#But it is owned and operated by the developers

[hellothereobiwankenobi]

yellow ribbon on the door | chapter three

⟢ summary: You are questioning the dynamic between you and Joel, when he suddenly shows up to the flower shop. Again.

⟢ pairing: joel miller x afab!reader (femme but not descriptive as to actual features)

⟢ wc: 2.7k

⟢ tags: no outbreak au, flower shop au, angst, idiots in love, small age gap ( joel is 35 and reader is 29 about to be 30), trauma related to the loss of a love one, operation desert storm mentioned, reader is a single mother to ellie, no beta reader we die like men

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Joel lets Tommy get him obscenely drunk that night. He had accepted the pounding headache he would have the following morning as his penance for how he had treated you. Every sharp look, every clipped response, everytime he had denied your kindness ran through his head like a movie. Joel had been cruel to you in an effort to disguise the emotions he had been trying to repress since your first meeting. The shame and anger he had for himself as he developed feelings for his younger brother’s girlfriend being projected onto you.

But if you weren’t really Tommy’s girlfriend… Joel was just a dick.

The two stay until closing and stumble down the two streets to the elder's house. By the time they enter the home, Sarah has been asleep for hours. Both brothers struggle up the stairs and separate into their respective bedrooms. Tommy in the guest room, and Joel in the master.

Joel tosses and turns until sunrise. Every time he closes his eyes, his tortured mind finally allowing him to find sleep, he sees snapshots of your brokenhearted expression from that morning. He screwed up, and he knew it.

Joel wakes with a start at a loud banging on his door.

“Alarm!” Sarah shouts through the thin barrier separating the bedroom from the hallway. Joel turns his head and sees the digital clock on his nightstand reads 6:30 AM. He slams a fist down on the snooze button, silencing the screeching alarm, and buries his face back into the pillows.

Joel can smell bacon sizzling on the stove as he eventually makes his way downstairs. He squints, trying to block out the golden morning light flooding in from the kitchen window.

Tommy alternates his attention between two frying pans before him, cheerfully pushing around bacon and eggs in each “Mornin’, sunshine.”

Joel can only grunt as he opens the cabinet housing his assorted collection of coffee mugs. His fingers wrap around the ceramic handle of a canary-colored one, and he brings it to rest on the counter. Joel fills his mug from the freshly brewed coffee pot. He can’t understand how Tommy could be so chipper after the night they had, and so few hours of sleep.

“You’re all outta pancake mix. Was lookin’ forward to havin’ a stack this morning.” Tommy takes three plates from the cabinet and sets them on the circular dining table opposite the kitchen.

“You can always sleep at your own place next time.” Joel glares at his brother half-heartedly, bringing the mug to his lips. He savors that first sip as if it could make everything from the last twenty-four hours better.

“And miss the look on that beautiful face first thing in the mornin’?” Tommy flashes Joel the same devious smile he’s had since they were boys, grabbing the frying pans and bringing them to the table. He places equal portions of bacon and eggs on each plate. “Nah, I’m fine right here.”

Joel didn’t have the energy to go back and forth with Tommy this morning. No amount of coffee could stop the hangover rattling his skull and the guilt pulling tight in his chest from draining all his energy. “What am I gonna do?”

Tommy knew he wasn’t referring to the hangover. He calls up the stairs to Sarah before turning back to the older man. “Don't know, big brother. But it sure is gonna be fun to watch.”

+ + + + +

That following weekend, the smell of blueberry scones fills the air of your single-story, ranch-style home. You stand in your kitchen, hip leaning against the white tile countertop, drinking your third cup of coffee this morning. You had woken up before sunrise to prepare for today.

It is your turn to host the Gold Star Widows of Austin bimonthly brunch. Three quiches in wide glass baking dishes, a rectangular fruit platter, large serving trays stacked with pillowy crepes, crunchy bacon, scrambled eggs, pitchers of juice for the children, and sangria for the adults cover every horizontal surface in the kitchen.

In about an hour, the members of Austin's GSW chapter and more children than you can count would be packed, shoulder to shoulder, in your modest three-bedroom. You had helped the other spouses host in the past, but this was the first time you held your own. It quickly spiraled into more work than you had anticipated. Thankfully, you have backup of your own.

After you had learned your husband had been killed in action, the Army provided you with several resources to help you transition through the mourning process. One of these resources was a local support group for grieving widows of U.S. servicemen and women. Daniella Harris had been the first friend you made while attending meetings.

Dani had a natural sense of confidence—the kind you had to be born with. She was unapologetically herself. You admired her straightforwardness, honesty, and lack of fear for speaking her mind. Despite all the darkness losing the love of your life brings, she never let it consume her.

Dani watches your hands as you bring the coffee mug to your lips.

"Heaven above, how long has it been since you had a fill?" Of course, she noticed the sizable gap between your acrylic nails and cuticles.

Dani had been working as a nail technician since she was in high school. While her husband was on his first deployment in Iran, she had opened a small home studio in her spare bedroom. Over many months, she gained a small following in the Austin area. "I'm puttin’ you on my books for next week. Sure I got an openin’ somewhere."

"I'm working every day at the shop. Wedding season is almost over, and I need to squeeze in as many orders before things slow down in the Fall." You curl your fingers and stare down at your nails. "Even if I did have some time off, I don't have anyone to watch Ellie."

Dani grabs one of the large serving dishes from the counter with both hands and carries it to the dining room. She calls over her shoulder, "What about that handsome handyman you been seein’?"

"Dani, don't be gross. You know me and Tommy are just friends." You scrunch up your nose and set down your coffee mug. Grabbing a tray, you follow after her. "And last time he watched Ellie, she came home with a new favorite four-lettered word."

Tommy had come back into your life after your husband's funeral. The two men had lost touch over the years, but you had heard countless stories about the bond they formed in Kuwait. You felt it was only right to invite him to the memorial service.

"Oh, not him." She shakes her head, flashing a teasing smile. "The other handsome handyman in your life."

You realize she's referring to Joel. You could count on one hand how many times you had brought him up in conversation. The most you had told Dani about him was that he's Tommy's brother, he is a single father of a teenage daughter, and he acts as though being in the same room as you causes him physical pain.

That is, until about a month ago. After putting Ellie to bed, the two of you were sitting on your couch enjoying one too many glasses of sweet red wine. In your alcohol-induced haze, you had confessed to suppressing a primal urge to rip Joel's clothes off and fuck him until neither of you could walk straight the following day.

"Oh, the asshole." You were failing to hold back a sneer. The memory of your last interaction flashes in your mind. You had mistakenly thought Joel was finally warming up to you. Instead, he left you standing on the curb in front of your flower shop, feeling like a fool.

When Tommy had first told you about his brother, you were excited to meet him. He had explained Joel was on the quiet side, which some people can find a bit off-putting. Behind the stoic facade, he was a big softie. He was protective, dependable, and had a type of southern charm only men from Texas had. You had hoped to befriend him as he understood what it is like to raise a daughter alone. The way Tommy spoke about his brother made him seem like a kind man who was trying his best. The image you had made of Joel in your mind was nothing like the man you met.

"Still that bad?" She offers you a sympathetic look.

"I just don't understand him." Crossing your arms over your chest, you let out a long sigh. "He refused to even look at me at his daughter's birthday party but shows up two days later to fix something in the shop. Then, as soon as he's done, he acts like he can't leave fast enough."

The corner of Dani's mouth curl upward "Sounding like a hate fuck waitin’ to happen."

"Trust me, there is no chance." You immediately shut the thought down. "Not with him."

A twisted pang of guilt hits you dead center in the chest. "Not with anyone. Not yet, at least."

Dani closes the gap between you and gently squeezes your upper arm. "You're allowed to be happy. Movin’ forward with your life don’t mean you love him any less."

Dani understood the mix of complex emotions you were experiencing better than anyone else. She had lost her own husband, Staff Sergeant Kenneth Harris, in 2001.

Whenever you thought you were ready to start dating again, a wild vine of shame would wrap around your heart and squeeze. Why do you get a second chance at love when your husband would never have the same opportunity? You don't believe you deserve the happiness moving on would give you. You told yourself you certainly don't deserve all the compassion the other widows have shown you.

Not after what you did.

Tears well up along your waterline, threatening to spill onto your cheeks. Dani pulls you in for a warm hug, stroking your back. You wrap the gesture and force the nausea-inducing guilt that plagued you to the back of your mind. The two of you stay like this for a long moment.

The timer on the stove announces that the scones are ready to leave the oven.

"I'll grab them." Dani pulls away first. "Go clean yourself up. You know how us Texans are about lookin’ presentable."

Entering the master bedroom, you see your reflection in a mirror hanging on the wall. You are quite the sight. A streak of flour runs across your cheek, and your eyes are red and puffy. You splash cold water on your face, washing away any evidence of your labors, and calming the crimson encircling your eyes.

Taking a deep, centering breath, you reach for your teak wood jewelry box. Pulling the lid back, your eyes focus on what you are searching for: a modest, single-diamond engagement ring and matching yellow gold band. You pull the set out and slide them on your left ring finger. Even when your husband was alive, you rarely wore them. When asked, you would explain you were afraid to lose them in the garden or drop them down the drain while doing dishes. You always believe love shouldn't be proven by wearing jewelry but by your actions toward those you care for. You only wear them now around the other widows, who all still wear their own.

+ + + + +

The replacement copper pipe for your A/C unit arrives Wednesday evening of the following week. On Thursday morning, Joel is stepping into your shop, carrying his navy tool bag. You're helping a young couple, allowing them to mix and match different peony colors for the centerpieces of their wedding reception.

The silver bell above the door chimes, bringing your attention to the entrance. Your friendly smile falters momentarily when you see it is Joel. Your expression returns to normal as you turn back to the couple. "I'll be right back. If you'd like, you can look at the vase options in here." You lay your hand on a white three-ring binder next to the register.

Walking over to where Joel is standing, you offer him a stilted "Good morning."

You're wearing the same floral sundress from Sarah's party paired with your sunshine yellow apron.

"The part came in." Joel holds up the hand holding the little copper pipe as though showing it to you was enough to explain his reasoning for being here.

"Uh huh," You nod your head slowly. That still didn't explain why it's Joel who's here. Your last exchange made it pretty clear to you that he had no interest in coming back.

"Can I—" he gestures to the door separating the storage room from the main storefront.

Stepping to the side, you allow him to move past you and enter the backroom. Joel grabs the handle of the walk-in cooler and gives it a good tug. Nothing happens. He pulls again, and still nothing. He tries for a third time, and the latch finally clicks open.

As he enters the cooler, a panicked thought enters his mind. What would happen if you were here alone and the door accidentally closed behind you? What if you can't get the door open? You’re trapped inside, at the mercy of a faulty door handle. No one would know you were back here. The linen sundresses you are so fond of are fit for the Texas sun, not a 35-degree refrigerator. He sees flashes of you running your hands up and down your bare upper arms, desperately trying to stay warm as hypothermia slowly sets in.

He couldn't have that.

Joel sets down his tools and returns to his truck to retrieve his ladder. He flips the shut-off switch on the cooler's outer wall and gets to work.

It only takes Joel a few minutes to install the new coolant pipe and restart the A/C unit. After he is satisfied with his work on the walk-in, he turns his attention to the faulty handle. He's able to disassemble it and find the issue. A tiny metal spring housed in the locking mechanism is bent to an awkward angle. Pulling his smallest pair of needle nose pliers, he meticulously bends the spring back into place before reassembling the handle.

When Joel returns from the backroom, the young couple has left, leaving the two of you alone.

"All done?" You don't bring your eyes to meet him as you dust around a shelf of leafy house plants.

"Yeah." Joel nods his head once, "All done."

In the past, on the rare instances Joel decides to grant you a word, he would stare disinterestedly at something across the room. But this time, he hasn't taken his eyes off of you. Now, it’s you refusing to meet his gaze. A painful ache grows in his chest as he mentally begs you for just one look.

A long silence hangs between the two of you. It's him that breaks it.

"That coffee shop still there?" He has to stop himself from recoiling at his own question. That was probably the dumbest thing he had ever asked. Of course, it was still there. It's not as though they had packed up and moved in the past ten days.

"Could use a cup right 'bout now." Joel adds, "My treat."

Your surprise at the offer finally breaks your gaze from the task before you and to Joel. Your eyes search his face for any reason why he would say that. All you found was a look of tortured sincerity in his brown eyes.

You have to look away. The feeling manifesting in your chest at that sight was threatening to overwhelm you. Crossing your arms over your chest, trying to find comfort, you tell him, "Maybe another time. I have a lot of orders to prepare for this afternoon."

"Oh," He breathes. He isn't sure what he was expecting your answer to be, but it wasn't this.

Remorse claws painfully at your ribcage. He was finally trying to be civil, but all you could think of was the memory of his tail lights leaving you alone on the street. "Is there anything?"

"No, ma'am." Joel gives you a polite nod of his head before exiting the store.

You take a moment to catch your breath. You decide it's best not to dwell on whatever just happened between the two of you. Entering the backroom, intending to get back to work. Pulling on the walk-in cooler's handle, the door opens on the first try.

Oh.

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⟢ authors notes: I know I say this every time, but I want to give a big thank you to everyone who has read and interacted with the story so far. I can't overstate how much each reblog, like, and comment means to me.

I originally wasn't going to write the first Joel/Tommy scene, but I felt the chapter needed something else. Also, with Reader going through it, I figured we could all use a silly little scene our two favorite brothers. I felt so bad for breaking Joel's heart like that. He's a sweet little puppy, but he needs to put the work in to win over out dear Reader.

I have a number of future scenes written, including the first to smutty scene. I am just adding the in between parts. I am also cooking up an unrelated Old Man! Joel one-shot, but YRotD is my main priority.

Lastly, I have had a couple lovely users who requested to be tagged as the story updates. If you would like to be add to the tag list, please comment or inbox me.

⟢ tag list: @koshkaj-blog @orcasoul @damneddamsy @legoemma

[maybe-boys-do-love]

SOTUS S: The Secret Four-Act of Love Between Us

Five episodes into SOTUS S, I wanted to cry. Nothing tragic had happened. The major plot climaxes were nowhere near. If I'm honest, I had felt pretty indifferent to the sequel series up to that point. Its more expensive production elements, relaxed pace, comedic sound queues, broader characterizations, and blatant callbacks to the original series seemed more akin to  cash-grabbing commercial projects that followed in SOTUS's wake. Some were fun and some fell flat, but those series lacked the show's layered writing or direction. By the end of episode 5, however, something shifted. It continued to surprise my narrative expectations from there on out, offering new ways to appreciate many other BL series due to the clarity of its formal structure. This review is my attempt to understand how and why. 

SOTUS S doesn’t primarily operate by the most prominent Western storytelling rules—the three act or five act structures that build toward a culminating conflict for a climax before an exhaustive resolution. Nor does SOTUS S make as much of an attempt to blend its structure in with the Western storytelling rules as its predecessor did. Instead, it’s a striking example of the Four-Act structure (from hereon: 4Act) that developed in China and spread to Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia as noted by @kimyoonmiauthor. It’s prominently used in Japan by manga, anime, novelists, and game creators under its Japanese name Kishotenketsu. If you’ve heard about “the three episode rule” in which you have to watch the first three episodes of an anime before passing judgment, that’s often unknowingly related to the principles of the 4Act structure. 

Rather than refer to the Kishotenketsu model here, however, I’d like to use the four parts as defined by the original Chinese poetic form in Adeline Bindra’s explanation for the Savanna Post:

Qi– Bringing into Being

Cheng– Understanding

Zhuan– Changing

He– Drawing Together

I’ve found these definitions more helpful for understanding than the Japanese terms and their English translations, like “introduction,” “twist,” “development,” etc, which have meanings in the Western tradition that differ from they’re use in the Asian narratives. 

Some caveats:

1. I’m an American just trying to figure this out from my own experiences with Asian media and others’ writings about the structure and cultures that utilize it. There’s a ton of Orientalism in writing about the subject of the 4Act structure, and I try my best, but I can’t promise I won’t accidentally slip into some of that rhetoric.

2. No single culture’s a monolith, so not every writer in the cultures will use these structures the same or at all, and the different cultures referenced here—Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Korean—also differ dramatically between one another, and so do their approaches to the 4Act. 

3. Cultures have been interacting and changing forever. Shakespeare included a reference to a Christianized translation of the Buddha’s story in Merchant of Venice, for one example. Asian influences have been a part of Western writing for a long time and vice versa. Western media’s pervasive throughout the world. Inevitably, you’ll see shared aspects from intermingling as well as convergent development. My goal is not to essentialize any people, culture, or story, only to isolate in this instance the feature of the 4Act in SOTUS, which has well-documented Asian roots. 

4. This is a narrative structure not a moral guide on how one should live life at all times. Some writers claim ethical, political, and philosophical implications for its use. However, you get to be the judge of when and how to use it in your perspectives as an audience, creator, and a human being just making it through in the world. 

5. Thai culture has its own specific traditions around this structure and other plot structures that I’m not focusing on here simply for lack of info in English. I’d love to hear more about that from others more knowledgeable than me. Is it taught in schools or writing classes? Does it relate to other Thai dramatic structures? I don���t have the answer, but my mind is inquiring to anyone who does!

6. As with all my posts, feel free to message me about or correct me on mistakes or add more context where I falter.

Hopefully in isolating and differentiating the 4Act model as much as possible from the Western model here, I can demonstrate the latter’s importance to SOTUS S and many other BLs. From here, I’ll try to do a side-by-side comparison of the elements of that 4Act structure with SOTUS S. Spoilers abound for SOTUS S along with several other BLs.

Qi: Bringing into Being 

Premiering in 2018, SOTUS S offered audiences one of the first examples that I know of a BL live-action  about an unequivocally established couple. That fact necessitates a model distinct from the traditional romantic arc you’d find in guides like Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes and graphed below by Jenna Harte. 

With an established couple, the whole first act of this three act structure is useless. Our pair already met and they like each other. We already watched them fight through this whole mountainous arc to achieve their romantic HEA (happily ever after for those unaware).

Here’s where our 4Act comes in. Qi, our first act, rather than setting up the characters with some spark the protagonist will have to deal with later on, focuses more heavily on establishing the environment the characters exist within. It's less pressed about setting its conflict into motion. As Jay Six explains helpfully in his self-published book, A Practical Guide to: Kishotenketsu, “The story often starts by establishing a detailed, richly textured world. This focus on observation allows readers to immerse themselves in the environment and the characters, setting up a deep connection with the narrative.” In SOTUS S, that means we get domestic fluff with gentle implications about Kongthob and Art sleeping together. We wander the campus to see Kongpob’s friends in the engineering faculty, now in their third year and in the position of hazers (distinct from the American concept for anyone who’s unfamiliar) to a new set of freshmen. We greet Arthit’s friends at the bar. Then, we follow Art to the new setting of an engineering firm where he’s beginning employment after an internship. You will be taken aback if you, like me, expected all of these characters and settings to be relevant to the action throughout the series. 

I have a brain trained to expect the beginnings of a story to provide a clear impetus for a central problem, as if the story ought to have an on-switch that starts the gears of the narrative turning. My first instinct when it became apparent SOTUS S had not done that was to ascribe the emergences and dissipations of certain elements at the university as service to fans of the original series—let them get a taste of the characters, coupledom, and little university scenes they loved before moving onto the meat of the plot. 

That’s a natural expectation when you’re used to stories focusing exclusively on conflict and individual power. Each piece of the story should link to their effort toward their goal. Bindra describes the ‘dharmic structure’ of the Western narrative arc: “The character is pursuing a specific Dharma, a ‘path’ or ‘way,’ toward a tangible end goal.” Whether they succeed or fail matters greatly under this framework. 

In opposition is the ‘Karmic structure,’ where characters “simply go about their lives until they are forced to react to some bizarre, unforeseen circumstance.” All the elements matter in the Karmic structure but not as a set of stairs the protagonist climbs or a steady accumulation of coins to pay off in the end. The general environment has a larger role to play and the individual has less responsibility in the events that unfold, which impacts the opening. Anaea Lay’s description explains the emphasis on thematic development in the beginning over a Western plot ignition.

“You are much less likely to run into an “inciting incident” or similar in this introduction than you would in an X-Act structure. Instead, what you’ll find are the themes and images the work will be using. You aren’t here to find out what kind of wild ride you’re about to engage in; rather, this is setting you up for what argument or ideas you’re about to witness.” 

That’s why anime fans have a three-episode rule before deciding on their engagement with a series. Those first three episodes have no obligation under the 4Act to indicate the adventure that’s about to occur. 

In the first episode we see Arthit stumble through a disorganized orientation to his first day at work, joining the procurement department at an engineering firm, a stepping stone towards a role at the company more suited to his interests. During an early meal out with his new coworkers, he misses the opportunity to share his relationship with his coworkers. His nervousness is palpable in the moment, and Krist shines in portraying Arthit’s acute anxiety realistically throughout the show. The fear of homophobic reactions isn’t made explicit, but the subtext can’t be ignored with the dramatic music, forlorn expression, and greater context. 

Yet, the show is generous enough to present a moment of possibility, too, where Art seems about to share about his partner before getting interrupted. Bravery isn’t a singular character trait, the scene suggests, but a fleeting feeling dependent on circumstance and luck. It renders the ‘coming out’ narrative that emerges for Art a bit different—less individual and insurgent than the classic western coming-out narrative in, say, The Birdcage or Love, Simon. He has legitimate interests in the appropriate setting, occasion, and timing to maintain positive relationships. He didn’t lack courage as much as he missed the proper moment. 

I’m not of any kind of Asian descent, but these were major values in my personal family culture. I only came out to my family once I had a partner and a cousin’s new same-sex partner came up in conversation at the dinner table. My family simply didn’t discuss internal emotional states, straight or queer, my parents didn’t kiss in public or in front of me and my sister, so bringing up a sexual identity without any outward indicator of my own sexuality didn’t make sense. 

And before anyone jumps to the conclusion that this was some deeper issue of generational repression, know that plenty of research backs up this collectivist-oriented relational style as a broader Appalachian cultural norm (which my family exists within). While no culture exists totally on one part of the spectrum, it like most East and Southeast Asian cultures gets categorized as a high context culture, which prioritizes interpersonal relationships and draws on less direct verbal and nonverbal communication strategies to artfully maintain them when possible. Further research, much of it collected in the fascinating book, Between Us: How Cultures Create Emotions by Batja Mesquita, frames psychological well-being not in a single universal way of interacting, but in interactions and understandings that align beneficially with one’s surrounding culture. 

“I’m working [at the company] already,” Arthit in bed advises Kongpob, “but I still have to learn to adapt.” There’s the crux of Arthit’s story in SOTUS S: how can he find proper alignment of his own unique characteristics to integrate himself within his new work culture, in a department he had little desire or skills to master? Protagonists in a 4Act are responsive rather than goal-oriented. With the same acknowledgement that you can’t control the circumstances you’re born into, they don’t have control over the problematic circumstances they are thrust into by the karmic plot. 

Arthit makes a great 4Act protagonist in SOTUS S. He isn’t the strict senior disciplinarian from the opening of the original series, nor is he the warm, open character healed by that show’s happy ending. The senior is now the nervous junior at the firm, eager to please and conform—these latter traits providing continuity with his original characterization. The junior, Kongpob, is now the authority, the head hazer at the university. These role-reversal topics were already thematically relevant in the first series, but SOTUS S makes them more explicit, bringing us into new territory and depicting an alternative view to linear character growth. 

Kim Yoon Mi describes both Japan and Korea introducing a story’s main topic (not to be confused with main conflict) in the first act of this structure and then developing it more deeply in the second, which SOTUS S seems to do. Each character and story element, including the protagonist, is a trickling mountain stream feeding into a larger river of theme rather than plot. In line with that metaphor, some of those elements will evaporate or branch off before reaching the deep reflective pool where the story concludes. We’ll come to see as we reflect back how solidly the show in its first act laid down its thematic foundations: the dynamics between memories of the past (like university life) with the press of time, the blurry lines between private and public, the formation and maintenance of relationships, the privileges of status, and all of them weighted by pervasive queer anxieties that the writing elegantly restrains itself from stating outright. The next act of the show elaborates on all of this, but not in the direct sort of development Western stories prioritize.

Cheng: Understanding

If viewed from the perspective of a three-act hero’s journey, the second act of SOTUS S runs into some major problems. Here’s a graphic from author Patricia Morais (that I particularly like for its regrouping dip) explaining that structure:

Under this model, we could maybe think of Arthit’s failure to come out to his coworkers as the central inciting incident that must be resolved by the end of the story. If you’d like to be more generous, we might instead identify the incident in episode 2 to identify Art’s tag-along meeting with his overly-friendly coworker, John, and a representative from one of their materials’ providers. Then, our main plot focuses around the eventual plastic crisis for the company as the main conflict that will need resolution. However, the fact of dual plotlines that never merge hopefully encourages you to question the familiar expectations of a three-act structure or hero’s journey. Otherwise, you’ll come away from the show believing a lot of fat could’ve been trimmed off in the editing process.

In episodes 2 through 5, SOTUS S has some elements on which action can rise toward a major climax point. John shirks work off onto Arthit over and over again, for example, and another coworker, Earth—who for me so far in my BL viewing is the most grounded female character I’ve seen, not to mention my favorite—slowly reveals her kind heart behind her diligence. On the relationship front, Ai-Oon is running himself ragged trying to balance his work and relationship, losing his patience with Kong at one point when he shows up to the company with a food delivery. 

But many other points don’t add to the plot the way they ought to for a hero’s journey. We get introduced to a few freshman, like Khaofang, whose crush on Kongpob gets gently denied, and Day, resistant to Kongpob’s enlightened initiation rituals, thus igniting the persistence of class president Tew. Neither of those freshman will contribute to the main plots for Kongpob and Arthit. On the faculty beach trip, now paired with tree-planting to skirt the stricter regulations, M and May finally confess their feelings percolating since last season for one another. After these confessions in episode 4 and a discussion of internships at the start of episode 5, they will not reappear until the last episode of the series.

So why include them? I showed charts for the Romance Plot and  3 Act structure above, but let’s look at a visualization of the 4Act from writing coach Anaea Lay.

You’ll notice some key differences. The line isn’t really progressing upward, for one. It also changes width in sections and even color by the end? I’ll discuss our squiggly twist and color change later, but for now let’s focus on our second act for cheng, Understanding, or “development” as the above chart has it.. We have this bold line emerge because the point of the second act, as Lay explains, is to create density, flesh out the topic, enrich it. 

Instead of building up a structure or walking up a mountain path and overcoming obstacles along the way, the cheng stage kneads the narrative into interlocking thematic explorations like the structure of gluten in bread dough. Japanese writers refer to it as ma, a kind of slow infusion through time and spaciousness. You can develop a 4Act narrative with intensification, sure, and that will appear pretty similar to the three-act development stage—I personally think Hunter x Hunter arcs provide fantastic examples of second-act intensification strategies in a kishotenketsu model, and The Campfire team do a fantastic job of explaining how the series, Shogun, uses the 4 Act with escalating pressure in this stage. Yet other strategies also exist. 

SOTUS S chooses to spread out its thematic question during this phase: to different plots, different people, even different times. Tew and Day, for example, who interact the least with our protagonists’ struggles out of any characters, nevertheless reiterate the values of persistence and faith as people develop ties. Despite Day’s overt resistance to the SOTUS rituals, Tew returns to him again and again, tuned into unstated signs of the freshman’s painful past, like his status as a transfer student, and subtle acts of participation in the events, indicating a secret desire for belonging. Art’s new coworkers provide another example of how much we truly know about others’ inner workings just based on first impressions. 

Perhaps the most direct evocation of the main thematic tension occurs not with KongArt, but with M and May who only receive episode 4 for their story. As the freshman walk across their wrists to go receive their gear emblems, May finally demands clarity for feelings simmering since 2016. I’ve slightly shortened the exchange for brevity.

May: “You never bother to tell me your feelings directly.” M: “Do I have to say it out and tell you to make you understand?” May: “I don’t want to assume things.” M: “What I said on the stage…I meant you.” “You know…what it means, right?” May: “I don’t know, M. You could think of me as a close friend.” M: Well, I…like you. I like you more than a close friend. I want to be your boyfriend. I told you my feelings directly. Now it’s your turn to tell me your feelings. May: Are you crazy? There are so many people here. How can I say it?

It’s gorgeous naturalistic dialogue, stuttering and ambiguous, between two reserved characters! Reducing them to their role in the main plot, however, would render the characters and scene meaningless. M and May simply don’t contribute to the issues at Ocean Electric or KongArt’s relationship. They're an indirect illustration of the show's themes.

Indirect communication is central to SOTUS S. We see Kong and Art, open to their friends and on campus but conflicted in how open to be with their affection in public, bridge the gap through indirect displays: a conversation about liking the sea! shared taxi rides! an indirect kiss they share on an Oishi bottle! These coded romantic encounters can be downright erotic. The West doesn’t even have the concept of an indirect kiss, which is emblematic of the kinds of context that one can miss. 

The show layers on reason-upon-reason for keeping affections nebulous: personal temperaments, professionalism, financial precarity, collective belonging, cultural mores on PDA, and societal homophobia, too. The show lays these issues out indirectly. For example, Art’s coworkers Som-O, Durian, and Cherry (the kind of lovely overtly queer character SOTUS did so well, played by Gun Korawit) all skirt the line of appropriate workplace conversations and behavior as they gossip and fawn over new employees. The tension of their flirtations against our knowledge about the fears and hidden relationships at the office is thick, but no one will really confront them directly about how close their speech and actions how they stress those in the closet, nor how close they come to sexual harassment.

Instead, other occurrences will cause them to reflect on behaviors. Cherry, for example,  addresses his own behavior and his subordinates’ after news about Arthit and Kongpob becomes public. Cultures with high-context communication approaches utilize actions, behaviors, and symbols to convey messages rather than verbal specificity, so passive statements and unrelated events are seen as more effective in encouraging behavior change than direct communication about the issue. That’s why the 4Act structure and the indirect elaboration of ideas that occurs in the second-act align culturally. It doesn’t force its issue on the audience.

The most indirect formal element from my perspective occurred with the use of the ‘special scenes’ at the end of each episode, and they fully blew my mind by the time I realized how they were operating. I assumed these flashback scenes to KongArt moments were meant to give the fan-girlies the cute moments between the cute boys and their throwbacks to the og series. That’s how they often seem to work in other BLs. Stupid me, underestimating the series and fan-girlies, whose desires can be as multifaceted as any film critic or academic. The flashbacks at the end of each episode, in addition to their sweetness, emphasize moments of public affection between our main couple, but even more than that they intentionally throw us back in time, breaking up the linear story and a linear trajectory for Arthit’s comfort with public affection. 

The special scenes aren’t simply detached scenes, they’re narrative switchbacks, forcing us an audience to meander like a river in the story. Kim Yoon Mi describes a major element of the East Asian 4Act: “While time is going forwards, the character is returning to a previous point in their life, re-examining it–or forced to reexamine it.” I described the original series as propulsive and unrelenting in its tempo and plotting. SOTUS S, on the other hand, is nostalgic and reflective in both content and its structure. 

Arthit, tired from a day of work, rushes to his alma mater to catch the end of the flag ceremony. “When I get to see the atmosphere like this again,” he confides, “it’s like the fuel tank in me is filled. This can fill the feelings I have lost. My tiredness is gone. I have the strength to go back to work now.” For another example look at the contrast as episode 6 ends with Kongpob standing in an apartment hallway alone after an argument with his boyfriend. The show suddenly cuts to a past moment when Arthit let himself fall asleep on Kongpob’s shoulder in the back of a taxi. When we feel broken, worn-down, or lost, when we undergo big life changes, returning to our memories gives us an opportunity to repair ourselves and cherish the relationships we’ve made. 

Meandering is the shape of easing—mountain roads that reduce the gradient of a climb, water seeking the least resistance. SOTUS S and its narrative structure explore these shapes. In addition to the purpose of nostalgia for its characters, it uses its position as a sequel to address why returning us to an older work might be emotionally useful and why an indirect path through time and our journeys might be nourishing. After the steady fabrication of its attachment to the original series in the first and second acts, the third act shift is all the more potent.

Zhuan: Changing

In the sixth episode, Kongpob joins Ocean Electric as an intern with the encouragement of his father, the CEO of a manufacturing firm Arthit has met and impressed without realizing his relationship to his partner. Kong had left the required internship applications to the last minute, at ease with the connections his wealth and father’s position in his field of study offer him. And with Arthit’s packed work schedule (not to mention Kong’s impish romantic fantasies that only stress out his partner), our nong doesn’t disclose his decision. Art is shocked and appalled when his boyfriend walks into a meeting and gets introduced as the new intern.

The show also introduces new central characters to the cast in the fifth and sixth episode, which is far too late for introductions of main characters in a traditional Western narrative approach. Wad, whose privilege as the nephew of Ocean Electric’s head honcho mirror Kong’s background, joins the procurement department. Another intern, Nai, also joins the proceedings. These characters and their softly-treaded dalliances at Ocean Electric fill in the space left as the story mostly abandons the university and all but two supporting characters we met there.

I've read complaints about that split in SOTUS S, the university-centered plots in the first half overtaken by the corporate setting. Personally, the viewing experience gave me a sense of how ephemeral life is. Four months pass by in a flash and Arthit’s no longer the junior at the office. The university storylines fall away like cherry blossoms or autumn leaves. If that sounds too poetic for you, I'd recommend you stick to the first series and its fantastic linear storytelling (and you can ignore the poetic elements that elevate it, while still enjoying the show). SOTUS S puts its indirect storytelling strategies at the forefront. That’s why I find SOTUS S such a great example to look at the 4Act. The overt shift here makes it hard to square with the continuity of traditional Western dramatic structures.

In the third act of a 4Act structure, the audience comes to understand a new perspective on the proceedings that the first two acts offered them. The Japanese term for it “ten” gets directly translated to ‘twist,’ but that term is so heavily associated with some plot-oriented ‘gotcha!’ moment in the western canon: 

a new piece of evidence in a trial! 

the sheriff is in cahoots with the robber baron! 

Voldemort’s on the back of his head! 

There are many reasons to view two of the most celebrated Western film twists, Star Wars’ paternity reveal and dead Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense, as blendings with the Eastern third act’s Change. The overt declarations made by characters to render the twists apparent to audiences in those instances along with the instrumental role the change plays in the character’s journey is rooted in Western storytelling. However, the impact it has on how the audience interprets the story, both preceding events and the purpose of the story as a whole, is more akin to the kind of change that occurs in the Eastern model. The zhuan or Change here is less emphatically about a reveal of information and more about a change the audience experiences in their type of engagement with the story. 

Youtuber ‘Pause and Select’ relates the change in the 4Act structure to space. Discussing Attack on Titan, which has the exceptionally clear spatial limit of tightly packed city walls, he explains it as a ‘parallax view,’ a shift in perspective for the audience. Going further, he asserts that the third act shift is NOT meant to be a last-ditch event or realization that aids the story in reaching the conclusions we expected it to reach based on the first two acts. Elle Woods finding out her boss is a skeeve and then taking over to use her knowledge about perms in trial to prove her client’s innocence is a great western ‘twist’ and climax, which includes every feminist element Elle has come to stand for in her development at Harvard law school and brings about the expected conclusion of her success at overcoming all her obstacles to truly become a successful lawyer. However, it does nothing to change the audience’s perspectives about the story’s goals as a female empowerment legal comedy.

 “What matters,” Pause and Select argues about the 4Act change, “is that a breakdown, whether you are a reader or writer of [the 4Act structure], ultimately demands coming to a conclusion as to what you think the structure is trying to do.” The emphasis there is mine. A well-constructed 4Act aims to dislodge expectations about the very nature of the narrative it's telling in its third act. At its most obvious, this could be a genre shift—a romcom becomes a tragedy—but it might also be a change in whose perspective the story takes (Peaceful Property), which character is masterminding the events (a favorite of writer/director Park Chan-wook, like in The Handmaiden), or an expansion of who the audience is meant to feel empathy for (a fav strategy of Miyazaki, like in Laputa, Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke). A common romantic Kdrama trope of this kind, I hear, is the revelation that the characters previously knew each other. No matter the shift, thematic motifs will remain (a good reason to pay attention to indirect elements!), but the plot-type possibilities and full extent of the theme’s message can utterly transform. 

When viewers use Western frameworks to complain about the poor build-up or the introduction of unexpected elements into the second half of BL series, the complaint often comes from a place of ignorance. I’ve even heard unfounded conspiracy theories about studio interference regarding the sense of the unexpected in these sections! When viewed with the goals of the 4Act in mind—and here we ought to note the Korean 4Act model, the giseungjeongyeol, which splits its 4Acts more evenly than the Japanese kishotenketsu, as Kim Yoonmi points out—an audience’s experience of disruption that begins around episode 6 of a 12 ep series can be a sign of successful storytelling and a chance to reevaluate what you assumed the story was going to be.

No wonder I found myself getting weepy around episode 6. Time itself is the core focus of SOTUS S. By the end of the second act in episode 5, the hazing rituals we endured for fifteen episodes in the og had flashed by and completed. I began to fully appreciate the breadth of how SOTUS S intended to instill the experience of no longer being what you were before, the experience of merging into the realm of adulthood where the flowing expanse of life is no longer broken into semesters or organized into class years nor the safety of their forcibly forged friendships. It's an exceptional feat of storytelling to induce that subtle emotional experience for an audience.

With that shift, the problems and consequences shift as well. A third act often introduces an entirely new obstacle. The boss of Ocean Electric announces the yearly product design competition, and the shady dealings of certain employees suggestively simmering in the first half rise to the surface. In a Western telling, the series could’ve easily started right here. It brings the conflict, the battle between good (Earth and Arthit) and evil (John and Som-O), along with the slight moral grayness of Todd to keep it interesting. The pace and tempo of the scenes pick up, especially when the shit hits the fan/the cheap plastic hits the production line. It thrills with the same surge that ran through a majority of the original series. Is this conflict what the story’s about, though? 

Some people have described the 4Act as a conflictless plot structure. That’s baloney! You’ll see battle after battle after battle in shonen manga, like Naruto, Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Jujutsu Kaisen, all organized by the principles of The 4Act. SOTUS S shows off its ability to instill conflict with Ocean Electric’s design competition, too. The difference between the 4Act and the Three-Act or hero’s journey derives from the latter’s centralization of a single conflict compared to the former’s use of diffused conflicts—diffused in the sense of multiple conflicts spread out without a center, and, as I’ll explain for the last act, diffused in the sense of de-escalated. 

The issue of the competition is one conflict beside a number of other dating conflicts, with KongArt’s the most prominent, none of which directly impact each other in terms of plotting. In this section, Todd slowly falls for Earth, who gently turns him down (again, with writing and a performance by Proud Oranicha that solidify Earth as a uniquely naturalistic female character in a genre known for campy female caricatures). The other new intern Nai (Nammon) and head of Production, Yong (Guy Sivakorn) begin the most discrete of bromances, or maybe something more…, until Nai feeling slighted draws back. And KongArt have it out about Kongpob’s surprise internship decision before making up, allowing Ai-oon opportunities to show his growing comfort in his secret bf’s surreptitious seductions in public.

And let’s all appreciate that the boys continue to engage in versatile powerplay dynamics with their displays of affection! 

To properly center a single conflict for a Hollywood version of SOTUS S, all of these individual tensions would end up relating to one another—perhaps Todd and Nai become bitter about their rejection and join John’s plot to win the competition. Then, as a last ditch attempt to gain support for their own team’s entry, they discover and out KongArt’s secret relationship. Plenty of other options could take place, but the point is that they’re meant to be set up like that meme of ever-increasing dominos, building upon one another to create an even greater singular conflict. Instead, we see jealousies that come to nothing, slights that characters move on from without involving others. SOTUS S lets the different conflicts exist independently to separately emphasize the main theme: relationships take time, dedication, communication, and faithfulness to develop and maintain as people’s circumstances change.

The company beach outing provides the landscape for many of the relationship dramas to come to a head (and strikes a narrative beach episode beat with foundations exceeding the BL genre) before things go awry. If I’m honest, elements of Western Romance plotting seem to predominate this last portion of the third act: a false HEA (happily ever after) at the beach, disaster as the bad plastic goes on the line, and true crisis as office busybody, Durian, outs Kong and Art by sharing pics of them kissing from the beach trip. Then episode 12, as second-to-last episodes in romance series are wont to do, offers us a separation of sorts and a long dark night of the soul for Arthit before he arrives at his self-realization. It’s a beat integral to the 4Act and the Romance arc, but in the 4Act, despite its sometimes momentous occasion, the self-realization is secondary to the initial perspective-shift in terms of expected emotional and overall engagement from the viewer. Art announces he’s dating Kongpob in front of the entire office at the intern send-off. In the romance arc, the self-realization and confession change everything. The villains like Lady Catherine are dispelled; the curse on the beast breaks, Here, though; Love Wins! But here, we de-escalate.

He: Drawing Together

The 4Act sensibilities in SOTUS S resurface after the culmination. Arthit finally announces his relationship in front of the whole office, but no character stands-in for homophobia for him to confront. John was fired earlier for his fraud without a big to-do from the office. No one sings “Ding! Dong! The witch is dead!” In fact, a few of our office gossips get together to discuss John and Arthit but keep interrupting one another before landing on any consensus and finally move onto a point unrelated to our plot. The central issues for KongArt are simply not the center of everyone’s lives and neither love nor coming out were the battle Arthit and we as an audience expected them to be.

Where we might expect fireworks in other structures, the 4Act often brings a sense of pacification. No matter how significant a conflict might seem, the 4Act story structure is not built around a conflict’s upswell and subsequent victory. Patricia Thang explains for Book Riot, 

“Whether it is open-ended, whether our characters didn’t go through real development or growth, whether we realize nothing much actually happened at all, it doesn’t matter that much in kishōtenketsu (and is what, in my humble opinion, makes it great). What matters is that the various elements from the different acts of the story come together in a finale, as climactic or as muted as it may be.”

A 4Act story does not attempt to fix but to accept an uncontrollable universe. It's a diplomatic process when division otherwise threatens.

The Chinese character for the he fourth section, 結, apparently refers to the tying of a knot, which presents quite the opposite picture from the ‘reckoning’ expected in Western conclusions. The word ‘reckon’ in addition of its meaning 'to tell a story' etymologically refers to ordering items in a straight line. Instead of straightening out a tangled problem, the 4Act story aims to create an elegant tension between two dissimilar opposing parts by the end. 

We can look at a comic panel illustration of this structure from @stilleatingoranges to try and understand it further. Here are the first two acts:

In the first act, the qi, the ‘bringing into being,’ we see a character selecting a soda at a vending machine. The soda plops into the machine’s outlet. In the second act, the cheng, the Understanding, the character grabs the soda from the machine, continuing the story in an expected way without any hitch. There’s no clear obstacle or goal presented here. If we had to guess what will happen in the third act, we might say she’ll drink the soda. If we think the story needs a problem, she might have received the wrong soda. If we knew a twist was coming, we might guess she throws the can. Here’s the third act of this story:

We do not know this character. We don’t know this setting. This is a particularly demonstrative example of the third act, the zhuan, the Changing, because it shows how this act shifts the audience’s perception of the environment and point of this story. It’s not necessarily a twist in what the characters know and expect—we still have no idea about what they’re thinking and/or they’re relationship at all! It’s a twist for the viewer and what they assume they know and expect.

I’ve left out the final panel in my post so that, before you peek at the fourth act—the he, the Drawing Together—of these panels, you can take the place of a writer/creator and consider some ways these two disparate sections can come to coexist in the fourth panel. The girl might walk past this new isolated boy as she downs her soda. Maybe we see him watching as she opens the pop and it sprays all over her. Then, it brings out topics of impatience and embarrassment. You can probably think of more creative versions than me. The final panel the original artist chose to depict has the woman giving her soda to the newly introduced character. These are all acceptable conclusions to the 4Act as long as they reunite the world of the first two acts with the unexpected element of the third act. If you remember the blue color in the final section in the 4Act chart, it’s this combination of elements it represents. It might be helpful to think of the first two acts shaded yellow, with a suddenly blue third act, and a green fourth act.

For SOTUS S, Kongpob is back on campus in the final episode, reuniting us with the first and second act setting and characters from which the third act leapt away. He’s with his friends who’ve learned their own lessons and formed their own relationships during their internship semester. Arthit is back at his office sans intern-boyfriend with the offer of a new job in his preferred department. He turns down for the time being to support his own team instead. Durian goes to apologize to Arthit for leaking his photo, but he interrupts her before she can. It’s already forgiven. He tactfully offers her the opportunity to save face. 

I’ve seen these sorts of non-apologies across BL. They often ignite many audience member’s consternation who argue the characters didn’t deserve forgiveness for whatever harm they caused because they haven’t demonstrated a change in their behavior or fully acknowledged their wrong-doing. Unlike some other views of forgiveness, though, they often center around Eastern philosophical goals like the Indic-derived concepts of upekkha (translated as equanimity) and karuna (translated as compassion), for example. The latter is even considered a primary rasa, or aesthetic principle, in classical Indian theories of the arts that have persisted in importance into the cinematic era according to its wiki entry. Both are also part of the four heavenly abodes in Theravada Buddhism, the primary religion in Thailand. Rather than creating a world where those conditions don’t occur, these values focus on an individual’s ability to understand and remain balanced in the face of worldly conditions defined in the atthaloka dharma as “gain and loss, good-repute and ill-repute, praise and censure, pain and happiness.” Good and bad come and go, but one isn't meant to overly celebrate or grieve them. People and events are not meant to be ‘fixed’ in this view but understood.

Arthit’s forgiveness of Durian who continues her gossip demonstrates the understanding he gains in the story. As I said at the beginning, Arthit’s main goal is to adapt to his new environment. It’s a spiritual journey in which he achieves a new-found state of harmony within himself and with his group without directly engaging in conflict in the form of confrontation.  

The happy-ending version of the 4Act emphasizes reconnection in the relationships between members of a group, which is why the structure works especially well for a romance about an established couple. For each episode, the Japanese BL What Did You Eat Yesterday, about an older couple who live together, uses the 4Act effectively for its characters to grow in appreciation of each other. While Western stories have struggled to tell stories about established couples, the structure most Japanese iyashikei (slice-of-life genre) utilize works beautifully!

In Thailand, you can see the influence of SOTUS S in Aof Noppharnach’s two series about established couples, Still 2Gether and Dark Blue Kiss. He borrows the structure and even elaborates on subtle motifs in the series, like financial privilege, memories and public documentation through photographs, and invisibility of legally unrecognized and closeted relationships (conveyed in one of my favorite moments in all of the SOTUS series as KongArt transform into silhouettes inside a tunnel in a ‘special scene’). Then Aof blows these elements up into full foregrounded spectacles like Kao’s photographic birthday surprise for Pete or Tine’s walk down memory lane through saved vids and photos of Wat. Then, Aof can focus on subtext that’s more philosophical in his own series: “Love has no form,” Pete theorizes at the end of DBK. Lit Phadung and the rest of his writing team for SOTUS S were never so explicit as to put that theory into the script, but it’s all there in the details. KongArt might re-form their established relationship, bringing it ‘out’ into the view of the office, but it’s contrasted by all the ambiguous relationship endings running parallel to them. 

Those relationships don’t feel incomplete, at least to me. Open endings are a staple of the 4Act structure. It requires the acts to reconnect, but does not require problems to be resolved or questions to be answered. Instead the 4Act emphasizes structural and thematic unity and harmony, even for what we might call unhappy endings in romance. For a recent and clear BL example, The On1y One ends with its romantic leads separated in a similar vein to how they began the story while one of them literally re-ties the circle of a broken couple bracelet as he asks his beloved to return to him in a non-diegetic voiceover. Then the series cuts to a glass pitcher of lemon-water we’ve watched shatter over and over throughout the episodes, now whole and unbroken, as the other answers him. Our fourth act endings, done well, challenge a dualistic view. The two contrasting halves circle around to reconnect without one winning out over the other. Compared to a Western resolution, it might seem like these are unfinished loose ends, but they can be better understood as a satisfying tension or an equipoise. The On1y One ending refuses to accept that people are either together or apart, that time is either past or future. 

If separate narrative ends are looped together in elegant knots, what does this mean for the ‘coming out’ narrative with its journey that requires opposing forces and a protagonist to move from one side to another: in to out, private to public, even straight to queer? Well, in BL you often end up with a version of queerness that resists identitarian approaches. Art, in the most dramatically built-up moment in the series, makes a public statement about dating Kongpob…but he already did this coming out in the original series and he continues to rebuff his boyfriend’s flirtations afterwards. (It’s a part of their sexual foreplay as much as a part of Art’s shame.)

SOTUS S and much of BL depicts coming out as something done again and again cyclically as you enter into new environments or an act that’s not entirely manifesting (think Bad Buddy’s ending). And sexuality is not so simple as defining a gender one feels attracted toward, nor having pride or shame about those feelings. These are aspects of our relationships with ourselves and with others that even after making them public will still remain private, not fully knowable to others—both shared and secret. 

Drawing My Own Thoughts Together

Maybe I’m wrong. Throughout writing this, I nearly abandoned the project. I’m no expert in the history of Eastern media or storytelling, and especially not Thai—I’ve only dove into their BL. I can see how you could line up SOTUS S with a Western hero’s journey or romance plot. In fact, more so than other Asian national film traditions, at least according to the authors of Thai Cinema: The Complete Guide, the Thai media industry has a history and aesthetic interest in mashing genres and global influences into heterogeneous, palimpsestic concoctions. Multiple structures can and do coexist in these works.

I also became aware of how flat I and the resources had to render Western storytelling to illustrate the points about the 4Act. The differentiation between the two region’s approaches becomes much more murky when we bring in nuanced and celebrated works because they flesh out the bones more fully, relish ambiguities and ironies about their own nature, bring in broader influences, and take an interest in the unexpected. The structure’s often harder to pick apart. The goal, I’ve found while writing, is not to be wrong or right about the structure of the series here, but to educate myself and hopefully a few others about an influence of which we could learn more to fully appreciate what we’re watching. 

I was not surprised when after watching the series, I found an instagram post of the screenwriter and director Lit Phadung teaching different film structure approaches at a university. SOTUS S, in my view, simply can't be interpreted as a whole unless you are willing to see how its structure operates differently than the Western arc. It patiently weaves its medium and story about the office closet into an expansive pattern rather than mounting an epic battle between right and wrong.

Rather than take my words for right or wrong, I hope this gives others some threads to follow and thread in a web of info and interpretations. I know some tumblrinas I’ve connected with over BL and some with whom I’ve yet to connect have language skills, literary knowledge, and personal experiences to add on to what I’ve attempted to present here. Despite the prevalent mentions of kishotenketsu and the 4act as a structure used by Miyazaki, Kurosawa, and Bong Joon Ho, as well as a device in manga, anime, and Eastern literature traditions, there’s a dearth of well-sourced break-downs and explanations in English, scholarly or otherwise. This was simply my attempt to bring together information about the model in a BL context.

Throughout, I’ve highlighted specific Western blindspots I’ve noticed in criticism of BL shows: the perspective shift at the top of the third act, the slow development, the blanket forgiveness, among other things. A show can use these strategies and still be unsatisfying, don’t get me wrong. However, viewers miss the point when they frame the dissatisfaction using Western storytelling expectations. I’m insistent that we’ve gotta develop our language and perspectives to describe the intentions and breadth of what these shows aim for along with deepening our understanding of why.

It’s not limited to how we watch SOTUS S or Asian dramas. One of my favorite films, Junebug, which earned Amy Adams her first Oscar nomination, is a family drama set and filmed in the American South by a writing/directing team from the area, but inspired by the films of celebrated Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu because of how similar his style seemed culturally to the southerners they grew up with. Obviously, cultures beyond Asia emphasize these values and it behooves us to understand how to communicate with and within them, especially when a tendency exists to assume those communication values are inherently conservative. In fact, there are moments in all of our lives when we might need to emphasize social harmony, compassion, slow development, or karmic paths over dharmic ones, and the reasoning can be as progressive as any revolution. 

One of the moral values at the core of 4Act structures is appreciating our belonging to one another. “Strive at first to meditate upon the sameness of yourself and others,” reads Shantideva’s writing about the concept of karuna in The Way of the Bodhisattva. “In joy and sorrow all are equal; Thus be guardian of all, as of yourself.” Perceived cultural differences between values and plot structures need not be perceived as so separate. Queerness maybe doesn’t need to be ‘the other.’ Relationships and coming-out don’t need to be a battle. We can change and remain the same at once. SOTUS S and stories like it that use the 4Act demonstrate how art and events in our lives can come along to expand our perspectives without requiring we blame ourselves or others for not realizing it earlier. It holds wrong and right together, difference and unity, without flattening them into assimilation. Two distinct parts held together, which is, after all, the shape of a couple.

Tagging some other SOTUS fans who've kept the passion alive while i worked on this @thebroccolination @dropthedemiurge @doublel27 @moutheyes @ginnymoonbeam

[vintagelasvegas]

Sundance / Fitzgerald's / The D

Photos: Sundance in 1980, before opening, and during construction of the second tower in '81. (Review Journal)

Nevada Building ('56-'78)

'56: Nevada Building, a 4-story office & retail space designed by Zick & Sharp opens in Apr. The owner-developer is not clear. In '62, Three-O-One Corp (Moe Dalitz, Allard Roen, Israel Alderman) are cited as the owner of the Nevada Building at this time. (RJ 3/8/56, RJ 10/9/62)

'78: Jan., First word of the hotel in the press. Moe Dalitz will build the hotel, with Herb Tobman and Al Sachs operating the hotel & casino. “Tobman and partners Al Sachs and Fred Richmond have plans … for a 300-room hotel.” A later piece in the Review-Journal states Tobman & Sachs first proposed the Sundance in '76, that they owned the Nevada Building and had acquired the adjacent properties. (RJ 1/22/78, RJ 7/3/80)

'78: Nov., Nevada Building demolished. (RJ 11/8/78)

'79: Jun., Carrao Construction Co. begins work on Sundance. (RJ 6/17/79)

'79: Sep., Dalitz requests $27M loan from the state Retirement Board for the hotel construction.

'80: Jun. 19, Dalitz called by Gaming Control Board for licensing because of a guaranteed a line of credit to operators Sachs & Tobman. Sachs (57.5%) and Tobman (32.5%) have already been approved. (The other 10% owners, not accounted for in the press.) The Dalitz probe is put on hold ultimately never appears before the board before Jackie Gaughan leases the casino in '84.

Sundance ('80-'87)

'80: Jul. 3, Sundance opens. The hotel has one tower, 17 floors, 290 rooms, and a 450-space garage. Following the MGM Grand fire later in the year, Sundance is cited by Las Vegas Fire Marshal Ned Backer as the only downtown hotel to meet all fire-safety features required under building codes adopted by the City Commission in Jul. '79, "a firefighter's delight." (RJ 11/28/80)

'81: Construction of the second tower begins in Jan., completed in Nov. The 34-story, 360-room, 400-foot tower is the tallest in downtown Las Vegas. Total rooms: 650.

'83: Jun., Sundance leased to Jack Pieper.

'84: Jul., Sundance leased to Jackie Gaughan and El Cortez management, as court-appointed supervisors.

'86: Dec. 1, Lincoln Management Group of Reno's Fitzgerald's Hotel, takes over Sundance lease as court-appointed supervisors.

Fitzgeralds ('87-2012)

'87: Oct., Lincoln buys Sundance. Las Vegas City Council approves name change to Fitzgeralds in Dec. Facade renovation is approved by the city 2/3/88.

'96: Nov., Corner marquee changed with 120-ft rainbow and 35-ft “Mr O'Lucky” charactater.

2001: Dec., Fitzgeralds Las Vegas bought by Don Barden, Majestic Star Casino, LLC, along with Colorado and Mississippi properties. Barden becomes the first African American casino owner in Las Vegas.

2002: Mr. O'Lucky removed from the sign. Later destroyed by fire at the Neon Museum in 2004.

2003: Barden separated Fitzgeralds Las Vegas from the Majestic Star umbrella.

2011: May 19, Barden dies.

2011: Oct., Barden estate sells Fitzgeralds to Derek and Greg Stevens.

2012: Fitzgeralds rebranded as The D.

New Building. Review-Journal, 3/8/56; Jud Wanniski. Reporter's Notebook. Review-Journal, 10/9/62; Charles Zebell. Downtown Vegas stores flee to suburbs. Review-Journal, 1/22/78; Sale Today, Gone Tomorrow. Review-Journal, 11/8/78 p11; Going Up. Review-Journal, 6/17/79; Kent Lauer. Dalitz asking for $27 million loan. Review-Journal, 9/19/79 p1; Clyde Weiss. Dalitz called for licensing. Review-Journal, 6/19/80 p3; Sundance Hotel guided by experienced team. Review-Journal, 7/3/80; Sundance Hotel and Casino opens doors. Review-Journal, 7/3/80; Mark Dent. Few downtown high rises meet safety codes. Review-Journal, 11/28/80 p1; Sundance is one of the world's safest hotels. Review-Journal, 3/15/81; Reno operator named to supervise Sundance. Review-Journal, 11/26/86; Ed Vogel. Control Board OKs sale of Sundance. Review-Journal, 10/1/87; Diane Russell. City Council. Review-Journal, 12/18/87; Caitlin McGarry. Audacious D. Review-Journal, 3/13/2012.

[kimiko24-art]

Pesche Mistro/Ercolani(peaches) JJBA OC (more AU lore and world building)

Finally redrew this guy and fleshed him out!! I still have a few more OC's that I have to draw in order to insert them into my AU~ But here's my boy~ 🥹

🌿🌿🌿

✨STORY / INFO✨

✨ Pesche was adopted into the Ercolani family at the age of thirteen. Even though he carries the last name of the family. He considers himself more of a family friend rather than an actual member. After many years of being treated like an outsider by the older members of the Ercolani's. Pesche decided to cut his ties with his adoptive family and start his own career as a mercenary back in his hometown of Napoli. It took him two long years to make a decent name for himself on the streets of Napoli. But once he did, Pesche preformed many jobs for big criminal organizations/gangs, including Passione. He was even eventually hired by his own adoptive father, Guilio to protect his adoptive sister Oliva while she was overseas.

✨Pesche likes spending time alone, mainly keeping to himself. The mercenary was orphaned at a young age, and is used to solitude. However he isn't opposed to having bonds with others. Though, he won't admit it. Despite his laid back personality, he's pretty awful at small talk as well. There's a sense of awkwardness or annoyance if the topic of conversation isn't about money or work. Too add he's also a bit of a tsundere too. Pesche considers himself to have no affiliations, and will gladly work for anyone who's willing to pay.

STAND ABILITIES

✨Sneaker pimps is a "Materialized Type" Stand that has taken the form of a "200 lire coin" and is quite versatile. It's ability is to transforming into any weapon for it's user to wield. However, the user has no control over what weapon is selected by the Stand, and it's mainly left up to chance. The mechanic requires the user to flip the stand, much like a coin when playing heads or tails to activate it. Heads equals an offensive weapon, tails equals a defense weapon. Which adds both unpredictably for the user and his opponent. Forcing it's user to adapt on the spot. It's base stats change depending on what weapon it shifts into.

✨Sneaker Pimps abilities and the stand itself are a manifestations of the lack of what Pesche received in his life, and the ways in which he learned to make those circumstances work for him. His success coming from adaptability and hard work, a bit of luck too.

OUR RELATIONSHIP

✨We were enemies at first (he was hired to do a job and there was a conflict of interest.) but a mishap occurred that forced us to work together during a battle. Despite out conflicting interest at the time, the situation lead to us developing a friendship after a little while. Though, he doesn't seem to want a close friendship especially since I have ties to Passione! But he's always around more or less. I like to tease him a lot~

INFO ABOUT THE ERCOLANI FAMILY

✨A now powerful family, that had their humble beginnings in Southern Naples. In the beginning the Ercolani family had an arrangement with Passione. They had deep ties to the gang and agreed to work together since they both operated out of Southern Naples.

✨The Ercolani would supply funding to Passione for a cut of the total profit made from the drug trade. But after finding out that Passione had been holding back on the family's cut, despite the investment, they had a huge falling out. Which led to a sort of heated rivalry. Eventually after a few years they cut ties and the Ercolani relocated elsewhere.

✨They now own several major business throughout Italy. Mainly in tourism. They also have control of several popular opera houses in Florence and Rome. For now the two groups are at a sort of truce. Neither ventures on to each others territory. The Ercolani family has roughly 106 members and the head of the family is Guilio Ercolani. He is known for his intense hatred of Passione and love of opera.

-

(The family's name is a variation of Ercolano (Italian: [erkoˈlaːno]) is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania of Southern Italy. From the personal name Ercolano originally an adjectival derivative (meaning 'Herculean') of Hercules.)

[the-w4cky-compound]

Rose Wood

Rose Wood is a friendly mother on the PTA. Yes she's the one who brings the lemon bars... and YES they're delicious!

ALIASES

Numbuh 246 (formly)

OCCUPATIONS

KND operative (formly)

Werk Co. (formly)

Unnamed Diner (formly)

History teacher in Galleghar elementary (current)

PERSONALITY

Rose is generally a sweet older woman but she's tough. She's patient but she has a limit to what nonsense she will take... and it's... not a lot especially if she feels something is afoot. However that part of her is something that developed with age.

In her youth Rose tended to go along with everyone else to keep the peace... nowadays she has learned to compromise and stand up for herself.

She is an incredibly helpful adult, to everyone. She... seems to be oblivious to the war between adults and children- aiding both and those who aren't in the fray.

APPEARANCE

As an adult Rose is not the tallest, standing at about 5'5. She sports shoulder length red hair that's got some grey running through it... believed she's somewhere in her 40s in the present day. She can oftentimes be seen wearing sweaters and/or cardigans. She has a knack for earrings- usually wearing yellow triangle ones however she does have a collection! Her skin is tanned and covered in freckles. As well as a mole under her left eye. There is a birthmark on her outer left forearm ranging from her wrist to around the middle of the formarm. Her eyes are green, and she tends to go light with her makeup.

As a child operative her hair was much longer and typically tied back into a braid. She's usually seen wearing a softball uniform and a cap. Her freckles were more prominent thanks to her spending more time outside back then compared to now.

EARLY LIFE

Rose is the oldest of three siblings; two younger sisters Valerie and Dorothy. Currently her parents are unnamed.

Rose grew up in a strict household, and being the eldest of her siblings did not make things much easier. Between balancing her work as an operative, a student, and being on her school's softball team... she was stretched thin. Despite this she still gave everything her all until she was decommissioned, and later until she was able to be independent from her parents. Despite having a strained relationship with her parents she was actually quite close to her paternal grandfather- and continues to be close in his old age.

As a teenage she kept up with her studies, and now balanced her social life and her first job at an unnamed diner. At some point she moves away from her childhood town and does not return until she is well into adulthood.

PRESENT

In present day she lives in a small property her mentioned grandfather owned. She's shown to have a teenage son who by what it seems is not interested in the war on children.

Rose lands a job under Mr. Boss at Werk Co. which leads to her being introduced to some of the other villains- whether she's fully oblivious and in the dark about their misdeeds is unclear. What she does know she doesn't take it as serious as it truly is. At least, in regards to children being made to go to the dentist and to eat their greens.

She's shown to develop close relationships with various villains- some prominent names being Stickybeard and Father. She has a friendly rivalry with Mr. Boss due to being on an opposing bowling team.

CONSIDERABLE RELATIONSHIPS

Emmett- He is Rose's son. His father is out of the picture, and has been for years. He and Rose are close, and he inherited her hardworking nature- focusing on his work and studies instead of petty fights with the neighborhood kids. Outside of your expected teenage angst they have a loving and healthy parent/child relationship.

Father- For lack of better wording, they have a slow burn romance. They were not particularly close growing up but they knew of each other. Rose was far more familiar to Monty back in the day. She was originally introduced to him through Monty as a child, and later reconnected through Mr. Boss. On occasion their stubbornness can cause clashes however Rose is quick to attempt to smooth things over- and with Father's newly ignited desire to do good by his partner he does at least... try. Whether they last, however...

Monty- The pair were close in their childhood and remained to stay close up until Rose moved away as a teenager. Even if their dynamic changed after their decommissioning. Monty welcomes Rose back with open arms when she returns to town.

Stickybeard- Stickybeard and Rose are incredibly friendly with one another! Mostly in part due to Rose being a baker and him being more than happy to be a personal taste tester. In fact he is one of her regulars when she is taking baking orders... he may steal from big stores but he will support a small business. He's a villain. Not a monster. They have light hearted banter when they go against each other during bowling nights.

Mr Fibb and Mr Wink- They have a distant but cordial relationship. On occasion they do get together to plan villain bbqs, with them providing the meat and sides while Rose brings desserts. They once had a rivalry when Rose was still an operative and the pair were in their younger years/early young adulthood. However Rose holds zero recollection of this due to the decommissioning.

Delightfuls- As her relationship with Benedict develops she adopts a step mother role in their lives. Originally they use her obliviousness to their advantage to worm their way out of trouble in desperate situations where they were backed into a corner. However this gives way to a genuine desire for a maternal bond once its shown that Rose already practically sees them as her own.

Valerie- The middle child of the three sisters, she's softer than Rose and more of a pushover. Not too different to how Rose once was. Valerie simply never grew out of it. She is the only sibling who is still in contact with their parents. Rose and Valerie is close with her sisters but as of now not much can be said.

Dorothy- The youngest, and naturally Rose is particularly protective of Dory. She's protective of both... just more so with her. Their relationship does briefly become strained after she tried to reconnect Rose with their parents. This event would lead to Dory cutting their parents off as well... whatever had happened... will be elaborated on another day, maybe

Unnamed Parents- Rose went low contact when she first had her son, before cutting them off completely. Not much can be said about them other than her father being strict and controlling- he did not like that Rose was a tomboy growing up and he resents her for this. On top of this he is bitter that he did not have a son. Rose's mother is an enabler, and not much better- but her actions were more backhanded and subtle compared to her husband's clear distaste.

Unnamed Paternal Grandfather- In the current day Rose makes it a point to go visit whenever she can to offer a hand to her grandfather. Unlike her father, her grandfather is a kinder and more honest man. He lives on a farm alone after his wife passed away. Alongside Rose, her nieces and nephews visit with their parents to come help and spend time together.

TRIVIA

Her current voice claim is wammawink from centaurworld

She's still in contact with some of her old sector/fellow operatives, though things are different now as adults

She handmakes her aprons and other accessories

Alongside being into baking she has a knack for gardening

I don't care if its dumb she 100% would write fics under a false name and post them. To make it funny she is 100% popping off

GALLERY

Mweheheh delicious art by bestie @rejaytionships featuring my GOAT🔥🗣💥💥💥 Arnie

[centrally-unplanned]

Wait, hold up, this logic is pretty sus. Not awful, but not the whole picture. Three big points: A: Warfare today ain't like warfare in WW2. In 1942 the US had to mount up a task force with specially-prepared refueling ships to send out two aircraft carriers on two weeks sailing into the middle of nowhere below just to pretend to bomb Japan:

Meanwhile today currently deployed missiles on Okinawa can strike half of the Asian continent in hours:

The "tempo" of a naval military operations is just radically different now. Japan in WW2 could never hope to, post "decisive battle", strike a single one of the major US naval shipyards to disable production. All they could do was win defensive battles. Meanwhile, if the US were to fight an opening battle against China that was so decisive as to give the US uncontested naval and air supremacy (big if, just roll with me), the air and naval assets on hand could strike every single Chinese port with a wave of missiles and bombers instantly. Now, you can debate how well that will work and how likely that will be, not doing that here - the point is just that Decisive Battle Doctrine is now eminently reasonable in a way that it was never for Japan. The plan is coherent.

B: The United States would not, in any way, be fighting on "China's shores offensively from California". It would be fighting on Taiwan & Japan's shores defensively:

The US has never been planning a solo offensive against China, it is serving as part of a defensive alliance with regional partners out of an extant network of heavily developed bases and strike positions. Refueling and logistics will be based out of Taiwan, Okinawa, Luzon, and Kyushu. This is a logistical tie in a lot of ways, China is obviously "closer" than the US but not as close as Taiwan, the actual battleground! Generally the goal is for the Philippines & South Korea to join as well - more speculative, sure, but not unreasonably so (well, pre-Trump, but that is an own-goal)

C: There is a pretty common illusion about the US shipbuilding in WW2, namely that before the war the US must have been a massive player in commercial shipping? But it was not - US shipbuilding completely failed to keep up with the post-Civil War revolutions in steam shipping, and while due to cabotage laws (Jones Act!! *shakes fist*) we had a large freshwater shipping merchant marine, only 8% of US international trade pre-WW1 was carried on domestically-made ships. A state which didn't really reverse itself after WW1 - most amazingly, "between 1922 and 1928 not a single oceangoing ship was built in the US"!

What actually happened in WW2 is that - with some prep in the late 1930's - the US engaged in a crash course re-industrialization where ship tonnage output increased thousands-fold in a few years. There was not a previous base gigantic shipping industry to pivot (though mothballed WW1 shipyards certainly helped), one was built from scratch. For a tangent, this actually is load-bearing for how stupid Japan was! Ludicrously stupid, yes, but ehh maybe 5% less than you thought - they saw a US in the 1930's that did not output any ships in quantity, and thought maybe WW1 wouldn't repeat itself.

All of this is to say that current civilian shipbuilding capacity is not that indicative of future military shipbuilding capacity. And this makes sense, as the vast majority of civilian ships add no value to a military conflict! All of that has to be retooled. Are ships even going to be the production constraint? Can China make enough missiles to arm the ships its shipyards could put out? Armor plating? Radar systems? Fuel? Can the US, for good measure? To be clear I totally bet China will have the advantage here - just that the headline "230:1" numbers are pretty meaningless. That is fake info.

(There is a quantity vs quality debate here in modern military circles - could you just output 10,000 motorboats with machine guns piloted by raspberry pi's and overwhelm a Ticonderoga-class cruiser? We may learn someday, but there are many who think not - all of those 10,000 motorboats will be shot to scrap by precision-targeted long range munitions. This was the equivalent US experience in Gulf War 1, which has been instrumental to US doctrine - Iraq had one of the largest armoured forces in the world, and all those tanks meant nothing in the face of modern air superiority.)

C.5: Finally, just to tie things back to point B - the plan isn't to fight a solo offensive war. It is to fight an allied defensive war. With South Korea and Japan. Which, well:

Each country has its own strengths and specializations, with China dominating at around 45% of the shipbuilding market. South Korea and Japan follow closely, making up 93% of global shipbuilding output.

Oh hey look at that - South Korea & Japan outproduce China. Other numbers say China does by the way, you can measure things differently. But I think you get the point.

Anyway, shockingly, US military planners are not a bunch of fucking dumb dumbs? Congress is, but when DoD sits down to plan out a military op they think through the basics. No one is saying China's manufacturing dominance isn't a huge issue, DoD has been saying that very loudly for decades. But they aren't planning a Pickett's Charge in response - or at least not one as obviously so as the above outlines.

Criticizing the logic of the Navy endlessly waiting for Godot in terms of frigate design without ever examining the even more lopsided logic of how the Navy is supposed to use that frigate is self-defeating. Currently, the idea is that the Navy will use said frigate to fight a war on the other side of the Pacific, against an industrially superior power, while lacking the capacity to sustain logistics, replace casualties, or repair combat damage. No serious American military planner from the mid-twentieth century (back when the United States enjoyed a massive industrial advantage compared to the rest of the world) would consider this to be a coherent or practical goal to begin with. Let us thus put the real nature of the issue at stake in the most blunt terms possible: the Navy is being asked to maintain the dream of the American empire. Lacking a political class willing to seriously acknowledge or address the very real crisis this empire now faces, the burden of that political crisis is being shifted onto the shoulders of admirals and generals who were never intended to take on that role in the first place, nor do they have the capability to do so. Yet even so, by promising some unspecified, undefinable capability at some hazy point in the future, the Navy is, in its own peculiar way, doing the best job it can with the hand it has been dealt. This job cannot be done by delivering a handful of unremarkable Italian frigates, frigates the Navy cannot realistically repair in wartime nor fully crew in peacetime in any case. The Navy is not just building ships; it is trying to shield an increasingly fragile American leadership class from reality, and like the other services, it is paying a ruinous cost to do so.

Once you deliver some frigates it can be clear that frigates are shit but you can do so much with having everyone imagine a frigate, an imaginary frigate could do anything!

[x-h3kk3ning-x]

I make jokes on occassion about the place I live being Gotham but with more trees (anywhere, USA) but like....yall...I cannot stress enough...How much This Municipal Election fucking matters and how god damned...ya know what here...

Raleigh, NC is one of the fastest growing cities in America. I HATE that about it. For YEARS we have had a Mayor named Mary Ann Baldwin, who took any bribe a real-estate developer would give her. She even, along with city council, lengthened her term WITHOUT TELLING THE PUBLIC!! Using some loophole in the city constitution or whatever. My hometown and birthplace has become gentrification displacement fucking central!

But THIS ELECTION is THE FIRST ONE that Baldwin is stepping down and NOT RUNNING AGAIN!! Do you want to know who the feont runners are for her position?

A woman whose entire job over the past few years has been converting the land that the Dorthea Dix Mental Hospital was on into a city destination park.

And a guy whose website looks like THIS...

His name is Terrance Ruth so his campaing slogan, I SHIT YOU NOT is "TRUTH FOR RALEIGH"

We don't HAVE a city seawall, thank fuck; But--ya know--at this point I wouldnt even be surprised if one magically blew up and flooded us.

[feroluce]

Me: I wonder what Hook calls Sampo in the Japanese dub? Probably oji-san, since it's shushu in the original Chinese?

Hook: Sampo-ojichan!!

Oji is "uncle," which is hilarious because Hook calls Natasha by "older sister" when she wants something. So Hook either just really wants to get on Natasha's good side, or she takes Sampo at face value when he refers to himself as an old man. She trusts him a lot and takes him at his word and she calls him as such!

And Sampo calls Hook either ojou-san or oujo-san (I can't find the Japanese sub to see the spelling, and I can't tell them apart by ear)!

One spelling, oujo, means "princess," it's how you would refer to royalty. The other, ojou, (which I assume is what he's actually saying) is something you call the young lady of a high-class family with a high social standing. In Genshin Impact, the intro scene for a popular ship, chilumi, shows Childe calling Lumine ojou-chan, which the English dub translated as "girlie." Since Sampo uses -san instead of -chan, his is more formal and respectful, it's more like "young lady."

...It's also how you would refer to the daughter of a yakuza leader, which I love, since Hook leads her own little gang (the Moles) skzhkskdkd

But it really gets me in the heart, because! Hook is generally looked at as a delinquent by most adults. Which I mean. Not without good reason, she

calls Natasha an old witch

frequently sneaks out into the Fragmentum

has left graffiti all over the side of the orphanage

was constantly picking fights with other kids

beat a man unconscious for stealing from her dad

and has already picked up on how business gets done in the Underworld, and uses/actively participates in it to get what she wants- she basically acts an information broker

like Hook earns her reputation haha. The Underground is lucky that what Hook wants is just like. Candy and toys and to play hide-and-seek. I'm sure she'll have the capability to raise all kinds of hell and be more like an actual gang leader when she's older, even if she chooses not to act on it.

So Sampo calling her so politely and respectfully is really sweet and cute! Yes, he's polite and respectful with everyone, but that's just it- he treats Hook much like he does everyone else. He doesn't tell her to buzz off because she's a kid. He doesn't lie or try to cheat her or assume she's naive because of her age. He never talks down to her. He really does just treat her like a respected business partner and he takes her seriously, which Hook really seems to appreciate. And even when Sampo does treat her like a kid, it's not in a negative way; he guides her on little adventures and chats with her and takes her for joy rides on his moped. All of which Hook also really appreciates, since everyone else is too busy trying to get by to make time to play with her. She absolutely adores him.

I hope they officially join forces someday and terrorize all of Belobog with their shenanigans JSKJZNDKSJ

So Hook calls Sampo "Uncle Sampo" in a particularly affectionate/endeared tone, and Sampo calls Hook "Young Miss Hook" in a very respectful tone! And to reiterate:

[kanhotep]

Alastor would love to have a computer because while he still thinky vinyl is the superior medium for music he can't deny that it's more effective to have a digital music library.

He could also built a computer easily, the hardware is no problem for him.

Unfortunately he stopped keeping up with programming in the 60ies, there was just so much going on. And now he can't get any software that is not in some way connected to Vox he doesn't want to admit it, because he's the radio demon, this frivolous digital technology is beneath him, but there is a little part of him that is pissed about it.

Definitely pissed.

And in no way whatsoever melancholic, reminiscing of a past when he and Vox would build them together, Alastor working on the hardware and Vox doing the software.

A past where such actions were meant to be a pleasant hobby, a nice way to pass the time and not a commitment to an unreliable lifestyle that chained itself to whatever new trend arose.

No, he could never miss this old flight of fancy. But he can admit, that he misses the old Vox. His old chum used to be a nice company rather than a persistent annoyance.

[crimescrimson]

Joyce Price in Life Is Strange (2015)

[which-hospital]

Feel like I haven’t been posting very much lately and definitely not much (enough) about Teddy and it’s because I have like two thoughts on my mind:

1.) Sandra had to die.

2.) What if she didn’t, though?

[courfee]

just went through all my ao3 fics and edited all the tags because i feel like i overtag a lot and it always bothered me. tbf the most overtagging happens in my relationship/character tags but i find it super difficult to judge who/which relationship is important. like friendships are So Important in my fics i dont feel like i cant tag less there? especially my longer fics. amtc james&sirius and black brothers are in my mind at least if not more important than literally amtc jegulus. i know its a jegulus fic but also jegulus is just the catalyst for other relationship dynamics. how do you tag that stuff

[broodsys]

my male snail (aquatic) needs to clean up my female snail already. they usually crawl over each other's shells periodically but my boys been SLACKING and she's growing quite the algae coat

[nationallawreview]

Checklist for Transitioning Founder-Owned Law Firms

When transitioning from a founder-owned law firm, it’s essential to establish a clear plan to ensure the firm’s continued growth and stability. A successful transition depends on strategic priorities that enhance operational efficiency, improve client satisfaction, and secure long-term success. Below, we outline the key areas to analyze and implement for a seamless shift in leadership and…

[movie-robotnik-positivity]

I don't think Robotnik ever saw Stone's affection as genuine. He's used to people only valuing him if he's useful. His own bosses call him a freak, yet they put up with him because of his "perfect operation record". He isn't even shocked when he learns the goverment erased him, he expected it and had a contingency plan ready.

He keeps calling Stone a sycophant and a barnacle, because why else would someone stay with him if not to gain something? Clearly, Stone is just a suck-up wanting to ride his coattails. And Ivo is fine with that! He gets his ego stroked and in return Stone gets a slice of the world-domination pie. Mutually beneficial!

This symbiotic relationship gives Ivo a sense of control and ensures that Stone won't abandon him like everyone else. It also keeps him detached: of course Stone waited months or him to return from space, that's his job. His admiration is inevitable, and meaningless.

Ivo develops a genuine, irrational attachment to Stone, one he's able to rationalize as just being transactional. Those emotional walls shield him from the fear of abandonment that comes with caring for another person.

Except...even after Robotnik becomes a liability, Stone stays. There's no benefit, no plans of ruling humanity, not even a paycheck. Yet despite everything, Ivo tries to keep the old boss/employee dynamic going. He can't fathom the idea that someone would stay for anything other than convenience.

Then Gerald shows up, and for the first time Ivo allows himself to put down those walls. As an orphan he had built up this idealized image of family that he thought he could never have. People will use you then toss you aside when convenient, but family? Family is different. Family will always be there for you and love you no matter what. Family won't abandon you.

And suddently Stone's grovelling is no longer necessary. Why would he need someone who just pretends to like him when he now has all the unconditional love he's always longed for? That's obviously why Stone got so jealous, it couldn't have been real concern, he was just afraid of losing his comfy position as the lapdog of humanity's new king. Between a sycophant and family, the choice felt obvious.

And, of course, Gerald turns out to be just like everyone else in Ivo's life: just another person trying to get something from him. The second he stopped being useful, he was tossed aside.

His image of family is once again shattered, but those emotional walls are already down. Now that Ivo experienced that betrayal he was so afraid of, now that he's about to die, he's finally able to be honest with himself.

Looking down on Earth, he realizes there had only ever been one person on that blue marble who actually cared. Someone who had always been there, even when there was nothing to gain. Stone had never abandoned him.

But he had abandoned Stone. He tossed him aside, just like Gerald did to him. Now that he's able to understand how Stone felt, this is his last chance to make things right.

In his final moments, with nothing to fear, Robotnik puts down his emotional walls and opens up as best as he can. Stone had done so much for him, asked for nothing in return, and now it was his turn to do the same. Ivo helped save the world, not for recognition or convenience, but simply out of love.

Stone had always been a sycophant to him, yes, but he had also been a friend. A sycofriend.

[nepalenergyforum]

Cabinet Grants Extension Only for Time Lost Due to Supreme Court’s Interim Order on Upper Karnali Project

Kathmandu — The government has extended the deadline for the 900 MW Upper Karnali Hydropower Project, which was awarded construction permission to the Indian company GMR (Gandhi Mallikarjun Rao), by 186 days. The Cabinet meeting on July 25 decided to grant only the 186 days lost due to an interim order issued by the Supreme Court after a case was filed regarding the financial management of Upper…