mineonmain

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[mineonmain]

like damn I thought I had self esteem issues but elon musk is fifty years old eleventy seven children infinite money and he spends all hours of the lord’s day and night making sock puppet accounts to defend his own posts this is being a loser on a scale that can only be measured with a geiger counter

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It’s po’s “thame aren’t you tired?” that really did me in because we know. And po knows. That thame would do literally whatever it took to keep both po and mars. Even if it destroyed him. Because that’s what thame wants more than anything. He wants mars to stay together and he wants to be with po. He wants both and he’ll go to war for both. But po doesn’t want thame to go to war. He knows thame would sooner destroy himself than let him go and po doesn’t want thame to do that for his sake. He doesn’t. Both because no one would want to watch the person they love in that kind of situation but also because he knows that even if thame did all of that it might not even be enough. Because the fan reaction to their relationship is going to be extreme no matter what AND the company does not care if their relationship is collateral damage if it means making money. Po knows thame is tired. And he knows thame won’t stop just because he’s tired. And he knows that it probably won’t even matter anyway.

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Episode 11 of ThamePo just had such a smart script/directing choice. Pemika doesn’t outright say that homophobia in Korea is more of an issue than it is in Thailand, but it was super clear when she tapped those photos. Like, it leaves the audience interpretation open to, y’know, maybe she meant the Korean industry is harsher about dating, but I think if that’s what she was saying, she would have said it.

I continue to love everything about this series’ script and directing choices.

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unsuspecting bystander: hi key, how are you?

me: THE HANDS!!! THE HANDS!!! I SEE THEM IN MY NIGHTMARES!!!

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A lot of people are mad at Po...putting aside that he did this because he loves Thame and doesn't want to be the reason he loses his dream. Put aside that he has been seeing and watching the hate and vitriol that has been aimed at Per and he doesn't want that to be turned on Thame. What about Po? He saw how Gam was treated. The overwhelming hate aimed at her. The way she was treated as the worst kind of scum. Worse than a murderer. Po knows that he would be the target of the same if not worse due to homophobia. Ask yourselves why Shohei Ohtani dated and married in secret. Why Yuzuru Hanzu got divorced BECAUSE his partner was stalked and harassed. Po has every right to decide he can't handle the pressure and exposure for this kind of relationship.

[mineonmain]

#petition to save est 😭

THAMEPO | BEHIND THE SCENES

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"Aren't you tired, Thame?" "I'm not, Phi. I'm not tired at all".

... aka the sound of my heart breaking </3

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This is what Jun keeps saying about Thame. He will literally exhaust himself for others. Not because he doesn’t realize he’s doing it, but because he does and wants to. He doesn’t mind giving everything to everyone and it’s interesting that he’s in a similar scenario where Po was with Earn. Po gave Earn everything until he was exhausted and Earn was bored. But the difference is, Po is not Earn, and he’s not doing it because he’s used Thame all up, he’s doing it so that won’t happen. So Thame won’t give everything he has inspite of his mental/physical health. It’s such a sad dynamic because you can understand the guilt Po must feel knowing PepperGam was partly to do with them. But the thing is, you wouldn’t want him to be able to easily be okay with it. He wouldn’t be the Po we love if he wasn’t selfless.

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So I had a hysterectomy today (hooray!) and I brought along my stuffed orca, Shamu, as a comfort object. And everyone i interacted with during my pre-op was like "Oh! Who's this?" so I was telling them all about him, how he's been with me since I was 9 and gone on every single vacation and road trip, and they were telling me about their own stuffed buddies (one lady said she still has hers after 40 years!) and all of this while I was signing consent forms and providing a list of the things I'd brought with me, you know, small talk.

So then a nurse comes over and goes "Okay, I've got some stickers I'll put on your things so we know they're yours" and I'm like "OK cool" so she puts a sticker on my coat and stickers on my bags of clothes and then she turns to Shamu and I'm like "oh I guess he gets a sticker too"

But no. She pulls out a hospital bracelet that's an exact copy of mine and slaps it on his tail, like so:

And i was delighted by this, so I took a picture to send to my friends, who were equally delighted, and were cracking me up with their reactions (like so:)

Anyway, they take me back and put me under, and when I awake groggily a few hours later it takes me a minute to get my bearings, so I don't notice Shamu at first. But then I realize he's tucked up next to me in the gurney, so I grab him, and my hand touches gauze.

And I'm like "huh?" so I look at him and I realize

They gave my fucking orca a hysterectomy

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One thing I love about Thamepo is that since the beginning, every single episode has ended on a positive note. The phone number, the phone call, the hand holding, you name it. Even when there was a bit of angst and we thought Thame had forgotten about their movie date, he showed up and they hugged! Great times.

And now that the characters are going through really dark times, I thought there was no way we’d get one for this episode... But they still managed to conclude it on that cute little life essentials scene, even if it’s just a flashback. That’s what makes this show so comforting: we might suffer for a little bit, but they will always make sure we leave the episode with a smile! 🫶 (a teary-eyed one, but still a smile)

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"Trainee Thame" had the dream to be successful because to him success probably meant getting to debut, having people listen to his songs, seeing his face on the billboard, etc.

"MARS' Thame" had the dream to be successful because to him success meant topping charts, having fanmeets, holding concerts, etc.

"MARS' leader Thame" had the dream to be successful because to him success meant his group stayed together, all the members got the recognition they deserved, they got to produce the songs they wanted, the company let them do their thing.

And "an adult lovesick Thame" had the dream to be successful because to him success meant that he got to stay with Po, talk to him all night, kiss him and hold his hand, share his dreams and fears with and get to hold him at night.

Too bad the world only ever saw the "soloist and an asset to the company Thame" and they themselves defined what success meant for him.

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None of their sacrifices mattered at the end.

Gam had to break up with Pepper just so that she could see him achieve his dreams but it did not matter.

MARS' hardwork, their energy, their efforts to get the PAK just so that they could stay together and get to go to Korea did not matter.

Thame had fight against the company, with the members and take on a burden to make sure no one gets left behind but it did not matter.

Po had to let the love of his life go because he did not want to be a burden to him and his group, that Thame had shed his blood and tears for (literally), but it did not matter.

Because what they are are just mere pawns in the games of the executives who judge the value of a person on the basis of the profits they make for them. Because who the fuck would care for emotions and feelings when they have a bed of money to get back to?

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Though Pemika may have already made the decision for Po, the moment that Po actually agreed to go through with the break-up was during his conversation with Pepper.

Po realised that though Thame would be shattered and torn apart, he would have his family by his side. They'd make sure he's not gonna be alone. MARS would take care of Thame when Po failed to do so. MARS would show Thame the love Po so desperately wanted to give yet could not.

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So Thame bought all that stuff the night of his crash out, I see. 💀

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it's because po loves thame too much, that he has to let go.

it's because thame loves himself too little, that he can't make everyone stay.

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In the end it all comes down to Po thinking he isn’t worth it.

That he’s not worth risking Thame’s career

That he’s not worth Thame stressing himself out

It doesn’t matter that Thame knows that Po is worth it or that Thame would willingly risk anything and everything to be with him.

It doesn’t matter because Po doesn’t think he’s worth it. It’s been haunting him since the first episode. And despite how much Thame works to make sure he knows the truth, everyone else around him keeps reinforcing that belief whether they mean to or not: the fans saying it’s a betrayal for idols to date, the CEO promising him that he’s ruining Thame’s dream, Pepper’s ex saying that breaking up with him is how she can help him. I mean, even his best friend is telling him that it’s better for Thame to have the chance to succeed, even if it means he has to leave.

And so, in the end, Po truly believes that Thame could have so much more without him than he could have with him.

And that’s a sacrifice Po is willing to make for the person he loves