#they're also my favorite characters from each show so there must be a reason for that too

[rainsofcamelot]

and what if i said

[bookishdaze]

Noa and Mae as Romeo and Juliet in the Next Planet of the Apes Movie?

Here's why a potential "love story" between Mae and Noa, whether explicit or simply implied, may not be such a terrible idea.

Why? Because Shakespeare told me so, that's why.

"When in doubt, it's from Shakespeare....or the Bible." At least according to a book I had to read for high school, lol.

The biblical references in Caesar's trilogy have been pointed out multiple times already, and these movies have also been described as Shakespearean tragedies. So I thought, 'ok, what kind of Shakespearean tragedy will we have this time around?'

I'm first gonna start off with Hamlet in the Caesar trilogy. I'm also gonna mention other popular movies that are based on Shakespeare's plays. Not necessarily because it's concrete proof that this is what will happen in future POTA movies. This is me simply picking up certain storytelling beats and patterns I've noticed in some of my favorite movies.

It's not 100% the same, but there are some similarities. Also, this isn't anything new. Many have pointed this out before, but I love talking about this stuff!

The Lion King, Black Panther, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes are loosely based on Hamlet. A king or rightful heir is killed. Usually by an evil uncle, cousin, or family member. For some reason this always results in them falling off a very high cliff.

Everyone thinks they're dead, the evil relative takes power, and everything kinda sucks. There is not enough food in the Pride Lands under Scar's rule. Killmonger burns the heart-shaped herbs. Koba leads the apes to war against the humans.

The rightful ruler spends time in exile, recovering from their wounds and trauma. They might even get a visit or have a recollection of their dead father.

Then the rightful ruler comes back from the dead, challenges the usurper, and regains their rightful place upon the throne.

Now lets take a look at their sequels.

The Lion King 2 and Wakanda Forever share some similarities. They both follow another one of Shakespeare's popular plays, Romeo and Juliet.

Like the Montagues and Capulets, we have two rival kingdoms in both movies. We got the Pridelanders and the Outsiders. We also got the Wakandans and Talokanils.

The two heirs/rulers from both kingdoms meet. They hate and don't trust each other at first, but then they start to have compassion for the other. In Kiara and Kovu's case, they fall in love. Namor and Shuri don't fall in love, but after Namor shows her his underwater kingdom and what he has to protect, she softens and begins to understand him more. (They even got the whole Hades and Persephone thing going on, who are a couple in Greek mythology, by the way).

There are losses on both sides. Kovu's brother was killed while going after Simba. One of Namor's people was killed when Shuri was rescued by Nakia, and Shuri's mother, Queen Ramonda, died after Namor's attack on Wakanda. (Starts nervously eyeing Anaya here...)

These losses make things worse, by the way.

In the end, both pairs are able to bring the fighting between their people to a stop. The Outsiders are welcomed into Simba's pride. The Wakandans and Talokanils stop fighting after seeing their leaders return together.

In the end, they realize that they're the same. That they can't let hate and fear of the other side cloud their judgement.

Kiara tells her father, "A wise king once told me we are one....Look at them. They are us. What differences do you see?"

Shuri tells Namor while she spares his life, "Vengeance has consumed us. We cannot let it consume our people."

And I think this goes well with one of the core themes of these POTA movies. The apes are a mirror to humanity. We the audience are seeing us through them, and the characters in the movies themselves must come to the realization that they're the same.

Like when Caesar tells his son, "I always think ape better than human. I see now how much like them we are."

Maybe something similar like this will happen with Noa and Mae and whatever fight will happen between apes and humans. While I'm all for a good romance, it may end up being more like Namor and Shuri's case. There's something there. The tropes are present, but they don't fall in love. (At least not yet. Please Ryan Coogler, give me Nashuri endgame in Black Panther 3, hehe).

This is just a theory, by the way. This doesn't have to happen, but I just think it'd be neat. There would be differences though. What those differences would be, idk, but whatever happens in the next one, I can't wait!

"But but.... aren't you forgetting something?"

What's that?

"Don't they...ya know...both die at the end?"

Besides, they don't have to die. Things can be a little more hopeful for our two heroes 🙈

[menlove]

any introductory beatles (just mclennon tbh) fics? 🤲

LORD OKAYYYYY i'll try not to go too crazy and just stick to my alltime faves.....

first of all anything @forthlin (milaway on ao3) has written literally ever. i am going to eat them one day. they are the yin to my yang and also the best writer this fandom has ever seeeeen. um. anyway! like i said, all their fics. but i'd Particularly rec your lucky break which is an au where john is a 30 something rockstar and paul is an up and coming musician in the 70s. and well! what can i say about this fic except it's sooo in character, hot, and also the reason i started talking to the best person on this earth so whatever

also completelyyyyy selfish but hey i only wrote half so i'm counting it but we also have an ongoing series: i want you, i need you, i love you where they're writing john's povs and i'm writing paul's! it's just basically our take on their timeline & relationship, but the third installment's going to be a fix-it

now onto me not being gay or selfish here's some of my favorites that i think are Must Reads.

Boy, You've Been A Naughty Girl

explicit. 49k. John makes Paul a bet. Paul takes him up on it. Crossdressing shenanigans and angst ensue, and ~feelings come out in the wash. 1961. rec notes: okay look. this one is just a classic. it's great. esp love it bc it's right up my alley with its "paul isn't an oblivious moron" takes. also.... hot.

I Still Miss Someone/I Know That I Miss You but I Don't Know Where I Stand

explicit. 64k. It's 1976 and Paul keeps showing up on John's doorstep with a guitar. Eventually John turns him away and Paul goes off to sulk in his hotel room the night before his flight from New York. Based on real events. rec notes: aaaaugh this one haunts me there's one scene i think of literally every time "i still miss someone" by johnny cash comes on, which is one of my fave songs. it's not a fix-it, but it's so so so good for the Vibes of their 70s relationship :(

Like Love, The Archers Are Blind

explicit. 22k. He wants to push Stuart out of the way, not even with a violent yank of his collar like he sometimes imagines. Just to melt into his place like butter sliding in a pan. Have it be an effortless breath of fresh air when John looks up at him and sees it all reflected back in his eyes. It’s you. rec notes: this one is just... soft. and so good for a snapshot of the hamburg vibe.

i was a younger man then (now) (post hoc)

mature. 27k. John’s twelve when a bloke appears from a flaming pie and says, “From this day forward you are Beatles with an ‘a.’” The bloke is Paul. Or: paul and john meet at all ages and eras and john is the time-traveler’s wife the way only john lennon can be rec notes: literally my favorite mclennon fic everrrrrr ever ever. other than your lucky break. this is everything. this is it. like it nails their dynamic even though it's a magical au. it explores their relationship sooooo fucking well. i think about it like weekly.

John My Beloved

explicit. 33k. They've always loved each other, in their own way… rec notes: OTHER FAVORITE EVER it broke my heart it changed my fucking lifeeeee it changed my world. major character death warning but fuck man. i think about this literally constantly. this fic haunts me. i think it changed me. i had to stare at a wall for like 30 minutes after finishing it. i got choked up.

two of us (burning matches)

explicit. 6k. It won't stop raining. Paul doesn't know what his feelings are doing. John's practising his right swing. Somewhere along the way, they fuse together. rec notes: this one is just cuuuute and perfect for the Early Days Vibes.

Grow Old With Me

explicit. 8k. fix-it. Paul breaks his arm, and John panics. rec notes: SOOOO FUCKING SWEET. this is what they deserved and i like to live here in my mind when the reality of what actually happened gets to be too much.

1967

mature. 11k. canon-divergent au. In 1961, John Lennon and Paul McCartney left abruptly on a trip to Spain, via France. In 1967, they finally come home to face the consequences. rec notes: the style of this one is INSANE. it's so unique and i love it sososososo much. also the plot? is super unique???? basically it's an au where they never came home from paris and it's.... so fucking good. i love the way it looks at their dynamic like fuck. it's just perfect.

Way Up Top

explicit. 12k. Falling out of the sky, together. | Snapshots of the Beatles in Greece, July 1967 rec notes: LOVE this one for its portrayal of all non-mclennon parties. it fleshes everyone out, especially jane and cyn, in ways a lot of fics just skip. just sooo well written and melancholic in a great way i think.

When You Are Young They Assume You Know Nothing

mature. 26k. But Paul knows John. There’s something about Paris, though... rec notes: THE paris fic to me. this is soooo good and so fucking soft and it just. augh. it killed me.

a brief interruption, a slight malfunction

explicit. 12k. During the rooftop concert, John remembers why he used to find Paul so irresistible after a show. One more time won't hurt, right? rec notes: perfect breakup era fic. my rec notes on ao3 were "this was devastating :)" so. god. this fucked me up.

aaand honorary mentions to the two non-mclennon fics i've read but !

Knocking at Your Door

george/paul. explicit. 6k. It's easy enough, this time, to lean in and touch their lips together. A firm press of his mouth to Paul's; first at the corner, then right on the centre of his yielding, expressive lower lip. Paul and George: a few meetings over thirty-six years. rec notes: the opening sentence to this made me sick to my stomach and then the rest of the fic destroyed me permanently

Where The Sailors Go

ringo/paul. explicit. 5k. A drunken German mistakes Paul, alone in Hamburg's red light district, for a rentboy. Ringo, the Hurricanes' terrifyingly adult drummer, intervenes. Things happen, but Paul can't stop thinking about John. rec notes: PRINGOOOOO. with background mclennon. this was so real to me. also in the same universe as this fic is (It's Just) Another Day which is a transfem paul mclennon fic that rooocked my world. it's still a wip but holy fuck. made me rearrange the way i see paul tbh.

[floweycidal]

i feel like ur opinion on who chara dreemurr was as a person is entirely hinged on how you interpret these lines

my favorite thing about undertale is how interpretative everything is. it’s why i believe the fandom’s thrived so much

there aren’t any confirmation for a lot of things, only hints.

and chara is a character (heh) that defies easy categorization because of this

one minute they're getting halos drawn over their head, the next they're public enemy number one. 

are they good? bad? gray?

we get so hung up on the morality aspect of chara that we forget the most important thing of all, they were a person. 

a person— child.

a child that hasn’t had the years to work through it or even atone for the hurt they caused. 

a child that did not know love before they fell to the underground. 

a child, raised in darkness, suddenly thrust into sunshine. it's blinding, overwhelming. 

foreign. 

after poisoning asgore, their only reaction was to laugh. now, you can depict this in any way you like, but to me, it was an honest mistake. and chara's laughter was more of a nervous reaction. they probably couldn't fully grasp the gravity of their actions. this wasn’t an instance of them maliciously reveling in asgore’s suffering. i simply cannot see it that way no matter how hard i try

the dreemurrs were unlike any of the humans they knew. they genuinely loved and cared for chara who just… didn't know how to react or cope with it in a way most would consider "appropriate"

and actually! when you’re up against snowdrake’s mom:

chara expects frisk to laugh, just like they did when their dad got poisoned. it's horrible to look at. it's terrifying. but all they can do to cope is laugh

they FULLY expected frisk to do so too, but frisk just.. Doesn’t. 

chara was a human that found a family where they least expected it. they weren’t devoid of any good. they weren't so despondent.

they had hope in their eyes.

they were determined to liberate monsters

and having alrdy been hailed as the "hope" of monsterkind by their family n being the completionist (love this trait abt them btw) that they were:

they were going to see this through. push all the limits. use all means. they will have power.

this is where things get muddy.

chara is a creature of reason. their decision to poison themselves and die, allowing asriel to absorb their soul, was, in their view, the most optimal and effective choice. there was no future left for chara on the surface anyways. there was also no straightforward method to obtain a human soul. each realization logically led to the next until everything seamlessly aligned.

their plan kicked off and started going their way. they intentionally carried their own lifeless body and headed to their village, fully anticipating the reactions they'd provoke. they had hoped to show asriel just how horrible humans are. they had hoped that by doing this, asriel would understand. the reason why humans must all be eradicated.  

but to their utter shock, asriel resisted; he never fought back.

emotion foiled their plan, resulting in their own demise and that of their beloved brother. their sacrifice was for naught, the prospect of making peace between the two races has been tossed aside, irretrievably diminished.

asriel was right. chara wasn't exactly the greatest person. however, him acknowledging they weren't does not necessarily imply them to be a fervent force of evil (and i also think he meant it as in, he LITERALLY used to believe chara was the SINGLE greatest person, but eh, technicalities)

they were a flawed person, who died as such. they've made an abundance of bad choices in how they handled their trauma but that doesn't exempt them from redemption. especially not in a game that focuses on mercy and unconditional kindness and forgiveness and and and

and you know what? pacifist is their redemption. they don't rlly do anything that explicit in this route but. the silly narrations. the encouraging words frisk hears during asriel's boss fight. how frisk was able to save asriel and call out to him. i like to believe it was all chara. they've seen you prove that humans can be good too and with that..... they became a tool to free monsters, just as they had always intended :-]

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - lots, just LOTS

I thought I would be pretty lean reporting for Oct 2023 but then (for reasons relayed here) the weeklies got saved by a drunk avenging hacker in a hotel room.

Oct 2023 Wk 1

Except I still can't watch IFYLITA, because I use my other computer for it.

Gotta say though, watching tese mostly all in one day (for travel reasons) is beyond even my BL superpowers. I did my best tho.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Dangerous Romance (Fri YT) ep 8 of 12 - Sailom, sweetie, Kang is never sleeping alone again. It wasn't really translated, but Kang's way of speaking in that opening stinger was VERY cutsie. Also the gay sheets have made another appearance. I do have to say that "rich kid problems" is not my favorite story arc, but I still think this is a great Thai BL.

Naughty Babe (Sat YT) ep 6 of 8 - I love that they are finally talking to each other but Yi’s whole personality is shifting. Honestly, this pair is great at kissing and casual touches, but the friendships are the best thing about this franchise. Also Mr Chenne remains my fav character. But where did Diao's baby superhero team come from? And why? This show is very confusing... It’s also not very good.

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) You Are My Soulmate ep 7 - This was the one of the series I was looking forward to the most, because silly, pretty, and v BL. It is, in fact all those things and nothing more. So I'm enjoying it, of course.

Absolute Zero (Thai Weds iQIYI) ep 2 of 12 - I like it, but it feels like it's gonna be so sad. I'm having Promise and Dew the movie flashbacks. Plus 12 eps seems too long for this narrative thread. I am worried.

Venus in the Sky (Tues iQIYI) 6 of 10 eps - This show is so slow it's hardly worth the bandwidth, but we attained "baby is a floppy drunk" and thus a finger bite frustration scene, which was nice.

Only Friends (Sat YT) ep 9 of 10 (not a BL but I'm watching it anyway) - Ray is so mean to Sand. The not-a-thing with Sand & Nick was cute. I’ve had several experiences like that. All my queer friendship groups tend to be incestuous, but sometimes they're just too much of a sibling and trying to sleep with them is the most unsexy thing in the universe. To be fair, I’ve also been in Ton’s position (this ep). Jojo sure makes queer shizz. But also, Ton must have a magic rod with everyone wanting a repeat. (I'm so glad they put Neo in this role, no one else at GMMTV could play him as complex or sympathetic.)

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

You Are Mine (Taiwan Fri Viki) eps 5 of 10 - now officially known by me as "I'm too sunshine for this seme" where our boss is being hella obvious but our cinnamon roll is just too ooey-gooey to notice. Al.though, baby boy, he takes you home, sleeps on top of you, feeds you cookies (IN HIS BED) and keeps you in his space? Surely even this sunshine is catching a few rays of truth?

Gaga's *unintelligible gay murmuring* is my favorite caption EVER.

Also the name of my new ASMR YT channel.

Bon Appetit (Korea Weds iQIYI) 3-4 of 8 - ah gay panic, also what is Korea's obsession with 7 year separations? Is it only true love if you wait 7 years? Dohoon is SUCH a flirt, it's kinda great! Also, since it's Korea, we got us a bit of a love triangle with 2 hyung romances, so I (of course) am torn. Either way Dohoon is going down. I do love how much time we are spending with the food in this drama, finally one that lives up to its name. On an entirely different note, Korean camping is the most bizare thing to me. It's SO damn civilized. There will be NO DIRT. They pack blow torches. And full dinner sets. Every time I see it in a drama, I'm amused.

My Personal Weatherman AKA Taikan Yoho (Japan Sat Gaga) ep 7 of 8 - OMG these 2 are so in love with each other, and so ridiculous about it. They're tiny idiots but I love them.

If It’s With You AKA Even If I Fall In Love With You AKA Kimi to nara Koi wo Shite Mite mo’ (Japan Gaga) ep 1 of 5 - from MBS a live action adaptation of Kubota Maru’s manga ‘君となら恋をしてみても. Amane has stopped loving people due to trauma until he meets Ryuji. At first Amane just wants to play with Ryuji but… feelings.

I like the odd Japanese mature-childishness in this one. Plus a broken sunshine who is out in a kind of aggresive way and an instinctive caring seme. What's not to love? Well, it's Japan I'm sure it will surprise me one way or another.

Mr Cinderella 2 (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 3 of ? - the cray cray step brother quazi incest is a bit much for me. Why does VBL just suddenly get so unhinged like this?

Kiseki: Dear to Me (Taiwan Tues Viki & iQIYI) ep 9 of 13(?) - resumes next week

It's Airing But...

I Feel You Linger in the Air (Fri grey) ep 8 of 12 - I will try to watch 8-12 and do a series review when I get back in November but... not sure I will be able to. Fingers crossed.

Love in Translation (Sat iQIYI) ep 8fin - I will complete and drop a review in Nov.

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - 4th installment in this series (1st series, 1 special, 1 movie prior) about a lawyer who lives with his boyfriend, a hairdresser, and cooks for him. I find thie series more fun to binge, som I'm waiting until it completes its run.

I Cannot Reach You AKA I Can't Reach You AKA Kimi ni wa Todokanai (Japan Tues Netflix-Japan & ????) - in classic JBL fashion, I Cannot Reach You could not be reached. 

Can I Buy Your Love From A Vending Machine? AKA Sono Koi, Jihanki de Kaemasu ka? (Japan cinema release in-country only) - This one is a movie from Japan so in customary fashion who tf knows when (or if) it will get international distribution. Salaryman Ayumu Koiwai just can't tear his eyes away from the strong, muscular man as he checks on the stocks of the vending machine in his office.

In case you missed it?

Crazy Handsome Rich (Sun Gaga) Apparently ended its run I DNFed this at ep 3. So no review from me.

My Beautiful Man: Eternal AKA Utsukushii Kare Eternal (Japan movie Viki & Gaga) - Play it again Sam, only I'm kinda tired of this song. I was v dramatic tho. And it's always nice to be reminded JBL can kiss when it puts its mind to it. 8/10

Next Week Looks Like This

Upcoming October BL

10/31 SHADOW (Thai VIU ????) - this is a horror BL featuring ghosts and other paranormal elements in a high school setting. I'm not wild about Thai horror (or horror at all, but if it must be done in BL let Japan do it). It features Singto (who did paranormal BL He's Coming to Me) opposite Fluke N (who's done a couple horror's before). Also Fiat. Dan suffers from sleep paralysis, and in his dreams he sees a shadow that suffocates him. It gets worse when he transfers schools.

10/? Bump Up Project AKA Bump Up Business (Korea ????) - BL staring OnlyOneOf that released(??) as a movie in July but is now being recut and reissued as a series. Stars NineMill and from Idol Romance bulled as a love story between a trainee who is about to debut and a celebrity from the same agency (based on a webtoon). OnlyOneOf have been auditioning for this since Libido IMHO. You can watch me chronicle their BL MV work in this post. Idol Romance will do sad but can do good kisses (Wish You, Nobleman Ryu, Once Again, Kissable Lips, Poongduck 304, Tasty Florida, Tinted With You) but I don't think we will get any in this. After that OmegaX Shoulder bullshizz buisness I am very wary of this show.

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED).

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

I've seen this Chinese drama like... no wait... okay it's like EVERY Chinese drama ever.

(both Mr Cinderella 2)

I only got to watch this scene and the bath, but bot were pretty darn good! I Feel You Linger in the Air

There's only one bed but they slept together on the floor anyway. One of BL's oddest tropes.

I do love a finger bite. (both Venus in the Sky)

Good advice

(Naughty Babe)

(Last week) 

[lettingtimepass]

I WAS AT THE NERDY PRUDES SHOW WHERE THEY LOST POWER!!!

Here is my spoiler-free recounting!

After over a decade of being a Starkid fan, I traveled 3,000 miles to see Nerdy Prudes!! (The date just happened to align with a trip I was planning.) It was so surreal being in the theater! I saw Producer!Dylan and Corey L. running around with their headsets. Then right before the show started I saw Joe Moses and Tessa walk in. Also two rows ahead of me was someone in a Spiderman hat... I was like... Is that Nick Lang? No... why would he be in the middle of the audience? Later I found out I was right 😂

For context, it was raining really hard in LA and the streets were flooding. LA is not used to rain so they're not well equipped to deal with it.

Act 1 went great and then shortly after Act 2 started, BAM, the lights went off. Everyone froze. The person in the light booth said "We've just lost power." Then, Nick Lang stood up and said, "It's going to be okay everyone, we'll figure this out." And he left to help the staff. But for a good minute or so the entire audience thought it was a bit and couldn't tell if this was part of the show or not! But after a few minutes we were like holy shit this is actually happening. It took maybe half an hour or so but we were back up and running and everyone was so hype cheering on the actors when they came back on stage.

Then, during the final song, on what sounded like the final NOTE, the lights went off again. You could hear a reaction from the actors-- I can't imagine how upset they must have been in that moment! But the entire audience erupted in cheers and instantly gave a standing ovation. After the crowd calmed down a bit Nick came back out and was like "Yeah...... That actually wasn't the ending. There are two minutes left." And we freaked out 😂 They had us wait for a few minutes, but then they decided to call it. In the words of Nick, "You're the lucky audience who gets to see this show with a happy ending!" 😳😳 So yeah - I still don't know the ending. I'm going to have to buy the digital ticket so I can see the ending and also get the full experience uninterrupted. I can't wait for the YouTube version!

SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT - Updated!

I think everyone's favorite part was the LORDS IN FREAKING BLACK!!! AHHHHH!!! JON AS HUMAN!WIGGLY was perfect! Also was he giving Onceler/TumblrSexyMan energy? 🤔 Can't wait to see how it looks on the YouTube version!

I loved Jon's anime nerd character. It was so damn good. The collective "Nooooooo" when the audience realized his death was imminent 😭😂

The parallels between Abstinace Camp and NPMD are very fun to me. "IT WAS GIRL JERI THAT DIRTY GIRL!"

DIRTY DIRTY GIRL WON'T YOU PRAY FOR MEEE?

Max's pronunciation of "skel-a-in" 😭 I need the story of how he decided on that or if it was written into the script?!

The Barbeque Monologues?! And that song? Jeff Blim pls. Lauren is a master through.

Someone pointed out that all the Hatchetfield shows have in-world productions: Working Boys, Santa Clause is Going to High School, and The Barbeque Monologues. Idk what this means, but it is a nice touch for worldbuilding.

The little musical reference to Nightmare time!!

I keep thinking about how Rob M fumbled the Starkid bag 😬 But Joey did such a great job as Pete! For some reason it feels like a full-circle moment between MAMD and "Joey Richter" with him playing the nerdy character 😊

Anglea was freaking fantastic as Grace. I just love her voice and how she makes it go so high it cracks! And Curt and Kim playing her parents was so good.

There's something so funny about Angela's characters being so different - Lex vs Grace - and the fact that they would hate each other 😂 Can Angela please play both of them interacting?!

Kim freaking Whalen!!!! I love her so much.

I LOVE seeing Corey and Mariah playing father and daughter again (but it's a very different dynamic than TGWDLM).

LOVE LOVE LOVE evil/slimly dirtbag Corey. HE'S SO FINE!!

I missed seeing Jeff and James on stage - I wonder if Jeff's chaotic energy would have been too much with the horny teenagers hahaha. But James would have fit right in! Oh well, we can't have them all in every show, unfortunately.

Gotta say I didn't expect them to say "Nerdy Prudes Must Die" so many times in the show 😂

The last song having pop-punk vibes?!

Anddd...... the last scene...... (yes I finally got to see it!) GRACE KEPT THE BOOK!!! Did she say "every perv must die"? Yeah, that's gonna be a lot of people on her list... Also very similar to the end of Abstinence Camp! This isn't going to go well.......

[madhare0512]

A Comprehensive List of Spideyfist Interactions (pt.7)

Hello and welcome back to: reasons Spideyfist is canon. A series where I take you through each episode of The Ultimate Spiderman and show you why I believe that Peter Parker and Danny Rand are dating in canon, or at least that they are each other’s favorites- and also give you commentary on the show itself as I do

Warnings for: episode spoilers, season spoilers, action/injury description, unsolicited commentary, probable cussing, violence, caps lock

this part features episodes 14 through 20 of season 2

S2E14 The Incredible Spider-Hulk

- No notable interactions

- Fuck SHIELD and their bullshit Hulkbusters

~

S2E15 Ultimate Deadpool

- I'm not gonna lie to you, in the process of making this post, Tumblr glitched and I lost a lot of progress, this episode and the entire episode above. I'm not rewriting it, so the gist of the first 2 minutes is: I don't like that Deadpool just stole the show and the audience from Peter because Peter is "boring." I also don't like how Fury has set up the team against Peter.

- taking deep, calming breaths Shooting your ally/trainee in the back is akin to telling them that you cannot be trusted or relied on. Fuck Coulson.

- "Not impressed." Yeah, well, you shot your trainee in the back with zero warning or previous experience. Fuck you.

- Also, you can only hear Sam and Ava laughing in the laugh track, so honorable spideypowerfist mentions. Also counts to spideyfist

- You're showing your fucking favoritism you asshole. Do fucking better

- You are spraying it RIGHT IN HIS FACE

- "Somone explain. Now." Nova goes to explain "NOT Nova" Reason number whatever why I don't ship them

- If Peter replaced Deadpool in the show does that mean that Deadpool was the leader before Peter?

- Listen, I fucking love Deadpool in the movies and the comics, from what I've heard, are fucking superb. In this iteration? No. No, I hate him. I hate Deadpool and SHIELD in this show

- There is WAY too much emphasis on this alleged agent for me to believe a word Deadpool says.

- Peter is being singled out for training and it's disGUSTING

- There are no snitches among the Ultimates. Not today anyhow

- Deadpool is a liar and master of manipulation

- My poor dumb boy

- Okay, the more I rewatch, the more it becomes clear to me that Deadpool and Peter are supposed to be parallels or mirrors

- "I'll give you 1000 bucks for your brain!"

- "Sleep them with the fishes"

- "Nice of you to finally visit my school" Forshadowing~~~

- Okay I hate him but he's funny

- SEE? SEE???

- Deadpool is scary when he's actually trying

- "How about telling me the truth?"

- Deadpool's origin story is so wack

~

S2E16 Venom Bomb

~ Is this the-? looks at the episode number Oh, no. Not yet, I think.

- Saving the teammates like a boss!

- The nightmares Peter must have every time he faces the Goblin

- In the fight, Danny strikes after Peter, which counts

- Danny and Peter are standing RIGHT next to each other after a battle againnnn

- Peter WANTS to be able to take the win, but he knows his adversaries too damn well for that

- Hey, they're standing right next to each other again!

- Peter doing his best with Harry when he's Spiderman

- Ock just gets weirder and weirder looking the more time goes on

- They're gonna study the fucking symbiote but not try to find a cure for Osbourn?

- Infectious Venom disease!

- Goblin being absolutely AWFUL to Venom

- Where's the team in all this??

- One of the worst things you can do to Doc Ock's character is pretend he's evil for fun. This show doesn't do that, but the fact still stands

- And again I say, people forget that Peter is an accomplished chemist just the same as he's a wonderful hero

- Because you're Spiderman and Spiderman is a hero and you're a wonderful, selfless, brave person, Peter Parker

- Peter and Ock working together lmao

- Peter’s a goof, I love him

- At least Peter gets his damn props

~

S2E17 Guardians of the Galaxy

- Oh!! This episode indirectly has big evidence!!

- Peter using his abilities to shove garbage into the can

- PETER SEES A TALKING RACCOON AND ASSUMES HE LOST IT OMG

- Okay, so remember how in The Journey of Iron Fist, Peter follows Danny to his home country to find out what's going on and get Danny back? That's not exactly what's happening here. Peter was accidentally abducted in this one

- Peter was so fucking respectful and kind when regarding Danny’s home country and turf, but when it's Sam, he's snarky and complains the whole damn time

- Rocket is just so fucking casual about this

- See, even under attack, Peter is complaining about Sam getting him in trouble!

- Peter demands answers from Sam, he didn't do that with Danny, he was very calm and respectful when asking for answers with Danny

- Peter doesn't listen to a WORD Sam says ever, he's oblivious and not a good listener, reason number whatever why I ship what I ship

- It's literally only after he figures out Earth is a target that Peter decides to work with the Guardians

- Peter gives these "Ki-ya!" shouts that sound almost exactly like Danny’s

- This episode and The Jouney to K'un L'un are literally parallels

- Even if he doesn't LIKE Sam, Peter still considers Sam a friend, still loves Sam as a brother

- Peter didn't accept Danny going back to K'un L'un for a single second, but when Nova says he wants to stay with the Guardians, Peter accepts it without hesitation

- And then once Sam's back on Earth, Peter's right back to fucking with him like nothing ever happened

~

S2E18 The Parent Trap

- No notable interactions

-One of my favorite things that Luke does is he just fucking throws people for funzies. That's his whole thing, he THROWS people when he's fighting and needs to team up

- We're going through the team's backstories this season, which I think it's fun, and it's actually kinda funny

-Yes, Peter, 'parents' parents

-They're so fucking biased against Peter and it pisses me off

-I love the way these guys protect and look after each other, it's super cute and lovely

-See this is what happens when you start harping on your teenage heroes. They start ignoring you and don't listen when you try to offer important information

-Luke wanting a perfect reunion is so fucking relatable

-Spiderman only calls his friends by name on missions when it's important or in an emergency, the team members who know his identity don't call Peter by name unless off mission

~

S2E19 Stan By Me

-No notable interactions

~

S2E20 Game Over

-Danny talks about how fun the LMDs are and Peter immediately starts going into detail.

-I love that the team gets to go all out here

-Danny wants to retreat, Peter says "looks like we're gonna have to 'assess' with our fists" which I count because Peter's not the kind of guy to retreat even if it's deadly and he talks like he was going to agree

-Annd we're in a slow zoom (in the ready room lol) and Peter and Danny are sitting right next to each other

[yandere-romanticaa]

Anna. Give it to me straight. As an Otome loving gal, out of 10 rate your top 3 Ikemen games and a brief description of WHY you’d recommend them? I see you talking about Ikemen and I wanna get into it but I don’t know yet.

Ok so, this is the order I started playing them because in truth, all of the Ikemen games are good in my opinion.

❤️ IKEMEN SENGOKU.

This was, I believe, my first ever otome!! I actually started playing it because I saw that the voice actor for one of my top anime husbands, Mikaela Hyakuya, was in this game so I was SOLD, I just went in blindly.

I never turned back though.

In this game, through a freak accident the MC ends up going back in time to the Sengoku era and meets the actual warlords such as Oda Nobunaga, Mitsuhide Akechi and many others. She is trying to find a way to go back home and not fall in love with any of the warlords. Now, in case you don't know, the Sengoku era was the era in which Japan was united which meant that there was a lot of war and battling, which gives this game a bit of edge. All of the characters have this epic air to them, everything they do is for the greater good but then the MC shows up and just fucks it all up with her presence jahahaah

Personally, I'd give it a 7/10. Solid game but not quite as good as some other games. There is also a bonus to learn a little bit about Japanese history lmao!!

❤️ IKEMEN VAMPIRE.

Ah, here we are, to my personal favorite.

I'm biased, I'm a sucker for vampires, okay? I also find it so hilarious how this game takes some of the most famous people in history and turns them into cute anime boys which you can date. Seriously, just what game allows you to date Napoleon Bonaparte or Mozart?? Well, it's this one!! Here, the MC follows a mysterious man, Comte, through a door that sends her back in time to 19th century France. That's not all though!! She is stuck in a mansion full of these historical figures, who all happened to be hot vampires! They're all there for a reason and it's bloody amazing.

Can you tell that I love this game? Because I fucking love this game.

In my objective opinion, it's either 8.5ish/10, maybe even 9/10. I'm not good at rating, my apologies. But since I'm biased, I'll give it 10/10. I'm in love, leave me alone.

❤️ IKEMEN PRINCE.

This might just be the best game yet. The writing is very good here, it feels as though the developers keep pouring more and more love into each new game that comes out.

In this game, the MC lives in the fictional kingdom of Rhodolite. Whenever the ruler dies, a maiden with a fair and pure heart is selected to become "Belle", who has the duty of selecting the next ruler of the nation. She must become close with all of the candidates and understand them well in order to pick the right ruler. The catch?

Once the king is selected, Belle is not allowed to have any contact with the new king. Bummer, am I right?

There's a plethora of princes to choose from, even some from opposing kingdoms. My own bias is creeping in oopsie, but Gilbert is a treat. So is Kieth tbh. The world feels very real and fleshed out, there's always SOMETHING happening in the background which makes this game feel more alive, if that makes sense.

Dare I say, this game is a 10/10.

✨ PRO TIP! - For all of these games, if a character has different colored eyes, he's most likely a yandere.

[asaka-lucy-dr-rc]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASAKA🎉🎉🎉

I don’t know if I’m too late or not but I wanted to say Happy Birthday!!!

I don’t really have much and I didn’t have too much time, so here are some small drawings I did for brainstorming ideas for an English assignment alongside a photo I took of Hajime and Nagito in tomadachi life?

I also have a Small Ramble about Hajime Hinata for you!

Hajime is my one of favorite characters because he's the perfect balance for a protagonist. The story uses the fact he's "basic," and gives it life. His story is of someone who is so insecure, depressed, and feels so inferior about being talentless that he gives up his own life just to be something he can be proud of. Just so he can be something worth remembering. He finds his own strength, not only that but he decides he won't live in the past but rather the future and present. That he'll decide his own future, no matter what happens. In contrast to class 78th they're basically the school dropouts after all, they don't know how life will go, but they'll figure it out. They'll make their own future, together! Out of all of the protagonists and messages the Danganronpa franchise has, Danganronpa 2 resonates with me most. Hajime has a wonderful story, a fun personality, a cute appearance, and is a beautifully compelling and charming character. He’s honestly adorable, he’s such an introverted realist a lot of the time haha!

Hope my Ask is enough to make you smile for your birthday, Sorry if I’m late!!!

sorry I don’t have that much to say about Makoto… I LIKE HIM TOO THOUGH!!!

Ohhhh my gosh your drawings are SO CUTE!!😍😍 Thanks for showing me this, Zen! I knew you had good drawing skills (I must have seen your drawing of Nagito in your YouTube video) but I didn't know you drew such lovely and funny things, so this is a pleasant surprise! 😆💕 hehe, it seems like Hajime is yelling something at Nagito every 5 seconds or so. I’m happy to see these silly boys!

I also didn’t know you have been playing Tomodachi Life! I have never played this game myself, but I love looking at the screenshots of this game. Did they become good friends with each other in that world? It's so nice to see them together on the beach under the stars! (ㅅ´ ˘ `)✧.｡.:*

And thank you for telling me the reason why you like Hajime!💖 I totally agree with you that he has a wonderful story! I didn't notice it the first time I played the game, but when I replayed it and followed the story from the beginning, I found that his sense of inferiority is described well before he knows he's a reserve course student. I haven't checked how it's expressed in the English translation yet, but he tends to use the phrase "俺なんか" a lot more than other protagonists. “なんか” is an ambiguous word, similar to "some" in English, but it is an expression of self-deprecation to use it after the first person (俺). He has a subconscious tendency to be self-deprecating even though he has lost his memory, but I think that is why he easily falls for people who are kind to him. In fact, he was very shocked when he realized that Nagito might be the culprit in the first class trial, saying, "You were so kind”. It's very cute how he felt that way about Nagito even though they only met for the first time two days ago. ( *´艸`)💖 (He is rather cautious and suspicious of things, but I feel that in relationships he easily falls for others!)

As you say, the process of how he, who originally felt inferior and introverted, becomes determined to make his own future is very touching, and his personality itself is what makes him so cute and appealing. Honestly, when I first saw Hajime, I wasn't attracted to his looks at all, but now I think he's the cutest guy ever. I feel happy whenever I see his cute smile!😊💓

Thank you so much for this wonderful gift and taking the time out of your busy schedule! Your message definitely made me smile! I was actually in the process of preparing a post that would sort of summarize the birthday gifts I received, but your message came just in time for me to post it. So my birthday has passed, but in that sense you made it! 🥳

I'm happy and grateful every time I get a message from you. Hope you have a great day! 🫶✨ And I hope to hear more about your thoughts on Makoto sometime! 😆

[bengiyo]

La Pluie Ep 8 Stray Thoughts

Last week, we wrote so many good posts about this show, especially the importance of Tai's pleasure from giving pleasure to Patts. Lomfon proved mostly ineffectual, but Tien has placed himself firmly between Lomfon and Tai. Nara turned up at the camp, and Tai witnessed her kissing Patts. It's time for the drama.

I don't mind starting a few minutes back to reset the timeline and pacing of this so we can see how Nara approached Patts.

Oh, Patts is not feeling this at all.

I really appreciate that Patts feels bad about this situation between him and Nara. I don't think I'd like him for Tai if he didn't care about Nara.

The backing track for this Nara scene is incredible. This show has really solid sound mixing.

I feel for Nara, because her greatest fear was Patts leaving her for his soulmate, and now he's found him. She's gotta be feeling upset, embarrassed, and a little foolish at this point. I really appreciate that the show has shown her great respect.

Once again, I love how engaged Patts is with everything going on. He saw a dropped bento and immediately worried that Tai saw Nara and misunderstood.

Bow and Kung are holding hands. I know we're worried about Tai, but I NEED TO KNOW.

Man, I love how quickly everyone pieced together what happened and focused on the immediate problem: locating Saengtai.

Lomfon's insistence that Saengtien not endanger himself too is quite reasonable.

Oh, Tien. He's such a little brother. I love him.

Great transition. I'd recognize Tai by his rings and sweaters anywhere.

I must say the music for this episode has been so well-selected.

NOO! MY SWEET BOY!!!

Interesting. Lomfon has hearing loss, too.

Patts is so strong. Carrying our beautiful boy all the way down a mountain.

I knew Tai was running up that goddamn hill because he doubted the truth of the soulmate connection and was confused by Nara and Patts being compatible!

That was beautiful. I love Patts so much. He's not mad at Tai and just listens quietly to Tai finally opening up about his Soulmate fears. They can finally arrive at the conclusion the show has been arguing for literally two months: It doesn't matter if they're ordained by the universe or not; what matters is they love each other.

Patts just put his whole heart on the line when he asked Saengtai to be his boyfriend. I love this man. I will be tolerating no more slander on him.

I really like how specific each of these have felt each time.

I WILL NEVER GET OVER BOY SOMPOB SINGING OVER BIG MOMENTS IN BL. NINE YEARS AND COUNTING.

Bow and I are the same. I also cried over my boy.

I absolutely adore the relationship between Tai and Tien.

OH. MY. GOD. LOMFON HEARD BOTH TAI AND PATTS!!!!! The implications of this are huge.

We get to meet Saengnuea next week!

I am absolutely in love with this show. This is my favorite show from this year that's not Moonlight Chicken. I love how much grace is given to every character. I like how seriously it takes itself, its ideas, and its audience. I love how much this feels like a classic romance novel I might have read when I got into this 15 years ago. I love the choreography of all of the kisses. I'm haven't cried this much of a BL in a long time.

Shoutouts to @lurkingshan @kyr-kun-chan @wen-kexing-apologist @liyazaki and @ginnymoonbeam for sending me updates while I was busy this afternoon.

[diableasura]

Now that i've watched every one piece movie that isn't a retelling of an anime arc or straw hat chase i'm gonna go ahead and indulge in the very human tendency of ranking them in order from best to worst (SPOILERS!!!!):

One Piece: Strong World. Maybe it's because this was the first movie i watched and my first experience with one piece in animation but strong world has remained my favorite since day one (though the second place is very very close i must say). The straw hats are all great and have their little moment to shine the plot is solid and they do a great job with nami, out of the four straw hats with a movie more focused on them she's by far the one that gets the best treatment. Strong world is in the perfect position of being a pre time skip movie, so it's not dragged down by the expanding cast of post time skip, but also since it was the tenth anniversary movie they put in more effort than with the previous movies and it shows. Also sanjis cowboy outfit instantly makes it top tier.

One Piece: Film Gold. I'm... kind of obsessed with this movie?? Seeing the straw hats in a heist really scratched an itch i didn't know i had but my god does it feel good. The designs really excelled here the crew looks gorgeous throughout the entire movie and tesoro's island is so interesting and fits very well in the one piece world. Tesoro is also my favorite villain of any movie, i've seen people say he's the perfect blend between crocodile and doffy and that's so true lmao. Loved having zoro as the damsell in distress, inject that shit straight into my veins i love it when the strong character is the one in need of rescue. Everyone was very cool during the heist but i remember really enjoying franky and luffy's dynamic cause lbr we're kinda starved of it in the manga so it was nice to see them interact so much here. Overall amazing movie and the only one i've rewatched out of all of them.

Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island. This movie has become a cult classic amongst the fandom and with good reason. It breaks away from the loud spectacle of the other movies and is quieter and more unsettling and so far the only example of actual psychological horror in the lore. I've talked about this before but that final scene with the straw hats cheering luffy on even while they're being consumed by the baron and luffy struggling to the brink of death to save them changed me... I love seeing this family love each other so much!!

Clockwork Island Adventure. I know, I know what's the second movie doing so high up... but it was just so good!! It's very short but that's just a benefit to the plot and i love the gimmick of each straw hat being captured one by one till it's just luffy remaining and the one who has to free them (can you tell i love the movies where the straw hats are kidnapped and the others have to rescue them?? that's my drug). Sanji's fight in this movie kicks ass too, the animation is gorgeous.

One Piece: Film Red. This might seem like a sin, to have this movie so far down the list cause i've seen its pretty unanimously tied up with baron omatsuri as the best movie but to be honest i feel like that's just recency bias. The movie is still a spectacle and the songs slap and yes one of them was in the top 5 of my spotify wrapped this year lol. Uta is a good antagonist but i was never that hooked by her shared past with shanks and luffy, mainly because it's so aggressively impossible for it to be canon, it almost broke my suspension of disbelief. Zosan sleeping side by side was pleasing to my monkey brain and it almost made up for including st charlos in the movie seriously what the fuck was he doing there-

One piece: Stampede. The start of this movie is amazing cause they come up with the perfect competition to have all of these pirate crews on the same place but it quickly devolves into a "how many characters can we fit in" contest and the plot quickly turns into "lets all beat up the villain", which is fine! I did like seeing so many characters, at one point half way through the movie crocodile just appears out of nowhere lmao but hey i'm not complaining i love crocodile. Usopp is the straw hat who's focused on the most in the movie and i feel conflicted with what they did with him cause it just felt like they were making him go through his water 7 arc all over again by having his inferiority complex flaring up. And usopps arc was amazing in water 7 but reviving it for this movie felt a bit weird and repetitive. Despite this though i was very happy seeing him getting the focus, usopp is a painfully underrated character so having him on the spotlight is always welcome.

Dead End Adventure. This movie is a lot of fun. There's a bar fight, a secret pirate race and sanji being his sneaky self and helping out luffy during the final fight. Whats not to love?

One Piece: Film Z. Much like Stampede, i really enjoyed the start of this movie cause the monster trio get to briefly fight the big baddie together, but the plot kinda loses some steam for me after that. Also they tried to make the admirals sympathetic cause the villain is a retired admiral who was once their mentor but i really really really dont care about the marines at all so that was a bit awkward. The straw hats look stunning in this movie, i love that in the movies they give them a million different outfits and the ones from this one absolutely slayed.

Choppers Kingdom on the Island of Strange Animals. Another fun movie where all the straw hats get a moment be cool. There's a kid on this island who i found completely insufferable but i can forgive this movie cause this is also where zosan have that famous scene where they praise the other to their defeated oponent, which made my monkey brain happy.

One Piece: The Movie. This movie's biggest misstep is that sanji isn't in it, but even with this critical flaw it was still quite enjoyable. Zoro is very funny on his own but add luffy into the mix and their dynamic was hilarious. Usopp as always was great. The villain is small potatoes tbh but not really the important part of the movie, which focuses more on the relationship between the kid they meet and his gramps. The final message was surprisingly very sweet. Also sanji appears briefly in the end credits to appease me.

Giant Mechanical Soldier of Karakuri Castle. This movie is a-okay. The villains are a complete joke and it takes the crew less than five minutes to deal with them. The crew dynamics carry all of my enjoyment with this one.

The Cursed Holy Sword. Yeah... this movie commited the unforgivable sin of having zoro as the main focus and yet managing to do absolutely nothing interesting with him. Even if they did shamelessly create kuina 2.0 with saga, they could've delved into how zoro would react when two different duties (his promise to saga and his position as the crew swordsman) clash against each other... but instead we see no conflict with zoro, even though we all know this situation would be conflicting for him. They just make him scowl throughout the whole runtime and thats just not who Zoro is... Luffy and usopp are a lot of fun though.

TL; DR my ranking is:

Strong World

Gold

Baron Omatsuri

Clockword Island

Red

Stampede

Dead End

Z

Choppers Kingdom

One Piece: The Movie

Karakuri Castle

Cursed Holy Sword

Conclusion: the one piece brainrot is no joke.

[vladdyissues]

(I should ask it anonymously from the first time, shouldn't I?)

Tumblr resembles the old Rich History pairing. It returns me to the thought of how dark this pairing must be if it was a background. I mean, if Vlad wanted to be loved for whole series then CW must be secretly in love with this man (if we see this pairing as bg canon), Vlad didn't knew about it. But CW should know better how Vlad tortures in his loneliness, there's no reason to keep your feelings secretly only unless you do your best to your crush was left alone. That's the great and insidious plan: Clockwork let Vlad first find out how wonderful to be in love (let him to have a crush on Maddie), but then has been doing his best for loneliness, torture and, at last, desperation devoured the whole Vlad, abstract any potential partner using your Time-control power, so, at the end, when CW reveals his feelings to Vlad, he would 100% accept it. And even if their relationship would be a little abusive to hold Vlad, there wouldn't be any person around Plasmius to help him. Even his little badger.

I know, it's too dark and most in phandom sees CW as absolutely good guy but I always have seen him as true neutral (good guy for the whole reality but still can be a little egoistic)

I agree; characters and relationships are more interesting (to me and in general) when they're not 100% good or 100% evil. True neutral characters run the same risk of being flat and boring, unless there's an element of omniscience and/or omnipotence, like Clockwork. Then it gets interesting.

Let's examine canon: Clockwork is charged with keeping the flow of time in order and making sure things happen as they should—which would have to include terrible events. Terrible events that happen to innocent people. To do his job, he must be truly impartial*. He's like a force of nature or an element—the same rain that nourishes the earth also causes destruction and loss of life, but it's neither wicked nor divine.

(*He violated his neutrality in The Ultimate Enemy and intervened to give Danny a second chance, clearly showing favoritism. But this is a kids show, and cartoon logic dictates the good guy never loses.)

Maybe Clockwork is compassionate and capable of loving others, but he can't let it interfere with his job. And his job is perhaps the most important one in the universe.

But my question is this: What would Clockwork possibly find attractive about Vlad? What could Vlad, a half-mortal man who's only existed 40-some years, a mere blink of the eye in the scope of eternity, possibly have in common with the Ghost of Time?

Loneliness. That's my theory. The curse of the overpowered (Clockwork) and the overzealous (Vlad). I would argue that it's more likely for Clockwork to take an interest in Vlad because of their mutual loneliness rather than any kind of perverse desire to manipulate someone he happens to find attractive. (For that matter, what's so attractive about Vlad? What could Vlad have to offer someone as omnipotent as Clockwork? Nothing—except maybe companionship.) They would understand each other, perhaps Clockwork more than Vlad, since he's omniscient and has been living alone much longer.

Being understood is, in my opinion, better and more important than being loved. For this reason, and the fact that canonically we never really saw any indication of Clockwork being selfish or egotistical (a little mischievous, but nothing malicious), I just don't see him using/abusing his powers to manipulate Vlad into loving him. Why would he? Boredom? Self-indulgence? The thrill of enjoying his absolute power? That's something villains do, not neutral characters. If anything, Vlad seems more likely to try to manipulate Clockwork into loving him just so he'd have a powerful ally who might bend time as a little favor.

But Rich History is definitely a ship with potential for a lot of really good angst and "darkness", and the more I'm in this fandom, the more attractive it becomes to me.

[batrachised]

I was thinking about my favorite secondary couple from L. M. Montgomery's series, and my pick comes down to Phil/Jonas and Ilse/Perry, it's so hard to choose between them! What's your pick? :D

I feel like I need to do RESEARCH for this ask, like a deep dive into all of the books especially as secondary couples can abound depending on the book! Because I take any excuse to talk about lm montgomery I can (so thank you for this), I of course must go book by book and rank each couple accordingly. A monumental task, to be sure - but one I feel is well worth the effort.

The side couples i can think of include (sure I might be forgetting some, but if I can't remember them are they really that great?) are below. I did skip out on some I remembered (sorry to Nan and Jerry!) because we know so little about them I didn't think it worth it. So, presenting, the top ten LM Montgomery side couples!

10. The Awkward Man/The School teacher (The Story Girl)

The Story Girl doesn't really have any romances (Felicity and Peter are really kind of the main one), but this is a mini subplot of the book. And, well, I was like meh. I liked the Awkward man (although, what a name), but for whatever reason this particular pairing didn't appeal to me. I think it's because it's thru the avenue of Sara; I would have preferred it as a short story.

9. Brook/Rae aka Cuddles (Mistress Pat)

I really shouldn't include them but I just love Cuddles so much, she's like the spiritual successor to Phil Gordon. I also love how after playing with so many boys' hearts she's like THAT one, so true queen! I think their pairing is also a fun contrast to Pat and Hilary's; poor Pat doesn't realize she's in love for like 15 years, and Rae is immediately like HE'S THE ONE.

8. Fred/Diana (Anne Series)

Cute, love them, but they're definitely outshined by the other couples. I do love how they kind of introduce Anne to the reality of romance, and the wincingly true to life fact that Diana is one of those girls who tells her boyfriend everything (which makes me wonder what Fred thought of Anne's escapades).

7. Leslie/Owen (Anne's House of Dreams)

I really like Leslie as a character, but Owen just kind of felt...there. Like Leslie's generic happily ever after. Strong "she's everything he's just Ken" vibes there to me. However, leslie's story is so wild it singlehandedly lifts this pairing up several ranks.

6. Jem/Faith (Rilla of Ingleside)

We learn very little about Jem and Faith but I love them; they're like that rad cool couple whose always traveling the world and being bold together. I think being this high up on the list is a bit of a cheat because it's more inspired by fanfic I read than the actual books, but the fanfic was based on the strength of the original pairing!! Gotta love two bold and charming hotheads falling in love. Also, I desperately want to know what Faith's reaction to Jem kissing Mary Vance was.

5. Sid/May (Mistress Pat)

Hold on a minute batrachised, you might be saying - aren't they like, kinda the worst? Like really toxic? Like the actual image of a really unhappy marriage? YES, and that is why I find them so interesting. Normally LM Montgomery shows us the happy couples; this is one of the few unhappy ones she shows who is very close to home. Pat has to live with May, and she also has to live with her brother's choices. The fact that Sid didn't get his happily after due to the mistakes he made is chilling, especially because it's so real! May is that one awful in-law we all can't escape. Poor Sid. But also, he's in a prison of his own making.

4. Ilse/Perry (Emily series)

they're just fun. Also I'd love to read a scene of their married couple arguments. Do you think Ilse calls Perry pet names like blithering centipede affectionately?

3. Una/Walter (ish - an extremely strong ish) (Anne series)

I'm going to be real here: I just love Walter so much that anything connected to him immediately gains +10 points charisma. Do we get virtually anything of this pairing? No. Do I still want more? YES. I'm one of the people who reads Walter as gay yet this pairing has a GRIP on me. I think it's because Walter and Una are both just so soft so it's sweet in the most bittersweet of ways. Also, something about how Walter fears violence/death and yet is savagely capable of it, and Una losing her mother at such a young age scratches my brain. They're soft, but they're not shallow; both of them have hidden griefs that shape their characters.

2. Phil/Jonas (Anne Series)

QUEEN PHIL QUEEN PHIL. I love how they balance each other out, I love how Phil leaves all her frothy wealth for a young man with large ears, i love how Jonas helps Phil decide things. Phil is just such a great character, and Jonas is the perfect foil for her, someone who appreciates her humor but also understands the concept of reverence. just *chef's kiss*

[blatant cheating] Alexander Abraham/Peter (Short Stories)

LISTEN I NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS SHORT STORY. It is absolutely my favorite. I include it on the convenient technicality that it takes place in Avonlea and Anne is mentioned, so it IS a side pairing in the Anne series! Picture this: you have a spinster with no regrets, neat, tidy, involved in the community, who loves cats and hates men (never forget her famous quote, "The more I saw of men, the more I liked cats", icon) Then, you have infamous bachelor, hater of woman, lover of dogs, cantankerous and antisocial. AND THEY GET STUCK TOGETHER IN QUARANTINE. It's the ultimate enemies-to-lovers. "WHAT AN AWFUL WOMAN." makes me crack up. everytime. Peak comedy. Best side pairing ever. someone please read it and tell me what you think.

I love this ask so much, I'm turning it into a challenge: @gogandmagog and @no-where-new-hero I would LOVE to know ya'lls favorite secondary couples if ya'll care to share!!

[brofightiscancelled]

mr rice can u please share your thoughts on ososan s1 and 2 vs s3 differences , like the direction they went that was less meta referencing the reboot nature of the show, and more on the mundanity and sisyphean nature of being directionless young adults (who are also virgins). Personally the bits focused more on the mundane were rlly good I think. U dont wanna see the matsus do chores? Play hide and seek? i personally enjoyed it. also, your omusubi thoughts if u have any?

i could probably write a thesis paper on this, and idk how having watched all 3 seasons back to back in the year of our lord 2024 affects my opinions, but ill try to keep it brief (1029 word stream of consciousness )

tldr: S3 lost sight of The Bit

dont get it twisted i LOVE slice of life stuff. i like characters. season 3 had some of my all-time favorite segments (pizza, the way home, mt takao). however to me what felt off about the season was moreso like… the Ratios. the Overall Season Balance, Ebb and Flow, it was all wrong. s3's skits were as a whole longer, fewer, and less funny. i did tier lists of every single segment from each season and i was shocked how fewer segments s3 had compared to s1. theyre too freaking long. and not even funny!!!

i didn't realize how.. idk stale? s3 was getting until cosplaymatsu and then i was fucking gulping for fresh air like FINALLY SOME GOOD FUCKING OUT-OF-CONTINUITY BITS!!!!!!!!!!! 

the thing is to me i think the Bit should trump all. s1 finale took this very literally, trampling all over the emotional cliffhanger for the Bit, but i think s2 finale also valued the bit of "well s2 is over so all that's left to do is die" while also retaining the emotional flow of facing mortality. i think s2 had the best finale for this reason btw. but ask me aboit that separately

to me osomatsu-san's Core Bit, at least that it started out with in s1, is "-kun is about these sextuplets being identical, so it's funny that they're all different as adults". the differences between them was in and of itself a punchline!! six same face!! to me as soon as you lose sight of this you lose my interest. no -kun flashback for s3e1 was a death keel. also, fuck you inumatsu

s2 took this core bit and ran with it a little further, now a little more confident in their characterizations they used the differing personalities as new comedy material. it's probably the platonic ideal of how ososan can combine its identities of "60's anime remake" and "jyushimatsu cordyceps"

i think s3's bit is, if there is one, at best, "there is no joke. we deadass just haven't done anything of value". which i just don't think is a good bit. it's one note, it's not versatile, and it gets dangerously close to being at the audience's expense- i think you can convey the lethargy and sisyphean existence without also making the audience feel like they wasted their time (i.e. the absolute worst sin a piece of media could commit). So the bit isn't good and they're not even dedicated to it in a way that matters. 

"does there have to be a bit" well yes! I think so. it's a gag anime. i guess that's the crux of my argument. if you dont have the balls to commit to character development you MUST commit to the bit. i think s3 fell flat for me bc it couldnt commit to anything

i watched osomatsu-san with a dear friend of mine who, bless their heart, still can't tell the sextuplets apart 3 seasons 2 mini serieses every bonus episode and 4 movies later. but they could still enjoy s1 and s2 because the matsus and their personalities were vehicles for the punchline- not the focus. as soon as they started writing about the matsus themselves and losing sight of the Bigger Picture (the bit) they got very lost. and im aware theyre an outliar viewer but i don't think it's unrelated. 

i think mt takao is a good summary of this issue. there's no bit- we're just slice of life moments with the brothers. but then tbey feel like they need to make a joke, lest people start expecting them to actually let these boys find happiness, so they just do a "and then we all died, jk, we can't actually accomplish anything of value" punchline at the end. it's a disservice to people who are invested in the characters, and for people who aren't, it's just not funny!

omusubi thoughts: theyre cutes. i could tell watching them that they were probably quite disliked for derailing the season so i immediately became like, fans in a hater way. lol 

i think their core bit is good: showa anime meets modern robots who don't Get It. but their storyline doesn't tie into their Bit, and its attempted tie-ins with the sextuplets never emotionally resonated. episode 12 was, affectionately, a huge waste of time (though the sheeh payoff made me woop and holler) considering i couldnt even get over my suspension of disbelief that the sextuplets would actually give a shit enough about them as People to bust their asses saving them (which, after their self actualization, they clearly still were treating them like machines. so it's like yeah i knew that shit was fake)

but like yeah after that they weren't their Bit anymore. they just became characters. maybe that's the summary of my issue w s3? no one is their Bit anymore. everyone's so attached to the Characters now that no one values the Bit anymore. we've gone so far into gap moe that ichimatsu isnt even scary anymore. if rental girlfriends had happened in s3 it'd be totty with the tiger cage 

but anyways. omusubi are interesting to me because i said earlier how s3 doesnt want to commit to anything, but it does seem like they wanted to commit to telling full character arcs, but had trapped the sextuplets into a Popularity-Induced Personality Prison where they've become too popular to meaningfully change, so they tried to do it with new characters and side charas (nyaa single mother arc peak). so like… i enjoyed the omusubi character arc bc it was at least something solid to grasp onto in this season with writing more fleeting than sand 

(but again, it still got invalidated and didn't matter in the end!)

in the end it is hard to cheer for characters if you know fucking nothing will matter in the end (very similar to my aggretsuko review i wrote in my head and didn't post anywhere), so if they're not at least funny about it i'm like What's the point.

a faustian tale, etc  

[neuroticbookworm]

Thai QL Favorites Tag Game

Tagged by @telomeke, thanks friend! ^^

Credit: this game was created by @thatgirl4815 as Thai BL Favorites Tag Game.

Favorite Thai QL: Bad Buddy, my beloved. I've watched very few QLs, and Bad Buddy is the one that I often go back to when I need a pick-me-up. It may not be perfect (Wai, my beloathed) but the show never fails to make me feel deeply whenever I revisit it.

Favorite Pairing: I share @lurkingshan's opinions on branded pairs, so I'm gonna answer with a pair that I think is well-matched in terms of on-screen talent, and therefore, my favorite: FirstKhao. GMMTV took two bad bitches and said "We're gonna pit them against each other and they're gonna love it" and boy, so do we.

Most underrated actor: I saw Sing Harit almost drown Gun Atthaphan in Not Me and I've been in love ever since. I have no reasonable metrics to know if he's actually underrated, other than the fact that he doesn't show up on my dash as much as I would like. I want to see more of him, and I can't wait to get to The Warp Effect, where he wears.. *checks notes* a puppy mask? Ummmmmmmm

Favorite Character: Time to get controversial, baby!

(tagging my ToL gang @waitmyturtles, @lurkingshan, @manogirl. Keep the getaway car running, frens. We might need to make a quick exit)

*clears throat* Khai from Theory of Love.

Wait.

WAIT.

WAIT. HERE ME OUT.

I absolutely love the fact that Khai is so well-written that half the audience can't stand to watch him and the ones who make it through either viciously hate him or absolutely love him. I love that he was unabashedly awful in the first half, and I love that his redemption arc was gradual. Was he still a dipshit in some moments in the second half? Yes. Was it realistic and in-character? Also yes. I love a character who can fully acknowledge his mistakes and wholeheartedly apologize and strive to do better in the future. So, to sum up, *hugs him close to my chest like a stuffie* KHAI, MY UTTERLY BELOVED!

Favorite Side Character: Hoon from I Told Sunset About You. The fact that called Teh a crybaby when he was having a complete breakdown in Hoon's arms cemented his place in my heart.

Favorite scene in a QL: The AlanWen conversation scene at the outdoor diner in Moonlight Chicken, episode 5. Yes, I'm a masochist, thank you for asking. I'm also a staunch Alan apologist, and will defend my poor little meow meow to the ends of the Earth. (ha, me clever)

Favorite line in a QL: "Why is your wall so high?" -- Wen to Uncle Jim, Moonlight Chicken, episode 6.

Most Anticipated QL (& why): Only Friends -- doy.

Healthiest relationship in a QL: My Sunshine babies, Mork and Tawan from My Ride. They were so good to each other and they got to know each other as friends before moving into a romantic relationship, and the transition felt as natural as possible. The drama was minimal and there were no stupid misunderstandings for the sake of moving the plot along.

Most toxic relationship in a QL: VegasPete in KinnPorsche. I also co-sign @lurkingshan's pick, ToyBoss from My Ride. If anyone messes with my bookshelves the way Toy does at Boss' apartment, they will get thrown off the balcony.

Guilty pleasure series: I don't have one, fam. I'm very new to the QL town and the ones I feel guilty for watching were not pleasurable in any way.

Most underrated series: La Pluie, the love of my life. I've gushed all over my blog about this show, week after week. I don't think I can say anything more that hasn't already been said, so I'm just gonna link the La Pluie meta round up, and invite you to ponder truly how amazing a show must be to inspire these many incredible metas.

I am a full three weeks late to this game, so I'm pretty sure everyone has already done it. So if you made it this far, and still haven't participated, consider yourself tagged, my friend! Toodles!

[thegeminisage]

i decided to make a list of 15 of my favorite plot devices

i think they're mostly in order but all things are subject to change. time to explain my passions

1. asexuals - self-explanatory. the best number one joy of all time is when there is an asexual person, canonically, and not just in my mind palace. so far no show has managed to do this except fucking shadowhunters (and bojack horseman ig but it's not my thing). i know there are people out there who can write way better than the shadowhunters writing room but i don't know why they aren't getting on this. tick tock. example: raphael shadowhunters

2. amnesia - notably different from dementia, which is depressing and bad (thinking about you, dean winchester). amnesia is only good because eventually they get it back. the best thing about amnesia is that it shows you who your Little Guy (gender neutral) is with everything stripped away from them including their sense of self. do they still go for the same kind of coffee? do they still click with the same people they used to love? can they still fight? what do they stand for? it's very rewarding when your little guy acts the same way without knowing why. it's also especially cool for action heroes bc they'll still be able to win a fight and it's like wow <3 fight scenes with emotional stakes!! also i love that it gives us a mystery to solve. sometimes a partially amnesiac character is amnesiac because they did a terrible crime. and they've got to solve it while accidentally working against their past self. fun! examples: fang from ff13. wolverine. why, who did you think i was going to use

3. brainwashing - for the same reasons as amnesia. it's the same concept: take away everything and who is your little guy? the real little guy is in there and they are working so hard to get out. also they will be sooo sad about all the crimes they did later. example: fenris dragon age. d'avin killjoys. and okay fine one other guy we're not talking about

4. enemies to lovers - what's better than two people wanting to murder each other until they don't......always a good side of bickering with this as well. main draw tho is the process of simply two people getting to know one another in the way that you can tell strangers things you can't tell your friends. it's more work to love someone when you hate them and with more work comes a better reward. also, sexual tension. example: so many. fenris/hawke. fenris/anders. botw link/zelda. john/aeryn. bonnie and damon if the cw weren't cowards and i don't even like damon i think he's unforgivably horrible (derogatory)

5. monster under the bed character - i don't know if this has a real name. it's like the One Guy (again, gender neutral) who has shaped the protagonist's whole life who is threat number one in any given situation. Primal Fear of this guy and all they represent is similar to how little kids are scared of the monster under the bed hence the name. it's not JUST an arch enemy or an antagonist it's like. the only enemy that matters. not a bad guy but THE bad guy. if you can boil someone's issues down and stuff them all into a single person and then also make that person scary. and then also they can fight!! fuck yeah fight scenes!!! if you're really lucky this will overlap with either somebody's parent or somebody's ex. examples: AUGH SO MANY. for dean winchester it's yellow eyes. for sam winchester it's lucifer. for fenris it's danarius. for jace wayland it's valentine. for dutch killjoys it's khlyen. for anakin skywalker it's palpatine. for derek hale it's kate argent. going nuts just thinking about it

6. reluctant assassins - crucially if they don't care about being assassins it doesn't work for me (sorry kassandra asscreed). i went into this in more detail here but your assassin simply Must be compromised in some way so they can regret all their little crimes later. otherwise what's the point?? this overlaps so thoroughly with brainwashed iedk if it should count as its own entry but whatever. examples: fenris dragon age. dutch killjoys. d'avin killjoys. elliot leverage. and the other one

7. two-person love triangle - this is a very specific sub-example of secret identities in general which ARE good except they're usually in superhero media and i am really just so totally fucking over the entire CONCEPT of superheroes. anyway it's when one person has a secret identity and the other person forms a relationship with their "real" identity and their "secret" one. and then they feel conflicted about loving two people at once and having to choose but SURPRISE it's the same person! i like this because it has anti love triangle energy. lots of romantic tension and none of the dumb fucking YA bullshit. (apologies to YA.) example: arthur and merlin (who is also "emrys" at least in fanfic)

8. 4th wall shit - when the piece of media is in your house with you. i don't feel i need to clarify further than this because dr gaster is probably spying on me as we speak. examples: everything toby fox has ever made. s*pernatural, sometimes. i also had a deeply haunted experience with final fantasy x.

9. last guy (gender neutral) standing - part of a team or group that got tragically mcmurder prior to the start of the story and this person is so terribly sad about it. crucially this has to be a side character whose relationships with dead people are more important than or equally important to their relationships with the current living cast members. character deaths you almost agree with because then at least they can be with their fallen buds. examples: auron from ffx, noel from ffxiii

10. immortal characters - for the same reasons as above but also they CAN'T DIE EVER so they don't even have that to look forward to. also sometimes they wind up being science experiments. examples: jesse turner from @cambionverse (sorry jesse)

11. evil doppelganger - usually this is in video games where they just take the sprite or the polygons and recolor them to be black but also you have some mirrorverse/au shit going on sometimes and then there's evil twins, and shapeshifters, and clones...i love when everybody gets tricked into thinking somebody is doing crimes but actually theyre just out here and it's their evil double causing problems on purpose and not even being the one to go to jail forever because of it. also, when the evil double has mind-reading powers or whatever b/s to 1. make them a better trickster 2. to make them better at precision-point roasting of whomstever they look like. also acceptable: when you little guy just suddenly turns fucking evil and/or gets possessed and you have to cure them to get them back. idk maybe that should go under brainwashing. examples: dutch and aneela. link and dark link. zelda and the puppet. soulless sam. demon dean. hullen johnny.

12. fire powers - WHO doesn't love a little arson...i feel like this is the same concept behind werewolves which boils down to "fear of anger" bc with anger comes the loss of control and the devastating fallout... your fire guy (gender neutral but idk any fire girls) has to have a lot of self control or they'll fuck everybody up. they're very dangerous! not unlike assassins. also, fire is pretty. bonus if they have done crimes before either on purpose or on accident. examples: jesse turner again, roy mustang aka the OG fireguy, prince zuko

13. big damn reunion - when two people are split up with little to no chance of ever seeing each other again and then they do anyway. this is why i'm never mad when they bring characters back from the dead. examples: i'm actually totally blanking on these, i feel like it tends to happen in fic so much more often. also i've been writing this list awhile

14. time travel - i love! time travel! i love when people see an apocalyptic future and go back and fix it (chrono trigger, ff13). i love when there's a stable loop (tears of the kingdom) or a paradox (song of storms in ocarina of time). i love visits to the ancient past (skyward sword). i love when there's just an actual fucking timeloop (s*pernatural). it's really good!!! examples: oops i just listed them all

15. body swap - last but not least i think it is so fun when two people wind up living each other's lives. it's more fun in tv when people get to switch which character theyre playing but it's good in any form because what a way to get to know someone and also the endless potential for shenanigans. examples: dreamless (webcomic), your name, various episodes of tv shows many of which are bad (s*pernatural's was extremely bad).

ok, that's the list. originally it was 10, then 13, then 15, so i think i'd better stop here.