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bellysoupset · 1 month

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The New Guy

It was the first day of class and Vince felt like a toddler in kindergarten. Although he didn't actually remember going to kindergarten back in Italy, but his mom made a point of telling him he had wailed every time they dropped him off, so this was how Vince felt.

Except he wasn't the student today, he was the teacher.

He still wasn't fully back on his feet after such a hellish bout of flu and the emotional stress, but Vince felt steady enough he could at least fake it. Besides, he had wanted to be a teacher his whole life, so even if he felt like crying from the nerves, he was also incredibly excited.

This was his old school and it was weird, to say the least, to walk the halls as a teacher, not a student. Not much had changed - better flooring, a classroom had a smartboard instead of a white one, new teachers.

His old ones were still there, though, and Vince nearly jumped out of his skin upon entering the teacher's hall and having his name shouted, "Vincenzo! Oh look at you!" as if he was the chubby kid who grew up over summer. Which yeah, he sort of was.

The literature teacher was still the same woman, Ms. Lobdell. She had been already been an ancient faculty member back when he was at school and time had done her no favors, but she was sharp as a knife.

His old history teacher had retired, the spot Vince had occupied, and the biology and chemistry teacher, a horrible man whom Vin had hated back then, had also left the school.

He was told all this by Ms. Lobdell, who dragged him around by the arm despite the first class starting at 8 AM and it already being 7:55.

Finally Vince was released from the claws of that sweet wrinkly woman to his class of snotty 10 year old, whom he was already very partial to.

Because moving had been such a huge thing, from his relationship with Wendy and his friends, to quitting his solid job and getting an entirely new place, Vince had been more than a little insecure about the whole thing.

Suddenly it wasn't just "getting a new job", it was "getting a new life" and he felt a gigantic pressure for this to be as good as he had imagined it to be, otherwise... Otherwise he would have gone through all this trouble for nothing.

It was a relief so strong when teaching his first class ended up being everything he had imagined and more, that Vince was teary eyed by lunch break.

"So how was it?" Wendy asked, her voice breathless as she moved around. Vince checked his watch again, noticing his hands were shaking with how nervous he had been. 1:30 PM, she was probably leaving her hot yoga class to get dressed for her evening shifts.

"It was amazing," he confessed, smiling, keeping his voice low, "the kids were great, the teaching plan went smoothly... They keep calling me mister Monacelli, though, which is very weird... It was just great."

"I'm glad," Wendy answered and he could tell she was smiling and meant it, "what now?"

"Now I get my teenagers," Vince scratched at his cheeks, suddenly wishing he hadn't shaved in the morning. He felt too baby faced to handle the teens, doubting they'd respect him, "they're going to eat me alive."

"Yes, but not in the way you think," Wendy teased him, "you're going to be the class crush, just watch it."

He grinned, smoothing his shirt and looking around the empty classroom. Vince had been much too nervous to join the remaining staff in the cafeteria and had had lunch inside his classroom, like a loser. Just a veggie roll too, which normally wouldn't sustain him even for two hours, let alone the rest of the day.

"Now you're just egging me on," he rolled his eyes, "how's your day?"

"Great," Wendy huffed and her voice got distant as if she had left her phone in a surface, "I have far too much free time now that you're not around, so I'm gonna start taking classes."

"Classes on what?" he balled up the paper napkin and grabbed his tooth brushing kit, walking out of the classroom, holding the cellphone to his ear.

"Anything," Wendy sighed, "I just need to occupy myself a bit, it'll help."

"I think you should take interior design classes," he entered the bathroom, "you're always fiddling with things in the apartment."

"Uhm, maybe," she sighed and then he heard a noise and Wendy cursing, "a stupid pigeon just hit my window, I gotta go. Love you, break a leg, Mr. Pussy Magnet!"

"Love you as well, honey," Vince rolled his eyes, hanging up.

His first class after lunch actually went a lot smoother than Vince was expecting, but the second one... He had no idea where his students were.

After fifteen minutes of sitting there without a single soul appearing, Vince peeked at the hallway and frowned. He was half expecting the kids to be pranking him by sitting in the hallway, but nada. Not a single student.

He sighed, locking the classroom and walking back to the teacher's hall to see if anyone else would have an inkling of where his kids had disappeared to.

An older teacher, whom Vince remembered as the trigonometry teacher and who, thankfully, did not remember Vin, was leaning against the window, with his head poking out, smoking.

"Mr. Turella, hi," Vince smiled and the older man smiled back.

"You're the new teacher, right? History?"

"Yeah," Vince crossed the room to shake his hand and the man let out a huff.

"You're looking more like the P.E teacher, son," he teased lightly, "are you lost?"

"No, not really," Vince grimaced, "but I think I lost my kids? No one showed for my class..."

Mr. Turella let out a snort, carefully resting his cigarette on the windowsill and walking across the room to the big schedule that was plastered to the wall, "oh yeah," he shook his head, "Daniels stole your kids."

"Excuse me," Vince frowned, crossing the room so he could look at the schedule as well. Mr. Turella planted a wrinkled finger over the sophomore's schedule and dragged it down.

The class before Vince's was Chemistry, with Mr. Daniels.

"Uh... That's just great," Vince wrinkled his nose in distaste, "I don't suppose I should go over and tell him to release my kids?"

"Bad move for a rookie," Mr. Turella patted his arm, "just wait for them to show and you can chew out Daniels after class. Not that it's going to help much, it never did in my case."

"He does this a lot?" Vince scoffed and the other man nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh yeah, get used to it," the man sighed and walked back to the window, "take the win, it's a break in your schedule."

"It's time they're not learning the curriculum," Vince corrected, groaning as he imagine the headache this would be down the line, when he inevitably fell behind if he didn't have enough time to teach, "alright, thanks Mr. Turella."

"It's John," the man waved him off, continuing to smoke.

Vince returned to his classroom, chewing at his lip since it was still empty. He paced nervously, until his students finally showed, thirty minutes late and chatting loudly.

"We're having P.E now?" a boy asked, causing his friends to giggle and Vince to sigh. It was going to be a long evening.

Mr. Daniels fucking haunted him. His senior students, whom he was dreading already, were also late thanks to the biology classes. Unlike the previous kids, though, they walked in quietly and seemed very interested in Vince, if only because he was new and shiny.

"You cannot be serious-" a girl blurted out, when Vince announced he was holding them for ten more minutes, since they had arrived twenty past the time of class, "sir. You cannot be serious, Mr. Monacelli," she corrected herself quickly.

Vince raised his eyebrows, not the outburst, but at the correction. It was so weird to be treated like that.

"Well, I- Alright, today you can leave, but next time this happens I'll have to hold you until we're done. You can't fall behind so close to SATs," he sighed, gesturing to the whiteboard, "and remember homework."

"Yesssir," there was a chorus of voices, making him cringe. Sir, that didn't sit right.

"I'll see you Wednesday," Vince waved to the door and then sat down, waiting for the kids to leave. As soon as he was alone, he let out a groan and rubbed at his neck.

As Vince walked to the parking lot, he paused as he saw a man leaning heavily against the wall, just outside the view of the buses leaving.

The man had his back pressed to the wall and his hands on his knees, as if catching his breath after running a marathon.

Curiosity got the best of him and Vince stepped closer, wondering if this was a senior student who had been held back - he didn't look seventeen, for sure, but not old enough to be a parent either - and if so, why he hadn't been in his class just now.

"Hey," Vince said, realizing the guy was actually older than he expected as he stepped closer, "hey, you alright?"

The guy shook his head, lips pressed in a thin line, "not feeling too hot..." he let out a soft burp, unashamed, and grimaced, "you're the new guy, the new teacher."

"Uh- It's Vince..." Vince frowned, inspecting the other man. He was a blonde, with most of his hair pulled up in a man bun, showcasing an undercut. He was wearing a buttoned up shirt, but with short sleeves - which should be a crime, in Vin's opinion, - and he could see his left arm was completely tattooed.

Definitely not a teacher, Vince thought, crouching slightly. The guy wasn't short, but compared to Vin he was. He also looked incredibly, terribly familiar.

"I'm Max," the man grimaced and spread his feet apart, "I'm gonna hurl, you should step back."

So casual about the whole deal, as if it wasn't mortifying. Vince frowned even more, "are you waiting for your kid, Max? Can I get someone for you?"

"My kid?" Max let out a little chuckle, which quickly turned into a groan and he wrapped an arm around his stomach, "no, I'm fine. Lunch was just too heavy, the cafeteria food fucking sucks."

"You're a staff member?" Vince frowned, even more confused. He wanted to get a decent look at the man's face, but he was sort of bent over, with a couple hair strands falling in front.

"Bio-" Max cut himself off with a gag and groaned loudly. He panted, back heaving and a couple of belches bubbled up, low in volume, but terrible wet. He cleared his throat, but it morphed into a cough and then Vince jumped back as a splatter of puke hit the pavement, sinking in the gravel.

He made a face, reaching out and planting a hand on Max's shoulders, keeping him swaying, and looked around, hoping there was anyone better equipped to help.

"Fuck-" Max groaned, pressing his stomach with a hand and heaving again. An empty, painful and loud, heave, followed by another cough and more vomit, this time a much larger amount. He let out a little moan, hanging over the puddle with an arm wrapped around his middle and panting.

"Done...?" Vince grimaced and the man nodded, wiping his lips on the back of his hand and then making a face at it, wiping his hand on his jeans.

"Urgh, that was gross..." he straightened up, taking a steady breath and sidestepped the mess on the ground, "sorry. I didn't catch your name?"

"Vince," he repeated, studying the man's face. They were about the same age, now Vince realized, but Max looked younger. Blonde with brown eyes and a tanned complexion, he looked like a surfer who had gotten lost on his way to California, "I'm the new history teacher."

"I'm the biology and chemistry teacher," Max shook his hand, following Vince further into the parking lot and Vin nearly stopped on his tracks.

"You're Mr. Daniels?"

"Uhhh yeah man, the one and only," the guy opened a little smirk, looking amused, "you heard about me?"

"You're the prick who held my kids," Vince glared at him, "twice. Thirty minutes each."

"I had to wrap up the subject," Max shrugged, "and they were interested. You know how hard it is to get these gremlins interested in anything, no hard feelings."

Vince scoffed, rolling his eyes, "quit doing that then," he said, finally arriving at his bike, "...Are you sure you alright?"

"I'm fine," Max smiled, smoothing his shirt and undoing the top buttons, "see you around, Mr. Monacelli."

#mywriting #sickfic #vince monacelli #max daniels #stomachache #indigestion #hehehe finally

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obsessed-with-timeloops · 1 month

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The Magnus Archives spoilers but I keep thinking about Jon and Martin landing in the ISAT universe when the fears arrive but like. Right after post loops. So it ends up like:

1) They save these two weirdly accented guys (where one of them clearly has been stabbed holy shit) only to possibly be immediately told that they just got a bunch of evil gods in their world (oops)

2) Jon's eyes absolutely have color when Knowing things or using Eye powers in general.

3) The loops 100% count as a statement and Jon is purposely trying not to be alone with Siffrin so he doesn't munch on their trauma

4) Triple ace solidarity ruined by the knowledge their world is doomed to be plagued by fear gods U.U

5) Martin: "Jon did the fears turn this world black and white" Bonnie:"what's black and white?" Martin: "what" Bonnie: "what" Isabeau: "No but seriously what's black and white." Odile: "I think they're implying that colors exist in their world." Jon: "I see. Colors are apparently unnatural to this world." Martin: "Like that one Lovecraft story?" Jon: "what". Martin: "You know colors beyond our comprehension and what not?" Jon: "I- I suppose??" Bonnie: "Hey! Could this Lovecraft guy be from our world?" Mirabelle: "Wait no. These two just arrived here??? Unless time messed up too???" Jon: "Trust me you do not want to claim him."

6.a) Jon looks at least 10 years if not older than he actually is. He also probably can get along better with Odile anyway. Plus with different universes as backgrounds, the lack of general knowledge around his age wouldn't be obvious. Cue the moment where Jon is asked how old he is and the absolute AWKWARD silence when it's clear that both Jon and Martin are basically Siffrin's age, give or take a few years.

6.b) Bonnie: "Is 30 years old different in your universe? Are you about to die?" Jon: "From embarrassment, perhaps."

7) General discussion/argument/existential dread regarding the Fears and how they interact with this world. Honestly the gang may never forgive Martin and Jon for doing this to them. Even if they do everything they can to help them. They get more sympathy once they find out about the Eyepocalypse and the absolute hell Jon in particular went through. Doesn't mean they have to like it.

8) Siffrin finding out about Jon's knowing powers and asking him if he can Know the name of the island in the North. Jon tries. Then he starts screaming. His eyes are red. Siffrin doesn't ask again.

9.a) The horror and dread knowing that not only is their mission not done. It can't be ever again. And this time, especially if Jon and Martin's story is true... well, the King wasn't easy, but at least he was a person. You can't exactly fight a distorted universe. Their happily ever destroyed forever.

9.b) I could see a physical confrontation happening... if Jon didn't look so absolutely devastated. If he didn't say "do what you will with me, but please leave Martin alone" and Martin yelling at him for being a self-sacrifical idiot. It just sucks so much all around. But it would have been easier if Jon and Martin were bad people. But they're not. Just... broken people doing their best in a broken world. And to do their best to save their own world, the family has to work with them.

9.c) Jon and Siffrin are also idiots with martyr complexes that refuse to talk about their feelings solidarity. Shame that Jon can't help but want to eat Siffrin's trauma cause they probably have a lot to talk about.

10) Funnier note, the slow realization that Jon and Martin in an rpg world. Martin figures it out first and Jon is just. Flabbergasted. Especially when they find out the magic system is rock paper scissors.

11) "rock paper scissors transcends the multi-verse. Neat!" (Later Martin asks Jon if gun is secretly a fourth hand symbol. He does not know and will not Know. He refuses).

12) I think at one point they're gonna have to deal with the fact that statements don't exist in this world. Either Jon gets too close to taking Siffrin's statement or he's going to tell Martin the facts: there is very little way Jon can survive without being a predator. He is an avatar that needs something to fuel his existence. He doesn't want to hurt anyone else ever again. Unless Siffrin wants to write their statement down or someone else does... even then there's no guarantee it's going to be enough.

13) Perhaps wish-craft can save Jon. Maybe. Maybe not. But. The party tells them about wish-craft anyway. It's the one hope they have to fight against this new horror. Maybe it can help Jon too to get out. (Everyone deserves that chance).

I have no fic with this, my fixations are simply crossing over briefly. Hope you enjoyed the ramblings.

#tma #tma spoilers #isat #isat spoilers #this is entirely self indulgent dont mind me #yes there is an implication that Jon and Martin lost their colors in the transition between worlds #in stars and time

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nubimera · 1 year

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Even more headcanon about Gavin and Sibling!Reader

Part 1 Part 2

A/N: It's just all the headcanons that I didn't use in the last post but this time they're mostly domestic

Warnings: Mostly GN!Reader

Mild implied Connor x Reader and Reed900

Terrible English because it's not my first language

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• As I mentioned before Gavin and Reader have about a 10 year gap between them. That means the Reed house is filled with photos of Emo Teen!Gavin with toddler!Reader

• Gavin's favorite photo is a Polaroid of him and Reader napping together on the sofa when Reader was around 2 year old. He keeps it in his wallet, and the only person who has ever seen it is Tina

• Gavin used to call baby sibling "Pumpkin" The nickname has stuck, and he has no problem using it even at work

• At one point Connor also tried to use "Pumpkin" and Gavin almost punch him.

• Now Connor uses "любимая"(darling) or "жизнь моя"(my life) for Reader, and Gavin regrets every day that he didn't let him use pumpkin

• Hank however prefers "Dude" or "Asshole" for Gavin, and "Kiddo" for Reader. Plain and classic

• Connor learned to speak Russian on his third day at DPD after hearing Reader and Gavin talking to each other. Gavin so pissed off when he found out Tincan and Pumpkin were speaking Russian to each other.

Basically because it was something between sibling and mama Reed

• He kinda start getting used to it after Nines also started using Russian in their private conversations

• Although Mama Reed is an Orthodox Christian, she and Papa Reed have never pushed their children to choose which religion to practice. As a result, Gavin is an atheist, but still enjoys Orthodox celebrations (if papa Reed was of a religion other than Orthodox Christian, Gavin and Reader continue to celebrate their father's religious holidays as well)

• Gavin is a cat dad, and I think that's a proven fact. Nonetheless I think his love for cats he inherited from his mother

• Continuing to talk about Mama Reed: she is Slavic That means no shoes in the house. Reader and Gavin still using the "no shoes" policy in their respective homes

• "So what's it like being Reader's brother?"

" Once i asked them for a glass of water while they was mad at me and they brought me a glass of ice and said "Wait"."

• Much of Reader's childhood clothing was originally Gavin's. It doesn't matter if Reader is Afab or Amab. Do the clothes fit and are they in good condition? Great, Reader is gonna use it. Even now, Reader occasionally uses Gavin's clothes. Mainly hoodies or sweatpants that Gavin wears in his teens

• Nines would like to use some of Gav's clothes as well, but unfortunately many are too small, as Gavin is shorter than him

• Nines and Reader adore eachother. They are practically bestie. Reader likes to refer to Nines as "its own Tina". I guess they bonding over both being younger, smarter, nicer and better looking siblings in their respective families

• Also it is Reader who originally introduced Gavin and Nines. They became work partners just a few days later

"I just wanted to say i just got you a boyfriend."

"I'M NOT GAY I DON'T WANT A BOYFRIEND!"

• However Reed900 and Connor x Reader is pretty much the same pair in different fonts. Connor and Gavin haven't realized it yet or pretend not to notice, while Nines and Reader find it hilarious

• If you ask me they are both Sun x Moon, Loud introvert x Quiet extrovert, Taller simp husband x Shorter Reed

For me the only differences is that one is friends to lovers and the other is enemies AND friends AND lovers

• Gavin and Reader go to Target every Friday after their shift at the department. Normally to grab something for dinner and buy things they don't really need. Lately Nines decided to join too, and every time he goes there he promptly buys a new decorative cushion. Now Gavin gets nauseous every time he sees a new pillow but doesn't know how to say no to his boyfriend

• In 2042, Gavin and Nines adopt two children. Hank was initially quite uncomfortable around the kids, not being used to interacting with them anymore. Connor, on the other hand, has a baby fever since the first moment he met his nephews. He told Reader about it, who is still around his mid/late twenties and don't feel ready at the moment, so they compromised by getting a dog and a cat

• Anyway Connor cried when he found out that his nephews' favorite uncle isn't him, but it's Sixty

• In general now the relationship between Connor, Nines and Sixty vaguely resembles that between Bandit, Stripe and Radley from Bluey. You decide who is who

• I love to think Connor and Gavin have a truce around Reader and Nines, but whenever they aren't around they call each other names

• However over time they have grown fond of each other, and they look after eachother. Somehow they ended up being a family, so they might as well try to get along

• I mean, sometimes a family consists of a Russian widow, her two wild children, a grumpy dad and three androids

#mor #connor rk800 #dbh connor #connor rk800 x reader #dbh connor x reader #dbh hank #hank anderson #gavin reed x nines #gavin reed x rk900 #gavin reed x reader #gavin900 #gavin reed #nines x reader #rk900 x reader #rk900 #dbh headcanon #dbh x reader #reed900

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seldomscilence16 · 6 months

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Whumptober day 26:

"Sometimes I get so tired, I don't even know myself."

Seeing double | working to exhaustion | "You look awful."

Fandom: Voltron (Carmen Sandiego au)

Prompts used: all

It's so short I'm sorry. Explanation at the end. But my brain wants to do long fics despite never letting me finish them. This was a shower thought AU, literally wrote the characters on my mirror as I panned them out. This one and day 28 are both probably gonna get some lore someday cause they excite me.

…

C thinks about the Isle a lot. It had been all he'd known, for the first 10 years of his life. Then he'd been failed. And he'd snuck out. And he learned what VILE really was. He'd met Player 1 and 2. He'd worked his way through another year of schooling, until he was able to escape, and with the Players' help, he found his new calling.

But the Isle had been his home. His family. And now… now he looked over his shoulder at every turn. Now he wondered if allowing Keith and Hunk to join him was a good idea. Now he had to keep four people safe, the world from being taken over, to steal things before they could be stolen, to keep his head on his shoulders and his mind his own andandand-

"You look awful." Keith's voice breaks him from his thoughts.

"Your eloquent thoughts always make my heart sing Mullet." He returns in deadpan.

"I think he meant," Hunk cuts in, elbowing the pale boy, "that you look like you could use some rest."

Keith looks both chagrined and annoyed, a true talent really, but nods anyway.

"Hey Blue, we got something from the VILE drive, you up for it?"

"Go ahead Player 1." C turns towards the nearest screen, the two siblings' faces pop on either side as the middle displays what they need.

"Alright so,"

Carmen Sandiego completes another successful mission, Carmen Sandiego outruns the Inspectors, Carmen Sandiego foils VILE's plans once again, Carmen Sandiego-

C runs along the rooftops, fleeing another mission- successful, but when the Inspectors were involved, there were flashing lights and headaches ugh, he didn't need that right now- his foot falters on his next landing. He could have sworn the building had been closer, but it was fine- oh… now there were two Keiths… that, that can't be good. His health cant take two Keiths.

"Uh you good Blue?" Oh gods they speak in unison. "You don't seem your usual self…"

"What am I usually like? I have so much to do, I can't… stop now." C holds a hand to his head as the two Keith's seem to spin, a gentle hand on his elbow steadies him, but he can't stop the flinch that comes with the action, "Ya know…Sometimes… I get so tired, I don't even know myself. I… don't know if I even… have a thing."

"Hey! Shit, you're not, UGH!" Keith has taken most of C's weight, face flushed as frustration burns in his eyes, he looks around the roof briefly, pulls them to the shadows before continuing. "Look. I'm so not the one who should be having this conversation right now, and you're probably not going to remember anyway, but,

"You've given four people who had nothing, something. You took your upbringing, and you're using it to save people. But you're holding the world on your shoulders, just… I don't know, rely on us or something…" he trails off in mumbles towards the end, burning from his roots to his toes.

C looks up at him with awe, it had taken them awhile to get along, past the weird competition they had going on. The Players and Hunk had been exasperated to say the least, but if they could see them now, he's sure they'd be just as surprised as him.

"How long have you been going Blue?"

"Since that night… when they almost killed the archeologist… they raised me, they're gonna outsmart me eventually… I have to be prepared-"

"You literally couldn't tell me how many fingers I have if I asked right now."

"I'd just need to know which one is askin'!"

"Not helping your point here. If you work yourself into exhaustion-" Keith pauses, seemingly remembering something, "You'll have no work left to give. Patience… yields focus… just let us help you."

"...wanna know my favorite… weapon…?" C's eyes are heavy, too long without motion and his body has decided it likes this new position and warmth.

"Sure."

"The lance…"

"Very stabby. 10/10. And it can double as a name."

"....'ts pretty cool. 'Etter than 'black sheep'." C's face twists up in disgust at the name he'd gone by for so long.

"Black sheep who? You're Lance Carmen Sandiego."

C- no, Lance's- eyes widened, staring at the pale face above him framed by dark locks with even darker eyes locked on his own- three of them, but they weren't spinning anymore so he'll take it.

"I like that…" His eyes slip closed, snuggles further into his blue trench coat and towards the warmth emitted from the race car driver.

VILE was always around the corner. But with Red, Yellow, Green and Grey lights shading his Blue, he could get some sleep.

[ I had like a whole plan, but it would have been so long. So here's a fragment of a maybe bigger fic someday if anyones interested. And yes I know, Keith would be a perfect Carmen! But Lance is my baby. Characters below for your pleasure.

Zack/Ivy: Keith and Hunk

Players: Pidge and Matt

Shadowsan: Kolivan

Inspector/Julia: shiro and adam

Director: Allura and Coran ]]]

#whumptober 2023 #no.26 #“sometimes I get so tired I dont even know myself.”#lyric #seeing double #working to exhaustion #“you look awful.”#voltron legendary defender #fic #angst #found family #langst #au #pretty tame #carmen sandiego au #will expand if asked

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odanurr87 · 11 months

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Alchemy of Completed 2022 Kdramas - Part 1

Last year I watched a bunch of kdramas, too many for me to properly review at the rate I write about them. As a result, I'm gonna try something different and quickly review those dramas that released in 2022 that I watched, and maybe recommend a few alternatives here and there in those cases where the show didn't live up to the task. Considering it's been a while since I watched some of these dramas, I binged a couple of them again to better inform my commentary. If you're short on time, or just want to add kdramas to your ever-increasing watchlist, you'll find a ⭐ next to the titles I wholeheartedly recommend, and a 💀 next to those I feel should best be avoided, but you do you. If you still haven't watched some of these shows, this list will hopefully give you some idea of whether you'll enjoy watching them (or not).

A brief note on my rating system before we begin. I use bins for my 1-10 scale in the following way:

Anything between 5 and 6 is considered average

Shows between 7 and 8 are considered above average

Shows in the 9 to 10 range are the cream of the crop

Anything between 1 to 4 is considered below average, with the 1-2 range reserved for the worst offenders.

Thus, I have two possible scores for the average, above average, and cream of the crop categories, what I believe makes my life a little easier when rating shows. I have occasionally given half point ratings (e.g. 7.5) to certain shows when I feel they're halfway to a better grade, but that has been the exception rather than the rule.

So without further ado, welcome to my Alchemy of Completed 2022 Kdramas - Part 1!

A Business Proposal⭐

Episode count: 12

Where to watch: Netflix

Rating: 8/10

Verdict: "You know I'm good at a lot of different things, right?"

We start with one of my favourites and the best short romcom of 2022. Based on the manhwa of the same name by Haehwa (original story) and NARAK (art), Taemu Kang (Ahn Hyeo Seop) plays the 'perfect CEO' stereotype who ain't got no time for love so, after several hilarious events, he eventually hires Hari Shin (Kim Se Jeong) to play the part of his girlfriend to fool grandpa. Unbeknownst to him though, Hari is his employee. Will their fake relationship turn into a real one? You bet your ass!

The show ticks almost all of the required tropes, subverts some -what was a pleasant surprise- and entertains throughout, making perfect use of its runtime. The second lead couple, played by Kim Min Gue and Seol In Ah, also turned several heads, not to mention the latter had great BFF chemistry with Kim Se Jeong. Week after week, I was looking forward to every episode of this show, especially considering how disappointing another romcom that aired around the same time turned out to be, and that you may or may not find in this list. You could say this show aired just in time for Samantha and Rachel to cure my FLAWless disappointment.

Again My Life⭐

Episode count: 16

Where to watch: Viki

Rating: 8/10

Verdict: Lawful Lawyer is back!

The better Lawless Lawyer of 2022. Kim Hee Woo (Lee Joon Gi) is a prosecutor who travels back in time to put the people who murdered him behind bars while the audience wonders which female lead he should date. And between Kim Ji Eun, Hong Bi Ra, and Veronica Park Kim Jae Kyung, well, he's definitely not lacking in choices. Fortunately, time travel is merely used as a trigger to tell the story (similar to 365: Repeat the Year in this respect), so we don't have to worry about kdramas' rather abysmal track record with sci-fi. The show keeps you hooked episode after episode, finding a good balance between the scheming, putting people behind bars, throwing some punches (has those trademark LJG action sequences!), all the while going after the next big fish. Last, but not least, it does an incredibly good job at managing an ensemble cast of characters, and there are a lot of them! If you're a fan of Lawless Lawyer or Lee Joon Gi, you can't go wrong with this one.

Alchemy of Souls - Part 1

Episode count: 20

Where to watch: Netflix

Rating: 6/10

Verdict: Watch a fantasy cdrama instead

Alternatives: Fights Break Sphere, Fighter of the Destiny

When I watched the character promos for this show I thought this could be Korea's answer to some of China's fantasy dramas, possibly Xuanhuan dramas, and I was all for it! I liked the male actor, Lee Jae Wook, in other dramas I'd watched with him (he was great in When the Weather is Fine and Search: WWW), and Jung So Min playing a master assassin and mentor in a fantasy drama was quite appealing. Of course, I was a bit worried when the teaser dropped, with its emphasis on some weak comedy, but I decided to give the show the benefit of the doubt. Sadly, Part 1 didn't live up to the task. It meandered a lot, definitely under-using its 20-episode order, focusing on every romantic relationship under the sun and then some, ultimately delivering an unsatisfactory hero's journey for the ML, while the antagonists played ping-pong with the alchemy of souls. At times, I was reminded of Hwarang, a show I have reviewed very poorly and that seems to have relied on the idol factor to garner popular appeal.

I've previously compared Jang Uk's journey to that of Xiao Yan from the cdrama Fights Break Sphere, in that I expected the former, from the previews, to undergo a similar rise to power as the latter, rigorously training under his master, slowly climbing his way back to power, but with the additional appeal of developing that romantic relationship between Jung So Min's character and Lee Jae Wook's, what would've made for a more rewarding journey for both the character and the audience. This is a tried-and-true formula, also used by the popular anime The Rising of the Shield Hero, to mention but one other example. Unfortunately for us, Jang Uk can hardly be bothered to train (supposedly, he "trained" with twelve masters for years and didn't learn a damn), except at the very specific, and limited, times that the script dictates, instead relying on luck and plot contrivances to "skip ahead" his way to power, what makes for far less memorable scenes. Additionally, the cdrama nails the master-student relationship thanks to the great rapport between Baron Chen's Yao Chen and Leo Wu's Xiao Yan, but there's hardly such a bond between Mu Deok and Jang Uk.

In the end, Part 1 of Alchemy of Souls should've been about Jang Uk's rise to power under the guidance of his master, and later love interest, Mu Deok, but it's too unfocused, its attention constantly diverted by comedy, love polygons, or caricaturesque villains doing dumb things under everyone's noses. Perhaps its only saving grace was the character of the Crown Prince, brilliantly played by Shin Seung Ho, who was able to nail both the comedy and the drama when called for. However, if you're looking for a good fantasy drama with a more traditional (or any) hero's journey, watch Fights Break Sphere instead, with the caveat only the first season has been released, and it's doubtful there'll be a second. I'd also recommend Fighter of the Destiny, with Lu Han. It probably doesn't have as good CGI or sets, but it has a better grip on the hero's journey than Alchemy and nails the camaraderie aspects.

Alchemy of Souls - Part 2

Episode count: 10

Where to watch: Netflix

Rating: 7/10

Verdict: Works better as a standalone watch

I should've probably left Part 2 of the show for Part 2 of my list, but I'm going in alphabetical order so that's that. This is one of the shows I decided to rewatch to refresh my memory and, to my surprise, it fared much better the second time around. Why's that? Read on to find out!

Part 2 of Alchemy of Souls starts strong, much stronger than Part 1 did, something many were doubting when the news hit that Jung So Min wouldn't return for Part 2, instead being replaced by the original Naksu actress, Go Youn Jung. Fortunately, she does an excellent job throughout, but especially in the beginning of Part 2, which comes across as more of a fairy tale (Rapunzel's), and where the show decides to embrace some of the typical marriage contact tropes, as Young Jung's character fake-marries the now uber-powerful Jang Uk in order to escape from her mother's tight grasp. Honestly, I wish the show had started with Part 2, in media res, and used the material from Part 1 for flashback storytelling, in a similar vein to how The Untamed did it. God, that would've been so good! Precisely because Jang Uk has become sort of a demigod he can boss around all of the useless supporting characters from Part 1 (I'm looking at you, Pathetic Assembly of Evil), and pretty much do whatever he wants, so it's quite commendable to see him return smarter and more measured in his decision-making.

As someone who watched Part 2 live back then, it started to lose its initial glimmer when an inevitable reveal kept being delayed episode after episode, hinting that it would obviously occur the next one. Of course, this never happened, but what made matters worse was the fact that the ML was kept oblivious while everyone around him found out and chose not to tell him because... reasons? I can understand one person keeping the secret for his own agenda, maybe a couple, but I find it astonishing that even Jang Uk's friends and family shared this same agenda, as they also kept the truth from him. Additionally, the more this delay continued the further the narrative possibilities were constrained and, thusly, certain scenarios conjured up by fans never came to pass. However, this will not be much of an issue for people coming in blind to Part 2 (or with a healthy distance from Part 1). Perhaps even the fact that the noble idiocy card is played, or that the main antagonist is obstinately preserved by the writers until the very last episode to little effect (when he shouldn't have made it past Part 1), won't present much of an issue to newcomers.

Having said this, I still feel the final battle for the fate of the world remains rather underwhelming and anticlimactic, not helped by the fact that certain characters are resurrected right before said battle. After all, if the show outright establishes death is not permanent, minutes before "the end of the world," why should I fear for any of the characters? Even Jang Uk himself, during this final battle, doesn't show an ounce of worry that maybe this time he will not make it out alive, regardless of his powers, making the fight seem entirely mechanical and perfunctory. The writers even throw in some half-baked plot device about the King's Star being powered by seven other stars, and since it had never been explained throughout the show a character has to exposition-dump it on our laps (there's quite a lot of exposition dump going around in Part 2, what helps newcomers to the show). It's a plot device prominently featured in the cdrama Fighter of the Destiny, which I previously recommended, so maybe it was inspired by it?

In the end, if you still want to get a taste of the Alchemy experience, I wholeheartedly suggest you treat Part 2 as the original show, with Part 1 being the prequel made to cash in on the show's success that, ultimately, you may not even need. Thus, as a standalone, I'm revising my original rating for Part 2 from a 6/10 to a 7/10, bumping it into my above average bin.

Extraordinary Attorney Woo

Episode count: 16

Where to watch: Netflix

Rating: 6/10

Verdict: Better luck in S2

Alternatives: Good Doctor, Again My Life

Woo to the Young to the Woo started off with a bang and had me sold after binging its first four episodes (I had a bit of an offset), making me hopeful this could be one of my favourites from 2022. Sadly, it was thereabouts that the quality of the writing slowly started going downhill for me. Woo lost me on two fronts: the weak framing and execution of the legal cases, and the underdeveloped cast of supporting characters, who were mostly neglected in favour of Park Eun Bin's Young Woo. Don't get me wrong, Park Eun Bin nailed the character, and her conversation with her mom in Episode 8 was particularly poignant and well executed, but it wouldn't have hurt to give characters like Min Woo or Jun-ho a case that resonated with them, like "The Strife of the Three Brothers," which was relevant to Young Woo's BFF Geu Ra-mi.

I'll take Min Woo as an example because, out of the whole cast of supporting characters, he showed the most promise. The show mentions in passing that Min Woo is his family's sole breadwinner, what could explain why he's so competitive and regards Young Woo as a threat rather than a boon, but the show never tries to explore this when it has the perfect medium to do so in the form of the legal cases. So why not give him a case that echoes some of his struggles trying to support his family while making headway into the competitive legal world, thus allowing us and his teammates to get to know him a little better? In essence, show us, don't just tell us. How am I then supposed to buy his sudden change-of-heart in "The Blue Night of Jeju" when you've given me nothing to support the fact he's bonded with anyone in the team? (besides Jun-ho who was already his flatmate) Perhaps not surprisingly, this particular episode throws a bunch of arcs left and right for the supporting characters to try and grab hold of, but too little too late.

As a procedural, I feel Extraordinary Attorney Woo is pretty average. It either didn't know how or never intended to handle its supporting cast of characters and successfully integrate them into the narrative, similarly to how a show like Again My Life did. To draw a curious parallel, the final episode of Again My Life gathers all of "the good guys" at the restaurant of Hee Woo's parents. There are 14 of them in total, not counting Hee Woo and his parents, and I feel like they've truly become one big extended family by show's end. Extraordinary Attorney Woo has a similar scene, gathering everyone at Min Shik's place that is meant to convey the same feeling, but they don't quite feel like a team yet, let alone a family. Maybe in Season 2?

If you're looking for a show featuring another savant autistic lead, but with a better grasp on developing an ensemble cast of characters, as well as a romantic relationship between the leads, then Good Doctor is the show for you. On the other hand, if you're looking for a kickass lawyer, well, you probably already know who I'm talking about.

Fanletter, Please⭐

Episode count: 4

Where to watch: Viki

Rating: 8/10

Verdict: A lot of heart in a small package

The first among three shows in these lists that feature Choi Soo Young and Yoon Park as either main or supporting leads. I'd only previously watched Choi Soo Young in So I Married an Anti-Fan, a show not without its share of issues, but her as the female lead wasn't one. Indeed, she was one of the highlights and I was looking forward to seeing more of her work. As such, I was looking forward to this mini-series, more so when I realised Yoon Park would play the role of a father willing to move heaven and earth for his daughter, what is not a typical setup in kdramas (in my watching experience, mind you). Off the top of my head, I can only think of Marriage Contract and Lie After Lie as similar shows, in terms of how much of a protagonist the child actor is. Both are shows I would wholeheartedly recommend.

As for Fanletter, Please, I was positively pleased by how much content and social commentary this show was able to fit into its 4-hour runtime without harming the storytelling, something that even full-length kdramas struggle to achieve. Having said that, I would've welcomed one or two more episodes to let it breathe a little bit more and, of course, to watch some cute family moments! This is definitely a case of so good you want more of it. Still, Choi Soo Young and Yoon Park make it work within the available runtime, what's a credit to them and the script. CSY was on a roll last year (as you'll find out in Part 2!) so I'll have to keep an eye out for more of her dramas, and it was very welcome to see Yoon Park play this devoted father character after the disappointing Forecasting Love & Weather (though he was pretty good in it). Give me more short dramas!

Forecasting Love and Weather

Episode count: 16

Where to watch: Viki, Netflix

Rating: 6/10

Verdict: Couldn't forecast love and I have my doubts about the weather

Alternatives: She Would Never Know, The Rational Life

I have a soft spot for Park Min Young, having watched romcoms like What's Wrong With Secretary Kim? and Her Private Life, or even melodramas like When the Weather is Fine. And who can forget Healer, where she played the part of Lois Lane to Ji Chang Wook's Clark Kent (watch it, it's a classic). I couldn't remember a drama with her that I didn't enjoy watching, so it broke my heart a little to see what a disappointing mess Forecasting Love and Weather turned out to be. I should've heeded a friend's advice to steer clear of Song Kang dramas, even though the script was clearly the worse offender by far.

The show hooked us in with the initial romcom elements, and then decided to veer into slife/melo territory, as the relationships between the different couples started to fray, with conflict being driven at an accelerated pace by the issues that arose from poor communication, or an outright absence of it, and how the different couples handled (they often didn't) the results of their miscommunication. I didn't much mind at the time because I felt they were being somewhat mature about it without overplaying their hand, and because my weekly romcom fix was being delivered by A Business Proposal, but they were treading a fine line... that got utterly ground into dust in the last six episodes. At this point in the show, the nonsensical drama was amped considerably, to the point it could've given Young Lady & Gentleman a run for their money, setting us up for the inevitable breakup. Why? Because the kdrama gods have written that a breakup must inevitably occur in Episode 14 or thereabouts, and this show is not about to subvert that trope!

Like Extraordinary Attorney Woo, Forecasting Love and Weather failed at properly handling its ensemble cast of characters, trying to juggle five relationships to some very mixed results, when it would've been better off simply focusing on the main and secondary couples. As a result, by show's end I could've cared less what happened to the main couple, and was actually a bit more invested in the secondary one, played by Yoon Park and Yura, possibly because they at least tried to talk to each other and work things out. Honestly, Yoon Park's Ki Jun got the better deal out of all the characters in the show. How do you make Ki Jun, the guy who cheated on his fiancée with Si Woo's girlfriend, a more likable, or at least interesting, character than everyone else? You have him grow from an immature baby into a more or less responsible adult. You could argue that the main leads experience growth of their own, but it struck me as a bit aimless, a bit hollow. I mean, 16 episodes for Ha Kyung's boss to tell her you learn more from your mistakes than you do your successes? Seriously? Just go to r/GetMotivated for that.

Would I recommend this show? Unless you want to learn a little about what goes on behind the scenes of a weather forecast, not really, but maybe it's my fault for having high expectations due to PMY. It's not a bad show though, just average. If you want far better executed takes on this concept, check She Would Never Know on the kdrama side, and The Rational Life on the cdrama side.

Glitch💀

Episode count: 10

Where to watch: Netflix

Rating: 3/10

Verdict: Watching an episode of Ancient Aliens on the History Channel would've been more exciting and a lot shorter too

Alternatives: Circle

Can I get away simply by saying watching this show was a glitch? No? Dammit. I should've known better than to watch a Netflix-produced kdrama, even if it does star Nana, 'cause they've all been a bust for me, but Glitch was one of the privileged few shows I watched in 2022 that made me feel I had utterly wasted my time, with no redeeming qualities about it. 500 minutes to tell a story that lacks focus and is all over the place, perhaps stretched thin to meet a Netflix episode quota, with a FL that is not particularly interesting to follow, as she goes through a midlife crisis and teams up with Nana to investigate a UFO cult that may or may not have kidnapped her ex to sell his kidneys. Okay, maybe I made up that last bit about the kidneys.

The comedy doesn't land, the mystery doesn't land, the drama doesn't land, and the UFO doesn't land either. Undoubtedly, the finale is the better episode of the show, not least of why because it marked the ending, but also because the show didn't have any more time to dawdle as it had been doing for the past nine episodes, what gave it some much needed focus. To make matters worse, the surprises and twists at the end of each episode just weren't good enough to keep you hooked, nor, I'm afraid, were the leads. I was tempted at the time to give this show my first ever 1/10 for the way it wasted my time over the span of those 500 minutes, with a story that was infuriatingly inconsistent and lacked a lot of common sense, but it's probably not that bad. Still, I would only recommend watching it to my enemies, probably alongside something like Sisyphus.

Good Job

Episode count: 12

Where to watch: Viki

Rating: 7/10

Verdict: Good fun

Alternatives: Secret Royal Inspector

Another ENA network show, like Extraordinary Attorney Woo, but shorter and more entertaining, as we follow the crazy antics of Eun Soon Woo (Jung Il Woo), a chaebol CEO who doubles as a private detective (think Bruce Wayne/Batman), and Don Se Ra (Kwon Yu Ri), his newly-recruited superpowered assistant, as they aim to solve a 20-year-old cold case while uncovering other, smaller, cases, helping people and rectifying injustices along the way.

Good Job is just a fun ride overall, even if the comedy can be a little hit-or-miss sometimes, especially when it drags on for too long or tries the Marvel route of undermining certain scenes. The writing too could've benefited from another revision, as some events feel gratuitously delayed, like when a character refuses to reveal a certain name only to do so a few minutes later, while others are forced to a head, like Se Ra discovering Soon Woo's batcave. Oh, yeah, he has a batcave, of sorts, and even an Alfred, in the form of Lee Joon Hyuk's Director Hong, whom you may recall from Mystic Pop-Up Bar. He also has a talented sidekick and comedic support, Jin Mo (Eum Moon Suk), both a lawyer and a hacker, who also gets into a romantic entanglement of his own with Se Ra's best friend, Na Hee (Song Sang Eun). This is the mini-Justice League you'll see play dress-up (these scenes are so over-the-top fun!) from episode to episode, as they go undercover to solve cases and get one step closer to their goal. In this sense, this show could be compared to something like Taxi Driver, but, unlike the latter, Good Job doesn't take itself too seriously and neither should you for maximum enjoyment.

While the resolution of the final case felt a bit underwhelming, and perhaps a tad perfunctory (I did appreciate the brief redemption arc for one of the antagonists though), Good Job achieves in 12 episodes what Extraordinary Attorney Woo could not in 16, making its cast of characters grow into a team, one I would not mind accompanying in more adventures in future seasons. Will that happen? Probably not, so if you're looking for more fun adventures of the sort, and don't mind traveling to the past, I would not hesitate to recommend Secret Royal Inspector, with Kim Myung Soo and Kwon Na Ra.

Grid💀

Episode count: 10

Where to watch: Disney+

Rating: 4/10

Verdict: Another nail in the kdrama sci-fi coffin

Alternatives: 365: Repeat the Year, Reset, Circle

Sci-fi is one of my favourite genres, but kdramas have had a rather lousy track record at delivering good quality sci-fi and, sadly, Grid does nothing to change that. Our story starts in 1997, when a mysterious time traveler known as "the Ghost" laves a program for an energy grid to replace Earth's failing magnetic fields. This Grid is now managed by the Administration Bureau who intend to track down the Ghost and unlock the secrets of time travel... eventually. The show's comprised of only ten episodes, yet the pacing of the first half is slower than it has any right to be given the events depicted (hint: they aren't that exciting) and the dialogue isn't stimulating enough to sustain such a slow burner. This "season" could've been compressed into 5 or 6 episodes and it would've been stronger for it. Of course, then it would hardly qualify as a "season" (though Netflix seems to think it does).

The main plot line focuses around this serial killer and the fact that the Ghost is helping him evade capture. Why is this time traveler aiding and abetting a criminal? Honestly, this question was never interesting enough to fuel ten weeks of watching (the pain!) and it shows. Additionally, it is not answered conclusively, although there are some bread crumbs for the viewer to put the pieces together. In fact, this statement captures the show in a nutshell; it raises questions, but never provides any conclusive or satisfying answers, playing on the viewer's knowledge of other (better) time travel stories so they can come up with their own. Perhaps the worst example of this is the season finale, which is only meant to set up events for a possible S2 (in your dreams, or nightmares), thereby raising even more questions.

The writer behind this, Lee Soon Yeon, is apparently quite good, having written for Stranger and Stranger 2. I haven't watched either show so I can't comment on them, but time travel stories aren't for everyone. Having said that, the "mysteries" that are supposed to keep viewers hooked were also underwhelming. I remember reading an article that recommended Grid as a show that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I suppose it's possible to fall off your seat while asleep, right? If you want a show that uses time travel well, though in very limited fashion, merely as a trigger for the plot to unfold, watch 365: Repeat the Year. The cdrama Reset is a great exponent of using a time loop and one of my favourites from 2022. If you want kdrama's best exponent of sci-fi to date, watch Circle (review on the way).

If You Wish Upon Me⭐

Episode count: 16

Where to watch: Viki

Rating: 8/10

Verdict: The genie from Aladdin would be proud

First things first, there is a better version of this show if you take out the gangster storyline, which was entirely superfluous, and better integrate the sister storyline into the main plot. You can also drop the jealous doctor who added surprisingly little beyond being jealous at the required times (what a waste of a perfectly good character). Repackage it all into a shorter, 12-episode, season and this show could've reached 9-10 territory for me. Those are pretty much the weakest aspects of the show.

With that out of the way, it's a very good show. People have compared it to Chocolate given that it takes place in a hospice ward but, for my part, I dropped that show after 5 or 6 episodes, partly because of the ML. No such problem with Ji Chang Wook's character here, an orphan and ex-con with a heart of gold, and a cute dog he's named "Son." Despite all the abuse he's been subjected to throughout his life, he slowly starts to open up as he does community service at the hospice. Paired with Choi Soo Young's flirty Nurse Seo (love her!), these two alone make a powerful case for watching this show. Sung Dong Il also delivers a great performance and has some wonderful exchanges with Ji Chang Wook's character.

The show follows the "case of the week" formula for the most part, certainly during the first half of the drama, as Team Genie tries to fulfill the final wishes of the hospice's patients and often positively impact other people's lives in so doing. Be prepared and have tissues at hand. Beyond the gangster detour that wasted our time towards the end, and drew dangerously close to upending all the good will the show had garnered throughout its run, the final episode really brings it home, coming full circle and delivering a really satisfying conclusion to our story, one final surprise as Team Genie brings down the curtain on their show and bids us goodbye.

In short, yes, it could've been better with a tighter focus but, as it stands, it's one of the better shows to have come out in 2022, and perhaps Ji Chang Wook's best work since Healer (with the caveat that I have not yet watched Suspicious Partner nor Lovestruck in the City). And Choi Soo Young is now 2 for 2! (this girl's on 🔥🔥)

Jinxed at First💀

Episode count: 16

Where to watch: Viki

Rating: 4/10

Verdict: Oh, it's jinxed alright

Alternatives: My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, Goblin, Scripting Your Destiny

I had measured expectations for this drama. Na In Woo had previously worked with the same director in 2021's River Where the Moon Rises, a show I enjoyed a great deal, though mostly because it was the first time I delved deep into the history behind the drama, namely the tale of Princess Pyeonggang and On Dal the Fool, and the history of the Three Kingdoms' period. He was brought in late, with production underway, to replace Ji Soo; he barely slept, had to adlib a lot of his scenes, and still managed to have great chemistry with Kim So Hyun and, to my mind, had the better grasp on the character of On Dal. I'd hoped Jinxed at First would give him another opportunity to shine, but, alas, that was not the case.

The first episode alone is a hectic storytelling mess (and, incidentally, River Where the Moon Rises alumni reunion), rushing through a lot of backstory and setup for the rest of the season. We're introduced to Soo Gwang, a bright student with a promising future and powerful friends, whose life takes a turn for the worse when he meets Seul Bi (Seo Hyun), a woman imprisoned since birth by his best friend's dad because of her strange ability to see a person's future through a single touch. Cut to a year later, where we find Soo Gwang working as a fishmonger under a different name, only for Seul Bi to track him down again, determined to remain by his side.

Honestly, I'm not sure what genre this show wanted to be, but I'm pretty sure it failed at most of them. For the first 6 or 7 episodes it tried to resemble something like My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, as Seul Bi is just as innocent and naïve as Miho was (even if Miho sold it better than Seul Bi did, to my mind), and both male leads were resolved to get rid of her. This is perhaps the strongest portion of the show, as Seul Bi adapts to her new environment and neighbors, making new friends while at the same time helping Soo Gwang get rid of his (never explained) bad luck. I even enjoyed some of the comedy. However, unlike My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, there is not enough chemistry between the leads to have them fall in love with each other over the course of 6 or 7 episodes. Well, not in Soo Gwang's case at any rate, as Seul Bi has been infatuated with him for years. Upon falling in love, the trope that naturally follows is a break-up, after which point the show starts to resemble more of a makjang, turning to corporate and chaebol intrigue and infighting. This is also around the time Soo Gwang's best friend, Min Joon (played by Ki Do Hoon, from Scripting Your Destiny), decides he's in love with Seul Bi (what?), something even more out of left field, especially when he's already engaged to Lee Ho Jung's (Soljiwan!!!) charming character, Ja Kyung, who effortlessly stole every scene she was in. Min Joon, if you don't want her, I'll gladly take her off your hands!

Seemingly having exhausted the depth of its narrative well, the show dragged its feet for several episodes, eventually deciding the story was better served by turning a character into a psychopath, who also wanted Seul Bi for himself and was willing to kill anyone in the process, an eye-rolling set of circumstances eventually resolved thanks to Seul Bi's expansive (aka nonsensical) repertoire of supernatural powers. And, of course, in a show of this caliber, the amnesia trope could not be absent, a card that is dealt in the very last episode and resolved at the very last minute. What a payoff.

When I first learned of this drama I recall reading an outline that went something along the lines of, "Unlucky man meets a goddess of luck." Would it have been too much to ask for a show fitting that description, but in the vein of the excellent Goblin instead? Or maybe something like Scripting Your Destiny, which is certainly not as good as Goblin, but is still way better than this, and much shorter too. If you want to watch a show that features a romantic relationship between a god and a human, I encourage you to give those a try instead, as well as the aforementioned My Girlfriend is a Gumiho.

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to-younger-me-from-future-me · 6 months

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Stuff I've learnt from life experience

Non-disposable razors exist, good for the environment and for your wallet in the long-run. But i have not used them but I want to so just putting it out there.

Using a razor. You can either lather soap and then shave as rough as you want. You still risk cutting yourself on areas where the soap slides away though.

You can use a razor without soap too, but you have to be gentle. Maybe your area needs to be wet or under running water first.

Threading is a thing and special threading thread exists. I've never tried it properly but everyone around me does it. I've been told it hurts at first but your area becomes numb to the pain soon.

Laser hair removal isn’t permanent. They might thin your hair but only as long as you keep lasering. The doctor in charge may start you off saying it’s permanent after a certain number of sessions – but that’s a lie. They’ll say that when you ask them again how many sessions, then you ask again after a year and they’ll say soon, and then eventually they’ll admit it’s never gonna happen and laser hair removal is only to thin your hair but only as long as you keep coming back and lasering.

But if you want thinner hair and only have to do it once a month where someone else does it for you AND it’s cheap where you are, then by all means, it might be the preferable thing for you.

Split ends. I have no idea why they're an issue. I've only had split ends once where a single hair actual splits in two like velcro. But then I forgot about it and got a haircut and never had them again. They're really not that big of an issue as media put them out to be. Or maybe they are when you have your hair untied and loose most of the time everyday? I think I was going through that phase when I noticed my first split end.

Better swimming costumes exist. These are loose, breathable and cover as much as you want so you don’t need to go through body shaming and not reveal your body to strangers if you don’t want to. They are also used to by skin cancer survivors and people to avoid skin damage.

Menstrual cups are better for your wallet. But they might be scary to start so you’ll need to try it before your period starts (or you can on your period too in the shower, maybe it’ll be easier). Can’t give more details because I tried once and didn’t work out. Will try again when I'm in the mood and less depressed. But the person I gifted a set to really loves it, and so does a person she gave to. And also a person she knows who's been using it for years and hasn't looked back.

Menstrual pain sucks. I’ve heard of people using painkillers which is brilliant and why didn't I ever think of that?

For me it pauses when I eat apple slices (or if I just eat and the pain was just so bad coz of hunger and I didn't realize I was hungry lol). But apple slices didn’t work for someone I recommended it to. So everyone is different. I’ve heard of cold milk and cranberry juice (not together, but who knows). Try and see what works, what your body is craving.

Doctors can be helpful. But not many doctors in the US apparently.

Natural remedies can be great. Someone I know tried this and it helped her a bit and she suffers A LOT of pain all over during her period.

A hot water bag on your tummy during cramps is helpful. Another thing that I never thought of before. It doesn't stop the cramps but it does help.

Your period should NOT be heavy or painful or both for long. if it's too painful, doesn't matter if it's only 1 day, if it's affecting your life significantly in that one day, you need a doctor or painkillers or a tried-and-true natural remedy or just help.

if it lasts longer than 10 days then that's also not normal. but i don't think it's serious coz it happens to me regularly.

Your period should last 3-10 days, any longer then that’s a no-no and you need to see your doctor. In my case, I think this keeps happening because while I do eat healthy, I don't eat 3 meals a day sometimes and maybe don’t exercise enough.

Now, whenever my period goes over 10 days i eat Primolut which is Norethisterone acetate which stops my period. My dose is a 5mg tablet after or before every meal (but be consistent) for 10 days. Or 10mg tablets but i don’t remember if it was once a day or twice.

Drinking milk will make your nails grow faster. Probably hair too but that’s harder to gauge on my own.

Dates, the fruit, help get your blood out, and its like almost instantaneous? I don't remember why I started eating them or how exactly dates helped, but if your period is being annoying and you're not bleeding when you should (I don't know what past me meant by this), then eat dates.

#life tips #hair removal #periods #menstruation #menstrual cramps #menstrual cup #swimming costume

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its-maemain · 2 years

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So this morning as I struggled to want to get up an AU came to me. I've been struggling on how to word some of this so bare with me.

This got longer than I thought it would but here:

Lois Lane and Clark Kent find out they're having a child later on they find out it's a girl, they're overjoyed and shit. But their relationship is on the down low, and everyone in Metropolis is convinced that Lois and Superman not only have a thing for each other but are together(which they aren't wrong). So when Lex Luthor finds out Lois is pregnant he comes up with a plan(cause his blad ass thinks he's so smart). And he does succeed.

Clark has to go off planet for [intergalactic problem here] and so he's gone for a few months during Lois’s pregnancy. So while Superman is away Lex is like ‘yes my plan will go so much easier now’ and so Lois gives birth, after she(the baby) is put in the baby ward thing, Lex steals their daughter. He gives her this serum that (in theory) blocks her powers till something triggers them. It does work but he doesn't know what will trigger it or how well it works.

He decides to put her as far away from them as possible on Earth tho. So she's in France getting adopted by the lovely couple who own a bakery and want a child. They can't due to biological complications, and Lex can watch them easily ( he knows French ig for this ). And they get to name her cause she doesn't have name.

So enter Marinette Dupain-Cheng the adoptive daughter Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng. There are some things they just can't explain about their daughter, they love her very much. Shenanigans my beloved, shall ensue.

But she's so small and doesn't have a lot of muscle how is she carrying this bag of flower at the age of 10? OH NO BOILING WATER GOT ON HER SHES GONNA GET BURN MAR- oh, she's okay...? MARINETTE DONT STARE AT THE SUN! They go to the doctor to check her eyesight, she has perfect vision. Marinette the fastest kid in her class, faster than Kim and Alix, they're playing hide and seek? Oh Mari is up a tree!

Back with Clark and Lois, Superman threatens Lex or talks to Bruce or something idk. Jon is made or born 2 years later(idk his story sometimes he's a clone sometimes he's not???!) when Mari is 2, then two more years later Con is born(I know for a fact he is born) so Mari is like 4. Bruce is doing the blood thing, but Lex has that shit under strict supervenience. And while raising the boys they learn what they should look for.

Tom and Sabine conclude that Mari is a Meta, talk to her about this when she is like 12, than when she is almost 14 she searches this stuff up and she's like “okay, no powers” well that gets thrown in her face when she was left with being Ladybug. Lex can't watch her anymore cause Paris closed itself off!

How being Ladybug affects Marinette:

She is still really strong even with that serum not letting her be at full strength so now that she has the Miraculous it enhances her already enhanced strength so she has to pull her punches, and this is one of the main reasons why she uses her yo-yo and her brain in battles rather than brute force, cause she could kill the akuma. At least she thinks so, who knows, depends on the writer!

Post [What-ever-the-fuck version of Gabriel we're dealing with]:

There are two ways this can go! 1) Mari during her time as Ladybug and Guardian activated the trigger so she could use all her half-Kryptonian-ness or 2) somehow it wasn't triggered yet but it was at some point while being around JL. Probably from being around Superman and her body went “FATHERRRRR”

And why Clark hasn't figured out this is his daughter after meeting her? Magic suit y'all! Prevents him from using x-ray vision on her, so he doesn't see her hybrid organs. One thing is for certain Bruce wants to adopt her! He can't of course cause she has already been adopted, so instead, he offers her a place to stay in Gotham, all paid, and any school of her choosing in Gotham. She says she’ll think about it, and when she researched she was surprised, and decided why not! She can fight villains, build her career, see what she can do with her new activated power, *cough* get all that pent-up rage out *COUGH*!

One big problem tho, the Meta and Magic users ban, so she talks to him again, he's like I'm willing to adjust my ban, then he does a double take cause “meta?” cause guess what Brucie, you wanna take in a meta-magic user! So he adjusts his rules.

Time passes, a long time depends, but Clark and Lois go to this gala being reporters and friends with Bruce. This gala is also Mari’s first. She's been doing great, other than almost burning her room in the middle of the night a few weeks ago. But it's fiiiiine, they're all learning, and Damian has his suspensions.

Clark was area of Bruce having another kid in his wings, and he does his x-ray things like he does all the batfam, and that's when he sees it! She wasn't human, she was part human. So he takes her Bruce, and is like “you can't have this child” “why tf can't I!” “this is our missing daughter!!”

So after the gala they all sit down and talk this out, they call Jon and Kon to get their asses here to see their sister! They talk to Tom and Sabine and they’re willing to share custody especially cause of how this happened! Anyway big family in the end.

This has probably been done somewhere but I needed to get this written out. I really want to write this, but if anyone does tag me please! PLEASE!

Bonus points for any salt or angst. Just sayin

Edit: it really shows how I didn't know about Kon and it pains me everytime I get a notification for this. Excuse my dumbassery.

Jon is born two years after Mari, Kon is made whenever the fuck he’s made, so Kon is like twoish year's older than Mari growth wise?? Cause Damian and Tim are like five/six years apart? (supposed to be anyway but who gives a shit, apparently not the DC writers, cause like aren't they supposed to be idk 7-9 years apart?? I don't care really it gives better annoying the shit out each other I'm specific ways while in the same household prevogligous)

They call Kon cause, “you're family regardless and we found our daughter we want you to meet her, get yo ass over here”

#maribat #mlb x dc #dc x mlb #bio dad clark kent #biodad au #lex luthor is a dick!#batfam #superfam #maribat prompt #mlb salt #maribat salt #meta marinette #kryptonian marinette

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posttexasstressdisorder · 6 months

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So yeah...it's November...

We have not been given time to process the freak-ass crazy shit that happened in October, and a lotta freak-ass crazy shit went on.

Not sure why, just feelin' the need to report/vent while I sip coffee out here on the tumblr front porch with all the other old tumblr geezers.

Phase 2 of "Octember" has begun in a mix of good/weird/painful shit to work through. A lotta ghosts. Felt both Char and Kyle intensely the last few weeks: my two Gemini Ghosts. They're here but they're not here, and part of you wants them to stay and part of you wants them to leave you alone.

And yeah, money is still front and center in that assortment of emotional intensity. Much gratitude and thanks for the help that has gotten the rent and electric bill paid for yet another 30 days (you know who you are!).

My calculations this month were just a tiny (and ironic) amount off. After the dust settling, thinking I'd gotten it all considered, I ran through the numbers this morning before I left for the credit union, and saw I'd shaved it a little too close and after all was said and done, I was gonna be (drum roll please) $1.16 overdrawn. lulz.

No worries, I thought, being the resourceful hobbit I am I remembered I had a roll of quarters in the murse (what I call my patagonia shoulder bag) for laundry. Peeling off $1.25's worth of quarters, and laughing valiantly with the teller, I asked her to put that in with the roomie's half of the rent and bills.

Total came to a "lucky number" in her culture, and so I didn't think anything of it and got my rent check printed out and came home. Thought I'd (just to be sure) re-check the acct, much to my chagrin I'd mis-read the amt it was gonna be OD'd and hadn't put in quite enough quarters. So I'll head back over there tomorrow and deposit another quarter and laugh with the teller again. I don't wanna be overdrawn by ELEVEN CENTS. Handy dandy visual aid:

Yeah, I laughed, but goddamnit I am so fuckin' tired of the stress of this. The self-inflicted big lady ringing the bell paradin' yer ass around screaming "SHAME! SHAME!"

And then you just shut up and figure out what to make for dinner with what you have left on the eve before you go to the store.

October this year was a hard month on the planet. Lots of thin-veil coincidence/hoo-do shit, lots of miscommunicated things with roomies, with people while out, communication was hard, still is, but it seems to have lightened up some. Almost like gravity is getting stronger and pulling on us all more. Collective angst, personal angst, community angst, all of it just rushing up and saying hello at once.

One big angst for me has always been my fucking TEETH. My parents both had notoriously bad choppers, I know mine have been in need of workin'-on for awhile. I hadn't been to the dentist (before this round of visits) in well over 10 years. I had no insurance for most of my adult life, so I just never thought about it, unless something broke. Had several "It's cheaper to pull than fix" decisions about 20-25 years ago, and lost several back-teeth along with root canals and crowns on what was left. In short, a hot mess.

I have had Medi-Cal since I got into a wreck 3 months after i moved here (7 1/2 years ago), and just never thought that it might cover dental, since no other "insurance" I ever had in Texas ever coverd it. So once I figured out I can get my mouth looked at and worked on for nothing, I started the appointments a few weeks ago.

All of this leading up to this past Monday the 30th, when I got both the updated Covid jab and the current-season's flu-shot, and then went and got my mouth wrenched on and drilled and vacuumed and what-notted for a solid hour. Things have definitely progressed even in the last ten years. I thought I was looking at another surgical molar removal, but no!

They were basically able to use some kind of polymer that they put on and then the assistant pulls the trigger on a UV light-pen to "cure" it, and they do that several times, and completely rebuilt a broken tooth, and frankly, I'm amazed. It feels like the original tooth before it went south, and very little to no pain. And they numbed me up better for that than the last fucking oral surgeon who cut out my lower right back molar back in Texas did.

So a mix of crazy up/down shit, and then trying so goddamn hard to get the money thing right, and then still fucking it up, but comically inept. New-old tooth rocks, they want me back in April to do something else, and I'm fine. They told me to use a "hydropick" and I just looked doc and assistant in the eye and said "there's no money for things like that, I'm "I-brush-with-baking-soda-poor", and the assistant left and came back with a toothbrush, some floss, small bottle of mouthwash, and a little plastic syringe to use with warm salt water to flush the spaces under/between the crowns.

So mouth happy but goddamn, I have been sore for the last few days. Jab site almost done hurting, tooth as well, but muscles not quite recouped from the "Dentist Chair Death Grip"...I put my whole body into it and basically seize up and close my eyes and let them have their way with my mouth.

"Just lie back and think of California, dear!"

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weezly14 · 9 months

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Speak your truth about tcr 🎤

ok, i'm gonna break this up into episode 10 thoughts and series overall thoughts.

episode 10:

this is easily the prettiest episode; the cinematography and direction is great. i'm a sucker for long shots and creative lighting and framing several characters the same, etc - well done.

love that we get an arc for lawyer guy in the last two episodes (sarcasm.) what purpose does it serve?

ah, yes, we need him and Rya to have a moment in the diner. he needs to have PTSD so that he can mention it and Rya can monologue and then have a lightbulb moment

EXCEPT - a) i cannot buy that this dude - a MAN - told a woman he's known for three? weeks? not long anyway - that he has PTSD in public. not only that! it is, remember folks, the 1970s! i don't remember PTSD entering the public lexicon until the early 2000s, maybe, and it was bothering me so i looked it up and PTSD didn't enter the DSM until 1980; it started being used to refer to Vietnam vets in the 70s but it wasn't as commonplace as it is now.

Which just gets further into the issue I have with this episode and this show where the writers can't seem to remember where we are in time. a man being vulnerable about his war service and trauma with a woman he barely knows in public? using terminology that wasn't commonplace at the time? rya's entire monologue in the diner felt very current, in the way she laid things out. is this truly how they spoke about mental illness in the 70s? it doesn't feel like it.

i said the second we entered the courtroom drama portion of the show: they're gonna put "Adam" on the stand. AND THEY DID

honestly as much as i know the subject matter of this show is dark, i've personally never felt triggered but fuck me, i hated that scene of Danny on the stand talking about Adam. not only can i not believe that Danny - being confronted for the first time with the fact that the abuse Adam suffered was actually abuse he suffered, on the stand, in public - would take it all in stride like he did and not fracture further, BUT he called it rape, out loud? it definitely was, but do you know how hard it is for people to name the thing that was done to them? i'm not saying Marlin didn't rape Danny; I'm saying I can't believe Danny would accept that the rape happened to him in one moment and then in the next one call it exactly that. his testimony on the stand was that of someone who's spent years in therapy working through this, not weeks/months.

add to that - i absolutely hated the way that Danny spilled his guts, is on the stand in tears, and when he's done speaking Stan simply says, "the defense rests" and turns his back and walks away. Danny needs care, and that mic drop moment wasn't as effective as it was cruel - to me, anyway

Rya just? Quit? lol ok.

the thing that pissed me off the most, though???????? i've said before, the existence of Adam before Marlin's abuse indicates that Marlin was not the first abuser. Danny's dad is alluded to in passing, and then we have an entire fucking episode about trying to find him in London which, I stand by my statement, is such a waste of an episode, but nothing else really? they sort of implied that maybe Marlin wasn't the first abuser Candy had dealt with? but it was all very implied, blink and you'll miss it - to the point that I thought it was just going to end unresolved. THEN, ten minutes from the end, Candy drops the bomb that Danny's dad abused him first?????????? this bothers me on several levels. 1) the way she danced around saying the words was imo how Danny should've been in the courtroom but given that we're past that it seems odd to suddenly be unable to say the words? 2) we're supposed to believe that this woman found out her four year old was being abused by his father and left, and then when she realizes that same child is being abused by her new husband she does nothing? the glimpse into their life that we see in that episode introducing kid Danny to us - it does not appear that they are struggling so desperately that she needed Marlin. 3) relatedly, Candy was called to testify to Danny's abuse, and Marlin scares her into not pointing the finger at him. BUT SHE KNEW ABOUT DANNY'S FATHER. why would she not have said anything? it absolves Marlin, it paints her as a good mom ("I got us out of there as soon as I knew") and it helps Danny. 4) They waited until the last ten minutes of the last episode to reveal this!!!!!!!!!!

this episode both felt too short and also, i was so done by the end.

overall series thoughts

Tom can act. Truly, he deserves an Emmy, Golden Globe, etc for this performance, because he's the shining star

the script was terrible. certain lines just bothered me and the characterization was all over the place. i feel like we watched two different shows - one about Danny in therapy, and one about Rya and Stan teaming up to save him. this was not a cohesive story.

again, the crime he was charged with was stupid. he shot at someone in broad daylight, missed, and the person didn't come forward? pick a different angle in, this one was toothless

i hated the courtroom stuff, i'm sorry. it was bad.

why was this set in the 70s? billy milligan. aside from DID and the not guilty by reason of insanity, in what way did this story or character in any way resemble billy milligan? they got the set dressing and the costuming right, but the racial and sexual politics, the way that rya is apparently divorced and on decent terms with her ex and former professor (love how that's never discussed and also - until 2010, new york state did not allow no fault divorce. maybe this is a minor quibble but my first thought watching this, seeing Rya doing the single mom thing, saying she's divorced, was to ask: what were the laws around divorce back then in New York? 1974 is when women were first allowed to open their own bank accounts), the glossing over of Vietnam until it was useful for Stan to be a vet with PTSD, the way that's thrown in at the last minute and also discussed in a way that seems inaccurate to the time - like, the writing either needed to reflect the time period, or they should've changed the setting. they were already changing everything, why commit to the one most exterior piece of the story? set it in 2005. Stan can still have PTSD, Rya can still be a divorced struggling single mom, prosecutor's speech about the incarceration of black and brown men wouldn't have felt quite so heavy handed - i mean really. What purpose did the 70s setting serve?

i think i liked this show more before i watched episodes 9 and 10.

it had such potential. and that's what irritates me the most, honestly. Tom gave a great performance, Amanda and Emmy were criminally underutilized, the story could have been there and could have been something. but they fumbled it. it wasn't cohesive or clear about what it wanted to be. was it about Danny or Rya? was it about the criminal justice system or mental health? was it about Mental Health or DID? because honestly, we didn't get nearly enough time with the alters, and Danny seemingly was told he had this disorder and then immediately was able to master it and control his alters. he was cagey and didn't wanna talk and was confused for several episodes, then he's "hooray for therapy" and not even speaking in the courtroom scenes/episodes. is this show really about him? it feels like this show is about Danny in the way that the movie 42 is about Jackie Robinson - it says it is, the title's about him and everything, but look closer. it's about him but he's not the active agent in this story. it's about what has been done to him, the forces enacted against him. we see less of Danny's journey than we see Rya and Stan and even Candy talk about it.

(the 42 comparison is another tangent but if you wanna talk to me about it please don't come at me in bad faith.)

i think the "just ask for help" bit bothers me so much because DID isn't so much a disorder about asking for help? yes, Danny did eventually seek help with the voices in his head, he worked to integrate them. but DID is not depression is not bipolar is not anxiety - is not any number of other things, and i think we do mental health a disservice by painting it all with the same brush. and of course this is where the issue of umbrella terms comes in. yes, all of it can be grouped under Mental Health, but asking for help in the context of: i'm feeling stressed and anxious about bills/starting a new school/my future is very different from: i think i have clinical depression, i have insomnia, racing thoughts, suicidal thoughts, flashbacks, etc. Danny needed help, that much is clear, but not in the same way that you or I might. so is his story unique or is just another mental health story? am i expressing this distinction clearly enough?

that being said, i appreciate immensely how respectful the abuse and suicide attempt were depicted in this show. not showing it is often more powerful, and i'm glad for the sake of the audience and the actors (particularly the child playing young Danny) that an attempt was not made to show the abuse, to depict the slashing. we know. it's enough.

did i like this show? i don't know. i'm gonna think about it for a long time. again, the performances were outstanding. there were moments that moved me and made me feel seen. but, for the hundredth time, just because a piece of art can evoke an emotional response does not mean that that piece is objectively good or well-constructed. i don't like amy pond as a character and i think the weeping angels are overrated but even i cried in the angels take manhattan. does that mean it's a good episode and i liked it? no, it means stephen moffat knows how to emotionally manipulate/impact an audience.

idk, i'm not sure i'd recommend this show except to say that Tom is great in it, or if i wanted someone to discuss it with me.

overall? it feels like a missed opportunity.

#weezly talks tcr #weezly responds #weezly has strong opinions about doctor who

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jlf23tumble · 1 year

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hi jen~ whats your thoughts on the recent Louis interview with Jojo?

It was good? I actually found the 98.9 interview wildly more entertaining (not least because Louis himself was struggling, this guy was not the best interviewer), but in both cases, we learned some things, and that's always fun! I would argue you learn WAY more in the 98.9 one, Jojo is mostly repetitive fluff/filler, but I feel like UAs were really selective with both options. Anyway, since you asked specifically about Jojo, here's a recap, I haven't done one of THOSE in a minute!

Unrelated takes from me: 1) Jojo's hair, wow!! 2) How is Louis hotter every time he's on this show? 3) All the prework Louis did for this rollout is truly fascinating, even the "live" pieces

And now some momentsTM that I liked from the interview:

Louis spent the first half of COVID doing nothing but putting his feet up (lol, I would reckon he actually HAD it at least once, too, but whatever), then in the second half, doing this record

He's doing "gewd, a LI'TLE bit tired"

Damn, he's into that dude from Stone (note to self: would I call Stone punk???), and I love how he says he's pretty judgmental when it comes to music, so he's figuring it's on him to bridge the taste gap with his fans and introduce a lot of stuff he thinks they're gonna love (me: yeah, because they ONLY listen to 4 guys, literally ever, that lens has room for growth, my friend)

FITF is a distinct different from Walls in that it was a) designed to stand up at a live show ("Every song," says Jojo, "YES, every single song," says Louis, "Bullshit," says me, "those late-era Streets weepy cryalongs work for one song, tops!") and b) it's "hopeful, there's no emotional weight" (says the dude who wrote Chicago)

Louis wrote 40 songs for this album, recorded 25, then picked 16, 17, and he won't go back and unvault them, so don't ask :(

There isn't a track with the title in it, he tried at least twice (two sets of writers), but it's quite 'ard to capture it down in words, cut to the feeling! (paraphrasing)

He HATES being in the room for a listening party or to debut some tracks: "You feel like a bit of dick, just sat there, nodding your head along to your own tunes." (his voice during this bit, uncapturable in text) He wants people to have their own opinion, and, "If I'm sat there, they won't say it's shit if it's dead eggy, no offense to people who do that," with a cheeky smile

Louis's drummer is also his musical director???

He goes into the pit at the end during KMM because it's the same energy he gets when he first walks out on stage, only x10, which sure is some feedback, if you're looking for it!

In answer to whether he has an alias for hotels, he does, but he can't remember the ones from 10 years ago and is pretty sure it's the same one today anyway (okay, stoner!), but regardless, it's obviously a fake name, which is annoying when hotel staff want ID during the many times he's locked himself out (always the hotel keys! free idea for Oli, maybe just create a fake ID for this pseud, McLovin style)

Only Louis can say he never wants to come across as arrogant or wanky, and because of that, it stopped him from looking at how important he is ("dare I say it!") or his songs are for people in some moments ("it's us as a collective") and not have it sound like garbage

His take on the video for Bigger Than Me was that because it's a big-sounding song, you need a nice-looking place, and you have to have a bit of narrative beyond just walking around, so he's building a fire: "maybe it represents GROWTH...maybe it's just a fire" (his voiceeee in all of this bit, too, sarcastically hilarious)

The best and worst moments in past performances are captured elsewhere (long pause for the classic Freddie in the crowd story, puking after too many vodka red bull top-ups on stage story, respectively), but the drinking on stage got me because I think it has been pretty well established that they DID drink on stage, that it wasn't rare, so maybe this was the first time??? Anyway, it WAS just after Zayn left, so could be lots more going on...I keep thinking of those water bottle reaction shots, plus Liam Payne's own casual descriptions

He moved away from anything too dance-y on Walls because he had already done it with Steve and Bebe but acknowledges he was close-minded and overthinking it on that album, hence he's embracing the dahnce here

Louder, for people in the back, he's different than he was 10 years ago, he feels he's constantly evolving as a person and as an artist, it's a moving puzzle

Jojo's obsessed with the paranormal, and Louis's a cynic (hello, new X Files one-shot), so Louis's happy to stay in whatever spooky room someone wants to assign him to and report back (bonus points if you know the special word that'll get the ghosts to talk to him, he's down for it)

I wanna know more about the time Louis had sleep paralysis and thought someone was sitting on his chest, but it was probably just sleep deprivation, not a hag (!!!)

The tattoo discussion gave the rather obvious reveal that Louis's main point in exchanging tats with Jojo was to mildly embarrass him, so he's owed some sort of retribution for covering up the shit emoji (typo in FITF sees like an odd choice, but I'm not in the know on "shaming radio DJs")

Disguises are silly because even on Louis's first ski trip after he was famous, he was covered head to toe, you could only see his eyes, and people still spotted him and wanted photos. Jojo figures someone must have told them, and Louis thinks it's because of Harry being equally famous the person who he was with, but Jojo points out that Harry this person would have been covered up, too, which really gets Louis thinking, lmao. I loved the bit with Jojo staring into Louis's eyes (Louis: "Yeah, you get it now")

Old friends are super British about Louis's fame and aren't that bothered ("in the nicest way"), so once a year (!!), they'll give him a well done ("I know--at least I hope--that they're proud of me, we don't talk about it," what, not even Stan? ouch)

Louis DOES have a special relationship with Chicago, this affiliation, so the goings on in the song are half theoretical/imaginative and half based on real events (OOHHHHHH????)

#louis tomlinson #jojo whatever #recap #i do love promo videos #UAs can never capture it all #and this was a longer video #and more boring because of it #but there's some gold #not as much in the other one oof!

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dumbbitchdoestwitch · 1 year

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Cum for the monster, stay for the plot

I read monster fucker books - they're fun, they're interesting and usually, they're pretty hot. & It seems like a perfect first Tumblr post. Now I made it through Opal Reyne's A Soul to Keep and A Soul to Heal in under a week. I didn't mean to - I planned on reading them over a month or two to give myself a break from all the steam but I didn't do that. I stayed up late, reading it like a rabid horny little monster fucker, and then wandered through my day job a zombie hungry for more monster cock. All that to say - forgive me if I get bits and bobs from the 2 mixed up. Anyhow - spoilers & monster cock ahead so proceed with caution~

I tried writing this before and it got way too fucking long, so I'm going to try to keep it short. We'll start with the first book - A Soul to Keep. The first chunk of the book is massively background-heavy, but I actually like that. I love some plot & direction with my monster fucking but it is A Lot™️. If you like a book to get down and dirty fast, this one's not for you. This one is a heck of a slow burn and the first taste of the naughty you get is hot, magic baths. It takes much longer to get to our monster friend digging his claws into our female lead and magically rearranging her guts so that enormous monster cock actually fits.

Background-wise, the bare bones are that it's a strange, alternate reality where demons arrived on Earth through a portal sometime around the industrial revolution. The demons prevented humanity from progressing as it should have, so we have a weird mix of modern language in an almost hunter-gatherer time. Also important to note, the portal the demons came through is at the heart of the Veil, a pit in the woods that gives demons a place to lurk away from the sun. On to our characters...

So we have Reia whose family was murdered by demons & then the town labeled Reia a bad omen & ostracized her from her fellow townspeople (but like not really 'cause throwing her out of the town would let the demons eat her and get stronger so there's a lot of "we're afraid of you, don't dare look at us, but we're also gonna torment you a bit"). Anyway, having a young woman who you hate actually works out perfectly for this town because, as it turns out, once every 10 years a creature the humans call a Duskwalker comes to one of 3 villages and bestows a protective blessing in exchange for a "pure bride" (not like that tho).

Our Duskwalker goes by Orpheus and he's like 7ft tall with a wolf skull for a face, nothing but glow sticks behind it, and has exposed bones where his skin and fur haven't grown over them. As Orpheus brings Reia to his cabin in the Veil, a few things become apparent:

1) we're going to have to deal with a bit of secondhand embarrassment

2) Orpheus is a lonely pervert

Those two things can go either way depending on how you like your monsters. I didn't think I'd be able to get through the secondhand embarrassment, but Orpheus is such a giant cinnamon roll that I barely noticed it. It also really helps that anytime I had a concern about how stuff works, it got addressed a few lines down. It's just really well thought out like that.

As for the sex scenes, they felt kind of confusing at times because we're learning anatomy while we're going at it. Other than that though, the sheer passion and desire running rampant is delicious. So if you like well-built worlds with squishy cinnamon roll monsters (who really look like monsters and stay that way) with absolutely enormous cocks, I'd highly recommend A Soul to Keep.

Maybe some day I'll post the long as hell version of this with every little thought but today is not that day 💜

#opal reyne #a soul to keep #monster fucker review

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spindrifters · 1 year

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1 & 18 for the ask meme

1. What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year? How did it turn out? Would you do it again?

Well. I stopped letting myself be all freaked out and judgmental of the Alternate Universe - Slavery tag on AO3 and just wrote the fucking thing. And I'm so, so glad I did. Because yeah! Behind every fic genre there are trope-y implications and some truly bad fanworks out there! But once I realized that my intent was actually a deconstruction of the genre, it freed me up to do some of the most uncomfortable yet liberating writing of my life. Like, if you're gonna do it, just do it. Doesn't do anyone any favors to half-ass it. 10/10, highly recommend scaring the shit out of yourself.

18. Share an excerpt from your favorite scene.

On that note...

Remus doesn’t mean to do it. He doesn’t plan to. It’s happening anyway. His hand reaches out to grab Sirius’, the one that’s bleeding now where he’s been savaging it, so it’s warm olive-tan over palest white, and Sirius is so, so cold.

“Stop that,” he says, and he doesn’t really know which he’s talking about — the bleeding finger or something else, maybe both, but the way Sirius is looking up at him now makes him think that maybe he wasn’t even aware of what he was doing to himself until just now. Remus doesn’t think of himself as strong very often, but in that moment it feels as though, if he wanted, he could break Sirius clean in two.

“It’s not your fault, though,” he says, then, because this is important. “You… you do know that, right?”

“Sort of is, though.”

“Isn’t. Go around crucio-ing yourself often, do you?”

“No, but that’s not — ”

“Not your fault, then.” And Remus grips Sirius’ hand even tighter in his, the other boy’s grey eyes fixed on where they meet. “Fucking hell, Sirius, you were a kid. That’s not on you. It’s just… it’s just not.”

Children get hurt. They just do. Scraped knees and bloody noses. The fact that they’re children doesn’t exempt them from it, and so much the worse if you’re born a servant — Remus learned that very early on. Only those hurts always came from places of clearly delineated lines. Places of greed and hatred and fear and real delight in causing pain. Places of indifference, those could often be the very worst. Those hurts come from people who don’t see certain children as worthy of protection based on a fluke of birth.

Remus doesn’t have a mother. Not anymore. The only vague memories he has of her are dark, tumbling curls and someone calling him kerido in a voice he can no longer place. Otherwise, they're all more sensory than fact. Love. Safety. Home. The only hurt he associates with her was ultimately done to them both — that final violent act of separation.

Walburga Black, on the other hand, owns him. She owns him, and she considers that the right and natural way of things, so it hadn’t phased him really to know that she could also cause Sirius to bleed. But he can appreciate now, for what’s really the first time, that Walburga is also Sirius’ mother. And he can hardly reconcile the idea of a mother who causes that sort of pain.

Maybe Sirius can’t, either.

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brettyimages · 1 year

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January Record Review below

Elastica - Elastica - 10 Of course it's a 10. If I loved it less I could talk about it more. Highs: Vaseline is my favourite but so is 3/4s of the album. Lows: It's all great but these ones are less great than the others: S.O.F.T and Never Here (the long ones), Blue, and Indian Song (the only one I can't play on guitar/bass)

Summer 2019 mixtape - 10 I made this to listen to on my little Walkman at work and it's full of bangers. Side 1 is upbeat and mostly Britpop and late 80s alt, and Side 2 is all dreampop and hazy ballads. It's a masterpiece, honestly, and the fact I am still saying it's a 10 in 2023 says something about my tastes not changing, I suppose. Highs: I included a few of my favourite Suede tracks: Introducing The Band to start, Lazy on side 1, and The Living Dead and The Asphalt World (although it cuts off mid-solo) to finish. Also Fade Into You and Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby are back to back on the dreampop side. Lows: I went with Spastica by Elastica which is by no means bad but I should have cut off Justin's silly intro bit.

New Order - (the best of) NewOrder - 9 I love New Order as a singles band and I listened to this a lot this time last year. Everything here is great, even perfect, to me. Highs: I cannot stress enough how much I love Blue Monday (the 1988 mix appears here) Lows: Ruined In A Day doesn't match up to the others

The Smiths - Hatful of Hollow - 9 This was donated to the charity shop I worked in, the 10" double vinyl pressing, with white-tack stuck in the grooves. I've rehabilitated it and now it's one of my favourites. Highs: 10/16 of these songs are perfect pop records: William It Was Really Nothing, What Difference Does It Make?, This Charming Man, How Soon Is Now?, Still Ill, Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now, Hand In Glove, Girl Afraid, Reel Around The Fountain and Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want Lows: the slower ones were less engaging: This Night Has Opened My Eyes, You've Got Everything Now and Back To The Old House

Suede - Bloodsports - 9 This is an album of two halves and I find the last four tracks a bit slow compared to the first six but it has two of my favourite Suede songs on so still, 9/10 thanks for coming back babies Highlights: Barriers is one of my favourite post-reunion songs that they never play (🙁) and For The Strangers makes me feel invincible Lowlights: the last four songs slow things waaay down and I don't love Snowblind either but I think they're all still great songs

Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazelwood - Nancy & Lee - 8 I love this album, it's magical to me. It was top of my wishlist and then one day I went down into the basement of the charity shop I worked at and there it was, an original vinyl copy donated and left on a stool. She's so special 💖 Highs: both Summer Wine and Some Velvet Morning are among my all-time fave songs, they're cult classics I know but they deserve it. Honorable mention to Jackson too. Lows: there's nothing bad on here but my least faves are You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', Elusive Dreams, Storybook Children and I've Been Down So Long (It Looks Like Up To Me).

Depeche Mode - Music For The Masses - 8 I love Depeche Mode and this is from their great period, but my CD is a thrifted 80s pressing where they tacked on some b-sides and remixes which lets down the overall quality. Highs: almost the entirety of the standard album - I think Never Let Me Down Again, The Things You Said, Strangelove, Sacred, Behind The Wheel, I Want You Now and Nothing are all perfect records Lows: Agent Orange and the To Have And To Hold Spanish Taster are not worthy of being here

7"s 2486 - 2490 - 8 All Depeche Mode singles, acquired via eBay in the era when I was deep in my DM obsession. 2486. Everything Counts (Live) 2487. Personal Jesus 2488. World In My Eyes 2489. I Feel You 2490. John The Revelator/Lilian remix picture disc Highs: Personal Jesus, World In My Eyes, I Feel You and One Caress all perfect songs. Lows: John The Revelator (UNKLE Dub) - the remix does nothing for me and bears no resemblance to the album track, which I do like

Good Charlotte - The Young & The Hopeless - 8 This album was essential for me growing up, they were the first 'proper' rock band I got into as a 10 year old and my brother and I played this album constantly. Highs: Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, Wondering, The Story of My Old Man, My Bloody Valentine, Riot Girl Lows: Hold On and Emotionless (the ballads) and the intro, good but not as great as the rest

Suede - The Blue Hour - 8 The album that hooked me in as a Suedegirl and I've rated it based on the average rating of the individual songs, which is why it's only an 8. It should probably be a 9 because it's one of those that needs to be looked at as a whole piece rather than a collection of songs, sorry I have been so unfair to you TBH I love you. Highlights: Tides!!!! I love her! Especially live, the build-up of that song is incredible. Lows: There are none, really - I considered ranking Dead Bird lower but then Brett's grunt as he shovels dirt got me.

Lily Allen - Alright, Still... - 7 I got this in the supermarket when it came out and I listened to it quite a lot despite being a certified emo girl. It's still really good. Highs: Smile, Knock Em Out, LDN and Friday Night are my faves. Lows: none, the rest are all good songs!

Elvis Presley - Elvis' Golden Records - 7 Elvis is obviously an icon with loads of great records. This is a repress of an old compilation that my dad had in his collection, with early hits. Highlights: Hound Dog and Jailhouse Rock, naturally Lowlights: the ballads, there's 5 on here

#148 - January 2015 pt. 2 - 7 First off can I just say I don't know how some of these songs managed to be relegated to pt. 2 of my monthly mix CD series because some of my favourite songs of all time are on here!!! Pt 1 is probably what I was listening to a lot at the time but didn't make a lasting impression. Highs: Animal Nitrate is on here!!! And so is Angels of Porn by Nicole Dollanganger which is also a perfect record. But the absolute number one, possibly my favourite song ever which I didn't appreciate at the time, Menswear by the 1975. Lows: the set opens with Nightcrawler by Kids In Glass Houses who I was listening to a lot at this time but it's not one of their hits.

Elastica - Weekend Swingers - 6 This was the first Elastica bootleg I bought on eBay and it's a good one, with a full 1994 festival set, 2 Peel Sessions and a couple of demos on the end. Rarely is a live version ever as good as the album though and bless Justine but her stage banter is always cringe. Highs: the demo of Vaseline is great and also the live version of Hold Me Now that they play here is also important - the guitars are played at double speed and there's an Ants-esque Burundi beat to the drums which I wish they'd kept for the album! Lows: there's none - it's a good set.

Elastica - Glastonbury Festival 25 June 1995 - 6 Another eBay bootleg, this time of their Glasto set. Again, it's all good but nothing special. Highs: Stutter Lows: n/a

#116 - 6 A mix CD that's largely devoid of theme; just me backing up songs I had downloaded that I didn't have any other place for. Highs: Ghost Town by The Specials is the highlight of any mix CD, I think Lows: Sonic Boom Six's cover of Addicted To Bass. I love the original and this version doesn't add anything so I don't need it.

7"s 2581-2585 - 6 I bought these as part of a box of about 50 cheap singles from Discogs where I was just racking up a cart of everything I might like to reach the free shipping amount. Some of the choices are unhinged. 2581 - Piero Umiliani - Mah-Na Mah-Na 2582 - The Fun Boy Three - The Telephone Always Rings 2583 - Lene Lovich - Say When 2584 - Shaggy - Oh Carolina 2585 - The Supremes - Baby Love Highs: Baby Love is a perfect record, of course, but I also have a soft spot for Mah-Na Mah-Na purely for the chaos factor. Lows: none, actually - I expected to say goodbye to Lene Lovich but I warmed to the song. Same with FB3 but the b-side is cool.

#145 - November '14 - 6 This was a month of very mixed vibes, fuelled by The Blackout's Wolves EP tour - a mix of pop, nu metal and a lot of Die Antwoord. Highs: two Die Antwoord songs that I will still listen to - Rich Bitch and Orinoco Ninja Flow - plus Break Stuff by Limp Bizkit, Twisted Transistor by Korn, and Blank Space by Taylor Swift Lows: Limp Bizkit's cover of Faith is bad.

#102 - 6 This is another mix CD that's just me backing stuff up so not very well put together although it includes some EPs and punk themes I suppose. Highs: The entire Dear Boy EP - 5 perfect songs that make me feel like I'm home. Also R U Mine? and Road Runner. Lows: Angel With A Shotgun by The Cab sounds engineered for the credits of some YA action movie and I think people used to put it in their fandom playlists on here a lot so it just sounds like really annoying Tumblr to me.

The Housemartins - London 0, Hull 4 - 5 This is another that I feel I might have been unfair to because I quite liked it, it's just that the songs are all kind of the same. There's 2 vibes - the jangly indie tunes and the ballads that are grasping at soulfulness. All of the former are good, all of the latter are not for me. Highs: Happy Hour was a hit single for a reason Lows: Flag Day is the ballad that drones on the longest, they're trying to be ambitious but I didn't like it.

Hyro Da Hero - Birth, School, Work, Death - 5 I saw Hyro a few times when he was promoting this album because of his feature on The Blackout's record and his subsequent support slot on their tour. I was really into it at the time but it doesn't do anything for me now. I didn't actually buy it at the time (I ripped it to iTunes from a friend's CD) but I found it in an Oxfam music shop years later. It's going back into the charity shop circuit now though. Highlights: Grudge, Ghetto Ambiance, Section 8 and Beam Me Up Scotty are my keepers Lowlights: The World's Stage was my least favourite - I find his misogyny really gross.

Mix CD #8 - 5 I think this dates to about 2007, maybe even 2006, when I would download anything and everything that was popular on PureVolume or Kerrang TV. The 20 tracks are split between decent rock songs and average ones. Highlights: By The Way by Red Hot Chili Peppers and In Too Deep by Sum 41 - both music TV staples Lowlight: Sinking Ships by Only Innocent Die, which would have been OK as a normal length song but it was 7 and a half minutes long and I got very bored waiting for it to end.

Propaganda - A Secret Wish - 4 I bought this at one of those charity shops in the Central Belt where CDs are 10p each, on the basis of them being on ZTT. I didn't enjoy it though, unfortunately, and I've not kept it in my collection. Highs: Duel was the only song I liked Lows: none of the rest was *bad*, just dull

From First To Last -Heroine - 4 I loved the first FFTL album so I was excited that this one came out as I was getting into them, but I never really gelled with it in 2006 and I still don't, sadly. Highs: The Latest Plague is the only song that does it for me. Lows: the rest is average quality.

Pixies - Come On Pilgrim - 4 I inherited this from a family member who emigrated so I don't feel like I can get rid of it even though I didn't enjoy it much. It doesn't have any of the well-known Pixies songs on it, or even anything that feels like it could have been a single. Highs: The Holiday Song and I've Been Tired Lows: everything else was a bit boring.

Top of the Pops 2000 - Vol. 2 [disc 2] - 4 This was so much worse than I remembered! It's mostly UK garage and really dull house music with a bit of mainstream rock on the end. The pop music on disc 1 may save this from donation. Highs: All The Small Things by Blink-182 is the sole attempt at greatness Lows: I was really unimpressed by the opener - A New Beginning (Love II Infinity Mix) by Stephen Gately. I don't understand why they would put remixes on a pop hits compilation when the remix wasn't the hit version (there's a remix of The Bad Touch on here too). I also didn't like Masterblaster 2000 by DJ Luck & MC Neat, but the worst thing on here was Who Feels Love? which is Oasis having a go at psychedelic Beatles and it's fucking dogshit.

#rachel's record review

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