on K-dramas.

All in all, great episode.

My Stand-In (Fri iQIYI) ep 11 of 12 - Yet again I spent the entire episode saying "poor Joe" over and over again. This time I didn’t cry though.

The pat way to end this is to have Joe walk through that door and then wake up back when he was about to get into the motorcycle accident. So that none of it ever happened. I suppose we’ll see what they do next week but I hope it isn’t that.

We Are Cute (Weds iQIYI) ep 14 of 16 - Do you know what this friendship group reminds me of the most? The old Love Sick music club boys. This is just the college version... 10 years later. (Love Sick was one of the few shows where I mostly didn’t yell “no singing” at the screen (also Ingredients). In my defense, I didn’t know any better back then.)

As boyfriends, PhumPeem are even more puppy/cat paring. And I am even more delighted by it. And them. In fact, this show is ALL puppy/cat pairings. I’m not mad about it.

"I’m hugging you so you won’t feel hungry" is the weirdest pick up ever. But Phum is weird. 

This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans (Fri iQIYI) ep 1 of 8 - The PittBabe team behind a new restaurant set BL full of hidden agendas and starring my new favorites SailubPon. I’m reminded so much right off the bat of PokeTongue’s side dish couple in What’s Zabb Man. Interesting, considering that came from Pon’s former studio. Love the call out of obnoxious content creators (not to mention corporate property developers). I like the chef character, he’s nicely complex. In fact, so far I like most of the characters, it’s a good range of different personality types. The plot is a little contrived and complicated but I don’t mind because the characters are such fun.

The Trainee (Sun YouTube) ep 1 of 12 - Reported on this last week already but here's what I said:

Gun still looks like he’s just out of high school. Madness.

The set for the print shop reminds me of Mork’s dad’s place in ‘Cause He’s My Boy? I swear GMMTV has only 3 sets.

I wasn't looking forward to this show at all. Maybe I just needed more of a break from OffGun? Cooking Crush happened yesterday.

Whatever, because I was absolutely riveted by this first episode.

I’m enjoying The Trainee a lot. Like, a lot a lot. It's not higher up just because there is so much good content from Thailand airing right now.

My Love Mix-Up Th (Fri YT) ep 5 of 12 - Still a chaos muffin no matter which country. So earnest. So cute. Talking stage commence!!!

Love Sea (Sun iQIYI) ep 4 of 10 - I got so bored I started looking up ways to organize my sunglasses. Trash watch here.

Knock Knock Boys (Thurs Gaga) ep 6-7 of 12 - The exes are odd. I like that Latte finally got some backstory.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

I Hear the Sunspot AKA Hidamari ga Kikoeru (Japan Weds Gaga) Ep 2 of 10 - I’m still enjoying this quite a bit. It’s paralleling the manga quite closely, which is nice. But it’s not gonna be a particularly exciting drama if this continues. The manga is rather quiet (pun intended to amuse not insult).

Takara's Treasure AKA Takara No Vidro (Japan Mon Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - Look, if some kid followed me to college and changed the whole course of his life because I was nice about his dead bird? I'd be skeeved as fuck too. It's odd and uncomfortable, in that way Japan loves. Visuals are on point but can't say I'm enjoying it as yet. Still, it is JBL, and so I am intrigued and open to all possibilities.

It's airing but...

The Last Time (Thai Fri YT?) - Convoluted story of loss and possible reincarnation or something. Can't find it.

OMG Vampire (Thai Sun ???) 10 eps - I've put the search on hold for and y'all can let me know if it's worth tracking down once it ends?

In case you missed it

Blue Boys finished it run. I like it quite a bit. This felt a lot like a Strongberry short series. It’s very curtailed and could’ve used some legs but I've been trained into ignoring that for Korean BL. Short has always been their thing. Essentially, two boys who were acquaintances in high school are reunited and it turns out always had crushes on each other. It’s definitely an extrovert meets introvert scenario, and this being Korea, they can’t resist a tiny love triangle in the eleventh hour. But it all came out fine in the end. It has great kisses and higher heat than is normal from Korea. All in all, a surprisingly charming offering. Recommended with some reservations around the brevity of plot and character development. 8/10 

The Time of Fever AKA Unintentional Love Story 2 (Korea movie) trailer released to Korean theaters 5/25. HoTae & DongHee, side couple from Unintentional Love Story are back! Same actors, same character names. I love them. Devastated this hasn't had international distribution. I demand you tell me the moment you find it!

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

July Releases to Come

7/10 Century of Love (Thai Gaga) 10 eps - trailer here, DaouOffroad are back, this time as fated mates in a quasi historical paranormal moment. San has spent many lifetimes waiting for his lost beloved, to reincarnate from her death a century ago. But if he fails to find her within this century's time window, he will succumb to a tragic death. And this time she's a boy. Very much Director Who Buys Me Dinner meets First Love Again, hopefully better than both. I love this pair and think they can handle the premise, it's whether the storytelling is up to the challenge. I'm curious to see but I have reservations.

7/24 I Saw You in My Dream (Thai Weds WeTV) - Dee Hup is behind this one so I have high hopes. Younger boy chronically teased his whole life by the older boy next door suddenly starts having horrific prophetic dreams about his bully and must save hime.

7/26 4 Minutes (Thai Netflix or iQIYI?) - Great is a university student from Faculty of Business and the son of a wealthy business owner. Out of the blue, he gains the supernatural power to see four minutes into the future.

7/29 Battle of the Writers (Thai ????) - trailer here, TutorYim return and while I adore them, I really hope this is better than Middleman's Love. Won't be hard. However: that premise! Ugh. Something something authors fighting - save me. Why don't writers understand that nothing is more boring than writers?

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Product placement du jour! Also the only product placed in a BL that I regularly enjoy myself.

Yes I cried. I'm a sap.

The faens in the wive's positions! So cute.

All Wandee

(Last week)

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in it's infinite wisdom doesn't like too many tags.

There's these tricks, remember.

[lorbanery]

Someone has definitely written a fic where Terry McGinnis realizes and has to come to terms with the fact that his parents kind of fucked him up, right?

Like, he's Batman. Batman deals with fucked up families. Eventually he's gotta learn to recognize the red flags of an abusive household, of how kids act out when they're being mistreated at home, of what are appropriate consequences for behavior and how that changes based on the kid's age.

And I know the show tries to go out of its way to be like "well Terry really WAS a pretty badly behaved kid" like ooohh he was in JUVIE for a whole FEW MONTHS but also like

Let's really think about this for a second

This whole "Terry was a Bad Kid" narrative ultimately hinges on one particular event: His arrest alongside Charlie Bigelow. Now I don't think they ever mention how old Terry's supposed to be during the series, and they certainly never mention how old he was when he and Charlie got arrested. But we DO know that the arrest happened 4 years before the events of the series because in the episode where all of this backstory is elaborated on, they mention that Charlie's sentence was 4 years. Now, Terry's in high school, which narrows his present day age to between 14 and 18; but the fact his mother got custody after his dad died makes it pretty clear he can't be older than 17.

So if we're GENEROUS.

If we assume that Terry is 17 during the events of the series

that he's 17 when Charlie's released from jail after serving a 4 year prison sentence

that would make Terry, AT THE OLDEST ... 13 years old when he was arrested

thirteen

years

old

when his parents got divorced

thirteen years old

when his mother declared that she couldn't deal with him, that his father was the only one who could "control" him, and gave up custody of TERRY, but not of his little brother

thirteen years old when his parents SPLIT UP him and his little brother, who had to have been a kindergartner at the oldest at the time

Like this is cruel. With the exception of some extreme circumstances, you don't do that to kids. You don't just separate siblings like that. Like, not to say that it doesn't happen, just to say that I don't think I'm off-the-mark in assuming that pretty much every modern child development expert would very much suggest you DON'T DO THAT. Like I know there are folks out there who know very well how it feels, but for the rest of us just imagine being thirteen years old and your mom says she wants custody, but only of your sibling, she doesn't want custody of you.

PERSONALLY

I THINK THAT'S PRETTY FUCKED UP

Oh and let's not forget that it is at least heavily implied if not outright stated that this divorce was at least partially triggered by Warren suspecting Mary of cheating because these two redheads gave birth to two kids with jet black hair. Yeah I wonder why a tweenage Terry was so angry and spending a lot of time out on the streets instead of at home where his parents were constantly fighting about whether or not he was "actually" their kid?????

And it's not like she changed her tune about him after he moved in! At even the faintest WHIFF of rules bending she was ready with an accusation of Terry going back to his old ways. DESPITE him completely turning himself around. Like juvie worked for him the way authoritarians want it to! He spent a few months in juvie after doing One Bad Thing, got scared straight, and decided he was never going to do Bad Things again. Hooray! The fictional criminal justice system works! Sure he was still getting into fights, but he was doing it to try and help people. He did his time, he turned his life around, the boy is an A student, he's had four years proving himself Not a Delinquent. Yet Mary McGinnis is CONSTANTLY jumping on any excuse to assume that Terry's up to no good.

And I will admit that she's probably justified in jumping to conclusions initially upon finding drugs in Terry's backpack. But I still find it a bit EXTREME, given, again, his recent history up to that point, that Mary refuses to even CONSIDER believing Terry when he says they aren't his and he's not using them ... until he gets a drug screening.

And don't even get me started on the way Matt talks about him. This kid is in elementary school there's no way he's come to the conclusion all on his own that his older brother who, as far as we know, he hasn't even SEEN in FOUR YEARS is just a delinquent who's always secretly up to something. Oh but he's been living alone with Mary this whole time HHMMMMMMMMMM

I'm harping a lot on Mary here, but listen that's just because Warren's dead and so we only got to VERY BRIEFLY see him and Terry interact. Given that brief interaction? I don't have a problem assuming that he treated Terry much in the same way, as a delinquent constantly on the brink of a relapse. he just benefits from being killed off for Plot purposes so we can't see all the ways that plays out like with Mary.

Anyway it kills me every time Mary McGinnis treats her son like shit and Terry goes all

*pained bishounen face* Even if I didn't do what she's accusing me of, I still deserve her suspicion and I can't blame her for it.

[loki-us]

Welcome to my Mega Problematic Sylvie post

I wanted to make a list of everything problematic about Sylvie in s1 and s2 because she gets away with whatever she wants and it bugs me to no end that she never takes accountability for any of the pain she causes.

You have been warned. So let's get into it.

1. Sylvie’s way is the only way and she expects everyone else to just bend to her will without complaint

2. She is physically mentally and emotionally incapable of trusting anyone besides herself

3. She uses other people's emotions to manipulate them into getting what she wants

4. She refuses to even entertain the possibility that anything besides her own opinion is correct

5. She criticizes others' attempts to clean up the mess she caused while she herself does absolutely nothing about it

6. Always looking to ruin and run, taking the easy way out and avoiding any accountability

7. Puts her own need for revenge above the well-being of everyone else in the multiverse

8. Blames everyone else for the problems she herself caused

9. Insults everyone at the TVA for their lack of empathy despite it being the exact reason she didn't want to return in the first place. Every critique she delivers just illustrates how much of a hypocrite she is

10. Berates Mobius and all the people who are actually trying to fix her problem even though they never once blamed her for the mess they're in

11. Acts like she's doing everyone a favor just for being there and insulting everyone when in reality, Loki had to ask multiple times before finally getting her to return

12. Never willing to put in more effort than just destroying everything and walking away

13. Even when directly asked for her help, Sylvie straight up refuses. She couldn't care less about anything besides her McDonald's employee-of-the-month badge

14. Sylvie gaslights Loki into thinking they're the same, that she's not in the wrong because they're both only thinking of themselves. In reality, Sylvie is thinking only of going back to her own timeline, alone, while Loki is thinking only of making his friends happy, because that's what makes him happy too.

15. While being completely unsympathetic to Loki struggling with his greatest fear, Sylvie makes the decision that Loki's friend's are all better off where they are now. But is it really better for them, or just better for Sylvie?

16. And now, after 11 episodes and countless requests for Sylvie's help, she actually cares about the rest of the multiverse. And yet it's still solely because her own timeline is finally in danger

17. When Loki ends up sacrificing himself to solve the problem Sylvie created, her only response is a joyful shrug that she's now happy, alone, and responsibility-free.

Overall, I know Sylvie's only purpose as a character is to be a darker mirror of Loki and everything she does is understandably informed by her trauma. This is likely a result of having a limited-episode-series and having all male/not diverse writers creating female characters. Sylvie is used only as a comparison to Loki before he met Mobius, and unfortunately is never given any thoughtful character moments like Loki had showing how he was aware that his actions hurt others. In 1x1, Loki talks about how he doesn’t enjoy hurting people and only does it to maintain control. The only time we ever see Sylvie reconsider her actions is when she didn’t kill Timely, which I think is more because she saw herself in Timely as someone who didn’t want to be controlled by their ��destiny,’ not because she developed any kindness or compassion toward him.

I understand the fact that Sylvie was never given someone like Mobius to allow her the opportunity to change like Loki did, but I don't think that should excuse her causing so much pain and being so self-centered. Sylvie never trusted or cared about anyone and that's also my biggest argument against Sylki; her loving or being driven by anyone besides herself is just so inconsistent with her entire character.

Anyway, my purpose here was not to be hateful or to search for any reason to criticize Sylvie, but instead to look critically at her character since I've seen a lot of people praise her as the strong, independent female Loki whose behavior can always be forgiven. Unfortunately, the way she was written is that Sylvie turned her own trauma into everybody else's problem and they all spent 2 seasons trying to clean up her mess. That's my take thank you and goodnight

[mohnaka]

So, in regards to Hondo in Skeleton Crew since it's something I keep seeing people ask about: it was confirmed that he won't be appearing. Here's the specific bit from the article:

I’ve seen speculation that a live-action Hondo Ohnaka will appear in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. True or false? –Corey A freighter resembling Hondo’s was spotted in the distance at Port Borgo in Episode 2, but series creators Chris Ford and Jon Watts confirmed for me that we won’t be meeting the Clone Wars pirate. “We’ll rip off that Band-Aid and say no, we don’t have any Hondo,” Ford told TVLine. “Honestly, we love Hondo, but there wasn’t really a part in our story that offered a good enough role for him. Like, if we were trying to cast him in this, he would be like, ‘This part is not big enough for Hondo!'” Which is not to say Skeleton Crew, in success, won’t ever feature the interstellar buccaneer. “We would love to keep doing this,” Ford said, “and keep exploring the whole pirate side of the galaxy, and build up to that.”

There's always the chance they could be lying, but considering the wording, I don't think they are. But! He is coming in the next dlc for Star Wars Outlaws! No exact release date yet, sometime in spring. If you haven't played it yet, I highly recommend it.

Now on a side note, something else I've seen a lot of people ask/say in regards to Hondo showing up in media set after Rebels: isn't he already super old/dead/etc? Long story short, no. Short story long because I'm autistic and don't know when to shut up under the read more:

If you were somehow unaware (hoping that doesn't come off as judgmental, it's more of a surprised thing I swear!), he's actually a part of Galaxy's Edge aka "the Star Wars land" at Disneyland/Disney World, which is supposed to take place in between The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker (so about 34 ABY). Or at least it was initially, they've been kind of loosening it up lately, but the two rides (Rise of the Resistance and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, the latter of which Hondo is basically the star of) are still in that specific time range. So he's not dead nor is he going to die in anything set before the sequels (but then again, "Hondo Ohnaka survives every time", could be the Force keeps bringing him back to life to fuck with everyone).

In Legends, the approximate lifespan for his species (Weequay) was about 90 years of age. There's been no word on whether this is still canon or it's been made longer, but if it is still canon, it does give us an idea of how old he was in the various eras. If we're to assume he's somewhere between 80 to 85 years of age in 34 ABY (Lando, who he's shown to be on good terms with in issue 4 of the Halcyon Legacy comic, is 77/78 years in 34 ABY for reference), that would make him:

Between 25 to 30 years old when he's first introduced in The Clone Wars

Between 42 to 47 years old when he's first introduced in Rebels

And last but not least, between 55 to 60 years old in 9 ABY, which is (supposedly) when The Mandalorian/Skeleton Crew/etc takes place

Somewhere in the middle is most likely, since the younger estimate would put him at only 14 years old in 32 BBY (during The Phantom Menace), but 17 to 19 years old isn't that wild considering what we've seen older kids/teenagers deal with in this franchise. It's not completely unrealistic that someone with a background like his would be just starting off leading a group of pirates in his late teens.

Anyway, what's he been up to since Rebels? He actually founded his own Totally Legitimate Shipping Company, Ohnaka Transport Solutions, sometime in between 1 ABY and 4 ABY prior to the Battle of Endor. It's currently (as in, 34 ABY currently) based in Black Spire Outpost on Batuu, though whether it was always there is unknown. Also at some point he got himself a ship that he named the Katooni...yes, like that Katooni. In fact, it's the one mentioned in the above interview about Hondo appearing in Skeleton Crew, so in a sense, he might have already had a indirect cameo!

Sources for most of this/recommended reading: Pirate's Price, The Secrets of the Bounty Hunters, and Halcyon Legacy #4. If you're looking for Hondo content outside the shows, read these. Especially Pirate's Price if you've always wondered what it'd be like if Han and Hondo met. And as previously mentioned, Halcyon Legacy #4 has him with (the real) Lando.

[octoberland]

Invisible

Only TWD would get me to come back here writing my fandom thoughts. It's a landmine because you never know how people will react. I am going to share some deeply personal thoughts. I ask that you treat this vulnerability with the respect that it deserves. Spoilers for tonight's episode. And a trigger warning for my personal experiences with abuse.

I met Carol 14 years ago. It was a time in my life when she was a mirror for me. Meek, scared, abused Carol. The little mouse. Jumping when Ed said jump.

By the time the show aired that year I had extricated myself from my situation. But I was still terrified every day. I mostly didn't sleep at night. When I did sleep, I would prop things against the doors so I could hear if someone came in. I would rarely be out of the house at night. On the occasions I was outside after dark I would be walking with my heart in my throat, beating the loudest of drums in my ears. Every stranger was a potential threat. Every shadow could be him coming back to kill me.

I latched onto Carol in my fear and despair. I understood her. Related to her. Felt inspired by her. I was hers from the moment she bashed Ed's skull in. It was so cathartic watching her do that. I wished I could have that moment in my life.

Like her, people judged me. People blamed me for being with a man like that. Said I must like bad boys. Said I liked the attention. Asked why I didn't just leave. It's all so easy to dissect when you're on the outside.

Unlike Carol I didn't have a walker to take out my abuser. I extricated myself. It was one of the most difficult things I've ever done. And it came with great risk. And I mostly did it alone.

I watched as she grew strong. And I grew strong too. Like her, I learned to fight. To be fair, she was not my only influence there. I have Captain America/Chris Evans to thank for that too. I hope someday I get to tell him that story. But watching her grow was an inspiration.

Like many people, I was moved by her ability to connect with Daryl. You don't understand how hard that can be after abuse. It's been 14 years and I've still not been in another relationship. I may never be again. That kind of abuse leaves an indelible mark on you.

But with him she blossomed. Sexually, emotionally, and just as a human. I admired her ability to do that.

The trauma was still there though. We saw that. Her edges became too sharp. Her distance too cold. But I get it. I really, truly get it.

But through it all her relationship with Daryl remained. They were each other's North Star. Not perfect, but constant.

But the sad truth is, at the end of the day these characters don't belong to us. They are written by flawed humans with personal agendas and like with any long running series, the longer it runs the higher chance for writers to fuck things up.

Before I dive more specifically into tonight's episode and the Book of Carol let me just say that I still love Carol and I still love Daryl and I still love Caryl. If you want to stop reading here just know that Carol remains an icon to me for very personal reasons. But that is part of why I'm writing this.

Potential spoilers beyond the cut.

The writing this season is sloppy, imho. And this is where I put my writer hat on and try to look at things more objectively. It seems like Gimple is mining the past because it's "cool" and not because he actually wants to address any long standing trauma that Carol has.

Everyone's trauma journey is different and I get that. But after 14 years I doubt that Carol is going to start panicking when going into a barn. In fact, we've already seen her entering barns in early seasons without any issues. I wish the show had consulted some trauma experts. They could have provided some examples of things that might actually set her off. Like seeing a little girl walker. Or meeting a child named Sophia. And speaking of that, I know Carol is supposed to be tough and sneaky and all that but the episode where she lied about her daughter to get the plane really bothered me. If the memory of her daughter is so traumatic I feel like she would not use her daughter like that.

This reunion episode was a missed opportunity to explore trauma in a more meaningful way. It was a missed opportunity for Carol and Daryl to have some truly meaningful conversations. I know I've said this before but she FLEW ACROSS THE OCEAN. DURING AN APOCALYPSE. And all he basically did was grunt one liners at her and lie about how he never stopped trying to get back to her. These two deserve to have a real conversation where they talk about how incredible what she did was. They need to talk about what that means for each of them. And I'm not even talking about romance. Daryl has never had anyone do anything like that for him. Does he understand how profound an act that was? If he ever had any doubt as to how much Carol cared for him this should have erased it. And for Carol, this could also be a wake up call for her too. While being hard and cunning is good for survival, this is an opportunity for her to be vulnerable. To express what he means to her. Or to maybe even face any codependence she has with Daryl.

I feel bad what happened to Isabelle. It kind of feels like an FU to her character. As much as I love Caryl I'm not in support of fridging women for a ship or for man pain. I'm glad we got to see her and Carol together but I wish we could have seen them together a little longer. Again, there is a missed opportunity for some really interesting conversations.

I can't help but feel that this show is suffering under the leadership of male writers and showrunners. There's such nuance to be had here and it's being funneled down to base tropes. Genet is evil because her husband died. Carol is just now having flashbacks to something that happened a decade ago because we need her to grow emotionally and we can't think of another way to do that without mining her motherhood. Isabelle has to die because God forbid two adults actually have a conversation about emotions.

I honestly can't guess where this series is going right now. Every time I think I know what is going to happen something else happens instead. Normally this would be a good thing but here it just feels sloppy. Are they dicking around Caryl? Will they kill her? Or him? Or do they plan for this to go into more seasons? I haven't a clue. But it feels like whiplash, like they are trying to make the characters grow too quickly to fit an agenda without doing the real work people need to do. A hug from an old lady won't cure trauma.

I think mostly I just wish Carol and Daryl would have a real conversation before all this is over.

Anyway, that's my rant. I did like the old married couple joke in the car. And I'm glad Carol's not dead. But I hope we get to see some real connection.