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SCREAMPT

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The lovers the morning after.

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Cherry Magic Thai last episode thoughts

Karan's dad is a daddy 🫣

P.S: Trying to distract myself from the fact that a near to perfect BL remake with OGs is over. 😭

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There are literally at least 10 new BLs I can start watching, but I started watching Cherry Magic Thai and now I am rewatching Dark Blue kiss, because Tay New duh..

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@absolutebl This is one of your list which I absolutely love. And you screen cap selection is great, you can easily tell who is the grumpy and who is sunshine even if you have not watched the drama. Love it

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My dash is really pissing me off today.

I have not watched Last Twilight yet, but I have been following the show on Tumblr. So I know it's about accidental blindness and accepting yourself despite the disability.

I generally don't guess or expect a show to end in a specific way. Because as I have said time and again it's not my story to tell, it's someone else's story which they are telling. I am just watching it. I understand you sometimes get upset and that's alright, but outrightly hating the people who put so much hard work in creating that experience for us is just insane.

And with Last Twilight I am especially baffled. Like people are mad because the boy got is eyesight back?? Like really? All the fans who think that it cancels his growth as a character, like common would you not want your friend or relative who is in such a situation get their eyesight back? Be real.

You know what this is? It's not understanding disability, this is not having empathy for the disabled this is what we call a romanticising disability and it does no good to anybody. Believe me.

As a research scientist involved in researching solutions for disabilities and long term illness, I can tell you there are a whole lot of people who are slaving off, braving the torture of big corporations to make this surgeries, products available for common people. Because if we can make that one person's life more easy it's all worth it.

To be honest I just don't understand this idiotic fan mentality.

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The essence of being in the BL fandom right now is wondering if 'babe' is Babe the character from Pit Babe, Babe the actor in The Sign or just a general babe

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Human form of Nagas is a very common siting in Buddhist, Hindu and Jain cultures.

Earliest mentions of Nagas in half human and half snake form are from 10th century, so they are quite ancient.

Just thought I'll add a bit of information to your post.

Disclaimer: I'm not Thai and this contains a lot of conjectures that needs to be fact checked by someone who is either Thai/ knows enough about Thai folk culture to comment. So the tits out nagini played by Babe joke (that I'm really enjoying this isn't to knock us having a laugh down) really made me think about how demonizing female tits is a relatively post christian missionary disseminating puritanism as a extra religious extra cultural inherent to human civilization idea. So then, are the naginis meant to have their tits out and is using babe to portray the authentic nagini style of dress just a clever way of circumventing modern laws about censorship? Bottom line is - I don't know and I have no way of knowing on account of having zero access to Thai people but I do have some evidence:

Babe is wearing a 'female' style of dress

I don't think I really needed to start here because the deliberate use of female pronouns makes it fairly clear that Babe is supposed to be a woman here but there's also the chain, the scarf, the long hair, gaudier accessories etc 2. Babe and Freen are supposed to be the same person and look very very similar, more similar than they do in real life but maybe even identical for narrative purposes

The show has pushed the audience towards suspension of disbelief when it comes to how similar Freen and Babe look. The portrait of Freen as the Nagini looks like Freen and NOT Babe and yet all the characters in the show are convinced it looks like Tharn (played by Babe). This told me that no matter what I think for the show to make sense to me Babe and Freen look like they could be twins for all that reality matters. They have the same name and modern day Wansurat, played by Babe, shows up as a reflection of the past Wansurat, played by Freen, BEFORE the transformation at the end of ep 5

In fact, the transformation is never shown and modern!Wansurat appears fully formed in front of Phaya as though once Phaya has allowed himself to open his eyes, he can see the truth - that they're the same. Their gender is never shown to 'transform' on screen and I think what this show is pushing for is that gender is just NOT an inherent part of their identity. IMO, that's taking it a step further than simply saying Wansurat was a girl in past life and Wansurat is a boy in this life. It's like saying Wansurat is Wansurat, whether Wansurat is a a boy or girl is just as relevant as whether Wansurat is wearing modern day clothing or traditional clothing. 3. The women have their tits out too????

look at freen's hand, that's not a shirt, that's her skin and it's the same color as Babe's clothing is when Babe plays Wansurat

same with Songjet she doesn't have the scarf or chains and her shirt is textured to the scales of a serpent. I think this is a tits out look too.

All their tits on principle appear to be out 4. Are tits out nagini the tradition? This is the part I have no idea. It's not like googling a hundred nagini statues from thailand will tell me when they were made easily or accurately. All I can say is that all the anthropomorphized nagini statues that were wearing clothes were very obviously wearing clothes and not scale textured clothing. There's also these tits proudly out variations

[thefreeblog]

I am an Indian, Thai Buddhism is heavily influenced by Hinduism . Lots of god's etc are very similar to ours. Even the concept of Naga and Garuda rivalry is found in Hindu mythology, in fact both are Sanskrit words, for Snakes and Eagles respectively.

You were right in saying that tits out for females and males was a very common thing in South East Asian societies till the West found their way in Asia.

If you do a little research about the clothing styles during the pre colonial era in Asia you will find most variations of clothing are just waist down variations with heavy jewellery used to cover you chest with tits out and proud.

Refer to the article below.

Don't know much about Thailand, but there are tribes in India still, where women don't cover up their breasts.

It was very common for lots goddesses also like Kali and others.

So yeah you are right, it's definitely the western influence on Asian societies which had their Tits covered up.

Disclaimer: I'm not Thai and this contains a lot of conjectures that needs to be fact checked by someone who is either Thai/ knows enough about Thai folk culture to comment. So the tits out nagini played by Babe joke (that I'm really enjoying this isn't to knock us having a laugh down) really made me think about how demonizing female tits is a relatively post christian missionary disseminating puritanism as a extra religious extra cultural inherent to human civilization idea. So then, are the naginis meant to have their tits out and is using babe to portray the authentic nagini style of dress just a clever way of circumventing modern laws about censorship? Bottom line is - I don't know and I have no way of knowing on account of having zero access to Thai people but I do have some evidence:

Babe is wearing a 'female' style of dress

I don't think I really needed to start here because the deliberate use of female pronouns makes it fairly clear that Babe is supposed to be a woman here but there's also the chain, the scarf, the long hair, gaudier accessories etc 2. Babe and Freen are supposed to be the same person and look very very similar, more similar than they do in real life but maybe even identical for narrative purposes

The show has pushed the audience towards suspension of disbelief when it comes to how similar Freen and Babe look. The portrait of Freen as the Nagini looks like Freen and NOT Babe and yet all the characters in the show are convinced it looks like Tharn (played by Babe). This told me that no matter what I think for the show to make sense to me Babe and Freen look like they could be twins for all that reality matters. They have the same name and modern day Wansarut, played by Babe, shows up as a reflection of the past Wansarut, played by Freen, BEFORE the transformation at the end of ep 5

In fact, the transformation is never shown and modern!Wansarut appears fully formed in front of Phaya as though once Phaya has allowed himself to open his eyes, he can see the truth - that they're the same. Their gender is never shown to 'transform' on screen and I think what this show is pushing for is that gender is just NOT an inherent part of their identity. IMO, that's taking it a step further than simply saying Wansarut was a girl in past life and Wansarut is a boy in this life. It's like saying Wansarut is Wansarut, whether Wansarut is a a boy or girl is just as relevant as whether Wansarut is wearing modern day clothing or traditional clothing. 3. The women have their tits out too????

look at freen's hand, that's not a shirt, that's her skin and it's the same color as Babe's clothing is when Babe plays Wansarut

same with Songjet she doesn't have the scarf or chains and her shirt is textured to the scales of a serpent. I think this is a tits out look too.

All their tits on principle appear to be out 4. Are tits out nagini the tradition? This is the part I have no idea. It's not like googling a hundred nagini statues from thailand will tell me when they were made easily or accurately. All I can say is that all the anthropomorphized nagini statues that were wearing clothes were very obviously wearing clothes and not scale textured clothing. There's also these tits proudly out variations

[thefreeblog]

I loved the twist that Pai is a shipper.

That came out of nowhere 🤣

[thefreeblog]

Best 23 of BL 2023 - Quirky Awards

SHOCK & AWE AWARDS

1. Biggest BL surprise of 2023:

The last 3 months of 2023 in general got my biggest WTF award.

GMMTV fielding OffGun AND TayNew in the same quarter while also airing Last Twilight (arguably one of their best BLs ever)

That they ALSO optioned 3 JBLs

That there's a high heat omegaverse BL staring Pavel

That there were 20 BLs airing and none of them Korean.

With 5 VAMPIRE BLs announced for next year

But my prize in this category goes to My Dear Gangster Oppa.

It's just crazy:

Thai talent, Korean money + IP (this is adapted from a manwha) airing on a Chinese channel (iQIYI). Plus it was GOOD and made smart reuse of a pair who richly deserved it. I'm delighted by the eclectic insanity of this production. And wonder if any other film genre could even do anything like this.

2. The “that country did WHAT?” award:

The 8th Sense from Korea?!

I mean, seriously?! Dealing with metal health, suicide, darkness, therapy, age gap, & first time love BUT FROM KOREA? And then openness and casual boyfriend physical affection? What's next? An actual hard fought coming out narrative with an HEA? Gay domesticity and families?

Careful Korea, you'll strain something. Possibly your own culture and film industry.

I should stop having expectations of Korea, they keep surprising me.

Runners up: Korea letting OnlyOneOf do Bump Up Business not to mention that OmegaX thing. AND Korea adapting Why R U? What are you up to, Korea? Qua? Is this a coded message? Should we send help? Do you need snacks?

3. Biggest casting whoa! where did you come from? award:

GeminiFourth in My School President.

Seriously? Babies what? How did GMMTV find you? How do you exist? How is BL this lucky?

4. That studio did WHAT now? award:

GMMTV putting EarthMix into Moonlight Chicken.

And then doubling down with G4 as the damn sides.

Fucking genius.

5. I’m sad you were ignored award:

Destiny Seeker.

It's just a really fun little Thai pulp, the pairs were good, silly dialogue, plus consent and other good rep. I enjoyed it. No one talked about it AT ALL.

6. 2023 BL That Actually Made Me Lose My Mind Award?

Laws of Attraction. -The casting, the crazy story, the soapy drama! But specifically: Film playing Charn - the range of his smiles alone. GLORIOUS

I mean I Feel You Linger in the Air also sparked something in me, but LoA drove me actually nuts.

NARRATIVE AWARDS

7. Best story 2023:

La Pluie

I know, you're surprised, right? At the time I didn't chat much about it but I really enjoyed the discourse others were having. I love anything that really examines the fated mates (soulmates) trope and the idea of "the one". What a clever way to do that. (This is one reason UWMA is my favorite Thai BL.)

This one reminded me of the way Color Rush approached allegory and that's no bad thing. Such an impressive little piece.

8. Best narrative structure 2023 award:

Unintentional Love Story.

I know this may seem a simplistic pick. But I love the tidiness of this no frills contemporary romance, how the culture of work and personal ethics and corruption fight against the main character's affection and integrity. Poor baby boy is driven into a corner and then punished for it. But it is punishment he feels he deserves, and so it is up to his (now) ex to figure out what went wrong and why.

It's just great. I love it when no one is stupid or wrong, it's just impossible circumstances and unintentional love deeply felt.

9. Best 2023 dialogue (script) award:

Jun & Jun

Never before has Korea laced a BL with that much perfectly executed innuendo. It was a master class. I didn't know you could be that lascivious in Korean, quite frankly. Plus the way the 2 Juns constantly seamlessly transition between formal register (work, public - where they are boss/employee) to informal register (when they are alone and age mates + childhood sweethearts).

Beautiful to hear and watch.

10. Favorite scene 2023:

The dub con scene in I Cannot Reach You because I AM TRASH for an out of control seme. I'm sorry I just AM.

I have said it before, I will say it again, NO ONE DOES THIRST like Japan. And when that thirst bubbles over, it is heart-clenching and very hot.

11. The most rewatchable BL of 2023 award:

Our Dating Sim

That scene where they lie on the floor + the stolen kiss + giggle? Come on, it should be on comfort repeat in war rooms. It could bring world peace.

ACTORS & CHARACTERS AWARDS

12. Best performance of a queer actor in a leading role, 2023:

Fluke in Make a Wish.

It was fun to see him as an irreverent immortal and while I love OhmFluke I also really enjoyed this new pairing. It was a genuine pleasure to watch.

13. Best pining 2023:

The moot pining in Tokyo in April is...

Boys, seriously? Japan must you destroy us like this? Hurts so good.

14. Best wingman 2023 (The Namgoong Award)

Tiw from My School President

I mean, come on, of course it's him!

(Also can you believe Mark went on from this to do fricking Only Friends!? To Last Twilight! Come on GMMTV GIVE HIM A LEAD!)

15. Biggest OMG I LOVE you boys together, YAY!

Dimpled McMafia & Feral Bunny Foo Foo from Kiseki Dear to Me.

They were feral for each other.

We were feral for them

It was a whole delightful THING.

16. Most unexpected return of a BL pair? award:

The Private Lessons pair showing up in Love Class 2.

I know it was only a cameo, but SERIOUSLY? Thank you SO MUCH Korea! A big studio picking up a Strongberry pairing? I love you.

Seriously tho between them, Taiwan & Korea tried for ALL THE CAMEOS this year.

17. Well aren't you two just the prettiest? award:

NetJames in Bed Friend.

Need I say more?

18. LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Bah Vinh in Vian & Mr Cinderella 2. I did like either show but I loved him in them. Especially the make outs.

Yes you have chemistry with all the boys in Vietnam and you kiss beautifully. But it's okay now honey, you have the crown. Relax, you're stressing us out.

RANDOM PICKS

19. Favorite Linguistic Moment of 2023:

Our Dating Sim

Caught in the act by the elevator scene. OMG it's so funny. They're being such boyfriend shits to each other, and to be caught in the act by THAT character, and try to manifest formal language whole cloth? Hilarious.

Honorable mention to War Peanuts in Destiny Seeker.

20. Biggest disappointment of 2023:

You Are Mine

Seriously Taiwan, AGAIN you disappoint me with an Office BL? You're Taiwan, land of offices and suits. This should be YOUR SETTING TO WIN. And yet... argh. I mean it wasn't bad. But it wasn't good either. Stop it Taiwan, do better.

Runners up? Between Us, Chains of Heart, Dangerous Romance - this was a HOTLY contested category.

+ 2 Winners in the sub-category of FUCK YOU FOR THAT ENDING award:

The Director who Buys Me Dinner - I mean this nicely but: you have your lane now Korea, stop hurting us, that's Japan's responsibility and they do it better.

I Feel You Linger In the Air - I'm just hugely disappointed. Thailand ALMOST got its second 10/10 from me, but that damn ending.

Argh.

21. Best Wardrobe/Prop Use 2023

The shower of packaged bedsheets in My Personal Weatherman

Amazing. Brilliant. No notes.

22. Best Queer Rep 2023

Chot in Step By Step

In fact, all the queer characters in this show were treated with great integrity.

AND props to this cast for refusing to do fan service. GOOD FOR YOU! Fuck those sasang wankers.

Runners up? The found family cast of Love in Translation and the Rainbow Rice Cakes in The New Employee.

23. Best Meta Trope call out

Tin Tem Jai

Come on, what a zinger, but at themselves (and Taiwan)

Final question: which of the 23 was the hardest for me to pick?

Honestly? Question #1 this year. But also question #20.

(Last year: 2022's Version) 

Remember I only pull from shows that were completely finished by the end of 2023. Or The Sign probably would have taken multiple categories. But it will fall into 2024 offerings.

(source)

[thefreeblog]

Best of QL 2023 - Favorite Lines

The way this works: I'll list my Top Five in two categories - first, from series that aired this year; and second, series that aired previously, but I watched for the first time this year. (I explained it all here if this makes no sense.)

These are in no particular order; I love them all!

Top Five Lines that Lived Rent-Free In My Brain This Year:

"If this world is cruel to our son, we should be his peace of mind when he comes home, shouldn't we?" - Tinn's father, My School President, ep 11

Parents and children, love and acceptance, being who you are and finding a home there. This one got me good. 🏳️‍🌈🥰

"Have you been well? Without me?" - Shin Ki Tae, Our Dating Sim, ep 4

Persuasion is my favorite Jane Austen novel for the same reason I love this confession and moment. The pain of long absence, the desperate hope of reunion. Love it.

"Because I don't like her! Listen to me - I don't like her. I... I like you." - Sailom, Dangerous Romance, ep 6

A confession in the rain! This scene is so good, the love triangle angst abounds, and the look of pained resignation on Sailom's face - he had to say it, but it didn't feel good. What a moment.

"Love can't be forced, right? Just because [my mother] gave birth to me, must I love her back? If you ask me if I love you or not, I can answer that more easily. I can easily say that I love you." - Li Ming, Moonlight Chicken, ep 7

This moment was so important for both of them, and I remember feeling so relieved by it while I was watching live. Love them both so much. 🥺

"On this earth, there's no one who's more caring or loving than you. Though I've been nothing but an asshole to you, you are always there for me. Sand, please understand me - being with me requires some patience. But if you don't want to put up with me anymore, that's alright, I get you. No one can put up with me. But please know this, Sand - ever since you walked into my life, I've been so happy. So damn happy, Sand." - Ray, Only Friends, ep 10

My entire heart. I still sob every time. 😭

~~~~~

Top Five Moments of Poetic Cinema From Yesteryear That Got Me in 2023:

"Thank you... for trying to make a silly guy like me happy. I know that sooner or later we will need to go back. I know too well. But I just want to stay as long as we can. Be with you for at least one more day." - Pat, Bad Buddy Series, ep 11

"I have to be needed at work. So we won't be separated unfairly when our company finds out about us. I want to have a life with you forever and for always. I want to let the people I care about know that. And the people you care about, too. I need to let everyone know that you're precious to me." - Adachi, Cherry Magic: The Movie

"Tian! No one should use their whole life to repay someone else's!" - Phupha, Tale of Thousand Stars, ep 9

"Yes, I like you. But it's none of your business." - Gao Shi De, We Best Love: No. 1 For You, ep 5

"I'm seducing you. I've been trying to seduce you. With everything I have, although you never had a clue... I've been meaning to tell you this whole time, but I was afraid. I was scared of saying something that wasn't normal to you. But doing this, and telling you in such a horrible way - I'm so sorry. I like you. I like you so much, I could die." - Togawa, Old Fashion Cupcake, ep 4

Full credit, as well as all of my love, gratitude, and consensual smooches on the forehead to all the wonderful gifmakers represented herein: @sunsetandthemoon @gabrielokun @my-rose-tinted-glasses @wanderlust-in-my-soul @raypakorn @bevioletskies @yibo-wang @zhoushuyis @bl-bam-beyond

[thefreeblog]

All these BLs airing in the last month, the one bought me back from the watching drought was of course Cherry Magic.

I know it's unpopular to say, but I hated the OG Cherry Magic. Almost didn't finish watching it. Don't get me wrong I loved the premise, I like to watch unrealistic premises and made up stories 🤣

So when we have a new cast and that to Tay and New and the same storyline , I was not gonna miss this chance. Bring it on!

[thefreeblog]

Your number 1 kiss is bang on, that kiss lives in my head rent free.

As far as first kisses go for this year I loved this one from step by step

Favorite first kiss?

Favorite First Kisses!

Doozie of a question. Here we go...

1 Until We Meet Again

I mean COME on. How could this not be the #1 best first kiss? It's so gentle and so good and so hot and just... EVERYTHING a first kiss should be in life. A++ romantic

2 Old Fashion Cupcake

THE LONG SHOT. The desperation. The finger bite. The oozing THIRST. A++ quality desire incarnate

3 Why R U? Korea

Korea, scooping in a top spot? It's just the body language, the striding in, dropping the backpack, the surprised MUTUAL response (no flinching), and all the yearning. A++ want

(Foreshadow: This may... or may not... be my top kiss of 2023.)

4 Bad Buddy

Seriously boys, BOYS! You had to make it so beautiful and so painfully heartbreaking at the same time? Thanks for that. A++ pain

(They may have a light kiss before this one, I can't remember. I keep meaning to do a BB rewatch but I have to gear up for it.)

5 Semantic Error

I mean, well, OBVIOUSLY. Just A++ they perfect, no notes

6 Second Chance

I am pretty sure this one got best kiss of 2021. All you KinnPorche stans are sleeping on this little gem = Tong delivering what amounts to BLs best drunk kiss ever. FIGHT ME. A++ confused needy babies

7 About Youth

Speaking of sweet af first kisses from first timers. This one drips in sweet innocence including a rainbow and some smiles. A++ first sweethearts

8 HIStory 2 Crossing the Line

Okay the actors kiss for a dream sequence before this but this is the characters' first kiss, so that kinda counts, right? It's just such a pretty kiss. A++ stay on target, stay on theme, utterly unique

9 My Dear Gangster Oppa

Ya know this show is just so much fun and so solid and this pair deserves more accolades then their previous series afforded them. A++ finally, well done you

10 I Feel You Linger in the Air

Okay it's just all the dialogue and execution around this kiss is great and then the kiss ALSO doesn't disappoint. Plus permission and snark and so much more. A+++ class & storytelling

Also, whaan (sweet) is a really good word to have seared into one's brain in Thailand. Useful when ordering drinks.

Okay they kinda kissed before but this is the one that counts:

I didn't know how else to put this category but I had to include it so I could include this kiss:

We Best Love

The crying bridge-top kiss. I mean COME ON. One of my favorite kisses of all time. I love it when the weep+smooch.

La Pluie

Honestly? All their kisses are good so I can't remember if this was their first but, it great. Frankly, off all their kisses it's not my absolute favorite, but they deserve a mention because... wow boys. Just... wow.

The Eclipse

Because of their dynamic I am pretty sure there was something before this one, but this one lives in my head.

Be Loved In House I Do

I'm not sure this counts as their first because I can't remember the sequence in BLIHID (he through line is a bit wonky in my brain) but it is a killer kiss.

There should be more Taiwan but...

The thing is, once a Taiwanese BL starts delivering great kisses they just keep it up. So unless the narrative puts particularly strong plot intent on the "firstness" of that first kiss, they just get all sexy domestic muddled in my head.

Honor the Crumbs - Sides & Shorts, Best First Kisses

Some More

"You can kiss me, heong."

2 Moons 2 - MingKit

It's just such a sweetly perfect first kiss of the very first time variety. Before About Youth, we had these two.

Cutie Pie - NueaSin

Kissing the kiss that won them their own series. No other audition needed. In the land of amazing kisses, and up against Zee, this ONE stood way out. Very good boys. Very good indeed.

kiss x kiss x kiss - perfect scandal (AKA the office ep)

Look, this is the kiss we should have gotten in Cherry Magic. It's great, both the hesitant "permission given" first part and everything that comes next. Track this down if you can, it's a lovely little short from Japan.

My Secret Love - TimMai

Very minor side dishes but they were all I cared about in this show. They gave me the kiss I wanted even if they didn't get the screen time the deserved.

You're My Sky - SanAi

We all know they stole this show, not that there was much to steal.

Kiss Me Again - PeteKao

Maybe not the best as a kiss, but it was 2016 and this was SO SIGNIFICANT to the fandom, to the plot of the show, to coming out, to EVERYTHING. This is THE TayNew kiss. I will never forget it. Never.

I don't have a good screen cap but MarkOuwen's kiss in the taxi in Love is Science? was also fantastic.

(source)

Kisses as of Dec 2023. Not responsible for great first kisses that come after this date.

Opinion and preferences based on these ideas of good kiss chemistry.

I want you thoughts, RT and add your favorites or leave a comment. I'm sure I'm forgetting some.

MORE?

[thefreeblog]

NEXTPAGE | Studio Wabi Sabi

The Vampire Project

Trailer

[thefreeblog]

so I'm Canadian and I grew up ALWAYS taking my shoes off in the house. I watch a lot of American TV though and they almost never take their shoes off in the house, which for years I thought was just for convenience when filming, but I've learned that apparently some people actually do leave their shoes on???

anyway all this to say can you reblog this with where you're from and whether or not you take your shoes off in the house?

[thefreeblog]

literally cannot believe "first ever live action omegaverse show" is not bigger news on tumblr