#and it's great crew development in this ep sure

[sarucane]

Do we just keep telling the same story forever? Meta on OFMD S1E7 "This is Happening"

In this S1E7, two characters--Ed and Jim--have to answer a simple question: Am I ready to tell a diferent story?

At the start of the episode, Ed's framing his time on Stede's ship as "sitting idle." He's thinking about preparing for the next adventure, whatever that may be--the next chapter in a story he knows and understands. Because there are rules. A ship has only one captain.

When Stede tries to prove that Ed can tell the next chapter in that story without leaving the Revenge, Ed is pretty unapologetic in his disdain. But he does come along, even while moaning and complaining.

And Stede's just trying to tell the same story, too. What he imagines a pirate's tale is supposed to be, not what it actually is. He doesn't recognize the difference between nonsense and truth, he's so caught up in "entertaining" Ed that he doesn't realize he needs to feed Ed.

But in fairness to Stede, Ed has a poor grip on what he really wants as well. When he fantasizes as he flirts with Stede, he's not imagining a swashbuckling adventure. He's imagining opening a restaurant. He's half in his old life, and half out.

Lucius, the unemotional observer, figures all this out of course.

He sees that Ed is absolutely very receptive to Stede, and that Stede is crazy about Ed. But Ed is caught up in who he's been, without seriously considering how to move forward in this story he's in now. So Lucius confronts Ed. He points out that Ed's story as it is going now ends one way: pain and loneliness. And he asks if Ed wants that.

Stede didn't want Ed to leave, so he told a story about treasure hunting. And Ed doesn't want to leave and be alone again, so he tells the story too. And by telling that story together, Ed and Stede find their way to the same place: beginning a new chapter. Imagining a life they can live together, without devaluing or overwriting anything that came before.

It sounds nice, although it's shallow (Ed's not going to be happy as a pirate, Stede is bad at telling this pirate's story and he'll never be a successful traditional pirate). But it's still a hopeful story, because they're still moving forward. Right on the edge of telling a different story.

And resolving in the opposite direction is Jim's plot. Jim's story is relentlessly upbeat and funny in this ep, but it's a tragedy through and through. Jim, like Ed, is half in their old life and half out. Has been with Olu for more than a year, without actually doing anything, while keeping him at a distance.

And it turns out they were "raised by a nun to be a killing machine." That Nana projected all her own trauma and righteousness onto Jim, and passed cruel judgement when Jim says that they already killed "the only one that matters." When Jim suggests that they might have moved on, and be ready to tell another story.

Jim regresses in this episode. They let Olu walk away instead of telling a new story with him, one where he's their family. They take the petrified orange as a sign that they should go back to being who Nana told them they were, to being obsessed with revenge. But really, it's more like a warning of what they'll become if they cling to the same old story.

It's sad. And it's a painful foreshadowing of what awaits Ed and Stede when they falter on the path forward, when they think their past defines their future. When they tell someone else's story, instead of their own.

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd s2 #ofmd meta #ofmd spoilers #ed teach #stede bonnet #blackbonnet #jim jimenez #oluwande boodhari #ofmd oluwande #legit i think this is my least favorite ep #the plot with ed and stede is nice because it gives them something to aim for in terms of how they can just be chill together #and the conversation with lucius is good for ed pushes him in an interesting way--does he REALLY want this he has to figure that out #it's a nice bit of nuance for his character and the story's richer for it #and it's great crew development in this ep sure #but they really pulled their punches with Jim's plot #nana is super cool and funny and all but she's also toxic as hell #and jim's plot feels like the writers just played everything safe and it's annoying

[izzysillyhandsy]

As much as I'm happy for Izzy for finding love and recognition with the crew, his developing friendship with Stede, him trying out new things and generally trying to move on...

...I don't think he's feeling that great really? I mean he's trying so hard to reinvent himself (being incredibly brave by the way) but something's still very much off.

Compare Izzy at his most relaxed (the "before fuckin' Stede Bonnet" era) - he's clearly having fun playing with this ridiculous would-be pirate, this is happy, playful Izzy, still Ed's number 1, a fixed place in the world (or so he thinks).

Now look at his body language and facial expressions in Ep 7 - he's joking with Ed and Stede, but his face is like a mask. In Jackie's bar he seems painfully tense and almost close to tears in some shots.

I've read so many posts congratulating Izzy on finally moving on, living his best life, even being happy - but I don't see it at all. That doesn't mean he's not on the right path (he is!) but these things take time.

In my opinion, Izzy is actually feeling like shit and still very much not over Ed (everytime he's near him he has this terribly longing gaze).

So, the point of this post (apart from looking at Con's face for far too long) is, maybe, that I can't be happy for Iz yet. For me it's almost painful to see him trying to cope but not really managing.

As great as La vie en rose was, and the crew lala-ing along, this is still a heartbroken man. I'm sure he'll get there in the end. But at the moment he's definitely nowhere near.

I don't think there'll be any real resolution in the finale, but I think Izzy could really do with an "I loved you, best I could" right now :(

#ofmd #ofmd s2 spoilers #izzy hands #this is the “I'm doing GreAt!!!” phase of breakups #he's not doing great #he's trying to behave like it doesn't matter but it still does #been there know how it feels :(

[k-odyssey]

More Wedding Impossible thoughts (ep 2)

See now that was a substantial miscalculation on Ji Han's part.

He thought giving Ah Jeong a big role would be like insurance. She already said she wouldn't marry Do Han, but if her career was taking off, then he'd be sure. Part of him might've thought he was doing her a favor, too.

But he actually made her feel like shit and she's out to get him.

I don't even (usually) like revenge plots but 10/10 monologue, no notes.

I feel very bad for Ah Jeong, and the drama shows efficiently how miserable he made her in just a few scenes. The way she breaks down, her back to the camera, the crew mentioning that she left looking like a different person, and sitting at the bus stop reading her parents' congratulations texts with tears in her eyes.

And you can tell Ji Han didn't mean to ruin her self-esteem. When he first finds her, he's acting like it's incomprehensible that she'd pass on such a great opportunity. But then he looks like he's about to cry. And honestly I loved it.

I want him to suffer. It's a great lesson for him: there are consequences to your actions & people aren't just pawns for you to play with. I hope he learns and grows from this. And he better prepare a great apology.

Also, his speech about wanting his brother to be happy? I was surprised. I thought it was obvious inheriting the company was not what he wanted. Hell, he told him so.

That being said, Ah Jeong and Ji Han are cute drunks! Ji Han showed his vulnerable side and deep down he just wants to be loooved. Grandpa looked a little more human than usual as he listened in on their conversation.

Also Ji Han has been developing feelings. I wonder how long before he realizes / accepts them? But now that she punched him in the face & declared war, it feels more like enemies-to-lovers.

#kdrama thoughts #wedding impossible #gifs #jeon jong seo #moon sang min

[ultranos]

Hello,

You mention some podcast you love once in a while and I gotta tell you they are usually very good recs and have made me discover some great ones. Do you have a rec list somewhere, or a few podcasts you'd like to give a shoutout to ?

Thanks a lot !

Sure! I don't have a rec list, but I'll make one now here of what's in my general rotation (or was, if it's a limited series):

Ongoing

Behind the Bastards (https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-behind-the-bastards-29236323/) A podcast about the worst people in all of history, hosted by Robert Evans (former war correspondent and Cracked.com writer). My current binge-listen, it's highly engaging on some of the most difficult to process subject matter there is, that being human atrocities and the people who commit them. It's a deep dive into the history and background of these people that in every case that reminds us that all too often "history's greatest monsters"...are just people. (As a note, Evans acknowledges fucked-up things as fucked up, but he doesn't pretend they didn't occur)

This Podcast Will Kill You (https://thispodcastwillkillyou.com/) A podcast about diseases and epidemiology, as well as other medical mysteries. Each episode will go over the biology of a disease or condition, the history of it, and the current state of where we stand with it in the world. Also, each episode comes with an original cocktail and mocktail recipe.

Criminal (https://thisiscriminal.com/) The only true crime podcast I listen to, hosted by Phoebe Judge, the woman with the most soothing podcast voice ever. It's a podcast about crime, but unlike a lot of true crime podcasts, it's just as likely to be a story about the victim or the people caught in the middle as it is the actual perpetrator.

5-4 (https://www.fivefourpod.com/) "A podcast about how much the Supreme Court sucks." Three lawyers dissect and analyze SCOTUS cases, and not just present ones, that illustrate just how reactionary and adversarial the Court has been throughout almost all it's history.

Noble Blood (https://www.grimandmild.com/nobleblood) Host Dana Schwartz takes you on a trip each episode into the lives, bad decisions, and usually very bloody ends of many of history's royals and nobility.

You're Wrong About (https://yourewrongabout.com/) Events, people, and phenomenon from the semi-recent past that have been miscast in the public understanding. From McDonalds Hot Coffee to Princess Diana to Sinead O'Connor. Also you'll probably learn more about the Satanic Panic than you ever thought about before.

If Books Could Kill (https://www.ifbookspod.com/) Does the idea of "two hosts ripping into really terrible nonfiction bestsellers that have causes some really harmful ideas to spread" sound entertaining? Because that's pretty much what this is. You're not going to look at airport books the same way again.

Queer as Fact (https://www.queerasfact.com/) Four Australian historians explore queer historical topics and figures from all over the world and from different time periods. The research is often damn good, especially considering how thin on the ground sources can be, and they take pains to not limit themselves to the usual Eurocentric view of history.

99% Invisible (https://99percentinvisible.org/) Probably the longest-running podcast in my rotation, host Roman Mars and crew say it's a podcast about design. It's probably more accurate to say it's about the design and impact of the things we don't usually see or think about, the little things we take for granted that have been designed and developed and have had a profound impact on people's lives, in both the hyperlocal and global sense.

Limited Series

Ars Paradoxica (https://arsparadoxica.com/) Sci-fi audio serial drama. Time-travel, the Cold War, secret agencies, and human choices.

The Big Dig (https://www.wgbh.org/podcasts/the-big-dig) 9-ep series produced by GBH hosted by Ian Coss about how Boston's Big Dig happened. It's also about American infrastructure and politics, and how the local sometimes is the national.

#nos answers things #Anonymous #podcasts

[sanaserena]

YAY, OPLA is still in the top 10 - top 4 most streamed last week - this week, in it's sixth week of airing! See ↓↓ from here: Twitter Link

In my personal opinion, that's looking good. It's also interesting to compare OPLA's streaming stats week by week compared to several other shows in the top 10 (but in saying that... I haven't had time to do a full comparison, just bits here and there, so I can't say anything for sure...still, it's very interesting to look at!! And considering, I usually don't have the time or effort to follow any other show in such detail... but One Piece has such a special place in my heart!)

I finally am back round with screenshots from Episode 6 - and my thoughts on the episode. I also really loved this episode, the cast has so many good moments, and I love how we see the crew bond and develop through one of the biggest trials of the Straw Hat pirates friendship.

Highlights of Ep 6:

Do you know how much I love these sets? Why sometimes I love live action? Because we get to see even more sides to the manga panels, to the anime scenes that probably weren’t important or thought about at the time. For example, I love that we get to see more of the inside of the Going Merry (we do see this in the manga, but there's something more intricate and detailed about the live action's adaptation)

The interactions between Koby and Garp. The more times I re-watch OPLA, the more I like these interactions. I like them because we get to see Koby develop and how Garp becomes his and Helmeppo's mentor (something we only see in cover stories in OP, before their big appearance at the end of a specific arc, where the Koby and Helmoppo have clearly grown up.)

The interaction between Garp and Mihawk. This is OP only, and we see a different kind of Warlord/Marine interaction past the East Blue Saga in the One Piece Manga. I liked that this was introduced in OPLA season 1, it does so many wonderful things like, give us more Mihawk time (those who know, know how rare he is in the manga, but beloved despite those rare appearances), show us more of how the Warlord system works/or does work, and of course hammers in other plot points for OPLA. (Also, Steven John Ward is such a magnificent Mihawk.)

The interaction between Sanji, Usopp, and Luffy. When Luffy speaks of Wado Ichimonji, and pronounces the name completely wrong in a very Luffy way, sometimes I ask myself, do I love this line in OPLA because I know it’s a very Luffy trait from the manga, or do I love it because Inaki delivers this line so well?

This episode gives us more wonderful expressions from the cast. Taz is such a fantastic Sanji and Jacob is pretty good as Usopp. They're both great in this episode. I've heard some people complain that Usopp and Sanji were done a bit dirty in season 1, but truthfully, I have high hopes that the showrunners will give them more space for development in season 2 now that they've been introduced. If you squash everything into season 1, that only leaves less space for character development on screen later on. So I'm looking forward to seeing OPLA develop some of our favourite OP characters in their way, but faithful to Oda's vision.

I love how they did Sanji's backstory. They did not skimp on the truth behind Zeff's leg, which the anime does, and the manga is a little more brutal on.

You know, sometimes I had my doubts, before OPLA was released, on whether Craig Fairbrass would make a good Zeff. There were so many white actors and I like hmmm. But, damn it all, he’s perfect. He brings Zeff alive with so much zest and flavour. Both in present and the past flashbacks. It was wonderful. (Also, it does make me laugh every time I see his braided mustache jumping when he speaks, love it.)

Christian Convery is also fantastic as young Sanji. He acts wonderfully. He's like a little angelic cherub, and thus for the extended starvation period, he was a little too fleshy, however, this is a child (and we can't ask him to starve just for acting at his age, and for something like this in a tv series, I'd much rather the vfx went to the bigger elements, like Buggy's devil fruit powers, Luffy's devil fruit powers, the Sea King, etc.), and his acting still managed to convince me that he had been starving for days.

And as usual, I can't fit all the screenshots here ... see Part 2: Here, and Part 3: Here.

#one piece #one piece live action #one piece netflix #one piece screenshots #One piece live action episode 6 #fiftieth impressions #opla #hopefully opla spoiler free #luffy #nami #roronoa zoro #koby one piece #I still need to figure out how to make gifs from netflix work 🤔 #too much effort #part 1 #Luffy being adorable #Luffy being Luffy #zoro has so many expressions #The Strawhats #Strawhats care about strawhats #red leg zeff #dracule mihawk #OPLA Sanji is adorable

[westworldparty19]

Rewatching one of my favorite TOS episodes: Is there in truth no beauty?

Only 2 mins in and had to pause to laugh because!! They spend that time establishing that Anbassador Kollos’ form is so ugly that it drives humans mad and even Vulcans have to wear a visor.

Spock then beams up a beautiful woman and a box and he greets the woman: “Ambassodor Kollos, it is an honor to meet you”

And she goes… “I’m Dr. Jones.” And then indicates that the box is Kollos…

Spock is really out here soooooo obviously not attracted to women that he assumes that the beautiful beautiful Dr. Jones is a hideous monster!

Ok then it’s revealed that Spock was offered the position Dr. Jones is auditioning for but he turned it down bc “my life is here”

Sorry but season 3 Kirk and Spock are so together there’s no way around it.

Okay!! Miranda (Dr. Jones) is soooooo Spock of Christmas future coded. To a point but I’m sure the argument Kirk makes when he’s honey potting her in the garden is very similar to one he might use to get spock to not do kolhinar. Both dark hair, striking features, beautiful in an intriguing way, extremely intelligent, don’t fit in with either of the cultures fully because of stigma associated with genetic features, Kirk immediately tries to flirt…

This is a “spirk on a date” episode just like trouble with tribbles but more serious

Back to the honey pot in the garden…Kirk is there to distract Miranda from Spock melding with Kollos. She is distracted until he lets her get a little personal and then she immediately figures out what Spock is planning. (This is sooo similar to in TMP when Spock is mentally saying goodbye to Kirk and then Kirk’s consciousness reaches out across the universe.) He tries to keep her there but then she says it’s too dangerous for Spock to do and Kirk let’s go right away and they leave to help Spock

Omg and then Spock accidentally looks at Kollos without protection and goes crazy and can only be saved by Miranda but Kirk and Bones don’t think she’ll help bc she’s so jealous and bones says maybe she will help bc they weren’t rivals in love (he means for the love of kollos) but the whole ep Kirk is flirting with Miranda AND with Spock so they kinda are. And then Kirk says probably the cruelest things he ever says to her to guilt her/snap her back to reality to help Spock and she does. He’s basically driven insane by his need to save Spock (as per usual)

I just love this episode so much. I especially love the direction and the music. I think the music is unique to the episode which is really rare and the director takes a lot of chances with interesting shots (he does a lot of wide angle pov). We get to see the bridge from a different angle which is really cool and there’s one shot of Miranda where it’s like a quick zoom in that I like. And the blocking is pretty interesting in a few scenes too like kirk and co marching down the hall to see if Kollos has been hurt.

The shrew bit is a bit tired of course but I think the payoff here is much better than in Elaan of Troius. They don’t necessarily “tame” Miranda as the resolution is for her to accept she is in love with Kollos and that he loves her too in the way that he can, and the crew learns that she is capable of a great deal more than they can image when they previously considered her blindness to be a great detriment.

Also the other relevant guest of the week is one of the designers of the enterprise and Scotty is so smitten with him lmao. He’s so excited to meet the guy and just wants to hang out and drink and take about engineering.

Shatner looks sooo good in this ep too. Toupee is the perfect length imo.

Miranda’s costumes are gorgeous, definitely ranking in top 5. Her hair too.

We get IDIC introduced for the first time and even tho it was a ploy by Roddenberry to sell merch, the concept is really interesting and does develop the lore of Vulcan quite a bit

Ugh when Kollos joins with Spock he talks about how lonely people are when they are cut off from each other (telepathically) and then Kirk tells him it’s time to end the meld. To me in my spirk brain worms brain, that indicates that Kirk and Spock have a mind link established and that they had to “unplug” when Spock melds with Kollos, which is why Kollos feels that Spock is so alone and Kirk ends the meld so promptly lol.

Ralph Senesky is definitely my favorite TOS director, I wish he did more!

#star trek #tos #star trek tos #spock #captain kirk #spirk #james t kirk #william shatner #is there in truth no beauty?

[ask-grandamiral-thrawn]

[OoC, contains !spoilers! for Ahsoka ep. 6]

Sadly, the Ahsoka Show did the one thing I feared: it ruined Thrawn as a character. While many discuss his bodily features and presentation, I really don't have an issue with that. There can be numerous reasons outside of the control of the crew why they had it to do and as many in-universe explanations. Yes, it contrasts Thrawns philosophy of training body and mind to keep in shape, but he is an old man by now who lived 30 years or so in exile.

The thing is:

I would've wished they had talked about that in the series too. Perfect moment for a witty comment by Sabine, something like "You've changed...". A short reply like "I am aware. The time I spent here has taken its toll" and I would've been satisfied. But I'm getting carried away as, again, this isn't my main issue. The whole introduction is.

Thrawns character was often a bit ambiguous. But when I took one thing from the new books, then it is the fact that he despises to stage a great show. The whole introduction sequence felt weird. His man love him, yes. And surely after this long time, they would've developed traditions that make it look like a cult. But Thrawn would've never wanted that. And he wouldn't have used it like that for no reason.

But the worst thing is, that now...he is basically a generic villain. Filoni has done that in Rebels already, yes. But it was a show targeted at kids and teens, so it's understandable that he wanted to have a villain the audience really can hate. Thrawn must be able to hurt the main characters, that's his job.

In Ahsoka tho, I hoped for a complex, layered depiction. And now, not only does he seem to despise Jedi in general, which doesn't even make sense regarding his history, he then pulls the classic "I'm not gonna break my promises, when I never promised to let them live in the first place". That's the same person who got out of their way to talk to a rebel leader he hunted for YEARS. And after the massacre on the planet he tried to avoid the whole time, he proceeded to low-key threatening his only ally in the political system with consequences for that because he hated losing lifes senselessly.

They better come up with an explanation why he has changed. But I fear it won't happen on screen, since it would have obliged to happen in the introduction scene. People being introduced to the character now will wonder why everyone was so hyped about this very generic villain. And I think this presentation of Thrawn, the fact that people will probably not be interested in "yet another Moff Gideon", that's the big crime Ahsoka did...

#star wars #ahsoka #ahsoka show #ahsoka series #ahsoka episode 6 spoilers #ahsoka spoilers

[blehworld]

the eclipse series: a review

i will forever love this series and it’s characters. it will be hard to let them go and i will surely come back to them for comfort or nostalgia. i will miss the eclipse fridays, the community built around it and coming here to spend hours reading everyone’s breakdowns and theories.

the incredible cast! (best thing about the series)

first and khaotung as the main leads;

two amazingly talented actors with great real-life chemistry, that translated beautifully into akk and ayan. the dynamic that they created for akkayan, their micro-expressions and eye acting elevated this series! they’re amazing at the emotional, the dramatic, the serious, the fluff, the suggestive, …i hope to see more of them together. gmmtv hit gold with them, finding two actors that match so well. they have what it takes to surprise us with a completely different concept and story. i look forward to see them separately too, as i’ve enjoyed their previous roles and have seen the evolution and range of their individual talent.

neo and louis as the secondary couple;

i had already seen them together in futs, where they were very cute. i had also seen neo, in a couple of other shows. it was interesting seeing their duality. neo being usually a comic relief character, got to show a more serious and tough side, while louis went from loud and clingy, to reserved and distant. i’m curious of what more they can offer as a pairing, and would certainly support them as a main couple. they’ve said that they want to continue working together so, will gmmtv make them stay as a secondary couple forever?

ploy, pawin and aj;

they did great in their roles for the little time they had for onscreen development; as the conflicted young new teacher that chooses to compromise, the misguided kid that wants to be included and belong, and, as the conflicted student with big dreams of becoming an indie movie director, respectively. i think it’s time that aj gets a main role (maybe with ploy? they seemed to be pushing them together a lot). he really impressed me in ep 11 when he was mad at akk, there was something in his eyes, i’d like for him to explore that. i’d seen all three of them before in other projects and they’re pretty consistent.

pak, tee and petch: the world remembers gang a.k.a. the youth rights club;

i loved them. they were the strong ones, the victims all along and who did nothing wrong! they wanted what's best for everyone. they deserve the world! the actors played them delightfully. a series centered around them would be incredible! they were never used for laughs. the show always took them seriously and so did the characters, and i am so thankful for that! this is unfortunately not the standard in bl series.

the adults: p’yai, p’sine, p’iang, p’jum and p’ron;

the “adult” actors that stood out were teachers waree and chadok, and the principal. they were incredibly intimidating, and played great antagonists. i loved to hate them. i have questions about their characters, though that has nothing to do with the actors, like: did waree believe in the curse? was the principal a teacher for chadok, the same way he was for akk? did the principal allow all those changes to suppalo after chadok resigned? and more…. i liked aye’s mother, and was hopping to see more of her. i also enjoyed uncle dika’s performance. we saw him only as flashbacks from different characters’ eyes, and he succeeded in transmitting every good thing that they thought of him.

the plot

the idea of showing a school as an allegory for a nation isn’t new, but it always has great potential, and i believe that they hit the spot many times! it wasn’t necessarily innovative, but it was brave. a courageous story to tell, from it’s preproduction and it’s crew, to the social commentary and political messages at its core, verbalized mostly by the world remembers gang and ayan.

the mystery wasn’t perfectly managed, but it also wasn’t really the focus of the series. it was largely the background for these characters to exist and these relationships to develop. however, it did keep me guessing at times and asking different questions, that were later answered, one way or another.

the diversity of queer representation

my favorite thing about this show was the different types of lgbt+ journeys:

akk who seemed to be only starting it, who was so scared and repressed to be himself. his economic background already made him stand out in the school, he didn’t need to also not be “normal”.

ayan who had already fully and confidently accepted who he was, thanks to his uncle and mother who were so supportive of him.

the 3jums who never really had the choice to hide, so they owned who they were and fought for their (and everyone’s) right of self expression.

kan who knew but wasn’t sure, tried to repress it because society made him think that it wasn’t okay to feel what he felt.

thua who was out, not explicitly by choice. he couldn’t hide it, but he could make himself small, take as little space as possible, to the point of never speaking up, so he would be ignored.

chadok, who unfortunately lost his fiancé because of his own fear of standing up for himself. he chose the same antiquated system that had already hurt him so much for years, the system that doomed his lover, over his own freedom.

the cinematography and technical aspects

they didn’t have much budget, but the plot didn’t really demand it. the direction was purposeful and the cinematography was skillful; there were some very beautiful shots throughout the series. the symbolism of the eclipse always very present, sometimes quite obviously, but often subtle and organic. technically it was well done, with deliberate lightning and the sound being better than most bls. there were some small continuity errors, the biggest imo being the hair lenghts changing between some scenes.

however the writing;

as a whole (mostly the last two episodes) the writing was somewhat underwhelming, not meeting my initial expectations, nor the potential of the series… while most of the elements to make this series exceptional were there, what really affected the quality of the writing —not saying that it was otherwise perfect, but it was good enough— was that 12 EPISODES WERE NOT ENOUGH TIME!

this story, these characters, these conflicts needed, at least, a few more episodes to develop and come to a conclusion, at most, dividing everything into two seasons.

the pacing of the first 10 episodes was so pleasing to me. it gave me AND the characters, enough time to examine their feelings and talk through them. it focused on how the environment and the interactions in it affected the characters! we saw them exist in their world and with each other, without anything being rushed. it felt natural, i loved it.

but we lost this in episode 11. it was just revelation after revelation, leaving no time for the viewer, nor the characters, to process what was going on. unfortunately with one episode left, there wasn’t much they could do. so they ended up skipping what had once been their main focus; the internal emotional journey of the characters.

episode 12 was cute and fun;

i loved that we got to see akk come out to his parents, as well as him and ayan introducing themselves as a couple to them. those are important moments in the lgbt+ journey! especially for a teen.

i loved to see how after being finally out, the freedom akk felt was visible not only in his relationship with ayan, but also in his face and his whole existence.

i loved all the moments between akk and ayan; the rooftop scene, the pool side scene, everything at the beach and in akk’s room, the little classroom exchange, the —in the words of a twitter moot— mutual pinning,

i loved the full circle moments of opening and closing the series on the red boat, and, the school bathroom scene with the hoodies. these showed growth, making us think back at how akk was and felt at the beginning vs now; and how akk and ayan were and felt when they met vs now.

BUT

it brushed over the huge revelations of the previous episode and so the build up of the whole series fell flat.

the apology to the world remembers was one sentence each? i said it before, they deserved apologies and reparations! i needed akk to officially apologise to them, as well as thua, the prefects, ayan, all the students, and the teachers, too. i did like how akk wasn’t expecting to be forgiven.

actually, within the friend group, no one really apologized to one another. i wanted group therapy full of tears and apologies.

the outing was not addressed (as expected, but i had a slimmer of hope).

the changes to the school (although great) felt unearned… we didn’t see who made this changes and why? it just, felt weird to shove them in a couple of minutes at the end of the episode, when the school and its antiquated system were the main villain of the series! the change of heart of teacher waree also was too sudden.

i wanted to see a serious conversation between kan and thua about everything. i wanted thua to acknowledge his wrongdoings the way akk got to do, multiple times, with ayan. i wanted to see kan be there for him while he went through it. i needed this for closure with their characters and their relationship. these posts by heretherebedork go further into this better than i can. honestly, thua’s character as a whole felt very abandoned to me. they hinted at him having a possibly abusive stepfather, but then it was dropped. they showed us signs mental health struggles, with him wanting to disappear (did i imagine that?), they dropped it too. his friendship with ayan, or whatever they had going, was also dropped at some point. i think that, with him, they focused too much on kan, and not enough on thua as an individual. he’s the only main character that didn’t really grow and learn? everyone else ended different than they started.

WHAT WAS TEACHER SANI DOING AT THE BEACH WITH THEM, THEY WERE DRINKING? she traveled with them all the way to akk’s house… i was scared until the las second that she and wat would have a thing.

the ending felt a little too “coming of age” teen movie. not very fitting when the series touched on quite serious and heavy topics. i don’t mean the happy ending, i mean the way it’s was all so quickly wrapped up and summarized. i half expected the voice over to name each character and what they became. “after graduation, wat became a big name in the indie film scene; the world remembers gang became youth leaders for the community; kan and thua decided to adopt singto and moved in together; and as for me and ayan, he’s thinking of studying political sciences, to no one’s surprise. me, i don’t know yet what i want to do with my life, but that’s okay! for now we are taking some time off and traveling the world together, as boyfriends…”

closing comment:

all in all, i thoroughly enjoyed this series; the talented actors and lgbt+ diverse journeys being the main pull. a lot of work was obviously put into writing (most of) the characters, but the plot was underdeveloped. there was a weird tone and pace shift between the last three episodes, and i want to attribute that to a time issue. sincerely, i would not want to sacrifice the pacing of the first 10 episodes, for parts of 11 and 12 to feel less rushed. it needed additional episodes, not a faster pace.

#the eclipse series #bl series #the eclipse the series #the eclipse #akkayan #firstkhao #khaotung thanawat #first kanaphan #kanthua #neolouis #louis thanawin #neo trai #final review #kinda sorta #why was teacher sani at akk’s house? #aye my beloved #akk my dearest #i’m not ready to say goodbye #first and khaotung are astonishing as a duo #how did we get so lucky to see two young actors who can match each other like this? #khaotung my beloved #first my dearest #som gang #🧡🤍

[raspberrywiskey]

i wish odo's relationships were developed more. like outside of quark n kira he basically has no friends, which I feel makes his eventual leave less impactful. bc like only two people on the station actually know and deeply care ab him. like yeha, he has moments of friendship with other people on the station; he gets tortured by garak n becomes bffs with him for two eps, gets relationship advice from julian, n bonds w/ worf over their shared need for routine and order and joins in on the baseball game in take me out to the holosuite. but I wish his interactions with other characters went deeper than just conversations ?? like if he actually made emotional connections w/ people on the station instead of kindof always being and emotionally distant observer. it feels like they were trying to give him some sort of characters arc in that way but they never fully went for it??

ugh I just wish they developed his relationship w/ garak and worf more bc from what is shown it's really cute and fun !! I love odo and worf bonding over routine and feeling like an outsider on the station, n them in trials n tibbleations, the silliest guys ever. i wish odo n worf actually became friends within canon bc they're v similar characters w/ similar issues - both being separated from their people, who they know are not the greatest, and are responsible for war n bloodshed but still want to return to them nonetheless.

i love garak n odos interactions bc everytime they talk to eachother its just two bitchy old queens being total cunts. it feels like they were eventually gonna become actual friends w/ them bonding over garak torturing him but just nothing resulted in it?? like they had one brunch together, which was cute, n continued their banter but nothing really happened past that??

odo's lack of significant relationships at the start of the series was to send home how much of outsider he was. but he didn't really develop that many relationships during the series n kindof continued to be an outsider, sure he had conversations with other members of the crew and was included more in social things that the beginning of the series but he didn't really have as deep of relationships as other characters had. wasn't he supposed to be like, fully integrated into humanoid society by the end of the series?? to make him returning to the great link more bitter?? just feels like kindof a missed opportunity.

another thing is, I just don't see that many people talking ab odos other relationships as much as his ones with kira and quark, which is fair bc the the most prevalent. but I think the interactions he has with garak n worf are equally as fun !! maybe I should get on that?? idk

#deep space 9 #ds9 #odo #startrek #txt #this was so rambley im so sorry lmao #not editing this bc its just complete word throw up n i cant be arsed #someone should draw garak and odo kissing ty heart

[galactic-pirates]

Once you've seen a few eps, let's do Strange New Worlds for the TV show asks, please!

Ok I've seen four episodes now so lets do this!

favorite male character:

I was going to say Pike I really was but then M'benga just had too much heart. I just love how he cares and it feels deep and real, like genuine warmth.

favorite female character:

This is the tough one. Uhura is adorable, Chapel is a scene stealer, I just love her dry humour. Number One was my favourite before the show even started and then there's how much I love Ortegas. So... roll a dice? I think at the moment it probably has to still be Number One but it's a lot tougher than I thought it would be to decide.

least favorite character:

Has to be La'an I'm sorry. There's no particular reason for me to dislike her but I just don't care. I guess I just don't vibe with her /shrug.

prettiest character:

I've never really cared for the word 'pretty'. I'm going to interpret this as character I like the look of the most. Aesthetic attraction I guess.

funniest character:

I can't say I have laughed at anything really. I like Chapel's snark, I already said that. Uhura and Ortegas can be quite witty. I don't have a normal persons sense of humour so I really don't know.

favorite season:

Well there is only one at the moment haha.

favorite episode:

I feel like I can't really judge this until I have seen more. There are 6 episodes I haven't seen yet. However, out of the first 4 I think I would have to say... well it's between Children of the Comet and Ghosts of Illyria. I liked the dinner scene from the first with all the crew interaction, it was also a great Uhura episode, but the second was more Number One and her line about "when will it be enough just to be me" was so raw. I think I have to go with Episode 3 because Number One but honestly every episode so far has had good stuff!

favorite romantic ship:

I haven't had anything jump up and down going "ship me" yet. I've just been enjoying the found family vibes.

favorite family ship:

The crew? I mean they don't break down into groups easily, and if they do it's into friendships. So yeah everyone. Enterprise is family.

favorite friend ship:

Spoiled for choice! I loved the light teasing Ortegas did with Uhura and the dress uniform. Also Uhura and Hemmer in the last episode I watched was surprisingly sweet. M'benga and Number One for sure. However, at the end of the day it has to be Pike and Number One. They have this deep bond which transcends description.

worst ship:

I don't think I can really call anything worst at the moment. First because I haven't seen anything bad yet and second sometimes things take time to develop. Four episodes isn't enough to give it a chance.

#purlturtle #I answer things #star trek: strange new worlds #long post

[uweiy]

I'm intrigued by Love is Science? but know nothing about it. Can you give me a run down on what kind of thing to expect and who it might appeal to? Thank you!! 😁

Ooooo boi *gremlin smile* I'm glad you asked. You've entered the dragon's den, broken the dam and thus this post turned out to be a monster so I'm gonna link here another post from @accidentallyadramablog which imo gives a nice (and short) overview.

That said let's get into

Love is Science?

Summary :

Yan Fei is a the CEO of the Love is Science marriage agency, that matches people based on scientific data. Hsuan Yu, 8 years younger than her, is a promising young hairstylist who has been in love with her thoughout their entire childhood when she has only ever seen him like a little brother.

Unexpectedly they meet again. Between the way they've each built their lives and how Yong Yan Fei's ex husband still looms over Yan Fei's life, how will their relationship develop this time around ?

Now,

just reading that summary I know what you're thinking.

Indeed, if you have some experience with dramas, you might recognize some TYPICAL TYPICAL tropes – let's get them out of the way :

love triangle (though we all know who she is going to end up with don't we)

childhood friends

'noona romance'

And they are every bit as present and as trope-ey as you would expect.

However, as they say, the devil is in the details.

And particularly, in the side characters. Let me give you a quick rundown of the lot of them :

As such, we follow the stories of multiple relationships that develop parallel to one another.

The relationships

• Yan Fei/ Hsuan Yu : Not much needs to be added I think. Their storyline might be the most predictable but they are pretty sweet and heartwarming. pining for like 12 years though poor Hsuan Yu. Anyway you can enjoy it or find it boring or but you can't hate it.

• Mark/Ouwen : Noooow we're getting to it. Their dynamic is so... Refreshing and unique. Confident gay with a soft heart and dumb disaster bisexual I mean *chef kiss*👌delicious

After the disasters of their first meetings, it's a cat and dog relationship where Ouwen is the hsssssss don't touch me– cat and Mark is the golden retriever trailing after him not really realizing the rampage he's creating in Ouwen's heart. while Ouwen is like "Remind me why the FUCK I caught feelings again ?".

IDK it just has everything 'Enemies' to friends to lovers, (not actually) unrequited love, pining, sweet moments, jealousy, feelings realization, snarky banter... What more could one want.

• Cho Nai Hui / You Fu : they are. So. So sweet. Both are older and have experience, and as such they are not so naive or stupid as the youngsters. Them sharing their life experiences and going on dates like typically teenagers (in movies or TV shows anyway) would is refreshing to see and really really heartwarming.

• Liu Sheng Ying/ ??? Her ex ? : The show hinted at a wlw storyline and this arc seems to have JUST begun. Basically Sheng Ying's ex comes to Love is Science as a client and requests Sheng Ying as an advisor, while Sheng Ying still seems heartbroken over her. I can't WAIT to see how it develops.

The friendships :

Something I greatly appreciate is that both the romantic relationships AND the friendships have a great importance in the drama.

• Joanna and Yan Fei : Jo, queen Jo 👑. She's just here to gossip, get all the gossip and be the voice of reason and we love her for it. You can see how comfortable they are around each other and how they were there for each other during tough times and still are. Kudos to the actresses because I believed the characters were besties in a heartbeat.

• Hsuan Yu and Mark : they are honestly... Such polar opposites you kinda wonder how they became friends but they are and it works perfectly.

Hsuan Yu still hasn't gotten he maybe shouldn't take Mark's advice, and Mark still hasn't gotten that he, definitely should take Hsuan Yu's. It also enables to develop a more playful and mischievous side to Hsuan Yu, giving him more depth?

• Ouwen and Sheng Ying: rivalry to reluctant solidarity to friends-but-i-will-deny-it-if-asked to just friends. IT'S GREAT

I also ejoy the fact that these multiple storylines are allowed to coexist. The romantic ones, the friendships, older, younger, m/f m/m and f/f like take your pick !! And tbh a WLW storyline ?????? These are so scarce I will take anything.

The recurring themes :

The show more or less subtly touches on some topics/issues, to which the dating aspect contributes to.

A non exhaustive list would be

Divorce, and how divorced women can be viewed as failures for some reason

How successful men over 30 are sought after but successful women after 30 are somehow deemed undatable

Preconceived notions and homophobia

And beyond the topics, there's just things like... Joanna not being interested in long term relationships nor wanting to get married, reporting sexual harassment, older people going on dates.... I'm not saying it's a groundbreaking activist drama –which is not really what I was looking for– I just appreciate the fact that it is a pretty mainstream drama and that these things are there.

Mad respect if you've made it up to here ! but we're not quite done yet.

The cast and crew :

The other element that made this drama stand out for me besides the side characters is the cast.

It might be weird that such a meta thing impacts the appreciation of the show but it did, for me at least.

📣📣TMI WARNING 📣📣

For me what happened is I stumbled onto Mark and Ouwen cuts on YouTube, then somehow onto the behind the scenes. They weren't subbed at the time so I could barely understand a word of what they were saying, thus I'm not sure what but something about how the rest of the actors, the director and the crew were interacting just told me it was a show worth watching or at least checking out.

📣📣END OF TMI📣📣

The cast honestly seems to have a blast and to have, how to say it, come together really well. It seems like most of them have become genuinely friends, or despite differences in personality have truly enjoyed working with one another and with the rest of the crew, and it shows.

Where it's lacking

In my opinion the show does have some aspects where it underperforms.

As previously mentioned, the main plot is kinda tropey, furthermore, in a drama typical fashion when something is about to get resolved, immediately something else happens. Nothing unexpected from a drama though.

The pacing : Some moments of the main plot especially dragged on, so I admit I skipped through some parts.

Because I feel so strongly about all the characters though, I don't really mind the previously mentioned points. I just think it's a shame because I feel like if it had been crafted a little bit better it could have made the show go from an 8/10 good drama to an 11/10 friggin amazing drama easy.

Lastly, there is a pretty unequal time distribution so Yan Fei and Hsuan Yu do tend to occupy the most part of an episode. However some episodes are more centered on some pairings (like ep 11 that will probably have an important Mark/Ouwen part).

Overall

it's a drama that warms my heart, as simple as that. It's not that deep, it's pretty funny, the acting ranges from good to excellent and I have taken a liking to a lot of the characters, which is what I think fuels my interest for the drama.

And I feel like it managed to attract a wide range of audiences because the romances and relationships are so diverse. Whether you watch the show for its entirety or for one aspect/storyline/character is entirely up to you and I feel like the creators of the drama are aware of it as well : and you can easily find subbed compilations about each specific pairing on Settv's official YouTube channel.

Take that aspect that you like–if you find one of course–and enjoy it, that is all ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

What's left to say besides.... 🎉🎊 Congratulations for making it to the end of this lengthy post !

#I add a tmi warning in the middle as if this entire post wasn't one lengthy tmi lol #long post #love is science? #戀愛是科學 #lian ai shi ke xue #tw drama #taiwan drama #taiwanese drama #honestly thank you for this opportunity to talk about it #it made me happy heh heh heh #oh and if anyone else of the 15 people who like the show want to add stuff share your thoughts or highjack this post go ahead #lis?

[fallindomino]

how i would have changed s2 of hsmtmts

obvious disclaimer but im not a screenwriter or anyth so im not claiming what i want is best, this is just for fun lololol

okay so first of all nini would still have dropped out of yac but she wouldn’t have gone back to east, she would have transferred to north bc she was too ashamed to tell anyone she left at first and maybe she still wants to explore who she is away from ricky and the others

nini could join north’s batb and this way maybe we could have some playful rivalry with lily and nini and more scenes with antoine shdhdjdj also it could have been a great opportunity to flesh out lily’s character so those scenes where she reaches out to ricky and her confession at the end of the season actually make sense lol

speaking of ricky ,,, i think he should have left the play at some point hear me out. he only joined in the first place because of nini and barely wanted to do it at all once he realized he wasn’t gonna be able to perform with her. he could have joined crew and been a manager with natalie or smth considering he rlly does see the theater gang as a second family. also this would leave so much room for ej and ricky development and bants since ej joined the av club and began to pursue film. they could have some convos where idk ricky asks ej how he figured out what he wanted to do after duke didn’t work out and ricky could actually develop some interests that arent the play or nini ,,, maybe fucking art club i mean he did p good on that centerpiece for carlos’ quinceañera.

with ricky not being the beast anymore i think seb should take his place that would be soooo good. and since seb isn’t chip anymore carlos won’t make those snide comments about chip being a small unimportant role and we can just cut that whole fight bc it was dumb and bad. we could still have seb being insecure that carlos is only dating him bc there aren’t really any other gay guys at school. in a heartbeat is great and i did like ricky being supportive in the background it was kinda funny too idk dhdjdjfj

ooh i almost forgot abt rini ahshdj okay so i still think they should break up. but in my version there’s no ricky pulling an ej 1.0 and deleting comments off of nini’s insta, cause with ricky in art club and nini at north trying to figure out what she wants i think one of them would realize that they’re going in different directions and only got back tgt because they made each other feel safe cause what they had was familiar. this could be triggered by ricky mentioning smth abt nini at yac and then nini breaks down and tells him that she dropped out and is at north and doesn’t know where she’s going. and then they can both realize they aren’t good for each other rn and have a less tragic mutual break up.

honestly i really liked the scene of nini taking charge after miss jenn freaked out cause with the character detail of nini giving every person in the cast of productions she’s in a thank you note she just seems really like someone who is suited to lifting others up. this could still be explored at north, maybe she could help lily through her issues that were briefly implied in ep 11 and nini realizes she wants to be a drama teacher and encourage kids to go off book and put themselves into their acting, something she couldn’t have at yac.

okay now ej ,,, so like i said in ricky’s section, more bants between them cause i feel like friendships kinda fell by the wayside due to all the relationships so more friendship !!!! also the scene where ej tells his dad he’s not going to duke shouldn’t have been an ending scene, it should have been fleshed out with his dad pushing back saying how he pulled all these strings to get him in and ej saying he doesn’t wanna go if his own hard work couldn’t get him there. and also more scenes of ej doing av club things !!! and realizing he rlly likes film and wants to do it OMG IT WOULD BE SO COOL IF HE BROKE THE FOURTH WALL AND ASKED THE DOCUMENTARY CREW ABT THE FILM INDUSTRY god i would love that. the only scene we rlly got of ej doing film things was at the quinceañera which made me kinda sad. uhhh also i just wanted to specifically mention how ej got mr mazzara that job at cal tech bc it really showed how he wanted to be there for people not just for gina, who he had a crush on, but for mr mazzara who supported him outside of romance, so i wanna keep that for sure.

gina !!! okay so i mostly liked her arc in this season, the only changes i would make would be to flesh it out a teeny bit (god this hypothetical s2 would have to be like 22 eps at least shdjdjdjfj) anyways besides ashlyn singing home to get gina to stay i think there should be a scene where they actually talk in her room abt how gina feels safer when shes on the run (second chance reference ilysm) hhhh and also a scene of her and carlos actually working out compromises for their choreo cause i liked that bit of development too and fleshing that out would make gina an even better foil for lily, who felt a need to hog the spotlight like gina used to. with gina’s own arc fleshed out her character would feel more whole independently from romance and portwell would be even more rewarding than it is in the current s2. the only thing i would really change abt portwell is that they would kiss !!! in the finale but thats bc im biased.

ashlyn should have gotten a more fleshed out storyline about being insecure about not being a good enough belle or the typical belle. there were some throwaway lines when north did their typical dramatics but the only two real scenes that showed it were when ash talked to big red about it and when she was telling nini she wanted to do a run in “home” bc lily did it. ashlyn should get more screen time where she has to grapple with the reasons she doesn’t feel good enough and big red can still support her but also gina too bc i would like more roommate besties interaction.

kourtney could still date howie, that harry potter shit was cute but there needs to be smth else for kourtney’s arc. idk she’s still into fashion so maybe she could be out here trying to create her own line or smth? this doesn’t have to be resolved in s2 like making a wholeass line takes time and she could work on it into a potential s3. kourtney just didnt get much outside of howie and the stuff at the beginning of the season where she said nini inspired her to be independent and that's why she got a job was just dropped?? so i think that fashion could fill that for her if she’s still dating howie cause like having her whole arc just be the pizza place kinda overlaps w big red’s mini arc abt how he wasn’t settling for hospitality, its what he wants to do with his life.

ik what ur thinking. anna, even if you added more episodes, where would u find the room to add all these plotlines?? well first we cut (most of) the seblos fight, so thats some time saved. honestly most of the time that we r going to gain is going to be from cutting ms jenn’s time. things like ms jenn’s and nini’s car ride would get cut, but mostly all of ms jenn’s romances would get cut down. considering she’s the teacher and isn’t actually a character with an arc how does she have THREE love interests this season?? like all of the weird tension between her and zack can be cut, like just some short scenes of them being competitive can stay. all of the stuff with ricky’s dad can go bye bye we don’t need it. i did like her w mr mazzara so most of that can stay i just didn’t like how he said he would give up cal tech for her, ew no that would be gone.

the MENKIES !!!! this is the last thing im gonna address cause in a perfect world every character would get a long fleshed out arc but then the season would be waaay too long and also im mostly trying to work within material the show gave so this is mostly made up of “realistic” deviations from what actually happened. lol idk what that even means it just makes sense to me. but anyways!! uhhh bro idk i thought them dropping the menkies was funny but it also made the finale really BAD lmao. in this finale, seb is the beast, east still had to deal w the fact that they’re underfunded compared to north but no one is injured, lily is less of a poorly written character and maybe ppl are even rooting for her, and wow i just realized i never actually said what role i think nini should have in north’s show. OOH she could be student director instead of lily cause lily both being in the play while also directing was weird considering omg i just checked and according to her wiki page shes a FRESHMAN?? and they let her be student director? lol hell nah. okay so with all that in mind ,,, the menkies should have been the season cliffhanger instead of portwell. east and north should both be nominated, both schools perform at the menkies, and then the award winner is about to be announced and THATS when it cuts to natalie and the end of the season.

one, this actually gives more tension for a summer s3 as we would be waiting to see the consequences of whichever school won. also i bet people would be wondering if nini’s gonna be transferring back to east or staying at north. people would also prob wonder if ej would be getting the scholarship if east won and what that would mean for his interest in film.

lmao that got longggg and idk if anyone’s even gonna read this but it was fun to do :D

#hsmtmts #hsmtmts s2 #anna edition 😎 #nini salazar roberts #ricky bowen #ricky x therapy #i forgot abt that oml #ehh that could be an s3 thing shdjdjf #ej caswell #ashlyn caswell #gina porter #portwell #rini #kourtney greene #hsmtmts lily #seb matthew smith #carlos rodriguez #seblos #more friendship !!!! theater is all abt being in a tight knit community anyways #lets put some focus on that too

[myshyyangel]

BLs of 2020 *year in review(>×<?) *

Hi, it's me again. I just wanted to say first, this is my opinion, second, please, do not send me any message to tell me how wrong I am. THIS IS MY OPINION, feel free to comment on the post BUT don't send me messages threatening me. Anyways, as I said yesterday, today I'll do my list of bls that stood out to me and why, I mean the best lol.

7. Gameboys - good.

So gameboys, Woah! It was good. Great script, acting on point and direction. It was different obviously, but it managed to stay on top of "bls based on the pandemic that we are living while the bl was being filmed". The acting is on another level, it's funny in the right places and serious too. There was not much of one side and then nothing from the other. My problem with bls is how they tend to be unbalanced, and even if Gameboys was filmed during dark times, it managed to surprise everybody *I'm sure*. The side characters were not overwhelming, and the acting was good too. Yes. We love to see it. Re-watch value 8.5/10

6.Why r u - good-ish.

Why R U, so I was skeptical with this one, but I wanted to see how Saint (whom character I hated so much in LBC) would turn himself around and prove that he is a good actor. And boy, he did not come here to play. Zee was good too, and Tommy and Jimmy. Now, aside from them, it was a mess. So that's why my grading is good-ish. I skipped half of everybody else's story. These two couples were the saving grace, and like here's my thing... Overload. Wanting to cover a lot but you don't have to. Anyway, I'm glad we got to see the whole story completed now. It was a good series, the writing was a little questionable but the acting was there. The story was cliché, but still. Puuur. Re-watch value 8/10 but like only if it's the main couples. 6/10 if it's the whole series.

5.Mr. Heart - good, cute, aksjaks melt my heart.

Sooo... I just loved this series. The thing is, the actors were so likable and loveable that I didn't even care about how short it was. But I did re-watch it and some things need some work. The script was one of them, it was kinda confusing, but as I said, the actors are so charming that you need to watch it again just to pay attention to the whole thing. Anyways, the direction was good, and the color palette... LOVED IT. The story itself is a little cliché like almost every bl that came out this year. Re-watch value 8/10

Now MY TOP BLS OF THIS YEAR.

4.Where your eyes linger - excellent

First off, LET'S GO KOREAAA YAAASS. second, mmm Viki girl- I had to subscribe just for this series. Third, ugh It was so good. The acting, the script, the direction, the colors, the acting, aksjaksk what else can I say?. The production team did know where to take the series and in such a short time. Both actors shine and their chemistry is palpable. The music was perfect. I mean, best of the best when it comes to bls. I hate to compare but, how come Korea made this bl and it became UNFORGETTABLE and half of the bls that came out were all the same? I think it was bold to separate the main characters, I thought it wouldn't happen cause you know... Cliché. BUT IT DID HAPPEN and the best part is how the end comes fully in circle. Anyways, re-watch value 10/10.

3.Gaya sa Pelikula - unforgettable

This series is everything you wish every bl was in 2020. The lessons that they tried *and succeeded*to teach the audience, how to call an LGBTQ+ person, HOW YOU CAN BE RAISED BY PARENTS WHO ARE CONSERVATIVE and still not act like an AS*HOLE, the script was magic, the direction was on point, the acting. This series would go down in history as one of the best bls. Thank you to the actors, to the crew, and everybody else. Re-watch value 10/10.

2. 2gether - excellent

Polarizing at best. 2gether marked me, yes, it did. From the acting to the story. Yes, I know, "there are hundreds of bls similar..." not to me. And there's just so much I can take from this series, I even wrote a long character analysis on this app, but I'll summarize. Growers, there's character development, there are jokes and seriousness. And the plot is new *to me* so I was surprised. No character falls into the same category as other bl characters, and the energy the actors bring is just amazing. The color palette (yes, I am obsessed with it, it gives me different moods that's why I feel like it is important in a series) was beautiful, the music used was EVERYTHING, my only complaint is the direction, too many cuts (GMMTV girl you better stop). The cast shines. The finale is what was polarizing, no kiss, but I was sooo okay with it. Re-watch value 11/10, yes, I've seen it many times after it ended.

MY NUMBER ONE IS...

1. Cherry Magic. Excellent, unforgettable, chef kisses, best BL IN THE WORLD.

Cherry magic is the perfect example of why you don't need to have 45 minutes to make a good ss series. 20-24 minutes and we still got this much. Character development was there, cute moments... Everywhere to be found, the script is A HUNDRED for me, the director did not get me dizzy *giving actors screentime TOGETHER IN JUST ONE SHOT was just loveable, thanks*, the acting: out of this world. When you watch Cherry Magic, you feel like you are part of Adachi's world, or like you are watching a little kid growing up and you feel proud because of the decisions he takes. The same thing with Kurosawa, I've never seen a bl character like his, the guy is confident but respectful and it just makes you wonder if you'll ever find someone like that. The side characters didn't outshine but were not at the corner. That's what I call BA LAN CE. This is my favorite bl series of all time (which used to be DarkBlueKiss). I hope we get to see more, NO SPECIAL EPS PLEASE DONT RUIN IT. Re-watch value 1000000/10

What you guys think? What are y'all favs bls of this year? Some series I'm still on it like ITSAY and Hello Stranger. While there are some new bls that I'll review when they end.

Credits to the creators of the gifs, I do not own them, therefore if you see yours, message me and I'll add you, thank you.

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#gameboys #why r u the series #why r u zon #why r u saifah #mr. heart #mr heart #where your eyes linger #gaya sa pelikula #2gether the series #2gether #brightxwin #bright vachirawit #win metawin #cherry magic #30 years of virginity can make you a wizard #machida keita #akaso eiji #year in review #bl series #bl drama #thai bl #japanese bl #pinoy bl

[iemondropsss]

Hello friends. So, like many a person waiting on haitus I too have imagined what the perfect next season of moominvalley will be like. I'm sure there's bound to be SOMETHING wrong with it because idk no one at studios ever listens to common sense and community input? Idk man but here we are. I myself have decided to create a pretty solid season 3 and we'll see how much I get right or wrong. I'm sure this will age like Orange Juice (which by orange juice I actually how no idea if orange juice can spoil just like I have no idea WHAT the studio has in plan) but we do know a few things so I kind of tried to keep with the spirit, the way their characters have progressed and how far they still have to go, and also what we all want. Some things I have in mind will continue/happen in my fake season 4 so maybe I'll do that later we'll see but for now have a presentable season :)

(I'll put it under the cut I know it'll be long lol. also apparently there is a 10 image limit so I'll put the second part of the season in a new reblog don't worry)

Episode 1 - Moomintroll's grand adventure

-moomintroll gets a sea adventure all on his own. he learns the struggles of independence and gets to feel the wind in his fur. it's all rather lovely, but he finds that it isn't exactly as easy as he thought.

-Things to keep in mind: in this ep we want to show how he has become more independent and drifting from the kind of shadow his father left. He still wants to fit under it a little (that's why it's a sea adventure) but as it goes on he needs to realize he is his own person and that is great

Episode 2 - If snufkin feels one (1) more emotion he's gonna snap

-the moominparents, little my, and the lightouse keeper return to the valley on the keeper's boat

-the moomins go into hiberations and the fisherman and toft/toffle bond and find family in each other and go back to the island. This way they are both able to find the companionship they both so desperatly need and the fisherman basically adopts toffle, that way they don't need the moomins anymore :)

-so anyway, naturally, during all this snufkin is emotionally DESTROYED and runs off to the woods. there is nothing worse than skyrocketing your hopes only to have them come crashing down once again

-however, before runing away completely snufkin consults too-ticky who has just recently started to settle down in the boathouse for the winter

-he talks about his emotions, because he feels that she would understand this kind of thing, and how it's really weird. he's always missed moomintroll while he's away but it's different now and there's something different and maybe there alway has been he doesn't know!! it's all so confusing

-too-ticky gives him some wise words (basically: aye, ye gaye bastard) and he goes on his way

-Through the forest he sees several memories flash before him in the form of magical looking apparition that look really cool (the animators can flex their particle engines with the memories as illustrated below which I think would be,,, pretty cool)

-The memories are old, like when he and moomintroll first met or a few small adventures they've had

-he realized that he's never had a friend like this ever not even with the rest of his group or even the several interesting characters he's met on his travels

-at least.... never someone to come home to

-home. that scares him. he heads on his way and promises to find moomintroll again no matter what

-this memory montage has an indie banger over it, of course

Episode 3- Little My the Asexual Pirate Queen

-Little My isn't hibernating this year. She's decided to have her own adventure, if everyone else is getting one

-Pirates come to the valley and she boards their ship but gets thrown in the brig before she can do too much

-She meets a few people in the brig with her and they all stage a mutiny against the captain

-little my becomes the new captain with the person who helped her as her first mate

Episode 4 - Beauty Queen gets character development

-sniff and snorkmaiden look for snork

-they face a couple things and snorkmaiden shows how she can be a really great and independent leader

-snork, when they find him, is excited to go to the valley with them because he will be able to finally get all the materials to build his flying ship with/finally fly/test it!

Episode 5: The Real treasure was the bf (best friend) we had all along

-moomintroll meet little my and her pirate crew

-one of the pirates says they know about a treasure on an island and they go to find it

-kind of like the hattifattener episode

-but now with actual pirates and real treasure lol

-the find the chest and celebrate theier newfound riches

-now that moomintroll has had his adventures he decides that it's time to go back to the valley

-after all it is almost spring and he doesn't want to miss snufkin

-through this adventure moomintroll and little my aren't as mean to each other and understand each other more, becoming more like adopted siblings

Episode 6 - Backstreets back alright dunununn

-Snufkin is playing his newest spring tune solemnly against a tree

-here he is back in the valley but moomintroll still hasn't returned

-he puts up his tent anyway and basically mopes

-moominmamma comforts him over tea and they talk a bit

-the finally finally he's back babyyy

-now here's the most important part pay attention

-they both run across the way and collapse into a

-you guessed it

-spin hug!!

-which is as it sounds moomintroll picks snufkin up and they spin around (kind of like when snorkmaiden and moomintroll broke up but it's better and means the opposite)

-another indie song plays over this scene of course so everytime we listen to it on the album we can cry

-snufkin whispers "I missed you" in moomintroll's ear

-moomintroll laughs and says "now you know what it feel like" but in a teasing way he doesn't mean anything bad by it. he gets it now.

-but snufkin still stiffens and realizes what that means. he tries to apologize for leaving all the time and tries to promise things moomintroll knows it would hurt him to keep so he assures him that it is okay he understands and loves him no matter if they're appart

-snufkin has a gay panic moment obviously he doesnt mean it like *that*

-so they part each other's embrace on good terms and snufkin thanks him

-there is probably a sub plot to this episode but none of us remember what it was because we had whiplash for like a full 10 minutes after this

to be continued.....

#moomins #moominvalley season 3 #but its not actually season 3 I made it up myself because I know they're going to mess it up #snufkin #moominvalley

[halcyon-hyacinth]

side character development in the owl house

I don't think Willow and Gus have been given the proper character development they deserve (especially Gus) and i hope to see more development for them in s2. For Gus: the most we saw for him was really small problems (ep 14) & grom (ep 16) through his relationship with King. He became more kind/caring and learned to treat King seriously and with respect, and not treat him like a baby. 

For Willow: the most we saw here was IWaTA (ep 3) and WiLW (ep 17)- but really ep 3 was her key episode, switching from the abomination track to the plant track. In ep 16 and 17 we see her grow more confident ever since Amity stopped bullying her/stepped up for her. She socializes with other students and makes plant stuff for them. This newfound confidence culminates in being able to face Boscha in grudgby (however it is only in order to help Luz). Ep 17 actually had serious character development for Luz and Amity. Luz realized how her actions have consequences and that she needed to own up to them and not act as recklessly in the future. For Amity we got her jock backstory and she finally left her old crew behind. While the plot started off with Boscha bullying Willow, it ended up revolving around Luz and Amity. I did not include Understanding Willow (ep 15) because it was actually an episode for Amity’s  character development, despite the title. We get backstory on Amity's decision to cut Willow out of her life and empathize with her. Sure, Willow's anger at Amity is finally released and there is a confrontation between them- but we don't learn more about Willow (besides the fact that she has 2 dads) and she doesn't really develop outside of giving Amity a chance to be on good terms again. So in eps 15 and 17 I think Willow was used as a means to develop Amity & Luz. 

Besides the 3 main characters (Luz, Eda, King) Amity has gotten the most and best development by far. In pretty much every ep where she's featured- her character develops. Amity appears in eps 3, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19. Eps 18 and 19 are brief cameos that don't give us much to work with, so I’m putting them aside in this analysis. While eps 13, 16, and 17 focus heavily on her crush on Luz- all other eps give us insight into Amity and have her character develop in other ways. In episode 3 she is established as a mean girl/bully, her strive for perfectionism and her commitment to integrity are shown as well. Episode 5 is major- her previously demonstrated perfectionism and sense of integrity are reinforced when she is humiliated for unknowingly cheating at the witches duel. Once it is revealed that Luz has a genuine interest and ability in becoming a witch, Amity takes Luz seriously- showing that her concern was that Luz wasn't actually committed to being a witch. Episode 6- just a brief lil cameo but we see that she doesn’t really fit in with her gang- as they couldn’t use the bond of friendship to summon even a lil doll. Also in how she isolates herself from the others and sits alone at the window, giving us insight to her character. Episode 7 is her turning point. Her softer side is revealed as she admits in her diary to putting on a facade to avoid appearing weak. After she works with Luz to defeat Otabin, she realizes her actions towards Luz haven’t been all too great. She is able to make amends with Luz and self- reflect on her actions once she realizes that Luz is a kind and genuine person- not out to get Amity or embarrass her. Episode 12- we see her dedication to being top student and a skilled witch as she goes to train at the Knee with her siblings. When Luz messes up, she doesn’t get angry or upset (like she did previously). This is because she now understands that Luz isn’t a bad person. Instead, she tries to protect Luz from endangering herself (trapping her in a barrier) and goes alone to rescue her siblings and Eda. This is also the episode where Luz and Amity’s friendship is cemented, with the promise of Azura book club meetings on the horizon. Episode 13- we see the beginnings of a crush on Luz as she questions whether things will change once Luz is enrolled at Hexside. This ep also shows how adept Amity is at self-reflection and that she has a high level of self-awareness. Episode 15- I already kinda talked about it but Amity is able to own up to her botched friendship with Willow and begin to make amends with her. Also, the reasoning behind her drive for perfection and emotional repression is revealed as we see how much pressure her parents put on her to uphold the family name. Episode 16- Amity struggles with confronting her biggest fear- being rejected by Luz, the one person who’s been able to break down her walls and get to really know her for the first time in years. Ultimately she and Luz are able to face their fears together while growing closer. Episode 17- the aftermath of Grom. She struggles with concealing her crush on Luz and manages to stand up to Boscha and her gang twice in defense of Willow (the second time backing up Luz as well), eventually leaving them behind and joining The Owl House gang. :)

#the owl house #luz noceda #amity blight #willow park #gus porter #lumity #original post

[multimetaverse]

do you have any new production info for diary of a future president?

Not really, all that’s new is some imdb info and something Brandon Severs has let slip about 2x10. Brandon was answering some questions on twitter recently and said that his favourite ep of S2 was the finale, specifically the end of the finale. He had previously posted photos of him, Charlie, and Nathan filming a night during the final week of filming and Brandon had mentioned that the scene they filmed that night was one of his favourites of the whole series (fwiw Ilana liked that tweet). There’s been a long running theory/gag on twitter that there would be a cartero confession on the tennis courts at night in S2 and someone tweeted about Brandon telling the writers about that theory. Brandon replied to that tweet saying that he was pretty sure it was him, Charlie, and Nathan who did that after they shot a scene. Later he clarified that he didn’t say anything would or would not happen and people shouldn’t go canonizing things. I think that night time scene near the end of the S2 finale is actually Bobby telling Liam and Danny that he’s gay which would be a great end to Bobby’s arc in S2.

This suggests that Bobby doesn’t have to come out to people one at a time which will help the show cover more ground. I do think that Bobby also comes out to Elena and Gabi (and most likely Sam along with them) at some point in S2 but when is anyone’s guess. Whether Disney will require big gaps between coming outs or not is still unknown. We also have no insight on what Cami’s arc is. She and Dani will most likely provide some sort of guidance to Bobby but whether the writers can fit in Cami coming out to her parents in S2 or have to save that for a potential S3 is unknown. 

There are some interesting imdb updates, anyone can update imdb but since the doafp fandom is so small I think these updates are probably legit. Brogan Hall who plays Tripp is in eps 2x01,2x02, 2x04, 2x06, and 2x10. He seems to be Elena’s opponent in the school council elections. The drop off in his appearances in the latter half of S2 is something I’ve flagged before as a sign that there’s some sort of shift in Elena’s story line and a partial answer has been provided by Sanai Victoria whose imdb has Melissa in eps 2x01, 2x04, and 2x06-2x10. We know from set photos from 2x10 that Melissa is wearing an Elena for student council president button so they must be on good terms by then. So Elena’s school plot is probably running for student council president and campaigning against Tripp, maybe ending with a debate in 2x06, then spending the latter half of the season trying to come to terms with Melissa which eventually leads to them being on good terms and Elena presumably winning the election in the finale. 

Nathan Arenas updated his imdb and he’s in every S2 ep except 2x08. Brandon is likely in all 10 eps this season as a while back Carmina was replying to something on twitter about S2 and tagged Brandon saying how great it was that they had all the scripts for S2. Typically shows don’t have recurring characters in all episodes but doafp already broke that trend with Sasha and Jessica back in S1. I’d assume we get more development for Danny and Liam who we really don’t know all that well. I’d like to see more explanation on why Liam is living with his grandmother in Miami now as his excuse in S1 that he had a lot of siblings back home doesn’t really make much sense and seems like it could be a cover story for family issues of some sort. Ziggy seems to not be in very much of S2. Sean Glasgow was only spotted on set once when they had their Halloween costume day. He could very well be in more but it does seem like something happens to Ziggy, whether he just moves away or has a falling out with Bobby’s crew or something else. And who knows if he’ll be back if they get a S3. There’s not much else as of now. Ilana is directing 2x09 so that could be an important ep for at least some of the story lines. There’s a character credited as ‘freshman girl’ in 2x05 so there must be some scenes at Bobby’s high school. We’ll probably have to wait until the trailer eventually drops for more imdb updates to be made. 

#diary of a future president #Doafp #Bobby Cañero-Reed #Liam Carter #Elena Cañero-Reed #Doafp asks #asks #answered