#just making boards off my fave episodes for the week... or more if i feel like it

[cupids-stimboards]

patty possums party playground

🕹️ 🏬 🥁 / 🛝 x 🛝 / 🎸 🏬 🕹️

[hischierlovebot]

Right?! I loveee it! Hahah same girl same! Seems to be so 😂👌🏼

Guess some things just aren’t meant to be. I studied something completely different as well. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I know, makes me sound so old hahah but I was very young when I started and then just never quit. Awh thanks! I’m not good at it either but as long as you have fun it’s all good.

Goodie 😉. Yes just keep the faith! In the end things always have a way of working out.

Hahha omg the plane crash episode 😂 yeah I can see how that would be confusing. Yes there’s a lot of season but honesty’s the earlier ones up until like 7 or 8 are my favourites. Prime era, as with a lot of shows in my opinion. The earlier seasons is always where it’s at. Ah yeah I’ve heard a lot about orphan black but never watched it myself. Never heard of Fringe.

I did have a nice weekend, thanks! I hope you did too! My Monday was a typical Monday but we’ve made it haha.

The ‘I had you in my mind I hadn’t forgotten to reply’ tag just got me all 🥹

- 🫐

I guess they aren't! I might go back to uni and study some more once I forget the Experience tm that was studying there the first time but it still wouldn't be forensics or anything like it 😂 art history my beloved, may we reunite one day

Ballet I feel is one of those things you do for very little time or a lot ngl I "only" ended up doing for like 8 years, which was half my life at that point, and if I had continued I would be at 16 or so :') I think it's very cool when we can continue doing the things we love for a long time, having fun with things you enjoy for +20 is the dream honestly

It'll be a matter of carrying on doing it, no one will be as annoying as I will and maybe that will pay off 😎

My personal theory is that most shows should end after 5 seasons, 7 max for some of them, so I'm not surprised that's where the good things are! I will keep it in mind too, I need to pick another TV show I can have as background noise while I embroider or do something else 👀 Orphan black is really cool honestly, and Fringe is too, but I'm not surprised you don't know it, I feel like it was a very niche TV show that I probably shouldn't have been watching when I was 10 😂 it's half cop show half science fiction and it is very disgusting at times but it's so incredibly good, it's been my fave show since I watched it. It's not for everyone though but I managed to somehow get all my family on board 😂

I'm happy to hear that! A typical Monday is probably the best thing one can ask for ngl. I had a nice week and went with my sister on a trip so I wasn't too much on my phone but it was really fun ^^ do you have anything exciting coming up? ❤️

[pluviophile-bookworm]

HSMTMTS 2x10: New and a bit alarming... ok, very alarming

I don't even know at this point if I'm more nervous or excited for this episode. I've done my waiting and, well, whatever lies ahead, good or bad, or a little bit of both, I just can't wait anymore, even though I haven't been so scared to press play since... well, since last week. Guess I should just go for it, then:

Ooh, shady Seb doing the recap! We love to see it. Like, seriously, I'm anxious about the Seblos fight, but shady Seb is kind of my new favourite Seb.

I just... Ashlyn's acting is top tier. Emotional connection to the material? Superb! Chemistry with her co-lead... well, he'd have to be co-leading for any chemistry to be possible. I love Ricky, and I feel for him with all he's been through, but he's just not lead material right now. And it shows. Especially next to Ashlyn, who is killing it!

Miss Jenn is on the verge of a bloody mental breakdown and I just... wish I could do something to make things better. She reminds me of my mum when a deadline approaches for her to submit an article, and I just feel for her right now. Gosh, I'm feeling for everybody today. My empathy seems to be at its peak and I might just burst from all these emotions this episode is making me feel even before the 5-minute mark.

Ok, but Miss Jenn being stressed means Carlos is stressed for two, which means... this is a really bad time for him and Seb to have personal problems. My heart just can't handle it.

Wow... I never thought I'd see the day! The two leads are actually talking to each other! This is a mid-July miracle!

Why does everyone keep pretending their HSM was good? It was a flaming hot mess! A child could see that.

Miss Jenn needs a lot of work on her 'gracious face'. I, like Carlos, have quite some notes. Only mine aren't exactly, how do you say... verbally formulated quite yet.

Did Carlos just refer to Miss Jenn as 'mother'? Because yes.

I've been in a couple of local theatre productions in my day, but none of them had actual physical sets — we relied on the audience's imagination quite a lot — so I wouldn't know what a good set is made of... but even I can tell that plywood and Elmer's glue = not good.

Kourtney is a multi-tasking icon and we love her. I feel like I don't say this enough, but she deserves all the love.

Ooh, shady Seb is... well, shady! 'Quit school and get a job at the pizza shop?' — I mean, you don't see Reddy or Kourtney (or Howie, for that matter) quitting school in order to work at the Slices! Those kids juggle it all and, as someone who's never had to balance school and a job all at once, they have my deepest admiration.

Still, I think they should have thought about 'inventing' something re: transformation earlier than this point. The personal drama has taken up too much of their time.

Why does everyone keep inviting people over to Ashlyn's? I mean, it's not like I've ever heard her complain, but the girl needs some rest! And her house is not a public space.

Oh, so they're making this into a contest? I mean, I have never been a fan of competition, but to each their own. And Redlyn are hosting! This is going to be so beautiful! (You know, unless the boys try to sleep — see my post from yesterday about Reddy's background noise machine)

'I'm not worried. But North High should be!' Ooh, I love this look on Ashlyn! See, there's a lead to take notes from! And Ricky should be the first to do so. Take notes about what a lead acts like, I mean.

Oooooh, Big Red claps back! We love to see it. Although, you know, it stems from the fact that he's nervous about coming up with a solution to the transformation problem. 'I get bossy around the power tools' — Yes, sweetie, and I love that look on you. Maybe you should be around power tools more often, if that helps.

Ughhh, look what the cat brought in! Lily (I wish I knew her last name so I could refer to her by it exclusively, but we'll have to make do). I hate that girl. She reminds me quite exactly of the girl who bullied me in seventh grade to the point where I wished I'd die before having to deal with her at school again. She and Lily both bring out my aggressive side, and I hate that about them.

Ricky — 'so good at being a leading man'? I don't know what Lily is playing at here, but Ricky has not shown himself to be a very good leading man this season. He has the potential to be, but he has not fulfilled it by this point. Sure, he supports his friends and they support him, but that's basic decency. Not yet good leadership. No hate on Ricky, just the truth.

'I vaguely remember him' — please tell me this is setup for Ricky leading Lily on and then slamming the door in her face with the truth. The way I see it, he's been given a chance here. A chance to be the supportive, protective best friend Big Red deserves. I just... have a lot of ideas about this and I don't want it to end badly instead.

'I'm just not well-liked here, and I don't know what to do' — well, of course you aren't well-liked, you little— (ok, ok, calm down, breathe, 10, 9, 8...) whatever. I mean, she hasn't even considered basic decency, as it seems. Must be a new concept to her.

'Don't start with me, Carlos!' Wow. As much as I hate it that my two faves' only interaction in so long is so hostile, I kind of like this side of Big Red. I wonder what other sides of himself he's been hiding.

Listen, I don't like Seb being patronised and babied, but... 'Chip, this is your mother speaking: go call your mother!' made me laugh so hard. They're leaning into the on-stage family dynamic and I live for it.

EJ's idea of using old skateboards for the spinning contraption is... a brilliant callback to the fact that Ricky and Big Red were first characterised as skateboarders... you know, before diving headfirst into the theatre thing. And it feels like it might actually work.

Miss Jenn's excitement at seeing Mr Mazzara ('Benjamin!!!') is perhaps only topped by the fact that he was halfway home, got a text from her and instantly went back to the school. I mean, these two have something that's really big.

Miss Jenn referring to the kids as 'my children', combined with Carlos calling her 'mother' earlier just warms my heart so much! Those guys really are family. I live for it.

Ok, but... as clear as it is that the Wildcats are very far behind NH in terms of budget, rehearsal time and who knows what else, I hate seeing Miss Jenn resigned to them losing. I want to see her have faith in them, talk about how they will win, and, in her own words, 'trust the process'. I mean, I guess it's good that, as a teacher, she wants to prepare her kids for a possible defeat (and I mean really possible if they don't step up their game immediately, especially some of them * cough* Ricky *cough *), but a team that goes out to the field expecting to lose has a very minimal chance of winning.

Despite everything I've been saying again and again about Nini lately, the fact that she just delivered a very different 'No, Seb' has just redeemed her. See, this one wasn't dismissive or patronising — this was like, 'no, Seb, don't put yourself down' and I love that spin on the catchphrase I'd grown to hate. See, many things can be redeemed. And some simply cannot. * cough* Devil's spawn Lily *cough *. Also, Seb being self-conscious about the fact that Carlos 'doesn't have many options' at East Hight is the perfect setup for In a Heartbeat — meaning they will either have a chance to talk about their issue, or they have a telepathic connection, in which case, what kind of soulmate stuff is that?

'You're my sister; he's my cousin' — yeah, Ash, putting it like that makes it sound a lot weirder than it should, but I do get what you're trying to say. This is not a drill! Ashlyn is a Portwell shipper (heck, maybe even the captain of that ship) — but I feel like we already knew that.

'Why'd I never hear about this?' — and there it goes. Within the same scene, Nini was redeemed and then made aggravating again. What does she care if Gina thought Ricky sent her chocolates? He didn't. Because he and Gina can't be anything but very good friends. And I feel like good friends is what Gina needs. Maybe that's why I wanted EJ to be that for her initially (or it was because I'm aroace and don't tend to notice romantic attraction between fictional characters — or real people for that matter — unless it's explicitly stated to be there). But I've been on board of the majestic S.S. Portwell for a few weeks now and it's finally about to set sail.

Yeah, Nini, get a root beer, calm the heck down and get over it!

'Your other clockwise!' — Why does this even need to be said? How many 'clockwise's are there? I absolutely understand why Big Red gets the way he gets around power tools. I'd be on edge too, if the people I was trying to work with didn't know what way clockwise is. Still, I feel like by the time I'm 30, nobody younger than me would have a reason to know what way clockwise is, and I don't know if I feel bad or neutral about it.

Oh, so there's no telepathy involved in Seblos' problem resolution — it's been Redlyn's good communication all along. I might have known.

Ooh, Portwell is being discussed on both sides! PORTWELL NATION HOW WE FEELING

Nini? Why is everything about Nini? There's no way everything is about Nini. In all seriousness, though, EJ's worries about letting the next girl go seem valid in regards to Gina, given that she explicitly stated (though not within earshot of EJ or anyone who could have tipped him off) that she needs someone who will show up and stay. But they'll figure it out. They'll find a way. I know it. They will, or I will riot, and I know I won't be alone in that.

Ooh, Howie is giving Kourtney the original blueprints! Looks like Reddy isn't the only one who has a spy on the inside.

Ahhh, Ricky! Not 'Let You Go' again. I haven't cried to it in three days and I was not ready to break that streak. But... wait, this is where Carlos approaches Ricky to ask him for help with writing a song for Seb, isn't it? I am definitely ready for this.

Oh, is it... is it Ricky who suggests Carlos write a song for Seb? Now that is what a good leading man looks like.

'I'm adjusting to being called bro' — me too, Carlito, me too. But... this scene must have been so emotional for Josh, given that he hadn't come out yet. I remember him crying during The Climb and... all I'm saying is I want Ricky to come out at some point, too.

Oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh... they were just talking about love languages and that's when Carlos shows up? Cinematic. Wait, there's Portwell too? This is what dreams are made of.

My oh my oh my! Risotto! For real this time. I might have just teared up. (Full disclosure: I did.) I've only had Portwell for about three weeks, but if anything happens to them, I will... you know how the meme goes. [side note: Wait, when I said 'for real this time', I was not expecting EJ would say it, much less word for word. Am I... writing this show now? It's usually my dad who predicts people's lines in TV shows]

'Not that I know of'... excuse me while I hyperventilate! These two are literal soulmates. They might share a brain, too, for all that I know. Portwell nation you ok guys?

I love that Ricky helped Carlos out with this song and is supporting him through it, but... I just might have preferred for him not to be there. I kind of need Seblos to have this moment to themselves. But, you know, with the way they feel about each other it might as well be like they're alone in the universe, let alone the room.

Ok, but Frankie's voice... brings out feelings in me that I didn't know I was capable of. Make of that what you will. Also, I'm not sobbing my eyes out, you are.

Ahhh Reddy my sunshine my sweet boy I love you but why did you have to cut Seblos' moment short? They were going to kiss, I know it. Oh well, they probably will, later on. Off-screen probably, but who cares? Not everything is for us to see. At least Carlos and Ricky had a moment there... Carlos calling Ricky 'bro' made me more emotional than I expected. It's like Miss Jenn says in s1: 'They're best bros, and that's a sacred thing... for reasons I will never understand'.

Ricky's acting sounds like a cat about to spit up a hairball, and it's so funny... in a scene that is supposed to be arguably the most dramatic of the entire play, that is not a good thing.

Oh my, oh my... you did not! You did not just end the episode with Ricky taking a fall from who knows how high. I was not ready. This episode was entirely too much for me. I will need 10 to 15 business days to recover from this, and we all know there aren't that many. But in the meantime you'll find me obsessively listening to In a Heartbeat for hours on end. Seriously, this episode is too much.

[paperclipninja]

Some finale thoughts

I’ve been sitting with the Younger finale the past couple of days and trying to wrap my head around it all and why I feel the way I feel. And how do I feel? Great question - sad maybe? Disappointed? Underwhelmed? A little bit of all of the above? But most of all I think I feel duped. And that is the feeling I’m having the hardest time reconciling with my overall love for this show. Also, heads up, this post is focusing solely on Liza and where her story ended up.

I want to be clear that this isn’t to do with who I wanted Liza to end up with romantically. Yes, I have always been an unabashed Charles and Liza fan, but I am first and foremost a fan of good storytelling. I am genuinely a showrunner’s dream audience because you tell me a compelling, well written story and I will follow you wherever you want to take me and appreciate the heck out of the journey and find satisfaction in the resolution. Because good storytelling isn’t about appeasing factions of an audience or taking pleasure in exploiting the trust viewers have in the way certain narrative conventions play out, only to hoodwink them at the 11th hour. It is about striking the balance between the predictable and unpredictable, staying true to the story that has come before and the endpoint that has been set, but doing so in a way that acknowledges that there are ways that certain conventions need to play out in order for an audience to feel satisfied. And for me, this is why Younger has fallen so incredibly short in the finale.

I am here every day of the week for a a clever twist but I have said it before, when it comes to executing any kind of bait and switch well, there is a really fine line between an audience feeling elated because they ‘got it’- they read the cues correctly and get the sense they were ‘in on it’ - and feeling like a fool. The Younger finale left me feeling as though my entire understanding of this season (and maybe series) was completely wrong. I was led to believe that I was supposed to be Team Liza, to be rooting for her to find success in life and love after starting over again. 

So imagine my elation when during this entire season Liza seemed to have identified who she wanted in her life romantically and so, as the drama of season 7 unfolded, anyone could be forgiven for thinking that the heavy focus on Liza’s relationship with Charles was going to culminate in her FINALLY getting who she wanted romantically, while achieving the career success she desired (and set her on this journey in the first place) would be the final obstacle for the character to overcome. Is that route predictable? Maybe. Could it have maintained the follow through that we come to expect in this kind narrative but still have delighted with unexpected ways of getting there? Absolutely. 

To feel like this entire season has been working to convince me that romance was a big part of what Liza wanted in her life, fabricate an inordinate amount of drama around the character she wanted to spend her life with, reunite them and then suddenly try to convince me in the final episode that the lie, which has not been mentioned once in two and a bit seasons, is an issue between Charles and Liza, only to have the protagonist serve as some kind of example that if you lie you can’t have it all...I’m sorry, what? And wanting to bookend the series with the bar scene, I totally get it, full circle, it ends where it all began - it’s a basic storytelling technique that I have marked in many a high school essay - but it once again comes back to me wanting to feel a sense that this was a looming possibility, that it was earned and I was ‘in on it’. 

An effective twist doesn’t come out of nowhere and any argument that this didn’t, it came from the start of the series, is rubbish. In the context of this season, which is what any viewer holds in their mind as a season winds up, Josh and Liza reconnecting in this way was completely tacked on and contrived. Again, it could have been a really sweet moment if the break up that had just occurred between Liza and the man she had been desperately in love with for the entire season, didn’t render the entire season redundant, or if Josh and Liza had had more than one 2 minute interaction in episode 1. Like, what was the point of any of the drama from this season if the focus of the series was never meant to be the romantic relationships? And if the series was never meant to be about the romantic relationships, why end with the possibility of reconnecting with Josh at all and instead end with the four women toasting one another's’ success? 

And THAT is why I feel duped. It’s not about who Liza may or may not have ended up with or the mental gymnastics required for the finale to make any sense in relation to the rest of the season. I feel duped because all the way up until this final episode I was under the impression that I was watching a different kind of show. One that was feel-good and light and fluffy and had its fair share of drama but the fun kind, and resolved in ways that were sometimes predictable, sometimes not, but always satisfying.

I was under the impression that by rooting for Liza, I was rooting for her to succeed and that telling a lie to combat ageism was worth it because the ridiculous premise paid off and she did get it all. Is it cheesy and too happily ever after? Maybe. But you know what? That is what I felt like I was sold all these years. A happy escapism that would often take the ridiculous and make it delightfully entertaining and never take itself too seriously. And with that comes certain expectations of the way storylines will build and resolve: reducing such a significant aspect of Liza's story to a cautionary tale on the perils of lying seemed completely out of place for the tone and type of show Younger has always been.

So perhaps I did misunderstand the type of show I was watching all these years, perhaps my expectation of my favourite series (and yes it remains my fave) to end all wrapped up in a neat way that saw these characters I’m so invested in ride off into the sunset with everything they desired was unrealistic (or perhaps for many they all did and if that’s how you felt then I’m honestly thrilled for you). 

The loop back to the moment when the lie was conceived, right down to the verbatim dialogue from Josh and Liza’s first interaction, essentially creates a Groundhog Day scenario - Liza is back where she started, sure with some career success and some pretty great experiences, but the character growth has been stagnated by this lie from the very beginning apparently. And again, if this season had been working towards this moment of another reset, starting over once again but without the lie in place, I’d be so on board because I actually really like this idea. But to expect an audience to make the leap from one story that’s been told the entire season to this one is too much of a leap at the last minute IMO.

I will always love Younger, I was excited that season 7 seemed to be really deliberately building towards a clear ending, but I will be forever perplexed by the choices made in that finale. 

[collecting-stories]

Netflix & Chill - Topper Thornton

Request: I just binge read all ur Topper stuff and now I'm in my Topper feels and can I pleaseee request Topper smut? I love how you write him and ur Rafe smut is literally my fave!! xo

A/N: Got this inspo for this from someone literally posting on the college messageboard for someone to watch Netflix with them.

Outer Banks Masterlist

✰ ✰ ✰ ✰

-anyone wanna watch some Netflix?-

You stared at the post on the college message board, trying to get a decent look at the kid who posted without clicking on their student profile. 

“What are you doing?” Your roommate asked, getting off her bed and coming over to see what you were looking at on your phone. 

“This post,” you tilted the phone her way, “is it crazy that I was kinda considering it?”

“Yes. You don’t know this kid, what if he’s a creep?” 

“I don’t know...what if he’s really cool?” You shrugged, clicking on the reply. 

“No!” She tried to snatch the phone but you slid off the bed, moving over to your desk and pushing your chair in front of you as you replied to his message. 

-I will, where are you?-

“No, do not go to some random guy’s dorm, you don’t know him! He could be a total weirdo!” Your roommate stressed. 

“Too late,” you stepped on the chair and moved around her, grabbing her shoulders to shift her out of the way as you grabbed your sandals and made for the door. “I’ll see you later!” 

You knew it was a little crazy to be showing up at some guys dorm after he randomly posted on the school message board but you were new, not just to college but to the state and with everything being virtual you couldn’t help feeling a little more disconnected than usual. The reasonable voice of your mother rang in the back of your head as you pulled open the door to the building he told you he was in, telling you that this was how people got sick and died. By not being cautious. 

“113, 113...113.” You mumbled as you came up to the door, knocking gently. What if someone else offered to come over too? You should’ve checked to see if he left the message up. He could open the door and tell you to leave, that he got a better option. But that was crazy, that was just you reading too much into the situation. 

“Hey,” the smile on his face was so easy it actually had you feeling a whole lot better, “I’m Topper.” 

“Hey.” You introduced yourself, stepping into the room when he opened the door wider. 

“My roommate’s already home for the weekend so I figured...ya know.” 

“Yeah, honestly I like my roommate but we’ve been cooped up together for a week so I’m kinda dying for a change.” You replied. Sitting in your dorm all day with headphones on doing school work wasn’t really the idea you had of college this year. 

“I get that,” he nodded. 

You couldn’t deny that things felt the slightest bit awkward, like neither of you were really sure how to proceed next. He moved over to the tv, grabbing the Apple remote while you stood in the middle of the room, unsure if you should just sit on the bed or not. 

“Any preferences?” 

“Not really, whatever you wanna put on.” You replied, silently reminding yourself not to get so in your head as you took a seat on the bed, resting your back against the wall. 

He put on Friends from a random episode in the third season, probably where he’d left of last and that had you thinking maybe he’d done this before. Of course, one look at him had you thinking he’d definitely done this before. 

Topper handed you a water as he sat down beside you on the bed. The whole thing felt a little awkward but you supposed that was how it went. It wasn’t like you were both drunk, hooking up in someone’s bathroom at a party. When he did the casual arm over the shoulder halfway through the first episode of Friends you bit the inside of your cheek to stop from laughing and ruining the whole thing. You scooted a little closer, leaning in a little more in hopes that would get your point across. Unless you were reading into this wrong you were pretty sure that you had interpreted the message the right way.  

When the third episode started to play you figured making a fool of yourself might be totally worth it. “Are we like...actually watching Netflix?”

“What?” Topper asked, turning just enough that he could face you, arm still around your shoulders.  

“I’m sorry...I just, when you said, anyone wanna watch Netflix I thought you meant like...ya know, netflix and chill...like...is that not what this is?” You asked.

Thinking on his feet Topper nodded, “yeah, yeah, that’s totally what this is I just...didn’t want to rush the pace.”

In truth, he had honestly been bored out of his mind laying around in his room and figured he would put himself out there and see what came of it. He hadn’t expected anyone to respond and when you did he had clicked on your profile to get a better look at your picture. Cute, definitely his type, even more so when he opened the door and you were standing there for real. He had taken a bit of a bold chance with the arm around the shoulder, maybe this could turn into something more...but he definitely wasn’t expecting you to make any kind of move. And definitely not that one.

“Admirable,” you teased, “but I think we can rush it a little bit.” You wouldn’t have cared if he never turned the TV on to begin with.  

“Right.”  

Seeing that he was still a little hesitant you grabbed his face in your hands, pulling him forward and kissing him. His arm dropped to your back and tried to pull you closer, forcing you to shift around on your knees until you were straddling him, basically sitting in his lap with his back against the wall.  

Topper’s hands pushed up your sweatshirt and slipped underneath it, running up your bare sides as he realized you hadn’t worn a bra over to his dorm. Definitely not what he was expecting but he made the most of it. While you kissed him, tongue running along his lower lip, Topper cupped your breasts. His thumbs brushed against your nipples, finding himself rewarded with the softest of whimpers that passed through your lips.  

You moved your hands down his chest and abs, enjoying the way his muscles tensed and then relaxed at your touch. You pulled away long enough to pull your sweatshirt off, tossing it on the other bed in the dorm. His shirt went next, you pulled it off while he was still taking in the sight of you topless, sitting in his lap.  

“I should mention,” Topper said as you leaned forward, brushing your lips against his neck and collar, your fingers brushing against the skin at the waistband of his sweatpants, “I don’t usually do hookups like this.” Even as he said it his hands kneaded your breasts. The sound of Rachel and Joey’s banter dying in the background as he let himself get drawn into the moment.  

“Me neither.” You confessed, lifting your head to look at him. You kissed him, a softer peck then all the others had been.  

You climbed off his lap, careful not to fall off the bed and embarrass yourself. Shifting around on your knees you nudged Topper, smiling when he took the hint and laid down. You got off the bed and pulled your tights and underwear off before straddling Topper. Just the way he looked at you had your heart racing. He said he’d never done something like this and even though you could hear your roommate’s voice in the back of your head telling you he was probably lying you didn’t care. All you cared about was this.  

“God, you’re really fucking beautiful.” Topper compliments, hands running your ass and gripping the backs of your thighs as you leaned down to kiss him.  

“You sound so cliche.” You teased, lips brushing against his. With one hand pressed into the mattress to keep yourself steady, your other hand ran back down his stomach, slipping beneath the waistband of his sweatpants. You rub your hand over him, pressing down just enough to elicit a moan, your mouth kissing along his jaw and down his neck.  

Topper tilted his head back, giving you more access to the canvas of his skin, sucking a bruise at the base of his throat. You rubbed over him once more before pushing your hand beneath the elastic band of his briefs. He sucked in a breath when you wrapped your fingers around his dick, your thumb running over the tip, smearing precum.  

“Holy shit.” He moaned as moved your hand up and down slowly, constricted slightly by his underwear. You’d never in your life wanted so badly to kiss every inch of a person. You sat up, backing up so you could push down his sweatpants and underwear, bunching them around his knees. It wasn’t the most romantic thing in the world but at the moment you didn’t give a shit.  

You braced yourself with one hand, wrapping your hand around the base of his dick and leaning down to slide the tip into your mouth. He groaned, eyes rolling at the feeling of your mouth on him as he reached down to grip your hair. You definitely weren’t an expert at giving head and you had never volunteered so eagerly before but there was something about Topper that had your head swimming in the best way. You pressed your tongue flat against the underside of his dick and licked up, swirling around the tip before taking him into your mouth again. His hand pushed against your head, keeping you in place as he thrust up, the feeling of him practically hitting the back of your throat had you moaning around his dick. A moment later he was pulling you off him, tugging at your hair to guide you up to your knees. You took the hint, hands on his abs as you kneeled up again. He trailed his hands back up to your hips as you sunk down on him, whimpering at the feeling.  

It’d been a while since you had sex and you’d never been on top before but god were you loving the feeling of it. You grind down on him slowly, finding a rhythm as Topper holds you, fingers digging into your hips, bruising. When he thrust up into you, you moaned, the feeling so strong your hand hit the wall beside you to keep you from falling over.  

Topper grinned, clearly smug. “That feel good baby?” he asked, the shift in control almost palpable. You bit your lip, nodding as your eyes met him. “Hold onto the headboard.”

You do as he says, gripping the headboard above him, eyes dazed as you stared down at him. For a split second you almost began to wonder what was gonna happen when this was over but before you could even fully form that though Topper was thrusting up into you, practically lifting your knees off the bed like it was nothing and you were a mess at the feeling.  

“Oh my-” you moaned, “I’m close.”

“Shit, yeah,” Topper’s voice was strained, “touch yourself?”

You gripped the headboard tighter as you moved one hand, reaching down to slip your fingers between your folds, middle finger circling your clit and making you spaz just as he thrust up. The rhythm was getting sloppier as he got closer and his grip on your hips was almost brutal. You clenched around him, and he groaned at the feeling of you cumming. You grab his wrist, holding tight as he lifts you off of him and you spaz from the sudden loss of him inside you. Trying to hold yourself up, you lean back on your calves, letting go of the headboard to hold his thigh as he pumps his hand over his dick a couple times before shooting cum onto your stomach.  

He laughs when you stick your tongue out, caught off guard at the sudden. His grip on your hip loosened as he sat himself up, careful to help you readjust as he did. “You good?”

“Yeah, awesome.” You replied, voice hazy, maybe even a little sleepy. The soft lull of the TV caught your attention for a moment and you looked over at the screen as Joey entered the apartment, “I love this episode.”

“We can start it over,” He promised, shifting out from under you and pushing his pants all the way down so he didn’t fall completely on his ass and embarrass himself in front of you. He grabbed tissues from Kelce’s side of the room and you watched as he cleaned you up.  

“Sorry,” you said, moving over in bed when he climbed in, covering both of you with his comforter as you rested your head against his chest. “I’m not really sure what I’m supposed to do next.”  

“I got all afternoon, let's just see what happens?”

You hummed, “sounds good.”

-

taglist: @maplelattes22 @poguesrforlife  @freckled-and-daydreaming  @chasefreakinstokes @millie-753 @fangirlwithme @alex12948 @katherine097 @tangledinsparkles @carbonated-beverage @mariofgreengables @damonsalvawhore27 @dopedoodes @dolanfivsosxox @belledutchess @poguelifeeee @faded-blue @parkerpetertingle @thebookwormlife @summer-clouds-and-long-days @jellyfishbeansontoast @minigranger @hoewkeye @love-someone-special @tiredfeels @strangerthanfanfiction713 @the-only-nana @tomzfrog @mozz-are-lla@vindictive-hearts @poguestyleskye @ssprayberrythings @jenahbell @beautyandthebleh@gothackedalready @teenwaywardasgardian @sarahcxmeron @haha-fuck-you-thot @stillbelieve398-5 @rewindlr @queenniccimicci @kissessforharryyy @thedarkqueenofavalon @alytavzla @bqmblebee @linniep @nerdypartytrashpsychic @xxchxrryxx @spencer-reid-is-a-cutie @mirjanak @danielladreaming @obx-saltlife @youngestxhearts @spnobsessedmemes @wowitswondergurl @celestialmaybank @mybnkjj @pineappleandcherries @mysterious-adventurer @justawilddreamerchild @rhyetaylor62 @calm-rejects @balletandyuzu @oh-annaa@aiifandomsunite @x-lulu @ceruleanjj @wicked-laugh @obxwriterfan @allie-mcginn@pcterparxer @literarycharleton @khiaraaa-in-spacee @crushe-s @teamnick @daydreamlilys @collectiveuniverses @activist-af @mdgrdians @buckys-sunflower @vindictive-hearts@copper-boom @talksoprettyjjx @5am-cigarette @smiithys @dontjinx-it @outerbanksbro @mysticsthinking @heavenlymama  @rudy-pankow-needs-an-oscar @babymatilda @raekenliar @lemur46 @haute-shawn @pogue-h

[magnumdays]

Magnum PI 3.06 - The Day Danger Walked In

Where do I even begin with this episode?

Once more this was just an overall enjoyable episode with all my favorite bits! Miggy, fun side plot for the guys, (though I missed the Ferrari and beautiful Hawaii aerial shots…)and once more a totally coincidental very dangerous situation because of mostly bad luck.

I think I’m going to start with the last one.

This episode features the second full episode of hostage-by situations we’ve gotten this season. What else have we had this season - 5 episodes in? Well, let’s see the two robbery/hostage episodes, Higgy being shot. A plane crash. Now Ethan getting shot. (Plus the weird stalker in the white SUV.) 3.04 was the only really case-like ‘normal’ episode we’ve had!

Everything is a bit higher stakes this season (we also got the Juliet/Ethan thing, suddenly giving us some emotional “danger”, making us wonder how this will impact Magnum and Higgins’ relationship.) Danger is around every coroner. So ride out a hurricane in peace? Nope, forget it!

And while I very much enjoy the higher stakes, it starts becoming a little unbelievable (what? A TV show being unbelievable?). But it’s more the coincidences of how things go from ‘bad’ to ‘OMG’ that sometimes get to me. How is it they can’t even go for a green card interview in peace? 10 minutes earlier of an appointment time, that episode would not have existed. Like being trapped in a storm isn’t enough, we gotta add armored car robbers! The probability of them picking La Marianna is just so small it annoys me a bit.

I do enjoy it more when Magnum and Higgins are on a case and that leads them into danger. Being shot or crashing a plane because you went out and looked for trouble makes sense (even if it’s very unbelievable too I know…) Danger just happening… it’s a little bit of lazy writing in my opinion. I mean wasn’t it enough that the storm warning came just as Ethan had arrived but not before they had time to leave on their date? That alone is a fairly big coincidence... 

I mean I still really enjoyed this episode. It wasn’t all hostage but a lot of stuff around it, and it was more of a backdrop. Something to cause problems that had to be solved by various people working together and thus showing off their dynamic and letting them interact (such as Ethan and Magnum with the gas + talk about Higgy, Magnum/Higgy/Ethan when he was shot, Kumu/ Shammy and even Ethan/Higgy a little.)

All the relationship stuff is really what this episode is all about. We got TC and Rick moments (with Thomas being a little bit of confidant) about trust and being partners, Ethan/Higgy/Magnum - how does Ethan fit in stuff, separate from that some Miggy feels and Juliet asking/hoping Thomas and Ethan if they can be friends because she thinks her and Ethan might get serious and just all around through-out the episode Juliet being quite worried about what Thomas thinks of her boyfriend. 

Yet while we got a lot of stuff going on (some quite coincidental), still it felt like just the right amount of everything. A bit of Ethan, some jealous Magnum, not too much case, just enough fun and games and crazy to make it never boring and some good heart to heart feel-y moments to give some pay off towards the end. It’s like they finally found their groove this season and almost every episode just feels like it’s really working on all levels!

My fave moments

I had some favorite moments; Gordon going “She really wanted that power saw” about Juliet when they were putting up boards at the beginning. She really did and it was so fun. I love when Higgy doesn't get what she wants and is a bit salt-y with someone other than Thomas...

Magnum being all “It’s like me dating a client!” Um hello excuse me but did you not ask out Mitten’s the cat’s owner? (Well her mom, if we’re being technical?) Sure it’s totally about Ethan having been Higgy’s doctor…

Juliet being all “Thomas likes you fine” but then becoming suddenly super observant of how he acts and then realizing he’s not fine with it? Going so far as to actually start on a “Ethan seems to think-” before Magnum interrupts with dead security guard photos.

Magnum actually admitting he’s not sure how to share Higgy with Ethan...

Rick being tormented by the fact that he lied to TC.

Juliet drying off Ethan and handing Magnum a towel and the way he smiles and then looks so forlorn! It’s just so...I don’t know but it gives me feels and I need gifs.

The last two minutes are my favorite. From Higgy showing up, Rick sending her over to paint with Magnum, her being all ‘looks fine’ ‘liar’, her thanking him for being nice but admitting “it was really stupid” about Ethan rushing in and getting shot. That was just amazing. 

That whole end bit was just so pure and sweet and my poor baby face when she’s all “it’s pretty serious, I want you guys to be friends”. Someone hug him.

(Also who taught you how to paint? You’re just painting in the same spot over and over again!! I know it’s about them having a moment but I’m low-key annoyed on Rick’s behalf on them both sucking at it!)

Speaking of annoyed… (Ethan rant-ish bits up) 

I’m not sure how I feel about Ethan being shot and all of them being locked in a freezer (I know would have preferred a Magnum/Higgy locked in a freezer and it’s very cold story-line...but you know, we take what we can get). Him being shot felt very random and I think we almost could have just done without it? Like he could have been smacked with a gun and had a head wound. I mean I guess the only reason for him getting shot in the leg is to make sure Juliet doesn't end up going ice skating with him… (Or to make sure we don’t have to see him while he’s getting his leg back in working order... )

What was that anyways?

Ethan plans on taking Higgy ice skating and we learn that Juliet has apparently never been from Magnum. A) Why do I love that Magnum just know this, like they talked about it? B) What respectable English person has never been ice skating? C) If Ethan knew she’d never been, why would he suggest it? Unless she asked to go. I mean I get maybe he was hoping for a cute ‘trust me, I won’t let you fall’ sort of situation, but he’s been on a number of dates with Higgy by now. He must know how she hates being well... not the best at something (everything...) Going skating was not really a good plan.

Also who the heck goes ice skating in HAWAII!!! I mean come on Ethan! You’re a doctor, you’re supposed to be smart. Why not have a romantic beach picnic, much better chances of something fun going down… I’m just saying. 

Anyways, I honestly don’t know what to feel about Ethan. I like that he seems nice and not threatened by Magnum (well, for now, spend another few hours with them, you might not be so chill…) and sees that working with him is important to Juliet. Frankly I just hope things get serious with them, but in the end Juliet realizes he’s not for her and just breaks up with him because she wants to. Not because he’s a bad guy working for evil SUV guy or because does something awful. Just because while she likes him, she doesn't feel like he’s the one. Since this season seems to be drama-drama I think something dramatic is bound to happen… but I guess we’ll see!

In Conclusion

I loved it, but was a bit annoyed at some parts. I feel like everything is just flowing so well this season and I can’t wait to see how the big bad turns out and the Ethan thing and La Marianna and just all around I’m more invested in everything.

Next week’s episode looks very exciting! I’m excited for some dramatic (yet we took this case so it’s not that unrealistic) stuff going down. Kidnappings and Miggy freaking out when ‘tragedy occurs’ (and maybe having some moments). I must say as much as I enjoyed this end scene last week’s Miggy end moment (3.04( beats this one’s by just a tiny amount... 

[lilydalexf]

Old School X is a project interviewing X-Files fanfic authors who were posting fic during the original run of the show. New interviews are posted every Tuesday.

Interview with Sophia Jirafe

Seven of Sophia Jirafe’s fics are at Gossamer, but more of her X-Files stories are at AO3 (as sophiahelix). I’ve recced some of my favorites of her stories here before, including Stones and Bones. She was active in the fandom during the show’s run and has never strayed far from fandom in general. She co-founded Glass Onion, a great multi-fandom mailing list that now has nearly 1,000 fics from 100 fandoms at AO3. Big thanks to Sophia Jirafe for doing this interview.

Does it surprise you that people are still interested in reading your X-Files fanfics and others that were posted during the original run of the show (1993-2002)?

It did initially, but so many old shows are on streaming now and getting discovered by new people, it makes sense.

I did get a comment from someone who said my first story under this name, posted in early 2000 when I was a college freshman, was older than her by a couple of months, and THAT took me aback.

What do you think of when you think about your X-Files fandom experience? What did you take away from it?

It was my first fandom, discovered when I was 17 and searching for info about the show on the school library computer, and it really shaped my whole life! I met a lot of people I still know today (mostly in non-fannish venues like FB, though I do still have some connections in fandom), and learned a lot about writing and just life generally, since I was younger than most of fandom at the time.

Social media didn't really exist during the show's original run. How were you most involved with the X-Files online (atxc, message board, email mailing list, etc.)?

I started off on a tiny forum at a website called Squirrel’s Nest, but I kept seeing people thanking Scullyfic in fic headers and eventually I was able to join the mailing list (which was capped to 500 members). Scullyfic was everything to me — I made friends, betas, discussed the show, learned about all kinds of things on Off-Topic Fridays, etc. A lot of those friends, I would email with or more often chat on AIM (individual or these sprawling group chats that would go on all day), and then at the end of 2001 we started migrating to Livejournal. I was getting into Buffy more by then, but it was still mostly the same crowd of people I knew from Scullyfic.

What did you take away from your experience with X-Files fic or with the fandom in general?

I feel like it started me on a whole life path really — finding that my deep obsession with fiction could be channeled like that and shared with other people, as well as deepening my writing. Online fandom has been a major part of my social life for over 20 years now, and I love the mix of getting excited about things with friends and also the creative outlet.

My corner of X-Files fandom in particular was just very calm and enjoyable for the most part, full of older professional women who were happy to be friends and give me advice about all kinds of things, and it really set the bar for me with my online interactions. Now I’m almost 40 and trying to be that person for my younger friends, as well as having no patience for toxicity and in-fighting in my fandom spaces.

What was it that got you hooked on the X-Files as a show?

A combination of the creepy conspiracy angle and just adoring Scully. I remember how mysterious and fascinating the show seemed when I discovered it right before S5, and there was no way to find out more except to keep watching and hoping they explained. Scully was so smart and tough and beautiful and interesting, and as a teen I was just captivated by her (and the UST, though I didn’t care about Mulder as much).

What got you involved with X-Files fanfic?

I ran across it a couple times early on but felt embarrassed by the concept, but then I read the first in Karen Rasch’s Words series and suddenly it clicked for me. After a while I started daydreaming my own conversations between them, very similar to what happens to me now when I’m getting into a new pairing, so after reading tons of recommended fic by big authors, I started writing my own (the 3-4 stories I posted in high school are all wiped from the internet now, though).

What is your relationship like now to X-Files fandom?

Good memories, though because it was my senior year of high school and college, I know a lot of it is just tied to that time in my life, and also being in my very first fandom. I will rewatch episodes from time to time, but I basically never revisit former fandoms because they’re kind of like exes, even if I finished on a good note. I also think my taste in fic has changed (and there isn’t the same novelty of “characters I like getting together omg!”)

Were you involved with any fandoms after the X-Files? If so, what was it like compared to X-Files?

So many! None of them had quite the same combination of excellent central architecture (especially pre-AO3) and a really high level of discussion and friendliness without being enormous, but I’ve loved them all in their own ways. I’ve done fandom on LJ/DW, Tumblr, Discord, and now on Twitter, and I think I miss the mailing list days the most. You didn’t have to repeat yourself so much in multiple conversations, you weren’t character limited, and the discussion was all in one place, with personal stuff more confined to your side conversations. Discord is a little like that, but it moves too fast and there’s too much noise for my taste.

Who are some of your favorite fictional characters? Why?

Heh, after X-Files I went through a whole phase of faves in the Scully vein — Buffy, Aeryn Sun, Kara Thrace, etc. Like many people I’ve shifted primarily into m/m in the last decade (Sherlock, YOI, and recently The Untamed have been my major fictional fandoms, along with a lot of sports RPF), but for non-fannish shows I’m always looking for awesome new female characters, like Elizabeth on the Americans, Peggy on Mad Men, Nadja on What We Do in the Shadows, etc. And I do LOVE Killing Eve and have written a little f/f over there.

Do you ever still watch The X-Files or think about Mulder and Scully?

I’ll rewatch favorite episodes occasionally, and I keep thinking about a full rewatch but it takes so much time! I never saw the second movie, and I didn’t finish the first of the new seasons because I was hating it, so it’s a little hard for me to think fannishly about them when I disliked basically everything after “Je Souhaite” so much (as far as I’m concerned the show ends there).

Do you ever still read X-Files fic? Fic in another fandom?

X-Files no, but yeah I’m still very active in fandoms.

Do you have any favorite X-Files fanfic stories or authors?

I lost all my saved fic several computers ago, but I recall loving “Blue Christmas” by Plausible Deniability and “Diamonds and Rust” by MustangSally (obviously everything she wrote was great).

What is your favorite of your own fics, X-Files and/or otherwise?

Looking at my X-Files fic, I can’t believe how short it is and how comparatively little of it there is (I have lost track of a few ficlets). It felt like such a big deal to finish anything back then! I think my favorite remains Alphabetum, which involved a tricky structure and 5 elements given by people as part of the Scullyfic Improv challenge, where you had a week to write a story around those elements.

My favorite of my recent fic in fictional fandoms is probably the GoT/YOI crossover novel I wrote a couple years ago, for a completely opposite experience to this (and proof you can grow as a writer with a lot of effort!)

Do you think you'll ever write another X-Files story? Or dust off and post an oldie that for whatever reason never made it online?

It’s honestly hard to imagine going back (like I said, I usually don’t), but I guess I could get inspired by something.

Do you still write fic now? Or other creative work?

I certainly still write, and I do have to give credit to XF fandom and Scullyfic in particular for giving me the start I got, where I really wanted to be writing good fiction. The few things I wrote in high school were just me jamming out romantic cliches, but the people I was lucky to know in XF fandom showed me that “just” fanfic can still aspire to be high quality. I am a much, much better and more disciplined writer than I was back then, but I might never have started on this path without fandom friends encouraging me.

Where do you get ideas for stories?

Usually just daydreaming about emotional dynamics between characters/people, but sometimes something specific in canon or real life (I write a lot of RPF) gets me going, or maybe something I read.

What's the story behind your pen name?

When I wrote for X-Files, I picked “Sophia Jirafe” combining my favorite first name with a fancy spelling for my favorite animal (I was 18! Don’t judge!) Over on Livejournal, my friend Jintian and I initially shared an account with the same name as our website, double_helix, and when she got her own account I changed to sophia_helix, which is now sophiahelix just about everywhere. A little clunky, but I like the continuity (and I do run across old friends who remember the name).

Do your friends and family know about your fic and, if so, what have been their reactions?

The friends I’ve known for a very long time know about it, but we have never talked about it in depth. My husband, who I met not long after getting into fandom, also knows about it, and he’s encouraging and also a writer so we talk all the time. I told my mom in college and she was pretty dismissive, so we haven’t talked about it since (but my younger sister knows and is cool about it).

When I was younger, it was something I shared readily (I bonded with a new friend in law school I saw looking at LJ), but now I don’t really bring it up with new acquaintances.

Is there a place online (tumblr, twitter, AO3, etc.) where people can find you and/or your stories now?

I just made a Carrd the other day with all my various fannish addresses (Twitter, locked fannish Twitter, AO3, Tumblr)

Is there anything else you'd like to share with fans of X-Files fic?

Just that it really was a high quality fandom — so much excellent long casefic, so many cool down to earth people, just generally a great launching place for a young fan. The friendships I made with older people were really important to me, and it makes me sad to see a lot of younger people now getting upset about the idea of anyone over a certain age being in their fandom spaces. I hope someday fandom can get back to appreciating that people of all ages can be the fandom type, and that everyone brings something different to the community.

(Posted by Lilydale on December 1, 2020)

[thingwithfeathers]

tag 9 people to learn more about their interests

tagged by: @enniomorricone :)

MUSIC

fave genre? indie/alternative rock, and pop but not really current pop more like 80s/90s.

fave artist? bastille, twenty one pilots, fleetwood mac, the clash, the smiths, abba, probably a lot more i can’t think of right now.

fave song? my joint favourite songs are ‘with or without you — u2′ and ‘landslide — fleetwood mac’

most listened song recently? 'song for zula — phosphorescent’ it’s become one of my favoure songs ever.

song currently stuck in your head?  any abba song because i was listening to them a lot earlier.

5 fave lyrics?

“It’s a hell of a long way to fall just to learn to get up” — the mess, the naked and famous.

“But now it’s just another show / and you leave them laughing when you go / and if you care, don’t let them know / don’t give yourself away / i’ve looked at love from both sides now / from give and take and still somehow / it’s loves illusions that i recall / i really don’t know love at all.” — both sides now, joni mitchell (this entire song though! really hard to choose lyrically because it’s a masterpiece).

“See, honey, i saw love / you see it came to me / it put it’s face up to my face so i could see / yeah then i saw love, disfugure me / into something i am not recognising / see the cage, it called, i said come on in / i will not open myself up this way again / but my heart is wild and my bones are steel / and i could kill you with my bare hands if i was free.” — song for zula, phosphorescent.

"Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love? / can the child within my heart rise above? / can i sail through the changing ocean tides? / can i handle the seasons of my life? / well, i’ve been afraid of changing / ‘cause i’ve built my life around you / but time makes you bolder / even children get older / and i’m getting older too.” — landslide, fleetwood mac.

“And then you put your hand in mine / and pulled me back from things divine / stop looking up for heaven / waiting to be buried / and all their words for glory / they always sounded empty / when we’re looking up for heaven.” — bastille, glory.

radio or your own playlist | solo artists or bands | pop or indie (depends!) | loud or silent volume in-between! I slow or fast songs | music video or lyrics video | speakers or headset | riding a bus in silence or while listening to music | driving in silence or with radio on.

BOOKS

fav book genre? just fiction in general. i’ve kind of grown out of young adult so i don’t really read a lot of that, and have been reading classics lately. just any books that make you really think and are written so beautifully that you can highlight quote after quote. i’ve also been reading a lot of non fiction spiritual books lately.

fav writer? recently, taylor jenkins reid. i’ve read two of her books and they’re incredibly gripping. love the simplicity and warmth of benjamin alire saenz as well, the care that ari & dante was written with. and also emily dickinson, especially her letters in particular to susan are just gorgeous.

fav book? aristotle & dante discover the secrets of the universe, wuthering heights, little women, a little life, and recently the seven husbands of evelyn hugo.

fav book series? i don’t really read book series, so the only thing coming to mind is harry potter which i only read for the first time about five years ago now.

comfort book? little women and aristotle & dante.

perfect book to read on a rainy day? any easy read, probably several i listed above.

fave characters? aristotle & dante, jo & beth march (little women), mina murray (dracula).

5 quotes from your fave books that you know by heart?

“You teach me now how cruel you’ve been — cruel and false. why did you despise me? why did you betray your own heart, cathy? i have not one word of comfort. you deserve this. you have killed yourself. yes, you may kiss me, and cry; and wring out my kisses and tears: they’ll blight you — they’ll damn you. you loved me — what right had you to leave me? what right — answer me — for the poor fancy you felt for linton? because misery and degradation, and death, and nothing that god or satan could inflict would have parted us, you, of your own will did it. i have not broken your heart — you have broken it; and in breaking it, you have broken mine. so much the worse for me that i am strong. do i want to live? what kind of living will it be when you — oh god! would you like to live with your soul in the grave?”  — wuthering heights, emily bronte (i could choose so many from this book but this is the most underrated one in my opinion and deserves more recognition).

“I will love you forever, whatever happens. ‘til i die and after i die, and when i find my way out of the land of the dead i’ll drift about forever, all my atoms, ‘till i find you again. i’ll be looking for you, will, every moment, evert single moment. and when we do find each other again we’ll cling together so tight that nothing and no one’ll ever tear us apart. every atom of me and every atom of you... we’ll live in the birds and the flowers, and the dragonflies and pine trees, and in the clouds and in those little specks of light you see floating in sunbeams... and when they use our atoms to make new lives, they won’t just be able to take one, they’ll have to take two, one of you and one of me, we’ll be joined so tight...” — his dark materials (amber spyglass), philip pullman. (don’t talk to me, this quote makes me actually ache)

“I wanted to tell them that i’d never had a friend, not ever, not a real one. until dante. i wanted to tell them that i never knew that people like dante existed in the world, people who looked at the stars, and knew the mysteries of water, and knew enough to know that birds belonged to the heavens and weren’t meant to be shot down from their graceful flights by mean and stupid boys. i wanted to tell them that he had changed my life and that i would never be the same, not ever. and that somehow it felt like it was dante who had saved my life and not the other way around. i wanted to tell them that he was the first human being aside from my mother who had ever made me want to talk about the things that scared me. i wanted to tell them so many things and yet i didn’t have the words. so, i just stupidly repeated myself, “dante’s my friend.”” — aristotle & dante discover the secrets of the universe, benjamin alire saenz.

“There are many beths in the world, shy and quiet, sitting in corners till needed, and living for others so cheerfully that no one sees the sacrifices till the little cricket on the hearth stops chirping, and the sweet, sunshiny presence vanishes, leaving silence and shadow behind.”— little women, louisa may alcott.

“And so i try to be kind to everything i see and in everything i see, i see him.”— a little life, hanya yanagihara.

hardcover or paperback (paperback for general reading and hardback for special editions!) | buy or rent | standalone novels or book series | ebook or physical copy | reading at night or during the day | reading at home or in nature (i love nature and want to be able to read outside but i cannot be in nature without being hypervigilent of bugs so wouldn’t be able to concentrate) | listening to music while reading or reading in silence | reading in order or reading the ending (i also used to read the last line of a book first for a long time but i started to piss myself off when it wasn’t vague enough) | reliable or unreliable narrator  | realism or fantasy | one or multiple POVS | judging by the covers or by the summary (i can’t help it, i love pretty covers) | rereading or reading just once.

TV AND MOVIES

fave tv/movie genre? disaster/post apocalyptic, drama, sci-fi, documentary, occasional fantasy. i’m pretty on board with most things, other than horror but even that has some exceptions.

fave movie? titanic, shaun of the dead, little women (1994), eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, wuthering heights (2009 tv movie), portrait of a lady on fire, practical magic, the greatest showman, finding nemo, the grinch (2000).

comfort movie? finding nemo, little women (1994), shaun of the dead, all my favourite christmas movies which are too many to list.

fave tv show? friends, charmed, golden girls, gilmore girls, the walking dead, new girl. currently: 911.

most rewatched tv show? friends. i watch it almost every day and it would be impossible for me to count just how many times i’ve watched it from start to finish.

5 fave characters? all the friends on friends, piper halliwell (charmed), tara chambler (twd), glenn rhee (twd), maddie buckley (911).

tv shows or movies | short seasons (8-13 episodes) or full seasons (22 episodes or more) | one episode a week or binging (i’m conflicted because i miss the event of catching a show every week but at the same time once you binge watch you can’t go back) | one season or multiple seasons (but shows need to know when to stop) | one part or saga | half hour or one hour long episodes (depends on my mood) | subtitles on or off | rewatching or watching just once.

tagging: @bettyhofstadtdraper / @kubrickking / @koningen / @urispatty / @marmaladepotion / @mixye + anyone else that wants to do this, feel free to tag me to read :) !

[authenticcadence18]

30 Questions About Me

THANKS FOR THE TAG @bugaboo-n-bananoir ILY!!!!

(Nick)name: Cadence

gender: cis female

Star sign: Pisces

Height: uhhhhh I am not sure, it’s taller than 5ft at least

Time: night! (Well I wrote most of this last night, but now it’s the evening of the next day!)

Birthday: well I’m a Pisces, so my birthday is between Feb 19th and march 20th!

Fave band/group: Pentatonix! Or For King and Country. Or the piano guys, the vitamin string quartet, Voctave.....also Phineas and the Ferbtones👌

Fave solo artists: I really like Lauren Daigle, and Jackie Evancho used to be my FAVE. Aaand idk if this counts but Michael Giacchino! love his scores, especially the score for Inside Out. There’s also this guy called Clay Kramer on YouTube who makes KK Slider covers of popular music, his stuff gives me so much seratonin😅

Song Stuck in my Head: Well I’m listening to music rn and “I’m Me” from Phineas and Ferb is on so I’ll say that! (I’ll revisit this one when I finish the list and update it with whatever song i’m listening to/is stuck in my head then) (ok the music has since been turned off and now I have “Status Quo” from High School Musical stuck in my head so! There ya go!) (now it is the next day, and I’ve got “when the party’s over” stuck in my head...i think these three songs are an accurate reflection of my taste in music🤣)

Last Movie: uhhhhh oh yeah, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice! It was SO GREAT because Jay Baruchel plays the main character (and the main character is super awkward), so I felt like I was watching Hiccup from the How To Train Your Dragon franchise learn magic and it was GLORIOUS. And also Nicholas Cage is great. And I liked the love interest in the movie as well!! She had a role to play in the story and felt authentic and genuine, which I appreciated!

Last Show: ok well the last show I watched by myself was Phineas and Ferb! Specifically, the episode with the Mardi Gras block party and then the one where Candace and Stacy compete in an obstacle course against Isabella and Ginger (omg wAIT ginger and Stacy are sisters and Isabella and Candace are GOING to be sisters mY HEART I—AH🥺). I hadn’t watched those episodes in forever, so they were really fun to revisit! I think the last actual show I watched was Kids Baking Championship or something, lol. (Those kids are AMAZING. So skilled!)

When i created this blog: November 2019! It was riiiight after the season 3 finale of miraculous aired and absolutely wrecked my emotions. I had some fanfic written that I’d never posted and had been thinking about making a tumblr/ao3 for awhile, and seeing the finale made me finally go, “.....you know what, yeah. The finale is aired, no more spoilers.....it’s time to make a blog.” So I did! And I posted my first fic! And I’m so happy i did :)

What Do I Post: a bunch of multi fandom stuff XD. This blog started off as 90% Miraculous, 10% other fandoms I like...but now it’s just kind of a hodgepoge of my favorite fandoms (with a focus on Phineas and Ferb, lol). I reblog a lot of posts, and then I post original stuff too! I write fanfic, nowadays for Phineas and Ferb but for Miraculous in the past (and probably in the future!), I draw art (mostly Phinabella art because I’ve been drawing them since i was 11 and it feels good to return to my roots), and OCCASIONALLY I will write an analysis post (I’ve got one in the works rn actually 👀), attempt to make a meme, or dip my toe into salt just SLIGHTLY before quickly backing away, lol. If I were to list the fandoms I post about in the order of how frequently I post about them, I’d probably say: Phineas and Ferb, Miraculous....and thennnnn everything else is pretty random and depends on the day, lol.

Last thing i googled: Jay Baruchel 😂. Couldn’t remember how to spell his last name!

Other blogs: this is my only blog! Sometimes I think about making a separate blog for my art and writing, but I am not sure if I should or not....maybe I will someday, but idk. I also have an AO3 for fanfic and an Instagram for art! All are under the name “authenticcadence18.”

Do I get asks: sometimes, yeah!! Sometimes I reblog ask games/prompts and get some asks for those (I’ve got so many prompts in my inbox I want to write/draw things for...ah it’s fine, I’ll get to it eventually😅), and sometimes lovely people will leave thoughts or nice messages in my inbox🥺💕. I’ve got a specific tag for all those nice messages so I can read back over them whenever I need a boost!

Why this url: it’s a music pun! When a song/section of a piece of music ends with a dominant chord resolving to a tonic chord (if you’ve read a certain fic of mine you should know allll about dominant and tonic chords👀🤣), it’s called an authentic cadence! There are different kinds of cadences, and authentic ones are my favorite. One example of this is “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” I also use this blog to be my authentic, fandom-loving self! So I like authentic cadences, and also, I’m Cadence and using this blog to be authentic! Woo! (And 18 is just my favorite number, lol) I’m glad I ended up choosing a name that doesn’t tie to a specific fandom becaaaaaause this ended up being a multi fandom blog!

Following: 232!!

Followers: 292!!! (THANKS SO MUCH Y’ALL ILY 💕)

Average amount of sleep: wellllll for the past week and a half I was sick so I was probably getting 9ish hours a night (because I would sleep in really late, lol). but NOW? In my immediate future? I suspect my average amount of sleep is going to go down because I’m really bad about staying up late even when I have to get up early😅. Hoping to be good about getting at least 7ish hours a night!

Lucky number: 18! But y’all probably already guessed that, lol.

Instruments: my voice, piano, ukulele, viola (but it’s been a HOT minute), aaaand i used to be able to play guitar but then I got a ukulele and forgot all the guitar chords. (I also dabble in songwriting! I primarily use voice and piano when writing music.)

What I’m wearing: my favorite sweatshirt (that was last night, rn I have on a tanktop), some leggings, and socks!

Dream job: I’m currently learning to be a teacher, and I LOVE teaching and working with kids so that is definitely a job I’m really excited about!!! I would also love to portray characters at Disney or something (well, maybe not at Disney because I hear they’re strict, but like....I want to be Rapunzel or Anna or something, that would be so fun). OR, I would LOVE to work in tv animation somehow, be it voice acting, writing scripts/music, and/or story boarding. basically if I could do what Dan and Swampy did for Phineas and Ferb/Milo Murphy’s Law, I would LOVE THAT. (Especially the writing music part. Getting to write music for established characters and get PAID for it would be SO COOL.!.!.!) Also I think it would be so fun to write Disney storybooks! Like, those books that are about Cinderella baking a cake or Ariel befriending a seahorse, stuff like that. Those brought me a ton of joy as a child!

Dream trip: I want to visit alllll the Disney parks someday😅. (Not right now because, ya know, Covid...but someday!)

Fave food: uhhh i really like pizza. And popcorn. Also hummus and guacamole!

nationality: American

Fave songs: “Times” by Tenth Avenue North; “Can’t Help Falling in Love” (I made an entire playlist of just this song when I first started writing my fic of the same name, so I like the original and a ton of covers of it!), “Show Yourself” from Frozen II, “What Might Have Been” from Phineas and Ferb (and lots of other songs from that show, i made a whole post about that once but I can’t find it, oof); “Rescue” by Lauren Daigle; “Thank You” by Pentatonix; “I See the Light” from Tangled; “Your Hands” by JJ Heller; “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran.....i like a loooot of songs so this is just the tip of the iceberg, but I think that’s good for now, LOL! (As soon as I post this I’m going to remember another song I love, lol)

last book: I got the book Unbirthday for Christmas! It’s basically Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, but if she’d never gone to wonderland and things went horribly wrong there. (I think, I’m not that far into it yet, lol)

Top 3 fictional universes I’d love to live in: 1. DANVILLE, PLS. Especially as a kid, I SO would’ve loved to hang out with Isabella and Phineas and the rest of the gang! Danville is so vibrant and unique and people are always randomly breaking into song there, that’s my kind of place! 2. Fairytopia (from the Barbie movies!) because I could be a fairy OR a mermaid OR BOTH and eat seeweed to breathe underwater even if I wasn’t a mermaid. Like, that’s the dream right there. (I’ve always loved mermaids and fairies, lol!) 3. Maybe San Fransokyo from Big Hero 6? All of the technology in that universe is really cool! And I would love to eat a noodle burger, lol .

Oh! That’s the last one! Wow! This was so FUN!!!!!!! Thanks again for the tag, Maddy!!!! :)

I’ll taaaag @sketchy-panda @macaronsforchat @simplynewyorkbound @inkjackets and anyone else who’d like to do this! (And pls don’t feel pressured to play at all, or answer all of the questions! I was definitely vague with a few of my answers, lol)

[discotreque]

Disco 3.12: “There Is a Tide…”

Shoutout to whoever at CBS first realized “the Die Hard episode” was going to drop the week after Christmas, and that it would be impossible to shift up the already-rescheduled five-month slate of LwD S1 + Disco S3 to make it happen otherwise. So close…

“We are ready to ��die for the hive,’ Captain.”

Everything was obviously going to work out. Pretty much the whole cast has been posting on social media about filming Season 4, so I knew all my faves were safe—and compared to the previous iteration of the show, S3 has been relatively gentle in the “atrocities” department, so I was never as suffused with dread as I regularly got in Seasons 1 and 2.

But this was still intense. Directed by Frakes, who predictably both blows the doors off the action scenes and gets the performers on their absolute S-game, and I especially loved the pace of the back-and-forth between the deteriorating situation on Discovery and the “negotiations” between Admiral Vance, genuinely trying to operate in good faith, and Ossyra, who’s almost literally holding a gun to his head.

A lot of people were worried Vance was going to turn out to be evil, but I was more worried he was going to end up making a heroic sacrifice for and/or inspired by the Disco crew—and he sort of does, but it’s not his life he sacrifices: it’s peace with the Emerald Chain. If the only path to “survival” is as the fraudulently legitimizing façade of benevolence over a corrupt, capitalistic criminal empire, well… that’s the destruction of everything the Federation has ever stood for anyway.

Which is, by my count, Star Trek: Discovery’s third consecutive season-ending reminder that our principles and ideals, our better natures, must inform every decision we make—every single one, in war and in peace—because a victory that costs you the ability to look at yourself in the mirror isn’t going to feel like a victory at all.

That’s not a theme that hits me the same way the interpersonal themes this season have, but it’s a valid—and extremely relevant and timely—point.

***

This show very much needs more ladies kissin’ on each other, but even I, the Biggest Lesbian, have to admit that Burnham and Book are just *chef’s kiss*.

Like, I’m not opposed to M/F pairings: give me a powerful and competent woman who prioritizes herself and her own goals + a man who provides her with emotional and logistical support and also has perfect “step aside and let her kick ass” timing, and I am fully on board: Dr. Crusher and Captain Picard; Scully and Mulder; Elisa Maza and Goliath; Lyra and Will; Parker and Hardison—if there are any Garth Nix fans in the house, Sabriel and Touchstone? All-time classic OTP, get out of here.

And god DAMN. I’ll have more to say about this later, but while Season 3 of Disco didn’t give me everything I wanted, almost every step it took was in the direction of the show I’ve always wished it could be—and one of the biggest elements was “enough emotional support for Michael Burnham that I don’t lie awake at night worrying about her going through everything she goes through alone.”

Also, idk, I was falling in love while watching them fall in love—that always makes a fictional couple hit different, you know? <3

***

I have some bad news for Ossyra (and it’s not even about how non-fatal shoving someone into a wall of programmable matter is): replicators “recycling” waste material was established in the TNG Technical Manual, and has been grossing me out since Grade 6:

In order to minimize replicator power requirements, raw stock for food replicators is stored in the form of a sterilized organic particulate suspension that has been formulated to statistically require the least quantum manipulation to replicate most finished foodstuffs….

[For a ship the size of the Enterprise-D,] the cost of maintaining a large volume of perishable supplies becomes prohibitive, especially when the cost of food preparation is included. Here, the energy cost of molecular synthesis is justified, especially when one considers the dramatic mass savings involved with extensive recycling of organic material…

Although the raw food stock is normally replaced at starbase resupply, osmotic and electrolytic fractioning of wastewater allows up to 82% of food stock to be reclaimed and reused…

That said, I have some even worse news about what all is involved in growing apples the traditional way: Where do you think dirt comes from? What do you think fertilizes it? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

***

The guest stars in this episode were pretty much all great—I loved that scary lady who takes Burnham’s boots out the airlock with her!—but a few standouts worth noting:

First, RSVP Ryn! The poor guy was obviously doomed from his first appearance, so it’s kind of impressive he lasted as long as he did, but still, that one hurt. And I’m going to miss Ryn even more after hearing Noah Averbach-Katz on a bunch of podcasts: he sounds like a sweetheart, and he’s a lifelong Star Trek nerd—from the number of time he mentions Jeffrey Combs, you know he’s one of us 💙

Next, speaking of guest stars who aren’t technically new to the Disco set, I cannot tell you how much it warmed my heart when I finally recognized Kenneth Mitchell’s exceptionally kind face out of Klingon makeup. From the way he’s hanging around on the bridge at the end of the next episode, long after Aurellio has any apparent reason to still be on Discovery at all, I’m hoping he’s going to roll that cool standup mobility apparatus—I almost said “wheelchair” but I’m not sure it can be a “chair” if it’s literally designed so you don’t sit—whatever it is, may it convey him back to our screens in Season 4!

Finally: who the fuck is “Lieutenant Ina” and what the fuck did she do to Nilsson?

***

Next week, which was actually three weeks ago, and let’s be real, actually whenever I get around to it: Discovery finishes rebooting just in time to save the day... and Discovery finishes rebooting just in time to end the season.

[dotthings]

Just getting some personal frustrations off my chest. It’s been 15 years of endless nonsense and wank. I’m a little salty. I really need to let it all go and keep my mouth shut and just enjoy what’s left of SPN but sometimes you just gotta let it out.

Sometimes I wish I could find an archive of the old TWOP spn message boards just so I could illustrate how ridiculous the petty grudgewanking against Dabb is getting. “Dabb ruined SPN” for doing shit that Kripke did in S1 and spn fandom was already wanking itself to pieces over.

I’m so done. I’m so done hearing how anti-Dabbs are the only ones who get the show, I’m done with being used as the personal punching bag for some people just because I don’t hate Dabb era canon and won’t trash every character who dares breathe while not being my one true fave, I’m so tired of the oh so creative fandom revisionist history and canon revisionist history and revisionist history on how fandom reacted to things starting in Kripke era just so they can scream and yell again how Dabb destroyed SPN’s legacy and ruined the fandom. I’m sick of being gaslighted. I’m sick of being condescended to and patronized by people who make hilaribad hottakes on twitter that HAVE NO RELATIONSHIP TO THE ACTUAL EPISODE CONTENT BECAUSE THEY DON’T PAY ATTENTION TO ANYTHING BUT THEIR OVERFOGGED DISTORTED STAN GOGGLES. I’m tired of accounts who claim that ridiculously biased tincesters who happen to be professional critics who make gross mis-statements about canon and clearly don’t understand one effing thing about SPN’s longest running themes or anything that has happened since Kripke left claim to be unbiased because it’s supposedly ship-free when it’s laden with tincester agenda and this gets hailed as some deep truth about SPN. I’m tired of people putting their obsessive OBSESSIVE anti fixations against Jack and against Dabb over basic common sense in ways that isn’t actual critique it’s just perpetual pointless hatred and grudgewanking. I have been pissed at things about SPN myself, I don’t think I ever have or ever could achieve the levels of anti-obssessing the anti-Dabb crowd has achieved, gold star to them. I’m tired of being accused of stupid and contradictory shit by stans from EVERY GODAMN LANE AT THE SAME TIME because I a) pay attention to the canon b) don’t stan my own faves so hard that I treat everyone else’s like garbage c) don’t turn everything into a conspiracy theory against my faves d) actually take a nuanced and balanced position as possible in my metas where my faves pov isn’t the only pov in existence. Oh no, the horror, what a traitor, I must only think this way because I’m a [Sam][Dean][Cas][Jack] stan.

I’m tired of people who wank on meta writers as delusional even though we get canon right and understand it 500% better than they do then turning around when we’re proven right again and again to go “oh ok but Dabbnatural doesn’t count as canon anyway so there neener” yet it’s considered canon when it’s time to bash the meta writers. I’m sick of Sam v Dean wars while stans of both lanes pretend they don’t do the same shit to the other brother, incessantly, season after season since the very beginning, I’m sick of Cas stans who think they’re the one shining light of sanity in spn fandom who have sunk down to rhetoric and behavior lately that barely distinguishes them from the brosonlies who attacked and bullied them for so long.

You want to reject Dabb era from your personal canon be my guest. You want to engage in reasonable constructive critique I won’t say a word.

But my personal nerves have been stomped on one too many times just this morning alone and I don’t expect standom to care about my feelings or personal backstory or how spn fandom has banged on my personal traumas harder than anything canon could ever do, has upset and even triggered me at times more than canon ever could, but I certainly care. Oh did spn disappoint you? Not nearly as much as much of spn fandom has hurt and disappointed me, let’s swap scar stories. Enjoy your fixated haterage against a tv show you used to love that disappointed you. If people had any common sense they would back off instead of trying to make every spn fandom space a misery for anyone who disagrees with them and punish each other for caring about the characters we relate to because it’s the wrong brother or it’s an angel instead of a Winchester or a Winchester instead of just an angel or whatever stupid wanky reason to be an endless baiting pile of wankbait has crawled up people’s butts this week.

[overthinkingkdrama]

Hi! So, I’ve just recently gotten into K-Dramas, and... I have a small issue, and that is though I LOVE them in the beginning, by the end they always disappoint me? Like, they start lighthearted and fun, and then by the end suddenly everyone’s in mortal peril, and I don’t care? Or they start all fantasy, and then it’s all about the romance in the end? So... Could you possibly recommend me ones that are good, or tone consistent, throughout? Please?

Hi! Thanks for dropping by for recs. These are some of my favorite asks. I just love going back through my watch list and finding dramas that fit a given criteria. It gets more fun the more dramas I've seen.

The thing about Kdramas that makes them a uniquely sticky beast is that many of them are live-shot week to week, at least for part of their run, and often the scripts are not fully written before filming begins. Popular Kdramas will also occasionally receive extensions which can cause further pacing and plot issues and (sometimes) cause a story to sputter out entirely. With the increasing prevalence of entirely preproduced dramas there's been an increase in overall drama quality and consistency in past years. That being said, Kdramas are still a decidedly mixed bag in terms of overall production quality. So it pays to either drop things with extreme prejudice if you stop enjoying them and watch widely, or to have a good drama filter friend (like me!) to give you vetted recs. As a genre a lot of the more "classic" feeling dramas have a tendency to start really light hearted and then swing super dramatic in the latter half. That's something I occasionally like, but lucky for you not all dramas are like that!

Your ask doesn't really tell me what genre of Kdrama most appeals to you, so I went through my list and tried to find you wide a variety of dramas that I think of as being well-paced and tonally consistent throughout. I've also tried to limit myself to dramas that I rated highly on MDL, although my primary criteria was "good and tonally consistent" so this list of dramas is kinda all over the map. But then, so are my tastes. Also, I kinda got the impression from your ask that you're not a fan of the uber-melodramatic side of kdramas and you want something a little more restrained and less soapy, so I tried to steer away from those more makjang dramas but did not entirely succeed, lol. I gave a couple sentences of description so you can more readily narrow down what you're interested in, and if you would like a more thorough review of the dramas some of these have full reviews on my blog which I went ahead linked where they exist.

Age of Youth: A well written slice-of-life ensemble drama about a group of 5 college age women who end up boarding together. There are a couple moments of high drama/trauma toward the end of the show that might be a turn off. But other than the finale the tone is consistent. 9/10 

Arang and the Magistrate: A dark fantasy fusion sageuk with a romance. I included this drama because it does a good job of developing the creepy worldbuilding and fantasy throughout. Though at points it can be a bit slow and the special effects are hella cheesy. 8/10

Argon: A tight, journalism driven suspense drama. Not always my genre but I found it very engaging, and at eight episodes it does not overstay its welcome. 8/10

Be Melodramatic: Another female-centric slice-of-life ensemble drama, though with an emphasis on fourth wall breaking comedy and clever dialogue. Very funny and heartfelt.  8.5/10

Cheese in the Trap: Maybe a controversial inclusion, but I very much enjoyed this drama. A slice-of-life college romance with psychological thriller elements. Some critics felt that the drama focused too heavily on the second male lead in the later half of the story, but YMMV. 8.5/10

Coffee Prince: Classic cross-dressing romance and still probably the best of its kind. A wonderfully nuanced and progressive handling of the subject matter, even after 13 years. Deals with serious subjects but doesn't go too melo with it. 8.5/10

Children of Nobody: My best of 2019, a dark psychological thriller about a child psychiatrist and a police detective who have to confront gray morality while attempting to track down a serial killer who only targets unrepentant child abusers. 9.5/10

Ex-Girlfriend Club: On the lighter side, a friends-to-lovers type romantic comedy about the writer of an autobiographical webtoon who has to figure out a way to get along with a group of his ex-girlfriends to make a movie based on his work. Only 12 episodes. 8.5/10

Go Back Couple: Also only 12 episodes (these shorter dramas tend to be better paced I find) a time-slip drama about a divorced couple who get the chance to relive their twenties and end up realizing they still have feelings for each other. This drama is both very funny and it had me bawling on multiple occasions. 9.5/10

Healer: A favorite of a lot of drama fans, this is an action-focused romance about an awkward soft boy with a secret identity as a highly skilled errand boy to criminals and an intrepid tabloid reporter who is his biggest fan. This drama is pretty tropey, but it's fun and the romance is great. 8.5/10

Hello Monster (aka I Remember You): A police procedural with a background love line about a criminal profiler looking for his lost brother and a detective looking for her father's murderer. One of my personal favorites. 10/10

Hit the Top (aka The Best Hit): A time-slip fish-out-of-water comedy about a 90s pop star who winds up in modern day Seoul and ends up befriending his biological son and meets old friends who his disappearance left in the lurch. 9/10

Incomplete Life (aka Misaeng): A realistic office drama that gave me real world work anxiety, focusing on a failed Go player who winds up an intern at a highly competitive shipping company and has to find a way to earn his keep even without the background and college education of his coworkers. Unbelievably well done ensemble drama. 9/10

Just Between Lovers: A romantic melodrama about two people whose lives were irrevocably changed by a tragic mall collapse that nearly killed them as children, meeting again as adults and finding comfort and healing in each other. A rough sit at times, but a wonderful love story with incredible acting. 9/10

Just Dance: High school, slice-of-life, drama about a dance club in a technical high school and a group of working class kids who reluctantly become involved in this club and befriend each other. Only 8 episodes (or 16 thirty minute episodes, depending on how you recon it.) 8.5/10

Life on Mars: Remake of the British show of the same name, this is a surreal time-slip police drama, about a forensics expert who gets shot in the head and wakes up in 1988. Or does he? He could also be dying on an operating table. It's hard to tell. Dark, suspenseful and trippy. 9/10

Matrimonial Chaos: An off-beat comedy about two dysfunctional couples who become inescapably mixed up in each others lives. One that's having a hard time getting divorced and another that's having a hard time getting married, and all the messy weird emotions that go along with that. This is another one of those, makes you laugh/makes you cry throughout dramas I have an affinity for. 9/10

Moment of Eighteen: A heartfelt high school drama about a straightforward but awkward loner who is forced to transfer to a new school, immediately earns the ire of a powerful student and experiences first love. Not my usual thing, but very well written with complex and likeable characters. 8/10

Mother: A cold and socially isolated woman becomes a temporary teacher and upon discovering one of her students is being severely abused and neglected, decides to pose as the child's mother and go on the run with her. Like Children of Nobody, this can be a bit of a rough watch because of the subject matter but it is very well done. 9.5/10

My Mister: A healing, human drama about a structural engineer in his 40s and a debt-ridden young woman in her 20s who end up crossing paths and saving each other from a miserable existence. My current all time favorite drama. Cannot say enough good things about it. Practically perfect in every way. 10/10

One Spring Night: A very restrained and naturalistic slow-burn romance about a woman who is about to get married and suddenly begins to question her relationship and a single father who had given up on love who find themselves irresistibly drawn to one another. 9/10

Prison Playbook: An ensemble slice-of-life drama centered on prisoners and correctional officers in their day to day lives. I find the actual het romances in this drama totally useless, but it's a large and talented cast playing a variety of lovable characters. 8/10

Psychopath Diary: Recent fave. A screwball black comedy about a mild mannered pushover who loses his memory and finds a diary that convinces him he's a psychopathic murderer, which gives him a huge boost of confidence from his new found identity, much to the chagrin of those around him and the actual owner of the diary himself. 8.5/10

Queen In Hyun's Man: A drama about a Joseon scholar who time travels to modern day Seoul and meets an actress who just landed a part playing the queen he served in the past. This one might be on the border line of too dramatic or tonally inconsistent, but it's got one of the most pitch perfect finales in Kdramas and the 45 min episodes keep it a snappy watch that doesn't drag or meander too much. 8/10

Reply 1988: A late 80s nostalgia drama about a group of families who all live off the same alley. Lovely family drama, comedy with a variety of romances. Long ass episodes especially later in the run, but I have rewatched the whole thing and I loved every minute of this show. 9.5/10

Save Me: A dark drama about a young woman who finds herself forced into a dangerous cult by her family, and is desperate to escape, and a group of 4 local young men who try to help her. One of the more unique and well done OCN thrillers. 9/10

School 2013: High school ensemble drama that launched a whole bunch of careers. In general I avoid school dramas (I know there have been three on this list so far, but those are like the only three, lol) but this show got me so invested in all these students and teachers. Also the two male leads are so shippable. 9.5/10

Secret Love Affair: A romantic melodrama about a piano prodigy from an underprivileged background who catches the eye of a married older woman and the two fall into a passionate affair. This drama involves cheating (obviously) but it's beautifully filmed and written and the music is to die for. 9.5/10

Signal: This is a supernatural crime thriller and a perennial favorite in the Kdrama community. An imbittered criminal profiler finds an antique police radio which allows him to speak with a police detective 15 years in the past, and uses this to crack cold cases and try to prevent brutal crimes from ever happening. 9/10

Six Flying Dragons: This one is a bit different from the others on the list, first of all because it's a more traditional historical drama, and secondly because it 50 episodes long. But it is so, so very good. And if you're looking for overall consistency in terms of storytelling and tone this drama has it in spades. 9/10

SKY Castle: A unique melodrama about a group of affluent competitive mothers who will go to any lengths to get they're children into the best medical schools, and a mysterious school coordinator with shady motives who gets brought in as a ringer to give them an edge. This show is kind of hard to sell but very entertaining and watchable. 7.5/10

Stranger (aka Secret Forest): The story of a stalwart prosecutor who, due to a childhood trauma is unable to feel the full spectrum of emotions, works with a bighearted police detective to root out corruption around a series of murders. This one’s rather cerebral and requires your full attention but the leads are amazing and there's a second season coming out this year I'm very much looking forward to! 9/10

The Nokdu Flower: Another sageuk drama about the latter years of the Joseon Dynasty surrounding three people who fall on different sides during the Donghak Peasant rebellion. Incredibly well written and involving historical drama. If you're not sure you're ready to commit to something like Six Flying Dragons, I think this would be another good entry point into the genre. The acting is amazing. 9/10

The Smile Has Left Your Eyes: A romantic melodrama and psychological thriller about a dangerous enigmatic young man on the cusp of becoming either a human being or a monster. He becomes involved in a fraught relationship with the sister of a police detective at the same time her protective older brother begins to focus on him as the prime suspect for a murder. High key moody and tragic if you're into that kind of thing (I am). 9/10

Touch Your Heart: On the complete other end of the drama spectrum, this show is pure unadulterated fluff, which managed to keep me giggling and swooning throughout the run, even though it's typically not my thing. An actress joins a law office as research for a role and falls for the ace attorney she's assisting. 8.5/10

WATCHER: Another OCN thriller about three different people with shady motivations who are connected to the same murder case and become involve in a corruption task force looking into dirty cops. One of those "trust nobody, everyone's a suspect" dramas with lovely complex characters and a fully engaging plot. 8.5/10

Sorry that got so out of hand! This is what happens when you don't give me a little more direction I guess. These are all dramas I quite enjoyed and I believe you will find something in there that will suit your fancy. This is a pretty accurate cross section of my tastes.

Happy watching!

Jona

[xsecretblastsx]

1x14 - The Blair B*tch Project

A new week (well not so new) and a new recap. This episode is so Mean Girls Upper east side version, and it was fun. 

As usual, recap after the break 

Thoughts I had while Watching the episode:

Is always such a delight to star an episode with one of Blair’s Audrey Hepburn inspired dream sequences, this one in particular is one of my all time faves though.

“You don’t have anyone” auch, also very simliar to watch said to her on the last episode :(

“I’m in mourning of my old life” I wonder how many times Blair thought that through the whole show

Chuck annoying Serena to no end will never get old.

So was this suposed to be Bart’s penthouse?

Chuck was always so charming with Lily, and it’s curious because it was genuine. Same with Eric,he was nice since the beginning, honestly the merging of the Van der Bass family is one of my fave plot points in the show.

I wonder what Serena did on spring break that she hadn’t talked to Blair.

This is why women say men are the worst, so Chuck and Nate get to be all offended by the mere sight of Blair, as if she was the only one in the wrong here. 

Poor Blair, yoghurt is so sticky. Also I’m not a fan of Nate here, he finds it funny and then he’s al concerned about Jenny’s tender nature. As if.

Nice and neutral would never work for Blair the same way it works for Serena, even if she wanted to. 

The way Jenny came up with a plot against Blair on the spot just to avoid an expensive dinner, like wow.

“Don’t put your dirty package on the table, If i had a dime for everytime i heard that” Same Erick, same. 

Gotta love Blair and that hostess

Getting Blair to wait alone at Butler, that was brilliant Jenny, taking that dress.. not so much. She may be really smart and devious, but she still has a lot to learn.

Bart really was such a lousy dad, which in turns makes Chuck even more jaded and like to do worst, such a vicious cycle.

15000, for a custom made Valentino, auch Jenny.

Rufus is so naive here, but then again he doesn’t know Blair. Yet what she tells him about the struggle ain’t wrong. 

Wow she stole the same dress twice. I guess Little J no more. 

So Serena is annoyed by Chuck not only by his little pranks, but because he’s nice towards her mother and brother, that actually makes more sense in a way.

Also I love Lily’s line: “Chuck might be excentric but he’s not diabolical” it’s funny and also a bit telling of why Chuck actually likes her.

That was brilliant Blair, that Jenny cake is quite the thing. Also what the hell is she wearing.

Is ain’t wrong Rufus is kind of a hotty... for a dad. 

Even though she’s being talking about the same thing non stop, it’s funny to watch Dan complain about Serena talking to much, when he suffers from verbal diarrhea half the time, but who am I to judge

Blair really is in her bitch element here.

Jenny’s argument with her dad was so real, because both on them are right in some way. It ain’t easy. And once has to be either very mature or antisocial for it not to bother you.

I’ve said it before but I love Eric and his sense of humor, and he has some of the most underrated lines on this show, even deep and hard stuff is funny

It’s awful and yet I love that sweater with the dolphins Chuck’s wearing. I also would like to know why is so easy to feel bad for Chuck Bass.

Dan’s also super critical of his dad, and I’m like is there someone out there this guy doesn’t judge?

This is one of those times I wish I didn’t know what was coming, because I still remember how curious I was to see Jenny’s plan towards Nate.

Eric is quite loyal, being mad at Serena because she drove Bart to kick out Chuck.

Well played Jenny, well played, that last look she gaves Blair is sooo good, it’s the moment when Blair really realizes how worthy of an adversary Jenny is.

I love the ending of this episode, is one of my faves. It ends with an unlikely victory for Jenny, a tad of mistery, and a great song.

For real, I love “Sour Cherry” by The Kills.

When I think about my favorite episodes in S1 this one normally doesn’t came up, but I think it should. Is a really good one. Jenny’s the star of this episode and weirdly I don’t mind. I love her dynamic with Blair, especially in the first two seasons and this is the episode when it really takes off. This episode is also the start of the Van der Bass family which I also love for many reasons.

So Jenny and Blair, at the time of this episode this was one of Blair’s lowest points, she lost her Queen B title and not only that but she’s shunned out by everyone, even getting yoghurt dropped on her head, what a change. She says at the start of the episode that she’s in mourning of her old life, and while it was meant to be just a display of her dramatic personality, this is really the end of her old life, the Blair we met in the pilot had a completely different future ahead of her, pristine reputation, not as single crack in her pefect image, with a blue blooded boyfriend and a place at the top of the hierarchy, that Blair never came back entirely, and that’s good. Obviously it will take her the rest of the show to grow up and mature, but I like seeing her fight for what she wants in a way that lets her devious brain shine, and she got quite the adversary.

Jenny is in many ways the perfect rival for Blair. In theory Jenny shouldn’t be a formidable oponent in the way she is, she has no connections, no name, no money, and yet she plays the game almost better than anyone, she’s smart, ambitious an cunning, which are traits she shares with Blair. She’s also a hardworker and willing to do what it takes to get what she wants. This episode she shows how brilliant she because it was almost impossible to bounce back from getting caught with that dress she stole, and one can tell Blair thought that was a sound victory and she can’t quite believe when Jenny shows up with Nate and has claimed back her spot. It was great to see, and I some ways even I love Blair I find myself rooting for Jenny, she’s that good.

HonestlyJenny can give Blair a run for her money and yet I’m not sure she entirely realizes it, because Jenny is fighting against Blair’s shadow in her mind, she can win battles but I get the feeling she doesn’t believe she can win the war. In part because she still has a lot to learn, but in some ways I think Jenny feelsi at disadvantage againgst Blair in a similar way Blair feels toward Serena: a rival that is ahead on the race just by virtue of who she is, with envy and admiration in equal parts.To me their dynamic is interesting through the whole show because Blair even if the doesn’t want to admit it fears Jenny too, a new younger queen in the making, with the ability to knock her dow even it seems unlikely, it’s a tale as old as time, a bit like Queen Elizabeth the first and Mary Queen of Scots. And this is just the first episode of this battle,I really love this part of the show.

The other big plot this episode is the merging of the Van der Woodsen and the Basses which is great because we get to see more of these two broken families and learn more about them. Serena is obviously not happy about this,particularly the part about living with Chuck; at this point we know they were all friends before, but I got the impression out of the group they liked each other the less, with a poor opinion of each other. Their behavior throught the whole season reinforces that and honestly through the season Chuck has not given her even one small reason for her to like him, and I feel part of the reason Chuck was so eager to plot against Serena with Blair was because he got a first row sit to the mess she left when she run for boarding school, with a heartbroken Nate and a devasted Blair. And yet while Serena constantly sees the worst ih him, he’s actually trying for once, as hard to believe as that is for her.

If this episode made one thing obvious is how much Chuck always wanted to have a family, he’s genuine in his compliments to Lily as extravagant as they may seemed and he’s really good with Eric too, they took really quick to each other because they have felt inadequate at some point or another, he eventuanlly makes the effor with Serena too, as Eric explains to her when he gives her a message from him (which backfires, but no the point) and for all his bad qualities Chuck can be a very non-judgemental person when he wants it, this episode for instance Serena gets him kicked out of the penthouse and yet as soon as she apologizes and ask for his help he let’s it go. Because as we see his relationship with Bart is awful, his father always expects and believes the worst of him, and even when he’s nice it ends up being not genuine, and so for the first time via the Van der Woodsens he has the oportunity to get a family life that it’s more than that. 

At his core Chuck is a lonely person, which is part of the reason he latches so easily to Van der Woodsens here, sure he had Nate but that was it, and Nate as good hearted as he is not the most reliable person, it’s quite noticeable this episode, aside his new found relationship with the Van der Woodsens, since Nate has dropped their friendship he’s basically on his own in every scene this episode, even more son than Blair who was Serena, even if Serena is flighty and always gets caught up in something, and sure enought the episode ends up with the mistery of who is “G”, which was intriguing the first watch because imagine a person that gets even Chuck Bass like oh no! But that’s for next episode. 

Randoms bits I’ve noticed

The timing of this episode is sort of weird. Last episode seemed like it was the end of January or something like that, and now this one is  after spring break, and since thanks to gossip girl wikia, we know Jenny’s birthday is on March 30th, and Serena says to Blair about her “3 week old scandal” and I’m like, I mean it’s possible, but then the first to episodes after the holidays had to be like really way too long after the holidays, and that doesn’t makes much sense either.

We also got a new location for the school, I sort of like the other one better. 

When the girls throw yoghurt on Blair’s head, all the yoghurt cups are turne upside down. 

At the top of the piano there’s a picture of Chuck as a little kid (which is actually Ed), guess Bart wanted to a least gave the impression he care. I do love the fact the show asked the actors for photos of themselves when they were kids. The ones on top of the piano at the Waldorfs are pics of Leighton as a kid.

Feel like saying it againg, but  this was such a good ending:

[burritodetodo]

Burrito’s Guide To Survive Coronavirus Quarantine

We got to keep social distance (1 or 2 meters each other) or stay home during coronavirus outbreak so I thought I can share with y’all some things I’m gonna watch or do doing quarantine (this is a very long post, REBLOGS ARE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!).

BUT FIRST SOME RULES:

Wash your hands: do it for 20 seconds or a while, but ALWAYS do it. It prevents the virus from spreading. If you don’t have sanitizer, water and soap! The cheapest and best ally against the disease.

Buy everything you need: if you can, try to buy stuff so you can stay some days at home. If the place is crowded, go back home and come later when it’s more empty. Same as medicine.

You can go for a walk: stay at home all day can be overwhelming for your mental health, but unless the goverment puts a curfew or gets strict about it you can go walk outside for a while always respecting the 1 or 2 meters from other people and without making contact (chatting) with other people. This ain’t my rule, a CDC professional says. DON’T go visit your friends or to crowded places such as bars, restaurants, shoppings, etc. If you want to buy something, ask for delivery or take away.

If you have coronavirus sympthoms (high fever, diarrhea, cough, feeling tired, breath difficulties) DON’T GO TO THE HOSPITAL YET, CALL TO YOUR PUBLIC HEALTH ORGANISATION OR WHATEVER YOU GOT AND THEY’LL TREAT YOU.

(credits to whoever made this meme)

SO YOUR LIFE IS ON QUARANTINE

Let’s say your boss or your school told you can stay at home. Okay then, you gotta prepare for some days inside *Isolation by John Lennon plays in the distance*. The first thing you think is you have to prepare a batch of series and movies to watch in order to kill some time. I’m gonna recommend you some you can find on VOD or cable, if you don’t have it don’t worry because I got you covered!

Infinity Train: a yet two seasons saga about people who got to face their problems aboard an endless train. The protagonists are joined by creatures who have different nature and help them, or not, to acknowledge their issues and leave the train. It’s on CN, it will continue on HBO Max.

The Owl House: a teen girl who daydream a lot was going to be sent to a down-to-earth camp but then she crosses a portal to the Boiling Isles, a magical world where she is taken care by a powerful Owl witch/saleswoman and her adorable demon. Lots of fantasy, some action scenes and many many puns. It’s on Disney Channel, it’ll be on Disney+ in some weeks.

Primal: Genndy Tartakovsky delighted us with the alliance of a caveman and a dinosaur, two rivals in a wild world who ally after facing a devastating event. It IS brutal and beatiful, has no dialogue and keeps you watching closely. Five final episodes are set to premiere this year. It’s on Adult Swim, maybe on HBO Max.

Tuca and Bertie: for the critics, one of 2019 best shows. For Netflix, a show that had to be cut off because the studio unionized. Two friends in their late 20s face changes in their lives: from living with a boyfriend and plan a life to look a way to stay sober and get a job. Deals with trauma, ptsd, anxiety and more harsh moments very well. In fact, the creator is a vital part of Bojack Horseman! It’s on Netflix.

Aggretsuko: red pandas are cute eh? But what about a antopomorphic red panda who releases her anger and frustrations by singing at a karaoke? This awesome comedy by Sanrio & Netflix is one of anime’s big hits lately. Like T&B, has a good handle of adult problems but not going too deep just to not break the comedy. You can watch it on Netflix.

Regular Show: yeah-uuuuhhhh! Eight seasons, a movie, five Halloween specials and some others. The adventures of a racoon and a blue jay with their co-workers/friends that relies on psychadellia and 80s and 90s nostalgia. It begins good, gets better, then lowers the quality (they were producing the movie at the same time tho, give some credit) and with and after the movie ends awesome. It’s on CN web, dunno if on Hulu (US only) and proably on HBO Max.

Evangelion: it’s a classic at this point, but addictive to me because I end rewatching the series or the final movie many times. A post apocalyptic future where the world has to deal with strange creatures known as the Angels and a boy with lots of traumas has to get on a mecha to save the humankind. All the characters have traumas and issues, the interaction between them or the action makes it worth. The End of Evangelion is a movie that ends the unfinished series. Warning: at some point it becomes very twisted and there are scenes which are too much violent. Viewer disclosure etc. It’s on Netflix worldwide.

Steven Universe & SU Future: this is the tale of the gem boy who ends a galactical tyranny and brings democracy to the universe. A acclaimed show that broke through many topics like gender, identity, ptsd, relationships and many more. Besides it’s got the best scores of the Milky Way and beyond thanks to the talent of Rebecca Sugar, Aivi Tran and Surasshu. And the actors and acrtresses! I don’t forget the movie, a musical that is an introduction to the epilogue: Shippuden Future. The show is available on CN and will be on HBO Max. Worldwide? No news.

Adventure Time: something that began as an innocent boy and a magical dog having adventures in a post apocalyptic world turns into the journey of Finn Metens from childhood to almost adulthood. There is a lot of fantasy and comedy you enjoy, but there are dark moments and serious ones through S6 that find a balance with early seasons form S7 to the finale. It also has great music, memorable moments and colaborations. And guess what? There is going to be a special set to premiere on HBO Max in some weeks! You got plenty of time to catch up or rewatch before that on CN or only (!!) S5 on Netflix.

Final Space: a dude tries to save the universe with their friends, where we can find his love interest, a cat-man and his kitten son, a intersexual alien, an AI then robot that is the best of them, two particular siblings and an annoying bot that prevents insanity that makes you insane. Crazy adventures in space, lots of situations, sadness, an evil smol bean who is a space emperor, a dude who looks for revenge, space deities that can destroy the universe. Is this a lot or info? It is not, because there is more and you can watch it on TBS, Adult Swim and Netflix (the world except US).

Rick and Morty: the most powerful, smartest human in the universe has adventures with his grandson. It’s awesome, but has a very toxic fanbase. Anyway, you can enjoy it on Adult Swim or Netflix (which is up to date!) and the rest of S4 is set someday.

Bojack Horseman: a Hollywood satire about human relationships, fame, traumas with a pour of comedy. Alongside the previous series, the best adult animation of the decade. Sadly cut by Netflix because the studio unionized (see T&B), said by both the creator and Aaron Paul. You can watch the six amazing seasons on that platform.

I’m not an animated movies guy, but here are three I really like and you can watch:

Porco Rosso: a handsome Italian combat aviator turned magically to a pig has a face off with an American pilot hired by pirates to get rid of him before WWII in Fascist Italy. It’s entertaining and, like every Ghibli movie, nice to watch. It’s on Netflix and will be on HBO Max for US.

Lego Batman Movie: Batman is depressed and has to get over it. It’s wacky and has lots of comedy. Plus Will Arnett is top 3 Batman. On Netflix (Latinamerica).

Spiderverse: Oscar winner movie about your friendly neighbour Peter Parker Miles Morales. Miles sees Spiderman die and feels bad after being transfered to a private school. Then a radioactive spider from a Fisk compound bites Miles and he’s Spiderman... among other dimensions’ Spiderpeople: Gwen, Peni, Peter Parker, Noir and Peter Porker. It’s visually amazing. On US it’s on Netflix (I guess), on Latinamerica on HBO.

Some interesting live actions I watched lately

Atlanta: Donald Glover is Earn, a dude who struggles to find a job for her baby girld and sees an opportunity when his cousin, Paper Boi, has a hit and uses him to make his cos famous. Sometimes a comedy, sometimes a social satire with touches of drama. And all protagonists are now big shots, like Zazie Beetz, Brian Tyree Henry or Lakeith Stanfield. There are two seasons and two seasons set for 2021 (2022 possible beacuse of coronavirus). It’s on FX, Hulu (US) and Netflix (world)

Avenue 5: this is brand new. On 2060 space cruises are a thing, and one cruise (the Avenue 5) has an accident that leaves the crew and passangers stranded for years. The captain (Hugh Laurie) has to solve this shit with a bunch of incompetent crew, bosses like Judd (Josh Gad), except one female engeneer who is very smart. Lots of crazy things happen in this series from the creator behind Veep. It’s on HBO (it’s free in the US!).

Peaky Blinders: it has some years but damn it’s epic. A gang from Birmingham makes their way to the top during the late 1910s after the Great War and extends through the 1920s. S5 is right in the ascension of fascism in Britain. ALL THE CAST acts spectacular, names like Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy, Anna Taylor-Joy and a long etc. But my fave is Paul Anderson, that ultra violent junkie Arthur Shelby is splendid, then is Tommy and aunt Pol, the baddest badass woman in Britain. Blinders is going to have seven seasons, there are two left. You can watch it on BBC or Netflix.

Sex Education: speaking of Britain, excellent teen comedy. Horny, doubtful teenagers going through those hard years. Stories of sex (duh!), abuse situations, abortion, there are gay relationships either, Gillian Anderson! It’s on Netflix, go go go!

Watchmen: despite not having Alan Moore on board, Damien Lindeloff did a tremendous job with the comic. Way better and less misleading than Zack Snyder’s 2009 film, Watchmen is again at the gates of the world’s end (like today) and handles the problem of racism and white supremacy quite well. Just 9 episodes, but worth to watch. On HBO.

CAOS: Sabrina the Teenage Witch is over. Warner and Netflix made a revival of the Archie Comics character and brought her to XXI Century. But gorier, hornier, dark and magical than the nice 90s sitcom. Sabrina Spellman goes from a doubtful teen who has to decide if she has to be a witch or a powerless woman to rule Hell. How she does it? Find out on Netflix! Note: S1 and 2 take some episodes to start properly. Don’t get bored too easy.

There are A LOT MORE to recommend and I make a list: Harley Quinn (DC Universe), OK KO (Hulu -US only-), House MD, Young Justice (DC Universe/Netflix), Ken Burns’ documentaries (Netflix), Titans (DCU), Over The Garden Wall (CN), Seis Manos (Netflix), Thundercats Roar (CN), Easy (Netflix), GLOW (Netflix), Star Trek Discovery (CBS, Netflix) and Picard (CBS, Amazon Prime), etc.

- You named cool shows, but I’m not from the United States or I don’t have a subscription to (insert VOD here) because I can’t afford it

- Glad you asked, I have the answer here

Introducing Stremio. It’s an open source platform where you can watch shows, movies or even live TV on Windows, Linux, Apple or Android. You create an account, install some addons and start looking for what you want to watch.

Stremio is based on torrents, you should install addons from many known torrent sites. So maybe you find an old show, but there aren’t many seeds to watch. And it could be frustraiting, so make sure there are people sharing so you can watch it.

You can download Stremio here and check the FAQs which is very clear.

NOTE: Stremio is note quite “clean” way to watch, but if you do please support the shows you watch by posting, commenting about them, making memes, thanking the creators and crew for their work, buying merchandise if you can. They put a lot to make the shows we love, let’s give ‘em back that love and effort.

You’re tired of the same music, the same movies or need to leave something to make company? There is Vaughn Live, a streaming page where are lots of channels with movies and series on strem (not VOD). For example, there is a channel that streams Adventure Time, other Regular Show, other Sci-Fi shows, another with DBZ and so on. Take in count that if the channel has +70 viewers, the free access is cut and if you want to watch it you have to pay.

En Vaughn también hay canales en español, como Simpsonmanía, Dragon Ball, Futurama, dibujos viejos y muchísimo más. Anyway, go to https://vaughn.live/ and enjoy yourselves!

Y hablando de canales en español, pueden ir a SeriesLan donde está el mayor reservorio conocido de series animadas de entre 1960 a 2010 en español latino. Pueden encontrar tesoros desde Don Gato, los Halcones Galácticos o Street Sharks a Flapjack y Mechas XLR. Otra alternativa para que pasen el rato.

Some interesting facts:

Epic Games releases a free game per week in their store. This week will be two games. You can check in https://www.epicgames.com

Steam has good prices on games and some free ones. There even is the latest Football Manager for free until March 25th. Check on https://store.steampowered.com/

If you’re interested,

I got this playlist I made on Spotify

with songs I liked in more than one year. More than 1200 songs.

And that’s pretty much it! You got resources for a lot of days, 14 initially since that’s the quarantine time in my country. Remember: obey the indications of the Health authorities, this is no time to play the “fuck the goverment” game. We will overcome this pandemy together, helping and caring for each other. That’s why I did this guide, to keep your minds busy in these tough times! Wash your hands, keep social distance, stay at home, go outside if necessary and have some patience please. This has been a PSA.

Stay strong!

Burrito

[salvatoreschool]

‘Legacies’ Succeeds by Letting Its Characters Make Smart Choices

It’s reductive to say that most TV shows don’t let their characters play to the height of their intelligence, but it’s true. Even with ostensibly smart characters, often drama is mined out ignoring clues, not making logical leaps the non-expert audience is easily making at home, or just being dumb dumbos who are dumb. The CW’s Legacies, however, is the opposite — and succeeds because everyone in the cast makes the smartest choices possible given their circumstances, often in direct opposition to what they want emotionally.

Spoilers for Legacies Season 2, Episode 6 “That’s Nothing I Had To Remember” past this point.

Take, for example, the insanely hard choice Josie Saltzman (Kaylee Bryant) needed to make in this week’s episode, “That’s Nothing I Had To Remember.” Last season, her fellow classmate and witch/wolf Hope Mikaelson (Danielle Rose Russell) tried to stop a villain named Malivore, and in the process erased herself from everyone’s memory. Only, it didn’t work — and by the time Hope returned, Josie had already struck up a relationship with Hope’s former boyfriend Landon Kirby (Aria Shahghasemi).

Though I’ve had my issues with the relationship — despite game efforts by the charming actors, it’s never felt like anything more than a plot contrivance — once Josie discovered that Landon wrote a love song for Hope before their memories were wiped, lesser shows would have dragged the secret out. They would have made Josie petty and mean, or obstinately not figure out what this “new” information meant. Instead, when we pick up she’s visiting Hope’s aunt Freya (Riley Voelkel) in New Orleans, in order to get a spell that can bring everyone’s memories back; even if she’s not sure she wants to use it yet.

This is the show letting Josie be driven by her intelligence and moral compass, instead of her emotion, and as an end result you get even more dramatically fruitful complications. Josie does return everyone’s memories of Hope, which immediately makes Landon furious at Hope and confused towards Josie, Josie heartbroken, and Landon’s friend Raf (Peyton Alex Smith) confess his own feelings for Hope as well as tell her he never wants to talk to her again.

There are other results of the memory-returning spell, but other than seeing all your faves crying, everything about this is great because it leaves Legacies in an emotionally fragile, dramatically strong place going forward. Knowing Josie and Landon were together to complicate things for Hope was fine; but seeing Josie sobbing on a pier asking Landon what’s next actually sells the connection the couple has better than anything that’s come before. Now, with all of their memories returned, they can make a real decision about whether they’re meant to be together, or not. For Josie, that path is unclear — she definitely thinks they’re going to break up. But for Landon, he’s furious at Hope for not immediately coming to see him, and still has feelings for Josie at the same time. Also, he’s a good guy and a big nerd with emotional intelligence who assuredly doesn’t want to break the already fragile Josie’s heart.

Does it hurt to watch? Hell yeah, it hurts, but that’s what smart writing and intelligent character choices lead to. If they were all settled and happy, the show would be boring. And that also plays into Josie’s dad Alaric’s (Matt Davis) storyline, where he confesses his feelings for the new chief of police, only to wipe her memory of the event immediately afterwards. He too wants love, and wants to be happy… But it’s better for the town if a cop who is going to try to shut down the Salvatore School for supernatural students doesn’t know anything about said school, or students. It’s debatable how good a dad Alaric is, really — he often chooses Hope’s interests over his daughters’ — but he is a smart character who knows what is best for the world at large. And again, what’s more interesting to watch: a happy Alaric canoodling with the chief of police? Or sad Alaric drinking at a bar and growing a beard, getting in some increasingly difficult situations? The latter, I think.

This intelligence also applies to small choices, like this week where Hope just grabs an amulet meant to destroy a monster, and rather than waiting for an explanation just goes for it. Or a few weeks back when Lizzie Saltzman (Jenny Boyd) did the same, noticing Landon was acting weird and immediately figuring out he was possessed and acted on it, rather than dragging out “boy he’s acting weird” over multiple commercial breaks.

Behind the scenes, the delicate balancing act the Legacies writing staff pulls off is that these choices hardly ever feel written; which is to say that other than the aforementioned Josie/Landon romance, the gears are hidden. It feels like Hope, Josie, Alaric, Lizzie and all the rest are making these choices, rather than acting as pawns moved around a chess board to propel the plot forward. If anything, the plot is churning all around them, and the main characters are easily catching up, pushing personal feelings to the side for the greater good.

And all the while, potential future plot-lines and complications are being seeded in, from the potential return of Josie’s ex-girlfriend Penelope Park, to Hope revealing rather casually that she had a crush on Josie when she was 14 (love octagon, anyone?), to the oncoming threat of Josie and Lizzie’s evil uncle Kai Parker (Chris Wood). Whatever comes next, the students at the Salvatore School will face these decisions and challenges the way they always do: with their smarts on their sleeves.

Legacies airs Thursdays at 9/8c on The CW.

[k-odyssey]

Dramas I’ve Been Watching in April

It’s that time again when I tell you what I’ve been watching and if I liked it (without spoilers). As always it’s a long post so everything’s under the cut.

I was struggling to find the other ones so now they’re all tagged monthly posts. (I don’t know that anyone else needs to find them, but I do. It’s like the index page on my blog.)

When the Weather Is Fine (finished)

Seoul music teacher leaves the city and her unfulfilling job for the countryside, reconnects with adorable highschool classmate. They heal from the past together.

Mentioned in the last post and all other my blog. I said it was feel-good and having finished it, I stand by that. The great thing is, even when what’s happening with the leads isn’t great, there’s always another storyline to balance things out.

It looks so good. I love the fashion, which is almost exclusively thick jumpers and warm coats and gloves.

There’s two readings of the ending, one more positive than the other. But either way the finale is worth watching for Jang Woo’s little speech about happiness and mundane things.

Meow, the Secret Boy (ep18 of 24)

Cat adopted by unwilling new owner discovers he can turn into a human around her.

Started this one last month with hopes of cute romcom but it’s too weird to ship at this point. For me anyway.

It is, however, ridiculously funny. But I can’t watch more than one ep at a time due to the aforementioned weirdness. So I haven’t caught up yet.

Cute second couple, though.

Skate into Love (finished)

Star hockey player is reunited with the girl he hated in primary school at age 18, decides to take revenge.

It becomes more about how to navigate a relationship when you have an entire childhood of history and Olympic dreams. Also meddling parents and manipulative admirers.

Did I fast forward a bit? Yes. It’s 40 episodes after all, and the drama is edited to be a bit slow I think. You can easily watch it at the 1.25x speed. There’s plenty of supporting characters with their own stories, some more interesting than others. But I still found it worth watching.

I love the leads! And they actually grow, individually and as a couple. They both make mistakes and apologize and move on together.

While I’m here, let me mention that there are decent kisses!

Here’s what I wrote about the drama in the beginning.

If you don’t mind spoilers, here’s more thoughts.

Joy of Life (finished)

21st century character is sort of reborn in what looks like ancient china, with memories from his past life intact.

It’s been a long time coming, but I finished it!

By a long time coming I mean I started this drama in... December? Which might as well be a century ago at this point. I mentioned it here in January if you missed that.

46 episodes is a lot for me, especially if the drama is no longer airing. If I don’t watch it as it comes out, I 100% will end up taking up to 6 months to finish it. That’s just my brain.

The drama itself is a delight! Both funny and heartbreaking. Lots of intrigues and politics, but not in a boring way. It definitely keeps you on your toes.

Wan’er being one my faves (I don’t care if some find her plain), I was sad to see her character fade in the background as the drama progressed. The lack of romance from ep35 or so might be why it took so long for me to finish it. I love my romance ok?

Also this is season 1 of at least 2, so the ending is... an interesting and shocking one.

A Piece of Your Mind (finished)

Two people dealing with the loss of loved ones help each other through the darkness. Also there’s artificial intelligence involved.

I thought the fact that there was AI would mean the plot would inevitably end up where it usually does for this genre of kdrama: some evil person or entity trying to acquire the technology through legal or illegal means. Thankfully, that never happens. It’s not that kind of drama but a sweet melo.

Did you know I love Jung Hae In? I have that one post about him where I say exactly that but in more words and I’m always happy when it gets notes. The thing is, I don’t mind that he’s been playing similar characters lately. On an emotional level, his portrayals always work. I can’t look away from his eyes. Especially if he’s about to cry. He plays “overwhelmed with emotion” so well whether it’s anger or sadness or love. Plus, I’m all for kinder and softer male leads.

I know Chae Soo Bin from 3 other dramas and they were all comedy I think. I didn’t know she had the range! It was a good surprise to find that she could play a more poised character. I love her in this.

Is it because I’ve been re-watching One Spring Night but this drama looks so bright! In a good way. I love the light and colours. Especially at sunset. Plus all of the snow in the beginning, and Soon Ho’s plants!!! Also I love how they film through windows and play with reflections.

I’m sad they had to cut 4 episodes but they managed to wrap things up pretty well.

So many great characters. And I love that there’s several very strong non-romantic relationships. Soon Ho and Ha Won for example. As someone who wants to scream anytime I hear “men and women can’t be friends”, I love that these two are best friends. Also the boarding house scenes were great. Especially once Min Jung and the medical student moved in.

More thoughts about the AI.

Hyena (finished)

How do I describe Hyena?

It’s an unusual love-to-hate-to-love. Two resourceful, rich-people’s lawyers cross paths and well, sparks fly.

It’s not cute and fluffy. They defend the worst people and with questionable means. They have ethics but they’re different from mine.

As I have mentioned here, it was Hee Jae that grabbed my attention. Joo Ji Hoon is a brilliant actor.

The drama is fast-paced and I watched it in like a week.

Read this post I wrote at the end if you want to know more and don’t mind mild spoilers.

The King: Eternal Monarch (ep2 of 16)

King with a tragic family history finds the door to a parallel universe.

Technically I’ve watched 2 eps and like 15 min of the 3rd ep.

I’ve decided to give it at least 4 episodes. I still haven’t caught up.

Main appeal for me: Woo Do Hwan. He’s not the lead though so there’s that.

I don’t usually pay much attention to that but since I edit them for this... the posters aren’t great? And none of the ones I’ve found have the standard format so I had to choose between cutting the title and cutting off half of Lee Min Ho’s face.

Love is All (ep4 of 26)

Historical romcom. I kinda didn’t pay attention to ep1 so I’m not super clear on why the male lead is hiding his identity but he is. He’s left the capital to become a county magistrate in a small (?) town. There he meets a romance writer who becomes his adviser.

They fight all the time.

Also she keeps unknowingly declaring her love for him because she knows him by name and has a crush on him, but he’s living under a false identity. So she’s annoying him a lot but also complimenting him all the time and he’s not indifferent.

Fun supporting characters.

Is it kinda cheesy? Yes, but that’s what I typically watch cdramas for.