#02 ep 43

[simply-whump]

Strange Tales of Jiang Cheng (江城诡事) - Whump List

Whumpee : Qin Huo Le played by Xia Zhi Guang and Song He played by Caesar Wu

Synopsis : In the early years of the Republic of China, the situation in Jiangzhou in the southwest region was chaotic, which led to frequent spies. Qin Huo Le, who returned from studying abroad, met detective captain Song He and with the help of the quirky female forensic doctor Fan Xiao Fan, the three of them worked together to solve 8 bizarre murder cases and bring justice to the world. (MDL)

Genres : Thriller, Mystery, Investigation, Bromance

Warning! Possible spoilers below!

Qin Huo Le

Ep 1 : None

Ep 2 : (01:35) Arm twisted — (11:35) Throwing up

Ep 3-4 : None

Ep 5 : (12:5) Choked

Ep 6 : (08:55) Crying

Ep 7 : (11:30) Am twisted — (11:55) In handcuffs 

Ep 8 : (06:10) Knife at his neck, captured, hands and feet tied, gagged (Gif Set)

Ep 9 : (0:50) Still tied up —(04:45) Knife at his throat — (06:23) Found, untied, taken hostage

Ep 10-23 : None

Ep 24 : (03:05) Arm twisted

Ep 25 : None

Ep 26 : (05:05) Thrown to the ground, attacked, knife at his throat

Ep 27-35 : None

Ep 36 : Missing, suspect in a case

Ep 37 : None

Ep 38 : (00:45) Tied up with rope the whole episode 

Ep 39 : (09:30) Still tied up, black hood on his head, gagged, saved — (13:40) Restrained

Ep 40 : (05:25) Wakes up from a nightmare

Ep 41 : None

Ep 42 : (06:45) Fighting, hit — (09:10) Shot at, more fighting, gun pointed at his head — (12:50) Hit several times, choked, punched, Song He comes to the rescue

Ep 43 : (08:25) Handcuffed (wants to infiltrate a prison)

Ep 44 : (03:00) Handcuffed, about to infiltrate a prison (very dangerous), hugged by his friends — (10:25) Manhandled, restrained, force fed something disgusting, coughing

Ep 45 : (01:00) Glass cup smashed on his head, knocked out — (07:10) Wakes up in a cell, holding his stomach, in pain — (12:35) Stomach hurting, sweating

Ep 46 : None

Ep 47 : (02:50) Fighting, hit

Ep 48 : (04:05) Walking unsteadily, holding his stomach, passes out, wakes up in bed, concern for him — (09:10) Crying, vision blurry passes out — (11:30) Wakes up tied up

Ep 49-50 : None

Ep 51 : (01:00) Teary-eyed, fighting — (10:20) Teary-eyed 

Ep 52 : (00:50) Teary-eyed, crying — (10:20) Crying

Song He

Ep 1-2 : None

Ep 3 : (10:35) Fighting, choked, in an explosion, found collapsed on the floor, concern for him, helped up, stumbling — (11:30) Wound treated, in pain, alcohol dumped on his wound, screaming in pain (semi-comedic)

Ep 4-12 : None

Ep 13 : (07:30) Feeling unwell, collapses unconscious, concern for him, surrounded by some poison miasma — (09:15) Wakes up, slightly disoriented 

Ep 14-27 : None

Ep 30 : (08:55) Surrounded by smoke, coughing, collapses, passes out, concern for him, woken up

Ep 31-38 : None

Ep 39 : (01:50) Fighting, hit

Ep 40 : (02:00) Surrounded by enemies — (03:45) Just had a tough fight, injured, tired, bleeding, saved — (09:20) Grabbed on his injury, wincing in pain

Ep 41-46 : None

Ep 47 : (11:30) Drugged, stumbling, vision blurry, cut with a knife multiple times, hit, fighting, pinned to the ground, stabbed in the chest, jumps through a window, shot, still manages to escape (Gif Set)

Ep 48 : (03:35) Bleeding, barely conscious, concern for him — (09:45) Carried unconscious, concern for him — (12:00) Unconscious in bed, wakes up, pale and feverish, in pain, concern for him

Ep 49 : (00:50) In bed, weak

Ep 50 : None

Ep 51 : (01:25) Slight concern for him, fighting — (06:25) Shot, collapses, bleeding, concern for him 

Ep 52 : None

>> More Whump Lists

[goodwhump-temp]

Edward Elric Whump | Fullmetal Alchemist (2003)

Ep.01 Trauma, crying, -1 leg, -1 arm, bloodcurdling scream, exhausted, dehydrated, held at gunpoint Ep.02 Knocked unconscious (08:15), imprisoned Ep.03 Daddy issues, crying, bleeding out, painful automail attatchment Ep.04 Back-ache x3, firework jumpscare, flattened x12, caught in trap, drugged, collapse unconscious, restrained Ep.05 Knocked off train roof Ep.06 Flattened, birfday Ep.07 Mom ptsd, passes out, heartbroken, painfully gutpunched, bleeding, crying Ep.08 Grieving, knocked unconscious, kidnapped/arm taken off, scared x10, stabbed, painful reattachment, sliced x3, crying, traumatized Ep.09 Depressed, knocked down Ep.10 Tummy ache/food poisoning, hospital, fREAKING OUT (needle), pinned, almost drowns Ep.11 Identity stolen, punched, face swollen/bruised, difficulty breathing, passes out (19:05) Ep.14 Scared, hunted Ep.15 Hunted, arm destroyed, surrenders, punched (friendly fire) Ep.16 Babysat, hit w/ wooden box, trips (limbless), emotional Ep.17 Hit w/ flying wrench, painful reattachment, pain, therapy ep. Ep.19 Depressed Ep.20 Arm busted, sliced, surprise jab!, bleeding out, gutpunched Ep.21 Attacked by dogs, scared Ep.22 Arm gives out, kicked x5, pinned, blackmailed, superexposed to raw redstone, carried unconscious Ep.23 Hospitalized, slapped, milk harrassment, bullied by Al, depressed, guilt, stupid ass confrontation by a stupid little boy named Al, betrayed, punched BY AL Ep.24 Heartbroken Ep.26 Hit by a wrench x2 Ep.27 Scared, abused (offscreen), restrained, knocked down, crazy training montage, trauma montage, punched x3, gutpunched, beaten Ep.28 (Flashbacks; bit by wild fox, bandaged, reoccuring pain, gutkicked, unconscious) Ep.29 Smacked, truth-well trauma, flashback; loses leg, sacrifices arm, bloodcurdling screams Ep.30 Gutkicked, thrown, face scratched Ep.32 Mech arm broken, face sliced, daddy issues, punched unconscious Ep.33 Weak, pain, ambushed, punched Ep.34 Restrained, arm broken, punched x4, shocked, crying Ep.38 Vehicle explosion, brother argument, [flashback; daddy issues, bruised (15:45)] Ep.41 Scared stiff Ep.43 Hunted Ep.44 Heartbroken (Hughes), digs up mothers grave Ep.46 Pinned Ep.47 Knocked down, thrown through window Ep.48 Punched, choked Ep.49 Transported to another world Ep.50 Headache, hit by crashing zeplin (13:15), trapped under rubble, forehead bleeding, kicked, freaked out, impaled, bleeds out Ep.51 Corpse, crying

CONQUEROR OF SHAMBALLA

(14:30) Held at gunpoint (31:30) Knocked unconscious (gas) (43:45) Face cut (46:30) Punched, (48:05) Brother jumpscare, smothered, squeezed (1:00:30) Knocked against the stairs (1:03:40) Manhandled (1:14:10) In shock, heartbroken, 'shot' (1:19:30) Plane crash, trips, foot busted (1:25:25) Shot out of the sky, rough landing (1:33:00) Sacrifice

[stone-stars]

so… i made a list of the first use of every song* in campaign 1 of naddpod, with timestamps. if you're wondering, it's 190 unique songs! * disclaimer: this list doesn't include royalty free songs, only emily's, and it's entirely possible i missed one or two.

i've put the list under the cut, separated by episode! timestamps include ads for eps 1-48, and are from the ad free version for eps 49-100.

(disclaimer that i determined the names of songs by cross-referencing what they were credited as across episodes, so some may be inaccurate. i noted those down in the list)

13 - City in the Clouds, 18:04 13 - Beverly's House, 38:15 13 - The Widow, 53:56

14 - Court of the Boy King, 18:57 14 - The Twinkling Lights of Galaderon, 1:24:27

15 - A Bastard No More, 24:29 * 15 - The Ruins of Cragwater, 2:04:02 * (note: "A Bastard No More" is called "Hardwon Takes the Wheel" after c1e70)

16 - Duergar Drudgery, 4:26 16 - Spooky Shafts, 6:23 16 - Heed the Mushroom's Call, 21:10 16 - Schubert's Song, 25:47 16 - Jolene the Green, 31:30 16 - Farewell to Fungen, 34:39 16 - The Mithril Miner's Shuffle, 38:57 16 - The Mithril's Run Dry, 52:46

17 - The Depths of the Dungeon, 1:11:14 17 - Conspiracy in the Clouds, 1:14:23

18 - The Revenant's Fate, 24:35 18 - A Fate Refused, 25:59 18 - Escape the Boy King's Brunch, 1:31:31

19 - The Purge, 12:13 19 - The Valiant Ol' Cobb, 51:37 19 - At the Last Minute, a First, 1:29:29 19 - Skybound, 1:32:28

20 - The Blows of a Friend, And Not a Foe, 1:03:09 20 - Forsaken, 1:07:20 20 - Apotheosis, 1:08:23 20 - A Haven Away From Home, 1:12:17

21 - Betrayal Below, 19:10 21 - The Gunslinger's Girl, 39:10 21 - A Sign from Melora, 1:04:57 21 - Friend Turned Foe, 1:06:02 21 - Sumpin's a Mess Out West, 1:39:31

22 - Slumber in the Stump, 45:03 22 - The Sultan of Stone, 1:41:25 22 - Block Hop, 1:42:37

23 - The Mountain Meets the Sky, 42:33 23 - Trust the Gust, 1:01:00 23 - The Titan of Air, 1:12:09

24 - Sumpin's Asunder Down Under, 37:53 24 - Baptised, 43:39 24 - Steed of the Sea, 51:12 24 - Cetacean Farewell, 1:13:37 24 - Into the Flame, 1:16:25

25 - The Golden Sword, 55:14 25 - Cured by the Light, 1:00:21 25 - Hospitably Hostile, 1:05:28 25 - Mee Maw's Burden, 1:21:18

26 - The Grand Maw Tree, 9:51 26 - Into the Fog, 55:16 26 - A Hospitable Farewell, 1:01:11 26 - Befuddled and Befogged, 1:05:19 26 - Hazy Daze, 1:09:59

27 - Snake Skirmish, 4:38 27 - Greener Shades, 1:10:49 27 - Moonshine's Stump, 1:14:50 27 - Unknown Tome, 1:27:06

28 - Balnor's Bad Dream, 28:01 28 - Blessings of the Elementals, 1:14:35 * 28 - Elemental Energy, 1:17:39 * * (note: the two songs credited here are actually "Elemental Energy" and "Calling in a Favor", so the second song may be either name)

29 - The Prodigal Sister, 58:37 29 - A Rare Appearance, 1:01:26 29 - Oh, Melora!, 1:02:53 29 - A Tale's End, 1:08:30

31 - A Giant Among Men, 17:47 31 - Back Against the Wall, 28:04

32 - Behold! Treasure, 10:31 32 - Akarot's Letter, 23:50 32 - Shock at the Dock, 37:25 32 - Invisible But Not Invincible, 43:48 32 - Escape from Smuggler's Bounty, 48:56

33 - Tonathan Tinkle, 6:51 33 - Uku's Gift, 1:20:31

34 - Frostwind, 37:04 34 - A Humble Shopkeeper, 47:08 34 - Vinril's Gems, 1:05:26

35 - Balnor the Brave, 1:08:16

37 - Descending, 20:58 37 - A Tempting Offer, 41:40 37 - Desecrated, 51:28

39 - Incriminated, 33:37

41 - Tower of the Winter Wolves, 20:35 41 - Tundra Trudge, 1:26:39 41 - Valley of the Frigid Death, 1:20:03 * * (note: this song is used in ep 38 at 53:45, but not credited)

42 - Prey Don't Stand a Prayer, 42:37 * 42 - Yanoba, 1:10:39 * (note: this song is also used in ep 38 at 1:07:13, but not credited)

45 - The Eye of Akarot, 14:33 45 - Bash at the Gash, 34:43 45 - The Bronzebeard Legacy, 45:15 45 - Kingshammer, 1:45:59 45 - A Sight For Sore Eyes, 1:49:15

46 - Fantastic & Fuddling, 40:32 * 46 - A Soft Landing, 57:53 * 46 - A Humble Farmer, 1:07:22 * 46 - The Court of the Bear Prince, 1:18:46 46 - Wooded Wonders, 1:45:23 * * (note: the four starred songs names are inconsistently used. I tried to go with the names they're most often known by across this arc and other campaigns but it changes. The big thing here is that the song at 1:07:22 is not called “A Humble Farmer” again, but when it’s used later in c1 it’s credited as “Wooded Wonders”, and then in c2/3 it’s “Fantastic & Fuddling”. However, both of those names are more consistently used for the songs I have them labeled as now. The song at 40:32 is called “Fantastic & Fuddling” throughout the Feywild arc, and the song at 1:45:23 is called “Wooded Wonders” in every campaign except HBS, where it’s “A Humble Farmer” Basically— “Fantastic & Fuddling” means the song at 40:32 and “Wooded Wonders” usually means the song at 1:45:23, but this isn’t always the case, and the song at 1:07:22 may be called either.)

47 - Puzzled, 8:40 47 - Mysterious Yet Familiar, 1:08:07 47 - Queen Cirilla, 1:14:02 47 - Frozen in Time, 1:16:35

49 - Gnome Man's Land, 1:03:54

50 - Rolling Deep, 13:10 50 - Neath a Ceiling of Stars, 30:36 50 - Sea Beast, 53:38 50 - Great Crone of the Sea, 1:11:05

51 - Alanis, 3:34 51 - The Nannerfly Effect, 14:35 * 51 - When You Wish Upon A Stone, 20:26 51 - Only the Ocean to Console Him, 45:27 * (note: throughout the Feywild, this song is called “The Nannerfly Effect”, and then later goes on to be credited as various versions of "wish stones")

54 - The Autumn Court, 3:35

55 - The Witch's Den, 58:57

56 - An Innocent Flirtation, 48:02 56 - Goblin Dirigible, 1:04:27 56 - Crash Landing, 1:15:21

57 - Tower in the Distance, 13:18 57 - Angels and Devils, 16:58 57 - King Lestibourne, 1:02:39 57 - All I Need is One Thread to Spin a Web, 1:09:20 57 - Kiss of Life, 1:45:12

58 - Flying Through the Night, 25:18 58 - Bittersweet Sixteen, 59:34 58 - A Hard Goodbye, 1:26:52

59 - Shadowfell, 2:49 59 - Into the Mist, 5:34 59 - Grimhawk, 53:33 59 - Langston, 1:05:56

60 - Deadeye, 6:30 60 - The Fat Monk, 25:13

61 - The Red Fen, 20:54 61 - The Montgomerys, 40:11 61 - Growing Pains, 1:16:21 * 61 - Gutless, 1:29:37 * (note: “Growing Pains” is credited as “Drained” here, but the name changes later and is used consistently)

63 - Montgomery Manor, 1:14:22 63 - Shadowfell Sneak, 1:17:34 63 - Two for Tea, 1:21:08

66 - Unholy Pilgrimage, 22:22

67 - Bastard's Fate, 1:22:05 67 - Bastard's Cove, 1:30:06

70 - Lucanus Aer'Tea, 1:27:08 70 - A Miracle Child, 1:44:43 70 - The Thinking Cap, 1:49:53

71 - The Whisperwood, 27:30 71 - Gladeholm, 29:41 71 - The University, 56:36 71 - Qwiksus, 1:10:04 71 - A Wizard Tournament, 1:30:24 71 - Star Spawn, 2:10:23

73 - Summoning, 11:28 73 - Secret Basement, 32:21 73 - The Objective, 1:31:50 73 - Pandemonium, 1:34:22 73 - Lilith La Trix, 1:37:55

75 - Kingsguard, 22:17 75 - Speaking Stump, 27:19 75 - Irondeep, 1:18:40 - (note: these three songs are only used in this ep in c1)

76 - The Mindflayer's Lair, 59:48 76 - The Multiverse, 1:13:57 76 - Alone, 1:19:50 76 - The Vast Expanse, 1:22:21 76 - Into the Planar Pool, 1:27:28

77 - Deal with a Devil, 21:42 * 77 - Buzzer's Cutters, 25:28 77 - The Posse, 1:07:48 77 - The Bronze Bastard, 1:35:51 * (note: this song is also frequently called “Soul Coins”)

79 - Lust, 14:52 79 - The River Styx, 24:46 79 - Fierna, 32:36 79 - A Risky Gamble, 51:42 79 - The Honey Trap, 55:40

82 - The Seventh Circle of Hell, 14:58 82 - Demigod, 28:55

83 - Ilsed's Secret, 42:05

84 - Hellfire Crown, 1:26:11 86 - Torn Apart, 46:42 * * (note: technically "Torn Apart" is a part of “Hellfire Crown” and plays in ep 84 at 1:17:32, but the two have different instrumentation and “Torn Apart” is credited as such later, so I've split them)

91 - I Just Want to Know You're Taken Care Of, 21:37 91 - The Pact, 47:25 91 - Forest, 1:07:14

92 - Enlightened, 15:26 * * (note: this song isn't credited in this ep, its first credit as "Enlightened" is in ep96 at 36:47)

95 - Hole in the Sky, 1:01:12 95 - Pure Gold, 1:34:39

96 - The Glittering Lady, 15:51

97 - Fabric of Fate, 9:44 * 97 - Selfless, 12:48 97 - A Glittering Reunion, 22:18 * (note: this song is later called "Melora's Boon" in c3)

100 (pt. 1) - The Writing on the Wall, 28:55 100 (pt. 1) - Paradise, 46:04 100 (pt. 1) - A Memory, 1:03:17 100 (pt. 2) - One Big Bed, 1:46:57

[unsociabletrash]

Emeto list

Thought I'd post this now. I've got quite the list building up, and frequently add to it. Enjoy!

Anime:

Tokyo Ghoul

S1, Ep 1 (15:20)

S1, Ep 2 (0:14, 13:29)

S1, Ep 3 (7:57)

S3, Ep 9 (17:57)

S3, Ep 15 (14:10)

Saiki K

S1, Ep 2 (5:18)

S1, Ep 12 (10:10)

S1, Ep 17 (20:10)

S2, Ep 6 (9:04)

S2, Ep 11 (2:47)

My Hero Academia

S1, Ep 3 (11:28)

S2, Ep 25 (37 - 6:53)

S5, Ep 20 (108 - 9:00)

S5, Ep 21 (109 - 17:49)

S5, Ep 23 (111 - 19:49)

Haikyuu

S1, Ep 3 (21:16)

S1, Ep 5 (22:15)

S2, Ep 12 (1:20)

OVA (vs Failing Marks - 21:16)

S2, Ep 17 (16:22)

Black Butler

S1, Ep 5 (7:32)

S2, Ep 5(29 - 18:37)

S3, Ep 5 (41 - 17:39)

S3, Ep 9 (45 - 19:51)

Jujutsu Kaisen

Ep 23 (13:40)

Attack on Titan

S1, Ep 5 (11:04)

S3, Ep 39 (10:17)

S3, Ep 49 (15:17)

S3, Ep 56 (4:45)

S4, Ep 62 (10:38)

S4, Ep 83 (20:20)

Bungou Stray Dogs

S1, Ep 11 (15:17)

S4, Ep 37 (12:42)

S5, Ep 52 (4:58, 5:30)

Welcome To the Ballroom

Ep 22 (7:48)

Gintama

Ep 2 (5:53)

Ep 35 (16:48)

Ep 57 (9:09)

Ep 65 (15:35)

Ep 239 (4:54, 6:09, 7:19)

Ep 252 (9:17)

Naruto

S1, Ep 11 (9:15)

S2, Ep 2 (28 - 12:42)

S2, Ep 6 (32 - 2:40)

Re: Zero

Ep 5 (22:55)

Ep 8 (15:38)

Ep 15 (0:33)

Ep 37 (3:42)

Ep 38 (16:54)

Evangelion 3.0+1.0

(24:05, 30:23)

Black Lagoon

S1, Ep 1 (19:28)

S2, Ep1 (18:15)

Run with the Wind

Ep 7 (3:09)

Ep 12 (11:08)

Ep 16 (13:46)

Zombie Land Saga

S2 Ep 1 (11:56)

Deadman Wonderland

Ep 5 (19:28, 21:24)

Mob Psycho 100

S2 Ep 6 (17:48)

S3, Ep 8 (1:30)

Beyond the Boundary

Ep 6 (12:47)

The God of Highschool

Ep 5 (0:57)

Rent-a-Girlfriend

Ep 18 (16:54, 19:33)

The Eden of Grisaia

Ep 3 (4:43, 11:01, 13:34)

Chainsaw Man

Ep 7 (19:27)

Number24

Ep 11 (20:14)

One Piece (whump)

Zoro: Ep 402 (22:35), Ep 403 (22:50)

Luffy: Ep 393 (8:08) Live Action

Ep 2 (38:16)

Ep 4 (26:00, 33:56)

Ep 5 (37:50)

Kdrama & etc:

KinnPorsche

Ep 2 (37:45)

Ep 4 (47:34)

Ep 9 (4:42, 24:53)

Danger Zone: The Dark Night

Ep 1 (13:54, 19:30)

Live action/Sitcom:

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

S6, Ep 1 (18:02)

S6, Ep 4 (15:10)

S6, Ep 7 (18:00)

S7, Ep 2 (10:05)

S9, Ep 7 (14:56)

How I Met Your Mother

S1, Ep 15 (17:33)

S2, Ep 16 (10:07)

S5, Ep 17 (15:34)

S6, Ep 6 (6:49)

S9, Ep 1 (6:08)

S9, Ep 8 (12:57)

S9, Ep 17 (1:00)

Supernatural

S2, Ep 3 (6:30)

S2, Ep 11 (20:22)

S3, Ep 9 (21:30)

S4, Ep 8 (21:18)

S5, Ep 21 (9:37)

S6, Ep 5 (37:50)

S6, Ep 15 (7:38)

S8, Ep 12 (10:05)

S9, Ep 23 (2:52)

S11, Ep 10 (8:33)

S11, Ep 17 (30:52)

S15, Ep 10 (24:20)

The magicians

S3, Ep 3 (38:22)

[the-conversation-pod]

Going High-Low with Taiwan

And we're back! It’s been awhile since we checked in on Taiwan, and the latest offerings have really run the gamut in terms of quality. Ben, NiNi, and Shan sat down to discuss the state of Taiwanese BL via two recent shows, Anti Reset and Unknown.

Timestamps

The timestamps will now correspond with chapters on Spotify for easier navigation.

00:00:00 - Welcome 00:01:15 - Intro 00:02:11 - Anti Reset and VBL 00:13:13 - Unknown the Series 00:20:16 Unknown: The Pseudo Incest Trope 00:27:53 Unknown: San Pang, Li Li, and Family in the Narrative 00:35:48 Unknown: The Ending Stumble 00:43:32 Unknown: Adapting the Da Ge Novel 00:46:15 Unknown: Final Thoughts and Ratings 00:51:53 - Whither Taiwanese BL?

The Conversation Transcripts!

Thanks to the continued efforts of @ginnymoonbeam as transcriber, and @lurkingshan as an editor and proofreader, we are able to bring you transcripts of the episodes.

We will endeavor to make the transcripts available when the episodes launch, and it is our goal to make them available for past episodes (Coming soon thanks to @wen-kexing-apologist). When transcripts are available, we will attach them to the episode post (like this one) and put the transcript behind a Read More cut to cut down on scrolling.

Please send our volunteers your thanks!

00:00:00 - Welcome

NiNi

Welcome to The Conversation About BL, aka The Brown Liquor Podcast.

Ben

And there it is. I’m Ben.

NiNi

I’m NiNi.

Ben

And we’re you’re drunk Caribbean uncle and auntie here sitting on the porch in the rocking chairs.

NiNi

Four times a year we pop in to talk about what’s going on in the BL world.

Ben

We shoot the shit about stories and all the drama going into them. I review from a queer media lens.

NiNi

And I review from a romance and drama lens.

Ben

So if you like cracked-out takes and really intense emotional analysis…

NiNi

If you like talking about artistry, industry, and the discourse…

Ben

And if you generally just love simping…

NiNi

There is a lot of simping on this podcast…

Ben

We are the show for you!

00:01:15 - Intro

Ben 

And we're back! This week we will be discussing the state of Taiwanese BL by highlighting two projects that recently finished for us. 

NiNi 

Shan is here with us. Say hi, Shan. 

Shan 

Hello people! 

NiNi 

Shan has to be here because y'all know I don't watch that much Taiwanese BL. [laughs]

Shan 

And I watch it all. 

Ben 

We're going to be talking about the sci-fi BL Anti Reset and we're going to be talking about the Priest adaptation Unknown the series, based on Priest’s novel Da Ge. 

NiNi 

I am unfamiliar with Anti Reset. I did not watch it. 

Ben 

NiNi: it's a Taiwanese BL. I don't like it! [Shan laughs] I didn't watch it. 

NiNi 

I did watch Unknown and I have thoughts about that. 

00:02:11 - Anti Reset and VBL

NiNi 

Maybe Shan, you could dig in here before we let Ben get into the recap on Anti Reset. 

Shan 

Anti Reset is part of a recent series of Taiwanese BLs that came from a company called VBL. Stay By My Side, You Are Mine, VIP Only, and then Anti Reset. This was a connected series, all these stories happened in the same universe. The characters did cameos in each other's shows and they all aired in the same time slot one right after the other, over the last several months. 

I was not particularly impressed with the quality of these shows and I thought that as the series went on, each show got a little bit worse. [laughs] By the time I was in VIP Only I had really lost interest in what these shows were doing. The stories were weak, the production values were low, they weren't really hitting the usual Taiwanese high watermarks for great casting, good couple chemistry, solid intimacy scenes… The things you can normally reliably count on Taiwan for, were not really showing up in these shows. 

So I was, had kind of already lost my faith in this series when Anti Reset started. I think I got two episodes into it and I just decided to just stop watching. It was givin’ me a weird vibe. I was like, “You know what? I don't know what this show is doing and I don't think I wanna find out.” 

That's where I think I should hand it off to Ben to talk more about what the show actually ended up doing.

Ben 

Oh, man. Trying to describe the premise of this show inherently gives it more credit than it deserves. [Shan and Ben laugh] The premise of the show is that Chu Yi Ping is some sort of humanities professor at a local college. His arm gets injured from pulling his shoulder and his uncle, who runs a experimental tech company, decides that to give him some assistance while he's recovering, they're going to send an experimental house assistant android to his house, which appears in the shape of a really hot guy named Ever 9. 

The show wants to go on to be this exploration about how misanthropy presents in people. How do you find humanity in artificial intelligences that are designed to befriend us? It wants to do this exploration of personhood—I don't think it does—and ends up fundamentally becoming a mail-order bride show that doesn't realize it is one. This show thinks it's doing deep analysis of AI personhood and romance, but it's not. It's just presenting things. It is kind of a mess and I ended up really not liking it. 

NiNi 

I'm a big sci-fi girl. I like these kinds of explorations of the human condition. It's what all the best sci-fi is about. So, basically what you're telling me is don't watch the show. [laughs]

Shan 

Ben, I feel like when I was observing discourse about this show, it did seem like it was working for some people, and I'm curious if you have thoughts about what parts of the show maybe did work better than others. 

Ben 

I think that if you found the leads attractive and you enjoyed the chemistry that the leads were going for—ignoring literally any of the context about what was going on around their interactions—you could enjoy that. But I don't think the show does a great job of addressing its own context. 

You've got this android living in your house who is doing your house chores and making your food for you, and otherwise taking care of you. So you basically have purchased a housewife. But then he decides he's in love with the housewife and wants to pursue the concept that the android has a personality and is capable of reciprocating his feelings and such. But they don't do a good job creating this crossover point where Ever 9 cares about Chu Yi Ping because of who Ever 9 is and not because of what Ever 9 was programmed to be. 

The issue, too, with Chu Yi Ping is he's got this fundamental misanthropy that isn't really addressed or challenged. What is it about Ever 9 that allows him to not hate him the way he hates other people? The fact that Ever 9 is programmed to put up with all of his shit all the time? That's kinda weird, particularly because they went for a multi-year separation at the end, and I'm like, he didn't grow from this. He's just a sad little weirdo the whole time. 

Shan 

They did a multi-year separation between… a man and a robot? 

Ben 

They did. 

NiNi 

I was about to say— [all laugh]

Shan

I mean! I’m like, what? But, like—, Did—, How—, But—, I—

NiNi

Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. I have another related question. 

Ben 

Please, go on. [Ben and Shan laugh]

NiNi 

This is not a story about an AI achieving self-awareness or sentience or crossing the human-digital divide in some way. 

Ben 

It wants to be that. It really wants to be a story about Ever 9 exceeding his programming. They very much think there's, like, a Pinocchio thing going on with him. 

Shan 

He's still a robot. 

NiNi 

Even Pinocchio turned into a real boy at the end. 

Shan

Right, this is what I don't understand. 

NiNi 

So what is the point, then? If nothing actually changes about Ever 9. 

Ben 

This is one of the fundamental questions I've been asking about BL lately. [all laugh] And here we are again. 

Shan 

What is the point? [laughs]

NiNi 

This is the thing that people don't get about sci-fi a lot. Sci-fi is more philosophy than science. It's a lot more about humanity and the things that humanity does to each other and how humanity evolves than it is about the cool things that the science can do. And whenever I see sci-fi that does not understand that, you can tell. 

Shan 

I think—and I wonder how you feel about this, Ben—one of the tension points here may be trying to take a narrative like this and turn it into a straightforward romance between a person and an object. When I've seen stories with this conceit done well, the romance is maybe not the primary point, and it's more about, like NiNi is saying, the philosophical questions underpinning it. I think about something like Lars and the Real Girl, which is more about the nature of loneliness and the nature of grief and how a community can come together to support somebody in finding a way to be happy. But it's not about the actual romance between the person and the thing. It feels like maybe what's difficult here is they want to examine those things, but at the same time they just want this to be a standard BL where they're just executing romance tropes. Those things don't go together that well. 

Ben 

I agree. I feel like Chu Yi Ping’s misanthropy and disconnectedness from other people should have been the crux of the storytelling, and they were more focused on making the android say hyung and oppa instead. 

NiNi 

For me, if you're gonna do a robot story like this, maybe you actually put somebody else into the story who the main character then falls in love with. The main character is able to interact with the robot to actually, themselves, become a real boy. But somebody in the story has to become a real boy! [laughs] That's the whole—you know what I mean?

Shan 

There's a kdrama that I really love called I'm Not a Robot. And that is pretty much how they handled that. There's a robot, there's a real girl. And in the end, the romance is with the real girl, not the robot. [laughs] 

It just feels like they tried to do that sort of story, but also somehow make the robot the main person without having them actually achieve personhood, and that just doesn't really work. 

NiNi 

It's either that or take it dystopian. Take it in the opposite direction. But then I guess that's not a BL. 

Shan 

Right. So you can also take it in the real fucked up direction, but yeah, you have to commit and it sounds like they just tried to do it all in some kind of weird blend that didn't come together. 

NiNi 

So, I'm guessing this one's a chop, Ben. 

Ben 

Oh, it's 100% a chop. I think I ended up giving it a 5? This is a show that I do not recommend at all. If you just want to see pretty decently attractive Taiwanese actors kind of moon at each other a little bit and make out a little bit, by all means! Go in and have a great time. But that's what you're getting out of it, at most. It's not good sci-fi, and I don't like it. At all. 

Shan 

I'm feeling happy with my choices. I'm gonna not return and finish this one. I think I'm gonna let it lie. It sounds like it was the right choice to not finish it for me. 

Ben 

What did we get out of the VBL project? My only positive takeaway from it is, I'm really glad that they got some money together to continue making small budget Taiwanese BL. I don't want small budget Taiwanese BL to give up, but also, these were not the best offerings that we've gotten out of that. 

Shan 

They need some better scripts. 

Ben 

We gotta do better. I really did not want to be super harsh about VBL and a bunch of their projects but, they're kind of really frustrating in a lot of ways. Stay By My Side ends abruptly. You Are Mine does not do the boss-employee romance any real justice. VIP Only ended up being kinda boring and wasn't really satisfying in its conclusion. And this one just really did not understand the expectations of sci-fi storytelling.

When we looked at the descriptions of all these shows ahead of time, we were like, there's a lot of ways that they could fuck this up royally, but these would actually be pretty good, or at least interesting and compelling in some ways. But they weren't. There's some sort epilogue episode or some shit they're gonna be releasing?

Shan 

A little special to try to sell merch, I think. 

NiNi 

I mean, you gotta do what you gotta do. 

Shan

Yeaaaaah. 

Ben 

Not impressed, and we are moving on. 

NiNi 

You're not even gonna rate it? 

Ben 

Oh, I gave it a 5. 

NiNi 

5 for Anti Reset from The Conversation. 

Ben 

And the 5 is, the leads were actually pretty solid with each other. 

NiNi 

Wow, that is damning with the faintest of praise. 

[all laugh]

Ben 

It's not good, y’all. 

00:13:13 - Unknown the Series

NiNi

Let's leave that behind and move on to something that all of us actually watched and I think liked a little bit more. Moving on to Unknown the series. 

Ben, give us the rundown, what is Unknown the series about?

Ben

Unknown is a found family narrative that has to deal with the way these relationships change as people grow up. This brother and sister end up deciding to adopt a homeless kid who's in their neighborhood. Wei Qian is like a high schooler trying to take care of his little sister ‘cause their parents are dead, and they decide to also take care of this kid, Xiao Yuan. Xiao Yuan is appreciative of this and is glad to become a brother to this family. But as he grows and matures, he ends up developing deep affection for Wei Qian, and we spend the bulk of the story dealing with Xiao Yuan struggling with his feelings for Wei Qian, and how this impacts the community around them. 

Beyond the three siblings, we have their neighbor San Pang, whose family has opted to never raise the rent on the Wei siblings to make sure that they have a place to stay. Wei Qian spends much of his adolescence when he's not in school working for the local gang: complications ensue as a result of this. 

Shan, further thoughts?

Shan

Really, at its heart, this is a relationship change narrative. So, it's all about how this family decide to take each other as family and then as they grow up, some of the relationships start to shift and change, not only between Wei Qian and Wei Yuan, but also between Wei Li Li and San Pang. Wei Qian really takes his responsibilities as the older brother—but also the default patriarch of this family—very seriously. He is a caretaker, he is the person providing financially for the family. San Pang is his best friend, someone who's known him his whole life, who completely understands his devotion to his siblings and also loves them, as well, as an older brother figure. 

There are some other characters in the mix. Qian and San Pang end up going into business with a third partner, named Lao Xiong. There's also the local gang—the lead gangster is called Le—and then there's Doctor Lin, played by our beloved Sam Lin, who's also in the mix as a side character who comes in and out of the story. 

I don't know, NiNi, if you wanted to add anything about your overall impressions of what the story is tackling, the themes.

NiNi

I came into this one later than you guys did, so I was catching up on kind of a binge. And also the rhythms of Taiwanese BL and Taiwanese drama are a little harder for me, so it takes me a while to get into things emotionally. So I was doing a little bit of an uphill climb? I understood where the story was going and what they were trying to do. I didn't all the way feel it? There were points that I would hit, definitely a point at the end or near the end that I felt it, but going through the pockets of the story as it was happening, I didn't get the depth of feeling about this that I would get about a story. That's not necessarily to do with it being a Taiwanese story, ‘cause there's Taiwanese stories that I have that depth of feeling about. Just this one didn't hit me in the exact same way that I think it hit you guys.

Shan

I felt this story deeply. I was very emotionally connected to the characters, very, very invested in this story and really did love it. I have, unfortunately, some serious critiques [laughs] for the way that the story ended up, but really loved it along the way, was super invested. And part of that might come from my relative comfort with the tropes that were at play.

NiNi

It might be, because I'm an eldest sibling and I understand the feelings of responsibility and wanting to be somebody who takes care of your siblings and an example for them and to be strong for them and all of that. If there is any character that I really glommed onto, it was Wei Qian. But then what that left me with was a disconnect from some of his thought processes and actions later down in the story? There were things that I wanted to understand more that I didn't understand about the way that he was processing certain things. That's my thing. That's not a problem with the story, I think that's my reaction to the story.

Ben

I think in the early parts of the story I was really with everything that it was doing. I got Wei Qian’s whole deal fairly quickly. He's, like, 13 to 15 and his mom is dead. His dad is dead or not in the picture. And he's got a little sister that he has to take care of. And the neighbors are willing to help accommodate this but he's gotta get money some sort of way, so he ends up wrapped up with the local gang. I also got the way they would feel sympathy for another kid who's on the street struggling as well. I totally get them adopting someone else who seems like he's going through some shit the way they are too. 

I got the way Yuan’s thankfulness about being saved from the street and the way Wei Qian was willing to sacrifice himself for Yuan, and I totally get that turning into a kind of devotion that shifts over time, and mingles with his latent queerness. I was able to follow Yuan down that route. And I liked the way the show treated all of those developments really seriously. From Wei Qian having some sort of sexual related trauma and being really resistant to advances from women… And I also got the way that that sort of blew up in their faces when Yuan's feelings became known to them. 

I really enjoyed the early parts of the story. I think Ray Jiang directed this? Ray’s tendency to use longer shots of characters working in the space together worked really well for me here, and the actors had really good timing for me to get a strong sense of the dynamics between their characters. So I was really able to pull a lot of the expected emotional beats out of a lot of little things in this show early on.

00:20:16 Unknown: The Pseudo Incest Trope

Ben

I actually waited until like week six, I think, Shan, was when you told me it was time to start watching? I have deep qualms with the stepbrothers trope. I don't usually connect to it or enjoy it.

NiNi

I don't have an issue with the stepbrothers trope, but this didn't feel like stepbrothers to me. The relationship between Wei Qian and Yuan felt almost paternalistic, and that was, I think, deliberately something that Wei Qian did put that distance between them. I did not see how Wei Qian overcame that, he did it so deliberately and he reinforced it so deliberately over and over throughout the years, and I feel like the turn into romance didn't quite work for me?

Ben

Why do you think the stepbrothers taboo doesn't normally bother you the way it might for other people?

NiNi

It depends on how long they've been raised together. A lot of times when we're getting these stepbrothers trope stories, they're new stepbrothers or they haven't been stepbrothers for very long, or they were close to adults when their parents got together. And so it's… doesn't feel like a sibling relationship to me.

Ben

Shan, you've watched a lot of dramas.

Shan

Sure have.

Ben

What's your read of the stepbrother stuff?

Shan

I wanted to talk about accurate categorization here, because this is not actually a stepbrothers trope. The stepbrothers trope is very popular in yaoi manga, and consequently in BL. But Unknown is more, I think, accurately categorized as a pseudo incest story. And that goes beyond BL. That is actually quite popular [laughs] in Asian dramas more broadly, and also shows up quite a lot in het romance. And it's more about people who are coming together in some kind of family arrangement, and then the point of the trope is that the relationship changes over time and we follow that relationship change. 

There's this impression, I think, that people like it mostly because, “Ooh, it's so titillating. It's so taboo.” For folks who enjoy the pseudo incest trope—and I count myself one of them, I've watched a lot of these kinds of dramas—the appeal of it is that a relationship change narrative is really interesting. It's a lot of deep emotional stuff when you are talking about someone who's really important to you in one specific way, and then trying to transform that relationship to have them be important to you in a different way. That can feel really risky and really dangerous, to put at threat the relationship that you already have for the relationship that you now want. That is not a dynamic that is exclusive to the pseudo incest trope!

NiNi

It feels like an extension of friends to lovers.

Shan

Exactly.

NiNi

A higher risk, higher degree of difficulty friends to lovers.

Shan

Exactly right, NiNi. I also love the friend to lovers trope. I also like enemies to lovers, which is maybe not as deep, but still revolves around that relationship change. I think for a lot of people, that's the appeal. It's a higher stakes version of the friends to lovers trope. 

I think Unknown did a fantastic job with this trope… for the first three quarters of its story. Unfortunately, where it fell down was in the most important part, which is that relationship turn. We followed Yuan through his relationship turn. We saw his feelings for Qian change over time. We saw him try his best to cope with them alone. We saw when he could no longer do that and the feelings poured out of him and that caused a huge rupture. We saw him take time away. We saw his devotion stay strong through a separation and through many years apart. We saw him come back as an adult and decide to pursue the relationship he wanted because he was so certain that he still wanted it. We saw that whole process for Yuan. 

Where the show really dropped the ball is that we didn't see that same deep process happen for Wei Qian. We saw it start, we saw him learn about his younger brother's feelings for him and have an initial response of shock and anger and some revulsion. We saw him push Yuan away. We saw him miss him terribly and regret pushing him away. We saw him start to change the way he saw him when he came back as an adult, and start to get more comfortable with seeking him out as a partner instead of as a younger brother. And then we just saw an abrupt flipped switch, where suddenly he was comfortable not only being in a romance, but in a sexual relationship. And I think that's where they really dropped the ball, is in that transition at the end. And unfortunately, that was the most important part of the story. [laughs] So it's a pretty shitty place to drop the ball, show! 

But, this show did so many of my favorite things—found family, intergenerational family trauma, a serious relationship change narrative. These are like three of my most favorite things in drama. The characters were struggling through poverty, that's another big thing that I love to see depicted well in drama, and the show took it seriously. This show, it felt like, was almost made in a lab to, like, hook me in the heart. And I still have a lot of warm feelings about it and love it, even though it kind of let me down in the end. 

But I'm curious, Ben, to hear you reflect, because I know versions of this trope have caused trouble for you before. I feel like you did better with this than you maybe thought you would, Ben.

Ben

So as someone who has had slurs thrown at him with real intent, I am particularly sensitive to narratives that wanna play with taboo that reflects some of the worst disingenuous presumptions about how queer people behave. I don't always enjoy these sort of narratives where they wanna deal with family members coming of age and developing feelings for each other and then wanting to pursue them. I often struggle with stepsibling relationships in particular because their parents had a romance. I don't usually enjoy the discord that the stepbrothers relationship is introducing to the genuine attempt by their parents to blend their families. 

I don't think this show prickled that because they're more akin to orphans than stepsiblings. I'm less perturbed by orphans who use familial terms to establish closeness and present themselves as a unit to other people, wanting to change that down the road. Also, a smart thing the show did was they used three actors to play Yuan to reflect his growth and change over time, which was a very good choice for this kind of story.

00:27:53 Unknown: San Pang, Li Li, and Family in the Narrative

Shan

The other piece of this trope—the pseudo incest trope—that adds a layer, is that the taboo associated with incest does become part of the story. The external community and their other loved ones become an important part of the decision-making around the relationship change. You're gonna see other people being uncomfortable with the change in the relationship, so it adds this layer of complexity. 

Here, the most important and main stand-in for that, we have San Pang, who has been raised alongside them as their neighbor, who also sees himself as an older brother to Yuan and Li Li, who is the first person to catch on to Yuan’s feelings. He is the one who puts it together and sees the way Yuan’s feelings are changing, and he's the one who tells Qian. In the wake of his coming out to Qian—admitting that he is gay, but not saying who he likes—San Pang is the one who says, “I'm pretty sure you're the person he likes, bro,” and he tries to interfere. He goes to Yuan on his own and he says,”I am seeing this. I want you to understand that it's not something you can pursue. You're going to put so much stress on your brother if you let him find out.” 

There are some great scenes between San Pang and Yuan where they have really important conversations about why it's quote unquote wrong for him to feel this way about Qian, why San Pang feels so uncomfortable with it. He tries to intervene. It doesn't work, and then San Pang’s the one who helps Qian come up with a plan to send Yuan abroad. He was a very important part of that storyline. 

He also is a very important part of the storyline when Yuan comes back as an adult, because he, in those intervening years, has gone through his own journey of his changing feelings for somebody that he also considered a quasi-sibling, and has maybe mellowed out a little bit about what it would mean for the two of them to be together. He sees that the feelings are still there, sees how miserable Qian was when Yuan was gone, and he kind of changes his tune and says, “Maybe I was wrong to try to get in the way of this. Maybe this is the thing that will make you, my best friend in the world who I love, happy, and maybe that's right.” He was such a crucial character in this narrative and I just really loved the way the show used his character as a stand-in for what you would normally see happen with parents in a drama like this.

NiNi

He just wanted to protect everybody. He wants to protect them individually, he wants to protect their family unit. It's very sweet.

Ben

He's like the big cousin who also doesn't know what to do. Wei Qian is stuck with this role, having to care for his sister and the brother that they adopted. That takes a huge amount of personal fortitude to choose to do all of that. San Pang clearly sees this from a young age, and he's always trying to help the best he can. But he's just as young as them and it’s not like he brings any special knowledge to the table. He has these instincts that are grounded in the expected orthodoxy of a family unit, and he's trying to help them replicate that, because he earnestly believes that maybe these things can help them. 

Like, he recognizes that Wei Qian is alone with this huge responsibility he's carrying, and reasonably decides that maybe if he gets a partner who can appreciate that, the mental load on Wei Qian would be better. And as far as he knows, Wei Qian likes girls, so he tries to find women who might be interested in him. That doesn't go well. It's the same thing with always showing up at the clinic when Wei Qian gets the shit beat out of him with the gangster stuff. And even with Yuan, Yuan's feelings come up and he tries to help them, and even when they suggest sending Yuan away, they just wanted him to get some room from Wei Qian to maybe feel something for someone else. Yuan being gay was not their biggest concern. Yuan having feelings for Wei Qian was their primary concern. 

I joked, when he came back sassier and even gayer, that he clearly found his people [laughs] while was in New York. 

Shan

[laughs] Mmhmm. 

Ben

And I ended up really loving San Pang for that. Despite his reticence about Wei Qian, he ends up developing feelings for Li Li, and I think it's because they had those big fights where he was forced to reckon with the nature of these taboos and the orthodoxy they enforce, and whether or not they applied here or not. I feel like San Pang ending up in a relationship with Li Li is intentional by the narrative to draw that line and say, “If this is okay, why not this?”

Shan 

We should talk more about Li Li. One of the things I do credit this show with is caring about the whole family as a unit, and not only about the romance. Her involvement in the story and her relationship with her brothers was just a really important aspect to drive that point home. 

I loved Li Li as a character. She's the little sister that everybody takes care of, including Yuan. She's the one who let him in. When he first followed Wei Qian home, she claimed him as her brother first and brought him into the family. She has a very close but also very different relationship with each of her brothers. And we saw how those bonds held and shifted over time. And when their relationship changed and they decided to be together romantically, Li Li accepted it.

I think she always knew that their relationship was different. What was interesting, I think, and such a good choice, is that she never seemed to feel threatened by that. She was comfortable and secure, knowing that they both loved her. Even though their relationship could maybe sometimes crowd her out. 

Ben 

I really liked that moment in episode 11. We got this little breakdown from her about how nobody cares about Qian. She started to really process, as an adult now, that Wei Qian hid a lot of his suffering from them. 

I actually really like that Li Li got to do teenage rebellion. It says a lot about how effectively Wei Qian did his role as provider that she got to be a bratty teen. 

NiNi 

I feel like as a family story this hits me more than as a romance. Wei Qian’s relationship with both Yuan and Li Li feels parental more than sibling. Li Li and Yuan feel like siblings. 

Shan 

One of the interesting choices that I really appreciate in the story—in the early stages—is that while Wei Qian, I think, was trying to be a parental figure to both of them, Yuan never really accepted that, even when he was younger. And we saw that theme repeat throughout the show of Yuan saying, “You don't have to do it alone. I'm here to help you.” He always, always, always wanted to be a partner to Wei Qian. 

NiNi 

That is true, but this is coming from Yuan’s side. I absolutely see how Yuan made sure, maybe not even consciously, he wanted it to be clear where the boundaries were and the boundary was that, “We are family, we love each other, but you are not my parent, you are not my brother, you are somebody that I am partnered with. We are doing this together in this way.” Yuan always made that distinction. Wei Qian [laughs] is my problem here.

00:35:48 Unknown: The Ending Stumble

Shan 

We should get into where the show stumbled hard, because that's what it all comes down to, right? This big stumble in episode 11. 

NiNi 

Yeah, it just kind of sits over everything and it sits over my entire perception of the story now. I feel like I can't even think of the rest of the story without thinking about how it didn't take me where it needed to go at the end. Yuan comes back to Taiwan and it feels like for Wei Qian, maybe some things have changed, but he's doing a lot to not let this thing happen. And it doesn't feel like a thing that he's fighting against—’cause if it felt like something that he was fighting against, I feel like I could buy it. If it's something that his heart really desires, but his brain is telling him he can't do, like, that works, right? But it doesn't feel like that. 

I don't get where he got shaken. Like, I got the emotional shake. When Yuan gets kidnapped, ‘cause that's a thing that happens, you feel that fear that he had in that moment that he would lose Yuan. I understood why in that moment he would accept that he maybe had these emotions, these feelings that he needed to interrogate for Yuan, and they were churning him up inside, and they got broken out by this thing that happened that shook him. The emotional turn, totally believed. The turn where that goes romantic and sexual, that's the part that—it didn't carry me there. 

Shan 

I do agree with that last bit of what you said. I don't see it the same way as you in terms of not seeing the arc of his feelings starting to change. I think that was very clearly the arc of episodes 7 through 10 for Qian. During their separation, we saw how not functional, frankly, he was without Yuan around. He survived, he got through every day, but he was deeply unhappy. Everybody in his life could see it. He was regretful, he was missing him all the time. And punishing himself and withholding himself from talking to Yuan.

When Yuan came back, he started to interact with him differently. We saw the way that his physical awareness of him was different. We saw him start to seek him out more. We did see him start letting him in on some adult problem solving like he wouldn't have before. He still had his walls up, of course, he was still trying to consciously deny that he was willing to change their relationship in that way. But I do think the show took us through and showed us some very clear moments where his feelings were starting to shift and he was still fighting it. And then, of course, the kidnapping incident really shook him up. 

I think where the failure for me happened was in the moment where this suddenly turned into a sexual desire that we hadn't seen build, at all. And so that is the missing piece for me. They needed a couple more beats in the story there, between him coming to this emotional realization of his desire to keep Yuan next to him forever, and for that to then build into a sexual attraction that he was comfortable acting on. And I think that latter part is where they really dropped the ball. They have him literally say, “I'm not ready yet. I haven't figured out what I'm comfortable with yet.” And then like, literally two minutes later, he's like, “Fuck it, never mind.” And they're just going to town on each other. 

That didn't work for me at all. It was a very strange choice. It was a mistake. The show just really fumbled, and it sucks because they fumbled at the most important part of the story after building it so beautifully for ten weeks to just drop the ball that hard. It's a little bit baffling to me? 

Ben 

Episode 10 ends at the huge emotional turn for Wei Qian. And it was really frustrating for the show to conflate the emotional turn and the sexual turn and try and follow that immediately with the sex in the next episode. That was not the right choice. If the show had done the emotional turn and then spent at least half the episode dealing with this building sexual tension, that would have been interesting. 

The show was obsessed with staying on Yuan's perspective the whole time. It would have been totally fine if Yuan was crackling with sexual energy at the knowledge that Wei Qian had finally hit the emotional turn. But instead they really wanted to have reward sex and then focus on this stupid health scare plot. The problem is, the sex scene isn't good because there's no arc to it. Yuan has been ready to fuck this man for ten years and Wei Qian hasn't been ready to fuck anyone for, like, 15 years. 

They brought up this whole notion that part of Wei Qian's closed-off nature about sex is because his mom possibly abused him. And I just really did not enjoy the show rushing into this sudden sexual comfortability with Wei Qian after showing us that he did not have a good relationship with sex, and I feel like that needed to be resolved before those two were going to be able to have that sort of moment. As a result, the sex scene doesn't create much of an emotional arc, and the show knows this too, because they fucking fill it with stupid Yuan flashbacks. This should be about the change in Wei Qian, not the culmination of Yuan's feelings. 

Wei Qian's reticence about sex is not handled by the story, whether it be discovering queerness in himself or processing the sexual trauma from his mom or getting over whatever blocks about the kid you see as your brother wants to be with you. That part of it was missing when they had set up for it with the end of episode 10, where Wei Qian let down whatever big emotional barrier was between, “I need to protect Yuan,” versus, “I don't wanna be without Yuan.” They were prepped for it, totally, to go into that next area. And then they just didn't, and decided to make it about Wei Qian having a blood clot. 

NiNi 

All the pieces were actually there, they're just in the wrong order. There's a scene after the fact where they're doing this dating SIM game or whatever at work and Wei Qian is having these flashbacks to the sex scene. Why did they not let him have that moment as a fantasy moment before—

Shan 

Yes! 

NiNi

—rather than a flashback moment after? 

Ben 

That's what I also thought at the time. But you know how angry I get on this podcast [Ben and Shan laugh] about having to mentally rejigger the show [NiNi laughs] to make it fucking work. I will not!

Shan 

Besties! That's what they do in the book! That is exactly what they do in the book! [laughs]

Ben 

That's so fuckin’ aggravating. [laughs] I’m so fucking mad! 

Shan 

It’s so aggravating! All the things we're saying they should have done, they fucking did in the book! And I don't [claps hands together] know why the show didn't do it. I'm so mad! 

Ben 

She clappin’, yo, she mad. 

[all laugh]

00:43:32 Unknown: Adapting the Da Ge Novel

Shan 

We haven't talked too much yet about the novel, but I do wanna talk a little bit about some of the adaptation choices that were made here. This show is an adaptation of the novel Da Ge by Priest, who is a very well known danmei author. Other live action adaptations of her books include Word of Honor, Guardian, Justice in the Dark... several others, a lot of them have now been shelved or didn't get to finish airing because of the ban in China. So, it was extremely exciting for fans of her works to see a Taiwanese production take up an adaptation of one of her books, because we know that we're not gonna get good adaptations of danmei anymore out of China, because they are banning queer content and censoring it all to hell—even more than other countries. 

They made a lot of really smart adaptation choices in the way that they structured the show. The book is a lot more complex, in the way that most Priest novels are. There's a lot more characters, the plots are far more intricate, there's a lot more going on. There's an additional member of the family in the book. There's another best friend in the building. There are, like, three different gangs [laughs] instead of one. There's this whole corporate real estate plot that's tied to Wei Qian's work. It's a lot more complex. 

The show did, I think, a fantastic job of making choices to streamline the story, to make it simple enough to fit into a 12 episode arc while still retaining the core themes and the core relationships. And it also did some really great work around the cultural pieces. Mainland China has a lot more deep homophobia, fatphobia, some real weirdness around the way, in media, that sex and gay sex in particular get discussed, and this show really smoothed all of that out. 

Where they really blew it on the adaptation is at this end arc. You see all these aspects of Wei Qian's emotional journey that we are lamenting the show missed. I don't really understand why the show decided to ignore that material in favor of doing what it did instead. A lot of the stuff in the final arc was not in the book at all. If you are someone who loved this story and is disappointed in the ending, I just can't recommend highly enough that you read that book. 

Ben 

That's the theme of this episode. [laughs] If you enjoyed these shows, go do something else. 

Shan 

[laughs] Do something else! No, but do watch Unknown. I do love this show. I don't wanna say that you shouldn’t watch it, but you should go read the book too, ‘cause it'll fill in some pieces that we're missing here.

00:46:15 Unknown: Final Thoughts and Ratings

Ben 

I totally get NiNi maybe not being super connected to what was goin’ on, and if they had not fucked up episode 11, it just would have been an interesting conversation about, where does this gap form? But now we're bogged down in the fact that it's easy to point to the lack of payoff. I watched episode 12 this morning before we're recording this session. And I was like, “Okay, I guess this is fine.” [Shan laugh] This is meant to feel like, almost, epilogue. And I enjoyed the big family hand hold. But I really feel like they really failed at the final steps of the “Yuan and Wei Qian are now a couple” turn, which is really annoying because there were so many things that it did great. 

In the very final episode, there's this really great sequence when we learn that Li Li is pregnant and they have the reaction in the hallway and everybody's coming out of different doors that you don't expect. 

Shan 

That is the funniest scene. 

Ben 

Every time Wei Qian wanted to kill San Pang? [Shan laughs] Some of the best scenes in this show. Like, fucking Yuan sitting on the couch eatin’ his tomatoes, he was enjoying the chaos. We got this other woman who might be with Wei Qian, “I can take care of my brother.”

[Ben and Shan laugh] 

Shan 

He's like, “Don't you worry about it.” I did love those moments of Yuan being like, “Oh, I'm not the family problem now, ha!” [laughs] He's just like sitting back and enjoying it. 

Even at the end, I was frustrated with the last two episodes, but I still had a lot of affection for these characters and this family. This isn't an ending that completely ruined the show, for me. 

Ben 

Shan has a bat she holds called coulda been a 10 that she bashes sh— 

Shan

Yes! [laughs] 

Ben

—bashes shows with.

Shan 

Goddammit! One of the pieces of my frustration here is that this was on track to possibly be the best Taiwanese BL ever made. 

NiNi

Okay, so ratings. Shan, let's have you go first. What do you rate Unknown?

Shan

I gave it a 9. I had to take out my coulda been a 10 bat. 

I think that the narrative and the character work was so strong through the first 10 episodes that I can't take it lower than that. It's sticking with me. It's been a while since I finished the show, and I still think about it every single day. I think about these characters all the time, and that's not gonna go away just because the last couple episodes were a little bit disappointing for me.

NiNi

Ben, how about you?

Ben

Because I am in the business of recommending things—it's my whole shtick—this is an 8.5. It sits between “BL fans should watch this” and “People who like romance should watch this,” for me. I can't give it a 9 because I feel really strongly about the episode 11/12 caveats. But I don't wanna pretend that I didn't think that this cast did a really great job capturing the nuances of their dynamics. And even if they're let down a little bit by some of the direction and writing choices towards the end, I think that the family portion of this is so good, genuinely. So I do think this show is worth watching for people who enjoy the kinds of narratives the show wants to play with. We just need to understand that it stumbles at the end. 

NiNi?

NiNi

I'm having a hard time with this one because in my head this isn't a BL. If I had to put it into a category in my head, it would get slotted near to something like a Moonlight Chicken or 180 D. But it doesn't have the queer bona fides that either of those have. It feels like a family drama that had a romance in it that happened to be this kid falling in love with somebody who is taking care of him. But the idea of it being a central romance, I just didn't buy. So it was a difficult one for me to rate in terms of how I felt about it as a romance. 

In the end, I ended up at an 8 for the show. I think as a family drama, it's excellent. As a family drama, I would probably give it a 9.5 and as a romance, I would probably give it a 7, and so I wind up somewhere in the middle, which for me is an 8. I feel like it's a solid 8 show.

Ben

It's an 8.5 from The Conversation, recommended with specific reservations!

NiNi

You gotta get that .5 in. It's fine.

Shan

We gotta get it in. We gotta—

Ben

That's just how math works!

Shan

—gotta get it in.

NiNi

I know, I'm allowing you to have math. It was a good show.

Ben

It could have been an excellent show, but hmph!

Shan

So close to being one of my all time favorite dramas. It's fine, I'm just gonna go cry about it.

Ben

You were mad about it, because Shan wasn't even buggin’ me on a Saturday, like, “Go watch this show, Ben. Go watch it right now. Wake up, gay boy! Go watch the show so I can talk.”

[Ben and NiNi laugh]

Shan

Ben knew I didn't like the final episodes ‘cause I was not asking him if he watched them yet. [laugh] I was like, I don't wanna talk about it!

00:51:53 - Whither Taiwanese BL?

NiNi 

I want us to talk a little bit about where Taiwanese BL is and what's been happening with it lately and whether it is making the leap in the same ways that other countries appear to be making the leap lately. Whatever that leap is for them. 

I feel in some ways like Taiwanese BL has been a bit stagnant. 

Ben 

Taiwan is a super small country and… politically, they have been a little distracted for a few years! They're not in a position to do a ton more with BL right now. I don't think that we're gonna see a huge sudden surge from Taiwan. The best thing about Unknown is that Taiwan is not out of the game altogether, ‘cause I was real worried! The HIStory franchise is in ruins, and we hadn't really seen something of this production caliber in a while. 

Shan 

I'm with you, Ben. Honestly, when Unknown started airing, I was like, “Oh, thank God, Taiwan can still do it.” I have always been a fan of Taiwanese BLs, which might feel a little bit discordant because [laughs] I am someone who cares a lot about writing and storytelling and story is usually, honestly, the weakest part of Taiwanese BL. They usually don't have good writing. But, what I've always connected to in Taiwanese BLs is, I feel like they have a really good handle on relationship dynamics. They're really good at building characters that connect well with each other emotionally, physically—they've always done really good physical intimacy work in their shows, they usually cast really well for chemistry—and so usually in Taiwanese BLs, it's the characters and the character dynamics that hook me, more than the story. 

So I was really excited to see the high quality Taiwanese production that I knew had a good story underpinning it. I hope to see more. I personally had a great time with Kiseki: Dear To Me, but it is not exactly high art. [laughs] And this run of VBL shows was so bad that I was really losing faith. I had made a commitment that I was going to at least try watching every single Taiwanese BL that comes out. I'm still sticking with that, but I was starting to flag a little bit because some of these shows were so bad. 

So I was so thrilled to see that they still were doing productions of this caliber. And Unknown has been quite successful and got them a lot of positive attention, and so I'm hopeful that they'll be able to continue putting together productions like this, drawing actors of the caliber that they got for this show. I'm more hopeful because this show happened than I was certainly at the end of the year. 

Ben 

I will say the way that the Taiwanese actors talk about the work remains one of my favorite things. I be deep in these cast interviews, seein’ what they have to say about this work, and these Taiwanese boys have really nuanced and complex feelings about the work they're doing playing queer characters. I feel the respect and sometimes the duty they feel to get it right in the way they talk about their characters and the work they're doing. That's why I remain very friendly to… even [laughs] some of the jankiest Taiwanese BLs. These boys take playing queerness seriously. It's really warming for me to know that these guys understand that they're portraying queer people and that queer people will be affected by their portrayals. 

NiNi 

I think I just don't have the connection to Taiwanese drama. I'm coming at this from kdrama, through jdrama, through Thai drama. Taiwan’s the last place that I landed, and I think that I just haven't made the leap yet in terms of style and rhythms and all those other things. Mostly because I don't get to see a lot of it, there is not much. And I think that that definitely impacts how I feel about Taiwanese drama and Taiwanese BL. There are some I love—you know, I'm a staunch lover of HIStory 2: Right or Wrong. You know how I feel about Make Our Days Count. You know how I feel about We Best Love. But none of those, except maybe Right or Wrong, as Shan pointed out, has really stellar writing. 

Ben 

Why would you mention Make Our Days Count? I'm so mad all of a sudden! [laughs]

Shan 

No! Don't go there, Ben. Earmuffs!

NiNi 

We're never gonna get out of a Taiwanese BL conversation without it coming up. It just [laughs] isn’t gonna happen. 

Ben 

[volume raising] Wanna talk about endings for Taiwanese—

Shan

No!

Ben

—BLs?! [laughs]

Shan 

No, we do not! Stop. Pause. NiNi, continue your point. 

NiNi 

What have I done? [laughs] 

Yeah, I agree with Shan that the writing isn't great, and that's maybe one of the reasons that I haven't latched on to Taiwanese BL in the way that I have to others, because I am also a writing person. I can get behind a story for other reasons, and I have. I've gotten behind stories that were not written well because there was some other element of them that really grabbed me, and that's what has happened to me in the Taiwanese BLs that I have liked. But just generally, I don't gravitate in this direction, and there hasn't really been anything yet that makes me wanna gravitate more in this direction?

I recognise the strength of character development. I recognise the fantastic acting in a lotta instances, some of these guys are amazing actors. I just, it hasn't moved me in the kind of ways that I've been moved from other things. And it kinda makes me sad in some ways. I'm still looking for that Taiwanese BL that's gonna grab me by the throat. I haven't found that one yet. I'll keep looking. 

Shan 

It's hard, too, ‘cause like Ben said, it's such a small industry. We don't get that many Taiwanese BLs and we certainly don't get that many of quality. But, I've always really loved the approach to BL that Taiwan brings. 

Ben 

I really feel like when they make BL, somebody in the room is asking how gay people might feel about some of the choices they're making. 

Shan 

I'm gonna keep showing up for Taiwanese BL. I'm gonna keep watching them. I really hope that we get to see more productions of this caliber. I hope that we get to see them working from strong source material, so that the storytelling can really live up to what the casts are bringing. I'm excited to see what comes out next. 

NiNi 

Ray Jiang can stay, though, I like his directorial style. He keeps doing stuff and he hits on something that really pops? I feel like that's the one that's gonna grab me. If I wasn't terrified of what Lin Pei Yu was capable of after Kiseki. If I could get Lin Pei Yu at her best plus Ray Jiang at his best, with basically any of the actors I've ever seen in Taiwanese BL, maybe we'll get something that will grab me by the throat. 

Anyway, that is going to wrap us up on… what's the name of this episode? 

Shan 

Have we decided yet? Hmm. 

Ben 

The State of Taiwan, Taiwanese BL episode, whatever. 

NiNi 

Okay. That is going to wrap us up on our Taiwan episode. We out!

Thank you for being here, Shan. Say bye to the people. 

Shan 

Thank you for having me. Bye, people! 

NiNi 

Say bye to the people, Ben. 

Ben 

Peace.

[popculturerobots]

Angewomon vs. LadyDevimon

Digimon Adventure 02 Ep. 43

[staydandy]

The Golden Eyes (2019) - 黄金瞳 - Whump List

List by StayDandy Synopsis : A simple pawn shop worker, Zhuang Rui, had his own eyes mutated after an accident during a robbery attempt of an ancient Jade carving. His mutated eyes subsequently brought many changes to his life in many unexpected ways he could ever imagined. (MDL)

Whumpees : Zhuang Rui played by Lay Zhang (center) • Peng Fei played by Meng A Sai (2 eps) (far right)

Country : 🇨🇳 China Genres : Adventure, Martial Arts, Fantasy, Tomb Raider

Notes : This is a Full Whump List • This is the a revision of my Partial List, which only had 4 episodes on it! It really deserved better than that. • My favorite episodes are pink : 00

Related List : The Golden Eyes (2019) - partial list

Episodes on List : 37 Total Episodes : 56

*Spoilers below*

01 : Glass gets into Zhuang Rui's eyes, knocked out … hospitalized, eyes bandaged … blurry vision, overwhelmed by new eyesight … unsteady, rubbing eyes

02 : Headache

04 : Attacked, hooded

05 : Handcuffed … falls through a trapdoor

06 : Protects someone from an explosion, knocked out … protects someone from a 2nd explosion, knocked out

09 : Rubbing his eyes

10 : (near end) Attacked, fight

11 : Shaking head in slight pain

13 : Fight, knocked out … dizzy, eye/head pain.. unsteady

14 : Car crash, knocked out … treated in hospital

17 : Drunk, unsteady, helped to walk

18 : Shaking head, pain.. unsteady, passes out, caught … nauseous … locked in a wine cellar

19 : … continued from previous ep. ... Locked in wine cellar, shivering

22 : While driving, shaking head, pain … revealed he's been shot in the leg, bleeding, limping … temporary amnesia, migraine, collapses.. leg infected, fever

23 : … continued from previous ep. ... Limping, exhausted, eye pain.. blurry vision, collapses, passes out … headache

24 : … continued from previous ep. ... Passes out, hospitalized

25 : Chased, rolls down a hill, migraine, unsteady, blurry vision, temporarily blind … blurry vision

26 : … continued from previous ep. ... Still partially blind … vision slowly returning, blurry … steps on a landmine

27 : Peng Fei is captured, tied up, whipped

28 : … continued from previous ep. ... Attempts escape, tied up again … Zhuang Rui is captured, tied up … Zhuang Rui & Peng Fei are knocked out with smoke bomb … Zhuang Rui nightmare.. headache, ear ringing

29 : Not feeling well, not eating, depressed

30 : Wrestling match, sore after … lightheaded

31 : Lightheaded … out of it, collapses against a pillar, barely conscious, helped to walk … blurry vision, migraine, helped to walk, saying he can't see or hear, writhing in pain, given a shot to sleep

32 : Unsteady, starts to collapses, supported … slightly unresponsive … headache … nightmare

33 : Hit with a shovel

35 : (near end) [flashbacks to eps 22, 25, 31] migraine, amnesia, blind, migraine, writhing … [present] drunk

36 : Admitting he's lost his sense of taste … eye strain, headache, exhausted … (@ 13:16 Huang Fu Yun looks so much better without the birdshit highlight in his hair) … drunk

37 : … continued from previous ep. ... Drunk … captured, hands tied

38 : Shock, dizzy, migraine, collapses, caught … briefly knocked out from explosion

42 : Eye strain … captured, hands tied.. hit with bats in a fight

43 : Drugged … tied up

44 : MIgraine

45 : Dizzy, collapses, migraine.. unsteady … starts to collapse, supported

50 : (at end) Tied up

53 : Attacked, knocked out … migraine … captured

55 : Headache, backhanded, falls & hits head on a pipe, barely conscious.. carried … unconscious … hospitalized

56 : … continued from previous ep. ... Hospitalized, drugged asleep … hospitalized for brain surgery.. seizure during surgery

More Whump Lists for this show: love-me-a-lotta-whump whumpetywhump

[heartdrift]

Every Caryl Scene (S1-11) (1080p/Logoless)

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

PART 4

PART 5

PART 6

PART 7

Whew. I'm not gonna lie to y'all, this took forever. My goal with this was to recreate my previous Caryl compilation with 1.) all scenes intact, not missing anything and 2.) much better quality. I ran into many issues that I won't bore you with, but in summary - almost everything here is completely lossless from the original files, aside from S10, which I unfortunately had to reencode to fix a few issues I could not solve no matter how much I fiddled with it. However, it is still much better quality than the previous file I had up! These also have 6CH audio, which means that if you make fan videos and use something like Vegas Pro, you will be able to isolate the spoken audio from the music/random background noises and have better, cleaner voiceovers!

All of the seasons add up to about 123 GB, so I'm sorry that these will take up quite a bit more space than before, but the improved quality hopefully makes up for that! These are not perfect, so please forgive any little framerate bugs or very slight (hopefully) issues with video/audio syncing. I'm aware that the audio for S10 is a bit behind, but hopefully not to an extent that ruins anything - that season gave me quite a hard time, and I'm not really sure how to get it just right. It bothers the hell out of me, so I'm sorry, but I did my best. Otherwise, any issues should be pretty minor, but let me know if you run into anything major.

As always -

Credit is not necessary.

You are free to - and encouraged to - use these for anything creative that your heart desires. Just don't claim that you put these together yourself and I'm happy.

If you want me to see something you made with the scenes, tag me! I love seeing new creations in the tag, so don't be shy.

This is my love letter to y'all. It's not much, but I hope it sparks joy!

(Pssttt, psstt. If you would like episode timestamps for each season, click the link below. It's pretty lengthy and they're not precise, I just did my best.)

Season 1

00:00 to 02:52 - Episode 5, Wildfire

02:52 to 04:17 - Episode 6, TS-19

Season 2

00:00 to 14:21 - Episode 1, What Lies Ahead

14:22 to 20:05 - Episode 2, Bloodletting

20:06 to 21:38 - Episode 3, Save the Last One

21:39 to 26:16 - Episode 4, Cherokee Rose

26:17 to 27:18 - Episode 5, Chupacabra

27:19 to 42:17 - Episode 7, Pretty Much Dead Already

42:18 to 45:16 - Episode 8, Nebraska

45:17 to 51:00 - Episode 9, Triggerfinger

51:01 to 55:03 - Episode 11, Judge, Jury, Executioner

55:04 to 57:49 - Episode 12, Better Angels

57:50 to 01:12:48 - Episode 13, Beside the Dying Fire

Season 3

00:00 to 11:34 - Episode 1, Seed

11:35 to 20:08 - Episode 4, Killer Within

20:09 to 26:13 - Episode 5, Say the Word

26:14 to 31:12 - Episode 6, Hounded

31:13 to 33:14 - Episode 7, When the Dead Come Knocking

33:15 to 39:58 - Episode 9, The Suicide King

39:59 to 43:41 - Episode 10, Home

43:42 to 44:45 - Episode 11, I Ain't a Judas

44:46 to 46:18 - Episode 15, This Sorrowful Life

46:19 to 46:37 - Episode 16 - Welcome to the Tombs

Season 4

00:00 to 02:11 - Episode 1, 30 Days Without an Accident

02:12 to 06:11 - Episode 2, Infected

06:12 to 10:03 - Episode 3, Isolation

10:04 to 13:49 - Episode 4, Indifference

13:50 to 14:53 - Episode 5, Internment

14:54 to 16:18 - Episode 8, Too Far Gone

Season 5

00:00 to 20:07 - Episode 1, No Sanctuary

20:08 to 33:23 - Episode 2, Strangers

(^tw for emetophobia at 22:27 to 22:42, I know it might seem silly since this show is full of blood and gore, but I don't want to catch y'all off guard with something unexpected that might really bother you to see.)

33:24 to 34:19 - Episode 3, Four Walls and a Roof

34:20 to 34:52 - Episode 4, Slabtown

34:53 to 01:16:24 - Episode 6, Consumed

(^yes, I included this entire ep, y'all ain't missing a second of it.)

01:16:25 to 01:23:28 - Episode 8, Coda

01:23:29 to 01:27:29 - Episode 10, Them

01:27:30 to 01:28:14 - Episode 11, The Distance

01:28:15 to 01:30:58 - Episode 12, Remember

01:30:59 to 01:33:56 - Episode 13, Forget

Season 6

00:00 to 01:31 - Episode 1, First Time Again

01:32 to 09:26 - Episode 3, Thank You

09:27 to 12:59 - Episode 6, Always Accountable

13:00 to 14:59 - Episode 9, No Way Out

15:00 to 17:18 - Episode 11, Knots Untie

17:19 to 19:40 - Episode 13, The Same Boat

19:41 to 25:28 - Episode 14, Twice as Far

25:29 to 28:38 - Episode 16, Last Day on Earth

Season 7

00:00 to 02:55 - Episode 1, The Day Will Come When You Won't Be

02:56 to 03:55 - Episode 9, Rock in the Road

03:56 to 20:43 - Episode 10, New Best Friends

20:44 to 28:13 - Episode 13, Bury Me Here

Season 8

00:00 to 08:46 - Episode 1, Mercy

08:47 to 13:22 - Episode 4, Some Guy

13:23 to 15:22 - Episode 5, The Big Scary U

15:23 to 17:45 - Episode 11, Dead or Alive Or

17:46 to 20:02 - Episode 13, Do Not Send Us Astray

20:03 to 27:51 - Episode 16, Wrath

Season 9

00:00 to 02:33 - Episode 1, A New Beginning

02:34 to 07:27 - Episode 2, The Bridge

07:28 to 08:28 - Episode 6, Who Are You Now?

08:29 to 23:25 - Episode 7, Stradivarius

23:26 to 28:00 - Episode 10, Omega

28:01 to 29:41 - Episode 13, Chokepoint

29:42 to 31:01 - Episode 14, Scars

31:02 to 58:58 - Episode 15, The Calm Before

58:59 to 01:22:21 - Episode 16, The Storm

Season 10 (Part 1)

00:00 to 09:24 - Episode 1, Lines We Cross

09:25 to 35:48 - Episode 3, Ghosts

35:49 to 38:34 - Episode 4, Silence the Whisperers

38:35 to 39:46 - Episode 5, What It Always Is

39:47 to 53:52 - Episode 6, Bonds

53:53 to 01:06:48 - Episode 7, Open Your Eyes

01:06:49 to 01:19:18 - Episode 8, The World Before

01:19:19 to 01:44:24 - Episode 9, Squeeze

Season 10 (Part 2)

00:00 to 08:41 - Episode 9, Squeeze (continued from the previous part)

08:42 to 16:35 - Episode 11, Morning Star

16:36 to 20:04 - Episode 12, Walk with Us

20:05 to 31:45 - Episode 14, Look at the Flowers

31:46 to 40:01 - Episode 15, The Tower

40:02 to 01:02:20 - Episode 16, A Certain Doom

01:02:21 to 01:07:40 - Episode 17, Home Sweet Home

01:07:41 to 01:33:05 - Episode 18, Find Me

01:33:06 to 02:05:42 - Episode 21, Diverged

02:05:43 to 02:08:40 - Episode 24, Here's Ne/gan

^I don't want this post to show up in that character's tag on mobile, it would just be annoying for those fans since this doesn't have anything to do with him.

Season 11

00:00 to 09:55 - Episode 1, Acheron: Part I

09:56 to 15:29 - Episode 9, No Other Way

15:30 to 18:51 - Episode 10, New Haunts

18:52 to 24:27 - Episode 14, The Rotten Core

24:28 to 27:26 - Episode 17, Lockdown

27:27 to 37:24 - Episode 18, A New Deal

37:25 to 57:18 - Episode 20, What's Been Lost

57:19 to 01:19:32 - Episode 21, Outpost 22

1:19:33 to 01:20:56 - Episode 22, Faith

01:20:57 to 01:32:27 - Episode 23, Family

01:32:28 to 02:00:35 - Episode 24, Rest in Peace

[dreamzvelvet]

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔 Dreamcatcher

Dreamcatcher (드림캐쳐) is a K-pop girl group made up of seven members: JiU, SuA, Siyeon, Handong, Yoohyeon, Dami and Gahyeon. They debuted officially on 13 January 2017, with the single "Chase Me". The group is formed by Happy Face Entertainment company and the official name of their fandom is "InSomnia".

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔 The group's history:

Inicially, the group debuted on 18 September 2014 under the name MINX with the single "Why Did You Come To My Home?" It was only formed by JiU, SuA, Siyeon, Yoohyeon and Dami. They had a completely different concept from now, which was a cute concept. It didn't work out, so they re-debuted with all seven members this time, forming the well-known Dreamcatcher, that has a very unique concept in the whole world of K-pop.

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔 The members:

Stage name: JiU (지유)

Birth name: Kim Min-ji (김민지)

Position: Leader, Lead dancer, Lead vocalist, Visual

Birthday: 05/17/1994

Age: 30 years old

Zodiac sign: Taurus

Height: 167 cm (5'6 ″)

Weight: 49 kg (108 lbs)

Blood type: B

Animal that she represents: Bunny

Solo song: Cherry (Real Miracle)

Favorite color: Pink

JiU was born in Daejeon, South Korea. She has a younger brother and is the oldest member of the group (unnie).

Stage name: SuA (수아)

Birth name: Kim Bo Ra (김보라)

Position: Main dancer, Leader rapper, Vocalist

Birthday: 08/10/1994

Age: 29 years old

Zodiac sign: Lion

Height: 162 cm (5 ft 3¾ in)

Weight: 43 kg (94 lbs)

Blood type: O

Animal that she represents: Elephant or Bird

Solo song: No Dot

Favorite color: Red

SuA was born in Changwon, South Korea. She has an older brother and is the fastest member to learn the choreographies. Her personality is brilliant, she's friendly and outgoing, always laughing and making everyone around her laugh.

Stage name: Siyeon (시연)

Birth name: Lee Si-yeon (이시연)

Position: Main vocalist

Birthday: 10/01/1995

Age: 28 years old

Zodiac sign: Libra

Height: 166 cm (5′5)

Weight: 49 kg (108 lbs)

Blood type: A

Animal that she represents: Wolf

Solo songs: Entrancing and Paradise

Favorite color: Blue

Siyeon was born in Daegu, South Korea. She has an older sister and hates shrimps.

Stage name: Handong (한동)

Birth name:  Han Dong (韓東)

Position: Vocalist

Birthday: 03/26/1996

Age: 28 years old

Zodiac sign: Aries

Height: 165 cm (5'5 ″)

Weight: ?

Blood type: O

Animal that she represents: Cat

Solo song: Winter

Favorite color: Black and White

Handong was born in Wuhan, China. She is the only member of the group who isn't Korean and has a shy personality.

Stage name: Yoohyeon (유현)

Birth name:  Kim Yoo-hyeon (김유현)

Position: Lead vocalist

Birthday: 01/07/1997

Age: 27 years old

Zodiac sign: Capricorn

Height:  168 cm (5'6 ″)

Weight: 49 kg (108 lbs)

Blood type: O

Animal that she represents: Dog

Solo song: For

Favorite color: Green

Yoohyeon was born in Incheon, South Korea. She has a younger brother and is learning Mandarin and German. The other members say that she forgets about everything all the time. She has myopia and astigmatism.

Stage name: Dami (다미)

Birth name:  Lee Yu-bin (이유빈)

Position: Main rapper, Lead dancer, Vocalist

Birthday: 07/03/1997

Age: 27 years old

Zodiac sign: Pisces

Height:   163 cm (5'4 ″)

Weight:  44 kg (97 lbs)

Blood type: A

Animal that she represents: Panda

Solo song: Beauty Full

Favorite color: Yellow, Black and White

Dami was born in Seoul, South Korea. She has a soldier brother, can fight kendo and has a strong voice.

Stage name: Gahyeon (가현)

Birth name:  Lee Ga-hyeon (이가현)

Position: Rapper and Vocalist

Birthday: 03/02/1997

Age: 25 years old

Zodiac sign: Aquarius

Height: 160 cm (5'3 ")

Weight: ?

Blood type: AB

Animal that she represents: Fox

Solo song: Playground

Favorite color: ?

Gahyeon was born in Seongnam, South Korea. She is the best at maths and is the younger member of the group (maknae).

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔 Discography:

❥ Chase Me - Single - 4 songs (2017);

❥ Fall Asleep In the Mirror - Single - 4 songs (2017);

❥ Prequel - EP - 6 songs (2017);

❥ Full Moon - Single - 2 songs (2018);

❥ Nightmare - Escape the ERA - EP - 6 songs (2018);

❥ Alone In the City - EP - 6 songs (2018);

❥ Over the Sky - Single - 2 songs (2019);

❥ The End of Nightmare - EP - 6 songs (2019);

❥ The Beginning of The End - Japanese Comeback - Album - 12 songs (2019);

❥ Raid of Dream - EP - 5 songs (2019);

❥ Dystopia: The Tree of Language - Album- 14 songs (2020);

❥ Endless Night - Single - 3 songs (2020);

❥ R.o.S.E BLUE - Single - 2 songs (2020);

❥ Dystopia: Lose Myself - EP - 6 songs (2020);

❥ Eclipse TV Size - Single - 1 song (2020);

❥ Dystopia: Road to Utopia - EP - 7 songs (2021);

❥ Eclipse - Japanese Comeback - EP - 6 songs (2021);

❥ Summer Holiday - EP - 6 songs (2021);

❥ Apocalypse: Save us - Album - 14 songs (2022);

❥ Apocalypse: Follow us - Album - 6 songs (2022);

❥ REASON - Single - 2 songs (2023);

❥ Apocalypse: From us - EP - 5 songs (2023);

❥ VillainS - EP - 5 songs (2023);

❥ VirtuouS - EP - 5 songs (2024);

[cruciatusforeplay]

Hello I have Good Omens Brainrot like the rest of us, and I had a spare afternoon, so here is

Crowley and Aziraphale's Canonical Chronological History

(watching-guide with media timestamps so you can watch it all develop in order)

It's long so it's going under the cut. Let me know if there are errors beyond being out by a second or so. Also speedrunning two series of this show in an afternoon made me So Unwell (emotionally). I would absolutely recommend it.

I've broadly only included only clips that featured either one or both them as a focal point, or where the events would have informed their relationship, plus the option of the S2 finale in its entirety.

**Before the beginning, nebula** S2E1 0:00- 6:20 (up to opening credits)

**Just after the beginning, Garden of Eden, 4004BC** S1E1 1:55 (or 3:25 to skip Adam and Eve)-6:04 (opening credits)

**Noah's Ark, mesopotamia 3004BC** S1E3 0:00-2:47

**Job, 2500BC** S2E2 0:00-5:35, 22:30-40:01, 44:10-46:49 (end of episode)

**Crucifixion of Jesus, Golgotha, 33AD** S1E3 2:47-4:28 (continues directly to)

**Rome 41AD** S1E3 4:28-5:31 (continues directly to)

**Knights, kingdom of Wessex, 537AD** S1E3 5:31-7:56 (continues directly to)

**Bastille, Paris, 1793** S1E3 11:53-15:31

**The Globe Theatre London, 1601** S1E3 7:56-11:53 (continues directly to)

**Edinburgh, 1827** S2E3 8:34(post credits)-12:56, 17:38-22:10, 24:28-33:59

**St James' Park London, 1862** S1E3 15:31-17:29 (continues directly to)

**The Blitz, London, 1941** S1E3 17:29-24:07, recap can be skipped that can be skipped: S2E4 5:10(post credits)-6:14, 8:24-37:59

**Soho, London, 1967** S1E3 24:07-28:38 (opening credits)

**The M25 meeting, Hell, 1970s** S1E5 21:21-22:27

**The Antichrist, near Tadfield airbase, "11 years ago" ~2008** S1E1 7:32(post credits)-14:24, (optional baby drop off with Crowley) 19:24-20:14, 25:59-29:59, 30:14-32:24, 33:35-35:04 (continues directly to)

**Antichrist upbringing, "5 years later" ~2013** S1E1 35:04-39:30

**6 days before the end of the world, Monday, 2019** S1E1 40:45-43:19 (continues directly to)

**3 days before the end of the world, Wednesday, 2019** S1E1 43:19-44:08, 44:38-45:52, 48:01-49:11(to end credits)

**2 days before the end of the world, Thursday, 2019** S1E2 0:00-3:56, 21:16-23:33, 26:24-27:54, 31:04-32:10, 34:14-44:40, 45:36-46:21, 48:05-54:01 (to end credits)

**1 day before the end of the world, Friday, 2019** S1E3 30:07-31:14, 35:27-36:49, 38:48-41:30, 43:39-45:51, 49:41-49:53, 50:39-53:11

**The last day of the world, Saturday, 2019** S1E4 4:01-5:42, 8:15-9:28, 29:06-29:48, 33:29-42:00, 48:47-54:06 (to end credits)

**5 Hours and 48 Minutes to the End of the World, 2019** S1E5 0:00-1:32, 3:17(after credits)-4:17, 6:11-8:49, 11:01-13:25, 17:47(or 20:18 to skip the spirit of Ron)-21:00

**1 Hour and 43 Minutes to the End of the World, 2019** S1E5 21:00-21:21, 22:28-25:07, 26:49-31:43, 36:59-37:31

**17 minutes to the end of the world (and the rest ofbthat day), 2019** S1E5 46:24-49:25 (end credits), S1E6 1:53(2:35 to skip repeat section)-4:39, 8:19-9:49, 10:44-12:49, 14:02-27:10

**The very last day of the rest of their lives, 2019** S1E6 27:10- 28:07, 31:02-32:58, 0:00-1:46, 32:58-36:26, 42:33-45:45, 48:40-52:17

**London, present day (S2E1), ~2023** S2E1 7:48-13:15, 13:47-29:59, 33:00-36:13, 37:39-38:00, 38:19-42:41

**London, present day (S2E2), ~2023** S2E2 5:35-8:53 (to opening credits), 10:21-22:30, 40:04-43:28

**London/Edinburgh present day (S2E3), ~2023** S2E3 1:14-6:35, 6:47-7:07 (to opening credits), 12:57-14:36, 16:09-17:38, 22:11-24:27, 33:59-42:05(to end credits)

**London, present day (S2E4), ~2023** S2E4 0:00-3:42 (opening credits), 41:08-41:46, 42:02-43:09(end credits)

**London, present day (S2E5), ~2023** S2E5 0:48-2:57, 3:43-5:24, 7:07-8:04, 8:31-10:12, 12:29-13:32, 13:57-17:57, 19:33-29:52, 30:24-40:38

**London, present day (S2E6), ~2023** S2E6 0:00-4:52(to opening credits), 6:20-(optional 21:06-27:31 for Gabe and Muriel memories, otherwise continue to)end of ep

[hermioneismyrealname]

Love Sea the series BINGO! EP 1 results.

This was made when the announcement was made. I don't count the things seen in the trailer because well... "looks at middleman's love with betrayal"

Below are my markings of where in the ep I got a point. Feel free to comment your comments or reblog with your own bingo. Or don't. I don't care. I'm by the dumpster with a marshmallow, apparently. I have my tea. Cheers

3r3d. There were complaints about the age gap between mut and rak when initial plot point were released.

After ep 1.

3:17 fort in a scuba suit

5:00 Rak wears sunglasses. I'm counting it

5:45 Warrington doesn't count as a foreigner until I see his face

6:28 just realized they both have natural hair colours. Whoop. I'm on a roll

10:02 still not calling it even though rak called him farang. Also that motorcycle brings back memories of my childhood.

17:17 FOUND A FOREIGNER!! AHAHAHAHHA

35:27 not counting it cause there heartbreak on his face to me. Didn't count the peach scene cause it was with intention to get him

39:54 lucky I have this to back up the glasses

43:28 AWWWW HELL NO! AS A WRITER MYSELF FUCK YOU MUT! NO! DONT TRUST THE AUTO SAVE! I WOULD OH MY GOD NOOOOOOO!

44:35 did Fort also learn how to drive a boat too for this role?

47:58 YUP RAK THE ONE WITH TRAUMA, typical mame. HAHHAAHAH. Yesh. Can't wait for the story behind that

48:40 MICS RUSTLING AGAIN!

49:06 did they up the orange hue saturation? Yeah they did.

50:29 RAK THRISTING! jeez I though they could ep 3 at least. YEESH! Oh and the gulp sound mame? Really? We get it.

End of ep 1

... seriously? Diving in ep 2? Ha? Already?

[simply-whump]

My Sweet Mobster (놀아주는 여자) - Whump List

Whumpee : Seo Ji Hwan played by Uhm Tae Goo

Synopsis : Seo Ji Hwan, once a legend of the underworld, is CEO of a food company that offers a fresh start to ex-convicts. His gangland past, though, has a tendency to follow him even after retirement. Go Eun Ha, known as "Sister Mini" to her web channel's mini audience, is a popular but struggling children's entertainer. After a series of embarrassing, comical, and painful misunderstandings Ji Hwan and Eun Ha begin to get to know and understand each other. (MDL)

Genres : Comedy, Romance

Warning! Possible spoilers below!

Seo Ji Hwan

Ep 1 : (05:10) Has a cramp in his leg (Comedic) — (11:35) Handcuffed (Comedic) — (20:40) Hit in the head (Comedic) — (01:01:05) Hit in the ribs, in pain, trips, falls down the stairs, unconscious, concern for him (semi-comedic)

Ep 2 : (01:30) Brought into an ambulance unconscious on a stretcher, wakes up in a hospital bed, told he has broken ribs and a light concussion, trying to move, wincing in pain, concern for him (semi-comedic) — (Is in the hospital for most of the episode)

Ep 3 : (02:15) Splashed with milk — (53:00) Drunk after accidentally drinking alcohol (comedic)

Ep 4: (01:00) Still drunk

Ep 5 : None

Ep 6 : (57:00) Locked in a freezer — (01:35:00) Getting cold, gives his coat to female lead

Ep 7 : (01:20) Still in the freezer, shivering, worried for someone — (23:10) Sleeping while being seated (exhausting day), concern for him when he wakes up, told to go get an IV, in bed

Ep 8 : (Flashback) (13:50) Surrounded, fighting, hit in the head, keeps fighting, bleeding, stumbling, ears ringing, stabbed, keeps walking unsteadily, collapses — (Present) (29:45) Hit by a car, bleeding from the head — (32:10) Restrained, beaten — (33:10) Laying on the ground, held up, punched — (34:30) Beaten, defiant — (36:55) arrested by the police, handcuffed — (40:25) In an interrogation room, bandage on his head — (43:45) Released, walking with a slight limp, concern for him — (47:45) Concern for him — (50:25) Still walking with a limp, given medicine

Ep 9 : None

Ep 10 : (33:40) Worried for someone, rolls down a small cliff (semi comedic)

Ep 11-13 : None

Ep 14 : (19:00) Drunk — (51:15) Breaks a glass with his hand, bleeding — (58:55) Stressed, hand still injured — (01:02:30) Head injury for the second male lead

Ep 15 : (02:20) Angry, beating someone up, stopped and taken by the police, hand bloody — (03:50) In handcuffs — (09:55) Pinned against a wall — (11:20) Concern for him — (58:48) Hit in the head while protecting his friend, beaten to the ground by a metal bat, gets up, defiant, beaten to the ground again, getting up with difficulty, stabbed, stumbling, collapses, bleeding and in pain (Gif Set)

Ep 16 : (02:00) (Repeat of the previous scene) Beaten, stabbed — (03:20) Bleeding out on the ground, in pain — (04:20) Concern for him, unconscious — (04:55) In the hospital on a stretcher, lots of concern for him, brought for surgery, oxygen mask, on the surgical table intubated, loved ones waiting outside (Gif Set) — (06:30) In a hospital bed in a coma, concern for him — Multiple scenes of him in a coma and his loved ones worrying — (18:20) Wakes up, everyone happy — (27:05) Fakes being in pain, concern for him, bandage on his wound changed

>> More Whump Lists

[goodwhump-temp]

Gray Whump | Fairytail (Eps.01-150)

Ep.02 - Underwear taken, slapped Ep.06 - Knocked back x2, restrained Ep.10 - Headache, passes out Ep.11 - Knocked unconscious, carried, restrained, shipwreck, freaking out Ep.12 - Crying, hit with ice blast x4 Ep.13 - Weak, carried, crying, unconscious, gutpunched unconscious Ep.14 - Bandaged, pain Ep.15 - [Flashback; Survivor, trapped under rubble, unconscious, injured, crying x3, shirtless lore, guilt] Ep.16 - Punched x11, stabbed, gutpunched, kicked x2, bitten Ep.17 - Crying Ep.19 - Body switched, back pain, body crying (16:10), ice drool Ep.21-22 - Bandaged cont. Ep.25 - Drowning, bandages/pain, hit with boiling water Ep.28 - Unconscious, weak Ep.29 - Whack-a-mole'd Ep.31 - VERY aggressive pillow fight, bandaged Ep.33 - 'Knocked unconscious' Ep.37 - Hit by fireblast, half eaten, Ep.38 - Weak, carried Ep.43 - Hit with beam x4, knocked unconscious Ep.46 - Weak, pain Ep.47 - Struck by lightning Ep.50 - Enchanted x2, irrationally angry, unconscious Ep.51 - Hit by Natsu (off-screen-ish) Ep.53 - Knocked down x2 (mostly offcreen. this is BS.) Ep.56 - Knocked down, hit by motorcycle, trapped in ice Ep.57 - Squeezed unconscious Ep.58 - Found unconscious Ep.61 - Knocked down Ep.63 - Boobytrapped/trapped Ep.64 - Whacked x5, ice shield broken, knocked unconscious Ep.65 - Unconscious/"dead" (11:05) Ep.66 - Weak (his muscles look very defined here js) Ep.68 - Bandaged Ep.70 - Punched, gutpunched 'unconscious' Ep.71 - Knocked unconscious (07:05), carried x2, unconscious body attacked (11:05) Ep.75 - Knocked down Ep.79 - Emotionally supportive marshmellow Ep.86 - Feelings hurt (practically invisible) Ep.87 - Trapped in quicksand Ep.88 - Hit x9 Ep.89 - 'Unconscious, captured/restrained' Ep.92 - Knocked back x3 Ep.93 - Marshmellow version crying Ep.96 - Emotionally supportive marshmellow Ep.104 - Surrounded Ep.108 - In danger (Juvias imagination (07:35)), upset about partner quitting Ep.110 - Pain intertwined with Juvia, great pain Ep.111 - Cold feet (literally), pain Ep.114 - Strength drained Ep.116 - Kicked, hit with bubbles x2, knocked back, thrown, blood frozen, hit with thorns x2 Ep.117 - Pain, weak, collapse, carried, shot (17:49) Ep.120 - Bandaged, squeezed (20:40) Ep.129 - Hit with pan, punched Ep.133 - Feels run-down (15:30) Ep.134 - Kinda embarrassed/flurty? 👉👈 x2 (14:00, 20:00), trapped in hot goop Ep.140 - Knocked down (07:50), freaked out (15:00) Ep.144 - Passes out (05:40)

[sarucane]

OFMD Meta Series Master Thread

My brain works in meta series for some reason, and a couple of my individual metas have been really popular! So in case you're looking for more of my stuff, or to read a meta related to one you already liked, here're my series. I'll update them as I go.

Metas about Stories and Storytelling in OFMD

Do we just keep telling the same story forever? Meta on OFMD S1E7 "This is Happening"

(Note: writing this while on a holiday, there'll be more metas in this series once I get home and go through drafts ;) )

The Fuckery's the Thing: Finding truth through lies in "The Art of Fuckery"

True Stories, False Stories: "The Best Revenge is Dressing Well"

Stories within Stories (within more stories!): OFMD Meta Analysis of Ep 1 E4

Stede Bonnet's Stories (S2)

Ed Teach's Stories

Stede Bonnet's Stories (S1)

Storytelling in Our Flag Means Death

Character Analysis Question Metas

Why was finding Stede's letter so important for Ed?

Why did Ed think becoming a fisherman made any sense at all?

Why did Ed throw away his leathers?

Why did Ed want to "take it slow"?

Why didn't Izzy shoot Ed (then)?

Why did Ed headbutt Stede?

Why didn't Ed always protect Stede?

How did Stede leave pirating so easily?

Did Ed really want to die?

How did Stede know that Ed wanted to "watch the world burn"?

Why did Ed shoot Izzy then?

Spiral Parallels: The second season of OFMD references the first a lot, generally in ways that add a lot to the emotional depth of an original scene. Here's a heap of metas about that because I think it's cool.

53: Ed's Suicidal Spiral (S1E10, S2E1-3)

52: Weddings (S1E4/10, S1E1/2/8)

51: Pinocchio (S1E1, S2E1/8)

50: Beards and Unconditional Love

49: Whims, Self-Knowledge, and Commitment

48: Lessons of Episodes 5 (S1E4/5 & S2E5)

47: What would Jeff do? (S1E5 & S2E3/6/8)

46: Izzy Being Wrong Part 4--Izzy's redemption (in which he learns to be right) (S1E10-S2)

45: Izzy Being Wrong 3 (S1E6-9)

44: Izzy Being Wrong 2 (S1E5)

43: Stede's Fantasies Creating Reality (S1E1/3/8, S2E1/3/4/8)

42: Sandy Beards and Self-Hatred (S1E8 & S2E3)

41: Izzy and the Queer Community of the Revenge (S1E5 & S2E6)

40: Izzy Being Wrong Part 1 (S1E2-4 & S02E8)

39: Wearing Fine Things Well (S01E05 & S02E05)

38: Mad Devil Blackbeard (S01E04/10, S02E01/02)

37: Ed and Izzy in Those Scenes 2 (S01E10 & S02E08)

36: Ed and Izzy in Those Scenes 1 (S01E10 & S02E08)

35: Lighthouses (S01E04/10 &S02E06/08)

34: Manipulative Pirate Buddies 5 (S01E08 & S02E04)

33: Manipulative Pirate Buddies 4 (S01E08 & S02E04)

32: Manipulative Pirate Buddies 3 (S01E08 & S02E04)

31: Manipulative Pirate Buddies 2 (S01E08 & S02E04)

30: Manipulative Pirate Buddies 1 (S01E08 & S02E04)

29: Silk Robes and Ed's Self-Identity (S01E10 & S02E07

28: Izzy and Stede Talk Blackbeard (S01E06 & S02E03)

27: Ed's Despair (S01E10 & S02E02)

26: A Fall into Dark Water (S01E10 & S02E03)

25: Mary and Stede, Stede and Ed (S01E10 & S02E08)

24: The Character Development of a Belly Flop (S01E01 & S02E03)

23: Stede's Duels (S01E06 & S02E07)

22: Ed Leaves Stede (S01E08 & S2E07)

21: Executions of Stede Bonnet and Ned Lowe (S01E09 & S02E06)

20: Lucius and Pete (S01E6 & S02E05)

19: Ed and Izzy Sing (S01E10 & S02E06)

18: Izzy's Interventions (S01E06 & S02E01)

17: Stages of Intimacy (S01E06 & S02E06)

16: Poison and Positivity (S01E06 & S02E06)

15: The Kraken (S01E06 & S02E08)

14: Party Time 4 (S01E05 & S02E07)

13: Party Time Part 3 (S01E05 & S02E07)

12: Party Time 2 (S01E05 & S02E07)

11: Party Time Part 1 (S01E05 & S02E07)

10: Attention Crew of the Revenge, may I present… (S01E04 & S02E05)

9: Breakroom Chats (S01E04 & S02E06)

8: Ed, Izzy, and the Death of Blackbeard (S01E04 & S02E02)

7: Blackbeard and his First Mate (S01E03 & S02E01)

6: Cowards (S01E04 & S02E07)

5: The Unicorn (S01E04, S01E08, S02E04, S02E08)

4: Stede's Letters (S01E04 & S02E08)

3: Rise and Shine, Pirate (S01E04 & S02E04)

2: Stede's Grand Entrance (S01E03 & S02E08)

On the Spiral Narrative of OFMD 1: Pirates and Mermen (S01E03 & S02E03)

[jiminieloved]

Ultimate Jikook Timeline Pt 120

Butter Era, Pt 2

June 1, 2021:

a) Festa Profiles

Jimin gives JK the “really scary award” and JK gives Jimin the “cute award”

b) Sowoozoo Poster Making

7:18 JK tries to tie the balloon on Jimin’s earring

c) Sowoozoo VCR Making

2:12 Jimin calls JK to help him tease Jin

4:45 Jimin explains the scenario of his shooting, where he was trying to sleep but he remembered JK pulling one over on him

6:16 JK throws an orange for Jimin to catch

d) Sowoozoo Merch Making

7:46 small interactions, they are sitting close, JK stares at Jimin and copies him

2. June 11, 2021:

Sowoozoo Rehearsal

1:26 walking close to each other behind the others

3. June 12, 2021:

a) Sowoozoo Practice and Rehearsal

1:34 Jimin sits by JK’s side and puts his hand on his leg

12:47 dancing on stage together

13:05 Jimin gives his mic to JK and pretends boxing while JK smiles at him

18:37 Jimin pats JK’s chest

22:41 JK teases Jimin on stage

b) 2021 Festa

1:05 they were supposed to describe the members with a word, JK described Jimin with “charm” and at 1:24 Jimin describes JK with the word “dongsaeng”

4:46 they are supposed to say something about the word “promise” so JK says “Jimin”

31:17 JK talks about army and Jimin teases him saying “are you crying Jungkook?”

41:20 JK says something cute and Jimin looks fondly at him

42:12 Jimin says that all of his dreams came true and JK asks him “literally everything? Until now?”, Jimin confirms it and JK says he is going to follow his path

45:47 Jimin reads his wish for the future and JK says “good to hear”

50:34 JK shows a candle as one of his favorites old items and Jimin says “Jungkook is pretty sensitive to smell”, then he shows a microphone as another favorite old item and says it is because they can’t go to karaoke there says, so Jimin says “he was like that even before covid”

4. June 13, 2021:

Sowoozoo Day 1

12:13 Jimin puts an arm around JK while singing “Dynamite”

15:30 no subs on this link but Jimin says he has a similar look from N.O era and JK says he looks good

38:15 Jikook talk to each other on the background

46:45 Jikook pictures on the wall

1:04:52 Jimin shares a memory he likes and JK says his hair looks similar from then

1:06:48 they watch a video from the early years, JK says Jimin looks the same but looks skinnier

82:15 JK gets close to Jimin while he is singing to appear on the screen with him, then Jimin finds his accessory and gives it back to him

A few more moments that weren’t on the DVD

5. June 14, 2021:

a) Sowoozoo Day 2

13:42 dancing together while singing “Dynamite”

20:10 JK talks about they time they performed in Busan and mentioned that he and Jimin are from there

1:00:24 cute interaction while singing “telepathy”

1:25:24 Jimin and Tae hug, JK throws water between them and looks at Jimin

1:51:26 Jimin gets in between Tae and JK and holds JK’s waist

2:01:12 small interaction that I didn’t understand because there’s no subs

b) Sowoozoo D-day Making Film

3:37 looking at each other while singing and then playing

9:35 JK notices Jimin stretching on the couch

11:40 posing for the picture side by side

13:32 dancing together on stage

23:43 they glance at each other and smile

6. June 15, 2021:

Run Ep. 142

11:17 Hobi says “Jimin-ah, set it up” and JK copies him saying “Jiminie, set it up”

29:31 Jimin asks the staff for a bowl but gives up on it because he doesn’t want to be a nuisance, so JK asks one too and the caption says “the Sun and Moon duo is having rice”

Behind

7:24 JK goes by Jimin’s side to watch him doing his kimchi

9:02 Jimin pats JK’s shoulder to tell him something

7. June 16, 2021:

Jikook moment from BTS The Best DVD

8. June 21, 2021:

Bangtan Bomb

0:25 Jimin sings “talk is cheap”, Hobi asks him if that’s how he pronounces it and Jimin says “it sounds like rabbit spit, rabbit spit is pretty spicy, you know”, Hobi laughs and looks at JK

2:45 JK plays with Jimin’s chick hat

9. June 22, 2021:

Run Ep. 143

0:31 Jimin sings cutely and JK smiles at him

4:21 JK says his answer to the quiz and Jimin pats his shoulder and says what he thinks the right answer is

6:09 JK gives another answer to the quiz and Jimin touches his shoulder while looking fondly at him

6:52 the staff tells them they are going to illustrate the tale and Namjoon says “it’ll be fine as long as we have Jimin and Jungkook”, because both are good illustrators

25:25 Jimin compliments JK’s work saying it looks like a real cartoon book

Behind

0:45 Jimin calls JK so he can look at him while he draws him, then JK says “I know he’s going to draw me funny”

1:28 JK scolds Jimin for not listening to the question until the end

10. June 24, 2021:

a) “Permission to Dance” Practice and MV Making Film

5:12 JK helps Jimin to get up on their set and then they film together

16:29 Jimin says “Jungkook, I love you” and hugs him

b) “Permission to Dance” MV Reaction

Sitting close

0:31 JK appears on the MV and Jimin says “JK!”

2:18 they watch the scene where JK does the spins, JK says that he did 3 or 4 spins and Jimin teases him saying “is this the power of editing?”

5:26 they talk about how dancing this song can make people laugh, JK agrees and says “specially if you look at each other while dancing it”, Jimin turns to look at him and they smile at each other

11. June 28, 2021:

BTS The Best Special Online Talk Event moment

Jimin says JK sleeps with his mouth open

12. June 29, 2021:

a) Run Ep. 144

1:52 Jimin asks JK to give him a hint on the game

9:44 they are supposed to do a drawing speed quiz and Jimin says “isn’t Jungkook good at this?”

24:00 Jimin goes next to JK trying to convince him to give the same answer as him, and JK does so

Behind

0:19 Jimin sings “Life Goes On” and it seems that JK is watching him

7:52 JK stands close behind Jimin with their hands touching while they watch Tae writing his answers

b) 2021 Show In Seoul with House Ambassadors BTS Louis Vuitton Making Film

7:18 looking at each other and checking each other’s heights, then JK checks Jimin out and says he looks like a model

c) Louis Vuitton Campaign

1:38 again the part where they were checking their heights and JK says that Jimin looks like an actual model

Information compiled by @lagalaxiedemochi

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[the-conversation-pod]

Let's Go, Lesbians! (A Japanese GL Episode)

And we're back! This week we're back with @ginnymoonbeam to talk about Toxic Yuri in Chaser Game W and Food Yuri in She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat. Join us as we talk about pouring champagne on your ex's head, slapping your mean boss and her big ass red outfit into next week, choosing yourself over your cruel family, becoming the best gay you can be, and marshmallow parties.

Also, because we did not talk about it in the recording, we want to repost Rina Sawayama's Chosen Family song because this scene was so powerful in SLTCSLTE.

Timestamps

The timestamps will now correspond with chapters on Spotify for easier navigation.

00:00:00 - Welcome 00:01:15 - Introduction 00:02:45 - Chaser Game W: A Flop 00:18:31 - She Loves To Cook, and She Loves To Eat 00:23:14 - SLTCSLTE: The Women 00:34:18 - SLTCSLTE: Yako and The New House 00:39:17 - SLTCSLTE: The Food and Nagumo 00:43:02 - SLTCSLTE: Depictions of Intimacy 00:50:53 - SLTCSLTE Ratings and Outro

The Conversation Transcripts!

Thanks to the continued efforts of @ginnymoonbeam as transcriber, and @lurkingshan as an editor and proofreader, we are able to bring you transcripts of the episodes.

We will endeavor to make the transcripts available when the episodes launch, and it is our goal to make them available for past episodes (Coming soon thanks to @wen-kexing-apologist). When transcripts are available, we will attach them to the episode post (like this one) and put the transcript behind a Read More cut to cut down on scrolling.

Please send our volunteers your thanks!

00:00:00 - Welcome

NiNi

Welcome to The Conversation About BL, aka The Brown Liquor Podcast.

Ben

And there it is. I’m Ben.

NiNi

I’m NiNi.

Ben

And we’re your drunk Caribbean uncle and auntie here sitting on the porch in the rocking chairs.

NiNi

Four times a year we pop in to talk about what’s going on in the BL world.

Ben

We shoot the shit about stories and all the drama going into them. I review from a queer media lens.

NiNi

And I review from a romance and drama lens.

Ben

So if you like cracked-out takes and really intense emotional analysis…

NiNi

If you like talking about artistry, industry, and the discourse…

Ben

And if you generally just love simping…

NiNi

There is a lot of simping on this podcast…

Ben

We are the show for you!

00:01:15 - Introduction

Ben

And we're back. This week, we're talking about lesbians, finally! And we brought a friend along.

NiNi

Say hi Ginny.

Ginny

Hello!

NiNi

Ginny is here with us and we are going to talk two Japanese GLs, Chaser Game W and She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat. 

Ben, what did you think, like, sort of overarching about these two before we delve into the nitty gritty?

Ben

I thought Chaser Game W gave us a lot to anticipate early on, and unfortunately went in the direction we did not want it to go. Ended up being kind of a mess toward the end? I did not end up walking away too happy with it. 

With She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat season 2, this time we had twenty 15-minute episodes and they had things to do and say with that time and I have a lot of things to say about that show. [laughs]

NiNi

Ginny, what are your overarching thoughts about these two shows?

Ginny

I had high hopes for Chaser Game W because I always want more toxic lesbians. [NiNi laughs] I want to see the girls get to be messy, I want to see complicated dynamics. And I did really enjoy the first couple episodes, but it kind of felt like the characterizations really fell apart as the series progressed, which was a big disappointment. 

She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat was a delight. Every time I sat down to watch it, my heart was full and happy and warm.

00:02:45 - Chaser Game W: A Flop

NiNi

We always go from worst to first on this show, so let's start with Chaser Game W. 

Ben, what is Chaser Game W about?

Ben

Chaser Game W is about a team of women at a game development studio in Japan who have been contracted to develop basically a demo for a GL adaptation, by a Chinese company named Vincent. It gets complicated by their project manager from the Chinese team, who clearly has beef with one of their team members and just spends most of the early show fucking with her because she's mad that they broke up in college. And then a bunch of other shit happens that is kind of weird.

NiNi

Okay, that's a hell of a description [laughs].

Ben

I'm sorry! Like, it starts off being a show that looks like it's playing into the complex dynamics about workplace power and possibly sexual harassment, and then kind of loses its way because it wants to be this mess of a story about lesbians with families and the difficult choices they have to make, and where do the husbands and children fit in this, and how does this play into career expectations? Bosses who might also be queer but evil queers?

And it's not necessarily a very coherent experience. There's a lot of ideas that sound good when you describe them to people, but in practice really weren't that satisfying to watch. This was not the Japanese GL experience I was hoping for.

NiNi

Ginny, what about you? What are your thoughts on Chaser Game W?

Ginny

It did seem like it was setting up to have some messages about not only the sexuality components, but also things about women in the workplace and being a mother and balancing those expectations… dealing with sexual harassment… all of that. But it didn't end up saying much that was meaningful to me about it, it just was like, ‘these are issues!’ If you try to draw any kind of conclusion from what the show is doing, you end up with some really messy messages. 

The way that the evil queer boss came in was so funny to me. One of the selling points of this show is this strong femdom, woman in power exacting humiliation dynamic. But halfway through the show, we're resolving the relationship between the two women, so Fuyu, our previous femdom power boss, is not going to be that anymore. So we have to bring in a new one — and it just did not work for me.

NiNi

It was the dom getting dommed. It was like an inception of domming. It was a little strange. There were definitely some Chinese-Japanese dynamics in there. I don't have the cultural competency to pick up on entirely what they were doing, but it was pretty clear from the way that the show was operating. I don't know if it's stereotype, but it was clear that there was something going on there; my cultural competency in this area is not enough to figure out exactly what was going on there.

Ben

It was kind of weird seeing a Japanese show complaining about unrealistic expectations of Chinese developers? This is not a uniquely Chinese problem.

NiNi

I feel like it being set in gaming almost didn't matter to that side of things? They wanted to have this difference the show sees in working cultures be stark and to say something about that difference. But the supposed center of this, aside from the game and the development of the game, is a relationship between Fuyu and Itsuki. It's an extremely convoluted central story that just seems to serve as an excuse for why Fuyu, when she comes back to Japan, hates Itsuki so much. 

The writing feels slightly unnecessarily complicated, but I actually rather enjoyed quite a lot of bits of this. I enjoyed, for example, the direction. I thought the camera was very assured, I thought it was very clear. I don't know if this is an original story or if it's coming from manga, but the direction is very very clear to me. I really enjoyed watching the camera move. The shots are really effective. But the story itself? It's not like I thought necessarily that… the story was badly told? I'm just not sure that it was the story that I wanted. Where we're going in the beginning with Fuyu, a mean lesbian comes back and is mean to her ex-girlfriend, I felt like, okay, that's where we're going. And then, suddenly, Fuyu is married and Fuyu has a daughter and there's all this stuff around the husband and Fuyu’s feelings, or not-feelings, about the husband. It got a little muddy. 

But even with all of that, I think I probably enjoyed it more than you guys did. And I think part of the reason is that I binged it? So I didn't sit with a lot of these feelings or a lot of the confusion for very long.

Ben

It was not a fun week to week watch. As it started to deviate and get lost in itself, it was not fun to be like, 'oh right, this is where we were, all right, let's go and see how this week goes. Ohh… no. Okay.' 

You asked about whether it's original or an adaptation. It is an adaptation. The original work is about power harassment, but I believe Itsuki’s character is a man? A lot about the show made sense once we realized that it was not an original queer story being adapted. A lot of it felt really tacked on to justify the drama and not really something that the writing really contextualized or dwelled on, at all.

Ginny

There were a lot of big character turns and big decisions made without a lot of grounding in why this character would make this choice. Once the mystery of their past is explained, you do understand why they reconcile suddenly, but then all of their choices afterwards just felt baffling to me. I'm not getting any kind of character journey. The show is like, well, this happens now, and then this happens now, and then they do this thing that you didn't expect. And I want to know why!

NiNi

I… feel like in some bits I was cottoning onto it, and then in some bits I was not. For example, when Itsuki starts to take care of Fuyu’s daughter, when she comes over and realizes that the husband's left and her daughter needs taking care of. I followed that bit of the character journey. I understood in some ways why, when the husband came back, Fuyu felt maybe guilty? 

There was also, like, a little thing which I was really surprised didn't go anywhere. Early in the show the husband was video chatting with, I think his mother. And she says something like, 'you know, you have to be good to Fuyu. You're so lacking, and she is with you anyway.' that made me think that their marriage was lavender? I genuinely thought that they had some kind of arrangement or agreement — and then to find out later down the line that the husband actually was in love with her and was jealous of the thing that she had with Itsuki? That came out of nowhere for me. And then everything that followed on from there kind of didn't track, almost. 

Did either of you get that feeling initially from the husband and were surprised or was that just me?

Ginny

My sense was that the husband had been perceived as not a good marriage prospect. Probably it was not earning a lot of money and had other loserish qualities or something. So my sense from the conversation was that that was what she was talking about. I certainly didn't ever get the sense that he was in love with her, exactly? Even when he's upset, it felt more to me kind of about pride. You can't have your wife sleeping around. That's an embarrassment. I don't think there were any deep feelings in that marriage.

NiNi

I don't even think either of them really had extremely deep feelings for their daughter. Like I think Fuyu loves her daughter, but in a distracted kind of way, almost? The only depth of feeling that I felt anywhere was between Fuyu and Itsuki, and even that was tied up in all this anger and bitterness and guilt and whatever else. That's a direction to go in for sure, but it really didn't make me understand why they wanted to be together, and then why they decided not to be together… and then in the end, why Fuyu comes back out of nowhere. 

It's all muddled and mixed for me, especially the closer that we get to the end. But like I said, I don't think that I had as bad a time with it as other people might have.

Ben

I had a very bad time. [Ben and NiNi laugh] 

This show was aggravating. We've been talking about this a lot on the show lately about how much work we think we should do for a show to like, meet them emotionally, where they're trying to take us. There are times when either the writing or the performance doesn't necessarily get you all the way there? And you kind of have to just feel it for the show. But this show just does not feel complete. There are a bunch of ideas that are fine on their own, like, ‘and then she comes in here and then she pours a fucking champagne on her head.’ That's an unhinged lesbian behavior that I have seen happen in person! So like, I totally believed that.

NiNi

Oh yeah.

Ben

But then Fuyu’s turn where she’s suddenly nice to other women in the company that they're in and stops being a huge dick to the other moms, that just doesn't really track? Like, what changed in that moment? I don't really know how we went there. They had her suddenly start being nice to them so they could be on the same team against Big Red.

NiNi

I'm so mad that you called her Big Red, but it kinda works. [Ben and NiNi laugh] I'm not gonna call her anything except Big Red now.

Ben

I did not remember what her character name was. Her name was Big Red.

Ginny

That's her name now, yep [laughs].

Ben

Like it was funny when Itsuki was like, 'Fuck off, Big Red' and knocked her ass down. [all laugh]

All these moments are like, well, that was amusing on its own, but it doesn't really come together as a coherent story unto itself. There’s this huge branching point later on where it's basically the supporting cast trying to seduce a guy to give them information to save the game, and that's happening separately from the drama with Itsuki, Fuyu, Fuyu’s husband, Big Red and all the drama going on there. 

NiNi 

I want to talk a little bit about the actual game development plot, because that stuff was wild. They're preparing whatever they have to do to develop this game, and along the way they're going through literal sexual harassment. There's a point in time that they're trying to get information from this artist. And this guy is a caricature of a sexual harasser, like at one point there are five of these female game developers in his house, and they're literally peeling this guy off of each other as he gropes them. And I'm just like, is this normal or is this exaggerated? I don't even know?

Ben 

Actually, it felt like most of that was actually normal. 

NiNi 

That is terrifying. 

Ben 

The drama with the team felt pretty straightforward for me. You had women in the team having varied responses to the sexual harassment. One of them was like, 'I will absolutely not compromise myself and use sex to get ahead' and another one was like, 'I will, I got this for us.' [Ben and NiNi laugh] I thought that was fine. I didn't mind there being a character who is willing to use men's desire to advance her goals and her team’s goals. I liked that it wasn't required only for her to do that, that there were other people who didn't want to do it that way accomplishing things for their team. The up and down of, ‘is this game going to get developed or not, the expectations of our client keep changing, it seems to be for reasons well beyond us and other drama’ — that felt fairly normal for trying to get any sort of major creative endeavor with the expensive team off the ground. Most of the game development stuff tracked normally for me. Even the whole plot line about poaching talent and then dumping talent: that is a real problem right now. That sort of stuff mostly tracked for me. I wasn't that fussed about the game development stuff and the workplace conditions that they were working under. 

It was the stuff about Fuyu and Itsuki's relationship and the motivations around them romantically, and other characters’ reactions to it, that is where I struggled the most with this. It wasn't a show that left you in a cool place at the end of an episode and picked up in a great place with the next episode. Spending two months watching this was not a great experience. 

NiNi 

I think my rating’s definitely going to be higher than you guys, so I'll go first. 

Ben 

Okay. 

NiNi 

I'm gonna say 7. To me, bits are cool and I can follow generally where this is going, and the bits that I thought were weird were not offensive. It wasn’t very good, but it wasn't terrible. 

Ben 

Ginny? 

Ginny 

I gave it a 5.5. 6 is my mad-I-watched-it threshold. Anything 6 or higher might be very bad, but I'm not mad I watched it. Below a 6 I'm kind of mad that I watched it. That's where this one landed for me. 

Fuyu was very beautiful, and I did enjoy watching her every week. But when that's the nicest thing I have to say about a show, it's not good. 

Ben 

It gave this a 4. It is not recommended. I don't think this is a good lesbian story. I don't think this is a good game development story. I don't think it's a good workplace story. It is a mess. This was developed by the same person who made His the movie, so I am very confused how we ended up with something that absolutely failed on the queer front like this. I do not get it. When this show was confused, it lands on the wrong side of the coin a lot. And it felt like at the very last five minutes they were doing a shit ton of clean up. I don't think this show is worthwhile. 

NiNi 

That's gonna land us somewhere in the 5ish range overall?

Ben 

Round it down, because it sucks! [all laugh] It gets a 5 from The Conversation. 

NiNi 

So that is officially a chop. 

00:18:31 - She Loves To Cook, and She Loves To Eat

NiNi 

All right. So we're gonna leave that behind and we're going to move on to She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat. 

Ben, give us the synopsis. What is She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat about?

Ben 

Okay, let me be much nicer now because this is one of my favorite shows now. So, [laughs] She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat is like the lesbian neighbor of What Did You Eat Yesterday? We have a young woman who's a programmer. She feels like she's like late 20s, early 30s. Her name is Nomoto. She runs like a food account on Instagram, and whenever she's in a bad mood and needs to work through some stuff, she ends up making too much food, and she has a small appetite, so it goes to waste. She has a neighbor who is a taller, bigger woman, and on a whim one night she invites her over to share food with her. And this is the beginning of their friendship that eventually becomes a more serious relationship.

Second season picks up with twice as many episodes, and boy did they need them. We spend this season with Nomoto and Kasuga befriending their new, younger woman neighbor. Nomoto becomes a full-time employee at her work and develops a more reliable friendship with Sayama. She also befriends her Twitter friend Yako, who is basically one of us. She loves her stories, she loves her little food, and she loves hearing about other people's drama and poking them to get their shit together. I love her so much. 

It was a really delightful season watching these two grow closer, figure out what their relationship was going to be, and develop that into more as they dealt with some of their real personal and professional issues. I really, truly loved the season. 

Ginny, you were fairly recent to watching this, so you watched the first and second season basically as one dedicated viewing experience. What was your experience engaging with this for the first time in the last month or so? 

Ginny 

It was very fun. I did this as my unwinding as I was moving in with my girlfriend who is the loves to eat in our relationship, where I'm the loves to cook. So it was a lovely experience. The two seasons flow so seamlessly into each other. Season 2 picks up right where season 1 left off so I'm kind of glad I did it this way. I think I might have been a little frustrated at the end of season 1, especially having to wait and not knowing if we'd get more, because they don't entirely confirm their relationship by the end of that? It's understood that they're very important to each other and they have this very meaningful place in each other's lives, celebrating holidays together, but they don't even start to have conversations about what their relationship is until we're a little ways into season 2. So I'm glad that I got to watch it all unfold as a single story. 

So many details of, just the way that that develops between them felt so realistic to journeys that I've seen between two women who are close friends and realize that they might have romantic feelings for each other. All of the angsting you do about that, and the 'what does this mean' and the 'what does it even mean to love someone romantically instead of as just this very special, most importantest friend in the world,' — just so many little details were perfectly done and extremely relatable. It was just gorgeous. 

Ben 

NiNi, since you watched the first season and angsted with the rest of us about whether or not it was going to come back, and whether or not that second season was gonna be good, what were your overall impressions of the second season after you walked away from it? 

NiNi 

I loved it, but I knew I was going to love it. I had some angst in the middle of the season that we're probably gonna get to, not bad angst. Just, ‘oh, I wonder if they're doing this thing that I think that they're doing.’ But I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

I love so much how the show expands in this season. The first season is very tightly focused, mostly on Nomoto and Kasuga, whereas this season expands outward to show you some of the other people in their life and show you them developing their relationships with these other people, some new, some not. I always love stories that show you the life that these people are living. So I thoroughly enjoyed this season, had a great time with it. 

00:23:14 - SLTCSLTE: The Women

Ben

There were a lot of presentations of various women's issues that played out this season. Do the two of you have particular storylines that you especially enjoyed, or connected to?

Ginny

I love Nagumo's story. I think the one I connected to most was probably Kasuga, but I thought bringing in Nagumo as someone who could receive some mentorship from these two women and also [laughs] kind of help coach Kasuga through her feelings revelation, and relationship transition… it was a beautiful relationship and a wonderful addition, and the way that her character brings a different perspective on the whole nature of food and communal eating was also just a gorgeous touch.

Ben

What about you, NiNi? Did you have a particular plot line that you enjoyed or connected to?

NiNi

We got some stuff on the fringes about Sayama trying to date and looking to potentially get married, realizing and talking to Nomoto that she can't get married if she wants to, and then that leading Sayama to think about whether she even wants to get married. That resonated in a particular kind of way. It was a quiet little side runner, it didn't take up a lot of space in the story, but it did hit me. We end the season without really an answer from Sayama on that, but the fact that she started thinking about it? That resonated with me, for sure.

Ben

What I love about Sayama as a straight character in this narrative is: queer people don't fit the heterosexual mold, and loving queer people forces you to reckon with why we don't. And then that can often open up things for you, as well. I really loved her apology scene with Nomoto. Recognizing that her working through her own ambivalence about marriage is dismissive of the fact that it's not even an option available for Nomoto.

Ginny

You also have Kasuga's coworker, who's older and is getting a divorce after her children have grown up. Getting a divorce is extremely liberating for her. It really does show this kind of 360 view of heterosexual marriage not necessarily being right for all heterosexual women.

Ben

I think it's notable that when they show multiple older women working at this grocery store, they're all like, 'mm-mm, divorce was the right call for me, because I don't think it's right that I'm expected to take care of my husband's family and everybody else does nothing, and that's gonna be my entire existence.' And I love how explicit she was, she told Kasuga straight up: if you were my own daughter, who I do have, I would tell her the same thing, and I would say please live your life. Do not sacrifice your life for a bunch of other people who do not appreciate what you want for your life. Because Kasuga decided to sever ties with her family, because they did not respect her and they wanted her to just take care of them, and sacrifice anything she wanted for her life. It was really lovely that the show went out of its way to be explicit about that.

NiNi

Since we're already sort of diving into it, let's lean into that storyline. Kasuga left home a long time ago and decided to live her life. Kasuga has a brother who is the favored child, but Kasuga’s brother does nothing. Now Kasuga's parents are older and ill, and her grandparents are older and ill and need taking care of. And so Kasuga's dad has started looking for her now. He's like, 'Well, you're not married, whatever you're doing isn't important, you gotta come home and take care of everybody.' It only comes to her doorstep because her aunt gives her father both her number and address, because 'oh, you’re a family, you shouldn’t not talk to each other.' Her aunt thinks she's doing the right thing, but this is definitely not the right thing for Kasuga. Kasuga's father has never appreciated her as a person, has never cared about her as a person, has only focused on his son. And now he wants Kasuga to take care of him essentially until he dies. Kasuga really struggles with this. She wonders, is this my responsibility? Is this something that I have to do? Is she a bad daughter if she doesn't do this? What does this mean for her? Fujita tells her, 'Look, if you were my daughter, I would tell you do not go. You don't have a responsibility to give up your life for somebody else.'

All the conversations that Kasuga has with her father, she has them in her car. She does not talk to him when she is in her house, her safe space? She does not speak to her father in there. When she has decided that she's not going home, not just not going home, but never going home again, she sits in the car and has the conversation where she tells him, 'I'm not ever coming home. Don't contact me again.' And then she goes from the car straight to Nomoto. And Nomoto gets so furious on her behalf that she starts to cry. She's like, 'I can't believe that this man made you feel this way about yourself. He's a horrible person.' Basically, everything that Kasuga needed to hear, she got from Nomoto in that moment. 

I am an eldest daughter. I have a fantastic relationship with my family. And any caregiving I do is of my own volition, and I am happy to do it. It is still tiring. It is still exhausting. Even when it is received with gratitude and happiness and love, it is hard to do. If you have to take care of people who don't care about you? You can feel like you're dying. I am certain about it. That expectation being placed on you is hard enough. To do it for people [who] do not love you — because I do not think Kasuga’s father loves her — is impossible. And so I had a lot of feelings about it while it was happening, but watching her say, 'No, I am not going to just let go of my entire life and everything that I want for this person.' 

And then to have Fujita tell her, 'if you were my daughter,' which releases her from that burden of thinking about her mother — because that's the other part of the guilt that she's feeling. Not necessarily guilt towards her father, but the fact that if she doesn't come home, her mother's gonna have to do all of this. And she thinks about her mother all the time. It's just, it's so much. It's so deep. It's so intense. It's so delicious. And it's not what you expect to get out of a story that's told in little 15-minute episodes! It really isn't.

Ginny

I'm also an eldest daughter and feel so much of that. I spent my childhood, really, like Kasuga, very aware that there were a lot of things I was expected to give up. The way that that sinks into your brain… you just feel like, 'I am worth what I can do for people.' 

What struck me the most in that conversation with Nomoto when Kasuga first tells her what she's done, is Nomoto begs her to keep living her life here where she's thriving, and to keep being happy. Through their whole relationship, Nomoto has taken such joy in Kasuga’s love of eating and just celebrated that this gives you pleasure and you're taking pleasure, and that's a wonderful thing. And in this moment, she kind of expands it to Kasuga's whole life. And she says, please don't ever go somewhere where you can't thrive, where you can't feel joy, where you can't feel loved, and yourself. To hear someone say that? I think I did cry in that scene. You need to hear someone say that. Someone who grew up like Kasuga needs someone who loves you begging you to take care of yourself and to do what brings you joy. The heart of their relationship and what draws them together is how deeply Nomoto celebrates Kasuga taking care of herself and being taken care of and experiencing pleasure. It's beautiful.

Ben

I really enjoyed the way that continued in the whole strawberry debacle.

NiNi

[laughs] The strawberry thing. It was so funny. [Ginny laughs] It was so cute, too. It was really cute. This is after they've started dating, but their relationship hasn't changed very much. And so she asked Nagumo, is there something that she should be doing? Which I found adorable.

Ginny

It's so real.

Ben

It's funny, too, because Nagumo admits she doesn't have much experience either [Ginny laughs], and is like, 'You could, like, go do things you both like doing? Together? That sounds right.' [all laugh]

NiNi

It’s so funny. And that's when she sees this flyer for the strawberry picking. And she's like, 'Oh, okay, I like strawberry picking. I should ask Nomoto to go strawberry picking with me. That's like the kind of thing that people do when they're in relationships, right?'

Ben

'That's, like, a food thing. She likes to make food. This might be fun!' Kasuga doesn't really say what she wants to do, she just hands it to Nomoto and is like, 'Hey, I thought this might be fun for us to do' and Nomoto’s like, 'Oh, yeah, that sounds great. We can maybe go vegetable picking and then make some stuff afterwards.' And Kasuga doesn't really speak up about what she maybe wanted. 

Late in the day Nomoto realizes Kasuga maybe wanted to go check out a restaurant in the area, and wanted to maybe do strawberry picking instead. And Nomoto ends up feeling so bad about this, feeling like she was not really receptive to what Kasuga actually wanted, and like she was steamrolling her. This plays out across almost two or three episodes, but the culmination is Nomoto saying very clearly to Kasuga, 'I want you to be selfish with me. I want you to feel like you can want things and express them. It's really important to me that you are doing the things you enjoy.'

Ginny

And Kasuga admits that that's hard for her. Another moment that rang so true for me, for both of them.

Ben

So much of their relationship is Nomoto getting intense pleasure [laughs] out of watching Kasuga enjoy herself.

00:34:18 - SLTCSLTE: Yako and The New House

Ben

I'd like to talk about my favorite character of the season.

NiNi

Ben wants to talk about Yako. Let's go.

Ben

Yako is the best thing that has happened to BL and GL in the last two years. [laughs]

NiNi

She's really just like us. [laughs]

Ben

No character’s been a better audience stand in than an asexual lesbian enjoying her wine and her takeout, watching gay movies with other girls, and then hearing about their relationship drama and giving completely reasonable advice by just asking questions.

Ginny

Best life.

Ben

I love her so much. She is everything that I am trying to be every day. [NiNi laughs] And she's good at it! [laughs] She never tells anybody, 'Just do it.' She's just like, 'What are you feeling? How do you feel if you don't do it? Well, there you go.’

And then they have the curry party? That looked like so much fun. They all go over to Yako's house and meet her properly. Nomoto and Kasuga take Nagumo with them. And they make a bunch of different curry, and naan, and some fancy juice, and they have themselves a good-ass time. And this leads to Yako becoming friends with Nagumo, and she ends up becoming a confidante to Nagumo as well. She recognizes after the girls reveal they're gonna move out that somebody should check on Nagumo, who has probably gotten used to having two really reliable neighbors who care about her, and how Nagumo might be anxious about saying, like, she misses them and still wants to see them. Even as Nagumo admits, moving out is the right call for them, I love that Yako gave Nagumo space to admit that she was a bit bummed that she was gonna not be living next to two solid friends anymore. 

I love Yako so much. She is in competition for blorbo of the year.

NiNi

Yako has the best ideas for parties, too, like the first time she had the watch party with Nomoto, they've both got snacks and drinks, and they're talking about what they've got for their snacks and their drinks and then they watch a lesbian movie and they cry. [Ben and Ginny laugh] It’s so good. Literally, Yako is really just like us. 

The only thing I'm sad about in this entire season is that Sayama hasn't yet become a part of this whole little group that they have, but she will. I know she will.

Ben

They just moved in together. They got a big space. There's room for Fujita and Sayama to show up for another party they're gonna have. These two could host all six major female characters at their new place. 

Let's talk about the new place while we're here. Where…?

[all laugh]

NiNi

Go ahead. I know you want to.

Ben

I love Kasuga. I love everything about her. I love her big chair, I love her big bed, I love her big TV. I need to know where these things are going to go in the new space. [NiNi laughs] Nomoto is totally fine to just use her iPad as her fill-in device for all of her tech needs and entertainment needs. I understand Kasuga. When I moved out, I got myself two big-ass TVs! I need to know where this goes in their new space.

NiNi

[laughs] Doing it real big, right?

Ben

Mhmm! Her car real big. Shoes real big. TV real big. Everything real big.

NiNi

We can talk a little bit about the new space. It looks really good. I like the way that it feels like both of them, which is exactly what you want in a place where you’re gonna be moving in together. But can we just talk about how U-Haul lesbian it is of them to get together and immediately start talking about moving in together?

Ginny

Hang on, they started talking about moving in together [Ben laughs] and then got together. That was the order! [NiNi laughs] They were like—

NiNi

That is true, that is fair.

Ginny

—'I’m gonna move.' 

'Oh my God. I can't bear the thought of you leaving, but I understand why you have to.' 

'Well, it's okay ‘cause I was going to ask if you wanted to move in. Also, are we in love with each other?'

Like, that was the conversation. [NiNi laughs]

Ben

'And we finally picked a place to live. Do you wanna make out for the first time?' 

NiNi

[laughs] And the other good part of it is that before any of this, they somehow adopted a child together.

Ben

Right?

Ginny

Yeah! This all tracks. This is all very typical. 

NiNi

Mmhmm. This felt like the correct order of things for lesbians.

00:39:17 - SLTCSLTE: The Food and Nagumo

NiNi

Okay, we need to talk about food.

Ben

Okay.

NiNi

Because Ben started talking about the curry party and I got excited.

Ben

I got hungry, I need to go make food after this. [Ben and Ginny laugh]

NiNi

We didn't even talk yet about the takoyaki party. I am not a huge fan of takoyaki, but that looked really good.

Ben

All right, as we go into the food, let's talk about Nagumo's eating disorder, because I think that this is one of my favorite food plots in a food show in a long time.

NiNi

One of the things about these food shows is that it's about the communal experience of food. Nagumo has a social anxiety disorder where she can't eat in front of other people. The way that this is brought to the surface, and then the way that Kasuga and Nomoto figure out how to include her in the communal experience without trying to force her to eat or making it an anxious space for her where other people are eating… There's something about Kasuga that just reads incredibly reliable from the off. So when Nagumo first meets Kasuga, she very quickly gets very comfortable and feels like she can tell this woman anything. And Kasuga is just so forthright and so understanding about things, that when Nagumo tells her, you know, 'I really can't eat in front of other people,' the first thing she asks her is 'oh, well, can you drink something? Can I make you a cup of tea?' And that sort of becomes a jumping off point for the way that they interact when they're having these communal experiences around food, and the way that Kasuga explains to other people for Nagumo, but without giving too many details of Nagumo's private business. The way that these women make a comfortable space for her to still have the community of meals together without forcing her to eat, drives Nagumo to say, 'I want to go and get myself treated because I want to be able to eat with these women, because I care about them.'

Ben

I really love the arc of that. In a show about two people bonding over food, they met somebody who they couldn't necessarily do that with right away, they had to work into it. And I love the way that they slowly built that out — like the donut party was so satisfying.

NiNi

Donut party was fantastic.

Ben

There’s the donut party. There's the marshmallow party.

NiNi

Don't get me started on Nomoto and her, like, zoning out thinking about Kasuga with these marshmallows. [laughs] It was almost erotic but not in a male gaze erotic kind of way. She's got a comically large number of bags of marshmallows in Nomoto’s mind that she's hugging to her, and then she starts eating the marshmallows with a smile on her face. [laughs] All this is happening in Nomoto’s imagination and I'm just like, 'Yes, girl. Yeah, I understand what is happening to you right now.' [laughs] She's zoning out thinking about Kasuga and these marshmallows and I am cracking up. I'm having a whale of a—Oh, it's so good. 

Okay. I'm gonna get over Kasuga and marshmallows, but [laughs] not immediately. So good, so funny. No notes.

00:43:02 - SLTCSLTE: Depictions of Intimacy

Ben

You had a little bit of hesitation in the middle of the second season. Do you want to talk about that on the show? And do you feel resolved by the way they played it out?

NiNi

Not resolved, but more… comforted, I guess. Part of the agita, I think that I was having, is that I was working through myself. Yako and Nomoto are watching these lesbian films. Yako is introducing Nomoto to these lesbian movies, and they're watching them together. And Nomoto is saying she's watching these movies and all these women are so passionate, and she knows that she likes Kasuga in a romantic way, but she doesn't think that she has these passionate feelings like these women in these films. That's when Yako tells her, 'Well, you know, I'm asexual, this is how I feel about these things.' 

And in the middle of the season when this is happening, I had a bit of a moment where I'm just like, okay, is it that they're doing this purity thing where it's fine to be a lesbian if you don't have sex or sexual feelings? It was something that I was worried about. I think it was a little bit of burden of representation stuff that I was maybe putting on the show? That I felt like it was important to show female sexuality as being good and okay and fine, and not to wrap female sexuality and women loving women up in this thing of it being somehow chaste and pure. That was something that was coming from my own thoughts about it. There's not a lot of ace spectrum rep out there in terms of media and dramas in this field, so intellectually I felt like, oh, well, this is fine. But emotionally, I was having a hard time with. Intellectually, I'm like, okay, yes, if it is that this is an ace lesbian story, this is fine because there's not a lot of representation of that, either. But then I was also, like, feeling that even if it was ace lesbian representation, it was being done in this weird binary where you're either sexual or you're not, when acespec is just a whole spectrum of things. I was getting tied up in my own feelings about a lot of this, and it was giving me a little bit of grief and a little bit of gripe. 

But when we come down through the season and come down towards the end of the season, it starts to feel more like a journey of discovery, of Nomoto figuring out what labels that she would apply to herself that make her feel comfortable with the relationship, and understanding how she feels about Kasuga and in what ways they want to proceed with their relationship and the things that they want to try or not try, and having those conversations with Kasuga, as well. And that eased me in the way that I was feeling about it. I fully admit that I got tied up in my own feelings about this, because it didn't have anything to do with what the show was doing. It works out well. I feel comfortable and comforted by the way that the story goes down through to the end. I'm good with where they've decided to take Nomoto, and Nomoto and Kasuga’s relationship, and where they have hopefully paused, not stopped.

Ginny

I understand that feeling completely. I feel some kind of meta regret that the two lesbian shows we’re talking about, the horny kinky concept one was bad, and the very chaste, ace spectrum one was good. I would love more horny kinky concept lesbians that are also actually well done. But as you said, that's not a problem with this show as it is just sort of with the bigger media landscape, and the show is giving also voice to really important, very representative experiences. 

I love where they land on the question of physical intimacy, because I was wondering what they were going to do having gotten so far into the season. They hardly ever touch each other. There is this sensuality in their relationship around food, and I don't think it functions as a metaphor or a substitute for sex — it's just a different kind and source of pleasure that is important to their relationship, and that's so cool and I love it! But I love where they end up on the question of touch. Kasuga saying, 'yes, I would like to try things out one by one with you.' That's such a lovely way to say, we don't know where this ends. We don't know how we're going to feel about it, but we trust each other enough and we want to explore together at whatever pace feels right for both of us.

Ben

I am less concerned, I think, with certain styles of Japanese shows delving into onscreen depictions of sex and sexuality because of the space those shows fill. Zenra Meshi, What Did You Eat Yesterday?, and this show. The ton of sensuality in the food stuff supports the thinking around sex and intimacy, and I'm really glad they had the hug and kiss scene to make sure that we didn't skip that? But I don't necessarily need to see it in the show, in the sense that I'm okay with just confirming that it's gonna happen, or it is happening. What I do need NHK and TV Tokyo to figure out is: how does the cast of this show meet the cast of What Did You Eat Yesterday? There has to be a way to get these two stories a crossover.

NiNi

It does feel like there needs to be a crossover between these two stories. The new place that they've moved into, I'm pretty sure it's in Shiro and Kenji's building, like it has to be. That's the only thing that makes any sense to me in my head. [laughs]

What you were saying about seeing it on screen, it's not necessarily that I need to see their physical intimacy on screen, or whether there is physical intimacy on screen. I just need to understand, I think, if it was something that they were even gonna talk about or discuss, or if it was something that they wanted or not wanted. I think that it's fine for me for them to have the conversation and say, 'Okay, let's figure this out.' And if that lands upon them not being physically intimate that's fine, if it lands up on them being physically intimate, that's fine, but I think what I was worried about, and maybe I shouldn't have been, was that they were not going to talk about it at all.

Ben

I'm very glad that they had a conversation about it before they moved out, and established that it is something that they want, even if it's something they're gonna have to figure it out.

NiNi

Most definitely, but let's move back to the part where they're moving into Shiro and Kenji's building, because I feel like somehow that has to happen. And I feel like somebody needs to slip Nishijima and Uchino a note that says, 'Hey. Y'all are good at making stuff happen. Make this happen, too. Find a way.'

Ben

It's just difficult because it's an NHK adaptation versus TV Tokyo and I don't know how that plays out because one is a for-profit broadcaster and the other is explicitly a public entity.

NiNi

Figure it out. [Ben and NiNi laugh] I don't care if it's a movie, I don't care if it's a special, I don't care what it is. They need to figure this out, because there's no way that these two shows are not existing in the same universe. They have to.

00:50:53 - SLTCSLTE Ratings and Outro

Ben

I think that's it. This show is excellent. I guess we should rate it. Let's go around. 

Ginny, you're newest to this. What's your rating for this?

Ginny

I gave season one a 9 and season two a 10. Season one felt a little incomplete to me, but season two sewed it up. If I was rating them together, I would give them a 10 as a single experience.

Ben

What about you, NiNi?

NiNi

Why you even asking me? You know my answer. This is a 10.

Ben

It's a 10! 10s across the board. Go watch it right now and then when you're finished, go show it to a friend, and then make them show it to a friend. I'm not even kidding. This is excellent. This is going to have to get a new supercut for me on the show. I’m gonna have to mention this every goddamn recording we do after this. [Ginny and NiNi laugh]

NiNi

It's a good thing Ginny's here because now she goes, she's like, okay, so I'm looking for What Did You Eat Yesterday? and then She Loves to Cook, She Loves to Eat.

Ginny

Making notes.

Ben

It was really just so lovely. One of the things I really enjoy in my queer stories is realistic and believable-feeling friend groups around them. It's really important for me, not just that I believe in the integrity of the couple, but also the integrity of their network. And I really like when queer friend groups grow as a result of two other people finding something in each other, that was really important for me. And it's why this particular show is so special to me. I really love this show, so much. Please go watch it.

NiNi

And with that, that's all she wrote. That is going to wrap us up, say bye to the people. 

Say bye Ginny!

Ginny

Bye!

NiNi

Say bye to the people, Ben.

Ben

Peace.