#Which ties to the confession in ep 7

[social-media-shy]

I love this moment in ep 6 when Pat says, "thank you for saving Pa." It is such a turning point in their relationship. Until then, Pat has carried the guilt of not acting on that day near the river, and of Pran's transfer. He has constantly been trying to make it up to Pran, feeling like he owes him. And he has done a ton of stuff for Pran, but it has never felt monumental enough compared to the stuff Pran has done or gone through.

For Pat this was the moment he let go of all of that. And in a way Pran truly became one of his own, rather than an "other" he owes or has to make up stuff to. Recognising that all he ever needed to do was thank Pran. That there was nothing to feel inadequate or responsible for.

And while he told Pran that he thought about things from his perspective and Pran was put in the same position as him, so he could never hate him for any of it. Pat also finally gave himself that same consideration, empathy and kindness. Such a healing moment from the shit Pat's dad put him through. I love him. Iove them.

[he-is-lightning-in-a-bottle]

Linguistic & Cultural Tidbits from Jun & Jun Ep 7

When Lee Jun tells Choi Jun to "Go away" after kissing him, what he's actually saying is far more rude. He uses the word 꺼저, literally from the root word meaning "off" and more accurately translated as "fuck off." You can tell our boy is hurting at the idea of being left by Choi Jun for the second time in his life and woundedly lashing out.

Choi Jun says he understands that pain* and teases with a small smirk that because he lived alone as a young adult (something culturally most young Koreans under 30 are loathe to do) he's good at making ramen. THIS IS INNUENDO, FYI. Eating ramen together is slang for having sex, so saying he's good at making ramen is like saying he's good at sex. Simeon also uses this later to suggest Lee Jun comes to his place for a midnight snack of ramen (literally just asking for a booty call) and Jun chooses to play obtuse rather than flirt back.

*MORE ON CHOI JUN'S PAIN. It goes back to the living alone as a young adult bit, which just makes Choi Jun pitiable in the eyes of most Koreans. Even young adults who have their own apartment to be closer to work are still financially supported by their parents who bought the apartment for them and constantly stock their refrigerator with home cooked food. Ramen is for snacks, not meals, but Choi Jun said he lived on it for years at the beginning, a clear indication that he was fully without the loving care of his parents. The actually independent young person in Korea is usually like that because they're either an orphan or had a falling out with their family. Ergo, pitiable, because Koreans value family ties quite highly.

This sympathetic side to him is further expanded on in their later perfume-testing scene, when Choi Jun explicitly says he felt like he was "living on a deserted island" and that he was "afraid and lonely every day." But he sincerely likes Lee Jun, and he wants to be understood. (He's not been flirting this whole time just because of American influence, he isn't getting married nor is he leaving the country. He's been just as lonely as Lee Jun since they parted ways and was afraid his feelings wouldn't be reciprocated. So he didn't dare do more than flirt, but now that he knows Lee Jun likes him back, he can finally explain everything. And he does.) Lee Jun responds by saying he won't misunderstand anymore and won't avoid Choi Jun and even gives him an affectionate head pat as consolation.

In summary, there was a lot of talking about sex this episode, Lee Jun confessed his feelings for Choi Jun and communicated his hurt at being abandoned before by him as well as his fear of being abandoned again, and Choi Jun sincerely apologized and gave sympathetic context for both his past and current actions.

@absolutebl more linguistic notes for you!

[wen-kexing-apologist]

What Happened to Trin? aka Paying Attention to My Favorite Straight Boy

Friends. Romans. Country men. 

I have a confession. 

Yesterday I reblogged a Shadow gifset of Josh cuddling Nai in the middle of the night after returning from his evening of smoking in the woods with Dan. In that reblog, I wrote the tag “Josh is my favorite straight boy in the show”. I showered praise upon him for being secure enough in his own sexuality to cuddle with the Known Queer. But I am concerned I may have been mistaken. 

I was chatting with @khathastrophe about some Shadow theories and she sent me a screen shot of a conversation she had had with @brazilian-whalien52 about her theories around Josh. 

Now, I personally do not think that Trin had a crush on Josh, unless they are intentionally obfuscating the context around the two conversations that Trin had with Joe where he did pretty much everything but explicitly state his feelings for Joe. And I hadn’t been thinking about Josh in relation to drugs, because yeah, he smoked weed, but if you couldn’t tell already, I have been hyperfocused on trying to unravel the One Armed Man thread and he is the only one I could remember having explicit ties to narcotics. 

BUT! I had already been working my way through a re-watch of Episodes 1-7 to see if there was any new information I could glean from the show now that I had better knowledge of all the characters and their relationships to one another. And tonight, I was already planning on watching Episodes 5-7, so I said “you know what? I have been 0% suspicious of Josh the entire way through, but this show is steeped in mystery and it would be irresponsible of me no to pay attention to the character that I write off…after all, in a mystery it’s always the inconspicuous ones,” 

And thus began my Josh!focused Rewatch of Episodes 5-7 (shout out to @so-much-yet-to-learn for bullying me about this, thank you for keeping me humble friend <3). 

Some things I noticed in Episode 5:

Anan was running against Trin for student body president 

When Trin is speaking in to the megaphone about wanting to change the bathrooms, Josh is in the crowd of students listening, but he does not participate in the chants everyone else is saying. And the second the Head Master appears, he is running off before he can really be registered as in attendance of this gathering. 

Josh was out of the room when Joe saw Trin’s ghost, he returns after Trin’s ghost disappears, and Josh has left the auditorium when Trin’s ghost reappears and Nai sees him following after Joe. 

Trin’s medical records state that he has bipolar disorder which can cause him to have hallucinations, he was off his medication, and he was using narcotics to treat his symptoms 

It is later revealed that Trin got a medical check up after his arm injury, where it was discovered that he had consumed marijuana. 

All in all there isn’t much to go off of here, expect that Josh seems rather non-committal to Trin’s policy changes, and he does not want to be seen in the company of unruly students. 

Episode 6, however, is where it starts getting interesting for me, because Episode 6 is where Josh invites Dan out for a little smoke sesh.  

Now, I will admit, at the time of my initial watch, most of the conversation between Dan and Josh whizzed right on past me, obviously the only reason he had called Dan out there was to ask if he liked Cha-aim and to showboat a little bit. But on this watch through, thinking about Trin and Josh and drugs, the conversation hit much different, and it warranted a theory. 

The Build Up

Dan asks Josh where he got the weed from, and Josh tells him he got it from a man named Bancha, an alumnus of the school who is a witch doctor. (now that I think about it, that is probably who this person is from the promos for Ep 8-14 (to your question @slayerkitty): 

ANYWAY, Josh tells Dan that Bancha is a hermit who lives near the woods, and is a witch doctor that can treat mental illnesses. He asks Dan if he’s been having trouble sleeping and upon hearing Dan confirm his sleeping issues, tells Dan that Bancha could totally help him get rid of his sleeping problems. 

So why did this start ringing alarm bells for me this time through? Because a) I was watching Josh with more scrutiny these episodes, b) I’ve been paying a probably unhealthy amount of attention to arms in Shadow over the last few weeks and c) I remembered more details about Trin. 

The Puzzle Pieces 

When Trin’s parents come storming in to Brother Anurak’s office pissed the fuck off because their sons medical records got leaked to the press, Brother Anurak mentions to them that Trin about a year ago (which is around the time Trin disappeared), Trin was treated in a hospital for an injury to his arm. 

We open Episode 1 of Shadow with Trin running through the forest, with his left arm bandaged up. 

Brother Anurak also tells Trin’s parents that he had weed in his system when he got that treatment. (When I heard this at first I brushed it off because it felt like between the mention of bipolar, hallucinations, and narcotics use, adding the weed on top was just a few too many things to try to discredit any potential intel Trin might have had and to distance the school more from his disappearance). 

Josh is the only person we have seen with weed (so far).  

Trin was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and did not like the medication he was on. He wanted to feel “normal” and to get off his medication, which we are told through a flashback conversation between Trin and Master Joe in the theater. We also learn that Trin is going somewhere, he wants to give Master Joe a pen of his to hold on to while he is away and tells Joe, “when I come back and I’m rid of this disease, I will give you your answer” [side note: Joe does not take Trin’s pen, yet he has it in his desk in 1999, so he had to get it back from Trin somehow]

In short, Trin wants to be cured of his bipolar disorder and this Banchan guy that Josh mentioned is a witch doctor that can treat mental illness. 

The Theory 

So with these things in mind, that Josh was in a lot of the flashback scenes with Trin, that Trin had smoked weed at some point before his disappearance, wanted to be rid of his mental illness, had an injured arm, and was running through the woods when we first are introduced to him, I came up with a theory. 

Josh played an active role in Trin’s disappearance. 

gif from @pharawee

With the crumbs they have presented to us so far, my theory is that at the beginning of Episode 1 we are seeing Trin escaping the witch doctor that Josh has convinced Trin to go see. Trin had an injured arm at the beginning of Episode 1, and Brother Anurak mentions an arm injury, so I’d have to imagine they are the same injury. Which means that Trin had probably smoked weed with Josh like Dan had smoked weed with Josh. I can imagine that Trin asked the same question about where Josh got his drugs from, and that Josh gave the same answer. I can imagine Josh potentially knowing about Trin’s medical diagnoses, or at least observing in part Trin’s own experience with hallucinations and relying on that to help convince Trin to go see the witch doctor. 

I can see Josh getting closer to Trin, close enough to get Trin comfortable with him, close enough to get Trin to trust him. I can see Josh and Trin sneaking out to the edge of the woods to smoke, and how that might make it easier to get Trin alone, away from prying eyes, and more comfortable with being in the forest at night. I can see Josh either walking Trin straight to the witch doctor’s door, or telling Trin how to get there. I can imagine the witch doctor trying to do something to “cure” Trin, whether that be an exorcism, a poisoning, an attempted murder, or something else entirely, and Trin managing to escape. Which would explain why we see him running through the woods, because as Josh said, Bancha lives right near the woods. 

I see some things repeating themselves in the promo for the second half of the season, namely Dan having his left arm bandaged the same way that Trin’s was at the beginning of the show and running through the woods looking behind him scared the same was Trin was at the beginning of the show.

Do I think Josh is alone in all of this? No. If he is involved in this at all, I literally have no gauge or understanding of how complicit and aware of what he is doing Josh is. If Josh did play a role in Trin’s disappearance, is he sticking so close to Nai because he feels guilty? Or if my theory does hold true and Josh is pulling Dan aside for conversations and smoke sessions, is he intentionally setting something up?

Josh seems really comfortable and at ease with being physically affectionate and flirty with Nai, despite the potential to be subjected to homophobia, yet he also thinks theater is gay and tells Dan not to join because people will think he is a fag (which, I believe is the closest translation of “toot” to English, fruitcake is certainly not it). 

When Trin was getting beaten up by Anan, Josh just puts his Walkman radio on and ignores the entire fight. Anan and Josh both say Trin is dead (and to be fair, if it were me and a student at my high school went missing a full year before, I would probably also assume they had died). 

Oh! And another thing, one of the drawings in Dan's vision of the One Armed Man was a camera, you know who is associated with cameras?

Josh, our resident Photographer and General Assistant

I think @brazilian-whalien52 made a great point in the conversation I had with her: “Shadow seems like the type of drama everybody had a little hand in. Not an individual blame, but a look through society and the roles we play that affect others,” 

All of which is to say, I unfortunately, will be withholding granting Josh “favorite straight boy” status in Shadow until the narrative proves my theory wrong.

[mlmshipbracket]

ROUND 1: POLL #34

ROUND 1 POLLS [HERE]

PROPAGANDA BELOW

Phaya/Tharn:

They're destined lovers!!!! They're meant to be together!!! Phaya has dreams about them and Tharn has visions about Phaya. Their relationship is all kinds of messy and complicated that spans across their lifetimes. Phaya was a garuda and Tharn was a naga and now they're both detectives and will always find each other. 

"look here are some more cute videos of them

[SPOILERS up to ep 7]

and another one (SPOILERS up to ep 5)

ANYWAYS they're literally destined soulmates but like Romeo and Juliet too at the same time because they're a Garuda and a Naga who are like classic enemies in mythology and even though they've been reincarnated as normal humans, (tho Phaya has strange dreams and Tharn has prophetic visions so they're not that normal lol) they're still like cosmically being torn apart because of their past karma. And like in one of the first episodes Phaya is literally described as someone who will bring Tharn into more danger BUT is also the only person who can free him from this repeated cycle of bad karma that haunts him. 

Like imagine you and your lover are soulmates and are these mythical creatures who have a long standing enmity between them so it's very tragic BUT you eventually are reincarnated as normal humans and are still destined for each other so everything should be fine except your both still haunted by your past lives and everyone you love dies because of you and you have visions and then you meet this guy and suddenly you keep getting visions about him dying and he's been seeing you in his dreams his whole life and the Abbott at the temple you grew up in says that you two are tied together and that he is the only person who can save you from your past karma but to do that he's going to put you in more danger and you're still convinced that everyone you love dies because of you and also there's an evil snake deity from your past life who is doing everything in his power to keep you two part. They're insane.

anyways watch this little clip of Phaya's dream from episode 5 to get a feel

and also this confession scene (and well.... there's some scenes after that too ;) ) from episode 7

oh! and here's a couple more gif sets of them!

Sound/Win:

You've got this teenage idol (Sound) who is famous online for his guitar playing and he transfers to a new school and is immediately recruited into the band full of like the loser kids, which he very reluctantly joins. In the band there's this bassist (Win) who is always getting on his nerves and they're always like one step away from fighting (or actually fighting) but then Win does something nice for him once and uh oh Sound has now developed feelings for the worst guy ever and he is not happy about this at all. So he does the rational thing and fights with the guy more except somehow that makes them closer and uh oh Sound is truly fucked now. Luckily he fell for a dumbass.

[dribs-and-drabbles]

Laws of Attraction ep 8

I watched the ep on Sat as it aired but then forgot to post these notes. With it being the last ep, I didn't have so much to say...beyond screaming over the brilliance of everything, but here it is anyway.

(Oh god it's all over after this 😭 I miss them already).

That fight was actually great...even though I don't like boxing/fighting. I don't know why Navin isn't worried for Charn's safety though...

Those bruises on Tinn... 😂

I adore Rose and Maya as spies!! Spin-off series now with them as leads running an underground pi business with the bar/singing as a front! Thank you please.

What a fucking location. Out-fuckin-standing.

I LOVE THE DRAMA OF THIS!! LIVE-STREAMING THATTHEP'S CONFESSION?! CHARN YOU FUCKING GENIUS!

Please Charn, please turn off your ringtone 😭🙏🏽

Oh no...Tinn's going to rush in there, get caught by Thatthep's men, and they'll use him to lure Charn out. No no no...

Oh thank god...but wait...

YESSSSSSS CHARN. YOU EVIL GENIUS. FOR ONCE SOMEONE GOING INTO DANGER WEARS A BULLETPROOF VEST. THANK YOU!

Oh oh oh, there's half the ep left. Please let it just be Charn and Tinn being stupidly adorably in love.

Well I was right that the evidence from the doll would be too weak for a prosecution 🤷🏽‍♀️

I can't believe Tanthai still wants to see his father. Smh. I guess despite everything Thatthep did to him, he still seeks recognition and...love?

Charn is such a little shit. I love him.

Not the post-it notes 😭

The marriage equality advocacy speech!!! 👏🏼😍

Glad to see as a collective fandom we are all ignoring the Chan and Tin spellings of their names the show is using. Also, the lettering is in blue! (And it's already been pointed out that it's the same date as the airing day).

Galaxia!

Charn telling his mother that he's happy, with Tinn by his side, surrounded by All. That. Yellow.

Navin! That's it. He's amazing. 10/10. No notes. The best ex-boyfriend we could have gotten for Charn.

I love how Thatthep looks out of focus and obscured (even more than Charn is) behind the metal fence, as though he's not a prominent presence in Charn's life anymore (these are completely unedited screenshots apart from a little crop).

Oh my god the couple sweater vests 😂

Tanthai (and Thee) are finally freeeeeee!

We're all Granny! Yelling at them to kiss 😂

Ugh people in love stink (affectionate)

Not the dolls! 😭

Maya and Rose and their rings!

Tinn still has the ring necklace, and Charn's using his evil babygirl lawyering for good now!

All in all, a fantastic last ep. I think they could have had the wedding date a few years in the future and left it ambiguous as to whether it was a legal wedding or not. But I'm SO glad that from the beginning they set up Charn as being a bit smug about how great a lawyer he was...then made us wonder if he was going to do something stupid and impulsive...but then followed through with Charn's brilliant plan to 'catch' and deal with Thatthep. Yes, he is brilliant and he was right all along about it.

I guess I should add a final note on the colours...which stayed pretty consistent through the series (maybe I'll write another post about just this later) but in short I felt like green represented Tonkhao; Tinn was definitely a loyal blue boy; both Thatthep and Charn also used blue but as a front/a mask to their true selves; Tanthai was generally black and white but was forced to conform to his father's (blue) wishes and tied to the accident of (green) Tonkhao; and Charn...was a bit of an enigma because as well as his blue, he was accompanied by the red of revenge...but under it all I think he was a soft pastel, earthy tones guy, much like his mother...and which is why the shot of the dolls at the end made me gasp so much. Because not only were they there to represent Tonkhao but they both also have Charn and Tinn's colours.

[ep 1] [ep 2] [ep 3] [ep 4] [ep 5] [ep 6] [ep 7]

[batsplat]

hello, love your blog! it’s so fucking funny how you’re a lesbian motogp blogger who is into buffy, bc hey that’s me too but actually I first encountered your blog bc of your smallville posts. not to mention tennis (which I was only a very casual fan of thankfully afdhjkk)…….cool to know that there are several ppl like this apparently sgfhhjhjk.

anyways, buffy s6 is my beloved season and I like it for how dysfunctional it is. the only season I might like more is maybe s5. I am a spike fucker unforch

and as for motogp? sachsenring 2003 made me giggle. very embarrassing for you valentino. by 0.06 seconds??? and commentators made it worse by crowning him a winner before they even crossed the line. you just know if positions were reversed vale would capitalize so hard off this win, more ppl would be talking about it still. and well he did actually use that loss to reinvigorate himself. like valentino’s ability to make his wins (and losses too) narratively important is unparalleled. but regardless sete/vale rivalry is insane,

sadly only hot girls get it:(((

anon?? marry me??

such an incredibly funny overlap of interests sdfhjkdf well always nice to learn this is a Type Of Person who Exists. I love buffy season five!! I am very much a spike fucker!! undoubtedly one of THE great characters, him and buffy is one of those ships where I don't really seek out fics because it's like?? I'm actually thrilled with what canon gave me!! I love the slapstick, spike as a lovesick freak, the dark and toxic stuff where buffy used him as a way to punish herself, and all the more melancholic season 7 stuff where they found refuge in each other. spike is like. such a great Device to explore all kinds of emotions and themes and all that... so many of my all time fave eps are very much spike eps. love s2's school hard and halloween, s3's lovers walk, s4's something blue (also just like, so much of his s4 scenes, when they chain him up in the bathtub and against the chair and all that), s5's fool for love (!!!!!!!!!!!!! one of THE episodes, his 'death wish' monologue to buffy and then showing up wanting to kill her and ending up comforting her oh GOD), s6's life serial and doublemeat palace AND when buffy confesses to spike she was in heaven AND all their scenes in once more, with feeling, s7 the buffy/spike church scene.... spike's "all these years and there's only one thing I've ever been sure of" speech likeeeeee.... I get all the issues people have with that relationship and how it was written, I know it's not for everyone, and I don't even 'ship' them in the sense of thinking they belong together or whatever... but I just love it!! it compels me so much, did so when I first saw it and still does now!! and spike is such a FUN character, like they let him be pathetic, they let him be cool, and he's #gender enough that yeah he's very hot to me too. all those scenes where buffy's throwing him around,,,,, yes character of all time. just has a real place in my heart too idk like the emotional landscape really GETS me

sharp pivot to sachsenring 2003, which takes place a mere few months after the buffy finale......... that's as smooth a transition as I can manage yeah. thematic overlap between btvs and motogp question mark. the buffy x dawn dynamic is either a bit marc x alex or to a lesser extent vale x luca when u think about it? not just in the 'congrats you've spotted they're siblings' way, but well the siblings' respective statuses in the worlds of motogp & vampire slaying, and the older sibling often being 'prioritised' because they have a lot on their plates, younger siblings as a kind of way to keep them grounded and feeling human, also unconditional devotion to your younger sibling... plus actually all the death wish stuff, surely? the fool for love speech...

btvs and motogp both very much about the ties you need to the world, I reckon... also sports is inherently adjacent to chosen one narratives

ANYWAY sachsenring 2003, I think every detail about it is perfect!! whatever valentino says, I still reckon there's just no way he couldn't have made a move before that - and implicitly he acknowledges that by saying he will never leave it that late again. idk there's just something so deeply charming about that specific flavour of valentino to me, where he's so obnoxiously good he can get away a little bit with basically scripting his races BUT obviously that's only okay when he still ends up being the one who wins. and he gets so much shit for it!! it's so funny listening to the brno commentary like they are on his ASS and they're saying the italian press has been on his ASS and calling him washed and finished and even the commentary is going 'yeah he's been having a rough season' and it's very??

oh no! the horror!! what a flop!!

obviously in retrospect we remember it as a great season because after that he only lost one more race, but back then they didn't know that!! and at like. the perfect time of the season too, because obviously that's when you have to go off and Sit On It for the whole summer break and can't immediately redeem yourself.... but as you say, he used that!! it's part of his story now, it became such good fuel for motivation. like, the mistake itself is kinda.... I mean it's not great, but it's one of those things that also wouldn't be a massive issue if you did it five laps earlier? he basically just picks too defensive a line that ends up killing his drive out of the corner, allowing sete to beat him to the line. which - the bit that I imagine really got to him is how dumb it was. like it wasn't a riding mistake as much as it was a decision making mistake, it wasn't his race craft it was just a literal dumbass moment. it's silly!! it's both a moment that shows valentino was maybe a bit too cocky, but also kinda rattled by sete? that man got to him! he did it! he flapped the unflappable valentino rossi!

and it IS incredible how it's now not really Discussed any more, and in his autobiography it's so neatly integrated into his own narrative. like!! it's always the laguna 2008 and catalunya 2009 performances that get me - he knew those were going to be memorable victories IMMEDIATELY and he played to that!! kissing the corkscrew drives me insane because it's literally... he's doing this on the cooldown lap for something that happened LAP FOUR and wasn't technically the race winning move, or definitely not the only one!! but he immediately zeroed in on that element and his post-race narrative is unquestionably ONE of the reasons why that's something we all remember now. he gets it!!

the commentators did fuck him over though lmaoooo... I mean at least you have to say he learned from his mistakes. imagine losing a race by .06 and doing this in the very next race against the same guy

bringing back this too

sicko

it IS only the hot girls who get it but that's for the best....... only the select few can see the vision I fear

[thehare1234]

TV Roundup

In the last couple weeks a lot of shows ending, some good some not as good (or just not my favourites)…but right now so much diverse and interesting TV is on my screen so I can’t complain! Also Interview with the vampire coming to Netflix (yay!!!)

Spoilers below:

QL Shows

🪨Century of Love (9-10)(end): wellll I’m glad we got a happy ending, the last three or so episodes of this definitely brought the drama lol…I loved fake Vad riding in on her motorcycle last minute, and I liked that we never found out who Vad actually was. All in allll, a satisfying enough ending, even if the end sort of dragged in my opinion compared to the rest. (8/10)

🦋My Marvellous Dream Is You (Ep 11-12)(end): alright alright I finally finished this show…and I have many thoughts. Overall I actually think this show was doing some interesting things and had interesting things to say about not only the fear and stress of being in love with your best friend and not being able to make the first move, but the added layer of being a woman in love with another woman when the rest of the world is loudly and silently telling you to marry a man to be happy. Kim’s moms dream for her was to have a wedding, and it seemed ideal because it was a decent (at first) wealthy man. So yeah there’s also a lot of ideas about comphet in here. Like I said, this show had a lot of interesting ideas and it didn’t shy away from the angst. If you don’t like angst and miscommunication it’s not for you…but the final confession scene to me was more satisfying because we had the build up. In my opinion, the last episode was sort of pointless? Like 3 mins was just a straight music video and Marwin becoming a cartoon villain…also they seriously underused the side couples which could have been a nice balance to the mess of the main couple… (7/10)

🏡Knock, Knock Boys (Ep 12)(end): wow, all the threads more or less tied together. Keeping the show silly and fun till the end. Jane has a girlfriend?!! I loved watching this show every week and honestly would rewatch it. Also the change in Peak this episode was so beautiful like he really just became a whole new person (9.25/10)

☀️I Hear The Sunspot (Ep 7-8): my fucking heart, I’m crying…hoping to settle this miscommunication and maya subplot next episode tbh because damn this is too much for me to handle my poor Taichi 😭okkkk episode 8 got them back to communicating, I loved Koheis relief when Taichi agreed to be his note taker and I like how their relationship is developing

✂️Ayaka is in love with Hiroko (Ep 7-8): mama plsss stop spilling the beans!!! I like that we got Hirokos backstory and I feel like her feelings are so valid! And like I get Ayaka is younger but I don’t get how she had no clue why Hiroko wouldn’t want to be out 😭 and her decision was to confess her love in front of the whole office??? WHY??? I don’t understand what is happening take me back to the good old days. Friendship moment is cute between Risa and Ayaka tho…ok this show continues to bring up being queer in the workplace and maybe some of the different thinking/dynamics with generations way of thinking but it just feels like it’s not fully hitting for me like something about the tone these last 2 eps feels very different from the rest of the show

🫛This Love Doesn’t Have Long Beans (Ep 6-7): ahh yesss a love triangle (or multiple love triangles?). This show is honestly kinda hilarious like I truly don’t know who they’re gonna deal with the Kluer problem, the lying reveal, the competition and the ex girlfriend in 2 episodes? Again this show to me is no thoughts head empty romcom and if I don’t think too hard I have fun. This does not apply to JJ and Methas tho…them I am genuinely obsessed with like listen I just love the dynamic of like JJ being the one thing he can’t buy with money and their pseudo date I just am a fan….and wow still a lot to get through in just one episode but I’m ready…the way he let Kao Suay down was a little wild like “I forced myself to like you…basically?” but honestly it maybe was needed…I’m still fully invested in JJ/Methas and I’m readdddy for Methas to show that he’s choosing him not his money

🕓4 Minutes (Ep 2-4): wellppp this show visually great and I just know I’m missing so many clues/details each episode but like I’m fully invested in the mystery/ timeline theories. I’m definitely with the Tonkla storyline being the real timeline and Greats storyline being the alternative timeline and them starting to merge

🐢Monster next door (Ep 1-4): ahhhhhh I love this show it’s just giving me romcom feels and just two people who really like each other like yea ok I’m in! I’m looking forward to learning more about Gods character and seeing what conflicts come between them and how they are able to work through them. For now they’re just really cute :) but damn GIVE THE TURTLE A BIGGER TANK

📺I became the main role of a BL drama (Ep 1-2): so far this show is lots of fun..:like the way it’s revealed he’s a Stan and the things that come from that is genuinely funny and I love how they’re still telling the story well with the limited runtime…overall I’m having fun

🥭The Loyal Pin (Ep 1-3): so far this show is deliveringgg on the visuals and the chemistry of course is great…I like we got to spend time with them as younger so we can see where they come from. Also princess Anin coming back and knowing exactly what she wants and being so forward is such a nice change like I really like the dynamic and damn she kinda has rizz…I’m glad to have these sort of lighter episodes before the angst I know is coming

🍜Cooking Crush (Ep 10-12)(end): welp I’m so glad I gave this another chance because I really found the story got better as time went on and more and more I loved these characters, the romance but also the friendship! And I liked all the different family dynamics at play that were explored. I just feel like I loved how all the couples in this show were there for each other and were able to be a support system for the other. And that they communicated how they felt. But yeah for me a slower start which ended in just such a happy feeling :) I also loveeee the intro song/dancing in every episode hehe (9.25/10)

👔The Trainee (Ep 7-8): welll damn it has truly gone down. First, Jane and Ryan omfg the tension…I liked seeing Jane start to make mistakes or have his professionalism break because of his feelings. For Judy/Tae/Bahmee I liked the convo Tae and Bahmee had at the end of the episode I thought it was actually a pretty good conversation and mature decision to break up and just realizing they were not right. To me Judy is still moving wild like how you gonna kiss your intern and not even seem to have any regrets??? I think probably her thoughts about it will be in future episodes because so far this show has shown how interpersonal conflicts are affecting the work and how there are consequences to these things…I’ll be interested to see how it plays out

🌊Love Sea (Ep 10)(end): listen the end of this show had some greats moments, I like their talks on the beach I liked how we got Mahasamut a little bit of a backbone (but a not so great tattoo imo, but do you). The Vi/Mook stuff was genuinely so frustrating to me like after a lacklustre romance with some interesting things to explore they choose to just, abandon it??? Anyways not a huge fan but it’s ok. Overall this show I just felt like it had some good some bad but I don’t feel strongly at all lol (7.5/10)

🤫The Secret Of Us (Ep 7-8)(end): another GL has come to an end and you know, the wedding was really cute, the whole last episode was cute. Then just being together and joking with each other was nice. The mom evil villain arc to accepting them because? Earn cried? I don’t really get but that’s ok…I wouldn’t say this show is amazing but it made me feel things and the actors were doing a great job even when the story (to me) wasn’t really making sense (7/10)

Other Shows

✍️I May Destroy You (Ep 9-12)(end): the last few episodes have just solidified this as an amazing show. It made me feel so much watching it and made me reflect so much on my own life and I loved how it portrayed each character as a whole human being who makes mistakes and the idea of Arabella at the end choosing to let go. The last episode really was just so well done…there’s so much to say and I loved reading other people’s interpretations and thoughts of this show because there’s so much you can get into. One thing I saw while reading was that the Ben character was supposed to be a sort of call back to the “black best friend” character trope by being like the random white guy who is just there to offer wisdom and doesn’t get a story of his own which I thought was so smart (10/10)

👯‍♀️Hello My Twenties (Ep 10-12): alright season 1 down! And what a journey…this show has a low budget and a lot of heart and I love the bond between all these girls being at the centre…even when almost all their lives are genuinely wild…I didn’t even mind the last minute kidnapping plot it just felt right for this story. I’m ready for season 2 lol… also this show is big for people who love yearners

🏥The Hospital Playlist (Ep 3): another show I was convinced to watch by my gf lol…and I enjoy it so far like I loveee a friend group and I love a slice of life slowly learning about everyone’s lives, etc. I felt so bad for Ik-Jun like finding out your wife cheated then having to go do an organ retrieval on your old patient 😭 but yeah all I can say is I’m excited to slowly work my way through this. But now I really wanna go to karaoke lol

🩲Old Man Underpants (Ep 6): this episode was focused on Mika for the most part. And was beautifully done…i loved the build up to the dinner and all the small moments that add up to her final « outburst » and I loved the end of buying the concert tickets and realizing how important it is to recognize the people in your life for what they do. I love how this show is giving a story for all the characters and just a really beautiful story of being not always being their best but realizing their mistakes and trying to do better.

[melody-of-lost-souls]

What is your opinion about Sasuke saw a shadow of his family in Team 7?

I mean, yes, he genuinely cared about everyone. He considered both of his team mates as his precious comrades. He even listened to Kakashi and calmed down a bit, after his fight with Naruto on the Hospital Rooftop. Kakashi even passed him an all important Jutsu called Chidori which he used till the very end.

No matter what, he considered everyone as his family. How come Sasuke could easily sever his ties with Sakura and Kakashi??

Hi! Thanks for the ask ♥

I think you answered your own question right there. "A shadow of his own family"

Yes, he cared somehow about all of them and we all know how this affected him, with the -logical- thought that Bonds will make him weaker.

-From here this is my interpretation about Sasuke's insight and perception towards his Family.-

How could he easily sever his ties with Sakura and Kakashi? Yet with Naruto he couldnt.

I think we should look back at how Sasuke saw his own family back then.

We know that the person Sasuke loves/ed the most is Itachi -and Naruto- and this Love, and addmiration, but also certain resentment that after the tragical events turned into a burning Hate, werent born because of one day to another. Sasuke loved his family of course he did, but the person who played a big role in his life such as Motherly-Fatherly- and Big Brother roles was just Itachi.

Itachi took in charge Sasuke's breeding, while yes Mikoto did her role as mother while providing food, comfort, adn etc; Itachi also did this, he helped him to walk, play, feed, and a big etc, and also he played the role of teaching him the limits, when wasnt the time to play, to train, when his work was first, when he did the forehead poke, putting distance, but also embraising and stoof for him when time needed.

So Itachi's figure was the most important influence for Sasuke; that's why when the massacre happens, what hurted the most for him was Itachi's betrayal, with the posterior Sharingan evolving due to the lost love that turned into Hatred. I'm not saying that he didnt suffer the death of his parents, of course he did and he longed them, them as a whole; nonetheless, the fact that his most beloved person decided to kill other persons he also loved, was the architect for the sasuke we know.

What kept him alive the most was the desire of revenge, to consolidate that Love he once felt -and stil feel- for the person he must and should hate.

As we see then , Itachi represented a lot of roles in Sasuke's life, and somehow Sasuke found certain parallelism with Itachi in Naruto, as he confessed in Vote2, he felt the urge of becoming better, to walk to this person's side, to get stronger so he can be a proper equal. This doesnt mean Sasuke saw Naruto as his brother, but he found in Naruto what he loved in Itachi, and also the warmth of the family

What does this have to do with team 7?

Sasuke couldnt sever his bond with Itachi, same as he couldnt with Naruto. Even tho we saw Sasuke remembering his family ,all of them in a family picture, in the end the most important person-of that frame was Itachi as he -in ep 478- was ready to join Itachi's side.

So, he could sever his bonds with the rest of Team 7 say Kakashi and Sakura, because Naruto had and portrayed everything about his family, in his single self as he was "similar" to Itachi. Similar yet different.

What did Sakura and Kakashi had to offer to Sasuke? Sakura never understood him, we can not say he projected and saw in her something that resembles to Mikoto because they are in not way similar-not physical not symbolical- and with Kakashi, he was just on his own tune. Some say that Sasuke saw Kakashi as a father figure and...well no. Kakashi is not like Fugaku -his real father- not like Itachi either -the symbolic figure- // Yes Kakashi was an important person for him, as he taught him one of his signature jutsus, but he just was his master. Kakashi and Sasuke relationship wasnt like Naruto and Iruka. Let's say he was like a sort of uncle? if we want to put a "tag" for him.

Team 7 gave him the warmth that any kind of group(where you feel belonging) can provide, you can have different kind of groups in your life and consider them as a family.He cared about them of course, because he didnt want to re-live the trauma he once suffered.

But Team 7 was this, a shadow of his family, a glimpse, which at that time was enough. Nonetheless, the spark and flame that ignites team 7 was always Naruto; if you take Naruto out of team 7, and let Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi to interact together...Well i really wonder if sasuke's perception about them will be the same, as a family...

Do you think Sasuke would be really glad, and relief if the team were just the 3 of them? Maybe yes, he would work with them but to feel the level of Bond as with Naruto? I really wonder.

-------

When he was with Naruto on "the other side" he was fine with it because he was with him, simple as that, or say he could join Itachi's side in heaven/other spiritual plane. Because again, those two were and are his most precious people...One is the whole concept and role of his family as he was mother, father and big brother, and the other is his other half.

What else could he need or gain from kakashi and Sakura? And i'm not saying this in a roasting way, but kakashi and SAkura are absolutely in other frequency/tune than Sasuke.

Sasuke is so ...ethereal and his ties to the world were really easy to cut because he didnt feel such attachments. So what could Kakashi, someone who just...lives (which it's okay for kakashi himself) and Sakura, someone who is very shallow and also desires physical things such as seen his dick and being his girlfriend and just that ,I dont want to understimate this kind of personal wishes, because we all have earthly-desires naruto did too, but sakura had only this to offer for him., offer him? In any case they offered the same things as Mikoto or Fugaku, wouldnt still be enough.

"We are never so defenseless against suffering, as when we love" Freud

So I think that's why he could sever his ties with them , hope it could be understood.

I first think it in spanish and then in english xD

Maybe I forgot some things to add, if that's so then i will add them later if they come to my mind

[ithinkhobiknows]

Taylor Swift songs you should listen to if you love Devakshi.

FEARLESS (TAYLOR'S VERSION)

Fearless (Rain dancing dev and sona moments)

Love story

White horse (Sona POV after leaving/divorcing dev)

You belong with me (Sona POV when dev was marrying natasha. Eps : 71,72,73,74,75)

Jump then fall

Mr Perfectly Fine (Sona POV after breaking up with Dev. 1st time)

Hey Stephen (Imagine this song with lyrics "Hey Dev")

SPEAK NOW

Speak Now (What sona wishes to say when Dev is marrying some else. Both times.)

Sparks Fly

Enchanted (This song just gives me ep 28 vibes)

Long Live

RED (TAYLOR'S VERSION)

State of Grace (When sona is falling in love with dev)

Red (sona after 7 years looking back on their relationship)

All To Well (sona and a little bit of dev looking back on their time together)

Holy Ground (whenever dev and sona are dancing together)

1989

Out of the woods (when they revealed their relationship and had doubts whether they should stay together)

All you had to do was stay (Sona after 7 years)

Wildest Dreams (Sona to Dev after leaving him)

How you get the girl ( When they fight for the first time ep 87 or 88 idk but that's the vibe)

This love ( When they reunited in ep 339)

I know places ( when they are hiding their relationship from everybody)

You are in love

REPUTATION

Don't blame me ( when Dev gets overprotective of sona vibes )

Delicate (Sona thoughts in 55-74 and Dev thoughts in 73,74,75 and when he confessed in 76)

So it goes

Gorgeous ( Sona POV when she realised her feelings for Dev)

King of my heart (Already explained this song)

Dancing with our hands tied (when they were dancing in the rain at soha & golu's camp)

Dress (ep:86,169,203,225)

Call it want you want

New year's day

LOVER

Cruel summer (those 3 months they were dating)

Lover ( when they are dancing in the rain in ep 372)

The Archer (Sona Pov)

I think he knows (already explained)

Paper rings (Sona pov)

Cornelia Street ( when they were standing in front of Sona's House. And sona is saying that even if Dev leaves her she will always stay his.)

Death by a thousand cuts ( Dev/Sona Pov during those 7 years)

False God (when dev realised he still loves sona even after 7 years)

Afterglow (Dev POV)

Daylight ( Their entire story in one song)

FOLKLORE

Seven ( I just added this cause the song name is seven and it has references which I like)

Invisible String (this is just my favourite song from this album)

The 1 (Sona Pov after 7 years she meets Dev)

Peace ( this is just a really sad song about love you should listen to it)

EVERMORE

Willow (Sona pov after she got back together with dev. 7 years later and season 2 vibes.)

Gold rush (sona when she was crushing hard on Dev but everyother girl was as well)

Cowboy like me ( Both Dev and Sona never wanted love, thats just something that they got along the way)

Long story short ( another prefect summary of their relationship)

Marjorie ( in season 3, Sona POV when she lost her mother)

BONUS TRACKS

The Best Day ( Suhana's POV)

Renegade (Sona POV to Dev)

[elizabeatrice]

Episode 12 - The Little Mermaid

Let’s Talk About JSHK Anime #3

Warning: Manga spoilers for The Little Mermaid arc, The Clock Keeper arc, and chapter 64!!! (just a bit, skip point no. 5, 6, and 10 if you don’t want to get spoiled) Also … this ended up way longer than I intended.

Well that was one heck of a feels trip. It’s probably my new favorite episode, just because everyone is here being wholesome lmao.

This is mostly hananene meta I ain’t even gonna lie.

Before we begin, shout out to Black Canyon, our newest anime cutie pie. Just look at him, folks. Just chilling with his sunflower seed.

He has no idea the kind of life his owner leads.

I said before that the best part of episode 12 is how it made Daydream worse, so now I’m gonna ramble about it.

“Maybe different species can’t understand each other after all.”

“Maybe it would be better if I were an apparition too.”

This is my favorite part of the episode. And no, not in the sense that I want Nene to die just so that she and Hanako can be together. But because of how Lerche actually explored deeper what was said only once in the manga.

Well, both in the manga and anime Nene ended up accepting the mermaid’s blood because of her desire to be popular, but the anime decided to revisit what she said earlier in the episode.

Not only did that make her decision kinda less selfish, it’s also just … sad. Thinking that your friend, someone you really cared about, doesn’t trust you enough to tell you things about themselves, to the point where you’re willing to go to such lengths as turning into an apparition just to understand them.

And if you think about it, isn’t this part of her true wish? To have her feelings be reciprocated? Man I just realized that as I wrote this and I am mindblown.

She thought she finally got her wish with Hanako. I mean, he said it himself in the first ep (”You wanted someone, anyone, to return your feelings, right? And as far as you’re concerned, sharing a bond with someone is the same thing, right?”). So it must’ve hit her really hard when she thought he didn’t trust her. Especially with all the wrong ideas the fishes were feeding her mind.

Then we got this little flashback. At first I was like, “Girl, you really be thinking that he doesn’t care about you while recalling the moment he apologized to you and hugged you? Are you insane?”

But after some thinking of my own, it occurred to me. Maybe she was too used to having her feelings not reciprocated, she couldn’t believe it when someone finally did. Not to mention Hanako did kinda trick her with his fake confession a while back (heh, he’s not the only one with trust issues, eh?). And that just made the entire thing even sadder.

So when Nene said, “But I thought, if I were an apparition like you, I could get closer to you. Then, maybe I’d be able to understand you, Hanako-kun. Although I know I probably don’t mean anything to you.”

That was a harsh wake up call for Hanako.

(Btw even more full circle, Hanako brought up Nene’s wish to become human again in the first episode. Nice.)

So. We got one daikon girl who’s afraid of not having her feelings reciprocated, and one ghost boy who’s afraid that daikon girl wouldn’t be his friend anymore if she knew about his past.

While in actuality, said daikon girl already decided she wanted to and would be his friend no matter what, and ghost boy had grown to care about her more than he thought he would.

He heard what she said to Tsuchigomori. He knew all about regret, too.  I mean, honestly, I think if she had said no, he’d let her walk away right then and there, no questions asked. But she didn’t.

Nene’s wish finally came true here. And the best part? It wasn’t the work of magic or curses. Just Hanako finally shoving his fear aside, offering himself as he was, and letting her decide.

And she still chose to be with him.

Heh. Lemme just. Sob for a bit.

Is my hananene trash brain reading too much into this? Idk. Maybe.

So props to the production team for managing to add even more weight to this arc. Which, they had to, since it’s the season finale and all. But I love what they did!

Onto my commentaries!

1. The KouNene

Good shit. She was worried about him but he didn’t want her to worry so he just smiled it off? These two are precious. Thought they were gonna interact. Sadly not. Buuuut! (see point 12)

2. Hanako’s classroom visit

He. Is. So. Adorable. Someone please take his babey license away he’s too dangerous.

Hanako’s classroom visit is like my absolute favorite clingy Hanako moment, so I’m really happy I get to see it this season. Ugh. My kokoro. Hugging her from behind, that semi confession vibe … Smooth mf.

The Mokke brushing Nene’s hair!!! The radish hairdo tho lmao.

On a sidenote, as a history nerd I appreciate that they’re actually putting lessons in the background. And the teacher talked about Apollo 11 again??? While my boy was in the room? That ish both hurt and pleased me.

3. The Clock Keeper rumor drop

Heeeeeehhhhh? What’s thiiiiiissss?

4. This freaking thing

*flips table* Darn production team been knew I’m hananene trash how dare they do this to me.

And lookie here there’s Kodama chilling.

5. Fishies! (!!!manga spoiler for The Little Mermaid arc!!!)

Pufferfish didn’t die. Well, good for him. Also I can’t believe they just call the other fish ‘yeah yeah’ lmao what the freak. Has it always been like that in the manga?

6. AOI AND AKANE (!!!spoilers for chapter 64!!!)

I swear I did not intend this numbering coincidence.

*claps* Boi. Nene asking Aoi about cutting ties with someone she’s interested in? And then Akane just swooped in and say he’d rather cut his head off than cut ties with Aoi? What about getting impaled, huh, boy? Would that do?

The not-so-subtle call out to these two pairs’ parallel? BOI.

7. Nene and Yako

These two just chilling together having girl talk, and Yako let Nene pet her? That’s some adorable shit right there. Admit it Yako you like her.

Yako also be really hitting home with what she said. It was extra heavy coming from her, considering what happened to her and Misaki. Boiiiiii.

8. Tsuchigomori

Oh my God, his laughter. Just … oh my God.

Tsuchigomori in dad mode is always one of the highlights of the episode/chapter.

By the way, in this scene according to the sub, Nene asked Tsuchigomori who Tsukasa is. But she knew who he is already. Is it possible that the sub misinterpreted it? ‘Cause I think what she actually meant was, “What happened to him and Tsukasa-kun in the past?”

If someone who speaks Japanese could share their wisdom, please do!

9. The 5 pm bell and twilight

Look how pretty they are!!!

Lo and behold, another important hananene interaction while the 5 pm bell plays in the background. Also, twilight? Y’all giving me Kimi no Na wa flashbacks.

“Twilight, when it’s neither day or night. When the world blurs and one might encounter something not human.”

Huh … kinda fits the ‘boundary’ concept but it still hurt.

Anyway they still had Hanako tell her what she already knew. And I did say in my ‘Walking Blind’ post that it’d be redundant. But since the episode kinda emphasized Nene’s desire to understand Hanako, having him actually tell her himself, even though she already knew it, was a big deal. It’s not about what she knows, it’s about him opening up to her. So I’m super cool with it.

10. The Broadcasting Club (!!!spoilers for The Clock Keeper arc!!!)

I love how Natsuhiko and Sakura are actually decent people. When he told Mitsuba that he was free to choose to stay with them or not? That’s solid, man. Though, of course, Tsukasa might not be as kind.

Speaking of, I know it couldn’t be anything else, but I’m still not sure if Tsukasa’s drawing was confirmation for season 2. Don’t wanna get my hopes up. Imma just enjoy what I currently have.

Kinda curious, though. Because Clock Keeper wasn’t Tsukasa’s doing. Maybe he was the one who released Mirai? But tbh I’d prefer if it wasn’t so. Because having more cases of supernaturals going loco without it being one of Tsukasa’s games is interesting, and kinda underlines the need of The Seven Wonders to keep supernaturals in check.

11. Kodama just chilling

12. The Adventures of Minamoto and the Summer Vegetables

You go, Kou! I’m rooting for you oh my God you’re so precious.

And look at that ikemen smile! Him supporting Kou is just top notch sweet y’all I can’t-

Ngl this was the biggest surprise of the episode. Teru finding out that summer vegetables = Nene? Broooooo. Interesting. I don’t think this little addition warrants any changes to their future interaction, so it should be safe. Clever replacement, too, those veggies.

It’s so sweet that Nene delivered those veggies to Kou! Just imagine the Minamoto family having veggies for dinner. Awww.

(Also, Nene wrote her name in hiragana instead of kanji. Is that a reference to how bad Kou is with kanji? Lol, so sweet)

13. The Coda!!!

Look at him. Just look at him. Look how lovesick he is y’all I can’t-

THEY’RE SO ADORABLE.

All in all, I love this episode. Sorry for how long this post is. I’m just dealing with so many feels right now. Gaaahhhhh.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hi! So I’m rewatching TAB atm and it’s giving me feeeels. Do you have recs for after the get off the plane where John deals with Sherlock and specifically his overdose? I wish we’d had a part 2 where the show went into it, but I’m hoping you can give me some amazing fanfic instead! And Johnlock as friends is good as well as slash!

HI NONNY!!!

AHHHH I love TAB SO MUCH. It’s my favourite Sherlock Ep, and I wish I had more fics related to it :( I don’t have anything new since then, but all these fics are from my S3 / TAB / S4 [FIX IT] Fics list from last March, but because I love y’all, I’ll separate it on its own because it’s pretty far down and hidden, and I know other people would like to read some separate, so here you are!

And friends, if y’all have any TABlock, PLEASE give them to me!! I need more!!

THE ABOMINABLE BRIDE (TABlock) (APR. 2020)

See also: 

S3 / TAB / S4 [FIX IT] Fics (March 2019)

Victorianlock 

ACD Canon

The Two of Us Against the World by slashscribe (T, 1,617 w., 1 Ch. || Post-TAB, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Drug Addiction, Anxious Sherlock, Angsty Fluff) – John is there to take care of Sherlock as he comes down from his overdose in The Abominable Bride. Set immediately after the tarmac, back in 221B.

Loudly Unspoken by Mount_Seleya (M, 1,871 w.,  1 Ch. || Post-TAB, Love Confessions, Vulnerable Sherlock, Frottage) – John confronts Sherlock about the words he left unsaid on the tarmac. Set immediately after TAB.

Stay by sussexbound (M, 2,067 w., 1 Ch. || Post TAB, Suicidal Ideation Mention, Implied / Referenced Drug Use, Kissing, Love Confessions, Frottage, Coming in Pants) –  “Why? Why did you do it? Hmm…?” He takes a deep breath, waits, lets it out again. “Look at me.” There’s no denying him when he takes this tone. “Why did you kill him? Hmm…? For her? After…” A muscle twitches in the corner of John’s eye, and he clamps his jaw down tightly, swallows and sniffs a little before continuing. “For her? After everything she’s done?” “For you.” Before he can even stop himself. Just like that.

Journal of Truths by Goddess_of_the_Night (T, 2,317 w., 1 Ch. || Post-HLV / TAB, Pining, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, Love Letters, Declarations of Love) – When John escorts Sherlock back to Baker Street from the tarmac, he discovers a journal that Sherlock has kept secret...that he has kept secrets in.

Green Carnation by glenien (T, 2,616 w., 1 Ch. || Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Meta-Fic, Angst and Fluff, Communication, Post-TAB) – John takes Sherlock home. Part 1 of It’s No Longer Eighteen Ninety-Five

The Trial of Sherlock Holmes by jenna221b (G, 3,015 w. across 3 works || TAB!lock, Metafic / TJLC, Victorian AU / 1895, Christmas, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Oscar Wilde) – Scripts based on speculation that Sherlock will be put on trial in The Abominable Bride to parallel the Oscar Wilde Trials of 1895.

I Love You (Is All That You Can't Say) by theSeventhStranger (T, 3,147 w., 1 Ch. || Post-TAB, Post-Tarmac Scene, Fix-It, Dev. Rel., Retrospective, Angst and Fluff) – “Sherlock. On the tarmac. I got the feeling that you were going to, um. To say something else.”

five times sherlock holmes lied to john watson (and one time he finally told the truth) by miss_frankenstein (G, 5,948 w., 1 Ch. || TAB Compliant || Homophobia, Pining Sherlock, Oscar Wilde Trials, Happy Ending) – Set in "The Abominable Bride" universe, this piece adopts a familiar format to chronicle Sherlock's quiet suffering in the wake of the 1895 Oscar Wilde trials and the particular way they affect his relationship with (and feelings for) John.

Drawstring by May_Shepard (E, 7,412 w., 1 Ch. || Friends to Lovers, UST/RST, Fluff and Smut, Post-TAB, John POV) – John is bothered by Sherlock’s slowly-falling jim-jams… as in hot and bothered and he is trying to deal with a sexy dishevelled Sherlock while also keeping his pining in check.

Never Been This Swept Away by estalita11 (T, 8,531 w., 1 Ch. || Post-TAB, Mary is Not Nice, Drug Use, First Kiss, Love Confessions) – Set immediately after TAB, Sherlock visits his brother to definitely not apologize about earlier and ends up finally learning a few things that would have been nice knowing about months ago. Mycroft never wants to deal with lovestruck idiots ever again.

Out of the Darkness by Irrevocably_Sherlocked (M, 12,165+ w., 2 Ch. || WIP || Death, Overdose, Heavy Angst, Whump, Mary is Not Nice, Post S3/TAB Compliant) – John Watson has long assumed Sherlock Holmes is immune to sentiment, “doesn’t feel things that way.” Sherlock, however, would do anything for the person he loves most in the world, including putting himself in danger while keeping John in the dark in hopes of keeping him safe. Tired of being left behind, John is running a strategy of his own. Unfortunately things do not go as planned for either of them. And as John lays bleeding, Sherlock finally allows himself to say the things he’s always meant to… This is the story of love, forgiveness and finally making right all the wrongs in these two men’s lives.

Wars We Fought, Things We're Not by blueink3 (M, 55,204 w., 10 Ch. || Post S3 / Post TAB, Parentlock, Fluff & Angst, Kidnapping, Whump, Post-TAB, UST/URT, 3G, Mild Peril, Slow Burn, Couple for a Case, Protective Mycroft, Infant Death Pre-Story, Friends to Lovers) –  Five months after John's world has fallen apart, Mycroft sends the consulting detective and his doctor on a case that neither is prepared for.

The Adventure of the Silver Scars by tangledblue (NR [M], 142,458 w., 41 Ch. || S3 Fix-It, Post-HLV/ Post-TAB / Canon Compliant, Case Fic, No Baby, Angst, Humour, UST, Slow Burn, Angry John, Reconciliation, Not Nice Mary / Leaving Mary, Dependent Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Caretaker John, Fist Fights, It’s An Experiment, Virgin Sherlock, Dancing, Drugging, John Whump, Pet Names, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Scars) – It’s been thirteen months since Mary shot Sherlock and John finds he’s still pissed off about it. Sherlock had thought everything was settled: John and Mary, domestic bliss. But when John turns up at Baker Street with suitcases, the world’s only consulting detective might not be prepared for the consequences. A new case. Some old scores to settle. Certain danger. Concertos, waltzes, and whisky.

MARKED FOR LATER

Stay for Me by Itsallfine (M, 17,310 w., 7 Ch. || Post-TAB, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Drug Withdrawal, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss/Time, Bed Sharing, Mental Health Issues, Not-Nice Mary, Divorce, Angst with Happy Ending, Parentlock) – 221B was packed into boxes and bins, and that was when John knew, really knew—Sherlock had planned to be gone forever.

Crimson Hymns by brilliantlyburning (E, 48,982 w., 9 Ch. || Post-S3/TAB, Angst,  Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Drug Addiction, Unhealthy Coping Methods, Demisexual Sherlock, Boxing, Pining, Sensory Processing Issues, Drug Use, First Kiss / Time, BDSM, Mary is Not Good, Parentlock, Proposal, Happy Ending, Beekeeping, Violence, References to Addiction, Poetry) – He laid his head over John’s heart, eyes level with his silver-rough scar, and listened to the crimson hymns beating beneath the surface. He imagined flowers blooming in his own chest: veins weaving intricate patterns on petals of thin muscle engorged with blood, sinew for stems and tendons for roots—the flowers would be poppies, maybe (addictive) or foxglove (deadly yet useful)—twining gleaming blood-red around the porcelain bone of his ribs. In his mind’s eye the gruesome bouquet all tied together on the left side of his chest, the stems bound together in heartstrings and the flowers fed by the rhythmic contraction of ventricles. It’s yours, he imagined saying to John—from the vena cava to the mitral valve to the arteries it is yours.— Or, the Love Song of W. Sherlock S. Holmes.

NO! by Tildathings (M, 50,043 w., 36 Ch. || Homophobia, Bed Sharing, Military Uniforms, Past Abuse, Jealous John, Stalking, Violence, First Kiss/Time, Fluff, Pillow Talk, Coming Out, Sherlock’s Past, Shower, Cuddling, Grief and Sorrow, Hugs, Character Death) – Sherlock has been in a coma in over 8 months after he overdosed on the plane at TAB, during which time Mary and Rosie were killed by Vivian Norbury.  This story starts 3 weeks after Sherlock has woken up. John is asking to move back to Baker Street.

The Summer Boy by khorazir (T, 94,706 w., 6 Ch. || Post S3/Post TAB/Alternate S4, Friends to Lovers, Flashbacks, Sussex, Bullying, 1980′s Kid Sherlock, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Inexperienced Sherlock, Grief/Mourning, Pining Sherlock) – About half a year after the fateful events at Appledore, Sherlock and John embark on a private case in Sussex. For Sherlock, it’s a journey into his past, bringing up memories both happy and sad that he has locked away for almost thirty years. For John, it means coming to terms with the present – and a potential future with Sherlock. Part 1 of the The Summer Boy series

[jq37]

The Report Card – Fantasy High Sophomore Year Ep 14

Brennan Says It’s My Turn With The Daddy Issues

So we’re in hell--literally, not emotionally (at least for the moment). We being Fig, Riz, Gilear, the Hangman, and the blood-imp valet that Fig created last week who is ostensibly named Wretchrot but also picks up the nickname Baby this episode because of shenanigans. Wretchrot brings them all to where they’ll be staying, says a bunch of wild stuff in his weird Rita Repulsa voice, and drinks Fig’s blood which is what he is made of. Riz is bullied by the Hangman and misses the other half of his Nerd Squad. 

Anyway, Wretchrot takes the group on a little tour of Gorthalax’s stuff starting with the library which includes books that steal souls and also legal texts (redundant). Fig looks for a book on devil dating advice while Riz looks for something on the Hellish legal system On a 17, Fig finds a Manual for Succubi and Incubi about extracting souls via the penis. More helpfully, on a 16, Riz finds out that coups are baked into the ruling system of hell and killing someone to ascend to the throne is pretty par for the course. 

Next up is the hall of treasures where there are suits of armor themed to the 7 deadly sins including kinky, gimp, Lust armor they briefly consider equipping either Gilear or Kristen with (Ally breaks at that). There are also these Venitian style masks through which the people who failed to kill Gorthalax to take his place are forced to watch him do his thing. 

They pass through a hall of mirrors which they realize is a kind of security system as it shows things as they really are. Wretchrot appears in the mirror as a drop of Fig’s blood. The Hangman appears as a huge puppy!!!! (OK, a hellhound but all canines are puppies). Riz holds up the photo of Kalina to the mirror and, in the mirror, can’t see her in the photo. However, he does she her in the mirror itself. She waves at him and then appears “in person”.  Fig doesn’t know this is going on and asks Riz if he’s emotionally OK with the fact that they just whip out the photo of his dead dad on the regular. Riz says it’s fine but he quickly becomes less fine when Kalina asks if he'd like to see his dad. He starts to answer her out loud but she tells him that, by talking out loud, he’s tipped off Fig potentially so he should lose her and then meet her alone. The Hangman guards everyone while Riz and Fig split up, to find stuff to test in front of the mirror. Well, that’s the stated plan anyway.

Back in Arborly, Adaine is getting to check an item off of her Teen Girl Life Experiences checklist: Spilling Tea About Your Friend’s New GF. She gleefully does the whole, “I can’t tell you but I’ll tell you if you guess right,” routine before outright confirming that while crustacean shenanigans were happening in the house Fig and Ayda were sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! Everyone in the group goes feral over the news, especially the Gay Squad. She vaguely recalls that Ayda also told her some information about a rune or something but everyone agrees that she retained the most important information. 

They decide to call Aguefort about their coins and the rune (Kristen wisely having all the infected people leave the room). Aguefort tells them that the coins that they have comprise Kalvaxus’s hoard but not his original hoard as it has been spent and invested and put into the economy. Classic Ship of Theseus problem (ie: If you have a ship and you start replacing damaged parts of it, by the time you've replaced all the parts, is it even the same ship?). He also reminds them that spending the gold as quickly as possible is a good idea to avoid the dragon madness curse which is on all dragon gold (a weak but very hard to break curse). That prompts Adaine to describe the rune she discovered to him and he tells her basically the same stuff Ayda did last episode. She wonders if dragon madness could be the larger, static curse under which the trojan horse curse (the spellbook) is hiding. Gorgug wants to give all of the gold away and Fabian is not about that life at all.

Back in hell (literally and emotionally now) Riz prepares to meet Kalina. With a 25 Investigation, he finds a sliver of mirror that he can bring with him to keep from being tricked. He’s also mindful of being paralyzed while he’s with Kalina at the edge of a hell cliff so he anchors himself with a rope tied around his waist. Kalina is her usual aloof, darkly charming self when they speak and Riz is pretty flustered, asking if she was his dad’s familiar (no). Kalina says that Riz didn’t really know his dad and the question he isn’t asking but should be is how did his dad meet her in the first place.

She takes him to a little secret passageway which she says goes to a liminal place where he can see between the levels. She gives him the help action to get a good look (which makes Murph extremely nervous) but he only gets an 11 which means all that he sees is a cold, white light coming from the opening. He tries to use his mirror to look inside but on a 13 dex save, his footing is shaky and some rocks fall down the side of the cliff (he’s fine). Kalina says that he’s gonna have to man up and walk down the tunnel if he wants to see what’s going on. She fully reveals that she’s incorporeal and can’t actually touch him to mess with him if that helps at all. 

Riz is clearly struggling with the choice but he ultimately decides that he can’t pass up this chance and that he can trust Fig to rescue him if things go south. He leaves her a note and then steps through. Within the tunnel, he can feel things watching him and hear a chittering that’s weirdly somehow coming from him. In front of him is a smoky room lit by a cone of light--think interrogation room in an old detective show. In a chair, covered in blood and shit and tattered clothes is Pok Gukgak, gagged and chained. Riz reaches for him but, as he tries to step forward, he reaches the end of his rope. Someone unseen splashes Pok with water and tells him to “confess” and “tell us what you know.” Riz pulls out his gun--his dad’s gun--to shoot out the light. As he does, a thought comes unbidden: You know what the kind thing to do with that gun would be. That shakes Riz so he lowers the gun and starts to untie himself. He’s stopped by Kalina (speaking in his mind) who tells him that if he steps in the light, he’ll be on another level of hell in the Iron City of Dis for real. Not just looking in. Riz pulls out his mirror shard and confirms that it really is his dad in there being tortured. He leaves the tunnel.

Kalina says that she knows Riz is all hopped up on doing his quest and stopping the Nightmare King but if he just stops, if they all stop, none of his friends will have to die and, bonus, maybe there will be a little rescue mission for his dad in it for him. Riz wants to know if Pok knew what her true nature was and he seems to think he cheated on his mom with her (“I know what happened between you two. I can do the math.” Which seems logistically improbable but OK). She reminds him that Pok was a spy which means it’s naive to think that every thing he did was good and taunts him about his clue hound nature before vanishing.  

Riz meets up back with Gilear and Fig and he spills about everything. Gilear wants Riz to have lunch and drink some water before he does anything rash. Fig says that they don’t need Kalina to rescue Pok. They know crazy-person Bill Seacaster who’s also in hell. She lights a beacon to help him find them (if you remember, the Hangman has been attempting to contact him for Fabian). One thing I didn’t mention before is that Fig brought up the idea of temporarily installing herself as the ruler of Gorthalax's section of hell so she’d be a powerful enough devil (or devil-adjacent entity) to get them into Sylvere. Wretchrot said it was probably a no-go since she’s half mortal but, now, on a 29 Riz re-reads his legal book and realizes that Fig wouldn’t actually have to kill Gorthalax to take his place, she just needs to defeat him, which she technically has by putting him in a gem and they put that together almost before Brennan is done narrating. They have a new plan.

The other Bad Kids are discussing what Arianwyn is up to and Gorgug suggests that maybe she’s not actually working with Kalina. Maybe she’s playing along but actually has ulterior motives. Kristen looks at Arianwyn’s notes and on a 24 “Empath Roll” (Brennan converts this Ally-ism to an Insight check) sees that at a certain point, Arianwyn started making leaps in her research that were too lucky and suggest someone was helping her--possibly the entity she was researching. Adaine thinks about calling her mom using Sending or her new Sinod of Spire spell but Ayda calls Adaine and asks if she can come over. Of course she can. She comes with her recently summoned tropical fish familiar in a bubble of water--it has the very Albus Severus name of “Garthy and Adaine the Fish” which Adaine is thrilled about but also suggests shortening to GAF (and also considering reconstituting it into a cuddlier form--though the image of her dumping Boggy into GAF’s bubble is super adorable). Meanwhile, Kristen is thrilled to welcome her to “the family” because being gay is the same as visiting an Olive Garden (this is a shirt now because Ally said it which is too much power to give to Ally). Ayda kinda sucks some of the fun out of teasing her about her relationship with Fig by being extremely forthright about it but Kristen and Adaine brighten at the thought that Fig will be a lot more fun to tease. 

But, back to business. Ayda has not slept because she’s been working on getting to Fig. The whole group is like, “Bitch, are you OK?” and give her an ice cream sandwich which is proper Good Friend Protocol if you have them on hand I think. Ayda is super worried about Fig and is just about ready to unmake everything standing between them (Normal lesbian move according to Kristen). They talk her down for the moment in favor of sending Fig a message: Fig you sneaky bitch. Ayda’s here. She wants to invade hell. You good? PS: OOOOOOOOOOOH. PPS: Ask Kalvaxus about dragon madness. Fig completely misses the fact that they know what’s going on with Ayda (you’d think they’d be more in sync which each others’ texting shorthand) and sends back a message saying she hopes they have fun with her but, “not too much fun,” and also that she, “is king” with no further explanation. Wild. 

Ayda, who is still super keyed up to get Fig, thinks she can figure out the Planeshift spell but she needs more time to work on the spell which she could get...if they steal her dad’s time stopping pocketwatch. Considering they watched Aguefort grab the sun out of the sky the other day, they’re not super down to have a possibly adverse encounter with the man but they hear her out. While they do that, Gorgug takes his now working phone and just straight up calls the guy, explaining the situation (including Ayda’s involvement) and asking to borrow the watch. Aguefort is a little taken aback by the fact that Ayda would want any kind of contact with him at all because about 300 years back, she told him to never contact her again and that she would leave notes to her future self detailing why, which is why he hasn’t really been in her life. He lets him borrow the watch for a week (after which time it will return to him) and asks him to tell Ayda what they talked about, leaving the door open for a possible future relationship between them. When Gorgug returns with the watch and the news, Ayda breaks a little and reveals she didn’t even know she was that old. Presumably because her notes start about 150 years ago with an apology that her past self wanted a fresh start and destroyed the last several batches of notes. She hates herself for doing that and Kristen gently tries to get her to cool it with the negative self talk. Then, they hit the button on the watch and they have a week to work. 

The Wizards work on Planeshift. Fabian and Kristen go to the shrine and Kristen--mirroring her vision from episode 1--sits down to draw the unknown goddess from the mural. Her Spirit Guardians emerge and start to kinda deride her for the sincerity of her action. She in turn decides that she’s done with this wishy-washy “above it all” attitude and dismisses her Spirit Guardians for good (making her, as far as I can tell, the only cleric in Solace with a 100% turnover rate on her Spirit Guardians). She finishes the picture and it feels somehow significant, to her and to Tracker too (who can look at it without wolf-raging out). Gorgug uses the time to “get smarter” which bumps his score from an 8 to a 9 (which has no mechanical implications). Ayda is also working on a side project but she’s keeping it a secret from Adaine. 

In hell, the tribunal is called back in session. Fig comes in ready to claim her hell passport and the throne along with it. On a big ol’ 30 persuasion check--and because the law is on her side--Vrath is reluctantly convinced to confer upon Fig the title of arch-devil (via a full lip kiss which is some Poison Ivy bs) The new title comes with an upside pentagram mark on her forehead, full fire immunity (very convenient considering her new constantly on fire gf), and resistance to poison. However, Vraz is about to force the Hangman to stay in hell due to a legal technicality when who walks in but BILL FORKING SEACASTER, who invokes the law of the blade and immediately starts stabbing their way out of there and hustles the group to his ship (Goldenhoard’s reshaped corpse) which was indirectly named by Fig we learned after the thing that would annoy him the most--The Goldenrod.

Bill gives Fig (who is feeling iffy about her archdevil decision) a pep talk before fully signing up for the rescue mission of the dad of his son’s BFF. We also learn that Alastair Ash is interning on Bill’s ship! He’s pretty happy to see Fig and Riz but if he sees Fabian he’s fully gonna kill him. Right around now, the Bad Kids not in hell remember they can talk to the group via the Hangman and check in since the week of stopped time is up. The Hangman is like, “YOU NEED TO COME HELP US RIGHT AWAY!” They (everyone but the HangVan) Planeshift onto the deck of the Goldenrod which is being targeted by monsters and devils commanded by Vraz. Alastair makes good on his threat and starts trying to shank Fabian immediately (which Bill is hilariously blase about). Ayda opens up a portal to the sea and tries to flood Hell from the top down but Fig stops her, saying that they need to get to the second level to save Pok which seems like it will be quite a task with all the monsters Vraz is throwing at them. Luckily, Bill has money for days (and that money is somehow worth something in hell) and has a whole fleet to back them up for our big Hell Pirate Battle next episode! 

Detention

Gorgug for Bad Gossip Etiquette 

Look, obviously Kalina was the worst person in this episode. Like, duh. But, also, it feels like cheating to punish the Vader of the series for doing something bad. Like, yeah! That’s what she’s supposed to be doing!

So, instead, today’s dubious honor goes to Gorgug for the much less damning but more relatable sin of making his girlfriend aware of tea but not spilling it. Say it all or say nothing! 

Honor Roll

Gorgug for Being More Insightful Than His 8 9 Int Would Suggest

Back to back double awards.

Wisdom is not the same as Intelligence and I actually have no idea what Gorgug’s Wisdom score is on paper but he showed a lot of in this episode.

I think he’s been the first person to suggest that whatever’s going on with Arianwyn might not be as cut and dry as it seems and then, of course, he decided to, instead of trying to Ocean’s 11 Aguefort to just slip out and have a quick heart to heart with him. One that affects him surprisingly deeply. And him bringing up his own experiences with no knowing who his birth dad was was just the chef’s kiss on top of it all.

I don’t think Brennan actually intended them to Oceans 11 Aguefort because that would be crazy, but Gorgug is the one who stepped up to solve the problem for the group with a little compassion and I think that more than earns him the spot.     

Random Thoughts

Trailer for Season 5 is dropping Thursday so get hyped! 

“Are you looking for the Teen Zone of the bottomless pit?”

“The fief of this dom.”

“You’re a little nerd. Tell the cool girl what you know.”

“If I had new parts, where would they go?”

I love Fabian’s confident assertion that Ayda would “love shrimp river”.

Line of the night goes to Ragh for, “Frankly, bringing up the rune in this context is homophobic.” And Adaine’s followup of, “I apologize. As an ally, I’m always learning,” was also great.

I love that the girls instantly understand Fig’s earlier hot tub comment with the new context but the boys are still clueless. 

Watching Emily and Murph have their own little side adventure was so great. They are so fun together and they were clearly having a blast.

I wonder if Gorthalax can tell than Fig just got his title. Either via the title itself or his patron status.

Fig bringing up Riz’s dad to be like, “Are you OK?” caught me so off guard and it seems like it caught Riz off guard too. I hadn’t really thought about it but the fact that Fig had is just another example of her being extremely bighearted and doing a bad job of hiding it. 

Emily’s impotent “rage” as all the party members loudly gossiped about her and Ayda and she couldn’t do anything about it because she wasn’t in the scene was *golden*. 

Kalina leaves Riz so he can watch his dad but, if you think about it, that’s all placebo because she couldn’t do anything to him whether she’s appearing to him or not and she can watch through his eyes regardless anyway so it’s just like, “Do you want me to be visibly watching you or invisibly watching you?” 

Does Kalina have, like, a range? Like, if she can literally just see out of the eyes of people that she’s infected, that limits her to a certain cone of vision and range of movement. But it seems like she can appear to a person and move independently around them to some degree, see things they can’t, point things out, and move away from them. How far away? How independent can she be? What are the logistics here?

Also, on the topic of logistics, it seems extremely hard to know someone for as long as Pok knew Kalina and not realize they’re non-corporeal. Like, even if you’re not a touchy person, eventually you’re gonna bump into them (or, in this case, not bump into them).

Man, the dice really hated Murph this week and, honestly, good. His scenes, imo, work so much better if he doesn’t get to Ally his way out of them with a Nat 20. Him being toyed with by Kalina and unsure and lost is the more interesting version of this sequence of events. 

I feel like he made some big swings and misses this ep though. Like, asking if she was Pok’s familiar? Why would that have been a thing? I’m surprised he didn’t ask if he was the goddess’s familiar--though I guess they might not want to let on how much they know but bringing up the concept that she’s anyone’s familliar I think is kinda of giving the game away.

“I have a hard time making conversation with my friends, let alone you” Riiiiiiiiiiz.

Kalina brought up Kristen to Riz specifically, which I find interesting. (She also said that Kristen used to worship Sol which isn’t strictly true, she worshiped Helio, but same family and that was likely just a slip of the tongue from Brennan. Just wanted to point it out). 

Who does Kalina even work for? Like, it seems like she’s working with the Nightmare King but if she’s the mystery goddess’s familiar like we all think then that’s weird because it doesn’t seem like the NK and mystery goddess are together. Like, a part of me is just dumping everyone antagonistic to the Bad Kids into the same “Bad” bucket in my head but there’s no way all of these people have totally aligned goals. 

“Dragon madness 69”

It’s brought up again in this episode that some of Arianwyn’s research was requisitioned by Pok earlier which I want to ascribe significance to but I’m not in a theorizing headspace right now so I’ll just point it out for anyone who does want to play Gukgak.

I’ve been kinda wondering about the logistics of Aguefort and Ayda and how old that dude is but I totally forgot Chronoancy was a factor which I guess indirectly answers any and all questions about that. It also adds some dimension to his character that time travel is a thing that kinda makes you feel unmoored from time, which I think goes some way (though not all of the way) in explaining why he’s so feral. And, speaking of Aguefort insanity, he was also at the party Zelda was at last episode in the form of an owl as the beer pong mascot. Which Gorgug has Thoughts about. 

I really really want Adaine to talk to her mom in the Synod of Spires. Have you guys realized that, for as much of a driving force Arianwyn’s been this season, she’s had almost no dialogue? She has talked I think 3 times total in all of FH: During Adaine’s intro, Apologizing to her when Aelwen was arrested, and the Message Adaine found from her last episode. That’s it. We know almost nothing about her. What is her deal? Also, Siobhan just always kills during all of her one-on-one scenes and I’m biased.  

Love the return of the Bad Kids being unable to make a phone call and stealing the phone from each other to tag in with their own nonsense. 

Wild that Gorgug was able to get through to Aguefort since he has a history of pissing that dude off by saying the wrong (well, “wrong”) thing.

Shoutout to Gilear for being the Designated Dad of the Hell Trip and making sure the kids were eating and stuff. That was a very endearing moment. 

Also, while we’re on the topic of Gilear, he also cleared up that Sandra-Lynn never seriously propositioned him in an irresponsible, “Let me give you a Magic STD” kinda way which was something I’d been thinking about so I’m glad he said something (though the kids kinda aren’t even though I think we’re way past the point of TMI here).  

“Hiss at her litigator.”

Riz, who Fig is Looking to be the Voice of Reason re: Her Arch-Devil Upgrade: This is super rad.

I’m very curious about whether Brennan fully planned for Fig to decide to take Gorthalax’s place because, on the one hand, my brain didn’t go there at all but, on the other, getting Emily Axford to install someone--possibly herself--into a position of power is like getting Siobhan Thompson to steal a book I feel.

Fig Upon Being Told That Ayda Told Everyone About Them: Fuck.   

I feel like Kristen is gonna wish she had her big moment of emotional catharsis AFTER this big hell pirate fight and not before when she can’t summon her Spirit Guardians. 

Man, we haven’t gotten a big, enthusiastic, “Papa!” from Fabian in a while have we? 

No crits in either direction this episode which is wild considering Fig got a THIRTY at one point.

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Planet With 1 - 12 (REWATCH)

Planet With 1 (REWATCH)

Yay, it’s back with Ume we go!

This scene with Torai and his mother is what made me love the show in the first place – I’m glad to see that it’s still touching the second time around.

Planet With 2 (REWATCH)

(no notes, sorry!)

Planet With 3 (REWATCH)

I realised Kuroi (meaning “black” in Japanese when using a certain set of characters) was using black counters vs. Nezuya’s white. This ties into Kumashiro, who has a panda (a black and white, or “kuro to shiro”) mech.

Planet With 4 (REWATCH)

(no notes, sorry!)

Planet With 5 (REWATCH)

“That sword’s too powerful for you!” (paraphrasing) – No duh. Th guy wouldn’t be an opponent if it weren’t.

Planet With 6 (REWATCH)

(no notes, sorry!)

Planet With 7 (REWATCH)

(no notes, sorry!)

Planet With 8 (REWATCH)

(no notes, sorry!)

Planet With 9 (REWATCH)

(no notes, sorry!)

Planet With 10 (REWATCH)

Where did the old man get food from anyway? There isn’t any food on the island…

Planet With 11 (REWATCH)

The reason I haven’t taken many notes is because…well, I’ve been doing chores and watching this at the same time, for one, but also because this show’s quite dense and I miss a lot as a result.

I thought we never learnt the name of the occult club head. Now we know it.

Seeing grown-up Soya is always a shock to the system.

I swear the font changed termporarily…

LOL, “Judgement” (actually Seigi) Nezuya.

I thought we never learnt Yosuke’s last name as well. I really don’t remember a lot of fine details, huh? Update: That would explain his sheep-themed mecha too. Update 2: Oh yeah, they mention his surname in the previous ep as well.

I think I remember reading on Wikipedia a small percentage (might be 3%) of all old people in Japan die by choking on mochi, mostly on New Year’s when it’s a custom to eat the sticky stuff. Mostly they don’t chew it enough.

Hey. I want to confess something: I’m scared. About mutliple things, including COVID-19. So getting a reminder the universe is full of blessings (as it is said in this show) is a nice reminder that we’re all in this weird scenario together.

Ginko has a small cat clip on her shirt at the collar. I never noticed.

There appear to be the kanji for “star” and “cloud” next to each other. Apparently that’s read seiun and means “nebula”.

Planet With 12 (REWATCH, FINAL)

Pictured: Artistic rendering of subspace hole.

This bit, with the reunion, hits hard every time.

I think the thing that makes Planet With what it is is that “forgiveness and understanding trump evil every time”. A powerful message for this time of COVID-19, I think.

On my new Windows 10 computer, which is a lot clearer than my old Windows 8.1, the detail of Sirius is so beautiful, I thought it was the moon.

When did you start bleeding from the head, Soya?

[rainbat]

okay regarding theories for the episodes and tyrus (id love to hear your thoughts!) what if (and this could be too rushed) TJ and Cyrus get together episode four, and the coming clean in seven references them confessing their relationship as an explanation for acting weird/blowing off their other friends?? The only reason I think that might be the case is that “coming clean” has a more negative connotation which I don’t think would be used solely for a coming out, but if it was an explanation...

(2/2) ... for uncharacteristic behavior it might make more sense?? Idk if that was clear or even likely because episode four seems way too early but again I’d love to hear your thoughts!!

Thoughts on Tyrus in Episode 4:

okay honestly this did come to my mind when i originally read that synopsis. I’m like 95% certain Disney wouldn’t have Tyrus officially together in episode 4 just because there seems to be a lot of stuff going on in that episode in regards to Jandi and Cyrus is definitely at least somewhat involved in that plot as we see him in the promo with Andi and Jonah in the hallway and also the GHC at the lunch table listening to Jonah in the cafeteria

that being said, my 5% hangs in the air because i think it would be hella smart and blessed if we did have some kind of hint to Tyrus this episode. Maybe not officially together but something similar to my fic and some other things ive seen floating around where TJ and Cyrus are ‘unusually’ close or touchy in the basketball tryouts scene (most likely in the background).

This would give us some kind of lead in to episode 6 where Cyrus is all of a sudden close enough to TJ that he’s hanging out with his friends. Even if them being very close in ep 4 was ‘platonic’ (LOL) the casual audience kinda needs some kind of hint that TJ and Cyrus are close/kept being friends after the finale of s2. (remember casual 9 year olds still think Tuffy is a thing. again, LOL) 

I do agree that the ‘coming clean’ thing seems to have some type of negative connotation but at the same time i am VERY undecided on what is going to happen...im about 50/50 on two different scenarios right now so walk through a little thought analysis with me...

AM’s past episodes and synopsis liklihood:

Let’s journey back to a few episodes...The episode with Cyrus COMING OUT has Cyrus’ name in the synopsis because he has a plot and its a major one so surely... “Cyrus introduces his girlfriend, Iris, to Buffy and Andi” ..oh um okay?? i, uh.. okay disney. Now Cyrus’ second big gay scene was coming out to Andi but of course thats full of a ton of other Cyrus scenes so the synopsis wasn’t expected to cover that one.. what else... Keep A Lid on It?? Cyrus reveals he doesn’t have a crush on Jonah anymore! That’s kinda a big plot change for him? let’s... oh Ham reveals some info and Jonah tries out for ultimate...so okay, he aint mentioned at all

Disney has never ever attempted to reveal gay information in their episode descriptions.. now S3 is taking a big turn but i really just don’t have trust that they ever will. > 1 point to NOT about Tyrus

AM descriptions v promos:

Another thing we can do with episode descriptions is notice HOW SPECIFICALLY they are related to the trailers. There’s always way more in the actual episode than what does down in the trailer, but the trailer and the synopsis like to be tied so they don’t give away any of that information. Now this one is kind of exciting cos it can go either way which is what MAINLY divides my thoughts on this...and ill end up invalidating my statement that disney wont reveal gay in their synopsis..

Trailer: Cyrus and TJ dirt biking and a random new dude... Episode 6 synopsis: While hanging out with TJ’s friends, Cyrus faces a dangerous situation

Hella straight forward, thats gonna be episode 6 and the dangerous situation is gonna be dirt biking, they aren’t tryna lead us on they’re being basic

BUT we are now split on promo time for TJ and Cyrus because we have two scenes: Cyrus looking worried and TJ looking worried, OR Cyrus and Andi/ Cyrus and the Cop. Could go either way? Right? They both definitely SEEM to be something that Cyrus would have to confront and ‘come clean’ about. 

it all depends on what happens in episode 6...

dangerous situation, cop shows up, drama. cyrus deals with it and comes clean to his friends that he did ‘x’ in last week episode : easy, classic conclusion 

OR

dangerous situation ends up being lowkey and there really arent any consequences other than cyrus being worried/scared for a hot second and that episode slaps us with tyrus for the remained of the screen time (cop scene is another episode)

Both honestly seem like valid options at this point... 

First one is very dramatic, which i have a hard time believing a disney show would leave us on a cop cliff hanger for an innocent kiddo like Cyrus

Second one is more likely because the promo/synopsis love making things 10x more dramatic BUT the Tyrus thing just gets me cos i have no faith

no point. Disney is really branching out with their content here, its territory they have never touched and i really cant decide which way they think is less risky (substitute Tyrus for a het couple tho and option 2 is CLASSIC disney drama)

Buffy’s name in the e7 synopsis:

 BUFFY. BUFFY. BUFFY. she just has to be the catalyst in all of this because it’s such a good troupe and i believe Terri sees it through... the fact that Buffy is involved in episode 4 with TJ, has what we assume is a small plot with Jonah in ep 6 (TJ), and is stated to be involved in Cyrus’ plot in ep 7 (TJ) just screams Tyrus reveal to me. 

 “After an encouraging talk with Buffy, Cyrus decides to come clean with his friends” 

Andi was involved with Cyrus and the cop in the promo, not Buffy. It wouldn’t say friendS if it was the cop situation because Andi was there and if he talks to Buffy about it as well... he literally only has one other friend to tell (rip bud dont mean to call you out). ALSO 22 mins is not long enough to have a whole leading up to the talk with the cop, the talk with the cop, the discussion with Buffy about the cop, the reveal to his friends. there just aint the time if Andi is also dealing with Buffy drama and Bexie are involved in that plot as well. 

Buffy, however, is the person Cyrus confides in the most about his feelings.

Episode 4 essentially serves as a ‘catch up’ for this trio (can we give TJ/Cyrus/Buffy trio a name pls?) and their relationships with each other. If episode 4 proves that Buffy is friendly with TJ now (but still a little snarky pls) then i jump from about 50% to about 75% certain for this plot

It is far more likely that once Cyrus is finally certain Buffy and TJ are okay with each other he reveals his crush. He is certain in episode 4 so he either tells Buffy in the end of that episode, some time in 6, or beginning of 7. THIS OR Buffy is talking about her relationship with Walker and how Andi is involved blah blah and Cyrus listens to her, realises he needs to tell everyone about TJ and everyone finds out at once, including Buffy.

Either way, I don’t see an ‘encouraging talk with Buffy’ being anything outside of relationships. Whether Cyrus makes a connection based on Wuffy or Buffy specifically discusses TJ, Cyrus comes to a conclusion about his relationship

1 point to it IS about Tyrus -- Cop drama just doesn’t have the time and Buffy mention saves the day

So im really really half and half as you can see... It really honestly all comes down to the question : Is Disney more likely to reveal a “dangerous situation/consequences with the police” storyline in their synopsis or a “meeting the crush’s friends/defining a gay relationship” storyline?

[johnlockficclub]

Discussion Recap - Author Q&A!

Well, JFC crew, we’ve reached the end of another fabulous fic! Thank you so much to everyone who read along and participated in the weekly discussions - you all are the best.

And of course, a huge thank you to @swissmissing for writing The Baker Street Nativity in the first place and for coming along to our Author Q&A to share some insight into her writing process and background to this fic. Questions and answers are below the cut as this got quite long!

And finally, thanks once again to @frodosweetstuff for allowing us to use her artwork for these update posts!

Happy holidays everyone - may you and your loved ones be safe and happy this festive season! xx

1: Why this AU? What got you started on it? @ewebie 

 I saw the movie and with MF in it, of course I immediately started thinking of how it could be a Johnlock AU.  I do that frequently anyway: imagine Johnlock versions of stuff. I just watched a few Netflix Xmas movies recently and I am still thinking of how to turn them into Johnlock AU's. I see the world through Johnlock-coloured glasses. Is that healthy or normal? IDK.

2. Would you ever consider publishing your fanfic? @norburylibrary 

No. First off, the story is obviously cadged from a copyrighted screenplay. To publish it for real, as an original work, I'd have to scrub the names and characters so that they don't interfere with BBC copyright. That part should be feasible, but the story itself is too close to the Nativity screenplay. As for any of my other fics, the non-fusion ones, I don't think I've written anything that could stand on its own without the Sherlock association. One of the huge assets of fan fiction is there is a built-in character background and setting. I'm not up to rewriting to the extent of creating something that could be published as an original work.

3.  What do you enjoy writing most, humor or angst and why? @elwinglyre

I can do both, but I guess I'm more drawn to angst. I think humor is harder to pull off, for me at least. I'm not a naturally funny person. I have to think hard to come up with funny situations and lines. Confession: In some of my fics, there are certain punch lines that were actually written by my beta readers. I think Sherlock and John - in fact all of the Sherlock BBc universe - lends itself more naturally to angst anyway. although there are humorour parts in the eps, I find them more geared towards angst.

4.  Was it confusing at all having seen the movie to then switch the roles?  When writing it. @sherlock-nanowrimo

Yes, totally confusing at first! I started out with the "natural" roles, with John as the teacher and Sherlock as the assistant, but it wasn't working for me so somehow I just got the idea to try it the other way round. Once I started down that path though, it wasn't confusing for me. I was worried throughout that it would be confusing for readers. But everyone who commented and said they had seen the movie, also said the switch wasn't hard for them to deal with.

5.  When you write is it because you get a fic idea or for some other reason? Like stress reliever or for doing something fun? @tildathings 

Good question. I always want to write. I get a great feeling of satisfaction when I write something. Especially when I finish a piece. It's a big shot of dopamine for me. It carries me for a long time, sometimes days. BUT I can't force myself to write. I tried that one year with nanowrimo and it was not a good thing. So I can really only write when "the muse" grabs me. When I get an idea that sticks with me for days and weeks. And with this fic, it really came alive and almost wrote itself, once I was on the right track.

6. How much do you base your writing on the show and how much on your headcanon? @travelingwithoutthedoctor 

This is a problem too, as I haven't gone back and watched the episodes in a really long time. Many of the eps I only saw once in the first place. I have the feeling that the fandom circles you travel in tend to create a fancanon that pretty much replaces the actual canon. So that's something I struggle with. I actually try when I write to imagine and hear the TV characters speaking and acting things out, in the hopes that it makes it closer to how they might actually be in those situations. I suppose that's unavoidable. I'm sure I do have an image of the characters in my mind, and I write from that. I just hope they are pretty aligned with the original characters from the show.

7.  I thought you did an incredible job making Sherlock a teacher for young children credible. That wasn't something we'd think of Sherlock doing, and you made it work. What did you take into consideration when doing this? @elwinglyre

Woo boy, that's a thing! He is so completely unsuited for this position. I had to justify him being in that position, however, so I kind of hand-waved something. Honestly, it wasn't my priority. I was just trying to create Johnlock moments. I mean, I think he's actually quite good with children. We've seen that on the show with Archie. I think it would depend on the kids.

8.  I’m curious about the speed of writing. How quickly do you get a chapter done? @vitruvianwatson

Once I get going, I can usually do about a chapter a week. My chapters tend to be 2-5K. 

9.  The UST, miscommunication and angst of this fic was deliciously frustrating, and a lot of us were yelling at them to just sort themselves out. If that was the hardest part about reading it, I'm wondering about what was difficult to write in this fic?  Were there certain sections or characters that you found challenging? @lediona25

I was honestly following the pacing of the movie, pretty much. I did need to add some scenes. I tried to pace it so that there was a romantic bit about at the halfway point, and another one for the big payoff at the end. One challenging bit was the dog. I wasn't sure whether to include him, but once I did, I kept forgetting about him. I kept having to go back and remember where the dog was and who was taking care of him. I don't have a dog so I was just doing what I've seen other people doing with their dogs. They leave them tied up outside of shops and restaurants all the time so I figured it was okay. Again, it wasn't really a priority. A lot of people commented that they liked the dog in there though, so I'm glad I left him in.

10. It was perfect casting!  We were talking about it during the movie - like with Greg as the headmistress. @sherlock-nanowrimo

That's one of the best parts of doing a fusion, for me anyway, is the casting.  I love discovering how characters map onto each other. Sometimes it's astonishing.  I HAD SO MUCH FUN WITH JIM!!  I didn't want to make him actually evil or a real threat. It always gives me massive anxiety when Moriarty shows up in a fic because often truly awful things happen then. But I wanted to keep this in line with it being a kids' movie. And to be fair, I didn't really need to change all that much from the movie bad guy anyway. That nativity play he put on was insane! And I actually was just teaching one of my classes last year about universal story plots such as the hero's journey.  (Yes, I'm an English teacher.) 11.  One of your ficlets suggests some pretty unpleasant stuff re: Jim's backstory. @bluebellofbakerstreet

Jim's backstory. I kind of imagined he and Sherlock had been rivals at the conservatory and Jim had tried to derail Sherlock with drugs. Perhaps somewhat successfully.

12.  What the hell is the story with Sherlock and whatever he did to Seb Wilkes?! @ewebie

I don't know either! LOL that is actually something I like doing in fics because, again, I like it when fics do that: hint at something but not elaborate and leave it up to you to decide what was actually going on.  I guess maybe that's frustrating to some people but for me, it gives fics depth and realism.  It's like in some fics where you just hear about a case in passing but the details are never fleshed out. I was using it to show that Sherlock had made poor decisions with kids in the past, so this thing he did with taking the kids to the studio wasn't out of character.

13. John... as a classroom assistant. How did you see him ending up there? Our conclusion was that... lost people just sometimes end up places @ewebie

I don't recall if it's explained in the fic or not, but I actually had something in mind for that. He was invalided out of the army and bumming around with nothing to do, feeling useless. His good friend Mike, who was also a teacher, recommended him to Greg as a classroom assistant. No idea if that would be allowed in the UK but here in Switzerland it's frequently done. Usually a retired person will be brought in as a classroom assistant. This keeps them active and engaged, and is a big help to the teachers.

14.  We loved the whole scene with Moriarty at the end when Mycroft pops out and saves the day.  You did a bang-up job with that.  When you're finishing a story, are you one those "I've planned it all out" writers or stream of consciousness writers. Let's go with the flow? @elwinglyre

In this case, the ending was written for me. I just followed the plot of the movie. Usually, though, I do have the ending in mind from the start. It's usually pretty much a sex scene, lol. The whole point of the fic is usually, how do I get these two together? 

15.  Oh! The sex! Is that easy for you to write. I have the hardest time with that. Is something your really get into? @elwinglyre 

True story (which I also told on one of my guest slots on the TPP): I didn't use to be able to write sex scenes. But I wanted to. So I literally would copy sex scenes from fics I liked. Just like, typing them out word for word. This got me used to writing those words and those acts on my screen. Then I tried writing my own. I think I sort of have a reputation for writing awkward-realistic sex scenes. I'm not aiming for that, it's just how they come out. It's a mix of, again, imagining how the characters would appear and act and speak in those situations, and also I guess how I would feel and want things to be.

16. We have a lot of people in this group who are just starting out writing fic or are thinking about writing something, do you have any advice to new writers? @lediona25

I'll just say what we started out talking about: Write for yourself. Write what you want to read. You will always have an appreciative audience. I see so many writers get discouraged because they don't have massive hits and kudos, and they just give up. I think most of the popular writers in fandom have been around for years. This may be their third or fourth fandom. They've been writing in real life. Experience takes a long time to build up.So write for yourself. The rest will come. And... at the moment, it feels a bit like there's less readers than 2 years ago, so really really don't be discouraged.

Thanks to all those who asked questions and to @swissmissing for her thoughtful answers! :)

[zhoufeis]

1. How are you holding up 4 months after Soy Luna ended? 2. Would you change anything in the season 3 finale? 3. If yes, what? 4. What was your favorite romantic ship? 5. Favorite friendship? 6. Favorite female/male character? 7. Favorite song? 8. Which season was the best? 9. Would you be happy If there was season 4 or a movie? 10. Are you going to watch Bia?

Hey there :)

1. Surprisingly good. Actually, I’m glad they freed me from this garbage.2. Uh, yes...3. I’d make it 20 episodes longer. I want a Sharon/Luna reunion. I want to see how Jaz, Delfi and Ámbar actually became friends again - and not suddenly were. I want to see more of Lumbar. I want to see the reactions from everyone when they found out that there was a fire at the mansion and Luna and Ámbar were in the middle of it. I want to see Ámbar confessing things to Luna. I want to see Ámbar’s new-found friendships with Matteo and Ramiro. I want to see how Luna, Ramiro and Ámbar actually excel in professional skating while everyone else is going other ways. I want to see Ámbar getting back the Jam & Roller. I want to see Simón and Pedro excelling too, not just Matteo. Idk, they left so many things open and unsaid, I hate it.4. Simbar/Lumbar5. Rambar6. Ámbar(+Luna) / Simón(+Ramiro)7. Tu cárcel, cómo me ves (acústico), música en ti (acústico), eres, valiente8. the last 15 eps of s3 were amazing, but if we judge the whole season, s2 had a storyline, character development and interesting plot twists throughout the season. on the other hand, s3 consisted of the first 5 eps and the last 15 eps. the other 40 eps that happened in s3 were pointless. and s1 wasn’t bad but the plot was too simple and too... well, s1 was made for under 12 yo. s2 and s3 had a more complex storyline.9. tbh, no. very happy to be free of it.10. no, but someone said they might feature lgbtq+ chars and same-sex relationships. then i will watch it.