#rakdino

Things I love about this scene: Rak is still affected by what happened earlier in the series and can face this, Dino accepts Rak being not ready despite them both wanting to try, Dino's the one who apologizes for not stopping quickly enough, Dino promises to wait, Dino also continues to be playful and tease him afterwards because Rak welcomes that.

This is just a glorious example of the fact that consent can change at any minute and how to respect that as well as how to respect where your partner is. Dino knows that Rak is okay with him being playful even if he isn't ready for more so he slips back into their shared comfort zone.

They don't stop being affectionate, they don't retreat apart, they simply move back to shared and comfortable boundaries and stay there. It's great.

Dino did not entertain that for even a second. I love him.

I love how Rak just instantly calls out Please on how she's doing all this and taking Dino's interest in him so personally. For all his shyness and his own issues, Rak does not hesitate to stand up for himself. And it's great to see. Honestly, he's one of my favorite characters ever because he be shy and soft and gentle and tender and hurt but he also gets to be strong and to stand up for himself and to insist on his own independence without that taking away from the romance of Dino taking care of him and spoiling him. It's a great balance and just hits a lot of good notes for this type of character. Honestly, feels a lot like SCOY in a way I haven't seen since.

Rak gets to be reluctant and to wait on their relationship but still defend Dino and love Dino and care for him and be both strong and weak for him and it's just so good to see. It's refreshing to have a character who is pastel and soft and gentle but stands up for the man he loves even to his seniors who are also Dino's friends.

The openness about the flirting and the romance and the way there's no hesitation and no real shyness about what's going on and it's so great and knowing that Please is going to be there when the senior finds them next week just makes this even worse.

By the way, the answer is hate him. He's a MAME romantic lead in a different show so we get to hate him, okay?

It's just the way Mek goes between being a literal rapist and then saying romantic lead lines that just gets to me. This show is a bit confused, isn't it? Not surprised at that, honestly, Ultimate Troop seems to specialize in shows that are just Like That tbh.

But I appreciate Rak and Dino's relationship, the way Dino stands up for Rak when he can't find his own words and the way Rak both speaks up for himself and appreciates the support at the same time.