#the vibe that I'm getting is they cast a new actor for the main character every season or so

[worthyking]

how does doctor who even work I don't get it I don't get it what happened to rose tyler

[totalswag]

Hello lovely I love ur writing abt Drew & Reader actresse sweetheart it's so good <3 I have a little request to make to you if you don't mind, Drew react to the Reader acting in the horror film masterpiece (like the movies Suspiria and Climax vibes) of which she's a part of the main cast

I'm just curious if he would be terrified or blown away by this kind of role that she plays like this one or not ;) thank u !!!

unbelievable performance — DREW STARKEY

authors note aw thank you lovie! that means so much to me. by the time you are reading this, my second fic with drew x actress!reader is out (the first date). i have never seen either movies that you listed in your request but i did look them up to get a gist.

summary drew was impressed by your performance in your latest horror film.

warnings mentions of kissing, horror films

masterlist

Tonight marks the premiere of your new horror film, in which you star with some amazing actors. After many hours of continuous filming, sequences are officially wrapped. You're extremely proud of yourself and your casemates. 

You were the staring lead in the movie. Getting the part after auditioning was a blessing in disguise. This being your very first staring lead role in any movie you’ve been in, you were so proud of yourself.

Everyone is seated in the theater. Drew, your boyfriend, also came with you. The entire cast stood in front of the stage as your director discussed the film a bit.

You shifted your focus to Drew, who was already looking at you in admiration, which made you smile and making you blush.

When you stepped up to your seat, he leaned down to your ear and whispered, "I want you to know that I'm so proud of you, and I know you did an amazing job on this movie," before kissing the top of your head.

“I love you baby, so much” you answer with your voice already starting to crack before tears wanted to burst out.

“Me more.”

Drew was so excited to watch his beautiful girlfriend on the big screen. Non-stop talking about the movie with you and his predictions on what will happen.

Everyone in the theater began to applaud as soon as the lights went out. Drew's hand moved easily down your thigh and gave it a little squeeze. Your skin began to tingle from his touch.

The movie begins with a hauntingly beautiful dance routine in which the camera swirls around the dancers in a way that is both captivating and unnerving. Drew is instantly captivated. As the story progresses, he observes your character navigating a world fraught with psychological pain and supernatural fear.

Half way through the movie, it’s been jaw dropping and incredible.

He is always on the edge of his seat in every situation you are in. You capture the dread and lunacy of the film's twisted narrative with an unvarnished and honest performance.

He's afraid and enthralled with the story at the same time, amazed at your ability to portray such raw emotion. Never once did he take his eyes off the screen.

The way the movie came out was unbelievable. The editors did wonders on this movie and made it into something viewers will want to keep watching.

Once you two arrived home after eating dinner at the after party, Drew and you took a shower together in your shared bathroom, changed into pajamas, then went into bed with the tv playing.

Later that night, back at home, Drew can't stop talking about the movie.

"You know, watching you in that role allowed me to see a completely other side of you. You were fierce, vulnerable, and incredibly compelling. "It was like watching an acting masterclass."

You laugh quietly and rest your head on his shoulder. "It means a lot hearing you say that. I was concerned about how you would react."

"Are you kidding?" I loved it. "I'm just glad I wasn't watching it alone in the dark," he jokes.

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[atopvisenyashill]

What are your thoughts on GRRM’s new notablog post on HOTD S2?

omg i'm sorry so i did not get notified that i had a few new asks, i didn't even see this until i logged in on desktop. tumblr eat shit smh.

ANYWAYS.

I actually agree with Xiran Jay Zhao, here, where they said this was a warning shot. It feels like a warning shot. Like a "hey I'm being nitpicky and pedantic now but if you think I won't go scroched earth you got another thing coming." I've seen so much "this is unprofessional" "this is annoying" "why is he complaining" and I think it is not only mind boggling to side with a corporation and the idiots running these shows (and we know I mostly like Condal and Hess, but come on Condal was the mastermind of Sansa Bolton why are we defending him right now!!), I think everyone is blowing his comments wildly out of proportion. He didn't take a dig at anyone but the writer's room and more specifically Ryan Condal, who he has had a working relationship with for well over a decade. He didn't shittalk any casting, he didn't shittalk any specific writers or directors except one of the main showrunners, he compliments the special effects, he has consistently had (and imo is careful) nothing but praise for the actors, even minor roles like Blood & Cheese. This was an incredibly milqtoast "please remember that every change has huge affects on the narrative later" critique and the people handwringing over his behavior are absolute losers, I'm sorry.

And beyond the fact that he didn't make any huge digs, I think this conversation also wildly ignores the way authors have no control over their own characters once they sign the rights over. They can be completely bamboozled by changes and they have no recourse to go "what the hell are you doing." And yet, signing your book's rights away (even if the production sits in developmental hell for decades) is usually what nets these author's the most money - GRRM surely makes a shitton off his books, but most authors get paid absolutely nothing even when they're wildly popular because of how book deals work now. Take, again, Xiran for example - Iron Widow was a huge runaway hit, a good and fresh take on this new boom of culturally based sff. And yet Xiran has talked about how they immediately set to work writing a middle grade novel because they desperately needed the money because they got paid 16k over two years for their runaway hit that made their publishers significantly more than 16k. I think George is not only mad for authors with less control than he has but also, obviously, for himself - I've said time and again, but I do think Dark Daenerys is where we are headed, and the fact that they completely botched showing it has got to smart. And if the ending for Dany is anything other than Jon killing her, that has got to smart too. So he watched these people fuck up his original series and push him completely out of that writer's room as they made more and more changes, and now he's watching s2 of HOTD and seeing some changes and getting some real bad vibes. It's not doomerism to think s3 is going to go massively off the rails when we have seasons 6-8 of the main show to show us just how off the rails it can go!

So anyways, that part of my rant over (and please believe me when I say I checked myself here because I could rant for hours about how it's genuinely so upsetting to see people call him unprofessional over this when not only did he write the fucking series, but he's lived in this series for three decades!!!!! this is his whole life, this is his legacy, of course he's feeling some type of way about how it's handled jesus christ on a cracker, there's people who have said worse about their mediocre nyt pushed bestsellers getting adapted badly!), when it comes to the actual meat of his post....I'm sorry idk how anyone is annoyed by this post because it was hilarious to me. He spent a whole blog post whinging about how Dead Baby #4 and Kingsguard Man #12 are gonna get cut out of the show. I think he framed it in that goofy way on purpose to hide how annoyed he is but you can see where the real annoyance lies - the changes to Helaena, losing one of his grisly death scenes, and being willfully mislead about potential changes to the plot. I think a lot of people missed those points but EYE am not a goofy ass like those people and I can guarantee you that Condal and HBO got the point too.

Of course, I do think he is also irked about Maelor and Ser Rickard's scenes being cut out. He wrote a long ass, highly meticulous, near unadaptable work, and I think when he handed the IP over he assumed he was giving it to people who would rise to the challenge and only make cuts when absolutely necessary. And that just clearly hasn't happened. Incredibly important characters get cut, main characters get their plots wildly changed for no reason, and people get personality transplants on a near constant basis for no other reason than D&D and Condal thought it would look cooler. I think if there was more dedication to keeping him in the loop and keeping true to the story, he wouldn't have bitched so much. But Hess is on record saying she doesn't feel loyal to the story and at a certain point, you reach your breaking point there and I think he has finally reached his. AND GOOD FOR HIM. LET THAT OLD MAN GO APESHIT THEY'VE COMPLETLEY FUCKED HIS WORLD UP!!!

[atamascolily]

Given how tightly plotted previously installments have been, I have to admit I was caught off guard by the seeming introduction of new characters in the Walpurgis no Kaiten trailer. However, on reflection (heh), it makes sense if one of the themes of the movie is indeed opposites/doubling/mirroring. After all, if Homura has a double for a narrative foil, why shouldn't the rest of the main cast have one, too? Prior to the second trailer, I had assumed this role would be filled by the "new girl" in the first trailer, who appears to be a Homura/Mami/Madoka hybrid, but it seems that's just the tip of the iceberg.

That said, it's also clear to me from the second trailer that this mirroring, if that's what's really going on here, isn't going to always literal as it is with Homura. The girl paired with Nagisa in the ball pit in the second trailer doesn't look exactly the same as Nagisa, but it's clear from the framing that the two of them are being deliberately juxtaposed, and will likely serve as narrative foils to each other. My guess is that this girl is the humanized form of Nagisa's witch Charlotte, just like I think that the most likely candidate for Homura's double is her witch Homulilly, (because the metaphorical almost always becomes literal in this series, even though the movie may or may not name them directly as such), but my point stands regardless of their exact relationship to each other.

If that's the case, then who in the Holy Quintet is the counterpart for the other new character--the green-haired girl in the trailer?

The obvious answer is "Mami"--partly because of the tea party and general vibes, and partly because of the color scheme (green and yellow go well together and the girl has golden eyes like Mami's). This is especially true if fan theories are right and this girl is the humanized form of Gertrud the Rose Witch, whom Mami faces off against in episode 1-2 of the original series, and who serves as a deliberate counterpoint to Mami there.

Having a more human Gertrud as foil to Mami would make sense because unlike Homura and Nagisa, Mami never becomes a witch in the original series; while she does have a witch form in the PSP game and other spinoff media, I think we are unlikely to see it in this installment and thus her most likely counterpoint would then be Gertrud. Gertrud's familiars are also visible in Homura's new world at the end of Rebellion, suggesting she might turn up in some fashion in Walpurgis no Kaiten.

(This also raises the interesting question of whether Mami's VA would voice this character or not. Considering that Kaori Mizuhashi also voiced Walpurgisnacht and Tatsuya in the original series, it's not impossible than she and/or other voice actors might play one or more roles in this new installment. As a bonus, this would also mean that SHAFT could get away with not announcing the minor roles before the release, as they would probably have to if they were adding completely new voice actors to the cast. Until we get more news, I'm assuming that Chiwa Saito is voicing both Homuras, though everything else is more speculative.)

However, it occurred to me that based on her ponytail and her position in this shot, she could also be Kyouko's foil (red and green being opposing colors); this is less likely, but I figured I'd mention it as a possibility anyway, since the second trailer appears to be leaning heavily into Rebellion parallels. TBD. Like Mami, Kyouko doesn't have a witch form in the original series, so her most likely parallel is another established witch character, although nobody from the original series immediately leaps to mind.

(By the way, this would mean there are more new characters--or new versions of established characters--we haven't seen yet, so, uh, hold that thought.)

After that, it gets a little more complex and murky. Sayaka's most likely foil should be her witch Oktavia, but it's unclear to me from what we've seen so far how much that particular conflict manifests internally or externally. I think Sayaka is going to be extremely conflicted in Walpurgis no Kaiten, and it will be interesting to see how her arc develops. Based on the original series, however, I would say that the other logical witch counterpart for her is Elsa Maria the Shadow Witch, whose labyrinth mirrors Sayaka's black and white thinking during a particularly dark period for her, though I suppose H.N. Elly the Box Witch who attacks Madoka in Episode 4 is also a possibility.

Madoka also has a witch form, Kriemhild Gretchen, who is absorbed into the Law of Cycles, though I think her foil is most likely the Law of Cycles itself. We'll have to see.

You may have noticed that I am limiting myself solely to witches from the original series rather than spinoff media. The first reason is that I'm skeptical that SHAFT would bring in a witch that general audiences who have only followed the main series have never seen before (except for maybe a brief cameo). The second reason is that the Law of Cycles' motif in Rebellion explicitly shows only those witches from the original series, and we see only a select group of these witches and/or their familiars during the battle against Homulilly's familiars.

All these witches are potentially fair game to appear in WnK, making nine in all, though I doubt more than a handful would have more than a few lines, let alone a major role. Also this diagram does not appear to incorporate Walpurgisnacht unless she turns out to be the Law of Cycles after all.

Somehow, I can't imagine SHAFT pivoting in mid-stream to bring up something completely new or even a more obscure witch from another spinoff, especially when so much of the main series focused on reliving and re-experiencing the same events over and over again. Sorry, fans of the Madoka PSP and slot machine games, I think you're destined to be disappointed in your wish to see any of those game-only witches on the big screen, but I suppose we'll see.

This is all just speculation for now, but I'm excited and intrigued to see where this goes!

[williamrikers]

thoughts on the first episode of 4 minutes

everyone seems to be doing these now, so i'll join in bc i need a way to process what i just saw. putting this under a cut bc of spoilers—if you are familiar with boc's other works (especially kinnporsche and dff) i strongly recommend you try and avoid spoilers before watching! i watched this episode not knowing what was coming and That Scene made me shriek so loudly i probably scared my neighbours. ANYWAY.

okay let's get the big thing out of the way first. bas and fuaiz. HOLY SHIT. i was literally pausing the whole time to text my friend just "WHAT" over and over. They Did That.

let me break this down. boc took one look at the current politics regarding shipped couples in bl, said "yeah we're not doing that" and let bas and fuaiz have a whole entire sex scene. (while gmmtv, for example, let phuwin and thor not even touch lips on wednesday club because phuwin is part of a sacred Shipped Couple.) AND WHAT A SEX SCENE IT WAS!!! i am pretty sure we're gonna see everyone's bare ass over the course of this show. if this is what they're showing us in the very first episode for a couple who i'm guessing might not be endgame?? i mean. damn. what will jes and bible get up to??? mark me down as scared and horny 🫣

sex in boc shows is usually pretty explicit but in this case it's also. just a thing two people do? it's not romanticised. it's strongly implied that tonkla is having sex with korn because korn is paying him for it. korn is older and from an incredibly rich family, and while they were sweet with each other and obviously both enjoyed it, it did feel like a transaction a little bit.

what i found most impressive about this scene was that we got to see tonkla being left alone afterwards and then visibly dealing with that. we could watch him processing—i don't think i've ever seen this kind of post sex unhappiness depicted in bl, and it was so beautifully subtle! we don't yet know whether tonkla was just unhappy with how that particular evening went or if he is unhappy with the arrangement as a whole, but Something Is Definitely Up and it is so incredibly intriguing.

while we're talking about korn, the family dynamics in this show have me in a chokehold. bas and bible as brothers was a genius casting choice, they really do feel like siblings, they have a very sweet vibe together while korn is obviously worried about his younger brother. the whole deal with their father's illegal business of which korn only learns when he is supposed to manage it, the way korn treats his father in general, korn's mother having passed away shortly after his birth and korn being raised by his step-mother (great's mom), it's all so incredibly juicy. bas just has so much presence on screen, he is an absolutely wonderful actor and at this point, i am almost more invested in his story than in the main story 🤭

speaking of which: love that bible got one of his cats to act with him 😂😂 thailand's number one cat dad. but yeah, i am Intrigued, i am seated, i am so happy to be alive to witness this. i don't think there's a lot to be said on this yet bc most of the episode was exposition and great learning about his new powers, and also the narrative tying them to near-death experiences so that we know what we're dealing with going forward. (shout-out to job here bc it was so nice to see him again and also so weird to see him as a character who is actually smart haha 😂)

the production value of this show is off the charts. the first scene of great being pulled back in time was ABSOLUTELY BREATHTAKING. literally the best i've ever seen out of thailand. boc are taking their craft very seriously and it is just such a joy to watch.

also, the numbers everywhere! it got to the point that i was like, oh of COURSE she is in room number 4, WHERE ELSE?? 😂😂

i am so seated for this show. like i cannot express how seated i am. BRING IT ON, BE ON CLOUD.

[maryhadalittlehobby]

Recap of IWTV Screening and Conversation at 92stY

(Please dont repost/reupload my pics or vids from here or IG anywhere else. Sharing/linkinh is ok. Thanks!)

I started the day with a fang gang meetup hosted by Black Girl Talks Fangs. The restaurant was cute and the food great. I'm not a big wine drinker but got a blood red Chateau in honor of the occasion. After, we headed over to the event space.

In my experience attending different events there, the actors typically come in just before the event starts or a few minutes into the screening.

In this case- it was both.

Eric strolled up super casual and had a convo with myself and a few other fans asking if we had read the books and what we were looking forward to. He gave a parting message that the season is amazing and he is not just saying that because he is part of it. I believe him. He was super personable and down to earth.

Delainey arrived next and again kind and generous with her time. She has a very chill energy. Her outfit was more casual this day but I thought chic and the face card never declines. Her makeup artist does her right! And can we talk about that sleek ass ponytail

She complimented my cosplay and said she thinks my beret might be the screen accurate one!

She asked to touch it and said mine was softer!

She also said Carol Cutshall gifted her the beret so she owns Claudia's.

I put this cosplay together in 3 weeks which is barely enough time. Thankfully I had the idea knocking around since October when we first saw this fit in the trailer that dropped at NYCC 23.

Myself and a few fans waited till about 15 minutes into the start of the screening before we gave up on waiting for Jam Reiderson.

While running to the screening I nearly literally ran into Rolin. I asked for a quick pic which he obliged.

The episode was amazing. Very much on par of season 1 so far. Can't wait to see the full thing. Delainey fit into Claudia seamlessly.

The panel itself was great as well. I have a few vids in my IWTV highlight on IG and a few others in an upcoming youtube video I will make AFTER the episode drops. There are some spoiler bits plus 92Y is dropping the full panel too after the ep airs.

Highlights include watching Jam Reiderson literally communicate telepathically- what was the fun on set story?!

Sam slapping Jacobs' lower inner thigh in front of god (Rolin) and everyone.

Working together is like putting on an old glove. An old sock?! Lol what. 'Is that dirty?'

Assad trauma dumping on main. "Armands lost...like me." "I'm intimidated by the cast" Sir please!

Assad also being spicy saying he thinks Armands memory of Lestat is pretty accurate. Drag him king😄

Delainey and Jacob gushing about how they immediately bonded and established their father/daughter/sibling vibes.

Eric calling Jam puppies and Jacob saying "I'm a grown man a parent"lol Sir you are a baby girl as evidenced by

Rolin saying that's a book and this is a show. To me that said was book lovers have the book and you always will but this is a new thing that respects the source but isn't tied down to every single detail.

Then Sam saying there are contradictions even within the series. Please lets talk about it.

And I love this new narrative everyone is spinning, even Sam, who seemed to be in the Lestat is right and Louis is lying boat last press go round. Now everyone is saying there is no right and wrong or truth and lies-the story is told by different people with different perspectives and that's all. Which yes! that's ALWAYS how I saw it! Just because Lestat became the main character and most favored doesn't mean he is infallible.

Jacob and that plushie. Who would have imagined he'd love it so much. Another fan was coming with their Lestat. I don't know if they had intentions of giving it to Sam but sadly they didn't make it.

After the panel I went back to the spot and aimed to get Jacobs signature on my Street of Immortality print which I managed.

I would have loved to get Sam's to but I also wanted to give other fans the chance to get photos and autos. I was already so lucky.

They signed for a loooong time. So long I thought our side wouldnt have a chance or only a few people would. Turns out fans were conducting mini interviews with them lol Someone needs to collect all the questions and answers.

Also they are the smallest cast you've ever seem. Pocketbsized. Everyone one of them is so unassuming.

Overall I had a super good time. The audience vibes were immaculate. The person beside me during the screening/panel was losing their shit then apologizing. But honestly I was here for it lol

Also you could 100% tell it was an audience full of the online fandom.

I ended the night checking out the Time Square ad. It was awesome to see our vamps represented. Hopefully we get a ton of new fans from all the amazing marketing this year.

[sgdlr-asdfghjkl]

Link Click Musical content 120

(it's been a busy time, so let's do a summary)

Because of Chinese New Year holidays, the musical is currently on a break 🐲🌟 There were just a few last performances and now they're resting 🙏 However, some extra content came out, so let's go through it (all video links in replies as always :*)!

LC Musical got media coverage on CCTV (Chinese Central Television - main national tv station in China). It was a short material promoting the play and the theatre, you can actually watch it on Encore Musicals' weibo and bilibili. The stageplay has gained popularity since the premiere and more people are visiting Shanghai to see it. So this news piece is basically a big shout out and a recommendation 🌟

Another video on Encore Musicals bilibili (and 1st pic at the top of my post) is from when the whole musical crew was drawing red envelopes 🧧 (I didn't know this tradition, so I added the wiki for you too^). Basically Zhang Jiahao and Wang Minhui drew the best gifts and were happy about it ^^

I already posted abt Wang Minhui's vlog with rehearsal scenes, but thanks to @chocolatexiaoshi 💝 explanations and translations from @/Elaraqwq and @/bhd322418 on twt 💙, I can tell you about some fun details about it ^^

⬆ So yea, here Cai Qi really says: "Coincidentally, I'm single too. If you want, I'll be your first boyfriend."

⬆ here Cai Qi starts singing CXS's main plot song "Words can't convey the love", then it cuts to Wang Minhui singing the rest (best thing is, we'll get to see that song performed by Shu Rongbo and Wu Yihan on Feb 10th livestream).

⬆ then he talks about the books they have in sunroom shelves. He points out how the books are all about how to become wealthy and sucessful, with titles like: 'It's performance that counts', 'Project Management Practices', 'Conscientiousness trumps competence', 'Corporate Strategy and Risk Management'. Like, the book he's holding in 2nd pic is written by Jack Ma Jun, 4th wealthiest person in China, you get the vibe... It's such a funny touch and shows attention to details by the crew designing the set ❤ I love the idea of our broke indebted boys having a library of economy coaching books ><'

⬆ (okay... okay, you got this Niebo) Then this part. Wang Minhui is singing a song from another musical (白夜追凶 roughly translated as 'Chasing the murderers day and night') in which they played as twins. Minhui played the older brother who was an experienced policeman.

In order to solve the case, Minhui's character tried to rewrite the psychology of the perpetrator, that's what this song is about. Like he was just imagining the interrogation. So Cai Qi is reenacting what Minhui is singing. It is not the actual choreography to that song 💀

Okay, that's all I had to share about the vlog, thank you Mr Wang Minhui 🧎‍♂️

From minor news, Encore Musicals announced they'll be auditioning for LC Musical cast. It's probably connected to how it's a long-term stage and they'll need more actors. According to choco-xiaoshi, musicals like this can go on for a year or longer, depending on how well the tickets sell. And for now LC stage is selling well 🌟

They also posted the performace schedule for March, with special events marked. And yes, Shu Rongbo and Wu Yihan have birthdays on the same day, March 10th and will be performing then 😌

Also Liao Jingyuan and Cai Lu posted these pictures:

To finish this post off, have this Rock, Paper, Scissors sequence between Bai Zhuoming and Wu Yihan. It's not recent, but I like it and wanted to post all the pics together but always reached photo limit before I could ><

it's missing Wu Yihan hours fr

Okie, hope you had fun ^^ remember to make use of a masterlist~

[utilitycaster]

"There is zero attempt to extend anything but bad faith."

standing ovation for tidily describing this fandom in a nutshell tbh

Thanks, but I'm talking about a particular subset, the handwringy overwrought appeals to emotion crowd for whom the gods can never under any circumstances be redeemed, so unless you are also talking about that specific small piece of the fandom, I disagree! I actually think the fandom at large has been pretty receptive to the story as it's being told. And honestly, even when I've been in fandoms that frustrated me greatly with widespread bad faith interpretations (Midst and WBN have both had problems here)* they've come around when more obvious evidence came about. Better late than never.

I do think that an issue in this fandom, and fandoms at large, is not so much bad faith but as someone else said, motivated reasoning (though in the case of something the motivated reasoner dislikes, will become bad faith). A lot of people decide how they want to the story to go very early, often in a manner that validates their own existing real-world politics (even if they're not super applicable to the situation at hand) or personal preferences. I mean, that's in the end the source of a good number of shipping bad takes - people decide two characters must be in love and so even if they start dating other people and not talking to each other anymore, the motivated reasoning shipper decides that ACTUALLY this is all a front and the actor's blinks are in secret code and the relationship will definitely break up and the True Love was Always Endgame no matter how many times the creators say "no, it never was our intention to have those characters get together." But even then I think the silent majority of most fandoms are just. vibing and happy to be here. It's just that motivated reasoning people are loud.

And I'm not setting myself apart here; I'm loud and I'm certainly not without bias. My motivated reasoning tends to be based on foregone conclusions that I think are more likely to actually play out, I think, and I try to be self aware about it, but like, I do tend to assume stories will be good and follow some narrative lines and use the hints they drop, and that is itself an assumption because some stories are poorly made. Like, for example, with the gods, I do think that there is very little chance Matt is going to tell a story that's like "hey, Ashley, you know your first ever TTRPG character, who brought you into this friend group and whose life's purpose is to restore worship in the Everlight? Bad news, Everlight's a genocidal cunt and she's gotta die." That's obviously not my only evidence here. We've got the whole opening scene. We've got the fact that the non-Aeorian NPCs who aren't divine companions we've spent time with have been a sickly old man granted peace in death, a gnomish woman granted solace after being cruelly mocked by Aeorian forces, and the beggars who didn't have food despite wagons of supplies going to Aeor, whereas the Aeorian NPCs have been guards, slimy bureaucrats, teens badly beaten for minor crimes, and a drunk cop; the defaced and forgotten temple in a poor neighborhood that is heavily surveilled from afar because its laborers are unwelcome. Hell, as I said before it aired, the fact that the main PCs are gods and not Aeorian mages is a very deliberate and telling choice on its own. But yeah on some level, while I think Bells Hells have the space to decide to kill the gods since they are those same cast members (thought I doubt that is what they will do), I do not think Matt will tell an earlier story that says "hey, everyone at the table except Marisha? your beloved character(s) whom you played for all or most of a campaign followed a rotten-to-the-core lie."

Going off the meta of creators is a bit risky - a lot of dumb D20 discourse is based on assuming Brennan's leftism is the same as Very Online I Do Not Dream Of Labor Leftism and not his actual "the BBEG is the exploitation and undervaluing of labor and the dehumanization of others; labor itself can be deeply fulfilling, you just shouldn't be forced to rely on your capacity to do labor to the exclusion of all other things to be housed and fed" leftism and reasoning from there - but it's certainly more reliable than going off reasoning of "I as a random private individual want the gods to die for whatever the fuck reason and therefore that is the correct thing to happen and any other outcome is bad."

This is very rambly because I just got up and maybe it's that it's a nice morning and I can actually enjoy a leisurely breakfast before going into work unlike most of last week and much of the rest of this week, but for all I proudly identify as a hater, I am very much a lover of fiction and I want it to succeed and I want it to not just validate me. Like, if I hate on something it's because I wish it were better, but I don't hate on something just because it presents a different viewpoint than the one I already held. And I think you have to bring that good faith to fandom as well. If people are being idiots and assholes then yeah you don't need to keep acting like they're valid for that (I mean, they're valid in that everyone has the right to their opinions, but not in the sense that you need to grant those opinions intellectual consideration on par with thoughtful and evidenced meta and theories) but I do not actually go in assuming the fandom is going to be wrong and dumb and disappointing, and I think that's why I've found such enjoyment in it. Most people are chill! Chill people just tend not to loudly say WOW I'M SO CHILL AND THIS STORY IS GREAT.

*one bit of salt to cut the sweetness here but also still weirdly positive: the way I've dealt with that and specifically WBN is that I am trying to write one piece of meta after each episode that doesn't attack people or anything, just lays out my thoughts respectfully. Be the change you wish to see. I think a lot of people in fandom see someone disagreeing with them and go "OH YOU CAN'T LET US HAVE ANYTHING" and frankly this is the cause of almost all fandom unpleasantness I've experienced (in the sense of people seeing me say I don't like something and acting like I shut them down instead of simply didn't vibe), but it's important to remember that isn't how it works. Even if you do think the fandom has widespread bad opinions, you can change this by being thoughtful and patient and putting forth better ones. I mean there's limits, and if a fandom is genuinely hateful, get out, but if it's just surface-level takes for something that should be deeper? Be the one who shows the depth.

[hologramcowboy]

https://www.tumblr.com/hologramcowboy/745395618485272576/am-i-being-extra-sensitive-or-was-this-a-rape?source=share

I hope I can vent here for a second. I genuinely do not understand why anyone gave him a pass on that one. Had that been someone like Joe Jonas, Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Mike Tyson, Pedro Pascal even, they would not have been given a pass and it would have been all over main news media sites. He wouldn't be making that joke if he knew any of the children that were sexually abused by priests for decades or what happened with the Boy Scouts. There are just some things you don't make a joke about. His Brendan Fraser The Whale joke he made was bad enough, as were some other jokes he made over the years, but in this day and age, there is no more excuse. I don't personally know anyone affected by the abuse people of those two institutions enacted, that I'm aware of I should say, and I would never ever make that joke. As gross as Misha can be, even he didn't make that joke. Even if he wanted to play along, he shouldn't, not after he was so vocal about the mass graves found in Canada and the atrocities committed by the churches up there against Native children for decades.

Any AA that defends that joke Jensen made is a heartless asshole that needs to get their heads checked as soon as possible.

Now, that all being said, I think he's saying worse and worse things lately for two reasons. The first is I think this is really him and he just doesn't give a fuck anymore. Like he'll still try to tell people what he thinks they want to hear but more and more lately, he gives a very no fucks given vibe. Whether that's due to what happened with The Winchesters or Rust or whatever, that's the vibe he gives off. The second is I think he says assholish shit like this at certain points because he's trying to give off a Soldier Boy vibe, sort of selling that character since a lot of people speculate he'll be returning for The Boys' last season. Sort of like he used to dress as Dean with the flannel and jeans, and then like Beau when Big Sky was airing. I could be wrong but that's the vibe I got when he went "oh, that's too far?"

I'm curious as to what your thoughts are. Not about the joke, we all know it was disgusting and highly inappropriate, but about why he presents himself like this sometimes. And why he always seems to get a free pass the more he ups the ante on being an asshole.

Jensen's self image is warped by his sychopant fans and his deluded wife. He has no personality of his own and instead tries to inject in himself the attributes of the characters he gets cast as because he mistakes characters for branding. Branding is who You are not who your character is. Branding is that unique essence you bring to your character.

Sorry to say but this is what happens when a man who lacks culture and studies gets hyper praised to the point where he loses his sensitivity towards others. Jensen has a one sided view in life, anyone who disagrees with him is automatically a bully. He is just like his sychopantic fans. He can't perceive the world in all of its layers and that's endlessly sad for someone who claims to be an artist.

He claims he wants to bring light to the world or whatever will earn him approval but then acts like a jock who is bullying his friends.

At the end of the day, Jensen is a subpar actor who lacks culture in an industry where people are now multihyhyphenated and multicultured. It would do him good to be more grounded and realize that his influence can help people when it is used with the intention to help, rather than when it is squandered on incredibly inappropriate jokes and behaviors (getting superdrunk at cons is a superbad example).

Being praised in a one sided way has clearly gone to his head. That terrible joke is not the first time he demonstrated a lack of empathy and self awareness. I really wish he had good role models around him but he's married to the queen of bullying so why are we even surprised when he acts like a mindless, self centered jock?

Jensen needs to grow up. A lot. Thank you for allowing me to vent, I have tears in my eyes as I am writing this, I am just so sad he's turning out to be such a disappointment on so many levels. You see, you are definitely not alone in your need to vent and thank you so much for expressing things in an honest, open way. AAs forget what honesty and having values means because they forego their own values and replace them with the perceived ones from Jensen. It pains me to say this because I saw so much in him but...Jensen is no rolemodel.

[distractedducky]

Ok, so it's been a minute since the Teen Wolf movie came out and I finally have the perspective to think about how I would turn it into a canon-compliant and resource-consistent movie rewrite. 

If I’m limited to the actors that signed on and the general plot beats of Allison coming back to life, getting the band back together, using the nemeton in some way, Harris and Eli hale. Here is how I would have done it: (please note I have hindsight and no writing ability and even though I mention Monroe a lot she will not actually need to be on screen to comply with not having her actor in the movie)

We kick off not in Japan, not with Scott, none of that. 

Beacon Hills is now a supernatural open town in a county that has spent years dealing with the result of an active nemeton. We imply changes through cut shots, like mystic shops and familiar names on fliers.  We use the whole county for the surrounding areas to show off these Suttle changes to known locations. Pictures of the original cast in the trophy cases at the high school, the McCall clinic on an open shot of what was once Deaton’s vet office, Mason and Parrish getting into a squad car outside the station. Hale Mechanics and audio body store (more like an AutoZone vibe to cement it more into the community). Kids getting out of class or practice doing a casual backflip down the stairs and another kid pushing them for “showing off” the jeep driving fast down the main street. 

We can have a voice-over explaining the main antagonist of the series, the hunters, and how BH though not completely open has accepted supernaturals in a low-number situation as Monroe spent years building up her militia. They did exactly what the show told us they would do, they followed the beacon to the town and found someplace safe. Monroe and the hunters after the death of the final big bad in season 6 and prolonged investment from the BH pack that we see in the time skip of the last episode, were basically reduced to code breakers and young hunters in the last few years. Everyone we know grew up and used their connections to take them down.

We cut to a flashback of a mass arrest of hunters with a joint sheriff’s department and FBI takedown (this is an illusion to Stiles who will not be in the film because we are sticking to actors who signed on to return)

Then we go back to the present day where we get a bit of a where are they now, how everyone settled into new roles, This is shown to us through little Vignette not just told to us but again I'm not a writer I'm going to sum up. We see Christ and Melissa splitting up as he went back to France to work on further cleaning up and spreading new hunter ideology “we protect those who can’t protect themselves”, Jackson working with other packs internationally to network safety and protection plans and help relocate supernatural after hunter problems (illusions to his comfy life with Ethan and happy overseas), mason and Liam staying intown starting their own careers (Liam opening a dinner and working with a new supernatural who came to town in the years – our new kitsune), Malia returning and working for Derek after spending time overseas and wanted to build a home in the one place she felt human, Lydia starting her own tech company with another illusion to Stiles traveling for FBI work, showing that he is not around a lot but they are, if not still together, still in each other’s lives,  Scott setting up his animal clinic and rescue along with our new friends, a couple of werewolves (the two we saw in the opening along with some background people we only need for the scene) that come in and out of the town that Scott takes in, some stay, some move on, but all of them are still pack (that's the vibe we are going for), this would also go to explain that people like Hayden left and Cory might be out of town right now but are still around. This would also help explain our new kitsune as well as an introduction to characters that could connect to Eli. (it’s a movie let’s make the world feel bigger) Eli should be about a year younger or so and we don’t have to explain his parentage but can emphasize that his mother might have been one of those strays affected by either Kate or the Argents or a different hunter group, maybe someone Derek met between 4-6 instead of in the middle of 3a-3b. 

We go to the nemeton when Scott or Derek is talking to Deaton or the sheriff about how things have settled and stabilized (this could be like the scene with the fire and how Eli has stolen the jeep again or Scott has just done an animal rescue and is talking to Deaton post) and we see a hooded figure doing some kind of sacrificial ritual at the roots of the stump - we see a girl in the dirt - we see her eyes - Its Allison. 

Then we can cut to a similar scene of Argent coming back into town, a little time has passed we get a few scenes of Eli trying to fit in with the other high school kids and not doing great, the sheriff running things around town. We did all the set-up scenes and character introductions in the first third/half with the cutaways to something happening in the background. we have little hints that things have been going wrong or strange, a call from Isaac (not seen) to Chris about Allison, rumors Jackson is hearing about an Argent heir, the sheriff talking to Derek about Stiles comes up in a conversation about how it has been weirdly quiet, Lydia drawing or seeing something weird or arrow related, etc. 

The movie is now about finally ending the thing that started this all, hunter involvement, and the main issue is a confused Allison who doesn’t have her memories and was convinced by someone that the BH pack is the enemy and must be destroyed. We watch as the rest of the pack come together to figure out  - if she’s back - how she’s back - who brought her back, it's calling back to early seasons 1 and 2 'who done it' with a few twists when we find out Monroe is dead but was dabbling in something weird – this can be what Peter is here for. 

We get Chris reuniting with everyone and talking to Scott and Deaton about Allison, with illusions to Isaac still in France. We get Jackson back with more of a reason for being there with the noise he has been hearing as a legitimate reason to think hunters are moving again and the lost argent heir that brings him home. We get Peter being the best and a group of kids, Eli plus some of the other strays we saw in the beginning of the movie, being dragged into a war they all thought was long behind them if they were aware of it at all. (those be our New Teen Wolves) Derek is still a dad, but his kid isn’t scared of being a werewolf or shifting but more embarrassed he can’t shift because there are other slightly older, cooler supers in his life (2) and he can’t talk to his dad, the full shifter, about his problems so he is acting out. 

we can still have the group trying to find the nemeton again and we can still have interpersonal relationships, but we make the focus simpler and more human. We get Allison relearning who she is and who she was to all these different people while also setting up a new mystery for these new young wolves that their parents are trying to keep them away from. Allison relearning herself is slower and intercut with everyone not just Scott. The twist being that it really is kinda over, at least with Monroe, but that it's never really over. That Harris was brought back as a test drive for Allison and instead used her to get his own revenge, and then we can end on that ominous plug for a new show that they were pushing. 

Idk this is all I’ve really got, I’m not a writer, but can you see it?!

I know it’s a little fanficy but 1 that’s what I’m doing and 2 so was the movie, OMG was it the most fanfic trope thing I’ve ever seen.

I feel like it's something. It will never happen and hindsight is 20/20, we can’t play what-ifs. But if I could, I would have made this movie instead of what we got. 

Monroe’s last stand, bringing back people from the dead and manipulating them to do her work for her only for it to blow up in her face with Harris and Allison. The real end to the Argents as hunters with Allison coming back and fully embracing the new Beacon Hills and Scott. Relearning what the show was kind of trying to teach us even if it was doing a super poor job most of the time. 

Tell me I’m crazy, I want to hear your thoughts. 

I know this is nuts, but I had to write this out and send it into the void before it ate me up inside. 

[quincywillows]

a scattered and overall supportive review of percy jackson season 1

let me just say first of all, it's extremely fun to be enthused about a tv show like this again. the adaptation isn't perfect, but it's a lot of fun, and you can tell there's plenty of heart and good intention behind what they're doing. i'm very much enjoying tuning in every couple of episodes and catching up -- and avoiding the relentless commentary of the internet while i do so lol.

but now it's time for MY commentary!! to preface, i was a huge fan of the books when i was younger, am a stalwart long-term advocate of the original five books as some of the best children's lit of our lifetime, but i also enjoyed the films a decade ago for what they were and think people (including cough rick cough) are way too harsh about them. justice for logan lerman. anyway

i'm not going to do like a play-by-play, but in summary, here are my takeaways from the first season -- what i thought worked, what did not, and things i'm optimistic about going into the future seasons.

the good

for an adaptation of the original series (which, to be fair, i have not reread in years), i felt this was honest and faithful. there were tweaks, obviously, but none that took me too out of it or felt irredeemable. there was a lot to like about this show, so i want to start right from the top with my highest highs.

the worldbuilding / production design. i absolutely loved getting to see how they imagined certain iconic characters, locations, and sequences from the books. it was so exciting to get to see camp halfblood for the first time on screen (at least, in this adaption) -- that moment in episode two definitely felt like a turning point where we picked up from the somewhat laggy pilot episode. i especially loved the design of mount olympus, aspects of the underworld (hades and his upside down castle were baller, though how did percy and grover get up there lol; and i absolutely loved the choice for asphodel and the ghosts being rooted like trees, i never would've thought of that myself but it was so chilling and unique... just wish i could see it better through the terrible lighting, but we'll come back to that), and of course, camp. even down to the small details, like the camp beads... it's just very cool to see it come to life.

the casting. i wasn't sure about some of the casting when the news was breaking, but i'm very happy to have been pleasantly surprised all around (and have majorly avoided people bitching about every single thing). there wasn't any role where i felt like someone was horribly miscast, and you could tell that everyone involved really wanted to be there and committed. i thought the casting of the gods was especially inspired at times. some of the highlights for me personally:

adam copeland as ares. i had no idea he was apparently a wrestler turned actor until my sister told me, but i thought he was absolutely spectacular. very charismatic, with just the right amount of cringefail that ares needed. i found him thoroughly enjoyable in all his scenes.

lance reddick as zeus. having just played horizon zero dawn recently, oh my lorde was this an inspired choice. he was absolutely brilliant. i'm so so sad about his passing, i don't know how they're going to recapture his performance, but i have faith now that they'll find a way.

timothy omundson as hephaestus. i love that they took a softer, more mad scientist approach to his role than like ugly basement blacksmith vibes... i just thought it was really refreshing. his scene with annabeth, where we got so much humanity from him in such a short span of time, was one of my favorite scenes of the season.

jason mantzoukas as dionysus. i mean. what else can be said. obvious choice, but he was so fun lol. i hope they give him more to do next season.

other standouts beyond the main youth cast for me were jay duplass as hades (his brief appearance in 107 was thoroughly enjoyable) and dior goodjohn as clarisse (she was by far the acting standout of the first couple episodes to me). also very happy to see jessica kennedy parker and sinclair from the 100 get work, lol.

walker as percy jackson. it was really wonderful watching walker grow as an actor even just through the first eight episodes. the difference from 101 to 108 is almost night and day. you can tell how much he cares about the project and percy as a character, and he upped his game with every episode. i cannot wait to see what he turns out in the coming seasons. to be fair, i thought all of the youth cast did a decent job, and i'm giving them a lot of leeway and room to grow since they are literally child actors -- it takes time to hone your craft, and im optimistic they're all going to do a great job as the series goes on. but walker was, definitively and thankfully as the protagonist, the standout.

charlie bushnell as luke. i was so excited when i heard he got cast because i loved him in diary of a future president, and he did not disappoint. i kind of wish he had more to do, but all of that was forgiven in the finale when he had his final confrontation with percy. oh, the acting popped off then -- i can't wait for him to get to chew up the scenery more in the coming seasons.

grover and percy's friendship. it was so sweet to see this come alive, and i thought walker and aryan had excellent natural chemistry together. they were so endearing, and i really believed their friendship basically from the start (them swapping their sandwich fillings is a tiny detail from the pilot that has stuck with me since; i just loved that choice so much). they definitely provided a lot of my favorite moments in the season, and i think evoked the most genuine "aw wow" moments from me.

percy's relationship with sally. since sally was, understandably, absent from the original novel, it was awesome to get the flashbacks here that allowed us to more deeply understand their bond. i thought walker and virginia did a great job with this, and the young actor who played little percy also did a surprisingly great job (he was actually one of the stronger youth actors in the pilot imo lol). you totally understood why percy was doing everything he was, because that mother-son bond felt believable. big shout-out to the absolutely baller line "i am sally jackson's son." one of the first writing moments where i was like oh snap!

the music. a good score really can't be understated, and this one did not disappoint. did just what it needed to do. i also loved the closing title sequence and the art direction there with the epic music -- just such a nice touch that i'm so glad they included.

some of the writing. i'll get more into some of my qualms with the writing below, but there were definitely some great moments that deserve their flowers. i thought they did a great job weaving in some early themes without being heavy-handed about it (percy having to define who he is for himself, mostly). there were some genuinely funny moments that made me laugh out loud, including "i am impertinent," annabeth's "i'm multitalented," and the entire exchange on the road side when the trio to ares are like no... we're fine... ahaha bye... oh and percy trying to drive the taxi out of the garage at the casino was absolutely hysterical.

pivotal scenes hitting their mark. when the show needed to deliver, i thought they really delivered. i absolutely loved the staging and acting in the final luke and percy confrontation -- the lighting of the fireworks was such a cinematic touch. percy's arrival at olympus and scene with zeus was also a big standout. i loved a lot of the st. louis arch episode, and thought the hephaestus golden chair sequence was really well done. overall, the episodes i thought were strongest were without a doubt 104, 105, and 108.

expansion where expansion was welcome. one of my favorite aspects of the series is how it's giving more nuance to the monsters and "villains" of the books. i loved that we got a little more motivation for alecto beyond evil -- that she clearly wanted to accomplish her own mission and retrieve the helm, whether out of loyalty or fear. i loved how medusa got much more depth and humanity, that we're sort of reexamining the fairness of how myths are told rather than just taking it all at face value. i'm really looking forward to seeing how that continues in the next seasons.

the decent

percy and annabeth. to be fair, i think my issue with this is more on the fan reaction than the show itself. i think the show is doing a decent, if somewhat awkwardly paced job, of building their friendship and offering small little hints of what could blossom in the future in classic youth awkward ways -- unexpected hugs, banter, etc. i think walker and leah are both doing a good job, and i look forward to seeing how it develops. but my god, people on the internet are really jumping the shark so hard here. i can't handle seeing more "uwu percy is in love" posts when it's like. y'all. THEY ARE 12. THEY JUST MET. LET THEM ORGANICALLY BECOME FRIENDS FIRST... i just hope the creators don't feed into that and also jump the shark. like yes, we all know where this is going, but can't we enjoy the actual journey to get there instead of forcing what isn't there yet? in any case, on the positive side, some of the moments between them i really enjoyed: the conversation on the train when grover was asleep, the hephaestus chair sequence, annabeth giving him her camp beads before going to olympus (that was a slay... that was a legendary slow burn start moment worth hyping up), the way percy smiled at her in their last scene... that's the good stuff. let's not rush through what we're getting folks. the water is fine.

lin manuel as hermes. here is the thing. i thought lin did a good job. i thought his casting was apt, and fun, and he did a great balance of hermes charisma and like, a darker edge. it's just... the thing about lin manuel is that he's lin manuel. and this is coming from someone who likes him, but it's like he shows up on screen and i'm just like. hey it's lin manuel. it's a bit of a "takes you out of the moment" stunt casting, but i'm not mad about it. i wouldn't call it a bad thing. hopefully it'll wear off (though i doubt it). i guess i'm just deciding that hermes is just lin manuel, which honestly, would kind of track.

the youth acting. mentioned this above, but again, some of that early delivery was rough. but i am giving a lot of grace, and i think they've already improved plenty in the first eight episodes. i felt the same way about shadowhunters back in the day when i thought kat mcnmara was hard to watch in season 1, but by season 3 she was my absolute favorite cast member and came so far. i have no doubt these kiddos will do the same. so very much looking forward to that.

the not so great

the pacing. this was definitely the weakest part of the story writing wise. it wasn't irredeemable, but it did hinder the first half of the show (which didn't lock in for me until about 104, when the stakes truly shot up at st. louis). and that also affected how dynamics and plot points were able to unravel. the biggest victim of this...

the luke reveal. from the start, i was worried about this. since luke was only really in episode 2, i had doubts about whether the reveal of his betrayal would be at all satisfying or earned. i don't know that i can speak on it for sure, since i knew what was going to happen as someone who read the books, but i still feel we should have gotten more of those luke-and-percy-bonding scenes and convos earlier in the series rather than tacked onto the finale as flashbacks. it worked there, but i think it could've been better. thankfully, all of that didn't hinder the delivery of the finale confrontation, which as i said, was a standout moment for me.

the fight scenes. with rare exception, i was pretty underwhelmed with many of the monster battles and confrontations this season. given that's such a huge gimmick of the novels, i hope they're able to revisit and polish up the pacing of these in the future... i just felt that scenes like the museum clash with dodds were so rushed and anticlimactic. or not even confrontations at all, like the scene with crusty. we got a bit more of this at the back half of the season, in the sword fights with ares and luke, but i wanted more of that epic feeling throughout. i'm hoping it's maybe just a budget concern and that it'll improve in the coming seasons -- especially as the bosses get bigger and the stakes get higher -- but i'm not sure i'm optimistic just yet.

some of the dialogue. it was... wooden, to say the least. i think the worst moments of this were when they were trying to force Kid Bants -- which just felt stilted in the earlier episodes -- and whenever they were explaining greek myths point blank to the audience. there were moments it worked, but many where it didn't, and i hope they flesh out how to better info dump in the future episodes. i didn't mind the change of having percy be more familiar with the myths and thus more aware, but they could afford to finesse how they relay that information to us in the audience without basically reading from wikipedia in percy's voice.

the ugly

oh my god i can't see. i can't SEE. this show went to the teen wolf academy of employing one lightbulb and it's actually criminal. there were so many scenes where i really wanted to see what was happening because the stakes were high or the scenery was so pivotal -- the entry into the underworld for the first time, the vastness of medusa's basement of stone, THE FIELDS OF ASPHODEL -- but the lighting was so god awful i legitimately couldn't see a thing. in asphodel i literally could barely see the trio's expressions, it was that bad / flat. the audience is smart, we understand it's dark out. we can suspend our disbelief so you can add some visibility to this thing. i was turning up my brightness constantly but it wouldn't go any higher. please, disney execs, rick, anyone -- GET ANOTHER LIGHTBULB. i'm losing key immersive aspects of the show to this and it's a bummer. when they were walking through waterland for the first time and annabeth was like "wow can you believe this craftsmanship" i was like i don't know, girl, I CAN'T SEE ANY OF IT. begging on my knees that they fix this next season.

well, that ended up longer than expected, but oh my gods it is so nice to be writing paragraphs about a tv show again. all in all, i'd say 7.5/10 from me in this first season. there's so much to be keen for here, and i'm really happy with how it's going so far.

friends and fellow demigods, what did we all think?

[dropthedemiurge]

My first impression for GMMTV 2024 projects:

Ossan's Love Thailand: Let's just say, first one is instant skip for me, though I am still excited to watch Earth and Mix in something I'll enjoy. I probably should go and watch Cupid's Last Wish instead xD Japanese comedy that is transferred in a Thailand comedy make me fear for my life, to be honest (my tolerance for physical comedy is unfortunately very low). But good luck to EarthMix though, they'll get to play some funky roles, hope they'll have fun!

Leap Day: Woah! It looks very intense and very interesting already. Pond and Dew (who I dearly love since High School series) in a very dark and mystical thriller(?). It's not BL but I love unique plots with darker vibes. Also Gun playing autistic guy (who also gives off creepy vibes because the entire trailer is creepy)? Sign me up twice! I'm going to be checking it out for sure.

The Heart Killers: First and Khaotung wanted to play a cute sweet romcom after all the depressing and dark and difficult characters and tears, right? Well, they also wanted to play mafia or gang roles so I guess that gave Jojo the right to make a ASSASSINS ROM-COM, why not!xD This man is the only one I go for when I want something very refreshing, unusual, gritty, that has flawed and underground characters, weapons and high stakes. It'll probably fumble the ending but I'm definitely going to be here for my Assassin x Tattoo Artist Firstkhao. Also it'll be my introduction to JoongDunk. Second to the top of series I'm excited about!

Friendshit Forever: I actually had to double take because GMM surely loves puns in their titles, right? xD I thought this would be GL but it seems like a very intense friendship-betrayal story, seems like girl actors are able to pull it off and New is going to get caught up between them, sounds interesting but again, not my type of story. Still, points for the shit in the title lol

Perfect10Liners: I literally have 3 couples that I am familiar with because I saw them in other shows, and they all play Thai engineers, and I still have no desire to watch this show? Somehow?! I don't know why but I feel like the writing is not solid at all. Or the premise. I'm not sure what's this show is even about, beside a silly university romcom. I am already craving something more interesting, I'm sorry guys.

Us: I ONLY HAD EMI AND BONNIE FOR ONE MINUTE AND I DON'T WANT TO LET THEM GO! I mean, new discoveries?! This trailer is filmed beautifully, first of all. The acting is already great (also hello, Sing, my beloved!) and the girls have chemistry (I might have a little crush on Emi already). Anyway. I am still waiting for GL that'll be my cup of tea, I hope this will be one.

Hide & Sis: I really enjoy the vibes, the three sisters look badass (and I adore Piploy and Lookjun and Jan), it's very unusual to see Chimon in this role, Gawin continues his police officer streak, but THAT NAME! Who decided on a name for this series and why?xD Probably not going to watch but I give it a stamp of approval.

ThamePo (Heart that skips a beat): Oh! I enjoy idol stories, though I haven't seen many, but I'm always intrigued how shows like this could display the backstage and the complications that come with different positions and spotlight. And thank god GMMTV used their actual boygroup to play idols! And didn't just try to teach actors to dance. I don't know main two actors but they seem to have good chemistry as well?! I'm intrigued.

Break Up Service: I'm all for Off in a very sketchy role (Midnight Motel type of sketchy, only with even higher stakes?xD) but the overall genre is probably not my thing.

Revamp The Undead: I'm sorry but all I know about BounPrem is that these are guys from another agency who desperately wanted to have vampire BL for years or something xD Glad to see the wish being fulfilled! I love how the teaser was filmed, and the plot has a big potential. Don't know the cast but might tune it to check out! Also my guy Kay is here being bad!! (I am collecting my HS gang over all lakorns)

Sweet Tooth Good Dentist: Sorry but I'm going to be mourning Mark Pakin's talent being wasted on series like that x) I don't know the other guy Ohm, sorry, but such romantic comedy where Mark's character is a weirdo and simply falls in love with the client (how was he not fired on the spot) doesn't really intrigue me... But at least it's a step up from his (amazing) side roles.

The Dark Dice: Ooh! I love psychological thrillers and this honestly reminded me of Cube, I just didn't expect Gemini to be the main lead. As someone who watched Gifted, High School and similar shows, this is right up my alley. Very curious to check out and I hope they'll do something deep with it beside a simple mystery.

The Ex Morning: I might be biased but I just knew they would be the last one, what everyone's been waiting for. It's hilarious to think that the plot is based on Krist and Singto's actual lives but I trust P'Aof to write compelling characters and relationships. Also I probably will sigh with relief already because he's one of the very few writers that actually write a complete story with a nice and believable (and not hurried) ending. And I really want KS to come back with a bang, just like TayNew did with Cherry Magic. GMM going exes back to lovers will be very interesting to watch, and Krist Singto grew as actors so much. I'm very excited!

Overall, I'm happy to see GMMTV choosing to try a lot more mystical or dark stories than before, way less school students and also most of these BL stories are about adults! Woah! Finally! The audience is mostly grown up as well, thankfully they realized it. And their announced project about accepting stories and plot from the fans, as well as Interactive Game project by GMM, I wonder how that'll look like.

It's funny how last year I was thinking about making my webcomics and visual novel games with GMM actors and I didn't push through because I had health problems and not enough time, and it's like in 2024 GMM tells me THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE WANT. Maybe I should actually make some dating otome novel game or some interesting AU webcomic based on GMM BL pairings, and then show it to all fans and then GMM would notice it xD Who knows? Go kick me so I'd work on one of those projects in my mind.

Anyway, in Part 1 I barely liked any trailers or stories, and I like almost everything in Part 2. I am very very excited.

[hyp-no-tic]

GMMTV 2024 PART 2 - BINGO

For the upcoming event on April 23rd (which I'm not going to be able to watch live 😭😭😭)

I was quite pleased with part 1 🌈🥰 And let's be real, I've got no time to make another bingo card for part 2 so here's what's left of my first card!

Thanks again to @icouldhyperfixatehim for creating this awesome bingo card.

Things I’m fairly sure we’re getting:

Firstkhao series (pretty much confirmed)

Mark fucking Pakin KISSING (it looks like we're getting MarkOhm??)

(And that's it since I've had no time to snoop on social media recently and anyway I looove to be surprised)

And yes I'm aware we're not getting a Fluke Pusit main role since my man moved on from GMMTV since then (to get himself his own main role: bravo!!)

Things I would really like to see:

P'Jojo said somewhere that he’d like to do a domestic cutesy BL, please give the man what he wants. As a general rule, GMMTV should just let Jojo do whatever Jojo wants to do, period.

P’Aof once said in a interview that he would like to work with actors he hasn’t work with yet and that among gmmtv he hadn’t had the chance to work with Gun (or Krist) soooooooooo this could be the year is what I’m saying.

PLEASE give me something by the BMF production team (P'Waa Waasuthep, who also directed The Gifted) because Be My Favorite is definitely one of my favorite series, it was perfect.

Another more politically oriented drama (à la The Eclipse, Not Me)

Since remakes are in right now, you know what I would love a Thai take on? Color Rush! I really liked this KBL, it had SUCH an interesting premise but… *sigh* it was way too short to be impactful imo (the vibe of the show though omg). (P'Nuchy? P'Golf?)

More trans characters with great supporting roles/strong storylines, more non-binary characters

More QUEER ELDERS!! Different generations of queer interacting (ex: the gay uncles in My Ride the series, they were EVERYTHING)

Already completed in Part 1 :

EARTHMIX: Ossan's Love TH

ADULT LIFE BL (post uni): The Trainee, Peaceful Property, Ossan's Love TH, Wandee Goodday, hell I'll put Pluto in it too!

GEMINIFOURTH: My Love Mix-Up!

OFFGUN and TAYNEW: separately but whatever it counts (and anyway it was a wishful dream)

NEO SERIOUS ROLE: Am I splitting hair? Who's knows? But it does not look like he's playing a clown in My Golden Blood, gimme baseball bat!Neo

1 GL NEW SHIP: Pluto (plus several side couples!!)

MAGICAL REALISM BL: My Golden Blood's more supernatural but saaaaaaaaame

NEW WTF SHIP: JossGawin +  NamtanFilm

GAWIN CASKEY MAIN ROLE: My Golden Blood

WINNYSATANG + AOUBOOM + ENSEMBLE BL CAST: We Are the series

[gottabedramatic]

I FINALLY STARTED LOVE NEXT DOOR AND I NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT.

First of all, I'm happy that I waited for the whole drama to air. It would be pure torture to wait for the next episodes, and I know it because I just watched 1st ep and I'm thrilled to watch more.

Second of all, I kinda have this issue where I almost desperately need to know what I'm getting into (I feel like I need to work on that through therapy cuz I'm more than aware that I can't be certain about every aspect of my life or even living itself...). So, starting an airing drama is like walking on a really thin ice for me because I refuse to watch dramas with sad or sad open endings. Like, excuse me, I'm escaping reality in order to be happier and not to cry a river because of the sad ending. I know, it's silly, and I'm probably missing out on many amazing dramas, but so be it.

Therefore, after I found out about the *trauma* part of this drama (I gave myself spoilers, obviously), I knew I would not start it till I'm sure it's a happy ending. I literally just gave up on "Love of Nirvana" for the same reason. Fortunately, I watched only 1st ep..

Moving on to the first impression about Love Next Door. First of all, even before I started the drama, I found out about its alternative, Korean title – 엄마친구아들.

After I saw the romanized version of it, I was pleasantly surprised to realize that I actually understand what it means. "Mom's Friend's Son" is such a cliché title, but on the other hand, I'm torn between that and the English title. Yeah, I know the main leads were in past, and will be next-door neighbors... But Mom's Friend's Son gives me such melancholic vibes and brings back memories from almost 10 years ago when I read way too many fanfictions on Watppad. Suddenly, I'm just a 13 year old girl who is loving the trope of neighborhood love stories where moms of the main leads are friends or at least know each other. Or a different version of the story – brother's best friend (I'm looking at you, Hidden Love). I've always wanted to meet someone through a connection like that but unfortunately, all of my mom's friends have children that are 10 or more years older than me, none of them living in the same neighborhood, and my brother is 2 years younger, so meeting someone through my mom or my brother and falling in love with this person was impossible for me... Back to the topic – I think both titles are great.

I've already watched 1st ep, and I'm so so so excited about what's coming. I'm almost sure I will not be able to get away from this drama in the next 48 hours. This is awesome if you ask me because I'm starting a new uni semester this week, but not until Wednesday!

This episode was everything I expected and even more – I already saw some bits of the drama on TikTok, so I had a rough idea about the relationship dynamics and who is who. I love to see familiar faces not only within the main cast but also the side characters. I adore most of these actors and I like their other works, so I know I'm getting on an amazing ride with them.

[boozles]

Okay, time to go through my bingo card for todays GMMTV 2025!

What I got:

PodPapang debut. (Boys in Love) Okay, it's as a side pairing, and the show might not have grabbed me instantly, but it looks cut enough.

TayNew series. (A Dog and a Plane) I am literally overjoyed. I wanted a new series, but I didn't have my hopes up...and it's Jojo directing! Also, Tay with tattoos - I don't know how I'll survive this. I think it's gonna be funny seeing New play a flight attendant, you know he's gonna camp it up.

JimmySea series. (My Magic Prophecy) I won't lie, I wasn't overly bothered if we got this or not; Last Twilight really pissed me off in the end, which isn't really the actors' fault, I know. However, this looks like a fun mystery and we finally get to see Jimmy play a doctor!

Marriage centred series. (My Romance Scammer) I won't lie, I'm not overly bothered about this. It's nice to see Junior and Mark in a leading role, but I could honestly not care less about Ohm and Fluke. I feel bad saying that but I just don't enjoy Ohm as an actor, and the storyline itself is a little bleh to me atm. I may be more hyped when it comes to release.

PondPhuwin series. (Me and Thee) A reverse Never Let Me Go, so to speak. I'm here for it. I have fallen in love with Pond and Phuwin over the last year and I am so excited to see them in this series.

GeminiFourth series. (Ticket to Heaven) Listen, I was practically salivating when this trailer was airing. I love Catholic themed things in anything (well, my dream career is a historian of religion after all) and I love some good Christian guilt. I am so excited to see G4 in a more serious drama and this is going to be so good.

EarthMix series. (Only Friends: Dream On) Okay, 3 main couples but I'm counting it. (More on my feelings on the show further down.)

PerthSanta leads. (Love You Teacher) Okay, I know everyone is a bit meh over this, but as long as it's not complete amnesia, I'm good. I HATE amnesia tropes, but this made me think of The Simpsons episode where Homer is hypnotised to think he's 10 years old again, and I'm here for the nonsense.

GreatInn series. (Memoir of Rati) I am so glad they got another show together. They really are so amazing to watch together, and this series looks like it's going to be very serious and devastate me.

Surprise BL pairing. (Boys in Love) ChokunAston was not one I expected! I was hoping Chokun would pop up somewhere, so this was a lovely surprise!

Period Drama. (Memoir of Rati) I think this series is going to be a hit. It's got I Feel You Linger in the Air vibes and a fantastic cast. I'm quite hyped for this.

What I didn't get:

Drake and a new partner. I mean, okay, he is in Dare You To Death with a girlfriend, but that doesn't count.

Typical high school drama. I was expecting something like High School Frenemy or Home School, but nope! And I'm not that mad, tbh.

DrakeFrank return. IT WAS A RIDICULOUS HOPE, I KNOW OKAY?!

JanMook GL I'm kinda gutted that Mook wasn't even there, from what I can tell. I know she apparently still has Friendshit Forever (which I'm really hoping gets cancelled because it sounds awful) but it looks like she doesn't have any GMMTV roles for a wee while and it makes me worried she's gonna follow Mek and leave.

ForceBook & TayNew as co-leads. A GIRL CAN DREAM.

KristSingto series. I know The Ex Morning starts filming soon, so I guess they have a lot on at the moment.

Khaotung side character. I expected to see Khaotung pop up in something and was surprised to see he isn't. Tbh the poor boy needs a rest.

LYKN members in a series. I guess with ThamePo coming out, we already have this. Plus, Lego is going to be in MU-TE-LUV.

Poly BL. Again, I can dream.

Old man yaoi. One day, my friends. One day.

Our Skyy 3. I was very surprised there was no announcement for this. I'm curious if they'll maybe throw it together in the New Year.

OTG+N series. It's been AGES since these 4 worked together in a series, so I was kinda hoping for something, but I'm not broken hearted or anything.

AouBoom leads. I'm very surprised this didn't happen. I mean, I'm happy to have them in Memoir of Rati and get to see them in more serious roles, but I feel like this was a missed opportunity.

Some lovely bonuses that made me happy:

PeBaCA concert I never watch the concerts live, but this was a nice wee surprise. The original trinity, back together again!

FirstKhaotung series I didn't even include this because I didn't think we had any chance of another FK show until wayyyy next year. AND ITS GOT CATS. AND SATANG. I am so fucking hyped.

SkyNani series. I know we don't know if it's a BL for sure, but for now I'm gonna pretend it is. Everyone wants it. However, even if it's bromance I'll devour it. (It's the string of fate, it's gotta be a BL, right?)

SO MANY MYSTERY SERIES I LOVE crime/detective mystery shows, and I am so fucking excited to have so many be queer!

Only Friends SEASON2. No, y'all don't know the sound I made when I saw Boston. Like, I was already sold on this weird mess before he showed up, then I was like OMG WE'RE GETTING REAL MESSY. I am so fucking hyped.

Ooft! I think today was a success! Thoughts?

[invisiblegarters]

GMMTV 2025 Line Up Trailer Rating / Reaction Part I

Or at least the ones I see on the main channel because frankly, I am dedicated enough to really go looking. 🤷

Dare You to Death - Oooh a bunch of rich kids being stupid. We love to see it (and i mean that). Oooh I kind of like that Dunk is the one playing the hardass here. I also really like that it seem a little grittier for JoongDunk than I'm used to. Love this new era for them. Watching.

Head 2 Head - ah it's the Only Boo dudes. I really should get on finishing that one. It was a bit too sweetie sweet for me at the time. I think I like their dynamic a little more here. I see that they're covering the Bad Buddy and the 2Gether tropes. The future thing is newish. On the fence.

Burnout Syndrome - THIS THUMBNAIL what. Gun as an escort? Off hiring him to impersonate him? So this was the Nuchy show then huh? I guess we should have known. LETTING GUN KISS SOMEONE ELSE???? WHAT. I mean I'd be in just for that, I won't lie. My problem is that I...don't really like OffGun. I don't know why they just don't hit for me like they do for everyone else. And the two things I was actually really into with them (Not Me and The Trainee) were way less focused on the relationship than other things. But I do love Nuchy...damn. Tentatively watching.

I Love "A Lot of" You - Nanon's return. LOL oh my gosh is he going to try to make this woman fall in love with him as five different people? pffft. I can't. What even. And you know I like Nanon well enough but also not watching.

Whale Store - ah yes, the sweet MilkLove GL we all knew was coming. Not complaining. Ooh and a bitter exes that still love each other side couple. Is Piploy gonna get a taste of being the one pining? Interesting. Look. I'm gonna be honest. I love these two I was gonna watch regardless. So of course, I'm watching.

Only Friends: Dream On - I can't believe I got my OF wish. There are people who can attest to the fact that I said I'd only ever watch a s2 of OF if they made it a new cast (or an ep of Our Skyy where they switched up who played who - like Book playing Boston, Neo playing Ray, etc). I genuinely assumed that when (I did think it was when) we got an OF s2 we'd just get the same cast with a tired cheating plot (my money was on Ray cheating this time) but I'm so happy to be wrong. Ohm and Earth playing brothers is actually great. And here we are with another bitter exes that are still hung up on each other story lol. That seems to be the theme of this show. Genuinely surprised that both OhmLeng and JossGawin are paired up again, that would have been on zero bingo cards (maybe OhmLeng but never JossGawin tbh). The Boston cameo had me cackling. Of course he's present when the chaos really starts chaosing. My little gremlin. Watching.

That Summer - the WinnySatang vehicle huh? They did win me over in We Are. Satang as a prince??? DYING why is that so funny. I mean if anyone can do the spoiled rotten but also sweet - MOND??? HIIIII okay I'm in. And ah, Neo and Mint. People predicted this and they were right. I wonder if he's forever banned from BL now. I mean if he doesn't want to that's fine, too. This is giving Overboard vibes. Except in this case the amnesiac might not be one at all. And thankfully I'm not attached enough to any of the actors to get annoyed when Jojo inevitably plays favorites. Probably watching.

Romance Scammer - Oh hey it's the other Ohm. He's so pretty but also I find him very wooden. I do hope that this partner of his helps. And I have liked the other two since Midnight Museum so. And of course a wild Title appears. We'll see. Depends on what else is on tbh. On the fence.

Melody of Secrets - ForceBook. JAN. BOUN. Okay I liked this anyway because I dig the vibe but that sealed it. Yes I am that easy. Shut up. Watching.

Love you Teacher - I love both Perth and Santa but this does not appear to be for me. Not watching.

Continued in part II because tumblr has a character limit and I don't know how to shut up.