#when I get to the final episode in my rewatch I might. actually cry this time

[dongslinger--420]

BoJack Horseman really came along and gave me 5 leads and made each one of them a perfect foil to the other and each one have such an intriguing and powerful friendship with the next and just expected me to be normal about it. Ok.

[absolutebl]

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

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

NOV 2024 Week 5

Ongoing Series - Thai

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

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

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

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

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

Final thoughts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Conclusion

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

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

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

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

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

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

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

I remain suspicious.

It's airing but......

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

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

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

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

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

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

In Case You Missed it - GMMTV 2025 Line Up

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

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

Dare You to Death - trailer

Boys in Love - trailer

Memoir of Rati - trailer

My Magic Prophecy - trailer

Me and Thee - trailer

A Dog and A Plane - trailer

Cat for Cash - trailer

That Summer - trailer

My Romance Scammer - trailer

Head 2 Head - trailer

Ticket To Heaven - trailer

Burnout Syndrome - trailer

Melody of Secrets - trailer

Only Friends Dream On - trailer

Love You Teacher - trailer

Next Week Looks Like This:

End of year drops:

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

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

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

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

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

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

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

His smile. (Caged Again)

Look at them!

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

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

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

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

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

So endeth this lesson.

(last week)

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

[idolomantises]

Have you watched Murder Drones, and if so what’s your opinion on it?

Also your art is great, keep it up.

Thank you!

And uh. Man. I may make an enemy out of another indie fandom because I don’t really like this show.

I actually loved the pilot and thought episodes 1-3 were incredible, if a bit too fast paced. But episode 4 was kind of a breaking point for me and I dropped off after that.

I don’t think it’s very funny. I think it relies too much on Bathos and it makes it hard to take its cast seriously. As a black comedy it mostly worked for episodes 1-3, but 4? No.

It does this thing I really despise in media where it has themes of genocide but like… heavily deprioritizes it and often portrays it like a comedy. It’s supposed to be funny when innocent characters are murdered because they’re just goofy side characters but when it’s a major character suddenly we have to care, and I don’t like that at all. The main character has a meltdown over finding out that murder drones are sent to kill her people at the end of the pilot, and then in episode 4 she’s murdering her classmates and crying because a boy she likes might think she’s weird. I actually find it pretty frustrating that the robots are portrayed as incredibly cowardly because they’re slowly dying off and scared to die and then they’re hanging out with V who casually murders random children and nobody reacts to it.

I actually do like the idea of a character who’s not reformed but is kind of forced to stick around but when I see her murder characters, traumatize children and then go “haha I just have mental problems” and everyone just… moves on, I just cannot bring myself to care. It causes such a massive dissonance and not in a fun way.

I think it’s very frustrating and unengaging when a story about people doing the right thing and trying to help others has no interest in helping those they’re trying to save.

I think the female cast is solid but I did kind of raise my eye a bit when the only major female character that was killed off was a victim of genocide while the other genocidal characters, two of which gleefully murdered her fucking parents, are just allowed to hang out with the rest of the cast. Uzi especially lost a lot of sympathy for me when she was more emotional about freaking out N than murdering her classmates. Like yeah, they weren’t the nicest to her but it’s weird to establish a character wants to end genocide and then… barely reacts when they also indulge in that genocide.

I don’t really like the characters at all. I don’t like Uzi, I found N irritating and boring (and gives me anime harem protagonist vibes), I thought V was a tryhard and I couldn’t really care for the rest of the cast. I liked Doll but lol, you know how that turned out.

It also has this problem of having an overloaded cast with very little breathing room. I really wish the show just had one, low stakes episode, so we can actually get to know these characters and collect their thoughts. It’s actually one of my concerns for TADC, because as much as I do like that show, I think “no filler” with constant story is going to make or break the show for me. It’s too fast paced and no, I don’t think it’s good that you have to rewatch an episode 4 times to understand what’s going on. I don’t watch indie shows to play where’s Waldo, information should be explained to the audience in a way that feels digestible and natural.

The animation is incredible and the stuff that came out from the finale was insane, but at times it just felt like jangling keys in my face. Like don’t pay attention to rushed story, underdeveloped characters and bizarre tonal whiplash, look at the cool fights. I dont think it does horror well either. In fact I kind of cringe a bit when characters a big wide grins and giggle evilly and it’s mean to be intimidating and it just. Doesn’t work. Feels a bit juvenile honestly.

And. This is a very personal thing. I don’t like the robot designs.

[mr-payjay]

An essay on Clover :)

after having rewatched s3 in full again, i find that i finally understand the details of clover that had confounded me since forever. i didn't go in trying to study her, but a lot of my nickel analysis actually led me around back to understanding clover. she has a lovely story to her about kindness, generosity, and doing good things with purpose. i am pleased to have finally caught it (i have a few criticisms on the execution of it though, which i will address too). this isn’t a fancy essay, i’d say (i’ve been calling it a “freestyle essay”), but im just trying to summarize what i've talked about with friends and to put together some of my thoughts to present here.

Overview

so, an overview of her development. clover comes into the show, and she is… oblivious! she is self-centred and unaware of her surroundings (mind you, “self-centred” might sound like a negative word, but this is a neutral statement). she walks away from cabby’s presentation in snapshot showdown in the middle of it, not listening to her. in the same episode, she falls into some of nickel’s traps without even noticing, lost in her thoughts. she isnt a particular help to her team for a while. clover doesn't really think about other people or really get them, even thinking that nickel must've been following her around to admire her (self-centred, assuming only positive intent and a positive idea of her). only in tragedy at 60 feet, after box dies, does clover start to feel very self-conscious of her role in people’s lives. nickel specifically blames her, telling her that “what's lucky for her is painful for others”, and she Believes this. in try not to laugh challenge (the next episode), clover is trying to avoid people. she has realized how she can affect others and does not Wish to hurt anyone. nickel only makes this worse by continuing to remind her of it (“awful box-killer”). she refuses to look at the funny note at the beginning and gets awkward when [bow]bot tries to make her laugh, saying she doesn't deserve it. in the episode after that, best served cold, we see clover feeling guilty again after goo saves her when she falls, thinking that the luck had forced him to do it. for whatever reason candle agrees with this (kind of funny. why are you making it worse candle). through all of this, she does retain some of her classic optimism, but it is still very dampened by the guilt and discomfort shes going through now. and out of body experience is where this arc ends. clover starts off happy, telling nickel to stand next to her for a picture (he responds by saying her luck will knock him down a hill, and leaves). she idly goes to wish for an award, before silver spoon stops her, saying he wishes she wasn’t like this. she agrees (“Me too, Silver… Me too.”). and though we only find this out later, that’s what kickstarts the death of all the contestants and the subsequent bodyswaps. clover is overjoyed at losing her luck once she swaps with test tube! she tests out lots of things she could do before, reveling in losing her privilege. she’s comfortable again for once. she isn’t afraid of hurting others anymore and can go back to her regular, self-centred, oblivious mindset. no more Worrying. but then nickel realizes later on that the bridge collapse happened because of her and her wish to be “not like this” (to not have luck), so her luck, ironically, is what gave her this lucklessness. he blames clover for everyone dying, calling her a murderer as he yells about his frustration with her luck. as hurting people like this was clover’s worst fear—something she had been Vigorously avoiding for the past few episodes—she breaks down crying in guilt and runs away. there’s only one more scene before clover is eliminated. it’s when test tube goes to confront bot at the beach, where clover is.

she has calmed down on her own by now, but it’s only when she listens to test tube telling bot she’ll give them whatever she can offer to help that clover finally learns the lesson she was meant to. she forgives herself and finally lets go of that comfortable self-centred world she was living in. once we get to elimination, clover directly allows herself to be eliminated, now having realized she is in control of her luck. she has choices! she knows that now. nickel, still feeling remorseful from earlier, tells clover that her luck is the problem, not her. she responds by saying that the problem with her luck was that she was the only one benefiting from it. now, she realizes that she should put goodness into action, instead of trying to avoid doing something Bad. and she gives nickel the luck. she also tries to give everyone luck after that, but he stops her, insisting in a panic that it’s a curse. i think it’s interesting that she chose nickel for this first before anyone else, such a miserable, self-centred person. im surprised she figured it out so quickly, but they really do have their similarities, living in a self-centred mindset and pushing everyone away. though their situations are quite different, they both need to learn the value of community and supporting others to take the next step. she isn’t afraid of nickel. she isn’t angry at him. she wants him to learn the same lesson she did, which is why she tells him he’ll learn to “share the wealth” too, even after he freaks out on her again. and she remains this way, generous and kind, for the rest of the season. this was her arc.

Critique (constructive!)

i do have some criticisms on how her arc was executed. i think that her storyline is a wonderful lesson to teach children (as inanimate insanity IS a show for kids), and that once you can grasp it, it’s really beautiful to watch her mature. However. i do not think it is particularly clear. i think my biggest issue with it lies in out of body experience, after she runs away when nickel says it’s her luck who killed everyone. we only see one more scene with her before the elimination, where she is silently listening to test tube talk to bot while making little expressions about it. it is not clear what she is getting from this unless you sit down and Think about it. multiple of my friends actually said they thought clover was a stand-in for test tube because they had bodyswapped and that she was just reacting in general, not to signify anything about her story. i didn’t even remember her being here at ALL until i rewatched this episode specifically to find clover scenes. and ive watched s3 multiple times!! i should know she's there! i think the problem is that she is entirely quiet and that there are a ton of other scenes playing between her running away and the scene at the beach, which sort of fill your head and make you forget why she’s even here. bot really overshadows her too, their story reaching a very important point in this episode. and i think (with input from friends) that it would’ve made for a more harmonious episode, solid storyline, and well-rounded character relationships for clover to have been friends with bot. clover only has one interaction with bot before this (as far as i remember) while they are still very much bowbot, in try not to laugh challenge. if we had had an actual friendship between the two of them, their stories could’ve converged smoothly in out of body experience, instead of bot accidentally taking the spotlight and clover being relegated to a silent bystander listening to test tube’s speech. it could’ve led to them comforting each other (which fits into clover’s story as it’s about learning to help others) and providing clover with a connection to another character that isn’t nickel. clover and nickel’s stories are very interesting together, but the fact is that nickel isn’t really a friend to clover, even now. he’s her miserable therapy patient now, which is not friendship. i believe clover deserves someone who is truly her friend in canon to have helped her development come to light (ie a scene with her talking to someone would be much more memorable and comprehensible than her smiling at test tube and bot). it wouldn’t have to take away from her self-isolation either, it could add to it. bot trying to cheer her up and her awkwardly declining it in try not to laugh challenge is a great example of that. i’d love to have seen more of that. i can’t say for sure if this would be a flawless idea (as i do not know the process of writing the other storylines either), but i think it’s fun to ponder either way.

Clover’s perspective on Nickel

so i did learn how clover worked through understanding nickel first, as once i got what was going on with him, i could see through her eyes. for ages, i could not fathom WHY clover is so nice to him after he hurts her over and over, WHY she chooses to give him the luck, WHY she gets him to open up in blue buried and gives him advice. but now that i know him, i get why she has no hard feelings towards him. i lost all resentment towards nickel after analyzing him (even as a long time nickel fan, he still used to make me mad sometimes!). once you really grasp him, you realize that he is just… sad and scared! he acts like he’s constantly trying to survive. like a typical very traumatized and mentally ill person, in fact. clover, after learning that she can make her own choices and that she can Choose to help others, matured enough to understand him. she is not afraid of him or upset with him because she realizes that he feels helpless and like he isn’t able to change, like she used to worry about. he is self-centred like she used to be until she understood that she can make the choice to help. so she sympathizes. she tries to help him learn the same lesson. nickel never apologizes to clover, but she forgives him anyway without resentment, because she is above this now (note: completely different situation for suitcase, im not saying anyone and everyone should forgive nickel otherwise they’re immature, im just highlighting clover’s agency when making this choice). she recognizes that he is emotionally immature and approaches him with gentleness. i really love her persistence in trying to help him (even if i have qualms about the therapy thing). after nickel gains and loses her luck without learning the lesson she hoped for, clover doesn’t give up on him! she pushes further in blue buried, really trying to get him to understand this. she continues to give, to be kind, to help. she’s dedicated to her cause. it’s sweet. 

going back to the therapy thing, my issue with it is mostly the part in the interview where nickel implies he’s having continuous therapy with her. i would’ve preferred if it was a one-time thing in the episode itself, though i think it should’ve been presented a different way. as i don’t… really like that she’s a girl giving therapy to a boy and taking on his emotional issues as a whole job. rather than just someone helping another who’s in need. you know. a random act of kindness. and when it becomes a continuous thing (as mentioned in the interview), it feels like the wrong connection for them to have. they can be friends, but not a therapist and patient. that changes things a lot. i also don’t like the way it reduces clover to being a Literal therapist taking care of the emotions of someone who’s hurt her over and over in the past. yes, she is allowed to choose to help him even with what he’s done to her, but once it’s repetitive… it does feel kind of exploitative, if that’s the right word for it. more than a therapist friend, an actual therapist to someone you have personal experience with (which is also an issue for the therapeutic relationship, as you are Not supposed to take on a client you already know personally, even casually). i may be taking a one-off line a bit too seriously here, but where would i be without driving myself crazy over every single little detail in inanimate insanity that i could possibly notice? i sure wouldn’t be writing this essay!

i did start writing more about nickel and the luck and how clover affects him, but im going to put that into a nickel essay. this is about clover. and i love her! she is someone who started off with no bad intentions but a lack of awareness, who learned how she affects others around her and decided to use that power to be Good. putting Effort into being good, Choosing to be good. she is intelligent, kind, optimistic, and has shown great maturity through her development. i think she is a wonderful gem of a character.

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

REWATCHING GO S1, LIVE PLAY-BY-PLAY OF DOOMSDAY WAHOO

HELLO MAGGOTS REWATCHING SEASON 1 BECAUSE THE FIRST TIME WAS A KIDNAPPING CHAOTIC MESS. EPISODE ONE HERE GOES. I DON'T REMEMBER A LOT OF DETAILS BUT YES.

Opening scene and Earth's got vibe-checked by God and I've been gaslit about the dinosaurs

GARDEN OF EDEEEEEN wow his first appearance and Aziraphale's already so prissy and flustered might fuck around and fall in love with him idk

I finally understand who these mf's are hi Hastur and Ligur you're not zombies after all

FOR FUCK'S SAKE SECOND SCENE CROWLEY'S BEEN IN AND SHE WALKED IN, SERVED HIPS HAIR AND CUNT, AND THEN MANAGED TO TALK HER AWAY INTO A PROBLEM

LIKE GENUINELY SHE COMES AND SASHAYS WITH HER HAIR AND SAYS TIMES ARE CHANGING AND HEAD OFFICE LOVES ME AND JUST INSTANTLY HASTUR AND LIGUR USE HER WORDS AGAINST HER

idk sister mary loquacious is kinda doing it for me rn with that satanic nun's habit and losergirl energy

third crowley scene and he's misplaced THE LITERALLY GODDAMNED ANTICHRIST because he made small talk with a bloke outside without checking for details

mmmmhm yes sister mary wink again your bitchless decisions are sexy y'know what i mean

Gabriel feels like his brain was eviscerated and replaced with one of those youtuber's paid course promos at the end of their how to change your life in 45 days: three simple mindset shifts video

so THIS IS WHY EVERYONE KEEPS SAYING PAVLOVIAN IN THIS FANDOM IT'S BECAUSE OF DUCKS of course it's because of ducks

mmmhm yes sure crepes French revolu--Crowley stop eye-fucking Aziraphale you're making everyone at the Ritz horny

Aziraphale don't moan into your food man you can't take these two anywhere

Crowley thanking the driver for slowing down is everything to me

And they're drunk hu-fucking-zzah good thing we'll have 11 year olds saving the world coz these fuckers sure ain't doing shit

OH MY GOD HE WAS TRYING TO SAY BOUILLABAISSE I JUST REALISED. I THOUGHT HE WAS JUST MAKING KISSY FACES AT AZIRAPHALE I'M NOT OK-

What Aziraphale was doing back was definitely kissy faces though that mfer wasn't even trying to say bouillabaisse when Crowley said what sounded suspiciously like baby

kissy kissy from lil miss prissy [i would have made such a great high school bully shame i had no inclinations that way]

SORRY WHAT THE BLOODY FUCK WAS THAT SOBERING UP EXCUSE ME THE FANFICS MADE IT SOUND LIKE IT WAS A CLICK AND THEY'RE SUDDENLY NORMAL WHY IS THE ALCOHOL REFILLING

oop nun down nun down

i want ya see a wile ya thwart amirite on a t-shirt

"actually i encourage humans to-" just say you're a lazy bitch azi we love you

love crowley fake-manipulating azi into helping like azi wants to be manipulated y'know so it's not technically his fault he was wiled over or whatever and they're both just such ENABLERS

not azi going SOFT at being godfathers with crowley

NOT BROTHER FRANCIS PLEASE NO FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS SACRED AZI WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS PLEASE

WARLOCKKKKK I LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

HNNNG MICHAEL SHEEN HAD TOO MUCH FUN WITH THIS

why is nanny ashtoreth so seductive with that of course dear is it just crowley's inherent disastergirl sex appeal

HALF PONYTAIL CROWLEY I AM A FUCKING SLUT FOR HALF PONYTAIL

GASLIGHTING HEAVEN AND HELL THAT'S MY BABYGIRLS

erIC THE DISPOSABLE DEMON I DIDN'T KNOW THEY COME IN S1 well not come i hope unless being eaten by a hellho--nope

ANGEL CROWLEY SAID ANGEL ANGEL ANGEL

CROWLEY TRYING TO BE SUBTLE ABOUT KILLING BEFORE GETTING ANNOYED

waiter crOWLEY OUTFIT I CANNOT BE NORMAL AFTER THE WEDDING DRESS DESIGNING ABOUT THIS COSTUME

FOOLS WRONG BOY YOU FOOLS IM DEAD

DOG IS UNIRONICALLY SO CUTE EVEN BEFORE IT GOES SMOL

gonna give my roxie a kissy brb she's my angel and all this dog talk makes me miss her (she's a few feet away under the bed)

i asked her for a kissy and she crawled out and gave me a kiss i love her

DOGGGGG ADAMMM

...roxie's crying to be taken downstairs it's nearly 2 am this is on me for waking her up i crowley'd myself fml

EYYYYY WELCOME TO THE END TIMES don't mind me I'll have to take roxie down yes I know maggots I'm crowley-coded I KNOW THAT I'M A BLOODY DISASTER BYEEEEEEEE

[lathya]

Thoughts while rewatching Episode 11 of Season 2 of Helluva Boss

Andrealphus, do you want to fuck your sister?

Luna cares! (keep that picture by your heart)

Why don't they escape into the mortal realm?

I LOVE that we finally get the see the rest of the Demon Lords. Satan with him little therapist is FUCKING GREAT!

Lucifer's chair in the background! With the duck with his hat, the BRB sign, the cobwebs! HA!

Who is this other bird guy? Vasago? He reminds me of the red bird from The Three Caballeros and I think he's my new favorite character!

They should let Ozzie kill Mammon.

I am SO curious about Levy. They are definitely the lord of Pride and I love how they are literally two-faced, but don't seem to be 100% in sync. They each have different reactions to Mammon hitting on them. Is the one into it? (Edit: my math was broken and i forgot about envy. I have been informed that Levy is envy. The two heads thing is still cool as heck though)

Andrealphus is fucking clever. He would have had to have known that Satan would want to broadcast this and that Stolas would care enough to intervene. This fucker is 100% more scary than he sister (who he totally wants to fuck).

The fucking LORE DROP! Satan created the Imp! He's been there, as assumably all the demon lords, longer than Lucifer was. What was that power struggle like? If Lucifer never shows up, how does he keep his title? Are they afraid of him? Even the language of the demon lords seems to put Lucifer at an almost divine level: "Oh my Lucifer"

"I love you guys" I WANNA FUCKING CRY WHAT THE FUCK!!!

AND STOLAS WITH THE BADASS ENTRANCE!! I was fucking SCREAMING! Like, we knew he was coming, but everything about that moment was perfect. The feather, the stance, the glare, the ass in Blitzo's face. Perfect! NO NOTES!

If Stolas and Vasago don't become best friends by the end of this series I'm going to kill everybody. They aren't even directly interacting with each other and they are so on the same level.

The way the lords roll their eyes at the mention of Lucifer. There is no respect there. I would love to learn the story of how Lucifer ended up being the king of hell when he so clearly doesn't care about it. My guess is Lilith was the more ambitious one, but there is still so little we know about her and what happened between her and Lucifer. We'll probably get this answers, or at least some of them, in Hazbin Hotel.

Octavia's little bird sounds when she cries. I fucking love all the little bird sounds they make!

"Your life has actual worth." The absolute unsubtlety. This dynamic of imps and demon lords has been such a constant throughout the series, I think we're gearing up to hit the climax of this part of the story in the next season. Especially when we see all the praise Blitzo is getting and the instant hate the imps have for Stolas.

One of the first things Stolas looked at when he went into Blitzo's house was the photo's on the wall. The ones where Blitzo marked out his own face. I really hope Stolas brings this up. I want them to talk about this shit!!

Business is going to be BOOMING for the next while.

Blitzo is being SO SOFT there at that end and I CAN'T EVEN!!

Predictions for what's next:

Revolution baby! The Imps are going to rise up and Blitzo is going to be their fucking champion. He's also going to TOTALLY let it get to his head at least a little bit

Blitzo's dad is for sure going to show up. He's going to try to mooch off Blitzo's rising fame. Blitzo's sister might also make an appearance just so the show has a chance to get the family all in one place somehow, but I'm not sure

Stolas is finally going to learn when life is like for the Imps and realize how well he's had it in comparison. He's never really had to think about his privilege before. Even when Blitzo claimed Stolas was only interested in him because he was an Imp Stolas could order around, Stolas never really gave the idea much thought or reflected on the accusation. In Stolas's mind he never thought of their relationship that way, but he there was always an unbalance of power there that Stolas never addressed. This will be his chance to finally do that.

Blitzo is going to hire Stolas to work for him, like what they talked about as kids.

IMP, if it only operates in the mortal realm, is going to be unsustainable if it gets bigger, and with all the next people wanting to work for Blitzo it's going to grow FAST. If so many humans keep dying, and the FBI agents keep going after them, it's going to cause too much ruckus for the demon lords to stay out of it and they'll want to shut it down. I'm curious to see how Blitzo handles all the new hires, if he even hires that many.

Stolas and Blitzo don't actually know each other very well. They only really know a mostly superficial version of the other and have seen a few cracks in each others masks, but now that they are living together they are really going to get to see all sides of each other and their relationship will become more grounded because of it.

Blitzo being Stolas's caretaker during this time is flipping their power dynamic, but they won't be able to be together properly until the power between them is balance. Whatever happens in the next season and however long this series is going to be is going to end with them in more or less equal levels of power (in relation to each other). IMP will also be revamped into something new by the end that better incorporates Stolas into their business model.

[holyblanchett]

I have mixed feelings about Aubrey Plaza but that’s a discussion I am keeping off your account for both of our sanities sake :) agreed tho, if Lady Death ever returns, i dont think it’ll be Aubrey, unless we do get aaa s2 somehow.

I also agree with you that the casting of Aubrey and Kathryn and the fact they just both did really damn good with their characters and dynamic is the main reason people are so okay with letting Disney get away with lacklustre representation. Hell, they still somehow get flowers for it as if the homosexual tension all season to lead to a single kiss (if at all) to lead to one of them dying storyline isn’t a tale as old as time. It’s not that revolutionary and it plays into doomed Yuri and bury your gays and its just straight up not enough anymore in this day and age. Especially in this day and age. But i said I wouldn’t get political here.

Overall im super happy Wandavision and now AAA have made me notice and get into Kathryn Hahn, she is such a joy and i do love an unproblematic fave to get into, I am but a simple faggot after all.

But, and this is also about fandom culture overall, I do see a surprising lack of productive discussion on AAAs problems. People were really mad and then everyone just shut up and was fine because the showrunner said something about cottagecore on a podcast(or article i am not looking that up rn lol).

When we could very well be like No Jac, they didn’t actually live in a cottage because you didn’t write that in your script when you might as well could have. Own up to that Queen. It’s not 2015 anymore, if your queer rep sucks then you gotta take accountability. We deserve better. Always have.

I dunno, I dont like queers as a money maker in media, even tho its actually such an interesting topic too, i could go on forever (clearly). Look guys were so woke! Kind of! A little bit! Don’t look too close and by god, be grateful!

Long Story Short, the more Schaefer tries to sell us this lesbian wives love story epos the less I buy it. Still hoping for season 2 but not optimistic thats actually gonna happen.

Remember kids, Big Corp just wants your money, they dont care about your feeling at the end of the day. Do with that what you will.

- 🐇

Thank you for sparing us both the future discourse her fans are insane lmao. At the time, it honestly felt like I was the only one upset after the episode aired. If you followed me during that time -- I apologize, I think my crash out lasted like three days 😭 I still refuse to rewatch the show because of the way Jac/Marvel treated their relationship. It is by far one of the worst things I've seen in a long time. And before people come for me, yeah you can cry in my comments about censoring all you want. Jac literally said the reason there wasn't more Agathario was because she didn't think people would actually care. So if you're easily triggered, I would suggest you skip this post cus I'm not arguing with yall in the comments today.

Now back to your point. The bury your gays trope, particularly involving wlw ships plays into decades of exploitation of the queer community. Also let's be real, it's such a cliché and for someone that had queer writers (allegedly) on the show idkw no one told her how detrimental and insulting it is. I honestly wouldn't have been as upset if Agatha had died any other way. But killing her while she's essentially vulnerable and in the arms of the woman she has so much unresolved conflict/feelings with is just nasty work. Jac knew Agatha was supposed to die from the beginning. Which means she could have written it any other way. Hell, the final battle should have been against the Salem Seven and I stand by this.

There's going to come a time when playing both sides isn't going to work. I can only hope that in the future Marvel gets with the times and puts more care into their queer ships. It's what we deserve and we shouldn't settle for anything less.

[halliescomut]

My Personal Weatherman Finale

I don't have anything super deep or insightful to say after doing a rewatch with subtitles so I actually know what was said. But I think I might have figured out what felt so different about My Personal Weatherman. It's a love story 100%, but it wasn't a 'falling in love story'. We saw the moments when they fell for each other in the flashbacks, but the story of the show already had them in love. So it was really about self-acceptance of those feelings for Yoh, and about confidence in their relationship to fully express them for Mizuki. (Maybe I do have something insightful to say.)

But also, one of my absolute favorite things about this episode was the camera choices. The fact that every time we saw them be fully honest with each other, one of them had their back turned, and then in the very end they're gazing into each other's eyes. Like it's just beautiful and perfect, because we see Yoh avoid eye contact regularly, and Mizuki will make him look him in the eye when he thinks it's important. Mizuki doesn't avoid eye contact though, so him doing so while saying these really important things that he knows have the potential to change everything is really impactful because I think it really shows how afraid he is that Yoh will decide it's too much.

I've talked some about how I fall on the Yoh side of the D/s dynamic, so I relate the most to him. But find myself most affected emotionally by Mizuki, and I wonder if that's because of that submissive part of me. Like, since we're given insight through his thoughts, the last two episodes especially, I just so much wanted him to say EVERYTHING he was thinking. I felt like he was scared that his intensity would be too much for Yoh, and I just kept wanting to be the Jiminy Cricket on his shoulder telling him that Yoh isn't as delicate as he thinks. That we aren't fragile, we can handle that intensity, we want to see that strength of love, and affection, and passion. And we may be a little nervous, but we also TRUST and have faith.

Either way this episode made me cry, it's making me almost cry as I think about it. I'm sad that it's gone by so quickly, and I hope that we get something else, a special ep, or a movie, or if the gods are with me a second season. But either way I'm 99% sure I'm gonna order the physical copy of this show and it's probably going on my comfort rewatch list.

(As a side note, I went to pull gifs for this post to add interest, and they are wearing the same tops in the first ep as they do in the finale, the gray thin boatneck top and green hoodie (technically it's a different hoodie, but that's not really the point) so it's like full circle.)

[miraofhearts2point0]

things i tweeted while rewatching aib s2 part two (eps 6-9) (final part!)

Chishiya ......... // sighs

forgot abt the whole docyor aww he has a heart🥺🥺 bit idgaf // wheres my "i'd probably ignore them both" response to Kuzuryū's "which group of people woyld you save" question

- Hayato....my baby Doudou..... i'll kill you Chishiya

- idgaf abt doctor Chishiya bruh like at all. i really cant bring myself to care

- this Beach origin Niragi erasure // Ann and Niragi were the first two there Kuzuryū came next dpmo

- im only watching ep7's first few minutes so i can be disappointed by the shootout then going straight to the Q♡ to see peak television

- MOMOOOOKAAA // Momoka😢😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

- forgot how lazy the decision to have Kuzuryū kill himself was now im pissed // THE POINT WAS THAT HE STILL BELIEVES ALL LIFE IS EQUAL. AND HE BELIEVES HIS OWN LIFE IS JUST AS VALUABLE AS CHISHIYA'S. YES HE REALIZED HE CANT MAKE THOSE CHOICES BC THEYRE SELFISH BUT WHEJ FACED WITH THE SAME DECISION AS HE ALWAYS HAS BEEN HES ABLE TO PUT HIMSELFON RQUAL FOOTING. HE'D RATHER DIE THAN GIVE UP THOSE IDEALS OF EQUALITY. HE WOUPDNT KILL HIMSELF FOR SOMEONE ELSE BC HIS OWN LIFE IS OF VALUE DPMO

- Kuinaaaa😭😭😭😭😭😭 // Ann😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 // Heiya😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

- Niragi shoe jumpscare help whyd that actually scare me // better thaj his bare feet to be fair but whys he dripped out bros dying

- i miss Niragi church scene 🙁

- why do i even watch this show when all i do is complain bruh

- where did Niragi even get a gun from brah makes zero srnse

- KUIANN😭 // Ann's stance smths purring

- i miss Chishiya's J◇ mahjong arc

- SHIIRABI MIRA MY BELOVESS

- straight up they could make it rain earlier so why couldnt they have done the same for the shootout i donf get it

- "you've changed a lot" girl how // bro has not done a single thing to warrant that response

- i miss my hope i had for this scene i really miss it // "we're scum" sincr when was Arisu selfish it's like they (the writers) dgaf im crying

- the way there are no stakes here i cant do this. i wish we got Niragi chasing Arisu underneath cars and shit and Chishiya shooting at Arisu to stay put like this is nothing // two flashbacks of selfishness girl bfr

- where tf was the screaming crying Niragi begging everyone to not let him be alone im sick anf tired this wss so stupid

- idgaf im skipping to ep8

- MIRA HERE I COME!

- .

- "i won!" and Usagi is just like "thats great man but irdgaf rn"

- MIRA I LOVE YOU SOOO MUCH

- USAGI HAVING A HALO AROUMD HER HEAD TO PORTRAY HER AS THE LIFHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL IM SICK

- big fan of the mild body horror in this ep

- Usagi taking a piece of glass to protect Arisu this is so evil

- Usagi😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 but im fr crying

- Usagi and Mira calling him Alice fawk

- Arisu and Usagi being portrayed as dying on the ground together, Kuina and Ann having the same symbolism, and so did manga Niragi and Chishiya.......what does this mean

- Usagi probably thought she was gonna die alone......... // Usagi Niragi parallels go crazy im sick

- Usagi ...

- Mira crying over arisagi me too girl // actually bawling

- i might seriously cry through the rest of this episode

- Heiya's answer always makes me bawl i cant stop cryign // Niragi's "i dont want it" im gonna kill myselt

-

- Tatta is so beautiful -> I THINK I JUST SAW HIM ON THE STREETWTF

- Kuina and her mama bawling again // Kuina in general just makes me sob

- i cried so hard im shaky now // i also did in fact, cry for the entire last 30 minutes. btw.

- second time i loudly yelled at my mom for being in the way of Niragi and Chishiya on the TV screen. maybe i am a real fujo -- hating on women for simply being in the way of the yaoi ship

[inkofamethyst]

January 18, 2025

Been thinking about Promising Young Woman recently and ugh so chilling. Part of me wants to rewatch it with my island-friend and her partner and then discuss afterwards because I feel like they would be into it.

Speaking of visual media, forgot to mention some things I watched while home. Finished Superman and Lois with my dad, and it had a sweet ending, something Superman stories so rarely get to do in my experience. Watched binged Agatha All Along with my dad, enjoyed it a lot!! Watched binged Squid Game S2 with my dad (I'd seen one episode of S1 with my sister (the marbles one, also during break) and was able to get by mostly by asking her questions during that episode and during the first episode with my dad) and it was also quite good, loved the commentary.

I do have quite a long watchlist to tackle, unfortunately. Arcane s2, LoVM, Dragon Prince, so many CR eps, a bunch of Marvel stuff (we're going to see Captain America for my birthday!!), Halo s2 (even though it won't be getting a s3), Severance s2, Star Trek... maybe I should get Paramount for a bit. I should probably get on Arcane though bc that might be banned soon too lol. And then after that maybe I'll watch some more CDramas. Bloody Romance scratched that medieval-fantasy-adventure itch, so I'll probably look for others of that vibe.

To switch gears, I do actually have a social life, if you can believe it. I've been making a concerted effort these past few days to schedule get-togethers with friends over the next couple of weeks. This upcoming semester is going to be a toughie, but I don't want to completely abandon the relationships that are important to me. So, at least for now while I don't want to hole up in my apartment (at least not all the time), I want to spend time with the people who make me happy :)

But back to me being an ipad kid (im jking im an ipad adult), I barely touched my devices when I was home. I was at PEACE. But my screen time this past week??? yikes. I mean part of it is trying to soak up as much tiktok content as I can before whatever happens at midnight tonight (seeing people recreate 2019 and 2020 memes is bittersweet, as was getting my final dabloon), but it's also that I'm trying to fill a hole or something, I think. As much as I enjoy it here, I still can't help but miss home, a year and a half in. At least I'm not crying at the airport anymore.

Today I'm thankful for the movie night I had with my island-friend and her partner last night. We went to a really swanky part of town that I've never been to before, and the movie was both funny and poignant and we had a nice little discussion about it on the way back. Also I've come to understand why I enjoy their company so much: as an Eldest Daughter I never really got the experience of having someone slightly older, slightly wiser, but still categorically in friendship capacity to hang out with. Outside of them just having fairly different perspectives and experiences from me, there is also this older-sisterly feeling that feels.. nice.

I've long held that I have no desire to settle when it comes to a romantic relationship and while part of that is because feminist movements have made it such that attachment to a man is no longer a necessity, I also feel like I have such solid friendships that have shown me what being cared for can mean. I mean, for example, when my photo-friend and I went to a dance in college, he explicitly said he was going out of his way to show me how I should be treated. And while I understand that romance supposedly has differences, I am thankful that I know not to settle for anything less than what I have experienced entirely platonically. It also means that I know what it feels like when I want to express care for someone and engage in someone's life and be there for someone and want the best for someone.

Downloaded my 1500 tiktok favorites to an external drive. Took four hours. 9 GB. A shame about all the 300+ deleted videos I'd once saved, now lost to time. Even if the president-elect manages to strike some deal to restart the servers.. if today is not the end, the twentieth will be the beginning of the end.

[ltwharfy]

"Bob's Burgers" Season 14 Episode Ranking Rewatch (long post)

So, I've been rewatching "Bob's Burgers" from the beginning and ranking the episodes using the spreadsheet that @babsvibes created! If you want to know why I'm doing this or how I view the 1-5 rating scale, you can check out my Season 1 post! If you want to check out any of the other seasons, I've been using the "bob's burgers episode ranking rewatch" tag for all of them.

Now, on to Season 14:

Average (Mean) Score: 4.54

Mean (Most Common) Ranking: 5

Ranking Breakdown: 8 5s 4 4s 1 3

Season as whole thoughts:

I won't call it a comeback...but you can check the previous posts and see that the strike-shortened Season 14 has the highest average score since season 9 and that it's numbers put it right up there with my personal Golden Age of the show. It's possible there is some sort of recency bias with these ratings- with one exception (guess which one...) I've only watched these episodes maybe two or three times now so the jokes might feel a little fresher and make me laugh a bit more than they otherwise would. But, I don't really think that's the case. Rewatching these episodes I think that Season 14, like my beloved Season 7, features a great blend of humor, creativity, and emotional resonance, both within individual episodes and throughout the season as a whole.

I also feel like this was a pretty great season for the show's supporting characters: Rudy becomes the first non-main character to be the focus of an episode, we learn more about Zeke's past, they actually made me feel sympathy for Logan, interesting new characters like Will and Sam were introduced, and we get the long awaited (possibly only by me) return of Downtown Randolph Brackenbrown!

Some thoughts on specific episodes (and feel free to ask if you want my thoughts on an episode I didn't comment on):

"Fight at the Not Okay-Chorer-al": The bedtime story- and the way the telling of it went back and forth between the parents and Louise- was a really fun, unique way to break out of the normal world of the show without doing another anthology episode (even though I love those.) So many of the visual details of the western town were beautiful, compelling, and fun. And I'm a sucker for an emotional Linda and Louise story.

"The Amazing Rudy": I am totally normal about this episode. Writing two fics inspired by an episode within a week of it airing is normal, right? Okay, yeah...this episode emotionally resonated with me more than any piece of entertianment I'd encountered in a while. The way it captured the feelings of being a child of divorce- the stress, the anxiety, the loneliness-hit home for me so hard. I can pause this episode at multiple points and tell you about similar things that happened in my own life. And, while I know it's just a coinceidence, it's so weird for me that this story came out last year. Because when I wrote my first fic about Rudy earlier last year, I foiund myself crying while writing a line mentioning his parents divorce- and that lead me to think about why- and to finally do something to process how my parents' divorce decades ago had affected me in ways I hadn't acknowledged before- and to work to move beyond that. So, maybe it's a coincidence, or maybe the Molyneux sisters are witches who can see into my soul? Really, who's to say?

Okay, sorry to do two paragraphs on one episode, but that kinda turned into a weird autobiographical essay, didn't it? As an episode, I think this is top notch in terms of writing, direction, animation, music, and especially the voice-acting of Brian Huskey and Kristen Schaal. Also, while this might sound like a weird comment coming from Mr. "I've been shipping Louise/Rudy since the first airing of 'Carpe Museum'", I really didn't think about the end of this episode in romantic/shippy way until I came on here and saw some other Roudise folks squeeing over it. Because, while you can view it that way, I also think at its heart this episode is really a story about loneliness and friendship-about how we can all help ease each others pain just by being there for one another. And I hope folks can appreciate this lovely story of friendship even if they don't enjoy Roudise from a shipping perspective.

"The Pickleorette": That was fun! Really, both the A story and B story in this episode are a hoot. TIna immediately forgetting about the board game and scheming about how to see Pickles in the restaurant is one of the funniest moments all season. The lines about big sisters making mistakes so little sisters know its okay not to be perfect are some of the best moments between both Linda & Gayle and Tina & Louise.

"Running Down a Gene": I am always a sucker for weird dreams, and Mr. Ambrose always cracks me up. The Louise and Tina cricket storyline is funny and weirdly sweet. But what ultimately puts this into 5 territory is Gene's sweet song at the end- I always love when they have him write a surprisingly moving song (see also "The Gene and Courtney Show").

"Bully-ieve It or Not": It was great to learn more about Zeke's past and get a new (hopefully recurring) member of the 8th grade class. But the character I really loved the most in this one was Jimmy Jr.- in this story, he is the voice of reason, displays some emotional intelligence, and you see how much his friendship with Zeke means to him. Really, this is an A+ story for both Zeke and J-Ju in my book.

"The (Raccoon) King and I": If I need to choose an episode from the whole series to cheer me up when I'm feeling down, it might be this one. The storylines are all pretty low stakes (except for Little King Trashmouth) but the endings are all super sweet! Tina gets to "woo!"; Arnold, Andy, Ollie, and Rudy dance like the nerdy boys they are; Bob dances like the tired middle-aged man he is; Louise fills up a giant bowl with soft serve ice cream to bring to her friends (this is literally one of my favorite images from the whole series); and Little King Trashmouth and His Husband Gary are reunited!!! It is all so freaking beautiful, man!

"Fraud of the Dead: Zombie-Docu-pocalypse": Just a really fun episode- a great way to break from the show's usual formula while still telling a funny, emotionally resonant story. I kind of wish we could see another episode that was the "behind the scenes" of the movie from this episode- I particularly enjoy wondering about if Louise scripted everybody's lines or if it was more improv (Yes, I am particularly wondering about Rudy's "I don't want to be remembered as a complainer" line). Also, Louise beginning to sing in the documentary was one of the biggest laughs in the season for me just because it was so unexpected.

"Jade in the Shade": Putting this in here for Babs, as her reward for creating the spreadsheet and making it through all these posts, but my biggest laughs in this episode came from Cynthia and Logan's interaction. I think anyone who's ever been a teen boy with a mom can relate to Logan in this one. The Linda and Louise interaction is also great, and I loved the return to some of the settings of the movie.

"Butt Sweat and Fears": The Tina storyline and the way it ends- both with her and Sam dancing and with Jimmy Jr. leaning on her- is just so freaking sweet. It's also a really funny episode throughout (call me immature, but the stuff about Chelsea's potentially sick cat and it's poop really cracked me up). And it was fun to see Dalton again- one of those enjoyable recurring characters who I forget about until he's on screen! Funny, sweet, good supporting chracters- this served as a fitting ending to this short season.

Random thoughts (stuff that doesn't affect the ratings):

-Rudy was in six of the first nine episodes of this season, making me hope he was on track to tie or pass his record for most appearances in a season (seven in both Seasons 5 and 10). Alas, he didn't appear in any of the remaining episodes. Who knows how many episodes he would've appeared in if it was a full length season? Too bad the season was shortened by the strike. Rudy's kind of like the 1994 Montreal Expos in that regard. (This is an incredibly dorky joke put in solely for my own amusement, please feel free to ignore it.)

Is this the end of my Episode Ranking Rewatch Long Posts?!?! Probably not, I'll probably do one or two more with some thoughts on the series as a whole and sharing my writer and director rankings, since those were one of the reasons I found Babs' spreadsheet so exciting to begin with.

[flameshadowconjuring]

I am in the middle of my Assassination Classroom reread and rewatch and I am really enjoying it. It might just be that it resonates with me more now than 8 years ago when I originally read and watched it (ironic, given that I was much closer in age to the characters then than now), but it is even more fun than I remember it being. Most anime don't make me perpetually grin while watching them. Korosensei must be rubbing off on me.

The series does what the Japanese do best exceptionally well, which is to mix things that seem incompatible and make it work. Korosensei is the most kind and devoted teacher there is. He is also going to blow up the earth in one year if no-one kills him before then. He is the best teacher ever, can move at Mach 20 and is just generally a badass superbeing, but he is also deeply pathetic. He can destroy the world, but lives paycheck to paycheck. He encourages his students every step of the way in their mission to assassinate him, but does everything he can to survive their attempts. His students love him and depend on him, but also they are doing all they can to assassinate him. The most skilled assassin in the class, Nagisa, is a meek, kind boy who looks like a girl. All of this contrast is the source of most of the comedy of the show, and it works really well.

The thing I find most compelling in my reread/rewatch is how the task of assassinating their teacher unites the class. While the (almost) thirty students don't all get equal screen time/relevance, they all get moments to shine, and all of their successes come from everyone pitching in with their own unique set of skills. So many shonen manga talk about the power of friendship, but Assassination Classroom actually delivers on it. It has this strong message that everyone has talents to be nurtured and can become badass assassins someone awesome if you give them the chance.

The characters, particularly Korosensei, are very likeable and fun to watch. The anime's soundtrack is really good. It suits the series perfectly. The anime is generally a great adaptation. The mangaka actually worked closely together with the studio (at least for season 2, presumably also season 1). The cuts that the anime made were largely scenes from the manga that weren't essential. Exposition scenes whose information content can be inferred from more active scenes and stuff like that. I liked those scenes in the manga, but they were definitely the right scenes to cut so that the anime can conclude within only 47 episodes. The anime is really good. Just try not to look at students in the backgrounds of shots. They are often CG.

Perhaps most notably, Assassination classroom has achieved what most manga fail to do, which is to be neither too long nor too short, and to end in a way that wraps up the main plot in a satisfying, emotionally moving way. You will cry by the end of the story. I don't make the rules. The ridiculous initial premise of 'hey, your new teacher is a superbeing that just blew up the moon, he will do the same thing next year with the earth. It is your task to assassinate him before then.' is actually explained satisfactorily by the end.

That being said, I do have a few criticisms. I don't really like Bitch-sensei. A lot of scenes featuring her feel more like a reminder of 'hey, she still exists'. There are some great scenes with her, but not many, since she really only has one gimmick.

The first big plot twist of the show, which, to describe it in a non-spoilery way, is the big twist surrounding the actress, came out of nowhere. Maybe I am just dumb and missed all the clues (the author did point out that he planted some extremely subtle visual clues), but there were a bunch of scenes where the author could have easily planted some clues that would be subtle enough, but that a reasonably attentive reader would be reminded of during the reveal. The twist right after that one is really good though, so honestly its fine.

I will frame my final criticism as a warning. You might be tempted to let your guard down. To get emotionally attached to any budding romantic subplots that the story is suggesting or outright devoting entire scenes to. Don't. Down that path lies only disappointment and ambiguous open endings.

So, yeah. To close this with something positive, I guess I'll say who my favourite character is. Except I am going to cheat. I love Korosensei and Nagisa, but they are the two characters who get the most screen time. My favourite non-main character is Rinka Hayami. She is the sniper girl who is a steady shot no matter what, and she is just really cool. I ship her with the sniper guy who can shoot from super long distances. They are just a really cool, calm, get-the-job-done-without-a-hint-of-complaint duo. Mild spoilers, but they were responsible for what you could argue was Korosensei's closest brush with death.

Who would have ever thought that a show about middle school students learning the art of assassination to kill their teacher could be so wholesome and touching?

[lurkingteapot]

Last Twilight ภาพนายไม่เคยลืม Ep 9

This episode was a LOT. I found myself thinking "wait, if this is episode nine, what's going to happen in episode 11?!" but then I thought, well, if we compare the structure of Last Twilight to Bad Buddy (which I invariably do because those are the two 12-ep-shows of P'Aof's that I've watched), this is the … hit a snag, get past it, hit a LARGER snag part of the story arc, isn't it. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Liveblog:

guys, can you not make a scene at someone else's wedding??

so Night, what, caused the accident?

did Day see something he shouldn't have?

okay this is … like. I see why Night would blame himself, and it's convenient for Day to blame Night, but. It's not Night's fault. It's like … sure, this might not have happened if Night hadn't had to throw up, but that doesn't mean it's Night's fault? When he got in that car, I honestly worried he might've drunkenly thought it'd be funny to hold Day's eyes closed or something, but this? Day, I know you were on a toll road or something, but even so I was yelling at my screen for you to pull over from the second Night made the first retchy noise. And for Day to resent him for getting out of it with his sight intact and with, y'know, character growth? that's … unfortunately realistic but also. Oh Day. Oh Night. Boys.

OH wow so Day has that much insight at least?

he said เด็กเดียว there, right?? gotta rewatch and check

wow Day WOW you've got some things to work through here

the "sorry" bit is food for a LOT of "ways in which siajai and sorry aren't identical" commentary and I once again salute GMM's translation team

OHHH good job apologising

oh so she didn't start out rich and famous? sorry for misjudging, P'Mon

love these not-so-subtle "travel to southern Thailand, we have great food" plugs here

oh not AGAIN with the product placement

the way Day looks, I bet this smells the same

a museum?

an ARTIST so that's why the hair?

Day, you're an ass, you realise right?

I mean it does sorta feel like he's just hanging on to all the resentment towards Night so he doesn't have to deal with the fact that it was random and could've happened in a million different ways?

ahaha see! Long hair = artist!

oh I love the angle they shot this from here

is Pla teaching Mawk to make southern food??

is Mawk gonna move on to actually being a chef, too? is there anything he can't do? (for real though I love that Mawk is getting to see that there's options for him)

are they both gonna move South in the end?

you can SEE him thinking about whether to ask if there'll be a next time

HAH

… so much for three months, huh

I love the touristy stuff in these few eps

the music is creepy af

OH

random white guy a named David

phuak-you GOD I love neopronouns

Cherry Guest, huh

adfasdfads the MANY FIRSTS convo, what a BBS ep 11 parallel (sobbing)

there we gooooo

you're so far apart, boys, c'mon

THAT'S MORE LIKE IT

(I have many thoughts on the way they set up this scene in regards to Day's agency, none of them coherent, and just. Good job folks.)

I LOVE them oh they're cute

Mawk already trying to start something again 😂

I love how they keep making a point in how there's no knowing the ending before it ends

kinda re: point a few minutes back, but it's wonderful how Mawk has … idk, Mawk has seen he has talents and OPTIONS (which is something I don't feel like he really ever felt he had) which allow him to risk his current job in order to take Day to see the last twilight on Mt Khuha

Mawk is so annoyed by the weather's non-cooperation, I love him so much

honestly I love the view as is, but I also get Mawk's disappointment/upset

oh I love this

it feels very final episode-y though which WORRIES me

is he gonna bring this back to not having seen Mawk's body-- yeah

"last picture" that's a theme song call back

oh Mawk, so touched, huh

ilu Jimmy but you're still not the best at pretending to cry, though I guess the smiling through tears is pretty close

annnd that's it, his sight has gone, huh

I know the blocking probably is done for ~reasons but I still wish they'd moved closer to each other here

oh no, the preview REALLY worries me

I'm so glad my hunch that Night didn't actually actively do anything to make Day resent him that much played out as correct. Now for shit to hit the fan next week when their mum gets involved.

[thatiranianphantom]

Nancy Drew Rewatch 108: The Path of Shadows

And so we arrive at an episode that Ace is technically in but also not in.

Thank GOD we only have 1 Laura episode left I think.

"It was Ace (and Laura but nobody cares about her)"

This totally not affected face:

I enjoy Lisbeth. She's also GORGEOUS. I wish she'd lasted longer.

The cops would have absolutely taken Ace's phone but then again, the cops have SO little to do with the solving of any crimes.

This text chain between Nancy and Ace kills me:

"Can you pick up bleach wipes?" "No."

"Great dress if it's you!" Counting that as a Nace moment.

McGinnis episode -> McGinnis disappears after this episode.

But a shout out for actual Indigenous representation with actual Indigenous actors. And this show being this show, I have no doubt they did their research.

The Bess Bus! Love this Nancy and Bess bonding time

And also this SUPER subtle Old Navy plug

This entire exchange where they sum up the last 7 episodes needed to be documented in its entirety:

Bess: Dead Lucy was on Nancy's phone video. We went to a medium to see what she wanted and then the medium freaked and vanished. George: Not like mystical vanished, she just skipped town. Bess: Right. Then there was this 70s throwback lady who applied for a job during the Nor'Easter storm. George: She also might have been dead. Not sure. Bess: But Tiffany Hudson's ghost definitely attacked me in a freezer right before she possessed George. Nick: And there was the antique coins that opened the door to a crowd full of spirits during the seance. Nancy: Yeah, I conducted it, with a crash course from Victoria. George: My mom's a clairvoyant, it's why she's a raging alcoholic.

I'm with Nick on the work = distraction. When I got the news my grandmother was dying, I walked into my boss' office crying and they told me I could go home, but I chose to stay. Then my tinies came in and covered me with hugs, so much better than going home alone.

Okay a small rant on Carson Drew: THE LIES. He could technically say he's telling the truth but it's like 1/4 truth. The lies by omission are MASSIVE and he spent SIXTEEN EPISODES lying to Nancy. And he only stopped because he got caught! This whole self-righteous "how dare you accuse me of this" doesn't really work when he spent almost an entire season lying to her.

We'll get into this near end of season but the umbrella justification of "I was trying to protect you" he uses to excuse so many of his own lies. Not buying it.

So, so much goes back to Thom for Ace.

But we finally get an age on Ace! He's 21 as of this episode.

Leah Lewis remains underrated, she's a great actress.

Thank you as usual to you, readers, and thank you to @middleagedresidentofriverdale for joining me for 108. See y'all for 109.

[billpottsismygf]

Okay, rewatch complete and my feelings are just so *mixed*. When I was halfway through, I wrote this whole thing about the weak plot and bad pacing, but having watched episodes 4-6 in one sitting today, I’m now feeling much better about it. In fact, the emotions of the last scene were even more hard hitting this time, and I no longer have as much of a character issue with Aziraphale’s decision as I did my first time through.

To get my bad thoughts, all written yesterday, out of the way:

The plot is so weak and the pacing is all over the place. What is series 2 about? Crowley and Aziraphale take in an angel who has lost his memory, they successfully hide him for a few episodes while trying to set up two shopkeepers, then we find out what was going on. The End. Series 1 works because we get all this amazing character stuff for Aziraphale and Crowley on top of an engaging romp about the end of the world, with a huge cast of characters and lots of moving parts that all come together at the end for a satisfying finale.

I found episode 3 a particular slog, which is a shame because I do actually like the Georgian setting of the flashbacks, but it gets very flimsy very quickly. I just don't believe Elspeth's sudden desire to kill herself (with an apparent sudden change of heart re: bodysnatching, since she says she doesn't want anyone digging her up), then another sudden turnaround once she's been given the money. I liked the general message they were going for wrt poverty and Aziraphale's ignorance of how the world really works, but it just doesn't quite work for me.

I also don’t buy into Nina and Maggie at all. If it was established that they knew each other a little already, then it might work, but Maggie’s deep investment in Nina liking her just reads as either overbearing or unbelievable. They’ve clearly never spoken about anything other than coffee before, and Maggie has a crush fair enough, but after one somewhat awkward evening locked in a shop, she’s crying and declaring herself in love. I like both of the actresses, but I’m not sure they completely sold it either. (I feel bad pointing out particular instances, but when Maggie’s “crying” when Aziraphale goes to ask about the song, she doesn’t even believably read as upset, let alone crying.)

There's also just the, fanfic-ness of it all, especially with Gabriel and Beelzebub. I've always seen that pairing as a bit of a crack one, though I'm glad there are people who enjoy it, and for it to become canon like that... Maybe if they were still bitches at the end? But the mushy lovey dovey 'wherever [they are] is my heaven/hell' stuff just doesn't read as in character for either of them. It's like they switch into totally different characters at the relationship reveal (though on the rewatch, I did appreciate knowing why Beelzebub was so keen on finding Gabriel).

Really the main things this series has going for it is, firstly, that it is often pretty funny, and, secondly, the chemistry between David Tennant and Michael Sheen, on top of their individually brilliant performances. I am deeply invested in their relationship at this point, as well as the wider implications for Heaven and Hell, but if I weren’t I don’t know that I would be all that excited for series 3. 

I do think series 3 will be better, as this was always described as the series that got us to where series 3 needed to start from, but this is so obviously a filler that it’s hard to see why it was made in the first place. I imagine we needed that break up scene at the end to lead into the final series, but I wonder if that couldn’t have been achieved with a special, or honestly if we couldn’t have just found out what happened through flashbacks within series 3 itself.

Now, onto the good, written today:

The second half of the series is actually much more enjoyable. I adore the entire conceit of having a Regency ball, and it works so well alongside the gathering menace of the swarming demons. I also love the entirety of the 1941 flashback, even if it doesn’t have much to do with the main plot - sidenote, but the thing of calling the flashbacks ‘minisodes’ is very odd given that they often take up the vast majority of their respective episodes.

Now that I was expecting the Gabriel and Beelzebub stuff, it wasn't quite as jarring as the first time. I stand by what I said above about the out of character-ness, though.

The Nina and Maggie of episodes 4-6 are also much more believable, because they're actually talking. They're taking part in the main plot, too, and they get to have agency at the end and tell Crowley off for trying to manipulate their love lives.

As said above, this time the entire final scene between Aziraphale and Crowley packed an even bigger punch. I loved it the first time round, though of course I found it devastating, but this time knowing where it was leading, it hit me all the more. It’s a real showcase of both Michael Sheen and David Tennant’s acting chops, as well as the complex relationship between their characters.

Derek Jacobi, master that he is, is of course completely fantastic as the Metatron. I wonder if he’ll have a bigger role in series 3 (if we get it). I really hope so; I’m always delighted to see more of him. Muriel is so adorable as well, and I find the rivalry between Uriel and Michael so enjoyable.

This series is such a mixed bag and I just cannot settle on a consistent opinion. I think perhaps it would have fared better with either a more complex plot, or fewer episodes. I’ll probably do another rewatch soon, but on a much slower episode-by-episode basis.

[livvyofthelake]

continuing that last one. because i miss her and i loved that show so bad… however watching it will without a doubt make me cry sooooo crazy so. there’s that

pros and cons of each option:

fresh off the boat: pros. constance wu is there. yeah. cons. i don’t remember caring that much about those damn kids. i apologize but jessica huang was alwayssss the star of the show to me…. loved her so bad it’s not even funny

big bang theory: pros. i liked it ok i’ll fucking come out and say I LIKED THE BIG BANG THEORY. goddamn. never got to see sheldon and amy get married. kinda miss penny my old friend penny from the tv. cons. annoying ass men are in there 😐

american housewife: pros. well this show gave us our friend meg donnelly of zombies fame so jot that down. i knew her before you did. she used to have red hair even and i was THERE when she went blonde for zombies there was a subplot about it. my friend gaybutnotgay cunt oliver is there. america’s bitch wife katie otto. woman who sucks soooo bad. miss her. cons. actually can’t think of any. ok

the middle: pros. show i genuinely loved. cons. might cry every single episode therefore defeating the purpose of the low commitment sitcom.