#why did you do that aof explain!!!!!!

[kevin-the-bruyne]

what is "the way he asked first if he was akk" in your aof fkt script tags referring to

damn anon ive been scouring to find proof but i literally saved just this screenshot on my phone and i suppose ?? it made ??? such an impression on me at the time??????? that I thought I'd remember the context forever????? and in fact moonlight chicken filming was such a bizarre time for FK fandom (truly everyone involved though????) that I am surprised that I kind of forgot.

But I'm going to try my best from memory, just know that unless someone can find the video of what I'm about to say next, there's no way to prove any of it actually happened and I'm certainly NOT taking on the responsibility to do so.

As far as I remember this is from an obscure alan and gaipa bts that they released at some random point after airing ended? but it seems to be have happened on the same day as this one of Aof wanting to see Firstkhaotung chemistry - for whatever reason they were also released at different times (likely to keep AlainGaipa secret ??? I'm telling you bizarre choices were made during MLC filming and airing)

The one I'm talking about has them actually in the office room, and someone, First ??? spilled water on himself or on Khaotung or vice versa?? - supposedly because he was so...excited? overstimulated?. At one point First says something akin to this is the only time Alan gets to smile with an implication that this is the excuse he's using for being a giddy wreck? which it's so hard to explain without the video the absolutely unhinged energy coming off everyone including staff giggling in the background.

Like if you thought that First looked especially effervescent in this scene of him and gaipa meeting

it's because he was somehow worse about it in real life just uncontrollably happy like you could tell that he was in fact kind of messing up but everyone was having the toughest time being mad about it.

anyway, iirc its at some point during that pandemonium that Aof frustrated, though undeniably curious and maybe even a little pleased says "Are you Akk?" and well how do I say this ??? without sounding totally crazy ???? but it's almost as though through Aof's eyes could I understand the extent, just THE SHEER amount of not really unrequited gay pining for each other (?????) that FK were doing. does that make sense? should i be worried that I still think about why!!!! why Aof put AlanGaipa in!!!!! and when!!!!! what moved you RPF King Aof Noppharnach?????

[visualtaehyun]

Hi, have you seen all the drama that happened recently? I mean them scolding fans?

I have, now. :<

I've listened to their twt space (excerpts translated here), read P'Zee's tweet (translation here), read P'Aof's tweet, retraced how exactly this escalated from P'Nat, aka Phuwanet, replying to an anti to people literally leaving the fandom and pointing fingers 🤡

I haven't had to block and report this many people on twt since May 31 last year - and I still remember that date very clearly!! because it was the exact. same. bullshit! Back then one of their stylists, BM, caught a lot of flak for styling choices that weren't even his choices but there's been countless fans who just dislike his styling choices to begin with. I still have New's IG story from that night saved (back then he was even more afraid to hurt fans' feelings by speaking up than he still is now) wherein he also asked fans to calm down, trust him in his choices, and that he'll always speak up if he's not okay with something. I also still remember my rant from that night - a lot of unpleasant behavior I'd noticed in the fandom back then, znn addressed in their twt space last night even! Which tells me all I need to know, really, in how little twt fans have changed within this year, despite znn speaking up numerous times (I was gonna link a tiktok live New did a while ago where he also addressed fans about their comments/behavior but I can't remember or find it anymore now that he's done so many tiktok lives slskdls).

Now, P'Nat also got criticized by netizens for New's look during the Baby Bright x Beautrium event the other day - which, again, wasn't even done by him but by P'Fae, another makeup artist of znn's. From a professional and the company's standpoint, I do see how it's not a good look to 1) reply to an incisively worded comment 2) by an anti 3) with a non-company account 4) while also tagging the artist that's being talked about. But this entire thing got blown completely out of proportion. After znn did their space trying to explain why some things are the way they are and how much of it is truly their own choices or only happens in conversation with their team, it seems like large parts of their fandoms were upset afterwards 🫠 Because "znn are here trying to protect the culprit while the culprit hasn't even apologized for inciting a fan war" and "the company only ever extends kindness, attention, and gratitude to their team and staff but never to fans and consumers" and "stuff like this keeps happening and Khun Aof keeps apologizing and promising change yet nothing changes" and "congrats, Phuwanet, for causing countless fans to leave the fandom" 🤡

The sheer amount of mean-spirited and outright hateful comments under P'Nat's last tweet about the matter or in quote twts are baffling yet not at all shocking. 😞 It honestly took me a while to collect myself after reading all these awful comments directed at him and P'Aof.

For one, it keeps breaking my heart that people as lovely and sweet as Nong New and P'Zee could have fanclubs who actually think it's in any way okay to speak to other human beings like that. Unfortunately, those exact people are the ones that'll never listen to znn when they ask folks to speak kindly when giving feedback.

And the other thing that bugs me is how netizens seem to think they get a say in everything but especially regarding znn's style, hair, and makeup, completely undermining 1) the stylists' skills and 2) znn's own choices. Listen I'm a baker by profession and there's literally nothing that makes my blood boil as much as customers devaluing my colleagues' and my work or acting like their uninformed feedback is helpful. So I fully understand how annoying it must be for their stylists, MUAs, etc. to constantly get tagged on social media with """"feedback"""" by fans, antis, random strangers, etc. I'm so tired of every-person-online-ever acting like they're a critic. So so tired.

Anon, I realize your wording succinctly describes the content of znn's twt space and don't wanna put words in your mouth 🙏 but for anyone who's just learning all of this or randomly came across this znn post without much or any of the context, I do wanna say that 'scolding' couldn't be further from how lightly znn put everything, how they emphasized that they're not talking about the entirety of their fandoms, how their twt space felt as warm and welcoming as ever, and that they really wanted to do this twt space despite being advised against doing so by dmd.

I am sad that some longtime fanclubs feel the need to get some distance now but it's also felt like a long time coming, considering how unhappy with and critical of dmd as a company some fans continue to be. I for one am really glad znn spoke up and that they addressed a lot of things that bother them in their fandoms. And I'll always share the boys' sentiment of wanting their fandoms to be a space that's happy and comfortable and positive and uplifting.

This got very long and I'm very tired and I am, for once, gonna put this in main tags because I'm mostly talking to myself on this site anyway when it comes to znn 💀

Peace and love, y'all

[waitmyturtles]

I was supposed to finally have a quiet moment this week, my first of 2024, to catch up on all the dramas I’m behind on, but alas — real life has gotten in the way, and it’ll still be a little bit before I have time to write big meta again. I’m way behind on thoughts for last week’s episodes of Playboyy, Last Twilight, and Cherry Magic Thailand, but I do very much want to write about them, so some quick notes on these three as follows:

1) I owe @poetry-protest-pornography and @chaos0pikachu my thoughts on camp and Playboyy. I intended to pen this post last week after last week’s episode, but said life (ha) has gotten in the way. Friends, please note that I still SO want to write this, because I think deconstructing why camp as a style works in art will be a wonderful conversation, regardless of the narrative success (or not) of Playboyy.

So, speaking of the narrative success of Playboyy — and the upcoming debate (maybe?) about a balance of style and storytelling in dramas, I watched last week’s episode of Playboyy with this post about The Sign in mind, because I think this post gets at a thing that I want to write more about re: Playboyy, which is, like — what makes a story/narrative contextually coherent, and what responsibilities do the artists behind a show have to viewers to make a story coherent?

I think one thing we were coming to in the conversation on camp at the end of last year was whether or not Playboyy could be considered a good, a successful, or maybe even a complete story by way of its various elements. At least for now, leaving camp aside, I still don’t think this show is working narratively at all. That Captain/Keen storyline had my head spinning — uh, your coach gave you one difficult practice, and you revenge on him by filming a sex tape without consent? How…..did we get there? Porsche now has feelings for Jump? I’m still not grabbing the whole Aob/Puen feelings debacle? The Nant/Nuth storyline has gotten momentum, but not enough to fill the majority of an episode, which is a shame, because it’s the only storyline element giving this show any context at the moment. And as @lurkingshan noted, the only real compelling moment in this episode was between Teena and Zouey about how they’d transcend reality to love better versions of each other. It was lovely to watch! But I’m still not sure why we’re watching all of these storylines and if, ever, they’ll come together in a coherent arc.

So, yeah man. I was so intrigued by the premise of this show. It ain’t workin’. I’ll have more to think on this regarding style. But the stories aren’t coming together — and I TRULY think that’s a shame, considering the important themes of the show.

2) From the little ability I had to poke around Tumblr last week after the last Last Twilight episode, I think (I think!) a general feeling was that the episode wasn’t as depth-y as it could have been for the MANY heavy moments of parental interventions that took place. I believe that’s right. I think there were too many gaps in the contextual flow of the show that left Day’s mom looking more like an enemy (like, even on Pran’s mom’s level) that could have been addressed with a touch more context coming from her.

Let me explain. When I see single moms in Aof Noppharnach shows, I first go to He’s Coming To Me. HCTM has the best BL mom ever — a single mom absolutely ready to embrace her son as he’s coming out.

We know Aof loves depicting moms; he wrote as much about it last year after Moonlight Chicken aired. He’s got some legendary moms — of course, Pran’s mom; Tian’s controlling mom (who I posit is actually a front for patriarchy in A Tale of Thousand Stars); Pat’s passive mom, who is actually way more down with reality than Pat’s dad; Kao’s mom that Kao is so fearful of by way of disappointment. (Special shout-out to Pete’s dad in Dark Blue Kiss as the best BL dad.)

In other words, we know Aof has the goods when it comes to commentary on parenting. We know from episode 9 that Day’s mom (Mhon) went through tremendous hardship to raise her boys, including begging for food. She’s a famous and successful chef by the time we meet her, a workaholic. She’s a single mom, a working single mom, and Porjai is about to be on the same cusp. Night happens to be the bridge to those two.

Mhon’s willingness to keep Day in his room….her ignoring Night to start the Christmas dinner. The taking away of Day’s phone, oof. Saying that Mhok crossed a line — all while she was aware that Day previously had a crush on August. These small points create quite the enemy storyline on Mhon.

This is unfortunate, because I actually felt, watching the episode, that there was a lot about Asian parenting that was being left on the table. Valuing work and the safety of one’s kids OVER their happiness is quite the social phenomenon in Asian parenting. A good bit of Day’s mom’s actions could actually be seen as appropriate by certain-minded parents in Asia.

Yet, to have Day’s mom then ignore Night during the dinner, to have Day’s mom take Day’s phone away without explaining why he can’t be in a relationship — even for an Asian viewer like myself, well used to a particular amount of conditional brutality in Asian parenting — those storytelling decisions seemed a little harsh without more context as to how Day’s mom was driven to be the way she is now.

We had plenty of context into Dissaya in episode 10 of Bad Buddy. That moment opened doors for us to get what the hell was going on. I would love to have a similar contextual moment for Mhon, words by her about her story, that tell us how she got to where she is by way of raising her boys and becoming successful. Despite her behavior to her sons — we know she worked damn hard to provide for them. A badass lies within, and I know a successful Aof show would show us that. I hope we get it.

3) Cherry Magic Thailand, episode 5! I LOVE what’s happening with Rock/Min against the Rokkaku/Minato storyline — I love this expansion, and how Rock is less clueless and much more emotionally vulnerable than Rokkaku. I love feisty Pai. I LOVE Junior’s Jinta! I have to continue covering my mouth as I cackle.

As compared to Adachi at this point in the storyline — I wonder if CMT is offering Achi a bit more of the clueless hand than he deserves. I love the embellishments to the jealousy storyline between Karan and Kurosawa — Achi and Rock pushing off in the boat alone was particularly poignant — but Achi is well aware of Karan’s heart now, and I’m a little surprised that he seems a dash clueless that his interactions with others would make Karan jealous.

This is a minor quibble, though. Achi and Adachi are two dudes unfamiliar with love. But I wonder slightly if this vibe I’m feeling is perhaps a result of the original Cherry Magic Japan story being literally doubled in time in Thailand.

Again — MINOR quibble. This show is a refreshing delight. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE the next part of the storyline. I love that they found a similar place in Thailand to shoot Karan’s drunk flashback scene as Kurosawa’s in Japan. Will Achi offer us Thailand’s version of a classic JBL run? I sure damn hope so!

That’s it! I think I’ll be able to catch up on all of this week’s shows in real time, bless up!

[bengiyo]

Last Twilight Ep 11 Stray Thoughts

Last week, Day and Mhok went home to face the music, and Mhok made the appropriate choice to quit. Day's mom then isolated Day by taking his phone and Internet connection away, locking him away at home. Night brought Day a secret phone, and the two brothers reconciled over soup. Mhok struggled to find work as a mechanic, and now works in the restaurant with Porjai, who is also seeing Night on the side (Night has claimed the baby to the nurses, even if he and Porjai haven't talked about what they are). Day and Mhok are still dating, and we left at the mom crashing the date to say they had a date for the surgery.

Mark is so good at building rapport. Night and Day feel like they're reclaiming their brotherly relationship.

Now, Mhon, I'm gonna need you to get it together. At least you're working through this away from your son.

Sea has such a reliable smile. I've liked it in every character he's played.

I knew the surgery had to fail for dramatic reasons, but I still feel disappointed for everyone.

Crying with the sunglasses on was a good choice.

Months later? Oh no.

So Night gets to name the baby, but he and Porjai still have an undisclosed and non-specific relationship?

I don't necessarily mind skipping over the mom's development in the intervening months, but it really deflates a lot of the drama involving her.

I was wondering when we'd get a random cameo from Au.

Is Day gonna leave the room on this trip?

Ah, Mhok had a nightmare about missing Rung's call and now we're getting a scare about Day being hit by a car.

Mhok's outfit just gave me a jump scare because I thought he was wearing a priest's collar.

Why is Mhok getting scared about Day leaving the room on his own like Mhon now?

Day using his cane and navigating what it means to interact with people who want to him him/pity him feels like an important step for him.

They want Mhok to work on Hawaii?? Oh boy. At least they didn't sit on this and he told Day when they met up after he got the news about the opportunity.

These two and the leg touching. I'm a fan.

Mhok, why are you making that face during an I Love You smile? What are you not telling us?

Damn, Day found that contract so quick!

Mhok, why did you have to lie??

I don't like them bringing the Rung stuff back up this episode to have Mhok act out like this. He's believed in Day so much that Day keeps bringing it up. He mentioned the job and Day was enthusiastic about it. Why is Mhok now lying? Why is he suddenly being overprotective?

Day reacts in the extreme, but I'm with him on the offense.

This mom flashback is doing a lot of heavy lifting to explain her own character and to try to justify Mhok's behavior here, and I'm not really feeling it.

I'm encouraged by Day finishing his degree in the preview, but are we looking at a multi-year separation? Aof, why are you always like this with the finale previews?

Man, I just don't know. I don't really like this overprotectiveness expressing in Mhok like this. I can see how we could have gotten here, but it feels so rushed. I also don't like him hiding this from Day. It's a bad look all around and a really frustrating point to end on. This tried to be a soft landing episode 11, but I'm not impressed.

[telomeke]

POLL TAG – FIVE FAVORITE CHARACTERS

I was tagged by @lurkingshan (at this post linked here) and @pickletrip (at this post linked here). Thanks dearies! 🥰

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Challenge: make a poll with five of your all time favorite characters, and then tag five people to do the same. See which character is everyone's favorite.

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I'm sticking to BLs as well, because the field would be far too wide otherwise (can you imagine a poll with Dolly Levi, Buffy Summers, Joe Rossi from Lou Grant, Lady Deathstrike from X-Men 2, any one of the Golden Girls, Erik Killmonger from Black Panther the movie, the Beastmaster and cartoon Aladdin? 🤣).

Anyway, I don't watch all that much BL (not compared to the majority of people here on BL Tumblr, who have watchlists longer than Babe's wig when he was Wansarat in The Sign). So that narrows the field considerably for me – and my list has some likely suspects, including an unbreakable pairing, and also one highly unusual choice. But I'll explain my choices after the poll itself:

Why these characters? Here's my spiel:

PatPran (Bad Buddy)  I've combined these two as a single choice, because obviously they go together (and so well too). But really, I would have loved to have listed them separately, because I have different reasons for loving them. Pat is just an all-round good guy, hopelessly optimistic, generous and so giving; he thinks of others before himself (and if both partners in a couple do that, well, you then have a mutually-reinforcing relationship). Pran I love because I can see so much of myself in him, from his tics and foibles, his interests, to his struggles finding his courage and growing into his own identity.

Li Ming (Moonlight Chicken)  In a lot of ways, what Li Ming was going through in MLC paralleled some of my own experiences when I was a teen his age. If only they'd had MLC or something similar for teenage me to have watched growing up! Li Ming was somehow able to navigate the pressures of becoming someone true to himself (something that Pran, and I too in my teens, struggled with) while dealing with real world issues at the same time (economic hardship in Li Ming's case, while in mine it was general teen angst and family stress). He didn't let life get to him, and he stayed the course, knowing his own self-worth even when others were telling him to scale back his expectations (Uncle Jim and Heart's parents). Lessons in there for all LGBTQ+ teens, and Khun Noppharnach's socially-conscious BLs should be given more credit for the positive role models they portray and how they help the younger set. Plus Fourth did an excellent job bringing Li Ming to life (thanks in part I think to Director Aof's guidance; Fourth's Atom in My Love Mix-Up Thailand is a lot less grounded and authentic, at least from what I've seen in the first couple of episodes).

Porsche (KinnPorsche)  This entry is just for fun. KinnPorsche was a wild ride, whacking us with whiplash at every turn, and Porsche was emblematic of that experience. Cool, sexy martial arts fighter in one episode, total buffoon at the mercy of sprinklers, piss-allergic carp and mermaid costumes in others. Apo gamely played along, and he can do both slick action and slapstick comedy well, so watching Porsche always brought a smile to my face. Whether it was seducing Kinn with pappy supermarket bread, or warding off ghosts with a penis amulet, you never knew what craziness was in store next with this character. Pure entertainment.

Adachi (Cherry Magic)  Adachi charmed the briefs off me the moment the lift doors went CLANG!!! on him while he was distracted with whatever it was that was speedrunning through his head again. Such a lovable doofus, always surprised by whatever situation he managed to stumble into. Eiji Akaso is really good-looking, but he didn't care about image and happily took all the pratfalls in his stride. He somehow managed to imbue Adachi's clumsy clownery with a strange sense of dignity (helped along, I suppose, by the fact that we could also hear Adachi's inner monologue, allowing us to see the innocent good-heartedness within).

Dissaya (Bad Buddy)  This is the odd one out. Pran's mom was hated by so many fans during Bad Buddy's run, who blamed her for ruining Pran's life in many ways. And it's true her own hang-ups wrought havoc on Pran's relationship with the world outside. But for someone with so few scenes, I think she's actually one of the more complex characters in Bad Buddy, with a turbulent backstory that explains how her own relationship with the world got so warped. My read is that everything she did, including sending Pran away in high school, was done out of love for her beloved only son and motivated by a desire to protect him at all costs. She was a smothering, over-protective mother to be sure, but I think the lady just didn't know any better, and the last two episodes of Bad Buddy really do invite us to rethink our earlier appraisals of her. It wasn't easy doing Dissaya's character study based on the fairly scant details we got (write-ups linked here and here), but they were enough for me to glean an understanding of who I think she is. And I think in the end she is someone worthy of respect, so I do tip my hat out of respect for her. It's also obvious Pran loves her dearly, as much as she loves him back. And I think I trust Pran's judgement of character on this one. 😍

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Onward tagging:

@neuroticbookworm, @colourme-feral, @airenyah, @wen-kexing-apologist, @solitaryandwandering

I really want to tag more, but this game limits us to five so these are just five people tagged at random. If I haven't tagged you but you'd like to play, please do so (knowing that I want to tag everyone and then some)! And please tag me if you play, so that I can read and vote on your poll too. 😍

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[itsruki]

top 5 of my most disliked Tokyo Revengers Characters

5. Naoto Tachibana

🚔 in my friend group, it became a meme to Hate on Naoto; since he is a cop. we are all pretty left leaning so bashing against cops is just a thing we do sometimes but besides that, Naoto didn't do anything wrong.

Edit: yes he did. he shot mikey. I am not okay with that! 😡

♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧

4. Tetta Kisaki

🚬 .....tetta, tetta, tetta......my guy really fucked around. he messed up EVERYTHING all the time! I give him that he was hot in the first time leap timeline, I also give him that he was at least dedicated to his cause......he was a good villain and he is smart.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

3. Ryohei Hayashi (aka Peh-yan)

📉 I dislike this guy. he doesn't do anything besides bitching around and if I wouldn't dislike the next 2 even more, he would be all the way at the bottom. first he tried to help kill draken, then he consistently made a fool out of himself until takemichi got through to him. I just don't like him.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Akashi Takeomi:

👓 to me,this guy is the embodiment of the word traitor. everything he did or everything I saw of him, made me feel that he is a sly eel that would sell of whoever he could. I will say that I am slowly warming up to him but as aof now....no. he is okay looking but the energy he gives off just...idk...maybe one day.

♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤

1. Hakkai Shiba

🚽 before anyone starts to trash talk me for this. I LOVED hakkai up until the big reveal at the end of season 2 part 1. once they revealed that yuzuha took all of the beating and hakkai just pretended to be the tough guy infront of his friends, I lost all respect for him. he is a horrible person for that alone. they tried to redeem him and I will give him that but that point it felt like to little, to late.

if you like hakkai; please explain why and try to convince me to like him as well.

[tobeornottotc]

#I feel so disappointed with this show okay now I'm curious tho cause I feel like I have some unpopular opinions about this show too lmao

Oh no not you about to expose me after I legit did a podcast praising the first two episodes 😂😂 but yeh it’s just not for me, it’s my fault I guess I expected something more, something messier I feel like yeh the characters are flawed but the main characters are not interesting and I feel like my opinion they keep getting overshadowed by everyone else like Alan has a more interesting energy to me than Jim has had in the past 4 episodes before episode 6 where he developed and maybe had a movement with his plot. I get older men get sidelined in BL so I’ve been quiet and happy we get a character like Jim but like he doesn’t forward the plot in any way (and for people who enjoy plots like this that are slow and really I dunno realistic then sure I get why this is groundbreaking) but I actually feel like he’s not interesting to me at all until we got a glimpse of his past he’s been just having the plot happen to him rather than being a protagonist that does something with it. It’s been hard I probably am not explaining my self well. Not to mention they’ve chosen the most predictable plot they could do for a righteous guy as him to give him flaws and that’s of course internalise homophobia which could have been a thing don’t get me wrong but seeing the way his own queer story was going, seeing his battle with Li Ming mum telling her he’ll prove to her about it and then seeing him treat Li Ming the way he does I get it he’s defeatist I get it life has done him so dirty but there were other ways you could flesh out his character. I’m one of the people who’s so baffled at the way Aof has even made Wen, like it just seems repetitive and I know why he seems interesting to others (again realism) but I find him annoying and I don’t get his deal with Jim, I just don’t I don’t even believe in their romance the way they’ve built up the romance for Li Ming and Heart who unfortunately actually had a plot that was actually always developing each episode and was interesting and genuinely both characters don’t seem stagnant despite their own entrapment they actually do something each time they’re on the screen, their moments are filled with intimacy and they make me feel excited to watch their story. This isn’t fair to this show and I get it, I get why people adore it, can write about it, can ponder it but it’s not for me, especially when as something that Jojo wrote this doesn’t feel like him at all the messyness one night stand conflicting feelings and the drama of that but I guess I am one of those that the show is not for and I’m disappointed because I just wanted something else

Honestly I think I won’t make sense because this show just isn’t for me and what might be good for others seems stale for me I just wanted something more and for a show where the pilot was promoting so much intimacy for the main characters and lot felt really different it felt really different and for this

[thequeenofsastiel]

You have put into words how I feel about this episode! I liked it overall but feel like it didn't rise to the admittedly really high standard set by the previous episodes. The pacing just felt off? I wish they had somehow explained how much time had passed between ep 6 and ep 7. Like they can't have been doing this for a year right?? Also completely agree with the guitar scene. Why show Pat upset if you are not gonna have them talk about it? It feels like a scene was cut that shouldn't have been. There was a lot to love in this episode (the "fake" confession by Pat during the play, Pran's beautiful smile when Pat comes to save the day, the ending). Pat and Pran are still *chef's kiss* but I feel like this episode could have been better. I do think episode 8 will get us back on track.

I'm glad you agree! Yeah, the pacing was definitely off, and not giving us a clear idea about how much time had passed heavily contributed to my feeling like them becoming boyfriends was rushed. I wasn't disappointed by the flirting scenes themselves, I just don't feel like there were enough of them. I feel like Pran needed more time to let his walls down enough to be with Pat, or, at the very least, we needed to see it happen, which I don't think we did. Maybe I'll feel differently after I rewatch it and/or read other people's thoughts about it, but atm I'm disappointed. I expected better from BBTS and Aof.

[kevin-the-bruyne]

AkkAye, AlanGaipa, SandRay, or KantBison?

incredible ask anon - this is at once a question with an extremely dense context to parse through (the vast majority of FKs cinematic universe) and yet what a delightfully short and to the point question.

to no one's surprise I should think:

AlanGaipa

I think the simplest way to explain is that I relate to and, more importantly, like both these characters as individuals and the way that they both love is very precious to me. The only other character in that whole list that I both like and relate to like them is Ray 😂

I love that on the surface, these two seem to follow the principles of opposites attract but actually at their core they are very very similar to each other. I think the contingent of people against AG potentially becoming a thing (for people who did not experience this period of the FK and EM fandoms live: I really need to emphasize this was one of the worst times in fandom for me LOL) that had a good reason was afraid that it's going to be a lazy tying together of jilted exes for the monies but god Aof Noppharnach is not that lazy of a storyteller and I knew exactly from the pilot trailer why these two were ultimately put together.

The reason they escaped the lazy tying together of the jilted exes fate is because first is a horrible simp for khaotung they both struggled to let go of their past loves. In fact that is the very first point at which the fates of these characters start colliding because Gaipa isn't even a jilted ex. They love steadfastly, almost whimsical in the way they've held on to a love so clearly past when they should have let go.

They keep hurting themselves because their desire for connection doesn't die and yet they both have such doggedly focused personalities that they're unable to shift the person they'd once upon a time decided, perhaps even arbitrarily, was the right one for them. But once they've decided to move on?

They have.

Oh man this is the part this is the whole crux of what whispered secrets was about:

Alan doesn’t notice that Kaipa has stopped talking until his voice cuts through the silence once more. Alan is caught by the suddenness of the quiet, ‘do you love him?’ and the full intensity of Kaipa’s gaze directed straight at him. He doesn’t want to answer, desperately looks for the space to draw, once more, the lines that used to exist between them. But the searching look in Kaipa’s eyes, like he’s desperate to be found, cuts at a place inside that Alan long thought dead. It comes unbidden, ‘I have never thought of my feelings for him as anything but love.’  Alan watches as Kaipa blinks rapidly like he’s confused and then it's Alan’s turn to be confused when Kaipa bursts into laughter. Kaipa presses his thumb to Alan’s cheek, rubs a line right at the bottom edge of his glasses, ‘you would do that,’ Kaipa says exasperated, ‘just decide to love a person.’

Alan and Gaipa were two characters at worst conveniently and at best cosmically positioned in the story to relate to each other and find in each other a cheaper sort of comfort of lost love.

But no, they choose. They are characters that choose their fates. They choose to move on and then they choose each other

By the time that Alan flirts with Gaipa at his office, Alan has already refused Wen's care after his accident and Gaipa has already refused to join in on Uncle Jim's party. They meet each other at a weirdly tense time of both their lives and are intrigued by each other enough to enter each other's orbit.

Alan suffers Wen's judgement to bring Gaipa those documents at Wen's new boyfriend's restaurant. He likes him so much already. Alan and Gaipa aren't seeking comfort for their wounds in each other, they're both seizing a good thing that serendipitously came into their lives with no thought of all the ways that it could go wrong, has gone wrong for them, in fact.

For a bitter and jilted adult like me, who's had their heart broken and trampled more than once, this is the true story of a courageous love.

[babyjiminiexx]

Angel On Fire (Chapter 1)

Sinopsis/Chapter 1/ Chapter ?

Demon!andBisexual!Jimin X Demon!reader (Mention of the other members)

When you fell in love with him you had never thought you would get caught and pay for it. But here you are now, body fuming with hate and ready to sow the pain with every step you take.

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Warnings: mention of sex, swearing and mature language, mature topics... 

Author's Note: i just wanted to say a quick thank you to every single one of you for sharing and leaving kind messages about AOF!! i didn’t expect any of this and i am SO GLAD!! that you’re liking the idea and the direction it’s taking!!  💖

Also, this is kind of a chapter 0, it’s to put in situation so i’m sorry if this doesn’t have the drama y’all were expecting, i want to slowly build it and put my readers in situation so this can last as long as i can write about it and so you can really get that conection that i wish i can give you!! but anyways, i hope you’ll like this and again, thank you so so much, i’ll try to do a proper post about this!!  💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 💖 💖

————-

"Wow... That was... Like... WOW!", you couldn't help but laugh at the comment, "Seriously! It was the best sex I've ever had!"

You get up from the bed that was now witness of the many sins you had committed during the night and turned your head to the young boy that was laying on his back, still naked.

"Why are you so surprised?", you ask while lightning up a cigarette.

"I-I don't know! No woman has ever done the things you did to me!", he said, still trying to recover his breath, "Don't be so dramatic", you laugh.

Slowly, you make your way back to the bed, leaning your body over his and caressing his cheek, "You're actually cute, do you know that?"

"Did you came?", the boy asks. Of course you didn't. "It was great", you say placing a peck on his lips.

Humans... Specially men, always trying to do their best, but still failing at it, how sad... But what counts is the intention, they say. He was just a boy in his early 20s, you found him alone trying to get your attention at the bar a few hours earlier. It was cute how much effort he would put in his actions to see if you would notice him, and the way his blood made a single turn all over his body when you finally approached him was even cuter. You needed a distraction, again. It wasn't that hard to get one anyways. As a demon, you could make any woman or man fall for you whenever you wanted to, and you soon found that eternity could feel pretty lonely, so that came in handy. At first you weren't really down for that idea; your Master insisted that a few of his disciples showed you that being on the otherside of Heaven wasn't that boring after all.

When in the Land of Gods, any contact with the human world was totally forbidden; in the Netherworld... Boy that was a different story...

Demons found fun in playing with the human race, distantly or near them. They were so innocent, so ignorant, so... human, that living amongst them turned into your favorite pastime.

And this boy was a pretty good pastime.

"Can you stay the night?", the boy asked you with puppy eyes. Again, he's so damn cute.

"No baby, I have grown ups things to do..."

"Now? It's 4AM! Don't you ever sleep?"

"Darling, the Devil never sleeps", and with that, you got out of the apartment, going straight to yours.

Forgetting about why you were out in the streets at this time, you actually enjoyed late night walks like these. The silence. It was really nice when you spent your whole day in between noises of cars, people complaining and others. You could use this silence admire things that simple humans couldn't see, and it was beautiful.

You weren't that far away from your apartment, on your way there you just crossed the path of a drunk homeless man that kept ranting about not having wine anymore, so you being you, you gave the poor man a few gallons of it, just so he could have a little more fun out there. He was too drunk to notice how you managed to make appear the wine anyways.

Not even a second in your home, you start to feel strange. Not strange in a bad way, but surprisingly good; everything was feeling so peaceful, maybe too peaceful, way too good to be real. That strange feeling had been following you all day, you couldn't perceive what it was, but you knew it was there. A warm and peaceful feeling. You double checked your apartment, not really sure about what you hoped to find...

"So, Paris, huh?", you sigh in relief and smile at the sound of that familiar voice, "I can't say I expected to find you that far away"

"Jimin...", you left your coat on the kitchen counter and went straight to give the blond boy a hug, "Feels good to see you..."

"How long was it? 18? 19 years? Let me see you...", he took your hands and made you turn around, "2020 looks amazing on you, glad you abandoned these thin eyebrows and cowboy boots from the 2000s", he laughed.

"Come on, full denim boy, you thought you were the top in the 2000s!"

"And I sure was..."

It was good to see him again, you didn't actually realize how much you were missing Jimin until now. He was the first person to not look at you like he was about to eat you raw when you fell into the Netherworld. And he was one of the firsts to show you all the pleasures of that world too, every pleasure. You can say that all you are today is thanks to him; he was your best friend, and that explained the feeling that accompanied you the whole day.

"So, what did I miss?", he asks you while taking a bottle of red wine from your shelf.

"Nothing much...", you sigh, "the usual, I'm always here and there, trying to get fun from now and then..."

"I saw that...", he said with a smirk. You obviously knew he was there, he would never miss seeing you in these kinds of situations, you even thought you had seen him smiling at you in the corner of the dark room of the boy's apartment. You chuckle at that thought. "The boy was very handsome, very very handsome... A pity he wasn't that good..."

"What can you ask from humans?", you laugh, clinking your glass now half full of wine with his, "but i'm sure you're not here to tell me how much you like watching me get fucked by cute boys, am I wrong?"

He laughs slightly, "You're right..."

"So, what's wrong?", you could see his eyes darken at the question, which made you worry a little bit. Jimin wasn't the type to get upset or annoyed by things that easily.

"I'm worried about you, y/n... I’ve been watching you...", you didn't need further explanation.

" I don't know what you are talking about, Jimin", of course you knew.

"Y/n... Stop trying to find him... He's older than you, more powerful, more cunning... He knows you're looking for him, he has known for the past 373 years... Stop wasting your time like that..."

"If you came here just to tell me to stop you can go through that damn door and go back to where you come from. He has to pay", you said, starting to feel your body heating up in anger.

"I know you're still in pain, but it has turned into an obsession, and he will always be ahead of you..."

"I know that! I've been behind him for years!", you yell. "Jimin, baby... it's been 20 years, please can't you just forget about that for a moment and recover lost time?"

"I know...We just worry about you, we don't want to see you ruin your existence on Taehyung...", he says warmly taking your hand in his.

"Jimin, I love you, you know that, right?", he nods, "So please, understand that I cannot stop, because what you can't understand and will never feel is the pain that I've been enduring for the past 400 years, it's more than physical pain, it's more than my scars. It's my whole self burning alive from the inside every damn day."

"I know... I just want to let you know that I care about you, and even though Taehyung is who he is, I understand, and I won't stop you... Just take it easy, for you. How long have you not enjoyed things?"

"Well, twenty minutes ago actually...", Jimin sighs and laughs,"I'm not talking about that kind of enjoyment"

You knew how worried he was, and you understood it. Him and the rest of the boys back home had seen you cry tears of blood and experiencing madness at its pure form for months after you fell into the Netherworld. You remember seeing Taehyung in your dreams and waking up screaming and debating yourself so hard that Yoongi and Namjoon had to go to your room and try to calm you down by force. These two... You also spent all these months hating them for that, for using force on you, for tying you to your bed and immobilizing you for hours. But when you finally accepted everything, the situation and your current life, you found yourself apologizing to them for making them go through a few rough months. At the end of the day, they had no other choices than trying to quiet you down, otherwise the Master himself would have taken care of you, and that wouldn't have been a pretty thing to see... Tortures in the Netherwolrd were never pretty...

You never understood why amongst all the demons, these men were the only ones that showed interest and care for you; the others would just stare at you like their future meal, or try to sneak out behind you, just for the fun of tormenting you. But soon enough, your friends showed you how to handle things, and most importantly, they showed you how to be aware of your own power, your own capabilities, which came in really handy as for the Netherworld as for the human world.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You don't know how long you've been talking to Jimin now, it just feels right. You missed him so much and now him being here with you is the most amazing feeling ever.

"Are you going to leave?", you ask, sadness suddenly invading your body.

"Probably..."

"Where are you going to go this time?"

"Well", he sighs, "I have some place I want to visit, people I want to meet, you know, the usual... I don't really want to be bothered by unfortunate visits by the others so I was thinking about Madrid... or the Philippines... or even Hawaii..."

"These are... three completely opposite places", you laugh.

"Yeah... I would like to try my luck there though, remember I have all the time I want to discover and rediscover the world, just like I’ve been doing”

“I guess you always have new people to meet and new things to see... Crazy how the world can change in a few hundred years...”, sometimes you found yourself remembering how the world used to be like. How different and great it was, even though each era had its difficulties and wars, or even pandemics, each one had its charm... You kind of missed some of these eras.

You and Jimin stayed looking at each other for a while, in silence. You don't want him to leave and you know he doesn't want to leave either, but you know he has to. It's sad though, now that your best friend found you after almost 20 years, for him to leave like that... You hoped he would stay a few more days at least, but you also understand why he wants to leave so fast. No one wants to stay in the same place for too long.

“I’ve missed you, you know?”

“I know”, Jimin answers, taking your hand in his, “but I you know I’ve never liked this frenchie style of life...”

You both laugh looking at your apartment. It was indeed the most cliché apartment in the most cliché place on Earth. It was nice though.

“Just... Be careful... Don’t do anything stupid, okay?”, you ask.

“When did I stopped making stupid things?”

“That’s true...”, you laugh. At the end of the day, you guys were still demons; any thing you did didn’t matter, at least while you don’t piss the Master off, that would be the end of you. “Will you stay here for the day at least?”, without realising it, you suddenly turned into the cute boy you left alone in his room earlier this night, and you couldn’t help but smile at the thought. 

“I guess I can... What about a tour of this beautiful and not full of piss at all city?”, he proposed, to which you accepted right away.

-----------------------------------------------------------

It was actually a great day. You and Jimin had been outside all day and it turned surprisingly well, or maybe it was the fact that you were finally reunited with your best friend that made everything look fine. 

“I think I know this guy...”, Jimin suddenly said while looking at a painting in one of the many halls of the Louvre.

“Oh, come on! How can you know this random dude on a 250 years old painting?”; you laugh.

“Laugh all you want, darling. I think this guy died from the Plague and is still now to this day running naked through the Master’s mansion”

“You’re fucking playing with me! I’ve never seen this guy!”

“No, I swear! I took him infront of the Master and he went completely mad!”

You continued your walk through the museum while laughing and, even though it sounded crazy, talking about the people in the painting, actually recognizing a few of them. It was a random though that crossed your mind, but it was really crazy yet amazing how you knew at least half of these people, painters and painted, and humans had no idea.

“I tell you, if anyone knew that Van Gogh was busy doing lines with Pablo Escobar in Hell, they would be surprised!”, you say thinking about it.

You kept talking and walking with Jimin until noon, not seeing the time pass. You finished you visit in the museum, took an Uber and went straight to the Eiffel Tour park, since Jimin had insisted to go there to see how the Tour would light up just after eight o’clock, even though he had seen it in the past.

You would always get surprised by the amount of tourists that would be there for the same thing, fortunately, you found a free spot. Both of you sat there and just like that, Jimin took out a bottle of wine for you.

“I’ll start thinking you have an alcohol problem...”

“Yeah, probably, but who cares?”, he laughed before opening the bottle like a pro, “honors to the ladies...”

You took a sip of the red wine, suprised by the taste. It was different, you weren’t a wine expert but you could tell it was an expensive one.

“Why do you look at me like that? If we’re going to get drunk at the feet of the Eiffel Tour, at least let’s do it with luxury...”, the dark haired boy took the bottle.

“Do you know anything about the others?”; you ask after a few minutes admiring the view.

Jimin took a deep breath and started looking through his memories, “Well, I don’t really know much. I haven’t seen them in a few years now...”

“Same... Last time I saw Jin was at an ABBA concert... 1982 I believe...”

“Ah... ABBA 1982 in Wembley Arena... What an epic concert...”

“Surely was...”, you chuckled, “But yeah, that was the last time... From what he told me Hoseok had apparently left for India in 1974 and never appeared again, so I assume he stayed there for a while, and maybe he’s still there; Jungkook was permanently staying in the United States, he got there in 1953 after touring through Europe; Namjoon, strangely, ended up being present for the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, thing that I am strangely not surprised about, he obviously survived to it and directly went to America; and Yoongi, no one knew about him, everybody started losing his tracks around 1834 when he sailed for an unknown destination...”

“Well... I can tell you that Jungkook and Namjoon are indeed still in America, from what I know Jungkook is kind of a famous social media influencer or something like that... Namjoon is currently working in a big advertising company... And for the rest, I know Jin is now in Japan, but I’m not really sure why though; and for Hoseok and Yoongi, no idea... I last saw them together in 1998 I think, they apparently missed me and wanted to grab some coffee all three of us and talk about the past, and them they just vanished again”

You were not really surprised to hear that, Hoseok and Yoongi had always been the most secretive ones when it came to their private life in the human world. They showed you and educated you a LOT too, but never went too far into explanations or anything. Obviously you loved them so much too, but you weren’t surprised at all about what Jimin just said.

“I guess Jungkook and Namjoon would be the easiest ones to get in touch with then...”

“Yeah. If you want to see them or call them you know they would always answer”

After a minute of thinking, you kind of felt bad about not really knowing anything about your friends, and it felt even worse that another friend had to update you. You knew how they were, you knew that seeing the circumstances of literally everything, everyone would have went their way. But it felt weird, you guys were so close once and now everybody was separated, ad two of them were basically missing.

“Don’t think about it too much, I can see smoke going out of your ears”, Jimin’s voice took you out of your own head, “You know they still love you”

“I know”, you sigh, “It’s just that I feel bad about not being there for them or not knowing about them...”

“Y/n... We’re fucking demons, and we’re way older than you, don’t you think we couldn’t sneak out and literally just spy on you whenever we want to?”

That... was actually true. 

You never really realized that, because you couldn’t really use that power, so you just forgot about it. But if Jimin could appear just like that in a random room while you were having fun with someone, without making a noise, you supposed any of them could.

“Why spy on me when you can knock on my door and take me out or something?”, you asked; for you it was obvious, it wouldn’t make sense to spy on someone or take care of them in the distance or make random objects in their rooms to manifest their presence, like they did in the past. 

“You know how they are, they’re enjoying their stay here, they’re just doing their thing, just they want to make sure you’re okay without intervining in your life just like that”

“I guess... I miss them though...”

And it was true, you missed them more than anything. 

“Stop being sad and get up”; your friend said after a few moments of silence.

“What? Why?”

“We’re going to get fun”, he extended his hand and you didn’t even had time to think, you just took it and followed him to the nearest metro.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

You could feel yourself float to the sound of J Balvin’s voice. The discotheque was full of people and you were having the time of your life; way funnier than you going hunting alone...

Jimin and you had your eyes on a group of boys for a while now, and you were playing with them in the distance, teasing them. You obviously knew all of this was a show, because you both had them in your pocket since the first moment you entered the party, but like a lion with a gazelle, you liked watching your prey from far and play with them a little bit.

It didn’t need much for you to be stamped against the wall of the small bathroom by one of the boys with your dress up your ass. You assumed Jimin was having his fun with one of them too, so you didn’t worry too much about him, you just let yourself flow. The guy was handsome, just like the perfect mix between a young Johnny Depp and Keanu Reeves, exactly your type. And fortunately, you could see he knew what he was doing... But bad luck to you, I didn’t last as long as you wanted.

You adjust your dress, leave a last kiss on the Johnny Depp guy and leave the bathroom, looking for your friend. He apparently finished earlier than you because he was already half done with his drink.

“So?”, he ask.

“Well, let’s say I had my fun... What about you?”

“Nice guy...”, he smirks, “Come on, it’s getting late”

You could understand how what you guys were doing with people was not exactly THE THING to do for humans, they had more morals than you when it came to that, and during your life you had had bunches of arguments with passenger friends about that, but that’s just how things are. You know who you are, you know the power you have, you don’t care, that’s it, end of the conversation. 

It was nearly 4.30AM when you got out of the discotheque, the streets being full of drunk people either puking or singing with their friends. 

“Y/n...”, your friend called you; you didn’t realized he stayed behind you, “I have to go now...”

“Already?”, you fake cry.

“Hawaii is not the nearest place from here, you know?”

“So you’re going for Hawaii then?”

“Yeah I think so... You know you can always come visit me...”, he pulled you for a tight hug. 

You knew it wasn’t really a goodbye, it was more like a “see you soon”, but you couldn’t help feel horribly sad, and you hated that feeling. The only ones capable of making you feel what you call “human emotions” were your six friends. And you hated them for that.

“Thank you for today though, I had the best day I’ve ever had in a long time”, you smiled against his chest.

“Same for me... I’ll miss you... But seriously, come visit, I won’t be able to not see my best friend for another 20 years, I’ll go mad before that”

He laughs and when he starts pulling his body away from yours, you know it’s the goodbye. 

“I love you, okay?”, he says. “I know, I love you too...”

And before crossing the street and disappearing behind a building, he gave you a last passionate kiss that left you hungry for more. It was your ritual, a last goodbye kiss that meant that you’d see him again.

Yes, Jimin was your best friend, but you couldn’t deny the numerous feelings between you two, just like with the other five. But you just couldn’t let them flow. It’s not that you didn’t want to, it’s just how things are. One of the punishments of the Netherworld were to not being able to properly love someone. You felt love for Jimin, of course you did, but not the love you WANTED to. It was a big difference, what you wanted to do and what your body was able to do. And while you felt bad about it in the past, you have it like it’s the most normal thing in the world now; but still, you couldn’t stand the image of Jimin leaving you.

MASTERLIST 

[waitmyturtles]

Turtles Catches Up With Old GMMTV: A Tale of Thousand Stars Loving Rewatch Edition

[What’s going on here? After joining Tumblr and discovering Thai BLs through KinnPorsche in 2022, I began watching GMMTV’s new offerings -- and realized that I had a lot of history to catch up on, to appreciate the more recent works that I was delving into. From tropes to BL frameworks, what we’re watching now hails from somewhere, and I’m learning about Thai BL's history through what I’m calling the Old GMMTV Challenge (OGMMTVC). Starting with recommendations from @absolutebl on their post regarding how GMMTV is correcting for its mistakes with its shows today, I’ve made an expansive list to get me through a condensed history of essential/classic/significant Thai BLs produced by GMMTV and many other BL studios. My watchlist, pasted below, lists what I’ve watched and what’s upcoming, along with the reviews I’ve written so far. Today, I write about my LOVING rewatch of one of the best BLs out there, ever, in A Tale of Thousand Stars.]

While I’ve been in the midst of a plethora of awesome new shows (Only Friends, Dangerous Romance), I’ve also been treating myself with some oldies. I just wrapped up a rewatch of Until We Meet Again, to prep for New Siwaj’s Absolute Zero that’s coming out this fall. And one of the joys that I set for myself in the course of structuring the Old GMMTV Challenge was to allow myself some loving rewatches of shows that I originally first consumed out of any chronological order, and/or out of total curiosity for the amount of space they generally take up on a daily basis on Tumblr, and/or for the amount of times that I had seen these particular shows listed as top examples of genre-defining or genre-transcending BLs. Those shows include Bad Buddy (of course), and A Tale of Thousand Stars.

Way, WAY back in the day -- November 2022, to be exact -- just a couple months into my joining Tumblr and actively blogging, I realized that this show called Moonlight Chicken was being bandied about excitedly, mostly in part because EarthMix and FirstKhao were going to be in it. I was intrigued, excited to participate in my first active Tumblr fandom from beginning to end, and I asked the Tumblr gods -- oh hey, should I watch A Tale of Thousand Stars first, to get to know Earth Pirapat and Mix Sahaphap first? And the answer was YES, so I did, and I totally loved it.

And of course, I look back at that review from almost a year ago, and I giggle, because while I picked up on a lot of the raw elements that make ATOTS great, I didn't have ANY context for why the show was transcendent vis à vis pre-existing BL tropes in the Thai BL genre, what it meant to be watching a classic Backaof Noppharnach show, what it meant for the show to be set in Northern Thailand, etc. I even wrote -- oh wow, I see why some of the elders on Tumblr are saying that there are shows way better than KinnPorsche out there (LOL, oh, hindsight). I didn't have any of that context.

Now, I do. And during my recent ATOTS rewatch, I just ATE, ATE, ATE, oh my god, I just sat and fucking ENJOYED this FABULOUS drama. I was yelling and gesturing to the screen -- oh god, WHY are you SO GOOD, YOU SHOW, YOU?! Man, oh man. It was a shit-ton of fun to start rewatching dramas that I already have nostalgia for, even if I only saw them for the first time last year.

Besides rewatching some of these important dramas back in chronological order through the OGMMTVC, I also have a mission in mind: to properly rewatch ATOTS and Bad Buddy before rewatching Our Skyy 2, which I've been wanting to do for a while. That rewatch will take place after I rewatch Bad Buddy in a couple of weeks. And I'm glad I waited until I could consume Aof's entire oeuvre, because I think his whole slate of shows -- not just ATOTS and BBS -- give us clues as to what was happening by way of Pat and Pran's relationship in OS2 before their physical separation in BBS that further explain the ATOTS and BBS universes. But more on this in a few weeks, when I get to my BBS and OS2 reviews.

Back to ATOTS. As I rewatched it -- in the context of the OGMMTVC, and what I've learned about the Thai television BL genre NOW, what were the elements of this show that stood out the most for me?

1) The striking use of flashbacks to tell a story. I know NOW shows that haven't used flashbacks as well to tell a compelling narrative -- for me, most recently, the biggest example is Double Savage (and maybe even KinnPorsche goes up there, too). Before ATOTS premiered, I think the BL that used flashbacks the BEST in its narrative was Until We Meet Again, which *needed* flashbacks to tell the entire scope of its intricate story, from past to present.

Something that I forgot about ATOTS until my rewatch was how very PACED the show was. I think I had it in my head that it was a slow-ish story, because -- again, it bucked a lot of BL trends and tropes, just like He's Coming To Me also did. No side couples. No university setting. No warring faculties and uniforms. When I first wrote about ATOTS in December 2022 -- after having watched The Eclipse as my first GMMTV BL -- I marveled at the singular storyline of Tian's life change and journey. There was a LOT we needed to know about Tian to GET where he was going, and where he wanted to go. What I didn't appreciate back then was how Aof TOLD the story.

Sure -- it could have frustrated some folks that we didn't get the truth of who was driving the car until much later in the series. But that would be missing the point of that piece of truth. Tian had blamed himself for Torfun's death the second he learned about it. It didn't *quite* matter who was driving the car -- what mattered was the self-blame he assigned himself to, and the journey he thought he needed to take to absolve himself of the guilt that he carried.

The structure was beyond sharp, and just INCREDIBLY compelling. Between UWMA and ATOTS, we have two tremendous dramas that flirted with VERY risky past-to-future infrastructures, and both succeeded exceedingly well.

2) Phupha and Tian's TERRIBLE communication. I'm serious! Oh my god, y'all. Did we appreciate back then how AWFUL they are at communicating? HA! Our Skyy 2 obviously emphasized this even more -- Tian himself accuses Phupha of not being open enough to tell Tian why Phupha won't meet Tian's parents.

But, holy shit, these two guys are such drama bastards. By episode 9, I had to write in my notes, in all caps: THESE ASSHOLES ARE SUCH AWFUL COMMUNICATORS. If one person wasn't angry at the other, and avoiding the other person, then something was off in their world. Tian's titchyness, Phupha's avoidance, played against each other like opposing magnets.

And yet: of course, we know WHY they are bad communicators. We know that Phupha grew up in a traditional, rural household -- one that likely wasn't welcoming to his inner truth as a queer man.

Tian grew up in a privileged and patriarchal household that disguised itself as a matriarchal household. Now THAT shit's confusing. What Tian was to do with his life, as assigned by his parents, supposedly came from his mom -- but it was his dad that enforced those rules. Who could Tian go to to talk about his own growing inner truth as well? Not to either of his parents, who both had designs on who *exactly* Tian should be by way of their own demands and outward-facing lives.

So these two men -- both of whom barely had any practice in expressing their inner truths, their raw feelings about themselves, their life situations, and each other -- are figuring out their emotional shit vis à vis each other, for the first time in their lives. And what we get, gloriously, is a whole bunch of damn hilarious drama that left me shaking my head and laughing a bunch. They were SO passive-aggressive with each other, I had to applaud EarthMix.

And through their bad communication came so many resolutions to each storyline -- the illegal merchants, the revelation of Torfun's death and the story behind it -- that what we ultimately got to see were life-defining moments for both Tian and Phupha of utter growth. The trade-off between those dramatic anguishes and the TRUE drama of the show itself -- was well worth it, and brilliantly done.

3) The metaphor of freedom. We know, now, that Bad Buddy was existing in the same world as ATOTS.

God, I LOVE what Aof pulled in Our Skyy 2 by way of the Nong Nao eye mask (Tian even wears the Nong Nao eye mask!) -- because in rewatching ATOTS, I would have NEVER clocked that Tian was talking about his own freedom through his OWN eye mask.

We know now that Tian and Pran, in their respective shows, were on their own paths to freedom -- both from demanding families that demanded that each of them comport to absolute idealistic images of what perfect sons DID in those family structures. Both Tian and Pran have overbearing mothers with complicit fathers who demand exacting obedience. And both Tian and Pran ultimately sought freedom from that pressure.

In episode 9, I clocked a message on Tian's tote bag -- I can't get a clear-enough screenshot of it (it's in the 3/4 segment), but the tote bag says, "what is the meaning of free?" All of ATOTS is based on Tian's journey to emotional freedom -- freedom from his parents' expectations, freedom from the guilt he carries from Torfun's death.

An interesting comparison to UWMA happens in episode 5, when Tian asks about his growing feelings towards Phupha: "I don't know if these feelings are mine or Torfun's." And, of course -- combine that with what Tian needs to reckon with at the cliff in episode 9, when Tian is struggling with figuring how who's life he's truly living. As Tian separates himself from his parents -- as Tian understands his needs vs. Torfun's needs -- what Tian's struggle ultimately comes down to is, who is he really living his life for? Torfun saved him, his parents bought him the transplant -- but what does that actually mean for the meaning that Tian brings to his own life, and to the lives of others, including Phupha?

What Tian ultimately realizes is that needs freedom from the influence of everyone and everything around him to gain clarity as to who HE truly is. That, to me, is the ultimate core message of ATOTS -- it is Tian's defining journey towards the freedom that only he himself can find, vis à vis Torfun, Phupha, and Pha Pun Dao.

But because Aof is so good at wrenching our hearts with every last bit of energy he’s got: he showed us that Tian was able to come to this conclusion, ultimately, through Phupha, and Phupha's love for Tian.

ATOTS is a wonderful coming-of-age story, but without the typical cheesiness that that structure can often bring. It's a story of individual and internal change that we know gets echoed, expanded, and transformed in Bad Buddy through Pran. I see now that ATOTS and Bad Buddy are Aof's deep studies of internal maturing, both told through queer revelations, through empathic love with a rock-solid partner, and through fights against oppressive societal and familial resistances to living one's full truth.

Way, way back when -- and thank goodness for the OGMMTVC for allowing me to dive into this -- Aof depicted queer men living their very robust truths in Gay OK Bangkok. As I wrote in my GOKB review, what happened after the premiere of GOKB is that Aof went to the BL genre to begin slowly changing it, to make the genre a true home for real queer revelation and introspection. Did he ever nail it in ATOTS. Did he ever expand it in BBS. Watching ATOTS felt like coming home, because once again (as in HCTM) -- Aof defied typical expectations of the genre to get honest about what an internal reality of being queer could really be like. And to do that in Thai television BL, with all the tropes and expectations the genre had created by the time of ATOTS's airing in 2021, was remarkable.

Hearing the theme song, seeing Pha Pun Dao and the villagers (AND THE CHILDREN! I LOVE THOSE CHILDREN!), seeing the schoolhouse, seeing Earth in his forest ranger uniform, hearing the original source of the forest ranger t-shirt joke, seeing Rang and Yod again -- man, was it ever nostalgic to rewatch ATOTS, even after having seen the guys in Our Skyy 2. This show is SUCH a classic, SUCH a must-watch of the very highest order, and the fact that it does NOT shy away from a very real and difficult emotional journey is only just a part of what makes it one of the enduring diamonds of Thai BL.

[We'll return to Pha Pun Dao in a couple weeks once I get through my Bad Buddy and Our Skyy 2 rewatches -- stay tuned!

In the meantime, my review of Lovely Writer is on deck for next week. By far this is my favorite Tee Bundit drama. For the sake of my fellow drama clowns, I am giving I Feel You Linger in the Air a shot, but the editing choices are giving me slight Step By Step-PTSD. I'm gonna keep a close eye on this one.

But Lovely Writer is Tee's anomaly, and what a fabulously genius anomaly it is. I can't wait to get into it, and if you loved it, too, and you have NOT watched the Lovely Writer special episode, PLEASE watch the special ep, as I'll be referring to it -- it has a super important conclusion that wraps up the entire series beautifully.

A heads-up that I may need to take a week's break or so in early September.... hopefully I won't, but I am moving, so while I'm ahead on a few dramas, getting pen to paper has proven difficult by way of time. Hopefully this project won't be delayed too much -- but send me your best big ups nonetheless as I move domiciles!

In the meantime, here's the list -- as always, I welcome your feedback! (Tumblr's new web editor is jacking with the list below and not allowing me to strikethrough the shows I've watched. For the very latest updated list, please click here!)

1) The Love of Siam (2007) (movie) (review here) 2) My Bromance (2014) (movie) (review here) 3) Love Sick and Love Sick 2 (2014 and 2015) (review here) 4) Gay OK Bangkok Season 1 (2016) (a non-BL queer series directed by Jojo Tichakorn and written by Aof Noppharnach) (review here) 5) Make It Right (2016) (review here) 6) SOTUS (2016-2017) (review here) 7) Gay OK Bangkok Season 2 (2017) (a non-BL queer series directed by Jojo Tichakorn and written by Aof Noppharnach) (review here) 8) Make It Right 2 (2017) (review here) 9) Together With Me (2017) (review here) 10) SOTUS S/Our Skyy x SOTUS (2017-2018) (review here) 11) Love By Chance (2018) (review here) 12) Kiss Me Again: PeteKao cuts (2018) (no review) 13) He’s Coming To Me (2019) (review here) 14) Dark Blue Kiss (2019) and Our Skyy x Kiss Me Again (2018) (review here) 15) TharnType (2019-2020) (review here) 16) Senior Secret Love: Puppy Honey (OffGun BL cuts) (2016 and 2017) (no review) 17) Theory of Love (2019) (review here) 18) 3 Will Be Free (2019) (a non-BL and an important harbinger of things to come in 2019 and beyond re: Jojo Tichakorn pushing queer content in non-BLs) (review here) 19) Dew the Movie (2019) (review here) 20) Until We Meet Again (2019-2020) (review here) 21) 2gether (2020) and Still 2gether (2020) (review here) 22) I Told Sunset About You (2020) (review here) 23) YYY (2020, out of chronological order) (review here) 24) Manner of Death (2020-2021) (not a true BL, but a MaxTul queer/gay romance set within a genre-based show that likely influenced Not Me and KinnPorsche) (review here) 25) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) (review here) 26) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For The Sake Of Rewatching Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS  27) Lovely Writer (2021) (review coming) 28) Last Twilight in Phuket (2021) (the mini-special before IPYTM) (review coming) 29) I Promised You the Moon (2021) (review coming) 30) Not Me (2021-2022) (watching) 31) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) (thesis here) 32) 55:15 Never Too Late (2021-2022) (not a BL, but a GMMTV drama that features a macro BL storyline about shipper culture and the BL industry) 33) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) and Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS (2023) OGMMTVC Rewatch 34) Secret Crush On You (2022) [watching for Cheewin’s trajectory of studying queer joy from Make It Right (high school), to SCOY (college), to Bed Friend (working adults)] 35) KinnPorsche (2022) (tag here) 36) KinnPorsche (2022) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For The Sake of Re-Analyzing the KP Cultural Zeitgeist 37) The Eclipse (2022) (tag here) 38) GAP (2022-2023) (Thailand’s first GL) 39) My School President (2022-2023) and Our Skyy 2 x My School President (2023) 40) Moonlight Chicken (2023) (tag here) 41) Bed Friend (2023) (tag here) (Cheewin’s latest show, depicting a queer joy journey among working adults) 42) Be My Favorite (2023) (tag here) (I’m including this for BMF’s sophisticated commentary on Krist’s career past as a BL icon) 43) Only Friends (2023)]

[redxblueihateloveyou]

hello 🌻 so I'm kinda new to thai bl, since my tl started going crazy. I saw the discussion under your recent video, I gathered you know things, so I was wondering who is the director you've mentioned and why people are going insane on twitter. or is it not common getting projects so close to each other?

Lol yeah I see lately more and more western fans are joining the madness, can't really tell if its good or nah, cause its totally not the safe place for "unproblematic purists", but we'll see how it goes xD

Oi, I’ll try to do this somewhat shortly, don’t hit me if I’m bad at expalining haha. Tee is most known for directing "Tharntype" and "Lovely writer", Aof directed "1000 stars", "Dark Blue Kiss"… "Bad Buddy". In the world of thai BL, they fall into a category of a very high quality ones, that fans love.

Long story short like we know that directors as it is everywhere play one of the most important parts, but when it comes to thai lakorns it basically can determine not only the quality of the shooting and the whole tone of the creation, but also the quality of the portrayal of the relationships/closeness etc. They in most cases decide everything up to the intimacy scenes and it's even up to them to say "do korean dramas fish kiss bc thats how I see it" (here's the fun fact about thai bl actors/directors for you, sometimes actors themselves don't wanna kiss normally, sometimes directors don't allow actors who wanna kiss normally to kiss normally). It's also their vision that decides how to twist the character and turn him into a complete opposite from the original material kind etc. They just literally hold everything in the hands most of the times, including scripts.

So fans already kinda split directors into categories who either make the original material worse than it is and fail to guide the actors into the right direction and those who can make a candy out of basics by bringing out the best in both the original material and actors.

That being said the two cookies right now due to the fact that they stole everyone's hearts and fired up everyone even just with looks + the fact that they want to keep doing bl together and having too much fun with it are now there basically the perfect snatch.

So the fact that P'Tee is doing a workshop with them already and both of the best directors want them and some famous screenwriters there too, means that they see a huge potential in them. And for fans it means that they can have quality content with their faves.

To describe their vibe/type of directing, I mean, it's different depending on the story for sure, but it's very I'd say.. natural. There won't be any "we're in a relationships but don't touch me" stuff or other "old classic intimacy cringe" you'd see in many lakorns. And when it comes to Tee, he has this great balance between tasteful steamy with all the emotions you need, which is also lacking these days.

So I yelled a bit too, I really was rooting for someone to see the beauty, but aparently everyone did, so it's all good. Good luck to them.

As for the last part. It's definitely not common, but getting projects so close to each other happened before. For example, Earthmix have two bl dramas coming out this year and short movies along with it too (that without counting all of their entertainment shows). What's not common is for P'Tee to grab on GMM actors so fast, but I don't blame anyone in this situation haha.

Hope, I explained it somewhat okay, sorry if its clumsy, it’s a bit hard to explain, depends on how new you are and what you’ve watched so far <3

[telomeke]

MY SCHOOL PRESIDENT – MORE RANDOM THOUGHTS

Coming into My School President after Bad Buddy, it's impossible not to see the winks and nods that MSP does to its illustrious predecessor.

(above) MSP kept the colors but found the sleeves that Pat was looking for

Thing is, after six episodes, I keep waiting for something heavy to drop – but it never does. BBS kept up the heavy hitting, punch after punch, from Ep.5 onwards. You don't get that with MSP (although a tiny seed of dread still throbs whenever I think about Mrs. Gim's health; stay strong, lady, for yourself and for your beloved Gun too).

I carry this ever-present sense of anticipation partly because the Bad Buddy team burst onto the scene with a mission. And because of their commitment, BBS's finished product is so many things all at once – a BL romcom yes, but also a critique of patriarchal traditions, an LGBTQ+ allegory, a message of hope for the disenfranchised, a hard lesson on parenting... you can take away so many things from it.

I keep expecting MSP to do more of the same, and have to slap my wrist a little because that's totally unfair.

MSP is of its own generation, and we have no right to heap expectations on it (did I learn nothing from Ming and Dissaya vis-à-vis PatPran? 🙁)

Right now I'm leaning into the idea that MSP is doing (and getting to do) what BBS couldn't, simply because Bad Buddy's hands were full with all it had taken upon itself to do. Almost like they conceived the two at the same time, but then said OK, we'll divvy up the work and get BBS to deal out the heavier stuff and then with MSP we'll just have fun.

So perhaps wrapped into all of this is the idea that (because of all they were loading onto Bad Buddy) there was the risk that BBS might have flopped. (Thank goodness it didn't; Director Aof really did put together a dream team.) But if it had, then there would be MSP to be the B-side version with a second shot at success. (I'm just guessing, but this is how it feels to me. And I don't think that B-side means inferior, by the way.)

This would explain why My School President has so much of a Bad Buddy feel, but with the angst dialed down and more of an afternoon teen party vibe thrumming, closer to marketing ideals and the version that would satisfy the money guys.

So if anything, MSP has thus far been very focused in this respect, presenting romance/love in various forms and exploring them with a light touch – there is TinnGun's hesitant, exploratory push-and-pull that rings true of teenage first love, but also enemies-to-lovers (SoundWin), spousal love (Tinn's parents), parental love (Mrs. Gim), and maybe secret love (TiwPor? They're hinting, and I live in hope for this.). No GL to be seen but I suppose they left that to BBS because it was risky for its time. And because the risk paid off with InkPa's popularity, we can now have standalone GL series too. 💖

But at the moment I'm thinking that MSP's mission is simply to be a light-hearted, entertaining BL romcom, where telling the story of how romance develops between the leads is its main preoccupation. And that is perfectly fine. 😊

Maybe things will change in the next half – and that's perfectly fine too. 😊

There is room at the table for the meaty roast rich green curry as much as the angel food pandan chiffon cake. And I can enjoy both with equal relish. 👍

[themanicgalaxy]

SPN 5X13 The Song Remains the Same

aw nuts I'm still one behind

ah well I'm severely burned and prom is tomorrow

god I hope Cas is in this one

HEY! CHERRY PIE!

Listen I actually like this song

He's dreaming isn't he

HI ANNA

this is a nice set

Ah right when Cas was Conflicted I see

ok so meeting

I still think Angel Anna popping in to say hi and shit was fun man

thE FUCKING LIGHTS ARE THE ENTRANCE

wait no I see Cas is lamp and where that came from I see it now

they told Cas, Cas didn't let them

'no on escapes' oh?

sAM WINCHESTER HAS TO DIE?

that was a cool scene why don't we have more

just...disembowlement

"another way" here we go

"you've changed" "maybe too late" : (

"come near Sam Winchester and I kill you"

are...are they even friends though?

"who's glenn close" aw

oH THE GREASE POSTER

MA GIC

no give me more Sam and Cas too goDAMIT

yes I know why leave me alone

the Exasperated "I don't understand that reference" and Dean's "my cool guy-ness doesn't work on him" IS SO FUNNY

also cas looks FUCKEd

ohGOD HE LOOKS F U C K ED

ah way back when things weren't horrible and not disillusioned

LITTLE NERDY DUDE WITH WINGS OH MY GOD

the fucking trench coat

did they steal a car off screen lmao?

THOSE MOVIES HAVEN'T EVEN COME OUT YET LMAO

Dean please chill

oh this is gonna be fun

THE LITTLE GLANCE AT MARY NO THAT WAS SO GOOD

"you look familiar" *Dean and Mary exchange a panicked look*

oH MYGOD

Sam is not taking this well

Sam and Dean, Sam and Deanna

Sam is just staring at his mom :(

oh sHIT HE NEVER RLY GOT TO MEET HER

Dean DESPERATELY TRYING TO BACKPEDAL

Dean you little shit

HearT Attack Huh Mary

I LIKE MARY AND DEAN'S LITTLE FACE OFFS THEY'RE FUN

ANNA! SHE CAN DO VOICES?

the little half smile before he says "not exactly"

shit..SHIT HE'S GONE UH OH

she'S SO SHORT COMPARED TO THEM

MR WOODSEN IS FUCKING DEAD THE ANGELS GOT HIM

the like...half power, but half not is COOL

were times tough? was it Anna projecting?

"you too Dean" HER VOICE SHOOK :(

KNIFE FIGHT MARY KNIFE FIGHT M A R Y

tHAY BLOODY SHOT WAS COOL

B L O O D S I G I L

oh good time to explain it to John he's gonna take it well

THE IMPALA

"OR SO HELP ME I WILL TURN THIS CAR AROUND" IT'S THE MOST DAD THING HE'S EVER SAID

AWKWARD FAMILY ROAD TRIP

Dean explaining hunter things to his dad has to be fucking weird

Well...John doesn't seem like an ass, he wants to help

just cuts his hand ok then

"how big"

"you remind me of my dad" HE LOOKS SO FUCKING SAD

he's also so much more subdued

"my dad raised me in it"

John: proceeds to trash talk himself for like...a whole minute

"your father was supposed to protect you" SPOKEN BY THEIR FATHER IS

fuck it I'm tearing up

"I get it" Sam and John are super similar ok I see you

HE COULD HAVE DONE BETTER, HE COULD HAVE BEEN LIKE BOBBY FUCKING CHRIST SAM

no what happened is that John made Mary this martyr that didn't exist, this exalted thing

HE COULD HAVE BEEN MORE PRODUCTIVE

"I understand" SAM I S W E A R TO FUCKING G O D

OH THIS IS YONG URIEL

"I'm still your superior" ooo?

"They will kill you uriel" THAT WAS YOU AND CAS

"you're just gonna have to trust me" D E A N

"i'm your son" oh my god Dean

oh this.scene.

I'm crying again

"I raised my kids to be hunters, I did that to you?" aofs'

yeah I'm like...actively crying fuck me

that date is...burned into his brain isn't it

god Mary's reaction of "no not this, not again" oh my god no no no no I'm crying

This is not hyperbole I was actually sobbing

"leave John" IS YOUR PLAN

Sam...

"you can't have that normal life" oh Sam :(

'your children will be cursed' jesus Christ

oh god she's pregnant that's why she reacted like that

shit both of them

I cannot see ANYTHING

SAM GOT IMPALED?

JOHN IS?///DEAD??

MICHAEL POSSESSED JOHN??

IS ANNA DEAD FOR REAL? WHAT THE FUCk?

bloodline, like novak

CAIN AND FUCKING ABEL

THEY DIDN'T EVEN CAST A B E -

"well get some therapy pal" dean...dean you can't say that it just looks funny if you say that

"I practically raised him" oof

"you're gonna do whatever god says' "yes because I am a good son" OHHHHHHHHHH

Dean: that is a dead end street

holY SHIT GET FUCKED

"I got to believe I choose what I do with my unimportant little life" HOYLS HIT YHES

SMACK HIM WITH THE DESTINY HAMMER

you...planned it..oh my god

free will's an illusion NOT IF CAS HAS ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT

ah he scrubs their minds so she can't remember

ah fuck he's failed this plan twice now it's gotta HURT

the arranging the jacket was so fucking sinister

"you made it" "I did? I'm very surprised"

I love him

TEAM FREE WILL!

"one ex blood junkie, one dropout with 6 bucks to his name and mr. comatose over there"

"i'm not laughing"

you guys fucking suck at making objective decisions

thE FUCKING ANGEL THING

" i can't even put my finger on why I like it" I hate this

"angels are watching over you" I'm going to eat glass I love the glass it's so crunchy

1. hunting. FUCKING- BOTH OF THEIR PARENTS WERE LIKE "HeY whoever got you into hunting probably fucked both of you up" AND THEY'RE LIKE NAH It'S FINE. THIS IS THE SAME ENERGY AS LIKE...several people staging an intervention and you still not getting it. Young!John is great! He's rightfully concerned! Mary is badass! with knife fight

2. free will. The EXPLICIT free will vs destiny thing, the basically dragging free will into existence despite everyone telling you that's not how it goes, the subtle reinforcement with the angels at the beginning, Michael coming into the bloodline, the whole thing with hunting, how they still ended up hunters it's just. Fuck me.

3. Sam's giving up, that's not good. Like you can see it in the "I forgive my dad," you can see it in the "just give up, I don't want to exist anymore" thing. Like...he's tired of fighting, he wants it to stop? I think is what I'm getting.

4. I FUCKING LOVE CASTIEL. He doesn't get the pop cultural references, just kinda does HORRIBLY bad shit that's bad for him, and in the end just kinda is Out of It. I love him. He makes every scene he's in better. Also I'm seeing the more...Sam thing? like I see potential, and they're both the Weird Kids of their crowds?

5. I like the sets. Like the art direction for the sets was nice, and the costuming felt especially on point this episode? Like they changed Anna's look a lil, and I thought it worked really well.

6. ANNA. She seemed so remorseful, and she had this whole thing going on, and she was still their superior and she was great. Also, she's trying to execute free will too! like it's in an entirely different manner than Sam and Dean's but still? This better not be her last appearance.

It FUCKING IS? I HATE THIS WHAT THE HELL

7. For posterity, that scene where they're talking to their mom and Dean just kinda...breaks down instantly and says "you're my mom" and both of them say "leave our dad, no more existence," and the "I'm pregnant" and the "I raised you to be hunters, I did that to you?" and the "no john did." fucking broke me. Like so much pain is happening there and it broke me