#but new context makes romance between them feel kinda :/

[daylighteclipsed]

I’m enjoying FF7 Rebirth more than Remake so far (I was so sick of being in that uglyass city), but as someone who is not familiar with the og FF7 the sudden party member affection system absolutely blindsided me

[genericpuff]

Wait, if Hera hated nymphs, does that mean she had beef with Poseidon's wife???

Who knows, but it does shed a whole new light on this scene from Episode 1:

Like, in the context of the scene, it's clear the point of this interaction is to highlight how "lonely" Hades is that he's the only one at the party without a date. Though I do think it's funny that Hades is frustrated / shocked at the revelation that Poseidon brought his wife to a party that she would presumably be invited to attend, like... of course Poseidon is here with his wife, that makes Amphitrite royalty by extension and so at the very least she'd likely be obligated to attend even if she, for some reason, didn't want to go.

So Hades being like "GOD you mean I'm the ONLY UNMARRIED GUY without a DATE???" like yeah man that's what it means to not be married LOL

But in hindsight, knowing what we know now about Hera being cruel to satyrs and nymphs who are canonically lower class (making it a double whammy of racism AND classism) that interaction of Hades asking Hera if Poseidon brought Amphitrite right after Hera called Minthe "nymph trash" almost feels like Hades calling her out, to which she responds sheepishly, "... Yes."

Again, I know that's not the intention of this scene, but it does come with deeper implications now that the series is over and we know that Hera has a history of racism and classism which largely goes unaddressed.

And those implications kind of read like this:

Hera: "I, for one, am grateful! I don't have to spend the evening with that nymph trash :)"

Hades: "Did Poseidon bring his (oceanid) wife?"

Hera: "(・_・;)... yes, okay, Poseidon brought his wife, Amphritite, but she's not nymph trash or anything, she's one of the good ones!"

Again though, just food for thought that's kinda messed up and kinda funny to think about on re-reads. There's so much classism and racism baked into LO even from the very beginning and it's wild that it wound up going unnoticed for years. Even I didn't really notice it as much as I ought to have when I first started reading. To anyone who's new to the series, LO does a good job at bombarding you with colors, characters, Greek myth references, and feel good fluff moments between H x P to distract you from the often biased and outdated viewpoints in its narrative.

TBH, none of that is to say that Rachel herself is some massive racist for writing a story like this, but I do think she didn't really spend enough time analyzing the works that clearly inspired her and/or challenging her own inspirations to ensure she wasn't continuing the cycle of casual racism. It's really easy to be blissfully aware of your own biases if you never learn to address them, especially when it comes to writing fantasy stories which we tend to "disconnect" from real life, never once realizing that the messages and undertones we might accidentally be sending are often still realities for many people in real life today. Fiction isn't real life, sure, but it can still perpetuate some really dog shit thought patterns and subconscious beliefs if left unchecked, which LO is frankly full of especially upon re-reads with a more critical eye when you're not as likely to get distracted or swept away by the pretty colors and whirlwind romance.

[imagine-silk]

Hello! May I request fallout 4 companions (Nick especially) with Sole who shares the bare minimum of information about themselves? Not because Sole doesn’t trust them, they really enjoy theirs companions company. Perhaps they busy themselves so they don’t have to think about all the little and big things they miss. (I bet Codsworth would find pristine things that Sole would miss (like a favorite movie, vinyl, or comic?))

Sorry if its not something you’re interested in doing right now. The ask kinda came out as a ramble, I’m lacking sleep haha. Thanks again for considering my request!

》Honestly one of my favorite kinds of characters.

【Cait】 She doesn't appreciate it. Her contract was traded to some random weirdo who barely says anything. It took three days before the topic of your name came up. And two weeks to know what you were looking for, who. But in return you don't ask what she does on her own time or what she's done. It feels like you don't mind rather than you don't care and that makes her feel seen. It stays between you unsaid in her eyes.

♡If romanced she doesn't push for any information. You'll tell her if it's important. People think it's weird the two of you to not share about yourselves like normal people but you're happy, that's all that matters.

【Codsworth】 It's just like it was before. He, unlike the others, already knows you. He knows you very well. Not only did you do an intake for daily preferences but he also served you for a few years. While you're out and about you'll do something or say something that sounds like no information to others or out of context and he'll answer, "Just as I was thinking as well." While you camp with some of the other companions he does chores the way you like without needing to ask, making comment on recent events, which makes them jealous for sure. He digs up things from the house he preserved or found and fixes them up brand new before presenting it to you. Songs you liked or wanted to hear. Movies and shows and comics. Clothes pressed for you and the furniture is redone the way it used to be. He knows you and wants to keep it that way.

【Curie】 Low-key doesn't care. She has one thing on her mind and that's her own goal to better medicine. Finding things to do that is all she needs of you. When she goes to be a synth her feelings overwhelm her and you guide her through that. She's never ever asked about you. She'll tell you about what she's feeling but never thinks to ask what you feel. In her defense, is doesn't understand the nuance of social interactions. And to her credit, it works for the both of you.

♡If she's romanced she realizes she wants to know what you feel and if it's the same as her. She's mostly interested in what you feel now rather than what your opinion is in the past or isn't currently relevant.

【Danse】 Right away he doesn't care for it. A mercenary who talks very little can be dangerous. But you followed orders well and are a damn good shot. The way he asks is more like demanding. It was all for a vetting process but still rude. After the intake he didn't care about your lack of openness. Didn't matter to him personally. After BB he suddenly regrets not knowing you. He was so rude and dismissed you as another faceless soldier and you saved him, from the Brotherhood and himself. Now he wants to know you.

♡If romanced he makes effort to know you, like really know you. For a long time he refused individuality so his own sense of self is not great. But you know yourself and make no attempt to hide it. You are so sure of yourself you don't need to explain. That's one of the things he loves about you.

【Deacon】 He thinks you're like him, that you want to hide in plain sight. As much as he gives that to you he's nosy as fuck and takes every chance to learn about you, mostly from afar. It doesn't take any time at all for him to realize you'll just tell him. Most of them are one word answers. It takes him even less time after that to realize you'll comment on things from before the war especially.

♡If romanced he goes out of his way to show you stuff. Old posters and toys. If you follow my headcanon that he's pre-war, he makes old references and generally adds comments on things to bait your answers.

【Hancock】 He thinks it's pretty cool. "Oh, tall, dark, and handsome/beautiful." He does play twenty questions with you 24/7 and is very happy with your half-answers because an answer is still an answer. Plus he knows at least two other people like you. He is the one who figures out that you just don't have the time or think about talking about yourself rather than purposely keeping secrets the fastest. He knows people so he knows better.

♡If romanced he plays with it. You want a kiss? Tell him what's your favorite color. He'll get on his knees if you tell him what you like about your new home. But honestly he'll do it anyways. All he needs to know is that you want him like he wants you.

【MacCready】 He was more concerned about you putting a bullet in his head while his back was turned. Everyone in the Commonwealth was looking out for number one. So imagine his surprise when you were looking out for your number one and it wasn't you. Not only were you looking for your son but you stopped to help every person who asked for help. Your actions spoke to him in a way your words, he figured, couldn't. You didn't need to help him but you did. You didn't take the caps back. And you killed the gunners the second they turned their guns on him even when they said their beef wasn't with you. It was what you did, not what you told him.

♡If romanced he will ask things. Basic ones are like, "How was your day?" Normal questions that are the peak of domestic life. Then the more personal things. Some sound silly, "What's your favorite color?" But most build off of a quick thing you said in passing, "Wait, you've been to California? What was it like?" He trusts you'll tell him the truth.

【Nick】 As a private detective this simply won't do. He gets it at first, you just need him to find your son, it's business. However, you want him to stay with you after that. It confuses him because you made no indication you like him in the slightest way. He's the second fastest to realize you're not keeping to yourself on purpose. As one of the only ones who are pre-war he's able to get things the others can't. He'll talk about things and give his options and bait you into answering it. That was a common way to get people to talk back then when you were trying to be polite and keep up the conversation, even if the conversation stays a bit thin.

♡If he's romanced he makes fun of the fact you forget to say things about yourself. Don't get it wrong, he makes it clear you don't need to share. He's just poking fun.

【Piper】 This simply won't do. She asks as many question as they come up but she gets depressing short answers. You either give one word answers or say you're not really in the mood, on some occasions you admit you don't know, you never thought about it. It takes a long time for her to stop and that's only because the questions start getting old. And you still feel like a mystery even though you've told her everything.

♡If she's romanced she realizes how much you've told her and pushes it. What is your type? How do your lips feel? Why do you look so good? It becomes playful and light, never serious.

【Preston】 In the beginning he didn't realize he didn't know much about you. He took your help selfishly to get him and his people back on stable ground but you told him you were happy to help. So he takes time to learn about you and give you everything he could possibly help you with. In hopes you would share by yourself he gives things to you without any prompt. It doesn't really work most of the time.

♡If romanced he asks things with hearts in his eyes. He is so lovesick he takes all of your half-answers and files it away in his mind. It hardly matters at that point.

【X6】 It wasn't his mission so he didn't care. You owed him no explanation or justification. Doesn't mean he doesn't question you. He asks why you helped someone, why you stopped for a distraction. And of course you give short answers like, "They needed help." or "I wanted to." Later, after the Institute is gone, he sees how you carry yourself and tries to copy it. Obviously he can't so you help him too. You showed him he can figure himself out by himself and he didn't need you. So he held the same opinion; he doesn't need to know you like that.

♡If romanced he's still comfortable with you keeping things to yourself. It's only after months of being together do you realize he's never asked you a personal question, that you've never shared anything that personal. When you bring that to him he tells you that hardly matters. But seeing you make the effort after that gives him a feeling he can't describe. It's a good feeling he thinks.

[nieves-de-sugui]

A Quick History of BL

As someone who wrote a thesis on this very subject a few years ago, here is the short version of how BL has evolved throughout the years. For the new comers ❤ 

a minute of silence for the original form of this post that tumblr decied to not save right after I saved it

I am going to go with a chronological approach. Unfortunately, I cannot put everything in one post so if there’s any questions about this or that aspect of the history of BL that you want to know and it’s not talked about here, you are welcome to ask me directly :)

Context and influences - Japan in the 60′s

Before the US forced Japan to open its borders to the outside world in the 1800s, homosexual practices were common place between budist monks, samurais and kabuki actors. During the Edo period (1600s to 1800s) there was a very rich amount of poetry, art, books (such as Nanshoku Okagami (The Great Mirror of Male Love) by Ihara Saikaku) and codes of conduct about how to have a good master/aprentice relationship, kinda like the greeks if you know what I mean. However, with the arrival of western influences, in order to become a more “civilized” country, it was all put in the closet. 

Yet, in the 60′s Japan started to pick it up again through literature about young androginous beautiful boys (aka bishounen). On one hand, in 1961, the novel Koibitotachi no Mori (A Lover’s Forest) by Mari Mori was published. It tells the story of a young and beautiful 19 year old worker and a half french half japanese aristocrat, and their tragic romance. On the other hand, Taruho Inagaki wrote Shounen ai no Bigaku (The esthetics of boy-love), an essay on aesthetic eroticism (of which he wrote a lot of). All this was know as Tanbi (lit. aesthetic) literature. It generally refered to literature with implied homosexuality and homoeroticism such as works by Oscar Wilde, Jean Cocteau, etc. And of course, Mori and Inagaki. 

In chinese tanbi is read as danmei (term used to refer to BL novels in china today, ie: The Untamed it’s all connected friends).

From the birth of Shonen Ai  to Yaoi - 70′s to the late 80′s

Around the beginning of the 70′s, shoujo was being revolutionized by the Year 24 Group, a generation of women manga authors (mangaka) who started to explore new themes. Among them, their interest in tanbi gave birth to a new subgenre: Shounen ai. 

Their most known manga were:

Kaze to Ki no Uta (The Ballad of the Wind and Trees) by Keiko Takemiya, and Toma no Shinzo (The Heart of Thomas) by Moto Hagio

Their stories are characterized by having suffering eurpoean bishounen in boarding schools, living an idealized perfect love (meaning passionate) that, despite the tragic end of one of them, lives forever in the other. 

As this genre starts getting popular, more and more fans of these stories start making their own self published manga, aka doujinshi, of the genre. It is around this time that the term Yaoi is coined. Meaning “YAma nashi, Ochi nashi, Imi nashi” (no climax, no fall, no meaning). Basically PWP fanfiction, for the most part. Doujinshis could be considered an equivalent of fanfiction in manga form.  It is also here that the term Fujoshi (aka Rotten Girl, for liking rotten things) starts being used to refer to women readers of yaoi. 

With this rise in popularity come the start of the commercialization of the genre. Which meant the publication of magazines dedicated solely to yaoi/shonen ai/BL. The most popular yaoi manga magazine at the time was June. The common trait of their stories being the therapeutic power of the love between the mains. The traumatized character would heal throught this newfound love.

Most of the stories at this time happened in the West (Europe or the States) as the exploration of these dark themes intertwined with homosexual romance and homoeroticism still feel safer to explore as a foreign concept. One example would be Banana Fish (1985).

Commercialization and Yaoi Ronso -  90′s 

As more publishing houses pick the genre up, the term Boys Love is used to include every type of manga about homosexuality made for women. 

The increasing amount of BL series sees a changes in its themes: 

the start of the “gay for you” trope where one mantains their heterosexuality despite being in a homsexual relationship, 

the uke/seme dynamic (mirroring hetero realtionships) also relating to physical appearence (one being more feminine, the other being more masculine), 

the use of rape as an act love (sexual violence has always been present but here it becomes a staple),

anal sex as the only type of sex, 

older and more masculine men start to appear 

they now happen in Japan

Good examples of the presence of these themes in manga are Gravitation (1996) or Yatteranneeze (1995).

However in 1992, Masaki Sato (a gay activist/drag queen) wrote a letter in a small scale feminist magazine attacking yaoi and pointing out how it “represented a kind of misappropriation or distortion of gay life that impacted negatively upon Japanese gay men”. The female readers of yaoi responded, defending the genre as a means to escape gender roles and explore sexual themes that was never meant to represent the realities of gay men. This is know as the Yaoi Ronso (Yaoi Debates).

The debate ended with both sides understanding more of each other, with mangakas starting to include queer views in their works. It also started the academic reasearch of BL. 

Yet, it is a debate that has been restarted more than once, as it is still relevant despite the evolution of the genre.

more on this on another post

Globalization and coining of BL - 2000′s 

By the beginning of the 2000s BL is being sold all over the world (like all manga), and has become a stable industry. We could say it has finally become it’s own genre. 

Some of the most well known manga series, to us (in the west), of the time are:

Junjou Romantica 2002 Koi Suru Boukun 2004 Love Pistols 2004 Haru wo Daiteita 1999

all of these have anime adaptations for the curious ones

We also start seeing short anime adaptations or special episodes of the most popular series, with questionable themes, such as: adoptive father x adoptive son  (Papa to Kiss in the Dark 2005), father x son’s friend (Kirepapa 2008), etc... 

However the themes remain more or less the same. Junjou Romantica’s love story starts with a non-con sex scene by the older one (masc, seme) to the younger one (more feminine, uke) addressed years later in the manga btw. Koi Suru Boukun’s love story is triggered by aphrodisiacs and rape. They’re still very present in the stories but slowly going away. A mangaka that represents this era could be Natsume Isaku (Candy Color Paradox 2010).

Change is slow in Japan. Even though the voices of LGBT+ people started to be taken into account in the genre it is not until later that we see it reflect in the mangas themselves. However, we can already see the start of this in Doukyusei (Classmates) (2006) by Asumiko Nakamura. Also Kinou Nani Tabeta? (2007) which is actually part of a more mature genre: Seinen.

It is my personal (subjective) theory that the BL of this era was the one that got popular outside of Japan, which is why we see lots of references to the themes, tropes and dynamics of this time in today’s BL series. 

The LGBTzation of BL and the rise of webtoons - 2010′s to 2020′s

Slowly but surely LGBT characters and themes enter the scene of BL. Existing simultaneously with the previous tropes and themes, we start seeing a shift in these stories. We now see:

characters that identify as gay or some type of queer

discussions about homophobia

more mature themes about life and romance

At the same time as we get the usual love stories with the usual themes, a new trend starts to take over. And we get simultaneously, cute, sometimes questionable but light love stories:

Love Stage 2010 Ashita wa Docchi da! 2011 Kieta Hatsukoi 2019

More profound stories and darker or more complex themes:

Blue Sky Complex 2013  Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai 2011 (mafias) Given 2013 (suicide) Hidamari ga Kikoeru 2013 (deafness)

And others that adress the queer experience in a more mature way (which might actually fall into the Seinen genre)

Itoshi no Nekokke 2010 (slice of life, queer characters) Smells like Green Spirit 2011 (two ways to deal with a homphobic society) Strange 2014 (relationships between men) Shimanami Tasogare 2015 (an LGBT group helps a closeted gay) Old Fashioned Cupcake 2019 (you know this one 😉) Bokura no Micro na Shuumatsu 2020 (the end of the world)

As queer stories are explored, BL mangakas and mangakas from other genres start to consider more stories about queer people such as the Josei Genderless Danshi ni Aisaretemasu (My Androgynous Boyfriend) (2018) by Tamekou, or the Shoujo Goukon ni Itarra Onna ga Inakatta Hanashi (The story of when I went to a mixer and there were no women) (2021) by Nana Aokawa. 

Still, we can see two realities live side by side. Doukyuusei gets adapted into an impactful animated movie in 2016, meanwhile Banana Fish gets an anime adaptation that keeps the homoeroticism but not the homosexuality.  

For those who might be interested. Here are some of the authors that represent the first half of this era, where they start to include newer points of view:

Scarlet Beriko, HAYAKAWA Nojiko, KURAHASHI Tomo, OGERETSU Tanaka, Harada, KII Kanna (Stranger by the Sea), etc...

And authors that while keeping classical themes break the stereotypes in a subtle manner:

CTK, ZAKK, Jyanome, Cocomi, Hidebu Takahashi, SUZUMARU Minta, etc...

Mangakas also no longer stick to one genre only. They explore whichever of them they want, from BL to Seinen to others. 

ie: Tamekou, 

or Asumiko Nakamura

The curious case of Webtoons

With the digitalization of mangas, throught Renta and Lehzin, it has become easier (and more expensive) to access these stories. Korea makes and appearence with their webtoons. Through the lack of piracy protections and the majority of them being digital, manhwa (korean webtoons) sees a rise in popularity. Through the digital medium the influencee can be the influencer.

However, like many other East Asian countries they have consumed BL, without hearing about the conversations about BL. So they end up mantaining the older themes and stereotypes that newer BL is trying to leave behind. Therefore, we end up with a mix of old and new, ie:

Killing Stalking 2016 Cherry Blossoms After Winter 2017 Painter of The Night 2019

Additionally, it is also thanks to the easy access to internet that Omegaverse, with its higher dramatic stakes (that parallel hetero dynamics), enters the mangasphere in 2016. It has grown in popularity ever since.

With the Thai BL Boom of 2020, Japan rediscovers its own BL market and starts investing in it more. Which is why we get live action adaptations of BL manga that was popular years ago (Candy Color Paradox was a manga from 2010), the more recent ones (The End of the World With You) or new anime adaptations (Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai in 2020). 

more on this in my japanese live action BL post

What has it become now? is it BL? ML? or Seinen? Or is it all just gay manga?

It is clear that Shoujo manga (with BL, Josei and Seinen) is exploring queer themes such as gender and sexuality more and more. Japan is interested in this conversation, not only in manga (Genderless fashion). Which brings up the current question in BL studies: Does it make sense to keep these categories?

As a response to BL, ML (Male Love), which is made by gay men for gay men, started happening (around the 70s too). And Bara (gay manga porn) in response to Yaoi. However both gay men and women read BL and ML. We also see other themes being explored through BL, such as friendship (in BL Metamorphose), food (in Kinou Nani Tabeta), male relationships of all kinds (in Strange), and different queer views on life and its challenges (in Shimanami Tasogare). More and more what is LGBT and what is BL is merging, the line is blurred. 

Conclusion

BL has been in my life for longer than it hasn't. It is through shoujo and BL that I have come to understand people and romance.

It is flawed, like everything else this life, but it's flourishing in many ways.

The genre feels old and new at the same time. 

We can still find shounen ai/tanbi elements in more modern manga (All About J). Or the gay for you in a new light (Itoshi no Nekkoke). Or more educational manga on queer issues (My Brother’s Husband by Gengoroh Tagame). BL has around 50 years of existence but it is also being born anew in Thailand and Korea. 

BL manga will continue to evolve in acordance to Japanese tastes, as it is still a local market. Hopefully the korean webtoons that get popular will be the more daring ones in their themes. Who knows where it will go from here? The only thing we know for sure is that it will continue to change. Isn't it exciting?

A post on the evolution of live action BL in Japan is coming, to complement this post.  As well as a more detailed explanation of the Yaoi Debates and gay manga.

[bourbonificould]

If you could change anything on the TWDG franchise, what would you change for each Season?

I feel like I wouldn't change anything unless I was writing it myself or if I HAD to

With that being said, uhhhhh (read more)

Season 1: I would probably tweak a bit in Episode 4? Crawford feel a bit filler to me, especially with how empty and dead it is. While I was fine with that, I kinda would've liked some life to be around maybe, see how Molly reacts, etc. Also, I probably would've made Chuck surviving in Episode 3 determinant. Feels like he gets thrown under the bus,

Season 2: The easy answer is Luke vs Kenny, but for me, I think the Howe's conflict should've been a little more... important? I don't know, it feels like Episode 3 is way too fast. Carver's arc is solid, but they just ditch him and go ahead with making Kenny look like a crazy person.

Season 3: A LOT. First of all, Kate romance should be reliant on your actions. If you start moving away from her, that's it. Stop forcing it on the player, please. Javi is way more important to the story than just picking between Kate and David. I also probably would've made the New Frontier a more sadistic and harsh group, again, sometimes it just feels like a 'Everyone Hates Clem' club, even though she steals from them and people just choose to ignore it.

Season 4: I don't know? Probably providing Lilly's reasonings and lore public to create context as to why she became such a tyrant. It's a real swing out of nowhere to just see her after 8 years and have to hate her for no reason lmao.

[dutchdread]

Rebirth Update 10b

The crappiness of the Cait Sith (whom I still don't like in general btw) segment was easily forgotten though by the gold saucer date. I had refrained from listening to Aeriths song prior to the game since I didn't want anything spoiled and wanted the song in context, and now that I've heard it, man is it clearly about Zack. I can't wait to finish the game and watch different variations of certain scenes, because I don't see any way that anyone can look at a game that has this in it and still think Cloud and Tifa aren't the canonical ship. Again Cloud and Tifa are framed together opposed to Aerith, almost never is it that Aerith and Tifa are presented as being mirrorings that Cloud has to choose between. It's always Cloud and Tifa as a single unit being pitted "against" Aerith. Signaling that Aerith is helping them, and they her. Since you can essentially go on a date with everyone, and it all depends on their feelings towards you, we can say that the dates essentially tell us something about Clouds relationship dynamic in regards to the other team members. And Tifas date makes it exceptionally clear that their relationship dynamic is that of a young couple in love, come together again after years and slowly growing closer. My guess is that his date with Aerith will be more spiritual and about healing, but until I see it I can only guess. And I can't wait to see the other ones. Man, I am sure I've forgotten a bunch that I wanted to mention. It comes as I play but with 10 hour sessions a lot of it is lost to time. Will probably slow down a bit now, I've been working towards this part and man I am kinda burnt out with all the side quests and I just got a few new ones.... One thing I can't help wondering about though. How must it feel for a Clerith to play this game? I can't imagine the mental gymnastics needed to not go "...oh damn... I was wrong". I do feel a bit sorry for them though. I remember 20 years ago explaining to people that Tifa was the more valid love interest was such an uphill battle. It required so much analysis and explanation because you were just swimming up stream, going against the grain, all those nice little analogies, it was sooooo exhausting. And then for 20+ years it was just material after material confirming what Clotis had been saying from day one. And the Cleriths just had to keep moving goalposts, keep spinning, slowly driven into a corner to where now we don't just have the deeper analysis to point at, but even just the superficially obvious. As someone who always enjoys arguing for positions that are unpopular because they're not obvious, but are nevertheless true, it's honestly been a joy to watch the public perception change this much. Lets hope part 3 continues the good work, but honestly, it kinda has to, what has happened in part 2 really can't be taken back. Any romance between Aerith and Cloud after this would be....well, problematic and icky would probably be the best words. One more thing, having Cloud say very matter-of-factly "oh yeah, Zack, my friend who is totally head over heels for Aerith was satisfying. I don't see jealousy there, I don't see conflicted feelings there, I don't see a man who is thinking about trying to hit on the girl his friend loves there. Cloud knows about Zack and Aerith, Aerith knows about Cloud and Tifa, they're all helping each other with those issues, not coming between them, it, my friends, is over.

[fibula-rasa]

Favorite New-to-me Films—May ‘24

READ on BELOW the JUMP!

(listed in order pictured above, L to R)

Family Life (1924)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Synopsis: A family tries to adjust to unstable housing situations in Los Angeles, to an outrageous extent. 

Adventurous and inventive gags with a charming family unit. Humorously distressing that the dog does not reappear after the balloon bit! (Potential content warning that there is a gag centered on the wife’s weight but it’s not malicious.)

—

Michael (1924)

[letterboxd | imdb | kanopy (us)]

Synopsis: Aging artist Claude Zoret and his apprentice/model, Michael, live a contented life together until the machinations of an impoverished Russian noble and a jealous friend drive them apart.

To begin, this is a queer love story and it is also a tragedy. But, it’s important to note that the tragedy is not derived from the queerness itself, which sets Michael apart from many other queer romantic dramas. Benjamin Christensen’s performance as the heartbroken artist is spectacular. Dreyer’s direction is as great and as heartfelt as it always is. You kinda can’t beat the cinematographic team-up of Karl Freund and Rudolph Maté. It’s available on kanopy, which you may have free access to through your local library!

—

Rafiki (2018)

[letterboxd | imdb | tubi (US)]

Synopsis: Two young women in Nairobi, Kena and Ziki, start a romance despite intense homophobia in their community. To further complicate matters, their fathers are political rivals in the upcoming local election. 

The characters of Rafiki were all well wrought—both the leads and the supporting characters. Of the supporting roles, I especially appreciated Kena’s friend Blacksta and her parents. The setting made the story more compelling, from the community and class differences in the neighborhood to the different residents’ relationship with church-going. 

All that said, I did feel like the plot was a little too simplistic given the complicated nature of the characters’ relationships and feelings. There are a lot of valid approaches to balancing out the different aspects of storytelling on film, but in Rafiki the balance just felt a bit off. Regardless, I still recommend checking it out, albeit with the warning that the main characters are physically assaulted in the film and it’s executed pretty viscerally.

—

Slayers Great (1997)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Synopsis: In the further misadventures of Lina Inverse and Naga the Serpent, the sorceresses get tied up in a family feud that culminates in a battle between an aggressively cute Lina golem and an improbably proportioned Naga golem.

We’ve been watching the Slayers OVAs in chronological order and it’s been fun seeing Lina and Naga’s relationship develop as they keep finding themselves in disastrously goofy situations. 

—

Reassemblage: From the Firelight to the Screen (1983)

[letterboxd | imdb | kanopy (US)]

Synopsis: An ethnographic documentary about ethnographic documentary. Trịnh T. Minh-hà travels to Senegal to make a documentary about Senegalese women, but instead interrogates the work of ethnographic filmmaking and particularly the way African women are captured in the eurocentric gaze.

Like Scenes of the Occupation from Gaza (1973), which I talked about last month, this film is part of a broader discourse and has significant extra-filmic context, so it’s not one to recommend freely. However, I feel like Reassemblage is so formally interesting that you could get a whole lot out of it even if you’re not fully tuned into the conversation Minh-hà is having about ethnography. Stylistically, Reassemblage is fantastic work. The rhythm of the editing with the sound, narration, and dialogue is so sophisticated and often revelatory. (Content warning for dead animals.)

—

Just Around the Corner (1921)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Synopsis: An ailing widowed mother has one hope before dying: that her adult children have some promise of a stable life after she’s gone. Unfortunately, her good-hearted and overly-trusting daughter has taken up with a caddish “ticket speculator.” As their mother’s condition deteriorates, the siblings are in a rush to find solace for their mother.

A solid melodrama from Frances Marion with endearing characters. I will say that the manner in which Fred Thomson’s character as “The Real Man” is incorporated was unexpected. I also find it pretty cheeky that Marion cast her real-life husband as a character credited as “The Real Man.” 

—

Thundering Hoofs (1924)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Synopsis: A cowboy finds himself at odds with a two-faced bandit. The cowboy falls for a young lady visiting from Mexico, but her father has been bamboozled into promising her hand to the bandit. The cowboy and his trusty horse travel to Mexico to save the señorita and expose the bandit’s true identity.

First off: I’m absolutely not a Western gal. 

My initial feeling after watching this was that it was just okay (though I immediately loved Silver King.) And the contemporary response was similar: that Thundering Hoofs was entertaining enough, but nothing spectacular. 

Then, for “How’d They Do That,” I watched some Tom Mix—some partially and one feature in its entirety. That feature is regarded as one of Mix’s best. My feelings on that film made me reevaluate Thundering Hoofs. 

The stunts might not have been as ambitious, but the film captures what a well-rounded performer Fred Thomson was. The filmmakers also did an exceptional job communicating that Silver King the horse is a full-blown character in his own right. I’m sure that sounds ludicrous and it is. It’s a big reason the movie was enjoyable to watch as someone who doesn’t care for Westerns. I, for one, have never seen it implied on film that a horse gave a man a christian burial. No really. 

Anyway, watching this added to my disappointment that most of Thomson’s films are lost, because if Thundering Hoofs was middling quality for him, I’d love to see his best. (Content warnings for minor, less-than-enlightened presentation of a Chinese cook and some of the Mexican characterizations.)

—

Wedding in Galilee / Urs al-jalil (1987)

[letterboxd | imdb] 

Synopsis: A Palestinian man petitions the Israeli governor to allow an extension of their imposed curfew so that they can celebrate his son’s wedding. The governor and his staff agree only on the condition that they attend the wedding. Understandably, this creates tense situations in the community and the man’s family.

Easily the best new-to-me film I watched this month, and maybe one of the best I’ve watched all year. This is my first Michel Khleifi film and I look forward to checking out more. It’s a beautiful, stressful work of art, exquisitely constructed. Highly recommend this one.

—

As always, if any of these films catch your eye, but you need specific trigger/content warnings, don’t hesitate to ask for them!

—

This month I didn’t have the best overall luck with new-to-me films (honestly, it was a crappy month all around.) Revisiting Wings (1927) and Cobra (1925)was fun tho. 

Honorable mention to End of the World (1931), which is kind of a mess in its surviving form though still visually interesting. It has that quality that you can sometimes feel when the cut of a film that gets released is not the filmmakers’ vision. And, knowing now that End of the World was significantly cut down, I don’t have much doubt that what Gance had originally created must have been much stronger.

—

As for the blog, I highlighted the work of a mess of stunt performers of the silent era in the second installment of “How’d They Do That”

Risking Life and Limb for $25

—

That post ended up delayed as the original article I chose for the series had a subject with no known surviving/accessible films! But, I compiled my research and posted about her separately:

Stunting into Stardom: Winnie Brown

Those posts together meant an unintended Western theme infiltrated the blog via my intended Stunting theme! There’s one more post on the topic of Westerns that’ll be up this month, but I promise we’ll return to our regularly scheduled programming after that. 

Although, I’ve been reading Unthinking Eurocentrism, where, in the chapter “The Imperial Imaginary,” the authors note that between 1926 and 1967 a quarter of Hollywood features were Westerns. That sort of made me realize that, even though this is not solely a Hollywood history themed blog, it’s an oversight that I’ve never shared any work on Westerns. 

Anyway, thank you for your patience with me if you are also not a Western person!

As for themed gif/still sets I made this month:

Daredevil of the Movies / Filmens Vovehals (1923)

Poplar Tree / Тополя (1996)

And I also shared additional gifs from the movies featured in “Risking Life and Limb for $25”:

Wings (1927)

The Trail of ‘98 (1928)

The Great K & A Train Robbery (1926)

As for the coming month, the next installment of “Lost, but not Forgotten” is incoming and I’ve made a lot of progress on my Salomé cosplay.

Stay tuned and happy viewing!

☕Appreciate my work? Buy me a coffee! ☕

[mimikoolover]

The "Feeling free" convo was my favourite part of the trailer. Honestly so far it looks like the show is exactly what I expected. Them bringing cameras, and som staff ofc, on semi spontaneous trips where they could just enjoy fun activities and each other's company before enlistment. A little escape in between their busy schedules. And they look so happy😭 That's the best part. All we could ever ask for is to see them this happy <3 Of course it's not a private trip, because they did choose to share this with us and make it into a show, it's two birds one stone. But anyone calling it just a work trip is so far off. You can tell how much this meant to them personally, and how excited they are about sharing footage with army. I might be going into delulu territory here but... I also kinda think them being so excited to gift this to us is partly because they feel very loved and validated when fans are supportive and excited over seeing them together and appreciating their special bond. I'm sure no matter how they define their relationship is it's nice to see. I don't know how much they see of fans reactions to stuff, especially not now while serving, but in the past too, it honestly seems like they love their jikook loving fans a lot. I hope they see all the love and as little negativity as possible.

also solos and shippers bending over backwards to pit them against each other, claim they're being forced into things, they're not actually close, all that bullshit, would honestly be hilarious if it wasn't so sad. like.... stay pressed stay miserable while they're out here sharing their happy vibes with those who get it like the unbothered kings they are byeee

gonna take your ask as a chance to kinda go into what I didn't end up saying in a long post if you don't mind lol

I agree with everything you said but I wanna take it a step further...it was a 'work' trip in that they knew this was going to be streamed on one of the biggest entertainment streaming platforms owned by one of the biggest companies on earth (disney). but their work is not the same as an office job or a retail job, they are artists and sharing their life, emotions, experiences through their art in multiple mediums is what they do. for example GCF in Tokyo was technically 'work' because jk ended up posting the video on a 'work' platform but clearly they were not doing what anyone considers as work in Japan. I think their trips for are you sure are similar in nature, just with the added factor of them knowing that it will go on disney+.

what I think we don't talk about enough is the context around these trips and 2023. jikook were not seeing each other as much as they're used to, that much is for sure. prior to 2023 they not only worked together but spent loads of time together outside of work which was their choice. then chapter 2 begun and jimin was working on his solo album(s) which meant that jikook were not spending the same amount of time together. take romance out of the equation and even then not seeing your best friend you're using to seeing everyday for 10 years must have been hard, especially as they don't exactly have a 'normal' life so I would argue as friends they are closer than usually friends are. we also have to take into account that while working on their solo material, they were working with many people, many new people as well, and jungkook was basically surrounded by people who were not korean and that must have been tough. like if you go spend a day in another country where you have to interact with people in another language for a whole day that's exhaustingggg af. that's why I'm glad they could do their trips between actual work. it must have been a big relief that they can spend time together again and do fun stuff which they wanted to before enlisting anyway.

I think they appreciate their bond being appreciated by us for sure. I have a (semi) delulu theory that when jimin used to post jungkook photos on twitter all the time it was because it bothered him when people would say that they're not close. when jungkook talked about doing something that we will really look forward to which we now know was their travel show, I think he meant it 100%. he only considers fans to be people who enjoy seeing jikook together and who support the content they make together.

2023 to me was very much about bts doing what they themselves want to do more than what the company wants them to do and I think it has to do with them signing new contracts, getting more say in what goes on within the company etc. in the soop friendcation is a good example. from a business point of view, was that a good move? I would argue not. tae filming with his friends who have nothing to do with bts is arguably not the greatest money-generator idea (I assume the wooga squad got paid too). it was clearly something tae wanted to do himself that the company agreed to. and that's what's funny because he could've done it with jk if he wanted (same as taekook could've enlisted together if they wanted to) and the company would've been all over that idea because of $$$ in their eyes. I always said it makes no sense that the company doesn't capitalise on jikook's chemistry and how they can work together so well and they love to do it as well. I still don't know why they didn't but it's probably to do with the aversion towards subunits within bts that comes from somewhere ??? but in 2023, when they were all doing what they wanted, we got jungkook going on lives being more himself than ever before, asking for jimin, reacting to jimin content, mentioning jimin and chatting with him when jimin was in chat, all of that, and then we got jikook travelling to 3 different places to film basically their holidays together. and yes taekook hung out too but that's not a big shock to anyone honestly. I think the private discussion is funny because it's so naive of people to think that jikook never saw each other in 2023. they most likely did but that was in private😂so obviously we don't know about it😭

when certain fandom actors call are you sure a work trip they do it because they want the underlying assumption that work means not genuine to come across and it's funny cause they want to act like because it was being filmed it wasn't something jikook did because they wanted to, when it was. they were having fun ffs not sitting in the same office writing emails all day long. they genuinely wanted to spend time together and they did.

the problem for these people is that the travel show is not a taekook show, let's be really bloody honest here. any shippers, not just taekook, would DIE to have a show like this from their ship, just like how they'd die to have their ship enlist together. jikook do stuff I've not seen any other 'ship' do and that's why people are so mad. as usual they want for their ship what jikook have together.

I'm not saying are you sure is going to be making some kinda statement because I doubt that but just the fact that they wanted to do this together says a lot. btw I'm half expecting for them to start on the 'they wouldn't have done this travel show and let their holidays be filmed if they were dating' agenda just like how they're now saying that couples don't enlist together even though they were wishing for years that taekook will enlist together lol

[halestrom]

Director's commentary: Cockblock

Alright, this is gonna be LONG bc I have so many feelings about this story. So also, a read more, for reasons. I apologize in advance, not really.

Also? Spoilers? I guess if you haven't read the fic. Which if you do wanna read it you can find it here

first off, the moment that started it all bc tbh that's how 90% of these fics start. some random ass comment one of us make and it just takes off. (looking at u blank space)

So two things that were very evident for me with this fic was that I fully believe Jake and Bradley are capable of embarrassment, but it is few and far between. Which, don't relate in the slightest. You cannot put either of them in the spotlight and expect them not to ham it up in the slightest. They will take it to the next level, and they will not care. And this is important bc the second thing is:

They are competitive. Becoming a naval aviator is not easy, it's not something you casually fall into. It's something you want to do, and you train and study and do everything you can to get there. And on top of that, canonically they're the best. They were chosen for the mission for a reason and so they're the top of their classes/cohort/wherever they are for a reason.

And we know Jake and Bradley have history so when Nimue mentioned this idea I knew I wanted to take those two reasons and just mush it all up into the most competitive fake dating.

This wasn't going to be awkward romance. This was going to be 'i will fuck you on the floor if it means im winning' kinda romance. They wanna outdo each other, they want to be the best and sometimes that means they get in trouble (ie. the bet in the beginning of the story) or when Bradley fell asleep in Jake's lap and Of course jake would take care of him? Who else would it be?

But also, because they had had this antagonistic relationship that essentially had to be put to the side in order to maintain the belief they were the best it finally gave them a chance to see who the other person actually was with the adversarial nature of their relationship not necessarily taking a backseat to everything they're doing, but actually morphing into something else in the same way we see the rest of the Daggers kind of joking around.

And then it just keeps growing, because they don't really have defenses for each other in this context. Bradley can say the worst things to Jake (you're going to lead someone to an early grave) and it might hurt, but Jake isn't going to shut down over it. And Jake can call Bradley out (ie: the dad comment) and Bradley can get up in Jake's face but the next (whatever the fucking timeline is int hat movie jfc) day they're fine? They know how to be the antagonistic in each others stories, but friendship? A relationship? That's something new.

Especially for Jake, who did have a crush on Bradley but it wasn't something that was holding him back. It was something there, but it never stopped him from dating, and being with people and I would never classify it as love? Not truly because Jake wouldn't actually love someone who treated him the way Bradley and he treated each other, but he definitely would start sinking into those feelings as their fake relationship progressed. He saw the opportunity in the beginning of the story to get close to Bradley, just for fun, not because he's sitting there wallowing and pining and writing sad poems in his journal, but he's not gonna lie and say it wasn't also nice being that close to Bradley and not have an argument.

And then for Bradley, I really feel like the switch from seeing Jake as someone he's competing against, to someone he could be friends with, is in Chapter 4 when Jake makes him dinner, and opens up a little bit more about wanting to make it to Admiral, and how he's wants to get his PhD and he's got a plan. He's got a family who loves him, and he loves them and, unlike a lot of people, understands that while Mav isn't his biological father, he was the one who was there, and so while the title isn't 'Dad' the actions definitely are. So it was the start of a connection bc of Jake's relationship with his stepdad, who, in all the ways according to him, is his actual Dad. Bc he was the one who was there.

And it's not perfect, bc of what happened to Goose vs Jake's bio dad being a Raging Douchebag, but it's a start.

And following that moment is when we start to see them opening up more and more. Jake coming out as gay, not bisexual to Bradley and wanting to go to the gala as a statement. And then when Bradley falls asleep in Jake's lap at brunch, and they have the most minor argument but it's still them so they don't know how to handle it anymore within the context of each other and it just keeps growing and then they're kissing, and having sex and are intimate in that regards, Jake telling Bradley about his Mom, and Bradley talking about his Mom and how much he misses her even then and it's a grief he can't ever close, and it just keeps growing, and every moment is bringing them closer and closer to the edge.

But neither one of them can really toss themselves over it because they have so much history that they still haven't completely dealt with so it's hard, and complicated, esp with these new feelings.

My personal HC for Jake is that he is, while very gregarious, he also keeps things close to the chest, and he plans. And keeps making plans and more plans bc if he has a plan, then he can account for everything. But Bradley is steady, he flies steady right up until the moment he doesn't. and so Jake has a plan. And his plans have plans but for all their relationship looks real to the outside world, to each other it's still brand new because in some respects, it doesn't exist.

They have a relationship yes, but they're not IN a relationship. Not truly and so Jake can't plan for that. But Bradley doesn't need a plan because once he makes a decision, he just goes. And he wanted to tell Jake, he decided he was going to tell Jake and talk to him but talking is hard but it's a good thing he is the unholy product of Carole/Goose with some input from Mav and Ice so he will sing about it. Because he can use someone elses words to talk about it, and it works.

SO yeah, this was a very long winded way to talk about how their relationship morphed and changed because of the dumbass way they had to fake date to get funding, which is the biggest authors handwave of density ever but it was a good one. They couldn't fight anymore because they were faking it, so they, as Jake said early on, had to become friends but the problem was, there was always too much passion and fire for it to be easy, and it could've gone badly for sure. It could've crashed and burned.

But that would mean they would lose, and it's a lot easier to keep your mouth shut about shit that might once have pissed you off and let it slide off your back when you're a hyper-competitive asshole who likes winning. And when you let a lot of the anger slide off your back? Then it's impressive what can grow in it's wake.

And I had so much fun writing it, and I'm so so so glad it resonated with people.

Random other things:

Jake's Mom and his stepdad bc they were the best part of the Prometheus movie: Idris Elba and Charlize Theron

Bradley laying on the couch and lamenting to Mav and Ice is a personal HC of mine that I will never let go of. This man is Dramatic and he will be dramatic about it. Even if Ice and Mav aren't together, he will be Dramatic about it to one of them.

I figured out what songs I wanted Bradley to sing a full three months before I even got to that point. Especially You're So Vain bc I just have the image of all the daggers singing it to Jake in good faith, and before it would've made him annoyed, but now its just friends ragging on friends.

I had a whole plotline I ended up discarding where the Daggers had a BBQ style thing for and Marcus, Jake's Dad shows up and Jake is just like DAD and Payback is like "the fuck you mean Dad" and Bradley's keeping a straight face through sheer force of will alone bc Jake was right, it is fucking hilarious trying to watch people try not to ask, and figure it out.

There was also a second idea where someone asked who's sister that was. And it was Jake's Mom, bc she is young.

I may also write this at some point bc it would also be when Bradley met Jake's parents and he is PANICING bc Jake's Dad is a SEAL.

I am forever enamored of the diea that Bradley is Mav's responsibility 100% and he is like THIS CHILD WILL NOT BE A TEENAGE FATHER and proceeded to give the most horrifying, in depth discussion of sex. Charlie, Ice, Mav, Sarah, Penny. Anyone he could talk to gave him input on it. Plot twist: Bradley got laid a lot in college bc he was respectful, understood consent, knew what the fuck he was doing, and like. Word got around and as a result, he had A Lot Of Fun. But he didn't knock anyone up.

One of the first scenes I had in my head was actually the end of the fic and it was this moment:

“You said you weren’t writing sad poems. Does this mean there are other kinds of poems?” Bradley asked. “Or a journal?” Jake tilted his head down enough to see the smirk curling the edges of Bradley’s mouth, and he used his free hand to pinch his side. “No journal, asshole.”

I'm also very proud of the limerick I wrote

There once as a man we loved to mock Ge was always racing against the clock. We called him Rooster cuz he needed a booster. But mostly, I just really like his big cock.

um yeah. so this is long lol so i should shush. but i have a lot of feelings about this fic and i had fun. so 🤣 HOPE YOU ENJOYED MY LOTR EXTENDED EDITION DIRECTORS COMMENTARY ON COCKBLOCK

[yuikomorii]

I don’t know if you answered it already but I don’t remember you ever talking about Ayato’s Chaos Lineage route, so what did you think of it, if I may ask?

// My bestie really liked it but I can’t say I feel the same. It wasn’t bad, because there were some moments I truly enjoyed but it wasn’t great either. ^^”

I believe Ayato was extremely sweet and I don’t know how to feel when characters are written to act so cheesy. I do appreciate when they show their gentle side but he was literally made of sugar there and treated Yui like she was made of glass, which doesn’t sound like something Ayato would do because he is aware Yui is a strong girl. I understand that he’s caring but he was too desperate and worried for her there to the point that I didn’t get that playful teenage couple vibe for 80% of the route.

Can’t complain about the cgs, since I really love the CL ones! I just think the context behind some of them could have been better. This one is really cute but I’m sorry, the whole conversation made me cringe so much and the fact they were watched made matters worse. 😭😭

If there’s a scene that deserved a kiss then it is THIS one. The way Yui cheered Ayato up was one of the most precious things ever and I regret so much the fact they didn’t smooch or at least hug. :<

Maybe it’s just me but I feel like CL was merely made to hide or fix what happened in LE, after becoming the lowest rated DL game and getting a bunch of critics regarding the triplets’ (mainly Ayato’s) routes. Rejet most likely attempted to redeem the relationship between Ayato and his brothers in his CL route, but in my opinion, they didn’t do a great job. Something I can't stand anymore is how Rejet instills new insecurities in Ayato game by game, because it's getting really frustrating, especially since in LE and CL he starts disliking and belittling himself due to his brothers' treatment of him. They called Ayato selfish in CL despite the fact that, after regaining his memories, he put Yui on the first place and clearly stated wanting to protect everyone— On top of that, they took Ayato's idea of breaking the glass floor of the church while not allowing him to participate?? In the end, they acted like “good brothers” and granted Ayato permission to use his OWN idea but this still feels forced because that was the bare minimum. ://

I really liked the Good Ending though, since I love the scene where Ayato confronted his father and said“I decide my own fate!”; that was undoubtedly badass.

Overall, his route was kinda boring to me. It’s the most overly romantic route in DL, because there are too many cheesy and ichaicha scenes, so it might make you cringe a lot. But if you’re into romance and fluff, it’s perfect for you! :”)

[lover-of-mine]

"I do think the show kinda wrote themselves into a corner with them and I can go on a whole separate rant about that" can you elaborate on that?

tldr: the stakes are too high now so it's easier to keep playing with the tension than resolving it.

Okay, so, I do joke they had a plan when they casted Ryan, but I actually do think they were just playing with the chemistry between Oliver and Ryan up until the moment they decided to retcon the well to make the will a thing. I do think both Ryan and Oliver like to play with their chemistry too, I don't act but I'm guessing it is fun to play with what you can do with another actor you have the type of chemistry they have, but when you look at season 2 and most of season 3 as a whole, ignoring a few moments we like to hang on to, they are two friends who really trust each other. Season 3 does up the stakes, but it was early enough they could swing it either way even more with the way they are not as close as they could be during most of season 4, a lot of things about the 2 of them are left implied, and it makes sense considering both of them had explicit love interests that season.

But the shooting and consequences are a real turning point for the way they are being portrayed, its less unintentional, less reliant on the chemistry between the two of them, it's more on purpose, the way the shooting scene was filmed and framed, the choice of words, the slow-mo of them standing there, the impression they give you that they have their eyes locked across the pavement, Buck saving Eddie alone, having Eddie ask Buck is he's hurt, Buck saying "I need you to hang on", the way Buck steps up with Chris without knowing about the will, the way we find out about the will, the choice to have that be something Eddie has been hiding for over a year, creates something on purpose with the two of them that actually allows them to play with putting buddie in season 2 and 3 in a different light, it implies a level of planning when you look at the whole show. Season 5 we have them talking more on screen, we have Eddie basically asking for permission to break up with Ana, the wording in that scene also feels really on purpose to make you look for hidden meanings if it ever came to it. And there are things like Mitchell clocking that hurting Eddie is more effective in controlling Buck that's also something you can come back to and repurpose later. There's the choice to have Buck being the person who actually gets through to Eddie with making him feel comfortable in his own life again, and having Buck being the person Eddie opens up about his trauma to begin with. And then we have literally everything about season 6. Season 6 actually allows me to change the perception of the whole show and write a 4k words rant about how Eddie has been in love with Buck since season 3, because they make a very conscious effort to paint Buck, Eddie, and Christopher as a family unity, the dinner on the premier, Buck baking cookies for Chris to take to school, the 3 of them hanging out on the loft while Chris does his homework. And everything about Buck's death and the episodes following, Eddie mirroring Buck during the shooting after the lightning, Eddie acting like a grieving partner, Chris being the person who makes Eddie go and see Buck, Buck knowing he can run to Eddie's when he's overwhelmed, whatever the fuck was mixed feelings.

But since now they can very easily add context to previous seasons to make them seem planned even if they weren't, there's a whole new level of expectations about them together. Because it makes it look like the people who have been shipping them since season 2 are right, so right now the showrunners have the chance to make what could objectively be one of the best slowburns in television history and add the fact that it's a queer relationship and they have the chance to do something that will make the show go down in romance history in a way. But realistically speaking, it's hard for them to make that relationship a reality. We have 7 main characters, we see 4 of them get together, so we are invested in them, we have Karen being introduced to us when Hen screws up, which makes us sympathize with Karen so we are invested in henren even if Karen mostly exists to be Hen's wife, and we have the other two being heavily shipped together since the beginning. But the thing with Bobby and Athena and Chim and Maddie is that they don't work together, so they don't have to acknowledge bathena and madney every episode, because if we are not seeing them together there's no real expectation for the episode to do something to remind us they are together. That won't work with buddie. Considering the way they are partnered in the field most of the time and they are on the same shift and how high the expectations around them are because of the way their friendship was constructed, they would have to find a way to make the relationship known every episode. And let's face it, most television shows really struggle with keeping slowburns together after the buildup, and the buildup with buddie is high, because they get used to working the tension and once the tension is resolved they drop the ball so we end up with unnecessary conflicts and breakups that make no sense just to add tension back in so the relationship will be interesting for them to write. And we joke that Eddie baby trapped Buck and that they act like an old married couple, but they literally already have a canon legal document tying them together, they very explicitly co-parent Chris, they are very clearly comfortable in each other's spaces, so that makes the usual tricks to keep slowburns interesting won't work, because honestly, I think that even a friends to married thing with them isn't that farfetched. Raise the tension enough in the lead-up to getting them together and they could have them flying to vegas to get married and most people just accepting it. But that's not good for their storytelling because 911 is not the buddie show and there is all this expectation that could end up with them deciding that writing them as an established couple is more complicated to deal with than just leaving them simmering forever.

Because the thing is, one good push and you get them together, they can trip them into a relationship at any time, really, just sit them down and let them talk about their feelings and accidentally confess to something, or turn up the flirty banter they have while they're alone and let them trip into each other, put any of them in danger and have the other snapping, like literally any of the hundred contexts we have of getting together fics about them would work at this point, but the issue is not getting them together is keeping them together in a satisfying way.

[pikahlua]

I have a question

But I really want to ask just from a writing standpoint, no ships or anything

Do you like Izuku and Ochaco's development as possible (or probable? idk where Hori wanna go with that) romance?

Cause I appreciated it (even tho it felt like the usual shonen romance) till the return of Izuku to UA, which made me see them more as platonic (and made me appreciate their bond way more tbh)

So from a writing standpoint, I'm not exactly a romance aficionado. It can really only come down to my preferences in what I like in a romance, but there are just some cheesy romance tropes I'm not into. I do think it's perfectly viable to analyze any relationship in any property, MHA included, for whatever dynamic you want. If you ask me to take a look at the potential romance in Izuku and Ochako's relationship, I can do that.

That said, this is a warning to hard-line IzuOcha shippers: I can't guarantee you'll enjoy everything I write about in this post.

To me, there are five major "sagas" in their relationship. Some of these I like, some of these I don't.

Saga 1: Beginning through the Internships Saga 2: Final Exams through Kamino Saga 3: Provisional License Exam through School Cultural Festival Saga 4: Joint Training Arc through Paranormal Liberation War Saga 5: Deku Retrieval Arc through to the present

Saga 1 was my favorite. This was when they were still getting to know each other and becoming friends. I like this part best because Ochako has the most characterization in the show. Her personality shines through and she's very entertaining. I also thought the stuff that happened between them in the Sports Festival was some of the most refreshing writing of opposite-sex characters I've seen in a while, platonic or romantic. Ochako has personal motivations that can be in conflict or in harmony with her relationship with Izuku, and the manner in which they interacted showed a special type of relationship for Izuku that he didn't have with any other character. It was nice variety in the context of everything else the show was giving us at the time. I wasn't necessarily dying for romance, because I do love a good platonic opposite-sex friendship too. But if it did take a romantic direction, I was excited to see how it went at the time.

Saga 2 just felt like it shoehorned the crush thing in there. It didn't really come from anything that came before it. I thought it was gonna be a good opportunity for some romantic humor, but it just turned out to be a bunch of embarrassed blushing and not much else. Wasn't really my thing.

Saga 3 tried to add something interesting to the mix with Ochako's jealousy which she tries to deny and squash, but...it doesn't come across as particularly deep or well-developed. Horikoshi kinda just throws it out there and then immediately ditches it. I wouldn't have been so annoyed if it didn't encompass all of Ochako's character for this saga. She didn't really do much of anything else at all. Even in the Overhaul arc, she didn't get any meaningful spotlight, and I mean this from an action perspective. After the awesome action she got in the Sports Festival, Horikoshi really pulled back on her and it felt like he was too afraid to make her get dirty and fight again, save for a brief moment when she pinned Toga in the woods at summer camp. I liked it better when Izuku was pining a bit after Ochako than the other way around.

Saga 4 was a bit better. There was finally some meaningful development between them with Ochako getting inspired to update her costume, saving Izuku as a development of her new character question of "who saves the heroes?", and--my favorite part--when she decides to trust Izuku when he says he can take Shinso on alone and she goes to take care of business elsewhere. But I notice these developments I like also happen to have non-romantic elements to them. It's really just when things are one-dimensionally romantic that I'm super disinterested. I like the complexity of other feelings even in their easy friendship. Platonic friendship that leads into budding romance brings at least a bit more flavor in the writing. That said, it's not a whole ton of flavor. I can see why other people would like it, but it's not the MOST exciting for me personally.

Saga 5 is again more exciting to me because of the non-romantic elements, kind of like you say. It's not that it's necessarily platonic, but it's just more interesting that Ochako's feelings seem more complicated now, and Toga has been added to the mix too. What we get in this saga especially puts me in a weird position where I'm rooting for Izuku and Ochako NOT to get together in the end, not because I don't like them or have a problem with the ship, but because it makes the overall story about their relationship since the beginning..."make sense" isn't the right phrase. It's just an interesting take on the trope in this genre. I really like the message it could potentially deliver on. I'm just not a big romance person in the first place, so the whole "there are even deeper things happening between people than just high school crushes" angle that doesn't necessarily mean romance speaks more to me. I don't really know what we get out of them getting together if that happens. But, as I said, I'm not big on romance to begin with, so I'm not the best judge of this. It could be we get a great message out of it and I'm just really bad at being able to see that at this stage. I will still be forced to lament what was lost in that case, though--because we would lose the far more interesting take on the trope if they were not to get together.

And that's why I say I'm not anti-IzuOcha, just anti-IzuOcha in canon. I think they're cute together and I really love their earlier dynamic. I think the fanart of them is cute. I love when they get along doing things. I love when people create excellent fan content for their favorite pairings. I just most like the idea of an ending where they don't end up together for the purposes of my own intrigue.

[acealistair]

5 10 and 14 for any of your ocs! 🩵

Gotta talk about Finch heheh ;)

5. How easy is it for your muse to say, “I love you”?

So, so hard. I don't think Finch has ever said "I love you" to anyone in their whole life. They absolutely do love their friends and have admitted they care pretty deeply for them but never used that phrase in particular. They've also certainly never been in romantic love before either. It's like, the ultimate show of vulnerability so it's gonna take something serious and extraordinary to get them to say it (likely a partner they feel completely comfortable with and trust wholly, which would take a While to reach).

10. What would make your muse immediately abandon a date?

Oh god I can see Finch abandoning a date way too easily at the drop of a hat djhskgndjag... Kinda depends on who the date is with (the less he knows the person the more likely it would happen at very minor things) but something I could see him freaking out about and running off no matter who he's with would be if his date tried to get too physically affectionate in public.

It's all about the context, though. Best way to go on a successful date with Finch is by not letting him know it's a date lmao. Having lunch at a restaurant with a buddy? Totally fine, he's very chill with that. If there's been a little something building up between you two you could potentially even get away with holding his hand or something without scaring him away. Going on an explicit date though? Red alert, sound the alarms, now there are IMPLICATIONS and he's gonna be so fucking weird and antsy about it. Good luck getting him to stay the whole time.

14. What is your muse most likely to notice first about a potential partner?

Finch doesn't really think of people in terms of "potential partners" (romance is very far from her mind when meeting new people) but a big initial factor in her potentially falling for someone is how they react to, like, her as a person. Because she's kind of difficult to interact with and she knows it on some level. 😅 Some people regard her with concern or even pity and she haaaates that. She can be friends with someone like that but it's a big turn off romantically. She's very attracted to people she at least thinks understand her on some level (kind of a "well, duh" sort of answer but those sorts of people are hard to come by for Finch lol), even if they judge her for her actions.

[crystalelemental]

We're also keeping up with Frieren, and...okay. I was talking with @books-are-my-life-stuff earlier, and then also talking with my wife about it, and...I'm not losing interest exactly, but I feel like this new arc has fallen off.

Frieren landed super hard right out of the gate for having a really interesting premise, in Frieren herself retracing the steps of her journey and making the emotional connection between what happened then and what it continues to mean to her, despite being such a brief period in her long life. The strongest aspects of Frieren are the retrospective bits; the echoes of the past resonating in the present, and the enduring feeling that creates. We had something to tie around in nearly every episode. Even without substantial flashback, we'd get things like the episode around Zoltraak, and building up the fantastic swerve when Fern faces off against this demon Frieren's been building up. Nearly every episode landed.

I'll admit that the developing romance stuff was not to my personal taste. I don't particularly care for Fern/Stark, and while I'm generally fine with Himmel having interest in Frieren, that's largely because it's through a retrospective gaze of Frieren, who thought the world of her friends, but just didn't have that kind of feeling. It's generally unobtrusive enough that it doesn't impact much, but I'll be honest, it feels forced. I have...no feeling of chemistry between Fern and Stark. Like, at all. They can have a decent dynamic, but it's never once felt like a clear romantic one to me, even as they're building to it. It just kinda pinged "I don't care for this," but it's not a huge impediment, because we're still doing what we've always done, now with Sein and his past mixed in a bit.

But with this mage exam arc, I feel like we've kinda dropped everything that made this show stand out, in favor of what feels like a pretty standard shonen tournament arc. It's a huge rush of new characters without significant context, very little focus on the characters we'd followed to this point, very little in the way of retrospective connection to the present, and it's going on forever. Like we're still on part one and it's been like three episodes! This show moved at a really interesting pace, because Frieren is long-lived, and time just moves quickly around her. It slowed a bit as we got the adventure going, but we still had plenty that were like "And this one episode is now three months in a cabin that's mostly like two significant events." And that worked! They were really significant events! But now we're lingering on something that, frankly, has very little to do with Frieren, and is something she's only tangentially interested in doing in the first place. It just...feels slightly out of place. Misaligned, I guess I'd say. It's overstaying its welcome and losing a lot of what I'd enjoyed about the show. It's not bad, all these new characters have a little something that makes them interesting. But a little something on a wide variety of people is a far cry from the deep dive study of a small cast's dynamics, and I'm personally not a fan of the change.

[midnights-wish]

this is a rant regarding umbrella academy's fourth season 'cause i'm not happy with it at all & have the absolute need to just get my opinions out of my system, but no one i know has finished the series, so a tumblr-rant it is.

you've been warned, spoilers from here on out!

okay, so. i will start by saying that i loved the first episode. i watched it & thought that it looks promising, and that the show gets an ending-season it deserves, but starting from episode three (? i believe, could have also been episode four, but since i binged the show i remember the whole thing as a very long movie & can't really put things that happened in specific episodes) i just started to get disappointed.

the vomit 'jokes'. someone there must think those are really funny, but they just aren't. it's gross & cheap humor. i don't mind their vomiting in the car - their bodies are adjusting back to their powers, so being sick is having to vomit makes sense. every other time was unnecessary. i'm aware they did those kinda jokes before too (like when five meets his other self), but tbh i don't like those either. i just don't get it.

the only person actively working to find ben is victor, the others are basically doing nothing, which i feel is a real shame:

klaus is away for the majority of the time 'cause he felt the dramatic need to immediately revert to his drug use after regaining his powers. this led to him being locked away in a room & then a coffin. sad, 'cause like with some other characters his powers got upgraded & they could have used him for so much more than for playing a sex-medium & accidentally getting his dealer killed.

diego is in a character arc of realizing that his family is what matters most for him, which i really really loved! bummer lila had to cheat on him - i get why she did in the context of the story, just don't like the writers chose that direction, when just an episode before both lila and diego started voicing their concerns and personal issues with the marriage. i was thinking they both would start figuring out how to save their marriage and make life both exciting for both of them and their kids. but apparently that was used as a poor excuse for the writers to start an unnecessary romance.

now i get to lila & five. oh my gosh, i hated that so much. look, i'll give gallagher that he played his role very well; i really could feel his characters heartache through the screen as he was watching lila next to diego. but, was that storyline really necessary? i mean i get they were in the subway for seven years, and i understand feelings will develop under the conditions they were in. but i don't think that was necessary. yes, sure, send them to the subway. but instead of embarking them on a seven-year-long journey, why not let them be lost in there for like a month or so, & then make them stumble on that diner together, find out why the apocalypse happens together, and then let the other fives help them to get back home, so that they can inform the others & get a proper plan started? no falling in love necessary. then there would not be an annoying rivalry between diego and five, five would not have left everyone while they were fighting ben & jennifer just so he could sulk (i would have not needed to be put through that kitschy montage), diego and lila could have spent the time fixing their marriage during the episodes, and since everyone would have had the chance to work together much earlier, everything would have turned out more focused as well. also, what i really dislike: if you start this stupid route with them, at least have the courage to also say who lila actually wants to be with after seven years. being gone for seven years and then suddenly returning to your old life after having started a new relationship that also went on for a couple of years is a complex situation. they really could've done something with that, but instead she just flip-flops around, not giving a proper answer while five just sulks (which i find out-of-character, too - from him forgetting dolores completely to betraying his brother, to him suddenly acting out of emotions rather than logic, & to him just sulking alltogether, i mean). i just don't see why this development was needed for the story at all.

luther is with diego the whole time, not much happened for him either, although he did have his little breakthrough of finding out some people in the cia where involved in the cult. which is a nice find, but also didn't play a greater part in the story as not more was done with it.

allison was busy to find klaus. also with her sibling-relationship with him. which i found was an unnecessary fight either way. was just there to create useless drama. not much more to say here either.

don't have stuff to say about ben, he played a big role & i feel everything made sense for him

anyways, when it comes down to it, i just feel dissatisfied. the show would've deserved much better of an ending. i mean, i don't mind the ending per se, it makes sense. i just don't like how they got there. if you're gonna end it with them ceasing to exist, why not let them end everything on a good note, rather than with inflicting an unnecessary love-triangle? also maybe let them work together properly, to show that they learned their lessons from the other seasons? also, what i don't understand, if all of the marigold has to merge with the creature, but there were a total of 43 kids born under the same conditions as they did, then why did it work with them sacrificing just themselves? i mean understand the creature could've gotten to the rest at some point too, but i feel like they could've tapped a bit more into that (maybe during the diner scene).

i dunno, maybe i'm nitpicking, but i just feel the season was full of unnecessary drama, sometimes created out of pure nothing and an unnecessary love-triangle of which that time could have instead been used with bringing everyone together & creating a proper plan (& with diego and lila patching up their marriage and learning to work together as a badass couple; just imagine how cool the fight-scenes could have been, with them fighting using a parents' logic).

i'm just kinda sad now, tbh.

[semi-imaginary-place]

Lover or friend? is a central motif of this series. It is how juggling friendships and romantic relationships is the central struggle for most of the characters including Taichi balancing his rekindled friendship with Touma and his new romantic relationship with Futaba. It is Masumi and Touma choosing to maintain their friendships instead of confessing to their best friends. Finally there is also whether Touma is a friend or lover for Taichi which happens offscreen.

Fish Guts is a fictional horror/romance franchise in the series and a recurring motif in which the protagonist must choose between saving his friend or his lover. It's the movie the gang watch in the early chapters, features in the nightmare Taichi has after Touma is outed at school, and in the final chapter. This story within a story parallels how many of the characters feel pressured to chose between romantic relationships and friendships and Taichi in particular as he feels caught between his relationships.

In addition to the main characters, Mami adds additional perspective as she's faced a world that has undervalued and strained her friendships with boys simply for being a girl, or how her friendship with a guy has been seen as a threat to both her romantic relationships as well as those of her friends. Throughout Ao no Flag discussions of the various relationships in a highschooler's life is the constant undercurrent of how gender impacts these relationships.

"one of the core aspects of the story for me was platonic vs. romantic love and how a lot of characters outside the main trio would push the idea of romantic love being more important than platonic love on taichi and how he felt he had to choose to either keep his best friend or his crush. it felt kinda contradictory for the story to go “lmao well you see the solution is to just marry your best friend” lol. when put under the context of what you saw as the main theme though (as in make decisions that will make you happy in the moment) the ending makes a lot more sense." (galaxy-of-me)

But it's not just about what made them happy though that is maybe 70% of it. I speculate that Touma and Taichi were only able to enter a romance because Taichi was able to reconcile having both a friendship with Touma and a romantic relationship with Futaba. It's another aspect that Futaba helped him realize, that Taichi didn't have to give up Touma's friendship for any external factor, not for her, not because of Touma's crush, and not because of what anyone else's opinion about them was.

That Taichi and Touma's friendship comes first is a central part of the series. After Touma is outed, Taichi worries what was it that Touma wished for him in the charm he made for Taichi's birthday, he wonders if the happiness that Touma wanted was romantic love. But that wasn't Touma's priority, Touma had a crush on Taichi but more important than that to him was their friendship. Though not the entirety of what Touma wanted (he moved out so that he could live authentically to himself), the happiness of his friends elevated his own happiness (best friend power!). Touma's wish for Taichi's happiness through the power of their friendship is also a callback to Taichi saying the same thing to Touma to support him while he was still in the hospital. So it was only because their friendship came first that anything else could come after.