#i'm finally on episode 10 and the kiss is at the end i assume

[kdramaxoxo]

Wow ‘May I Help You’ finally gave us The Kiss We Deserve but we really had to work for it

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - It's 2024 & I'm talking about TayNew... really?

(They pretty much told us all to sit down and shut tf up, 'cause they got this. AND THEY DO.)

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Feb 2024 Wk 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

Cherry Magic (Sat YouTube grey) ep 9 of 12 - I broke. In my defense, it was Monday, I needed comfort, and TayNew were right tf there. Ya know what? They are great in this show. It's a great adaptation. I might like it more than the JBL live action. You know why? Really, honestly WHY...?

That was a PHENOMENAL KISS. Those boys did Thailand fucking proud. They did fandom a solid. Thank you OGs for reminding us how it's done. I was getting used to SloppyHot. And SloppyHot has its place, but that TayNew rooftop kiss was a top tear class act. It was tender and sweet and respectful and joyful. It was eye work and breath work and years of practice. How very far BL has come while still staying so much the same. TayNew - I salute you!

(Read all about distribution issues here.)

The Sign (Sat YT) ep 12fin - we waiting, I guess? Bah.

Cooking Crush (Sun YT) ep 11 of 12 - The recipe book thing was so damn cute and I love a claiming. YOU KNOW I LOVE A CLAIMING!

In fact, I love OffGun.

I love food based BL.

I adored seeing a reboot of "the infamous dragging". 

But I don’t love anything else about this show. Sigh.

1000 Years Old ep 1 of 12 - Finally we get our gay vampire BL from Feel Good Bangkok. Stars Shane (My Engineer) and fresh face Opal, directed by Champ (2gether). It’s kind of odd but enjoyable. A group of teen UFO seekers find a vampire instead. Opal looks a bit like a mix between Newnu + Leo (VIXX) - so cute + edge. Also, nice to see Shane again on our screens after so long. 

Finally, I like the subtle (and sometimes not subtle) presence of ghosts permeating this show. Do the friends know she's there? Do they know she's dead? Is the existence of paranormal accepted but not that of aliens? Or are the two combined? Is this lazy writing or just fun world building? Who cares! It's enjoyable.

For Him (Thurs iQIYI) ep 12fin - the nail painting bit was very cutie queers and I've not seen it done in BL before, so that was nice. For some reason captions never dropped for me on this last episode, but it didn’t really matter. Not much happened and I understood everything anyway.

Quick pitch?

From the people who brought us Unforgotten Night based on a y-novel, about a young man nursing a heartbreak who has a one-night stand, but the other boy didn't want it to end. This turned out to be a pulp that wasn’t half as good as it should have been and even less memorable, but not terrible. 5/10 DON'T BOTHER unless you're v bored

City of Stars (Fri iQIYI) ep 3 of 12 - Oh it is such a pulp: the acting is not good and the script is terrible. Of course, I’m mildly enjoying it. Very good dream kissing. There's something appealing about these main characters - I think it's the moot crushes. We rarely get to see that. These days everything feels very one sided, this... isn't.

A Secretly Love (Thai WeTV) - Khonprot, a third-year hazer of the engineering faculty, has a secret crush on Pluem, a tsundere fourth-year head hazer. Over the years, he's seen Pluem cycle through girlfriends. Recently, after a public breakup, however, Khonprot thinks maybe a boy has a chance.

I tried but I can't get into my WeTV account anymore and I'm way too lazy to figure it out. I'll catch it grey if I can, since I've rebooted the bootlegging side of my BL life for Cherry Magic anyway.

So this show may stay in this section, or I may bump it down to "it's airing but..."

If anyone is watching it, let me know if it's good?

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Love For Love's Sake (Korea Weds iQIYI) 7-8fin - Ugh it was GREAT, despite some pretty telling flaws. I ended up feeling like some of the filming was amateurish (very overworked low angles - director's first feature, I assume), and the narrative is a little disjoined and on the nose, AND the subs are clumsy (which I don't expect from KBL) BUT I still loved it. (FYI - I wouldn't be so harsh on a BL for this kinda thing except one from Korea.)

Quick pitch:

This isekai-based KBL is about a man who must win a game by convincing a reserved teen outcast to fall in love with him. Of course, that teen represents himself and his own unhappiness. Like many queer narratives, this show is actually about self worth, trust, and found family, and it is VERY on the nose. But I don’t expect subtlety from my BL and I enjoyed it's truly lovely redemption arc and earnest performances. While I found the narrative a touch disjointed with overworked filming angles and poorer than average captions, this is certainly much better than early KBL in terms of consistency of tone, script, and immersion. Highly rewatchable and charming, which counts for a lot. 9/10

Trigger warning for suicide depicted.

Perfect Propose (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 4 of 6 - Gosh, it’s so lovely. But I do just constantly want to give them both hugs. 

AntiReset (Taiwan Fri Viki/Gaga) ep 4 of 10 - Oh look, Taiwan has created yet another BL where I spend most of the time watching it grinning like an idiot. Surprise surprise. The pet name thing was fucking adorable. Also Taiwan once more proving they come by their "kings of kissing" title honestly. I mean to say. In a week of good kisses this one was just... WOW.

On the other hand, some of the underpinning themes are starting to v worry me (ownership, consent, age), and we only just got started, and I don't trust this production company so... I have concerns.

But also... YAY KISSES!

(I'm made of weak moral fiber.)

Although I Love You and You AKA Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 6 of 10 - Like many other shows on this list. I just enjoy it the most when the two leads are on screen together. So this episode was kind of lacking because they were apart for most of it. I also am starting to agree with the tone of the plot, that maybe they ARE better off as friends not lovers. (And I'm sure I'm not supposed to want that.) Oh Japan, must you?

My Strawberry Film (Japan Gaga) ep 1 of 8 - Oh it’s good. In the arthouse lane so don’t expect sweetness & light or an HEA. If there’s no cartoon aspect to a JBL, there’s usually no joy. But it is certainly good. Teens uncover some old film and a mystery around a pretty girl. The background music is wildly annoying (and rarely in the background). 

It's Done

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - will binge when I have any spare time. 2024 is crazy busy for me so far.

The Servant and the Young Master - from Vietnam, it's on YouTube. I will give it a try when I have a window of time.

Began Beginning (Myanmar YouTube) - A Burmese BL? @heretherebedork vouched for it, so I will give it a watch.

7 Days Before Valentine (Weds WeTV) - Gave me Luminous Solution vibes have decided not to watch.

It's Airing But...

Dead Friend Forever (Thai iQIYI) - rumors are it's interesting. I'm waiting to know how it ends.

Ossans Love Season 2 (Japan Gaga) - 5 years later, will anything have changed? This is Japan so… probubly not. I won't be watching this. I disliked Season one and actively hated the follow ups. No thank you.

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 14 eps - Dear Playboyy, it's not you, it’s me… I hate you. You’re about as deep (and as palatable) as a shot glass of cum. While I'm sure you’re someone’s kink, you're my weakest link. Goodbye. I DNFed this at ep 5. Frankly I'm impressed with myself for getting that far.

Time the series (Tue Gaga/YT) 10 eps - dropped it at ep 4.

Next Week Looks Like This:

2/24 Unknown (Taiwan Youku) 12 eps - Older brother tough guy breadwinner looks after his sister and defacto adopted little brother. Little bother falls in love with him and is sent away after a stolen kiss. But when he comes back…

Sam Lin has a cameo so even if I wasn't already excited, I'm in. We should be on our guard though, Taiwan will occasionally go edgy, dark, and sad... this could go there.

One assumes GMMTV is filling in the BL time slot with something queer on their YT Channel after Cooking Crush ends, they gonna lose subs if they don't. But I've not been paying attention to the chatter so I don't know which of their line-up it will be. I think G4 are filming/off radar now, and Earth is in that het noona thing? Plus they gotta sort out the IP for MIx-Up and Ossen. So it won't be one of the announced adaptations. They'll hold My Golden Blood for the high season, so I think it'll be one of the lesser known lead-outs. Wandee or Only Boo maybe? But they only just started filming those. Are we getting our long awaited GL? Anything else left from 2023 that I forgot about?

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Two crawling kisses from Thailand this week. Now this is a fetish I didn't know I had. Turns out, we love this one! (*waves hand in air* I speak for all of us now.)

Cooking Crush

City of Stars

Possibly the best tsundere to cinnamon roll pivot we've had in a long time.

Also the best asshole to KING pivot. Could we have a whole drama staring this character now? Please?

And finally our sunshine learning to love himself.

SIGH. what a lovely show.

And a good SMILEY kiss from a KBL.

And then some cute cuddles? Korea is spoiling me these days. I'm catching expectations now. What's next? Japan learns to kiss in their light BLs? Ha! I kill me.

(All Love for Love's Sake).

(Last week)

[svnaaaaaa]

Monte Carlo : Charles Leclerc AU (Epilogue)

pairing : charles leclerc x fem reader

summary : the married life went well. so is the pregnancy?

warning(s) : another domestic!charles, progress of pregnancy (i literally have nothing to write now), pictures from pinterest

previous : part seven

next : -

masterlist

author's note : in honour of attack on titan's final episode aired, i presented a long epilogue just like how attack on titan ended its series *sobsob*. i had fun doing this series but i realized of how short the story is because i just don't know how to elaborate the story long but long stories can be boring (with my writing) at the end of the day so i decided to end it before it became nonsense lol. thank you for the support that you guys gave me, i hope you guys enjoy it from the first part till now.

tagging : (if you want to be tagged in, let me know)

recap :

"ready to be a daddy, papa?" y/n whispered as she stroked back charles' front hair to the back. "as ready as i ever be maman." charles replied, taking y/n's hand and kissed it.

-

10 weeks into pregnancy, y/n realized that her body is going through some changes and that being her emotions as well. her abdomen is getting a slight bloated as if she was overeating things. just a small bloating, nothing more or less. and since charles have a week off from racing, he decides to bring y/n back home in nice, france for some healing time. lately, charles noticed that his wife is having mood swings moments, where himself was afraid that something might trigger her which he assumed that his wife was stressed while he wasn't home.

"honey, you might want to slow down on those wings. it giving you a bloating tummy already." beau reprimanded as he saw his daughter savouring the chicken wings. which has been y/n's craving lately where she craved chicken wings with spicy honey glazed sauce on it. y/n who felt realiztion hits her hard, she put down the de-boned wing back on her plate and placed the plate on the coffee table in front of her as her eyes were getting tear up. charles comes in the living room and he heard his wife was getting to sob. he immediately went to her side and rub his wife's arms. "y/n sweetheart, what's wrong, tell me." charles hushed as the sobbing is getting louder.

"i'm fat!" y/n exclaimed. "which makes me ugly!" y/n continued and the crying comes in. charles sighed silently as he pulled his wife into his arms and hugged her gently, rubbing her back. "you're not fat and ugly my sweetheart, it just your body is going through some phases as you are pregnant now." charles tried to rationalized which makes beau hit with gulit. "i'm sorry baby, i know being pregnant makes you want to eat everything you want but i am just want you to be aware of what you eat. that's all, nothing harm." beau explained. y/n pulled away from charles' arms and glared at beau, which causing him to stutter and carefully walk away from the living room. y/n starting to sob again and once again, charles pulled her to his shoulder, swaying them left and right.

charles thought of how many weeks more for the mood swings to past by.

"charles, y/n, i'm sorry."

-

as charles making chicken pasta for dinner, y/n who is finished showering, entered their bedroom while patting dry her body until she saw the full body mirror in the room. y/n noticed something different on her body and went closer to the mirror. y/n gasped. "charles!" y/n called. "charles, come quick!" y/n called once again and as fast as a lightning, there charles was, gasping for air as he leaned onto the door frame. "what is it sweetheart, are you hurt?" charles asked, making y/n chuckled. "no silly, look!" y/n exclaimed as she referred to her abdomen, making charles look at it as well. when realization kicks in, charles' eyes enlarged as he approached to his wife's way and saw a small bump. a bump that resides in his baby.

their baby.

"you can touch it you know." y/n chuckled as charles placed his hands at the side of his wife's bloating tummy, carassing it. getting his eyes tearing up, he thought on how he can't wait to meet with the baby soon enough. "hello there little angel, papa can't wait to see you soon. i hope you are as beautiful as your maman." charles said and end it with a kiss on his wife's abdomen.

-

25 weeks into the pregnancy, y/n's abdomen became a bit larger than the last time she realized she had the tummy. this afternoon, pascale invited charles and y/n to her house for a lunch date. as charles went bonding with his brothers at the front yard, y/n, charlotte and pascale were in the kitchen, prepping things before cooking. since charles and y/n were the only leclerc couple that will be having a child soon, lorenzo and charlotte were more than happy to babysit the future baby before deciding to have their own baby, in order to gain some experience. "how's pregnancy treating you y/n?" charlotte asked y/n as she was washing some apples before handing to y/n to slice it up. y/n sat at the island table stool, rubbing her lower tummy looking at charlotte. "it was like a rollercoaster ride to be honest, sometimes i am okay sometimes i am not. and poor charles had to attend to all my ridiculousness." y/n replied as she chuckled at the thought of charles had to find a rabbit meat for y/n to eat it with a sriracha sauce, where charles had to made an order through amazon for the sriracha sauce.

charlotte chuckled as well. "well, he had to since he's also helping making the baby right?" charlotte asked and y/n nodded at the question. "he had to, if he doesn't want our baby to drooling once it was born." y/n said, had a thought of where her mother used to tell a story of a baby that keeps on drooling because the father wasn't able to fulfill the mother's pregnancy craving. once she told the story to charles, at first he thought it was kinda weird and dumb but the thought of having his own baby might be experience with drooling in its toddling years, he couldn't bear to risk it so he just fulfilled everything that y/n craved.

"is it really a thing?" charlotte asked and y/n shrugged. "it can be real, it cannot but neither of us want to risk." y/n replied while cutting off watermelon this time. pascale chuckled. "i also don't want you two to risk anything bad to my grandchildren." pascale informed, stirring her cookings on the stove. both charlotte and y/n looked at each other, just smiling. "will do pascale." charlotte replied. "maman, arthur's here with carla." lorenzo informed as both arthur and carla entered the kitchen and kissing pascale's cheek, carla holding something in her arms. "here i brought some desserts from patisserie riviera." carla informed, placing a box of desserts on the dining table.

y/n gasped as she holding her lower abdomen, alerting everyone in the house. "y/n, are you okay?" charles asked, rushing in to y/n's side and placed his hands on y/n's. "i-i'm fine, i guess." y/n replied in confusion. "it just, i felt something like cramp but it wasn't that hard or painful." y/n continued as she placed charles' hands on where y/n felt the flutter against her abdomen. charles' eyes brighten up at the feel of the small kicks.

"wait, the baby kicked because of patisserie riviera?" arthur asked.

-

amélie was assigned to be the planner of the baby shower and she planned it to be an all-girls party at a venue where charles and y/n held their wedding at. amélie also invited kika, carmen, kelly, rebecca, lily, and basically all formula one drivers' partners. the theme of the party is pastel purple because everyone doesn't know the gender of the baby. the baby gender reveal will be held at the end of the party where the men will be invited right after the party ends.

theme and cake

cookies

invitation card

dining table

backdrop

"okay everyone, gather around here as we are going to play our first game." amélie announced as she stood on a podium with backdrop that she designed specially for her future niece/nephew. the ladies started to stood in front of amélie as y/n took place next to amélie as she linked her arm around amélie's.

"we are going to play our first game, which i call 'play dough babies', where each of you will be given a cup of play dough and the rule is easy." amélie started as she pulled a trolley that have cups of colourful play dough. "each of you need to create the perfect play dough baby where our mother to-be here, will decide the winner." amélie finished and starts handing out the play dough cups. "also help yourself with props in the trolley there to add some bonus points!" amélie added. the ladies in the hall starts to get excited as the trolley were pushed into the middle of the hall and they saw things that they can get creative with.

"okay ladies, you only have 15 minutes to create the most perfect yet creative play dough baby." amélie said as she pulled out a stop watch. "your 15 minutes start, now!" amélie announced as she clicked on the timer and the ladies started to rolling out play dough according to their own ways. "so y/n, who do you think will be the winner?" amélie asked leisurely as she tried not to make things focus on the game. y/n hummed as she looked at the contestants making their babies eagerly. she eyed on kika's play dough baby. "i had my eyes on someone's but i can't tell who." y/n replied as she giggled. "oh-kay then, ladies your time have five more minutes left." amélie announced and she walked around, eyeing the babies.

"time's up! so y/n, please choose your winner mommy!" amélie announced and y/n walked around to evaluate the babies.

y/n smiled genuinely. "without bias, the winner for this round is ... carla!" y/n announced as carla jumped happily and went to hug y/n at her arm as she doesn't want to cause trouble to y/n.

-

five games later, at party is now almost at the end and the men now have arrived. y/n's eyes lighten up as charles showed in her sight. charles saw y/n and walked his way to her. y/n smiled at charles and grabbed his arm, hugging it. charles chuckled at his wife's attitude, stroking his wife's arms around his right arm. "alright, now that everyone is here. now is the time for the gender reveal!" amélie announced and brought in a white frosted cake on her hands.

the guests there were starting to clapping their hands, feeling excited at the reveal of baby leclerc. including the new leclercs, where both charles and y/n is fine with the gender of the baby, as long as the baby is healthy and happy. charles gripped on y/n's hand where he pulled it to his mouth and kissed on it, making y/n smiled at her husband's gesture.

"ladies and gentlemen, may i here invite the leclercs to the podium here and cut the cake to present the reveal of their baby's gender." amélie announced and then both charles and y/n went to the front, onto the small podium that amélie made, hand in hand. amélie smiled at the couple and stood a bit away from where the couple stood. "are you guys feeling excited?" amélie asked, being the great host she is. "are you expecting a boy or a girl?" amélie added. "well..." charles started, as he getting nervous for no specific reason. "we were hoping to get both boy and girl but since there is only one baby here," charles placed his hand on his wife's belly, "we are fine with any of it as long as the baby's fine and y/n have a safe labour soon." charles said as the crowd were awed at charles' reply.

"okay, it's time to cut the cake! which gender will the new baby leclerc will be!" amélie said as both charles and y/n cut the cake and the gender has been revealed, which caused joy among the guests there.

-

38 weeks passed by so quickly and it is time for y/n to be admitting into her labour ward since the baby can arrive soon enough. also she has been feeling mild contractions. right now, charles went off to registering his wife after they got in their ward room.

"have you thought about the name yet?" one of the nurses asked as she was inserting iv drip on y/n's arm while y/n make herself comfortable on a bed that she has been admitted. "yea, we had few names listed but the right one will comes right in when we see the baby's face." y/n told the nurse. the nurse smiled at the excitement of a new mother. this was the first time for the nurse to see new mothers being calm, despite within 24 hours, they had to push a baby out of their uterus.

"all done, if there's any discomfort or problems, please press the button here okay?" the nurse asked and y/n nodded her head yes. making sure that y/n is fine once again, she left the ward room, followed with charles entering. y/n letting out a huge huff of breath. "another contraction?" charles asked and y/n nodded her head yes. "but still, the water isn't broke yet. is it normal?" y/n asked worriedly, making charles nervous and worried as well.

he was a small child when his mother gave birth to arthur and y/n was the younger child in her siblings. none of them experience with childbirth before.

"i guess so, want to take a walk?" charles offered. y/n nodded her head yes.

-

the leclerc couple walked down the hallway of the ward, waiting for water to break and also for dilation. dragging along the iv drip along. "can you believe it char, less than 24 hours we get to see our little baby!" y/n said excitedly even in the midst of contraction. charles smiled at his wife's excitement and admired at how strong a woman is even if she is in labour. this makes charles respect women even more, especially his mum and wife. "we have been waiting long enough now, please hurry up little fella." charles said while rubbing his wife's stomach, causing y/n groaned silently not wanting to create chaos. charles noticed it and pulled his hand away and immediately hold onto his wife's shoulders, fearing that she might fell down or something along the way. charles looked at y/n worriedly, which y/n saw and smiled a bit. "i'm fine, it just the baby can't wait to meet you too." y/n said slowly.

and their walk ended right there, as to the dilation went from 2 cm to 9 cm. that fast huh.

-

charles_leclerc

2,748,916 likes

charles_leclerc Presenting René Jules Valentin Leclerc. I love you my boy, just like how I love your mother ❤️

Comments are off.

yourusername

1,637,729 likes

yourusername rené jules valentin leclerc, reborn youthful and healthy

Comments are off.

-

a/n : the end! i didn't know how to end it so i ended it this way. thank you to all who have been supporting this series from the beginning until now. for now i would like to take a rest from writing because i have been in writer's block mode for a while now, hence the ending. if any of you have any suggestions or request, feel free to inbox me and i will try my best to make it a reality! once again, thank for the support and if you don't mind, feel free to follow me so that you will known what will i write next hehe 🩵

[victoria-rostu]

i still think nina and momoka aren't officially dating. they're obviously going to be a couple and everyone can see it, but i don't think momoka has given nina a proper answer for the confession yet.

she obviously didn't do it immediately in the truck, because nina didn't want her to. it was important for nina to tell momoka her feelings, but she knew it was the wrong time for momoka to answer. that's why she turns up the music and looks away, so momoka doesn't have to give her an answer.

(then in the deleted scene later that night, if you accept that as canon, the confession doesn't come up again)

you could say that between that point and episode 9, they got together off screen, but i think we're seeing more of their relationship develop on screen than some people are giving the show credit for.

in episode 9, their relationship has changed and they're a lot more comfortable around each other, but nina is trying to back up everything she said before. she wants to be momoka's equal before they go any further.

when they're alone together later, there's this sweet moment where momoka is listening to nina practice. when nina asks "what do you think", momoka acts surprised and doesn't respond until nina clarifies she means about her playing. momoka's still got the confession on her mind, and she isn't ready to answer yet.

in episode 10 when she asks nina to write the song, she's nudging things along a bit more directly while still letting nina take the lead. she's offering another way for nina to grow and prove herself (and this way, momoka isn't waiting years for her to improve on the guitar before she can kiss her).

(the rest of togetoge know something is happening here but they haven't seen the other scenes so they don't understand how intricate the rituals are)

so in episode 11 i think nina's first/final line to momoka is given so much emphasis is because she's ready now. everything that was set up at the end of episode 8 with the diamond dust rivalry has come back around. the tear rolling down her cheek even calls back to the exact same shot after her confession in the truck!

if we do get an onscreen confirmation of their relationship in the finale, i think the stage has been set for it here. and if we don't, i'm just going to assume they spent the rest of the night making out in the van after the festival.

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Moving right along. Episode 5

Sad guy is sad and is hallucinating the weirdo.

wait what happened with the teacher and the voice that I assumed was the rival? did I miss something. Did they? oh well

Ok what was that? was that suppose to have come out of his mouth? Cause his mouth didn't move. not even a little. But it seems like what comes after is a continuation.

ok. weirdo apologized but that doesn't seem to help. this is some very weak conflict even by bl standards.

sad boys montage. And I'm not an expert but this song is really not doing it for me. it's not good. Seriously, not even the music? I am in pain.

The guy is sick. Of course weirdo found the guy's house and shows up. At least he brought food. And of course he just walks in.

Ok. I haven't mentioned until now but what is it with this lip tint? It was obviously put in post and it does not look good.

Obligatory messy eater moment. So of course he needs to be fed. And hugged. Did they just make up?

Rival in the house. And he also brought porridge. This isn't awkward at all.

Great moment for weirdo to confess and then run away. And it's the rival's turn. The guy is popular today.

oh the guy thinks he's bad luck for other people. that's sad.

He needs to choose. He chooses weirdo. Every pot or whatever it is.

Ok this time weirdo asks for the kiss. This is improvement.

Episode 6 - oh it's the last one. let's get it over with.

flashback time. I literally just saw this.it's been 10 seconds.

Ok, that was a good kiss. And a long one for kbl.

We're back at the weirdly lit coffee shop. Oh wait I recognize this dude. Isn't he from a strongberry short? which one? I need to look this up later.

Ok. the guy got the job at the coffee shop.that cake looks good. is that cheesecake? it looks like it. like blueberry cheesecake. and now I want blueberries. preferably on top of cheesecake.

More kisses and the sound effects are back. also the silent comedy music. How much longer? wait is the weirdo also working there?

OMG. WHAT WAS THAT VOICE? THIS WAS THE CRINGE TO END ALL CRINGE. Ok, it turns out that they are both weirdos and they are perfect together. I'm sorry but this bit of dialogue needs to be shared.

the guy : today was tough huh? the weirdo: It's very different from when I was a costumer.

Was it? that's so weird. It's just going from one side of the counter to the other. I mean how different can it really be. 🤦‍♀️

Oh the kbl classic. Boy sleeps on table with one hand under his head and arm stretched.

Another good kiss. oh he was just helping his boyfriend but now he got the job.

Hug from behind my beloved.

They're missing an ingredient and one of them has to go get it. I'm having MODC flashbacks.

of course weirdo wouldn't let him go alone.

What's with the sudden tension, is that the rival? can't be.

AND THAT'S WHERE IT ENDS???? WTF? Is that it? ok, then...

Final thoughts

Strongberry we need to talk. I forgave that whole 20 minute short split in 3 parts. Mostly because those 20 minutes were at least well shot and well acted. And because we've been together for quite a few of these and there was a certain level of trust between us. I'm afraid going forward that will no longer be the case. Of course I'll keep my eyes open and if you decide to drop by I still wanna see you, but it's not the same. I have been burned too many times in this bl world and sadly I need to protect myself from future disappointment. So consider this an adjustment of expectations. I'm getting really good at these so don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I wish you well on all your future endeavours.

If anyone has made it through all that, I thank you. posting these made the whole experience a bit better. also I did not spellcheck or look over anything so sorry if there are mistakes. 💜💜💜

Edit: previous posts in the series if anyone is interested. E1 E2 E3&4

[ofsmokenandgold]

Land of Women Episode Six

We begin back on the evening of Day 8 with the timely arrival of Fred, interrupting Amat and Gala's almost-kiss. Amat withdraws reluctantly, leaving Gala to berate Fred for getting them into this mess and buggering off to leave them to deal with it. While he's certainly a slimy jerk of the highest order, can I just say how much I HATE it when women are given free license to hit men in contemporary media. If it's bad for men to hit women then it's also bad for women to hit men, especially if it's not in self-defense. Gala really whales on poor Fred in this scene and it's not cool. He tries to explain himself and it does seem like it's just an unfortunate combination of poor choices and hubris that got him into this. Honestly, if Tony was an investor then, unless Fred outright lied to him about the deal, losing the money is just the price you pay for taking that kind of risk - obviously Tony doesn't see it that way.

So, once Fred figures out that Kevin and Hank are there, Gala gets Amat to get him out of the house and dump him at the local bus stop - funny and more than slightly awkward scene ensues. And Gala has to figure out if she and Kate and Julia are going to take Fred up on his offer of starting over in Argentina. I have to admit, not feeling a lot of sympathy for either Gala or Amat at this point - it's been five days for fuck's sake - they'll both be able to move on just fine.

But he is lovely lying in bed in his layers (t-shirt, henley and shirt) looking at what I presume is his little boy in the picture. Telegraphing that there is going to be something coming up where children are involved. Fortunately, he's also been a lot smarter than Gala and has finally ignored her and called Andreu about their shady visitors. The police show up the following morning to arrest them for stealing that van way back in episode 2. And that conveniently keeps them out of the way for the rest of the episode.

Julia uses the time to visit Mariona and decides to stay, Kate says goodbye to the very attractive but still-nameless mechanic and the Cooperative panics because Edna is on her way three weeks early.

But they get everything sorted, with a band and flags and decorations and Edna arrives to be feted (and can I just say that she is almost as annoying as Gala - I think I just really don't like the New York socialite-type) and Gala persuades her to front 10% on 100,000 bottles which will clear the Coop debt and set them up for next year.

Yay, American business acumen to the rescue /s

When they get to the dock in Barcelona, Gala decides that she can't leave and they come up with a plan to jack Fred's safe in the cruise suite. This leads to Amat doing a little safe-breaking - not a normal life skill for a wine-maker - so we have to assume that this plays into whatever he was doing before he came to La Muga five years before, and why he is estranged from the little boy.

Of course, in their delight at getting the safe, they end up kissing and I really don't care at this point. I've beaten the "this relationship sucks" horse to death at this point, I'm not going to belabor it any more.

So they are all happy, and when they get back to La Muga the party is still going on and it's clear that Amat has a whole other kind of party in mind when he suggests to Gala that the night could get better yet. And he still hasn't spoken with Montse; fortunately she has other plans for him and while Edna drags Gala off to party, Montse finally gets her conversation with Amat.

And, as I had surmised last week, she's pregnant, they were being "careful" but obviously not careful enough. But really there are very few foolproof methods if you're having regular (very regular) sex as they appear to be doing. She really projected an air of trepidation in that conversation, like she didn't know how he was going to react and he certainly looked like someone had dropped a house on him. Zero sympathy from me - if she plans to keep the baby, which it certainly seems like she does - then it's time for him to step up.

We end the season with Amat driving Gala home, Gala mad that he's suddenly gone quiet and not nearly as amorous as he was before and Amat still stunned and distracted enough that he ends up hitting Kevin who has managed to escape from the village lockup.

It's clearly set up for a second season, there are still a lot of unanswered questions (is Kevin alive; what is Hank going to do when Tony finds out that Fred is gone; who is Gala's father, now that the old guys have the DNA results'; what the hell is Amat's backstory). And how is Montse being pregnant going to affect Amat's pursuit of Gala.

However, that is all going to be up to Apple+ and there is no indication that they've greenlit a second season (although there is apparently a writing team working on it). Honestly, if they are going to pursue the Gala/Amat romance, I'd just as soon not have a second season. I can live with what we have now and imagine a future where Amat actually realizes what a good thing he has going with Montse and (even if they don't live together) they continue their relationship and raise their child together. But that's absolutely NOT what we'd get if Apple TV and Eva Longoria have anything to do with it.

So, I'm in the middle of writing five more short installments (one for each episode) to provide Montse's take on all of this - watch this space.

And, this was a lot of fun, so I think I'm going to do the Musketeers next - or Picard.

[neonscandal]

Hi ....Do you mind if I ask your top 5 (or top 10) favorite moments from any anime (can be series or movies)? Sorry if you have already answered this ask before.....

This is an incredible ask which inherently will come with some serious spoilers! This was also really tricky trying to determine what makes something my favorite - was it the funniest? The craziest? The biggest plot twist? I used the benchmark of what moments do I wish I could watch for the very first time, all over again. I broke the difference with eight, hope you don't mind!

⚠️ Spoiler Warning covers the following series (specific benchmarks will be given) for Sk8 the Infinity, Attack on Titan, My Hero Academia, Yuri on Ice, Trigun, Fushiigi Yuugi.

SK8 the Infinity S1 E6, allusion to S1 E10

Starting off light! One would assume that one of the most iconic scenes in Sk8 is the slap heard round the world but I found that more heartbreaking than anything. My favorite moment of Sk8 is easily Miya cockblocking Joe on the beach because what a flex, first of all. Secondly, the build up and subsequent (unknowing) teamwork of our favorite motley crew of skaters? 😘👌🏾 Chef's Kiss and *peak* comedy.

Attack on Titan S3 E16

I could talk at length about the exquisite exposition of Attack on Titan and how each rewatch sprouts new easter eggs of foreshadowing as the world unfurls for the viewer. But the truth is, out of the entire series, the moment that I would want to rewatch for the first time is Erwin's rallying speech in Shinganshina. In addition to inspiring goosebumps and anxiety when I hear it, it is a perfect storm of emotions as concurrent events unfolding are all coming to a head. It's a wretched life and a hopeless situation made worse by the all-or-nothing corner they've been backed into. The standoff is more poignant as it's a reckoning of Erwin's own past of valiantly using others as cannon fodder if only as a means to a strategic end. A man we now know to be possessed by the obsession of proving his father right, presses forward ceaselessly while never seeing a future beyond that and we're never given the time to fully digest that. "A Perfect Game", indeed. The speech manages to be heart wrenching every time. Including when the dub pops up in my music library.

Yuri on Ice S1 E10

Hot Take: Every sports anime is a BL. You cannot convince me otherwise. BUT THIS WORK OF ART!? Literally the exception that proves the rule. Episode 7 was GOOD. Like, "ohmygod-ohmygod-ohmygod, IT'S HAPPENING!" good. Episode 10 was a cultural reset ✨ and what I wouldn't give to see it for the first time all over again. From the viewer's perspective, Viktor picked up his life with one foot in a relationship when he decided to coach Yuuri. It was alluded to, hinted at, his susceptibility of Yuuri's affection should it ever be thrown his way but in an almost detached, puckish manner. A manner that frazzled Yuuri so he could never take it seriously. So what a comedy of errors to know, after finally finding a working rhythm and even exchanging rings, that Yuuri was the one who made the first move!? OMG. Iconic plot twist, truly. The bonus evidence of his champagne fueled revelry is one of my all time favorite bonus sequences.

My Hero Academia S3 E18, S6 E9 and Heroes Rising (Indirect Manga Spoiler Ch 337)

Maybe a bit biased since I'm most plugged into this series at the moment (I like GIFs and only get 9 a post), but here's a treasure trove of moments! I've recently gotten my niece and nephew into MHA and rewatched everything from S1 to the current season and all movies while seeing how they digest everything. I tried to tweet about it because it's truly novel seeing things for the first time through their eyes but didn't really keep up with it. Since I'm reading the manga (and need to pick back up on posting about it), I have a renewed perspective on certain moments so see below:

Iida rallying Aoyama from the figurative edge during the provisional exam and how it inspired Aoyama to sacrifice himself so someone he perceives as noble can be slingshot across the finish line. Humorous of course since we know Iida was like a hair away from murder a season or so ago. When this last ditch effort unites the rest of Class 1A and serves as an impetus for them all to pass together? BRUH. With what we've seen of Aoyama and what we later learn, rewatching this scene actually made me a bit more emotional as it added a layer to his duress that we don't comprehend just yet.

Bakugo's hero moment which mirrored Midoriya's own hero origin story. Don't get me wrong, Bakugo is no stranger to sacrificing himself. He and Midoriya make it a habit of saving one another. But this specific moment marks itself indelibly as deliberate insight into Bakugo's character growth because we hear his thoughts in that moment which seems to mirror Midoriya's. TBH, the episode was good but reading that for the first time? Phenomenal. It felt more impactful somehow.

The final fight scene against Nine with everyone coordinating to use their quirks to the best of their abilities while knowing they were outclassed. Bakugo and Midoriya seamlessly working together and then the (non-canonical IG) transfer of OFA with Deku risking quirklessness again and Bakugo warning him against it. *Cue Sarah McLachlan-esque soundtrack.*

Trigun (OG Run) S1 E 23

I slipped down the Adult Swim to Toonami pipeline of anime so Trigun was one of the first anime I fell in love with and kicked off an enduring adoration for characters voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch. Wolfwood's showdown with Evergreen and the subsequent scene at the church as he makes his peace before dying forever altered my brain chemistry. On the one hand, I loved Wolfwood's character as he played off of Vash so well, comedically. At odds but similarly aligned in the greater good though the means to the end weren't always in sync. I could appreciate the dissonance of his character, holy man who kills; unsavory priest, etc. So I would have been sad to see him go either way, but the life he imagined for himself as he was dying? Knife in the heart. Knowing that ultimately, legendary gunslinger Vash the Stampede made such a visceral impression on this ne'er do well priest, moreso than the God he served and that that was his undoing? Twist that knife, baby. That last bit I can appreciate much better as an adult where, as a kid, I could understand how moved I was without realizing the complexity of it. Truly devastating.

Fushigi Yugi S1 E33

I'm realizing that a lot of my favorite characters tend to be really irreverent and rough around the edges. These very same characters tend to have compelling depth beyond their surface level brashness and character growth that stays with me. Such is the case with the graceful and beautiful Nuriko of the Suzaku warriors. As a kid and also for a series of that period, I could understand that Nuriko had a rich complexity and appreciate the relief that they were accepted wholeheartedly by Miaka and the warriors. The character was so deeply steeped in grief that it defined them and muddled their identity over the course of their life. Upon finding a new mission, they were able to come into themselves but only by slowly letting that grief go. So it is ironic that this person, shortly after finding peace in who they were, was marked for a death that would critically galvanize Miaka and the rest of the warriors to carry on and see the mission through to the very end. This episode became a core memory and I distinctly remember bawling.

[semi-sketchy]

I did it. I finally finished SatAM. The big cliffhanger the series ended on is...Snively usurping Robotnik and taking over as the next big villain? Wait did they seriously kill him? After those silly fakeout deaths, THAT is what deals him in?

I don't want to be too hard on the storylines that weren't finished, like Naugus or Sally's father, I know they were counting on a third season and didn't get renewed.

Alright, so I guess my opinion on SatAM is avoid season 1. There is nothing relevant there and it's frankly boring as all get out. Season 2 is better structured, has more continuity, although sadly the theme of de-robotization is dropped entirely half way through to go back to rebel shenanigans. They did use some game mechanics, such as the time stones, but then quickly went back to their own thing and left the source material behind. There's also a few episodes that are two stories and those are the most filler and boring season 2 gets. That said, it's not unwatchable by any means and I actually thought Antoine's torture sequence was funny, even though it was a cliché.

I liked season 2 and I see why some people really latched onto this. My biggest hangups are mostly inconsistencies, such as Tails' age, how de-robotization can be temporary it breaks all the laws of science, or how someone can even fight the mind control to begin with in Xenoblade it required the power of a god.

Aside from that, yeah this is Sonic in name only. Most obvious thing to point at is he is such a stuck up prick it isn't funny. Like he is legit so cruel to Antoine. I'm tired of asshole Sonic, give me back kind and compassionate Sonic who isn't out here to get kisses from a princess. Seriously Sally keep your lips to yourself for once she gives out like 5 kisses an episode They also called Sonic the "leader of the Freedom Fighters" in an episode, like...? Huh? SALLY is the one with all the plans, SALLY gets to do the cool stuff, at no point did I ever think Sonic was in charge. 99% of the time, Sonic is simply used as a distraction so the other Freedom Fighters can do their thing and that is SUCH a waste.

I've already said my grievances with Robotnik, he just misses everything I loved about Eggman to be generic evil. Like dude doesn't even design his own traps, he has Snively do it and you want me to believe he'd be a better villain in a hypothetical season 3?? They wanted this show to be taken over by the OCs I swear

I also assumed it was Rotor who took Tails' place as the smart guy, but no, that's actually Sally. Rotor builds stuff, but Sally is the smart one that hacks things and figures out the tech. Tails is so forgotten about, he's missing from half the episodes and is only featured in maybe 4? He's so babified and I am tired of that trope. The fact that they said he was 10 really makes me wonder how they viewed their target audience.

I'm not sure what I'd rate this. Like season 1 is a 2/10 and I never wanna watch it again, but season 2 I found engaging, like maybe a 7/10? 6.5? I guess I'll round it off to 5/10 overall, the good parts make up for the bad ones. It's not Sonic, but can be good as it's own thing when it wants. One day when I actually read all of Archie, I might get an appreciation for the cast that the show didn't give me.

Anyways, I've been using this stuff as background noise while sewing, so maybe that'll carry me through Underground. God, only thing I remember about Underground is I was actually mad there were so many episodes. As a kid I didn't understand the concept of stop watching something if you don't like it.

[darksideofparis]

What are your thoughts on Power of the Doctor?

Okay, so, this is probably gonna be long, but here we go!

Likes:

The Master dancing to 'Rasputin'. Absolute comedy gold, especially the 'WTF' look the Dalek and Cyberman shared.

Companions Anonymous! I can't wait to read the fanfics of that, especially the inevitable 'Ian tells everyone how he was kidnapped by the Doctor, and he once had to stop him from beating a caveman to death with a rock'.

Ace and Tegan getting closure with "their" Doctors.

Ace's fall-out with the Doctor being vague. I just really like that all the spin-off material with her can still be considered canon.

Ace and Tegan just being badasses in general.

Kate seeing the inside of the TARDIS! Up to that point, I hadn't even realized she hadn't been inside the TARDIS before.

Yaz getting some BAMF moments, like flying the TARDIS (with Post-It notes!), defeating the Master, and carrying the Doctor back to the TARDIS.

The Master insulting Tegan - like, bringing up her Aunt Vanessa and "Do you keep her in a dolls house?" was so below the belt, but very in character for him, lol.

And bouncing off that, Ace basically just retorting "Furry!" at him, and the Master just, like, having to take it, lol.

Thirteen's final words were so sweet. "Tag, you're it."

Also, the Doctor finally learning not to regenerate inside the TARDIS? Excellent character development, lol.

Dislikes:

Tegan/Nyssa apparently not being canon? An easy fix though, as we can always assume Nyssa was off at a medical conference or something, and Tegan will tell her all about the bat-shit crazy mess when she gets back.

No Thasmin kiss? Really? Granted, I'm not really a shipper of it, but if you're going to make this pairing canon, give the fans (and poor Yaz) something.

Just how Yaz's departure was handled in general. I would have much preferred something similar to Martha's departure, say, Yaz asking the Doctor something personal, the Doctor deflecting as usual, and Yaz finally reaching her breaking point, realizing I deserve better than this. After what happened at the end of 'Legend of the Sea Devils', I really thought that was the direction they were going.

Also, the implication that Yaz will not still love/get along with the Doctor after they regenerate just seems . . . insulting to me? Like, look what happened with Rose. She was initially wary when 9 regenerated into 10, but she got past it and realized they were still the Doctor and continued to love him. Just . . . to me, it didn't paint Yaz in a good light.

The Master's plan being so freaking convoluted. Remove the Daleks and the Cybermen, and you still get a solid, holy shit he is really freaking dangerous plan.

Also, it just would've made more sense for them to do a full body-swap? Sacha Dhawan and Jodie Whittaker are talented enough actors that they could have played it convincingly. Having Yaz slowly realize that the woman standing in front of her, apparently suddenly flirting with her, is not the Doctor would have been amazing and really added to her later BAMF moment.

And now, the regeneration. I'm not really thrilled Thirteen regenerated into 10.3 (yeah, not calling him Fourteen). I was really excited for Ncuti, and it just feels a bit insulting to him and Jodie. This was Jodie's last episode, and all anyone's really talking about is Tennant's return. Plus, it kind of takes away from Ncuti being the first black Doctor. To me, it just rubs the wrong way. Having said that though, I AM excited to see what the heck is going on with that unexpected regeneration. It didn't seem like a normal regeneration, and I'm eager to see how it all plays out in the 60th anniversary specials next year!

[vitiateoriginator]

i wonder… 1, 19 (:3) 22, 26, 37 ? this is a lot at once so u don't need 2 answer all but u definitely have to answer 19

Aaaa tysm for the ask!!! I'm definitely gonna answer them all >:3

1) who is/are your comfort character(s)?

I have a couple! And they're from completely different walks of life. The first one is Goku from DBZ! He's been a comfort for me since I was around 4. I used to watch the anime with my friends growing up, and reenact the episodes with them after watching! I've always admired Goku's strength, and that no matter what he goes through he's still his goofy and caring self! He just seems like someone you'd wanna be friends with. There's also Spongebob, from the titularly named show Spongebob SquarePants. My favorite little yellow guy <3 He's also been a comfort since I was small. I just like how silly and naive he is, I'd probably be friends with him irl if he were real! Idc that his laugh is annoying that's my buddy!!! Also, I think it'd be awesome if the two of them met and became friends (like how Spongey and Danny Phantom hang out as friends. Can I quickly mention how cute of a friendship I think that is?? We were robbed of a Danny Phantom/Spongebob SquarePants crossover!) I watched a Goku vs Spongebob deathbattle once, it was cool. But like, what if they hung out instead? Spongebob could cook up a shit ton of Krabby Patties while Goku trains and they could enjoy them together afterwards. OR or or Goku training Spongebob, since Spongey like karate!! Mixed martial arts sometimes includes moves from katate right?? Goku could show him some new moves to kick Sandy's butt with!

19) imagine we’re at a sleepover, would you paint my nails?

Judging by how excited about this particular question you seem to be, I assume you really want your nails painted at the sleepover, so I'd definitely do it!! As long as you braid my hair afterwards. I'll let you pick out all your favorite colors from my nail polish collection (I've probably got as much as a nail salon does, even tho I don't really use them anymore. I really like colors). Or I'll paint your nails in rainbows with little hearts on them!! Do you prefer bright or pastel colors?

22) what type of person are you?

Aah well that's a complicated question, very broad. I'm an ambivert firstly, both parts outgoing and quiet. Some say I'm good with people and talking with them, meanwhile if I'm hanging out with almost anyone I burn out after a few hours, and need to spend a few more not talking (we can be in the same room, but I'd prefer to be alone during that time). Many describe me as caring and helpful too, even self sacrificing. I'm also very silly goofy and accident prone/clumsy. But stubborn at times, too. Hopefully this answers the question well enough?

26) a scenario that you’ve replayed multiple times?

Probably the first date with my datemate! Especially the beginning and end of it. I remember coming up the stairs of my apartment to meet him irl for the first time, and freezing halfway when I saw him coming out of the car. I was thinking "oh my god is this really happening, is this real life?? I can't do this! I can't face him in person I'm too nervous!!" The nerves lasted throughout the date (we hung out for like 10 hours!) And by the time he was about to go home we kissed for the first time and suddenly it felt like the nerves had been broken. Almost instantly a sense of comfort and familiarity washed over me and I didn't feel so anxious anymore to be around him. I particularly remember the hug we had afterwards (our first real hug) and how comfortable and warm it was. I nearly happy cried, and still tear up thinking about it >w<. It was in that moment I knew I was actually in love with him (we'd been in a long distance relationship for 6 months before meeting irl, and while we had within that span of time told each other "I love you", it didn't feel as real as it had when I'd finally had him in my arms). Sorry to get all sappy!!

37) someone in your life, other than a relative, you’ve known for 10+ years?

Not really, tbh!! Anyone that would have counted is no longer in my life. I could say my honorary uncle, since we have no blood relation, but that still counts as a relative I believe. I've never had many friends or close companions.

[one-and-only-ghost]

I finished Revenger! - My final thoughts

Hey all! After about a week following my last post, I finally managed to finish my binge of Revenger! And oh, I'll have to say that my eyes were really opened this time.

So here are my opinions and final thoughts on it! I'm gonna make a few categories and explain for each as titled.

Plot

Overall, I do believe that the plot was very interesting and really intriguing as well! I like how the implementation of opium in this story really has such a large play in the many events and characters as the story and episodes progress along. And I like how there was absolutely no lame filler, and instead the series took to actually building the characters as a whole, especially my boy Raizo. Props and an A+ for that, as I believe a solid plot is always what you should begin with for a good anime, or a good series in general at that.

Animation

As always, the animation is amazing. Well detailed, crisp, and smoothly worked on. This is pretty usual as most modern anime tend to really put a lot of work within the visuals, and for an anime like this, it gives it such a level playing field as it equally encapsulates the story, setting, and emotions all at once.

Combat/Action Sequences

Given that this anime is set in the Edo period of Japan (which is what I can assume, given from a synopsis I read and the overall setting), the topic of certain elements like weapons and magic are quite bare, but I'll have to say that Revenger has no difficulty with laying a fair serving of action to the table. Awesome sword fights, with the pinnacle of them coming from Raizo Kurima of course, really interesting martial arts combat from Mr. Liu, and overall, a lot of great contributions from all supporting characters. While I do wish there was more "hand-to-hand" combat, (I usually will say this as I am a nut for that genre,) the action presented is great enough to keep me from looking away.

Characters

And of course, we can absolutely NOT forget about the mothefucking characters in this anime! These characters are written so well that it disappoints me that there is such a barren lack of fanfictions expanding the righteousness of these great people. My overall favorites from this series have to be Raizo off the bat, as I believe he is a total badass, and his story is just heartbreaking anyhow. Secondly is Yuen, who I find to be very unique. Dude is probably the handsomest secret Christian you'll ever come across. And his method of execution is on a completely other level. And lastly I will say I love Nio and Soji, as Nio just seems to possess this mixture of complete demon energy and childishness I can't look away from, while Soji is just a complete nutcase and I love him for that. And I don't know if I'm the first person to say this, but the absolute villainy in this anime is crazy. The antagonists are just as well written, but instead, it's their absolute insolence and corruption that blows me away! It reminds me directly of 80s crime dramas and movies with the amount of drug pushers and abusers that are shown and taken down within this series. And the main pretty boy baddie Saimon? He can kiss my ass.

Overall Rating

So now, what will my overall rating be for this winter anime? In terms of my final thoughts, this was an actually enjoyable and very creative anime. I will say I like the more "Ninja Scroll" sort of anime and manga, as the historical element and what you can do to manipulate it just seems so interesting, and expansive. So after indulging in this 12 episodes, and finally ending my binge, I will have to give Revenger a solid 8.5/10.

I give this rating as I was simply sad there WEREN'T enough episodes! It would be fun to see a second season arise, but that's just a thought of mine. I also feel there could have been some more character development and the addition of some new roles, but these are simply small opinions. But overall? A fairly top tier anime.

Well, that's all I have to say for now. I hope you all enjoyed reading this, even if I am a little late to the "band wagon" of people that have watched this anime, and I also hope you all have a great day/evening! And make sure to share this if you want to spread the word!

Ghost out.

[excessively-english-jd]

I posted 8,242 times in 2022

216 posts created (3%)

8,026 posts reblogged (97%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@tiltingplanet

@erizee

@kateosaurus-rex

@dickgrayscns

@the-scottish-costume-guy

I tagged 2,598 of my posts in 2022

#sandman - 178 posts

#constantine - 158 posts

#dickiebird - 117 posts

#bamtan - 109 posts

#esc22 - 100 posts

#batfam - 84 posts

#jaylad - 74 posts

#babybat - 52 posts

#gotham knights - 48 posts

#;w; - 36 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#now see ibis this is tagged jd but i assume it's another jd because i've never been into spn in my life and i'm always getting my deets like

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Quotes that have ridiculously strong Chas Chandler vibes.

134 notes - Posted August 10, 2022

#4

Small detail in The Batman that I loved: how much they showed him getting hit.

Especially in the early years, one of the whole reasons Batman gains his terrifying reputation and keeps it is that he just absorbs punches. You can punch him, hit him with a pipe, hell even shoot at him - and he doesn't even stop. He just plows right through it like it's nothing to him. You get the whispers of he's like a shadow, like a demon, you just can't hurt him even when you're throwing everything you've got. And that becomes the terrifying legend of The Batman.

And I just really appreciate that this film showed that. He didn't ninja his way through, dodging every blow. He got hit and kicked and shot but he just kept on fucking going.

145 notes - Posted March 17, 2022

#3

anyway just because I saw a different permutation of this meme I have to share literally my favourite version of it:

It's just so perfect. The amount of blackout text. The fact it works without additions. The succinctness of the phrase. The palaeontology basis. The way it implies that tetrapods only left the water and evolved in 1562.

*chefs kiss*

305 notes - Posted November 21, 2022

#2

I am SO glad to see that Prehistoric Planet has reached people outside of the hardcore palaeontology community. That even people who are not deeply or semi-professionally interested in dinosaurs and other Mesozoic animals are watching these episodes, or even clips of these episodes, and enjoying them.

And they're enjoying them the same way I see people online enjoy other animal documentaries!! "Haha look at this weird dance, wiggling his tiny arms about!" "Awww, isn't she so cute, look at her little face!" "Oh my god I was so worried about the baby getting lost but they made it!!! Yay!!!" It's so wonderful and refreshing to see that being a general public reaction to dinosaurs.

I've seen clips and images and memes float across my dash from people who've never mentioned an interest in prehistoric animals before, and I've seen people talking about these dinosaurs and pterosaurs and plesiosaurs and mosasaurs just like they do any other animal, and that is exactly what I want for people to see and feel about these amazing creatures. Yes, some of them are kinda weird! Some of them are really cute! They were capable of being awesome, and funny, and clever, and cool, and sweet, and everything else under the sun. And isn't it amazing, that they once lived, and we can know these things?

And I've had people ask me questions, and they're not even necessarily wanting in-depth hard science, but they're seeing these things and wondering about the answers, showing genuine interest and curiosity which, at the end, can only lead to them learning.

I hope to god this shows TV executives and producers and companies that this kind of down-to-earth, realism-based, high-quality programme IS in demand, IS capable of doing well, and IS worth doing more of, and is worth doing for a general audience. I hope that BBC can start to get the budget to do more like this themselves, without having to rely on a company like Apple to shoulder the majority of their costs. And I hope beyond hope that this can finally bring the prehistoric world into the public view in the way that it deserves to be there.

922 notes - Posted May 28, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I don't think there's anything funnier than watching dozens of serial killers walk morosely out of their fun little murder convention like disciplined toddlers, so wracked with sudden guilt that they immediately either turn themselves in or kill themselves. The concept is hilarious and the execution of it doubly so.

1,418 notes - Posted August 10, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[sublimecatgalaxy]

Some Daryl-Reader-Leah drama, please?

PS. With a happy ending of course. ❤️

Okay, so I haven't seen season 11 other than stuff I've seen on social media so imma make up my own shit based on episode 18 of season 10 where they go back and talk about what he did in the six years.

Writing this with a happy ending killed me lol went against every natural instinct.

THIS IS SO LONG LOL ALSO NOT CANON

The last thing I wanted to hear from Carol about was that Daryl met some mysterious woman in the woods while looking for Rick and that she took him under her wing. 

They were living a mundane life in the woods, together, with a fucking dog. It almost sounds too domestic for the type of world we're in and it sounds especially unusual for Daryl and his loner lifestyle. He didn't depend on anyone, he refused to, simply out of the fear that they would come into his life and one day go.

Like Sophia, Merle, Beth, Rick; the list could go on.

He refused to have that life that he's having with her with me and even though he was upfront and honest regarding his complicated feelings for me, he never took it to a place where I would become too close to him. But here he is, for months, living with a woman he just met, happy and content.

Carol didn't realize that, in telling me, I would be upset and go off for hours on my own to take my anger out on a huge group of walkers. I returned hours later, covered in blood and limping but the anger in my belly was still there and it took slamming the door in everyone's faces for Carol to realize something was wrong.

She assumed Daryl and I were just friends based on how we walked and talked with each other for the years we've all been in a group. There was nothing to the outside world that would give the impression that Daryl and I were more than friends. But between the two of us, there was more than an impression, there was flat out proof that the two of us had feelings for each other and we just refused to act on them.

Carol guessed that I would be happy for him, proud of him for finally branching out and relying on someone after being 'alone' for so long. But when I told her about everything that had passed between us, the quick kisses, the tight, lingering hugs, the intimate moments of fleeting confessions and heart eyes from across the room.

Maybe it was me. Maybe I blew it out of proportion.

She was pretty livid at first that her best friend never told her that we had such a relationship, more so than he ever mentioned before. But it upset me even more mad to know that he didn’t care enough about whatever we were to even mention me to Carol, his literal best friend. But he was fine with telling her all about the new woman in his life. The woman who, I must mention again, he’s living with.

After a lot of crying and coming to an agreement, Carol immediately told me Daryl’s location in the woods and promptly told me to ‘give him hell’. She wanted me to have it out with him, to get all of the anger out and to give him a piece of my mind because if he didn't and doesn't have feelings for me, then I should know so I can move on. All I wanted was to know if I should just move on or if I should just sit like I have been, waiting for him to come home.

But standing here between the trees, my eyes locked on the log cabin in front of me, the dog trailing along the front porch, I'm scared shitless. What am I even supposed to say to him? What if she's home with him and I have to explain to her that I was so in love with this mystery man that she met and that I want him to come home with me. Would he pick her?

Clearing my throat, my feet crush the sticks below me as I curse under my breath, shaking my head as I hoist my backpack further onto my shoulders.

"Hey!" My head whips around at the voice, taking me off guard as I spot a young woman standing probably ten feet away from me. Her brows are furrowed, eyes flickering over me as she places her hand on the gun that sits at her waistline. "Who are you?" She asks, keeping her distance as I swallow, my lips parting as I let out a nervous breath.

"I'm a friend of- uh- Daryl's. My friend Carol gave me this location..." I trail off, my thumb pointing back towards the cabin as she blinks, her face still unconvinced as I take a deep breath in. "I haven't seen him in a long time so I thought I would-"

"You thought you would check in. I get it." She cuts me off, waving me off as she makes her way towards me. "Follow me, he's inside." Her voice is stern and unwavering as I nod, following silently in her footsteps as she leads me towards the house. "What's your name?" She asks, turning to look back at me briefly as I fumble.

"Y/n." My response is simple and to the point, not wanting to ask her the questions that are on the tip of my tongue, knowing that I wouldn't like the answer.

"I'm Leah." There's a smile in her voice as I hum, following her up onto the patio as the dog weaves in and out of her legs, a laugh leaving her as my heart aches. She's beautiful. She has a beautiful voice, beautiful laugh, she's put together and she's strong, you can tell just how she presents herself. "Hey Daryl! You got a visitor!" She calls out, holding the door open for me as I step inside, the warmth of the room warming me to my core as I listen to the thumping of Daryl's footsteps in the other room.

I fold my arms tightly around myself, watching as Daryl appears in the doorway, his eyes trained on the arrow he's repairing between his fingertips. It takes Leah clearing her throat for him to look up, his eyes flickering from her, over to me as his face drops.

"Y/n." His voice is quiet, timid almost, as I nod, my shoulders drooping at the fact that he's indeed not happy to see me. He looks indifferent, biting at his lip as he blinks a few times before speaking. "Carol sent you?" He asks, an annoyed scoff leaving my lips as I shake my head.

"Didn't send me. Just gave me directions." Leah makes her way to the other side of the room with the pup, sitting down in front of the fireplace silently as she watches mine and Daryl's strained conversation.

"What're ya doin' here then?" His words hit me like a punch across the face, his complete lack of care making my jaw tighten, an angry smile on my lips.

"Just wanted to check in. Haven't seen you in years." I shrug, my words short as he leans against the doorway, his glance briefly moving to look at Leah, almost telling me to watch what I have to say. His response is simple, a quiet 'yeah' leaving his lips as his eyes avoid mine.

His lack of enthusiasm drives me mad, my head spinning as angry tears fill my eyes as I reach up to wipe my nose with my shirtsleeve. I take a quick step back towards the open door as I turn back to Leah, a polite smile on my lips as burning tears stain my cheeks.

"Okay, so, this was a mistake. Sorry for disturbing your 'Little House on the Prairie' lifestyle. I'll show myself out." Ignoring the words of protest from Leah, I step outside, immediately making my way down the steps and towards the direction I came from. My feet are heavy against the leaves and a groan rumbles in my chest as rain begins to hit the top of my head.

"Aye! Stop!" Daryl's frantic voice makes my tears flow faster, my sleeves wiping them angrily as I spot a walker in the distance, an arrow flying by my head before I can reach for my knife.

"I could've gotten that!" I huff, aggravation and betrayal fueling my every thought and move as I spin around on my heel, coming face to face with Daryl as he abandons his arrow.

His eyes frantically flicker back and forth between mine as he swallows, fingers messing with the front of his poncho. He looks nervous as I glare at him, my hands raising to rest on my hips as the rain steadily grows in violence.

"Carol told you. 'bout Leah, about Dog and the house." He sighs, watching me as I move to sit on a log to the right of him, my hands running over my face as he stands beside me, waiting anxiously for a reply.

"Yeah, Carol told me." I grit, wiping my tears angrily as he sits down beside me. "Would've been nice to know years ago but."

"Only met her seven months ago." He mutters, kicking the stones at his feet as I laugh bitterly, my attitude catching his attention as he glances over at me.

"So you gave up on looking for Rick like you gave up on us? You have just a knack for throwing people away and replacing them, huh?" I hiss, his brows lifting at my insults but he doesn't get angry, he just nods, reaching around to rub the back of his neck. His eyes flutter shut as he takes a deep breath with a knowing nod.

"I deserved that." He mutters with a sad smile, nudging my shoulder with his as I cringe, my knees bouncing anxiously at the feeling of his eyes on me, flickering over my expression and my trembling state.

"I'm well aware. So if you want to explain, do it. It's what I came here for." I clasp my hands in my lap as I lean back into the tree behind us, Daryl laughing quietly.

"That all?" He chuckles but I ignore the lightheartedness in his tone. It infuriates me to think of him joking at a time like this, trying to get me to loosen up and relax but he doesn't have that effect on me anymore. I'm seeing red and I have been for a while, right now the only things I need are answers and closure.

"Explain or I'm gone and you'll never see me again." My words are more of a promise than a threat, his eyes widening a bit out of fear as he nods, gulping as he bites at the inside of his cheek.

He pauses, pulling his knife out as he starts picking at the wood that we sit on, ignoring my curious gaze as he explains. "Couldn't look at ya after Rick." He whispers, his shoulders slouching a bit as I look over him, my heart pounding violently against my ribs.

He looks good, even after all this time in the woods. Carol must still be doing his hair every once in a while, or maybe it's Leah's job now. But other than that he's still the same. Broad shoulders, strong everything, kind eyes. It's hard to be mad at him when all I want to do is hug him and never let him go.

"Jus' reminded me too much that we're really the only ones left. Carol's not happy where she is, she's got a fucking death wish. So I didn't want to be around long enough to see something happen to you." He concludes with a deep breath, twirling the knife between his fingertips as I pick at my shoelaces.

"So your only logical option was to leave?" I ask, my voice no longer angry but more sad as he looks back at me, the look in his eyes making my heart break even more. "Rick died, Daryl- I was crushed. And you left me without warning or explanation. I found out from everyone else but you." The tears return to my eyes as quickly as they left, running down my cheeks as I bat them away, frustrated that my anger has brought me to weak tears.

"I didn't leave ya, I-"

"You left me and you didn't look back." His lips part in shock as an expression of realization passes through his face, his surprise shocking me to my core. Maybe he didn't realize that that's how I took him leaving, that he was abandoning me. Maybe he didn't think it was as serious as it was to all the people who cared for him; me, Carol, Michonne, Judith. "You didn't care, Daryl. So please tell me that you're never coming back so I can let go." My lip wobbles as he turns his whole body towards me, his brows furrowed and jaw clenched. He looks angry and disappointed at the implication that I would let us go, his eyes shining with betrayal as I sniffle. "That way you can go on with your life and I'll attempt to go back to whatever life I had before I met you." I cradle my head in my hands as my shoulders shake with silent cries, finally pushing myself over the edge.

"Let go'a what? You and me?" He asks genuinely but it fills me with unadulterated rage, my head tilting to look at him with a scoff.

"What 'you and me', Daryl?" I cry, my eyes drooping with exhaustion as he shakes his head, almost as if I wasn't understanding what he was trying to say. "I wasn't even aware there was a you and I because you left and never gave me the chance to fucking love you, you asshole!" My fists immediatley lift to hit against his chest as he lets me, letting out a simple huff in response to my violence. His eyes fluttering shut as my voice continues to raise in volume. "Instead you live with a random woman in the middle of the woods- did you sleep with her?" My question seems to come out of nowhere, instinct filling me as bile rises in my throat. I can tell that my question also was a slap to the face to him as he pauses, his eyes wide but no response comes from him; just silence.

He answers my question without words, my head shaking as another bitter laugh flows from my lips. Of course he slept with her. I stand almost immediately after a few minutes of no reply but his hand wraps around my waist, tugging me back by the strings of my bag. I groan as he sits me back down, his hands resting on my shoulders as he forces me to look up at him.

"Lemme talk." He mutters, the look in his eyes sobering and clear as he reaches down hesitantly to take my hands in his, my heart skipping a beat or two at the much needed contact after all this time. "I did feel somethin' for her, at first. We hooked up a few times- I don't know what'ya want me to say. Her and I are jus' roommates now." He reassures simply but my head is so quick to not believe him after all of the information thrown my way today, true and false. His hands tug me to him without permission, wrapping around my waist as I fight the urge to break down completely, my hands hovering over his back as I contemplate hugging him back. "'m sorry I left, I shouldn't have. But once I left, I didn't know how to come back or if ya even wanted to see me-"

"All I wanted was to see you, Daryl." I whimper, my throat aching as he nods against me, arms tightening briefly around me at the sound of my crumbling voice. "All I wanted this whole time was for you to come home to me and tell me how much you need and want me- that it wasn't all in my head all these fucking years." He pulls away slightly, his bangs falling in his face as I sniffle, allowing myself to reach up to brush some of his hair away from his eye line. He smiles sweetly at the familiar move, his shoulders relaxing a bit as his tongue sweeps out to wet his lips before continuing. "I just wanted you to tell me how much of a fucking idiot you were and are for leaving and that you should've stayed-"

"I'm an idiot for leaving and I should have stayed. And it ain't in your head." He cuts me off with a deep laugh, my lips pulling up into a smile as my tough, angry exterior starts to crack at his honest jest.

"Well that was easy." I scoff, reaching up to cover my eyes as he sighs, pressing a kiss to the side of my head.

"Jus' gimme some time and I'll be back." He promises, my heart fluttering in my chest as I nod slowly, my head pounding from the crying and from the rain still pouring down on us.

"With me?" I ask, a gentle smile taking over his expression as he nods, pulling me into another hug as I relax into him.

"No one else I wanna be with."

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[mia-vita]

WHAT A RIDE!! I loved this drama so much ❤ and I'm a little sad it ended. I'll do a reflection about this drama final episode and a little background story time on how I have found my love for Kdramas again because of Tomorrow.

(My reflection on the final episode and drama as a whole is at the second part with RED words if you only want to read that. 😁)

Now, I want to laugh a bit because I was not aware of the terminology "kdrama" and the Korean entertainment world in general and how popular kdramas are, until this drama showed up in my IG feed because I liked the song in that video and IG started to bombard me with more videos that used that song. Now, I was unconsciously introduced to kdramas back in 2000 and I didn't know it was called like that 😅

Last time I saw a kdrama was probably back in 2005. I was a kid, watching dramas for adults, don't blame my mom. I was very mature for my age even though I was not allowed to see kissing/sex scenes 😅 and back then and kdramas barely had any kissing, IF ANY. So they became my favorite thing to watch.

I used to watch Mexican dramas that in Spanish we call "Novelas" wich usually have about 100 episodes, more or less, and they have kissing in every episode and passionate sex scenes very frequently as well. It's the norm in most Hispanic/Latino TV romance dramas but nothing explicit, as it's broadcasted on regular TV channels.

I loved Kdramas back then, my first love was a drama in 2003/2004 called "Stairway to Heaven" which I saw probably more than 10 times. And I would highly recommend it!

I was infatuated with the main male lead. I mean, how could I not? Look at that...

The funny thing about this, is that this drama made me cry so much every time I watched it, even when I knew the story while re-watching it. And so did Tomorrow as well, I cried 😅, some episodes were a lot.

The one with the dog hit me hard because I lost a dog that I mourned more than I had for a person and even though for some people that episode was irrelevant, for others like me, it was a lovely one.

Well, for some reason I grew up and I started to get busy with school and I wasn't watching dramas anymore and instead I would watch movies when I had the chance. So I forgot my love for Kdramas. And the reason I loved Kdramas so much was because it showed me that I really didn't need that much kissing or sex scenes in order to see the romance between two people and their love story. Although a little hug between Ryeon and Park wouldn't have hurt. That was cruel for us the viewers🙄

I never came across any kdrama content on Instagram, Netflix or anywhere really because that was not in my content search so I guess the algorithm wasn't showing me anything and I wasn't aware that kdramas were a thing, but man!! Thank the lord for showing that video to me because now I'm watching dramas again and I found my love back for them. Quite addictive honestly, I have to be careful binge watching them now 😅

So I started watching Tomorrow without knowing what it was really about, just because I liked that 20secs video and was excited about Ryeon and Park's love story, I assumed it was about them.

Now if someone read this, yes you can laugh at this because you already know I got played with the amount of screen time they got 🤡 that was brutal.

However, I did love the theme of the show, and it's importance and even appreciated many things that were said that will stick with me for the long run.

NOW, THE FINAL EPISODE:

Oh wow, I must say it was better than I expected. Thank you writers 😅

Could it have been better? Sure.

Nonetheless, it didn't leave me unsatisfied as I thought it would, since a lot had to be covered in one hour episode, I was scared it would leave me empty. So in my opinion, they did well.

I binged "Twenty Five, Twenty One" yesterday, that end left me with no hopes for Park and Ryeon at all today. I liked 25-21 ending because it shows reality, but you know, I was too invested into Tomorrow's story that it would have been depressing to watch another end like that two days in a row.

Plus, I have been watching this show as an ongoing show for the past 3 or 4 weeks, and I never do that on Netflix, I didn't even know that was a thing there, I thought they always dropped the whole season at once 😅

I watch things after the season ends because I don't have the patience to deal with the wait. So I guess waiting every week for an episode gave me time to think about theories, read people's opinions in Twitter and here as well, and all of that made me be more invested in the story than when I binge watch a show because that doesn't let me have too much time to be thinking about possibilities.

I don't want a Season 2, because I don't see the point, but I do wish it had at least two more episodes to have more development between Ryeon and Park healing conversation, and Choi's life after waking up. I've read some viewers complain that Lim got almost 3 episodes to cover his story and that the others should have too, but honestly I think they all got about the same amount, the difference for me is that Lim had his story show consecutively and the others stories were more spread out into different episodes. Such as Choi's father story, the mom and sister hardships after he went on a coma, etc.

After all, Lim was part of the main cast and he didn't get as much time talking to the people they were saving, so for me it was a balance.

Now, I do think Ryeon and Park needed a longer conversation at the end, I loved that they were together for the final scene and they looked at each other in a way that it felt like an open ending was up to the viewer to interpret what happened in those 6 months and what would continue to happen after that final episode.

I don't want to read the Webtoon because I read it's different from the series so I just want to keep it for my interpretation of their future relationship. (But if the end is better in the Webtoon, then please someone tell me 😅)

For me I'd like to believe that they are never going to choose to reincarnate because they know that their fate is broken in the land of the living and they won't find each other there. But as reapers they get to see each other, work together, heal together and love each other again. I do think that love between them will happen because now that Park knows his past we saw in their conversation that he realized his mistakes towards Ryeon and the RM team purpose, and he acknowledged that his pride made him misunderstand Ryeon's opinion of suicide and that made him do foolish things as he said. That he realized he went to rescue her from being taken to hell again because of his pride not because of his feelings. And for me that shows growth, and healing overall.

That experience changed him for the better. And I really loved that for them.

I know many complaint about his behavior towards suicide and his hate towards people that think of this as a choice to end their sadness being part of the story line. And I will say, that is a real thing, and I am glad it was part of the show, I have known people like that in the past with that mentality, and although Park changed his view on the show, some people never do, even nowadays when mental health is more prioritized. There are still people like him out there.

Also, others complain about the show not having mental health professionals to be part of the show, I do think it should have been part of it as well indeed. However, the show did have Ryeon as one in the episode with the singer whose wife died. Of course more than that would have been ideal, but nonetheless, it did shine light into it.

Also, many say that the people changing their mind in the last minute by talking at the end was too rushed and simple. Yes, it seems so, but:

One, it's a show with an average of 50min per episode and writers are limited by the channels they broadcast in.

Two, they are grim reapers who's job is to save those that are in their last moments of committing the act. By that time, imagine a friend saving another in their last moment just by talking to them. That happens a lot, not only health professionals are part of that moment when it happens. Also, many can't even afford one at all, or don't want one. Etc.

So my point is that all ways here are valid. Could they have shown more of a mental health professional approach. Yes, indeed.

However, that doesn't make their way in the show wrong either. I mean, Ryeon could have been less aggressive like Choi, but again, is a show, and this world is full of different types of people with their own personality, nobody can judge someone else by their own standard of how someone should be like. And more specifically, is a Korean show, so according to what I have read so far about Korea when it comes to mental health, I think that the show did a good job in addressing the issue of suicide there and the need the country has as a whole.

I heard/read many times how people have killed themselves even after years of therapy. I personally know two people, one unfortunately did die, and the other one survived after the act because the hospital was quick enough. Both had mental health professionals helping them, and both committed the act anyways. Unfortunately this topic is not black and white, there's a lot of shades of grey in between.

I didn't mean for this post to be this long 🤯 I started to write something in specific and now I got a whole essay. 😅 The fact that when I have to do one at college I can't even write a page properly and for things like this I find my ways is just a joke 🤣

If someone read this long, I appreciate you 🤗

P.S. English is not my first language, so I'm sorry for any mistakes 😅

Now an appreciation for the 4 characters:

Ryeon and Mr. Lim are made for eachother as team, those two are cold and honest as F* 🤣 I love them.

Choi, you are so cute, and funny ☺️

And last BUT DEFINITELY NOT LEAST!

Mr. PARK!

I address you at the very end because WOW!

Sir, your gaze towards Ryeon in that 20sec video I saw. That gaze sir, is what made me watch this drama.

And that walk, I got in every episode for a bare minimum of 5 seconds per episode made me excited each time. 😅

I repeated each episode throughout the weeks many times just to see scenes between you and anybody else in the show. That's how much I had to compensate for the fact that you were almost non existent in it sir. 😅

I have to say that Lee Soo-hyuk just added another follower in his career because I'm about to watch anything this man has been on now. 😍 I mean, that man is stunning to watch talk, walk, and see how he looks at things with those eyes. 🤭

Like look at this...

I am very interested in learning Korean because I saw a few episodes in Spanish voice translation, and things were said differently than the English subtitles in many occasions, which I understand since the voice needs to be in synced with the mouth of the actor. However, I have read people say that the English subtitles many times are not as accurate either, so I hate not having the actual thing said translated properly 😅 I like watching shows in their original language because I feel like the tone of the words said are never translated with the same emotions into another language. How difficult is Korean? Asking for a friend 🤣🤣🤣

If someone got here, then here is the video that started everything for me.

Thank you for reading, it was a pleasure to talk about this drama. I'll definitely watch it again in a year or when I feel like I need it. ❤

[organic-guacamole]

I've got a lot of thoughts on this finale.

starting with the length.

27 minutes? really?

I'm not asking for a 2 hour episode but cmon, at least give us something closer to 40 minutes.

next, the characters

the characters just didn't feel like themselves, especially portwell.

all season long we saw how much potential they had, how well communicated they were, how good they were at being a proper, healthy couple, and now they just can't talk to each other?

it doesn't feel like them.

portwell had arguably the best set up of all the other ships, they showed us how good they had the potential to be only to throw in a cheap plot to wrap it up? I would understand that they want some angst to make the ending all the more satisfying, but this was pathetic.

there I said it.

of all the ways to add drama in a ship, don't use the one that completely contradicts their entire development.

paired with the length of the episode, it seemed even more poorly written.

here I made a lovely, handy dandy homemade graph to represent how I see portwell's storyline:

as i said before, we saw the build up being nearly perfect. they peaked during episodes 9-11 because they just had the chemistry, the communication, and the most potential to be the endgame couple.

they just got eachother.

then we get Jamie popping in for 10 seconds and erasing a lot of that, only for mediator Ashlyn to jump in and solve their problems.

then there's the "kiss".

I know that Sofia is underage and that even if she/her legal guardians consent to the kiss, the writers can still decide not to show it, but still. In my opinion, if you're not going to show the kiss, then don't bother.

there are other ways to establish a relationship that would work better in this situation. Of course if they get together they'll have to kiss sometime, but one way they could postpone it is by having Gina be a bit more reluctant to give away her first kiss like that. it could also show how accomodating EJ is.

I like to think that Gina is very meticulous when making decisions so she'll probably want to be very sure of the relationship before giving him her first kiss. perhaps she'd stick to cheek kisses until she's ready, and then she kisses him and he's surprised.

that would've been, in my opinion, a sufficient way to hold off the kiss while still wrapping up portwell until season 3 when Sofia would be 18 (assuming they get picked up for S3 this summer then start filming fall-winter. Sofia will be 18 in January).

as my friend @rtcosley (idk why it's not letting me tag them, so their page is linked) said,

"They created like 10 plots

And instead of wrapping it up

They added 4 more"

there's just so much more they could've done...it's the season finale for crying out loud.

I get that seblos already had (what I assume is) their storyline for the season, the fight and resolution. Ignoring the fact that that only lasted for 2 episodes and didn't have anything to do with what we were expecting, (i.e.the financial differences between their families, as mentioned in episode 1, the fact that everyone treats seb like he's stupid, this being carlos' first show and the drama that the stress of that caused, etc.), seblos had to purpose this episode than to stand next to eachother and be gay.

I get that they're not part of the core four or anything, but the poster for season 2 has all of them, as opposed to season 1 just being the core four.

They deserved better, just like redlyn and kowie.

redlyn's arc was pretty early in the season compared to the other ships. they had Ashlyn confessing her insecurities in episode 3, antoine stirring the pot of confusion and causing a bit of distance between them briefly, and then big red confessing his goals and plans for the future in episode 8 and for the rest of it, we just see them getting closer and more comfortable with each other and caring about each other more and more.

they had a good arc together.

but that's just it. I wanted to see them have their own arcs. but then again, this show can't seem to balance multiple storylines. I think it is possible, but not when they keep adding new characters that don't contribute anything much to the story(more on that later).

kowie's storyline is... confusing.

I really like their dynamic, how carefree and happy Kourtney gets around him, how she's remaining true to herself and managing a million and one things, plus a relationship in her own without losing herself to it all.

but the main issue I have is that the entire development was never shown.

we went from strangers, to coworkers, to friends that flirt, to lovers that text constantly and went on numerous dates (and Howie met her mother at some point). but all of that, was off screen.

it's like the writers made every episode with them in it kind of thrown in at a new stage of relationship progression and said "here, accept this, no questions asked because we don't have answers"

I just wish we could've seen more of howie trying to get in her good side again after episode 7 because it seems like that's when a lot of it happened.

I appreciate the Rini scene in this episode, seems to be the very end of them, for good this time.

i'm happy about that.

Ricky especially deserves to be free for a while to focus on his development, and Nini has the chance now to really shine through her talents and make a name for herself.

The Rini storyline is the only one I'm fully satisfied with.

now, that being said;

what the heck are they trying to pull with Lily and Ricky rn???

just like that.

after lily being the villain this whole season, they're just gonna not redeem her and then have her confess her feelings to Ricky, a guy she barely knows and only talked to to harass and intimidate, and for him to reject her publicly then call her afterwards?

please I hope it's just to say "you dropped something, here it is and never contact me again, thanks." /hj

speaking of the villains, this season was promoted as the season of rivalry between North and East High right? so why did that plot idea only progress in about 3 out if 12 episodes?

we got Zackey Roy in there for a few episodes then he disappeared, Lily just caused Gina to stay true to her friends in episode 2 and 7 and then basically did nothing else?

this is what I mean by the new characters providing nothing to the show.

the writers can't manage having so many characters and plots at once so they start so many promising arcs, only to kick them aside later on.

we already know that the first half of the season felt like filler episodes, so I think they could've cut those down to leave room for the more important plots to take root, rather than have them pop up and get rushed at the end of the season.

all that, and they just add 4 more plots at the end of the season.

this post sounds very negative looking back...but if I'm being honest with myself, I'm just very very disappointed.

I love this show so much and I really expected better for the season finale, especially if they don't know if it's getting renewed or not.

given the IMDB ratings of this episode so far, I don't have very high expectations for the renewal, but I'm still hopeful because this show is a great thing, one of the best things that happened to me over the course of this quarantine. I've become so attached to this show, the cast and the friends I made through it, that I don't know what I would do if it just ends like this. writing these reviews and posts about this season has been so fun for me to do and thinking that this may be the very last one is a painful thought.

I'm sorry if you were expecting this post to be as light-hearted as my other posts about the episodes, I just had a lot to say about this episode in particular.

all my episode posts are tagged with "#guac's episode text blocks :)" in case you wanna read through and reminisce the simpler times🥲

[sokkas1mp]

I gonna break in this acocunt with me being angry about something that doesn't really matter (very fitting for tumblr if you ask me), this article.

First: "And I’m sorry to open with this, but part of that is due to the age difference between them. Two years is hardly worlds apart (I’m personally working with four), but a 12-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl are. Especially the way these two are drawn. Not to be too voyeuristic about Y7 cartoons, but Katara has clearly gone through puberty, while Aang hasn’t. There is something just…off, about a sixth grade boy having a full on make-out sesh with a high school girl."

This argument is one of the most stupid ones if you ask me, because it blatantly ignores the culture we have been presented by the show. I can understand why people find this weird, but we have to try not to look at it as if its our society, because its not. In A:tla, specifically the water tribes, 16 is marrying age. Right there, our "age norms" (idk what else to call it) are very different. And there are no divisions between ages in their world like we have with middle and high school. To me, two people are fit to be together based on their maturity, not their age. That's why 45 & 40 is not the same as 15 & 10, or 20 & 15. This is the same for Kataang. They have very similar life experiences and matured together, literally side by side, so a two year ago gap is irrelevant.

Second: "...Katara took on a very maternal role with Aang. Sure, she’s a caretaker and sort of a “mom friend,” but it’s a bit more than that. She served as his literal guardian during the show’s run—there’s just no other way to look at it. By the third episode, she called herself his “family,” and later even went on to role play as his mother to get him out of trouble at school. Aang, meanwhile, was… Well, I wouldn’t say “immature” for his age, […] However, Katara is 14 going on 25, while Aang is just, Aang."

There's a compilation of Katara doing thing with Aang that if someone saw a mother doing with her son they would call it incest:

Katara definitely acts motherly towards Aang, but that is just her nature. She is more than just motherly with him. And some people like to call the check kisses familial (which is kinda weird imo), but we know Katara herself doesnt think that:

"Easy there, big brother" She pushes Sokka away. Not to mention, this was about a scene or two before she kisses Aang on the check.

Calling someone close to you your family does not mean you see them in the same way you see your parents/siblings. And Sokka played Aang's father in that scene, but we aren't sitting here using that as evidence to call him Aang's paternal figure.

Something Aang haters forget (or chose to ignore) is that being lighthearted and goofy does not equal immature. Yes, Aang does some juvenile things, but that shouldn't take away from his growth and maturity.

Third: "In fact, in the last season, Katara was shown to be uncomfortable each time Aang kisses her, and even went as far as to tell him to back off with the romantic stuff in the episode before the finale, because she was confused about how she felt. [*new paragraph*] Yet, in the end, she just trots up and blushes at Aang, than happily makes out with him when he goes for it,"

Katara initiated 2/4 of the kataang kisses (not including the check kisses). The kiss in The Cave of Two Lovers and the kiss in the finale. Yes, she's the one that "goes for it" in the finale (she also initiates the hug). She only pulls away once out of the 3 times we see a kiss end (this would be excluding the kiss in The Cave of Two Lovers). She wasn't confused about her feelings, she didn't want to have to worry about a relationship when they were nearing the end of the war.

Fourth: "The post-canon comics only furthered the lack of exploration of her feelings in this relationship"

Fifth: "[referencing a scene in The Promise in which Katara is jealous of a fanclub being around Aang] "I'm sorry, this amazing, adult communication is blowing me away"

The are both still teenagers, who have zero previous relationship experience. Also, Aang had no ill intentions and Katara recognized it.

Sixth: [refencing Katara's role in The Legend of Korra] "Did Katara want to do anything other than sit in a healing hut and be known for having Aang's kids?"

This is another argument that just pisses me off. You can not use Katara's lifestyle in her 80s (she is 85 in s1) as judgement for her adulthood. It's purely assumption based. Constantly this author assumes that because she is in a relationship with Aang, Katara would drop her whole personality. What? Katara would not and could not be forced to do something or conform to some label and Aang wouldn't let it get to that point either. He would squash any idea that she is just "The Avatar's wife" or "The mother of the Avatar's children" the minute he heard it.

Seven: [comparing Katara's reaction to Aang The Desert to Aang's reaction to Katara in The Southern Raiders] "You'll spend a long time looking for her condescending tones. "Anger won't help, Aang," Katara never said, because she got that he was processing something painful and needed to sort it out himself. This difference in behavior is something that would be really fitting for a twelve year old boy to learn and understand. There's just no indication that he ever did."

Maybe I'm remembering wrong, but I don't remember Aang being condescending towards Katara. He was offering his advice because he knew her and knew that she would regret doing what she thought was right when her judgement was clouded by anger. And guess what. He was right. He never forced anything on her, either. Sure, he was a bit more pushy than he could've been, but in the end he let her go on the trip with no complaints. He even agreed that this was something she had to do.

Eighth: [referencing The Ember Island Players] "When the actor says 'Wait! I thought you were the Avatar's girl', Aang agrees. Katara is his."

You know damn well Aang doesn't see Katara as just his. And she's give him PLENTY of reason to believe that his feelings are reciprocated (which they are).

Ninth: "It's the story of a woman who swallows everything lest the man she's interested in has to learn anything about his behavior that violates her boundaries."

Ha! You said she was interested in him.

But in all seriousness, you mentioned how Katara stood her ground and told Aang that she was confused, but apparently now she's swallowing her feeings.

Tenth: [talks about the cloud babies daddy issues]

I don't disagree with what is said here, for the most part, but I don't think it is a reflection on Aang and Katara's relationship.

Eleventh: "... given what what we got with Kataang, it's completely unsurprising that Aang and Katara's parenthood/adult life was defined by a lack of communication and availability, at least from what we can tell. This also puts Katara's choice to immediately moved to the South Pole once Aang died in perspective; perhaps the city he poured all his energy into, at the cost of his family, held some bitter memories."

Once again with the lack communication. We can't use the early years of their relationship to determine their whole relationship. Also, there wasn't consistently a lack of communication, you just pointed out one time and ran with it.

We don't know at what point Katara moved back to the South Pole, but there are plenty of reasons for Katara to leave Air Temple Island:

a) Her son moving in/or planning to move in with his family.

b) She was no longer needed in the city and thus had no need to stay.

c) She wanted to go back to her native home for comfort after the love of her life died at a relatively early age.

d) The next Avatar was discovered and she came home to train them.

That's all. Thank you for reading my unnecessary rant if you made it this far, and I just want to close out with a few things:

- There were some things in the article that I did not include for the fear of this becoming a novel of me repeating myself.

- I agree with most thing said in the final segment of the the article. Most, not all.

- I appreciate the author for not trying to shove Zutara in just because Kataang wasn't there. That is becoming increasingly uncommon, so it was nice to see.