#the show didn't do their chemistry enough justice

[theside-b]

I will miss them terribly 🥲

[uhhhj13iguess]

thank you for saving me

liam dunbar x fem!reader

wc: ~2.5k

liam’s anxiety and IED isn’t explored and talked about enough in either fanfics or the actual show, so i tried to do this sweet boy some justice. he’s just trying his best

set in season 4, but definitely not too canon

"why did we get sent to the school, aren't we here enough?" you kicked your feet, looking for any sign of kate, or the benefactor, or any clue to absolutely anything going on in your life right now. you'd been scott's beta for all of a few weeks, and all of your spare time had been spent trying not to die. being a werewolf was definitely cool, but you had no idea how exhausting it would be. you'd come to the school with liam, hoping to find something, anything that would give you insight into any one of the millions of things going on.

liam chuckled, walking alongside you. he knew how important it was to find something, but he couldn't take his focus off of you.

the entire ride over he stared at you, watching how the moonlight glistened on your skin as you ranted to him. your hands rested on the steering wheel as you spoke and he admired your hands, how soft they looked, how beautiful your nails were. he watched the lines on your face intensify the more passionate you got about whatever you were talking about — liam didn't know. he didn't care, frankly. anytime you spoke, he was entranced by your oh-so-pretty voice, words having no meaning other than the butterflies they were leaving in his stomach.

you looked at him in the passenger seat, a smirk forming to contrast the flush on your cheeks. he was caught, he knew it. but he couldn’t find himself to mind. he smiled at you, a blush matching on his own face.

he straightened his shoulders out, checking behind him as he passed the chemistry lab. "I don't know, but I hope we find something quick and can get out of here."

you didn't hear what he said.

his fingertips brushed against yours as you walked together and your mind wandered from the plan for the thousandth time that evening. every time liam mindlessly brushed against you, all sight of what you were doing was thrown out the window. your survival anxiety was replaced with limerence, yearning for the touches to linger longer. butterflies flooded your stomach as his hand did just that. in fact, your own heartbeat overtook your senses as you felt liam grab ahold of your hand. you looked up at him, blushing like a madman.

“you had no idea how long —” he shushed you quickly, stopping you dead in your tracks and tilting his head, listening. you tried to tune in to whatever he heard.

liam knew the sound of those footsteps anywhere. they haunted him, not just in his nightmares, but out on the field, in the classroom — wherever he went, they followed. taunting him.

he turned around to see the creature trudging towards them. he felt the hairs stand on the back of his neck and the blood drain from his face. seeing the berserker in front of him again felt worse than he could've imagined, and he froze as the beast made his way towards the two of you.

"liam, what do we do?"

silence.

"liam? should we fight? should we run?"

"liam?"

liam watched in a haze as kira used her katana against the berserker, his vision fading in and out. there was a lot of things he didn't know yet, but these things had to be the craziest he had found out about so far. he didn't know what to do. they were so strong, so fast, and the wounds he'd been given weren't healing. he watched as kira was tossed across the roof like she was nothing.

his breathing quickened.

what was he supposed to do? how did scott do this?

he groaned at the pain, trying to push himself up, only to be kicked back against the electrical panel. his vision blackened and his panic intensified.

seriously, what was he supposed to do? he wasn't strong enough. he couldn't possibly do this. he-

"liam, look out!"

he came to, hearing your voice and feeling you shove against him. he let out a grunt as you took place where he stood: directly where the berserker was aiming his bone-covered fist. you let out a scream as you flew backwards, hitting the ground so hard the tiles shattered beneath where you landed. you clenched your abdomen immediately, blood pooling out of the gashes caused by the sharp bone pointing out of the creature’s knuckle plate.

you choked on your own words, fighting to stay awake as pain coursed through your veins. "l-liam..."

liam's body flooded with rage in a split second. his claws came out and he roared, sprinting at the berserker without a second thought. he threw punches, hard and strong, making the beast before him stumble back. it held defense against liam as he grew more powerful, his anger in seeing you hurt feeding his strength, adrenaline surging through him.

unfortunately, it wasn't enough to keep the berserker down for long. the beast threw a punch, sending liam flying into the lockers with a power ten times that of the beta. with his imprint heavy in the metal, he lay on the ground, spitting blood and scrambling to crawl backwards as the berserker stomped towards him. liam made his way to you, covering you from the incoming a attack, and trying to hide you as far in the corner as he could. as quickly liam flinched away at the berserker breaking into a sprint towards him, he heard the creature stop. he looked up to see it retreating out the high school entrance.

he took a deep breath, looking down at you and assessing the wounds in your side. worry flooded his senses, seeing you barely conscious and feeling how much pain you were in as he grabbed where your arm was holding your stomach. panic bubbled in his throat, breathing beginning to hitch and stagger as he pulled up your shirt to see your wound.

he grimaced at the sight. it was deep, bloody, and most importantly: it wasn't healing.

"shit, (y/n). why did you do that? it shouldn’t have been you, i, fuck."

you groaned slightly, unable to keep your eyes open.

"i'm... i'm okay, l-liam." you slurred out.

"please just, keep your eyes open, (y/n), we're going to get you some help."

liam's ears perked up at the sound of footsteps; this time multiple, yet not as heavy. whoever it was, liam was filled with dread. he needed to get you out of here, and he couldn't do that while fighting off someone else. he began to scoop you in his arms, apologizing relentlessly as you whined, half-consciously whimpering at the pain from being moved. he got to his feet, whispering in your ear that you were okay, that he was taking you somewhere.

"liam!"

his eyes shot up at the sound of scotts voice. he let out a heavy breath at the sight of scott, stiles, and derek running towards you.

"guys, please, she's really hurt. it hurt her, and, and, i-i, i don't know shes not healing. please, help her." he whined.

immediately, derek grabbed you and headed out the way they came. he yelled back on his way out, "I'll meet you guys at deaton's!"

scott whipped his head around to liam after derek had left. "what the hell do you think you were doing?!"

liam stumbled backwards. "w-what?"

stiles crossed his arms. "listen, i know you think you're all tough-guy mr. bad werewolf now, but in case you don't remember how your first fight went, these guys don't lose. and they're fucking huge! are you just stupid or something?"

"i don't she pushed me out of the way and i —”

"liam, why did you attack it? why didn't you run? you guys could've gotten way more hurt than you did. stiles is right, that was stupid of you."

liam felt defeated. not only did he freeze and get you hurt, but he was stupid enough to keep you there in that position while he freaked out on that thing.

he was embarrassed. they were right, he shouldn't have attacked the berserker. he was disappointed in himself, disappointed in how rashly he acted, and how quickly he let his anger take over him. this isn't what scott would've done; this isn't what he should've done. he felt ashamed, his body language following suit to reflect that. scott picked up on the scent change immediately, and his face softened.

"hey, liam —”

"no, you guys are right. i shouldn't even be a part of this, I just explode and mess everything up. I'm sorry, I, I don't know I just saw her hurt and I stopped thinking, I just got so angry and acted like a monster and I —”

"liam!" scott placed his hands on his beta's shoulders, giving him a reassuring look. "you were scared. you reacted, trying to protect (y/n). you're still new to all of this, you're still learning. you're not stupid. I'm sorry we yelled at you."

"no i definitely think he was pretty stupid —"

"stiles!"

"what? tell me i'm wrong, look at those things. even peter runs at the sight of them." stiles scoffed.

scott scowled at his best friend. "go easy on him, dude. we weren't perfect at this either. we still aren't,"

he turned back towards liam. "go, go check in on her. derek took her to the clinic. I'm sure she'll want to see you when she comes to."

liam hesitantly nodded, muttering another apology as he started towards the doors of the school.

"liam!"

he turned back to face scott.

"this wasn't your fault. you kept her safe, don't beat yourself up."

liam opened the door to see derek wide-eyed staring down at him. he barely opened his mouth before he was pulled into the clinic, stumbling in derek’s grasp.

"good, you're just in time.”

light flooded liam's eyes as he entered the exam room, (y/n) laying on the table, still unconscious. his stomach turned and he felt overwhelmed with anxiety once again seeing you lay there, helpless. scott's words of assurance echoed in his head, but he couldn't help but feel guilty. like he could've prevented this.

"in time? for, for what?" liam shuffled to the table where deaton and derek stood.

deaton wore a concerned face — almost apologetic.

"we need you to help hold her down."

liam was puzzled. you were unconscious; why would we need to hold you down?

"i dont understand, what do you mean?"

deaton looked to derek, sorrow painted across his features. “she’s not healing, and she’s getting weaker. it was good you helped get her here as soon as you did.”

he let out a hum, looking at you on the table. derek took over.

“when someone isn't healing and you need to trigger the process, there's a pretty foolproof way to get it up and running again,"

he sighed as liam still wasn't catching on.

"it's... it's pain, liam."

he watched the beta's eyes widen. "pain? no i can't, that's, no please I can’t see her hurt anymore tonight. this is already all my fault, I can't be the cause of any more pain, please, isn't there something else you can do? i, i can't —"

"liam,"

he stopped rambling, meeting derek's eyes. he'd never seen him so... empathic.

"liam, i get it. i know what it's like to be angry." he sighed and looked away.

"i used it as my anchor for years. after watching someone I loved die because of me, I didn't know what to do. i didn't know how to handle anything. so I got angry. and it consumed me,"

he stepped closer towards the teenager. "i know what it's like to feel like a monster."

liam looked down at the ground. he didn't understand what derek was telling him, let alone why he was telling him. he started to shake his head, but he was cut off with a hand on his shoulder.

"you're not a monster, liam. that anger? it makes you powerful. i told that to scott the day I met you — that you were strong. there's no reason your anger can't be used as an advantage. but that's only if you know how to control it and bring it out when you need it,"

"don't let it define you like it did me."

liam made eye contact with him. he heard derek's heartbeat: it hadn't faltered once this whole time. he took a deep breath and nodded.

"okay. what do you need me to do?"

deaton smiled, quickly ushering the two to either side of you.

"liam, stand by her head and hold her shoulders. she'll need a comforting face when coming to. derek, hold her legs. this isn't going feel great."

liam gripped hard on your shoulders. "wait, what are you —"

deaton didn't waste any time grabbing your forearm and pushing down, hard. the sound of bone snapping cracked throughout the room, causing a similar sensation in liam's chest. his eyes widened at the realization of what was happening.

you shot up with a roar, eyes flashing gold as you screamed in pain. you snapped your arms out of the grasp of those around you, your free hand flying to the broken, immediately resetting it with another painful wail.

with the bone back in place, you took a deep breath, panting as you slowly leaned back down on the exam table. everyone gathered around you, watching with hope as you grew more and more with it.

you lifted your shirt as a tingling sensation flooded your abdomen, all of you watching as the gashes in your side slowly started to patch themselves up. liam let out sigh of relief, staggering back a few feet as solace washed over him. you were okay.

deaton gave you a reassuring smile, patting you on the knee. "good to have you back with us, (y/n). i think we'll let you guys be for a second, you're safe here."

he and derek left the room, quietly discussing their plan for the rest of the evening. liam let his head hang in his hands, wanting to cry at the feeling of relief in seeing you heal. you saw him from where you were laying on the table, slowly sitting up with a whine to face him. he grabbed your arms, helping stabilize you.

"(y/n) i'm so glad you're okay. i can't tell you how afraid i was seeing you hurt. i don't know what i'd do with myself if anything happened to you, I don't, I just —"

you wrapped your arms tightly around his shoulders, hugging him as tightly as you could, not a thought in your mind on the pain shooting through your side. liam stood frozen, not sure what was happening. you let out a sob and held him tighter, causing him to instinctively wrap his arms around you.

"thank you for saving me, liam."

[mixtapedoh]

vernon as highschool crush pls for lonely boy 🧍‍♀️

vernon my bestie beloved bastard ♡ you really are requesting for the people, lindsay.

;༊ — lonely boy

pairing: hansol vernon chwe x gn!reader genre: fluff, high school au word count: ~3.3k warnings: language, mild threats among friends, a lack of originality (but perhaps ameliorated by an understanding of the conventions of trope?)

olive's notes: firstly, hahaha.......... pretend like this wasn't something you sent me actual months ago.... and pretend like i gave the prompt the justice it deserves....... shhhhhh, i answer things in a timely manner and can still be considered a tumblr writer. secondly, this is quite glaringly based off of and colored by my memories of high school, so expect United States education system nonsense <3.

☄. *. ⋆ hansol vernon chwe x high school crush.

— the hardest thing about crushing on this fucker is that he's everywhere

simultaneously the biggest cryptid in the whole student body (if you had a nickel for every time your journalism teacher asked: "has anyone seen hansol this week?" to absolute crickets you'd be able to pay for at least 2 years of college) and also the most social person to ever grace your high school halls, hansol was everywhere all at once, and contradictorily, nowhere when you sought him out.

you wanted to avoid seeing him because of something embarrassing you were sure he had noticed? bam. right there beside you, sitting on the same row of auditorium seats for the assembly.

you wanted to catch a glimpse of him while the both of you were assigned to photograph the basketball game? viola. gone, nowhere to be seen; and yet your friend will tell you later that he was there the whole time, snapping the best photos of boo seungkwan's legendary 3-pointers (which you certainly hadn't missed, so where had he been??).

— yes, having a crush on hansol vernon chwe was exhausting. there was no way to save face — trust hansol to be there at your worst hours (like that chemistry presentation where the color palette you used for your PowerPoint was too light for the old projector screen to show properly, and so you half of your graphics were unreadable, inspiring your professor to dock 10 points, despite that fact that when you pulled it up on a computer screen - or any other device that wasn't an old ass projector at least 15 years out of date - the graphics were just fine and the detail above required). it didn't matter the specifics of the occasion, it was simple fact you'd always somehow manage, in your darkest moment, to look out and see hansol — always a kind smile, with something encouraging in his eye, despite, but still horribly, embarrassingly, and irrevocably present.

— and then, as it if weren't bad enough, hansol vernon chwe had the absolute gall to be unbothered, unfazed, unable to be rattled or shaken in any way, by comparison.

oh sure, you'd seen him cringe before at him friend's (mostly kwon soonyoung's) antics; you were familiar with the way vernon expressed any and all emotion with the whole of him — his every muscle tensing and twisting in a way so visceral and real, you could feel embarrassed, too, by just looking at him — but the envy was this: it was never at his expense that such feelings would arise. vernon was never embarrassed because of something he did or caused or felt. his life was far too chill and unbothered for that. others could be embarrassing around him, but all of his actions flowed so smoothly — rolled over the shoulders of everyone else.

the closest he'd ever get was doing something explicitly stupid just for the enjoyment of others. but, the catch was this: they enjoyed it !!!! it was funny and not cringe worthy !!!!! the net effect was positive.

it was infuriating. sometimes you weren't sure if you wanted to kiss hansol or strangle him with your bare hands.

— but let's take things back to journalism.

— because of course he took journalism.

not exactly the most exalted of the journalism students or anything, hansol was mostly known for his opinion piece articles and, of course, availability and willingness to go to any school event to take pictures and help fill in the blanks of the article anyone was writing.

he had friends in any and all school functions and events. from sports to musicals, science fairs to choir recitals, you could say, "is anyone going to this very obscure and random FBLA presentation?" or "did you know that the coding club is going to be attending an event at another high school this saturday?" and hansol would immediately perk up, pull out one of his headphones and go, "yeah, i'm gonna check it out. did you need a ride?"

— and it was because of that — his being everywhere, inescapable and offhandedly thoughtful, open and so easily warm — that these pesky feelings even started, in the first place.

— just when it happened is perhaps inconsequential (in all actuality, it likely started before your journalism daily exposure, just slowly, more of an itch at the back of your mind than the brash insistence it was, now) but it was definitely the fault of journalism. maybe that band and orchestra festival in 11th grade where you went with hansol to do a write up on all the high schools attending (placing undue emphasis on your high school's multi-talented band leader, lee jihoon, who could play half the instruments in the room), or maybe that series of debate tournaments you both covered in 11th grade, or when the two of you took over the baseball column that same year and when the heatwave spiked early, vernon would attend each game in sleeveless tops, always with an extra ball cap in tow since you would (conveniently, perhaps?) forget one of your own and the sun made it impossible to see what was happening, beyond.

yes, just when it hit was neither here nor there, because at the end of the day, the problem remained: you were hopelessly down bad for one hansol vernon chwe. fuck.

— and you couldn't escape him if you tried.

and trust me, at one point, try, you had.

— after all, at the beginning of your senior year, you somehow ended up being in the same spanish class as him and his friend joshua, and after a whole year (and subsequent summer break, when your journalism teacher found an opportunity to have a section of the city newspaper be dedicated to "the youth of journalism," and weekly, your journalism club was able to publish in the city newspaper) of crushing on hansol with a vehemence perhaps concerning, you knew you couldn't handle having to have embarrassing debates, conversations, and role play scenarios with him.

in perhaps two weeks you were in the counselor's office, exploring alternate class blocks. in the end, you were stuck in a ceramics course instead of your preferred electives, but at least when the unit on "la familia, el amor y todo lo interpersonal" came up, you were role playing as a couple alongside jeon jungkook, who couldn't stop making you wheeze with laughter from his overextention of the r at every available chance, rather than your crush, hansol.

(all it would have taken was one "te extraño" from hansol through your fake hand phones to absolutely floor you. someone call the school nurse, you're fallen and perhaps can never get back up again.)

— so you avoided him there, and even before that, during your junior year, you had mostly eaten off campus on your second schedule days when you and hansol had the same lunch hour and the risk of running into him at a time potentially embarrassing was at an all time high, seeing as nowhere was safe — the social butterfly he was, hansol managed to have business in every hallway of the school. not a single area was risk free.

yeah, junior year really had just been a mess of emotions you hadn't wanted to name, and so instead, elected to pointedly ignore. you were glad to say that while spending your hard earned money to eat out 2-3 times a week was a bit of a low, you had solidly moved out of that phase of your life by spring that year, and could stomach the risk of Being Seen by someone who had captured your attention so strongly.

and yeah, even though you had a bit of a backslide when changing spanish classes senior year (which could be chalked up to self-preservation, truly), you had solidly moved past that whole Avoidance Stage of your Crippling Crush on One Hansol Vernon Chwe.

— so hansol couldn't be avoided. that much was abundantly clear. and you had to interact with him in journalism and (god willing) be normal while doing so, and luckily, while all that exposure didn't exactly desensitize you to his overwhelming charm, admirable confidence, infectious smile, endearing jokes, comfortable aura, and oh so beautiful eyes, it had forced you to just,,,,,,, accept some things.

— accept that you had a raging crush on hansol, but that it could be managed... so long as none of your mutual friends found out.

— you were pretty sure that wonwoo knew, but at least he was ✨subtle✨ and generally checked out of things like that. genuinely, he could not care less, and so he made it no one's problem. you could probably tell him your most rancid, vulgar thoughts, and he would just file it away in his mind as: "nasty shit i can never unhear" and go about his day. compare that to your other mutual acquaintance, seungkwan, and well...

— but for the most part, it seemed that senior year was inching away, another year with a crush on hansol, and another year where you didn't say a damn thing and refused to leave anything close to a hint for him to pick up on.

— but mercy didn't exactly exist for you, now did it.

— the horrible series of Epic Fumblings and Incriminating Moments began in october, when hansol and joshua decided to make a podcast to convince the school that an AV club could be a fun addition to the roster of School Sanctioned Clubs (an idea they really should have had back in august

— the horrible series of Epic Fumblings and Incriminating Moments began in october, when hansol and joshua decided to make a podcast to convince the school that an AV club could be a fun addition to the roster of School Sanctioned Clubs (an idea they really should have had back in august — you know, when clubs were first getting registered and students were accosted in the hallways with club information slapped on astrobrights with strong ~graphic design is my passion~ presentation)

they had needed someone tech savvy enough to get them the podcast equipment and teach them how to use it (and just,,, do all the technical aspects for them 🥺👉👈 pwetty pwease 🥺👉👈 we're just silly boys who want to talk about random shit but are trying to pass it off as being Constructive in Some Sense so that it looks good on college applications) and so obviously their search had sent them in the way of wonwoo, who only seemed to have free time on the exact day and time you two would joint study for your college level government and politics course.

so of course he asked if the two of you could move your study sessions to a different location (he swore he could multitask? okay overacheiver) so that he could both study with you and help the stupidly handsome hansol and joshua with their brilliant podcast idea.

and of course, you'd forget the first time and wonwoo would conveniently not answer his texts for 20 minutes, allowing for the most embarrassing stage of him finally picking up his phone (on speaker?) to you yelling "jeon wonwoo, i will personally castrate you and throw it in the ocean so you can be eaten alive by the creatures birthed from the subsequent sea foam if you don't come to the library to study right now. i have been waiting for 20. minutes. where are you?" and hansol and joshua would hear you. and have the gall to laugh.

and of course wonwoo wouldn't even give you the grace of not having to show up to his house (your new study location) to study for the day. in fact, hansol gave him the brilliant idea of threatening to train an eagle to peck at your liver daily - not eating it fully, just put in it's beak and twist the flesh. since you can't grow another liver overnight, of course. don't you just love mythological punishment.

(and that wouldn't be the end of the embarrassing podcast adventures, either. the time shua cajoled you into being a special guest????? truly, you dodged a bullet not being in spanish with that fool. he's impossible to refuse and the worst of it was that he knew it.)

— or what about the december gift exchange in journalism?? that was certainly not your finest moment, trying to get chaewon to change names with you so that you could gift something to hansol (something lady luck had never granted you despite all the blood, sweat, and tears you sunk into this journalism group of yours), and he heard you, mid-conversation.

seungkwan had told you hansol had been talking about it later, and you quite literally saw him connect the dots in slow-motion as he recounted the story. "y/n, do you have a crush on hansol????" it would have been bad enough that he practically yelled the accusation in the stands of the football field, but then he had the gall to triumphantly gasp and break into hysterical laughter upon your clear embarrassment at being caught. it was during lunch! you're shared lunch break with hansol! who knew where that fucker was! he probably saw the whole exchange!

(in the end, chaewon didn't change names with you (she traded with some other journalism traitor so she could gift to sakura) and even though hansol didn't have your name, he got you something regardless, saying it was thanks for putting up with he and shua stealing wonwoo during your (once peaceful) study sessions. you had decided against getting him a gift regardless, and so you had to awkwardly seek him out during winter break to shove a poorly wrapped box in his hands, with a mumbled apology for your tardiness in gifting, something he pushed away cooly, as expected (but were those red ears of his from just the cold, alone?).)

— and then, well, once everyone came back from winter break and seungkwan knew of your crush on hansol... school became less a Place of Learning and more a Viscous Time Loop of Shutting Seungkwan Up Before He Spilled The Beans.

kicking him under the table. threatening his livelihood. slapping a hand over his mouth on one occasion because seungkwan couldn't take a joke and his retaliation of choice was calling over hansol right there and then and forcing you both to awkwardly sit in the bitter soup of Revelation.

— and then there was february. oh, february. how easy it is to loathe february.

— it was already hard enough getting through the embarrassment of valentine's day themed fundraising — every year, your literature teacher (who oversaw the student body officers — that first exposure to the cruel reality of rigged elections, a popularity win if there ever was one) offered extra credit for students who volunteered time to help the sbo's with their silly little business venture of "roses for $3, sugar cookies with shocking pink frosting for $2, heart suckers for $1, sonnets written by the creative writing and theatre kids for $7.

every year you volunteered for some reason or another - maybe your grade needed it, maybe you were doing sbo president seungcheol a favor because no one signed up, maybe you were following the stupid advice of seokmin and were doing it for the plot (code for: please don't leave me alone at the stand, i will buy you all the sugar cookies you'd like, just don't consign me to spending my lunch break in this particular layer of hell in solitude). this year was no different in you signing up to do time, but seungkwan sure was different, asking you every day if you managed to see if vernon sent anyone something (he had — soonyoung had convinced him to pitch in to send jihoon 16 sonnets, to be read aloud in the middle of class). if he had sent you something (he hadn't).

but when you got an anonymous rose sent to your 2nd class of the day, with a cryptic note attached, your friends wouldn't let you live it down all week. (who had sent it, though? they would have had to be very strategic as to when they placed the order — you had certainly never seen one for yourself in your daily exchange of goods, and seokmin was suspiciously tight lipped about the whole thing (very uncharacteristic of him — who had the ability to buy dk's silence, and better yet, how had they done it???)).

— yes, valentine's day was bad enough. but to add to the mix was always hansol's birthday. last year you'd gotten him a gift since you had worked quite a lot together during that month, and it just felt... normal. comfortable. something kind to do that wasn't weird in anyway. but these days, facing hansol was almost as embarrassing as it had been during junior year when you avoided the mere sight of him like seeing him smile would end in you contracting the plague.

as the day inched ever closer, you were seriously considering missing the day entirely. taking the day off. pretending to be sick. but that wouldn't get you out of seeing him the day after. and the day after that.

perhaps fleeing the country would be a totally normal reaction and solid plan.

— and then joshua invited you to hansol's surprise birthday party.

well. at least that cleared up whether you should get him a gift or not.

— to say that, at that moment and for the subsequent days afterward, were overthinking the whole thing would be to extremely understate reality.

you were about to pop a blood vessel over this shit.

wonwoo was invited, too (how charitable of them. making sure there'd be someone there to scrape you off the floor when you inevitably discovered the power of self combustion) and it was rather comical to see the two of you: cool and calm wonwoo, and you with the internal dialogue of WHATTHEFUCKWHATTHEFUCKWHATTHEFUCKWHATTHEFUCKWHATTHEFUCKWHATTHEFUCKWHA

all holding a cute little gift between you.

— and the surprise birthday party really was a Legitimate, 5-Star, Genuine Quality, Surprise Bona Fide™ - a success by all measures. a shock in more ways than one: a surprise for hansol who had no idea the party was happening in the first place, getting called over for what he expected was a casual videogame night; a surprise for lee chan, somehow, when he saw that shua got you to come 15 minutes before show time to help blow up balloons - a shock so big he started to say something with a wild grin and was immediately dogpiled by mingyu, junhui, and hoshi; a surprise for all the friends amassed when you proved to be quite adept at party games like their incredibly convoluted version of mafia; and a surprise for you, later that night, when hansol offered to take you home

— the two you decided to stop at an empty playground before parting ways and see who could jump farther off of the swings. he won by a wide margin, but you had the skinned knees to prove your effort and the memory of hansol laughing so hard he could barely breathe — his smile so wide it could've filled you completely, banish any longing from your chest for a moment of unique closeness and bliss — and perhaps that was a consolation prize, enough.

but then you and hansol were on the swings again, seeing who could tighten the swing chain the most and spin the longest, and between the motion blur, you heard hansol admit defeat and when the swing stopped, his face was all too close to yours to shrug off as friendly, and his hands were holding the swing chain on either side, and when he spoke soft and low to crown you the victor, you kissed him.

and the biggest surprise of the night was when he kissed you back.

☄. *. ⋆

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[popculturebuffet]

Top 12 Captain Holt Plots (B99): RIP Andre Braugher

Andre Braugher 1962-2023

So as if this year hadn't piled enough death on me.. yesterday Andre Braugher of Brooklyn 99 fame died. Braugher was a comedic genius, great at drama and it's sad to see him go just as his career was having one hell of a second act.

Figuring out how to honor Andre.. was tough. I didn't have time for a full review of some of his best episodes, a story arc or the normal things i'd do, and a list of just Holt's best moments wouldn't really portray the characters depth. Don't get me wrong there's a LOT of hilarious little holt moments from "Hot damn!" to "Bam had it both ways" but it just didn't do the character justice. Holt was a character funny for his stoicism, his outburst of emotion clashing with that, and his chemistry with just about everyone on cast.

So I found a comprimise, something small I could do before my two bigger reviews this week, but something that still pays full service to what a great character Raymond Holt was... and how much of it was Braugher's amazing comedic timing and great dramatic talent. Ray MIGHT of existed without Captain Holt, but he wouldn't of been such a JOY to watch every time if it weren't for Braugher.

So I picked my 12 faviorite plots starring Captain Holt. Husband, Captain, Robot. Meeep Morp.

12. VINDICATTTTITOOOOOONNNN (Episode: Monster in the Closet)

Look a lot of this subplot making it here is this moment, from the fist pump to just how Braugher plays the word like an instrument, but the plot itself is comedy gold: Rosa Diaz, bisexual icon, is having a rush wedding to absentee boyfriend and human disaster Adrian Pimento, who returned after months in hiding the way anyone having a normal one does: by hiding in a child's closet.

Naturally this wedding didn't end up happening.. but it did bring us one of Holt's best running gags: his love of balloon arches. It's something that makes perfect character sense: he's a perfectionist, he loves art, and it's just weird enough to still be funny while not so weird you can't understand why Holt would be doing this. Holt pettily popping the ballons when crticized and going into a creative tailspin over minor critcisims is just gold and the payoff, him getting his VINDIIIICAAAATTTIOOOONNNNNN is both sweet.. and purespun gold from the highest of heavens.

11. The Disco Strangler Returns (He Said She Said) One of the serious episodes of the series, dealing with Amy and Jake tackling a sexual harassment case and Amy revealing her own assault, was paired with one of the series silliest, funnest b-plots.

This one COULD be here just on the strength of "And you'll here it again" but has way more to offer as Holt chases down his former nemesis the Disco Strangler after he seemingly dies, convinced he's alive while Terry and Boyle are convinced he just can't accept his enemey's death. Turns out their wrong though as the Strangler is alive, worked his groovy voodoo on a way younger woman and has one of the funniest scenes in the show as Holt TRIES to have a big action hero final talk with his nemisis.. only for the man to be largely deaf. It's a gag that shoudln't work but Baugher's commitment to the bit carries it, as does the reality of the strangler being so old and feeble hitting Raymond about his own mortality.

10. The Heists (Various Episodes)

Yeah this one's a bit of a cheat as it was hard to pick just one Heist Plot: After the first two their largely ensemble pieces. But it'd also be criminal to ignore just how SERIOUS Holt takes the annual halloween heists, from training his dog for them, to calling a fake replacement for Cheddar (the goodest of boys) "This bitch?", the Heists brought out the pettiest, hammiest parts of holt and the best of Braugher's comedey from threatning to slit his two protege's "from head to anus and wear them as a jacket", to his flight of the valkyries entrance, Holt was always a delight.

9. Pie (Two Turkey's) The shows final thanksgiving gave us it's best thanksgiving plot, and a nice spotlight on Holt's relationship with his Husband , kevin. Holt's queerness was baked into the character, being why it took him so long to climb the latter and why Kevin takes ab it to warm up to his new coworkers, as most of Ray's past coworkers were racist, homophobic or both. Holt and Kevin were just as weirdly stoic, with Mark Evan Jackson having great chemistry with Braugher.

The couple also just had their own weird things such as getting a special pie every year to get a pie for thanksgiving and finding the hours spent in dead silence on the trip deeply romantic.

Said pie is also what sets off the plot as it goes missing and Holt blames the presicnt and goes into full petty holt mode, one of the best kinds of holt. HOlt isn't the only star here as near constant fuckups and wallpaper Hitchcock and Scully prove useful for once as Holt investigates Rosa, Terry and Boyle. We get great moments from the three too as Boyle calls his own son "a basic bitch" and Rosa reveals an embarassing minons t-shirt as she rebonds with her family post jailtime.

Holt interogating everyone and going full ham would be enough to land it here.. but what elevates it to this slot is the ending: Holt finds out the culprit was Kevin, who hates the pie but would miss the drive. HOlt suggests simply.. taking the drive for fun and Kevin is super horny for that. It's adorable, sweet and a great capper to one of the shows best subplots.

8. Let's Never Talk About Anything (Stakeout)

This is a quick one as it's mostly on the comedy but it's a scenario that's both deeply, deeply funny, and involves one of the shows best duos: Rosa, the stoic bicon herself, and Holt. Both being stoic queer persons, they naturally get along great. And of course it's natural Rosa ends up the one in a very awkward situation through almost no fault of her own: Holt brings his cardboard standee of a human being Nephew named Marcus, whose staying with him for some reason never elaborated upon because Marcus is here for one thing: to date rosa and have one of the best awkward morning afters EVER: He tries to sneak rosa out.. only for Holt and Kevin to naturally both be up, and his using her full name and mild confusion are just.. great. The wrap up, that Rosa and Holt are both FINE not talking about this or anything ever, is great. The followup plot with the two forced into a dinner is fine, but this first interaction and the two being on the same stoic page is gold.

7. Apparently That's a Trigger For Me (The Box)

This is another one that has a strong moment couched in, but really the Box is just a very strong episode, a tense 22 minutes as Jake and Holt team up to try and get a confession out of a local dentist played by sexiest man alive Sterling K Brown, who does great getting under their skin, including with said doctor bit as Docterates are a bit of a trigger for Holt. the episodes fantastic chess match between our faviorite duo and Brown is just fun to watch and it's only this low because Jake gets the big finale. But Holt's oh damns are still vital. As is his over the top reservation cancelation. God bless this man. I miss you andre.

6. They never actually said No (Full Boyle)

Like, really, ALL of these there's a classic gag couched in here as Holt explains how he formed his black gay and lesbian police orginzation: he pitched it to his fellow entirely white and certainly straight cops who laughed their asses off.. then went ahead and got the funds since they were too busy being jackassses to say no. Dark, hilarious, and perfectly showing just how much shit holt's been through trying to get here.

And that background helps shape this plot which while not laugh FREE is mostly anchored on the good Captain's character journey: when a younger officer plans to challenge holt for predsency, Holt, as you'd expect digs in and refuses. He's not at full ham yet, but he's still fully willing to fight tooth and nail for this, that after all he had to go just to make this group, brian wouldn't understand

It's Gina of all characters who points out that's why he made the group. So younger officers wouldn't have to go through that. Brian has new ideas to genuinely improve and open up the doors for more queer black officers, and Holt recognizes that and steps aside.. though if he screws up he will impeach him. He's happy for him but he will impeach him.

5. I've Glanced At His Work Satchel (The Honeypot)

This episode's a-plot is just one long hilaroius bit of holt deadpanning as he gets a new assitant to replace Gina.. only to find the guy flirting with him. Having his tie slightly ajar and inviting him to a barrel museum counts as flirting in Holt's book. Turns out Gordon is a spy for our heroes latest nemisiss, corrupt comissioner kelly, and this brings this plot to ahead as finding out, and getting evidence hw as actively spying on them finally gets rid of the old bastard. It's a nice payoff.. but it's really here because Holt declaring a barrel museum an erotically charged atmosphere is classic deadpan holt. If you want premium deadpan holt, this is your episode.

4. Terry Come Here and Dangle Me Off the Edge of this Building (Bad Beat)

This episode is one of my faviorites, having both a lot of rich character stuff for holt.. and a lot of funny deadpan for holt.

This ep reawakens something that's mostly come up previously as a joke: holt had a serious gambling addiction in his past and when Jake and Terry come to him for help with a poker case, Holt's forced to join in as the two have obvious tells.

Holt's relapse is a nice mix of hilaroius and deeply troubling: he's betting on childrenj's gymnastics (No jayla don't drop the baton!) runs up to the roof when the pagent's cut off and as seen above wants Terry to dangle him over a roof.. Braugher does a hell of a job threading a very narrow needle here: Hotl's antics are funny, but still jarring enough to be worrying.. .and the laughter stop when Jake pulls the one card he has... he'll tell kevin, an idea alone that DEVISTATES holt as he can't put kevin through that again.

Unfortunately it's not THAT easy as Holt goes rogue.. then nearly gets captured, having to use improper grammar and admitting he needs help. Ther'es no easy answers here and while granted Holt's addiction never comes up again.. it's a sign addiction dosen't go away easily and everyone needs help.

3. The System (Moo Moo) Props to Brooklyn 99 as depsite being a cop show, it pointed out many a problem in the NYPD and police in general long before George Floyd made it too loud to ignore for us white dumbasses.

This episode is the main showcase of that: while the show had plenty of corrupt cops for our heroes to foil, Moo Moo shows the system ITSELF is broken and ther'es no easy answer to fix it.

The setup is simple, heartbreakingly common, and painful: Terry goes out at night in his nice neighborhood looking for one of his daughters "moo moo", her faviorite toy.. only to get accosted by a police officer, with only the fact he IS an officer making this end well.

Terry does try to handle this peacefully, inviting the guy to lunch, and trying to explain why racial profiling him like that was fucking awful. The officer dosen't listen, only thinks he was wrong because Terry is also a cop, and is generally a dick.

This leaves terry, who has a promotion on the table, with a fairly simple path: report the son of a bitch. Except .. HOlt dosne't send it in. Holt wants Terry to stay quiet, so Terry can get promoted. it's one of the oldest fights in a broken system: Should you make noise and take care of something horrible immdeitly, or stay quite and let harm go on so you can do more good later. The latter is clearly Holt's go to not out of corruption but out of survival: as a black gay cop, he had no real allies for the longest time, and thus had to simply keep his nose to the ground and work his way up to where he had real power. Terry on the other hand, argues, rightly that he dosen't want another man like him to go through this, one without a badger and that his career... simply isn't worth more innocnet black men being arrested falsely. There isn't an easy resolution with both acknowlding each others point: Holt supports terry and gets the guy fired, but Terry is passed over impliclty as a result and admits he could've impacted more change. Terry still did the right thing.. but it wasn't the easy thing. Police.. .simply aren't set up to properly police themselves and change is needed and it was noble of b99 to point that out without going over the top with it.

2. BOONNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEE (The Skyfire Cycle)

Okay look while this plot is good on it's own (I"m teaching father the math!) it's up this high ENTIRELY due to the Bone Scene. You've seen it, i've seeen it, it's the reason this plot goes from "pretty good" with Rosa seeing through holt's math problem to his marital issues and need to get laid, and Amy trying hard to impress her dads and acting lik ea grossed out child anytime holt's sex life comes up. This bit belongs to braugher.. but you NEED Beatriz and Fumero to set it up so perfectly and react so great to it.

Rosa being rosa just comes out and says "You just need to bone" and holt LOOOSES IT.

Every line from that moment is pure poetry from Braugher's mouth, from his squeaky "what'dyousay" to his shakesperean "hooooowww dare you detective diaz I AM YOUR SUPERIOR OFFICER." and of course his glorious shouts of BONE and BONNNNENEEEEE while he VIBRATES ON HIS DOORFRAME. His quick yups in the resolution are the cheery on top of the greatest comedy sundae ever conducted by man. Sports. This subplot hinges on one joke.. but when it's the series best joke, it's REALLY hard to argue. It's only not #1.. because our #1 is CRAMMED with jokes near this level.

Ding Dong The Wuntch Is Dead (Ding Dong)

Ding Dong is one of my faviorite episodes of B99. Even it's subplot's grown on me with Terry bending a quarter in mid air and the strawberry basket. But let's face it while the subplot is.. kay, it's the main event that makes it a classic and when I do the inevetible top 12 list, possibly for feburary, this episode is almost guarnateed a spot for damn good reason.

If your wondering why I haven't brought up Holt's legendary rivarly with Madeline Wuntch it's because while their all fucking gold, their teid into larger plots. And while this one kinda is, with Wuntch's death wrapping up Holt's time as a patrol officer, it's really just there to sned the character off and give us one of the funniest episodes in human history.

Everything about Holt's petty rivarly with Wuntch that makes it one of the best thigns in the show is on display here and the shock I had to the opening of ding dong was palpable: Holt's making his usual jabs, calling her a korean tolilet ghost (and having gone to korea just to find new monsters to call her).. before Terry, trying and failing to head this off drops the bomb: Wuntch is dead. Naturally Holt dosen't buy it, assuming we'd hear the children singing (all the childrne everywhere), and having to see her body for himself. Given their rivarly and what an elaborate scheme Wuntch left FOR her funeral, it's not hard to see why.

What follows is the very best of petty holt from the glory that is BAGEL, BAGEL, to his assumption ET is a monster because "he caused quite a comotion), Baugher is at his PEAK this episode comedically, handeling his Rival's death with joy and too many lines to count, with Amy's horror and Rosa's unabashed joy at his pettiness being perfect bounce off points.

Add in comedy legend Micheal Mcdonald as Wuntch's nephew playing her rival, a fake funeral and an attempted funmeral full of balloon arches and bright pastels and you have one of the greatest peices of televesion comedy ever. Rest in peace Andre.... your dearly missed.

[rainyraisin]

Ranking and reviewing the musicals I saw in 2024!

Starting this in April so I don't have the freshest memory for the first two but the rest will all be done as soon as possible after I see them!

Six - Already seen this show twice but its still such a cool experience! Last time I went to see it was pretty close together so it was the same cast for both but this time it was obviously a different one gchkfkjgv- I think I preferred the cast I saw before though, this one wasn't bad at all they just had better chemistry. Also this time I genuinely didn't care for Heart Of Stone. I hate it on the soundtrack so I was expecting to hate it on stage but when I went to see it the first two times I ADORED it. I thought it just couldn't be done justice by the soundtrack but now I think its just one that is either incredible or boring, no in-between. Her little speech before the song almost made me cry though so it's not that she was a bad actor, I just think she's better at acting than acting through song. ANYWAY ENOUGH ABOUT HEART OF STONE a really interesting thing about going to see a show again a few years later is that you see what lines they've changed and added (and also what lines were complete lies like no I don't remember you from my GCSEs yall have not been mentioned once fthdrhutfxhtc/silly). Idk its just cool to me seeing how shows change over time. Also the actors weren't all negative compared to the ones I've seen before! This Katherine Howard was INCREDIBLE. I fucking ADORED All You Wanna Do, it's not my favourite song but it's DEFINETLY my favourite one on stage GOSH she smashed it out of the park. Absolutely loved every second.

Rating 7/10, would be higher but seeing a better version of this show put this version down for me. Still really fun though!!!!

Your Lie In April - I've spoken about this one before so I'll keep it brief, really good show, was very cool to see the first English performance of it and I geeked out hardddd during it. Was incredibly funny which was surprising given how sad of a manga YLIA is but it was very pleasant still. Watari was the best character they gave him all the best jokes and you could just tell his actor was having an absolute blast playing him he was LOVING it. But on the negative side, there was a lot of pacing issues in the second act and some lines were really awkward to the point people were laughing at lines that were meant to be sad. I don't think it's the actors fault, I think the book just could've had more work done on it, it mightve been TOO directly translated. Also the pacing issues could've been at least a little helped by getting rid of the 8 minute scene were Kousei practices playing his song like it was cool but did we really need that when you CUT THE FINAL DUET??? LIKE YOU COULDVE KEPT THAT AND JUST INCLUDED KAORI I COULDVE FORGIVEN THE PACING ISSUES IF YOU DIDNT CUT ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SCENES IN THE STORY- oh and there were a few too many songs like I love myself shows with 50 songs on the soundtrack (Hamilton and Next To Normal my beloveds) but the pacing issues could've been really helped by cutting one or two of them, as good as they were. The show could've really been helped by being just a little bit longer.

Rating 7.5/10 Still really enjoyable show and I really hope to see it again because I'm sure the quality will improve!! But as it is its not the greatest it can be even though the potential is there. The only reasons it's higher than six is because Watari was fucking hilarious, the scene where Emi and Takashi show up on bikes for NO fucking reason, the songs being bangers that I really want to listen to again cast recording when, and Young Kousei started break-dancing during the bows it was incredible.

Waitress - I wasn't going to include this one since it's not a physical performance but like. I'm gonna do it anyway bc there was only one showing of it at the cinema so like its basically just as cool right?/silly And anyway proshots are the only way I can see Broadway shows so this was only my second exposure to one and DAMN AM I JEALOUS OF U AMERICANS (my first was Hamilton's proshot btw which doesn't really show the full extent of Broadway since its one set throughout the whole show but that one is still amazing ofc)

The set design? Fucking IMMACULATE it was incredible GOD. Literally some of the coolest sets I've ever seen in my entire life (ngl probably THE coolest) and the fucking PIE FRIDGES ON EITHER SIDE OF THE STAGE??? LIKE????? HELLO????????? Making that many props must've taken forever what the fuck. Just the props and sets in general astounded me. I've done shows with props and sets before and I've seen them with props and sets before but never have I seen so many, not to mention how gorgeous they all looked. Genuinely wondering if some of the pies were real or if they were all props bc they were legit eating them like god those must be a pain to make for 8 shows a week-

I adore the characters and plot. I'd already seen the movie (which isn't a musical, was very disappointed when i discovered that lmao) so I had a vague knowledge of what I was going into but it still blew me away. I was genuinely sobbing throughout the entire show I'm not even joking 😭 I'd only heard a few of the songs since I had to sing them for my Musical Theatre grades but hearing them sung on stage gave me fucking goosebumps still, ESPECIALLY Sara Bareilles' songs. She's always been my favourite Jenna so it was amazing seeing her perform it. There's just something about seeing someone perform songs they wrote that destroys you so much more. However, some of the songs I wasn't really as invested in, the lyrics weren't sung very clearly and it made it difficult to follow along. I'm going to listen to them on the soundtrack at some point but I decided not to do so until I wrote this review as it's for this specific production and not the musical as a whole.

Without spoiling it, a part of the ending was the only thing I personally had an issue with, outside of the song issues I mentioned. I understand why it had to happen for the story and characters and I think it's cute but PLEASE. I WAS SO INVESTED IN THAT PART OF THE PLOT PLEASEEEEEE. It partially makes me question why that part of the plot really happened??? I don't know I guess it could just be me not being knowledgeable on that sort of thing and I can think of a few reasons why they went that route but its still weird to me, especially after this one scene that made me so certain it was going to go in this one direction.

9/10, incredible musical, definitely in my top 5 (for now), but some story and song issues made me push it down a bit.

Hamilton - ALEXANDER HAMILTON!!! I've been waiting to see this show for so long yall don't even KNOW. I've obviously seen the proshot like a shit ton but as yall know that isn't comparable to seeing it on stage. Ofc having already seen it so many times, the impact was lessened but I'm not gonna hold it against this show. When it came to Six the versions I'd seen were on very even playing fields but you can't compare a Broadway pro-shot with the original cast and the writer of the show himself to a UK tour that has only just switched to a new theatre (not that the UK tour was bad in any way shape or form, it was just obviously smaller scale which is completely fair).

First off, let me say, Peggy/Maria was INCREDIBLE. God her voice was fucking gorgeous, the fact that she's only in about 3 songs is criminal and her acting was so amazing. I would love to see her in a show again because I need to see more of her. Layfette/Jefferson was another highlight, god I adored him, he was incredible as Layfette but he turned it up to ELEVEN as Jefferson and I was immediatly hooked whenever he came back on stage, his movements and his acting and vocals were all so animated and it was so goddamn cool to see. The way he says "I tried :(" in *last song* will be stuck in my brain foreverrr.

I actually got a picture of the set before the show and just LOOK at how gorgeous this is

Like HELLO??? U cannot look at that set and tell me it isn't the coolest shit you've seen in your entire life. This is a good time to mention that I had STALL TICKETS TO THIS. I didn't know until we sat down bc going to this was my 16th birthday present from my Grandma (I love her so so much) and all she told me was that we were going to Hamilton nothing else WACHJXFHG- so yeah that was absolutely insane. I got a great view as well so YIPPEE!!! Definetly elevated my experience as I was far enough from the stage where I could see at least a good deal of it and close enough where I could see the expressions and it was SO COOL.

Also before I get onto problems I have to say that this show had possibly the FUNNIEST 9 year old Phillip performance I've seen it was fucking incredible, he like jumped up and WRAPPED HIS ENTIRE BODY AROUND HAMILTON AND I WAS JUST DYING WAVVGHJFGH- I thought the thing of a grown ass man playing a 9 year old was funny before but this production took it to a whole other level literally had my head in my hands laughing so goddamn hard it was amazing.

I think my biggest problem with the show was honestly Burr. Like I wasn't the biggest fan of Hamilton himself but he absolutely had his moments, especially when he was singing (and in Farmer's Refute he was so fucking funny in that song). And The World Was Wide Enough was incredible, honestly I think he really shined in Act 2, he was amazing in that, Act 1 was more of the issue. But Burr I didn't really like for most of the show. Not as a character because Burr is absolutely one of my favourites, most of my top 5 songs from this show either feature him or are only him (the only outlier being Say No To This) so it was relatively disappointing that his performance didn't click with me, especially since Burr is such an important character. I will say that The Room Where It Happened was SPECTACULAR but otherwise yeah I wasn't a fan. My favourite song in the show is Dear Theodosia and the fact that that was probably one of my least favourite moments in this specific production says a lot. He did have his moments like Hamilton's Act 1 performance did, but otherwise I was not a fan. Also I saw more of Burr in Laurens' actor than I did Burr's so like. Yeah. He's not a bad actor or singer I just don't think he's that great of a Burr.

Eliza is kind of a middle ground for me, because she had moments where she was absolutely incredible and then moments where I was just like hhhhhhh. Her actress had a gorgeous voice and it was very distinct, like whenever the ensemble sang you could pick her out easily, I love her voice so much. But early on in songs like Helpless her voice had a tendency to sound very nasally and pick me-ish (idk how else to describe it), especially on the "I Do's", like Helpless had me WORRIED. But she really does improve as the show goes on and she grew on me a ton. It's just early on where I wasn't that keen on her. Songs like Burn and *last song* are where her voice really shined, god those were absolutely incredible. Also I will say, she is a *very* new Eliza, the old Eliza's run ended just before I saw it (which I was pretty sad about ngl because I was so looking forward to seeing her) so I will give her the benefit of the doubt because for one of her first shows as Eliza she did a fucking amazing job despite certain bits at the start being not the best.

To end on a more positive note, I'm not much of a dancer (leg problems ayyyyyy) so I can't speak too much on the choreography but it was absolutely breath-taking, anyone who's seen Hamilton knows how incredible the choreography is no matter who's directed it but god I adored it. The movement really does make this show I swear. I wish I could've watched all of the ensemble do their thing the whole way through because the Hamilton ensemble is always an absolute highlight of the show and they all did an incredible job god I wish I could watch just that choreography again I'm in LOVE with it all.

Another 9/10, Burr's performance would've tanked it a bit more but everything else was so incredible that I really can't score it too low, if it weren't for Burr I probably would've liked it more than the proshot and for people who've seen the proshot you know that's a LOT to say. Brilliant show, would love to see it again. If the Burr changes I will be FIGHTING for a ticket because that's bound to be a life changing experience.

Bonnie And Clyde - Is a show I was going to see but the UK tour got cancelled due to poor ticket sales :( I'm really bummed about it bc I legit had front row seats to it. But we used the refund to get tickets to Chicago next April so yippee!!! Sad I can't yap about seeing it in person but I hope to watch the proshot at some point!!! I sadly haven't gotten around to it at the time of finishing this post but Jeremy Jordan is in it so I'll get around to it eventually.

Dear Evan Hansen - Okay writing this over a month late bc I wrote the Hamilton one in fucking June and I went to go see this in October so I straight up forgot I was doing this 😭😭 but yeah it's November now. The day of me seeing Book Of Mormon is closer than the day I went to go see DEH. Wild. So yeah bc of this, this section may not be as in depth as the rest due to it having been so long BUT!!! I will try my best!!!

First things first, I was SCARED for this show. Hamilton showed me what having an actor who didn't work for the role in one of the most important roles of the show could do, and given Evan is around ALL the time I was begging he would be good. And guess what? He was... AMAZING‼️‼️ Absolutely loved him, genuinely I would kill to see him in more performances because he was incredible. I doubt that would happen bc he's from a different part of the country from me but honestly he deserves to go on as many tours as he damn pleases. Honestly the entire cast was solid, there wasn't a single actor I didn't think fit their character, they were all really well cast. Zoe had a few weird moments here and there but it was literally opening night in a completely different venue, I cannot give two shits, go girl go u slayed.

Connor was definetly my favorite character, I was most excited about this because of him as the soundtrack doesn't really give you much Connor Content™️. As someone who's read the book though I genuinely wish there was more of him (I know the book is based off the musical but it's way better fight me). Connor is just as much of the main character as Evan is, and whilst I know that trying to squeeze in more character stuff with him would've been generally very difficult I kinda just wish he was lurking on stage at times, would've been a good metaphor for Connor's looming prescence over Evan that he self-imposed and now he's having to deal with the constant consequences of. We do get a few moments of Evan's version of Connor talking to him (or singing with him in the case of Sincerely Me, my second favorite song here as Connor's actor was brilliant, it was staged amazingly, and ofc its the only comedic song in the show so you're bound to get a lot of enjoyment out of it), but I wish his presence were more frequent, its a musical man get creative!!!!

The set was incredible, genuinely they knocked it out of the park, especially given it was a relatively small venue, at least compared to some of the ones I know it was performed at previously. They had moving kitchens and different bedroom sets and it was sickkkk!!!!!! Straight up loved the set design. And the songs were gorgeous, everyone had a beautiful voice which honestly should be expected given it was a tour but I already told yall about Hamilton, and tbf I have seen a few shows where the actors take an entire act to start sounding good 😭😭 (Veronica in the performance of Heathers I saw at this same theatre I am talking to you I hated her in the first act and then suddenly in act 2 she blew me away like GIRL WHERE WERE U HIDING THAT VOICE HUH????) So this was just genuinely a really cool thing to me, idk how they can sing so incredibly for 2 hours straight its mesmerising.

The best part about this show was being able to see my favourite song performed though because it was CUT OUT OF THE MOVIE. THE MOST IMPORTANT SONG IN THE SHOW (IN MY OPINION) WAS CUT FROM THE MOVIE. Good For You fucking SLAPS and I was estatic to be able to see it in its full context and glory. Evan is a sympathetic character but he's also a character that NEEDS to be held accountable for his horrible actions and the fact that the movie barely did that has always pissed me off so thank you performance of DEH in its best form you have avenged me.

8/10, I generally still had some issues with it, I dont think this show is the best it can be (I still kind of hate the ending) and I probably would've had more negative things to talk about if I wrote this review earlier, but still a great show! Evan's actor should be given as much work as humanly possible I will FIGHT FOR HIM.

Book Of Mormon- OKAY SO UM. ITS BEEN A MONTH AGAIN. ITS LITERALLY 2025 NOW. I was finally gonna write this review after my birthday bc I was hella busy before and then I got really sick. Oops! BUT!!! I CAN YAP NOW!!!

This is one of my favorite musicals, straight up no lie. I was listening to the HELL outta it after I went to go see it, I listened to Spooky Mormon Hell Dream like 67 times one day 😭 the soundtrack is just. Incredible. SMHD is definetly my favourite song, it's so cool on stage and literally everything about it makes me go crazy but some other highlights were Hello!, Turn It Off, and I Believe. I've had them all stuck in my head since I saw it.

I didn't have a single issue with any of the actors or honestly just anything about this show, which is shocking because I thought like there has to be at least one person who I won't be fond of because that's been the case all year, but genuinely they all did an absolutely amazing job and I adored every actor, I couldn't get enough. Obviously this show is a bit crude and there were moments when I was like oh. Oh no. But I can't blame that on the show, its by the South Park creators what can you expect? I still loved those parts, the best thing about going mostly solo (my mom decided she wanted to go last second but obviously couldn't sit with me) was that I didn't have to worry about how the people with me would react to it, I just got to have fun!

The sets were absolutely gorgeous in this show, I obviously couldn't get a pic of any of them because unlike Hamilton it's not just one but here's the boarder around the stage! It was so pretty!

Also yes I had an insanely good seat, row B baby! I have never been this close to the stage ever and i was so giddy. It's genuinely so cool being able to see all the little details on the props up close!

The costume design was also incredible, I've found out it's standardised across all the performances so it's not exactly a perk of this specific performance but I still want to yap about it! The demon costume for the General was so freaking awesome, honestly all the costumes for SMHD were cool as hell. Genuinely I encourage you to look up a video of this song being performed because whilst it won't be as cool as seeing it live (and from what I've seen the sets aren't as cool as the one I saw), the costumes are awesome and the song is just genuinely fun to see performed!

The two main characters were obviously the highlight of the show, their chemistry was crazy and every single moment they had together just had me smiling so wide, they're absolutely perfect. Kevin my beloved I could never hate him 🙏🙏🙏‼️‼️ Even if the rest of the show wasn't as good as it is, I'd still love it purely because of these two. They're so silly 😭😭💖💖🌸🌸🌸

Also I just want to mention that during Turn It Off, Kevin has a vest like all the rest of the elders and he looks so fucking confused it was amazing, as soon as the dance bit is over bro just rips it off and goes to sit with an equally confused Arnold who comforts him it's so funny 😭😭😭 literally acted perfectly I adored it

10/10. The plot of this show isn't much to ride home about, it's not like a life changing experience or anything, but it doesn't have to be! Its a musical! The Book of Mormon is just a genuinely fun, creative, hilarious show and I enjoyed every minute of it! I was genuinely desperate to see it again and I have never felt that way about a show before now. It completely smashes what it sets out to accommplish and I wouldn't change a thing about it. Not my favourite musical ever but honestly I think it knocked Waitress out of my top 5 lmao, sorry Waitress- I would put it at Number 3 or 4 probably!

And now!!! Ranking time!!!

6. Six

5. Your Lie In April

4. Dear Evan Hansen

3. Waitress

2. Hamilton

1. Book Of Mormon

This was genuinely really fun to do and I love going to see musicals so this genuinely might become a yearly thing! I'm seeing a decent number this year despite thinking I wasn't going to as shows keep popping up so ill probably have enough for another list like this! (spoiler alert I'm almost 100% convinced that Hadestown will be my number 1 but we'll see!!! Literally my only exposure to that show has been ads as I want to go in as blind as possible past what I already know Greek myth wise but I know it'll be spectacular)

If you've gotten to the end thank you for reading, I really appreciate it‼️‼️‼️💖💖💖🌸🌸🌸 I know it's a long ass post

[karaspal]

just wanted to say how much I love your post about brainy in supergirl! I’ve written literal essay-length posts about how I think the show did him dirty and how much potential his and Kara’s friendship/relationship had, and also rewrote all of Supergirl season 2 to have Brainy arrive instead of Mon-El so I’m 100 percent with you there.

thank you very much! :)

your s2 fic is actually one of my favorite cwsg fics. link here

i don't talk about the show a lot on this acc, but i will now use this ask to state some of my opinions that no one really asked for about karadox / kara and querl's romantic partners. it's probably going to be a bit long lol.

(disclamer, but i don't consider s6b as a part of the show. like, at all. i think it's a disgrace and an insult to all the characters/story. for me, the show ends with 6x07. period. nothing after that is canon as far as i'm concerned. i ain't touching it with a 10-foot pole. i just, i don't acknowledge it as part of the story. that shit did NOT happen. so just keep that in mind because when i'm discussing the overall story, for me, the overall story is 1x01 - 6x07.)

since this turned out to be a very long post, i divided it into sections. opinions below the cut. enjoy my bitter ramblings :)

1) querl dox and the wasted potential of his character

ngl my opinions of the show have definitely changed a lot since it ended, but to this day, i still think querl as a character, as well as karadox, are the show's biggest wasted potential. they are literally my second favorite kara ship on the show (with superdey being first and superdreamer third). they had chemestry. their personalities meshed well. they could relate to each other on a deep, personal level. i don't know what happened there. and they didn't even need to have them date each other. a strong friendship would've sufficed. kara and brainy had, like, three scenes with each other each season. and kara is the main lead. shouldn't she have a strong bond with all of her supporting cast??? it's her supporting cast, they are literally there for her. HELLO??? the show truly was scared of their chemistry.

kara has a sense of justice, so does querl. kara is a hero, so is querl. kara knows what it's like to miss your home (krypton), so does querl (the future). kara is a nerd, so is querl. and, they are both cat people. and aliens.

honestly, the show failed querl as a character. maybe it's because i'm a space fam fan, but his character was truly likable only when he was interacting with kara, alex or j'onn. it's probably because he felt like he could be himself the most with them since kara and j'onn are both aliens and alex is cool like that. i really don't like how the show handled brainy in s4 and s5a. he is not a dorky dude??? he is a mean bitch. s3 had that vibe well enough. and him in 6x01 - 6x04? peak querl. he did not care about anything else, but kara. as he should, as he should.

it also really pissed me off how ableist the show was toward querl (as a neurodivergent person myself). they reduced him to a quircky dude, which was both infantilizing and hurtful. most of the time, him being "quircky and funny" was him being anxious or just genuinely not getting social cues (which is neither funny, nor a bad thing. he is still a full-grown capable adult even if sometimes he doesn’t get a social cue. can this show be normal about people with autism geez?). he wasn't trying to be funny. treat him like an adult, not an "adorable boy who just doesn't get it"!!! also, what was that wardrobe? nothing he wore fit. what was that even about? they should've let jesse show his strong arms!!! and what was that hair cut? brainy’s hair in s5b>>>

this is just my personal opinion, but the show not doing a character study on kara through querl's eyes was a missed opportunity. and it's not even a missed opportunity for querl, it's for kara!!! i mean, they kind of did with the quote from 6x02, but i want more. and not just querl, everyone!!! all the supporting cast i like. i want to see kara through their eyes. i'm just a sucker for multiple povs lol.

2) the show's inability to write romance pt.1: karamel

literally anyone on that ship who wasn't mon-el would've been ten times better. i hate that man. he is the worst. and the whole kara / mon-el romance did not work. one bit. he was not a good match for her. kara literally gaslit herself into liking him. up until 2x11, she did not like that man. every time she asked him if he liked her, she looked relived when he told her no. mon-el literally kissed her and she didn’t say anything lol. and she was genuinely upset when she found out he’s working with her because he wanted to date her, not because he wanted to be a decent person. kara rejected him twice. literally went to his job to tell him she doesn't like him. unprompted. that was so funny.

mon-el: so what do you want to drink?

kara: dude, no offense, but ew for having a crush on me. you suck. you are the problem. the way you are is just, eh. just letting you know.

mon-el: :/ … i'll just get my coworker to take your drink order. i’m going to go over there now.

like, mon-el got it the first time lol. kara did not have to go to his work and tell him again (i'm referring to the beginning of 2x11). but also, he had it coming.

i honestly think kara dated him because she felt like everyone was pulling away from her and she was scared to be alone again. i mean, it was during the time she was fighting with her best friends (the bisexual boyfriends winn and james) and her sister was not spending much time with her since she was with her (toxic) girlfriend. on top of that, part of kara's story in the early seasons is unlearning all the bullshit jeremiah and eliza forced her to do so she could "fit in" ("don't be too smart", "make sure not to stand out", "go on dates, find a partner. it's what humans do"). so her abandonment issues, mixed with her belief that you need a partner to fit in and be happy because "that's what humans do", pushed her to mon-el. it also doesn't help alex decided to push the last of her internalized comhet on her sister ("well, mon-el likes you so are you sure you don't like him either?" no. no, she doesn't. this is not slander to alex tho, it's the writers fault. alex is my girl, and i love her very much.)

and, on top of that, technically, for kara, mon-el was the closest thing to a kryptonian. in a way, he reminded her of her home (even if he was the furthest from that). she romanticised him a lot (she said so herself in 3x15). she felt like she could be herself with him, because he was too an alien. but the thing was, mon-el hated his planet and didn’t miss it at all. and for all of krypton’s faults, kara still missed her home a lot. mon-el couldn’t related to her the way kara thought he could.

all these factors - 1) kara’s abandonment issues (because almost everyone was pulling away from her), 2) the belief installed by her adoptive parents that you need a romantic partner to fit in and appear normal (eliza would get upset with her if she didn’t go on enough dates), 3) most of her friends looking genuinely happy in their romantic relationships (happiness kara wanted to experience too and not realising that happiness looks different for different people so she assumed a relationship would make her happy), 4) last of alex’s comphet telling her that maybe she likes him too because he likes her (even if there were no indications and in fact, kara said she didn’t like him and looked disappointed when she found out he did), and 5) mon-el being the “closest�� to her home (even if that was far from the truth), resulted in kara reassuring herself mon-el would make her happy and that he is good for her. even though he wasn’t.

i honestly believe that if kara had nia as a friend in s2, she would've never dated mon-el. nia would've taken one look at that annoying man and laughed. and then she and kara would've spent the rest of the season making fun of him lol.

i really love how s3 ended for kara. she finally accepted that she's happy with her life and doesn't need a partner to make her happy. i also think there are a lot of elements in kara's story that are asexual-coded and maybe one day i'll make a whole separate post about it. i mean, forcing yourself to date someone because 1) they like you, 2) almost everyone else around you is in a relationship, and 3) you've been taught dating is the norm, and if you don't, you're weird, is pretty much the standard asexual experience.

it honestly baffles me how much the show messed up mon-el. comics!mon-el would've literally fited perfectly. especially post-infinte crisis one. he was learning how to live life. he was experiencing things for the first time. he respected women. he was a hero and a good man. and he was working as a law enforcer, which would've paired up nicely with kara's journalism story. they could've worked together on cases and such. he could’ve been her source. and he had a british accent. give me british mon!!!

i understand the show wanted someone to "challange" kara and push all her buttons, but mon-el never did that. well, he did annoy her a lot so in a way, he did push all her buttons. but not in the way the show wanted. everything kara thought and said about him, was true. he was a scumbag. he was a horrible person. he was literally the prince of daxam. that man just straight up sucked.

it's also crazy how much mon-el did not understand kara. he literally called her elitist (3x11) when that's the furthest from the truth. someone needed to beat his ass with a catco magazine. that woman is literally a journalist who fights for every voice to be heard! what was he talking about? and one can make the argument that she was "elitist" because she had "prejudice" (very valid opinions) against daxamites. but she literally hated them because they took people away from their families. in what world is that elitism??? is he fr??? bro should've just opened one article written by her. or just listen to what she was saying. like, how am i supposed to root for mon-el when he doesn't understand one of the main things about kara? and compared to will, who called kara's work "art", nia, who hyped kara up and called her intelligent before kara was about to go on stage for a debate, and querl, who has helped her with her articles and called her words maggic, mon-el is nothing. these three people are a perfect fit for kara and understand her well. mon-el? not so much.

another thing he didn't understand was who kara was to her core. and she literally told him. she told him "supergirl is what i can do. kara is who i am." and when they were on argo he told her "now you can be yourself, supergirl." no??? she told him she’s kara and supergirl is what she can do??? did he ever listen to her??? and she literally responded with “not supergirl. kara.”

fuck mon-el. truly the worst. but at least kara realized she doesn't need a partner to be happy, and now she knows what she doesn't want in a relationship. for what it's worth, karamel provided a good character development for her.

also, while i’m here, fuck mon-el’s fans too. you guys suck! karamel shippers who are kara fans and have more ships for her, other than mon-el, this isn’t about you guys!!! cw!mon-el fans are homophobic (to alex), xenophobic (“kara shouldn’t feel at home on earth” / they hate kara danvers. sorry that a refugee finally found happiness again, and a family that loves and respects her in her adopted world i guess? fucking weirdos. kara being kara danvers doesn’t take away from her being kara zor-el too. kara danvers will always be a kryptonian, even if most people don’t know that. and alex danvers will always be kara zor-el’s sister, just as much as kara danvers’ because guess what, kara danvers and kara zod-el are actually synonymous and not two different people.) and have a strange hate for adopted families (by denying how important alex actually is to kara. which is pretty funny because mon-el got divorced because imra chose her sister over him. as would’ve kara, if it ever came to that. maybe mon-el should just choose to date an only child?)

3) the show's inability to write romance pt.2: brainia

honestly, they are nowhere near as bad as karamel. i'm a fan of both nia and querl. i'd definitely say their relationship was just two good people not being compatible.

i did not like how brainia took away so much from nia's story. she is my favorite supergirl character after the spacefam (kara being my fav, and alex and j'onn sharing second place). her story arc in s4 was so good. but then the writers stopped her character development and reduced her to her romantic relationship in s5. and for what? in s5, she was supposed to figure out her powers more, become a better journalist, mourn her mother and get over her guilt for not being able to save her, and come to terms with the fact that izabel would never be able to teach her how to use her powers. yet, none of this happened. why? because they reduced her to brainy's girlfriend. and for what? most of the nia-focused scenes in s5 were brainia focused (minus 5x15). i love brainy, but i'm so upset about this. like, it's not his fault per se, but also, fuck that guy (not really, i’m just joking). his existence (kinda) screwed over nia. ideally, him and nia would’ve never dated, each would’ve had their own story and he would’ve went back home at the end of s5 after actually outsmarting lex instead of whatever the writers did.

and if it wasn't bad enough that they messed with nia's story, they completely butchered her character whenever she was around querl. like, i'm sorry, but she would not tell him he's too much and needs to change when he literally told her that's just how he is. she literally advocates for people to be able to be fully themselves!!! be serious!!! that was so ooc for her. she would've handled brainy "love bombing" her by telling him that it's neither her nor his fault, they should just find a middle ground. and she would've told him that calmly. they would've had an adult conversation about it. it's clear the show used nia to push their ablestic views (because telling a neurdivergent person they are being too much when in reality, they are just being themselves, is wrong) onto brainy and that's fucking awful. she would never say that. how do they not understand her? they literally created her??? it also pissed me off so bad that when kara got sucked into the phazntom zone, nia wasn't worried about her. she was more worried about wanting to make things work with brainy. i promise you, nia loves kara way more that she loves querl. she would've been so worried about her best friend, she wouldn't have given two fucks about that man. and especially since her entire story in s5b was getting over him. why would she want to take his ass back???

and honestly, brainia was just not that good of a relationship. despite them taking all of nia’s story in s5, they were still underdeveloped. most of stuff we know about them were told to us, not shown. in 5x18, nia tells brainy she promised to be there for him when he took of his inhibiters, but that never happened? querl broke up with her the same episode he took them off and she didn’t bother reaching out to him after. of course, she had every right to do that. he was her ex after all and she didn’t owe him anything. but claiming she was there for him when she wasn’t, is not correct. in 5x11 she says her nickname for him was “wild cat”, but she never really used it while they were in a relationship. again, this an example of the show telling, not showing. in 5x19, nia says her and brainy were more than just boyfriend/girlfriend, they were partners. which, again, we saw very little of. like i said, most of their relationship was told, not shown. and this is not how you build a good romantic relationship when telling a story. there’s also the whole erasing nura nal from existence thing lol. and i can’t say i’m the biggest nura fan, but mysa nal is my girl. she doesn’t deserve to be erased like that.

and, look, i’m all for characters having flaws. had the show have nia being a bad girlfriend be presented as a character flaw, i wouldn’t have had a problem. but they acted like she was always right, when most of the time, she wasn’t. i’m talking about when they were in a relationship, nia did have every right to tell brainy to fuck off after he broke up with her. it wasn’t her job to reach out to him in s5b, it was his friends’. i still don’t know why no one checked on him. especially since we know kara, alex and j’onn are actually all close friends with him. and i can kinda understand kara because she is way closer with nia, but alex and j’onn? they are closer to brainy.

and because i have enough time, and this is probably the only time i’m speaking on brainia, i’m actually going to break down nia’s main story/role in every episode she was in in s5 to show you how much this relationship consumed her story:

5x01 - nia works on getting brainy to be more comfortable with physical touch;

5x02 - brainy bombards nia with food and she tells him to knock it down a bit (respectfully);

5x03 - brainy bombards nia with words of affirmation and nia tells him to knock it off and that he is being too much, they break up (?). in this episode, nia also helps j’onn;

5x04 - brainy and nia make up. nia also helps kara;

5x05 - nia stops a big wave (that was actually pretty cool). she also calms down her friend kelly;

5x10 - nia is there to support her boyfriend. they broke up at the end (hooray!);

5x11 - nia is getting over the break up. she has a talk with winn and he tells her to never let anyone make her question her own worth;

5x14 - minor role, but she saves kara so that was pretty cool;

5x15 - the only nia-focused episode. she takes down a violent transphobe. this episode shows us she still holds guilt over what happened to her mother and she’s still struggling with her powers. if only the show explored these two things in the previous 14 episodes. she is also still not over her ex;

5x16 - nia serves cunt during jeremiah’s funeral;

5x18 - kara and nia stop that old dude and when brainy takes him to the deo, they go with him. after the deo’s destruction (which, hooray. i hated the deo), nia has a fight with querl. in this episode, she also has a dream about him;

5x19 - nia is still upset about her break up with querl. she keeps having dreams about him she chooses to ignore. at the end, she finally figures out what they are about. also, her and the super friends fight leviathan;

like i said, brainia takes a majority of nia’s story. if the scene isn’t about her and brainy in some way, it would be about her doing standard superhero stuff or helping her friends. which, don’t get me wrong, is great. i like that they portray nia as a good friend. but these scenes aren’t really about her, they are about her friends. i don’t think it’s all brainia’s fault per se. it’s clear the show just didn’t give her enough screen time. but when all her personal stories this season revolve around her romantic relationship, it’s hard for me not to be annoyed about it. especially since brainy had his own storyline, away from nia. and much more screne time. and i’m not saying he didn’t deserve it. he did. he is a great character. it’s not his fault, it’s the writers’. but when the guy in the relationship has more screen time/an actual, personal storyline and the girl has none of that, i will be upset. you should not be reducing a woman to being a love interest. especially in a feminist show! i just don’t get why the show had to use her limited screen time for this relationship, when they had many more important storylines they had to continue when it came to nia. they literally used most of her screen time for her relationship with brainy and brainy’s screen time for his own story. why not have both of them have separate stories and use some of their screen time for their relationship (since they wanted it so bad)?

brainia not only messed with nia's story, but also butchered her character, and that's so so infuriating. she deserves better. brainia to nia's character is what people belive karamel is to kara's character - a relationship that consumes her story and stops her character development. i don't even hate brainia because i'm a karadox and a superdreamer shipper. they aren't even the endgame ships i have for kara. it's superdey. i dislike brainia because i absolutely love nia and her story, and i think she deserves better. i also think brainy deserved better. at the end of the day, yes, it was ooc for nia to act this way, but she still acted this way and was not a good girlfriend to querl.

as a nia fan, i’m upset how much brainia took from her story/screen time. as a brainy fan, i’m upset how nia treated him while they were in a relationship. this relationship was not good for either of them. the only reason most people claim to like it is because brainy wasn’t dating kara and they don’t really care about nia as her own character.

anways. that's my long ass rant. hope you guys enjoyed. :)

[opera-ghost]

thought this needed to be shared on its own since the sweeney team have decided to edge us with releasing the cast album

this is from the second night of previews, february 28th. i gifted the full audio here, and shared a clip of the final sequence here as well

(more notes on the clip + the production under the cut)

after the verse about the beadle, annaleigh ashford attempts to swing onto the table and misses twice, before succeeding as the audience cheers. it was really funny in the moment and played into the vibe of the song as both ashford and groban continued to crack up. this seemed to happen on more than one night during previews from what i've read, which had me suspecting that it was a planned break-in a la the music man revival. but outside of previews i haven't heard of this happening again, so they could very well have just had difficulty with this bit during the first few shows. either way, the audience couldn't get enough of it. it was just amazing to hear this whole sequence live after only ever watching the movie and concerts (where the audience volume is significantly reduced). there was just the most contagious laughter at all the right moments, and it makes me really upset in hindsight that this number was butchered so much in the movie

so much to say about ashford and groban's performances in general. they clearly have so much fun with these roles and they do this particular number such justice, in my opinion. their visual comedy is just on a whole other level, and it really let the material shine along with their vocals. some people have criticized ashford for her accent/general characterization of mrs. lovett, but i'm so obsessed with what she's brought to the role. her lovett skews younger and, to me, she offers a mix of the iconic actresses who have taken a stab at the character before. others have had things to say against groban being cast as sweeney, but i personally enjoyed him very much, and he's of course at the top of his game vocally. this production plays things pretty straight and doesn't do anything super imaginative with the staging, but it really lets the actors performances shine

as a general note for the whole show, maria bilbao absolutely kills it as johanna, john rapson as the beadle makes parlor songs into one of my favorite bits of the show, and i want to print a little picture of nicholas christopher's pirelli and keep it in my wallet. gaten mattarazo is a great tobias, ruthie ann miles's beggar woman is as entertaining as she is soul-crushing. though he's since departed, jordan fisher had amazing chemistry with maria bilbao and his anthony was very sweet. jamie jackson as judge turpin was everything you could want out of that character, though i really really would've loved to see mea culpa here. i think the judge in this production especially feels a bit empty without it

this revival makes the weird choice to remove the factory whistle, which really takes away from a lot of the drama and overall makes it feel less sweeney-esque. although, i did read that they were maybe having technical issues during previews and added it back in later? but i watched/listened to some bits after opening and didn't hear it, so... still must be noted

despite some general criticisms i'm just so obsessed with this show, it's amazing to have a full staging of it on broadway once again and the 26-piece orchestra still has me in a chokehold. i highly recommend seeing it if you can!

[leobebestevens]

my headcanons on what the sp kids professions are! (just my opinions)

stan: engineer. he likes working with his hands so he started in a construction job but soon had enough money to go to college and ended up loving it. sometimes, when stressed about home life or finances, he throws himself into work to distract him, which he's trying to stop doing to spend more time at home.

kyle: criminal justice lawyer. he loved debating, and saw a lot of the behind the scenes of what a lawyer does because of his dad. he takes on a smaller case load than he did so he can spend time with his kids. he used to be a public defense attorney but now works for a private law firm.

kenny: tattoo artist. he didn't go to college or art school but managed to get an apprenticeship with through a friend of a friend and is now a staple in their area.

cartman: car salesman. he can get anyone to buy anything and makes a ton of money off of it. he does have a reputation as a scumbag but every once in awhile he makes a really good sale to keep customers coming in.

butters: preschool teacher. he liked the idea of hanging out with little kids all day and he ended up being really good at what he does. the kids love him and the parents trust him.

wendy: chemist. she has her doctorate in chemistry and sometimes teaches courses at her alma mater, yale. since she's been out of school, finally, she spends a lot of time enjoying her hobbies again and hanging out with her two cats, glitter and sparkles.

bebe: hair stylist/cosmetologist. she does all kinds of hair (including textured hair) and she likes doing fun colors the most. when you sit in her chair you hear all of the gossip going around town and you can't help but tell her some of your own. she gives the best advice and everyone loves getting their hair done by her. some people think she's a bitch but she proudly accepts that title.

clyde: real estate agent. he's charismatic and relates to all kinds of people. his clients recommend him to other people so there's never a shortage of people who want to work with him.

tolkien: financial analyst. he liked learning about stocks and other aspects of finance and so he decided to double major in finance and business. he is still the richest of all of them.

tweek: cafe owner (bakery/coffee shop). tweek's cafe is a staple in south park, plenty of people stop by for their morning coffee and tweek likes spending time with the regulars. a lot of teenagers (including kyle's son, bebe and clyde's daughter, and kenny's nephew) work there and tweek is a great boss.

craig: aerospace engineer. he works at NASA and really enjoys it, though it is a lot of hours and so he tries to keep a healthy work life balance and spend as much time as he can at home with tweek.

jimmy: late night talk show host. everyone in south park and tons of people across the US tune in to listen to him talk. he's a very personable and well liked guy in general and he has a lot of fans.

[tae-shimura-is-my-wife]

Hey! I have been wondering if yoi have been watching the tybw lately? What do you think of the so-called added rr and ih scenes?

Personally, I'm amused by the fact that people see a lackluster 'hug' and see it as romantic when he didn't even look concerned in the slightest. And the rr scene is just a normal scene which can be depicted as a normal convo but these fans tend to see it as progress and romantic🤦‍♀️

Anyway, let me stop myself before I continue my rants🥲

Ayo! I haven't, the only reason I watched the first two seasons is because I was extremely bored of everything but needed something to watch 😅, this arc is too bad to even make me have a desire to watch it, maybe when it ends I can give a chance to see it again bc of my curiosity of how they will fix the ending.

I saw the I/h scene though very pathetic to say at least, I think we have enough of Ori showing affection to Ichigo don't we? Why not do a scene where Ichigo is the one doing that? The biggest problem of the ship is how one-sided it is and they don't even try yo fix that. What really got me is that the anime staff is full of i/h shippers the fandom really loves bragging about it, but these are the scenes they do... they had the opportunity of doing something to give justice of their couple to do this... idk maybe they like the aspect of "Ichigo dgaf" of the relationship.

About r/r I really can't comment on it since I didn't saw the scene, but there isn't much to do when a ship has negative chemistry.

I don't get surprised the fans are happy about it or see it as romantic, considering they saw the nothing burger scenes of manga and thought it was peak 😭, they literally will eat anything up as long is their canon couples.

Also don't worry anon! You can rant as you want, i totatally get it!

[georgiarose]

Fendra

I was expecting this lol. Imma be real with this ask, cause I've never commented much on Fendra.

I liked it when we first met Gandra. I think she's a really cool character that didn't get nearly enough development as she needed. It felt rushed and I wanted more for her.

I feel the exact same way about the ship. It needed more time and development. With Beaks in the Shell, we are expected to just accept their relationship happened behind the scenes and they're super in love. And that may be true, but I WANT TO SEE IT HAPPEN. I feel like the show glossed over the makeup of Gandra double-crossing Fenton in Dangerous Chemistry. It's hard for me to get 100% behind it when I can't see how that would've been resolved.

It's also hard for me to understand Fenton, a character defined by his sense of justice and good morality, to have gotten over that so easily. I just really needed to see it.

With Fenton and Gyro, we at least get to see Gyro's development and attempts to change. I wanted to see that with Gandra too.

ALSO, and honestly I feel like this is the biggest reason, is when the show was still airing and the fandom was popping, I got a lot of hate from Fendra shippers just because I shipped Fenro since before we even met Gandra. I was on board with Fendra and wanted to see where it was going, but because I ALSO shipped Fenro, I was called misogynistic, racist, and homophobic (???) since they assumed anyone who shipped Fenro hated Gandra. I never hated her and I had never spoke ill of the ship, but man, being targeted by people blindly like that really made the ship turn sour for me real quick. And it's a shame really that some very loud bad apples can ruin something for me and others like that.

Anyways, in summary, I don't hate it, I wanted more development, and people on Twitter can be really mean.

I've wanted to distance myself from the ship and unfortunately people who ship it cause I'm afraid of being hurt again. And that's sad, really.

BUT! I do want to eventually draw more of the Hadestown AU, which is Fendra, so there ya go. Thanks for the ask!

(also, as to why I didn't place her in the 70s AU to ship with Fenton: we needed a character who was religious and repressed for our story to work, and to change Gandra to make her fit that role felt like a huge disservice to her character, so we created Natalie instead)

[bookaddict24-7]

REVIEWS OF THE WEEK!

Every week I will post various reviews I've written so far in 2024. You can check out my Goodreads for more up-to-date reviews HERE.

___

188. Along the Saltwise Sea by A. Deborah Baker--⭐️⭐️⭐️

I will admit that while I liked the first book in this series a lot more, I did enjoy some aspects of this. I loved the change of scenery and the new and exciting characters. It was also a great opportunity to further explore and grow the two MCs.

But there was something about this one that just didn't grab my attention the way book one did. Something about it had me rewinding my audiobook at least three times to re-listen to specific scenes. I know my attention is waning from a story when a whole scene will pass and I'll be completely zoned out. But I cared enough about the story, that I DID going back to catch what I missed.

I guess in some ways this makes this story slightly forgettable to me? Which is too bad because I'm genuinely intrigued by this series. I'm definitely picking up the next book at some point, but I wish I enjoyed this one more than I did. Maybe I'll re-read it one day!

___

189. Flash Rip by Keira Andrews--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Keira Andrews is quickly becoming a favourite author because her romances are both so sweet and sexy. FLASH RIP made me realize how much I want more queer lifeguard romances. Also, it made me want to watch Bondi Beach again.

One of my absolute favourite things about this book is how much lifeguarding we got to see! It was like watching an episode of that reality show I mentioned above, but with an LGBTQ+ focus. I loved it so much and I loved seeing their dedication, focus, and determination to do their jobs well.

Another thing I enjoyed was the lingo. I'm not Australian, so I don't know how accurate it was, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was accurate. I was so entertained and it felt like I could hear their accents in my head while reading.

FLASH RIP was just so incredibly enjoyable and so sexy. The chemistry between the two characters was off the charts, even during the heartbreaking moments of homophobia that one of the MCs faced from his own family. The struggle between the two characters added a heartfelt extra layer to their dynamic, especially because of their age gap.

The spicy was spicing. It got a bit BDSM and if you're into that, you're going to devour this. I'm still blown away thinking about these characters' chemistry. I want another book like this--I want to experience this all over again.

There is also a short story and I ate it up, but I wish there were more books set in this series. I want more!

___

190. Each Tiny Spark by Pablo Cartaya--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

An old coworker recommended this book to me YEARS ago because of its focus on the Cuban culture and I will admit that it sat on my ARCs shelves for a while. But having finally read EACH TINY SPARK and I can completely see why she thought this book would be for me.

I LOVED the Cuban representation. The Spanish, the machismo-culture of what is "appropriate" for women and girls to do, and the reminder that there isn't one way to look in order to be recognized as a Cuban were some of the prominent things I really appreciated in this book. I think representation of these specific topics--especially the latter of the three points--is incredibly important for young readers.

I also appreciated the exploration of ADHD and how it can look different from one person to the next, and how important it is to notice when other kids need help, especially when they don't have such strong advocacy for them in school.

One of the main topics explored in this book was social justice and how it can affect and divide a community. The number of micro-aggressions in this book was staggering. I'm glad the MC had such great character growth that she recognized them and also decided to use her voice to stand up for what was right.

Some people might think that this book is "too woke" or "too busy", but I thought it was both a wonderful representation of how the MC's brain works and a reminder that younger generations are becoming more aware and outspoken about the social justice issues happening in their communities. I find that books like EACH TINY SPARK is an important reminder to kids reading (and some older readers too) that it's okay to be outspoken when you see an injustice taking place.

We also get to see a family that might look a bit different from the traditional families in MGLit and again, I saw this as something a lot of readers might be able to relate to--especially Latine readers!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I loved the friendships, the complex relationships that the MC has with her grandmother and father, and the exploration of the Cuban culture in a setting that isn't Florida.

___

191. The Stars Are On Our Side by Jennifer Hartmann--⭐️⭐️⭐️

THE STARS ARE ON OUR SIDE was a heavy, heavy book to read. The prior two books in this series were also heavy, but something about them felt a bit different than this one. While I enjoyed the core of the story and of course, Hartmann's amazing writing, this story felt a bit long and the pacing felt a bit off.

I devoured the last two books in this series, but this one felt like it dragged on a bit. I wonder if it was because it was so similar to book one, or because these two characters had so much going on. I loved them together, but I sometimes wished that this was told in a more linear way, rather than the flashbacks.

Every time I picked TSAOUS up to read it, I immediately felt the incoming heaviness of the pacing because I couldn't stop wondering how much longer it would take me to finish. I feel awful saying this because all of the Hartmann books I've read, I've absolutely devoured in only a couple of days. I think this one missed that addictive quality I always find in Hartmann's writing.

While this one wasn't a hit with me, I do think it's still an important part of this series--especially if you're like me and you love to see all of the important characters getting their own HEAs. I will definitely read another one of Hartmann's books in the future, though, because I DO love her storytelling.

For example, I LOVED the chemistry between the two MCs and how they slowly find their way to each other--even though the FMC has a long journey ahead of her. I loved their intimate moments and communication that (for the most part) happens between them. I loved their vulnerability and personal journeys. The story itself was enjoyable, it's just that pacing that just didn't really resonate with me.

Pick up Hartmann's books, especially if you love dark romances full of trauma and emotional healing, sprinkled with some seriously spicy scenes.

___

192. Only When It's Us by Chloe Liese--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Re-read June 2024!

Phew, I have no idea why this book took me so long to re-read! I think I started reading it when I was in the mood but just on the verge of said mood ending. So, a year and a bit passed and I FINALLY finished my re-read.

I still enjoyed it as much as I thought I would. I loved the bickering between the two MCs and how they were with their families. I loved their soft moments together and how they emotionally supported each other.

The one thing I didn't remember until I did this re-read was how frustrating the FMC was. I know it was her personality trait, but man, she was so annoying sometimes with just how stubborn she was. She would yell and throw little tantrums and it would take me right out of the story.

But other than that personality trait, I really enjoyed the rest of the re-read. I loved the side characters and I'm excited to check out the other books in the series!

___

193. That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human by Kimberly Lemming--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I won't lie, this was my least favourite book in the series. BUT this didn't stop it from being hilarious and enjoyable! I also really liked the surprise twist and what was revealed after two books of adventures.

I think one of the things I love about these books (besides the covers, the titles, and the diversity) is how devoted the MMCs get once they know they've found their mate, but how they also let them just be themselves. I love the sass these characters always share and the chemistry between them.

I like that the MMC finally found his other half after being so sad about it in book two, even if it was in the most unexpected way.

This trilogy was such great fun and if you decide not to take them too seriously, I think you'll really enjoy them. They have great adventure, fantastic banter, spicy romance, and a not-too-serious fantasy world that will immediately suck you in!

___

194. Mindy Kim Makes a Splash! by Lyla Lee & Dung Ho--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another Mindy Kim adventure!

This time she's learning to swim and I loved seeing their little family come together to help Mindy's goals come to fruition. The dynamic of the dad and stepmom sitting with Mindy in the before-bedtime routine was adorable and bittersweet, especially when it was just her and her dad for so long. I love that this little family is feeling a little more complete, especially after their grief.

I also really, really liked how Lyla Lee handled the bullying situation. I like that this author doesn't shy away from the realities of bullies and how disruptive they can be, not just socially but also for one's self-esteem. The way Mindy overcame her bully situation was empathetic, patient, and kind. She also sought to better herself--despite it starting with ulterior motives, she ended up really growing as a character.

This series will always amaze me and I truly do think more people should be checking this series out!

___

195. Cherry Magic! Vol. 11 by Yuu Toyota--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This series continues to be sweet! However, I think I expected more from this volume? Don't get me wrong, we got some great development for the side characters and their relationship. But I would have liked more of the main couple during their regular life now that they're together.

Regardless, this volume was still sweet and I still love the artwork. I am still anxiously waiting for the next volume! I just want moreeeee. I'm going to be so sad when I finish this series.

The side characters' relationship should also teach us about the importance of communication in a relationship, especially when one of the characters is an awkward goose when it comes to love. I loved those moments of advice and the glimpse into the wildness of the one character's obsessed mind LOL.

Already impatiently waiting for the next volume LOL

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Have you read any of these books? What were your thoughts?

___

Happy reading!

[lesser-mook]

Superman: The Animated Series (Recommended)

I roasted this back in the day because of how tame his power level was, but this is a young Superman story done right.

This show tackles cool characters & concepts ranging from Mxy to Darkseid to the Legion of Superheroes.

And featuring a Kara (NOT Bore-El) surprisingly that doesn't piss me off with her very existence. Imagine my surprise to find out she's NOT miraculously Superman's Cousin who ALSO just happened to survive the explosion because Jor-EL just HAPPENED to have a brother who JUST HAPPENED to be a Scientist who HAPPENED to have exact same idea to Kara but for some reason not himself or his wife.

Fan-fic tier garbage. GARBAGE.

But Kara In-Ze decent, she's a good kid.

In fact, I wish Kara In-Ze was in that Superman Returns deleted scene when he went back to Krypton, and he finds her on Argo or something. Some of kind of payoff for that 5 years he was gone

Back to the show. Clark is a sassy, witty chad.

He's not some Him-bro purse puppy like someone else I know in recent memory I wish I could carve out of my skull. He's a vanilla dork big-brother (like Welling's take) who's underwhelming enough to sell the role but not overdoing it to point it's cartoonish & annoying.

He’s good at his job, both of them. And the more times he puts on the cape, the more the universe expands, the guy just attracts trouble and all he’s tryna do is the right thing.

I thought initially him not being overtly geeky would've defeated the illusion but in fact he's still so bland as a person compared to Superman he doesn't have to go out of his way to try not be suspicious, which now that i'm thinking about it would make him more suspicious.

And the sass carries over to Superman, this character (from here to JLU) cops attitude A LOT, it's funny see. A very human Superman with a wide range of emotions as he's in this Superhero career, yet stoic and collected and I love it.

Stubborn as an Ox at times, especially as he gets older & develops more of an ego. He's a leader, but not beyond all reason. A good guy, reliable, very human.

In fact, in a lot of ways, a Shonen protagonist with a hint of slice of life..

I like this guy.

Besides Smallville/ Superman/Superman & Lois/ hell even that Lois & Clark show was charming-

This is THE post-modern Superman, done right.

Honorable mention: 40's Fleischer Superman

I recommend TAS to JL & JLU, since it is technically one timeline (though JL S1 he was nerfed to shit), but it's all part of his story.

Top 3 favorite Lois Lanes of all time. 

The music is so peaceful, grandiose at the same time. The composer (Shirley Walker *Rest in peace*) did the tracks justice, she did her part to bring this project to life with a sound reminiscent of Williams work.

I really like the Retro-Futuristic aesthetic of Metropolis and various other set pieces compared to Gotham & Smallville, it genuinely looks like a city of the future. Reminds me of the Jetsons

Check out the making of Superman: The Animated Series, unlike a certain recent sloppy attempt at Superman with a certain "Lois-Chan" this take possesses so much care and thought & premeditated design.

The character writing has that old-school wit to it, it's mature. Well executed. Where most of the characters sound witty, snarky but professional it has the 40s - 1950s chemistry. Very solid. Vs these days where most characters are random, loud, quirky, talk too much and just annoying lol

As far as Superman lore goes, one of the few things they didn't put in there was Eradicator, Superboy, etc. This show COVERS a lot of the groundwork of Superman content. 3 Seasons+ of content- even Livewire is in here.

If I were to have a complaint (and no it's not Kara), it would be the pre-Singer/Snyder era of how his powers are presented and engineered into visual/sound format. I really like how Singer introduced Superman causing sonic-booms

-and how Zack translated his power into fights.

In TAS show it lacks the aesthetic, the punch/emphasis, he's strong but.... it doesn't lean into it enough for me at times.

Kind of like how My Hero Academia has the visuals down 10/10 but the SOUND EFFECTS are soooooo weak, just a punch of whooshes 24/7, it's so frustrating lol.

Again, It's very tame but while it's underwhelming, how he flies is sort of majestic, like he's gliding on the air, very angelic.

And he is young and the later installments pick it up eventually.

And as shown Supergirl represents some good feats too (And I am proud to say that because I actually like this version of Kara)

Surprisingly My Adventures with Lois-Chan tried to mix it up with the sfx & action, but even that show was lacking in so so so many areas, but I'm going to leave that alone for now.

Superman: TAS

grounded Superman version Zack should've did more homework on. Cavill deserved to act-adapt this Superman.

[raelis1]

Smallvile for the show post

1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 11 and 13.

Thank you!

What originally drew me to it

I saw a few episode reruns on TV and was drawn by Tom Welling's pretty smile. I decided to give it a shot because of a Clana scene (the one at the end of Rush), strangely enough. I was really in the mood for some high-school teenage drama because I felt I had missed out on a lot of teenage experiences and I wanted to make up for it in a way. Another reason was the 'weird' dynamic between Clark and Lex. I had no idea this was a Superman show, so I didn't know they were iconic characters destined to become mortal enemies. I just knew one was a rich city guy and the other was a farm boy high schooler, and I had a hankering for some class-difference fic. So I decided to look for recs and watch a few eps to familiriaze myself with the basics. The first fic I stumbled upon was Divergence from the Identical series, and after that I was gone.

What I like most and least about it

I love the cast. Everyone is very pretty and shippable, they all have chemistry with each other, the fic is (mostly) great. I hate the incosistent writing/poor continuity/shallow and contradictory characterization/terrible dialogue, and worst of all - the ableism and abuse apologia.

A character I want to carry around in a little jar and study like a bug

Lex, duh. I've been carrying him arround for almost 15 years. The blorbiest blorbo.

A character I couldn't care less about

Most of the later season regulars: Oliver, Jimmy (I do like him, but in small doses), Kara, Zod, Davis, also recurring characters like Bart, AC, Dinah, the Justice Society, etc. They're all boring. Tess would be here too, but she's played by Cassidy Freeman who has the rare ability to imbue even the weakest material with depth and nuance, so she's the only late season character I'm interested in.

A ship I would gladly go down with... and then become Davey Jones, so I can continue to captain said ship for eternity

The only ship that matters!

The non-canon pairing I find the most intriguing

see above!

A ship that makes me want to look into the camera like I'm on The Office

Clark/Oliver. It's not like i don't understand why people ship it (two hot guys fighting crime together, having tension over their different approaches and philosophies... I'm actually surprised it's not more popular). But it just seems like a watered-down clex or a watered-down super//bat to me. Take away the chemistry, the range, and the themes, and you get clo//llie. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

[leekimdramas]

See You In My 19th Life Review

Why write it's an adaptation from the webtoon if you're not going to keep up with that storyline??

Ban Ji Eum remembers all her 19th lives but as relationships were cut short she wants to meet the people from her 18th life.

She gets into company where Seo Ha, the boy she liked when she was a child, is working and slowly rebuilds all the connections.

This review contains spoilers, all I can say if you haven't read the webtoon you might like the drama.

I have read and loved this webtoon for a very long time, but the drama was different and not in a good way.

The premise of the drama is interesting, and there is a lot of things to learn. How she comes back to Seo Ha, why she's seeing her past lives, the relationship of the second couple and of course, secrets about the car crash.

However, for this drama it was not enough plots so they kept adding more stuff that by the end nothing had a really good conclusion and it never went into depth of anything.

For example, when Seo Ha finds out that his uncle planned the car crash. Before that they could have showed how close Seo Ha is to the uncle, how he is his father-figure and how much they cared for each other.

Instead of that, they keep bringing up stepmom or whoever she is and drag the story with that. There was no build-up to the uncle/nephew connection till it was revealed he planned everything. So how can I feel anything watching the scene? I barely even know the dude.

I still think that Ahn Bo Hyun didn't do justice for Seo Ha with his mostly neutral face to anything.

And before people come in with "He has trauma" stuff, just because you have trauma doesn't mean you become emotionless, webtoon Seo Ha had so many emotions.

One of the things that was so entertaining about Seo Ha to us and Ji Eum that he's so easy to read and wears emotions on his face. That's why it's so funny to tease him for Ji Eum.

I have no complaints about Shin Hye Sun, she did an amazing job as always.

The second couple was so much better from the first one. They had chemistry they were longing for each other each episode but I also think I shipped them more because of the webtoon.

I saw a comment saying how they don't understand why Cho Won and Do Yoon like each other and when I thought about it is not really displayed in the drama. They just do. As a viewer, you just have to accept it.

This is getting way too long, and there are still a lot of things I haven't talked about but just read the webtoon, it's 100% better. All you need to know.

I also wanted to say it again, I'm fine with small differences. I loved that Cho Won was a florist, why not. But stop putting unnecessary things that you don't have time to solve.

3/10

[royalrudberg]

My thoughts on RWRB, in no particular order because my brain doesn't work like that:

SPOILERS AHEAD

These are my opinions/thoughts after the first watch through (of course I'm gonna re-watch several times) but don't be mad at me please I'm sensitive

Things I loved

I spent the first full hour smiling and laughing. It put the Com in Romcom. And then the lake scene plunged me into a pit of despair, but in a good way.

Alex was Alex and Henry and was Henry. Like Nick and Taylor really got their characters and did them so much justice and the chemistry was chemistry-ing

Miguel! He was fun and flirty. I wasn't expecting him at all but I think his addition really worked for two reasons: it saved Alex time in figuring out his sexuality so we get ahead into him + Henry, and it gave an explanation for the leaking of the emails without being as politically charged as in the book, because some people, especially if they're not American, don't care about that part as much

Amy is so fucking funny

Zahra is even more funny

Casting! Pez was perfect! Philip was amazing! Papa Diaz delivered the dad vibes for sure. I wish Bea had more screen time. Shaan was good (and very handsome) And don't get me started on UMA FUCKING THERMAN!!

I know we'd have preferred to have both June and Nora but I think that for the purpose she served to the plot just Nora was fine. Movie!Nora was a combination of book!Nora and June. It worked.

GET LOW GET LOW GET LOW

Henry pretending to look for a book when Amy comes into the red room absolutely killeddddd me

Ellen talking about getting Alex on Truvada. Real AF.

Henry doing karaoke!

"I thought Alexander Gabriel Claremont-Diaz was a mouthful." "He is."

"Shut up stop talking" and "You're late", followed by him trying to close the door

The texting/messaging and emails. They included enough for you to get the idea and to show the passage of time and they did in a cool way that didn't take too much of the screen time. Also Henry being "in the room" when they're on the phone was so cute!

Alex being nervous and awkward about having sex with Henry was perfect! It felt very real

Criticisms:

Henry going to fidget with his ring,realizing Alex is wearing it, and that little smile at each other. Fucking beautiful

Alex reading OLS

I wanted Henry singing God save the King

We didn't get to see Catherine? But at least she didn't get Juned.

No powerpoint??? Even though Ellen giving him the talk was plenty funny.

Fucking eyelashes! Miguel mentioned them, but I don't think Herny did? Why notttt??

Random but I would have rather had the conversation in the tack room than the whole polo mantage. We get it, he's hot.

Leo?!? I knew June wasn't there but his parents still being together was so random to me? Not necessarily bad just random.

I really wanted to see Alex standing in the rain...also the dialog there kinda threw me off? Like I know it was heartfelt and emotional or whatever but the "and I'll bother you no longer" part didn't feel like that version of Alex. Kinda took me out of the moment.

Maybe I just wanted more Stephen Fry, but that resolution was a little too easy/cheesy

Idk if it was my ADHD or Taylor's pronunciation but I had to turn on the subtitles because I kept not understanding him?

Questions:

Did they have to change Henry's name? Like bc of the actual royal family?

Can the presidents spouse still have a seat in Congress? Is that allowed?

[boysthatlove]

Bed Friend, Chains of Heart and Love Syndrome III

Right now does expect to hear from me for at least three hours on a Saturday afternoon because these shows have me in a chokehold.

BedFriend EP 7

I have mentioned before that BedFriend will have us in chokehold and I haven't been wrong yet and I am very thankful that they extended from the original 8 to 10 episode. This recent episode, didn't really do much for me but the episode was necessary to set up the climax of the story/show.

This is what I will say as if we don't already know, Mom, Stepdad, and boss, all trash. Not just what they did to Uea, but the fact that everything that they are doing/ have done is alright and feel they are entitled to anything that belongs to Uea (Money, body, etc.)

Jade, the best friend we all dream about having and it will be nice to see him get the love and attention he deserves. ( I would really like to see how they will change the story, considering Middleman is before BedFriend).

Now, King...sigh King is fumbling the ball and Uea is also not making it easy for him. Since we are not seeing the POV of King, we don't know what is actually going on with those arranged dates. We know he likes, better yet loves Uea, we are just not seeing him step up to the plate and let his mother know that he wants to be with someone else.

I do believe that episode 8 will be good and hope a lot of things will right itself.

Chains of Heart Ep 7

First thing first, this show is being slept on and I am not sure why there isn't enough people either watching it or talking about.

Chemistry of the two male leads, top tier, off the charts, I really hope to see them in another series moving forward if not more. Production quality is pretty good and I have notice that they used some of the same locations as KinnPorsche; honorable mention the actor who played Kinn's father also plays Ken's father. For a 10 episode series, I am not a big fan of how it is paced, it would be nice to read the book for comparison and I'm kind of tired of waiting for everything to be reveled.

On with the episode, if you get a chance to watch, you will have a pretty good understanding of what I am speaking about. Do yourself the favor and watch it!

I mentioned before, their chemistry together, Chef's kiss. But them as individual actors, I believe they play their characters really. Ken, two years later can't get over the love of his life and Peter Lue, he is helpless in the love he has for Ken. The longing you see and you hear and you feel, it is overwhelming to watch and I can't help but feel for Peter because until Ken officially lets go of past love, Peter is in a zone that has no name. To put Peter in the friendzone would be an insult.

Ken has great people in his life due to his past love Din, they all very smart and very protective of Ken and this pretty much I can say without spoiling any more of the series. I hope that the last 3 episodes gives the show the justice that it is currently not getting.

Love Syndrome III Ep 5

How would I describe this series: It is a train wreak that you can't help but watch.

As someone who has read the first two books and has watched Unforgotten Night, they could have waited and made the show with better quality. Frank as an Ex-GMMer, he should know that your face is your brand and everything that you do should be of quality. I understand that he went into the military and had to cut his hair. While they were waiting for his hair to grow back, because Brick/Itt's hair is slightly longer, Long and Frank could have gone through longer workshops to build better chemistry. (Shame on the person who felt that it was alright to have Frank in that wig) Yes, I understand that they are both attractive, but it can't do much if you can't act or better yet, act with each other.

For a 12 episode series, the pacing is fine. I really don't feel that they are doing the source material justice. Author was right not to give TV/Films rights for the first two books because WOW. I hope and pray that they never make series for Nan and Mac.

I don't know how I feel about Night and Gear just yet. I am not a big fan of the actors who play Kamol and Kim, I understand that the characters' ages are older, but they could have found more attractive actors with better chemistry within the necessary age range. Plus the hat and sunglasses they had Khun Kamol wearing didn't help.

I know I was supposed to talk about episode 5, but everything I just mentioned gives you an idea of my thoughts on the episode. As stated it is a train wreak and I will continue to watch.