#oh look I made another gifset

[lieutenant-amuel]

✨Gabe Symbolism✨

[oflgtfol]

god the bad batch pisses me off so much

[percheduphere]

LET'S TALK ABOUT "HE'LL MAKE IT BACK"

Special thank you to @mmobiuses, @starrose17, and @stevenrogered whose gifs make-up the lion's share of this post. Thank you to all the other amazing gif artists as well, without you, my metas won't be possible.

This might come as a surprise to a lot of people, but I actually wasn't big on Lokius until Season 2. I thought Loki and Mobius made a cute ship in Season 1, but that was the extent of it. In truth, I lost interest in the Loki series by the S1 finale and had 0 interest in watching S2. I didn't give the series another try until I saw positive reviews on Tumblr. I therefore started watching S2 when S2E4 dropped.

LOKI SEASON 1

Enjoying the potential love story between two characters is a deeply personal and subjective experience. So take what I say as my personal experience observing Loki and Mobius's relationship.

I fully believed Mobius loved Loki in S1 in the platonic sense. Tom Hiddleston has given a few interviews on Loki's and Mobius's relationship and seems to believe in this sentiment as well [see 5:30-7:30 and 10:57-11:00]).

That is to say, in S1, I didn't feel, "Oh, my god ... he loves him." It was more, "Yes, he loves him", there is no question, his actions prove it.

There is wiggle-room for unrequited love in the S1E4 interrogation scene, but the jealousy Mobius exhibited could have just as easily been a combination of anger on behalf of his murdered colleagues and platonic jealousy.

However, I felt the first hint of unrequited love from Mobius occurred during his goodbye scene with Loki in S1E5. Specifically, this look:

I had no expectations for that look to pay off in any way. Season 2 surprised me.

LOKI SEASON 2

S2E1 is amazing episode because, through subtext, it reframes how Mobius's S1 emotions may be interpreted with stronger evidence for romantic motivation. In this episode, there appears to be a subtle, gradual build-up to the moment that Mobius's love for Loki may be viewed as fully romantic. Let's break down the episode and look at the progression:

First, learning that Loki is at the TVA: *sigh* I can't find the "Loki's here?" gif.

Second, and perhaps the most infamous, the reunion and whole-body support Mobius provides Loki in the TVA War Room (physical comfort):

Third, Mobius bringing Loki somewhere safe and quiet, assuring him that "it's okay" (emotional comfort):

Fourth, Mobius insisting that Loki's condition must be fixed, not once but twice, in two different scenes. A third (writer's magic 3s!) instance occurs in the Heart of the TVA, just before the gangway scene (prioritizing the other):

Fifth, Mobius's admission that Loki's timeslipping looks horrible, and he can't look at it anymore. He repeatedly stresses to Loki how serious this is (emotional and physical empathy):

Sixth, Mobius taking Loki to exact right person who can help. This is particularly significant, because Mobius is the only person in MCU canon who has verbally expressed concern for Loki's physical well-being and took immediate action to stop the pain (act of service):

Seventh, the third time Mobius prioritizes Loki's wellbeing. He scolds Loki and reminds him they have only one shot at getting his timeslipping corrected before the temporal radiation becomes too high (prioritizing the other):

Eighth, Mobius interrupting Loki, insisting that he will make it back. The subtext here is that no other outcome is acceptable or thinkable for Mobius (emotional comfort):

Finally, Ninth, the clincher: "He'll make it back." (self-comfort)

This scene is everything to me. Moments 1 through 8 build-up to this singular moment. Let's do a micro-analysis on it.

After Loki timeslips, the camera stays on Mobius. It tracks him as he kneels down to pick-up the time sick, the last thing Loki touched. The camera then pans up as Mobius rises.

@stevenrogered, THANK YOU for this gifset. It's literally the only one I could find that captures the camera tracking Mobius after Loki disappears, and this is my all-time favorite Mobius scene.

Mobius stands for a moment, motionless, and the camera holds on his facial expression. He's staring at where Loki WAS for extended period of time (keep this in mind for later). He's holding his breath. He's worried, scared, and hopeful, not for himself and the danger he faces on the gangway, but for Loki.

Finally, he exhales as he says to himself, "He'll make it back".

This entire sequence--particularly the moment when Mobius picks-up the time stick and holds it in silence--made me feel, "Oh ... Oh ... he loves him."

The camera stays with Mobius, capturing his reaction to this high-stakes situation for a significant amount of time (@loki-us, maybe you can get this timed starting from the moment Loki disappears and Mobius starts to kneel to pick-up the time stick?). Cinematographers don't do this type of hold unless they want to illicit a strong emotion from the audience regarding the character we are focusing on in the moment.

My insides swooped, which rarely ever happens when I view film or television.

And this camera hold, this pregnant pause, is mirrored by Loki's stare in S2E5:

[acecroft]

people who comments 'oh i wish op would include this or that in this gifset' or 'it's a shame gifset ends here, there's some interesting stuff right after that' or something like it. you never made a gifset yourself huh. it's not as simple sometimes. sometimes there's not enough frames for a one gif it will look choppy and weird, you have to either cut it off or add it to another shot, if you really want to include it. and even tho now you can make a set that is more than 10 gifs you also don't want to make it to too long and look endless. you also need to maintain some sort of harmony (at least for me it's very important, i am a very visual person)

and with all that you also need to stay under 10Mb per gif. and while that is a huge number and ridiculous compare to times when i started making gifs here and it was 500kb... sometimes even that is not enough (especially the bigger gifs are) so you have to make decisions to not include something or at least not in full length

gifmaking takes a lot of time and pretty gifs believe it or not takes also some skill. and btw no one pays us gifmaker for it, we just take time of our life to make things and post it here. and also no one freaking reblog anything anymore which makes it for us gifmakers extremly hard to exist

[sirfrogsworth]

My First "Viral" Post

Like, 20 people told me to submit my Brady Bunch GIFset to @world-heritage-posts and hundreds more tagged it #worldheritagepost.

So I was like, "OKAY OKAY, I'll submit it!"

And they never posted it.

Which is completely fine!

WHP, it's cool. We're cool. I don't need World Heritage Post reblogs.

I have reblogs at home.

(my reblogs at home)

I am definitely *NOT* going to do the "DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM???" thing.

I only do cool and funny "Don't you know who I am?" interactions like Tony Hawk.

But when I submitted the post it reminded me of an even earlier time on Tumblr when there were only a few people who could make a post go viral.

The main one was called @thedailywhat. If something got posted there, it could get HUNDREDS of notes.

HUNDREDS!!!!

Oh, that's another funny thing. Several people commented "Why does this only have 20K notes!!???"

There are currently 135 million active users on Tumblr and the site got roughly 2.4 billion visits in 2023.

In all of 2010 the entire site got 50 million visitors. Not users. Just people who went to a Tumblr address during that entire year.

In any case, if you thought you created something cool and you wanted more than 10 people to see it, you had to submit your cool thing to The Daily What. It was the first Tumblr to reach 100,000 followers which was more than the actual founder of Tumblr had at the time.

It was run by a single person but he was very private and never revealed his name.

His emails were very cryptic.

I'm pretty sure he sold the site and went to live on a beach or something. But whoever bought it did not understand how to run the blog and the final post was in 2013.

I'm not surprised the new owner crashed and burned. Johnny Internets was irreplaceable. He really understood what would connect with people. Nearly everything he posted would gain decent popularity. I'm not sure people realize how much of a skill curating content can be and how hard it is to post popular things with consistency.

He would reject a lot of content outright and was very picky about what went on his Tumblr. But when he actually posted something you made, it was almost guaranteed to go viral.

Well, viral relative to the time period.

I suspect I submitted nearly a hundred things before he finally agreed to reblog me. And I still remember the first thing I submitted that he liked.

I posted this in 2010. How many notes do you think it got?

Probably a million, right?

No less than 100K.

I mean, look at how cute that panda is!

SONOFABITCH!

Back then, that was enough.

But that was just me putting words on something. My ultimate goal was to get him to post one of my original photoshops.

And do you see how he gave proper attribution? That meant a lot during a time when other curators were cropping my watermarks and claiming things as their own.

A real mensch, this Mysterious Stranger was.

These two posts got me enough traction to grow my following and before I knew it, I was The Daily What for other people. I was able to help other artists and content creators get traction and grow their following.

It was a beautiful Tumblr version of paying it forward. Only not as awkward as those weirdos who do it in drive-thru lines.

I ONLY GOT A SODA AND NOW I GOTTA PAY FOR 40 MCNUGGETS?

It's fine.

Enjoy your nugs.

[piracytheorist]

Is there a scene in the Spy x Family anime that you wish was in the manga, or vice versa?

Hmmm... honestly, I'm quite satisfied with what I've been seeing so far, considering I'm one of the very few that go anime-to-manga instead of the opposite. It's always a surprise when I read the respective manga chapter of the episode I just watched, and to see that something was added in the anime.

Of course, my top favourite addition is the over-the-top Loidman adventure in episode 5. However, I don't believe it misses from the manga; it's just as ridiculous (affectionate) as it is, the anime simply took advantage of its animation perks to bring it to a different level. Similar is the scene of Yor bringing Anya's gym clothes to her, I even remember watching it and going like "I wonder how that goes in the manga" and being surprised that it was an original part! Again, in this part, there was a lot of focus on the over-the-top action and movement, something that the anime can use much more easily.

So I don't think I have an anime-only scene that I miss from the manga. As for vice versa, I wouldn't say it's the lack of a scene, more like how they make some expressions less... passionate.

In the manga, Loid here looks nearly desperate, surprised, out of his depth. In the anime, his expression is more neutral, more reserved, like he feels more confused than anything else. And the point of that moment is for him to actually feel out of his depth, until Yor offers a helping hand.

I'd dare say this is one of the worst offenders, if not the worst offender. I understand why the anime team avoided showing Twilight too worried for Nightfall, as they probably feared it would make audiences think that Oh No Twilight Doesn't Love Yor Because He Showed One (1) Iota of Care for Another Woman!! Is Nightfall Gonna Break Them Apart???!... which, let's be honest, is a totally valid fear to have. Endo makes it crystal clear that Nightfall has no hope as a romantic rival, but audiences can be really thick and stupid, especially when it comes to (even potential) love triangles.

Still, that "neutering" of his expression takes away from his characterization. Twilight is a deeply empathetic person, and seeing Nightfall so upset makes him truly worried. He is Nightfall's mentor and whether he has control over it or not, he cares for her feelings. And this can happen platonically, for the love of fuck, romance isn't the only nor the holiest of connections a person can have with someone else. So for the sake of "protecting" the audience's secure feelings for twiyor, they ended up making Twilight look like an ignoramus.

Again, I get it. But I can love twiyor and have my Twilight be empathetic towards people that aren't his wife or daughter, you know?

Another, subtler but still striking change. Look at that worried eyebrow in the manga, we only see half his face yet we clearly see how touched he is by (what he thinks are) Bond's motives. In the anime, this is really dulled down. It's only the barely visible blush that makes him look a little touched.

Overall, I believe the anime does a great job translating Endo's expressions, from the emotional ones to the subtle ones to the ridiculous ones. But if I were to be asked, I'd change those examples (there might be a few others, but these were the first that came to mind) and make them closer to the manga.

There are, however, a few changes in the pacing that hit the spot perfectly right. One example I'm thinking of is from Chapter 35/Episode 24:

In the manga, it's straightforward. Loid sees Yor's reaction to what happened, he's thinks of his mother, and he shares the memory with Yor.

This gif was sped up to fit in the gifset I made, but notice how there's pauses for Twilight to go from one expression to the other. There's even one moment of him looking to his bottom right, and there's a very interesting correlation to lateral eye movement here.

Per this graph, he's remembering a feeling/sensation. The feeling of calmness he felt in his mother's presence.

The anime takes time to show him go from realizing that Yor feels bad, to feeling guilty himself and wanting to placate her worries, to remembering his own feelings about his mother, to wondering if he should share that memory, to deciding to share it.

So I feel the anime team knows very well what they're doing, and they respect the original material enough to make additions that bring the story and characters to a whole new, precious level. But, I don't doubt that they're terribly overworked and underpayed, so sometimes things can slip through. I don't blame them, in any case.

Not directed at the asker, but if you feel like shitting on the anime, this is not an invitation to do so on my post. Make your own and leave me out of it.

(Anime only (or anime first?) fan here, don't spoil me for the manga)

[ranchthoughts]

✨2023: A Summary✨

Post your most popular and/or favourite edit/gifset/analysis for each month (it’s okay to skip months!)

Tagged by @lurkingshan (here) and @wen-kexing-apologist (here). Thanks for the tags!

In 2023, I made 175 original posts, including 45 metas about 12 different shows and two large scale projects (the GMMTV Multiverse and the GMMTV Kissing charts). It was interesting to see what meta (and how much) I had written in which months. It's also fun looking back as I approach my one year anniversary of watching and writing about BL - I'm so grateful for all the wonderful people I've met and gotten to chat with over these past months!

January and February [0 metas]

I wasn’t on BL Tumblr yet! Any and all meta came in the form of thoughts, texts, and powerpoint presentations.

March [6 metas]

My BL Tumblr debut! I started this blog with the intention of 1) more easily gathering and archiving posts for future reference, and 2) collecting my thoughts somewhere other than text threads and my notes app, so I began posting meta the day I got here.

Most popular: what started as me thinking about Win’s rock t-shirt from ep 11 and then grew from there… - reading a lot into a random Thai ql shirt choice? Me?

Favourite(s): Thoughts on Tinn, his mother, and coming out (part 1, part 2); Thoughts on Tinn, his mother, and music - My first meta ever posted! I keep returning to Tinn and his mother's relationship in My School President...

April [1 meta]

By default, the most popular (and favourite): Gun's feelings are realistic - I love when MSP subverts our expectations

May [13 metas]

Oh damn! This was a big meta month for me. Some of my favourite metas I've ever written were posted this month.

Most popular: The Eighth Sense and Missing Pieces - I am really proud of this one. It also made me laugh that I apologized for the length at the beginning when I would go on to post much, MUCH longer metas.

Favourite(s): Thoughts on genre, tropes, Bad Buddy, and My School President (aka my Bad Buddy and MSP thesis, which began life as a powerpoint presentation... now here's one of those much, MUCH longer metas in question); Wai as a faen fatale (which also began life as part of that same powerpoint presentation and I think perfectly encapsulates my analytical style); Conversations in ITSAY that are about more than they seem (I am really proud of the analysis I did here and the writing style I used to present it). This was also the month in which I started my deeply self-indulgent GMMTV Multiverse project, which later inspired my mission to record all GMMTV kisses.

June [11 metas]

Oh nooo another bunch of my favourites. This is cruel to make me choose.

Most popular: Thinking about Pran's "Pat, you've got to stop doing this to me" (I love this one! and this was the first of several times I've gotten to collaborate with the wonderful @dudeyuri)

Favourite(s): An analysis of the baseball mom shirt, Bad Buddy ep. 5 (my entry into the venerable field of Bad Buddy/ql shirt analysis and also encapsulates pretty much everything I try to do in my metas); An impassioned defense of the Bad Buddy ep. 5 rooftop kiss (combines many of my favourite things: reading deeply into the minute details of Bad Buddy, an analytical framework that just clicks itself together as I write, and literature reviews); and Thinking about Snow White as the engineering play, part 1 (shout out to the two other people going ham on Snow White as an allegory during the Our Skyy 2 madness - @chickenstrangers (here) and @letgomaggie (here))

July [3 metas]

Most popular (and favourite): Thinking about Pat, Pran, and pursuit (I think this was my first time articulating the idea of Pat and Pran's commitment to the bit, a concept which continues to circle in my head. This was also another collaboration with the wonderful @dudeyuri!)

August [7 metas]

Here comes Only Friends... and the GMMTV Kissing Multiverse project.

Most popular: GMMTV Kissing Multiverse updates 1, 2 and 3 (this is so much fun to track and analyze, and I've been really touched by everyone else's excitement for the project too); Various thoughts and musings on Only Friends and ephemerality (the Ephemerality Squad assembles!)

Favourite: Thinking about Boston: a study of episode 3 - I find Boston's mind a fascinating place to explore

September [8 metas]

Oh look! It's more Only Friends!

Most popular: Mansplain, Manipulate, Manwhore: Ray confronting Boston - once again, I love getting into Boston's head. This post was inspired by @wen-kexing-apologist's scene breakdowns, especially their Fight Night one

Favourite(s): The above, and also The Mundanity of Meanness

October [5 metas]

Most popular (and favourite): The first fist bump in Bad Buddy - oof. I've gotta come back to this idea sometime.

November [3 metas]

Most popular: The Latest Update to the Kissing Multiverse - the hotly anticipated post-Only Friends update to the kissing charts

Favourite: the kissing charts, and Thinking about Pat, Pran, and competition - again, I love to think about Pat and Pran. I consider this one to be part of an ongoing series, along with my earlier metas on pursuit and the rooftop.

December [1 meta]

Most popular (and favourite): Not Me and earrings - technically an addition on @chickenstrangers' post, but was a relief to get my months old "Not Me is about ears and earrings!" thoughts out.

some no pressure tags: @chickenstrangers, @distant-screaming, @dudeyuri, @neuroticbookworm, @slayerkitty, @telomeke, @twig-tea, @waitmyturtles

[hainethehero]

Me again!

“When did the rules of fandom and fanfic become so absolutely strict & rigid to the point where people aren't allowed to like what they like??!!!” – bit off topic, but oh boy, have you not noticed the rise of “purity culture” in fandom in the past 10(?) years? People have been getting a LOT of hate for ships they ship or tropes they like. It’s definitely not restricted to buddie fandom or 911 fandom.

“Why do you care if people really like Eddie or not? Are you the Eddie police?” – This made me laugh. And the answer to the first question is pretty easy – if people really like Eddie, they’re more likely to post content about him that I can reblog and enjoy, such as fics or gifsets or meta etc. If everybody disliked Eddie, I’d have nothing fun to read/look at/engage with! So in that sense, I do care to an extent.

“I'm guessing if they have him in their pfp, they like him. And I'm guessing if they have him in their pfp, it's also respectfully none of your concern.” – Well, you’re right it’s not my concern per se, except that if I go scrolling a diaz/eddie-named blog, hoping for good Eddie content to reblog, and I run into a heap of BT posts or LJFR posts or Tommy posts, it’s a bit of a jumpscare/disappointment (which has happened several times). And yes, I filter tags, but people don’t always tag appropriately!

“your absolutely strange questions about what I envision for Eddie/who he'd end up with (I think u should be concerned with what you envision for him & not some stranger on the internet” – Why is it so strange to want to know what somebody else thinks and perhaps gain a fresh perspective? I already know what I would like for Eddie. I was curious about what you thought.

“He'd still be Buck's best friend if BT ended up as endgame

He'd be in a polyamorous relationship with them and get all the d*ck he wants (my personal preference)

Or the writers will give him another gf” - Anyway, so you like the option of eddie in a throuple with buck and tommy? Ok cool! My curiosity is satisfied!

What gets me about the whole "purity culture" in fandom that you're talking about, is that YOU'RE DOING IT. 🤣 you're doing it right now!

What's adding to this disease of purity culture in fandom is what most of the toxic buddie stans are doing RIGHT NOW. Yall are hating on Tommy with absolutely bad faith arguments and using every opportunity you can to deny the fact that you just don't like him because he's in the say of your preferred ship.

"I got a jumpscare seeing Tommy when I was looking thru the eddie tag" lmao okay that was funny. But like, the insane hatred for him is so weird. Y'all know whether buddie becomes canon or not, you can still make them endgame through fanfic right????

And yes, if more people were concerned with how they felt about their characters, instead of how other feel, we would avoid all this fandom war. You asking if people who had Eddie as their pfp really liked him or not IS entitled. You don't know why they have him as their pfp, so why question it? You're not entitled to know.

And in the referred ask, you wanting to know how someone who liked BT and Buddie would envision Eddie fitting in to the relationship- was totally your confusion at not being able to fathom that people could like both and still want buddie or BT to be endgame. Which is a trait I've observed in MOST buddie stans and some BT fans (which I DID address in my OP).

[zeawesomebirdie]

Bruise your Lover for the WIP ask game!

[for this ask game here]

Oh my word Sun you have no idea how happy I am that you've asked for this; there was one time you complimented my fight scenes and every single time I write any kind of fight since then I have thought about that comment and. Oh my goodness there is so much fighting here to show >:)

This is the fic I'm writing for a gifset that @ful-crum made (and the one that I'm always talking about, the one that just broke 20k words and I'm now on the third act of!) where Dick and Bruce fuck after a really rough patrol, sleep together, and then Bruce ghosts Dick for two months straight, only for Dick to run into him on accident in the Cave, they have another blow up fight, and then Nightwing saves Batman's ass on another disaster of a patrol

The lead up to the initial fucking was super fun to write; I really enjoy a good fighting as foreplay fic and this was also my first time really playing with blood and bruising and aggressiveness during smut. Something something, the taste of someone else's blood on your tongue when you're supposed to hate them, and etc 😌 and choreographing the fight was super fun too! There's so much potential for dynamic action when one of the characters is a trained acrobat and the other is a martial artist, and ofc the joy of slightly unrealistic sex because they're both incredibly physically fit and actually could pull off wall sex

full snippet below the cut, content warning for blood kink, fighting as foreplay, and mild smut

Another side step as Bruce spun to face him again, then their positions were reversed, Bruce stalking into Dick’s space while Dick tried to hold his ground. Bruce swung wide; Dick blocked the first strike and the second one with his forearms, but missed the third even though Bruce wasn’t trying to mask his actions in the slightest, stumbling back with the force of all of Bruce’s strength behind his punch.

If his head wasn’t hurting before, it sure as fuck did now.

Dick raised a hand to his jaw, double checking everything was in place before he looked up at Bruce’s grim smile. He was waiting for Dick’s reaction, waiting for Dick to either back down or step right up and bat. That at least was a good sign. It wasn’t often that their fights got physical, but if that’s how Bruce wanted to play it, then god damn it all Dick could play too. It would definitely feel good to land a few more hits on Gotham’s favorite pretty boy.

Just a few more hits. How often did he get the chance to really show Bruce just how he felt about him anyway? How often did Dick have the opportunity to express his affection and adoration and infatuation in a language Bruce would understand?

Dick flew when Bruce rushed forward this time, using Bruce’s shoulder as a springboard to hoist himself above and then behind his reach. Bruce spun on his heel only to be met with a fast jab to his face; he managed to dodge just enough that rather than hitting his nose, Dick split his bottom lip. Blood welled up immediately, spilling from his plump lip and trailing down as he stood there, panting, staring back at Dick, watching him as though he had never seen anything so captivating as him. After a deep breath, Dick circled slowly to the right, Bruce matching him step for step and waiting, still just waiting.

It didn’t mean anything that Dick’s innards twisted themselves into knots at the dark trail on Bruce’s chin dripping to the floor. It didn’t mean anything at all that Dick audibly inhaled when Bruce’s tongue darted out and smeared that blood across his mouth. It most certainly did not mean a thing that Dick wanted to taste Bruce’s blood, to come to know it as certainly as he knew his own, to lap it up from Bruce’s lips and never let go. This was fine, things were completely and totally fine. Dick just had to keep repeating that to himself and get focused.

Things were not fine.

Bruce moved faster than Dick could block, forcing him backwards across the Cave before Dick slipped from his grasp and tripped him. But Bruce was anticipating that, turning only enough to strike Dick across the face while regaining his footing, making Dick’s ears ring before darting just out of reach when Dick swung for him. Dick followed, his heart dropping into his stomach as Bruce feinted left then dodged right to envelope Dick’s shoulders in his arms, yanking Dick back to be flush against his chest and yet unable to strike with Bruce behind him.

Even with their suits between them, Dick could have sworn he felt the heat radiating from Bruce’s body. He had to bite his tongue to stop a moan from escaping his throat, praying that Bruce didn’t notice his hips jerking back involuntarily. A quick heel to Bruce’s shin got him free; Dick stumbled when he landed but if Bruce noticed he didn’t comment, his pupils dark and blown and still so hungry when Dick turned to face him. That sight should not have made Dick’s stomach flip over, not when they were both like this, and yet that sight was one Dick had imagined countless times over the years, losing himself to his own hand and pretending it belonged to Bruce.

Dick had to end this before he did something stupid, something like finally acting on his stupid, idiotic, childhood crush. Something like barely stifling another moan as Bruce shoved him back again, then again. Something like allowing Bruce to pin him to the wall of the Cave without hardly even bothering to resist. Why should he resist when he’d fantasized about this very act so many times over the years? Why should he resist when this was exactly what he had wanted for years now?

The back of Dick’s head cracked on the wall, then Bruce was holding him up by the shoulders, shoving his way in to be between Dick’s legs and properly boxing him in. Dick writhed underneath him, clawing at the back of the batsuit as if his own suit’s fingers had claws, but he gained no traction. Bruce just pressed impossibly closer until they were breathing the same air, close enough that Dick could’ve tasted the blood on his lips if he thought he could get away with it. He could almost smell the metallic tang of it in the air, mixing with their sweat and the scent of their kevlar and vinyl suiting, taunting him, teasing him and making his head spin with desire.

And then, all at once, he was tasting Bruce’s blood on his tongue, the heat of Bruce’s mouth on his consuming his every sense. Dick couldn’t hold back his moan, his hips grinding forward into Bruce’s before his brain came back online and he realized just what they were doing. His eyes snapped open as he shoved Bruce back, his knees buckling when Bruce dropped him and he hit the concrete hard. This was no time for hesitation, and Dick rushed forward to swing for Bruce’s flushed face. Bruce took the hit without even attempting to block, Dick’s knuckles leaving his cheek a brilliant shade of red.

[killerandhealerqueen]

Oh...oh I have so many feelings.

So, I just finished binging the One Piece Live Action.  And as someone who has never seen a single episode of the One Piece anime nor has read a single page of the One Piece manga...I really really really loved this live action.

First of all, I love the story.  I think it’s really well done and the plotting works for the adaptation.  Second of all, I love the characters (and I will do a whole section on them in a minute) and I love the cast.  My god the cast.  They each played their roles so fucking well and I’m glad they chose who they did because I really can’t see anyone else playing these characters.  Also, the backstories man.  Look, I am a sucker for backstories and they delivered on them.  And also, also, the fucking flag at the end?!  The icon flag with the skull with straw hat on it?  Bitch, I am emotions

ANNND DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE RELATIONSHIPS THROUGHOUT THIS SHOW…the relationships make me emotional

Now, for the characters (at least the mains and maybe like the villains):

Mains:

Luffy: I love how he was portrayed in this.  I’ve seen gifsets of this guy and he is both so loveable but also a gremlin and a little shit and Iñaki played him so well.  I couldn’t stop cooing over how fucking cute he was.  My god.  I think the CGI for his rubber was actually quite cool/good.  Really unnatural looking but hello...the dude’s skin is fucking rubber, it’s gonna be unnatural.  And it worked

Zoro: He was badass and a cunt and a bitch and I love him.  The middle finger in the first episode?  A man after my own fucking heart.  I also really liked Mackenyu in the Fullmetal Alchemist series as Scar, I thought he played him really well.  I think he did a really good job (and I’m excited to see him in Knights of the Zodiac whenever that comes out)

Nami: Her actress reminded me a lot of like a younger Jennifer Chastain (it might be the orange hair) but I really liked her character.  A badass but with a good heart and also a little bit of a bitch.  (If a character is a little bit of a bitch, I’m going to like them, that’s just how it is).

Sanji: I loved his actor.  And I know him and Zoro a little bit better than the other characters and I know that in the anime he’s quite a ladies man.  Like a lot of a ladies man but I like that they kind of toned that down here.  He’s also another bitch and I love him.  I’m also very glad they kept his eyebrows normal and didn’t do the spiral because I don’t think that would have translated well

Usopp: He has a lot of heart.  I really liked how he cared for Kaya and how he cared for his friends and yeah he was a bit of an exaggerated, he’s really just trying to make people smile.  But damn if that little fireball thing that he made wasn’t fucking cool as hell as it exploded that fish guy.  Like get fucked

Garp: I liked his actor.  I don’t know much about the character himself but I liked his actor and I thought he was pretty cool for a Vice-Admiral.  But I have to ask the fans...what is up with the dog hat?

Koby: Apparently according to fans he’s not that big in the anime/manga but I liked him here.  I thought he was cute, in a bright-eyed, bushy tailed kind of way.  A good kid.  And I’m glad he and Luffy became friends

Villains:

Alvida: Oh, she was cool.  Her and her big ass spiked clubs?  Fuck yeah, my dudes.  That was fucking cool

Buggy: Loved the actor, hate the character.  Buggy is just creepy as shit.  But I also hate clowns so there’s that.  But the actor really did bring something to this guy where like...you definitely got that there was something off about him but he wasn’t overbearing.  The CGI for him was *shudders* but also really cool

Arlong: Oh my god, I hated the character but the actor’s voice????  Hello???  I could listen to that man speak all day, holy shit, I could not get over his voice.  His character though, was a dick and I’m glad he got his pagoda fucking smashed on his fucking head, he deserved it after what he did to Nami and what he fucking put her through.

Now, will this live action make me want to read the manga or watch the anime?  No.  But did I enjoy the fuck out of it?  Yeah, yeah I fucking did.  I haven’t screeched with laughter in god knows how long and it was really good to watch/binge and while I may not understand a lot of the background or the plot, I still really enjoyed it and could follow along pretty well.

But also, for the fans because I am genuinely curious...does Luffy ever find the One Piece?

[carmenized-onions]

I’m speechless (I have so much to say)

Your mind?! Your skills?!

I totally forgot that the fucking iconic freezer fight never happened in the first chapter because Tony/Inky/Chip/Best Repairwoman To Ever Live/ Baddest Bitch To Ever Exist/ etc got there just in time, so to see it HERE??? So fucking satisfying. It’s like a train wreck you can’t look away from and you managed to completely recreate that scene, only now it’s Tony’s heart breaking instead of Claire’s 😔

I also love the fact that it was the “You’re fucking nothing!” line that prompted Tony to intervene. The same thing Lee said to Michael 💔 (Fuck that guy)

And your characterization of Tony is honesty my favorite because it’s like Carmen says, she defends herself without being mean (even though he deserves to be locked in the freezer again AND the office just for good measure) and THAT makes Carmen’s words all the more vicious because she knows he’s spiraling about something, she’s trying to be compassionate, she’s trying her damn hardest to believe that he doesn’t mean it, but then he delivers the final blow to an open wound and yeah…he must mean it

Also, Richie ready to throw down with Carmen after he made Tony cry??? Sydney immediately comforting her??? Both them AND the staff ready to WALK??? Sweeps not knowing what the fuck is going on during his smoke break??? I love them all 💕

“No. Richie’s got it. You’ve gotta keep your kitchen in order.” The way I would say the same shit just to be petty 😊

Also, the Exec asking for her number??? ew

Jump scare fr, didn’t see that coming at all 😂

Carmen’s gonna have an aneurysm when he reads that

The parking lot scene between Tony and Richie was so cathartic. They grieved Michael’s death separately for so long, blaming themselves, and now they can grieve together 🥺

I once again fully support Tony’s decision to let the stray fur ball eat Carmen’s flowers AND to leave the black plate out to fend for itself 😊

And FINALLY, “I know you said I’d be a perfect match for your little brother…” I’m SOBBING. Carmen was out here thinking that Michael and Tony were a thing when all along his older brother was trying to play matchmaker 💔

I’m gonna need about 5 business days to recover

I’m also gonna be very disappointed when season 3 drops next week and I don’t see Chip pop up within the first couple of seconds. Like THIS is season 3. It’s canon. 💜💜💜

I feel bad not responding in order but I have to start with the end. Can I be so fr. Me too. LMAO. I HAVE R O T T E D MY BRAIN. I HAVE RUINED THE BEAR FOR MYSELF LMAOOOO. I'm gonna be watching in 6 fucking days going,,,, but,,, but toneee???? but chipp??? where chip!!?!?!?!!

So I'm glad other people also think this. Delights me. I am hoping that a bunch of plot points I did still happen in season 3, because some of writing this has genuinely been either me guessing or just wanting a fun thing to happen in S3 (I.e I think wedding catering ep would genuinely be so fucking fun. like terrible. but so fun)

ANYWAYYYSSSS Back to this chapter's thoughts.

Thank you sm for having sm to say because I love to hear it-- An analysis??? ooohhfhsdfhksdjfh i could. i could maybe die. Fuckin love when people DIG IN!!!

I don't remember if I always planned for this fight to lead with the freezer fight, but I do remember seeing like a gifset of the freezer fight, and going oh I can't just let this all go unsaid. It would be AN INJUSTICE to Carm/Rich to not let that air out. You gotta level a building to rebuild. And there's just something I think on like, a reader level/ me writing it of like-- Knowing when this was supposed to happen and where that really adds so much to reading it this time, because instead of a door between them it's fucking YOU!!! FUCK !!!!!!

YEEAAGGHHH!!!! (You will see why I cannot comment more on this point of Uncle Lee later. But Just know. YEEAHFKJDFHGKJDFHGFKJDFG!!!!!!!!!)

Every time people say they love Tony as a character, an angel gets it's wings. That's how it feels for me. But 100% it made that whole scene so much more brutal because she's trying to explain and trying to understand but that's simply not how any dynamic Carmen's ever been in has worked and so it's just making him wig out more. RAH!

The other thing, that I think is like, a golden rule in writing fights-- Or at least it's always been one for me-- The hardest hitting line will always be the one that the person hearing it thinks is true about themselves. Peoples princess? Sure. Don't work here? Ouch but okay. The one thing that haunts you every day that you blame yourself for and were just waiting for one person to affirm it for you? OH!!!! OH!!!! BABYYYYYYYYY!!!!

The aftermath with the kitchen was so tough for me to think out, because I was like-- I cannot have them fucking punch Carmen. Like we can't do that. But also like. Richie would do that. WOP WOP! But I eventually agreed with myself that he'd go with chewing him out BEFORE the punch, and thankfully Chip stopped him in time.

Syd was me, when my friends cry. The yoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyo-- came from an extremely real place. and that place is my mouth. I love The Bear and Tony's relationship, which is also what makes the I don't think anyone's my friend all the more heartbreaking, because everyone was on her side there. And she just cannot see that. SON OF A BITCH BROOOOO BROOOOO STOPPPPPP I'm the one writing it who am I telling to stop?

I-- With the petty line, bro,,,, I wanted to dig into hell so bad. I wanted to snatch that motherfucker's soul-- But I left it at your kitchen because it just wouldn't be in Tony's like,,,, energy? to do so?? Like she'd already been murdered at that point, so she couldn't turn on roast mode. my poor bird.

JUMP SCARE EXEC!!! There were actually surprise surprise whether you believe me or not, a lot of different ways his dinner could've went, and I'll probably share them in another ask down the line, but the one thing I felt pretty solid about is he would be into Tony. ew.

The parking lot scene really was everything for me tbh, I'd been waiting to write this chapter overall for some time, but that one like,,,, fuck i really adore these two and it's exactly like ya said, so very cathartic for them to finally get to be absolutely not over anything togetherrrr yknow?

And that's another vote for---Fuck it, poll,

As for Mikey Matchmaker,,,,, -- You know what, i'm gonna save this for after either the series is done or after chapter 13, pending. But remind me later that i need to tell you something about Mikey and ,,,,, fire???? Yeah. Tell me I need to tell you about that, after chapter 13 or so.

[suckishima]

haikyuu rewatch s01e01

i've been itching to rewatch the series lately and a few years ago i did something similar for miraculous ladybug where i wrote up like a stream of consciousness/commentary post and made a gifset for each episode and i wanna try to do it again for haikyuu?? we'll see if i stay committed or not lol—gifsets per ep probably a lot more likely to continue than commentaries tbh, these things are long and not thought out so,

anyway let's start with episode 1, who wants to take bets on how many times i get teary-eyed?

ughhhhh how did i not know IMMEDIATELY my first time watching what a fucking banger of a show this would be. this opening scene is sooo aah. the voice over with the sounds of the balls and shoes, the actual content of the 'a tall tall wall' monologue, and then the visuals of just hinatas shoes stepping up to the line and then 'it was a view i could never see on my own' and the rest of the teams shoes step in??? FUCK

holyyyyy and bc im obsessed i know who is who based on their shoes in that lineup and after thir 'onigaishimasu' and they run onto the court they all run in at different speeds?? and like tanaka goes quick and kageyama bounces on his toes and tsukki is all like unenthusiastic?? what the fuCK bro

its been literally 40 seconds and im in awe aaah

oh.. oh no it's the intro. i was joking before about getting teary-eyed but uhhh

how long has it been since i watched season 1 omgg 😭😭😭

gOD the opening is so good, not just imagination but the visuals rrr the practicing shots and the animation on all the volleyball looks so great wowow

one of the less talked about of the many crimes of getting movies instead of a 5th season is definitely the loss of another amazing opening and ending

damn did i really never realize that karasuno of the little giant's time didnt JUST go to nationals but theyre playing on center court when hinata catches them on tv? meaning its either the semi finals or finals, damn lol

hmmmm i am already conflicted about whether or not i wanna talk about manga spoilers in these writeups lmao. tumblr blockout spoiler text WHEN

anywayyyy manga readers hinata on his bike watching little giant on tv iykyk (and if you know me lol) right

rrrr the imagery of the crow flying into hinata from the screen with still the sounds of the balls and whistles aaah what a cool way to show inspiriation

huh, the libero is no.2 not no.4 is that manga accurate from just before furudate decided that it was a Thing for karasuno or did the animation not check?

okay i checked and you literally can only see the little giant in the manga and none of the rest of the team so im calling it an oversight on the animation side lol (understandable, tbh when youre just making people up to fill in the shot, you arent thinking about jersey lore)

no one cares but my japanese is surprisingly better than when i first watched (at which time i knew nothing) and i can actually understand a few bits here and there without the subs

reading the occasional katakana in the background is fun too. mmmm i should try looking at og scans of the manga to see how the sound effects are intended to be read, ive heard the way furudate incorporates the characters into the action as the sound itself is really well done

air salonpas!

oooo one of the teams practicing spikes had one guy hit left handed, thats a fun detail!

dude hinatas friends are such homies i swearrrr

'whats our opponent kitagawa daiichi even like' 'idk! but we're gonna win!' lmaooo hinata you coulda done SOME research

ooo the shot of kitagawa walking in and looming above hinata is so well done, they look huuuge. i know factually that kindaichi and kunimi are tall but i tend to forget, kunimi especially, hes got short energy to me 😅

yessss and the shot of kagyama walking by and just like his Aura is enough for hinata to pick up on the king vibes yooo its so goood

kitagawa daiichi banner is just 'victory' lol okay

i could use some of hinatas blind confidence in my life lmao

oh jk its bathroom tummy ache time

man the set up for kageyama as like powerful early on is SO good, weve only seen him twice so far and both times it all above the king cape, which im pretty sure is also supposed to represent how hinata sees him which rrrr what a great way to set up their dynamic knowing everything that's to come. greatest opponent to greatest ally etc etc

also thinking about how this IS basically all hinatas POV (including the quote i just referenced) and what kageyamas POV of hinata is when he looks back on it all 👀

kageyama telling hinata he shouldnt talk big bc he isnt even physically ready (referencing tummy ache), and hinata right off the bat telling kageyama 'the six of us go all the way' and kageyama responds 'i will win every game' oooo yep they both got some things to learn from each otherr

seriously how is hinata like the friendliest person on the planet. his team is SO bad and all he cares about is that he's finally on the court, he's so positive and determined even when they're doing terribly and his friends dont know wtf is going on

🥺🥺🥺 he's so happy seeing his palm all red after spiking the ball successfully the first time waaah

sjkhdk i always laugh at 'well there IS a foxy senpai on the girls team' lmaoo like he could have just ignored that part of the question, and who translated it to 'foxy' anyway lmaoo

koji, soccer friend, coming in for a foot receive! he missed lol but for real hinatas friends are so cool showing up for him like this

i mean, they are also avoiding him when he tries to practice throughout middle school, but they showed up here when it counts

love that you can see the 'mild internal bleeding,' as kuroo would call it, on izumi's arms when he tells hinata that his arms hurt lol

akjhsakjsasj they hype hinatas jumping skills, the music swells, you think hes got it, aaaand then immediately triple blocked and the music cuts back out lmaoo. honestly, love how haikyu always plays with expectations like that

half time serve routines my beloved.... i miss you..

'we keep trying.. because we havent lost yet' <333

but also kunimi, what a mood lmao

the animation on hinatas slide hit after the toss missss aaaah, and kageyamas bangs like whipping in the wind before he reaches as far as he can aah god this whole sequence is so beautiful

kageyama after knowing hinata for roughly 30 minutes: "this guy overwhelms me" skagsajsa

he has every quality to be someone even better but—WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING THESE PAST 3 YEARS?? 😭😭😭😭

karasuno senpai in the crowd!! related dumb question time, why isnt tanakas hair blond here? he should be a first year atm, and the beginning of the ep said this match is about 3 years and 3 months after little giants nationals (which is in january, although iirc the month changed sometime around those years so possibly it was in march during his time—hence why call 'spring tournament') but either way if hinata and kageyama are still middle school third years then tanaka should be a first year and thats when his hair was blonde. likely in universe answer i guess is just that this tournament is after the practice match where karasuno loses badly and gets made fun of which makes tanaka respect his senpai more and shave his head lol. which also, if hes here with them at this middle school tournament also makes sense with that so. question answered i guess

'if you want to be the last one standing then become strong' waaah

awwww the first years that he recruited to fill out his team stayed with him to practice with the middle school girls team!! they caught the volleyball bug <3

not me pausing to try and see which one of them is the foxy senpai..

lmaoooo the "old ladies team" that hinata practices with are called the yukigoaka beauties lol nice

yoooo hinatas running toward the gym for the first time and a crow flys away and a feather crossed in front of hinata niiiiice

let me tell you i had relatively low expectations for haikyu my very first time. i just wanted something easy to watch while i ate my lunch during the day, and i thought it would just be a predictable underdog story where hinata gets revenge for middle school. and i wasnt against that, i was relatively entertained this whole episode, then it gets to the end and reveals that kageyama has to be his teammate and i was like OH this is gonna be GOOD good. immediately have me hope and reassurance that the show knew what it was doing and wasnt gonna just be typical cliches etc

fuck i wish i could watch again for the first time

i warned you this would be long lol, honestly these writeups are more for me in the future to like remember my thoughts etc and like i said we'll see if i keep it up lol

[onaslansside]

We finally watched Alice (2009) after seeing the mutuals yell about it for years and. oh. such a good decision. Thank you to @as-dreamers-do, @taleweaver-ramblings and everyone else who insisted on yelling repeatedly about how much they loved this movie. I have a stash of DVDs for movie nights that no one has ever heard of but everyone winds up loving, and this movie is about to go in that stash. After watching, we both dived for our phones to see what all the other liveblog reviews said, so assume we yelled about all the normal things, and please enjoy this list of a few more unique/underappreciated reactions.

Alice is an A+ street smart heroine, love her. Every time we'd yell at the screen, "BAD VIBES, NO" she was also aware of the red flag and doing something about it. I feel as delighted about this as Hoid was about Tress requesting parental assistance/advice.

"Oh this is very Between." "Yeah."

Why does she run like that. I get that the blue dress, half updo, and mincing steps into the unknown are a homage, but SHE IS A BLACK BELT, WHY DOES SHE RUN SO BADLY.

I can't tell what's up with Hatter, every single description everyone has given of his possible motivations doesn't quite match. Like, he does think Alice is pretty, and he does want to help the resistance, and he does want to make money while doing so, but it feels like there's another more consistent reason lurking in his eyes and I have NO IDEA what it is, not even after watching Gen and Athelas for years.

"The decor of this casino is excellently stupid, this place would have Thumb Thumbs- *spots the Ten of Clubs* THERE'S ONE!"

LOVE a fight scene that understands that a gun within lunging range is no longer a particular advantage!!! Was NOT expecting Hatter to step between Alice and the threat with that little hesitation, that brings him up several points in my estimation.

That Jabberwock is so stupid. I love it. The design reminds me of the two-headed dragon in HTTYD.

I'm no film nerd, but the camera work is so good even I keep noticing it. The Scooby Doo chase with the Jabberwock, the focus shifting between Charlie and Hatter, the sliver of light when Alice opens the study door... *chefkiss*

I have known this knight for five seconds and I love him.

I need to rewatch this entire thing already, because the body language of EVERYONE is so good and so detailed that you can't get it all, especially when paying attention to the lines being spoken.

Every single shot of Hatter's reactions to Charlie are so funny.

Love both Hatter and Ten of Clubs doing beautiful sliding halts on the casino floors.

Wait, did the King just rescue not one but two of the clubs from the consequences of the Queen's temper tantrum?? I think he did. Hmmmmmmmmmmm. Is he figuring out he's not okay with this situation? Is he secretly undermining her?

Somewhere in the middle of Jack explaining that Alice's father was being brought to the city, I suddenly began to wonder if he might be the Carpenter, because he'd been shown onscreen an awful lot so far...

"Hatter's going to follow her, isn't he. ISN'T HE? ... oh look, so is Charlie, that's great."

We made identical little sad sympathetic sounds when the explosion knocked Charlie over, but we were both very unconcerned for his safety.

I said, "That can be arranged," at the same moment as Alice and I'm very smug about it.

"YOU BETTER NOT GIVE ME THAT 'IT WAS ALL JUST A DREAM' NONSENSE!! >:(" Melwa smirked very loudly because A) that's canon for the original Alice, and B) she'd already seen spoiler gifsets of the end.

And T_T she flings herself at him before we can see if its like in Wizard of Oz and he just was glimpsed and got into her dreams vs he's real, and then we turn around and he DOES know her T_T, and THE POOR MOM who is cropped out of all the gifsets ajghksjfbfbk

[andthebubbles]

well i watched downton abbey movie 1 :3

it was good fun!! umm let's get through the niggles first

the spinny camera thing did so much spinny at the start that it was dizzying (i've also only had about 2.5h of sleep so... but i did feel like it was a biiiit too spinny)

after the king and queen left downton i felt like the movie should've ended there, interestingly, even though there was still stuff left to be resolved. i think it's because the thing to send the royal staff away/lock them in their rooms was so fun that when it was over it was like, WELL that's all over then. or idk. something.

i thought daisy and andy's convo near the end of the movie was lol. but very sweet

anyway, now for the good stuff (or at least not my major criticisms) YAY thomas got a boyfriend for a bit. also omg can't believe ... well he HAS talked to the duke ofc in 1x01 but i guess he means another servant. i guess it's hard to find gay people in a tiny village like downton, esp at that time (might even be hard now, depending on things, maybe? haha kjsffg this is not very coherent or concise, i DID only have 2.5h of sleep)

yeah i looked up the richard ellis character, he doesn't come back. rip. i'm gonna reblog gifs after i ramble all this

the dowager's lines were FIRE as usual

not keen on branson and lucy smith

i REALLY like edith and bertie. and thomas and richard ofc. ONLY THE PEOPLE I LIKE ARE ALLOWED TO KISS IN FRONT OF ME skjfngk

it was a lot of fun to watch the royal staff get sent away/locked up skjfngkjfgn

CARSON IS A FUCKING KILLJOY AND YOU KNOW WHAT HURTS MOST? HE GETS THE CREDIT AT THE END FOR THE WHOLE ~GREAT DINNER ETC, WHEN ALL HE CONTRIBUTED TO IT DOWNSTAIRS WAS DISAPPROVE OF EVERYTHING

it was really fun to watch him have to deal with the arsehole butler though, he deserved that, esp since he (not his fault) yeeted thomas out of the way

speaking of which, wtf mary? well i suppose she has a right to since she's a lady, but jeez. yeah thomas i'd have slammed the door on my way out too. like omg sjfngkfjgn hey mary have you ever heard of like. talking. to thomas. rather than yeeting him straight off the bat. for fucking CARSON

but as i said, at least thomas then didn't have to deal with the arsehole butler ehehe

btw when the queen rocked up on the screen i was like, .......................................MARILLA!!!

cool to see umbridge and trelawney have it out with each other in a different way too skjfngk

oh that bit where violet told mary she doesn't have too long, that was :3 yeah

violet did get a lot of good lines in this movie. i wonder if someone made a gifset

btw not a big fan of the darker lighting they've gone for in this movie (nor the (i think?) even more letterbox-ey ... resolution? ratio?)

anyway, as usual, will add if i think of anything

AND NOW TO REBLOG GIFS

eta: mrs crawley just showing up in lady bagshaw's room like that skjfngkjfgn NOT CREEPY AT ALL

eta2: oh yes we did all ignore carson's shaky hands didn't we >.>

[andoqin]

List of dramas that I am watching or want to watch, just for personal record reasons:

Cdramas:

The ingenious one (36/36): this drama has blown me away so far with its incredibly nuanced and sharp writing, its love stories between all the major couples and the absolutely magnificent cinematography. FINISHED verdict: HIGHLIGHT drama of the year for me so far. Smart, engaging, complicated, peak romance of all sorts, just what the doctor ordered tbh (overly long review can be found in my tags). 9.5

Chang Feng Du (40/40): I did not realise how close to the end I was. This drama is very pleasant and I adore our mains, but sadly except for a few highlights (the early beating gjs put on himself, the destruction of the gu family and the aftermath, the battle for wangdu) the writing hasn’t been able to keep the narrative tension up which is sad. FINSHED verdict: Very pretty and engaging in the beginning kinda loses me in the second half and then fizzles out emotionally, doesn't crash and burn but doesn't exactly stick the landing either 6.5

Gone with the rain (10/30): adore the gremlin4gremlin couple and from the spoilers I’ve seen not gonna adore much else

An ancient love song (1/16): incredible first episode and with only 30 min per ep and 16 eps in total this is gonna be a short fun ride I hope ( with lots of angst and tears naturally).

Here we meet again (18/32): started this for Wu Qian playing to type and Zhang BinBin being pretty but oh boy I’m struggling I just don’t care about the conflicts and in s surprising twist, I like the flashbacks to high school much much more, which is very funny if you think about the fact that the reason I started liking wu qian in the first place was because of her show stealing performance in the flashbacks of My Sunshine. I’ve been promised kisses in the near future so I’m gonna hold out till then but this might end up another drop.

Hidden Love (5/25): this one promises to be v sweet and kinda short but oh my god I have so many dramas on my plate rn so this might end up the first drop.

Till the end of the moon (22/40): I think I watched ep 1 when it started but then I got busy and now I am just staring at gifsets and crying, it’s definitely on the list to watch tho.

Heroes (6?/38): I started this a while ago, was really into it and then got busy… dammit. I might just rewatch the beginning so I can remember most of the set up for sure but man the visuals on this were so good, aaaa liu yuning.

Blood of youth (0/40): the last 12 months really have spoiled us with interesting looking wuxia dramas and this one is definitely on the list, I have been gifbaited once again.

Ray of light (0/30): usually hs dramas are something I avoid, but because I will not be watching the longest promise, for reasons, and bc @storge is a gifmaking temptress, this has made it on the list.

The legend of anle (0/39): Lmao trust YOUKU to screw up the release with bad subs only 1 ep even for vips and no released schedule… but at least I can put this on the backburner for now. Lmao should have known not to trust a youku dilreba drama, the tl has soundingly spoken and I'm gonna avoid this.

Ancient Detective (0/24): I was recced this by a friend when I mentioned my love for wuxia dramas, and since it’s almost shockingly short for a cdrama it’s on the list. EDIT: this got @purplehanfus seal of approval so it is def going up the list and since it's complete I'll probably at least watch it before the ongoing ones.

Butterflied love (0/22): see I barely made this post and already forgot about the screencap that got me started on writing it, the screencapa look great, but the drama is on mango, so who knows when I’ll truly be able to watch this

When I fly towards you (0/24): Well, I wasn't interested bc modern youth drama, but then I heard it described as "updated It Started with a Kiss" and... I'm weak? ISWAK was pretty much my crack gateway into asian dramas and while IDK if i could rewatch it today, something in me will always love this kind of story. Maybe it's like a quick palate cleanser in between since apparently eps are only about 30 mins.

Mysterious Lotus Casebook(0/40): CHENG YIIIII, in a possibly bromantic role? Or maybe het romance, I'll take it all. Plus I've already seen he's bleeding copious amounts as per his contract, so that's most of the checklist done.

Lost You Forever (0/??): because nature abhors a vacuum I apparently must have?? A minimum to watch pile and this actually and genuinely looks good??? A Yang Zi drama in 2023??? The mind boggles. Anyway I've been reading the recaps with delight, and am def going to watch this when part two airs in a couple of months but until then I have a thankful reprieve...

Kdramas:

See you in my 19th life (4/12): since kdramas release so slowly this is on the backburner but it does have some great gifsets that keep enticing meee

King the land (2/16): I am watching this for junho but it is kinda hard bc I have so much else on my plate and while I don’t mind a classic romcom type story I feel I need a bit more of an emotional hook

Story of the nine-tailed 1938 (0/16): so so many gorgeous and hilarious gifsets so little time. I loved season one so so much and the fact that this focuses on the brotherly relationship?? Extremely smart writing decisions were made!

The red sleeve (0/16): I blame @dangermousie for this she keeps reblogging angsts junho on my dash and I am but god’s weakest warrior.

Love tractor (0/8): gay himbo farmboy falls in love?? You bet this is on the list

Lady durian (0/?): ok this is only on the list for crack reasons but, daughter in law is in love with mother in law and both women are like 40+ truly kdramas have entered a new era and I kinda wanna be here for that

EDIT: Revenant (0/12): Kim Tae Ri in a spooky drama? POSSIBLY POSSESSED KIM TAE RI??? how could i forget to put her on this list, plus it was written by the Kingdom writer and I adore that drama plus it's only 12 eps which is smart in this case so... let's hope i get to it at some point D:

My dearest (2/20): I checked this out because it's got pretty much everything going for it from a production standpoint and boy did the first two eps deliver. This has got 2 seasons though so I'll probably wait until the second season is airing, since it won't be too long till season 2 or so the internet tells me.

My lovely liar (0/16): minhyun learned to act and I wanna see it happen!!

Jdramas:

Our dining table (2/10): ok this category is gonna be a bit shorter bc I haven’t watched too much drama recently but omg the gifs for this I am just crying thinking about it they look so cute??

Jack o‘frost (0/6): people have recced it and it’s short so here it is.

Utsukushii kare s2 (0/4): Season 1 was an unexpected delight so I hope s2 works just as well.

She loves to cook and she loves to eat (0/10): the manga for this is amazing (and hungry making) so I hope this adaptation holds up.

Ok this list is in no way exhaustive (well except for me being exhausted just trying toward this down) and probably subject to change ( I haven’t even looked at thaidramas or twdramas I gotta stop for now) but hopefully this will keep me on the ball and maybe I can add to it whenever a new tempting gifset crosses my dash…

[crystalelemental]

Shifting gears, there is another game I finished playing a few weeks ago actually. I didn't talk about it because at the time, my intent was to complete the other routes and then discuss in more depth. That is not happening. Game's long, I needed a break, we're talking about just the one I did.

Shin Megami Tensei V Vengeance! I have...a complicated history with this particular series. It's short history, but still complicated. A high school friend I hope to never see again was super into it, and convinced me to give it a try when the newest one, SMT4, came out. I hated it. I can't even tell you all the reasons I hated it because I barely remember anything about it. Could not name a character, could not tell you anything about the story. I do remember feeling like the difficulty was bullshit, and being mad that cool monster designs had to go away because early demons don't keep up anymore, but the point is I have not looked favorably upon it.

"So why they hell did you buy another one?" This is going to sound insane, but I was playing Digimon Cyber Sleuth/Hacker's Memory and some of the setup and structure pinged as like...oh man, this is how I was supposed to approach that old SMT game. I bet I could play those and be good at them now! I also kinda blame @sinisteapot for posting a gifset of Agrat around that time. I know what I'm about. So I decided hey, if I find a copy, I'll give it a shot. And wouldn't you know it, games were actually in stock at GameStop for once. Sometimes miracles do happen.

I actually asked sinisteapot about the game prior to buying, and was told that it's mostly running around the desert listening to really good music, and kinda went "Okay, so it's a bit open ended like." What I was not ready for was 90 hours of a single route because I kept fucking around in the desert listening to really good music. Seriously, have you heard this shit? I think I spent two days worth of hour-long commute to and from work with just this one on repeat after reaching this zone. The music is very good.

Plot and character-wise, I actually had a pretty good time. I don't have a ton to say, in part because I only did one route out of apparently six, but I do like the characters we meet. Tao is my girl, I find her absolutely fascinating. Yoko's fun and honestly the funniest character in the game, always a treat when I jokingly say "kill them" when talking about there only being one way to deal with bullies and that's exactly what the character says. I actually find Dazai interesting despite him being kind of a piece of shit? Like, I had pegged Atsuta as the one about to go off the deep end about needing to be strong above all else, only for Dazai to be the one to snap about power being justice and whatever. Did not expect it to be him right away but the progression tracks.

For context, the route I cleared was Canon of Vengeance Law. It works out pretty neat for the most part. I really liked what the game was doing all through the Qadistu sequences. My wife played Canon of Creation instead, and honestly a lot of the sections feel hollow without their presence, it's just not quite as fulfilling? That said, I feel like the final area kinda drops off a bit. It's less interesting without the Qadistu, we kinda backpedal into the Lucifer stuff despite him not being present or significant at all for the game thus far, we kinda lose track of Mastema despite him being set up as a problem, and they killed Nuwa off-screen which is bullshit. I do like that the decision between Tao and Yoko at the end is made for you based on all your decisions to that point, and I greatly appreciate that the two of them stand completely opposed without it being like...I don't know the word I want to use here, but it's nice that they like each other as people. They're not just constantly antagonistic and awful and you have to pick the waifu or whatever. You're kinda just around while they have their clash of ideals. Which is nice.

But forget that nerd shit! It's time to finally answer the question of whether all these years have made me good at SMT!

No. They did not. I turned the difficulty down to Easy at the Namaah/Glasya-Labolas fight in Tokyo. I couldn't do it. I think I could now, but I couldn't at the time. I do have a bit more familiarity with its game, and I think I can talk intelligently about it, but...I am not good at it. I actually couldn't beat the superboss of the menorah quest. I couldn't do it. Like, could not. I tried and just got my shit blasted repeatedly. I have one idea, but...I'm not about to do it.

Anyway! The Press Turn system is neat. Each party member gets one action, but you gain more actions by striking an enemy weakness or landing a critical hit. Press Turns work by setting up your four blue circles. Getting an extra turn makes one flash, while not landing one consumes the left-most circle, flashing or otherwise. What means means is, your first and third slot need to land those conditions to get the full 8 turns, the other two can be more support-centric. As a result, I had my Nahobino set up with elemental coverage, and a third demon who did basically the same for most of the game. Agrat wound up my second slot because she can crit magic and hits 12 times with her signature move, which is great odds for another action, while my fourth was the sort of pure support.

However, you can also lose turns! When you miss, or an enemy negates an element, you lose not just your action turn, but another turn as well. If the enemy reflects or absorbs, you lose your entire round. I really like this system, because it makes AoE magic a serious consideration. There are several bosses and considerations where you want the AoE effect to hit the multiple targets in tandem, but there are several situations where you might aim for a weakness in a cluster, hit the AoE, only to find one enemy can negate it. The negation takes priority. Which means AoE, unlike most games where the AoE is a straight improvement over single-target, this game actually makes both valuable. Meanwhile, missing is absolutely devastating, and it makes the buff/debuff to both Accuracy and Evasion as a single stat incredibly powerful. This might be the only time I don't completely hate evasion mechanics in a game, because there's a sense of cost/benefit, and means of mitigating those detriments.

For most of the game, elemental damage felt ideal. Almost everything has a weakness, and as long as you're willing to use Spyglass to reveal the full enemy profile, you'll be fine. In fact, using items is hugely important here. Spyglass also reveals their attacks, so you can change up your party to not be weak to the elements they're throwing around. With the right spread, you can go from getting stomped to completely blasting the boss away. With the ability to apply another demon's traits to your own, you can really get crafty with your approach.

But. The last like two or three hours feel like the game suddenly pivots on a dime, into situations where enemies are immune to basically everything. And now your intended solution is Almighty damage. Which...generally fine? I guess? But truth be told, it feels like late-game Nahobino wants to go Strength. Your best Almighty attack is a high crit Strength-based attack. While your best magic move is great and pierces so no one can steal your turns, that means a lot less when you can't crit with it or strike a weakness. So you really shift into wanting to crit all the time, and the entire spread of skills feels like it needs reworked. I also got to learn that 99 is apparently not the stat cap. So my decision to evenly spread my stats was, in fact, ill-advised. Oops? You can adjust your stat allocations, and this combined with another full playthrough to get High Almighty Pleiroma again was my solution to that superboss, but it feels like more than I want to deal with.

I also feel like it's a bit mean to have the shop never sell MP recovery items. Maybe this is skill issue, but I feel like I am constantly running out of MP at every boss fight, even easier ones that we had no trouble with. My damage output was just never impressive at any point. Maybe I set myself up wrong, I honestly don't know. I think the fact this game is pretty open-ended and lets you explore a lot is the only reason I can beat it. You get a lot of these...magatama things, that will drop money, glory, or instant level items for you or your demons, and I got...quite a few for me. So I was at least a little overleveled the entire game, because I'd get all those resources and be really insistent on completing the demon compendium. But hey, at least I can over-level to solve a problem? I appreciate it. Though I like to think by the end I had it; I beat Shiva's optional quest like 8 levels below him, that has to count for something, right?

As for the demons...okay, look. I am still a bit sad about how they fall off. I attached really hard to demons like Mermaid and Muu Shuwuu, and they just...cannot keep up forever. Which is lame. I did always find someone new, and at least by Agrat I could just Grimoire her to keep up. But it is at least slightly frustrating to me that many of my favorites are like...temporarily good and then need to be fused off. I also don't love that there are "accident-specific" fusions that are completely random. I couldn't get a single one despite my best efforts. My compendium will never be finished.

The broad takeaway is that I actually had a lot of fun. This is a really interesting game that I...wish I had more to say about? I dunno, it's weird. I like it, I had a good time, but I struggle to find anything particularly clever to say about it? Maybe that's fine. I'm overthinking things again. Good game, fun time.