#she’s only 56-57 episodes in

[the-pest1lence]

OUR OTHER FIRND JUST SENT ME THIS QUOTE SHE WAS REXTED (she finished it on Monday) FROM TEH FRIND OF MY LAST POST

#i can’t #she’s only 56-57 episodes in #and i’m like #you’re not supposed to know yet #tma #the magnus pod #the magnus archives #magpod #tma spoilers #pest rants

[mareastrorum]

if essek did it, why do you think he did? i'm at a loss as to how it would benefit him to give her a shiv. (hope my tone doesn't read hostile, i'm genuinely confused)

I haven't taken any of the asks as hostile, so no worries!

The short answer is that Essek would have benefited whether the Scourger succeeded in killing Caleb or not. Longer answer:

To begin with, let's set the stage. In episode 56, the Nein had handed over the beacon, and in 57, the Bright Queen awarded them with emblems that represented their status as heroes of the Dynasty. It was only after the Bright Queen elevated their status in front of the entire court that she assigned Essek (without asking first) to be their "steward" for the time being, including the responsibility of seeing as to their lodgings.

The Bright Queen is clever. She certainly considered that maybe this was a ploy from the Empire to insert spies into her midst, especially because only one of two beacons was returned. From her perspective, assigning her most trusted spymaster to keep an eye on these idiots is exactly what she should do. If they're plants, Essek would sort it out. If not, they were highly valuable assets that could be used against the Empire or as liaisons.

So, let's orient this from Essek's POV. This bunch of chucklefucks that don't know court decorum came into the queen's throne room, intending to ask a favor in exchange for ridding Asarius of a demon infestation. Then a rival noble calls them out for attacking him and other Kryn outside of Asarius. Just before they're arrested, the human (ginger with blue eyes, a Zemnian) pulls out a beacon of the Luxon, announces that he and his friends are not friends of the Empire, and then offers it to the Bright Queen. Now they're the queen's favored, and out of all the people at court that day, she chose Essek Thelyss, the Shadowhand, in charge of the Dungeon of Penance, to keep an eye on them.

But Essek is the one that stole the beacons. He realizes the same possibilities (spies or well-intentioned rubes), but if anyone in the Dynasty knew about the Volstrucker, it'd be Essek. There is no reason whatsoever for Essek to trust the Nein because those beacons were supposed to stay in the Empire. The reason he handed them over in the first place was that he was supposed to share in the research done by incredibly powerful wizards who did not care about the religious significance. Whether Essek knew or not that one had been lost by the Assembly, the Nein's act of returning one negatively impacted the deal he made. There's the possibilities that Ikithon and the other Assembly members betrayed Essek by lying or hiding information, or perhaps they sent the Nein to expose Essek as the traitor to remove a loose end, or perhaps the Nein really are ignorant and they could gum everything up. Regardless of which situation this is, the best outcome for Essek would be neutralizing the interlopers before they come upon, intentionally or not, his involvement in the theft of the beacons.

The problem, of course, is that the Nein are Heroes of the Dynasty, and since Essek is responsible for their care in the Dynasty, failure to safeguard them would also reflect badly upon him. That could also sabotage his position and ability to do the research he pleases. So he can't just kill them. He has to get them killed in a way that would not make him look bad, preferably in a way that scapegoats someone else for the inevitable blame at failing to protect them.

The condemned Scourger attacked Caleb in episode 77. None of the events between Essek's introduction and that point provide a reason for Essek to trust the Nein regarding his personal risk as a traitor to the Dynasty. Here are his subsequent appearances and what happened:

Episode 57: Essek lets Yeza out of his prison after the interrogation yields information on DeRogna's research of the beacons (the potions Yeza made) and that she took the beacon back two days before the attack, which was shortly before the Nein arrived in Felderwin and began heading to the Dynasty. Because of the timeline of events, Essek realizes that must be the second beacon, so now both are accounted for. This also lets him know what sort of research they did with that beacon, and since Yeza only saw one, the one the Nein returned must have been used for something else. This is great intel for Essek, but not a reason to trust the Nein--only to find them useful.

Episode 61: After the Nein report back to Professor Waccoh of their completion of her mission, Essek arrives at the Inn where he lodged the Nein and escorts them to the Thelyss estate that his den has secured for them. Notably, the work they did was not for Essek; they worked for Waccoh and were paid for the trouble. That just proved they're capable mercenaries.

Episode 62: Essek visits the Xhorhaus after the Nein have settled a bit. He's rather cold: declines offer to join for dinner, declines a drink, has to be persuaded to answer why he isn't familiar with the neighborhood, doesn't want to say where he lives, repeatedly says he wants to get back to his research, etc. It's only once Caleb starts discussing magic and how he wants to learn that Essek starts the game they play about trying to get info from the other without divulging anything useful. Essek requests something impressive for the chance he might teach Caleb something. He then asks questions when Caleb shows off his familiar and giant earthen cat paw:

Essek was flat out rude to Beau, and this was before the whole "White Xhorhasian" drink faux pas. But even with an unimpressive persuasion roll, he offers Caleb a choice of the types of spells he could learn and even lets Caleb handle and read the book himself. Again, Essek has no reason to trust the Nein at this point. This wasn't because he believed or trusted Caleb--Caleb didn't persuade Essek of shit. Essek was fishing for information. He was already going to teach Caleb something, and the persuasion roll was probably to see how many spell levels he'd get. What spells does this Zemnian that stole a beacon from the Empire want to know? Would he give into the temptation to read elsewhere in the book? Caleb chose "the bending of fate, destiny" and learned Fortune's Favor and Gift of Alaracity. Essek is slightly less rude to the Nein as he leaves, probably pleased that he learned something useful in exchange for low-level dunamancy spells, plus now Caleb owes him a favor. Favors are a great way to set up the Nein for whatever scheme he intends later.

Episode 63: Essek is present in the Bright Queen's throne room when the Nein report their findings from the Overcrow Apothecary to her. During this conversation, Caleb admits to the Bright Queen that he had received some training to become a Scourger, though he did not complete it. When Essek is asked if he believes them about the cult of the Angel of Irons, he says he does, and even says he trusts them, though he declines to join them on this quest. Essek has not had any reason to trust the Nein by this point. He flat out lied. Even Fjord commented "'Cause he's been checking on that shit," because he and the others felt Essek was likely keeping an eye on them via Scrying (since they discovered hovering orbs in the Xhorhaus). Maybe their strangeness and civility (even if a little racist) made them endearing, but that's a different issue from trust. Essek wants them to chase down this cult precisely because it is dangerous and could get them killed. All the better that they die in service of the Dynasty, because then he won't be blamed for something sanctioned by the Bright Queen herself.

Episode 65: Jester sends to Essek asking about the Arbor Exemplar in the Barbed Fields, and while she asked for more, he only provides the name, notes it's dangerous terrain, and says they're doing him proud.

Episode 70: When the Nein return to Rosohna and report to the Bright Queen, Essek is again in the throne room. Before Essek is singled out, Caleb requests from the Bright Queen more training from Essek and info on the newly captured Scourger (which they just learned about, and Caleb suspects is Astrid). The Bright Queen says that the Nein haven't quite earned that much trust yet. Once Caduceus explains that the Nein want to fast and safe travel to the Flotket Alps, Essek makes himself known and offers to take them there, again declining to do more than transport them. Essek does not accompany the Nein to see the Scourger, but considering it's his dungeon and he is a spymaster, he was probably Scrying or otherwise tracking what transpired. Of course, it turns out that she isn't Astrid. Later, Caleb returns to the Lucid Bastion and waits to speak to Essek. Caleb confirms he was not actually a Scourger, but knows some about them. Caleb also requests a chance to speak to the Scourger again, even if Essek is there, and that they not accelerate the execution. (He didn't even ask for a delay.) Essek says he'll see and leaves.

Sidebar: Essek absolutely wants intel from this Scourger. He would know they report to the Assembly, and he would not know whether they are aware of his deal with the Assembly. As a condemned captive, her word against his isn't going to mean anything anyway, so the potential of the Scourger outing Essek is practically nil. Thus, there isn't any real risk at letting the Scourger say whatever she wants to say to Caleb. If anything, observing undetected meant better intel.

Episode 71: Jester sends to Essek, who arrives with an armed guard (weird) to teleport the Nein to the Flotket Alps. Before they go, the Nein left ball bearings on the ground to see if Essek floats (he does) and then pretend to berate Dairon, their "housekeeper", for leaving them out. Essek seems to find the whole thing amusing, then teleports them. They got a mishap because of the roll, but then arrive in the mountains. Again, stuff that could be endearing, but why did Essek have an armed guard...? That's so weird.

Episode 72: The Nein poke a little fun at Essek for the mishap, but he leaves via a Teleportation Circle.

Episode 73: Caleb asks Jester to Send to Essek to ask about the status of the Scourger's execution date, but Jester instead requests a delay. Remember how Caleb didn't request a delay before? Now he's requesting a delay indirectly; he didn't even ask Essek himself. (Man, that would seem rude from Essek's POV.) Essek responds that he'll try, but notes his den has no further interest in keeping the Scourger alive. When Caleb asks Jester to pass on that he might be able to help because of his history, Essek responds the same, but cracks a joke since Jester ended with "You pooping?" Essek's trying to endear himself to Jester, but we can't conclude whether it's sincere or subterfuge. After all, if she told anyone he joked, he could easily deny it. That was specifically for her.

Episode 74: The Nein send to Essek and ask him to come to the Xhorhaus so he can teleport them and meet someone. They briefly discuss the Scourger, and while Essek managed to get an extension of 2 weeks on the execution, he needs more of a heads up for Caleb to visit the Scourger again. Caleb then says here is a formal request, and Essek says he'll deal with that arrangement then. They introduce him to Reani, he dispels an enchantment on a paper hiding some items, then he teleports them to Mythburrow. At the end of the episode, Matt notes they're racking up quite a debt to Essek.

Let's pause there.

Each prior time the Nein went to the Dungeon of Penance, it was impromptu. They had just been announced as Heroes of the Dynasty when Essek personally took them to the dungeon to see Yeza as their first stop. The Nein were permitted to visit the Scourger unescorted as soon as they learned about her. Now there needs to be notice? It couldn't be because of the execution because the Bright Queen mentioned to begin with that the Scourger would be executed. There was no change of plan other than the extension that the Nein requested only a day prior. Why would Essek need to give anyone notice about someone visiting a condemned prisoner held in the prison that he manages?

Probably to make sure that Scourger has a fucking shiv.

Episode 75: At the beginning of the episode, before returning to Rosohna, Essek notes the Nein are ridiculous, tells them to have fun, and even calls them "friends." Again, that makes him seem endearing and less formal, but it's done out in the boonies. If any of them tried to tell someone from the Dynasty that he had done any of those things, he could probably deny it. So his reputation is safe, and it makes it seem like he likes them.

That's twice now he's been nice without any reason to trust them. Hmmm, sure seems like building some plausible deniability to me.

Episode 77: Jester summons Essek to the Xhorhaus. They discuss that the Bright Queen would like the Nein to find where the remaining beacon is in the Empire. Caleb attempts to fish for whether any particular Assembly members come to mind that Essek wants investigated, but he replies that he could list all of them if Caleb likes. Beau's insight check to see if Essek is sincere about ending the conflict fails. Caleb attempts to fish for a last known location of the beacon, and Essek gives an unhelpful answer that it must certainly be moved frequently. That's Essek being rude; they already know the beacon was last seen in Felderwin because Yeza said DeRogna took it from there 2 days before his capture by the Kryn. Essek is being intentionally and obviously obtuse. Fjord asks if others are on this quest, and Essek answers yes, but declines to give the Nein a way to identify them. Then they bring up the condemned Scourger, and Essek only recommends speaking to her soon; no specified date. Caleb asks if that day works, then Essek assents and offers to escort him.

That sure is a suspicious moment to suddenly decide to be helpful, isn't it? Sure is weird that he went back to being rude after being openly amiable and even joking with them, isn't it?

Then, when they arrive at the prison:

That is a really weird thing to say after the Nein were permitted to visit this same prisoner unescorted without notice as soon as they learned about her. Of course, then the attack happens. Matt doesn't mention whether Essek entered the cell before, during, or after Caleb starts talking to the Scourger, but Essek kills the Scourger after the attack.

Looking back at all the events that occurred leading to this point, Essek has not had any reason not to think that the Nein are somehow working for the Assembly or otherwise would expose him to the Bright Queen if they discovered what he had done. The key issue is that if the Nein placed their loyalties to either the Empire or the Dynasty over their loyalty to him, they could ruin him. That circumstance hasn't changed by this point, so the only reason to keep any of them alive is that they're cute. There's his entire life in the balance if he keeps letting them run around, especially if they search for the other beacon.

With that in mind, setting up the Scourger to be able to attack Caleb only puts his reputation at risk, and Essek has already taken steps to minimize that problem. Caleb was the one that requested a delay. Caleb was the one that wanted to speak to the Scourger. Caleb was the one that volunteered he had been training to be one. Caleb was the one that offered to fish for information useful to the Dynasty. Each was a push on the Dynasty's normal procedure and/or a personal risk to himself.

And what does Essek have to gain? It would be easy for Essek to frame this as the Assembly's pet Zemnians putting themselves at risk for small gains, and they're so devious even the best prison in the Dynasty was not enough to secure them perfectly. All the more reason to demonize the Empire and the Scourgers. It wouldn't matter if Caleb died or not; the attack was simply fuel for propaganda. Remember, Essek did not want peace. He wanted war. That bolstered his position as a spymaster, distracted the Dynasty from anything he was up to, and provided cover for the Assembly's research. In the long-term, it would just be one more incident to point to if Essek ever needed to sow dissent about Caleb's mental or emotional stability or the risk posed to the Dynasty by the Assembly.

And if Caleb died? One less member of the Nein to worry about. They'd gotten Essek some decent intel about the beacons, about DeRogna's research, and about the Scourgers. But that's it. They've done him no favors, they aren't directly useful for his research, and they're a massive liability.

Either of those outcomes specifically required violence. It wouldn't be enough for the Scourger to just rage in her chains. She needed to somehow get loose and have a weapon. Spells wouldn't have been a sufficient/sensible threat; she wouldn't have possibly been able to prepare spells from a book, and cantrips wouldn't have done much on their own against someone as strong as Caleb. But getting the Empire-trained assassin a shiv sure would have been a threat to a wizard made of soggy paper, and no matter how it played out, it only made the Empire look more monstrous.

So, yeah, I absolutely believe Essek went out of his way to make sure the Scourger would have an opportunity and weapon to attack Caleb. Risking some human's life for one more justification to prolong a war he started? That's the sort of shit I would expect from a neutral evil Shadowhand.

#my asks #essek thelyss #caleb widogast #the mighty nein #this wasn't supposed to be this long #i am juggling this and writing #i won't be sleeping tonight because i have shadowhand essek being a neutral evil schemer on the brain

[smolwritingchick]

Forced To Believe Masterlist

A Dean Ambrose x OC story! The Shield 4th member.

Summary: Taking place during the start of The Shield's debut in 2012, follow Morgan Lopez's career as she becomes a member of The Shield, revamps herself as The Outspoken Diva and makes a name for herself in WWE.

OC Profile of Morgan Lopez

Chapter 1- So, You Wanna Wrestle?

Chapter 2- My WWE Debut

Chapter 3- Fighting Back

Chapter 4- My First Wrestlemania

Chapter 5- Becoming Heel

Chapter 6- Total Divas Season 1 Episode 1

Chapter 7- The Shield's Girl

Chapter 8- Total Divas Season 1 Episode 2

Chapter 9- The Shield Isn't Unstoppable

Chapter 10- Total Divas Season 1 Episode 4

Chapter 11- Justice Continues Being Served

Chapter 12- The Underdog from Philly

Chapter 13- Catching Up Before MITB

Chapter 14- Money In The Bank 2013

Chapter 15- Total Slap!

Chapter 16- Frustration

Chapter 17- Total Divas Season 1 Episode 5

Chapter 18- I Know What I Have To Do

Chapter 19- Do You Know Who I Am!?

Chapter 20- Total Divas Season 1 Episode 6

Chapter 21- Army of One

Chapter 22- Wiping That Smirk Off Your Face

Chapter 23- You Look Like You've Seen A Ghost

Chapter 24- Total Divas Season 1 Episode 7

Chapter 25- Mommy Knows Best

Chapter 26- Revenge Is Sweet

Chapter 27- Total Divas Season 1 Episode 8

Chapter 28- Is That You Being Serious?

Chapter 29- In Due Time

Chapter 30- Trying To Gain Momentum

Chapter 31- The Slammy Awards

Chapter 32- That Was A Miracle

Chapter 33- The Answer Is No

Chapter 34- Tribute To The Troops

Chapter 35- Morgan's Answer

Chapter 36- Move Thief

Chapter 37- Meeting Hot Rod

Chapter 38- Respect

Chapter 39- I Hate Snakes

Chapter 40- If Only You Knew

Chapter 41- Making A Statement

Chapter 42- Yikes

Chapter 43- Sister Abigail

Chapter 44- I Lost Her

Chapter 45- She Belongs To Us Now

Chapter 46- I See What You Want

Chapter 47- Armageddon

Chapter 48- Armageddon Part 2

Chapter 49- That Supernatural Stuff Don't Work

Chapter 50- What Are You Doing!?

Chapter 51- Things Got Personal

Chapter 52- He Kept His Word

Chapter 53- Harley Mode Was Captivating

Chapter 54- Rosa's Mind Games

Chapter 55- Togetherness

Chapter 56- Public Displays of Affection

Chapter 57- The Shield Against The Authority

Chapter 58- Bad News Dinner

Chapter 59- Getting The Upper Hand

Chapter 60- Annihilated

#the shield #wwe #dean ambrose #dean ambrose x oc #Seth rollins #roman reigns #masterlist #forced to believe masterlist #FTB #Forced to believe #the shield 4th member #wwe imagine #wwe fanfic #wwe fanfiction #Jon moxley #jon moxley x oc #dean Ambrose fluff #wwe fluff

[boringboy]

Thoughts about Ada. Is it coherent, I don’t know? You tell me. (PART 1)

I’d like to start this off by saying I’m not in my right mind right now, it’s sort of like— literally 5am in the morning as I write this and I have not slept a wink, but this is the sort of thing I’ll sacrifice for my latest obsession! Haha, okay but anyways. This is just a little character post, sharing my thoughts about a certain one, and in no way do I consider it to be up to par with any of the other existing analyses within the Nevermore fandom. I don’t do this often, so forgive me.

Ada, to me, is an amazing antagonist. I believe she’s incredibly well written, so much that she (almost) seems human. At first you think she’s annoying, which you’re meant to, but then somewhere down the line you start feeling something similar to remorse. Guilt. And then you immediately become annoyed again. I know exactly how Morella feels.

First off, we can talk about her background. What Edgar Allan Poe work is Ada based on? That’s right, Tamerlane! And what exactly is Tamerlane about? To put it short, it’s a poem about an important man who falls in love with a peasant girl who’s conveniently named Ada, who he takes for granted. We can already infer so much from this, and it’s reinforced by the Mystery Manor arc which does hint at it before it’s basically confirmed. I mean, how else would she know that the servant’s staircase were the quickest way to get round the mansion, if not from experience? And the way she responded to Lenore when she’d asked what a peephole portrait could be good for: “Uhh, privacy, obviously?” followed by, “These old manors have all sorts of secrets like this!”. (Taken from episodes 56 and 57). This isn’t something people with status would care to know about or remember.

When it’s shown outright in episode 69 through a memory triggered by Prospero’s rejection, we see Ada in maid attire, denoting her status. She has presumably been lured into the forest by this man, the man she loves, the man who is wealthy, and the man who is holding a hatchet and has already struck her. Well, sliced her to be exact. Right in the stomach. A lot of people theorise this to be due to an accidental pregnancy and an affair, which is something I agree with and what I believe to be the most probable situation. Continuing on, Ada’s bleeding out, in tears, and understandably confused. Was her pregnancy, or whatever it could be, not something to be happy about? Even though she’s dying, the last thing on her mind is the pain. What she cares about is what the man thinks. All she can think about is why he’s doing this to her.

Ada was dealt an awful hand in life. She’s never been fortunate ever, not even in death.

What did she want from this relationship?

Naturally, as a person born so low down, you would want to live better and be treated better. So you take any sliver, any scrap, of anything that comes close to that. You fall in love with that rich man, that’s nothing, but if he loves you back or says he does? I’d scrabble to my knees just to get the chance. Hell, I’d accept it without even thinking twice.

I think their interactions might have been almost fairytale like, the man acting like a prince, at least in her eyes, explaining her attitude towards the whole thing.

And Ada continues to go for it in death because she’s unfulfilled. She wants to be satisfied for once in her life, in so many different ways. This game the Deans are playing is what she thinks is her chance to finally change things.

How does her background affect her? What does it do for her character now?

Her insecurity is rooted in classism. The likely reason she was killed was because the man couldn’t be caught with someone of a low class, and of course Ada would know that. You’d be made to know your place since the day you were born. That insecurity only grows worse upon entering Nevermore. When you’re afraid of one thing, you start fearing more. The way she acts towards others because of that earns her insults and adds even more salt to the wound. I think she came out more insecure than when she arrived 😭. Like all the precautions she’s taken have all been wasted because they don’t even have the effect on others that she wants. Nobody likes her because of it.

Also because of her background, she’s unable to stand up for herself when she really needs to. Yes she’ll fight it at first, pretend she’s as good as the rest, but it’ll fade fast. There’s no point in fighting it when it’s the natural order of things, right? What she’s been before is what she’ll always be and nothing can change that. No matter how much she dreams. Resigning herself to others is what she’s used to doing. Ada can’t defy her authority, can’t defy anything even if she feels guilty.

She wants to be loyal and worthy. She craves validation so desperately it’s insane.

What is so relatable and real about her?

The cycle she’s stuck in is something I believe a lot of people can relate to, or something a lot of people have seen others go through. She’s self destructive, and I don’t think I even need to explain that. You can easily identify what, where and when.

The fact that she’s vulnerable. All of these things have made her unstable and easy to manipulate and use, and I don’t think she’s aware of it either, or maybe she is deep down, but doesn’t mind it because she’s getting what she wants, or what she supposes she wants.

Her actions seem almost reasonable now when you take into account her living life and her circumstances, but it doesn’t make it okay obviously. It makes you sympathise with her. Kind of like a love/hate thing. R&F did really well with that, the expressions and all the little things make such a huge difference/impact. I can tell exactly how she feels in her lowest moments.

Help. We’re stopping here because if I continued there’d be so much more.

I don’t know. I think it’s the fact that you can think this much about her that proves she’s an amazing character? Because wow she is thought provoking. This is all nonsense actually, I’m afraid of looking at this after it’s posted.

#ada nevermore #nevermore webtoon #nevermore webcomic

[greencways]

jennifer jareau headcanons

1. ENFP

2. took dance classes when she was younger

3. will watch disney films all day if you let her

4. hates pizza and finds the texture gross

5. her favourite meal is mac and cheese

6. LOVED and i mean LOVED back to school shopping, she used to count down the days until she could go to the store

7. used to be a cheerleader before she was on the soccer team

8. sometimes reads over spencer's work and writes down specific words that she's never heard of before on a sticky note and then sporadically the next day to see if he notices but he never does, emily catches on very soon though

9. owns so many dvds that she could run her own shop

10. shops at h&m

11. wanted to be a media liaison and talk to people because she used to feel like no one listened to her when she was younger so at least she could listen in return to people who need it

12. bites her straws

13. always cold

14. can do amazing makeup, is incredibly talented at it and does it for fun so she's a pro, she also went viral for how amazing her makeup looks were once

15. allergic to nickel

16. obsessed with butterflies

17. has owned a butterfly necklace

18. had watched every single episode of buffy the vampire slayer and had a crush on faith lehane

19. dyes her hair blonde all the time (she's not a natural blonde)

20. gets a hangover if she looks at a bottle of wine wrong

21. didn't stop collecting butterflies and still collects them with her sons and loves to tell them all the different species

22. can and will sleep anywhere

23. natural brunette

24. reads marvel comics

25. gluten intolerant

26. mixes skittles into her popcorn

27. could not survive the day without a vanilla latte

28. has ocd and anxiety

29. smells like vanilla

30. drinks 8 bottles of water a day

31. favourite taylor swift album is red

32. cuts her own hair

33. always tired

34. sits on chairs with her leg up or legs crossed

35. her love language is words of affirmation

36. drinks way to much boba to a point where it's concerning

37. listens to podcasts to help relax her

38. terrible cook, better baker

39. still keeps in contact with elle, elle rang her after she stopped seeing jj on the tv and now they meet up for coffee twice a week, and elle comes to girls night when she can

40. pina colada lover

41. LOVES bereal and still does it everyday (never on time)

42. is always on aux but everyone is terrified of her music taste so they just let her

43. her phone is always above 70%

44. she is the mom friend and ALWAYS has everything in her bag that you need; medicine, pads, lipstick, money, chargers etc

45. tilts her head back when she laughs

46. twists her necklace when she's nervous

47. LOVES and i mean LOVES colouring (it relaxes her)

48. whenever someone new joins in the team she is ALWAYS the first person to show them around

49. keeps all her maternity clothes just in case someone needs them

50. her go to drink on a night out is vodka coke

51. elle bought her a butterfly necklace after she found out that she collected butterflies when she was younger and she started wearing it after she couldn't wear the one ros gave her anymore

52. when she was a media liaison, every time she would read that a case is really bad and hard one, she would bake chocolate chip cookies for the team and bring them into work before anyone notices and acts surprised when she sees them (hotch is the only one that knows it's her but no one else knows, he smiles at her subtly when she realizes how happy it makes them)

53. avid buffy stan (owns all the dvds, posters, merch) (teen jj used to write fics)

54. tells people her favourite movie is the godfather but it's actually cars (2006)

55. she LOVES british game shows and is genuinely really good at quiz shows (her general knowledge is amazing)

56. she dated a few girls in high school but elle was her first proper relationship

57. her favourite artist is david bowie and her favourite songs are heroes and starman

58. she was told that she was way to sensitive as a child and it impacted on her as an adult so she tries to teach henry and michael that it's okay to express their feelings as best as they can and that they can cry whenever they want and they don't have to keep it in

59. she kept all of henry and michael's drawings when they were growing up

60. she is a night owl but her kids aren't, so she gets up extra early because it makes them really happy

61. she doesn't like to label her sexuality and she doesn't see a point in doing so

62. babysat when she was younger but ended up loving it and wanted to be a teacher for a while

63. she loves journaling and writes to different versions of herself (mostly letters to her future self but she wrote a letter to her old self once and found it too upsetting)

64. she's a beer drinker

65. she still tells people that she has an older sister and she secretly writes letters to her but no one knows (emily figured it out when she saw her writing one once but she never brought it up)

66. she loves marvel and her favourite characters are; doctor strange, wanda, black widow, carol danvers, and spider-man (she also watches the films with henry all the time)

67. she still does those early 2000's magazine quizzes

68. she loves interior design and when her and will bought a house she did most of the work herself

69. she doodles when she's bored

70. she writes notes to henry and michael sometimes (and they write back little notes to her and she doesn't find them until she's in the bau and the team ask what they've written that day)

#criminal minds #fanfic #jennifer jareau #aj cook #jennifer jareau headcanons

[blackthorn-faerie]

I’m rewatching Good Omens 2, but I’m analyzing it and taking notes this time (I need to know everything). Here’s what I have for episode 1!!

Episode 1

- “Oh, I can. I’m very good at forgiveness. It’s one of my favourite things.” S2E1 9:57

- Gabriel shows up at Aziraphale’s bookshop bc he forgot everything when he got in the elevator. He was gonna take it to hell to find Beelzebub, but he accidentally took it to Earth. Dirty Donkey is across the street from A.Z. Fell and Co, which is a familiar (and angelic) location. Could probably sense that it was a safe space for him to be

- Michael was on the phone with Beelzebub

- The fly can be seen crawling on the box just before Aziraphale goes to pick it up

- “Gayyyyybriel” 20:56

- “Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out” Job 41:19 (written on matchbox)

- When Maggie calls him an angel, he says “nothing of the sort”

- Distancing himself from heaven? He’s no longer an angel?

- Or is it like all the times he claimed he and Crowley weren’t friends/didn’t know each other?

- Is he telling the truth or lying bc he’s scared of the repercussions?

- “Doing good again, angel?” “Oh it hardly counts. A purely selfish action.” (24:40)

- He’s no longer working for heaven, so he’s not obligated to do good. Crowley appears to be teasing him in a “don’t you wanna go apeshit?” kinda way.

- He now has to justify his good deeds by saying they’re for selfish reasons.

- Like Crowley has all along

- Does he see himself as a demon now?

- Like in the Job minisode when he thought he was going to fall for lying?

- Or is he just hella anxious bc of naked Gabriel in his bookshop?

- Nina immediately getting defensive when Maggie gives her the LP

- Says she doesn’t have anything to play it on, which is true, but it’s also a refusal of the gift

- Immediately tries to turn the conversation professional/tries to get Maggie to order

- Then brings up her partner/how controlling she is

- It’s an unspoken “please don’t do extra things for me bc my partner won’t like it”

- Obsessed with the fact that “Jim” doesn’t know literally anything, but found a duster and was like “ooh hell yeah I’m gonna deep clean this place”

- Why is it that they only communicate when they’re arguing?

- Aziraphale really likes suggesting that the only way to solve arguments is for them to separate

- Communicate and then compromise omg

- Crowley can summon lightning

- Why was this never brought up again?

- It might fall under the broad “they’re more powerful than heaven and hell realize” category

- But it’s a big thing, you’d think it’d be brought up again

- But y’know, it’s a plot device for Maggie and Nina’s fanfiction moment

- Michael and Uriel’s power struggle

- Michael’s all “we’re equal, I’m just a little more equal than you”

- Uriel’s all “this is bullshit, why can’t I give the orders too”

- Saraqael is all “shut tf up, you both suck, there are important things to deal with”

- The archangels not only see humans as vastly inferior, they see all the other angels as such too

- And the angels know it too

- Muriel introducing themself as “no one”

- Beelzebub is literally all “Crowley you could have my job if you find my himbo bf for me”

- Extreme sanctions

- “That isn’t actually a thing. That’s just something we used to joke about to frighten the cherubs” (35:37)

- Why doesn’t Crowley know about the Book of Life?? He was a high ranking angel (throne, dominion, or above), why doesn’t he know about the “extreme sanctions”?

- I think the Book of Life is just a bluff

- Nina’s “why not?” when Maggie says she doesn’t drink

- Bracing herself for a sob story or a “it’s so not good for you” type of lecture

- “Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy”

- IT SKIPS OVER “DINING AT THE RITZ”

- I AM UNWELL

- God I hate the fact that Lindsay didn’t go to Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death to check on Nina

- “Worried texts from Lindsay” nope, she’s not worried, she’s abusive

- Why is “a proper apology a humiliating dance?

- Don’t get me wrong, I love the dance, but PLEASE COMMUNICATE OMG

- Zira did the dance in 1650, 1793, 1941

- Crowley cut him off, was he gonna list more times????

- CROWLEY IM BEGGING YOU TELL AZIRAPHALE ABOUT THE EXTREME SANCTIONS

- He hasn’t told Aziraphale that he’s still in touch with hell

- He regularly meets with Shax (EDIT: He does tell Aziraphale about Shax, so he knows that much)

- Didn’t tell Zira about Beelzebub showing up in his car

- It’s almost like he’s not willing to let go of the way things used to be (/s)

- And feels guilty that he’s still in touch with Hell, but Zira isn’t in touch with Heaven

- Jim is visibly upset that they won’t talk to him and they instead talk down to him or talk about him right in front of him

- Was the miracle so strong bc Crowley and Aziraphale together are super fucking strong or because Jim accidentally helped?

- While I love Zira and Crowley together being strong, and the whole point of them being underestimated by Heaven and Hell, I think the latter would be funny

- It’s like Shadwell with his finger

- It could also be another way of tricking Heaven and He’ll like the body swap

- They already think they’re super powerful bc of the body swap, this would add to it

- Probably why the Metatron wanted them either to be split or together on his side

- Doin Mackichan and Gloria Obianyo slayed as Michael and Uriel

- I love the way that Heaven matches the modernity of Earth

- Uriel’s “smartphone” and their clothes

#good omens spoilers #good omens 2 spoilers #good omens season 2 #good omens analysis #analyzing good omens bc I am neurodivergent and cannot think of anything else #lmk if you want me to elaborate on anything #i have so many thoughts #no thoughts only them #aziraphale #crowley #nina good omens #maggie good omens #uriel #archangel gabriel #archangel michael #saraquel #slay

[the-conversation-pod]

Summer 2023 Lagniappe

We made it to the end of the season, folks! Time for all of the extra discussions that just didn't fit into the structure of the season. Nini and Ben are both from the Caribbean and share the word "lagniappe" which means "a little extra" (kinda like a baker's dozen).

This time we've got quite a few things to discuss, and we also have our first guest! Ben's best friend David joins us for the Season Wrap-Up conversation.

We're going to answer some questions from @ctl-yuejie and @mynameisnotthepoint.

Nini caught up on My Only 12 Percent, Roommates of Poongduck 304, and She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat.

We unpack the eldritch horror that was The Shipper. We will not be discussing it ever again.

We discuss the execution of polyamory in Me, My Husband, and My Husband's Boyfriend.

We then hang out with David and discuss genre history, favorite actors, flops-and-trends, and award our Girl, You Tried award for this season.

Finally, we look ahead to the fall!

Listen on Apple Podcasts!

Listen on Google Podcasts!

Timestamps

The timestamps will now correspond with chapters on Spotify for easier navigation.

0:00 - Welcome 1:15 - Intro 3:14 - Talk Nice to Us 3:36 - How Did We Get into QL, and How Has the Podcast Changed Us? 9:10 - How Does Criticism and Commentary Change Your Viewing Experience? 13:11 - Catch Up Corner 13:59 - My Only 12 Percent 22:52 - Roommates of Poongduck 304 26:14 - She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat 30:09 - The Shipper 59:46 - Next Watches 1:02:33 - Me, My Husband, and My Husband’s Boyfriend 1:15:53 - Spring Roundup 1:16:40 - David Introduction and BL Background 1:18:50 - David’s History with Queer Cinema 1:20:59 - David’s Favorite BL Actors 1:23:24 - David’s Thoughts on the Spring Shows 1:26:15 - Somewhat Forgettable Shows 1:29:25 - Favorite Actor Pairs 1:36:49 - The Changing Nature of BLs 1:39:34 - Girl, You Tried 1:46:56 - Looking Ahead 1:57:44 - Outro

The Conversation: Now With Transcripts!

We received an accessibility request to include transcripts for the podcast. We are working with @ginnymoonbeam on providing the transcripts and @lurkingshan as an editor and proofreader.

We will endeavor to make the transcripts available when the episodes launch, and it is our goal to make them available for past episodes. When transcripts are available, we will attach them to the episode post (like this one) and put the transcript behind a Read More cut to cut down on scrolling.

Please send our volunteers your thanks!

0:00 - Welcome

Nini

Hello, hello! Your QL fandom aunty and uncle are here with giant sunglasses, brown liquor in a flask, a folded five-dollar bill to slip into your hand when no one is looking, lukewarm takes, occasional rides on the discourse, deep dives into artistry and the industry.

Ben

Lots of simping! I’m Ben.

Nini

I’m Nini.

Ben

And this is The Conversation. About once a season, we plan to swan in and shoot the shit on faves, flops, and trends that we’ve been noticing in the BL, GL, or QL Industry. Between seasons, you can find us typing way too many words on Tumblr.

1:15 - Intro

David

Hey, guys. My name is Dave. I'm your new favorite BL B-Asterisk-T-C-H and I'm here to introduce Nini and Ben—who don't really need any introduction, but I'm an extra bitch. So that's why I'm here. They're giving out awards. There's shadin’ shows. They're uplifting some shows, but mostly shade. So, welcome, tune in, have fun, and I'll see you guys in the episode. It's gonna be a lot of me, so be prepared, like, it's a lot. 

Bye, guys!

Nini

We have our first guest on the show—not for the last time, because we had so much fun with David. David's going to be back. 

Ben, what are we talking about? This is the lagniappe.

Ben

So, the lagniappe, as always, is going to be the bits that just didn't fit into the format of the other episodes thematically or in a way that we thought was necessarily interesting. So, we also figured out that Spotify has a question and answer tool and a commenting section, so please use it. We're having a lot of fun with it. 

We're going to answer some questions from some friends of ours—one old, one new. We're going to talk about Nini catching up when She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat, Roommates of Poongduck 304, as well as My Only 12 Percent. Nini and I are going to stare into the abyss and scream about the eldritch horror that was The Shipper. We're gonna promise you all some things for the future. We're gonna talk about a very complicated show in Me, My Husband, and My Husband's Boyfriend. And then finally, with David’s very specific presence here, we're going to unpack the entire spring season and generally qiqi for a bit.

Nini

It's delightful. Y'all are going to have a lot of fun see see you in the episode.

3:14 - Talk Nice to Us

Ben

On to the Talk Nice to Us section! Some of you lovely listeners—we still have not figured out what we wanna call you; please chime in and let us know—has sent us a couple of questions, one from an old friend of mine on Tumblr, and one from a new friend of the show. 

Nini, please take us into the questions.

3:36 - How Did We Get into QL, and How Has the Podcast Changed Us?

Nini

Ok, so the first question is from @ctl-yuejie, and they write, “I am curious how and why you two started watching QL, what your first impressions were, and how they might have changed over time and after starting a podcast about it?” 

So, Ben, how would you answer that question?

Ben

As a known homosexual and amateur cinenophile, [Nini laughs] I was bored and stressed with the Western Queer Cinema when I discovered BL. SOTUS comes out in…2016. I was desperate for a fresh infusion of queer cinema. There was a huge dearth of content happening in the 2010s. 

I really like queer stories, and I really like queer people getting to have fun and have a good time, and one of the things that stood out about SOTUS that felt fresh at the time was how forthright Kongpob was. I also liked that it was giving a commentary on its own society at the time, and I was basically hooked on QL from that point on. 

One, there was just a whole lot more of it—even with the small amount of content we had in 2016, 2017, 2018—there was more time spent with those shows than like all of the queer movies I watched in that year from the West. 

That's why I'm here, and then I met Nini, and she was like, “I want to talk about the shows and I want to do a podcast.” And I was like, “Well let's not think about it. Let's just do it.” 

Now we're here. What about you?

Nini

We talked about some of this stuff in our very first intro episode. I have been around fandom for a really long time. I have been familiar with the concept of BL. Sometime around the end of 2020 or beginning of 2021, some edit of I Told Sunset About You showed up on my YouTube, and I was desperate to find it. Back then it wasn't easily findable. And so, in trying to find it, I cycled through Life: Senjou no Bokura, Gaya Sa Pelikula, and Where Your Eyes Linger before I found I Told Sunset About You finally. 

So I got here at the beginning of 2021, and I just started devouring what I could find. And then, yeah, met Ben on the Tumblrs, and I said to Ben, “Hey, Ben, you write nice about things. I want to do a podcast because I want to do deep dives into some of this stuff.” And Ben said “Bet” and here we are. 

In terms of how my impressions of QL have changed over time and after starting this podcast, I am…familiar with the rhythms of some of this media now, and so things that probably would have irked me at the beginning don't irk me anymore or I enjoy them. I think I watch the shows differently now. When I'm watching I'm always thinking about, “Oh, I wonder what Ben's gonna say about this?” Which is fun! ‘Cause usually I am spot on.

How about you, Ben? How have your thoughts about BL, QL, GL, and fandom changed since starting the podcast?

Ben

One of the useful bits about the podcast versus say…blogging and essay writing is…the conversation itself forces me to think differently about the shows. Like I don't come into the podcast recordings with a bunch of, like, scripts written out for what I want to talk about. I sometimes give us questions to focus on that I think will get us into the meat of what that particular project was trying to dig into. But it's talking with each other and then it's the discussions with other people that really elevate the entire experience for me. 

I think what I've enjoyed the most about the podcast is…I feel like the shows are not one and done anymore. I feel like I'm exiting the very sort of masculine style of fandom engagement—which is mostly watching, memorizing, cataloging—and I'm very much enjoying the transformative part…of fandom where we talk about the shows, unpack them. I find myself being significantly more engaged than I was previously, and it makes me a little more picky about what I watch. 

Like, if I know I'm not going to talk about the show with you I'm far more likely to just dismiss the show.

Nini

It's true. There are some times where just like, “Ugh, God. I mean, if Ben's gonna watch this I guess I'm gonna have to watch it, too.” Doing the show has been really great from that regard in that I have watched things that I would have originally dismissed because of Ben— sometimes I don't love them. But most of the time when Ben says “you should watch this” I find it really worthy. 

9:10 - How Does Criticism and Commentary Change Your Viewing Experience?

@mynameisnotthepoint writes, ”How is your balance with consuming a piece of media and consuming the meta around it? Have you had it happen that the meta around it—reading up on things—completely changed your mind on a series?” 

Ben, has reading meta ever changed your mind about something that you watched?

Ben

The simple answer is yes; the complex answer is no. 

None of us are immune to receiving new inputs from other people, and people read things differently from me. I do find value in other people's perspectives. I like understanding where people are writing from. But it's very rare that somebody saw something in a show that was so groundbreaking that I also didn't see it in the first place. The big beats of the story are rarely something that I missed while participating along the way. We're all pretty smart, and the shows are rarely trying to trick us. So, it's very rare that, like, somebody's like, “Aha! It was the butler in the kitchen with the candlestick!” and I'm like, “How did you predict that?”

Nini

How I prefer to engage with the meta doesn't lead a lot of the time to me changing my mind about a show, but it has happened that I have been…persuaded not out of my particular read but more into seeing another read as valid. In my head I can hold two ideas, so I can be like, “Well this thing, I read it this way. This person read it that way.” I think both of those things can be happening at the same time. I don't feel like my read is exclusive to every other read. 

It's fun to talk to people about these things. I'm with Ben. A lot of the enjoyment in these shows other than watching some of the shows themselves—not all—is in talking to people about the shows and finding out what where their perspectives are coming from and seeing where our perspectives intersect, and where they might run parallel, and where they might conflict, but then how that conflict may not be a conflict at all. It's the twisty intellectual side of things that I really enjoy, and then also just the emotional side—having those conversations, getting to know people through their experience of media and my experience of media. I find that incredibly fun and rewarding. It's one of the reasons that I do the podcast with Ben. 

For me, the answer is yes sometimes my mind is changed by meta, but more often than not my thinking is expanded—not changed—by taking in meta.

Ben

Expand is a good way to describe it. I do think most shows that are good benefit from really invested people with the ability to communicate their thoughts sharing them determinedly week in week out. I'm a big fan of meta, basically. 

Keep writing! If you listen to us, keep writing!

We don't get to make friends with people if you guys are just lurking! Please write! Write on tumblr. Write on your blogs. Write to us. Whatever you do, just keep writing! We want to hear what you're thinking about the shows.

13:11 - Catch Up Corner

Nini

This is the Spring Catch Up Corner. We've got a doozy of one for you guys to round out the end of this but we're going to start with a few things that I caught up on in the spring mostly because Ben would not shut up about them.

Ben

[laughs] It's true though!

Nini

So in the spring I watched She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat (in Japanese: Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna), then Roommates of Poongduck 304, and My Only 12 Percent. Since Ben is breaking up with New this season I'm going to start with My Only 12 Percent.

13:59 - My Only 12 Percent

Ben

Okay I thought we were going to have fun first with, like, She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat. It's like directly into My Only 12 Percent! “And another thing! Smack!”

Nini

We always go from worst to first, but we're ending this particular catchup with the worst because of what it is. 

Ben

Man…[sighs]

Nini

I'm just gonna go with My Only 12 Percent. We don't I think need to do like the reminder to everybody about what My Only 12 Percent is because we've talked about it in the VIIB Awards. You all should go back and listen to that episode—I'm not exactly sure which episode it is but I will probably put it in the show description. 

So. I looked at it I watched it…[Nini sighs, Ben laughs]…and—okay, I'm gonna be real real with you, okay?

Ben

Okay.

Nini

I cannot say that I liked My Only 12 Percent. But I also cannot say that I disliked My Only 12 Percent.

There were moments, there were moments to My Only 12 Percent that I did like, but, like, the first two-thirds of the show I just found incredibly frustrating. I am not really a Cooheart fan as an actor. Actually, let me take that back.

Ben

Yeah, that's right, you better correct yourself.

Nini

I think Cooheart is talented. I would like to see him work with somebody else, because he has only worked with New, and I think he and New bring out the worst in each other in the director-actor relationship. I think that occasionally they reach certain heights but I think that working together, they lean into some old techniques, they lean on things that they're accustomed to doing with each other and it doesn't work for me. 

One of the things I would like to see Cooheart do is play older and New always has him play younger, and in this particularly he plays really young. And it's the effect of it is unsettling for me even when they age him up a little bit. I can’t slide away from the acting he was doing earlier in the show when he was playing like 15-16 and it's just it's hard for me to recalibrate once they age him up. 

The things I do like about the show. I like how Cake and Eiw were just—they were just like that the whole time from like the day they were born, I guess. Like, the first day that they were ever put in a crib together they were just like that. I mean everybody else more or less knew what it was and how they felt about each other, but nobody forced them to figure it out or forced them to explain it or anything like that. They just let them figure it out for themselves. I liked the realization part of things. I did like that scene where Eiw is watching Love of Siam—which is something else that I have to put on my catch up list—and you see the moment when he understands something about himself. I, too, I'm a person who has light bulb moments watching media. 

So, I am a fan of characters who work things out by having, like, a media moment. I like that the two of them were just always connected and they figured out for themselves how they felt. I liked the fight that they had in episode 12 when everything sort of comes to a head because Eiw knows how he feels. Cake knows how he feels, but neither of them is really talking to each other about it. They're just trying to fall back into their old patterns without laying on the table what the feelings are. And, of course, it becomes an issue and they have a fight about it because Cake is jealous. This is the kind of jealousy I like, where things are unsettled and one character is like I cannot hold in anymore how I feel. I am upset about this thing that you're doing, or this person that you're talking to, and the reason for that is because I feel this way about you. And the other character is like, “Well, fucking finally!” 

So I did like their fight. I thought that Cooheart was very good in their fight. I liked Santa and his connection with him in the fight. I always like to see a good fight between the two main characters when something has been building up for a while. It was really good. 

One of the other scenes that was really good was their first time scene. The way that it happened was very gentle. It was very matter of fact, almost. It wasn't like a big planned romantic thing. It just kind of happened because they were just there and vibing. I like that. But this show felt like New [Ben laughs] and not in the good way. 

Ben

There It is.

Nini

It felt like classic New Siwaj! It felt like New Siwaj doing Make It Right. It felt like New Siwaj in the parts of Until We Meet Again that piss me off. 

There's, like, a lot of minutiae. Stuff that's happening around the characters that's not really important to the narrative or the character building. It's just a bunch of stuff that's happening and he just insists on showing it in detail. There's way too many side characters. They drag out the main story, like it takes 12 episodes—12 of 14 episodes—for Cake and Eiw to get to the point where they can even have the conversation. And then there's, like, some weird blushing maiden shit which I never like. 

And then the thing that New always does which is that the last minute brings out some left field bullshit out of nowhere, that has absolutely no relation to anything else, and just kind of stops sorry dead in his tracks. In this instance, it's Eiw’s mom is dying randomly all of a sudden because their dad used to smoke when he lived with them. Their dad hasn't lived with them for like—what over a decade? So their mom has third hand smoke cancer. It's just out of nowhere. I can't understand why it's there. 

So basically I didn't dislike it but I didn't like the show either. If I had to give it a score I would probably give it…a 6. It's okay. 

Ben

Harsh. [laughs]

Nini

It's New Siwaj on his New Siwaj bullshit. That's gonna be a 6 for me.

Ben

Well, I'm glad you at least humored me and watched it. I feel differently now that New has irritated me twice in the last couple of months, first with Double Savage and then with A Boss and a Babe. That being said, I hope that someday he earns the moments he really wants to hit, because what he's trying to do is actually really interesting. Two best friends who've been in love with each other in one way shape or form their entire lives, and it takes them over 20 years to find an alignment that works for them. I'm into that.

Nini

Listen, New gon’ New, and I don't have to put up with it anymore. 

Ben

That's honestly one of the most unexpected takeaways of this whole season for us was realizing that I don't think I like New Siwaj anymore.

I'm not mad at him. I just feel a little bit sad, because he reminds me of a lot of guys who I knew when I was in college who mean really well. They just don't really know people or how to interact with them. That's how a lot of New’s stuff feels, particularly his whole thing with revealing context after someone has really fucked up something. Because that's how he gets things. Like he fucks up something, and likely somebody yelled at him and explained it to him, and he was like “oh damn,” and then he wrote it down in this journal, and then he turned it into one of his scenes in his shows.

Nini

I think we've talked enough about New Siwaj. We talked about New Siwaj literally the entire season. I am over him. Let's move on.

Ben

Very well.

22:52 - Roommates of Poongduck 304

Nini

The second thing that I watched—and this one I actually quite liked—I watched Roommates of Poongduck 304. 

This was actually pretty good. It was a solid little workplace drama out of Korea. I quite liked the way that they balanced out the boss and employee relationship by having them flip it at home and be landlord and renter. I always like when these boss-subordinate relationships have some kind of other power dynamic going on next to it. 

I really liked the characters. I thought they were fun. Watching Holland play like…[laughs]… a scamming-ass, down-dirty—like, he's supposed to be his friend but he's just stealing from him—let's just be real. It was delightful in certain ways but it was also heartbreaking because watching Jae Yoon get scammed and taken advantage of by not just Holland—who I can't remember the character's name even though I liked the show—but watching him get scammed by all his friends. It was just really hard. I kind of was like, “Aw, baby…You need to be more careful about who you let into your life.” 

But, yeah, I enjoyed this. I really enjoyed this. I thought that the work stuff was really integrated well into the romantic story and vice versa. For essentially a rom-com setup, it was quite realistic and quite fun. Yeah! I had a good time with this.

Ben

I really liked this show a lot, and I feel like…this show is underrated. I agree with you. I think this is one of the rare K-BLs that understands how much time they have exactly and what they want to do with that time. I think they balance the relationships in a way that makes it fun, and it's not just one person getting picked on by the other the whole time. 

And, like, the only thing that really I don't like in this show—is the same thing I usually don't like with the Korean stuff—is the way they handle alcohol in the shows that usually makes me uncomfortable. Seo Jae Yoon, I don't like the way he drinks. But, given the friends he has, I guess I'll let him have it.

Nini

Hoo! Listen, his friends are trash, throw the friends away, throw all the friends away. My God! The other friend who is basically like in an MLM and keeps making him buy shit...

Ben

Now that was gross.

Nini

What was the name that he had for him on his phone?

Ben

I don't know, but I remember being, like, really embarrassed about it. Like, it was basically like “fool” or…

Nini

Yeah, it was something like that. It was really mean. It was basically something that implied like he was just somebody that this guy was taking advantage of.

Ben

Like it basically felt like he called him “chump” and put him in his phone as that.

Nini

Yeah…and it was ugly but it was part of a character arc for Jae Yoon as well to understand that he deserved better than these friends who would use him like this, and I did like that. It's a solid little show, very enjoyable. I would recommend it to people. I liked it.

26:14 - She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat

So, today of all the days, the day we're recording, we got the news that there is going to be a second season of this: She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat.

Ben

I'm so fucking relieved. [Nini laughs] I really am! I will let you talk first but my goodness am I relieved that we're getting a season 2. [Ben laughs]

Nini

So, back in the VIIB Awards when we're talking about the GLs of the year, Ben laid this one out as one of the ones that he really enjoyed. He called it the lesbian What Did You Eat Yesterday? and being a great fan of What Did You Eat Yesterday? I was like, “Okay, bet. I will definitely watch this at some point.” 

So I found myself with some time, and I cracked open the old computer machine, and I decided I'm gonna watch She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat, and—oh my god—how lovely. It's so lovely. I love the show! I love it so much! Watching this gentle…kind of slow gravitation between Nomoto and Kasuga. I smile the entire time. It was so lovely. ‘Lovely’ is the word that just comes to mind when I think about it. 

And then Kasuga talking about how she has never felt accepted, or never felt understood…Nomoto starting to understand in herself how she's always felt separate from everybody. And then Nomoto watching Kasuga eat at every day basically, and those sessions them having dinner becoming more and more sexual…The look on Nomoto's face when she watches Kasuga eat becoming more and more mouth open kind of “this is hot” kind of thing. 

And her not even realizing that that's what's happening to her: that she is becoming sexually attracted to Kasuga, and particularly to watching Kasuga eat. 

Oh, God, love it. Love it. Love it. Love it. And then, as the show goes on, she starts to acknowledge and accept the fact that she's attracted to Kasuga—that she's sexually attracted to Kasuga. At the point in time that the story ends in season 1—now I can say that: in season 1—I remember thinking, “Oh my god! It's not finished! I need so much more of this—” 

Ben

And that's why I'm so fucking relieved.

Nini

It ends when they're really starting to adjust their relationship from friends to a romantic relationship. 

So, we are getting a second season of this of 20 episodes next year in 2024, and I personally cannot wait. I love that all the Japanese shit that I really glommed onto in the last few months are all getting sequels. 

So, there was the Utsukushii Kare sequel first, then we found out earlier that we're getting a second season of What Did You Eat Yesterday? and now She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat. 

I am very glad that I took your recommendation on two-thirds of this list. [laughs]

Ben

Shade. [laughs]

Nini

On all of it. There was stuff to hold on to in My Only 12 Percent. The totality of it just wasn't for me. So I'm glad that I watched all three of these, but of the three, my absolute favorite thing that you recommended that I watch is She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat.

30:09 - The Shipper

Nini

We've talked about the lovely fun things and now it's time to descend into hell. 

Ben

Last time we left you all, Nini and I decided that we would watch The Shipper from 2020 and report back to you all, because we liked a lot of the folks involved and thought it would be really interesting to give a show that we knew had had some complicated responses when it first aired a genuine watch. Well, we've had the opportunity to watch it, and we just finished it, and we have a lot to say. 

So, before we get into our immediate reactions, the simple breakdown of The Shipper is that it is a high school setting show in which two girls who’re writing sexy fic about two older boys at their school that they love and ship. This eventually leads to some kerfuffles in their school. Our protagonist, Pan, ends up riding with one of the boys home one night. They get into a car crash, killing both of them. In the afterlife, they meet the god of death—who is played by Jennie Panhan. They sass Jennie a bit, she mushes their faces, and sends them back to Earth, but accidentally switches their bodies, and then Pan has to live as Kim—the boy that she's been viewing as part of her ship for a long time clearly—for some time, where she realized she doesn't exactly know him that well, and then starts to reevaluate how she's always perceived him. 

A lot of other things happen. There are some ideas that are half-baked in this, and it's very clear that the show was fighting a thematic war within the writers room itself. And quite frankly, it left me and Nini both dissatisfied and deeply disturbed to put it mildly. 

Before I hand it over to Nini, I just want to say real quick, this is the first time in MDL history that I think I'll be giving a show a 1. 

So, Nini, we just finished The Shipper. How are you feeling?

Nini

I'm going to let MDL user jarabaa speak for me, and I quote: “I found the series so intensely disagreeable that my feelings of shock and unease will probably stay with me a long time whenever I think of The Shipper.” End quote. I think that says it all.

Ben

‘Disagreeable’ is really such an accurate term.

Nini

This just reiterates to me that sometimes when we both have a gut feeling about something, we should trust that, because we both had a gut feeling that we would not like this show, which is why we never watched it. And now, having watched it, I think we were both correct.

Ben

I feel so validated in my decision in 2020. I took one look at that show and I said ‘hell to the no’ and I wish we hadn't been curious in going back.

Nini

They say, “Curiosity killed the cat?” Well, I feel like a dead kitty right now because…What? Was? That? [sighs] 

Okay, I'm going to try—I'm going to try to actually formulate some sentences that are descriptive and helpful in order to lay out why I never want to think about this show again after we finish recording this.

Ben

Getting into some specifics about what may have happened along the way here: There were some interesting ideas presented early in the show that the people who ship people don't really know the people involved; that they have a false notion of them based upon surface details and the fictional things they've created about them. There's an interesting idea in this, particularly as it pertains to shipping real people who exist with each other as opposed to say fictional characters.

Early on the show really says something special with Pan realizing she didn't actually know who Kim was when she was forced to live as him, because she thought she knew who he was, and I made the joke when we were watching, like, the first episode, like, that, “You know, he's just a hole to her,” [Nini chuckles]...I didn't realize that that's what the theme of the show was going to be…

Like, spoilers for the end of The Shipper, only one of them survives Jennie mushing them in the face. First is apparently too weak. Prigkhing is so much stronger. And so Prigkhing gets to live as First’s character for a while. Eventually one of their bodies has to go and they make the decision for Pan to keep her body and for Kim (First’s character) to die. 

How we get there is a huge mess and by the time it finished the show read extremely homophobic and lesbophobic to Nini and myself.

Nini

Oh, throw in transphobic.

Ben

And transphobic. I'll let you take on that portion. 

For me, one of the things that was kind of interesting introduced along the way was that they were shipping two boys together because maybe they picked up on the homosocial tension between them, and what we learn along the way is that these boys actually did have a homoromantic relationship brewing between them. But it was nothing like anything that these girls had really imagined. I don't think I'd give much thought to the depths of the feelings between these two boys. And what we end up learning about the actual relationship between Kim and Way, the two boys that they’re shipping, played by First Kanaphan and Fluke Pusit respectively, ends up being fairly compelling, and I was deeply invested in what they might have done with those boys’ dynamic, particularly if we'd have gotten a see who Kim actually was.

But what ends up happening along the way that ends up frustrating me is critical moments that should have belonged to two gay boys…never get to happen for them…and what happens because the the narrative chooses to have the Kim character be dead the whole time, it makes all of Way’s expressed feelings for Kim, particularly after the accident, all feel super unrequited. 

I'm not opposed to exploring queer grief, but I don't like the way it's done here. It feels cheap. 

I'm gonna let Nini get into the specifics of this, because she said it multiple times when we were watching this: “this show wants to have its cake and eat it too.” It wants to give a stern lesson about how deeply out of touch shipping is, but also feeding shipping the whole time? And ends up…kind of damning itself along the way because we never actually really meet Kim…and he's dead at the end…and so all he is is what everyone else has projected onto him.

Nini

This show, for like maybe 6 or 7 episodes, tiptoes up to several points. It almost makes a series of points as Ben mentioned about shipping, about the experience of fandom, about who we think fans are and who they might actually be. It almost makes a point about how many queer women are in fandom and women discovering their queerness through fandom. It almost makes a point about about transgender people and the idea that the way that we present to the world maybe not being who we are inside. It tiptoes up to all of these points, and in the end touches none of them. The front half of this is intensely frustrating, and then the back half is just actively offensive. It just— I can't even— [laughs] Actively offensive!

The shift happens when we realize that there is this weird, ugly fake relationship—that is fake on one side but very real on the other—happening between Kim and one of the teachers. That's when this show really started going off the rails for me—the whole thing with Kim and the teacher is when I started feeling deeply uncomfortable. I started feeling gross. I didn't understand why this is the way that the show was going, what they were trying to say with this storyline. I still don't know at the end of the show what they're trying to say with that storyline other than I guess they're trying to tell you that the actual Kim was not a good person. But then why have him be essentially the victim of a predator?

Ben

It's really hard for us to give you guys the necessary context for some of these things. The simple overview is when Pan accidentally finds herself in Kim's body, she learns along the way that instead of being like the star academic student, he's actually an academic cheater, that he's involved in a secret relationship with one of the stern teachers, and he uses that relationship to get answers to the tests. This upsets Pan because her image of Kim as a star student and badass is ruined. 

Eventually, she learns that the reason why Kim was manipulating this teacher and involved in this relationship with her to get these tests was because he was helping Way study so that Way could get out of an abusive situation in his house with his dad by succeeding at school properly, because Way gets into fights too much. We don't really return to the whole thing there because all we get is…a teacher with very…juvenile-centric kinks projecting them on to a star student. It just left both of us, when we watched it, feeling super weird about it.

And it doesn't really go anywhere. They're just like—at the end she's like moved on to an age-appropriate man now, I guess? Like, good for her? I guess Kim's death was the necessary catalyst for her to stop trying to hook up with one of her students.

Nini

It's so gross and it's the pivot after which most of what happens feels gross to me, and there are a hundred different things that they're trying to do—none of them lands. It feels like the show wants to have its cake and eat it, too, in a lot of ways. 

I haven't even started to get into what they did with the character of Soda. Soda is Pan's best friend who she writes the fic with, who is her ride-or-die. The implication of the show is that Soda and Pan are kind of in love with each other, particularly that Soda is in love with Pan. But that again goes nowhere—in the end, they randomly put both Pan and Soda with boys?

Ben

A lot of things just don't make any damn sense in this show. It's frustrating because the show comes close constantly to a good point like it almost makes the point that shippers know nothing about the people that they're shipping…but then it never really gives us like an interior understanding of who Kim actually was. We only know him through what everybody else is getting out of knowing him. That's almost an interesting point but the big problem I feel with the show is that I feel like this show is the most intellectually disturbing and manipulative show that we've ever experienced. I don't think the show ever really lands on a real feeling it wants to go for and so you're kind of left floundering. 

I really…don't…like this particular project, and it's really frustrating because there's a lot of people I really liked in it. Individual pieces of the show on their own could be some really cool moments. Like I think Fluke plays a kind of himbo-badass-type-jock character really well. Like he plays Way super well as a guy who is not the greatest at school, doesn't really have like a refined understanding of human connection; but knows who's important to him, and knows who he wants to be with, and knows not to mislead other people along the way. 

And it's really frustrating to see a gay character like Way be constantly emotionally abused by this narrative. The frustration that arises from me as I watch this, particularly whereas it pertains to Way, is he already knows that he has feelings for Kim, and over the course of interacting with Pan, because Pan in some ways softens Kim because she's less standoffish than he is, Way decides to confess his feelings to Kim. And this pissed me off in episode 9 because I've been a gay boy confessing from the closet to someone before. It is the most terrifying thing that has ever happened to me in my life, and I was so disgusted with this show because they gave one of the most intense things that you can do as a gay man with another boy to a fucking shipper who never really respected who they were as people. 

I hate that with all of the fires that burn in my soul, and it never really gets better from there.

Nini

Let me give you an example of a direction that the show was going in that it then undercut. 

So, one of the actual good story arcs in the show. At the beginning of the show, Way is in a relationship with View’s character Pingping. Pingping is the school's queen bee and she is out here like putting out this…general idea that she and Way are in this hot and heavy thing. Meanwhile, Way has never really touched her. They spend all their time together staring at their phones and occasionally talking to each other. You can see where there is some affection there between them but Way quickly—I guess for the narrative—realizes how he feels about Kim, and he's very open immediately about talking to Pingping about it and being like, “Look, I am in love with somebody else.” And the way that Pingping handles that is also very real. She doesn't want to hear it. She avoids it. There's a lot of interesting stuff there. All that's great. 

And then, they undercut it by having Pingping, like, put a hit out on Kim. It's insane.

Ben

That is actually what happens. Like, the most frustrating thing to talk about with this show is that everything we're describing happened as we're describing it. The problem with The Shipper is while it's very easy to talk about the actions that transpired over the show and the expressed-by-the-character reason for why they're doing what they're doing, the thematic implications of everything they're doing is actually incredibly disturbing. 

Like, one of the big things we talk about in fandom sometimes is that projecting homosexuality onto boys is the way a lot of girls figure out their own queerness with themselves, and the show walks right up to this line by highlighting the romantic potential between Pan and her friend Soda, who spend way too much of their free time and their class time writing sexy fic about two boys like a year or two older than them, and then throws that idea away as if it were preposterous. 

That is…so offensive, and it's weird in a show that features young gay love in it about girls who are obsessed with young gay love to do something that felt Incredibly homophobic—in this case, specifically lesbophobic.

Nini

The show in general feels homophobic and lesbophobic because in the end, the only romantic relationship that actually gets to happen is the one between Pan and Khet, who is Kim's brother. So of everything else, basically Way falls in love with Kim and Kim dies, they tease Pan and Soda but it doesn't happen and they both end up with boys. It feels like it wanted to be clever and out-clevered itself, so to speak, to the point that it just got real stupid.

Ben

You look at The Shipper and you can see the points that it's hinting at but it's almost like it's afraid to make the point because they're worried that the audience that they're hoping funds this project doesn't turn on them by realizing that they're being maybe chided for how they behave, and it ends up becoming a show fundamentally about nothing, that ends on an insane level of queer trauma that it somehow writes off as useful because it helped a straight girl figure out that she should maybe fuck her best friend who's hung around her writing sexy fic about his brother, but she didn't know it was his brother for the last year or two? But also she's now projecting her intense shipping desires onto Gun and Off who randomly show up in the final six minutes? 

…I deserved better than this.

Nini

Let's just talk about the absolute—I mean, it sounds so weird to say that this is the absolute wildest moment of the show. I mean, if we went through all the wild moments of the show it's probably not the absolute wildest, but it's the one that felt probably the wildest and most offensive in the end and that was The Kiss. 

Ben

Fuck. Here we go.

Nini

At the end, Pan is now trying to get back into her body after a series of UNO reverses in the last two episodes that just were exhausting and upsetting. Now Pan is trying to get back into her body before it dies, and the way that she gets back into her body is supposed to be a true love kiss. Pan is still in First’s body at this point in time, and then they decide that the true love must be Kim's brother Khet. 

It's two boys kissing but it's somehow still homophobic! [laughs] It's so—oh my God. 

So, Pan's got to have a true love's kiss. So, Pan calls Soda while she's running to tell Khet that if he likes her he should come and kiss her in the form of his brother's body—which he does! I'm telling you, guys…what I'm saying is exactly what happened.

Ben

I just hate the show for having Ohm and First kiss, having it be one of the weakest kisses either of these boys has ever given, and then immediately cutting to a funeral afterwards. Because First’s character died.

Nini

Technically, First’s character died at the beginning of the show, and we only get to dealing with that at the end of the show. And in between, we just get a bunch of stuff…

I mean we haven't even got into the family drama, because aside from everything else that's happening, Kim and Khet live alone while their parents are in another country, and it seems like Kim and Khet kind of hate each other. And so there's a whole family drama happening with Pan in Kim's body where Khet is coming to peace of some kind with his relationship with his brother and then has to also deal with the fact that actually his brother is dead, and then has to shepherd his parents through that. So there's that. 

And then we randomly find out somewhere in the middle of the show that Pan is actually growing up being raised by her stepfather because her mom died? And her stepfather is constantly being encouraged by the people around him to ditch her because he doesn't have any responsibility to her, but she thinks of him as her dad.

Again all, on paper, compelling stuff. But the way that it's dealt with in the show, it just, it all feels like a bridge too far. 

Ben

The show wants you to think about a lot of really interesting ideas and such, but it doesn't want to come forward and say them itself. Like it's always tiptoeing up to something and then peeking in the room, and then walking away from it. It's one of the most frustrating experiences I've had as a viewer in a really long time. The show feels intellectually dishonest.

Nini

That's probably the best way to describe it. This show has roughly 800 convictions and the courage of none of them. It feels so dishonest intellectually. It feels…offensive. It feels…rude.

Ben

I was so angry at the end of episode 9 in a way I have not felt since the final episodes of HIStory3: Make Our Days Count. I don't like moments that should be joyous for queer people being snatched from them to make some sort of cute point in a narrative to seem somehow better than the audience? And it really really pissed me off. 

In this particular instance, it's when Way confesses his feelings to Kim and Pan goes into what she knows is going to be a confession believing this is somehow for her—which is deluded. And then she gets upset during the confession that the confession to the boy whose body she's in is being given to the boy whose body she's in and not to her, the shipper, after earlier chiding the girl she should be developing a lesbian romance with for deciding to project that onto the boy whose body she's in because she misunderstands their dynamic as Kim actually flirting with her. And I was enraged by this show taking a gay moment from a gay boy, and then also running away from a lesbian moment and having the character just be completely out of touch about it—which I guess is maybe the point about shippers, but not the point the show really wants to land on. 

And its final messaging in the last like ten-odd minutes is so deeply disturbing that I have not recovered. So, as we've described here today, Kim and Way are the boys that these girls were projecting all the shipping nonsense onto. We learned that these boys are actually involved in a fairly interesting and complicated gay love story that I actually think would have made for a really compelling story on its own—but I digress—and then…Kim is dead. And so we have to process that particular fact, and these girls believe that the best way they can honor the two boys who they never understood is to keep writing deluded fic about them! And I have not been this disgusted in a really long time.

Nini

And it's presented as valedictory somehow.

Ben

Right? Like they have Way cry, like, weird tears of thanks—I don't know what the hell happened here, and maybe because we can reflect on this now three—three to four years later—maybe this is why they put Aof in charge of all the queer shit after this because this…was a bridge way too fucking far.

Nini

At one point toward the end of our watch I remember just saying out loud “I fucking hate this” to Ben, and I think I kept that mantra up—varying versions of “I fucking hate this” and “I'm so pissed” for probably the last entire episode and a half of this show. 

Before that we were making jokes about psychic damage and eldritch horror. More and more jokes as the show went on, because we were absolutely taking psychic damage watching the show. The show was an eldritch horror. I just did not realize how much of an eldritch fucking horror that it was. 

Gah, listen. It's over. We've learned our lesson. We're never doing something like this again.

Ben

We have no promises to you all about other things we want to catch up on right now, because goddamn do we need a break. If we skipped it, we were correct! And we will not be second guessing ourselves ever again!

Nini

I think that's going to be the rule: if there is something that we both skipped it was for a reason and we should never watch it. Like it's one thing for us to, like, individually like something and recommend it to each other, but I think if there's something that we both skipped, I think that's the new catch up rule. If we both skipped it, it's staying skipped.

Ben

So it is written, so it shall be.

I don't really have a lot of positive things to say. Like, I think the set design was cool, I think the production design was fine. I think overall the performances are strong. The GMMTV talent is consistently solid at the level we expect of them. I don't think anyone else at GMMTV—at the time at least—could have done what First was asked to do in this character, or characters, he's playing, technically, two.

Nini

This is purely a writing fail. There's nothing else that I can point to that is wrong here. This is a hundred percent writing fail.

Ben

So, The Shipper was bad and wrong and offensive and evil. We will not be taking further questions about this show. We have said all that I want to say about this show, and I will not be referring to it going forward. We all deserved better than this.

Nini

I know there are those of you out there who love it. I'm sorry. I'm not one of you, and I am not willing to discuss it at all. 

Ben

I've said my piece and counted to three.

Nini

Amen, and hallelu. Moving on.

59:46 - Next Watches

Nini

So what are we going to catch up on in the summer and talk about in the fall? 

Well…for me, I will finally be getting past my weird reaction to the uncanny valley effect that I get from watching the face smoothing filters on the show and I am going to watch Light On Me.

Ben

Good.

Nini

Ben has been recommending this to me. He recently rewatched it and says that it holds up. Everybody loves this show. I've always intended to watch it but I could not get past the skin smoothing filter. It makes everybody look like a weird robot. It's just unsettling. I am going to fight through my horror of it to actually watch the show. 

[both laugh]

Ben

Jesus Christ.

Nini

And I'm gonna talk about it when we [laughs] when we come down to the fall, so look out for that discussion in October. Ben, what are you gonna watch over the summer?

Ben

[sighs] So, one of our recent pickups—who's been a delight—has watched so many things that I've recommended that I gave her a coupon, which she cashed in on Coffee Prince, which I am currently watching. And Nini has also convinced me to watch Mama Gogo. 

I originally skipped Mama Gogo because I had watched Friendzone, and I had watched Friendzone 2: Dangerous Area, and I just wasn't in the mood for Jojo doing big cast, obnoxious, soap-opera-level drama, and so I just skipped Mama Gogo at the time. We're about to watch Only Friends in probably the next one to three months maybe. I will watch Mama Gogo in preparation for more of Jojo's oeuvre, and then I guess we'll talk about both of those.

Nini

I think you're gonna enjoy Mama Gogo. It's not gay, but it feels gay?

Ben

I have watched Jojo's work. I know what you're talking about.

[both laugh]

Nini

I think you're gonna have a good time with it. 

So, that's what we're gonna be catching up on over the summer and talking about in our Catch Up Corner in October. So, look out for that.

1:02:33 - Me, My Husband, and My Husband’s Boyfriend

Nini

So in keeping with our mission to watch things that are queer-adjacent, queer-ish, as well as queer things, Ben and I both watched over this spring Watashi to Otto to Otto no Kareshi—Me, My Husband, and My Husband’s Boyfriend.

Ben, what is this about?

Ben

A mess! Me, My Husband, and My Husband’s Boyfriend is about a Japanese high school teacher who is sexually unfulfilled in her five-year marriage despite having an otherwise devoted and caring partner, who then discovers that her husband—on their anniversary— is making out with some guy right outside their door. In the process of trying to cope with this and deal with this, they end up attempting to form a poly triad with this guy, who her husband is seeing, who turns out to be her high school student who is an adult now. He also had feelings for her, and so they end up in this complicated situation where everyone's trying to take care of everyone. It's a little bit of a hot mess, and the show ends up asking for people to interrogate what their own relationships mean for them, though it ends on a somewhat ambiguous note for our trio. 

There's a lot to unpack along the way there, but the broad strokes is a teacher finds out that her husband is cheating on her with a man, and she decides that they're going to try and make this trio work. Complications ensue.

Nini

‘Complications ensue’ is putting it mildly. I feel muddled about the show, but the show is also pretty muddled, I think. It feels like they were trying to do something. I'm not sure it got all the way there— 

Ben

It did for me!

[both laugh]

Nini

Maybe it did for the audience that they were aiming it towards, which is obviously their local audience in Japan—

Ben

And sad, gay artsy boys like me!

Nini

I'm really curious as to how this was received inside of Japan. Japan's been doing these shows where they try to marry the individual instincts that are related to identity and specifically queer and queer-adjacent, I guess, identities. They're trying to marry that to the collectivist culture. So they're trying to put these shows in front of people like “This is maybe seem a little bit strange to you, but look at how happy everybody is. Isn't it most important that people are happy?” 

And, this one, I think from what I got from it, It seems like it didn't know exactly what it wanted to say about polyamory. There's a polyamorous character, who is Shuhei, who is the…husband's boyfriend, who is also in love with the wife. But the other characters aren't poly but they're still trying to make a poly relationship work.

It's so much! They're trying to stuff so much into this show, and I'm not sure that it entirely works for me. Ben has other ideas.

Ben

They're not poly to start, but no one is really except for characters like Shuhei, and I think that's why I like it. The big thing about being queer is you have to decide what relationships are going to be for yourself. You have to figure out what friendship, romance, and intimacy are going to be for you one person at a time. The etiquette rules of cis-heteronormativity do not apply to you, and so what works for me in this is most of the people who walked into this story were not poly but they did care about the people involved. 

Was being a poly triad the right solution for them? Absolutely not, but at the core you have two people trying to juggle a complicated sense of duty to each other, while also wanting different things from each other and maybe other people, and having to reconcile what all of those things are going to be for each other because they also wanted to honor the vows and choices they made to commit to each other under the previous structures before they got into this. 

So, no, Yuki and Misaki are not poly really in going into this, but opening themselves up to the idea that the way they understand love might not be concrete enables them to find something that puts them maybe on the path to actually being comfortable and cared for, and properly caring to the people that they value.

Nini

I would rock with that except for one very important thing. Yes, they're still working it out at the end. The show does end ambiguously, but the overwhelming feeling I get at the end is not a feeling of hope, it's not a feeling that they are going to work it out—that they're working through it and they're going to get to the place, because I still don't feel like they are being honest with themselves entirely about what they want. 

For example, Misaki, she wants sex and what she ends up with in the poly relationship, and even in sort of a wider polycule that she’s decided that she's putting together, none of it nets her the sex that she wants. But she has talked herself into it as being right for her, while it still doesn't give her what she wants. 

And I think it's very similar to Yuki. Yuki wants to be in a gay relationship. He wants to be in a gay monogamous relationship, and the polycule doesn't give him that either. So it feels like they're not even working towards the things that they want. That they've decided on this as a solution, but it doesn't actually solve anything for them.

Ben

So the reason why it doesn't bother me at the end is I don't need the confirmation. They want you to think about it. It's not about whether or not this polycule works. It's a question of, “Have your thoughts about polyamory changed from spending five hours with these characters?” And so the ambiguity at the end is totally fine for me because you're allowed to project what you hope for onto them, and the question is whether or not you can reconcile what version of their lives looks like. It's the thinking about it that's important for them. 

I totally see…your kind of hopeless read on the situation, but it doesn't bother me because they lean into ambiguity at the end. And so you're allowed to project onto it what you maybe want for yourself, or for those characters. Like, I do agree with you that Misaki wants sex, and they don't confirm her getting sex onscreen, but they confirm her taking charge of her life which to me is at the core of her lack of sex.

Nini

It's not even for me that they don't show her getting sex on screen. It's not like that. It's more about her mindset about it. Instead of that remaining part of her mindset: the fact that she wants sex. By the end she's completely put that thought aside it feels like.

Ben

I think it's implied that her desire for sex is also tied up in her notions of the kind of family they're supposed to have.

Nini

I'm not sure I agree with you there because it's one thing to feel like you should be having sex, and another thing to want sex, and I feel like Misaki wants sex. There is an argument to be made there about doing the things that you're expected to do and not doing the things that you're expected to do. Like, I fully see where the show is going with that with the character of the other teacher—I think it's Misumi—the fact that Misaki is not doing what Misumi thinks that she should do. So Misumi inserts herself into the situation and causes a problem. 

She's trying to fix it because she thinks that Misaki is too weak or too something to do the things that she should be doing, when it's really that Misaki doesn't agree that that's necessarily what she should be doing. I get that part. I'm down with what they're trying to do there, but I didn't get the sense that she wanted to have sex because she thought it's something that she should do. It felt like it was something that she herself wanted and she wasn't getting. 

Maybe I'm getting too involved in the sex of it. Maybe that wasn't the intention.

Ben

They leave who she inevitably chooses…to bang it out with ambiguous and up to the audience, Because for them to confirm in any sort of way I think would lead to too narrow a read on polyamory itself.

Nini

So the idea that they're trying to get across is that this is not about sex. Polyamory is not a sex thing.

Ben

Correct.

Nini

I can accept that take, in terms of what they're trying to put in front of their audience.

Ben

Both of them want sex. Like Yuki wants sex, too, when it comes to Shuhei, but like he's unsatisfied because he can't enjoy it openly the way he realizes he wants to and needs to. And so much of this is about them all having to let go of their preconceptions about what their lives should look like. And so, like, the final scene of the three of them, like, seeking each other out at night, and then just being happy to see each other, works for me because it feels like they see each other, and that's enough for me. Like, I don't have to understand it to get that, whatever they found, it works for them. 

That's how I feel about every polycule I've ever met. I don't always get it, but everybody involved seems all right. Their relationship is not about me. If they say they're happy, I just accept that and move along.

Nini

I'll take that away and think about that, but my overall feel of the show is that it definitely had ideas that it wanted to get across. It had an audience that it was talking to. I think that maybe I wasn't the audience, and that is part of my ambivalent feelings about the show. So, for me, it lands on ‘good,’ obviously has a point of view, obviously has a story it wants to tell. But it's not for me, and that's fine.

Ben

I gave this a 9 because I really engaged with all the ideas the whole way through, and I  was really gripped by the whole of it. I liked how so much of it ends up being about Misaki having to defend her family from herself, from her co-worker, and I like that she's consistently fighting for the boys specifically, and that she cares about them. 

Nini

Ben gives it a 9. I, on quality, give it a 9 and a half.

Ben

Oooh, look at you.

Nini

Like I said, it is a good, objectively good, show. I'm just not the audience for it.

1:15:53 - Spring Roundup

Ben

And we're back! 

Now that we’ve finished catching up on all of the shows—good and bad—it's finally finally time for the Spring Roundup. This week we have our first guest on The Conversation. We have brought my best friend, David onto The Conversation. David, say hello to the people. 

David

Hey, y'all! 

Ben

Okay. [David laughs]

Nini

Hi, David! I'm so excited to have you with us! 

David

I am, too!

Nini

I remember saying to Ben, like, probably around the time the first voice note hit the chat, like, ‘David has to come on the show.’ So, I am very glad that we were able to make it work.

David

I love that. He was telling me that people wanted to hear me, and I'm like, “Look, there are too many people who tell me to shut up. I love this!” [David and Nini laugh]

Nini

That will never be a problem over on this side. 

David

“David talking again.”

Nini

Never shut up, I beg you. [chuckles]

1:16:40 - David Introduction and BL Background

Alright, alright. So, David, tell us about you. Tell us about how you even got into BL. Tell us a little bit about the David story.

David

Um, hoo! I'll say, so I'll start from the BL angle. I got into BL because of Ben. I don't know if he's ever told anyone this story, but me and Ben have two very different takes on Love of Siam. He is not to bring it up in my presence. I feel tricked and deceived. But because of Love of Siam, I didn't even realize that BL was a category, and Ben tried to initially get me into it, but I got really sick for a while. And I wasn't watching with him, and then I started getting over it and the first BL that like fell into my lap because I found it on YouTube was Until We Meet Again. 

And then it was a rabbit hole. I like finished that BL in like I think one sitting. 

Ben

Which is insane. 

David

And I think in that sitting I was texting Ben like, “Oh hell no!” [laughs] And then immediately went and watched another whole show back to back and that was Love by Chance.

Nini

Interesting!

David

Finished that the next night. [Nini laughs] Yeah, girl, I know. I know. 

Ben

It was super annoying having David texting me about old shows because like we're neck deep in like 2021 content. [David laughs] Like that was a busy year. There was a week at one point we had 16 shows to watch and David’s like, “So this show in 2018: I really want to talk about it.” 

David

I was also watching all the current stuff. 

Ben

Yeah, that was a lot. 

David

I was, I think at least six, seven hours a day. For a while it was all BL. 

Ben

According to David's MDL, he's basically current on all of the BL 

David

Yeah. There's maybe like four or five recent ones that I haven't watched, and two of those I was directly told by someone ‘you are not missing anything.’ 

1:18:50 - David’s History with Queer Cinema

Ben

Here's an interesting question because you and I have been in the guts of queer cinema a long time. Prior to BL, what are some of your favorite gay movies that you remember? 

David

Now, of course he knows this is loaded because I'm always gonna say Big Eden.

Ben

It’s so good.

David

One, it like touches my heart. When I'm depressed I watch Big Eden. It's one of the few times where I've been upset at the main queer character almost the entire movie. Henry has issues. But Big Eden is a beautiful movie, and then maybe after that Beautiful Thing, To Wong Foo, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Bound, Like Water for Chocolate—another lesbian classic. 

Ben

To elaborate on The Love of Siam conversation, we watched Love Siam, and David and I were both deeply repulsed by what happened there. But we contextualized it in different ways. David was furious and was like, “I never want to discuss this film ever again,” and so David was not exactly primed for BL because he was so ambivalent about Thailand.

The big Thai gay things we watched between 2012 and 2017ish…

David

Oh, Jesus Christ.

Ben

…were Love of Siam, Bangkok Love Story—a horrible film.

David

Horrible fucking film.

Ben

The Blue Hour—a good film but really unsettling—and How to Win at Checkers (Every Time). 

David

Lord Jesus.

Ben

So. 

David

Like Thailand routinely came for my throat and I had done nothing to it. Thailand routinely showed up at my front door with these movies like, “Come outside. We ain't gonna jump you,” and inevitably I would open the door and get jumped, and I never learned my lessons. So—

Ben

[laughs] It would always be me leading them. I’m like hey I got this film!

David

Yeah!  It’s Ben. It's Ben. Yeah, no, it wasn't Thai. It was Ben sitting outside with the movies. “Come outside. You won't get jumped.” You said that last time. “Girl, come on, stop talking about old shit.”

[Nini laughs]

Ben

I like the queer angst films. David does not.

1:20:59 - David’s Favorite BL Actors

Ben

So back to BL! For funsies: How about you tell the people of the podcast who some of your favorite boys are. 

David

Ohm and Fluke. 

Ben

She is a My Blue girlie. 

David

Uh, I really am. [whispers] Earth Pirapat. I love him. 

Nini

Why did you whisper it like that?

David

If you hear this, Earth, my one true love. [Nini laughs] My current husband, I love him. He is a placeholder for you. I just want you to know [Nini laughs harder] he can be gone tomorrow, bae. Like it ain’t nothing. Earth, what do you need? Like, I got you. What do you need, Daddy? You need a boat?

Nini

I heard the F at the end of Earth right there and I was like I feel you. I completely understand where you're coming from this moment—not my particular ministry but I feel you.

David

Yeah, thank you, thank you. I had to constantly deal with Ben's malcontent, so thank you for acknowledging…

Ben

I will back up David's Earth girlie bona fides. David has not seen Water Boyy because I refused to let David suffer that loss, but David saw Earth for all of two minutes in Love By Chance and he's calling me “Who is this man! I need to know who this man is immediately!” 

David

I—he came on the screen. I was like “and that's it, yep, right there!” 

Nini

You were officially sprung.

David

Right there! [gross David mouth noises] Yes.

Nini

Oh my God. [laughs]

David

Yeah, Earth. Earth. That's all I gotta say, Earth. That man—whew—Lord.

Ben

David has an appreciation for what he calls ‘the Big Talls’ and—

David

Yeah, I love the Big Talls.

Nini

Fair. You know how I feel about a Big Tall.

Ben

You and Nini can hang out together talking about Man Trisanu—

David

Man! Oof, girl! Not Man! Oh my…girl!

Nini

‘Man.’ Is. Correct.

David

Never has a name so encapsulated a being.

Nini

‘Man’ and ‘tree’ in the same place.

David

Girl. Man. Tree. Mountain. Stud. I mean, look, look, look, Man. Man did the job that he was sent here to do. God Bless him. May Buddha protect him. Like yass. [Nini laughs]

1:23:24 - David’s Thoughts on the Spring Shows

Nini

Okay, so we've got the shows we've got the boys. Let's dive into the season. Talk to me about how you felt about this spring—all the shows we've been watching over the last few months

David 

So, I think I've said this to Ben before. I felt that this season was probably the one of the most extremes. Like there were a few things that were...hmm...misses, kind of, but for the most part we had…duds and bangers. And the bangers made the duds and the misses that much worse. 

We had [The] Eighth Sense, Bed Friend, Our Dining Table, Jack o’ Frost, and everything else was okay, but those are all 10s and they were bangers, and it just made everything—

Ben

How dare you forget La Pluie? I will beat you. 

David

Oh I'm, I'm so sorry, please forgive me sir. [Ben laughs] You're right. I—I'm so sorry, sir. La Pluie. He's right. That was wrong. I do deserve the slapdown that I just received.

Ben

Sat in my house—for 11 of 12 episodes. 

David

In his house—played in his face y'all. Played in this man’s face. In his face like he didn’t know who it was. I’m sorry. La Pluie.

[Nini laughs]

There were a lot of good ones and I think that's why there were so many, many more bad ones. In particular, the most glaring combination is the shows that were basically the same show but one was clearly better.

Step by Step, [A] Boss and a Babe. Look, A Boss and a Babe, I get what they were trying to do but the whole show was a massive misstep, and it was so much more obvious because right after A Boss and a Babe we got Step by Step—which fumbled maybe a couple of times—it fumbled a little—but it stuck the fucking landing. 

Ben

Hmm...

David

I think—oh here—

Nini

Ben is gonna fight you, but David I am on your side!

David

I heard the 'mmm'. She has talked to me about this before. I actually completely agree with what I know she's gonna say, but I still think they stuck the landing in a way that everyone else fumbled and fell on their fucking face.

Ben

Hmm...

Nini

David, you me. You can't see me now but we are shaking hands! We are shaking hands.

David

We are I—I concur. Thank you.

Ben

I’m gonna have a little sip while y’all—

[David and Nini laugh]

1:26:15 - Somewhat Forgettable Shows

Ben

So you mentioned a bunch of shows that really stood out for you. Like, looking over your list, like you already mentioned like Our Dating Sim, Our Dining Table, Step by Step, La Pluie, Bed Friend…looking at the rest of the stuff: What did you genuinely enjoy, but you feel like you have to look at your list to remember that show.

David

Oh, that's a good one. I really enjoy but I have to look at the list to remember it…Our Dating Sim. I liked it but it would never be in the forefront of my mind. But if you bought it up and I saw it in front of it like “I like that.” I felt during this show—I was like ‘oh this is cute.’ 

That's a really good question. Like you liked it but you need to like, be reminded of it. And that would be, yeah…Our Dating Sim, Jack o’ Frost. God bless it, I want to say Naked Dining but Lord Jesus Christ… 

[Ben laughs]

They tr–girl, they’re my top nominee for “Y'all tried it” 

[Ben and Nini laugh]

Ben

David has declared a new entrant into Girl, You Tried. 

Nini

I'm putting it in the notes. What about you, Ben? What's the one or two that you liked but to actually remember you gotta look at the list?

Ben

It's probably…Unintentional Love Story and…Love Mate. These are both shows that I think I gave 9s to, and I would earnestly recommend, but I don't think I would independently bring them up in conversation as like BL Essentials that I really want someone else to watch. 

David

I agree with those, particularly Love Mate. Like, I would put Love Tractor on that list.

Nini

I watched Love Mate and Love Tractor after the fact. Which, by the way, the Koreans have got to get better at naming these shows. 

Ben

Love Tractor is a good one, too! Like, Love Tractor was actually good— 

David

Love Tractor was good. 

Ben

It feels like they missed it. 

David

There was a point where they could have done some stuff faster, and had these boys sucking face quicker—I'm gonna let it be what it was…It was cute, but like I said, it's on that list for me. I liked it but it never comes to the forefront of my mind. 

Nini

I feel like that's fair for both Love Mate and Love Tractor. 

What else did we watch that I have to remind myself that we watched? 

Ben

There were quite a few flops we did not even acknowledge the season. [laughs]

Nini

We're not even talking about the flops—

Ben

David's going on on a face journey right now.

David

Like, my whole, [sighs] There were so many… 've seen fish dumped on the bottom of a boat that flopped less than some—

Nini

Oh my God—

David

Fish gasping for air trying to get back into the sea! “Release me, old man, and I shall grant you three wishes!” Some of this stuff was flippity floppity floopin’ all over the place.

Ben

As I remind David about the trenches that I fought through for eight years of BL. 

David

Here he goes…

Nini

“Oh, all my life I had to fight.”

David

Had to fight David. I had to fight Viki. I had to fight iQIYI—

David

I love BL. 

Nini

Had to fight WeTV!

David

Lord knows I do! 

Ben

I did have to fight WeTV, though, shit.

[everyone laughs]

1:29:25 - Favorite Actor Pairs

Ben

Before we get into some of the cerebral questions about this season, I have one more sort of half-fun question to sort of ease us there. Of the programs that you enjoyed, which actor pairs did you enjoy working together the most—just in the work—not with all of the fan shit around it?

David

Bed Friend. 

Ben

What about Net and James really stuck out for you?

David

The material they were handling, because we can talk about all the high heat stuff—whatever— they were great. Rarely has two people had that kind of sexual chemistry, but the—trigger warning—the sexual assault thing, and how at some point you realize even though he has not told him what happened to him, he knows. And how he is respecting his boundaries and that's coming into the story and they're talking about—without talking about how someone deals with that trauma for the rest of their life. And how it can't help but inform every decision you make, and how you respond to things. 

And I do not think that any other pair could have pulled that off in the same way that Net and James did. As a matter of fact, if you had asked me if I thought they could do it, I probably would have said no.

Ben

Judging on their previous work I would not expect— 

David

—on their previous work, but they were both…fantastic. 

Ben

What about you, Nini?

Nini

My couple of the season? It's gotta be Man and Ben.

David

I'm not even mad.

Nini

I think Man and Ben did a really good job with Step by Step. 

David

I’m not even mad…even though that boy has the ugliest crying face—God bless him—Ben, I love Ben to death, but like his crying face makes me so angry. 

[Ben laughs]

I'm like please teach this child how to cry without scrunching up his mouth like that. I love him, though.

And how tall is Man? 6’9” or something?

Ben

I don't know. It's a lot though.

Nini

Man was on point. Everything he put on screen was on point, and Ben just followed along I think. I think they did really well.

David

I would like to say, too: I don't think we've ever seen…a pursuer really be…emotional. Like if you think about it, how many times have we seen “the guy” going after the person really have a breakdown and cry. There might be some tears. They're upset. They're throwing stuff, but he broke down. 

Nini

He was crying in his baby brother's lap.

David

His brother. He was like ‘what the fuck am I supposed to do?’ And he delivered that! It was completely believable. Like I watched that scene five times. He just loses it. It was completely believable. He was amazing, and I was just like ‘How dare you hurt my redwood?’ 

Nini

The thing that struck me about that scene was that Man couldn't actually produce tears but somehow—that scene—is, like, he is bawling. There are no tears and I'm still feeling everything that he's feeling because just the sound of his voice—everything.

David

It was working and this motherfucker couldn't cry! I was like how dare you! 

Ben

My couple of this season is Title and Pee from La Pluie.

Nini

I knew you were going there.

Ben

Girl, you knew what this was. We did not simp hard enough for Title during the La Pluie discussion.

[David laughs]

That boy is beautiful! He has an incredible smile. Like, they're like ‘I think Tai likes this boy too’ and I'm like ‘that's just Title. He just gives everybody the eye every time he looks at them. He breaks people. It's The Eyes of Kid Midas shit going on here.’

David

You know you can't be looking at everybody like that because even I was like he's a whore. 

[Ben laughs]

You don't look at everybody like that.

Nini

Did I not say that Tai is an alley cat like from jump.

David

And you were right. You were a prophet. You led the march because he's a whore. 

Ben

And he bit that man.

David

And then he bit him.

Nini

No, okay, sorry. We just did not ventilate this enough because I just, like, uploaded the Adult Swim episode today, which means I just listened to it again and I'm sorry we didn't talk enough about how Tai bit that man. We just didn't.

David

He bit a grown man…and then had the nerve to get mad because the man got mad ‘cause you bit him. Do we remember what he said after that? ‘You made me.’ Sir! That is inappropriate in every way shape and form that matters! You can't just be biting people.

Do I want to sometimes walk around and bite people? Yes, because, listeners, some people just deserve to get bit. We all know it, we all secretly think it. Like, don't play. Don't play. Lie to God, don't lie to me. Read your scripture. It's above me. 

All I'm saying…What was I saying? He's a whore. That's what I'm saying.

[Ben laughs]

I lost the thread at some point. 

Ben

They don't have easy characters to portray. Title has to be a likable enough protagonist for people to project onto him before they recognize that he's been in the wrong the entire time. And then he has to be wrong in a way that also makes you want to root for him to get better. And that's super difficult— 

David

Oh…I didn’t think about it like that. 

Ben

And Pee has a difficult character because he has to be all of these things without people asking any questions about his biography. Like, he has to be a perfect romantic interest but not in a way that's distracting. Pee has to portray Patts in such a way that we identify him as the ideal partner that Saengtai has been looking for this whole time, but we need to not ask any questions about him, like where does his money come from, what's the deal with his people, what does he care about outside of Saengtai and taking care of these animals and his friends 

And he encompasses Patts in such a way that he feels like a complete person. Who has turned his interest towards Saengtai in a way that doesn't demand the audience ask any goddamn questions about him. Like, for all the debating about Patts this whole season, nobody stopped to ask a damn question about how does this man's life even function, which I think is also great. Because it means everybody was caught up in Saengtai's bullshit the whole time.

They give such legible performances over the course of the show. There's never a moment where you're confused about what Saengtai or Patts is feeling and why they're feeling it. 

Ben

So we talked about the actors. We loved Net and James this season. We loved Man and Ben. We loved Title and Pee. Who else stood out this season?

Nini

Iijima and Inukai.

Ben

Also Suzuki Kosuke and Honda Kyoya. The Japanese BLs we gave 10s to? Stellar performances. Nobody has looked like such a sap more than Iijima in a long time and that was so lovely to watch. 

1:36:49 - The Changing Nature of BLs

Ben

Let's get into the cerebral. We talked a little bit in the… Adult Swim episode about how intellectually demanding this season felt. 

David, since you've been in a rapid catch up with BL for the last two years…We talked about how emotional the winter felt with Moonlight Chicken, Utsukushii Kare 2, The Warp Effect, My School President, Never Let Me Go— 

David

Back to back to back to back bangers. I don't even know if we've had a season where there were that many back to back to back bangers. 

Ben

Airing concurrently? No, that was a first. However, this particular season as you said, there were really good shows and not so great shows. How do you feel about how much the shows of this particular season required us to lean in, and pay attention to them, and talk about them, and acknowledge what was being said?

David

I think the medium is evolving. I think we're having to lean in more because some shows want us to. They're clearly writing this. They're clearly directing this. They're clearly leading us somewhere where we want you to think about this. It's not all cutesy. And I think that is a maturing of the genre itself.

Ben

Nini, you have any thoughts about the…cerebral nature of this season you want to get out for the lagniappe?

Nini

I talked a little bit about this in the Adult Swim episode, but my brain? She be tired. My brain be so tired like to the point where, over the summer, I'm just watching trash, lighthearted fluff, and one or two things that are making me think a little bit more, but mostly just—yeah—I don't want to think for the next little bit. 

David

Trash is where it's at, yup.

Nini

I'm a Thailand girlie. I go up for the Thai shows most of the time, and every big name in Thailand gave me something to look at, more or less, this season and it was all like…if not the best, it was instructive. It was interesting. It made me think. So, I generally had a good time, but she tired.

Ben

I almost want to say this is where the genre peaks for me. Like I've been wondering what the peak of BL was going to look like for a while. There was a lot of really heavy stuff this season about what queer people are living with and experiencing, and I am curious where BL goes after this. 

1:39:34 - Girl, You Tried

So before we talk about where BL is going next…We've been building towards this all season. It's time to hand out Girl, You Tried. 

[David laughs]

Dave this is your first time on the podcast with us. During the VIIB Awards we handed out an award for a show that. Boy, there were some ideas, there were some performances—they were not in the same meeting. 

David

[laughs] At all. The focus group saw something different. Um, people watched a different show. Some notes got jumbled up. Uh, clearly the director was asleep or just not paying attention. Things happened. 

Ben

Nini, please introduce our contestants.

Nini

For those of you who might be new to us, Girl, You Tried is an award that we give out every season for a good concept that struggled with its execution. So, our four nominees. Four, people! Four nominees for Girl, You Tried this season are: late entry—Naked Dining, original entry—A Shoulder to Cry On, and along the way entries—A Boss and a Babe and Step by Step. 

You've heard us talk about all of these shows across the season, so we're not going to dive too deep. Y'all will have heard the problems that we had with the shows. David, aside from Naked Dining which is the one you put on the list, maybe tell the people why you think Ben and I put specific shows on the list.

David

To be fair, I did not watch A Shoulder to Cry On because Ben dogged that show out so bad I wasn't even gonna give it the time of day. So, um, I can't vote on A Shoulder to Cry On. 

Naked Dining takes it home for me because they were both annoying. They both were getting on my nerves, and this weird thing that they love doing in Japan, where people take off for prolonged periods of time and don't talk to one another…is obnoxious. There were all these weird near misses, and the food was supposed to be more central but it really wasn't. Some things just didn't make sense and no one would explain it. Normally that's okay, but there are things that are central to the story that just didn't make sense. 

Ben

How did they try? 

David

What they tried for was cute little cooking show with a side of romance. What they got was day-old, discounted bread. They wasted my time and my soul. It was a waste. If we're taking it down to brass tacks, they tried…something…I don't know what it may have been.

Maybe they were trying to do a cooking show. Maybe they were trying to do a show about kitchen safety, and why you shouldn't be in your kitchen naked. I really don't know what they were trying to do. 

Ben

Nini, we've talked about a lot of these shows a lot. Who is your winner for Girl, You tried for this season?

Nini

Well for me, it's always gonna be who, with like some nips, some tucks, some tweaks, would have been a 10 for me? That's my criterion, and for me that show is Step by Step, ‘cause Step by Step was like, I think I ended up giving it like a 9.

Ben

Yeah, you gave it a 9…

Nini

Yes, I did! I truly think that with a couple of nips and tucks and tweaks like Step by Step could have been a 10 show for me. I just enjoyed whatever Tee was doing. I…was into the ideas that he was playing with. You know I'm a vibesy bitch and I was feeling the vibe of Step by Step. 

But! It needed some—some tidying—it needed some cleaning up. Like I said, some nips, some tucks, and it would have been essential for me. So yeah, Step by Step. That's my winner. How about you, Ben?

Ben

I went back and listened to some of our stuff in preparation for the Girl, You Tried award, and I think the fact that we had a gaming company and a team of gamers and they never did anything with that as a potential crossover feels like a huge miss from the writing standpoint, which means that they were barely paying attention. That's a huge knock in the ‘you're not really’ trying section of the board for me. And I think just listening back, the intensity with which I was criticizing Step by Step is basically the built-in answer for me. 

I love Tee a lot, as a creator, as a queer person, and…I'm always rooting for him, but goddamn does he make it hard sometimes.

[David and Ben laugh]

Nini

Ben said Tee’s that friend you have who's right, but damn, shut the fuck up. [laughs]

Ben

Drink your juice, Shelby! 

David

Tee really is. Girl, you shoulda just sat there and ate your dinner. Tee really is that friend. See! Just sit there, just eat. 

Ben

Like, the reason why it's Step by Step is, as an entertainer, Tee—I think—broke trust with his audience. And he really misfired there, because, like, there are so many good ideas in Step by Step, and he's got a really good eye as a director. He's a really legible storyteller but he's got to figure out how to put these things together. He's got to figure how to structure his episodes more effectively. And so for me, it ends up being Step by Step because I can feel the show that Step by Step wants to be more than the other shows on this list. 

Like, Naked Dining doesn't know what it wants to be. A Shoulder to Cry On got edited to all hell because of the idols involved. And what the fuck was New even doing with the bunch of fucking gamers in a workplace BL? Anyway. So, it’s Step by Step.

Nini

All right. The dubious honor of Girl, You Tried for Spring 2023 with two- thirds of the votes [laughs] goes to Step by Step.

David

I amend my vote. You have talked me out of my vote. I will now amend my vote: Step by Step clears the board! 

Ben

The whole panel! [laughs]

David

It'll be the only award show it ever sweeps. 

[Nini laughs]

Nini

Sorry! So it's now unanimous.

David

Minus ones across the board.

Ben

Alright, panel, 10s or chops? Nini?

Nini

One chop.

Ben

Two chops.

David

Three fucking chops. [Nini laughs] 

I don't see it!

1:46:56 - Looking Ahead

Ben

Our final section: Looking Ahead. What do we have up next? Nini, you've got the list.

Nini

Well, what are we watching right now? So let's start with that. So, one of the things that we're watching now [sighs]...I'm just gonna say it. We're watching Be My Favorite. I am on record on this podcast as saying that I had zero interest in watching Be My Favorite. Ben said he was going in hostile—which, he did. 

We had to literally amend the name of our chat for the show, like as the show went on. What did it start as?

Ben

Not Our Favorite.

Nini

I was not watching at that point. It went from Not Our Favorite to Maybe? It's Good?? to We’re Mad This Might Be Good. And then now our chat is just called UGH! FINE!!

[David laughs]

David

So I slugged my way through the very first episode, and when he had said it was like the first time in a long time that me and him have both been like ‘absolutely not’ and then…two weeks later this bitch goes “so Be My Favorite” and I turn—aghast, of course—because I thought not only had that ship sailed but we waited until they got at the harbor and we sank it. 

And I discover that homegirl down here is taking a sub to go look at its remains. Then of course, because I'm like no this has got to be a complete disaster, because there's no way this Miss Thing went back to his show and now I'm sitting here like “Ugh…okay.” 

Ben

What else is on the “Wow are we actually watching this?” list. 

David

I know it's not Hidden Agenda. 

Nini

It is Hidden Agenda.

David

I haven’t watched it yet because I was gonna let Ben watch it. I'll be like if Ben hates it I won't bother watching it. But I don't want to start watching this shit, and like it, and have this bitch hate it, and not have anybody to watch this show with. 

Ben

I don't hate it! I don't think I'm sold on it yet. But I don't hate it. 

David

Someone told me that they have definitely gotten better…as acting, now, one show under.

Ben and Nini

Hmmmmmmmmmm...

David

No! Not the both of you! Not the both of you!

[Ben and Nini laugh]

Not the both of you going 'hmmmm' like a starting up race car. I am so mad that you both at the, nearly a second apart 'hmmmm'

[Everyone laughs]

Nini

Here's the thing, right? [David continues laughing] I wasn't going to watch it, then I found out it was Tee and then I was like “well shit, now I have to watch it” because I am contractually obligated to watch everything that he makes after Lovely Writer.

David

Understood.

Nini

This is giving me such Lovely Writer teas in some very specific ways, but it's too early to tell as yet— 

David

What are we? Three in, or two in?

Nini

Three in. Yeah, it's too early to tell—like, with Tee you got to give it half the show. Because, like, when I think about Lovely Writer like around four is when it started turn, and by six I was like ‘yeah, okay, in.’ 

With Tee, he's a slow burn motherfucker. You just got to give him time to get into it. So I am holding my thoughts on it…so far, but I am contractually obligated to watch it all the way through.

Ben

David and I caught up on Laws of Attraction this weekend. It's a lot of fun. We're having a great time. 

David

I love him. 

Ben

He’s talking about the insane lawyer. 

David

His level of outright ridiculous sissiness. I live for. It is walking gay chaos…and I…live… for every moment he is on the screen. And somehow each shirt got gayer.

Like, I don't know if he's having conversations with people in costuming, or if he is like pointing at a random poor little assistant and going “You I want you to go to a woman's blouse store and get the ugliest, most asymmetrical shirt you can.”

Ben

[laughs ]And it better be champagne-colored!

David

“And you are to bring it back here, and I swear to God, if it's not earth-toned or champagne…I will beat you to within an inch of your life. Go do your job and get out of my face.” 

He is giving me everything because, look, girls, gays, and theys with guns—I'm here for. And when he goes to that office trying to beat that boy up, and he pulls out that gay-ass little gun… and goes, “Look, Boo-Boo, I'mma put one in you one way or another.” 

[Nini laughs]

I live. I live! I was resurrected. I had bronchitis and he cleared it up. It resurrected me. That whole scene healed me in body and spirit. I'm not gonna even lie.

Nini

So I am not watching this. I am waiting for somebody to tell me I must watch this. 

David

Oh girl, you're not missing anything. Do not get us wrong! You are not missing cinéma vérité by any stretch of any one's fucking imagination. But what I will tell you is that it is delightful.

Ben

Also from Thailand, we are watching Be Mine Superstar.

Nini

When I was talking earlier about a trash watch. This is what I was talking about. [laughs] 

David

I have not been watching it because it was another one that I was kind of waiting to see what Ben was gonna say.

Ben

Be Mine Superstar is fine. It is…very watchable. It isn’t asking a lot of me right now. I'm having a good time with the performances. Overall, it is a low stakes watch for me, and I'm with Nini. Like I'm having a great time with the big pieces but I don't mind having just a very watchable show where it's very clear that Ja and First are having a good time playing against their type. 

David

Okay!

Ben

Okay, we're gonna talk about the shit I care about!

Nini

Now Ben wants to talk about Japan.

Ben

Let's talk about Japan! 

David

Oh, here she go. Buckle up, folks. It's gonna be a bumpy night. 

Ben

Japan is currently airing two shows. I am living my best life! 

Currently, we have Tokyo in April is… which is the first new outing from MBS, who have continued their Drama Shower rotation. A lot of you may not be familiar with who MBS is but they are a Japanese broadcasting network. It is very, very cool that MBS is invested in BL because they have produced some of the most important shit that's worked its way out of Japan into the masses, like some of the most famous anime comes from MBS. Very, very cool that MBS is committing an entire second year to BL and they are continuing to get more gritty with the kinds of stories they're willing to tell along the way, and I am really, really impressed with Tokyo in April is… and I don't want to say anything else right now because we have a lot to unpack when we finally discussed it in fall! 

Also, Minato’s Laundromat 2 is airing right now, and while Nini may never watch Minato's Laundromat 2 so we'll probably not discuss it on this show except for me saying like it deserves a VIIB Award later, it is really cool that the showrunners opted to abandon the source material for the second season. 

From Korea we have Jun & Jun right now. If you are kind of bougie about Korean production, I don't think you're going to enjoy this one. 

Finally, Taiwan is back! Oh my god, Taiwan is back and it's as cracked out as ever! Holy shit Stay by My Side is so stupid! I love it! 

[David laughs]

We have needed a stupid BL for a while, and like it's not stupid in a sense like the plotting is bad, the storytelling is bad, but it's just so silly. It's like what if we take all these goofy BL tropes and just ramp that up to 9! Not 10, just 9! 

We don't know when Man Suang is going to come out. We're anticipating it but we have no idea when it's going to release because they are doing the international festivals circuit thing.

David

A friend of mine got into a viewing of it. Apparently it's good. Sincerely good. 

Nini

There is something else coming out of Drama Shower that I don't have on the list because it only came up recently. My Personal Weatherman. That is what it’s called.

And the last one, which I am obligated to mention because my baby Na Naphat. Na and ISBANKY is in it and Saiparn from Midnight Museum. It's Club Saipan Fine: Moments and Memories. 

Ben

That looks like a goddamn mess.

Nini

It looks exactly like the kind of trash that I need to watch, and it’s only four episodes.

Ben

I'm glad it's only four episodes, so you can report back quickly because goddamn I am not doing that one. 

David

Ben look harrangued—and traumatized—right now. [Ben laughs] He's huddling on the floor in the corner shaking his head. 

Nini

It's mess and lesbians.

David

Oh wait! There are lesbians in it?

Nini

Yes.

David

And here we are! We're there. That's it, that’s it. I'm watching it. 

1:57:44 - Outro

Ben

As we wrap this up, David, thank you for joining us as our very first guest on The Conversation. 

David

Oh god this was awesome.

Nini

I just want to let the people know that we've been here for two hours. I don't know how long the edit's going to be but we've been having a goodass time.

Ben

I think we just take, like, the necessary stuff for the episode and then just release a bonus episode and just call it the David Cut. [David laughs]

David

It's the David Cut where I talk in a gravelly voice. 

Ben

David, since we are together we have to do the thing for Nini because she's been waiting for it for a long time. 

Let's remind our listeners something very important: Dick is abundant.

David

And low in value. 

Ben

Dick futures are not a safe investment. 

David

The NASDICK is trending down.

Nini

[crying] The NASDICK…

Ben

I'm making sure it's the NASDICK—I said NASDICK and I almost killed Ben. The first time I said the NASDICK is trending down and almost killed one of my best friends.

Nini

[laughs] On that note, I think it's time to wrap, and we will bid you all adieu until the fall. David, Ben, say bye to the people. We out.

David

Bye! Thank you guys for having me! It was great! 

Ben

Peace!

#podcast #lgbtq #my only 12 percent #roommates of poongduck 304 #she loves to cook and she loves to eat #the shipper #me my husband and my husband's boyfriend #earth pirapat #ben and nini's conversations #the conversation #on art #summer 2023 #season 3 #summer series #Spotify

[love-me-a-lotta-whump]

여신강림 - True Beauty ep.10 & 11 - Episode Highlight - 🇰🇷

Whumpees: (brown coat) 이수호 (Lee Soo Ho) played by 차은우 (Cha Eunwoo of ASTRO) and (black jacket) 한서준 (Han Seo Jun) played by 황인엽 (Hwang In Yeob)

Synopsis: A rom-com about Lim Ju Gyeong, who rises to fame after she masters the art of make-up from YouTube. She turns into a goddess because of her makeup skills but would rather die than reveal her bare face to anyone. Lee Su Ho is an attractive and handsome boy who appears cold because of his dark past but is actually very caring. They grow when they meet each other, share their secrets and find love with each other. He is the only one who has seen her without her makeup on. Can Su Ho make Ju Gyeong find her true beauty? (MDL)

Genre: Romance, Love Triangle, Friendship, School, Comedy

Watch On: Viki, KissAsian, DramaCool

WARNING: POSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW!!!

한서준 (Han Seo Jun)

Episode 10:

1:14:20-end > hit by a car, fell to the ground, dazed, cut cheek, in pain

Episode 11 - spends most of the episode in the hospital

5:17-5:30 > pulled out of an ambulance on a stretcher, unconscious, cuts on his face, rolled through the hospital, wakes up, barely conscious, heavily lidded eyes

15:18-15:50 > walking through the hospital with his IV, cast on his arms and one arm in a sling, bandaged face, concern for him

21:32-21:50 > upset

23:48-25:17 > concerned for someone, upset

28:22-31:04 > looked after, struggling (comedic)

33:38-35:23 > upset

58:58-1:01:47 > emotional, concerned for someone, scared, concerned for someone

이수호 (Lee Soo Ho)

Episode 10:

1:14:20-end > hit by a car, sent flying into the air, barely conscious, cuts on his face, passed out

Episode 11 - spends most of the ep in the hospital

5:17-8:05 > pulled out of an ambulance on a stretcher, unconscious, cuts on his face, rolled through the hospital, (traumatic flashbacks: upset, concerned for someone, mildly manhandled, in shock, fell to his knees, crying, grieving)

13:47-15:10 > asleep in a hospital bed, bandaged wounds, IV, (traumatic flashbacks: emotional, angry, near tears), leg in a cast, woke up, tried to sit up but couldn't from the pain, groaning, near tears

18:36-20:23 > in a wheelchair, concern for him, wound reveal, concern for him (comical)

20:39-22:44 > in a wheelchair, IV, emotional

23:48-25:17 > concern for him, emotional, upset, emotional flashbacks

26:39-27:34 > upset, angry, refusing to speak

28:22-31:04 > looked after, in a wheelchair

57:57-58:13 > upset, angry, near tears

58:56-1:01:47 > angry, threw glass in an emotional outburst, yelling, crying, telling his dad how he lived with the burden of guilt from his friend's death, having traumatic flashbacks, (panic attack: heavy breathing, leaning on the bed, holding his chest, yelling, angry, intense chest pain, collapsed, concern for him, nurses and loved ones rush to help him, in pain, losing consciousness), doctor tells his dad he had a panic attack

1:02:44-1:03:21 > asleep, IV, looked after, concern for him

1:05:54-1:07:32 > asleep, concern for him, (flashbacks: crying, telling his dad how he lived with the burden of guilt from his friend's death, told he was responsible for his friend's death), woke up

-------------

MORE WHUMP LISTS >>> {x}

#true beauty #whump list #whumplist #asianwhump #asian whump #episode highlight #whump list library #whump list directory

[keef-a-corn]

Dat’s right, People, it’s time for ‘Keef watches TFP and you just get the notes!’

This is for season 1, episode 17: Crisscross.

I write down the timestamps, but I watch Transformers Prime on Stan (an Australian streaming service) so they may be slightly off.

ALSO! I try my best to note points for every character, but tend to get a little caught up by Bee (although I think I do a pretty good job with the notes regardless) so do be warned.

~~~~Transition~~~~

00:16 - Oh dear.. already quite bored

00:41 - One thing to note is that Silas is a mix of Megatron and Optimus. He’s on the field alongside his workers regardless of why they’re there, but he also does not care who he hurts.

01:07 - Airachnid’s always gotta have a cool reveal. Theoretically. In practice it is not achieved.

~intro~

01:57 - Average day in Australia.

02:37 - OH GAWD. This again??

02:58 - had to take a solid minute to collect myself. They don’t refer to themselves as ‘transformers’ so Airachnid saying that made so much sense, but the actual word sounded so foreign.

03:03 - honestly just hate Airachnid and Arcee’s rivalry so much. There’s no respect in it and it’s not clear (to me at least) how it happened. We get back story for the situation, but it clears up even less. Why is Airachnid specifically going after Arcee?? Why does Arcee take it so personally?.

03:13 - E X C U S E M E

03:28 - let us be clear… rn Jack’s mum is hawt.

03:46 - in Speed Metal this was proven true.

03:58 - Does Jack seriously not have any other friends? The humans are so dependent on the bots it’s frustrating.

04:26 - honestly, June’s a good mum. She’s very clear and firm, but she doesn’t yell.

04:49 - uh.. that’s honestly a weird line and feels really inappropriate.

05:06 - wait, so Arcee stays the night at Jack’s place?? But she works at night too!

05:42 - that car has the same numberplate as Jack’s mum RPI • 437 if it was a background car it wouldn’t matter, but we can see the plate clear as day.

05:55 - WOO! Beeeee

06:00 - the extended part of this scene is a luxury- oh wait… oh.. oh no… it’s a filler. This is a filler episode. That’s why Bee’s there and no one else is. If Ratchet, Optimus and/or Bulkhead don’t talk during this episode, it will confirm it.

06:08 - Hehe, the contrast. Also June listens to elevator music on her drive home.

06:34 - honestly, a little surprised they hadn’t gone with the ‘Doesn’t check the room’ trope.

06:46 - ooooh The light is a ground bridge! Thought they decided to randomly add the idea that when Arcee transforms it’s a Winx like transformation.

06:54 - gaslighting 101.

07:00 - June in denial that her son’s a frickin looser and has no friends.

07:16 - Rest in pieces Jack.

07:56 - JACK NO THAT’S A BAD IDEA.

08:03 - I mean- KiNdA

08:08 - Didn’t June get off work early to cook Jack dinner?

08:40 - kinda vibing with Silas and Arcee’s dynamic rn

08:47 - WTF- seriously tho, wtf?.

09:37 - Mech is a really weird name for a group that doesn’t like transformers.

09:45 - ‘In my bed. I slept with your mother, Jack. Call me… Papa Silas.’ Would’ve made the episode 100x better.

10:10 - Wait… so the communicator scrambles the signal, so Arcee can’t reach the autobots, but as far as they are aware she’s supposed to be at Jack’s house. If her signal randomly went out, wouldn’t they notice and go looking for her?

10:25 - they had this ability the whole time but only NOW choose to use it?? If they had it set up throughout the town, they would be able to find any bot lickity split, especially if it causes them that much pain.

10:40 - Does anyone else despise the ‘they just want me 🥺’ trope?

10:51 - Arcee’s number plate is 396571.

11:26 - Oh my gaaaaawd! When will Arcee learn that she has to maintain level headed when fighting Airachnid otherwise she’s wasting her strength.

11:34 - the way Arcee’s optics tilted backwards and got big in fear, panic and desperation is a sweet choice. But how has she not realised that with Silas standing there, putting both Jack and June’s lives at risk, that he doesn’t care about them??

11:43 - bicthless behaviour.

13:09 - Calling her ‘Spider-bot’ rather than her name is both disrespectful in not using her name, but respectful in recognising who she is.

13:13 - HE SAID THE TITLE.

13:21 - The worker calls Arcee ‘it’ - entirely disrespectful and objectifies Arcee.

13:28 - considering how long it took them to simply open Breakdown’s chest plate and remove his eye, it’s safe to assume Arcee’s got plenty of time.

15:33 - what’d I say?

15:38 - he rhymed.

16:01 - what does that mean?.

16:30 - continuity.

16:35 - Awesome shot, which also captures their power imbalance.

16:40 - significantly higher. Arcee’s strong, yes. But not nearly as strong as Breakdown + Breakdown had assistance from another bot.

17:48 - why wouldn’t they have done the concrete as soon as Airachnid fell? She would’ve been less likely to have woken up.

18:31 - Agent Fowler! Proving to be useful Y E T A G A I N !

18:54 - how did he go so long without noticing that missing??

19:04 - THANK YOU! Responsible man right here!

19:07 - No. that would’ve been a good call because Airachnid’s very dangerous and Arcee cannot handle her on her own.

19:24 - that was very funny. The line was delivered so mildly, but made so much sense as well.

19:46 - They did obtain some information, so I guess Silas got what he wanted.

20:53 - MMM YES. SEXIEST MUSIC.

21:07 - Look at hiiiim

21:11 - Ratchet turns around like an old man.

21:17 - so jealous of June rn.

21:25 - Another cover poster + Optimus looked slightly offended in the moments before the shot I got a photo of.

21:28 - Not a word from Bulkhead, Ratchet and Optimus. I wonder w h y .

———————

So that was Crisscross!

Incase it wasn’t apparent, I’m not a fan of the obvious filler episodes. I’m not a fan of Arcee and Airachnid’s dynamic either, so it made the episode worse.

One thing I will give it credit for is that it addressed the fact that June would’ve started to get suspicious.

Crisscross is better than Predatory, but I don’t like either episode.

#transformers #transformers prime #tfp #maccadam #tfp optimus prime #tfp bumblebee #tfp arcee #tfp ratchet #tfp bulkhead #tfp raf #tfp miko #tfp june #tfp Jack #tfp airachnid #tfp episode notes #tfp ep notes #tfp ep 17 #tfp episode 17 #episode 17 #Crisscross #tfp mech #tfp silas #kwtfp #Keef watches tfp

[0urbladesaresharp]

RESULTS Fandom's Favorite HBO War Character (Round 1)

Thank you so much for the great responses to everyone who participated in Round 1 of the poll. 85 votes were cast in this round, which was way more than I ever hoped would participate! Also, your comments in the optional box and in my Tumblr notes are hilarious. Please keep them coming.

Not too many surprises in this first round, but it only gets tougher from here, folks! Some insights on the voting:

The biggest surprise was definitely the defeat of John Basilone by Ack Ack Haldane. This was a tough one!

The largest vote difference was between David Webster (98.8% of the votes) vs. Roy Cobb (1.2%) The hatred for Roy Cobb is noted and appreciated :)

The closest match-up was between Eric Kocher (51.8%) and John Christeson (48.2%) sadly knocking my boy John out of the running :(

Under the cut are the numbers on who voted who with commentary from yours truly. Round 2 will hopefully be up tomorrow, Sunday, November 6. Hope to see you there!

Dick Winters (82) vs. Don Hoobler (3)

Lewis Nixon (78) vs. Albert Blithe (7)

Doc Roe (81) vs. Ralph Spina (4)

Donald Malarkey (55) vs. Shifty Powers (30)

Carwood Lipton (81) vs. Mo Alley (4)

Floyd Talbert (53) vs. Chuck Grant (32) I'm so sorry

Bull Randleman (72) vs. Popeye Wynn (13)

Johnny Martin (65) vs. Skinny Sisk (20)

George Luz (70) vs. Harry Welsh (15) also very sorry

Frank Perconte (78) vs. Alton More (7)

Joe Liebgott (81) vs. Burt "Pat" Christenson (4)

Skip Muck (51) vs. Buck Compton (34) wow really sorry

Babe Heffron (74) vs. Alex Penkala (11)

Antonio Garcia (44) vs. Joseph Ramirez (41) SO CLOSE

Bill Guarnere (73) vs. John Hall (12) sorry to the person in the comments who I hurt with my pairing here :(

Joe Toye (79) vs. Moose Heyliger (6)

David Webster (84) vs. Roy Cobb (1) LOL (that 1 vote came at the very end)

Ron Speirs (82) vs. Smokey Gordon (3)

Col. Robert Sink (65) vs. Maj. Robert Strayer

Thomas Peacock (47) vs. William Dukeman Jr. (38)

Ed Tipper (51) vs. Earl McClung (34)

Herbert Sobel (57) vs. Norman Dike (28) I would love to study WHY

Patrick O'Keefe (55) vs. Mike Ranney (30) Y'all did my boy dirty

John Janovec (46) vs. James Miller (39) Why do I feel like this was totally a Tom Hardy vs. James McAvoy thing???

Thomas Meehan (53) vs. John Julian (32) They literally both die after like one episode lol

Eugene Jackson (71) vs. Edward Shames (14)

Robert Leckie (70) vs. Dr. Sledge (15) I could feel the dislike for Leckie in those 15 votes

Eugene Sledge (73) vs. Hugh Corrigan (12)

Ack Ack Haldane (65) John Basilone (20) so sorry

Sidney Phillips (54) vs. Bill Leyden (31) how dare y'all

Chuckler Juergens (56) vs. Runner Conley (29)

Snafu Shelton (76) vs. Elmo "Gunny" Haney (9)

R.V. "Burgie" Burgin (68) vs. Ronnie Gibson (17)

Hoosier Smith (77) vs. Jay de'Leau (8) so sorry to that one person who left the sad comment on my poll :(

Chesty Puller (69) vs. Lt. Stone (16)

Manuel Rodriquez (47) vs. J.P. Morgan (38) It's Jon Bernthal. I get it.

Lena Riggi Basilone (62) vs. Vera Keller (23) Lena wins, as she should.

Hillbilly Jones (78) vs. Robert Oswalt (7)

John Hamm (55) vs. John Powell (30)

Stella (46) vs. Gwen (39) this one was actually much closer than I thought it would be

Brad Colbert (74) vs. Bryan Patterson (11)

Ray Person (76) vs. Gabe Garza (9)

Poke Espera (67) vs. Evan Wright (18)

Nate Fick (76) vs. Jason Lilley (9)

James Trombley (53) vs. Meesh (32)

Doc Bryan (75) vs. Godfather Ferando (10)

Q-Tip Stafford (69) vs. Manimal Jacks (16)

Walt Hasser (50) vs Mike Wynn (35) sorry

Shady B Baptista (65) vs. James Chaffin (20)

Rudy Reyes (75) vs. James Mattis (10) these 10 people need to be checked

Captain America (49) vs. Casey Kasem (36) this one was close for most of the polling

Encino Man (46) vs. John Sixta (39) this one was also close

Steven Lovell (57) vs. Jeff "Dirty Earl" Carisalez (28)

Eric Kocher (44) vs. John Christeson (41) the lead was even closer until the last few votes

Pappy Patrick (67) vs. Todd Eckloff (18)

See you crazy kids in Round 2!

@lightthewaybackhome @g-luztrash @moonlight511 @vorarephiliax-blog @offbeatpaikea23 @itstheheebiejeebies @hellshee@mccall-muffin @softguarnere @donaldmalarkeyswhore @softliebgott @thehonourablealgernon @1337wtfomgbbq @multifandomlover01 @incorrectbandofbrothersquotes @incorrecthbowarquotes @lucky-bastards @heystovepipeboys @aerokriegs @t-4georgeluz @hillbillied @contact-right

#hbo war #hbo war trinity #band of brothers #the pacific #generation kill #fandom

[cartoonfanaticmonsterrobotalien]

Solar Opposites in Mighty Solars Issues #51-#60

Issue #51: “Walk Into the Light”: Mighton must learn to control his Mundane form because it wants him to transform every time he feels stress.

Issue #52: “Which is Which”: People starting to feel disturbed when Core Burn began acting strange and violent towards others people, only for it to reveal that she has been replaced by an imposter.

Issue #53: “Feel my Desire”: Black Mirror is back and after the desire vac! Now she is putting all the heroes in danger with her own deepest desires. Inspired by the Tick 1994 Episode, “Grandpa Wore Tights”.

Issue #54: “Big Top Showdown”: Quasarblast and the other Mighty Solars must save Fung-irl, Spikerella, Magma, Slimar, Fizziepop, Blackhole and Sonar Woman after they get kidnapped by a crazy former ringmaster.

Issue #55: “Ms. Quasar’s Requiem”: Janiz ends up receiving the power to change into different colors. Now she must use them to save her family when they are under attack by a manipulative scientist. Inspired by the Spider-Man 2017 Episode, "Spider-Man Unmasked".

Issue #56: “Vil-Gil-An-T vs. Lava Beast Pt. 1”: A vengeful goth teen who wants to get back Yumyulack for stealing Mark before he could as him out, ends up bringing a big disastrous event.

Issue #57: “Vil-Gil-An-T vs. Lava Beast P.2”: Vil-Gil-An-T is forced to release his own beast when Lava Beast attacks his house.

Issue #58: “AIs To The Rescue”: It’s AISHA, EVA and MAX to the rescue when the Mighty Solars gets framed by a jealous detective and her team. Inspired by the Be Cool, Scooby-Doo Series Finale, “Professor Huh?”

Issue #59: “Beware The Dark Side”: A mysterious rogue vigilante appears and has been murdering criminals. This gets much worse when the heroes discover he looks exactly like Terry!

Issue #60: “Dark Jesse”: A horrifying event that involves a student that has gone crazy with dark telekinesis powers causes Jesse AKA Fung-irl to finally snap and reveal her own beast within. Inspired by the comic segment of the Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror: “Dark Lisa” and the other segment from the same comic, “War of The Colossal Homers”.

#solar opposites #solar opposites au #solar opposites: mighty solars #the mighty solars #mighty solars #solar opposites mighty solars #korvo/quasarblast #terry/mighton #yumyulack/vil gil an t #jesse/fung irl #pupa/the mighty pupa #evil terry #aisha solar opposites #eva solar opposites #max solar opposites #phoebe maccarthy #phoebe/starburst #janiz solar opposites #super shlorpian yumyulack #mundane jesse #janiz/ms. quasar

[ben-the-hyena]

Monster and human/monsterfucker Anthro and human/furry Undead (ghosts, vampires etc) and human/kinda necro but not that much for the ask meme

55. Monster and human/monsterfucker

Eddie Brock X Venom from any comic or adaptation of Spiderman or just Venom. Not only have I always found Venom HOT as fuck, finding out years ago that unlike the Sam Raimi movies Venom actually is not a parasite inside Eddie's body possessing him or just a mean to make him stronger with no personality but on the contrary work together and CHOOSE to and little by little learned to know each other, Eddie see Venom as more than just a weapon and Venom see Eddie as more than just a vessel to survive on Earth and eventually CANONICALLY fall in in love in the comics with sweet pet names and even going as far as having children together and feeling empty and lost when separated desperately needing to be together like addicted to each other (which isn't super healthy and Venom can be harsh and violent at times, but eh, fiction and alien) was the death of me

56. Anthro and human/furry

Hello Nurse from Animaniacs X Wile E. Coyote from the Looney Tunes. A crossover ship but I HC/it's heavily hinted both take place in the same world at the Warner studios so it's not impossible. I had already explained in a post some weeks ago why I ship it, and the fact he is anthro does not feel like a problem in that kind of wacky universe. As I said, there would be a lot of sapiosexuality involved, she being glad for once someone is interested in her brain rather than her bra size and him glad to see someone finally as much of a genius as himself due to his ego, as well as often needing to put him back together with lots of bandages at the Warner Studios which must have helped bonding. I can imagine them having dates that solely consist of solving equations

57. Undead (ghosts, vampires etc) and human/kinda necro but not that much

Stretch X Kat when she will be an adult from Casper. Yes it's probably the first time I speak of it here on Tumblr but ever since I've watched this movie and episodes of the show at age 13 or 14 I FELT there was potential. Of course nothing for now because she is just 13 so THANK GOD, but they both are headstrong, she was the very first person to argue back and often do instead of being scared of him proving they are just as stubborn as each other and Stretch loves to troll her in particular... I feel like that once she'll be grown it'll be he kind of angryfuck relationship I like in fiction (even if I don't think there will be actual fuck since, well, he is a ghost who passes through things and has no wiener lmao). In fact there is an excellent fanfic I had read back then and it's very good and is very similar if not straight up my headcanon for them, I recommend it it's War on Fanfiction.net and it helped me solidify my feelings about it

#prpis #moi #i ship it ! #crossover #when they will be older #ask #gif #animaniacs #looney tunes #hello nurse #wile e coyote #love is here #venom #spiderman #eddie brock #casper #stretch #kat harvey

[naiad-dream-way]

2023 Tumblr Top 10

1. 145 notes - Sep 7 2023

2. 113 notes - Oct 26 2023

3. 102 notes - Jul 29 2023

Having a feeling if we get a second season of Earthspark, we need to have three things to happen in the first episode. Ratchet...

4. 77 notes - Aug 31 2023

If Flight is Stacy Fakename I will scream

5. 76 notes - Jun 3 2023

If Miles is an abnormality than why does he have to follow the canon stuff!?!? Maybe he won’t affect him! Maybe the whole canon...

6. 57 notes - Sep 7 2023

Of course Imelda and Lance makes sense!! It makes so much sense! She is so impulsive and he can counter every one of her...

7. 56 notes - Mar 15 2023

8. 45 notes - Aug 26 2023

I wonder if the Terrans, current and maybe future ones, that they will continue to incorporate the different variants of...

9. 43 notes - Sep 15 2023

10. 42 notes - Oct 9 2023

Random idea Going with my fav theory/head canon of Bulkhead being Lugnut and Strika’s kid. Only he gets raised by them and is...

Created by TumblrTop10

#tumblrtop10 #my top 10 2023 #nice moment to reflect a bit

[featherisderp]

Part 3!

Okay! So Galacta goes to Popstar with Meta Knight in the CTS AU, meaning he was there throughout everything. That being said, I felt like writing it all out into short episode by episode summaries.

Extra info + Episodes under the cut.

Please keep in mind that I only have the episode numbers written out (for explain "episode 1 - this happens") so the episodes I'm referring to may be a bit vague. Also, I'm using the Japanese order, the English ones are moved around a bit so please keep that in mind as well.

Part 1;

Part 2;

Part 4;

Episode 51 - Galacta is with Meta Knight when he's checking on Kirby. Upon Tikkori showing up, he throws his shield at him and tells him to 'be nicer to the baby orb'. He stands by and watches the rest of the events.

Episode 52 - Galacta simply stands by and watches, but giggles about the action figure thing. When Tiff remains upset, he pats her head and tells her it's okay before realizing Meta Knight is gone and runs after him.

Episode 53 - When Meta Knight asks Dedede if he's going to play fair, Galacta puffs his wings and growls. As they walk away, Galacta mumbles about punching Dedede if he's lying. When Tiff calls Meta Knight, he looks in her direction, but doesn't say or do anything. Galacta doesn't say anything throughout the rest of the episode.

Episode 54 - Galacta is hanging out in the alleyway with Meta Knight and complains about Gallant failing miserably with a lance. He goes with them to the ship and hangs around outside. After the kids show up he asks Sword if Meta Knight will let him shove it off the cliff yet and he says no. Tiff asks why that's even a question and he simply shrugs. 

Episode 55 - Galacta shows up when Meta Knight does. He watches Dedede attack Kirby and yells at him to stop and also calls him ugly. Meta stops him from attacking Dedede and when the monster appears he calls that ugly too. 

Episode 56 - Galacta doesn't appear. Tiff briefly questions Meta Knight on it but he doesn't give an answer.

Episode 57 - Galacta stands away from everything and giggles at the pie war. After the episode he laughs at Meta Knight for getting covered in pie, he gets bonked for it.

Episode 58 - Galacta stands by and watches everything.

Galacta doesn't appear in episode 59.

Episode 60 - Galacta hisses when Meta Knight and his friends are discussing what fell from the sky. Galacta seems confused when Sirica shows up, but hisses when she attacks Meta Knight. He flies after him when he runs off. Galacta flies in front of the children when Meta Knight respawns and puffs up when Meta Knight is shot. He tries shaking him awake and then grumbles about Sirica while putting him on his head and informing the others he's unconscious. When Meta Knight is asked about Sirica's story, Galacta hisses and starts yelling about Garlude having been a good friend of his. Meta Knight calms him down and denies leaving her to die, then the Galaxia conversation happens. Galacta hisses and puffs when Sirica shows up again and tells her to calm the hell down. Obviously, this does nothing. Galacta yells at Meta Knight when he decides to fight Sirica. He tells him Sirica is just an angry child and Meta Knight doesn't respond, although he does glance at him. Galacta gets obscenely furious when Kirisakin shows up but doesn't attack it since he wants to protect the children. When the fight ends, Galacta slowly approaches Sirica and pats her head. He tells her Garlude was a very close friend to Meta Knight. Meta Knight says the "she would have been proud" thing. Galacta mumbles to himself about where Sirica got the idea that Meta Knight would leave Garlude to die as the rest are waving and Meta Knight tells him it's alright.

Galacta doesn't appear in episode 61 - 64

Episode 65 - Galacta hisses and tries to run after Dedede when he takes Joe's pendant. Meta Knight grabs him by the wing to stop him and explains the thing. Galacta yells that it's still a gift to Joe from his dad. Meta Knight sighs and says 'I know' but doesn't say anything else on the topic. Galacta watches the rest of the fight.

Galacta doesn't appear in episode 67 - 71.

Episode 72 - Galacta appears with Meta Knight and mumbles about Escargoon being ugly.

Episode 73 - Galacta stares at the TV intensely and then flops his wings onto Meta Knight's head after Sword and Blade are told that sushi is suspicious. Meta Knight looks at him, confused, and Galacta giggles.

Galacta doesn't appear in episode 74 - 76.

#kirby #nintendo #hal laboratory #kirby right back at ya #kirby au #CTS AU #CTS #CrossingTheStars #CrossingTheStars AU

[sylvieeee5]

IT. IS. MBS TIME

AAAAAAAAA

HI!!! Don’t know if you know me, but I’m Sylv! I do liveblogs of MBS (I’ve been a fan since fifth grade haha) that are QUESTIONABLY readable and cat-picture heavy!! Speaking of… a little kitty update!!

If you’ve been reading my LBs for a while, you may remember this adorable bean:

Well, I’m delighted to announce that Sonic has found his forever home- with my grandparents! Congrats on winning them over, little man- can’t wait to see how much you’ve grown when they come to visit next week!

okay i actually have to watch it now hhhhh

fear. and excitement

alright.

MBS Season 2, Episode 1: A Perilous Journey.

Let’s go.

!Warning!! Book/show spoilers ahead!

0:32

Welp, she said it! Roll credits on the whole production, boys. (actually no don’t habsgshdhssh)

0:44

SQ SIGHTING SQ SIGHTINF

ahem.

1:53

DR GARRISON SIGHTING

GIRLBOSSSS

okay we haven’t even made it past the RECAP yet, come on sylv-

2:39

OH NO

MADGE HOW COULD YOU

rip mouse 😭😭😭

3:09

WETHERALL FARMMMMMM

3:14

boomerang????????

3:24

hey king cmoN IT WAS COOL

3:29

baby!!! also we have her name said for the first time!!!

3:56

yes.... yes you are 4:12

IT’S NIGHT NOW

NEW INTRO?????????????

4:20 (ayy)

THE GOLF CART

THE A L PA C A HUH??????

also “not identical”  👀

4:30

dog man...?

4:50

i amn... intrigued

4:59

THANK YOU KINGS!!!!

5:21

smug... fishing for compliments... yep this is the loser we all know and... love?

5:27

Ah Connie girl- trying to use your newly-discovered psychic abilities to kill him through the screen?  I don’t blame you tbh

5:36

OH SHOOT

who’s he blaming for this one???

5:37

OH YOU B I TC H

NO

HOW D A RE YOU DO MY GIRL LIKE THAT

6:15

Heavily used in the trailers... might I be detecting a bit of double meaning?

“I can”- make anyone happy... and control what they’re saying.

6:19

ugh.

6:25

YES QUEEN GO OFF

7:43

NO

the only sane one-

7:13

JHWGKASYHADAKDUHDKAWAIWAJWSUAIHDIUWDHiuldawhawd

DO IT GIRL

7:18

rhonda: completely unbothered

...how many times has constance tried to do this sshkj

7:28

🙄 babies.

7:49

awwwww

okay, i know they’re not legally sisters in this ‘verse, but... sisters

8:13

THAT’S THE SCREAM

HJSFJKSDAUSHDASUSHSDIA

mission failed. we’ll get ‘em next time

9:23

very reassuring.

9:44

girl what????

are you forgetting the tried-to-take-over-the-world part???

10:28

well crap

10:54

THE SOUND I JUST MADE

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

milligannnnnnnnn

11:00

It’s been a year, but Kate’s still struggling with healthy independence vs. shutting people out,,,

And their relationship... It’s still new, to both of them. It’s a struggle to go back to... being father and daughter.

man

11:07

katie-cat,,,

11:30

gsajagjdgjj

parents expressing interest in your fandoms be like-

12:09

12:41

“We know each other.”

12:48

such a good ammaaaaaaaa i’m going to cry

ms perumal i love you

13:51

excellent icebreaker queen

13:57

the SMILESSSSSS

14:17

US TOO STICKY

US. TOO.

14:59

dogman?

16:37

a firm no

16:54

okay i know that was a trick but...

hug

17:28

girl what

17:41

fyueawkiWHQdiquhlJHSDKKADSUKI hey. don’t diss the sweater vest.

17:57

the well.

18:41

Everyone’s a critic

19:46

she really said  👀

20:13

TRUEEEEEEEEEE

also WHAT

21:09

o-hoh no

reynie

22:15

22:59

constance he IS your father and you CARE him

23:06

they play chess

24:00

AYKUEYUAD SHE DID THE REYNIE FACE

24:19

sibling behavior

24:24

constance behavior

24:37

“A book in a book... Bookception.”

that was. remarkably stupid

25:08

the journal that... isn’t a journal and is just a nonsense book.

 huh?

25:46

AHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHASDJJAHKDUSHADW

26:12

sdjkdhkhkskdw

26:45

what’s that got to do with it constance

27:14

Everybody knows that, Kate.

27:52

STICKYYYYYYY

brave boy arc :)

28:33

WATER POLO ALERT

29:49

That’s not a verb, sir

30:18

kate i adore you

30:41

local fish population decimated. sugar prices skyrocketing. great job guys

30:54

oh my god

31:48

wh

what have i just witnessed.

32:04

his stupid gOLF CART

they’re coming right on THROUGH with the curtain loser energy

32:35

this ain’t a pyramid scheme king(derogatory)

32:58

WUH-OH

33:40

AYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

WELL

I’m so stoked for this season!!!!! So far, apart from the Curtain stuff (which I, still have not fully processed,,) it seems pretty 1-1 with the book... but as we know, things will certainly diverge...

wait

WAIT

NO ROLL CREDITS MOMENT?????? THAT’S THE STAPLE OF THE SERIES

OKAY I’M MAD NOW

I give 201: A Perilous Journey a 9/10! A lovely little bite of what’s to come- only prevented from a perfect score by the laCK OF A TITLE DROPPPPPPPP

I am. so upset about that.

See you later today for episode 2!

#mysterious benedict society #the mysterious benedict society #mbs disney #mbs #tmbs #tmbs disney #mbs season 2 #mbs disney spoilers #mbs spoilers #mbs liveblog #sylv liveblogs #mbs s2e1 #e.

[reynie-muldoons]

"Blank Expression" liveblog!

This episode title scares the shit out of me. Let's crack in.

0:17 so Dr. Garrison is in the recap 👀 methinks she will be in the episode

0:57 they got *off*??? WHY WOULD THEY GOT OFF WITHOUT HER

1:19 angy Kate is angy

2:29 "actually.. there might be someone" I know they cut to tetherball so its 100% Martina but my heart was asking for Moocho 😂 it's so cool they're bringing her back, she deserves it

2:37 THERE'S OUR GIRL!!!! She looks so fucking good!!

2:52 oh my gosh the tearaway pants hahaha

2:58 i had a thought that I will not elaborate on- she's the athletic version of Dipper Pines

3:15 AWWW THAT FAAAACE

3:19 okay the music was creepy but Constance still looks cute as a button in that coat

3:31 daaaayum! There she is!!!

4:27 I'll never skip this intro. Never

4:52 I love that the bucket is their identifier

5:24 "I dont think Curtain is the only armchair neuroscientist in the game" something about that sentence scratches the back of my brain 😂

5:33 Milligan's chemist background is peaking through

5:54 I would say that I would kill for her, but Rhonda can handle her damn self. You go bbg

6:28 ooooh is it time for vigilante Garrison??

6:32 "I invented it." there it is 🙃

6:44 alright, a little more respect for her here. She wasnt willing to test this shit on people without further testing, knowing there could be some crazy side effects

7:01 shit, did she rebuild the whisperer?

7:03 shit she did rebuild the whisperer

7:17 I cant tell if Garrison is about to try to make Constance a lab rat, try to team up, or try to make her disappear

7:47 okay so like a mixture of lab rat and team-up, got it

7:54 "I'm not your dancing bear. I eat bears." What does that mean 😂😂

8:00 shit. fuck. Okay, so it's a combination of lab rat, team-up, and making her disappear. Shit.

8:27 I dont like this. I really dont like this.

8:37 two things:

1. What the fuck is that weird-ass jumper suit outfit 🥴 get a sense of style

2. What is it with this guy and tableside meal preparation

9:03 "the constant grip of existential angst" that describes my day to day LOL

9:16 "you are going to completely reverse whatever it is you did to him" that's the thing, I dont think Curtain even can. He didnt let Garrison run the necessary testing

9:37 he's eating a crepe at her 🥴

9:54 "I'm not hungry" I'm bitter they left that part of her book characterization out of the show, it would have been so easy to adatlpte

10:04 "I'm not falling for it" okay but what if it's not something you fall for, it kind of seems like something that can happen passively if you're focused on him enough

10:37 she fucking chose that name, fuck off and stop trying to recruit her as your new Dr. Garrison

11:02 "you know how I know? Pure joy triggers his narcolepsy." Oooooh. Mic drop.

11:34 as she should. Eat your fucking crepe babe

11:46 awwwwww

11:56 PIE TRUCK. THEYRE SO CLOSE

12:00 MARTINA IN A PIE TRUCK!!!!!

12:04 oh wait wait that's not a pie truck that's their team's truck 😂😂😂

12:18 "how hell-bent on vengeance do you have to be to go after a tiny child?" I love that Martina is the voice of reason. Scratch that, I just love Martina

12:37 "I bought in, I excelled, and no on cares." Spoken like a true ex-cult member

13:09 I don't know about a leader

13:16 "doesnt your team need this gear?" "Yeahh, probably" dude 😂😂😂

13:34 "maybe if they dont appreciate what I bring... maybe they dont get a van." Impeccable logic!

13:46 what the fuck is happening

14:02 this poor child wtf

14:43 "no one will be left out of our loving, loving family." See, this is why the whole fake happiness thing is fucked up. Curtain's like yeah hey come love in our compound, it's really nice :) but you cant leave. You'll be really fucking happy! But literally nothing else, only happy. There are no strings attached! Except everyone owes me for making them not be miserable anymore. It's similar to the Institute, where they stated there were no rules but there absolutely were. That's not to mention the mental unhealthiness and unsustainability of it all, and the manipulation that comes with this.

14:53 another one 🙃

15:29 "you are sanguine." "I am undercover!" Their dynamic right now reminds me of a drunk person trying to convince a sober person they're not drunk

15:39 this is real weird

15:49 oh lord now mr b has to play both sides

15:58 fucking christ

16:16 aoon enough the storeroom wont be big enough to hold them

16:21 Roll credits!

16:32 allergic reactions dont do that bud

16:38 alright, stiff necks. Noted. Can't wait to see mr b rubbing his neck like sebastian was in like 2 episodes

16:57 gotta love medical malpractice

17:10 so the polo team's with Garrison. I didnt put that together earlier lolol

17:38 I bet she doesnt give dental

17:48 "any financial stress-of which there is none-is worth the freedom I have now" methinks the lady doth protest too much

17:51 "being out from under that man's oppressive thumb is priceless" HA that's one sure thing she's being truthful about

18:23 awwwww. Reynie was about to take the blame, but Sticky made it clear they all agreed and went out together :')

18:55 yeah no I dont like that she called Constance an asset either, but now's not the time

19:13 them 30 seconds ago: "we havent covered the whole area" them, walking 2 feet across the tracks: "OH LOOK PRINTS"

19:37 I find it funny that they put a translation of the train sign in that 1 second between dialogue

20:09 RHONDA SLAY

20:39 a chemist who just had a baby, its Milligan all over again 🥺 Rhonda will defend the chemist, surely

20:52 smart move

21:52 you cant just tell someone to get that angry on command 🥴

22:05 well, she did break it

24:05 "I see a broken person who's angry." therapist!Constance is not wrong

24:33 she sounds like how Curtain did in the season 1 finale right before he had an narcoleptic episode- in denial

25:55 I love how Kate doesn't use bobbie pins in her hair but she sure does have them in the bucket

26:12 they made it burggrub, but the kids got off the train before it could ever stop there. Fun little game of tag that the adults are marvelously failing at

26:17 I know I've said this every single episode but I love Milligan and Miss Perumal's dynamic SO MUCH

26:20 DIPIKA????? The show strikes again with coming up with first names names for characters that we were never canonically told

26:24 ohhhh no no no no

26:24 alternatively, does this mean the two of them will be taken to the compund? With Mr B and Number Two?

26:44 noooo not the hippie clothes

27:16 I dont know how much this faux happiness thing is messing with his thought patterns. Like is he actually trying to use his position as leverage, or is he just saying that to try and stay longer?

27:25 there's a plan hatching and I'm worried about it lol, she's been murderous all season

27:33 "we're gonna kidnap him." "What?" LMAO SHE'S SO FRANK ABOUT IT

27:49 *graphically describing the death of a proverbial animal* remember how I said she's been murderous all season? Yeah 😂

28:05 llama!

28:14 shit. I didnt think he had been a recipient of the technique thing?? But apparently so

28:27 oh my gosh the sobbing in the distance. What did therapist!Constance do to this poor woman

28:39 this is about what I expected HAHA

28:55 "did she hurt you?" "She's the one who's hurting." Therapist!Constance strikes again

29:12 man, I thought we were getting somewhere with her 🥴

I'm excited to see where this goes! The kids have had a startling reunion, and the adults are about to have one themselves.

29:18 man. They just had to end it there. This season's had some great cliffhangers

Bingo for the next episode is coming tonight :)) what did you guys think?

#mbs liveblog #blank expression #mbs disney+ s2 #the mysterious benedict society #charity's talkies