#mew mew plum

[ashertickler]

me when the haters because i’m a sigma

your cat looks like they're trapped in a black and white movie free up my guy 🗣

[vanilla-waffles]

3 Years 215 Days! I needed some unimportant character slots filled in so I grabbed some anthros. turned them into humans. and now they're cool characters in the pokemon story. isn't that neat

[paint-music-with-me]

guys I finally started only friends and I am in distress like dude omgg the 🚨🚨red flags🚨🚨 the 💫💫💫TOXICITY 💫💫👏🏼😩✌🏽👏🏼😔😩✌🏽👏🏼 I LOVE being in constant states of distress bc of queer characters

[aidendh]

Magic Mi | Tokyo Mew Mew New!

[P5 of Tokyo Mew Mew New! OCs]

[P1 of Gen 2]

-:Base:-

Alias: Food (Must match color)

Animal: Red Data Animal (Endangered)

Color: Main (Must match food)[+Accent]

Mew Mark: Must be symmetrical (based on Animal)

Weapon: Resemble an instrument

Power: Ribbon (Alias Pun)* Description

--

{Casual}

---

--

---

Animal:

Weapon:

Attack:

--

-:Zyna Hyanokai:-

Alias: Tapioca

(Tapioca Peals in Bubble Tea)

(Matches her trim color)

Animal: Pygmy Hog

Color: Pink

Mew Mark: Left side of her Left Shoulder

Weapon: Tapourine, Chakram (Tambourine)

"Tap, Tap, Ta-pourine!"

Power: Ribbon Tapi Charm* Aligning the heart of her Weapon with her ribbon-broach, it starts to sparkle. She then starts tapping it around and throws it into the air, only for it to bump/fall onto her Target, making them Lucky

(Luck)

--

Tapioca

-

--

Animal: Pygmy Hog

Weapon: Tapourine, Chakram (Tambourine)

Attack: Ribbon Tapi Charm* Luck

--

-:Tai Georgia:-

Alias: Mochi

Animal: Iberian Lynx

Color: Red

Mew Mark: Nose, cut threw by their scar

Weapon: Mochi Sticks, Nunchucks (Marching Baton)

Power: Ribbon Mochiyaki Flare* Snapping their Weapon into one, they start spinning and twirling their Weapon causing it to glow and heat up, sending out an Inferno of Flames

(Fire)

--

Mochi

-

--

Animal: Iberian Lynx

Weapon: Mochi Sticks, Nunchucks (Marching Baton)

Attack: Ribbon Mochiyaki Flare* Flamethrower

--

-:Avery Harmony:-

Alias: Plum

[Plum Blossoms]

Animal: Bali Myna

Color: Pastel Blue

Mew Mark: Back of her Neck

Weapon: Plum Flute, Bow (Flute)

Power: Ribbon Plum Blossom* Snapping her Weapon into a Flute, she starts to play a soothing melody, causing glowing music to surround her then move to her Target and Rejuvenates them

(Rejuvenation)

--

Plum

-

--

Animal: Bali Myna

Weapon: Plum Flute, Bow (Flute)

Attack: Ribbon Plum Blossom* Rejuvenation

--

-:Lilly Camerie:-

Alias: Cream

(Team Leader)

Animal: African Wild Dog

Color: White

Mew Mark: Back of her Left Knee

Weapon: Cream Ball (Shaker)

Power: Ribbon Cream Whisps* She starts eagerly shaking her Weapon and then drops it into keepy-uppys, causing a Whisp like ball of Wind to appear each time to aid each Ally on her team

(Wind balls)

--

Lilly

-

--

Animal: African Wild Dog

Weapon: Cream Ball (Shaker)

Attack: Ribbon Cream Whisps* Balls of Wind

--

[waitmyturtles]

Damn. I spent Sunday kind of simmering at GMMTV for possibly forcing Jojo and team for making Sand into a weepily sympathetic character by having him admit his feelings to Ray at the end of Only Friends, episode 6.

BUT: this EXCELLENT exchange between a fabulous anonymous poster and @thatgirl4815 has me thinking (what an exchange, btw! I got crazy in my tags.). Is the sympathy play -- either on the part of Sand, and/or unto Sand by the OF writers -- on purpose?

If so, then: SHIT. Because! Sand was a jackass in this episode, too. He sussed out Ray on Mew! He stole the sex recording of Top and Boston and shared it! Dick moves.

Couple that with his ongoing illegal-in-Thailand activity of making and selling plum wine, and: who knows. Maybe Sand is setting HIMSELF up to be woobified (cc @lurkingshan @neuroticbookworm: mom, internet, etc.) so that he can get away with this shit without being Big Called Out.

And, man: he totally fucked over his insane privacy-breaking he's-in-the-shit-too-criminal-activity-much roommate in Nick. Nick has his suspicions. I hope Nick can smell out that he's gonna get targeted as the source of the recording.

Oh my gosh, I love this -- it's so toxic and real. The game of telephone: from Nick, to Sand, to Ray, to Mew, to Top. Boston doesn't know: he's the only one (besides Cheum) who doesn't know.

Nick certainly made the recording -- he's ground zero -- but Sand was the, say, influencer to make everyone else aware.

And that's so Sand. He's gotta market himself somehow, right? He's gotta market his plum wine product while protecting himself. So, spreading some information, secretly-ish, is something he knows how to do real well.

Goddamn. If this is a bigger commentary on the meowification of the ships and the GMMTV boys -- if Jojo is saying, hey girlies, everyone's a fucking asshole -- then this just slayed me with the genius. I am SO obsessed. Sand is still a baka, but so much more insidiously than I had previously realized.

(Is any of this ephemeral? Maybe the nature of gossip? I'll tag the Squad just in case -- and thanks to @thatgirl4815 again for that excellent exchange! @lurkingshan @neuroticbookworm @twig-tea @distant-screaming @slayerkitty @ranchthoughts @clara-maybe-ontheroad)

[losergendered]

Honey/Miss Hailey from Ribbon Rabbit Daycare is an autistic, verbal, transneu, demigirl, girlflux, canon lesbian, demisexual, hyperromantic, beegender, honeycoric, honeyjamgender, apigender, genderbumble, honeyan, mushroomgender, biogender, naturecoric, naturecollector, flowergender woman with OCD, canon depression and arthritis who uses she/it/they/ve/ae/bee/honey/pollen/bumble/ buzz/sting/flower/honeycomb/hive/api/🐝/🍯/🌸/💐/🌼 pronouns!

💐s girlfriend Tonn/Tahlia is an autistic, semiverbal, bigender, bigender woman, canon lesbian, asexual, caedromantic, femme, medigender, nursething, medipuppic, medicattic, medibunnic, nursecoric, nursewinged, nursyricgender, cloudcoric, foggender woman with DPD, amnesia and muscular dystrophy who uses she/they/it/ve/ae/nurse/med/hospi/bandaid/ pill/doc/iv/cloud/rain/haze/fog/☁️/🌧️/🌫️/💊/💉/🩹 pronouns!

Trixi is a canon autistic, hyperverbal, canon transfem, demigirl, canon panromantic, pan lesbian, canon asexual, demiromantic, femme, autigender, traumacoric, traumafem, cutecoric, cutegender, catgender, bungender, kitgender, bunnygender, eepygender, catbungender, rainbowbunian, marshybungender, bunnytix, cutecollector girl with ADHD, GAD, depression and obsessive dream disorder who uses she/they/it/xe/bun/bunny/rabbit/hop/soft/ fuzzy/cute/kit/cat/kitty/mew/purr/paw/flop/fluff/hugz/🐰/🐇/🥕/🌸/🐾/🧃/🌈 pronouns!

Flops boyfriend Momo is an autistic, semiverbal, transmasc, demiboy, polypan, gay, asexual, canon demiromantic, queerplatonic, peachigender, fruitgender, berrygender, citrusgender, fruitcoric, strawbgender, cherrygender, blueberrygender, plumgender, peargender, sourcandygender, orangegender, naturecoric boy with GAD, PTSD, PPD, dyslexia and depression who uses he/they/it/ae/vir/peach/cherry/plum/lych/mango/nectar/apri/🍑/🍓/🍒/🍉/🍊/🍬 pronouns!

Trixis friend Sky is an autistic, verbal, transmasc, genderfluid, canon panromantic, canon asexual, canon aromantic, autigender, scenecoric, scenegender, webcoric, memegender, memecoric, skillissuephrasic, memecollector, kandiravermeane, nyancatgender, kandigender, nyancatic, noobgender, robloxgender, cringecoric, tacnaynic, catnipgender furry with ADHD, BPD, NPD and asthma who uses he/she/it/they/xe/zey/zhe/sh3/h3/th3y/1t/meme/cringe/roblo/noob/nya/nyan/cat/kit/ k1tty/k1ttenz/zoom/stim/🌈/😈/any pronouns!

Trixis adoptive mom Susie is an autistic, verbal, canon biromantic, canon asexual, demiromantic, bakerygender, bakerycoric, cakegender, dessertic, cookiegender, muffingender, beysgender, pastromic, bakephoric, croissantgender, lovebakean woman with PTSD and depression who uses she/love/bake/heart/cake/pie/sweetie/🍰/🥮 pronouns!

Unknown/Amélie Finch is an autistic, nonverbal, canon transfem, transfemmasc, biromantic, canon asexual, canon aromantic, intersex, butch, uncannyvalleyic, neurogender, hoodiegender, borderix, bordergender, creepgender, losergirl, gendercreep girl with BPD, NPD, PTSD, dejected narcissism, depression and muscular dystrophy who uses she/they/xe pronouns!

Axel is an autistic, semiverbal, transneumasc, transfem questioning, bi gay, canon gay, demisexual, canon akioromantic, polymonoflux, intersex, sciencegender, sciencecoric, chemgender, chemistrygender, simulthing, madscien, doggender, pupgender, alienpupgender, slimepupgender man with OCD, canon germaphobia, tourettes, and epilepsy who uses he/it/xe/they/sci/pup/dog/woof/doggy/puppy/bark/arf/chem/chemical/test/experi/🧪/🐾/🦴/💉 pronouns!

🧪 has a crush on Spector, an autistic, hyperverbal, transneu, nonbinary, agender, canon biromantic, turigirl, aegosexual, aromantic, polyamorous, futch, sciencegender, sciencecoric, genderscientist, virusgender, gooplexic, fouscitze, madscien, madscientistgender, madvialic, toxiccoric, experithing, vilegender, frankengender, acidgender, slimeweirdo, scithing, sevenhundredmillionratsgender, biohazardlexic, pronounhoarding woman with ADHD, OCD, BPD, SzPD and chronic pain who uses it/he/xe/they/she/sh3/th3y/sci/bio/chem/ chemical/hazard/acid/slime/goo/chaos/vile/ experiment/toxic/mad/psych/scien/virus/ electric/lab/test/goggle/mayhem/rainbow/bright/neon/🧪/💉/🌈/💊/🧬/🔭/⚡️/X3 pronouns!

Patty is an autistic, verbal, transfem, girlflux, canon unlabled, sapphic, acespec, butch, burgercatgender, burgerbungender, burgerpupgender, burgerratgender, cowgender, meatgirl, beefgender woman with ADHD and POTS who uses she/he/🥩/🍖/🐮/🍔 pronouns!

🐮s girlfriend Kettle is an autistic, semiverbal, transmasc, nonbinary, canon biromantic, asexual, hyperromantic, femme, muttongender, ewegender, sheepgender, fleecygender, lambgender, popcorngender, genderpopcorn, caramelcornic, circusgender, cottoncandyic, carnimelodic, sillygender girl with ADHD and echolalia with she/it/they/he/pop/lamb/ewe/ram/sheep/baa/horn/fleece/fuzz/treat/circus/🍿/🎪/🎠/🐑/🐏 pronouns!

Ink/Iris is an autistic, nonverbal, canon nonbinary, bi gaybian, apothisexual, canon requiesromantic, GNC, autigender, hoodiegender, ichthyogender, koigender, fishskeletic, ghotigender, fishgender, narwhalgender, oceanic, sharkgender, achegender, cavusgender, depressifem, depressimasc boy with OCD, GAD, SAD, depression, body dysmorphia and bulimia who uses they/it/xe/thing/shark/ocean/sea/wave/kelp/coral/fish/fin/squid/octo/jelly/🌊/🐟/🐠/🐡/🦑/🪼/🪸/🐋 pronouns!

🐟 has a (mutual) crush on Marlon, an autistic, semiverbal, nonbinary, genderfluid, canon unlabled, aegosexual, jesterdesic, jestergender, circusgender, pinkgender, cutecoric, cutegoric, cutehoarder, pastelpinkgender, gendercute, dollcute, pastelgender, pastelpurplegender, delusogender, pinklita, sweetcute, cottoncandyic, kawaiicoric, pinkoric, cutebeing boy with ADHD, schizoaffective disorder, chronic vocal tic disorder and delusions who uses he/it/she/cyute/💕/🌸/🌷/🎀/🍭/🍬/🧸/🐾/🍡/🍮/🍰 pronouns!

Cyute works with Pip, an autistic, hyperverbal, agender, apangender, canon pansexual, apothisexual, apothiromantic, clowngender, clowncoric, circusgender, circuscandyic, clowndollgender, evilclownic, jesterdesic, sillyheehoogender, clownmeatic, gendervillain, evilgender, prankgender thing with ADHD, BPD, NPD, PTSD, manic episodes and anger issues who uses he/xe/zey/xae/zhe/clown/circus/jester/honk/prank/pop/bop/pitter/laugh/rainbow/fool/color/juggle/balloon/trick/🤡/🎪/🎡/🎠/🎈/🌈/🎉/:o)/:o( pronouns!

🌈 used to work with Taffy, an autistic, verbal, girlflux, canon unlabled, sapphic, asexual, demiromantic, kidcoric, rainbowgender, kiddiekitty, neonrainbowgender, neongender, bouncygender, glittergender, nosaebire, kiddieduckic, kiddiepuppic, kiddiebearic, kiddiehamstic, kiddiebunnic, kiddierattic, kiddiesnailic, 🌈emojic girl with ADHD, SPD and ehler danlos syndrome who uses she/it/zhe/🌈/🍭/🍬 pronouns!

Hanani is an autistic, hyperverbal, genderfluid, pangender, canon bisexual, arofluid, canon polyamorous, eccentrigender, schizic, ghostgender, skhizeingender, ghostcoric, chaoscoric, ghostfem, ghostneu, ghostmasc, phasmaeic, sillygender, tbhgender girl with ADHD, BPD, HPD, schizophrenia, manic episodes, muscular dystrophy and catatonia who uses she/xe/they/ve/silly/stim/weird/chao/ghost/spirit/boo/haunt/spookie/phantom/scary/para/🌈/♾️/👻/💥 pronouns!

Their brother Lazarus is an autistic, verbal, canon bisexual, aromantic, intersex, witchic, witchgender, eyegender, goldoculuminic, scopogender, thirdeyegender, eldritchboy, lovecraftic, lovecrafthing, eldritchthing, unholything man with NPD, ASPD, PTSD, depression, anger issues and muscular dystrophy who uses he/xe/occult/eye/scopo/symbol/rune/mon/eldri/? pronouns!

Symbols adopted daughter Luna is an autistic, semiverbal, agender, unlabled, canon asexual, canon aromantic, queerplatonic, intersex, autigender, witchgender, witchish, covenwitch, stargender, wildwitch, witchgirl, zombiegender, kittengender, zombzgender, wizardic, wizorbic, fantasygender, magicgender, circgender, faegender, magicia, magicoric girl with OCD, dysgraphia and fibromyalgia who uses she/it/they/he/ve/shx/thxy/ae/fae/ae/witch/wiz/sparkle/dazzle/glitter/magic/wand/mage/mana/spell/potion/cast/conjure/charm/hex/zombie/rot/🪄/🧪/🪻/✨/⭐️/🌟/💫/🔮 pronouns! 

Tobi is an autistic, semiverbal, canon transmasc, demiboy, canon bisexual, no lesboy, veldihet, hyperverbal, demiromantic, darklovecoric, romanticreepthing, eatyourheartoutphrasic, romantigorecoric, dissecaregender, hauntmour, needyloverboy, passionconceptic, lovegoreic, lovebodiment, rosegore man with BPD, MasoPD, OLD and SAD who uses he/ve/love/obsess/lover/romance/❤️/🥀/🔪/🩸 pronouns!

Veir girlfriend Vanessa is an autistic, verbal, transfem, canon bisexual, arospec, intersex, polyamorous, rosegender, rosegore, bloodcoric, rosebloodaxean, darklovecoric, lovesickgender, obsesscoric, obsessilovic, deadlovegender, lovegoric, gasperichornic, romancegoric woman with ADHD, BPD, NPD, SadoPD and arthritis who uses she/they/ve/vae/rose/blood/red/kiss/wine/🥀/❤️/🩸/🍷 pronouns!

Riuki is an autistic, semiverbal, transmasc, nonbinary, canon biromantic, canon asexual, grayromantic, transmascject, emocoric, emocatgender, vampbatbloodkissic, emothing, emoboyish, loserboy, emox, emolovecatgender, vampcatgender, killercattic, gorrorslashxic, gothcattic, gothcoric, metallian, sketchgender, lovegoric, genderhoarder boy with ADHD, PTSD, depression and canon insomnia who uses xe/he/they/h3/th3y/ix/hx/thxy/xt/it/emo/spike/meow/purr/maow/loser/blood/vamp/fang/bite/gore/slash/bat/rot/bone/🩸/🥀/🔪/🐾/🦴/💔/🦷/📼 pronouns!

Meows boyfriend Sakira is an autistic, semiverbal, canon transgender, transfem, demiboy, canon biromantic, bi gay, turigirl, asexual, hyperromantic, queerplatonic, intersex, kitsunegender, joygender, foxgender, foxboygender, softfoxgender, vulpisilly, foxberrix, kitsunic, kitsuneboyic, 8-bit_kitsunic, vulamovillian, fuchsgender, konpeitocoric, pandabam therian with ADHD, DPD and dyslexia who uses he/it/she/they/ve/fox/kit/kitsune/vix/viy/fluff/red/silly/ioy/paw/tail/🎍/🎋/🦊/✨/💫/🐲/:D/:P/:)/:} pronouns!

Riukis friend Soda/Sam is an autistic, verbal, transneufem, agender, canon pansexual, pan lesbian, aromantic, polyamorous, femme, autigender, scenecoric, scenegender, catgender, scenecatgender, sodagender, colagender, sodayic, fizzydrinkic, cherrysodagender, popsodagender, snackgender, rainbowgender, caliadorcakic, cucomlovia, gleepcatgender, creepercatgender, iracodethmic, spacecolagender, musicgender girl with ADHD, BPD, dysgraphia and hyperempathy who uses she/it/he/they/xe/zy/shx/hx/thxy/scene/rainbow/color/bright/music/rock/star/cat/kit/ kitten/kitty/owo/rawr/nya/mew/meow/meorr/ purrr/paw/tail/whisker/game/glep/soda/pop/fizzy/🐱/🐈/🐈‍⬛/🌈/🎸/🎶/🎵/🎧/✨/⭐️/💫/:P/:3 pronouns!

Purrr and 🔪 are also friends with Crawler, an autistic, semiverbal, transneumasc, canon lesbian, queer, canon asexual, canon aromantic, soft butch, intersex, dyke, facecovercomfin, crackedmaskic, maskgender, scenecoric, scemogender, scenegender, cringecoric, musicgender, scenevampiric, metalgoric, metalvamp, vampgender, musicstar, ravegender, grungical, musijoyic, metalfem, metalmasc, musictix, scenezombix enby with ADHD, BPD, OSDD, depression and body dysmorphia who uses she/they/he/xe/zyx/shx/sh#/hx/h#/thxy/th#y/scemo/scene/loud/crash/bam/forensic/bash/bang/music/rock/metal/nightcore/night/kandi/raccoon/💀/🌈/🎵/🎶/🎸/🌙/🦝/🎹/🌌/🌃 pronouns!

🦝s qpp K9 is an autistic, nonverbal, canon transmasc, genderfluid, bxy, canon gay, asexual, apothisexual, aromantic, queerplatonic, faggot, emocoric, scenecoric, scenegender, musicgender, ametalmasc, scenevampiric, vampgender, headphojoyic, musictix, metallian, vamptix, scenix, emox, scemocoric, cartoonspinnic, oldcartoonvampic, puptoongender, hallotoongender boy with inattentive ADHD, SAD, dyslexia, muscular dystrophy and extreme facial scarring who uses he/it/xe/scene/scemo/rawr/vamp/bite/fang/blood/nya/cartoon/animate/silly/hyper/music/metal/toons/monster/plur/XD/X3/🦷/🌈/🎸/🎶/🎵/🦝/🎨/:D/:(/>:)/>:(/:P pronouns!

Ophiuchus is an autistic, verbal, trans woman, canon pansexual, aromantic, polyamorous, intersex, snakedeity, sotosnakeian, snakegender, snakeboy, snakegirl, gorgongender, rosegender, roseboy, rosegirl, victoriangender, rosuerte, gendernoies, roseblood creature with GAD and DID who uses he/it/they/xe/vae/ey/snake/slither/venom/fang/hiss/poison/scale/python/viper/serpent/cobra/rose/blossom/petal/flower/🐍/🌹/🥀 pronouns!

Vipers adoptive daughter Junk is an autistic, nonverbal, gxrl, lesbian, canon asexual, canon aromantic, dyke, depressifem, geweldin, affectugender, depreneu, deprefem, achegender, sikgender, cavusgender, depressintensic, neurogender, trashgender girl with GAD, PTSD, depression, bulimia and chronic dizziness who uses she/it/they/he/xe/worthless/trash/ache/sick/puke/guts/🔪 pronouns!

They’re all controlled by Vilorad Craven, an autistic, verbal, boyfluid, canon unlabled, alicoromantic, godgender, genderdeity, soldiety, angelgender, wargod, wardiety, deangelus, kamigender, theosolic, godboy, obsessumix, celestigender, godbodiment, godcomplexic, theoluxic, seraphgender being with NPD, BPD, OCD, OLD, manic episodes, anger issues and a god complex who uses he/xe/thon/hymm/god/diety/divine/heavenly/seraphim/archangel/entity/ae/ve/thae/deus/numen/angelus/divinitas/caelestia/caelum/entitatem/archangelus/☀️/🌅/🖌️/🎨/🪽 pronouns and has a crush on the Player!

For anon!m

[lantanasmuttyfanfics]

I know you are probably tired with these asks buttt, can i get a raven x dexter aftercare? 🥹

Hey my lovely!! I know this was requested a while ago but here it is!!

I hope you like it and aren’t too bothered that it’s kinda short

Friendly reminder that I’m still not taking requests. Hope you understand!!

But honestly I needed a bit of break from smut so I’m glad this was requested

—————————

Ravens legs were trembling by the time she came down from her high, with her breath caught in her throat and her chest heaving.

Dexter wasn’t much better, his arms were shaking and sweat was rolling down his forehead as he panted against her neck.

After a few moments of panting and breathing heavily Dexter moved of off Raven, his back hitting the headboard as he gazed at the ceiling.

Raven looked at him sitting next to her while she stretched against the sheets and let out a mewing sort of sound.

Dex chuckled while he ran his hand through her plum hair, his fingers catching in the knots in her hair.

She didn’t mind tho, loving the way that his fingers felt massaging her scalp. He noticed this and promptly stood up while heading for the bathroom.

She gave him a questioning glance but he ignored the look, too focused on his mission at hand.

He closed the door behind him as he started to rummage through several of Ravens cabinets, he found what he was looking for relatively quickly.

When he did he twirled the brush in his hand, adjusting his glasses before he spotted a small hand towel.

He put the brush down, going over to the tub as he started to fill it with warm water. As he waited for it to fill, he left the room instead heading back to his girlfriend who looked seconds away from sleep.

Raven stirred from her near sleep as she heard the soft footsteps of Dex, she peered at him through her lashes while giving him a smile.

He smiled back and sat beside her as he gently took her hand and sat her up. “What’s going on?”

Dexter placed a soft kiss on her cheek before replying, “nothing special.” Raven raised her brow as she looked at the bathroom.

“Then what’s going on there.” Dexter didn’t answer instead swooping her in his arms as she shrieked for a second before clinging on him.

They made their way over to the bathroom and by the time he sat her on the counter the tub was full of steaming water.

As she realized what he was doing Raven let out an awe sound and quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, placing a passionate kiss on his lips.

He kissed her back with just as much passion as his hands traveled to her waist. But before he could get carried away he pulled away with a final peck and picked her up again.

Raven leaned her head on his chest as he brought them to the tub as he carefully stepped in the warm water.

Raven let out a sigh as her body hit the water, she melted in it and leaned against Dexter’s chest as he wrapped his arms around her chest and pulled her closer.

They both sat there for a while silent enjoying the feeling of each other and the water until Raven piped up.

“What brought this about?” Dexter looked at her weirdly as she looked up at him. “What do you mean?” She shrugged the action rippling the water.

“I mean why put all this effort. I could have done this myself.” Dexter ran his hand over her shoulder as he started to massage the skin.

“Yeah but you don’t have to. And besides why wouldn’t I do this for my girlfriend.” Raven couldn’t think of a reply, for one to distracted by his actions and two having no idea what to say.

Silence filled the room again and Dexter continued to massage her body. This time moving to her bruised hips while placing tender kisses on the back of her neck.

They sat there until the water turned cold and their fingers had pruned up, to distracted in their own little bubble of bliss. With no problems of destinies or fates or looming disasters.

———————————

Anyway again I apologize for the short fic but I hope you enjoyed!!

Just a reminder not taking requests at the moment but if you have a request that has been sitting in my inbox it’s coming soon I promise!!

[ranchthoughts]

various thoughts and musings on Only Friends and ephemerality, inspired by @waitmyturtles and @lurkingshan's thoughts here

In her post, @waitmyturtles pointed out how the theme of ephemerality in time and life has popped up in the show so far: in Ray, who blacks out and can't remember the previous night; in Boston, king of the one night stand; in the atmosphere of the show (Cheum telling Mew to get with Top, because they are facing COVID, airborne particles, and radiation); in Mew who bucks the paradigms of his friend group (doesn't take shots, remains a virgin, etc.), who wants to take his time/get Top to stick around, to reject ephemerality, unlike his friends.

This all got me thinking about how time and ephemerality show up in elsewhere in Only Friends and in the other characters' lives.

We have, of course, the ephemeral and short-term one night stands contrasted against the non-one night stands (Boston's whole deal vs. what Mew wants from Top), but even the question of "ephemeral" one night stands is getting complicated here. Boston has lots of one night stands, but also he wants another go with Top, and he returns to Nick several times. What does Boston think about "letting things age like plum wine" as it were? Why isn't he interested in longer-term relationships?

We also learn this episode that Sand has his fair share of one night stands too. In the preview for the next episode, Sand says he's never slept with someone who is not his lover more than once. Here we see a contrast between short-term/ephemeral hookups and longer-term relationships - Sand has both one night stands and lovers, temporary and lasting. Sand and Ray are not lovers/boyfriends, therefore the sexual element of their relationship (and perhaps even their friendship itself) must be temporary, according to Sand. Why does Sand draw these distinctions, why is he placing Ray in the category of short-term hookup and not relationship material (if he is actually doing that)? How does his view of short term vs. long-term relationships differ from Boston's?

Mew wants longevity with Top and doesn't want a one night stand, but as waitmyturtles pointed out/we saw in this second episode, he also wants to go back to the beginning and have Top hit on him again. He wants something permanent, but there is this also this thread of ephemerality, of going back in time, of starting again/forgetting what came before, present in his story line just as there is in Boston's.

Boston and Nick are "temporary" lovers (despite Boston returning to Nick several times, enough that Nick is surprised and wants the relationship defined), Sand and Ray are "temporary" lovers (despite Ray wanting to continue a friendship through it), Mew and Top are "lasting" lovers (though Mew clarifies that he only accepted Top as his boyfriend because he felt embarrassed by the public question, and asks if they can start at the beginning again).

Waitmyturtles and lurkingshan got into the idea of "seize the day," "live now because we won't live forever," and that is reflected in a lot of these characters' story lines. Nick recognizes Boston when he comes into the phone store and decides to seize the day, take advantage of this once in a lifetime chance to get with him. He has to move fast not to lose it. Sand and Ray throw caution into the wind and sleep together, despite Sand's warning that they can no longer be "just friends" after this. Boston wants Top one more time, even if that means getting Top to cheat on his boyfriend. There's a carpe diem vibe, a recklessness, even a disregard for consequences, to their actions (and I think we know we are going to spend a lot of time dealing with the fallout from these decisions).

In my messages with waitmyturtles and in lurkingshan's response on this post, we both latched onto how this carpe diem mentality and ephemerality of time and life relate to queer history. Queer people have historically faced difficult and shortened life spans due to HIV-AIDS, hate crimes, criminalization, and other threats to the community - life must be lived quickly and all at once, because it may not last long. Lack of marriage equality and other legislation also means queer relationships have not been offered the permanency and weight of heterosexual relationships. Queer people couldn't wish for a long-term, permanent happily ever after for a very long time (this makes me think about queer futurities - linking @chickenstrangers' post on this in Bad Buddy - and @waitmyturtles talking (here and here) about how queer automatically = pain and tragedy in media, especially earlier queer media). Therefore, to queer people throughout history and now, we see the "life fast die young," "we aren't going to live forever" mentality that permeates Only Friends.

On another note - I am interested in the idea of ephemerality and permanency as it relates to money and class in the show. Sand is not in a good place financially (he has to take on multiple jobs, live carefully within his means, etc.); he is unable to achieve the longevity and stability that comes with financial security. Ephemeral in another way. But we see also that money doesn't necessarily mean stability or permanency (or happiness) either - Ray has lots of money but is alone. His friends don't stick around, he pays for the temporary company of Sand, he spends his money on drink that makes him forget the night before - ephemerality yet again.

@waitmyturtles also brought up the idea of plum wine (which sweetens as it ages) and drew parallels to I Promised You the Moon, slowing down, lingering in relationships, etc. I couldn't help but notice that Sand's plum wine is carried in a bag that reads "You only live once" - the lasting and the ephemeral, the slow and the fast, the permanent and the temporary.

[autisticbokutoenthusiast]

one thing i find interesting about where ray is when the show ends is that, in many ways his arc is just beginning (i don't think this is specific to ray im just having a bunch of thoughts about him)

i think this is because a lot of who ray is as a character is tied to the baggage he carries. a lot of his conflict is him being stuck, living in the past as others move forward. his feelings for mew are stuck in that moment mew showed up when he felt truly alone, his alcoholism is tied to his mother's, his self-worth is tied to his childhood and his dads money, (even netutral things, like his music taste comes from what his mom left behind), and so on. his relationship with sand begins because this baggage triggers some low self-esteem induced carelessness with his life that sand saves him from, in that moment he is so caught up in his past he just can't bring himself to care about even having a future.

*sandray interlude*

one thing i also find super fucking fascinating is that sand is almost the opposite. sand lives exclusively in the present, always living to try to make it to tomorrow. he doesn't like to hold a grudge because he likes to leave the past as the past, he isn't too lost in the concept of the future etc. the times we can see ray start to break out of the cycle he's in is when he's with sand. he smiles, he's free, he discovers new music, he discovers new experiances, he imagines himself being able to have a future for the first time, he even goes to rehab. even just visually speaking, his clothing changes to be influenced by sand as the show goes on.

we see sand as a bar singer who thinks its fun but doesnt think he'll become a professional musician, we see ray listen to the records his mother left behind, and we see them both pick new music together and plan to go to music festivals. we see sand's life in the present, ray living in the past, and together they can imagine a future.

ok returning to my original point we see ray get to decide to change, and we are left with that. i like to imagine the ray we know at the end of the series is a version of him willing to fight to break out of being overshadowed by his past, that he can dictate the direction of his life starting from someplace new. i also find this interesting given what we know of ray's future plans from the finale. him co-running the hostel is techniquely new but its also in his dad's old house and the set of a lot of painful moments for him. then there's sand's moonshining, sand saying he wants to stop selling his plum whine and find a new hustle is growth considering he's giving up something stable for him in present in order to help ray's recovery in the longterm, ray however says he should continue selling the plum whine but they can change the brand name. similar to the hostel this is something technically new but ultimately drenched in the past.

but these things aren't as significant imo because ultimately the most important thing about him in the finale is he has become somone who makes future plans at all.

[devyuence]

Guess who is the writing team's favorite character in Only Friends? Easy edition

Let's lay out every single thing we know about the characters in the series:

Boston: Playboy and likes to have sex with everyone no matter who they are, hates betrayal, loves photography, has problems with his dad who is a politician, initially a free-loader in their group project but started to contribute, does not care about repercussions to his actions because he's going to NY.

Nick: Obsessed with Boston and willing to be nasty for him, works at the electronics shop even if that is not his dream, willing to be with Dan or whoever but goes back to Boston if he can

Top: Top-tier, asshole, smug, rich AF, has trauma with fire and smoke but not explored well, not used to sleeping alone that he needs pills, drugs or Mew, CHEATER (as what people say), playboy but we haven't seen him kiss another dude in this series except Mew and Boston

Mew: Virgin and cute, table-keeper aka care-taker of the gang, has two moms, likes to read, wants to have good grades, knows what he wants, got LASIK, willing to party and use drugs after getting his heart broken by a top-tier guy, self-confidence got destroyed, dated his best friend but did not work

Sand: Poor boy (not really but sort of), singer who is in a band, works every day that we even have a breakdown of his source of income, sells plum wine but is cautious because it is prohibited, has an ex and mad at Top for stealing the said ex, has a mom who works in a club and a dad he has never met, dreams of traveling and going to music festivals, mentions songs and bands he likes every chance he can that audience can make a Spotify playlist for him, addicted to Ray no matter how Ray treats him like a door mat for the most part, willing to throw Nick under the bus and steal that recording to have his revenge on Top, paid by Ray's dad, has a dedicated Birthday episode

Ray: Rich that a simple project turned to be a large-scale hostel one, uses drugs, always want to pick a fight with everyone (as established in EP1), hot-headed, chronic alcoholic, has attempted throughout the show to drunk drive, crashed the car that he had to go to community service, treats other people like shit (looking at Sand), obsessed with Mew and/or the idea of Mew, multiple offender of kissing people without their consent, had the guts to force people to have sex with them, goes to people's houses unannounced or gate-crashes campings just because he wants to, CHEATER and two-timer (Top and he are in different fonts but is more nuanced and developed than Top due to screen time, anyway move on), gaslit Mew during their talk that even if they are both at fault Mew is the one who is extremely apologetic, has daddy issues that people can relate to, have extensive mommy issues that are left to be resolved but serve as way for the viewers excuse his behavior, has been given several breaking down scenes to fully sympathize with him no matter what happens

Tell me, based on what I wrote, who is the showrunner's favorite character/s? Tell me who is the character that is fully developed in the writing room? Raise your brows but I am letting this list speak for itself.

[chalkrevelations]

Ughhhhh, I'm feeling absurdly melancholy about OF and BostonNick this afternoon, when I only came into this show for a good time. I watched QaF and The L Word, I know the melodrama and how things can turn on a dime, I wasn't really expecting anything less, it's just ...

Boston and Nick were the relationship I was most interested to see in this show, and with one episode left, and the specter of Boeing looming over that, I'm just left with this impending sense of wasted potential. These two characters have had the outline of an amazing arc, where they worked their way through a lot of shit - their own and other people's - to reach the point where they may actually be the least toxic couple right now, but it's been a bare-bones presentation. I feel like the audience has been left to do the work of sussing out a lot of subtextual stuff about the characters and their relationship, left to extrapolate a lot of what's been going on - which, fine, that kind of thing is my jam, and if it was a shorter season, like Moonlight Chicken length, and we were doing this with all the characters, ok. But this is in contrast to the sometimes excruciating detail we've gotten on other characters and relationships as they've run around in circles, sometimes enacting the same drama repeatedly.

I mean, is this a metatexual thing? A storytelling device? Am I supposed to be as tired of Top and Mew going back and forth as I am? Am I supposed to be dreading the amount of screentime it looks like Sand and Ray are going to suck up in the last episode having manufactured drama over Boeing when what they really need to be focused on dealing with is whether Sand's lifestyle is at all conducive to Ray's recovery and sobriety - because it's not just the plum wine business?

Am I supposed to feel like Boston and Nick seem to have been pushed to the outskirts, turned into an afterthought? Don't get me wrong - Mark and Neo continue to eat their scenes alive when they're actually allowed on screen, but like I've said before, it's a good thing they're as talented as they are, because in lesser hands, Boston and Nick would have absolutely been drowned out at this point. They're lucky to get six minutes of screentime, tops, each episode.

I realize I'm at a disadvantage here, because I went into this without investment in the two branded pairs, who are almost certain to not only get screentime but to end up together because, well, branding - even though I can't see what it would hurt to one time have at least an open ending. I honestly don't care, at this point, what happens with Top and Mew, that's how done I am with their interminable push-and-pull. The smartest thing Top ever said was "Maybe we need to stop doing this," before he let Mew pull him in again. But whatever. I do think that a more honest, organic ending for Sand and Ray needs to deal with the fact that Sand's lifestyle - both now and the one he projects for himself in the future - is going to be really difficult for Ray, and that maybe the most caring thing Sand could do for Ray, at least right now, is let him go so that Ray can be in a healthier environment, at least during active rehab, and Ray needs to come to terms with that decision.

Meanwhile, I'm looking at my unbranded pair of actors, who've been given limited screentime for the audience to actually invest in them, who are difficult characters anyway - particularly Boston - who likely are the show's only chance at a pair not ending up together and are therefore almost by default the pair most likely to end up separately as a sacrifice on the altar of "realism," and who now have Boeing hanging over them in literally the last two minutes of the game. And I'm bracing myself. Boeing, diaboli ex machina, either literally out of nowhere, or as a complete surprise because we haven't been given any sense - throughout 11 episodes of Top's childhood fire trauma and Mew's moms' cafe and Sand's numerous side hustles and Ray's taste in music - that there's any preexisting connection between Boston and Boeing, unlike with Top or Sand and their triangle drama that's been repeatedly mentioned. And maybe that's more storytelling device, Boston the enigma, Boston who we don't have access to metatextually the same way the people around him don't have access to him within the narrative, but as a viewer, it reaches a point where that's just frustrating and unfulfilling. And I'm only fan-wanking that it's an effect they're actually trying to achieve in the first place, giving them a benefit of the doubt, when it's maybe just as likely that they just haven't bothered to spend the time that they have with other characters.

So here we are, bottom of the ninth, and here comes Boeing, and I'm bracing myself.

And maybe feeling a little bit of anticipatory grief for what could have been.

[sadcharactersrmykryptonite]

Sandray and why they are the The good thing at the wrong time, or the right person at the wrong time.

So i have read a lot of amazing meta on this series, especially the ephemarilty squad and it has made the viewer experience so much better. A big thank you to those people.

This post is technically not a meta nor am I claiming this is something groundbreaking. I just wanted to get my thoughts out.

Only friends has been an experience and my favourite couple is sandray. I know it will only give me pain but i am a masochist.

After episode five, I have seen a lot of people start to put blame on either sand or ray or Boston ( who is at 80% fault). But in this series we can't just easily put them in a blame box. It's way to complicated for that, as emotions are.

Ep 5 is from the perspective of sand while ep 4 was from ray, from these two eps we realise how different they are, how different their experiences are.

Ray is not exactly a mature person or even a put together person like sand. And we know why, he has self esteem issues, depression and is an alcoholic due to childhood circumstances. And he does not have a supportive network. And we can't blame the friends group because they are twenty something college kids who have no idea of the seriousness. Case in point, how they wave off rays talks of being a burden and continues to enable his bad habits. He is an incredibly messy character, with clear trauma and we have given enough points, explicitly told through the narrative. We are supposed to feel sympathy for him, we are supposed to feel empathy for him. We should root for him to become better.

Compare that with Boston. Boston has been given implied issues, acted out brilliantly by neo. Now whether they are some deep rooted issues from his childhood or parents or others, we dont know. Cause we are not explicitly told. We are supposed to be see him as the antagonist.

In the case of ray, we have given reason to believe that mew is not a great friend to ray as he claims to be. So we are not supposed to root for them so then who should we root for.

Enter sand, who's practically perfect, put together, mature and hot. But the problem is sand is not a put together person, at all.

Sand juggles between jobs, he takes care of the debt of his mother and is a good son. But he's in need of money and he has told that he will do anything to get more money. Aka his illegal plum business.

Ep 5 gives us mote depth of his character. And from the outside he looks cool, calm and collected, inwardly sand is an emotional person, who's driven by his emotions. Now from the first eps we were led to believe that ray is the emotional drunkard looking for trouble. He's not. Ray is driven by his trauma, his addiction, his thoughts, not his emotions.

Sand on the other hand is quick to anger, sarcastic to the point that someone has probably tried to punch him and has a rigid moral sense. And he wants to take care of stuff. And he falls fast. But he doesn't know how to deal with them.

Sand has gotten hurt before by way of top. And he keeps his emotional walls up. Ray is lonely, he wants to connect. And a lot of people have said that he doesn't know to connect but he does. Everything he does with sand is that, he's forging a connection.

Ray was the one who initiated every one of their interactions, even if it was done in an annoying manner. And sand doesn't give a rigid boundary he immediately gives into ray.

And this connection has already been formed, entirely initiated by ray and its strong. To the point that sand has fallen hard and has already given a designated time for ray.

But they are not in the same page. Sand has told ray that he wants to just be FWB and ray has agreed to that. And while we have seen clear signs from both of then that they like each other, I don't thing they are getting it. There understanding level is clearly marred with their issues, sand with being a second choice and ray with everything.

But they have shown that they can communicate. So why are they not communicating now. Because sand has put up the boundary of FWB. No amount of mooning and looking sad is going to tell ray that he wants to be boyfriends. He has to be explicitly told and sand has to do that.

Ray should also be clear with want he wants. Verbally. But both of them are not in a place of mind to do that. And that is surprising, because we could have expected that from the put together one. Expect sand is dealing with his issues and is unwilling to try , because of the threat of heartbreak and is letting his emotions get the better of him.

On the contrary, in rp 5 , ray seems more calm. He is actually trying, he's connecting with sand with doing the things that he loves. He's falling for sand and I think he does know.

Even after being drunk and high he has the werewithal to open up a conversation, he gave the chance to sand to try. But sand rejected it. That was a big chance and if sand had taken that chance, they could have talked about their current situation. That's what's so heartbreaking about it, because the possibility was there. I mean look at him here.

He clearly wanted him to talk to him.

Expect sand didn't take it, his problems prevented him from doing it, his emotions which were going overbroad prevented him from thinking rationally.

And ray took that rejection, personally. We can easily infer what went through his mind from what we already know ," I am a burden, I am a jinx". "I have tried my best but it's not working, So why should I try more", aka the devastating happy birthday.

Ray was rational at that moment, and dare I say mature, especially considering the scene that happened just before that. Ray was able to think above his emotions and give a rational way out of that predicament. But sand rejection triggered his trauma and he went back to square one.

There was a beautiful post about different types of understanding in this series. That's what is happening here, different types of understanding. But I can't find that post.

At that point both needed to understand the other but there individual issues left them unable to do it. And it's not anyone's fault. It's not a blame game. It's the reality of trauma situations.

How trauma and mental health issues can create problems, can make situations seem bigger then they actually are. How it made two people who are compatible with each other be reluctant to go further.

They can be the perfect couple the audience want them to be. But at this point of time , they are the right person at the wrong time archetype.

And they will remain if they don't communicate. Let's hope by the end of the messiness they both have some clarity on how to go further. And give the audience an emotionally charged story.

[bogbees]

i saw someone on twitter doodle their mew mew oc and i was compelled to doodle mine again: makoto yume, aka mew plum. her animal is a leatherback sea turtle and her weapon is ribbon drUMe, which is used like a sword and shield

[forcebookish]

ok i'm doing it: ep2 (mostly unpopular) opinions. it's so fucking long i'm putting it under a readmore lol YOU'VE BEEN WARNED

topmew have bewitched me body and soul. i love everything about them. i was so into the idea of them being "toxic" (fandom has ruined that word, i reallllly hate it but it applies here) but hilariously, i think they're the least toxic relationship in the show (if you don't count aprilcheum): they talk about their feelings and boundaries, they go on dates, they genuinely care about and are interested in each other as people. and they want to have sex!!!!! but on mew's timeline, which i like. i love their dance and how flirty they are.

top's trauma is both heartbreaking and unique. it's great writing and it feels like there was a lot of thought put into it. force's acting is incredible. he really looks like a scared little boy and before he admits he can't sleep alone he's got a look on his face like he's scared he's going to be laughed at. because he has been laughed at :( even mew laughs at him (which i kind of liked tbh it was a really honest reaction and i like that he apologized for it). he could have made it into a sob story and told mew when he was trying to sleep in his bed with him, but he only admitted to it when asked and didn't try to ask again about sleeping beside mew, which i think says a lot about him. my son is a good person. as always, forcebook know how to make a scene feel Real.

mew is hot. that's all.

ok actually, mew is fascinating (but not because he's a puppet master🙄 i'm now 100% sure he's not, why would he be lying in his non-diegetic literary device confessional?? please). he is very perceptive (so is top tbh), but boston seems to be a bit of a blindspot (for both of them). i had a suspicion that mew knew that top and boston hooked up, but now it seems like he might not - and he took it at face value when boston lied about top dumping him once they have sex 🤔

i don't care about sandray, there i said it. they're boring.

ray especially is boring. irl? unrequited love and losing a parent is tragic, and i do feel for him, but in fiction? it's tired. wah wah my crush doesn't like me back wah wah dead mom wah wah. i hope his arc picks up but for now i'm totally lukewarm

also the smoke makeout is gross. all i can think about is how bad they must smell and taste😒

i love that sand makes plum wine. plum wine is fucking delicious and i'm very relieved those creepy jars in his apartment aren't pickled eggs djkfjlgjf and i'm happy he's bi!! woohoo!! but other than that, i don't find him particularly interesting, although he definitely has potential (legal issues with the wine, whatever the fuck he and top have going on)

obviously, FUCK BOSTON. hope that sexual predator drowns xoxo i don't want to get into it again because i've already made like nine posts about it but god he is a bad dude, and not in a fun way at all. he actually makes me sick. and i'm not exaggerating or being dramatic, i barely ate yesterday because that scene combined with the fandom reciting rape culture talking points without any self-awareness (even sticking to their guns when called out on it), just unironically saying almost verbatim every victim-blaming kind of bullshit people use against real sexual assault survivors made me SO uncomfortable and anxious.

nick...... sweetie pie what are you doing with this walking red flag what do you even like about him is the sex really that good because it honestly doesn't look that good

(like. topmew's love scene in episode one is hot, aesthetically, but i also can't help but think how fucking good everything they did actually feels. not just from an acting perspective but what they are physically doing: the grabbing, the neck and chest kissing, the grabbing, pelvis-to-pelvis and chest-to-chest, the grabbing djfklsjlgd but all of boston's are just kind of like. yeah ok you sure are having sex. that sure was an orgasm. idk, ymmv)

i do think it's funny that there are so many viewers who think that mew is going to "snap" and "seek revenge" or whatever, when nick is such a better candidate for it. that boy is already crazy, he's on a knife's edge. and that sex tape plotline coming up? the photobooth photos? he's going to do something drastic. ticking fucking timebomb.

APRILCHEUM ARE SO CUTE AAAAAAA I WANT SO MUCH MORE OF THEM

good lord i wrote a lot. i hope the fandom doesn't burn me out with their bull shit because there is such a severe lack of forcebook and topmew love and a fucking glut of content for everyone else, and i want to make stuff for forcebook (and especially top).

also i feel like i'm going to end up writing a lot of topmew fanfiction. like with abaab, probably not before it finishes airing but... plus, i still don't have any real ideas, just vibes and some, ah, positions i would like to write hahaha

thank you for reading this far omg

[waitmyturtles]

THE MORNING AFTER: ONLY FRIENDS, EPISODE 2 ("I PROMISED YOU THE MOONSHINE") EDITION

Being a day late to watching and writing about Only Friends allows me a little airspace away from the gasps and dopamine of the collective community first watch of each episode, and lemme tell ya -- my dash yesterday was so hot, it was like melting Tupperware on a stove. Unfortunately for many in the fandom, the ships are going to sink. That shower scene got some folks wrecked. Many folks on my dash have a sudden disdain for Neo Trai (poor kiddo). For anyone who reads around here, you might remember my implored begging of the Tumblr family to watch Gay OK Bangkok before Only Friends premiered, and I still stand by it. The Only Friends team -- Jojo Tichakorn, Ninew Pinya, writers Den Panuwat and Best Kittisak -- are playing with a lot of concepts that I thought were just FABULOUSLY explored in this second episode, and these concepts ARE going to lead to further innuendos and endings that the shippers are just not going to like. (I think GOKB primed us for this.) And frankly, by the way this episode played out (as we were talking about a couple days ago, @lurkingshan) -- I think that's a hell of a point that the team is making in our faces.

I'm going to get to this more in a moment. Let me explain more, by way, of all things (!) -- plum wine.

So a bunch of us meta clowns (cc @ranchthoughts, @chickenstrangers, @lurkingshan) were talking about a theory I had on Friday regarding the theme of ephemerality in the first episode. How Cheum indicated to Mew that there's a lot in Thailand that'll bring them down, from pollution to radiation. She wanted Mew to nab Top -- she indicated that life is fickle, so what did her homeboy have to lose? Go get yer man, she said.

@ranchthoughts, @chickenstrangers, @lurkingshan and I took this conversation further yesterday (please read all the reblogs on this link, folks, it's a great conversation!), exploring the many more references to the ephemeral, fickle nature of time and life that Only Friends is referencing. @chickenstrangers clocked that Yo's bar is called YOLO. @ranchthoughts clocked that Sand's bag of plum wine read "you only live once." @lurkingshan noted that Jojo's played around with the ephemeral before -- in Gay OK Bangkok, examining the impact of HIV on Bangkok's gay male population.

The reblogs of the post linked above also capture some common mentalities about the "future" for our current crop of young folks today (I... am not young, lol), particularly for the young queer community. That through climate change, the slow-snail-paced fight for equity (like the legalization of same-sex marriage in Thailand) (and even comparing it to the roll-back of rights for the LGBTQ+ community in the States) -- as @ranchthoughts wrote, there seems to be a stronger sense of "live fast, die young," among younger cohorts than when I was a young lass, born in the 1980s, when a middle management career could get you everything you needed, with a unfettered retirement in sight.

To me, the most wrenching references to the ephemeral in this second episode focused on death. "Do you want us to die?," Sand asked laughingly as Ray played around in the car. Top can't sleep alone because after a childhood trauma, he's afraid he'll die alone. Ray's deceased mom is shown with a glass in her hand.

And how are these young folks behaving? In the face of literal death, as they themselves are referring to it: they're living life very riskily. Top's a player. So is Boston. We hope they're playing safe. (Gay OK Bangkok had condoms all over the place. I haven't seen any yet in OF.) Ray's blood alcohol levels are clearly through the roof. Sand's committing a crime.

Say what now? Committing a crime?

I hope folks clocked that. What's REALLY making me shake my head is how slick the non-sexual commentary was in this episode.

Going back to my original post on ephemerality that I let loose on Friday: I talked about the metaphor of plum wine and the passage of time -- how plum wine tastes sweeter and better as you let it age.

Sand was pissed that his bottles of plum wine broke because he's making it himself. That's why he wanted Ray to pay him back for the lost supply. Sand lost both product AND time.

Making and selling plum wine is illegal in Thailand. It's like the selling of rotgut during Prohibition.

SAY WHAT? For real. Thailand's laws around alcohol are wild, y'all. The display of alcohol logos is weirdly regulated (I laugh at how bottles are often blurred out in Thai dramas), brewing alcohol within Thailand is insanely complicated (some people brew alcohol in Thailand, then bottle it elsewhere and import it BACK into Thailand to skirt these laws), and -- you cannot buy alcohol from 2 pm to 5 pm.

Remember we saw Ray sneaking some sips from a flask outside the hostel site? That's a major flag for confirmed alcoholism (drinking alone during the day). But also, if Ray wanted a drink during the hours of 2-5 pm -- he had to have the booze on himself to have a tipple.

We know Jojo does NOT shy away from political commentary. We saw it in spades during Dirty Laundry.

What I love about Jojo's work is that he's unafraid to call out the hypocrisy of these kinds of laws. The making of plum wine is ILLEGAL? In Japan, making umeshu is traditional. (It's also the easiest and most delicious thing ever, please try making it!). For many of us around the world, making umeshu is a hobby, and a perfectly safe one at that. Considering Thailand's economy is so dependent on tourism, and that Bangkok itself is a world-class city, you would think that the selling of alcohol wouldn't be so complicated, and yet... 'tis.

This leads me to what I saw as the second Big Theme of this episode, besides ephemerality: I saw a lot of hypocrisy in this episode.

We got the liquor laws bullshit. We got Boston. Boston strikes me as a hypocrite for setting up his friend Mew with Top -- all while Boston's still wanting to get with Top, to the point of sneaking into Top's shower.

And Mew strikes me as a hypocrite, too. He wants to "redo" the start of his relationship with Top?... on his own terms? So, they're not boyfriends anymore? After already....having dated? Believable, my dude. The guys are in a PatPran-esque battle of... something, and I don't think it's wits, because neither of them seem to have many wits about them. They seem to be more interested in just winning a goal that (except for sex for Top) seems wholly unclear. Does Mew not know that Top may very well NOT respect Mew? Is Mew aware that his read on Top may not be at all accurate? And.... does Mew actually care? I'm not convinced of it.

Live fast, die young. What does it matter to be a hypocrite if the future is unstable, if time is speeding by -- and if no one is holding these young folks accountable for their behavior, as I put into the tags of @ranchthoughts's post yesterday? As Nick says to Boston: "you're a rich guy -- you don't care much for things." What, exactly, would make these rich kids care about being ethical human beings?

Accountability is around the corner for this group. Nick is starting to catch feelings. Boston is wondering why he's getting rejected by Top. Sand's recognizing that Ray's sniffing out something between them (cc @neuroticbookworm) (and, who knows, as NBW first referenced in her post -- Sand might be catching feelings, too). All of these friends -- it's mindblowing! -- leave Ray alone, often, wasted off his ass, to get himself home, as Sand himself notes.

These characters are going to get hurt, and it's only a matter of time until we begin seeing it happen. At the micro-level, human to human, they will hurt each other. And society, Thai society, is doing these young people no favors by not helping to equalize the inequity between rich and poor -- as Sand has to take risks to sell illegal hooch, of all things, to just get by.

Wrapping this up with what I was mentioning up at the top about the jibbles that the fandoms are starting to feel towards the established GMMTV ships of this show slowly sinking. Isn't there a bit of hypocrisy there as well? This show is NOT going to be pretty for the ForceBook/FirstKhao established ships. What are we, as fans, going to do when that time comes? Will we condemn Jojo? Will we stop watching the show? Will we equivocate by way of blaming other characters?

This show should be celebrated already for the risks it's taking, and the risks it will take. (Remember: fans protested at the GMMTV building in 2019 when the KristSingto ship was broken for He's Coming To Me.) Only Friends deciding to take on the toxicity and hypocrisy of shipper fandom? Bring it on. We cannot only enjoy the performances of these actors when they're paired up with one repeating partner. As the life of Gay OK Bangkok depicted, as the life of Only Friends is depicting -- life is a whole lot more complicated than just a dreamlike, over-organized monogamy between two people (ahem, Mew). Life -- and TIME -- will bring complications and change, sometimes unwanted change, that we have to learn to handle and manage. I'm not colored surprised in the least that Jojo's making this experience for us jump out of the screen and into our own hearts, as we see our beloved actors take risks upon themselves by their breaking of their own ships. I am all here for it, and I hope the shipper fans can be, too.

(BIG UPS to the small meta army family -- @ranchthoughts, @lurkingshan, @chickenstrangers, @neuroticbookworm -- I'm so thrilled to continue being thoughtful with y'all!)

[sparklyeyedhimbo]

these two are not getting the plum wine aren't they

nope they just talk about mew as if he toy..love that for them LOVE that