#enjoy the episode dear mutuals

[theoniprince]

My comfort cakes for KdE *^*

HAPPY SPATORT!!!!

(Mango-Yogurt-Mousse with raspberry core)

[r144l3r]

Thursday is tomorrow how are we feeling kinkley nation

[iznsfw]

Can you write Yena? I miss her already I keep rewatching the last episode of Animal Detective

The Last Day

IZ Days of Christmas: Day 4 - Choi Yena

Choi Yena x Male Reader Smut

Word Count: 5856 words

Tags: All of Us Are Dead AU, zombies, virgin_girlfriend!Yena, apocalypse sex, first-time, uniform sex, against the wall, squirting, mutual masturbation, fingering

T/W: POSSIBLE ALL OF US ARE DEAD SPOILERS, VIOLENCE, thoughts about death, graphic descriptions of death

I'm not sure if you guys will like this, but it came to mind while trying to think of a plot.

This one is for @sinswithpleasure. I hope you like this, Sins! I really like your writing and noticed that recently you've taken a liking to Yena, so I hope you enjoy this.

Your legs are aching. No amount of jogging or PE exercises could have prepared you for this, but then again, nobody had really expected this to happen. No one had expected such a strange onslaught of an apocalypse. Sure, there were jokes here and there as people do, but now that it has become an unwelcome reality, everyone is on the edges of their seat.

If they are still alive, that is.

It is needless to say that you and your friends are scared. No, more than scared. You are terrified. Yujin is one of the better athletes of the school; her confidence is automatic when it comes to running and dodging. However, the sweat from fear and exercise has become constant. It has slid down to the red gashes on her cheeks. She keeps throwing glances back at the greedy mass of zombies running towards your direction, and each one subtracts any hope inside of her.

As for your other friend, Jo Yuri is on Yujin's back, clinging onto her for dear life and crying in her ear. Both girls are scared to death as they hold onto each other.

And Yena? Her hand never leaves the clasp of yours. Her stocking-clad legs have not been through this much use and stress, but they manage to keep up with the pace Yujin has raced. You hate how it's the wrong moment to think about how beautiful your girlfriend looks—despite the wounds on her cheeks and legs, her adorable face still makes your heart melt. It is such a pity that you can't kiss her; you are being chased by zombies, and one wrong step or poorly timed pause can guarantee her death and yours.

"We have to go to the gym!" Yujin shouts breathily. Her voice strains from trying to keep at a volume high enough to be heard over the sounds of the zombies. While their sounds are disgusting groans and yawns, Yujin's voice is clear and smooth. It calms you down a little, but allows you to register what she said.

"The gym?" you ask. "I thought we were planning to go to the sound room!"

Yes, there had been a plan all of you had formulated to play a song in there in order to distract the zombies, hopefully long enough to get out of the school. Yujin has her tape record of the song she had produced and written with Wonyoung, the class president. It is called "LOVE DIVE." You've heard it before, and like it so much that you feel that its debut does not deserve to be in a wacky sound room, but instead on a famous show where it can reach heights in the music charts. But it has to be done if you want to live.

Turn the curve down the hall. Rapidly go down the winding staircases. It would have been more convenient to use the teachers' elevators, but one of your professors has turned into a zombie inside there, too. And you truly do not want to be killed or to see her face now that she is literally walking dead.

"We can't do it now or we're gonna die! Faster!" Yujin says. Even with Yuri on her back clinging onto her for dear life, she expertly jumps over the banister to get down early. Yena follows her lead. However, she stumbles just a little. In that moment, the cliché scenes of the main lead tripping while running and eventually getting captured by their predator flash through your mind. But you catch her before she falls, which she kisses you for gratefully.

"What if there are zombies in there?" asks Yena.

"There aren't. It's the last safe place."

Last safe place. The words remain in your mind as you continue keeping up with the girls. All the while, you are deep in thought. How long was it until all the other safe places became dangerous? What places were they? And, above all, how long will it take until the gym loses its safety, too?

Your fellow classmates and schoolmates have been in the same situation as you are: on the run in a place where they are supposed to be safe, looking for an escape. All of them have turned into zombies, just like your teachers. They are all ganging up on you, just dying to make you one of them. So, is there really a chance to wind up out of here unscathed? Or is a death really inevitable?

"Are we almost there?" a sobbing Yuri asks out loud. She is covering her ears, shutting her eyes in hopes of blocking the terrible world from being her reality. Unfortunately for her, it doesn't work. "Please say we're there already, please please please!"

"We are!" Yena shouts. The gym is slowly surfacing in your vision. The afternoon light is bright enough to show that it is free of zombies. It is—(or was)—used to hold pageants that Kim Minju, a senior like you and the girls, always wins and other activities. The little events your school holds used to have such little meaning to you, but now every part of you yearns for another boring conference, another senseless anti-bullying orientation. Anything except this, you keep praying. Anything.

Yujin gets in and holds the door open. Her observant eyes keep track of the steadily approaching crowds of zombies. "Get in, get in!" she rushes you, swaying her arm inwards in emphasis. "Come on!"

Yena jumps into the gym and so do you. At the last moment, Yujin shuts the door. The mass of corpses babble against it, seeking you out with blind eyes, not knowing why there is something blocking them from their food. But not for long for—

"Yujin!" Yuri screams. She falls off of her, and quickly becomes hysteric. "They got her, oppa, help me!"

You try to. Oh, you try to, you really do. Grasp Yujin's right arm to tug her away from the open bars, but it is too late. Somehow, the zombies have tugged your best friend from the door and have busied themselves with her. Her arm is steadily being devoured by more than five. Their teeth sink into her sun-kissed skin as if it were merely paper, drawing great amounts of blood.

"No, Yujin!" you reach for the knob to open the door. You have to save her! She can't become a zombie like them!

"Don't, fffuck!" Yujin cries out as the zombies tug her to the ground. There is skin hanging off her arm that a smaller zombie consumes, but now, almost all of them go for every part of her body. Her legs are being bitten through and so is her neck. "T-there's no use!"

Gone is the cute dimpled Yujin who playfully teases you about Yena. This Yujin—this one who is screaming for her life and begging you to leave her be because there was nothing you can do about her situation—has replaced her. Replaced the dimples with fine cry lines, the smile with a scream. Replaced her with a Yujin that is nothing more than food for the dead.

As the zombies tear and eat of Yujin, Yena screams, hands covering her mouth. Yuri has fallen to the floor and can do nothing but glance at the dying girl with wide-set, scared eyes.

You can't watch it either. But every part of you is frozen. Your mind screams at you to turn away and save yourself from the trauma, but you remain in place. Try to close your eyes, but just look on at the horrible scene that Yena, Yuri, and you are forced to watch: Yujin getting killed brutally before you. And there is nothing you can all do but mourn her, even if her new zombie form cares not for it.

Your heart sinks. It turns out that it did not, in fact, take long for the last safe place to stop living up to its name. The difference is that its dangers have only taken Yujin down with them.

-

All things adapt to change, whether they like it or not. It is a rare thing for a caterpillar to defy nature and not evolve into a butterfly despite the gooey and painful process. Children change to new time schedules for school without much bother as they grow up. Adults learn how to deal with overbraring coworkers and bosses.

It is a natural part of life. If things do not adapt, they die. Simple and clear.

Right now, you aren't sure if you want to live anymore. Yujin is dead. Your parents haven't texted you for over three days now. Almost all of the people you know and love haven't either. It doesn't take a high IQ to understand what has happened to them.

You have no reason to live, except for Yena, who loves you, and Yuri, who would die without you and Yena to care for her. You do not want to go on anymore, but they need you, and you need them. You have to continue living.

It's only seven in the evening, but everything is pitch black. There is barely any light in the sky except for scattered stars and a full moon. You have barely slept these past few days, so you feel yourself slowly giving in to sleep. Stop yourself; you have to eat dinner first with Yena and Yuri. You can't go run on an empty stomach.

The dinner is your school lunches left unconsumed. The sandwiches haven't reached expiry dates yet the last time you checked, so the three of you sullenly munch on the chocolate sandwiches your mother made you all those days ago. You remember how you snapped at her when she was telling you to eat breakfast, telling her that you have an exam to catch. You remember her disappointed face, her sweet smile, and her reminders that never pause: Don't hurt yourself, okay? Keep yourself safe!

The memories hurt your heart more than it should. You had become selfish. You'd taken for granted everyone you love. But you instead direct your focus on Yuri. Now, it is your job to apply the moral lessons your mom has taught you. "Are you okay, Yul?" you ask the quivering girl.

Yuri is hugging her legs and rocking herself back and forth. Her small body is shaking from head to toe under the green uniform. She is babbling, too, as if in a trance. I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die, is all you hear, but it is enough to haunt you.

"Leave me alone!" She breaks out of her trance temporarily to yell at you. She throws her sandwich to the floor and runs off for the bleachers. From there, her sobs reach max volume.

You back off a little despite your irritation. You have to let her become angry because who wouldn't be? You and the girls have cycled through so many days of running and trying to go on that you have failed to remember that this isn't normal. A high schooler, even if all of you are already in senior high and adults, should not be put through so many tolls like this. No high schooler should have to fight to live and look over their shoulder just to see if death has caught up. No one does.

"She's in shock," says Yena gently. She places a hand on your shoulder and gently pulls you away from the scene. She does not want you to see every bit of horror there is. "Let her be; she needs her rest. We all do."

You nod. You try hard not to let your tears flow. But they do, anyway. By the time you turn around to face Yena, they're freely streaming down your face like a river. The lantern beams down on your cries.

Yena hugs you tightly and kindly lets you sob into her shoulder. Your heart is heavy with grief; if the government had assisted the moment they knew your high school was the root of the apocalypse, Yujin and thousands of other young students wouldn't have had to die. You wouldn't have to go through this shitty fucking day.

You catch a glimpse of Yujin creeping along with the zombies at the door. Her eyes are bloodshot. Her lovely skin has turned as gray as the clouds tonight. She has become like all of them: a walking, lifeless corpse.

Yujin had a life ahead of her. She was going to become a singer, she had always said, with Wonyoung and Gaeul. She had had so much to live for, and now, one of these days, she is going to die another horrible death by someone who just wanted to stay safe from the zombie epidemic. She is going to die another horrible death that she does not deserve one bit, and the guilt from knowing that it is your fault is eating you up from the inside so painfully.

"I should have let her in," you say, wiping your face embarrassedly. "I should have let her in first. I was a fucking coward."

"There was nothing you could have done," says Yena softly. She kisses and cradles your wet cheek.

Despite the sweet gestures, her words sting more than any rough insult ever could, because it's the same old thing people say everytime for something that is completely your fault. They're senseless, the complete of opposite of reassuring. But you don't snap at her for that; Yena is only innocently trying to make you feel better. It isn't her fault that there is nothing to say.

You laugh a little. "Can't believe we lived through Yujin growing up and a zombie apocalypse together," you say, shaking your head.

Yena laughs, too. "It's a strange world we live in, isn't it? A strange, strange world."

It is, indeed. You sit with Yena at the gate to give Yuri space. There, you wonder. Has it already been five days ago when you were worrying about a social studies quiz Mr. Lee had, only to be greeted by an onslaught of zombies at the canteen? You ran with all you could that afternoon and found shelter in a junior classroom.

That was when all things went wrong. The world you knew went into wild directions: suddenly, your friends were dead. Not only dead, but zombies! You had initially believed that zombies were impossible, another silly thing made to entertain people in movies and comics. You had never wanted to be proven wrong, yet here you were.

You suddenly hear a whimper. Jerk your head in the direction you heard it and see that Yena is crying. Now, your heart feels as if it is being squeezed for every bit of blood it pumps. Nothing hurts you more than seeing her cry.

"And, and it's difficult, you know." Yena gives you a tearful smile. A sniffle betrays her nonchalant facąde, so she instead watches the black clouds in the night sky wisp through its atmosphere. Part of her wishes she can be with those she loves in that dark sky. That secret part of her is slowly infecting the other chambers of her hurting heart. "I know I should get used to it since it's gonna be like this for a while, but I just... can't. I can't stand it."

You hold Yena's hand and kiss its smooth palm. "You want to hear something funny?"

"Yeah?"

"Neither can I."

You and Yena are silent for a while, gazing at each other's young, tear-stricken faces, thinking of what could have been and what should have been. She breaks the deadness with another dialogue.

"This isn't how I planned my senior year at all. Or the rest of my life. We were supposed to go to that new mall in town with Chaewon, and go to Saipan, right? You said that, for our wedding."

You know that you and Yena are still young, so a marriage being talked about as early as nineteen years old seems ridiculous. But you have known her for seven years. The two of you have been each other's shoulders to cry and laugh on. And although you have had your fair share of romantic partners, Yena is the one you truly want to marry.

Some of her tears drape her lips. You wipe it away with your thumb. "You know what?" We can get married right now."

She gives you a surprised and cheerful look, dismissing it as one of your pranks, before she realizes you are serious.

"Y-you're for real?"

"Why not?" You shrug. "No one can say we are or we're not. Our parents are dead and it's most likely the old priest who's gonna officiate our wedding is dead out there, too. Let's get married here, right now. They can't stop us."

Yena wants to laugh, but she's starting to cry a little again, at the way it all makes sense and doesn't at the same time. You are sounding like you're kids again, like those little sandbox promises to stay friends forever or keep a secret.

She is thinking about how it isn't supposed to be like this is what she is thinking. She wants to marry you, but she is picturing it in a world where the zombies are nonexistent and Yujin isn't dead. In a world where you live on and become the grumpy old fucks you swore as kids you would not become, and laugh at each other's senselessness. In a world where you marry somewhere sacred. Not in a zombie-attacked high school, in which the two of you are wounded from head to toe and out of breath.

But she wants to marry you. She has ever since she became your friend when she was thirteen. She has wanted to marry you through your ups and downs, laughs and tears, and a fucking zombie apocalypse. If that isn't true love, then you do not know what is.

"I guess I'll take it," Yena says softly.

"Alright. Do you," assume a deep, haughty voice that cracks her up, "Choi Yena, take me as your beloved wedded husband?"

"It's 'lawfully,'" she corrects you feistily, flashing you an amusing raise of her brows.

"I don't know all the words, babe," you inform her jokingly. "I'm not a goddamned pastor. But will you still marry me then?"

"Yes," she laughs. "Do you take me as your lawfully wedded wife?"

"Of course I do."

"Let's do it then. One last and first time."

She knows what she means, and you do, too. It isn't a slip of words to say that this might be the first and last day of you being married to her. There isn't a clear path to life for the two of you, with the zombies and all, and even if there is one, it is too foggy. You cannot live on running from death when it is literally knocking on your door.

"You mean...?" you ask tentatively.

"Yes," confirms Yena. "I want you to take me tonight. Make me yours."

"What if Yuri—"

"Yuri's asleep and we've all had a rough day. Let's go out with a bang, literally."

You would have laughed, but you are already kissing her. It always feels like the first time all over again when you kiss her because of the way her lips are full and soft in shape. It feels even more comforting to know that this is your first kiss as a married couple, and that only you will be able to kiss her like this.

Yena's tongue slips out from between them to take a lick from your own pink muscle. Soon, you have knocked her to the wall of the gym, still wildly making out with her.

Tear off her uniform vest and see her perfect body squirming against you under her school blouse. Smile, knowing that she wants you just as much as you want her, and kiss her neck and shoulders, too. Her head raises gracefully in response to the pleasure. You kiss every bit of her jaw and neck as if it were your last, and it might be. All the while, Yena's hands are curled into your fingers.

Never let me go.

"Please," she says, causing you to stop for a moment, "be gentle."

It is as if your jeans and underwear have magically disappeared. When you enter her, both of you gasp loudly. Yena has to place a palm over her mouth to keep quiet; she has just remembered that sound provokes the zombies. But now that she has felt you finally take her and make her a woman, all she wants to do is cry out and beg for more. It feels better than she ever imagined.

It is better for you, too, this way. Yena just looks so pretty. Her fringes perfectly make her round face look cuter, and her orgasmic O-rounded lips drive you crazier than you'd like to admit. Plus, she's so tight and wet around your cock. As if she were made for taking it.

"Are, are you okay?" you ask her. Although you want to keep pounding, your girlfriend still comes first. Her heavy panting is becoming concerning.

"Yes," Yena says meekly. She closes her eyes and hisses in a sharp breath. "Faster."

You buck accordingly into Yena's squirming, perfect body. Keep a busy hand on her ass to support her and steal a few squeezes on the round cheeks. Somehow, it's more enticing to fuck her when she is in her uniform. She looks good in anything, but this specific attire has you down to do anything for her.

So faster you go, faster you will. Yena hums happily, satisfied now with your pace. She lets you kiss her neck lovingly, but each of it on her inexperienced body makes her even more sensitive, in the best way possible. She holds you close the best she can to keep them at bay. One on her cheek and one on her pulse point... she absolutely arcs her body off the wall when you start to suck.

"H-ha!" Yena cries out. "That feels so good!"

Hot kisses are placed on her skin from there on after you discover what she likes. You are eager to make her and yourself feel good. You want to make this night one she will never forget, for all the good reasons.

"Seems like you're enjoying our honeymoon a lot, Yenari," you say mischievously. You have to laugh at yourself; you are just like a child playing pretend marriages. But you have to cut yourself some slack. Everyone was a child at some point, and, like Yena said, you have had a rough day.

But the marriage with her is something you believe in a hundred percent. You were married to her from the second she said "yes," even though now she says them because of something completely different: your cock penetrating her hole.

"Stop it," she giggles in the middle of a moan. "You're so embarrassing."

Remind her who she is calling embarrassing with a series of sharp thrusts. Her hole squeezes around you closer, if that were possible. Her eyes widen, too, and her jaw falls slack. Yena tries to say something again, but you have resumed your open-mouthed kisses on her jaw, and she is enjoying it too much to dream up another playful insult.

Her thighs squeeze the sides of your waist needily. They are a constant reminder that she wants this, and she wants you to do your all in fucking her against this wall. So, caress their soft deliciousness with straying fingers. Maybe, in a nearly impossible time when things get better, your head could have the opportunity to be trapped in between them instead of your hips. But you will take anything; Yena is simply too hot for there to be any complaints.

"Not so teasing now, huh, Yenari?"

Her hole was too tense at first. No matter the amount of insertions you have made in between their slick walls, they remain as knit together as possible. It is too much for your penis, which has little to no experience, but you have to keep pounding to let them relax. Now, they only squeeze every three seconds. Not a big change, but a welcome one for your virginal dick.

It isn't Yena's fault for it, however. It is not her fault that she is sensitive, loving every little touch you make on her figure, from the roams of your hand on her breasts and the jerk of your appendage. She's a little nervous, too, just like you, so you can never tell if the blush on her face is from the pleasure or the anxiety. No big matter, though. If it is the nervousness, you'll wash it away with tender kisses.

Tear her uniform lapels apart to see the best pair of breasts known to man: duck breast. They lie behind a white bra. Tear that off too, and proceed to lovingly caressing them. They are plump, but just big enough to fill most of your hand. You kiss them lovingly, and wonder what it would feel like to have them in your mouth.

Find out for yourself through a hands-on experiment. Your fingers linger on the action of squeezing her delectable ass under the green plaid skirt, but your mouth is somewhere else.

"Hmm, oh!" Yena whimpers quietly, full lips pulled down in an adorable pout. Your tongue slides on her perky nipples, which are pink in color, small and cute. Pinch the other gladly while the right enjoys your sucking. Yena's hot gasp hangs in the air for a long minute.

"Feels good, Yena?"

It's a rhetorical inquiry, but she answers anway. "Yes! So good! P-please, harder!"

Yena having a kink for her nipples being played with isn't something you knew you'd discover, but you are happy with the knowledge. Her gasps and pants are adorable, increasing in volume with the flicks of your tongue against the soft balls of her breasts. Add that your cock drilling her, and Yena is surely cumming, in accordance with your earlier mentioned quote:

Your girlfriend always comes first.

When Yena cums, it arrives unexpectedly. You are close yourself, but you do not expect the violent ride of her body on your cock, nor the needy scream she lets out. You are not prepared for the way she fills your vision and mouth with her breasts desperately. Neither for the cum she spurts on your uniform like a hose.

But that is just Yena: she is as unexpected as she is beautiful.

"Hnn, baby..." She bites her lip tightly at you pounding still. "So much. Too much. So... fucking... good! Nooo!"

Gaso as your cock exits her. You want to finish inside of her so bad and paint the tiny hole with your hot cum. But you have to pull out. You cannot risk Yena getting pregnant. You are not birthing a kid into this world right now. Besides, the two of you are only nineteen years old. It cannot be done.

"Yena, I'm sorry, but I had to—"

"Why did you stop?"

You are surprised to find out that Yena is crying. Full-on crying. Her brows are creased together in frustrarion, and she is covering her face, trying to control her emotions. But the disappointment is too great. The events of the whole week—Yujin's death, the gradual spread of the apocalypse, and the loss of everyone she holds dear—has finally overcome her. Yena sobs in between your arms, crying with all she can to let out all the pain.

"Hey, Yenari, it's alright." Hold her close. Rub the flat of her back up and down to cease the shivers it produces. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry."

"I wanted to cum again!" complains the sobbing Yena. "I wanted to cum again so bad, it felt so good, I don't want to stop! Please!"

"It's alright, we can do it again. I had to pull out, you know that right? We can't risk a kid. Do you want our kid to live fighting for their life everyday?"

"No," admits Yena tearfully. "But please, I wanted to cum so bad again! I need you, baby, please!"

"It's okay, it's okay. I got you with me. We can do it again. You like this?"

Fingers take the place of your cock and slip inside Yena's dripping orifice.

Yena's happy sigh is instant. "Yes, please!" The pout stays on her face, but barely muffled whimpers slip through the nonexistent space her lips make between each other. "That feels so nice!"

You settle for two fingers first. Yena's pussy takes them so well and adjusts to them faster than it did with your cock. Your fingertips brush over the textured pink walls, seeking the perfect spot. While you seek it out, Yena hums and whimpers, enjoying the depths your digits reaches.

She is still extremely wet from her last orgasm. She hasn't been touched like this before, so the dig of your fingers inside her causes a great squeeze to befall on them. It is a sign that she refuses to let them leave her insides without another high.

You are glad to give it to her. Work her up with slow yet blunt swirls on her glistening clitoris. It twitches with need, and your thumb presses on it more firmly to evoke greater reactions. It is a successful experiment; Yena moans a little louder. She allows you to lift her leg high in order to gain more access to her pussy.

"Hnnn, oh... I guess I should, um, jack you off, too?"

"T-that won't be necessary. I already came—oh fuck."

You don't mean to curse that loudly, especially since Yuri is asleep. However, it is impossible not to when Yena's tiny hand jerks off your cock so well. She does not bother to start off slow. She takes it by the base then yanks her way up and down. Your veins protrude against her smooth palm and is rubbed lovingly by them.

"This feels so hot," says Yena. Still on the tips of her toes because of your increased fingering, her fingers tighten around your shaft. "I don't know why... God, you're so good."

Your bodies squirm on each other's hands. Yena's nipples have erected again, looking more pinchable than ever. Give in to your desires. Take one of those adorable balls in between the digits of your free hand. Play with them. Rub them. Their stimulation sends urgent pulses on Yena's clit, which you rub more fervently. Then look up to see Yena's beautiful face contorted in pleasure: her open mouth, wide eyes that seal onto your observant ones, and her flushed cheeks.

How were you so lucky to steal this girl's heart? What did you do in your past life to be able to touch her like this? You have no idea, yet no complaint surfaces in your mind. You love all of Yena, and you will protect her until you die.

There's a beautiful wince on Yena's face. Learn that it's a foretold story of her nearing orgasm. She informs you of it, too. She looks at you urgently and whines: "Kiss me. I'm so close."

Do so with all the might left in your body. Most of it has been rendered out because of Yena's skillful masturbation. It doesn't disract you, though, from Yena's kiss. It's strangely strong—it is a little messy, due to her inexperience, but she sucks on your lip with determination, and opens her mouth wide to allow you to kiss her more. Or to let out the shrill cry that almost deafens you. Who knows? Who cares? You are too wrapped up in kissing her.

The warmth Yena feels gradually spreads from her clit to her whole body. The sight of your lengthy girth and the skilled pound of your fingers in between her wet lips are to credit for that, and also for her orgasm. She buries her mouth in your shoulder to scream out loudly. Yena vents out the euphoric feelings by madly jerking your cock, making you gasp, and effectively drawing the first rope of white cum from its thick tip.

Yena follows up with an orgasm of her own a bit afterwards. Her pussy quivers around your fingers, then clenches ever-so-tightly to wring out her climax. Waves and waves of pleasure rock Yena's body like a boat. You become her lifesaver; she clings onto you to keep sane, even if you are the one who administrates the thrusts.

In the end, there is only a mixture of white on the floor, two tired bodies, and the moon. It has become bright enough for you to see Yena's exhausted yet beautiful face smiling at you, the seductive bite of her plump lower lip, and—

An erect shadow?

No, look closer at it as you put on your jeans and underwear. It is dressed in the uniform skirt assigned to female students. How can that shadow be just a few yards away from you when all the zombie girls are outside?

"Yena," you say, the alarm clear in your voice.

"What? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, look!" you point to the shadow steadily arriving closer. "I can't be crazy, you see it, don't you?"

Yena raises a right eyebrow. "Yeah? And so? It's—ahhhh!"

You have no idea what she is screaming at, not until a pair of particularly sharp zombie fangs sink into your shoulder. The pain is immediate; you feel sickly, as if you are about to throw up. But your mind is racing wildly. How could this happen? Aren't the zombies outside?

Turn to look at your attacker. Finally recognize her. "What the fuck, Yuri?!"

"I'm sorry!" Yuri says. Her teeth are stained with red as she backs off. "I was afraid to tell you, and I got hungry so easily!"

Yena pulls you to her and glares at Yuri. People may see her as the bright cheerful duckling, but that is only because she becomes a different person when she is provoked. And right now, Yuri has made her very, very angry.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Yena screams.

Yuri shamefully raises her right arm. Your jaw and Yena's drop in sync. There, embedded in Yuri's skin, is a clear bite mark, fresh and new. Similar to the one on your shoulder.

On your shoulder...

Suddenly, the bile rises to your throat. You feel extremely ill. Your body temperature rises up and you feel your vision becoming gray.

Why does Yena look so delicious? She stands in the corner, yelling at Yuri, but Yuri hears none of it. Like you, her eyes are locked onto Yena's skin.

She can take the illness away. She will make you feel better instantly. Yena just looks like the prettiest and most delicious girl ever. But somehow, in the back of your mind, something is telling you to stop.

Too bad you have already taken a bite of her.

[waitmyturtles]

Turtles Catches Up With Old GMMTV: The Bad Buddy Rewatch Edition, Part 0.5 -- The BBS Meta Series Preamble

[What’s going on here? After joining Tumblr and discovering Thai BLs through KinnPorsche in 2022, I began watching GMMTV’s new offerings -- and realized that I had a lot of history to catch up on, to appreciate the more recent works that I was delving into. From tropes to BL frameworks, what we’re watching now hails from somewhere, and I’m learning about Thai BL's history through what I’m calling the Old GMMTV Challenge (OGMMTVC). Starting with recommendations from @absolutebl on their post regarding how GMMTV is correcting for its mistakes with its shows today, I’ve made an expansive list to get me through a condensed history of essential/classic/significant Thai BLs produced by GMMTV and many other BL studios. My watchlist, pasted below, lists what I’ve watched and what’s upcoming, along with the reviews I’ve written so far. Today, I'm preambling a series of posts that I'll be publishing throughout November and December about my OGMMTVC rewatch of Bad Buddy and Our Skyy 2 x Bad Buddy x A Tale of Thousand Stars.]

After nearly a month of rewatching Bad Buddy and Our Skyy 2 x Bad Buddy x A Tale of Thousand Stars -- TWICE, holy shit! -- I'm finally putting pen to paper on a four-part series of BBS meta that I've been looking forward to writing nearly all year.

Before I start the series, I'd like to offer a not-so-quick preamble of how I got here. Before the birth of this Old GMMTV Challenge project, I was flitting and floating, enjoying a dalliance with Thai BLs here and there, while still mostly watching Japanese BLs, my entrée into overall Asian BL content. I started with KinnPorsche in the late summer of 2022, picked up The Eclipse after that on the recommendation of a dear mutual (@the-nihongo-adventure, I hope you're well!), and then picked up A Tale of Thousand Stars in order to prepare for my first live GMMTV fandom experience on Tumblr in early January with Moonlight Chicken.

That was the exact order by which I came to Bad Buddy, which I watched for the first time in January and February of this year, after MLC ended. I was so blown away. I thought I was a drama girlie before Bad Buddy, but it was like Bad Buddy had made me see facets of drama-making that I had never known or appreciated before. The act structure of episode 10 alone just sat me the hell down, let alone the brilliance of the overall story arc vis à vis Pat, Pran, the themes and motifs of intergenerational trauma and filial piety that I related to, down to my bones and bloodstream, and the millions of layers on this show that we could spend a lifetime parsing.

My first piece about Bad Buddy, published in February, is the post on Tumblr that I am the most proud of writing, my first post (as a relatively new Tumblr-ite) that I took days and drafts to work on. In that post, I worked out what I saw as the major theme of intergenerational trauma dominating the story landscape of Bad Buddy, framed in what I interpreted as a reflection of David Hegel's thesis-antithesis-synthesis modality of change in philosophy and art, as most poignantly reflected in Herman Hesse's Siddhartha.

In other words, y'all: I became a BBS girlie, lol.

And, partly in conversation with @miscellar, and partly by way of the just TREMENDOUS, TREMENDOUS amount of meta on Bad Buddy on Tumblr (whew, the MASTERS, @telomeke, @grapejuicegay, @dribs-and-drabbles, @airenyah, @dudeyuri, @dimplesandfierceeyes, oh my gosh, so many many more, I can't list them all!), I came to learn that Bad Buddy was a home to so many other themes, motifs, and references that honestly, my mind was blown.

For me, personally, it was ABL Sensei's original post on the newer landscape of GMMTV BLs answering to Thailand's seminal BLs, as well as @miscellar's post on BL tropes referenced and reshaped in Bad Buddy, that served as the original inspiration for the creation of the Old GMMTV Challenge project.

I needed to watch older Thai BLs to understand the landscape of how this genre was born and how it's changed and developed over time, to truly and deeply understand the impact that Bad Buddy had on me personally and artistically, and how it stands in the echelon of the Thai BL genre today, particularly by way of the influence of BBS's director, the brilliant Aof Noppharnach. I needed to know about the food that fed Bad Buddy to make Bad Buddy what it was as its own seminal drama.

So, after 32 shows and movies watched on the OGMMTVC list, I get to this moment -- my turn, my time, to pound out some BBS meta, knowing what I know now about the history of the Thai BL genre up to 2021-2022.

My four-part series of BBS meta will focus on the following:

Part 1: A look at how previous GMMTV BLs spoke to Bad Buddy in their own development, and to Bad Buddy itself. I'll take a look at the BL tropes that Bad Buddy references and reshapes. I'll touch upon Theory of Love, A Tale of Thousand Stars, Still 2gether, and many more older shows. I'll also take a look at themes in BBS that I didn't touch upon in my first BBS thesis from February 2023.

Part 2: In conjunction with my Big Meta series on themes of pain in Asian dramas, I want to take a look at the themes of pain, trust, and separation (sometimes voluntary, sometimes forced) in some Asian dramas, including Bad Buddy, Still 2gether, A Tale of Thousand Stars, Until We Meet Again, and I Promised You The Moon.

Part 3: I have had the extremely GREAT luck to engage in lengthy discussion about Bad Buddy with a number of Asian Tumblr bloggers, to discuss how we related to BBS as Asians, and what themes we could analyze from our culturally attuned and lived-in perspectives. In this meta, I'll take a look at Asian cultural touchpoints including inherited and intergenerational trauma; competition amongst one's peers; the nature of secret-keeping and what's "acceptable" to explicitly talk about in Asian family systems; and much more. (I may need to split this post into two, we'll see!)

Part 4: I'll offer some thoughts, based off of the Pain, Trust, and Separation Big Meta and the BBS Asian Cultural Touchpoints meta, on Pran leaving for Singapore, and how Thai vs. international audiences may interpret his decision to leave Thailand for two years.

I'm late to the BBS meta game, but there's no time like the present to catch the hell up. I'm happy to celebrate Bad Buddy's two-year anniversary this way, and I'm really excited that the OGMMTVC allows me to do so.

Part 1 drops later this week. Meet me at Wai's bar for a chit-chat -- and thank you for reading along!

(Tagging @dribs-and-drabbles by request! If you'd like to be tagged, please let me know! <3 )

[Here's the complete OGMMTVC watchlist as it stands today. For a more accurate look at what I've watched, please mosey over to this link!

1) The Love of Siam (2007) (movie) (review here) 2) My Bromance (2014) (movie) (review here) 3) Love Sick and Love Sick 2 (2014 and 2015) (review here) 4) Gay OK Bangkok Season 1 (2016) (a non-BL queer series directed by Jojo Tichakorn and written by Aof Noppharnach) (review here) 5) Make It Right (2016) (review here) 6) SOTUS (2016-2017) (review here) 7) Gay OK Bangkok Season 2 (2017) (a non-BL queer series directed by Jojo Tichakorn and written by Aof Noppharnach) (review here) 8) Make It Right 2 (2017) (review here) 9) Together With Me (2017) (review here) 10) SOTUS S/Our Skyy x SOTUS (2017-2018) (review here) 11) Love By Chance (2018) (review here) 12) Kiss Me Again: PeteKao cuts (2018) (no review) 13) He’s Coming To Me (2019) (review here) 14) Dark Blue Kiss (2019) and Our Skyy x Kiss Me Again (2018) (review here) 15) TharnType (2019-2020) (review here) 16) Senior Secret Love: Puppy Honey (OffGun BL cuts) (2016 and 2017) (no review) 17) Theory of Love (2019) (review here) 18) 3 Will Be Free (2019) (a non-BL and an important harbinger of things to come in 2019 and beyond re: Jojo Tichakorn pushing queer content in non-BLs) (review here) 19) Dew the Movie (2019) (review here) 20) Until We Meet Again (2019-2020) (review here) (and notes on my UWMA rewatch here) 21) 2gether (2020) and Still 2gether (2020) (review here) 22) I Told Sunset About You (2020) (review here) 23) YYY (2020, out of chronological order) (review here) 24) Manner of Death (2020-2021) (not a true BL, but a MaxTul queer/gay romance set within a genre-based show that likely influenced Not Me and KinnPorsche) (review here) 25) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) (review here) 26) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For The Sake Of Rewatching Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS (re-review here) 27) Lovely Writer (2021) (review here) 28) Last Twilight in Phuket (2021) (the mini-special before IPYTM) (review here) 29) I Promised You the Moon (2021) (review here) 30) Not Me (2021-2022) (review here)

31) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) (thesis here) 32) 55:15 Never Too Late (2021-2022) (not a BL, but a GMMTV drama that features a macro BL storyline about shipper culture and the BL industry) (review here) 33) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) and Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS (2023) OGMMTVC Rewatch (watching) 34) Secret Crush On You (2022) [watching for Cheewin’s trajectory of studying queer joy from Make It Right (high school), to SCOY (college), to Bed Friend (working adults)] 35) KinnPorsche (2022) (tag here) 36) KinnPorsche (2022) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For the Sake of Re-Analyzing the KP Cultural Zeitgeist 37) The Eclipse (2022) (tag here) 38) The Eclipse OGMMTVC Rewatch For the Sake of Re-Analyzing an Politics-Focused Show After Not Me 39) GAP (2022-2023) (Thailand’s first GL) 40) My School President (2022-2023) and Our Skyy 2 x My School President (2023) 41) Moonlight Chicken (2023) (tag here) 42) Bed Friend (2023) (tag here) (Cheewin’s latest show, depicting a queer joy journey among working adults) 43) Be My Favorite (2023) (tag here) (I’m including this for BMF’s sophisticated commentary on Krist’s career past as a BL icon) 44) Wedding Plan (2023) (Recommended as an important trajectory in the course of MAME’s work and influence from TharnType) 45) Only Friends (2023) (tag here)]

[upchuckedgaming]

Sharing Hermitcraft with the Person I Love

Growing up, I never really thought about the person that I would potentially spend the rest of my life with; how our separate interests would interact and coexist. And probably, it was because I didn't think I'd meet someone with those interests or someone who would accept me for who I am. So that just never really crossed my mind, until I met my partner.

Ever since the middle of high school and into college, I always felt my interests were a little 'childish', not necessarily because they were specifically made for children, but rather that it wasn't the 'standard, main-stream' things to like. One of those interest that have been with me for a long time and is very dear to me is the Minecraft SMP server Hermitcraft. As someone who grew up with series like Minecrack and watching some veterans of the Minecraft YouTube space (SethBling, Ethoslab, GenerikB, etc), when I was introduced to Hermitcraft back in Season 2, it was something that I truly felt like I was missing before then. I had seen Minecrack, The Cube, and many other servers rise and fall over my time watching Minecraft content, but no server had ever felt so special to me and, obviously, so many others.

As such, I was hesitant to share Hermitcraft with my partner, who I knew was never in the Minecraft YouTube space much (but likes playing Minecraft), because I was scared. What if my partner thinks this is dumb? What if they think that I need to focus on other things? In retrospect, this is dumb. My partner loves me and supports me every second of every day, but that's beside the point.

At the start of Season 9 of Hermitcraft, I decided to introduced my partner to GeminiTay, one of the newer Hermitcraft players at the time, and started watching her episodes together at the start of the season so they could have a fresh start. And I am so happy I did. We have watched all of Gem's videos this season as they came out, and over the course of the season, we started watching more creators from Hermitcraft and that general Traffic SMP sphere together, and I cannot imagine enjoying this content without my partner at this point. From the start of Beef's development on Hermitcraft TCG to the depths of the Frost Citadel and Decked Out 2, we watched this world develop and I cannot be happier.

What really kicked off this post, however, was the release of the physical version of Hermitcraft TCG. Now, this was actually something that my partner bought for me first, as they ordered me the combo booster box and playbox they had on sale. But within the day or two after they bought a set for me, I decided to get my partner a set as well. So after months of waiting, they finally got delivered about a week ago. My package came a day before theirs, so we waited until we unboxed them together. Since we got the combo, we each received a special slabbed card with the potential for a signed card. As my partner opened theirs, they saw that they received a signed Bdubs card, and they were so shocked and surprised! They knew that I had been watching him for years, but also, he has become a favorite for them (both with the Hermitcraft series, but also Building with Bdubs), and it just made me so happy that they got someone that they knew and enjoyed (for those wondering: I got a signed foil XB card, aww yeah)!

And as we opened up the packs that came in the booster box, my partner was so excited to pull rare Gem, Cleo, and Scar cards (some of their faves) and already started thinking about making a deck with them. I cannot tell you how much happiness I felt in that moment as we shared our mutual love for this silly Minecraft SMP and the people that contribute to it. We joked that we initially were only going to get a single set, but getting one for each of us was so incredibly worth it. Heck, my partner even said, "Well, now we have cards for Hermits to sign if we meet!"

Now, is there really a point to this post? Not really, more so just wanted to both put my experience into perspective for myself, but also to thank all those creators in the Hermitcraft/Traffic SMP sphere for creating a space where sharing my interest of the server not only helped me grow closer with my partner, but also spawned a new fan at the same time! Sorry for the rambling!

[fandomsbyladymelodrama]

No pressure on this, but I wanted to ask if you'd like to tell me about one of/some of your favorite Christy scenes, and the things you like most about it/them? I can't singlehandedly revive the fandom on here, but it's such a joy to talk over this show with other fans!

I didn't realize until recently how thoroughly the Neil/Christy relationship informed my romantic preferences in all the media and writing I've done since watching it in my teens. Older, scholarly man/younger, determined woman, some kind of angst in the man's past, a need to change things for the better as an intrinsic part of the woman's character, a taboo element that stands in the way of the relationship... Even in the slash pairings I love so much, there's still so many elements of it!

Hey filmmakers, don't think we don't notice that you frame these two with Christy on a step/incline half the time to de-emphasize the height difference...

Oh my, oh my. Okay, first, let's be real. I've been waiting for an ask like this since 1994 (baby Tumblr wasn't even born yet 😂) so get ready for some major Neil/Christy feels that I've been suppressing but also diligently-tending-in-the-background for 30+/- years. THEY. ARE. PERFECT. Top-shelf OTP bottle, for sure. You understand, right? Of course, you do. We've discussed. But yeah, I feel the same way about this show/book/pairing influencing and informing both my writing style and romantic preferences in fiction over the years. Happy to admit it. Yes *raises hand* 1000 times yes. Hello, my name is ladymelodrama, and the fact that CBS so cruelly stole resolution for Neil/Christy from us forever (I'm not counting the PAX movies, I'm just not) is a crime against good television everywhere and will haunt my Christy-loving bones until I'm dead and buried in the ground deep enough so's the critter's can't find me, as Little Burl or Creed Allen would say. Anyway, you asked about Neil and Christy and favorite moments and since I can't just pick one...

I have a proposition to make :) Let's trade fave moments until we run out of them, maybe? No pressure, of course, but this is me mostly unwilling to commit to my Top 5 Scenes until I finish my rewatch, and even then I'll probably change my mind a couple times 😂 But here's one that I'll discuss in detail today and which I like to call the "Will This Do?" scene aka "and then they both smiled their little smiles at each other and lived happily ever after. The end." <3

(Credit to @heatherfield for this gif, and bless you, friend, for continuously shipping the same pairings as me - makes my gif-hunting so much easier haha <3)

So why do I love this scene so much? Oh, you know. Margret's dress. Objectively, it's gorgeous (the woman had style, even if she had no heart). And hey, it only coded Neil/Christy as endgame from the first episode, no big deal. Plus it was one of the softest moments in the whole show and THE WAY THEY SMILED AT EACH OTHER. Ugh. Soffffffft. I'm mean, you're seeing this too, right? ;) Meanwhile, I'm sure David is over here in the corner...doing what David does best XD Lurking. Always lurking.

(and, based on the pic I chose, maybe taking notes on how to have better chemistry with Christy? - "Dear Diary, Neil MacNeill is kinda the worst, have I mentioned?" 😂) But in all seriousness, what I love about that scene (and the exchange of smiles, in particular) is how there's an honest-to-goodness, my-spirit-just-spoke-to-your-spirit bit of humanity happening there. I die for those moments, little and quiet as they may be. It's just so...SOFT. They don't know each other yet. Not really. There's no romance at play (other than what I assume might be mutual physical attraction, even if Christy would never let herself go there. Not on her first days in the Cove) so it's more a budding friendship that we're seeing and friends-to-lovers is one of my favorite things? (Jorleesi, Jisbon, Siegfried/Audrey, Obidala, Red Cricket, Dickon/Mary much?). I also really enjoy when she comes down the stairs looking all pretty-in-lavender with her hair down (still lolling at your comment on that detail btw because...c'est vrai 😂) and "Oh no, David, it's so late...how will we ever get to Lufty Branch in time?" "Not we, Christy." (exactly, David, you're getting it). Too bad she has to spend all afternoon in this rustic cabin with a plaid-shirted, barrel-chested, brogue-speaking, moody mountain man with inside pain for dayssssss. Oh the everlasting horror XD

So yeah, so much to love about this scene (and the entire convo in the cabin afterwards and him plucking her from Theo prior to the whole dress thing - guy helps girl down from horse = I'm in love 😍). To witness the very beginning of their arc (okay, Part II of the beginning, but the doctor was busy with brain surgery during Part I, so you know what I mean) and to have the actors play it so, so beautifully and in an Appalachian setting that's just misty and magical and to die for all by itself... Mmmm *chef's kiss* Your turn, @darsynia <3

[pariskim]

My dear mutual should I fully watch IASIP I've only seen a couple of scattered episodes on TV and some other bits and scraps on YT when I was a kid

UHMM. complicated question. My autism says yes but my morality says no. Its. Especially earlier seasons (not that its never again after that unforch -_-) it uses a Lot of bigotry and shock humor like its seriously problematic at times so it depends on what you're personally okay with seeing iykwim? There are some seriously beautiful eps ie mac finds his pride, the gang carries a coprse up a mountain, etc but its scattered between eps about them being truly terrible people. Its not rhe show for everyone by far and i take no offense if you dont enjoy it <3 hopefully this is helpful mwah

[edsbacktattoo]

ok i was kind of purposefully avoiding the details of the gravy basket theory because it's sounded so dumb but holy shit i really didn't know the extent of it. sorry in advance to be rambling in your inbox.

i thought if i wanted to talk about it i should read the post in full but honestly that was a struggle on its own. it just completely misunderstands the way the show uses ed experiencing purgatory as metaphor. like, the innkeeper does not show us this sort of wish fulfilling dream state at all, and ed externalizing his self hatred into the figment of hornigold is a simple, concise idea that the show specifically goes out of its way to make clear. episode 8 just doesn't have this. like, you'd have to make the argument that literally EVERY CHARACTER PRESENT IN THE EPISODE is somehow representative of an aspect of stede's psyche. it's not just a matter of him projecting his desires into a falsely constructed space, it's a matter of internal issues manifesting from the subconscious, which is what the show has established. it's particularly bizarre to me that they don't make any effort to argue what izzy is meant to represent in this theory, or what him dying could mean symbolically (which is. y'know. the point of the gravy basket as it's been explored). also there's just a complete disregard for ed's arc in the finale which is. eugh. come on.

and this is all still being generous in taking the idea of the "gravy basket" at face value. like, it feels a little ridiculous to even entertain the idea enough to try to argue it. i'm just so baffled.

(it did make me think about psychonauts to the point of wanting to replay it, so. i guess there's that.)

PRECISELY!!!!!!!!! don’t apologise for rambling in my inbox when you’re so correct my dear friend <3

i can’t believe that this theory has such a vice grip on some people. when it first appeared on my dash (and it did, not because a mutual reblogged it, but bc i follow the ofmd tag, and tumblr is evil and gave me the post bc it thought it was being helpful) i thought it was. a joke. i thought the op was having a laugh. but the more i read the more i started to worry. it takes a very distinct lack of media comprehension to come up with something like this.

now, i want to make it clear that i do feel for the people who enjoy izzy normally. like the folks who just like him because he’s interesting and fucked up and strange. the people that don’t woobify him, ya know? those guys are all right.

but the kind of devotion that leads to behaviour like this? threatening and belittling the writers of the show? calling ed violent and thinking he’s going to be an abuser to stede, the man he’s in love with? if you genuinely believe that then there is something seriously wrong with you, and i think you ought to look introspectively <3

also, as a side note, a large criticism i’ve seen for season 2 is poor writing (which is just not at all correct) but to make up for said “poor writing” the theories that people are whipping up are genuinely like. worse? imagine if they did the gravy basket thing again. gravy basket 2: electric boogaloo. that would be bad writing. that would be lazy!!

no, what they did instead was deliberate and careful and beautiful and hopeful. open ended and bittersweet. and yet. AND YET!!!! you get folks trying to cope so bad it makes them look stupid.

and this is all that i will say on the matter. tho, ive never played psychonauts and this might be the thing that makes me dive into that :)

[nobodysdaydreams]

Y'ALL I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN. WTF? WTF?

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

(Or my reaction to Episodes 53-54 of Wolf359).

Welcome back dear readers! Thank you for enjoying my reaction to the Mission Mishap and mini episodes, which were shorter and a lot easier to fit into my busy schedule. I try to make sure I have time to type out good live quality reactions for you guys, so thanks for your patience on this.

Tagging the mutuals who got me invested in this, and if you want to be tagged or untagged from these posts, lmk, or you can follow my blog or simply follow the tag "#bods wolf359 reactions". Anyone who has followed me for a while knows my updates are inconsistent, so I apologize in advance for that and for any spelling/grammar mistakes in my posts.

@sophieswundergarten @oflightningandstars @acollectionofcuriousreblogs @herawell @commsroom @lovelyladylavie

Episode 53: Dirty Work

This episode has gotten a lot of hype from the mutuals. I hope that means Pryce and Cutter are actually gonna bother to show up this time. The two of them did their whole ominous “we’re going to space” thing at the very beginning of this season, well hurry up and go to space then since you care so much! Instead they gave us enough time for Doug to have his radio show arc, which (while it was necessary, and I enjoyed it), just goes to show how much time Pryce and Cutter actually put into this. Which should be evident given that it has taken them at least this long to get to space despite it being their “life’s work” (and for some “higher purpose” they’ll probably monologue about too no doubt 🙄. Hopefully they keep their speech shorter or at least more interesting than Whiskey Boy). Laziest villains of all time sending other people to space the dirty work. Which happens to be the episode title, look at that.

And if I had to guess who is going to be doing Pryce and Cutter’s dirty work, my money’s on Whiskey Boy. Well, actually, my money’s on free-will deprived Hera, but I hope I’m wrong.

Well this is rare. No preview ads to skip through. Huh.

Oh, Minkowski 🥺. We know you didn't want to kill anyone. Don't worry, I will give you justice in fanfic if the show doesn't give it to you here.

HILBERT. Shut up. Even in death, you still don't get it do you? Minkowski has a right to be upset. Even if anyone on this ship makes it back to earth, they are still gonna be extremely traumatized.

Doug, what are you up to now?

And no, Lovelace. Minkowski is not okay. None of you are okay.

"23rd time is the charm!" That's the spirit, Doug! 🥰

Oh right, the reset that Hera has been putting off.

Lol, Hera's "Good Boy". There you go Doug. You see, he can be taught.

"Get him to do what he's told!" Well that would likely be Hera's department.

Not the bottles of beer song. I swear, why are Kepler and Jacobi even still here? What are they contributing? 🍻 "Don't do anything stupid?" a bit late for that.

Um...what is this? Who was that? Wait is that Maxwell's ghost talking to Jacobi?

Do not be a bad guy again Duck Boy. 🦆 That is how your friend got killed, remember? Do you want to be a dead duck?

Well at least we got some music. Nice work, Doug! 🎶

VERIFICATION CODE WHISKEY. a;lsjkfklsdjfk I KNOW Kepler came up with that one. I don't care that it's a legit code, I know it is, but he probably puts Whiskey in every single secret code of his.

Doug. GET BACK INSIDE.

Not demolitions. Jacobi. You fool. You impulsive explosive dumb-dumb. Do not blow up the ship you're on.

"Now I may not be as smart as my late colleague" understatement of the century Jacobi.

Oh great. He's willing to kill them all. Fantastic. Oh and Kepler's coming too. OH. Because Minkowski killed Maxwell and Kepler let her die and had no remorse. Jacobi wants revenge. Oh. Oh no...

"How's your day going?" been better.

Kepler's speech...so was he working with Jacobi this whole time? Convincing plan if he was, but I gotta say Kepler, I don't know if that's gonna work as smoothly for you this time around. Jacobi seemed pretty upset, and there would be no reason for him to reveal that now when he has the upper hand.

SHOOT HIM!

AS:Jlkfjsdlkfjlkds I KNEW IT!!!!!!!

"Pretty please with sugar on top" oh we're going there.

And after hearing about how Kepler bought him explosives...this whole betrayal thing really did go to the next level with them.

"Is this an elaborate prank to teach me a very important lesson?" askjdfkld;jf I love you Doug. 😂 And that would be hilarious.

Poor Doug...that's it Doug! Go into the star! That's what they want! Why do they want this? Who knows. It is weird though. They presumably know that humans die if they do that, and if they wanted them dead there's a million more efficient ways to kill them.

"Blow Kepler's brain's out" "Jacobi...where are you going with this?" Wow, Whiskey Boy really IS slow, isn't he? Maybe it wouldn't have killed him to shed a few fake tears at Maxwell's funeral.

"He was the one who put her in the line of fire, and you should be the one who has to do it."

That does make sense. Because Kepler won't care about shooting Minkowski or anyone else, and while Minkowski certainly wouldn't enjoy dying, she's still tortured with guilt over the fact that she killed Maxwell. But force Minkowski to relive that trauma, intentionally and painfully, and taking everything from Kepler...oh man Duck Boy really did think this through.

"You complete and utter idiot..." YES PUNCH HIM JACOBI! Unconventional grieving process is an understatement.

"I don't want to kill anyone" "Else" ouch.

And yeah... this is Jacobi's "2 birds one bullet solution"

Jacobi is unhinged.

"This is it. Either she shoots you or I kill everyone" yeah it really is over.

Jacobi. You don't need to do this. You really don't.

PHONE CALL?

No. Do not call Pryce and Cutter. Do not call them Jacobi, I don't care if you want to tell them off do not give them information do not call them. Do not call anyone. Maxwell is dead, who does he even have to talk to? Is he gonna call his family? Maxwell's family?

Kepler begging Minkowski for a backup plan...Jacobi really DID beat him...he's nothing now. Though to be fair, he didn't have much to begin with.

"There's no bomb?" Then...what is...oh no. Jacobi what is this game?

"I'm not crazy, that stuff's dangerous!" 😂 Why is Jacobi evil Doug sometimes? I swear if it wasn't for the circumstances they would be friends.

"You've been through plenty, just sit tight. It will all be over soon." I don't know if that's meant to reassure Lovelace or sound ominous Jacobi, but if it was the former, you really gotta work on not sounding like the bad guy.

"Blue, being sucked in, process, killed the original captain Lovelace...the door." There you go Doug! I knew he could figure it out! His science fiction knowledge really comes in handy.

That is a big risk, especially since you don't know what these aliens want, or their history with slimy business man and his evil science girlfriend!

Yep. Leap of faith. Scary stuff, especially when your trust has been broken before.

"Why couldn't it be snakes" Doug, be careful what you wish for.

"How could he? After everything we've been through?" Kepler, be serious. You stalked him, brought him expensive Whiskey and sweet talked a desperate and broken man into joining your murder organization, showed him creepy levels of favoritism at various points in time (especially coming from you of all people), and had zero remorse when you let his best friend get killed. That's what you've been through.

"Will he blow us up" "Yeah." "Can you override his override?" "No. He and Maxwell handled that. I trusted them." Yes, Kepler. And they trusted you. Now one of them is dead. Let's think about this for a moment. I'm sure if we all put our heads together, we can get to the bottom of this mystery of why Jacobi has betrayed you for apparently no reason.

Is Kepler's back up plan shooting Jacobi? OH MY GOSH IT IS...AND YOU WONDER WHY HE BETRAYED YOU? Kepler, you moron, he's probably listening to this entire conversation. He might be deciding which side he wants to back at this very moment. Now is the time to act really really sad about Maxwell and very very broken up about how you treated Jacobi. Not openly admit that you threw Maxwell's life away to get what you wanted, and that you'd throw Jacobi's life away to save your own skin. Otherwise, Jacobi might just end up shooting YOU when he walks through that door.

"Who is putting your station in danger?" You Kepler. You are doing this.

"For once in your life, shut up" About time someone said that Kepler.

"You're hurt, we all are. But you don't have to kill anyone." Oh Minkowski, I know you're trying but Duck Boy is not in a rational space right now. He's literally trolley probleming you right now.

Okay now Minkowski is going insane. Minkowski stop. JACOBI STOP.

If Kepler was a better man he would shoot himself to end this instead of muttering "this is crazy" at the drama that he is directly responsible for. He really does not know when to keep his mouth shut, does he?

"It's not too late to change your mind." YES MINKOWSKI. TEACH THEM GOOD MORALS. It's never too late. Thank you, finally, someone gets it.

"After everything he's done, after everything you've done?" Yes, and after everything you've done too, Jacobi.

Tell him Minkowski. "I know who you're angry at. It's you. Because you could have backed down but you didn't. We both did. We killed two people. And that's eating you up inside."

I love this so much.

"We kill them. Whatever orders, whatever they did, we did it. That's what the riddle teaches you. However you make the choice, you still make the choice. The blood is still on your hands." "You know what doesn't help? MORE BLOOD"

The cycle ends here! YES MINKOWSKI!

"What will?" Jacobi is listening! Come on Duck Boy. You're waddling your way there. You can do it!

"Twenty bucks says I figure it out first" is this really happening???? Is this really happening???? Please tell me Duck Boy doesn't relapse. I need someone to come to reason.

She never had a bullet. You never had a bomb.

YES, Shut Kepler up! FINALLY the team up we deserve.

I'm glad Lovelace and Minkowski are checking in on each other. And you two both deserve command. You need each other. You all need each other.

Oh Hera. She missed the whole thing. 😂

"What did I miss?" Well, Jacobi is a sort of good guy now (or at least an ally), Kepler still sucks, and everyone forgot about Doug.

Wait. DOUG WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

NO DOUG. NO DOUG NO. AT LEAST GO BACK TO THE SHIP AND TALK IT OUT WITH THEM FIRST.

Well that WAS a wild ride. Maybe one of my favorite episodes so far. I can see why y'all were hyping it up.

Episode 54: The Watchtower

Huh. No more pre-episode previews again. And who is this?

Oh Doug. Oh dear. Doug, you poor thing, I'm glad you had a breakthrough but you probably should have talked this through with everyone first.

Doug. Oh Doug. You're the main character and there are a lot of episodes left. You can't just casually throw yourself into the star midway through the season and die like that.

Something is coming out of the star? Reaching out towards, Doug? Oh boy. Well...

...yikes. What is he saying?

Hera is probably listening to this like "oh Doug...Doug what did you do?"

I love how Doug is still talking to Hera. 💕 "Any objections? Good girl." Well that certainly parallels the last chapter...

Wait. Two more stars? Triple star system? That's pretty cool.

Um. What is that? Aliens? ...hopefully nice aliens?

...or not. Oh dear.

...and um. Where is Doug now? Woke up? Woke up from WHAT?

Did the aliens put Doug back in the ship?

Or...is this now clone Doug? I hope not.

Well at least there's breathable air and gravity in this alien hotel.

Mirror? Yeah that is a creepy touch. Considerate, yet creepy.

Self-repairing mirror? Again, cool but creepy. And Doug is prefect for this. They got the movie from YOU MIND Doug. They built this creepy hotel for you, I'm guessing.

And when the alien shows up, I bet it's gonna be one that looks like you or your loved ones given that they used your voice already.

What was that noise?

Are they just keeping him there?

"Let's get our probe on" Doug...they are. What do you think this is?

Yep...alien Doug. Hi alien Doug. :) 👋👽

"Tell me this isn't where I die and you take my place. My dad always said I'd die if I wasn't more careful..." it's alright Doug, I've been told that myself plenty of times.

What?

Words. Speak more words.

Why do they need Doug to speak words?

Ah yes. Mirroring and learning. That's what they want. But why? Why Doug?

Crippled by a language limited by what? Yet achieving interstellar momentum? Uh...what? Symbiological base set of language?

Doug singing the alphabet 😂

DIE????

What is die? The concept is unknown? Oh...oh dear. Explain that it's a bad thing Doug. Explain that it's a very bad scary thing.

"I hate it when Kepler and Jacobi are right" Don't we all Doug, don't we all?

Stops existing!

Incomplete understanding of the universe.

Yes, yes, to dust you shall return, no matter is created or destroyed it simply changes form, but you seem very unnaturally calm about this.

All matter is reused and repurposed. Ceasing from existence is not possible. ...well that's true...but...YOU are something else now. YOU are gone. Something else is in your place now.

Bob. Bob. "Limited time?" "Unsuitable for his biology?" So you DO know what death is. Because you understand that a place unsuitable for his biology = no Doug.

Wait. In the NETWORK? WE? Bob. Are you a hive mind?

"You learned to speak English?" "Correct. It has also lead to debate over whether YOU can speak English." Dang, they really came for him there.

The process? Why are you evaluating Doug?

"Terms you can understand may take some time" Well for super intelligent beings, you should be smart enough to dumb it down.

Don't like that laugh. "A place very very far away from here." Interesting.

"The farthest point away from civilized space"

I see. And what exactly does civilized space look like?

"Discomfort should pass quickly" time is relative, so I hope you're right, Bob.

He gave Doug knowledge? Well, that might be a good way to one up Cutter.

Okay transfer between stars...I'm guessing no, because they didn't use the sun. Huh. I was correct.

Red = no, Blue = go. Well, Bob, sometimes the basics are all you need.

Another species. Rearrange matter? I see. So they are basically aliens with god-like powers that join together to form a superpower.

And they're recruiting humans...but they seem unimpressed so far. Why would they...oh.

They want the music don't they? They've never...they don't have music, but they like it for some reason.

Well then just send them up a band, seems like an easy solution.

Examination, evaluation...surrogates of specimens?

"Unnecessarily dramatic description" "The wolf doesn't even know it's a wolf!" "We arranged atoms" "You brought her back from the dead" "The distinction is irrelevant" Doug, please explain it to them. They really did do Lovelace dirty.

OH MY GOSH THIS IS EXACTLY LIKE WHAT CUTTER DOES TO PEOPLE. Spy on them, and if he likes them, they get to join his special secret club. And if they don't like you...I think we both know what happens Doug. They DO have a concept of death. They just prefer not to call it that.

"Ideally isolation" Well at least they are semi-ethical.

"If they can't be isolated" "redistribution into different atoms" SEE I KNEW IT. They call it redistribution because they can't accept the moral idea of killing people.

"They are given a new purpose." Bob...Bob this is immoral. This is horrifying.

"Terminology is inadequate" his terminology is spot on Bob.

"Our interest in your species is not moral. It is technological" Yeah Bob, I think you made that VERY clear when you said you were willing to kill everyone on Earth if they didn't play nice.

You don't deserve our music Bob. Not one note. Which is...a sentence I never thought I would type as a reaction to this show, but here we are I guess.

They can turn back time, escape death, and traverse space, but they don't have music Doug! Most of their language isn't auditory. They have it, apparently, but not to the extent where they'd develop it.

Commander Zhung...valued the tech more than anything.

Oh. I'd like to have met Commander Zhung (I hope I'm spelling that right). She sounds...she sounds nice if that was her reaction to hearing music for the first time.

"You haven't figured out sound recording?" No, Doug. "The music?" There you go, Doug.

And um...I think the aliens might be more into the oldies and by oldies I mean the classics Doug. The old school classics. Stick to classical music. Not sure they're ready for rock and roll or rap or pop or country.

In time they'll learn more about each other, slowly. Okay...so they have some time. That's good. 14,000 YEARS? Oh no wonder they don't fear death. They live a ridiculously long time. And yeah Kepler is in for a treat.

And then...he woke up.

But um...where has he woke up? Near the star? But where is the ship?

"Everything is completely under control"

Why...why does Minkowski sound like a robot? I mean, she usually sounds pretty strict before she snaps at Doug for risking his life, but the actress sounds distinctly creepy here, I don't like it.

Creepy music? Hera struggling and begging him to run?

Oh no. Oh no no no no no...Cutter and Pryce came didn't they? Oh no...Oh no...

Oh Cutter, you bastard.

And I don't have time to listen to anymore tonight. Or this weekend, or for a while, gosh DANG IT, BUT THAT WAS SO GOOD.

Well, I hope you guys enjoy this. I have a lot of emotions so I'm gonna post this with no edits and scream about it in a discord chat somewhere. Bye!

[akallabeth-joie]

The Blue Castle, chapter 11

The dinner party continues, and it's anyone's game!

To be honest, we start off with a lot of boorish but (finally!) non-abusive behavior. Until Aunt Wellington brings up her stupid teapoon. [-1] Obviously, she needs to take better care of her possessions if they mean so much to her.

And then Cousin Gladys tries to shame Valancy for... not smiling at a her failed attempt at wit? [-1]

Aunt Mildred, please expand your horizons.

Then some blatant hypocrisy from Mrs. Frederick Stirling, who as far as I can tell, never performs "loving service" for anyone. Perfect timing on Valancy's part, following that with "to be free sneeze when you want".

More bad conundrums from Uncle James (-1), making the second time in as many pages that someone at this dinner party tried to cow Valancy by referencing her estate of single blessedness. F that.

"It is such a fatal mistake to try to be funny if you don't succeed" applies to all Stirling humor, except the unintentional bit with the dog and the Catholic church.

Not here for body-shaming anyone, but Aunt Mildred absolutely started it. [-1]

Mrs. Stirling finally called Valancy by her name! Probably just because the syllables can be drawn out better with "Valancy" than "Doss," but it's a start.

Benjamin Stirling, what on earth has Valancy done to warrant a spanking that every person here hasn't done first and worse to her? Also, she hasn't disrespected you. Yet. [-2 for this and the raspberry jam. Seriously. It's been decades. Cope.]

And thus we learn that "Old Dear" is kryptonite to Stirlings.

Ah, Barney Snaith. Weird how they're all obsessed with him. While Valancy is completely right, and right to be upset at their unfair nonsense, I'm not taking points for people attacking him, since the scoreboard's for how they hurt Valancy.

Still this gives us a nice encapsulation of how the Stirling's critical thinking (doesn't) work: judging guilt based on his name, physical appearance, and a lot of more-or-less mutually exclusive rumors.

Olive gets another -1 for trying to trip Valancy up (and using the wrong name).

Maybe Second Cousin Sarah Taylor is just an idiot, but I am absolutely judging Isabel for hating Barney over rumored cat ownership.

Aunt Wellington gets the -1 for trying to shame Valancy for saying the quiet part out loud, but I do want to point out the hypocrisy of everyone present, particularly Uncle Wellington, who brought up Barney and alluding to the salacious rumors first, and then blamed Valancy for contradicting them in plain language.

It seems unsporting when Valancy so neatly returns their volleys, but a final -1 each to Mrs. Stirling and Uncle James for attacking Valancy. Also, is this the first time Mrs. Stirling has actually mentioned her late husband on page?

Exit Valancy stage left like the legend she is.

I seriously enjoy everyone's consternation once Valancy leaves. She doesn't hear it, so I don't think it can really count one way or another, though I sort of want to give Uncle Herbert a point for making tentative defenses of her (calling her sensible and trying to suggest a medical explanation rather than blaming her). I think I will: after all, Valancy likes him, probably from doing stuff like this in the past, and his efforts here may well help her with the fallout from this episode. In that vein, Georgiana also gets a point for defending Valancy (or at least attempting to calm Benjamin's anger towards her).

Please welcome Aunt Alberta and Second Cousin Jane to the scoreboard. Many small changes to the order, as the pack spreads out. Our four-way tie in second place (both second cousins, Aunt Alberta and Uncle Herbert) just goes to show that not talking to Valancy much on page constitutes a viable strategy. Cousin Georgiana remains in first place, with a new high score of 2!

Mrs. Stirling: -37

Cousin Stickles: -11

Uncle Benjamin: -8

Aunt Wellington: -8

Uncle Wellington: -4

Olive: -4

Uncle James: -4

Byron Stirling: -2

Aunt Isabel: -2

Cousin Gladys: -2

Cousin Betty: -1

Aunt Mildred: -1

Aunt Alberta: 0

Uncle Herbert: 0

Second Cousin Sarah Taylor: 0

Second Cousin Jane: 0

Cousin Georgiana: 2

[grave-the-demon]

okay sorry my dear mutuals for this out of left field post but i have a burning NEED to talk about how utterly insane the first three episodes of our flag means death season two have left me...

and look i enjoy gentlebeard/blackbonnet as much as the next gal but you knOOOWWWWW ed and izzy are the ones that make me start clawing at the walls, pacing my enclosure, chewing apart the furniture

the absolute insanity of israel basilica hands saying "What are we?" followed by "I have... love for you, Edward." LIKE??? absolutely insane insane insane. he HAS love. like its a disease. like its a virus that he can't get rid of.

and then ed has a dream that izzy killed him and he treats it like a revelation, like a fantasy. izzy does everything he asks, surely he'll do this. but this is the one thing izzy can't do. but ed leaves the gun with him because he knows izzy can't live with him like this anymore.

and then ed's "I loved you. Best I could." and he really thinks izzy's dead. and if he finally pushed izzy away enough, then there's no one else that loves him anymore. cause ed believes he's unlovable sure, but how can he when izzy is there everyday, letting him do whatever he wants to him. and he never says its too much. but then hes dead. and then ed finds the courage to do something about it. and then izzy isn't dead, but he is shooting him and standing by while someone kills him and "Finally." finally he's pushed everyone away. even his first mate, who HAS love for him, like it's something he can't part from.

and izzy loves edward so much. he loves him so much he can't stand it (haha get it, cause of his leg...) and he tries preserving ed's image for stede, a man he hated, because ed loved him and oeugh oeugh oeugh

oooooooooooohhhhhhhhhh you CANNOT talk about blackbonnet without taking into account the Izzy™ of it all....

ANYWAYYYYY

[thelavendercatalogue]

Was thinking about your au and wondering if Lupin misses out on a lot of little moments that makes life worth living being asleep most of the time. Is there ever a moment he and Jigen get to enjoy a sunset? Having feelings about this.

Oh dear sweet anon. It has nothing to do with Lupin being asleep that he misses out on a lot of things.

Lupins mental health was failing even before the incident and Jigen knew that, the hospital was just the kick in the pants that started the whole snow ball rolling down the hill making things move faster then what was intended

And basically because of him being sick and everything, what would have been easy to treat became harder because if it wasn't for him getting sick in the first place they would've had a much easier time getting through to him convincing him to calm down

Because he got hurt in such a way that made him fearful of loosing what made him him, loosing the life he spent so long building up it spiraled him a lot faster

had he not gotten hurt, and sick he probably would have been more coherent enough to work through it and at least stubbornly try to get better.

But the problem with Post Septic Shock Syndrome is it alters your mental state and has a increased chance of making you more depressed then what you were before. Now combine that with Lupins already deteriorating mental health and you got a recipe for disaster.

There HAVE been instances where Lupin tried to enjoy things he once did, but they never worked out.

For example I've mentioned before

Lupin likes the rain, Jigen likes the rain its a mutual thing, but unlike Lupin, Jigen really doesn't like to go out in it, he's more then content to just laze about in the house listening to it from the closed windows

Lupin on the other hand loves it, he loves playing in it, running out in it, basically all in all just enjoying himself with it

but after his incident, Lupins personality had switched, he became a shadow of his personal self, and one of the biggest tells for this was, when it rained lupin had now refused to go out in it and enjoy it, even if it meant staying out on the porch or the balcony and watching it fall

NOW

Post-sepsis syndrome (PSS) or Post Septic Shock Syndrome) is a condition that affects up to 50% of all sepsis survivors. It includes physical and/or psychological long-term effects, but one of the main psychological/emotional effects include Decreased cognitive (mental) functioning, Hallucinations, forgetfulness/memory loss

And Jigen knew that that was a possibility, the docs gave them fuckin brochures when they left detailing all the shit he would be potentially dealing with when it came to lupin's recovery

But when he finds Lupin standing outside on the balcony during a rainstorm one day, he for a split moment, believes Lupin is actually getting better, finally enjoying what he use to and slowly returning back to his old self again, and while he typically doesn't enjoy being out in the rain he still goes out to join him

When he goes outside to praise Lupin for actually finally going out to enjoy the rain and being back to his old self again, he realizes too late however that. . .Lupin isn't actually acting like how he normally does when he goes out in this sort of weather.

There's no joy or content on his face, instead it's almost like. . .he's stargazing; his head is tilted upwards, as if he's looking at the sky but his face is blank and it's like he's disoriented because he has a glassy look in his one eye and all he's doing is just standing there in the middle of a rainstorm clueless as to what he's actually doing and when Jigen cant rouse him or get him to move he instead stays with him and puts his hat on his head until the rain stops cause lupin isn't even moving his head to keep the rain from falling into his nose

When Lupin finally snaps out of this episode he's in, Jigen asks him if he's alright and if he's ready to go back inside now, and Lupin looks at him and it's like his brain is slowly catching up and Jigen asks him again

and all Lupin does is look at him and go

"Sure. . .what were we doing out here again. . .?"

There are a LOT of contributing factors as to why Lupin seems to "miss out" on things that once made his life worth living. Most is physical of course, don't get me wrong, but that physical is also causing/exacerbating the Mental reasoning's for a lot of stuff. Jigen tries to get Lupin to enjoy stuff they use to, like watching the sunset or their favorite TV show's or such. It's just that Lupin doesn't have it in him either physically or mentally to care anymore.

His life is falling apart.

and no amount of little joys is gonna fix it

[fategoflatass]

First Impressions on Winter 2024

Welcome back to the section where I offer to you, dear readers, my opinions on the series I'm watching this season. Opinions that no one asked for, right to your doorstep—and for free!

Be aware that these are based on the first three to four episodes and thus my opinions might change in the future.

If you wish to read my opinions on last season's anime, click here.

Boku no Kokoro no Yabai Yatsu 2nd Season

Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life // ☆☆☆☆

Watching the fourth episode as I write this! Despite its first season starting with the wrong foot, it's proven to many just how heartwarming and relatable it can be. This is one of those few series where I feel like the characters could be real teenagers. Yes, they can be cringey and immature and unbereable at times, but that's just what adolescence is about. Their romances are awkward and they constantly give one step foward and two back, but isn't it sweet to witness two inexperienced teens dealing with their first not-official-yet-not-unofficial relationship?

BUCCHIGIRI?!

Action, Supernatural // ☆☆☆½

I began watching this one only because of its creator—the same person behind SK8, a series I absolutely loved from the get go. Sadly, I can't say the same about her newest anime. I don't know if it's the plot itself or the characters that don't fully convince me just yet, but there's something that keeps me from fully enjoying it. Not like it's bad, but I feel like it could ceirtainly be better. We're only on episode three though, so there's still room for improvement!

Dungeon Meshi

Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy // ☆☆☆¾

The comedy show of the season! The moment I saw certain mutual posting nonstop about it, I knew I had to give it a watch—and damn, I was right! Is such an entertaining show and its characters and their dynamics are straight up hilarious! Their constant misadventures that always end up with seemingly impossible and/or disgusting dishes are some of the biggest highlights from this season in my opinion. And from what I've seen, it might take a rather... dramatic? Dark? A turn, and I can't wait for it to happen!

Gekai Elise

Comedy, Fantasy, Romance // ☆☆☆

From this one, I wasn't expecting much. Is a rather chill isekai with a protagonist who's super nice and dedicated with two guys going after her. Wouldn't say that once you've seen one you've seen all, but it's true they all tend to follow the same path. If you wish to watch something more chill yet not quite enough to become a comfort show, then it might be for you.

HIGH CARD season 2

Action, Fantasy // ☆☆☆¼

Yes, I'm watching the second season. No, not much has changed or happened for that matter. I guess there's some conflict going on, although it has yet to fully develop. They've also introduced this character that says random spanish words—and no, he's not even a Latino nor Spanish. It also feels less entertaining than the first one? The difference's not that noticeable, though.

Hime-sama, "Goumon" no Jikan desu

Comedy, Fantasy // ☆☆☆¼

To be honest, I gave it a chance thinking that it would be similar to «Maou-jou de Oyasumi» and honestly? I think they are quite similar, specially in the way both of them bored me in their first halves. There are cute moments and some small laughs, but nothing more than that. I'll give it a chance and keep on watching.

Kyuujitsu no Warumono-san

Comedy, Slice of Life // ☆☆☆½

The season's comfort show alongside «Yubisaki to Renren»! Every episode evokes in me those fuzzy feelings that I need to go through the eternal hell that are argentinian summers (no less than 30ºC/86ºF every day). There's also not much that I can say about it since it doesn't have a plot per se, but I can tell you two things: first, the protagonist is one of the most relatable characters this season. And second, his dynamic with his "sworn enemy" warms my heart in such a way.

Majo to Yajuu

Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy // ☆☆☆

Of all the shows I've watched this season, this one had the worst first episode. It felt messy, long, and it overexplained basic concepts or obvious matter. Now, things got better. Not much better—it keeps on repeating itself and there are time where it doesn't make much sense—, but enough for it to be, at least, bearable. Hope I don't end up dropping it.

Metallic Rouge

Action, Mecha, Sci-Fi // ☆☆☆

Can you call something a letdown if you weren't even hyped from the start? I don't know, this one is just boring. I keep on watching with the excuse of giving it just one more chance, but with every new episode it just keeps on losing my interest. The characters are not that big of a deal and the conflicts between humans and... androids? It doesn't seem to bring anything new to the table. Anyway.

Ore daka Level Up na Ken

Action, Adventure, Fantasy // ☆☆¾

Solo Leveling, the show everyone was waiting for. The anime so many people were dying to watch. The hype almost made it feel like it was the second coming of Christ, only to be the entire opposite. It's just another power fantasy where real life and RPG dynamics coexist. A protagonist who's weak ends up being part of a oh-so-weird sort of program where he can level up, with is supposed to be impossible. Then he goes from being this awkward weakling to a powerful badass, yada yada yada—you know how it goes. I'll let you know if its future episodes change my mind.

Yubisaki to Renren

Romance, Slice of Life // ☆☆☆¾

Goddamn, I was so hyped up for this one! I've been reading the manga for some time, and finally seeing it animated is such a bliss! All my problems fade away in the presence of these two cinammon rolls who are so in love with each other. The secondary characters have their depth as well which is something to be grateful for, and the art! Man, I was in such need of a good full-on romance show and it's finally here!

Yuuki Bakuhatsu Bang Bravern

Action, Mecha // ☆☆☆¼

Mother's Basement convinced me to give it a try, and I kinda don't regret it? Sure, it can be cringey at times but it's also a parody on mecha shows which can be, in some way or another, kinda cringey themselves so the cringe kinda negates? And it's not even bad, only that it focuses more on ridiculous scenarious and references to otaku culture. The protagonists are... pretty good pals, yeah.

[prototypelq]

Hey there, dear mutual! I just wanted to thank you for introducing me to the silly old anime that is Trigun. You talked so confidently about it, and the show looked really appealing to me, so I just had to give it a try xD And boy, I'm glad that I did! It may only have 26 episodes but boy do they deliver! Vash is such a fun and great character I love him. Every second with him on-screen is a blast.

So yeah, thanks! You just got yourself another friend to discuss Trigun with. Congrats! :D

Love & Peace! ✌

HOOO BOYYYY TRIGUN 98 SURE IS A RIDE HUH

Glad to know you liked it mutual!!!

Personally, for me Trigun was a big discovery this year. I'll say in broad strokes that the themes of the series have left quite an impact on me. And yeah, the show is honestly amazing. Vash is such a great character to watch and root for, he honestly deserves all the love. Yeah the 26 episodes might seem like not much (for an anime especially), but they deliver a hella lot of feels!

Hope that, as my wonderful music mutual, you enjoyed the OST too! I know I did and saved up lots and lots of tracks from there - the music style is just so unique and I love how grunge-y it is. Highly suggest listening to it outside the anime, as during all the story and your heart being ripped to shreds, there is not much attention left to appreciate the music - and there is a lot to appreciate there!

friendly reminder that Johhny Von Bosch is also Nero's VA )

If I may give another reccomend - give a chance to Final Space. It has a one-armed blonde sharpshooter with red-coloration and a heart of gold, that tune might sound familiar xD The show is a dramedy in the purest sense - take the heart ripping of trigun and place it into a rollercoaster no-time-to-explain-why-there-is-no-time-to-explain drama story, and in the center of it all - the best Cookie Captain the space has ever seen, and no, it doesn't matter he is a prisoner, thanks for asking, Gary Goodspeed. The series is extremely easy to get into - you either fall in love with Gary immediately and this becomes one of the best shows you ever seen right there with Trigun, or his extra-expressive manner is too much for you and then you can safely skip it. Look up the OST in either case, the Shelby Merry tracks for this series are to die for.

Seriously, I'm very glad you gave Trigun a go and enjoyed it so much! It is truly a very special show, and I haven't seen anything quite like it since (yes, I saw Firefly and Cowboy Bebop, they're good but the themes are different...), and I am glad you're in this fandom club now too, trigun fans are neat)

Love&Peace, dear mutual ✌

[postbadbadassqueen]

Lelouch and Kallen's kiss was mutual and that is C A N O N and other Kalulu gallore // The NT Booklet of 2008

The Newtype Booklet is a booklet that came out with the Newtype magazine of December 2008; Unlike the Newtype which can contain staff interview (which actually matter) but is mostly written by editors who have no saying about the show, in term of canon and all, the newtype booklet was filled with staff information, interviews, talks and analysis, it was basically written by the staff and added as an add on with main Newtype.

And the information it gave was G L O R I O U S. The most important of them all being that Lelouch and Kallen's kiss was a mutual kiss, that Lelouch indeed responded and that no, it wasn't a one sided kiss, as many (haters) people tried to say (despite the obvious mutual animation of the kiss lol)

口付けを交わす kuchiduke wo kawasu/exchanging kiss ~ Is the line in question. The litteral translation is to exchange kisses/mutual kisses/returned kisses/intersect kisses.

While the fact this kiss was mutual seemed obvious through Lelouch's animation part of the kiss, and while it's great to have a clear assesment coming from the staff themselves, the words it uses (Which to me are weird, as I've never seen them used to describe a kiss. So I did some research) would imply that it also had some deeper meaning for the two. Translation by Kosev.

口付けを交わす (how it is described in the booklet) is not mutual in the way you are using the word. There is no reaction to actions, this is people kissing of their own accord and desire to do it. It means that it isn't Lelouch kissing back after being kissed, it means he kissed as she kissed.

It's not an oftenly used expression for people kissing. I have barely heard it ever used by any of my friends, I actually had to check with a language studies major to be completely certain what the colloquial meaning of the wording was. Translation by Tae.

最初で最後の口づけを交わし、ルルーシュに決別に告げるカレン。 Sharing the first and last kiss, Kallen bids Lelouch farwell.

If we want to go literal here, it says, Exchanging the last kiss at the first, Kallen tells Lelouch farewell.

I went to japanese blogs to see the context in which it was used and read some interesting things like, 'after exchanging kisses, they understood their feelings for each other', 'they exchanged a passionate kiss', and what else. So then, I wondered about the actual usage of the line and asked Lie (a japanese native) about it and she agreed to the deeper meaning. Translation by Blottyparchment.

I added both comments and analysis of those three translators (there were actually others, also keep in mind one of them and some of those others are japanese natives) because the wording really surprised a lot of them.

Basically had they wanted us to know Kallen had kissed Lelouch, they'd have said it loud and clear, but the line means they both kissed each other, it doesn't even mention who initiated, so with this wording they really wanted to tell it was a mutual kiss. For the "deeper meaning or the two" there were some lenghty conversation about that but it's too long and nothing sure and clear came out of it, so i'll advice to just focus on this fact, the kiss wasn't one sided, it was a mutual kiss, and while it's great to have staff confirmation, the scene was actually quite telling about that in itself. (Enjoy this slow motion that came out right after the episode aired)

And because the Newtype booklet wasn't done giving Kallen and Lelouch food (as most of the side material from after the show) there was also a ranking of the best scenes and for the Turn 22 kiss scene, they added a caption that said "You keep those you treasure away from you"; The famous line C.C. told Lelouch in Stage 14, when he was worried about the Shirley/Mao mess, and the line we were reminded f in Turn 21, right before...Turn 22. So once again, the fact Lelouch pushed Kallen away because she was dear to him was confirmed (because yes some tried to argue he just didn't need her. Canon confirmation is always best confirmation.); Keep in mind Rivalz was also mentioned in relation to this line, so unlike the kiss line which implies something different from friendship, since well, it's a kiss, this line doesn't mean he was in love with Kallen, but he pushed her away because he cared about her, instead of using her, like he always did before. The NT Booklet also mentionned that Lelouch was a zurui otoko/ sly/tricky man" when saying "you must live on to Kallen (As some said, the whole line in japanese was really intimate, the Name + Kimi is a very personal way to speak to someone, so the whole "Kallen kimi wo ikirou" was almost the most intimate thing he could tell aside from...what she wanted to hear. And which would have led her to be killed with him.) As in, he showed her he cared, but in a way she had an hard time to descipher. Lelouch style, basically.

Always in said NT booklet, there was a talk about the staff being happy about having been able to create the follow up of Turn 7 kiss, where they didn't get to kiss each other; They really wanted to have it happening and when they proposed the kiss during the reunion, they immediately went "Let's do it ! They added that Kallen wanted to "ascertain her 中途半端/tyuutohannpa relationship with Lelouch" Meaning she wanted to have a full answer of what their relationship was, as 中途半端 means it didn't felt complete, it was a half way relationship,and she didn't know what it was, were they friends, foes, more, less, what ? So once their kiss was done and she looked at him and didn't get her answer, she bid him goodbye and left. And eventually, in the best scene poll of the booklet which also featured Turn 22 kiss scene (The scene was voted 2nd best scene lol), the caption basically mentionned 'Lelouch unwilling to reveal his "true feelings/honshin". Yeah. This line. During the kiss scene. *mic drop*

That's basically it for the NT booklet and Kallen and Lelouch; there were some fun information there, like the intended kiss between Charles and C.C. (hence the tango pause) that they abandonned out of fear of fans not liking to see a character they love kiss a character they hate, the fact C.C. would continue to act as an observer (Turn 24 section) aside from that, not much of interest about the girls was talked about, Turn 13 also mentionned Shirley understood Lelouch's situation/feelings but that's about it, sorry Shirlulu fan, I'm sold of Kalulu but I really enjoyed the Shirley/Lelouch relationship as well so if anything new comes out of it i'll definitely share it. Also loved the LuluC ones unironically, I just never saw the romance in there unlike the other two): Eventually both in 2ch and in the english fandom, all talks were about Kallen's kiss as it was really the information that sparked fire.

As one of those translator said, every Kallen side material that came after the show was heartbreak, hearbreak everywhere. More bittersweetness to an anime ending already bittersweet enough.

(Yeah I waited Valentine's day to post this one, don't hesitate to share and reblog it, as it was very well known after the geass airing, but it really got lost through times) Happy Valentine's day Kallen and Lelouch fans !

[elegantwoes]

I love your responses to the deranged antis in your inbox (If you hate Sansa and her stans so much, you can just go your merry way avoiding her tag on tumblr, instead of sliding into the inbox of someone you know adores the character that you hate). I'm curious, what are your thoughts of HoTD and the Targ dynasty in general.

I am glad you are enjoying my ramblings, dear anon. When I started watching HOTD I was both cautious and tried my best to stay neutral on the feud and only wanted to watch the Targaryens mutually self destruct and laugh at both sides. However, since the show wanted the watcher to overly favor one side and the fandom was overwhelmingly team black plus deeply misogynistic towards Alicent I initially started to side with the green side purely out of spite, but eventually I genuinely became to love the characters. Unfortunately as my love for the characters grew the writing for the show started to decline at a rapid pace.

What was once barely tolerable became atrocious in a couple episodes (a rare record I may add. At least GOT was tolerable for a couple years). If you add the horrible interview of Sarah Hess (saying stupid shit like, “The peasants don’t matter.”) I knew it was a done matter. If that is your takeaway from a book that is pro-smallfolk and condemn both sides for focusing too much on birthright and not doing what matters the most: serving the people, then this show is no different from Game of Thrones, and the show runners are exactly like David and Dan. So in conclusion, the show is bad and I don’t want to watch it any further. Now granted there’s a chance I might not stay true that statement, because unfortunately I have a toxic relationship with HBO. They are like an abusive boyfriend: they promise to do better and once you go back to them, they revert back to how they once were. Let’s hope I stay strong this time.

As for my thoughts on the Targaryens in general. I don’t like them. Their way of thinking (i.e Targaryen exceptionalism, how they are supposedly closer to gods than men, their refusal to ‘breed with lesser men’) is too racist to my liking. Secondly unlike the First men, Andals, and the Rhyonar, they have never managed to assimilate to the culture and supplant their roots (which is to be expected because dragons can’t plant trees) and because of that Westeros can hardly be considered home for them. It’s for this reason they were deposed so easily. GRRM has promised that one great house would come to an end, and Targaryen (who are so villain coded) are the most likely one to die out. Conclusion: they suck.