#i did see & binge ton of other shows as well

[celestial-sapphicss]

how did i go from watching ELEVEN shows in January to ZERO in March UNFAIR i feel so empty 😭

[confusionmeisss]

can you watch my boyfriend, please? - c. sturniolo

🫧 chris sturniolo x fem!reader

🫧 the “can you babysit my boyfriend” tiktok couples trend with chris!!

🫧 this is just fluff. there is the use of “y/n” apologies. some swears. that’s about it.

🫧 548 words.

🫧 hi lovelies!! thank u for wanting to read!!!! :) i’ve been seeing tons of videos of this trend & i was inspired. i thought it would fit chris soo well! i hope u enjoy reading bc this was very fun to write!! <3 nick version matt version

Chris was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping idly on a capri sun and scrolling away on his phone. He was blissfully unaware of his surroundings, he didn’t even hear the sound of your footsteps approaching.

Chris looks up when he hears your voice.

“Hey guys, can you watch my boyfriend for me, please? I’ll be back quick, I promise, I just need to go and grab something.

Chris watches you say, smiling at your phone camera, propping it up against the vase of tulips. He looks up at you confused, but you just place a kiss in his hair and smile once more at the camera before leaving the kitchen.

“Uhm,” Chris mumbles out, looking confusedly at the camera.

His confusion only lasts a moment though before he starts speaking. “So I was up late last night, and I stumbled upon this video about analog horror and liminal spaces and the backrooms and such. And then I found this one guys youtube channel and I’ve been binging his videos since like three am. Dude, the backrooms are fucking freaky. I just know they would make Nick paranoid as fuck, so I definitely have to show them to him,” he says with a laugh.

He reaches for his capri sun. “Oh! I’ve been on such a capri sun kick for the past like week. Pepsi is still my number one though,” he says, making a heart with his hands.

“Hey, how do people make the heart with their fingers? Y/N can do it, and she’s tried teaching me, but I just can’t seem to get it!” Chris huffs out, attempting to make a heart with his fingers. He stares down at them trying to bend them into the shape he’s seen you do multiple times.

He lets out a huff, looking back up at the camera, and letting his hands fall onto the table. “See, I just can’t seem to get it!”

“Oh! Oh! We went out to eat yesterday for dinner, and,” Chris cuts himself off with a little giggle, “and we witnessed this guy scrape all the toppings off his pizza and then stack the pieces up on the tray. I’ve never in my twenty years seen someone do that!”

Chris looks up when hears you approaching.

You lean over his shoulder. “Hey, I’m back, thanks for watching him guys. I hope he wasn’t too much trouble.”

Chris looks up at you offended by this statement, but you just smile down at him, and place a hand in his hair, reaching with the other to end your recording.

—

comments

the way chris had to assure us that pepsi was still his number one beverage choice 😭

pls let us babysit him again, he was very well behaved. just talked our ears off, 10/10 very pleasant 😁

not chris wanting to show nick the backrooms knowing he’d be paranoid by them 😭

someone did what with their pizza????

capri suns are 🔥🔥🔥

him trying to do the finger heart is so 🥺💕

don’t worry chris, i too, cannot do the finger heart

his giggleeee 💞💞💞

how to be in a relationship like chris & y/n no borax no glue

they’re such cuties 🥰

the way she is with him 🥺 oh i want that badddd

[thankskenpenders]

At long last, the trailer for Sonic movie 3 is here, giving us our first look at Shadow! It looks like a fun time, though my excitement is probably more tempered than a lot of peoples' due to a few things I have mixed feelings on. Here are my off-the-cuff thoughts about it.

Shadow

Yes, it does seem like they've really nailed Shadow here. Fowler's attachment to the character clearly shows. The action looks cool and really sells Shadow as a serious threat. He's got his bike, he's doing Chaos Control all over the place, it's great. Keanu is very much just doing his regular voice, but it fits well enough. The backstory from SA2 seems to mostly be there, though I'm sure some details will be adjusted. Mostly I'm still just amazed that we're getting a major tentpole blockbuster movie this Christmas starring Shadow the fucking Hedgehog that treats him as a serious character worthy of respect. We've come such a long way...

I mean, just... what an image to see on the big screen.

I also really like the way they're setting Shadow up as a foil for movie Sonic, kind of his dark mirror image as a Mobian hedgehog whose family life on Earth ended in tragedy and turned him into a vengeful antagonist. It's pretty straightforward, but it works well.

Robotnik(s)

Welp. They put Jim Carrey in a fat suit. I suppose we knew this day would come eventually.

I guess a small part of me is glad that movie Eggman finally actually looks like Eggman in every way that matter, but they're completely playing it as a joke at his expense here. And, yeah, the Sonic franchise isn't immune to fat jokes, the early years of the franchise (particularly Western adaptations) gave Sonic tons and tons and tons of jabs about Eggman's weight. But I thought we'd moved past that. But here we are with a depressed movie Robotnik binge eating and gaining a lot of weight like Fat Thor and the other characters think he's so GROSS and look his clothes don't even fit him anymore, haha! There's so much of this crammed into the trailer. I can only pray they don't do this in every fucking scene he's in in the movie.

I do like the plot of Sonic reluctantly teaming up with Robotnik to try and stop Shadow, though. It's very different from SA2, but we knew it would be, and I think that gives the movie some potential for Sonic to have kind of a dark turn of his own that mirror's Shadow's. I have a feeling that Sonic will try to get back at Shadow for something he does - maybe hurting Tom or something like that - and in the end Sonic sympathizes with Shadow and decides they have to stop their cycle of revenge, teaming up to stop some final threat.

Oh, and, of course... Jim Carrey is also playing Professor Gerald. Who might still be alive? Or maybe it's a hallucination on Ivo's part? I don't know, but either way, I'm here for it. Everyone joked about them doing it and then they went and did it. Yes, it risks playing him as a joke character, but the shot of him and Shadow mourning Maria while surrounded by GUN soldiers makes me believe he won't be a total joke. I wouldn't be surprised if he was the true final antagonist of the film, which would diverge a lot from the games but would work as its own version of the story.

And again, WHAT an image to see on the big screen lmao

Everyone else

The human cast is VERY downplayed in this trailer, but let's not forget that they're still going to get a lot of screentime one way or another. The Sonic 2 trailer barely showed anything from Hawaii. Where oh where is my best friend Wade?

Speaking of the Wade show, Knuckles... frankly still seems to be mostly a comic relief character heavily influenced by MCU Thor here, getting some jokes in the trailer but immediately getting Worfed by Shadow when it comes time to fight. Tails seems to be flying the gang around in a real-ass helicopter, and his big pilot's helmet is funny, but otherwise he doesn't really do anything here aside from getting stomped by Shadow. I really hope they don't get sidelined too hard, but frankly I fully expect them to, Tails especially.

And, of course... I can't help but think about who isn't here. Namely: the girls. Yes, three movies and one streaming miniseries into this film franchise, exactly zero of the female (animal) characters from the games have made the jump to live action. Please allow me to bitch about this.

Despite her being both 1) a main character in the game this movie is loosely adapting and 2) my fave, I suppose I can understand why Rouge isn't here. Paramount took one look at that bat cleavage and went "nope," cowards that they are. There was some speculation that Kristen Ritter could be playing Rouge, but we now know she's just playing someone at GUN. But, again, I at least get why they'd be hesitant to include her.

But Amy... Amy is such a glaring omission at this point. There's no excuse. She's the female lead of the franchise. She's one of Sonic's closest friends. (Honestly, these days it's more accurate to say Team Sonic is Sonic, Tails, and Amy, not Knuckles, especially in the comics.) And she's also a key player in Shadow's arc in the game. Shadow has his change of heart because Amy reminds him of Maria! And yet, she's nowhere to be seen. It sucks.

(I know some fans are still holding out hope for Amy, but the toys for the movie already leaked and she didn't get anything, so I have to assume she's not in it.)

It's not like I really expected either of them to be in this movie, but that doesn't make it less disappointing that they set up the film franchise in a way that makes it logistically difficult to include 90% of the characters and conveniently managed to leave all of the girls in the "low priority" pile. Yes, I know everyone points to how much Tails was downplayed in the third act of Sonic 2 as evidence that it's just so impossible to introduce more than one new Mobian character in each movie and give them the focus they deserve. Yes, I know having to come up with a story excuse to bring more characters over to Earth is an obstacle, especially when they're gonna have to devote time to Shadow's backstory. But these are excuses. It's a writer's job to figure out solutions to problems like this. They could make it work if they really wanted to. I'd take Amy having a suboptimal amount of screentime over her not being in it at all. It's just not a priority for them. That's what disappoints me. You can justify these absences from a logical perspective, but I just care way more about Amy and Rouge as characters than I do about Shadow, so there's no way for this to not sting.

But, at the end of the day, for what the movie is actually trying to do, it seems to be pulling it off well. Aside from the fat jokes. I don't like the fat jokes. But the Shadow stuff is good. As always, this live action version of the franchise is never going to be my ideal version of Sonic, but it's turned out far better than it had any right to, and I'll probably have fun when I go see this in theaters and hear Live and Learn.

[krystalcat]

can I get a slight fluffy soulmate au ot8 oneshot of (me) meeting ateez after a show and catching their interest when I say something in my native language out of nervousness 🙈

since I am kinda tall (172cm), to have that as a mental image

Of course! This was my first time writing a soulmate AU, so I had to search a little to be sure of the story ideas. I hope I didn't drive away from what you were expecting and that you enjoy this! Also I'm so incredibly sorry for taking so long to post this, I was constantly rewriting the ending but finally came with something I also enjoyed.

This is also my first time writing ot8 so I tried my best to every member have some spotlight as well

What Is Love?

ღ Pairing: AteezOT8 x afab!Reader ღ Genre: Fluff, Soulmate AU ღ Word count: 1,8k ღ Warnings: some cursing and I think that's it ღ Summary: For everyone, it was a known fact that the name of someone's soulmate appeared on their skin after meeting them. Spending your whole life watching your friends and acquaintances getting those marks on their skin made you believe perhaps you didn't have an assigned soulmate. ღ Disclaimer: This is only fiction, by writing this I am not trying to represent the members in any way. Not proofread!

It was that time of the year again, a week before Valentine’s day. Once again, you were out with your girl friends in a cafe, discussing how everyone was spending their Valentine’s day with their soulmates. Except you.

Your 23rd birthday was coming up, and you still didn’t find your soulmate, despite visiting tons of places and currently living in the South Korea. Almost every one you knew had already found theirs, so saying you didn’t feel left behind was a blatant lie, despite it being no one’s fault.

At this point you had lost hope, you accepted you were part of the small minority who didn’t have an assigned soulmate. Your friends and parents suggested that you could start a relationship with someone else who also didn’t have a soulmate, and oh man you tried. Unfortunately, there was either always a spark missing or your date had to tell you they had found their soulmate.

It felt like it was destined for you to be forever alone, like the stars played a cruel prank on you.

“Yn? Did you hear me?” One of your friends woke you up from your deep thoughts, making you realize the table was looking at you.

“Sorry what was it? I was just thinking about something”

“Do you have any plans for Valentine’s day?” The same friend asked you, almost in a whisper. They knew they were touching a sensitive topic, but they still had hoped this year would be different from all the others.

“Probably the same as last year, being alone on my apartment and binge-watch some movies and series” The air now thick after your answer, leaving your friends both feeling bad for their nosiness and your situation.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love spending time with you, but I think I should go. I shouldn’t make you guys feel bad for something that is out of your control” You grabbed your things and gave them your part of the bill.

“Wait, just to make sure, you’re going to Ateez’s show tomorrow right?” She asked after you got up

“Of course I am, bye!” All three of them said goodbye as well as you left the café, making your way back to your apartment.

Seeing all the couples hugging and holding their hands felt like a stab in your heart, you just wanted to know what it was like to feel loved. You wanted to know what love felt like. Was it sweet like candy? Was it addicting? Could it make you feel like you were in heaven? Could it hurt you?

Ever since your teenage years those questions lingered around your mind, still left unanswered.

«—— ღ ——»

You were now waiting outside for Ateez to leave their music show to greet the fans, it was your first time going to one of the k-pop music shows, so you had no idea of how it functioned, but nevertheless you had a great time watching Ateez perform.

By the end your throat was sore from all the cheering and fan-chanting, you would hype each and every members during their parts along with your friend, despite knowing your screams would combine with everyone else’s. Every single one of the members looked so charming and charismatic with their stylish outfits and stage presence, too bad they couldn’t manage to get the win, losing only by a few points, you would’ve loved to hear them sing the encore as well.  

“Look yn!” Your friend patted your arm as screams erupted, making you look up from your cellphone, the members were leaving. Lucky you, they were passing right by your side, just on the other side of the iron fence.

You nervously clutched the album you brought for them to sign, your mind rehearsing what you would say. It wasn't every day that you got to meet your favorite group, after all.

The members approached, greeting fans and signing merchandise. As they drew nearer, you couldn't help but marvel at their charisma and genuine smiles. One by one, they signed your album, each exchange leaving you more in awe than the last.

When it was finally your turn to meet Hongjoong  you felt a mixture of excitement and nervousness. You handed him the album, and he smiled warmly, ready to engage in a brief conversation.

As you stammered through your words, you inadvertently let out a nervous laugh and muttered something in your native language. The members exchanged curious glances, and Hongjoong's eyes lit up with interest. He leaned in, asking, "What language was that?"

You blushed, realizing you had unintentionally piqued their interest. "Oh, sorry, that was just my native language. I tend to switch to it when I'm nervous."

Seonghwa, who was standing nearby, grinned and joined the conversation. "It sounded beautiful. What did you say?"

You smiled back, feeling a bit more at ease. "I just said that meeting ATEEZ feels like a dream come true."

The members exchanged appreciative glances, and Yunho chimed in "We feel the same about meeting our fans. It's like a dream for us too"

They brisked towards the van, continuing greeting the other fans until disappearing inside of the van. You could see some of the girls looking at you weirdly, but as you stared down at them they diverted their gaze and stomped away.

“Girl you were noticed by them! We need to tell the others about this! It was so cool and honestly a little funny when you basically said ‘fuck off’ with your stare to the other fangirls”

After talking for a little while, you said your goodbyes and went to your house.

«—— ღ ——»

You tossed your little purse anywhere and took off your shoes right after closing the door behind you. You immediately went to the bathroom, pulling your hoodie sleeves up to wash your face after a long day. It seems only now your face had cooled a little.

But you noticed something on your right arm, the Ateez’s members names were written on it. You scrunched your eyes, not remembering when you had written their names there, shrugging your shoulders after thinking it was probably something you and your friend did out of boredom waiting for the queue to the music show.

Grabbing some soap and washing your arms didn’t seem to work, which made you even more confused, and then it dawned on you: it was your soulmate mark.

Water kept splashing against the sink as you kept staring at their names with an agape mouth. After all this time cursing the destiny at how you didn’t have a soulmate, you had finally gotten, not one, not two, but eight of them.

But now there was another problem: how the hell were you supposed to see them again? Their promotions are ending, they don’t have any fansign planned anytime sooner and you sure as hell wouldn’t be stalking them with a chance to talk to them. Especially when they didn’t even have your name, sure they might have it on their arm now, but who could say they would associate your faceto the name on their arm?

Needless to say you barely slept that night, and the one after that, trying to find a solution to no avail. It seemed like you had to wait even more time before you could meet them once again and talk about all of this.

«—— ღ ——»

It is now Valentine’s day, and you still haven’t seen the members. At this point you had accepted you would only see them next comeback season, which at least 4 months waiting. Different from the other years, where you would hide in your cave, today you were going for a walk, seeing the various couples dining in restaurants.

You were only sad you couldn’t spend the day with your soulmates, deep down knowing sooner or later you would meet them once again.

You sat on a bench, still seeing all the lively cafes and restaurants adorned with red and pink decorations, music buzzing through the walls, the loving gazes couples would give to their significant other.

“Excuse me?” A voice behind you interrupted your thoughts, “Is this yours? It was on the floor” turning around you saw a man wearing a mask holding a butterfly hair pin, touching your hair, you realized it was actually yours.

“Yes it is, thank you” He gave the pin back and walked away after mumbling a ‘you’re welcome’, you pin it on your hair more securely and turn to the path you were facing before, only to turn your head back once more when you hear quick footsteps approaching you.

The same man from before sprints into your direction, stopping in front of you, “Ex-Excuse me once again,” He says between breaths, “Is your name y/n?” You quirk your eyebrow, backing away from the man.

He takes off his mask, leaving you dumbfounded: it was San, Ateez’s San right in front of you, in casual attire. “I’m so sorry for scaring you, I realized you seemed like a girl I saw a few days ago” He backed away, giving you some space.

“Y-Yes I’m y/n, I’m the one you saw”

“Oh my God, we thought we’d never see you again” He gave you one of his signature dimple smiles, turning your belly into mush. “Are you busy? Do you have any place to be?”

“No, I was going back home in a few minutes”

“I’m actually a bit late to a dinner with the other members, but I’m sure they would forgive my carelessness if I brought a guest, don’t you think?” Nodding, San put his mask back on and gave you his hand - which you obviously accepted - guiding you to the restaurant.

«—— ღ ——»

They were dining in a secluded part of the restaurant, as you greeted them with a smile, you could see them changing their annoyed demeanor (due to San being late) to a surprised and happy one and called for the waiter to add another plate.

As the dinner progressed, you quickly began getting used to their attention and personalities. It was crazy how you turned from strangers to lovers in such limited time.

You finally understood what is love. Love is unconditional, the greatest gift you could ever give or receive. Love is when the other person’s happiness is more important than your own. To love is to be vulnerable, to trust others. Love is pain, and the enjoyment of it is anesthetic. To love is to admire with your heart, and to see something positive in every person. It is blind and the energy of life.

But you’d choose it everyday over being alone in a world devoid of connection and warmth.

[stinkypeanutbutter]

silly Aiden headcanons because I have no impulse

i probably already done these before in other headcanon posts I made but ermm I’ll do it again 😹

small TW for scars at the end 🗣🗣

AIDEN :

Aiden has the most unhinged playlist ever like oh my giggly goodness we got metal we got rock we got classic we got indie we got pop we got vocaloid Idfk whatever you can think of ( same 😹 )

totally had an immense phase of just everything . Creepy pasta , animation , FNAF , idk any other phases from 2016 help

Probably dated like once or twice , but they weren’t serious at ALL and mostly online . He just said yes because he wanted to be nice since he never really had friends ofc , so why hurt someone you barley know if it means getting a friend ? ( I’m gonna explode 😭 )

I’m not sure when this was actually invented , but he’d probably try and convince everyone to make battery acid candy drinks . ( they all say no 😔 )

Sorta sad headcanon they if no matter how hard to tries to solve a difficult puzzle , and he fails , he just starts silently bawling his eyes out . Cause you know he’s really good at them right ? He can solve them pretty quickly ? So if he’s like absolutely pressured by a bunch of people watching expecting him to win ( or like his friends cause yk they believe in him !!!! ) and he can’t solve the puzzle he’ll be like “ why can’t I solve this why is this hard why am I failing “ or something and then start crying ig ( Yeouchers angst 😿 )

Bro is the heaviest napper ever you can stack things on him for HOURS but the moment he actually sleeps most things can wake him ( if he’s not comfortable at least . He’ll sleep pretty well at sleepovers )

I can’t figure out an art style for him but I updated it so ignore that last drawing it’s grody anyway he sometimes draws people but prefers just random splotches of color . He has extremely stylized art but yk , it’s just ‘ weird ’ according to some people since it’s really . . graphic . Not in a BLOOD BLOOD BLOOD way but very mixed ( if you get what I mean )

Hugs everything when he sleeps you can’t tell me otherwise like you seen his old bed ?? He had NOTHIN so absolutely is he gonna cuddle everything near him

Hates competing . ( idk if he did it before but we’ll see ) like he doesn’t like doing puzzle competitions anymore that much , he just got bored of it and was really kinda forced to do it when he was younger . BUT if it’s in a game against his friends , he’ll probably do it just to help them out cause they always get stuck if Logan can’t figure it out either .

Does that thing with music where If it absolutely hits he just starts spazzing out and dances to it

that one thing where he walks around in a circle talking to himself if he’s really deep in thought ( he could go on for hours so someone has to pull him out to drink water at least )

TONS of posters in his room

Him and Taylor binge shows together , often ask the others to join when they aren’t busy . They totally watch anime ( Tyler calls it childish then gets really invested in uhhhh let’s say full metal alchemist and sport animes like haikyuu or something I can’t think of any he’d like . But I’m gonna make them all watch Ghost stories because it’s funny )

Aidlyn cuddling is mostly done at Aidens house cause his parents rarely go up to check on him ( 😅💥 ) and also he had a ton of blankets for Ashlyn to wrap herself in . He got her a heavy weighted blanket for her birthday one time so when that’s not around she just uses Aiden as a blanket if she’s feeling affectionate ( he’s warm in the winter time and pretty light believe it or not )

Has a medium spice tolerance , eats more then what he can handle like a stinky loser

doesn’t like anyone pointing out his growing hair roots so just don’t talk about it much 😅😅

steals chopsticks from restaurants cause who needs to buy any ??? They’re free if you don’t get caught / hj

sometimes just locks himself up in his room and lays in his bed thinking about life

LOVES drawing his friends ( especially Ash ) in his free time because he rarely draws in front of people , and will make an airplane out of it to throw it over to them . But he has that mentality where “ Everyrhing I make kinda sucks “ so expect to find doodles in the trash or hidden in his room

IPad kid , can’t tel me otherwise .

Loves hover boarding but he kinda sucks at it so he just 🧍🕺☠️ ( falls )

Will ram into everyone in bumper cars , almost sent someone flying ( Lilly , he bought her candy as a sorry )

rarely catches cavities because he actually has really strong teeth and willingly bites down on hard candies ( I do the same thing because I’m impatient 😹 )

Does all his school work at home cause school has too many distractions ( real )

Buys like body foundation to smear onto his legs and arms . He doesn’t want anyone to point out them out , and if they do he just tells them their from skateboarding . It can come off after a few days if he doesn’t reapply , but it’s fine since he does it again in between and would have to reapply anyway . Idk how it works 😿

Anyway who shall I do next ????? Put your answers in the comment section below subscribe like and support my Patreon see you in the next video 😹😹😹☝️☝️💥💥

[azure-firecracker]

The X-Files Season 3 Review (First-Time Watcher)

Wahoo, we’re back! And just in time before I head off to school. I don’t know if it was the pre-college nerves or just the consistency of this season, but I blazed through this. It’s either the fastest I’ve ever binged a season of this length or close to it (barring times where I’ve been sick).

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure where the show was going to go following the high drama of season 2. I said in my Season 2 Review that the season resembled an alien soap opera, a tone I felt suited the show extremely well. But the events of Season 2 were so incredibly high-stakes that I wasn’t sure the show could keep up the high-drama tone. I mean, you can’t get much more high stakes than the Season 2 abduction arc.

As it turned out, the show’s solution was yet another tonal switch. While Season 1 (read my review of that here) felt like a riff on campy sci-fi stories, and Season 2 felt like a dark alien soap opera, Season 3 adopted the tone of a fast-paced film-noir action style movie. Our agents were in fights! They were running after villains! They were firing at bad guys!They were jumping onto trains! It was very high-stakes and exciting, but in an adrenaline-rush sort of way rather than mimicking the desperate, melancholic vibes of Season 2.

While my personal subjective tastes do tend more towards the high-drama vibe of Season 2, I think the action-movie energy suited the show (and the writers) well. The episodes in this season were consistently good at grabbing my attention and keeping it. Due to the fast pace and the constant reveal of new information, I felt like I was always running right alongside Mulder and Scully, racing to find new information and uncover each twist and turn. And if I were to describe this season in one word, it would be consistent. The show writers clearly perfected this fast-paced-film-noir vibe and found a comfortable rhythm creating it. This season had the longest unbroken stretch of fantastic episodes yet, and VERY few misses. More on that in the individual episode reviews.

I think this season’s new energy served Scully well as a character. I said in my Season 1 review that I was irritated with Mulder always taking the lead in investigations, and I felt like it was his mental journey that we were watching, since he was the believer and always right. While that wasn’t my main problem with Season 2, the Mulder-sole-protagonist feeling was still somewhat present. It makes sense: Mulder, as the more angsty and openly emotional of the two, is well-suited to being the main character of a cosmic drama. But Scully, with her sharp observation skills and calm demeanor under pressure, is well-suited to being the main character of a film-noir-action case. I was happy to see her taking the lead several times this season, both in solving cases, but also in becoming more assertive in going after information and figuring out a ton of clues. Her intelligence was showcased so well across so many episodes! I even felt like she got more camera time this season - a testament to the fact that she and Mulder are becoming equals in the eyes of the show. This was the first season where I 100% felt like they were equals (and the first season where Scully outnumbers Mulder in rescues! Yahoo!)

My whump-addicted heart did miss all the saving each other, but at the same time, I’m glad we got a break after Season 2. (A WHOLE SEASON WITHOUT SCULLY GETTING KIDNAPPED! I REJOICED!)

I don’t have many gripes about this season. It was just very consistently high-quality and consistent with itself, though I will say that its consistency made me more irritated with less stellar episodes than I would have been in Season 1 or Season 2. This is probably reflected in my episode ratings. I also think that, while it made sense to do a tonal shift, I could have used just a few more emotional moments in the vein of Season 2. While the stakes aren’t quite so dire this season, it’s still MSR and raw moments between them are part of what keep me coming back to the show. I could have used a little more of that.

My biggest complaint is that I felt like the mytharc episodes got a lot worse after Blessing Way/Paper Clip. I loved the Season 2 mytharc episodes because they directly tied into Mulder and Scully’s story, and the emotional stakes were just as high as the physical ones. Season 3 mytharc episodes had a little too much infodumping and not as much emotional weight as I would have liked. We got SO MANY scenes of Cancer Man or someone else from that group of old white men that I don’t care about talking on the phone and being ominous. A little bit is okay, but at a certain point, I ceased to care.

But overall I felt that this season was VERY strong and VERY binge-able (look no further on your next sick day!) Especially the middle-end of the season I felt was pretty damn near flawless.

Individual episode reviews under the cut:)

The Blessing Way/Paper Clip: A BANGER of a season opener. Easily the best opener the show has done so far. This is what I mean when I talk about balancing infodumping with emotional stakes. We learned so much about the government’s shady behavior and its history, but its ties to Mulder’s father and Scully’s abduction kept it emotionally relevant enough for me to stay invested. Mulder’s borderline-afterlife stint was giving hardcore protagonist energy in a bit of a clichéd way, but it’s okay because at least the Blessing Way ritual is real and they didn’t just make it up (I wouldn’t put it past them). Skinner came through this episode - I know he’s a bit morally ambiguous but I like him! And God, Melissa😭 This death hits so hard because it’s deeply unnecessary, and that’s what makes it so tragic. The scene at the end with Mulder and Scully in the hospital was absolutely beautiful. 10/10

D.P.O: This is what I mean when I say this season made me less forgiving of mediocrity than I would have been back in Season 1. This would have been a totally fine Season 1 episode, but here, especially coming off of Blessing Way/Paper Clip, it was just kind of meh. Not much to say about anything here (except Jack Black! Cool!) 4/10

Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose: Hooray another comedic episode! But also deeply emotionally poignant, and walking the line very well. Peter Boyle was a phenomenal guest star, bringing a mix of humor and genuine grief that was absolutely perfect. Also my comments about Scully being more of a leader this season? This is what I meant! She got so much camera time! She was the one bonding with their important magic person! She solved the case based off of A THREAD OF FABRIC LIKE SOME AGATHA CHRISTIE DETECTIVE! She shot the killer and saved Mulder! What an icon she is. Obviously 10/10

The List: I know this is a well-liked one, but for me, I couldn’t bring myself to enjoy it. I watch this show for supernatural angst and escapism, not to watch prisoners get unfairly treated and beaten up in a way that feels a little too real. Plus Scully was acting lowkey OOC this episode. I just didn’t enjoy watching prisoners get horrifically beaten up, and even though I’m not supposed to enjoy it and the episode is making a point, what can I say? I didn’t enjoy it. Objectively this is probably an 8/10 but closer to a 5.5/10 for me subjectively.

2Shy: Another one where I have to admit my own biases. I did not appreciate the way this episode treated fat people, as a chubby girl myself who can get a tad insecure when watching shows from this era. The episode kept trying to pretend all of these not-even-that-fat women were ugly when they were not (not that being fatter is bad, but it just goes to show how insane 90s body standards were). It just…was not a good time for me, even though it’s objectively a decent monster of the week, I guess. I propose this alternate ending: the fat women being targeted all actually have fulfilling lives, do not need this creep for anything, they all band together and get to beat him to a pulp. Army of beautiful fat women saves the day. Anyway, objectively probably a 6/10, subjectively at more of a 2/10

The Walk: What happened in this episode? I think I fell asleep. But also it was yet again unnecessarily dark and realistic! This is a 2/10

Oubliette: I have mixed feelings on this one. I know what it was trying to do, but for the first time in terms of Mulder trauma episodes, I think it missed the mark a bit. Scully was acting weirdly mean for half of it, and I wish that they’d developed Mulder’s relationship with Lucy a little more. The ending scenes were fantastic, but would have been even more fantastic with the proper buildup. I’ll give this one a 7/10

Nisei/731: And so begins this season’s phenomenal streak! This was an excellent two-parter! While not as emotional as the opening episodes, it was a well-done, high-stakes, fast-paced action story with lots of twists and turns. I loved the ambiguity around what was aliens vs. the government, those super tense scenes between Scully and X (that’s what we call him, right?), Mulder jumping onto the train, Scully getting the exit code from the tape (another noir detective moment!), and of course, X getting Mulder out of that train, adding to the moral complexity of his character. I did feel that Nisei was mostly 731 setup and couldn’t stand as well on its own (a theme of this season), but I still adored this. 9.5/10

Revelations: An episode I don’t see brought up a lot, but I adored! I loved the role reversal of sorts between Scully and Mulder, the episode really allowing Scully to take center stage and be the hero, exploring her relationship with life and religion and her job and her science…all wonderful! Also her relationship with Kevin was so sweet, and her getting the answer off the recycling bin…once again, noir detective moment! And the ending confession scene? Poetry. This was a 10/10 for me!

War of the Coprophages: Comedyyyy! Lmao this was hysterical from start to finish. Some of the scientist scenes were a little boring, but every scene Scully was in was comedic gold. She’s so funny, and we don’t talk about it enough. Her at home is such a mood. Also some truly iconic lines. “Her name is Bambi?” *said with barely concealed jealousy* and of course the iconic “this is no place for an entomologist.” Hilarious. 9.75/10

Syzygy: Apparently this isn’t very well-liked, but I found Mulder and Scully’s bickering to be hilarious. Every duo fights sometimes! And I appreciated the withering humor of this whole episode. Also I liked that the villains were two teenage girls. Given the way they were talking about the other girls in their class…did they even need supernatural involvement to be pure evil? 9/10

Grotesque: I am immediately filled with a deep need for more Mulder profiling. I loved how much it brought out his darkest instincts, and how obsessive he can get about it! What an interesting and phenomenal character exploration! And I really didn’t know if he was possessed or something! Wonderful suspense! And some nice MSR moments, too! This one opens the door to SO MANY fanfic possibilities. Honestly 10/10

Piper Maru/Apocrypha: This is where those problems with the mytharc episodes that I mentioned began to show up. I loved Piper Maru, and thought it was an intriguing setup with lots of suspense, but the payoff in Apocrypha was less fulfilling. Possessed Krycek was such an interesting idea, but we barely got any of him, and the climax of them going to the empty silo was very weak in my opinion. We also got WAY too many old white men on the phone scenes to keep my interest. On the bright side, I loved everything Scully did in this two-parter. Her speech to Skinner at the beginning, her childhood nostalgia, standing guard over Skinner when he’s been shot, and then fully taking down and SCREAMING at Melissa’s killer. We NEVER hear her yell like that - major props to Gillian Anderson. Anyway this was a mixed bag. I’ll give it an 8/10

As I write this, I’m realizing that this is just Scully’s season, isn’t it? As it should be after what they did to her in Season 2.

Pusher: Favorite episode of the season (tied with one other, anyway). I love a Sherlock/Moriarty cat and mouse dynamic, and this pulled me in just like a good old murder mystery novel. Modell is a terrifying villain, his roots in normalcy just as horrifying as his power, and the way Mulder just walks right into his game because he can’t refuse, even though he knows the extent of the danger - DAMN good writing. Plus the way Scully follows Mulder into that hospital without a second thought-her loyalty knows no bounds, and Modell knows that and it makes everything so much worse. And the climactic scenes in the hospital are some of the series’ best (probably the show’s best climax so far). Of course this is a 10/10

Teso Dos Bichos: And so ends the longest streak of greatness. Oh well! This episode was pretty boring, apart from me yelling at the powers that be to please keep the composers away from what I have dubbed the ethnic flute (you know, that one instrument they play every time they’re dealing with a non-White culture). Killer cats is kind of funny I guess? And I do appreciate murdering colonizers. I guess I’ll give this a 4/10

Hell Money: Once again, please take that flute away from them. They need to stop trying to make political episodes about non-White cultures. They’re not good at it. At least they used a real Chinese festival (I looked it up!) and all of the episode’s side characters were actually engaging. I thought Detective Chao’s speech about being American-born and not fitting in with American or Chinese culture was actually pretty interesting and poignant. A small detail, but I also appreciated the use of the lesser-known Cantonese rather than Mandarin (at least according to the subtitles). I’ll give this one a 6.5-7/10 for effort.

Jose Chung’s From Outer Space: My mom said this was her favorite episode and I can see why! Some of the show’s absolute best comedic moments (all of Blaine’s narration, and of course the phenomenal pie scene-which I saw in a compilation and mentally inserted into S1 for months until I was corrected). I will say I got a little too tripped up in the unreliable narrations and alien plot to 100% appreciate the comedy, but I guess that’s kind of the point. 9.5/10

Avatar: I don’t know what the general consensus is on this one, but I really enjoyed it. I think that we’ve now spent enough time with Skinner that it was time for a look into his life - and what a compelling look it was! Characters who close themselves off seemingly for the greater good but end up damaging what matters most are so fascinating, and I liked the moral ambiguity of his guardian spirit thing. My favorite scenes were the ones in the hospital with Sharon - some DELICIOUS parallels to One Breath that had me screaming at the television. 8.5/10

Quagmire: Okay, this was hilarious and poignant and so quintessentially X-Files. But why did the dog have to die? I loved Mulder being sort of desperate for there to be a horrific monster so he could catch it. But why did the dog have to die? The conversation on the rock was amazing and has so many implications for Mulder and Scully both as individuals and as a pair. But why did the dog have to die? Scully winking at the sheriff to get resources was hysterical. But why did the dog have to die? 9.5/10, especially for the 1000/10 conversation on the rock. But why did the dog have to die?

Wetwired: My one complaint about this is that the emotional climax took place so long before the end, and I think the scenes with Mulder and X could have been in the next episode. But GOD, the rest of this?! The ACTING?! The PARANOIA?! The TRAGEDY?! Everything Gillian Anderson did in this episode was perfect. Mulder’s quiet but profound pain when he goes to ID the body, and the way he abandons his quest for her sake in a heartbeat even though he thinks she’s already dead. The scene where Scully tears her room apart, and my God, she’s got SO MUCH trauma for this paranoia thing to tap into, and holy shit Gillian Anderson. The emotional climax. “He’s never trusted me.” “Scully, you are the only one I trust.” And what if I died? Right there? Tied with Pusher for season favorite. 10/10

Talitha Cumi: As a precursor to Herrenvolk, this is fine. As a season finale, it’s weak. Not much happens, most of it is setup, and it doesn’t feel epic. Yes, Anasazi is impossible to follow as a season finale, but this feels the least like a finale of all 3 finales so far. I think Wetwired (with a few tweaks) should have been the finale, and this along with Herrenvolk should have been the Season 4 opener. As a 2-parter with Herrenvolk, maybe an 8/10. As a season finale, 6/10.

That’s it for the season review! Once I go off to school, I’ll be posting much less frequently but still around, so please feel free to send asks, fic requests, etc. Keep an eye out for more meta, fanfic, live reactions, a master post of all my content, and a special post to celebrate 3 seasons (vote on that here) in the coming days:) Until then, the Truth is out there👀

[absolutebl]

This week in BL - I am all over the place, But Laws of Attraction is Phenomenal af

July 2023 Wk 2

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

Ongoing Series - Thai

Laws of Attraction (Thai Sat iQIYI) 1 of 8 - Icky picked it up but it’s not airing for me until Sundays so I held this post specifically to watch and talk about this show. Stars the pair from To Sir With Love with the same production team. IT’S SO GOOD Y’ALL. A morally corrupted trickster lawyer with a tragic past, sad eyes, and a beautiful smile that he uses like a weapon. Meets paladin martial arts instructor from other side of the tracks (who is out, at least to his baby sister). Corrupt police. Spoiled rich kid evil. Ambitious politician. Tragic death. Terrible subs.* This show is very like Manner of Death but so far it is a much better/tighter story. It’s NOT BL but it is fucking phenomenal. And you shoudl watch it. Not wait to binge it. WATCH IT. On a global scale this might be the best thing currently airing featuring gay romantic leads. Its really fucking good. It’s Lawless Lawyer but more complex character motivation and gay af. Fuck yes please and thank you. FINALLY. Triggers for violence, beatings, death & torture depicted on screen. Like MoD they are not holding back.  (* A lot of the familial names they are using are not gendered in Thai but translated as such, like “nephew”. This one is gonna go down a lot easier if you know some Thai.)

Step By Step (Tues WeTV & Gaga) ep 12fin - 2 years pass and no one’s hairstyle changes? Srs. Them meeting again = hella AWKWARD. Both still pining & hurt. NO SINGING. The reconciliation scene was great. I enjoyed that on the “do over relationship” they went with phi/pom (instead of the super formal khuns). So cute and so much more relaxed. Also lots of neck kisses! Charming final ep. It’s only flaw being they dropped the side couple, but I wasn’t really into them anyway. Ultimately? This is what Boss & Babe should have been and could we please have Up lead out another BL? I miss him and he only gets prettier. Full review below.

La Pluie (Sat iQIYI) ep 12fin - I adore the tiny little baby GL thread that we almost got. And I wish we had had more of it throughout the show. The side couple turned out to be good too. Emotional crying kisses are my favorite. Sunshine netted himself an earnest serious romantic boy, we likey. As for the main couple? Well... Tai’s search story arc was dull and dragging in a final ep and it felt bloated and slow as a result. It was a good confession reunion with Tai figuring all of his shit out, not surprising but fine. Kind of a a weak final ep. Full review below. 

Hidden Agenda (Thai Sun GMMTV YouTube) ep 1 of 12 - JoonDunk are back and we have all seen this a million times before, but Thailand never executed a successful formula it didn’t want to repeat a million times over, drunk bathroom and everything. Welcome (back) to Thai BL (and back and back and back). Basically they just added glasses, a new 1-shared-brain-cell friendship group, and different uni departments. Ah GMMTV, forever trying to recreate the magic of 2gether. But also I’m enjoying it. I’m a simple person. (Hi Jamie! Still in college since 2018 I see.) Anyone else notice that Chinese phrase that they did not translate for us? Mmm hum. Cute. Still... NO SINGING. 

Low Frequency (Sat iQIYI) ep 2 of 8 - Thames is in coma and getting slagged off on the socials. It’s moving a bit slowly but the premise is interesting despite the poor quality of the execution. 

Dinosaur Love (Sun iQIYI) ep 3 of 8 eps - Major trigger for self harm depicted on screen in part 2/4. I skipped it. Then there is assault and verbal abuse. I told you Ultimate Troop is NOT to be trusted. 

Be Mine Super Star (Mon Viki) ep 2 of 12 - Look, I don’t really mind this show but I also don’t like second hand embarrassment and I sense a metric butt ton incoming.

Be My Favorite (Fri YouTube) ep 8 of 12 - I was not best pleased with this episode. Ya’ll round the tumblr-sphere seem to be enjoying it but I have officially hit the wall on Kawi. There is not enough booze for me to cope with his shizz. I may be alone in this. But gotta say how I feel... Unlike him. Trash watch here.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Tokyo in April is... AKA Shigatsu no Tokyo wa (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 5 of 8 - Poor Ren, he feels compelled to take on the burden of protecting everyone from sexual assault because he blames himself. And he can’t even talk to his boyfriend about it. Oh fuck me the pair of shoes at the door. And neck kisses? TOO MUCH. Argh. Japan. Why must you hurt so good? 

Stay By My Side (Taiwan Fri Gaga) 3 of 10 eps - It’s a very cute show. All the tropes and archetypes with no fuss or attempts to be clever, just executing them (sometimes over and over again). Even hiccoughs as a result of flirting! I haven’t seen that one in ages. The show feels old fashioned as a result. Nostalgic. I’m good with that. 

Tie The Not (Pinoy YouTube) ep 6 of 8 - Sad boys still sad now drunk. (Noooooo shoes on bed! Argh.) Finally kisses! Also good ones for a large portion of this ep. Plus hair pulling. And verse rep! And after sex convo. Then side dishes have a whole proper gay ax covo about top/bottom. Everyone say thank you Philippines! get down with your queer selves! 

Stupid Genius (Vietnam Fri YouTube) ep 6fin - I believe this was the final episode. It was cute. This is a standard sort of semi-crappy VBL high school drama. Enjoyable in its floppy friendliness, weirdly like a queer after school special promoting education. Dead fish kisses but fine for what it is. 7/10 

Minato's Laundromat Season 2 AKA Minato Shouji Coin Laundry Season 2 (Japan Thu Gaga) 2 of 12 eps - Activate cohabitation trope. They okay bfs. Minato not as frustrating this week, but still frustrating for me and Shin. Next week = cute outfits and dumb miscommunication yay!

Vian the series (Vietnam YouTube ) ep 11 of 12 - again it didn’t show up on my dash in time for this. I’ll pop it into next week. 

It’s airing but ...

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

Stay (Pinoy YouTube) 7 eps - It’s mostly English & set in LA (shudder) so I’m not bothering.

Stay With Me ... NO I WILL NOT! And you can’t make me.

Ended This Week

Step By Step Series Review  

This was Thailand’s answer to The New Employee, and everything I loved about that show I loved about this one. This was an office romance between stern boss and sweet subordinate that felt more authentic to an office environment than previous Thai BLs of this ilk. And that authenticity added tension to the narrative and character development (how novel). Now that might be because it has western source material, or it might be because it is actually kind of old-fashioned (it’s been years since I worked as an office grunt). I also really enjoyed the brothers’ relationship, and kinda wished they hadn’t attempted (and failed) to give said brother his own side BL. That one flaw made it a 9/10 for me. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

La Pluie Series Review

This BL takes to task the fated mates trope and what it means to have love chained intimately to predestination. It’s about how faith in destiny before choice diminishes the authenticity of emotion, relationships, and connection. This is a high concept to examine through the lens of a BL. By activating + examining the soulmates trope this show is challenging a foundation of romance: the idea that there is one person meant to be your one romantic partner all your life. This means that we, as viewers, spend much of the show worried about it having a happy ending, and that’s the source of both its brilliance and tension: would the narrative have the strength to truly challenge its own romantic core? But, ultimately, all this elevated complexity was executed in a somewhat shaky manner with the narrative derailing into some serious pacing issues and characters manipulated by miscommunication. However, with good chemistry and decent acting all around, plus some excellent high heat and representation of consent and a few other rare tropes, this one has to (like it’s sibling show My Ride) earn a 9/10. I enjoyed it even as it made me think, so despite its flaws: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Starting:  

7/19 Wedding Plan (Thai Wed YouTube & iQIYI)  - It's Mame and she's coming for our GL. She's such a misogynist IMAGINE what we will get with a GL side dish? It's going to be absolute carnage. To crane your neck as you drive by the car wreck or not? That is the question. Me? I'm wallowing in the guts. Trying to decide to trash watch or not... 

7/20 Jun & Jun (Korea Thu Viki) - From 2022 I CAN’T FUCKING WAIT! So excited for this one. 

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

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

FYI roselle juice is made from hibiscus (a flower) so technically neither a tea nor a juice. (Hidden Agenda)

Tie the Not = all the verse rep this ep. I love this for them. 

The giggling was SO DAMN CUTE (Step by Step, na?) 

We all guessed it but it was still fun. (Stupid Genius) Also miracles of miracles, two actors who actually look like they could be brothers play brothers. 

First time I’ve seen faen translated as significant other. (Laws of Attraction)

THE PAIN! (Tokyo) 

(Last week.)

[x-liv25-jamieswife]

Headcanons about Jameson and Grayson as kids/babies?? Thx!

jameson and grayson as kids head canons

of course! their relationship is one of my favorites in the series, and i love their development. some of these are from when they're really young and others in their teen years. hope you enjoy these. i did make another jameson and grayson hcs post if you want to check that out. its not specifically about them as kids, but there are some hcs about them younger.

they used to binge watch friends together. jameson was the only one who knew grayson loved the show. jameson's favorite characters were joey and phoebe and grayson's were rachel (and joey but he'd never admit it) (i honestly dont remember much from the tv show so like their fav characters might be inaccurate)

grayson used to love (and still does) ranting about his paintings and stuff as a kid to jameson. he'd drag jameson out of his room or wherever he is, take him to his art room, and start talking about the different colors he used, what he thinks he can improve, asking for jamie's opinion, asking jamie if he can paint him, etc.

gray once made this gorgeous painting and jamie really liked it but was too shy to ask grayson if he could have it. gray could see he wanted the painting and surprised him one day after school with it hung up in his room with a card saying 'a gift from your brother who loves you very much. never forget that' (this happened when they were like 11-12)

gray once admitted when he was 9 that he loves flowers so jameson went out to their garden and picked tons of flowers that he thought grayson would like/reminded him of grayson. he made a huge super aesthetic bouquet and put it in grayson's room. he didn't tell him it was him though cause he didn't want grayson to think he was soft (gray knew though)

jamie would run into gray's room after having a nightmare to cuddle with him. he think gray has a really nice, relaxing voice so he'd make him read him a story/talk to him.

they were both the face of this expensive kids' clothing brand when they were like 10-11 (they've probably been the face of many brands, i might make a post about that).

when jamie was a newborn, grayson absolutely loved to kiss jamie's cheek before he went to sleep. he'd literally cry until someone took him to jamie's room to let him kiss his cheek.

when gray was learning how to take nice pictures with his camera (ig he was around 10), he'd take walks in the blackwood and drag jamie alone bc jamie was always truthful about the quality of his pics. if smth was bad, he'd say it. gray appreciated his honesty.

grayson taught him how to put on a tie. he'd sit with him in front of a mirror for a week straight trying to get him to learn how (jamie was super uninterested in learning which is why it took him a week)

when jamie was younger, he used to kick off his sheets while sleeping. he'd always wake up shivering begging for someone to hug him to warm him up. gray used to sit next to him while he took naps, reading some kids book, and would pull the blankets over him when he pulled them off.

gray used to pick out jamie's little oufits when he was a baby (gray was like 3 and already knew how to dress someone nicely bc, well, he's a hawthorne). he used to sit in front of his closet on a stool cause he was too short, flipping through jamie's clothes.

when jamie was a like 7, he was so scared that gray would drown when swimming that he would sit hidden behind trees or smth, keeping an eye over him to make sure he wouldn't die.

jamie has always loved music. ever since he was like 10, he'd run into grayson's room whenever he found a song he thought he'd really like. he'd say smth like 'gray, gray, i found a song i think you'd like can you pls listen to it'

jamie would hide behind the door whenever he'd hear grayson playing the piano cause he liked the sound of it. he found grayson to be a really talented pianist and found the sound of him playing really relaxing. he especially loved listening to grayson playing the piano whenever tobias would tell him he wasn't enough. he found it comforting.

jamie would steal all of grayson's underwear and hide it on the roof. grayson would have to wear pants with nothing underneath or would have to call nash to get his underwear back. tobias would get super mad at jamie obviously, but jameson didn't care cause he thought it was worth it.

grayson has always hated the sound of nails on chalkboard. he's the biggest hater. jamie used to come up behind him with a mini chalkboard scratching it to piss him off. he stopped doing it after grayson hit him in the head with the chalkboard when he was 12.

jamie used to sometimes sit down in gray's room asking him about what he's currently reading bc he knows gray loves to rant about his books but is too shy to do it cause he thinks he's bothering people. gray would light up and smile and start ranting. jamie honestly couldn't care less about the books but loved to see his brother happy. he stopped doing that when emily started causing issues between them but recently started doing it again (gray cried the first time he did this after emily)

following my last hc, jamie has always loved formula 1. grayson used to look at the runs with jamie which usually happened very early on sunday mornings so nobody ever wanted to watch it with him. grayson always did though even though he didn't care about f1 (this has been going on since jamie was like 11, but stopped for a while after emily wrecked them, but they started doing it again a few months after avery came into the picture) (@ariscats)

when jamie was a child, he wouldn't be able to sleep with the lights off cause he hated the dark. he found the dark lonely (still does) and would always overthink in it. he used to go to bed with the lights on bc of this but tobias hated it bc he thought it was stupid. gray knew tobias got mad and it made jamie sad so he'd go into his room every night to turn the lights off after he fell asleep. as jamie got older (and wanted to please the old man more and more), he started going to bed with the lights off even though it made him feel like shit.

gray's hands would always get cold when they were really young in the winter but would always forget to bring gloves. jamie would remember though and bring him some in case he needed them when they went out. as they got older, gray slowly started to remember to bring gloves so jamie stopped.

[dreamingincanolafields]

Ok Y’all

I don’t know how the Michael/Michaela Genderswap is going on here but I was discussing it with my mom and wanted to see if everyone else shares a similar idea to us about Frannie’s season of the show as it relates to Michaela and her storyline during her siblings seasons that will respect both love stories and the topics discussed.

These are of course just my opinions. This is wordy and I wrote this after binging the whole season it’s 2 am so please bear with me.

TW: infertility, discussions and mentions of loss of spouse and pregnancy

Season 4 (Benedict)

It’s been a year so Francesca and John are delivering a happy Eloise (who has in fact seen past Aubrey hall and for other reasons 😉) home to the ton for the Bridgerton Family Masquerade ball (hosted by both the Viscountess and Dowager Vicountess)

Francesca seems off in the crowds, more so than she did during her season the previous year.

Ofc, Violet picks up on it and is so distracted by it she doesn’t notice her son leave the ballroom with an extra guest (iykyk)

We see Lady Danbury and her brother getting along and jesting with each other.

Violet learns of Frannie’s and John’s struggles with conceiving (whether it be it not happening or the pain of a loss) and supports them both with kind words and items of knowledge she has heard from the other mamas after many a conversation and the information is asked for (we love a respectful queen)

We see Michaela and her personality longer that 2 seconds☺️

Throughout the season we watch Eloise grabbing letters from Sophie (if they keep the Cinderella storyline) and rushing off to her room (from a Phillip who hopes for a love match after figuring out Eloise’s personality because our girl deserves a love match and those kids deserve a support system after what would be the passing of Marina)

We see Frannie and John return to Kilmartin House and try — Michaela offering a shoulder of support to Frannie as she tries to remain hopeful—

Sophie and Benedict’s plot goes on

As they are in town for Ben and Sophie’s small ceremony, we see a happy Frannie and John who quietly tell Violet they are expecting a baby (can be now or the next season maybe not yet?)

Sophie and Benedict go to My Cottage

Season 5 (Eloise)

Eloise gets a letter from Phillip (and we learn that she met a widowed Phillip while he was conducting research on the Kilmartin property and begins correspondence) inviting her for a visit. She goes to Pen and confesses to her about the written courtship

Eloise and Penelope visit Phillip because our girl is not being forced into marriage (and hopefully My Cottage exists in the TVverse)

Violet and Lady Danbury support one another and discuss as they have never experienced a written courtship before and they don’t understand it

Francesca is in town for the season with a beautiful baby boy or girl, John of course has a seat at parliament and needs to be there. Michaela always has a spot in the Kilmartin house so she has came down as well.

We still get the “tell me something wicked” portion as Michaela has revealed her secret to Frannie (plus we get to keep Frannie’s curiosity 😉)

We see Eloise and Phillip ACTUALLY get to know one another and we get to see an actual courtship and the kids warm up to Eloise (Pranks of course will ensue)

Eloise and Phillip marry happily

We see John and Francesca at home, he’s complaining of a headache. Frannie and Michaela have him go lay down before their nightly walk and gossip

Eloise and Phillip do their thing (I mean this is about Frannie but I feel this is how the show should be and I can’t stop myself)

JOHN DIES OFF SCREEN — for the love of everything that is good and holy I can’t watch our babies suffer like the scene in the book. Maybe we see Violet get an urgent message and rush to Francesca’s side.

Season Six (Francesca)

It’s been a month since John passed, a pregnant Francesca is keeping everything together with help from Michaela as her son John Jr (or smth) is too young to take over the title just yet.

Both are in mourning. We see Michaela go through her feelings for both the man she considers her brother and the feelings she has for his wife.

We watch Francesca and her bad luck with rain constantly going on walks.

We see Michaela watch her love and friend suffer with the loss of everything she knew.

We see our girls grieve together and get even closer

Michaela is forced to return to her mother (as a woman can’t travel has been a big pointed issue in the last few seasons) so we can give Francesca and Michaela time to make sure they have somewhat healed because our girls deserve a good start

By the time Michaela is able to return time has passed and the letters passed back and forth have not been frequent or consistent so we have some initial awkwardness

We have baby Janet Stirling

Hyacinth is making her debut so Frannie and the kids are in town to support her, Kate, and Violet — we get sister supporting sister and making sure they stay sane

Ofc Hyacinth is spending time with lady Danbury too

We watch our girls fall in love with each other

We see Francesca confess to her mother that she doesn’t want to remarry and is finding comfort with her love

We see Violet be confused only due to the era and its normally kept secret but she accepts that her daughter is happy, supporting them as a couple

We see the girls be guilty like they do in the book but both come to terms that John would be happy that 2 of the people he loves most in this world are happy with each other.

We see hints of Hyacinths love interest through lady Danbury (because we still need that plot point in our lives a Danbury/Bridgerton Family Merger) and all of our Wed bridgerton siblings in the countryside with all the cousins playing happily.

Auntie Michaela is great with all the kids

We see Francesca happy knowing she has had 2 great romances in her life and a wonderful family.

WE STILL GET “Thank you Michaela for letting my son love her first”

In Conclusion

All of this is to say we can stay true to Francesca’s love for John and have our Michaela and Frannie’s storyline with their love too.

We can still have the infertility storyline whether it be immediate, loss, or secondary the writers can make sure that it is respected and brought in respectfully while keeping the regency theme

Y’know I want to see Eloise’s story tweaked (I have strong feelings about her getting a fair love story)

While we can’t have the Michael imposter syndrome portion we can still see a love story worthy of a Julia Quinn novel

TLDR: Just because it’s different doesn’t mean that it isn’t going to be good. I have faith that the writers will make sure these characters and their stories different or same are done respectfully.

[its-chelisey-stuff]

yeah well, this cold heart of mine melted a little with this:

such a cute baby!! The casting director delivering, as always lol

I do love a happy ending (seriously I'm a sucker for them) and those can easily soften my opinion on a drama, especially one as a wild as this one. Doesn't matter that I thought HaeIn's sickness had an easy resolution, doesn't matter that it had the amnesia plot (my most hated trope in dramas and basically in any form of storytelling), in the end the OTP was all in for each other, willing to go the extra mile, with HyunWoo literally putting his life on the line to rescue the wife who didn't remember him while sustaining life-threatening injuries.

It doesn't matter! They started dating again, married and had their very much wanted daughter. And tbh I kinda liked the fact that HaeIn never fully recovered her memories, and Hyunwoo had to work for her love again. That's karma for the first four eps of the show lol And I love that started communicating, so they don't repeat their past mistakes.

Anyway, it was certainly a wild ride. No one can deny it. I'm just gonna say this, I don't mind a good makjang, but I still feel a bit conflicted about Queen Of Tears turning out to be one, because it wasn't exactly advertised as such. Then again, it had all the plot elements of a weekend family drama: chaebol family meets countryside family due to their children marrying, a ton of characters (and a bunch of subplots I wasn't interested in), mysterious villain (did they ever said who was his dad?) and plot to take over the family business, lot of cliches and tropes from earlier kdramas... Etc. I mean the writing was on the wall and maybe I didn't want to see it lol

Crazily, I would recommend this drama on the following conditions: I definitely think it'd be great for a weekend binge when there's nothing to watch or to do or when you're having a cold so bad you're on bed and under medication lol that'd make the plot twists even more fascinating.

I commend Kim SooHyun and Kim JiWon for their wonderful acting and chemistry, as well as the rest of the main cast and no, wait, THE WHOLE cast. Even the cameos were on point. And I sure hope the writer knows this was a hit because of the acting and not her writing.

P.S.: One thing I didn't get was the mention of who died first and when. Like ??? why for? Lmao even in the happiest ending the writer has done she had to put some element of bittersweetness, because why the hell not?

[prismaticpichu]

Asks about your very first introduction to FF7 🌟

(I don't know if you've ever mentioned or if I'm too silly to remember but hey xD)

I think I may have actually told the story before! But no sweat at all! ❤️ I love relaying it 😂

In short, it all started for me with Smash Bros Ultimate. It was the Game Awards 2020—and boy was I HYPED as a happy clam to see which character was going to be revealed (as so many people had speculated a new one would be). I had snacks laid out, YouTube projected on the TV, and a wishlist open on my phone xD For realsies, nothing was more exciting to me than a new character added to my favorite game amid the sluggish times that was Covid. Nothing.

And who would think, but the Smash character was revealed no more than 30 seconds into the show.

And who was it?

Was it someone on my wishlist? Someone I cared about? Someone I dreamt about?

No.

It wasn’t.

It was goddamn SEPHIROTH.

The embarrassing truth is that I had NO IDEA who this silver-haired devil (woman I initially thought) was. No idea. Knew zip about him. I was pretty crushed, in all honesty. Why did it have to be THIS clown?? Why couldn’t it be someone COOL? Someone I KNOW?? Someone I—

HOLY SH*T HE STABBED MARIO.

Yeah…. the transition from anger to awe was faster than a freaking bullet 😂 In seconds I was utterly captivated by this man. I loved everything about him: design, aura, voice. There was something genuinely magical about this character in particular to me—and that’s not a hyperbole. Tons of characters had epic reveals for Smash in the past. Tons. And not a single one of them had grabbed my attention like Sephiroth did. No other character, out of all the ones revealed, actively made me want to learn more about them.

A Wikipedia search later, and it became history.

Something I discovered in my research was that Sephiroth—this villain, I was learning—was originally… originally a good guy??? WHAT? Excuse me?? I don’t know why I was so intrigued by this particular fact—tons of characters had “fallen hero” backstories. But once again, there was something plucking at my chest, and I was CURIOUS. I looked up footage of I learned was dubbed the “Nibelheim incident” (looking up footage from the og game, then watching Last Order). And goddamn, when I saw how truly destructive and rawly evil this guy was, I was even more motivated to know about this man when he was good. Who the heck he was before he burned a perfectly good village to the ground.

Enter Crisis Core.

And enter my 15 hour cutscene binging-spree.

As mentioned, it was Covid time. I had NOTHING to do lmao, and a whole lot of time on my hands. So one day, morning to night, I binged CC. Watched every single cutscene and swallowed the story whole. And when I was done, I wanted MORE lol. This led to me to binging the ENTIRETY of Remake over the span on the next few days. Was my brain fried? Yes. Was I getting distracted from schoolwork? Yes. Was I converted into an FF7 fangirl?

Yes.

Once my binging spree was done, I turned to fanfic in my hunger for more FF7 content. And what was the first fic I stumbled across…? Well, it was none other than a Zack & Seph-centric fic on FF.Net.

And, once again, it was all history from there 😂

[nikibogwater]

Ya girl's been SICK this week (my first time getting Covid, yaaaay), which sucked, but it did mean I finally had the time to properly binge the How to Train Your Dragon movies for the first time since The Hidden World released. I've never actually sat down and watched all three films back-to-back before, even though this was THE film franchise of my teenage years. But having finally done so, I have Thoughts™.

First movie is still arguably the best of the three, if only because it's an entirely self-contained narrative. The script is really tight and focused, and the whole thing is really well-paced. The animation actually looks way better than I remembered, but that might just be because this was my first time watching it on Blu-Ray instead of digital.

First movie also still has the best soundtrack of the three (which is saying a lot, considering John Powell was absolutely COOKING with all three movies). "Test Drive" is just too iconic to be outdone.

I really like Astrid's character arc in the first movie. I normally don't like tough-as-nails girlboss characters because they're so often one-dimensional and boring, but she works really well for me because her girboss-ness is as much a flaw as it is a strength. While she is athletic and competitive in her own nature, she's also under a lot of pressure to be a tough warrior, since that's what her society values. I love the way Hiccup brings out her softer side, how he shows her through Toothless that it's ok to be gentle, that compassion is a strength in its own right. I love the way she in turn becomes his pillar of support and comfort. Somehow I'd forgotten just how good Hiccstrid really is.

It's weird re-watching the second film as an adult, because I can still clearly remember a time when it was just the coolest thing ever. The second film was really what sold me on the series as a whole, to be honest. Like, don't get me wrong, I always loved the first one, but the second is where I really started getting into the worldbuilding and characters.

So it's weird to come back to it now and find out it's....actually the weakest of the three films (in my opinion, anyways). I can't quite put my finger on why, but the second film feels like it "drifts along" more than the other two. Like things "just happen" without as much input from the characters. Again, I'm not sure why it feels like that, because it's not like the characters aren't proactive and shaping the way the story unfolds.

None of that is to say that the second movie is bad by any stretch of the imagination. It introduces a bunch of really cool new concepts that do a great job of expanding the world and characters. It just had that weird drifty feeling to it that the other two lacked. Does anyone even know what I'm talking about here, or am I just crazy??

It's nuts how much of a touchstone "For the Dancing and the Dreaming" became in fandom culture. Ten years later, and I still see this song popping up in fics from every fandom under the sun. I think that's a testament to how beautiful Stoic and Valka's reunion was.

Unfortunately, Drago Bludvist is....not a very good villain, imo. He kinda just screams a lot, and that's it. His whole thing of imitating dragons in order to subdue them is cool, but it really needed to be backed up by a stronger personality. But it's not too much of an issue since really, his Bewilderbeast is the real obstacle for the heroes to overcome.

Now, The Hidden World is a weirdly controversial movie within the fandom. I still see people whose hatred for this film rivals that of the Tales of Arcadia fandom's hatred for Rise of the Titans. Which...I gotta admit, doesn't make a ton of sense to me. Like, I can understand not liking the bittersweet ending, but it's not as though THW went out of its way to ruin the entire series.

Looking at the series as a whole, I'd say THW feels like the most logical and organic conclusion to the series. Especially if you've read the books or seen the tie-in tv shows. I knew going into this movie that it would end with the dragons leaving--DeBlois even told us as much in an interview leading up to the film's release. And I'm okay with that.

The first movie touches on the theme of loss with Hiccup's leg. The second movie digs into that theme a bit more, with the loss of his parents (first Valka, who thankfully is found again, then Stoic). The Hidden World dives headfirst into the idea. Loss is no longer a mere consequence of the story's events, but the thematic backbone of the whole movie. And it's here that I realized the series has always been about loss, because the series has always been about growing up. You can't mature without losing something, whether it's a place, a person, or your childhood naivete.

HTTYD uses its fantastic premise to explore a painful reality of our own world, and it does so in a way that's entertaining, sincere, and encouraging. Hiccup has lost so much on his journey to adulthood, but he's also grown strong enough to be able to rise above it. He'll be okay. Toothless will be okay. And we'll all be okay too. Idk, maybe I'm reading too much into it, but that's my takeaway from the series, and it's definitely something that I've needed to hear more than once as I've grown up.

Grimmel is definitely a huge step up from Drago for me. He's essentially who Hiccup would have become if he'd lacked that compassion that caused him to spare Toothless in the first film. I also love his overall demeanor and presence. He's not a force of nature, or a feral war-lord. He's just a Guy who is very, very good at his job and knows it. Plus, F. Murray Abraham just has a really cool voice.

Unfortunately, as much as I like Grimmel as a villain, he's still outclassed by Viggo Grimborn from Race to the Edge.

I can't get over how insanely good the visuals are in this series. Especially the textures. Like, there's times in the first movie where the textures look so good that the actual models almost can't keep up. I can see what Toothless's scales feel like, the scratchy weave of Hiccup's tunic, the coarse fur of Stoic's cloak. HTTYD is the only series I can think of that seamlessly pulls off a "realistic" look with animation. The world feels real, without taking away from the suspension of disbelief that makes animation such a freeing medium. It's as if they came to the edge of the uncanny valley, then got into a hot air balloon and floated across without ever touching it.

Looking back, I think this was just the perfect series to be a teenager with. It's just the right blend of action, adventure, and emotion, all wrapped up in a wholesome and often heart-rending tale of a boy and his dragon growing up together. I really wish we could have more series like this.

(Edit) Also the Light Fury is my favorite dragon species in the entire series, no I will not take that back, she's super pretty and sparkly and I just want to pat her on her cute nubby head.

[puppy-phum]

not technically just bl, but top 5 gmmtv couples of the year 👯‍♂️

i know you said this was not restricted to BLs but that's what i went with anyway :'D also, i decided to pick CPs instead of on-screen couples bc i wasn't sure which one you meant here. i hope you're not disappointed!

-

My Top 5 GMMTV Couples of 2023

I. JimmySea (Jimmy Jitaraphol & Sea Tawinan)

ppl would probably be concerned if i didn't answer jimmy and sea. i've been here with them for over 1,5 years now and my love for them hasn't diminished at all. there's just something so comforting and genuine about them. their presence and their performances (on stage and on-screen) feel like a hug to me. i loved puentalay to bits, i am currently head over heels in love with morkday, and i keep hoping this isn't the end. gmmtv2024 part 2 will give us a new series with them bc they cannot just throw aside the depths these two have found for their relationship ♥

II. ForceBook (Force Jiratchapong & Book Kasidet)

witnessing their glorious comeback this year made me so happy. after an unjustified onslaught of hate and a long stay in gmm's basement, their chance to shine again was well overdue. enchanté and akktheo convinced me of their extraordinary chemistry, and this year forcebook truly outdid themselves in both of their series. guncher in a boss and a babe became very dear to me, and topmew showed sides of them i didn't know even existed. they've grown so much, and i hope the upcoming year only brings them more opportunities that let them shine even brighter ♥

III. OffGun (Off Jumpol & Gun Atthaphan)

probably my oldest bl actor cp. i first got to know them after theory of love where i absolutely adored khaithird. i know the majority (?) hated that show but i loved it to bits. i watched puppy honey soon after to see more of them, but never really felt too strongly about pickrome. i went around the internet to learn a bit about them as actors and people for a while but they never really stuck with me then. and then not me and seanwhite happened. offgun took over my heart again and i was truly sad when i thought not me would be their last bl. but then they announced cooking crush! and now we get the trainee too! and i just think my love for them will never end; they've been here with me through it all, in one way or another ♥

IV. PondPhuwin (Pond Naravit & Phuwin Tangsakyuen)

during the surge of bl in my life that begun with bad buddy (and maybe not me too), i binged a ton of other/older gmmtv (bl) series. fish upon the sky was one of them, and even if i never quite liked that series, i loved the chemistry between pond and phuwin. i've actually known phuwin since his acting debut under gmm (when he was a true baby) and was curious to see him with a new face. i was even more excited when i realized they would be getting a new chance with never let me go as palmnueng would introduce a very different type of setting for them. now they're very dear to me as i also came to know pond and especially phuwin as people ♥

V. MarcPawin (Marc Natarit & Pawin Thanik)

the black sheep of my 2023 that i never saw coming. honestly, i wasn't a big fan of my gear and your gown, and so i thought i was not hooked on these two. then they got their glorious comeback during the nlmg our skyy 2 eps and a whole ass tsunami were put in motion in my brain. the wave hit shore when they started getting side couple vibes in dangerous romance and finally got to kiss again. and now we have we are where these two are about to be one of the couples (still not sure if they're main or not). am obsessed. i love this comeback for them. i hope this carries them further than ittpai ever did ♥

Bonus: Mark Pakin + Everyone

i think my school president and his role as tiw started the rise of one mark pakin. after that, the year 2023 has truly been His Year. he's gone from tiw and being paired with ford to appearing as saleng in moonlight chicken where he was paired with view to then appearing again as tiw who was even more prominently with por (ford) to getting paired with neo in only friends as nick and now ending his year as night in last twilight where we've seen the first hints of him being paired with namtan. boy keeps changing partners like socks and it's absolutely brilliant bc he has chemistry with everybody. he's even teased new upcoming projects with a new partner (ohm thi?) and keeps saying he's truly fine with any partner and anyone we'd like to ship him with. an icon. a legend. i love him a lot.

-

thank you for sending this question to me jess! i hope this was anything like what you wanted to see ^^ i made some tough decisions here bc i also had several other couples/ppl i would've liked to point out after this year.

[idreaminmugiwara]

Part 2 of 2! Alright, Dressrosa, let's talk about it. This will be SPOILER HEAVY so if you have not gotten this far in One Piece turn back, ye lousy land lubber!!! YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!

This guy. This guy right fucking here. I love him, your honor. In a show that is absolutely chock full of attractive characters, Law wins Sexiest Man in the One Piece Universe for me. The man is a SURGEON, a Warlord of the Sea, and walks around shirtless with them abs because a motherfucker CAN. His backstory is, in my opinion, one of the top three most devastating in the entire series as well (Robin and Nami are the other two). When I found out his tattoos were to honor Corazon, the tears started falling, man.

I sincerely hope we get more of him in future arcs because while he did feature prominently in this one narratively, he was either getting carried around like a sack of potatoes by Luffy or getting his ass absolutely handed to him by Doflamingo. I can't wait to see him fully powered and healed up.

Now had it already been spoiled for me that Sabo would make a comeback and somehow also have the powers of the Flare-Flare fruit? Yes. Because the internet has absolutely no fucking chill. Did I expect his return to be one of the most powerful emotional beats of the entire series? I did not. Luffy's reaction to finding out Sabo was still alive was one of the most beautiful moments in over 700 episodes of OP for me. Mayumi Tanaka knocked it out of the park with the voice acting here. I sincerely hope to see Luffy and Sabo reunited in future arcs.

After waiting and waiting....and WAITING for the final duel between Luffy and Doflamingo, I have to say that Gear Fourth did not disappoint. It was entirely extra and completely in alignment with Luffy's personality. He earned the long and several tons of meat in the episodes that followed.

Final thoughts:

I mostly loved the collaseum fight. The pacing was great in the beginning and some of the newer characters, specifically Cavendish and Bartolomeo were a delight to have on screen.

The toy soldier episode broke me in twain. Gorgeous, emotional, Kyros wins for dad of the millennium.

Bellamy may be the dumbest motherfucker on this show and that's truly saying something.

Not loving how every single arc seems to sexualize and objectify young women's bodies (Rebecca is 16, y'all)

God Usopp was one of the funniest moments in all of One Piece

Zushi Zushi no Mi, god DAMN...is that potentially another world ending devil fruit like the one Whitebeard had??

The pirates swearing allegiance to Luffy gave me the CHILLS...homeboy is building a fleet without even friggin trying

The Straw Hats are a prime example of: if you believe in something strong enough, it will absolutely manifest. They're all goddamn magicians.

I just started Zou and am already in love. It's such a shift in tone and pacing from the exhausting yet important arc that was Dressrosa. On to the next binge session :)

[wanderfan2000]

WOY Treading 27th - June 2024 “What gives you the motivation for not giving up on Wander Over Yonder?”

Oh, boy, where do I begin? 

First of all, I can say without a doubt, Wander Over Yonder is one of my favorite Disney cartoons! Plus, it turned me into a huge Jack McBrayer fan. NTM, I’ve herd Jack’s voice before, thanks to two lovable characters I obsessed with a lot when I was a kid… 

My first Jack McBrayer role I was introduced to was Irving from Phineas and Ferb. Trust me, ever since I encountered this character, I wanted to watch all the episodes he appeared in and boy, I couldn’t get enough of this guy! It led me to become a huge fan of Irving as well as a fan of Fix-it-Felix Jr. from Wreak-it-Ralph. I even remember back in early 2013, me and my mom were watching WIR in my bedroom on my mini-screen flat TV, and the moment I herd Felix spoke, I kept going, “That’s Irving!”  But whenever I encountered Wander, I knew this would be a show that I’d grown to love and cherish as many, many other WOY fans. And I’m also awaiting the big day will get to see the S3 Craig McCracken and his hard working crew will come together to give this universe and all of us in the fandom one final send off! 

When I think of things to keep me motivated for Wander Over Yonder, here are some few things that come to mind: 

The T-Shirts. 

I love wearing T-Shirts with Wander on them along with him and Sylvia. Also, I even have a shirt that has The Phantomime. The Wander t-shirts are my favorites because I love wearing one of them I own every day! They make me happy. Plus, it helps me remember this wonderful show and character too.  The Fanart. 

I’ve drawn TONS of WOY fanart over the years, even crossover artwork. I love drawing Wander, Sylvia, both of them together, or just various other characters from the show. And, everyone knows by now that I also have a crazy obsession with drawing fanart of The Lonely Planet and The Heebie Jeebies. (Trust me, I draw a LOT of drawings based on these two episodes 24.7.) 

Here is some WOY artwork that I’ve drawn: 

(My style has certainly changed since 2014.) 

But aside my drawings, another thing that keeps me motivated for Wander is…

The Rewatching. 

I LOVE watching WOY on Disney+. I remembered beginning to start binge watching the entire series while at a friends house one day. It felt like visiting old friends again. Loads of months later, I got through the entire series, it was a fantastic experience. I never thought that this show brought back so many memories for me and it certainly did, and I LOVED IT!!  The Fan Made Merchandise. 

Even though Disney won’t give us merchandise for the show, (unless you count WOY being in Disney’s Personalized Shop on DisneyStore.com.) the fan made merchandise that the fans make is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! I’ve collected fan T-shirts, thanks to Redbubble, I have a WOY mouse pad, a WOY iPad case with Wander on the front: 

A huge shelf containing my WOY collection, including the Craig McCracken 2007 Wander Sketchbook as well as a signed transcript of The Greatest and The Egg signed by Jack McBrayer, also, I have a signed picture of Jack as Kenneth Parcell from 30 Rock: 

And let’s not forget my Wander plushie:

I’ve loved him since the day I got him back in 2015. But that’s another story.  As a Wanderer myself, I will still keep WOY alive and well with my fanart, my collection, my screenshots I take of the show, my crossovers I make and my posts I post about on Tumblr about this Wanderful show until Disney decides to give Craig McCracken another chance at it so that he can end Wander HIS way! 

And until that happens…

We are here. 

We are waiting.  #SaveWOY #FinishWOY

[cheesy-poofs]

Why Kyman?

This was a long time coming, so I decided it would be fun to touch upon some of my feelings on this ship Its mostly because its the ship I decided to stick with and I'm not a huge shipper in general. Honestly I didn't ship anything for most of the time I watched the show. Style, Kenman, Bunny, ect. never appealed to me because I thought they would work the same as friends (not that I have anything against those ships). Cartman and Kyle are a different story, though.

These are my feelings as of now, and are always subject to change. This is less of a meta post, and I mostly made it to think through some of my feelings about Kyman and some other ships. I touch upon some controversies lightly. This is not meant to be a discourse post, however.

Well, let's proceed. I wrote this all in one sitting, so its not well-thought out or anything, I might clean it up later or specify things better but in the meantime, I'm posting this raw.

First off, I'll touch upon how I ended up getting into it.

As for when I realized I loved Cartman and Kyle's dynamic a lot, it begun in the episodes "Tonsil Trouble" and later on "Cartman Finds Love" which made me appreciate the humor of the ship. When I finished watching the show, I thought it would be fun to look into the different ships of the fandom and decide what I liked. This actually begun with Candy (Cartman x Wendy) because I enjoyed their episodes and thought they were funny. But something felt like it was missing in that ship; it just didn't feel like there was enough there, and my interest in it was short-lived.

Then I came across my first Kyman fic, and if its not evident, I ended up really liking that fic...and reading a ton more Kyman fanfics and falling deeper into this ship. I don't read fanfics anymore because a lot of them don't quite capture the characters in a way I enjoy, but it did lead to me obsessing over Kyman and rewatching most of the episodes about them.

Then I made this account. I lurked on here for a while but I think I started actually posting on Stan/Trey's birthday. I was happy to see a lot of other people who still enjoyed Kyman, let alone South Park. I didn't touch social media during my first binge of the show, save YouTube or sometimes Pinterest. I also had no friends who liked South Park at the time, which was part of the reason I made a Tumblr in the first place. I wanted somewhere I could actually see people who were as obsessed as I was/am.

This was when I learned that Kyman was controversial. Honestly, I never thought of Kyman as "Nazi x Jew" because I didn't define them as characters purely based upon that. I never really saw Kyman as a wholesome ship either, but I kind of liked that aspect because its a fucked up relationship on both ends. They're just fictional characters who often do really fucked up things because apart of South Park's humor is kids doing things they normally don't do. That's why I roll my eyes at people trying to argue which ships are "abusive" or not because it doesn't matter. They're not real. You can have distaste for ships or be uncomfortable with Kyman because of the nature of the ship, that's fine. But its really not as bad as people make it out to be; not inherently.

Recently, I've reconsidered my feelings about Cartman, but that doesn't ruin Kyman for me because, at the end of the day, I ship them purely for fun. I don't take this show that seriously. I also don't get people trying to argue that Kyman is less tropey than other ships because its honestly just typical "Enemies to Lovers" (which isn't a bad thing, but let's be honest with ourselves, its a huge fandom trope). I have no issues with people shipping Style even if its not my thing, and I'll admit a lot of Kyman shippers have this weird superiority complex. I probably used to, but I try not to come off that way anymore. When I say Kyman is the most interesting ship to me I try to make it clear that its only my very subjective opinion. I'm biased because its the first ship I latched onto, and I still enjoy it a lot and find comfort in it.

So to summarize some of my current feelings; I think Cartman is (obviously) a horrible person, and I think people try too hard to soften him up or make excuses for his actions. I enjoy people going over why Cartman is the way he is now, yes, and I think Cartman is a really damaged kid and I get sympathetic of him sometimes myself. He's my favorite for a reason, he wouldn't be the same character if he wasn't awful. But even if I've been a bit of a "Cartman apologist" myself, I've come to accept that he will likely always be awful, and that's fine; that's by design, that's his purpose in the show, and I love him for it. I think people feel guilty for liking Cartman when there's no reason to, just because you like him doesn't mean you're okay with his actions. There might be some dumbasses who idolize Cartman, but they probably shouldn't be watching South Park anyway. Let's not forget what kind of show this is:

I don't like it when people try to exclude Cartman either, because South Park would be nothing without him. I think about "The Death of Eric Cartman" a lot and how it shows that the boys could leave him anytime, and Kyle even admits that he knows Cartman thrives off attention (ironic since Kyle tends to give him a lot of attention, its a big reason why Cartman is so obsessed with him). My point is that the boys still choose to hang out with him despite it all, because they actually don't hate Cartman completely. Yes, they do sometimes, and they'll obviously say that they don't care about him, but often their actions show the opposite. Either way, he's a very significant part of the show, and I do not want to see the sanitized show other fans want this to be.

I don't think Kyle is quite as bad as Cartman (however I would argue Cartman, Stan, and Kyle are all huge assholes and deserve each other). Regardless, it won't stop me from shipping Kyman because I purely like the way they work off of each other, and I personally only care about Kyle when he's paired with Cartman. That's why Kyman is my only Kyle ship.

I thought this post would end up being longer, but I think I touched upon most of my thoughts. Remember, this isn't exhaustive, nor is it definitive. I essentially try to look at Kyman from a neutral perspective, acknowledging both of their faults while also not taking it too seriously, especially given what show we're watching. They're both interesting, layered, and morally questionable characters with a lot of episodes I really like. That's the gist of it.