#and Pavel is so excellent

[parlerenfleurs]

I got tricked into reading Phantomarine because it looked very good, but now I'm mad because it is even better than I thought it would be and I've read all that is available and I'm already languishing. Need more evil god of death in my life é_è

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Friday Ramblings

I don't normally do this but I have a couple of thoughts going on in my head regarding the last couple of days week in BL that I just wanted to collect them all instead of just doing it in tags.

Shadow

I'm pissed. I am a big fan of anything horror or supernatural themed stuff so I was really looking forward to this. (Don't even get me started of how disappointed I am at the disappearance of the other horror themed show I could be watching) And the first part did not disappoint. It was a strong first half, good set up of the different story lines and all the players and I was really excited about it. There was such good meta written about the show, and it turned out to be superior to what the show eventually gave us. (@wen-kexing-apologist specially gave us such excellent meta on this show that I wish they were in charge of the second half of this show) I agree with @lurkingshan about everything they said here. Something which I thought was interesting was that I think in this second half the show purposefully made the fake arm really obvious. I don't know if it wanted us to know before Dan but I also don't think it was an accident. But I'm also not gonna theorize about the reasons because I really don't care that much. The "BL" bait was just another thing that pissed me off. I'm not upset it's not BL, I'm upset because it was sold as such and no one will convince me otherwise. For a couple of episodes, at least, the show wanted us to think that Dan was falling for Nai. The prom moment was just fucking ridiculous. The parallels with October 6 could've been really interesting if there wasn't so much going on that it kinda took the weight of it away. One of the questions I like to ask myself when watching any media is - what is it trying to tell? Sometimes nothing and that's fine. It's pure escapism and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. It can still be excellent. And sometimes it tries to say too much that it ends up not having a cohesive message and it all falls flat. Religion, communism, family trauma, homophobia, mental health, infidelity, teacher-student relationship, pregnancy, murder, police brutality, friendship, bullying, the oh so many supernatural elements, I could go on. You get the picture. So in conclusion, I am not happy.

VIP Only

It's cute. I like both of them enough and it's a good mellow way to start the friday madness.

Last Twilight

This show is surprising me so much. In the best ways. As I said before this pair didn't do much for me in the past but I've surrendered completely, specially to Jimmy. He was so good in this episode that I felt obligated to gif it just so I could keep watching his expressions.

That whole final scene just floored me. His eyes just carried that moment and that whole scene so well that by the end a lonely sunflower brought tears to my eyes. ( and I do not cry easy). After all the cute dates, this scene was a gut punch.

I'm just really stuck on this show, and it holds my attention all through the episode.

My Dear Gangster Oppa

This episode was silly, I couldn't care less about the gangster side of the story at the moment, I'd rather spend more time with the gamer friend group. Wahl got a bit of a redemption but I still don't like him. I liked that Guy stood his ground with Wahl and Tew, but hated the stalker behaviour. If you wanna go dude, just leave!

Sahara Sensei to Toki-kun

Japan my beloved. They just keep giving me all I need. Toki is giving me some Aoki vibes and I could not be happier. And Toki now has got two friends in his corner and I'm so happy. This one and Kinou Nani Tabeta are currently my main sources of joy and my heart is full.

Pit Babe I'd like to thank @pharawee for giving us the novel commentary because it makes it a bit less confusing while I watch this. I have no clue about omegaverse so a part of me is confused, sometimes bored, another part of me is just waiting for Jeff and Alan to be a thing and all of me is happy that Pavel is on my screen weekly.

Twins

This show is dragging and I'm officially bored. I don't mind a slow burn if the rest of the show can hold it together. But the team animosity is just tiring and annoying at this point, the side couples are not engaging ( a bj in the shower does not a side couple make) and for a show named Twins, I would like to see more of them.

Middleman's Love

I'm 99% here for the sides. They are cute, they give me some Ram/King vibes and I wanna see more of them. I was super happy to see Ngern again and the family dinner was a good moment. I don't have the patience for this sort of misunderstanding anymore so that ending annoyed the hell out of me.

(I'm watching For Him too but I have nothing nice to say, so I'll say nothing at all. And yes I know I just did that with Shadow but I was never that invested in this one)

Really looking forward to Kinou Nani Tabeta tomorrow morning and The Sign in the afternoon.

I wish all a great weekend and thanks for reading💜

(because I needed a good cry)

[thepaleys]

Of the corps commanders, I remember nothing, except perhaps Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich, uncle of the Emperor, who received this great assignment whilst still a very young man, almost immediately after his command of the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment. During his journey along the forward line of the Main Camp in Krasnoe Selo (the 1st and 2nd Guards Infantry Divisions) the Grand Duke once did not meet the assistant on duty for the regiment at the proper place, namely at the camp guard's banner, at the location of the Egersky Life Guards Regiment's camp. The officer concerned had been obliged to be continually at this place, being stationed in the 'duty tent', in case of the appearance of a superior, to report to him about the welfare of the regiment. As a result, the officer who was absent so inopportunely, received a comment in the regimental order. It was I. The most august corps commander had decided to drive up to the regiment when I, having been overcome by a call of duty, had decided to leave for five minutes in some need!

Grand Duke Pavel was famous for his tall and slim Romanov figure, beauty and elegance. Many cornets envied his stylish high boots which were so well set off by the long, thin legs. When the Grand Duke dismounted, he lovingly patted the hard tops of his English boots with his riding crop with its expensive handle.

An excellent representation of him is the famous portrait by Serov, where the Grand Duke and his black horse are painted from the knee up, both restive heads close together. The artist has skilfully captured the military elegance of Pavel Alexandrovich in his white tunic, gilded armour and helmet of the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment.

The second marriage of the widowed Grand Duke in defiance of the Tsar's prohibition knocked him out of the smooth service track which was due to him by his status. It was much later, during the war of 1914-17, that we saw him again as a commander of a Guards corps, in the same position over seventeen or eighteen years.

In the summer of 1916, I presented the Life Guards Izmailovsky Regiment to him. Grey-haired, not without old-age wrinkles, the Grand Duke, had a new beauty, he still shone with military style and harmony of figure; but he didn't slap the riding crop against the top of his amazing boots; it was the century of the motor car, and there was no need for a crop.

Pavel Alexandrovich's elder brother, Grand Duke Vladimir, in the 1890s commanded all the troops in the St Petersburg military district. He wasn't as tall as 'brother Pavel' as he called him, but no less handsome and thoroughbred.

To Serve the Russian Empire: The Autobiography of Boris Héroys - John Elverson

[thesconesyard]

Where the West Begins

14. Lonesome Road

Uhura sat back down as Christine led Kati away to a room. Leonard and Jim stayed for a moment then took themselves back outside.

In a short time Christine returned.

“I took some water in so she could wash up a bit,” she said as she sat down and took up her sewing again.

“What did Leonard do for her?” Uhura asked in a quiet voice.

Christine gave a soft sigh and glanced up. “When we went to town last week we saw her. She’s been staying at Gaila’s. Leo went and paid for a week for her. Left an invite to come.”

“Oh.” Uhura smiled sweetly about the doctor’s kindness.

“Don’t know much else . She came out this way and was trying to make some money taking sewing jobs. Maybe she’ll tell us more.” Christine shrugged and focused on a difficult stitch.

“If nothing else, we can help her get on her feet,” Uhura agreed.

Footsteps in the hall quieted their conversation and both women looked up as Kati entered the doorway.

“May I come in?” she asked nervously.

“Of course!” Uhura said instantly. She watched the woman cross the room to the chair she had sat in before. Her dark hair had been replaited and coiled in a knot at the back of her neck. No loose pieces hung around her pale face anymore. Though her face had gained a hint of color since she had come into the house. Her dark eyes were clear and showed no signs of the tears she had recently shed.

“Thank you,” Kati said in a soft voice as she sat. “May I help with anything?”

“Oh just sit and warm yourself for now,” Christine smiled across.

Kati nodded. “How many of you live here?” she asked after a few moments of quiet.

“Ten. Eleven with you,” Uhura answered.

“Ten? My,” said Katie. “Are you two the only women?”

“There’s Jaylah as well, but she likes working outside better than this.” Christine held up her sewing and laughed. Kati smiled back.

“You’ve met Leonard and Jim,” Uhura continued. “There’s Scotty and Hikaru, Pavel and Keenser, and Spock.”

“And you’ve all just come from everywhere to be here?” Kati asked in awe.

“Some,” Uhura said cautiously. “Jim said it best that we’ve had our troubles and hardships. Not all of us want to talk about those.”

“We like to think about the future and hopefully happier times,” Christine added.

“I hope there’s happier times ahead,” Kati said sorrowfully. “We lost our parents young, my brother John and me. We were all we had. We struck out on our own as soon as we could. Then just a few months ago I lost him too.”

Uhura’s heart ached as Kati’s eyes welled with tears. She stood up and kneeled down at Kati’s side.

“I lost my parents and brother when I was young too,” she said quietly.

“You did?” Kati asked as she looked at Uhura in surprise.

Uhura nodded. “It hurt for so long. I had an uncle who took me in. He did his best for me, but nothing could ever replace them. I promise, it will get easier. It’ll never stop hurting, but you’ll get through it.”

“Thank you,” Kati said and Uhura leaned over to embrace her. She felt the sob from the other woman on her shoulder, and rubbed a comforting hand over her back.

Kati settled in and the sadness that marred her face slowly lessened each day. She was excellent with a needle and thread, but a mess when it came to meals.

“I know it will sound backwards,” she had admitted with red cheeks, “but my brother was the better cook.”

“We can teach you,” Uhura had said warmly. “If you’d like to learn.”

Kati had agreed and proved to be a diligent student to the two women who prepared the meals.

Uhura watched as Kati became more and more a part of the group. She had been reserved in the beginning, perhaps overwhelmed by all of the people who lived on the ranch, but gradually she warmed up to them all. Jim and Leonard she seemed to be extra fond of. But who could blame her when they had extended an invite to the ranch?

Sometimes when Uhura glanced over, she caught the deep sorrow still in Kati’s eyes and her heart ached in an old way she thought she had forgotten. How long had it been since her own mother’s sweet voice had lulled her to sleep? Her father lifting her in the air with strong arms? Or her brother, chasing her as they played? Uhura would blink away tears and breathe slowly. Someday she would see them again. And Kati would see her family again too. Uhura believed it with her whole heart.

But for now they both had the crew on the ranch. Uhura smiled as she placed dishes on the table. Yes, they had people who loved them, even with their sorrows and lonely spells.

[tm-trx]

currents.03 [2024]

selections from my week in media [14-20 january 2024]

[listening]

"All Ours" / All (H)Ours

"Hmm Bop" / Hui

"Cold Killer" / Hui feat. Jinhyuk

"Sweet Chaos" / DAY6

"When We Meet Again" / Lee Junho

"Weekend" / Taeyeon

[loving]

Pavel's devastating performance in Pit Babe this week. I am a loud and proud angst/whump/h-c lover from my earliest days in fandom and he made me cry twice. Fantastic job, kid.

[watching]

The Brothers Sun {finished: 3 stars} - The acting is a little flat and I didn't find the younger brother as funny as I think he is supposed to be. But the story was excellent and it picked up a lot in the second half.

For Him - We finally get a definitive answer about what happened to Blue and it was exactly what I feared. I half thought he might be in a hospital somewhere, because that would still fit with how all of his friends and Him were acting. But no. The contrast between Him's supportive mother, who got him into therapy when she saw how badly he was struggling and Blue's abusive parents whose expectations made him miserable, was stark.

Gyeongseong Creature {finished: 5 stars} - This first part is brutal and I loved it a huge amount. But it did increase my desire to find a decent book on Korean history because what I learned in world history in the 90s would fit on the head of a pin. I need the second part to be released asap, pls and thank you Netflix. Also, will there be zombies? Because it seems like an argument could be made. If there are, I will watch anyway and keep a pillow shield handy.

Pit Babe - Gimme that sweet sweet angst. I knew what was coming as soon as Charlie told Babe how his powers could return and was not disappointed. Highlight of the week.

School Spirits {finished: 4 stars} - Pretty good teen paranormal murder mystery that my partner and I knocked out in one couch day last weekend. It's not super original: a high school senior dies on school grounds and finds out there are other ghosts stuck too - murder mystery commences. The characters were engaging though and the twist at the end kinda came out of nowhere (par the course for me though), so now I'm looking forward to season two.

previous Currents posts

[loiladadiani]

From left to right: Alexander (future Tsar), little Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich (the youngest), Tsar Alexander II, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, Grand Duke Alexei, and Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich.

From left to right, top to bottom: Grand Duke Vladimir, Grand Duke Alexis, Grand Duke Sergei and Grand Duke Pavel

Alexander III and his brother Grand Duke Sergei

Alexander III and his brothers

Alexander II had eight children, six of them male: Grand Duchess Alexandra (died in childhood), Tsarevich Nicholas (Nixa, who died at 22), Grand Duke Alexander (who would reign as Alexander III), Grand Duke Vladimir, Grand Duke Alexei, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, Grand Duke Sergei, and Grand Duke Pavel.

Alexander III's role as Tsar included managing his "family" (the Romanovs.) His brothers, Grand Duke Vladimir and Grand Duke Sergei had strong, domineering personalities, and Sacha had to use a strong hand with them, but all, including Alexei and Pavel, remained supportive of him. Alexei was Sacha's favorite brother (and a favorite of Nicholas II and Empress Maria Feodorovna). Pavel's health was always fragile. He married and lost his first wife. In Nicholas's time, he married again, this time morganatically, and was banished from Russia. When he was allowed to come back, he tried to assist his nephew through the last crisis of the Tsarist government.

Sacha's years as emperor were the last years of the balls and the large group outings and pictures. Even though he was not a social man, he knew his role had a social component and that he was the patriarch of his family. Empress Maria Feodorovna was a great help to him in this respect.

Sacha and his brothers remained close and worked together under Sacha's strong hand (and with raised voices and squabbles here and there, which involved Vladimir more frequently than the others.) They seemed to take for granted that their job as Grand Dukes was to work for their brother, the Tsar, who, after all, was Russia. They all had important positions within the government (with the exception of Pavel, who was too young.) This had been the way the dynasty functioned under Nicholas I and Alexander II.

Unfortunately, things changed for the worse under Nicholas II. His brother Georgie, who would have been Nicholas' right hand, became ill early on and had to leave court. Although his brother Mikhail surprised everybody by proving to be an excellent leader of men when he was practically forced to do so by Nicholas II (he was given the command of the Caucasian Native Cavalry Corps, also called the Savage Regiment, during WWI), he preferred to stay away from government matters altogether and live a "playboy" lifestyle. He also married morganatically.

With a few exceptions, the Grand Dukes dedicated themselves to spending their money raising their families and maintaining their ultra-luxurious lifestyles. The Empress was a naturally retiring woman, in poor health and consumed first by the need to give birth to a boy and later by the illness of her beloved boy. Tsar Nicholas did not cultivate the social aspects of the family and did not lead them; the photographs no longer included the large family groups. The Romanovs fell apart internally, and not long after, the rest of their world crashed. (gcl)

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 29/07/2023

Maskettaman - Dr. Pavel's Fly​-​So​-​Good

Season 6 Featured on: SiIvaGunner's Highest Quality Rips: Volume Ruby

Ripped by Dirty Spaceman

Tentative rip name: Batman V Superman – Dr Pavel's Fly-So-Good

One of my favorite rips made during Season 2 was Battle! The Trainer Inside Your Head!, a rip I initially missed due to being exclusive to an album release. As the years go by, I've begun using these albums as my primary way of listening to rips, which has occasionally given me the inverse problem - missing out on all-time classic rips due to not being on albums. This is less of an issue with Season 7 being the current Season, as I of course try to listen to most rips being uploaded as they come out, but there's still some rips from Season 5 and 6 that I've just not given enough of a chance due to being YouTube exclusive. Such is the case with todays rip, which remained YouTube exclusive for over a year before this post finally gave it its long overdue album release: Maskettaman - Dr. Pavel's Fly​-​So​-​Good.

Initially, I was going to dedicate this day to another piece of excellent Baneposting, but things took an interesting turn. See, in Season 1's fervent experimentation and wild west upload schedule, there were a handful of jokes used in only a few rips each that simply didn't catch on for a variety of reasons. Baneposting, a long-running gag of making fun of Bane's first scene in The Dark Knight Rises, is a perfect example of this - due to its comedic elements not really stemming from a melodic audio source and mostly being carried by dialogue, it's difficult to really make a rip hit home in relying on just it as the crux of the joke. Despite people's affection for the joke - and how it even got tied to some of the earliest lore of the channel - it simply wasn't as natural a fit for the channel as many other of its contenders.

Quality Baneposting, both on SiIva and out, is not something you can simply churn out, and its left the meme as a sort of cult classic. Which is demonstrated perfectly by just how easily I'd glossed over today's rip - a loveletter to the meme and a tribute to one of its final big appearances on SiIva in Season 2, Lazy Banes ~Crashing in Paradise~, which is what I was originally planning on covering today. Both it and Maskettaman - Dr. Pavel's Fly​-​So​-​Good share the same basic concept - replacing the vocals of the original song with a duo performance between fan inimations of Dr. Pavel and Bane, with lyrics relevant to the meme's origin. This kind of parody has its roots in the 2014 classic Bane Star (the same concept applied to Smash Mouth's All-Star) and SiIva carries the torch forward with perfect execution.

Be it the slightly off-kilter singing performance, the never-not-funny Bane impression, or the clever yet absurd lyric changes, it works just as well today as it did in 2014 and in 2017. Something about the crazy energetic and happy Ska vibes of Superman meshed with the dour theming of Dark Knight Rises just makes it such a pleasant listen, and makes every change in the lyrics stick out in the funniest way possible. I mean, really:

So here I am Starting fires all the time The fire rising all the time The master plan is on my mind

That's perfection! The choice for song to cover is perfection! Everything about this rip, despite its lackluster views, is absolutely perfect in carrying on this wonderfully stupid little in-joke. I've made mention before that SiIva is the type of channel where nothing truly gets forgotten due to just how many people are on it, and its never not delightful to see that idea confirmed again and again.

[eastern-lights]

All my foreign friends, please, fingers crossed for Czech elections next week, because if everything works out, not only are we getting general Pavel as our president, we’re getting his wife as the First Lady, which improves the already great deal by like 70%:

interviewer: Have I been correctly informed that during your time in Brussels, your wife slept with a gun under her pillow? Pavel: Yes, she’s never been one to underestimate danger, and since we were in a foreign city, where there had recently been several break-ins, she took our protection that much more seriously. interviewer: And can she shoot? Pavel: She’s an excellent shot. interviewer: So you’re never worried about her? Pavel: Well of course I worry sometimes, but I also really pity the person who’d want to try and hurt her.

Relationship goals right there.

source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuoKcpp23HM cca 37 minutes in

[save-the-data]

So after watching Build, I just moved straight onto Pit Babe, Pavel did excellent as a distraught Babe.

Jeff and Alan are so freaking cute, how Jeff gave a surprise cheek kiss and the childish way Alan responds.

Yay Kim is back and part of the family. Now if we can just save Kenta.

Love that Babe and Way had a bar fight. Way deserves a lot more than just a few punches and throws around the room.

Dean, you sweet summer child and so pathetic.

[calandrinon]

If there's anyone reading this after Eurovision thinking "you know I really loved that language, maybe I should try learning it":

* Do it *

(Or at least give it a go! I tried learning Ukrainian back in 2021 after Shum, and all I ended up with was excellent phonetic rendition of both versions of Shum plus a dog who knows what "hulyaty pidemo" means, but it was worth a try and I had fun.)

Last year I fell in love with this happy little song about a train and maybe about a tricky geopolitical situation but there is a definite train involved. I promptly came down with covid and had to self-isolate myself for a week but that just gave me more time to watch the performance videos and the official video. (The official video is so much fun.)

When I got better I was not yet bored of it but I couldn't watch the videos on my commute. I only had Free Povvo Spotify so I couldn't just queue up Trenulețul, I had to listen to whatever else Spotify wanted to serve me first, and that turned out to be a whole load of other songs in Romanian - mostly Zdob și Zdub to start with, but also Lia Taburcean and Irina Rimes and Voltaj and Pavel Stratan and Ce Seara Minunata at least once every day.

"I should learn this language properly," I said after yet again commandeering the TV to play my newest favourite song before dinner.

And because my husband is a supportive man and actually likes to see me happy, he said: "Why don't you?"

So I did!

(this is from the other day so i have even more days now)

I kept listening to music for pronunciation and vocabulary, because if I hear a song more than once I am compelled to start singing. I went from being able to follow a couple of words here and there, to singing along with the choruses phonetically, to recognising words I'd learned, to being able to guess at words through context. I looked up everything. I subscribed to the SBS Romanian podcast and listened to it while I walked my dog, and I practiced conversation with my dog and by myself in the car. I followed some Romanian tumblrs and tried really hard not to annoy them (hello and thank you for not blocking me:) )

And I read folklore and fairy tales and news about the geopolitical situation and poetry and ballads and recipe blogs and anything else I encountered. I learned about the ethical dative and was so chuffed when I spotted one in the wild. I made sarmale and hazelnut cake and lots of mămăligă. I read Miorița and loved it so much I had to commit it to memory. I recite bits of it all the time. Sometimes I do voices.

And I am having a lot of fun.

And you can too.

[mygwenchan]

Looks like I'm starting a collection of cute adoptive sons cause I've decided to adopt Charlie as well lol (bless him and his cute naked apron look 😌)

Anyway, the first episode was pretty good! I knew Pavel would excel in the role of Babe, it's like he was made for that character :)

On a side note, I'm a bit envious of Babe's mencave. Drop the location bestie, so I can have a sleepover!

[litcityblues]

'The Short Victorious War' --A Review

In my review of the last book in this series For The Honor of The Queen, I was hoping that Weber would start to push against the boundaries of the very solid, excellent formula he had developed in the first two novels of the Honor Harrington series. Not because it was bad- in fact, the first two novels are excellent starting points for the series and introduce you to Honor Harrington and give you a really good grounding in who she is as a person and what kind of commander she is, while only throwing down some hints here and there of her past, the politics of Manticore and it's Navy.

Now, with the third entry in the Honor Harrington series, we begin to see Honor develop more as a character- get glimpses of her home planet and family life. But we also get more insight into the People's Republic of Haven, actually seeing the inner workings of their politics and not just their navy. Does Weber get away from the 'rinse and repeat' of the first two books? To a certain (and welcome) degree, yes. I have a sensation, a prediction perhaps that he's laying the groundwork for a thorough break out into new territory with the next book, however, before I find out if that's true, we've got to get into the meat and potatoes of this volume, The Short Victorious War.

This volume opens with Honor at home on Sphinx, still recovering from the events of the previous book. The eye she lost defending the Protector's family on Grayson has been replaced with an implanted one that she's still getting used to but looks a little better than the eye patch she had to use at the tail end of the last book. She's also- and I like this a great deal- reflected and healing on another level as well and that's coming to grips with the immense casualties she has presided over in the first two books- first at Basilisk Station and then at Grayson.

However, because this is the Honorverse and our heroine needs something to do, the People's Republic of Haven has other ideas. Economically, they're in trouble. They don't want to go to war with Manticore, but they have no choice. It is decided that a short, (hopefully) victorious war is just what they need to calm their domestic situation. So, they begin to launch provocations at key points along the frontier with Manticore, hoping to provoke something.

Given the rapidly deteriorating situation, Honor is given a new assignment- command of the Navy's flagship, the Nike. She's the flag captain, which means she serves under Admiral Sarnow and they are sent to Hancock Station, a critical base for Manticore along the frontier. She is reunited with her old friend Michelle Henke from the Naval Academy who serves as her executive officer.

Her new ship, the Nike has some growing pains in the form of a flaw in one of the fusion reactors, which keeps Nike from getting her full operational runout when she arrives at Hancock Station, but reintroduces Honor to the senior engineering officer of Hancock Station, Captain Paul Tankersley.

Honor had met him before- at Basilisk Station serving under Lord Pavel Young, her hated enemy and would-be rapist from her Academy days- because of that connection, she does not initially warm to him, but eventually they warm to each other and kindle a romantic relationship with on and other.

The situation along the frontier continues to deteriorate, but by chance, Manticore happens on a stealth sensor platform that Haven has been using to gather intelligence on their forward deployments and manipulate them into responding to create weak points where they can attack in force. Once Manticore realizes that, they decide to do some manipulation of their own, setting up a nice juicy trap at Yeltin's Star to try and draw Haven there, but that leaves Hancock Station undermanned and underdefended.

Sarnow's fleet, unfortunately, includes some old enemies, including a Houseman, a relative of the diplomat Honor slapped around on Grayson (and when she slaps, she slaps, so it wasn't a small matter) and arriving to help is Lord Pavel Young.

However, overwhelming odds are where Honor Harrington shines and her unconventional tactics help Sarnow and his fleet hold off a vastly superior Havenite force long enough for reinforcement to arrive and deal them a crushing defeat, but not before Young panics and orders the fleet to scatter and refuses to get back into formation. Manticore's victory is overwhelming and Young finds himself removed from command, placed under arrest, and sent back to Manticore for a court martial. Tankersley is promoted to Captain of the List and ordered back to Manticore for reassignment.

On Haven, the government is overthrown by radicals, the entire government is killed in an airstrike using the shuttles of the Havenite Navy, which the radicals then use to blame the navy and form a 'Committee of Public Safety' to govern and begin a military and political purge to cement their rule.

Overall: This was exactly what I was looking for with this series. After a couple of novels of dancing around potential conflict with Haven, the two sides of this series get down to brass tacks and see the two actually scrap. But, more importantly, after planting some seeds and scattering some hints here and there throughout the first two novels, we begin to see some green shoots of character development, and new plot branches and possibilities start to emerge and it's exciting to see.

This is also the first novel where we get different points of view. Weber takes us behind enemy lines to Haven and their government. We see different commanders and Admirals all along the front line, including an especially heart-wrenching scene when a Manticoran ship on convoy escort duty sacrifices itself to give the convoy time to escape- the Captain leaving her husband and daughter behind on the convoy ship while she makes the ultimate sacrifice to get them to safety.

We also see Honor at the start of the book, spend some time healing from her physical and mental wounds which I thought was an excellent and needed touch. Honor has been through the wringer a bit at the start of this novel and acknowledging the heavy, heavy burden of command and the costs in human lives that have come with it is really important for her character development and makes her feel less like a heroic archetype of a Naval commander and more human and real as a result. This feels like a pivot point for the series so far I'm excited to see where we go next, but suddenly, the formula of the first two books has been left behind and the possibilities ahead of these characters and this universe are very interesting indeed. My Grade: **** out of ****

[thesconesyard]

Yeehaw!

When the Cactus Blooms

22. Learning the Ropes

“James T. Kirk! Show yourself!”

Jim tucked himself in the dark corner of a stall. If Christine was yelling for him like that it couldn’t be for anything good.

“I know you’re in here!” Christine called, her voice closer.

“He’s in Pepper’s stall,” Bones walked by and told her.

“Traitor!” Jim hissed at him. “Oh, Christine, were you calling me?” he asked innocently as he stepped out of the stall. Christine rolled her eyes and stalked towards him.

“You are going to find work for that girl to do out here. She is wasted in the house. She’s helpful, but that is not enough.”

“But—”

“No buts James Kirk,” Christine said firmly. “She belongs outside. Her family traveled. The house doesn’t suit her, so you will teach her. She likes working with her hands. She enjoyed helping Scotty fix things. Teach her more about living on a ranch. Understood?”

“Yes Miss Christine,” Jim said with only a hint of sarcasm.

“Good. I’ll send her out.” Christine turned to leave the stables.

“You know this is my ranch, right?” Jim called behind her.

“Sure Jim,” Christine called over her shoulder. “But who keeps everything in running order?” The stable door closed behind her.

“She got ya there kid,” Bones laughed next to him.

“Well, I don’t like all those fancy details anyway.” Jim grinned, but it faded quickly. “What should I do? I guess it isn’t fair to expect women to just want to do the easier jobs.”

“Oh ho kid, don’t let Chris and Uhura hear you say that. They work just as hard as any of us out here. You want to be in that kitchen in the middle of summer? Bent over in the gardens? Putting up with a bunch of unruly men like us?”

“Ok, ok,” Jim raised his hands and laughed. “I got your point. I’m just not sure what Jaylah would like? What do you think? You know her better than me.”

Bones reached up to scratch the back of his neck.

“She’s a quick learner. When we went riding, she picked everything up right away. Scotty says she’s an excellent mind for fixing things and coming up with solutions. Just take her through your day Jim, she what strikes her fancy best.”

Just a short while later Jaylah entered.

“James T?” she called.

“Over here!” Jim said, sticking his head out of a stall.

“Christine says I’m to come help you,” Jaylah said as she stopped in front of him. “I am no good at cooking and housework is boring.”

“Don’t you worry, we’ll keep ya busy,” Jim grinned. He looked her over and she seemed to blush.

“They are Pavel’s,” she said, glancing down, and sounding nervous. “He let me borrow them for riding. Uhura says we will make my own soon.”

“That’s a good plan. Dress in what makes you comfortable. You done much work with horses or cattle?”

“Not much. We traveled on foot mostly.” Sadness entered her voice as it always did when she referenced her family.

“I inherited the ranch too young,” Jim told her quietly. “I had to learn a lot of things myself. So don’t worry, we’ll teach you. Let’s get these stalls finished then head in for breakfast. Are you alright near the horses?”

Jaylah reached up to pat the horse next to them. “I am getting more comfortable,” she smiled.

Jaylah worked hard all morning and Jim couldn’t help but appreciate it. She would be a most welcome addition to their home.

“Now what James T?”

“Something more fun,” Jim replied with a wink. “Come on.”

Jaylah fell in step beside him as they went to the stables and grabbed a pair of ropes. He led her out towards the north pasture. As they walked he worked on one end of his rope.

“Ever thrown a lasso?” he finally asked as they stopped aways from the north pasture fence.

“No,” Jaylah shook her head.

Jim took the rope she was carrying and twisted and tied it’s end like he had done to his, then passed it back.

“Like this,” he said, swinging the looped end above his head, then releasing it at a fence post.

“Oh,” Jaylah said with awe in her voice. Cautiously, she attempted to repeat Jim’s movements.

“Here,” Jim said. “You want to hold it here- like this.” He moved Jaylah’s hands on the rope. “Real casual as you swing, then release as you’re pointing where you want it to go.”

Jaylah missed the fence post.

“Good!” Jim cried. “Great for a first try. Now reel your rope back like this.” He demonstrated. “Keeps it from tangling and not flying right.”

She got the post on her fifth try.

“Once we get good at a still target we can try a moving target, then on horseback after that,” he said as she made the post again.

“Oh,” Jaylah looked at him with wide eyes.

“I’ve already told you you’re welcome as long as you need,” Jim said, “but do you want to stay? Or is there somewhere else you’d want to go?”

Jaylah stilled and looked at him.

“I have nowhere else,” she said faintly. “I would like to stay here.”

“Then you will,” Jim said firmly. “Welcome home.”

[captain-303]

Metro: Last Light REDUX Review

Yeah, it's pretty good.

STORY

SPOILERS AHEAD

I thought this game was a really good continuation of 2033's story, especially if you get the good/cannon ending in which the Red Line nearly takes D6 and just as Artyom is about to detonate D6 to save the rest of the Metro from THE MARCH OF COMMUNISM the baby Dark One who's been hanging out with you for a while comes back and is like, "hey bud, lemme handle this one" and then the adult Dark Ones turn up and absolutely demolish the Red Line and save the Spartans. I think this was really good because in the first game, Artyom (canon/bad ending, and spoilers) genocides most of the Dark Ones via a missile attack, but in this game if you play to max out moral points Artyom has essentially grown from a soldier that just follows orders to a soldier who thinks for themslves. Which is really neat!

I also liked that in this game instead of Reich and the Red Line just being obstacles that Artyom just has to shoot through they are both given more personality, especially the Red Line. Pavel, Moskvin and Korbut were all excellent antagonists; of the trio Moskvin is the least present, and although you don't interact with him much, you do (with the baby Dark One's help) look inside his mind, a literal corridor of communism - not very subtle, but quite funny! Pavel was also a pretty nice fellow, to quote Artyom, "I never liked communists much, but Pavel acted like a real hero" this made me really mad when he sold me out to his Red Line comrades! I did however spare his life at the end of the game, because although he may have been actively trying to murder me, I'm sure he wasn't all bad. Korbut however is all bad, first he manipulates Moskvin into poising his own brother so that Moskvin can become the new leader of the Red Line, then he blackmails Moskvin into being his puppet, then he embeds Lesnitsky (also a big ol' evil fella) into the Spartan ranks to steal a weaponised version of Ebola, he then orders this chemical weapon to be unleashed on a Hanza station, but in the conclusion he meets his end, fittingly, via the baby Dark One he had been hunting for the whole game.

Oh and Reich are just Nazis. They execute people, they are commanded by their Fuhrer, they measure people's heads to see if they're mutated. They're Nazis.

ATMOSPHERE

So I played the Redux version, which you can tell from the first line of this post, and I assume the graphics are better than the original, I wouldn't know because I haven't played the original! This enhances the graphics to be at points very dull (in a good way!) and others quite vibrant. The lighting especially adds to the sections within the Metro where there is no sunlight, all of it comes from lamps and fires. The audio in the game is also fantastic, what I believe is called Volumetric Audio (where you can pinpoint the direction of a sound by looking around and just listening to how the audio from your speakers changes). This was especially helpful at several points, especially when fighting Pavel as otherwise I think it would be nigh impossible to work out where he was going to shoot you from without his monologuing. I don't really have the words to describe the atmosphere of the game, but if you think about what it would be like to live in the Moscow Metro after a nuclear war, the Metro series nails that feeling.

GAMEPLAY

Usually I like to play games that make you feel pretty powerful, most recently the Crysis Trilogy, where you play as a supersoldier who can run super fast, jump super high, punch super hard, and turn invisible. Metro however puts you in the shoes of Artyom who is admittedly a pretty strong guy, being able to run while carrying a lot of stuff and can take a fair few bullets, he isn't exactly John Crysis though. The first game manages this feeling of weakness by making reloads and other weapon animations pretty slow to emphasise Artyom's inexperience. In Last Light Artyom is now a Spartan Ranger, and the gameplay reflects this with him being a lot better at handling weapons. Another pretty good way the game makes you feel helpless is the lack of hand holding along the way, throughout the game I used the Bastard as my main weapon of choice against human enemies (I reserved the sextuplet shotgun for mutants), I have no idea if the Bastard is a good weapon, it does the job and looks cool while doing it, but I was never told if I should use it over another weapon which I liked, made it feel more authentic than most games that give you funny little bars that go up and down when you switch weapon or change attachments, frankly to this day I still don't know the difference between weapon handling and accuracy - and frankly I do not care.

Similar to Crysis, this game features human and non-human enemies. Unlike Crysis I actually enjoyed fighting things that weren't human, apart from those weird water dwelling giant mantises. I thought the three bosses in the game; giant mantis, giant nosalis, and giant bear were also pretty good!

In conclusion

"Maybe the real Metro: Last Light REDUX were the friends we made along the way"

- John Metro, 2034

Honourable mention; I thought the fight on the moving train in the metro tunnel was so cool. It would be so awesome if they made a Metro game that was centered around a train!

[pavelsapplianceblog]

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[absolutebl]

Okay we on the Tumblr bug reblog portion of this trashiness. Shall we proceed apace?

Episode 7 - We Have A Diaper Blow Out, People

It’s fascinating that Charlie uses chan with Jeff instead of phi (for the I pronoun). What an odd little relationship these “brothers” have. Ah ha, of course, as is revealed, they are not blood brothers. And Charlie has GUTS.

I am intrigued by Charlie finally. That took a while. Still suspect his motives, but also, I'm not wild about Babe, so bring it on puppy. Let's see whatcha got.

Way + Arrow Boy! Apparently, his name Pete. Argh don’t make him a bad guy.

Ooo Way’s place is nice. Belongs in a Cdrama. Never seen that location in a BL before.  

Meanwhile the mpreg has broken like the first mpreg.

Blowing out tumblrs diapers like the secodn cumming.

I'm losing my damn metaphors but ya'know what I'm on about.

And Charlie is Rogue (or maybe Leach is a better Marvel mutant), huh. Nifty.

That forgiveness and reconciliation was awful fast, boys.

Bummer, Pavel is a particularly good crier. I would’ve liked more. 

Not enough suffering. 

Grumble. 

Episode 8 - My Allegiances Have Morphed

Honestly I needed a bit of levity today so let’s do this.

Love the Jeff & Alan focus this ep. Look at them with the adorably foray into actual communication! Dip the meat, share your feels, very nicely done. Would have preferred the communication had mroe nudity, but ya can't have everything.

Way & Pete get screen time too!

I really like Pete. I hope he’s not evil.

Or do I hope he’s the best kind of evil? 

Meanwhile, Jeff gets kidnapped while Babe & Charlie enjoy a honeymoon phase. Cute, little show, very cute. I see you and your parallels and raise you one KP version of Pete in the basement while KP frolic in bed with bread (never forget the great crumb tragedy of 2022).

Would this Pete wanna go to a basement with Way, perchance?

Pressy for the kinksters? 

To pull a conclusion out of nowhere...

I have now switched allegiances from Way to Alan.

Alan is best boy.

That is all. 

Episode 9 - Dramatic Equations

Charlie & Babe = honeymoon phase 

Jeff & Kim = forgotten 

Pete & Way = riddles wrapped in alphas but actually enigmas 

Everyone else = gang bang phase…. Apparently

Aw my Way is a baddie.

Oh well I still have Pete. 

Ooo. Charlie is a badass as well as a leach. 

Meanwhile there’s a lot of tears and discontent and betrayal. 

But lots of Jeff and Alan = yay!!!

Also Alan:

Please everyone teach me how to flirt with him.

Episode 10 - Yes yes doomydoomydoom BUT AlanJeff supremacy!

I LOVE Alan’s house.

Love it. Adore a kinda ikea-made-me-do-it rich-kid dorm-room chic only with more flor space that any Scandinacian country would EVAH.

Expedit that ektorp baby. Jeff is waiting.

I did figure Charlie would die for a bit to give Babe back his powers.

Pavel did a very nice job with the denouement. This idea that his gift has been returned to him but he knows exactly the cost that he’s paying for it. I like that.

The support cuddles are really cute, too.

Frankly? I'm kinda happy to take a breather from Charlie & Babe's brand of BL for a while. It cool, let me dwell in some age gap action of the slow burn variety. You 2 pretty boys are EXHAUSTING.

Gotta say Nut is also doing a GRAND job. Who would have thought he could go from Oxygen to this. (I think Oxygen was my first BL watch-along... ah youth.)

And NOW, what we have all been waiting for.

Well, me.

Me and maybe 10 others on Tumblr.

ALL THE ALANJEFF!!!

YERESSSSSS

My little heart is so happy about the flirting.

And the age gap mention.

And the happy splashing.

And the adorable smile!

Now THAT is how you execute a cheek kiss.

Or expedit a cheek kiss.

OMG I made an Ikea pun. I should go to bed.

Next week: AlanJeff REAL KISSES!!!

Good ones!

Proper smooching.

Excellent!

Expedit!

On a side note, I’m liking AJ so much I may need to rewatch this darn show. But I refuse to do this on icky. Grumblesinbittorrent.

Episode 11 - MOAR AlanJeff supremacy!

Alan is best boy.

There is no contest. 

Oh do the police exist in this universe? Where they been all this time? 

Could we PLEASE have enigma-on-enigma action?

Wait.

Can enigmas get each other preggo? Is this a snail shifter sitch? (It is snails that can do that, right?) Sexy slimy? (Kinda like Him in that other show airing right now.)

Holy a/b/o Batman, I spotted what appears to be females in the background. Who knew? 

OMG Babe is SUCH a drama queen. 

Meanwhile, Dias ex Papa Beard & Charlie is still alive.

This is my shocked face. 

Meanwhile Alan 

Kids! What’s the matter with kids today? 

(Yes, I'm musical theater gay, how dare you doubt me.)

OMG a meta trope call out. I see you, Thailand, poking at yaoi.

And then the matching wardrobe trope as well. Ah, those slow burn side dishes: they take forever and then suddenly they U-haul lesbians.

So.

In conclusion. (Wait, did I have a premise or a thesis statement? Not really. Eh whatevs...)

IN CONCLUSION!

This was my ep:

Very little Babe & Charlie.

Lots of Alan & Jeff.

And a hearty dose of arrow boy! 

Baby Kenta and Pete were cute, right?

Also GOOD KISSES!!!!

And a markedly tender sex scene.

Lovely. 

No trash talk this week, I was charmed and delighted. Who knew I would actually enjoy this show? Certainly not me.

Episode 12 - And NOW I want a thrupple

Is enigma-on-enigma action the gay of the omegaverse?

Asking for a friend.

Oh noes! I love Kenta + Pete now.

LOOK at the way he looks at him. My heart, it squeezes.

Argh. What about my Way + Pete dreams?

Obvs there is a solution! 

Way + Pete + Kenta!

Pretty please?

Also, I would like to remind the world that Nut still has my favorite voice in all Thai BL. 

Meanwhile, another kidnapping.

I love how casual everyone is about it. Oh has Jeff been kidnapped again? Here, let's throw fruit at Babe and think about it for a bit. Tra la la.

Kidnapping is to this show, as the “crash into me” trope is to Taiwanese BL. 

And we finally get to see Way’s power. Nice. Wonder why he never used it to talk Babe into bed? I mean dub con up the wazoo, but that never stopped a Thai BL before.

Episode 13 - Not with a bang, but with multiple whimpers

It’s a solid reunion scene.

Was I emotionally invested and did I tear up? No.

Should I have? Yes.

I am a sap.

Look.

If this whole thing was going to be a redemption arc for Kenta then it should have focused more on him from beginning and we should’ve gotten even more backstory.

Always a personal pleasure tho: To see a knife take down a gun. 

I wish Way had died in a slightly more heroic manner. But you can’t have everything.

I did like the part with Alan and Jeff, where Jeff finally realized that Alan had developed (through life experience) the same philosophy that Jeff’s talent had forced him to realize at a young age. "Sometimes we can make no mistakes and still lose." 

I did love that we got them as the final tender sex scene and the primary as a jokey raunch sex scene. It was kinda dismissive of Charlie tho. He existed in this narrative, throughout, only to serve Babe'

Although I also wish, we’d gotten a lot more of Jeff’s talent in action. I feel like it was under utilized by the narrative as a character trait . 

I don’t think the Babe's father-figure character should have been introduced at all. 

And... a very sweet very Thai ending. 

How to rate this?

It was… fine. 

I liked the sides more than the mains, which I shouldn't have.

Did I enjoy it? Sure.

Was the found family stuff sweet? Sure.

Were the sex scenes good? Sure.

Will I remember much about it except the a/b/o? Probably not.

Will I rewatch? Probably not.

Is it a significant BL? Not as much as it wants to be.

Thailand brought us the world's first omegaverse BL but then failed to lean into the courage of its a/b/o convictions by not emphasizing the difference between our world & theirs, adding & subtracting characters & allegiances + a weak ending. With earnest performances, enthusiastic sex scenes, a fantastic side couple, and some delightful scenery chewing - the actors tried... poor things. It's just the story failed both them and their parent genre. Frankly? I just wanted it to be more outrageous and trashy, since I never expected it to be good. Instead, it was just... meh.

7/10

(Imma remind all the newbies that this is not unprecedented from me with hugely popular BL.)

(UPDATED source)

Pit Babe - it's time for a Trash Watch!

I had to. Well, no I didn't, but COME ON. It's like Thailand is negging me. Let's burn rubber, shall we? Burn rubbers...?

The things I had been told going in about this show:

it's about car racing (this bores me)

it stars Pavel (my BL ult bias, he is my icon for a reason)

it started as an omegaverse y-novel but the A/B/O aspects would be stripped from the BL series

it's high heat

(There some chatter about whether point 3 was a mistranslation of something the author said, but don't bother me with trifles.)

Here's a definition of omegaverse:

Omegaverse, also known as A/B/O (alpha/beta/omega), is a subgenre of speculative erotic fiction, and originally a subgenre of erotic slash fan fiction. Its premise is that a dominance hierarchy exists in humans, which are divided into dominant "alphas", neutral "betas", and submissive "omegas".[1] This hierarchy determines how people interact with one another in romantic, erotic and sexual contexts.[2] (Wikipedia)

In my experience and opinion, omegaverse archetypes and tropes are often used to strip out female characters (and The Feminine) and as a tool to excuse extreme hyper-masculine behaviors without a critical feminist lens (leading to lazy characterization). Just as heat is an excuse to get nkd quickly, A/O/B is often an excuse for taboo and dubious consent actions and behaviors. Do I get why writers/readers enjoy it? Yes I do. Do I personally like it? Not particularly. (Although there are always exceptions.)

Putting all that aside, the above represents my foundational knowledge before Pit Babe started.

Oh and that the familiar BL faces appearing in this show were follows:

Pavel Naret (aka Pavel Phoom) from 2 Moons 2 & Coffee Melody - Pavel is a fluent English speaker, a bit of a drama monger, and a motorcycle rider/car-dude, this role suits him

Nut Supanut from Oxygen & Something in My Room - has an amazing voice, his somewhat wooden acting has improved steadily since Oxygen

Pon Thanapon - one of Star Hunter's stable first seen in the Gen Y series (where he stole the appeal of an intended pair), also v good in Make a Wish, I wish he'd get a lead role as he has a likable screen presence

Pop Pataraphol from La Cuisine - he's playing the Alpha rival and I'm not convinced he's suited to this role

Michael Kiettisak from Love Sick, Oxygen, Call it What You Want, Till the World Ends - playing the comic relief this time rather than his usual tortured stoic... huh

All the rest are either fresh faces or older experienced actors. Interesting mix. They must have some money behind this.

And now, get out your marshmallows! The dumpster is on fire! Let's start the roast.

Episode 1 - Platypus, Pickles, Pavel, & other Smoking Hot Problems

This first segment told with a 4 day retrospect, because I decided to do a trash watch only after @aliceisathome said I should.

My initial reaction:

the sheer audacity of Thailand being like "PitBabe is not omegaverse" and then serving "Alpha" to us on a platter in the first sex scene is

how dare

but also

what the actual fuck is going on? what world are we living in where a/b/o is LIVE ACTION ON OUR SCREENS?

we getting heat, knotting & mpreg next?

apparently this is my reality now

I'm not sure what weird quantum time stream I've jumped into but someone was all,

yes the whole world is hella screwed, but also...

Thailand has decided live action mm fanfic is gonna win it the culture wars

and I'm beginning to think they may be right

BL is now the platypus of the film industry

4 days later:

Considering how much chatter this caused there's a part of me that wondered if it was all intentional and a marketing ploy (to say it wasn't omegaverse when obviously it is). In which case... brilliant Machiavellian tactics, production.

But Thai studios are rarely this calculated in their promo. So I think it's all accidental. But it certainly caused a raucous few days on Tumblr.

On a completely different note, Babe's house looks like it started life as a particularly inventive Olive Garden. Or is that just me?

More random thoughts:

Pavel has had work done, why honey? You were the definition of perfect.

The smell thing is great, I love stuff to do with scent and necks. If omegaverse brings this to the table, fine. But...

Being all Alpha perfect butch manly man = I do not like Babe at all, I kinda want him to be brought down a peg. (Woo... pegging!) I never like narratives that glorify the captain of the football team (side eyes Cdrama CEO romances and Love O2O), Babe better have depth and damage (forget the pegging) of some kind or his behavior will get old FAST, faster than he drives (also, forget the pegging idea)

Nut is ideal in the Beta role. I mean, that's Way's character right? We all can see that. If it's not intentional, it's a miscast. I love how soft he is as as screen presence. He's great in this part.

None of the other characters are sticking out to me yet, but I'm prepared to love the side dishes in this, please make them swoon worthy!

I'm glad they didn't hold the Charlie = trickster reveal off, I like knowing he is a double agent up front.

Finally, with respect to an adequate trash watch, I'm in a pickle.

How am I going to drink for this show when there is so much else airing on Frigay? I can't keep track, if I'm drunk.

I need a strategy for this trash fire if the puns and snark are to spout forth! (HA Fourth!)

Controlled burn?

Anygay, see you all next week.

Episode 2 - Side Dish Addiction + Second Lead Syndrome are both infecting me at once

[FYI I gotta have my backup computer to watch this so that's why Imma sometimes be delayed getting the trash out to the curb.]

3 minutes! 3 minutes in and I needed to pause and wax snarkful. (Ouch, bet that hurts. Is waxing snark similar to a Brazilian but for BL? Is that why they all so hairless in The Sign?... I digress, where was I?)

Okay so the subber said Daddy but I don't think that word means what they think it means. Because Way said simply nong paa.

Usually they'll use the English word Daddy (pronounced Dah-deee) for, ya know, Actual Daddies (tm).

Wait wait:

Calling Daddy Actual

(My dumb sci-fi loving arse will see myself out the back before I start drawing Battlestar Galactica = Pit Babe connections. TOO FAR ABL. Too far.)

Look, I like the tension in this show. It's good to set up an unlikeable Alpha dog and then immediately turn him into an underdog, makes him a bit more likable. I still don't like Babe, but now at least I'm on his side.

Charlie = cute but v sus. Fortunately for him, Babe = cute but v thick.

Everyone calls Charlie Babe's dek. Yes sounds a bit like what you think but also means kid/child and SHOULD be translated as boy in this show. Why doesn't the subber get that? They a sub...ber after all. (I'll see myself out.)

Honestly, the script writers might know what they are doing with abo but our eng sub translator sadly does NOT. I'm so glad this is coming now in my BL watching life. When my ear and knowledge of Thai is so much better than it once was. Others much be SO CONFUSED.

Snicker. They just fucking with us, but it's fun to watch the mpeg speculation abound.

File this one under: Thailand's trouble with ESL plurals and also "you should have Pavel helping with these subs" sweethearts.

Production knows entirely what it's doing with this show and its omegaverse shizz (even if the subber doesn't) and I am very much enjoying the online carnage that results.

This dumpster fire continues off screen into the blogosphere and I continue to roast things over it.

Meanwhile, hi Pon! You so adorable! When you gonna lead out a BL for us?

Is Idol Factory stealing all of Star Hunter's talent? Are they the Red Racers of the BL world? These are the questions I ask myself as I watch this.

Is that AGE GAP I smell before me?

Is the 20 yr old college kid meant for the pit boss? Cause you all know I am a slut for age gaps.

Moment of a/b/o: Jeff's fear of touch/heightened personal space would be a plot marker for "baby doesn't want Alphas close cause he smells like an omega" but of course this show it not omegaverse. Not omegaverse at all.

nuh-uh

Linguistic corner!

Lung (sounds a bit like loo) is uncle(ish) it means basically a male relation older than phi. So Alan is the oldest in the crew.

Alan calls Jeff nu (which the subber translated as boy I would have gone with cutie or little one). Nu is a diminutive affectionate term that's technically gender neutral but is most often used by/on cute girls/women. Jeff did NOT like it. Then Alan sort of dodges through pronouns/particles settling on phi for I, ger for you, and ja for a particle. This is interesting because ger & ja kinda lower his age and status into a casual sphere. Not more intimate more equal to jeff... fascinating.

I love the new "Korean" red racer, he drinks my brand of soy milk. He is now my baby snake in the grass.

Get it? Snake.

He and Babe should end up together.

The fight wasn't bad, do both actors have kickbox training in their backgrounds?

Who am I kidding, I care only about Uncle Alan and Nu Jeff now. All others are irrelevant to me.

Also...

WHERE IS A BOY FOR WAY?!!! Or a Daddy. I do not care. (Methinks nether does he.)

I am now captain of the Way Appreciation Society. Let's all find a way... to get him some dick.

Also the BTS stingers are tons of fun. Looks like the set was a blast.

Finally, and I mean this kindly. Why isn't Noh Phouluang in this? He should have been cast as Winner. Bah. I'm biased.

But one should be with Noh.

Episode 3 - Side Dishes Delux

Gayest bridge n Thailand has made its obligatory appearance.

How much do I love uncle & nu? They are SO damn cute. Also nu flustered is the best kind of nu.

I could not care less about Babe and Charlie. Except I do love the smell thing.

Way will break my heart by getting his broken. He is right tho.

Tra la la. I feel like this is a bit like KP 2.0.

Charlie is a such a princess (and ace manipulator). Good thing Babe clearly likes being buttered up.

Babe's backstory was more interesting than I expected, I didn't think we would go so far into the paranormal side of a/b/o. I like it and I hope they lean into it quite a bit more. Make it part of the plot.

Unlike the kissing thing which seems to have been gotten over rather quickly.

I gotta say I'm enjoying the corporate sponsorship jockeying and tension more than I thought I would. I'm curious as to who Jef and Charlie are working for and what their motivation is. The plot itself is keeping me intrigued and that is rare for me with BL.

So no trash talk this ep, I was largely absorbed and entertained. I didn't event need booze. Shocking behavior on my part.

#giveWayaboy2023

Episode 4 - I (who never ship) am shipping the impossible

Here’s the thing. I just want this to be a better story than it is. Right now it’s kind of like a soap opera. I don’t hate lakorn, I really don't. To Sir With Love is a glorious chewing of the diamanté scenery (completed with death glitter). But...

If this is gonna be a soap opera it needs to lean into the messy side more than the tailored high concept side. Support characters and evil needs more screen time.

Instead, right now, I don’t know where I am with this show because it doesn't know where it wants to be. I’m kind of dangling in the middle of a dirty situation. It’s uncomfortable for me, and the show feels uncomfortable for the performers. 

Also... I have questions.

Yes, of course I want to know what Charlie & Jeff are up to. Why can Jeff see the future?

But more importantly I NEED to know why Babe has a flying saucer bed?

That kind of lighting makes nobody look good, especially not at that angle. It’s very traumatic and I’m not wild about the shag rug either. I have concerns about Babe's taste. I guess is what I am saying. 

On a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT note:

There’s absolutely no chemistry to justify this, but I have decided that I am going to personally advocate for, and ship, Way and the interloping not-really-Korean. They are both sort of own-moral-code types. I have tiny crush on Kim, and Nut is the prettiest, and Way is Best Boy so there it is, I would like them to hook up, please & thank you.

#giveWay2Kim2023

Arrow guy is cute, too. Will we get to see him bone?

Is he going to be another one of the adopted alpha super-kid pets?

What the hell, throw Arrow Boy a bone! All hot boys in BLs deserve bones.

Plot thickens.

Hah.

Thickens.

(I am an immature idiot.)

Episode 5 - wait wait way-t, can arrow boy have Way?

Look, BLabies, I didn’t get any screen caps this episode because frankly there wasn’t anything worth capturing.

I guess Charlie really does love Babe? Very dramatic if idiotic saving from the burning car. But Babe has gone to the broken Alpha place of extremely unlikeablability (frankly he was almost there at the start). If I were Charles B Spectacled I would be OUT by now. 

Is that?

NO.

Don't get the plastic bowl.

No white towel sponge bath. Please kill this trope.  

I mean, it's not as bad as singing, but that's because NOTHING is as bad as singing in a Thai BL.

AND the main boys are back together.

I don’t find their relationship or Babe’s lack of senses a particularly interesting aspect of the plot.

Unless, of course, Babe is pregnant and that's why he lost his Alpha sniffer.

BUT I do love the sides.

Jeff = the introvert precog who can’t/wont do people and Alan = the extrovert people person who WANTS but doesn’t understand him. 

Were Jeff and Charlie ALSO raised by Evil Daddy MacEvilPants? 

I liked the way Arrow CEO & Way looked at each other. Way, hon, give up on Babe (he sucks) and get thyself a billionaire bf with great aim and BDE.

On a completely different note, the best thing about this show is the blooper reel. That thing with the green smoothie going down his pants was hilarious!

In conclusion, this was a green smoothie down the pants episode. I was entertained, and it’s probably gonna be good for the plot in retrospect, but it was kind of squishy and unpleasant at the time.

Episode 6 - Are they actually listening to us now? Is Tumblr bugged?

This was a fun ep full of like actual racing and shizz.

Whatever.

Charlie is on the team now. All the teams, apparently.

Can we talk about Jeff and Alan?

The apology scene! Did you hear that Alan dropped to chan/ger? Eeeee!!! So cute. (He equalized their relationship in a soft way.)

Get it with that language play hottie. Next up: lengua play.

Please & thank you. 

Meanwhile, as all of the Internet knows, they went fully in for omegaverse - no bars.

I have to say, one of the greatest typos (or whatever) in existence is enigma instead of omega.

That's where I personally would rank in the omegaverse.

Hello, my gender is... enigma.

 Apparently it's a/b/o and sometimes e!  Also sometimes switch-ee 

Oh I'm very proud of myself with that one.

Funfunfun

Charlie. Babes. When a man asks to be thrown up against the wall. You throw him against that wall.

OMG is that arrow boy looking at Way in the bar?

3 seconds later.

Noooo.

Wait come back.

Noooooo.

That’s what I actually want to watch! 

OMG. Who said nu was the first step to teelak?

I flipping love Alan. 

Ah the boyfriend ep. Thank you, but I still don't trust Charlie.

Poor Way.

But nice crying jag, and I don’t say that often in Thai BL.

Now let him go, Way.

A boy with his arrows is waiting. 

(source)

Note for the future: tumblr has a bug that stops allowing edits after a certain time/number, thus my full trash often occur in 2 segments as a result. Click on the "abl trash watches bl" tag for the full thing if you're reading this and later episodes are missing.