Feardorcha

Gu Buxia, you precious peanut, you've become so brave in your affections. Bravo. As for you, Jiang Chi, you prickly prince, it's ok to let someone be concerned about you, to want to take care of you, to want you to achieve your dreams, to not want to feel like they're obligating you or causing you to miss opportunities. Gu Buxia is not your Father, he's your boyfriend, & his concerns are not coming from a place of either disregard for your feelings or control of your life—he wants you to prioritize yourself & your needs too, not just his. That's love.

As an aside: was there a reason given why Gu Butao can't create a new Seal for Gu Buxia? Maybe I missed it, or it wasn't well-translated, but perhaps it's a cultural aspect I don't understand? I had been assuming that she inherited the Temple because she's capable & comfortable with her own spiritual powers. Is she perhaps just not strong enough yet to create a working, reliable Seal?

The show was fine, I just have zero interest in marriage & find weddings tedious. I never watch wedding scenes in any show so the appearance of the LITA characters in this series did nothing for me.

"Love in the Air".

Everyone telling Lom to fuck off was the only enjoyable thing in this whole series for me. I skipped the LITA cameos, I don't like or respect any of the main characters, & Lom is two months too late for me to care about him giving explanations & making amends now.

Good luck to these characters, I guess, but I'm closing the book on this one.

What are we even doing here? What is the actual story? This is just a collection of stuff happening, & not very interesting stuff. I legitimately do not care if Choi Jun is really engaged or not. If it's a misunderstanding, clear it up; if it's true, leave Lee Jun alone. The last thing this series needed is that type of manufactured conflict. Choi Jun's mouth can't stop flirting but trips all over itself not explaining the fiancée thing? Yeh, sure, ok, whatever.

Also, I know Lee Jun is an intern & his purpose is to learn but, holy shite, I'm agreeing with those gossipy bitches: surely he got that internship strictly through his connections & not his skills or potential because it's a wonder the boy can even turn on a computer. If the Team Leader wasn't his pining friend & the Director wasn't trying to shtup him there is no way he'd be getting to work on all these high-profile assignments when he's, what, only two or three days on the job & demonstrating exactly zero understanding of the work.

Well, maybe Hyun Jae & Simeon will get more screen time together. The tension between them in that last three minutes of the episode was intriguing.

I might have cared about Minato's minor, oh so very minor, progress in ep 7 if it had happened 4 or 5 episodes ago & wasn't completely undermined by his continued panic over even imagined intimacy. Watching Shin beg for (& be denied) scraps of affection week-after-week has left a bad taste in my mouth.

Seeing Shin so happy that Minato barely managed to tell one single person that they're together was pathetic. I just cannot cheer for this couple.

Honestly, I'm only still watching because of Asuka & Shu. It was obvious in S1 that Shu's issues are related to him being neurodivergent, & he's aware it's impeding his ability to maintain a relationship with Asuka, but he is TRYING. He's analyzing the problem, attemping to understand & express his emotions (even admitting he's terrible at it), & wanting to return his partner's affections to whatever extent he can.

I keep trying to afford Minato a parallel growth but...it's unclear what Minato's deal is, & he only ever seems to take a step forward when he's pushed (& then he scurries backward just as quickly as he can). Sure, he has affection for Shin, but that outing in ep 6 made it seem more like an adoring, brotherly affection. He seemed so much more comfortable & natural shepherding Shin & Asuka around, buying them food, taking them to play, watching them have fun. Like an older brother indulging a younger sibling—& that sibling's new boyfriend, because Shin & Asuka looked like more of a couple in that 12 minutes of frivolity than Shin & Minato have in two whole seasons.

I suppose that's why I like Shu more than Minato. Wheras Minato is reactionary, making no effort without an external force shoving him into it, Shu is taking action & attempting to be a better romantic partner. Shu is on an actual journey of self-discovery & change. Minato is...I don't know, allergic to the idea of Shin's penis? Whatever it is, he's just spinning his wheels.

Oh good grief, I didn't even check who the director was. If I'd known, I probably wouldn't have bothered watching. He is a hack, just an all-around terrible director. "Rose in Da House" barely survived him, & that's only because the cast made it work DESPITE him.

How does he keep getting work...

Yoh wasn't relieved, actually. I'm not sure whether the issue with that scene is the subtitles, the directing, or the actor, but Yoh is actually upset that they won't be having sex for awhile.

I don't know either. These two are consenting Adults who have contracted for precisely the type of relationship they have: that of master & servant, dominant & submissive. Both parties agreed to the arrangement, & Yoh's frustrations seem less about the arrangement itself & more about how irritatingly aloof & indifferent Mizuki can be.

Yoh doesn't seem unhappy about being the submissive, he's just an unhappy submissive. The distinction matters, especially in regards to their sexual dynamic. And honestly, I understand Yoh; submissives have feelings too, & need emotional care & mental stimulation (just like any other pet). Yoh appears to receive neither, & Mizuki is absolutely failing him in that regard (at least, as Yoh tells it, but I know he's an unreliable narrarator).

Is Lee Jun even on the market? All these men sending him the loudest signals & he has shown zero interest in dating at all, nevermind dating one of them or entering into a relationship.

I can't even tell if his childhood friendship with Choi Jun is all that meaningful to him. It was apparently the single most important relationship of Choi Jun's whole life but Lee Jun behaves like he barely remembers it, nevermind treasures it.

Never have I been so disappointed in an NC scene. From the blocking to the cinematography to the colour grading, it was just dull & hard to look at. "Dinosaur Love" had a better bed scene their last episode & that series is hatefully bad. I guess the Muaeng/Doctor scenes set my expectations too high.

Speaking of: I can't tell you a single damn thing about the Doctor beyond he practices some branch of medicine (general practitioner?) & prefers one night stands. I literally cannot remember his name without checking the cast list. And yet, I still find the secondary couple's story more interesting, engaging, & lively than the mains—& their previous encounter involved rape.

I am sorry to see JaFirst's last outing as a CP end on this note. I didn't like "DNS" or "Remember Me" but I liked them as an acting pair. Ah well.

It's all just so awkward, every single aspect.

These two couldn't walk across campus without eleventybillion people taking photos of them but not one person captured that kiss on camera? I find that hard to believe. Their shippers would be so disappointed, missing out on that juicy bit of someone else's business.

This show is just adorable.

Thank you for clarification on the subtitles. I thought the timeline didn't add up, glad I wasn't crazy.

I could almost see why Marine wouldn't want to start over after 13 years but it's only been two? It makes even less sense that she doesn't have enough self-respect to exit the situation. You've known this chick two years, & you're willing to be treated like a shameful secret for the rest of your life? It's sad. I never said Marine did anything wrong; I said she's heartbreakingly pathetic & should move on to find love with someone who truly deserves her.

Yes, Lom & Yiwa are trash. Yiwa is trash for gaslighting Marine into staying in a relationship that has no future, one in which Marine must always be kept hidden, unacknowledged, living in the shadows while Yiwa goes through the motions of maintaining a marriage & all that entails. Marine has shown, both through body language & occasional comments, that she is not 100% ok with the situation. That she wants to live openly in a loving relationship, one in which she can build a future with her partner. If Marine had any self-respect, she would've left Yiwa the moment she found out about the marriage; if Yiwa had any respect for Marine, she would've let her go.

Lom is trash for the same reason but also for not even bothering to explain the situation to Nuea even though he is aggressively pursuing him, & despite Nuea repeatedly bringing up the fact that Lom is getting married.

Lom & Yiwa, frankly, deserve one another. They are both selfish cowards.

Nuea isn't much better. Not only is Lom getting married, he is Nuea's client. Everything else aside, the lack of professionalism on Nuea's part is ridiculous.

The only person I feel for in this whole mess is Marine, & that's only because I see she's trying to support the person she loves, no matter how detrimental to herself. But I do hope she decides to walk out.

I find the level of open, honest communication between Joke & Zo incredibly refreshing. Yes, they get frustrated & uncertain, like people do, but they ultimately confront their issues directly & work together to find solutions. It makes their conflicts much more engaging, as they aren't rooted in misunderstandings but in the organically evolving nature of their relationship.

I really hope that holds true through the end of the series.

The soundscape of this series is the worst. I'd so effectively tuned it out that I totally missed Dino had been shot until someone said it directly. The gunshot was just another random noise in a wall of ceaseless random noises.

And coming out of ep.7, I am legitimately wondering if those ghostly whispers & evil laughs in the hotel were just meant to be "funny" audio layering or if Rak was legitimately hearing voices in his head.

Ah yes, P'Dino, the university campus "bad boy" who must be in bed by 10p.

Ep.7 was uncomfortably awkward even for a series this terrible. Neither the characters nor the actors seemed to want to be there. That bridge scene was especially rough. Pepper looked annoyed, & Kong obviously had no idea what he was meant to be feeling or doing in the scene. And the episode's kisses...oof. Either Rak doesn't know how to kiss or Kong really didn't like the physical contact because Dino/Pepper was trying hard & getting barely any response. He was basically using his tongue to pry open Rak/Kong's lips. First time I've ever hoped a BL series DOESN'T give us an NC scene.

If this were a better series, I might've chalked up Rak's reluctance to PTSD from Mek's sexual assault but, honestly, I had forgotten all about that until this episode flashed back. I had flat-out forgotten about Mek; those first episodes are like a whole other show.

On the plus side, I am absolutely fascinated by the hideousness of Rak's wardrobe. It's like the costume designer's personal hate letter to this series.

...what is the plot here? Does it even matter? I miss the bizarreness of the first episodes. It was all total nonsense (and occasionally alarming) but at least it wasn't dull.

Damn it, Thailand, even if you do nothing else right with a BL, you've almost always nailed the sexy. What the Hell was that kiss? I am honestly flabbergasted as to how that was the final cut for that scene. Dead fish kiss so dead even Japanese BLs are side-eyeing it. Pitiful.

Bu Xia, baby, you precious peanut, the only person on that whole campus who doesn't know you're in a relationship is you.