#it's over!

[dashboard-elysium]

The Case of the Missing Swordsman / Post 32 / Previously

YOU – “I thought there might be a mysterious sexy twist.”

KIM – “Like a Dick Mullen novel? Perhaps the crime was committed by a smoking hot dame in a slinky red dress?” He’s remembering your reaction to that particular cover back in the bookshop.

YOU – “Hey, now you’ve got the spirit! That’s what I’m talking about!”

MAN FROM HJELMDALL MUG – A healthy reaction, brother-in-arms! And you know what else is sexy?

YOU – What?

MAN FROM HJELMDALL MUG – These thigh muscles. Just look at them.

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT – It’s true. They’re practically glowing. His over-developed quadriceps are the central focus of the image.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY – There’s your sexy twist. You get to admire those legs on your desk while you write your case report.

RHETORIC – The other sexy twist is silently bragging about your own endowment every time you use this mug.

——— The Next Day ———

YOU – In the morning, you enter the coffee corner and fill your newly found mug nearly to the brim with dark brew. You take a sip.

MAN FROM HJELMDALL MUG – Bitter, sludgy, life-giving elixir of the gods!

INLAND EMPIRE – This primordial soup contains the seeds of life to jumpstart your brain. It will give you the fortitude to get that case report written at last.

PERCEPTION – Hjelmdallermugg rests comfortably in your hand, ready to conquer the day.

YOU – The blank case report forms lie on your desk, untouched. They should have been filled out yesterday, if you hadn’t gotten distracted by the missing mug. You sit down and stare at the intimidatingly empty form.

ESPRIT DE CORPS – Case reports follow a simple format. Start with the basics of where you were, when it happened, who was there, and what occurred. Martinaise, Terminal B, the back yard of the Whirling in Rags. The fourth of March of this year. Then describe the most important elements. A hanged man. A false confession. A shootout.

MAN FROM HJELMDALL MUG – A shootout? Sounds boring. Where are the swords? The maces and crossbows? The thundering warhorses? That’s what you really need for a good story.

DRAMA – Sire, the barbarian speaks true! Go on, add a few embellishments to your report. Perhaps there was a fair maiden who needed to be rescued. Who’s to say it didn’t really happen?

LOGIC – Well, Kim for one. He was there. He knows what happened and what didn’t.

PERCEPTION – Speaking of Kim, he’s approaching you now. There’s something in his hand.

KIM – He hands you a well-worn paperback. It’s the first In System book. “I thought you might like to borrow this,” he says. “I know you’re only a fan of the most obscure ones. But sometimes it’s nice to return to the classics, don’t you think?”

YOU – “Wow, thanks Kim! I’m looking forward to reading it! Um, for like the fifth time, I mean.”

KIM – “Mmhm. I’m sure you are.” His eyebrow quirks slightly, as does the corner of his mouth, as if he’s trying to keep back a laugh. “Don’t forget you need to let me borrow that one you really like… what was it called? I am a Screaming Radiocomputer?”

CONCEPTUALIZATION – Oh shit, he hasn’t forgotten about that. Alright. It’s fine. He’s given you the raw material to start from. You’ve got this.

MAN FROM HJELMDALL MUG – Worry not, my friend! You have my sword, my strength, and most of all, my ideas!

——— FIN ———

[respectthepetty]

Episode 12 of Between Us gave me the colors I came for!

Thank you Blue Boys for making Waan's life better.

And thank you very confused Blue Boy for the laughs.

Thanks for the narration of what was happening, Waan (the curtain is the line, and Tul was crossing it!).

And thank you, Dean, for wearing your man's color! It's cream-ish but close enough to yellow for me.

Oh, and thanks for being in love in the pink sheets Prince and Bee

And thanks for staying a green gal, Manow.

Thanks for the consistent color-coding, Between Us. *pats its head* You did well.

[wereh0gz]

Year

[theblackestofsuns]

"It's Over!"

Fantastic Four #68 (November 1967)

Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Joe Sinnott and Stan Goldberg

Marvel Comics

[waitmyturtles]

Crossing another series off the list this week: we got the finale of Candy Color Paradox/Ameiro Paradox. Thoughts!

I know -- because I am one of them -- that there was vocal concern about the quality of the acting by the leads of Kimura Keito (Onoe) and Yamanaka Jyutaro (Kaburagi). They were definitely the weakest actors of the entire troupe that cast this show. Besides the very obvious Izuka Kenta, who outacted, like, the trees in his outdoor scenes, even the actors who played the guys’ colleagues at their tabloid newspaper demonstratively outperformed the two leads. 

All this being said -- in my past reviews, I admitted to having a weak heart for Onoe and Kaburagi, and I still totally feel that way! I ABSOLUTELY felt like a soccer mom on the sidelines, cheering these two awkward dopes along their journey. I don’t know! I wish I had read the manga for canon background, because I kinda wonder if the awkwardness of their lack of experience, particularly with Kimura’s acting, maybe lent itself an authenticity to the character of Onoe that may have been reflected in the manga?

I have no idea, and I don’t read the forums at MDL, where I believe a lot of this discussion was taking place. But in any case, for me, it was kind of this practice of the guys stumbling around in the first place, figuring out their language together, working individually on their process of confessions, that I honestly loved about this show and the storyline, and it did truly keep me coming back. I really thought their back and forth was sweet.

To me, their miscommunications weren’t as frustrating as, say what went down in Individual Circumstances, where clearly, the storyline would have been solved in a sec if the guys just TALKED. I did say in my review of IC that I happen to appreciate the trope of miscommunication, because I think it’s more relative to Asian cultures than Western viewers might relate to.

But in the case of CCP, I think what I saw in the script was just a simple matter of growth. Kabu needed advice from older and wiser people (maybe not wiser in the case of Izuka’s character, but yadda whatever) to recognize that Onoe’s need was to have simple and direct messages aimed at him. And I thought it was really cute that Kabu challenged Onoe at the end to finally state his (Onoe’s) own feelings into words, which funnily, Onoe hadn’t done the entire series. He himself thought he was communicating clearly -- but they both just needed to SAY THEIR WORDS to seal the deal.

I happened to appreciate the awkward lovey scenes. They were so awkward -- but again, I wonder, was it meant to be that way? Who knows. But that was more heat than I could have expected from this show, AT ALL, so honestly, I appreciate its placement. Onoe’s clearly an awkward dude ANYWAY, so might as well make the love hotel scenes that way.

Final thought (and then one footnote***): I appreciated that the final episode focused solely on the pairing, and not on a case. I loved that. I loved that the script gave the guys 23 minutes to resolve themselves without a distraction. I thought that was compassionate and generous, and a lovely touch.

I wouldn’t HIGHLY recommend this as a must-watch, but if you have the time for something fun and light, with two cuties figuring out EVERRRRRRYTHING, then go for it. I’m glad I watched this one!

***Feel free to skip this, but just wanted to say that it’s clear that Yamanaka’s agency/group (M!LK) and Kimura’s agency (Exile Tribe/LDH-Love Dream Happiness) were trying to make lightning strike twice -- three times in the case of Exile, as Yagi Yusei and Machida Keita have done BL wonders for that agency. I THINK that Yamanaka was M!LK’s first BL actor, but Sano Hayato, the lead for M!LK, is quite a successful actor with significant roles in at least two previous evening doramas (including a non-BL show with Machida). So yeah, I believe the casting for Candy Color Paradox was done to intentionally expand a stable of actors. I just don’t think Yamanaka and Kimura were ready for this script, but I think they did their best.

[sylvanfreckles]

Day Thirty: The New Normal

Nino was beside him, Marinette behind him, Chloe just across the aisle, and Plagg in his bag at his feet.

[bettyweir]

HELP MEEEE

[tinkertoysdamn]

Chapters: 8/8 Fandom: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Gamora/Peter Quill/Thor, Mantis & Peter Quill Characters: Peter Quill, Mantis (Marvel), Gamora (Marvel), Thor (Marvel) Additional Tags: Humor, Implied Sexual Content, Sleep Deprivation, Celestial Peter Quill, Mantis & Peter Quill are Siblings Series: Part 7 of The Legendary Star-Lord Will Return Summary:

With the powers of a Celestial now awakened within him, Peter Quill has to deal with the fallout.

Luckily. he won't have to face it alone.

[gabapple]

It's the end of WOLO! Chapter 11- Now safe, the mafia grills the police officer on his part in everything. Plus, an epilogue.

[thowawayuntilfurthernotice]

Said it a year ago and I’ll say it again.

Pirate all your favorite shows, movies and games while you still have the chance.

Oh, and never stop supporting physical media.

[willgrahamscock]

not now kitten, daddy's about to have a mental breakdown from seeing the prices at the grocery store

[elexuscal]

"it's concerning if university students are genuinely struggling to read full adult-level books for class" and "don't overstate the reporting of a single news article" and "if this shift is genuinely real, it's reflective of broad curriculum changes in lower education levels, probably at least in part due to remote schooling during COVID, and doesn't mean the new generation is being willfully Stupid and Vapid" and "when reading for personal pleasure people should read whatever they like without shame" and "reading from a broad variety of genres, styles, and authorial backgrounds will improve your understanding of both literature and the real world" and "actively mocking people for their tastes in books does not encourage them to become more adventurous you're just being mean" and also "but seriously adult books are not just boringly pretentious nothingburgers padded with pointless sex scenes, and claiming they are just shows how little you've read" all can and should co-exist.

[cottoncandysprite]

Does tumblr know about the animation union yaoi yet

[theblackestofsuns]

“It’s Over!”

Fantastic Four #28 (July 1964)

Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Chic Stone and Stan Goldberg

Marvel Comics

[hansoeii]

the honda odyssey, huh?