#this is one of my top 5 comfort eps of the show

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Actually a pretty fab line up right now

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

NOV 2024 Week 5

Ongoing Series - Thai

Love Sick 2024 (Sun iQIYI) ep 11 of 15 - This is where the teen awkward comes to grab me by the throat. No other Thai BL does this better than Love Sick (except maybe Make it Right). And it’s always a challenge to watch because Phun is so ready to come out and Noh is so not. I love what cramming 3 eps into one (and better side BL couples) did for the tension and pacing in this particular part of this story. The new version really is excellent. I'm chronicling my experience with 2024 as compared to 2014 here. 

Your Sky (Sun iQIYI) ep 2 of 12 - They are so awkward and I love them so much for it. They are terrible at faking romance, yet Fah want’s Rak so bad. This is moving so slowly but that’s part of it’s charm. I'm not frustrated instead I’m getting Oxygen vibes from it. Or perhaps it’s is more just I feel the way I felt when I was first watching Oxygen. Which is to say, I’m totally addicted and I keep re-watching new episodes. 

Spare Me Your Mercy (Thurs iQIYI) ep 1 of 8 - Gah! JJ grew up so pretty. I love these leads. (No one is shocked.) I love the lawful good paired against (we’re not sure yet but possibly) neutral evil. I love our very sus very flirty very gay doctor. A lot happened in this first episode. I’m getting Manner of Death flashbacks but there’s nothing wrong with that. Bring on the chili. 

Incidentally, if you're interested in true crime, here's the IRL version of this story. How a Nuclear Lab Helped Catch a Serial Killer from the Science Vs podcast.

Jack & Joker (Mon IQIYI) ep 10-12 end - I got the go ahead on a safe ending, and thus I watched the last 3 eps all as one. I love how defiantly verse these two were. I also really enjoyed the final episode. I do like a finale that ends on a bang (yes, both kinds). 

Final thoughts

I enjoyed this show a lot. A caper BL starring two of Thailand's best and focusing on class struggles, corruption, and poverty, was always gonna appeal to me. But I’m not sure, ultimately, whether I liked it because it was good in it’s own right, or because YinWar were so good in it. I do wish it had been a little more Leverage and little less chaos, Dr Evils, and "watch War cry." It was a great vehicle for YinWar, and for them to prove that BL can defy its own tropes. To that end, this goes comfortably into the Manner of Death category more than anything else I’ve encountered befor (although slightly less unhinged). It's good, but it loses the plot, the side couples, and it's own mind a couple of times, and YinWar were definitely greater than the sum of its parts. Thus I feel an 8/10 is fair, especially considering I'm unlikely to rewatch.

The Heart Killers (Weds Gaga) ep 2 of 12 - Dunk is illegally pretty in this show. I gotta say I covet his skin care routine. (I love YinWar as much as the next person, but THIS boy should be the spokes-BL-rep for Laneige.)

Manwhile..... FirstKhao might be GMMTV’s best flirters. It’s a pleasure to watch them just inhabit these characters and bounce off each other. I do keep saying “what tf are they doing?!“ with this show. In this instance, it was the dancing in the bowling alley. What is going on? is it meant to be a Pulp Fiction reference?

Also this gd soundtrack is bonkers. I *can’t!* with the 70s orgy porn music and the very bad not quite metal intro music. And then, I remember, brain must be turned off! (That’s really hard for me OK?)

All that said, both the sauna and the jerk-off scenes were much appreciated. It’s nice to see this kind of visceral physical attraction depicted in a BL, we get it so rarely.  

On a side note, I entirely support Thailand’s one country agenda to put all the cute boys in crop tops. Keep it up. And up. And up. 

Fourever You (Thurs YT) ep 9 of 16 - I just don’t get the (new) main couple. They don’t work for me. I like the surprise gamer boys side crumbs though. They are v cute.

Side quest: Genius move anytime Hill comes on screen to basically have Pond make love to the camera. He v good at it. Break down everyone’s fourth wall, baby. Take no prisoners. 

Caged Again (Fri Gaga) ep 3 of 10 - That exchange! “Are you worried about me” (attempted flirtation) vrs Junior’s response “yes I am.” Just utter frankness. It’s very sweet. All in all this show is very sweet. Somewhat incomprehensible world building, but sweet. And the head lift into the lap was next level adorable. Sun’s shy smile is everything. 

Perfect 10 Liners (Sun YT?) ep 5 of 24 - This show is very silly. I love the sides so much I can’t EVEN. But I think it was a big mistake putting Tay into this show. Never let an OG out of the bottle like that. He gets all our attention because we think he’s gonna grant all our wishes. By which I mean, all I could think the whole time he was on screen was WHY IS HE SO FINE?

I’m not joking, I had to watch his scenes 3x because I kept getting distracted and losing the plot. Not that there is much plot to lose. Just Tay’s mouth. I’ll stop now, but seriously tho LOOK AT HIM!!! 

Every You Every Me (Mon Gaga) ep 8 end - Honestly I’d like to see this pair handed something much more meaty. Like a Japanese adaptation? Tokyo in April is… for example. I think they do a great job with something like that.

Conclusion

This was supposed to be a linked series about reincarnated soulmates, but ended up being more like a Y-Destiny grab bag BL with no rebirth through line, just the same acting pair. The leads were excellent. And I must praise this show for representing things I always want in my BL (and rarely get), switch, verse, communication, and safe sex. It’s just that this format with the same actors but no unifying theme (despite the pitch/packaging) made for a disappointing viewing experience. Some of the installments I enjoyed, and the visuals are on point, but I was ultimately let down by style and execution, if not acting. 6/10 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Our Youth AKA Miseinen: Mijukuna Oretachi wa Bukiyo ni Shinkochu (Japan Tues Gaga) ep 4 of 11 - “I won’t fall in love with you” is an easy promise to make if you’ve already fallen. I love this show SO MUCH. “Infect me just a little.” Holy fuck. This BOY. Also, so much for “not kissing.” This BL is fantastic. I’m so worried about where it’s going. Japan could very much hurt me with this. I didn’t expect to fall in love so hard.

Man, JBL...... when it gets you it really gets you (then it locks you in a basement and gets kinky). We are not safe but we must sit back and suffer enjoy it. I hate this. I love this. What a rush. 

See Your Love (Taiwan Weds Gaga) ep 7 of 13 - I think this show has a “crash into me” trope in every single ep. This ep alone had 3, plus a flash back to the first one. Still, their damn date was so flipping adorbs!!!

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 10 of ? - I couldn’t be less interested in the stuff with the mean girls. I’m annoyed we spent so much of this episode on them. Fewer bullies more smooches.

Love in the Air: Koi no Yokan (Japan Sat Gaga) ep 5 of 10 - Arashi as the doting bf was cute if sudden, also holy musical montage BLman.  Kai is my favorite character (as was Sky) but I'm still not wild about the blackmail sex start to this relationship. It does seem a little bit more like Kai went after a one night stand, also bit more switchy, which is better...... I guess. But not by much because the chemistry with these two isn't as good as the original.

I remain suspicious.

It's airing but......

Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues ????) 11 of 12 eps - My source hasn’t yet uploaded 11. So…… I wait. 

Secret Love (? YT?) 13-?? of 81 eps - I don't know what's going on either.

Blue Canvas of Youthful Days (China Sun Viki) paused at eps 9-10 of 12 - I got the "stop" on this one as it's gone (no surprise) dark. Being China can not be relied upon to HEA. So I'm on pause until I'm told it's safe. If it ends sad/bad I will dnf. But for now I wait......

Winter Is Not The Death of Summer (Thai Weds YT) ?? eps - Criminals who meet in prison fall in love. I did find it on YouTube, initially unsubbed, then subs happened by which time I got distracted. The first episode seems to be only six minutes long. It is very pulp. But it is intriguing. For now its to the wayside until someone tells me what it whats to be and if it's headed in a safe direction. Occasionally Thai pulps want to be edgy and it's not a good look on them.

Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) 10 eps - I DNF'd at ep 7, I couldn't make it. I'm weak. Life is hard enough right now, this show made it harder. It’s not what I want from my entertainment. Ends tomorrow.

Bad to Bed (Taiwan Sat YT) 10 eps - This is a little too low production value even for me + just very very odd. DNF

In Case You Missed it - GMMTV 2025 Line Up

There have been a ton of hot takes already, including mine.

Here are the titles and links to MDL for you (confirmed full BLs only), these are organized in order of the ones I'm anticipating the most at the top.

Dare You to Death - trailer

Boys in Love - trailer

Memoir of Rati - trailer

My Magic Prophecy - trailer

Me and Thee - trailer

A Dog and A Plane - trailer

Cat for Cash - trailer

That Summer - trailer

My Romance Scammer - trailer

Head 2 Head - trailer

Ticket To Heaven - trailer

Burnout Syndrome - trailer

Melody of Secrets - trailer

Only Friends Dream On - trailer

Love You Teacher - trailer

Next Week Looks Like This:

End of year drops:

12/4 0.5D (Japan ????) 10 eps - Sales ace, Sada, has a secret that only his junior, Daiki, knows. He has pretended to have a gf for years, resulting in him being a virgin. But now Sada has fallen in love. Confused, Sada seeks advice from his junior. I sense another queer Cyrano De Bergerac. Info here.

12/6 Be Moon - Falling for my enemy's son (China ????) movie from HBD Studio - Not much on this one just a trailer, looks intriguing...... if it's from/through Taiwan, but if it's all China, I'm wary.

12/13 ThamePo Heart that Skips a Beat (Fri YT) 12eps - A boy band member and his documentarian start a forbidden relationship. I LOVE Est and am delighted to see him at GMMTV. This was my #1 pick for 2024. I've been waiting for a Blinding Lights style idol romance and this looks like it might be it (Korea and Japan have systemically disappointed me). Bring it, boys.

12/14 & 12/21 The Renovation (Thai mini One31) 2 eps - Writer turns his blossoming romance with holiday resort owner into a novel.

12/29 Sangmin Dinneaw (Thai ????) ??eps - trailer Childhood friends (Thai & Korean) reunite after being apart for ten years. As the boys reconnect, their bond matures and feelings of romance begin to develop, in Thai.

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

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

His smile. (Caged Again)

Look at them!

Look, I don't mean to tell you your business, but THIS? This is peak Thai BL. This is it. This is What They Do Best. Sure they dabble with silly kinky crimey-whiney fashizzal, but Thailand's true BL power is right here, in the sweet awkward school-set first love arghhhhh. Yes I said, school. Bite me. (Love Sick... damn it, 10 years later and it still has me in a choke hold.)

Hey all you idiots who thought (or think) there is ever a green flag in any Mame ever, this character if for you. This boy, THIS ONE. This is what a walking talking ACTING green flag energy actually looks like. You wanna date a dude? Find you one like him. Okay, peaches? sheesh

Meanwhile, this, this is not a green flag. This is GMMTV thinking they are being clever by calling out Thai BLs' worst behavior to make a character who has 'slightly less than worst behavior' look better. Sigh. When meta is used for ill gotten gains.

This, on the other hand is meta being cleverly deployed.

And this is language play. P'ABL's favorite.

So endeth this lesson.

(last week)

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

[jackandjoker]

my top shows of 2024 (better late than never)

1. jack and joker (act surprised)

this was my first ever thai show and GOSH was i in for a ride.. i legit started watching this for fun because i saw an edit and i found the name ‘joke’ very funny… oh how times change.

this show was made for me, it’s perfect to me, i can talk about it forever and i will.

2. peaceful property

to think i almost didn’t watch this because the poster didn’t interest me 😭

but this is so underrated i think? it was everything to me, each story was special and made me feel so many things. the phoomvicha episode made me cry the most, along with ep 8 😞

3. last twilight

this is the 2nd show from P’Aof that i’ve seen and i think he’s gotten a spot in my favourite directors list. definitely not without faults, but still unique and beautiful and i loved it. also cried a hell lot… and i hope i can get mhok’s fart proudly shirt one day.

4. let free the curse of taekwondo

my first ever korean drama and it will not be the last!! i loved this so much, i only wish it was longer. i’m patiently waiting for all my exams to end so i can watch all of hwang da-seul’s filmography.

5. i hear the sunspot

so many firsts in this post- this is the show that introduced me to the world of asian bl… my first ever asian drama <3

i love kohei & taichi with all of my heart and although they seem to be the kings of miscommunication, they found each other in the end. and i desperately want to try that burger.

6. interview with the vampire s2

iwtv is my kind of crazy, i love them all 🤲

not much to say about this one but it’s one of the 3 shows i’ve given a perfect 5/5 rating so far. (others are j&j and derry girls).

7. the on1y one

patiently waiting for season 2🥹

these two had my entire heart 😭😭 something about this show that makes me feel so much comfort… and it’s gorgeous so that’s a plus. (my first ever taiwanese drama- sorry)

8. takara’s treasure

this was just so cute 🥹 they’re adorable and it’s just a light and fluffy show and i love that. i took care of an abandoned kitty for a while and named her takara because i considered her my treasure lol.

9. 23.5

loser lesbians <3333

if onsga and aylin had a daughter, it would be me. 100%. i love milklove and i’m impatiently waiting for whale store xoxo. and i love how view is like the girl version of mark pakin because i adore her and keep seeing her in random stuff i watch.

10. see your love

this was just so fun🥺 the best 20 mins i had every wednesday for 12 weeks. both the main leads and johnathan & xin jia have my heart, along with shu he and shaopeng’s parents. i love amazing supportive parents in bls 🥹🩵

some other favs under the cut :)

non 2024 shows i loved-

moonlight chicken

i need more series like this because 🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵 it was so gorgeous omg and it was too short 😞😞

when i watched the first ep i didn’t think i’d like it but still continued and i’m so glad because it only got better and better. and i hope whoever decided to make earthmix firstkhao gem4 sing the moon represents the heart never has a bad day in their life. i love it so much.

the best story

when are we getting the dew story yinwar?? 😭🥺 if i had a nickel for everytime war cried after seeing yin with a girl, i would have 3 nickels. maybe more if i start counting their music videos

cherry magic thailand

i wanted more taynew after peaceful property and damn!! karan was whipped 😭 it’s funny how his thoughts were like that when he had a gaystraight face the entire time

other 2024 shows that i enjoyed:

sugar dog life

i love shows that involve cooking and i love characters who bond over food. so obviously i loved this. similar to takara’s treasure, a feel good show.

caged again

it got a bit messy around the end and the story took turns i wasnt expecting, which was fine, but i felt it was different from the premise if that makes sense? i loved it still and i would definitely like to see more of ben & jay.

my love mix up th

i randomly watched this on my period and honestly it made me laugh so much so i’m biased 😭 some stupid stuff did bother me but overall very slay <3 i’m glad chokun has a main role now, after this & peaceful property 🥺

[whateverisbeautiful]

♥️Reveling in Richonne - TOWL

#43: The Good Life (1.05)

gif cred: @nerd4music

The vibes of this whole sequence are so good. The good life truly. 🤩And Say Yes has always been a comfort ep for me, so I love that this montage has such Say Yes energy and parallels. If ever I need a pick-me-up this tranquil series of clips from Richonne's road-trip home will lift my spirits every time. I love the way this montage depicts that in finding each other again, Richonne refound the best, most at peace parts of themselves 😌...

So after that teaser with Father Gabriel, we get our babies back on screen. And it hit me that Episode 5 is the first time there are even scenes that don't feature Rick and Michonne. In episodes 1-4 of TOWL, Rick, Michonne, or both are on screen in every single scene apart from that one episode 2 teaser. Which I was very much in support of this as a long-time card-carrying member of the Give-Richonne-More-Screentime ministry. 😊

After how excellent the plot, pacing, and dialogue were in episode 4, I will say that ep 5 & 6 are a bit clunkier in those areas to me. But one thing is for sure, the Richonne content in ep 5 & 6 is still solid gold.

While these last two eps are ranked lower than episodes 1-4 for me, the good moments in these last two episodes aren't just good, they're great and include some genuinely Top 10 worthy Richonne scenes. So we definitely have to break it all down.😇👌🏽

gif cred: @andy-clutterbuck

The montage starts with that yellow truck turning the corner and then they just get right into the good vibes and romance as we see Richonne calmly driving.

I love that they use 'The Good Life' by Tony Bennett to set the mood. Rick and Michonne both just look so relaxed and happy and it’s super refreshing to see. 🥰

gif cred: @msanonships

After everything they’d gone through thus far it was so nice to arrive at a point where Rick and Michonne are back in sync and as connected as ever.

I love the way Rick seems so content and peaceful with his hand out the window. Michonne has that man feeling on top of the world again. 😋 And then it’s so sweet the way he looks over at Michonne and the way she smiles back at him while driving. All is well with their soul and mine. 😌

Then we get one of my favorite Richonne actions ever when Rick takes her hand and kisses it. 🥹 It’s perfect.

I love the lingering depth of this hand kiss and that it’s such an illustration of how much Rick loves and cherishes Michonne. It was another soul kiss. And you can just tell how much peace Michonne brings Rick. She’s like his medicine. The cure to his anxiety and to his life. 👌🏽

gif cred: @msanonships

Something I so appreciate about Richonne is how every moment like this feels like such an organic outpouring of love in their hearts. And it feels like it’s the exact thing they both needed. Like Rick is offering Michonne so much love with this hand kiss but you can tell it’s also for him too, because she brings him so much peace and happiness and calms any anxiety he might have about really being able to break away from the CRM this time and go home.

This might be the furthest Rick has got in terms of actually breaking free from the CRM and heading home. I know he knows it has everything to do with Michonne that they’re making it this far and actually going to get home this time because they can do anything together.

I appreciate how this hand kiss is just one of the many ways Rick’s romantic heart so naturally wants to show his love and that Michonne is so receptive to it. Like the way she looks at him while he kisses her hand. They really know how to make the love they have for each other leap off the screen. And I know she knows that her Rick is fully back by him doing this.

The song lyrics that play say “don’t try to fake romance” and truly this is just giving authentic romance. Richonne's hand kisses in Say Yes were always so incredibly sweet to me so I love that we have another precious one to add to the list.

I also love that now that Rick isn’t trying to shut Michonne out, he’s immediately back to loving on her every second. This is how Rick loves.

I appreciate that Rick and Michonne immediately started living out that sentiment to love on each other as hard as they can while they can. Loving on each other is what they're both so good at doing. And the way they love is beautiful. 🥹

gif cred: @coalfires

So then they pull up and find all those ramen packs because the universe loves them some Richonnne. And y’all, I adore that they are matching again. 😊 It’s another signature Richonne thing. And it's great how they aren’t just matching in the same general color - no they're basically both wearing the exact Pantone shade, honey. The best. 😋

gif cred: @ricksmarlene

And Rick and Michonne are just at their all-time adorable when the noodles fall out of the trunk and they excitedly laugh and pick them up. Michonne looks like such a cutie when she holds up a pack and amusedly addresses their punny name “Tasteful Noods.”

gif cred: @perryabbott

And Rick looks like such a cutie laughing and just seeming happy to be there. I love that they always bring out such a smiley playful side of each other. 😊

gif cred: @andy-clutterbuck

Another thing I love about TOWL whenever I think about it is how Rick and Michonne's journey of refinding each other was never rooted in questioning if they're still compatible as a couple. After nearly a decade spent apart, some characters who aren't soulmates could have easily changed too much and been unable to rekindle this type of comfortable passionate chemistry so quickly.

But while Richonne had to navigate the way their circumstances had impacted and altered them, they still always operated like they knew the other was their person and the love of their life. And now that they've risen from their ep 4 timeout stronger, they're so effortlessly back to being best friends & lovers.

That's part of why I love how passionately Richonne kisses in their episode 2 reunion scene because they didn't have to hesitate, wait, or wonder how the other felt about them after all these years. Without even needing to verbally confirm it, they immediately knew the love, chemistry, and connection they have was alive and as strong as ever.

But back to this heavenly episode 5 montage - We get a sweet moment of the two having dinner together and I’m just smiling from ear to ear yet again. 😁

I love how this montage moment really highlights how far Rick and Michonne have come in their journey since that season 4 moment beside a fire.

Also, in the TWD series finale when Rick and Michonne were both writing letters alone by a fire, I remember just feeling like I cannot wait for them to be side by side again and it was lovely to see that time finally come. 🙌🏽

During this dinner in front of the mural, they’re both looking out at something but I can never tell what exactly. And then Rick puts his arm around Michonne and I love that he looks over at her first, watching her taking in whatever they’re seeing like maybe another mural/painting or something idk. Either way, Michonne is clearly the true view to Rick. 🥰

gif cred: @ricksmarlene

And then Michonne turns to him with the sweetest smile as they share a kiss and I just love how warm this whole moment is. It's great how they take a moment to just smile at each other before having yet another kiss infused with passion. And the way they get lost in this kiss - equally addicted to each other. 😊 They’re so blissfully in their Richonne bubble and it’s great to see. 

gif cred: @lousolversons

As they drive along the scenic road they also come across a vending machine and I love how their movement is so synchronized as they look from the vending machine to a walker with a sword stuck in its neck. See how the universe always wants to provide the things Richonne needs? 😋

Also, what this episode really hammered home is that Richonne communicates with words pretty much for fun, because they’re entirely capable of having whole conversations by just looking at each other.

And in this moment they both immediately get the same idea at the same exact time to use the blade in that walker to hack through the vines covering the vending machine. And they’re so cute and determined as they go to take care of it.

Clearing out the vending machine was clearly a success as they cut to Richonne back in the car while Rick chugs a soda. And even the soda moment shows that he’s really released a lot of the stress he was carrying in the first four episodes and just seems so at home. And of course he seems at home because his home is right next to him looking beautiful while driving. 👌🏽

gif cred: @andy-clutterbuck

Also, you always know you’re truly comfortable with someone when even just sitting in silence together brings you peace and I felt that from them in these car clips.

Then this heavenly montage wants to make me teary by having Rick take out the phone with the image of Carl and just take a moment to appreciate it. Again, Rick loves his son so much. 🥲 I'll forever be moved by the love this father has for his boy.

It's heartwarming that Rick gets so much comfort from these images of his family. And it really is one of the greatest things Michonne’s ever done for him by giving him this drawing that brought his son's face back to him.

gif cred: @taiturner

I love that Michonne looks over at him and gets to again see how meaningful having this piece of Carl is for Rick. The way she looks from the phone to him, both those Grimes boys forever have her heart. 🥹

(And she knows soon Rick will get to meet the third Grimes boy, RJ. 🥲)

I think about the OG Richonne episode Clear when Michonne was behind the wheel as Rick sat silently beside her with a hand out the window. Now, years later they do the same, no longer strangers but soulmates.

The biggest difference between the two moments is Carl is right there with them in the back of the car in Clear, and now in TOWL he's with them through a phone portrait. 🥺

Carl would be so proud of Rick and Michonne for finding their way back to each other and finally going home together. 🥲

Also just looking at Rick and Michonne in this car heading home, y’all, we really made it. 😭 All those years without them and we really made it to a point where Rick and Michonne are back on a road trip home together and at peace. And so I just adore this whole opening sequence for perfectly painting the picture of their travels home and how in love they are at every turn.

gif cred: @ricksmarlene

Rick and Michonne looked so refreshed with vacation vibes as they finally got to just enjoy each other without the threat of the CRM nearby. Beyond here for it. 😇

Then, as they drive they come across a souvenir shop...and it’s there we get another one of my absolute favorite TOWL scenes. 👌🏽😌

[matan4il]

Buddie 617 meta

I’m gonna be honest here, this was one of the funniest 911 eps to me. I loved how this ep showed us both Buck and Eddie completely sucking at dating. It was very obvious in Buck’s case, what with each attempt to have quality time with Natalia being ruined by one of his past decisions, but then when he called out Eddie for also sucking at it, Buck wasn’t wrong. Eddie’s attempts seem half-hearted at best. First off, if he really wanted to date, then Tia Pepa’s help and dating apps are actually not that awful as options. Magic might happen there as well. The right person could even stand out more against a sea of not so great choices, turning the dreary experience into a colorful, magical one. But even when Eddie tries on his own, his attempts are LAME. Seriously, there are pastime activities that offer way more potential to start a conversation, and maybe a romance, than the ones Eddie chose. Not only that, these are not his actual hobbies, where he knows he’ll find someone who likes the same thing he does (the way he shares so much with one tall firefighter that we’re all thinking of right now. Eddie’s also being dumb about wanting it to “just happen” as if that’s not exactly what he got with buck. Also, just a friendly reminder that Buddie have been dating for almost 5 years, and they are GREAT at it when it’s with each other).

On top of that, we for real got a guy checking Eddie out (hi, hello, should I start a collection of him checking and being checked out by guys?) as well as him witnessing a woman he was looking at being embraced by another one. Why the hints at being surrounded by queer people? Your guess is as good as mine, but I’m here for it no matter what. ;D Now, I’ve talked before about the ongoing theme of Buddie’s dating life being intertwined in terms of when they start dating someone, or of why they break up, but now in addition to them dating at the same time, we also see them simultaneously sucking at it? Yeah, that takes the connectedness of their dating life up a notch. ~~

Which brings me to one line that grabbed my attention in this ep. THE line that offers the explicit resolution for the most important romantic plot here is the one from Gina, the insurance lady, to Chimney, about not regretting the attempt. Yes, even when the result is bad. That’s what Madney will embrace. One of the biggest obstacles to Buck and Eddie, besides their obliviousness, is the fear of ruining the good thing they have by attempting to take it to the next level. But here we have Chimney being reminded by Gina that it’s worth it, to try. Because the good thing you can have, if it works out? Is worth it. And you never have to live with the “what if” of it all. Now look at Buck and Eddie being once more adorable morons together on the job! Imagine the moment when they stop running around and let themselves try taking it to the next level, because they realize no matter what the result will be, they would never regret the attempt. ~~

Speaking of Buddie paralleling one of the canon couples on the show who were acting lovey dovey in this ep, the way Bobby described what made him and Athena happen reminded me of Buddie connecting. In both cases, there’s an intense and upsetting call, after which one of our first responders turns to find support (Buddie promising to have each other’s back) and comfort (Eddie wants to go grab something to eat together) in the other one. ~~

I did not miss Taylor Kelly, and true to form, she was back because she’s advancing her career by exploiting her personal connection to Buck and the exposure to the 118 it provided her. I’m pretty sure this basically buries any option of any showrunner ever trying to re-set these two as a romance, since it echoed and reinforced Buck’s decision to break up with her. It WAS funny to see her and Lucy cockblock Buck (I do think Lucy’s tone with which she spoke of their past also closes the door on anyone ever trying to set her and Buck up as a serious couple), but what I found to be funniest is that Buck tells Natalia he was trying to figure out the perfect place for their date, and then he took her to the bar where he kissed Lucy. A bar reminiscent of the one where he hooked up with Taylor. Possibly a spot where he hooked with other women during his Buck 1.0 stage based on how it’s THE hang out place for the 118 and we know Buck had no issues hooking up anywhere back then. Natalia, hon. This is not a good sign for your r/s with him. ~~

Speaking of which, there’s an ex who didn’t come back in this ep, but her spirit loomed large over Buck and Natalia IMO, and that is Ali. The reason why she and Buck broke up after 218 is because at the end of the day, she couldn’t accept the choices he had made in his professional life (hoping he would move on from firefighting). In the same way, Natalia revealed in this ep that she can’t accept Buck’s choices in his personal life. A small reminder the only partner we’ve ever witnessed truly seeing and accepting Buck, in every aspect of his life, has been Eddie. ~~

Another funny thing about this (911 is a comedy, y’all) is how Natalia flees the second she comes across Kameron. I mean, this is in addition to the hilarity of the death doula’s first name connecting her to birth and to all things natal, yet she flees the second that she sees a pregnant lady. Because if this is Natalia’s reaction when it comes to a bio kid that Buck explicitly said he is not going to raise, what would she do once she realizes he co-parents a fully grown kid? (and a very sassy one, too. LBR, Natalia doesn’t stand a chance in a show down with either Diaz boy) ~~

Much like Natalia doesn’t seem like the right fit for Buck based on this ep (or based on 616), neither does Marisol. Can I point out the fact that Eddie’s disapproval in the last ep of Buck dating Natalia applies here, too? They both met these women on calls. Second, Eddie wanted it to happen naturally, which is why it’s so lame he tried through all sorts of activities that he’s not ACTUALLY into and wouldn’t continue doing past the initial stage of meeting someone else. And that holds true for Marisol as well. We saw that her brother and her are very into DYI, which I guess was meant to lay the groundwork for Eddie running into her in a DYI shop. But the thing is, Eddie himself isn’t into this! Sure, he can do it, because as a single dad he’s had to, but it’s not something we’ve ever seen him being passionate about. He’s only at this store because of Christopher’s project. And then once more, just like he steps away from Pepa’s help, dating apps and chooses the wost places for a chance romantic connection, he walks away from Marisol even when the whole scene plays out as if she’s the climax of his search throughout this whole ep. This might all hint that despite initial appearances, just like the people he came across while golfing and hiking wouldn’t be the right fit, Marisol wouldn’t be either. Even more importantly, just like Ana at first appeared like she would be perfect for Eddie in 312, starting out in a “it just happened” sort of way and with supposedly being fated because she happened to guess correctly that Eddie stands for Edmundo, this thing with Marisol might look in the moment like it’s exactly what he was looking for, but it will fizzle out as well.

~~ (my weekly meta posts) (my Buddie gifs) (all of my content)

~~ My tag list will follow in the reblog, please let me know if you wanna be added/removed here.

~~ Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the incredible @whosoldherout​​, there are no words to describe how much I love your gifs and appreciate you!

~~ Thank you to anyone supporting these meta posts. I could never express enough how grateful I am and that they continue to exist thanks to you!

[telomeke]

THE SIGN EPISODE 7 – NAGARUDA AND THE VISUALS OF SEX

The coming together of the naga and the garuda in The Sign was long foretold (since Tharn has the power of clairvoyance, and the series already showed us his sexually-charged premonition of Phaya and him coupling in the shower, in Episode 4).

(above) The Sign Ep.7 [5/5] 19.47

This post isn't about narrative analysis or the significance of any plot development though; I'm just noting down some of the visual details resounding rhetorically in the scene where Phaya and Tharn finally give in to the swelling sexual tension and get it on. 👀

The prelude (foreplay?) to their first sexual encounter (at least in this lifetime) was by the pool in Phaya's home. And the subtitles also tell us that the background music is echoing their fated bond through time:

(above) The Sign Ep.7 [5/5] 13.04

‌

By the pool of Phaya's house though, Tharn is already part-way in the water (his comfort zone) even as Phaya offers him liquid refreshment:

(above) The Sign Ep.7 [5/5] 13.21

While the pool may represent the naga (and his watery origins), the glowing lights on the trees and statuary in the background are symbolic of the garuda (given his alignment with the sun, flames and light). There is a respectful distance between these symbolic elements, even as there is still a respectful distance between garuda Phaya and naga Tharn.

But the lights are reflected in the water, and Phaya and Tharn have already exchanged colors (Phaya is in a murky sea-green top whose color reflects the naga's homeland, while Tharn is wearing a saffron t-shirt that calls to mind the warm glow of the fiery garuda). So we know that in this scene they are already inextricably in each other's business.

When they give in to their primal urges though, we start to see the various naga and garuda elements become more enmeshed and overlapping, even as the two breach their boundaries and unite physically.

They start things off in the shower, and the water is unmistakably a reference to the naga's overflowing passions.

(above) The Sign Ep.7 [5/5]

But all around them are candle flames, a sign of the fiery lust overpowering garuda Phaya for his fated lover Tharn:

(above) The Sign Ep.7 [5/5] 18.53

Even as water (symbolic of the naga) showers down upon them both, we see orbs of light (a reference to the garuda) flickering and overlapping the action. (I only recently found out that this out-of-focus effect with the lighting is called bokeh – a term of Japanese origin – from this super-excellent breakdown of the parallels between PhayaTharn's imagined and actual lovemaking by @wen-kexing-apologist, linked here; please do read it for more information on the lighting and its significance. 👍🤩)

Now a bit more about the lighting color though: many have noted that when Phaya and Tharn interact on a more elemental level, the lighting seems to turn very pink.

In my opinion, their previous encounters where more primal instincts held sway (e.g., at Ep.2 [4/4] 10.36 and Ep.4[3‌/4] 15.51) were actually lit with an interplay of blue light (calling out to the marine colors of the naga's homeland) and red light (a nod at the fiery garuda's alignment with the sun and flame). And the lighting was blue and red in the main, and only turned pinkish on occasion when the hues overlapped, just as moments of sporadic intimacy happened only randomly between the star-crossed but still separate Phaya and Tharn.

However, here in PhayaTharn's sex scene, we're not seeing separate blue and red lighting dancing around – the two colors have been blended, just as Phaya and Tharn's lovemaking has united them physically.

And technically the color is not pink. When blue and red light come together, we get magenta lighting, and that truly is the blended hue that bathes the conjoined PhayaTharn (nagaruda), as their bodies come together as one. The separate blues and reds are nowhere to be seen now:

(above) The Sign Ep.7 [5/5] 19.56

So The Sign then ends this sequence with an illuminated little flourish, at the climax of the scene (and presumably that of PhayaTharn's lovemaking too). As the naga writhes ecstatically on a bed of aquamarine, the garuda tenses and thrusts, and we see a brilliant flare of light, his elemental life-force, flash above the curve of his naked rear:

(top) The Sign Ep.7 [5/5] 20.04; (bottom) The Sign Ep.7 [5/5] 20.05

As always, the props, art direction and lighting have come together to tell a visual story in The Sign, and here they've strongly echoed the passionate and emotionally authentic coupling between Phaya and Tharn, fearlessly brought to life by Billy and Babe. 💖👍 I thoroughly enjoyed this scene, and not just for the reasons one might think. 🤩

‌

[obliviouskara]

top 5 supergirl episodes?

full disclosure i haven't seen the entirety of supergirl (ive literally only seen like 7 eps & its all season 1) so this list will probably change over time (bc im starting to painstakingly watch the show - imagine slowburn but watching a series) however ive watched like a ridiculous amount of supercorp edits so im going to base my choices on the parts where supercorp exist ha!

5. Season 1 - Red Faced

this would probably be the only none supercorp related yet still somehow my personal fave for a few reasons. i love this scene in particular bc it shows that cat grant cares for kara and what cat says here is very relatable. no matter how harsh cat can be at times, cat was a girl's girl here. she gave an advice which was helpful to both supergirl and kara. she had every right to rip kara viciously apart but instead she took a completely different route. i like the line she says here.

"You really need to figure out what's really bothering you." "You really need to find that anger behind the anger. And you really need to figure out what's really making you mad."

i think this was also the ep where kara acknowledged where some of the anger was coming from. even with zero dialogue and with mel's incredible acting skills she was able to convey so much emotions during that scene where she releases all her anger towards the red tornato. From losing her parents, losing her planet —her home, for losing everything and maybe even angry with her parents for the choices they made for her. it was such an incredible and very emotional scene.

im putting the rest in read more bc of how unnecessarily long this post has become

4. Season 2 - "The Adventures of Supergirl"

this should be easy. this was the first time kara met lena and changed the trajectory of every queer person watching this show and lena first delivered the first of many many questionably fruity (gay) lines fjlkajdla

"You couldn't have fooled me."

also bc of this scene thank you very much

3. Season 2 - "Luthors"

if there is one particular scene that convinced me to even give supergirl the time of day its obvs this one and lena "suspiciously straight" luthor delivered one of the most iconic lines on television in my opinion and now forever engraved in my mind. let's not forget lcorp CEO lena luthor took the time of day to fill catco employee kara danver's office with flowers like it's a regular tuesday but oh well

"now you'll have someone to stand up for you. always" "supergirl might have saved me but kara danvers, you are my hero."

screaming, crying, throwing up

2. Season 2 - "Exodus"

tada! i mean, look at it! how heroic! i also find it funny how grateful and confused lena was that kara danvers was having coffee with supergirl late at night but still

Season 2 - Ace Reporter

so this isnt at all groundbreaking bc honestly, 5 isn't enough and anything that has supercorp will be my favorite even though again i havent seen the rest of supergirl yet but we're ignoring canon so we're ignoring that fact too. i think this was the ep where kara was comforting lean about jack's death. i personally have a love and hate relationship towards this scene for many reasons but im a sucker for supercorp and there was a clip where kara hesitated and looked like she was about to plant a kiss on lena's head but then hugged her instead and i think its beautiful and im a sucker for kara leaning in towards lena

BONUS:

im too lazy to figure out where these clips are from which episode but this. i love every scene and its more like these below are my reasons for watching supergirl and has nothing to do with being my top 5 bwahaha

oh did i mention i also happen to have a weird obsession with superrojas i will not rest until i reach the ep where andrea rojas exist

[speakgermanhier]

Mutually Exclusive Theories and Yet, I Can See Both Working--4 Minutes BL *Spoilers to ep 4*

I have two theories swirling around my head and they are basically the opposites of each other. But, whatever, I've put on my clown makeup, so here we go.

TL;DR Great and Tyme never met and are just 2 strangers that happen to be experiencing death at the same time and/or Great is trying, and failing, to erase himself from Tyme's life a la Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Theory 1: Great and Tyme never actually met and the universe decided to take that personally. Therefore, the universe, or someone pulling the strings, makes changes to see how to get their ship together.

I think this because the decisions we see Great, and to a lesser extent Tyme, make continually lead to him and Tyme missing each other. And each time Great is sent back 4 minutes, he and Tyme get closer and closer.

Evidence: Universe gives Great a Do-Over

Hit and Run: Great hits the woman, she dies, Great drives away and is never associated with the collision. Therefore, Great never goes to the hospital to drop off the flowers and never meets Tyme. Boo. And thus, this is the only part of the show that actually happened. Great and Tyme never met, end of series. Except!

A Different Kind of Hit and Run: Great doesn't drive away after hitting the woman. Yay, he's at the hospital now and can meet Tyme! Except, he's freaked out by his conversation with the woman, runs into Tyme, doesn't really look at him at all and keeps going even after knocking all the papers on the floor, irritating Tyme and making him think of Great in a negative light. Great will never return to the hospital, Tyme will forget about the rude, inconsequential incident, and they will never associate further. Not on my watch!

Dome's Murder: Great doesn't talk with the woman, doesn't get freaked out, and so is polite and respectful when bumping into Tyme. Yay, they have a perfectly fine meet-cute, the universe is getting somewhere. As an extra bonus, get a sneak peak into what mind-blowing sex you two could have ;) Doesn't follow the 4 minutes because it never actually happened because they never actually met. Which is a tragedy when these kind of orgasms are out there, just waiting to be experienced.

Progress! Except! Title murders Dome and now Great is an accessory and that's just not a good look. Plus, now that the flowers are delivered, there's really no reason for Great to go back to the hospital. All the potential of that meet-cute but how to get a follow-up encounter? Great saves Dome's life! Not only does Dome need medical care, so does Great. He can now show up in front of Doctor Tyme as a brave hero AND an injured meow meow who needs hurt/comfort attention.

4. Great is being difficult: Great and Tyme have exchanged their numbers on LINE, Tyme has saved Great's life on top of taking care of his injury, the doctor has been thoughtful and attentive and heroic and when he asks Great out to dinner, Great says "another time" which is "no" >:( Does the universe have to do everything?!

5. Nan is captured: A meet-cute leads to a cute date, leads to some vulnerability and unburdening of pasts. More progress! But Nan is in the clutches of criminals. This is a huge weight on Tyme, who is now desperate and stressed, a trapped animal who lashes out and Great is the one to get scratched (figuratively). They fight on the roof and Tyme storms off, wanting nothing more to do with Great. And we can't have that.

6. Nan's rescue: So, clearly Great needs to know why Tyme is so stressed (Nan) so that he can show he is on Tyme's side and willing to help so that they can actually talk instead of fight. Except Sa-Marn kills Nan, which will cause Tyme to spiral, possibly Great as well, as guilt destroys Tyme from the inside out. Not a great foundation for the start of a cute romance. Plus, you know, a woman is dead and that's just not cool. So, rewrite, fantastic idea, Great SAVES Nan, and now everyone is alive, Great and Tyme are riding high on their success and adrenaline and can finally have a Great Time™️ in bed, as it was meant to be. 4 more episodes what?

Theory 2: The first timeline we see before Great is sent back 4 minutes is not actually the original timeline but is actually Great trying to create a world where he never gets involved with Tyme. But, you can't change the past and so all his attempts fail and he is sent back 4 minutes to reexperience the true timeline.

Evidence: Great Thinks Tyme is Better Off Without Him

I don't really have point for point evidence for this one, it's just a thought I had. Given that this is a twisty-turny show that distorts time, the thought "How can we assume that what Great, and thus the audience, experiences first is actually what happened first?" What if what we see SECOND is actually the true, original timeline and it led to Tyme getting shot and Great, in his guilt, is trying to redo all the events that led to him and Tyme getting together but so that they DON'T get together. Only, you can't change the past, only relive it, so every change he tries to make that will ensure he and Tyme don't meet, don't get together, don't understand each other, he gets sent back and those changes get erased and it all just happens again like it originally did. Doesn't seem likely but it's fun to think about.

[huellitaa]

bee's record player: march edition. 🎀𓂃 ࣪˖

���─★ ˙ ̟🎀 !! notice !! ♡

surpriseee <3 wanted to try and add a little of my personal influence to my girlblog since music is literally my entire life & thought it might be funny to show u all what makes up the chaotic glittery mess that is my brain (and because there are almost 1000 of you beautiful people following me whatt?? thank you😭). i've allllways wanted to do smth like this too so, here u go !! 🩷💗

(+ this is a way for me to rant about my interests without being annoying to my friends / moots 😭. to anybody who has listened to me rant or cry or scream or whatever over music ily guys mwa)

──★ ˙ ̟🎀 NEW ARRIVALS

goddess, laufey

♡ released march 6th, 2024

♡ single

♡ running time: 4 minutes 28 seconds

eternal sunshine, ariana grande

♡ released march 8th, 2024

♡ full album / LP

♡ best songs: supernatural, the boy is mine, we can't be friends (wait for your love), intro (end of the world)

♡ running time: 35 minutes 33 seconds

unheard, hozier

♡ released march 22nd, 2024

♡ extended play / EP

♡ best songs: too sweet (i adore this song.)

♡ running time: 13 minutes 59 seconds

super real me, illit

♡ released march 25th, 2024

♡ extended play / EP, debut! ♡

♡ best songs: magnetic, midnight fiction

♡ running time: 9 minutes 36 seconds

──★ ˙ ̟🎀 BEE'S TRACKS: TOP 10

♡ 10. my world, illit

girly girl song!! i've been obsessed with illit's whole super real me album, their debut is soo good oh my gosh. its criminally short but i seem to have listened to it a lot !! 😭

♡ 9. we can't be friends (wait for your love), ariana grande

i have SO MUCH to say about this song but it resonates with me so much in so many different ways and i just. oh my god. ariana i love u so much

♡ 8. we got so much, le sserafim

k so i initially didn't really like this song but... it's grown on me. a lot. since it first came out. um. it's pretty simple honestly and it's just really girly girl it makes me feel like a school girl i love it

♡ 7. this is what makes us girls, lana del rey

girlblogger anthem!! okay confession i did not get into this song until LAST MONTH. i know. it's terrible and i am ashamed i am so sorry. but i have formed such a strong emotional attachment to this song its crazy i adore it

♡ 6. imperfect for you, ariana grande

exposing myself pt.3 i was in a really big depressive slump for like one half or more of this month actually and this song helped me so much i can't 😭 i love you ari

♡ 5. the boy is mine, ariana grande

(are you noticing a pattern here yet) um another ariana grande song no lol um idk what ur talking about haha 🥰 this song is so twerkable im sorry i wasnt a fan at first but im obsessed i need to stop

♡ 4. smart, le sserafim

no words. once again wasn't a huge fan originally but oh my god im obsessed w it now. afrobeat type of songs are, will, and always be top tier and i will die on this hill. (i've been SO OBSESSED with le sserafim lately but i think thats fairly obvious here😭)

♡ 3. eternal sunshine, ariana grande

i adore this song oh my god. its become one of my favs of all time since it came out. this was on loop for HOURS when i first heard it and its such a comfort song for me. it shows her growth so beautifully and there's so much about it i just absolutely adore like i could write a whole essay on this song and still wouldnt be able to express how much i love it

♡ 2. magnetic, illit

illit was bound to pop up here again this month tbh ok so me and my bsf were listening to this on loop the entire time at school a little after it came out like we were sitting in the front row of our class and were still watching the magnetic mv under the desk on her phone. so in love with this song it makes me so happy n feel so cute i ahh <3

♡ 1. supernatural, ariana grande

SUPERNATURAL IS THE SONG EVER. first day it came out i listened to the album and this was on loop constantly for the next week or more. it's made it up to my top 10 fav songs of all time ever and i listen to A LOT of music. this song is my life<333

──★ ˙ ̟🎀 ALBUMS

♡ 1. eternal sunshine, ariana grande

fairly self explanatory. i love u ari. there was soo much ari this month bc ive been a diehard ari stan since i was 8 and have never looked back. since yes and released in january i have been ecstatic about ag7 releasing in march after 4 YEARS of no ari so this was MONUMENTAL for me 😭😭 THE DROUGHT IS OVER ARIANATORS RISE 🩷🩷🩷

♡ 2. super real me, illit

so basically the day this album came out my best friend was spamming me about them and i only listened to them like 2 days after cuz she was annoying me about it and OH MY GOD. i listened to them and then proceeded to loop the whole album for the next 72 hours 💗 and for a debut as well is amazing ily illit girlies

♡ 3. with you-th, twice

so i wasn't much of a fan at first bc they just sounded really similar and bland to me but its grown on me a lot since it came out and i've been listening to it so much throughout the entirety of march. its just so oddly comforting in a way and feels like a hug in music form (+ rush and bloom are the best songs argue with the wall)

♡ 4. easy, le sserafim

self explanatory. i'm obsessed with le sserafim at the moment and this album is everything to me. ass shaking album 10/10

♡ 5. k-12, melanie martinez

i have been revisiting one of my fav albums of all time this month and its as amazing as always. this has been my favourite album of all time since it came out and i will never ever get over k12 🩷 10000/10!!!! <3

──★ ˙ ̟🎀 ARTISTS

♡ TOMORROW X TOGETHER

♡ TWICE

♡ LANA DEL REY

♡ LE SSERAFIM

♡ ARIANA GRANDE

──★ ˙ ̟🎀 SPECIAL MENTIONS

♡ happy 1 year to portals by melanie martinez! oh my god this album helped me through all of 2023 and i went to see her on tour in london for my birthday last november and it was surreal. she's amazing. i adore her and this album (i have it on vinyl hehe) and love it SOO MUCH 💖

♡ expect ordinary things by ariana grande to be high high on my top 10 next month its been on loop for days now im obsessed

♡ there's going to be a LOT in next month's issue seeing as 2 of my all time favs are coming back next month, so prepare for that! so excited ahh <3 (one has already released at the time of writing this. prepare urselves.)

──★ ˙ ̟🎀 EDITOR'S NOTE

this was SO FUN oh my gosh. i am 100% making this a regular thing~ lmk if it was entertaining, improvements needed, artists / albums you'd like me to keep up with etc, or just general comments, ideas, reviews and so on. thank you so much for reading, this was so fun! look forward to next month 💗🫶💖

lots of love 💘

[max-headroomfiles]

my top 5 Watcher Entertainment shows

in honor of Watcher's fifth anniversary and the premise of Puppet History S7, I will be particpating in @watcherwiki's Top 5 Watcher shows for the anniversary of Watcher Entertainment.

let's begin <3

starting with number 5, we have Mystery files !

this was actually the first show that got me into Watcher Entertainment, back in July 2023, I got back from a bookstore and saw a video about the Max Headroom incident from their channel watcher and it got me hooked ever since. It still holds a special place in my heart considering again it's the first show I saw from Watcher Entertainment, and I love a lot of mysteries. There is certainly a lot of charm within Mystery Files that I enjoy, and it is aesthetically pleasing.

I think my favorite eps have to be Max Headroom (obviously), Chupacabra, Sky Trumpets, The Tungska Event, The Battle of Los Angeles, The Oakville Blobs, and Voynich Manuscript <3.

and at number four is Are You Scared?

the show feels very reminiscence of when I was a kid, I would listen to narrators read out creepypastas/spooky stories. The way Watcher does it feels very intense while also lighthearted (sometimes) mixing horror and comedy.

it also has amazing lighting which I completely adore, it's almost hauntingly pretty for a show about two guys bantering with each other in the void reading about the scariest thing you can imagine.

my favorite episodes have been Smile Dog, the other dog episode, Milk White, Happiest Place on Earth, the Holiday special, Outside the Bedroom Episode, and the Ocean episode.

and at number 3 is Dish Granted, my beloved <3

what can I say about Dish Granted, it's very comforting, it's sweet by the premise of cooking something special for your friends, and it's the first Steven Lim show I've watched !! and also that being said, it's the very show that inspired my love for cooking back when I was in cooking club for my high school year.

I just wish it would make a comeback somehow, or maybe there'd be a new food show similar to Dish Granted, it's up to Steven if he wants to or not. either way, 10/10 show :]

favorite episodes include the seafood episode, the oyster smore episode, the mac-and cheese pie, and the taco episode.

and at number two is Weird Wonderful World !!!

the ultimate comfort show and my second favorite show from the long-limbed man himself Shane Madej, this is by far one of the very best of the bunch, bringing in curiosity and comedy, learning about new places around the Californian state (my home state) that makes me want to visit (even though I am on a budget). And it is the one show that makes me forget Shane and Ryan are mainly known for ghost hunting and not just going on silly adventures.

favorite episodes include the pie episode, the sunset ranch episode, the soda pop episode, the theatre episode, the hat episode, and the breakfast club episode.

and finally my number one is ...

Ghost Files Alone, ladies and gentlemen.

I had some trouble with what would be my number one, funnily enough if I could, half of the shows would be on my number one list. But I think I'll have Ghost Files Alone as my top one pick.

now, what I can say about Ghost Files Alone, many things actually. For starters, ever since I got into Watcher and by proxy getting into the original Ghost Files and its past self Buzzfeed Unsolved I have long admired the very host of the show -- Ryan Bergara. He is honestly one of the bravest and genuine ghost hunters whose content I've come across, and back then I wasn't even into ghost hunting content, so the fact Ryan's shows are what got me into the learning about the paranormal is a statement in itself. And as someone who also has an anxiety disorder, I've been impressed with how Ryan had been able to handle his fear over the years of ghost hunting, even if there were times where he was genuinely terrified (and rightfully so), he always managed to pull through.

and when Ghost Files Alone came out, it really did remind me of why I admired Ryan so much, especially at the very ending of the final installment of Ghost Files Alone when he left the house and the monologue of overcoming your own Malvern Manor.

it may be a short series with only three episodes, I still admire the way it was made and once again I hold nothing but respect for the effort Ryan Bergara put into the series, and for his bravery once again. That's why it is on my top one.

thanks for reading everybody :] and thanks Watcher Entertainment for giving us some great content for the past five years.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Lots of lovely kisses & an unwarranted upset in the standings

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

Oct 2024 Week 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

Fourever You (Thai Thurs YT) ep 2 of 16 - Yes yes J&J should be first but I am weak in the face of, well, frankly this man's face:

Pond = greatest piner in a dog’s age. The yearning in that boy’s eyes is obscene, it’s like the most explicit sex that only he can see and we’re just voyeurs.

Thus I continue to adore this stupid show and everything it stands for. No notes. May the fluff continue eternal.

Jack & Joker (Thai Mon IQIYI) ep 5 of 12 - Everyone is so skilled in this show, but War is truly glorious. Considering the pacing, I think we are probably in for some long periods of darkness, suffering, and pain soon. I’m not mad about that prospect, it’s earned and foreshadowed, I just thought I’d lay it out there.

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 6 of 12 - More boys from GMMTV with good communication. Who knew? Min has SUCH a white knight complex. NO SINGING. Good demanding kiss, though. Well, Ohm can handle anything. 

Meanwhile, this really is a bodyguard romance under another name. And I kinda wanna rewatch Never Let Me Go as a result.

Love Sick 2024 (Thai Sun iQIYI) ep 4 of 15 - Earn remains best boy and my favorite character. Phun is v jelly, as he should be. AND I like Ohm & N'Mik better in this version. I still prefer the original leads, but I’m enjoying this enough. 

I had no idea how much I missed Gunsmile! It’s so nice to see him on my screen again.

Monster Next Door (Thai Thurs Gaga ) ep 12 fin - I hate Diew’s mom. Hate her. So much. She may be my least favorite mom ever in BL. That’s saying a lot. No I don’t think she was redeemed. 

Conclusion

Adapted from the novel Godzilla Next Door by Jiwinil about an introvert who lives mostly in his room, until a loud annoying extrovert moves in next door. This was one of my top picks for 2024 and I’m delighted to say it satisfied expectations. A charmingly serene story of opposites attract, that featured good communication, patience, and genuine affection used to build a solid relationship.(I’m particularly delighted that our musician is a drummer and I don’t have to listen to him sing.) Yes it’s a tad slow but it’s very earnest and leans into the kind of sweetness that Thai BL does best. Doesn’t hurt that this starred an actor (Big) that many of us have been hoping would get a lead for years. I was pleased and comforted. This is not a kind of BL that suits everybody, but it suited me admirably. 8/10 

Battle of the Writers (Sun YT) ep 10 of 12 - Ozone and the Ice Prince (name still unknown) did their little dance. What an earnest and romantic confession from our Icy man. I literally said “no no no just kiss, no foreheads.” And it was a great crying kiss, my favorite. Honestly, that amount of emotion hadn’t been earned by this pair, but I don’t mind. I could watch a whole show just about them. Also woah! Major nekid on YT?

Thailand......

Risking demonetization for arse…...

I guess we’ve all been there. 

Where was I?

I’m happy with this episode since it was mostly my side couple. But the distribution of main couple and side couple and the focus of each episode is wildly erratic with this show. It’s very odd. (And let's be clear we ordered errotic not erratic.)

Every You Every Me (Thai Mon Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - Jade and Chin have lived over a thousand lifetimes. In each one they somehow manage to fall in love with each other. (This pair, TopMick was piloted in a My Universe ep, that was one of the only ones I liked.) Soulmate premise is a mix of Color Rush and La Pluie. Frankly, this isn’t as good as either, but it’s enjoyable in a slow cheerful way. Especially if you like this particular set of tropes. It’s quietly lovely and I like the leads. Sunshine is very very sunshine and our tsundere is a grumpy mysterious nerd. Trigger for domestic abuse. It looks like each episode is gonna be a completely different meet cute with the same pairing. It’s more linked vignettes than any overarching story. So if you don’t like this pair, you won’t like this series.

Addicted Heroin (Thai Tues WeTV) ep 9 of 10 - More sports day. (Everybody’s doing sports days right now.) Random sides kissing. Where did the glasses person come from? Was he introduced and I forgot about it? Oh that’s the evil cousin! Okay… anygay. Sides randomly flip-flop who they like and I don’t know what the fuck is going on. This show. I swear. Ooo caught kissing. And… killed? What a mind fuck of a soap opera. Honestly, I’m fine if he’s dead, I don’t care at this point I just feel jerked around. 

For some reason no eng sub for me for the first half. So I watched with Spanish subs (which is about as good as my Thai, only for different words). What a wild experience.

Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) ep 4 of 10 - Oh dear. I just can’t imagine ever rooting for this couple. Which means… Why am I watching this? 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

My Damn Business (Korea Sat YT) eps 1-2 of 7 - Oh I love it. Casual flirty westernized-style boss. Reserved reluctant cutie (yes we’ve seen the actor before). Is it disgusting workplace harassment? Oh most certainly. Do I enjoy it anyway? Yep, I’m warped. No defense, but at least it’s something from Korea. 

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 3 of ? - I like the lead being bullied and pushed to his limit thus turning into a psychopath. It’s gonna be a fun ride if it really goes Devil Judge just teens and actually gay. I wonder if it has the strength of its convictions? 

Our Golden Times (Hong Kong YT) 5 fin? - I guess that is the reunion? What an odd little piece. I’m not entirely sure what I feel about it except that this feels more BL than anything Hong Kong has given us so far (which isn't much). The subs are truly terrible. Since I speak absolutely zero Cantonese I can’t really fix them in my brain. I thought this was the final ep but then a teaser for ep 6 dropped so I we have at least one more. 

First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) ep 10 of 12 - It was a nice, if entirely unearned reunion. And the leads do kiss beautifully. Trust Taiwan. I am so glad that Orca is back! There was even a little language play flip-flopping just for me. Very cute. Also GREAT kissing. How long have we been waiting for Thailand and Taiwan to kiss? 

Eccentric Romance (Korea Weds Viki) eps 1-2 of 12 - Silkwood’s 2nd Thai/Korean colab. This has been in production since 2022 which is a LONG time in the BL world (worrying). But I like the concept: friends of 10 years who’ve been hiding feelings for each other enter the same university. Plus MURDER. Stars Yoon Jun Won (The Man BLK) and Thai actor Save Saisawat (Ai Long Nhai). I begin to think every The Man BLK member will eventually lead out a BL at this point.

It’s enjoyable in a weird way. Grumpy (hottie with a crush) + sunshine (captain oblivious). I gotta say, since this is the second relationship dual lingo style in our BL rn that it’s ALWAYS weird if the other half doesn't occasionally code switch languages, especially for specific words. In other words, the Korean dude is supposed to at least understand Thai, occasionally he’s should use a Thai world to get a point across. And the Thai dude is there to STUDY KOREAN, he should be slipping in and out of Korean regularly. Bah. 

It's airing but...

Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 5 of 10 eps - I never managed to get hold of ep 5. Frankly, it’s going to Netflix (I don’t subscribe) so I might not finish this out of sheer laziness. 

The Hidden Moon (Sat WeTV) ep 1 of 10 - This is a supernatural romance (my ghost boyfriend trope) by Violet Rain (I Feel You Linger). A man is hired to write an article about an old mansion in Chiang Mai being converted into a café. He sees the ghosts of people who died at the mansion, falls in love with one of them. Was substantially recast. I loved IFYLITA except the ending so I think I'll let this one run it's course you can tell me if it's work tracking down... if they managed to land it. I have my doubts.

Gangster and His Boyfriend (Korea ????) 8 eps? - was supposed to air 10/10 Kim Dong Bin (famous trainee & idol reality competitor, yeah that happens) stars as a fallen idol who unexpectedly becomes entangled in a gangster family. Discovers that his friend’s father is responsible for the murder of his entire family years ago. I don't know much about this one, neither does anyone else and I'm not sure where I got that release date so……

Next Week Looks Like This:

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

Still Coming Oct 2024:

10/17 Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo (Korea Thurs Gaga) 8 eps - High school student Do Hoe lives with his violent and brutal father who runs a Taekwondo gym in a rural area. One day, cheerful Ju Young arrives, he dreams of going to college for Taekwondo. Joy begins to fill Do Hoe's dark life. An unexpected incident forces them apart, they reunite ten years later.

10/21 Love in the Big City (Korea ????) 8 eps - Okay, this is both a movie (already out) and a series. Neither one is likely BL and I can't imagine it will end happily. I'm giving both a pass but here's your synopsis.

Cynical fun loving student Young pinballs from home, to class, to on night stands. He and Jaehee, his female besie and roommate, frequent nearby bars where they push away their worries about life, love, and money with soju and hookups.

10/23 See Your Love (Taiwan Weds Gaga & Viki) 10 eps? - Zi Xiong, a third-generation heir, attempting to flee from taking over their family business, meets and falls in love with Shao Peng, who works as a hearing-impaired nurse. From the same production house as Kiseki Dear To Me in partnership with Shinehouse Theatre, funded by Taiwan’s BIGART + Japan's Rakuten (Viki). Show includes Lin Chia Yo (Be Loved in House: I Do). Director Chiang Ping Chen’s childhood experiences with his deaf uncle have inspired the drama.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Addicted Heroin

Incidentally he didn’t ask to “be with Ter” he asked if he could flirt/court him. jeeb doesn’t really have a direct translation, but it isn’t “be with.” 

Fourever You

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

Sigh, Tumblr in its infinite wisdom doesn't like too many at-ings.

[telomeke-bbs]

A BAD BUDDY PARALLEL I MISSED – EVERY DING WILL HAVE ITS DONG

I'm currently following @‌impala124 and @‌troubled-mind on their respective journeys liveblogging as they watch BBS, and it's so much fun tracking newbies to Bad Buddy getting to know it for the first time: 🥰

(I'm not going to tag them in this post though, just in case my write-up below turns out to have spoilery reveals that mar their first watch. 😊)

So Bad Buddy (for me, at least) is one of the foundational, sacred texts of the BL experience (commenting on and righting the wrongs of BLs that had gone on before) and I hope it continues to inform every BL fan's journey. 🤩

Anyway, following the liveblogs highlighted a parallel that I'd missed, and it was so lovely to be surprised again when I had thought BBS could hold no more surprises… 😍

When Pat grabs a clean shirt from Pa's laundry delivery and tosses it to Pran at Ep.1 [3‌/4] 2.19, this is a little foreshadowing moment that gets its callback at Ep.4 [4/4] 10.51:

(top) Bad Buddy Ep.1 [3‌/4] 2.19 – Pat tosses a clean shirt to Pran after rescuing him from the Engine gang, saying "Take it"; (bottom) Bad Buddy Ep.4 [4/4] 10.51 – with another "Take it", Pran tosses his personally-scented Friend/Unfriend t-shirt to a shirtless Pat, after rescuing him from Keyless Night 2 out in the corridor

On one level you can read the second shirt toss as Pran diligently keeping score in their neverending rivalry – as in "You tossed me a shirt once, and now I'm returning you the favor so I don't owe you anything" (noting from Ep.2 [4/4] 10.22 that – in the constant back-and-forth ding-dong of their rivalry – any ding not donged back between the two means the competition is still in play, at least until Ep.7's Bet Era™ put a seeming end to their non-stop scorekeeping).

But on another level the exchange of shirts also shows the care and concern each has for the other, even while each act of kindness is cloaked with antagonism on the surface.

In Ep.4 Pran tosses Pat a shirt, ostensibly unwashed to show he doesn't care – but it doesn't hide the fact that he's gifting a grateful Pat with warmth, shelter and comfort (especially since Puppy Pat gets all horny for undiluted eau de Pran – eau de Pran faim? 🤣).

In Ep.1 Pat tosses Pran a shirt ostensibly because he doesn't want Dissaya to see evidence of a fight and blame him for it, while Pran stomps away all grinchy and ungrateful. But we now know that they were probably just following their ages-old playbook of acting out a bitter rivalry when in front of an audience (Pa in this case).

And Pat avoiding blame from Dissaya isn't the same as redeeming himself in her eyes (it wouldn't change a thing about her opinion of him), so his reasoning seems more like an excuse to help Pran out (and maybe save him from a scolding by Bad Buddy's Tiger Mom too). But I guess this should be obvious to all.

The idea of Pran putting on Pat's shirt in Ep.1, and Pat putting on Pran's shirt in Ep.4, also foreshadows Episode 8 when each tries to inhabit the other's perspective to see things from his faen's point-of-view in their newly-confirmed couplehood:

(above, left) Bad Buddy Ep.5 [1‌/4] 1.29; (above, right) Bad Buddy Ep.8 [1‌/4] 1.36 – in Ep.5's opening scene Pat wakes up and mistakes the smell of cooking for a fire, while it is Pran who does that in Ep.8 (although I don't think that's Pat's shirt he's wearing); still, when read together these two scenes signal that Ep.8 will be switching up the boys' perspectives

Also in Ep. 8, Pat ripping off the same Friend/Unfriend t-shirt after their backstage spat hits especially hard when we circle back to Ep.4 and see how he first put it on with such appreciative relish:

(top) Bad Buddy Ep.4 [4/4] 11.02 – Pat's first time getting acquainted with Pran's Friend/Unfriend t-shirt; (bottom) Bad Buddy Ep.8 [4/4] 2.45 – Pat strips off Pran's t‑shirt in a huff, during their backstage blow-out

Remembering also PatPran's Ep.5 confrontation under the white arches at Ep.5 [1‌/4] 7.43 (which foreshadowed Ep.8's backstage argument over the same t-shirt) we can now see that BBS was diligently establishing how important wearing that t-shirt was to Pat, and how wrenching it must have been for him to doff it and lay himself bare in Ep.8. 😥

And then we see Pran pass the t-shirt back to Pat at their reconciliation behind the red curtain, calling back to their two shirt exchanges in Episodes 1 and 4:

(above) Bad Buddy Ep.8 [4/4] 6.29 – an apologetic Pran hands the Friend/Unfriend t‑shirt (together with a conciliatory bottle of water) back to Pat, reaching across the visual barriers of backstage scaffolding that seems to want to cage and separate them just like the constraining circumstances of their lives

In all of this, the ding-dong of shirts between the two boys is a metaphor for the constant back-and-forth competition between them, and also how each gives a bit of himself to the other during their journey to couplehood in Bad Buddy.

Ep.1's shirt toss is also an example of how so many little throwaway lines or narrative details in the early episodes will get their own parallels or callbacks later on.

A couple of examples:

Pa turning up in the family car with Pat's clean laundry plays into her early depiction as nothing more than a loser side character, existing only to further Pat's narrative with no agency of her own – until Director Aof and his writers switch out her portrayal later on, launching her on her own story arc and acing the Bechdel test in the process.

(above) Two views of Pa in a car (calling out to her Dr. Seuss t-shirt in the first? 🤣) – Ep.1 [3/4] 1.50 on the left during her Loser Era™, and Ep.7 [1/4] 2.43 on the right after her glow-up and promotion from stereotypical plot device to a fleshed-out character with (at least some) growth and development

The laundry itself is a launchpad for Pat's request at Ep.3 [3‌/4] 5.15 – "Do the laundry for me", which is a sign of his cluelessness at reading his innermost desires. There in Ep.3's music store he thinks he's liking the smell of clean laundry, when it's actually Pran's own personal scent that's giving him butterflies:

(above) Bad Buddy Ep.3 [3‌/4] 5.07 – Pat inhaling all he can of Pran in the music store

And of course Pat's request for Pran to do his laundry is a set-up that allows Pran the opportunity for some zingy comebacks later, at Ep.3 [3‌/4] 5.46 when he sarcastically says he's doing the laundry while sketching ideas for the bus-stop redesign, as well as Ep.9 [2/4] 4.16 when he says he's doing the laundry in response to Pat's question "Washing the dishes?" (itself an innuendo-laden remark – see the note on laang jaan buried within this write-up):

(above left) Bad Buddy Ep.3 [3‌/4] 5.46 – Pran tells Pat he's doing laundry while sketching designs for the bus-stop, in response to Pat's question "What are you doing?"; (above right) Bad Buddy Ep.9 [2/4] 4.16 – Pran tells Pat he's doing laundry, in response to Pat's question "Washing the dishes?"

The exchange of shirts is just a nice little detail, not hugely significant, and yet it ties into the bigger picture with an astonishing consistency. Every time you hear a bell ring in BBS, you betcha there'll be a corresponding echo sometime later.

As it is with Pat and Pran, in Bad Buddy every ding will have its dong! 🤣

‌

[becauseimanicequeen]

Rewatching Pit Babe (ep. 8) and the Colors

This is part of my Crazy-Ass End-of-Year Rewatch Challenge where I will rewatch some of my favorite shows, my least-favorite shows, and some shows in between.

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

My previous post: episodes 1-2, episode 3, episodes 4-5, episodes 6-7.

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

Episode 8

We start off with Jeff and Alan. Jeff is afraid that Alan will fire him now that everyone knows he and Charlie are also Mr. Red's adoptive sons. But there is no trace of red on his body here. He's wearing that grayish-blue shirt because he's loyal to Alan and X-Hunter.

And on the topic of blue, it looks like the blue is haunting Way now.

But the red is still making itself known in the background and through the light shining on him. Things are definitely changing...

The interesting thing is that even though Pete is comfortable with Way and his red past (because he has his own past association with Tony), the red keeps hanging around Way while the blue light is shining stronger on Pete's side.

In comparison to Way, Pete is never going back to Tony. Not even though he has some red details on his jacket (and on his watch, which we saw in the previous episode).

Then we have Jeff in an even deeper blue than before. And a green shirt. Alan has worn some green shirts before (I would say at least a handful of times). And now Jeff is wearing green.

He's getting really comfortable around Alan.

(Also, that blue shirt has some yellow stripes on it. And, I know that you know what colors make green.)

Even though Jeff has worn green once or twice before this, I would definitely say that this combination of blue and green is a sign that he's getting a lot more comfortable with Alan. And thank goddess for that! I need them together, stat!

Also, I'm glad this news channel is reminding us all of Tony's true color:

As well as the room he rented for Kim:

And the details around his henchmen:

Because he seems to have forgotten it himself...

Anyway, let's go back to a character who doesn't piss me off. Jeff! Who comes home with his red bag as a reminder of his past.

And, since it's a reminder of his past with Tony, it's simultaneously a reminder of his powers. Which show up as visions that, very fittingly, flash in hues of red.

You know, Tony can try and hide his true colors all he wants, but the red suits him perfectly.

And, on a completely different topic...

Another one of my favorite scenes in the show is the confrontation between Pete and Kenta.

The sexual tension got me good.

Why weren't these two endgame?!

Anyway, back to the colors before I get pissed over this missed opportunity, lol...

I'm not surprised Jeff added some red on his body before he entered Tony's home...

Just in case he would get caught (which he does).

By my pretty fallen angel.

Also, since I know the person Jeff saw Tony talking to at his house was Way, it's nice to see the red next to Way in the garage when they're planning how to deal with Tony:

He has a different reason for being around X-Hunter now, in particular Babe. And Jeff, the only one who knows about Way's true reason, is trapped.

Also, it's nice to see Babe in his white tank top. Not just because of Pavel's arms (even though that's a factor, lol), but because Babe has lightened up a bit from his usual dark colors. I'm sure Charlie's positivity has contributed to that.

And when it comes to Sonic...

I'm deciding to surrender my frustrating at all his colors and just call him Mr. Rainbow from now on. He practically wears all the colors of the rainbow and more anyway.

So, let's get back to the usual programming...

As Babe and Charlie (I can't really count on Way, lol) are trying to find evidence against Tony, red shows up everywhere:

And if that wasn't enough red, Winner Winner Chicken Dinner continues to show his true color...

And proves exactly why I want to knee him in the groin.

And on that positive note, this episode is over. I'm once again so close to the image limit that I have to change to another post...

[bluvlet]

top 5 in9 eps? :3

5. How Do You Plead?

Urban is one of my favourite in9 characters. I’m really empathetic towards him and the character he plays for his patients, and the reasons why he does it. I’m also just such a sucker for religious imagery, depictions of the devil and the classic tale of selling your soul. The atmosphere of the episode just generally really appeals to me. The gradual dimming of the lights into this green-blue darkness is just brilliant, and when Urban and Webster swap places in the lift the fluidity of that movement just itches my brain. And of course, the monologues! Love this episode!

4. Tom & Gerri

Migg is one of the scariest in9 characters to me. Steve’s performance is just so…chilling. Like Urban, Tom is another character I feel like I just get. I’ll get into it in a moment when I start talking about Diddle Diddle Dumpling, but I just am really impacted by depictions of grief and mental illness in media. Tom is one of my favourite Reece in9 performances, I just really feel for him. Also, I love Stevie’s character.

3. Cold Comfort

I love how uncomfortable this entire episode is. The camera never moves, never looks away, and in turn the viewer has to sit there and watch just as Andy has to sit there and listen. It feels hopeless. Andy is one of my favourite Steve performances + characters. All of the characters in this episode are on top of each other in this awful, cramped, emotionally charged space, yet they’re all completely disconnected and alien to one another. The only character who you feel understands the others is George, and George is…George. I’m a sucker for ambiguity and there is so much to rifle through and ponder about in this episode. Plus the sound design is so good at matching that horrible, invasive atmosphere.

2. Diddle Diddle Dumpling

I love the mise-en-scène for this episode; that sanitised, shining-esque mirroring throughout the whole house just suggests so much of what is left unsaid about David and Louise’s grief. And I do really like how little is actually said about Joseph in this episode. I’m always really invested in media where an object is so clearly representative of something else, especially when that something else is a loss or an absence of sorts. David is a very relatable character to me and I just feel so strongly for both him and Louise. What a devastating episode.

1. Wise Owl

No surprises here I don’t think! Wise Owl was the first in9 episode I ever watched, and it’s stayed my favourite unwaveringly throughout me watching the entire show. I’ve had an anxious obsession with Public Information Films ever since I was a kid - especially the fire safety ones - so having an episode modelled around them is just a narrative decision that gets me invested from the get-go. I think this episode has an entirely different feeling to it compared to the rest of the show, and I’m so happy they went with the ending that they did and I’m so happy with how Ronnie was written and performed - especially when I think about how easily they could’ve gone down a different route. Also there’s no competition in my mind for the best in9 episode ending. Such an important episode.

[kannagms]

As someone who has been a fan of the boys since the beginning of Buzzfeed Unsolved when Ryan was doing his little PowerPoint presentations and reading from a single sheet of printer paper, this entire Watcher fiasco is insane and was definitely not on my 2024 bingo card.

Back when Ryan and Shane announced that they were leaving Buzzfeed to start their own entertainment company with Steven, I was excited! I wanted to see what new, fun, interesting, and creative content they would put out without Buzzfeed holding them back. I'm a huge fan of Mystery and Ghost Files, Puppet History, Are You Scared?, Too Many Spirits, Top 5 Beatdown. Loved Spooky Small Talk before it was scrapped. I watched every new ep that came out, even the ones I didn't like that much like Steven's food ones, and liked and commented because I wanted to support them as much as possible. I rewatch all my favorite episodes. I have a dedicated playlist of Ryan and Shane content because it helps me fall asleep at night. When I didn't have much I at least had Watcher to keep my smile on my face and continuous laughter going when I didn't feel much like going on.

I got the notification 3 days ago about a new Watcher video and was stunned at what I saw. Sure I can watch episode 1 of new shows and watch some trailers, but I'm gonna have to sub to yet another streaming service to watch anything more. A streaming service that doesn't even have an app, so if I want to add anything to my sleep playlist, I'm gonna have to leave my phone on all night.

Anyways, I immediately went and checked the boys' socials and see what they posted for any additional info. Thousands upon thousands of negative comments all saying basically the same thing:

I can't afford $6/month/not everyone has $6 laying around, and it can really make or break someone financially.

Been a fan since Unsolved, guess I'm not a watcher anymore.

This is a bad move.

From what I've seen across reddit, Twitter, tiktok, Instagram, and Tumblr, the negative far outweigh the positive. The only "positive" comments I've seen haven't really been "oh this is a great idea! I'm gonna go sub right now!!" It's really been more, "well it's their business, they can do what they want with it." Or simply bashing other people because they cannot afford $6 a month or $60 a year, which really comes off as boomer ideology. You know, the old "if millennials would stop eating avocado toast or buying Starbucks maybe they can afford a house!" While completely ignoring the global economic crisis we are all facing. It's completely out of check with the fact that there's so many of us not just in America, but in the world who are barely living paycheck to paycheck. That there are so many people who WISH they could get a Starbucks coffee in the morning but often times have to skip meals because they cannot afford food if they want to keep a roof over their heads, you know the ridiculous amount of money that we spend to rent a small space. Never gonna forget the one apartment I looked at that was $800 a month, no utilities included, no parking, no pets allowed, and I could lay flat on the ground and have my 5'4" length reach comfortably in every single room. Wasn't even a kitchen or room for a single size bed (mild tangent rant, I now pay $1300 for a 2 bedroom apartment, most utilities included, but bad parking)

And for Steven to say that anyone can afford $6 is just so factually wrong. Has anyone checked the foreign exchange rate for $6? Some threads I've seen on Reddit are insane. For some people 6 USD translates to someone's entire rent or a week's worth of food. If I recall the comment correctly, one person said that in their country, Netflix comes out to $2 USD, and is considered a luxury item that only the upper class/wealthy have.

Maybe I'm just being bitter. Maybe I'm just overreacting to a piece of content I loved and cherished being pushed behind a paywall. It just feels like a slap in the face to fans who have spent countless hours soaking in their content, recommending them to friends, making new friends over a shared interest, and now feeling like they didn't matter at all. That we were just dollar signs. To hear them going from thanking dedicated fans for helping them get to where they are to but now you gotta give us more money if you want to keep being fans and now we are going to ignore your backlash just feels disingenuous and heartbreaking.

[aroceu]

patpran's matching outfits

this was originally part of a thread on twitter but i figured i should stick it here too!

over the course of bbs patpran wear some...interesting outfits, but as they get together their wardrobe is a lot more coordinated and matchy 🥰 in particular, i think brown/orange seems to be associated with their happiness and comfort; red/blue symbolizes them together; and black/white i think is a little bit more of a pat motif but in the same way that stripes are pran's—black and white stripes show up quite often for both of them.

episode 2

blue is pat's color and red is pran's; however, as soon as episode 2 we see that their night clothes have swapped this:

episode 4 & episode 7 & episode 12

their most iconic redgreen moments—without a doubt i know this was intentional. (and also with pran's stripe motif weaved in all of them too!):

yes, in the last pic pat is wearing matching socks to pran's sweater. can you believe it. UGH.

episode 5

i'm sure everyone and their (baseball) mom has pointed it out, but their color swap at the top of the roof—pran in pat's blue, pat in pran's red—remains to be iconic of them. chef's kiss:

episode 6

patpran in blue and orange, which incidentally are ohm/nanon's colors (except ohm is orange and nanon is blue) in reverse! idk if this counts as matching but i wanted to point it out:

episode 7

this is when we start to see both of them mingle the red and blues together equally/in the same scenes, which of course indicates that their feelings are starting to become knowingly mutual 🥰 also special note that pat's shirt does covertly make it look like it reads "your man," while he's talking to pran

episode 7 & our skyy

this one is less matchy but instead evidence that they share clothes—because yes, the sweater pat wears at the end of ep 7 is the same one pran wears at the end of our skyy 2, which is only fitting as the scenes are parallel (patpran (almost) kissing over food and getting interrupted by pa):

episode 8 & episode 12

the black/white/orange-brown motifs my beloveds!! it's so basic at first in episode 8—indicating the start and novelty of their relationship—but is very, very obvious in the episode 12 scenes if you look for it:

episode 8

and of course we can't forget their iconic matching orange shirts in episode 8 too—this is what made me feel like orange in particular is supposed to indicate their comfort with each other:

episode 10

we start really early on with patpran both in red and blue together—really symbolic in how easily they've adapted into their relationship and each other:

i also found this really interesting—pat's shirt says "SUN SUN SUN" while pran's shirt has a rainbow on it (with "radiate positivity," lol) both of which definitely go together, however subtle this matching is!

and then of course when they go to the high school. this is definitely one of the most visually standing out matching outfits between pat and pran, the red and blue and pran's tote bag and the necklace bag all blending beautifully together. pran carrying his necklace bag, a gift from pat, while pat carries pran's tote. pat in the blue and light red, and while pran is mostly wearing his red and white stripes, you can really notice in this shot how many things he has are shades of blue—shades of pat:

not sure if i can draw a matching set from these two outfits but i still love them so i'm putting them here anyway:

episode 12

we see pran in pink a lot even when pat is donning pink/red himself—so of course it makes sense for pran, in the last scene, to don some blue. also, together comes the return of the black/white/orange-brown color palette! and of course pat wearing the smiley face shirt we saw from a brief pan over in episode 1, which we know makes pat think of pran (that shot led right into the pond flashback)—it's also the same type of smiley face that was on pran's bag when he was in high school, and fits in with the rest of the smiley faces in pran's room, symbolizing that this is where pat has always belonged: with pran.

special mention to:

pat at the beginning of episode 8! we can agree this is pran's shirt, right? pran's the one with the striped shirts with collars—pat definitely decided to wear his boyfriend's shirt after a very long night:

[mo-ok]

Top 5 WORST sentais you’ve watched. or simply least favorite bc I know you’re more of a lover than a hater

OK SO these are simply the ones i think about the least since finishing them (i've enjoyed every season i've seen so far, but some just have less staying power in my brain than others)

OR the ones with the most "little annoyances"/characters i cared the least about/etc etc

So this is less of a "worst" list and simply more of a "i liked other things more" list 😂😂😭

5. Liveman - worst ending in the whole franchise. Absolute downer of a show. Two completely wasted rangers who really didnt need to be there/could have easily been made so much better. I would not recommend this show to someone unless i knew them very well and knew they'd get it. 10/10 i fucking love liveman but oh my god OH MY GOD.

4. Dairanger - very enjoyable episode to episode but really fumbled the bag in the second half imo. I love lots of aspects of this season, i love the characters (probably one of the only people in the whole world who doesnt hate Koh lmao), the suits and intro theme are some of my favourites in the whole franchise. But like... what actually happened in dairanger??? Daigo got a bird gf for a minute? Kemp hurt comfort episode???? We played baseball??????

3. King Ohger - i think i would have enjoyed kingoh a whole lot more if i was able to watch it at a faster pace. The general lack of longer fight scenes and robot fights started to weigh on me lmao, i didnt quite realise how important the robots were to me until kingoh took them away 😂😂 again, i enjoyed the show, but i havent thought about it much since it ended

2. Gaoranger - it was great fun and full on and i enjoyed it a lot, but boy howdy did it make me feel TIRED lmao. I watched this directly after watching Gingaman and was still very much in the Hyuuga trenches, which i dont think helped with Gao not sticking around in my mind. Also, didnt like the ending song (the theme song goes hard though, and Gaku remains a special boy in my special boy jar)

1. Kyoryuger - I remember really enjoying it and its characters, the bad guys were fun and the music goes hard. But there are a few factors that work together to sadly have it end up at the bottom of my sentai pile

- i find myself not really thinking about it AT ALL unless its right in front of me lmao.

- I have a lot of love and nostalgia tied to PR Dino Charge which kinda clouds most of my kyoryu memories

- tyler/shelby >>>>>> king/amy

- fav thing about kyoryu is Utchy and he wasnt even in the kingoh crossover eps wtf

- i think i have simply watched too much since watching Kyoryuger. I definitly am glad i watched it early on, cause i genuinly feel like i'd probably enjoy it less if i watched it now (i did however recently rewatch the Souji parents episode for the dynaman brain rot 10/10 junichi haruta my beloved)