#too obsessed with so many shots of her in this ep

[taiturner]

Sophie Nélisse as Shauna Shipman YELLOWJACKETS, 3x04 "12 Angry Girls & 1 Drunk Travis"

[urfavdreamcatcher]

hey cutie pie !! ive literally been obsessed with ur writing and re-reading ur george clarke fic 🤭. i was wondering if u could make a george clarke fic about reader being highschool sweethearts with him ( i dont know where id want it to go its completely up to you, ive just seen soso many photos of younger george in school and hes so cutesy and yum ) anyway bye bye xx

Sweetheart || George Clarke.

Part 1

Ur honestly so cute, I need to start re-reading my drafts and publishing them.. currently have inside ep 1,2 in my drafts rn😩 BUT THANK YOU CUTIE!! Hope you like this 😊

Summary: She’s the school’s star cheerleader, and he’s the cocky rugby player who drives her up the wall. They’ve been at each other’s throats for as long as they can remember petty arguments, competitive banter, stolen glances that last too long.

But when Charlie, one of George’s teammates, starts flirting a little too shamelessly, the rivalry between them shifts into something sharper, more personal. Because George hates it—hates the way Charlie talks about her, the way he looks at her.

And one day, he snaps.

George x reader, fem!reader , explicit language

There most definitely will be a part 2 to this!!

ENJOY!!

———————————————————————-

If there was one person in the entire school who could ruin my day in under five seconds, it was George Clarkey.

And unfortunately, he seemed to be everywhere.

“You’re glaring again,” my best friend, Liv, pointed out, nudging me with her elbow.

I tore my eyes away from the rugby pitch, where George was currently jogging back to his position, annoyingly smug even while covered in mud. His school rugby shirt was practically clinging to him, damp from the drizzle, and his curls were messy from where he kept ruffling them.

Not that I noticed. Obviously.

“I’m not glaring,” I said, flipping my ponytail over my shoulder. “I’m just… observing.”

Liv snorted. “Right. Observing how fit he looks?”

I turned to her, horrified. “Absolutely not. He’s—ugh insufferable. Cocky, irritating, never stops talking. Did I mention cocky?”

“Only about a hundred times.”

And, as if on cue, George spotted me from across the field. A slow smirk spread across his face, like he knew he was annoying me just by existing.

He jogged a bit closer and called out, loud enough for everyone to hear, “You here to support me, sweetheart?”

I clenched my jaw, ignoring the way my stomach flipped at that ridiculous nickname.

“Please,” I shot back, hands on my hips. “If I wanted to watch someone roll around in the mud, I’d get a dog.”

His teammates howled with laughter, clapping him on the back. But George? He just grinned, jogging backwards like he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

“You’re obsessed with me, admit it!”

“In your dreams, Clarkey!”

The thing about George was that he thrived on winding me up. Which meant I couldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing that, no matter how annoying he was..he also made my heart race in a way that I hated.

George and I had been at each other’s throats since Year 9. It started when he made a very loud, very wrong comment about how cheerleading wasn’t a real sport. I may have responded by stealing his boots before a big match. He retaliated by swapping my water bottle with vinegar during training.

From there, it spiralled. Pranks, insults, who can annoy the other the most. It was our thing.

So when we walked into history the next day and the teacher started reading out partner assignments for our coursework, I wasn’t worried. There was no way she’d put me with George. She knew we were a disaster waiting to happen.

But then—

“George Clarkey and [ ].”

The entire room went silent.

Someone actually gasped.

I blinked. “You’re joking.”

George, sitting two seats away, let out a low whistle. “Ooh. That’s unfortunate for you, sweetheart.”

The teacher ignored both of us. “You’ll be working together on this project for the next few weeks, so I suggest you figure out a way to get along.”

I turned to George, who was already watching me with that bloody smirk. “You better actually do work,” I muttered as I slid into the seat next to him.

He leaned in slightly, voice low enough that only I could hear. “What, scared to spend time with me?”

My breath hitched annoyingly but I masked it with an unimpressed look. “Scared you’ll get shown up by me, more like.”

His grin deepened, all challenge and amusement. “This is gonna be fun.”

I had a horrible feeling he was right.

———————————————————————

I hated being partnered with George. I really did.

But if there was one small silver lining to this absolute disaster of a situation, it was that his best mate, Charlie, was actually a decent person.

Charlie was in my maths class, and we’d always gotten along well enough. Unlike George, he wasn’t constantly winding me up or trying to make my life miserable. And, unlike George, he didn’t seem to think cheerleading was a joke.

“You’re well unlucky,” Charlie said with a sympathetic smile as we walked out of class together. “Being stuck with Clarkey, I mean. Absolute nightmare, that one.”

I snorted. “Tell me about it.”

He grinned. “If you need someone to rant to, I’m happy to volunteer.”

And then, before I could even respond, George appeared out of nowhere, stepping right between us like some sort of human barricade.

“Alright, mate?” George clapped Charlie on the back a bit too hard. “Didn’t know you were trying to steal my project partner.”

Charlie laughed, glancing at me. “She’s your problem now, not mine.”

George turned to me, eyebrows raised. “That true, sweetheart? You going round complaining about me already?”

I rolled my eyes. “Didn’t have to. Everyone already knows you’re unbearable.”

He smirked. “And yet, here you are, walking with my mate. What, trying to get closer to me through him?”

Charlie shot him a look. “Don’t be a nob, Clarkey.”

George laughed like he wasn’t being completely insufferable, but something flickered in his expression something I couldn’t quite place.

I ignored it. Instead, I turned to Charlie and smiled. “I’ll see you later, yeah?”

His face lit up in a way that made something twist in my stomach.

I wasn’t oblivious I’d noticed the way Charlie looked at me lately. The way he found excuses to talk to me, to sit next to me in class. And, if I was honest, I liked the attention.

It wasn’t like that but it was nice. Unlike George, who lived to annoy me, Charlie was easy to talk to.

Apparently, George hated that.

Because as soon as Charlie walked off, he let out a sharp breath, running a hand through his damp curls. “Fucking hell. If I have to watch him flirt with you for the next few weeks, I might actually lose my mind.”

I crossed my arms, tilting my head. “What’s your problem?”

He scoffed. “Charlie never shuts up about you. It’s pathetic.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh, so you can flirt with half the school, but the second someone likes me, it’s a problem?”

His jaw clenched. “I don’t flirt with everyone.”

I let out a humourless laugh. “Right. You just call everyone ‘sweetheart’ and wink at anything that moves.”

George’s smirk twitched slightly, but there was something else behind it now, something a little more serious.

“You jealous, love?” His voice was lower now, teasing, but not in his usual careless way.

I stared at him. “Of what?”

He stepped closer. Not enough to be obvious, not enough to draw attention, but enough. Enough that I caught the scent of his aftershave, enough that my pulse betrayed me completely.

“Of them,” he murmured. “The girls I flirt with.”

I refused to let him get to me. Refused to let him know that my brain was currently short circuiting from the way he was looking at me.

So I forced a smirk, tilting my head up defiantly. “Not even a little bit.”

Lie. Massive, massive lie.

But George just hummed, stepping back with a knowing glint in his eyes. “If you say so, sweetheart.”

And then he was walking off, leaving me standing there, heart hammering, absolutely furious that he could still get under my skin like that.

But come to think of it, I wasn’t encouraging Charlie. Not really.

But I also wasn’t stopping him.

Because, if nothing else, watching George Clarkey’s jaw clench every time Charlie spoke to me was quickly becoming one of my new favourite things.

“Here, let me carry that for you,” Charlie offered, reaching for my books as we walked out of the library.

I raised an eyebrow. “I can carry my own books, you know.”

He grinned. “Yeah, but I’m trying to be chivalrous.”

I rolled my eyes but let him take them anyway. “What a gentleman.”

Charlie was easy to be around. He was funny, charming, and unlike George he didn’t actively make it his mission to wind me up constantly.

Which is exactly why I shouldn’t have been even remotely surprised when George appeared out of nowhere, stepping directly between us like a human roadblock.

“Oi, Charlie,” he said, completely ignoring me. “Didn’t know you’d started a new career as a personal assistant.”

Charlie let out a short laugh. “It’s called being nice, Clarkey. You should try it sometime.”

George’s gaze snapped to me, sharp and unreadable. “Think she can manage carrying her own books, though.”

Charlie shrugged. “Yeah, but I offered.”

George let out a slow breath, rubbing the back of his neck like he was physically restraining himself from saying something stupid. Which was rare for him, considering he never shut up.

“Whatever,” he muttered, finally turning to me. “You ready for this project thing or what?”

I gave him a look. “You mean the thing you were ten minutes late for?”

He smirked. “Took my time. Knew you’d still be here flirting with Charlie, anyway.”

I scoffed, ignoring the way my face betrayed me completely by heating up. “I was not—”

“Anyway,” Charlie cut in, clearing his throat. He handed my books back, giving me a quick smile. “I’ll see you later, yeah?”

I nodded. “Yeah, see you.”

The second he was gone, George let out a short, irritated breath.

“Fucking hell,” he muttered under his breath. “You really like entertaining him, don’t you?”

I turned to him, crossing my arms. “And what exactly is your problem with that?”

He scoffed. “No problem.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Right. That’s why you keep glaring at him like he’s personally offended you.”

George rolled his eyes, running a hand through his hair in frustration. “He’s just—” He paused, shaking his head. “Forget it.”

But now I was curious. I stepped forward, tilting my head. “He’s just what?”

George exhaled sharply, muttering something under his breath before meeting my gaze again. “He’s a mate, alright? And I know for a fact that if he actually asked you out, it wouldn’t just be some little flirt for him.”

I frowned. “And what if he did ask me out?”

George went completely still.

I almost laughed at the look on his face like the thought had genuinely never occurred to him before. Like he hadn’t actually considered the possibility that I might actually say yes.

Then his jaw tensed.

“You wouldn’t,” he said simply.

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And why’s that?”

George met my gaze, something unreadable flickering behind his usual cocky, irritating expression.

Then he smirked, leaning in slightly just enough to make my breath hitch.

“Because,” he murmured, “you’d get bored of him in about a week.”

My stomach flipped. Stupid. So stupid.

I straightened my shoulders, forcing a scoff. “And you think I wouldn’t get bored of you?”

George’s smirk deepened, his voice dropping just enough to send a shiver down my spine.

“Oh, sweetheart,” he said smoothly. “You’d never get bored of me.”

My heart was pounding now, and I hated him for it. Hated the way he could do this push my buttons, wind me up, and still make my stomach do stupid, ridiculous flips all at once.

So I forced a smile. A sweet, fake, infuriatingly polite smile.

“Watch me.”

Then I turned and walked off, knowing full well that George Clarkey was still watching me the entire way.

And, if I wasn’t completely losing my mind, I think I just made things even worse.

——————————————————————

At first, it was just light teasing compliments here, cheeky comments there. And I didn’t mind it. In fact, I enjoyed it. Not because I fancied him, but because of the way George absolutely lost his mind every time Charlie so much as looked at me.

But lately, it had shifted.

Charlie had started getting… bolder. The lingering touches, the low murmurs when no one else was listening. And while I’d brushed it off at first, something about it felt off.

I just hadn’t realised how off until I overheard exactly what he was saying about me.

The changing room was loud with the usual post-training banter—laughter, the sound of boots being tossed aside, the occasional thud of someone slamming a locker shut. Charlie was in the middle of a story, half-dressed, stretching out his sore muscles.

Then her name came up.

A few heads turned, but no one stopped him. Charlie had been talking about her a lot lately—more than usual. Flirting with her in the corridors, finding excuses to be around her. But today, there was a different edge to his words.

A low chuckle. “Mate, I swear, the things I’d do to her…”

George stilled.

“Bet she’s a little tease in private, all attitude in public but proper desperate behind closed doors.”

Someone snorted. Someone else muttered, “Behave, mate.” But no one stopped him.

“I’d have her screaming my name by the end of the night.”

The sound of boots hitting the floor, a sharp inhale—then a sudden, violent slam.

Charlie’s back hit the lockers with a heavy thud.

The room went silent.

George stood in front of him, fists clenched, jaw tight, eyes burning with something dangerous.

“Shut your f**king mouth, Charlie.”

A stunned pause. Then, Charlie let out a short, breathless laugh. “The f**k, Clarkey?”

George didn’t move. Didn’t blink. “Say that again. I f**king dare you.”

Charlie’s smirk flickered, like he couldn’t decide whether to be pissed off or amused. “Oh, come on. It’s just banter.”

“Banter?” The word came out slow, sharp.

Charlie scoffed. “Don’t tell me you care. It’s not like she’s yours.”

The tension in the room snapped, thick enough to choke on.

Every muscle in George’s body was drawn tight, like he was barely holding himself back. A challenge hung in the air, unspoken but blistering.

Then, movement in the doorway.

Her voice.

“George?”

Everything stopped.

Heads turned. A few of the boys suddenly found something very interesting about their boots.

She stood in the entrance, eyes locked on George, gaze flicking between him and Charlie. Something shifted in her expression—realisation, understanding.

And then, without a word, she walked past Charlie like he wasn’t even there.

Straight to George.

Fingers wrapped around his wrist. A small but deliberate touch.

No one spoke.

Charlie let out a breath, muttering something under his breath, but no one laughed this time.

A moment passed.

Then she tugged George towards the door, and he let her.

The second they were gone, the silence broke.

“Mate, what the f**k was that?” someone muttered.

No one had an answer. But everyone knew. Something had just changed.

The walk from the changing room was silent.

She hadn’t let go of his wrist. Not until they were outside, away from the laughter, the echo of boots against the floor, the lingering weight of what just happened.

When she finally did, George exhaled sharply, running a hand through his damp curls. His whole body was still wired with anger, every muscle tense.

She watched him carefully, arms crossed. “What the hell was that?”

George let out a sharp, humourless laugh, looking away. “You heard what that dickhead was saying.”

“Yeah, I did,” she shot back. “But why do you care so much?”

That question hit him like a punch to the gut.

His jaw clenched. “Are you fucking serious?”

She stepped closer, voice low. “Yes, George. I’m serious. You’ve been acting like a complete lunatic every time Charlie so much as looks at me. And now you’re starting fights in the changing room? What is your problem?”

George scoffed, shaking his head. “My problem? My problem is that he talks about you like you’re some fucking thing to win.”

Her breath hitched, but she didn’t look away.

George huffed out another breath, stepping back. “Forget it. You clearly don’t care.”

A beat of silence. Then..

“You think I don’t care?”

Her voice was quiet, but something in it made him pause.

He turned back, and—fuck

She wasn’t just angry. She was hurt.

Something twisted in his chest, hard and sudden.

She shook her head, looking at him like she was finally seeing it. “You don’t get to stand there and act like you’re the only one who’s pissed off, George. You think I liked hearing him say that? You think I liked knowing you were about to..” She stopped herself, inhaling sharply. “I don’t need you fighting my battles for me.”

George let out a slow breath, dragging a hand over his face. “I wasn’t—” He stopped. Swallowed. “I wasn’t thinking.”

“No shit,” she muttered.

For a second, neither of them spoke.

A gust of wind blew past, the only sound between them. The usual noise of the school a distant shout from the pitch, the sound of doors slamming felt muffled, like they were in their own space, locked in this moment neither of them knew how to get out of.

George exhaled. “Look.” His voice came out quieter than before, rough around the edges. “I just” He stopped himself, shaking his head. “Forget it.”

She hated when he did that started a sentence, then shut it down like it didn’t matter.

So she stepped forward, forcing him to meet her eyes. “Say it.”

His jaw ticked. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Say it, George.”

And that was it. That was the breaking point.

Because before he could stop himself, the words spilled out, raw and reckless

“Of course it fucking matters!”

Her breath caught.

George shoved a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply. “I hate it. I hate watching him flirt with you. I hate the way he talks about you. I hate” He stopped, shaking his head. “I hate that you don’t fucking see it.”

Silence.

Her voice was barely a whisper. “See what?”

George let out a harsh laugh, bitter and frustrated, because seriously?

He stepped closer. Not like before not teasing, not playful. This was something different. Something that made the air between them feel thick, heavy, electric.

“Jesus Christ.” His voice was lower now, rough. “You, sweetheart. You think I’ve been acting like this for fun? You think I don’t care?” His breath was uneven, and he hated it. Hated that she could do this to him. “I care too fucking much, and it’s ruining me.”

The words hung there, unshakable.

She didn’t move. Didn’t say a word.

Then slowly, carefully she reached for his wrist.

Soft, hesitant.

And George who was always so loud, so sure, so quick with a comeback went completely, utterly still.

Something in his chest tightened.

Her fingers curled slightly, just enough to keep him there. Not pulling, not pushing. Just holding on.

And George?

George let her.

Because he was done fighting it.

The weight of George’s words still hung in the air, thick and impossible to ignore.

“I care too fucking much, and it’s ruining me.”

She hadn’t moved. Hadn’t spoken. Just stood there, fingers still wrapped around his wrist soft, hesitant, deliberate.

George didn’t breathe. Didn’t dare.

Because if he did, if he let himself feel this properly, he didn’t know if he’d be able to stop.

She looked at him then, really looked at him, and it was too much the way her gaze softened, the way she was holding onto him like she finally understood.

“George,” she said, voice quieter now, like the fight had drained out of her.

And it wrecked him.

Because he’d spent so long pretending acting like none of this mattered, like she wasn’t under his skin in ways that no one else had ever been.

But now?

Now she was so close.

And he couldn’t pretend anymore.

His free hand lifted without thinking, fingers brushing against her jaw, tentative, testing giving her a chance to pull away.

She didn’t.

If anything, she leaned into it.

Something inside him snapped.

Before either of them could talk themselves out of it, he tilted his head and closed the space between them, pressing his lips against hers.

Soft at first hesitant, searching but then she made a small, breathless sound against his mouth, and it sent something crashing through him.

His hands moved, gripping her waist, pulling her closer, like he was making up for every second he’d wasted pushing her away.

She kissed him back like she’d been waiting for this just as long, fingers twisting in his hoodie, holding him there, like she needed this too.

And God, he was gone for her. Completely, helplessly gone.

When they finally pulled apart, their breathing was uneven, faces still close.

Her fingers were still curled into his hoodie. His hands were still on her waist.

And George who had always been so cocky, so sure of himself could barely get his voice to work.

“Sweetheart…” His forehead rested against hers, voice rough, breathless. “Tell me I haven’t just completely fucked this up.”

A small, mischievous smile tugged at her lips.

“You think I’d kiss you like that if you had?”

George huffed out a laugh, shaking his head, thumb tracing absent circles on her hip.

“You’re a tease,” he murmured.

She grinned. “And you love it.”

He did.

And for once, he wasn’t afraid to admit it.

[rosenkranz-does-things]

first of all i love ur art so much and your x files art has made me start watching x files again! when i stopped watching my favorite episode was quagmire bc i was obsessed with nessie as a kid, but i was wondering, what do u think about this ep? :o

hi! thank you so much! 🥰 oh Quagmire is one of my favorites! I feel bad for the dog (Scully couldn't even take care of one tiny pup, this woman should never be a mother), but that Chekhov's gun was ready to fire the moment Scully named him Queequeg. nominative determinism got him 😔 but also knowing that Gillian resented the dog because he was stinky makes it funnier. anyways! the episode! love that Scully gets to drive for once (and a boat of all things!). I love that she knows her cryptozoology even now that's she's an Adult and a Scientist.

this scene where bait for the mysterious beast turned out to be not good enough-

and the beast chooses a different bait, reminds me of these glorious shots from The Terror

also this sums up the show so well. it may not be what I believe, but it's not what you believe either! it's a secret third thing (an alligator)

also ooh look at their dyke swag

but I'm getting distracted. oohh look a cormorant! sorry getting distracted again

getting stranded on a tiny rock in the dark with your coworker who talks about cannibalism. and they say romance is dead. but also, cannibalism aside, this is what the show is about. the two of them in the dark, searching for the elusive truth which is just in the walking distance, but they can't see it. this is why I don't understand people complaining about the show being too dark to see. that's the point! you're not supposed to see. neither are they.

and the Big Blue? it appears the moment they turn their backs. the truth is out there but they'll never find it.

I have many thoughts on this episode, especially about the closing scene, but this post is already getting too long. anyways. Quagmire is truly one of the greatest episodes in the whole show

[romchat]

In Blossom visual analysis (ep. 1-7): How to film a gothic romance

Although I'm not completely convinced about some of the writing choices of In Blossom, I absolutely LOVE the show's production design and cinematography. @mademoiselle-red wrote a great post about how main character Pan Yue fits the gothic romantic lead archetype, and those gothic elements are not only present in the script but also in the show's visual storytelling.

Lighting

A key element of gothic romance is its atmosphere of mystery and suspense.

Something I really like about In Blossom is that despite its dark subject matter, many of its scenes take place during the day. One of the show's main themes is that appearances can be misleading and the cinematography often plays with that notion by linking light to deception and darkness to truth. Note how many of the emotionally honest beats of Yang Caiwei and Pan Yue's relationship happen at night (e.g., their couple escapades at the Li Residence, Ghost Market, and Life and Death gambling house) while fakery, corruption, and evildoing happen in the day. It's with this subversion of our expectations for light that the show creates an unsettling atmosphere.

And these lighting choices also help set up Pan Yue as a classic gothic romance anti-hero, someone the female lead, Yang Caiwei, fears but still finds herself drawn to.

Look at how Pan Yue is lit when shot through Yang Caiwei's subjective point of view. The strong use of light creates a lot of contrast--through her eyes, he is a mixture of light and dark, his morality as inscrutable as his shadowy figure.

Camera Angles and Shot Sizes

The show's use of low angles and close-ups further reinforces the idea that Pan Yue is unpredictable and even dangerous.

In cinematography, low-angle shots tend to make the subject look more powerful and menacing, and the show uses this technique to great effect.

Even in the intimacy of close-up shots, we can sense the threat emanating from Pan Yue. He’s always shot just a smidgeon too close for comfort.

For example, look at how much Liu Xueyi's face fills the frame in an early "romantic" scene. The shot feels almost claustrophobic as if he's so single-minded about his goals that he has no choice but to dominate the frame (and Yang Caiwei). It's an unnerving moment despite the soft words coming out of his mouth.

Side Note: I live for Pan Yue's (vampiric) long shots. The production design team was smart for dressing the character in dark clothes with such a sleek cut and drape--he looks like a sexy bat.

The Nosferatu references in Yang Caiwei's tomb are also perfect.

Composition and Framing

And finally, like any good gothic romance, In Blossom illustrates how love can drive one to despair and even madness.

Because of this, my FAVORITE scene of the show has to be the introduction of Shangguan Zhi. Her obsessive pursuit of beauty in hopes of seducing Pan Yue has left her a shell of a human being, and the scene's composition perfectly encapsulates this with how it focuses on the elegant lines of her body--not her face or personhood.

Shangguan Zhi is trapped by her delusional fantasy of a life with Pan Yue--see how she's boxed in by the vertical lines of the screen panel she admires--and the show regularly uses architectural lines to show how her desperation has trapped Yang Caiwei as well.

[for-a-longlongtime]

Alright here let me just get it all off my chest.

- goddamnit, I didn’t realize just how fucking much Neil hates Joel but uh, message received

- they can all go choke on a dick for trying to make us sympathize with Abby and calling her an ‘anti-hero’ and ‘so similar to Ellie’

- DID THEY REALLY NEED TO HAVE ABBY REPEAT the whole “you are handsome indeed, congratulations” — like that opening in the first ep wasn’t bad enough? It’s so dumb and makes it a laughing stock.

- as someone who smokes most days of the week to fall asleep, can I just say; the idea of letting a cannabis lab literally just go to waste in THEIR SITUATION is ridiculous. It doesn’t matter that ‘Maria wouldn’t like it’ (however it seemed a gross exaggeration bc obv she does understand the importance of having resources), having hemp and medicine basically is so valuable in so many ways since the world ended 25 years ago.

- how was Jesse (and potential Joel) the only person who knew about that lab? And it being a safe shelter? This wasn’t that far from Jackson, everybody should know about it and it should be mapped

- way way too much happened this episode. And it fucking minimizes the horrible thing that happened to Joel, and I’m pissed about it.

- the scene with the Infected attacking Jackson actually became boring really quickly. Yeah, it was a lot of spectacle. But you’re telling me there’s not more leadership there than Tommy and Maria basically?

- from the first scream by Joel, I knew I wouldn’t be able to do this and I muted the tv, then basically just held my hand in front of my face most of the time so I only saw the left and right side of the screen and knew when it was over (did see the final shot of Ellie with Joel). And seeing how traumatized most people are from that scene, I’m very glad I didn’t watch it.

- the makeup. It goddamn PISSES ME OFF. There was already too much of it in ep 1 but this was just so much worse, esp the closeups of Abby’s fluttering false lashes with mascara. PLEASE.

- the level of disbelief re: Abby and that gang of misfit toys somehow surviving for five years (and still nobody having a plan to stop her) was ridiculous. All of it. There was no leadership whatsoever. You really are gonna try to make us believe they would just blindly follow her?

- this was also said already by @ohforficsake but let me just reiterate: where is WHAT TOWN Joel, the man who survived for fucking 25 yrs — because suddenly he basically goes down without really any fight? And no I don’t believe it was just ‘so they would let Dina live’. Bullshit.

- I didn’t play the game but I do know Tommy was supposed to have been there. But he was busy playing mayor?? Okay. Ugh.

- there are a ton more things but I’m tired and obsessed and need to calm down. Ugh. But. Hated it. Beyond the obvious reason.

EDIT: actually, let me just add, the Zionism makes all of this even more unbearable. And I’ll definitely not continue to watch the show still once the flashback scenes have all happened.

[vampiregremlin]

Kamen Rider Gavv

So... I forgot to post the 29 notes, then didn't have time for 30 and then the Easter weekend messed up my feeling of time, I thought Monday is Sunday, watched all eps and forgot to post the notes. ^^'

Ep 29

I'm at my emotional limit these days, show. Pls don't show me Suga and his baby again

Life birthing for Sachika

I CAN'T BELIEVE LAKIA JUST MOVED INTO SUGA'S LAB. DOES HE JUST CHILL THERE WITH DEAD SLINKY DINKS AND A FUCKED UP NURSERY?!

HE GAVE HIM FUCKING ROCKS AND LAKIA JUST MUNCHEND THEM AKDVKABQKY

Shouma forgetting to tell Hanto that Lakia munches rocks and doesn't collect them

My boiiiiiii

"Should I join you on the other side...?" YOU CAN'T JUST DROP THAT LINE ON ME

Hanto is canonically taking Shouma out on dates for gochizos ajdbjwbd. Good for them. We stay winning

Ohhhhhhhh they're addressing Shouma's rest of the family!!!

She's so adorable I love her

He's missing his make up :(((( I feel like they dropped his voice too, so he appears more masculine

SHE'S SO ADORABLE

HE'S SUCH A LITTLE BITCH I UGHHH

They really killed my dilf to give me another dilf. Jabsuwbd you can't play with me like that Gavv. I'm a weak man. But I am not forgiving you that easily

15 year old me who was heavily obsessed with basketball is passing out rn(I am just... too bad at sports and have nothing a good basketball player needs, so I could never play it myself hwbdjwbs)

Him celebrating with the other team's dude is so cute😭😭😭😭

Yeah, Sachika is more my skill level in basketball ajdbjqbw

I have questions about that dudes hair on the background in the cafe. I thought he was a granute at first

If the disguises are specific, can Jeebh take Shiita's form? Omg that makes way for so many fucked up situations

Jeebh's face ajbdjwbwjwb

Lakia and his stupid hat havdja

That's me playing it cool too

There is like... everything wrong with that scene

PATS FOR THE GOCHIZO. And he isn't dead

Ep 30

Okay cool

They're so cute together. They're so fucked up, but they're so cute together😭

Bwbxjbajzba I love her so much omfg

"The utterly sinister president's daughter" bro I am so fucking ready for this episode

Lakia and Hanto are so besties😂😂😂 Glad to see them go along

Every thing is so fucked up. Everything is so fucked up. OMG EVERYTHING IS GETTING SO FUCKED UP

But like why do the Stomach's not have a mouth like other granutes. Why do they have belts? Never thought about that before

Gortash is tasting his own medicine

Omg the random shit she collected

Goooood she's so ajzvjabwjxbww

Ahhhhhh his silly little appearance with his silly little glasses is back wahhhh

Ohhhhhhhh shiiiiiiit. I was right he can take Shiita's disguise now

They're so fucked up. They're so fucked uuuuuup

The Lakia x Sachika fans are being fed with crumbs

The boyfriends are so back "or we can both" RAAAAAHHHHHHHH

I might kill myself over their dynamics

"It just hit me how nice teamwork is." We're not far enough into the show for those words to be said in a good way

Oh god he is soo fucking bitchy!!! I love him

Ep 31

Jbaidbjahsuzhwvd what's with their dynamic😂😂😂😂😂 The sound Hanto made is I uhm

Noooo, not Lakia's fave pudding

Ohhhhhhh pretty suit!!!! Bug suit!!!!

Oabjzbqixbqixbwis omfg they're professionals. Our get along sticky stuff

Okay wait, first guess was that he's a granute, but maybe he's one of Shouma's relatives????

Oh wait, he is a granute. Is he???

Ahhh my fucked up little girl<3

LAKIA'S FACE AJBDJQBSJAB

Hanto, why are you talking about dating scenes with Lakia

Ugh why are the president's minions even COOLER

I know he's like mourning his dead brother and all but that was a pretty shot

THE GOCHIZOS AT THE END AJXBJABWIZJA

[dangermousie]

As I was telling @aysekira, I am definitely obsessed with Iron Family now.

I think what really gets me is the slice of life feel with potential for angst.

You might think I don't like slice of life since there are so many I rant about or end up disappointed in, but that is actually not the case. Slice of life is not like romcom, where I genuinely only like one if it abandons romcom trappings for melo or some other genre. Some of my favorite dramas have been slice of life ones, where you feel like you are peeking at real people - Aishteru to Ittekure, Utahime, Sapuri, Worlds Within, Gloria, Family Honor, Go Ahead, Run On etc - they are all "peeking at real people" with a side of melo (because I am still me :P)

The problem for me is this is a genre that when done well is exquisite, but it is hard to do well. And if not done well, it ends up either boring as heck or like a failed student arthouse project, trying too hard.

And what Iron Family does so well so far is to convey that realness. It's actually a mix of everything because it has the runtime and the mindset to be - there is goofy comedy, and workplace hijinks, and potential for romance. But there are also lovely, achingly realistic family dynamics and that is what sells it for me - the elderly grandparents facing health scares (I already cried because of them in ep 2!!), the widowed mother - loving but harried, the brother who is ready to move out and is surly in that realistic way (where he's detaching but he's not mean or abusive, just trying to find his independence), the responsible oldest daughter (our FL) - failing not to hope but rather crushed by life, the aunt who is divorcing and isn't keen on taking her kid etc etc etc.

I was struck by the scene of family dinner in ep 2 - all the dynamics around food and swapping plates and adding ingredients and convos. It felt like looking at a real family; this drama does stuff with food as character development. The scene where ML's mom visited him at the hospital, made a face at the food she got versus his sick meal, and after token demurring accepting his swapping their meals (tho he was supposed to be eating stuff good for sick people) tells a lot about their dynamics without needing to waste time; and that's another thing I like btw - she's not a great mom and we can see that, but she's not abusive or monstrous, just selfish in that realistic way.

The potential for angst and melo is here - grandma likely has stomach cancer, FL is slowly going blind and the shot to reverse it before it's too late costs $800K which her family does not have (so she doesn't let them know) etc etc. But within that framework, they feel like real people.

It's like the backstory for the future OTP. There is no unforgettable tragic love story, no mad angst, no his being a villain or w/e. They had a mutually satisfying one-night stand, he badgered her into a phone number (despite her saying she didn't want to give it or she'd hope) and then never called. It's a realistic immature college kid thing to do. Not great, not villainous, just life.

Because this drama has 36 eps, it has room to breathe and develop all these dynamics. It's not rushed from story point to story point. It has the luxury of having a competent scriptwriter and competent actors and letting them do their thing. There are too many kdramas lately where they feel so gimmicky and so SMUG (I don't know how to phrase it better), and this one does not. This feels like what I feel in love with kdramas for.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Sylki Season 2 Thoughts.

So I said in my earlier post that I wanted to talk about some of ep 5's moments in a bit more depth, honestly most of the moments I wanted to talk about were Sylki moments, yeah I know one track mind. I know that a lot of fans are feeling disappointed with the Sylki content we've gotten so far this season and I get it, there is a huge tonal difference to Sylki's relationship in season 2 than in season 1. In season 1 they had that playful banter and alot of cute moments and this season its angst with an extra topping of miscommunication and a side of awkward tension. I'm not here to tell anyone how they should or shouldn't feel about Sylki this season I'm just going to share my own thoughts and feelings.

I personally have enjoyed the content we've been getting for Sylki this season, even though its a very different dynamic to season 1, I do think it makes sense for where they are in their relationship after season 1's finale. When I was thinking about their moments in ep 5 that I wanted to talk about though I thought hmm you know what would be really fun, to kind of break down and analyse Sylki's journey so far this season. So that's what this post is going to be now instead of focusing only on ep 5, I figured I would share my thoughts on the season as a whole so far in preparation for the finale. Now fair warning this did get long as I have way too many thoughts about Sylki couples with just a slight obsession. So I am going to put the rest under a read more link, obviously there are spoilers for the whole season.

Going back to ep 1 of this season, we pick up right after the citadel and Loki is having this problem with the time-slipping. But what really got me was how frantic Loki was when it came to Sylvie. He was constantly rambling about how he didn't know where she was and was instantly concerned when Dox showed an interest in her, he wanted to know who Dox was and what she wanted with Sylvie. Even his own issue with the time-slipping came second to him wanting to know if Sylvie was ok, when he hears that Dox is cleaning out the armoury and thinks she is going after Sylvie, he was ready to drop everything right there to go and protect Sylvie from Dox. He had to be reminded by Mobius that they only had one shot to fix the time-slipping and even then it was only when B-15 said she would deal with Dox and he knew someone would be helping Sylvie that he focused back on the task at hand. Which brings me to that moment right before Loki slips to the future and sees Sylvie, he goes to say something to Mobius, talking about if he doesn't make it back. Now maybe I'm just projecting here but I can't help but wonder if Loki was going to ask Mobius to find and look out for Sylvie if Loki didn't make it back. Just because it did come right after he was ready to march out of there to protect Sylvie from Dox, it seems to me that Loki's mind was very much on Sylvie and her safety at that moment so it would make sense to me that he would want to have a back up plan for someone to protect Sylvie if something went wrong and he couldn't do it himself.

Then we get that moment when Loki is in the future TVA and he sees Sylvie in the elevator. That moment was just so beautiful and yet so sad at the same time. I mean as I said above Loki was frantic this entire episode whenever he spoke about Sylvie, his concern for her was obvious. Then there's this moment where everything kind of slows down and he see Sylvie, he knows that this is the future and he can see that not only is she ok but she is looking for him and is both relieved and pleased to see him. This is the first time he is seeing her since their fight at the citadel and I think this must have kind of blown his mind because after the way they parted he must have assumed she would hate him and never want to see him again and yet here she is happy to see him.

He is so relieved to see her safe and ok that he starts to cry. I think in that moment he just gets so overwhelmed by his feelings, all he's wanted all episode was to know Sylvie was ok and now he can see that she is but it is at that moment that he gets pruned and is ripped away from her again. Also worth noting that Loki is aware that he is on a time limit here, he needs to prune himself within that allocated time or he'll be lost and yet in that moment the sight of Sylvie makes him forget all of that, his entire focus becomes her. And even after all of that, when he finally makes it back safely the first thing he says is that they need to find Sylvie.

I think seeing that Sylvie was looking for him actually gave Loki some hope, he thought she would hate him but she was actually looking for him in the future, she was the one seeking him out and I think that little spark of hope is what drives Loki in the first half of episode 2. Just like in episode 1 Loki's main focus is on Sylvie, as Brad says he's become obsessed with finding her. He still has that impatient panicked air about him as they search for her.

But here is where we hit the first bump in the rocky road ahead. Here's something to know about me, I love angsty plotlines in romantic couples. Like with all my favourite couples when I go back and watch my favourite scenes its always the angsty ones I go to, what I love about those plots in the anticipation of the reunion, the moment they finally come back together again. But having invested in more than one angsty pairing and have learned that the journey to the reunion is usually one step forward and three steps back. Our first step forward was the moment when we learned that in the future Sylvie will be looking for Loki and will be happy to see him, the three steps back is definitely the second half of episode 2.

Their reunion is awkward from the get go. Although Loki got a glimpse of Sylvie in the future, this is really the first time they are seeing each other since the citadel, so obviously there are a lot of emotions involved. You can see that Loki looks kind of hesitant and unsure, and Sylvie at first looks very trapped but then tries to play it off cool and indifferent. The other thing that is significant is that different amounts of time have passed for each of them. For Loki its only been days since the citadel, so all of that is very fresh for him, but for Sylvie, judging from how much her hair had grown out, its has been at least a few months meaning she's had alot more time to process what happened. I do wonder if she ever thought about whether she would see Loki again and whether she imagined the scenario out in her head?

There was a little detail I noticed when Loki approaches the counter and that is when he gets to the counter he looks down at it as if he has just realised its there and realises he can't get any closer, its like he's disappointed he can't get closer. The set up of this scene is really interesting to me because not only do you have that counter acting as a physical barrier between them, representing the emotional barrier between them but there is this wall as well with that stark black line running between them that appears as a visual barrier as well, with Loki on one side and Sylvie on the other:

Again really pushing home this image of there being an emotional barrier between them that they are going to have to work at bringing down.

The acting in this scene is amazing and just so full of raw emotion. I love the way Loki lets out this deep exhale when he first sees her, the tears in his eyes that he's barely holding back. They are both clearly very nervous. They both struggle to maintain eye contact and are really fidgety. The nervousness makes sense as neither one of them knows how the other is going to react to seeing them after their fight at the citadel.

The thing is despite acting indifferent and cold, Sylvie still agrees to talk with Loki, I think if it really was the case that she didn't care about him anymore she would have just said she's got nothing to say to him and sent him away from the get go, refusing to even hear him out. But she doesn't do that, she wants to talk to him.

The first step back comes though when Loki says 'I know I'm the last person you want to see' and Sylvie replies 'correct.' This confirmation clearly hurt Loki, he has a long pause whilst he tries to process that hurt, when he does talk again he really struggles to get the words out and seems really frazzled, he has to take a lot of deep breaths and pauses as he's trying to find the words he wants to say and get them out. It gets to the point where Sylvie has to tell him to get to the point, and she is clearly frustrated. Loki only becomes clear and calmer when he tells her that he saw her in the future. I think that hope he felt when Sylvie was looking for him and happy to see him took a huge knock when he found her in the present and not only is she not happy to see him but she says he's the last person she wants to see. But here he's reminding himself that she might be upset and cold right now but in the future she is going to be at the TVA and she's going to be looking for him. Its that hope coming back that allows him to calm down and actually speak coherently.

But Sylvie then says she has made a life for herself and she's happy. Loki actually looks surprised by this and I think that's because of what he said at the beginning of the episode when he and Mobius were in London looking for X-5, he said Sylvie wasn't there because it wasn't her style it was too safe. I think he's surprised to find her in this calm, safe place and I also think as much as Loki does want Sylvie to be happy, a part of him is upset and hurt that she was able to build a life and be happy without him, especially as he is clearly not happy without her. I think its also that reminder that they had planned back in 1x05 during the blanket scene to find a life together, but now Sylvie has found that life by herself.

Loki then tells her its the future and its going to happen. Here I think he's trying to reassure himself as much as he's trying to convince her. It's him telling himself, its ok she's upset and angry with me right now, things are still broken between us right now, but I saw her in the future, we were together at the TVA and its going to happen because its the future. He's just desperately clinging onto that hope.

But Sylvie bursts his bubble again when she points out that the future is no longer written, that she had made sure of that. Not only is this a reminded of their disagreement at the citadel but its also pointing out to Loki that actually what he saw was one possible future and there's a chance it might not happen.

At this point he desperately tries for a different tactic and goes with we have to work together to protect the TVA and by extension the branches you freed. I think part of the reason why Loki wants them to work together though is because it would be like old times. He's trying to get back to where they were in season 1 where they were a team working together to take down the timekeepers and then to figure out who was behind the TVA when the timekeepers were revealed to be fake. He wants them to be a team again, to be on the same side again.

But this just makes Sylvie angry because she doesn't know that's what he is trying to do, to her it just seems like all he cares about is the TVA. I think part of the reason why she does get angry is because she is disappointed, I think she hoped when he showed up that he was there to fix things between them, that he was there for her, but instead it seems to her like he's just there because he wants to save the TVA. Which is ironic because I really do think he was there for her but just did a poor job of communicating that to her.

Loki then tries that tactic of your home is in danger don't you want to protect it. Which thinking about it was a little manipulative of Loki but again shows that desperation he is feeling, also to be fair to Loki its not like it was untrue. Then of course they get interrupted by Brad and Mobius and discover that Dox is planning to bomb all the branched timelines. What is really interesting here is that despite all her protests and despite claiming that she didn't care, that she had done her part in giving everyone freewill and had now walked away, Sylvie still goes with Loki and Mobius and helps them fight to protect the branches, again something she wouldn't have done if she really didn't care like she claims.

Another interesting moment is after the fight, when Mobius tells Loki that they need to go back to the TVA and Loki looks back to Sylvie before going through the time door. It reminded me of the scene at the end of 1x2 where Sylvie looks back at Loki and waves before going through the time door, she left it open so I think she wanted him to follow, or at least knew he would. I think its the same here, he wants and trusts her to follow him through. He also looks back at her after she does follow him through which creates a nice little parallel later in ep 4 when Loki does that same double look when she arrives.

I do think it is significant that Sylvie does choose to follow him back to the TVA instead of just going straight home, its another case of her words saying one thing but her actions saying something else entirely. But we get another giant leap backwards when the true extent of the damage Dox has done is revealed. Billions of lives have been lost and this is where Sylvie's deep mistrust of the TVA comes into play. As much as she wants to trust in Loki, he had just promised that the TVA could be a force of good, of protection for the branches, yet Sylvie just witnessed a member of the TVA kill billions of lives and the TVA, Loki, was unable to protect them. I do think its interesting that when everyone else was focused on Renslayer's tempad hit, Loki walked away from them to go and speak to Sylvie. He knew how upset she would be about the branches and wanted to comfort her, but also he knew she would be angry and I think he was also desperate to convince her that despite what just happened the TVA could still be something good. Sylvie wasn't having any of it but another moment that really hit me was that as she leaves Loki closes his eyes like he can't bear to watch her walk away.

Another thing that was interesting to me was the very end scene where Sylvie is sitting on her car listening to music. The song she is listening to is Kozmic Blues by Janis Joplin and I think it can tell us a lot about how Sylvie is feeling in that moment. The song is about trying to see the good in things and about hope but always still being let down. The writer said this about the meaning of the song: 'Kozmic Blues just means that no matter what you do, man, you get shot down anyway.' Which to me makes me think that as much as Sylvie says she doesn't care, as much as she says she is happy on her timeline and has made a life for herself, that she has stopped running, actually she's just tired of being let down all the time. She wants to believe that the TVA can be turned into something good, she wants to trust in Loki, she wants to believe that things between them can get better and she wants to be able to open her heart to him again, but she is afraid of being let down again, of feeling that pain again, so instead she is just hiding in her timeline. Sadly Dox pruning those timelines is just another instance of Sylvie feeling let down and thinking that hoping for something better was useless.

The first verse of the song plays during this scene:

Time keeps moving on Friends they turn away I keep moving on But I never found out why I keep pushing too hard and babe I keep trying to make it right Through another lonely day,

To me these lyrics paired with the image of her looking down at HWR's tempad, tells me that Sylvie is regretting her choices a little, or at the very least thinking about the consequences of them. 'Time keeps moving on' no matter how much time has passed she still can't let go of the past and the connections she made. 'Friends they turn away' makes me think about how she and Loki are now at odds, but also how she must feel like she is on the opposite side to Mobius and B-15 who she also formed a bit of a connection to. The lines 'I keep moving on' 'I keep pushing too hard' and 'I keep trying to make it right' I think show Sylvie's struggle. She thought she was doing the right thing by killing HWR and setting the timelines free but things are still going wrong, she is trying to move on with her life but I think she is still feeling like something is missing and I think the thing that is missing is Loki, she misses that feeling of having a team mate, of having someone by her side, fighting with her. Which brings me to the last line. 'Through another lonely day.' I think out of all the lines in the first verse this is the most significant. It's not a lonely day, its another lonely day. Despite saying she is happy ultimately Sylvie is lonely on her timeline.

Come ep 3 it seems like there is a shift in Loki's attitude, gone is mr frantic Loki who constantly insists they have to find Sylvie. Gone, apparently is his obsession with her, now it seems like his focus is on the TVA and fixing the problem with the loom. However I actually think the shift isn't because he has decided he doesn't care about Sylvie anymore, I actually think his new focus is still about Sylvie. In the first two episodes Loki still cared about solving the time-slipping problem and the problem with the loom, it was just that he cared more about finding Sylvie and making sure she was ok, she wasn't his only priority but she was his highest priority. I still think she is his highest priority, I think his main motivation behind wanting to fix the loom is that he wants to protect Sylvie's branch. That's not to say that he doesn't care about the other branches or the TVA and his friends there, of course he does, but I think his main priority is Sylvie's branch in particular. In ep 1 and 2 it was all about making sure Sylvie was ok, now that he has found her and seen that she is ok and been told that she is happy, his motivation has switched to making sure she stays that way. It all comes back to what he said in the season 1 finale, he doesn't want a throne, he just wants her to be ok.

l also think his demeanour this episode says alot, he's just so despondent. Back in season 1 when Loki and Mobius would investigate together Loki would feed off of Mobius' excitement and would also get excited, like when they were testing their theory about apocalypses and when they were searching for which apocalypse Sylvie was hiding in. But in this episode whilst Mobius still has that high energy and excitement Loki doesn't, he is sullen and he is taking no enjoyment from his surroundings, he says the cracker jacks taste like ash, even when he uses his magic to trap that guy in the pig cage, something he would have had a lot of fun doing and would have delighted in before, he is mostly subdued about. He is clearly miserable without Sylvie.

Funnily enough the most energetic and respondent we see Loki in this episode is during the ferris wheel scene with Sylvie. Even though its not a positive interaction it still shows us just how much Loki still cares about Sylvie. Honestly I found this whole scene kind of heartbreaking just because of how much it parallels 1x6 and how much emotion the actors put into the scene.

Once again there is alot of miscommunication and misunderstandings between them in this scene. Sylvie still believes that Loki only cares about the TVA, she even asks him 'do you care about anything but the TVA?' I think she is hurt because from her point of view he doesn't care about her anymore since their fight at the citadel and on top of that he is now trying to save the organisation that hunted her down for most of her life, on top of that he is once again protecting the man who stole her freewill and her life from her. She even thinks that he played a part in 'weaponizing' Victor by giving him the TVA handbook which I think also deeply hurts her.

Of course Loki had nothing to do with that and also has his own fears and doubts about taking Victor to the TVA but from his point of view Victor is the answer to solving the problem with the loom and by extension ensuring that Sylvie and her branch will be safe, in this scene he is desperately trying to explain that to Sylvie and get her to understand that actually he is doing it for her. But I think Sylvie just sees it as him trying to manipulate her into protecting the TVA.

The saddest part of this scene for me is when Sylvie says 'This is all very familiar isn't it.' You can see how much distress and pain they are both in, how much they hate that they have found themselves in this situation again, how much they hate that they aren't seeing things the same way, how much they hate not being on the same side anymore. They are both just so distraught and have no idea how to get back to where they were in season 1, where they were on the same side. To me this is far from indifference, this isn't two strangers who don't care about the other. This is two people who love each other deeply but who have broken apart, who are hurting and who deep down want to find their way back to each other but who don't know how to fix things between them, they are two people who have always struggled with trusting others, who have always struggled to communicate exactly what they want or what they are feeling.

Another really significant moment though is when Sylvie catches up with them and Victor in his workshop. What I find really interesting about this scene is the contrast it shows between Sylki and between the relationship between both Victor and Renslayer but also Mobius and Renslayer. Victor and Renslayer develop a romance in this episode but Victor ultimately betrays her when she says his trigger word, partnership, and in response to this Renslayer decides she's never going to trust him again and is even ready to prune him. Mobius and Renslayer also had a falling out, similar to Sylki, they were friends a long time but in the end they didn't see things the same way and ultimately that relationship broke down. The difference is that again Renslayer refuses to trust or work with Mobius after that break down in their relationship. But in contrast in this moment when Sylvie is confronting Victor, Loki actually takes a step back, and even holds a hand out to stall Mobius, he is trusting Sylvie to make the right choice here, despite everything that has happened, and Sylvie ultimately ends up trusting Loki and allowing him to take Victor back to the TVA, unlike the other two relationships, despite all their disagreements and fights, trust still exists between Sylki.

So now we've reached episode 4 and I think this is a significant episode for Sylki's relationship. I already made a post analysing their pie room scene which you can read here if you would like. I'm not going to go as in depth here as I did in that post because I would just be repeating myself, but I will cover a few key points. The pie room scene that we get in this episode is one of the first times this season that Sylki communicate clearly with each other. Its one of the first times they actually both stop and listen to the other, actually consider what the other one has to say. As I said before I watch alot of angsty couples and storylines and there is usually a pattern to it in my opinion, and Sylki this season are no different. It always starts out with the couple in a really bad place with each other where they are really hurt and angry with each other, they also then have several more fights and disagreements, but they also then have a proper conversation where things improve a little between them, where they might not necessarily be agreeing with each other but where they aren't screaming and shouting either. The pie scene is that moment for Sylki where they do, for once, talk reasonably with each other. Although they don't really come to an agreement in this conversation they do both still give the other something to think about and they at least understand clearly where they other person is coming from and why they are seeing it the way that they are. Loki now understands why Sylvie is struggling to see the TVA as a solution and why she didn't want Victor to be brought to the TVA, he understands that it comes from her fear. In return Sylvie understands that Loki trusts the TVA because he trusts the people in it who are fighting to protect the branches like Mobius, Casey, OB and B-15. This understanding is a huge leap forward for them.

There is also that moment during the pie room scene where Loki says he asked for Sylvie's help but she walked away and she responds 'just so we're clear, no I didn't, I'm here aren't I?' To be fair she's right. Again despite claiming she doesn't care and that she just wants to be left alone on her branch, she still went with them to fight Dox and help protect the branches, she still showed up when Victor a variant of HWR's showed up, she still went back there in this episode and is helping to solve the problem with the loom. So she has shown up, she hasn't walked away.

But another thing I loved about ep 4 was that we once again get to see Sylki working as a team, a little detail I noticed is that pretty much throughout this whole episode they are at each other's side. Finally we get to see them back in that same dynamic they had in season 1 of being on the same side and fighting together. Sure its not exactly the same just yet, there are still some feelings and issues to work through but for me it was a big difference from the earlier episodes in the season where Sylki were having a lot of disagreements. Also I am trying really hard not to look too much into the episode where they do start fighting as a team again being called 'The Heart of the TVA.' It probably doesn't mean anything other than the loom, but I can't help but think about Sylki as the heart of the show.

And so finally we have made it to the most recent episode. Honestly overall I wasn't the biggest fan of this episode, it just felt like filler and like nothing really happened, it was more showing us what the TVA workers lives were before the TVA. But despite that I thought there were some really good Sylki scenes in this episode.

The first bit of Sylki content we get is when Dr B-15 asks if that's everyone and Loki says no there's one more referring to Sylvie. At first I didn't really think much of this moment because like yeah Sylvie was there so if they need to match all the temporal auras then they need her too. But then I've spent the day rewatching the whole season and in ep 4 there's the whole plot of them needing Victor because he's a variant of HWR and so has the same aura. So correct me if I am wrong, but wouldn't that mean that Loki and Sylvie also have the same temporal aura? So actually Loki didn't really need to go and find Sylvie, they could have done it without her but Loki went anyway.

I loved their re-reunion. Loki preparing himself to try and explain their relationship to a Sylvie who doesn't know him, as well as the whole situation and then it turning out that actually Sylvie does know who he is. Also I do think it is interesting that Sylvie wasn't reset like the others. I do wonder if its because they are both gods and maybe that plays into it somehow. But again I am trying really hard not to look too much into Sylvie being the only one who still remembers him, but I don't know I just find that so romantic, I blame my shipper goggles, they're a little smudged. But I also really loved Sylvie's reaction to Loki almost time-slipping, I'm pretty sure that's the first time she's seen it and her immediate reaction is dude you need a drink.

One of my favourite scenes this episode was that scene in the bar. I think I loved it just as much as I did the pie room scene. What I think is interesting about this scene is its very similar to the pie room scene but in reverse. So in the pie room it very much felt like Sylvie was a bit lost and unsure about what to do and Loki was the one telling her some hard truths, like fixing broken things is hard and hope is hard. But in this scene its Loki that is lost and unsure and its Sylvie that is spilling the hard truths. She points out that their friends are back where they are supposed to be, where they were before HWR and the TVA messed with them.

I also loved Sylvie's response to Loki saying she was selfish basically being well duh. But I do think that moment was interesting because of the subtext, Loki's rant about her not caring and how it all worked out the way she wanted. I think he is again feeling alot of pain and hurt, because he is lost and alone and she seems like she's happy on her branch, living her life without him. Its that feeling you get when you've been hoping for a particular outcome but then those hopes are dashed, Loki was hoping he and Sylvie would find their way back to each other that they would build a life together and help their TVA friends protect the branches. Now Sylvie has a life on her branch and everyone else has been reset in their own timelines and the TVA is gone. Loki is more alone than he ever has been.

Slightly off topic here, but I did wonder why it was that Loki was never reset and instead ending up time-slipping and then I realised the sad truth, Loki has no where to be reset too. His branched timeline was pruned after he escaped with the tesseract and arrested by the TVA so he can't be reset there. Unlike Sylvie he never made a home for himself on any other timeline. The place that became home for him was the TVA and the people in it. So now he is being pulled between the TVA and the people he cared about.

Sylvie also asks a couple of important questions during this scene. The first is what is wrong with wanting something and also what does Loki want. Loki really struggles to answer this question even with Sylvie pushing him. I think a part of her was hoping that he would say he wants her. He is eventually able to admit that he wants his friends back, that he doesn't want to be alone. Seeing Loki so broken with those tears in his eyes as he admitted that he wanted his friends back was really heartbreaking. But I do think that whilst Sylvie was hoping that he would say he wanted her and then felt like he didn't say that, actually Loki was including Sylvie in the statement, she is one of those people he wants back but again he is just rubbish at communicating that to her.

You can see how much it hurts Sylvie to see Loki question where it is he belongs now. Going back to the whole angsty storylines having a formula, another part of this formula that I often see is the 'I'm letting you go for your own good' scene. I think we get this moment in this scene when Sylvie tells Loki to go write his own story. There was a lot of talk about selfishness in this scene and I think that Sylvie feels like if she tells Loki to stay with her, that he belongs with her instead of letting him make his own path, then she would be selfish to do so. Instead she lets him go for what she believes is his own good. You can see how much it is killing her to do that and right after she goes to the record shop where she confesses that she had a bad day and then cries whilst listening to music, which honestly relatable.

This time the song she is listening to though is Oh! Sweet Nuthin by The Velvet Underground. The song is about a group of people who have nothing and the opening lyrics that we see Sylvie cry to are:

Say a word for Jimmy Brown He ain't got nothing at all

It's a song about people who are dissatisfied with their lives. So again we have this situation where Sylvie is claiming she is happy on her branch but then she listens to a song that she clearly relates to and it says something completely different.

It's also very telling that when Loki does go back to the gang he follows Sylvie's advice and tells them to go home, he admits that it was more about what he wanted and not about them saving the TVA. As much as it hurts him to admit, he says that they don't need the TVA. It's at this moment that Sylvie shows up and says yes they do. I think this is a pretty big moment for Sylvie but before I talk about that I just have to talk about the look on Loki's face when she shows up, my god he just looked so in love with her, it actually kind of took my breath away. Also its kind of funny that Sylvie shows up declaring that this catastrophic event of the branches dying is happening and Loki's just like 'Heart Eyes'.

But anyway, the reason why I think its such a big deal that Sylvie says that they do need the TVA is because this whole season its been Loki saying that the TVA is the answer and Sylvie saying that the TVA needs to be burnt down and gotten rid off its been the reason behind a lot of their disagreements. But here Sylvie has finally realised that actually the TVA is the solution. Guys, they are finally back on the same page, they are finally both seeing things the same way.

At the start of the episode OB believed that controlling the time-slipping was the key, he also believed that Loki needed to figure out why he wanted to time-slip in order to control. But as the room and the people begin to spaghettify it is seeing Sylvie dissolve with the rest of the room that finally triggers his control over his time-slipping and the first moment he time-slips too is just before he lost Sylvie. I do think this was significant that he slipped to just before she specifically was lost, as there is no reason the writers couldn't have just had him time-slip to the moment when Sylvie first arrives before anyone is spaghettified, so him slipping to just before he loses her must be significant in my opinion.

It is at this moment that Loki realises that its not the what, where or why that is the key to controlling his time-slipping, its the who. Meaning it was Sylvie that was the biggest factor in triggering that control, it was seeing her pain, knowing her branch was gone and hearing her say that there was nowhere left for her to go, something he himself struggled with this episode, that gave him that motivation to control it. It was that memory of hearing her ask if what makes a Loki a Loki is that they are destined to always win, this is so significant because its not just the words she says but the connection they have, back to that moment between them beside the lake on Lamentis, the moment they made that first romantic connection that caused a nexus event when it was supposedly impossible for one to happen. That was what made Loki think, no I'm not losing this time. It all comes back to what I think has been his motivation this whole season, which is that last thing he said to her at the citadel, he just wants her to be ok. It was seeing her not ok that gave him that spark he needed to gain this new power of being able to rewrite the story, as he put it. I also love that Loki turns directly to Sylvie when he says this line because she is the one that told him to go write his own story.

As I said above I actually still have quite a bit of hope for Sylki and I mentioned a few times this formula that I've seen other shows use when writing angst filled storylines about couples who have broken apart and who they are trying to bring back together and I really do think that they have followed this formula to a tee with Loki and Sylvie. They've had the fights and misunderstandings in ep 2 and 3, they've had the clarity talk, where they come to understand the other persons point of view and reasons. They've had the I'm letting you go because I (wrongly I might add) think its the right and best thing to do for you. And now, now comes the best part, the part where they have the big reunion conversation. Where they both put all their feelings out on the table and confess exactly what they've been feeling the whole time but been able to express because the writers weren't ready for the audience to see that just yet. If I am right (and to be fair there's a chance I'm not but I am choosing to hope I am) then ep 6 is when this conversation will happen. It'd be the perfect setting for it, its the big finale, they are in this high stress situation they might not make it out of so to me it would make sense for the writers to put the big emotional conversation in this episode, if we are lucky we might even get a kiss. I think this screenshot from one of the trailers will be that moment:

I said from when I first saw this very short clip that it looked to me from the way she was slowly approaching him that it was going to be a kiss scene. What's interesting is that it looks like they are in timeline OB's workshop that they were in during this episode. So it looks like we might be returning to that location. But I could see them taking a moment alone and having that conversation where they are completely open with each other about how they really feel about each other, where they confess their feelings and then share a kiss. To me it just makes the most sense as the next step in their relationship from what I've seen over this season. Of course I could also just be delulu, That is a possibility.

But anyway, those are my thoughts on Sylki so far this season. I am eagerly awaiting to see what will happen in the finale, in general and when it comes to Sylki, I would love for my theory about them reuniting romantically to be true, but only time will tell. Sorry that this got so long and thank you if you have read all the way to the end. In the meantime if anyone has any asks or wants to tell me there theories, my inbox is always open, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

[stitching-in-time]

Voyager rewatch s6 ep17: Spirit Folk

More holodeck shenanigans in Fair Haven- now with even more Irish stereotypes.

It always bothers me whenever people think that everyone in the past was stupid, and this episode certainly does. But I guess since they're holodeck versions of 19th century villagers, it's not as bad as if they were supposed to be real, but still. You have to get past the condescending view of silly supertitious Irish villagers to really enjoy this one. I can't say that I did, but it's not a huge deal, since everything here is light and silly, and totally inconsequential. It's an hour of fluff with no more substance than cotton candy, so I can't really get too upset over it. We get to see our Voyager characters in 19th century outfits again, so that's good enough for me!

This ep features a classic holodeck malfunction plot- the Fair Haven program has been running continuously for months, which is causing the program to degrade. Specifially, the character settings that keep them from noticing holodeck command functions has stopped working. So now every time a crew member resets something in the program, the holo characters are aware of it. They think that objects appearing and disappearing at their command is magic, and that the Voyager crew must be faeries. (How is this a real plot of a real Star Trek episode?!) Hijinks ensue as the crew tries to repair the damage before the villagers try to capture them.

It's so ridiculous that there's kind of no point trying to critique it- it was meant to be a silly crack episode, so we'll just appreciate it for what it is. And Captain Janeway looks fabulous in her 1890s dresses- Kate Mulgrew was born to be in period dramas, she looks perfect in 19th century clothing. Ironic that she ended up being famous for playing a character from the future, but at least they kept finding excuses to put her in Victorian dresses on Voyager all the time. Whatever this shows flaws may be, at least they got that part right!

There's an attempt at being somewhat serious here as Captain Janeway is forced to tell her holographic boyfriend who she really is when he finds out about Voyager. (He even takes a stroll through the ship with the Doctor's mobile emitter, and it's the second time we see a hallway with windows on Voyager- the first time was in the episode 'Bliss', and I honestly think these are the only times in all of Star Trek that we see a hallway with outside windows on a Starfleet ship.) Of course, being a good hologram, he accepts her for who she really is, and convinces the rest of Fair Haven not to burn Tom, Harry, and the Doctor at the stake, or whatever they were going to do to them after they shot the control panel and accidentally turned off holodeck safety. (But if the safeties were on before, the holographic gun couldn't have damaged the control panel in the first place... but like I said, I'm going to ignore it, and try not to apply logic to a holodeck crack episode.)

B'Elanna is kinda my hero in this one, rolling her eyes at everyone's obsession with Fair Haven, and refusing to have anything to do with it after all the patches she's already had to make to keep it going. I feel you, girl. (But she would've looked fab in historical dresses too- I'm constantly fighting between the half of me that thinks B'Elanna is cool and badass for not being into Fair Haven, and the other half of me that's like 'but she would've been so pretty in Victorian dresses!')

And of course this one gives us the absolutely bonkers exchange between B'Elanna and the Captain, where they need to find a way to rescue Tom and Harry from the holodeck, because of course, the transporters suddenly don't work, because of 'too many stray photons' (lolwut!?). B'Elanna rightfully thinks they should just shut the program down, despite the risk of damage to Fair Haven, but everyone else is just as worried about their beloved program as their actual crewmates, leading to an appropriately horrified B'Elanna reminding Janeway that her boyfriend can be reprogrammed, while Tom and Harry can't, leading to Janeway's absolutely unhinged, perfectly calm reply: 'one problem at a time, B'Elanna'. CAPTAIN. MA'AM. THAT IS INSANE. Holocharacters are not as important as real people. (Even if one of them is your holo boytoy.) WTF.

Live B'Elanna reaction:

(Okay, this gif isn't from this episode- but the general sentiment is the same.)

But naturally, everything works out fine in the end. Though they have to stop running it 24/7, they save the Fair Haven program. The holocharacters now know and accept that the Voyager crew are from the future, and still want to be friends with them. Awww. We end the ep knowing more Fair Haven adventures are in store for our crew- though thankfully we never have an episode about Fair Haven again. (So basically it's happily ever after until the crew gets bored and moves on to a new holodeck program du jour, but don't tell the Fair Haven characters that lol)

Tl;dr: An extremely silly fluff episode with nothing terribly consequential to worry about. Empty calories, so to speak, but a nice palate clease between heavier Borg stories.

[beastabyss666]

Ok......So, the new HB episode is out, how unexpected for me. I apologize to my fellow readers for not reviewing the previous episode, but I was so tired and busy, having to deal with a lot of work. The cat must have got my tongue when I saw the dildo scene, I'm sorry. And what can I say......Actually, this episode is the best one in the 2 season at this moment. I mean, at least it wasn't that cringe and plot ruining as the other ones. ‼️TW‼️: Abuse, **cest

The animation looks pretty good in action scenes(and not so good in other, especially when some characters speak). The backgrounds look good, and I somewhat like the fact that the Sloth Ring is pink. Looks so sweet, bubblegum and cotton candy-like. But the floating pieces of ground are very cliche for a fantasy world. Also I think there were too many sound effects, when sometimes it feels like there's a lack of them. In principle, everything is as always. Stolas is a damsel in distress again, Moxxie and Millie are boring, Stella is evil(and extremely stupid for some reason), Blitzo is loud and annoying and spits cuss words every second because the authors think it's funny. Also Loona just...... didn't speak in this ep at all. No words. Don't know if it's good or not. The plotline of her going to doctor and being afraid of shots is pretty boring, tbh. I still have no idea why hellhounds are treated like some pets in this universe when they're competent and sensible beings. Also, I don't know if anyone told that or this is just me, but I absolutely hate the idea of putting fucking westerns in "Hell". I know Vivzie isn't so original and her universe is super bland and uninteresting, but shit, westerns just don't stick in the setting of Hell at all, it's not that vibe and it looks ridiculous. And that's not because I don't like westerns. Striker's song felt absolutely redundant, and Striker himself seems....unnatural? Seems like Vivzie made him that masculine bigot guy who's bigheaded and is obsessed with having a huge cock(because dicks are funny according to the writers). They have finally showed Andrealphus, Stella's brother, and there's nothing interesting about him to say. I'm just glad they didn't make him a stereotypical gay. Knowing Vivzie's "rep" and how feminine he looks, it would be predictable. As I've said before, he looks like a shameless Elsa ripoff, as his blue ice castle(covered with red fucking sky, god, these palette choices burn out my eyes). I've heard some controversial and suspicious stuff considering him and Stella(more precisely, someone says that originally they were going to have **cestuous relationship). Not sure if it's true, and I do hope that Vivzie won't go so far in making Stella an unredeemable villain.

I didn't see anything "weird" or vulgar in their conversation, it felt like puerility. I like to imagine that their relationship is like a niminy-piminy brother always cheering up and complimenting his little sis because he can. I've seen some cartoons with a similar character dynamic and a certain part of their fandoms found indecent connotation in this, and that's their problems in their depravity. And yeah, I know that my thoughts aren't true and they obviously have a manipulative relationship. Andre straight up insulted Stella and manipulated her, btw. If Viv really wanna do them having **cest – fine, another reason to quit watching this show. But something tells me that she won't dare to lose a bunch of fans and be yet again cancelled in social networks.

Summing up, this episode was pretty good by the standards of the season and bad by the standards of..... something qualitative I guess? Viv still hasn't learned how to separate drama from comedy, which makes it difficult, no, impossible to feel Stolas' sad shit. This character is one of my personal winners in the list of the most repulsive and annoying creatures and him always being sex-crazed about Blitzo pisses me off. How the hell are we supposed to take him seriously if all he wants is a dick? The rest of the time he whines about how unhappy he is and pretends to care about his daughter. Season 2 continues to look like terrible Wattpad fanfiction and it discourages from watching this series. It's not even fun to hate or criticize it anymore, it's just...... Ehh.

[noemitenshi]

Do you have an ultimate all time fave Troy scene that you could gush about forever?

Oh god that's such a difficult question. Honest answer would be 'no' because I just cannot choose. I have *so many* favorite Troy scenes that I love to go on and on about. Like, really, I think every ep he is in, I've got at least(!!) one scene I could gush about. I mean, I can't even tell you which ep I love him most in.

Though I do have at least two eps my mind goes to first when asked for favorite Troy scenes - ep 9 and ep12. And again, there's a lot of scenes to love in there but I think most about ep 9 is the confrontation with Madison (and, of course, stabbing his hand on Klah's knife. gotta love that enthusiasm). He's so vulnerable during it, like we get another little puzzle piece of his rich inner life that he keeps so closely guarded (ok or maybe it's also that he wasn't really a hm POV character or someone we should sympathize with that's why his... reasoning or motivation for a lot of things stayed hidden from us 🤷‍♀️). Anyway, the way he says "is that guilt" and "you let *your son* shoot him" (im obsessed) jesus there's a lot going on there. It seems like betrayal a bit (see also "i thought you were cold-blooded"). Also note how he's more fixated/upset over that part, Nick (and not Madison!) shooting Jeremiah instead of, you know, Jeremiah having been shot/murdered.

Also the infamous "I don't surrender" line, I mean, that's Troy in a nutshell, isn't it? No matter what is thrown his way, no matter how people treat him, he tries and tries again. He does so with Madison (I mean, right before she kills him he tries to move past all that shit right, tries again to connect with her), he also did so with his father, staying loyal to him, obedient, through all that abuse and humiliation and belittlement. I think the same is also true for his relationship with Jake, even though the cracks there can be seen, and also for his relationship with the people on the ranch at large. They talk about him, too, but he still protects them - I mean until he led the horde there, of course. But by that point he was dealing with a lot - his father's death, his own exile, Madison's 'betrayal'.... Anyway, I don't surrender, that is so very Troy. And maybe sometimes he'd like to surrender, give up and be done with everything but that's just not in his nature. Probably why he can't kill himself. Why he also keeps going, when Nick tells him "you can sleep when you're dead". Try, try again, even when people keep beating him down. Downright endearing if it weren't so heartbreaking.

Anyway, ep 9. The scene with Madison. I got distracted. The way he goes "hi" after he's done hitting Klah. The way he kept jabbing at her over Jeremiah's death "You hit your quota?" when she tells him "no more killing" (hahahah makes me laugh every time). The way the gun does not impress him at all. Just casually walking up to her. Mostly sure she won't kill him but I think he wouldn't have minded if she had, either. The voice break when he tells her "i know what you did". The expression he makes when he asks "and why wasn't it" after she goes "It should've been me". There's that betrayal. Sadness. Ok maybe also because his dad died. Maybe because they kept it from him. Maybe because she didn't ask *him* to do it.

And then, the very incomprehensible (he is the one that isn't comprehending. but then also he is. this is how it always goes, why would it be different with madison) "i thought you wanted me with you". As he asks he knows already she doesn't. But again, he's trying as much as he can, to get through to her. Until the heartbreaking "I'm tired. I'm so tired." That's probably as close as he gets in asking for help. He did it with Nick too later, in ep 12 ("I need sleep" he told him but he meant rest). He thought he'd die and these people just refuse to get the job done and so he has to live, live with all this loss and he just, he needs a break. So desperately that he says one of the most vulnerable things (so far). "Im so tired." Unfortunately Madison either doesn't hear it, or, more likely, doesn't think she can give in to that (no wonder, he did just attack her after all). And when that fails, this cry for help (in like Troy-speak), he goes. What else is there to do? He'll go and survive because that's what he does.

---

Now, ep 12, I love the confrontation between Jake and Troy (the little convo in between, between Nick and Troy - "murder, you really wanna go there, nick?" "still ricocheting in your skull, nick?" "you tell it best, nick. I don't want to steal your thunder" "don't say sorry to me, say sorry to him". It's lovely, all of it). And then of course the sibling confrontation. Also very lovely. We see Jake finally giving in to what he's wanted to do for a long time, I wager. He has been fed up with Troy since ep 1 (and before that too, I'm sure. Their interactions do tease a history between them).

"I love that sound" - also very much a contender for favorite line. Also gotta admit I thought he'd say something different (and more uh x-rated) when he went "I love that sound some love when a ball hits the fat of a bat, you know" Anyway, just another reminder that Troy loves all things to do with danger and control. (And I don't even think this has to be in the obvious way, where he loves to be in control, though I'm sure he does. But that he also loves the loss of it when in danger. When at the recieving end of a gun (you best believe I've got a story for this, too, 'fool me twice'... I'm sorry, I cannot stop the shameless self promotion....))

Also I just noticed, how he says "It's eviction or extinction" and you know who else got famously uhm evicted. Adam and Eve. So yeah, when he says "this is biblical" to Nick, the night before, to warn him, he really means it like that.

And then the bit between the two brothers. How Jake tries to impress upon Troy he'll really kill him "I'll shoot you brother, I will" and how Troy *doesn't even hesitate* to pull the trigger himself, almost like saying "fucking do it then". Or he is mocking him. Probably both, considering it's Troy. And he was right, wasn't he, to be mocking. Because Jake doesn't kill him (yet). But Troy tries to rile him up further. He almost sounds panicked in a way, but not in fear of his life. Maybe in fear of Jake *not* going through with it after all.

And then their whole rabbit bit, how Troy looks at Jake while he goes "rabbits they, they scream like human beings", that calculating look. How he interrupts Jake with this mocking laugh and a "oh, tell me about the rabbits" Jake is totally ignoring Troy's interruption, going "I still protected him" and Troy telling him "You left me, brother." And then Jake again, insistently "I always protected you!" and Troy isn't saying anything to that but he doesn't look amused anymore. God I wish Nick would've shut up so we'd really get into their grievances between the brothers. But sadly (or maybe not so sadly haha) he wanted to save Troy because he was feeling guilty about killing his dad. And it gave Troy the perfect opportunity to torture Nick about this, also very enjoyable. All in all, a great interaction all around.

Oh and of course the "you thinking of checking out? we could do it together" has me chanting death-wish, death-wish, death-wish hahahaha. I do think he'd have liked it to go together with his brother. It's sweet somehow. In a way it feels like he wants to help his brother on this journey. Like, then his death means something. And then how he licks his lips when Jake gets ready to shoot him. Is it anticipation, fear? Who knows. Would love to ask Daniel about it...

AND ALSO THE TITLE 'Brother's Keeper', that's a biblical phrase “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Cain said to God when God asked him where Abel was (and Cain had killed him). So I wonder, is Jake Cain then? I mean Jake *does* die and Cain, well, famously does not. But then, it's not Troy that kills Jake. It's Nick hitting Jake before Jake can kill Troy. Would Jake have even killed Troy? I'm not sure. I'm just sure that Troy would rather have died himself than seeing Jake die... anyway, "Am I my brother's keeper" I think this question taken at face value is actually Jake's gripe with Troy. That he feels he is made responsible (probably from a young age, given the little glimpse into the past we got via those video tapes) for keeping Troy in check. While, I imagine, Troy doesn't really listen to Jake (and Jake has no real power over Troy so he can reinforce his will), so a thoroughly frustrating experience for Jake, all in all. And yes, maybe this, assembling a horde and leading it to the ranch, would've given him enough motivation to be able to uhm enforce his will. But maybe not. I guess that's me saying, love the title, love also how we get a bit more insight into the brotherly relationship. Though I *so* wish we got into it even more. Like what did Troy mean when he said "Oh, tell me about the rabbits". Sounds like there's a story there (and yes I did try to imagine it in my story 'childhood memories').

This was a lovely ask, I enjoyed answering it. Thank you so much and have a great day 🧡

Also, I hope it's ok to invite people to jump in, if they feel like it, and share their favorite Troy scene. I'm so very curious 👀 gimme, gimme (also don't feel the need to ramble on like I did hahaha, though if you want to, have at it!)

[xenajen]

Qiao Ling and thoughts with flower symbolism, spoilers for both seasons

(take a shot every time I say parallel and symbolism)

with so many visuals of Qiao Ling shown with red eyes, it really makes me think that she'll be taken advantage of in s2. Whether it’s being possessed again, or a death plot device, I hate to say it, but she is the boys' strongest and weakest link 

-she knows them extremely well (that Red Eyes took advantage of as we already saw in s2ep1 with the lie) 

-she knows the ins and outs of the case, being around capt. xiao from the start 

-she could very well best Cheng Xiaoshi in a fight or at least evenly match. When they were first taught, she seemed to have a better grasp than CXS (in the special eps!) 

-proximity, she's always close to them 

-the visuals in the op are too much for me to NOT raise an eyebrow. the last frame looks as if she turns her back on cxs falling.  In a sense for betrayal, it seems unlikely that there's a second layer to Qiao Ling at this point-- we know she’s trustworthy, but I think the plot has more to come for her. She’s playing more of a role this season and I always get suspicious when characters are suddenly given more spotlight. the visuals in question:

This also brings meee to another point! The moment I saw her flower was the Hyacinth I was like "oh, okay," but then the s1 finale hit and I was like "Oh... ohhh. Ohhhhh.... oh no..."

If you're not familiar with the legend of Hyacinth from Greek mythology.. the parallels will start paralelling. TLDR;

-apollo fell in love with a mortal, hyacinth, who dies tragically. there are two endings to the story:

-one where apollo kills hyacinth on accident, when they were passing a discus to eachother. hyacinth thinks he can catch it, but fails to estimate apollo's strength, and dies of a head injury

-and another where zephyrus, god of the west wind, is jealous of apollo because he fancied hyacinth, so he pushes the discus with the wind into hyacinth, killing him.

-apollo tries everything, anything he can do to bring hyacinth back to life. in the end, apollo turns hyacinth’s soul into flowers (or, hyacinths), refusing to give him to death. 

-BOTH of these endings reminded me all too much of our current situation and what we know right now.

-the former: not saying lg/cxs represent one or the other of apollo/hyacinth specifically, but how their situation now is made from a series of missteps and overzealousness even, by cxs and possibly lg’s past actions if the timetravelling!lg theory is true; a series of accidents that lead to tragedy when hyacinth oversteps

-the latter; where the two are with eachother, but someone has to come and fuck it up. see: the li siblings; the red eyes is fascinated w/ cxs. i think it's important that Zephyrus kills hyacinth because he couldn't have him. Almost like red eyes going crazy for cxs, obsessed w his power and shit

-ugh here’s the kicker though, hyacinths also symbolize rebirth. Apollo refused to give Hyacinth’s soul to Hades, just like how LG has (possibly) refused to give up and see CXS die in an alternate timeline, deciding to restart(?). 

Back to my part one including Qiao Ling: overall, hyacinths possess a wide array of meanings, and can be color dependent, ranging from “forgive me, i’m sorry”, to jealousy, to sincerity, joy, and rebirth

The question is; why is this QL’s flower? Maybe it’s symbolism of the situation as a whole, maybe an indicator of something more underneath. 

Specifically, red hyacinths represent play, or a more playful kind of love. On a surface level for her character, it can represent her joyful demeanor and dedication, especially to her 2 closest friends. At the same time, mixed with the other meanings of the hyacinth, this can even parallel to the person who possessed her- enamored with CXS to no end, twistedly playful and possessive. 

Perhaps it’s symbolism for forgiveness- for what has already happened, or maybe even for what is to come, if she falls into possession again. We have yet to see Qiao Ling’s inner thoughts on the matter, and how she feels about being used to nearly kill LG.

still yet, stay tuned link clickers! anyway's here's cxs doing the fortnite dance to lift your spirits.

end notes

-Apologies if this was dreadfully obvious or smth but I just wanted to put this out there

-how many of you were familiar with the story of hyacinth and apollo?

[cornflowershade]

okay watching my way through the gmmtv 2025, trailers lets gooo!

— dare you to death: this one actually looks like it could be fun! historically i'm not the biggest JoongDunk girl but they suit this sort of action genre well (seems they're escaping the uni bls between this and upcoming THK haha and I approve.) Imma keep my eye on it!! Feels like something I'd enjoy. Also side-note but i got all excited when i saw Pahn in the trailer. But is she the one who gets poisoned right off? I hope not, but I didn't notice her pop up again in the trailer after that intro sooo. anyway she was the actual highlight of My Love Mix-Up Th for me and I'd love to see more of her!

— head 2 head: initially i was like oh this looks like it's trying to do bad buddy vibes (less well lol) or smth but then it got a supernatural twist?? it ended up looking quite sweet, but i probably won't check this one out unless I see cute stuff from it all over my dash haha. I feel bad about that bc I LOVED Keen in 'Only Boo!' and he seems like a sweetheart here too. (i'd be interested to see him in a different pair sometime but the chances feel unlikely with the way gmmtv works lol)

—burnout syndrome: no real thoughts on this but that one character's art style is quite pretty? honestly i still have to finish Not Me (I loved it so far but never got past like ep 3 😭) and don't have many opinions regarding OffGun yet. Again, I'll see how my dash influences me or not. I will say there's a distinct underlying vibe to the trailer (which does feel reminiscent of Not Me) so I'll keep an open mind

—Whale Store xoxo: CUTE GL SIGN ME UP!! i hope to love this more than 23.5, MilkLove deserve that from me. Also eyy, not a high school show--nice!! And did you SEE the cute lil shots and the MONTAGE at the end and and and?? teeheehee. Going on the watchlist.

—Only Friends: Dream On: okay so Only Friends take 2 but different actors really did end up a reality, huh? Was feeling kinda meh but then Boston showed up ahah. Not sure how much he'll feature, though. And I have QUESTIONS. Why is he still out here helping ppl with final projects, did he not end up going to the U.S., and what about Mix walking into the end of s1? OH WAIT. sorry this sorted out in my head just now. I bet this takes places at the same time as S1. Boston probably knew both groups while in school, but was less in with these guys. (So like, imagine—when Mix enters the scene in s1, does that lead into a universe where BOTH of these messy groups end up merging into one giant flaming ultra-mess?) Anyway I'm still obsessed with the original OFTS but I don't necessarily expect to check this one out. Side-note: I do miss the more grungy aesthetic ngl, but I guess we owed a lot of that to Sand.

—That Summer: Neo!! sorry he showed up in the first few seconds and it made me happy. Prince Satang washed up on the beach. That shot is giving genderswap little mermaid hahaha. I'm not like super gripped by the trailer overall BUT it'll probably check it out for the actors? Congrats to them for getting main leads!! (Also Fawn if u see this YOU WERE RIGHT. Royalty SatangWinny was on your bingo card, you called it.)

—My Romance Scammer: Probably won't watch this series but heyyy, look at them using weddings as part of the plot! Also. MarkJunior! (They were the best part of Cherry Magic Th for me.)

—Melody of Secrets: Idk could be interesting? I mean there's murder and mysteries, so. Not at the top of my list tho. But: Jan!! She's been amazing in every series. If I check this out she will likely be the reason.

—Love you teacher: boy u don't sign up to be a teacher to follow your boyfriend and then learn to enjoy children along the way. YOU NEED TO CHOOSE THIS JOB BC U LIKE AND CARE ABOUT KIDS OR THAT ISN'T FAIR TO THEM OMG. yeah I work with children, this is personal haha. Okay sorry, paused the trailer to rant i'll be right back.

... okay that was a plot twist uh. i don't think this one is for me lol

—MU-TE-Luv: So like, overall I'm 'eh' on this but it has Jan and Keen and Jamie and Neo in drag?? I feel like there's too many plots to hold together, though. 7 pairs, that is a LOT. Might enjoy some of it through tumblr gifs haha

—Cat for Cash: Cackling at the voiceover "i'm a debt collector" as First rolls around with a pile of kitties LMAO. These silly vibes remind me that, OH YEAH, I love his comedy work. (The Shipper and his scenes in Wake Up Ladies??) Oh my GOD did that woman have special cat-whispering powers and then transferred them to First in death?? This could be fun wait. Comedy First + supernatural element, always good. Oh and here's Khao looking so pretty :) FK vibes are FK-ing... look at them pulling OFF this cute fluff piece! <3 *stamps emphatically* WATCHLIST (ok hits unpause) ... SATANG?? ooo 👀 Also sorry I know he's all sad but... laughing as Khao's character cries and starts his list of reasons for running off with "the cats here hate me" 😂 / first: THE CATS ALWays TELL ME HOW MUCH UR MOM LOVED U lmao this is so unserious i love it. Leave it to me to have the most exciting piece on the list be the FK one. And I also get a dose of Satang! (Good to know that even if I drop That Summer I'll still have him somewhere! <3) Anyway didn't expect to be as hyped for this title as I am but HERE WE ARE

—Girl Rules: pretty pretty pretty. THIS LOOKS FUN, I love the messy love triangle vibes hehe. I hope we actually get to see the mixed-up pairing moments too, like a real shot of the NamtanLove kiss etc 👀 it's giving slightly toned-down fem only friends. Let them kiss everybody pls pls. Regardless, I'm hyped for this one !!

—Boys in Love: oh, side couple has the guy who played Half in MLMU. He was good in that. Probably won't watch it but *shrug*

—My Magic Prophecy: Not many thoughts but this could be good? I'll keep my eye on it

—A Dog and A Plane: Unexpected but I might keep my eye on this too! Looks fun.

—Me and Thee: I mean it's PondPhuwin, of course I'll give this a go. Look like it could be entertaining :)

—Wu: They're really leaning into the fortune-teller aesthetics this year haha, this is like the 4th trailer featuring tarot cards i think?

—Mamoir of Rati: AouBoom leads WHEN?

—Ticket To Heaven: OOH we digging into the religious themes and guilt here huh. GemFourth IN DRAMA ROLES AGAIN, THEY HEARD ME!! YES!! YESSSEUGIHI. ugh Fourth acting his lil heart out. I am SEATED. Darn we ended on a high note here HUH. This might be one of my faves in the bunch actually

/

Obviously my dash might pull a couple things to the forefront for me—and I might check out but then ditch some things— but as of now these are my reactions! Gotta say it's a SHAME that there are only two GLs though. Cry. But overall I am HIGH KEY looking forward to some stuff xD

A recap for the benefit of my future self haha:

Dare you to Death - joongdunk Whale Store xoxo - milklove That Summer (?) - satangwinny Cat for Cash - fk Girl Rules - multi gl My Magic Prophecy (?) - jimmysea A Dog and A Plane (?) - taynew Me and Thee - pondphuwin Ticket To Heaven - gemfourth

Anddddd. Now we wait! 😂

[prettyflyshyguy]

WE'RE FINALLY HERE. WE'RE FINALLY AT S3E7 - FRESH BLOOD

And you KNOW ya girl has a lot more to say about this one so let's just get this party started shall we.

And now that I have CONTEXT I have THOUGHTS

The tragedy of this character is awful. But I'm appreciative for what it allows as a narrative device (as much as it is a shame that this random woman is negated to being that, and only that; a device) - after they've SEEN vampires be good and live a peaceful life. It's harsh that they just cull her off and decide that its a decision they are allowed to make.

This will surely not come back to haunt them when Dean gets infected in three seasons time.

I am a big sucker for anytime this show has them Decide something for others, only to be hit with "Oh no now its happening to us" and the immense emotional turmoil that causes.

Going to lean into this a lot more in the fic I think.

Bella hon I love you, but seeing Dean give a genuine threat because the man's got one thing to lose now and he's not letting anything take it away while he's still alive; marvelous.

Throw one too many low blow shots about him being no better than you and maybe just maybe he starts to act like it.

BLOOD JAR BLOOD JAR BLOOD JAR

Now I did skip to watch this episode cause I can't help myself, I like vampires too much and spn hits the spot. Having said that re-watching this with context on GORDON has made it a lot more interesting.

Now I really. Like. Gordon. He's a great antagonist. His voice, his mannerisms, the way he is so uncomfortably unsettlingly calm. Phenomenal. He has some really iconic lines and moments in this show and he's such a good foil to Dean.

Absolute epitome of "become the thing you despise" but deep end side of it. Like he's become so consumed by obsession and righteousness in his actions and his drive is just too strong.

I enjoyed that this ep looks at the primal survival instinct. And the duality of the Winchester's (mostly Sam) attitude towards Gordon being; man's gotta go, contrasted with the way Gordon talks to the Vampire. It's the gradual build up of detachment. Gordon is a monster. So are the Winchesters. None of them want to see that in themselves. The Vampire is too. They're all just coming at it from different angles. Each party has deep rooted trauma and pain, and each are dealing with it in a terrible way.

Sam's uncomfortable attitude shift of "It's Gordon or us" is harrowing. Dean being the more hesitant one is interesting. He's the first to chop off the head of a infected woman who's confused, upset, and pleading for help - but Gordon makes him uncomfortable (despite everything) and Sam's cold cut attitude doesn't help. I mean they've left him alive twice and each time he's only gotten more ruthless.

Dean cracks a joke about Sam not pushing back against killing him, but that feels far more like Dean fishing for Sam's conscience because he's unsure what the right thing to do is because Gordon isn't by definition an 'evil thing' in the lore books. Sam's no longer the grounding rock.

Oh if it were so easy.

You can really see they were dabbling with the transformation scenes in this and they just came in SWINGING when S6 rolled around.

the SPN vampire teeth are growing on me (HAR. HAR. HAR.) regrettably.

Ok so. This really begs the question. How much willpower does it take to resist. How much does that differ, per person? Is this Gordon just full SNAPPING upon being turned? Does he just immediately relent due to him already being on the brink? He has the most intense and unhinged attitude of all the hunter's that've been given primary screen time, so maybe its fair to say that part of him just completely caved in once he got hit with the overstimulation + hunger combo.

I think back to his introduction episode and how he talked to Dean about the hole inside yourself, like the pit or void you'll never fill or satisfy. How he used that to drive himself forward. Working solo, without a rock to anchor himself to (Dean has Sam) maybe Gordon just completely lost himself in this initial phase after turning.

This also echoes the S6 moment when Dean visits Lisa and also gets violent. Dean also loses control but ALMOST bites her. He still throws her and Ben around like they're ragdolls, which he clearly never intended to do.

Once again, great shots in this show. However I do wonder if its just my personal bias, or if there is a bit of an imbalance of woman corpse. Don't want to throw a stone from a glass house though. Just feels weird not mentioning it when I'm like "WOW SICK SHOT" and its. This picture.

Anyway. More to the point. "You don't understand. I was desperate. You ever felt desperate? I've lost everyone I ever loved. I'm staring down eternity alone."

Now THIS is what I'm talking about. It's so fucking human. What a shame, we're forced to see ourselves in something we deeply and truly want to believe isn't like us at all. Oh Dear. Reconcile THAT Dean you little shit.

This is so nicely echoed in S6 - the vampire is done, he's lost everything and he'd just rather have it end. The nihilism, the bottom of the pit. The end of the downward spiral.

Gordon's turn on Eternal Damnation and he wants to get off.

Once again I deeply enjoy the way the Hunters just drop everything so cold when something happens to someone. Including Sam and Dean in that, they struggle cause they're younger, less experienced, less jaded. The older hunters are fucking brutal. Gordon's partner, despite genuinely believing Sam has to die, just full send tells Gordon "No I can't let you take out Sam first. I need to kill you right now."

Despite everything, the common goal that they both wholeheartedly believed in, that they both gunned for so hard, thrown out the window when one is turned. Hung out to dry.

And how quickly they all turn on each other when this happens.

Anyway I think lore wise the vampires get stronger once turned, but I'm guessing drinking human blood enhances this further. Making notes for myself cause Dean's on a strictly vegetarian diet and this complicates matters for him of course.

But yeah, jesus, Gordon.

Anyway

Now THIS is something I gotta remember - Dean becomes a fucking menace when he's scared. Jokes get more intense, he has no filter, does not stop at nothing even despite the increasing protesting of the people around and closest to him and he full disconnects from loved ones.

"No. I'm a monster."

UGH. Compels me.

It's the resignation that's so fun I think. Like he just snaps, decided Yeah, this is it. Eats some people, then goes back to the original plan of Kill Sam. But its the way he leans into being the monster. Gordon was a mess before, but now its like he's truly just let go of a part of himself as he truly believes there's no alternative. Every vampire he's met and killed he saw as a monster and nothing more. Despite one, in front of him, exercising self control, he's still committed to viewing them as only monsters.

Once turned he can only accept the singular reality that he is a monster, and so, he does nothing to combat it. He embraces it.

Is it easier to kill him when he's a vampire? Or was it a further reminder that he was, and still is, a person?

Closing thoughts: good ep, easily one of my favorites. But you already knew that.

Love you Gordon you bloody legend.

[mswyrr]

Ahsoka, ep 1 & 2 [SPOILERS]

I really enjoyed these. List of things I liked:

-Lighting, set design, costumes, everything was done so beautifully. It felt very lived in and everything had weight and history to it. I loved the design work on the ancient ruins, the map itself, and the way each location had a distinct visual feel. The framing of shots and mise en scène is often thoughtful and evocative. Film quality work overall.

-When I was growing up I dreamed of Sci Fi/Fantasy stories with this many women getting to be distinct and interesting. It's a pleasure to see. It's not absent male characters, but women's journeys and struggles are foregrounded.

-I'm fascinated by the two master and apprentice duos - a father and daughter relationship that is more formal and distant (IMO) because of the introduction of that (and what DOES Dad feel about Jedi??? I'm intrigued) - and then Ahsoka and Sabine, for whom that bond is about moving closer. Perhaps, in many ways, it is all Ahsoka knows of being family with someone, and Sabine (in light of her grief and equally broken/war torn childhood as Ahsoka?) needs "structure" and a sense of purpose.

-It totally works for me how Ahsoka is sharing with Sabine the spiritual, philosophical, ethical, and martial components of force training - that it doesn't matter whether Sabine is super gifted in the force. The force is with her, and within her, as it is with all living beings, and exploring it is a discipline that offers her and Ahsoka a bond they need and a sense of grounding that Sabine longs for. The power levels obsession is something I dislike; it turns the force into just another superpower, where only superheroes with super gifts matter. I like the Rogue One and TLJ more mystical pov.

-I thought I'd be all about Shinsoka before watching, but so far I'm shipping Shinwren [edit: I guess people are calling them Wolfwren?] pretty hard and having fun with it 🤷 PUNK girl/Emo Goth girl Enemies to Lovers ship ftw lol Shin didn't stab Sabine center mass - she hit her on the side and Shin's dad is reluctant to kill Jedi trained/force using people, perhaps his daughter is too? Also perhaps she's lonely - how much social interaction does she get with other force users? Esp ones near her own age? We'll see!

[feuqueerfire]

The Eighth Sense Live Blogging

I've been meaning to watch this since it finished airing but feels like it's gonna deal with some Emotions and trauma, so kept putting it off. the time's here though

Also, it's my first BL in a month, I finished Candy Colour Paradox on May 16 and then watched like 6 non-BL shows, that's the longest stretch I've gone without watching a BL since Dec 2021 I'm pretty sure

Ep 1 (June 20)

so we’re getting “rich people are people who struggle” when it comes to the hyung i guess

who is the other kid who’s rooming with our dude? twin? cousin? a friend? they have a joint account apparently

oh i thought the older guy and the girl were dating but they’d broken up? i feel like i’ve heard it mentioned that she’s an ex but i may have thought they broke up during the show or smth

Ep 2 (June 20)

Jihyun has already been looking for Jaewon in every room and bus and everywhere but at least Jaewon is also getting the brainworms and sitting beside him on the bus and sharing earphones

please Jaewon being like "have some conscience, don't date freshmen, we're seniors" lol

Jaewon kneeling in front of Jihyun and putting the plastic bags on his feet and helping him put on the surfing outfit ah I'm gonna bite things

Jaewon's so obsessed with Jihyun already ah they're both orbiting each other

i think i remember hearing about this shower scene

ahh the girl who made the "I'm a fast learner" joke while opening the soju bottle is soo cute, girls with round face + dark hair + bangs remain undefeated for me fr and she's so cute and has a sliiight dimple too ah

pls i knew it'd falter when it got to jaewon or jihyun ah my guy jihyun heard jaewon say he likes him during the game and couldn't process

ah love shot pls Jaeon's ex is gonna kill Jihyun

is the reason Jaewon broke up with her not because she cheated (at least he thought so)? it kinda seems like there's something else but maybe not

they're not already gonna kiss right? i feel like i remember gifs of them kissing by the beach (a la Blueming) but would it already happen at the beginning of next ep?

there’s this vibe that jaewon has like he really is a beloved senior who is very casual and knows he is respected and has the confidence that comes from being in this element for a while. It makes me understand the appeal of a college senior; many shows have a dynamic between a senior and an underclassman but not many can show me the appeal so clearly.

Watched eps 3 and 4 on my commute to and from work, so didn't write down too much

Ep 3 (June 21)

so they kissed as expected from the gifs i’ve seen and then jaewon immediately leaves and kisses his friend on the cheek later TODO

and apparently he kisses people when he’s drunk and he’s very drunk tonight poor jihyun

also jihyun drank the whole bucket he’s going through it fr

ignoring each other but they also keep looking at each other at the beach in the shower and not sitting together on the bus ah

jaewon and yoowon are really cute together fun friendship

ah the freshmen girls thought yoonwon is a lesbian be trueeeee

aeri really wants to get with jihyun, huh? sitting beside him and inviting him to lunch then dinner. good luck girl maybe actually try with bitna i would like to see it

jihyun gay as hell the way he’s tryna curve aeri

pls the way joonpyo started talking with jaewon i thought he knew him lol but nah and jaewon spoke to easily with him too

wait what is jaewon stalking jihyun lol but ig the person jihyun was meeting was jaewon but i thought it was dinner with aeri though also for a sec i was like maybe jihyun imagining jaewon

Ep 4 (June 21)

so indeed Jihyun ditching Aeri to hang out with Jaewon, so I suppose their ignoring each other era has ended, thanks to the convo Joonpyo struck up

idek man the sliiight awkwardness but the tenson of them sitting at the han river and then jihyun trying to help jaewon draw bruh

:0 Jaewon helping Jihyun put on his bag and them staring at each other and being lost while the cab waits lol

lol Aeri clocked Jaewon and Jihyun so fast. anyway she's saying she only wanted to be Jihyun's friend now date Bitna! btw what happened to her, I want girls of the world Aeri and Bitna again - they make me like being a girl with friends who are girls

Taehyung's soo annoying with constantly trying to set up Eunji and Jaewon

Jaewon's entire face changing as he spots Jihyun in the midst of studying with Eunji

we get to see a bit more of Jaewon's therapy now, seems like he's been going for a decade and is unsure about the future - there's a thing he really wants to do but hasn't had the courage to pursue. Also, his need to be liked by everybody and be nice to everybody (as initially mentioned in the last episode during the convo with Yoonwon and now here) remind me of Light On Me Daon

Eunji is soooo bitchy, making Jihyun work so hard and also lying about Jaewon wanting to be her group partner agh and even breaking the glass. I'm actually very receptive to terrible women (recently: rancid personality Yeji in From Now On, Showtime! and just terrible horrible Seon Ah in The Devil Judge) but she's sooo mean and terrible D: the way she's threatening and being rude to the owner as well agh

Jaewon saw Jihyun being picked on by Eunji and so came to walk him home? so cute

pls first the ramen eating thing at the beginning of the ep and now ending with Jaewon being like "oh? going to your room? aren't we moving too fast" lol silly

pls Jaewon's hand on thigh the almost kiss

There's something so grounded yet dreamy to this show. Blueming sort of vibes where it's so floaty but seems real

Ep 5 (June 21)

It's 1:30 am but I accidentally screwed up my sleep schedule but taking a 3.5 hour nap this afternoon, so here's an episode before I go to sleep and then wake up for workkk

"when will you skip class if not as a freshman?" o I skip classes all throughout uni <3

pls Taehyung dude so obvious about Bitna, I think he said "I like Bitna" both times during the I like you game in ep 2 lol

Aeri is soo girl of the world, moving Jihyun out of frame to take photos of food and then telling him to take photos of her before he can eat plsss let the man have his snack

pls Jaewon so obvious even fuckass Taehyung being like yah why are you nervous to call Jihyun, are you and Jihyun dating or smth lol while Yoonwon laughs from the side

plss why was this phone call sooo like it's just a phone

bruh Taehyung really said "it's fortunate that Jaewon doesn't have siblings" but Jaewon had mentioned "my dongsang would be..." or smth in ep 1 before so um and this comment made Jaewon angry

lol Aeri and Jihyun ganging up on Taehyung

ah switch from the bus of Jihyun sleeping on Jaewon's shoulder to now Jaewon sleeping on Jihyun's shoulder. drunk ass Jaewon

"Hyung, you can't kiss me today (since Jaewon's still drunk and apparently has a tendency to do that)" "When did I kiss you?" yo this would end me - aw does Jihyun have a bit watery eyes or am I imagining things

ah Jaewon did indeed have a little brother up until he was in high school at least but he's probably dead now i guess

and I'd also guess the thing Jaewon wants to do is become a photographer or something

damn, did the camera break somehow? oh did the father break it? oh I went back and I think you can hear the father drop a bunch of things after yelling at Jaewon

ah, his younger brother got into an accident while with Jaewon? was his driving?

Jaewon mentioning Jihyun at his therapy

I should definitely not be watching another episode because it's over 2am and I knowwww this ep kills people because I think Jihyun almost drowns or something buttt I saw gifs of them kissing and in bed and stuff, so I guess they start actually dating or acknowledging things at least so I'm tempted

Ep 6 (June 22)

agh fuck it, it's 2am but might as well watch about half the ep or something, until some good stuff happens but before the bad stuff

ohhh Jaewon straight up said he's going on the trip with his "boyfriend"

bruh how does this man make any money, he's giving both Jihyun and Jaewon free stuff from his store for being handsome

their little convos and clinging off each other and learning about each other and also Jaewon inquiring about Jihyun and Aeri ah they're cute

ah Jaewon telling Jihyun about his brother dying - also at first I thought he'd be Jihyun's age based on Jaewon's sentence in ep 1 but then he seemed like more than just 4-5 years younger in the flashback but ig it's just a discrepancy in flashback

plsss the way they keep staring at each other and getting closerwhile pretending to sleep

they're already surfing so I was like um they're not gonna already have the drowning right but I skipped forward a bit and they kiss in the ocean and I've seen gifs of that too, so I'll keep watching

plsss kisses in the ocean to get rid of your trauma vs to cause you trauma and it's so... casual now ah

girl they're shirtless already

not Jaewon evading the kisses while they're presumably naked and have done stuff girl are we playing hard to get this is so cute

I think I could say something about every fucking clip in this fucking shirtless scene I'm gonna scream for 7 years and also rewatch like they're??? so cute it's so cute idek

pls the drowning scene ending wth Jaewon sitting at that same place alone? if I didn't know it ended happily + the movie had a happy ending even earlier I would've lost several years of life I think

So yeah ep 6 isn't as horrific for others as it is for me but it's interesting that Bloodhounds also had an ep 6 that puts you through the wringer

Fave Scenes:

The last cuddle/make out/sex scene

honestly a whole lot of this ep, esp the parts where they're being cute and not recounting trauma

Ep 7 (June 22)

couldn't watch an ep during lunch, so here i am finally watching it

Aeri beat Taehyung up plssss fuckass

okay at least Jaewon punched him

why do they keep mentioning someone dying though like Jihyun's injured, not dead

pls Eunji is actually sooooo irritating, she's doing way too much

dang, the therapy scene even mentioned Jaewon being too tired/depressed to come to therapy and him considering "extreme decisions"

plsss the argument with Joonpyo that ended with him saying he can never beat Jihyun

interesting that Joonpyo brings up Jihyun seeming different, he really does have a different vibe and is... cooler/slightly meaner/has more "sense"

Jihyun saying his happiest memories are the ones right before the accident and Aeri saying "that good?" lol

ah her telling him about everybody gossiping about Jihyun and Jaewon going on the trip together and wondering why

What was that scene with the dude in drag though? i actually am kind of enjoying how Aeri and Jihyun are sharp and rude about others when speaking to each other but this was like... what? Why did the student act that way afterwards - so ott and mean and yet asking Jihyun to lunch? the whole thing felt like a mean, stupid joke that didn't land

Ep 8 (June 22)

aw shucks they had no scenes together last ep and now it's avoidance once again

Taehyung has the right to not forgive Seo Jaewon but he's such a fucking dick and terrible human that it's like oh fuck you

ah Jihyun spoke for Jaewon, follow him you buffooon but I know he's too weighed down by guilt

omg Joonpyo stealing the phone D: okay no i believe he'll be supportive

ah cuties as expected

oh hoooo determined, aggressive Jihyun determined to get Jaewon back (esp from Eunji) ah you've changed from the beginning of the show for real

bro tell me why everytime I hear the voicemail thing, I'm reminded of Squid Game. I guess I haven't heard enough korean voice mail messages yet

pls Jihyun really has a lot to say back to Eunji, rude freshman you're interesting

plsssss Jaewon nooooooooooooo how could you say this T.T but also Jihyun's little declarations were so good about how he goes crazy when he looks at Jaewon's face and remembers those moments

Ep 9 (June 22)

Man, I should start studying for my midterm that's soon bc I know nothing and I was only supposed to watch till ep 8 today but um um ummmmm I wanna watch more and I lack self-control

idk how appropriate it is for a therapist to call their client selish and yell like that lol but at least she's making him see that avoiding Jihyun might not be for the best

gosh this hand on thigh and reaching for hand

the way Jaewon avoided looking at Jihyun right up until he got up and Jaewon looked after him

why is this shot so close to Yoonwon's face for soooo long

dang, what's up with happy bright jumpy Jaewon today?

so she cheated on him quite a bit rip

pls Jihyun's boss and Jaewon's convo

damn Conan Gray song appearence

sure, they can have an unspoken understanding and listen to the same song and Jaewon comes to Jihyun and then kiss all open-mouthed

Ep 10 (June 22)

i think this clip is the first thing I saw from this show, a clip of this on twitter from when the movie was released or something. it's sooo cute

ah Jihyun afraid that Jaewon left and searched everywhere

they're soooo cute, clingy Jihyun and babytalking Jaewon + the "I'm still your hyung" like twice bc Jihyun keeps pushing limits

(Linguistics) Jaewon said okay let's do banmal since Jihyun keeps saying "eung"

Yoonwon I'm proud of you ^.^

Jaewon my guy has everybody begging him to stay over/go to a motel lol first Eunji now Jihyun but he curves everybody pls

no! don't become friends with Taehyung again! better not, Jaewon!!!!! grow a spine! don't understand him!!

pls the way Jihyun got caught up in not knowing when he and Jaewon would celebrate an anniversary really reminded me of NCT Markly

lol Jaewon Yoonwon besties who date younger boys

ah idk if these reconciliations with Taehyung and Eunji feel earned. At least Eunji's one makes more sense where they're still tense and not friends again but Taehyung is like... agh we're giving him an arc in 5 seconds?

yeahh i knew Yonnwon and Joonpyo were gonna hook up what with Yoonwon mention of dating younger people and Jaewon leaving them alone lol

"Were we that obvious?" girl who time rumours abound, everybody guessing it right even those random dudes after the club cancellation meeting

damn even a Eunji and Jihyun convo

congrats Jihyun on succeeding in getting Jaewon into your bed, you worked hard

oh hooooo aggressive Jihyun and them talking about it too pls i die it's a favourite trope

(Linguistics) also in that scene Jihyun was using banmal, no -yo at the end, ahh

they really took the reconciliation and forgiveness theme to heart in this ep, huh?

Faves Scenes:

a lot of it was them together and being cute

the ending with them trying out a new dynamic of aggressive Jihyun

Overall:

It was interesting and I think the show had a good grasp on characters and relationship dynamics and progression but it didn't burrow in my heart the way it did for many people, esp those who watched while on air. I liked that there were friendships each character had and that they existed outside of just this relationship; even some of the friends existed outside of just being a friend, like Yonnwon was a whole human. The female friends were great, Yoonwon is a treasure and I liked how Aeri was so sweet but so mean sometimes, a very clever city girl type. Also, the tension and cute moments between Jihyun and Jaewon were great, especially in ep 6 and 10.

I know there was stuff with the colours and going in and out of light vs dark and how it represented the characters and I caught almost none of that but I'm sure that would've made the experience better. Also, I listened to a bunch of podcasts discussing this (and still have another one Boys Love Boys Love that's going through it ep by ep) and some of them mentioned that Jihyun's actor apparently has no prior experience and was literally picked up off the street to do screen testing, a la kpop boys.

I think it's a good show that's done well but right now, it's not taking up much brain space and it also didn't make me viscerally feel anything, so it's at the place of good show but i won't be thinking much about it. In the future if I do find myself thinking about the characters or plot or whatever, I'll bump it up the same way I did for Blueming.

Rating: 6.5/10

Tiktoks:

No Girls in our room