#and it's so corny brah

[buthowboutno]

ONE YEAR OF "AND THEY WERE LAB PARTNERS" ✨✨✨

Thank you to everyone who participated in the one year anniversary poll!! I still maintain that it would be funny as /fuck/ to just delete “And They Were Lab Partners” in a memento mori fashion, but alas; Only one person voted for it.

Cowards /j

In any case, the majority voted for the behind the scenes stuff, so here we are! The tidbits of how ATWLP turned into the fucking beast it is.

I would like to personally blame @morning-sun-brah , @hitechlatte, and @ordin-arily for being such big inspirations in this corner of the fandom. You guys are amazing and I probably wouldn't be where I am today without your works.

Shout out to all my losers in the backrooms for keeping me going and being such terrible influences. You are all responsible for the horrors that have been unleashed. A solid third of my content exists because of your sins /aff. 

@beckerboopin is the best beta anyone could ask for and has only brought this story up to the next level. I would die for you becks <3

Also @betyoudidntcthatcoming-blog is the love of my life that I only met ‘cause of this fic or whatever. They’re pretty neat. I guess. :p

ANYWAYS, /CONTENT/

(Major Spoilers Ahead Pre-Chapter 23)

—

I would like to remind everyone that ATWLP was only supposed to be 50k words. You can still witness my naivety in the notes of “Pudge ‘Preciation.” 

How… simple those times were. 

How I so firmly believed the idiots would be kissing by chapter 16. How a projected word count of 150k words seemed unfathomable for a single work, much less a work with multiple published and planned companion pieces.

Crazy. (I was crazy once.)

There was a lot of ATWLP that ended up getting scrapped as I got further into the story. The idiots had a lot of opinions and tugged at me a few different ways as I got to know them better. (aka they wouldn’t listen to me when I told them to fucking kiss already.)

Anyways, some of the few major structural changes:

Casey was originally supposed to reveal that he knew Sweet’s in the bad timeline during the “Intro to Sparring” chapter. That chapter was also originally slotted to happen /before/ the kidnapping debacle, but it just so happened to fit in better later

The stage kiss from “Hit the Club” was going to be in the Nerd Prom chapter. It felt too corny at the time (and lowkey still feels corny) so I put that in my pocket for later. For as much as y’all yelled at me for it, it barely made the final cut lmao.

The way the idiots are going to confess to each other is a COMPLETE 180 from how I planned the story from the beginning, which was already entirely different from the first idea for this fic. I wrote a whole ass chapter about an accidental kiss being the tipping point of them positively macking on each other, which I did end up cutting into convenient pieces for other stuff. (I PUT A PART OF IT DOWN BELOW)

Sweets was going to be kidnapped twice and the whole Purple Dragons debacle was going to be drawn out more. There was a lot more action planned than slice of life content at ATWLP’s conception. For better or for worse, this is where the story led us.

Donnie’s mating season wasn’t going to be as involved in the story, if in it at all. I grew to be hornier and less ashamed. You’re welcome.

The first title for this fic was “Lab Rat: a Story of Nerds Falling in Love.” For the life of me I cannot remember what compelled me to change it, but holy shit am I glad I did.

I was going to use (y/n) in this fic. No hate to those who do, but stylistically I’m pretty happy with not doing that.

And because I have no control over the idiots, quick rundown of the chapters that weren’t supposed to happen.

Kart Conflict

The Christmas Issue

The Recovery: Day Two 

Valentine’s Day Episode

Hit the Club

Aquarium? Hardly Know ‘Em

****Pool Excursion

****Beach Episodes

****honestly just like the entire endgame of this fic

All the ficlets/ alternate POV’s

All the smut! I still have it written down in my original notes that ATWLP was gonna be completely PG lmao. Once again y’all have @morning-sun-brah and her fucking fabulous fics to blame for that

The Valentines’ and aquarium chapters are COMPLETELY different than how I had originally planned, even with being forced to include them in my chart. The Valentine’s day plans that the brothers had “ditched” with Sweets was the og plot for the chapter. The aquarium chapter was supposed to be a rooftop picnic with feels~~, no aquarium even fucking mentioned in my outline.

I don’t have much control over what happens tbh. I am praying that the 37 planned chapters will be the final chapters. 

We’ll…. we’ll just have to see how that turns out.

The scrapped plots as a little treat for y’all <3 ~~~

Cut Stage Kiss (after the lift in Nerd Prom)

You leaned closer to Donnie’s face, intent on screeching in his ear for pulling that stunt.

“Kiss them already!” May yelled from the inner edge of the crowd. You turned bright red, blinking at her. You shook your head at her, but the crowd started to catch onto the idea. 

“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

Donnie laughed, a little incredulous. He leaned in close to your ear, whispering, “Theatre kid protocol?”

You nodded in agreement, allowing him to put a hand to your face. He leans into your mouth, making the crowd go wild. You giggle against the thumb separating your lips, smiling against it. Donnie pulled away from you with a dramatic ‘mwah’. You threw your head back, fully laughing as Donnie lifted you up from the dip. 

First Valentine’s Day Outline

The final four move to the living room

Sweets: “We’re making friendship bracelets while we watch the most romantic movie of all time.”

Raph: “Shrek 2!”

Donnie: “This is ridiculous”

Sweets: “This holiday is ridiculous, now pick out your five favourite colors of embroidery floss”

Donnie: “....Fine."

Donnie is actually terrible at making bracelets lmao while mikey has wristfuls of them

Donnie: “I don’t understand! I’m following the blueprints exactly!”

Mikey: “The... instructions?”

Donnie: “Whatever! How are you making those so fast? You don’t even have that many friends!”

Mikey: “Physical therapy is a hell of a time, my brother.”

Sweets: “Is Donnie being ableist again?”

Mikey: “I do believe he is.”

Donnie: “I am autistic!”

Sweets: “Bless you.”

ORIGINAL CONFESSION

And it all starts like most things in your life do: a silly mistake.

“Donnie,” you whined. You were working on your physics homework at his desk while he was soldering a new motherboard for the Turtle Tank’s controls.

“Little pest,” he mimicked your tone without looking up. He kept on soldering as you stared at him, not a care in the world. 

“Would you be so kind as to look over my work for this problem? I’m following the steps but I’m not getting the right answer.”

“Mmm,” Donnie said. At that moment, a spark flew from his project and caught his exposed cheek. He flinched back, dropping his wire and soldering rod on the table and rubbing his face. You batted your eyes at him while he scowled. 

“I don’t know how, but I blame you for that.”

“I would *never*,” you teased. You pushed your chair to the side a bit so Donnie could stand next to you. 

He moved his goggles to his head and put his left arm over the back of your chair, leaning over you. He parsed through your work for a minute and tilted his head down to tell you what you needed to fix.

It just so happened that you tilted your head up to ask him a question at the same time, the two of you meeting in the middle with a kiss. 

Well, it wasn’t so much of a kiss as it was the two of you accidentally brushing your lips together for a moment. Seconds, almost nothing at all. 

But the way that Donnie looked at you when the two of you jumped apart…

That…that wasn’t nothing. 

You could almost laugh at the ridiculousness of this situation. You could’ve cracked a joke, played up your ridiculous game of pet names and intellectual bravado. 

(To be honest, you almost did.)

But then you thought about the way Donnie’s lips felt against yours. You thought about the way you’d dream of that moment and then proceed to do everything in your power to banish those thoughts away. Your mouth hung open slightly as you looked up at him, trying to will yourself to do anything, anything at all.

Donnie ended up making that decision for you. That oh, so familiar churring started emanating from his chest. He took your face in his hands, looking into your eyes for just a hint of confirmation before leaning in for a real kiss.

Oh.

*Oh*.

(Yeah, you could get used to this.)

There was nothing more you could do than press yourself against him, against his touch. You felt him smiling into the kiss, pressing you down into the chair. 

Donnie was *everywhere*, like he was trying to encompass you. His hand moved to your hair, the other to your hip. You smiled when you remembered his adoration for your love-handles all that time ago. You traced along his plastron, making nonsense shapes and mapping out every scar.

He was so responsive. The chirring increased tenfold for every touch to his chest, every soft bite you gave his lips. You recalled all the times he would make noises from you touching along his shell. You pressed your hands fully against him, doing your best to draw out more and more of those sounds.

What Donnie lacked in experience he made up for in enthusiasm. He followed your lead, matching your pace every step of the way. You licked along the seam of his lips, gasping as his mouth opened for you. Donnie’s tongue against yours was tentative, shy even. You did everything in your power to ease Donnie into deepening the kiss. 

When he moved from your lips and started kissing down your throat, your soul could have left your body right there. He was so…*gentle*. 

Donnie always has been. From when he was slinging his arms around you to kicking your ass in sparring, Donnie has never failed to treat you with care and reverence. 

You feel it now, with every soft bite he gives you, every gentle peck behind your ear.

Donnie pulled away from you after what felt like decades. (Never enough, it would never be enough.) You leaned forward after him, trying to close the space he was creating. He looked bashful.

“This might be the proper time to tell you that I have a massive crush on you,” Donnie said. His face was fraught with nervous determination. 

“Yeah, no fucking shit,” you said. You stood up from the chair and used your body to push Donnie against the desk. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders, pulling him down to your height.

“I’ve been wanting to kiss you for forever, can we get on with it?” you said, looking into his eyes. Donnie turned bright red.

“But– you? Do you?” Donnie stammered a bit.

“Donnie,” you deadpanned, crowding into his space, “I’ve had a crush on you for a year, thanks for noticing. Will you *please* lean your face down a bit so I can reach it?” 

Donnie looked at you a bit incredulously, like you were a problem he didn’t know how to solve yet. He made quite a picture, all red faced and calculating with a dumb half-smile while he looked at you. But, giving in, he put his arms around you and leaned in to kiss you again.

“Aye, aye, captain.”

You smiled into the kiss, humming with contentment.

He likes you.

He likes you.

—

Aaaaand some random headcanons because I love you guys and I am truly so thankful to this kickass community <3 I truly do not know where I would be without the support y’all have given me.

Donnie has a hella oral fixation

NOT IN A KINKY WAY (most of the time) But as an autist, Donnie do be biting

One of his biggest shows of trust if he bites you while just chilling

Like if donnie is big spoon, he just nom on a shoulder and stay there chillin

Or if reader is body pillow, he’ll lean around and bite their bicep

Good sensations

Donnie draws on eyebrows every day, he for sure would be very good at doing intricate makeup on reader

Gently holds their chin up, concentrated as hell while reader blushes like mad

Donnie keeps getting banned off of roblox

Didn’t matter tbh, he knew how to hack into it to get his account reinstated

Also makes money off of roblox??

never explains to Sweets, very suspicious

Sweets likes to kiss along donnie’s neck/where his battle shell usually sits

The word here is reverence

Donnie is egotistical, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have insecurities about being a mutant turtle and you being a human

Lots of tracing along his arms, his face, his shell

Donnie likes his coffee to be half coffee, half milk to cut down on bitterness. Sweets is a tea drinker normally, but opts for coffee when they can’t focus (which ends up being most of the semester).

Sweets drinks black coffee when they’re on the struggle bus

To quote them, “Black coffee can’t hurt me more than Calc II already has”

But they prefer two creamers and two sugars when they have it in their dorm.

That’s all, congrats on making it to the bottom of this long ass post lmao <3

[revengeromance]

im so heated right now brah there’s this guy im “friends” with who I don’t even fucking like at all who used to be in my band and he’s so fucking annoying and not politically active at all and said some corny shit to me today about like hating the system and not the man (the MILITARY RECRUITERS in this situation) and his dads a cop like oh my god you can’t be in my fucking punk band if you don’t get it I don’t care that you like Dead Kennedys you’re not fucking punk

[gumbxz]

✩ ✩ ✩ ✩

haiiiii i’m gumball or nali my pronouns r they/them and i’m 19 yearzzz old x3 i make art and uggg yeag read my old if you want lol they so corny jaja(im black mexican hawaiian chinese filipino!)

so far i mostly kinda just draw self insert x canon art ?? BUT i will make silly fanarts of characters depending on how fixated i am on them hehe if you wanna use my art as edits or post it pls credit me tanks brah :3 <3

list of shit i fricken LOVE:

-mlp

-vocaloid

-homestuck

-postal

-fnaf

-csm

-breaking bad(love and hate sigh)

-overwatch(BOOO)

-tf2

(there’s more but i ain’t putting all dat SHIT)

but yah that’s kinda it abt me uhhhh im either active or inactive lol xd okay erm idk what else to put BAIIIIII!!!!11! ＼(≧▽≦)／

[juvederm]

gonna keep yapping hold on. mainly abt treatment of sapphic headcanons. i saw some posts my mutuals reblogged abt that kind of thing and since i was talking abt old ud fics, i had to say soemthing abt it

i'm not gonna sit here and act like i know everything, but based off what other lesbian mutuals have said, hcing a girl as a lesbian because she's either "mean" or gets in the way of ur gay ship is such a lame move. it's just so dumb and weird. this was the most common case w sam and ashley

first i thought of this bc someone (i think marigoidz, hi hi if you read this) had posted something like "when a non sapphic fic features a sapphic character being some sort of side character or "wingman" to the main characters" and it reminded me of what i just mentioned in the first part. i feel like this happened in ud fics in some way.

i think maybe queerkearney also mentioned this at some point as well (also hi if you see this ! :])

like i'm tempted to ask people Why they hc a girl as a lesbian just to see if they're being weird about it. they'll be like

why don't you ship samjosh?: oh bc i think sam is a lesbian!!! :3 (is a chrisjosh shipper, + they don't care about sam in any regard, this is the first time they've ever even thought of her)

or why don't you ship chrashley? : ashley's a girl kisser!! (is also a chrisjosh shipper, also doesn't gaf abt ashley) (or they say some bullshit abt her killing chris as a reason)

like there's somethin real fishy abt those people... not saying you Have to ship samjosh or chrashley but like. you look like you only hc them as that so they doesn't have a reason to be attracted to chris or josh anymore and therefore makes ur gay ship work like goodnight

i'm not saying Everyone does that. i just don't trust the reasoning most of the time when it's not a lesbian saying the headcanon. and sam being a lesbian in ur headcanon isn't a bad thing either! it's just sometimes people use it as a way to move the girl out of the way. and when they write this headcanon, they sideline the character they headcanoned as lesbian 😭 (@ that one fic that made chris cheat on ashley w josh and then made ashley get w sam and then they sidelined both of those characters.... mkay)

it's just like mistreatment of sapphic characters honestly. like you're not putting any care into this, you're just saying this character is sapphic so you can just not worry about her in the context of ur gay ship and it's literally so fucking lame i'm not saying anything new but omfg

im also not sure if i worded this 100% correct so apologies if i sounded dumb af 👍 just had to get this off my chest

[elsakey]

Myoga rlly out here providing exposition in the middle of battle like...what...

[quirkwizard]

Hey Wiz. Saw Chap 290 and... wow. I mean, I knew Touya was going to reveal himself to Endeavor and Shoto, but I didn't think he broadcast who he was and say the things Endeavor has done to him to all of Japan. And to see Rei also see him was shocking as well. And his speech was towards him was also amazing, saying that the past doesn't forget no matter how far you look into future. What are your thoughts on this?

Oh fuck it's a major fandom event. OH FUCK THE SPOILERS ARE COMING. WIZ WATCH OUT

So what are your thoughts on the big reveal that Dabi is To-tally a theater kid? I mean, do you see the flair in them moves brah?

You should probably fireproof your ask box, Wiz. Everybody's gonna have Dabi on the brain after this week.

Fireproof. I get it. And because there is so much to talk about the last few chapters, this is one of the rare occasions I will have to write using bullet points. Since this is more my general thoughts on the matter, feel free to send in more asks if you want something more specific.

-Let's all be real here: we saw this coming. Even since Dabi came onto the scene, countless fans speculated and found evidence of his connection to the Todorokis. So any real chance of this being a shocking twist was dead on arrival. Now that's finally here, it's feels less like a surprise and more that we were just waiting for this to happen, the patient theorists vindicated by canon. Which I guess is the issue with twists in long running series nowadays. People have time to think and if one person notices it then everyone can notice it.

-However, it is more than made up for by the reveal. I stand by, if you can't have the twist be impactful, then you can have the revelation be impactful, and this is a prime example of that. Dabi coming out in full force, dramatically revealing his hair color, monologuing about his father and brother. All with a video playing in the back, showing the world the crimes of Endeavor. He's been planning this for years and he is going to enjoy ruining their lives. That's not even mentioning the long term implications this could have on the story.

-Truth be told, I've actually kind of been shaken up even since this came out. Dabi was always a character I disliked and now he has stuff going on with him. I mean he's more than just a design with a one dimensional edgy personality. Now he has more depth and personality beyond a frequent Hot Topic shopper. If nothing else, I'm kicking myself over not fully explaining my dislike for him earlier, now invalidated by what was revealed in these two chapters. I would go more in depth with said revelations, but that is a whole other can of worms.

-It's good we got confirmation on the whole situation with Keigo's name and its importance, which I totally called. Even though I wonder how Dabi even got the shot, did he just whip out his phone, the actual showing of Twice's death was certainly a nice touch. I was wondering why Hori offscreened Twice, especially for such an important character, but I'm guessing he wanted to save it for now. Plus it gives us confirmation that Twice actually died. I know that sounds obvious, but this is a manga series. No one is truly dead unless we see a body.

-One such example is Best Jeanist, who didn't actually die in spite of us actually seeing a body. Which again, I called since murdering someone felt very out of character for Hawks, but I really liked how him coming back was handled. Jumping out of a plane, firing cables at the villains, getting in a super corny hero pun which I would have totally made a joke out of if he hadn't already used it. Probably even had "Back In Black" blaring on the plane's PA system. I really hope he gets to something cool since he got jobbed the first time and hasn't done much since.

[deagenerate]

notice how the brazilian thnspo blogs dont reblog corny so relatable brah posts form 2013

[rabidwrestlingfan]

Payback time! 1-50 on the Wrestling questions! Hahaha

Little did you know that I was 100% prepared for this. Because what else was I supposed to do 😂1. What got you into wrestling? The Rock. My mom is a habitual channel surfer, and she'd always end up watching whatever was on. She ended up on the channel Raw was on a lot of the time, and I'd cry whenever she changed it and The Rock was on. When I was still in a walker. A couple years later my older cousins made me watch it with them. I watched Jeff Hardy jump off something and the rest is history.2. What is your favorite wrestling promotion? Honestly, fuck this question. My heart says WWE. So we'll go with that.3. Favorite male wrestler of all time?Edge! Always has been.4. Favorite female wrestler of all time?Lita! I was completely mesmerized the first time I seen her hit a dude.5. Favorite current male wrestler?I have to say Jeff Hardy. He's my second favorite ever.6.Favorite current female wrestler?Nixon Newell! She's a ball of energy and I love it. 7. Favorite theme song?Is it wrong to say Jack Sexsmith?8. Least favorite theme song?Alicia Foooooooooox.9. Favorite gimmick?Fashion Police. Love it. 10. Least favorite gimmick? Alexa Bliss. Probably gonna get shot for this, but I just don't like this whole bullying thing.11. Best entrance (either their usual entrance or a special one, like a Wrestlemania entrance)?Shawn Micheals! All the time.12. Best Undertaker Wrestlemania match?Ummmm... 2008 vs Edge. Oops.13. Most overrated?Brock Lesnar.14. Most underrated?Mark Haskins or Zack Ryder... can't decide a definite answer there.15. Have you ever been to an event? If so, which one?Halloween SmackDown in 2015, Raw after MiTB last year, and NXT live in May.16. Who has the best merch?Yikes. Young Bucks!17. Do you own any merch?Two Enzo and Big Cass shirts, an AJ Styles shirt, an Edge shirt, Zack Ryder shirt, Dolph Ziggler shirt, Dean Ambrose shirt, MOUSTACHE MOUNTAIN SHIRT, and a Roman Reigns necklace. I used to have the Dean Ambrose glove things, but I gave them to my little cousin.18. Best nickname?Aerial Assassin. Fight me.19. Worst nickname?The Great White. Sorry, Shea... but it's bad.20. Best mic skills?Randy Savage will always be king to me.21. Most annoying?Randy Orton. He just drones on and on.22. Most attractive male?Random generator says Tyler Bate...23. Most attractive female?Candice Lerae! The cutest cupcake! 24. Favorite faction?currently? BSS... probably.25. Worst faction? The Authority.26. Best ring gear?Young Bucks.27. Who do you think would be the nicest in real life?I've heard Jeff Hardy and AJ Styles are both super sweet.28. Who would be the rudest in real life?Funny story. My sister met Brock Lesnar years ago at an MMA event. He literally scoffed when she asked for a picture. AT A MEET AND GREET.29. Favorite heel?Eddie Guerro30. Most hardcore?I want to say Mick, I do, but Jimmy Havoc. 31. A wrestler you could beat?Brah, I couldn't even beat Hornswoggle.32. Best story line?Jimmy Havoc's entire Progress title run.33. Biggest missed opportunity for a story line?BAYLEY AND HEEL CARMELLA34. Worst story line?Whatever Bliss vs Bayley was35. Which wrestler should turn heel?Sasha Banks36. Which wrestler should turn face?Carmella. Whoops.37. Who would be the worst to room with?I feel like Jack Gallagher is a neat freak. I am not. 38. Who would be the best to room with?Mark Andrews. 39. Who would be your best friend if you were a wrestler?Both Jack Gallagher and Enzo talk a lot.... so do I....40. What would your job be in a wrestling promotion? I actually kind of want to be a commentator!41. Favorite wrestling podcast/ Youtube channel?WhatCultureWrestling42. Favorite finisher?Bitter End is beautiful43. Least favorite finisher?ZigZag....44. Favorite match?It's corny. Hardys vs Dudleys vs Edge and Christian at WrestleMania 17!45. Favorite PPV?TLC.... I like the more hardcore matches 46. Guilty pleasure wrestler?David Finlay and Juice Robinson47. Favorite submission?Octopus Hold? It looks like a video game glitch and I love it.48. Most entertaining to watch?I love Enzo Amore. Not even apologizing.49. Best spot?Spear off the dangling belts. 50. Who do you most respect?Undertaker. He used to legitimately scare me when I was a really young. Then I came to love him. He definitely paid his due to wrestling.

[rantceratops]

Secrets

It’s been a while since I did one of my rewatch posts, and what better episode to hop back into the swing of things than Secrets? I remember the morning after this episode aired, I got my mom to sit down and watch it with me over breakfast because Artemis and Zee kicked so much ass and I figured she’d appreciate that (as well as the Marvin the Martian reference, hehe).

Nothing bad ever happens on Halloween, amiright?

I like how that museum curator guy just happens to decide that he REALLY needs to say the Beowulf sword incantation for that cop, you know, just in case some wacko in a cut up trench coat is crouching up in the rafters nearby and might need it or something. How considerate! (dude, you could have prevented this ENTIRE episode from happening if you had not said that. YOU HAD ONE JOB.)

“Mediocrity such as this is never far from Harm.” Is Harm insinuating that he attracts mediocrity? I know he means that as a compliment to himself but I just can’t help but see it as he’s a loser so he attracts other losers.

Harm reminds me of a guy that I went to high school with, that always had really long hair and wore all black and a trench coat like all the fucking time. I shit you not I think of that guy every time I watch this episode, the resemblance is uncanny.

In fact now I’m just imagining that Harm was some fucking edgelord that was like obsessed with old legends and creepy shit and then somehow got stuck on the Beowulf legend and the sword and started taking things too far. 

LOL, Museum Curator is like okay see you guys, we’re fucked.

“The legends say the heart must be pure, they never said pure good.” You know, he really does have a point. 

“Really, you’re not going to join in? What kind of wolf are you?” The kind that doesn’t respond to what arguably sounds like an actual dying dog, Wally.

Leave it to Conner to get Megan to wrap some toilet paper all over him and call himself a mummy. (I’m just kidding it’s probably not toilet paper but still)

Wally please stop with your face

Awww, poor Billy! He wants to hang out with the Team! He’s so precious <3

AW YEAH AND HERE ARE THE LADIES OF THE HOUR. (well actually of the half hour but)

Okay, I really do not fucking have a clue as to why, but for some reason whenever I see Artemis in that vampire get-up my brain likens her to one of those uh... ugh, that Scooby-Doo movie with the three sisters that sang in it? Were they humans or vampires? I don’t remember but for some odd ass reason I get vibes of one of those chicks (or all of them?) from Artemis the vampire. IT’S WEIRD.

Also why didn’t they give Artemis fangs. LOST. OPPORTUNITY.

On a shippers note I find it interesting that Wally is a werewolf and Artemis is a vampire. Obviously those two creatures of the night are often heavily entwined, be it as star-crossed lovers a la Underworld, or something more like Van Helsing. I wonder if the choice was intentional, or perhaps coincidental... considering there is 0 Wally and Artemis interaction in this episode. (kind of a shame, tbh, I feel there might have been some funny potential in at least having them comment on each other’s costumes or something at the beginning) Not to mention the fact that Artemis’s angry attitude in this episode has a whole lot to do with Wally, despite no interaction.

The Justice League didn’t have a Halloween Party!? WHAT A BUNCH OF LOSERS.

You know, I don’t believe that Wally or Artemis were really 100% oblivious to Conner and M’gann being a thing. I think for both of their parts it was something more along the lines of wishful thinking, or perhaps shrugging off certain blatant signs of affection as nothing more than friendship. Considering that Greg said neither Wally nor Artemis took the revelation as hard as they appear to (moreso in Artemis’s case, as Wally gets over it pretty much immediately compared to her) I think that deep down they were both kidding themselves. As has been said many times before, Conner and M’gann were merely distractions for both of them, somewhere to focus their affections when they were too scared to admit they liked the other, or when the other seemed unobtainable to them. Crutch crushes, if you will. For Artemis, Wally seemed out of reach, so she went back to hot, beefy Conner; for Wally, his intense and undeniable feelings for Artemis began to scare him, so he went back to safe, sweet Megan instead of confronting those feelings.

“You are so making this up to me later.” I think we all know what that means...

“Girl’s night out.”

Artemis is like AW YEAH MISPLACED AGGRESSION TIME. 

“I know Artemis isn’t shooting straight. For starter’s she isn’t Green Arrow’s niece.” “What?” “Well, yeah, in fact she’s related to--”  Awww, Dick was just so unconcerned about it and I love that. Like, he KNOWS and he doesn’t even consider for two seconds that Artemis is the Team mole. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: DICK AND ARTEMIS’S FRIENDSHIP IS SO IMPORTANT. (if you don’t think that Dick hacked into the Bat-computer and looked up info on Artemis pretty much the night she joined then you’re wrong)

Four for you, YJ Bats, sticking up for Artemis’s right to have a secret identity! See, this is the kind of times that I like Batman.

Why does Dick almost seem sad about there not being a traitor? I never could quite figure out what that expression of his is supposed to mean, unless it’s just a kind of like “I’m stumped” kind of sad/deflated thing. IDK

I was sooooo glad we got an episode of Zee and Artemis being badasses on motorcycles, considering those two were absent for the brief motorcycle fun times in Schooled.

I also liked the headcanon that Zatanna was borrowing Robin’s motorcycle in this episode, huehue. (too bad it uh... blew up)

I fucking love that Artemis has this kind of... like, attitude of being pissed off and just wanting to pummel the shit out of something instead of actually talk about it, especially considering it’s a matter of the heart. I don’t think Artemis follows the closed off trope per se, but she’s just so convinced that Wally doesn’t want her and that the Team would shun her if they found out about her family that she’s closing herself off where she normally wouldn’t.  Like, I love that Zatanna tries to be a good friend and let her talk it out, but Artemis is only interested and venting some of her pent up anger on some hapless bastards. Her feelings and her secrets are eating her up from the inside out at this point.

“What I need is something to beat up.”

God Artemis is such a badass, can we just appreciate the fact that she’s a badass enough archer to fucking nail very precise targets from a moving vehicle? And then like, punches some guy as she’s driving past and finishes him off? 

Harm is a fucking creeper.

“You know, there were easier ways to take them.” “Pfft, they had it coming, no harm done.” THAT’S RIGHT ARTEMIS YOU KICK BITCHES IN THE FACE. (especially considering the implications of what they were going to do when circling that blonde girl... they definitely deserved the punishment Artemis dished out)

“We get it, your name is Harm!” 

“Their ridiculous garb--” Excuse me? Coming from the guy with no shirt on and a ripped up trench coat thing? Come on brah, who’s really ridiculous here? My ladies have style!

Let’s just take a moment to appreciate Zatanna’s awesome flip thing while saving Artemis, shall we?

Oh my god I forever love that Zatanna changes her fucking boots mid chase sequence because they’re impractical. XD

I’m always just a little bit disappointed that the dagger that slices Artemis’s mask didn’t leave a bloody scratch. Like, they could have gotten away with a red line on her cheek to represent it being a scratch. Idk, I’ve seen fics where she does have one and Wally asks about it and stuff like that, I choose to headcanon it nicked her skin.

I also kind of like that Zatanna lasts about two seconds against Harm but Artemis holds her own for a good minute or so. My point being that there’s an obvious contrast in each of their training, that Zatanna probably doesn’t physically fight very much due to her spells, where as Artemis is quite proficiently trained in melee as well as her bow and arrows. It’s also an interesting contrast in that they’re both technically “ranged” heroes if you will, but one of them is still more melee inclined than the other. This is in no way saying Zatanna is weak, I’m sure she at least knows some basic fighting/defense, I’m sure Zatara would’ve taught her something, but Artemis is clearly the winner here, especially with her upbringing (god knows all the shit Lawrence taught her). And in general I greatly appreciate that Artemis could have very easily just been the stereotypical “girl’s are ranged” trope with no combat prowess at all, but instead she’s inclined to both ways of fighting and in fact spends the majority of season 2 fighting melee with a sword. 

Appreciation time for the rooftop fight, as the choreography for it is particularly top-notch!

Also, Artemis is fierce!

“You wanna play without the toys?”

Artemis, please, stop, you can’t just unleash that much of your badassery at once, it’s bad for my health!

Shipper goggles: When Harm hits Artemis in the face I’m always just like wondering how Wally would have reacted to that. For no other reason than shipper reasons. I would’ve just loved to see him be all like AW HELL NAW and just rush Harm recklessly and probably get his ass whooped.

“The martians are coming, the martians are coming!” Oh my fucking GOD this part cracks me the fuck up every time.

“Watch out! They have disintegration rays!” Conner, honey, I can tell you that you’re not getting an Oscar for that line delivery anytime soon.

THE CORNY ASS MUSIC I CANT

Wally is so silent this whole episode, though, tbh. He has like two lines at the beginning and then yells about martians, but other than that he’s completely silent, it’s weird.

SUDDENLY IT’S SAW UP IN HERE.

ARTEMIS AND ZEE USING STOVE GAS TO BLOW HIM THE FUCK UP, A++.

Oh, man, Artemis getting so... just absolutely fucking livid when she finds out that Harm murdered his sister. “You did this! To your own sister! And you had the gall to write beloved!” Like, she can’t even imagine doing that to Jade, or Jade doing that to her. They are very obviously on the opposite sides of the law, but when it comes down to it Jade nor Artemis would ever do anything that would kill the other, they love each other, and the idea that someone could do that to their own sibling just fucking appalls her.

“It can’t fight us while it fights itself!” FUCK HIM UP, ART!

How does that boot taste, mother fucker?!

“I still can’t believe someone could do that to his own sister... I mean if my...”

:((( Artemis you hurt me.

[fractallogic]

So I’m watching a documentary on Tony Robbins because I thought it was like, he was embroiled in a scandal or something like that but instead it’s like

…really inspiring

Intensely corny but from what I can tell based on legit psychology and also reminiscent of yogadave, which means it’s also the kind of positive thinking that really jives with me

Like, shit. I thought it was going to be horrible and dramatic and awful but it just FUCKING RESTORES MY FAITH IN PEOPLE AND NOW IM PUMPED

But I also have a very weird headache that's sporadic but also INTENSE SHOOTING PAIN in my left temple so I'm like. Alternately FUCKING PUMPED BRAH and Jesus fucking lord I am going to die from pain in my head that makes me want to puke

[thedramafilesblog-blog]

Appearing before the Dramacourt: Man to Man Ep 01

***If this is your first time browsing The Drama Files, please read The Rules section first for our reviewing and rating system***

Issues:

Whether the sniper shooting scene was realistic

Whether the “prison break” was believable

Whether the evil scorpion man villain scene was the funniest thing ever

Whether the breakup with the mob boss’s daughter was legit

Whether ex-fangirls would really make the best managers

Whether the explanation on ‘how to contact a Ghost Agent’ was hilarious

The Rule(s):

Absolutely not. There’s a reason snipers don’t move around and jump across buildings when on a mission.

Somewhat. It started out strong and then its like the write gave up thinking halfway through.

Totally. Cheap, terrible CGI and random NYPD in the most un-New York environment is totally ridiculous.

No. It was totally not legit. So many unanswered questions.

Depends.

Yes. Totally hilarious.

Analysis:

RedRosette J: Finally. A show that isn’t absolutely horrible right from the start. I have to say that I was waiting for this show ever since they announced it. I love James Bond-y spy shows, so this is totally up my alley! It got off to a rocky start with the ridiculous “sniper” scene (See Issue 1) at the beginning but after that the show picked up. There was all the super secret spy stuff, running around Europe, and things blowing up just like in any good spy show. There was definitely a LOT going on in this episode and I had to stop for breaks throughout (this probably has nothing to do with the actual plot though and more to do with the fact that my brain is tired from studying. Exams. Ugh). Park Hae Jin is totally believable as Agent Kim Seol Woo. He’s done previously “soul-less” roles before (Bad Guys and arguably Cheese in the Trap), so there’s no doubt he can deliver. I also like that he brings a little bit of a “I-give-no-shits” vibe to the character. I really liked the introduction of the movie star Yeo Woon Gwang and the people around him. They all seem to have unique and well developed characters. Right down to a Descendants of the Sun spoof! I’m excited to see how Park Hae Jin’s and Kim Min Jung’s characters interact as the show goes on. For right now, it seems to be the typical borderline love-hate situation. As for the political plot line, I got bored and sort of zoned out, but I’m hoping it gets better later on. The production is well done and the OST is decent too. So far, I don’t hate it and I’m really hoping it continues this way and doesn’t disappoint.

Jubiemon J: Overall, I’ve enjoyed this episode. We had a good mix of action and humour. I also liked how the episode showed a contrast between Kim Sulwoo and Yeo Woo Gwang through the transitions. When Sulwoo is suffering in prison, you have Woo Gwang being a jerk to all the workers around him. There’s a nice contrast between their personalities, yet they’re similar in many ways as well. Sulwoo can charm people like how Woo Gwang is great at acting as if he cares about the people around him (not his direct team; other directors/actors). However, Sulwoo seems to be less conceited and has a more serious, responsible personality unlike Woo Gwang who is really the arrogant type that you can’t hate completely since he’s still good at what he does. Also, though the spy scenes in the start were a bit cheesy at first and the long English scenes were kind of excessive, I still enjoyed seeing that setup for Park Haejin’s character. I felt like the crew intentionally had that long intro segment to lightly make fun of typical spy movies too. In spy movies, there’s always that femme fatale and how Haejin’s character ended the relationship he had with that woman in Hungary was hilarious and totally made fun of spy movies.

I wouldn’t say this episode was a 10/10 because there were still some parts that bug me. I did think that how Sulwoo entered the prison was on the ridiculous side; he could have just committed some crime and entered or acted as some prison guard. Instead, he had to go through that long saga with getting kidnapped by some peeps to get to the Russian military leader.  I also don’t particularly enjoy Cha Do Ha as a character. She seems to be the typical Mary Sue. She’s a kind, devoted woman with good intentions and is completely infatuated with Woo Gwang to the point that it’s embarrassing. She’s like at least 30 in this drama . . . and she fan girls like a teenager. I know it’s supposed to be cute/funny, yet I just cringe. Not to mention, did they HAVE to give her the worst bowl cut ever? She also keeps interfering with Sulwoo’s mission which sincerely irritates me. I’d rather watch how his mission will play out than have her believe he is some paparazzi. Even worse, it’s completely obvious how Sulwoo will eventually fall for her. There’s already some hint that something about her “bugs” him; his boss even alluded that there’s always a woman involved. Finally, the political parts were still . . . ugh. Can we just let go of all the corruption dramas going on? -0-‘ So sick of this theme. (I do have to say this drama has done the best so far in terms of dealing with the politics; not TOO TOO much like in some dramas like Defendant. God. No.)

We’d never get anything done if professors looked like this

Fake dating

Tea with a mob boss

Shady shit always goes down in alleys

LOL!

Making sure everything is perfect because you have the boss from hell

Smiles

When someone interrupts your “me time”

This guy tho

“Let me see your equipment” ;)

When you can’t believe he’s so pretty!

There’s some political stuff too…

Issue 1: Whether the sniper shooting scene was realistic

RedRosette J: I get what the drama was trying to do. I really do. They wanted to show him as a rebel who doesn’t follow the rules and does crazy stuff. I get it. But there are tons and tons of other much more realistic ways of showing that! There’s a reason that snipers lay in wait and don’t move. It’s all about precision and timing. It takes time to focus on your target and wait for the opportune moment. It is highly and I mean highly unrealistic for a sniper to be able to pick up his giant ass gun, run across a building, jump down said building and then aim and shoot a man. Seriously? Not to mention, those guns are really not meant to be “portable and user-friendly.” I just found this scene completely ridiculous and thought they could have done much much better.

Pretty sure that’s not how a sniper works

Breaking all the rules

Dude: “He doesn’t listen to anyone.” Dude 2: “Perfect let’s recruit him”

Issue 2: Whether the “prison break” was believable

RedRosette J: Let me just start off by saying that I am a HUGE fan of Prison Break (Season 5 airing now!). So, any show that does anything remotely related to a prison break, I expect Prison Break level standards for the breakout. I was super super excited when things started rolling towards a prison break: stuff got exchanged, soap molds were made, prison batteries were made, shank keys were cut and then the actual breakout was WTF? They just ran. Like ran through the prison. I’m sorry but where were the guards and the locked doors? It’s a prison. Not some hotel hallway where you can casually run down. It gets worse. They get to a grate in the wall which just opens and then they jump into some hole and the scene cuts to them sitting in a car by a helicopter. What? So many questions are unanswered!!! Where did the tunnel lead? How did they get out of the tunnel? Was it even a tunnel? Where was the car? How did they get the car? Did they talk to someone? I don’t know…It was really like the writer got too tired to think about the ending and was just like ‘whatever I’ll resolve it off screen’. No. Brah. You have to see it through!

Jubiemon J: What I did like about the prison break was the start of it, the part where Sulwoo stuffed something on that door which then led to something being lit up. The lights then all shut down. I quite liked that part. I wouldn’t say the prison break was THAT bad compared to the ones I’ve seen in other movies. It was just okay. What bugs me more is HOW Sulwoo ended up in prison. It was totally unnecessary to have to have dated that daughter of some evil guy and then get kidnapped by the dad and thrown to prison. Ha. Like I said before, he could have had a prison guard there. Also that ending part with the Russian military leader being sent off by his crew ? If he could have gotten a helicopter all set up, why couldn’t he have broken out earlier by himself? Was Sulwoo really necessary? I doubt it.

When you in prison but still got moves…

  When you in prison but you still chill af…

What is this? Where does it go?

Issue 3:  Whether the evil scorpion man villain scene was the funniest thing ever.

RedRosette J: I LOL’d so hard at this! This was the funniest thing ever. The dude was wearing like a full on body suit (Batman style) and had a massive scorpion tattoo on the side of his face that glowed! It was completely ridiculous and totally hilarious. The shitty CGI made it even funnier. It was also set in New York (?) but looked like it was actually outside a strip mall. LOL! Dead. So funny!

Jubiemon J: This part really, really confused me at first because I thought there was some supernatural element to this drama. I almost got really mad and wanted to say no to this drama. After I realized that he was just filming as a “bad” Superman, I thought it was all right. I guess they wanted to introduce a popular guy who does action films that can sometimes be cringey yet still popular. (Hinting at lots of those sequels and franchises I bet.)

LOL!

That tattoo tho LOLOLOL

When you famous because you were in a corny movie, but still got swag

Issue 4: Whether the breakup with the mob boss’s daughter was legit

RedRosette J: I totally understand the logic behind why he had to die for there to be a proper wrap up of the relationship. He’s right. You do not want a scorned woman on your case if you are an international super spy. My only issue is with the execution of said death plot. The car explodes with him in it while she’s walking towards it. Cool. But how did he get out? And then he just walks away right in front of the burning car and she’s supposed to be right behind the car. How did she not see him walk away? I don’t get it. Again, this could have been written better, eg: engineered drive by shooting with a fake blood pack and a bulletproof vest or gets pushed off a cliff into the ocean, or I don’t know anything else that seemed a little bit more legit. It’s for the dramatic theatrics, yes, but still I hold spy dramas to a higher standard.

Jubiemon J: I can kind of see how she wouldn’t notice him going away. When someone is caught by surprise and he/she isn’t trained to be immune to these dangerous scenes, he/she would probably be caught up with whatever that surprised the person. It’s sort of how there has been this experiment that has shown that when there’s a fire, most people are way too shocked to even react and run away. They just freeze. I think it’s reasonable for her not to have noticed Sulwoo walking off. I do agree that we’re kind of left wondering how he escaped; I think that might have been the writer/director thinking that this would show us how awesome Sulwoo is as a spy. We’d never know how he escaped. That’s the beauty? A magician doesn’t reveal his/her tricks?

NO.

Issue 5: Whether ex-fan girls would really make the best managers

RedRosette J: You’d really have to make sure that she’s not some psycho stalker first. But in an ideal situation probably yes they’d make good managers. Case in point is Cha Do Ha (Kim Min Jung’s character), who literally picks up the Yeo Woon Gwang’s car with a forklift because he was making out with some random actress in it. Talk about an extreme deterrent. Ex-fangirls would definitely be willing to go to extremes to protect the star…that much I believe.

Jubiemon J: No. You don’t want someone that’s a crazy hormone-filled fan girl to act as your manager. Sure you will get someone who understands your pet peeves and habits, but you also have someone that’s likely fantasizing being with you or stalking you. It’s also unprofessional for her to be going goo-goo ga ga behind the scenes when there are co-workers around her. It’s cringey and embarrassing. I also think that having someone like her who only sees him as that perfect man will eventually end up stunting his career. He treats his closest staff so terribly that they will likely want to leave him later. Also, I think someone would want a manager to be able to bring some sense to the star like keep them grounded. I think the only reason that he has kept her around is that he is a narcissist. He wants someone to idolize him completely. (This is just on the first ep; his character assessment will likely change b/c we have that hint of him being all sensitive when the politician’s wife told him she managed that clothing brand.)

How you react when you an exfangirl and your bias does something cute

This is top notch deterrence

Issue 6: Whether the explanation on ‘how to contact a Ghost Agent’ was hilarious.

RedRosette J: This was absolutely hilarious. The best part was that what Seol Woo’s “handler” Lee Dong Hyun (Jeong Man Sik’s character) was explaining to the Director was totally realistic. You know how they say the best spies are the ones who wear no disguises? This is totally that except the best spies are the ones that act like regular people! The director was all “how do you contact him?” and Lee Dong Hyun is all “I texted him” LOL! Totally totally hilarious. He goes on to explain to Seol Woo later on that the Director thought he was kidding because it was too normal and realistic. I love it!

Conclusion: Appeal Allowed.

Rating: 3 = MM. Okay. Fine. (It was good. Not cookie worthy good, but still good. Here’s to hoping it gets better)

Dissent from Jubiemon J – 3.5 – that .5 comes in because Park Haejin really studied hard to execute his English lines! He executed his lines very well considering how English isn’t his mother tongue. I’d probably would have given this a 4 if it weren’t for the cringey Cha Do Ha. I think cutting her character out would be fabulous.

  File No: Man-To-Man-EP-01 Appearing before the Dramacourt: Man to Man Ep 01 ***If this is your first time browsing The Drama Files, please read The Rules section first for our reviewing and rating system***

[foxydunsparce]

gotta admit i really considered asking you to be my valentine but that's some corny ass shit and i'm a loser so like

that IS some corny ass shit wtf brah (i like corny shit it’s okay lol it’s the thought that counts)