#I just think its interesting to think about

[lucky-guess]

Theres something so interesting about how certain Bdubs was that Scott would be both okay with being thrown under the bus and would be able to handle it.

Theres also something interesting with how he was right.

Because Scott was okay with it. A little baffled, sure, but not mad. He'll tease Bdubs about it and make it known, but hes fine. Not really worried.

Bdubs has a insane amount of faith in Scott, and I think them being on the same team has given him some kind of confidence boost because he used to be literally terrified of Scott and now hes using him as some kind of human shield. Its like he assumes everyone hold Scott in the same regard he does and expects no one to retaliate against him. And that even if they did he believes Scott would come out on top.

Its just... interesting.

[andordean]

I keep thinking about the Murderbot finale, reading everyone else's thoughts and I keep marvelling about the tonal change that they managed to pull off.

The nine episodes were like watching your friend dissociating and deflecting your care and concern with cynicism and slapstick comedy and dark humour.

The finale was watching your friend suffer a breakdown and you were suddenly looking at the unfiltered version of the events and seeing all the cruelty and helplessness and the horrors in all their twisted ugliness.

I can't think of another show that pulled the 'unreliable narrator' off in such a palpable way. A really interesting review called it a protective skin of sarcasm and goofiness. I may be giving the writers too much benefit of a doubt here, but I can't help feeling it was a deliberate choice, and not just an accidental by-product that we're over-analysing now. The protective skin was the MB's narration. With it gone, the reality of its circumstances hit even harder.

I may be far too forgiving here, but for all the unevenness of the show, the finale floored me so I'm biased now.

Babygirl (gender neutral) is off to check the perimeter. 😭

[teaboot]

hi! friend problems anon here. So, I've known this girl and her sister for my whole life, lets call them sis 1 and sis 2. Sis 1 is around my age so I've connected more with her, but in the past 5 years sis 2 has been the person I text most, and is the person i tell most things and we've got a roleplay going. This itself isn't the problem, i'm good friends with both sisters. This is just to state like, how much of a connection we've had BEFORE I started having issues. Sis 2 likes to talk a lot about her friends and school and such, while I'm more introverted and very very focused on my fixations and such. I love talking to her, and I love listening to her talk, really I do. But sometimes I say some things about my interests or hey this cool thing happened on tumblr today (this is my first social media account but I'm not super young? so it feels like a big milestone for me and I wish the people in my life cared more about that) And it kind of feels like she doesn't really care? like she responds a little about a small detail about what I said and then continues with the rp. or just doesn't reply. or talks about doing things with her friends that I kind of feel left out about. And it makes me feel like I don't really matter. And this isn't a recent thing either, its just been building up in me. So I sent a message about it, which the app SAID she saw, but she then didn't reply or speak for the whole day. which. obviously made me upset and i deleted the message. So last night i asked sis 1 if she was mad at me, and sis 2 came back the very minute I sent the message. So I asked her what that was about, that i sent a message to, and she said "the app sometimes says i've seen things when I haven't, whatd you say?" And I sent the message again, and again it said she saw it. and she still has not responded. and I don't know what to do because whats the point of talking things out if she's not even going to talk. TLDR My good friend makes me feel like what I have to say doesn't really matter, or that she doesn't care enough to make it matter, and when I tried to talk to about it she ghosted for a day. then i talked to her sister about it and she reappeared, only to ghost again when i resent the message

I think- and I’m not close enough to this to be certain, so you’d know better than me- that there’s a chance that, while she IS a friend who you can enjoy some level of trust and mutual enjoyment with, she may not feel capable or comfortable handling the deeper connection you’re reaching out for.

This doesn’t mean she’s a bad friend, or that she doesn’t care about you- but if it is the case, then she may just not be the right person for that kind of connection.

My mother told me once, when I was having a hard time with my bio father and feeling like he was emotionally available but physically absent, like he SAID he loved me but didn’t take the initiative to be present- “we can’t make people love us the way we need to be loved.”

I love my bio father. I love him deeply. He did his best, and he never once hurt me on purpose, and he’d let me cry when I was sad and hang up my drawings on his fridge and let me nap with him on the couch, but he was never the kind of man who could be there. He was never the kind of man who would go out in public, in crowds, or to my school- and no matter how I explained it or how I asked, it never seemed to click for him that sometimes, when you love someone, you suck it up and do boring shit you don’t want to do.

He loved me. He still loves me. But if I need someone to attend an award ceremony, or a school competition, he was never going to be that person.

My mom- she was similar. She’d show up, when she could, and she wouldn’t complain- would talk and talk about how proud she was, and support anything I set out to do, but work kept her away, and she didn’t really grasp emotional availability. Emotional intimacy, or being vulnerable.

So if I needed someone to rub my back while I cried and talk about my fears, I went to my bio father, and if I needed someone to cheer me on from the bleachers or get back at a bully, I’d go to my mom.

I have friends now as an adult who I go to when I’m sad, or depressed, or need to talk about the past, and they do the same with me.

I have other friends who I see far more often but will likely never know that side of me.

I know my bus driver by name, about her family and her cats and her favourite lipstick, and she knows about my work and what I do at the gym, and talking to her is nice. I enjoy her company. But she’s never going to come to my house for coffee, or know about my relationship with my step-parents.

Because nobody can be everything. Almost nobody in the world can be everything, but that doesn’t mean they don’t love you- the way they express the love they have for you just doesn’t match the love you need to have in order to feel loved.

If you want to have that conversation with her, if you really want her to try to be that person, you can have that conversation, but she may be looking for something else that YOU aren’t able to provide HER.

Maybe that can be discussed. Maybe you can both work towards the middle. Or maybe that’s just not in the cards, and you can enjoy what you DO get out of your relationship as it is, and seek that other support elsewhere.

Which is to say, I doubt very much that she doesn’t care about you or your feelings- but she may just not be the right person to provide what you’re seeking.

You don’t buy your squid at the gas station, after all. It doesn’t mean you can’t still go to the gas station

[terastalungrad]

I don't think I've ever known a time in Doctor Who fandom where so many assumptions were made so strongly and believed by so many. So here's a quick FAQ about the current state of the show:

Will Disney renew their deal to co-produce Doctor Who?

We don't know.

Disney usually wait until 1-3 months after a show has finished airing before confirming a renewal. They have renewed a few shows earlier - when they've been a massive hit, or in order to start production early to get a special ready for Christmas - but 1-3 months is the norm.

Were Disney happy with the Gatwa episodes?

We don't know.

We don't even know their metric for success. Number of viewers? Number of new subscribers? Critical acclaim?

Disney didn't renew Andor beyond its second season, even though the show's been hugely acclaimed. Indeed, Disney have pulled the plug on several shows - the streaming landscape has changed a lot since the original Doctor Who deal, with most streamers tightening their belts.

Did Ncuti Gatwa quit because of uncertainty about the show's future?

We don't know.

People quit their jobs for all sorts of reasons. Usually, there's more than one reason.

Would Ncuti Gatwa have stayed if Disney had renewed early?

We don't know.

It is possible. Gatwa's contract was with Bad Wolf, not Disney. The contract might have been for three years, as with other modern Doctors - in which case he'd have still been under contract if they'd started filming a third series in time.

But this is speculation, since we don't know what was in the contract.

Did Ncuti Gatwa fall out with Russell T Davies?

We don't know.

It's interesting to me that Davies was present on set for Gatwa's final shoot. He wasn't present for Eccleston's. But this may mean nothing. It's also - of course - none of our fucking business.

Did the final episode originally have a drastically different ending?

We don't know.

We do know a week of additional shooting was added in February.

This isn't unusual. Extra shooting also occurred for The Church on Ruby Road (the scene where the Doctor saves a baby from an inflatable snowman) and The Robot Revolution (the scene where we meet Belinda's housemates).

One possibility is that, counter-intuitively, filming more material might actually save money. There are tax breaks in the UK for episodes of television that cost a certain amount - so spending a little extra to meet the threshold might save a larger sum in tax.

We don't know what was in the final episode. Behind-the-scenes show Doctor Who Unleashed featured a scene that wasn't in the final episode - a party at UNIT HQ - but it's limited data.

Has the BBC cancelled Doctor Who?

No.

British TV has never worked like American network TV, so "cancellation" isn't the right word. The BBC haven't yet commissioned new Doctor Who - and can't do until Disney decide whether to co-produce. Whether it's a yes or no from Disney, nothing further can be commissioned until the answer comes.

Will a different streaming service co-fund Doctor Who?

We don't know.

If Disney turn it down, though, it seems like a safe bet. Disney Plus is a massive platform - Doctor Who is a drop in the ocean of their shows. A smaller streamer might see more value in Doctor Who.

If X people will subscribe to a service just for Doctor Who, it's a question of how much each service cares about the number X. Disney's one of the services that needs X subscribers the least.

Doctor Who has two advantages in 2025 that it didn't have in 2022, when the last deal was made:

Firstly, the rights to stream the Eccleston to Whittaker eras in the US are about to revert to the BBC from HBO Max. Streamers love catalogue shows (i.e. shows with loads of episodes, like Friends and Star Trek), so that's a great package to sweeten the deal of a co-production. Pay for 26 episodes, get 175 free.

Secondly, the BBC are developing a children's cartoon version of Doctor Who aimed at -year-olds - with exactly the same format as Bluey, one of the biggest ever successes on streaming. Bearing in mind the BBC co-produced Bluey, this seems like a very attractive show to offer any streaming service willing to fund the main show.

Indeed, this seems so good to me that even if Disney weren't originally going to renew, this might tempt them to change their minds.

Is Billie Piper playing the new Doctor?

We don't know.

It looks like she is! That's usually what it means when one Doctor regenerates into a different actor. But unlike with Tennant in 2022, Piper isn't credited as the Doctor, and neither has there been a press release confirming her as the Sixteenth Doctor.

Why hasn't the BBC confirmed Billie Piper's role?

We don't know.

Maybe they don't want the news to be overshadowed by negative press attention to the future of the show. Maybe production company Bad Wolf wants an air of mystery and intrigue around Piper's role. Maybe she isn't playing the Doctor in some way. Maybe there's a reason we haven't considered.

Will Russell T Davies be showrunner for the next series of Doctor Who?

We don't know.

We don't know anything - and it's possible nobody does. Davies has said that Bad Wolf has plans ("it's our job to have plans").

I do think it's likely the BBC will keep Bad Wolf and Davies if possible. If nothing else, there isn't a long list of companies who can make this show, or showrunners of Davies's experience and acclaim who want to make this show.

Why are people behaving as though they know all the answers to all these questions if we don't actually know them?

I don't know.

[nightingale-prompts]

I don't know why people think Danny would disagree with Batman on the no killing rule or why he'd be aligned with Jason on anything. Danny doesn't even believe in killing people who deserve it and even if he did he's a 14 year old boy. He believes in petty revenge of course but that's hardly the same as cutting people's heads off.

I feel like this fandom is more interested in voicing their own personal grievances with Bruce (though many of them don't read the comics) then writing Danny as the character he is. I'm not saying that I don't do that as well.

I just feel like sometimes people are writing Dan and not Danny. Danny at the end of the say is a average teenage boy. He's selfish sometimes but at the end of the day he's a good kid. He's not going to go on a murderous rampage on the Joker even preemptively especially if he has never met the guy before. (You guys know the fics im talking about. It's so common for Danny to see Danny met the Joker and immediately kill him just to gain Jason's attention or something) Danny hates clowns, I get it. But if seeing a clown is enough to make him lose touch with reality that's an awful portrayal of the character.

I don't think it's that big a deal at the end of the day to write fics like that. The problem is when fans start to think that's the default or that it's in Danny's character. At the end of the day I'd never write Danny killing someone. Not even the Joker because that's not his place. It's not his story. I'd never robe that from Jason or Bruce or anyone who has deep connections to that clown. Danny had his enemies and I'd be pissed to high hell if my worst enemy was killed by some guy I had never met. That would the most anticlimactic ending with no real resolution. No facing my demons up close or moral questioning. Boring. That worst part for me. It's boring. I've seen it a thousand times and it still just as boring as the first. It's not cleaver or insitful.

I miss when we talked about the layers of Danny. Now it's either "Danny is just a little gremlin who wants to make trouble." or "Danny is full of trauma and misery and he doesn't trust anybody." Its never "Danny is a complex character who isn't perfect and he can be a petty little shit sometimes. He loves his family and friends and is willing to extend the olive branch to those he sees as needing help even if they have hurt him."

The show was all about Danny growing into his hero role and helping others. He isn't a calluse vengeful monster. He can forgive. He can control himself. He is just a kid! He isn't VLAD! He isn't DAN!

[shanastoryteller]

HAPPY FREAKING BIRTHDAY GRANMA!!! 🎈💝 YOU ALREADY KNOW IT, ITS TONK AND PERCY TIME!! (Sidenote I just got my hysterectomy done, the final surgery in my trans journey, so I would really love it if it’s something about Tonks loving being trans and Percy loving her because she loves being trans idk im emotional and need my blorbos 👉🏻👈🏻

When Tonks was younger, she felt differently about it. More conflicted, angrier, putting the pressure of perfection on herself that she doesn’t think she would have felt if she were born differently.

But being a metamorphmagus is part of who she is. As she gets older, it stops feeling like a joke the universe is playing on her and just another part of her, something that’s almost obvious and right, because what else would she be?

She was always meant to be the master of her own creation.

Nymphadora may be the name her mother chose for her, but Tonks had chosen the rest of it, had built the woman she is piece by piece. Of course she’s a metamorphmagus. There is no part of her that’s interested in stagnation, in accepting is in lieu of could be.

Perhaps that’s what first drew her to Percy. He has that same guiding light, that same drive, in every aspect of his life. He accepts nothing at face value.

Well.

Almost nothing.

“Do you like my hair like this?” Tonks asks, narrowing her eyes at herself in the mirror. She likes brighter colors usually, but the dark purple curls cropped close to her head look a little like the movie stars from her father’s favorite old films.

“Yes,” Percy answers, not looking up from his scroll

 She huffs and makes her arm long enough to hit him with.

He blinks, looking up and rolling his eyes. He leans forward to press a kiss to her bare shoulder even as he runs a hand through her hair, fingers tangling in her curls and scraping against her scalp, making her eyes flutter. “I like you in all ways. I don’t know why you even bother to ask.”

“Just checking,” she murmurs, turning her head so she can nudge his mouth against hers.

[dearreader]

so a slight tangent that i promise relates:

my mom loves the food network and she's OBSESSED with tournament of champions.

a thing food network did on TOC from the beginning is blind taste testings. this means that the judges don't know anything about the chefs and judge solely based on taste alone. i know this doesn't sound like a big deal, and trust me i didn’t think it was either, but my mom says that a man has never won TOC and she said it's crazy that when doing blind taste testings woman win and how often sexism really runs deep. and to test this further, on a different food network cooking show called 24 hour shift, which didn’t have blind taste testing, the final two candidates were male. im not saying they don’t deserve the win, but it’s something my mom and i can’t ignore any time we watch a cooking competition. because we always notice that whenever its blind taste testing women win more and if its not blind then men win more.

and here’s the thing about her telling me that one thing, i think about it everyday because after she said that i realized that when i think of a chef, i imagine them as male. which is interesting because of the "woman belong in the kitchen" idea and naturally you'd think woman would dominate the cooking world/be chefs… but they don't! and it's just so crazy to me and that made me check my internal biases because how the fuck is misogyny so intergrained into us that men are world renowned chefs but woman aren't and must cook in the kitchen but nothing more!

like i'm definitely explaining this wrong and i’m not trying to excuse the people in this tiktok comments, but there is definitely some internal bias about this and when i told my mom about my thought process on it later she agreed and said it was crazy!

[spaloonbabooguuscooties]

I danced with you in a nightmare. I was dragging you across the floor, the radio disrupted by some voyeuristic spirit. I could hardly stand under the weight of my little crush on you- and you, so limp in my arms, hardly helped.

[babachira]

no. 10 adopts some of the energy radiating off vice-captain hoshina, including the ones that are about you.

number 10's face wasn't as visible as it used to be. "hoshina. you have a woman?"

hoshina soshiro x fem!reader

── ⟢

+ weapon no. 10 is just so interested in you and hoshina soshiro is absolutely livid about this. how did you find out?

+ well. rubs hands

+ when number 10 was turned into weapon after its deal that only hoshina soshiro could wear it, it was the start of the chaos that is to be explained right now.

+ of course, it's known that number 10 is the only sentient weapon that the defence force has ever had to deal with, so if anything, hoshina is forced to go through torment almost every single day, which is something he definitely didn't ask for. a numbered weapon? sure, how wonderful, but a talking one?

+ and one that's becoming more and more obsessed with you by the day?? no.

+ the first time hoshina put the suit on, number 10 was just full of bark and bite. he was too focused on making it obey that he didn't have time to think about you. when he wanted to go left, it went right. when he wanted to strike up, its tail dug into the ground. they got into arguments here and there to the point where the operations team wasn't too sure that this could be carried on any longer.

+ the second time was when hoshina had to fight in a simulation with it. it was a test run and okonogi wanted to see how far his abilities would take him. his twin blades were attached to his back and number 10's tail was, for once, poised high in the air, ready to strike at the provided training dummy. their cooperation was better than before, but it still wasn't enough. they continued to bicker like children.

+ it was the third time when number 10 realised that hoshina soshiro had a purpose. not for himself, not for the defence force but for one individual. they were in the middle of making adjustments to the suit when suddenly, number 10 squeezed and hoshina was forced to inhale a sharp breath.

+ "oi!" he winced. "what do you think you're doing?"

+ "hoshina." number 10's face wasn't as visible as it used to be, but everyone in the room was positive that they saw a smirk bounce off of it. "you have a woman?"

+ number 10 hadn't met you. yet. hoshina wanted it to remain that way.

+ "can i see her?"

+ "absolutely not."

+ it asked him every single day, every single bloody time the suit was on his body. "when can i see this special woman?" "never." "hoh, did you meet her today?" "shut up." "i can tell from the way you're still thinking about her." "i'll rip your vocal chords out, if you even have any." "stop thinking about that kiss, it's disgusting." "maybe i'll have to do it more often to shut you up." "ah, your heart is beating faster right now, are you thinking about her—" "okonogi! get this suit off me!"

+ half of the operations team believe this to be their form of entertainment. the vice-captain is famous for victimising so many of the new recruits with his endless teasing that seeing him about to erupt under number 10's consistent yapping is actually kind of hilarious. they'd never admit that though. their jobs are still important and so are their lives.

+ word spreads fast in the third division. you try to turn a deaf ear to the obvious fact that number 10 is now infatuated by you. you've brought it up to hoshina before, but he's absolutely insistent that you will stay away from it. for your safety and for his sanity. mainly his sanity because now that he knows number 10 feeds off his thoughts, he makes it certain that if it ever hurts you—he will. oh, he will.

+ we know that hoshina is stubborn, but number 10 is just a different level. it doesn't bother talking to the members of the operation team, it only converses with hoshina because it enjoys his strength and adrenaline when they're paired together, but now it wants to meet you more than ever. now, whenever hoshina wears the suit, he feels like he's unable to breathe the more he refuses number 10's incessant whining.

+ "but you see her everyday," it complains. is it a child?! is it that desperate for a human mother?! hoshina wants to scream. "let me see her too. i want to see what kind of woman is making you even stronger. maybe it will be the same for me."

+ and he can't believe it, he really can't believe it, but he makes it happen.

+ when you enter the room—with hoshina so close behind you—none of the operations members dare to speak. hoshina has his hands in his pockets but his eyes pierce into the glowing blue hues of number 10. it's like a mental battle of who's going to break the silence first, and it certainly isn't going to be okonogi, who's on the edge of her seat.

+ "so, you're the woman."

+ you stand a metre away from the glass, a metre away from number 10, the one that almost blew hoshina's head off from the raid. to be honest, as long as it does its job on the battlefield as a numbered weapon, you don't have the biggest qualms against it. sure, it almost flattened hoshina like an ant, but it's under the defence force's command now, so you think it's safer.

+ "what a . . . " it trails off and you feel hoshina's chest pressed against your back. when you agreed to meet number 10, much to hoshina's annoyance, he had made you promise that under no circumstances would you ever go see it alone. it's weaponised, yes, but that still doesn't stop him from worrying or imagining what could happen if he's not there to protect you. he knows you're very capable, but it's just what you do when you're hopelessly in love with someone in a world where love doesn't stop death.

+ "what a splendid choice," number 10 says.

+ it . . . isn't what you expected, but you'll take it. a praise from a kaiju? a daikaiju too? yes, you'll definitely take it.

+ "let me tell you something, woman of hoshina soshiro," number 10 continues. 'woman of hoshina soshiro'—the nerve—what does he think you are, a human pet that was picked up from the road? "he is stronger when he thinks of you, i believe you to be of great value."

+ you're getting free information about hoshina soshiro from a weaponised enemy. is it a win-win or is it a tragedy? but you don't have time to process this because from behind, hoshina pipes up. "if that's all you wanted to say, it's useless. she knows that already."

+ "then, woman of hoshina soshiro, i have a proposal," it says. you hear your vice-captain huff. "make me stronger and i will never let hoshina fall."

+ it's a big request. it's a big proposal. you'd do anything to guarantee hoshina's safety, anyone's safety in a place where everything is so unpredictable, but before you can say anything, hoshina pushes you behind him and glares up at number 10.

+ "that's enough. she'll do no such thing."

+ "i asked her, not you."

+ "i control you, you don't control anyone around me."

+ and from that day onwards, it's not about making improvements towards the suit anymore or 'how does wearing number 10 feel like today, vice-captain?'

+ it's always, "okonogi, dear, it's choking me." "okonogi, is there any way you can make this stupid thing stop talking?" "hoshina soshiro, where is she?" "i told you, she's not going anywhere near you." "think about that woman again, you're too weak right now."

+ on the rare occasion where you're paired with hoshina—well, with the addition of number 10, who is very happy—you admit that hoshina is faster. with number 10, his accuracy is merciless and he's unafraid to slice anything that comes hurtling your way. this is when number 10 sees your abilities too and it's impressed. it scans your every move, the way you streak across the battlefield and blind a yoju with your weapon. it has an unfathomable amount of pride for itself and user, but bit by bit, it starts to extend that to you.

+ and especially when they win against kaiju no. 12 together. you had helped shinonome from the first division, but after hearing about hoshina's victory, you sprint like never before. he's sitting with his head resting against a boulder, his legs stretched and sword carelessly tossed beside him. you don't know if weaponised kaiju ever get tired, but humans certainly do. so, you dash over, gripping his hand and searching for any major injuries, but luckily, when you discover that he's ok, you envelope him in the biggest hug and you don't let go.

+ "when okonogi said you were losing in a close-combat battle," you say, lips lightly pressed against his neck. "i was going to make number 12 wait for me to kill you first."

+ hoshina laughs, raising his hands to smooth your hair. "i'm sure it would've agreed."

+ "you can't kill me, woman of hoshina soshiro."

+ with a blink, you remember that number 10 is still stuck to hoshina, but you snicker as you pull away, sitting in the gap between hoshina's spread out legs. you lean towards the glow in the centre of his chest. "you'll be surprised, suit of hoshina soshiro."

+ you swear you can hear it grumble. "i am not just a suit."

+ "well, i'm not just his woman either," you reply, shrugging when hoshina looks at you in disbelief. are you genuinely having a conversation with . . . a weapon? "if i wore you, you would've given up being sentient."

+ hoshina grins through his bloodied face. you reach out to gently swipe some off the fresh ones off and he leans into your touch. "i agree."

+ you keep your hand on his cheek. "you think i can tame it?"

+ "no, it'll probably grow sick of you."

+ and you pinch him.

+ "stop performing whatever you're doing in front of me," number 10 warns, but when have you or hoshina ever cared about what it thinks? "it is making me sick."

+ hoshina raises his brows. "hoh? (y/n), dear, please continue."

+ "do not."

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - A Lot Going On In BLandia

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

July 2025 Week 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

Memoir of Rati (Fri Netflix or YT) ep 4 of 12 - I absolutely adore both couples. I’m happy about the very existence of this show. It’s going well for me. The Por vs Phi linguistic negotiation absolutely sent me into Orbit. It was so good. Perfection. I’m so happy with this. Almost as happy as Thee was to say “nong Rati” with such relish. GreatInn, sheesh, so good. Please universe, keep this pair alive? 

Incidentally it was the King at the time, Rama VI who was rumored, to be gay. (There was no crown prince for... well... obvious reasons, that was part of the rumor.)

Reset (Mon iQIYI) ep 6 of 10 - Tada is a touch “creepy fan” but in a major change of attitude for me, who normally hates this kind of character, I’m digging it. It’s giving this show a My Beautiful Man edge of sus. We shall see if Thailand can carry it off. Meanwhile, we are clearly in our boyfriend era.

My Sweetheart Jom (Fri YT) ep 9 of 12 - We are deep in the serious “first boy-crush” phase of this romance. And I’m enjoying it. Yo as “worried husband” in the hospital was charming. I like the lotus pond kiss and all it signifies and entails, especially highlighted against the CBLs we re currently getting. Unintentional in that regard, I think, but still clever. 

Knock Out (Fri WeTV ) ep 9 of 12 - All evil Things are revealed. To be honest, I’m not sure what’s going on, or what the reveals are about because i haven’t been following it closely enough but still weeee. On a completely different note, these two are great kissers. It’s such a pleasure to watch them just kiss. I don’t think I have anything more pithy to add to than that.

Pit Babe 2 (Fri iQIYI) ep 11 of 13 - No idea how Kim became my favorite character, but Kim-Kenta are now my favorite pair. So… here we are, 20 episodes in or whatever this is. I guess I have to accept my fate. I thought Jeff said that he didn’t wanna be proposed to like that? But OK. It was pretty if unnecessary.

The Next Prince (Sat iQIYI) ep 11 of 14 - Right at the very end and we’re finally getting to the competition portion of the contract. My goodness this is slow moving. Second half of this ep picked up a bit as secrets were revealed. I am most interested in this when it focuses on any of the side couples, and not the main couple or the competition. But that’s nothing different from the previous 10 episodes. It’s fine… I guess? 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Ball Boy Tactics (Korea Thurs iQIYI) ep 6 of 8 - Jongwu just thinks his boy is absolutely adorable. They are stinking cute together. Doom next week though, and I am not happy about the fact that it looks v manufactured. 

Revenged Love (China Mon Viki Gaga) ep 9-10 of 24 - This suddenly went all “crouching tiger hidden snake” fight/smexy between the two leads. We likey. I remain enamored of this show. Yes I’m troubled by many of the tropes it’s employing without self-examination, but also delighted by everybody’s chemistry and charmed by the silly plot machinations. And deeply concerned that we’re never gonna get to see the end of it. The sinking feeling I get every time I tune in to watch a new episode is largely predicated on its source and the politics of the day. It’s a weird sensation as a viewer. But I will continue to watch this as long as it continues to air. I’m using Gaga for… reasons, but I think the subs are better on Viki. 

Desire the series (China Sat Viki Gaga) ep 1-3 of 16 eps - China continues its historic run on the international BL market with the first true ABO m-preg piece. Ready? I got a lot to say! 

i’m watching this one on Viki because I think their subs are better for the Chinese stuff. But I may switch to Gaga for the same secret-reasons as Revenged. 

He magically dried off very quickly after walking through a pool in PJs. Also hello massive amounts of info dumping. I shall call this friend: Bob. Of course the omega disguising himself as a beta is my favorite character. I’ve always been a fan of cross dressing. Meanwhile our main crafty cutie is very very crafty isn’t he? I have no idea why he is running this long con, but I sure enjoy watching him manipulate everybody. He is so darn pretty, who cares if evil? He can do whatever he wants. Also, kisses already? China, you’re spoiling us. I’m scared. I’m not gonna lie. I’m really enjoying this show. It is actually not unhinged, it’s quite tailored and controlled. I prefer my CBL a bit more like Revenged Love, with crunchy edges. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like this almost KBL style too.

I have to say how wild it is that China, of all countries, are the first to produce an actual honest-to-goodness omegaverse. It’s just so bonkers to me. I might never recover from this shock. (Assuming this show actually manages to finish its run.) I am wondering if they aired 3 episodes out the gate, back-to-back, to get ahead of the inevitable. Smart move if that is the case. And I think we can expect them to air multiples going forward as well, if that’s their reasoning. 

Incidentally, I am late with this week’s assessment because this show dropped 3 episodes I wasn’t planning on watching. Took over my posting time last night.

10 Things I Want to do Before I Turn 40 AKA 40 Made ni Shitai 10 no Koto (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 2 of 10 - Love it. Poor baby so cute and sad. Every tiny gesture has such powerful significance in this show. This is the kind of thing that Japan excels at. It’s a lot of fun to watch such expertise in minutia.

Stay By My Side After the Rain AKA Ameagari no Bokura ni Tsuite (Japan Weds Gaga) ep 3 of 12 - It’s terribly awkward, and terribly cute, and they each have secrets they’re keeping from each other. They are tortured and sad except when they are together being honest. Japan at its best.

Sweetheart Service (Korea Fri YT) ep 10 of 12 - Oh no, it’s sad and the plot thickens. But they have two more episodes to figure it all out and I have absolute faith that they can do so. In Strongberry we trust! 

Depth of Field AKA Hishakai Shindo (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 5 of 6 - No shocker here, we switched POV in this episode. And, as always with JBL, it’s nice to get a look-in on the other side of the equation. There was also the standard “jump to the future” so we now have mature adults pining instead of teenagers in love. this is an elegant little piece but I’m not sure if I like it, it’s a little cold.

The Promise of The Soul (Taiwan Fri Gaga) eps 4 of 12 - Not going to lie, I did think about dropping this one as well. But I actually liked this episode a bit better. I still don’t love this show, because I don’t like the premise, but I do think the two actors in the leads are doing a decent job. And I like how modern the university queerness feels (for lack of a better way of putting it). 

It's airing but......

SunTiny (Tues iQIYI) 10 eps - dropped at ep 5. I really did try. But they introduced (what I assume is) the side dish couple, and the acting is so excruciatingly bad that I simply can not watch any more.

I Became the Lead in a BL Drama 2 AKA Zoku BL Drama no Shuen ni Narimashita (Japan Gaga) 6 eps - While I am intrigued by the manager side couple, I can't be arsed to add this to the weekly rotation. I may binge once it's done.

The Ex-Morning (Thailand YT) 10 eps - dropped at ep 3. I was just angry at it, at GMMTV, at the script, at the characters. That's not healthy for any of us. If rumors are to be believed, I'm feeling great about this life choice.

Finished This Week - Reviews

My Stubborn (iQIYI) I love the way they kept the same kind of agro teasing dynamic only now it’s just agro boyfriends and all the nitpicking is kinda cute. Each leans into their established role in the existing couple dynamic and emphasizes it but in a non-threatening way, because they’re confident in the relationship. It’s great that their personalities didn’t change at all. Also Sorn finally got the hia he was looking for. Now this one I was very tempted to give 9/10 even knowing that it is really just an 8/10 show. Just because I enjoyed it so much. 

Summary 

A delightful power dynamic fluff (and blow) piece about a bad-mouthed grumpy “best friends older brother” type and the young intern he is bent on seducing. And by bent I mean over every possible piece of office furniture. They start out as f-buddies, one of them catches feelings, everything goes chaotic from there. This is a fun pulpy BL and I had a blast watching it. We all did. Never before has a fandom rooted so hard for the downfall of a main character. Not only was the show fun, our ridiculous conversations around this show were even more fun. No one took this show seriously, least of all itself. Thank goodness. On the critique side? There was nothing original about this BL, except for the way all of the expected tropes seamlessly fit together. Is it a good show? Not really. But it WAS a good BL. I enjoyed every episode and was always left with a smile on my face. Even when things got serious they were never really that serious. This show is a blast. I personally consider it a 9/10, but it just isn’t that good. So it gets an 8/10. If you, in general, are a fan of BL on the main, you’ll probably like this, but you have to be a fan already to enjoy it.

Boys in Love (iQIYI) And now Thailand does the running of the gays? Usually that’s Japan’s trope. Look this was a perfectly serviceable ending. Honestly, I was so bored with this show most of the time I’m tempted to give it a 7/10 but by my own rating standards it just doesn’t deserve that so 8 it is.

Summary

This is a banal high school romance featuring several different couples, including some teachers. It is pleasant and cute but mostly dull. 8/10

Mission to the Moon (YT)

Basically a reincarnation story about a prince who once loved a warrior thousands of years ago, and comes back as a ghost when that warrior is reincarnated and living in the modern world. I have to say, I enjoyed this pair, and I’m pleased we’re gonna get to see them in a full BL soon. But this show is a nothing burger, significant only in that it takes the tired old “my ghost boyfriend” trope and actually gives it a happy ending. Unearned but happy. 5/10 watch it if you have nothing better to do. 

The Bangkok Boy (Gaga) - Not gonna lie I did want Jihoon and Aim to get together and screw. Would have been a wild ride for everyone involved. 

Summary

The story of a series of turf wars with two young men caught up in the middle despite themselves. Much as I enjoyed some elements of this show, and I think they served one of the best sex scenes we have ever seen (or will ever see) in BL, the general premise, plot, and execution did not appeal to me personally. I applaud the fight sequences, which were well executed on the main, being relatively messy, gritty, and realistic. But so too was the rest of this show, even if the concept was far-fetched. This is about gangsters that leaned into true gangster torture and the BL elements (when they’re present at all) were lightly treated and non tropey. In retrospect, I don’t think this actually is a BL. It’s a crime drama that involves some gay boys. Both the ultimate moral backbone (and a review of this show) is: don’t hate the players, hate the game. This was not my game and I did not enjoy playing. Although some of the players were a pretty good time. 7/10 recommended with reservations 

I Promise I Will Come Back (WeTV) - It’s very sad, they killed ALL the gay and I am super mad about it. I’m also not surprised. As I said when we started out with this one “it’s in the title” there was always doom on the horizon. Not hard to guess my rating on this kind of thing.

Summary

Thailand/Taiwan colab, mainly in Thai & English, starring 2 Thai actors + Taiwanese identical twins from H3:MODC. Taiwanese boy falls in love with Thai boy while on vacation. Other Thai boy also in love. They part. 2 of them die. It’s pretty and well acted and quite lovely in certain aspects, but also very sad. Not recommended. 1/10 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Coming in July

7/13 Doctor's Mine (Thai Sun YouTube) ep 1 of 10 - Trailer A second try at adapting Gown & Gear, and a second round of casting put LLS in the lead (you all know I'm a fan) but this is a pretty banal uni Bl featuring doctors and engineers in the 2 Moons phase of Thai BL. It's gonna have to be spectacular to distinguish itself, but you know I am always up for another one. Like my favorite candy, can't stay away.

7/14 The Proper Way to Write Love AKA Renai Rubi no Tadashii Furikata (Japan Mon ????) 8 eps - Bully reunion romance about two men who are clumsy but sincere.

7/14 Dating Game (Thai Mon ????) 12 eps - Hill, a former bullied boy with a geeky personality, finds love and confidence from "Yuka" the female lead in a romance game. He grows into a handsome programmer and achieves his dream of getting a job at the company that developed "Yuka!", where he meets Junji, the perfect, cold-hearted CEO from Japan.

7/22 Secret Lovers (Taiwan Tues Gaga) 10 eps - Rivals to lovers with unhinged behavior that in the source material ranges from rock-paper-scissors contests to competitive handjobs (yeah, you read that right). Although the trailer makes it look a lot softer then this and it's pressing all my favorite buttons so this could be a big hit with me.

7/27 My Magic Prophecy (Thai Sun YT) 10 eps - Paranormal mystery with a fortune teller and a doctor, I'm in. I hope the script doesn't fail JimmySea again, they are such a great pair.

2025 Line Up

BL Announced for 2025 - PART 1

BL Announced for 2025 - PART 2

20 BLs Announced for 2025 That I'm Really Excited About

GMMTV 2025 Line Up - My Totally Biased and Wildly Flawed Feels

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Reset's boyfriend era is very cute.

I suspect Jom's will be too.

(last week)

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs @waitmyturtles

[mutt-monster]

TLDR; When you impulsively call someone a “chaser” or a “fetishist” for being sexually attracted to uncommon physical traits, you are denying people of that category a positive experience related to their body. This increases stigma associated with such traits, and you are hurting that community. An ally of X community isn’t an ally if they immediately call people “fetishists” or “chasers” for being attracted to that community’s inherent physical traits.

This is not to deny the existence of harmful objectification. It is very real, but it is not restricted to any one community. Anyone can be objectified for *any* physical trait.

=================================

I want to add that I think — because this occurs across communities — that this truly is a general issue stemming from the old “don’t judge a book by its cover” being taken to the extreme.

Books have covers for a reason.

You can read a book, but without the cover would you have ever noticed it in the first place? When you wander around a library or B&N, how do you find a book? How do you find something that calls to you. I bet you just said, “I saw the cover,” but I’ll take it one step further. I bet you also walked over to the shelf that had a specific type of book. Does that mean you like the book purely for it’s subject, or purely for its cover? No, read the book and you liked it. This may not be the case for all the books you like, I’m sure some of their covers might not be very interesting, but it was a good book nonetheless. People can be the same way. You can be drawn to a person for their visual qualities, and whether they might be a wonderful partner (or not) comes after you read them. This is my first argument. A “fetishist” and “chaser” is just a person who knows what covers draw them.

Now lets talk about people, because books don’t have emotions. People have bodies, and they want to feel sexy in their body.

When you call the beholder a “chaser” and a “fetishist” you are denying the the person beheld of a positive body-related experience. You twist these admissions of attraction and beauty into something demeaning and malicious. This is may simply due to the connotation of these words, but the impact of this negative association is profound. When you call someone who is sexually attracted to transgender people a “chaser” by default, you are sending a message that transgender people don’t deserve to be found sexually attractive. The same goes for automatically calling someone a “fetishist” in the case of disabled and fat people. This increases stigma around these physical traits, harming the communities they belong to. This is my second argument.

Let me be clear. Objectification of real people IS a problem, but it is not limited to any one community. When you negatively objectify a person (I say “negatively” because there can be positive objectification within circles like the kink community), you are buying a book with no intention of reading it. You are denying someone’s humanity, someone’s personality and and soul, simply because you want their body. Let me repeat this one more time, OBJECTIFICATION IS NOT LIMITED TO ONE COMMUNITY. This is my third argument.

Thank you for your time. I hope you have many people who think you are sexy and the bomb. Goodnight. *mic drop*

The weird intersection between fatphobia, sexual puritanism and fake progressiveness that breeds the idea that a skinny person attracted to fat people is a "chubby chaser" or a "fat fetishist" and not just like. Someone who has the hots for fat people. The idea that only another fat person could be attracted to fat people, otherwise it's sinister. Secretly you think any skinny person who'd want to fuck a fat person is debasing and devaluing ourselves, but you've pivoted into pretending you worry about a fat person's dignity.

[skitskatdacat63]

Thought he deserved gifs of his face <3

(gifing Death Stranding 2 11/?)

[alex51324]

You know, I was just thinking that that temperature--about 80 in Fahrenheit--isn't bad as long as it cools down decently at night, but.

If you're up in the polar regions where its only dark for a few hours in summer, it probably doesn't. Cool down at night. Or at least not much.

Am I right?

Cause yeah, 27C/80F in the house at night when you're trying to sleep is pretty rough, even for us who are used to daytime outdoor temperatures over 90F/32C.

Also, -27C is about -16F, and my house becomes almost intolerable (around 50F/10C, with the heat running full blast) once the temperature gets into the single digits F. It would probably be literally freezing inside my house if it were -27C/-16F outside. I Could Not.

Isn't it interesting how we humans can adapt to such a huge range of environmental conditions?

26,9 celsius indoors. We have reached that time of the year where taking a shower feels pointless since you'll be sweaty again before your hair is dry.

[thisonegirl]

Further thoughts that I don’t really feel need elaboration:

Boggs is definitely within my top 5 characters. He was one of the only people that saw Katniss for the CHILD she was. He didn’t see the Mockingjay, he saw a girl thrown into the middle of a war as the face of it. He was kind, understanding, honest and protective. I generally love how Suzanne writes her black characters like Reaper, Cinna, Rue, Thresh, Beetee and so on, but Boggs is my favorite of them all.

I deeply dislike Coin. This time around, as I watched with adult eyes (maybe a bit biased too) I realised that she was unlikable from the get go but it was mainly just the annoyance in the condescending way she spoke and her slight tendencies of authoritarianism. Then BOOM, the shoe dropped and yes, she was as bad as Snow.

Finnick’s death hit me harder this time around. Again, watching with adult eyes and minds as well as context. He is an incredibly strong person that deserved far more than the cruel cards he was dealt. He and Annie deserved their fairytale happy ending.

I saw someone say that they hated that Katniss had kids at the end and to that I say you missed the point. She finally left safe enough to bring kids into the world. That was the point. THE WORLD IS FINALLY SAFE.

I pity Katniss so much. Such a heavy burden was placed on her all because she had a good heart. I love her even more for taking it in stride and becoming the hero they needed her to be even if it wasn’t what she wanted. I thought a bit about MHA when Deku says that “my body moves on its own”. How he moves to help before he can even think. Katniss is a bit like that, she helps because it’s her natural response too.

I wonder if Haymich thinks of all the posters that have been painted from his games up until the last one. It’s sad that he hasn’t seen the ones from before.

I like Joanna. Quite a bit actually even though she had some misdirected anger towards Katniss.

I’m happy that Haymich opened up to Katniss and Peeta. I love that he let them in. 

Someone said Prim was always meant to die. The reaping, the bombing in 12, the bunker evac in 13. In a way I get what they meant but it still felt “wasteful” that she ended up dying in the end. Her sister saving her life was the catalyst to the whole thing. In my wishful thinking, I would’ve loved to see them all together enjoying the fruit of their fight and love.

I’m sorry but I can’t help but compare Katniss’ mom to Haymich’s. Their reactions to their husbands’ deaths are on such different ends of the spectrum.

I hate Snow, despise him even. But even I cannot deny the aura that man has. I’M SORRY but when he said “We both know I’m not above killing children, but I’m not wasteful.” CHILLS BUT IN THE WORST WAY.

Plutarch is such an interesting character and I love the mystery that he carries. Someone who cannot be placed in any box. Such a spectacular mind.

Someone said “Coin was lucky Maysilee wasn't around to read her and her fuckass bob” AND PERIOD!!

There was something poetic about Katniss ending a cycle before it began with Coin and letting the people end the Snow.

“We go home.” Haymich, Katniss and Peeta going off together was so special to me. I love that they found the peace and solace they deserved and chose to spend it in each other’s company.

Beetee had a pregnant wife y’all… let me leave it at that.

Maysilee had one hell of a poster.

[permian-tropos]

so today i saw the tweet above and i’m opening with that because it made me want to stop being quiet about this issue

Pathologic 3 has been (perhaps obviously, and I’m a fool for not noticing) using AI generated art

this is the tweet I saw that called attention to it:

yes the man has too many fingers if you look closer, what a fucking frustrating thing to miss when I was peering at it wondering if it was lore, wondering who he was supposed to be—Daniil even comments about the man in the poster

I have heard IPL has had financial trouble partly caused by Nikolay Dybowsky, and that after he left bc he’s a groomer and domestic abuser who tried to kidnap his son from the kid’s mother, and finally got into legal trouble for that, I assumed they were going to be struggling a bit. But they also have to put something out for the fanbase to drum up interest which leads to maybe cutting corners.

Actually, I’d heard that AI art was used in one of Dybowsky’s smaller projects, Franz, I didn’t play it myself bc frankly what I heard of it sounded like it was playing as an abuser and justifying your actions, and not in a way that critiques abuse, but perhaps just a self-indulgence for the dev. If it had AI art that meant it was lazy too.

When he left I hoped that the artistic laziness would maybe leave with him too. IPL always presented themselves as caring a lot about art, and Pathologic is very much about the fact art is a connection between creator and audience.

Pathologic draws from the special verisimilitude of the theater; it’s obvious that anything happening on a stage isn’t real, but it feels a certain kind of emotionally real because it’s being performed live, because there is pressure on the performers to get it right. Cleverly, Pathologic flips this dynamic on its head by making a game where you are the actor and the story feels more real because of the pressure you feel to perform it right.

Which is exactly why AI art is so destructive to the message of the game. If the stage isn’t deliberately crafted, there is no meaningful interplay between creator and player. It’s just reduced to another commodity to Consume, an experience being sold to you. I think I can speak for a lot of the fandom when I say that Pathologic felt special and I stuck with it all these years because it managed to be much more than a product and commodity. We crave real art.

I’m so disappointed that this is the direction IPL is going after finally getting rid of a really toxic presence in the studio. They had a chance to revitalize this game and it feels like they’re wasting it if they’re generating art assets (and who knows what else!) with a machine.

[weiszklee]

I'm kinda torn because Tilted Arc looks really interesting, and I would have loved to experience it, and its space in the city is indeed part of the work itself.

I'm not a fan of people saying it was primarily about disruption or a social statement or whatever, that's just not in line with how minimalist and conceptual art is typically thought about, it's not dada. Wikipedia quotes Serra as saying:

"The viewer becomes aware of himself and of his movement through the plaza. As he moves, the sculpture changes. Contraction and expansion of the sculpture result from the viewer's movement. Step by step, the perception not only of the sculpture but of the entire environment changes."

You see, the arc itself and what it does to your experience of crossing the plaza is actually really pretty! It's a bit of an acquired taste, but that's what you get when you don't want to be banal or kitschy. It has to be in your way a little bit for you to notice it, but what you are supposed to notice about it is not primarily its being-in-your-way-ness, but its material and spatial properties. How remarkable that in a city of skyscrapers such a comparatively small arc can alter your perception this much!

(Yes, I think the Kapoor bean is an interesting piece of art, too, why do you ask?)

But also, much as it pains me to say, dedicating the plaza to something like that is probably not a good use of the space. Most people are not interested in the kind of aesthetic experience it cultivates. Our zerg friend above has it backwards, this sculpture is not redistributing space to the poor, it is bothering people in their everyday life for the benefit of an elite few who have a taste for this kind of art. Arguably this bothering makes it better because it is such a self-assertion of art. Fuck all of you, this place is for art now, and not the decorative kind but the kind that makes conservatives unreasonably angry! Unfortunately, when you tell people "Fuck all of you", they will not like you and will try to remove you, and in this case they just had more pull.

Regarding the complaints about graffiti, I was actually surprised there wasn't more of it on there. Come on, that thing was a canvas. And there isn't a more direct way of reclaiming a public space from the high art snobs than to spray your name on their pet project in big fat letters. Revenge of the hoi polloi! But probably the people making these complaints stand on neither side of that fight, they stand on the side of Thomas Kinkade or whatever.

i don't want to pick a fight which is why this isn't a reblog but seeing the thing described in this post summarised as "the best argument I've ever seen for the worth of public art"... imagine what all the other arguments must be like.

idk this looks like some asshole doing something annoying but people deciding because it was called 'art' everyone else has to be fine with it. "Art should make people uncomfortable" is not a good ethos to keep to when your art is in the middle of the public square maybe?