#recipe ep 8

[kitchenbakery]

SavoryEats: Elevate Your Culinary Adventures with Our Delectable Recipes! 🍽️✨ #TasteTheMagic #FoodieFaves

link: kitchenbekri.wordpress.com

[idontknowijuststartedsomething]

Low key this was probably my favorite part of the episode

[airenyah]

must not watch last twilight until i've reached my study goal must not watch last twilight until i've reached my study goal must not watch last twilight until i've reached my study goal must not watch last twilight until i've reached my study goal must not watc

[bitterbutblue]

What if i request Robin x Fem!Reader where Robin felt a bit pressured from the media and as her beloved girlfriend you help her relief stress :33

It can be fluff or smut, i dont rlly care i just want more Robinnn content :333

Thank you in advance!!!

Also can i be 🍷 anon? :3

you're not bad, but rather good ☆ robin x fem!reader

~ omg hi!!!! ur my first anon this is so exciting.... i don't do smut but i can totally do fluff.. anything 4 u <3

gonna start naming out the song lyrics i've been using as titles

loveable ~ jo yuri <3 ~

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────

Robin's recent comeback- a miserable failure.

Robin's new EP 'Welcome To My World' has been nothing but a colossal failure. With each new album, Robin continues to disappoint- fans are sick of her low effort songs and lack of stage presence. Her comeback stage shows her clearly lack of passion. Just because she has made a name for herself does not mean she can now slack off on stage when fans pay thousands to see her-

You closed the article before you finished reading it. If you continued, you probably would've ended up throwing your phone across the room or do something along the lines of that sort of stupidity that you would end up regretting later. That article was like a knife through the heart for Robin but for you it was a knife through the author's decaying and bleeding out body as you stab that fucker over and over again. Okay, maybe that was too violent but fuck you can't stand to see people say such bullshit about your girlfriend. She called you at work, crying and saying she couldn't do it anymore. You could barely make out her words through her sobs and the bad signal (which led you to believe she was hiding in the bathroom).

"I worked so hard, I don't know what they want from me. I can't-"

"Robin, baby, deep breaths- okay? I'm right here, it's okay."

It infuriates you, how people can run their mouths and say whatever bullshit that comes to their mind just because they're not satisfied with their own miserable lives. Just because they feel like dragging someone down would perhaps make themselves feel better about the fact that someone half their age is more successful than they will ever be. You want to tell her that you'll fucking find them and make their life a living hell but that's definitely not what she wants to hear right now.

"What do they want from me? I'm so tired, I don't wanna do this anymore."

All you really could do was continue to comfort her, hoping that she can pick up what you're saying through the static and cut offs due to bad internet. You just stayed with her until her cries became sniffles and she stated that she has to go before they suspect anything. You swallowed back your worry and just nodded.

"Okay. I love you, Robin.

You can feel her smile from across the phone.

"I love you."

That night you spent the entire evening in the kitchen, prancing around and trying not to burn the eight things you have going on the stove as you flip through your phone to find that recipe for the thing in the oven that looks horrifically bad.

"Ah fuck..."

You check the time- 8:03, she should be back soon. You finally find the recipe page and you feel your heart drop. Fuck, you were supposed to bake it for 30 minutes- not 50! No wonder that shit looked so wrong! You scramble to pull it out of the oven, the timer with 5 minutes left. You groan when you see how it looks- first it looked wrong and now it was probably burnt too. So much for making your girlfriend's favourite dessert.

"Love?"

The soft voice startles you, yelping as you dropped the cake pan.

"Shit!"

Robin stands there in all her glory. She looks exhausted, eye bags worse than before and shoulders sagged but to you she was still the most beautiful woman you have ever laid your eyes on.

"Everything okay?"

She tries to smile at you but it looks so forced. You feel your heart clenching in your chest as you pick up the cake pan from the ground, moving it back onto the counter.

"Baby, just let me take care of you tonight?"

You pull her in close, hugging her tight. She freezes at first, before completely melting in your grasp. She lets out a shaky sigh as she buries her head in the crook of your neck.

"I missed you."

Her voice is muffled against your shoulder but you just smile as you tiptoe to press a kiss to her forehead.

"I missed you so much, baby." You pull away, cupping her face with your hands as you brush your thumb against her cheek. "You look beautiful."

"Don't lie."

She gets flustered so easily, face turning pink as she looks away but she can't stop the small smile from forming on her face.

"I'm not. You look beautiful."

She sighs as she looks back at you, and the tired expression on your usual warm and happy girlfriend really does hurt you. The way the media can tear people down into nothing but the most insecure parts of themselves has always rubbed the wrong way with you but watching it happen to the one you love most is absolutely heartbreaking.

"I made you dinner?"

"I saw."

Her smile is not as forced now as she looks around the kitchen, a soft giggle escaping her lips.

"Quite a mess you made."

You just shoot an embarrassed grin at her as you tried to hide the cake pan behind your back.

"Well, I'm not a good cook."

"I think you did amazing."

She steps forward, caging you between the counter and herself.

"You make the worst days brighter, you know?"

"You make each of my days better. It's only fair I do the same to you."

Robin looks down, playing with her hands.

"I don't deserve you."

"Oh shut up."

The kiss was soft, gentle and loving. She cups your cheeks as she steps closer, bodies pressed against each other as you pour all the love you can convey through a simple act.

"I love you. I really love you so much, Robin." You say breathlessly to her when you pull away. She doesn't say much, only resting her head on your shoulder as she takes your hand into her own, lacing your fingers together.

"And I'm so proud of you for your new comeback. You've worked so hard and it paid off. You keep outdoing yourself and the people who don't see that can fuck off and die."

She sighs.

"No need for the violence, yeah?"

"Violence is always the answer."

You feel your heart flutter when she lets out a soft laugh, like a songbird's first melody of a new spring.

"You do whatever you want." She says, resting a hand on your chest as she leans in to press a quick but soft kiss to your lips. "Thank you- for this."

"Always."

The food you cooked was mostly inedible- resorting to the two of you ordering takeout together but you couldn't care less about the burnt cakes or undercooked mac and cheese. Robin is smiling again, and that's all you wanted to achieve for the night.

Response to: Robin's recent comeback- a miserable failure.

Robinsdog: op do u not have a life

servallandau_official: No one thinks this.

⤷ talesofthewinterlandsfan222: serval spitting facts but also what r u diong here

⤷ servallandau_official: Do I know you?

⤷ talesofthewinterlandsfan222: ENEVRMIND

march4robin: im giong to find u my entire crew is oing to find u we will run out train into u

galaticstelleballer: i am also going to run my train into u. and my bat. both at the same time.

⤷ dh: Guys please.

Sunday_Oakfamily: We are taking this post and the writer off the platform.

The article you are searching for no longer exists.

[greetings-humans]

suo hayato - martial arts rant

(minor plot spoilers for up until episode 4/chapter 8)

(all the stuff here also otherwise spoil suo's fighting style which you first see at ep 5/ch11-12)

now do you see this? (from ep 5)

and this (chapter 12)

so I have some experience in martial arts, like im a black belt in zendo ryuu karate do (a decently niche style of karate and like I also did a bit of jiu-jitsu, tho no competitions for any of these) but anyways this feels wrong.

now I don't claim to know all there is about martial arts but um. given the power behind even the weakest of punches (and kanumo (the opponent) survived shishitouren during its extremist phase so he can't be that weak), putting your hand in front of an incoming fist is a recipe for disaster and so much pain. the same can be said for attempting to... grab (??) the fist from above with your palm and your extended fingers, like you can see in the panel.

my poor, abused, tendinitis-ridden arms feel the pain for you, suo, please stop it.

we know from the manga, that suo isn't one of the people with "monster strength" (and those people also shouldn't be doing moves like this but I'll assume that monster strength also comes with insane muscle support on their arms/forearms/hands and they're also not trained in martial arts so whatever. let them make their mistakes since it doesn't hurt them that much) because suo is never described as having "monster strength" so him doing this is just off.

but, dee, you might say, this is a fucking manga/anime about teenage gangsters were you expecting realism??

as of episode 5 / chapter 12 (?), suo has confirmed that he's dabbled in mixed martial arts. you cant have him making these sort of mistakes for the shits and giggles.

and these feel like a decently basic mistakes, too. i asked my brother his opinion on this as a blue-belt in karate and he agrees with me that suo is off here. i asked my bsf (who has like a yellow belt in taekwondo but hasn't practiced martial arts in like nearly a decade) on an opinion on people using their palm to block an incoming punch and he thought that's weird. I asked google and even fucking wikihow disagrees with the palm thing.

like. use your opponent's momentum against themselves yes. but also.

nowhere is there a mention of stopping the momentum with your palm. your fucking palm??? hello??? or stopping the momentum by grabbing the fist like that?? who grabs a fist from above😭😭 suo look at your goddamn wrist. joints are scared of you.

out of the top of my head, suo is in danger of breaking his fingers or spraining/breaking his wrist or fucking up his elbow, or some funky combination thereof. and he's also definitely getting in some sort of trouble with his tendon. but c'est la vie, ig.

and btw. he has pulled this off correctly a few times in the manga.

chapter 11

in the bottom right corner you see him deflecting properly and safely. and then rushing ahead to get out of Kanuma's range (wouldn't want a falling Kanuma to grab him on his way down lol). no clue what his left hand is doing tho. even if he was attempting to assume a ready stance. what the hell is his elbow doing that high? and why is his palm open and looking away from him? fuck if I know, this doesn't look like karate but there are like thousands of schools of karate with different variations so who knows. it's vaguely giving king fu or jiu jitsu but take this with a grain of salt.

or this from chapter 68. also correct technique. don't come at me for spoilers btw, I've literally given you zero context.

tho to be fair, I'm a little confused as to the angle that he's hand is at? like it seems like his torso is in front of the punch (which vaguely makes sense because the other guy can presumably aim towards center mass aka torso), but like suo should already be moving his torso away so his arm shouldn't be reaching out from that angle. whatever. I'll forgive this. it's super minor.

10/10 for just grabbing the damn wrist instead of what he was doing before.

tho once again to be fair, I'm also a little confused about what his free hand is doing but whatever. and how did the other guy lose his balance? idk suo tagged at his punching arm hard ig. and giving the "whap" sfx then he might have somehow hit the other dude's leg? certainly not with his free hand cause given his stance, he's still not low enough to hit the foot or shin of the other guy (which is what the panel insinuates). unless he ducked? like crouched down while holding the dude's wrist and used his free hand to 'whap'? or maybe suo used his front leg? idk. whatever. still better than before.

nii satoru (the mangaka) so far seems great, because windbreaker has a nice plot and a fun, diverse cast of rather realistic teenagers (given the plot). he does seem to have a weakness when it comes to official martial arts styles, though, and that transferred towards the animation, as well.

hey wbk fandom give me your thoughts. idk if there are more ppl into wbk that also dabble(d) in martial arts but I'd love to hear your thoughts, especially!

[laryssamedeirss]

That sydcarmy montage in the end of ep 8 will never get out of my mind, like he literally says: I'm gonna call my girlfriend and then Claire and Sydney are shown after shots of carmy making bolognese which I've seen in some analysis here that is the recipe Syd told carmy about and like when the song says something abt "I've tried to forget" it shows syd and then the lyrics say another suspicious thing and show Claire being like the opposite LIKE WHAT THE HELL WHO DID THIS MONTAGE WHO THOUGHT ABT DOING IT?????????????

And in the very next episode we see Carmy and Claire having some intimacy but then syd shows up getting dressed???? Like what are u guys up to? What do u mean by making this sequence???? And like why carmy looks worried right after having sex with his childhood crush, the girl he "loves so much"? I CAN'T 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[kitchenwitchery72]

Herbalism 101: Lemon

EP. 7

Fun fact

Lemons are technically berries!

Properties : clarity, friendship, happiness, protection

Uses in the kitchen

Lemon is used for its tart flavor. It can be found in many desserts, pastries, and cocktails. They can also be used to clean or make a simmer pot, leaving your home smelling fresh.

Uses in healing

Lemon has been found to have anti microbial properties and is a great source of vitamin C. Some say that drinking lemon juice can get rid of hiccups as well!

Uses in witchcraft

If you work with the moon, leaving lemons or parts of lemons on your altar to honor the moon is a great use. I often use the dried peels, dehydrated in the oven, in spell jars and charm bags. Another common use for lemon is in protective work. Things like a cleansing bath, a protective jar etc. are great uses for lemon.

Tips for growing at home

Lemons are not particularly difficult to grow, however if you live in a place with a harsh winter, chances are it will not thrive. Don't forget, lemon trees will take around two years to bear fruit, so be patient! Finally, you can grow these trees in a pot indoors, but they will need full sun.

Recipe

This is technically a repeat of an old recipe I have posted before, but I am changing out lavender for lemon because I make these all the time and they are a crowd pleaser.

Lemon shortbread cookies

4 cups flour

1 cup powdered sugar

1lb salted butter

2 drops lemon extract

Lemon zest for the looks

Combine the ingredients with the butter still a bit chilled. You can make little balls or roll it out to cut out shapes, you may need a little extra flour for this. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes.

[starryalpacasstuff]

Last Twilight Ep 8; Thoughts

We're at the 2/3 mark of the show, and the episode honestly felt surreal. Last Twilight is continuing to parallel iconic moments of Bad Buddy, this time with running away and scenes on the beach. However, it never feels like it's boring or repetitive, because while the parallels are clear, the shows are also distinct. It's clear that the characters in the two shows are pushed by different things.

I was yelling at the screen when I realized Mhok and Day were going off on their own, because ditching Night = recipe for disater (he'd obviously call Day's mom!?!)

But then this happened, and I had to pause and take a moment, now that my fears had been resolved. We know so little about Night, and yet so much. Understanding his character requires a lot of reading in between the lines, and until we know what happened between the brothers, the picture won't be complete. I did, in fact, breathe a huge sigh of relief when I realized that Night was in on it, because while Mhok and Day are capable of handling themselves, if Day's mother found out, we all know that it wouldn't make for a pretty situation.

Which calls in something else I'm curious about. Is Day really naive enough to believe that they can ditch Night with no consequences? Or is there some trust left in Day, that Night will let them go. Has he figured that Night is likely in on it, and is choosing to remain quiet?

There's a number of possibilities, and I'm curious to see how it plays out. It's highly likely that his anxiousness to get away from Night, and trust in Mhok meant that the though simply hasn't crossed his mind too.

On that topic, if we rewind to the beginning of the ep

I just love how much Day trusts Mhok. It's obvious, but I felt it was worth pointing out. Mhok tells Day that there's no one there, and Day accepts. Mhok having played the caregiver role for Day for so long is definitely the main reason for this, and it's beautiful to watch.

Speaking of transparency in their relationship, can I take a moment to talk about just how much I loved this scene? Mhok was upset about the prank, and Day wasn't taking it seriously. Mhok could have clammed up, creating tension between the two. It would even be expected, given his role as Day's caretaker and the 'put Day first' mentality that we've seen so far. But he doesn't, and oh my god, this calls for aplause. He calls Day out on it, and gives Day a taste of his own medicine. And, this is something that perfectly shows that things are not the same now that they're boyfriends. Mhok gets more agency, more say, because he's one half of the relationship. I've said thia before about the subversion of faen fatale, and I'll say it again; Last Twilight has a very strong identity as a show, and a very strong grasp on what it's doing. Time and time again, it has shown us opportunities that it could have taken to create drama, and veered in the opposite direction entirely. The subversion is intentional, and clearly so.

While we're talking about characters standing up for their feelings..

I feel like someone should create a masterpost of everything we know about Night, and we can add on every bit of new info we get and compare it to the rest, because everything tells us so little yet so much. It seems that Night is still willing to push against Day's hatred. But of course, he's more willing to allow Day to live happily, as we see him letting the two go off on their own. It seems that every time Night does something for Day, he prefers to do it anonymously, such as showing up to the race. We've seen that he's accepted the villain image. Is this why he seems keen on upholding that villain image in front of Day, while helping him behind his back? P'Aof isn't one to write conflict for small or petty reason, so I'm starting to be more and more convinced that Night genuinely did something wrong to Day. He regrets it, but he also knows he can't take it back or heal their bond, so he's simply keeping the status quo, helping his brother behind his back, while only allowing himself to be selfish on occasion, like this one. I'm so intrigued by Night and his mannerisms, his actions.

Back tracking a bit again, (this is a mess)

This scene was a pivotal moment. I've previously mentioned that Day was living in a fantasy, and I've also briefly touched on Day's sence of normalcy in a post, how he was relying on things to go back to 'normal' and how he's been able to build a new normal with Mhok. He'd get the transplant eventually, and things would go back to 'normal'. Mhok helped Day redefine his 'normal', but the hope that his sight would return one day was still present. Here, it's shattered. Up till now, Day was living his life as if he were biding his time till he got his eyesight back. Now he's going to be living as if he has to wrap up a lifetime of memories in three months. He's feeling as though time is running out.

I think this is one of the first times I've seen Day talk back to his mom, which is fair, because it's ingrained in asian kids to not talk back to your elders. Day is, in the end, a rich kid. On top of that, he has a single mom. 1+1=2, Day didn't get to see much of his mom growing up. @waitmyturtles talked about this a bit in a post, mentioning how Day's mom's career always came first. She didn't have time to attend a game because she had an event, she couldn't come to school for something because she had a meeting, etc etc. (I don't know how much of an age gap there is between Day and Night, but anyone thinking that Night had to fill in on occasion..?) He's making a jab at his mom, that she's far to busy to be there with him for stuff, and she's far too overprotective to let another be there with him for it. Again, typical rich family dysfunction. Day and his mother's dynamic will be an interesting thing to watch as the episodes progress, that's for sure.

Alright, onto the last one

When I'm not sure if there's a deeper meaning behind a scene, music is always a great clue that there is something greater behind it. As episodes progress, we've seen Day slowly reassimilate himself in society. This is such an important theme, because being a part of and engaging with society is a huge part of asian culture. I view this dance as a sort of culmination of the progress that Day has made over time with Mhok. Would the Day at the beginning of the series have danced with a stranger at a party while having worse eyesight that before? No way in hell. Also, paying respect and interactling with older people is, again, a HUGE part of asian culture, so this was essentially the perfect way to depict this culmination. When the first episode had aired, @twig-tea had first introduced in a post the theme of liminality in Last Twilight. One of the definitions given was "of, relating to, or being an intermediate state, phase, or condition : IN-BETWEEN, TRANSITIONAL". Since Mhok entered Day's life, he's been in a liminal (transitional) state, as he moves closer to rejoing society. In this scene, we see what I'd like to say is the end of this liminal state. Of course, this isn't to say that Day is no longer in a state of liminality. Liminality presents itself in various ways throughout the show. This is simply a culmination of Day and Mhok's efforts to reintegrate Day into society. While the battle is far from over; disable people often find themselves outcasted and removed from society; it's a sign of hope, a sign of growth, a sign that their efforts have a result.

[unladyboss]

In season 1 EP 8 of #thebear Carmy got hold of Syd's little notebook, that she left behind after she quit

It's only recipes and ideas but he spent a while just staring at it #sydcarmy

It just occurred to me that this is how Carmy knew about the plans Syd wanted for the restaurant. Family Style etc...

Then he kept the notebook, running his fingers over the pages

Did she leave it there on purpose? I don't know if she did, because she always walks around with it. Why would she leave it in the markers box?

[twig-tea]

Last Twilight Finale Thoughts

Had to go back to my clown checkpoint from ep 10, which I originally wrote in response to a conversation between @lurkingshan and @my-rose-tinted-glasses! How did the Last Twilight finale stack against my wishlist?

We got 6/8:

Mork opens that $@#&&#&# glove compartment (ie finally process his grief around Rung)

Mork speaks to Rung at her grave

Mork has workplace satisfaction and stability (ie we get something on canon to show that he's not afraid of being fired at any moment, and enjoys his new career) ['m counting the way he's shown trying out new recipes after the second timeskip towards this]

Day making plans for his future and acting towards them (enrolling in university or courses of some kind, most likely)--this is necessary whether or not he can see in future

Day's mom unclenches (we see her proactively stepping away from controlling Day's life)

We get Day's mom's perspective on what happened with Day's dad [honestly at this point this is a nice to have]

Night is perceived and happy (by Porjai most likely but I'm flexible)

Porjai feels safe and cared for (by Night most likely but I'm flexible)

And yet I was unsatisfied by this episode. Why? Because it did so many other things that I didn't even think I'd have to guard against in my wishlist, and the execution of what we did get was muddled!

I'm so mad about the glove compartment. They mentioned that thing at least three times, it was teased that Rung used it a lot and kept all kinds of stuff in there, and the last time it was mentioned, we heard that it had been fixed, and yet. AND YET. The glove compartment stayed closed and unseen.

This is how I feel about all of the important growth that happened for these characters. Mork's processing his grief for Rung, Day's building his life as a blind person (including using his cane), Day's mom moving past her internalized ableism, Mork learning how to be a partner rather than a caretaker, Day's father realizing he needs to be a better dad, Day and Mork learning how to navigate their social class difference in their relationship; we didn't really get to see any of that. We were just told it had been fixed now, off screen, like the glove compartment.

We did get to see the brothers reconcile and work on being brothers again, I will give the show that.

Also just to say, wow this aged poorly (from the same post linked above, written after ep10):

Mork, in contrast to Day's mother, has always been interested in encouraging Day to learn independence from him, even though Mork's situation in Day's life is potentially so much more precarious than Day's mom is.

I'll say the same thing I said after the ep 11 fight--it isn't the plot points themselves in the latter part of this series I have a problem with, it's how they've been executed. Characters don't feel consistent, what the show tells us happened doesn't seem to reflect what we saw in the show itself, and what the show says is important is then retconned or not addressed.

TL;DR even though the finale hit the bulk of my wishlist it still fumbled the execution and so I found it unsatisfying despite giving me most of what I asked for.

[thisloveislikeabattle]

for no reason whatsoever my brain immediately assumed that the halloween party would happen towards the end of episode 8, or at least in the second half

the police arriving at the party and the problem with the drugs, along with all the theories about who called the cops and if anybody's gonna be arrested, feels to me like an end-of-episode moment. classic cliffhanger, right?

and maybe that's really how things are gonna happen but maybe not, because I noticed that some scenes in the preview for next ep can only make sense if we consider them happening after the party

that's way I have a little theory based on that:

1. this specific topmew scene

we can see them in their university clothes (idk how to call them, is there a better term?), in what kinda looks like a bathroom to me but that's not really important, so maybe they meet after class? I'm focusing on this because top's sentence leads me to believe this is after we get to actually see mew's bad state at the party

2. the nick and papang interaction

we don't know yet if nick's scenes with papang are actually related to nick's plan to earn boston's forgiveness, that's what the preview makes me think but the only friends previews have always been pretty deciveing on purpose. what really matters to me anyway is the shirt nick is wearing in that second scene tho, and the assumption that it also takes place after the party

3. sand starts to take some distance from ray

after the raymew dance scene, and the talk with ray outside yolo, we can see that sand is actually starting to walk away from ray– he's finally setting some boundaries, not letting ray walk all over him. those two scenes, both taking place at night, are the only sandray scenes we are shown– sand and ray are the only ones that don't have a daytime scene in the preview

now to my final theory, after considering all the above (and in case you're wondering, yes, the previous ones were points to give my main theory context and recipes) :

that sandray scene from the series' trailer

if the halloween party happens relatively early in the episode, and if the scenes we see of the guys in university are after that, we could finally have this 0:02 seconds scene from the trailer in our hands.

it all makes sense to me: ray showing how selfish and possessive he truly is as soon as he notices sand getting away, not caring at all about how he's been hurting him all this time– and we can see that from sand's expression.

also thinking about sand being like "we cannot be friends we were never friends" / "fuck it I'm gonna kiss this guy just because he's also dressed as freddie mercury" / "i'm not one of your options ray", at which point ray could start to realize sand really means it and be like "you're not going anywhere".

now, I don't know if anyone else had the same initial thought as me or if from the start it was pretty clear to everybody that some scenes are supposed to happen post-party– that wasn't my case tho so i wanted to share it even if in the end I might be totally wrong

[cakeyouareoh]

sort of tagged to answer these questions by @francesderwent💜 (I am indeed scrolling tumblr at work. 🙈)

1. The last podcast you listened to? with reasons.

Uhh, I’m not much of a podcast listener, let’s see if I can remember…. No wait, it was The Fringe Podcast, which I listened to as I was watching because I was desperate for more Fringe content/episode analysis. I enjoyed some episodes for the most part, but many of their takes just made me angry, so I started skipping through the annoying stuff and I haven’t listened to an ep in a couple months now lol.

2. what was the last fanfic you read? What did you like about it?

Hah! I’m afraid to say it was my own fic, Turns To Ashes, mostly for current wip inspiration and also as a typo/grammar check. I certainly use too many commas but I don’t particularly feel like changing it, so…. As for what I liked about it? Well I think I pretty accurately capture the emotions of the character I was writing, and it succeeds in making me sad, as I intended it to.

3. Your favorite discord server?

Mine and Fox’s💜, closely followed by my sisters server (a server with all of my sisters 13 and up).

4. open pinterest and show the first thing it recommends you!

This cute cat! I’ll take it.

5. If you’re comfortable, show me something from your notes app!

Sure, have this drink recipe from Fox!

6. Show us who you last gave a like to on Tumblr! And why?

Uhhh @francesderwent’s question post that sparked the one I am currently doing, and I liked it because well… I liked it.

7. Show us a picture that's in your gallery that you are proud off/like/are comfortable sharing.

You may have this photo of the full moon that was just hanging out right there at eight in the morning.

8. final question, what was the last YouTube video you watched?

I honestly don’t remember, it was either highlights of the Yankees Vs Guardians ALCS game 3 (I don’t even support either team, but the ending of this game was pretty cool to watch), or Gab Smolder’s Fears to Fathom Five play through.

tagging @dangerously-human, @robertfettuccine, and @lilaccatholic. (If you want to)

[starseneyes]

Spock / Nurse Christine Chapel - Star Trek: Strange New Worlds S2 Eps 8 & 9

So, I was gonna wait until the Finale to do another Meta, but then I saw all the Chapel hate coming out after 9, and I felt the need to insert my (uneducated) opinion.

SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers are like garlic for me. If the recipe calls for a clove, I'm adding a head. So, if you dare eat this Spanish/Ukrainian princesa's babaganoush, then this spoiler-filled Meta is for you!

Everyone clear on how this thing works? Brilliant. Let's dive in with kleenex in hand.

"Under the Cloak of War" AKA "You Had To Be There"

"The ally ambassador must have many interesting insights on delicate matters of diplomacy." ... "Christine." "What? Oh, you're doing the word game. Um, I'm sorry. I don't really have one right now."

The staging of this is so haunting and beautiful. Spock has his back to the situation, because he was never really apart of it. Spock didn't see the ravages of the Klingon War up close.

Christine faces it head-on, refusing to look away when it might be healthier for her. She shouldn't even be here. But the Veterans are forcing themselves to put on a good face for the sake of Starfleet.

And, ugh, that kills me inside. M'Benga writes it off, saying he's survived worse than polite conversation. True. But that doesn't make any of this right.

Spock is worried about his not-girlfriend, but he has no idea how to help her. He can't understand what she's been through, but she won't/can't help him understand.

And, please don't misread this as a criticism of Christine. She is under no obligation to help Spock understand. But he cannot understand it, and from his perspective, he's trying to. He never will.

"You are under duress."

Spock shifts from standing in front of her to standing alongside her. I love that choice. I don't know if it was writing, acting, directing, or something else. But it shows the shift in him turning that blind eye (intentionally or not) to standing with her.

Also, gosh, he knows her. He's observant of her. He's paying attention.

He wordlessly looks down to the glass in her hand.

"Quite understandable. I do not know much about your service in the war, but... I am available if you ever feel the need to share." "Yeah, I don't, so let's just change the subject, yeah?"

Her duress increased. The exact opposite of what Spock hoped to achieve in telling her that he was there for her.

"I just wish he would shut up for one second about all this amazing peace he's achieved." "I can help with that."

There's vulnerability in her eyes as she looks over to him, because she really doesn't want to close herself off to him.

She doesn't want to deal with all that she lost during the War. And, in a small part, what she's going to lose shortly based on Boimler's words.

Spock strides over to the Ambassador, inspired by Christine's previous words, "let's just change the subject" and he puts it into practice. As conversation shifts, he looks to her.

"Did I do right?" his eyes ask. Because all he wants is to help her. She offers him a small nod and smile in return. Yes, in a small way, this is actually helping.

"Okay, I'm gonna go see if she needs anything."

It sucks that their first time sitting alongside one another at a dinner now that they're dating is one... like this.

There's nothing to report here on them besides the fact that Christine takes the out to leave and check on Erica while Spock sits in his chair stewing over what he could have done differently to help.

Spock earnestly wants to help. He doesn't know how. And Christine doesn't know how to tell him what will help because nothing will help.

"I want to apologize for my part in last night's dinner." "You don't need to apologize. None of this is about you. You just see me going through something and our closeness makes you feel responsible."

Spock is still looking for some way to help her. But Christine is still living in moments long since passed. And he can't get there because he's never been there.

But, she's right. Their "closeness" factors into him wanting to help. We know from the future that Spock cares deeply about the people he holds closest and would do anything for them.

"You're not." "I understand." *Spock looks around to see no one there* "That is not true."

Spock steps into the corner and Christine leans against the wall. They both relax into their positions almost effortlessly, but they aren't alongside one another anymore. They aren't facing anymore. They're separated with feet planted almost perpendicular.

This is where their paths diverge. No longer towards one another. No longer alongside. This subtle blocking choice shows us we're at the beginning of the end.

"I am having difficulty watching you experience such obvious distress. I want to help."

I love the clear communication on his end. Truly! Spock is laying it all out for Christine.

"But it would appear all that I am doing is making it worse." "War, it doesn't leave you. It can, it can bury itself, but it's-it's always there."

And she's trying to give him insight. But how can she truly explain? She can't.

"I researched J'Gal. It was a forward operating base. The data suggests the loss of life was disproportionate-" "J'Gal is not a statistic, Spock. J'Gal is what it is. War, it makes sense if you've been there, but it will never make sense."

That last line. Wow. I have nothing to add.

"Like I've been trying to tell you, I just need some personal time."

Like you've been trying to... huh? She's not even looking him in the eye while she says this. Because she's taking this opportunity to take that "closeness" that makes him feel responsible for her and push it away.

Maybe she's been trying to say this, but not saying this. We know Christine's not the best at communicating what she wants in a relationship.

And we know that right now he is making it tougher on her. Even he realizes it. But what he doesn't know is that in giving her this space, now, he'll never regain back what he thought they had.

"I understand. You require personal time away from me."

And he'll give it to her. He'd do anything for her. For goodness sake, he almost started a war for her when he was still in a fully-committed engagement. Of course he'll give her space if that's what she needs.

He only hopes she'll close the gap when she's ready. But poor, sweet, Vulcan/Human boy... you aren't ready.

"Subspace Rhapsody" AKA "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart"

"Oh, I have to talk to Spock."

But. She. Doesn't. Christine doesn't like truth-filled conversations with the people she's dating. We know that this is a core flaw in her attempts at relationship—she has no idea how to effectively communicate with a romantic partner.

She's not going to talk to him... and instead he's going to stew (and eventually make his own stupid decision) because they're not communicating at all.

I feel like Christine was one of the best at communicating with Spock pre-romance. They built this really beautiful friendship. And even as they were in the early stages of their dating relationship, that connection still seemed strong.

But J'Gal tested them in a way neither predicted. And that would have happened whether or not Boimler dropped the future truth bomb.

Christine has a lot of PTSD that is unprocessed. And Spock lacks that understanding because he has never shared those experiences. I've seen relationships implode more than once when one partner had PTSD. It's brutal.

And enter this huge opportunity for Christine. She once told Spock that relationships are about mutual sacrifice, that one puts the relationship above work. But that's not how either Christine or Spock operate.

In a parallel universe, they could discuss this openly and honestly with one another. But this Spock and Christine have communication issues that they'll sadly never resolve (at least so far as we know canon).

"Unfortunately, we have had another communication failure."

Dana Horgan & Bill Wolkoff (the screenwriters of this episode), I love you. To have that line as the verbal cue to switch scenes was so bloody perfect, especially considering the state of the Spapel relationship. These two are definitely experiencing a communication failure.

"Is that transmission regarding Nurse Chapel's recent fellowship application? Was the news... favorable?"

Oh, dear, how long has he been giving her "personal time" that he's asking Uhura for updates?

"I don't look at personal correspondence." "Of course, that would be unethical."

And, look, he's not trying to spy. But he does want to know. And he wishes Christine would be the one to tell him. Our poor boy has been doing everything he can to help her—including giving her space.

But while he's been wishing to be close to her, again, she's been widening the gap.

"You and Nurse Chapel have become close, haven't you?"

Okay, so the whole crew isn't aware that these two are shacking up. But, we've seen Uhura be hyper-vigilante about the connection between Spock and Christine since Season 1. She was the first person to call it out.

And Spock really isn't sure what to say. In his mind, they are still an item, even if they aren't a "couple", right?

"I suppose it would be accurate to say that we are more than colleagues." "There's that classic Vulcan romance I've heard about."

She means it in a ribbing way, but it hurts. Uhura notices, and makes the adjustment, like any good communications officer would.

"Why don't you ask her about it?" "Of late, our communication has faced challenges."

Gosh, he needs this. In the absence of Christine, he needs someone he can talk to. Someone who can see the whole of him and truly listen. To make Uhura that foil considering the TOS-era friendship they seem to have makes total sense.

Spock Presses the Issue

It feels like Uhura and Spock both thought he'd be the one to sing when this was pressed. Was it a stupid move? Gosh, yes. But if characters didn't make mistakes, we'd scream and wail about their plasticity and lack of organic truth. They have to be flawed to be well-rounded.

But, Spock's mistake leads to one of the most energetic songs of the episode, and a lot of unspoken truths.

"Christine. Logic would dictate you are toasting good news regarding your fellowship. So, allow me to offer congratulations." "Thank you, Spock." "I am curious why you chose not to inform me. Was it an oversight? Or was it intentional?" "Can we, um, can we talk about this later?" "I am just curious."

Again, Spock pressing this in front of everyone was asinine. I'm not glossing over that. But her hiding it from him was stupid, too. They are both in the wrong in how they handled this situation.

But I truly believe Uhura though Spock would be the one to sing. They were trying to incite a song, and she could already tell he was o the verge of emotional when it came to Christine and this fellowship.

But, Christine busts out with absolute glee. And she deserves to be gleeful. A partner should never be her whole life.

And I truly believe she never would have told Spock in front of the entire bar under any other circumstances. We already set it up with La'an warning Pike and then Pike and Batel exposing themselves in front of everyone.

To borrow the phrase from Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, these are "heart songs". These are things that dwell in the deepest part of selves that would never come out under normal circumstances.

Pike would still be lying to Batel. La'an wouldn't have run off to hide in her quarters because she was belting truths. And Christine would have dealt with Spock in her own time... even if that was still a bad choice.

The song forced Christine to share this truth.

And, gosh, there are so many lyrics in here that show Christine's state of mind. The validation. The freedom. The future that she already knows she doesn't share with Spock.

Christine has applied to something that only a handful of people get into every year, and this isn't a 2-month trip that she'd return from. This could be the start of an entirely new path for her. She may never come back to Enterprise.

And, from his perspective, I see how cold-hearted it seemed. But I do not begrudge her going after her dreams. I simply abhor that she cut Spock out entirely prior to this big musical number.

But... our characters have to make mistakes. Otherwise, we'd be watching "the perfect people" do nothing every week.

"If I need to leave you, I won't fight it. I'm ready."

She speaks the line the last time... "I'm ready." It's spoken outside of the song. She means it. And it crushes him.

He turns over that left shoulder... but away from her, this time. He's spent the entire song standing still while the world around him moved, while she moved the world with her words. And now he feels out of place in a realm where she thrives.

Her spark is ignited, while his flame painfully claws at the last threads of wick before dying.

Uhura and Chapel are the only ones who watch Spock go—who understand what really happened there. We don't see Christine's reaction, but we see Erica smiling up at her.

Christine meant it. She's ready to move on. But it does kill me that she doesn't try to go after him, to seek him out, to make sure he's okay.

Again, our characters have to make mistakes. They have to screw it up. And in how she handles breakups, Christine consistently screws up. It would be out-of-character for her to handle this one well.

Again, I don't blame her for breaking up with him via song. He pushed her to sing by pushing the issue. But her actions before and after are entirely her own just as much as his to push was his. They're both idiots.

"I didn't expect Christine to be so definitive about ending our arrangement."

He doesn't even refer to it as a relationship. But, since he's opened up to Uhura at the start of the episode about them being "more than colleagues", he feels freer to speak.

He also feels exposed.

"Relationships can be difficult, Spock, and you're Vulcan" "But I am also human."

Oh, my sweet boy. You finally got there. You finally learned to embrace both sides of yourself only to experience your first true heartbreak.

And now you'll endeavor to do what so many other humans have done before you—shut out the pain.

"I feel things differently. Bigger. I see her logic and, yet, I am hurt."

Gosh, the pain. Listen to his emphasis on "hurt". This is where Ethan Peck's vocal inflection and range really sing (pardon the pun).

Uhura has never seen this level of emotion from Spock. But they are becoming friends, which is welcome and needed for both their stories. And he's opening up in a way he won't, again, for a very long time, I suspect.

"I am left behind."

I hate to say it, but I imagine this is how T'Pring felt when he took off on their engagement night. There was always something Spock seemed to be choosing over her.

The difference is that Spock thought he and T'Pring's relationship could weather all his other duties. With Christine, that isn't even a possibility she's willing to entertain.

She's done. It's over. And he's hurt.

The Music Swells

Spock and Uhura lock eyes. They both know a song is coming on, but I love how he doesn't run away, and she stays there with him.

If anyone knows what it is to be alone, it's Uhura. She's the one who pressed him to press Christine, so she's not leaving his side, now.

And it's Christine's Song. It's their song. Oh, gosh, this hurts. I didn't call it right on them sharing a song in terms of a duet, but in this melody, they share the two sides of the same song—one elated, one defeated.

Though, Spock's in the minor key where Christine was in the major. So, even though the melody and rhythm are matching, the songs aren't quite the same, even in construction. Damn, this is masterful.

My husband, who started playing piano at age 5 and studied for 21 years, said they gave Spock and Chapel the "Les Mis" treatment, and I about died laughing. He's not wrong.

"This news really changes everything-"

Starting the same way, too, whew. This is already super painful. Christine's version was a boisterous, celebratory tune with raucous dancing, cheerful backup vocals, and lots of pageantry.

Spock is in the echo chamber of Engineering. Without Uhura, he would be utterly alone. But there's no one to sing with him. His voice rings out alone.

"I can't believe how wrong I've been. Convinced myself we shared the same feelings. I won't make that mistake, again."

And Uhura can't interject to tell him about interdimentional space and everything that Christine said there. It's not her place. But, damnit, communication would have changed this whole story.

"For her I set aside my need to analyze. Now I'm wrecked and searching for Why. I'm the Ex."

Beautiful play on words. Though, I'll admit a small part of me was mentally breaking into the Calculus song from 2gether (yes, I'm that old).

While the other song was more hilarious, this one's eloquently and agonizingly crafted. It makes so much sense that our favorite Science officer is merging math and music, as only the best STEAM students can.

"I've got no one but myself to blame. I betrayed my core philosophy. Unending reason must be my true north, lest I drown in this sea of pain."

Imagine you've grown up in a constricted world and when you finally decide to break out of that and test the waters, your boat is capsized by the person you trusted to help you steer.

Spock took a great risk with this relationship, and he knew it. But he never predicted it would end like this. Yes, Christine was upfront with not wanting to label it and not wanting to tell Starfleet. She didn't pretend in any way.

But Spock still hoped. And now that hope's been dashed.

I think a lot of us have been there—having our hearts broken by someone we really trusted. Gosh, I remember my first boyfriend.

He broke up with me over the phone on my birthday, which happened to be the week of Prom. Oh, and he was cheating on me because two months in on my first relationship I wouldn't sleep with him. We still went to Prom together because I thought I could win him back.

Seventeen-year-old Rachel wasn't that bright. But she was hurt. And she had hope that she was wrong to be guarded, that it was okay to let those walls down a bit and let someone in.

"I'm so dysfunctional, weak and emotional, feelings I just can't contain. Escaping this misery, you're breaking free, not a possibility.

Uhura's brow furrows as she listens to him talking about himself so harshly.

"Weak and emotional" is a gut-punch to me considering how a season ago in episode 9 Spock was lamenting his weakness while Christine cupped his face and told him it was his emotions... and that they didn't make him weak... they made him human.

"I solved for Y in my computation but missed vital information, the variable so devastating... I'm the X."

Watch how he looks to Uhura mid-phrase. He nearly forgot she was there listening to him bare his soul. But he can't stop it as it's flowing out. He has to finish the song, no matter how painful.

"I'm the ex."

He speaks the line the same way Christine spoke her last line. Because, it's real. It's true. And it hurts like hell.

"I am sorry."

He's near tears, again, and it's all wrong. So far this season Christine, M'Benga, the transporter chief, and now Uhura have seen the Vulcan near-tears or crying. He can't have that, now. Before, he allowed himself the vulnerability. He tested the bounds of his humanity.

Never again. He refuses to let himself be hurt like that, again.

"So far, we've only witnessed people being torn apart by this event." *pointed camera on Spock*

Look, we all knew this was coming, right? This story is set in canon, and canon dictates and Spock and Christine are not together in TOS-era.

And Spock has already started to bottle up those emotions that plague him. We saw that he can pull it together quickly enough, as demonstrated in the season opener.

Yes, this will take work, but he's willing to do whatever it takes to never feel this pain, again.

The Missed Moment

At the end of the big musical number, everyone's feeling connected and elated. There's hugging and congratulations. But when Christine turns to Spock, there's a wall there.

She didn't expect that. You can tell she didn't expect him to wall her off so swiftly, though it's not entirely unexpected. And she's not going to chase after him.

But it still hurts. I mean, we all saw how broken-hearted she was at Boimler's news that she wasn't even a footnote in Spock's written story.

And I posit that's part of why this isn't harder for her—she's been letting go for weeks. Pulling away. Making space. But Spock's had mere moments to wrestle with the consequences of giving into weakness.

A few weeks ago, he would have been laughing and hugging with all of them. He was reveling in testing the waters of his humanity while basking in the love of this beautiful, human woman. So much changes in the course of a few weeks.

Look, I'm thrilled for Christine. I am definitely not a woman who thinks any woman should change her plans for a man. But celebrating with her friends over champagne before telling Spock was tacky.

And I'm not excusing him pressing her in front of their friends for an answer. While he did it under the guise of duty (and we all know how married Spock is to duty), it was a bad call.

But they're both in the wrong. Spock was right at the beginning of the episode—their communication is a problem.

And, now, their paths are potentially, permanently diverged. I say potentially because there are dozens of possibilities.

Maybe they try, again, but something external pulls them apart. Maybe they get together in another timeline. Maybe years after TOS they reunite. We can dream, right?

In the season finale, there'll be awkwardness between them, I'm sure. This looks like the Gorn issue is coming to a head, and we know from early promos that there's footage of the pair of them together in space suits.

Will it be a final coda on their relationship? I suppose we'll find out together.

There were so many little things that made me squee during this episode. Paul Wesley's voice reminding me so very much of 1960's-era Disney princes, the Gilbert & Sullivan reference, the Buffy-coded Bunny reference, Uhura's amazing earrings that were giving me major Nichelle Nichols vibes, the raucous joy of Chapel's number, the crispness and clearness of Chistina Chong's vocals, M'Benga's surprising range, the varying styles and eras... so much. I could go on and on and on.

And, I'd be so remiss if I didn't call out two things in this episode that took my breath away beyond the obvious Spapel:

"You see the connections between us when all we see are the empty spaces."

This line skewered me so beautifully. I'm a communications person. I have two degrees in it. I held together a group of friends who met at college orientation through our four years of school, and we've been together over 20 years, now.

This line is so beautiful and so meaningful. I will think of it often. Because we need people like that in the world. They're the connective tissue.

And this line captures why so beautifully with so few words. That's masterful. In a season that's all about connectivity and communication, this line stands out.

Celia Rose Gooding

No quotes needed. She's simply sensational. I like to think Nichelle Nichols is looking down on her with a proud smile on her face. Her entire solo I had chills.

Yes, there was another episode this season that focused on Uhura, but I really feel like this was her show.

We saw how she flawlessly handled all of the communications issues early, how she worked beautifully with Spock, how she cut loose with her friends with a musical number while working, and how she ultimately saved the day.

She is a marvel to watch, and I'm so grateful she had an opportunity to shine as she did in this episode. I've loved her performance up until now, but this episode is the one where I was completely wowed. What talent!

Truly, everyone was amazing this week. Yes, she was a stand-out, but everyone poured their hearts and souls and songs into this. It shows. And it's magical as a result.

My predictions for this episode weren't quite right, but the spirit sadly was. Now we get awkwardness next week in space suits. We all know how that ended for B'Elanna Torress and Tom Paris, but I doubt Christine and Spock will have such a positive experience.

Maybe some sort of resolution, but Spock's declared he won't make the same mistake, again. He's walled off that part of himself already. Christine won't be able to access it, again.

Unless, of course, I'm completely wrong and Season 3 opens with them in a parallel universe where these crazy kids get it right. But, what fun would that be?

Look, we all make mistakes. Characters make mistakes. They can't magically be completely different versions of themselves because it suits a happy ending. We all knew this wasn't a happily ever after story.

We knew it'd be messy and painful. We knew it'd end in tears. But, the writers, directors, and performers (not to mention the rest of the incredible crew) have given us something really beautiful, here. It's achingly beautiful. What a privilege to witness it.

Thanks for reading, my friends. Be kind to one another. Build one another up. And never forget that you have intrinsic value and worth that nobody can take away.

Look for the connections in the empty spaces. They're there. We're here. And you are not alone.

[moononmyfloor]

Cinderella Chef (萌妻食神 - Méng Qī Shí Shén) Season 3

Season 1, Season 2 .

Steps are given in this season btw, if you want to replicate the recipes

Ep 1

(uhh "Loong" here means dragon. The subs aren't as good as first two seasons from the look of it)

Ep 2

Ep 3

Ep 4

Ep 5

Ep 6

Ep 7

Ep 8

Ep 9

Ep 10

Cat ears as in pasta

Ep 11

Ep 12

. My other posts

[canonicallysoulmates]

J2 Gold Panel DC Con 2023

To start off the panel Jared notices that a fan's shirt says the only thing they're putting jeans and boots on for this weekend is food, whiskey, and Jensen Ackles, and he says he takes his jeans off for Jensen...sir in front of everyone 👀

First question comes from a fan who got them candy but Jensen throws Jared's so Jared has to go get them 😆 For anyone confused this is because the fan got Jared Twizzlers since he said he liked them at the last con but Jensen doesn't like them and prefers red vines.

What snacks do they eat when watching the football game?

Jensen answers chips and salsa.

Jared says he has a funny story, when they worked together they did an ep about a lucky penny, and one Sunday Tom Welling who was still doing Smallville went over and they did a BBQ, and Tom brought some family salad recipe that had Doritos in it and some maui ribs and some other stuff, so they eat then a couple days later Jared comes home late from work or something and he's a little hungry so he goes to the fridge and sees the Maui ribs that Tom had brought over. He snacked on them, went to bed, and didn't realize until the next morning that the ribs had been raw. I literally screamed when he said this, as y'all can guess he was dog sick.

And Jensen says the problem is that Jared didn't realize they were uncooked until he asked him about them! They lived together at the time so Jensen got home looking for the ribs cause he wanted to cook them and when he asked Jared about them Jared replied he ate them well he knows Jared and he knows he isn't going to fire up the grill when he's hungry he just eats but he still asks how he cooked them, and that's when Jared tells him he didn't cook them he just ate them.

How do you make a mistake like this??? 😭

So, poor Jared is sick as a dog, and the next day they're filming in Squamish, the whole ride there he's trying not to throw up. He gets there, they look at him, and send him to his trailer. Then they call a nurse to give him a shot of vitamin B and some other stuff so most of the coverage of them when they're in the booth talking to each other when Jensen is talking it's not to him he was in his trailer for like 8hrs throwing up and with diarrhea.

Jensen says he was like "I don't want him projectile vomiting unto me, get him out off here and get a stand in and put a wig on the guy."

Then he jokes that he realized how much better the experience is so for the next 8 seasons he didn't work with the guy and Jared quips but they still lived together. x

Something interesting is that Jensen says they were roommates for all of s4, but Jared says 5 as well and Jensen's like no, it was only one season but that if Jared wants to stretch it into 2 that's fine and Jared goes 4 to 12. Like seasons 4 to 12. And I just find it a very interesting exchange especially Jared's reaction when Jensen tries to deny that they lived together for more than one season he throws his hands up and goes 'fine, fine' like how one does when you know someone is lying about something or remembering incorrectly but you're not gonna argue with them about it.

If they could give each other stripper or porn names what would they be?

Jensen and I had the same confusion cause we both thought this person was saying board games 🤣

Jensen first understood board games, then it was porn games and he was like who ordered an extra sausage on their pizza to which Jared raises his hand and Jensen goes "it's a spicy meatball" and Jared replies "two of them". 😂

Jared says Moosetacular has a certain je ne sais quoi and Jensen says Mooseknuckle. Jensen asks if there isn't a certain formula to figure out your porn name and the fans give different answers but Jared says they're doing the name of their first pet and the name of the street they grew up on so he is Booty Montclair. That's actually fantastic. And Jensen is Pudgy Midway. x

Did Jared ever get his knee fixed?

Jared says no but he's there and loving it. He's treating it with physical therapy and rehabbing it. Jensen says Jared is learning to live with it much like he did with him. And can I just say he does not look happy he even kind of cuts Jared off when he's finishing answering the question and picks out the next fan to ask something. I think he wishes Jared would take care of it which is understandable, he's probably worried about him, but I gotta say I understand where Jared is coming from for not having the surgery sometimes the remedy is worse than the sickness. x

Is cereal a soup?

Jared says no. Jensen says technically yeah, it's just grain soup, or multigrain soup.

Jared says that you cook soup but the crowd points out gazpacho which is an uncooked, cold soup.

Jensen says he doesn't know if there are milk-based soups, there is cream sometimes in soup but it's traditionally in a broth base, there has to be some sort of broth but someone mentions clam chowder and that has a cream base so Jensen says the fan is right.

Jared asks the fan what they think and they say it is a soup like a hot dog is a sandwich and that's when he loses the crowd and also Jensen who says no. And Jared pats Jensen's chest to calm him down. x

How often do they think about the Roman Empire?

They both know they're being asked this for a reason but Jared doesn't know what the reason is, Jensen does because he had been asked this the previous night for the first time. He answers several times a week. But he hadn't thought about that until he was asked.

Jared says he doesn't think about it unless maybe if he's in Rome but Jeensen tells him to think about all the things that he does think about that are related to the Roman empire so he might not even realize that he's thinking about it.

For context, the reason they were asked about this is because it's a TikTok trend right now to ask men how often they think about the Roman Empire because apparently, men think about the Roman Empire a lot. x

Have they ever been star-struck meeting another celeb?

Jensen says Jared is a big fan of Pearl Jam, and they went to a charity concert where the lead singer of the band, Eddie Vedder was performing and they got the chance to meet him, after he played, in a very intimate setting probably no more than the people in the room at that moment. So they walk up and someone introduces them, and Jared just stiffens up and Jensen's trying to play it cool, and Eddie in true rock and roll fashion is smoking a cigarette. Jared, who does not smoke, asks if he can get a drag of the cigarette, Jensen just turns to look at him, and Eddie slowly hands him the cigarette so Jared grabs it out of his hand, takes a puff of the cigarette, coughs, and goes to hand it back and Eddie goes "you keep it" so Jensen told him it was nice to meet him, walked Jared to the parking lot and they left.

Jared says he left, went home and flew back to Van at like 6am and was like "I always wish I wouldn't act like that" x

If there were a movie made about their lives who would they want playing them?

Jensen jokes Barry Watson would play Jared. Jared shares the story about how one time Sandy was flying from LA to go visit him in Van and the guy she was sitting next to asked what she was traveling for, she said she was going to visit her boyfriend, guy asked what the boyfriend does she tells him he's filming a show called Supernatural that just started, and the guy says he has seen it and asks if her boyfriend is the short one or the one from 7th Heaven. He thought Jared was Barry Watson.

Jensen goes Meryl Streep cause she can do anything.

Jared says Meryl Streep and Daniel Day-Lewis could play Jensen better than Jensen. x

Next fan challenges Jensen to rock, paper, scissors.

Jensen wins with scissors. x

What is a sports moment they wish they could go back and change or are still mad about?

Jensen says he has two. First, when he was in the 9th-grade basketball team there was a very important game and they needed a win. He stole the ball and had a breakaway layup on the other end, he thought he was gonna be king of the school but he airballed it which means he missed the shot. He wishes he could take that back. The second moment was in his senior year he was on the baseball team and he was batting against a guy who went on to have a very long career in the major leagues. The guy was Kerry Wood, he's a pitcher and he was throwing 90 mph as an 18-year-old.

So they have a runner on first and he looks down the third base coach to get his signal cause they give him a signal on what to do and basically through signals they told him he was gonna send the runner to steal second but they needed him to swing away to rob the catcher from throwing him out on second base so he was supposed to swing the ball but Wood's threw a 90+ mph fastball that he never saw. The runner got thrown out on second base, Jensen struck out, and the coach was not happy.

Jared says he thinks it says something about them that they don't remember game-winning goals cause what he remembers is when he was like 11 or 12yrs old- if you get fouled in basketball while shooting you get two shots but sometimes the foul count is at like 8 and you get a foul dribbling which means you get a one-one so you get the first shot and you can get a second shot so he got a one-one and shot the free throw and missed which meant the ball was still in play. But everybody is standing around waiting for him to make the second shot which he wasn't entitled to but he realizes nobody was aware the ball was still in play so he tells his team mate who the ball had bounced over to to pass it to him and he drives straight down the lane and he missed the layup so the other team got the score.

As somebody who knows nothing about sports this was very confusing.

Also, Jensen was trying to ask Jared a question about this and Jared wasn't understanding so Jensen just slaps his arm to get his attention. x

And that was the Gold panel! Real quickly I want to mention that according to the fan who recorded this panel Jensen was checking up on Jared prior to going on the stage to make sure he was okay because this is a very emotional con.

For those who may still not know Krista, also known as Kreespa, who has provided the fandom with wonderful panel recordings over the years was sadly diagnosed with terminal cancer and this was the last convention she was attending so it was dedicated to her. That's why you'll see them wearing a green shirt that says Kristacon on it.

J2 Gold Panel DC Con

[absolutebl]

Hey ABL. Just sent my doctorate for examination and for the first time since 2019 I have WAY too much time on hands. Can you suggest some binge watches? Got into bl last Feb so stuff before that would be great. Warmly, M

CONGRATZ!!!

10 Older BLs Worthy of a Binge Watch!

(in no particular order, prior to 2022)

1 Seven Days: Monday-Thursday & Seven Days: Friday-Sunday

Japan 2015 (grey)

Never doubt my ability to recommend this show. One of the best live action yaois ever made, with perfectly structured angst, fantastic characters and acting, and no problematic tropes (rare in Japanese BL). The leads have excellent chemistry although it’s low heat there’s still some really cute mutual kisses.

2 To My Star

Korea 2021 (Viki)

In the mood for something more grown up? TMS is a touch quirky to get into, but utterly charming once it hits its stride. This is the ultimate grumpy/sunshine pairing plus the most appealing light-filled kitchen of our dreams.

I don't like season 2 but others do. It is very clever.

3 We Best Love: No. 1 For You & Fighting Mr. 2nd

Taiwan 2021 (WeTV)

How about a uni + office BL? Brilliant acting saved this show from a messy (pretty classically manga) narrative with a lot of angst. You have to buy in to a yaoi aesthetic with this one, accept that things move fast and occasionally confuse, but that everything will be okay. It’s the ultimate pining seme meets the ultimate tsundere uke. WBL successfully manages to combine the best elements of Korean, Thai, and Japanese BL as it exists right now. Couple that to the insane chemistry from the leads, and we have one of the greatest BLs of all time, cooking higher heat to a recipe I doubt anyone else will ever be able to replicate since only Taiwan is this flexible.

4 He's Coming to Me

Thailand 2019 (YouTube)

With only 8 8 eps and from GMMTV this is short, high quality and bingable for Thailand. Boy and ghost boy fall in love, must solve ghost’s murder. Peak pining but also pretty tame, features my favorite sweet but important coming out sequence in all BL. The third in my precious triumvirate of unbeatable Thai BLs, that are only nominally BL because the story, acting, and production values are so good.

(Together with Until We Meet Again & A Tale of Thousand Stars - those 2 are longer so I don't consider them as bingable, but if you want something to get really stuck into? Go to town.).

5 Color Rush

Korea 2021 (Viki)

A unique paranormal twist elevates this classic high school drama into a pitch-perfect allegory for the queer coming out experience and one of the best BLs of all time (I will fight you on this). Here's my battle essay.

Original trigger.

(Don't bother with season 2.)

6 HIStory 2: Crossing the Line

Taiwan 2018 (Viki)

Lin Pei Yu directs this sports romance (volleyball) with a good boy/bad boy pairing, and my hands-down favorite of the HIStory franchise. There is no clear seme/uke. Ostensibly it's high school set but Taiwan doesn't care about age appropriate actors. It's a very soft sweet romance with some ridiculously easily overcome conflict. There's great kisses but it's medium heat. The side dishes are the stepbrother trope but they’re very tame, and there’s no other triggers. It's not just my favorite of the franchise, it’s one of my favorite BLs with a perfect happy ending.

(The second H2 is also pretty good.)

7 Cherry Magic

30-sai made Dotei Da to Mahotsukai ni Nareru rashii AKA Cheri Maho

Japan 2020 (indie subs)

The sweetest fluffiest magical realism BL, packaged as a pinning office romance, very low heat (practically chaste) but the cutest. It’s truly great.

8 Light On Me

Korea 2021 (Viki)

Korea does an elegant pastiche of traditional live action yaoi but all tropes are cleverly deployed to bolster one of the most riveting love triangles ever put on screen… and I don’t like love triangles. LoM strategically tailors classic BL tropes to 2 different semes resulting in pristine pacing, plot, and character development, explicitly serving narrative (not just to tick boxes). LoM is a master class in trope drops. (If you write fanfic or romance you should study this show.) Full review.

9 Be Loved In House: I Do

Taiwan 2021 Viki

A cute classy office set BL with a few plot raised eyebrows, but no other concerns. ALL THE TROPES plus a general sweet softness that’s pretty rare from Taiwan, who usually prefer to go hard, but all their signature domesticity.

10 Lovely Writer

Thailand 2021 (YouTube)

Thailand criticizes itself and the BL industry while simultaneously giving us classic seme/uke with great chemistry in a one-two punch of “we love it, but are we supposed to? and must we think this hard, yet enjoy it SO MUCH?” This show won’t appeal or make sense to those who don’t already have at least some Thai BL watching experience. What Lovely Writer does, at heart, is reexamine Thai BL has done to queerness, but in a very gentle way that has more to do with Thai BL growing up than any actual queer authenticity. It’s not parody or pastiche, but it is self reflective and trying to correct for some chronic mistakes. Whether it is ultimately successful in this matter is going to depend on the watcher’s relationship to BL and queer identity. But that’s what makes this show beautiful, interesting, and thought provoking. And I, for one, applaud the effort even if I didn’t personally connect to the characters.

If you wanted 2022 included here's my top 10 from 2022: