#but this episode was actually pretty good - the best since ep 12

[uninformedartist]

So a review on Helluva boss So2 ep 6

Ok so gonna break this review down into positives and negatives with my additional thoughts.

Positives:

So always start off with this, big props and love to the animation team we know know and see your struggle working under Vivienne and animating her over-complicated designs. Props to the BG team really stunning backgrounds, was actually a bit over the top for me (Ozzie's palace and especially the dildo factory shit was moving way too fast) but did pause to have a look at the BGs it is really pretty, the shit pacing made everything a visual blur tho.

VA work stunning love always a joy to hear Alex and James in any VA work tho Fizz's song was eyyy not the best but don't blame Alex it was a shittly written song in general especially when it went to the heavy metal part, overstimulating af and again shit pacing during the song and the flashing visuals gave me a headache. Striker's new VA, Ed's voice really grew on me he should've been Striker in the 1st place because I know for a fact Norman couldn't reprise his role for future episodes.

I loved Ozzie and Fizz's relationship especially the end scene where you can see Ozzie development or got hold of the best technology to give Fizz functional limbs, was a tender scene their relationship and interactions made me smile. I'll give Viv 1 ty for not fucking up their relationship, ty Viv (I can be nice to her :). Tho 1 scene that bothered me... the 12 sec Ozzie dong scene 💀 my soul it was just so jarring especially with the fast pacing. Felt like a race car coming to an immediate stop then speeding off again. Would've like the scene replaced with Fizz telling Bliz something nice about Ozzie, why Fizz likes him. I'm tired of queer couples/pairings in this show describing their partner in 2 ways, 1. how good they are in bed or 2. they got x anatomy that's amazing. But its Viv writing this ep, sigh her and her damn middle school sex jokes I'll let it slide.

Now negatives:

I said it before I'll say it for all eternity, the pacing was dogshit bad oh my soul wtf... Viv, Adam whoever I know you guys don't listen to criticism but if any criticism you take fix your damn pacing 😑. I had to pause multiple times just to see what has happening, what was said, what this paper/sign etc said. It was bad, and that paired with the overdetailed BGs and character designs, for the 1st time ever I got overstimulted from a HB ep and had to take a 5 min break to rest my eyes (was by Fizz's song). Its a noisey spinning kaleidoscope this ep, so unpleasant and its all pacing. Stay on certain scenes a bit longer and allow the audience to take in the scene before them (that flackback scene) its makes a difference. If you get overwhelmed/overstimlated ect by such visuals I recommend watching the leaked episode its much better in terms of pacing since its mostly storyboards and there is no color, plus its just the VAs talking with no background music and zero to minimal sound effects.

I didn't care for Crimson in this episode, I know he became Viv's favorite 😒 but seeing this fucker back so soon, it wasn't enjoyable, especially since the only reason he's in this ep is for a "big score" 😑. Also I'm tired of this over convenient plots, Fizz so happened to be in the greed ring and so happened to run into Blitz and Striker so happened to be in greed meeting with Crim who need a man for a "big score" AND SO HAPPENED Striker sees Fizz/Blitz fighting outside the window 🙃. Its all too convenient for me it takes me out and I then think how the plot coming together is ridiculous.

Striker is so under utilized. Since Viv hates him (confirmed by sources I can't pull now apologies) and she wrote this episode, everything established of Striker in So1 is destroyed. He's a husk of his intended character, all talk no show, a misogynistic clown who you can see Viv has no care writing him properly because she doesn't like him which is fucking horrible, this woman will butcher an integral villian, one with a good motivation (he hates blue-bloods) all because "oh I don't like him he's not in my fav OC list", petty af.

Fizz's disability and how its handled, spoke about it in this post:

It still remains the same though now we see it wasn't Wally holding the cake just some other imp and the card Bliz made for Fizz was a love confession still doesn't justify his reaction shoving the imp and his still underlying jealousy of Fizz since they were young. Yes it was backing off from a love confession/ashamed he's not as good a performer as Fizz, Blitz was jealous of Fizz. Made another post saying how I like how Fizz sees his disability, he's content, happy, has Ozzie who understands him and even made/went out his way to get Fizz the best prosthetics to better his quality of life, I like that good on Fizzy :).

5. Going to be a separate long post on (ಠ_ಠ) Blitz, THE FUCKING BIRD IS BACK 💀💀💀 why your rotisserie chicken ass not in hospital or we just skipping past that and how Viv keeps I'm gonna say it, forcing her characters to have daddy issues by writing this fucking irritating basic fanfic trope of killing the mother offscreen/not having the mother in the picture/us seeing her face. A commenter pointed this out and it irritates me because its the 3rd time she does this, she show Tilla (Blitz's mom) in pictures, you think there would be an episode revolving around Blitz's childhood etc but no she's "in" a fast paced pitty party flashback. This woman really can't show an ounce of respect to any female characters.

This is all for now, will be making more posts the more this ep settles in.

Score: 4.7/10

#vivziepop critical #helluva boss critical #my post #spindlehorse critical #helluva boss critique

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - A Blah Week

May June 2023 Wk 1

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

La Pluie (Sat iQIYI) ep 6 of 10 - It’s so damn cute. Seme is still sus... but cute. I didn’t even mind the pratfall since they clearly both wanted to take advantage of it. These two are great kissers - like MaxTul level. I am PLEASED. Meanwhile, sides have a drunken MOMENT. 

Be My Favorite (Fri YouTube) ep 2 of 10? - I’m enjoying it which is fucking with my head, trash watch here! 

Luminous Solution (Sat Gaga) ep 2 of 6 - Dome has aged so pretty! Do we think the café owner doesn’t want him because he is happy in love? I’m enjoying the high school story arc a lot, and I wish we were just watching that and none of the others (Dome or no Dome). I finally figured it out the actor playing Mai is from Manner of Death.

The Promise (Weds YT & WeTV) ep 10fin - Soap opera brother relationship suddenly? Also more not communicating and more separation? Just bullshit. The best part of the ep was the interstitial cat. It feels like this show dragged on forever I am so glad it’s over and I intend never to think about it again. Full review below (although I pretty much just said it all.) 

Step By Step (Tues WeTV & Gaga) ep 7 of 10 - no ep this week, no idea why. It better not be because of the ZeeNew freakszoids or I am banhammering with a will. Our Skyy 2 (Bad Buddy & 1k*) eps 13-14 - skipped it this week as it concludes next week so I’ll binge all 4 at once.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Our Dining Table AKA Bokura no Shokutaku (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 9 of 10 - It’s just so good. I say it every week but it IS. Oh the running of the gays trope! Japan1 For us? How thoughtful. Awe, Yutaka’s confession in tiny was the best. SMILEY KISS! It took 3 BLs but Inukai Atsuhiro has finally actually kissed a boy. 

Star Struck (Korea iQIYI & Gaga) ep 5-6 of 8 - Oof this is such a hard show. Too much angst. It is a complicated story worth further analysis, but it’s too much for me and I don’t wanna dwell in it. Also, sweetie, you don’t get to cockblock the boy you rejected then invite him to sleep over, I don’t care how confused you are. Good for Hanjoon for standing up for himself, but holy shizz is this hard to watch. 

Vian the series (Vietnam YouTube ) - Cats are not caretakers. The neighbor is a cutie. Fun convo for a VBL - top/bottom & everything. Faen fatale showed up + a pratfall kiss and frankly I’m finding this show a bit dull now that the charm of the initial premise has worn off.

Naked Dinner AKA Zenra Meshi (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 8 of 12 - I never know what to say about this one. This was the dark separation doom episode. I was pretty blah over it. I’m just not engaged with this show. 

It’s Airing But ...

House of Stars (Thai Mon iQIYI) 12 eps - I bounced at ep 3. Will binge if told it is worth it at end.

Stay (Pinoy ????) 7 eps - It’s mostly in English and set in LA so I’m not bothering to hunt.

Let’s Eat Together AKA Aki wa Haru to Gohan wo Tabetai (Japan movie) cinema release means no inter distribution. Looks cozy: daily lives of college students and roommates who enjoy meals together, and a v codependent, adaptation of yaoi Let’s Eat Together Aki and Haru. I’ll keep an eye open for it but assume we can’t get it for now.

Takumi-kun Series 6: Nagai Nagai Monogatari no Hajimari no Asa (Japan Sun ????) ep 1 of 10 - NO ONE ASKED FOR THIS and no, I have no idea where to get it, why would I? (Say it with me everyone: Oh Japan, must you?*) 

Ended this week 

The Day I Loved You (Pinoy YouTube) ended. I have been reliably informed it’s better left a DNF.

My Story (Pinoy YouTube) ended. I bounced at ep 4. Someone tell me if I should bother with the rest?

Pure Vanilla (Singapore) - 10 min short on Gaga featuring a cafe, boss/employee, friends to lovers. It’s very sweet. Bit awkward acting. I love seeing real tats on my screen. I wish Singapore would give us a full proper BL. 7/10 RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS 

The Promise (Thai YouTube) - Although well acted this show dragged a too simple premise out into the ultimate manipulative miscommunication repeats of idiotic "why don’t you just TALK!?” Phu & Nan are childhood bffs through college (almost lovers) until Phu disappears. After looking/waiting for him, Nan gives up and self isolates, and the actual story takes place 10 years later. Phu’s “reason” and inability to say it out loud makes the whole show just frustrating, squandering good chemistry, and a stellar cast of multiple faen fatals (whose personalities would’ve made them better boyfriends). Seriously do not bother. What a damn waste of talent, time, and electronic bandwidth. Fatally flawed. 4/10 NOT RECOMMENDED 

Okay it ended a while ago but I finished it:

Make A Wish (Thai grey) - 6 part PNR (from Sammon - Manner of Death & Triage) about a doctor who can see the dead and strikes a bargain with a wish-granting irreverent tree angel - naturally they fall in love. Stars Fluke Natouch opposite not Ohm, but who cares bc Fluke has chemistry with everybody. Once again the Thai afterlife is incredibly bureaucratic but I enjoyed the premise and the unfolding of the story (it’s not predictable but still satisfying and with nice little twist). I like that the doctor is just gay af and has a fag hag bestie and everything. The cast is excellent but the comedic stylings are too overblown and tonally off. It had sad parts and did make me cry but is ultimately happy with a great sex scene, good smiley kisses, and all the agency. 8/10 RECOMMENDED 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Starting:

6/7 Love Tractor (Korea iQIYI) 8 eps - announced in 2022 from WATCHA (Semantic Error) I've been WAITING for this one. About a stressed-out law student who family obligations force into the countryside where a series of strange encounters and misunderstandings with his hunky young farmer neighbour. Will this be an extended version of Strongberry’s Some More? Or Korea’s take on Restart After Come Back Home? I'm chuffed. Country boy meets city boy is a very underused romance trope in BL.

6/9 Boys Love Omegaverse AKA The Boys Love sequel no one asked for (Japan movie) - everyone jockeyed to release the first ABO but it looks like Japan will take it. They do like to do all things BL FIRST. This seems to just be borrowing the branding of Boys Love, showing little resemblance to either original, since it's about 4 men in an idol group. (But could go very dark with that title. Boys Love is technically the first and one of the darkest BLs ever made.) Movie+Japan = no inter distribution.

Still Coming June 2023 

6/15 Tokyo in April AKA Shigatsu no Tokyo wa (Japan Gaga) 8 eps - Based on a yaoi, this is a reunion romance that takes place in an office. Japan does Our Dating Sim? Yes please.

6/22 About Us but Not About Us (Pinoy movie from 2022 on Prime) - A professor grieving the loss of his partner meets an ambitious literature student.

6/24 Why You (Khmer BL ????) - Billed as a horror romance, not sure if this is a movie or a series where it will air... nothing except that it exists.

6/24 Tie The Knot AKA Under the Same Sky (Pinoy movie on Prime) Trailer - I guess Prime is coming for our Pinoy BL? From OXIN Films (Rainbow Prince), announced for 2022 based on a true story, Briggs's family runs a bridal business but he has never had a chance to fall in love until he meets Shao, a groom to be.

6/25 Dinosaur Love (Thai iQIYI) Trailer 5 eps - from Ultimate Troop about a uni student, Rak, whose partner cheats on him with Rak's best friend. This gives bad boy hazer Dino an opportunity to hit on Rak at last. From The Yearbook people so I will not watch this as it airs. After Remember Me? Never again with them.

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

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

From Make a Wish. 

Found my side dish. (Be My Favorite)

We asked this question literally the ENTIRE show. (The Promise) 

My point exactly! 

(last week)

Current Kpop earworm? BTOB on Killing Voice - honestly I’m ded, end this show, no one else can ever be this good. 

#this week in BL #bl news #BL gossip #upcoming BL #new BL #BL june 2023 #best BL #BL reviews #korean bl #thai bl #Japanese BL #live action yaoi #Rakutan Viki #gagaoolala #GMMTV #Vietnamese bl #Fluke Natouch #La Pluie #Luminous Solution #Manner of Death #The Promise reviewed #Bokura no Shokutaku #Star Struck the series #Vian the series #Zenra Meshi #Pure Vanilla #Singapore BL #Make A Wish reviewed #Love Tractor #Boys Love Omegaverse

[fallloverfic]

Solo Leveling Episode 6 Thoughts

Excellent ep!!! Spoilery thoughts for the anime, novel, and manhwa below, also CW: blood, murder

The OP is still so good. Between Studio PPURI's animation and the song, just ahhh. I'm so excited for the Igris fight in the show T-T

Oooh more Go Gunhee and Woo Jinchul! It's fun to see how much more they're showing up, even more than in the manhwa! Jinchul looks really nice.

lakjdalj I know when Jinchul says, "Would it be all right if I asked for a bit of instruction? . . . It might be the kind of change of pace you need, too." (smile) he's saying, "let's spar" (it's a martial arts thing), but alkdjlaj I love this addition to the cute flirtiness of their relationship. It's very sweet. The novel gave us Gunhee asking Jinchul out for drinks, and now Jinchul is like, "let's spar :3". It's so cute.

Jinwoo v the dungeon boss is pretty cool. It's neat to see Jinwoo move so much, and the animation is gorgeous.

Jinwoo's jacket is giving me Seragaki Aoba DRAMAtical Murder vibes with its ridiculously wide collar lol (Doesn't help they're both that same bright blue).

Gunhee's fond gaze as he faces Jinchul :3 Also it's neat to see Gunhee fight. There's like no way we'll get to him facing the Frost Monarch this season (it's just not gonna get that far with 12 episodes under 30 minutes each, and considering we're only at the Lizards fight in episode 6), so it's a nice little preview of hopefully future seasons.

They're so cute T-T

Jinwoo sadly accepting he'll get betrayed T-T He's so used to it T-T And Jinho standing by him!!! Love He :3 Even Jinwoo is like : D Jinho still calling him bro, bless.

O.O Park Heejin, Gina, and Lee Bora (had to look her up, since she's a manhwa-original character, and I believe only actually named in Arise) know each other??? And Gina is wearing normal clothes before reincarnation timeline??? Marvels, all!!! And they know Iron??? (And of course he's still a dick lol) This is so nice :3 Folks know each other :3 It's really wonderful world expansion.

Jinwoo with his necromancy shadow energy already, looks beautiful.

The song during the Lizards fight section (Dark Aria <LV2> by Hiroyuki Sawano, lyrics by Benjamin) is gorgeous. I don't know why tumblr is screwing up the formatting here. The link works. It just looks bad.

Jinwoo using dash to appear in front of Kyuhwan was an amazing bit of animation that was honestly terrifying alkdjlaj His face alkdjalj It's terror time, indeed.

Bye Dongsuk. Aww, poor Jinho, just getting nearly murdered and traumatized a dozen times, but hey, you get a sugar baby out of it kind of, so win-win?

I feel like learning a bunch of people died is the really wrong time to geek out over armor releases.

And a little peek of Dongsoo. Bleh.

Wonderful episode :3 Loved all the stuff they added! This series continues to feel like really fun fanfiction in all the best ways. The animation was beautiful! The music was great! Jinwoo is going through so many discoveries and revelations and realizing how confining and horrifying the system is in new ways, and Jinho is having all sorts of discoveries of his own. Can't wait until S01E07.

More episode thoughts:

S01E05

S01E06 (you are here)

S01E07

S01E08

S01E09

S01E10

S01E11

S01E12

#solo leveling #solo leveling spoilers #sung jinwoo #yoo jinho #park heejin #go gunhee #woo jinchul #great episode #fallfthoughts #나 혼자만 레벨업

[citystoryscapes]

bad buddy fandom getting-to-know-you meme!

yayyyy thank you for the tag deepa, who is the best! @fiercynn <3 I've been meaning to participate in this for agessssss

since there are both recent newcomers to bbs fandom and people like me who are new to bbs tumblr, i thought i'd create a getting-to-know-you meme for people to introduce themselves if they want! all questions are optional

note: i consider "fanworks" to pretty much everything people create related to a fandom, including but not limited to meta/analysis/discussion, gifs, fanvids/edits/fancams, filk, fanart, fanfic, fan food, fan crafts, etc. please include this note with the meme unless you have a different definition!

name and whatever you want to share about yourself

hey, I'm rain! that's not my actual name but it's all the internet is getting. my pronouns are she/they. I'm in my 20s and a grad student, and fandom has been a (selectively) great place for me in terms of finding supportive, brilliant friends. I like to write a fair bit; occasionally, I post it too. I also like cats, big cities, good tea, and old houses.

when did you watch bad buddy/join the fandom?

I'd heard about bad buddy because it was airing around the same time as another show I was watching, but I wasn't toooo interested until episode 5, part 4/i4. when I tell you that kiss UNLOCKED SOMETHING IN ME... I caught up on the first 5 episodes pretty much immediately after that while quarantining alone over Christmas, and it pretty much kept me sane. I watched the rest of the show as it aired- please spare a moment of silence for the people who had to wait out the two-week gap between episodes over New Year's.

bad buddy has always made me SO genuinely happy and hopeful, reminding me that there is hope for queer Asian people even if our families aren't always supportive.

favorite ship(s)

patpran, inkpa, and some comic relief waikorn

favorite character(s)

in terms of fanworks, it's a very close call between pran and pat, but I think pran is my favorite by a hair! I love his character arc throughout the show! I especially love his confidence and the way he grew into himself. pran might win in terms of being inspirational, but I have to say, I LOVE well-written pat meta.

in terms of who I'd like to channel in real life, it's obviously ink. she is the absolute coolest, a proud simp, and a protective girlfriend.

(I'm great at avoiding making choices)

favorite episode(s)

episode 5, because what could ever compare? I also love parts of episode 3 and 11 (I'm saying this as if I don't love the entire show).

favorite scene(s)

ep 5 rooftop kiss!!!! ep 3 bus stop and mini elevator scene; ep 4 pran's injury and the three wontons dinner; ep 6 beach scene where they're paired up in the game; and their trip to the market, ep 7 confession scene; ep 9's 'anyone taller than me is fine'!!!!! ep 11 bus scene, beach scene, and song montage; ep 12's entire bait and switch reveal, and pat pran's dinner out with friends.

see what I meant about avoiding making choices?

one thing you would change about the show if you could

seconding deepa, WHY DID INKPA NOT KISS??? also this isn't a change I would definitively make to the existing show, but I'd love a b-side where we see patpran's relationship in the years between their graduations and pran's return from Singapore.

what are your some of your favorite fanworks made by other people?

I can't believe this is a question I am legitimately choosing to answer:

Fic:

make my body say ah, ah, ah by Sabulum

heart in a cage by sunshinedobi

paradox by Everybodyknows

dynamic by riddles2

a nose boop and the rest is history by seekingmoonscapes

don't forget me when I let the water take me by gilly_bean

your love is your life by threewontons

Videos:

same page by dkyth73

just friends by fiercynn and scribe

dancer by coldties

(if you create fanworks) what are your favorite fanworks that you’ve made?

technically I've only published one bad buddy fanwork (it's a fic called these violent delights). my favorite thing I've created for the show is an unpublished canon-divergence fic where patpran have sex and possibly get together during their ep 6 beach trip

a song that makes you think of bbs (the ones in the show don’t count lol)

I'm sticking to the classics; same page and just being friendly by tilly birds are my top choices. I also made playlists for pat and pran, for said unpublished fic, so here's some of the songs I picked for both:

for pat: the loneliest time by carly rae jepsen, double take by dhruv, better by khalid, the enemy by andrew belle

for pran: washing machine heart by mitski, 18 by 1D, and dancer by leon

idk anything else you want us to know?

I love all of you smart meta writers, I'm kissing your big beautiful brains

okay i'm literally going to tag all of my tumblr mutuals that i think are still in the fandom (if i missed anyone sorry!!), but also if you want to do the meme consider yourself tagged! please don’t let this flop lol 🤞🏽

#bad buddy #bad buddy getting to know you meme #bad buddy fanworks rec #patpran

[silvertsundere]

Silver Talks AniManga (10/12/23)

pretty good week and season's starting to wrap up as well so gotta start thinking of the final thoughts for the shows ending speaking of, the post in 2 weeks from now will prob be late but I still dunno if I'll be traveling or not so we'll see when the time comes

Anime

Frieren Ep14

great episode like usual, a lot of food for fern x stark people nad lots of funny fern faces too. we'll be entering an exam arc soon, with a billion new charas, but there's still a couple eps before that

Undead Unluck Ep10

good episode, I was hoping they'd do good for ch 20. that was one of the best early chaps. up until there UU wasn't bad, it was a decent battle manga but nothing too impressive, but ch20 showing off how cool juiz is and expanding our understanding of the world, with both the unification of language and addition of a rule, and setting a limit/goal to aim for with avoiding ragnarok on penalty 101, really helped to give the series some bigger stakes and increase interest in it. the next big episode is gonna come after the unrepair arc, by my calculations it's prob gonna be ep 15, after that we got the autumn arc until the end of the anime which will end on a very cool scene that's one of my favs in the whole manga so looking forward to it

Adult Precure Ep10

during this week we found out that the anime was only gonna be 12 episodes, which shoulda been expected but still disappointing there's only 2 left. also all this time I've been waiting for nagisa and honoka to show up too and they never did, despite honoka's grandma having an appearance. that is until now they ACTUALLY did show up and I was losing my gourd, sadly nagisa only had 1 line and this is all we saw of them. they weren't in the pv for the next episode and 12 is the finale so I'm not very hopeful but fingers crossed for them actually showing up more than just this little teaser

Imas Million Live Ep10

good ep, finally giving the payoff for this shizuka's dad subplot that's been going since the start, even if the result was obviously gonna be this, only a couple more eps left but it's been good (expected since it's imas)

Manga

MamaYuyu Ch14

I thought we'd get a few more cooldown chaps after all the recent action but it was straight into more battles at the end of this. we got a bit more lore exposition tho, and the confirmation of what I figured ages ago, that they're getting transported to this world in pairs

My Hero Academia Ch409

great chap with crazy good pages after pages, hori really put his all into it and certainly deserves the week's rest he's getting. seems like we're finally done with AFO too, only the big final deku shigaraki fight left. oh also of note, with chap 410 mha will officially be in the top 10 longest series in the magazine's history, and I think it's safe to say it'll pass number 9 too (421) and I could even see it passing number 8 (435) but not so sure about that

Akane-banashi Ch90

looks like we're finally done with this little pseudo training arc, it was fun seeing the other brother's progress and akane's wild ideas but I'm looking forward to what she's cooking for the big event it's been a while since we've gotten a big akane story

#silver talks animanga

[boysplanetrecaps]

Ep 4 Wrap Up

Hello, lovies! Welcome back to the Great Produce48 Recap Rewatch-a-ma-whoozit! In the previous post, we covered the Very Very teams. In this post, I’ll be wrapping up episode 4 and giving you some general thoughts about the challenge mission in the form of my first annual BRAPPY Awards! Let’s do it!

Seungki gathers the girls together now that the audience has left, in order to give them the results of the on-site vote. Seungki quizzes a few girls is the audience at quasi-random to re-establish the rules -- that 58th is the cut off point, and that if you don’t make it within that range, “you can’t practice here anymore.” I think that’s a comparatively kind way to put it.

This is basically a pointless exercise that they’re going through right now, though. They rank the girls solely by their voting for tonight, including the 1000 point benefit. There is literally no point to it, since this ranking has no impact on the rest of their life, except their pride. We find out that poor AleXa came in dead last, with flat-tummied Hwang Soyeon just above her. 

AleXa takes it pretty well -- she knew how low she scored, so she was ready for this.

Poor Soyeon. She’s so good, and I think she’s pretty. I don’t get it. 

Lee Chaeyeon voice overs, “The Japanese members are celebrities, and Koreans are trainees. So there was a gap.” 

Was there? Let me get out my spreadsheet. *cracks knuckles* 

Hmm. The Japanese members had an average of 85.3 votes per trainee. The members signed to Korean agencies had an average of 59.0 votes per trainee. The overall average was 69, because there are more Korean members. So yes, there was a huge gap.

The show goes on revealing the "final ranking" from the night, but it's so annoying, since all the votes were based on their immediate competition among those 10-12 girls, so it’s especially meaningless.

Anyway, here’s the top 12 -- just looking at it reminds you that this is dumb, since we know these aren’t the 12 most popular girls on the show.

Trainee /// Song she did /// votes she got

12. Kojima Mako    ///       Short Hair 1       ///       120 11. Murase Sae      ///       Mamma Mia 1    ///       138 11. Kim Hyunah      ///     Mamma Mia 1 /// 138 9. Asai Nanami   ///           Boombayah 2 /// 144 8. Lee Sian           ///         Short Hair 2     ///       148 7. Jo Yuri      ///                 Short Hair 1     ///       152 6. Cho Ahyeong        ///     High Tension 2 /// 160 5. Miyawaki Sakura   ///     Very Very 2          ///   164 4. Goto Moe      ///         Like Ooh Ahh 1 /// 172 3. Huh Yunjin      ///       High Tension 2 /// 188 2. Ko Yujin        ///     Boombayah 1        ///     198 1. Yabuki Nako /// Love Whisper 2 /// 330

Fun fact: Only three of these girls make it into IZ*one, and, extra fun (or not fun at all?), one of these 12 girls gets eliminated in the very next episode! 

This is so dumb.

Seungki interviews Nako about her overwhelming victory, and she says she still can’t believe it. (You can see that she has a small earpiece in her ear for translation purposes.)

It’s almost as if she was really good and also was in a matchup with mostly weaker members….? Hilariously, she says “I’ll try my best to be in a higher rank next time.” Nako? Sweetie? You were in first place. I think it’s ok to not strive to do even better than that. Cutely, she adds a Korean “thank you!” at the end. 

Then the show does a dumb thing where it adds the 1000 vote benefit into the votes to see how things change in the ranking, and it’s pointless AF. Seungki reminds them that the first ranking announcement will be next week, and that's when they'll "release" about a third of the girls.

Ok, so that’s the end of episode 4. 

Time for my general thoughts on the challenge mission!

My main thought is: None of the performances were actually horrifically bad. Even Hellbayah was watchable in its own way. Vocally, nearly everyone sounded notably better than they even had before, making me wonder if there was some processing being done to the vocals for everyone. Dance-wise, the camera hid a lot of the choreo, so it's impossible to know. In the end, I had to base a lot of my differential off of stage presence, which is tough since it's so subjective.

I think that so much of it was decided the moment that certain teams were formed and certain teams got certain songs. Having Nako sing Love Whisper? Match made in heaven. Putting Chiba Erii in Boombayah? Match made in hell.

I wish I had the energy to go through and look at each group and think, which song should this group of 5-6 girls have done? But alas, I do not. I welcome your thoughts, if you have them!

The First Annual BRAPPIES 

And now, for the first Brappies, the award that BPR-Unnie gives out starting now, after each challenge mission. Be aware that as I type this, I’ve had a headache for about two weeks and it’s making me just a tiny bit cranky. Ok, here goes!

Group who the stylist unnies hated the most:

I give this to Peekaboo 2. 

Ugh, those translucent control top thigh highs!

Group who it just looks like they forgot to put on pants:

Obviously, Short Hair (both teams)

I'm unlikely to use this category again, but it had to be said.

Group that cried the most:

I’m tempted to say it’s a 15-way tie between most of them, but I have to give it to Love Whisper 1, whose leader, Eunchae, actually cried during the ending fairy.

Group that seemed to have the most fun:

Very Very, Red team.

Most deserved win:

Love Whisper 2.

I’m giving it to them since, other than the Boombayah teams, there was no other match up where the winner felt quite so obvious to me.  

Least deserved win:

Hellbayah. Obviously.

It’s infuriating that this performance won. 

Best leader:

From what we could see, that goes to Haeyoon (Cherry Bullet) from Like Ooh Ah, who not only mothered her own team, but also had time to mother the other team, who had the worst leader (Park Seoyoung). She also is apparently fluent in Japanese. 

Honorable mention: Miyu from High Tension, who was smart enough to know that they should have Huh Yunjin as their center, and did a great job as main vocal, to boot.

Worst leader:

I have to give this to Park Seoyoung. She didn't seem to take the time constraints seriously enough, so didn't push her team appropriately. She also didn't seem that great at teaching the dancing, which is one of the things a leader should either be able to do, or be able to delegate well. She should have made little Haeun the dance captain and gone from there, to avoid a feeling of a power struggle. She seems like a really sweet girl, actually, and as I've said before, AleXa is friends with her to this day and that says a lot. But she just isn't really cut out to be leader.

Most put-upon leader:

Han Chowon from Hellbayah. She obviously did an extraordinary job considering her situation. 

Biggest discovery: 

Yoon Haesol, main vocal of High Tension 1. I’d been completely unaware of her up until this point. Her audition, Question Mark, wasn’t aired -- all we saw of her was starting her audition in the wrong key and needing to start over.  All I had said about her audition was that she did pretty well, but this performance really impressed me. So, good for you, Haesol. 

Trainee who “won” the night

Huh Yunjin.

I say she won the night because before this episode, she wasn’t really seen as a front runner, and afterward, she really was. There are events to come that will drag her down a bit, but I think she earned her spot on Le Sserafim with this performance. She definitely won my heart the first time I was watching. So, congrats, Jennifer! You killed it. But you know that, right? 

Trainee who “lost” the night:

In some ways, this award should go to just about anyone who the edit ignored completely despite them doing good stuff, like fantastic singer and leader Miyu from the winning High Tension group, or any of the innumerable other trainees with no stage time. But I have to give this award to Jang Gyuri.

She had her tiny tiny vocal mistake built up to over the course of two episodes and then replayed thirteen fucking times. Meanwhile if you watch her fancam, you might actually gain some respect for her lovely vocal color. 

So, that’s a wrap for right now.  I’m going to check out Build Up for a bit and we’ll see how that goes, and I’ll finish these recaps when the time is right. See you soon! 

#bpr recaps p48 #produce 48 #le sserafim #ive #akb48

[boysthatlove]

Bed Friend, Chains of Heart and Love Syndrome III

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

BedFriend EP 7

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

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

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

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

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

Chains of Heart Ep 7

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

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

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

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

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

Love Syndrome III Ep 5

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

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

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

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

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

#love syndrome 3 #love syndrome #love syndrome the series #Bed Friend #bed friend the series #Netjames #chains of heart #Chains of Heart the series #thai boys love #thai bl #bl series

[tharizdun-03]

Love Live! Sunshine!! Season 2: EP 9-13 Watchthrough

#9: "Awaken the Power"

Hell of a performance, one of the best in Sunshine so far.

ultimately, ruby's little arc here didn't really add any depth to her. and for all of her growing independent from her sister, it's ironic that their performance (i'm guessing partly metaphorical) still had to include their sisters and the other girls singing and dancing too.

ultimately, ruby's little arc here didn't really add any depth to her. and for all of her growing independent from her sister, it's ironic that their performance (i'm guessing partly metaphorical) still had to include their sisters and the other girls singing and dancing too.

speaking of that trio, look at how their colors match.

#10: "Finding a Way to Shine"

god, sunshine is BACK in full force after a slightly middling stretch. this is how you fucking do it.

Hell yeah, stand your ground, girl. Get that dough.

In the next Love Live entry, I'd want a girl a bit like Leah. Reclusive, a bit abrasive, a bit antisocial. You know, someone with a bit more of a bitter quality to them. I think that'd be a fun dynamic to add to the mix.

also, good on sunshine for actively using saint snow outside of being rivals.

three girlfriends. watching the sunset. really close to each other cause they are gay.

where are they even? i dunno, but it's pretty.

dia's pretty hairpins

I think one of the crazy good things (so many to choose from) about K-On (mainly S2+movie) is that it never really indulges in its own sappyness except like that one big episode and maybe the ending. It's otherwise almost never that sad. Sunshine managed to achieve that here.

Love Live, historically, (aka, imo) indulges far too much in its own melodrama, which completely butchered the original love live s2 ending for me, but they really achieved it here, and it reminded me of k-on. getting emotion out of you without getting too into it.

obviously, k-on isn't the only show that does it, but since sunshine, and love live overall, is very similar to k-on as a whole, the comparison is what naturally popped into my head. maybe unnecessary, but hey, that's what you get with me.

#11: "Uranohoshi Girls' High School"

i'm gonna miss these girls a lot

i didn't need these two holding hands tho. and no it's not just because i'm possessive about my ships, but i genuinely think that from a corporate perspective they're trying to give moments for everyone's OTPs and i'd rather they commit for the characters rather than the audience

hat said, besides that one moment, sunshine is doing a remarkably better job at ending things. original s2 ending felt so overdone and was such an obvious set up for the movie that they had to milk after the series became such a big hit, but this feels respectful.

i loved how we checked in on every character. Dia's fangirling, Ruby being a bit more courageous, Kanan and You entertaining the kids, Hanamaru trashing Yohane but still helping her indulge in her make believe, Mari being a bit more openly vulnerable than usual, etc.

i think one of the great things about Sunshine, compared to the original series, isn't just that them not being able to save the school is a more mature way of exploring the impermanence theme, but we also actually know just how much this school meant to the community here.

luckily we're getting a fantasy spin-off, so i'm seeing these girls shortly again in one way or another, but it still won't be the same once i finish it tomorrow.

#12: "Sea of Light"

what do you know, turns out sunshine manages to avoid over-indulging itself in its own pathos unlike the original series. i've had some quibbles with season 2 of sunshine, but it's ending things remarkably well.

i really feel the need to stress how SO MUCH of the reason the impending ending works so much better here is because of Chika and her struggles. Honoka felt like a caricature in comparison, it's insane how good Chika has done the narrative here.

instead of all the crying and songs, we get a melancholic but not overbearing penultimate episode. hopefully the actual finale keeps that up as well. i have reason to think so, but the s1 finale didn't quite frankly.

#13: "Our Own Shine"

aww, we get to see all the outfits they've ever worn for each of their concerts and their respective locations for the final performance.

the song very much reminds me of the final song from the original love live movie, and both are coincidentally my favourite songs from each respective series. altho it makes me curious what the sunshine movie has in store.

happy for her

and ofc they performed the opening at love live. it was such a cool twist in the original series that i don't mind that they reuse it.

oh my god they confirmed my poly headcanon. chika has confessed to riko and vice versa, you has confessed to chika and vice versa, and now you and riko have confessed to each other. wish we got more of this this season.

i mean, that was just a great finale, i thought.

lots of great callbacks, like yohane falling out of the tree. lots of small emotional moments like the grafitti, our first years closing their club room door together, all of them closing the school gate together, chika walking through the abandoned building hearing the past

it didn't feel right to take the movie directly afterwards so i'm gonna do that tomorrow, but safe to say that the staff seems to have learned from the original series where they put in like three performances after each other, lots of crying, and then a cliffhanger for the movie

sunshine's movie will basically just be a victory lap for the series, spending some fun time with the characters again, and honestly i can do with that instead of more pathos cause i think we did everything we could here and i'm happy. keep the low-key tone going.

Overall Thoughts:

Love Live Sunshine!! Season 2 was really good. The comedy is very sharp and the cast as delightful as ever. I think this season wasn't as supremely structured as S1, plus some subplots and cross-ship contamination were less to my liking, but no major drawbacks. Ended well.

#love live #love live sunshine #Love Live! Sunshine!! #Chika Takami #Riko Sakurauchi #You Watanabe #Yoshiko Yohane Tsushima #yoshiko tsushima #yohane #Hanamaru Kunikida #Ruby Kurosawa #Dia Kurosawa #Mari Ohara #Kanan Matsuura #8/10 #watchthrough

[shinneth]

hello~!! didja see the journeys ep with paul yet? what did you think of it? 👀

Oh, I sure did! Less than 24 hours after it came out, no less. Which is saying something, since I've not watched any of the Pokémon anime since XY (more had to do with getting rid of cable + general burnout; not to knock on XYZ, but Best Wishes hurt me).

Thoughts on it? Well, a little on the mixed side. Least I can do is go over it in more detail. Without watching Journeys at all outside this episode, I've got the overall gist well enough. So, guess it's time to pick this apart.

Cramming 2-3 plots in one episode was a misstep imo

I heard the last time Ash's reserve group at Oak's lab was featured in Journeys, it did a less-than-stellar job showing them off. Apparently, a good chunk of them weren't even seen in that episode, let alone had a role in it. This episode rectified that and made sure every single one of Ash's currently-owned Pokémon was at the very least visible, as even the ones who only got background/still-shot moments at least got to display an element of their personality. That much I greatly appreciate. Guess it's inevitable that pulling this off well will only become increasingly difficult as the series presses on with Ash as a protagonist, so at the very least I can respect this episode for going out of its way to make the vast majority of these Pokémon relevant in one way or another.

Especially since the Fire-type brigade had a special purpose in helping Ash's Gengar learn Will-o-Wisp. And as someone who values the strategic aspect of Pokémon battling, I'm super happy it was this move that Gengar learned and not something like Fire Punch. I enjoyed seeing this being shown in such detail! It really did feel like stepping back to the older seasons that actually put effort into showing off the importance of training.

However, as I watched the episode, I noticed how much time was being invested in these two plot points and remembered this is supposed to be the episode where Paul returns after a 12-year absence...

And from what I understand, Paul ain't gettin' any more appearances after this. This is it! This is all we get after a decade-plus of nothing!

So, in all honesty, I think at the very least the plot of Ash reuniting with all his Pokémon, Goh properly getting acquainted with them all, and the training for the Masters 8 should have been its own episode. Because I do believe it's very important to honor history and give everybody their due diligence when the anime gives them time to actually show up and matter.

Now, with Gengar learning Will-o-Wisp? That meshes in well with Paul showing up. I'd keep that. But the abundance of nostalgic fluff (that I love, but I gotta tell it like it is) really made this episode feel more than a little truncated in the areas that should have mattered most.

It was a competently written comeback for Paul...

On a superficial note, I am a little bummed that Paul didn't get any tweaks in his design (such as colored irises, which Ash was granted from Best Wishes onward; before then, his eyes were just as dotted and black as Paul's). I certainly didn't expect him to get a new outfit or anything since they didn't give Dawn that much (... from what I recall they DID give that to Serena, buuuut Serena's from the era of customizable PCs so I guess that makes a little more sense? Didn't play Gen IV's remakes, so idk if they offered that in those), but it would've been cool.

Then again, I HAVE heard about the interview in which the logic for never ever letting Ash age for the sake of keeping some "feeling like the first day of summer every day" sentiment... much as I roll my eyes at that, I've pretty much given up on the progression of time EVER being feasible in this series. Up through DP, I could at least pretend Ash was aging a year per major region (minor quests like Orange League and the Battle Frontier didn't warrant full-year lengths to me). At this point, given the design and how many generations we're in now, there's really no other choice than to accept this is basically Anime Simpsons time-wise.

Paul having his own Gyarados, Garchomp, and Metagross was completely believable, of course. He's been doing this Pokémon training thing just as long as Ash has, and there was zero indication that he would have stopped after Ash beat him. Unlike Gary, Paul didn't decide on a career change. He was set on challenging Brandon again (more on that later...). So, yeah. It would be perfectly logical for Paul to have about as many reserves as Ash. Reggie's got a big-ass backyard for that, after all. And all three of these Pokemon are ones I'd totally see have Paul having on his own journey.

Would've liked a longer battle, ngl

I'm not sour that Paul lost to Ash again here. Ash losing to Paul at this stage probably would have damaged his cred significantly (considering what all he's accomplished from XYZ and Sun/Moon) - this is right before the Masters 8 stuff starting up, after all.

But I think I would have at least preferred a tie.

Then again, with a certain other plot element I'll get to in a bit, I suppose that might have weakened that message a tad. Really, though, I would've liked a longer battle. I'm just used to Ash/Paul battles being lengthy affairs, full of twists and turns and crazy-ass strategies being utilized. Like, in all fairness, all 3 of Ash's Pokémon gained significant abilities from this battle alone (Lucario got Bullet Punch, Dragonite got a crazy-ass combo move, and Gengar got Will-o-Wisp). I am bummed we didn't get a resurgence of Counter Shield - THAT would've been cool to see make a comeback! And it's one of Ash's few legitimately clever tactics. Though I guess that technique was more of a Dawn-related thing, ultimately. Still, didn't stop Paul from copying it in the Sinnoh League :P I wanna say Dragonite's made-up technique may have been some kind of loose reference/spiritual successor, but in practice it looks like they serve completely different purposes.

Thanks to so much time being eaten up with Ash's Pokémon reunion, there sadly wasn't much left for there to be an epic fight. What little we got was good enough, and it was very nicely animated.

The real appeal in Paul and Ash's rivalry, though, was in how Paul actually made Ash question himself and his methods/motivations. Paul on the outside came off as someone who should have no business being as good as he is because he isn't all about the "love and friendship" aspect of Pokémon. Naturally we're past that development for both of them, but this extended into their battling as well. Their first full battle was loaded with multiple switch-outs on both ends, Ash being forced to wonder what Paul had planned when something didn't immediately make sense to him, and it was just a glorious display of battling psychology.

I guess switch-outs being forbidden from the off in this battle played a role in how this could have been just a little bit more in-depth. And it'd be foolhardy to just expect this battle to be right up there with both of the full battles that happened in DP. The characters are both in very different places now compared to then.

Still, I couldn't help but roll my eyes a little when Paul actually wondered "Oh shit, is Burn really affecting my Metagross' strength?! The thing that the Burn status effect has always been?!"

ofcoursehefuckingknowshehasafuckingmagmortarwithflamebodyandREALLYfuckedpikachu'sshitwiththeburnstatussowhytheeverlivingfuckisheevenwonderingaboutthistohimselfgoddammit

... a GYM LEADER you say

So. I'm of two minds about this.

It's REALLY COOL the series itself is acknowledging that Paul is far too talented to just be an aimlessly-wandering nobody trainer and gave him something that'll elevate his status and reflect just how his presence positively affected the series.

Bonus points if (and this is SUPER-DELUSIONAL OPTIMISM btw) Paul actually became a Gym Leader for the next series AND was adopted into the game canon by actually being a Gym Leader in the Scarlet/Violet games.

On the other hand...

COME ON, HE IS AT LEAST A FRONTIER BRAIN CANDIDATE

YEAH FUCKING REMEMBER THAT? LAST THING WE KNOW PAUL DID POST-LEAGUE WAS GO OFF TO CHALLENGE BRANDON AGAIN.

WHEN ASH BEAT BRANDON, HE WAS OFFERED A POSITION TO BE A FRONTIER BRAIN.

SO EITHER

PAUL BEAT BRANDON BUT TURNED DOWN THE OFFER BECAUSE WHY BE A FRONTIER BRAIN WHEN YOU COULD BE A GYM LEADER AND IT'S NOT LIKE THE ANIME ESTABLISHED FRONTIER BRAINS > GYM LEADERS OR ANYTHING OH WAIT YES IT HAS

"It’s a group of facilities, somewhat like a Gym, but more intense where you challenge and battle against an amazing group of powerful trainers called Frontier Brains." -Brock

OR

PAUL JUST NEVER DEFEATED BRANDON I GUESS

(also lowkey I really really really would've loved for Paul to meet Cynthia again...)

His behavior in the battle this episode DID have him more in, say, a "gym leader's" mindset, I would say. I'd go as far to argue that Paul wasn't really putting his all into any of those matches with Ash. He really seemed interested in drawing out new powers from his opponent. The few times where he shows something of a reaction during the battles, it's when one of the three new powers/techniques started showing that aura-like flare.

I'm certainly not saying Paul wouldn't make for a good Gym Leader. Given the subtle showings of his growth in the episode, such as Infernape actually following Paul's suggestion; something he wouldn't have done in DP regardless of Paul's prior ownership of him... also, him telling Electivire to play and all that, yeah. That's indicative that he's not as excessively rigid as he was before. Paul has the maturity and discipline to be an excellent Gym Leader; certainly 8th Gym Leader material for sure.

My thing is... this is very much beneath him. If the episode had more time, maybe we would have gotten Paul saying that in his pursuit of gaining power, he realized that wasn't ever going to stop someone out there being more powerful than him no matter what he did.

We could have gotten something like, Paul admitting that his fascination with seeing power really felt the most rewarding when his influence drew power out from his opponents.

Looking at the facts, almost every time Paul and Ash battled in DP, Ash would either get one of his Pokémon evolved or they'd learn a significant new move or ability (or technique). Paul is really good at making Ash dig deep and bring out the best in all of his Pokémon.

It stands to reason that Paul's passion might lie in bringing out the true potential of other trainers; it gives him a better battle to have that improves his own team while simultaneously benefiting his opponent.

With a specific sort of focus like this, added with the fact that Paul has zero type preferences of any sort (all we know is that he really likes powerful 'mons who are as good at tanking hits as they are at dishing them out), that really screams "Frontier Brain" more so than "Gym Leader".

In all fairness, it's never outright said whether or not Paul accepted the offer to become Gym Leader. Which can let me headcanon that while he went to Professor Oak to educate himself, it wasn't necessarily to become Gym Leader. Paul's realizing that he can't rely entirely on self-taught methods to ascend in this way of life. Whatever he becomes in the future, Paul's clearly taking the steps necessary to reach the level he seeks to be.

So while I wasn't really thrilled about Paul being used as the "measuring stick" for Ash's chances against anyone in the Masters 8, at least there's an implication that Paul isn't exactly spinning his wheels, either. Much as I'd love to have him be part of the Masters 8 (no guesses on who I'd have him replacing in that), clearly the powers-that-be did not have that intention from the onset.

Hell, one can argue that Paul becoming Gym Leader is just his stepping stone to reach greater heights. After all, it's not uncommon for Gym Leaders to later challenge, on on rare occasions, defeat and replace members of the Elite Four.

So there's an ounce of hope here. Of course, I don't expect we'll ever actually see Paul in the anime again. Maybe 24 years from now. I'll be lucky to be alive by then!

Paul plz

gawd you're still so tsundere af

BITCH YOU HAVE BEEN IN NO LESS THAN FOUR POKEWORLD EQUIVALENTS OF THE SUPER BOWL

SHUT YO' ASS UP

I'd post more pics/gifs but I ran my limit now

So uh... yeah! Those are my thoughts on the episode. In a vacuum, it's great, had lots of nostalgic potential and at the very least they didn't completely ruin Paul like they EASILY could have. Kudos on the writers for making him show his maturity through his subtle cues rather than making him overtly friendly like the rest of Ash's recurring posse.

I really do enjoy more strategic elements being employed in the battle and the episode overall. I feel like Gengar's Will-O-Wisp especially will be a game-changer for Ash's chances in the Masters 8.

However, I would've really appreciated having more time, maybe not compact this episode with three major events, y'know? I'm sure there's a filler somewhere in Journeys that could've been trimmed out to facilitate this.

Also not thrilled about the prospect of Paul becoming a Gym Leader as it's very much beneath him (unless this is some clever-ass tie in to the games and god is that ever wishful thinking or his stepping stone to reach the top), but I do like that I can infer that Paul's at least found a reason to battle for his own sake now.

Yeah. Remember when Brandon asked Paul why he battles? We never got an answer to that, ever.

So this might be the closest we get: not a Gym Leader aspiration, but a necessary step in Paul's mission to bring power out in others to improve his own style.

Could use some work, but considering I'm almost certain this is all of Paul we're gonna get from here on out, I'm just gonna treasure and headcanon the hell out of it.

#answered asks #mangoberri #pokemon journeys #pokemon paul #pokemon shinji #pokeani #lots of rambling #so many headcanons

[cheap-pack-of-cigarettes]

So i’ve just finished The Glory…

I’ve heard this show raved about since it came out and really only decided to watch it finally because my aunt told me how amazing it was- that being said, I found it just… good? Its obviously a heartbreaking story but the way i’ve seen people talk about it, I was expecting to be blown away and hanging on to every second of every episode and I just wasn’t??? It was just something for me to binge. And maybe thats bc I saw some spoilers but I don’t necessarily think that changes much, I enjoyed watching it but if anything I think people may have been overhyping it imo. Honestly some of it may also have to do with Song Hyekyo, I think she’s an amazing actress but idk like there was a certain lack of emotional connection there? At least for me. (& i know her character is supposed to come off cold which she did but it was more than that) I 100% wanted her to get revenge on her bullies and rooted for her doing it but I also felt like it all just fell a bit flat? (To me her best episode was 12 but i do feel the rest were just okay) I don’t really know how to explain it. I'd have to say my favorite things about the series was how well Lim Jiyeon played her character and the father-daughter relationship between Doyeong & Yesol. The last two eps in particular were pretty mid (i actually watched the final ep in 1.5x speed) i'm glad everyone got their just deserts but when the credits rolled on the last ep i kinda went "...that it?" After finishing it I think yes, this was a good drama but I don’t see myself rewatching it or going out of my way to tell people they need to watch it bc its just so good but perhaps I just personally didn’t vibe that much with this particular series!!! Overall I’d give The Glory a 7/10.

#just my opinion #the glory

[whatsabriard]

Watch With Me: Hart to Hart 1x04

Episode Title: Jonathan Hart Jr

Original Airdate: October 6, 1979

Why this one? A 9 year old boy shows up claiming to be Jonathan's son? WHY WOULDN'T I PICK THIS ONE. Also, Jennifer gets real real fighting mad - madder than we ever get to see her before or since. It's just a lot of good stuff going on.

Favorite Quote: "I love you, you know that. And you would never ever leave a woman with a child. I know you."

First thing's first, she looks familiar because she was the mom from E.T. You're welcome.

Little trope-y, bad ex comes back to start some shit. But as far as threats go, he's probably right that getting arrested would be enough to get her son put into the system and that is no bueno.

"I love it when you wake me in the middle of the night." No, not that.

Look, it was pretty common for the dudes to be portrayed as horn dogs but they gave Jennifer a healthy sex drive that she's not ashamed of and that's a win for all of us.

"I'm jonathan hart jr."

Max is all of us.

Technically this episode is about Jonathan, but it's Jennifer who really comes in at the clutch. She takes care of that kid, and tries to make him feel comfortable, while Jonathan is sorting through his feelings.

They would have been good parents, but I do not long for them to procreate and am glad they never did.

Like even when Jennifer is all "this scheme isn't going to work" and Jonathan is like "I can't hurt that boy" she's all OK, I guess he's ours now.

Max is me when dealing with kids. What do we do with them?

Asking a child in los angeles how far they live from school - 5 to 10 minutes could be literally ANYWHERE. I would have said that at his age and you could have found 5 different elementary schools within that distance.

this woman really went around calling herself "Mrs Hart". Lady....LADY. it's weird enough that she lied to her kid...a lot. But that seems another bridge too far.

they find out the mom gave a fake address and the kid is like "hey can we go to the zoo now?"

I used to go to the LA Zoo a lot when I was little. You could get these wax animals made in vending machines and to this day the smell of hot wax transports me back there. I definitely had the lion.

12 hours later, JJr is kidnapped by his shitty real dad. This makes JSr really mad.

So JJr's mom shows up at the house.

This lady has some balls. "You must be Mrs Hart" And Jennifer is sitting there chewing the inside of her cheek and actually compliments the kid instead.

Personal proof in the form of a scar and Jennifer's like OK THAT;S REAL PERSONAL.

Jonathan is doing a good job of keeping his cool but he's Big Mad.

Small Jonathan is a chip off the fake block "My dad is gonna beat you up like crazy" lmao. But kid is right and he should say it.

"Be on time. No tricks, no cops."

Ooh, Jennifer aboutta fuck a bitch UP.

She admits she's having trouble with this particular excitement mostly because there's a kid who's in trouble and worst of all, Jonathan is wounded over this child. He has no idea if he's been kidnapped because they're related and he's in agony and Jennifer is Not About It.

I am TELLING YOU. this is a Jennifer ep.

Stanley Freeson is married with two kids? The fuck he is. He's a swinging single, show. It would have been in their best interest to have a show bible but nobody knew that 40 years later we'd be able to watch these on loop and pick it apart.

Man, Jonathan just gave her a 20% agent's fee and it was the single most devastating move. Then he drags her ass about her lies and Jennifer is in the front seat attempting not to look vindicated.

'member when I said Jonathan was big mad, though?

The Bad Dad starts beating up ET mom and Jonathan comes flying in like an avenger.

I'm not crying dad! FUCK KID. I AM.

"You know you're really beautiful when you're angry." LOL jennifer.

this guy is a real douchenozzle. Like he's for real a bad guy. He doesn't get to keep the $20k, does he? I don't remember.

"This little prince got lost in the middle of the nigh. And he couldn't find his way home. So some people took him in, and he stayed. They liked him a lot. They loved him. So he decided to stay. Would you like that Jonathan?"

The next day Jonathan the tech genius can't put together a swingset with Max. And the kid is like "I just need a rope, a board and a tree."

So then Jennifer puts on her Reporter had and goes beating the pavement to find ET mom and there's bad guy Vince following her because he's just the Worst.

And when Jennifer finds Connie, she doesn't kick her ass to the middle of next week. Which is just...classy.

"Listen to me, I said we'd help you and we will."

"Feeding the giraffes is a pain in the neck." she got JOKES.

This is when we find out that Jonathan is also at the zoo in a very convincing undercover costume.

They'll never recognize you, Clark!

"You mean that you're not really my father. If you were my father, you never would have waited so long to see me. Not you. But I wish you were, because next to my mom I think you're the neatest people in the whole world."

I talk mad shit about this show because it's mine and I love it. But it's also just... so sweet and gentle and it heals me.

I for reals mean to only hit my favorite of favorite episodes with this but I am obviously having a tough time whittling them down. I will be skipping Death in the Slow Lane (jonathan buys jennifer a vintage car for their anniversary but it's a piece of spy equipment? meh on plot, but features so killer costumes) and going straight for the absolute madness of "You Made Me Kill You". Something to look forward to, right?

#hart to hart #Jennifer Hart #Jonathan Hart #Stefanie Powers #RJ Wagner #80s tv #you should watch this show #life ruiners the original recipe

[ladynoirist]

I posted 5,448 times in 2022

That's 4,713 more posts than 2021!

207 posts created (4%)

5,241 posts reblogged (96%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@chatonnoir

@nothing-particularly-exciting

@gentil-minou

@ladyofthenoodle

@passionfruitbowls

I tagged 2,836 of my posts in 2022

Only 48% of my posts had no tags

#ml spoilers - 241 posts

#adrien agreste - 216 posts

#ladynoir - 204 posts

#spy x family - 175 posts

#lisays - 173 posts

#ml season 4 - 129 posts

#chat noir - 96 posts

#ml season 5 - 92 posts

#spy x family manga - 91 posts

#love square - 75 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#they sent the showrunner death threats over their ship which was very blatantly meant to be a rebound and nothing else and lasted maybe 3 ep

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

it's a straight up miracle that ml is a coherent and enjoyable show despite jeremy zag doing his level best to literally blow it up to smithereens in every possible aspect with his incompetence and ego. i want to say i'm astounded that morons on here and twitter are twisting themselves into pretzels trying to pin the blame on thomas instead of jeremy, but this is honestly par for the course with the collective brain worms disease that infects social media and especially the saltier and whinier parts of this fandom. also it's painfully obvious to anyone with a brain that a good 75% of the drama that thomas "caused" on twitter with snark about chronology/releases/writing/censorship/abruptly shortened story arcs was him having to cover up for jeremy's idiocy and greed to keep himself from being fired from his own show, but then again expecting a functioning brain cell is too much from most of you i guess.

574 notes - Posted March 28, 2022

#4

adrien at the end of penalteam: now that's what you call a CAT-HAS-TROPHY!!!

594 notes - Posted February 12, 2022

#3

literally everything about this episode was so perfect but the fact that they even recreated my favorite blink-and-you-miss it detail

and made it BETTER by including the guy's legs dangling from the ceiling in the same shot... i will never not be obsessed with this series

821 notes - Posted June 25, 2022

#2

saw a post earlier today saying that twilight's real name might be james, since anya was subject 007 and bond (and bondman) is bond and that would complete the set of references, and i'm pretty sure endo said yor's name is short for "yolanda," which i googled just now and one of the first examples of notable people on the wikipedia page was

i think there might be something to this theory

839 notes - Posted June 24, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

ladybug refuses to dm chat noir as civilians for the longest time and she claims it's for identity and security reasons but actually it's because she subconsciously knows that if they can text outside their suits she would send him six hundred cat pics a day all captioned "this u"

4,893 notes - Posted March 27, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

[lonelier-version-of-you]

so I've been watching casualty since season 36 and have only seen clips of earlier seasons, and im considering watching some of holby City but the thought of watching from the start is honestly kind of daunting, so is there a season you'd recommend starting from? i didn't struggle with missing people's previous storylines on casualty because i just looked at the wiki if i really wanted to know so that isn't an issue. thanks!

Hi!

First off, I will say that my opinions on this are going to be kind of biased, because I haven't seen the whole show. The vast majority of Holby I've seen is from series 13 onwards, I've seen some from series 11 and 12, and a few episodes from series 8, 9, and 10. My opinions are also going to be biased in that I tend to recommend seasons/episodes to people based on what I think of how Henrik Hanssen is portrayed in them, because he's my favourite character by far. So, yeah.

I generally tell people to start with series 15! It's my favourite season, and I think it would be a strong starting point. Plus, the Drama channel will probably start airing it in a couple weeks - because they're nearly done re-running series 14 now - at which point series 15 will likely all be easily accessible on UKTV Play (again, going by what they did with series 14). So if you ask me, for anyone wanting to get into Holby, right about now is a great time! 🙂

Also, series 15 is where I think Henrik's character is at its best. At that point, he's grown from the more antagonistic character of his first 2 seasons into more of an anti-hero, and that's the type of character I think he works best as. Plus, there's the beautiful episode ("Hanssen/Hemingway") about his past - for which they actually filmed in Sweden!! It's a good season for pretty much everyone though, other characters I love get great storylines too (such as Antoine Malick, Gemma Wilde, and Sacha Levy - and that's only a few!), so it's not just because of Henrik that I recommend it.

However, series 14 itself is one I'd consider suggesting as a starting point as well, especially now because I think it's important to see the original storyline between Henrik and his former mentee Sahira Shah - particularly if you plan on watching through to the final 2 seasons (basically, the show tried to retcon their history later in a way that strongly villainised Sahira which I really didn't like because in the original story it was Henrik that was very controlling and bullying to her). In theory I think starting with series 13 could also work for many of the same reasons as series 14, but practically speaking, S14 would be easier because of the aforementioned Drama reruns.

Also, if you start with series 14, you'd get to see a while of the show before Jonny Maconie arrives and starts his relationship with Jac - whereas he's there throughout series 15. Jonny as a character was basically the prototype for Faith Cadogan IMO, in the sense of being a character the show seems to love, who yet constantly does awful things and is horrible to people and just... gets away with it and is still framed as a nice person everyone would want to be friends with. 🙃 (To some extent similar things happen with Henrik in later seasons, but this isn't the case with S14 or S15.)

As a Henrik fan I almost want to say "stop after series 20 episode 47", because that's where his character arc ends for all intents and purposes IMHO. (...It's also where his romantic storyline with John Gaskell ends. Again, I'm a biased Johnrik fan.) But there's definitely stuff after that that's worth seeing, namely the series 21 ep "The Perfect Storm" (Henrik isn't in it, it's just a brilliant episode for Jac), and depending on which characters you find yourself liking, you might want to see things through to the end anyway. (I personally hate the second half of series 22, and basically all of series 23, but others' opinions may vary!)

So, yeah, I'd say start with either series 14 or series 15 for now (plenty of the older stuff is worth seeing too, but S14 and S15 are both good and easy starting points), and stop whenever you like. :)

#Holby City #asks #anons

[juneviews]

bestie I'm gonna need the essay on not me's wardrobe!!

ask & you shall receive! so I feel like GOOD costume design is actually pretty rare in thai dramas, bc for me I find it good if it goes beyond just "cute clothes" and actually tells us things about the characters & adds to the story. and in my opinion not me clothing choices do that perfectly. buckle up for yet another long essay from me lol <3

why not me's costume design is subtly great

so firstly, let's start by the general wardrobe before doing an analysis by character. we can see the color scheme of the show reflected in the wardrobe choices, straying away from "cutesy colors" like pinks, yellows & purples for the most part to go towards muted blues, reds, greens as well as blacks, whites & greys. of course that doesn't mean other colors aren't used, for example yellow that is found in black's wardrobe, but the color scheme stays cold & muted most of the time. all of the clothes for the gang members are very much masculine & casual, which fits their roles on the show. you obviously don't see any brand name items & the clothes are often used multiple times in different episodes. this creates a cohesive unity between all the characters, even though as we're gonna see they each have their particular style.

sean

so let's start with the one who inspired me to look at not me's wardrobe choices a bit closer, not because I think sean has the best clothes, but in fact bc I think he has the worst lmao. they really managed to make the thai fashion king off jumpol himself look unfashionable, and frankly that's just freaking genius. sean has almost always the same outfit: skinny jeans or pants, the same athletic sneakers, a basic long t-shirt, and his trusty khaki jacket, that can be replaced occasionally by a jean one or a more vibrant green in ep 12. and I do really love that stylistic choice, bc for me it definitely showcases sean's social background: the guy relies solely on himself to survive, and he's working at the garage while studying. his life is obviously very hard, and he doesn't have money to spare on a second pair of shoes or jeans. therefore he reuses the same clothes very often, even more than the other guys. and that shit?? is very well thought-out. also the fact that sean’s color is definitely green when it’s been my favorite color since I was a child... makes my heart happy <3

black

then we have the BEST wardrobe aesthetically by far, and funnily enough that's black. who thought that the most nonchalant & uncaring guy would actually care for fashion lmao?? I actually love that. so black really takes the biker aesthetic to a whole other level, often layering clothes & playing with different silhouettes. I love the look of his sleeveless jackets, they're so fun to build an outfit around & also coincidentally remind me of third's sleeveless jackets in theory of love for some reason which... of course I love a good random parallel lol. my favorites are his homemade jackets that he (or yok?) painted on that both white & him wear, once again reusing the same piece of clothing multiple times & thank goodness they did bc these jackets are HELLA COOL! for me black having the best wardrobe is no coincidence considering he comes from the richest background from all the guys in the gang, and I really like the dichotomy between his aloof personality & his crazy cool wardrobe.

yok

now, yok's wardrobe is extremely simple, consisting of baggy pants and mostly itty bitty tank tops, but I fucking love it as well. firstly yok's silhouettes in these clothes is just so cool, he looks like an anime character & it just works so well for his reckless & fun personality. but also I like to think the itty bitty tank tops are a testament to his himbo-ness & once again, I just love that for him. those tank tops ("wife beaters"......... goes to barf in a corner at the fucked up name), very stereotypical of a lower class type of masculinity, truly get a twist with the character of yok & I love every minute of it.

eugene

eugene's wardrobe immediately caught my attention since her first appearance on the show, bc it changes SO MUCH from the usual clothes that female characters in thai dramas are put into. we see her stomach, how scandalous lol! eugene has a style that fits very much her field of studies, dancing. she mostly wears crop tops and sweat pants & just looks really good in every outfit. she also has her contemporary dance outfit for repetitions that consist of a beige tank top & biker shorts. and I just love that her outfits show more skin than what is usually "allowed" for female characters in thai dramas, without even pointing it out. idk, I just fucking love eugene's wardrobe, she just looks so cool.

gram

as I said earlier, every member of the gang has a very cohesive style with the others, but each one has its own personal style on top of it. for gram, what characterizes him is truly graphic tees. he either wears them layered over a long-sleeved shirt or by themselves, and they really make him stand out in my opinion. if I wear to guess why they were chosen for him, it would be to match gram's very loud opinions on law & politics. he's a very passionate & educated character, and his best scenes in my opinion are the ones where he's arguing his point. bold graphics really match that side of his personality in my opinion, and I love it for him.

namo

namo also has a super cool style, bc it is a bit more masculine than what we, once again, find on most female characters in thai dramas. as a graffiti artist, she needs comfortable fits she can paint in all day, but her style is definitely not compromised by that. namo prefers loser shapes as well as shorter clothes like shorts and shirt dresses over pants. and she just... looks cool & I love that she's not afraid to look a bit more masculine with her fashion.

white

so obviously, since we've spent most of the show with white pretending to be black, we haven't seen a lot of his fashion. but it's also fucking great, ESPECIALLY in terms of colors. before joining the gang, white was pretty proper on himself, wearing mostly light-colored shirts, especially during his exams and interviews. what I love though, is the switch of how he dresses after black comes back, but his entire ideology has changed: he starts wearing jackets, sneakers and more casual clothes... that are still of a lighter color. that makes him immediately stand out, not only from his brother so we can tell them apart, but from the entire gang. and it shows that his entire style wasn't washed away just bc he's a vigilente now. I just really fucking love that choice to still have him stand out as the newcomer & maintaining his personal style while still subtly changing. when I say the costum design is good, I really mean it.

to conclude, I won’t analyze every character’s wardrobe like dan, gumpa, todd or nuch bc they’re not the most interesting & we’ve already gotten the point, so that was it for my analysis of not me’s great costume design! hope you enjoyed <3

xxx

#axelle rants #not me #not me the series #not me analysis #not me essay

[sortasirius]

what makes you think the writers want deancas? not trying to be an asshole, i'm just genuinely curious as to why you think that. i know berens' episodes are pretty heavy with subtext so i can see why you'd say that he wants it, but i'm not so sure about the rest of the writers/dabb. it seems like meghan isn't a huge fan either, given her "they twisted it so fast" tweet :/ of course she's a very new writer (think she's only writing one ep this season?) but still

OKAY this is a great question, welcome to my dissertation.

I’m going to address the end of your question first. Meghan is actually DeanCas positive, she has been for quite a long time. She actually, a few years back, posted a picture of her reading a literal book about Destiel and captioned it “writing reading” or something like that.

This whole thing just comes out of a boiling over of tensions because of how nasty fandom twitter can be. Like I said here, I think this has just gotten blown out of proportion, they shouldn’t have posted all this randomly disparaging stuff, but also like...can you blame them? The fandom is a lot, we always have been, and they’re probably also under a gag order not to talk about the finale, and are annoyed that people keep asking.

So nah, Meg is not anti Destiel.

To the first part!! So let’s take a look at the show runners since Cas has been around.

Seasons 4 and 5: Kripke

Seasons 6 and 7: Gamble

Seasons 8-11ish: Carver

Seasons 11ish-15: Dabb

So starting with Kripke. Okay, yes, I will be the first to admit that we have some pretty incredible Destiel moments in these seasons, but it’s less directly written into the plot and much more from Misha and Jensen’s uhhhh ~chemistry~. The only times it was directly written into the script was when the episode was handled by someone like Edlund (“On The Head Of A Pin,” “The End,” “My Bloody Valentine”). And you have to remember, if in season 5, there are moments here and there where you’re like huh that’s suspiciously romantic dialogue, remember that Cas took Anna’s place. Anna was supposed to be endgame for Dean, but due to a myriad of issues and Misha’s general greatness, Anna was replaced with Cas.

Onto 6 and 7. Hmmm. Gamble. 6 and 7 are my two least favorite seasons and that’s no secret, and that’s not only due to the plain old weird shit in the overall storyline, but also that homegirl killed off Cas in s7 and then Bobby like four episodes later. (Also it ALWAYS rubbed me the wrong way they couldn’t have Baby in that season lol). We still had some great DeanCas moments, but again, it wasn’t really written into the overall arc (until they had to change the end of season 7 because of tanking ratings and bring Misha back lol, anyone remember the fact that Dean kept Cas’ jacket and would randomly dream of him? Yeah.). But we still had those moments, those distinctly romantic moments, probably the best example in these two seasons is from Edlund again, specifically “The Man Who Would be King,” I wrote a little about that here.

We move onto Carver, who gave us, at this point, the most overt DeanCas season with season 8 (season gr8 is a better name imo), and this is the first time Dean and Cas’ relationship is directly written as an arc of the season.  I mean, you have everything in Purgatory, Dean “seeing” Cas everywhere, the fact that he felt so guilty that Cas stayed in Purgatory that he manipulated his own memories to think that he was the one that failed Cas, because he couldn’t comprehend that Cas would want to leave him, and let’s not forget Dean snapping Cas out of Naomi’s hold on him in “Goodbye Stranger.”  It was a very obvious shift, not enough to alert the general audience, but more than enough for most of us in fandom.

It’s also important to note that this is when Andrew stopped co writing with Loflin and started writing his own episodes (”Hunter Heroici” anyone?)  I like Loflin fine, but Dabb was able to stretch his legs a little bit more once he stopped co-writing, and we also began to see some DeanCas themes in his solo episodes.

In any case, them and their issues being a big part of the seasons continued with Carver, and Berens entered the scene, his first episode (”Heaven Can’t Wait”) is one of my favorites, with human Cas and the fanfiction gap and Dean and Cas just generally being awkward and funny and sweet.  This is Bobo’s FIRST episode, remember that.  He comes right out of the gate with it.

Also in Season 9, this is when Dean takes the Mark of Cain, and the Cas/Colette mirror is born, so obviously, Dean and Cas are the fabric of the season once again.  This is also the season where Metatron says Cas is “in love with humanity,” and then immediately refers to Dean as Humanity so uhhhh yeah.

Onto season 10, Dabb and Berens continue with their greatness (I could write pages on the DeanCas date in “The Things We Left Behind” alone).  And then we have one of the best scenes in the entire show in “The Prisoner” where the Cas/Colette mirror continues and Dean, driven by grief and pain and rage and the Mark, still doesn’t kill Cas.  He still can’t kill Cas.

Season 11 is important because it takes choice away from both Cas and Dean, and shows us, as the audience, how much losing each other takes out of them. We saw in season 10 how much losing Dean takes from Cas, but what about Cas losing Dean?  Dean loses his choice with his connection to Amara this season, and loses even more when Lucifer reveals he’s been possessing Cas, and plays on Dean’s connection to Cas like a mockery.  It’s also worth noting that, similarly to season 8, Dean breaks out of the connection with Amara when he’s worried about Cas, and that’s something that even SHE is surprised by.

But then season 12, the beginning to the Renaissance.  This is when we get the writer’s that become important for what Dean and Cas are today, and, truly, why I believe they want canon Destiel as much as we do.

This is the first season with Dabb’s writers: Davy Perez, Meredith Glynn, Steve Yockey, and of course Bobo all come in with their incredible talents and gave us episode after episode of good content.  “Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets” is probably my favorite, probably the best example of what I’m saying.  An episode where Dean is called out by an enemy directly, told to “roll the dice” on Cas’ life.  And Dean won’t, it’s not even really a hesitation.  And this comes from a character that has known Dean for ten seconds.  I also wrote more in depth about this episode here.  There are also some.....distinctly domestic details we get this season, specifically in “The Future” (written by Berens and Glynn) with the mixtape.  The most tropey of tropes mixtape.  Yeah, I’ll just leave that one here.

And then season 12 ends with Cas’ death, but also with the parallel between Sam and Dean with Jess and Cas.  Sam literally has to drag Dean away from Cas, just like Dean had to drag Sam out of his burning apartment in the pilot.  The episode drives it home in every way that it can: Dean is the one left kneeling by Cas’ body, while Sam goes to find out what is upstairs.  Dean is the one who stares at the sky, finally broken.  This isn’t a random thing, this is Dean’s whole arc, it’s the entirety of the beginning of 13.  Dean’s pain, his anguish, his anger.

Season 13 starts with them burning Cas, with Dean, who has begged God to bring him back, who has split his knuckles punching a door, standing, staring at Cas’ pyre with brokenness on his face.

I mean.....

Anyway, season 13 is where it gets interesting (well, I think all of this is interesting but I’m a writer nerd so).  So Cas comes back from the Empty in “Advanced Thanatology” written by Steve Yockey, and then a wombo combo of “Tombstone” by Davy Perez next (”Brokebacknatural” as the PR said at the time).  Listen.  This is the part that SPN crossed a line that they couldn’t come back from.  With Cas being Dean’s “big win,” the fact that Dean and Cas watch movies together, “I told you, he’s an angry sleeper.  Like a bear.” Talked about it here.

This is where, in my opinion, the network stepped in, but the damage was already done.  They had already established that Cas was Dean’s big win, that Dean’s poor coping was not due to Mary’s disappearance, but solely due to Cas, and that Dean and Cas have more married energy than anyone else.  The network had nixed blatant canon at this point, and they writing room had been pushing the boundaries of what the network would allow. 

After these episodes, we see a marked drop off of DeanCas heavy scenes.  They’re still there, still a part of the fabric of the season, but not as...obvious as it had been in early season 13.

And this continued through season 14, we’re back to scraps of Destiel scenes here and there, but to me it always felt like there was something bubbling under the surface, something distinctly unsaid in the themes of the season, even after the walk back of obvious “Dean and Cas are in love” scenes.

And then we get to season 15, which, y’all know I talk about all the time.  What’s important here is that Bobo and Glynn are both executive producers, calling more of the shots than ever before.  Additionally, it’s important to note that, though they only co write occasionally, Glynn and Berens refer to each other as “work husband” and “work wife.”  Each episode has just turned up the volume, and, not for the first time, but certainly the most obvious, Dean and Cas ARE the season.  Sure, they’re trying to beat God, they’re trying to finally find peace, defeat the final big bad, but really?  This season has been about Dean, and Dean’s relationship to Cas.

And not only do we have obvious and clear Destiel in nearly every episode, but we have episodes like “Last Call” which canonize bi!Dean (wrote about that here).

And, maybe most importantly so far, we have “The Rupture,” the breakup, and “The Trap,” Dean’s confession (both written by Berens).  And here’s the thing.  These episodes feel connected, but also feel like they’re missing something.  Beren’s last episode is 15x18, “The Truth.”  We’ve all spec’ed about what could happen in this episode, and I think *I* know what it’s leading to.  But for it to be leading to that, it means that the network has to have approved what we’ve all been waiting for years for.

Who got this change to happen?  Who got the network to change their minds?  It wasn’t us.  It was them.  I am fully convinced that Dabb and Berens quite literally put their careers on the line for Dean and Cas.  They believe in them, they’ve shown that from the beginning, but the only thing standing in the way was the network, never allowing them to take the final step. 

So, to answer your question: I think the writers want canon DeanCas because they’ve already shown us that they do.  Take a look at their episodes, at Dabb’s, at Beren’s, at Glynn’s, at Perez’s, at Yockey’s.  They’ve been telling us what’s going on with Dean and Cas for years.

Sure, I’m not in their heads, I guess I don’t know for *sure* that this has been their thought process, but if we put it all together, from the marked shift when Dabb fully took over in s12, to the change right after “Tombstone,” to the new shift, the blatantly romantic shift in season 15, what else is there?

I’ve said for a long time that we, the SPN fandom, are beyond lucky to have the writer’s that we do.  They’re all going to go on to have prolific careers and we were lucky to get them at the end of our little show.  I give them a lot of credit for what we have in the show today.

Just remember, they’ve been telling us in all of s15 who Chuck is.  He says he’s the writer, right?  But a writer who doesn’t have control of his characters?  A writer who wants to do the same ending over and over because it “works”?  That doesn’t sound like a writer, it sounds like a network exec.

They’ve been showing us what they want for years, and the way s15 is going?  I think they may have convinced the network to let us have it.

#supernatural #destiel #spn #my writing #anyway yeah i love these writers #welcome to my essay lmao #spn writers #anonymous #lilly answers

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL

April 2021 Part 1

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Second Chance Ep 1 - living up to its name since it looks to be a series of redemption arcs. Launched with a college confession and a broken friendship, then a flash back to them as seniors in high school. Pairings include friends to lovers, nerd/jock, and maybe cafe boss/employee. There’s a lot going on, but it’s still... quiet and sweet. The script is pretty pat but it’s still WAY more watchable than Cupid Coach or Brothers and most of the acting is solid. Ep 1 tropes included: he’s in engineering, wound tending, fast & bicurious. This could turn into what I wanted My Gear & Your Gown to be. Fingers crossed. 

Love Poison 2 Ep 1 & 2 turns out I did watch and report on season 1 (8 eps), season 2 seems equally unmemorable. Thai countryside setting, strong dialect, incomprehensible plot, camp side characters, and ghastly singing. 

Y-Destiny Ep 1 (eng subs?) - opened with the sports romance enemies to lovers (they aren’t going in the teaser order). When the couple got over fighting, the flirting was v cute, but the flipping SPONGE BATH trope had to rear its ugly head. Still, this series is shaping up to be less coy and more frank than most BL, better than expected. It feels, I don’t know, gay-er or something?  *** Sources were correct that each couple is getting (at least) 2 eps, and MDL has been updated to say this is a 15 episode series (not 7). 

Cupid Coach 12 fin - The new Nite was great and should have been a main all along. It felt like we got a tiny nugget of what could have been in about 10 minutes worth of this last ep. It was way too slow with terrible editing and a criminally bad script, but at least it ended happy. Mostly, like Friend Forever, I’m just disappointed that these two actors were done dirty by the series. Bad Cupid Coach, no screen caps for you. 

Lovely Writer Ep 6 - breaking news, there’s a het couple I like: toppy bi femme + soft boi = such a good pairing! I know, but this NEVER happens. Meanwhile, Sib’s secret is out, Gene is a bit of a drama queen, and the plot thickens. We half way through.  

Brothers Ep 9 - Kaow had a serious moment of advice giving that was truly lovely. Lots of family dama made this a superior episode to... well... any of the others in this series. Which isn’t saying much. 

1000 Stars Ep 10 fin - at the start this series didn’t grab me the way GMMTV’s last BL, Tonhon Chonlatee, did. But boy did it end 1000x better. Might have given us 2021′s best forehead kiss. I enjoyed the ultra romantic cliff-top reunion kiss, and I LOVED the stinger flirting scene. That was an absolute gift we had no right to expect. This drama is a poster child for finishing on a high note (always focus on that dessert course). Final thoughts? This was FAR more a classic romance than it was BL. There were some BL tropes used but not many and most of them originated in the romance genre not yaoi. A picture perfect ending bumped 1000 Stars much higher up my best-of list than expected. Not sure how often I’ll rewatch it as a whole, but this last episode? I’m probably rewatching it right now. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Dear Uranus (Taiwan GL) Ep 3 fin - I guess that’s it? Okaaaaay  

HIStory 4: Close To You (Taiwan) Ep 3 (AKA Ep 5-6) - we got actual legit gay culture not just BL (always appreciated) from XingSi. I’m starting to find LiCheng’s “show them we fucking” hijinks hilarious rather than annoying (not sure why, maybe I just love a rubber chicken, or maybe it was the STUFFED CORN WITH THE TASSEL that did it). 

-- H4 Moment of RANT --

Tropes included beach trip, there’s only one bed, cook for him, baby is a floppy drunk, carry baby to bed, and.... drunk non-con. Whoopdedoo. Here we go again. Did TharnType teach us NOTHING? (Apparently it taught us if the chemistry is good enough, I have no morals at all.) At least H4 seems to be taking us out of cheese into serious when it comes to assault. Or is it? 

I take back what I said last week about XingSi & YongJie being codependency + salvation trope, that only works if YongJie is the uke. He’s NOT. So we got us an obsessive predatory villain with a possible redemption arc. That’s more common in crime dramas, mafia romance, and epic fantasy than BL. It’s real hard to redeem a sexual predator in a reality-grounded universe like contemporary romance (See Kla in LBC1&2). 

Next week is gonna be a test of the whole damn franchise. Imma remind both me a you that this was ep 3 of 10 so we got a ways to go yet... but ooof, what have we wrought, BL? (I ended up doing a whole post about the stepbrother trope because of this sub plot.) Taiwan is killing me.

-- RANT ended --

Word of Honor (China) Ep 19-21 - over half way point so we got ALL the back story (in a classic 4 act story structure midway reveal). Now we know who WKX really is and his lineage. We also got some cute hugs and hand holds. Moving along at a nice clip despite being 36 eps total. Still gayest thing to come out of we-not-gay China since Advance Bravely. 

Most Peaceful Place (Vietnam) Ep 2 - takes them a while to get eng subs together and ep 2 didn’t drop until late. So I’m putting this in a Thurs time slot going forward. Miscommunication already cleared up and a 2nd couple has been introduced. The pacing on these Vietnamese BLs is always a bit... off. But it’s still better than most of its ilk, enjoyable. I’m thinking it’s a 6 ep arc. 

We Best Love 2 (Taiwan) Ep 5 - after the initial drama DRAMA of ep 2, the current external crisis at work is much quieter, giving this whole season a top heavy feel. Taken along side the first season, I think it’s fitting nicely into a 4 act structure, but that might be my bias. I hope I’m not wrong, we’ll find out next week. Shi De puttering about being domestic with Shu Yi on his back was the best execution of the piggyback trope EVER. Meanwhile, our little D/s side couple of codependency, salvation trope + mental illness is becoming weirdly appealing. I don’t know. H4 done mess with my head. 

Stand Alones 

Absolute BL AKA Zettai BL ni Naru Sekai vs Zettai BL ni Naritakunai Otoko  (Japan) Ep 1-4 mini series. Found subs under A Man Who Defies The World of BL. IT’S HILARIOUS. It’s Japan making fun of us, but also itself for having started this whole BL nonsense - from yaoi roots to present day. It’s parody goddamn gold. Utterly cheeky unto the very last line. We are not worthy. 

Apparently the most powerful tropes of all time are: baby is a floppy drunk and the piggyback fo nobility. Oh and chocolate. {Full review here.} 

Honestly, this show may have been made with only @heretherebedork and I in mind. I don’t know if you’d even understand half of it if you don’t have a history with the manga source genre and an obsessive interest in underlying narrative devices. I haven’t seen much chatter in the blog’o’sphere on this one because, in the end, it’s not a romance at all, it’s social commentary. 

The ending line was a masterclass in lampooning a genre. I’m going to rewatch the whole thing just to catch all the digs I missed first time around. It is a thing of beauty and a joy forever. 

Thank you Japan. I forgive you all your hair-styling sins of the last decade. 

Breaking News 

Spring Line Up:

Scholar Ryu’s Wedding Ceremony AKA Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding (Korean historical BL) April 15th 

Close Friend the series (Thai trailer) April 22. 

2gether the movie (Thai trailer) April 22 to Thai theaters.

Nitiman (Thai) May 7 on One31.

I Told Sunset About You 2 (Thai) May 27 on LineTV

Ossan’s Love (Hong Kong) June to Viu 

Gossip 

Bad Buddies released its first promo op via Arm Share, which means GMMTV is at least *thinking* about filming it. 

Fun behind the scenes gossip sesh with eng subs for Tell the World I Love You (that Perth Bas movie we are maybe getting someday but will likely be sad). 

New Thai BL Bite Me (adapted from novel Grab a Bite) dropped a teaser. It stars Mark Siwat (Kla in LBC) as uke character Ake, a delivery boy with special foodie powers, and chef Eua (seme played by Zung Kidakorn) who discovers him. It’s from the same author as Manner of Death so we might even get some actual plot. Since it’s an established BL actor who I happen LOVE, a known author, and a plot about FOOD, I could not me more excited for this one. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Some shows may be listed a day later than actual air date for accessibility reasons. Some are dropping multiples at a time but just started so I’m not sure on numbering. 

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.

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