#the dynamic. the tropes. the doomed yaoi. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

absolutebl · 2 years

Text

Until We Meet Again

This is going to be a watch along starting in Oct 2022, right before Between Us (the spin off) airs. But since I have never done a proper analysis or review of UWMA, I'll start with that.

Until We Meet Again is a 2019 Thai BL from Studio Wabi Sabi directed by New Siwaj.

It is an adaptation of the y-novel The Red Thread by LazySheep. I watched shortly after it aired in late 2019. You can currently (still) watch it on YouTube. Trigger warning.

Quick Pitch

UWMA is, without question, a work of narrative genius with a powerful and cohesive romantic backbone and stellar performances. It is (to date) the only Thai BL (of c.170 watched) that I’ve rated a 10/10 predominantly on the basis of story structure. That said, it is also very well cast (and it’s a BIG cast), with solid production values, and enduring pair branding as well as being the best Thai BL from a storytelling perspective. It is one of my favorite BLs of all time and I have probably rewatched at least some parts of it over 20x.

Narrative Frameworks

UWMA is long for a Thai BL at 17 ep of c.45 min of fresh content which means it comes in at around 13 hours total. It’s tropes include fated mates (or soulmates), past love/tragedy, sins of the fathers, and family drama. It has a strong seme/uke structure and multiple couples (both hallmarks of Thai BL). Leads are grumpy/sunshine pairings, with a side dish of sunshine/tsundere. It’s medium heat but still rather sweet, because while all couples are followed into the bedroom, there’s a very strong emotional chemistry component that renders the physical chemistry somewhat background to the pure love connection driving the relationships. As a series, it is paced well, but is perhaps not the best one to binge watch. To me it feels like a show that needs room to breathe.

The production values are high but workmanlike. There are some flaws in sound, wardrobe, makeup, and repeated establishing shots. But the crew and cast were clearly bigger and better funded than any Thai BL production since. I would hazard a guess that this was one of Thailands most expensive BLs (with the possible exception of KinnPorsche).

Thai Language Corner

From a Thai linguistics perspective it’s pretty standard for a college set BL. I do use both DeamPharm and WinTeam as examples when talking about basic and more complicated linguistic couple dynamics (more here). OhmFluke, however, are a bit more interesting IRL.

New uses staggered couple framing, central aperture faming, peekaboo framing, and lighting to contrast the secretive and doomed nature of the past relationship against the attempted recovery and reformation of the modern day. He paid very little attention to manga style or BL’s yaoi roots, possibly because his style as a director is evidently not at all influenced by it.

This show stars Fluke Natouch as Pharm [reincarnated In] and Ohm Thitiwat as Dean [reincarnated Korn] AKA OhmFluke. They are a branded pair who since UWMA have done Close Friend 1 & 2, and Oh My Sunshine Night and have more BLs scheduled for 2023.

It also stars Earth Katsamonnat (AKA Smol Earth or CooHeart) as Intouch or In [Pharm’s past self] and Kao Noppakao as Korn [Dean's past self]. Earth has gone on to co-brand as SantaEarth starring in 7 Project and My Only 12%. He had acted in several BL shows prior to UWMA, although Fluke would have been the most experienced lead actor on that set. Kao would go on to star in Lovely Writer. Both Fluke and Earth are openly gay and were out at time of filming and promotion.

The support couple (or side dish) featured Prem Warut as Team [Pharm's best friend] and Boun Noppanut as Win [Dean's best friend]. BounPrem are strongly cobranded and have since co-lead 7 Project, Even Sun, Long Kong, and guest-coupled in Cutie Pie and You Never Eat Alone. They will anchor Between Us the spin off of UWMA (an adaptation of Hemp Rope) reprising their roles of Win and Team. In UWMA their couple has relatively little screen time but they absolutely stole fan attention and adoration.

UWMA also featured Samantha Coates (AKA Sammy) as Manow [Pharm's best friend] and Pineare Pannin as Del [Dean's sister]. Sammy is a staple of many BLs, being an active member of Wabi Sabi’s stable. Del is best known for playing Yuri in 2014′s Love Sick, Thailand’s first big hit BL. These two starred together in Wabi Sabi’s only GL (part of 7 Project.) (Don’t bother, it’s still all about the boy.)

I am telling you all this up front because I will make mistakes and refer to everyone by their character or actor name all the time. Sorry. Also I want you to know how biased I am.

I LOVE this show.

And now....

the watch along.

Episode 1 - Oh, I Forgot...

It has probably been about a year since I did a rewatch of UWMA. And I think I’ve only ever watched the first installment of the first episode one time through. I didn’t forget how dark it was, but I am reminded why I always say ‘original trigger warning” on UWMA.

I can see why I like to the show from the start, because it does open on a crying kiss. I am an absolute sucker for a crying kiss. This time around, I noticed the intrusiveness of the music a lot more, especially in KornIn’s stuff.

Earth turns in a killer opening performance (in the great cry off between him and Fluke that is this show). In that moment before he picks up the gun, Earth almost does look like Fluke will later on. It’s a really interesting bit of facial performance and acting.

I got to say, barring some of the darker Japanese BL, this is probably the most powerful opening sequence we’ve gotten in the genre. Honestly, if this show we’re being released right now I don’t think it would’ve had this opening. They would’ve kept the trigger, but it would’ve appeared more chronologically towards the end.

Is this a pleasant way to start a BL? No.

Is it powerful? Yep.

Manaow and Del are still 2 of my favorites. We were robbed with their GL.

Oh my God Prem looks like such a baby.

I like that there are these extra bits with extra characters in UWMA, like in the cooking club. We don’t get a vast ensemble casts like this anymore. Not even from Thailand, not with this attention to detail. I kind of miss it. The little extra bits set in different parts of the university, they remind me a bit of origin yaoi.

Honestly Fluke is one of the best blushing maidens to ever blush. It’s still not my favorite archetype but he does do it beautifully. The part where Team jokingly says he’ll protect his two friends, is pretty telling actually. Since he’s going to have to step up to the plate later and try against and older boy. I do adore this friendship group. In the end, perhaps Pete & Kao’s friends (Kiss series) beat them out slightly. But not by very much.

And the set up for the whole show:

I will keep searching until I find you.

30 years later...

(You know, when I was first watching this show I always called it Until You Again, in my head.)

I wonder how hard it was for Fluke to cry on command like that, all the time. Here watch this AMAZING FMV of Fluke and Gun (Theory of Love) having a cry off.

WinTeam and the towel in the locker room is still one of the best early couple moments ever.

The end of the first episode and we haven’t even had a proper meet cute. And yet the pacing feels. I think because the show opens so top-heavy with the deadly drama at the beginning of the episode.

Honestly, I forgot how sort elegant and well executed to show was. I’ve grown to no longer expect that from New. It just goes to show that he’s one of those directors that really excels and thrives when he has a very strong script.

Episode 2 - The High Beans!

I love this meet cute. LOVE IT. Can’t wait to watch it again. But first the library (not quite) assignation.

One of the best prevailing themes of UWMA is this idea that making food, and specifically Thai desserts, is meditative and important for the cook. But also that preparing food is about the love and affection that you sprinkle feelings into the dish like seasoning, so that people can taste it when they eat.

Note the only other guy in the cooking club? That’s Best Vittawin from Check Out and a bunch of other higher heat BL. Also some of you who are paying attention to the language might notice that Luk Choup is mentioned quite a bit. Yes that is the same name as the character in La Cuisine. It’s also the desert that In makes with his Maa, and that Pharm makes into special star shapes for Dean in Ep 3.

Honestly KaoEarth never much resonated with me, but on this rewatch I am liking them so much better than I ever have before. It that @heretherebedork ‘ss influence? Possibly. I think it’s also because of both My Only 12% (which is making me like Earth more as an actor) and Lovely Writer (which made me like Kao more).

One of my favorite character development threads in the show is Dean’s relationship with his siblings. I love how austere and cold he is at the beginning of the show. But how, after being with Parm for a while, he mellows around Don & Del. It is Pharm who brings a family to Dean in the end.

The note passing in the secret smiles and the spitting of the orange juice remains very cute.

I am quietly obsessed, well not quietly (because I’ve never quiet), about Dean with his hand in his pocket.

Honestly, the only time Dean takes his hand out of his pocket is to touch Pharm.

And there it is, FINALLY, the mung bean meat cute!

Best ever.

This is such a GREAT romance.

Pharm starts to cry and Dean immediately touches his face. There is a reason I call Dean the most handsy seme in BL. He is pretty much never not touching Pharm from this moment on. It’s glorious (and very unlike KBL and JBL).

And you can see him look at his own hand and surprise, because he is clearly not a touchy-feely person. But being then he just accepts this about himself and will do everything he can to be close to Pharm from here on out.

I love how New does this dirty screen peekaboo shot on DeanPharm right before he cuts back and forth to KornIn, it’s like framing foreshadow since normally this style of short is used with KornIn so highlight the secrecy of their relationship.

Episode 3 - Wabi Sabi Shows Off The Stable

I just realized one of In’s friends (played by Title Tanatorn) is also in Remember Me and My Only 12% airing right now. Boy needs a series. He v cute. Also “HI DR SING!” (Sorry, due to Triage, Tonnam will always be Dr Sing. Although he is also a side character in LITA right now. Honestly my brain is becoming an MDL for Thai actors in BLs. Of course, Perth is great in this role, a foreshadow for all the crying he’ll do in LBC2. I am sorry we never got to meet his character older. It would’ve been nice for him to have gotten closure with the Pharm as reincarnated In. I wonder if his character got to meat Pharm did in the book?

And Win’s Patented move the casual arm throw. Honestly, Win gets all of the best lines in this show. No wonder we all like him so much. I hope he stays a witty and snarky in Between Us.

I have to say, Dean’s soft voice is one of the best in the biz, thank you Ohm. Almost as good as Solo’s (Oxygen).

And so Dean learns about Pharm’s panic attacks and the after effects that his past self’s actions have wrought on the person he loved the most. And he reacts in the most seme way possible. Honestly he is such a poster child seme in this series.

Also he flirts.

In a VERY Dean fashion.

Dean: I’m still single.

Pharm: I am single too.

Dean: Not for long.

This is the show where I first learned that in Thailand do you say “bur” when you want someone’s digits. This makes me unreasonably happy.

Meanwhile back in the past selves, In is so brave. The worst consequence of the tragedy that lead to their reincarnation is that his future self is so timid and afraid because of what was done to In in the past. It’s really the only reason I forgive Pharm’s blushing maiden actions. I think of that fact of his personality as somewhat dictated by the past, much like his panic attacks.

The bit where Pharm is serving Dean breakfast in his condo for the first time and he puts out a carafe of water and there are little flowers floating in it? What are those flowers?

Meanwhile, he way Dean fixes Pharm’s hair and tie and then Phram misspeaks “gin” gets me every time. Although I gotta say if a boy cried like that every time he met me, I’d probably have backed off my now.

Episode 4 - Bisexual Rep & Stereotyping. Are we happy or sad?

Does one get pleased to see bisexual rep or annoyed by the stereotyping? At the time, because it was so rare in BL (still is, actually), I was pleased. But now with Mame busting in on the bi/pan=predatory slut trope regularly I’m just annoyed.

P’Alex (Mean in his best role, fight me Tin stans) as a sleazy bi actor won over by food. Honestly? Been there done that, been that done there, and fucked that. Oo, I’m three for three!

OK so in LITA when Payu says/implies that he wants Rain to talk like a good boy, really he wants him to talk the way Pharm does to Dean (all the time). Pharm is so bloody polite.

So cute that Dean won’t allow Pharm to be jealous for one second. Dean has no interest in playing any of the normal BL games. These two are fated, gay, and into each other and he has no interest in pretending otherwise. Oh he will tease his uke like a proper seme, but only because Pharm lacks faith in Dean’s constancy.

The scene with Pharm and the girls carving the dumplings is one of my favorites. It’s so cute the way Manaow teases Pharm with Del’s sibling connection. Also it’s really sweet the way that Pharm instantly understands the complexities of Dean’s familial relationships, and immediately sets out to heal them.

Win and Dean racing.

Look, competition is how 2 semes show their love for each other.

And then the most famous scene in a BL that’s full of famous scenes.

Does anyone one in BL execute the feeding trope better? I think not. And if you can name one, leave a comment and make a case for it.

In addition to having one of the best soft commanding voices in Thai BL, Ohm has got to have one of the best side eyes as well.

I love that Del is already protective of her brother’s boyfriend.

Happy clap hands we get the first date and the penguin walk next!

Episode 5 - The Ping-guine Walk!

I would like to stress from this moment on that we, the collective BLers, do not talk about Dean’s driving in this show. Or we did at the time, but that time has passed. Just ignore, okay? Cause it cray cray.

Del cooking for her brothers is so cute. Also the way she gently teases Dean about Pharm. Love her!

And now the first date.

The bus trip so Make it Right. Just FYI Thailand and Korea LOVE a bus trip in romance (BL or otherwise). They tend to do it the most. Japan has done it a few times too. But the others not so much.

Also sharing earbuds = MIR again.

I do love P’Sorn.

Yes, that’s Na from Kinnporseche but we knew him when (also forthcoming Wish Me Luck).

I love the aquarium visit.

Pharm doing the penguin walk.

Dean’s expression when Pharm does a penguin walk.

Dean secretly taking photographs of his cutie. It’s just wonderful. Pharm is so bouncy and cute and Dean is so soft and indulgent. And it’s one of the few times where we get to see Pharm be a little bit more like In. Dean spends the whole time looking at Pharm rather than the fish. He’s so doting.

It’s so good.

The story about the sea ogress and what to do with a traitorous lover. Pharm’s response is actually typical uke, as possessive as seme are, it is usually the uke in yaoi & BL who ends up being the most fierce about ownership in a relationship. Because the uke has, in many ways, sacrificed part of their identity to the seme (in In’s case, all of it), their’s is the more powerful claim by right of sacrifice. It’s very old gods, ancient instincts.

Meanwhile there’s Dean always making his intentions crystal clear.

That hand hold.

But also...

No Dean, he doesn’t trust you, and for a very good reason.

And finally we have everybody’s least favorite character in UWMA: Ja’s wig.

There’s a wild speculation around this wig.

Perhaps he had just finished Ror Dor and had no hair? Or had just come back from serving in the military? No matter wha,t it’s totally unacceptable.

Thailand is never allowed to use wigs. It’s one of the sacred rules of BL. It’s a bummer because Sorn & Sin are fab minor characters. (They will rep for the “elder gay advice giver” archetype. One of my favorites.)

Episode 6 - The Read Thread Kiss

This rewatch I really feel a lot more for Korn than I ever did before. He really did try to warn In that it wasn’t a good idea for them to date, like he knew he wasn’t gonna be brave enough, even for love. But In is so relentless and so cute, who could resist?

Everyone eating lunch together and teasing each other and Del finally relaxing around Dean is one of my favorite little vignettes. Also, everybody laughing at Dean rgr “forgetting to swallow.” And my boys holding hands under the table. It’s glorious.

I also like how we get to see Dean reacting to the past negatively too, finally. And his siblings are so worried about him. This crack in his stoic armor.

I do love Pharm standing up to Alex before the play. And the fact that Del records it and sends it to Dean is just so good. Especially knowing what happens next.

The fated mates of the red thread.

Dean’s faculty cohorts are all such frat boy type dicks. I kinda love their sleazy mame-ish little ways.

Honestly there’s nothing carnal when these two kiss but it’s so beautifully romantic and soft.

I love love love the way Dean checks in on Pharm and tidies him up, afterwards. It’s so sweetly caring and careful.

And then the big realization about reincarnation over shabu shabu.

I gotta say, as a chronic rewatcher, this show stands up to a rewatch better than pretty much any other Thai BL I could name. Probably because it has so many character vignettes, and little moments of side affection between friends as well as lovers. There’s a lot of meat and sweetness to revisit.

Episode 7 - Possibly my Favorite Episode

The tiny snippet where Dean sees Pharm as In is actually one of the saddest bits of this whole show. It’s rough watching DeanPram figure everything out.

I do love the scene where Pharm meets Dean’s younger brother. Don tricks Dean into coming over, and everybody teases them.

I feel like every episode I say “this is one of my favorite scenes.” Which just goes to show why this is my favorite Thai BL ever.

Meanwhile, sitting on the couch crying, DeanPharm finally figure out that they promised to find each other and that they are both experiencing the same feelings of reincarnation. This particular exchange of gifts is so significant actually talk about it as an example in my blog post on the trope. Gift exchange is not a trope I love but it has a lot of meaning in this particular instance.

Public claiming of a relationship is one of my more favorite tropes on the other hand, which means the next scene where Dean has to run Alex off is just too good. When I talk about Thailand in the context of age dynamics as part of culture, I use the example of how hard it is for Team to protect Pharm under these circumstances - where he is fighting against Alex who is not only older but from a different department. It’s such an important insight into Team’s character, that he’s willing to stand against Alex even though the whole social structure is against him. Dean sweeping in and running Alex off is just so powerful as a result. Also I really love the way Dean is always touching Pharm and tidying/playing with his hair and clothes - it’s so proprietary and boyfriend. It also shows that Dean is never not thinking about him, his eyes are always on Pharm whenever they are together.

And this ep ends with WinTeam and the forehead kiss in the convenience store. Finally there’s some movement on their romance. This really is one of my favorite episodes.

Other Stuff Related to this Show

Why Until We Meet Again is special among Thai BLs

Thai Desserts in Until We Meet Again

BL With the Highest Chance of Breaking Into The West - Until We Meet Again (I wrote this before KinnPorsche)

Sex negativity as part of the seme/uke dynamic

Thai Food You Should Eat Because of BL

(source)

So I will try to updated this original doc as much as possible, but sometimes Tumblr just stops me from editing, in which case I have to repost and add. So I’ll be putting a rough date here, please don’t get mad if something is out of date and I can no longer fix it. October 2022.

361 notes · View notes

biggie-chcese · 9 months

Note

So uh,, what's your thoughts about Viviakou and Kokobolt?

ohhh ok so im of the rare breed that kinda only likes vivakou as a one-sided romance, if a romance at all, because they are so Doomed Yaoi to me.

i think it's very sweet that vivia finds a reason to live because yakou has shown how much he cares. i think yakou looking out for vivia's health is also extremely sweet. but i also just think that Yakou "i threw the entire NDA (including vivia) under the bus, into the heart of enemy territory, with no way to escape the peacekeepers, for a revenge plot" Furio just isn't open to loving anyone romantically other than his dead wife. he'd need a long time to get over her, and he doesn't even live long enough to do it. i like the angst potential. it makes vivia's arc in ch 4 all the more tragic, yet also cathartic when he lets yakou go and helps yuma find the truth.

TD;DR: not a fav, but i 100% understand it and think it's narratively interesting when one-sided on vivia's part.

now onto kokobolt.

ok. look. i get it. i see their gumshoe gabs. i see their bromance. i see desuhiko basically outright saying he'd fuck yuma while yuma is dressed as a high school girl but shhhh details, details and i see why it's popular. but i... i'm a hard neutral on it. like, i like it a little? but for the most part i just kinda feel nothing about them. i think they're at their best in memes and jokes. they're a really solid comedic duo and have a funny, enjoyable dynamic. but i dont care for kokobolt fluff nor do i really see myself enjoying angst of them. like i don't even see them doing the awkward slowburn "i dont wanna ruin our friendship" pining that usually comes with the "best bro friends to lovers" trope because desuhiko would just outright ask yuma if he could hit. which he has already done in canon. the only slowburn would just be yuma saying no thanks until eventually he just says "sure whatever you can hit." like, yuma may be a cringefail loser, but he could do better.

TL;DR: neutral on them but i get it. they're funny tho.

#ask #sorry to disappoint the vast majority of this fanbase #rain code #viviakou #kokobolt #please know that none of this is hate i just straight up do not feel much abt them #didnt scratch my brain right

24 notes · View notes

crehador · 6 months

Text

brother crab's winter 2024 parting thoughts: high card s2

WHAT THE HELL

HIGH CARD IS GOOD?!

tl;dr very flashy and aesthetic, consistently good in that regard, but the story was not always gripping to me. however, with the ultimate payoff in the last three eps, totally worth it imo

full review:

wow wow wow i'm kind of glad i fell way behind on anime and had the last three eps of s2 to binge all at once because hoooly shit i enjoyed that immensely

at no point did i think high card was bad, but it definitely had moments where it didn't fully grab me. there were times when it felt like all flash, no substance

and it's definitely not perfect, i have some serious and fairly significant gripes with it. mainly i'm really bummed that leo, wendy, and vijay never really got fully fleshed out. i mean i get it, finn's the main character and chris is the thinly veiled love interest also important so obviously they're going to take up most of the time, but i really feel like the other members of the crew had so much unexplored potential (especially wendy and vijay, because leo did sort of get his moment as a factor in the old man yaoi situation)

speaking of which THE OLD MAN YAOI!! man there were a lot of moving pieces in this show, and sometimes they came together in messy ways (or didn't really come together at all... some bits do still feel pretty disjointed and jumpy to me, tbh)

but overall the payoff of the s2 finale was absolutely worth it to me, particularly since it dealt with my favorites of those moving pieces: the old man yaoi and the sudden YANDERE ONIISAN ARC

i find myself really wishing the show had gone harder on both of those threads sooner, but like... honestly i'm not disappointed with how they played out. the whole theodore and ban thing could not have been more tropey (YEARS of loathing only for a "the one i wanted to protect all along was... you" and then dying for each other like HELLO yes an absolute tropefest BUT TROPES THAT I LOVE. GOOD FOR THOSE TOXIC DOOMED YAOI MFERS)

tilt has always been fascinating to me right from the character design and i am more or less satisfied with how things played out for him too, though i kind of wish we'd had more of this development spread throughout the series. i guess it was there, but... i dunno. in some ways feels like there could have been More (but i may be biased)

like you gotta feel bad for him, it's a sad story, but also that extreeemely creepy unhinged yandere oniisan "i have been stalking you i literally have a wall with giant blown up photos of you i hate the other guy who is calling himself your brother" sequence was SO FUCKING DELICIOUS LIKE WTF??? stunned and absolutely blown away by how hard they went on that, what a delight

(ironically it makes me think about how unhinged matakara in bucchigiri?! just doesn't work while unhinged tilt in high card works super well, but this is not about bucchigiri?! so i won't get too into that)

i am still admittedly just. kind of like. idk. i go back and forth on finn and chris, as characters and as partners. i don't dislike them but they aren't always all that compelling to me. sometimes they definitely are, but sometimes they just fall a bit flat to me. this probably isn't an issue with them as characters, though, just a matter of taste. i occasionally found the chemistry between them lacking as well, but sometimes it was really on point

same feeling about the crew dynamics in general. i looove a good like heist crew or spy agency crew, whatever it is, when the dynamics just click. and sometimes they didn't, here. i am too sleepy to articulate it properly right now but it just felt like there was something missing, some pieces not really fitting together. i didn't dislike any of the characters, but just... i guess wanted more team shenanigans? maybe there was no time for that but it would have been nice (like this is one show that could have done with a few filler and/or fluff episodes, imo!)

anyway. christ. my eye emoji-ing at tilt based solely on his character design finally paid off after two gay ass seasons lmao. good night

#crab watches #winter 2024 #parting thoughts #high card #GENUINELY WAS NOT EXPECTING TO ENJOY THE LAST THREE EPS THIS MUCH BUT I SO SO SO DID #although lol holy infodump tf #this show loooves its infodumps esp in the second half of the second season #i didn't personally mind all the monologuing that much i guess #like it delivered the information fine #but the fact that there were so many ''LET ME TELL YOU A STORY YOU'VE NEVER HEARD BEFORE'' scenes in a ROW #was just kind of funny #anyway. it's not like overall the best thing ever but it is wild fun and really paid off in the end (for me at least)#i am a sucker for toxic old man yaoi and the yandere oniisan was a bonus #damn that was fun #alright. going to sleep for real now lmao

11 notes · View notes

erinarigby · 19 days

Note

just wanted to send you some love because you're one of my fav blogs here <3 I love your gorgeous art and I pretty much agree with all your takes on johnpaul relationship!

as for the question, what are your favorite tropes in fics? it can be mclennon or any other fandom

thank you so much anon!!

my favorite tropes: i love slow burn & belligerent sexual tension i need the burn to be long before either of them makes a move but i still need there to be a good amount of romantic and sexual tension for me to not get overly frustrated yk?

for mclennon specific tropes: there was only one bed is always classic, also mutual pining but being in denial, and i really enjoy jealousy and power dynamics (my guilty pleasure i love their fail marriage and doomed yaoi)

#ask

5 notes · View notes

callmegaith · 10 months

Note

Hey! I'm just wondering where you got the idea to start shipping Dale and David? (Cool art btw!) As far as I know they've met thru Birthday but are they related in any other way?

Oh boy. Okay. This is gonna be all over the place.

So birthday, you get the letter from David saying he's sorry and all that. Yeah. Dale and David are connected, we just don't know how yet. Something important to David was for whatever reason in Dale's home.

But really the appeal just comes from what if scenarios. Both Dale and David are victims of their circumstances. David made Dale the person he is. He set him on the path of the lake, doom pretty much. And seeing he was remorseful for that in his letter, I like to imagine a world where David is doing his best to undo the damage he's done....

And so Down the Rabbit Hole is born. (If you haven't read it, I feel like it explores my idea for their dynamic better than my rambly post can. It's a comic series I'm working on exploring Dale and David's relationship during David's own paradox journey)

To me they are like two people chasing each other for opposite reasons. David just wants forgiveness so he can let go of the guilt of what he has done to Dale, and Dale wants peace of mind and an end to the trauma that the events of that day caused him... Or revenge even.

The potential of those two just... Meeting again, talking, and David finally having the chance to clear everything up to Dale can make for something so beautifully tragic. There's a story to be told here, not necessarily romantic. But a good tragic story about healing and moving on which is what I want for both of them more than anything. David has turned his back on the Lake. He has betrayed his gods and ran away unlike the rest of the souls at the bottom of the lake, and Jakob wanted to hunt him down and kill him for that. He's been up to something we don't know since then and that eventually led him to Dale. And I just imagine a world where the two of them become the characters that break the cycle of the Lake.

It's the star crossed trope really. With all the jumping around and changing pasts and futures in this game, the idea of them being doomed in every loop, every universe, every recreation. It's appealing to me. Just two people who are broken, running circles around one another but never being able to reach out to finally break the loop. And so they're stuck, never being able to move on while desperately wanting to. And there's just something so MWAH, chef kiss, about the tragedy of them.

So TLDR??? Makebelieve and doomed yaoi :)

It's really hard to explain and I do it better with art than words. I'm not very good with explaining things so I'm sorry if this made 0 sense. But hope it answered your question well enough or that at least Down the Rabbit Hole gave you a better idea than this xD (tho Down the Rabbit Hole is not a ship comic, it just shows the dynamic and idea I have for them)

Generally, the ideas I have for them aren't specifically romantic. I just like dudes kissing :)

(which I never even drew them doing except for a meme)

So yeah, gay, not gay, I just want the two of them to meet again and reconcile.

#asks!#thanks for writing!#ship: jackalope #comic: DTRH #actual TLDR:#its the appeal of the tragedy of them #RL: lore and theories

12 notes · View notes

ask-teamplayer · 1 year

Note

Author: What are your favorite ships

// i think seth and fate should kiss under the moonlight after a dramatic love confession and then marry and grow old together forever. i think about lyrerose constantly. it haunts my every waking moment. i am deeply deeply obsessed with them and their dynamic and all the angst around it, and i think they should make out nastily and symbolically. they're like orpheus and eurydice. they're red and blue, they're childhood friends, optimist and pessimist, they're everything to me. it's the ultimate teamplayer ship, the only one that i get emo about when i think about it too hard. they mean everything to me, all of the symbolism and all of the lore and backstory and their deep devotion to each other. you've only gotten tastes of the complexities in their dynamic- they are the doomed yaoi trope people joke about on twitter. they are gentle and passionate. they think about the other ceaselessly and worship each other. it's hard to say when the love really started, but you know at least one of them is deep in it's trenches and they refuse to claw their way out. they ride the tides of admiration and they welcome the opportunity to drown. seth held fate in his darkest and most terrifying moments, where he thought he would shatter apart without those arms around him- held him like he was fragile, and precious, and in the moment fate's world was in the gentle hand in his.

// i also like fate x enzo i think its cute

#ooc #ask #THIS IS A /HJ IM BEING DRAMATIC #the great author himself

6 notes · View notes

victimsofyaoipoll · 1 year

Text

Round 1

Propaganda Under Cut

Han Sooyoung

han sooyoung is one of the main trio protagonists yet people constantly ignore her in order to ship the other two males despite the fact that they are all doomed by the narrative TOGETHER!!! fanon content is even worse because it either slaps a lesbian sticker onto her to shittily write her off in fanfic OR they make her so one dimensional its like a cardboard stand in. han sooyoung arguably has a more important/interesting dynamic with the main male protagonist yet everyone ignores her because they want their uwu gay babies IM SO SICK OF ORV FANS

Dokja and Joonghyuk are a very popular ship (rightfully so, i get it) but usually Sooyoung is seen as in the way of their relationship or not as valued as the other two even though her place in the story and relationship with the other characters is just as strong. Recently there was a post on twitter being rude about people who ship her and Joonghyuk (which is a super valid ship) and i saw a lot of hate that i believe just stems from her getting “in the way” of a yaoi ship.

99% of that kind of symbolic fanart REFUSES. to acknowledge her existence man. even though she is part of the main TRIO man

Shinoa Hiiragi

The fandom hated her for getting in the way of Mika/Yuu (she had a crush on yuu). The rare times they didn’t hate her they made her into a fujoshi obsessed with shipping them which isn’t in character at all. In fact if you look at the owari no seraph specials she would ship yuu with kimizuki but no one even cares

One of my favorite characters ever forever and treated heinously by crazed fujoshis that hallucinated she was getting in the way of MikaYuu, which for the record she wasn’t! I mean even if she WAS getting between them it wouldn’t justify the crazy misogyny that got thrown at her but she had a ONE-SIDED CRUSH on Yuu. He didn’t even like her back. What was the issue, then? An unrequited crush is not going to prevent a relationship! Whatever I haven’t even told you about her. She’s Silly. She’s incredibly cunning and a great leader, in fact she is the leader of the anime’s main squad. She’s calculating. She’s a gossip and a prankster and a bit flirty and a bit mean-spirited and she presents herself in a Silly Goofy way, in part to cover up the amounts of angst in her backstory, like my girl has ISSUES. She even has an epic demon weapon that is better and cooler than most other demon weapons but if you ask any fangirl from way-back-when, she’s just a bitch and the personification of evil. and probably homophobic too, even though she has a girl rival-turned-friend which is the gayest trope out there.

She seems to be the (male) protagonist's love interest and appears to be canonically in love with him, but he is not interested in her whatsoever, often brushing her off and dismissing her in favor of thinking about his found family instead. I don't necessarily ship him romantically with any other male character (i hc him as aroace) but by god the anime was extremely charged with homoromantic subtext in every corner. One of those "holding each other's faces in the opening, spends the entire first season pining and wishing to be reunited" types. The fandom ships her love interest with another male character to the extent that I started watching the show in the first place because i kept seeing ship posts of the main character with that other guy thought they were cute. And also i cannot fucking stand her personality and want to light her on fire. I think the rest of the fandom agrees with me but I'm honestly not sure. I'm also a gay man so i think you could argue that I, the submitter, could play the role of the "yaoi" terrorising her as well

#poll #han sooyoung #omniscent reader #orv #shinoa hiiragi #seraph of the end #owari no seraph #round 1

111 notes · View notes

absolutebl · 2 years

Note

Hi again absolutebl! I was reading this BL manga and I realized that I enjoy a certain seme-uke pairing: soft reliable seme + feisty uke. Do you have any recs for BLs with this dynamic? The best example I can think of is Shi De and Shu Yi in WBL.

I know I just sent an ask about two days ago but I couldn't resist asking this. Thank you as always! I hope you are always happy and healthy.

Hi again!!! Always welcome.

Soft Reliable (devoted) Seme + Feisty Uke

(Like Shi De and Shu Yi in We Best Love.)

Ooo, fun request! So explicitly NOT a tsundere or a himbo seme. But the uke could probubly be tsundere.

Seven Days (what you doubt me?) - Japan, grey

Of course it rates. Seryou & Yuzuru don’t have a very strong S/u dynamic but Seryou is (basically) the pursuer and he is soft AF. Yuzuru isn’t so much tsundere as he is obstreperous. I consider this one of the best live action yaois ever made, with perfectly structured angst, fantastic characters and acting, and no problematic tropes (rare in Japanese BL). The leads have excellent chemistry although it’s low heat there’s still some really cute mutual kisses.

Light on Me - Korea, Viki

Very much a high school setting and low heat, but this is still one of my favorite KBLs. It’s an elegant pastiche of traditional live action yaoi but all tropes are cleverly deployed to bolster one of the most riveting love triangles ever put on screen… and I don’t like love triangles! Both semes are super soft. Full review.

Make it Right - Thailand, YouTube

The original Thai version of this dynamic. Tee is unequivocally devoted to Fuse from the moment they first get together. Fuse is more chaos bi: cheating, messy and confused (as is common with the high school stuff) but I think it’s the dynamic you’re after. What more can I say about this show, the origin of the Thai BL pulps? It’s objectively terrible, and not just the leads but the side couples too, and yet I love it. I tend to call myself the “world’s foremost Make It Right apologist.” I recognize the issues but I find it utterly charming, especially Tee’s utter devotion to Fuse the disaster.

SOTUS - Thailand, YouTube

The follow up version to Make it Right, but less soft. This is the BL that launched a hundred BLs. No literally, It was SOTUS’s international success that pretty much built the Thai BL industry into the juggernaut it is today. It’s classic sunshine/tsundere, but Kong is very steadfast and soft. People have baggage around SOTUS, I have nostalgia. trigger: hazing and bullying.

Manner of Death - Thailand, WeTV

Honestly I think this one qualifies. This is TanBun’s dynamic. I like MoD a lot but I’m conflicted over it being actually BL. It’s a great gay romantic suspense, although the mystery element is its weakness. MaxTul, the Kings of chemistry, are, of course, perfect and perfectly cast, but their romance thread is more a distraction than an addition. Still, I could watch them make-out the phonebook. Trash watch here.

Nitiman - Thailand, YouTube

This show was so close to being brilliant. They fudged the ending but this is probubly one of Thailand’s most classic takes on uni set yaoi with this exact dynamic. This Thai BL pulp had sympathetic characters, a solid tsundere uke redemption arc, and a fantastic pining seme who yearned without bullying, grooming, or gaslighting. Plus when they're together, they're ridiculously soft. But it also had a realistic portrayal of university life, bisexual awakening, and friendship groups. Bummer about the ending. Full review.

Dear Doctor, I’m Coming For Your Soul - Thailand, iQIYI

This is a romance between a doctor trying to save his patients and a reaper who is both his enemy and (eventual) lover. Basically it’s the genius premise of a gay Doom at Your Service. High concept looks good on you, Thailand. It’s lovely to see KarnNat back on screen together and they are still great, and Karn is just painfully beautiful. I enjoyed it more than it’s ending deserved, and the best I can say is that it’s not strictly HEA but if you’re okay with Life: Love on the Line, you’ll be okay with this BL. It’s set up well, there’s no surprise unpleasantness like HIStory 3: The BL that shall not be named. Full review.

En of Love: Tossera - Thailand, YouTube

Basically the softest BL ever Bar is feisty, but it’s kinda token tsundere. Younger boy wants to court older boy and does and… that’s it. No really that’s the WHOLE STORY. There is actually no angst, drama, or, indeed plot. But are they the softest bois ever to BL as a main couple? Yes, they are.

Cherry Magic - Japan, indie subbed

AKA 30 Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard AKA 30-sai made Dotei Da to Mahotsukai ni Nareru rashii

Kurosawa is certainly soft but Adachi is maybe more chaos confused than feisty. (Another one like this is My Love Mix Up.) This is the sweetest fluffiest magical realism BL, packaged as a pinning office romance, very low heat (practically chaste) but the cutest.

Mr. Unlucky Can Only Kiss - Japan, Viki (fan subbed)

AKA Fukou-kun wa Kiss Suru Shikanai! AKA Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice but to Kiss!

Mr Chronically Unlucky (another adorable chaos muffin) and Mr Always Lucky (solid, steadfast, crushing from the start) end up dating after they meet at uni orientation. It’s JAPAN yet they kissed in the first episode. What freaky alt-reality did I enter into? That’s all they kiss tho, over which I was a touch disappointed (I know). Still I spent far too much of my time with this show biting my knuckles and squealing “THEY’RE SO CUTE!” It is very slapstick Japanese style comedic (light) BL, so if you like that style, you’ll adore this show.

Amusing story: I paused mid the most tooth-achingly adorable first date in the entire universe and Viki was like “something missing?” and I was like “MY HEART YOU BASTARDS!”

Word of Honor - China censored, YouTube & Viki

I don’t rec Chinese stuff often, because I believe in censoring the censors, but this show is one of my favorites of the post 2016 censored bromances. It’s two murder-gay assassins (pining sunshine/tsundere), and they are so insanely gay for two boys who will never be allowed to kiss. Tropes include: wuxia, soulmates, paranormal, historical, and fantasy elements.

Maybe?

KOREA

Some More (Strongberry short)

Blueming

Peach of Time (Korea/Thailand - sad)

Spring of Crush (bromance)

THAILAND

1000 Stars

Bite Me (but it’s NOT good)

Brothers (sp KhunKaow)

Cupid’s Last Wish

Enchante