#<- for bl tho its not like im Discussing it

[latexjester]

ngl whatever point youre making immediately becomes moot if you have an incest icon

[snickerdoodlles]

can we really? because that's not been my experience in this fandom.

western fandom has a consistent problem in overriding other cultures with their own. emphasis on western holidays/traditions, western folklore/stories, western customs, the specific way western cultures engage with queer topics/politics. this happens constantly for all eastern media, but to me it's always seemed particularly egregious for Thai media and esp Thai bl (tbf, this is potentially because it's one of my bigger online spaces while also not being a big space so it's just what I'm seeing more of, but it is so bad). people often push back with either "it's just a joke" or "you can't expect everyone to just know everything about [other culture] just for fanfic/fandom," except that only applies when people have made the effort to learn about that culture. it's not an excuse to ignore it completely.

and what's so mind-boggling to me about moonlight chicken in particular is the constant sectioning of Jim, Wen, and Li Ming into "different generations of queer." They aren't! Jim was running a restaurant while happily in an open queer relationship with his boyfriend, yet the fucking number of times I've had to see "lol internalized homophobia" (do you guys know what internalized homophobia means) or "he's from a different generation of queer where theyre resigned to being queer" (fucking WHAT?!) posts is overwhelming huge to the number of times I've seen posts that acknowledge or engage with moonlight chickens extremely pointed narrative that social acceptance is not enough when the law does not protect queer people's rights and what happened to Jim can still happen to Wen, still happen to Li Ming. (I have seen. 2 posts that engage with it. one of which was mine. I blocked the tag for a good 8 months because it was so overwhelmingly "lol internalized homophobia" posts.)

I genuinely don't mean this comment directly to you. I don't mean this as a "no fun allowed" comment either, but Thai bl fandom, moonlight chicken fandom esp, is so. bad. about ignoring the heavily Thai cultural elements of its narrative that none of the jokes are funny in the larger fandom context.

its so weird seeing posts that mock uncle jim for worrying about li ming's queerness as though his dead boyfriend's parents (legally) stealing his entire life savings and leaving him to manage a restaurant business specifically because gay couples aren't legally recognized as couples wasn't what put him in a cycle of crushing debt and endless poverty in the first place

[quodekash]

gosh darnnit im tired 

in other words: time for my weekly ramblings about a bl where im mildly interested in the main couple but the side couple means more to me than anything and no i will not stop talking about them 

slight warning, there will be one mention of sa and one mention of murder/suicide (both of which are my personal speculation about particular situations, and there’s no detail apart from the word being mentioned). i also discuss/ramble to myself about mental health problems, and alcohol abuse. so if any of those things are triggering for you in any way, please be cautious about reading this, take necessary precautions, and if it’s particularly distressing, i urge you to call a local hotline for these kinds of emergencies. i care about all of you and your health and safety, whether i know you or not, and if you ever need to talk about anything at all, lemme know, my ask box and my dms are always open. 

anyway, on with the show! 

if you haven’t figured it out yet, this is... 

MY THOUGHTS ON EPISODE 4 OF ABAAB 

(if youre new here, it will literally be all of my thoughts on everything while im watching it bc i feel like im annoying my friends with my ramblings so instead ill annoy all of this circle of tumblr. and it will probably not be coherent. youre welcome.) 

i’m obsessed with his little ‘cher is so cute’ smile 

THATS HOW I FEEL ABOUT LITERALLY THIS EXACT POST 

dONT YOU DARE DO A PATPRAN 

that’s real insightful, cher. id never thought of that one before. the statement really gets me thinking. 

are you- are you saying what i think you’re saying? or am i more dirty minded than i thought 

his hair is extra curly today and its veyr pretty 

the curls are giving charlie spring vibes from the side 

i would like to touch his hair please 

the fact that covid exists in this universe is weirdly funny to me 

yup that sounds about right. no one rly cares about covid anymore when the entire world is ending 

YAY HE’S FINALLY OPENING UP TO HIM 

that freaking sucks tho 

and what’s worse is it’s very likely tian was r*ped 

WHY DO ALL THE HAPPY FEEL-GOOD SHOWS HAVE TO HAVE SAD DEATH BACKSTORIES BEHIND 50% OF THE FREAKING CHARACTERS 

GUN (msp)’S DAD IS DEAD AND HIS MUM SPENDS HALF THE SHOW LOW-KEY DYING (and i swear if they do something to gim in our skyy 2 im gonna fly to thailand and have some words with people) 

AYAN’S DAD LEFT, HIS UNCLE DIED 

THUA’S DAD DIED 

HALF THE CHARACTERS IN THE ECLIPSE HAVE DIAGNOSED DEPRESSION AND THE REST OF THEM ARE UNDIAGNOSED BUT ITS DEFINITELY THERE 

HERE, JACK HAS DEPRESSION (and i rly hope they go into that more in depth later in the show bc he intrigues me. if they dont go into it more then im writing a way too in depth analysis post of jack) 

AND NOW FREAKING CHER’S FRIEND/CRUSH FROM CHILDHOOD IS FREAKING DEAD AND HER BODY WAS FLOATING IN A POND WHICH DOESNT RLY LEAD TO ANY IMMEDIATE THOUGHTS OF A NATURAL DEATH WHICH MEANS IT WAS PROBABLY MURDER AND/OR SUICIDE WHICH MAKES IT EVEN FREAKING WORSE 

i knew it was too good to last. the over-confident, cocky, funny, sassy/sarcastic people are generally the most messed up, they just hide it via humour and feigned confidence (i am most certainly not one of these people at all) 

cher stop drinking, you’re gonna hurt yourself. also the alcohol might feel like it’s lifting the burden of thinking and stops you from worrying about everything thats happening, but itll come rushing back to you when you’re sober and worse because youll have a hangover, and it’s only a temporary fix, drinking only works for a couple of hours. you need a more permanent fix, cos if you keep turning to alcohol, itll turn into addiction and substance abuse and dependency, none of which are good, all of which are much harder to get out of than they are to get into. so yeah, just chill with the drinking a little bit. i get that you need to let it all out and you need to not feel for a bit, and that’s totally okay, but you need to make sure you’re not over-indulging yourself. otherwise youll be very ill in the long-term, both physically and mentally 

PFFFT THIS WAS THE PERFECT SHOT TO END IT ON 

final thoughts: 

theyve both said things that make absolutely no sense in context unless theyre confessions of feelings, and yet theyre definitely gonna continue to do the “what if he doesnt like me back” thing even tho its SO CLEAR to LITERALLY EVERYONE they have feelings for each other 

theyve gotten so close to kissing this episode and yet they havent which is sad, but also at least they have kissed at one point before getting to the point where they COULD have kissed a grand total of siXTY-SEVEN TIMES- (shut up im not talking about tinngun what are you talking about. .....but also if you wanted to see that post where i count out all of the times tinngun didn’t kiss...) 

very sad with the complete and utter lack of threezo in this episode. actually, it’s not even a lack of threezo. neither of them even appeared in the episode. neither was even mentioned. they (i.e. the characters, the creators of the show) are all acting like threezo AREN’T the most important characters in this entire show 

i love threezo 

where is threezo 

or is it zothree

either way i dont mind bc i love them 

where was i 

oh right 

this episode was pretty good, very emotional, i definitely didnt cry what are you talking about (who am i kidding, eveyrone knows i cried three times, you dont even need me to tell you) 

im excited for episode 5 

that is all, thank you and goodnight 

[faerociousbeast]

fae gamer moments! games i played this weekend, a review (part 3, sunday edition)

im a side character in a bl story!: ....uh. titles pretty self explanatory. i have no defense for myself. funny but a bit.... Much at times and i did do the sabotage route first so i do not have the best impression of danny 💀 pretty straight(hah) forward tho.

theres a couple of other similar games within the series if you find yourself enjoying this one! i think ao is my favourite but i also think i could not handle the game that focuses on him. sorry man

witch soup: another short horror-y themed one! again pretty funny. my first ending was marriage! Somehow. iyo is very dumb but hes cute so i GUESS....... its Fine...............

contemporary gods: i think. no i KNOW this one takes the prize of my favourite game this weekend. theres vaguely customizable mc + pronouns, 3 "love interests" one guy one girl one nonbinary but its pretty ignorable if you dont feel like romancing anyone

main concept is you are a God! the god of unity to be precise. your goal is to unite the world of the humans but there are some gods who.... havent been helping with that. capitalism, social media, and.... identity? the themes arent jumped around and are discussed heavily, but i genuinely had such a good time.. do try it out if you ever get the chance. im a mania truther myself but i like lucern a lot too. actually all of the characters are great

once again, all free :) try em out if youre interested

[kidcooper02]

OK IM PUTTING THESE ALL TOGETHER TO EXPRESS MY OWN THOUGHTS ON BART N JAIME IN SEASON 2 AND EXPLORE EACH ANON'S THOUGHTS (They're lovingly numbered and color coded ❤)

This is like a goddamn essay I'll present the information and tell my thoughts at the end.

Anon 1 brings up the point of Bart telling Jaime about his involvement with the Reach invasion. And the phrasing Bart uses is very guilt trippy and unfair to Jaime, despite Bart having the baggage to back it.

And I agree with it being a fucked up thing to do! And I want to preface that this isn't like, "how dare they!" Kind of a thing. Its incredibly interesting plot wise and character wise for Bart and I love it a lot. Characters doing gray things is my favorite. Anyway, in terms of their friendship, this isn't a great start lmao. I see it as Bart thinking this is a logical step in the plan. Calling attention to the problem, no sugarcoating, and let's get this shit done. If it hurts his feelings a bit, not his problem. Of course, Jaime had more going on than just that, he hadn't even had Scarab a full year and Tye goes missing. It just piled on Jaime. So yeah, fucked up move but I don't hate it.

Anon 2 brings up how Bart continues to mess with Jaime it seems. Its not really a time to be cheeky Bart, but he does anyway. Which does hurt Jaime, you can see it on his face.

Again, fucked up but I like it. That moment, definitely felt more intentional than the last one. Couldn't have chosen a worst time tho. Its not like Bart WANTS to make him feel bad, hes just not being careful with his words. And that's just a Bart thing, not really a "I'm doing this specifically to Jaime."

Anon 3 brings their perspective on the duality of their relationship in season 2 and how their friendship doesn't just come out of nowhere and where it leads us later.

And this is a fantastic discussion, because its true. Its very easy to get wrapped up in Bart's passive aggressive attitude towards Jaime, especially because for a long time the most vocal the fandom didn't acknowledge it. But you also have to remember that, he still wanted to make sure Jaime was OK whenever there was a battle. If it was half motivated by future saving reasons, so be it. But for as much as there's passive aggressive Bart, there's also Bart who just cares about his teammate. And Jaime, despite being low energy and mostly being exasperated with Bart, does appreciate him. I mentioned this last time and anon 3 mentioned that right now, Jaime is kind of alone in his thoughts. Tye doesn't know he's a hero AND he's gone. Jaime has all sorts of anxieties about Scarab and Bart's intel only pushes him even more away from the others. Is that slight manipulation to lead him to Bart? Yes. Is it a terrible thing? Not entirely.

They're casual. Jaime likes his desert self portrait, Bart seems genuinely worried for him on the Reach ship. Is it a super deep relationship, no its too soon, but there is a foundation.

I still believe their friendship starts off with not the right intentions, but that doesn't make their ENTIRE relationship bad. And I like how anon 3 describes it with "complex" and that its OK that it starts off in this way.

My problem is majority fandom treatment for the longest time in not exploring these nuances in their relationship and simplifying down to the point that they're both ooc. Bart is not just a goofy idiot with personal space problems and Jaime isn't his handler. Growing up seeing content as season 2 was coming out and after, that was how it seemed people chose to explore their relationship (again this is because the fandom wanted a new birdflash, so they tried to fit Bart and Jaime in a mold not made for them. Birdflash also gets some bad interpretation but not near what happened with bl u/e pl us/ e i think).

I DON'T REALLY KNOW IF MY THOUGHTS ARE COMING OUT RIGHT? BASICALLY I AGREE WITH ALL 3 ANONS ON SOME LEVEL. BART N JAIME'S FRIENDSHIP HAS A LOT OF COMPLEXITIES THATS ITS IMPORTANT NOT TO GO ON EITHER EXTREMITY OF "BART SECRETLY HATES JAIME" AND "THEY WERE BESTIES OF ALL TIME ALWAYS." (I THINK THEY HAVE AN INTERESTING RELATIONSHIP TO EXPLORE THEM BECOMING FRIENDS, BUT I STILL PERSONALLY DO NOT SEE ROMANTIC INCLINATION)

I hope I got everything out right? I adore Bart and Jaime as two separate characters and they're fantastic to explore. And I want to thank all these anons I've gotten recently to allow me to explore these 2 more in depth. Very interesting conversation to be had all around!

[codes]

HII MATTHEW SORRY FOR THE ACCIDNETAL UNFOLLOW

i was going to make curry today but thwn it struck me is there a reason why there’s so much age gap in bl (idk abt yuri because i do not read it much)

i think the age gaps between characters can actually be used to say something interesting be it about time or people or perception or whatnot, but do *u* think there is a particular reason why this trope among others is so common? and do u like have anything to add on?

DW ABOUT THE UNFOLLOW i thought it was a funny notif

also hm.... this question... might be better to send to someone who actually reads bl LOL, im just a gay man

but i think the first thing that comes to mind when i hear about that trope is the gross and illegal kind of age gap instead of the one that i think ur referencing where its like a "young adult x an older guy". theres definitely a difference in perceptions due to time, like u said, and it brings up the discussion of power dynamics within a relationship that r related to experience and age. theres also the possibility of discussing the relationship type of "1000+ yr deity x random mortal guy" which technically is an age gap but is never really applied to that specific niche.

on reflex id say the trope is common bc ppl are weird but idk, i dont read bl nor do i like this trope so i dont rlly have much to say!! hope ur curry was good tho

[misterbitches]

I ship muren and li cheng bc i only saw it through gifs then i watched this episode cos i was like im only starting this show if they kiss im waiting and they did and it was nice and i got so anxious that i was about to fucking vomit. I really like them together. The top/bottom shit is dumb and i hope if they must mention it they all build a bridge and get over it so they can switch cos who gives a shit. I didnt realize how large they all are like most “tall” men on tv are lying. But bc that kid is so thin and tall and the other one (idk the stepbrother) is huge too. Li cheng is shorter than them both but more ~manly~ but still short so why doesnt he take a DICK UP HIS BUTT XD since that’s all that fucking matters and there’s only 2 genders and 2 eays to have sex lmao so nothing else otherwise ur screwed

Hd a terrible past couple of weeks personally and because i keep seeing my peopl eget murdered and things ripped from us ^_____^ anyway here’s Some libertatrian communist dumb bitch discoars so i’ll tag it:

keep in mind these are my opinions’”” when i engage in discourse. I am not the end all be all and I don’t need you to agree. There’s some shit I am non-negotiable on but thsi is just exchanging of information. Any authoratative tone I take on comes from my beliefs, my life, my experiences, and what I choose to cultivate as a person and an artist. I dont have control over your feelings, you do. If it hurts you then either tell me the issue and be PRECISE about it, understand that context matters which is why i type so much in engagement, and do not fucking lie or misconstrue my words. Do not call me western ever in your life either. I am a black-american. I have adhd and bc i am a black woman if ur automatically thinking im brolic i am accepting money in my paypal for ur wellbeing to get me to shut the fuck up.Thanks.

The stepbrothers storyline is stupid and lazy writing. I really want to counter people that say it’s written well and that it’s interesting because it isn’t. Even if it was illicit and fucked we can write a story out about this. Let’s rethink what they could have done shall we:

- become stepbrothers at about 16 and their parents mismanage the relationship and they fail in trying to get an integrated family together (this is what happened in the #iconic transit girls and that was fuckin’ weird but hey dude guess what we watched it and it was weird but not unethical and we know one is like 19 and the other is 21 and a girl so it’s like wow you avoided so much and handled their stepsister story very…….um lightly given the end lmao but it was there and people had AGENCY)

-OR you realize that freak is obsessed with him and then he realizes it and is like “bitch i swear to god” and in typical shtity trope BL fashion they can find a way from obsession, to loss and independence when you lose your obsession, to “love” if they choose

- have the fucked up shit but make it clear what the issues are and you literally cannot write your way out of it so do not try

But why can’t fucked up things be shown? Also this is realistic.

0. Well according to you but no one said that they can’t. So that’s on your interpretation of critique (that is, again, not bullying or harassment.) They can, i just gave plenty of scenarios in which it is affective and not just annoying to witness, trope-y, and frankly ridiculous and offensive. Sorry! They don’t do it well. You can come up with alternatives too. See #2 btw.

1. No it isn’t doing a good job of reflecting life because life has consequences. The exaggeration in drama doesn’t mean the arc shouldn’t be there. Almost always things that aren’t heavy with the message or meant to be sobering in a deep way are COMPELLING. The realism is the basis for art because we are human. This is not the way real humans act.

Someone said Tharn Type was mature and I had to laugh because no, no one acts that way and is “in love” if they act that way that means they fucking hate each other and they’re immature and frankly it’s just not that interesting for many of us to watch because the dramatization of the “realism” is fucking bonkers. That was such poor writing it is unbelievable and someone has the audacityt o say it’s how real adults act. Fucking murder me if I’m with someone for 7 years and we break up over a miscommunication and for some reason I am not as horny as my always horny boyfriend. The fuck? What kind of lives do you lead? Either you are not an adult or you are an adult who needs therapy.

I also hear the “realistic” argument but then people try and temper it with “but also it’s fiction.” What do you think fiction is? Why do you think filmmaking exists? Number one, it’s propaganda in the sense that you want others to buy into your presentation and see what you see. That means that the creators are telling people and influencing them WITH ART BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT IT IS about their feelings around a situation. That’s why it is imperative to be responsible as a filmmaker and artist and underline the deepness of creepiness if that’s what they want. If they want to relay that rape sometimes ok and psychos are crazy so they get boy (??!?!?!? BITCH?) then they achieved it with no innovative information. We know people get raped bc we are human beings and many of us live with that fear. You know, being the target demo and all. And bc BL loves that trope it’s rape fantasy peddled to young people and women. Just like shitty wattpad fics or NYT best sellers. Hooray, what now? Or are you trying to purport that this isn’t glorified fanfiction? Which it literally is

2. This is the issue with these shows. No one is saying that fucked up shit cannot be shown. There’s a film about a woman who is raped and she falls in love with her rapist (because he was masked but i think we find out later that she knows. Binoche is in it.) I have no desire for that film—i think it’s by a man and i extra dont care—but I hear it’s sort of powerful for many. I heard it was a good film. But the act itself is always eschewed and the conflict comes from how fucking ridiculous it is especially finding out that she knows. The power imbalance adn the possibility. They may not have handled it in a way I would have cared for but it was there.

There’s simply no imagination because these people do not care that much and aren’t great writers and filmmakers because they simply do not have to be. Sorry.

The industry doesn’t rely on the best they rely on efficiency (this is everywhere.) You can tell by the camera angles, the editing, the camera itself (idk if it is multicam but the flatness is typical soap flatness without the glowboxes to soften their faces.) Simple constant lighting. Now the surroundings are mostly beautiful. But even to some of the costumes. And those edits are abysmal, some of that camera work.

So with all that said even with the couple I extremely enjoy I see its (H4) faults. Add into that a lazily thrown together “shocking” love and if they are trying to get us to feel a type of way about its sexiness they fail. This is why movies like 50sog, 365 days, etc aren’t enjoyable to people because it’s fucking strange situations that they dont want to entangle or make enjoyable to viewers across the board. They know what people will take. It’s just that bitch what are we here for if even the sexiness isn’t there for ur stupid story.

At least with that teenager and 30 yr old man in MODC (which i do not love but i like them in theory if it wasnt totally repulsive to me and also if it was developed in a way that was good TO ME) they had their, er, “sex appeal” i talk about this as well the main couple in MODC to me, visually, was a miss. Not bc whatshisface was small and stuff but bc he was so sickly and they needed that to propel the story but it was just not appealing given how the story progressed. A missed opportunity in tying the two together besides making him look waif-y and sickly only to have the “did ur mom die in a car crash? No, cancer” type of move in not another teen movie. But the opposite. And not funny. Wayne tho????? GORL. Eggs. Cracked.

fandoms have a very warped sense of harrassment and discourse.

Most fandoms have harassers who are “protecting” the cast and crew who don’t need their protection (or maybe the crew does since they probably dont get paid well but why the fuck would anyone care about that lol) but very few have the people who have concerns or massive critique about the show are not going to be “bullying.”

If people are saying “if you like xyz, u suck” then sure it may suck for you to see but who fucking cares. Either talk to the person or don’t be friends with them. That is not bullying or harrassment. Things that are shitty get criticized. Fuck, things that aren’t shitty don’t. Get away from this idea of cancel culture and people misunderstanding the story. We have the ability to.

Think beyond your noses of personal preference. You don’t have to convince people of what you believe. Discussing it is good but critique is not bullying, harrassment, or hate. Neither is fucking roasting shit because even this shit I like (manner of death lets say) deserves it. Art is meant to be critiqued and if you dont fucking like the bullshit people make then say it. They know stupid stories like this are scandalous and they don’t give a shit in how to present them.

And guess what? You won’t like everybody. Many people can’t stand me i’m sure. Oh well. I mean frankly I don’t like that and I feel very unsettled when I don’t feel understood. That’s ok! I have to temper it. Sometimes calm myself down. I won’t get anything and everything I want. And you won’t like every opinion and sometimes it’s like “man am i a dummy?” But the part of growing up is fucking maanging that and beng honest about “bashing and harrassment” and “bullying” and growing up. Yuo can like what you want the “let people like what they want thing” is so fucking juvenile and THAT is not the real world. Which is probably why so many people feel that way, they dont want to live in the real world. Unfortunately, you do.

Think beyond our noses of personal preference and what we feel emotionally in conjunction with others. You don’t have to convince people of what you believe. And you can say things that you believe to be true but it doesn’t make them so or maybe it isn’t received that way to people. And many times we learn new things in the discussions “oh shit i didn’t see it that way” right? Discussing it is good but critique is not bullying, harrassment, or hate. Neither is fucking roasting shit because even this shit I like (manner of death lets say) deserves it. Art is meant to be critiqued and if you dont fucking like the bullshit people make then say it. They know stupid stories like this are scandalous and they don’t give a shit in how to present them. Usually the “opposition” in these situations aren’t the popular beliefs that permeate through society. Trust me lmao

Antiblackness

Antiblackness is a thing. It permeates everywhere. It permeates in this genre and it permeates in fandom. Get it the fuck together. Also do not conflate cultural relativism with being repsectful. They are not barbarians, they are smart human beings either making work or deciding to. We all have diff cultures but we have fucking sense in what is respectful and not. And if we don’t we fucking learn. You cannot excuse things and say “oh culture” when you have 0 idea of that culture or actual people who are radical etc and are fighting against it. Additionally the word westerner is an ignorant term when referring to people in the US or UK who are black. Because we are not. We extend sympathy to other groups and empathy since we know so there is no inherent power imbalance between a black viewer and their subject. Don’t suggest that because it’s wrong and ahistorical and contextless.

FIRST the fallacy of representation as freedom makes people fucking complacent, individualistic, and doesn’t let them think critically. Consumption and discourse around consumption is not helping material conditions of the marginalized communities in your home, the black ones who are ignored, those intersectionalized in these communities. Groups talk about art and what it means for them outside of just what we see and because we also don’t have access to a bunch of Thai reviews or what movements or going on we are less likely to know if we don’t FUCKING SEARCH for it. Because art is constant...which leads me to....

Representation is difficult. It matters and it doesn’t.

Tthese shows are not meant to overturn the LGBTQ+ community.

There are queer filmmakers and artists in these countries. Deep illustrious film careers or even TV that is moving and deliberate. We can even see it with the dude from “your name engraved” in their short series he was in beforehand. BL is no wa pejorative because it is simply not “qu**r” storytelling whatever that means. But know it has always existed everywhere and there are also out artists or radical artists in all these countries who do no respect mediums that are cash-grabs and poorly made.

ex: As much as “Like in the Movies” sort of isnt for me and is a bit hamfisted you can tell how much love goes into that. Love of the characters, acting, and message. Yes it’s cringey to see some of the lines (like very tbh subtlety wasnt exactly their strong suit) and yea naming them after lenin and marx is just 0ihgoaudgijposkagjihou BUT GUESS WHAT? THEY FUCKING DID IT. THEY TRIED. And class was a large component as well bc u cant fuckin ignore it. The show is aware of the machinations in its world as a show but also in the philippines and for a fuckin reason. And duatarte? Loooooooool so like yea not so sure bl makes him love his ppl but the show isnt trying to do that

It’s not a transgressive genre and it has no reason to be. No ethical anything under the way we live it’s just trying your fucking best to be. That’s it. They serve societal ills and capital’s purposes. Which is fine but it is not revolutionary.

These countries in SEA or even SA do not have as big budget for even mainstream dramas—though things are changing and that’s bc REVENUE like revenue from kpop is fucking huge for SK and again so much about that is bc of what happened in their history from japanese imperialism to WWII to the US—so for “queer” stuff it is sort of now important to make that an export and it sure is one. Not only globally or to the west but a lot of these places make their money within asia (duh!) outside of their countries. OBVIOUSLY. so BL is a way to output and gain money. The thing is, it doesnt seem to be put back into the industry at all. For people in all these countries to make works that aren’t for mainstream or wont reach as many people there’s a difference between trying and just shoving shit in your face and going here it’s gay you like it right? But dont antagonize the inherent patriarchal nature of BL.

Another thing: did you guys know thailand was never colonized? You should look it up. There’s little hints of things in ITSAY to represent french influence still. Isnt that fascinating? Find out why. It’s certainly interesting that the representation, though damaging and dubious many times and also incorrect like any media, is huge in asia and this isnt a commodity here (the US) exactly. A lot of that has to do with colonial ideas of gender of which I am sure. But listen………lmao

Sometimes people dont give a shit. And it very much shows. Here is the thing once again. GOOD TRANSGRESSIVE WORK exists.

Een within the capitalist Bs paradigm or you can see people trying (I can sort of applaud parts of lovely writer) also queer media has always existed everywhere the reason you don’t know about it is because it gets takena nd commodified into a mainstream product. We hvae little incentive, particularly if we are not fans of cinema or art in gen, to search fror others when the output is right here. Being dictated by others and the state and who will give you money. No longer an effort of a cast and crew who want to convey things. But google [any country] independent cinema, radical cinema, queer radical cinema, or even retrospectives on the cinema and rethinking what is queer and radical in film. What if we took that, diluted it, got rid of the creators who put themselves through all the work, ignroe al the nuances and do……………….two actors who are conventionally attractive with no chemistry making out.

It’s the same here lets say daniel kaluuya winning the oscar for the film about the BPP. I heard it was okay and not too offensive but it still isnt’ enough. It still isn’t like hwood isn’t trash, nnati black, misogynistic towards BW and women, and all that other shit. It was pushy but it can’t be enough where we are. Black KKKlansmen i think won an oscar, by circumstance i fuckin hate these award shows they mean nothing, and i like the film a lot but he has his misogynoir still resting in his films even if it is poignant. And it was a film that honestly wasn’t really made for black people. And should all art be a response to direct trauma or trying to make ourselves palatable when we’re just human?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and it’s importance (capitalism) but also sorta individual responsibility

Considering a lot of these actors are rich and then just dip that’s another problem. Mainstream isn’t what sustains marginalized art ever. It doesn’t change in the vast ways we think it does. What changes is the people of these groups pushing, fighting, forcing and then capitalism trying to make it work under capitalism. It will not. It cannot.

This is why artists and labels often don’t mix or you see people like Sonic Youth doing whatever they want and pissing off their label but making them give them money. Same with Nirvana. Vince Staples. The thing is they can fight and make good shit but what capitalism helps people….not care? They don’t respect the audience? We’re getting those returns on poor executed product placement, lighting, editing, framing, fucking acting. And you surewon’t see mixed black asians in these shows. WHY R U is the oNLY one i have seen it in and he just disappears (but that was pretty cool.) so who the fuck is this representing? And before you start: asian countries are not homogenous the way we believe them to be. There are marginalized communities outside of even mixed people that are harmed. So you can skrrt cause on that one: you’re wrong buddy. But it gives us the IDEA of a paradise which is what they NEED.With representation and visibility comes consequence and responsibility as artists. What it allows them to do is coast and not think complexly because why should they; it’s mostly the fantasies of some older woman who probably has money and much less interaction with the world. It’s bonkers. And what that allows even further is for them to say YOU ARE THE THING THAT YOU CONSUME and the THING THAT YOU CONSUME IS YOURS. It is not, it is not your identity, form a close bond but figure it the fuck out. Especially for adults who are hellbent on twisting their minds into pretzels and can’t acknowledge what’s just laziness in art and not giving a fucking shit. Truly.

There’s damage that has been done from Parasite as he was supported by CJE&M and the bullshit obsession america had and eveyrone’s poor interpretation of it if they are rich. BJH is a socialist and he is a filmmaker. He has made films that are outstanding and cost a lot of money. But now a fear for indie filmmakers is just not being able to raise that much or have that much attention. Getting funding that helps them instead of expecting the Next Big Thing that is a fad because capitalism is trash. Yes this funneling of money is absolutely harmful to us artists. Even buying in is strategic. Additionally, that film is probs one of the most radical films to have that wide release and accolade (unlike “Sorry to Bother You” which i have a lot of thoughts about. One being that asian exports are acceptable but black ones are not. This is an overall art critique and global media critique. Blackness is removed, not respected.) However, filmmaking isn’t green, it can’t be socialist, and it’s a lot of work. They used tons and tons and TONS of water to do a huge beautiful feat but we still know there is a cost. We have to figure that out because it shouldn’t be. It doesn’t go back into the crew’s pockets the way it should and the work becomes that of the director’s and actors solely. It’s fucking hard. We have to do our part but it doesn’t mean we are doing it perfectly. We just have to try to do better. So does BJH cos he needs to not be a misogynist but anyways i digress.

additionally and this is something some users fail to understand: people in the media sphere generally have fucking money. I went to film school that was international with super fucking rich kids. Taiwanese kids, kids from south asia, china, thailand. They had money. No not upper middle class money, not “rich” money, not some paltry 1m that’s chump change. Fucking money. Fucking RICH-RICH. MILLIONAIRES. BILLIONAIRES. WHICH IS DISGUSTING MIGHT I ADD. The domestic people didn’t have the money for school (in the UK) and i am in a massive amount of debt like every other black student that went there. You do not understand how much money is needed to survive so people who turn to these crew positions even casting etc need this fucking money usually. OKAY. A lot of the people that do well in these dumb shows or even on a larger scale HAVE MONEY. The reason these industries are small and struggling is because of lack of people and lack of resources to independent shit because oh gee it takes money to make things.

Why should I try? Well you don’t have to really if you have money or a name. Yet...

We can tell when like those Tik Tok shows or DCOMs dont give a shit (anymore.) You know how frustrated we get when content for young people is garbage? Well, see, BL is literally that under that system. Occasionally we will get something good now but there is virtually no need in any sector in the world at this point to truly figure out how to make it better and what to do to enhance artistic literacy, outreach, teaching people new things, getting people from these communities there and having true realistic says. Art and culture is IMPERATIVE TO WORLD LIBERATION but not when it is so stiffly trying to bend to capital’s idea of progressiveness. No. Neoliberalism. No.

That’s why in a way ITSAY is a huge feat; it takes from films etc and they clearly had money (the actors rae rich too which….lmaooooo j’aime pas) but it was a respected fucking script, acting was important, blocking, framing. There’s very little to critique as a visual medium for that because I understand what they are trying to do, their market is going to be mostly young girls, but they RESPECT THE FUCKING AUDIENCE. And guess what guys? You can make money from it!!!! WOAH! Since that may be the only goal which is disgusting and repulsive.

HOWEVER AND THIS IS WHAT IS SAD: itsay is an ex of a great show however knowing the actors backgrounds and the pseudo trouble it stirred when they weren’t supporting people protesting against the coup in the summer it really put a damper on my enjoyment. And this is how we can see that:

a) it’s honestly just a show and a good one but b) now what?

These kids (actors, who are like idk 19? 20?) are rich and not saying anything while countless actors, who were filming, did. Even tul who has $$$$ and the thing is the protesting against the coup legitimately attacks the rich. As it should. The protests going on were cries for help, against a dictatorship and fucking coup, asking people to get fucking help for covid, having kids be able to live. There’s a mini on VICE about this and it probably doesnt go too in depth but there’s a kid in there who talks about his friends getting into drugs and how he just wants to make music, have fun, skateboard. And it’s harrowing to see. This is a direct example of what these things do and don’t do. Yea we know a good show is here, we know growing up and slice of life, we know this is a bit of escapism and idealism but the idealism is reflected in the way these actors also choose to live their lives. So what progress? To who? For who? How is this helping me? What purpose does it serve? I say ITSAY serves its purpose as a piece and a glimpse into possibility of growing up but i do not say it antagonizes a broader issue that needs to be relevant in some sense but simply is not. It’s very singleminded and, well, it’s sort of like “besides my sexuality, what do i have to worry about?” But for real humans like....a lot. I do not respect their decision at all.

Why can’t we do our jobs and make something decent and respect our audience? No time, gotta make that sweet sweet sweet cash baybee. Look how progressive we are! Don’t look at history and material conditions. Thanks in advance, management.

History 4 does not have that respect. Many of these shows do not. Sometimes we hit good, sometimes we don’t. But in the end we cannot settle. And I won’t. If I am critiquing something I will not be shy and if I am meant to enjoy something as escapism then these shows NEED to highlight that and it’s rare sometimes (the best twins is a good reminder like that show is bad but man do i Brain Empty when i turn it on and i like that and there’s not much in it that makes me want to kill myself from annoyance but there are transphobic jokes i dont love however the whole show is a comedy about this dude’s crazy homophobic sister and she is constantly positioned as wrong and they talk about the aforementioned trans women as the actor was in drag. Interesting that they can manage that, huh?)

Oh btw.....taiwan has a very complicated history but ignore all the bad stuff it’s good now you can kinda sorta get married and stuff. KMT? You know how i learned that? I care about human beings and read about it lmao. I am not Taiwanese and look at that. So now I have historical and DIALECTICAL~**~*~****~*~*~ context so i can judge it as an artist, a black woman from america, and from the knowledge i have to pick up on their history to see if this fits into a broader picture besides the micro-one of sexuality on an individualized level. And this is kinda where it comes full circle: these shows are not you, you are not them, they do not exist in a vacuum because nothing does. The failure to critique now means continuing on as it has and it will still do so. History and time are not linear in the sense we think it is. Someitmes things are better, sometimes things feel more austere. We are not living under liberation though and these shows are not going to do so. So they are not US nor are they for a nebulous “us” of which the groups are all fractured and have diff opinions anyway (my opinion as a black american is going to vary from an asian woman’s say and that could really clash and i do not feel solidarity with all those in every community i am for several reasons.)

Final thots that have taken up my time and the only thing i actually wanted to write but got distracted:

Anyway my dissertation is that I ilke Muren and LiCheng a lot a lot and i like how cute they are and how truly dumb li cheng is. This is an example of mostly good writing, decent actors, nice chemistry, and sort of a calmness to them. And I super enjoy how Muren is pretty forward with LC in the sense that being together is like very important to truly be together. When he was like “no i didnt forget!” Or when LC asked him something in the office I forget it was 6 am and again i almost threw up and muren nodded and then LC leaned on him. Very cute. I want more of them tho i may have to skip that othre couple (the cameo the ones from MODC) but omfg the younger one HIS HAIR GREW SO MUCH HE LOOKS SO MATURE AND CUTE OMFGIJ0HUG9SAOGIJPKOAGJSIOHUAGIJP hahhaha the one good thing i will say about THEM.idk how old the actor is i figure he was young idk it makes me happy to see him he’s very cute. I hope he’s in something i can watch and not gag at. Is he hot? Who knows but he is a cutie!!

Anyway muren and lc have a good thing going it’s nice to watch ho\pe they dont fuck it up but im truly a sucker for some true finds 2 luvas i think some user on her\e was like i’m not a fan of friends ot lovers bc it doesn’t seem like they’re actually friends and maybe they were referring to this show idk. But it made me think and it was a very good observation. So i think they are friends and also luvrs <3

[somedayslater]

Hey i was the anon here !! (sorry abt the BL blog lol, its an old one i found back but the characters limit in ask is annoying). And thanks for the answer !! With this answer and the answers of the other asks, I think I know where you’re coming from and I understand it ! I still kind of disagree tho.

One of the ask was about how its important to make a distinction between radfem and terf and I totally agree. Radfem are feminists, in that they strive to improve the status of women by putting emphasis on the material conditions of gender and think all discriminations come back to misogyny. By now, I think any serious feminists can agree that radfem are missing several important points and their opinion is misguided by the fact they’re more interested in the improvement of THEIR conditions (most often middle and upper class, white, abled, cis women) than the conditions of all women. Its doesnt negate the fact most of them know what they are talking about and know about the feminist theoretical bases even if they’re deeply wrong and late. Also, even if their belief system is prone to transphobia, it doesnt mean all radfem are transphobic - you can even meet radfem trans people (TIRF) on here and feel sorry for whatever happens in their head that cause them so much self-hate.

TERF on the other hand, is becoming a catch-all term than most ppl dont even know the meaning of. For lot of ppl now terf just mean “i hate trans ppl”, even people who call themselves TERF ! Like you said, now lot of ppl use the term TERF just as an excuse to be transphobic. in their blogs, you dont see any feminist discussions (even radfem ones), just transphobia. And if they lie about being feminist to be transphobic, you can be sure lot of them lie about having been traumatized by men to justify their transphobia too. So when I see TERF talking about their trauma and how thats what motivating their belief I’m always REALLY suspicious -saying you hate trans women because you have been traumatized by penis sure seem more ok than saying you just want trans women to die bc it makes you uncomfortable. It has the bonus effect of either making ppl lose time to acknowledge your trauma and making the conversation about you and how you are the real victim, or accusing people who are not acknowledging your trauma to not care about women trauma, being misogynist and bou-hou. It’s weaponizing your (cis) privilege to steal the platform of victimhood. And honestly it makes me think of white women crying and accusing black men of rape when things dont go their way -same technique. That’s why I think saying again and again that some terf are transphobic bc of trauma is a really bad idea long-term and can be detrimental for the feminist and trans movement, and for trans ppl’s mental health specifically (i hope i dont come as condescending and knowing better whats good for you lol, its obv your blog so you put wtv you want on it and its obv your life so you know better whats good for you too, but for me at least as a transie i really dont want ppl to tell me that the ppl who wants to kill me just bc i exist is bc of the “original sin” of my gender and that i should be understanding of them).

Ok im so sorry for the long post bc im going to continue since im too lazy to make another one lol. About the other asks about how terf space are cult-y, prey on existing trauma and vulnerability and all -> Once again I totally agree with you and the anon, the terf rabbithole is definitely a cult doing all that. But all bigot groups do that, so we can definitely compare them to other bigot groups ! Arent incels a cult who prey on the loneliness of men traumatized by toxic masculinity ? Arent white supremacists a cult who prey on the loneliness of white people traumatized by capitalism (the end of social and non-productive relationships) ?

Its always the same trick.

The group who have the REAL privileges aims to create discord in the group who doesnt have it. It creates discord by essentializing social norms and group (”POC/jewish are savages/greedy/what-have-you!!”=white supremacists or “trans women are men and men are violent rapist!!”=terf or “men are strong and reliable and women are weak and soft and queers are depraved!!”=incel) ; by assigning false privileges (”POC/jewish have secretly all the powers and are manipulating the media!!” or “trans women use their male privilege to invade women space and fetishize us!!” or “women use their charm to control men !!”) ; by inventing conspiracies (”POC/jewish wants to erase the white race we are under siege!!” or “trans women wants to erase the real women we are under siege!!” or “women and queer wants to erase real men we are under siege!! Queers wants to rape children!!”). So, instead of having workers of color and white workers fighting together against capitalists ; instead of having trans and cis women fighting against the patriarchy ; instead of having queers and men fighting against heteronormativity or toxic masculinity… we have the people who have slightly more privilege in the same group fighting against their peers, and nothing change.

<- I’m obviously schematizing a lot and i know other theorists have said this better than i have. I also dont want to put intent in this system : i honestly dont think all capitalists know races are bullshits and are consciously creating them to keep privileges ; and i honestly dont think all men know patriarchy is bullshit and are consciously contributing to it to keep their privilege. Its a self-sustaining system where every actor, not matter on what side of the barrier they are, is in good faith. Most of the time.

(Though its funny its always the same companies/advocates/doctors who keep lobbying against queers and women rights, against civil rights, for war, against free education and health system… i know its a system but im pretty sure some actors are more cynical than others).

And everybody in every of those group is honestly traumatized and sincerely believes the other part of the group is down to kill them, rape them, erase their culture, etc. Its doesnt make it more true, and treating their belief as anything else than delusion is at best a waste of time and at worst dangerous. 

We live in a world where it’s disturbingly easy for men to abuse or rape women without consequences, yes. It’s right to say that a lot of women are mistrustful and fearful of men, because their experiences and their education taught them it was a wise thing to do. But you cant tell me that anyone can honestly confuse a cis man with a trans woman. I’m trans and when I see a trans person, especially a trans woman, I instinctually cringe because of how out-of-the-norm she looks (and it breaks my heart to feel that, believe me). Look, I’ve been gay all my life but when I see a man acting just a tad bit not-masculine in a hetero-setting (aka most of settings) I cringe too. Gender roles and queerphobia are so ingrained in us that the gayest person on earth is going to feel something is wrong (in the sense of out-of-norm) when someone is even slightly gender non-conforming. There’s this funny post about how primary school bullies are the best at diagnosing you with gay -right before punching you- and its funny bc its true. To put it blandly, I dont think Im wrong when I say nobody is going to see a trans woman and honestly confuse her with a cis man ; at best they’re going to think she’s a woman (so putting her in the same danger as a cis woman), or they’re going to think there’s something wrong with them (so putting them in more danger than a cis woman).

And terf honestly want us to believe them when they say they feel threatened by trans women bc of a legitimate reason like past trauma inflicted by a man ? When nobody in our society can confuse trans women and cis men ? When they literally have to harass women in the toilet to see what’s in their pants to know if they’re those malicious trans women ? I call that bullshit. It’s not what’s happening, it never was what was happening. They feel threatened by trans people because their transphobia and cisnormativity core belief make them instantaneously feel something is wrong. Instead of working on that and thinking about why they think its wrong and deconstructing their destructive beliefs, they prefer to double down on their prejudice and use whatever excuse to justify their discomfort. An excuse where they got to be the real victim is just the cherry on the top (once again, no conscious effort or intent on their part in that).

Terf can be honestly traumatized by men, but they putting the blame on another group (trans women) cant be taken seriously. White women can honestly be traumatized by men, but they putting the blame on another group (black or other poc) cant be taken seriously. White & poor workers can honestly be traumatized by capitalists/capitalism, but they putting the blame on another group (immigrants, poor ppl from other countries) cant be taken seriously. We have to stay focused on the real problem and the real culprits because giving in to their delusions (encouraged, fabricated by society delusions, but still delusions) is a step back.

Really sorry about this long ass post lol, in any case (if you’re still reading lol) i really think your blog is cool and im happy bc i see ppl coming forward asking you difficult questions that are essential and you taking the time and the respect to answer them seriously. i feel like more and more ppl dont dare to ask questions bc of the fear of being mocked, ridiculed, or insulted, and now ppl dont understand feminism or trans questions because anything else than posting memes abt “being trans rules” or “being trans sucks” is an attack on their group… thats how we have “trans allies” parroting radfem points without realizing i guess. so i really hope i dont come as adversary in this post bc i honestly mostly agree with u lol, im just really interested in talking about stuff. Thank you for your time (─‿‿─) 

(also my english can be weird i think, i hope i still spoke clearly :U )

(also i follow from afar but like without an account so thats why im not a follower, but if i was active on SM id definitely be :D )

.

Hello i love ur blog !! BUT honestly it makes me feel uncomfortable u keep saying some terfs are transphobic bc of trauma. Its the reason they use bc they know its more hearable than "i hate trans bc i benefit from the statu quo of being cis/dont like ppl who are not in the norms/etc". Some of them may believe it, but its sounds the same as racists who say "i hate black ppl bc ive been mugged by them/arabic ppl bc once an arab stole my stuff". Its BS n in bad faith, why give it a platform ?

Ok first of all, there are a couple steps in between someone experiencing that trauma and becoming a transphobe. Generally, from what I've seen, radfem circles are full of women who have been deeply traumatized by their experiences with men and radfem rhetoric around men speaks to them. Once they're in there long enough the transphobia seems completely reasonable.

Secondly I need to make it clear that just because someone has a trauma response associated with their bigotry that doesn't make it ok or mean they should be treated with kid gloves like they're still being a bigot.

[indigo-still-life]

check in tag ✅

i was tagged by @jaehyukkies to answer these questions! 💖

1. why did you choose your url?

sky gray is one of the most beautiful songs i've heard and i love ha:tfelt (yeeun) so here we are!

2. any side blogs? if you have them name them and why you have them.

active sideblogs? Cuz I have several abandoned ones. @moonsehyoon ... im sorry for leaving you my beloved

I do have another tumblr account @thesalamanderspot (a nature aesthetic blog) and the sideblog for that is @woggleblog (art/miscellanious stuff) and i have those mostly so i don't overwhelm my kpop blog with non-kpop posts

ooh almost forgot i have @halyangdream which i started when i got into bl dramas recently but i only post there sporadically

3. how long have you been on tumblr?

since 2014... on this very same blog

4. do you have a queue tag?

i'm very boring and sometimes use "q" to indicate that i'm away. and sometimes I don't, just to add some mystery

5. why did you start your blog in the first place?

I first made an account bc tumblr was where all the troye sivan stans were hanging out in 2014...then i got into dan and phil and that phase lasted a few years

then...2019, the year i got into kpop (I know! I'm always late to the party!) i changed overnight into a bts, hobi-centric blog and progressively got more and more multi. as you can see

6. why did you choose your icon/pfp?

(you weren't asking for the whole history of my blog but you got it)

because ha:tfelt is one of my fav artists and i love the green color of her outfit

7. why did you choose your header?

i wanted something green and not too busy and i think those sparkly/snowing type of gif headers are so pretty. plus its monet, you can't go wrong

8. what's your post with the most notes?

back in my dan and phil days i got 6.5k notes on a compilation of phil smiling

9. how many mutuals do you have?

i don't know exactly...but i cherish each and every one of them!

10. how many followers do you have?

Not a lot

11. how many people do you follow?

267

12. have you ever made a shitpost?

Nope, what even is that anymore tho

13. how often do you use tumblr each day?

I scroll through it like the morning newspaper and then if I'm on my laptop i always have a tab open. The question is when am I NOT on tumblr??? when I'm at work, asleep,,,,

14. did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? who won?

No, I only like having rational/analytical discussions. no fighting

15. how do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this’ posts?

I'll reblog it if I feel like it. I used to feel more guilty about ignoring those posts but I think in most situations it's more important to get properly cited information than to reblog to ease the guilt

16. do you like tag games?

YES especially ones that involve music hehe. The handwriting tag was my fav tho!

17. do you like ask games?

sometimes, if i'm feeling in a talkative/energetic mood

18. which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?

hmmm...any content creators cuz y'all are iconic!

19. do you have a crush on a mutual?

yes ❤️ (see below)

20. tags?

@hanbbin @halfabrandybuck @neomuniverse @jessthemyday@catchmewjsn @yootaeyanq @bisexualhobi @bobbythepoohh @namjon @hosnack @jinsgalaxy @mondbebe @dongkwan @himbojin @mistaken52htzsilence @chawoongs @exysgirl @mvpksj @minki-s @bumblebeeyeongkwan @gyukai @danceryoongi @senor-hoberto @pathtospring @korimi4 @pinkhyojin @okaysign

no pressure I mostly just wanted y'all to see this 😜