#diary type post

[cuchufletapl]

My brother got a Pochita sticker for a friend of his at the local con that he went to with me. Does his friend like Chainsaw Man? No, he's not even into anime, but he did cut himself with a chainsaw three months ago lmao

[toncomtoncosh]

Hi guys, recently I bought a scanner. I want to show you the capabilites of it and how if changed the quality of my posts. I had a lot of fun testing it around

So obviously the image quality is a lot better XD, but I can also blow up the drawings to an honestly disgusting amount of detail.

Here's also a zoom test I did on my first ever embroidery! This original thing was around 3x3 cm, I had the original dimensions written down but I'm too lazy to retrive it.

[linicat]

[choccy-milky]

part 3 to my modern AU 💞🍺 (part 1 / part 2)

[sweetlullabyebye]

Characters that are absolute lovesick disasters but also brutal killers are... definitely something

[slutdge]

can someone please tell me what the fuck swifties are smoking that makes them lose their minds about lyrics that read like they were written by a 6th grader that just broke up with her first boyfriend after one day

[lyraofthestarsss]

The Hayden assassination arc is really getting to me. The universe really said the Zvahl siblings are orphans and will STAY orphans

I feel like Hayden’s death really showed the most of Laurance’s greatest flaw. He’s angry, almost uncontrollably so. But the issue is not the anger, but how he manages it. His anger is tied to his shadow knight abilities, and he HATES that part of himself. He’s terrified of becoming a monster with no control over himself. So in an effort to maintain that control, he buries any and all negative feelings deep within himself. But all of that pain festers inside, and the suppression only creates even more explosive anger. It’s a viscous cycle

There were a few moments where I was a little angry at Aphmau for not realizing how much pain he’s in and instead focusing more on the murder investigation. But then I realized that’s it not her job to take care of his mental health for him. She can comfort him of course, that’s what friends do. But she is not responsible for this cycle of suppression and explosion he put himself in

It’s heartbreaking though. Watching someone come undone in front of you, and only being able to watch. The Zvahl siblings have lost so much. Cadenza is practically paralyzed in her grief and depression. And Laurance is forcing himself to carry on when he is not yet ready to

[youkaiyume]

I DID just watch Apothecary Diaries though, and I DID enjoy that. Though it's in a different genre to My Happy Marriage I did think the barely there, minimal "romance" if you can even call it that in Apothecary Diaries was more believable than whatever the heck was going on in "Happy Marriage". At the very least I enjoyed this one more as an AU historical anime. It felt more grounded, and I liked each story as it's own fun bit sized detective story. I think the only time I really got taken out of it was maybe when I see the courtesans wearing western looking or modern looking clothes for like. fanservice.

I do have to say though as a "romance" I also can only tolerate so long the status quo of two people having cute moments but one or the other or both do not acknowledge it or it dissolves its own tension with a joke--and it goes on and on forever. It's the reason why I kind of got tired of Spy x Family. Although I acknowledge that the conceit of both of these animes is not the actual romance part so that takes backseat. But I'm not satisfied with it being in the backseat forever cuz I get bored and then I perceive it as little to no character development.

[plasticsandwich]

thank you for over 1k followers!! wrapped up this special gift for yous

[rileyscissorhands]

bring back men like this #iamjustagirl

[atzupdates]

YH ⚓️ [230929] Japan Diary

[cuchufletapl]

This morning I had an appointment with my GP to finally ask for a deferral to the Gender Identity Unit (yay!), so on this week's therapy session, my therapist and I spent 45 minutes coming up with a script for the appointment, her coaching me on how to manage transphobic pushback from a medical professional, right, because I know my GP (she's treated my family since we moved to this city and me specifically since I was fourteen) and I was fully expecting her to be disbelieving and ask abrasive questions. And then while I was waiting for my appointment my GP left? and a doctor I didn't know took over her shift. I went in, told her I wanted a deferral, and she said "Yeah sure hold on." And that was it. Holy fuck.

[incendavery]

two-page meditation on a cracked heart

[vegaseatsass]

My Stand-In Episode 11

AUghhghhhh I can't believe next week is the last week of this series, what am I supposed to do with my life without it? (Meet You At The Blossom, you are my only hyperfixation hope)

I shan't talk about the end of the episode except to say that it feels right that Spiritual Master is the biggest MingJoe antishipper out there. Yes, he's been tirelessly advising this young master on his disastrous love life and its cosmic implications for three years, but that doesn't mean he's rooting for him or thinks the torturous time loop he's trapped everyone in is karmically sound!!!!

I also really can't get over the "every story that's not about a time loop is about a time loop" vibes of the scene too, how it was filmed, the way the master described the cycle they're in, all of it. Good stuff. But beyond that I'm zipping my lips I dare not even speculate on what is coming in episode 12.

What I do want to talk about is the Akarayota family!!

I think it is so brilliant that Ming's dad was kept fully offscreen and out of the picture until episode 10. It made him such an ominous, menacing figure. Like it seems obvious to me now that last episode, when Ing asked about telling his family and Ming said he needed to make sure it was the right time first, he was talking not about emotionally preparing himself or like, winning his family over, but about this blackmail scheme he needed to suck Mike into to "defeat" their father, which he always knew was the only option. Putting aside everything else in the Ming vs. Dad game of family ruthlessness chicken, at the end of this episode, this man was going to get his son killed in a way similar to how Ming got Joe killed: out of stubbornness, out of a refusal to believe long after he was shown that Ming would choose Joe not just over his family but over his own safety, out of a belief that he could control the situation and let Joe perish and lose nothing more than Ming's, like, will to live (but if you keep him locked in the house forever after, that won't matter, right?). You can just really see where Ming gets it from with this guy. I also have to wonder what the FUCK was going on in that household during Ming's childhood that a. the siblings are all so codependent b. Ming has learned to throw up on command c. Ming throwing up on command is something Mike has seen him do and treats as an old familiar trick.

So let's talk about the siblings! Ahhhh!!! My heart!!! When Mike first mentioned a promise, I was sure it was going to be a tit-for-tat trade where Mike owed Ming some kinda life debt (a la May saving Ming from drowning and getting pneumonia) that Ming was cashing in on. My guess was Ming had done some kind of monumental favor for Mike in their youth and Mike Owed him. But no no no! Mike's promise was made in the past three years and as far as we can see was simply borne of not wanting to see his brother in pain. I promise you, Ming, if Joe ever returns I'll do anything to help you be together, so please, for now, move on with your life. How fucking much does he love and prioritize Ming if that's a cash-in-on-able vow he'll break the law and fight their father over? How much of Mike's life is already spent cleaning up after Ming and shielding him? Again, what the fuck was going on in that household in his childhood that the oldest son in the family splits his time between business, Buddhism, and keeping his baby brother out of the line of fire? I had the thought that Ming could go to Mike for money to avoid their father, but Mike telling the loan shark "WE cannot get $500 million to you by tonight" without Ming even needing to ask him kind of said it all. Lowkey wondering if Ming is THE heir and Mike is a half-brother or illegitimate son of some kind since it does seem like the family wealth is concentrated in May and especially Ming's hands, even though Mike does nothing but work for this family lol. And May <3 I have a lot I'm mulling over in her relationship with Tong but the fact that she showed up just to shut down the line of familial manipulation that hinged on her womb was so badass. There's also something about Tong using "you chose your brother over me" as a DIVORCE JUSTIFICATION that makes me wonder if that was an ongoing conversation and threat in their relationship, that she had to prove again and again that she saw Tong as family as much as she did her beloved little brother... I do hope we see a little bit before the very end of Ming reciprocating his siblings' immense devotion to him (in ways other than "fled the country to hide that I was obsessed with your boyfriend's posterior", or tbh even gifting his perfect secretary to the brother who has always wanted him lol). But I am very compelled by what we've seen so far, that the Akarayota siblings consistently choose each other and shield each other from their powerful, terrible parents.

Last but not least, mama Akarayota! Love her writing! I love that the scene where she's accepting Joe and Mingjoe's love comes packaged with "oh yeah I was the one who destroyed your relationship with your mom teehee oops", and she doesn't even seem very sorry about it, she's just sooo happy that Joe passed her little test and loves her son and is making Ming happy and alive, and who really cares what happens to Joe's life or family. I love that she felt the urgency of Ming going to meet with the loan sharks in ways her husband didn't, but instead of working with her son or finding a way to pay the money her son-in-law owed, she just did the impulsive thoughtless rich person move of calling the cops, which escalated literally everything and missed getting Ming killed by a Joe-shaped hair. Why pay $500 million baht to criminals when you can rely on your power and the state? It's just such an automatic, instinctive, realistic choice for her to make and I love love love the consequences it came with. Basically I love that even though Ming's mother has the classic QL parent arc of moving from pressuring her son to marry women to warmly accepting that he loves a man, she does it with so much rich person violence and collateral damage along the way. There's a complexity and realism there I don't often see.

I also wanted to talk a little bit about Sol and how moving I found it that he uses "I can't get over you" as a way of connecting with Joe, empathizing with and accepting how obviously Joe is never going to get over Ming, and actually, finally letting him go. About how JOE FUCKING DYING AGAIN does in fact justify his frantic in-denial attempts to block Mingjoe a few episodes ago lol, but how beautiful it is that he was ready to let Joe go and make his own choices in this episode. About how much I wish Ming had!!! TURNED TO SOL!!!! FOR MONEY!!!! TO SAVE THE LIFE OF THE MAN THEY BOTH LOVED!!!! but that would I guess be even more of a drastic character change than Tong suddenly caring about his wife and unborn child lmao.

But I have to rewatch the episode with Laura now so we can both suffer so I will end the post here. Augh I love this series, I want it to be next Friday already I want to know what's going to happen but I also don't want it to end, augh augh augh

[twig-tea]

TWIG! Friend! I couldn't help but notice your tags in my excitement post about getting to La Pluie -- I see that you and I are YYY mutuals. :) Let's call YYY... say... zany or offbeat -- off the beaten path of the usual romance-dominated field of Thai BLs. What are some other "zanier" BLs (not just Thailand, but everywhere in Asia) that you love and would recommend for an off-the-wall experience? And, why?

@waitmyturtles I'm so sorry you sent this a million years ago and then I kept letting it languish. And it's extra rude because I love this question! It's so hard to add something like YYY to a rec list without a billion caveats, so this is a great chance to shout out some of the series & shorts that don't get as much attention. A few of these I know you've seen but I have to include them for completeness.

First, for the sake of other people reading this, as Turtles has written about, Cheewin brings his own kind of zaniness to almost everything he works on; my faves of his other than YYY are Make It Right and Secret Crush on You (the exception is Bed Friend, which is not in any way zany but I still liked it).

Also going to mention that since Turtles asked for off the beaten path zany, I won't be mentioning any of the popular comedies (in case you're wondering why I Became the Lead in A BL Drama or Man Who Defies the World of BL aren't on this list).

Alright now that's out of the way, let's get into the other recs!

Zany lesser-known BLs other than YYY

Ossan's Love Franchise (Japanese, 2016-2024, GagaOOLala)

It is... less true now that this series is lesser-known than it was when I started writing this draft (in uh... August 2023) but I shall persist! The franchise details alone for this series are complete crack:

A 2016 45-minute short [skippable imo];

The 2018 original series which builds the short into a zany 7-episode comedy series about a man in his late 20s who suddenly finds himself the love interest of his older boss (in his ~50s) and his coworker/roommate (in his mid-20s);

The sequel film Ossan's Love: Love or Dead (2019)which turns into an action film halfway through for no clear reason but also remains a romantic comedy in which the mains from the original season decide if they want to stay together

The AU season Ossan's Love: In the Sky (2019) which has the same characters of the lead and his boss from S1 and the short, but this time they work in an airport and all of the surrounding cast is different and leads to a very confusing love rhombus. Incredible 10/10 no notes [people hate this because they like the mains from S1 & the film but I loved the mess]

The sequel season to S1 and the film, Ossan's Love Returns (2024) which you can absolutely watch in isolation and is about the main couple re-establishing their relationship and their found family friend group after being long distance for a few years.

It's truly excellent comedy, and gets better every outing; there are some barriers that might prevent some enjoying the earlier seasons but the most recent one is really delightful. You can hear me talk more about this series with @bengiyo and @shortpplfedup on The Conversation podcast!

Diary of Tootsies (Thai, 2017, grey/Netflix (for the movie))

I love Diary of Tootsies and the follow-ups so much. SO much. One of the best laughs of my life was the opening to the movie, and I cannot be in a long car ride without thinking about the purse incident in s1. This show doesn't get a lot of BL fandom attention because the romance arcs are not typical for BL (but that's one of the things I love about them). And the friendship in this series is truly what sells it. Season 1 is self-contained, a lot of people dislike the romance plot of S2; I really like the arc across s2 to the movie (as established above, I tend to be less invested in a particular ship across a franchise or multiple franchises). The movie plot is all about reconciling who you thought you wanted and who you are with (amongst all kinds of shenanigans).

HeHe and He (Hong Kong, 2018-ongoing, YouTube)

This mockumentary sitcom-style series does tackle some serious topics and is also absolutely hilarious nonsense across its 3 seasons. The very simple premise is that a gay guy ("hehe" is slang for gay) and a straight guy who are old friends become roommates when the gay friend breaks up with his longterm boyfriend and needs a place to stay, and hijinks ensue. They do direct-to-camera confessionals spliced in with scenes from their lives. I love this show so much, and it would actually be high up in my indie BL rankings if it were completed. I lose it at least once an episode. It's very queer (if you want a show that tackles everything from hookups to turning everything into a joke to being so, so mean to each other while also loving each other dearly to even chemsex, look no further), and I am in love with all of the wacky characters that have formed a love-hate found family that is deeply relatable. The creators posted a video a few months ago saying they're struggling to end it in a way that they're happy with so I'm not sure we'll ever get an ending for the show. But if you like comedy and queer content it's worth a watch even incomplete! I've been very patiently following this project since 2018 and it's legitimately one of my favourite shows.

Rainbow Prince the Series (Filippino, 2022, YouTube)

This is a musical; it is a lot of campy nonsense. There is royalty, political intrigue, a dog, kidnappings, and so. much. singing. The songs are surprisingly catchy and it's all extremely good fun. Also a lot of the dialogue is very clearly improvised.

Hey! First Love (Vietnamese, 2019, YouTube)

This series of shorts are mostly just silly fluff. The very tenuous plot is that these shorts are slice-of-life moments from a young established couple, but it's all really just excuses for Vietnamese comedy and BL romance tropes. If you haven't watched anything from Vietnam, this is a very low-stakes commitment (I think it's under 30 minutes of content all told; there are 4 "episodes" which are spliced together shorts, each of which has a tiny plot but there is not much of an overarching narrative, and then a Q&A with the actors at the end) and gives you a sense of the Vietnamese sense of humour. Both of these actors have gone on to continue to be in other Vietnamese BLs, so if you have watched Vietnamese BL you may recognize them! The production quality on this is charmingly low.

Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (India, 2019, Amazon Prime)

This film was such a joy to experience in a live theatre. Billed "the first Gay Bollywood RomCom", this movie was a riot of chaos, dance numbers, shenanigans, hilarity, and cuteness. I loved the way this film incorporated the very real legal change to decriminalize homosexuality in its story. Arguably not "BL" as it very much fits in the bollywood tradition not the BL tradition, but OP did ask for all of Asia!

Like Love (China, 2014-15, grey)

And no I don't mean censored--this is from before China started censoring its BLs. This show has kisses as shown in the gif, and even (poorly cropped) sex scenes. It also is super bizarre. I was so confused by this show, the characterization, the fourth wall breaks, and how disjointed it was so I went to read the source material and...it turns out it's one of the most perfect adaptations I've ever seen, the book is in fact exactly like this. The characters are caricatures, there is no bridging between scenes, and the plot is the most absurd take on 'loserfail no-thoughts-head-empty character who doesn't admit he's gay but still ends up in a dedicated and loving relationship with a rich handsome domineering man ' I've ever seen. It's a bewildering experience. Note the sound quality on this one is suuuper miserable. I like s2 way more than s1 (s1 is getting together and includes a lot of the bullying-teasing and I'm-not-gay-I-just-need-him-to-pay-attention-to-me stuff, s2 is the honeymoon phase + getting the homophobic parents on board) but S1 is definitely the zanier of the two. That being said, if you wanted, I think you can dive right in to s2 (there's a direct-to-camera explanation of what happened in s1 at the start of it). Note that they set up a cliffhanger at the end of 2 in anticipation of s3 which was going to be made in 2016 but was cancelled because of the political changes in China in 2016 (this is one of the reasons I went to read the source material; they do get a happy ending in the books).

This is an extremely silly but also touching franchise with a lot of tropes I don't love, but also a lot of things I do (and just neat to see some stuff so early in BL: Underwater kiss? Helicopter ride? Femme fatale becomes friend of the faen? Supportive grandparent? It's all here). There are some fantastic speeches in s2 about supporting your gay children; I liked how in this the kids didn't give up on their parents but try to reconcile their filial piety with their dedication to each other. If you do watch S1, highly recommended you watch the series version rather than the film. For "S2"/the follow-up film, make sure you look for the uncensored film version.

The Lover Room 709 Cut (Korean/Japanese, 2016, grey)

This starts extremely silly, plays with BL tropes, and gets a little bit serious at the end but is mostly just full of puns and innuendos. Includes one of the most hilarious takes on kabedon, and egregious use of the soundtrack from Brokeback Mountain. Also: fart jokes. Folks worried it was going to stay teasing the audience but it does commit and we do get an actual resolution that is satisfying. I admit I've never seen the whole series (which includes stories of 3 other couples in the apartment building) but the BL cut is readily available if you search. Make sure you look for the deleted scene with the lotion application--this scene walked so IFYLITA could run (I'm kidding, but it's very funny seeing this scene now and thinking about that one).

The Boy Next Door (Korean, 2018, YouTube)

This is another older series playing with censorship (similar to The Lover) in which the two characters end up in BL romance tropes but are not actually in love...or are they? The shenanigans are very fun. This one is left more ambiguous than The Lover, which is one of the reasons it's further down the list.

Go! Go! G-Boys (Taiwan, 2006, grey)

I debated between this and another quirky comedy from Taiwan in the early 2000s, Formula 17, but while that's unequivocally a better movie, this one is lesser known and more zany, so it technically better fits the bill for this ask (but if you haven't, go watch Formula 17!). The plot is a bit cringe--straight boy signs up to gay beauty contest to pay off his girlfriend's debts (accompanied by his gay childhood friend who is in love with him) and finds his truth. Meanwhile a homophobic police officer has also infiltrated the contest for investigative purposes. Amongst all that admittedly not great setup, however, are several bizarre sequences including the incredible Lord of the Rings recreation scene (complete with Gatchaman of course), a killer soundtrack, a random delivery of poultry, someone slapping a cake, and, most absurdly unbelievable at all: police taking harassing death threats to the gay contest seriously. It does a great job of setting up what should be a dramatic scene and then immediately undercutting the tension with something absurd. It's not narratively good, but it is a fun ride! And yes, there is a happy ending. Stick around for a fourth wall break (literally) after the credits.

Something Crunchy Crunchy (Korean, 2018, GagaOOLala)

Extremely bizarre little musical short in which snacks are anthropomorphized as hot guys and they sing songs about being eaten and wanting to be eaten. Played entirely sincerely, but the concept is screamingly funny. Fascinating. Also, kind of poly?

Dom (Korean, 2016, GagaOOLala)

Another hilarious and weird Korean short, this time in which we see the protagonist's sex life from the perspective of the condom boxes that are anthropomorphized and given personalities based on their brands.

And since we can't leave out the ladies,

A few zany GLs:

Lily Fever (Korean, 2015, YouTube)

I wrote about this one a little in my GL rec list; it is absolutely bonkers nonsense. There is not really a plot, it's a fever dream of a show. Chaos! Not so much a romance as an excuse to see cute girls flirt and make out.

Legend of Yunqian (China, 2020, grey)

I debated including this one because only the middle is really the zany part, it's sandwiched with more serious xianxia drama. But in the middle of this miniseries is an extremely cute interlude in which xianxia characters time travel to present day for ~reasons. It's censored but there is very little uncertainty about feelings, and manages to be absolutely charming. Worth the short runtime for this kitten quickcut (subbed "Whomst?!" in the show for ultimate comedy). Warning for character death (but it's ok because time travel to reincarnated character!) Subtitled by the indispensable @douqi7s [see their pinned post for links].

BetCin (Filippino, 2022, WeTV)

A lesbian couple with a YouTube following decide to break up but then find out there's a contest for couples, and they decide to pretend to still be together to try and win the contest rather than tell their fans they've broken up. This series does some really interesting things by starting with a breakup and then looking at how two people who are no longer dating manage BGP while also managing their feelings. There's a lot going on in this show, and the hijinks definitely ensue!

Perfect One Night Stand (Korean, 2020, GagaOOLala)

This is a cute Strongberry GL short in which a friend agrees to help her other friend find a girl to have sex with before the day is over; they go through several quirky candidates looking for the titular perfect one night stand.

[desertblessingoceancurse25]

I will not apologize for memes that demonstrate my RRR truth