#I'm not ready for ep 8

[inthedreamatorium1]

Episode 7 is?? Perfect??

My incoherent thoughts below.

Colin crying? CRYING? I was dreading that confrontation at the start of the episode but choosing to use the shot of Luke crying made it so much more devastating. Sure, you could have had him yelling and being loud and angry, which is justified. But to be quietly and tearfully DEVASTATED? With the tears running down his cheeks? Uff. Punch me harder in the gut, why don't you Luke.

I got a brief Penelope-Benedict interaction. I'm THRIVING.

I really enjoy Colin grappling with his beloved Pen being LW. I live for the angst.

Portia is a pleasant surprise. She's always wanted what's best for her daughters and has never apologized for that. But I also appreciate her being honest with Penelope about why she is the way she is, and that she's trying to be better. That's what I wanted with this season and I'm so happy Penelope is receptive to it.

(I also need a special one-off series with a young Violet and Portia SO badly. These two have a history that goes beyond being neighbors. I need to know more)

Violet falling victim to what her children endured when they met someone they were attracted to? Karma.

I do love John and I'm going to pretend that what's going to happen isn't actually going to happen. He's so sweet on Francesca.

The Genevieve and Penelope scene was so lovely. Gen dropping her accent with Pen because they each know the other so well. Gosh, I wish Gen could have been at their wedding.

The "WHAT GOOD AM I TO YOU?" leading into sex? UMMMM. HELLO? They're constantly horny for each other, we are so hashtag blessed. Also, there is nothing Colin loves more than sticking his fingers into Pen. I said what I said.

Kate-Anthony-Colin was a nice surprise but I should stop being surprised. Jess has done an amazing job linking the Bridgertons together this season.

THE WEDDING?! Their nods to each other, letting the other know that they're okay, that they want this was so beautiful. And to top it off, Eloise cried. My love.

Also? Prudence crying at their wedding? SOB

The Benedict and Eloise scene at the wedding? I'm so torn about who I think the next season main is going to be but I know whoever's season it is, the other will be very much apart of it. These two are so close, how could they not? Both of them are feeling lost this season. Unsure of their place in society, unsure of how to feel about love. I just want them to find peace and love.

Kate and Anthony are very sweet and they're clearly explaining why Jonathan and Simone won't be in s4 much but to travel to India while she's probs 6 months pregnant is... a bold choice.

The wedding dance to "You Belong To Me" was so perfect. I love that it turned into just them dancing because no one else mattered in that moment. They were just two people, who love each other deeply. And the soft way Colin ran his fingers down her cheek SWOON. If the Queen hadn't shown up when she did, he absolutely would have kissed her. He started to lean down!

PENELOPE WAS ABOUT TO STEP FORWARD. I think we can all agree that Colin would not have handled that well if she hadn't been interrupted.

Penelope and Eloise reuniting. Okay, I cried.

Bisexual Benedict RISE. I'm honestly sooooooo surprised they revisited it as I thought it was just a tease from season 1. I'm excited for him to meet his Sophie but I'm also excited for him to explore his sexuality before doing so.

(also Luke Thompson kissing a man? Here for it)

I suspected that they'd follow the books and have Cressida find out about Penelope but I wasn't sure how exactly she would do that. It was really clever how they did it. As of now, I really do sympathize with what Cressida is going through and I think her doing what she can to take ownership of her live is great. How that's going to turn out for her in the last episode (and therefore how I'm going to feel about it) is another story.

[booasaur]

wtFOCK - 7x01

[dorkynerd23]

V's Sacrifice. (Murder Drones)

"Uzi, I trust you.."

[negrowhat]

This looks like a Renaissance painting. "Angry brother. Dead friend." Yooooo Xiong's face in the back! And that tight ass grip Qian has on San Pang. Xiao Bao looks absolutely terrified.

Me rn:

[fabiolajyx]

ALEXIS!! 🗣🗣😂😭💖

[stickers-on-a-laptop]

sometimes you're watching a show and go "there's HOW many episodes left" and sometimes it's because you don't want it to end and sometimes it's because you're like "oh no. the bullshit that is unnecessary is coming"

[erthlyheavn]

✨️FEAR✨️

[miloucomehome]

VIVANT cast doing final promotions for the final episode

For anyone who loves Abe Hiroshi and Sakai Masato, there are so many moments. (so many) But yeah, the main cast is on a 電波ジャック/media blitz all week long. it's crazy how many programs they're on live or recorded. o_o)

Sidenote: (But I'm confused about one series of screenshots/clips. They're discussing Kaoru's character and Sakai comments on her being a younger sister whom Nogi has been separated from for a long time. I'm missing so much context o_o))

I was confused about a clip with Abe and Sakai but it's really that there was discussion online about Kaoru potentially being Nogi's younger sister that he was separated from or something. Sakai goes "But I[Nogi] kissed her [Kaoru]. Well, even if she were to be his sister he would... NOT kiss her!". XD (Clip here)

I've seen clips that fans have been suspicious of the cast's answers to things and at this point, I'm just joining in because it's fun to speculate. Also, lots have fallen into NozaNogi pit it's adorable. I'm too far gone and I'm having fun because there's scenes that really look to be read that way :'D

Also found some articles on the TB/S official site that are really nice. Including one with the director who makes a good case for excusing Shinjo's tailing abilities (The header is basically "Don't blame Shinjo!". Reasoning? He was tailing two equally elite agents (Yamamoto and Nogi) with one of them being "helped" by another elite agent (Kurosu)). Ok, I can forgive Shinjo -- the fact I did or that many others see him as a ponkotsu since returning to Japan when he was a badass in Balka means that we fell for Nogi and Yamamoto's civilian covers. XD

There's even one interview with Sakai where he says he'd loved to play Nogi again someday (or a character like him) and at first I was like "aww" and then thought "wait, so a bubbly/cute exterior masking a highly-trained spy? the two-characters-in-one-role??" later lol

Also, Balsa (Chinggis' actor) doing the Shimaenaga Morning Dance with Sakai, Fumi, Ota's actress is the cutest thing ever (Here's the clip). I'm so glad he's been included in the promotions. And did I mention he's part of the latest wave of VIVANT merch in the official TBS store?

Aaaah I don't want VIVANT to end :')

FOund a clip of Drum and Balsa (as Chinggis) doing the Shimaenaga Dance! Here

[platinumaspiration]

Howdy, Simmers! I'm thrilled to present the Ultimate 4T2 Clay Hair Default Replacement Collection, designed to give your Sims a fresh and fabulous new look effortlessly! 💇‍♀️💇‍♂️✨

It's time to redefine Sim style – one fabulous hairstyle at a time. Get ready for a hair revolution with The Ultimate 4T2 Clay Hair DR Collection! 💖🌟

🍡Download - LC | MF 🍡

Updates folder - SFS | MF updated 5 Dec 2024

The nitty gritty details and disclaimers:

This is an entire collection that is interwoven with each other. Hair is repositoried to different ages, genders, defaults, and even hidden toddler hair. It's highly recommended that the collection stay intact and that you have the Ultimate Collection or all EP/SP. Recategorizers do not work with this collection

Not all hair works with each sims' faces and not all sims' faces work with each hair. So keep in mind foreheads, cheeks and ears may poke out. Previews are available at LordCrumps.com

The collection includes add ons that may require the defaults and are flagged as "Store Edition" hair. TS4 hairs range from base game to the most recent Stuff Pack (Home Chef Hustle). More hair may be included as add ons in the future.

Enable Store Edition icon

I wouldn't convert some hair without their outfit counterparts. Please make sure to remove conflicts. The outfits include:

ubodymascotknight_EP7 mbodysuperninja pubodybadger_badger pubodybadger_brown ubodycommercialmascot_buns ubodysocialbunny servo ubodycowmascot (a brighter/whiter version courtesy of tvickiesims)

Most of these hairs exist already in the realm of the community as custom hairstyles. Any of my hair previously converted (shrink, servo, santa hat, etc) should be removed; they'll be included in this collection.

TOU: Please feel free to use these as a template for your defaults and recolor the hair as you'd prefer for download purposes. I only ask that you do not reupload these original files (breaking down to packs, gender, etc) as they are intertwined and may not work without their exclusive counterparts. Please do not make these hairs as customs for reupload.

There are a few hair/items that use cc: credit: nolansims, sforzinda, arethabee

This took about... 8 months to complete. I've (re)converted all of these myself to my current expectations of my conversion content. This was play tested thoroughly over the course of that time. If there are any issues, please don't hesitate to send an ask. The file size is massive even compressed, but to be honest it's pretty decent for 500+ hair.

Under the cut are some personal sappy thank you notes that I want to share publicly:

Thank you to the defaulters at sims2defaults database for all your work! Just be kind if/when you tear into it lol

A humongous thank you to those whom have followed and been a part of my journey as a cc creator/converter. This inadvertently marks a huge follower milestone as well and I'm so happy that you all have been a part of this with me for the past (almost) 3 years!

I don't think I would have done this without meeting @lordcrumps over a year ago and joining in his journey for the ultimate 4t2 default collection. He's a true gentleman and scholar 🧐Thank you for play testing, collaborating, and above all, being one of my bestest of friends and confidant.

And, I would never ever had completed this without @tvickiesims. To think she raised me from a terrible toddler right into an angsty teen within that 8 months and still remained a true and close friend through all of it. Thank you for your extensive and detailed play testing, your companionship when I fall apart, and for being my twin flame 🤗

[barblaz-arts]

I know you've been making a lot of art of it lately, but out of curiosity, what's your opinion on Hazbin Hotel in general? I'm referring to both the show and the fandom here. Just curious.

God. What a loaded question. Are you ready? Bcuz I'm fresh from Vaggie discourse on twitter and I have a lot to say.

I think that Hazbin Hotel seems worse than it is for people who know the fandom but haven't actually watched the show. Honestly, I think it's a fine show. It isnt super incredible and I'm not gonna sing praises about how deep and thought provoking it is or whether it's an artistic masterpiece. It never tried to be that and was never advertised as such(to my knowledge) anyway. I just had a lot of fun. Like, yeh sure the cussing in the dialogue can be a bit much, especially in ep 1, but there are different writers in other episodes, so it gets better. It can be super crude yeh, but I grew up watching things like the Scary Movie franchise and other dumb american movies (yes, i was too young for them. yes, i still watched them), so it's pretty tolerable for me. It also helps that Charlie is the main character. That's one of the main reasons why I watch HH but dont watch HB. It's probably a fun show, but without a sweetheart like Charlie to balance things out, I'd just get tired of the sex jokes and mean jokes.

Compared to my last hyperfixation, I think I have more things to love about Hazbin Hotel, believe it or not. With Netflix's Wednesday, I had already been an Addams Family fan for a while and hung on because I loved the family and eventually Enid and wenclair. The show itself was honestly meh... so far! I'll give season 2 another shot.

But with Hazbin Hotel, it catered to a lot of things I've always loved. Found family with a bunch of misfits? We didnt get to see it much bcuz of the fuckass 8-ep per season format we have nowadays, but its fine its there! The juxtaposition of a kind hearted woman in a harsh world? Love love Charlie for that, I watched the show in the first place because of her. A canon lesbian lover with a "fuck the world cuz my world is you" type of love for the protag? Fuck yes. How very Pearl-from-Steven-Universe of Vaggie. And the music? The music is soooo good. I didn't know the songwriter prior to watching, so I was nervous about the songs, but I knew most of the theater actors they cast(still cant believe Jeremy fucking Jordan is Lucifer) so I figured even if the songs are mid, at least the performances would be topnotch. And they were! But the songs were a pleasant surprise. Sam Haft did real damn well. I still listen to the soundtrack to this day.

The fandom, however, is probably the worst one I've been in. And I've been in a lot in my big age... Just... lacking media literacy, and based on the replies I get when I say something on twitter, it seems a lot of them lack reading comprehension and just plain emotional intelligence too.

There's a lot of criticisms about this show that I honestly think is fair. Pacing, character design, overuse of the F word, whatever. But in my opinion, claiming that Hazbin is a male-centered show is an unfair misconception that is mostly the fault of the fandom.

Bcuz, sure, the male characters are uber popular. Alastor, Vox, Lucifer, Angel Dust and the many web of ships they're involved in went trending every few business days. But come on now. How often does a fandom even have their main protag as the most talked about character? This has been going on for ages. Just because the boys have the most merch and fics and fanarts and thirsty fans doesn't mean that they had the spotlight for most of the show itself. It only meant that they were the ones the viewers paid attention to, in a fandom filled with people drooling over the next tumblr sexyman and toxic yaoi ship of the month.

But if you actually look back at what the show gave us so far, the boys didnt outshine the women. I actually think the women got to do more and be more as characters than the men did. Let's take a look at the male characters.

Alastor was not in all the episodes. In fact, he was MIA in two out of the eight episodes. In all the episodes he was in, he was a mere side character. His purpose in season one was to stir the pot and be the intriguing mystery that occasionally quips. But he was not the one whose deeper thoughts were explored and whose character and goals was challenged THROUGHOUT the show, merely alluded to at the VERY END of the season, which is hardly him taking the spotlight away from Charlie. If you merely looked at the fan content of him, you'd think he were a father figure to Charlie(or a love interest. whatever) and that he has developed a soft spot for the Hazbins deep down in that cannibal heart of his. But if you pay attention to the show, he never had even a meaningful one on one conversation with the Hazbins. The only time that happened is when (a)he threatened Husk's life (b)when he constantly mocked Charlie while she was down in the dumps and used this as an opportunity to manipulate her and (b)when he told Niffty watching the crew sure can "make one sentimental", even tho he had taken no prior opportunity to bond with them! There's no foundation for all the fandom's claims that he could be redeemed bcuz of a budding fondness for the group, but that's all you see of his fan content(aside from the horniness). I dont have any problem with his lack of an actual relationship with the Hazbins bcuz I believe redemption for him is not what the show is going for, but it's frustrating to see people interpreting it that way BUT not seeing how horridly developed it would be if that is the case, meanwhile they turn around and say that Vaggie and Chaggie as a ship "had terrible development".

Then we have the male Vees. Vox was only ever in episode two, and was essentially a youtube reactor in episode 8. He was in ep 4 but had no speaking lines. We only know of his obsession with Alastor and the toxic relationship he has with Val. Val, meanwhile, is merely shown as the sex obsessed fiend behind Hell's sex industry and Angel's abuse. They did what they needed to do with minimal screentime. It was fine, but that's IT. Despite what little CANON gave so far, you have hundreds of people writing essays and fics and fanarts about them being complicated characters. But to reiterate, this does not mean that they are bad characters or that they don't deserve the fame. But to say that these men are better written within canon than the women is such a bold statement when most of the depth they knew of these characters were lore drops given before the show and their own speculations as they dug into the shallow soil of what the show has so far.

I'm not gonna speak about Angel and Lucifer. Because I think they were characters who were legitimately well-explored so far.

Now onto the women. So many of them were given the opportunity to have their characters challenged or given the agency to push characters and the plot forward or give you intrigue about implications of what's to come for the characters and the plot. I've talked a lot about Charlie and Vaggie. So let me talk about the other, terribly underrated women of Hazbin.

Velvette and Carmilla were the ones who advanced the subplot in the war against Heaven. Because of Carmilla's love for her family despite being a demon, an angel was killed. It gave Heaven the excuse to escalate things, but it also gave Charlie hope later on in the season that they're not powerless. Carmilla was also the first demon shown to make selfless actions that is contrary to what is expected of demons, making it proof that Charlie's belief that demons deserve a second chance isn't unwarranted. She's an interesting character, as an overlord who hangs on to power but clearly has morals. But how often do you see people writing essays about her? Eating up the fact that she's a powerful overlord but would sacrifice anything for her daughters? If Carmilla were a man, hundreds of girlies would be drooling over the crime boss who has a soft spot for his daughters.

Meanwhile, Velvette got to demonstrate why exactly she's an Overlord despite being the youngest demon in there. She's calculating and observant. She gives off a haughty vibe and constantly boasts about how she's young and fresh, but she isn't naive. During that meeting, she paid attention to Carmilla and Zestial's relationship. In order to find out who killed the angel, she riled everyone up, and when she got the feeling it was Carmilla, she mocked Zestial so that Carmilla could slip up. By playing these Overlords who are older and more experienced than her, Velvette showed what exactly her asset was to the Vees and why she's a threat, something that Vox and Val have yet to be given the opportunity to do when they were busy eye-fucking Alastor and literally fucking Angel. But in fan content about the Vees, Velvette is almost treated as an after thought to the boys...

Then we have the Seraphs. Not only were their designs gorgeous, their dynamic and presence as characters had impact to the plot and main characters.

Emily is a much needed character to show that this story isn't meant to tell you that Heaven = bad; Hell = good. There is good and bad in both, and it is so important for the protags to know that they have an ally in Emily who represents the true virtues that heaven is supposed to uphold. And I love the confrontation she had with Sera when her own view of what's right and good was challenged. We got to see the strength of her character and started the seeds of what could be heaven's acceptance of Charlie's goals.

Sera is such an interesting character to me. She was also important to show that not all angels were sadistic like Adam and Lute, but not in the same way Emily was. I have no idea so far which direction this show would go with her. But I'm intrigued by the fact that she seems to be driven by fear, unlike Adam and Lute's cruelty. She knew Lucifer and was there when he was cast out for his disobedience. Whether everything she's doing is to prevent that from happening again remains to be seen, and I'm looking forward to this kind of subplot for her.

And then Rosie! I really really look forward to seeing more from her. Spoilers aside, something I barely see people talk about is how interesting it is that Rosie is every bit the leader that Charlie hopes to be. Rosie is able to be a respected overlord in her own faction without needing to sacrifice her love for showmanship and music and her positive disposition. When we were officially introduced to her, they show how she seems to care about actually taking care of her people, not JUST ordering them around, by talking to them personally and giving advice. That's exactly what Charlie wanted to do for her people, isn't it? The hotel to Charlie was what the emporium was to Rosie. They have a lot of similarities that could set up for Rosie to be the one to teach Charlie in becoming a leader. Now whether that's a good thing or a bad thing remains to be seen, but it is rather compelling.

So yeah! With all that said, I really dont think this show ignores its women at all. Just because a bigger part of the fandom gravitated towards the men doesn't necessarily mean its a misogynistic show so far. But if certain people are claiming that the women are badly written, then I hope they also own up to the fact that their blorbos are just as shallowly presented within the show, maybe even more so. Which wouldn't even be a bad thing! Since when did a show or character have to be amazingly written for a person to like them? That's just no fun at all. All I'm saying is... Fuck this fandom's double standards, hiding behind claims that it's the writing's fault when the problem is they couldn't be bothered to think about the women.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Actually a pretty fab line up right now

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

NOV 2024 Week 5

Ongoing Series - Thai

Love Sick 2024 (Sun iQIYI) ep 11 of 15 - This is where the teen awkward comes to grab me by the throat. No other Thai BL does this better than Love Sick (except maybe Make it Right). And it’s always a challenge to watch because Phun is so ready to come out and Noh is so not. I love what cramming 3 eps into one (and better side BL couples) did for the tension and pacing in this particular part of this story. The new version really is excellent. I'm chronicling my experience with 2024 as compared to 2014 here. 

Your Sky (Sun iQIYI) ep 2 of 12 - They are so awkward and I love them so much for it. They are terrible at faking romance, yet Fah want’s Rak so bad. This is moving so slowly but that’s part of it’s charm. I'm not frustrated instead I’m getting Oxygen vibes from it. Or perhaps it’s is more just I feel the way I felt when I was first watching Oxygen. Which is to say, I’m totally addicted and I keep re-watching new episodes. 

Spare Me Your Mercy (Thurs iQIYI) ep 1 of 8 - Gah! JJ grew up so pretty. I love these leads. (No one is shocked.) I love the lawful good paired against (we’re not sure yet but possibly) neutral evil. I love our very sus very flirty very gay doctor. A lot happened in this first episode. I’m getting Manner of Death flashbacks but there’s nothing wrong with that. Bring on the chili. 

Incidentally, if you're interested in true crime, here's the IRL version of this story. How a Nuclear Lab Helped Catch a Serial Killer from the Science Vs podcast.

Jack & Joker (Mon IQIYI) ep 10-12 end - I got the go ahead on a safe ending, and thus I watched the last 3 eps all as one. I love how defiantly verse these two were. I also really enjoyed the final episode. I do like a finale that ends on a bang (yes, both kinds). 

Final thoughts

I enjoyed this show a lot. A caper BL starring two of Thailand's best and focusing on class struggles, corruption, and poverty, was always gonna appeal to me. But I’m not sure, ultimately, whether I liked it because it was good in it’s own right, or because YinWar were so good in it. I do wish it had been a little more Leverage and little less chaos, Dr Evils, and "watch War cry." It was a great vehicle for YinWar, and for them to prove that BL can defy its own tropes. To that end, this goes comfortably into the Manner of Death category more than anything else I’ve encountered befor (although slightly less unhinged). It's good, but it loses the plot, the side couples, and it's own mind a couple of times, and YinWar were definitely greater than the sum of its parts. Thus I feel an 8/10 is fair, especially considering I'm unlikely to rewatch.

The Heart Killers (Weds Gaga) ep 2 of 12 - Dunk is illegally pretty in this show. I gotta say I covet his skin care routine. (I love YinWar as much as the next person, but THIS boy should be the spokes-BL-rep for Laneige.)

Manwhile..... FirstKhao might be GMMTV’s best flirters. It’s a pleasure to watch them just inhabit these characters and bounce off each other. I do keep saying “what tf are they doing?!“ with this show. In this instance, it was the dancing in the bowling alley. What is going on? is it meant to be a Pulp Fiction reference?

Also this gd soundtrack is bonkers. I *can’t!* with the 70s orgy porn music and the very bad not quite metal intro music. And then, I remember, brain must be turned off! (That’s really hard for me OK?)

All that said, both the sauna and the jerk-off scenes were much appreciated. It’s nice to see this kind of visceral physical attraction depicted in a BL, we get it so rarely.  

On a side note, I entirely support Thailand’s one country agenda to put all the cute boys in crop tops. Keep it up. And up. And up. 

Fourever You (Thurs YT) ep 9 of 16 - I just don’t get the (new) main couple. They don’t work for me. I like the surprise gamer boys side crumbs though. They are v cute.

Side quest: Genius move anytime Hill comes on screen to basically have Pond make love to the camera. He v good at it. Break down everyone’s fourth wall, baby. Take no prisoners. 

Caged Again (Fri Gaga) ep 3 of 10 - That exchange! “Are you worried about me” (attempted flirtation) vrs Junior’s response “yes I am.” Just utter frankness. It’s very sweet. All in all this show is very sweet. Somewhat incomprehensible world building, but sweet. And the head lift into the lap was next level adorable. Sun’s shy smile is everything. 

Perfect 10 Liners (Sun YT?) ep 5 of 24 - This show is very silly. I love the sides so much I can’t EVEN. But I think it was a big mistake putting Tay into this show. Never let an OG out of the bottle like that. He gets all our attention because we think he’s gonna grant all our wishes. By which I mean, all I could think the whole time he was on screen was WHY IS HE SO FINE?

I’m not joking, I had to watch his scenes 3x because I kept getting distracted and losing the plot. Not that there is much plot to lose. Just Tay’s mouth. I’ll stop now, but seriously tho LOOK AT HIM!!! 

Every You Every Me (Mon Gaga) ep 8 end - Honestly I’d like to see this pair handed something much more meaty. Like a Japanese adaptation? Tokyo in April is… for example. I think they do a great job with something like that.

Conclusion

This was supposed to be a linked series about reincarnated soulmates, but ended up being more like a Y-Destiny grab bag BL with no rebirth through line, just the same acting pair. The leads were excellent. And I must praise this show for representing things I always want in my BL (and rarely get), switch, verse, communication, and safe sex. It’s just that this format with the same actors but no unifying theme (despite the pitch/packaging) made for a disappointing viewing experience. Some of the installments I enjoyed, and the visuals are on point, but I was ultimately let down by style and execution, if not acting. 6/10 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Our Youth AKA Miseinen: Mijukuna Oretachi wa Bukiyo ni Shinkochu (Japan Tues Gaga) ep 4 of 11 - “I won’t fall in love with you” is an easy promise to make if you’ve already fallen. I love this show SO MUCH. “Infect me just a little.” Holy fuck. This BOY. Also, so much for “not kissing.” This BL is fantastic. I’m so worried about where it’s going. Japan could very much hurt me with this. I didn’t expect to fall in love so hard.

Man, JBL...... when it gets you it really gets you (then it locks you in a basement and gets kinky). We are not safe but we must sit back and suffer enjoy it. I hate this. I love this. What a rush. 

See Your Love (Taiwan Weds Gaga) ep 7 of 13 - I think this show has a “crash into me” trope in every single ep. This ep alone had 3, plus a flash back to the first one. Still, their damn date was so flipping adorbs!!!

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 10 of ? - I couldn’t be less interested in the stuff with the mean girls. I’m annoyed we spent so much of this episode on them. Fewer bullies more smooches.

Love in the Air: Koi no Yokan (Japan Sat Gaga) ep 5 of 10 - Arashi as the doting bf was cute if sudden, also holy musical montage BLman.  Kai is my favorite character (as was Sky) but I'm still not wild about the blackmail sex start to this relationship. It does seem a little bit more like Kai went after a one night stand, also bit more switchy, which is better...... I guess. But not by much because the chemistry with these two isn't as good as the original.

I remain suspicious.

It's airing but......

Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues ????) 11 of 12 eps - My source hasn’t yet uploaded 11. So…… I wait. 

Secret Love (? YT?) 13-?? of 81 eps - I don't know what's going on either.

Blue Canvas of Youthful Days (China Sun Viki) paused at eps 9-10 of 12 - I got the "stop" on this one as it's gone (no surprise) dark. Being China can not be relied upon to HEA. So I'm on pause until I'm told it's safe. If it ends sad/bad I will dnf. But for now I wait......

Winter Is Not The Death of Summer (Thai Weds YT) ?? eps - Criminals who meet in prison fall in love. I did find it on YouTube, initially unsubbed, then subs happened by which time I got distracted. The first episode seems to be only six minutes long. It is very pulp. But it is intriguing. For now its to the wayside until someone tells me what it whats to be and if it's headed in a safe direction. Occasionally Thai pulps want to be edgy and it's not a good look on them.

Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) 10 eps - I DNF'd at ep 7, I couldn't make it. I'm weak. Life is hard enough right now, this show made it harder. It’s not what I want from my entertainment. Ends tomorrow.

Bad to Bed (Taiwan Sat YT) 10 eps - This is a little too low production value even for me + just very very odd. DNF

In Case You Missed it - GMMTV 2025 Line Up

There have been a ton of hot takes already, including mine.

Here are the titles and links to MDL for you (confirmed full BLs only), these are organized in order of the ones I'm anticipating the most at the top.

Dare You to Death - trailer

Boys in Love - trailer

Memoir of Rati - trailer

My Magic Prophecy - trailer

Me and Thee - trailer

A Dog and A Plane - trailer

Cat for Cash - trailer

That Summer - trailer

My Romance Scammer - trailer

Head 2 Head - trailer

Ticket To Heaven - trailer

Burnout Syndrome - trailer

Melody of Secrets - trailer

Only Friends Dream On - trailer

Love You Teacher - trailer

Next Week Looks Like This:

End of year drops:

12/4 0.5D (Japan ????) 10 eps - Sales ace, Sada, has a secret that only his junior, Daiki, knows. He has pretended to have a gf for years, resulting in him being a virgin. But now Sada has fallen in love. Confused, Sada seeks advice from his junior. I sense another queer Cyrano De Bergerac. Info here.

12/6 Be Moon - Falling for my enemy's son (China ????) movie from HBD Studio - Not much on this one just a trailer, looks intriguing...... if it's from/through Taiwan, but if it's all China, I'm wary.

12/13 ThamePo Heart that Skips a Beat (Fri YT) 12eps - A boy band member and his documentarian start a forbidden relationship. I LOVE Est and am delighted to see him at GMMTV. This was my #1 pick for 2024. I've been waiting for a Blinding Lights style idol romance and this looks like it might be it (Korea and Japan have systemically disappointed me). Bring it, boys.

12/14 & 12/21 The Renovation (Thai mini One31) 2 eps - Writer turns his blossoming romance with holiday resort owner into a novel.

12/29 Sangmin Dinneaw (Thai ????) ??eps - trailer Childhood friends (Thai & Korean) reunite after being apart for ten years. As the boys reconnect, their bond matures and feelings of romance begin to develop, in Thai.

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

His smile. (Caged Again)

Look at them!

Look, I don't mean to tell you your business, but THIS? This is peak Thai BL. This is it. This is What They Do Best. Sure they dabble with silly kinky crimey-whiney fashizzal, but Thailand's true BL power is right here, in the sweet awkward school-set first love arghhhhh. Yes I said, school. Bite me. (Love Sick... damn it, 10 years later and it still has me in a choke hold.)

Hey all you idiots who thought (or think) there is ever a green flag in any Mame ever, this character if for you. This boy, THIS ONE. This is what a walking talking ACTING green flag energy actually looks like. You wanna date a dude? Find you one like him. Okay, peaches? sheesh

Meanwhile, this, this is not a green flag. This is GMMTV thinking they are being clever by calling out Thai BLs' worst behavior to make a character who has 'slightly less than worst behavior' look better. Sigh. When meta is used for ill gotten gains.

This, on the other hand is meta being cleverly deployed.

And this is language play. P'ABL's favorite.

So endeth this lesson.

(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

[inthelittlewood]

Would you say you are happy with how you did in secret life?

Episodes 1-8 yeah, episode 9 nah

A bit of BTS is that we filmed 8/9 together but we started filming 9 at about 10:15pm and I was at the yogs office where I was told lock up happened at 11:15 so I realistically had to be wrapped by 11 to properly shut down and get my things together

It's why I had such a lame death and played what looked to be foolishly at the end. It's also why I wasn't very 'present' in my usual persona, it was horrible having to be so mindful of the clock.. never again!

I'd just done a 2 hour drive, then a panicked hour of altering an existent PC setup to be recording ready, then one whole session, followed by what would be ep 9.. After a 7am wake up with the little ones, that all meant I was SPENT by the evening. Long ass day.

So I'm disappointed in my finale on all fronts, massively, but it's the first (and hopefully only) time that's happened so I can't complain too much.

I had thought I could salvage it in the edit a bit more but once I did the rough cut it became apparent that I just didn't have much to work with so I couldn't muster that motivation to even try..

I hope y'all enjoyed the other 85% of it regardless as I was really proud of that!

(I pinky promise I'm cool with it and I have a sense of relief knowing I'm done with recording sessions for 2023 now, you don't need to gas up the finale for my sake. It's mechanically a weak video so please don't lol)

Reminder: Store closes on the 18th so get the Life series merch while you still can

[augustinepen]

Synopsis for the EP. 8 is out and we already knew that Anil was drunk based on the scene on the sofa where she was slurring her words and looked gone af but it also would explain why:

A) they would be kissing in "public" when there's a sht ton of people in the palace and the risk was high

B) the outside kiss seemed more intense than all their previous kisses (and Anil was holding on to Pin for dear life)

C) the sofa scene was what freenbecknam were deeming as the wildest scene because it was motivated by a sht ton of things (love, longing, a lot of jealousy, and alcohol in the system)

EPISODE 8 abour to be CRAZY with the drama and everything else. I'M NOT READY.

[colourme-feral]

Translation notes for Miseinen: Mijukuna Oretachi wa Bukiyo ni Shinkochu / Our Youth ep 8

With such scores, won't you have to change your study abroad destination? Since the next time I'm back, (we're definitely doing) applications, so (get your grades ready to do so).

I thought, what I should do if you were to go with girls in yukata to see fireworks. There's no way I would go, of course. Note: Going to see fireworks, especially while wearing yukata, is a very date-like thing, which is why Haruki was worried about that and also why Jin was quick to say that he wouldn't go.

If I am in that house, I won't be able to be free from my current self.

I'm not kind. I only think about myself and am not useful at important times. I'm just a child.

So it's alright if you return to being your original self/the person you were before.

I too, wanna become a proper/put together adult. Whatever happens in my life, I (wanna) be able to overcome it with my own strength. That's the sort of adult I wanna become. An adult. To do that, I'm gonna try leaving everything (behind) once.

But I don't think you'll ever (be able to) read this letter, so it'll become an unsent letter. I won't get a reply either.

I'm glad that we became good friends/became close. If I hadn't met you, I think I would have lived hating myself forever. Being around you made me think I wanted to become a proper person for the first time. You, who are so extremely different from me, are exceedingly special to me. I think you're amazing. I began to want to be a person who is worthy of that you.

If you're with me, only bad things will happen. It is better than you are not with me. It is sad, but that's what I think.

Miseinen / Our Youth translation notes・Other translation notes

[secriden]

It's the way "I just think there's no one out there who wants the best for you more than I do" is true because it INCLUDES FADEL HIMSELF. Fadel is so steeped in his anger and hurt and fear right now that he can't even see how loving and being loved by Style is the door to true freedom.

But he's also nowhere near ready to handle that, emotionally, so Style will give him this honesty and then demand nothing from him and move right on to nipple play (familiar, and therefore comfortable, territory - because at least Fadel has a rulebook to follow in this situation). This reminds me of that time when Fadel told Style about his parents' murder and then Style said "I'm sorry" and then abruptly changed the subject. He senses when Fadel isn't ready to actually face the issue, so he'll give Fadel the space to process what's going on - be it his own shocking ability to be vulnerable to Style or the truth of Style's earnest love for him - in his own time.

Just. The selflessness in that. It would be so much easier for Style to push right now -- to force Fadel into the discussion about how Style actually was very much a victim of the combined circumstances of Kant and Bison and Fadel's past. Lest we forget: Style is the ONLY ONE not embroiled (as far as we know as of ep 8) directly with any of the criminal aspect of this universe. He was just a relatively innocent bystander who got into an accident because he was texting while driving, flirted a little bit aggressively because he found Fadel hot, and then got dragged into a game of lies and deception and power without having a clue about what he was getting into until his own heart was irrevocably compromised. (Like no, I'm never letting my Style apologist post go.)

But none of that matters to Style; the weight of Style's care, the way it's informed and threaded through with his own experience with grief and mourning, makes him infinitely more concerned with giving Fadel room to be angry, to be harsh, hell to even hurt him with his dismissal of Style's sorrow and fear. Style understands what it means to need space to grieve and hurt and he is literally making that space for Fadel.

And this is so important because Fadel is so very repressed. Like you know this is a man who hasn't actually emotionally processed a thing since his parents' murder. And who can blame him? He was a just a child. And then he was taken in by a woman who gave him the training and the tools to ensure that he would never be physically vulnerable again but also taught him to completely close his heart to love and trust. I don't believe for a second that Lilly cared one bit about Fadel's (or Bison's, for that matter) emotional wellbeing.

This is why Style is so perfectly suited for Fadel. He may not have the same experiences or lived a life as volatile and violent as Fadel, but the things he has experienced makes him uniquely suited to treasure and mend Fadel's fragile heart.

Fadel needs to allow himself to let go sometimes, to have some fun for once, to face and accept the reality of his own emotions. They both have to learn how to love and be loved, and its fascinating how ideally suited they are to teach each other these things. -- I wrote this on my thoughts on Style after episode 1 - and by god is this show paying it off!!!

I just. I'm so grateful to this show for giving us this. I know it's not prefect, there are things I wish the show had lingered on or left out, but by GOD there are some absolute diamonds in this story that render me overwhelmed with love for these characters.

[will80sbyers]

STRANGER THINGS 5 PRODUCTION MASTERPOST

All that we know about season 5 of Stranger Things:

At some point things will be happening during November 21 in 1987 (?)

The government/military ppl will be in Hawkins and they build things around town

Schools are open

Hawkins is probably having problems with electricity

There is a project (from the Department of energy) for the students in High School to build something that can help with solar and wind power for the town

Dustin, Nancy and Jonathan have some scenes together in the farm of Eugene McCorkle and the upside down farm too in ep. 4

Jonathan and Steve have a scene together trying to open or start something that looks like a machine (a light turns from red to green) in ep. 1

There is a scene with Will, El, Robin, Nancy and Joyce

One of the first scenes will be a kid singing a song in the Upside Down ( probably Will singing Should I stay or should I go )

"The crawl" is the title of episode 1 of season 5

There's a lake involved? More pictures from the set

The lake is Browns lake in Georgia near where they will be filming (not confirmed that they will be filming at the lake)

More set pictures

First picture of the Wheeler's home while they are preparing the sets | more pictures | more

The actors are going on set and things are getting ready to start shooting stranger things 5

Max will be back in some way in the first episode

I'm gonna just do this for all the RANDOM pictures from the filming on set : 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Season 5 will have 8 episodes / first table read during the first week of December, production is starting in January

They confirmed that the finale will not be of the "it was all a dream" kind of finale, it's not a d&d game the kids are playing

Production of s5 officially started on the 5th of January 2024

First official tweet of the production on the 8

Bts from the first day on set!! Stobin ❤️

First bts of Dustin on set / 1 /

Argyle may not be appearing in s5 (I hope it's a lie)

First look at Mike on set (paparazzi)

Other pictures of Dustin and what I think happens in this scene

At some point they go to the supermarket again

They use the radio station for something

Pictures from the set by Ross (Mike and bts)

Pictures from the radio station: El and Mike talk on the roof, Hopper and Joyce are around: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

Video of Mike & El having a heart to heart

Lip reading made by me (it could be wrong!!!!)

They filmed something at the hospital and something at the Mall of season 3

Extra from the scene of Mike and El on the roof of the radio station

I think they are filming the ep. in order: what we know so far

Filming at Stone Mountain in Georgia

More background pictures in the school: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

Pictures from the filming at the hospital

New pics at the hospital

Filming at lover's lake? More

Sets that we know have the upside down vines

Random news about the extras / more

Filming some scenes near the metro and train tracks?

Radio station at night / more radio station pics

More random pictures from the set / more

A good picture of the WSQK blue van

Who was on set / very blurry pics on set / more

WEEK 3 From Ross Duffer ( El!!)

Leaks from the radio station set (video + Murray has the outfit of the supermarket)

First look at Nancy and Jonathan / more /and again

Pictures from the McCorkle farm / more

FIRST LOOK AT WILL BYERS IN SEASON 5

First look at Nancy and other pictures from Ross! (week 5 and 6 of filming)

to be continued...

NEW PRODUCTION MASTERPOST (with the date)