#but also i only have 10 eps left and that's so sad

[uwuspaceboy]

sooooooo i watched 6 episodes of shameless today haha so anyways here are my thoughts on 10x9-11x2

the wedding was real cute i love these fuckups

lip relapse nooooo!!!!!!!!!!!! genuinely that was so heartbreaking i'm glad he very quickly realized it was a mistake and got to a meeting with brad

prediction (that i've had for a while but not sure if i've said here) i really think frank is going to die at the end of the season and the final episode will be his funeral and i'm gonna cry so hard no one tell me if i'm right but just know

debbie and sandy milkovich kinda slay but omg gallaghers stop getting with milkoviches challenge

liam you're so cute and i love u keep grifting bud

the whole ian/mickey monogamy, wait i spelled monogamy wrong!, yeah i'm going to lip's house teehee thing was pretty funny

also the season 11 opener of frank saying what's going on major callback to season 1 opening scene ugh i love it

ian telling mickey he wouldn't mind having a couple little kiddos running around before getting married was really sweet, also mickey does have a kid somewhere but i don't think svetlana's ever coming back with him whoops sorry

carl the sicko becoming a cop not what i would of expected but it does make sense i'll give them that

the whole debbie/milf/julia thing was crazy that's all i'll say on that

mickey being a bridezilla not what i would've expected but he it is a well documented fact that he is a brat tho so

ian and mickey's communication problems being a problem in their marriage! who would have thought! but seriously please just sit down and talk to each other just have a whole episode just be them sitting down and talking to each other

yeah mickey's never gonna get a "real" job but like ian threw a tantrum about mickey softening up too much when he was being ian's nurse early in his illness so what you just want him to switch up now?

i think that's all i've got for now but you know i'll be yapping again the second a new thought pops up into my head so

[em-harlsnow]

the ages of shameless characters does nothing but drive me crazy, so I'm activating some detective skills to figure them out throughout the seasons. also - im ignoring the years or times that the seasons came out, just going by what the show says.

First off: Mickey - bday is 10 August 1994

Season 1: 16, because...

he's not in it much, he doesn't speak much, but we know two things - he's a teenager and he's under 18 since he goes to juvie. He's in juvie for some part of three seasons, so I think it's safe to put him at 16.

Season 2: 16 for a bit, then 17, because....

it's now summer, and Mickey comes out of juvie. I think he turns 17 that summer, because when he goes back in, people are wearing coats more so I assume it's getting colder, so it's past august.

Season 3: 17 for half, 18 for the other half, because...

it's summer at the start, so Mickey's been in juvie for like 6/7 months. he's still 17, because he didn't go to prison at any point. by the time he marries Svetlana, I think he's 18. I don't know how old you have to be to get married in Illinois, but I'll say 18 because American laws confuse me more than anything else. either way, again, people are wearing warmer clothes around the time he marries her, so he must be 18.

Season 4: 18, because...

it's winter, the whole way through. There's no way it's the next year, since Ian is still underage according to Mickey (altho there's a possibility he meant under the drinking age of 21, but I don't think so). So Ian's been gone for a few months, maybe like 5 since it could be Jan/Feb and he must have left Autumn time. Therefore, Mickey's 18. The whole time. Summer hasn't come, so his birthday hasn't passed.

Season 5: 19, because....

it's summer for the first part. Late summer, since the last half is in wintery time based on everyone's coats. We can assume that Mickey has his birthday either between season 4 and 5 or right at the beginning of season 5. So maybe he's 18 for like 5 seconds. But for the majority and the end, he must be 19.

Season 6: 19/20, because...

he's only in it for one scene (diabolical). I can't tell what the season is really, because there aren't many coats being worn at the start, and then loads at the end. It seems unreasonable that a whole spring and summer have been skipped, doesn't it? although, maybe it's possible. There are also some days when it seems really hot and some where it looks cold, so I have no idea. I don't know what the weather's like in Chicago, sorry. So he's either 19 or 20 when we see him. Most likely 20. Either way, he went into prison when he was 19, unless the trial was really long and lasted from winter to august, which I doubt.

Season 7: 21 (when he appears), because...

we have two episodes (again, very sad). it starts in the summer based on the t-shirts without jackets everyone wears. by the time ep 10 and 11 hit, it's colder. it's hard to tell at the end, since they're at the border or approaching the border and the further south you go the hotter it gets, and it's very sunny when mickey goes across. If season 6 really is that winter and they skipped the summer (which now makes more sense), it's the following summer, going into autumn. so, august has probably passed by the time we see mickey. so he's 21 now.

Season 8: 21, 22 by the end (even tho we don't see him), because...

no mickey (rude). we can still assume his age based on the seasons and other characters. it's summer again! I'm guessing it's the year after?? since it looked like season 7 was approaching autumn? that also means Ian and Trevor were dating for around a year, and I didn't realise it was so long to be honest. anyway, if it's summer again, at some point throughout mickey turns 22 (alone, in Mexico).

Season 9: 23, because...

one scene with mickey! it's still summer, the same summer as before I think, because there's no way the Gay Jesus thing lasted a full year. it looks like it's a direct continuation from season 8. by the last ep, Ian is wearing a hat and an undershirt under the prison uniform, so it's autumn-y time. so, mickey's either already 23 when we see him, or about to turn 23. by the end, he's definitely 23.

Season 10: 23 at the start, 24 by the end, because...

it's summer when Ian comes out of prison. I'd put it at early summer, since Ian says it's been less than a year of being in prison. so at the start, mickey's still 23. by the wedding, it's 'supposed to snow', so I guess it's full on winter. so august is passed, mickey is 24, and finally had his bday when he's with Ian.

Season 11: 24 at the start, 25 at the end, because...

summer again at the start based on all the t-shirts. early summer, because by ep 10, mickey goes swimming or does something in the pool, because I'm not convinced he can swim, which you aren't gonna do in the autumn/winter, right? by the last ep, there are more coats, and it's their anniversary so it's 'supposed to snow', so it must be winter time. so he's 24 at the start, 25 at the end.

In conclusion, Mickey is way younger than he seems (im not talking about Noel, he looks the age he's meant to be, he just seems older). Also, Gallavich has been together for 9 years.

Let me know if you disagree with any of this, I think I'll do Ian next! I don't know if this was obvious to everyone else and I'm just slow, but this is gonna help me loads when I'm figuring out weather seasons and ages for fics lol.

Shameless needs to deal with its shitty timelines. It was much better at consistency in the earlier seasons.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Well... at lease we have Wandee & Stand-in?

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

May 2024 Wk 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

Wandee Godday (Sat YT) ep 4 of 12 - The geept is strong with this one AKA Yak CAN flirt. Wandee now knows he isn’t the only one with a crush on someone else. AND YET they are SO DAMN CUTE together. I do wonder sometime if Yak is running a counter con with Dee pretending to have a crush on Taem. Meanwhile, mad props on the HPV vax public service! Good for them!!! Now that's my kind of product placement. I do have a feeling the sad bit with these two is gonna be VERY sad and last longer than we like. 

My Stand-In (Thai Fri iQIYI) ep 5 of 12 eps - It’s a riveting show. Pleasant? No. Riveting? Yes. Tiny crumbs for Ming’s assistant. Joe is best boy. That is all. I LOVE this show.

We Are (Weds iQIYI) ep 8 of 16 - TOO MANY SOUND EFFECTS. Omg get your fingers off those buttons you computer wanking sound dude (you know it’s a dude) what tf do you think this is? Lovely Writer? Also, they left ALL their drinks! Can you not walk and drink at the same time in a BL? Meanwhile not much happened that hadn’t already happened AKA bit of a filler ep. That said, the friendship group stuff is glorious!!! Also this brand of super gentle flirting suits PondPhuwin better than any of their prior rolls. It reminds me of how much I think they suit a historical. There is a gentle dignity to these two. 

Only Boo! (Sun YouTube) ep 7 of 12 - I love how kindly the turn down was. But most of the dancing stuff was dull. I don’t know I just find the actor playing Kang pretty vacant of appeal I guess. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

At 25:00 in Akasaka AKA 25 Ji Akasaka de (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 6 of 10 - As is not uncommon with JBL I’m being to get frustrated with Yuki the Uke. Sigh. I’m probably gonna stay that way for several episodes given the pacing of this show. 

Living With Him AKA Kare no Iru Seikatsu (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 7 of 10 - Also frustrating. Willful misunderstanding. We got us some running of the gays but boy is this drawn out. 

Blossom Campus (Korea Thurs Gaga & iQIYI) ep 3-4 of 6 - The puppy is a bit too much sunshine innocent for me. And the professor is a bit creepy. I don't know, I'm not loving this one like I want to.

It's airing but...

You Made My Day (Thai YT) ep 1 of 5 - mini series staring the I Will Knock You couple Tar & Bom, started but I couldn't find it. I also didn't try very hard.

The Time of Fever AKA Unintentional Love Story 2 (Korea movie) trailer released to Korean theaters 5/25. HoTae & DongHee, side couple from Unintentional Love Story are back! Same actors, same character names. I love them. I NEED TO SEE THIS. How?

OMG Vampire (Thai Sun ????) ep 2 of 10 - yeah I can't find it.

In case you missed it

Crossing my fandoms moment, major Kpop blog ran the following: OMEGA X Hangyeom Talks Jazz For Two, Brotherhood, And More With KpopStarz

Tis the season of remakes? Both Addicted Heroin (August, my love!) and My Love Mix-Up (G4!) are coming from Thailand. I am very excited to see both. I love a Thai remake, often more than the original.

Next Week Looks Like This:

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.

May Releases

VBL (Taiwan) is releasing 4 'Special Episode' epilogues to their 4 2023 shows every Friday this month on Gagaoolala, Viki & Viu. Not sure on search terms or how to find these. (Or, frankly, if we need them.)

5/10 – You Are Mine

5/17 – VIP Only

5/24 – Stay By My Side

5/31 – Anti Reset

5/28 My Biker 2 (Thai movie YT?) - trailer

5/30 Knock Knock Boys (Thai Thurs WeTV & Gaga) - I do love Best and I'm interested in seeing him in a new pairing. That said, I'm not wild about Seng. Still, this looks like a chaotic pulpy mess, I'm looking forward to wallowing in it one way or another.

5/31 The Time of Huannan (Taiwan movie) - May not be BL

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

All Wandee Gooday.

Icky no longer allows screen shots or there would have been a bunch from Stand-in.

(Last week)

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

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

Sigh, Tumblr in it's infinate wisdom doesn't like too many tags.

There's these tricks, remember:

[googledetective]

my thoughts about the new drdt episode...

I want to start off that this episode has not left me in a great mental state and this piece of fiction is starting to effect my reality in a negative way, currently. I do suffer from mental health issues, so please be sympathetic. If something I say seems too emotional or a bit off, that's likely why. My therapist will be hearing about drdt, lol. No hate towards drdt, it's an amazing project, and I'm amazed at how the piece of fiction is able to make me react in such a way.

1. I am not educated on ASPD or anything like that, so if I say something wrong feel free to correct me. I had a feeling that Levi likely had it from his secret, but this is a cool confirmation. I like that this is represented in a really great way, and that the reactions to his confessions are also very realistic. I like Levi a lot, but now I understand him so much more, and it makes me really appreciate him.

2. I find it interesting how Levi is so detached, as Veronika said, to everything. Even if I was not capable of remorse, I would've remembered killing my own father. I wonder what his father did to be so looked down upon.

2.5. OKAY SO HES KINDA JUST LIKE ME FR. like I stated previously I've had some bad mental health issues in the past to the point I've kicked windshields of cars in and attacked people. It is not my proudest moment, but holy shit I can relate to this a lot. It makes me so good to see someone who's done shit like I've done who's trying to change.

3. Ace really did care about Levi and considered him a friend, which warmed and broke my heart at the same time. I really hope Ace finds another friend, because he deserves to feel some comfort and joy. I hope he learns about Levi's ASPD and realizes Levi has no malicious intent towards him. I find it nice that Ace did really trust and look up to Levi though, it proves him capable of friendship and deeper feelings that people usually overlook. Great complex character.

4. I was shocked that Levi sided with David, but honestly I do too. David is a good person, and we see that later in the ep where he doesn't tell Eden what Arei said.

5. J CALLED OUT HU??? UNEXPECTED. called her a stupid argument moderator. Interesting. I love you J, but watch it.

6. Veronika's secret isn't the worst thing she's ever done- interesting. I think it could be the thing she's the most ashamed of, but you never know. It really breaks my heart for Hu, and I hope we get a backstory on her soon.

I'm coming back after point 14 and adding this: these secrets don't seem to be any of the worst things they've ever done, nor relevant to the killing game (besides "Xander's"). These secrets are personal. I think they each have worse secrets but they are too related to the killing game so they couldn't give those out.

7. Excuse you, David. Freaky ass.

8. that is NOT Teruko's secret 😭😭😭

9. This is seriously rich coming from J, as she usually escalates the situation.

10. Eden's monologue broke my heart. I am so glad David lied to her at the end, or I think Eden's heart would've been broken. This just makes me so sad.

11. "That maybe there would be a world in which we would be friends." I'm sure there would be, since your fans have created worlds that you're dating her.

12. Arei needs to genuinely shut up. This is where I get very upset and irrational. I am so fucking mad at Arei for lying to Eden. For the rest of Eden's life she's going to be wondering what she could've done or if her friendship was enough. Why the fuck would you lie and say you believed you could change, only to come back and admit you know you can't. My heart breaks for Arei though, because I believe she could've changed. This especially makes me so upset because as a previously bad person who relates to Arei and tries to change, I feel like I'm going to give up hope to do so too. Obviously I gotta overpower and not let fiction effect my reality, but it really hurts.

13. Arei's worldview that nobody is a good person mirrors David's (though David excludes Xander). Makes me really sad. I can hope, but there's really no hope left.

14. Well we know who attacked Xander (what the actual fuck). I hope we learn how that ties in later. Eden's hidden quote, "you can never go back, no matter how hard you try." maybe it's referring to this incident instead of the situationship with her friends in the past.

15. Love this.

16. WE HAD A JRUKO MOMENT!!! So happy about this!!!

17. Why the actual fuck does Whit know so much about how that hanging mechanism would work. You're making yourself look so suspicious. High and low were highlighted, which was interesting.

18. Whit said this murder would've been hard if Arei wasn't a willing victim. If she was, this just makes this case even more tragic. She may have convinced herself to give up hope and cooperated with the killer, which pains me a lot. I think this was due to David's secret.

19. I love the carousel bit! And the banter between Arturo and Whit. They had banter last trial too, so that's a continuation. Maybe they'll have a confrontation in the future.

20. NICO FUCKED BRO

21. At this point my only logical conclusion of who I think the killer could be is J.

22. Everyone is bringing up Ace's friend- Taylor! It's seriously throwing me for a loop bc that's my name!

ENDING:

To clarify, I think it's sad that Arei believes she can't change and even started doubting Eden.

[its-chelisey-stuff]

everybody's favorite scene was the ending (and I mean, what a cliffhanger!! is it saturday yet???) but my heart stayed here and some of my tears Also, the way he looks at her this whole scene aaaaaaahhhhh I'm melting!

so many what-ifs, so much things left unsaid over the years, misunderstandings piling up, so much resentment! ouch! it just hurts so much but at least they're finally having this conversation and hey, better late than never.

I love their opinions on what has happened, because it highlights their insecurities and biggest regrets. HyunWoo wishes he would have done better in their marriage, knows he's at fault. While HaeIn wishes they never married, so they could've prevented all the pain both of them went through, especially HyunWoo. He doesn't want to hear it, because for him there's only been one woman. And for her, there's only been one man, too. But now she knows how alone and miserable he felt fo so long, he wanted to divorce her.

I have come to appreciate and love Hyunwoo a lot more than I did at the beginning. It was easy for me to hate him right away because of the way he conducted himself and the things he did. But the guy was on autopilot, survival mode and just like he said, he'd forgotten what was important. Dislike, resentment and indifference took over.

!!!!! So obsessed by how this implies he would've been still thinking of her, even if they broke up, always wondering about the what-if. He believes she wouldn't have done the same (and this is clearly her fault lol my queen is not without flaws) but it wouldn't have been like that at all. She was as obsessed, and we know she still believed (or wanted to) in the strenght of her marriage even when it was already crumbling down. *Sighs* They're just so stupid.

I look at this man that we have now on ep 10, and realize just how much he's changed back to the man who married HaeIn, completely in love. The man who chased her, confessed to her and promised to take care of her and her family if it was necessary (oh dear, I never thought that'd be a foreshadowing) and even after divorcing, he stays true to his word.

Aaaaah it's just so sad, and so regretful, but they both were such idiots about it. So childish too, in a way. I get that they were angry and dealing with loss (btw the miscarriage started this, but then little by little misunderstandings started piling up... it was death by a thousand cuts) but they should have fought harder for their marriage. Fight for each other, even while upset. Hate is not the opposite of love, it's indiference.

Despite everything, Hyunwoo took the Hong family to his hometown and gave them shelter, food and a place to sleep. Warmth. The very warmth he didn't get to experience in three years of marriage, living with them. But it doesn't matter, because while I know he is doing this for HaeIn, it's also for them. He sees them as family. And I mean, to be fair, they also gave him a job with a big salary, a big house, expensive getaways with the family and they trusted him with a LOT of legal shit. Not to mention, the italian suits and the Mercedez Benz lol

In times like this, I really really hate her terminal illness and find it so unncessary lol Because they can take back Queens, put EunSeong behind bars and his crazy mother or whatever. They can still fix their relationship. But if her time is indeed running out, it makes all the more tragic all that time they lost. And it would be horrible if at the end, HaeIn dies. So unfair, as well. Because then, what was all this for?

[miss0atae]

Century of Love : Good ideas, Good acting, Meh ending (EP 9 – 10)

I'm again late to the party. We’ve finally reached the end of Century of Love. It wasn’t a series I thought I would enjoy, but I was pleasantly surprised. I’m glad I was convinced by others to watch it. Again I have to admit how great it is sometimes to have found really interesting people’s blogs to read here on Tumblr. It can sometimes make you see something in a different light. You will always find so many different views. Sometimes you’ll agree with them and sometimes you won’t see the same things as them. However, it’s always interesting. That’s the beauty of any work of fiction: you’ll always have something to say about them and it’s not the same for everybody. This time I won’t develop one point from the series. I’ll focus on a summary of what I feel about it.

Things I really liked about it:

◾ The story itself was interesting. Reincarnation mixed with Chinese mythology to have a BL story in Lakorn style. Century of Love used the Lakorn formula to offer something different among all the great QL series we got this year. I also believe it was good that the story didn’t really give us a proper answer on who was the real reincarnation of Vad / Wat. It lets the viewers to decide what he prefers. The only thing to keep in mind is that it’s better to let the past stay in the past and to fully live in the present. That’s the only way to love and to be loved.

◾ We had great characters too even if sometimes some of them were a bit too much for me. I guess it’s because some were classic Lakorn characters (New Vad / Wat was a perfect example of this. She was just too much at the end). However, two characters got my heart in this series. Firstly, I would say Vee was my favorite character. I like how he was a combination of cheeky, playful and loyal. You just wanted him to find a cure for his grand-ma and to charm this handsome grumpy youthful-looking grand-pa. My second favorite character was Third, who played the childhood friend doctor of Vee. He was supposed to be the reincarnation of Lord Trai the ex-fiancé of Vad / Wat who killed her. However, in this time, Third has only been an ally to the main couple, even if he had feelings for Vee. He was there when San and Vee needed him. He never shy away from telling the hard truth and I’m glad he wasn’t just here to create a rift between San and Vee. I hope Tao and him get to have their own little romance.

◾ I was also impressed by Offroad and Daou's acting. I have to admit I never understood why people liked them before. I wasn't a fan of their boys band (LAZ1) and I didn't like their previous series, Love In Translation. I tried hard to get into it, but never felt the hype. However, here in Century of Love, I really liked them. Their acting was good and they would engage you to root for their characters. The chemistry between them is quite good and it makes you believe in the romance of their characters. Now, I'll be more interested in any other series they may do. Let me add too that I find Offroad really handsome. His smile is so pretty.

◾ The goddess had a really nice sense of humor. She must have had fun. Good for her!

Things I didn’t like:

◾ It's quite common in QL series especially Thai QL series, but I didn't really like the end. I'm glad Vee and San got their happy ending because I would have been really sad if they didn't get it. However, I felt like the end was rushed to fit the 10 episodes they were given. I also didn't like how San made this stupid move to not tell Vee the truth about how he saved him. Instead of thinking together of a solution, he left and let him deal by himself with the loss of his grand-ma, but also his disappearance. This was dumb and it seemed so out of character for San to let someone he loves suffering alone.

◾ I felt like they didn’t handle well new Vad / Wat appearance. It’s like they didn’t know if they wanted to make her a villain or a side-kick. Hence, she was stuck in this role where you wanted to root for her, but also where you were annoyed by some of her actions. I felt like she could have been better used by the story. I also saw how many viewers seemed to like her. They should have make something of it. I admit it was interesting that she didn’t have the same personality like the previous incarnation of Vad / Wat (just like Third wasn’t Trai). I don’t know I just wished for more from her.

◾ The five colored-stone power and the deal with the goddess made no sense after they used the stone to save Vee. We've been told San needed to have it to give it back to Vad / Wat to end his deal with the goddess. We've also been told he needed to be close to the stone to be able to not feel the pain he would always get until finding the reincarnation of his lover. However, when he gave it to Vee it shouldn't have matter. Unfortunately for him, even if he was close to Vee, he still felt the pain. Also, even if the stone reacted positively to Vee, giving it to him to save him, wasn't like ending the deal with the goddess. I wish it was because it would have avoided a needlessly complicated break up for San and Vee. The series never gave us an answer about why the rules changed suddenly.

One thing I can't explain, but felt it wasn't good enough. However, in the end it didn't matter:

◾ Let me get it straight. I created this category only to talk about Juu. I was so conflicted about this character. I have to admit I found her a bit annoying sometimes, but she was really a nice girl deep down. I felt bad not liking her as much as other. Especially as she was always trying to help the main couple to be together. Don't get me wrong, I like the actress and I feel she did a good job. I guess I forgot how young Juu is and that's why I felt like she was too much.

[adventure-showdown]

What is your favourite Doctor Who story?

The Stolen Earth/Journey's End and Day of the Doctor tied. These are the 12 stories that were closest to making it through and so have been given a second chance

ROUND 3 MASTERPOST

synopses and propaganda under the cut

The End of the World

Synopsis

The Ninth Doctor takes his new companion, Rose Tyler, to the year 5,000,000,000 to see the sun expand and destroy the Earth. The observation deck space station, Platform One, is holding an event with the richest beings of the time observing the Earth's destruction, but mysterious metal spiders gifted by the Adherents of the Repeated Meme to the other guests are secretly infiltrating and sabotaging the station.

Propaganda no propaganda submitted

Father’s Day

Synopsis

Pete Alan Tyler, the father of Rose and husband of Jackie, died on 7 November 1987, the day of Stuart Hoskins and Sarah Clark's wedding. Rose was just a baby at the time, Jackie told the young Rose that nobody was there for Pete when he died and that the hit-and-run driver was never found...

Propaganda no propaganda submitted

The Runaway Bride

Synopsis

Killer Santas, exploding baubles, an alien spaceship shaped like a giant star — Christmas with the Tenth Doctor is anything but a silent night...

Propaganda no propaganda submitted

Gridlock

Synopsis

The Tenth Doctor takes Martha Jones to New Earth, in the far future, only to find that the entire city has become a deadly trap.

Propaganda no propaganda submitted

The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End

Synopsis

When Earth and twenty-six other planets are stolen and taken to the Medusa Cascade and the Doctor is nowhere in sight, it's up to the combined forces of UNIT, Torchwood, Sarah-Jane and Rose to fight off the thieves, who only have one thing to say to the resistance: "EX-TER-MIN-ATE!"

Propaganda

I will never get over the woman who thinks she's nothing being the most important person in the universe, and the huge loss she suffered immediately after. So bright and so dark at the same time. So much happiness and so much sadness. Excellently done 10/10 (NikMONSTER)

The Eleventh Hour

Synopsis

After a literally explosive regeneration, the brand new Eleventh Doctor survives a crash-landing to Earth. However, he has little time to recover. With a mysterious crack in a little girl's wall and a missing alien prisoner, the Doctor is in for an adventure. However, with the TARDIS damaged and the sonic screwdriver destroyed, can the Doctor capture the rogue alien before its jailers burn Earth to a crisp?

Propaganda

Omg i love this ep so much.  It was the absolute perfect way to introduce the new doctor to the show; Matt had some big shoes to fill after David but he did so perfectly in this episode.  All of the other doctors I had to get used to, and I especially thought I’d have to following my fav ten, but i immediately fell in love with 11 with this episode. I also feel like this was a great plot overall and I loved both Amy and Rory in it. (@lavenderlace16 )

The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone

Synopsis

The enigmatic River Song hurtles back into the Eleventh Doctor's life, but she's not the only familiar face returning — the Weeping Angels are back! Following River's calling card, the Doctor is recruited to help track down the last of the Angels, which has escaped from the Byzantium starliner and into the terrifying Maze of the Dead.

Propaganda no propaganda submitted

Amy’s Choice

Synopsis

It has been five years since Amy Pond last travelled with the Eleventh Doctor. However, when he arrives by accident and they have a reunion, Amy is left questioning what is real. Is she actually living with her husband Rory in Leadworth, 2015, or is she still travelling with Rory and the Doctor in the TARDIS? Which is real and which is fake? Dream or reality? Only one thing is clear: it's Amy's choice.

Propaganda no propaganda submitted

The Doctor’s Wife

Synopsis

The Eleventh Doctor receives a message from an old Time Lord friend. The message brings him, Rory Williams and Amy Pond to another universe where they meet an alien who eats TARDISes.

Propaganda no propaganda submitted

The Girl Who Waited

Synopsis

The Eleventh Doctor, Rory Williams and Amy Pond land on Apalapucia in the middle of a plague. Amy is left behind, and the Doctor and Rory must save her...but time for Amy is running at a different speed.

Propaganda no propaganda submitted

The God Complex

Synopsis

The Eleventh Doctor, Amy, and Rory investigate a hotel of horror where repeat business is low but the body count is high, where a mighty monster stalks the corridors and the rooms hold visions of angels, apes, and creepy clowns. Who — or what — has brought them to this place? Can the Doctor solve the mystery before the residents check out in grisly style?

Propaganda no propaganda submitted

The Day of the Doctor

Synopsis

The Doctors embark on their greatest adventure in this 50th-anniversary special. In the 21st century, something terrible is awakening in London's National Gallery; in 1562, a murderous plot is afoot in Elizabethan England; and somewhere in space, an ancient battle reaches its devastating conclusion. All of reality is at stake as the Doctor's own dangerous past comes back to haunt him.

Propaganda no propaganda submitted

[alloftheimaginesblog]

spoilers for TUA s4 (spoiler: it's not good)

i've loved the umbrella academy for a long time. my chemical romance is my favourite band, gerard way who's the lead singer created the umbrella academy so u bet ur ass i had the graphic novels when i was young. i love that man so course i had them. i enjoyed them but really loved the tv show

season one - excellent season two - pretty great, some minor faults but overall i really enjoyed s2 season three - had some strong moments, was overall 'good' season four - ???? what the fuck man

s4 did the trope that i despise. the same trope that xmen days of future past did and kind of deadpool v wolverine. the whole 'we're changing the timeline so none of this actually happened!' bullshit. i hate that shit man sucks

s4 destroyed characters - diego deserved better and he was written as a joke. diego and lila deserved so much better.

lila/five - wtf man, that shits as uncomfortable and left field as allison/luther

ben's whole arc was pointless. he died a monster. never got any closure. jennifer was 2d and pointless.

gene and jean were pretty shit - the premise was good but i truly think because of the condensed season (6 eps compared to 10) it was rushed and just... shit

i don't mind the ending that they all died right, i always kind of assumed that's how theywould die - theyd sacrifice themselves or something - but to erase the timeline and the handler gets a happy ending?? nah man, make it make sense

and luther - where is sloan? where's his wife? why did everyone just forget about her? also why when he got his powers back was he half monkey again when that was human experimentation?? confusion

allison - why did ray leave? why only one mention and then never spoken about again? her arc felt pretty pointless

klaus/viktor - i felt his arc and viktor's was probably the best out the lot but still not great

reggie - meh

five - HATED it. the boy who spent DECADES trying to get back to his family suddenly delays going home for 5 MONTHS??? all because lila? nah.

overall, i just didn't like it. it's like game of thrones and how i met your mother - final seasons that absolutely destroyed everything the previous seasons built up. just not good. it lacked fun, spunk and just lacked everything. ben dies a fucking monster, diego dies hating five (and vice versa), ben never gets to say goodbye, klaus never knows how ben truly died (don't get me started on that bs cause wouldn't ben's ghost have mentioned that to klaus during the early seasons????)

shit and i am so sad about it

(i do not blame gerard way, he's perfect, i'm just sad about the direction the show took)

[fandoomrants]

Finally, tua s4, ep 6 thoughts.

(I did write it, even tho I'm not too happy!)

(Might share overall opinion of the show tomorrow, or might keep my silence forever...)

Heads up, spoilers

-Oh, finally a longer episode. Only 10-15 minutes but eh....

-I kinda feel like we won't get all the answers to the questions still unanswered.

-Or well, the questions I had, at least.

-Ok but what are they expecting with this Cleanse?! Return the timeline?? Which one??

-Also, good think for once it's not Viktor ending the world..

-Ew, is that Ben's face?!

-Is Reginald aware what his wife is up to?

-Diego and Luther are dressed ridiculously 😬😬

-Hurts me to listen to Diego speak about Lila so lovingly....

-Good that Luther is gonna dress 😬😬

-"Monkey legs" 😬😬

-"Gene" and Reginald arguing 😬😬 So obvs he has no idea.

-Oh, nooo, it is Ben!

-And now "Gene" and Jean arguing.

-Ok, this escalated quickly...

-Oh, ok, Five and Lila finally returned...

-Oh, so Five is aware it's only been hours...

-Awkwarddd reunionnn.

-I'm kinda sad for Five but I'm also still mad about what happened...

-Klaus casually sharing being digged out from a grave...

-Lila so happy to see Allison, lol.

-Smart move from Viktor with the "tattoo"!

-I feel like Reggie is still gonna betray him, thoo.

-Why do I feel like this season is much more gore-y?

-Ouch. Ben looks....bad 😬😬 Jennifer isn't better either.

-Oh, Ben suddenly didn't mean to yell? Since when?

-Oh, great, the family is fighting again...

-And Diego saw the bracelet....

-Klaus, Allison and Luther watching the whole thing as if it's some TV drama 😬😬

-Yeah, Klaus, nobody saw that one coming...

-Not the kind repeating the word 😂😂😂😂

-NGL, wondered the same, tho.

-I mean, it really is unbelievable...

-Also, can't believe this is happening in front of EVERYONE. Kids, family, etc.

-Five's eyes say he actually loves her...

-"Hey, stupid grown ups". True!

-Indeed father of the year...

-Oh, no.

-Oh, great, Diego's car is just like mine 😬😬😬

-"Seriously", indeed.

-Why do I feel like if someone's gonna die, it might be Viktor? :/ (Ben probably too but not because of the shooting)

-What was that random... Memory or sth??

-Someone could have stopped this bullet. (Ahem, Diego).

-"They might still be alive in there...."

-Aw, Allison helping Viktor!

-I was just wondering what happened with Lila's eye lasers...

-Don't fight now, idiots..

-Luther, what are you thinking.... (I've honestly wondered this for 4 seasons...)

-I think the more they attack it, the more it grows...

-Wtf, Five just left?!?

-Hope he'll come back!

-Klaus sliding!

-Is Five finally gonna go back and fix things?!

-"Time to face the inevitable", tbh, fair. It's not like they didn't do this.

-"Gene", acting all romantic 😂😂😂

-She shouldn't have removed the... Skin?

-It would have made the scene hilarious!

-Well, she's right. She died because she had to, look what happened now...

-Tbh, she didn't make it "right", destroying the world...

-Wait, this isn't gonna be the actual end, right?!? There's like, half an hour more! Can't be half an hour of Five moping...

-Oh, so many Fives...

-"We did!"

-Ok, so what, they never save the world...

-Not that I didn't expect it but...

-Ok, at least the Comission thing is explained...

-I believe in this Five succeeding!!!

-So what, they gotta die or sth....? Or like, not exist?

-I mean, at this point.... Everything is to shit so....

-Well, it's true, Lila can't go...

-Yeah, what's he doing there?

-Oh, good she walked out...

-Love how they shut Luther down, lol.

-Bruhhhh, Viktor, they barely cared for you as a family...

-They were always together in the end, tho...

-Klaus was right! 😅

-Oh, well.... We did see some familiar faces in the end....

[psychdiarys]

Only Friends Ep 10: Brief Thoughts on All the Pairs

SandRay:

"Sand, please understand me. Being with me requires patience."

They absolutely NAILED this episode! The way they handled the progression of Sand and Ray's scenes was so satisfying for me. I mean, I'm aware that Sand and Ray had their fair share of issues in previous episodes, but let's put all of that aside because this episode was about Sand's efforts to get Ray the help he needs.

From Sand's initial attempts to persuade Ray to go to rehab, the adorable flirting between them, to Ray testing Sand's courage (revealing his truth to his dad) without ACTUALLY making him to do it – it was all brilliantly executed.

And I couldn't help but CHEER when Ray tossed his bottles into the trashcan. LIKE THAT'S MY MAN! The entire confrontation between them after Ray discovered that his dad paid Sand to take him to rehab was SO intense. I CRIED. Like it's definitely one of, if not the best scenes, from this show.

FirstKhao's performance really touched me deeply, and Ray's emotional monologue in rehab at the end was incredibly heart-wrenching. It was a realization that Sand had been there for him all along without expecting anything in return. I must say, they executed this episode exceptionally well!

BostonNick:

"I'm nasty too. Don't we deserve each other?"

BostonNick has always been my favorite OF pair, hands down. Their dynamic can literally be summed up with, "Don't we deserve each other?"

Because, yes! Like people portray Nick as a pitiable victim of Boston's manipulation, who lacks self-respect, but it's FAR MORE COMPLEX. Nick isn't just a sad heartbroken loser. He's also a nasty person, as he admits.

Both of them have engaged in toxic behavior and done hurtful things, but deep down, they are just human. The reason Nick keeps returning to Boston, despite attempting to move on, is his pure love and understanding of Boston, a connection that no one else shares.

Nick has gone to great lengths, stooped really low, to attain Boston. So obviously, he cannot judge or punish Boston for the terrible things he does. Because they're equally deranged, your honour! Nick GETS Boston. And that's what moves Boston, especially because friends simply abandoned him without giving him a chance. They didn't even try to hear him out when he tried to defend himself. They all left. But Nick? Nick came back! Even after everything! Even after promising he won't!

Nick is the only one willing to give him another chance and risk it all for him! This sets Nick apart in Boston's life because Boston struggles with love & hurts people, but Nick is the one who believes Boston deserves love.

And damn, are they perfect for each other? Boston using the same method Nick originally used to seduce him in the first episode, a photo on his phone, to win Nick back? Delicious. Boston admitting that he doesn't take good care of things he owns? Nick saying that some things can't be replaced? Lovely metaphor game.

And then the rooftop scene. Obviously, both are trying to grow and become better, but it's clear that change doesn't happen overnight. Despite Nick promising he'd never show up in front of Boston again, he ends up on the rooftop with him. And Boston, who's trying to be more responsible with what he cares about, still attempts to act like he doesn't care when Nick arrives. Their personalities haven't suddenly transformed; they're simply trying to become better versions of themselves.

Boston slowly lowers his guard and decides to be vulnerable. And what actually flipped the switch for Nick is Boston admitting that he misses him, the first time Boston genuinely expresses something akin to love for Nick. And then all hell breaks loose. For the first time, they make love, not just fuck. Ugh, they stole the show.

TopMew:

"You won't believe anything I say right now. But I will prove it to you."

I'm sooo sorry, but for some reason, TopMew have never resonated with me. I think it's because they've never had a truly sincere connection?

Initially, Top was interested in Mew simply to "try" being with a virgin, which is why he pursued Mew. He eventually develops real feelings for Mew, but by this point, Mew is unsure if Top's intentions are genuine. Mew tests if Top meets all his "criteria" or not. When Top finally "checks all those boxes" & Mew finally starts to trust him, Top ends up cheating on him. And now that Top is trying to win Mew back, Mew seems to be using Boeing as a way to teach him a lesson.

Their entire relationship feels like a game where each one is trying to gain the upper hand over the other. The "3-month dating rule" almost feels like a challenge. Initially, Mew plans not to sleep with Top for at least 3 months to see if Top can commit. Now, Top is attempting to prove that he can sustain a relationship for more than 3 months. Their storyline is honestly the worst for me.

I'm not suggesting that they don't have feelings for each other, but I don't find their dynamic enjoyable, and I'm not convinced they should end up together. I don't know if that'll change?

[kajaono]

Why Douglas leaving doesn't mean we will see a drop in quality

I see many people worrying that Douglas leaving will effect the quality of the show, in a negative way.

I would like to take Shadowhunters as an example. Here the showrunner changed after season 1. Todd Slavkin, who took over the psotion, then functioned as a showrunner, co-producer and writer. So i think it is fair we now pretend its kind of the same as a change of the director. One main role of a director is: "They collaborate with actors, read and develop scripts, and motivate the cast and crew to deliver their best performances. They also make critical decisions regarding set locations, budget management, and artistic execution."

This means the show can go downhill with a wrong director. Unmotivated crew, shit locations, rejected script, wrongly managed budget... or it can also have a positive impact.

In Shadowhunters Todd Slavkin sweet talked Freeform and Netflix to give the show 22 eps instead of 10 eps, and got rid of a lot of bad CGI, costumes and lightning.

Costumes:

Swords:

You get my point.

You may say: But GO is already perfect. How could a new director make it even better?" Well I also don't think they will, but they can add their own vision to it. That doesn't mean it has to be bad. Just different.

But will we like those changes?

Well... i can not answer this question, but remeber that the course of season 3 is already set. Jesus 2.0, Zombies (?), Supreme Arc Angel Aziraphael, a garden, the cottage. And Neil is still head writer. There will be no sudden changes. They will also not cast a homophobic asshole... hey, maybe they will cast a queer person who can add their own queer accents to the story?

This show is openly queer, they will not cast someone who is against a queer version of the show.

Yes this person will handle the budget differently, they will connect with DT, MS and Neil differently, but why does that has to be bad thing? Douglas vision was amazing and I am sad he left, but there are many amazing directors out there. And just because they join later, doesn't mean they do not understand the story. See Todd, we had an amazing time with him. He even published a BTS book about his time and how friendly the fandom welcomed him. In the end he intergrated a lot of fan wishes into the show and was really open to critique of the queer community.

Why can't we have the same for GO? Why does everything has to be bad? I know we have trust issues, and i can totally understand that not knowing who will come next is scaring, but just this times I wnat you all to focus on the positive things. We are also still talking about Prime. They don't want to blow this up either.

And Neil and Terry were always so protective of GO. they made sure that only someone who understood their vision was allowed to adapt GO into a show/movie and rejected multiple offeres who felt untrue to the story. You think Neil suddenly agrees to give the story away to someone who doesn't respect it and wants to change it to something bad... more Tom Cruise like? (little joke)

And we already had a change in tone and lightning of the show.

Many liked it, some hated it. But nevertheless, it worked.

The only thing I want is that Neil does not take over Douglas position now. This show is a two person story. Terry and Neil, Douglas and Neil, Azi and Crowley.

TL.DR: The husbands are in no danger. A director change will influence the show but why does that have to be a bad thing? Neil is as protective of the show as we are. He will not suddenly give it away to someone who wants to make drastic changes or who rejects all of his script ideas.

[my-drama-heart2406]

I see so many people defending the lazy writing, and defending Naksu's arc by saying that she left being an assassin so she doesn't need to use her sword.

So I'm going to explain.

We're not sad that Naksu didn't get to use her sword (okay maybe a little sad). What we're sad about is we didn't see her using powers at all.

In season 1 Naksu was trapped in a powerless body as Mudeok. But she needed no saviour. She was no damsel in distress. She was fearless, shrewd and manipulative. She was cruel teacher who went so far as to manipulate the crown prince and all of Jeongjingak to make Jang Uk level up.

Many people are saying that she's like that because of the amnesia, so she's still bright and innocent. Jang Uk was bright and innocent in the first season, that doesn't mean he wasn't badass. I was really happy that they were giving us the grumpy- sunshine again, but in the other way. But people need to know that, for a girl to be a bright ray of sunshine, she doesn't need to be a damsel in distress.

And till 4 episodes it was really good. She had approached Jang Uk in order to get out of confinement. Saying that she was pregnant in front of the whole unanimous assembly was such a Naksu move. She dealt through inexplicable pain, because being free and with the man she loved was worth the pain. That was Naksu. Then it all went downhill.

Season 1 ep 19 ended with both of them losing their powers. But we were all so happy because they were happy and together and it tied the story up.

So Naksu now has great powers of a priestess, but she uses them only once to kill Jin Mu. And he's not even really dead. And Jang Uk kills Jin Mu in the end. Do you think that's fair. I wish Jang Uk kept Jin Mu alive after burning everything and Yeong sucked the life out of him with her new powers. Or better, Uk and Yeong burned down the whole thing together. That is what we're talking about. And people complaining that she doesn't want any fighting or violence anymore. Why is she off monster hunting with her husband then?

Let's talk about all the other problems.

In 30 episodes Dang gu got all but 2 fighting scenes.

They completely forgot that Jin Cho Yeon was also a priestess.

The crown prince had a lot of role to play, but they completely forgot that he also had magical powers.

NAKSU USING HER PRIESTESS POWERS!!

The only person who had any sort of proper fighting scenes was Jang Uk, and those were not enough. I love Jang Uk and Lee Jae Wook very much. He was the king's star. Everyone forgot that. He deserved more and better fighting scenes.

I'm not angry with Jang Uk's 8 episode long healing arc. Naksu's healing arc in season 1 was 18 episodes. I'm angry with them showing only push and pull romance and nothing else. 8 episode of only drama and romance in 10 episode fantasy show.

And then when Naksu remembers her memories. I knew she was going to pull back, and Jang Uk was going to chase, but that lasted all 2 min. They were together, then she remembered, she pulled back, he chased, then he recognised her. This all happened in just one episode. Something that could have and should have taken 3. They show an all powerful priestess and then give her 5 min screen time. Then they got married, were lovey-dovey, then somebody died, then they didn't die, then Jin Seolran came, fighting and burning, and guess what, again one episode. We were all waiting for this big epic battle which was well...

I feel like if they went the traditional route to make a 16 episode second season that would have done justice to the characters and the story.

See I'm happy that we had a happy ending. Very very very happy. But Alchemy of Souls was supposed to be an epic fantasy. And they spent a total of 10 min on the epic and fantasy part.

And to all who are defending the story. Do you think, if it was actually a satisfactory ending, you would need to defend it at all?

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - I Gave a 10/10 to a BL... me!

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

Nov 2023 Wk 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

My Dear Gangster Oppa (Thurs iQIYI) ep 4 of 8 - I love this show. I adore Tew's the simple backstory. No frills. No fuss. He got dragged in the way many do and he can kill so they kept him. They aren’t trying to make it needlessly complicated (which is rare for Thailand). That said, the pacing is way tf off, the emotional arc is rushed and then sappy out of absolutely nowhere. Before you ask, the kiss is not at issue, we halfway through they should be kissing, but the romantic life changes - too soon. But I don’t care. Finally, they left us this ep reminded of 2 v important things,

this pair kisses beautifully

in BL all mafia be gay

Fun fun!

Last Twilight (Fri YT) ep 2 of 12 - It's official, I love this. It’s a classic caregiver/bodyguard trope where one of them is opening the other one up to the world, but sweetly. I’m enjoying the softness of JimmySea's take and I hope GMM TV takes its cues from the success of My School President and doesn’t push this particular show into rough or edgy territory. Stay on target GMMTV. Don't mess with my bias again!

Twins the series (Fri GaGa) ep 3 of 10 - Finally, our adorable side couple has emerged! This show remains engaging without losing pace (despite the main couple being slow burn), which is all I want from a Thai pulp, and more I could ask for currently from a sports BL. 

(Note: when I dictate the computer always puts "Thai pope" instead of Thai pulp - this is hilarious to me.)

Pit Babe (Fri iQIYI) ep 1 of 14 - I guess they didn’t strip the omegaverse out of this. Unfortunately, I’m not an omegaverse fan, so I find its presence extremely off putting. (But it’s kind of amazing that somebody finally put one on our screen.) Unsurprisingly, it’s a lot of alpha posturing and hyper masculinity, because that’s what this kind of worldbuilding is an excuse for (lazy writing and lazier characterization). This means I don’t like Babe AT ALL except that he’s smell orientated and a bit verse. Way is lovely tho, because Nut is a great soft screen presence amongst the testosterone haze. 

Middleman’s Love (Fri YT & iQIYI ep 2 of 8 - I’m not gonna lie (when have I ever bothered to lie to you all?) I’m struggling with this show. The sound effects are getting worse. That is not allowed. Still I found this installment slightly more bearable than the last last, probably because there was more of the cast in play and less of Jade being too cringe to live. 

Absolute Zero (Weds iQIYI) ep 8 of 12 - AKA temporal paradox of pain.

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) Friends Forever ep 13 of 24 - Ooo it’s a bit of a teacher/student (coach/player) thing. Linguistic negotiation and kinkification of phi. Also actually kinky. But not consensually. Gonna get dark. Bummer. 

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 1 of 14(!) eps - Whines. Must I? Gaga doesn’t have a skip ahead button. Sad sack main characters really do not work for me. But this was better than I expected. I wasn’t expecting much. 

Look: This is helmed by Cheewin (shudder) with screenplay by Den (Only Friends - shudder the second) under Copy A Bangkok (they deserve not my shuddders). It's gonna be a shizz show people. It's Thai dark War of Y style - my least favorites. Apparently, there is meant to be a "plot" but when has Cheewin ever bothered with plot?

On a completely different note does the blond look like that Korean actor/idol from At a Distance Spring is Green & Wanna One to anyone else? Or is it just me? (Park Ji Hoon)

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

A Breeze of Love (Korea iQIYI) eps 3-4 of 8 - I like it a lot. Dongwook is so obtuse and socially awkward and reserved and needy and Dohyun is so gay over and simultaneously wildly confused by this behavior. Fantastic. A bit stiff, even for Korea, btu I'm okay with it since everything else I'm watching right now is decidedly NOT stiff.

I finished it!

Let's Eat Together Aki and Haru AKA Aki wa Haru to Gohan wo - Japan BL movie 1.5 hr

Best friends life together during university - cheerful sunshine loves to cook, grumpy tsundere loves to eat. Aki is a bit manic pixie dream boy for me (not my favorite archetype) but they’re cute and it’s one of those Japanese slice of life pieces like Our Dining Table that isn’t really a romance in fact it’s barely a drama. This isn’t friends to lovers because they’re basically already in a relationship (which everyone around them knows) they just aren’t fucking. I did spend a lot of time worrying that they weren’t eating any green things whatsoever. In the end this isn’t my thing when there’s no kissing at all, and this was a bit too dull even for JBL. Sorry Japan, one cannot trade on cute and cheese alone. I know, you want to. But that's not a BL or a personality. 6/10 

I Cannot Reach You AKA I Can't Reach You AKA Kimi ni wa Todokanai (Japan, maybe coming to Netflix) 8 eps - This classic friends-to-lovers BL is everything Japan does best. Angsty. Emo. Aching. Driven by real thirst. Yamato is deeply in love with his childhood bestie, Kakeru, and has been for ages, unable to hide his ungainly damaging high school need. He wants Kakeru in every way possible and it oozes off of the screen. Kakeru is silly and a little simple, but not frenetic or overly camp about it. He is earnest, and genuinely wants to keep Yamato in his life which means giving a romance (and gayness) a fair chance. We watch him realize his affection and what form it can take in a truly authentic way. This show was impossibly kind to both of its lead characters and I felt honored that I got to watch something so lovely and rare play out on my screen.

I LOVE LOVE LOVED THIS. IT'S SO GOOD.

10/10

Let me be perfectly clear: I have watched 646 BLs and only handed out nine 10/10s.

I talk more about why this one made the cut, here.

It's Airing But...

One Room Angel (Japan Gaga) 6 eps - adaptation of Harada’s manga (which I did not like) about a clerk who's stabbed, nearly dies, and returns home to find an angel waiting for him. With only 5 eps and a good chance this won’t end happy, I'm gonna wait and let you tell me how it goes.

SHADOW (Thai Gaga) 14 eps - I'm not wild about Thai horror (or horror at all) even one featuring Singto and Fluke. I'm holding off on this one and if told it's good I'll binge later.

Beyond The Star (Weds iQIYI) 8 eps - House of Stars meets Boyband. I was NOT impressed. Waiting to be told if I should bother.

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - I find this series more fun to binge, so I'm waiting until it completes its run.

Next Week Looks Like This

STARTING

11/20 Bake Me Please (Mon Gaga) ep 1 of 6 - trailer here, stars Ohm (of OhmFluke) opposite Guide (bestie from IFYLITA). This looks like an actually gay version of Antique Bakery (play it again, BL). I'm intrigued, it looks HELLA pretty.

11/22 7 Days Before Valentine (Weds ????) ep 1 of 10 - trailer here, horror-esk. Adapted from y-novel of the same name, directed by Tu (180 Degree) stars Jet (Why You… Y Me?). When you want your old love again, but fate sends you a reaper instead. All he can do for you is kill people. I'll likely give this a pass and wait to binge if safe.

11/24 VIP Only (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - Screenplay by Lin Pei Yu (WBL) about a chef who courts a shy writer with spicy beef noodles.

11/25 The Sign (Sat ????) ep 1 of 10 - trailer here, horror-esk, but with a suspense and adult characters. Special investigators who loved each other in previous lives reunite in new bodies. Stars Billy Patchanon (BillySeng) & Babe Tanatat (new). Includes other SCOY favorites as a special investigation team. I may give this a try (depending on distribution) because I'm into the non-horror bits.

11/26 The Whisperer (Sun ????) 1 of 10 - trailer here. Thai horror BL that ALSO involves cheating (what joy is mine). He has dimples (My Ride) but I don't think even that gives me the will. You can tell me how this goes.

11/26 Cooking Crush (Sun YT) 1 of 12 - OffGun are back, trailer here. Adapted from the novel “Love Course! เสื้อกาวน์รุกเสื้อกุ๊กรับ” by iJune4S this is about Prem who runs a not-so-popular restaurant with 2 friends. About to go on a cooking competition with a huge reward, Prem gets involved with Ten, a stressed-out med student who wants Prem to teach him to cook.

Still Coming November BL

11/30 For Him (Thurs ????) ep 1 of 10 - high heat trailer, I suspect iQIYI will scoop this one up. From the people who brought us Unforgotten Night (please no) based on a y-novel, man nursing a heartbreak has a one-night stand, but the other boy didn't want it to end. It looks terribly trashy so I'm in! Maybe I'll do a trash watch?

Nov 2023 line up with screen caps here. Not kept updated.

Original 2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED).

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

To be fair this was last week but I did get the screen shot until now. (You are Mine)

I Cannot Reach You serving all Japan's favorite tropes plus some very un-Japan decent kisses.

(Last week)

[animebaby00]

Breakdown, Build Up (Izuku Midoriya x Reader)

He looked….ashamed. A look you hadn't seen in quite some time.

Was this really the same Izuku that you encountered on that rainy street earlier?

-------

Takes place around the events of eps 23-25 of season 6 of the MHA anime.

The note Izuku had left you gave you nightmares for days.

You hadn’t been expecting it. At all. And neither was anyone else. To have someone who cared so much for his friends, his superiors, his family…and you. To think that he would have left the way he did, in the STATE that things were in.

You had been angry, no FURIOUS. On edge and irritable and confused. But as the days passed, you thankfully realized that it wasn't directly at him.

'Those bastard villains did this.' you had thought angrily, 'They took him away from us…from me.'

Countless times, that anger had turned to sadness and you found yourself buried in tears. But still got up and fought just like how you were trained too. A year at UA had taught you so much and you would be damned to not put everything you had learned to good use.

Not only because of your own drive, but because he would want you to too.

And thus, those two and a half weeks without him seemed as if you were trapped in some weird time spell. It went by painfully slow, and yet, fast enough to where you couldn't seem to keep up with it all.

But then, when you and your class all had Izuku cornered, begging for him to come back, that time suddenly just seemed to stop. And before you knew it, you were all back at the dorms. All 21 of you. Exhausted, battered…and safe.

You didn't even have the time to talk to Izuku once you returned, for he was whisked away to the baths by the other males, probably being scrubbed and showered and cleansed to his wits end. And though the thought was decently funny, it also made you realize just how much the amount of self care given to himself while he was away was probably close to zero. In that moment, you put your trust in your classmates to start the shift of making Izuku himself again.

And to also give you time to gather your thoughts.

However, you were trapped so long in your thoughts that you didn't realize how late it had gotten. Well past 10, and you hadn't addressed Izuku at all. There hadn't been a so-called "good chance" to. For everyone had been worried, aching for a chance to speak to him. And for some reason, you had ended up being the one person who hadn't said a word.

Before you knew it, you were lying in bed. But you were awake, oddly not chasing sleep like you thought you would be after such a grueling day. Your body was heavy, limbs aching, but your brain was whirling with thoughts. Thoughts you wished would vanish just so you could get a good night's sleep.

Heaving a sigh, you turned onto your side, just in time for your eyes to catch the numbers on your bedside clock change to 11:56.

And not too long after that, came a knock to the door of your room.

You bolted upright, confusion washing over you as you stared at your door. Who on earth (aside from you) could be up at this hour?

With your curiosity piqued, and with a little hesitancy, you stood from your bed and made your way across your room. You rested your hand atop the doorknob, turned it, and pulled, just enough to where you could see who it was on the other side.

But when you did, your stomach twisted itself into a knot.

The green eyes you recognized immediately, glazed a beautiful emerald even in the dark. Fluffy hair, freckled cheeks…

"I-Izuku?"

He raised his hand up in a small wave.

"H-hey…"

You opened the door up more, your brow furrowed.

"W-what uhm…what are you doing here?"

He didn't answer you right away. Instead, he looked off to the side, his hand sheepishly moving up and down his arm. It took a few seconds before he spoke.

"I just…wanted to see you. Since…y'know…I meant to talk to you earlier…but…"

He trailed off, lip sucked itself between his teeth,.and looked he looked up at you with an oddly defeated expression.

"Sorry I…I don't know what I was thinking." He uttered, "It's late and you're probably exhausted. I'll just go so you can-"

"NO!"

Immediately, you covered your mouth with your hands, cringing at how your outburst sounded in comparison to the quietness surrounding you. It made Izuku stare at you in surprise, his eyes blown wide, and you waited a bit before you spoke again, this time more calm.

"No…it's fine. I wasn't that tired anyways…"

"...Are you…s-sure?"

"...Mmhm."

Pressing your lips into a thin line, you stepped aside, gesturing to the darkness of your room.

"You can come in if you want. Least I know now we won't be bothered. If someone was awake they would have heard me for sure."

With a stiff nod, Izuku abided by your offer and slowly made his way inside your room. You shut the door behind him and followed, flicking on the light by your bed before you sat down on the ruffled sheets, Izuku doing the same. Both of your expressions were sheepish.

You weren't entirely sure where to start. Should you be the first to say something? Or should you wait for Izuku to speak? What should you even say to him?

The first thing that came to your mind you supposed.

"So…uhm…how are you-"

"I'm sorry."

You blinked at his sudden apology, noticing how once the words came from his lips, he seemed to bury beneath himself more, chin tucked to his chest.

He looked….ashamed. A look you hadn't seen in quite some time.

Was this really the same Izuku that you encountered on that rainy street earlier?

With a sheepish smile, you raised your hands in easy defense.

"Izuku…y-you don't have to apologize. " you stuttered, "I mean I…get why you did it. You were trying to protect us…you've already been through a lot so I don't want you to think you have to beat yourself up. Really it's okay-"

"BUT IT'S NOT OKAY!

In one abrupt movement Izuku had turned completely so that he was facing you, his arms outstretched and hands gripping into your shoulders, fingers digging into your night shirt. His face was contorted with hurt, cheeks reddened as tears of disdain threatened to spill from his eyes.

Anger, sadness, fear, regret. Each one of those emotions were plastered onto his face, creating a look that you were sure would be etched into your mind for months to come.

If you thought you were at a loss for words before, you most certainly were now, far too shocked by his outburst to get anything out other than a nervous swallow.

He sniffed, teeth gritted, and hung his head so that all you could see was his mop of fluffy hair, but you could feel the emotions pooling through him from how tight his grip was along with the shaky breaths he was emitting.

You hadn't been this close to him in so long.

Hadn't felt his touch.

Hadn't heard his voice.

And by God did you miss it.

You moved like a snail, but slowly, you raised your arms so that they rested on his own. The sense of your touch caused his head to lift itself up, tear stained eyes piercing into yours. You gave him a tiny smile…

And pulled him to you.

He practically fell against you once he was in your embrace and you pretty much did the same, your hands finding his nightshirt and clutching it in your fingers. Izuku took a raspy breath and allowed his arms to loop themselves around your waist, holding onto you for dear life as if the tiniest misfortune would tear you away from him.

And he'd rather die than ever be away from you for that long again.

His grip on you grew tighter, his head snug into your shoulder, a near death grip. But you couldn't find it in you to care.

You had missed him.

So much.

"I'm s-sorry…" he whimpered, "So…so sorry-!"

The cries he emitted were so heavy, broken. Anguished, heart throbbing sobs that were probably left over from earlier. It was plain to see that he truly hadn't emptied himself of the emotional burdens that had plagued his tired body, as if they had been saved for your eyes and ears only.

And as weird as it was…you were actually glad for that.

With shaking arms, Izuku pried himself up to look at you, placing a trembling, calloused hand to your face. His fingers grazed your cheek so softly, his eyes flicking to scan your features, the mere action making him choke up.

"I left you…" he whispered, "I left everyone. I-I made you all w-worry about me! And even after it all y-you all still…c-came for me. I….I'm so sorry…Y/N….I'm sorry-!"

As hard as you were trying, even you couldn't prevent the tears that fell down your face, emotions flooding out at his apology…and at the sudden realization that that was the first time he had said your name since he left.

It was at that moment that the dam fully broke, and though you were crying, you couldn't help the tiniest of smiles to cast upon your face.

"Shhh…" you hushed, smoothing his head "None of that. You're here now. You're safe…."

Gently, you pressed a kiss to his forehead, lips lingering as you held him close to you.

"And that's all that matters."

[dropthedemiurge]

Be My Favorite Finale Timeline [EP.10-12] How Pisaeng and Kawi change until they become equal

I honestly have no idea why I spent so much time on this, but the discussion with @rocketturtle4 got me thinking and, well, I like to consume my media scientifically, so I made a graph of my interpretation of the final jump xD

Somehow, I believe there wasn't really any 'different' alternate timeline this time because the changes to Kawi and Pisaeng's lives were minimal, so it can be a slightly different AU but to simplify, I'll assume it's one timeline because it makes a lot of sense. What's fascinating to me is not following their where-being (or when-being) but the changes in the characters mindsets.

[please open it to study, i couldn't make it more vertical, unfortunately]

I was talking about possible reasons why Kawi suddenly seemed to switch into such wise and calm demeanor during their repeated date, and I've heard of behavior patterns of Child, Parent, Adult modes.

Disclaimer: we studied it in uni very briefly cuz i'm actually STEM major but that description of mindsets opened my eyes and explained a lot to me so i'm using it, you can interpret it's probably with your own life experience; also terminology is probably not official, i'm describing it with my words and not scientific articles

So let me tell you my thoughts!

Phase [1]

Kawi and Pisaeng aren't on the equal footing even if they started to date. Kawi is into his "child mode": he's anxious and even if he's brave at times without alcohol, he's getting more anxious about being with Pisaeng due to all pressuring flirting (and Max's comments). His fears and hesitation are valid but he is protesting and running away a lot, sometimes being unnecessarily harsh and self-centered.

Pisaeng in his "parent mode" has to coax him, reassure him and sometimes manipulate to get them where he wants them, adding more not-subtle hints and more pressure onto Kawi.

Phase [2]

The date doesn't go well because they are not communicating and the power/control imbalance is too strong. It's not enough to get them to break up, of course, but it's not perfect life.

But wait – then why had the series immediately jumped to such a sweet intimate scene without any communication? Did we miss something? Why Kawi seemed to be hesitantly ready to challenge himself now when he just flatly refused to go on a scary ride with Pisaeng? First night shouldn't work when two people are on very different levels of comfort and confidence, so many viewers were worried and put off by this, me included. [especially if you consider Kawi was so heavily ace-coded throughout the show, it felt really wrong to force him to go through this in his alleged state of mind]

[now I completely recontextualized these Kawi's brave little nods, anxious blinking and heavy breathing, thanks to time-travelling hooray]

But! In EP.12 we get an explanation – Kawi actually lived the day twice (vaguely conscious of that) and experienced something very unusual that flipped his mindset – Pisaeng in distress. Kawi saw very upset and sad, scared and not confident Pisaeng in "child mode" and... immediately switched to his "parent mode" instead. (as someone who experienced this, I can tell that this switch can happen really fast and work really effective and it's not unbelievable).

Kawi is now the one reassuring Pisaeng – as someone who lived longer, as someone who already time-traveled and learned a lesson or two from time wizard and his own countless mistakes. Knowing that he and Pisaeng lived many happy years and they both don't want to change anything, left only one thought: well, then let's just be brave for each other, hold hands and face the future together, no matter what it is. I'll be strong for you when you aren't, and vice versa.

Phase [3]

Finally communicating with Pisaeng and seeing his vulnerable side, being able to provide comfort for him and gaining much-needed control, Kawi is reaching his ultimate bravery and peace in "adult mode".

It is leading him to overcome his last fears (even if taking "high adrenaline rides for adults" doesn't make him feel great anyway like he predicted, it makes Pisaeng happy so he'll do it, and they met each other in the middle instead, therefore the metaphor is complete). Kawi lives many years very content and zen-like, speaking wisdom because he's satisfied with his not-grand-not-miserable life. He also knows a bit about his future and getting extremely sick (he probably prepared that "i know what you have done!" teasing long beforehand xD) and just patiently lives his happy life, enjoying every moment in the present.

Original!Pisaeng, however, is still in his "parent mode", but since Kawi is meeting him now with more strength and confidence, they are able to move forward from disaster dates and live for years in good relationship, making many sweet domestic memories.

But it's time for Pisaeng's self-journey!

Phase [4]

Years in the future, Pisaeng is seeing Kawi's potential for stardom and celebrity fame, and he is thinking their queer relationship is bad for Kawi's life, that he's holding him back. Being "parent" all this time, he still feels responsible for Kawi. He doesn't believe that Kawi actually experienced fame in another life and doesn't want it anymore. Pisaeng thinks he doesn't improve Kawi's life. Not being able to pinpoint his fears or get answers that would satisfy him out of nonchalant enlightened Kawi, Pisaeng is slipping more into "child mode".

And when Kawi gets extremely sick, Pisaeng is hit with distressing realization that Kawi legally has no family and he's powerless to help him or do anything. All the more reasons that Kawi shouldn't have been staying in relationship with Pisaeng. Maybe they should've broken up in the past (which he actually suggest when going back). Eventually, Pisaeng is unsure, scared and in need of advice, like a child.

Phase [5]

It's only when he's experienced travelling to the past [Phase [2]], he actually believes Kawi. And Kawi insists that he would never change anything even if he knew he could die. He claims Pisaeng is the right person for him, and there's no room for any but what if? – Kawi has experienced many versions of his life, and he knows what he's talking about. Parenting reassurance of Kawi finally gives Pisaeng the peace of mind and his confidence back. [also something something hand offering-hand rejection-hand reaching-hand holding leitmotiv throughout phase 2 and phase 5]

At the happier and more peaceful version of their date, Kawi and Pisaeng already are two equal "adults" stuck in a weird little dot of a time-loop — but it is the exact moment that would define their whole life together.

Now they have similar timey-wimey experiences, mutual understanding and the same level of love, communication and bravery to face the future. That's where they definitely end up during the Time-Travelling point of Pearmai's wedding, after Pisaeng returns to the future and meets Kawi as equal.

With their lovely found family, many happy memories, bright future, both Kawi and Pisaeng are being confident and content with their lives.

Time Wizard Uncle's job is done here, for sure.

[muthaz-rapapa]

Hirogaru Sky Impressions (4/5)

Keeping this short since I’m still tired from my trip and have stuff to do before going back to work tomorrow.

Thankfully, the past 10 eps only consisted of Majesty’s debut and some (really great) fillers.

Starting with Majesty then. I’m honestly surprised I was correct about them keeping her a toddler despite aging her up when transforming. And as I guessed as much, this means she doesn’t really have a full-fledged character arc of her own.

Not that it’s a bad thing since Ellee-chan still gets a good amount of development cuz she’s a growing child, after all. Which is mainly shown through things like her speech improving significantly each day, learning how to better express herself and her wants. And of course, the heartwarming interactions with her friends who also have their moments in finding the best ways they can to support her (like how Ageha readily believed Ellee-chan who was frustrated when she had trouble transforming into Majesty).

These are all within range of what is expected for a child her age so a whole arc isn’t really needed and therefore, more time and focus can be dedicated to the older Cures, too. So I’m quite pleased with that.

But I also can’t lie that it’s a shame we won’t see what a preteen Ellee-chan is like outside her alter ego.

That and considering her VA is Aoi Koga (of Kaguya-sama fame), we won’t get to hear a further extent of her acting in this role either.

Don’t get me wrong, Aoi Koga absolutely nailed the part of a baby, able to bring out Ellee-chan’s cuteness without making her sound annoying but…the potential is already a loss at this point.

Additionally, for a midseason Cure, Majesty has the least going for her in other departments compared to those before her.

Up till now, they’ve barely scraped at the lore associated with her identity. So when she’s not fighting, she’s limited to being slightly better than the average mascot.

The only attack in her arsenal is simultaneously a group attack so she has to share it with the others. Not to mention half the stock footage doesn’t have her at the center but Sky instead. Despite the attack bearing her name.

With only 8 eps left in the season, it seems the writers brought Majesty out as part of Precure’s yearly formula schedule more than anything. Her purpose is mainly to renew viewers’ excitment in the show (and generate desire to buy the newest toy) since her debut brings a little something new to the table…but she is not allowed to outshine this season’s real star, the lead Cure.

Personally, I think the pros outweigh the cons so it doesn’t bother me too much but it’s also too noticeably flawed and biased for me to really accept it as okay.

Moving on, the fillers.

They were all amazing, definitely better than the previous 10 eps.

Mashiro continuing to pursue the path towards becoming a picture book author and coming to terms with the fact that not everyone will receive her work with good reviews yet still choosing to draw because she’s doing it for herself and those who do enjoy her books was something that resonated with me deeply.

Then more time was devoted to her childhood friendship with Ageha which was super wonderful. We really needed that ep of how they became friends and the writers delivered so excellent job 👍

Ageha finally encountering struggles in her job and learning that it was okay to show sadness in front of her students was something I’ve been waiting a long time to see as well. It was especially good because it corresponded splendidly with the first ep of Otona Precure within the same week (which is also great so far) as the intro of that dealt with Nozomi trying to help her own student.

Portraying adults as realistic adults instead of perfect caricatures who can do anything. Showing hardships by not sweeping them under the rug but acknowleding them with the screentime they deserve so the characters can actually process their own feelings and work out a solution. Displaying a healthy level of idealism, not based on generic platitudes but actual belief. I really appreciate that.

Yoyo cleverly getting Tsubasa a promotion to a sage in Skyland’s royal court was also 10,000 meters of screaming joy for me cuz yea, that boy is way too smart and talented to just settle for flying around. He clearly treasures his homeland and wants to make it a better place for all its inhabitants, including the Dragon Tribe that had been cut off from the rest of the country for decades. He obviously has what it takes to become a diplomat.

He acquired a new dream to devote himself and his skills to and that’s what anyone who’s as wholesome as Tsubasa should get. So it was fulfilling to see that come true for him.

Lastly, Sora. She only had one ep to herself this time but it was a good ep with a good topic (probably one of the best of the Sora eps). Honestly, I think I liked it more because it was only one ep, lol

So yea, with this, I think I’m all set for the rest of the show as far as Tsubasa and Ageha’s arcs are concerned. There will still be more fillers until ep 45 at least, plenty of time to close out the Mashiro and Sora’s as well as the lore surrounding Ellee-chan so it’s just a matter of concluding the story in a satisfying manner.

Other than that, I’m also wondering if we’ll get any super forms for HiroSky since it’s already this late in the season…

…but you never know as it can happen in the finale. Not sure if HiroSky will get its standalone movie in Mar either but if so, we might see something there, too.

Ok, that is all. The season will pass by in a flash so enjoy the rest of HiroSky with a full heart and let’s begin to look forward to next Precure in the new year. Bye for now!