#i'm only on ep 29

[twig-tea]

GL odds and ends 29 December 2024

The end of the year kicked my ass, but I wanted to get one last one of these out for 2024! The last one before this was 10 November. If you're interested in GL older than that, check out my GL rec list through Feb 2024 and my #gl recs tag for the other odds and ends posts. New series marked with an asterisk*.

Currently airing (with thoughts up to 29 Dec):

The Fragrance You inherit 5/8 (Japanese, Friday/Saturday-ish, no official distribution but fansub on @isaksbestpillow's blog [thank you Siiri!] I have been really enjoying this show and have been writing when I have time (last post was for ep4). At its core this is a gentle show about kind people who love each other doing their best, which is always my favourite thing. Subs are on pause for the moment so you have time to catch up before the finale!

Pluto ep 11/12 (Thai, Saturdays 9:30 AM ET, YouTube) This plot continues to be absolutely wild. There's a lot of discourse around Oom this week, to which I'll just say: Setting a test to see if the people you love will hurt themselves in order to make you feel better is not loving or healthy behaviour, even if your motivations are understandable and sympathetic. Namtan is doing a great job making these twins feel like different people, and she and Film are still gorgeous together. And I have no idea what's up with the messy lesbian sides, but I'm on the side of all of them need a time out! I've been pretty dialed out of this show because it's not my thing, so I'm not that invested in any of the relationships going into the finale, but it's been a wild ride and it seems to be holding together for those who enjoy the high drama of this plot.

*Petrichor ep 5/10 (Thai, Saturdays, 10:00 AM ET, iQIYI) The procedural aspects of this show are unfortunately not well executed, but Engfa and Charlotte have fantastic chemistry. I'm also really loving seeing Na and Max again even though I am very worried about getting too attached to their characters. It's always hard for me when a show is about a police officer trying to do good work in a corrupt system because the only takeaway I can accept is that that is not possible lol but I'm enjoying seeing these two on my screen every week (except this week, because we sadly did not get a new episode today).

*Mate, 6/12 (Thai, Tuesdays, WeTV (uncut version)) This one is hard to describe. It seems to be trying to do for trauma in a GL what Love in the Air and Bed Friend did in BL--show a realistic depiction of trauma in one of their characters and have them fall in love, and be taken care of and healed that way. But that also makes it extremely hard to watch. The trauma flashbacks and trauma responses is rough. The main character is not very likeable but that's kinda the point, I'm not minding that part of it so much. There are a lot of things I like about this show, so I don't want to discourage views. Just go into this one informed, and make the decision that's right for you.

*INTP 1/? (Korean, Fridays (?), YouTube) This is the latest short series from RedQ, who produced some of my favourite GL short series including More than or equal to 75 degrees C, and To the Ex who Hated Me. No info on how long it will be or if it will be weekly, so that Fridays release schedule is a total guess. The setup of this one reminded me of Semantic Error if SangWoo realized he was attracted to JaeYoung at their first group assignment meeting.

Recently Completed:

Apple My Love 6.5 50-min eps (Thai, Oct 12-Nov 16, GagaOOLala and YouTube) I ended up feeling like this one bit off a bit more than it could chew, as much fun as I had with it, it was a wobbly landing. I was ok with the ending at the end but I spent a lot of time watching the finale uncertain about how I felt about all of it. There's a 30 min "episode 5.1" that is an important bridge between episodes 5 and 6 (and also includes a 10-min fingering scene, thank you show) that I think resulted from either poor pacing or realizing they needed to set up the episode better? It was odd but something to make sure not to skip. The show does a lot of what I love about Kongthup's latest BLs: it avoids the worst drama pitfalls and calls them out in the show itself when it uses them, and it is largely about being kind to its characters who are figuring themselves out. Warning for extremely hard to watch secondhand embarrassment in the first couple of episodes lol Kris is such a cringefail lesbian I love her. With the caveats above, if you don't mind secondhand embarrassment and want a comedy GL and are willing to be a little patient with the ending, give this one a try!

The Loyal Pin 16 65-min eps (Thai, Aug 4-Dec 1, YouTube) Anin was the bravest right through to the end. I really liked a lot of this show, but I found the pacing a bit uneven and the finale a little rough. It's hard, because I actually am happy with the way the show ended--it makes perfect sense and was where I was hoping they would get to the entire show. What I didn't like was how we got there. It seemed wild that Pin and Anin didn't at least talk about this possibility before we got there; and didn't feel like we ever resolved the disparity between the two leads, though the show was aware of it the whole time which I did like. And you may have seen the shouting about the prank in the finale, it was in really poor taste. In the end, this show was beautiful, gave a platform for promoting Thai culture (food, clothing, history), and had excellent intimacy. I really enjoyed the slow burn between Anin and Pin, and I loved that every character had and used the agency they had, but that the show was realistic about what was in and outside of their control. If you want a slow-burn and high-heat romance and are willing to be a little frustrated for the sake of the drama, and/or you really like a pigtail-pulling romantic dynamic, you should watch this show.

Red Whisper 8 10-min eps (Korea, Oct 2-Nov 11, YouTube) Honestly this show never got better after what I wrote about it a month ago about how its portrayal of bisexuality and nonmonogamy was upsetting. For the record one last time: Not all bisexuals are nonmonogamous, and entering a monogamous relationship under false pretenses and then acting like your partner is being unreasonable by not wanting an open relationship is shitty behaviour. This one is sadly not recommended.

The Nipple Talk 10 30-min eps (Taiwanese, Nov 8-22, GagaOOLala) I highly recommended the first half, and so I am so sad to say that I can't say the same for the second half of the show. I was really enjoying how much the show seemed to support a mix of monogamy and nonmonogamy, but the second half of the show leaned heavily into 'everyone wants a monogamous relationship when they meet the right person', which disappointed me. The show also tried to introduce some themes that felt very dated in terms of how they handled them (e.g. HIV) and I ended up just not really liking the Pony character as a person by the end. The lesbian relationship was super messy in a way that I did not find fun too. Mama was the best part of this show, and I hope we get more characters like them in future (better) shows!

*Soul Sisters 24 12-min eps (Chinese, iQIYI) This entire show dropped this week so I binged it in one go. The basic setup is a GL version of Meet You At the Blossom, except the gender fuckery lasts for most of the series and they don't actually ever get to kiss. I loved this little show; it is a frenetic, very silly and censored comedy, so calibrate your expectations accordingly. But it walks the line in a way that is palatable (or was for me, anyway). Without giving too much away, it is an open happy ending. The caveats for this one are that there is no wasted tape, so the pacing is rollercoaster fast, and the cuts are sometimes jarring. But it's a surprisingly beautiful show for the budget, and I really appreciated all of the ways they came up with to give these women shippy moments. Also, good lord this main character is so competent, which is a major weakness of mine. I had a great time!

*Whisper Me a Love Song 12 25-min eps (Japanese anime, Apr-27 Dec, HiDive) This started airing in April but there was a delay and the last episode didn't air until yesterday. High school lesbians in a band having embarrassing confused and misunderstood feelings all over the place (with good endings including a kiss for at least one of our couples). I appreciate that this anime is not playing with the 'are they friends who joke about wanting to touch each other's boobs or are they more' line, they outright say they want to be more than friends and then kiss. The music is good too! Recommended if you are feeling like a high school dramedy with good tunes that stays pretty light and is in the 'bubble'.

Recent One-offs, Side Couples, etc.:

My Hot Butch Roommate (actually a 2-parter) aired on bilibili 1, 2) and was subtitled by @douqi7s on YouTube (1, 2) These two are very cute, and this little short does a ton with the very tiny 5 minutes of total runtime it uses. Give the original bilibili uploads a stream so they get views, even if you watch the YT subbed version!

Fufuknows put out a new lesbian short titled The Choices of Two Lesbian Couples in Love on YouTube This was a great short (11 min) film featuring the story of two couples at different stages in their relationship, and the different choices they make about their futures. I really enjoy Fufuknows as queer short filmmakers, and I appreciate that they regularly include lesbian and wlw content in their bi-weekly (as in, every other week) fictional shorts that they produce and release. This one is recommended!

Aim's Lesbian plotline in the new Love Sick 2024 remake concluded (this was not a plotline in the 2014 version and it's one of the changes I really like and that I think works really well) Spoiler: she doesn't get a romance happy ending but her story ends with acceptance from her friends about who she is, which was lovely to watch

There was a brief of-the-week lesbian couple who wanted to marry in Spare Me Your Mercy Spoiler: their story is tragic, which is par for the course in a murder mystery

I am suspecting wlw sides in See Your Love I may end up eating these words but I was getting vibes, and so I'm putting this out in the universe now in hopes I'm right lol

There is a new Korean shorts production company on YouTube called Lovememory (Their first BL ep is out and the GL, First Love, has a trailer)

Mom Ped Sawan started airing but I don't have a source so I can't give any info or links unfortunately. If anyone knows of a subtitled source for this show, please let me know!

My Ex's Wedding came out in Thai theatres waiting for an international source for this too

Korean short film What's In my Bag was uploaded to Matchbox I haven't seen it yet but the trailer is on YouTube if anyone is curious! The film is available now for a small fee on Vimeo (runtime 12 mins).

Sastra film app YouTube channel has several short Cambodian GL series that come out weekly Honestly they are not to my taste but I don't like gatekeeping GL especially from smaller markets. I check in on these time to time and if there are any that I think are great I'll give them a shout-out

Ditto above with JPC media YouTube channel for Thai GL shorts if there are any that stand out to me I'll say so; that being said I haven't had time recently so if I've missed anything good let me know!

Starting soon:

Us the series, Thai, 18 January 2025, most likely YouTube (as this is a GMMTV show) Caveat that this date is a rumour, see comments

Fragrance of the First Flower s2, Taiwanese, 18 February 2025, GagaOOLala ok this isn't that soon but I'm just so excited we're getting this second season after all!

It is so, so nice that we have this much GL to keep track of, I can't complain! This covers a whole month of content and it was a month I was very distracted from my QL consumption so while I always welcome anyone pointing out stuff I missed, I would particularly appreciate it this round.

[tally-hautism]

Tally Hall Songs Iceberg

This is not counting covers of other artist's songs, however I am including the Mr. F Mixtapes

Air (Lay of the Land) - If you've heard a Tally Hall song but haven't heard of Tally Hall it's because of these. Not counting the Rob Ads.

MMMM, G&E, Miracle Musical, Shia LeBeouf, Perfect (1 song 29 celebrity impressions)

Surface (Sun in the Sand) - If you've spent a little bit of time interested in Tally Hall you've probably heard of these.

Complete Demos, Admittedly Incomplete Demos, Joe Hawley Joe Hawley, Not a Trampoline, Listed Black, Light & Night Magician's Elephant, Smile Like You Mean It, I Know It's Just the Same, We Need Cash, All of My Friends/I'm Gonna Win, Praise You, Just a Friend

Subsurface (Everything Suddenly Falls out of Sight) - The start of Tallying out.

Cojum Dip, Mr. President Musical, Popular Rob Originals ( Cuckoo, Going Purple, Country Good, ), Hawaii Pt 2 demos, Sketches 3d, yelwaH eoJ yelwaH eoJ, White Rabbit, Candle on the Water, Stationary Love, Nathan Naimark Theme, Pingry EP, Variations on a Cloud, Sleigh Ride Invincibility Star, Special, Weird Bed &/or Yes Please, Good Day Simlish

Center (Every Attachment is Made of the Light) - Yeah, sorry if you've heard these Tally Hall is part of you forever.

Toy Orchestra, Etudes 1 and 2, Hawaii Pt 2 Video Game OST, Happy Monster Band, Kazoo Song, Rob Disney Songs, Christian Bale is at Your Party, White Collar Prison, L'frou Jibet, Lady Madonna, Why Bother?, Gobble Chicken Song, Andrew Has No Power (It's So Sad), We Think We're Playing in a Band: A Tribute to Tally Hall

Bottom (Everything Will Fall Away) - If you've heard these you probably run a tally hall blog or YT channel, Tally Hall is no longer part of you, it controls you.

Maybe in the Night, At Least a Day, Grandpa is Hiding, Tomorrow and Today, Videojuegos, Club Can't Handle Me, Casey Shea's Music ( In Your Head, Love is Here to Stay, Take the Bite )

In The Water (To Order From the Disarray) - Some of these are only on SoundCloud, genuinely impressive if you know most of these.

Rob Rarities ( Chevrolet, Comcast Xfinity, Einstein, I Stand by Your Side, Monopoly and Clue, Summer Song, The Animator, Take a Second Chance on Me + Together Forever (TGaMM), Winter Song ), Joe Rarities ( Dot's Uke, Pu (Woo~Hoo) ), Andrew Live Unreleased ( Fishes, Good Morning Mr. Butterfly, Monsters, Someone Will Be There, Worlds in My Head ), Mr. F ( Yeah Yeah Without Me Vampire Sea, Mix Tape, Mix Tape 2, Mix Tape 3, Top of the Park, Ann Arbor MI August 9th 2019 ), The Baker Bros

Honorary Mentions (There are Some Things We are Never Meant to Know) - These are currently lost media or just things I couldn't find a recording of. If you have a link to one of these lmk please.

Toys R Us, Three Tales From a Messy Kitchen, Let Your Little Light Shine, the song at the end of Mobile Phone Premonition (This is probably a cover, not a lot is known about it)

Honorary Honorary Mentions (Who Do We Think We Are) - These are partial or bad recordings, but not quite lost media, and as such they appear elsewhere in this list as well.

Kazoo Song, The Start of Our City, At Least a Day

[aannonn]

⭑.ᐟ˚⭐彡 // bold text , strong colors , spoilers

A TLDR about the podcast for those who don't really want to watch the whole 1 hour and a half video !! :> ( I had posted it here before but I deleted it cause I wanted to wait a bit until I finally 'completed' it (technically speaking 'cause I'm only really making a TLDR at what my brain stuck onto or else I may get burnout. (っ °Д °;)っ) so I wouldn't have to edit this post every time . . lol ... feel free to add anything else in the reblogs/notes though !! ^ _ ^ )

The Most Successful Stick Animator in the WORLD Ft. Alan Becker - Dojocast Ep.6

。─ ⭐ Animation vs. Animator/Minecraft Stuff !!

° . They have been working on AvA 11 for over a year ;; 20 minutes long ;; Probably the biggest one they have ever worked on ;; They are doing their best to push it as early as they can , possibly around early december or even late november // { 54:07 }

° . They have a Minecraft Short being worked on about BedWars ;; This one's been really complicated since they are using real Minecraft acting with stickfigures // { 54:56 }

° . Next thing coming up is a Three-Part series about Green ;; It's a surprise. lol // { 55:40 }

° . AvA is going to be atleast Three seasons ;; As long as AvA and Minecraft are popular they are gonna keep going // { 57:08 }

° . King Orange used to be King Gray for a long time ;; Alan was considering to make him a light purple for a while // { 58:10 }

° . Alan's favorite is The Second Coming // { 1:06:36 }

° . Alan had different ideas for the 'fight scene in the box // { 1:19:29 }

° . Animator vs. Animation was originally supposed to be a trilogy ;; At the end of AvA3, everyone was supposed to die ;; His senior year college Teacher, who knew about his animations, gave him the idea to continue the series // { 16:45 }

。─ ⭐ Alan Becker's Production Team & Other Stuff !!

° . Alan's biggest inspiration was his lead animator; Terkoiz = The same one who worked on AvPhysics // { 1:00:07 }

° . Alan is the lead creative ; Hatena is the line producer ; There are three project leads = One takes care of AvA , One takes care of AvM , One takes care of Everything Else ; The animators are not segmented into only a certain series , they work on everything based on their skill set ; Also a Production Assistant that helps Hatena takes notes // { 1:02:34 }

° . An advice for any animators struggling to break into the industry/studios be it Indie or major ones : TLDR: The best thing you can do as an Independent artist is post your work as much as you can, and eventually opportunities will land and you have to take them as they come. You have to put yourself out there; Get yourself into as many doors as possible, and just get to know everyone. // { 1:07:29 }

° . They got inspiration from BoxOfCrayons' Voices Plus Faces !! // { 1:15:27 }

° . Alan made Animation vs. Animator 1-4 completely on his own. ;; Animation vs. Minecraft was when he decided to experiment in having a team of animators, and he did it with the diamond armour as it was an extremely tedious process (he taught 5 animators to do that). ;; in Animation vs. Youtube, Stone and Oxob were the first two animators he trusted to animate stickfigures. // { 27:45 }

° . ABTV is basically a loop compilation of all the AvA/M videos they ever made ;; They are trying to make it fun by adding little transitions between the episodes like "you're watching ABTV !! ^0^" ;; Eventually it'll get to every single transition between episodes; Is unique // { 48:44 }

[seirei-bh]

I'm trying to calculate or at least approximate in headcanon the ages that I think each character is in New Gen

First according to ep 5, Ysaline is 22 years old, since she says that she was 9 when her sister Tasha was 3, and now her sister is 16, (although since each sucrette is customizable, I think each player can have the freedom to decide what age prefer to imagine that they have their sucrette in New Gen, and that's what I'm going to do with mines)

Anyway, this also gives us a clue as to at least Thomas's current age. And also this other important fact: Thomas is 10 when OldSucrette (Lynn) is 17. So they are 7 years apart.

And there's supposed to be a 3-year time jump after Love Life to the special crossover ep. Since Lynn is 26 in LL, she is 29 in that special ep.

If we subtract 7 from 29, then Thomas is 22 years old. The same one as supposedly Ysaline canonically.

Now, it is much more difficult to estimate the age of the other characters. The only clue we have is that Elenda said in ep 4 that she was 6-7 when Devon was 10-11. Taking into account that many stories in video games, books and animes sometimes tend to use even and round numbers in big time-skips so that readers can easily remember the dates, it makes me assume that 20 years have passed since that time. So Elenda would be 26-27 and Devon about 30-31. Now the problem is that we don't know if Roy and Devon are the same age or if Roy is younger, we only know that they went to the same high school and so did Elenda, and these three met each other since they were kids, but I'm inclined to think that Roy and Devon were more like friends in a sense of older-younger brothers, since Devon seems older due to his features and behavior, so perhaps Roy is the same age as Elenda. I can be wrong though, and Roy and Devon being the same age, but this is what I think for now~

We also don't know Amanda's age, but due to her features, she appears to be around the age of Thomas and Elenda. Although Elenda in a scene from ep 3 defines herself as "the fairy godmother of Devenementiel" and says that she was there from the beginning, while Amanda seems like a recent member of the company, which makes me think that perhaps Elenda is a little older than Amanda.

Jason could be either Roy's age or Devon's age, but I'm inclined to think that it would be more convincing for Jason to be Devon's age, given his features, and since they are both company bosses and direct rivals, it would make sense for them to be the same age, and olders than the other crushes.

And Brune seems from her features to be somewhat older than Elenda, but perhaps not as old as Devon.

So my final conclusions are:

Thomas: 22 (the only age probably canon for now) Amanda: between 22-24 Roy: 26/27 Devon: 30/31 Jason: 30/31

Elenda: 26/27 Brune: 28~

There are other possibilities, of course. But the only thing we can be quite sure of is Thomas's age, being 7 years older than Lynn and the same as Ysaline, and that Devon is 4 years older than Elenda. It's also possible, for example, that they are all 22 except Devon and Jason being 26, but Rayan Zaidi is 33 in UL and Devon and Jason's features seem -at least from my pov- closer to that age than in the middle of the twenties~

Anyway, I'd like to know the opinion based on these calculations and/or headcanons of other players regarding this topic 💜

I guess we won't know until they confirm it in the game, if they confirm it in future eps, however if it is never revealed, I'd really like to know what the canonical ages of each crush are. So @chinomiko if you ever see this, please it'd be wonderful if you could answer this some day, or at least if these ideas are close to the canon. I know that the age of each character is something that doesn't have too much importance since everyone can imagine what they want, but I am especially curious about Jason and Devon <3 Besides these details are always useful for fanfic material.

[brujc]

Hehe.... insect box...

Could I've been wrong? Did I mistook Teru appearing in the trailer for the young exorcist Arc? Cuz with this official art it's most likely we'll get chap 28 adaptated :0

But...these panels are the only Teru appearance in that chapter and don't correspond to the Trailer. Even when Teru appears in the next chapter it's in the student council

So the shots in the anime are definitely not from chap 28-29.

The first two of them look a loooooot like chap 10-11 staircase discussion scene

But this?? If I remember correctly this scene never happened in the manga, Kou didn't have the raiteijou during y.e arc!

I'm a bit confused about what we'll see during this ep and truly hoping for the better..

The official art with the bug scene is hinting at chap 28 being adaptated but the discussion shots and Teru's appearance are super similar to y.e arc but at the same time we have a anime-only scene with Teru and Kou visibly..sparring?

Are they gonna adapt young exorcist for half and ep and then Tsuchigomori/Kou/Nene interaction for the other? Maybe tweak things and include young exorcist in a very different way since we have an original scene??

Idk I'm kinda curious haha

[sunsetsover]

Just wanted to say I loved your post about the swing scene convo - you have a wonderful way with words and such a great grasp of the characters. What you said bout Bison with Fadel vs with Kant re. the hitman life was really interesting and something I hadn't picked up on.

And I particularly liked what you wrote about Kant and Babe, because I can't believe we're 8 eps in and there are still ppl (surely wilfully at this point?!) misunderstanding him - it's like they're determined to think the worst of him, not matter what he does/says! The idea that trusting his brother enough to let him live his own life independently once he comes of age is somehow a dick move and not what Babe himself would want? That prioritising his own happiness for the first time in his life is peak jerkface behaviour? From comments I've seen you'd think Kant had basically declared Babe was now dead to him! I mean, it only took: agreeing to seduce (only to then fall in love for real with) an assassin, getting knocked out, kidnapped, confronted with your childhood trauma and threatened with death multiple times for Kant to realise that maybe, just maybe, he needs to re-evaluate some things! It's obvious this has all been a bit of a wake-up call for him.

But you laid it out so clearly, and the way you explained how this is about Kant's agency and what he's choosing to do with it now he actually has some...spot-on, as always! It's so satisfying to read when someone just Gets It. And much like you, Swing Scene will stay with me for a very long time - the way FK can deliver so many different emotions and vibes in just one scene - passion, comfort, vulnerability, longing, affection, hunger, wistfulness, relief, lust, hope, weariness...gah! And oh the intimacy. It's...nope, don't have the words. I know I'm biased, but I swear nobody does intimacy like FK. It's just such a delight/privilege to watch them in action.

oh this is so kind of you! i really appreciate you saying this, and i'm so glad i could show you something you hadn't caught/thought about before! believe it or not this is something people used to tell me fairly often, and i've always loved that i could offer a different perspective on things that most people don't see/consider <3

but thankfully i haven't seen any of the comments you've clearly seen. i've just seen a lot of people suddenly team kantbison now that they're being all sweet without secrets or whatever, which i honestly should have expected given how fickle people are in the face of a few cute moments lmfao but thank god i haven't seen a single thing about kant's comment abt babe bc honestly i doubt i would've been able to hold my tongue. but tbh atp in the story if people don't like him they just don't like him. and that's fine (allegedly) but it's just annoying when they sit and pull kant's character apart and try and disparage him, esp if they're tagging it or whatever. like if you're truly begrudging a 29 year old man FINALLY for the first time in his life being able to make a selfish choice and do what he wants then you're just a hater. which ok whatever but can u do that shit over there where none of us can see it? thanks !

honestly tho babe is literally going to be leaving to study. he won't NEED kant. and kant - as he LITERALLY says in this ep - has been living his whole life for babe. and he did it beautifully, and without complaint, but that wasn't his choice. it wasn't what he wanted for his life. now babe is all but grown. he's starting his own life. now kant gets to start HIS too. how are you going to be mad about that? unless they somehow think kant is going to disappear and never talk to babe ever again, which is just silly. you genuinely think babe isn't going to be one of the handful of people who would know exactly where kant and bison were and have a open invite to visit whenever he wanted? come on now. but like i said, atp i think most of the ppl left still talking shit abt him just hate him. which whatever. but if that's how it is just hate him. stop trying to manipulate the narrative to justify it! just embrace being a pure bred hater damn!

but honestly that's so so lovely of you to say. i'm so glad you think so 🥺️ bc i know i'm always like 'i'm the only one who gets him/it!' but i hope everyone knows it's always in jest. everyone's entitled to their own opinions and perspectives, but i'm so glad you feel mine align with yours <3 and you're so right about the swing scene. i am admittedly biased and firstkhao could probably recite the alphabet for an hour and i would still be hooked, but the way they're constantly outdoing themselves and evolving and bringing even more depth and nuance and emotion etc to their characters and stories is such a privilege to witness. i'm so glad i found them <3

[the-conversation-pod]

In Your Lavender: The Wedding Plan Episode

AND WE'RE BACK!

We originally planned to discuss Wedding Plan alongside a few other shows but abandoned that quickly when we realized we both had a lot to say about this show. Come join us as we discuss whether MAME has shown growth, what it means that the lavender marriage term has existed for over 130 years, the importance of lesbians in this story, and the fundamental nature of the closet.

If you've been missing how heated Ben gets, now's your chance!

Timestamps

The timestamps will now correspond with chapters on Spotify for easier navigation.

01:16 - Intro 03:00 - Wedding Plan and MAME's Previous Crimes 15:18 - Realities of the Closet and Fandom Misunderstanding of the Show 29:23 - Things We Love About Wedding Plan and Final Ratings 37:26 - And Another Thing! The Wedding Plan Special

The Conversation Transcripts!

Thanks to the continued efforts of @ginnymoonbeam as transcriber, and @lurkingshan as an editor and proofreader, we are able to bring you transcripts of the episodes.

We will endeavor to make the transcripts available when the episodes launch, and it is our goal to make them available for past episodes. When transcripts are available, we will attach them to the episode post (like this one) and put the transcript behind a Read More cut to cut down on scrolling.

Please send our volunteers your thanks!

01:16 - Intro

NiNi

Welcome, welcome. [sighs] Go ahead.

Ben

Oh no, it's fine, you said welcome, I'm not going to do it this time. They won't get it for the Wedding Plan episode.

NiNi

[laughs] All right. Welcome, welcome to the—

Ben

I'm just kidding! And we're back!

[both laugh]

NiNi

Welcome! to the episode that was supposed to be a secret admirers episode, but instead is now the Wedding Plan episode, because everything else was a bit crap. We wanted to talk about this because we could not believe that this came fully formed from the head of MAME, of all the creatives. We were shocked, I think, but…the fandom was also kind of shocked, and we'll delve a little bit into how that played out when we get into the segment but, when I looked at the trailer I was like, ‘mm, okay, this could be cute.’ Did not expect to be…devastated, emotionally [laughs] at certain points.

Ben

I don't really think I watched the trailer properly. I went in a little bit hostile, because MAME’s got a whole thing for boundary crossing. And I was worried going in that this show was just going to be about some rich guy punking around his wedding planner, and then like, cheating on his wife. And that's not the show we got at all.

NiNi

Let’s dive into it so you can hear what we had to say!

03:00 - Wedding Plan and MAME’s previous crimes

NiNi

We are talking all things Wedding Plan. Now Ben, you and I had agreed sometime back that no matter what happened we were never going to talk about a MAME show on the podcast. And here we are [laughs] talking about a MAME show! And there's a really good reason for that. 

Let's start by talking about what Wedding Plan is about. Ben, do the honors.

Ben

Wedding Plan is a story about a wedding planner named Namnuea, who is the ace at his event planning company, and a fan of McDonald's, who very much sponsored this show. He is tasked with planning the wedding for a very attractive man and his soon-to-be wife. Complications ensue immediately, because their wedding is coming up in three months and these two have no idea what they want to do for their wedding, and only the groom is the one making the choices. 

We can tell very quickly that the groom, Sailom, is flirting with Namnuea; Namnuea is not stupid and picks up on this. The attraction between them is very mutual, but the complications around him being a client and a groom frustrate Namnuea. The reveals that eventually come out make this show to be way more than just a closet case trying to hit on his wedding planner.

NiNi

Reveal the reveals, because I feel like it's impossible to talk about this show in any meaningful way without knowing what the twist is.

Ben

Right! So Sailom and Yiwa, his bride, are in a lavender wedding. So for well over one hundred and forty years, we've had a term to describe queer people choosing to present themselves as heterosexually entwined for mutual benefit and safety. In this case, Sailom and Yiwa hail from fairly wealthy families that are extremely restrictive. The two of them recognized their own queerness at a very young age, and understood that they needed to hide that information. While on a trip in Europe the two of them recognized the queerness in each other when they both had a strong emotional reaction to seeing two women publicly kiss. And then became each other's best fucking friends for life, and decided to protect each other. Yiwa ends up developing a very meaningful romance with a woman named Marine, and she convinces Sailom to marry her so that they can both get out from under their families. They have a long-term plan to divorce. 

So when Sailom is flirting with Namnuea, Yiwa is 100% aware of it, and extremely supportive of it, because she doesn't want her friend, who she treats like a brother, to be lonely all the time.

NiNi

That basically sums it up in terms of the mechanics of the plot. But guys, the reason that we're here talking about a MAME show, is, this hit me right in the fucking throat, man. It was so real, in a way that I've never gotten from a MAME show. It felt like MAME almost apologizing to BL for some of the shit that she's done? It felt like MAME trying to gain some understanding and learn some shit, and show that she had learned some shit?

Ben

Just so that we get a bunch of stuff out on the table for listeners: what are some things that MAME has done that you think she should apologize for? [laughs]

NiNi

Ah, [laughs] where do I even begin? MAME work tends to lean very heavily into…traumatizing already traumatized people? I have mixed feelings about a lot of MAME’s work. There are sometimes I'm just like, oh fuck you. And then there's sometimes where they're like, I see where you're trying to go with this but you didn't have the skill. And then there are times I'm just like, ma’am, get the hell out. Something like this that I don't have any mixed feelings about, I just feel strongly positive about it…it's never happened to me before with her work, not ever. And it made me recalibrate in my head—a little bit, because it's still only one show—maybe where I should place MAME as a creative.

Ben

I have a list.

[both laugh]

NiNi

Go on ahead! Read!

Ben

Let's start with Love By Chance. There are four goddamn couples in Love By Chance. Only one couple is remotely stable! We really only talk about Ae and Pete, because we do not need to talk about the other three. MAME loves to question the line between crossing boundaries and romance. There’s Tin and Can, who were the focus of Love By Chance 2—

NiNi

Which I did not watch.

Ben

Then there's Kengkla and Techno, and Kengkla is paying Techno's brother for information on him to eventually date rape him—I mean, that happened in Love By Chance! Then there's Tum and Tar, who are brothers, and Tar was a victim of horrendous acts by a character from TharnType. Moving on to TharnType, a show that I will not watch, for multiple reasons, some of them fandom related that we are not going to get into in this podcast. But the idea that Tharn is going to teach Type that he's actually into men without his consent? Yikes. I don't care how it ends up resolving. The wall is real fucking high for me on that one.

Ben

Didn't they have a spinoff with the other guys from Don't Say No? I'm not talking about that. Then we get to Love in the Air, which I mostly enjoyed, but why do both of the ukes in that show have to get kidnapped in their final episodes? [laughs] Why? It's so unnecessary! Rain and Sky were straight up kidnapped as the final complication of their show. It's insane.

NiNi

I did not watch Love in the Air. So every time you say that I'm just like, ‘that's a thing that actually happened?’

Ben

So this is the difference with Wedding Plan. Wedding Plan is so straightforward. There is no major complication to Wedding Plan. Everything that happens in this show flows naturally from the base conceit that two people involved in a lavender wedding are dealing with some difficulties and frustrations as that approaches, and then make logical choices for their characters, in response to everything that's going on. 

And it kind of surprised me how much I ended up really loving this show. It's interesting for me that Yiwa and Marine’s relationship is the reason why the wedding is occurring. I've never really cared about heterosexual weddings in a lot of these shows and stories that I watch, but I feel so much about the way Lom and Yiwa care about each other and protect each other. Lom is agreeing to this sham wedding that's going to eventually lead to a bunch of complications in his life, because he's trying to protect his friend. 

Normally in a story like this, there'd be all this tension about the groom struggling with his sexual identity, and what he wants for himself, and the girl's going to get hurt along the way—‘he feels loyal to the girl, we can't just do her like that!’ In this show, Lom is withholding information about the specifics about his relationship with Yiwa from Namnuea because he's protecting her. The crux of the romantic drama of this show was about a gay man in the closet protecting a gay woman in the closet.

NiNi

Yiwa and Marine's relationship is the key to the whole story, but the relationship between Yiwa and Sailom is the core relationship. The fact that they're doing this for each other, the fact that they care about each other so deeply, the fact that they basically decided long ago that they were the people who mattered to each other…and then as people come into their lives who are maybe somebody they might be interested in building a life with, it becomes a decision for everybody as to whether this person gets let in. I would have loved to see how it went when Yiwa decided that she wanted to be with Marine. I understand that's not the point of this particular story, but I would have been fascinated to see how that played out. 

By the time we join the story Marine’s on the inside. She's 100% bought in. Marine has made the decision to be in the closet with Yiwa, which is sad in one way, but it's so freeing for them in another, because of what Sailom has done for them. They can be happy. And they are happy! They're happy and they're in love, and they're part of this family of the two of them and Sailom. It made me smile just watching them be with each other as a family unit. And then Lom meeting Nuea. When you're going to bring somebody into a secret like that, you have to be 100% sure. And not just you, everybody has to be on board with it. [laughs] It's not polyamorous, but it's—polyamoresque [laughs] I guess is the best way to describe it. Everybody has to be on board with what's happening. It's not just a question of ‘do I like this person?’ It's a question of ‘is this person a safe person?’ It's a question of ‘do the other people involved in this like this person?’ It's a question of ‘is this a person who I can share this secret with?’ but it's also, as it comes down to later in the story, a question of Lom knowing that he couldn't ask. He couldn't ask Nuea to be a part of the secret. He could just tell Nuea what was happening, and he could just hope and pray—and I don't even think that he dared to hope. And I think that's what the crying was about when Nuea decided that he was going to become part of the family? Lom broke down when Nuea said to him, ‘I'm going to help you keep your secret.’ Because he knew he couldn't ask it of him. And the fact that he freely offered it just brought Lom to tears.

15:18 - Realities of the closet and fandom misunderstanding the show

NiNi

This show is amazing. The show is emotionally sound, the show is beautiful, and I got so mad [laughs] watching this show get misunderstood. And if I was mad, Ben was incandescent. [laughs] 

Ben, you take the floor and tell ‘em why you mad, son.

Ben

I'm going to talk about the closet for a little bit. It felt like a lot of the people who are reacting to this show have not been in the closet. I was in the closet for 11 years. Your brain does not work in the same way on the inside, and I'm going to say frankly to anybody who thought Lom should have told Namnuea a lot sooner than he did? When you've been in the closet for 13 years, you do not tell someone you have a crush on, in two months of knowing them. Not when the stakes are as high as they are. The reason they're in the closet is because there will be severe and painful consequences for failing to maintain a heteronormative status quo. 

The big thing that separates Lom from Namnuea is, Namnuea is out. The truth about who Namnuea is cannot harm him. Namnuea develops feelings for Lom, and tells his boss. And she says, ‘there's nothing wrong with you having a crush on the guy, like he's hot. You know what the professional boundaries are though, do you need me to step in and take care of this for you?’ and Namnuea said no. When Namnuea fell for Lom, before they hooked up, he called his mom and said, ‘mom I think I fucked up.’ And she's like, ‘sometimes we fuck up baby boy, come home if you need me.’ And after he hooked up with Lom that's what he did! He went home, and he told his mom flat out: ‘the thing I told you about? Yeah I think I went too far.’ And she held him, and let him be a mess about it, because she understood that he already knew that he put himself in a really untenable situation, and she didn't pile on. They protected him. Namnuea can be honest about who he is, and whenever he tells the people who matter to him about something that happened, they close ranks around him and protect him. At the point at which Lom is trying to chase after Namnuea, every woman in his life pulled out their claws and was ready to slit that man's throat. They were all ready to throw hands with this man! 

But when you're in the closet, your brain doesn't work right. You are under constant surveillance to maintain the heteronormative veneer over your life. The show does not make this hypothetical. Their friends and family are snapping pictures of them in public, and questioning every relationship they have with someone other than Lom and Yiwa. Lom is sitting at the table with Marine—Yiwa stepped away for a work call, and someone’s snapping a photo like, ‘why is Lom on a date with this other girl? She's trying to steal Lom from your daughter.’ Or ‘I saw Yiwa hanging out with her best friend, are they gay? I took some pictures and now I'm telling your mom.’ When you look at the reason why these two are so vigilant about being in the closet, that's literally what they're experiencing! It's super heavy-handed in this show, but it is exactly the kind of shit that I lived through. Being in the closet because you know that there are consequences and there are dangers breeds hypervigilance. 

And I'm going to say it really plainly: all of the really negative takes I saw about Lom that were really unsympathetic to what this man went through? Made me, as a 30-something year old gay man who survived being closeted, really extremely uncomfortable. And I really need you to reckon with whatever you were going through that made you turn on a closeted gay man, and view him as the evil aggressor party in this particular relationship. Because goddamn! 

The reason why he chose Namnuea to be his wedding planner was because he had a crush on him! And when you're in the closet you need plausible deniability. Lom is toeing the line. He can hang out with Namnuea and flirt with him, because he's talking to his wedding planner. Nobody's going to question him being around a gay man, because he's his wedding planner! And that's what the homos do, is they plan events for the rest of us! Because they're very good at it. The reason why he's being an irritating client is because he wants Namnuea to talk to him more. If he's a good client, Namnuea’s not gonna talk to him! Because Namnuea’s professional, and busy. 

And Lom admits it. He says in episode…6 I believe, because I just rewatched again, that hiring Namnuea was just, in his mind, a little bit of fun before he got married. He would flirt with the guy that he had a crush on, even if it's a little fucked up to do that, and have a little fun before his wedding. He was not expecting to fall in love with Namnuea. But he's got a competency kink! And Namnuea is so good at his job. And he likes his job! He likes seeing people happy at the things that he planned for them, and he takes care of people. Lom loves these things in Namnuea. This even played out in their sex. He was happy that Namnuea was not a virgin. Very tasteful, sir.

NiNi

It being MAME, I will confess, that up until maybe somewhere around the beginning to middle of episode 4? I wasn't sure where they were going with this.

Ben

Let me tell you, I was waiting for her to do some convoluted bullshit as of episode 7. [laughs] They're like, ‘the bride’s run off!’ and I'm like, there's really only one way this should play out. Closeted people make plans. Yiwa is also not stupid. There’s this moment in episode 6—and this is again intentional, the editing on this show is actually really crisp. We get the really poignant scene on the bridge, where Lom talks about the knowing, and Namnuea’s like, ‘we need to fuck right now.’ And then, if you have access to iQiYi, they did! And then we get the scene where Namnuea agrees to be in the relationship, and all that that means. 

The very next scene is Yiwa’s mom showing up at Marine's apartment to accost her and slap her. Which is immediately followed by Yiwa running back to the condo, and the way she enters that apartment? She genuinely thought that Marine might have left her. For as happy as they seem, Yiwa never underestimates or undervalues the stress that she's putting Marine under. When she enters the room and Marine hasn't run away, but is just laying in bed, clearly spent from all of this? That's the moment that breaks Yiwa. And then we flash forward three weeks to the wedding, and she's run off with Marine and leaves a note. 

Lom knows her! He was not phased by this at all, when—after he's done putting on his jilted groom act, he's laughing. He's like, ‘I know what that cheeky girl did, I can't believe she did this without telling me. Look at this stupid note! I can read between the lines.’ [laughs] And then they call her, and she's like, ‘I knew you would understand my note. That's my boy, don't fuck this up! I'll take this on for you.’ Yiwa takes on the social pariah role here, of being the lesbian who ran away the day of the wedding, leaving Lom at the altar, ‘how dare she?’ 

The power here is that Yiwa doesn't give a fuck anymore. That's the whole thing about heteronormative shame: it only matters where you can exert that influence over people. Yiwa and Marine said, we cannot exist the way we want to, so we are leaving and going somewhere else. That is a choice a lot of us choose to make: to leave our home communities, to go build community with other people elsewhere. And then she gives Lom the ability to spin that, to soft launch his relationship with Nuea. Because they don't come out as a couple for like six months after that. They put on the act of Lom being a drunken mess for months—he's fine. He's just spraying alcohol on himself and then going to work with his hair unkempt.

NiNi

Episode 7’s so delightful. But anyway, continue.

Ben

And he's just hanging out with Nuea, and he just tells people, ‘yeah, we bonded over the wedding stuff because we had a lot of work to do really quickly for the wedding, and you know he felt sympathy for me afterwards. And he took care of me at a really difficult time, and I feel comfortable with him. I loved Yiwa, she was the only woman I was ever willing to marry.’ 

Not a lie! But also not the exact truth.

NiNi

I loved the big lie at the end, because it was basically Lom, Yiwa, and everybody in the situation putting two giant middle fingers up at their society, and the people around them. Aside from the people who, as you rightly said, would have protected them anyway. So all the women in Nuea’s life, and the people who he works with at the wedding planning company—basically the people who earned the right to know the truth know the truth. And everybody else gets two giant fucking middle fingers and the big lie.

Ben

It's a little bit like the ending with Bad Buddy, about them breaking up publicly but still being together? It's the same question: who is allowed to know? Something for you to think about, if you didn't get this show and you hated Lom and all this sort of stuff—ask yourself if the queer people in your life trust you. Would you be brought in? Would you be trusted with this information? Lom's mother realizes along the way what was going on the whole time, because she's not stupid. And she says quite plainly—because Lom has not properly come out to her yet, he's been hinting at it, he's like, I feel comfortable with him—and she says, ‘I'm still doing what I need to do to process this, but just promise me you won't leave.’ 

What she recognized is that she was playing a zero sum game that she could lose. That her son could make the same choice as Yiwa. She recognized that he and Yiwa were likely withholding important information about themselves, from their parents, for a really long time. And that can be really unsettling. It's something I went through in my family when I started coming out, that people were very put off by how I just…hid hugely important portions of my life from them, for most of my life. And she recognized that if she pushed too hard, she would get nothing.

NiNi

It really is the Bad Buddy conundrum, because this is where their parents are at the end, where they know, but if they're not willing to fully be on board? Then they don't get to fully know. And they don't get to be fully involved. Lom's mom knows, but until and unless she's willing to wholeheartedly accept Nuea there will always be now, at this point, a barrier between her and her son. All she can ask of him is that he doesn't leave. But beyond that, she doesn't get to ask anything of him, until and unless she is ready to fully accept every part of who he is. I can't believe that came from MAME's pen.

29:23 - Things we love about Wedding Plan and final ratings

Ben

Something else I really love—I really love the community around Nuea, particularly his family. I love when he goes back to Chiang Mai, and he sees that his little cousin is also out and proud now and has a hot boyfriend. And I love that Sun, Ryu’s boyfriend, is immediately engaged in in-law solidarity with Sailom. Nuea’s family hates him, and he's like, ‘valid.’ Like, ‘If you want to stay here, you got to work.’ ‘Okay.’ And he just works. Nuea's family is protecting Nuea from someone who they think doesn't respect him. Everything mean that they're doing to Sailom is because they are protecting Nuea, and it's really not that much, what they're asking. They're basically just giving him a difficult time, until Nuea decides what to do with him. But Sun is helping him the whole time, he's like, ‘this family's very difficult, I got you bro.’ And that pairs really well with the phone call that Nuea has with Yiwa and Marine, where Yiwa is like, ‘Lom and I do love each other. That is my ride or die: it's been me and him for a long time. I'm not going to pretend that he is not the most important man in my life, but he's not who I'm building my future with.’ 

And I love that for Yiwa and Sailom, it is love between them. The heteros just misread it. They don't have to fake an admiration for each other. I love that Marine talks to Nuea, and talks about the sincerity of their feelings, and how she's okay, at this point. Because she's the only person that Nuea can really accept any sort of perspective from, and I'm really glad that they had that moment and that was just them.

NiNi

I love that in that moment she doesn't try to convince him of anything. She just says, ‘I can't tell you what to do. This is a crazy situation: here's what I accepted about this, here's why I accepted it. These people are good people.’

Ben

Right! She says their love is sincere.

NiNi

‘Yeah, but whatever decision you make I completely get, because I made my choice. You're gonna have to make your own choice as well.’ She spoke to Nuea very candidly, and I truly appreciated that, and I think that Nuea definitely appreciated that too.

Ben

I love the reveal about Sailom's hands always being cold because he was nervous.

NiNi

Ehhhh [laughs] It was one of those romance things that I'm just like ‘eh!’ about, but it was adorable. It was.

Ben

I really like Pak in this role. A lot of the times when MAME writes her ukes, they tend to be a little bit on the demure side, and they usually need a stern counterbalancing presence for them? I really like that Nuea did not need that at all. I also liked how queer Namnuea felt. He very much feels like a gay boy.

NiNi

I love stories about love and family, and this is one of the ultimate love and family stories. For me, and I can't believe I'm saying this, when it comes to love and family, it's going maybe a half step behind Moonlight Chicken this year for me? I can't believe that just came out of my mouth about a MAME show. But that's really truly how I feel about it. For me, it was a 10.

Ben

I ended up giving this show a 9.5. It's one of the ones that's going to linger with me for a while, and I think a big part of it was just how much everyone else really hated the show. I think we went into this show with a lot of MAME blinders on—I knowingly went into the show hostile. I don't really like a lot of what MAME does. But, respectfully, watching a MAME show—the writer famous for writing romances about boundary crossing—and being mad that her characters are crossing boundaries? Is a little bit disingenuous of a place to write your criticism from. That's her shtick. 

Nuea crosses those boundaries too! Nuea had agency, and I really resent the way a lot of the takes damsel him and make him seem powerless. He's not! He is the one with all the power here. It's why Sailom is pouring everything he can into, every time he says ‘I like you, Nuea.’ Sailom is such a sap, and y'all really hated that man. And I really need y'all to reckon with that. Like if you listened to us and you hated Sailom, please, examine your life. [laughs]

NiNi

I have a smidge of sympathy up until episode 4, for anybody who struggled a little bit with Sailom. But only up until episode 4. Because somewhere to the beginning, middle of episode 4, it was very clear what they were driving towards? And then at the end of episode 4 when Sailom and Nuea hook up for the first time, I said to myself, ‘Okay. I see where this is going.’ And then when they get to Chiang Mai, and Sailom finally tells Nuea what happens, because Marine and Yiwa have given their okay, and Nuea said, ‘Duh. Clearly that's what's going on, I already knew that.’ Nuea wasn't fooled by Sailom.

Ben

No, Nuea basically guessed 90% of it accurately. The only thing he didn't really guess, was that they were both in on it. Let me say this as well while we're here: in terms of queer solidarity, Namnuea never once outed Yiwa when he caught her out with Marine. He did not mention that once. Not at all. He ain't tell none of his hoes. He ain’t tell none of his people. He caught those two out, was like ‘oh shit, is my gaydar broken?’ And then he didn't say shit about that. He didn't even hold that up in his whole thing with Sailom. And I respect the fuck out of that man for that, because that’s not his thing to say.

NiNi

The show is amazing.

Ben

It really is.

NiNi

It's, for me, an easy cruise into some type of VIIB Award at the end of the year.

Ben

It's gonna be a difficult year for us, when we're sorting out acknowledging the incredible work that's been done, but this is one of them.

NiNi

Delightful, emotional, deeply gratifying, deeply satisfying. Ben gave this a 9.5, I gave it a 10, let's call it a 9.75.

Ben

It can get a 10 from The Conversation.

NiNi

You heard it here first, folks: Ben says it can get a 10 from The Conversation. MAME gets a 10 from us, and nobody is more surprised than us—

Ben

It’s true.

NiNi

—that that is a thing that happened [laughs] on this show.

Ben

I feel so intense about this show. I get so mad about the discourse around Sailom. He's one of those characters, like, if you don't like him? I don't like you. Fuck off.

[both laugh]

NiNi

And that’s…a word!

37:26 - And another thing! The Wedding Plan special

Ben

And we're back! I have so much more to say, I am not through. [laughs]

NiNi

So before we get into Ben's ‘and another thing!...’ Let's talk a little bit about the Wedding Plan special, because there was a special episode, that cost $8.

Ben

[laughs] I paid $7 for my rental.

NiNi

However much it costs, it costs money. Which I'm slightly salty about because MAME had McDonald's money on this, she didn't need ours.

Ben

In her defense, she has done this on literally every show. Except for Love by Chance…and Don't Say No.

NiNi

McDonald's money. That's all I'm going to say.

Ben

And she cashed in! Good for her.

NiNi

[laughs] Anyway, so let's talk a little bit about the Wedding Plan special. Ben, tell the people what it was about.

Ben

The show's fucking called Wedding Plan. It was the fucking wedding, guys, let’s—we're not going to beat around the fucking bush on this one. It was the wedding for the gays! It was really beautiful. The basic premise is, the guys have been dating properly for what feels like a year, year and a half at this point. They're taking a trip to go back to see Namnuea's family. Before they leave, they have one final check-in with Lom's mom, where she meets Nuea properly as Lom's boyfriend. She doesn't take it very well, but Sailom does not give a shit. 

Meanwhile Sailom is working with Wiwa Square to organize a secret wedding for Namnuea. Hilariously, Im still does not like Sailom, and I thought that was an excellent character detail. So they go and travel back to the north, and Sailom has Nuea taking him around—I think they were in Chiang Mai?—to check out sites and locations while everyone else has moved to Namnuea's house to set up for this wedding that Namnuea doesn't know about. Lom proposes to him, they end up having the wedding the next day. It's this incredibly beautiful ceremony, it’s very traditional Thai, I believe. There's more I want to say about some of the stuff that happened at the wedding, but that's the basic premise: Lom organizes a wedding for Namnuea, and his friends plan it in secret. Which I actually think is lovely for a wedding planner, that he didn't have to plan his own wedding.

NiNi

That's the crux of it. You guys know, I am not the one the two or the three for these weddings. I believe in marriage. I believe in the importance of marriage. I am generally not a fan of the weddings. But, this one? It was beautiful, I do have to say. It was a beautiful wedding, everything around the wedding was beautiful. When I was talking about Wedding Plan in the main part of the show, I was talking about how much I love love and family. And that was what the wedding episode was about, it was love and family. Yiwa and Marine were there at the wedding, being Sailom's family, because while his mom is starting to come around to Nuea, she's still not there yet. So she doesn't get to be a part of this. So Yiwa and Marine are his family. They show up for him. They are hosting on his behalf. It's beautiful. It's just so beautiful.

Ben

I did not praise Pakpai enough in our recording; Pakpai’s reaction, as Nuea, to Yiwa appearing before him, for this wedding that he had just found out about? Is one of the most perfect expressions I’ve seen all year.

NiNi

Because he hasn't seen them since they left for England.

Ben

I am a gay boy who believes in community. And believes in gay people taking care of each other. And that means that I have worked in solidarity with lesbians. And it is such a beautiful thing for me, in this year of really good shows, to see two lesbians in a critical role in the lives of gay men. There's something so special about the unconditional, ride or die love between Yiwa and Lom, and how that extends to Marine and Nuea, and creates this very special little family unit. I cannot overstate how important it is to me that Nuea almost cried because he was overwhelmed with emotion getting to see Yiwa in front of him again, and for a wedding that he had just found out about. That was his first reaction: awe, and then he burst into tears because he loved her so much and had missed her for that long. That is so beautiful! 

As for the other things in the special…The ceremony itself is really beautiful. There's a lot of really great moments in there. There's this very special moment between Namnuea and Im, where she comes to pay respects, and he takes her hand, and he says ‘I love you’ in this way that conveys a very special history between the two of them? That sent me over the edge and I burst into tears right away. [laughs] I do not know what those two have been through together, but that ‘I love you’ was one of the most effective I love yous I have ever experienced in this genre, and it was not between romantic leads at all.

NiNi

We always go up for the non-romantic I love yous in BL. lt's the Jim and Li Ming thing all over again. Namnuea’s co-workers being there for him at his wedding, the way that they put it together for him, the way that Marine and Yiwa stepped in to be Lom's family, the way Nuea’s actual family stepped in as well. There's a gorgeous scene, after the actual wedding ceremony, where they do—I suppose this is another traditional part of a Thai wedding, which is a bedding?—where Nuea's parents are with them in the room, and talking to them about love and commitment and marriage, and that's the part that put me into tears.

Ben

It was really funny, because like we had not really seen any of the dads in the show. Moms were a big deal in the show. Nuea’s dad is just this sweet man! It was overwhelming for me, how just beautifully sweet this man was, and the way he was pouring love out to Sailom, because he's like, ‘I never thought Nuea would get to have this.’ Nuea, the wedding planner, who spends so much of his time trying to make sure other people's dreams come true? I was floored by his dad just being there: ‘I just wanted my son to be happy, and I'm so thankful that you were able to do that for him.’ And I was like, ‘I don't know who you are sir, but good job!’

NiNi

It was really really gorgeous, and just so many other things…also the stuff that's happening between Sailom and Nuea. The way that Sailom proposes, and the way that Nuea knew it was coming but he still got surprised by the way that it happened? That was gorgeous. And then again, after the wedding and after the bedding, when it's just the two of them in the room, and Nuea does the thing where he pays respect to his husband? And says that that's something that he always wanted to do? The way that these two take marriage so seriously, and especially the way that Nuea feels about it. Because like I said, Nuea is a wedding planner; he sees weddings every day. He sees these rituals and ceremonies and everything every day. And I can just imagine him sitting thinking to himself, ‘one day, one day, and this is something that I want to do with my husband, and this is something that I want to do with my husband’—I can just imagine that. And then meeting Sailom and falling in love with Sailom and actually getting to marry Sailom, and being able to do that, and the way that he is so emotional about that. Mmh! Got me right in the feels. 

The reason that I tend not to like weddings is because a lot of the time I find them so artificial, so stage managed and overproduced. I'm talking about this not just in terms of weddings in fiction, but weddings in real life. So, watching something so sincere, something so genuine, something so personal… t’s a production, yes, all weddings are, but it was real! Everything about it was so real, it was so emotional, it was so…[sigh] it was great. It was fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed that. I cried more than once watching the special. It just added to the joy of discovering Wedding Plan and this whole little universe and these characters.

Ben

There was a lot of little stuff happening around that. Like, one of the things that I think MAME is actually pretty good at, is really caring about her supporting cast in a useful way? She's very good about understanding why that character is there. There's Yiwa and Marine getting to have a private moment, being a little bit sad that they didn't get to have this, a Thai wedding with the people who love them around them. And I like that they got to have, like a quiet bitter moment about that. And I like that they didn't put that on Lom and Nuea, it's not something that they need to be consoled about, it's just one of those things that hurts about being queer sometimes, and that's part of the choice they made. They did take on that hurt, to give the boys a chance to be together, but it still hurt, and I like that the show never forgot that. This show cared about its lesbians, they mattered to this story, they weren't there just to check off boxes to make sure that we covered all of our bases. They were still telling their story. 

I love Sun and Ryu listening at their goddamn bedroom, and then having to be chased off. Great comedy. But also I loved it, I loved that there were younger gays excited about gays slightly older than them getting to have their moment together. It was such a special execution of that. 

I genuinely like that the Wedding Plan special episode is treated as a special episode. I like where the show ends for itself. I like thinking about the wedding as a special epilogue for the story, and not necessarily as the actual finale of the story. I think it's better as epilogue content.

NiNi

I have to agree! So all in all, when it comes down to Wedding Plan, looking back at it now, I think we definitely stand by how we felt about it. I think that… I have, you know Ben has, gotten even more in love with it? And even more, I think, defensive and vocal about it, because it's good! It's just good. And I don't like people saying it's not! That's it for me.

Ben

This is the number 4 or 5 show of the year for me.

NiNi

Yeah, there you have it.

Ben

Currently it's behind—in no specific order because we're not at the VIIB Awards yet—Moonlight Chicken, My School President, La Pluie, and probably The Eighth Sense? It's that good! 

I am in this genre for queer cinephile reasons. I am here to connect with people for gay reasons. I'm not in this for, like, taboo, or to see cute boys kiss each other because it's titillating in and of itself. I exist as a queer person, it informs my decisions on the regular, and it was such a relief to see characters that were not incidentally gay, so that we can imagine two idols bumpin’ uglies. 

I really love Sailom and Namnuea so much. Sailom got updated to blorbo status so quickly. Every week I'll just send NiNi a gif of Sailom and be like, ‘they really hated this man!’

[both laugh]

NiNi

He's not even kidding, this literally happens.

Ben

[laughs] It’ll just, just be a great gif that somebody made of Sailom and I’ll be like, ‘they really hated this man!’ 

Something else I want to say quite plainly here, and I would like you, as listeners of the podcast to reckon with this—and I would really like to talk about this, so please talk to me on Tumblr about this: Part of why I think Wedding Plan did not hit for people, is that Namnuea doesn't look like a girl, and doesn't behave like a girl. He behaves like a kind of femme man, and he feels very gay, in a way that is distinctly masculine. Additionally, the show doesn't really conform to a seme-uke dynamic very well, because Namnuea does seme things—like I noticed in episode 2 that he does a kabedon on Sailom. And I know that bothered a lot of the people who are obsessed with loyalty to the tropes. Namnuea is so self-assured, and I don't necessarily think that that resonated for the people who are in this for BL reasons and for regular romance beats. And I wonder a lot if that was their big problem. 

I would really like to have a secondary conversation with the folks who listen to us about this particular dynamic, because I do think it's worth us unpacking why people—as much shit that gets talked about MAME—refused to engage with the show. This is legitimately one of the top queer narratives of the year. And we snubbed this show. I have watched people talk shit about MAME and her writing for five fucking years, and when she writes a whole show that is basically the byproduct of all of our feedback, we snubbed it! When MAME returns to her roots, I don't want to hear none of y’all who snubbed Wedding Plan saying a goddamn thing about her.

NiNi

I'm so mad at you for saying when MAME returns to her roots. Like this was clearly a fluke. 

Ben

She's gonna be like Jafar! She's going to be like, ‘let's see how snakelike I can be, bitches!’

NiNi

So you definitely are of the view that this is not a change for MAME, this is just a detour.

Ben

I don't know! I don't know, like I was not expecting Wedding Plan. This show has so much goddamn heart to it, and it was gay! In a real way!

NiNi

I think you need to start subscribing to my vibes-based scoring method.

Ben

What? Absolutely not! 

[both laugh] 

Nah, it's always about the recommends. Legitimately, it's a 10 recommend. Everyone needs to go fucking watch this show. This is essential viewing for this year. This show represents a fascinating growth point for MAME; because we've criticized her for five years and she made something that is one of the most wholesome gay things I have ever watched in the genre. And we snubbed it, and threw it away. 

To the cast of Wedding Plan: you all did a fantastic job, and I hope you all had a really fun time together. I want to thank every single one of you for the work you all did, because you all collectively created one of the most compelling community support systems I've ever seen in queer TV, truly. Especially to all of the women who are on that cast. BL women get messed around a lot, and don't often get to do a lot of great stuff, and every single one of you did a fantastic job.

NiNi

That is going to wrap us up on the Wedding Plan episode. We out! Say bye to the people, Ben.

Ben

Y’all better watch this fucking show. Peace.

[both laugh]

[kandadze]

Ep 29 loose thoughts

Oof, Li Lun's really on his last legs, eh? I do feel sorry for him, but I feel even worse for Bai Jiu - locked up inside his own body, poisoned, forced to ingest human livers, coughing up blood and dying. Can this kid get a break, please.

It's funny to me how ZYC might have figured out ZYZ's ruse because of his top-tier observation skills... or it might have been because he pays *that* much attention to the demon. I guess we'll never know 😅

It's heartbreaking in a way how well ZYZ knows LL, still, after all, and trusts him not to hurt Ying Lei, trusts LL to honor an emotional debt. Also, interesting how even while pointing a sword to ZYZ's throat, ZYC trusts him not to go to certain lengths for his goals... I keep saying this, but- the bonds in this drama! 😭

Is this really the time to walk away without saying anything, ZYZ? (I know, I know. It's so that they can break our hearts more thoroughly real soon.)

Oh okay. So even Wen Xiao doesn't know what exactly is wrong with her - don't you think that's kind of vital info you should've shared, Bai Yan daren? Ngl, I guffawed when ZYZ said, "I searched Wen Xiao's body etc," not sure if it's the translation that's lacking or what, but I'm pretty sure we all had the same thought about how thorough that search was 😝 On a more serious note though, is poison always the most powerful weapon of destruction in cdramas? Like ZYZ has the power to heal stab wounds and vein cuts that would otherwise be lethal, but he can't do shit about poison?

Thanks for explaining why she wasn't there when the gang came back with the scale, I thought it was so weird for Bai Yan to just leave like that when she was supposedly the one to tell them how it works. (Still not sure why it had to be her and not Ying Long or even the princess Longyu herself, but oh well.)

Yes, that's why ZYZ stole the scale. The never ending variations on the trolley problem in this drama (I think I saw someone mention it re the Bingyi cave and then it happened again in ep 28, and now it's happening again)!

"It's hard." And? That doesn't mean it's impossible, right? Bai Yan, *please* speak plainly and in full sentences, because instead of raising tension you're raising my blood pressure.

Ah, of course she would withhold that info if it meant saving her son. ZYC, going straight for jugular lol (gotta love the man, for him restoring the sword means not only getting Bai Jiu back but also saving his own life, and he still would choose not to go through with it if it meant losing ZYZ or, as he just found out, WX.) As a mother, she might have thought of letting her son know who she was when she still had a chance; she might have thought of a contigency plan in case something happened to her. They might have not been in this particular mess now, had *someone* made sure the kid didn't have to resort to making wild guesses, ultimately leading him to be lied to and exploited.

Wow, yeah, okay. I officially dislike both of Bai Jiu's parents now. Also, Bai Yan's words once again reinforce the difference between humans and demons/gods and how they think about time and bonds. ZYC might be a demon now, so technically his lifespan is way longer than human's, and still he might not live long enough to see the next incarnation of the Baize goddess; and even if he could, at this point his concern is the *current* incarnation, thank you very much, whereas BY's looking at the situation from a much wider perspective. Because of course both worlds will be involved. And I'm still with ZYC on this. (Unrelated, but I love Bai Yan's voice. It's not often we get to hear that low of a voice from a woman, and especially not in cdramas, as far as I can tell.)

Oh, fuck off. The fatalism rubs me the wrong way always, and coming from such a supposedly powerful being it's even more grating. (Not for the first time while watching this drama I get a flashback to reading Clamp's "X-1999," the set-up and tone is eerily similar.)

Well I guess I got my wish. Li Lun, you sad little demon possessing a dying child's body, I feel for you and your longing. The white petals around them (white, for death and mourning), oh my heart. The fact that they kept switching the actors throughout his reflections made it even more painful. And then he goes and (indirectly) quotes ZYC, the bit about the lamp kept on for travellers... while Ying Lei can only listen and cry. Oof. Can't help but notice that he still focuses mostly on his own suffering, though... I guess it's fair, for all intents and purposes he still has a mentality of a hurt teenager.

The whiplash I got when he switched to, "if I die, I have to find someone to die with," ouch 🤣 Once a drama queen, always a drama queen, right, LL? Gotta find yourself the grandest stage for your final exit... am I ready to see that? (I adore his character song, btw, even though when I first heard it, it gave me a completely different image of what his character's going to be. Hmm.)

Again, fuck right off, Bai Yan. I kinda wish they showed us more of WX in that scene, but hey, I'll take ZYC's memories, too (probably the first time with a time stamp!). "You must live well." It's like a refrain at this point that they seem to cling to, the worse the circumstances get. And the care between them, I'll never be over the bonds we're being shown in this drama.

I relate to WX so much. Like I get the idea that some things are worth dying for and no one in the gang would hesitate to put their lives on the line. And still, WX wants to live. Staying alive is just as, if not more, difficult as dying. Staying alive while others leave is difficult. Only when you stay alive can you really change the narrative. (Also, can we please *stop* sitting on that goddamn bridge. Why are you even there when ZYC was clearly shown back at the Mount Kunlun? Come to think of it, I just realized that they seem to have completely forgotten about Ying Lei??? And where did PSJ go?)

"How is wanting to live not the right choice?" Funny, coming from you of all people, ZYZ. Will you make the right choice for yourself, then? Thank you, WX. Make him sit on that for a bit... Ngl, I cheered when she tore up that goddamned contract. I don't care if they get to kiss now or no, but I care that he won't have to experience a mild heart attack every time he focuses on his affection towards her. (Because I've never seen him look at her as you would a colleague, so technically his heart should've been acting up nonstop, unless the emphasis was on conscious intent on his part. I'd have to rewatch that ep to see if they actually mention the exact wording.)

Awww look at her boys going "I'll find a way" at the same time! I just hope I'm not gonna cry when their way turns out to be yet another self-sacrificial mission. Interesting, there's a bottle of wine and two cups sitting by ZYC, even though he seems to have been sitting there by himself for quite a while... is it going to be one of those tiny details that become relevant later? (I love how this drama makes me pay attention!)

Oh dear gods, I really hope this isn't what I think it is. ZYC!!!

GODDAMNIT IT IS, HE WENT TO SEE WZY BY HIMSELF, FUCKKKKKK

At this point in the story my sincere wish is that, if nothing else, we *will* get to see WZY dying a slow and horrible death. If *he* survives, I'm throwing this whole drama in the garbage. (Also, somehow I'm not in the slightest concerned about what ZYC's choice might be. I trust him this much.)

Lol the moment Bai Yan mentioned that the fire of the mortal world is not enough to forge ZYC's sword I totally went, "it has to be taken to the Mount Dooooooom!" 🤣

Huh, okay, I didn't expect the ever-burning wood to be necessary for this. That's how we know that we're close to the final boss battle, folks, the quests are getting more and more complex.

"Take it"??? Wait, is it that easy? Oh no, of course not. How did it *not* burn him up after all this time though, was it just chilling in his body without actually doing anything? Other than accidentally hurting LL with it, I don't think we've ever seen ZYZ use it in any way, either 🤔 Okay, so he needs the creation stone as well, okay-

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲

That's the live reaction of yours truly at *that* visual of golden light blasting from ZYC's sword as he grasps it. Holyyyyyy shit, Guo Jingming, Silmarillion adaptation when????

Oh gods, their hands on that stone. Like in ZYZ's vision. I'm scared again. The image of ZYC morphing into LL and then back again!!! If you want ZYC to promise that he'd protect the Wilderness with you, then *you* better promise not to die, ZYZ! Also, could they be any more queer coded at this point? (Aww, WX, I want to give her a hug so badly. Where the hell is PSJ when you need her???)

I take that back, they can and currently are even more queer coded. ZYZ's face when ZYC prepares his drink for him with yet another jade pendant!!! This whole scene, starting with one of my favorite songs from the OST playing in the background, the soft focus, warm lights, close-ups of their faces, the way they gaze at each other... so beautiful. Of course there had to be some theatrics (ZYZ) and fond exasperation (ZYC) involved, too, that's just how they roll, and I'm eating it alllll up.

Did they *have* to go and draw the parallel to last drink and meal though? 😭 also, also, ZYC doing his best to emphasise that their "blood feud" is in the past! In how many ways does he have to tell you that he wants you to live before you get it, ZYZ?

I also remembered their conversation in ep 15, when ZYC asked how ZYZ could live with contradictions, and boy, is ZYC a walking paradox himself. His feelings seem so tangled and complex, but at the same time he's so clear eyed about them, and able to express them, even while saying that they're ineffable. And ZYZ's response! His face! ::head in hands::

The toasts broke me a bit. The way ZYZ hesitated for the longest time before downing his cup for the first toast. The goddamn *poetry* in ZYC's words, the goddamn eye contact throughout, the goddamn tension, HMH's goddamn face!  So good! 😭

!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay you know what? I think I'm getting better at this. There *was* the slight pause before the camera cut to WX and then back to our soulmates (they said it more than once now, I feel justified in using the word for them 😁), I'm gonna wait and see first!

Aw but they're both just so stunning with their hair flying around them lke that. I could watch them forever.

Loved the slow-mo before ZYZ collapsed. Poor WX! That quick shot of her wiping the blood off of ZYZ's chin was so satisfying somehow...

Ahhh I was right, they were in agreement and trying something dangerous together, not against each other! Yay for removing that godawful thing from his inner core, but now what? Are they gonna give it to WZY in exchange for the antidote? Do they actually believe that after all he's done he will play nice??? I love WX, scolding them both like a pair of unruly children 😂

Okay this is getting a little too convenient that they can get eavesdropped on so easily. And not to repeat myself, but where the hell are Ying Lei and PSJ?

I certainly didn't expect to get my wish so quickly lol I guess now we're really down to business when it comes to death countdowns... What did I just say? There is no goddamn antidote! What the fuck did WZY use to create that poison in the first place? The only solution is for someone to use their demonic power to absorb the poison into their own body??? Don't tell me that that's how ZYZ is gonna cure WX. And then ZYC will kill him so that he doesn't suffer. Looking at ZYC, he's about ready to sacrifice himself, though... ::incoherent pterodactyl screeching::

I keep repeating myself, but how is this kid 12. And finally the missing members of the squad reappear! (Just to get the front row, of course.) Oh, oh no. Even though I kinda knew that Ao Yin was going to do this... (I wonder if the poison worked way faster on her because she's a lesser demon?) I can't believe they made me cry over the human livers dealer!

I feel like I said it after every episode so far, but what an episode. I also find it more and more difficult to watch without being tempted to read other folks' commentary first, since I'm so anxious about what's going to happen next; so on one hand, I'd want to be prepared for the worst (so I should spoil myself), on the other though, I want to see what happens with my own eyes first... ah, decisions, decisions.

[midnight1nk]

So, this week's episode...

[spoilers below cut]

oooohhhh, so we're doing another one of these, eh? let's have some fun!

(the following is my live reaction:)

ah yes, the new TADC episode, which was fantastic btw

HELL YEAH

I honestly didn't expect that bc I was like, "what kinda trip would it be for them to take a bike? camping maybe???" (I still don't get the "trip" part about it tbh)

sooooooo teasing and banter are part of your (platonic/romantic) love language?..... [*writes it down*]

3, we all know Mario is basically invincible right? betting 4 dollars on him winning this race

ooooohh, a prize 👀 though based on past episodes, 4 doesn't have the greatest ideas for prizes, judging by the Crew's reaction at least (I would still want your autograph, 4)

LET'S-A FUCKIN GOOOOOOOO

honestly mood

"imaging yourself as a jet plane will not help you zis time, jet" (gotta add the riders fandub in here man)

That wasn't even Mario's fault, that was a bigass rock

PFFFT ASHD;LAF four tf are you doing dude, can i join you

[*looks at moon*] don't say it don't say it don't I'VE COME TO MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT—

If Mario's flexible enough to reach the moon and the sun and the Great Beyond, you can too 👍

oh my god, i get it /ref

WHY IS THAT ROCK STILL THERE?

whelp Kev, looks like you aren't voicing Boopkins this episode

I miss your pink reading glasses 3 (wait did you somehow lose them on that island?)

also you do need glasses, my guy? i think you would cute in them btw

so um... who's gonna tell him?

(actually now I thought about it, the drawing that 4 had was on his PC and it got thrown away. 4 please tell me you saved that file somewhere else, was the printed-out version in 3's notebook actually canon? can it be?)

apparently fanartists, we need to make for fanart of 3, let's get to it!!!

loved the way James delivered that line "ouchie" (timestamp 5:29)

OH HEY slenderman, it's been a while, hello!

Kev, is that you? I can hear a bit of Shroomy in that voice

🤔 huh

Tari and Luigi are so sweet, I love them 💙

"I don't have eyes so I can't see you!" 🧍 not gonna question it

Mario, what were you so afraid of? it's slendy, your bro (looks like they didn't put that lore in smh, it's fine tho)

slenderman being here kinda fits tho bc we first saw 4's locket in the "Lost in the Woods" episode to come back in the "Plane Trip" and now slenderman comes back in another "Mario's Trip" ep

if only those cowards would show us what pic is inside that locket this time (I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT IT'S A DIFFERENT PIC, 4, I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE)

anyway, he's just a little guy (i'm still waiting 4)

Tari, sweetie, this is 3 we're talking about here, ofc he would cheat

[*italian gibberish argument*] ah yes, just another normal sibling moment

MARIO LOCK IN, BRO

SONIC?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? :D

alright, now we gotta do it: 📢🎶I'm hanging on to the other side, I won't give up to the end of me—🎶 [*gets run over by a bike*] OH C'MON

LET'S GOOOOOO WOAH DUDE ANIMATION

WE'RE GONNA TOKYO DRIFT IN HERE BOYS

nothing person-el, kid /ref, and the rock came back full circle

AKIRA SLIDE BABYYYYY

kinda half-expected slenderman to accidentally win the race but CONGRATS MARIO 🎉

it was really gonna be sweet but yeah, that's our Mario

I'm sure the mar3 shippers are enjoying their crumbs

AWWW 4 HONEY I WOULD ENJOY YOUR GIFT

i would protect him at all costs (no don't look at what I did for the episode concepts shhhh)

and i oop

well um congrats to Abbie/Abit (@/jYMylD9Rm84xxCX) for your art featured at the end credits 🎉

.・-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-・.

This was a silly little episode and I have indeed enjoyed it. Not as emotional as the last one but I had fun nevertheless. Though, it didn't feel like a "Mario's Trip" episode, compared to the other ones. Maybe that's just me idk.

The animation and references, peak. As for the plot itself, it felt very on-brand for SMG4. Strangely, the chaotic energy in this one was toned down which is new. Like I said, it was still fun, had plenty of laughs. There isn't much to say about this but yeah, good to have a silly goofy time overall!!!

and yes, I will gladly take that bell, 4 [*ding ding*] :)

[narujenreacts]

Will Murder Drones get a Season 2?

Alrighty. So, after GLITCH's post yesterday of Digital Circus that also mentioned "We're also working hard on Murder Drones & will be releasing final episodes soon!", which sent a lot of the fandom (including yours truly) into a panic that this meant these are the final episodes for the SERIES and not the 1st season. However, that felt off to me since GLITCH has been promoting MD as Season 1 and not a short series, which, if it had always intended to be only 8 episodes, it would've been. That's just how it goes in the industry for online series. And I believe GLITCH wouldn't make that kind of mistake in marketing. It'd be different too if it was only promoted as Season 1 for the teaser, but it's been that way up until that Digital Circus post. Hell, here are some of the things Kevin and Liam said during GlitchX:

"I remember when we were coming up with the, uh, this is like way before when, you know, Murder Drones was really, like we were really going for a smaller, smaller show-" - Kevin

"The whole oil thing that was getting set up in the pilot, that was gonna be like a MASSIVE sort of plot thread throughout the season." - Kevin

"Because in terms of importance to kind of where I want the story to go, it just ended up being less relevant." - Liam

"We, um, did the opposite of that. I think the series as it progressed, which I think is - it is intentional, I would say. We have gone from, I think, supremely silly to supremely kind of self-serious." - Liam

"There's so many dog easter eggs if you go and watch through the entire season." - Kevin

"We are announcing the finale of the season." - Kevin

With everything they said, none of it sounds like Murder Drones was intended to be a single season series. Now, this leaves two questions myself and I'm sure some of you have, "Why haven't they announced a S2 yet then and why are they barely posting MD?" I decided to enter analyzation mode and went digging through GLITCH's Twitter and YouTube. What I found was that this isn't GLITCH's first time handling their series like this.

Meta Runner Season 1 (Animated Movie Cut) was released on Aug 28, 2020 and in the description Season 2 was immediately announced since they already had it done.

Meta Runner Season 2 - EP 1: Hard Reset released Oct 16, 2020. The final episode for S2, "EP 10: Fatal Error" was released Dec 18, 2020 and there was no mention of the 3rd and final season.

Want to know when they announced it? Not until Nov 29, 2021. Over a YEAR later.

And before that they barely posted anything of MR. At first it was Sunset Paradise, and then once that series was about to conclude they started posting about MD. A lot. Way more than they have for DC. And when they announced S3 for MR they didn't even mention it was the series finale! That wasn't announced until May 6, 2022, 6 months after S3 was even announced.

However, once they did they made it VERY clear it was the final season. 99% of their posts of MR after that mentioned it was the final season.

So, to conclude my thoughts. I don't think we should be worried. I wouldn't suggest getting our hopes up TOO high, because despite GLITCH handling MD the same way they did MR, there's always the chance MD doesn't get a second season. That way we're not deeply disappointed if it doesn't, but after looking into it I personally feel a lot more confident MD will get a S2. Just be prepared that if GLITCH doesn't say anything, it could be up to a year before they do, but if MR fans could hold out for as long as they did, we can too. Don't forget either GLITCH isn't only working on the first season of DC. They're also working on the pilot for Gaslight District.

[gotinterest]

I Want To Watch Kamen Rider, Which Season Do I Pick?

I'm going to focus on Heisei Era shows because those are the easiest to access and the ones most fans have watched so it's easy to find people to talk to about them. Every season of Kamen Rider is a different story with a different cast and vibe, so determining which season you should start on is largely dependent upon your personal taste. This list is based mostly on the shows I have watched or know a lot about, so it's not exhaustive. Some shows will be listed under more than one category, just depending upon what might be most important to you. Guide is located under the read more!

DO NOT START HERE: Kamen Rider Decade, Kamen Rider Zi-O, Kamen Rider Gaim. Decade and Zi-O are anniversary shows that lean HEAVILY upon Rider lore and referencing past seasons. You don't need to watch those seasons to understand the story, BUT you may get spoiled on key plot points from past seasons by watching them. Gaim is on here because it is almost universally hated and thought of as a terrible show.

WARNINGS FOR THE SHOWS RECOMMENDED HERE: Kamen Rider Blade is heavy in the flashing lights department and the opening in particular is known to bother photosensitive folks! All the seasons have flashing lights, but Blade is the one that people have straight up said they couldn't watch through because of how many flashing lights there are.

Kamen Rider Kuuga has a pretty gross transmisogynistic caricature in two of the episodes.

Kamen Rider OOO has a cafe that is nicknamed the "cultural appropriation cafe" by fans because the servers are frequently made to dress up in outfits from other cultures and it can be a bit offensive from time to time. It's not the worst I've seen in terms of "people dressing up as other cultures" and there isn't any black face or brown face but I still felt it worth mentioning since the cafe is a major part of the show.

Kamen Rider Faiz has a black character in it for a few episodes who is written in a way that gives "big dangerous strong black guy" stereotype. It's uncomfortable to watch.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

I don't really like kid's shows and I'd prefer something a little more mature: Kamen Rider Kuuga, Kamen Rider Ryuki, Kamen Rider Hibiki (eps. 1-29 only). If you are looking for a show that feels more mature, these are where you should start. The pacing of these shows is a bit slower and more thoughtful. Kuuga and Ryuki are both HIGHLY beloved. Kuuga is good if you really like monster of the week shows, Ryuki is more for you "overarching story driven" types. Ryuki is a bit more silly in places than Kuuga, but largely maintains a serious tone. Hibiki is very creative and experimental, but it doesn't really give you an accurate picture of what most Kamen Rider seasons are like because it is very different. BUT if you can't stand musicals do not watch Hibiki. ALSO stop watching Hibiki on ep. 29. After that there was a show runner change and the end of the show sucks. Ep.29 is largely considered a satisfying enough end to the show.

I like mature themes and concepts, but I'm fine with kids show silliness: Kamen Rider OOO, Kamen Rider Build, Kamen Rider W. If you constantly feel guilty for wanting things and taking up space, watch OOO. If you had a rough childhood and complicated feelings about your family watch W. If you want to watch a show about war, watch Build.

I love kid's shows give me silliness and fun!: Everything recommended in the second category + Kamen Rider Den-O, Kamen Rider Fourze. Den-O is a time travel story that is heavy on slapstick humor and has a lot of heart. You may have seen a a red horned guy named Momotaros dramatically swing his leg up to rest it on the bench of a booth- that's from this show. Fourze is a high school story about friendship and space!

I like to watch things that are bad but also good: Kamen Rider Blade. You can basically ignore almost the entire lore built up in the first half of the show. The writers certainly do. If you've seen people memeing on a guy named Tachibana... this is that show. This show is very easy to post about. Deeply funny but not on purpose in many places.

I want to watch one of the ones that are especially known for homoeroticism: Kamen Rider Kuuga, Kamen Rider Ryuki, Kamen Rider Blade, Kamen Rider OOO, Kamen Rider Build, Kamen Rider Faiz. Blade isn't initially very homoerotic until it very much is. Kuuga is for you if you want a more sweet and sincere vibe. OOO, Ryuki, and Build are more for if you like watching men bicker with each other homoerotically. Ryuki also contains a couple of side characters who read very much as a domestic couple (if you are big into the "loyal dog" type dynamic you will enjoy these two). Faiz is for you star-crossed lovers enjoyers that can also tolerate a stunning amount of heterosexual love drama (Blade is also a bit star-crossed). Watch Blade if you want to have a very personal grudge against a bench for the rest of your life. Kuuga and OOO are the most homoerotic.

I like weird shows where I don't know what the fuck is going on: Kamen Rider Kabuto, Kamen Rider Blade. If you watched Hannibal and were really into the way they talked and made a bunch of food, watch Kabuto.

I want something that leans more into horror: Kamen Rider Kuuga, Kamen Rider Agito. Kuuga can lean pretty hard into horror in places. Agito is a bit lighter, but still has more of a horror vibe to it.

I like mystery stories: Kamen Rider Kuuga, Kamen Rider Ryuki, Kamen Rider Agito, Kamen Rider Build, Kamen Rider W. There are other seasons with elements of mystery, but these are the ones where the mystery really takes more of a front seat. W in particular is actually a noir-inspired.

I want to watch the one with that blond curly haired Ankh guy that I keep seeing on my dash: Kamen Rider OOO

I want something that's a bit artsy and I also like or don't mind musical numbers: Kamen Rider Hibiki (eps. 1-29 only). The only Kamen Rider season where characters regularly break out into song. The sound track, editing style, and aesthetic of the show are so unique. Really strongly written. Do not watch past ep. 29 because of studio mandated changes ruining everything that made it worth watching.

I want to get a good intro to Kamen Rider: Kamen Rider W, Kamen Rider OOO, Kamen Rider Build, Kamen Rider Agito. Kamen Rider W and Kamen Rider OOO are considered great starter seasons. They give you a pretty good feel for Kamen Rider's formula while overall being pretty solid shows. Build gives you a good vibe for how Kamen Rider seasons with bigger casts feel while giving a good balance of serious and silly. It also gives you a bit of a better feel for what some more recent Kamen Rider seasons are like stylistically. Kamen Rider Agito is just a solid early Heisei show that gives you a feel for the tone of a lot of early Heisei shows WHILE also being a good starter show for you to dip your toes into the works of the infamous Toshiki Inoue. Inoue is a prolific writer of tokusatsu shows that most fans have a love/hate relationship with. He is the main writer for several Kamen Rider seasons, specials, and movies and has written several episodes even in shows that he wasn't the main writer for.

WHERE TO WATCH:

Legally: Ryuki and Kuuga (along with the original Kamen Rider from the 70's which is good cheesy fun) can be streamed on Tubi (at least in the US). If you understand Japanese and have a VPN (or are in Japan) I believe most of the seasons are on Hulu.

*I actually wouldn't recommend watching Kuuga FOR THE FIRST TIME on Tubi because the Grongi subtitles are baked in and you can't turn them off. I strongly believe that a key part of the first watch experience is not being able to understand the Grongi, as was the original intention of the show's creators. You can buy the blu-rays for Kuuga and toggle the Grongi subtitles if you really think its worth it to spend the money*

Alternative: You can watch them on most illegal streaming sites, lol. The only season I've seen where that has been an issue so far is Den-O, with the uploads being kinda wonky and partially missing.

There is... another source but I shan't link to it directly here (loose lips sink ships!) Please reach out to your nearest Kamen Rider blogger for the goods.

[eisa-core]

I would like to request going seventeen ( insomnia-zero II #1) episode 29

[GOING SEVENTEEN] EP.29 불면제로 II (Insomnia-Zero)

🌟 Insomnia-Zero returns 🌟 in all it's meme-making glory!

With their cringy pasts being unearthed right there, who will maintain their cool and succeed in clocking out of work?!

«Okay! insomnia-zero season 2. Hoshi's insomnia-zero!»

Hoshi immediately began speaking energetically as soon as the staff started recording his show, Insomnia-zero: trying to keep calm, your heartbeat relatively low, while others disturb you by exposing your 'secrets' or by being, as usual, silly.

«It took longer than we expected to start the 2nd season» - Woozi continued along with Hoshi.

«That's right. But there's a reason for this: in fact, for season 2, the rules have been upgraded» - Hoshi continued presenting the new rules in the same initial tone. For Daisy this was new, in the first season of 2020, she had not been able to participate along with Seungcheol, but she had caught up with the episode and she was afraid she would not be able to go home that day.

«Let's start» - Hoshi finished introducing the new rules to the viewers, cubics and carats, and with a cut to the scene, the staff had started to place the bed and pillow, putting the heart rate meter on each person.

«Daisy, you weren't there the first time. How about we get started with you?» - Dokyeom pushed her into the middle but fortunately he didn't want to make her the first victim of the game, rather, the first to expose the secrets of... Mingyu.

Mingyu already embarrassed and aware of what was in store for him got under the covers, knowing that Daisy was not as much of an angel as she might have appeared.

«Oh you know, during Insomnia-Zero 1... I wasn't there. But I wanted to talk about what happened at a concert back in the days.» - Daisy sat back comfortably including the others to humour her with what she was going to say, it seemed like it wasn't something "new" at all.

«Oh that's legendary!» - Seungkwan added. «It was a concert abroad! He used to lift up his shirt to show off his abs!» - Daisy continued making everyone laugh, including the lighting technician who was playing behind them... yes new rules.

«And now that we can't do concerts, the only way we can meet our fans is during fansigns» - Daisy continued enthusiastically, Seungkwan next to her loved being able to add details about it.

«There's a very short span of time where we're outside and bodyguards with us leading the way» - «Exactly! And Mingyu in those five seconds-» - Daisy paused as just imagining the scene she wanted to describe was amusing. «He's stretching his biceps» - She concluded and then threw her back to the floor, shuffling her feet in embarrassment for her friend, who was squinting his eyes trying not to wake up.

Perhaps it was better for him, or he would have witnessed Seungkwan's super spot-on imitation. «Mingyu likes to show off» - Dokyeom added continuing with the muscle imitation. «야! people will think i'm a pervert!» - Mingyu could finally stand up and 'defend' himself, pointing a finger at Daisy who was flicking tongues at him.



«Go you now our dear princess» - Mingyu was looking forward to nothing more than being able to take revenge, but what could be expected from the only two aries in the group?

Daisy wanted to disappear now, her heart pounding just at the idea of having to participate in the game.

«It's time to reveal something that all of us have kept from you, even Jun and Minghao» - Jeonghan took the initiative, also naming the two members who were absent that day, and who he knew very well are the two members who never hide anything from little Hyejin.

«Carats, as you well know our dear Daisy is very obsessed with coffee» - Seungkwan continued. «Well coming from you...» - He was immediately interrupted by Woozi who, with this comment, made him roll his eyes. «It's her turn, not mine!» - He sulkily defended himself, Daisy giggled under her breath hearing the chaos they were already creating.

«Anyway, I was saying, she's obsessed with coffee, so for her birthday we had given her a coffee machine, she loved it, she used it every day» - Daisy feeling the memory of her beloved gift had brought her hands to her breast. «It's time to reveal why the coffee machine broke. I know, you think it was an internal fault but it wasn't...» - Daisy hearing these sentences opened her mouth wide, already not caring about how she was supposed to keep calm.

«It was Moon Junhui... he started clicking a thousand buttons until smoke came out and it stopped working» - The name of the culprit had been said under the laughter of the others, who watched poor Daisy inwardly weeping at the loss of her precious object. At the moment of the wake-up call she considered her 'sleeping' time to be over, she jumped up and walked straight towards the main camera. «Moon Junhui! Count your days!» - She put her hands to her hair shocked. «Are you watching this Jun? Stay in China! Don't come back here!» - She was obviously offended, but in a joking way.

«It is time to announce who can go home» - The pd-nim after all the members had gone through the "terrible sleep" waited to hear their names called. And so it was for all but Woozi, Mingyu and Daisy. Woozi had failed after there was a talk of his pride and a made-up story about (not pink boxers) but his Hercules-like muscles.

[After some no-holds-barred talk 'in front' of their backs, ASMR! Insomnia-Zero II, now with breathing techniques! Who will be the last member to stay awake?]

«Okay so with our ambiguous Mingyu, our Woozi who denies being a winner and our Daisy who lost her favourite svt member along with her coffee machine, let's begin the last round.» - Woozi huffed as he got used to these last sentences from Hoshi, it was the second time he had failed to come home in the four rounds. And that was what he hated the most. Daisy also, she never could stand asmr, especially she couldn't conceive how this could help her fall asleep, it only annoyed her.

[Hoshi's Mukbang; Hoshi's debut show starts] [Ramen Asmr]

«Oh Gosh.. Oh God.. this look so» - Woozi started to say and was interrupted by Mingyu and Daisy simultaneously «Good» - «Disgusting».

Hoshi continued to deliciously eat his pot of hot noodles, also chewing some kimchi and leaving very ambiguous comments such as "Mmm" "Aaah" every bite.

«Okay this is going too far» - Daisy could no longer continue, it was like torture. She stood cross-legged taking off her headphones. «Oh! Daisy's up! Let's interrupt the timer and calculate the results.» - Hoshi carried on with the last scene of the episode, which could give either obvious or shocking results. No one really understood what was the best method to keep a calm pace.

«In the meantime, tell us how you feel. Mingyu?» - «I feel ambiguous, I feel weird, but I'm confident i'm sure I will win» - He said giving Daisy, the one who led him to lose the previous rounds, a bad tongue. «Woozi?» - «I'm confident I will lose» - He replied bluntly and now abandoned to the fortunes of his fate with this type of Going Seventeen. «Daisy?» - «I'm hopeful that Woozi will lose too» - He answered the question with a wink at Woozi, in reality he knew full well that he was in danger of staying here until the end of the shoot.

«The results are in and...» - Hoshi had the paper given by the staff in his hand, laughing as soon as he read the name written on it. «Mingyu and Daisy you can go home!» - The two nominees held their hands clasped in prayer but upon hearing their names spoken and the word home immediately after made them get up and jump all over the room, as if until a few minutes before they hadn't been bickering at each other.

[2 Awards] [Insomnia-Zero is defined for WOOZI]

«Why is it always me?» - The producer thought aloud as Hoshi joined the group hug between Mingyu and Daisy. «Catch you tomorrow in the studio Woozi! Sleep well!» - Daisy added as a final comment full of glee, hurriedly taking off her microphone. «Guess who won't be singing on the next title track!»

ー☆ ͏

oc's masterlist

going seventeen

taglist: @cinnamon-falls ; @allthings-fandoms ; @taestrwbrry ; @illusionocnet ; @kimhyejin3108 ; @enhacolor

[dhiings]

𓇼 ⋆｡˚ 𓆝⋆｡˚ Jane w/ HYBE Artists ⋆｡˚ 𓆝⋆｡˚ 𓇼

જ⁀➴ Nana (actress) x Jane

Relationship Dynamic : mother-daughter at the same time older sister, " Nickname given by Jane for Nana : jinah eonni Nickname given by Nana for Jane : nuki

• Nana first met her when jane's crouching down in pledis's old building's bathroom. She found her silently crying, it was breaking her heart. Jane was comforted by her. From there, nana always checking up on her if she's doing okay or not. • Jane always said that Nana is someone she look up to and is the literal definition of angel sent by God. • Nana’s mothering jane. But, also at the same time, she’s like an older sister she never have. Gossiping with each other. Asking about romantic advices. • It could be seen that they hang out with each other a lot, even when seventeen haven’t debut. Everytime jane is stressed out, nana always invite her to have a picnic at han river. • Sending each other a food truck, flowers, or gifts as sign of support.

જ⁀➴ Baekho (Nu'est) x Jane

Relationship Dynamic : strangers to friends, "i always thought you could eat someone alive, but turns out... you're just a hello kitty" Nickname given by Jane for Baekho : baekho/dongho oppa Nickname given by Bakeho for Jane : jein/soonok

• They know each other because they are under the same company. Yet, they're not that close, they just know each other's name and bowed to each other. • Later on, they finally get more close after bumping into each other at a gym place (this is when pledis haven't acquisition with hybe). From there, they started to get closer with each other. Despite that, they doesn't hang out that often. • There are many interaction of bakeho and jane captured during The Game Caterers 2 x HYBE.

જ⁀➴ Yeonjun (TXT) x Jane

Relationship Dynamic : friends to hang out with, silly, "i think i can tackle you down" "you wanna try?" "nvm" Nickname given by Jane for Yeonjun : yeonjun Nickname given by Yeonjun for Jane : jein/soonok noona

• She got to know him because of dino. Their first meeting is when jane needs to grab her phone in one of the dance studio, which txt's currently using. She was accompanied by dino at that time. Knowing that dino and yeonjun are close, he decided to introduces yeonjun to jane. After that, they just kept running to each other coincidentally. Then they decided to just hang out together (the three of them). • During, The Game Caterers 2 x HYBE, he teases her because she can't answer a simple question. Then, when it was his turn, he can't answer a math times table. Jane got her revenge by teasing him endlessly. - ep 2-2, 16:29

જ⁀➴ Jiwon (Fromis_9) x Jane

Relationship Dynamic : adoration, friends, "i'm finally seeing somone" "stop being delulu, i know it's one of your male fiction collections" Nickname given by Jane for Jiwon : jiwonie Nickname given by Jiwon for Jane : soonokie

• Being ina co-ed group where there's only 1 female member, make her thrilled knowing a girl group will son join pledis. • She mentioned that, "You know, when i was a substitute of m! countdown's mc, i saw fromis_9. They are soooo beautiful like a fairy goddess. Even when they're not wearing any makeup, they still look so pretty. I even got one of their number and start befriending her." - Vlive 201018 • They made lots of tiktok videos and challenges together when they hang out.

જ⁀➴ Jay (ENHYPEN) x Jane

Relationship Dynamic : "i mean it's crazy" "what?" "we finished each other's s--?" "sentences?" "bruh, you haven't watch frozen aren't youH" Nickname given by Jane for Jay : jay Nickname given by Jay for Jane : jane (sometimes w or w/o noona)

• Got to know each other (more than just saying 'hi' or bow) through nikki. His very chill to be around (so american style), it wasn’t hard for jane to adjust and become herself. • When they’re around each other, they always talk in english. • Many moments of them talking and whispering in The Game Caterers 2 x HYBE. • Jay’s actually the one who tell both jake and jane that they went to the same high school.

જ⁀➴ Nikki (ENHYPEN) x Jane

Relationship Dynamic : 'swag kids', developed crush, "you're so cute" "me? i mean you are cuter though. wait, i mean- no i mean- no.. yes? no?" Nickname given by Jane for Nikki : nikki Nickname given by Nikki for Jane : jein noona

• Jane rooting for nikki during i-land and belive in him that he could debut too. • Before i-land even happened or broadcasted, they had met before. When nikki wants to go to the audition in the hybe building, he got lost (ofc, that building is sooo huge). Then, he abruptly ask to a stranger to ask for direction, that stranger happened to be jane. Seeing him stutter, mixing both korean and japanese together in a same sentence, jane confidently strike up a conversation in japanese. Hearing the "stranger" could talk in japanese make him felt soo relieved. • Nikki develop a slight crush on Jane. He would secretly glance at her direction when she's in the same room/show with him.

[fake-married-my-dead-fiance]

Random thoughts, Love Between Fairy and Devil, Ep 29:

It does seem to be a genuine problem if Dongfang Qingcang can't use his hellfire powers because he's the only reason the fairies don't invade/the civil war stopped

Then again, what is the other option? He just doesn't have emotions for his entire immortal life. Yay...

Gotta love that Chang Heng is totally forgiven because he unwittingly fell in love with the right person and also tried to save that same person multiple times. Not a crime! Even if you purposefully committed a crime! Our laws are totally sensible!

Obviously the wedding between the leads won't happen yet because it's only Ep 29/36 and also the mirror predicted Orchid's wedding with Chang Heng which I'm guessing will be crashed/she'll run away/something

EVERY TIME they try to kiss they get interrupted by something, usually a subordinate. Now I'm not usually in favour of beheading subordinates but if there was ever a justification for beheading a subordinate...

Orchid is a one-woman Make Love and Not War campaign and I love her for it

[quakinqueer]

Hey so I've had this in my drafts for well over a month, then that recent smosh mouth came out, rendering this near useless, but I'm still gonna post it cause why not.

Beginner's Guide to Smosh Seasonal Games

(For newer fans, even though no one asked. And yes I'm manifesting summer/winter games 2024, look away.) Mostly sourced from the Smosh Wiki.

1- Smosh Summer Games! (2015)

1st trailer aired: June 27, 2015 ~ Finale: July 31, 2015 This was the OG that started it all! No theme, unless you count it being entirely held at a beach house. Very classic smosh vibes, inappropriate jokes, and queerbaiting galore, with 12 episodes total across Pit (2nd channel at the time) and Games. (tbh I haven't seen this one). This was held shortly after the 'main squad' was cast (Keith, N*ah, Olivia, and Courtney), and was Shayne's official introduction to the channel! Teams/Cast: Bananarama: Anthony (Captain), Lasercorn (David Moss), Courtney, N*ah, Mari Takahashi, Jovenshire (Joshua Evan Ovenshire). Jiggle Physics: Ian (Captain), W*s J*hns*n, Sohinki (Matt Sohinki), Flitz (Amra Ricketts). Keith, Olivia. Refs/Hosts: Shayne, Joe Beretta Winners: Bananarama Special Awards: MVP - N*ah, LVP - Lasercorn, Biggest Fail - Olivia.

2- Smosh Winter Games! (2016)

1st trailer aired: Jan 30, 2016 ~ Final Ep: Feb 29, 2016 The first Winter Games! Similar classic vibes to the first, except by this time the 'main squad' was much more settled in and comfortable with each other, and the overall cast. Strangely, Ian and Anthony didn't actually participate in the games, but commentated (not sure why). Combo of actual competition eps and also videos for other shows aka specials (s-s-s-sleepover, put it in my mouth) that were winter games themed. 23 videos total across 2nd Channel (Pit) and Games. Teams/Cast: Snow Fleeks: Anthony (captain), Mari, W*s, Sohinki, Keith, Olivia, refs. Blue Balls: Ian (captain), Lasercorn, Shayne, Courtney, Flitz, N*ah, Jovenshire. Refs/Hosts: M*tt R**b, Joe Beretta, Sunny Peabody. Winners: Blue Balls Special Awards: MVP- Olivia, LVP- Joven, Epic Moment- Lasercorn, Biggest Fail- W*s. (Lasercorn got Epic Moment for dropping an actual fire rap during the *wrap* battle)

3- Smosh Summer Games: Camp (2016)

1st trailer aired: June 25, 2016 ~ Final Ep: July 30, 2016 The first one to have a theme, extremely iconic, the vibes were starting to peak around this time with the main squad being almost fully settled in by this point. For those of you who do not know, back in the day Smosh had separate casts for main/pit and for games, and the seasonal games were one of the only series where they would consistently appear together, and were originally intended to be a bonding activity. This one was the first to really let those dynamics *shine*, and really have them interact in memorable ways. Also best challenges up until this point cause of the theme. 13 specials and 9 competition episodes across games and 2nd channel, this time accompanied by a few vlogs on Courtney's personal channel. Teams/Cast: Kumbayaaas: Anthony (captain), Jovenshire, N*ah, Olivia, W*s, Courtney, Sohinki Harshmallows: Ian (captain), Mari, Keith, Shayne, Lasercorn, Flitz, refs Refs/Camp Counselors: M*tt R**b, Joe Beretta, Sunny Peabody. Winners: Harshmallows Special Awards: MVP- Olivia, LVP- Sohinki, Epic moment- Ian, Biggest Fail- W*s (Sohinki had to leave early due to sickness and so automatically got LVP)

4- Smosh Winter Games: Again! (2017)

1st trailer aired: Jan 31, 2017 - Final Ep: Feb 28, 2017 Longest seasonal games by far, lot of iconic moments and fun specials, featured CFM's 2nd ever appearance, and was also Boze's debut as a games member! Not much else to say about this one, it's a blast with a lot of classic moments. Oh, and it was the last seasonal games to feature both Ian and Anthony as team captains :,). 19 specials (Game Bang, Board af, hot tub truth or dare, etc.) and 8 competition episodes across pit and games. Teams/Cast: Spaghetti Yetis: Anthony (captain), Boze, Sohinki, Lasercorn, Olivia, Flitz, Shayne Dablizzards: Ian (captain), Keith, W*s, Mari, N*ah, Courtney, Jovenshire Refs/Hosts: M*tt R**b, Joe Beretta, Sunny Peabody, Sarah Whittle, Tanner Risner. Winners: Spaghetti Yetis Special Awards: MVP - Anthony, LVP - Jovenshire, Epic Moment - Shayne, Biggest Fail - Boze

5- Smosh Summer Games: Wild West! (2017)

Trailer aired: June 26, 2017 - Final ep: July 31, 2017 WWIIIILLLLDDDD HWEST! Let me tell yall this one is ICONIC, for so many reasons, in so many ways. Filmed on an awesome location (a ranch in Nevada), great teams, the production quality was top-notch, and let's not forget the infamous bar-brawl fight choreography of the trailer. So many iconic moments its astounding. Damien's first seasonal games, and also the first to neither feature Anthony nor have team captains (instead of picking teams dodgeball style like they had done previously, this time the teams were picked via a lottery). 15 specials (maricraft, board af, etc.), and 8 competition episodes across pit and games. Fun fact, this season was filmed a week before the "Anthony is leaving smosh" video was released. Teams/Cast: Randy Bandits: Lasercorn, N*ah, Olivia, Damien, Mari, Ian, Flitz Cowbaes: Jovenshire, Courtney, Shayne, Keith, W*s, Sohinki, Boze Refs/Sheriffs: M*tt R**b, Joe Beretta, Sunny Peabody Winners: Randy Bandits Special Awards: MVP - Flitz, LVP - W*s, Epic Moment - Shayne, Biggest Fail - Jovenshire Shayne told his Epic Moment story on the pod, but incase you missed it: during a hangman competition he managed to guess a 2-word answer, with no letters on the board, on his first try. The answer was Wyatt Earp. Some out of context references: "MUNGE", "My name is Calamity Janet, and I am crazy.", "Sorry"×20, *wide shot of damien holding up his fist for like 3 minutes*, *Mama bird*, *shot in the chest* "Where's Anthony?"

6- Smosh Summer Games: We Blew It! (2018)

Trailer aired: August 17, 2018 - Final ep: August 24, 2018 Folks, what can I say, they blew it. They had 10 dollars and a dream for this one, and they tried their best, but it is admittedly still the weakest of the Summer Games. Between airing later than any other, taking place within only a week as opposed to a month, having the least amount of competitions (5) and the least amount of specials (1 Smosh and Order), this one really is a last-ditch effort sort of ordeal. But make no mistake, it's no one's fault but Defy Fuckhead Media Inc.; in case you missed the Smosh mouth ep, the story goes that Defy simply didn't want summer games to happen that year, and gave M*tt R**b an eighth of the usual budget. Despite all this, I'm sure if you go back and watch it, the videos are actually really enjoyable with some fun goofs and special moments. The first games to not feature Sohinki or Flitz, and this time there were team captains, chosen according to the personal awards given the prior year. Teams/Cast: Inflatabulls: Jovenshire (Captain, previous winner of Biggest Fail), Mari, Damien, Courtney, Keith, Boze Balloonatics: Shayne (Captain, previous winner of Most Epic Moment), Lasercorn, N*ah, Ian, W*s, Olivia Refs: M*tt R**b, Sarah Whittle Guest Refs/Guest Judges:  Garrett Palm, Joe Bereta, Spencer Agnew, Tanner Risner and Tim Baker Winners: Balloonatics Special Awards: MVP - Mari, LVP - Damien, Epic Moment/Biggest Win - Lasercorn, Biggest Fail - W*s

7- Smosh Summer Games: Apocalypse! (2019)

Trailer aired: July 15, 2019 - Final ep: August 16, 2019 APPOOOCALYPSSE!! This one ROCKS! Not quite as iconic as Wild West, but it's honestly up there in my opinion. The first and only summer games post-mythical, and a return to normalcy from We Blew It in terms of length, airing schedule, etc., probably because they'd managed to find a sponsor to help with the budget. This one had some greeaat specials, including Spelling Bee-kini Wax, Maricraft, Try Not To Laugh: Gauntlet (so many iconic bits from these tntls, and if I'm not mistaken one of Tommy's earliest appearances), and a lot of Smoshcast. Fun fact, Sohinki was actually invited to participate but was in Italy at the time, so Kimmy was cast as a guest participant instead to even out the teams. The first to have no team selection process or opening ceremony, instead the teams were pre-picked at random and revealed during the trailer. 18 specials and 8 competition episodes across Pit, Games, and Smoshcast. Teams/Cast: ToxiciTea: Jovenshire, Ian, Olivia, Mari, Shayne, W*s Mushroom Clout: N*ah, Lasercorn, Damien, Keith, Courtney, Kimmy Refs: M*tt R**b, Sarah Whittle Guest Refs/Guest Judges:  Joe Bereta Winners: ToxiciTea Special Awards: MVP - Joven, LVP - Shayne, Epic Win/Moment - Courtney, Epic Fail - Ian Fun little end note, Lasercorn, up until this point, had never lost a single season, and had been described for a while as having a 'Winning Streak'. That became a big running gag this season in particular, with Lasercorn describing his team as being 'Blessed by the power of the streak', while ToxiciTea claimed that was the year the streak would be broken. In the end, it was. On Twitter and other socials, the hashtags "#Breakthestreak" and "#Thestreakisreal" were used by the fandom to support either team. Overall super fun season with a lot of fandom involvement.

This took me way too long. Enjoy!

[leehopehocarat]

°*.*.｡ *　★ ﾟ｡·*･｡ ﾟ** ☆ ｡･ﾟ*.｡ *　★ ﾟ･｡

A Dream Is a Wish Topaz Makes

°*.*.｡ *　★ ﾟ｡·*･｡ ﾟ** ☆ ｡･ﾟ*.｡ *　★ ﾟ･｡

Categories:

F/MMulti

Fandom:

ATEEZ (Band)

Relationships:

Jung Wooyoung (ATEEZ) & Original Female Character(s)Kim Hongjoong/Original Female Character(s)

Characters:

Original Female Character(s)Jung Wooyoung (ATEEZ)Kim Hongjoong

Additional Tags:

Wet DreamThreesome - F/M/MDom Kim HongjoongDom Jung Wooyoung (ATEEZ)Original Character(s)

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I swear I was sweating blood AND sweat the way my fingers were working the mousepad and keyboard on my laptop. It was 3 am EST, the only light that was giving very little aid to my vision was my rock salt lamp. It sat on the corner of my bedside dresser that just also happened to become my K Pop corner. Yes, my K Pop corner. A portion of K Pop albums I've been graciously gifted, along with my PC collection, and little gifts I've gotten from attending cup sleeves and from friends I've made and bonded with over our mutual love of K Pop. Now only a portion of my albums are on display and not all of them simply because I lack storage, but I love my little corner nonetheless.

The one item that stands out the most out of everything that is in my K Pop corner is a Vinyl record of Ateez's EP FIN: WILL. My first vinyl record of my own, that was gifted to me by my dear friend Teresa. From TikTok mutuals. One day she comments on a video asking for my address. She has literally become my best friend and K Pop Santa Claus. I feel like I owe her the whole world, but she never ceases to tell me that my reactions to everything she sends me give her so much joy.

Now back to my dilemma.

I'm up at 3 AM, the devil's hour, fighting for my life in this ticketmaster queue to get tickets for Ateez's world tour. First of all, THE NERVE OF THESE MEN TO JUST DROP THE TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT THE WAY THEY DID?!?!?!

It was utterly disrespectful to my sanity and my delulu, along with the rest of Atiny around the world.

I managed to save up a huge amount of money, enough to where I was willing to try and purchase floor seats. This would be my first Ateez concert, and I'll be damned if I at least don't attempt to try for floor tickets, if I know I have somewhat of a chance at getting them. Right?

111922

That was my place in the queue at 3:18 am.

Thank God I didn't have to work so I could just fall asleep if I wanted to after this.

104853....... 96329......50732.....24985......10311....1000......374.....109.....78....56.....29......1

My heart dropped to my stomach at the quickness of the numbers dropping. I kept rubbing my fingers against my palms in an attempt to lessen the sweat forming in my hands, but at this point I was just trying anything to calm down.

Your turn has started! We have reserved your place for 10 minutes from 03:20:05 EST.

Choose your tickets.

THE SCREAM I SCRUMPT

I almost yeeted my laptop off my bed, but luckily my reflexes were in my favor this time and kept it in place on my lap. My finger quickly clicked on the blue button and the map of the seats of the arena came into view. I quickly scrolled over to the area that had the floor seats. My eyes were quickly darting back and forth looking at the seats that were available. I clicked on a spot that was closest to one of the sides where the barricade would be. I clicked it, put in my payment info, and faced that little loading circle of death.

It was only on the screen for a minute, but that minute felt like hours. I buried my head into my hands, a mess of thoughts running through my mind.

"I'm wasting my time with this, It's not like I’mma have a y/n moment anyway." I say biting on my nail waiting for my turn.

"I swear to God if my fucking card doesn't go through, I'm yeeting myself off the balcony." I rant, my fingers scratching nervously at my scalp.

"What would I even fucking wear?! I'm barely able to put fits together as is!"

I snapped myself out of my own downward spiral, and looked back at my laptop screen.

"Sarice You Got 'Em. Let the Anticipation Begin!"

"I-I got them? I really got them?!" "OMFG!"

An R2D2 scream left my mouth as I stood up and jumped around on my bed. Pure euphoria was coursing through my veins as reality hit me.

I got floor seats to see Ateez.

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