octopus garden

[mamaladeskies]

But why is Kim Dan still calling Joo Jaekyung Mr. Joo. Was something lost in translation?

[mamaladeskies]

Cain's THIGHS

Ahem. Excuse me, I want to draw your attention to Cain's THIGHS. He's the definition of "thick thighs save lives"

SZA's Big Boy plays in the background

[mamaladeskies]

We listen and we don't judge turned into "I'll judge though"

[lgbtpopcult]

Want to binge watch girls kissing series for the plot on YouTube during your break? Watch these on YouTube 😌

It's not like you were hiding why you're doing it...at least not very well 🙄

Lucky My Love

Skam Espana

wtFock

Love Senior

Stupid Wife

Gap the Series

Druck

Carmilla

Skam France

Show me Love the series

Sjukt oklar

Flunk

[mamaladeskies]

Dear Door: I'll Need My Eyes Cleansed

I want to start by saying I have never seen that many dicks before in my entire life. I am in a state of shock. Yes, I'm an adult.

I've found myself getting into boys love manhwa and it's been good so far. I chanced upon Dear Door by Pluto and what caught my eye was the suggestive cover and Cain's brown skin, so of course I was going to read it.

After 152 chapters (I'm taking a break from the dicks) I am confident that this was PWP, porn with plot. A good plot. I sacrificed sleep a couple times to find out what was at the end of each twist and turn.

At first I'd halted my reading to continue with Painter of the Night because for the first few chapters the story seemed chopped in some places; like when Kyunjoon would say he's feeling pain, we wouldn't know why but it would be alluded to that something had happened. I kept wondering if I'd skipped a panel or something.

A Tiktok I saw of Cain and Kyunjoon's babies drew me back to the story. They were very cute. It motivated me to continue and once I got into it, I couldn't stop. Painter of the Night got forgotten, my personal project got forgotten, my sleep became an afterthought. At work, what got me through the day was remembering Cain and Kyunjoon were waiting for me.

I enjoyed their relationship, even when other couples were introduced I didn't feel an urge to jump ship. They had an opposites attract thing going on where they complemented each other, they communicated their feelings(mostly), they enjoyed each other's company, Cain teasing Kyunjoon was adorable and Cain is 101% dedicated to Kyunjoon and so was Kyunjoon... It was just cute.

Dear Door had that thing I like where when the demon starts to fall in love, his heart starts to feel funny and he's confused at what his body is doing.

The plot of demons using humans as doors to hell meant we got an unhealthy number of sex scenes, with no lightsabers. Pluto did not censor anything and even magnified the sex scenes, such that we'd get multiple close ups from like different angles going on and on for almost half the chapter. The first time I saw it, the uncensored parts, I thought my sleep depraved self was imagining things. It had started out pretty mild and then everything was in my face, multiple times. Whew.

Let's just say the characters got into some kinky stuff along the way, Azaniel, bless him, was very curious and unashamed about it.

The true strength of this story was the fast pace, I never got bored, and how the characters were written and the dynamics between them. Sid was an interesting character, his yearning for love was truly pitiful. Understanding why Cain was playful and nice for a demon Lord was satisfying. Aaron's story was melodramatic. But, Satan could have been more diabolical, more scary... Just more.

Jinyoung was a victim. He truly suffered, I kept wondering how he's not the main character with how much he was suffering. It was sad, but he got a satisfying ending.

Something I can't let go of, is what the hell happened to Kyunjoon being a police officer? Did he quit? Was he fired? What happened there?

The beautiful art distracted me from any gaping holes in the story. The characters were beautifully designed and the colours were stunning. My favourite character design was Cain, in human and full demon form, then Ben in his mutt form then Aaron, I love his scars. Satan gets an honourable mention because of the red eyes.

And of course the babies. Look!

And here is Cain. The floppy ears are so cute and I didn't expect I'd come to like the fangs but I am obsessed. Also, his blonde eyelashes... Uwu. I think I want to see more interspecies and how different artists portray them.

And then some drawings just made me laugh. Oh that's the other thing, I had a few laugh out loud moments and that's always a win.

Even the smut was masterfully drawn. I'll be honest and add the size difference between Cain and Kyunjoon threw me off a bit. I once saw on Reddit that bls tend to do this, however experiencing it with your own two eyes is something else. I want to know what inspired this.

In the end, I had fun. Though I'm kinda worried I won't find something else with beautiful illustrations + cute couple + action packed.

I'm thinking On a Leash next, I heard it's toxic so of course you'll find me at the scene of the crime.

[mamaladeskies]

Shutline is Nasty Business

I happened upon Shutline the animation by chance as I was surfing an unnamed website for the next thing to watch when the poster of Jake and Shin caught my eye.

Tell me, how could I pass this? Look at their shadow!

I pressed play immediately, expecting a buddy cop show because I didn't read the description -- descriptions are for the weak, plus this is as adventurous as I get. What I did not expect was the low budget animation and the nastiness (compliment)!

Yoh, I'll be honest, I was about to dip and skip this anime because the characters look like paper-people with a voice actor slapped on top, and frankly after reading the manhwa, I stand by it.

But! The moment the show started to linger on Shin's features, I had to find out where this was going. I'm talking like precious seconds dedicated to Shin's ass.

I was not disappointed. Shortly after, Shin was on his knees paying homage to Jake's glorious manhood. This is fancy speak for Shin was giving Jake a bj in public.

My eyes were nearly watering in disbelief! I don't think I've seen something this mature in animation, to be fair though I don't watch a lot of anime. The closest thing may be Citrus but it was not this mature. Citrus was mainly sensual with lots of kissing and it had a semblance of a plot. Shutline's plot did not make sense, so while I kept watching for the mature content I was also trying to understand what the hell was going on.

At the end of 5 episodes each 5 or 6 minutes long, I was thoroughly confused. It made sense that the next course of action was reading the manhwa.

I finished Vol 1 in a matter of hours, it's that good. The manhwa caters fully to my tastes: two masculine men, grey characters who are well developed, no declaration of love, instead their actions communicate it, an interesting action driven plot, slow burn, no heteronormativity, and aged-up characters who are actually mature.

The drawings were also really good; those of the characters, I especially love how Shin looks, and the background as well. It's obvious the author is not cutting corners.

Something else I need to commend is how the author was able to communicate their sexual tension in drawing. There's a scene where Jake goes to visit Shin at the garage and then we get these panels of Shin's muscular build and Jake being discreetly hot and bothered. The fact that Jake could get turned on by Shin's armpit... I'm in awe.

In girl love (gl) mangas that I've read when the author has panels focused on the women's intimate parts like boobs, sometimes I'm like, what was the reason! Because the woman might only be doing mundane stuff like reading with no love interest in site to warrant such close ups. Thanks to Shutline I've seen the potential of such close ups.

Which brings me to something else; the sex has greater purpose! When the characters had sex within the first several episodes I was sure I'd soon get bored if the story was stuffed full with them and do thorough skimming, but I was wholly satisfied to find that they're purposeful.

For one, yes it helps take their relationship to the next level -- one sex scene shows us how Jake is pushing his boundaries for Shin. And two, it's advancing the plot -- in Vol 2 Shin and Jake have a discussion that determines where the plot goes next while having sex. In this particular scene we also get to see Shin trick Jake which was interesting, finally my boy gets a point against Jake.

A nitpick I have is how Jake reminds me of Wilson Fisk from Into the Spiderverse, both Fisk and Jake fill the screen/panel and they both like black suits. I swear I am not reaching, I just can't unsee it.

I don't think I have a major critique of the manhwa yet. As for the animation; it's very obvious important back stories were cut so that you need to have read the manhwa to get it, what's majorly left is the mature scenes. This makes me think that the animation might be fan service. It is not a bad thing, but I definitely stand by the fact that the story itself is so good it deserves better.

This reddit user says that Shutline has the potential to rival KinnPorsche and I have to agree, but only if done well.

[mamaladeskies]

I'm Watching The Double

I asked for drama recommendations on MDL and someone suggested The Double. I'm late to the party, but I'm here now.

The story gives me Story of Kunning Palace (SOKP) vibes. I can't say I looooved SOKP but I devoured that show in two weeks which is incredible considering my terrible attention span. Compare this to Till The End of The Moon (TTEOTM) which took me 2 months to finish and I love that show.

SOKP missed the mark with the romance, but I was there for the redemption plot, court drama and Bai Lu.

The Double's romance dynamics echoes that of SOKP. Both female leads are strong, loyal, cunning, on their own paths to revenge/redemption, and the male leads, who are cold, ruthless, powerful and intelligent, find this attractive and work in the background to clear any obstacles that may be on the female lead's path.

Aside from that, they have nearly a similar layout. Duke Su is trusted by the Emperor and seems to have unquestionable power despite not showing allegiance to any of the court's cliques. He's also incharge of a very important case that seems to have the Emperor in a twist. Jiang Li has beef with her family members and most of everyone else, but somehow manages to attract male attention. Lastly, there's the school setup, I'm on episode 13 but it seems the school part is done for now because our female lead has met the ultimate villain, but the school setup reminded me so much of SOKP.

As I was writing the latter paragraph I came to the realisation that my description could also fit Love Like The Galaxy, which I swear I actually like, I just need to get around to finishing it... One day, I swear, for Wu Lei and Zhao Lusi.

I think the cold, powerful, calculating male lead in East Asian media is to the West what the rich, bad boy with daddy issues is.

While I've done my time with the bad boy, I have not had my fill with the cold male lead yet. Something about a male who knows how to measure his words and dedicate his all to this one person is so satisfying.

Anyway, as of now in episode 13, I am hooked! I don't know if my attention span will hold till episode 40. Pray for me.

What captured me first were the beautiful shots, the colour grading and the acting. They could not have chosen a more perfect Shen Yu Rong and Jiang Li. The actor for Shen Yu Rong, our female lead's ex husband, knows how to use his eyes to express his guilt and pain, and how Jiang Li holds herself together when she just might crack is stunning. Incredible. That scene when Jiang Li is playing the Guqin gave me goosebumps. I had to play it twice.

Now, the plot is not perfect, for somethings you have to halt your brain; How does the real Jiang Li have the energy to walk after that many lashes? How do you believe that someone could look exactly like the other? Jiang Li's neck is slashed and she heals but the third sister's slash doesn't?

But the drama? The drama is where it's at. The court drama is entertaining. Every time A-Li puts herself in a situation it's so satisfying to watch her get out of it. I like how the drama is not repetitive and somehow each 'side quest' contributes to the bigger arc that I can sense coming. The side characters are well handled, they have their own motivations and their arcs are wrapped up nicely, no loose ends. And the mystery of why Yu Rong betrayed his wife has me wanting to skip to the end, because what was the reason?

As for the romance, I am not sold yet. Duke Su as a character is entertaining and we seem to share the same passion for drama, but it's still incomplete. Sure he's helpful towards Jiang Li, but I am going with her emotions now and she doesn't seem into him yet. I'll wait to see more.

For a second there I had been worried TTEOTM was the last entertaining historical drama I would enjoy. It had been nearly a year! I hope by the time I finish this something else pops up, either in Kdrama or Cdrama.

[mamaladeskies]

What's Drake Doing? And Other Thoughts

Wa Gwan Delilah

So Drake just dropped 'Wah Gwan Delilah' and it's not receiving much love from twitter.

Aubrey's Angels are liking it though, claiming it to be satire.

Not every one of the Angels liked it though and they were quickly labelled as not being fun at parties because sometimes "it ain't even gotta be deep I guess"

I listened to the song and I thought it would have been okay if the autotune was not present which I guess is part of the satire. Still, the autotune was so bad it made it hard to concentrate on what was being said. A second listen is out of the question. In fact, as I write this I am trying to forget what the song was about.

I'm kind of debating between this and Sexxy Red's 'U My Everything' which caused worse ear damage.

But Why Did Drake Put Out Such a Song?

Why would he ruin 'Hey There Delilah' like that? 😭

Is he just trolling Kendrick? Kendrick called out Drake in numerous instances for not being himself; a Canadian with a middle class background who's not about the "tough" life he seems to glamorise. Kendrick even went as far as imitating the Toronto accent to put his point across!

If Drake is trolling Kendrick, I don't understand why he had to do it this way. Why! Rapping over the BBL Drizzy beat would have been okay, but on that Sexxy Red's song? And this Delilah song with that God awful autotune? "every antic is feelin' distasteful"

Dude think about your passerby fans. The one's who like your pop songs and don't mind that you cosplay being gangster or the fake accents, the ones who play you in clubs because of the catchy tunes, the ones who give you those streaming numbers you like. They won't get that you're "cheesin', fam".

Mind you, I don't like Drake. Matter of fact, I hate that dude. Before, I didn't care for him, he wasn't on my radar like that, but then he dissed Meg and I had a valid reason to HATE (I didn't know about the grooming allegations then). ☹️

I tried to get into Drake's stuff when 'If You're Reading This it's Too Late' came out but his music wasn't for me.

The few songs I've enjoyed of his I can count on one hand and only one, 'Fucking Problems', ever made it to my playlists and that I can largely attribute to how nice a group effort it was, Drake is really good with the melodies.

Yeah, I don't like him BUT crodie get up!!

But, like in a way that makes sense.

As many of Aubrey's Angels have pointed out, Drake is in a damned if he do, damned if he don't situation. What I personally refer to as "if it's not the consequences of my actions".

If he had taken a break, he would have been trolled for being silent.

BUT if Drake had come out with a banger... what then? If he came out with a banger that broke #1 he would have still been trolling Kendrick. In fact, he should have made one that ensured everyone dances and waves their hands for a decade to come.

Let's wait and find out, he's going to be in Camila Cabello's Album so maybe that will be his big come back? Though I've seen him being trolled for this collab, as it is playing into the allegations of him being a culture vulture because he chose to work with Camila who did some racist stuff in the past, right here on Tumblr, and I just love how the internet never lets her forget.

Did Drake Really Lose?

Drake lost on the internet. Though both he and Kendrick have been accused of serious stuff, (domestic violence and grooming), the internet is very keen on hating Drake. Do I secretly love it? No, I'm very publicly in love with it, let's never let the Drake hate go.

Reason why I said on the internet is because people at work still play Drake in the cafeteria and no one got it when I played 'Not Like Us'. If I have to hear 'God's Plan' one more time...

Drake kind of lost the streaming war. Drake in general is one of the most streamed people ever, he always tops the charts and when Spotify wrapped comes out I am always disappointed to see he is a lot of people's number one.

But before 'Euphoria' and shortly after 'Like That', I remember listening to 'Good Kid Maad City' and Kendrick was at 62M monthly listeners, now he's at 78M, he's broken a bunch of records that were previously held by Drake with his diss songs and his albums are charting again.

Drake, on the other hand, his new songs are being trolled, even his pre-beef songs are not doing very well with daily streams, he hasn't lost listeners though but he's not gained many new ones.

Everyone and their grandma seemed to listen to 'Not Like Us'. It was being played in Brown weddings, a bar mitzvah and an Anime Convention with the crowd actually singing along. One month later it is still going strong. Mind you Aubrey's Angels were saying Kendrick's songs are not bops, but not many are bopping to 'Family Matters'.

Why Did Kendrick Win the Rap Beef?

Kendrick won! This is not just a biased opinion of someone who has loved his music since I saw his performance of 'The Blacker The Berry' during the 2016 Grammys, but also as a Drake hater. 😊

What I expected from this battle is for Drake to win, not because he's the better lyricist but because I thought it would be a popularity contest and Drake is more popular.

So Kendrick won because he is the better rap artist, he read that man to filth, he had a better strategy, he had a better understanding of his opponent, and he crafted such a good narrative on 'Euphoria' that predicted where this beef would go:

Kendrick dropping 'Meet the Grahams' less than an hour after Drake pushed the red button with 'Family Matters' and Drake not understanding 'Mother I Sober' in 'The Heart Part 6'. Here is where Drake lost me.

Okay he lost me with the you're short and have small feet in 'Push Ups'. "Drop, drop, drop, drop" was catchy though, I admit. Drop, drop, drop, drop that album Kendrick!

Kendrick did his homework, quoting "remember" and "it's too many options" but Drake didn't. Kendrick basically spilled all his trauma in 'Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers' and gave Drake free ammo that he didn't use.

Clearly this is why Drake is not on that conscious shit, he doesn't have the literacy for it.

Drake made fun of Kendrick's fiancé for being lightskin in 'Family Matters' instead of calling him out for cheating with a white woman. Then Drake said Kendrick's son is lightskin when clearly he is not.

The lies! Let's not even start.

He could have gone harder on Kendrick for working with Kodak Black, who has an ugly history and really hates (Black) women, and Dr. Dre who has a history of domestic violence then tied it together with his own accusations that "they hired a crisis management team to clean up the fact that you beat on your queen". Someone teach Drake how to craft narratives.

Lastly, he should have focused on Kendrick alone, no one cares about your beef with Rick Ross crodie!

But Why Did Drake Lose the People?

Drake being a culture vulture, his grooming allegations and having Baka around have never been reason enough to incite deep criticism from the people before because we've seen how society loves to look away from such allegations, Kendrick's alleged domestic violence is being dismissed, such allegations are not even taken seriously in instances like for Chris Brown where there is undeniable proof.

So in Drake's instance, people are actually choosing to believe these allegations now.

And that's what I am curious about why now?

[mamaladeskies]

I'm in EP 4 and I'm so bored. I'm just not feeling it and I can say it's partly my fault, this first half didn't mesh with my tastes and preferences.

Here's why...

1. I don't like Colin or Penelope.

a) Colin was boring in previous seasons.

I don't recall anything outstanding about him except falling for Marina and... You see, now I'm blank. Oh okay, he prevented the ton from being scammed.

His personality didn't set him apart the same as Benedict and Eloise who are memorable and shine in each episode they're in. It was never a chore to watch them.

In season 3 he's a rake who does 3somes and I get he's playing the role society expects from him, but I don't see the struggle to try and fit in properly portrayed. Where are the doubts? Where is the discomfort from the get go? Where's the exhaustion from trying to fit in.

b) Also Colin is... Not a 10 in season 3

Look I'm embarrassed to say it out loud, but I'm a shallow viewer. Colin Bridgerton in season 3 is not attractive.

He looked cute in season 1 and 2 but when I see him in season 3 he makes me think of that buccal fat removal surgery.

Or maybe it was how the sideburns were longer. But I wasn't impressed.

c) The wallflower personality is getting old for me.

At this point in time I am over the wallflower trope. I grew up reading YA books with wallflowers - Perks of a Wallflower cured my depression - and I watched and obsessed over shows like Awkward.

I can safely say there's nothing new here except that Penelope is plus size and the historical background, the rest; her being a bookworm and socially awkward, done before. But the real issue is that Bridgerton didn't do anything special with her character or the trope. I didn't get the depth I had hoped for Penelope, she is Lady Whistledown after all.

Anyway the beautiful Penelope Featherington

As for why I don't like Penelope, it's hard for me to overlook what she did to Marina. What she did was to protect Colin, I get that, but she could have gone about it another way.

I also can't overlook what she did to Eloise, again she could have gone about it a different route. Look, I was onboard Eloise having an affair with the printing press guy but Lady Whistledown ruined it.

So I got into this show curious how they'd hold Penelope accountable and the first half doesn't. In fact, they have Eloise apologising to Penelope, painting her as the victim at some point.

2. I am not a fan of unrequited love. I just don't like it, it doesn't even have to be deep I guess. It's cringe, like girl "stand up", he's just not into you.

Furthermore, the show doesn't let us know why Penelope is in love with Colin Bridgerton and I don't have time to rewatch previous seasons to figure it out.

3. The chemistry was underwhelming. I have praised Bridgerton before for chemistry because I always had to cross my legs while watching the show. Cue:

> Season 1:

- when the Duke and Daphne met

- when the Duke's fingers brushed Daphne's bare skin

- when they stood in front of the painting and held hands

- when they danced and were looking into each other's eyes

> Season 2:

Basically from the moment Anthony sees Kate... The way he smelled her... THE WAY HE SMELLED HER

Just the two of them in a room together and it's flames eveywhere

> Season 3:

The only thing I found flaming was Colin gazing at Penelope from across the room in jealousy and the way he was thrown by her eating cake. But their scenes together didn't find me holding my breath.

4. There were too many subplots.

- Francesca and her callers

- The Modrich family

- The Cowper daughter Cressida

- Eloise and Penelope's friendship

- Violet and Lady Danbury's brother

- Penelope's other sisters trying to get pregnant

All that in just 4 episodes. Damn.

Just so you know the featherington subplot has always been my favourite because; WHAT do you mean the father is a gambler who unalives himself, leaves the family in debt, then a distant cousin inherits them, mind you this guy is a fraud who tries to con the ton and also tries to sleep with Lady Featherington while she is trying to marry off her daughter to him? It's the type of exaggerated drama that fits such a corny romance show. I was always laughing at their antiques. 10/10

It felt like the show runners didn't trust Polin to carry the show or they were laying groundwork for future shows.

5. The romance was underdeveloped

At the end of the 4 episodes I still don't get why she chose Colin, why she fell in love with him, or why Colin chose Penelope.

I didn't feel their friendship, not the way I felt Daphne's and Simon's -- their inside jokes were cute and they spent a lot of time together before they had sex. Their fall in love was justifiable.

This sex scene came too soon. I'd have preferred it in episode 6 or something. AFTER A WELL DEVELOPED LOVE STORY.