#kidnap the series ep 8

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

First Times

[lurkingteapot]

Ohm's out for blood.

[hughungrybear]

Mhen: Let's go to bed. I'm already sleepy. But let's bring a blanket to lie down here. I don't want you to sleep alone, Q. This house has a scary ghost <looks pointedly at Min>. I hear crying sounds every night, like "hoo, hoo, hoo". 😑😑😑

****Me: Pretty darned sure you are hearing Min cry in his emo heartbreak phase 😂😂😂😂

[faith-gigliorosa]

kidnap the series (+ep.8) | min & q / ohmleng } [breaking the habit]

You all assume I'm safe here in my room, unless I try to start again.

[g12xxx]

The last scene of ep 8 😳🫣🫠

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Why so much on right now?

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

NOV 2024 Week 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

Your Sky (Sun iQIYI) ep 1 of 12 - Classic old school Thai BL. Of course I love it. Naïve sunshine freshman vs strict older protective boy (who already likes him but refuses to show it). Is he grumpy or just gay and tired of all of these women? We don’t know. We don’t care. We just want to see them fake a relationship. And that’s what we’re getting. I love it. I also love the friendship group, and that the younger brother is in it and he has some of the same magic BL-hottie superpowers as his older brother. It’s great.

Love Sick 2024 (Sun iQIYI) ep 10 of 15 - Phun actually turns into dangerous babygirl when he is flirting, who knew? (Dangerous Babygirl is a new archetype I have just invented by the way. Yes, I am pleased with myself.) Noh, who is a nice boy, doesn’t stand a chance. Neither does Jeed, since this new babygirl superpower gives Phun a damn near perfect “back off bitch” face.

The arm drape public claiming, it gets me every time. Has done since SOTUS. Nong Mick is hero-level in this version, hands-down my favorite character this time around (and a non-entity last time). I love him so much I can’t stand it. I haven’t updated my 1:1 comparison yet this week, didn’t have time to rewatch 2014, but I will later tonight.  I'm chronicling my experience with 2024 as compared to 2014 here. 

Kidnap (Fri Gaga) ep 12 end - What an absolutely excellent final episode. Smiley kisses! 

Conclusion 

A cute if patently absurd little show about a stuntman who is somehow convinced to kidnap a rich kid except they fall in love. It takes itself a little more seriously than it deserves for such a silly plot and some crappy stunts and contradictory content, but it was a pleasantly romantic experience all around, and I enjoyed myself. Extra credit for Q in that perfect blue color throughout. No complaints, a solid BL. 8/10 

The Heart Killers (Weds Gaga) ep 1 of 12 - Jojo directs FirstKhao & JoongDunk in an action romcom about assassin brothers (Khao & Joong) who meet a tattoo artist (First) and a cocky mechanic (Dunk). I'm highly amused that Joong plays the older brother to Khao and that we have a take on the Taming of the ShrewBL. This has all GMMTV's best chemistry in one BL and some fresh concepts that I've only seen tackled in m/m romance novels (check out Amy Lane's Racing for the Sun, thank me later). My only quibble is Jojo, I like his style but his characters can get unreliably messy so…... this gonna be interesting.

Buckle up buttercups I got thoughts:

Frankly, I haven’t decided if this is good or so bad and so camp that it’s good? The latter I suspect. Either way, I’m enjoying it very much, but I had very little doubt that I would. This falls into so many of my wheelhouses. Not just the premise but the casting and the approach and the script. They pretty much knocked it out of the park with the first episode: one night stand + safe sex + linguistic negotiation = I’m in! During the opening sequence I spent the entire time worried about how many fingerprints Bison was leaving everywhere. And then I realized this show is going to require DEMAND we turn our brains entirely off.

We are in KinnPorshce / The Sign territory people. Take emergency precautions! Do not engage brain meats!

Kiss Me Kate only gay and hitmen? Frankly, it sells itself. The music is extremely stupid though. (Brain, stop it!) I gotta say that FirstKhao are good because…… FirstKhao. But JoongDunk are absolutely perfectly cast. Like: couldn’t be a better pair in these roles. Dunk, in particular, is slaying. I did not have Dunk as Petruchio down on my “best casting choice of all time” BL bingo card, but apparently there he is. Awesome. 

Fourever You (Thurs YT) ep 8 of 16 - I’m warming up to the second couple a little bit. I actually don’t mind a bully romance the way some do. But this isn’t quite hitting the notes that I want from one. Still, I found this week more engaging than last week. 

Secret Love (? YT?) 1-12 of 81 eps - They dropped 12 eps at once randomly on YT totaling about 20 min. So of course, I watched it. Because I have no self-control and STEPBROTHERS! Adopted into a rich family, boy falls in love with heir. But when he is made the heir instead, everything goes wrong. Now enemies the two boys reunite and sparks! I hate this format but dammit I love this utter dross. It’s very early Chinese BL feeling but from Thailand. I don’t care. It’s so stupidly great. This is my kind of BL.

Caged Again (Fri Gaga) ep 3 of 10 - There is something sweetly innocent and earnest about this show. It reminds me of Takara and Amagi or even Light On Me but less stiff - this one is quintessentially quirky and casually Thai about it. It’s interesting that this has an 18+ rating, which means it’s either gonna go very violent or sexy or both. Right now I can’t imagine that, it doesn’t suit. But I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes. Junior with his Mean Girl crop top moment is the goddess of the week though. Fierce queen penguin.

Perfect 10 Liners (Sun YT?) ep 4 of 24 - I love the side couple so damn much. How are they so adorable? Still not wild about the mains, and not likely to get there anytime soon. That said, I did like seeing the “sleeping in your boyfriend‘s class while he gives you his jacket” trope drop. We haven’t had that one for a really long time. My Engineer maybe?

Every You Every Me (Mon Gaga) ep 7 of 8 - I did find this installment kind of boring. I just don’t like actors as main characters. Much as I’m enjoying this show and I think the actors are doing a good job, I really do wish it was more like what we had been sold on: Connected reborn characters fated to be together over and over again. Not this weird little mishmash of whatever. I’m now annoyed by a format I was initially charmed by. 

Jack & Joker (Mon IQIYI) ep 10-11 of 12 - still on hold until it ends or I can cope with the pain.  I just can’t go into darkness right now.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Our Youth AKA Miseinen: Mijukuna Oretachi wa Bukiyo ni Shinkochu (Japan Tues Gaga) ep 3 of 11 - SNIFF TEST! But done by Japan so it’s that much better and more kinky. The way H looks at M pretty much defines naked lust. “I got extra beat up so you’d take pity on me and then I admitted it to you” is so damn warped I can’t even with this boy. This feral kid is gonna drive me feral. The power and the control and the execution of this show is just spectacular. I keep thinking about it after its done and telling people IRL about it. (I rarely talk BL IRL.) It’s classy. I do love it when Japan does classy BL for us. 

See Your Love (Taiwan Weds Gaga) ep 6 of 13 - so completely and utterly adorable. The learning sign language thing! I loved it so much.

Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 10 of 12 eps - Possibly one of the best confessions of the year I have to say. Also a wonderful character growth arc for our lawyer. Exactly as one might hope. The plot twist was slightly predictable but still adds a delicious note of tension to our final episodes.

Blue Canvas of Youthful Days (China Sun iQIYI) eps 7-8 of 12 - You don’t want me but you won’t let anybody else have me either. The song of the repressed seme. I did like the irrational jealousy moment and a few other bits, of course the crying kiss. You know I love a crying kiss. Even if it’s a somewhat censored one. But this is also leaning a little bit darker than I want at the moment. This being China, I anticipate the darkness and doom getting worse not better.

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 9 of ? - The incredible migrating lip injury continues. Could we please get on with the BL aspect of this show? I’m getting frustrated as well as slightly bored at this juncture. Pacing darlings. Pacing.

Love in the Air: Koi no Yokan (Japan Sat Gaga) ep 4 of 10 - Still not sure. I think I like this better than the original, but I’m confused. I did make disgusted scoff noises and say “oh dear” a couple of times. Which makes me sound like a World War II grandpa (only the housemate's cat noticed), but is also classic me when profoundly disappointed by a piece of media. That’s said, the sex scene was pretty good. In the end, I wasn’t as frustrated by this version of these characters, but they didn’t have as many highs or lows as the original. So first half probably works out about the same in my all-purpose rating system. The true proof in the pudding is going to be couple number 2 tho......

It's airing but......

Winter Is Not The Death of Summer (Weds YT) ?? eps - Criminals who meet in prison fall in love. I did find it on YouTube, but I did not find any English subs for it. The first episode seems to be only six minutes long. It is very pulp. But it is intriguing. So I hope it gets some sort of international or something at some point. for now I’ll put it to the wayside.

Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) 10 eps - I DNF'd at ep 7, I couldn't make it. I am weak. Life is hard enough right now, this show is making it harder. It’s not what I want from my entertainment.

Bad to Bed (Taiwan Sat YT) 10 eps - This is a little too low production value even for me + just very very odd. DNF

In Case You Missed it

Love for Loves Sake got some kind of special on 11/9. Not sure what, why, or where. Only the rumor that it...... is. I'll believe it when I see it...... literally. Let me know if you found it.

The Bangkok Podcast covered Marriage Equality in Thailand: More Complex Than it Seems. They missed some of the point and all of the queer perspective. But it's a local lawyer talking about it and how it was implemented, which is quite interesting.

Dominant Yakuza and Wimpy Corporate Slave AKA Ore-sama Yakuza to Hetare Shachiku: Kuni wo Koeta Jingi Naki Dekiai, Japan YT. A 30 min slice of ridiculousness. This mini walked out the back of one of my 1999 yaoi (you know those little shorts they always had along with the main story?) and randomly got cut together by some helpful malcontent, tumbled into my YT feed like a Taiwanese prat fall, and I couldn't be happier.

This is the Cliff's notes of a story that could have been amazing, but I adored it anyway. Basically what it says on the tin: office cutie from Taiwan working in Japan runs across hot AF mafia hit man beating up lesser thugs. Falls instantly in love, turns out so does the yakuza. They end up together for...... reasons? (one is cute and the other is cool?) That's it. It's dumb and I loved it. 7/10 because it really isn't good, but it lives on in a very warped corner of my shriveled old heart.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Still to come:

11/28 Spare Me Your Mercy (Thai Thurs iQIYI) 8 eps on OneD (no word on inter) - Increased rates of deaths in terminal patients has a police captain investigating the palliative care doctor with whom he's fallen in love. Their relationship deepens but the mystery persists, driven by mistrust. Adapted from the novel "Euthanasia" by Sammon (Triage, Manner of Death) stars some old guard BL actors: Tor Thanapob from Hormones as the doctor and (fuck me YES) Jaylerr from Great Men Academy and goddamn Grean Fictions as the captain!

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

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

We stan a smitten seme who's too reserved for his own good. Sunshine is gonna have this boy wrapped around his little finger in no time. (Well in 12 eps, but we know what we like!) Your Sky

King behavior.

Dangerous Babygirl behavior.

Both Love Sick 2024.

(last week)

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

[mysterygrl20]

Kidnap the Series | Ep 8 Behind the Scenes | OhmLeng

[pickastitch]

what a lot of people seem to miss when analyzing c!gem is her savior complex and how prevalent it really is

think of every single player series she has, always helping a village/villagers; afterlife and hc s9 transforming a village was also a large part of those series. in afterlife she purposely triggered a raid to be officially "hero of the village" also justifying the raid through unconnected things (a random blue moon) afterwards the village is actively on fire from her and she comments on how a few iron golems probably died while still calling it a victory (afrterlife ep 10)

it even extends outside of npcs. the most notable example being in esmp s1. she stood by fwip and sausage no matter what, but when jimmy asks for her help, gem doesn't do anything right then and there. instead, she has a private meeting with jimmy to ensure him that she can help him (esmp s1 ep 8). with xornoth, she was one of the biggest helps tracking information about them, even if it was detrimental to her own well-being (an example being getting kidnapped in ep 13). saving the ender dragon, saving sausage, saving shrub, saving joey, "saving" scott. giving scott unwanted help is what led her to be partly corrupted by xornoth, and sticking so physically close to fwip is what made crystal cliffs one of the most vulnerable empires to the rapture

you could also argue that this trait appears in esmp s2, though less obviously, because in lore, she is the one who is producing the majority of golden carrots. another example within this series is her religion. in the episode, she introduces it in (ep 11) with the goal of it to 1. look cool, 2. ensure everyone is safe from phantoms. she states over and over again how the church/religion is to help the people. while none of this is malicious and doesn't harm anyone, it exemplifies their need to provide

in secret life, the way she keeps, purposely or not, being the leader of armies; though the ender dragon fight holds the most weight here because she chose to do that. after the boogeyman apocalypse, she outright states, "i seem to be a bit of a hero on the sever" (ep 8 7:07). actively positioning herself in such a way to prove to anyone listening or to herself that she was in the right for murder basically everyone for zero benefit to the victims. cleo even points out how she will have to turn on pearl/the mounders eventually, but she refuses this notion because she believes that she can save everybody

[adachimoe]

Not-so-masterpost list because tumblr's tagging and search sucks ass

As the title says lol

A Series of Posts About Adachi's Role in the Plot of Persona 4 and How It Has Been Misunderstood for 15+ Years

What the bad endings teach us about Adachi

Adachi's fixation on Mayumi Yamano

Adachi is the person in the fog who shows up in the shopping district

Adachi's imaginary dick waving contest with Namatame

In which I try to deduce if Adachi watched the Midnight Channel based on whether Dojima was home or not

Yu Narukami's Obsession with Adachi

Dude wants to be Adachi's girlfriend

Dumbass

Waxing poetic about the color of Adachi's eyes

Arena Ultimax Arcade Mode

This shit even happens in BBTag

Adachi Stuff / Ramblings

Adachi and School

Adachi and the Japanese Economy (lol)

Remember that part in April where Adachi tries to frame Yukiko?

Adachi was not actually assigned to guard Mayumi Yamano, was he?

The 3rd P4 Audio Drama

"Tiger mom"

Was JYB really intentionally cast as both the protag and Adachi?

Was that actually Adachi in Persona 5?

?? Adachi went to a NYE party ??

How Bayside Shakedown inspired Adachi's character

Adachi's overseas transfer

Was Adachi's first choice even police officer?

The contrast between Adachi and Namatame (And a follow-up)

Adachi's relationship with the Dojima family and why Adachi sent the 2nd threat letter

What was Adachi's mistake?

Adachi as the Investigation Team's Shadow

P4 Anime and Golden Anime Staff: Adachi's Popularity Among the Staff

Wake up babes Adachi got a shoutout in Metaphor

Tetsuya Kobayashi's comments on Ying Yang

Golden Anime Adachi Cafe

Things You Can Miss In-Game

Adachi and Cabbage

Adachi did not facilitate Rise's kidnapping

Nanako reveals Adachi hates bugs lol

Localization and Translation Related Topics

Yuka Someya Loved the Stage Play

Izanami saying that Adachi's power was tainted by "magatsu"

Clarifying what Adachi says in P4U2 about his sentencing

Adachi calling Izanami a bitch and how this relates to Sho

Adachi was not trying to remind you of Yosuke

This World Has Gone to Shit

That time Adachi pretended to be Dojima's wife

"Putting It In" and "That Settles It"

Adachy-baby

Yukiko's funniest line

Setting and Word of God-esque Stuff

Adachi's Persona Club P4 profile (sorry but he's been 176cm since 2009... It was the anime that got it wrong when they made him 173cm...)

All of the Persona Club P4 profiles

Adachi Q&A from Persona Stalker Club

No, Atlus did not say that the culprit was originally Dojima

Yes, Atlus did consider Yukiko and Yosuke to be the culprit

About Adachi's Social Link

Bayside Shakedown as an Inspiration for Adachi

Arcsys and Atlus on the development behind Episode Adachi

Arcsys made Adachi easy to play because his fans are girls

Full translation of Katsura Hashino's Persona Club P4 Interview

It's the Adachi Ending, not the Accomplice Ending

The P4 Anime Staff on Adachi's Cabbage and Ai Bullying Adachi

Random stuff in Persona Club P4

Posts About Not-Adachi

Yu Narukami's catchphrase is "Calm down"

Yukiko, before and after the TV World

Yukiko as a vehicle for slapstick humor

The Mudoon Curry

Is Namatame from Inaba?

Why is Witch Detective a parody of Twilight?

MAN, A WATERMELON

Context for Yukiko and... Cooking

Teddie is Bugs Bunny

The Time I Signed Up to Play Persona 4 Pachinko

Summary of the 3rd Golden anime audio drama, A Sense of Gratitude

The "Ah-ha! I S.E.E.S. it!" segments on Persona Stalker Club

Explanation + Episode 1

Episodes 2 and 4

Episode 5

Episodes 6 and 7 (no q&a)

Eps 8 + 9

Eps 10 + 11 (plus PSC Cafe)

Eps 12/13/18/19

Eps 20/23/24

Eps 25/26

V Ep 10

[md-confessions]

Murder Drones could have been a lot better if Doll was never introduced into the plot or straight up didn't exist.

Before you light up the torches, I will remind you that I love Doll to death. I'm the guy who made an entire map of posts on the character + a handful of analyses about a lot of her different aspects; this isn't a hot idea that I made up right now, it's something I've been thinking about for a long time, and unfortunately I must finally admit it publicly.

Much like episode 7 completely recontextualised Tessa up to this point, it did the same thing with Doll, but in a negative way, her rushed demise didn't just destroy all of the future potential that she had, no, it did way worse than that: it ruined every single one of her previous scenes, as now all of them fell pointless since she was just a plot device for V and Cyn's development and not a character in her own right.

Now, while all of this is arguably completely true and factual, you might still say, why do you want to eliminate her? She still was a pretty awesome character with a large chunk of the fanbase fawning over her and could still come back for a better exploration of her character and potential.

And to that, I'll have to ask you to look at the bigger picture: Murder Drones, as it is right now, it's kind of an unfortunate mess.

Liam Vickers rushed everything, and I mean EVERYTHING in order for us to reach the part of the plot that he wanted to show, when he could have just simply narrated a simpler, smaller story with less emphasis on the lore and more on the characters. He should have known when to let go of some stuff for the betterment of the series, instead he's just trying to tell everything while rushing to the finish line and without flashing out any particular aspect of it.

While in my mind I would have just gone for a simpler, lower stakes story, I won't deny the fact that this is clearly not what Liam Vickers would have done; so, if an end of the world narrative is what he was trying to tell, he should have disregarded the high school setting even MORE than what he ended up doing.

I would have had Uzi, V and N get kidnapped by an alien/solver thing so that they would be forced into space by the ending of episode 3, and used episode 2 and the first half of episode 3 to flesh out Thad and Khan, so that we could feel the impact of the protagonist being forced out of her home. Then, the rest of whatever Liam has planned for season 2 would have happened.

If it weren't for Doll, I wouldn't be as obsessed with Murder Drones as I am right now; for me at least, she was the selling ticket for the series, but it's clear that Liam had to eliminate some aspects of his show to tell the narrative that he wanted to, and if that aspect wasn't the lore, then it had to be the characters, and Doll plus maybe her family depending on what Yeva is going to do if she were to come back are at the top of the chopping block list. Lizzie is important for V's development, Thad was already obliterated out of relevance but I'm curious on what he's going to do in ep 8, J shouldn't have returned if she was going to be irrelevant again but I still think that she wasn't wasted as long as she's still alive.

Liam could have just simply created another plot device to force V to develop and the raptor scene to happen, so even from that storytelling aspect, Doll was completely and utterly worthless to begin with.

op added:

[le-trash-prince]

4 minutes EP 8 thoughts

Last episode 😔😔😔 I’m gonna need Spare Me Your Mercy and Petrichor to come soon so I can get my Sammon fix

A version of Tyme with bedside manner??? Was this what he was like without the revenge plot taking up all of his brain?

love that the clock changed time as soon as she left

This domestic af montage of them being all soft is destroying me…

UH THROWING WHY DONT YOU STAY IN HERE WAS FUCKING SAVAGE???

love that Tyme can feel the rain on his face. Love that his connection to Great kept him from walking towards the light

Faisah spent this whole show sitting around sipping wine and I respect that

I must say I’m very surprised to see Tonkla and Korn run into each other’s arms kissing like this.

Korn’s face looking betwern Tonkla and Win dbfjfjfjf

Tonkla “Oh yeah did I mention I shot your brother. By the way I cheated on you too.”

Well I sure did not expect Tonkla to take a bullet for Korn. Win you done fucked up

Oh Great’s gotta live with knowing his actions led to his brother’s death…

The fuck kind of art exhibition???

GREAT JUST RAN OFF AND LEFT HER COLLAPSED ON THE STAIRS SHFJJFF I shouldn’t be surprised at this point…

Praying that Nan is somehow still alive and getting vengeance on Warit 🙏

Tyme to Manee: you can die anytime you like, but not in this bed

Tyme to Warit: you can die

ok fine sure doctors shouldn’t murder their patients 🙄

Well I still have questions… but I didn’t come here expecting answers ig 🤷‍♂️ at least Great and Tyme survived, plus Great’s parents and Warit and Title went down. I would’ve been frustrated if none of the Sriwat cargo stuff got resolved in the end. I would like to know who tf had kidnapped Warit (Nan’s vengeful spirit in my heart).

Also the art exhibition lady??? Did she just give them future seeing abilities??? Coz Tyme had the OOBE but he never saw the future the way Lukwa and Great did. Anyways that’s lady Jinta in my head.

The bar for worst BL dad is pretty high (Tony Chen when I catch you) but Great’s mom might get worst BL mom in my book lmfao she really did not give a shit

Overall I think the series was fun ride. There were some things I felt could have been improved upon, but when is there not? The series had a lot of really great visual storytelling, some wonderful performances, and I think a nice story about how Great and Tyme had this brief but meaningful connection that they both felt could have gone better under different circumstances, and the way that connection saved them. Sometimes you don’t need an earth shaking romance to feel that with someone. Sometimes you just find someone you want to have a peaceful life with.

Anyways Spare Me Your Mercy, Petrichor come soon please 🙏

[lurkingteapot]

There are so many things I could clown this episode for, but I'm gonna go with Min trying to act like he's over Q while still wearing his collar necklace --

And neither Q nor Mhen (Mhen????) called him out for it??? PLEASE

[hughungrybear]

I think that is the spiciest bed scene involving Ohm Pawat to date 🤯🥵

[taylanix]

Sonadow Fallout Au

Sonic and Shadow are old lovers who were separated by the blasts. Shadow was saved by GUN and put in vault 8 while Sonic became a ghoul after not making it to the vault. Info about them more below.

Blue (Sonic)

Ghoul

Design is based off of The Ghoul from the TV series because I am not creative

Injury on mouth sustained from fight

Has started using guns

Is wastelanding

Quills a frail so he can no longer spin dash and they fall flat

Colors are more dulled out

Lost most of his pre-war memories due to dementia

Sonic was in the midst of battle during the blast. He took refuge in a bunker from the great war but it was not enough to keep the radiation out. Slowly he was turned into a ghoul and while he adventured out into the wasteland, he started to lose his pre-war memories years after leaving the bunker. Now he travels around the wasteland taking bounties and serving justice while he can. He earned the name blue among the wastelands because of the light blue hue his quills have.

Stripes (Shadow)

Vault Dweller

Starts off like Lucy from TV series but breaks off after events of ep. 2

Lived in Vault 8 until raiders took his brother away

Still wears inhibitor rings

Lost some of his fighting capabilities due to long term use of laying around (About 150 years)

Immortality made him stop aging in his 20s

Necklace was a gift from Sonic before the bombs

Stipes is what Sonic calls him

Shadow was moved to the vault with his brother before the bombs dropped. He didn't know what was happening until he was the last one into the fault and saw the bombs drop. He's lived in the vault for nearly 150 years until he leaves due to Eclipse being kidnapped. Met Sonic one night when he accidentally fell asleep while his fire was going. Sonic didn't actually join him until he made it to filly and they went on their quest to the raiders.

[kissorkill16]

Me: *pulls out a long list* We're gonna be here a while.

First of all, I was thinking about stepping into Nicky's life a little more. I'd like to explain why he acts the way he does before/after he got kidnapped, why him and Delroy hate each other so much, and what he thinks and how he feels about his friends.

1. I came up with this multi-part series called "When We Were Once Happy", a story before Trinity moved to Raven Brooks. Bubba is present in this story, Aaron, Mya, and Lucy were Nicky's first friends, and Mr. Peterson is a genuinely nice guy. We could add some flashbacks to Nicky's life before he became the "town weirdo".

2. If you read some of @fazbearedits 's fanfics, you'll learn that they came up with the idea that Lucy and Mya are the Shadow Man, the incarnation of Nicky's fears. How they were the ones that mentally broke Nicky during his time in the basement and forced him to play games with them. I actually loved that idea, and I added onto that they were angry at the world for letting them die so early, and they were especially angry with Mr. Peterson because they thought he was the one responsible for their deaths. However, Lucy was the one who wanted revenge, Mya just wanted to be with her mother.

3. I'd write about how Trinity even found out about the Golden Apple Amusement Park in the first place, because in S2 EP 1, she just...knows. Like how did she find out that Golden Apple Amusement Park was a thing? Did someone tell her about it? Was it a scrapped scene that we don't know about? If I was writing the series, I'd actually take the time to show how she even finds out about these kinds of things and people.

4. @fazbearedits really went all in with their fanfics to show how much of a potential bitch Finch is. Read "Back To School" and "This Is Halloween", and you'll see what I'm talking about. The girl scout literally took a picture of his mental breakdown, printed it all around school, made everyone at the school laugh at him, and lied about it to the principal. Then she comes to school dressed as Nicky in an unbuckled straightjacket.

5. I'd expand on Finch's bitchiness too, but I'd also give her a redemption arc. Where she's threatened to apologize for her actions, and Nicky says she can make it up to her if she helps him and his friends out with the whole Crowface mystery.

6. Screw it, I'd give everyone who's a dickhead in this show a redemption arc. Except for the Forest Protectors, the Forest Protectors deserve death.

7. I wrote some fanfics about how everyone's starting to treat Nicky nicer after his kidnapping and mental breakdown at his house, and how Jay and Luanne promised to actually be there for him when he needed it.

8. In some of my fics, Mr. Murtaugh is like a 50/50 kind of villain. He's Nicky's therapist while at the same time, he's a Forest Protector. But as he keeps up the weekly therapy sessions with him, he starts getting a little attached to him.

9. After the second trailer for Season 2, I noticed that she's become a little hard on her friends, with all of the weight on her shoulders and how she's gotten more questions than answers. She starts ignoring her friends protests or how they tell her that she's going too far or working too hard. Then after she locks Nicky in the basement, she begins to see the errors of her ways and promises to be a better leader.

10. While I don't completely like the parents in WTRB, I think they could be good people too. With Jay and Luanne being neglectful to Nicky and Donald and Amanda (that's what I'm calling Mr. and Mrs. Bales) not being able to trust their daughter, I'd want to fix that too. After Mr. Peterson's arrest, Donald and Amanda promises to try to trust Trinity more.

11. I know some people think that Franklin is The Guest, and that could end up being true, but I also like to think that The Guest is just an evil crow demon that possesses Aaron Peterson.

12. Remember this from the pilot?

It'd be a big part of the story, it'd control the weather and be the entire source of the Forest Protectors power. Nicky would have it, having no idea what it does, but still holding onto it, because he knows whoever wants it is not to be trusted.

13. For the finale, I'd write a fic of how all the kids are at the Golden Apple Amusement Park, riding the Rotten Core rollercoaster, trying to get away from The Guest. The Guest dies in the end, Mr. Peterson burns his remains, and we move onto the next villain.

The Shadow Man.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Boyfriend Era is a Go

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

NOV 2024 Week 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

Jack & Joker (Thai Mon IQIYI) ep 9 of 12 - I have to say it, the heist stuff is stupid and all the sidekicks are idiots to the point of annoyance. But Yin and War are truly stellar at these parts. And in general in these roles. Can’t knock 'em. It’s been a year of some very good kisses and this has to have been the best. So this show is top of the standings this week for that kiss alone. Like srs boys? I mean to say, BOYS! How dare. Breaking the internet like that.

Honestly, let's be clear, these two have had killer chemistry since the En of Love and we all expected great things. And now, here we sit, suffering great things from these kings. Thank you, Sirs, may we have another?

Love Sick 2024 (Thai Sun iQIYI) ep 8 of 15 - I'm chronicling my experience with 2024 as compared to 2014 here. The Per Win story arc never interested me in 2014 and I’m not enjoying it now either. But Mick and Ohm are better in 2024. Nong Mick is a standout character, and a brilliant glow up in this version and he’s a confident little shit (affectionate). The mains are good too, but Phun and Noh always were great characters, and these actors are quite good. Possibly better than the original. 

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 10 of 12 - More bf era delightful diabetes. They are the best boyfriends and the cutest family in the entire world. No exceptions. Next week is definitely doom tho. 

Every You Every Me (Thai Mon Gaga) ep 5 of 10 - Talk about making consent and communication sexy! *fans self* Whoah! That was unexpectedly great. The blatancy of the lust in this one was fun too. And the general casual switch nature of the relationship = delightful.

I like the little acting course we're getting from these tw. They are both quite good. I’m not sure I really enjoy the stories that they’re telling, but I do like how they are telling them.

Fourever You (Thai Thurs YT) ep 6 of 16 - Hill is the premier torch carrier of this year. My goodness. He sure nursed that crush. While I really like this main couple, I’m happy to have some of the others start to creep into the narrative at this juncture. Alone HillTer are a bit intentionally miscommunicative and saccharine. But the screen-time distribution amongst couples seems a little strange. That said, couple 2? No thank you. I really don't like North as a character at all. I find him incredibly unappealing. Ordinarily I'd be on his side because....... blackmail trope renders Johan automatically a complete arse. But at least this is 2 unlikable characters being jerks to each other?

Perfect 10 Liners (Thai Sun YouTube?) ep 2 of 24 - Say it with me Thailand: negging is NOT romantic. Frankly, Arc is just an asshole and a bully with anger issues. But…… Yay cute sides! PondSand they funny. (Book, to me = never very funny. I don’t think comedy is his bailiwick. Look, comedy is HARD ya’ll and usually not in that way.) 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Our Youth AKA Miseinen: Mijukuna Oretachi wa Bukiyo ni Shinkochu (Japan Tues Gaga) ep 1 of 11 - They’re doing some interesting stuff with the framing (both filming style and narrative) that makes this extremely old-fashioned feeling (like Takumi-kun level). I keep saying that this year, but it feels like BL is doing a lot of rediscovering its roots right now. This one even had a goldfish. And abuse. (The two, oddly, often go hand-in-hand in JBL ) And overall...... it’s a bit weird. Which I don’t mind from Japan. Japanese BL can get weird in a good way. Oh I like it. Bully meats smart loaner, total opposites attract, both are lonely and broken and NEED each other, and all that.

See Your Love (Taiwan Weds Gaga) ep 4 of 13 - Oh dear, our poor little rich boy is very broken indeed. The sides are utterly ridiculous.

My Damn Business (Korea Sat YT) eps 6 of 7 - I don’t normally like a love triangle, but I kind of like this one since it gave our uke a bit more depth and agency. And charm, quite frankly. So far he’s been a very dower character.

Eccentric Romance (Korea Weds Viki) eps 9-10 of 12 - Okay boyfriend era is a go. Goodness but they sure are adorable. 

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 7 of ? - The slow burn is really very slow. To the point of frustration. But I'm still enjoying the show, just not as much as I was.

Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 8 of 10 eps - Even Japan is going through a bf era rn I see. How unusual.

Love in the Air: Koi no Yokan (Japan Sat Gaga) ep 2 of 10 - I’m slightly less annoyed by this one than the original (but I was VERY annoyed by that). I think mame is being tempered by a few things:

There’s so much less time spent on the back-and-forth, because this is a much shorter show, so I have less time to be frustrated by it and the utter uselessness of 75% of these characters.

Also, there's that innate Japanese awkwardness of portrayal & social interaction, which makes the unpleasantness of the characters' behavior and touch more understandable.

This, in turn, is married to the natural kink factor of JBL.

There’s a clearer Dom sub from the get go with this version, makes the blackmailing a little bit more tolerable because it's clearly Play. (negotiated or not) Simply put, daddy wants his brat to beg. And honestly? So say we all.

On a completely different note, the wardrobe for this show is terrible. Like truly bad BAD.

Blue Canvas of Youthful Days (China Sun iQIYI) eps 3-4 - Well I guess that’s that disability dealt with. Meanwhile, competitive bullying art students? I am very amused. Zoo date was cute. This is unquestionably a BL (I’m even more scared now). Still, the gay boys dealing with the straight dude’s crush was truly hilarious. So much "our gay drama doesn’t have time for your het bullshit." Classy move, I smell some Taiwan in this show.

Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo (Korea Thurs Gaga) eps 4-8 end - I was reliably informed this has an HFN end so I decided to watch. Noble and self sacrificing with both of them taking the blame.

My thoughts are...... mixed.

High school student Do Hoe lives with his brutal father who runs a Taekwondo gym. When cheerful Ju Young arrives to train, they fall in love. An unexpected incident forces them apart, they reunite over a decade years later. Essentially this is a brilliant narrative about finding love at the worst possible time, surviving chronic abuse, and the way we process mental, emotional, and physical trauma overtime. Yes it’s also a romance, but that’s not primarily what this story is actually about. I can recognize its genius, but this type of narrative is not for me. I’m reminded of bittersweet painful shows like To My Star 2, or The On1y One, or even Not Me. Is this BL tangential or is it some other genre entirely? Am I questioning my own taste because I did not like its content, or because I do not like its genre? And if it’s not BL should I even render judgment? I think I have to lean into the way I approached some of those other shows, which is to say: it is not for me but I recognize that it is of an extremely high-quality that is certainly for someone else.

Recommended, but only if you like masochistic cinema. Under those circumstances 9/10

(but know that if i were rating for my personal taste? 7/10 I’m never re-watching this, and there is a small part of me that wishes I never had) 

It's airing but......

Love for Loves Sake got some kind of special supposed to air 11/9. Not sure what, why, or where. Only the rumor that it...... is. I'll believe it when I see it...... literally.

The Hidden Moon (Sat WeTV) 10 eps - I've been reliably told not to bother, so I won't.

Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) 10 eps - I DNF'd at ep 7, I couldn't make it. I am weak. Life is hard enough right now, this show is making it harder. It’s not what I want from my entertainment.

Bad to Bed (Taiwan Sat YouTube) 10 eps - This is a little too low production value even for me. And just very very odd. DNF

In case you missed it

Uncle Unknown finished its run on YT. Censored Chinese BL with paralytically bad production levels. But certainly BL. Boys reunite after a break up only to discover one of them is the step-Uncle of the other. Much to my own shock and surprise I watched all 12 episodes of this. Fortunately, each episode is about 5 minutes long. Under those circumstances is it worth it? Maybe. It’s bad. But not offensive. So that's a win. And you know me, I love a weird take on the stepbrother’s trope and incest taboos. 5/20 watch it only if you have nothing better to do

Next Week Looks Like This:

Gosh there's a lot on right now.

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

November BL:

11/15 Caged Again (Thai Fri Gaga) 10 eps - Penguin escapes zoo by turning into a human. Gets trapped again and a panther falls in love with him.

11/17 Your Sky (Thai Sun iQIYI) 12 eps - A naive freshman and the campus’s popular senior agree to pretend to be a couple - but their fake deal begins to generate real feelings.

11/20 Winter Is Not The Death of Summer (Thai Weds YT) ?? eps - Criminals who meet in prison fall in love

11/20 The Heart Killers (Thai Weds YT iQIYI) 12 eps - Jojo directs FirstKhao & JoongDunk in an action romcom about assassin brothers (Khao & Joong) who meet a tattoo artist ex-booster (First) and a mechanic (Dunk). I'm highly amused that Joong plays the older brother to Khao and that we have a take on the Taming of the ShrewBL. I like that everyone is morally gray. This has all GMMTV's best chemistry in one BL and some fresh concepts that I've only seen tackled in m/m romance novels (check out Amy Lane's Racing for the Sun, thank me later). I'm excited. My only quibble is Jojo, I like his style but his characters can get unreliably messy so…... this gonna be interesting.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

The insane level of his babygirl heart eyes.

Just, have mercy.

(last week)

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