#i was fighting for my life with the 'brothers reunite' ep

[mothymayhem]

In theory, and concept? I adore Nexus. Transfem icon and a bad bitch who deserved to pop off and probs needs her ass beat and some therapy.

In execution? Guys everytime Nexus speaks I lose 5 years off my life. Why- why does he say the things he does? What - babygirl, go to a rage room, break some shit and we'll like, talk then. I just can't handle this energy in the studio right now.

[factorygirlsstuff]

Currently watching: Brewing Love, The Judge From Hell, Family By Choice & Love Game in Eastern Fantasy.

I started watching kdramas in May 2023 (updated 4/17/24)

My personal top 10:

It’s Okay to not be Okay (top fav) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A road to emotional healing opens up for an antisocial children's book author and an employee in a psychiatric hospital. (amazing chemistry & found family)

Crash Landing on You ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A paragliding mishap drops a South Korean heiress in North Korea - and into the life of an army officer, who decides he will help her hide. (lots of crying but worth it)

Hometown Cha Cha Cha ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

At a crossroads, a dentist moves to a seaside village where she meets a handyman intent on helping his neighbours. (my most rewatched)

Her Private Life ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Dedicated art gallery curator Sung Deok Mi is a fanatic fan girl of White Ocean's Cha Shi-an, a dark secret she hides from everyone. (really supportive relationship, weird last couple of eps)

Business Proposal ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

In disguise as her friend, Ha-ri shows up on a blind date to scare away her friend's prospective suitor. However, plans go awry when he turns out to be Ha-ri's CEO and he makes a proposal. (my first kdrama! Super cute & funny)

Touch Your Heart ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A famous actress, gets caught in a scandal with a son of a rich family; with her career declining quickly, she looks for one last hope to get back on the screen. She lands a role playing a secretary in a drama & then becomes a real secretary in order to play the part. (Healthy relationship, office romance)

Welcome to Samdalri ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

After suffering a fall from grace, a photographer returns to her hometown and bumps into her childhood friend, rekindling an unfinished romance. (childhood friends to lovers & slice of life/healing)

Happiness ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The residents of a high-rise apartment fight for their lives against a deadly infectious disease while Sae-bom and Yi-hyun try to find the person because of whom the virus spread. (I think I really love friends to lovers)

Something in the Rain ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

When a single career woman reunites with her best friend's younger brother after he returns from three years of working abroad, their efforts to reconnect grow into romance. (they just felt so real to me, the romance was 🤌🏼, worst mom)

Cheer Up ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A working-class girl joins her college's down-and-out cheerleading team, where she finds friendship, love, and an old-school campus mystery. (idk they felt real too, worst SML though)

Other kdramas I finished:

Healer ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (binged in 2 days)

What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (love PMY)

Love to Hate You ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (Maybe I binged it too fast, but I don’t remember it lol)

Our Beloved Summer ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (too slow for me & I usually don’t mind slow)

True To Love ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (main leads romance was everything)

Forecasting Love & Weather ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (something was off/missing)

Vincenzo ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (🫰🏼)

When the Weather is Fine ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (kinda slow but I binged it fast lol)

Squid Game ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

All of Us are Dead ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (I like zombie shows)

Alchemy of Souls ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Alchemy of Souls: Light & Shadow ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (the romance 🫰🏼)

Suspicious Partner ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (dragged in the middle but loved this couple)

Save Me ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (so good, just hard subject matter)

Shooting Stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (loved the main couple so much & so many other cute couples!)

Doona! ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (omg her visual, binged so fast)

Itaewon Class ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (binged so fast)

Descendants of the Sun ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (binged in 2 days)

Castaway Diva ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (first kdrama to watch while airing)

The Matchmakers ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (first sageuk, thought they were adorable)

Crazy Love ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (it was good, but didn’t do it for me 🤷🏻‍♀️)

Moving ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (I didn’t like all the flashbacks, but it was good overall)

Backstreet Rookie ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (for some reason I loved this couple so much, problematic SML & annoying SFL)

School 2017 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (just perfect)

Dalie and the Cocky Prince ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (the pet names 🥰)

Soundtrack #1 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (another friends to lovers)

Behind Your Touch ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (idk why but I loved it, it was so funny to me lol)

Thirty But Seventeen ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (great romance & cutest found family)

Kiss Sixth Sense ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (really liked it, last 20 minutes idk 🤷🏻‍♀️)

I Am Not A Robot ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (loved this, dragged a little in the middle)

My Man is Cupid ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (SML annoyed me, the cutest ending 🥰)

Gyensong Creature ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (I liked it, but it didn’t end I guess. So I’m waiting for season 2)

Cafe Minamdang ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (loved it so much! It made me laugh & loved the FL!)

My Man is Cupid ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (it was cute)

Marry My Husband ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (it was a lot of fun & loved watching it weekly with everyone)

My Holo Love ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (it was fine, only 12 eps so it was quick & slow burn romance.)

Queen of Divorce ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (it started off really interesting, but some things were never explained & I wanted more romance between the leads)

Doom at Your Service ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (I really liked it, the romance was SO good, but I was a little confused about how the contract worked.)

Doctor Slump ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (loved it SO much! Everything was so cute & loved the romance)

Flex x Cop ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (really loved it, gave me Castle vibes. #1 drama I was looking forward to every week. No romance, although we are getting a 2nd season so fingers crossed.)

Chicken Nugget ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (it was definitely weird, but I laughed a lot)

Wedding Impossible ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (really liked it, cute romcom)

Fight For My Way ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (loved it so much, binged it in a day! I could not stop watching, friends to lovers really is the best.)

Rookie Cops ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (really liked it at first, put on hold for a month, then the last few episodes were good again.)

Parasyte: The Grey ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (it was really good)

Mad for Each Other ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (so good! Loved everything about it, especially the couple)

Dropped: (I might try again 🤷🏻‍♀️)

Run On

Goblin

Hotel De Luna

Weight Lifting Fairy, Kim Bok-joo

King the Land

My Demon

True Beauty

The K2

Destined With You

The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract

Perfect Marriage Revenge

Moon in the Day

A Good Day to be a Dog

Open to recommendations!

[em-harlsnow]

all my works - the master list!

here's a list of all my current works on AO3:

what I'm currently working on: iron bars

fluff/humour:

only you (not your brother) - someone mistakes Mickey and Lip for being married, and neither are very happy about that

butterflies - a collection of small, sweet actions in their married life

I like taking pictures (as long as you're in them) - Ian has many photos of Mickey on his phone and Lip discovers them

Welcome Home (outside POV) - all the Gallaghers' reactions for Mickey coming home from prison in season 10

I see you as you see yourself (outside POV) - Fiona's boyfriend Sean's point of view on Gallavich in season 6 as if they never broke up

mostly fluff, light angst:

you're all talk - mickey talks a lot, and not many people realise it. Ian just loves it

Gallaghers and group chats - text conversations between various Gallagher family members over the years (ranging from snapchats between gallavich and a family group chat)

not everything's a struggle - Mickey still suffers from his childhood injuries even years later, and Ian convinces him to get some help

Mystery of Artist Mickey Milkovich - Ian discovering old drawings that Mickey made of him

what do you know? (outside POV) - Tami gets snowed in with the Gallaghers and learns about Ian and Mickey

angst:

It's Dark Tonight (will you stay?) - Ian witnesses Mickey getting hurt by Terry and takes him back to the Gallagher house to look after him set in season 3 (MY FIRST EVER FIC)

motherhood and what comes of it - mickey's mother returns after all these years and wants to see mickey set in season 10

iron bars (WIP) - Ian and mickey's time in prison in season 9, including difficult conversations and playfully reuniting

miscellaneous:

I'll fight everyone but you (AU) - Ian and mickey are in opposing gangs and have to work out how to be together

white knights and friends - just a season 3 ep 5 canon divergence of mickey protecting mandy (my absolute least favourite of all, I wrote it in like an hour and never checked it over)

cardinal sin is a vivid red - depiction of mickey's feelings when Ian leaves for the army (I tried to use a different writing style)

group projects:

s'more of you (AU) (WIP) - Mickey and Ian meet for the first time when they work at a camp together in the summer

my personal faves (should I have favourites of my own work?):

motherhood and what comes of it

welcome home

iron bars

Gallaghers and group chats

love you all, I'll be editing this as I go!

<3

[mayfly-stampede]

why is Vash distant with Meryl and Roberto?

(warnings: long post ahead, ep 5-8 spoilers, Trigun maximum manga spoilers)

after saying they were friends

after he insisted in looking them inside the worm and risked his life to save them

After all that…

“They’re not my friends”

(Yes, that broke my heart too T_T)

what happened?

Well, we have to accept Vash has met and helped and saved A LOT of people in his life cause (SPOILER) he has lived many, MANY years.

In the manga, he meets a lot of people in his adventures and we don’t know if he sees them again (even though we know they’re worry about him and are waiting news from him). Rosa in TS is a reference to this. She met Vash time ago and talks with him like a good friend.

But Meryl and Roberto are just another two more he just met like many others before them. Have they done something important for Vash that makes them more special to him? …Not really.

Maybe in the car when Meryl is worried about Vash not eating in three days…and we know him, he could pretend to be asleep but actually is aware of everything. He could heard her…

nevertheless he says goodbye to them really easily. Specially cause he is going to confront his older brother and doesn’t want anyone to get hurt, just like the friend he lost the day before.

And now he is distant with Nicholas too (SPOILER) cause after he defended him, he killed Rollo.

Clean, one shot…Impressive.

Who is Nicholas really? Why is he following Vash?

What if getting Nicholas away from the reporters and letting him believe Meryl and Roberto are not special to him is the best chance to keep them safe?

And when he reunites with them again, he is genuinely surprised and maybe worried like “I just got you out of my typhoon life and now you are here again??”

That reminds me all the moments in the manga when Vash recognizes he just can’t get rid of the insurance girls following him everywhere.

He is under their supervision to avoid disaster…but that gives them more like a passive role where they are just there keeping an eye over Vash.

at the beginning, the girls just follow him like Meryl stampede and Roberto are doing right now, and like Vash ‘23, Vash in the manga doesn’t interact too much with Meryl and Milly when they just met (he hides from them actually).

In 98’ anime, he asks them to stop following him when his situation was too dangerous for them.

And even though they’re good fight partners, Wolfwood is the only one who can fight side to side with him, so they have more adventures together most of the time without the girls.

Maybe that’s why we feel a cold relationship with Meryl and Roberto, cause Vash is always fighting and running…

And when Vash ‘23 sees them again he doesn’t have time to talk. He has to protect them and the other people in the sand-steamer, defeat the Bad Lads and then go back to help Nicholas, who actually does have a heart and has someone to protect, so he can’t be that bad…

And now that he knows they helped him in the sand-steamer all we can do is wait and see if their relationship evolves…

[springsheep]

War of Faith Notes Ep. 37 - 38

Ep 37 -> Train station: transportation of ores.

Wei Ruolai sees Shen Tunan. Shen Tunan also knows this time WRL is doing the mission. Both of them have plans, one to steal the ore (WRL) and one to protect the ore from Communists (STN).

Wei Ruolai imitated Shen Tunan's signature so that WRL and co can steal back the tungsten ore.

WRL's face when he sees his xiansheng ahh

The ore is safely transported. (I need shenlai aah... plus, one more ep to gooo)

Ep 38 -> Communists exchange ore for medicine for their soldiers.

Shen Tunan: This time, I must personally catch Wei Ruolai to make amends.

Lin Qiaosong has gay flashbacks of Wenbiao (he died in that eps with the bomb id remember which one).

Lin Qiaosong tells Meijuan the truth (that he killed her brother). Tells her he probably won't return from this mission this time and to take his savings and go to Hong Kong, tells her if there's a next life he will marry her.

Wei Ruolai: From that moment when we step on the train, the fight with Shen Tunan is inevitable.

Hung Congyun: Xiansheng, I've checked the carriage and there's no sign of WRL.

Shen Tunan doesn't do anything.

Lin Qiaosong: Shen Tunan, don't think that I don't know you've been buying time for Wei Ruolai!!

Lin Qiaosong: The higher ups think you're a piece of shit, Shen Tunan! When you die, you should wait for Wei Ruolai to join you, and then you both and look for Shen Jinzhen!

WHAT THE FUCK.

Lin Qiaosong shot Shen Tunan (once), and then Huang Congyun quickly covered Shen Tunan with his body so HCY is shot several times. They're both dead(??) PLEASE don't let Huang Congyun die omg... i know he was as bit of a jerk but really he's a good guy omggg

Shootout between communists and Lin Qiaosong's people. kong is dead, i got distracted because Wei Ruolai in uniform is handsome haha

NOOOOOO huang congyun died... he tells Shen Tunan he already knows (that Shen Tunan is helping the communists). god Huang congyun's actor is so good.

Huang Congyun deserves better, honestly. I also want to know his backstory, why is he so loyal to Shen Tunan? God he really deserves better.

Shen Tunan was wearing the bulletproof vest.

Lin Qiaosong and Wei Ruolai face off, Wei Ruolai is almost killed but then Shen Tunan shoots Lin Qiaosong.

Shen Tunan: Jinzhen's death... was also your fault. Wei Ruolai: Xiansheng, I know it's you. I wouldn't have been able to complete my mission if it hadn't been for you.

Shenlai gives each other loving, longing looks.

Omg.... so after visiting Jiangxi, Shen Tunan has always been a spy (helping the communists). He told Wei Ruolai (through code) that the price was 70 so Wei Ruolai could complete his mission.

In 1936 Shen Tunan (aka comrade Guyan) reunites with Wei Ruolai to create "financial legends" aka to fuck and get married finally.

[wuxianphobic]

RECS

hello and welcome to my masterlist of lgbt media i’ve watched and recommend, sorted by country of origin and including any relevant trigger/content warnings. pls enjoy the ride i have adhd and i love making lists

i’m a tv show bitch so most of these are series, movies will have a publication year next to them in parentheses. ones with an asterisk* next to them are ones my best friend @sunshinerotting has also seen and recommends <3 if you want to get the Vibes of these individual shows/movies you can check out my #recs tag

as a general rule i try not to recommend things with sad endings, but some of my favorites do end sad so for those i’ll put a note on where to stop if you prefer to end when it’s still happy

honorable mentions include merlin (fantasy, monster-of-the-week, comedy, drama, Strong Male Friendship), the get down (historical drama, social commentary, musical, side mlm couple), itaewon class (revenge drama, realistic fiction, side trans character), romantic killer (anime, comedy, found family, supernatural element, side nonbinary character), and wynonna earp (fantasy western, supernatural element, side wlw couple). pls send me an ask or a message if you want tws for any of these ones. now on with the masterlist:

CHINESE (MAINLAND)

THE UNTAMED* mlm (censored), historical fantasy/wuxia, drama, comedy

brought back sixteen years after his death to seek revenge on the abusive family of a young man, wei wuxian is given another chance at life, but most of the cultivation world is still cursing his name. his story is unfolded in its entirety, from his childhood to his fame and infamy and ultimately his death, and in his second life he is reunited with lan wangji, the man who was by his side for it all

warnings: war, torture, SA, incest, suicide

THAI

MANNER OF DEATH mlm, crime thriller, mystery, realistic fiction, drama

when his friend jane dies under mysterious circumstances, medical examiner bun must find out the truth of what happened to her as the police try to rule her death a suicide. he (begrudgingly) gets help from jane’s assumed boyfriend tan, bun’s top suspect who has secrets of his own

warnings: discussion of depression + suicide, violence, guns, SA, child endangerment

DON’T SAY NO mlm, comedy, drama, school setting, sports team

longtime friends leo and fiat have to learn to renavigate their relationship after they begin dating, while also dealing with people trying to pull them apart. meanwhile, leo’s brother leon tries to catch the attention of an older student who would rather talk to his cat than to leon

warnings: family issues, SA, homophobia, blackmail/revenge porn, slutshaming, negative portrayal of mental illness

BAD BUDDY mlm, side wlw couple, comedy, drama, school setting, enemies to lovers

pat and pran, childhood enemies, are reunited in college where their respective departments also have a deep rivalry. under orders from the school to stop the fights between their departments, pat and pran have to work together to keep their groups apart on campus, leading to them begrudgingly (at first) spending more time together

warnings: guns (ep 9)

NOT ME* mlm, side trans character, political/crime thriller, drama, supernatural element

when his twin brother black is beat up and put in the ICU, white goes undercover as him in his gang to find out who might have hurt him. white has to keep up his cover while also dealing with his developing feelings for sean, who is suspicious of “black’s” sudden change in personality. as time goes on, white realizes that he doesn’t know nearly as much about his brother or the world as he thought he did

warnings: violence, kidnapping, guns, house fire, police brutality

LOVE IN THE AIR mlm, realistic fiction, comedy, drama, enemies to lovers

rain is pissed to find out that the girl he likes has a crush on payu, a mechanic and alumni from his department who everyone is in love with. feeling that payu—confident, popular, and well aware of it—needs to be put in his place, he sets out to make payu fall stupid in love with him. meanwhile, payu’s charming friend prapai tries to get the attention of rain’s best friend sky, much to sky’s annoyance (or so it seems)

warnings: SA, past and attempted rape, kidnapping, past abuse, undernegotiated d/s

MOONLIGHT CHICKEN mlm, deaf character, drama, realistic fiction

after passing out in a diner, wen meets and takes an interest in the restaurant’s owner jim, who decidedly does not do relationships. wen begins working at the diner while attempting to break down jim’s walls and get to know him better. meanwhile, jim’s nephew befriends and falls for a teenage boy his age who hasn’t left the house since he lost his hearing

warnings: homophobia, ableism, family issues

YES OR NO (2010) wlw, comedy, drama, school setting, enemies to lovers

traditional girl pie is horrified to discover that her new roommate kim is a tomboy. at first she refuses to interact with her, but kim is friendly to her and as time goes on they become closer, leading them both to wonder if there’s something more than just friendship between them

warnings: homophobia, attempted self-harm

KOREAN

COLOR RUSH mlm, drama, supernatural element, mystery

in a world of people who can’t see color (monos) unless they meet a specific person (probes), high schooler yeonwoo has no interest in ever meeting his probe. but when yoohan, a classmate, discovers that he is yeonwoo’s probe, he dedicates himself to teaching yeonwoo the names and the beauty of all the colors he couldn’t see before

warnings: obsession, discussion of violent crime/cannibalism, suicide attempt, psych ward scene

SEMANTIC ERROR mlm, side wlw character, comedy, school setting, opposites attract

left the sole person to do all the work in a group project, serious student chu sangwoo exposes the other students in his group, delaying the graduation of jang jaeyoung, a carefree art student. with his graduation delayed, jaeyoung sets out to annoy sangwoo in any way he can. to make things worse, jaeyoung also happens to be the same designer that sangwoo contacted for help on making a video game for a class project

warnings: none

THE EIGHTH SENSE mlm, drama, realistic fiction, school setting, sports club

after moving from the country to seoul for college, art student kim jihyun meets seo jaewon, an older student just back from the military who’s determined to be his friend. jihyun joins the surfing club that jaewon is president of, and as jaewon teaches him to surf they grow closer despite jaewon’s depression and his ex-girlfriend’s jealousy

warnings: depression, discussion of suicide, family issues, nonconsensual kissing, implied substance abuse, age gap relationship

SHE MAKES MY HEART FLUTTER wlw, comedy, drama, realistic fiction, bar setting

gang seol, a young unemployed lesbian, discovers a hole-in-the-wall women-only bar only to find out the owner is her aunt jung one, who is also a lesbian. seol begins working at the bar, and her openness with her own sexuality causes some conflict between them as seol tries to bring attention to the small lesbian bar that jung one has carefully cultivated to be under the radar and unassuming

warnings: none

THE HANDMAIDEN (2016) wlw, psychological thriller, mystery, drama, period piece

a young pickpocket named sookhee is hired by a con man named fujiwara to work as the handmaiden to the heiress lady hideko. sookhee's role is to convince hideko to marry fujiwara so he can defraud her and inherit her fortune before locking hideko up in a psychiatric asylum, but hideko is not as fragile as she seems

warnings: violence against women, SA, attempted rape, suicide attempt, psych ward scene, incest

JAPANESE

YUURI!!! ON ICE mlm (censored), sports anime, comedy, drama, realistic fiction

anxious figure skater katsuki yuuri heads home after a big loss to rediscover his passion for skating. when a video of him skating to one of famed victor nikiforov’s routines goes viral, victor shows up at his house and insists on personally coaching yuuri, who has absolutely no idea how to deal with his idol being this close to him

warnings: fatphobia, anxiety attacks

CHERRY MAGIC!/CHERRY MAGIC! THE MOVIE (2022)* mlm, comedy, drama, supernatural powers, workplace romance

legend has it that if you’re still a virgin by your 30th birthday, you’ll get magical powers. shy office worker adachi doesn’t think much of this until it happens to him—when he turns 30, he gains the ability to read people’s minds when he touches them! and what’s more, he finds out that somehow, the handsome office darling kurosawa has a crush on him

warnings: sexual harassment, age gap relationship (side couple)

MY BEAUTIFUL MAN (UTSUKUSHII KARE)/MY BEAUTIFUL MAN: ETERNAL (UTSUKUSHII KARE: ETERNAL) (2023)* mlm, drama, realistic fiction, school setting, idol character (kind of)

hira, a shy high schooler with a stutter, develops a crush on his idol trainee classmate kiyoi. with his self-esteem nonexistent, he doesn’t think that kiyoi could ever take an interest in him, but kiyoi notices hira always looking at him and starts doing everything in his power to keep hira’s gaze on him

warnings: bullying, obsessive behavior, kidnapping (eternal)

SILHOUETTE OF YOUR VOICE (2017)* mlm, hoh character, drama, realistic fiction, school setting

taichi stumbles upon and befriends kohei, a fellow student at his school who gives taichi his lunch one day. seeing that kohei, who is hard of hearing, is looking for a note taker, taichi offers to take on the role in exchange for kohei bringing him a lunch from home on the days they have class. since taichi’s voice is naturally loud, kohei finds it easy to communicate with him and taichi encourages him to advocate for himself

warnings: ableism

CANADIAN

CLOUDBURST (2011)* wlw, comedy, drama, realistic fiction

stella and dotty, two elderly lesbians, escape their nursing home and go on a roadtrip to canada to get legally married. on the way, they pick up a hitchhiker named prentice who is also heading to canada to visit his mother, and the three of them bond

warnings: fatphobia, dick and balls just on screen at one point

SINGLE ALL THE WAY (2021)* mlm, romantic comedy, christmas setting, best friends to lovers

chronically single peter goes home for the holidays accompanied by his best friend nick. his family members are caught between trying to set up peter and a gay personal trainer and trying to set up peter and nick, who they are convinced are in love and just don’t see it

warnings: none

AMERICAN

HANNIBAL* mlm, side wlw couple, horror, psychological thriller, drama, crime thriller

will graham is recruited into active field work in the fbi despite his and others’ concerns that he is too mentally unstable. in order to combat this, his boss jack brings in psychiatrist hannibal lecter who is, unbeknownst to anyone, a serial killer and a cannibal. hannibal and will develop a mutual fascination with each other as will’s mental health worsens

warnings: manipulation, gaslighting, body horror, guns, gore, animal death, psych ward scenes, suicide attempt, implied incest, implied SA

JENNIFER’S BODY (2009)* wlw, horror, comedy, supernatural powers, school setting

after a mysterious fire at a bar concert, reserved teen needy lesnicki notices unnerving changes in her best friend jennifer check, a domineering and popular cheerleader, who shows up at needy’s house covered in blood. now jennifer is possessed by a demon and killing off boys in their class, and her next victim is needy’s boyfriend chip

warnings: gore, ableist slurs, possession, psych ward scenes, fatphobia, self-harm

KISSING JESSICA STEIN (2001)* wlw, romantic comedy, drama

with her brother engaged, her best friend pregnant, and a lot of unsuccessful first dates, jessica stein responds to a women seeking women ad in the newspaper and meets helen cooper, an openly bisexual woman. the two start going out despite jessica’s internalized homophobia which causes her to keep their relationship a secret, upsetting helen

warnings: biphobia. also the ending is disappointing imho so i’d suggest turning it off after they move in together

BUT I’M A CHEERLEADER (1999)* wlw, romantic comedy, teen, satire

megan’s friends and family have to break the news to her that she is, in fact, a lesbian, much to her shock. her parents then send her to a conversion camp where she meets a bunch of other gay teens; they are supposed to learn to be straight again through enforcing traditional gender norms and activities. while there, megan falls for graham, a rebellious lesbian in the same program

warnings: homophobia, slurs

BOUND (1996)* wlw, crime thriller, mob movie

while doing remodeling work in an apartment building, corky meets and starts an affair with violet, the girlfriend of the mobster who lives next door. wanting to get out of the mob, violet enlists corky’s help to trick her boyfriend out of $2 million, but things don’t go as planned

warnings: guns, blood, homophobia, slurs, assault, violence

BRITISH

HEARTSTOPPER* mlm, side trans character, side wlw couple, romantic comedy, drama, teen, realistic fiction

charlie spring, a shy high school student, develops a crush on a sweet, supposedly straight rugby jock named nick nelson, much to the horror of charlie’s protective best friend tao. meanwhile, after transitioning, elle attempts to make friends at the all-girls school she transferred to

warnings: attempted SA, emotional abuse, homophobia, implied ED behavior, slurs

SUMMERLAND (2020)* wlw, period piece, drama, realistic fiction

in WWII, an asshole writer named alice lamb is assigned a london evacuee boy named frank to take care of, much to her horror. as she warms up to frank and explains to him the mythical summerland that she studies, she recalls her romance with a beautiful woman named vera

warnings: war, bombs

TAIWANESE

YOUR NAME ENGRAVED HEREIN (2020) mlm, drama, period piece, school setting

jiahan meets outspoken birdy at their catholic high school, and the two of them grow closer and develop feelings for each other in a time of rampant homophobia. but when their all-boys school begins integrating girls, birdy starts hanging out with a girl named banban, upsetting jiahan

warnings: familial abuse, SA, homophobia, violence, slurs

HISTORY 3: MAKE OUR DAYS COUNT mlm, drama, comedy, school setting, opposites attract

when his girlfriend takes an interest in the reserved and studious yu xigu, rowdy troublemaker haoting and his friends begin to prank xigu. but when one of the pranks goes awry, haoting feels bad and focuses his attention instead on getting to know xigu, who grows less wary of him as they spend more time together

warnings: homophobia, family issues, age gap relationship (side couple), implied ED behaviors. i really like the characters in this one but the side couple is a high schooler and an adult + it made me very uncomfortable so please be careful. also, i’m saying this because i care about you all—skip the last episode. trust me.

WE BEST LOVE mlm, comedy, drama, rivals to lovers, school setting (no. 1 for you)/workplace romance (fighting mr. 2nd)

hotheaded, competitive zhou shuyi is ready to start college without his longtime personal rival gao shide beating him in everything. at least, until he finds out shide, who finds shuyi’s distaste for him funny, is once again attending the same school as him

warnings: nonconsensual kiss, internalized homophobia

FILIPINO

PEARL NEXT DOOR* wlw, romantic comedy, drama, love triangle

a spin-off from the mlm show gameboys centered around pearl, who is trying to have an epic romance but can’t decide between karleen, the girl she’s been crushing on who doesn’t seem interested in her (until she does), and alex, a new girl who makes her feelings for pearl very clear

warnings: biphobia

i’ll probably update this as i watch more. pls feel free to let me know if you watch any of my recs and what you think of them! <3

[mtdthoughts]

The Twins' Motivations Pt. 1 (Migi & Dali Analysis)

After thinking a lot about this series, I think I'm pretty confident enough in my understanding of the twins.

Specifically, I think I understand what exactly drove them in their decisions throughout the story and in their mission to avenge their mother.

The short answer is that their *platonic* love for each other served as their motivator, as they each held the other as the most important to them. I feel like that's quite obvious by now, but there are some differences between what they did and feel, and this post will seek to explain the details fully.

Part 2 here.

Spoilers below, of course.

First, let's begin with Migi, who's easier to understand (IMO). We all know how obedient and trusting Migi is towards Dali. Sure, Dali may boss him around and throw him into situations he does not want to be in, and we do see Migi sometimes being vocal to the viewer about his complaints. Yet, Migi always sucks it up and goes along with Dali's wishes anyway; hell, he even does things for Dali without being told, such as when he decided to befriend Eiji while Dali was sick, and when he decided to stay with Reiko while pretending to be a baby despite Dali's worries for his safety. Even after Migi separated and later reunited with Dali, he's still (mostly) obedient to Dali, such as when he willingly let Dali stay in his shadow near the end of the story.

It's quite clear that Migi has always admired Dali and looked up to him as his cool and smart older brother, and relied on him for comfort and validation. Thus, it is likely that Migi's obedience to Dali stems from this, and perhaps he viewed the mission of avenging their mother as a means of satisfying Dali and earning his approval. Sure, Migi has always been quite attached to his mother Metry, but the fact is that he's been with Dali a lot longer than her. Over time, he has subconsciously replaced her with Dali, which explains the dependence on Dali he's shown in the first half of the story and why he was keen on being like him.

It's also clear that Migi is not Dali, and certainly executing a mission like theirs would be difficult, especially for Migi who doesn't have the same talents and skills as Dali. Migi seems to be aware of this, which leads to a sense of insecurity as seen in Chapter 11 right before he started a fight with himself. Thus, Migi seems to have been under constant pressure to do his best for Dali and make him proud despite his perceived inadequacies, which explains why he was so happy that he could put his impersonation skills to good use in Chapter 9 and why he was so nervous towards Dali about the bedwetting in Chapter 10. However, as time went on, this pressure seems to have decreased over time with the introduction of the Sonoyamas, Akiyama and of course Sali.

Thus, it makes sense that Migi was willing to give up on revenge in Chapter 30 (Ep 8). Though he did love Metry, he recognized that his actions in avenging their mother wasn't for her sake, but rather Dali's. He was willing to endure hardship (e.g. being bullied by Maruta, acting as a baby) because he wanted Dali's approval and for him to be happy, because he believed that Dali loved him. However, the discovery of Sali's identity threw all of this into question. With Dali hurting Migi, Migi doubted that Dali actually loved him, and perhaps began to think that Dali only cared about himself. With this idea in his mind, Migi then broke away from Dali to pursue his own happiness and a life where he won't get hurt because of Dali.

However, he realized his mistake when in Chapter 33 Eiji pointed out the truth that he believed for so long, that Dali really did love him. Migi soon found out the pain and suffering he's caused Dali, and that even though Dali appeared to be strong, he was just as vulnerable and lonely as him.

After almost losing his brother forever, Migi became determined to never let Dali fall into despair again. To set things right, he needed to look to his emotions and instincts rather than just Dali's words. This explains why he was so determined to return home together with Dali and why he desperately wanted Dali to leave the shadows. Migi's words to Dali in Chapter 43 plainly revealed exactly what he wanted all along, i.e. that Dali's happiness was his happiness, and this idea was strongly hinted back in Chapter 25 when Migi got the Sonoyamas to comfort Dali despite his protests.

Hence, with all this in mind, everything becomes clear, namely that everything Migi did was for Dali. There were definitely elements of manipulation in their relationship, but undoubtedly Migi was consistently driven by his love for Dali. Just as how Migi was willing to do anything for Sali, Migi showed a very similar devotion towards his brother throughout the story. Sure, his absolute trust and reliance on Dali may have contributed to the problems that caused them to separate, but these behaviors were all rooted in his desire to make Dali happy, because he's always loved Dali.

In the second half of this, I'll talk about Dali and his attitude towards Migi.

[uraveragelonelyhuman]

Idea list

Hey, same thing. Old account and new account but my idea list now!

Hi! I have some ideas I can't decide to write next after I finish the recent request so tell me aht you think of them!

Scratched out = already done and in masterlists

You don't have to request one of these, you have a request that you wanna ask for request it!

Also if you want maybe #2 with Arcane characters but I made it with twdg characters if you request it I will gladly write it with arcane characters

Maybe if on a request you want Vi and Clem or Cait and Jinx but I wrote Ekko and Vi or Marlon and Louis if you request the same one but with other characters I will still make it!

Just request it and I will get to it!

Okay, now Ideas:

1. Reader who was powder's bestfriend and after ep 3 became a firelight, during a fight with jinx is recognized as her mask is knocked off when punched and Jinx takes her

2. Arcane character's with a intimidating, tall reader with tattoos who seems cold until they get to know them.

3. Mylo's twin sister

4. Adventures in the lanes with the younger gang before ep 1

5. Arcane & TWDG characters with a cold reader untik reader is shown love and clings to them

6. Reader with tattoos, piercings, muscles and all around badass

7. Reader who is from Piltover and loves giving gifts

8. Soulmate au for Arcane where reader is the complete opposite of them

9. Meeting your Arcane or TWDG soulmate aburplty

10. Jinx x reader on the bridge fight instead of her and ekko and is a firelight who was her bestfriend/childhood crush, jinx wakes up somehow and sees reader and begs silco to take them to Singed, reader is injected with Shimmer and wakes up, realizes and she and jinx argue with Jinx trying to convince her its okay and you can now be together

11. Twdg or arcane character doing something random and reader just comes up and falls asleep on them

12. Reader who was traded with the Delta with the twins and reuniting with your twdg s/o of your pick

13. Messing with Arcane or TWDG characters hair

14. Bothering your Arcane or TWDG S/o

15. Throwing your TWDG s/o over your shoulder in an argument and they're shocked at your strength because you don't look very strong

16. Forcing your TWDG s/o to hangout with you in the rain

17. Throwing your TWDG S/o over your shoulder in an argument

18. Arcane characters dying your hair at 3 am

19. Giving twdg characters or arcane characters a tattoo while they give you one

20. Stealing their shit

21. Characters of either twdg or arcane with a reader whos very blunt without meaning to be

22. Reader who bites to show their love

23. Reader cooking but cant cook for their life

24. Reader who takes a bit of time to understand stuff, generally just struggles a bit and the character finds it amusing

25. Being separated from the group and thought to be dead until at the delta they hear gunshots or such and see you walking out of a herd of walkers

26. Sacrificing yourself on the bridge and stopping Minnie (maybe tackling her) causing both of you to be eaten by walkers as your s/o watches

27. Marlon's sister finding out abt the twins the same night he killed Brody and stopping him from hurting Clem, only for AJ to shoot him and him fall into her

28. Jinx bothering you by messing with your stuff, messing with you and hiding your things but you love it and at one point she is energetic and maybe sitting on ur lap as you listen to her rambling

29. Being Powder/Jinx's twin, also a firelight with ekko after he found you after ep 3 and reuniting with Vi at the hideout and on the bridge saving Jinx, bringing her back to the hideout

30. Powder's older brother and her and him reuniting as he is with Vi in ep 6

31. Reader who is like a mother to Powder seeing her again as Jinx and seeing Vi once again

32. Arcane characters x reader who is either a model, actor or a singer

33. Reader reuniting with twdg characters because they used to be at the school before or it all and were close to everyone there, the characters requested had a crush on reader and so relieved their alive

34. Ekko having your face painted on the wall as you had been childhood friends with crushes until he finds you once again, with Vi as you both had been thrown in Stillwater, even if you were only 17

35. Yandere headcannons maybe for arcane? Thought'd it would be fun

36. Reader for twdg characters who has 3 large pitbulls, dobermans or german shepherds...or one of each!

37. Arcane characters with reader who is a rich piltover citizen with a family name and likes giving gifts!

38. Doing Ekko's face paint in the morning

39. Babysitting Scar's daughter with Ekko as it goes horribly wrong

40. Ekko flying past a piltover apartment and stopping as he sees reader focused on something lookin' all pretty and seeing her in the undercity and yk...snatches her-

41. Going to a carnival with arcane characters or an amusement part

42. Arcane or twdg characters seeing their s/o with a child and falling more in love

43. Reader screaming out of nowhere and jumping on their s/o's back bc of a spider

44. Sneaking around Piltover with your s/o or the gang before ep 1

45. You and Jinx are stuck in a room on fire and with no way out you both hug as the flames consume you, dancing as you both hold each other

46. An alternate ending/beginning where Caitlyn caught the gang and you robbing Jayce, she doesnt say anything but ventures down to the Undercity and finds you guys

47. Moments with Vi either Arcane or TWDG that lead up to them knowing they loved you

48. TWDG Louis with moments leading up to him knowing he loved you

49. TWDG Clem with moments leading up to her knowing she loved you

50. Moments with Jinx leading up to her knowing she loved you

51. Sitting with Cat at the party in tlou while she smokes watching Dina and Ellie sadly, you comfort her even if you love her

52. Graysons daughter x Vi

53. Sevika x reader, reader had a bad experience with love once and became a brothel worker and swore off love. But Sevika is her main client, coming to the brothel often and eventually gaining some feelings for Reader but readed doesn't know what to do

54. Painting Powder's face on the wall, knowing Jinx is alive while a firelight asks you if you would go back in time and swap places with her

55. Powder losing you, finding Jinx and saying goodbye to Powder, Jinx seeing you again but not you, Jinx thinking she found you, Jinx getting you back

56. Silco's daughter x Jinx

57. Instead of Jinx shooting Silco, she shoots you. Silco's daughter who is her girlfriend, she thought she couldn't trust you anymore because of the actions of your father

58. Jinx shooting her brother at the tea party, her twin brother

59. Sally face x reader, Reader is a ghost in the Addison apartments who Larry and Sally find

60. Silcos wife/Jinx and Powders mom at the tea party was shot by her instead of Silco, Jinx says sorry and Reader says goodbye. Jinx can't handle it, Vi just wants to leave with her sister but Jinx refuses to leave her mother

61. Being Jinx's childhood friend, also a firelight who she hurt before. Meeting her at the abandoned cannery where it all started. You never let go of Powder but once she shot you, you realized she was gone. You say bye to Powder but Jinx is sorry and doesn't want to let you go. Also can be a sibling reader instead of childhood friend.

62. Being a firelight leader and helping the kids braid Jinxs hair

63. Swooping in to save Jinx who is cornered by enforcers

64. Teaching Jinx how to ride a hoverboard

65. Taking in Ren (Marcus' daughter) with Jinx

66. A Vi x Reader, featuring Aunt Jinx and your daughter Violet

67. Reader with rough hands. (Cracks in them, sorta dry and some eczema, I have it lol)

68. Reader who picks at their skin. (Around their face, making them bleed sorta. And picking at scabs generally.)

69. Placing their hand on your thigh, how often, do they even do it and why?

70. Staying up all night with the gang when everything was okay in the Undercity

71. Ekko taking you on a hoverboard ride at 3 am

72. Modern AU, being scare actors with the Jinx, Vi, Caitlyn, Ekko, Mylo and Claggor

73. Being a protective, sibling like friendship with Tenn, AJ and Willy and being their protector/bodyguard

[084thoughts]

this but eddie grappling with his catholic guilt and childhood trauma from his parents and generally not knowing how to be in a healthy loving relationship. him having all these emotions in 804, which airs on october 17.

why is this important?

this is shannon's birthday.

eddie JUST celebrated chris's birthday, which he couldn't be around for. imagine him grieving shannon on her bday, a month after their son's bday and feeling like he's failing both of them. failing her for not keeping christopher close. losing him to his parents that hated and judged her.

imagine eddie setting up an ofrenda for her and making peace with her death/memory and his guilt for never being able to love her/be a perfect husband. not marigolds being a traditional flower for dia de los muertos and shannon's costuming being florals and yellows and oranges. (and that being the color she dies in)

marigolds + shannon's outfit when she died - 2x17

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead

the yellow (shannon) leaving eddie and chris + the parallels with the beach - 2x17

AND THEN, this is the right before buck meets kim (when hes talking to bobby), and the yellow lighting is back. not only at the station but eddie's house when buck confronts him about seeing kim - 7x09

its night, and the light is behind buck both times. eddie is seeing buck in the same light he saw shannon, as a partner, but it hasn't DAWNED ON HIM what those feelings mean and how that changes his identity (being a gay man).

most of the pivotal buddie scenes occur at night:

"you can have my back any day, brother."

reuniting post-tsunami/finding chris

halloween "i forgive you" scene/end of buddie divorce

the well*

the lightning

buck coming out to eddie

*the well accident was what made eddie put buck in his will

eddie honoring shannon's memory and accepting his identity beyond what he became in result of their relationship is how he can grow this season. shannon shaped so much of his life; she made him a father, a husband; he became a soldier to support her and chris.

in s8, the only piece of identity he has left is his job as a firefighter and his trauma being raised as catholic, neither shannon had any influence on. eddie has been fighting through the entire show to reclaim shannon in those parts of his identity bc he believes they will fix his life, fix his trauma, fix him.

((if chris is okay and i am a good father i will be happy. if i can commit to a woman and have a wife i will be happy. if i can help people at my job i can be happy.

but what if by helping people and being a firefighter almost kills me? what happens if i break up with my girlfriend and that hurts my son?))

and then eddie circles all the way back to the beginning to try and be a good father, which is what he did in s5 by leaving the 118, right after he broke up with ana bc he didn't love her.

mourning his late wife and the mother of his child would force eddie to confront his queerness, catholic guilt, and childhood trauma through his mexican identity, a part of him that he's proud of (and something that hasn't been explored deeply on the show yet).

NOTE: i wrote most of this before the halloween ep aired and kinda forgot about it in my drafts....now im pissed bc this would've been way better than denny almost dying and buck being cursed with a racist asshole bf

The way I would pay good money to have Eddie celebrating dia de los muertos rather than Halloween especially with an episode called masks and the symbolism of the sugar mask around regeneration and rebirth

[clairenatural]

adventure time together again was very good and emotional and I DID like it but there are certain beats that are so uncomfortably close to the spn finale that i’m automatically upset at it on principle

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL

March 2021 Part 4

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. 

This is a LONG ONE, it’s been A WEEK everyone. 

Ongoing Series - Thai

Lovely Writer Ep 5 - a little slow this week, but at least Gene finally flirted back, and very cute flirting it was, too. Also we got Aey’s motivation, background, and love interest. Thank goodness for that. 

Brothers Ep 8 - still pants, what can I say? Clearly I am a BL masochist. Very embarrassing for everyone concerned. 

1000 Stars Ep 9 - the conflict over Tian’s father was REALLY well done. The plot of this drama is excellent, the leads are great together, and yes I totally cried. What, you didn’t? 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Word of Honor (China) Ep 16-18 - big battle fighty fighty stabby stabby. Ep 17 switches to “this drama isn’t big enough for two chaotic-neutral godlings!” So what do they do? Drink together and bicker... A LOT. Then in Ep 18 we all get the dubious joy of really freaky puppets. (I HATE puppets.) Also how is China letting this be so SO VERY VERY GAY?  Also, I wanna walk through the forest wearing a smanshy purple robe and waving a big fuck-off white fan around simply because I’m a pretentious fuss monger. And frankly, I feel like this is an achievable life goal for me. 

We Best Love 2 (Taiwan) Ep 4 - not gonna lie, this is looking to be one of my top 3 BLs of 2021. It’s SO GOOD. Big bonus to this ep for treating stalker behavior like the mental illness it is and not as some dumb representation of enduring love. 

The Most Peaceful Place is My Place (Vietnam) Ep 1 - finally dropped (find it under NƠI BÌNH YÊN NHẤT LÀ VỀ BÊN EM on O2′s channel). It’s got actors already comfortable with BL and looks pretty good so far. An angry tsundere uke reunited with his ex, a stoic chef, giving us lots of snap, crackle, and pop out the gate. 

Dear Uranus (Taiwan GL) Ep 2 - I want to love it, but it is just moving too fast. There’s not enough character dev and then they’re throwing flashbacks in? It feels like a treatment rather than a show, and a rushed treatment at that. Bummer. 

HIStory 4: Close To You (Taiwan) Ep 2 (AKA Ep 3-4) - let the cheesy popcorn continue! Idiot remains an idiot; ingenue remains an ice queen; nice gay guy remains nice and gay; obsessive stalker brother is getting ever more whackadoddle. Of course these last two have the best chemistry. (It’s caregiver codependency and the salvation trope. We got us a Leo/Fiat situation going on.​) Plus lots of classic BL tropes because OF COURSE there are lots of tropes. 

Occasionally, I am tempted to argue that shows like H4 or Cherry Magic or Ossan’s Love aren’t technically BL because of the office setting and age of the protags - but then they all behave like high school students anyway, so *shrug* 

Stand Alones

Cute little Taiwanese micro BL Friend or Lover dropped, about bisexual realization within a friendship group. Normally these are too short for me, but this one did pretty good with its 15 minutes of charm, plus it’s abad boy + shy softy pairing. 

Breaking News - Thai BL

Fish Upon the Sky released its actual trailer. The upside-down kiss is gone, which makes everyone sad, and it seems far less rivals to lovers than the first iteration, which makes ME sad. But it still looks good and a more classic BL than GMMTV has given us in a while. New trailer focused more on the makeover trope and they’ve upped Mix’s role (the object of everyone’s affection) now that he’s proved himself. (Or they are using him more to carry the trailer since he has a fan base form 1k*). Starts April 9 on GMMTV in 1K*’s time slot, probably with a 10 ep run. 

2gether the movie is apparently coming April 22 to Thai theaters. F4 Thailand must be having issues or GMMTV just wants to milk the BrightWin cash cow. It’s rumored to be a combination of 2gehter + Still 2gether with some extra scenes and ending. Also, one assumes a lot will be cut out, if it’s movie length.

Call It What You Want released its updated trailer. If anything, it looks more scary than before. What are we in for? April 9th. 

Nitiman got a release date, May 7 on One31. 

I Told Sunset About You 2 got an updated release date of May 27 on LineTV. 

Second Chance the series is coming to LineTV on March 29. I don’t know much about this one. Tons of familiar faces (mostly TharnType side dishes) and some nice looking new talent but a dearth of eng subs. I think it may take on Brothers’ time slot. Line did eng subs for Brothers so maybe they will do 2nd Chance too? 

Close Friend the series is coming April 22. This is a combination of 6 couples with 6 story arcs as music videos (maybe)? It’s an epic fan service with familiar faces like OhmFluke (UWMA), MaxNat (LBC also in Y-Destiny), YoonLay (YYY also in Y-Destiny), KimCop (GenY), and JaFirst (TT2).

Y-Destiny starts March 30, and has starting dropping couple’s trailers. I’m still suspicious given the director but it seems like there is plot (or plots) and a theme. Looks to be a series of 7 single ep vignettes (amended, see comments, might be 2 eps each for 14 eps total), different couple each time, some with supernatural elements, all with decent chemistry and acting chops. 

Sun MaxNat’s tutor/student arc

Mon jaded rich kid meets poor innocent  

Tues sports romance enemies to lovers 

Weds the messy realistic actual dating one 

Thurs hot ghost boyfriend (sad) 

Fri YoonLayPerth coping with loss and finding new love (sad). This one will all rest on Lay's acting so we know it’s in safe hands. Our boy is going to KILL it. 

Sat time-slip memory loss reunion romance 

I’m thinking we can’t expect any of these to end happy or be classic BL. They’re gonna be more slice of life-ish. 

Gossip - BL Outside of Thailand 

Scholar Ryu’s Wedding Ceremony AKA Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding (Korean historical BL) got a legit teaser (eng sub here). @curriculumvtae​ reports that it’s releasing April 15th on WeTV (Philippines & Thailand) and Idol Romance (South Korea), while Will of Thai Bl says it’ll be on Viki too. It’s a short run of 8 ep built on a fake relationship trope (arranged marriage variant):

Ryu Ho Seon’s (Kang In Soo from You Wish) arranged marriage turns out to be with his expected bride’s brother, Choi Ki Wan (Lee Se Jin from Mr Heart). Ryu tries to undo the marriage, but his ill mother opposes this saying the scandal would be too much. Meanwhile, Kim Tae Hyeong (Jang Eui Soo from Where Your Eyes Linger), a senior at Ryu’s school, comes to congratulate him and falls in love with Choi. Then one day, the original bride disappears.

Okay it seems a bit twisty turny for ONLY 8 EPS, but oh my goodness how excited are we? Our first intentional historical BL out of Korea!

We already knew Hong Kong was doing a remake of Japan’s Ossan’s Love under the same name (not my favorite Japanese BL but so very popular) but it’s now reported to be coming to Viu in June. Who knows how the CFA will take it. Depends on whether Hong Kong bows before the NO GAY KISSES regs or if they are going to use this as a political nose thumb... things could get cray with this puppy (the original has several kisses and s shower scene). Are we back in Addicted territory only with added comedy and civil unrest?

Speaking of Japan, Absolute BL (AKA Zettai BL ni Naru Sekai vs Zettai BL ni Naritakunai Otoko) dropped sooner than anyone thought, March 27. But being Japanese who knows how/when/if we get subs. Protag finds himself trapped in a world of BL, but being straight he fights against any hot guy that draws near, but the whole world (literally) is conspiring against him. It’s a parody adapted from a yoai.

What with Absolute BL from Japan plus Lovely Writer and Call it What You Want from Thailand, is 2021 the year of BL being ultra self referential? Sure feels like it.

In Case You Missed It

Faded a gay micro film from Taiwan from 2017 deals with parental acceptance and serves up a ton of BL tropes (piggyback, forehead kiss, etc). I’m pretty sure this was a propaganda piece for legalization of gay marriage, and it’s an interesting nugget of BL history as a result. Yes, it ends happy. It’s cute. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Some shows may be listed a day later than actual air date for accessibility reasons.

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.

Man there’s a lot going on right now! Spring has sprung... I suppose. 

P.S. I cannot believe I missed Absolute BL as a blog name. Numbnuts = me. 

[chessmaton]

ok heres some like things about ep 7 + 8 w cassie mixed w some headcanons about her and jesse cause I LOV THEM SM

- so imagine jesse wasn't somehow ooc when ep 6 happened, yk where they left her to game end in a literal pit,,, imagine instead they told her they'd help her get on the right path? of course she'd protest cause i imagine she'd be incredibly stubbon. (being in that world for so long she couldn't just shake off that mindset, it sort of became a part of her after so long.) but she'd simply sigh as really what other choice does she have?

- she obviously takes winslow

- speaking of winslow, jesse and winslow also becoming best friends? no one could ever replace reuben, but you bet jesse would be that type of person to dance around the kitchen with winslow in their arms while music plays, winslow is like -_- but secretly loves it, cassie would so pretend its dumb but yk she loves it too :,)

- plus how much cooler would ep 7 and 8 be with cassie in it? she obviously is quite knowledgeable about redstone and such which would've been useful in harpers absence when she gets dragged away lmao.

- also you see how she has like moon shoes on or something when shes jumping from ledge to ledge like that, her agility and skills w her axe would be sooo helpful against hadrian and mevia lets be real

- auntie harper + cassie reunited? yes i have a whole story about cassies mother (ik they dont have parents but LOL) being best friends with harper, but harper felt forced to take over because of her unfortunate death, ive had all this drawn for months just never posted 💀 but it would be so nice to draw more. i drew a design for her mother like last year or something lol. also cause i hate hadrian he so game ended her mum over a massive fight.

- as for hcs - engineer cassie has my heart, little robotic cats, and even a little robotic pig <3 for jesse of course. it was a little project as a thank you for seeing a possible good side to her that she hadn't seen herself in so very long as lonliness consumed her after being isolated for so long

- as for Jesse hc, i imagine they have a big interest in astrology and the planets, and from time to time jesse would take cassie to look at the stars with them with their little robo piggy :)

- also i like to imagine jesse enjoys things like baking and sometimes wishes to hand down beacontown to radar so they can live a quiet life when they've had enough of the sort of celebrity life

- since i hc lukas and aiden to have been raised together like brothers, aiden and lukas met petra and jesse and the group would do group baking (then aiden got bitter and the group fought and seperated) this is just a personal hc which has nothing to do with the canon story it just makes me happy :)

- nb, bi jesse, bi cassie <3

this is getting long so i might do a part 2 cause they seriously both have my heart

[cornus27florida]

@cpcwiki ahahahah Mono's review is something that I always looking forward - and I give permission to take their review if want to be use it for wiki. I feel personally can't do word story anymore since beginning to starts my fanfic project and I can't be urged with the rushing deadline of CPC being DP

So, uhhh... You could reblog Mono's instead mine. Me just give commentaries about ep 159 + 160 which in nutshell - Prez going feral over free therapy laced with violence of sword dance and she nearly gets Blaine if only she didn't forgor to drinks the period pauser pill. So uh yay arachno!!!

The reply is me giving random screenshoots of ep 159-160 and expect someone which likely from the CPC BLR do the wiki job of editing stuffs - I can't do those anymore sorry!!!

^ Prez is ultimate girlboss, my favorite panel is this one

^ tell you are absolutely the malewife for your girlboss TM

^ Whitney welcome abroad to be another character of the ultimate gwenderick shipper in CPC series!! The scenario like big older brother that stoically tell his younger brother like : You should kiss her asap - with description like this / uhhh!!!

^ My Favorite trio ever in the CPC, Redemption trio -

LOOK AT WHITNEY PROTECTS HIS YOUNGER SIBLINGS

seriously they are could be a lil family with Whitney as the stoic oldest, Aurelia the annoying older sis while Freddie is suicidal little brother that need lots of hugs, meditations and metaphorical slaps of reality that could be given by his older

^ Random expression screenshoots for ya and your bestie

LANCE!!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!! I wonder what he's planning? Maybe he's going to order the troops to clear the door? Please tell me he's going to reunite with Frederick :(

Lance ultimately be the allies gonna be the life changer <3

^ My favorite expression of Blaine ahahah, bro fear for his life

^ PREACH PREZ, PREAAAACHHHHH. Freddie is so naive

^ I constantly feel sorry shift from Prez to Blaine - constantly

^ The coreography is so great NGL, LambCat improving so much to could giving us the fight of the century, eldest kids. I want to make parellism of prez vs blaine with prez vs whitney

^ I didn't have arachnophobia so I am fine with this panel but I like to say unsaid condolences to whoever that had it... although if you guys like I want to share my fun "secret"

Okay I am Whitney now??? Although I will welcome the day where Whitney accepting his beastility to get half-spider and half-tiger babies together as whitpelnia canon /jk, or -?

All of the CPC characters in nutshell, espc Plaid Princes tbh

If we think about it, isn't Gwen just visiting the places in the old chapters chronologically?

First, she was in bed. Then, the waffle room. Then the forest where she met CPC. We can assume the little red's grandma's house is the cpc place. Then she was in the sugar room and finally, the gala (rose hall). I'm going to theorize that the next room will be maybe... back to her room? The gala room but destroyed? The carriage?

Hmmm the theory is quite sound, but remember... The way of waking Gwen up is only 2 options which as like this meme :

^ For now Frederick still hasn't enough guts with 'kiss' (could totally rambling about it but I feel no one care so nah) which make the witch way must do. In nutshell of the witch way, the ones in slumber curse should dreaming about portrait so 'a soul' that hinted highly as Lilyth | Leelathae could enters her dream and helps her to wake up. Ep 164 confirming any theory regarding of Gwen's dreamscapes so well yeah -

^ the ending of everything is the title drop, AY CPC CPC !!!

CPC CHAPTER 159+160

I had exams for 1 week and 3 days so I can only do this now (and now i also have remedial...bruh)

Y'all is Leland secretly a bookworm or something? Because—

"Fairytale", "Trope", all of those books in his office, one of his to do list is buy more books...is he also a bookworm like Frederick???

PREZ VS BLAINE!!! PREZ VS BLAINE!!!

YES PREZ!!! GET TO HIM!! I seriously hope Blaine will SNAP out of it and go to a path of redemption. Seriously bro I love him and i really want him to redeem himself.

I should make Blaine a separate post cause i'm speedrunning writing this :') i've been busy and cpc is going to update in one hourrrr

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE APPRECIATION!!!! I DO ENJOY SOME EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT PEOPLE (tho i must admit i am not one of them sadly)

THE THEORY. THE DAMN THEORY. This is also a huge step towards the theory that the portrait Leland stole is a portrait of Leelathae. Which is also why Leland punched Blaine for calling Gwen ugly and then not understanding why he did that.

Wait. A theory just came to me.

If we think about it, isn't Gwen just visiting the places in the old chapters chronologically?

First, she was in bed. Then, the waffle room. Then the forest where she met CPC. We can assume the little red's grandma's house is the cpc place. Then she was in the sugar room and finally, the gala. I'm going to theorize that the next room will be maybe... back to her room? The gala room but destroyed? The carriage?

BRO LELAND GOT BEAT UP BAD LMAOAOAOAOAO. MAIDS! MAIDS! MAIDS! Bro got hit by an IRONING TOOL. I KNOW THAT HURTS. Too bad he managed to throw a FUCKING SOFA at the maids tho... but fr ARE THE MAIDS OKAY??? MOLY, IS SHE OKAY?? I WILL NOT HAVE BELOVES MAIDS DYING YOU HEAR ME.

M'dude ;)

Orson and Monika my beloved nerds. I hope Monika's trauma will be addressed more ngl cause she clearly has trauma.

REAL REAL REAL!!!

LANCE!!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!! I wonder what he's planning? Maybe he's going to order the troops to clear the door? Please tell me he's going to reunite with Frederick :(

NOOOOO PREZ ALMOST GOT THROUGH HIMMMMM.

OH NO. OH GOD OH MAN. OH GOD OH MAN. Welp, I suppose arachnophobia alert for the next chapters....

I had suspicion that the pills shouldn't have side effects as THAT bad. And oh well. Too bad we didn't get any arachne Prez tho :(

...can someone help Blaine like damn man is just passed out there 💀

Okay that's it for these 2 chapters because damn i am SPEEDRUNNING.

Mono out! (But still in to hear your thoughts)

[mindmeltonabun-blog]

Tale of the Nine Tailed: Eps 15-16 Predictions

Unfortunately as TOTNT draws to an end, so shall these posts! This will probably be my last post concerning TOTNT unless there is something of great importance that happens in the finale that would warrant a discussion. Overall, everything in the series made sense if you actually did your fair share of research of mythology from around the world.  Anyways, I will try to make this post as short as possible for your sake and mine! 

Predictions Based on Ep 15 Preview

One Last Date

There’s not much to say about this portion except that Ji Ah and Lee Yeon just go on one last date before everything blows up!

Let’s Get Sato’s Moon Mirror

The Imoogi will go to get Sato’s Moon Mirror by killing him. Based on this scene, it looks like this will occur in a bathroom (notice the paper towel dispenser and mirror?). 

Hello Mother, It Has Been A Long Time

The Imoogi spirit has been inhabiting Bok Gil’s immortal body. Taluipa will be shocked to see that her dead son body was being used by the Imoogi. Out of anger, she will try to turn him into stone. However, since Terry now has the Moon Mirror, he will use it to deflect Taluipa’s Medusa stone turning power. This will cause her to turn into stone instead. 

After killing Taluipa, Terry will change Ji Ah’s death date to ensure that his other half can now live freely. Then Terry reunites with Ji Ah outside of the Office of the Afterlife to go over the next part of their plan.

Betrayed On All Sides

Lee Yeon not having been aware of what all has happened, will return to his apartment. It is there that he will see Ji Ah standing at the window. Ji Ah will turn around to reveal she’s once again taken over by the Imoogi. At that moment, Lee Rang, Shin Ju, and the Snail Bride will sneak attack Lee Yeon to get his body. Lee Yeon escapes by knocking them all out.

Final Showdown

Lee Yeon realizes the Terry Imoogi has betrayed him so Lee Yeon decides to head to the Office of the Afterlife to stop him once and for all. Lee Yeon will find that Taluipa has now been turned into stone at her desk (see Taluipa’s stone statue in red circle). 

As Lee Yeon is fighting Terry Imoogi, Ji Ah Imoogi arrives at the scene and blocks Lee Yeon from stabbing Terry Imoogi (see red arrow of Terry hiding behind Ji Ah Imoogi).

Ji Ah temporarily regains control of her body and tries to end her life with the CEO’s gun. Also, note the brown couch (red arrow) in the background of Ji Ah, showing that this occurs at the Office of the Afterlife. Ji Ah will fail at killing herself because either Terry Imoogi has stopped her or the Imoogi inside of her has gain back control.

Save Yuri or Save Lee Yeon

Lee Rang wakes up and immediately heads to the Office of the Afterlife where Yuri is there to stop him. Her eyes look pretty dead so my guess is that she’s probably being compelled by the Imoogi to block Lee Rang’s path to Lee Yeon.

Lee Rang is faced with an obstacle similar to what Lee Yeon had to face 600 years ago, which is who to save when both people are considered equally as precious. I think Lee Rang will probably knock Yuri out or maybe Shin Joo will if he tags along with Lee Rang to the office.

Lee Yeon’s Decision

Lee Yeon will decide to go through with his original plan of taking Ji Ah’s half into himself. Lee Rang arrives at that very moment and is faced with having to kill his brother. However, I don’t think Lee Rang will be mentally strong enough to do it. Possessed Lee Yeon will then stab Lee Rang. Following this, Lee Yeon will temporarily gain back control of his body long enough to get to the River Styx.

I’ll Chase You Like You Chased Me at the River Styx

This scene of Ji Ah running in the Office of the Afterlife seems like it happens right after Lee Yeon has taken the Imoogi piece out of her (notice that she no longer has scales on her face or neck). Ji Ah is probably running towards the River Styx to prevent Lee Yeon from jumping into it. This parallels to past when Lee Yeon was running to the River Styx to save Ah Eum’s soul.

Everyone Has Been A Puppet 

There are no coincidences in TOTNT. Every single character has been a puppet in King Yeomra’s grand scheme of finding his perfect replacement. From legends, it is told that King Yeomra was the first to have faced death. In doing so, Yeomra became the King of the Underworld. In Yeomra’s eyes, the candidate best suited to take over his position should also have to face a similar situation. Therefore, Lee Yeon will prove himself worthy by jumping into the River Styx.

Morals of the Story

1)    People who remain good despite experiencing tragedies in their lives will get rewarded 

2)    Bad people are given opportunities to change their terrible fate by doing good deeds

3)    Bad people who do not change their ways despite being given opportunities to do so will meet the ultimate punishment (being erased from existence entirely)

Final Outcomes for TOTNT Characters

Everyone will get a happy ending except the Imoogi! 

Lee Yeon becomes the next King Hades

Ji Ah becomes an immortal, takes over Taluipa’s job, and she has a kid with Lee Yeon

Taluipa gets brought back to life and decides to leave her job to focus on repairing her relationship with Hyun Ui Ong

Bok Gil may or may not come back to life. I’m just not sure if his soul will remain once the Imoogi leaves his body. Although it would be nice if in the end Hyun Ui Ong gets back both his wife and son.

Shin Joo and Yuri have a happily ever after and many fox babies

Lee Rang lives a long happy life being Kim Soo Oh’s father

Ji Ah’s two coworkers will date or get married and live after happily ever after

Snail Bride gets her husband back and they too live happily ever after

Ji Ah’s parents live out what remains of their lifespan. When they do die, they will die knowing that their daughter will always have a life that is blessed with a family of her own

[firelxdykatara]

hello!! i just wanted to ask- i wanna do an ouat rewatch bc CAPTAIN SWANN but its pretty long and i honestly dont care for the other characters/how badly the overall writing was handled.. which are your favourite captain swan eps? anything them centered and i think ill just skip around to rewatch their romance as they did invent romance 😭😭 ty in advance <3

they absolutely did invent romance, you are right about that and i love them so much

UHMMMM as far as my favorite CS eps, here’s a roadmap of what I personally consider key eps in their journey (some of this is from memory but I haven’t done a full rewatch in a while so i’m going through the episode list as a refresher)

2x06: Tallahassee--this is a must-watch ep for any CS fan, and I really think this is the episode that sparked the fire that CS would become as a fandom. It has everything--flirtatious banter, all kinds of tension, deliberate parallels drawn between Emma and Killian’s pasts, as well as their first meeting being intercut with her relationship with Neal (which serves, especially in hindsight, to highlight just how sketchy that relationship was, and why she couldn’t bring herself to trust Killian--because the last time she felt this way about anyone, it ended horribly)

2x08 and 2x09: Into the Deep and Queen of Hearts--these episodes cover the race to the portal between Emma&co and Hook/Cora and while they don’t do a ton for CS as a relationship since they’re still enemies at this point, it lays great foundation for their future relationship development. Plus, sexy swordfight, Hook going out of his way to save Aurora’s heart--he may be a pirate, but he has standards ok--and Emma realizing Cora can’t remove her heart without her permission? Poetic Cinema

2x11: The Outsider--more of a Killian-centric episode, it shows a lot of Killian at his worst but it’s necessary for his overall character arc and I genuinely love looking back and seeing just how far he managed to come, to the point of eventually even letting go of his (very understandable) grudge against Rumplestiltskin.

2x12: In the Name of the Brother--am I including this purely for Emma&Hook banter in the hospital, and Killian saying ‘hey beautiful’ when he’s lying on the road because he just got hit by a fucking car? You bet I am. Also, go to youtube and look up ‘ouat season two deleted scene jello’, because it’s beautiful and there was a tremendous outcry in the fandom when we realized it had been cut from the episode lmao (It’s also the episode that made me start shipping Frankenwolf, which I’m still sad never went anywhere, but they had a lot of potential and great chemistry.)

2x22: And Straight On Till Morning--A few of the episodes in between have some fun minor interactions and flashbacks (and I always approve of episodes where Killian gets one up on Rumple, so 2x15 is fun for me if i ignore all the Neal bits) but the finale is where we finally get a glimpse of who Killian could be beyond his need for revenge. He didn’t have to come back, he didn’t have to bring back the bean and help the town--but he did.

Season 3a: there’s a lot of really good stuff here for Hook and Emma that is interwoven between the A plots of other episodes. I think, as far as half-season arcs go, it’s one of the best (and everything after 4a bombed hard, but I digress) But there are a few episodes that stand out if you don’t want to watch the whole season. (I recommend starting with the premier though, it was a really solid season starter overall.)

3x05: Good Form--this is the culmination of David’s poisoned-by-dreamshade arc, and is also Peak Captain Charming Bromance. Hook not only keeping David’s secret, but doing everything he can to help save him??? Poetic cinema. It also provides some crucial Killian backstory, showing how he lost his brother to the very same dreamshade. Plus, the character development--Pan offers Killian a chance to escape the island with Emma if he kills David, and instead, he saves him, refusing the deal and damn the consequences. Also also? The first CS kiss which drove the fandom WILD.

3X06: Ariel--not only to I love OUaT’s take on Ariel, but this episode has the infamous Echo Cave scene, which involves a lot of feelsy confessions and Killian being the one to tell everyone that Neal is alive and helping Emma save him despite his own growing feelings for her.....IT’S JUST A LOT AND I LOVE IT.

3x07: Dark Hallow--oh man, I’d forgotten about this episode, but it has Killian and Neal fighting over Emma, which may sound eye-roll worthy, but Emma is allowed to tear them a new one about it and it’s one of the few times she’s allowed to actually???? put her own feelings first so I have to include it here on spec

3x11 and 3x12: Going Home and New York City Serenade--these mark the end of 3a and start of 3b respectively, and it has some amazing shit like Killian vowing never to forget Emma and Emma smiling as she replies, “Good.” And then she and Henry are in New York with their memories completely altered, but Killian shows up because Storybrooke is back and in jeopardy, and he helps Emma get back to her family and her home and, much later, Emma finds out he sold the Jolly Roger to be able to do it and it’s just. It’s beautiful ok.

3x17: The Jolly Roger--there’s honestly not a whole lot in the back half of season 3 (until the CS movie) but of course anything named for Hook is a must-watch, and this is where we get the iconic line I swear on Emma Swan--which is Killian saying he’s in love with her before he even realizes it. We also find out just what he did to Ariel, and his attempts to make amends are what lead to Zelena being able to curse him, so it’s great from a character perspective as well.

The next four episodes round out the end of the season, and there’s a lot of great stuff in them--Hook refusing to get Emma to kiss him, but Emma feeling like she can’t trust him because he didn’t tell her about the curse to begin with, and then kissing him anyway to save his life regardless of the consequences.... but the only ones that are absolutely necessary are the final two episodes.

They are colloquially termed ‘The Captain Swan Movie’ for a reason, after all.

Killian and Emma essentially have an entire Time Travel adventure all to themselves, where they accidentally ruin her parents first meeting and have to fix it so that she’ll even be born, Emma finally getting into the storybook, the pair of them dancing at a ball, Killian rushing to save Emma only for her to get out of the cell herself, because “The only one who saves me is me.” Killian saying “I would go to the ends of the world for her... or time.” Finally fixing the timeline and making it back to Storybrooke and Killian feeling like he doesn’t deserve a place at the table so he doesn’t go inside, but Emma comes out to him anyway and finds out he gave up the Jolly Roger for her, the true start to their relationship...... IM CRYING JUST THINKING ABOUT IT I’M SORRY.

I personally really enjoyed 4a, the Frozen arc was one of the last good half-season arcs of the show, but a lot of people disliked it so it’s really up to interpretation. I don’t have as many Intense Opinions on this season (except hating almost everything about 4b and the queens of darkness arc), but I will say the episodes with good Killian/CS moments are 4x02 (Emma nearly freezes to death, Killian is desperate to save her, Captain Charming teamwork, my heart hurts), 4x04 (Emma asks Killian out on a real date, he tries to get his real hand back from Gold, things go massively awry and he winds up back under Gold’s thumb), 4x08 (Killian tries to save Emma from Gold’s plans), 4x11 (the 4a finale is just great in general), and then..... it cannot be overstated how much I hate season 4b, but 4x15 is the Killian-centric ep where his past with Ursula is revealed and he makes amends to her in order to get her to leave the QoD alliance and it’s great character stuff for him, and then there’s the season 4 finale.

Both parts are worth watching, if only because Deckhand Coward Hook still being a braver, more heroic man than ‘Hero Rumplestiltskin’ warms the very cockles of my heart, and of course the second part of the finale has him helping Henry to save Emma and it’s beautiful and also Emma watches him die for her and it is angsty as FUCK but gods I love it. Here’s where it gets tricky, though--my recommendation is, turn the episode off right after Emma finds Killian back in the present day of Storybrooke and they reunite.

Just turn off the episode there and skip right ahead to the s6 musical episode (Emma and Killian’s wedding ep) and pretend they got married and none of seasons 5 or 6 ever happened. >.> (Although I will say certain parts of the Underworld arc were incredibly feelsy despite how much I overall hated the season: 5x11 (the 5a finale, Killian as the dark one STILL being a better man than rumple, we love to see it), 5x15 (I am not immune to Brothers Jones feelings ok), 5x20 (emma literally takes a True Love Test trying to find a way to save killian, you don’t get more romantic than that--also Killian telling Emma to promise she won’t put her armor back up just because she lost him again??? my HEART), 5x21 (Hook does what he can from the Underworld anyway and zeus sends him back to Emma, they really just said ‘today I will invent romance’ and then Did That)

And then, yeah, just skip to the wedding. It’s beautiful, I enjoyed the music, personally, though I know musical episodes are hit or miss with most people. And if you turn it off when the last musical number starts (after the wedding ceremony, I believe) you can pretend it was the end of the show! =DDD

.....Oh my god I just rambled for years. I HOPE YOU FIND THIS USEFUL, ANON. I 100% support a CS-centered rewatch, their episodes were consistently some of the best across the entire series, and they are truly one of my favorite romances of all time.

[fizzingwizard]

Ep 38 is another good one! We are on a roll. I have some thoughts on why and whether I could still end up whining in future episodes again... but for now let’s just enjoy the moment.

We are finally catching up with Yamato (and Jou) who has the sort of episode you’d expect from the brooding lone wolf of the group. I wish they’d pushed it just a liiiittle further than they did and I’ll tell you why below. Still, the point is we learned some things we needed to about Yamato, and with some higher than usual stakes (for a side plot) than usual.

Pic of the day, though, is all about his highness, our lord and savior, JOOOOOOOOO.

You will bow before him, peasant!

More below.

Like I said, the stakes are a bit high this week:

Right off the bat, Gabumon’s been beaten, captured, and tied to a cross...

... where Mephismon (this guy) is apparently planning to kill him in ritual sacrifice.

In other words, this episode is: Yamato and Gabumon Go To Digimon Hell

:P

I mean... Mephismon even looks scary. Very Satanic. Gives me chill, lol. Probably not as scary for kids who didn’t grow up being hit over the head with a Bible every day by evangelicals, though. Sometimes I look back on my childhood and just think “wtf?”

That being said, Mephismon is the sort of lackey you’d expect Millenniumon to have, much more in the vein of Devimon or DarkKnightmon. Aka, pretty darn scary. I was so frustrated for so long by all the small fry Digimon Taichi “struggled” with by himself for no apparent reason - they felt like filler episodes, tbh - filler for a show that has no reason to have filler!

And I STILL do NOT understand why we got WarGreymon’s evolution over a totally forgettable nobody Digimon, but these recent episodes with Koushirou, Mimi, and Yamato have all been serious crises where the characters put everything on the line, and yet nobody evolves. It’s not that I think they HAD to evolve here - I can see they’re leading up to it and since that guarantees more focus on them in the future, I’m totally down for that. What I don’t understand is why Taichi DIDN’T get that. Why play WarGreymon so early? The episode itself did involve Taichi challenging himself, but it all felt so setup. And so unmemorable that it’s just hard to care.

Anyway... I’m ranting about things that didn’t happen in this episode. Rant over xD Back to Yamato.

His desperate play to rescue Gabumon by himself goes as well as you’d expect.

Yamato: I’m too cool for this shit

He is chased by those gas mask-wearing Digimon whose name I forget. But they are conveniently blown back by the gush of a timely geyser. Geyser, you say? That means hot springs must be nearby. If hot springs are nearby...

Jou: Now I know what it feels like to be Team Rocket!

Jou falls out of the sky and right into Yamato’s path. Dressed in nothig but a towel, he looks to Yamato like a scrawny, nerdy, guardian angel.

Yamato: You’ve gotta help me, Clarence. Fly me to the top of the mountain.

Jou: I can’t, I haven’t got my wings.

Yamato: Yeah, you’re about what I’d expect my guardian angel to be like...

So, Jou immediately starts to chatter at Yamato, and it looked to me like Yamato might be getting annoyed. If this were 99 Adventure, he’d had snapped and said something like, “Can’t you see Gabumon’s gone? Aren’t you even going to ask about that or do you only think about yourself?”

But this is 2020 Yamato, and 2020 Digimon Adventure, where the kids are all Very Nice and don’t have much in the way of flaws. That’s my number one complaint about this show so far. So Yamato just waits for the moment where Jou needs to take a breath to break and ask for his help rescuing Gabumon.

(Gomamon reminds Jou to get dressed first, thankfully.)

Up on the mountain peak, Mephismon sacrifices the Data of poor blue!Elecmon to the fragment of Millenniumon he is guarding.

At first I was like, why do Yamato and Jou know about these crystals?? But then they’re like, we heard from Taichi over the digivice. Ah, of course. I kind of miss the old digivices that pre-date smartphones :P

Yamato explains how they ended up in this situation, and I REALLY like this. They came across Mephismon sacrificing innocent Digimon on their journey to reunite with the rest of the team, and it was Gabumon who insisted they had to stay and save them. Gabumon!

So this is not the first time we’ve seen the Digimon partners take initiative this season. The lack of personal flaws and personality clashes are my least favorite part of the reboot, but the increased agency of the Digimon themselves is probably my favorite. When DanDevimon swallowed Taichi, it was Agumon’s pain that caused his warp evolution. Not saying Taichi had nothing to do with it, but the focus was certainly way more on how losing his partner sent Agumon over the edge. Now we’ve got Yamato actually arguing with Yamato because he feels so passionate about rescuing the captured Digimon.

Yamato’s not heartless, of course - he just prioritizes the people closest to him first. And I have no idea if we’ll see much more of this sort of willpower from Gabumon - it’s partly there for convenience, since no one else is around. (Last time, it was Sora who wanted to help others at their own risk and Yamato clashed with her over the same thing.) The other reason is, this is the episode where we find out how Yamato and Gabumon became friends - which is especially important for the guy who gets the Crest of Friendship - so they needed something a bit more meaty than “the proof of our friendship is I follow you wherever you go and do whatever you want.”

But I love it because it really makes them feel like partners.

Of course, Yamato can’t say no in the end, so he and Gabumon go to save the Digimon. But they’re overwhelmed.

The vision of his partner’s bony ass shrinking into the distance as bullets fly overhead will haunt his dreams always ;^;

Yamato: Once a psychic read my palm and said I have an unusually short life line. I guess she was right. But she also said I’d marry Emma Stone and have eight children.

Jou: are you sure she wasn’t just playing a game of MASH?

While Yamato and Jou plan their strategy, we switch back to the rest of the team, where the girls are having tea time.

I know I complain about this every time but WHO DA HECK decided Sora and Mimi should wear the same color scheme look what you did now they both blend into the couch

The boys talk a bit of shop, then Takeru reveals that he and Yamato don’t live together because their parents fight and don’t get to see each other because they both work so much. He doesn’t really come out and say “they’re divorced” but he says he and his brother are separated. Even though Yamato calls Takeru to talk a lot, Takeru still feels sad that there are things he misses since they live so far apart.

Taichi assures Takeru that Yamato will be fine, pointing out that Yamato had already been adventuring in the digital world for an unknown amount of time before Taichi’s group ever got there. Wow, haven’t referenced that in literally ages. I’m glad these things are finally relevant again. Also like how it seems to confirm Taichi still kinda holds special admiration for Yamato. That seemed like the route they were going way back when Yamato joined the group in episode 8, but then it wasn’t touched on till now.

Then we get the long-awaited Yamato & Gabumon origin story! Yamato appears to have arrived in the digital world in a similar way that Taichi did. He looks the same, so probably it wasn’t a huge time difference (in human world time anyway).

At first, Yamato’s like, “leave me alone. I don’t have any interest in the digital world. Where’s the exit?” And Tsunomon says, “Fine, then I will just protect you whether you want me to or not.”

Yamato: Reeeeeally wishing Ikkakumon could fly, lol

Yamato recalls how, despite his chilly behavior, Tsunomon still jumped to his rescue.

(The rescue involved Ikkakumon shooting torpedoes up the mountainside so Yamato can grab them and climb to the top. What I don’t get is why this didn’t draw Mephismon’s attention :P I guess he figured his gas mask lackeys would handle it but uh.)

Past!Yamato rescues Tsunomon, who is so touched that he is able to evolve. Yamato makes an attempt to remain aloof...

... but in the end he turns into Taichi :P

So that’s the origin story! It’s more or less what I figured. Kind of surprised we didn’t get any scenes of them in the digital world proper, since I got the impression Yamato was familiar with that world as well as this plane that seems to be a sort of interface between worlds. But maybe not, who knows.

What they try to do here is set up that Yamato is an aloof type who tries to avoid relationships. But he snaps out of it and warms up to people so fast that it’s hard to really appreciate it. Plus he doesn’t really do much to push them away other than say “leave me alone.” Eh.

Lol it’s funny because he’s strapped to the cross but because his leg fur hangs like that, from behind it looks like he’s just standing there....

Mephismon starts to sacrifice Gabumon!

A power blast of dark energy starts to pulse from the mountain, sending everyone to their knees. Jou thinks fast and hides inside his bag. Nylon is good at blocking out satanic chanting after all.

His eyes fall on... his textbooks! Social studies, chemistry, the periodic table, Japanese history memorization textbook... these useless books! Could they actually be useful?!?!?!

no.

no they couldn’t

Yamato: Ahh! That’s it, I have got to start lifting more.

But wait - Jou gets an idea. There’s something that calms him when he’s stressed and that’s... chanting passages from his rote memorization technique books x’D So he sits down and... it’s basically a throw back to the Bakemon episode in 99. I believe he’s chanting things from the Japanese history book, but as I’ve never been a Japanese kid, I’d have to do more research than I want to to figure out for sure.

He then switches to chanting the numerals of pi! He has pi memorized! x’D I don’t know why that should surprise me. He soon begins to glow with the Zen energy of a cram school trance.

Jou: 3.14159265359... 3.14159265359...

Gas mask Digimon: 3.14159265359.... 3.14159265359...

These bright ripples emanate from Jou, counteracting the evil ripples coming from Mephismon’s mountain. It soon pulls the gas mask Digimon into the trance as well.

Ikkakumon: ... I have no effing idea what is going in this episode on anymore

Jou comes out of the trance to discover the gas mask Digimon ARE NOW HIS OBEDIENT SUBJECTS. WHAT.

(see I told you you’d bow)

seriously what just happened! XD is this Jou’s mutant power

or is this something all Japanese children who survive juku can do as a result of spending so much time memorizing shit

Ikkakumon then is able to shoot a bunch better pathway of torpedoes for Yamato to climb and MEPHISMON STILL DOESN’T NOTICE

Yamato finally makes it to the peak!

Mephismon’s like, “nice try, but what were you planning to do now? You left your friend at the bottom of the mountain and I’ve got your partner. And I doubt you’ve memorized all the numerals of pi.”

He kindly creates an evil burning vortex to increased the hellishness of the landscape. He understands that a Yamato episode needs the proper ambience.

Gabumon’s about to be sacrificed to Digi-Satan lmao

Yamato steps into the pentagram and get shocked. But he presses on despite the difficulty (and the hellfire), thinking about how much his partner means to him.

He drops to his knees while Gabumon begs him to save himself.

Yamato: “You’re my... friend!”

The power of friendship destroys the pentragram and also frees Gabumon from the cross.

The Crest of Friendship glows...

Gabumon is strengthened and becomes... WereGarurumon.

:P

Yeah... seemed like a good time for MetalGarurumon but whatever.

After a cool but brief fight, Mephismon is defeated.

He appears frozen? Can Gabumon freeze stuff? Whatev. Anyway he’s frozen and then disintegrates.

Gabumon is tired but happy. Their bond is now even stronger.

Cute Takeru on Pegasusmon flies down to his brother at last.

And the others wave up to them from Komondomon. Aw. So finally the team is back together! ;__; Please let it last this time, please please please....

Kay so, overall... I liked this episode. The whole “You’re my friend!” bit would have been stronger if we’d seen more of Yamato resisting that though. I don’t really know why but the reboot seems to pull its punches a lot. I really wish they’d let the kids be mean to each other like 99 Adventure did sometimes. Being mean doesn’t mean you’re a bad person and a terrible influence on children watching your show. It just means you are human and your viewers can learn from watching your mistakes and seeing your growth. Try to understand that, showrunners :P

A missed opportunity in this episode: Yamato and Jou. I was excited that they were gonna be together because they often clashed in 99. And in the reboot as well, it was established that Yamato is annoyed by Jou, although he’s much more polite and hadn’t said anything about it till now (just stayed away from wherever Jou was until he fell asleep lol). So I thought, in this ep, we’d see them butt heads and learn to work together, something like that. But aside from the very first moment where Yamato might look a teensy bit annoyed, they just get alone fine. Idk. Not interesting.

In the end, though, the ep was clearly meant to be Yamato only and Jou was just there as a matter of convenience so the whole group would be together at the end. Since the team is finally reunited, I hope we do start to see all of them interacting in different ways that show their personalities more. Might not be the same as 99 (or, I should say definitely won’t be, at this point), but just something more than “look how well we all get along.”

Next week...

Looks to be a light and funny episode. The Burgermon were one of my fav bits of Frontier. But I’m a little nervous about this being a Jou epiosde. It’s his turn, I know, but everyone else got something meaningful. Even Mimi - though there was lots of humor in her episode, she was also major league cool the entire time. Maybe that will be the case with Jou here, but I’m not sure because 2020 Jou is a little different - more scatterbrained, more open, more talkative, less serious, less likely to act sullen... he’s quite different, now that I think about it. So I’m actually having difficulty imagining what his personal test will be in this episode. Guess we’ll have to wait and find out. Maybe it won’t even be that kind of episode anyway.

Also, just a guess, but next week is ep 39. So ep 40 maybe will be the start of something big again. It would be good timing: the team’s together and everyone’s had a chance recently for an episode to themselves...

See y’all next week! As usual didn’t check for typos :P