#dreams is one of those eps I love more as I get older

[it-should-have-been-a-mash-ep]

I need to see the dreams of everyone who has gone home.

Does Radar have peaceful dreams of the farm or just a constant time loop of a nightmare from Henry's death?

Does Trapper actually sleep after what he has seen?

Does Frank have dreams similar to his account in the Novacaine Mutiny?

Oh this.

This would have been GOLD. Considering Dreams was in Season 8 and that was when Gary left, they could have squeezed Radar into the episode

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - I Still On1y Care About...

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Sept 2024 Week 1

Ongoing Series - Thai

Monster Next Door (Thai Thurs Gaga ) eps 7 of 12 - Deeeelightful. They are so damn cute + a nice kiss! The rise of the green flag semes continues. I like it when Diew flirts and shows that he does have some experience in a relationship, and he can/will flex his power. Props to God for being a man who remembers to TAKE HIS DRINK with him. 

Addicted Heroin (Thai Tues WeTV) ep 4 of 10 - Yep I still like it and all its toxicity. It’s fun to see how closely it follows the original. Now I really can’t wait to see how this one ends. Since this time around we get an actual ending.

Battle of the Writers (Sun YT) ep 6 of 12 - How did they know that what I wanted more than anything was a side couple = spoiled prince + demon lord? How clever they are to give them to me. Meanwhile, in a shocking twist, the leads have known each other since childhood. Because why be original? 

I Saw You in My Dream (Weds Gaga) ep 8 of 12 - Oh it’s very cute. I love Ing. I love that Ai was honest with his bestie. Best friend's older brother trope is a go! Also good kisses all round. 

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 1 of 12 - Ohm has his shirt off less than 5 min in. I guess GMMTV is learning what we want. My boy Title is the creep character again. I’m assuming that’s why GMMTV brought him on board at this juncture. Sigh. New boy, Q, looks like Mek’s younger brother. Ultimately? I'm not convinced on this one. It is doing what it says on the tin, but nothing more than that. I’m not wild about it, but I will keep watching.

The Trainee (Sun YT) ep 10 of 12 - The more OffGun BLs, the more time they spend communicating as characters in those BLs. It’s kind of charming. They've become the pair that advocates for communication in relationships. I like it as evolution for their brand. Flirting via the printer was very fun. Especially as the Thai script is so beautiful.

Live in Love (Sun Gaga) ep 1 of 5 - I guess this is a lockdown narrative? Odd choice. A lot of familiar faces but from more minor rolls. Is this from the Destiny Seeker people? It feels like that. It’s a bigger cast than I was expecting, and a sort of classic university BL of the kind star Hunter produces. Or the end of love people. Pretty classic Thai pulp stuff. I’m mildly enjoying it. Hali is too hot to be the dorky second lead. Nice to see Boat back on my screen. However, it is… what’s the word I am looking for? Oh yes. Boring. Plus singing. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

The On1y One (Taiwan Thurs Gaga) eps 5-6 of 12 - I entirely lost my mind over this show this week. Fuck me it's so good. The delicacy sends me. I keep expecting it to be clumsy and then is just isn't - it's so subtle and it demands we pay such close attention. I feel like I'm holding my breath the whole time I'm watching.

Cliff's notes on these 2 eps as follows:

The pure unadulterated tsundere of it all.

The awesome angst, it aches.

The series of repercussions after the fight was pacing genius.

The brilliant juxtaposition of "the kid who self isolates too easily" versus "the one who has been forced into isolation" meets both of them being smart enough to know why they react out of hurt, but neither can stop doing it.

Baby’s reaction to learning he’s going to be left behind = to instantly make plans to do the leaving in the future hurts my heart in the best possible way.

"Maybe what we call eternity is just persistence."

Maybe one boy simply deciding to be another boy's rock is romance. 

Production better nail the second half of this show! It better be the world against them from here on out or the audience is gonna riot.

And by "audience" I mean me.

Sugar Dog Life (Japan Sun grey) ep 5 of 10 - Oh noes! Poor baby boy!!! My heart hurts. But also gah so cute and next week they shack up together! Hooray! 

I Hear the Sunspot AKA Hidamari ga Kikoeru (Japan Weds Gaga) ep 11 - too much time spent on the girl again. I don’t need excuses for why she’s a bitch. So can we talk about Taichi instead? It’s such a good characterization, this boy who understands everything about other people but doesn’t notice anything about himself, including his own abilities of observation. The person who is special never realizes how special they are, I guess. The soundscapes are so good with this show. The moments where prod decided to be silent are so vital and so pivotal and used with such delicacy and strategy, it’s truly audio magic manipulation.  

First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) eps 7-8 of 12 - I loved how Orca just jumped on the stage. What a great side couple. CHARMED I TELL YOU. Orca was all… singing? Naw. I came back to fuck the manager's brains out. Anything less than that is unacceptable. 

Takara's Treasure AKA Takara No Vidro (Japan Mon Gaga) ep 10 fin - Essentially this was a growth story for Takara and an exercise in patience while the two of them learned each other’s quirks and languages. It was also an exercise in patience for me... who doesn’t like the power differential of a weaker younger character having to do all the pursuing while constantly feeling like he is inferior to the older popular hot character. I know this was a BL that was definitely for some people, since plenty liked it way more than I did, but I didn’t like it very much even though there’s nothing objectively wrong with it. It simply wasn’t to my personal taste. 7/10 

Seoul Blues (Korea Fri? YouTube) ep 5-6 of 8 - Enter an ex or something? Well he certainly has a type. Bah. This whole series seems to be mainly about cheating. It’s very annoying because they are all so pretty. 

Happy of the End (Japan Tues Gaga) - Based on a manga, longer than usual run time. A boy is disowned for being gay, dumped by his boyfriend, and ends up in a dysfunctional co-dependant relationship with his would-be kidnapper. We were due for another messy JBL. Messy gay pain here we go.

Oh it’s exactly what I expected. Do I like it? No I do not. And ya know what? There is plenty airing. I have a bad feeling about this one. DNF 

It's airing but...

4 Minutes (Sat Gaga) eps 1-6 of 8 - Gaga picked this one up so we can watch it there. I'm waiting until the end, it seems angsty and confusing and full of awful people being awful. But also... high heat and I'm shallow. So we shall see which devil wins (and how it ends).

The Hidden Moon (Sat ????) ep 1 of 10 - This is a supernatural romance (my ghost boyfriend trope) ‘เดือนพราง’ by Violet Rain (I Feel You Linger)... A Bangkok writer is hired to write an article about an old mansion in Chiang Mai which is being converted into a café. He gets into an accident and nearly dies on his way there. After that, he sees the ghosts of people who died at the mansion, one boy catches his attention. Was substantially recast. Couldn't find it. Didn't really look.

In case you missed it

Meet You at the Blossom (China) - I'm eating crow, binging the fucker, and live blogging. It's just taking me some time. This isn't really a bingable show, not for me anyway. It's A LOT to take all at once. No new one this week.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Plus:

9/9 Jack & Joker (Thai Mon IQIYI) 12 eps? - Be gay YinWar, do crimes. Dehup gives us Yin, War, Mark and a few other familiar faces in a Leverage sitch, only queerer.

9/14 Love Sick 2024 (Thai Sat ????) ?? eps - Remake of the original. I'm scared too.

9/15 Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) 10 eps - Assistant to a player boss who is in love with that boss decides to quit to save himself. The boss then makes a move. (A gay What's up with Secretary Kim?)

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

Coming SEPTEMBER 2024:

9/17 Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 10 eps - Lawyer and a con artist meet at a bar, pair up, fall in love.

9/28 Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YouTube) ?? eps - oh I don't know just Ba Vinh doing his thing with pretty boys again.

9/? The Time of Fever (Korea iQIYI) 6 eps - HoTae & DongHee are back! Side couple from Unintentional Love Story, same actors, same character names I an WILD for this.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Not sure what this is from but I capped it for a reason so, shrug.

The scent trope AND the childhood crush trope? I see you suckering me into one trope because I like the other. Clever, Battle. Very clever.

(Last week)

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in its infinite wisdom doesn't like too many at-ings.

[chevxyn]

CONFLICT = CHEMISTRY!

in which, you and sae got into a lil conflict outside a football stadium & the paparazzi’s made a false statement that the two of you are dating.

an itoshi sae smau series

act iv, ep 036 : deeptalk | next part

mature language, short written.

wc : 450

when you answered the call, rin’s voice came through, “[nickname] are you busy?” he asked and you let out a small hum, “nope.”

“could i talk to you?” he said, his voice sounding serious so you agreed. from his pov it’s time for him to come clean, tell them the truth why.

“you’re not gonna fall for sae, are you?” he asked immediately and you froze, huh? “why are you suddenly asking me this?”

“there’s something that i wanted to talk to you about.” he said, and you are starting to get those confessions that you have to reject vibes.

but fortunately, it was nothing like that when he said, “i’m worried.” he said, his voice is something you never heard from him.

it was a voice that had vulnerability visible from him. and the confusion you had increased, “why? what’s wrong?”

“[name], i’m worried if you’re gonna hope to be friends or worse, fall in love with him.” he simply said, “the reason why i never agreed for this is that cause i felt the same way as you did before he threw me out.”

“he gave me hope, for us to chase our dreams together and then that day left me in the dirt when he just came back, as he said i was not needed in his life anymore.” he revealed all at once, which was something you never expected to hear from him.

he was never one to open up much, especially when you both met at his worse, you remember you were just visiting japan when you saw him on that night, sitting on the football field ground.

and you helped him, not knowing what happened. he never told you anything except from how he hated his own brother, but you never get why.

so it was shocking when he said this, especially through call. “i just wanted to make this call so that you won’t get into the same situation as i did.” he expressed his worries, and while your heart and mind was racing.

you kept calm and just lets out a small laugh, “relax, why would i fall for him? he might had some good traits in him, but i don’t feel anything more than just friends for him, rin.” you assured, but he does not believe that one bit.

“i see, alright.” he said, “but if anything happens [name], please tell me. okay?” you were still frozen but you agreed, “yeah of course.”

“i just don’t want you to get hurt, that’s it.” he said, “after all, i see you as my older sibling replacing him.” and that tugged the strings in your heart, he really felt that way?

“i’m gonna go, since that’s all i wanted to say. good night, [nickname].” he yawned, “yeah, good night, rin.”

shit, this isn’t what you expected.

taglist (open) : @vaelils, @levihanmyotp, @kaz-0e, @jaeyuuns, @narcjsistx, @sxftiebee, @tojirin, @nensi, @banzaitaka, @whisperofae, @orphicarchive, @bubybubsters, @sellomaybe, @s4-mmy, @nomyimi, @rwbie, @chuuyalvover, @suksatoru, @x3nafix, @misscandygirl122, @imas1mpp, @literallyushiwaka, @y-sabell-a, @pctterheadd, @swagkittybear, @luvvmae, @luvynii, @syarc0re, @saiongfs, @lovessen

©chevxyn

[ladysavich]

Defender Trio General Headcanons... Defender Trio GENERAL HEADCANON! DEFENDER TRIO GENERAL HEADCANON!!!!

(Please~ :3)

YES! YES YES OF COURSE!!!! All yours @mimpinightmare

Defender trio general headcanons

North shaw

Real name: Nathan Shaw or Killian Shaw (idk, the supa strikas website is confusing me. Killian sounds better tho)

In his mid-20s

Australian

 I can picture him being an only child

 💯does parkour

Dreamed of being a lifeguard when he was younger.

Favourite food: cheese burgers

Least favourite:  chicken and rice (get the reference???) As well as spicy food (he will he stuck on the toilet for god knows how long)

He can't stand seafood even though his mom loves it.

(Often takes his parents to seafood restaurants )

Has stolen El Matador’s hair dryer before and doesn't regret his actions.

After the “On Klaus Inspection” he has used his dirty socks to torture El Matador whenever he is being dramatic.

Uses blok as a shield all the time. I swear a Fricken cannon can go off in front of him and he will duck behind blok. 

His teammates can't understand his surfer slang

Shakes and Klaus have tried to…

Used to collect a huge amount of sea shells when he was younger. (his mom still has those and uses then to make little pictures frames for her pictures of  little North)

Has wanted to do the no bath challenge. Coach shut that idea down immediately

Blok

Josef Rybar is his real name

Love this man Brislovian

A little older that north

Also his Teddy is so cutee.

GUYS APPARENTLY HE HAS 2 OF THEM!!!!!AAHHHHh!!!

He definitely has tiny night suits for them including those little stupid hats.

He definitely has a big sister

I forgot he has a brother too. Attak

 I never understood how coach and SS used to communicate with him before Shakes arrived. Because if I am not wrong, Shakes was the first to learn brislovian in the team.

Anyway, he loves cold weather

Favourite food: mashed potatoes and French fries

Least favourite: chicken and rice.

 Afraid of heights

Snores….a lot

I can picture him being

a) a damn swimming god.               

b) he wears those little arm floating thingies when he swims

 Eagle eye

Does anyone know his real name? Cuz I can’t find it

late 20 or early 30s

Very very observant  (are you surprised)

Good cook

Likes hiking and nature.

Def used to carry a little book full of birds and looks for them when he was younger

Boy Scout maybe👀

Will never tell klaus that tho.

He has  2 older sisters but I can also picture him a big brother as well

Favourite food : ham sandwiches and stir fried broccoli 

Least favourite food: oysters 

THIS GUY USED TO PLAY FOR COSMOS??????

We need an episode on that!!!!! Excuse me Moonbug Entertainment?!!!!!! HELLO????

Ughhhh I love his hair

He is apparently one of the oldest members of the teamDef 2nd or 3rd oldest (1st being Rasta of course)

Very close to all the defenders including Gris and Rizo

Helps Griz when he feels sea sick

Mysterious  beautiful and smart man

He needs more screen timeeeee!!!

The trio hcs together

 North and blok come into eagle eyes house uninvited at times

Eagle is basically their babysitter

They hang out a lot at each others house

sBlok has become famous with eagles sisters

Blok gives north piggy back rides and once they forced eagle to have piggy back ride too

North is disgusted over the fact that one of eagles favourite food is broccoli 

North, Blok ,rizo, Griz and Eagle eye best team

Maybe North and the other defenders make sure to be with Eagle whenever they have a match with cosmos. 

Since Shakes el Matador, klaus and even blok himself have been victims of the other teams dirty play so they make sure that Eagle remains safe??

He is also the most observant guy in the whole team.

Kinda wanna see an ep on this

Hope you like this!! It took me a while to think about all 4 of them

[solitaryandwandering]

A Ramble: Love in the Big City Eps 5-6

Well, @lurkingshan welcomed me into this house of pain and I set up camp with full awareness of what awaited me. And yet. And yet. I cried so sadly at the end of episode 6. Genuinely, I don't think I've been this heartbroken watching anything recently. Gyu-ho is so wonderful. He didn't deserve Yeong shutting him out like that. But in the end, they just weren't right for each other. Not with all the heaviness Yeong carries with him, now. And poor Yeong. He was never malicious, never truly wanted to hurt Gyu-ho, but he's in so much pain. He's never been in a relationship like this, which asked for so little (yet so much). And so, here are my scattered, discombobulated thoughts.

On the cinematography front, I continued to geek out over how well each director is communicating Yeong's internal and external worlds. The last section saw Hur Jin Ho start to darken Yeong's world around the edges, still taking full advantage of environment and space. In this section, Hong Ji Young is much more economical. We have tighter shots, more close-ups (especially extreme) and fewer wide shots. Since we are much more in Yeong's head we are forced more into his perspective - what he is seeing takes precedence over placing an audience emotionally in a scene. Her direction is less stylized (which is not to say there aren't creative uses of camera) but that's not to say she lacks a stylistic vision. Rather, where prior sections relied more on movement or camera placement, Hong let lighting do much of the talking.

I mentioned yesterday that this section's color palette seemed more muted in comparison. Episode 6 was brighter but saturation didn't really change all that much, at least not from my perspective. What enhanced this perspective was Yeong's clothing, which was almost austere in comparison to how he dressed in the past. He's in dark colors, usually black, with stern or severe silhouettes. I think he's in lighter colors at work but that's it? Those are still pretty washed-out. I was especially taken with his long black coat, which has to have appeared in the past but I didn't notice it like I did in these episodes. It's like he never left the funeral garb behind. His long coat actually reminded me of Yeong Su's coloring style-wise (and of the brown coat he wears during their break-up). But maybe that's just me. I just can't let go of the ways I think we're visually supposed to see him haunting Yeong, especially after that dream sequence in episode 5. His clothing just seems... older. It reminds me of both of his older partners; maybe he feels like he needs to emulate them? Maybe he feels like he's not mature enough? I could also see Yeong Su showing up in the way Yeong broke up with Gyu-ho, though I think Yeong was catching himself from fully leaning into that. He smiled, he didn't answer Gyu-ho's questions or give any empty reasons, and so on. Yet, he still achieved that same cold detachment. Yeong Su is certainly there in the way Yeong carries himself: ramrod straight. Much of his looseness or vivacity in past episodes is gone. Could not get over how dead his eyes felt in this section.

Anyway, back to cinematography. It felt like to me the lighting was creating a slightly blurred effect, like we were seeing certain things in a haze. Obviously this is in one way a reflection of his depression. Sometimes it felt like it was reminiscent of him wading through a fog, of memories, trauma, dissociation, whatever it may be. In both episodes there is also really cool use of illumination of objects, people, or scenes. In episode 5 there's a scene where he is in his mom’s (oppressively dark) place and a single shaft of light cuts across pictures on the wall. Intentional darkening is used just as often as illumination or brightening. I'm pretty sure every time we get an extreme close-up of Gyu-ho's eyes they are cast in darkness rather than light, which is what you would assume would happen if he were, like, gazing into the eyes of someone he loves. But instead, he's in the dark. In one scene he is hanging up curtains in Yeong's apartment and turns from the light outside (towards Yeong in the dark). When we cut to the close-up we can still see a sliver of light behind him which casts him in darkness. He brings light but Yeong cannot receive it. Lighting (or lack of it) in this section more than in other parts colors/represents what Yeong feels, how he sees others, what he chooses to look at or acknowledge.

In line with that, I really appreciated that this director chose not to overly-romanticize this part. I know the original author wrote the screenplay so that is in part why it didn't feel that way but I do think in a lesser director's hands it could have been very easy to lean into Kdrama romanticism. Without having read the book I was concerned this section would feel like fan-service rather than a continuation of the overall story. I am so relieved not to feel manipulated. Beautifully mundane and sad!!

And can I just say, I love what a complicated and real character Yeong is?? I love him so much even while he infuriates me. Even while he allows his past traumas to influence this relationship with Gyu-ho. And I actually wonder about his motivations in pursuing Gyu-ho? He's obviously very attracted to him and has good chemistry with him in general, so it's not that I think he went into the relationship with false pretenses. But he obviously knows it's not the right time for what he feels like he wants, which is a serious relationship. Initially as he walks away from the subway he turns to go back when girls run by him and one screams that her mother will kill her for missing the last train. Is it a ���fuck you” to her that he decides to go after him? A feeling that he wants to live his life, pursue happiness in spite of this oppressive grief he feels? So much to untangle there. He's nothing if not fully human.

The last thing I wanted to get out of my head in this ramble was my thoughts about what themes I detected in this section. So here's what I’m thinking of: distance, shame, and honesty/communication.

All throughout this section I just kept hurting at how detached Yeong seemed from himself and everything around him. Completely distanced from his emotions. He goes into the relationship already with distance since he’s fresh off two horrible traumas, especially that of losing his mom. And he allows every small moment of perceived distance (mostly Gyu-ho not sticking to pre-established patterns Yeong has grown used to in his relationship to sex and intimacy) to widen that gulf. Writing is his passion but with each new rejection he allows himself to drown in it and creates even more distance. He's writing out reflections of their relationship instead of living it. Observing instead of feeling. He begins to enforce the distance he felt in his last relationship - all he wants is attention but is unwilling or unable to give it in this go-around. Even in the ways he opens up to Gyu-ho he maintains his fake-happy, carefree persona. Smiles are weaponized as a distancing tool. And in speaking with Gyu-ho he also can't resist making small digs at him about his job or intelligence. Gyu-ho is not given much opportunity to bridge distance even as they move in together. And what can Gyu-ho do when he is constantly rebuffed? He runs away, looks to fill the void with attention from other men. Returns, only for the cycle to begin again. "Constant goodbyes" as I believe Yeong puts it. As soon as their relationship begins he puts them in the rear view mirror. It's like he moves through much of their relationship as a representation of himself rather than as Yeong, himself. A shadow. When he actually places them in the rear view at the end of episode 6 he says "I guess you'll remember me as a joke you once heard a long time ago... The world's dirtiest joke."

Shame was the biggest thing coming up for me in these two episodes. For obvious reasons, of course. The reveal of his HIV (or "Kylie" which is his way of putting distance between himself and the disease, casting it in anonymity) was as shocking as it was expected. As an aside, this somewhat vindicated my personal interpretation of Kim Nam Gyu's death and subsequent empty funeral as a connection to the deaths of gay men with AIDS (including my uncle). I don't actually think they were necessarily trying to draw a line between the two but it hit me like a crowbar over the head so!

But yeah, Kylie is the obvious connection to that theme of shame. HIV in general carries a HUGE stigma globally, so much so that many countries including China (as we saw) have strict rules for travel of HIV+ folks. As far as I can tell in my brief search online, China ostensibly allows HIV-positive foreigners to come to the country but only for a period no greater than 90 days after which they will (and have) deported people. And that's just their official stance. Yeong discovered his status in maybe the worst way possible, in the military from a homophobic doctor, which colors the way he approaches it from then on. Medically discharged (as a reference, in the U.S. HIV-positive people are allowed to serve if they are asymptomatic and have an undetectable viral load, not sure how it is in Korea) he doesn't even tell his queer friends. This part made me so sad. How the queer community can shut other people out for something like this is deplorable especially considering our history. The T-aras demonstrate themselves to be bigoted in their negative regard of those with or suspected of having HIV, literally telling each other to "cover their glasses" when they see someone in the club who has been rumored to be positive. Yeong can’t wrap his head around being accepted for such a thing or as himself in general. Yeong traps himself in assumptions he makes of others and of himself. In some ways, those expectations are reinforced.

I wondered at why Yeong chose to tell Gyu-ho his status before anyone else. A part of me wonders if he intended this as another weapon of distance, so sure of this as being the thing that would cause Gyu-ho to run. I think he was completely unprepared for his total acceptance (he asks to ask for confirmation of his sincerity later in Bangkok) though it did make him happy. And once he has that acceptance he has no idea what to do with it. He is constantly pushing Gyu-ho away, only knowing how to ask for and accept the intimacy that comes with sex (which is - unprotected - what gave him HIV in the first place). He wants that easy fun he felt as a younger queer but is struggling to heal in this undemanding relationship. All Gyu-ho wants is quality time, emotional connection, a place to call home. Yeong has wanted this, needed this in the past but denied it time and time again he doesn't know what to do when granted the opportunity to have it. Gyu-ho doesn't want Yeong to be anybody except himself, gives him space and has healthy boundaries (practically non-existent in past romantic/platonic/familial relationships). He has nothing to fight against except himself and a world that doesn’t want him. Fighting against faceless rejections from publishers and bigoted HIV attitudes and restrictions are abstract battles, larger than just one person. When facing a bland job which wants a certain imagined version of him he can face off against his boss but she doesn't even show up in a way he can solidly face off against (wearing headphones blasting loud music, for instance). All he can do is fight Gyu-ho who doesn't even give him the battle he wants.

Gyu-ho is the first he tells about Kylie and it kinda feels like he’s punishing him for it sometimes? I’m not sure how much he shares about himself with him other than that. I don’t think Gyu-ho knows that his mom had just died when they started dating or about his past with Yeong-su. Gyu-ho assumes he has his life together and says he can’t understand what it is like to want something of your own. Yeong does nothing to dissuade him of the fact. He knows Gyu-ho can tell he's distancing himself and that makes him even more ashamed in himself and makes him lash out. Against the only person who knows his deepest secret and has wholly accepted him for it. How could he not hate himself for rejecting what he's always wanted?

Mi Ae shows up as another specter of his shame, using him as a prop. It is here that he becomes relegated to the "gay best friend" trope. To Mi Ae, he is perhaps the biggest representation of her "dirtier" or "shameful" past. She uses him to appear cooler to her younger sister-in-law(?) without fully claiming their relationship. The sister-in-law even jokingly flirts with him in the bar. Literally flaunting heteronormativity in his face. It does not feel as if he can fully own himself anymore. And when Gyu-ho moves in, they live together in a place Gyu-ho sees as his but was originally Mi Ae's, a place he was abandoned in, a place he tried to kill himself in. Shame festers and breeds in this space.

Honesty and communication is what bridges the gap, what heals shame. Yet, that is what Yeong cannot bring himself to do. He’s unmotivated to make a change in his approach to Gyu-ho and uses reticence as even more of an obstacle to genuine connection. He’s ashamed of himself and thinks of himself as dirty, undesirable. Yeong doesn’t even tell Gyu-ho about the HIV restrictions that keep him from applying to the job in China. Easy way out of their relationship, maybe, but it’s more about clinging to shame (is his shame is his remaining connection to his mom?). And in the end, he can’t even give him an honest break-up. His opinion of himself is so low he can’t help but prove it right. I think he sees Gyu-ho shrink into himself and comes to the conclusion he takes up too much space. ("I wonder why you sleep in silence. Maybe it's my fault. Maybe it's yours. Or maybe it was inevitable.")

In prior episodes Yeong's loves came in pairs: Mi Ae/Nam Gyu, Yeong Su/his mother. I wonder if Gyu-ho is the only love represented here. In prior sections love was more or less freely felt or offered even if toxic or lacking honesty. Unable to crack through Yeong's loneliness. Maybe the pair here is the absence of self-love. Or the absence of Yeong's ability to place his love in something external. In this section Gyu-ho shows him the love he was missing and wanted in prior sections but he is no longer open to it. He cannot show that love to himself. And maybe that's represented in the city, in Seoul. Big, teeming with potential, but also a lonely chasm where souls go to be lost.

Yikes, that was long. Largely nonsensical, I'm sure. I am terrified for how this show will end. This episode more than any other made me want to read the book RIGHT NOW (and make my brother read it). That's the sign of a good adaptation!

[adracat]

GWitch ep 19 thoughts

Every episode is a kick in the teeth with candy boots. A sweet misery you've known like no other. This episode was no different and I relished today's destruction as Mio and Prospera take center stage

That's a loaded statement if I've ever seen one. Really enjoyed this brief intro segment. We get Guel's thoughts on Kenanji; uninspired and suspicious, which are a vast change from his once admiration of the man. Guel also seems surprisingly chill about returning to Earth, but cryptically comments he wants to check the situation there and aid in negotiations. I like how Mio and him have fallen into this friendly rapport after everything. We'd like to see him apologize formally ofc, but it's not necessary for Mio. She's focused on greater concerns than the petty school days of Asticassia

Meanwhile, Suletta is a wreck. She's completely fallen apart after her mother and sister dumped her in space like hot garbo. She can't even plaster on a smile and lie to herself any longer. Earth House just thinks she's upset about the break up, so she isn't confiding in anyone at all. Suletta.exe has stopped working :(

Hilariously, Counselor Secilia has decided to make Martin her servant after listening to his confessional. It's great they make a distinct parallel to Miorine here, with Martin explaining he thought the best way to protect Earth House was to give up Nika. The show is filled with instances of people taking away another person's agency in the misguided belief they're doing 'what's best'. So good!

Real Elan finally gets more dialogue and he makes an excellent point, for once. The quickest and dirtiest way into Benerit's graces would be to forcefully suppress the earthian protests. A gundam, let alone one like Aerial, is a powerful statement of supremacy after all. Shaddiq is convinced Miorine would never allow it, and he's partly right. She wouldn't if she was the one truly calling the shots.

Feng is so cool for a spook. She successfully preys upon Belmeria's cowardice and gains her begrudging compliance. Really enjoyed the dynamic here at this little tea party. It was almost like a date 😳 Love me two older women with some tension. Is this the newest gwitch ship to take flight?

I love how Mio recognized these are peaceful protesters immediately. It's another instance of her demonstrating empathy on a greater level than she once did. Her initial ignorant comments about Earthians in cour 1 seem a distant memory, and much of it has to do with her exposure to Earth House. If not for them and Suletta, her pov would be just as narrow as every other spacian's.

And it's off to a terrible start lmao. I think Mio expected an uphill battle but those are some steep demands. A worldwide ban on spacians is unfeasible but absolutely warranted considering everything the spacians have done. Mio doesn't quite know how to counter, and it's so funny Guel left her here without help after previously saying he doesn't trust her diplomacy skills. I doubt he'd be much help tbh, but I guess he trusts her more than he said? Which is, uh, somewhat appreciated? It's the thought that counts.

Sad widow moment. Norea grieving Sophie's death and expressing her fear of death explicitly has been a long time coming. 5lan bearing witness as the floodgates open and she reveals they share this core dread? God this hit so good. You can't help but feel for these kids. Nika continues to watch on in bafflement as the drama unfolds. When is she gonna leave this level of purgatory?? Only Okouchi knows...

OMG, I AM SLAIN. Defeated. This sad husk of a girlboss misses her (ex) wife so much. Normal people would just have a wallet photo or a locket, but she's reduced to watching this goofy ass promo wistfully. I would find it hilarious if it wasn't so sad. It does give her the strength to continue negotiations so that's neat

More importantly, it reminds her of GUND's ideals and the people who've banded together because of that dream; Earth House. She cleverly points out that fulfilling their demands would also mean removing earthians from space, but she won't because they're her partners at GUND-ARM. Her showing them the medical achievements they've already made together was smart and tips the scales in her favor

I keep saying I love Mio but I really do. She's inspired to grasp the presidency for her own goals, rather than just as a tool for Prospera. She found a path of peace in spite of everything against her. It's bittersweet to know, in a kinder world, this would be the end of her struggles. But Prospera won't be satisfied with peace.

This shot was gold. Suletta raiding the fridge like an unwashed raccoon is perfect on so many levels. We finally get unbound Suletta too. Ugh she looks so good 😭

LOOK AT HER!! Babygirl. She looks like such a sad scruffy mutt here. I love it 🥹 Adored Earth House supporting her in her hour of need and giving her a boost with goat milk too. Really cements the rebirth imagery they had in the last episode.

Martin decides to slink home too and reveals everything going on with Nika. This bit from Lilique says it all. There are times when you are left with only so many options. While you may not choose the objectively best path, you can only pick what YOU feel is best. Miorine, Martin, Aerial. Even Delling and Prospera (Perhaps DoF and Shaddiq as well) It fits all the way across the cast.

I didn't expect to get the Shaddiq real name drop from this shakedown, but I'll take it. Kenanji may be a cop with blood on his hands, but he's a keen one. We learned that 'Prince' is a longstanding nickname and it implicates Shaddiq wholly in the terrorist attacks. 'Whoopsie, all my nefarious plans undone by one kid's rambling!'

(I also think the implication was Shaddiq or Jeru Ogul rather, is the 'heir apparent' to Ochs Earth virtue of his dead family. Not entirely certain tbh)

Looks like Guel will be Asticassia bound next episode along with Kenanji. No idea why Kenanji had to tag along but I guess Mio has enough of an escort. Let's hope this detour leads to Suletta using the Schwarzette! Fingers crossed

You saw it here, everybody. Prospera shot first! I'll admit I didn't fully expect her to go this route but it makes sense. I anticipated her gaining Mio support somehow, but she just cut the BS and said let's do this dirty. Controlling Earthian artillery to mask her intentions and provide an excuse is devious and brilliant

Destroying DoF's secret stache of gundams even more so. She really cut Shaddiq's plan for a cold war at the knees and Guel/Kenanji are on track to expose his duplicity entirely. He'll be lucky to not be jailed let alone president of anything. It's amazing that everything works out for Prospera no matter how many risks she takes or gambles made. Lady Luck must love her nonsense as much as the audience

Cut back to Bel and Feng, their date did not end as well as I hoped. While Bel spilled some details about Quiet Zero, Prospera's second hunts her down and interrupts this powow. Can't risk QZ leaking to the corpo spooks after all. We did learn that SAL is not as unified or well intentioned as we might have thought. Their high council was revealed to be backing Ochs Earth of all corps. Feng seemed to be an outlier in yet another shady corpo-controlled faction. I'll miss her, but maybe she somehow escaped this dire situation? I won't hold my breath. RIP Feng, you were a real one!

Elan Prime seems so smug to be right, even if it means their horse in this race has some real competition. He really is a little shit just like 5lan. That MS shot though. Damn evocative. War journalists eat your heart out. It's visual reference too, I believe?

This is the funniest thing he could've said. Shaddiq is malding just like a pathetic incel. Remember when everyone thought he pulled mad game because he's surrounded by women? But the sad reality is he's the most maidenless person in the solar system. The best outcome tbh.

Beyond the laughs, this line speaks so much about how he views Miorine. He views her little better than a prize only he's deserving of; a 'pure' princess to match his crusading prince. He repeatedly disregards her agency, seen in episode 9 when he acts like Suletta controls Mio and here when he blames Guel for what's happening on Earth. He's such a salty little worm.

Finally, we're left with Suletta and Earth House as they react to the chaos. Suletta recognizes instantly Miorine's innocence and her mother's culpability. This was why Aerial sent her away. This was what everyone is trying to shield her from. It was a moment of clarity I hadn't expected, but a very welcome one. Hopefully, this means she'll be spurred into action now that Mio is in very real danger. Schwarzette time? We can dream~

That next episode is incredibly ominous though. End of Hope? Considering they have that promo where GUND-ARM/earth house are the ray of hope... yikes. Let's hope I'm just reading into things and it's not that grim

Edit* additional musings:

A segment was deleted somehow so here it is

Miorine... You know, I've seen people having a bit of schadenfreude at her expense. 'she's so stupid, ofc this happened!' - that flavor of criticism. My counter to this is what could she have realistically done? She was strong-armed into this agreement and manipulated onto Earth. She dared to imagine a peaceful solution based on ideals she slowly grew to believe wholeheartedly. This isn't her fault, much as she thinks otherwise. I can see her willfully remaining on earth to try and correct this atrocity. Girl needs a big hug from her wife ;-;

[not-too-many-eyes]

Fun thing about Eva that I get to notice now that I've finished episode 3 is that her inclination towards nostalgia and romanticization of the past is nicely foreshadowed in episode 1:

Hideyoshi: Now this garden, was it just as magnificent when y'all were kids? Eva: From the time I left the House onwards, it started to really become something. Before that, the garden was simpler, but I'm still attached to that one though. Nii-san fiddled with it too much, with his slightly bad taste. It was better the way it was before. Hideyoshi: Eva, you've gotta think positive! Let the past go, ya hafta admire the prettiness of this garden now. That way, your heart'll be at peace. Eva: I didn't mean it like that… I was just saying that I wanted you to see this garden the way it was before too.

She calls the the garden (the past) simple, before it was tainted by someone else (Krauss.) Even though by all accounts that simple past never existed. Krauss is her Older brother after all, and it's not like Kinoz is a beacon of feminism. However, the simple fact that those events occurred "in the past" allows for distortion of the events within them.

This is also showcased with Evatrice to some extent. Eva conceptualizes the version of her that was a "young girl" as someone filled with magic, someone who is free from the heavy realities of the world and the responsibilities that she now has to face as Ushiromiya Eva.

To borrow some lines from Utena, it's almost as if Eva believes that:

And we get to see this distortion happen In Real Time in episode 3.

Something I harp on a lot on my Milgram (web series) sideblog is that murder is a form of removing someone from the narrative. Deeming their voice as unnecessary to the story that you want told. After all, when someone is dead it means they are unable to exert any sort of control over what happens around them. You can tell any story you want about the dead, and, generally speaking, they won't be able to contest it.

We can already see examples of this in Umineko before Ep 3. After all, Beatrice is "dead," and the ritual here is meant to "revive" her. However the narrative told around her and Kinzo's relationship by the ones alive, who only know it by people who heard it second-hand from Kinzo, is one of a tragic lost love. But when we actually meet Beatrice she tells a radically different version of events that would have otherwise been left hidden.

To return to Eva. We can actually see her rewrite the past, and her relationship with the dead in real time. Eva at the start of Episode 3 is wallowing in suicidality and self loathing. Being a housewife and sacrificing her ambitions to become a "real adult" is killing her. But she is being resigned to her suffering it, and attempting to craft a new life and new dreams she can grow attached to.

These regrets bleed into her current life, she's forced her dreams onto George, and grows more bitter and resentful day by day. The weight of her reality is starting to become unbearable, and as such she's desperately seeking a way to:

Eva: …I'll believe. I'll believe, so create a miracle with that magic… If you don't, the hole in my heart will never heal…

Evatrice comes in, her younger self "untainted" by the realities that haunt her. Able to use her magic to save her from the reality of being Ushiromiya Eva.

At this point Evatrice is Eva's escape from having to be Ushiromiya Eva. Her younger self acting as a power fantasy in which she can escape into. Though notably, Evatrice is also prone to romanticization, most notable in her actions with Rosa as she imagines a past for them that never actually...existed.

Evatrice: …Hey, Rosa. Do you remember, long ago, when we were small, when we used to talk about what it'd be like to become witches and fly around the sky? Evatrice: …That dream has been granted, hasn't it? I became a real witch and granted it for you.

My friend ran the math for the ages here. When Rosa was 5, Eva was already an adult. They were never small together. This is a distorted interpretation of the past that doesn't actually exist.

What Rosa remembers of their relationship is being horrifically abused in the psychological torture maze that is the Ushiromiya family. While Evatrice creates this sisterly bond that they haven't been able to indulge in since they were kids.

This brings me to Eva and Evatrice's confrontation after Hideyoshi's killing. Where Eva starts conceptualizing Evatrice as:

Eva: …I was gripped by that temptation, which is why you were born. While you are a young girl version of me, at the same time, you are also my self-centered evil heart. Because of my foolish greed sprouted by that mountain of gold, the shell of the egg that is my heart cracked, and you were born into this world… I am responsible for your birth…!

Completely different from the almost savior like version of her that existed in her head beforehand. Evatrice has now become a child who cannot "understand what made Hideyoshi so wonderful" who cannot understand the "dreams that she had as an adult" who cannot conceive of anything other than herself.

Now, I would like to remind everyone that Eva was already very good at being self-centered and evil before Evatrice was involved in any of this. For one, she has been organizing George's life so that she could vicariously live her dreams through him, and being horrifically misogynistic towards Natsuhi and Jessica in the process.

But also, more importantly, she is rewriting her own feelings about her life with her family in real time!

Evatrice: …What the heck? Our dreams were made real with magic, right? We solved the riddle of the epitaph. Then we found the gold and got the Head's Ring. All of our dreams came fully true, right? What more could you want…? Eva: Those weren't all of my dreams…!! What about living a wonderful life with that person and giving George an excellent life…?! I still have many dreams that haven't come true…as a wife, as a mother…!! And yet, and yet…!

Now, I'm not necessarily saying these dreams don't exist. They do!

I Am However saying that Eva is flattening the emotional reality of the situation in order to ignore the complex feelings that she doesn't want to interrogate, and in the process distorting the lived past.

Again, Eva was bordering on suicidal because of her life with Hideyoshi. There was a wound in her heart that she could not heal. Pushing her dreams onto George wasn't enough. Trying to get one over Krauss wasn't enough. These aren't enough to fill what she has lost, and what she has lost is...well.

Ushiromiya Eva is still unable to conceive of herself as the true successor of the family head:

Eva: …But now I see that's just a lie! Just an excuse that the have-nots make for themselves!! In front of this mountain of gold, I've finally realized something so obvious…!! By using this money, I can give birth to all the happiness in this world! With this money, my husband's company is already saved. We will always be happy as a family. And I can even leave a vast sum of money to George…!! The rest of the relatives will eventually be ruined and disappear. At that time, George will use this gold, and just like Grandfather did, he will revive the Ushiromiya family's lost honor. George is the true successor to the Ushiromiya family!!

She's pulled herself out of the running for a long time now since she was born a woman. That still hasn't changed. The wound is still infected, antiseptic has Not Been Applied to it!

Her "adult" dreams are the dreams she gained when she abandoned the idea of being able to fulfill her ambitions. This doesn't make those dreams "bad" persay, but they were created out of this ingrained understanding that as a woman she will be unable to fulfill her true desires.

And yet, she's created this narrative that Evatrice was her greedy evil self that sprouted from her diseased heart unable to "give up" her "childish fantasies" of holding power in the world. She's just a child that:

Eva: A child like you cannot understand what made that man so wonderful!! Oooooooooooooooohhhh, dear, aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!

So, to go back to the romantization of the past.

Why does Ushiromiya Eva romanticize her relationship with Hideyoshi?

It wasn't as happy as she makes it seem! Eva's "Good Happy Wife" behavior is something she crafts purposefully!

This time, it was Gohda. It looked like they'd kept everyone waiting too long after all. Even Eva had to stand up without grumbling now. She had to stop forcing her bad mood onto her husband and causing him any more trouble. Because that wasn't someting a 'good wife' would do.

And in this same scene Hideyoshi says that her genuine fear at having horrifically fucked up George's life (another point in how Eva's family life isn't exactly how it seems like) is just "her hormones acting up." One google for misogony in the Medical Field can tell you how, even if it's just him covering for Eva, calling her "hormonal" holds Implication. Not to mention how his scene trying to talk down Evatrice is him reminding her of her duties as a wife. Nice is not the same as Good.

And yet she still holds onto it. Again, she flattens her own feelings and compartmentalizes them. Rejecting her own power fantasy, and casting Evatrice out from herself, denying that she has any want to do those things. Why would someone do that?

Well, there's a lot of reasons. People need to cope with reality after all.

And again, Hideyoshi is nice, not good.

Hideyoshi "Enabler" Ushiromiya is one of the few things keeping Eva from killing herself. Every time she has a breakdown about her life and how she's done wrong to others. Hideyoshi is there to reassure her that she's done nothing wrong actually and that she's a perfect wife and mother.

Eva: ......I....I wonder if I've been using George as a tool for my own revenge....I wonder if my childish hostility towards Nii-san has caused me to treat the boy's life as a toy.... ....Aah, what have I done...What have I...! Hideoyshi: That isn't true. George is our wonderful son, and he'll always perform admirably wherever he goes. Eva, even if you let your own hopes get in the way a bit, everythin' turned out okay in the end, hasn't it?! You haven't done anythin' wrong. In fact, George is grateful for the strict discipline you gave him, right?

We know he's wrong here! Literally a few paragraphs before this Eva was admonishing herself for doing this exact thing!

Evatrice: …Even though Father and Krauss ruined your life, you're trying to push your dreams onto your son, ruining his life. Is that what you call being an adult? Eva: G-George is a son I'm proud of, one who won't embarrass himself no matter where he goes…! The dream I wasn't granted might come true for George…! Jessica's a delinquent in both her grades and her behavior. And she's a woman! If only Jessica would step down, George would become the heir…! Even saying it was painful. Am I just forcing my own regrets onto George? It's not like I have any right to look on Jessica with scorn. Wasn't I just horrible for hitting her with the same words that had caused me so much suffering…? …I understand. I understand… The desire to triumph over my brother is part of my own personal revenge. I can't use George for that…

We also have a very good reason to believe that George Ushiromiya in fact...is not grateful for the strict discipline his mom gave him. In fact quite the opposite actually! Hideyoshi is acting as Eva's instant gratification husband. Saying what she wants to hear even if it doesn't really help in the long term.

Do also note that Eva called her hostility towards Krauss here "childish." Already downplaying the extent of the abuse she experienced due to him.

To acknowledge Evatrice's power fantasy as part of her own existence, she must first acknowledge a lot of conflicting emotions and deeply upsetting truths. Both before the murders and after it.

And Ushiromiya Eva just...cannot do that in the state she is in at the start of episode 3.

[aswho1estuff]

I love it, my designer

EP #2

Dior for I adore, Versace I can't stay away

Plot- Taylor feels understood, cherish, and quite frankly loved the problem is her husband isn’t anywhere in the equation. The root of the problem is the model her husband assigned her to photograph.

Masterlist

"Lemme lock this up and we're out" I say putting my keys in my purse. "Not the silent treatment" I announce laughing. Looking up I follow Diana's gaze to meet Hyunjin.

"Oh, hi Ms. Carter, and ?" Hyunjin says walking over."Hey this is Diana my friend, what are you doing here today?" I say shaking his hand after Diana "Well I'm moving my activities under this company and need a stylist soon, So everyone told me come to you".

"You should definitely work with Sasha then, she's one of the best assets here" Diana jumps in poking me forward. "That would be wonderful actually" Hyunjin grins at Diana. Pushing her I say "Don't mind her, when do you need the outfit".

"I'll need them in two weeks actually, one for the carpet and another for the after party" he lets out low. I sigh laughing "I'm gonna need all your time these two weeks then no debates". "My lips are sealed" Hyunjin whispers.

"We should take him to lunch with us then" Diana says quickly almost giving me whiplash "you know for business and time management and stuff" she lets out sheepishly.

"And that's when she came with me up to that school id never seen those girls so scared before" Diana cackles at the retailing making me and Hyunjin laugh. "You've always been so caring huh" he says leaning over.

"she has don't let her tell you otherwise, that's why I'm glad you were able to care for her yesterday" Diana says softly she's always worried about me even though I'm older. "It was my pleasure really, I enjoyed every minute truly" Hyunjin states smiling.

"did something happen that day though before I came? if I can ask of course" Hyunjin asks low. "It's alright it was just my anniversary that day and it didn't go how I planned it would" I elaborate.

"I didn't know it was your anniversary I would have got you something" "Hyunjin you don't have to do that, it's alright" I cant fathom the thought that he and Diana would be the only ones who'd actually given me a gift.

"Well if not for your anniversary then I should get you something for our anniversary yesterday was the first day we met. You became my photographer and now stylist I think our relationship will be a long and beautiful one" Hyunjin says smiling. "Oh sorry y'all, my rides here gotta head back to the office but have fun" Diana says grabbing her purse as we wave her off.

"let's get to business then, your manager has messaged me with your brand deals so we can hit up a shop nearby for inspiration" I say muddling through my purse grabbing my wallet. "No need I've already got it" "you sure?" I ask "I want to".

Ohh this purse is cute wait look at those shoes. "You should try them on, a little pleasure with business is okay" Hyunjin slightly smiles. "I couldn't.... maybe just for a second" I say grabbing the shoes from him. Throwing my shoes off I put them on "wow okay she's cute" I say pointing to the shoes "indeed she is" Hyunjin adds laughing.

"okay let me take em off before I get attached" gigging I sit down reaching for the shoe Hyunjin stops my hand "you don't want them?" He asks confused. "I shouldn't Ive got enough shoes really you know" I reply slowly pulling off the shoes. These are gonna live in my dreams for weeks "but you can never have too much of what you like" Hyunjin says helping me up.

"well I think daniel would disagree and he's right I do have too many shoes, I probably wouldn't wear them often anyways I'm more of a purse girl" I say putting them back.

"You've got a package" Daniel says putting it on the bed. "Thanks?" I tell him as he walks out resuming his phone conversation closing the door. Versace? This can't be I think Opening the box to find a note.

"I got the black purse so you can switch with the white one you have. Our first anniversary of many years to come I hope." - Hyunjin

Masterlist

<-Ep. #1 Ep.#3->

[guileheroine]

arcane s2 act 1 thoughts

getting my impressions down before act 2 so i can remember how things felt at this point in time before everything gets blasted open :)

aughghhhhjjjjjjjjhhhhj

above all: it’s exciting to watch a show that’s technically incredible also be so tight in terms of writing, where you trust it enough to really immerse yourself w/o reservation. and moreso it’s so nice to be trusted to do some work as a viewer, interpret the ambiguities instead of being force-fed all the beats. and to have something so detail rich, dense and deftly constructed that you can mine it endlessly (as someone who’s seen s1 10-ish times lol)

they are packing so much story into these episodes compared to s1 act 1 and i won't be able to imagine all this tied up in 6 more eps until i see it - i wonder how it would feel as a slower paced show

the loungewear and rose petals really give the new opening a boudoir vibe. grateful!

no scene scratched my id like viktor leaving jayce — his open acknowledgement of their divergence (in those words no less) and the fact of their partnership being dead from the beginning

^for me the core of the story has long been what i call the two JV divergence arcs

relatedly, viktor in the black hood has there ever been a lük more instantly iconic. he has a STAGGERING face card. i look forward to further jayvik divorce proceedings but want him to meet the other undercity protags so bad, he seems poised to take on a similar role in the Cause as jinx

i really loved the opening scene between mel and jayce. it seems mel shielded him. i got tingly at her drawing the line at weaponising hextech and reaffirming her commitment to jayce and viktor's vision. their hextech dream, #ot3, # heres how meljayvik can still win!!!

the fight choreo, music, stylistic choices and just the marriage of form and content still feel thrilling. fortiche i am once again kissing your feet, vive la france

i dig this caitlyn arc. in s1 she didn’t quite pass muster against the rest of the cast bc it felt like the degree of naïveté needed to keep her as pure as it seemed they wanted her, was a hard sell in an ostensibly smart and capable character, in an ensemble where everyone else felt like much more textured products of their circumstances. i always thought that instead of the noble oblivious thing it would’ve been more seamless and meaningful if she’d been conscious but ambivalent about all the gross injustice, only digging deeper once it became personal via vi

and now!! feeling gratified bc i think they’re doing that arc, just in reverse: as soon as it becomes personal in the other direction, you see that her grip on the bigger picture is conditional and easily blinkered. it emphasises her previous passion about justice for zaun as deriving partly from the self-righteousness that's also an underacknowledged effect of privilege, instead of simple empathy. (plus the fairweather allyship is… a very resonant theme lmao and quite cool to see it depicted how the correct nudge, a taste of what the system deals out to others, will make the most earnest of listeners-and-learners retreat to their worst biases about the 'other'. the protofascist seed in every member of a cozy ruling class. honestly one of their most excellent writing choices)

i think cait hit vi on that stab wound from sevika which surely cannot have fully healed yet. ouch

absolutely loving jinx and sevika in the post-silco world, they are getting to come into their own in terms of motivations. absolutely obsessed with the smeech fight heheee

i can’t tell if jinx is doing better or worse. something soothing about the suicidal clarity though i don’t think her passivity is new—in s1 she was incredibly perceptive about what she was to silco but sort of resigned to it, so it's kinda exciting where she could go without his tether even though i miss silco sooooo much. i wonder if being in her Older Sibling Era (and vi being in her Abandoned Era) will help jinx and vi connect (🚨wishful thinking🚨, but somebody should write it)

“im glad it’s you / had to be you” has made me ILL since hearing it in that one teaser and now that it’s in context i might just throw up i cannot believeee we get a sister dynamic like this

vi rock bottom🤗 i couldn’t decide if she legit felt jinx was beyond the pale or did a hard swerve putting all her eggs in cait's basket, trying to bifurcate powder and jinx for the sake of, i guess, emotional self-preservation, with the notion of powder that had sustained her fully extinguished. love a protag so earthy and intense while being an unmitigated flop before the fateful tide of the story, and in that way she’s still very dean winchester-coded. also in that i want to see her bloody and crying, though at this point one win might be a relief

ambessa fox mode let’s goooo! i am curious if/when she’ll slip which i think could come down to something explosive with mel (🤞) or caitlyn realising she manipulated her in her griefblind state

idk if it just needs time or if it’s the unfillable silco-shaped hole, but so far the dialogue this season isn’t as sticky ?? (compared with s1 where they didn’t waste a word). but at least everyone’s hotter

i like heimerdinger more now that he’s ekko’s pet. i like jayce and ekko meeting lifetimes after “he didn’t even haggle”: they are just drinking tea and investigating the arcane not even realising their semi-interaction precipitated the instigating tragedy of Arcane. the world would never be the same. i hope they survive what may or may not be the time warp intact D:

the “it’s not supposed to be like that” with sevika and jinx and the bombs what is going on??? 👀👀

i'm glad theyre releasing this right in time to carry me through the winter. seasonal depression out, seasonal hyperfixation in

[adidegmez]

spn s15 spoilers

s15 ep1(back and to the future)

one last time, the road so far. the demon is funny. i love big brother dean. their lat scene was awesome. we got work to do, this Show is going to kill me. this is the last season. their story will end. probably with a sad ending. i dont want to say goodbye.

s15 ep2(raising hell)

ketch! hi ketch. he knows how to make an enterance. rowena and ketch? rowena cared about jack. amara, i didnt think we would see her. kevin, ive missed you. where is jack, he was in the empty what is he doing now? we started saying goodbyes with kevin. and this will go on. i hate goodbyes.

s15 ep3(the rupture)

i miss crowley. ketch died. They're slowly removing everyone from the story. We're nearing the end. and now rowena. rowena is complicated, i love her. i thought rowena would want sam to kill her so that she could e the queen of hell or something like that. maybe she can return as queen of ell that would e nice. adam is still in the cage. dean, why are you so mad at cas? cant you forgive him? i wouldnt want their story to and like this but dean sam and cas theyre alive. there are 17 eps left. things will go bad. i hope they can get a happy ending, i hope they will all live but i dont think they will.

s15 ep4(atomic monsters)

i thought i saw benny. we got him and lost him in a minute. dean is gorgeous(i had to say it, he is always gorgeous). i love seeing deans smile, sam and cas too but dean is different, he is my favorite. becky, wow, she has a family? i would love to see team free will just doing laundry and talking with eachother without worrying about monsters. im happy for becky. becky youre gonna ruin winchesters life. poor boy it wasnt his fault but if he cant control it he has to die. if only there could be another way. Did Jensen sing the song? If anyone knows the name of the song, can you tell me? dean is hopeful we need that but Chuck is not gone. and he is going to ruin things. he will make the winchesters suffer, just because he enjoys it and doesnt like the winchesters anymore. and thats why i hate him

s15 ep5(proverbs 17:3)

why is sam having those dreams? is Chuck messing with his head? everyone is confused about deans pictures but he looks the same maybe a little bit older but same look. he even has the same hair. sam is the one WHO changed he look very different especially his hair. that doesnt make any sense everyone is suprised at deans not sams? lilith?!! only thing thet can kill the god (except jack i think) is gone. nice there is a link they can use that link. you were never free dean. i wish amara ould help them. maybe se will help them. but they need jack.

s15 ep6(golden time)

now eileen. Chuck is trying to break the winchesters. Dean doesn't seem to care because he's tired of playing Chuck's games and there doesn't seem to be any way they can beat Chuck right now. If they can find a way, Dean will go back to his old self. and they will beat Chuck. together, team free will (2.0 maybe jack will come too). what happened to banes twins. will we see them again? eileen is okay. well at least we have one good thing. Chuck is messing with cas now.

s15 ep7(last call)

dean is amazing, jensen is amazing. i love when he sings. he was happy at that bar, i love seeing him happy. it was good to see him happy in this last season, i hope we can see them happy more. sam cant die. they can beat Chuck but they still need help(maybe jack can help them)

s15 ep8(our father, who aren't in heaven)

they finally remembered adam. i love donatello but i miss kevin. hello rowena! i miss crowley, im glad she is the one whos in charge. i love rowena. adam is out of the cage. eileen and sam could be together. Chuck will kill eileen, right? Dean, you shouldn't still be mad at Cas, we're getting close to the end and you two shouldn't stay on bad terms anymore. i want jack back, when is he coming? okay, i hate Chuck. i used to love him when he was just a prophet but as god no i dont like him. he just watched all of them suffer and enjoyed it. and he is stil hurting them. he is a monster. i like this Michael. thanks to cage and adam he is better now. adam is in a better situation than the others. purgatory, i hope we can at least see benny.

s15 ep9(the trap)

of course chuck was behind all of this. benny is dead. when someone dies in purgatory where would they go? i thought they would born again in purgatory. dean finally forgave cas. No, this ending definitely wouldn't happen. Even if Sam and Dean had turned into monsters, they wouldn't have become monsters. They wouldn't have fought Bobby and Jody. They would have let them kill themselves. Cas is getting the mark. I hope this doesn't end badly like Dean's. jack!!! yes. why is billie doing this? idc Shell bring jack back. and he'll beat god. how can the light be bad? if hes bad, how can there be balance?

s15 ep10(the heroes' journey)

do they have bad luck or something? its Chuck isnt it? i heard some people say, garth didnt named his kid dean because he knew sam would name his kid dean and this makes sense to me. at least nothing bad happened to garth and his family. yeah they cant be normal. it was funny to see them like that but this isnt WHO they are.

s15 ep11(the gamblers)

hi jack! you finally came. my heroes. they are going to save the World. with cas and jack.

s15 ep12(galaxy brain)

I had forgotten about Kaia. Jack now has powers but he won't be able to use them. Kaia will be a problem. i hate Chuck. he is bored so he is destroying worlds. he needs to go. i loved old dean more.

s15 ep13(destiny's child)

when i watched about scoobynatural, i thought team would travel through different universes. for at least one season we couldve just watch them travel have fun save people but no they cant have fun more than one episode. if someone would help jack he can rule instead of Chuck. jack doesnt have a soul but he is good. i wish he had his soul. i loved meg. jack got his soul back, finally.

s15 ep14(last holiday)

i love deans reaction. cant they live like this? they are happy. of course they cant, Chuck wouldnt let that happen. Jack began to speak his father's language:) . dean, the birthday cake was nice. i love them.

s15 ep15(gimme shelter)

dean lied again.first to other kaia now amara. i hope he can keep his promise so he wouldnt be lying. jack will sacrifice himself. hopefully cas will find a way.

s15 ep16(drag me away (from you))

i hate seeing winchesters fight, especially when it's so close to the end. I hope they can be back to normal before this is all over.

s15 ep17(unity)

jack's not family? dean how could you say that he is your kid, he is a winchester. i love amara. i hope jack and amara can spend time with eachother. i hate Chuck. he manipulates everyone. it was Chuck all along. if only dean didnt lie to amara. she was nice she was trying to help but now she is dead. now jack is dying again.

s15 ep18(despair)

i want to say jack cant die but i cant be sure of anything. the story is ending in 3 episodes. billie didnt change she always wanted this. okay jack is alive nice. since this is the ep i can say it. cas will die in this ep and i know it. i knew it for a while i hoped this day would never come but here we are. this will be the day i learn this storys ending. i hate billie too. billie left her toy. does that mean theyll reap god and hell die like that and billie read it so she left the weapon to kill Chuck. i love Charlie. she was happy. eileen is gone. i thought maybe she and sam could be together. i love donna. i love garth. i love jody and the girls. i love bobby. Charlie bobby donna i thought they were safe, theyre gone now. i know how this will end cas will summon empty it will kill death and cas. i hope this wont happen but it will. cas will die. their story will end. cas is gone. and he didnt day goodbye to sam and jack. he saved dean. cas is gone.

s15 ep19(inherit the earth)

what is happening to jack? how can they beat God? how can they win? i hate Chuck. he killed miracle. Michael! adam is gone too. i didnt think we would see Michael again. and i didnt think i would be happy to see him but i am. there may be hope yet. maybe they can do something together. i cant deans reaction to lucifer was funny but i cant laugh. he thought cas was alive he thought he came bak and it wasnt cas he saw lucifer. i never thought we would see lucifer. i love lucifer when he is not serious or when he isnt trying to end the World. so he is good for now. i hate lucifer again. yes! Michael killed lucifer, i cant believe it. Michael betrayed them. i liked him. i cant trust anyone but team free will 2.0. i hate Chuck. i would take that ending, i would. they won but hey lost everything but they won and theyre together except cas. there is still one ep left. and evertones back. this is not the perfect ending because cas is not here but its a good ending. if only it was the end. because they are alive. they live. this felt right but why is there another episode. i hope we just see them grow old and live their lives but we wont. i know we wont. i just wish we could. i dont want to watch next ep. i know that ep broke everyone. i know how it ends. but why this should have been the ending. this felt right it wasnt complete but it felt right. this couldve been the ending why make us suffer more? of course i dont want it to end but if the story ending i would want it to be like this. this i want to say perfect but its not cas is gone but it was okay. im not ready to watch the next ep. but here we go one last ep. their story is ending here.

s15 ep20(carry on)

what happened to carry on? why didnt it play. i wanted just one thing i hope it at least plays in the end. im okay with just wathing them live their life without a big bad guy or something. why? why? why? it was always sam and dean, always. why end it like that? they were happy they were together they were both alive. i dont want to say it but dean is gone. sam is alone. bobby, hi! cas is alive?! that what they deserved as heaven. but dean shouldve had more time with sam. but im not going to complain they all can be together again. tahnks to jack and cas. yes this ending break me but it was beautiful. in the end they are happy and they are together forever. i just wish we couldve seen at least cas and jack.

this story was beautiful 2 brothers together with the help of their frinds and family they saved the World. and they got the ending they deserved it was meant to be like this dean would die and sam would live for everyone WHO died. spn writers i think they gave us a gift with jack, they made heaven a good place they made heaven what it was meant to be. and thanks to them and jack winchesters and everyone we cared about is happy. anyway im glad i witnessed their story for 15 seasons i laughed and cried with them. they mean so much to me all of them.

i dont want to say goodbye so this is a see you later because ill be seeing them. ill always remember them. i love all of them. i love dean sam cas jack bobby mary john kevin Charlie jody donna crowley rowena and the others WHO helped winchesters WHO loved winchesters.

im really happy im a part of this fandom. ill never leave here. im looking forward to see spn stuff. so

see you later

[ignoranxed]

EDIT: I just realised I watched till ep 2 without realising and put some ep 2 content on here as well, so I'll be making a seperate post with some more content from both the wos in a bit!!

MONN guess who’s watched ep 1&2 for our #vvrewatch2024!! i was legit kicking my feet, giggling like a 15 year old, going absolutely BALLISTIC at peun and talay and their universe travelling friendship 😭😭😭

here is a brief rundown of my thoughts on these episodes. there are definitely SEVERAL more things that I thought/felt while watching but your girl isn’t so inept with an online community watch party hehe. don’t you worry, though!! that shall definitely get better in the coming few weeks!! now for the rundown

1. how young were our boys?? like ik they’re both old enough (older than me at least!!) but do you see they were such babies??? ohh man i missed my clumsy talay and my cutely annoying peun 😭😭😭 i mean just look at them mon

2. i cannot help but notice and appreciate how much care and attention this show was made with. like look at the colours in this picture

i wish i’d taken a video of this scene because what mastery. the colours, the angles, the background score, the sets, the sheer artistry of this production never ceases to amaze me and you shall be hearing a lottt more about it from me in the coming weeks, my love.

3. borrowing from my previous point, this show is soo magical, mon. like this point is just an appreciation for moments like the one below. i remember watching this one with goosebumps because the lighting, jimmy’s singing, js’s acting, the camera angles everything just makes you feel like you’re in a dream. maybe that’s how it was for peun & talay over here because i’m universe travelling ???? and i found someone from my own universe ??? like what??? too good man, i really cannot fall in love with this show enough

4. i do not have a picture for this, but throughout these eps, in the scenes where you see the switch between sea and ohm, there are so many instances where you can see the confusion/hope/conviction in sea’s face (it also translates into ohm’s btw) as he tries to get this pakorn to talk to him and get back to his universe/life. i’ll take a picture to show you in my next post maybe (because a girls texting you from work lmaoo) but this was just one of those parts where you could see the care and attention that went into making VV

5. bonus point. this scene was hilarious 🤣🤣 sea swearing will always be soo cute to me, like look at this cutie patootie swearing heheheh

6. second bonus point. again no pic, but what a gift ep1 must’ve been for the bad buddy fans?? since vv was my first bl, i was admittedly CLUELESS during my first watch of the show. with this rewatch though, since i’ve already watched bbts, i can really see how much people would’ve lost their minds during ep 1&2. the fact that we even got milklove??? chef’s kiss 🤌🏽🤌🏽🤌🏽

that’s all of my thoughts for the first 2 eps mon!! i cannot wait to hear your thoughts babe, and sooo excited for this communal rewatch experience :)))

@stormyoceans @cryingoverweiying get on with the watch and tell me your thoughts asap, besties!!

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - 2 GREAT Shows but everything else is kinda blah

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top. Happy new year, BLabies!

Jan 2024 Wk 1

Ongoing Series - Thai

Last Twilight (Fri YT) ep 9 of 12 - This show is really earning its chops, and these actors are executing beautifully. I think this is a great BL, and it reminds me quite a bit of ATOTS, only the physical comfort between the actors is more genuine and easy to watch. Unfortunately a guitar came out. Nice communication tho.

That was a very lovely romantic sex scene. Very prettily done. Classy boys, very classy.

Gah what a beautiful final scene with Day saying the last thing he wants to see is Mhork. Pure unadulterated romance of the highest order.

The Sign (Sat YT) ep 7 of 12 - If killer, why hot? Poor Tarn compelled to try to rescue everyone else from their fate, because he cannot save himself from his.

Meanwhile Phaya is finally learning that you catch more water snakes with honey lube than vinegar.

Stellar confession from Phaya brutally honest and very fated mates.

And another lovely sex scene, so I guess that was a vision and not a fantasy Tharn had.

Lets be clear those two shows were GREAT everything else this week was kinda blah.  

For Him (Thurs iQIYI) ep 6 of 12 - I find the backstory very odd. Are they twins? What happened to Blue? Am I meant to care? Do I care? 

Twins the series (Fri GaGa) ep 10 of 12 - I mostly just feel sorry for First. He’s so rightfully confused. Zee/Sprite keeps blowing hot and cold because they two different people! The after sex cuddle was cute. 

Pit Babe (Fri iQIYI) ep 8 of 14 - Love getting more JeffAlan. Also I switch favorite character allegiances in the trash watch happening here.

Cooking Crush (Sun YT) ep 6 of 12 - Didn’t air this week and I hardly noticed. 

You and My Stars YT 1 of 2(?) - school kids, love triangle, it’s cute enough.

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) 1626 ep 20 of 24 - Just so boring. 3/10 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

VIP Only (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 8 of 10 - I’m not into the love triangle. Although I kind of like the new suitor, he’s honest and a good communicator. I appreciate these things in a BL boy. But I begin to wonder if triangles should be left for KBL. Also, this should have been an 8 epper, 10 is too long.

Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 5 of 8 - No ep until Jan 12 

I Became the Main Role of a BL (Japan Sun Gaga) ep 1-3 - AKA BL Drama no Shuen ni Narimashita: Crank Up Hen - A rising star is paired with an (older) former child actor (doesn’t think he’s good enough) in a BL series. It’s fun, built on a dynamic of off screen paralleling the on screen, so near constantly meta. All the tropes are there but are as a result of the filming process. The star turns out to be obsessed with the former actor and very dorky about it. In fact, everyone in this show is a little gremlin weirdo (affectionate). There’s tons of scenery chewing miscommunication drama, slapstick, voice over head hopping, and eccentric sides characters. “And he comes with feathers” applies to a number of my friends. You know I don’t like stories around fan obsession, but otherwise this was enjoyable. 8/10

A nice start to the JBL year. Keep em coming, Japan.  

It's done I Need to Catch up

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - will binge when I have a spare day.

It's Airing But...

[INTERNATIONAL] Cherry Magic (Sat YouTube) ep 3 of 12 - yeah Japan put the smack down on our boys. Sadness. You can use a VPN if you like. Read all about it here.

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 14 eps - Dear Playboyy, it's not you, it’s me… I hate you. You’re about as deep (and as palatable) as a shot glass of cum. While I'm sure you’re someone’s kink, you're my weakest link. Goodbye. I DNFed this at ep 5. Frankly I'm impressed with myself for getting that far.

Night Dream (Sat YT) 6 eps - It’s a pain to track down and I really didn’t like the first episode so… DNF  

The Whisperer (Sun ????) 10 eps - Thai horror BL that ALSO involves cheating (what joy is mine). I don't think even the perfect single dimple can motivate me to watch. Word is... it's terrible.

7 Days Before Valentine (Weds WeTV) 10 eps - Giving me Luminous Solution vibes. I'm waiting to binge if safe.

Dead Friend Forever (Thai Sat iQIYI) - horror, meh, tell me if it's worth my time?

In Case You Missed it

All my year end round ups (so far) are as follows:

TOP 10 BL Trends of 2023

Top 10 BL Secondary Pairs of 2023

2023 BLs Best Trope Execution Awards! TOP 10

Best Back Hugs Thailand & Elsewhere

BL 2023 - Cute Bits of Domesticity

BL 2023 - Boys Feeding Boys

BL 2023 - BOOP!

All the BLs Announced for 2023 that didn't happen

Next Week Looks Like This

Starting This Week:

1/9 Time the series (Thai Gaga, WeTV, Channel 3) 10 eps - MFlow Entertainment brings us yet another "fix the past" narrative. After witnessing the gunning down of his beloved, a heartbroken actor uses a magic pocket watch to go back in time and discover the truth and maybe fix it.

1/11 Although I Love You and You AKA Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka (Japan Gaga) - Soga, who, after a divorce and relocation to Osaka, seeks solace in dining at 26-year-old Sakae's restaurant. Unbeknownst to Soga, Sakae sees him as more than just a regular customer.

More Coming Jan 2024

Beside You (Thai YouTube)

Love For Love's Sake (Korea ????)- based on the Manhwa ‘Love Supremacy Zone’ by Hwacha. A young man is dropped into a game based off a novel he loves. His mission is to make another player, YeoWoon happy. But then the game starts unfolding completely different from the novel.

Ossans Love Season 2 (Japan ????) - five years later, will anything have changed? This is Japan so... probubly not. I won't be watching this.

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Yes, you SHOULD apologize!

This was a FANTASTIC moment! Last Twilight

Night Dream referencing the Shrimp Trope.

Some didn't like this bit BUT I love a claiming moment, even in a briefing room... especially there.

I ALSO love a good Grandma Moment in a BL.

Such a good sex scene. The Sign

(Last week)

[septembersghost]

people have been so mean about EP's looks and health later in life but something I loved in the movie was how it points out his voice. his voice was almost too powerful. even though he was suffering, he kept singing with all his might.

that part in the movie is when i fully break (if i can dream breaks me for different reasons 💖). that old voice rang out, and he sang with all his life. he is singing for his life. he's singing for everything, with everything he has. the film underscores this for us with such frankness and compassion. it was love. all along, it was love.

i have an excerpt saved somewhere about his voice and how he worked to keep expanding and improving it, how its tone got even more rich and full, the golden qualities it took on. since i can't find it right now and that's going to bother me, i'll use some others!

sherrill nielsen (the gospel tenor who sang backup for e with the imperials/voice) said it really well: "He got even more maturity in his voice as he got older; I was often amazed at his range, just as one singer listening to another. He could sing anything. I've never seen such a versatility, and in fact I don't see it today. Usually a voice can sing one way, but he had that ability about him, and he helped me to learn the importance of communication with an audience. He had such great soul. He had the ability to make everyone in the audience think that he was singing directly to them. He just had a way with communication that was totally unique."

if you listen to him sing from that later period, there are these aspects of his voice that go from like honey to thunder, bell to timpani. all the romanticism and sensuality from when he was young matures into that embrace of aching soulfulness, and yet he could still be sweet and light, and funny too. the spiritual songs feel even more inspired. the love songs more warm and yet sometimes more sharp-edged all at once, the robustness of his voice threaded through with tender melancholy beneath it. you said his voice was almost too powerful, and what remarkably softens its power is that infusion of humanity, hurt to humor. he might be too overwhelmingly powerful, except he's still elvis, and his gift was connection. the heart he laid into his music doesn't become more guarded, but less so. he's right there, giving all he has, and that's for us. (okay, the audience at the time, but it's still for us too.) he'd sing, and then he'd get that deceptively innocent grin and almost dare them - do you like it? you wanna hear me sing it better? - and then he would. through everything, whatever battles there might have been...music was the sanctuary to lay the armor down. he gave that with every part of himself and with such love for the people who'd rapturously share it with him and reach out for what he was offering. it's as though his spirit got closer and closer to the surface, and etched itself in every song.

these quotes are all sort of asides, that came up when i tried to google the actual thing i was looking for, but they're so <333

"I am reminded of a comment made shortly after the death of Elvis Presley by a musician he had worked with. He pointed out that despite an impressive vocal range of two and a half octaves and something approaching perfect pitch, Elvis was perfectly willing to sing off-key when he thought the song required it. Those off-key notes were art." - Patrick H. Adkins

"His personality was also extremely endearing, his interviews were very self-effacing, and he came over as gentle and was generous in his praise of others. He had a natural, technical ability, but there was something in the humanity of his voice, and his delivery." - Ian Gillan of Deep Purple

"The guy had a thousandth-octave range, and a variety in his vocal styles and approach, he could make more vocal tones, with just his voice, than a guitar player with 50 pedals and gadgets. If you never even saw the guy, you could plain feel, not just hear, the emotion and passion in his voice, and you are immediately taken in, one hundred percent." - Country singer Roger Wallace "He was the most commercially successful singer of rock and roll, but he also had success with ballads, country, gospel, blues, pop, folk and even semi-operatic and jazz standards. His voice, which developed into many voices as his career progressed, had always a unique tonality and an extraordinarily unusual center of gravity, leading to his ability to tackle a range of songs and melodies which would be nearly impossible for most other popular singers to achieve."

"Presley brought an excitement to singing, in part because rock and roll was greeted as his invention, but for other reasons not so widely reflected on: Elvis Presley had the most beautiful singing voice of any human being on earth." - William F. Buckley, Jr.

"The voice is so melodious, and - of course, by accident, this glorious voice and musical sensibility was combined with this beautiful, sexual man and this very unconscious - or unselfconscious stage movements. Presley's registration, the breadth of his tone, listening to some of his records, you'd think you were listening to an opera singer. But…it's an opera singer with a deep connection to the blues." - Jerry Wexler, co-founder of Atlantic Records.

"Elvis' range was about two and a quarter octaves, as measured by musical notation, but his voice had an emotional range from tender whispers to sighs down to shouts, grunts, grumbles and sheer gruffness that could move the listener from calmness and surrender, to fear. His voice can not be measured in octaves, but in decibels; even that misses the problem of how to measure delicate whispers that are hardly audible at all." - Lindsay Waters, Executive Editor for the Humanities at Harvard University Press

the quote i shared the other day, saying he could go from "nearly infinite sweetness, to ferocity, to spirituality, to tremendous power," it's extraordinary how accessible that sensation still is, how vibrant in recordings, studio or live, in film footage, professional or barely visible from old cameras. @joons (who probably could explain this better or add more to this than me!), sent me this the other night:

it's like he existed to fulfill every purpose of what music is meant to do - thrill, inspire, mourn, rejoice, storm, caress, devastate, uplift - whatever a song could require, he'd meet it. it's why he was a rock and roll sensation and yet so revelatory with the gospel music too. it wasn't this separation of the profane and holy for him, it was ALL sacred in its own way. and as someone who believes music is a miracle and exists in many ways in a realm that's bigger than us (us not even being only humans! animals are touched by music too, for many reasons. it's beyond speech, beyond boundaries, beyond feelings we can form into words). it was all his soul reaching the souls listening. and nearer the end of his life, that took on richer qualities. i know my unabashed favorites are the american sound recordings, and the whole period from like '68-'72, where i feel like he was at that gorgeous cross-section between where he'd begun and where his voice would go, he's at this crackling range of technical strength and emotive finesse, but sometimes the music from later washes over me like a wave when i listen to it.

i talk a lot, but this was a perfect thing for you to send to me today, because we can look back and remember and celebrate this:

i think about him saying he was just a little guy with a shaky leg, and the tremendous talent he honed so innately and beautifully, and the incalculable impact that had on the world of music, on countless artists, and continues to have to this day. an unchained melody.

he sang as he always did, with all his heart and soul.

[laulink]

Just finished watching Hirogaru Sky Precure and I think it's the most solid series of the franchise so far. It didn't feel like there were a lot of purely filler episodes, unlike in some previous series where you could pretty easily skip 5 eps and not miss anything in regards to character or plot development, the overarching story itself is better paced and less redundant than some older series, and there were a lot of cool things done regarding the characters :

- first adult Cure ! We've already had "older sister" types in the series, but they were all still in high school and therefore still had similar problems and arcs to the other, younger Cures, so it was nice to have someone who is a bit older in the group because Ageha truly brings a new perspective and different dynamics to it : she has her life figured out, no familial conflict regarding her future, she often plays the role of the gentle hand guiding the kids in figuring things out regarding their own dreams and relationships, and even when she wasn't a Cure yet, she helped by providing technical support, information, strategies, protecting Elle-chan... A real adult !

- first boy Cure ! Not only was it nice to see a boy join the group, it was even nicer that he wasn't treated any differently from the others, be it by the group or the supporting characters. No one, in the series or all stars movie, pointed out that he is the first male Cure, which I appreciate because yes, the lore of Precure never stated that only girls could be Cures, but when you see big companies patting themselves on the back for including gender or racial diversity in their productions and making a big deal of it in the production itself, not just in articles, by having characters point out how unusual and amazing this is, I am happy to see that Toei Animation goes all the way with the message it sends ("boys can be Cures too and there's nothing weird about that") instead of making remarks about how unusual it is and therefore undercutting the message. I also love that they made the biggest recurring Precure fan of the series a fanboy, who specifically loves Cure Wing the most (before his beloved teacher becomes Cure Butterfly right before his eyes). A little boy is a fan of and wants to be like the male Cure : representation matters !

- the pairs : of course there are some clearly defined and favoured pairs in the team, as is often the case in Precure, but, where most series with a larger group tend to keep these characters in those specific pairs, to the point of rarely showing meaningful interactions or dynamics outside of those pairs, Hirogaru lets multiple pairs coexist at the same time, with very specific dynamics : Sora makes a pair with Mashiro (the lovers), but also with Tsubasa (the himbos, because seriously, look at their scenes together) and has a recurring gag with Ageha (the hugs, which is even included in the movie) while Ageha, who is Tsubasa's partner, is also Mashiro's childhood friend. And Elle ! In Hugtto Precure, Hugtan had a relationship with everyone, and I believe there even were some special traits to most of those relationships, but Elle takes it to a whole other level : Sora and Mashiro are clearly her main caretakers (without that impacting or taking away from Elle's relationship with her parents btw) with Sora being a bit more strict and stern, like her father, while Mashiro is softer and more willing to let things slide, the archetypical image of a mother, but Ageha is clearly the one who understands Elle the best and most often knows how to cheer her up when something is wrong, and Tsubasa is her sworn knight, who Elle tries her best to reconnect with when she starts to feel like Tsubasa is getting more distant. The different pairs also have a specific dynamic as Precures : whereas Sora often feels like she depends a lot on Mashiro and is ready to accept her help and be her friend as soon as she meets her while Mashiro often struggles with feeling like she isn't good enough, Sky is initially opposed to the idea of Prism fighting because she's worried for her safety while Prism knows and will show Sky that she is a dependable partner who is her equal and can fight by her side. Similarly, while Tsubasa often follows Sora in her antics or has overall similar reactions to new or surprising things, Wing is less hot-headed than Sky and has more than once pushed her out of harm's way when she charged headfirst into it. Ageha wants to do everything by herself and Tsubasa has trouble making her rely on him, but Butterfly and Wing's partners power up is the mixing colour palette that lets Ageha support everyone by powering them up while she apparently can't power herself up with it. Mashiro has never tried to hold Elle back from doing new things, but Prism tries to protect Majesty in a fight to the point of putting herself in danger. Sora has always protected Elle, but as soon as Majesty showed up, she and Sky got in sync acting as the team's powerhouses, often giving ennemies a double punch. It's just beautiful to see so many different and nuanced dynamics !

- the future : while Ageha and Sora know what they want for their future, things are more tricky for Tsubasa and Mashiro and I appreciate that the writers didn't take the easy options there. Tsubasa can't fly with his wings and has already studied aerodynamics and planes for a year when we officially meet him, so it would have been easy to simply make him decide to be a pilot, but they didn't take the easy path and made him realise that, now that his first dream had been achieved, he had developed a taste for knowledge and would become a sage. Similarly, Mashiro is gentle, wants to make people happy and is good at cooking and baking, so making her decide to be a cook would have been easy, but they went the picture book author way instead to give her more depth. I particularly like this because it reflects the reality of people being good at or having an interest in multiple things and career choices being about more than just taking what one is good at and finding a job making use of that.

Of course, the series isn't perfect : some bits are rushed, others feel a little out of place, some dynamics are less explored than others, Dark Sky deserved a whole episode instead of the two minutes of screentime she got, but overall, I maintain this is the best structured, best constructed, most solid Cure series I've seen thus far and I hope the quality stays at this level or keeps improving going forward because it's nice to see a franchise this big being treated as more than a money bank and getting increasingly better instead of degrading over time.

[steve0discusses]

Ep 44 Pt 1: It Took 3 Damn Seasons For These Two to Meet

I’m not dead! (though my schedule and my long covid fatigue would imply otherwise) So lets procrastinate my other responsibilities and talk about Yugioh.

Seto is still stalled out like my car in the winter.

And the show decided just out of the blue that Seto has right to the throne although he’s the cousin to the Pharaoh...he’s not Yami’s older brother. That’s not really how the birthright of Kings work, last I checked. Now if Seto had married Yami’s Mother? That I know is a clear birthright steal. But uh, last I checked BEWD was not Yami’s Mom, although I would accept that headcanon.

Blue Eyes White Dragon is often shortened to BEWD and it sounds very funny to me so I apologize if I use BEWD too much. But I mean...

(read more under the cut)

But like, Seto has a girlfriend, so he’s allowed to sit at the adult table at Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, Yami’s gonna have to be stuck babysitting because it’s not like he’s gonna be official with either of the two powerful women that he’s inferred to be dating. Like either the Dark Magician girl, or Tea, make your pic, both are godlike.

Or Rebecca, we can count her, too, she’s like a PHD graduate at like 12 and weirdly powerful for no reason. Also, knowing this show, she may have dated several of these people without them knowing so she’d be down.

Anyway, point is, neither Seto or Yami are the Blue Eyes White Dragon so who cares if they are connected to her? If Kissara needs to inherit the throne, she’s right over there, don’t even bother going through Seto. And youknow that’s just the show making a poor analogy for playing cards. Did they intend for it to come out that way? Probably not, but also Kissara isn’t a paper card here, she’s like a real ass woman, despite the zero personality they gave her so far this season.

So Aknadin shakes his head and was like “This isn’t how you treat your not-a-girlfriend, guys” and in one motion decided pull a Mokuba. But, instead of stealing those little star chips from season one in the middle of a card game, he just straight up stole Seto and it was very funny.

Like look at seto’s little feet in that image there haha. Seto’s just been tossed around this season place to place like a ping pong ball.

And then Bakura was like “I’m not done yet, I can do THIS!” and they watched this thing mozy down a hole at like a snail’s pace.

They just watched it slowly descend and were like “... huh. Why didn’t I think of that?”

So Yami whips off his VR headset (well, metaphorically) in order to share his grievances back at the game table. Mostly to dump on Bakura that this game isn’t any fun.

Which is shockingly low standards, we are talking about Yami.

And before I ever had to update the Death count, turns out Seto Kaiba is just fine.

I have no idea why he’s back in the city, don’t think about it, I don’t think it will ever be explained. So he wanders around lost, like he does about 80% of the time on a normal day. Just kinda wanders hoping Roland picks him up at some point.

And when a kid runs directly through his own body he starts to connect the dots about the ancient Egyptian clothing, housing, and general lack of electricity and wheels.

Which is when we finally have them meet.

That’s right, it’s been a while.

Seasons, so many seasons ago, Seto had a dream about the perfect woman, who was also coincidentally dead in his arms, and for so many years we assumed (ok I was the only one who assumed this) that Yugioh’s creators knew that they could in no way ever put these two people in the same exact room.

And then they did. Because Yugioh will never let you write fanfiction, they already do it for you. That’s right, modern Seto Kaiba ran into past Kissara in an alleyway and so lets get a gist of their true love conversation.

And no, that isn’t just me making a joke in the cap, Seto immediately says to this stranger “Girl, I saw you die. In my arms.” and she was like “lol”

And uh that was it. Again, a HUGE leap of romance for Seto Kaiba. This is truly the most romantic he’s been on this show so I can’t dock it too much. But I will dock it somewhat because it’s been so many seasons of leadup, hahaha!

I’ll have you know my bro was like “wow you stan Kissara so much” and I was like “mmm pretty sure I don’t” and he was like “uh you gave her so much more dialogue than in the actual show” and he’s not wrong. Maybe I do stan Kissara. If anything, I stan her being the true Pharaoh of Egypt.

So she’s gonna run off to find the correct Seto. But yes, she did look future Seto Kaiba directly in the eyes when he said “why should I believe you?” and say “I don’t care.”

so that’s about it for this half of this episode that took me........what 7 years to write? I’ve been having fatigue problems, long covid’s a beast, so updates will be whenever they are, but as always, thanks for y’alls patience about it.

And uh, have a little teaser for the next half:

Ohhh yeah that’s right, we gonna do a maze!

And as always here’s a link to read these in chrono order from the beginning if you just got here, and want to see exactly how many posts are in between when Seto hallucinated Kissara and actually met Kissara.

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

[irishhorse-blog]

I hate to say it but I feel a lot of disappointment with Jk, so much so that I’ve mentally checked out of his release and want to hear nothing of it anymore. It’s just disappointing to see him sellout like this, his interviews aren’t making things better bc how can he say he just wants to be more famous/be a giant pop star, what happened to just loving to make music ? Feel like idek know him like I thought I do. I’m also stuck between if I should be mad at him or not bc at some level he did know this was going to happen, knew they were going to push him more than the other members(we literally see him planning to be big in suwitcha ep).

He seems so arrogant and full of himself nowadays. Not an ounce of gratitude??? No thankyou, nothing. Straight up asking for more, as he knows scooter is preparing him an English album. Don't know how long he's gonna go well with this bitchy attitude. Idk how he can change like this or maybe the older humble JK was all a facade. Didn't he also said that ? Anyway, it's just a matter of time till Jimin gets done with his bs and drops him. Idk how long Jimin can pretend to be happy and supportive of him even while being arrogant af.

I don't think you're seeing the situation clearly at all and I completely, 110% disagree with your characterization of JK and his behavior.

I guarantee that nobody gets into music or becomes an idol without wanting to be a star. That's not a surprise, and it's not something that he should be judged for. I'm sure he loves music for music's sake, but be real.

Whether Jimin and JK break up or not, it's not going to be over this, and nothing you say or do or think matters one damned iota to anybody who has any actual input into the situation.

to sum up:

I think you're wrong. I think that you're being immature and solo-ish, and if you want to cut him off, cut him off. Go. The rest of us who understand loyalty and understand that business is business and more, those of us who understand what it is to have a dream, will still be here. I guarantee that he won't miss your ass. And whatever happens between him and Jimin, I don't think your prediction is on point. In fact, I think your whole position is wrong-headed and naive.

You do you, boo. Think what you want to. But I still think you've got your head up your ass.