#sap ep

[ramblinguitar]

New Alice In Chains bracelet

Sap/Black Gives Way To Blue album cover color scheme. Can be found here

AIC Dirt

Jar of Flies

More grunge bracelets

[exile-on-uwustreet]

some of yall afraid to be corny, but brother, they were born on the cob

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

Alice in Chains - Got Me Wrong

[ethecookednoodle]

paper flowers

Couldn't help but think about Wolfwood making paper flowers out of cigarette aluminium foil and think of Vash

[greylight32]

Head canon Time!!!! Victim: Henry! (since i've been hyperfixating on him since we're seeing him soon)

I think that every since everyone Henry has ever loved either died or cut off contact with him. His only motivation to get out of bed was so that he could have a staring contest with the doodler.

I imagine it was by accident too. Just up until that point he had been lying in bed staring up at the ceiling, until one day he looks out the window and just can't stop, once the pupil gets out of the line out sight of Henry's bedroom window he decides that he'll just, go outside, and well if he's going outside he might as well get dressed, and if he's getting dressed he might as well do some gardening too.

So he did, and when he got to tired to worked anymore he would lay down on the ground and stare up at the eye, squint his eyes and point at the pupil, he did this for hours until the Doodler blinked.

And ever since then that was his motivation to get out of bed (without Birdie or his BIL's help), to have a staring contest with the Doodler. Overtime it was comforting having someone who would never (could never) leave. He would look up while he was gardening, while he was eating (which he did outside), while relaxing.

This was how Henry lived his life, a constant fucking staring contest, but hey if some people can only get up out of bed and live their day-to-day lives because of coffee, then why can't his be the giant eldritch god that one of his sons released into the world by literally stabbing him in the back to get out?

Of course this is how he lived life until the teens took them out of the sky, and since if was confirmed to be around mid-day when the teens took them out of the sky I think Henry was going about his normal day of having a staring contest with and eldritch God, when suddenly it's replaced with the fucking sun.

obviously it took a moment of him to adjust, but once he did and saw that the sky is once again blue, I think he went into full freak out mode. Because how the fuck is he supposed to know who has them? How does he know that Willy doesn't have them. He calls Birdie "Heya Honey!" "Um hola papa, um have you seen the sky?" "Oh goodness you can see it too?" "Uh yeah it's kind of hard not to, I mean the whole sky changed" " Fuck does Willy have it?" "What was that papa?" "Oh nothing sweetheart I love you! I'll talk to you later bye-bye!" "Papa wai-" . He then started running through a bunch of different scenarios while walking between his garden and the graves and it went like this: *sitting criss-cross infront of the dads graves as if he was having a conversation with them* "Do the boys have it?" *Two hours later, walking in his garden pensively hands in a kind of diamond shape against his mouth* "Does Hero have it?" *One hour later, back to sitting criss-cross infront of the dads graves, one arm on his knee resting his face on his hand* "Does Normal have it?" Each one getting even more quite then the last.

and I think by the time they get to his house due to how time works it has been less then a day since the sky returned to normal by the time The Teens arrive. So they kinda just walk in on Henry freaking out in his garden, Haha won't that be fun?

[wistfulwatcher]

me, watching episode one of a new show: this isn't very good me, watching episode five of that same show: i would die for this found family

[vaugarde]

if it seems like im skipping some jn episodes thats because i am LOL

[napsaps-archive]

banter ✨ sorry

don't be sorry!! banter isn't my go-to podcast but i do put on an episode every now and then, i prefer the older episodes over the newer ones but it isn't a bad podcast or anything. like i think george karl and sapnap (knn? or is it banter trio idk i use ship names for /p too who cares) work so well and it's partly because karlnap are in love and knf are both menaces and snf are snf lmfao i know a huge criticism of banter is that the three of them don't have that much chemistry but they DOOO and they're all friends who make each other laugh and they say dumb things because they can be stupid together and i seriously cannot wait for the day banter makes its comeback and there are more new eps because i would cry they're so special to me AND TO EACH OTHER like george always gets his fond little eye crinkles when he smiles and sapnap does his head shake with the smile where his chin kind of dips towards his chest a little and karl fucking giggles like there's no tomorrow. i love them so much #SHOOTERS4BANTER

[sapsolais]

get u a bug man that'll invite u inside his mushroom & hotbox it to reignite the flame of your heroic soul

[thebrutalballadoffangusklot]

I don’t like witch from mercury anymore

[voxmilia]

Of all the articles I thought I'd read today, discussion about the genetics of B.luey's future child was not one

[paniniwrap]

Just realised a parallel that leaves Much to Unpack:

I feel like this is an underrated parallel that I wished to talk about. I just find it interesting that s1ep18, Land Before Swine, is something that hits harder given what we know of the Science Project Incident in A Tale of Two Stans. In both incidents, Stan’s careless mistake costed his loved ones something that they cherished (his negligence caused Waddles to be taken by a dinosaur and Ford lost a potential scholarship to a good college). I also find it interesting how he raises his arms defensively the same way in both confrontations.

I think this ep is important in the sense that stan goes thru a mini arc where he realises that he’s once again on the brink of losing his relationship with a loved one because he didn’t immediately take accountability or come clean. Listen, I know im a stan stan who understands that maybe him being defensive/doubling down on the lie stems from years of being accused of stuff or worried about the other person’s reaction/punishment or a combination of both. But I also acknowledge that bro lowkey dismissed ford’s reasonable frustration just cuz the turn of events was suddenly convenient for Stan cuz ford not getting into west coast tech meant that their original childhood dream was back on (Tho Ofc him getting kicked out was def a disproportionate response to said offense). In a similar way, he temporarily forgets abt Mabel’s missing pig that she cares a lot about to remark about what a great money making opportunity the sap covered dinos are. He still inadvertently hurt them through that even if he never meant to. So that’s why it’s so important for him to maybe somehow recognise the similarities. Which leads to him immediately stepping up to help mabel get her pig back in the same way he wished he could’ve immediately came clean to ford about the project before the science fair.

Bonus Parallels:

[littleaipoms-rebagel-carpentry]

i get one clip of sonic prime recommended in my YT feed and i'm already tearing up from it??? oh my gosh,,,

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - In Which None of You Should be Surprised by a MAJOR Upset in the Standings

Sorry this is so late. I had a pretty epic series of delays landing me at NRT for like 18 hours or something ridiculous. To be fair there are much worse airports to be stranded at.

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

June 2024 Week 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

The Rebound (Weds Gaga) ep 1 of 12 - Fuck all ya'all if you thought I had taste. MeenPing are topping this damn list because... have you any idea how LONG I have been waiting for a real sports centered BL starring at least one boy who actually played the flipping sport? My whole damn life. You ready for me to go into euphoric splooges all over your screens? I don't think you are. SUFFER! And now some splooging:

It’s off to a great start. Thank you, Rebound, for being exactly what I wanted. By which I mean Meen has his shirt off literally in the first two minutes of the show. Also it’s a bit of a childhood sweethearts reunion romance. There’s nothing wrong with this beginning. Fantastic. For a change, I even enjoy the intro music. Golf is directing MeenPing this time, so maybe something magical will happen. Frank is aging so pretty!!! How nice for all of us. Even the bb play is good. It’s a proper sports BL. I’m so damn happy right now. 

Wandee Goodday (Sat YT) ep 9 of 12 - I’m so tired of Ter, but everything else was lovely. Also they are SUCH boyfriends. 

Sunset X Vibes (Sat iQIYI) ep 3 of 12 - They are so cute in these roles. I don’t know why, I just like their vibe better here than in the previous show. (And I really enjoyed Big Dragon at the start.) This show is a lot more classic romance and kind of pat because of that. I do hope the ingénue character gets some kind of additional development and talent. But even if it stays mundane, these two have the chemistry to carry it. So I suspect I’ll keep enjoying it regardless. I am mildly intrigued by the spice of the PNR element, so I hope they run with that a bit more. I suspect they will have to, to extend the plot for 12 eps.

My Stand-In (Fri iQIYI) ep 10 of 12 - Ah Ming... famous last words. This one just makes me sigh a lot and whimper sadly. I don’t know where they’re going with this plot or how they’re gonna resolve it. Joe finally being the asshole Ming deserves is a lot of fun though (double entendre intended). I’m scared but it did make me cry... a lot. (That's fine, I'm a sap.)  

Imma say this because no one else has. Wardrobe is unilaterally terrible in this show. I mean Thailand is notoriously bad in general but this show, nash.

We Are Cute (Weds iQIYI) ep 13 of 16 - They are so fucking adorable. And so flirty! Also a crying kiss? My favorite! Chain’s little moment of "Cupid shoot thyself" was epic. ("Physician heal thyself" but for the BL world?) Honestly, I could watch a whole show about these two...

The Trainee (Sun YouTube) ep 1 of 12 - How does Gun still look like he’s just out of high school? Madness. Does the set for the print shop that he’s working in at the beginning remind anybody else of Mork’s dad’s place in ‘Cause He’s My Boy? I swear GMMTV has about 3 sets they rotate through.

To be brutally honest, I was not looking forward to the show at all. No idea why. OffGun aren’t my most favorite OG pair, but I respect them for their longevity, optics, acting shops, and enduring brand. Maybe I just needed more of a gap from Cooking Crush?

Whatever, I was absolutely riveted by this first episode. I’m enjoying The Trainee a lot. Like, a lot a lot.

My Love Mix-Up Th (Fri YT) ep 4 of 12 - This version did the "clear up of the inciting miscommunication" in such a sweet achey way. Frankly that "ache of first love" really plays to G4's strengths as a pair. This was a good ep and I’m now starting to enjoy this one for its own sake and get some distance from the JBL version. It's just there is A LOT of good stuff coming out of Thailand right now.

Love Sea (Sun iQIYI) ep 3 of 10 - I was inspired to write a Shakespearean style sonnet in this week's trash watch. Mame seems to believe that no character can have depth without suffering. And I found this episode both boring and rushed at the same time. Trash watch here. (This week's trash watch also VERY delayed.)

Knock Knock Boys (Thurs Gaga) ep 6 of 12 - It’s eminently missable... so I missed it this week in order to get this weekly update out. Next week will be a two in one. 

Only Boo! (Sun YT) ep 12fin - Okay, that’s it, I guess?

Summary:

An idol romance about a sunshine boy who dances good and wants to be a star and a reserved food stand vendor. Other side of the tracks, grumpy/sunshine pair who fall in love but, of course, to be an idol baby boy can't date. It wasn’t particularly bad, it wasn’t particularly good either. 7/10

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

I Hear the Sunspot AKA Hidamari ga Kikoeru (Japan Weds Gaga) Ep 1 of 10 - A new series adaptation of beloved yaoi I Hear the Sunspot (first adaptation was feature film Silhouette of Your Voice 2017).

I expected the soundscapes in this one to be fantastic, but I didn’t expect the filming to be something special too. But it really is. I’m not gonna lie, I'm nervous about this show because I love the manga and was disappointed by the film, but we were off to a really good start. First names already? So cute. I love them.

Takara's Treasure AKA Takara No Vidro (Japan Mon Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - Shy awkward Taishin goes to a Tokyo university in order to reunite with Takara, a stranger who consoled him over the loss of a parrot the year prior. He finally gets a chance to express his gratitude but is given the cold shoulder. (My thoughts this weekend's round up)

I can't believe Japan is holding it down for the non Thai BL. I mean to say.... JAPAN!!! What alt reality are we living in? It being Japan, I'm scared of the ending.

It's airing but...

Blue Boys is still going on and I'm still enjoying it (despite the cheating) but I don't know when it drops or where it's going, so I will report in at the end. When they tell me it's ended.

The Last Time (Thai Fri YT?) - Convoluted story of loss and possible reincarnation or something. Can't find it.

OMG Vampire (Thai Sun ???) 10 eps - I've put the search on hold for and y'all can let me know if it's worth tracking down once it ends?

In case you missed it

The Time of Fever AKA Unintentional Love Story 2 (Korea movie) trailer released to Korean theaters 5/25. HoTae & DongHee, side couple from Unintentional Love Story are back! Same actors, same character names. I love them. Devastated this hasn't had international distribution. I demand you tell me the moment you find it!

Next Week Looks Like This:

NO IMG - we half way through this week already - sorry.

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

July Releases to Come

7/5 This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans (Thai iQIYI) - trailer here, The PittBabe team behind a new restaurant set BL full of hidden agendas and starring my new favorites SailubPon. Delightful!

7/10 Century of Love (Thai Gaga) 10 eps - trailer here, DaouOffroad are back, this time as fated mates in a quasi historical paranormal moment. San has spent many lifetimes waiting for his lost beloved, to reincarnate from her death a century ago. But if he fails to find her within this century's time window, he will succumb to a tragic death. And this time she's a boy. Very much Director Who Buys Me Dinner meets First Love Again, hopefully better than both. I love this pair and think they can handle the premise, it's whether the storytelling is up to the challenge. I'm curious to see but I have reservations.

7/26 4 Minutes (Thai Netflix or iQIYI?) - Great is a university student from Faculty of Business and the son of a wealthy business owner. Out of the blue, he gains the supernatural power to see four minutes into the future.

7/29 Battle of the Writers (Thai ????) - trailer here, TutorYim return and while I adore them, I really hope this is better than Middleman's Love. Won't be hard. However: that premise! Ugh. Something something authors fighting - save me. Why don't writers understand that nothing is more boring than writers?

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Defining @heretherebedork 's favorite endearment of "tiny idiot."

I love him. I also love what a class act they both were about this turn down. Thailand shows Korea how to handle a love triangle by NOT HAVING ONE.

Both We Are.

We stand a lap sit on this blog, but I think this is my first lap spin! I adored it! (Sunset X Vibes)

It's fun to watch them follow the original narrative but with these cute little Thai twists. Sometimes these are shifted for language reasons, sometimes for cultural, and sometimes I think just to draw a clear distinction from the JBL. I'm not mad about any of it. (My Love Mix Up)

Not just for you, honey. Truer words were never spoken. Yak is the biggest green flag ever to walk BL's verdant earth.

Linguistic corner!

I love this way of putting the translation. Usually, in Thai, the phrase used means "he's my happiness" (sounds like: kwamsook). To use sabai is different. Sabai more ubiquitous (sabai is one of the most commonly used phrases in Thailand) but also so different from the usual phrase we hear in ThBL at this moment. Thus, this execution is special, particularly from a doctor. I'm not quite sure how to put it but sabai can also be translated as feeling well, as in, not ill. So there is a way of looking at Wandee saying Yak is both his peace of mind and good for his health and well being.

(Last week)

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

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

Sigh, Tumblr in it's infinite wisdom doesn't like too many tags.

There's these tricks, remember.

[vampiric-succulent]

OUAW EP 17:

Noooo not the memories of the two gifts this is actually so sad they’re being sapped of their joy

[my-mt-heart]

Why Explicit Caryl Canon Matters

Daryl and Carol (Caryl) fans make up a large portion of the spinoff's audience, and this audience wholeheartedly believes that Daryl and Carol are each other's only choice. It's in the writing. It's also reinforced by cast, crew, and EPs. For example, Norman has repeatedly said “If Daryl falls in love, it's forever."

There's a misconception that Carylers are a bunch of hysterical saps – fans who only want their ship "fucking under the stars" and only care about Daryl because of Carol, but that’s not true. In reality, Caryl fans are the deepest, most intuitive thinkers in the TWD community. To them, story matters. While they recognize and adore all of the subtext, they understand that it's supposed to lead to something worth the 13-year wait. They're expecting that major sense of relief and joy from watching explicit, undeniable, canon.

Explicit canon respects Carol's and Daryl's character development – individually and together. They started out way behind everybody else in life, convinced they weren't worthy of love. Daryl thought he was better off alone and Carol thought she was just a burden, but then they showed each other their true potential. Carol told Daryl he was a "man of honor" and Daryl taught Carol to have hope for a better future. They've struggled and suffered and strived to be good enough for each other. So, where's the payoff?

I understand not all fans want the same things, and maybe there's pressure to “keep everyone happy." Maybe it feels like a lose-lose situation. But from a marketing perspective, Caryl fans are a very reliable source of revenue for the show, so keeping them happy secures a reliable audience for future seasons of the show. They'll show up with their wallets out and their enthusiasm turned all the way up for Norman's and Melissa's nuanced performances. They'll create more fanart and other content. They'll make the show trend on Twitter constantly. Fans already adore Norman and Melissa, but explicit canon will amplify it further whereas keeping things ambiguous will cause a significant decline in viewership.

Ambiguity is the reason that the "I love you" scene in the flagship's finale got mixed reactions. For the fans who also struggle with their self-image, it was important to see Daryl and Carol overcome their own insecurities and finally "take whatever happiness they could get." But instead, many saw Carol's lighthearted "I love you too" and Daryl's departure as if they were both forfeiting what they always wanted. Daryl was submitting to his solitary nature again while Carol assumed she still owed a debt to her community and Daryl would be happier without her anyway. Both of them deserved a happy ending, or at least a piece of happiness to launch them into the next part of their journey. As far as many fans were concerned, neither of them got that.

That's why a lot of fans had a hard time watching S1 of the spinoff or opted out of watching all together. There were so many moments that teased the "possibility" of Daryl getting together with a younger, blonder woman nun while hints of Caryl's relationship were buried under more subtext. Keeping Daryl's feelings ambiguous just for the "fun" of shipbaiting cheapens Caryl's one-of-a-kind relationship, falsely indicating that their iconic beats can be recycled with someone else and still evoke the same passionate response from fans.

Ambiguity also perpetuates ageism and gives non-Caryl fans the excuse to say hurtful things to or about Melissa. Whether or not she's online to see it makes no difference because it still degrades her and it damages other women's perceptions of beauty and worth. Explicit canon on the other hand raises both Melissa and Norman up as two powerhouse actors utilizing their unparalleled chemistry to celebrate mature romances. It brings Daryl’s defining character traits to the forefront – the nurturing traits and the epic ones. It positions Daryl and Carol as equals, and it helps drown out the harmful comments against Melissa. 

Hopes for season 2 of the spinoff are high. Confirmation of Carol's and Daryl's romantic relationship in a way that needs no interpretation and no explanation from anyone offscreen is a dealbreaker. I know in terms of explicit canon, post-production can make all the difference, so it's crucial someone in a position of power pushes for canon that fully and unapologetically lives up to the fans' expectations, does right by the characters, and respects what Melissa wants.