#the boys need to talk

[puniyo]

Thoughts about ep 6:

(All image credits go to weibo)

*I greatly enjoyed the second couple, short and hilarious for a good intermission between the heavy drama that is coming.

*Someone give P'Yai the award for BEST wingman, brother, cupid, genuine pure-hearted retriever.

*Let's appreciate for a second how beautiful Tharn is in traditional costumes (and long hair! Damn I will gladly go to hell for long hair)

*On the same line, Tharn in a black suit? I almost can't finish writing this because I just keep staring at him. (And that mole under his eye... really enchanting as per Billy's words)

*I appreciate that the female characters in the story are not potential love rivals but Dao is annoying the wits out of me. Besides showing at the wrong time when Tharn and Phaya are talking, she had the audacity to ask the grandma to convince Phaya to change jobs?? No, no, no, if there is one thing I hate is people dictating what jobs we can do or not.

*Chalotorn is manipulative but damn I love the character. He elevates the love triangle to a higher level and makes the plot more intriguing. For those who expected Tharn and Phaya to be lovey dovey, sorry that's not going to happen to soon. The boys are still in the courting phase and after learning that Tharn's past lover has died, I can totally understand why he refuses to let himself openly love Phaya (because his heart already loves him). Tharn is not worried that he will get hurt, he is worried that Phaya will get hurt, but doesnt know how to communicate that. Phaya, on the other hand, openly loves but is too impulsive to wait to peel down the walls around Tharn. And Slow Motion? He just simply knows how to manipulate and push the buttons to keep the boys away. At this point, I wouldn't mind a flashback or a dream sequence about Tharn and Chalotorn, so that Tharn can finally accept that he truly loves Phaya and for Phaya to be consumed by jealousy, hehe.

*For those saying that Tharn is stupid and shouldn't have punched Phaya, did we all remember that Phaya also slapped him and it was all because of the lack of proper communication and making too many assumptions? Chalotorn spoke with Phaya when Tharn was on the restroom while this time he purposeful locked Tharn inside the car when speaking with Phaya. The boys are both unaware of the context and in the heat of the moment, your brain will use the quickest strategy - fight.

*Let's finish this post with a longing Tharn. Because I just love him too much and Babe is my newest obsession.

[rhinestonesox]

When Senshi was young in the dungeon the majority of the adults he were with ostracized him. All except Gillin, who died to make sure Senshi had something to eat: unseasoned boiled meat that may or may not have been one of their comrades.

It really puts into perspective why he was so nurturing towards Chilchuck. When Chil reveals he’s 28 to the party, Senshi responds by telling him that he thought he was older. Senshi was in his 30s when he and his comrades got trapped in the dungeon, so it’s safe to assume that he thought Chil was at a similar age.

He met a young boy who was, from his perspective, forced to do dangerous work in the dungeon just like he was, and so, Senshi made an effort to look after Chilchuck in the same way Gillin looked after him.

Mind you, when Senshi was young in the dungeon he had to starve for weeks, eat the horse he loved, and finish it off spending the next i don’t know how many years wondering if he committed cannibalism.

Senshi understands first hand the value of nutrition and proper eating, so when he’s with the party he makes an effort to make sure they’re all eating a full and balanced diet. Not only that, but Senshi INVOLVES them in the process of getting food to eat, always preparing it in front of them and narrating every ingredient in the process so that there’s no doubt about what they’re eating.

[sableeira]

And Dazai is like: omg how did he figure it out?!?!?!?

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

I always have a soft spot for characters who have a protective streak for another out of gratitude for their kindness towards them, but Charles’ protectiveness towards Edwin really hits a particular way because it’s so so apparent that it’s specifically about wanting Edwin to feel as safe and as comfortable around him as Edwin made Charles feel in his dying moments. I’m going to shatter like glass.

[grungeprincess2]

Me and who?

[chaos-and-ink]

Matt Murdock gets beat to fucking shit and then he lays down in the sluttiest most pathetic pose ever and wallows in agony and despair while soaked in his own blood; every damn time.

[jesncin]

Happy Pride! Now that Lunar Boy (our middle grade graphic novel) is out, we wanted to share our thought process behind queer vocabulary in media. The constant censorship, imposed western biases on queer culture, and what it means to introduce queer vocabulary to a young audience.

Check out Lunar Boy wherever american graphic novels are sold, or check it out at a library!

[dontsh0vethesun]

i just wanna go into the criminal minds hashtag and not be BOMBARDED with him plzplzplz🙏

[moonlitkissing]

I need my sweet boy on top of me, humping my thigh with his head buried in my neck so i can play with his hair and whisper to him how pretty he is right then

[nikosasaki]

YUYU KITAMURA as NIKO SASAKI

Dead Boy Detectives (2024 - )

[shit-talker]

I'm really curious about how much the girls ACTUALLY know about how the boys died. While the audience is privy to flashbacks that explain it, the girls aren't - unless, the Night Nurse is somrhow able to show them Charles' memories, which I doubt because I think A, we'd have seen a bigger reaction from Crystal and Niko, and B, I think they all would have been much more understanding of the visceral and emotional reaction Charles has after to the Night Nurse goading and mocking him while forcing him to relive those big traumas.

The only thing they (Really, just Crystal) gets is when Edwin says that his death was an "act of God" and Charles' was "covered up" by the school. Which isn't exactly descriptive. I feel like Crystal and Niko don't fully grasp that the boys are genuinely ghosts who genuinely died and are, as such, super fucking trauamatised because of it. And, I think it'd be super intreasting to see how the girls react to finding out these things about them, especially with the fact that Crystal seemed to have been quite the bully in the past (and both boys were killed by bullies) and Niko mentions having gone to a boarding school where she left because she felt alone and outcasted (mainly due to her fathers death, but come on, I'll be damn shocked if there wasn't some sort of teen bullying there) the compsrisons and paralelles are really interesting to me and I want it explored more.

[turtleblogatlast]

I love Raph and haven’t said that enough so to be more specific I love that Raph is a soft boy who loves bear plushies, a gross boy who eats an assortment of things that are definitely better left alone, a smart boy who is more than capable of taking down villains through planning and fortitude alike, a strong boy who is dedicated to training his muscles and fighting prowess, a teenage boy who loves his brothers but is more than happy to tease and roughhouse with them, an angry boy who sometimes lets his anger take a hold of him to cover the fear, a gentle boy who is generous with hugs and affirmations to those he loves, a capable boy who takes on more than should ever be expected of a teenager, a good boy who just wants to be a hero and slowly comes to realize the cost of that duty, a good boy who has no reservations about putting himself in the way of harm coming to his family, a good boy who’s a great brother and son and person and deserves only the best the world has to offer.

[wordsinhaled]

just musing about how niko was one of edwin's biggest unconditional supporters and gentle guides in his self-discovery of his sexuality, and i think it's so interesting that we still never saw edwin confide in her overtly about his feelings for/attraction to charles, though he easily could have at any time.

before the cat king ever shapeshifts into monty or charles to tempt edwin to realization, niko's there to tell edwin that it's okay for two boys to like each other, to let him know it's okay if he noticed monty when they first met, or if he enjoyed the idea of monty liking him; and she plainly tells him that he's completely allowed to want explicit things with another boy.

they talk about edwin's feelings and desires multiple times - he admits to her he's never kissed anyone, and even that the idea of kissing has become appealing to him. she asks him, does he want to kiss monty? does he want to kiss the cat king? but she never asks him directly, does he want to kiss charles? charles is the elephant in the room of that conversation, so to speak; the only other boy they know, the one she knows edwin is actually closer with than anyone else.

but she doesn't ask edwin about charles.

i think it's actually one way niko shows her love and care for edwin, her perceptive understanding of his boundaries, and her respect for his comfort, that she never pushes him to open up to her about this most vulnerable and newly-developing aspect of his truth—that his feelings are for charles—who is already the most important person in his life, and thus so much more life-alteringly consequential to him. even though she hasn't known edwin a long time she seems to grasp that he needs both the push and the personal space to come to his deepest realizations, even as she opens the door for him to come to them.

(i did consider for a split-second that maybe she never realizes it's charles that edwin's in love with, but i vetoed that thought immediately because... edwin just seems too deeply unsubtle for that to ring true. monty can see he's been passed over for charles. the cat king knows it immediately and asks about their 'special friendship,' and not just because he can literally read edwin's desires. crystal is going through amnesia and an identity crisis, and she still clocks that edwin and charles are like a married couple. so it only makes sense that niko can see it as well.)

plus, niko's got excellent reading comprehension, by her own admission; and she and edwin bond over both being great, astute detectives—getting to the bottom of a case is a love they share. and so i just think it's neat that between niko and edwin, the conversation about charles seems to remain deliberately unspoken even when it could easily become overt.

instead she speaks to edwin about charles in metaphors. she starts their conversation about physical intimacy and romance specifically with drawing edwin's attention to the red and blue starfish. "isn't it romantic? they're in love." they proceed to talk about monty, and about the cat king, but i doubt either she or edwin could fail to notice the color symbolism there. and when edwin tries to get scientific about it, she reminds him, "luckily, love requires no logic." and finally she gives him the red sea glass, for courage. courage to help him come to terms with what—and whom—he really wants, whoever it could be.

and in the end... edwin tells niko, "i did actually tell the boy i like that i like him." this is directly after niko tells edwin she's sorry monty turned out to be an evil spy crow and she and edwin commiserate about how things with monty didn't work out for him. and obviously, it was never the cat king edwin really liked. so, just like that, through process of elimination, edwin can only be talking about charles. and even then, they never say his name. they never have to.

i just think there's something awfully soft about how edwin's feelings for charles are first so deeply ingrained and natural to him as to be something he had to be woken to rather than something that happened to him suddenly. then once he was awake to what he felt and wanted, there's something i find lovely about the deep bond niko has with him, that she understands and honors his need to speak around his feelings for charles while holding space for him to still share them with her in his way. something about how charles is so deeply loved that it is easily understood, that he is there in the conversation without his name ever needing to be spoken.

[major-comet]

the biggest problem with tos’ episodic format is that the episode usually ends pretty quickly after the conflict resolves and then they never really talk about it again - no matter how intense or harrowing it was

which means that we don’t get to actually *see* the interpersonal fallout of bones being diagnosed with and cured from a previously-incurable terminal illness (that he didn’t even want to tell jim and spock he had), and then just four episodes later drugging them so that he can go be tortured (and likely die) instead of spock, and so jim doesn’t have to make the choice between them.

did they talk about it? beyond just a standard debrief and a “never fucking do that again bones i swear to god i mean it this time”? did they make it the captains’ quarters for the debrief, only for mccoy to be pulled into a crushing, trembling hug as soon as the door shut while jim tried to assure himself that bones was still here, was still breathing? spock hovering nearby - a hand gently coming to rest on his shoulder?

why didn’t mccoy want to tell them about the xenopolycythemia, anyways? to try and hold onto a few more normal-ish months before every time they looked at him their eyes would be filled with grief - mourning a man they hadn’t yet lost? the same reason he ran away; to spare them what he went through with his father?

only for him to immediately turn around and throw himself back to the wolves to (almost) die right in front of them anyways

i don’t really know how they handled it. whether they talked about it and attempted to soothe the hurt, or just resolutely tried to bottle it up.

but i do know this: spock eventually came back from gol because jim simply (though accidentally) called out for him in a moment of need. bones only came back because jim personally drafted him back into starfleet

[b0bbynash]

[inkskinned]

one of the things about being an educator is that you hear what parents want their kids to be able to do a lot. they want their kid to be an astronaut or a ballerina or a politician. they want them to get off that damn phone. be better about socializing. stop spending so much time indoors. learn to control their own temper. to just "fucking listen", which means to be obedient.

one of the things i learned in my pedagogy classes is that it's almost always easier to roleplay how you want someone to act. it's almost always easier to explain why a rule exists, rather than simply setting the rule and demanding adherence.

i want my kids to be kind. i want them to ask me what book they should read next, and i want to read that book with them so we can discuss it. i want my kid to be able to tell me hey that hurt my feelings without worrying i'll punish them. i want my kid to be proud of small things and come running up to me to tell me about them. i want them to say "nah, i get why this rule exists, but i get to hate it" and know that i don't need them to be grateful-for-the-roof-overhead while washing the dishes. i want them to teach me things. i want them to say - this isn't safe. i'm calling my mom and getting out of this. i want them to hear me apologize when i do fuck up; and i want them to want to come home.

the other day a parent was telling me she didn't understand why her kid "just got so angry." this woman had flown off the handle at me.

my dad - traditional catholic that he is - resents my sentiment of "gentle parenting". he says they'll grow up spoiled, horrible, pretentious. granola, he spits.

i am going to be kind to them. i am going to set the example, i think. and whatever they choose become in the meantime - i'm going to love them for it.