#started watching ep 1 again just now and. literally every about it makes me feel so SICK with emotions. AHHH!!!

[kalashtars]

unironically i think fellow travelers is my new comfort show which is insane considering the subject matter but truly there's something addictive about it

[curio-queries]

ARE YOU SURE?!

Episode 4 production Notes

Again, I genuinely didn't think I'd have anything to say at this point about this episode. I had such a good time the first time I watched it, just smiling the whole way through. There is one thing that did stick in my brain a little bit though so here I am again with another post.

Episode Break Points

We honestly can't be making any final conclusions at this point but there is starting to emerge a picture of how the production team approached the development of this show as an episodic release. The question that was rattling around my brain after watching episode 4 was how they are choosing their cut points between episodes. We really only have three data points right now which is not enough to definitively identify their intent but it does start to paint the picture a little bit. Sometimes, the break point is beyond obvious, like cutting ep.2 at the end of the USA trip. But when there's not a definitive line, a choice has to be made when to bring one episode to a close and start another.

Some shows use the changing of the day as a break point but that's not necessarily always the best choice to make for the narrative of the show. For example, the break between eps 1 and 2 is in the morning after JK has his coffee and makes the stone tower. This better served the momentum of the episode and wrapped up the story beat of JM's rough night. Ep 2 then starts on a high note with JK's motorbike ride. In my opinion, this was an excellent choice as we close ep.1 feeling all cozy and ep.2 begins with a little bit of excitement.

A Look Back

So why am I bringing this up now? It's because I was so confused as the choice of when to break these two episodes. I don't know if I've decided if it was good/bad/somewhere-in-between but I absolutely was not expecting Episode 4 to start the way it did. Ep 3 ends at the Go Karts and feels like a complete story beat. While ep 4 starts with the drive to the Omakase.

To me, it feels like we're picking up on the last remains of the previous episode and not starting a new section. Which is honestly, kind of counterintuitive. Why would it feel like that? They're literally on their way to the next activity. I suspect it has more to do with the tonal momentum. The guys are still coming down from all of the energy they expended from Rock Climbing and racing and are having a well-deserved relaxing drive. Even the brief moments we see of JK on the motorbike are quite chill. (mostly because there's not really a great way to get action footage on a bike in the dark lol).

So...to see if I could support my suspicion, or if I was just bringing something else into my viewing experience, I decided to rewatch the whole series so far and rank every story beat on a scale for how energetic/intense I felt the narrative was supporting.

A couple of notes before you judge my rankings:

This data is the very definition of subjective. if I redid this same exercise even the next day, I'm sure I would disagree with myself on certain rankings so you certainly don't have to agree with my rankings.

If a storybeat had a noticeable tonal shift, I entered it twice and included both rankings. If it just varied a bit, I entered a ranking more representative of the scene as a whole.

This won't be reflective of the time occupied by each story beat. Some sections are longer than others but with sustained energy so it doesn't translate in this visual representation how much of an impact on the overall tone of the episode any one of these are.

I also added a star at the end of each episode of my median scores. I feel that this was a better representation of the overall tone of each episode rather than an average but that's just my personal view on this teeny dataset. Please don't come for me analytics folks! This is just a post for funzies, not proper analysis!

So What?

The point was curious about is in the gap between eps 3 & 4. Everywhere else there's a pretty clear shift in the start and end of the energy but that gap looks like it was just a step that was missed in what could have been a continual episode.

Here are the runtimes of each episode so far:

USA: 56 min

USA: 72 Min

Jeju: 56 min

Jeju: 70 min

I don't have any conclusions about why it was done this way other than they felt the tonal break was the sacrifice for keeping the Omakase story line in tact. Which honestly, I agree. There would have been time to include the drive in the previous episode but it would have left us on an unfinished storybeat. This is one of the reasons that we never get footage of the members return trip from their travel shows. Bon Voyage ends every episode with the members remarking on the trip overall. Even though we know they have to return home, we don't see it because that would start to build energy for whatever they're doing next and not the story of their trip.

Even in ITS1 when the members do return home in the middle, we see them packing up and getting in the cars but the episode ends before they really start traveling. (Actually it ends before they even let Jin in the car so they're definitely not on their way yet!)

Commercials?

I have a question for anyone that's watching this with ads. I don't really watch streaming content so I'm curious, do the ad breaks just randomly occur? Or does it seem like they're intentionally scheduled? Building story breaks for commercials was a huge focus of legacy tv and I'd be interested to learn more about how streaming services are incorporating it (not enough to not have commercials though, I get insta-rage when the content I'm consuming is interrupted lol). I vaguely remember getting frustrated when I was attempting to watch something at my parent's over the holidays but I don't recall if it seemed structured or not.

That's it. That's all I've got to say right now. We're definitely getting a lot more to the story of this show and I'm absolutely loving it. I'm going to be away for a bit next week and I honestly don't know when I'll fit in watching episode 5 but I'm very much looking forward to it!

If you've seen this post and are interested in some more of my thoughts on Are You Sure, here's a link to my AYS MasterList. Still can't believe I've rambled so much about this show but it's been fun! Thanks to everyone that's been rambling with me!

[becauseimanicequeen]

Rewatching Pit Babe (ep. 1-2), A Post that Started Messy but Turned Into One About the Colors

This is part of my Crazy-Ass End-of-Year Rewatch Challenge where I will rewatch my favorite shows, my least-favorite shows, and some shows in between. After a few days of trying to figure out what to start with, I pulled Pit Babe out of a bowl (yes, I literally wrote each show on a piece of paper, put them in a bowl, mixed them around, and pulled a title because I couldn't decide).

I can't promise cohesive thoughts in these posts because it's the end of the year, I'm currently living in right-brain land 10+ hours per day, and I'm TIRED because the darkness of winter is coming. You've been warned.

Also, since this is a rewatch, there are spoilers ahead.

Background

I watched Pit Babe as it aired last year because racing alphas, betas, and omegas sounded like some chaotic sorority collage show that could possibly tickle my fancy (I had no idea what omegaverse was back then, so excuse my idiocy, lol). Little did I know I was walking into a world where dudes could, theoretically, get pregnant? (Again, excuse my lack of knowledge of that world.)

Setting that aside, though... Besides Pavel looking all fine and tasty and me being on a high from hearing Nut's voice again (there's just something about that slight rasp of his voice that gets me every time), it became a chaotic wild ride I enjoyed so thoroughly that I gave it a 7/10.

Will I change my rating after this rewatch? Who knows. I'm more interested to see how much of it my currently fucked up memory has forgotten already.

Anyway... Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go! (I clearly haven't forgotten the song, though...)

Episode 1

We are back with the neon colored intro!

I'm already vibing with this because I'm such a slut for neon lights!

I'm always talking about how neutral I am when it comes to characters. But teams are a whole other thing. And I'm all for X-Hunter here.

Not because of Dean because all I want to do is kick his shins, lol. But blue is one of my favorite colors, and I'm a simple girl. Give me blue (or purple, pink, and especially all of those in neon) and I'm in heaven.

But, let's get back to the show, shall we?

Which is when...

The sniffing begins! I approve.

Oh, look:

It's Winner Winner Chicken Dinner. (Every time I hear Winner's name or see him on my screen, my mind goes: "Winner Winner Chicken Dinner" for some reason. So, I'll obviously continue with that, lol.)

Excuse me as I obsess about these reddish/pinkish neon lights for a moment because... just look how pretty that light is on both of them!

The way it enhances their beauty. The way it symbolizes both Babe and Charlie's naivety (yes, Babe is naive too since he trusts Charlie so fast even though Charlie has a hidden reason for being there) and that someone is lying or withholding information.

But if we ignore all of that for a moment and just look at the light... It's so fucking pretty!

But, again, I'm a slut for neon lights, so I might be biased and over-obsessing about it, lol.

The Way I'm laughing at this bitch, though:

Way is feeling Way more threatened than he would like to admit. (Btw, that red light covering some of Way's reflection in the image above and shining behind him in the image below made me think about lightsabers and Darth Vader. And it's justified.)

Way, my sweet lovesick cinnamon bun (I don't know, that just came to mind as I'm eating one at the moment, lol), your Way will never be Babe's Way. Babe's Way is turning in another direction.

In this direction, to be specific:

I guess he just smells better.

You know what? I'll also change my Way in this post. Because...

That red light above is literally glaring at me to make sure I notice it and what it wants to communicate to me. And, since I haven't written about the colors in the shows I'm watching for a while now, I might just turn this rewatch into posts with word vomits about the colors in the show...

Yes?

Yes.

So, let's rewind for a bit.

The show has already established that it's the red team, Red Racing, against the blue team, X-Hunter. To put it in rough strokes, the red team is the bad side with Winner Winner Chicken Dinner, and the blue team is the good side with Babe and Alan (I won't include Way here because of the red that follows him around, and since I've already watched this show once before, my choice to exclude him are justified).

On the blue side: We've already seen Babe in blue. We've also seen Charlie in blue, but he's not on the team yet, he's only trying to fit in at this point (because he has his red moments too!). Alan is blue, and Dean is blue (for now).

On the red side: We've seen Winner Winner Chicken Dinner–I mean, besides his racing overalls and car, look at that image above from the bar and you can see the red details on his jacket and the red light behind him. Does that red light look familiar? It should since I wrote about a similar light crossing over and showing up behind Way in the images above. So, if you ever felt off about Way, the colors were telling you that you were right to feel that Way, even though Way's on the blue team.

AnyWay...

This crossing of colors happens a lot. A lot. So come with me into the second episode and more of the crossing of these two colors (and perhaps some additional colors will pop up as well? We'll see...).

Episode 2

On the subject of the red team. Let me introduce the major(?) investor:

Surrounded by all that red. Interestingly, there are spots of blue as well (there's a car and some signs in the background, and the reporter's microphone as well as a band he has around his neck). And let's not ignore Tony's clothes. The suit looks like it's dark blue and the tie is definitely blue. He's trying to pose as someone he's not. But he never fooled me! That man is a walking, talking, charming problem investing in a red team that suits his fiery temperament!

And then we're switching over to the blue team, where the pool table's mat is in the right color.

But even here, there are red details (like the machines, or whatever, in the background and the balls on the table), showing that the line between blue and red is crossed on both sides. And I'm not just talking about the colors crossing in the different teams' garages, I'm referring to the characters in those teams as well (if you've seen the show and noticed the colors, you know what I mean).

The only ones we can be sure of are Alan, who is the owner of X-Hunter and loyal to the blue, Tony who is investing in Red Racing and hides his psychopathic tendencies behind a calm and peaceful facade once in a while (or perhaps more often than I remember? We'll see...), and Winner Winner Chicken Dinner who will always stick to his true color (good for him).

Everyone else seems to be mixing the blue and the red. Babe, for example, had a red past.

The same goes for Way, Charlie, and Jeff (which we're getting hints of, and I'll show them throughout these posts).

Also, Way just used his manipulation power. This is the first time we get to see it, already in episode 2.

You know, it's funny that I was more sus about Way during my first watch of this show than I ever was about Charlie. But I think Way's manipulating Ways/power was what made me unable to fully trust him.

Charlie, on the other hand... How can someone as cute as this:

Hurt anyone?

Okay... How can someone as cute as Charlie be manipulative?

Ehm... How can someone as cute as Charlie have an evil bone in his body...

Fine, I give up!

Charlie is sus... (But he's harmless.)

Yes, he has red in him too. But I'll get to that in a bit because first, Jeff is introduced while drinking a red drink and arriving at the X-Hunter garage dressed in blue carrying a red bag:

He's walking the same line between red and blue just like Charlie (and Babe and Way).

Also, both the red and the blue show up when Jeff and Charlie are discussing why Jeff applied for the job at X-Hunter.

And if that wasn't dropping enough hints, Charlie is framed with the red and blue at the gym.

And while he's fighting Kim, they're both on a blue (and red) mat with red velcro on their gloves:

These boys are all over the place (color-wise and on the floor) and I'm loving it! Nothing is red or blue here (well, except Alan, Tony even though he's trying to hide it, and Winner Winner Chicken Dinner). Nothing is black or white, and I love stories like that. You're not quite sure about any of these boys because they're all hiding stuff and making secret plans.

The only difference with Charlie, though, is that even though the red is glaringly obvious around him...

He's still choosing the blue...

Loyalty isn't an issue for him when he's chosen whom to be loyal to.

Now, with all this said about the blue and red...

I still have no idea what's going on with these two idiots who seem to always mix red and blue...

And knowing where this show is going, I won't be able to figure it out this time either, lol.

Anyway... That's the end of the 2nd episode. And, because I've basically reached my 30-image limit (which Tumblr really needs to increase because this artist needs visual aids in my long-form posts about color!), I'm moving on to a separate post for the next (however many) episodes.

[certifieduruihater]

So you noticed it too? That Raph and Leo are so similar. That’s why I find the Leo and Raph fights annoying because they are both alike they should be agreeing with each other more

honestly i kind of just want to see a version where leo and raph just...get along with little to no major issues. actually, make them best friends. why not? 2012 was so close to doing this, but imo they fumbled the bag.

i guess i just dont understand why raph and leo fighting HAS to be a staple of every tmnt iteration. these iterations often dont even do anything interesting with their conflicts. we dont see their characters explored or expanded on a deeper level. in several iterations it's hard to call their conflicts two sided as it often boils down to raph throwing a tantrum about one thing or another and leo getting caught in the crossfire, which does nothing for anyone. ill try to explain what i mean by complaining about 2012 (a series i love, but man do i get frustrated with sometimes)

i remember watching tmnt 2012 s4 ep 18 mutant gangland and being absolutely appalled at raph in this episode

the episode starts out with him being angry for no discernible reason and then taking it out on leo during training with sudden brutality and aggression against him.

first he says he's angry that no one takes training seriously, which is not true, because we've never seen leo not taking training seriously against you?? and he's not doing it right now?

then raph accuses splinter of favoritism, which...no? not once in the show have i ever seen evidence of favoritism? what is bro on?? splinter doesnt "stick up for leo" here, he ends a fight that got too aggressive, reinforces their brotherly relationship in an effort to stop raph from killing his brothers, and reiterates the purpose of training, which raph seems to have forgotten. favoritism where??

this is not the first time in the series raph has gone off at leo during training by the way.

in s2 when raph meets casey (the good the bad and casey jones), raph strikes leo from behind after leo wins their fight.

it's not like splinter stopped raph from hitting leo then. he doesnt even yell at raph here. once again, i ask, where's the favoritism?

raph takes no personal responsibility for his anger, which would be fine, only this never gets resolved by the end of the series. he STILL has this mindset by the end of the show. like was that s1 turtle temper episode in which raph supposedly learned to control his temper not enough??? what are we still doing here??

this also ties into a general issue with 2012 where instead of creating new conflicts for the characters they start to repeat old ones. actually, one could argue that s4 raph actually gets WORSE. at least in s2 raph was somewhat remorseful, even though he quickly buried it in denial soon after.

back to the s4 example. then raph out of nowhere drags donnie into the conflict? ive never claimed to be a donnie fan, but this was uncalled for. bro was literally sitting there and drinking juice. i'll admit donnie did escalate the conflict unnecessarily, but hey, raph was the one to bring up the nonexistent favoritism thing in the first place.

like am i supposed to be on raph's side here? to me it just looks like he blew up for no reason. i have no idea what this guys is thinking!

we are at SEASON 4 and practically almost at the end of the series, and raph is STILL causing issues like this. this is some season 1 behavior. frankly, this is just embarrassing. season 4 was where raph's character as a whole really just went downhill for me. his "conflict" with leo is one example.

raph's running off leads to donnie getting captured. he must be feeling guilty. maybe we'll get some insight as to what his deal is.

that's...it? nothing else? ...okay, maybe they're saving it for the end of the episode. this is an action show after all, and we've got some action to cover.

raph frees donnie...and then fights together with the mutanimals instead of fighting with his team??

but wouldnt it have been better for raph to actually fight WITH his team to...you know...solidify his loyalty to his team? (a loyalty that really shouldnt have to be questioned by now because we're at the END OF THE SERIES???)

by the end of the episode, they apologize, but no one actually talks about anything. raph doesnt explain WHY he got so intense. he doesnt talk to leo or splinter about anything. also, raph NEVER apologizes to donnie for the shuriken nonsense he pulled at the start. huh??

one could argue that raph's issues are a matter of perspective, but it's hard for me to feel any sympathy when i can see objectively that the guy is just plain wrong.

leo and raph's conflict + raph's angst is often written in an incredibly shallow manner that often makes me end up disliking raph more because they never bother to flesh out his end of it. and im sorry to be mean, but raph almost never has a point when he says anything. he's just wrong. this episode is a prime example. unfocused conflicts like this end up feeling like unnecessary drama to me. im just not interested in this sort of thing.

id be okay with conflict between raph and leo if it was interesting, but i just keep seeing the same things over and over again with little to no exploration, so at this point im honestly just tired of it and would rather it not be included.

them being alike doesnt necessarily mean they have to agree with each other, and i dont mind them fighting, but can we have a balance or something? i like the understanding 03 leo and raph seem to have for one another. the way raph silently supported leo in forging his swords when leo was down on his confidence. when leo has an outburst at the team during s4 for not taking things seriously (havent gotten there yet. i saw a clip but idk the context so i could be wrong) raph actually appears to be the first one who agrees with him. this stuff is nice.

like do people think them getting along and not hating each other takes away the fundamentals of their characters? is it really that ingrained for leo and raph to just never get along? ive mentioned this before but i think tmnt has this thing where parts of characters are references to past material, which while may have worked in the past, just doesnt work for the version their writing for and ends up feeling hastily slapped on.

[ehh-is-the-name]

II 18 AM I RIGHT FOLKS????

OH MY FCJING GODD, I didn't visit this site for like 4 days just to not get spoiled and that was THE CORRECT DECISION!!!

WE STAY WINNING!!!! TAKE MY VIDEO AND GIFS!!!!

First of all, let's just all take a minute to appreciate the best part <3

There was the pg line later, and I really don't blame them. I mean... come on now this felt graphic. It's literally like if someones guts was splayed across the ground after an explosion. I love it but holy shit. Anyway my favourite gif on my PC:

Him getting his comeuppance is what I needed. I can die peacefully now <3

At the same time, I really can't get over this-

I mean, just look at the way he's staring- He definitely wants a bite.

= - - =

Now that I got that out of my system let me start from the top.

I can't be the only one to think that he might've been thinking about... Ya know. Let's just say season 1 finale-ing it again once he realised that Cobs wasn't holding him. Though that might be projection, he was probably just looking at everything truly being gone.

THIS SCENE ACTUALLY GAVE ME CHILLS. MePhone was so silent for every part up to this, hearing him sound absolutely petrified to the cut to the stabbing is ACTUALLY terrifying. God, it was like the suitcase being torn in half scene except real-

The abusive alcoholic father memes were right.

^ Quite literally my reaction to the first half of the ep today. Literally guess he's really good at hitting. Cobs can't swing a sword (thank god) but apparently, he can hit hard enough to fucking shatter glass in one hit.

This one too... Bro's cared about them so much and I can't with this shit man- I FUCKING CAN'T!!! LITERALLY MAKING SURE NOBODY COULD DIE OVER THIS SHIT AGAIN-

I actually can't y'all. I finished this ep like 4 hours ago and I still can't unhear or unsee these scenes.

"I made you so I can unmake you"??? "I desurve this"????? "You wanted my approval but I didn't care if you lived or died"!!! HOLY FUCKIN SHIT-

Sure, I could pull a book outta Cobs' and be like "lol he's dead who cares about a dead man" but DAWGS I can't stop thinking about the layers of trauma literally everyone's going to deal with specifically mephone because I'm a mephone head, sorry not sorry at all. In the span of a day, he watched everyone he cared about die, come back to life, his brother die, his abuser die, and move on from the reminder of his abuser (inanimate insanity). Like that's a lot to happen in a day guys. That's A FUCKTON to happen in a day. BOX IS ALIVE TOO- LIKE C'MON THiS IS CUFKCING CRASZY.

I don't even know what to say about this scene, I just really like it. Maybe it's 'cause he pulled out his kernels. Moving on.

This scene fuckin' gets me- His fuckin' "THEY'RE STILL ALIVE????" Will always get me. Maybe it's 'cause of all the talk of them being dead it just gets me that he got to know that they weren't, and that they didn't die <3

Top 10 scenes that make me glad Cobs exploded. I can't believe he fucking died for our sins (I'm still coping).

THE WAY HE WAS WITH MEPAD BEFORE HE WOKE UP </3 I can't believe they fucking killed him after showing this in the beginning.

That transition from early s2 to late s2 style was phenomenal, but just look at the scene- MePhone essentially talking to a brick wall about the show is killing me. MePhone probably felt more close to MePad than MePad did about him. I say that but I'm not saying MePad didn't care about him on some level. But y'all know. Also not overlooking the "Enhancing Obedience Emulation" installation either. I guess that's what makes him dying for our sins more meaningful. I can't believe he's fucking dead,.

Close to lastly 'cause I'm runing out of imgs in this post and I want to look through the tag now, I'M SO HAPPY TOILET'S ALIVE!!! ANd apparently not made by Mephone? Like MePad was talking about toilet when he showed up and idk- maybe I gotta watch that scene over again- Idon't know y'all. I'm feeling so many things this series finale.

OH OH AND THE SCENE WITH BOT'S LEGS AND FAN GOING "This is gonna be a whole thing, isn't it" WITH BOW IN THE FOREGROUND. IT FUCKING BETTER BE!!!! I NEED THEM TO TALK!!! PLEASE!

Oh and actual last thing, I actually SCREAMED when 3gs came on screen here.

Everything about this scene. There were many objects being mirrored, like Box and Suitcase, but 3gs and Mephone being face to face with breaks made the title click. They've always been mirrors of each other and I didn't even realise it. They're both free and it's genuinely beautiful. I hope the demolish Meeple as an act of freeing everyone there. I want the metags free, I want mecintosh free, everyone. Very glad 4s still exists inside of Mephone, it was so nice to see him, but I really want everyone to be free. Can't believe Mepad fuckin' died for our sins.... Everyone grew in someway or another, I think.

All in all, I'm just glad the corn man's dead <3

I didn't make popcorn but he did burn!!

Happy inanimate insanity y'all! We've made it to the end of an era <3

[negrowhat]

For the BL trope ask game: 1, 10 and 18

HI!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG THANKS FOR MAKING THIS ASK GAME IT'S SO FUN!

Enemies to Lovers

Kiss Me Again. IDK how many people watched PeteKao's storyline in KMA, but they were the definition of enemies to lovers. It was literally on site for them for a long ass time. I don't even remember why they hated each other, but they was always scrapping! People like to say Pete is too aggressive but those people don't know how Kao was also about that action back in the day. They really had no choice but to get their crap together though because they had the same friend group and Thada, June, and Sandee were getting tired of their fighting lol. But you'd never know how much they fought looking at them now. Pete is completely head over heels for Kao and he's extremely proud to be his boyfriend. And Kao is always so shy around Pete and he'd do anything to make him happy.

Bodyguard

Love by Chance. A little less literal, Ae was very much Pete's bodyguard. Ae thought Pete was a regular ole khun chai and incapable of defending himself so he took it upon himself to protect and take care of Pete. He fought off Pete's bully multiple times, tended to his wounds when he was injured, and made sure no one took advantage of him. Ae also did small things for Pete like made sure he got to class and home safely and made sure he ate. Under Ae's protection Pete did learn how to be a bit more assertive and voice his feelings especially his ones for Ae who had been been enamored with since Day 1. I just thought they were really sweet and I love that Pete was Ae's first everything. Also Ae was definitely representation of a demisexual and I found his character quite lovely.

Slow Burn

Ingredients the Series. Most of the series was filled with silent pining and lowkey flirting. It was clear WinTops liked each other but probably found it hard to figure out how to get out of the friend stage. We were gifted many cute and short eps of them shyly staring at each other too long and leaning onto each other and awkwardly avoiding conversations about them possibly being in relationships with other people. They danced around each other for like idk 18 eps until Win's friend Dome started to show interest in Tops. Of course Win was a jealous birdie but it was clear that Tops only had eyes for Win. It was such an amazing reward to see them get together, but boy was it fun watching them burn slowly. GAWD THE WAY THEY USED TO STARE AT EACH OTHER! I ATE IT UP EVERY SINGLE TIME! I USED TO YELL "JUST KISS ALREADY" AT THEM ALL THE TIME.

BL Romance Trope Ask Game

[thegeminisage]

ok. it's fuckinggg star trek update time. last night even though we were gonna start voyager we once again did not start voyager so we watch "heart of stone" which is maybe the best and most evil thing that's ever happened to me. let's FUCKING get into it.

heart of stone:

we're doing the b-plot first because i need a moment to collect myself (just rewatched the confession bit)

i forget that i actually like nog so much. this show will do something like have him demand his date cut up his food for him or have quark try to record kira for the holosuite and i'll be like yeah no we have to keep being racist against ferengi but then nog will be like my dad's life sucks and i don't want that to me be me and i CAN fucking inventory that room in 5 hours, just try to stop me, and like. damn. alright.

i did like that sisko, despite brushing him off at first, walked it back and gave him a genuine fair chance. i also like that not even his BEST FRIEND took him seriously...jake is not exempt from ferengi racism either. like, from nog's pov it shows just how much of a struggle it'll be to even apply to the fucking academy

i'm also proud of him for doing a good job. AND proud of his dad for standing up for him. fuck quark! i'll get over it but i'm feeling v anti-quark lately

ok, the goods..........

going into this i know from vague spoilers that kira and odo are canon. and that it doesnt happen until like s5 or s6. so IMAGINE my shock when he is out here confessing in SEASON 3??? and she is CONFESSING BACK???

here is the thing. firstly, odo makes hands to touch people with. also, he will protect her from a cave-in with his goopy body.

secondly, I DIDN'T KNOW IT WASN'T KIRA. i was fully 100% invested in this. but i DID do a double-take when she said it back because her boyfriend died like LAST episode. i didn't realize anything was shady with HER bc i was lost in the sauce but ODO DID. odo KNOWS HER...................

i also felt like they did a good job with odovision. every time the camera was on her it was like oh this is how odo sees her aka the most beautiful woman who ever lived

ugh. "so now you know" and him literally fucking collapsing. and then it was for NOTHING i was so furious

hey, also, this lady manipulating him by 1. pretending to be kira 2. if she can perfectly imitate a humanoid and odo can't, that means when she looks like him she's looking like him on PURPOSE, not because she can't choose another form

anyway do you ever realize that the people you've been looking for your whole life are monsters and the people who love you deserve your loyalty and love more even if you don't always understand them even if you don't know how to be a part of them. do you ever meet a bajoran terrorist and have her change the meaning of your very name from "nothing" to "someone who is loved" im gonna fucking kerm

"she said something you would never say" AAAAAUGH and kira innocently going "oh what?" and he LIES!!!!! LYING LIAR WHO LIES im in agony i thought about it nonstop last night driving 1h+ to the fucking airport to pick up my brother

i feel like i had more articulate thoughts previously but they've all fled my brain because i'm rolling around on the floor like my clothes are on fire. i hate this show this is KILLING MEEE this is one seriously slow fucking burn

ANYWAY! TONIGHT! FOR REAL THIS TIME: VOYAGER! i'm actually glad we're leaving ds9 on this note for half a dozen voyager eps or so because then i get to live here for a few days. just basking. AGHGHGH

IMPORTANT EDIT: i nearly forgot about this but the conversation sisko and bashir had about the male ensign who is "budding" aka "pregnant with twins" and is getting a hatchling pond made for him and the babies. 10/10

[leverage-ot3]

What are your k drama recommendations??!? I need new ones

omg my time has come thank you anon for giving me the opportunity to ramble about shows

I ended up talking WAY too long so I'm putting everything after the first one under the cut

all of us are dead- show about high schoolers as a zombie apocalypse starts. very funny and relatable, literally they call the police and are like 'have you seen train to busan?' bffrrn. has a lot of social commentary and there are references to the sinking of mc sewol (a cruise that sunk where the captain deserted it and left a large amount of high schoolers to drown). commentary about how adults save themselves first/leave youth to fend for themselves. one of my comfort shows and although they didn't intend for more seasons, it was received so well that they have been renewed! I am also an ot4 truther and sometimes talk about them on my international shows sideblog: @nam-on-jo

sweet home- (disclaimer: I am not caught up and have not yet seen s2 which came out a little while ago) honestly I have no idea how to explain this so I'm gonna copy-paste the blurb: as humans turn into savage monsters, one troubled teenager and his neighbours fight to survive and to hold onto their humanity. basically people turn into monsters for [redacted] reasons and everyone in his large apartment building is stuck inside trying to fend for their lives.

my name- I'm just going to paste the blurbs going forward because it's easier: Following her father's murder, a revenge-driven woman puts her trust in a powerful crime boss -- and enters the force under his direction. bro some of these twists I expected but others caught me off guard. I love the main character and am a little gay for her but I think that's valid because she's a bamf. there was a plot point at the end of the second to last episode that I really didn't like and made me very upset. narratively I get why they did it but it made me sad so I'm still pissy. might get around to writing a fix-it fic one day when motivation strikes because my girl deserves better things.

the guest- a detective, a catholic priest, and a psychic join forces to fight crime caused by supernatural forces. not to say they are my ot3 but they kinda are. (other ppl interpret it is a lesbian and her two bi/gay bffs which I also accept but. ot3 tho). LOVED every twist and turn and how the three of them go from not trusting one another to being family. genuinely one of my favorites from all the kdramas I've watched over the years and I want to rewatch it again soon

happiness (tvn)- The residents of a high-rise apartment fight for their lives against a deadly infectious disease while Sae-bom and Yi-hyun try to find the person because of whom the virus spread. bro I adored this. some characters annoyed me (which means they were written effectively) but it has so much. fake dating/marriage (they wanted a better apartment lmao). annoyances to lovers. mean/rude woman soft for sunshine man. what you will do for the people you love. morals and humanity during a catastrophy. *smacks show* you can fit so much into this. no but seriously, I thought this was a really interesting take on the zombie virus! so some of the time you come off completely asymptomatic and 'normal', so people can get away with acting normal and hiding the disease around other people, so the paranoia and mystery is REALLY amped up. had me guessing a LOT. sae-bom and yi-hyun are both cops/detectives and you find out really early (ep 1/2?) that sae-bom is immune which gives a really interesting dynamic that leaves her (to yi-hyun's exasperation and heightened blood pressure levels) to be kinda reckless in the pursuit of truth and salvation. I'm rambling now because this is making me watch to rewatch but yeah as a zombie/dystopia/apocalypse lover this was a good watch. it's more story-focused than violence-heavy which was a cool and refreshing twist

alice in borderland- okay y'all I am aware people had mixed feelings about s2 but overall I did enjoy the series. 'Obsessed gamer Arisu suddenly finds himself in a strange, emptied-out version of Tokyo in which he and his friends must compete in dangerous games in order to survive.' what can I say, I love a dystopian-esque setting.

the silent sea- imma be real, I only watched it for loml bae doona from sense8. 'During a perilous 24-hour mission on the moon, space explorers try to retrieve samples from an abandoned research facility steeped in classified secrets.' basically earth is in severe crisis mode as they run out of water to drink. water has recently been found on the moon, and although there was a mysterious tragedy that happened previously to researchers looking for water in a base on the moon, they have reached a level of desperation where they have another mission to look for moon water. mystery, paranoia, a couple of good twists ensue. I thought it was pretty good even though I have some mixed feelings about the open ending.

semantic error- yes I am sliding a bl into this list. bitch you thought. of course my bl-loving self would mention this (I forgot about it until I looked up good kdramas to remind myself of stuff I have watched). 'A strict, rule-abiding computer science major must work together with an artist with a polar-opposite personality to his.' confident cool boy meets bitch boy. it's great.

and of course...

leverage con artists- I would be fired from running this blog if I didn't mention the beloved korean spinoff of leverage. 'The series follows the story of Lee Tae-joon, a former insurance investigator who forms a team of thieves and con artists to target the rich and wealthy. The team was also formed to avenge Tae-joon's son's death.' I've posted about it before so I won't go super into it but it's VERY camp, a good time, and the ot3 is alive and well. debatable more overt than their predecessor!

other mentionables:

I tried watching kingdom (again for bae doona) but couldn't really get into it. might try again later because it's critically acclaimed (I think) and has even gotten a spinoff series

my roommate really liked mr queen. I didn't really pay attention when we were in the same room and they were watching it but it's fruity

the island on amazon prime was good! interesting plot but not in my top 10 or anything. worth a watch if you're looking for a kdrama to watch in your spare time. features girlboss businesswoman being thrown into a world of the supernatural because [redacted]. supernatural black horse man keeps her safe while keeping a life-changing secret.

let's fight ghost was a thai show that I saw and loved that was adapted into a kdrama called bring it on ghost, but honestly I couldn't get through it because I liked the thai one better.

train to busan is technically a movie but it's iconic and well-known and I highly suggest watching it if you like zombie/apocalypse movies. disclaimer: kdramas do not have the slow 'walker' zombies. they are fucking fast and the stuff of my nightmares. would probably just jump off a bridge if this actually happened ngl

I did think that extraordinary attorney woo was cute. I never finished it and know that there are VERY valid criticisms about the perpetuation of media portraying people with autism in the stereotypical savant ways. however, I liked how the love interest accepted her for who she was, loved her because of who she was and made efforts to accommodate and learn how to comfort her in ways that would work for her

business proposal was pretty decent if you like lighthearted romance- I didn't finish it but would like to at some point

tale of the nine tailed was another one that my roommate and I started watching but never finished. it was alright! just lost interest

shows on my watchlist:

black knight (netflix)- 'In a dystopian future devastated by air pollution, the survival of humanity depends on a group of deliverymen known as the Black Knights who navigate the wastelands using unconventional means.'

copycat killer-

hellbound (netflix)-

shop for killers (hulu)- 'A nephew who lost his parents and grew up in the hands of an uncle who runs a shopping mall faces a new truth after his uncle's sudden death.'

the legend of the blue sea (viki + hulu)- 'A magistrate's plan to release mermaids into the ocean backfires when they're caught by fishermen.' (legit I just miss mermaid media)

gyeongseong creature (netflix)- 'In the city of Gyeongseong in 1945, a group of young people thinking only of their own survival encounter a monster born of human greed and ask themselves what humanity is.'

dark hole (viki)- 'A mysterious black fog from a petrochemical factory's sinkhole turns people into bizarre figures; people who are not infected try to survive in this middle of pandemonium.'

the cursed (multiple)- 'An enthusiastic social issues reporter, fighting against the evil hidden behind an IT conglomerate, meets a teen-age girl who is possessed by a spirit and has special abilities.'

blood (multiple)- 'Dr Park Ji Sang believes in the sanctity of human life, and struggles to treat terminally ill cancer patients and save lives while at the same time being a vampire.'

the ghost detective (viki)- 'In this horror thriller drama, a detective who catches ghosts tries to solve the case of his younger sibling's death with the help of his assistant.'

possessed (netflix)- 'A smart-mouthed detective and a reclusive psychic medium join together to get rid of the ghost of a murder who was executed 20 years ago.'

connect (hulu)- 'A man is kidnapped and one of his eyes removed by a gang of organ hunters; his eyes was transplanted into body of a serial killer; the unwilling donor now has terrible visions as he witnesses terrifying attacks on the residents of Seoul.'

and now just because so many of these only have het romances, I looked up k-dramas with lgbtq representation... (some of these recommendations were from articles from screenrant, movieweb, this subreddit, herzindagi (bl-focused), allkpop)

schoolgirl detectives (viki)- 'Five teenage girls join together to investigate mysterious incidents that occur at their school, as well as help classmate deal with bullying, depression and other crises.'

be melodramatic (netflix, viki)- 'Three 30-year-old best friends, Jinju, Eun-jung and Hanju each pursue different paths in both career and love. Despite life's difficulties, the three friends can always return home at the end of the day and support each other.'

lily fever (available w/subtitles on youtube)- 'The story revolves around the budding relationship between Kim Kyung Ju and Jang Se Rang who meet when Kyung Ju can't find her passport and has to go to her friend's house to try and find it.'

love alarm (netflix)- 'In a world in which an app alerts people if someone in the vicinity likes them, Kim Jojo experiences young love while coping with personal adversities.'

nevertheless (netflix)- 'The story of a romance between a man who is annoyed with relationships but likes to flirt and a woman who wants to date but does not believe in love.' (wlw side couple romance)

[taylorkellyreporting]

i hope no one minds if i liveblog this bitch: twin peaks season 1

first lb of 2025!! this show has been on my watchlist for literal years (i’m talking since there was a revival 😭) but i just never got around to watching it ‘til now. i know there are a ton of fantastic actors in this show so i’m really excited to start it.

this sheriff needs a new profession

omg i know they couldn’t have anticipated laura’s mom being on the phone, but couldn’t they have sent a cop to talk to her, too? what an awful way to have her worst fear confirmed

of course bobby is a cheating asshole

i don’t like the smirk on this girls face at all

“i loved her!” motherfucker, you’re literally cheating on her

none of these actors can cry

oh shit, this girl looks like she’s been tortured. what the hell is happening in this town

not this lady worried about her drapes when a kid was just murdered

this dude’s making me want cherry pie

this psychiatrist is so fucking creepy

a serial killer???

“does this mean i’ll never grow up?” oh God

no seriously, this andy dude needs a new profession

“did you know laura was seeing someone else?” ohhh, so while he was having his, she was having a few of her own 😭

“you didn’t love her anyway” get his ass

the fuck is audrey’s deal?

donna girl, you are a horrible liar

can’t believe i didn’t put it together when they first mentioned she was with a biker and his name started with the letter “j”

is there a single character in this show that’s actually loyal to their partner?

“dad, i’m gonna tell it to you and i’m gonna tell it to you straight” lmfaooo

don’t know if i believe james’ story

WHAT THE FUCK i thought james was with laura????

i’ve never been so confused

okay mr. frost and mr. lynch, you’ve got me hooked.

1x02

agent cooper hanging upside down like a bat wasn’t the opening scene i was expecting 😭

i hope cooper knows audrey’s a teenager

shelly needs to dump this leo dude

“james, you were in love with laura” not that in love, he was making out with donna right after he found out she was dead

“all this time, we were the ones falling in love” damn

at least donna’s having mixed emotions instead of just being happy about james’ feelings

“there was a fish in the percolator” screaming

catherine is a real bitch

i am once again saying there are NO loyal people in this show

what the fuck is happening to laura’s mom

not bobby’s dad smacking the cigarette out of his mouth 😭😭😭

“one day, my log will have something to say about this” this show is a comedy

leo needs to die immediately

“james is sweet but he’s so dumb!” lmfaooo

what the fuck, why does the creepy doctor have the other half of james’ necklace????

1x03

anyone who eats a sandwich the way audrey’s dad is eating it needs to be jailed immediately

that town really has it all

on one hand, im happy for james and donna, on the other hand, i feel so bad for laura. one boyfriend was cheating on her and the other was emotionally cheating with her best friend of all people.

cooper’s really giving a history lesson 😭

dkfjfjs not andy getting struck in the head with a rock

audrey’s a little off

lucy sticking her tongue out at albert?? she’s such a queen

do these people not know divorce is an option?

“what is going on in this house?!” seriously

i find myself wondering, not for the first time, what the hell this show exactly is

1x04

THE GIRLS ARE FIGHTINGGGG

omg laura looks so much older as a brunette

every time bobby’s dad opens his mouth i want to kill myself

“look, it’s trying to think.” albert’s such an asshole but he’s so fucking funny

“love me!” “you bet😐” dkfjgkdm

bobby’s fucked up for ruining laura’s funeral but what he said isn’t exactly wrong

four eps in and i’m severely craving pie

so they just go around tying suspects up, huh?

did catherine kill her brother???

laura’s dad is so unwell :(

1x05

i wanna know how the hell sarah knows about the rock

i love lucy so much

ANDY AND LUCY???? lmfaoooo

audrey is the last person donna should trust

bobby’s audacity is astounding

do they ever specify shelley’s age?

not diet lasagna 😭

“hank got his parole, he’s coming home” maybe she should’ve dumped him while he was away

audrey’s good, i’ll give her that

five episodes in and i feel like i’m more confused than when i started this show

5x06

i hope we meet the famous diane before this show ends

what the hell is this creepy doctor playing at?

i can’t decide if i feel bad for bobby cause i’m not sure i can believe him

log lady you will always be famous

this shot goes kinda hard

laura’s dad needs serious help

why the hell is audrey crying

no way, is josie cheating on harry with benjamin of all people?

is leo dead or…

what the fuck

1x07

not condoning anything but i get audrey. i’d fall for cooper, too.

kinda here for bobby and shelly, not gonna lie

not cooper wearing a whole ass tux 😭

pls josie took out a freaking life insurance plan on catherine

aww no waldo is dead ☹️

so leo’s definitely the killer

i’m officially on the edge of my seat

1x08

i hope james doesn’t die

this is a disaster

OH SHIT CREEPY DOCTOR

leo’s good as dead

well shit i didn’t think andy had it in him

damn that’s gotta be painful for james to hear

noooo shelley!!!!!

“you broke my heart!” that would require having one

what the hell did josie get herself into

catherine is playing peter so good

oh shit she’s pregnant

“…uh…” 😭😭

i don’t believe leo acted alone

so much has been happening, i completely forgot about nadine

why did they wait ‘til the last two episodes to get so interesting!!!

leland you have too much to live for!!!!

i hope he at least gets away with it

audrey is so screwed

this is me. if you even care.

this show is incredible. i wasn’t expecting bobby to grow on me, but he did. i really hate that he set james up, especially since he was cheating on laura with shelly so he’s being a huge hypocrite. i hope now that leo’s dead he and shelly can be happy together. maybe that’ll change once i get to s2.

speaking of leo, i’m glad he’s dead, but i hate that he won’t pay for what he did to shelly, laura, and the other girls. and i don’t believe for a second that he took the girls to the train cart alone.

cooper was shot, omg??? i’m gonna guess hank was the shooter but idk.

really looking forward to seeing how audrey gets out of the mess she’s found herself in with ben.

and leland!!! i was not expecting him to kill jacques and i really hope he gets away with it and gets the help that he so clearly needs.

i don’t like nadine but i really hope she makes it.

pete doesn’t deserve to die, especially not for catherine so he better be okay!!!!

josie having her husband killed was not on my bingo card and i’m so disappointed in her!! harry deserves so much better, poor guy.

i’m about to start s2 so the lb for that should be up soon. david lynch was a genius and so is mark frost. i now have a severe craving for a slice of pie and a cup of coffee. and i don’t even drink coffee.

[pastlight]

S3E8 nbc hannibal livetweet from 2015

alright back to pain town we're 1/3 done

6:43 PM · Aug 2, 2015

[i binged eps 7/8/9 all in a day. uni kept me busy]

hello Richard Armitage Mr Red Dragon welcome to the show

7:02 PM · Aug 2, 2015

man i wish i could remember more from when i read the book :(

7:06 PM · Aug 2, 2015

i love the music of this series so goddman much

7:07 PM · Aug 2, 2015

I CAN'T BELIEVE THE BEER *WAS* MADE OF PEOPLE

7:11 PM · Aug 2, 2015

i'm kinda upset. when Hannibal started i had just read Red Dragon a few months back and remembered everything

7:14 PM · Aug 2, 2015

now i can't know what's coming except for small details D:

7:15 PM · Aug 2, 2015

[fun fact! this was actually one of the main reasons i checked the series out very early on]

i always forget how good your expressions are untill i see them again

7:18 PM · Aug 2, 2015

i will literally never stop laughing every time someone in canon says "Hannibal the Cannibal"

7:20 PM · Aug 2, 2015

dude why are you pasting/sticking things the same shitty way as The Author

7:27 PM · Aug 2, 2015

/you all know what i'm talking about/

http://pastlight.tumblr.com/post/125145711763/soupery-soupery-i-know-its-stupid-but-im

7:28 PM · Aug 2, 2015

WILL IS BACK WITH HIS DOGGIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'M SO HAPPY!!!!!!!

7:31 PM · Aug 2, 2015

Jack "I'm here to drag you again" Crawford

7:33 PM · Aug 2, 2015

i missed Will making awkward expressions and looking slighly scared all the time tbh. so cute.

7:34 PM · Aug 2, 2015

oh right!! molly! he's so happy i'm crying jack please don't.

7:36 PM · Aug 2, 2015

"I promisse I'll to to make it as easy on him as I can."

THAT'S WHAT YOU SAID LAST TIME JACK

7:38 PM · Aug 2, 2015

YO ROMPERÉ TUS FOTOS YO QUEMARÉ TUS CARTAS, PARA NO VERTE MÁS, PARA NO VERTE MAAAAAAAS

7:44 PM · Aug 2, 2015

[no i was actually hilarious for this]

wait he broke into their home??????

7:54 PM · Aug 2, 2015

ohhh man the flashlight effect is so cool

8:04 PM · Aug 2, 2015

oh hey why aren't we doing the swinging golden flashing thing anymore :(

8:05 PM · Aug 2, 2015

i guess that means he's less immerse now???

8:06 PM · Aug 2, 2015

ohhh yoo i was right!!! nice nice

8:08 PM · Aug 2, 2015

there's a weird sense of nostalgia in all this :^)

8:11 PM · Aug 2, 2015

"This is my design" H E L L A

8:13 PM · Aug 2, 2015

SPECIAL AGENT PRICE MY LOVE

8:13 PM · Aug 2, 2015

I'M TRYING SO HARD NOT TO SCREAM AND GIGGLE IN FRONT OF MY FAMILY

8:15 PM · Aug 2, 2015

LITERALLY NO OTHER CHARACTERS/SHIP GET ON THE LEVEL OV PRELLER FOR ME THEY'RE JUST THE BEST

8:15 PM · Aug 2, 2015

[i cannot explain my obsession with Price and Zeller. it's not like i had much interest in reading fanfic about them but every time they were on screen i was twirling my hair and kicking my feet]

and the best part is that i don't have to feel bad for it they're clean

8:15 PM · Aug 2, 2015

[also very sad to see me struggling between the stupid moral obsession i'd picked from fandom spaces back then and my genuine enjoyment of this show]

my LOVES. my children and my parents

8:17 PM · Aug 2, 2015

"Welcome back"

BACKSTREET'S BACK ALRIGHT

8:18 PM · Aug 2, 2015

me: wait we're missing someone

me: o-oh... Katz... r-right.....

8:18 PM · Aug 2, 2015

i stopped watching just trying to find a screencap someone did with this phrase but i need it again

8:24 PM · Aug 2, 2015

HERE IT IS. (http://reservoirs.co.vu/post/49317803278/a-refresher-of-things-that-happened-on-a-tv-show)

i can keep watching ok ok

8:42 PM · Aug 2, 2015

[that link is broken: go to this one. nbc hannibal meme of all time TO ME. those recaps still crack me up]

OF COURSE Will asked about the dog

8:47 PM · Aug 2, 2015

ok food break before next ep, i haven't eaten much in all day

8:49 PM · Aug 2, 2015

[thessalian]

Thess vs TLOVM S3, Ep 1

I've been so exhausted and fed up this week that I forgot TLOVM was starting today! How remiss of me! So here we go with liveblogging! One episode at least. I may draw this out some.

Oooh. This is new. I mean, I did see the first three minutes or so on YouTube, so it's not a huge surprise, but that level of spycraft is ... at once too well-planned for the "At Dawn, We Plan" Brigade and also just fucking reckless enough for that bunch of yahoos.

Also, pouring one out for Lance Reddick. I knew this was gonna hit different, but ... damn. Is it okay if I say that he's replaced Matt Mercer as my Official Voice of Thordak? 'Cos he totally has, and it's the best memorial I can give him - two of my top villains or at least antagonists (Sylens is still my number one douche-canoe).

Damn. Liam O'Brien vs ... Liam O'Brien. Also, every time I think "Damn, he has range", I kick myself for forgetting his Speak-N-Spell Liam ... thing during that one-shot he did that one time. I mean. Holy shit.

DAAAAAH! I mean, I knew it was coming because I've already seen this bit but DAAAAAAAAAAH!

...Is the mood a bit wrecked when I see Thordak cram his head into a crevice and all I can think is "Themberchaud"?

Now, see, I did not see how he got out of that. Now we are getting into the "What the fuck did you people cook up?!?" territory.

One Day Earlier?!? ASSHOLES! HOW DO YOU HAVE A CLIFFHANGER AT THE START OF AN EPISODE?!?

Fuckmuppets.

...Okay, I knew Raishan sounded familiar. Now, keep in mind that Atlantis: The Last Empire was the last movie I saw before I landed in a psychiatric hospital because of an ongoing nervous breakdown finally hitting crisis point, and never watched it again, so it says a lot about me that I can find the voice of Princess Kida familiar.

...VIOLENT ELF FEMALE VOICE FOR DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS?!? BWAAAAAAHAHAHAHA!

Okay, get OFF IMDB, Thess.

Yeah, I knew we were getting the Plate of the Dawnmartyr. We'd have to, given the trailers about the hells.

...Wait. Putting some of the snippets together ... and given that they have to streamline stuff for a series like this ... are they going to combine that trip to the hells for the Plate of the Dawnmartyr with throwing Yenk at Vorugal?!?

(No, I literally don't know; I'm kind of calling it here, though.)

Also ... would you call that spell a series of Silent Images? If so ... cool.

OMG GILMORE.

Grand Poobah de MAYONNAISE?!?

Ah, I missed this side of Pike in the first couple of seasons.

...Not sure if that was the dumbest possible thing Grog could have possibly said, or the only thing that could have broken the tension. ...Porque no los dos?

N'awwwwwww. I mean, I know it's a shame that some of this stuff has to be ... rushed, a little? But they're doing it pretty damn well!

[snipped because character limit]

Okay, get OFF the rage at the narrow-minded bullshittery of reviewers, Thess.

...Oh. Ooooooooh. So instead of having Keyleth cast Foresight on him before that whole thing with Thar Amphala, it's now ... something he gets from the Raven Queen? That makes sense.

Also ... I'm taking it that no one's going to flag up that if Keyleth goes Archdruid, of fucking course she's going to outlive the entire rest of the party! Chill, Vax!

You guys are DORKS.

"Well, one can certainly--" WHO WROTE THIS?!?

.........Sam Riegel was one of them. Because of fucking course he was. You are not a gnome, Sam, nor are you specifically a goblin. What you are is a troll.

.........Aaaaaaand Travis Willingham is the other. I wonder if he wrote any of the Vex/Percy stuff, given he was always the captain of the good ship Perc'halia.

...Trinket, really?!?

Okay, that was Matt, doing a little Sun-Tree whisper. Not "Sun Tree; A-okay!", but I'll take it.

...I feel a Leverage "explaining how Vax got out of that mess" moment coming on. Also ... it's nice to see Gilmore do the charm without quite the innuendo.

On the list of "Things To Never Say Before A Mission", Grog? "What could possibly go wrong?" is right at the top, so shut up.

...Okay, not quite what I was thinking, but ... oh gods, Gilmore, you adorable glorious narcissist! (Okay, part-time narcissist.)

Yeaaaaaah, see, I would have asked Gilmore for a Scroll of Dimension Door, personally. Or maybe Clairvoyance? Anyway, this is more exciting.

Yeah. No. So glad Lance Reddick got this done before he passed. I have chills. May you live as long as your name is spoken, sir.

...I ... literally can't praise Reddick enough. Holy shit.

Ooooooooooh. Marquet is so pretty!

...Given that "high noon" is not usually that much of a D&D phrase, and thinking of who Matt Mercer voice-acts with a ... certain phrase? I'mma say that's Sam being a troll again.

Oh, that's a great way to get Ripley back into it. ...Wait, does this mean she already has Cabal's Ruin? .........Wait, does this mean she kept Cabal's Ruin from Umbrasyl?!?

So ... gunshots. And ... Percy's the only one in evidence with a weapon of that type. And ... they just ran in. Hey, Percy, remember when you used Bad News' scope as a telescope? And when Pike followed Vax with Clairvoyance? WHY DIDN'T YOU DO THAT?!?

No no no Percy DON'T HAVE THE GUN OUT WHEN--

She does have Cabal's Ruin.

Also ... oh FUCK.

...So it's not Percy's turn to have the brain cell today. Okay.

And, I mean, it's almost never Grog's turn to have the brain cell. He is very generous with the brain cell.

STOP DEMONSTRATING THAT YOU HAVE THE KIND OF WEAPON THAT KILLED ALL THOSE PEOPLE, PERCY! I DON'T REMEMBER INT BEING YOUR DUMP STAT!!!!!

...Okay, so INT is Percy's dump stat just for today, then.

...Wait. Who does have Vox Machina's collective brain cell today? Please tell me it's not Scanlan.

Percy would you--?!? Ooooooh fuck.

Oh. Okay. Cabal's Ruin in action is the coolest fucking thing...

Also I don't remember their trip to Marquet being this--

Hi, Matt!

"Does ... she ... spice?" "...Dude." Good one, Scanlan.

I do love the banter between these two--

Ooooh. As a televisual reveal of Orthax and Ripley's whole deal, that is next level awesome.

Oh. Oh. Oh so are we ... not having the fight on the tit-crevasses? We're doing this right here?

"In Memoriam - Lance Reddick" ...Yep.

But at the same time ... I DO NOT HAVE ROOM FOR SAD; FIRST YOU GAVE ME YIKES AND THEN GAVE ME A CLIFFHANGER SO GO FUCK YOURSELF.

(Not you, Mr Reddick; rest in power, and on your laurels because you were badass.)

Okay, so who the fuck is voicing Anna Ripley?

Kelly who? (Kelly Hu, that's who, but-- Sorry; I'll see myself out.)

Lady Deathstrike?!? VISAS MARR?!? Okay that's awesome.

I'm sorry, but Scanlan jazzy flight singing is not what I need right now. Though I guess it kind of drives home the "We are cliffhanging you right here; cope".

Right. I could watch another episode, but ... no. No, I have to work tomorrow and that means I need to wind down, and--

Wait. Did they say Draconia?!? Did Orion Acaba let them use that?!? Oh, I don't even want to think about that level of negotiation, after everything.

[piperslovebot]

Ranking every episode for Jeia

1. Dirty Double Booker - They break my heart in this episode, but also have so many cute moments. Jay trading shifts at work, their kiss, how in the beginning of the ep they’re just holding hands, the bicep scene, Jay’s arm around Leia, Leia trying to make things work with both Jay AND Gwen. There should’ve been Jay/Leia/Gwen triangle srsly. Jay being so understanding about Leia making plans with Gwen. Like I said, the ending breaks my heart so badly.

2. Kids In America - Now THIS one gives me so many emotions. I loved their cute moments in the beginning of this. At first, even as a Jay/Jeia stan, they rubbed me the wrong way because I had this feeling Jay was stringing Leia along but now looking at it, it seems like he’s just cherishing those last few moments. Also Kitty making Jay realize he shouldn’t be scared, him wanting to make things work, the “I will spend every day making it up to you” scene. Like HOW are they not the endgame? Come on people! Also Leia’s face post kiss.

3. Boyfriend Day 1 - I LOVE how Jay stood up for Leia and was hellbent on not letting her take the blame. And that speech to Red 🥹. Giving E/D fr. Also them saying the same things at the same, the phone thing, and their hug: ADORABLE! And don’t even get me STARTED on the ‘bye babe! Aww!’ scene! Literally the cutest ever.

4. Summer Storm - It’s not really my fave, mostly because I’ve watched that episode several times haha. But they were cute here. It was nice seeing Leia wanting to take another step and going to Nikki for relationship advice. Also them dancing at the end 🥰. I wish there were more episodes in s1 so we could see them flourish.

5. The Birthday Girl - THE Jeia episode. Leia’s fantasy for them as Kelly and them going together, Jay coming back to wish her a happy birthday, their first kiss, them FINALLY getting together, and them leaving in the car was nice (before they were pulled over ovo). The one thing I didn’t like tho is how Leia was so willing to change herself just to get with Jay. I’ve explained my feelings on this here.

6. Lip Smackers - I’ve discussed my issues with Leia’s plot but I loved the Jeia here. It really solidified that Jay’s feelings for Leia ARE genuine. Before I just thought it was some comedic joke where it’s ‘haha Jay flirting with the New Girl’ (like what friends did with Rachel/Joey early on), but this episode solidified that it was genuine. And it seemed like this was where Leia started to feel the same way about Jay. Also the car scene is A+, like E/D much?

7. Free Leia - While I think it’s more a Geia episode than a Jeia one, I loved their little moments here.

8. That 90s Pilot - Same as Free Leia. I also loved seeing them walking out together and Red being like ‘WTF’. I can only IMAGINE what would’ve happened if E/D was there. J/L just gave such couple vibes in that scene.

9. The Rave - Also not my fave tbh. Like it was fun seeing them be all chaotic but I hate the end where Leia is ‘playing the player’ and ‘Kelso-ing the Kelso’. And how it’s literally applauded in the end?? Gwen herself said that she was just winging the ‘you’re a goddess, own your power’ and that Leia should go after what she wants. Yet Leia still does this?? I do cut her slack because she 14 and Jay is probably the first guy she likes.

10. Step By Step - I love the angst for them in this episode, but once again the whole ‘playing the player’ bullshit. And the way Leia and Gwen literally LAUGH and are PROUD of Leia basically giving Jay a mental breakdown is disgusting. Which is why I hated making gifs for Geia in that episode.

[invisiblegarters]

Only Friends Ranking - Ep 4

Genuinely had to sit and think on this for a bit and watch certain parts of the ep again (oh what a burden) and ponder my own reactions a little. I fucking love this show.

But I want to add a little disclaimer, since I guess it's needed: these opinions are subjective. I'm not objectively sitting here ranking the messiness I'm subjectively ranking how much the messiness (or lack thereof, for now) entertains me personally. It's not a statement of fact over which character is the "villain" or the "good guy" because frankly, I don't think we have any of either (maybe in their own heads, but not in the show itself).

Okay. That out of the way let's do this.

Character Rankings (Fave to Least Fave atm)

Sand. Yep he's back on top, it felt weird to demote him last week but he was much less boring this ep. I think I'm starting to get a better read on him, which I didn't have before, and I'm enjoying what I see. While I would like him to be much more guarded against Ray in particular, I think he's just too forthright. Not just with other people but also with himself. And I wonder how much of that stems from his situation. Back before ep 1 First said that Sand doesn't have time, he is patient, he has to do a lot of things just to make ends meet, and I think that extends to his personal life as well. He knows Ray's a bad idea and he also knows he's gonna walk right into it, and I am tentatively hopeful that this is what will make him come out okayish in the end. Because at the end of the day he still isn't gonna have time for bullshit, either other people's or his own. I feel like Ray's gonna fuck that up a bit (or a lot) for a while, but in the end he'll reset to form, probably a little more jaded but altogether still fairly whole. I think that's about all we can ask for him.

I hope that the ex shows up for real. Flashbacks are fun but I want a little bit of mess and it seems clear to me that Sand still has unresolved feelings there, maybe Top too. I am also more sure than ever that he has some serious anger issues and I think we might get to see the Return of the Bat, and I for one am so very here for it. He still seems the most put together out of all of them which is a little disappointing, but again, I do wonder how much of that is because he doesn't have the time to give into the hot mess he really is. I'm very very curious to see how his relationships with both Nick and Ray affect that moving forward, because it seems like regardless of what went down with Top and the ex that better be Mix or I will revolt, he tends to keep himself fairly restrained, and those two are so openly messy and so very unrestrained that you can practically feel the car crash coming (hopefully not in the literal sense).

Also people need to stop calling him a green flag like yesterday. He is not. He's just better at compartmentalizing, give him two episodes I feel it in my bones he's gonna turn out to be a messy messy bitch.

Mew. Never let it be said that I can't admit that I was wrong. I still think that Mew is manipulative but I no longer believe that he is specifically keeping Ray on the line. Ray is keeping himself on the line, every time Mew tries to yank him off he just bites in harder. Which means it's really gonna sting in so many different ways when Mew eventually decides fuck it and does what Ray's been begging him for for two years, because I'm not sure the feeling will be there then either. But I still expect it - frankly the real surprise for me would be if Mew and Ray end the show without fucking. And while I guess it's still possible that they did sleep together two years ago in the current timeline Mew has put a firm "no" down - at least for now. And I have to respect him for it.

Kinda wish he'd stop talking Sand up to Ray though. For one, the more he pushes Sand at him the less likely Ray will actually develop organic feelings for him. For two, he needs to back away from Ray's love life wholesale until Ray no longer wants him to be intimately involved in it. It's just smarter, although I can understand why Mew might think differently.

Then again if he wants to keep noticing how lovely Sand is (he is Mew, good taste no notes) he can go right on, because I wasn't kidding when I said I was shipping this. Maybe instead of Ray Mew should have Sand be his ill-advised hookup after things with Top blow up. I for one would not say nay.

I genuinely thought I'd be annoyed if Mew were not some sort of mastermind, but I'm not. At all. That said, I still don't think he's half as innocent as the show wants us to believe. And I still feel like he's playing with Top. Oh, Top is playing back, a little, but there's something about the way he looks sometimes and the things he says ("I don't want to hide anything from you / I need you to be honest with me") that makes me feel like he's still got more going on than we're seeing. Also he has to know that Top's not gonna stop doing drugs if he sexes him up. There was something about that whole interaction that struck me as weird. I can't put my finger on it right now but it's one of the things that I am going to be chewing on in the days to come, I can already tell.

Ray. This one was a surprise, and I want to be clear. I do not like this guy, and yes, a lot of that stems from the fact that he's set up to hurt my fave, but also he's a wrecking ball in human form and the worst thing about him is that he is an aimless one. Boston is a wrecking ball too but he's pointing himself in one direction; Ray just swings wildly in every direction because he himself is aimless, he doesn't know who he is or what he wants and that is dangerous, especially when you add in his substance abuse and his struggles with depression (look I don't like armchair psychoanalyzing but yeah, depression is what I am going to call it). He feels worthless and hopeless, he hates himself, and the problem with that is that no one else will ever be enough. He will turn his hatred against anyone who cares for him because he hates himself so much that he truly does not understand how anyone else could like him, and the self-hate turns into a weird derision for anyone who tries to see past the shell.

Mew is only exempt from this, I think, because he doesn't want Ray in the way Ray so desperately wants to be wanted. He loves him, he cares for him and tries to build him up, but he is not in love, he can and will step away if Ray is becoming too much, he will set boundaries and stick to them. So Ray's ire can't fall on him because he's reinforcing all the things Ray thinks about himself: that he's a burden, that he's too much, that he drives people away, that he's so unlovable even his own mother couldn't love him.

Sand, however. Sand is gonna fall right into the trap that Ray is laying for him, and oh boy is Ray gonna make him pay for it.

I was surprised by how much he seems to have held on to all the mean things Sand's called him, though. Not that he held on to them as further proof of who he is but that it was Sand specifically that was calling him those things. That was interesting and unexpected.

I do not think that Ray genuinely cares about either Mew or Sand as people at this juncture, but I also don't think that it's on purpose. He's a drowning man grasping at any and everyone within reach who is treading water, and he can't look past his own panic at not being able to get enough air to understand or care if he's dragging others down with him.

So yes. I do not like him but I find him utterly fascinating and Khaotung is killing it. That bathtub scene was amazing and painful (and yes I'm still feeling smug for calling it, mostly because I made a bet with my friend and now they owe me fic. Man do I love profiting off of being right. It's like Christmas AND my birthday) and finally made me understand why he clings to Mew so hard, and why he will keep clinging in spite of everything that happened this ep, in spite of having someone else who wants to care for him the way Mew won't, in spite of probably trying to think of something (or someone) else.

But the sad, sad truth that Ray will have to face (maybe not in this show but eventually, as a character) is that it's no one else's job to fulfill him, and they can't anyway. He's gotta learn to love himself before he can really love anyone else, or let them love him. I can't get over the idea that at some point he's gonna have to break his own heart to figure that out.

Nick. He gets this spot just for the way he smiled at Top like "bitch I know Boston's the worst, do you really think I'm not?" I knew he wasn't gonna go to Mew with the sex recording though because he wants Boston and breaking Top and Mew up at this point is counterproductive to his goals. Still think that he should blackmail Boston into a real relationship though. Opportunity wasted. Also he's making me very wary of wanting to take my phone into IT if I ever break it, lol. Because you know Boston didn't give him his passcode.

I'm also curious why he went for Top because he has to know it was Boston pushing things this whole time.

Boston. He went from winning last ep to being kind of pathetic this ep. The elevator scene in particular. I was embarrassed for him. Don't tell me that he really thought that Top would just give up and start fucking him on the regular after one night? Come on. Top's pettier than that, my dude. He's gonna make you feel like a pathetic loser for it as well as renew his efforts with Mew just to prove that he can do everyone one better.

I have to admit I am curious what makes him pull the "I want to try settling into something" thing with Nick next ep. Does he suspect that Nick knows more than he's saying? Does Top outright tell him he does?

I am also looking forward to him or NIck causing some havoc with Ray and Sand. One of them is gonna spill the RayMew beans, right? Boston would do it out of pure nastiness, but Nick I think values Sand as a friend and would do it as a warning. Or maybe he's like Boston and will hold onto it for when Sand pisses him off...

Top. Frankly unless we find out that Boston has further evidence of Ray and Mew actually fucking or at least showed him some sort of manipulated vid, I think he's a complete dumbass. You don't get to police who the guy you're with now kissed before he even knew you existed (or did he? 👀👀👀). Literally the only reason I was on his side was that if they fucked it was less about the fucking and more about the deliberate dishonesty, but let's be real, even that is a little sketch. Especially when you yourself don't know how many people you've slept with.

However I also kind of want to be weirdly charitable and say that maybe it has less to do with being pettily annoyed that Mew *dared* to have some sort of non-platonic contact with someone else before him and more being blindsided by how much the idea of Mew playing with him hurt. Whether that's because players hate being played or because he has genuine feeling for Mew I'm on the fence about.

But I still think Boston showed him sex. Because he was very insistent about that point. Whether it was RayMew sex or something else I do believe there was something. And I wanted to look at that scene again to see what Mew's face does when he replies but youtube at this point youtube told me to go f myself so no dice.

Also I think we all called the addiction problems. Dude's a mess. And he's not going to stop being a mess for sex.

Relationships (most to least fave atm)

This time I'm not just going to include romantic relationships because finally we're seeing some real meat out of the other interactions.

BostonNIck. Genuinely I think these two of the best chance of actually working out right now, very much in a "they deserve each other" way. Neither one of them knows what boundaries are and they're both obsessive af. If they turn that on each other they're doing society a favor, lol.

SandTop. You know what I would love? If Top was actually into Sand and deliberately lured his ex away to make him available. Of course that's not where we're going but that's why fanfiction exists. But weirdly I do think that Sand hates Top more than Top hates him - maybe he feels remorse for stealing his ex. Maybe they were friendly before he did that. I don't know. I do know that I want them to make out about it and I will never stop. You hear me? I will. Never. Stop.

SandNick. These two are gonna be fun. You can just tell by the way that Sand didn't even bat an eye when Nick was like hey listen to this audio recording I got when I bugged my FWB's car.

TopMew. Both still playing games. The balance of power between these two fascinates me because it seems to switch back and forth at will. I still feel like neither of them is *really* feeling much but I wonder if and when that will change.

MewRay. It's the only thing I can't make myself ship, but I thought that their whole dynamic was super interesting this ep. I can understand Mew trying to build Ray up, especially as he seems to be the only one who is privy to how deep Ray's issues go, and I can also understand Ray latching on to him hard because of that. When he kissed Mew while Mew was trying to sleep I recoiled from my screen so hard it physically hurt, lol. I do not know if that was the intention but it's what happened. Ideally I'd love it if they came out of this mess stronger friends but not sleeping together or paired romantically, but I don't have the highest hopes for it.

SandRay. I'm gonna be frank. Ray doesn't need a boyfriend. He needs a therapist and possibly a stint in rehab. Sand's gonna bash himself on this one like a bird against glass and it's gonna hurt him a lot. They're gonna flare hot and bright and burn to ash, but maybe, just maybe, they'll be able to emerge from the ashes as friends. It isn't lost on me that they do genuinely seem to get on even when they're not preluding to sex. For me this really depends on how fast it falls apart. If they've split by ep 9 I can really see a friendship emerging from this, but if not...nope.

Franky this one worries me. Because Ray latches on and it would be very easy for him to become far too dependent on Sand far too fast, and that's the last thing that either of them needs. Whether they fall in love or not (and I still think Sand will and Ray probably will not) is immaterial. If Sand (because for better or worse it's gonna have to be Sand) doesn't catch on fast enough to what Ray's doing with him it's gonna spell trouble, even without any interference from an outside party or even counting in Ray's continued feelings for Mew.

Sand clearly wants to be with Ray as equals, whether their relationship remains just friends or something else. And Ray is incapable of fulfilling that wish as he is.

SandMew. New ship alert! They should make out. The only reason it gets lowest billing is that it's a pipe dream comprised of one line from Mew and the fact that they both would be very good at communicating their needs with each other, at least from what we've seen thus far.

[feuqueerfire]

The Worst of Evil Live Blogging

Finished A Shop for Killers and was supposed to start My Stand-In so that I can be caught up for ep 10 but I have a Very Important Thing next week and idk I feel like My Stand-In might take up too much brain space and I also wanna savour it and spend time on it so... I'm starting this instead even though it's not like short or not intense lmfao. Good luck to me

I don't know much about this except 1) Wi Hajoon (he was literally the reason I started actually getting into dramas after Squid Game because usually I'd just watch a show every 6-12 months and not watch anything until the next show a year later lol but I watched a bunch of things for him and now here I am), 2) police drama? they're cops I think, 3) one of them has a wife, and 4) I saw an author who wrote a couple fanfics of them on AO3 but idk if it's like a bromance or if it's like just a ship the writer liked.

I'm excited to Wi Hajoon again after a long while, I haven't watched anything of his since Squid Game, all of it was stuff before Squid Game because I started watching it around the time SQ was released. I'm also curious about his current noona romance Midnight Romance in Hagwon but I'll give this one a try first.

I keep debating between this and My Stand-In because it feels like I'm kinda in the mood for something dark or heavy but I might also be in the mood for BL/romance/relationship stuff, so idk. we'll see how this one goes.

Ep 1 (June 21)

bloody fight to start with. the butcher knives make it more visceral, though not as intriguing as the Shop For Killers beginning violence

2 years ago, 1994

ah, the wife is an elite officer and so her brother is begging the husband because he's a "lowly detective" or smth

Wi Hajoon is a DJ? Girl I thought he was a cop. maybe he's undercover? anyway, this outfit reminds me of the serial killer fucker he played in Midnight

Wi Hajoon: Gicheul

oh, Gichul is actually being recruited by... some shady guy? he's the opposite of a cop lol

1 year later, 1995

ohh Gicheul is treated like shit and feels slighted so is making plans to wipe out the current top guys + their thugs at this hotel in the middle of the woods and just taking over Gangnam?

is this cool? I guess I'm supposed to think this sneak attack and planning to overthrow is cool? they mostly seem like posers other than the knife guy

oof, stupid dude Taeho

so they've killed the secondary boss guy who's their boss

Busan

Ah, okay, I was wondering how killing these people was just give them Gangnam, esp cuz they also worked for somebody but I guess Gicheul wants Gangnam from the big boss

So that's how the cop and Gicheul end up meeting. The detective is gonna infiltrate the gang to try to find who is selling meth to the Japanese gangs. also, when Gicheul was securing the hotel, he gave the guy in the car a little baggie with white stuff... I'm guessing that's what they're looking for?

Ah, his father is a drug user, that's why all that tension

damn, this fucker explicitly says he nor anybody higher-up would give a promotion to a drug addict's son

Gicheul's group (?) is known Gangnam Union and the 4 guys knew each other since high school (thus the hyung/donsaeng close relationship) and there are 3 of them now that Taeho's dead but the knife guy joined ig so it's 4 again. they appear like a social club but they've taken over nearly every club in Gangnam

fake identity: Taeho's non-existent cousin named Seungho

ooh, he wants to meet Gicheul his own way. If I was pretending to be Seungho but wanted to make sure I get close to Gicheul without raising suspicion... maybe I'd first start off antagonistic actually? Like oh you fuckers killed Taeho, how dare you, etc. etc. or make it seem like I was planning on doing something for revenge. because then they'd think I actually knew Taeho + am who I say I am + wouldn't be obvious that I'm clearly trying to get close to Gicheul

they don't translate the ssibals that Seungho (I can't remember his real name rip) keeps dropping every sentence smh

okay, Seungho went in a slightly similar route to me in that he made a scene and went in antagonistically but his plan was obviously more fleshed out and more fun/cool. I love a first meeting like this, with secrets and planning. The watch was a nice touch, is it a similar watch to which Taeho stole from that Sergeant Jang guy or what?

Fave scene: I love love love a first meeting or the initial scenes in a story where one party has secrets and the other party doesn't know. I'll also be very excited to see how Gicheul finds out Seungho's real identity and how he reacts.

I didn't know this was the synopsis of this show lmfao I feel like I didn't know anything for at the beginning for both this show and A Shop for Killers even though the things were in the synopsis lol it's fun this way though. I like an undercover story

Yo, I'm irritated, I thought the synopsis would probably have stuff just from this ep but from skimming it, I found out Seungho's wife is also gonna be undercover for this operation, wish I had found that out on my own.

Ep 2 (June 21)

okay, the father was also told by the cops Seungho's backstory and he's playing along

this was interesting because the guy literally told most of the other gangsters to not fight, it'll be like 1 v 7, not 1 v 30 lol so it makes why they're just standing around

okay but Taeho's killer is just the Sergeant Jang who they also killed, right? like Gicheul knifed that man

oh? one of Gicheul's friends (Heesung) who neither him nor the other old friend take seriously wants to team up with one of the guys they slashed back then (I'm guessing) to take down Gicheul? is this the thing that will have Gicheul and Seungho on the same side? i feel like that's too soon for Gicheul to fall from grace. or is this like... a trick?

Gicheul notices something about Heesung

not Heesung saying they're my friends and brothers so don't let anything bad happen and don't hurt them to much?? girl, what do you think is gonna happen exactly?

ohhh so it was indeed a trap

what must it feel like for the cop dude who's outside the building lmfao must feel like a trap for Seungho but indeed it's for the other guys who filed in. mans being like fuckkk do i call 112 or nah

oh brutal fucking torture wtf girl anyway if I was Seungho I'd be scared af of getting found out (maybe that's also why they're putting on a show of what happens when you betray Gicheul)

damn, why was the big boss looking at all those weapons? anyway, Gicheul isn't gonna send him money anymore apparently

but that's angering the boss and he wants Gicheul dead but the Japan guy the boss works with really likes Gicheul

right, okay, Seungho wasn't supposed to know that Srgt Jang was dead, so Gicheul finally tells him after kinda testing him + opening the place for Taeho

heh Seungho now being the maknae of the gang. i love the bureaucracy or mundaneness of gangster life, like some jokes about jobs and money in A Shop for Killers too

the cop also keeps patrolling and looking out for Seungho ig

Yongdae's so cute, our other maknae

a love triangle?

scary af too the gang know she's a cop and are like... you were meeting a cop. whelp

he's saying that his father is held at the police station for drugs... can they somehow check that Taeho's uncle is indeed there or whatever?

matching necklaces and first loves good god

If they were brave, we'd get a proper triangle lmfao bring Gicheul as a third into the marriage! but also i'm thinking, is Gicheul gonna die or be in prison or something by the end?

Also, I've heard Ji Chang Wook's name often but haven't watched anything he's in. He's doing really well as Junmo/Seungho so far. omg some people on the r/kdrama said the FL often dies in similar kdramas, esp with 2 main male leads and... no. she can't. This reminded me of The Devil Judge and Jinyoung's character's love interest dying and simply, no. if they kill the woman I'll be annoyed

Ep 3 (June 21)

oh Euijung bought the couple necklace for Gicheul, damn

I think Euijung started wearing it again since she just brought it home again recently but Gicheul always wears it still ig

what happened, Gicheul's parent was arrested or what?

omg okay Gicheul's asking his contact in the cops about Kwan Seungho's father's criminal record (to check that he's in jail from drugs or whatever Seungho said) + also checking for Euijung's cop husband

they faked Seungho's father's records so they must be able to give a photo of a different man for Euijung's husband

okay whew, can't blow cover in ep 3

they both call her noona ahhh

did the cops send in the thugs to Gicheol and have Seungho save him or whatever? but um what if some of these people die?

lol they all just left at once, a gunshot wasn't even fired, how choreographed, how suspicious imo

damn, Gicheol heard Seungho's "I'm Gicheul" to "trick" the people and now trusts him fully

oh, so they were literally cops, not even hired thugs omg and they're not being told that Gicheol had a literal gun (and they don't know that Seungho/Junmo is one of them because he's from a random village/town station, not Seoul ig)

Junmo-Seungho getting pissed as Gicheol talks about Euijung and also insults her husband lmfao

oof, Seungho managed to get away with not going to see Euijung's mother at the hospital with Gicheol bc she would def just be like oh, my police son-in-law Junmo, hello

damn, so the Japan guy also wants Gicheol gone? girl

lol Gicheol tryna get in Euijung's mother's good graces

oh wait, he wasn't the Japan guy that loves Gicheol. The Kanemoto guy who loves Gicheol making money for him killed the other guy ig. idk what's happening there lol

oh, that was Song Donghyuk. and Kanemoto or whoever is who Gicheol calls Father/Abeoji

There are cameras here but do they work when the electricity's out?

lmfaooo Gicheol used Euijung's birthday as the passcode for the most important door. Seungho mad as hell in the middle of his investigation

so that kid got Gangnam Crystal from one of the stores that the Gangnam Union runs right? hm, seems like he was selling something else before but now is selling this?

omg not the cops pretending to be thugs dropping a flashlight that day and now Gicheol and the top people know...

okay, yeah, the important Gangnam Union quartet + Seungho gathered to take down the other druglord guy

Gicheol quite scary as he's yelling at Seungho to kill the man to establish trust omg

Ep 4 (June 21)

I was supposed to have watched 3 eps the whole day, not 3 episodes before 3 pm and onto the 4th... I have things to do bruh. I should pause in the middle of the ep instead of waiting for the end bc they end on cliffhangers

so he couldn't kill the guy this time

i don't think i liked that transition into the title card lol

Heesung really doesn't trust Seungho and for good reason. i wonder at which point Gicheol will find out for certain and whether he'll tell everybody or how he'll react. i guess by the time the opening credit happens, he still doesn't know because Euijung's with him while Seungho's at the other side? or something

okay at least the other cop said they're not asking Junmo's wife for help, they're asking the talented and capable Inspector Euijung because agh it's so annoying somehow that Junmo gets to infiltrate the gang and show off his fighting skills and such while Euijung is supposed to like... flirt with Gicheol to get close to him. in a different show where this is the premise it'd be different but it feels unfair somehow that the men get to do cool and dangerous things while she's like a trophy they want to possess and there's anger and jealousy over her like agh

she's pretending she's had a divorce. fewer questions about her husband + Gicheol's gonna think he has a chance

okay I'll try to not be mad about how they're inserting her and how i think it's unfair and instead focus on the interesting and emotionally-charged dynamics between the 3 of them

interesting how Gicheol's the one in the dark while a literal police couple are the only other 2 people in the car

Won't Gicheol notice how Seungho keeps avoiding meeting Euijung's family or people who should know him?

but damn sucks that Junmo can't appear at his mother-in-law's funeral + Euijung's gonna have to field questions from her family about where tf her husband is

awwww the scene where Seungho peeks in and she sees and her lips start trembling and eyes watering but obviously they can't interact or comfort each other is so sad

omg this child calling Seungho 이모부, meaning maternal aunt's husband (not even just like oh regular old uncle who may not be related to me) in front of Gicheol but the other cop guy (the one whose working with them + is keeping an eye on everybody) whose photo is being used as Euijung's husband also showed up right then, whew

this fucking quartet lmfaoooooooo first we have Euijung, everybody knows her real identity and occupation. Then we have Gicheol, the guy who has been obsessed with Euijung since high school and still loves and is clearly aiming to date her. Witnessing all this is Junmo as Gicheol, Euijung's real husband but pretending to be just a friend who only kind of knows her and is Gicheol's minion but he's seething in jealousy and anger at all their interactions. Finally joins the cop who's in on the plan + is mascarading as Euijung's husband Junmo loll he can show some of the resentment the real Junmo feels but has to masquerade as a loser husband or rather ex-husband because they're pretend divorced as well

funny dynamic but also we've got a dick-measuring contest now while Euijung is mostly passive like alright

omg this is so sad, Junmo not being able to say goodbye to his MIL and her being pretty much the only person from Euijung's family who is actually good to him + also said she likes him more than her actual 2 sons that's crazy. reminds me a bit of 18 Again because we don't see MIL-son-in-law dynamics much but that one really gutted me

ah, okay, Gicheol's mother killed his father after the fucker came to find them after they ran away from his abusive ass. that's why she was both bloody and in cuffs in the flashback

hah. Gicheol wants Seungho's help to win over Euijung

I don't fully get everything and what gangs etc but ig another 2 gangs wanna pair up to take down Gicheol

oh and they're tryna recruit people from Gicheol's gang Gangnam Union or whatever

who is that face with the towel that they showed... i'm so fucking bad at facial recognition bruh. was it one of the top 3 people? honestly wouldn't be surprised if it's the knife guy because he seemed dissatisfied when speaking to Seungho

is the guy who pulled out of fishing really preoccupied or is he planning something? what with all these people tryna take down Gicheol. was he the one under the towel?

ah, they're taking Seungho fishing instead of the Seo knife guy. and Chief Seo and Seungho had also talked a bit about alliances kinda/sticking together

Heeseung or whoever long-haired also scheming?

how can they cliffhanger end on Seungho possibly shooting somebody to kill two eps in a row lmfaoo

Fave Scene: when Junmo and Euijung's eyes first meet at the funeral and it's so tragic that they can't meet. then when Junmo breaks down and bows while thinking about his MIL being kind to him.

Ep 5 (June 21)

um hm so last ep I did not stop halfway through the ep and now it's 4:30pm but I must do it this ep... around 5pm i should stop and do some work...

he really did start shooting people this time, even if not fatally

ah, towel guy was knife Seo

but he said he wouldn't betray them and also came in to help. took his sweet time to intervene though lmao

damn, I'm invested in Junmo/Euijung and also sometimes am into Seungho/Gicheol... why can't this be a fucking triangle bruh

why did those 2 guys (not the top two) who knew about them going fishing tell Seungho to be worried about himself... I know the long-haired Heesung was a rat, maybe Jeongdae is a rat, are these two also rats? Were they the people who met at the billiards thing idek can't remember the faces rip

Youngdae better not be a spy and he better not die, he's such a cutie. he legit thinks the world's gonna end in 4 years what the hell

Youngdae saw the cop getting out of the van after speaking to Seungho...

so is it not Heeseung fr? but he saw those vans following their car?

oh Seongho really does not want people die, especially not at his hands or because of him

oof, Gicheol's really letting him live... how can you be at the top of the gang if you just beat up the rat who almost got you and somebody else killed and also has caused problems with your drug trade with the Japanese lmfao now other people are gonna be like well even if i sell em out, i won't die

also I've been saying the wrong names!!!! long haired guy is Jeongbae, short haired guy is Heesung. i know once somebody else called long-haired as Jeongbae but I'd already thought he was Heeseong so I was like... I will ignore this

oh yeah, what was up with the old professor? she was mentioned at the very start but never again until this glimpse now... is the the one who makes or gives instructions on how to make the drugs? was she a prof of chemistry or smth i can't rmr

oh lol she's Yoon Wongil and she'd previously been caught for cooking meth, i see

okay wtf actually why is Gicheol fucking ditching the Chinese meeting (that's happening because of the ambush and them not being able to deliver their fucking drugs) to hang out with Euijung... be so serious right now. the day after he lets the rat live no less. are you cut out to be the leader like this wtf

right, we already know that long-hair Jeongbae (not Heeseung, wrong name) was in kahoots with the other gang

...did Seo knife guy do something at all? They showed him saying no etc but he was quite late in saving the 2 of them. but he's questioning now how they found Gicheol that night, so maybe he didn't tell them

Seo's killing the guy who attacked Gicheol... we know he followed them from Seoul but not in his own car... possibly in Seo's car?

okay, so Gicheol had said to take care of Kang Geon. and Heeseung and Jeongbae are clean. Jeongbae really had his kid we know that at least

Gicheol so fucking obvious, Jeongbae's like it's because of Euijeong right?

Jeongbae and Gicheol trusting each other and speaking... Euijeong and Junmo also meeting up alone after So Long at home... T.T

always makes me nervous when Junmo meets the cops

so these last 2 people were also part of the Chinese people who were coming right?

Euijung worries about her husband and gets mad at the lack of precautions and wants to help more to ensure he's safe/finishes the missions asap. I think that's a reasonable reaction where it respects his autonomy while also expressing her own feelings, I think it'd be fair if she has an even worse reaction considering he could die at any moment, even if he's done nothing to give anything away, because people wanna kill Gicheol.

Junmo on the other hand is so proprietary over Euijung like she is indeed also a cop, she's an inspector, she's ranked higher than you. And she's not even in as much of a danger, just that Gicheol likes her and doesn't like her husband and it's not like Euijung's gonna fucking get with Gicheol. it's not unreasonable for him to be jealous but the way he's so... yeah idk what else to say except proprietary and as if he can dictate her actions like stfu idk i'm so fucking picky in my het romances and how the man treats/views the woman. But I also get him because he feels that he's not good enough for her, everybody says so from his wife's family to fuckass Gicheol, so to have her flirt with somebody rich and perhaps more successful in the eyes of others will rub him the wrong way.

A lot of people on the on-air think Dohyung (the undercover cop guy) is actually working for the bad guys and tipping them off after communicating with Seungho. I didn't even think of that tbh lol

Ep 6 (June 21)

marriage?! Gicheol's been wanting to marry Euijung since high school, girl meet a different lover!

ah, the people at the end last ep were Japanese, not from the Chinese branch

this hotel meeting is filled with cops because of the Kr-Jpn-Chn meeting and also the Gangnam cops who are trailing them for murdering that Cho drug dealer

this meeting is just near heart attack one after the other

wants him to pretend nd stand so that he can see if he's being watched

lol do they just wanna talk alone

lmao yeah. so he aint even watching?

Jeongbae sees the undercover cops too

okay i was having dinner so barely wrote anything but lots of stuff happened

It's important that 1) Jeongbae has seen the undercover cop Dohyung but unrelated to Seungho 2) Yeongdae saw the cop coming out of/near the van when Seungho was in it

the Chinese woman keeps noting how Seungho's going far and risking his life for Gicheol lol

Talking about how Seungho fully trusts Gicheol. both Gicheol and the Chinese woman noting it

It's actually interesting that she's taking Such A Note of Seungho, like more than Gicheol, she's taking Seungho more into account regarding whether she'll continue business with them

also Junmo's so good at this lmfao he's fooling everybody about his identity and loyalties

bruh, Miss Lee likes Seungho

please, these cops

hah, Seungho being like yeah lemme turn myself into the police, I'll take the fall no worries, just let me in on the drug trade next time plsplspls

I love Miss Lee, loveeee her. the way she speaks and watches, ah. also her "your Japanese is acting like a kiiing" @ 50:45 is great. I hope she appears again later

Ep 7 (June 21)

I was supposed to watch 3 episodes today, how am I about to start ep 7, it's 8:30pm I've done nothing today except watch this show...

Damn, the clueless angry gangnam cop really beat the shit out of Seungho. I've never really considered whether he'd turn to the "bad" side tbh cuz he seems invested in his cop life and is averse to killing and he def wouldn't be worthy of his wife as a criminal but this sort of cop abuse of authority should at least make him consider wtf cops are lol

Jeongbae's intuitions crazy good + his suspicions all correct and yet they all keep brushing him off to protect Seungho lmfao fools

Ah, Gicheol feels inferior against the Chinese and Japanese reps and how they treat him

Is the Chinese assistant scouting out a new seller or anything

Miss Lee, I love you

pls not her basically dragging Seungho around on a date kinda

the way Seungho's speaking sounds like he's in love with Gicheol

damn, Gicheol's been stashing away some of the meth and selling here? or has that been Jeongbae (the Yankee kid was getting it from Jeongbae)

cringe "you can spend more time with me" i don't wanna watch omg, you think she gives a fuck about spending more time with you ohhhh men.

at least she barely laughed lol I was ready for a raucous laughter

ahh, they fucking got Jeongbae's ass and letting him go free made it even worse in Gicheol's eyes.

omg not their friendship falling the fuck apart because of lying etc

Jeongbae is literally correct that Gicheol needs him because Gicheol can't see Seungho's suspicious actions nor can he think because of Euijung

omg Jeongbae literally having an angry outburst but he's only yelling things that are true, this is wild

"One day you'll realize you were blinded. I guarantee it." oh Jeongbae, I hope you live to see it and that you're not collateral damage who dies or smth

their entire floor must be just cigarette butts and the burnt stuff

why the hell is Seo now fighting Jeongbae. I like Jeongbae, can we not do this right now... I need him to live and cackle when he finally hears down the grape vine that Seungho was indeed an undercover cop and Gicheol was a dumbass

omg... Gicheol did a very nice thing for Euijeong but he overheard one of the ladies and has figured out that Euijeong didn't use to live in the same city as Seungho...

ahhhh the corrupt cop fell off the roof in a fight with Seungho...

but Seungho's more relieved to see he got the papers that would've blown his cover

he's leaving the man like this and taking the documents + phone that would've ruined his gig

why the hell are Gicheol and Euijeong's dates and hangouts so fucking boring. I didn't care about their past flashbacks but that's not surprising but even their current scenes together are so... freaking mellow and feel kinda useless because it's not like Euijeong's really helping the case progress, it's so boring when they're together. i'd expected more mind games at least!

I started and ended this episode being like hm... Seungho going to the dark side possibly? I don't think he'd actually abandon it, but he's probably gonna become more and more ambiguous as time goes on, especially with how we ended this ep. Also interesting that both the start and end of this ep began with corrupt cops

okay hear me out so Gicheol is completely blind when it comes to Euijeong right, like she's a fucking cop but he's just hagnigng around her and plans to marry her lol and similarly... he is blinded by Seungho, he trusts him deeply and worries for him and wants him by his side. This means that Gicheol also likes/loves/has romantic feelings for Seungho. yes.

Ep 8 (June 21)

It's nearly 11pm, I want to say this will be my last episode for the day but who knows. What an addictive, exciting show

Miss Lee is too kind not killing these sexist fuckers

ah, Seungho being haunted by that guy's death. expected

woah, all 4 of them at one place. you know i was like let's have a 3some with euijeong/seungho/gicheol but now it's like 4some with Miss Lee let's go

but it's funny how Miss Lee immediately clocked Euijeong and Gicheol lmfao, she did Not like the way they looked at each other

I wanna know Yongdae's little mission so bad, what a cutie. I'll be mad as fuck if he dies frrrr

not Euijeong and Gicheol both looking at their guns...

and Euijeong and Seungho's dates both being like .hm. at them calling/their phone ringing

I... think Seungho and Miss Lee should kiss. actually i think it happens bc in the ep 6-7 on-air somebody mentioned an edit where they were kissing apparently

I'm so proud of Yongdae for all the intel and research yay

lmfao Gicheol has Yongdae pretending to be a cop

i'm so excited, they keep reaching for their guns and also I want to know exactly what and how much Yongdae said and Gicheol knows. like probably that Euijeong's father never worked at Wonju but did Yongdae say that the photo of Junmu is literally Seungho?

is he choosing between gun vs necklace?

the handheld cameras shakiness is throwing me off, I don't like it

aghhhh they keep covering their trails too well, now they've got Euijeong's dad working at Wonju smh and probably replaced the Junmu photo too

I want Gicheol to find out soon so fucking bad but I don't think he will in these 2 eps because I accidentally had clicked on the 8-9 on-air and the first comment was about how Seungho was doing so much and going so far for this mission or whatever. so we'll find out in the last quarter. i just want it not in the last 30 minutes or whatever man

Yongdae has now seen Dohyung the cop coming from the van/near the van where Seungho was + now at the police room + also... would he recognize him from Junmo's photo?

omg, the Gangnam cops found Seungho/Junmo's lighter at the PI death scene

poor Gicheol getting confessed to and Literally Crying over it but it's all A Lie. at least Euijeong's now taking the leap and getting even closer to Gicheol fr now

stay away from Gicheol at all costs tonight...???

Gicheol on a fucking date with a cop while the Japanese folks are talking to another gang lmfao what the hell man. he's so smart in some scenarios (keeps digging and cross-checking everything) but whenever he trusts Euijung, every rational thought goes out the window

I like Miss Lee and Seungho and I also know why Seungho's not expressing much outward interest toward her but I want better for her... after she compliments a man she's on a date with, he should also say what he likes about her, no? or show any sort of initiative or attraction

Gicheol wants to become a good person...? is he gonna push back on Seungho's drug deal and be like no i am to become a reformed person? lol

ahhhh I love Miss Lee/Seungho even though Seungho's uh... not really having a good time/into it. it started out kinda hot but got sadder as time went on. sorry that i was into it at first despite you experiencing workplace sexual harassment junmo. also i'm nervous he's gonna say Euijeong's name...

ah... China and Japan are teaming up with Jageon group and gonna attack Gicheol... will we Finally get the intro scene please?

ahh exciting

Ep 9 (June 21)

If we figure out the identities this ep, I'll be so happy. Also glad we're finally getting the intro scene cuz everything for me was like this isn't the intro scene yet, so they don't know this or that won't happen, etc

aw no, the flashback to their wedding and the father interruption

both Seungho and Gicheol noticing Euijung in a chokehold... and Gicheol having to save her... it's not that I don't get it but I'm just frustrated

just disgusting and violent and brutal... and Euijung witness Junmo-Seungho that way...

Miss Lee and Seungho on one side of the gladd, Euijeong and Gicheol on the other...

brutal... Seungho like this truly reminds me of Strangers From Hell last episode

Heeseung noticed how Gicheol didn't help him even as he nearly died (but was focused on the cop woman I think)

ah, both of them are reminiscing about the start of the relationship... also Euijeong clenched her fist when Gicheol kissed her both in the past and last episode but she kissed Junmo first and doesn't do that

clean office the next day lol

oof, almost got Seungho with the lighter thing

but he does know/have a very big hunch that Seungho killed the PI and he's correct

Seungho wants this trade to happen more than Gicheol does

and he’s willing to do anything wtf is this finger thing is Gicheol missing a finger at all

ah, betrayal in the Japanese yakuza

ah, Gicheol knew about the betrayal. that’s why he was disrespectful to the old man and fucking things up bc he knew he’ll do business with new guy

Euijung's actress is from True Beauty - the cool older sister

just insane. I’m really liking this show. only 3 more eps left, hope it doesn’t let me down ahh. I Need it to stick the landing

Ep 10 (June 22)

mad that i got woken up at 5:30am, esp bc i’ve got less than 5 hours of sleep or smth but uh, i wanna watch next ep…

lmfao Gicheol wants to hand over this thing to Seungho and walk away and be a normal man bc of Euijeong… girl both your right hand Seungho and your girl Euijeong want you in jail!!!

either Junmo nor Gicheol feeling worthy of Euijeong and wanting to be

i just feel like so far, despite doing too much and going too far, Seungho hasn’t shown interest in actually becoming the boss or staying in this lifestyle

no like this Mingoo cop is so bothersome like if he was like Jaengdo it’d be fine bc he’d be correct and it’d be ironic how they’re ignoring him but he’s also constantly abusing his power and it’s annoying. why the hell don’t the cops control him more

lol double date and it’ll be fun to see Euijung jealous

Miss Lee is funny as hell i love her

I just Neeeed to know whether Miss Lee can see the intense eye contact and emotion that Euijeong and Seungho share

i am ILL why do I like Miss Lee/Seungho so fucking much. like in the end i still want the real married couple in love to end up together and overcome this but I really like these two and their cute little dates (workplace sexual harassment not withstanding…). and also Seungho has been giving Miss Lee little smiles tonight, ah how cute

pls the way Miss Lee is like do you even have feelings for me? she’s so spoiled that she doesn’t care if he does or doesn’t, he wants him just bc she likes him.

Knife Seo pissed me the fuck off with brutalizing Jeongbae just as he was leaving but if he kills Mingoo i will be less mad

Junmo’s father?!?! Meth Park?

they’re trying to set up Knife Seo for Manager Cho’s death - which isn’t untrue but there’s a reason for the fake witness setup ig

stop suspecting Jeongnbae, you dumbass

ah, they gave up Knife Seo kinda to distract Mingoo ig…

Dohyung telling Junmo to not overdo it and that he’s a cop who needs to return to that life

Everybody going to the port while Euijeong sitting worried at home, agh this show

Jeonbae at the office… and saying he told Gicheol the cop bitch would screw him over…

Ep 11 (June 22)

Two episodes left, pleaseeee stick the landing

2 Days Earlier oof

It’s annoying because Mingoo is kinda good at his job in some aspects and so keeps catching onto things lmfao

i get more mad as they show Euijeong helpless to stop the deal from going through and is just upset and worried at home

Gicheol sees himself in Seungho

not this random ass car crash with Dodgers. is this Mingoo’s doing wtf

omg the car blowing up?!

oh that was Kyungjin (the previous rat), not Dodgers oops. So Jeongbae did this? omg

1 week to get the stolen drugs back oof, will they meander a lot? also when will Gicheol find out about the identities?

fucking he’ll, Mingoo’s at Junmo’s old station where people actually know him

what is Changchun to Seungho or maybe Junmo rather…

oh he’s just excited that he knows that the gang is based in Changchun

Dohyung playing as Park Junmo at Gangnam station with Mingoo but Knife Seo and Yongdae (guy who has seen Dohyung multiple times now including the piece of paper like 2 secs ago that Seo saw) also caught a glimpse from the outside

Gicheol having by to tell Seungho to not cross the line after he suggests fucking up Jeongbae’s family members omg

guess Jeongbae stole all the money and everything oof stupid, how can y’all leave everything unmanned?

fucks sake I’m so over Euijeong playing worried, useless wife. and Dohyung is annoying too like obviously Seungho’s fucked up. obviously he is. what the hell you want him to do

and Knife Seo + Yongdae know that the man (Dohyung cosplaying Junmo) is a narcotics division cop who swapped pages for an investigation

also they don’t fucking tell Seungho that his father was taken in for questioning at Gangnam. he may not realize at once that he’s Meth Park but some prep, some foresight could happen

omg Knife Seo brutalizing Dohyung and finding out he’s not Junmo and also not trusting Seungho and wanting him to stab Dohyung

Ep 12 (June 22)

one hour left… be good please. I’ll watch it at 1x speed

damn Seo killed Dohyung

Dohyung still telling Seungho that he’s a cop and to never forget

wonder what Yongdae’s gonna make of this and if he’ll inform Gicheol

I need Gicheol to find out the identities and soooon and have enough time for the realization and heartbreak and anger that comes with it

“If I’m gonna die anyway, I might as well be killed by hyung” Jeongbae to Gicheol omg… should’ve been shipping these two this whole time they make me so fucking sad

I need to kill Mingoo like actually. annoying ass fucker

Jeongbae and Heesung teaming up and going to Mingoo with the drugs… crazy but also funny in ways because the cops of this case Don’t Want That, they wanna catch em red-handed along w China and Japan branches

like Mingoo wants to catch Gicheol or whatever but that’s not what the investigation wants, they want whole drug ring and how it’s being passed around

Heeseung and Jeongbae really betrayed him like this. Can’t say I’m surprised

parallels of Gicheol getting taken away in the cop car

2nd purposeful car crash in two consecutive episodes lol

does Euijung actually do anything except stand and worry/cry?

no but what’s the plan lol like we have Gicheol but the drug trade ain’t gonna happen without the drugs

Dohyung died ig but they aren’t telling Seungho

okay, one more plan for handoff to Japan, everybody involved and knows what’s happening (though not everybody knows who else knows lol)

30 minutes left

I keep thinking Miss Lee’s guard mans is gonna interfere somehow

Mingoo if you don’t fucking stop brih

how did Mingoo and his lackey find out about Seungho being Junmo and the wedding photo before all of them im dead

okay god bless, Seungho was at least like how about you stay somewhere far away, so Miss Lee is still a lovesick fool (her and Gicheol similarities….) and I assume didn’t betray him even though she knows who he is

she’s stabbed Mingoo, thank you. hated that fucker

Think I could’ve also shipped Miss Lee with her guard, similar to History 3: Trapped

good luck Miss Lee, thank you for being here for these last few episodes because I couldn’t have taken it if fucking Euijung was out only female characters

Seungho betraying Gicheol but not revealing who he is but also keeping the key in the ignition of the car where he handcuffed Gicheol…

the arrest somehow anticlimactic but wrapping up well. need moreeee from Gicheol

ah okay Gicheol here in their apartment and knows things now

oof

damn, Junmo shot for the fucking heart, I thought he’d shoot Gicheol’s arm so that he can’t kill himself or whatever

the fact that he killed Gicheol like that is crazy like actually fr

what ring did Junmo leave… wedding ring??? w a cigarette. and Euijeong had left her cross matching necklace

I wonder why Jungmo killed Gicheol and what it accomplished. The only thing I can think of is that getting murdered is better than committing suicide, afterlife punishment wise, so in a twisted, romantic way you can think of it as Junmo saving Gicheol’s soul from eternal damnation or whatever due to suicide by surrendering his own soul to it instead since he committed murder. Some people said maybe he did it because then Euijeong didn't lead to her friend's suicide (even if she didn't love him like he wanted, she seemingly cared for Gicheol to a certain extent), but idk would her husband being a murderer be better?

Overall:

Surprised even myself by binging this in 24 hours (10am-10am June 21-22) when I was planning on watching ~3eps/day for 4 days. Intense, interesting, engaging, exciting, thrilling. How fun. Been a while since I couldn't stop watching a show from beginning to end because even when I'd be excited and binge a few eps, I'd usually lose interest or be disappointed or just falter after a couple episodes.

Last time I binged like this might've been Alice In Borderland last year, April 2023, S1 8 eps in ~14 hours. I did watch Good Bad Mother 14 episodes in ~50 hours this April 2024 though.

This was exciting because it made me feel like when I had just started watching k-dramas or thrillers, and everything was exciting and I'd just watch it for hours on end. Also helped because I straight up knew nothing about this except Wi Hajoon is in this (the guy who really had me getting into watching shows and dramas) + cop story; I literally thought they were a pair of cops lmfao not infiltration.

For A Shop for Killers, I started watching at 1.25x halfway through because it was slow and I wanted it to get a move on/finish certain parts quicker. This one I started with 1.25x from the very first episode and it goes very well with the fast-paced nature of this show.

The 90s timeline was a nice touch, it let us go farther with the "nobody in this city far away from where he lives/works knows what Junmo (a random cop in a random station) looks like"

I wasn't on anybody's side - I knew/suspected the cops and Seungho would win because that's just the kind of story but I wanted more and better from each side, I wanted them to be clever and to outsmart each other. When Gicheol did something clever, I was excited and when Seungho did something clever, I was equally excited.

It was also just a unique experience to have Jeongbae literally telling Gicheol about the suspicious people and being right on the money while Gicheol brushes him off. That one at least I enjoyed because I liked to see the group fracture and lose trust but I hated the Mingoo fucker so bad. It would've been one thing if he was actually just doing it all sneakily but ethically (as much as you can be as a cop lmfao) because he wanted to help or whatever, it would've been ironic how I still wouldn't want him to have much progress because I'd want the main investigation to go well, but this dirty cop motherfucker who also plays with these gangs but wants to arrest Gicheol for the police fame and notoriety too? Miss Lee you are a real and true winner for killing that motherfucker.

I pity Gicheol, he really had Seungho and Euijeong left at the end but they both were conspiring against him. But Seungho was right that Gicheol didn't need to do all this, it's an excuse, he just wanted to be powerful and at the top and rich. It's not surprising that others turned their back on him (didn't he himself kill the previous leader to take over + by the end he was only worried about himself and not really his friends or the guys under him) and it's not surprising how he turned out. He was also making such stupid decisions because of his love for Euijeong. he was not portrayed in a heinous light despite his criminal and cruel behaviour. Sometimes he would yell (ex. when he was yelling at Seungho to shoot Cho) and it felt like I could see more of his ruthless side

Seungho-Junmo's character was interesting too, enjoyed him constantly pushing farther and doing too much just to keep his cover and have the investigation continue. I don't think I ever really thought that Junmo would go to the dark side or really team up with Gicheol or anything, it seemed clear that he was doing this for the investigation and to keep his wife's involvement as low as possible + to prove himself as well. I haven't watched Ji Changwook in anything before this but he was impressive with the acting.

I liked the main romance at the beginning, it was so heartbreaking how Junmo couldn't be at his MIL's funeral and the scene when he and Euijeong made eye contact secretly was tragic and touching. The scenarios where they had to pretend to not be together and either going on dates with Gicheol or on that double date were also interesting. But after a while, it got boring and repetitive because they weren't giving Euijeong any new material. It makes sense that they divorced or stopped being together after that mission, Gicheol was a changed man, a more ruthless and cold man who is not doing alright and Euijeong saw him kill Gicheol in front of her. They had asked before the last scene if they could go back to normal like before and the answer is simply no.

I don't think she was romantically interested in Gicheol at all by the way.

I didn't think of The Devil Judge while watching this show but as I was thinking about it afterwards, I kind of started noticing similarities a bit, so I'll write some of my thoughts in comparison. SPOILERS ALSO FOR DEVIL JUDGE IF ANYBODY OTHER THAN ME IS READING THIS:

Taeho-Seungho and Yohan's brother-Gaon: the former was somebody close to Gicheol-Yohan who died and reminded him of him. Gaon was much more directly and often referred to as similar to Yohan's brother but Seungho had bits of Taeho as his cousin (though Seungho reminded Gicheol more of himself tbh)

Euijeong and Soohyun (I think that's her): our main characters Seungho and Gaon had female love interests who were also both cops but were underutilized, underwritten, and ultimately not very useful. I fucking wish Euijeong was more involved, did more cool things, not just wait around and be worried about Junmo (and Gicheol) and have extremely boring dates with Gicheol. at least she didn't die i guess...

Miss Lee Haeryeong and Seonah: ahhh my interesting, antagonist women who I was obsessed with. The were given more personality and dimension than the first love interests I'd mentioned but it could never work out with them because they were too dangerous or not on the right side and the one she likes does not like her back. I think Miss Lee was especially important here because Devil Judge at least had other female characters who got screentime (younger sister Elijah was a semi-prominent character and the Minister was a badass) but here she was the only one other than Euijeong and I've already expressed my dissatisfaction with how they used that character. Miss Lee Haeryeong was a lovesick fool truly, but I give it a pass because we have an even bigger lovesick fool in this cast (oh, Gicheol), so it wasn't just like a sexist stereotype. I had loved how unhinged Seonah and Yohan were like truly unpredictable and dangerous and this show wasn't that (well Haeryeong did sexually assault/coerce Seungho that one time yikes) but her dynamic with Seungho still brought some fun into it all. She was kinder in letting Seungho's plan go through though instead of Seonah backstabbing Yohan, but Seungho was also kinder to her by telling her to leave the countries than Yohan was so Seonah.

Gicheol and Yohan: the actors were very good choices for their roles because they are not good people but they are very charming and make you want to root for them even as they do bad things or commit crimes. Yohan was overall "better" while Gicheol was literally a criminal and drug dealer and murderer who owned businesses. I didn't think of Gicheol as the antagonist because despite him definitely being that and I think it's mostly due to the way he was portrayed in the show but also about how Wi Hajoon specifically idk

homoeroticism? I think it's Much more pronounced in The Devil Judge but here, I was like... we can get a threesome going with Euijeong involved. Seungho was never on Gicheol's side here unlike with Gaon and Yohan being allies/friends/whatever in Devil Judge and the scriptwriters also didn't frame it as a possible ship ever whereas it definitely seemed like something they were alluding to in DJ. But it's a fun thought, maybe if I rewatch it and am not just so focused on the plot, I can try looking at it in that way.

The Ending: ...sad. Gaon and Junmo are changed people. Gicheol's dead, which is not surprising to me, though the way it happened wasn't what I was expecting. Junmo is not doing well, his marriage is falling apart, he's killed people, Dohyung's death has taken a toll on him, he's a more jaded person, he resents the fact that he had to do this mission. It was a fitting ending after all this.

Anyway, not super similar plot-wise but certain threads are maybe just common tropes.

The Devil Judge started off with 7.5 stars but lost its 0.5 to become 7 because I can't actually remember much about the show's plot and hold no affection for the characters. I hope my feelings for this show ages better.

I'm especially curious how I'll feel because my 3 favourite k-dramas are Squid Game, Beyond Evil, and Squid Game and I felt so deeply for the characters there. However, for the Devil Judge, I didn't feel attached to the characters after watching and so I do not think about that show at all. While watching The Worst of Evil, I wasn't against anybody nor was I on anybody's side and I didn't form attachments to the characters, like I don't love the 2 main leads and their bond or anything. So I thoroughly enjoyed the thrilling ride for the first time but to make me rewatch or think about the show weeks and months from now, usually a strong character arc or character relationship is necessary and this show doesn't really have that. So we'll see how I feel about it later on. I wrote a whole lot omg

Rating: 7.5/10

[jinkieswouldyoulookatthis]

you bring up such a good point regarding tptb creating weird dilemmas, and you may disagree but i think it was just them doing very depthless, desperate writing in every ep after swan song. i did a s12-13 rewatch recently and was blown away by how ridiculous the characters' choices were considering knowledge we saw them obtain in MUCH prior seasons. a lot was contrived the entire show's run just for drama but it really got nauseating often enough i had to stop the rewatch. i know the heart of the show is always a case, but we're meant to care about the characters solving the case to stay seated and you could tell the writers didn't give a shit if we did or didn't, which is, admittedly, sorta slay. i had a lot of complaints on substance but actually the strangest thing to me was forcing the bros to disagree on things that no two people who are genuinely compatible companions would ever bicker or waste breath about. literally any other character could have been used as a narrative tool to draw out the other side of the argument or create the needed tension, but them full on brawling between themselves about big ticket worldview/ethos things like if mary's dead or if jack is evil was just so forced and so pathetic! maybe the thought was the show would get boring if they didn't seem like two separate people anymore, but it did a massive disservice to the story of these specific men who genuinely simply wouldn't, on certain levels, be two separate people anymore.

I know that a lot of folks weren't happy with the later seasons. But I also know some folks who prefer the later seasons. Me, I like the entire run and found each season had its own strengths and weaknesses, but in general were all worth watching.

The main dilemma facing a show with only two regular characters, and that is ultimately just about the relationship between those two characters, is that the drama is most likely going to involve, or come back to over and over again, conflict between those two characters. So with Supernatural, we got the boys' multiple break-up and make-up arcs. And yeah, those got tiresome after a while. But, I found that starting in season 11 the boys really were together and on the same page more often than not. But, Sam and Dean are different people, and they have different views on things and think about things in different ways, feel and process stuff differently, and this makes them more interesting, at least to me.

So yes, the drama throughout the show (even in the early seasons) often feels a bit contrived, but it is contrived, it's fiction. And more than just fiction, it was a 22-23 episode/season show so some repetitive and contrived drama is to be expected. I don't know, maybe I'm the weirdo with it, but I think that the entire 15 season story is pretty good, feels consistent to me (allowing for the various practical/real world changes outside the show's control) and at the end felt like it told one big epic hero's journey story about these two brothers.

But the best thing about Supernatural, is that anyone can just pick and choose what parts of it they want to watch now. Really only like the Kripke era? Just watch 1-5. Like Castiel? Start at season 4 and only watch about a quarter of the episodes from there on. Or do what I do and subject yourself to watching all 327 episodes in order every year or so.

TV shows, especially 22-23 episode long season shows, are a collaborative effort that have a lot of cooks in the kitchen. So sometimes they crank out huge gourmet meals while at other times they just end up fighting about what's on the menu. Honestly? We lucked out with Supernatural because it really is way more good than bad and that was due to Kripke and Singer and Manners, and Jared and Jensen, and the majority of the crew that was there for so much of the run, really caring about the show and the characters and putting everything they had into making something that they so obviously loved.

[yichens]

So I thought maybe Taylor Swift’s red with PuenTaylay since their colors are blue lol. Idk. I honestly can’t think of a good quote. If you think of one and tag me that works too 😂 I just want to see JimmySea on my dash again 😍 I miss them already

hello deanna ♥

i am somehow so very grateful for this prompt :'D it was delightfully vague despite being so straight to the point, and this is why i decided to both follow it and not follow it at all.

here's the result

everyone keeps telling me puentalay are taylor swift coded but i've never really listened to taylor swift that much (i don't really count the radio hits i was subjected to throughout my life). so this was my excuse to finally get into her music! mostly through jessi's @patprans amazing vv edit from a while ago. i went through that whole list of songs in it and i have to say it was a journey.

from it, this love stuck with me the hardest. tbh i cry with it now if i listen to it bc it feels so right for these two. so thank you to you both for opening my eyes, i suppose XD not that i ever really was against any of this, i just didn't have the right motivator before. now i had that and the time. it was fun ♥

and don't worry, i also looked into red! i do know that song haha, i haven't grown up under a rock after all. but i had to look at the lyrics properly and i do get where you're coming from with this prompt. i can feel puentalay there, especially bc of the colors. which i wanted to hold onto even when i abandoned the song itself!

so there's blue, as their beginning and ending. there's black and gray for the missing part, for the loss and grief and longing. and then there's red towards the end for the love! which. truly if loving puen is red am going insane for a little bit. we have had the convos about puen and red, am not digging into that again.

i just hope you like this! and thank you so much for joining in and always talking with me even when our tastes are very different ^^ i appreciate it a lot! have a wonderful rest of your week ♥

(some more rambles under the cut!)

i really love the way this song starts and how it seems to tell the whole puentalay journey in just, what is that, one verse? well, you know. in just a few lines we've come from their starting point to the inevitable tragedy of them having to separate, and then we've come to their reunion and persevering love.

so the edit tries to interpret all that. the first pic is about the water (which i've been thinking about so much and am going insane about it currently, there's so much Water!!), about how talay gets swept into this other universe and how he finds puen. which. i hope you get it that this is also about that glass house scene in ep 4 where talay runs through the rain to get to puen again. that's important. that's puen's tide - that rain.

and then there's a bit of fluff there. about the things they could go on and on about. about these moments where they find each other. about these moments where they... idk. are just lovely and in love. i wanted to show that.

bc i needed that before we hit the angst town! skies grow darker? currents come and sweep you away again? yeah, so true. puentalay literally just get together and then they're fighting which leads them to the secret island. which then, kind of, steals puen from talay a bit later. I tried to show all that too.

and then it's just. episode 11 part 1/4 heartbreak hours. that part is legendary and i love the angst so much even if watching it feels every time like someone is trying to carve my heart out with a plastic knife. but this line in the lyrics!!! it was just so perfect. gosh. (paired with the "and this love came back to me" like CMON i could make another edit only for that)

this then leads to the pink and the red. bc next we see what they had, what good things they got. the "silent screams" are, for me, about talay. about how he's saying he doesn't do love, doesn't really think about it, but still ends up seeking it. and idk, the dusty heart thing always gets to me. that's kind of his silent scream; talking about the love he does not want to the guy who wants nothing else but them to fall in love. how ironic.

puen got the "wildest dreams" then bc damn, that man has so many Wild Dreams. i didn't want to include the popcorn eating in this bc that would've made this edit cracky imo, so there's now just puen intensely staring at talay. this man is up to no good. his fantasies are horrible yet so, so cute. am so happy he actually got to finally live his popcorn fantasy XD what a doofus.

and then finally! all the things they never even dreamed about! aka everything in the our skyy eps. all of that was so good and domestic i bet they never thought they would have something like that. so that was for the last one. am kind of happy this took so long to make so i got those eps before this ♥ they're such a joy.

idk how much sense any of this makes bc it's 2am and my brain is fried but i just had to get all of this out. thank you once more for giving me this chance ^^ ♥