#and then we can delve into the homoerotic

[skeleton-keychain]

I want to make a finished Eulogia drawing, but I don't know of I should make a dramatic piece or an erotic piece... both...? No, I don't think so. Unless...

[phoenixtakaramono]

Truce - Ch3 Preview 2/?

This is in reference to this. I’m agog that I’d somehow forgotten to share this upcoming scene in Truce its entirety—when I thought I had. Honest mistake, luvs. I shall rectify it immediately.

A snippet of my favorite part from this lil interview section:

“Not to worry. Between you and me”—the chair creaked as he leaned in, lips quirked sideways, his brows expressive, and his hand hovering beside his cheek—“Butcher and I got a secret bromance happening behind the scenes, I tell you what.” The discreet Lavalier microphone clipped somewhere on Homelander’s supersuit had picked up the hushed whisper, making the audio crisp and clear. Thirteen different camera angles captured Jimmy’s brows shooting up. He repeated, “A bromance.” “Yep. A bromance for the ages. Color me stoked.” The plastic shell of his features melted away, resembling a more complete flesh-and-blood human. Easing back into his seat, Homelander said, “I just think, like with any large and aggressive attack dogs, as owners we have a responsibility to properly train and socialize them. Now I don’t own a dog myself but if I did, I would keep my mutt on a short leash—and obedient only to me. He won’t bite, not unless I tell him to.”

The full scene the snippet belongs to:

A/N - I’m sure y’all remember Jimmy Fallon’s cameo in S1. It only makes sense to replace Translucent with Homelander now. I originally considered Cole Cameron to ask the hard hitting questions, but he dies in S4 (thanks, Ashley). So I elected to not go with him.

And the line about Butcher not being caped but quite clearly dark is lifted from the comics, as a lil Easter egg ;) but I changed it from Black Noir to Billy because Homelander’s doubling down on the lie/ cover story that he’s the one who “reached out his hand and brought Billy back from the path of villainy by inviting him into the Seven” 🙄

*Note: as always, keep in mind this is taken from an earlier draft; so there may be a couple changes in the final draft that’ll be posted to AO3 when the chapter’s ready. But this sneak peek is pretty much as close to its final draft iteration as you'll see.

(Chapters 1-2 can be read on AO3)

[camisoledadparis]

THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

based on: The White Crane Institute's 'Gay Wisdom', Gay Birthdays, Gay For Today, Famous GLBT, glbt-Gay Encylopedia, Today in Gay History, Wikipedia, and more … November 21

1694 – Voltaire, French philosopher, born (d.1778); born François-Marie Arouet, better known by the nom de plume Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, essayist, deist and philosopher known for his wit, philosophical sport, and defense of civil liberties, including freedom of religion and the right to a fair trial. He was an outspoken supporter of social reform despite strict censorship laws and harsh penalties for those who broke them. A satirical polemicist, he frequently made use of his works to criticize Christian dogma and the French institutions of his day.

The name "Voltaire," which he adopted in 1718 not only as a pen name but also in daily use, is an anagram of the Latinized spelling of his surname "Arouet" and the initial letters of the sobriquet "le jeune" ("the younger"): AROVET Le ieune. The name also echoes in reversed order the syllables of a familial château in the Poitou region: "Airvault".

In terms of religious texts, Voltaire was largely of the opinion that the Bible was: 1) an outdated legal and/or moral reference, 2) by and large a metaphor, but one that perhaps taught some good lessons, and 3) a work of Man, not a divine gift. These beliefs did not hinder his religious practice (It is a line from one of his poems that translates "If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him.") though it did gain him somewhat of a bad reputation in the Catholic Church. He is best known today for his novel, Candide.

Voltaire blew hot and cold on the subject of homosexuality. Although he is known to have sampled the delights of same-sex love on one occasion, he nonetheless admonished a friend who wanted to try it a second time, "Once, a philosopher," he proclaimed, "twice, a sodomite!"

He was locked in a love-hate relationship with Frederick the Great, with whom he spent agonizing, ecstatic years. In her biography of Voltaire, Nancy Mitford writes that "nobody who studies the life of Voltaire can doubt that he had homosexual tendencies, and one wonders whether his feelings for the king were not exacerbated by unrequited passion."

Whatever his personal reservations about homosexuality, the famous French writer was forthright in declaring that sodomy, "when not accompanied by violence, should not fall under the sway of criminal law, for it does not violate the rights of any man." We will never know why Voltaire once signed a letter to a male friend, "E vi baccio il catzo," which, politely translated means, "I kiss your rod."

1915 – James Gleeson (d.2008) was one of Australia's foremost artists. He was also a poet, critic, writer and curator. He played a significant role in the Australian art scene, including serving on the board of the National Gallery of Australia.

Gleeson's themes generally delved into the subconscious using literary, mythological or religious subject matter. He was particularly interested in Jung's archetypes of the collective unconscious.

During the 1950s and '60s he moved to a more symbolic perspective, notions of human perfectibility. At this time he increasingly fashioned small psychedelic compositions made using the surrealist technique of decalcomania in the background, to suggest a landscape, and finished by adding a fastidiously painted male nude in the foreground.

"Totems in Arcadia"

Many of his paintings had homoerotic undertones, something which reflected on Gleeson's own homosexuality. The ideas for these compositions also saw Gleeson move into collage with his Locus Solus series, where he produced a substantial body of work by placing dismembered photographs, magazine illustrations, diagrams and lines of visionary poetry against abstract pools of ink.

Since the 1970s Gleeson generally made large scale paintings in keeping with the surrealist Inscape genre. The works outwardly resemble rocky seascapes, although in detail the coastline's geological features are found to be made of giant molluscs and threatening crustaceans. In keeping with the Freudian principles of surrealism these grotesque, nightmarish compositions symbolise the inner workings of the human mind. Called 'Psychoscapes' by the artist. Gleeson's later works incorporate the human form less and less in its entirety, represented in his landscapes by suggestions, an arm, a hand or merely an eye.

Gleeson died in Sydney on 20 October 2008, aged 92, one year after his life partner Frank O'Keefe.

1940 – Keith Prentice (d.1992) was a Dayton, Ohio-born American TV, film and stage actor, whose most famous role was the part of Larry in both the original stage and film versions of The Boys in the Band. Prentice also appeared on the classic TV soap Dark Shadows during the series' final months in 1971. Until just several years ago, his picture was displayed on the Tasters Choice coffee label.

Prentice studied in New York City at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. His stage musical credits include Sail Away, The Sound of Music, Paint Your Wagon, and The King and I. In 1968, he appeared off-Broadway in the non-musical The Boys in the Band, a then controversial play featuring gay characters at a dramatic birthday party - the Summer before the Stonewall gay civil rights riots. He also appeared in the movie version of the play. In 1971 Keith joined the cast of Dark Shadows playing Morgan Collins. Prentice also appeared as Nils Fowler in the 1972 film The Legend of Nigger Charley and had a small role in the 1980 film Cruising which, like Boys in the Band, was directed by William Friedkin.

In 1982 Keith Prentice co-founded Kettering Theatre Under The Stars, and directed summer shows there until the year of his death. He died of AIDS-related cancer on September 27, 1992 in Kettering, Ohio.

1947 – Nickolas Grace is a British actor known for his roles on television, including Anthony Blanche in the acclaimed ITV adaptation of Brideshead Revisited and the Sheriff of Nottingham in the 1980s series Robin of Sherwood. Grace also played Dorien Green's husband Marcus in the 1990's British comedy series Birds of a Feather.

Although Grace had a small uncredited part in The City of the Dead (1960), his first known work in feature films as an adult came with Bruges-La-Morte (1978) directed by Ronald Chase. After this, Grace secured the part of the flamboyant aesthete Anthony Blanche in Brideshead Revisited which filmed off and on from 1979 to 1981.

Following the success of Brideshead Revisited on television , Grace played Richard II at the Young Vic in 1981, and Mozart in Amadeus with Frank Finlay at Her Majesty's Theatre in 1982. He then began working in operetta, playing Koko in The Mikado and Joseph Porter in HMS Pinafore for Sadler's Wells Opera in repertoire from 1982-1986. The film Heat and Dust appeared in 1983. It was around this time that took the role of Robert de Rainault, the Sheriff of Nottingham, in ITV's Robin of Sherwood.

In the "official biography" of the actor Alan Bates, Otherwise Engaged, by Donald Spoto, Spoto quotes Grace describing his "intense affair" with Bates, who was "terrified of exposure": "I told him labels didn't matter, but that we must be who we are. But he just could not accept that. Alan was at ease as long as he pretended - and he insisted on pretending - that our relationship was not what it was, and was not disclosed to or evident to others."

Bates, who was then 39 and married, and Nickolas, who was 25, became in the latter's words "very close and very loving, in an intense affair that was one of the most important relationships of my life".

As he had with previous male lovers, Bates denied to Nickolas that he was truly homosexual. If they travelled by car together, "he made me lie down in the back - he didn't want me to be seen with him. That was an indication of the fear that he had".

When the inevitable split with Nickolas came, it was brutal. "It's been very nice to have known you," Alan told him with astonishing coolness one day, "and I'm sure I'll see you around in London." He spoke as if they had been polite colleagues on a project, or fellow travellers on a train journey. It took Nickolas months to recover.

1963 – The playwright, director and founder of Tectonic Theater Project, Moisés Kaufman, was born on this date. He is the author of Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, 33 Variations and is perhaps best known for writing The Laramie Project with other members of Tectonic Theater Project. He was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela and moved to New York City in 1987. He made his Broadway directing debut in the 2004 production of I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright, for which he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Play. Mr. Kaufman is a Guggenheim Fellow.

Kaufman is of Romanian and Ukrainian Jewish descent. He described himself in an interview as "I am Venezuelan, I am Jewish, I am gay, I live in New York. I am the sum of all my cultures. I couldn't write anything that didn't incorporate all that I am."

1981 – Sergeant Charles Cochrane, a 14 year veteran of the NYPD, created shock waves by testifying before a New York City Council hearing in favor of a gay rights bill. Following on the testimony of a Patrolmen's Benevolent Association Vice President who denounced the bill, and declared he didn't know of any homosexual police officers, Cochrane stunned those present by announcing, "I am very proud of being a New York City Police Officer, and I am equally proud of being gay."

Cochrane's public testimony lent significantly toward the official formation of the Gay Officers Action League, Inc., aka G.O.A.L. - NY, which became the first official police fraternal society in the world to represent LGBT professionals within the criminal justice system. Since that time, similar organizations for LGBT Law Enforcement Officers, Criminal Justice professionals as well as Firefighters and EMS personnel have been established around the world.

1983 – Blake McGrath is a Canadian professional dancer, pop singer and choreographer. He was known for being on the first season of So You Think You Can Dance in 2005, and on the MTV reality dance show, DanceLife. He has also developed a solo singing career with a debut album Time to Move in 2010.

McGrath was born in Mississauga, Ontario.

His early television appearances include: Choices of the Heart: The Margaret Sanger Story (1997) playing Stuart Sanger, and the TV show recreation of Goosebumps book "Stay Out of the Basement". He played the brother Casey.

In 2015, McGrath was chosen to perform on Michael Jackson's thirtieth anniversary special. In 2006, he performed alongside Paulina Rubio at the 2004 Latin Grammy Awards. Also in 2006 he had an appearance in the documentary Freestyle (with Brian Friedman). He has appeared in Gap campaigns (with Sarah Jessica Parker), and in advertisements for iPod, Jc Penny (which he also choreographed), and Hummer.

He has danced with stars such as Madonna, Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, Janet Jackson, Adam Lambert, Ashanti, Destiny's Child, Katy Perry, Craig David, Jewel.

In addition to his appearances on television shows, McGrath has also appeared in the films Butterbox Babies, Life With Mikey, Chicago, and Rent. He was also featured as a dancer in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody in the episode Commercial Breaks. He was a waiter. He studied at both Tiffany Dance Academy in Hamilton Ontario and Joanne Chapman School of Dance in Brampton, Ontario.

He is owner of VIP Dance Events which tours major cities throughout Canada. He also appeared on the magazine cover of Hotshoes and appeared in Dance Spirit Magazine December 2006 issue. Lastly, he appeared on the 9/10/13 episode of Dance Moms as a guest choreographer. He is the lead choreographer for the audition cities and alternating third judge on So You Think You Can Dance Canada.

He is bisexual. "I've been attracted to men and attracted to women," he told Canada's gay mag Fab. "My feelings change all the time. One day I can feel like I'm gay, another day like I'm straight. But I'm not just one or the other, I'm Blake McGrath and I'm attracted to somebody on the inside.

2006 – Israel's Supreme Count recognizes international same-sex marriages.

Today's Gay Wisdom:

Quotes from Voltaire:

A witty saying proves nothing.

All murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.

Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices.

Anything that is too stupid to be spoken is sung.

Behind every successful man stands a surprised mother-in-law.

Better is the enemy of good.

Common sense is not so common.

Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game.

Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.

[rainbowchaox]

Yashiki and Mashita: Canon Moments Part 1

I wanted to delve more into analyzing canon to explain why Yashiki and Mashita are canon. Even if they are not outright said. This will be a multi-part essay going over the main two Death Mark games with an eye looking for gay subtext or just pointing out moments that can be conveyed as homoerotic/homoromantic. This will also have my personal bias thrown in so don’t expect it to be 100% by the books. My analysis on certain scenes will be my point of view (and people will disagree with some if not most of my takes. The best thing about how complicated both Mashita and Yashiki are is the various ways at looking at their characterization)

We start with Death Mark 1 where we get introduced to the basic premise. Yashiki and the Mark Bearers are cursed by spirits and have to confront said spirits in order to break the curse so they can live. What is so apparent about our protagonist Yashiki is his inner monologue is full of senses and sensations. From the start he is on his own wavelength how he sees the world. As his inner monologue goes into great details describing the scenes in front of him. Even if he wishes he could ignore the more grisly sights in front of him. This gives us a character that may not have the best social skills or understand how social cues work but he does understand people. He can learn how ones tick with only a couple hours with the hour. It’s this aspect why he and Mashita work so well.

The first character Yashiki meets that is alive is Mary. She seems to be benign and polite. And she puts Yashiki at ease despite the horrible situation Yashiki finds himself in. Not knowing who he is and having no memory either. She at the start is almost an angelic figure who Yashiki looks to for guidance. Only by the end of the game do we find out her true nature and that is malice. She has always been a devil pretending to be an angel. Compare her to Mashita. Mashita hides his good heart under his mask of sarcasm and rudeness. Mary and Mashita are foils to each other at least about their relationship to Yashiki.

From the start when we are introduced to Mary. There’s always been dependence from Yashiki. Yashiki has no clue who he is nor what his name is. He is scared and needs questions answered. And Mary just so happened to be there to answer said questions. He looks at her for what he needs to know. He listens to her and follows her orders. Not realizing he is being manipulated. He doesn’t realize he is nothing but a toy to her until Mary secrets can’t be hidden any longer. Meanwhile Mashita knows he is talented even if he acts otherwise. Mashita trusts him enough to consider him fit to be his partner. He knows Yashiki is his equal. Mary manipulates and takes advantage of Yashiki while Mashita uplifts Yashiki and praises his talents.

Yashiki even at the start is hesitating when deciding to trust Mary. He even says word for word “I decided to trust you”. His intuition is screaming at him to not trust her but he currently has no choice. Yashiki meanwhile didn’t hesitate trusting Mashita fully after meeting him. Even the way Mashita was introduced was very suspicious. Their trust grows naturally. And their trust is stronger for it. Yashiki doesn’t have to say he trusts Mashita for us to know he does. Mashita and Yashiki have a special relationship. Mashita even with his rough mouth cares immensely for Yashiki. So much so that he comes back to save Yashiki numerous times even if he puts himself in danger. He cares so much.

A trait that shows why Yashiki is so suitable for Mashita as a prospective partner (Romantic or not) is shown when Yashiki is introduced to Moe and Tsukasa. Yashiki pays attention to people's expressions and is overall pretty empathetic as a person. Even if he lacks social skills to take full advantage of this skill. The people he meets he knows them well. Even if a moment prior they were strangers. This is how Yashiki clearly sees the good in Mashita so quickly.

The first spirit we are introduced to in Death Mark is Hanahiko whose story we quickly learn is tragic. He was abused for being different and liking feminine things. Whether you see his story more being a transgender allegory or just him being different in terms of not following gender norms. He is Other and was hurt for it. And in Death Mark 2, The first spirit is Hanako of the toilet. Who was in love with her female friend. Both have clear queer themes and I personally do think this says a lot about Yashiki's suspected homosexuality. He does not live in a time where he can comfortably be who he is. People get seriously hurt when they stray from what is considered “normal”. I do think these spirits being part of Yashiki's journey does imply that he is not heterosexual.

When Mashita is first introduced to Yashiki, He looks over to Yashiki and snorts. He already figured out Yashiki. And knows that Yashiki is someone he can trust. Which is why he softens entering the car. Yashiki is worried about how Mashita was just lurking around in a basement suspiciously. It’s not just Mashita that gets Yashiki. And likes what he sees. It took one car ride for Yashiki to understand and trust him. He even says “Some people naturally put others on guard and even if there’s no particular ill will between them that’s the sort of person Mashita is”. He already knows Mashita so well.

Mashita with his brusque attitude also gets under Yashiki's skin in a good way. Yashiki can’t help but pay attention to him. Mashita has a strange charisma despite his rough attitude. It makes it hard for anyone to ignore him. Yashiki even says “I wasn’t planning on keeping a constant eye on him, but he is making it very hard not too”. Mashita is charming in his own way.

Mashita then answered a question that Yashiki had before he could even ask. Mashita knows Yashiki by now. Mashita is naturally gifted at reading people as part of his talents as an ex-detective. Also when Mashita showed he was also marked, he proclaimed it was OUR problem. He already considered himself part of Yashiki’s team from the start. Mashita has always been loyal.

And there’s a continuing trend of Yashiki noticing how Mashita feels by his expressions. When Mashita read the god awful principal wrote. Yashiki already knows Mashita isn’t happy because “That's what he says but he is not smiling at all. His eyes simmer with a quiet anger”. Yashiki pays so much attention to Mashita. So much he immediately clicks that he is suffering the Mark effects when he is.

Yashiki canonically grabbed Mashita wrist to chase after the rabbit inside H elementary. He wants to make sure Mashita is healthy and safe. He by then was already so attached. After Hanahiko was dealt with when Mashita learned that Yashiki still had the Mark he was concerned. And it’s hinted to be the primary reason he stayed for chapter 2. He was worried about Yashiki. Even if he had other reasons to investigate as well.

Mashita to me is personally written as a gay man. Especially how he explains the last bit of information about Hanahiko. “How his mother understood her son”. Despite his rough personality he empathized with the son not being accepted by others for being different. And being hurt by someone that should have protected him not punished him.

In chapter 2, Mashita stays, which surprises even Yashiki. Mary asked Mashita to stay but Yashiki doesn’t realize how important he is to Mashita and is confused why he did. For all his bad attitude Mashita didn’t want Yashiki to be alone. Also sorry but “Mashita got a bad mouth like usual” is very gay and flirty.

Something I noted during this chapter is that Masao Kimura the suicidal man Yashiki and company meet in the first after he calms down tells Yashiki that they should go out for drinks sometime before dying to Shimi-O. What’s interesting is the same chapter at the end Mashita tells Yashiki he would buy him a drink once he survives the Mark business. (Sure that he will find a way to survive. His belief never wavers and they eventually do have that drink)

The fact is even if you don’t bring Mashita along to investigate the forest. He comes to the forest (unmarked at this point) out of his own volition. His own desire to protect Yashiki. He willingly gets marked again in order to save Yashiki. He put his life yet again in danger to save a man he met only a day ago. This isn’t to say that Yashiki is any better. He defends Mashita words in his inner monologue by saying “Mashita didn’t mean it like that. You can only be blunt discussing this”. He is so quick to defend Mashita words.

This chapter is also the first time Mashita pushes a gun onto Yashiki. Which continues onto this series can be seen as a metaphor for Yashiki and Mashita relationship with their homosexuality. Mashita being the more confident in his sexuality the one giving the gun to Yashiki the one more shy and reserved with his sexuality. When Yashiki says he doesn’t know how to shoot a gun. Mashita immediately says “Well, whatever, if I’m there just leave the shooting to me” Mashita is already making himself into someone Yashiki can depend on.

After Shimi-O is solved, Mashita decides to tell Yashiki that he is leaving in the morning as well. Despite what he says I don’t think he is leaving because he doesn’t want to get hurt. Mashita is reckless as a person when it comes to his safety. He mainly decides to leave because he doesn’t want to be a burden that will cause more harm staying than leaving. He can’t do anything more for Yashiki. So he has to leave. And we do know how affected Yashiki is hearing that Mashita is leaving him. What can we say to Mashita is, changed your mind? You’re abandoning me? And I’ll miss you. Mashita reacts a bit flustered if you chose the last two. He either calls you bitter or a creep.

Even when Mashita is lying about his reasons he is leaving. He clenches his fist and really doesn’t want to leave Yashiki to struggle against spirits by himself. But he isn’t an idiot and knows he would become a burden for Yashiki to carry if he overstayed his welcome. He is actually one of the few companions that fully say farewell. Mashita then says “If you manage to escape your death I’ll buy you a drink sometime”. Mashita wants to stay in Yashiki life. And has full trust that eventually Yashiki will overcome The Mark and survive.

It’s canon that off screen they went out for drinks. Mashita did promise him he would buy him a drink after Yashiki survives the whole Mark business. This is the first inclination that they spend time together out of the cases. They actually like each other's company. It’s canon that Yashiki is closest to Mashita and Daimon. In chapter 6, Mashita admits he wants Yashiki to join him in being a private detective. Yashiki is talented and skillful when it comes to spiritual matters. Mashita already knows how good Yashiki is. Even if Yashiki's bad self esteem doesn’t let him see that fact himself.

Mashita comes in annoyed and complains about Yashiki telling Yasuoka about his office. Now he is drowning in spiritual requests even if Yashiki told Yasuoka in order to help Mashita with his new career. They bicker like an old married couple. Yashiki by now knows Mashita scarily well and even comments “Did he just hesitate? Mashita?” Because he knows Mashita never hesitates without cause. Mashita always is impulsive whenever he has a goal to achieve.

Mashita then stares right at Yashiki and tells him to take responsibility. Very normal heterosexual behavior from our grumpy detective. I will say this chapter setting is a love hotel in the red light district. This lends more credence to Yashiki being implied he is gay. As it’s normal for gay men to have their trysts in such hotels out of the public eye. A point I will go back later on, but Mashita (which is implied to be more comfortable with his sexuality) is bringing Yashiki to a love hotel of all things. Mashita is the one ordering Yashiki to investigate. Mashita is the one that is telling him to explore.

Yashiki even in his inner monologue says “This isn’t going to do anything good for my reputation” which to be fair in context is more about the fact he is an old single man in the middle of the red light district. But if looked at an angle where Yashiki is a gay man. This could mean he is scared of others finding out his true sexuality and his reputation suffering for it.

I will also note that Hiroo and Daimon along with Yashiki and Mashita are there at the start of the case. The four of them are waiting outside the love hotel. Daimon and Hiroo who is practically outright stated in Death Mark 2 to be a couple. And Yashiki and Mashita who are heavily implied they are together. The two canon “couples” are standing in front of a love hotel.

Speaking of, the whole CG in the dirty smoking area has Yashiki pay too much attention to Mashita smoking. The amount of attention Mashita receives in his inner monologue is concerning. I will also note that the way the CG is drawn is that the two men are closer physically to Yashiki. Showing that there’s a level of emotional distance between Hiroo and Yashiki. We later know that Daimon and Mashita are the two mark bearers closer to Yashiki. This shows that Yashiki is more distant in general with women. Yashiki in general is closer to men than women. And the relationships with men are much more emotionally close than the likes of those he has with women.

Yashiki shows again that he knows how Mashita ticks. He bluntly says that “He like that to everyone. He didn’t mean anything by it”. He defends Mashita to Hiroo who was rightfully angry by his rudeness. Not realizing that it’s clear that Mashita treats himself differently. Mashita is more kind when it comes to him. Yashiki doesn’t realize how special he is to Mashita though.

And later on in the chapter, when Mashita comes back to help. Mashita and Yashiki enter the love hotel. Almost like they are a couple looking somewhere to stay the night. Mashita treats Yashiki gently in his own way and says “Calm down. Take a deep breath” when Yashiki rightfully had a panic attack because of the horrors. Mashita made Yashiki listen to him and calm down. When possessed shou gets to the scene, Mashita shows how good he is again. Mashita shows he is always there to protect Yashiki. By the end of the chapter, Mashita literally saves Yashiki from falling to his death. Mashita is so worried and angry and he says “Idiot…Try putting yourself into my shoes”. Mashita cares so much about Yashiki. No one can say otherwise.

Mashita again shows how much he pays attention and demands he be the one that will drive. Rudely pointing out that Yashiki's hands are still shaking. They are also each other's foils. Mashita believes the dead shouldn’t interfere with the living and Yashiki to his core is sympathetic to both spirits and the living. This has been my first part of the essay. The second half will be death mark 2.

[sinisterexaggerator]

Genuinely curious: How did you get hooked on Banaka?

I have an enabler, that’s why. A few, but none so great as @allsystemsblue and I thank her every day for that. Not only do we have daily discussions about those two, but it makes the ideas run wild in my head. The more and more I think about them, the more ways I see them being good together, so much so I name them my OTP.

At first, like most Bane Stans, I was like, nah, he’d hate him. Hondo would annoy the fuck out of Bane, and while that may be true, that doesn’t account for things such as nuance, or growing to be obsessed with your “enemy” to the point it becomes homoerotic. >D

But I sell myself short. I have thought way too long and hard to give a simple explanation such as this, so let me delve a little more into the idea by explaining a bit of their canon backstories, and then my own takes on how they work well together and why.

Bane grew up on Duro, specifically in New Tayana, and lived in an area called the “Descent Ghetto.” It was not a nice place. Hondo was raised for a time on Sriluur, a not so nice place either, in Hutt Space where his mother taught him how to pick-pocket, among other things. Eventually, he was sold into slavery, but he knew deep down I am sure that it was for the money. He escaped, but we can determine they both have a rough start in life.

At this level we might say there could be an understanding. A mutual respect for a man who is self-made. In this they can relate, and while Hondo has his own set of problems commanding an entire crew, both could possibly confide in one another and discuss life’s ills.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Jango and Bane are an “item” if you will, for a period of time. I have yet to decide all the determining factors or all the things I want to cover in this part of my story, but based on what I know about Jango, he was not an affectionate sort. Gruff, surly, to the point, a man of few words, and with a short temper who has little patience for bullshit. If we take that and add to it a cunning, outspoken, brash, ill-tempered, sassy, aggressive Duros, to me that equates to an unhappy ending, or a clashing of personalities are they are both so similar. In this case, opposites attract.

If Jango and Bane were to part ways, Hondo being in the picture and observing their relationship, seeing the value in Cad, becoming fascinated and absorbed in him, regardless of if Bane knows or acknowledges that fact, should he give the Weequay a chance, all those things he has been denied through Jango easily come into fruition via Hondo Ohnaka.

This man needs love, support, a friend even, healing. He is traumatized in part due to his past (my story), and Jango is not that empathetic or concerned.

Hondo is attentive, charming, a deep thinker despite his clownish façade. If Bane can get past his petty grievances, if they were to share a moment or two alone, if they had a chance to talk, to linger in each other’s presence, if BANE ALLOWED HIM A SHOT, I think Ohnaka could sweep him off his feet. He would see there was more to him than just the flamboyant, foppish pirate.

Granted, Bane is untrusting. He sees the women; men; sentients, that Hondo brings to Florrum. He knows of his sexual escapades. He knows he’s a flirt and a scoundrel, so it is tough going in the beginning for Bane to accept what he is experiencing or receiving from him is genuine.

Perhaps they engage in something together, possibly among others, that is a sexual awakening in Bane. I see Hondo as giving to Bane things he has never felt before or even knew was possible.

He would hate it. It would unnerve him. He wouldn’t know what to think, to do, how to address this feeling inside himself, and it would soon devour him alive.

Maybe he needs more of it, despite wanting to inflict violence or damage against the person (Ohnaka) that made him feel this way. It becomes a need, a thirst so infuriatingly strong in him that it must be quenched.

This could develop in to a tentative, informal, even secretive relationship. It could go on for months, weeks, Hondo one of the few people who can bounce right back after one of Cad’s terrible mood swings. He doesn’t take offense to his words, or rarely if that, something more personal perhaps, but he is able to deal with this terrible, bratty boy and knows just how to placate him, how to soothe him.

Maybe casual sex “digresses," or “upgrades” to feelings being involved, real affection occurring, yet also hidden behind closed doors.  I foresee angst, drama, hurt, comfort, and a whole plethora of other tropes occurring between these two.

One is the concept of “sun” and “moon.” Hondo is the sun to Bane’s moon. He is the sunshine one, the happy one, the one who can get this bounty hunter out of his funk on more than one occasion, despite his jealous, possessive tendencies.

To me they are perfectly complimentary. That’s basically it. Not only that, Hondo knows when he needs his space, when not to crowd him, when to stand down, and even though Bane may raise his hand against him, Hondo would never afford him the same reaction. Not like Jango.

Though Hondo speaks many, many words, actions speak louder to Bane, and Hondo can read him, whereas many cannot.

Pair that with his almost obsessive interest in Bane, and the fact he is without a doubt attracted to him from the moment Fett brings him to Florrum, and we have for a most interesting potential ship, IMO.

[morganmnemonic]

So in one of my college history classes, i had to read excerpts from this book

which is every bit as deranged as it sounds. It would spend a few pages delving into some genuinely well researched descriptions the abuses enslaved people faced in antebellum America, and then conclude "as you can see, to own your fellow man is to eat your fellow man, and to eat your fellow man is pretty darn gay". Cannibalism and Homoeroticism are both defined so broadly so as to not mean anything at all. There are interesting points in the book, somewhere, but they are difficult to find underneath the constant and reoccurring feeling of "what the hell am I reading" that this book invokes in the reader.

It popped back in my head recently as a compelling lens to try to analyze Alastor through. Like, there is at least one prior source that explores the idea that owning people and eating people might be offshoots of the same urge. Alastor hungers for freedom, and also for the flesh of his fellow man. Starvation is one of the book's go to forms of metaphorical cannibalism, an interpretation that makes Alastor not only a predatory dealmaker who fell victim to a predatory deal but also a cannibal who is being cannibalized. And this prior connection makes it that much more interesting that Alastor is canonically asexual. If we use this book as jumping point for analysis, it isn't just a fun little character detail, but a subversion of what it means to be a cannibal and slave owner. How do you eat someone in an explicitly non homoerotic way, when homoeroticism is so broadly defined that it covers everything?

I think that this analysis can cover some of the other overlords as well. Husk describes the thing that led him to owning people as a sort of appetite, and as for Valentino, sexual abuse is the most blatantly homoerotic form of metaphorical cannibalism there is.

I'm really torn. on one hand I want to look into this properly. On the other hand, that would require reading the entire book, an activity likely to give me brain damage. I already feel like a deranged lunatic talking about it.

[quietwingsinthesky]

deanbenny for the ship ask game?

What made you ship it?

i mean. we all saw what happened in purgatory. we all saw that, right? gay as hell to get inside the body of another man so he can carry you through a portal back to the land of the living.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

open season on homoerotic vampire biting fic :3

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

I mean, I love how it all shakes out as tragedy in the end. Benny's out of place, out of time, and no matter how much Dean loves him, he's also not someone who can provide any sort of support. Especially not to the level Benny needs. That conflict at the heart of their relationship, that Benny is an exception to Dean's rules of killing monsters, not a reason to delve into his own biases further and question things, is sooo. Capping it off with Dean killing him is just the cherry on top. Fucked up <3

[itsjulesharper]

The one where I’m consumed by BL Drama

the original of this post is over on my website if you want to take a look.  Otherwise, keep reading :)

Since around July 2022 I fell into a BL drama hole (feels MUCH longer!) and couldn't get up. OMG, Jules! I hear you say. What is this awesome-sounding thing you're into and why are you obsessed?

Well, come closer, my bébés, and let me give you a crash course.

Just like K-Drama is all about stories made in Korea and featuring Korean actors, BL (aka boy love) Drama are stories involving boys dating, falling in love and (mainly) living happily ever after. The HEA has some exceptions which I will WARN YOU ABOUT because I am STILL SALTY about this (Love By Chance S2, I am looking right at you!).  A lot of the stories are adapted from novels, or short stories, or manga. Some start out as an online game (!)

On to a few definitions, courtesy of Nothing But Yaoi.

BL is also known as Yaoi (Yah-OY), and is a media genre depicting romantic and homoerotic relationships between males. This genre blossomed in Japan in the ’70s as a literary genre and originally consisted of derivative works from parodies of original anime and manga stories. However, it gradually transformed into an umbrella term for other forms of fiction - such as anime, movies, dramas and fan-works - featuring homosexual relationships.

Yaoi Vocabulary

Seme – (sem-AY) refers to the ‘top’ or the one who penetrates the ‘bottom’ during sex. Usually portrayed as the character with the most masculine features and the one with the more dominant personality. In standard romance writing terms, he would be an alpha.

Uke – (oo-KAY) character with the most docile and submissive personality and the ‘bottom’ in the relationship. Physically, he is presented as being more graceful and feminine.

Riba – characters with mixed traits of semes and uke, and is both submissive and dominant in the relationship.

Tsundere – (SOON-de-deh) A character who initially shows off a moody and harsh personality and sometimes violent tendencies, but then gradually shows a sweet and gentle side.

Yandere – (YAN-de-deh) a character with a possessive and obsessive personality, who will do anything to be with their crush or love interest.

The Futekiya blog has a good explanation on the differences between seme/uke/riba.

I totally recommend Gail Carriger's 2020 article BL Dramas Analysed from a Writer's Perspective because she goes into the background stuff and I don't need to say the same thing because I pretty much agree with all of it. Go read both parts.

Now, here's my observations. BL isn't just about gay/queer stories. It also deals with friendships, romantic pairings, families, school/college, acceptance and social issues. A lot of them fall into the New Adult subgenre (defined as stories with 18-24yo protagonists navigating their way in the world while dealing with a new job, college, family, social and romantic issues).

Sometimes I feel some male actors aren't that comfortable kissing other men, but that could be me. I know some actors see BL as a stepping stone in the industry and do it for the money. You can find a bunch of YouTube clips that delve into this, but please take those with a grain of salt, because the bottom line is, it's all subjective unless an actor has gone on record about it. And most will not, given most BL are produced by countries that still struggle with LGBTQIA+ acceptance.  And some are still downright homophobic.

#VegasPete MY HEART

BL run the gamut of SUPER HOT (KinnPorsche, Unforgotten Night), to one kiss in the last 30 seconds of the last ep (Where Your Eyes Linger, Light on Me, Minato's Laundromat). Some BL are light and fluffy because sometimes we just need that feel-good romance story about two people falling in love. And then we have the more grittier stories that deal with social and political issues, bullying, assault, social media.

You go for it, Pi! (Fish Upon the Sky)

A lot of BL are only one season, except when not (TharnType, SOTUS). This gets confusing when they give the second season/related seasons a different title. (For example, Kiss: The Series, Kiss Me Again, Dark Blue Kiss and Our Skyy are all related, with the same actors playing the same roles) I loved 2Moons (Phana and Wayo MY HEART!!!)  but the company (StarHunter entertainment) then produced a Season 2 and 3, but with completely different actors in the same roles for both seasons.  People were not happy.  The En of Love was another series that consisted of a bunch of mini stories, including a 4ep one called Love Mechanics.  I was so happy we got a full 10eps for the  retelling of Vee and Mark’s story, because the original 4eps were hugely lacking. It’s now one of my favourites, ngl. 

I've managed to find a lot of related shows via IMDB, and I've also referred to My Drama List for details about number of eps, shows with the same actors, etc. It can get more confusing when it looks like a series is also a movie, and then I realised they make a 'movie' version of the series but there's a lot of heavy editing involved so I recommend watching the series to get the complete story.

Like other fiction genres, BL has its tropes, expectations and issues. I think the oldest BL I've watched was 2016, and the earlier stuff shows its age when it comes to dealing with bullying, sexual assault, consent, stereotypes, gay rights and acceptance.

Most of my BL comes from Thailand and Korea, mainly because they are the ones meeting demand and consistently making content. Japanese BL have recently stepped up (Candy Colour Paradox is one of my faves) but Chinese BL made after 2016 is rare, due to the massive government ban on anything appearing to be gay. A few production companies produce my favourite shows (GMM and Domundi are two) and those companies have a stable of actors who appear in a multitude of different shows, promote those shows and endorse products (more about that later), plus do live greets, fan service and provide content for the original soundtrack. 

I watch in various places - I have Viki and iQIYI, as well as Prime and Netflix but the latter two don't have a lot of the old shows I'm looking for - and I'll tell you about that all further down.  Some production companies like O2 have a YouTube channel but sometimes scenes can be cut because ‘mature’ content.

Okay, so apart from boy love, what's BL about??

My Beautiful Man - of course he is

Aside from the fact that most of the boys are just SO FRICKING BEAUTIFUL IT MAKES ME CRY???? JUST LOOOOK AT THEM!!!! Who wouldn't want to watch all the dramas with these guys???

Okay. It's also about the tropes. I get a kinda-sorta "old romance bodice rippers of the 80s" vibe from the older BL: low/dubious on consent, sexually aggressive, the "I'm interested in you so I'll overtly pursue you - even though you've said no - because I MUST HAVE YOU." The alpha-seme characters are often forceful and in your face. There's open bullying going on. Sometimes sexual assault is used as a plot/character device that makes me mega-uncomfortable (TharnType.... 😒)  But anyway. Here's a bunch of plot/trope devices that seem to crop up in a lot (if not most) BL.

Dominant male/passive male dynamic - I can count on one hand the BLs I've watched that don't have this dynamic - alpha-type guy pursuing a shy, often nerdy, passive (same age or sometimes younger) boy. It's your classic seme-uke. A lot of BL are set in college or just starting out in the workforce, so a huge New Adult vibe to it all, which is helpful to get past the censors re: sexual content. It’s also a very popular trope.

Hot previously-hetero fuckboy has GFY (gay for you) thoughts about roomie/bestie/cute nerdy boy - "gay for you" is a legit trope in the romance genre. Some hate it, some aren't bothered about it. It basically means that a previously heterosexual guy - with no indication he's ever questioned his sexuality and in fact, is overtly sexual with women - will suddenly start to have the feels for another guy. It's not that he's GAY, because he doesn't feel that way about other guys. It's just this one guy who sets his heart all aflutter. Theory of Love fits this, as does TharnType (two very male men who don't classify themselves as dominant or feminine, although Tharn is openly gay and says early on that he's a top).

...or not?

Not gay, just GFY - see above

Accidentally falling on other so they can 'accidentally' kiss - tripping over objects, a kerb, a fence or wall, people crashing into them - with their bodies or vehicle - and forcing them to kiss. Bonus if it involves water, like falling into a bath or a pond. Water fights are also good.

Getting drunk - this appears to provide an opportunity for the seme to kiss or touch the uke. It also allows them to talk about their feelings 'honestly and openly'. Can also lead into...

Drunk kisses - doesn't always come with consent. Many a drunk kiss may start out as 'wtf are you doing??' And because the pursuer is just SO DAMN GOOD at kissing, it morphs into consensual (and sometimes into sex, which again, is not always consensual or appears to be 'forced seduction' - a romance writing term that's loaded with issues and sometimes used as a euphemism for rape, especially when we're talking older romance novels of the 80s-90s).

Placing a hand on a wall/chair/object and leaning in to stare into their face/get intimately close - SO. DRAMATIC. I love this aggressive move (usually by the seme) and also love seeing the uke getting all flustered and nervous. See Cutie Pie, Secret Crush on You, Unforgotten Night.

Watching the other one sleep - So we get those lovely vulnerable moments with lingering looks and tender expressions. See also: pretending to be asleep so the other one can watch them sleep and possibly confess aloud how much they secretly have the feels. Is also related to the classic #OnlyOneBed conflict device.

Bringing food/feeding - this is a culture thing. Putting food on someone's plate, bringing them noms when they're sick or too busy to take care of themselves. Feeding them directly from a utensil has MAJOR sexual vibes, and we often get close ups of parted lips and lots of staring. There's also a bit of extreme dramatic offence taken by the seme when an outsider/potential rival puts food on the plate of the seme's love interest. This preferential treatment of being served food does not go unnoticed by family or friends.

Wiping food from their face - again, we are taking care of that someone we have the feels for. Wiping off food, sauce, cream, often on their lips or corner of the mouth. Bonus if the pursuer then licks that finger. HOT VIBE ALERT.

Patting/washing/drying hair - indicates intimacy, which a shoulder or arm pat definitely doesn't.

Tending to wounds - to show their caring side. Can also involve kisses to said wound, or blowing of said wound. Which then gives us variations of gay panic from the one being pursued.

Nursing them when they're sick - see above. This is also a good turning point for the uke to realise their pursuer is indeed, concerned for them. Which means their romantic feels start/increase.

Falling asleep together - with major spooning and possible kissing occurring. Can also be paired with the #OnlyOneBed conflict device.

Riding a bike/moped/vehicle to create physical touch - where the person sitting behind must hug the driver. This is usually initiated by the driver grabbing their arms and wrapping them around his waist and the passenger is usually reluctant and/or shocked but we also see him smiling and secretly enjoying it. YAY for intimacy! 

Introducing a female/ex to make the other person jealous - some of these are done SO BADLY and sometimes the ex inserts themselves into the budding romance just to be dramatic/evil/demand attention. I have a love/hate relationship with this device. It can be done so very badly, or used extremely well so I accept and understand why my boys are in conflict. In which case, I keep telling myself they'll eventually get their happy-ever-after, SO DON'T PANIC, FOR GODSAKES!

'We can never be together, so go find a woman who will make you happy'- see above.

Disapproving relative - to create tension and conflict. Yes, it's the 21st century but the reality is not everyone accepts same-sex relationships, especially when we're dealing with parents, older relatives and society as a whole. Many Asian countries still don't have gay rights or allow same-sex marriage, which makes the producers of these shows even more brave and forward-thinking.

Staring off into space, deep in thought - seriously, why is it so difficult to get someone's attention when they're doing this? It's not like they've suddenly been struck deaf.

Product Placement -  Snacks, drinks, face creams, collagen powders and pills, nasal sprays. I see them all, and some can be subtle (Theory of Love) and some literally IN YOUR FACE and wtf obvious (Unforgotten Night).  Sponsors throw money at the show and expect a return, both within the show and from the actors when they do promotional activities.  Not gonna lie, I've gone out and bought a bunch of those promoted snacks from my local Coles because I wanted to know what they tasted like. I am an advertisers dream.

Someone is gonna be shipping someone on social media - this is a cute device, and very in keeping with modern teenage life today. For those not in the know, 'Shipping' is basically the act of putting two people in a relationship together, either romantically or not. Mostly, it's of the romantic kind. In Fish Upon the Sky, this is a major conflict device for our nerdy uke, Pi, and his seme pursuer, Mork. Their ship name is #MorkPi. The actors are also shipped outside the show too (for e.g. #BrightWin, #MewGulf, #BibleBuild). Of course, some actors will do this for the fan service (i.e. providing that fan-driven squeeeee! content that keeps people interested/obsessed with the show), but then you will have a ship that sails into real-life couple waters: #MaxNat, #OffGun, #EarthMix, #NetJames, #ZeeNuNew 😍😍

A Happy Ever After - this is the most important trope in a romance novel - in fact, it defines the entire genre.  If a Romance is not HEA or HFN (happy for now) i.e. an uplifting ending, it is not a romance novel.  Whatever else is going on in the story, however the characters fight and break up and reconcile and suffer, romance readers expect and demand a HEA / HFN for them.  I want my BL boys to have a happy ending because I like love stories to be positive.  I’ve seen a few that have ended badly HIStory: Make Our Days Count, Gray Rainbow and Love Bill  UUGGGGHHH.  Also, a S2 may or may not be utterly devastating -  don't get me started on Love By Chance S2 😡😡. I've seen some left up in the air (Ingredients and HIStory: Trapped), some that have a 'X years later' (Where Your Eyes Linger, Plus + Minus), and some that are bittersweet (On Cloud Nine, Doctor I'm Coming for Soul).  I watched Present Perfect (original Thai movie) and Present Still Perfect (sequel), but saw the sequel first, so I got Toey and Oat's initial romance backstory last. Didn't diminish or spoil the story at all and they're now two of my favourite BL movies.

The "I like you" moment - When a boy confesses their feels. I think a more accurate translation should be "I have a crush on you". Gail Carriger goes into more detail about translation issues, which you can read in her article I've linked to above.

A bit more on translating issues. Depending where you watch, they could be A+ or piss-poor. Some are just very very odd. I laughed aloud with KinnPorsche - a story about mafia and their tough bodyguards - and their cursing. 'Fudge', 'darn' and 'shoot'...? LOOOOL. Vegas definitely says "fuck" in English, but 'fudge' is the translator's go-to. For Love By Chance, one site's subs were "at least you won't be told you're a f*ggot." Viki translated it as: "you won't be told you're the wrong gender." The subs for Make It Right on Bilibili were crazy-ass around Ep10, so I swapped over to YouTube.

So where can I watch these awesome shows?

My first port of call is either a legal paid platform or the creators' official YouTube channel.

The Cutie Pie ep10 scene YT doesn't want me to see...

YouTube - GMMTV has a channel for catchup, which I love. I also recommend MindTrio. Make sure you get an ad blocker, because I totally forgot YT has ads, and one time I watched on my iPad ... annoying ads ahoy! Plus, I read on an Instagram account there's some censoring going on, but this is a bit hit-and-miss for me.  For e.g. there's a hot bath scene in Secret Crush on You between Toh and Neua that I DID NOT KNOW ABOUT because I'd watched it on Bilibili and they'd cut it. The full uncut scenes can be found on Viki.  I've also had ep10 of Cutie Pie censored because of 'sexual content' and unless I send YT a copy of my ID (wtf, not gonna do that!!) then I'm blocked from watching it there. Yay 👍 - free! Boo 😒 - censorship!  And ads.

Rakuten Viki - The format is very Prime-looking. You can get a bunch of shows for free, and the quality is great, but sometimes they'll make the first few eps free, then the rest of the season is VIP-only, which you have to pay for. They also place LOUD ads wherever they feel like in a show, so you'll be watching an intense emotional scene and suddenly there's a 20sec ad for Pocky. UGH. And the frequency/number of ads is totally random: one 30min ep had 5 breaks in it?? On the flip side, I watched a 90min movie with two ad breaks. And sometimes you get a Skip this ad>> button so there's that? Yay 👍 - somewhat free. Excellent range of BL if you pay for a sub. Boo 😒 - random ads everywhere unless you pay for VIP.  Paywall to see a complete season.

iQiYi - I had this app on my iPad but the ads were ANNOYING on the free version and totally in the way of the buttons. Paying for a subscription removes them, of course.  But some content is country-restricted (e.g. Unintentional Love Story), so even if you're a subscriber, you may not get access to every show. Yay 👍 - excellent uncensored content! Boo 😒 - paywall/sub fee can be expensive, plus content may be country-restricted.

GagaOOLala - this channel is LGBTQIA dedicated, so if you're unhappy with the shitty offerings of Prime or Netflix, I'd totally be paying a sub for this. You can see an ep or two for free, but then you have to subscribe. Also, as with iQiYi above, content may be country-restricted, even as a subscriber. Yay 👍 - CONTENT that is frequent and excellent!! Boo 😒 - possible country restrictions, plus sub is $$

HiTV - I recently discovered this app and it's fab because there's lots of older shows here that iQiYi and Viki don't have (full version of Love Mechanics! ��� ).  It does have ads, but only static silent ones at the start of each ep. Yay 👍 - content you may not be able to find elsewhere. Boo 😒 - The tiniest of tiny ads at the start of each ep.

Netflix - I've watched heaps of K- and C-Drama here (While You Were Sleeping, Love and Leashes, Final Life, Sweet Home, Alice in Borderland) and I still have a bunch bookmarked, but I haven't turned on my TV for weeks. I watched Your Name Engraved Herein, plus technically-not-BL Hwarang and The Untamed here, but Netflix have edited a few scenes of the latter, which makes me v. angry. Also, apparently Germany has absolutely no Chinese drama available, which is... just weird. Yay 👍 - HD content, no ads. Boo 😒 - choice is limited via your country. Plus, you know... you have to pay for a subscription. And with the 'no family sharing thing' that's being phased in, Netflix may not be your best choice.

Okay, so that's my crash course on BL Drama. Stay tuned for a list of my favourite series.  And if you watch BL, let me know your faves in the comments!

[may-bonne]

Before I share my "highly anticipated" thoughts on Bloodrayne thoughts I will say that the thought of sharing that fucking poem with Chris Sanchez is hysterical to me. She'd give such a dirty look lmao

From what I've looked into, the Bloodrayne games take place in the 1930s not the 18th century, you kill nazis, Rayne is more of a seductress type character, and only her and Kagan exist? Disappointed that there's no game version of Katarin

I like how the blood and gore is sorta cheesy. My favorite part is where a couple of guys are beating the shit out of a dude on the ground that's already been cut in half. His intestines are hanging out like I think you can stop. It's not an exploitation film like Machete but it feels like it should have been

The blue contacts they gave Mrod are so strange. I didn't even notice she was wearing them until over halfway through the movie. So subtle. Slightly unsettling too ❤️

Astounding how almost every performance is so bad. Papa Katarin was decent. Mrod gave one of the best and it's still one of the weakest she's ever given. Kagan was the worst imo that man did not give a shit to the point it was funny. The Hamburger(?) guy positively chewed the scenery. I read that the guy who played Vladimir was drunk the whole time. I kinda liked him though. I also liked Kristanna despite how wooden she was at points. Makes me think of her role in Terminator 3 (she was a y2cunty robot)

The Brimstone necklaces look like something you'd buy at Spirit Halloween. Katarin's silly little cape outfit also seems particularly like a halloween costume. I could send a whole ask about her wardrobe alone I love it. Her and Rayne stick out like sore thumbs but my favorite thing is the bright iliac coat and blatantly store bought capris

I don't know if I'm not understanding correctly or if Rayne's backstory made no sense. If a dhampir is born from a human and a vampire having a kid and Rayne was alive to watch and remember Kagan raping her mother, how did she end up a dhampir??

(The haircut they gave Kagan's lapdog was so stupid btw. I don't like the look in his eyes either. Why does he look at everything so intently!!)

They could have done something legitimately interesting with Katarin and her fahthah if they delved into how him being turned complicated her relationship with him and vampires, and how he had to leave Brimstone for being a danger or whatever but then Rayne is let in with open arms. I could also see Vladimir becoming a second father figure to her

Although it was obvious Katarin wasn't happy her betrayal heel turn moment felt abrupt. I wish we saw Rayne try to reason with Katarin before killing her and sucking the blood from her neck homoerotically. She doesn't try during their slow duel either! She says they'll continue later and leaves abruptly and never comes back to it. I wanted to see Rayne try to earn Katarin's trust. I don't get why Rayne lied about what Katarin did after she died. Or Katarin's "they fear what they don't understand" line since she never pretended to be in support of Rayne's presence outside of that

We were robbed of an enemies to lover storyline

the swordfight is SO SLOW hahaha. go for the fucking bare stomach or neck maybe!! i can't imagine uwe invested in extensive fight training but they look like kids with plastic weapons duking it out in the back yard

apparently rayne doesn't fight any nazis until the third movie despite that being her whole thing in the source material. i know this is one of those uwe boll video game adaptations that were never supposed to turn a profit to take advantage of german tax rebates or something so i wonder if he thought the nazi-fighting vampire thing wouldn't go over well. they didn't film in germany and i don't think it had government backing or anything but maybe he needed to maintain good will to keep the scheme working. i cannot believe he managed to get two sequels made. this movie kind of tanked kristanna loken's career which looked like it was maybe going to take off post-terminator so i guess i'm glad he kept employing her. apparently actors enjoy working with him bc he's chill and shoots everything really quickly and everyone understands the end product isn't going to be that great. although mrod does seem to be taking her role very seriously

i'm genuinely not sure why her performance is so terrible. the accent doesn't help and many of her lines are very stupid but i feel like she's managed to stay compelling while delivering pretty dumb lines in other movies. i wonder if either she concluded independently or somebody told her that because she's supposed to be a leader she needed to speak with! gravitas! which could be the source of that weird flat overenunciating thing

at first i thought the contacts were foreshadowing some kind of supernatural reveal but i guess she was just supposed to seem european lol. the betrayal was really abrupt but it's not like anything in this movie happens with a whole lot of buildup. i saw zero indication rayne was into that dude until he yanked her shirt off and started fucking her up against the bars

i did enjoy the underwater wrestling and the part where she's sucking katarin's neck. mm. despite the time period i'm adding katarin to my very short list of mrod characters who seem like maybe they could admit to themselves they wanted to bang chicks only because like i said before i feel like the vampire thing would overshadow it. after paul walker died when she went off the rails for a while i wish she'd said fuck it and done like...probably some kind of lesbian indie film would still be too much to ask for but maybe like a really trashy male gaze-y pulp film where she was like a bisexual serial killer. if i were cara i would've floated that between excursions to controversial exotic animal petting zoos and recreational iv spas. but instead she swung the other way and made that movie where she's like a third grade teacher lol

[megansanimelist]

Fantasy Anime (Summer 2024)

Delico's Nursery

Dali Delico is an aristocrat from the prestigious Delico family and an elite member of the Blood Pact Council who has a promising future.

He is ordered to carry out a certain mission by the Blood Pact Council, the highest governing body of vampires, but Dali flatly refuses. When fellow members of the Diet go to try to persuade Dali, they find Dali cradling a young child himself.

Meanwhile, a mysterious series of murders targeting vampires occur in the streets. There seems to be some sort of past connection between Dali and the anti-social organization Pendulum, which is believed to be the mastermind.

''With all our blood and pride, let's show that we can achieve both duty and child-rearing!" (MyAnimeList)

Another season, another vampire anime. Keep putting those pretty men in homoerotic situations and I'll keep watching them. This anime doesn't start till August 7th, so I'm posting this one without seeing it.

Don't Give Up!

Men Ke, an ordinary office worker, spent the first half of her life being bored, but in the second half of her life, she was faced with a situation where she would die of boredom. Now see how our heroine, who faces sudden death but continues to go to work every day, and our hero, who is enthusiastically trying to save her but not very being very helpful, "live life to the fullest". (AniList)

Idk why I'm drawn to this one. The characters look cool, I guess? The green lightening/space themed poster vs depressed office worker synopsis?? -I've seen the first few eps and it's amusing. The main girl will literally die if she's bored. Relatable office worker comedy.

Dungeon People

An unexplored dungeon, filled with monsters and traps. An expert thief, searching for her lost father. When Clay delves into the dungeon deeper than any adventurer has ever gone, she is offered a job by the dungeon's caretaker! Now, instead of exploring, Clay must learn how to interview new monsters, set traps and position slimes around the dungeon. Will this new career path bring her any closer to finding her father? (LiveChart)

Honestly, this is a rebound anime after Dungeon Meshi. It's a charming and calm anime, a feel-good show. A cute-girls-doing-cute-things show.

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin

Spoiled harvest goddess Sakuna finds herself banished from her opulent celestial home to an island overrun with demons. In the untamed wilderness, she must rediscover her birthright as the daughter of a warrior god and harvest goddess by weathering the elements, fighting monsters, and cultivating rice, the source of her power. By her side in this forbidding place is her guardian Tama and a group of outcast humans. Together, these unlikely companions must join hands to tame both the soil and the demons of Hinoe Island. (Steam)

RICE ANIME. The trailer looks like it could be really emotional with unique character driven plot as well as action scenes. I have faith in this one.

[let-me-iiiiiiiin]

alright, hang on, this might actually be good????

cringe-worthy dialogue aside I can actually see potential in the new expansion. I checked out a more detailed review of the new features. let's go.

Female Dwarves have BEARDS now

Not gonna lie, this is when I realized things may not be so dire. If they hadn't cared at all, they would have just reskinned the dwarves. But they're doing much more than that!! Actual BEARDS for FEMALE DWARVES!!!! I think this really shows that they are not just going to make another cash-grab. Upon closer look I also really like how the crystals look like. It may even make up for the boring faces!!

2. Delves

Honestly at first I thought they were referring to the dwarf-elf hybrids, but then I realized no, they are talking about CAVERN DELVES. As in, DELVING. Slight disappointment, but not too much, because I did honestly enjoy the adventures in the Zaralek cavern. I think more of that might be nice.

3. Universal Dynamic Flight

YES. THANK YOU. I'VE BEEN WANTING THAT. I'VE BEEN WANTING THAT SO MUCH. The option to toggle between the two is also extremely good, especially from an accessibility standpoint.

4. The everything else

Honestly, the features don't look half-bad. I think they might be working with good intentions here, because I can't really see anything wrong with them. They don't really clash with existing features, and they aren't really super flashy, and they don't seem to be clunky. Still unsure about hero talents (because lmao they are really adding sub-classes to sub classes) but let's see how they handle it before roasting the hell out of it.

Now, for the story. (I'm not looking forward to this, but here we go.)

"we witness thrall and anduin having a moment"

*spits water* having a WHAT??

2. Anduin's angst

I do make fun of the cinematic for its dialogue decisions but I am glad that they are not glossing over anduin's gruelling experiences. he is so young but he has been through literal hell, unwillingly and then willingly. It takes time to get acclimatized to (relatively) peaceful existence.

On the OTHER side of this scale, I do dread how they are going to handle this. I read (and write) fanfiction, so I am aware of the many ways fans have written about their favorite characters getting and healing from trauma. Sometimes, it ends up becoming very melodramatic. With how dragonflight was handled, I do hope they will be able to keep this from becoming something of a gag. The chances of anduin's angst becoming pure senseless whump are low, but never zero. Unfortunately.

3. Alleria Windrunner "unique rivalry" with Xalatath

Just say toxic lesbian yuri. We all know what's going to happen. You cannot trick experienced homoerotic subtext readers. "being torn between her own nature and the maddening call of the Void to which she is attuned" that is an INCREDIBLY lesbian description, are you AWARE OF THAT???? A "unique rivalry" whose "twists and turns will come to define the nature of this new conflict", just say it's enemies-to-lovers okay???? love wins. hate also wins cause toxic yuri. Also, her story description has the LONGEST paragraph among the listed NPCs. That alone proves it.

Seriously, just look at what they wrote for Anduin, their specialest little boy:

'Anduin Wrynn: Having survived his ordeal with Domination, he will grapple with his relationship with the Holy Light that he no longer feels worthy of.'

ONE SENTENCE. Whereas Alleria has a whopping THREE SENTENCES in a LONG-ASS PARAGRAPH.

As long as they handle this as homosexually as possible, I am willing to forgive Alleria for "my..... visions..... are not like the others..... (gay)"

4. The Arathi (aka the human tribe in the new zone)

Honestly, no opinions. Depends on how they handle the story.

5. Nerubians (and a possible spider allied race in the future)

Alright, I have a few thoughts on this. We may ask Blizzard for characters of ALL kinds of races, but that depends on whether it's worth it to introduce all these things. (Mainly for money reasons I'm guessing, but also from functionality of the NPC race as a player character, and a variety of other things).

One thing about the playable races is that they are made with all sorts of animations. Sitting, flying, free-fall, kneeling, sleeping, and all those other stuff have their own animations. Some of these you will see whether you do or don't want to (like the pose of your character while they are on a mount).

And without exception, all playable races have to have the essential animations, and they must not look unnatural. Sure, they might look a bit weird, they should not look impossible.

A thing about nerubians is that they are, well. SPIDERS. They have a lot of legs. That's a lot of limbs to coordinate. The designers would need to figure out how to do the animations for something that is almost as long and wide as it is tall, and that's made a lot more difficult by the simple fact that nerubians are SPIDERS. I repeat: SPIDERS. If you cannot imagine a Nerubians riding your Mammoth mount, I assure you, the designers likely can't either.

BUT. Not all hope is lost. Because there is something unique in the concept designs in the Blizzard post...

Please take a look at the image below:

You can see here that while most of these designs are not playable race-friendly, ONE among them is.

This character is bipedal. They seem to have a tail behind them (you might see the shadow between their legs, which, disappointingly, is not a gigantic cock) but we already have characters with tails. Namely, the newly introduced Drachtyr. And while it is not exactly typical to have a character with four arms, it is not too big of an adjustment. THIS character would most likely be able to sit on a mount without trouble.

It is also, remarkably, wearing almost a full set of armor. One notable thing about playable races is that they are all able to have transmogs, which is a thing blizzard wants to make accessible for everyone because it's such a popular feature of customizing your character. The other spider NPC models are only wearing tabards or helms and etc, but this one has: a helmet, a pair of pauldrons, a chest piece, gloves, a waist item, and BOOTS of all fucking things. Also, do you see its pose? That's a classic Horde Night Elf stand (I'm sorry I don't remember their names). Everything about them screams "made for future player gameplay"

I'm guessing that once Xalatath and Alleria make up and have hot lesbian (redacted), the nerubians will join the fold and we will have our hot monster playable race. Rejoice!!

Also, look at these quotes: "Queen Ansurek has embraced these modifications [...] The society of nerubians offers up a citizenry in a variety of forms, some of which we’ve never seen before." This feels like they are really going to do it. I'm guessing we will get them at the end of War Within or at the end of the expansion trilogy. Which is nice! Always wanted to play a weird fucked up race tbh. The Dracthyr are cool, but more variety is always more fun.

6. Kobolds are coming back

Yessss. It's been a moment since I last saw those little fuckers. I hope to see more of them.

7. The everything else

Honestly... This is not looking bad either. I was pretty hasty with my judgement during the first look, but that was because the dialogue just squicked me. I am glad that they are taking this seriously and with great thought, and I hope to see the results in the coming years. I am looking forward to seeing what they do with all these ideas!

ok. i'm going to play now. guardians of dream is out

[lindalung]

Lo and Behold Homoeroticism rant Part Two

If you missed my first part you can go 2 posts back to read it but I just want to add onto my thoughts

The lack of queer characters in TVB shows is nothing new, and on the rare occasion when they remember that LGBTQ+ people exist, it's treated as a joke (ie. queerbaiting the bromance of a character, but no homo bro! or characters defensively insisting that they're straight). We get it, it's target audience is on the conservative side, but it is admittedly tiring to watch sometimes as a queer audience member.

From my previous "essay" you know I've delved into the relationship between the characters Linda Lung and Hung Sheung Sin (the main source of my hyperfixation). I think it's wild how TVB has accidentally created one of THE richest, most intriguing homoerotic dynamics in television history without intending to do so. They're meant to be straight characters, but don't realize how much potential this pairing could have, and how much evidence in canon they've accidentally (or is it intentional??) made. I can't help but think that if this was in an American tv show, it could be such a well made pairing. But of course, even American shows rarely do queer ships well.

What sparked this rant was episode 1228 it's crazy how to fathom that they'd rather have literal incest (Kam Shing On developing a crush on his mother Hung Sheung Sin after a hypnotism session) before portraying healthy queer relationships. They've had Linda accidentally having a crush on Sheung Sin's boyfriend after he saved her from a motorcycle accident (which was actually revealed to be Sheung Sin's dad, which makes it worse). It seems like they'll do everything to dance around the concept of actually having these two women fall for each other before actually making it happen. Though of course, given their track record I wouldn't trust them to do it well and it'd be a joke anyway. It's like how they notoriously queerbait the bromance between Kam Shing On and his best friend Chu Ling Ling, but of course it's no homo. In this episode they also made sure to include a shot of Linda's husband Sung Shui Fai doing the "heroic catch" on Shing On (something Linda/Sheung Sin have done too, mind you); then at the end of the episode Sheung Sin asks her son "Wait, you haven't fallen for Sung Shui Fai, right?" and he defensively reassures her that no matter what, he's only into women. Yes, we get it, that shot was included because haha, gay relationships are suuuch a joke, right?

What's funny is the unintentional inherent homoerotic irony in Sheung Sin hypnotizing her son because she was displeased with his taste in women (which is a whole other rant on why it's problematic), so she hypnotizes him into liking "normal women" (whatever that means) like herself, only to have him fall in love with Linda (after that incest nonsense). The show's reasoning is because Sheung Sin and Linda are very similar, and so after her son fell in love with Sheung Sin, he also fell in love with Linda. What's interesting to me from watching this through a queer lens is that it shows that Sheung Sin is subconsciously in love with Linda. To me, she's trying to impose her "ideal type" onto her son, which is just hilarious to me at how they try so hard to make it not gay, but it in fact inherently is.

It's actually canon and a widely known fact among the characters in the show that Hung Sheung Sin is intensely obsessed with Linda. There are multiple instances of her being so obsessed with Linda that it ruins her entire mood and she spends all her energy on provoking Linda, pushing her buttons, and trying to get a reaction out of her/to piss her off. Linda is obsessed with Sheung Sin too, but to a lesser degree I'd think. Even Sheung Sin's own boyfriend knows that the only thing to motivate his girlfriend is to bring up Linda to her, so that she would be so bothered to be better than her. It's classic homo/psychosexual obsession.

Part three to come...

[agirlwithachakram]

Okay I realize our sample size is low and if two Moon Knight fans reblogs that's it for Steeb but MAN this is funny. Steve Rogers is one of the most popular characters in Marvel, if not THE most popular MCU character, half of the number four all time biggest ship on AO3, with an intense fandom that wrote epistolary novels, historical journals, reviews for fake movies, thousands of AUs, and delved into how a disabled second-gen Irish immigrant boy, raised by a single working mother, with a strong sense of justice and a homoerotic relationship with his best (probably Jewish, justice for Arnie Roth!) friend would have survived his first couple decades in Brooklyn, in a historically queer neighborhood.

But then Evil Joe Biden happened. and it's my personal belief that if a story fucks up so bad for stupid reasons like homophobia (cough SPN cough Agent Carter cough) then I don't have to accept that ending; I can make my own.

however...he's still there. On that bench. Fucking that compass. abandoning his boys and girl. ruining peggy's life.

I'm inclined to say a lot of nice things about Steven Grant, and it'd be easy, because look at him, but that's not really the point. Moon Knight wasn't nearly as well known or loved a character as Cap before his show, and I doubt that's fully changed, even though it's Oscar Isaac and it was a great show. yet here we are. good fucking job with your boy, Kevin Feige. jackass.

ETA: I hope it's cool to say all this in the notes. I'm not trying to start a war or anything, I'm just interested in it from a fandom history perspective. But if it's inflammatory I'm happy to delete it or make my own post with a screencap.

Bracket 1, Round 1

[cha-melodius]

Oh a TMFU/Gorncharov cross over??? Maybe Illya, Napoleon, and Gaby are just in Naples for an unrelated issue. Or Gorncharov knows Illya from childhood and calls his old friend in for help. We all know that Gaby and Katya would get on great. Illya and Gorncharov can both be idiots pining together over Napoleon and Andry respectively. Napoleon and Andry can probably bond over their tastes for finer things in life or something I dunno.

This is of course a very natural crossover! It's no secret that Goncharov is one of Guy Ritchie's favorite movies, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. definitely shows the great influences of all his movies; he's said before that he wanted to set TMFU in Italy as a nod to Goncharov, and in the original script Victoria's name was Sofia. However, since Goncharov was more or less still lost in 2015, I feel like the parallels are definitely underappreciated, especially all the clock/watch imagery and its ties to both the themes of broken families and Goncharov/Illya's trust issues. Few people realize that Illya's "You know what my mission is?" line when Napoleon returns his father's watch is a direct reference to Goncharov's "You know what the job is?" line in the clocktower scene when he confronts Andrey. Of course the very fact that Illya gets his watch back shows that Illya still holds on to his sense of self, unlike Goncharov, who loses it for good. (Goncharov google doc, short analysis of Goncharov's watch)

Now about that crossover.

I assume we're going on a crossover before the events of the movie, since, well, spoilers (can you spoil a 50 year old movie?), but there's not a lot of opportunity after. Perhaps set in the late 60s, after UNCLE has been a team for a while.

I like the idea that Goncharov knows Illya from his past, before Illya's father was arrested, and before Goncharov was truly inducted into the family business. When Illya's father is arrested and he's sent to an orphanage (common for children of political prisoners), he of course loses touch with everyone from that life, including Goncharov. I think Goncharov, even well-connected as he is, wouldn't know Illya is a KGB agent now, but perhaps Illya does know about Goncharov's move to Naples. He finds out about it during a KGB operation and doesn't really think much of it, but then the UNCLE team ends up in Naples on a mission and whoops, it's connected to Goncharov. This could definitely lead to some angst and conflicted feels since they were good friends as children, but now Goncharov is part of the mob, so they're obviously thrown into this antagonistic relationship. Despite himself, Illya can't help but want to try to find a solution that doesn't end with his old friend dead.

He's surprised to find that his partners support him in this, but of course Andrey and Napoleon hit it off (leading to some scenes of jealous Illya & Gonch; Goncharov gets threatening toward Napoleon because he thinks Napoleon is trying to make a move, only to be shocked that Illya is deadly serious about protecting his American; Illya and Napoleon have an argument about all the time Napoleon is spending with Andrey), and Gaby and Katya would definitely share a certain kinship. I think that seeing Goncharov and Andrey's relationship, fraught with unresolved homoerotic tension, and how destructive repressing those feelings is, would help Napoleon and Illya recognize the cycle in their own relationship and break it, finally admitting what they mean to each other. Perhaps Gaby secretly tries to convince Katya to leave Goncharov and the mob behind, but of course she fails because Katya's not at the breaking point yet, she still believes things can work out.

Obviously there's a ton of potential here for a crossover! And that's not even delving into the hints at Goncharov, Katya, and Andrey's histories with the KGB in canon, which is pretty much unexplored.

[roobylavender]

so. on the bruharvey murder sewercide thing. i am honestly amazed how no writer ever at least to my personal knowledge has delved into the idea of unmasking bruce for harvey. the fact that loeb picked up from his original long halloween and dark victory saga by creating an entirely new vengeful playmate for bruce instead of sticking to the harvey line is still very confusing to me and i now imagine maybe editorial told him no. either way whatever he had to write would probably have been shite by that point so maybe we dodged a bullet. but i think deeply about how harvey tried to have faith in bruce but was nonetheless always a little skeptical as to his machinations and like. what’s to say they wouldn’t have made something of themselves together had bruce given that little piece of himself that he denied harvey until the end. what if harvey is one of the truest manifestations of someone in bruce’s life meant to be saved by bruce specifically, and now bruce is forever haunted to only meet him as batman, a conduit through which he can save however many people, but never harvey. the mask irreparably denies truth. evades judgment. falls into the gray shadow between black and white. and i really think if harvey was to ever feel like he was at his wit’s end with the batman and scrounge up every last resource to find out who he truly is, that the whiplash of it all might actually break him. bc not only will bruce have failed to save him as harvey. he’ll have spent years lying to harvey’s face, leaving him the way he is despite knowing every last detail. what would any of it mean anymore. i think it would be the last straw. and obv i have to hash out the details of how harvey would even make it to the manor with a kablooey machine (i am trying so hard not to get flagged sorry) at his disposal or on his person somewhere but yeah. i think it would be homoerotic and tragic if he and bruce died together in an explosion of his own making and as the final judgment of two-face or whatever that simultaneously functioned as a metaphor for the material futility of bruce wayne ❤️

[magiccarpetman]

Muppets: Gonzorov Fancast

I’ve been thinking about this for years, and with the Goncharov renaissance I’ve finally collected my thoughts into a post.

I think Goncharov is the ideal Gonzo and Pepé movie. Just look at how well they pull off the sleek, besuited look:

Gonzo is Goncharov and Pepé is Andrey, obviously. They have the chemistry and acting chops necessary to pull off the homoerotic tension.

Katya is my pick for the film’s sole human actor. I nominate Joan Cusack, who played Debbie in Addams Family Values. We know she can act with Muppets. Or Taylor Swift, if we need to add a little additional star power to the film.

Miss Piggy, of course, plays Sofia. She’s perfectly equipped to delve into Sofia and Katya’s love/hate/love codependent spiral situation, and she’d look hot in that iconic cocktail dress.

Casting Kermit as Ice Pick Joe gives them lots of room to play off each other in their shared scenes, while also letting Kermit show off his range with a more dramatic role.

That leaves Fozzie as Valery (because I NEED to see him sibling-bicker with Joan Cusack) and Rizzo as Mario, Gonzorov’s traitorous ex-friend. Rowlf appears in as many scenes as possible to provide a little thematic piano music.