Ok so I just enter to Tumblr and the first thing I see are hate comments for a post?...

I honestly loved what you did, I'm relatively new to the fandom and the first thing I saw about Leo was Leosagi fanarts which confused me because they're not even in the same series?... But people defended it so much that I thought that was a normal ship that the entire fandom liked and that's why I would have to get used to it, then I find out your blog and I'm so in love with the way you portray Leo with y/n it means a lot to me! So, in short: thanks for speaking up about it and I just really love your drawings and animations ✨

Thank you, I appreciate your words ~

But, honestly, this is scary to see how much some people downplay Leo and his personality to just him being gay (when he's not and his personality and character arc are MUCH more than that) and deceive others into thinking leosagi is canon... I saw other case like this, and I myself at some point though it was something until I checked everything and realised that, no, it's all just headcanon that some really forcing into others and even creators themselves.

I hope you don't mind if I leave some of my thoughts on this ship under your ask, but I've watched the first episode of Usagi Chronicles because I wanted to a) see what all the fuss is about, b) try not to make people think I'm critical when I haven't even watched the show. I'm going to leave my thoughts below, so, if people want, they can read them. If not, then, please, don't. Those are my personal experience. If you like leosagi and want to continue ship it, do it. It's not my business. Under the line I'll be talking mostly about those people who, again, forcing this ship into fans and creators.

So, I watched that first episode while my friend watched the whole series, and, honestly, my thoughts were "huh..?". Like, Usagi to me felt like diet Leo. They're basically have the same personality, but Usagi is less charismatic and even annoying... Leo to some is also annoying, but he still has his charms and strategic mind. And from what I've heard, even by the end of the season 2 Usagi stays pretty much the same. Honestly, I don't see how this ship can work without heavy fanoning both characters. I wouldn't be surprised if many aggressive shippers haven't even watched Usagi Chronicles and ship leosagi because: a) they need to ship Leo with a male and Yuichi is an easy choice, b) they just look cute together. Because if past movie Leo would meet past season 2 Usagi they wouldn't stand each other. And in a relationship they would get bored of each other pretty quickly, because there would be no dynamic or chemistry. Good friends? Maybe. Partners? No.

I'm not going to talk about Miyamoto because as far as I know he has a canonical love interest and a child.

And all this led me to a question: is THIS what people want...? For creators to butcher a character so they could have their fanservice?

My Thoughts on Vercury + Doodles

To be honest, my relationship with this pairing is literally a love-hate one.

When I first heard about it, I’m not going to lie, I was super turned off. This was during SolarBall’s early episodes, where Mercury was shown constantly being bullied by Venus and I could not imagine being paired with my bully if I was in a similar situation. There was no chemistry between them, and even if there was, it wouldn’t be healthy. Especially during the whole Venus’ name arc, where Mercury constantly mocked him and got an asteroid to the face. Personally, the ship made no sense to me and sounded downright toxic. But of course, the more recent episodes came out. The atmosphere (even though there’s no atmosphere in space lol) between Mercury and Venus seemed… more neutral than hostile or tense. This is mostly because Mercury started to stand up for himself. Two scenes of note is the moment where Mercury laughed at Venus’ comment during the Rocky Planets episode and when Mercury snapped at Venus during the ‘Solar System by Size’ arc. What’s interesting is that after Mercury yells at him, Venus looked regretful, which was definitely new. Mercury didn’t shout at him about the consequences of him siding with the Sun or anything like that either, he simply said that he was fine with Venus hating him ‘for the sake of everyone else’. After that, Venus didn’t immediately change his mind but did try to explain his side of things, which was also new. As of right now I still don’t see anything happening between them, but I definitely do see the appeal in the ship and the potential for it to eventually happen.

From a settings standpoint- the potential is obvious. We don’t know what happened to cause Venus to pick on Mercury so much, we don’t know what their past was like, and with the answers to those questions revealed, Mercury and Venus might reconcile. Venus clearly has a lot of problems with his conditions as being called ‘a literal hell’ by the Earthlings, and Mercury also has his own insecurities and issues with the Sun. Mercury is already learning how to deal with these things, but Venus hasn’t quite figured it out yet. I’m quite interested on how Venus will be developed and how Mercury will play a role in this. I don’t think Venus downright despises Mercury, and vice versa, but they do have a ton of shit to sort out which may lead to a hopefully happy ending. Now, from a character standpoint there’s also a ton of potential. Venus and Mercury are kind of opposites, and yknow the saying… opposites attract. It would be really sweet if Mercury could calm Venus down when he was getting too ticked off, and Venus could treat Mercury nicely in his own way. Their personalities contrast really well. I didn’t like Vercury before because I felt if it actually happened Mercury would just allow Venus to treat him like crap, but now I feel like Mercury would know how to set proper boundaries and they would be equals. In a healthy relationship, there shouldn’t be a power imbalance, so with Mercury’s character development and Venus’ potential to change and be kinder (though not necessarily gentler) power imbalance shouldn’t be a problem. Another aspect is the fact that Venus and Mercury are both quite lonely. Earth and Mars are extremely close friends (or more haha), and while Mercury does have the Sun, he’s kind of forced to walk on eggshells in that relationship. They’re also neighbor planets, so there’s that. In all, I definitely agree with the concept of Vercury, but if it should happen, it should be after Venus and Mercury at least began to try and sort everything out. Here’s some (a bit spicy) doodles as a reward for listening to my rant again :D

As always, I’m open to other people’s opinions- especially on a topic as complex as this one. I just ask that you be respectful. Thank you.

I'm curious on why do you think Daniel would hate Armand when he recovers his memory... I thought he would resent him or be ashamed of being in love with the guy who tortured him not too long ago (He could maybe even prescribe himself as having Stockholm Syndrome).

I also can't wait to see all the relationships in Dubai in S3, the angst omg

Hi!

So I don't think Daniel is going to recover all of his memories before the start of Season 3. I think he's just going to remember one more thing by the end of the season via one memory, which will reveal that he and Armand -- at some unknown point -- had sex and said "I love you" to each other.

And that is all Daniel is going to remember of his and Armand's relationship -- that they had sex at some point in time and there was an "I love you" exchange (likely during it) and that's it.

And that little bit Daniel remembers is in no way going to tell the whole story of everything. And that is going to be the key as to how and why he'll react the way I think he will.

Because there is no way, IMO, that Daniel would be happy to learn he and Armand were involved with each other like that with only that little bit of info about it all. Especially not after how Daniel has been reacting to just the whole Rashid deception.

Because after learning that Armand might have very well screwed with his mind not just for days, but for who knows how long? And doing so to hide that something like that happened? I think Daniel is going to view it all as Armand lying to him in a HUGE way. No matter what Armand's excuse for it might be.

And now also given the fact that Daniel knows Armand has messed with Louis' mind in the same way too, I don't think that is going to help Armand in any case he might plead about why he did it in Daniel's eyes either. I really do think Daniel going to see it -- at first -- as nothing but manipulation on Armand's part at first. And, as Eric himself said, Daniel doesn't like being bullied.

Now, I'm not saying that Daniel will only see it that way from here on out. But if Season 2 ends with a reveal that they had sex and said "I love you" to each other in the past at some unknown point (and I still think that reveal will be coming in episode 2x08), the first half of Season 3 is going to have Daniel super angry about that, along with some shame too as well of course, I'm sure. Especially because he's not going to have the full context of it all.

But it'll probably take until the middle of Season 3 before Daniel is even willing to hear Armand fully out about it I bet.

And honestly, I think Armand is going to have to deal with a lot of anger coming at him during the first half of Season 3, and not just from Daniel. I fully expect Lestat to be there and, since we know we're getting Lestat's backstory in Season 3 then, if you know that story from The Vampire Lestat, Armand doesn't exactly cover himself in glory during the events there either. Heck, Louis already alluded to the hands thing with Nicki in this very episode.

So yeah, Daniel won't be the only one angry at Armand for a time at the start of Season 3 IMO, but I do think he will be. And what Daniel will very likely hear wrt Lestat's backstory isn't going to help things in that regard either I bet, coupled with the fact that his memory of their time together as lovers will only be remembering one fleeting moment and that's all.

Daniel won't yet have his full memory of everything regarding him and Armand together going into Season 3; not for a (long) while IMO. And so missing a lot of context is going to inform Daniel's first and immediate reaction to learning it, IMO.

LOVE SEA EP1 REVIEW

OMGGGG OMGGG WHERE DO I EVEN BEGINNNN OK FIRST THINGS FIRST YES I AM ALIVE - THAT WAASSS AMAZING 🥹🥹🥹 OH MYYY I AM ALREADY IN LOVE WITTH OUR BABIESSS. 😍😍😍

You know a teeny tiny part of me was kind of scared that Rakmut would remind me so much of Paisky becoz they have been a huge part of my life since the beginning but that was so not the case yes there were certain scenes that did remind me of them but overall Fortpeat was phenomenal in bringing these two characters to life flawlessly. And yes we only have one episode but for me what we got was plenty good to understand their characters a lot more 🥹🥹

Let's start with Mahasamut 😍

MY GOD HIS ENTRANCE 🫠🫠 woww... As a fellow Ocean / marine life lover I can say that Mahasamut's entry while he's doing what's he passionate about took my breath away and yes his shirtless scene also took my breath away 🫠🫠 obviously. Thank you MMY for the slow mo hair flip and saving me from doing it again 🤣 with what we got his relationship with Palm I like how they are like siblings 🤭 I really want to know more.

He is such a puppy I mean come on look at that smile... I am melting here. Also these smiles clearly shows his younger side and it's Soo cuteee 😍😍 I want to see more also I LOVEEE HOW HE IS HELL BENT ON ANNOYING TONGRAK 🤣🤣 it's interesting to see how it's portrayed that nothing effects him and that all the comments that Tongrak throws his away is brushed off easily coz I have a feeling that we will be seeing more into that 👀👀

Next Tongrak 😍😍

This man's prettiness knows no bounds 😍😍 each and every single outfit that he had on this episode was just wow... I was drooling .... 🙏🙏 Let me worship you Tongrak HOW CAN SOMEONE BE THIS PRETTY 🤣 ALSO EVERYTIME TONGRAK WAS COMPARED TO A KITTEN I WAS DYING 🤣🤣🤣 He is portrayed as rich but lonely who obviously doesn't admit it. He is definitely attracted to Mahasamut but won't admit it which makes me want him to be the first one to cave in the tug of desire war 🤣🤣 PLEASEEEE 🙏🙏 Rak definitely knows what he wants and I don't think he is someone who backs aways from getting it but interestingly with Mut he would play hard to get obviously since he "hates" Mut 🤭🤭

NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS SCENE 🤣🤣🤣 I WANT TO REPLAY THIS A THOUSAND TIMES ALREADY 🤣🤣 COZ I DIED... RAK THINKING HE WAS SUCCESSFULLY SEDUCING MUT BUT MUT'S FOCUS BEING ON A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TOPIC ALSO THE "SMOOTH AS A PEELED PEAR" 🤣🤣🤣 THAT IS GONNA BE THE QUOTE OF THE YEAR 🤣🤣 I CANTTT WITH THEIR BANTER 🤣

AHHH THESE TWO SCENES 🫠🫠🫠 KILL ME NOWWWW THEIR MAGIC 😍😍😍 ✨✨✨✨ BABIES ARE KILLING ITTT ALSO THAT HANDHOLDING 🫠🫠🫠

It's safe to say each and every scene in this episode has captured my heart 🥹🥹 the wait has been so worth it and I am so happy 😍😍😍 I NEED THE SECOND EPISODE HERE ALREADY AND FROM THE PREVIEW... AHHHH I AM SO NOT READY BUT GIVE IT TO ME ALREADY 🫠🫠

(p.s I am dedicating my favorite scene from the episode with another post)

i think it's really disappointing how interesting and complex of a character yul could be instead of being a one-dimensional bigoted racist archetype used as comedic relief.

it would've been so much better if he were a commentary on how the entertainment industry can shape people into genuine horrible people because of the toxic work culture and serve as a contrast to james, who left the industry (or atleast isn't as involved) and how it let him grow as a person, while yul has to stay because he has no choice for other sources of income and how his bitterness and resentment only continues to grow and harbor into the man he is now. imagine if a huge part of his resentment towards james was because of jealousy that he was able to escape the industry, instead of just mostly being because he poisoned him with mushrooms last season. what if that's why he was so angry that james tried to lecture him because james has no clue what it's like for him and that he has the nerve to question him when he feels james had the privilege of being able to escape. he's angry that someone who could relate to his struggles now is just like everyone else; an outsider of how bad the workforce he's in is and he's truly alone again with nobody to confide in because he hates the only other person who can relate, grett.

his relationship with grett is implied to be forced upon him and this could've been so interesting to explore. in the first few episodes it seems like he has genuine moments with her. what if a part of him actually loved her because he finally has someone who can relate, but because he was forced into this position he sees her as his captor who is the embodiment of how he will never have the ability to make his own choices. they got the right idea when he's talking to james on the bike, where he says "when i win the 3 million, i'll never have to listen to anyone", but it's ruined when it's just chalked up to him being like "i dont want a fat girlfriend cuz shes ugly and im not". it could've been a commentary on how k-pop stars are often objectified by their fanbase and their employers and how little control they have in their lives, especially being recruited at a young age (WHICH IS LITERALLY STATED IN THE SHOW!!! WHEN HE SAID A VIDEO OF HIM DANCING BLEW UP!!) and the mental toll it has. he's so cruel to her because of his frustration with his situation and a want for her to leave, both using her as a punching bag for his lack of control while simultaneously trying to make her leave him as a way to regain the little control he has over himself.

the biggest flaw of yul's characterization is how his bigotry is NEVER called out. yes, the point is that he's SUPPOSED to be unlikable, but nobody ever says he's being racist and why it's wrong (besides gabby when she defends grett), they say it's to make us hate him more but if THESE THINGS AREN'T CALLED OUT, especially to their young fanbase of young teens, it comes across as just out-of-pocket "dark" humor that relies of shock value to make the audience laugh, which insinuates that it's okay. he's literally just saying bigoted shit for the sake of it. you can write an unlikable character without making him drop obscenities every moment he's on screen. it's bad writing and an easy opt out that takes little effort to write and has become normalized in the show, esp. considering how the spanish va of yul improvised a racist line (calling james a monkey) and how they just let it slide because "oh well it's in character". if your voice actor is randomly saying racist stuff that's not even in the script and you allow it to slide, your team has a serious problem.

there's so many characters that are intertwined with the entertainment industry (riya, james, grett, yul) and so many of the ideas are THERE but they aren't dived into and these characters end up being one-note as a result, like yul and riya. the best we can do is infer but that can only go so far. maybe i'm asking too much for a total drama inspired series to have complex writing and nuance, but if you want to differentiate and distance yourself from total drama (esp. when it prides it's writing as being more complex than total drama) maybe actually put some effort into making complex characters and not using them as a puppet to make bigoted remarks.

I find Trevor from shameless the most frustrating characther.

When he first introduced, I really liked him, the way he could really help Ian explore life outside of his southside world and more of the LGBT world was interesting. And I love the actor who plays him, but his character just did not work, and I know why. It was bad writing. (Also, I have to admit I didn't feel the chemistry between the actors, even if they were both playing their roles well.)

Now, first off, I think that Shameless really dropped the ball in writing new characters after season 5 or 6. Especially love interests. In the early seasons, all the Gallagher's interests were people outside of their relationship with a Gallagher. Love or hate them. I could tell you plenty about them, and they interacted and had storylines outside of their love interest.

I mean, think of Karen, Jimmy, Mandy, Shelia, Mickey and even Svetlana.l. They were all interesting outside of just being a love interest, and they all had personality and backgrounds. I really think Shameless lost that in their later seasons writing.

See Kelly, Trevor, Tammi, Caleb, Ford and Cassidy for example. It felt like they purely existed to only further thier LIs storyline. Even the writing of Mickey, when he returned as a main character, wasn't as in-depth as it was in either early seasons.l and just seemed to be more to drive storyline and comedy than in-charachter for him

So, back to Trevor. I wanted to like him, and I did for his first few episodes, but his writing frustrates me so complelty. I think as a person who also works in social services, his actions and contradictions make no sense. So in the episode that Mickey comes back when Ian goes to see him, he is really busy because his trying to place a kid. And when he thinks if he can't, he says he may have to just let them crash on his couch. Which pinged me as completely inappropriate as a social services worker as you can never have a child just say on your couch like that as you are crossing so many professional boundaries and as he rightfullylayer says can give the wrond ide. But in S8, when Ian has that girl stay over, he (rightfully) tells Ian that is completely inappropriate and then gets really mad at him for it, which just made him annoyingly hypocritical.

He is apparently working with at risk youth and abused kids, yet he tells Ian that Monica is trying and to give her another chance as Ian is being unfair to her, that he is being to hard in her. Crazy. I could not think of a single person in this job who would have that attitude towards neglectful or problematic parents. Because anyone in this job would know setting boundaries is healthy and that anyones trauma is thiers to feel how they feel about. Same with the way he treats Ian's grief after losing Monica. When he takes him to the place with the chubby guys, they lost me completely.

Then we have the idea that Ian was clearly sprialing later in S8 and going off his meds, but Trevor seems unaware even though anyone could see it let alone someone with any kind of training.

His writing is just so bad and seems literally to be only to serve Ian's storyline and screw his character development outside of that. Especially in S8. Then he doesn't even appear at Ian's court preceding and just disappears

I think he could have been good for Ian. And I think with the lack of chemistry I felt between them maybe they should have just been friends after the whole cheating thing. And maybe it's the fact that Cameron's chemistry is off the charts with Noel that made it really feel like he had none with Caleb or Trevor but that doesn't make up for bad writing. I get that writing a new post-Mickey love interest is hard after how much fans love him, but the writers can only blame themselves for that too as the never wrote a good ending storyline for a loved charcther they though was leaving for good at end of S5.

Shameless really lost a lot for me when they stopped writing their supporting character as interesting people outside of their relationship.

Trevor is my example charcther of that. That actor deserved better.

I like to think a lot of how Fakir reacts to Mytho (and to a lesser extent Duck) is colored by his relationship to his parents.

The only time he willingly references his parents directly to another person is in episode 25 to Duck.

[ID: Two screencaps. In the first Fakir looks down at Duck off camera and says "In the end, the real me has done nothing but BE protected ever since I was a kid." In the second screencap, we see a flashback to his mother protecting him from the ravens as he continues "I can't protect anyone." End ID]

At the turning point of his life, Fakir was small, weak, and unable to defend himself. But Fakir's parents loved him so much they defended him until their dying breaths. Protecting vulnerable baby Fakir was more important than their very lives. Do these words sound familiar?

[ID: 3 screencaps of Fakir talking to Duck, all using the same frame. He says "to protect someone, those who are small and weak... that's Mytho's greatest wish. And to do that, he'll have no regard for himself. End ID]

In Fakir's mind, there are two classes of people: those who protect others and those who need to be protected. He desperately wants to be in the first class, though in episode 25 he admits he belongs to the latter. This classification system may very have come about and been reinforced through the extreme trauma he endured.

We know Fakir both loves and hates Mytho in equal measure for his selfless drive to protect others. Even as a child, he idolizes the idea of disregarding one's own safety to protect people:

[ID: two screencaps from episode 8 for Fakir as a child reading The Prince and the Raven and saying "'If it was to protect the people, the prince never feared being injured himself.' Wow, that's so great!" End ID]

My theory here hinges on the idea that this admiration was born of a subconscious connection to his parents. They fit firmly into his mental schema as brave people who sacrificed themselves to save someone defenseless. Fakir sees Mytho and his parents in a similar light--that much is implicit--but we can extrapolate this further and speculate Fakir perhaps resents both himself and his parents for their deaths.

If his parents had chosen to abandon baby Fakir, they would still be alive. If baby Fakir had not required defending, they would likewise still be alive. The turning point in Fakir's relationship with Mytho is upon almost losing him after Mytho jumps out of a burning building to save a trapped bird. Fakir realizes that he cannot stand to lose someone he loves a second time, especially not in the same way, and he becomes bitter towards the idea of protecting the helpless--even if that admiration is what drew him to Mytho in the first place.

Could Fakir see himself in the trapped bird? The helpless victim who is somehow half to blame for the impending tragedy? Does he resent his parents for their decision to save him at the cost of their own lives? The way he resents Mytho for constantly putting his life on the line to protect others that, in Fakir's eyes, are not worth the risk? Was Fakir worth the risk?

cw: sex mentions, post author getting more and more stoned as time goes on

I'm going to get canceled for this but as a huge Payneland shipper who's invested in Edwin's individual journey, I actually want Edwin to sleep with the Cat King.

Edwin's acceptance of his own homosexuality is a huge part of his character journey. I think in the first season he went from "I hate this" to "I can't change it so I'm going to do what I want." I think his season 2 journey needs to be "I can't change it" to "this is part of me and I accept it and can actually be with Charles who I love."

I think that Edwin would develop a better relationship with his sexuality if he actually... developed a relationship with sex. I'm sorry, but he is not asexual onscreen (and we need to have a talk about the infantalization of autistic characters, because as an ace person... wtf?) The main evidence of this is clear attraction to the Cat King. And I think that like, developing the bravery to act on this would be a great hurdle that he had to overcome, and it would make him more comfortable with being gay.

I also think that the Cat King is a wonderful character and want to see more of him. Besides Edwin and Charles, he's probably my favourite. And I think that it's also interesting that while he views himself as an actual romantic partner for Edwin ("God, I'm SUCH a romantic), neither most of the audience nor Edwin nor the narrative considers a viable lifelong romantic option. His delightful, OTT character has this huge opportunity to drive the narrative. He is so undeterred from his flirtations and I'm not going to lie, I think that's something Edwin likes (even if he disliked the manipulation/bracelet.)

Also, as a viewer, I think it has the potential to make for a great couple of episodes. Edwin and the Cat King lowkey hooking up, it being really awkward because he's kind of manipulative (but not abusive), and them having an absolutely terrible, combative relationship that blows up. Which would be such a good storyline, and also make Edwin see that he deserved a steadier love than that (see Taylor Swift's Daylight).

And then at the end Charles is his golden like Daylight :)

@tiredandoptimistic

That ask you got made me realize that Blitzø and Stolas both show 4 of those 5 responses at various points, which I think is very interesting. I really never thought about it before but that's actually pretty impressive bc it never seems "out of character" for them. I think Blitzø leans more towards fight tho we see a lot of fawning from him too, and I think Stolas leans more towards fawn but I guess Blitzø really did make him feel braver bc he shows a lot of fight too.

Fight: Blitzø in FM ballroom + after Striker steals the phone from Stolas + both fighting with and saving Fizz in Oops // Stolas confronting Stella on his balcony + most of his interactions with Striker in WE + most of his scenes in Truth Seekers

Flight: Blitzø avoiding Stolas once things got complicated + not giving Fizz the love letter // Stolas in FM hallway + trying to escape Striker in the café

Fawn: Blitzø to the client in Murder Family + in FM bedroom + trying to talk to Loona in Seeing Stars about her people skills // Stolas when Blitzø comments on his Ozzie's outfit + to Stella in LLL + in a lot of his texts to Blitzø post-Ozzie's

Freeze: both freeze up in Ozzie's + potentially Stolas in the FM ballroom bc we don't see him move except to flinch until the very end but that might just be him forcing himself to stop running

Listing it out like that also made me realize that those two spend a good chunk of the series some degree of scared, nervous, or feeling unsafe. These poor guys 😭😭

Yeah, once you start to think about how present their trauma is in their lives, you can't help but notice that they're both extremely traumatised and broken people. It's really sad, and really well done, in my opinion.

I really like how complex they both are and how many different symptoms of trauma they show—both survival reactions like the ones listed here, and just their thoughts and fears and how they handle their relationships.

What's really interesting and compelling to me is how similar they are despite how different their lives have been. And how the more episodes come out, the more obvious this becomes.

Like, up until now, we knew that Stolas often fawned to keep the peace for fear of being a burden or making others uncomfortable, like he did in his text messages to Blitz, and in Ozzie's when he immediately agreed to leave when Blitz said so. And we knew that Blitz hated himself, that his biggest fear was dying alone, that he couldn't even bear to look at his own face in pictures.

And then, in The Full Moon, we get Blitz going into an extremely childish and heartbreaking fawn spiral with his "I can always do better", making himself smaller, smiling, wagging his tail. And we get Stolas covering every single picture (and item) in his house, and then taking the time to uncover Via so she's visible, but not himself. And we get Stolas terrified of dying alone.

And to me, this conveys really well how no one's trauma is worse than others', how no traumatised person is more or less broken or hurt than the rest, how there's no "lesser" trauma. How traumatised people can't be neatly divided into "people who become sensitive and weak" and "people who develop thick skin". How your trauma may present differently and uniquely depending on the circumstances, but deep down the truth is always that you were deeply hurt, and you can't bear to be hurt again, and your life has become a constant cycle of trying (and failing, due to self-fulfilled prophecies) to avoid going through that pain again.

Truly, masterfully done ❤️

This game is astonishingly good it makes me feel crazyyyyy it feels like everything is done w thought&intent in such a way that feels like it actively rewards close attention, rereading and trying to pick things apart. & then at the same time it is just plain fun to read on a moment to moment basis! Especially the PC's dynamic with Aeran is so enjoyable for me personally; I feel like you really get the sort of closeness/familiarity that comes from lifelong friendship that's hard for me to find, even in media that is nominally About those sorts of relationships! And you go and casually knock it out of the park whilst also having incredible fantasy worldbuilding that's deeply complex+engaging without ever leaving a bad taste in my mouth like I'm used to having to power through with a lot of the "greats". And you're only on episode 3!!! My god! What can't she do!!!!!

Thank you so much! 💖 The PC's relationship with Aeran has definitely been one of the highlights of making this game, even with how complex and multi-layered it is. Whether you love him or hate him, have a good relationship with him or have hit rock bottom, want to be with him forever or yeet him off a cliff - or any combination of the above - he is someone the PC knows very well and they have been around each other for a very long time.

And this may or may not be a good thing - for either of them.

(beware, beware, spoilers are here, the doctor is our favourite guy, for rogue you will cry)

The Doctor and his D&D boyfriend (who eventually dissapears into a random alternate dimension) try to stop a family of birds cosplaying Bridgerton and taking over Britain whilst Ruby teaches a debutante modern day slang and serves cunt.

I am currently writing this through tears because I think that Rogue has fundamentally and psychologically changed me. The amount of changing, rapid-fire emotion that I went through in the span of those forty minutes is probably unhealthy. What do I even say about this episode? It started off brilliant and amazing and then cycloned into a heart-wrenching yet light-hearted and ever so confusing ending which has left me mouth wide open. It really displayed the best side of all the characters in a way that was so incredibly smooth.

The Doctor was charismatic and suave and had a rapid mind which turned from teasing to flustered to desperate. He cares, he cares so much, maybe even too much, that he'd rather lose himself in a kiss than save the world and banish his best friend forever. And Ruby Sunday, with her own mind to speak her own truth, captivating effortlessly with just her thoughts. She's quick thinking, able to defend herself and seeks perspective—Ruby, who sees straight through the Doctor's wall, and pressures him to just at least hug.

Where do I even begin with Rogue himself—he was instantly likeable, with his arrogancy and his gentle descent into a soft dare-devil who just wanted someone to argue with. His relationship with the Doctor was (*for the lack of the proper word imagine me biting my hand and silently screaming*).

Once more, Millie, Ncuti and Jonathan are actually my loves and they should have all travelled together in the TARDIS, change my MIND.

Some of my commentary:

JONATHAN GROFF? WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY DOCTOR WHO EPISODE

You could never make me hate you Ruby Sunday

The homoerotic tension is insane.

I just want to talk about that little "okay!" Ncuti's way of portraying the Doctor is so human; he's never perfect, he makes mistakes, he has reactions to things that make it so relatable and Ncuti so likeable.

You could never, EVER, make me hate you Ruby Sunday

"My name's Bond, Molecular Bond."

ROLL FOR INSIGHT. NO FUCKING WAY. NO WAY.

THEY HONOURED KYLIE MINOGUE. LONG LIVE ASTRID PETH!!!

"Flustered suits you, Doc," JONATHAN.

Ncuti is the suavest man on this side of the Universe. (Jonathan's the suavest on the other side.)

"Let's argue across the stars" Sure I didn't need my heart anyways!

THE SPOTLIGHT

"Find me," babes you just emotionally ruined both me and the Doctor actually stop.

"Onwards, upwards, new horizons." bestie please go to therapy

I usually try not to watch the teaser at the end so I can be as surprised as possible, but I inadvertently glanced at one scene accidentally—so... SUSAN TWIST RECOGNITION EPISODE LET'S GO!!!!!!!

My Love Mix-Up - Episode 1

Before anything else. To say I was skeptical would be an understatement. I am a massive fan of the japanese version. I have also read the manga. Both Aoki and Ida are on my top favourite ql characters list. And I have a weird a relationship with remakes of all kinds. I question the need for them a lot. I get too attached to the original work and have trouble separating that. This is not a ql exclusive thing btw and I know it's a me problem.

Just a couple of things that I've been thinking about.

Both @lurkingshan here and @bengiyo here have written already that the main roles seem to be playing against the actors strengths and I completely agree. I don't think Fourth excels at the physical comedy bits that are a big part of the character imo. I think Gemini might've done better here. Perhaps even better - @happypotato48 made a great observation here about how Aungpao would be such a good choice for this. I agree.

Gemini's not doing necessarily a bad job at playing Ida Kongthap although he's leaning too much into the confused look and I'm not a fan. That first reaction to the eraser read more aggressive than confused which I thought was weird but I guess he made up for that by looking confused the rest of the episode.

Also about the cat. I love cats. So I'm not at all bothered that Kongthap has a cat instead of a dog Mametaru, like it's about the sponsors I get it. But I wonder if they chose a white cat to match the one that can be seen lounging outside of school in Kieta Hatsukoi.

Cause if that is the case, it's great.

Moving on. The rhythm of this episode felt off to me though. Considering that they covered as much ground as the first episode of the JP version and still they added the sports, cat bits and the dinner date, it all felt a bit really rushed to me. Like they added stuff but at the same time it's like they skipped steps. atm can't really find a better way to explain it.

I like Matmi a lot. And I like her and Fourth together. I think that friendship could be well done here.

I'm not really sure about the dynamic between Atom and the bff, like I'm not hating it but also it seems forced somehow. I'm not sold on their particular chemistry yet.

There are a couple more things but it's the first episode and let's see if they improve on some of the editing choices.

Overall, this is better than the trailer advertised (which is not saying much because that trailer was a mess) and I'm gonna stick with it for now. I'm curious how much of the manga they will cover and after CM did some wonderful choices with adapting a japanese story with thai elements, I wonder how they will do this one. I wonder if the trip to the mountains will be the beach episode in this version.

Love Sea Ep 1 Thoughts

Okay. I know I said my next liveblog would be She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat because it won my poll BUT I decided I’m gonna be liveblogging Love Sea as it airs each week. And I will be liveblogging She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat later today. Or at least starting the liveblog. But liveblogging Love is the only way I think I make it through this series. I got my snacks I my got a diet coke. Pray for me watching a MAME show. Keep in mind that I am not a fan of MAME generally (and I have now finished this episode and this show is no exception. Don't get mad at me if you click the read more and don't like what I say). Under the cut as per usual:

I do like water so the water effect and sheer amount of water at the very beginning makes me extremely happy. I want more water forever.

FISH!!!!

“Dive and go get it” is not an appropriate response to dropping a pen in the water. Accept your loss.

DON’T PUSH PEOPLE OFF OF BOATS. DO NOT PUSH PEOPLE OFF OF BOATS. I DO NOT CARE. DO NOT PUSH PEOPLE OFF OF BOATS. HE IS NOT WEARING A LIFE JACKET. HE IS NOT PREPARED TO BE IN THAT WATER AT ALL. DO NOT PUSH PEOPLE OFF OF BOATS.

A nice, tranquil place being called heaven on earth makes sense. Our protagonist showing up and immediately calling it hell on earth because ???? does not make sense. Maybe see more than two feet of it before declaring it to be hell?

Calling someone that speaks a different dialect an idiot when you are on their island…bold. Dumb. And bold.

Do not steal his phone. You’re just an asshole. You’re both assholes. But you pushed a man off of a boat so I hate you more. All the other guy has done is been uppity and snobbish. He hasn’t actively endangered anyone’s life for a laugh.

And now purposefully speaking a dialect he doesn’t understand. Yes, he was an ass about it, but you knew he didn’t understand and did it anyway. And now he has explicitly said he doesn’t understand and you’re rubbing it in his face. You can speak a dialect he knows and understands and you both know you can and yet…

Oh I got it. He behaves like a teenager. But like the kind of teenager that needs a good life resorting. He’s a bully but no one really calls him out for it because he disguises it behind class clown behavior. He needs a swift kick in the pants considering he’s an adult that’s behaving this way.

I dislike how these shows always portray women as incapable of talking about the hotness of these guys. It’s not just BL. Other dramas are just as guilty if not more so. But c’mon. Having women characters does not excuse your portrayal of the other women in the story as only caring about some random dude’s hotness. Mut is hot? Not my taste but I can see why people consider him hot. But I guarantee most women on vacation, while they talk about hot guys, are also doing other things and talking about other things. Like the books they are reading on the beach. And how hot they themselves are. And the next activity they’re doing. They aren’t laser focusing on Mut. Except that the show says they are. Because they have no identities outside of a weak plot device to convince the audience of how hot Mut is. If he was really that hot, this tactic would not be needed. It would be conveyed in the rest of the show.

See how differently it’s framed for the men? Women are the ones interest in Mut, but when it’s for the men, it’s that Mut is open to them. The attraction is his. This is definitely setting the tone for the relationship that’s being built. Cause our other lowkey asshole (I’ll learn his name eventually maybe) is a man. He is not interested in Mut. But he is apparently Mut’s type so Mut will be attracted to him. It’s a different way of taking away agency but here it is on a character level and not removing agency from an entire gender.

They better be delivering this to me I have a feeling I’m gonna need it.

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA get em

This montage of people interacting with Mut trying to tell us what a good person and community member he is feels like such lazy writing. Incredibly lazy writing. Like makes me angry because despite her faults, I know MAME is capable of better than…that.

DID HE JUST LEFT HIMSELF INTO THE ROOM BECAUSE HE HAS A KEY. ABSOLUTELY THE FUCK NOT.

Romance *gags* aside, this is incredibly poor customer service. He didn’t knock. He didn’t announce he was coming in. I’m hoping it’s not early in the morning and that our lowkey asshole is just sleeping in. He’s cleaning the room and going through not-his-things. HE TOOK PICTURES. Someone call the police. Or call the me. I’ll go kick his ass.

Also also also the fact that he had that key that he was supposed to give to lowkey asshole means that HE SHOULD NOT HAVE USED IT TO ENTER THE ROOM. HE SHOULD NOT HAVE HAD IT.

Okay I need a break. This scene has gone on entirely too long with just the two of them standing on talking. There needs to be some movement on the screen and the tiny amount of body movement is not cutting it. Lowkey asshole should be walking away during this conversation. That would be in character and provide the necessary movement. But as it is…this whole scene feels stale and stagnant. So I’m gonna go make some food. Maybe I’ll be less pissy about this whole scene when I come back.

Okay. I am back but I am not less pissy. Tell me, how did I manage to mess up pasta? Truly is a skill I must say. And I’m not that bad of a cook. I swear but…I digress. Let’s just get back into it *grumbles*

That was the weakest punch I’ve ever seen. And I have weak little noodle arms.

Even the GL part of this is toxic. Miss secretary ma’am. I have an idea. Send her all of the shit on your plate. Email her all of the shit you have to do. In the email tell her what hours you are actually available and if she cannot work with that, then that’s unfortunate but that is her only option.

You don’t call the owner’s secretary to fix a light bulb. You call maintenance. Girl if you don’t grow a spine and tell her no….

I had to mute this damn show because the music is trying to convince me this is romantic and I am not a fool. I have eyes. Also stop using flashbacks of things that happened earlier this episode. This is the first episode. We know what Mut is thinking about when staring at his hand. We were there for that scene five minutes ago.

If someone started reading what I was writing over my shoulder without being explicitly invited to, I would pour hot sauce in their eyes.

This hug makes me mad. I’ll leave it at that.

Okay. It’s time for something I can’t believe I’ve never done before! Rae’s hatred scale. Where I rank the characters on how much I hate them:

Vi - 2/10. Honestly give this girl a raise. She isn’t paid enough to deal with this. I do need her to get a backbone though. C’mon my girl you can do it. You can learn to stand up for yourself. I believe in you.

Rak - 5/10. Look I learned his name! I think. He’s lowkey an asshole but honestly he just wants to be left alone but was sent on this trip that he didn’t ask for and is now being harassed by this guy that he doesn’t like because his “friend” paid for it.

Mook - 10/10. Girl what’s wrong with you? I hope someone slaps you in your face. Learn how to treat people.

Mut - 1000000000/10. DO NOT PUSH PEOPLE OFF OF BOATS.

Does anyone else ever think about how, in series one, Merlin pretty much confesses to Uther that he and Arthur are in love? And how Uther is not only glad, but offers his blessing? Because I think about this a lot.

Uther: You've shown the most extraordinary loyalty.

Merlin: It is my job, Sire.

Uther: Beyond the line of duty.

Merlin: Well... You could say there is a bond between us.

Uther: I'm glad. Look after him.

In the world I love

_

In a different world