#my brain won't move on

[dramalove247]

Can not stop thinking about this.

Style thinks there is a 50/50 chance Fadel will kill him. That means two things:

1) Snark and confidence are Style's sword and shield

2) Style is willing to die for a chance at forgiveness

Style knows he messed up. He knows he hurt Fadel. He knows Fadel is capable of killing him and has reason to. Still, he doesn't resist and goes willingly, even if he's scared, because he loves Fadel and he wants a chance to fix this. So he literally gives Fadel his life and hopes it is enough.

Even when Style is being confident and cocky to Fadel's face, deep down he fears love might not be enough. Even if he believes Fadel loves him, he knows love is not a guarantee that he will be forgiven. And in moments when he is sincere, and tired, and still, and has nothing to distract from the weight of his situation, his brave mask slips, and we can see the doubt and sadness Style works hard to ignore. Style doesn't want to die, but he will if that's where their love story ends because he refuses not to try.

Still, Style is going to Style. He's going to be over confident, flirty and snarky as hell because that's who he is. And if he's annoyed, you're going to know it. Style has already made the decision to see this through and he told Fadel he wont run. Style doesn't need a gun in his face to understand the situation he is in and he's probably pissed to be reminded.

Personally, we think Fadel wanted to believe he was 50/50 as well, but he was just lying to himself. In the end, Style got what he wanted and Fadel got what he needed. And now they get to love each other completely open and honest.

We got confirmation of this Unpopular Opinion in Styles own words!

Special thanks @tortibomb and @aprilblossomgirl for the perfect GIFS!

[varilien]

okay so series of events. completely on accident happened to get really into epic: the musical like RIGHT after the last saga dropped. couple days later my friend who convinced me to give it a try wanted to watch troy (2004) together. and every time odysseus came on-screen i'd say "hi, ody :)" but for the entire 3 hour movie my friend thought i was saying "coyote" and didn't question it at ALL until the credits were rolling

so ummm now coyody is just perpetually scurrying around in my mind that's all happy first art of 2025 everybody LMAO

[loppiopio]

anatomy of a heart // open up

cardiogram.carrd.co

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Nothing drives me quite as crazy as not understanding the intentions in a show. I was talking to @mikuni about my tags in this post and besides the fact that I hate Maya with a passion, because she made Taishi sad and he is my child and should be protected at all costs, I don't understand the reason for this choice.

I haven't read the manga and to be quite frank I don't really care how she's portrait in it and if it will change at some point. The show can't rely on other material to tell its story. The show made a decision to make this episode this way and to let us sit with it for a week. And besides the fact that they brought a new antagonist at a time where the mains should be working to get closer, I don't understand the goal of introducing a new 'rival', when it's pretty clear she has no real shot. Kohei likes Taishi and nothing from what we've seen from him suggests that he's someone who'll change his mind suddenly, specially since he has known Maya for a bit and still prefers hamburger to pasta.

But what's been bothering me is, I don't understand the point. Even when I don't agree with a show's choices, I can usually see what they're going for. As an example, I hated the whole Ter scene at the hospital event in Wandee Goodday episode 9, but as I wrote at the time, I understood what the show was doing. It was doing the work to allow for Ter's redemption. And although I loathe that choice, I could understand what they were going for.

But in this episode of I Hear the Sunspot, my brain is blank. I got nothing. Just like @mikuni wrote in her post I mentioned above, the way they framed the scenes between Kohei and Maya confused me. When I was watching the episode I was talking with @colourme-feral and said that I didn't understand the choice of music. If I saw that scene in a vacuum I would think they were the couple and this was a romantic moment. Taishi wasn't watching from a far, so who was that scene for? Us? Were we suppose to feel jealous on his behalf? And why would we even need that? This is BL, we know the couple, we know that they'll end up together (ok we don't know that but let's be honest, we do) and so we are already rooting for Taishi. We've been rooting for him since episode one.

And also, if she's not suppose to be a rival, why make her so unlikeable? Let's entertain the notion that she's only there to be an ally for Kohei. She wouldn't need to be so hostil towards everyone else for that. She could just try and separate Kohei without feeling the need insult Taishi and look down on everyone else. Let's also entertain the notion that she's there to make Taishi face his feelings and come to some realisation. And I say again. they didn't need to make her that mean to achieve that.

So, I again say, I'm confused. And please resist the urge to tell me to wait and see. The show purposefully left us with this episode for a week. So even if I wait and see, I have seven days to sit with it and it will only cement this episode in my mind and my impressions of it. And I can obviously change my mind about Maya later (I doubt it because Taishi my precious child etc) but at the end of it all, I will still be in a state of confusion regarding the show's choices for episode 7.

[thanatologie]

amanda, are you learning how to make a content patcher mod for stardew valley so you can overhaul the wizard to match the emmrich swap mod?

yes. yes, i am.

[mod2amaryllis]

who else haunted by an apology you never got the chance to make???? 🤪🤪🤪

[khihi]

i can't get over how It's Crazy It's Party mimics/compliments Cha Cha Cha at the beginning of the song, like it's so clearly designed to be a sequel to Cha Cha Cha, i love the narrative he's creating

[pollen]

i've been diving a lot deeper into adhd symptoms and comorbidities and misdiagnoses and whenever i tell my boyfriend something i learned that sounds like me he responds with something like

[cienie-isengardu]

Khaos Reigns (2)

So far, my two biggest complaints about new Mortal Kombat storytelling is the lack of Tomas in Lin Kuei-focused  Khaos Reigns and lack of sensible logic behind characters’ choices. This is not really about how characters behave toward each other as this is rooted in the previous game, but how weak is the reasoning that pushes the story forward. Which sadly is how the whole attack on Kuai Liang’s wedding feels to me. We have Bi-Han’s lie 

Cyrax: I still cannot believe that Liu Kang capitulated to Outworld. That he agreed to break up our clan.

that has no backing up. A certain time has passed between MK1 and current story mode, right? So if Liu Kang capitulated to Outworld, then logically Outworld forces should showed up in Earthrealm or the Fire Lord would knock on their door to say sorry guys, no more Lin Kuei; something Lin Kuei would be first to know. Even more, since apparently Lin Kuei were asked to protect Earthrealm in dire need in the previous game, something they refused to do (as we were told by Tomas). Liu Kang capitulating to Outworld would be a political change hard to miss. So it is no wonder why Cyrax is not buying it, as this lie makes little sense.

(Personally I think it would be better if Lin Kuei were not “deceived” but simply wanted their independence and supported Bi-Han for this goal alone, while Sub-Zero letting his father die still works fine as the shocking revelation to cast a doubt in Cyrax’s mind.)

Then we have Sektor and Bi-Han acknowledging Cyrax suspecting their deception

but apparently this is not a concerning enough to, you know, not including her in the attack or not giving her the top-technologically advanced armor, if you can't be sure of her loyalty.

Bi-Han said they will be ready when Cyrax learns the truth but as the story goes, there are no backup plans for that scenario. Sub-Zero does not deny he lied or killed his father and I really wonder what he or Sektor expected to happen? Yeah, so much for being ready to deal with the problem they were aware of from the start.

Same with the stealth attack on the wedding. Lin Kuei warriors successfully got unnoticed inside Wu Shi place,

where the wedding was happening. And instead of some of those ninjas quietly opening one of the gates, Sektor was using her guns to destroy the main gate, losing the element of surprise.

A tactical surprise that she and Bi-Han wanted to use it to their advantage.

Not to mention Lin Kuei warriors had no problem with getting past the not-even-so-high walls so it is not like the main gate was so necessary for their army to get inside. Or if they have such great firepower, they should thrown some grenades over the walls or set bombs before frontal attacking. Just saying.

Okay, that could be just Lin Kuei arrogance or testing the armors in battle (something they could anytime anywhere), but one would think a clan that for ages was doing commando-like work for Liu Kang would get the stealth attack correctly. Especially since one of the first things Sektor told us on screen was that Lin Kuei were not trained for Tournaments but for war.

Cyrax is overall a fine character, but for me she lacks an edge the MK9’s male Cyrax had and thus feel, well, meek. The story shows her as a person with a strong moral sense, however Bi-Han literally said to her the mission is to attack Kuai Liang and his clan. Harumi chose to fight back so why is Cyrax so surprised that Lin Kuei warriors were ready to kill her? It’s not part of their missions, she said when attacking her own people to save Scorpion’s fiance/wife-to-be, but for me this shows how much Cyrax is just naive and detached from reality. The previous game showed us that Lin Kuei brothers are ruthless fighters (Bi-Han was ready to decapitate defeated Shang Tsung, Kuai Liang effectively killed his opponents with no hesitate), so Cyrax jumping to rescue a woman that killed her own comrades kinda made me wonder, why she is even that important to Sektor or Bi-Han to be involved with them so close? Like, there is little I can see that could interest Bi-Han or Sektor in her, as she is presented from the start as disrespectful toward her superior and mentor (Sektor) and way more idealistic than any of them is. Literally the first argument she has with Sektor and her criticism about ambush & sneak attack tactics feels a bit off, considering this is what Lin Kuei were doing even as the good guys, presumably for centuries and with full approval of Liu Kang (as was seen in previous game).

Sure, we could say Cyrax is new! She knows no better… but then storyline openly claims she and Kuai Liang knew each other before he left the clan and even were once friends, so it is not like Cyrax just joined the Lin Kuei. On one hand, I understand why NRS went with Cyrax’s personality in such a direction, on another, she feels so un-Lin Kuei, I have no idea why Sektor and Sub-Zero even bothered with her in the first place. Like... what was so special about Cyrax for the whole fuss about her from their perspective?

In all fairness, I’m also a bit confused how MK1 and Khaos Reigns follow the same storyline. In the previous game, Bi-Han was captured by Kuai Liang after the ill-fated mission and presumably imprisoned. Then somehow Lin Kuei was asked(?) to aid Liu Kang in the battle against the sorcerers

so how is that the news of Sub-Zero allying with Shang Tsung is still a secret to anyone  if Lin Kuei already made a decision to abbadon Earthrealm in need - story wise, after Bi-Han was defeated by Scorpion and captured? So I’m to believe Scorpion took compromised Sub-Zero to Lin Kuei headquarters like nothing happened, did not mention the whole allying with enemy, then left to honor tradition and dad and joined Liu Kang and some time later he is angry at Cyrax she believed in a not-well prepared lie? Is this me, or did NRS not connect all the dots together between the first game and the additional storyline and kinda every character took damage to intelligence so the story could go from point A to point B?

The relationship between certain characters is frustrating, I won’t lie about it. But I’m much more frustrated by how the logic and consequences of events feel either forced or make little sense. I do not except a brilliant, smart storytelling from a fighting game, but when characters that are supposed to be competent and/or trained for a specific job suddenly share one brain cell - and no one is using it at all - kills a great chunk of enthusiasm I had for Mortal Kombat.

I may not like my fav characters being robbed of their original complexity and yet still enjoying the fact they are part of the storyline. I do however take a great offense when story mode turns them into incompetent idiots just to push plot from point A to point B.

[meadowsofmay]

for when a parent's heart has finally settled in peace:

when thranduil sees legolas for the first time since his son's trip for imladris and, there after, a suicide mission deadly quest to mordor in order to destroy the one ring — the realm is in ruins after the local battle but the woods, their woods, are freely breathing again. the hope is here, the life is back pulsing through the veins of the nature and the blood that was spilled is almost covered by freshly sprouted grass.

the grass that legolas lands on dismounting from his horse before the doors of his kingdom that he haven't seen flourishing in a long time. for a moment he is scared to go in, past the familiar gates and familiar halls of his childhood and teenage years. he had been at war for way too long. does he even remember what it feels like to be at peace?

disbelieving eyes follow him as he walks in, whispers surround his head like a swarm but he doesn't stop to greet his friends, doesn't share stories right from the threshold. legolas just wants to reach the throne hall, as soon as possible, and see the one whom he always wanted to reach, to help, to be good enough to —

legolas?! and the gasp behind his back is too choked, too heavy in the suddenly stilled air around him, that legolas is terrified to turn around. they both are.

legolas doesn't think he can handle the way his absence affected his father.

thranduil is scared he mistook someone else for the only child that he has.

it happens fast and legolas didn't have to make a decision himself as thranduil walks up to him, grabs his elbow, turns him around and legolas can't even process everything as frantic apologies start spilling from his lips. that's the most heartbroken legolas has seen his father in his not-so-long-for-elvish-standards life. but thranduil does not answer. he stares, his usually cold bluish-grey eyes jumping over legolas' face as if trying to force the brain to believe, convince those grieving soul and mind that legolas is actually here and seemingly undamaged. legolas is alive, breathing and talking and grasping his shoulders as this simple thought pulls the ground from under his feet.

you're alive... thranduil sobs out as hysteria violenty rocks through his body. alive... he tugs legolas down at the fall, pulls him into a hug so tight legolas coughs but doesn't try to get away from it. he needs it probably just as much as thranduil does.

we won, ada, he whispers into his father's usually strong and steady shoulder that was shaking now, we are free...

thranduil barely hears him, holding his son's head close, nuzzling his hair that were braided just the way he did legolas' hair before the trip to imladris.

i am so sorry, ada.

legolas feel the sudden need to pull back, wants to look at his father for a moment, but thranduil refuses, taking in the warmth of his son's body. so real, so alive.

i am so happy you're home, my little one. thank you for coming back.

they don't know how long they sit there, on the floor in the throne hall where thranduil caught legolas after coming back form his annual check up over injured and scared elves, but the dust is dancing in the air, the birds are singing familiarly somewhere up high in the canopies and it's quiet. calm. legolas is finally back. he's home.

and the father's arms will refuse to let him go for quite awhile.

[stormyoceans]

Have you seen GAP the series?? Personally I thought it was trash. So bad, but I heard they changed the script so many times so it was bound to happen. I didn’t watch Marvellous Dream but everyone says it was bad too. Now Loyal Pin is starting and I don’t want to give that a chance either. What the heck, Idol Factory? I’m not saying they’re masterpieces but their BLs are good. Why can’t they make good GLs?

i have indeed watched GAP but i have to admit that it’s hard for me to be as objective about this show as i usually try to be with all the media i consume, because while part of me KNOWS it’s not the best series, im also very fond of it for what it represented as the first fully fledged GL we’ve ever gotten

im also aware i tend to be more forgiving towards GLs compared to BLs, mostly because BL shows have been around for years and were allowed to sometimes be pretty bad as they experimented and tried things out, while as it often happens with women i feel like a lot of people expected GLs to be nothing short than perfect from the get go and refuse to allow even the smallest misstep

all this being said, my marvellous dream is you was definitely (and unfortunately) not a good show (albeit i did weirdly enjoy some parts of it), and if you already didn’t like GAP you for sure wouldn’t like mmdiy either, because sadly i think this series has all the flaws GAP had but magnified 10 times: the main pairing keeps running around in circle about the same misunderstandings over and over again, the miscommunication goes through the roof, the relationship is very unbalanced, there are way too many characters who are there just for the drama and aren’t given enough space or depth (people saying we only got crumbs for chainpun in we are, well, let me tell you….. it can be worse ;;;;;;;), the pacing is a mess, and im sure im forgetting something else too. there could have been one saving grace in my marvellous dream is you (the fantasy element), but even that was neither explored nor narratively used at all

what i think it’s interesting is that both series were adapted by novels from the same author, so i do wonder which of those issues are due to the original material and which ones are due to idolfactory itself, because while an adaptation can definitely try to fix certain things, it also depends on how much artistic license they can actually take (this is why im very curious to see how GMMTV is gonna adapt pluto and us, since they’re also stories from that author)

as for the loyal pin, i haven’t been able to start it yet (petition to get an extra day in the week just to watch my shows), however im really looking forward to finally be able to, because this time the original novel is from a different author, so im hoping it won’t have the same issues when it comes to the plot and the characters

so yeah, i do think that there are some stylistic choices that are very typical of idolfactory that they should probably revisit (for example, having a big cast and pretty long episodes), but when it comes to GL specifically maybe they just didn’t pick the best material (or the right one for them as a company), so i hope the loyal pin is gonna be their turning point and that future projects will get better and better!!!!!

[ratinthevoid]

why did i believe i can ever come out to her

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

stuck in the what-if spiral 😭

[xproskeith]

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[butterflies-and-bumble-bees]

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[trekkiehood]

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