#which was just shane and ryan tbh

[littlekingbergara]

hey sorry I have been out of things... did Shane have his bachelor party recently? Was Ryan there?

hey! i don't actually know tbh. i saw a few people on here (i don't remember who tho) say that's what shane and ryan were in new orleans for which would mean yeah ryan was there but nobody's posted anything so! i don't know.

it makes sense 2 me that shane's would be a lot more lowkey than ryan's including on social media And his wedding is next month so i'd believe that's what it was but yeah i don't know for sure.

[mangomybeloved]

i hate to say it, like i love watcher, but my thoughts on them leaving youtube is this is too much too soon, like the bulk of their fans are probs younger/unable to afford another subscription fee, plus youtube has always been where they've been?? it's just so stark to go from this being the site you put your content on for years and then to go full cold turkey, no more posting on youtube ever

and i'll be honest, they don't have enough content to warrant a separate site/subscription all together. dropout is able to pull it off because they have the full rotation of shows and cast as well (dnd, game changer, etc), whereas for watcher, they only have a few couple really successful shows and those are primarily only focused on ryan and shane.

and tbh, i don't think they have a big enough audience to launch it either, like their marketing team could do better on advertising their shows! like, i haven't been keeping up with their recent shows cause either i don't see it on my youtube algorithm at all or i have to go out of my way to go see it.

and i don't know this just feels like a kick to the face to their fans, like even dropout has shorts on youtube and keeps up all their content on youtube like some episodes and the entirety of season one of fantasy high, and now i'm seeing in the comments, that their international fans outside of the usa won't even able to subscribe cause of how payment works which is :///, so yeah, watcher, it's been nice knowing ya, but i don't know how this move will turn out for you, i'm sorry to say

[virginmiri99]

Ok. I have a lot to say about this. I think it's been abundantly clear they have been struggling to keep the company afloat, but I also think its a double edged sword bv they bit off more than they could chew in the first place. I've had this opinion for a while but it really cemented since the beginning of Ghost Files. I enjoyed what Watcher was at the beginning, I think they put in good work with Puppet History and it still continues to be their standout show and had a fair amount of "low-budget" shows that filled out the edges like are you scared, too many spirits, top 5 beat down, even their dnd campaign. But as soon as Ghost Files started I began to notice a trend of... idk... bleeding money? Ghost Files was so high budget that I was bored. I get that Ryan wanted to breathe new life into a ghost hunting series but what made bfu so good wasn't the ghost evidence... it was his and Shane's friendship. That's why I liked all their small shows near the start of Watcher--it felt like friends. I think they just continued to go bigger and bigger with more things and more random interns and more shows that it just got to be too much which... led us here. I hate to say I haven't watched their videos in forever, and that ghost files bored me so bad I couldn't even finish some episodes... but thats what happened. I get them moving exclusively to patreon. We all need money. But I wish instead of that, they just focused their energy into their CLEARLY popular series. Puppet History was beyond good--their only series that I didn't mind random guests every episode, in fact it was made better by the random guests--mystery files had potential but came at a bad time, ghost files should've been way lower budgeted and focused on modern house calls TBH! I'm sick of old prisons!!!! And get rid of the fan evidence! Stupid! Also IDGAF about fancy gadgets! All you need is three things and let your humor carry the rest of it. Beyond the "big" series they could have their low budget ones like are you scared, too many spirits, top 5 beat down (the show that I hate random guests for), playing videos games idk man, and like one more or something who knows. But with what they dove headfirst into it doesnt shock me they fell into this hole.... I just wished they realized no one cares about the highest of high budget video series... they care about the dynamic between ryan and shane. Im sick of random ass people in their videos wheres steven lim do a video with steven lim why is he banished to do you taxes. wtf put him in top 5 beat down instead of these random ass random people. the drew gooden one was good though I dont mind actual famous funny people being guests.

anyway those are my thoughts. TLDR they bit off more than they could chew, loss sight of what made them so enthralling, and now are washed up youtubers... saddening

[constellationmelody]

I'm so disappointed with the direction that the Watcher decided to go. While I understand that they have to do what they need to do to keep doing the content they want to create and be a legitimate TV production, unfortunately, people like myself are in situations where we cannot financially support their goals. It's unfair to burden viewers who already contribute through other means like merch and live shows. etc. I heard they reconsidered their plan, after the pushback they received, about moving all their YouTube videos to their streaming platform, which I'm glad about. They went 'quiet' after that. Not sure why they thought that their viewers would be onboard with that. The cost of living is already squeezing everyone tightly, especially now that the streaming market is oversaturated. However, at least those streaming services offer a diverse range of content with millions of hours. After learning about how Steven has a Tesla and lives fairly well off, and the excessive spending on their sets and other things, I can't help but wonder if this all stems from poor money management. Out of the 25+ people that they have hired, ain't one of them an accountant? I ain't about to give money to a (CEO) guy who travel around to eat expensive food that I can't afford; That's not entertaining. Having an accountant could have helped them budget better, prioritize more popular shows to increase profits, and make other adjustments without constantly asking their audience for more money. It just seems irresponsible. I had a great time watching some of their videos... I have to admit, I didn't like Ghost Files as much as I liked Buzzfeed unsolved. Everyone said it better than me on my thoughts on it. Overproduced, barely any banter, and tbh, kinda boring. Someone put it perfectly by saying they liked the content creators for who they are; their personalities and chemistry were what mattered, not the elaborate setup. Back in their Buzzfeed days, We cared little that their set up were in some basement or shed with just a table, screen door, and a mannequin in the background and occasionally the talking text of yellow and blue screen roll. They could do this with a iphone camera and and we'd still enjoy it just as much. Like everyone else who watched Shane and Ryan's show, I too, was inspired by them. I create my own OCs based on them but I guess as they depart from youtube, I depart from them as well. Thanks for the laughs and entertainment guys!

[prettyoddfever]

stupid question but did fans think brendon and shane were more than friends? obviously I know the ryden theories but I can imagine b and shane living together and having a dog (and how happy he made brendon) would lead to people thinking there was something more than friendship

omg yes. absolutely. Ryden was a silly/fun fandom thing that almost everyone was on the same page about. But the Brendon & Shane stuff was a different situation. For Ryden, you had to use a lot of creativity to cherry-pick moments and then kind of twist stuff to create an alternate co-existing reality for fun. But the Brendon & Shane content was just... sitting right there. Instead of feeling like a group effort at a joking conspiracy, it felt more like an observation (which also seemed to make it less interesting for many fans tbh).

A lot of fans were disappointed by the lack of Ryden content as the Pretty. Odd. era progressed. It also took more & more effort to isolate small moments and remove them from any larger context in order to fit a narrative. Some fans focused on the major Rywalk bromance for fun then (or just complained about being sick of it ha). But Shyden became a ship in that era. I think for some fans it was more about recognizing that you could still connect Brendon & Ryan through Shane, since Ryan was also good friends with Shane. Basically, it got pretty hard to ship Ryden by mid-2008 without recognizing Shane’s existence too.

bonus fan edit:

[psychicbergara]

I'm kind of worried about how all of this will affect their friendship :/ Like, It's kind of irrational to think about, but do you think there may be some kind of anymosity between them now, especially considering what went down with the Shane vs. Steven bullshit, like idk if I were Shane I would make a statement and shut down his fanboys/girls' idiotic racist speculations

god i hope not. and tbh i dont think this would create animosity (at least i hope not). i think they would just be sad. especially steven. he’s been getting the brunt of the hate for years, he probably knows how unfavored he is compared to ryan and shane in the fandom which is really sooo upsetting. but it’s so well known in the fandom, he probably does know himself, so this amount of hate def did hurt him, but he probably wasn’t surprised at how much it was aimed at him specifically and not shane

and while it would be nice for shane to speak up about the hate against steven, i dont think he will since he hasnt done so in the past. we can only hope he’s supporting him as much as he can behind the scenes. and tbh i think everyone at watcher is doing their best to support each other. the good thing is that the fans in the observer wiscord are sending them positivity and support and steven’s been seeing that too, so that’s really nice!!

[lizzibennet]

do you have any modern!Kathony fic recs for someone who usually has a hard time getting into modern aus for ships from period dramas/stories that take place during historical periods? :)

god anon i hope you have a lot of free time

sidelines by ramarro - “Kate sees Anthony's bumble profile and finds it very pretentious. It does not stop her from obsessively drawing his arms though. Until he starts dating her sister.” SIDELINES MY BELOVED!!!!!!! probably my favorite modern au (which is why i’m recommending it first). it’s just delightful. i don’t wanna give too much away just read it!!! i promise you will not be disappointed

most eligible by amalin (firstglances) - a ‘the bachelor’ au. if that means nothing to you don’t worry, it meant nothing to me too. you can get by with very little knowledge of the show besides the basic premise. i love this one

a supercut of us by joekavaliers - basically a buzzfeed unsolved au where kate is ryan and anthony is shane. probably more enjoyable if you already like bfu but it’s really funny

prima facie by katelai - kate, anthony and tom dorset are all famous actors starring in a new film. drama and speculation follow them because while kate and anthony are married and happy, anthony and tom are exes. this is really really good, super interesting, anddddd hot. this author has a bunch of really intriguing fics - i haven’t read all of them, but i really liked the ones i have! mind the tags though

just go with it by suitsusboth - kate jokingly selects the title of viscountess as she is booking a flight. much to her surprise, there is an actual viscount on board, so she’s moved to sit by her husband, because that’s obviously what they are. right?

operation: barista series by starkswinterfelling - OMG OPERATION BARISTA HIIIII. i love a good text fic tbh and this one is about all the sibs trying to get anthony and that cute barista from that coffee shop in their town, kate, together. so cute <33333

the little things you do by zegabz - flower shop au. kate finds a floral arrangement she made just as she is heading to a bar to meet up with friends. incidentally, the man who so rudely discarded the bouquet she made is there too. screams

it had to be you by zegabz - when harry met sally au. need i say more

june, after dark by stutteringpeach - edwina is friends with daphne whose wedding celebration is taking place in her grand fancy estate in the country, so obviously she drags kate along. daphne’s brother is very annoying, but also familiar to kate… hmmmmmm

soulmates au by teabrigadier - soulmate au in which the first words your soulmate will ever say to you show up on your wrist on your 18th birthday, and both kate and anthony have very decided opinions on their soulmates, since both of them have very asshole-y soulmate marks. there is an anthony pov and a kate pov!!

a place to rest by lookingforthestars - kate runs a little bed & breakfast. anthony shows up suddenly one late night. they go from there

you are the light that is blinding me by lookingforthestars - anthony is just one of kate’s vaguely dickish, annoying coworkers - until she starts eavesdropping on conversations between him and a mystery woman, and a side of him she was not aware of is revealed. peak idiots being idiots love them

i can’t find the words, so i guess it’s time by pentaghastly - k&a have a one night stand after much unresolved sexual tension. to kate’s surprise, he starts being a regular at her tea shop.

I could go on but lol

[skepticbeliever-bookclub]

Hello shippers and & readers!

After a little bit of a post-long read break, our cycle had come to an end and because of that, we declared a Raffle Winner. One of the three-placement prizes is to select our theme an the winner chose "Fics that take place outdoors!" With a lovely and meaty list of some of our faves, we chose one that really takes the relationship our favourite pair has with the outdoors and the charming insular world they tend to share together. That was stay with me, go places by beethechange.

The book club agreed that, as one of those fics inspired by a few conversations in our own chat, this fic signified a very fond moment in our history as a shyan server. Moreso that it treats us to drinking games, a little shared smoke and speculating on a future they could share under the trees and stars

Rating: E

Summary:

“Never have I ever,” Shane says, feeling his way delicately around the syllables, making nice with all the consonants and vowels, “hooked up with a friend at a wedding.”

Neither of them drinks. Neither of them breathes, either.

Ryan wants to curl in on himself, to kick his feet and pound on the wood of the pier. He wants to throw his head back and yell up to the sky. The shock, the pure adrenaline of the sudden turn this night has taken, has punched right through the chill of his high.

Instead he presses his fingernails into the palms of his hands, giddy and terrified, and asks, “Why, do you want to?”

Book Club Thoughts

when i was thinking outdoor fics, this was one of the first that came to mind tbh!! i love the idea of the national parks being like shane's church and finally a place to get An Authentic Emotion from him [the author's] fics have a way of dragging all your thoughts and fears to the surface with them, and then making something revelatory, and this one is a prime example of that. they're both so like that. shane says marriage is a scam because he thinks he can't marry ryan. ryan thinks it won't be worth it to date men because he thinks he can't date shane. but both of them are feeling more than they know what to do with. i think one of my favourite things about this fic, actually, is the way [the author] plays with these flaws they both have - ryan's anxiety about not meeting societal expectations which leads him to have a bit of a selfish spiral about himself, and shane's repression and fear of reaching out for the thing he wants because it might burn him in the process shane preferring to "joke" about marrying ryan instead of just admitting his feelings because he's so afraid of what he thinks is the inevitable fall out it seems like he'd rather start the vulnerability after they're literally legally bound every single thing about the dock scene makes me feel insane. it’s the way that shane knows when ryan needs to get out of there for a bit and is ready to let ryan talk about it if he wants to and then when he doesn’t he’s ready to distract him. and the way that the game of never have i ever slowly starts to shift until ryan’s basically asking to be kissed and the shotgunning WOOF.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT DISCUSSION? CHECK OUT THE FAQ, AND SEND US AN ASK! IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR FIC RECS, PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR READS, NOMINEES AND BOOK CLUB REC LISTS!

[nomsfaultau]

After yet another comment vowing to die for Rhodes Bannister…

Rhodes Bannister: Old lawyer/farmer who raised Tubbo and then joined the Hivemind and became their unbudging moral compass. Holds cute mock-trials for bickering kiddos. Kinda tortured Tubbo that one time, but grows from that. A very sweet old man.

Rosalind Parra-Cardozo: A naive Foundation employee who tried to help Tommy and Tubbo escape, and instead was subsumed into the Hivemind. Mom-friend, fell for Foundation propaganda that really needs to get sorted out. Called Tommy a child (clearly delusional).

Lawrence Lethe: He killed Ranboo and Rosalind, and yet somehow he has people rooting for his redemption arc. Which he's going on reluctantly, because he's a bitter guy. Helped Charlie, Halo, Skeppy, Philza, and some others escape I guess. If he wins I stop writing Fault.

Dr. Blake: She's kinda the worst but that's because people hate to see a girlboss winning. And by winning I mean giving Tommy PTSD, cutting off Tubbos' hand, and manipulating anomalies into becoming the monsters the Foundation wants to see. Fully believes she's the vulnerable victim just doing what she must to survive.

Webb: Gaslight king. On the minimizing/deflecting side of the manipulation spectrum. Has a weird rivalry thing going on with Philza. Amnesticized Philza so thoroughly that he forgot his own children even existed (and did a lot of murder about it). Just an alcoholic divorced bisexual trying to protect humanity.

Jasmine Fletcher: The five year old Little in the Hivemind. She’s compassionate and sassy. Her favorite color is ultraviolet! She likes dinosaurs and flying and not being shot by her parents!!!

Chad Bowinger: My favorite tbh. He's just a hyper-competent and respectful body guard turned Foundation goon. What more do you need? Currently living off the grid with Charlie, Halo, Skeppy, and Maureen + wife in what I'm sure is a delightful sitcom.

Anderson Corvin: An archeologist that discovered a dinosaur named Philza. Had a cute wholesome suburban life with Philza, prone to things like rambling about history and getting shot in the head. Had 2 (two) murderous rampages in his honor. Yay...?

Maureen Johnson: A body guard just trying to make the world a little safer for her wife. Willing to trust anomalies, but attempted to thwart escape efforts. Did not appreciate Charlie slime puppeting her body for some reason?

Willow Haynes: An annoying teen conspiracy theorist who discovered fairies are real! Teenage Tubbo was less thrilled about her 'discovery'. Had a Shane + Ryan dynamic with Tubbo. In reality, she noticed Tubbo was lonely and was trying to convince them anomalies existed so they could find someone to relate to.

Morgan: Okay Morgan isn't in Fault. Sue me. They're a shy Foundation Observer who tries to warn employee!Philza not to be obviously attached to the cute new Tommy anomaly. Scared into being loyal to the Foundation. They didn't sell Philza out, but were also a coward.

[souryogurt64]

listen as memeable and funny as this whole patd stuff is, it kills me when people say shit like “when is pretty odd (ryan’s version) coming out? ❤️” like girl that is his version and there’s a reason why none of you are listening to take a vacation let’s all just be honest with ourselves 😭 i think a lot of people have moved on to love ryan without listening to his solo work because we’ll firstly it’s not that good but also because he was under a rock and posted nothing on the internet for the last like ten years. of course he’s easy to love, no one can dig through anything and find a reason to cancel him (yet)

YESSS I AGREE WITH YOU 100%, no one wants to acknowledge that Ryan doesn't have the same vocal talent as Brendon

Take A Vacation actually got pretty good critical reception and I didn't like it at first but it grew on me. But I think the problem with TYV was moreso the fact that Ryan literally could not function period and was incredibly difficult to deal with and the band also fell apart really fast due to his personality issues. The record is also pretty misogynistic, way more misogynistic than anything FOB have officially put out TBH, which is why a lot of people don't like to discuss it (IMO anyway).

10 years ago Ryan was also friends with Shane Morris who was doing shit like tweeting Holocaust jokes, soliciting nudes en masse from young fans, and tweeting at Pete about r*ping Pete's toddler and after that last bit I think Patrick lost it on social media for the only time ever. I do think Shane was exploiting Ryan but Ryan def put himself around someone like that via bad decisions. I remember this period and Ryan used to be megacancelled and everyone hated him, people have just forgotten since Brendon is such a tool now and Ryan (from what little we see) has mellowed out considerably.

Anyway, it all like, contrasts with the fanon view of Ryan as this genius who voluntarily vanished and could show up Brendon at any time, lol

[formulatrash]

Sorry for dropping something non-F1 related in your inbox but you are one of the first people I have ever seen acknowledge that in the harsh light of hindsight, baby Ryan and especially Shane do come across as a bit thoughtlessly dickish and insensitive in their older videos.. And how lovely it has been to see them mature into genuinely thoughtful, sensitive people who clearly value each other and what they’re doing all without needing to call attention to it. Your tags are just a nice little tribute to underrated growth <3

never apologise for putting non-F1 in my inbox tbh. (and sorry for not replying to the rest of the SM asks brain has been on low power mode)

idk what went on at Buzzfeed but the men who've come out of it - Ryan and Shane, Steven and Andrew, the Try Guys - have all emerged as very thoughtful versions of themselves. they're goofy idiots, also but I think it's interesting proof that cishet men, in particular, benefit massively from diversity. once they're allowed outside their regimented boxes they don't freak out, they grow.

Ryan and Shane are particularly sharp because Ryan's easy to point to as a no-homo jock but he was also the one least able to hide his emotions. whether that was excitement that he got to tell people about something or pretty deep empathy for the victims and circumstances of cases, which he often seemed quite distressed about even in the early BFU episodes, to the fear that he barely gets a grip on. he didn't have to get taught vulnerability and there's probably all kinds of things from being (relatively speaking) short and a PoC and coming from two different, non-white cultural backgrounds and working on all those muscles cus he seems like he was probably a bully magnet but when he wasn't scared the frat guy mask did used to slip down pretty fast.

Shane was a much worse, IMO, kinda dick in that he had a real or acted superiority complex in that nerdish self-defensive way where he had to be The Smartest Guy In The Room. he often went way over dismissive into outright rude and was insensitive about real-life cases. I don't mean the thing where he laughed at the woman in the Bellaire house saying her dog had been thrown - tbh, I can well imagine having some weird laughter response that was half-awkwardness and half-panicky there myself, confronted with a serious conversation about something that I don't believe happened and in such weird circumstances. I mean he used to be a bit snipe-y and often excessively cynical in a quite invasive way about the true crime cases and the same in searching for a slam-debunk on supernatural. the kind of guy your friend brings to the pub as their new boyfriend and he spends all night telling you everything you enjoy is wrong and stupid.

both of them obviously always had redeeming features and the flashes of them being dicks were small enough it wasn't actually off-putting. there were a few BFU moments where they'd either get snobby about crime-heavy neighbourhoods or have some weird cop-loving moment that gave me the heebs but also: standard 2016.

every time they got called out for shit, they seem to have learned from it. every time they were pushed to consider other people, they did. it turned out even though both of them had massive on-paper dickhead potential, they only needed the tiniest push to tear through that paper and find something much more interested in not just the world and people around them but who they are and what they really like/want to be.

a really interesting thing, I think, is the contrast between Ruining History and Puppet History. in Ruining History (which I really enjoy, I wanna emphasise) Shane is the smartest guy in the room. in Puppet History, he's at best the weirdest. using the Professor as a weird little blue ballsack avatar means Shane doesn't exactly disappear but gets more space to do his strange little bits as a production he creates, not something about him. it obviously has weird roots in the horrors of the Hotdaga and the determination to keep doing a bit whether anyone likes it or not comes from that standoffish superiority but in Puppet History it becomes a sandbox to play in, not an emotional straitjacket.

something I think about a lot is in the nearly-70th episode they have that bit where Shane fucking books it out of the body chute in Waverley. properly terrified, running up the stairs because of a frog or something and Ryan chose not to put that in the episode because he knew Shane being unflappable and immune to fear was a more interesting contrast to his own terror. idk I have a lot of Ryan And Shane And Masculinity And The Contrast Between Nerds (Stupid And Jocks (Also Stupid) And How To Exist In The Venn Spaces Overlapping In Between that are mostly about some complex relationship to my own identity.

(which is def woman but also Stupid Car Boy)

anyway wow I will stfu but basically: the BFU to Watcher pipeline is a very good model for how to be fellas (considerate)

[xplrvibes]

i canttt with sam’s hubris!! it’s either that, or the fact they need a filler with their content and aren’t bothering with, ya know, actually mediumship with trained ppl or witches tbh.

wish they’d delve into anything more but like that’s wasted breathe.

would love to hear ur thoughts/analysis w examples on sam’s hubris.

oh! and whatever that passive agressive that could come up with whoever ryan and shane are?? im always intrigued about what the guys could be like when challenged, because they dont really have anyone like that on.

If I gave my true thoughts on Sam and his hubris, I'd come back to a blog on fire lol.

Just know that I've always had my opinion on things like the challenges and the Sallie demon attachment thing, and they are what we would consider hot takes lol.

But as far as the passive aggressive is concerned, the closest example I can think of is the Miami series they did with Jake and Corey at the beginning of 2020. Jake was clearly over it all by then, while snc were hoping to take it a little more seriously. There is a point during the Miami Biltmore video where Jake is challenging them in some way and you can just feel the annoyance and tension through the screen, from both Sam and Colby. It was maybe the one interesting moment (besides Colby and his 21 past lives that has never been mentioned again lmao) in that whole series.

I think they have grown up a lot since then, and have better established themselves, their brands and their careers. They like to say that they are more open to skeptics now, and have brought people like Wilbur on who come into it being openly non-believing and they always manage to have a good time and sort of turn them around to at least being open to the paranormal.

Wilbur and other skeptics they've brought in in the past were novices to the ghost hunting community. snc were their guides. snc were the professionals, the adults in the room, the people setting the tone and controlling the situation and teaching the newbies.

They would not have that standing or power with Shane and Ryan.

Shane and Ryan are not novices to this genre in any way, shape or form. Snc would have absolutely no power in this situation; if anything, they would almost start out on a lower playing field than Shane and Ryan (on account of S&R would have 100% of the backing from the skeptics and debunkers, and Shane would be coming in already thinking they are idiots and ready to challenge them and prove that they are, in fact, idiots).

And I think that would be half the problem, right there. They would be off-kilter, not in control of the situation, and being met with scorn and disdain or at the very least, a patronizing tone from someone who has made it no secret that they don't respect them or find them reputable in any way.

It's gonna get their backs up.

Now, Sam is the one who truly does not do well with not having control in a situation; he's also the one that doesn't seem to do well with people who have differing viewpoints to his (part of that need for control), so my initial guess was that he would be the first to break and get passive-aggressive or challenging back, especially cause we all know how Colby and confrontation usually mix about as well as oil and water.

But then I started thinking about it more, and honestly, the one thing that seems to get Colby's back up as well, are people insulting his friends (especially Sam). And Colby's the guy who consistently gets into fights in clubs and barks at people for invading his space and considers himself the holder of drinks and caretaker of his friends. He's the one who once tweeted out "Say what you want about me, I don't care. But if you talk shit about my friends, we have a problem."

So...given all that, I honestly don't know which side of the snc braintrust is going to be the side that gives up on any pretense of niceties first and starts getting snippy; it could go either way.

But I do know two things: 1) this collab would probably not end with a friendship, and 2) it'll be a whole lot of passive-aggressive stuff and not any actual fighting involved lol.

[noa-nightingale]

✨ Oars Time! ✨

I wanted to write an analysis about the first appearance of the gay oars in the Miyamoto Musashi episode but this is more rambling than anything else tbh. Thank you to @puppethistorian for the encouragement in my notes after I said I wanted to write about the oars. ^-^

First of all, I love that the Professor just says “one of the oars” when the song is about to start. And then Oar Oar refers to Sword Oar as “my friend” which is a little bit misleading lmao. I love how it is set up because I did not expect one of the most beautiful and tragic songs in the entirety of Puppet History and I did not expect to see a gay couple on Puppet History, getting an entire song that not only is about the topic of the episode but also about their love for each other. Completely caught me off guard the first time I watched, and I still have not recovered. It’s a beautiful beautiful thing.

I love Shane’s voice acting for both of them but especially for Oar Oar - his voice is so soft and when he speaks for the first time Garrick and Ryan immediately speak quieter too - like, for a second there they both seem genuinely concerned for a piece of cardboard lol. It’s kind of touching.

Some random stuff:

“We were in love once” Ugh right in the heart.

I am a huge fan of all the oar puns.

When Sword Oar shows up!!!

The different voices! Their voices are so different from each other, Sword Oar sounds so gruff and Oar Oar sounds so soft and I am SO here for it.

I love the Puppet History eyebrows. Like, the eyebrow animation for various people throughout the entire show, the Professor’s eyebrows, and obviously the oarbrows too. I love that Oar Oar looks so sweet and that Sword Oar looks so tough and is still so in love with himmmmmm.

I like their outlines/silhouettes. Like, just their shape. They complement each other really well and it is pleasing to look at.

“How we splashed and we smooched, oh remember” Hnnnnnnnghghgn.

The song is so tragic and it hurts my heart and make me so happy.

Yes you are meant to be!

Yeah I am biased but this is one of the most beautiful songs Shane has ever blessed us with, including the hot daga songs.

The thing Garrick does with his hands at 30:11. It’s so adorable.

The yearning. The pining. The longing. Do I need to say more.

Yes I cried, this song just makes me so emotional.

I did not actually expect them to kiss the first time I watched. He kept teasing the kiss (three times! three times he did this to us!!) and I just kept thinking “surely not. surely we won’t be so lucky”. And then they kissed. Ayyyyyyyyyyy!!!

“Kiss! Kiss...” Ryan’s voice and little laugh - same tbh.

On a less emotional note, it’s hilarious to me how obvious Shane’s hands are here.

Soooooo don’t get me wrong I adore the entire song to pieces but I will have nightmares about those godawful sawing noises for years to come lmao.

There is a lot more to say but for now, that’s my little retrospect. ^-^ I love writing about these two guys and probably won’t stop anytime soon.

Thanks for reading. <3

[bergarachan]

Steven being CEO doesn’t give him veto power. It’s a company in which they all own a third of a share and that doesn’t change because they put Steven in charge because Shane and Ryan didn’t want to deal with the financial side of the business. They were all equally involved in this decision and the desperation to absolve the Ghoul Boys of responsibility in this is a total dismissal of reality. Just because Shane has said “eat the rich” on camera doesn’t mean he’s the crunchy granola leftist hero that people have built him up to be - he’s also trying to make his business successful and is a nearly 40-year-old adult man who understands what he’s doing.

i understand that, it's what i'm coming to terms with right now- that the people ive idolized for so, so long may not be the people i thought they were. people can also change, especially in the span of 8 years. im hoping watcher is going to say something abt this, anything, but tbh i kinda think they're gonna see if the hate/attention will die down.

'i think steven came up with this decision and possibly coerced the other two into it' and 'ryan and shane are equally at fault for this happening' are two statements that can coexist. rn i am kind of going through the mental turmoil of 'are these what the people ive been looking up to have turned into/have always been'?

[lastoneout]

People being like "Ryan Reynolds and Neil Gaiman will have fight to determine who can stay" like no they each fill different niches. Like Gaiman is the cool, surprisingly hip uncle who gives good advice and makes wholesome jokes, while Reynolds has the potential to fill the antagonistic funnyman niche which tbh most of those guys jumped ship after the porn ban so I'm willing to give him a shot at it. Plus it seems like he's running his own account which is a good sign, I don't think celebs with social media managers would survive for long here.

Also y'all forget Hank Green is still here, which if he's willing to stick around after the absolutely unjustified shitshow we put his brother through then he has absolutely earned his place. Taylor Swift def isn't valid but idk what she even does?? Don't rock the boat and we'll ignore you I suppose. Wil Wheaton is here but he's on thin ice ngl, I see people complain about him a lot so he's more tolerated than fully welcomed I'd say. Also I wouldn't say Ryan and Shane formerly of Buzzfeed Unsolved are celebs exactly but they seem to fit in nicely so no complaints on my end.

Like celebs can make it work they just have to actually try to conform to our standards/culture, which I don't think most of them have any idea how to do, but I'm okay giving the ones who figure it out a pass. The ones who don't, however, can, should, and will be given the silent treatment at the first sign of fuckery. No mercy.

[psychicbergara]

personally, I felt like Ghost Files was a bit overproduced, and by that I mean it felt like they spent more time and energy on making all the graphics and explaining the fancy tech they've been using than actually, y'know, exploring haunted places*1. A part of the reason why I liked bfu so much and why I felt it stood out from other TV ghost-hunting shows was that it felt like it came from "normal" people who were more interested in exploring haunted places than producing a TV show, and although I know it's always been Watcher's intention to make quote-unquote "TV-caliber videos", it just doesn't work personally with what bfu stood for*2. This also doesn't have anything to do with over-producing, but I feel like they have a few times gone into the same trap that the Try Guys often have by adding too many unnecessary rules and details to their concepts. Like I never understood why they had to hide that walkie-talkie from each other, why couldn't they just do a solo tour of the house without having to find the walkie-talkie? that's essentially what they did anyway. In that same vein, I don't understand why they've insisted on adding that whole "is it still a mystery or is it solved" segment on mystery files because it doesn't really change much to the overall concept of the show

*1 I think some of their shows thrive on being "over-produced", like puppet history for example, but I just don't think that is a vibe that works well for a show like Ghost Files

*2 I also feel it's fair to compare bfu and ghost files because those expectations and the audience from bfu is what they've been banking on

i can see where you're coming from but the spending most of their time and energy on graphics and tech for ghost files is smth i don't agree with. like the graphics are the same blueprint graphics clip they repeat in every other episode. and some of those graphics are hand drawn by another person. it's in every episode but it doesn't seem like they recreate these graphics for every episode (unless its a graphic of the location) to intensely focus their time and energy on. and more recent episodes of ghost files literally has like.. the majority of the video of them ghost hunting. usually like 45 minutes out of the hour they ghost hunt. compared to bfu they explained the lore of the location for a good 15-20 min while also interviewing people from the location out of the 45-50 min episode. so it's kinda similar, but i personally think they ghost hunt more on ghost files.

also they can't copy the same exact design/format of bfu unless they want to get sued by buzzfeed. i think that's just the reality. and they're the same normal dudes ghost hunting but with better production. their job is ghost hunting, of course they want to improve in something that's most of their job. and just bc they want to experiment with some trippy tech doesn't necessarily make them overproduced imo. they just want to explore options which isn't a bad thing, and it's something buzzfeed never allowed them to do so of course they wanna go that route.

and tbh bfu was tv-caliber content imo. lesser quality compared to ghost files, yea, but it was def something worthy of being on tv (like it was put on hulu). the lesser quality has everything to do with buzzfeed not allowing them a bigger budget, restricting their creativity, overworking their crew, and laying off their staff (which ryan and shane complained about all the time back then) versus bfu standing for something less than tv caliber. but again, i really think this just comes down to taste rather than overproduced vs not overproduced. if you prefer bfu, that's totally fine!! if you prefer ghost files, that's also totally fine. i love gf but i get why people are nostalgic for bfu since thats the series we started out with. but some people (not you anon) outright hating on gf so suddenly is ridiculous when those same people were clamoring for gf live tickets and ask that they go international.

and to your second point- while i like those concepts they add in the show, it's okay if you don't! no big deal, everyone has their own interests. and i think the whole 'is it a mystery or is it solved' is more about the videos needing to have a 'motivation' or 'theme'. and i dont get what you mean by 'adding' this concept when it quite literally is the gist of the entire show from the show's conception/beginning.

anyways, all this to say, i get where you're coming from. but people suddenly thinking this is overproduced is kind of wild in my opinion