#love used in the narrative like that makes me go nuts it's my favorite thing

[mechieonu]

it actually hadn't occured to me until just now but love & betrayal are @ the site of every villain's spiral. like. "Shifu had to destroy what he had created. But how could he?" vs. "They loved you so much that having to send you away killed them." vs. "I loved him like a brother, and he betrayed me."

it's super neat how love isn't only one of the major themes of the series but also a vicious motivator too

[utilitycaster]

Hey,

I just wanted to say that seeing your thoughts and opinions on Ashton have been really cool. I'm someone who never connected with Ashton and was struggling to grasp their choices and their opinions as I'm someone who just views the world so differently.

But the way you phrase things, especially stating you love them as a character even if you dislike their choices and framing them in the way you have has helped me understand a little more and even if I still can't say I like Ashton, I can respect them more and Taliesin's choices with playing them and that's nice to have especially when they have been quite vocal the last few episodes with their opinions concerning everything.

You doing great things. Keep going

Hi anon,

Thank you so much! I love this ask a lot and I really appreciate you sending it.

One of my favorite aspects of fiction is being exposed to perspectives I don't share and seeing why a character feels that way. Ashton's behavior this last episode absolutely drove me nuts - but I get it! The shard was only a week ago, and that's not a lot of time to get over their desire to feel wronged and robbed, and so when Ludinus drops a golden example of "here's something else you can use to explain why everything is someone else's fault" in their lap, of course they're going to take it! I think Ashton has, throughout the campaign, really been struggling with the fact that he does have a lot more agency and freedom and power than he is willing to believe or admit, and so a narrative of powerlessness in the face of the gods is very seductive even though it's also a nonsensical one (both because the gods haven't remotely struck anyone down in the present day, and because Ashton themself is claiming the power to decide, for the world, what to do next).

He's overlaying his own personal experiences of trauma over the narrative of what was shown in the Occultus Thalamus, and that's extremely normal and (in our world, anyway) human! We all bring our own biases and experiences to the world and to fiction and view things through a particular lens. It would be weird not to. It's just also important to constantly question "am I reacting to what I actually saw and what is actually there; or am I making assumptions that are unfair to make in this particular setting," and Ashton's not in a place to do that. It's rough to watch at times - I know I'm like "HEY YOU'RE IN THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY, YOU GOTTA CHILL" but it's such a real response I cannot, ultimately, hate on it.

Anyway it is great that you're trying to approach a character who is being abrasive and difficult and very unlike you with thought and compassion, and I am so glad that some things I've said have helped with that.

[moonshynecybin]

thinking about FCO Rosquez at their first PR-forced public dinner (like a week or two after the announcement, Wednesday or Thursday night) and how their conversation is supposed to go when Marc was dying to talk to Valentino all winter (still has a string of unanswered texts in his phone) but now he’s closed off and Valentino wants to make this work but can’t have them fight in public or be silent for an entire hour, do we think they find a middle ground or Vale just talk about random things on his own or they somehow ignore everything and are able to tell each other about their winter or subjects that have nothing to do with MotoGP or—

court mandated date night nooooo poor marc :(

this is so nuts to think about... like even outside the insane emotional reality of getting outed and the violence of public scrutiny and like. marc having (once again !) his ability to control his own narrative ripped away from him by his association with valentino— which is his LEAST favorite thing (i do think he blames himself for the photos though... like maybe if i wasnt such a whore we wouldnt be in this mess :((( which. marc buddy naur.) on TOP of that he is having a romantic candellit dinner with his ex situationship that he is still in love with. one million points lightning damage. so everyone is extremely strung out at this shitty little date night table (michelin restaurant lbr) and marc has justtttt gone dark on his whatsapp thread with valentino. maybe he is trying to maybe exert some control over his life here in small ways... put up SOME walls in clumsy self protective fashion...

but VALE is like okay. so if this thing between us is public he doesnt want it or want me. interesting. okay im cool im fine im good np who cares i hate him anyway (girl.) and he's also um. kind of reeling from the abrupt reversal of the status quo here tbh. marc has never played hard to get ever ever not once in his entire life. no self preservation on that man 5ever. he's literally always been there giving vale flattering attention and being in love with him !!! so vale is kind of off-balance here being met with some version of the marc marquez freezeout, not sure how to react but missing marc's attention. and he chooses to compensate as he does with most roadblocks in his life: full charm offensive. (he also, in some selfless and tender corner in the back of his mind that he is trying to ignore, just really and truly knows marc is FREAKED and misses seeing him laugh. he wants the evil jajajas.... he will do anything for the evil jajajas....) so he is trying. SO hard to get him to crack a smile. lowkey causing a scene in the restaurant by being such a clown... but marc isnt really biting. is still responding, like they ARE having a conversation, but its nothing like it used to be. clearly he is just being polite. smiles twice ALL night—all wan and pale and beautiful and so clearly exhausted—and vale's mouth gets all dry and his ribcage feels like its going to implode. and of course in response to this he is like wow. my heartburn is going crazy. damn. [chugging wine].

like looking to real life, as awkward as rosquez have been in their years of estrangement, they have always had to share space. for 6 years in that paddock ! that's a lot of years of small talk ! they can have and will do it if necessary... so as the night drags i think marc talks about riding and the season to fill in the gaps... goes home and gives himself a list of regimented rules to stick to when interacting with valentino (i see him texting exclusively the PR thread more as his classically unpracticed self protection style than like. a deliberate fuck you to that end. i cant drunk booty call vale if karen from PR is also there type stuff). that being said, eventually i do think he makes elaborate excuses to BEND these rules bc he still wants valentino's attention. and also his tongue in his mouth. hes like okay! i am only kissing valentino in front of tv cameras if we both podium! and then they DONT share a podium and hes like. okay! it would be WEIRD if i didnt kiss vale after i podiumed even if he didnt! because thats what i would do if we were actually together! [starts jogging across the paddock like a dick-seeking missile.]

[captainuranium543]

I'm gonna say smth maybe controversial, I do not fw star dresses.

Listen I'm all for a Lucy power up but idk it just feels too close to erza's thing ig, especially with the fact she can mix them now.

Like my favorite thing about erza's fighting style before was how versatile it was with her main fighting power being her physical strength Which she could apply to almost every situation and, because of how low cost requip was magic wise, she could constantly switch armors and weapons to exploit any weakness.

Now all the versatility aspects I liked about erza's fights before seem to be going more to Lucy's fights, which is fine, but because of that erza's fights tend to be a lot more like natsu's these days where she relies on raw power to beat everyone which I honestly just don't like as much. I love natsu but I really never liked his fights and even then raw power battles make more sense for him than her just because of his magic type.

Erza and Lucy had similar summoning abilities before, the difference was in magical cost. Erzas was low cost and mostly relied on the physical strength and weapons skill of the user so she ended up being a very reactive fighter, meanwhile Lucy's magic has a much higher cost so she had to be careful about her summons and strategize a lot more.

With the star dresses though it is cool and all but it just feels like there was other things she could have gotten. If I'm being totally honest I think enchanting as a magical ability makes more sense for her then it does erza just based on magic style. Like I said earlier, erza is a reactive fighter, enchantments take thought and patience to complete and it's not the kind of thing you can do on the fly

The only way I think enchanting works for erza as a power up is if she was enchanting her own armors in her downtime, then using those armors in battle, I think that would be perfect actually because it would

A) give her a new ability connected to her mother

B) explain where she's getting the armors to remove the ambiguity of where she's picking these MFS up from

C) just fit better with her fighting style as a whole.

Besides this however I think using enchantments in battle is a perfect magic for Lucy because Lucy is that kind of wizard. We know for a fact she has an insanely high amount of magic power from the fact she can summon several golden keys at once and use a star dress when not even 2 silver keys were thought to be possible. She also already has several other casting based spells like urano metria. You wouldn't even have to make it the same kind of enchanting you could make it some kind of celestial based casting thing because tbh I think that kind of ability makes more sense to me as a gift from the mustache king than a bunch of cool outfits.

Hell if you wanted to make Lucy more of an active fighter then you can just do that. Half the time the weapon erza is using is just a regular ass sword, she's just really good at using a sword. Just let Lucy take a martial arts course, I know lucy "Lucy kick" heartfilia has some crazy strong legs so honestly get her into a karate class or smth and let her go nuts for a year.

I like Wendy as an enchanter for sure but girl is already dual wielding healing and attack magic. I think she's pretty good in terms of how much magic she can use honestly. Also before anyone gets on my ass about this I KNOW that enchanting makes most sense for Wendy and erza to use NARRATIVELY, I just mean from specifically a fighting style perspective I just think that type of ability makes more sense for Lucy then erza.

Anyway this isn't a hate post I just think star dresses feel kinda same-y and I'd like it better if she had some kind of ability, like something similar to heavenly body magic but obv not that exactly. Also I liked erza's more physical attacking style because of how unique it was and though it's nice that she has a power up It just doesn't really feel like it matches her style of fighting as well as it could.

[cfr749]

Thoughts on Chenford in 6x01?

**Spoilers below**

What I Loved:

I can never get enough of substantive emotional Chenford scenes, so I am here for that last scene (angst and all). Melissa and Eric are so damn good in those intense moments. 

I liked that they made the issue super clear at the end and didn’t make us guess at what the problem was or what either of them was thinking. 

Though I think they went a little too hard with Lucy being borderline hysterical as she spiraled (this isn’t commentary or judgement on anxiety, but rather commentary on how Tim and the other characters were interacting with her as a result), overall, I didn’t feel like either one of them was more right than the other.  (Balance - you are my favorite thing at the moment!)

IMO, Tim wasn’t particularly supportive, and he obviously did try and get in her head a bit (which is what I think she meant by undermine? that was a weird word choice for me, but maybe I missed something?). But he also wasn’t an OTT jerk. 

I am so, so glad the issue wasn’t that Tim had told everyone about her ‘clown show’ screw up. That would have been incredibly shitty, and I was terrified that was the direction they were going with the word undermine. 

What I Was Meh On: I’m not a huge fan of Lucy being portrayed as the one who screwed up, but she redeemed herself and I also don’t need her to be perfect, so I’ll let them have a free pass on this one. If it’s the theme for the season, I’m gonna have something else to say about it 😂

I’m also so ready for this dumb five-player trade storyline to be over. Truly there were so many reasons Lucy could have had a hard time making detective, the most obvious one being the consequences of her dating her former T.O. This could have been super interesting to explore. It drives me nuts that instead of using anything realistic, they made Lucy the villain in her own story and incredibly difficult to empathize with, which just makes no sense since obviously women do have a much more uphill battle progressing their careers in male dominated fields.

Final thoughts:

I am SO ready to see Lucy be a badass detective! 

I really hope they have a clear through-line and resolution planned for this UC conflict between them. I need a clear narrative for them this season and am excited about the possibilities.

What’d y’all think??

[falmerbrook]

Clockwork City DLC Thoughts

TLDR: I liked it very much! One of my favorites! The aesthetics were amazing! Lived up to the hype. However, while I overall really liked it, I have some minor worldbuilding gripes and I think it also highlighted some issues I have with ESO's worldbuilding in general.

So first of all, I LOVED the aesthetics and designs of this zone! The music was great and moody and eerie at the right times, and all of the clockwork noises were perfect. I especially loved how whenever you were outside you could hear the groaning and rumbling of the whole city structure softly wherever you went. There are also a lot of little details in the environmental designs that really sell the setting, such as the the interiors of certain laboratories having unique interiors, the way they organize and keep books, the elevators, the factotums, etc. The interiors feel adequately chaotic with all the machinery with large gears and machines in the periphery, and the exteriors feel grand and impressive. I also love the colors and general sunrise/sunset feel of the Radius. The nights are particularly gorgeous with the lights of the structures and stars in the distance.

I also really dig the dystopian utopia vibes where the Clockwork City is built to be a perfect recreation of Nirn, but it also kinda hellish for (some of) the people living there. I actually wish they leaned into that contrast even more. I like that Sotha Sil also get's to have fucked up things going on under his leadership like Almalexia and Vivec.

I enjoyed some of the important characters too, particularly Luciana and Varuni. They (and Divayth) all provide such interesting contrast in the ways people view Sotha Sil and worshipping him, and even beyond them I like the wide range of perspectives we see with the NPCs. Many have a sort of religiosity alongside a traditionally secular mindset and I enjoy seeing those usually conflicting traits paired together.

Other miscellaneous things I liked:

The crows. They were very fun

The Precursor. They were cute and it made me sad when the Apostles were mean to them :(

I liked the factotums. The voice acting on them was great and I liked the way they talked and the phrases they'd say when processing information. It was intriguing then learning that they are like that because (allegedly) Sotha Sil probably used part of his sister's soul (or at least her voice) to make them. THAT'S NUTS!! I love it. That's the kinda fucked up shit I was hoping for from him. (although I do wonder how the hell he did that. like, she'd been dead for at least hundreds, if not thousands, of years by the time he did that)

I liked pretty much all of the side quests. They all provided such interesting worldbuilding

I really liked Sotha Sil's voice and voice acting. It fit him well

Now to the parts I was more critical of (I'm writing a lot, but know that it doesn't mean I had a lot of issues, just that I have a lot to say on them!)

I liked the idea behind Slag Town/the Tarnished, that there is an underclass and a slum of folks who can't advance in the hierarchy of the city (or aren't interested in doing so) that demonstrates the way Sotha Sil and the Apostles neglect the people of the Clockwork City in service of their studies, but I don't think it's executed well because that idea feels too underdeveloped. It feels like a slum we'd see on Tamriel rather than something that would be unique to the culture of the Clockwork City (this is foreshadowing for my biggest issue). It and the prophecy quest focused on it just feel aesthetically and narratively not to fit to me. Like, how did a slum like this come to be? How did the folks there get into that position? Why isn't Sotha Sil or the Apostles doing anything to help them (or get rid of it in a more nefarious way)? Are they people who were born there but couldn't measure up to or didn't want to be apostles, or are they people who just wandered into the city? These questions aren't me criticizing the concept, but rather they are questions I wish were answered or explored. Additionally, the structure of their society has too many normal things like normal cloth clothes and woodworkers and travelling merchants and a stablemaster and other jobs that to me feel like they shouldn't actually be in this setting. I feel like their society would just function differently (and a part of this is that we are stuck in an MMO world and the devs "have to" include those).

This brings me to one of my biggest points about ESO's worldbuilding: it keeps introducing interesting ideas in side quests but not really exploring the conclusions of consequences of them as fully as I'd like. I'm always left with a ton of questions, and not necessarily fun ones, but rather "wait, how does this work? Wouldn’t this change how their society works?" For example in this DLC, how does the food work? I am told everyone eats this nutritional paste for food, but also there is a side quest where you learn about a guy growing actual food and how he distributes it to the people of the Clockwork City once a year. What happens to that food? Is it what's used in the paste? Is it not and the people just want it as a supplemental thing so they aren't stuck with paste? The idea of that side quest is very interesting but I just wished the pushed it a bit farther! These interesting implications of the setting(s) are often introduced but also completely contained with in one side quest. And I feel that way about a lot of little things throughout this game.

Another example is a feel like they are a little wishy washy with how folks get into and if they can get out of the Clockwork City. So people just randomly stumble into it? Is that common or are we, Neramo, and the Vanos siblings an exception? We need a sponsor to become an Apostle or else we are stuck in basically poverty and can never escape but if that is the case why not make it so folks have to have a sponsor to even come to the city in the first place? Why would they waste their resources on people who don't even want to be there? Once again, an interesting concept, but I feel like it didn't get fleshed out enough for me and doesn't make a ton of sense. Can the Apostles leave? If so, in my opinion, that's a little lame. Takes the consequences and stakes out of being in the city in the first place, and if that's the case it feels like it's only there as an excuse for why we, the player, can leave. If they can't, then why can we and the Vanos siblings leave? I know they need to come up with an excuse for why we as the player can leave, but aren't the wayshrines enough? or maybe the fact that we came in with Divayth? Maybe he gave us a secret thing to get in and out like Barilzar's Band? I don't know why this bugged me so much but it did.

Ok on to some more minor nit-picks

Almalexia, oh Almalexia. Why are you thrown to the side so much? I could chalk it up to her just being written shallowly in the base game before the writing got better, and that she has the bias of being the most hate-able Tribune in Morrowind (the game), but while Nerevar, Vivec, and Nall get their own little plaques in the Elegiac Replication, Almalexia doesn't (she appears in the hologram alongside Sil for the battle at Mournhold, but doesn't get her own space) and that bugged me a little. It also highlighted a writing quality gap between how Sil is written in this DLC and how Vivec and Almalexia have been written in ESO (not a criticism of this DLC though, just an observation). Sil is just so obviously written better, which to most of the fanbase makes him a more compelling character when I think it really comes down to the writing quality. This DLC just made me wish the other two had this much love and care put into their dialogue too. He makes them sound half assed by comparison lol

I'm confused by the motivations of the Daedric Princes in this arc. I'm holding off on actually criticizing this because I know there's a whole 'nother chapter to develop this but right now there's 0 explanation as to why they are here. On that note, if the Princes involved are Nocturnal, Clavicus Vile, and Mephala (I've been spoiled on that one), and the folks they're targeting include Sotha Sil and Vivec, wouldn't have been more narratively interesting for Mephala to target Vivec? Once again not an actually criticism, just spit-balling. I don’t know what’s gonna happen in Summerset. They could've also leaned into the whole Mysteries and shadows thing with Sotha Sil and Nocturnal.

Finally, I've mentioned this before, but I think the Fabricants should be weirder.

Anyway, most of this is probably a matter of personal preference rather than actual criticism, but oh well I like getting my thoughts out of my head!

Looking forward to Summerset. It’s commonly called the best Chapter.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL

Feb 2023 Wk 1

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most. 

Ongoing Series - Thai

My School President (Fri YT) ep 9 of 12 - WinSound totally won me over in this ep. They were great. Their competitive style of romance, made me really happy. Double tsundere it’s so rare to get and not be annoying or depressing. Of course the mains were adorable too. 

Never Let Me Go (Tues YT) ep 8 of 12 - Solid little episode. Perth in the pool, thank U BL gods. Peeling the shrimp to rope, always a favorite of mine. Some awesome couple flirting and a nice romantic sex scene. What’s not to like about this episode?

Hit Bite Love (Sat YouTube) ep 2 of 6 - King is fucking adorable. Burger is clueless and (apparently) entirely straight. Shogun is one of the gayest characters ever put in high school BL. Heda is kinda awesome, basically a chaos wingman. Matteo is interesting. I genuinely like the central friendship between King & Shogun a lot. Queer baby besties! It’s Ming & Wayo-esk but better. Holy KINK FEST outta nowhere, BLman! I’m getting total whiplash with this show. Very Make It Right. What does it want to be? Who tf knows but I’m into it, that’s for sure. It’s accomplishing something, which most pulps don’t.

609 Bedtime Story (Fri WeTV) ep 11fin - my backup computer is down so I haven’t had a chance to watch this yet. Hopefully but next week’s report.   

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

HIStory 5: Love in the Future (Taiwan Weds Viki) ep 6 of 10 (or 11&12 of 20) - Jonny’s hair is driving me nuts. Hai Yi’s behavior is confusing me too. Office boys remain totally adorable. Very doomy mid run ep 6. Ah Taiwan, how unpredictable you are. 

Candy Color Paradox AKA Ameiro Paradox (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 7 of 8 - these weirdos make for very strange boyfriends. Frankly? K seems like a useless bit of business, if you ask me. 

Individual Circumstances (Korea Thurs Viki) ep 5-6 of 8 - I’m just annoyed with Mr. Tsundere at this point, he’s gone from grumpy to mean. I just want him to have a really good reason for having disappeared without saying anything, and good does not mean “sensitive pathetic authorial feels.�� You don’t abandon your best friend just because you fell in love with them, that’s an unforgivably shitty thing to do. 

The End Of The World, With You AKA Bokura no Micro na Shuumatsu (Japan Sun Gaga ep 1 of 8 - Stars Toshiki Seto (Senpai, This Can't Be Love). The world is about to be destroyed by a meteor, so Masumi visits his old uni library to read as much as he wants until the end. There he meets Ritsu, his player ex. It’s a bit awkward, and I’m not sure about the premise (it scares me that it might be sad). It’s racier, gayer, and has better kissing than i was expecting (again a sign it might go dark). Also Is Ritsu a big time bi-slut player or is that Masumi’s perspective? Regardless I’m intrigued if wary. 

Finished this week

The New Employee (Korea Weds Viki) ep 7fin - They are so cute it’s unbelievable. I thought it was a good office romance ending, if not a great Bl ending. All in all this is a darn near perfect nugget of an office romance BL, sweet and much gayer than we have any right to expect from Korea. Rainbow rice cakes forever! 9/10

Between Us (Sun iQIYI) ep 12fin - It’s a serviceable series about hot swimmers flirting and dealing with family drama in a sweetly earnest manner, but ultimately it squanders the talent in play. I would’ve preferred a cleaner narrative arc, less angst and more plot, fewer couples, and a shorter series. That said, there’s nothing objectively wrong, sub-standard, or off-putting about this show. And it has lots of consent and other good qualities. It’s fine. Watch along here. 8/10

I Will Knock You (Fri Gaga) ep 12fin - I did think a lot over why I disliked this one. Because on the surface it’s just your standard slightly terrible Thai pulp, and I’m usually not that mean about them. I think in the end it comes down to the uke who just seemed to never warm to the boy pursuing him, and never really actually wanted to be his boyfriend. Also terrible dead fish kiss. 5/10 

Gossip

Apparently we have new scions (waves goodbye to BrightWin) - GeminiFourth: The Crown Princes of BL. If you’re wondering how their chemistry is so good (My School President), this article may explain it. 

In Case You Missed It

Caught up on 2020′s The Reason Why He Fell In Love With Me. (Gaga picked it up and I’ve been wanting to see it since it got announced in 2019.) 

TRWHFILWM Series 1 - 2 teachers who work together at the same high school, one outgoing and the other reserved, start an affair. Gave me Ossan’s Love vibes and that is my least favorite kind of JBL. It’s just far too cartoonish and slapstick and I don’t like it. That said, it has several kisses, a happy ending, and they are cute together. So if you can this style BL, it you might like it. 

TRWHFILWM Special - Completely ignores the first couple and the teacher premise, carrying over just one main character, and should have been a new BL (Boys Love flashbacks). I understand 2021′s season 2 continues this tactic. But I’ll watch it eventually. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Not a lot actually, which is cool, I still got some 2022 catching up still to do. Why You Y Me, may be? 

Starting: 

Moonlight Chicken (Weds? YouTube) 1 of 8 -   

My Beautiful Man S2 - ??? sorry I’m scared of this one and not really paying attention, it being Japan and a desirable property, I’m assuming it will either be impossible to find or just show up on my dash in 2 places at once. 

Feb releases list is here. 

2023 forthcoming BL master post. (see comments some are inaccurate, NOT UPDATED)

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Hit Bite Love it’s classic terrible Thai pulp and I’m kinda loving it. 

Thank you very much GMMTV. 

FINALLY! 

Also FINALLY. 

More FINALLY (My School President). 

I love the acknowledged combative nature of this relationship. It’s great. 

(last week)

Current Kpop earworm? Under the Skin by &team, eh, it’s catchy I guess

[straponstrapoff]

15 questions for 15(?) friends

Tagged by @mygeekcorner but I suspect this is @krippe90's doing

Are you named after anyone? Not really! My legal name would be different if my dad didn't mess up the "first name" and "second name" fields and I do appreciate it

When was the last time you cried? Tuesday

Do you have kids? Why do you think I cried (no)

What sport do you play / have played? My mom was smart enough to get me out of PE so I largely spent time talking with the school shop owner. Got a Simba toy out of it too

Do you use sarcasm? Funny story! Dude whose intellect I appreciated a lot told me that sarcasm is little minded, which impacted how I talk a lot. But hell if I don't like shows like Archer FX - I grew up basically having sarcastic back and forths and it being a race with my mom. Is that good? No, but it informs how I talk sometimes. I try my best to stop and make my intentions obvious better than she did though. I do stumble upon this though

What's the first thing you notice about people? The vibe? How they approach people. Are you trying to be overconfident? Are you super friendly to everyone else in the room?

What's your eye color? Greyblue

Scary movies or happy endings? Really depends on the narrative!

Any talents? I do them drawings

Where were you born? After 2 days of not wanting to get out. Hospital

What are your hobbies? Animal. Reading though I neglect it. Biology, bugs, movieeees, animation history nut here

Do you have any pets? I feed... three stray cats. I think the elder is gone

How tall are you? 177cm. Which is tall. Krippe has no say on this. It is.

Favorite subject in school? Culture Studies

Dream job? Indie game development, but I get to go out and meet people who love the craft and respect it, I spend all of my work sitting in my home and I wanna experience the Strain of Socialization I tag uuuuhhh @h0 and @aholefilledwithtwigs?

[sylvanedadeer]

If I remember correctly, you have mentioned that you are a big fan of literary tropes. Can you tell us what are some of your favorite tropes, least favorite tropes and what tropes you'd like to see more?

This one might be fairly long:

Anyone who knows me fairly well knows I'm literate largely because of comics. It's what my dad had around, so naturally, I'm a bit superhero/fantasy/fiction brained, but my dad is also a latin teacher, so I've been reading Homer, Livy, Herodotus, and Plato for probably longer than I should be. So, genre-wise, I tend to stick to writing/consuming fiction, usually fairly grounded in reality, with superhero stuff tending towards the top of the list.

Some of my favourite literary tropes are "The Self-Chosen One", "The Power of Friendship," and "The Sacrificial Lion".

"Self-Chosen Ones" are kinda self-explanatory, but have some chunky nuance to them. The archetypical "self-chosen one" is Sir Gawain, who chooses to take a challenge that would've otherwise fallen to his king, which ends up roping him... into a bisexual throuple? His isn't as chunky as like, Luz Noceda, who chose to take responsibility for her mistakes and for the people she empowered, or Moana, who rejects her destiny on the basis of destiny and chooses herself to prove TO herself that she can.

Marco, from Adastra, is an interesting instance of this, because the specifics of his "being chosen" were structured in such a way that he super WASN'T necessary. With Luz and Moana, there was... a remarkable lack of people hanging around to solve the plot, so by the Rules Of Stories, they kinda had to take things upon themselves, because otherwise... there's no story. Of course, Marco also had to go forward because PLOT, but 1. Not without grappling with the decision 2. At the detriment to his own health (his near-decapitation) and 3. They clearly outline why he made the choice he did, and also kinda... leave it tenuous on purpose. Very good way of using the trope for a tragedy.

"The Power of Friendship" is less of a trope and more just a reflection of the truth, that humans work well on their own, but will always work better, be happier, and thrive best with other people around them, helping and supporting them. The more direct invocations of this, like in MLP or Yugioh are kinda one of those guilty pleasures, even though I'd argue against the guilty part.

But less overt instances of it, like in Castlevania, when Alucard goes Fucking Nuts because Trevor and Sypha leave. The Avatar Gang and their whole "do you ever wonder if friendships can transcend lifetimes?". There are several instances of "you hurt my friend, time to die" in Invincible that honestly do a lot to keep me going despite the horrific nature of some of the fight scenes.

The most notable one that really got me was the "Loner realizes he has friends and allies" arc in TOTK, because I've clocked. About as many hours on BOTW as I have breathing, and it really does FEEL LONELY AND EMPTY, and that never FELT that way until TOTK came along and my nephew (Tulin) gave me the whole "We're stronger together" bit. I cried.

"Sacrificial Lions" are a little less obvious as to what they are, but the general gist is "a character who exists in the narrative as a heroic bastion of hope, who will be killed or die to further the narrative". Rose Quartz, Pyrrha Nikos, and most versions of Leomon I know about fit this category, as well as, like. Jesus lol.

I've... always liked heroic sacrifices it seems like the best way to really end a heroic character's life, and while I've reexamined that SPECIFIC point, I'm still a lover of the idea. Altruism is a very worthy thing, but I also like how these characters can haunt the narrative, almost always, to the point of making the cast Really Change. Rose is, of course, the inciting incident to an entire show, as her death lines up all of the pins that Steven has to kick over now.

Idk, I'm a fan. I also love it when narrative foils kiss.

[piracytheorist]

I want to know 1) What is your favorite kind of horror movie? (As in jumpscares, slasher, psychological, gothic, supernatural, etc.) 2) If you were a candy, what kind would you be? (Can be candy that exists or a combination of things)

3) If Twilight were tied up in your place, so securely that he can't get out of his restraints for a few hours, what would you do?

1) I don't like horror movies at all. Don't look at my obsession with Resident Evil Village, that was mostly because of Ethan - and one of his traits I felt I vibed with the most was his continuous commentary on how he hates he's in the horror genre. So I kinda connected with him in that because I won't really choose to watch a horror movie.

That said, I might find myself enjoying dark comedy stuff with a bit of horror inserted, like the film Happy Death Day. Its jumpscares and intense moments still make me tense, in a way I don't particularly enjoy, but I liked seeing how humor can be inserted into the genre. Case in point, one of my favourite lines in RE8? You fight Dimitrescu as the first boss, she dies cursing your entire existence, and what's Ethan's finishing line after she's dead and cannot hear him? "You're the one who's cursed." Homeboy "I am rubber, you are glue"d Tall Vampire Mommy and it's fucking hysterical.

2) I have no idea. I think I'd be something with some sort of spice and nuts added in it. Something that may get stuck in your throat and also surprise you with how tangy it can taste. I have my thorns too 👀👀

3) As a real person, I'd hug him tight to my bosom, immediately set him free and probably cook something warm for him. I can't cook for shit but if he's used to Yor's cooking then he'd certainly tolerate my cooking. I'd ask him to stay and get some sleep (on his own bed, look a) I am asexual and b) even if I weren't, ship comes first, he's Yor's and only) and if he said no I'd tie him back down until he agreed to sleep for a normal amount of time.

As a fictional whumper... first I'd ensure I have enough time with him before Yor comes and wreaks absolute havoc. Then... :)

I think I'd mostly go for the emotional pain, though. Homeboi's got angst for days. Just by forcing him to remember the horrors he went through as a child in wartime would cause enough damage, if done continuously and without pause or mercy. Remind him that he's alone (he isn't, Bond foresaw this, Anya saw it and told Yor about it so now she's coming to kick my ass and rescue him) and he'll always be because he's trying to be some damn hero that no one will remember, not fondly at least. How does it feel, you punk? To know you'll die without a single soul caring for you? To know that there would be so many people celebrating your death when it eventually comes way too soon? To know you won't get to live longer than your mother did? Or love someone the way she loved you? Do you think she'd be proud of you? That she'd be happy knowing her precious child grew into a killer in the name of "peace"? What peace, you punk? Will you fight for all war-torn countries, or will you be selfishly satisfied with ensuring peace just for your two nations?

... What? :)

In all seriousness though, I actually think most of that are thoughts he's had over the years, so I doubt any of that would be anything new. But I do think there needs to be an angsty narrative like that at some point. Just peel all the layers off and then slowly cook them up like caramelized onions.

That's it, isn't it. Twilight is like onions! He has layers, he bites, but if you cook him up well enough he'll become sweet as honey. I connected the dots!

This went from morbid to silly really fast. Anyway, still no manga spoilers please.

[a-silver-dragoness]

Greetings!

I call myself Iilah (meaning moon in dovahzul) and this is where I post all my art!

All OC's and art are free to use. Put them in stories, change them, throw them into a meat grinder, I honestly don't care. Go nuts and have fun!

Things I am:

Dragonkind

Godkind (Imagithrope) (goddess of souls and magic)

Light Furyhearted

Fictosexual/Fictoromantic

Proshipper/Ship and Let Ship

Things I have:

Anxiety/Depression

MaDD

Sometimes I talk very passionately about stuff that boils my blood (Light Fury hate and Christianity come to mind), so if that makes you uncomfortable, feel free to block me!

Otherwise, I don't care too much who follows me or how you interact with my posts, just don't be a douche, and we won't have any problems! 😊

Me ^^^

Favorite things/Random stuff ⬇️⬇️⬇️

My Favorite Animals:

Dragons (European/Wyvern)

Hummingbirds

Ball Pythons

Whales

My Favorite Pokemon:

Fire: Charizard

Water: Vaporeon

Grass: Torterra

Normal: Eevee

Electric: Kilowattrel

Fighting: Humipummel

Ice: Glaceon

Poison: Bulbasaur

Ground: Onix

Flying: Corviknight

Psychic: Lugia

Bug: Combee

Rock: Relicanth

Ghost: Spiritomb

Dark: Bombirdier

Fairy: Sylveon

Steel: Dialga

Dragon: Latios/Latias

My Favorite Bands/Music/Artists:

Heilung (particularly their Lifa album)

Aviators (particularly their Soulsborne songs)

A playlist of random songs I like (I put this playlist on shuffle 99% of the time):

My Favorite Book Series:

Wings of Fire

Specifically the third arc, I just love the concept of HiveWings, SilkWings, and LeafWings. But the last two books sorta spiraled into absurdity for me, I would have preferred a simple rebellion story, not a "the world is in danger and we have to save it!" type story. But overall, the third arc is still my favorite.

How I discovered I was a dragon:

Saphira (movie version) helped me figure out what I look like! While I'm not part of the Eragon universe, I share many physical traits with Saphira. Sometimes when I hyperfixate on dragon stuff, it makes me question whether it's a kintype or not, so I usually have to wait for the hyperfixation to fade before I can really tell. Usually, it means this kintype-like feeling fades with the hyperfixation. Not so with my silver Saphira-like form! This feeling of "this is me, this is who I am" stuck around after my interest in the movie faded.

How I discovered I was a goddess:

My MaDD (maladaptive daydreaming disorder) is a huge part of this. For many years now, my daydream world hasn't changed much. While the narrative changes frequently (on a daily basis), some characters and locations have become permanent, they're always part of my daydreams, they're always a part of me.

My husband King Solaris of the Angels (whom I miss very much), my doctor Corvus, the silver knights, the stone wyverns, the Lunar Sea, the forests, the mountains... these are all permanent.

In this world, also exists my idealized self. The goddess of Latria. The silver dragon. The goddess of souls and magic.

This idealized version of myself is permanent, and hasn't changed for many years. Which leads me to believe I am her in some way. I know, it sounds bizarre, or wrong, but that's how I feel. I am her. I... can't change that.

(Back when I was a kid, I could change my daydream self whenever I wanted, but that doesn't seem possible anymore)

My Forever Husbando:

King Solaris of the Angels, god of physical strength

All Husbandos:

*degree of interest changes every so often, usually on a monthly or weekly basis

War (Darksiders)

Toothless (HTTYD THW)

Sir Artorias the Abysswalker (Dark Souls)

Ludwig the Accursed/the Holy Blade (Bloodborne)

Big Daddy (Bioshock)

Pyramid Head (Silent Hill)

Nemesis (Resident Evil: Apocalypse)

Mr. X (Resident Evil)

Ghost People (Fallout New Vegas Dead Money)

SCP 049 (Creepypasta)

Master Chief (Halo)

Optimus Prime (Transformers Bayverse, G1, Prime)

Ratchet (Transformers G1)

Prince Dion Lesage/Bahamut (FF16)

King Rauru of Hyrule (LOZ TOTK)

Joshua Graham (Fallout New Vegas Honest Hearts)

Little Ghost/The Knight (Hollow Knight)

Godfrey the First Elden Lord (Elden Ring)

The Whalers (Dishonored)

Daud (Dishonored)

Inarius (Diablo)

Imperius (Diablo)

Tyrael (Diablo)

Usiel (Darksiders 3)

Archon Lucien (Darksiders 2)

Abaddon (Darksiders)

[smokeybrandreviews]

Diamond in the Rough

The current season of anime is coming to an end and, while there were some brilliant gems this go-around, i think i have been the most disappointed by a show, ever, in my entire life and I'm going i turn forty this year. Just, so goddamn upset about not one, but TWO shows. Like, how did they turn out this f*cking terrible? It's mind boggling. However, there was one that reached Frieren level of excellent so i was able to lose myself in that top tier dopeness. So, before we move forward into what i hope is a brilliant adaption of Dandadan and several others, i want to look back in order to give credit where it's due.

The Classic

Kaiju no. 8

Coming off the heals of Madhouse's masterpiece, Sousou no Frieren, Production IG delivered unto us Kaiju no. 8. It matched the pure dazzle of Frieren in every way. The character work, the performances, the narrative, the sound design; All of it! Kaiju no. 8 is f*cking dope. It's as close to a perfect anime as you can get. The only issue i have is the fact i gotta wait a year before the next season drops. Lame.

The Great

Go! Go! Loser Ranger

I as looking forward to this one for some time and was not disappointed. I've been a fan of the manga for years so this one getting the adaption nod was a big deal for me. In an age of The Boys, this was perfect to catch that deconstruction wave. You can tell this one was given full attention by Yostar. It's weird to me that the Azur Lane company can deliver solid anime outside of their gacha properties but, if they keep delivering quality like this, i can get used to that diversification.

Mysterious Disappearances

I did not expect this one to be as good as it was. The manga is solid but the show kind of levels up the narrative on the page. There was a thought of thought put into how to present this show and i think that level of forethought paid of wonderfully. It's nuts to me there isn't more chatter out in the wild about this show. Like, no one i know is talking about it even though it's probably one of the best released so far this year.

The Good

Reincarnated as a Slime III

Listen, this was making the list based on the virtue of it being a continuation of Reincarnated as a Slime. I love this show. I've loved this show since it first dropped. Of course i was going to have a good time with this show. That said, the production has fallen off a cliff. It's nowhere near as gorgeous as it once was. That was disappointing, especially with what's on the horizon. Everything else has been solid. Everything you expect to be great from a Slime entry is there, which is why the dip in animation quality hurts so bad.

The Ugly

The New Gate

I watched three episodes of this and dropped it in the trash where it belongs. The animation is just so hideous. Sh*t is borderline unwatchable.

Chillin' in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers

This one broke my f*cking heart. If you've followed this blog for a while, you know Chillin' is one of my all-time favorite manga. Learning this thing was getting an adaption sent me through the roof! And then it came out. Bro, this sh*t is so f*cking ugly. The animation is full of errors, none of the fights have any weight, everything is just so floaty, and that frame rate is total ass. It's literally the other side of the spectrum from Kaiju no. 8 and i had SO much more anticipation for Chillin. Another manga i love, butchered to the extreme, for no reason other than lack of funds and absurd deadlines. Bro, just delay and put in the work until it's good!

[smokeybrand]

Diamond in the Rough

The current season of anime is coming to an end and, while there were some brilliant gems this go-around, i think i have been the most disappointed by a show, ever, in my entire life and I'm going i turn forty this year. Just, so goddamn upset about not one, but TWO shows. Like, how did they turn out this f*cking terrible? It's mind boggling. However, there was one that reached Frieren level of excellent so i was able to lose myself in that top tier dopeness. So, before we move forward into what i hope is a brilliant adaption of Dandadan and several others, i want to look back in order to give credit where it's due.

The Classic

Kaiju no. 8

Coming off the heals of Madhouse's masterpiece, Sousou no Frieren, Production IG delivered unto us Kaiju no. 8. It matched the pure dazzle of Frieren in every way. The character work, the performances, the narrative, the sound design; All of it! Kaiju no. 8 is f*cking dope. It's as close to a perfect anime as you can get. The only issue i have is the fact i gotta wait a year before the next season drops. Lame.

The Great

Go! Go! Loser Ranger

I as looking forward to this one for some time and was not disappointed. I've been a fan of the manga for years so this one getting the adaption nod was a big deal for me. In an age of The Boys, this was perfect to catch that deconstruction wave. You can tell this one was given full attention by Yostar. It's weird to me that the Azur Lane company can deliver solid anime outside of their gacha properties but, if they keep delivering quality like this, i can get used to that diversification.

Mysterious Disappearances

I did not expect this one to be as good as it was. The manga is solid but the show kind of levels up the narrative on the page. There was a thought of thought put into how to present this show and i think that level of forethought paid of wonderfully. It's nuts to me there isn't more chatter out in the wild about this show. Like, no one i know is talking about it even though it's probably one of the best released so far this year.

The Good

Reincarnated as a Slime III

Listen, this was making the list based on the virtue of it being a continuation of Reincarnated as a Slime. I love this show. I've loved this show since it first dropped. Of course i was going to have a good time with this show. That said, the production has fallen off a cliff. It's nowhere near as gorgeous as it once was. That was disappointing, especially with what's on the horizon. Everything else has been solid. Everything you expect to be great from a Slime entry is there, which is why the dip in animation quality hurts so bad.

The Ugly

The New Gate

I watched three episodes of this and dropped it in the trash where it belongs. The animation is just so hideous. Sh*t is borderline unwatchable.

Chillin' in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers

This one broke my f*cking heart. If you've followed this blog for a while, you know Chillin' is one of my all-time favorite manga. Learning this thing was getting an adaption sent me through the roof! And then it came out. Bro, this sh*t is so f*cking ugly. The animation is full of errors, none of the fights have any weight, everything is just so floaty, and that frame rate is total ass. It's literally the other side of the spectrum from Kaiju no. 8 and i had SO much more anticipation for Chillin. Another manga i love, butchered to the extreme, for no reason other than lack of funds and absurd deadlines. Bro, just delay and put in the work until it's good!

[likeawolfatthemoon]

ttpd first listen opinions incoming:

fortnight- not what i was expecting at all but somehow exactly right???? like i was expecting poppy, angry, synth, with the signature post dreamy and it IS all of those things to a T but something in the narrative makes it more interesting and compelling. LOVE that she is continuing to be an author inspired by her own life. creating characters inhabited by her emotions.

the tortured poets department - ooooooooohhhhhhh oh no uh oh i was not looking out for this title track at all at it fucking HIT. who's gonna love you like me??? NO FUCKING BODY!!!!!! that's some shit. the bridge 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 about the ring 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 ohhhhh i'minsane im insane I'm snane whomstsg literally right here right now is wearing a ring on their left hand ring finger that is not an engagement ring and is not really anything but a desperate wish LMAO 🙋🙋🙋 TAYLOR I REALLY NEED TO TALK TO YOU

my boy only breaks his favorite toys - ONCE I FIX ME HE'S GONNA MISS ME????????????????????? JAIL JAIL JAIL JAIL this is a fucking bop wrapped in mental illness wrapped in a gnarly relationship dynamic. pack her up, she's coming home with me!! i found the one!!!! i mean it's been a few minutes since i heard it bc i paused and i'm typing this up so i don't remember it exactly but the line about pull my string and i'll tell you how he runs bc he's scared of loved L M A O taylor youuuuu are mean to me specifically and i love you

down bad - naked and alone in a field in my same old town that somehow seems so hollow now they'll say i'm nuts if i talk about the existence of you 😐😐😐😐😐😐😐 but also...is there going to be an alien music video. i'm being so dead serious, with the cosmic love and all the space mentions and beep boop spaceship sounds i deadass think the "naked and alone in a field" is gonna be used as an alien abduction metaphor in a mv ORRRRR i am high OR both! regardless: certified banger ✅

so long, london - .... wow. honestly i need more time to process that. not unexpected at all, but just so impactfully said and i can't remember any of it because every line hit me and knocked the last one out of my head. i need to listen 1000000 more times on repeat.

but daddy i love him - again not at ALL what i expected but oh my god???? i am so in love and so charmed by this song????? like hello country taylor 🥹🥹🥹👢 LOVE that we're flipping the convention of using religion in country songs and instead say um no actually keep your predatory misogynistic institution away from my body thx

fresh out the slammer - wearing invisible rings 😐😐😐😐😐 were they 😐😐 invisible... like 😐😐😐... the.. .😐 invisible string g 😐😐😐😐😐😐😐 this is not the cringe bop akin to vigilante shit i was expecting so i am simply processing.... so much. and like. i just have to say i love this album so much so far i love her

florida!!! - little did you know your home's really just a town you're just a guest in 🥴🥴🥴😵‍💫😵‍💫🥴😵‍💫🥴😭😭😵‍💫🥴 MAAAAAM!!!! I'M UNWELL!!!! IM GOING TO HAVE TO TELL PEOPLE ONE OF MY FAVORITE SONGS IS A SONG CALLED FLORIDA FUCKING STOP IT SONEOBE STOP THIS WOMAN

guilty as sin? - more exploration of societal perceptions of female sexuality! and virginity! and masturbation! unpacking the religious trauma of christian girlhood!!! literally i am over the fucking moon.

who's afraid of little old me? - 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨 THIS IS THE BITCH THIS IS MY NUMBER ONE IM NOT EVEN DONE BUT I CANNOT IMAGINE ANYTHING BETTER THAN WHAT I JUST LISTENED TO I KNOW THERE IS MORE BRAND NEW TAYLOR SWIFT MUSIC BUT I WANT TO LISTEN TO THAT ONE AGAIN RIGHT NOW

i can fix him (no really i can) - ummmmmmmmmm well. i liked some lyrics, i liked some music. i think this one is gonna be a grower lol

loml - fucking.........fuck. the absolute LYRICS in this bitch. my mouth is lit er a ly AGAPE !!!! i yet again need to listen to this one or twenty hundred more times to process, but also loss of my life truthers rise

i can do it with a broken heart - i like most of it! I could do without the "i'm so depressed i act like it's my birthday" part of the chorus even though i relate to it but also i just know it's gonna grow on me. right now tho.......

the smallest man who ever lived - OHHHHHH SHIT not to be that person but joe alwyn literally found DEAD IN A DUMPSTER sucks to suckkkkkk i just!!!!! damn

the alchemy - 😳 she's a rebound song....iiiiiiii - hmmmmm. people who listened to leaks and have thus claimed the good lyric urls i just wanna talk.

clara bow - OH HELL YEAH. OH HELLLL YEAH. The Themes Of It All!!!!!!!!!!! hollywood/the media/culture at large just cyclically preys on young women. THE WORLD just cyclically preys on young women. hollywood is just holding up a mirror to the rest of society!! the rest of society is failing to realize the humanity of the offerings they're served!! PERFECT ALBUM CLOSER

now that i've taken 2.5 hours to do a first listen, a quick first ranking after hearing everything only one and seeing no one else's opinions:

1. who's afraid of little old me?

2. my boy only breaks his favorite toys

3. loml

4. the smallest man who ever lived

5. florida!!!

6. guilty as sin?

7. so long, london

8. clara bow

9. down bad

10. but daddy i love him

11. the tortured poets department

12. i can do it with a broken heart

13. fortnight

14. the alchemy

15. fresh out the slammer

16. i can fix him (no really i can)

[mongeese]

Music in Wolf 359

Hey so uhh I meant this to be a relatively short informal analysis post but then it accidentally turned in a 1150 word essay. Whoops! Anyway, it’s about the role music plays in Wolf 359, both on a practical level outside the story and a narrative/thematic level inside the story. I wrote this all in one go with minimal proofreading, so I sincerely hope it’s understandable and that my points are good. As always, feedback is welcome so long as you’re nice about it!

Here it is, under the read more because it’s long as hell:

One of my favorite things about Wolf 359 is the way it talks about and uses music. Like, the fact that the aliens are trying to contact humanity just because they want to learn how to make music is one of my all-time favorite reveals in the podcast because it’s just so profound! And it gives me a lot to try and unpack (which I am going to try and do right now).

Obviously, there is a practical element to the significance of music in the narrative. It is an audio-only medium, after all, and music provides a welcome break to all the dialogue and drama. Eiffel even references its ability to act as a way to ease the tension in Mission Mishaps: A Little Night Music, though that was almost definitely not an intentional wink to a more meta reason for the music. I’m just making a fun little reference to an episode I remember. Anyways, more to the point: music is really the only art form that can feasibly be introduced in a podcast. Theater is maybe an exception? However, I think putting a play into an audio drama would get a bit complicated on a storytelling level. Though if someone could pull that off, it’d probably be very cool, like some Hamlet vibes. But that’s irrelevant, so I digress. The point is, the medium was probably a strong motivator for the intense significance given to music.

Aside from the medium itself, the premise also lends itself to music being the connecting thread throughout the story. Now, I don’t know which idea came first: Doug Eiffel being the communications officer probing deep space, or the fact that the aliens want humans to teach them music. Regardless, those two facts are intrinsically linked. Given Eiffel’s role on the station, there is not really any other subtle way for the aliens to try and get his attention. All he can do is listen; he can’t receive any visible messages over the vacuum of space, not without a cable television to view them on, and if the aliens just spoke to him to slow burn of the plot and the eventual reveal would be ruined. Music is the best way for them to reach out in a way that fits neatly in the narrative they’re trying to build.

Now, let’s move away from external factors, shall we? I want to dive into the significance within the text. Obviously, music is significant to different characters in different ways. Minkowski is a total musical theater nut (the absolute queen), to the point of pursuing it over and over again even when she fails continually. Her devotion to music mirrors her devotion and stubbornness in all other aspects of her life, in addition to adding unexpected depth and nuance to her character. Regarding Eiffel, I think it’s safe to assume that he loves pop music the same way he loves pop culture. Plus, it’s given as one of the first and only ways he bonds with his daughter, as written in the episode Limbo:

“Doug was seeing little baby Anne pretty much every other day, talking to her every day, teaching her to play the Jaws theme on her little dinky kid xylophone, all the good stuff.”

It’s notable also, that Doug’s worst action, the thing that permanently put a wedge between him and his daughter, ended up making her go deaf. Even if she’s still able to appreciate music on some level, because deaf people can do that, it will still be a fundamentally different experience for her and Doug. I’ve posted about this once before, and I fully believe they made the decision to have Anne go deaf as opposed to some other disability because of the significance of audio and speaking and music to Doug’s life. It emphasizes how extreme what happened was, how thoroughly that mistake drove his family away from him (for good reason, I might add, I’m not trying to excuse him). I could write a whole other essay on Doug and his daughter though, so for now I’ll move on.

To be perfectly honest, it’s been a long time since I’ve listened to the podcast, and I don’t entirely remember what the rest of the characters say about what music means to them. If anyone who has a more encyclopedic knowledge of the characters and podcast wants to chime in here, I’d be fascinated to hear what sort of concrete examples there are of music being significant other than the ones I’ve mentioned. I’m pretty sure Hera is interested in music the same way she is interested in books and other forms of human art, and I have a vague memory of Lovelace mentioning a song that was important to her in one of the episodes, but the details escape me. Suffice it to say, the characters do interact with music in ways that are distinct and which reveal aspects of their character. Just goes to show that even without the whole “alien” thing, music is an important part of almost all of the major cast members’ lives.

And of course, I can’t write a Wolf 359 meta without linking it back to the anticapitalist theme of the whole story. It is so, so profound that out of all the amazing tech of Goddard Futuristics, all they are prepared to offer the immensely powerful extraterrestrial group, the one thing the aliens want is… music. Classical music, even, something that is widely considered unprofitable and frivolous as a career path, something that has little market value in a soulless capitalist world. As it turns out, that music is the most important and revolutionary thing humanity has to offer. And there’s added depth, because it’s not just that the aliens want to learn our music; our music quite literally saves Earth as a whole! Bob the alien says, that for species they decide not to bring into the fold of their alliance, they often have to destroy all members of that species. Humanity certainly would have met that fate, if not for our talent in music. I don’t know about you guys, but that drives me insane!! The fact that quite literally, humanity’s saving grace is our music? It’s such a poetic and remarkable theme to have, and one that I think is very applicable to real life. Humans have been making music for at least 40,000 years, probably more. It’s a fundamental urge, I think, to create music, whether through singing, drumming, playing instruments, whatever. Plus human’s aren’t even the only species that makes music, so you could reasonably extend Wolf 359’s statement to say that Earth’s saving grace and its most beautiful feature is its music. My favorite flavor, though, comes when you intertwine music’s importance with the anticapitalist ideas of the podcast. Because music is not inherently profitable or conventionally innovative (i.e. not innovative according to tech bros) and yet it is our most important invention. That is just such an amazing message to me, and it really, really resonates.

[absolutebl]

Kdramas That Should be Remade as KBLs

So @inthenevernight asked me this epic question. And I feel like I’ve been waiting a lifetime for it.... 

I’m going to go with actual Kdramas being remade as full treatment BLs (12-16 episodes of 30-45 min each) by Korea in the same vein as the original offering, because I could go nuts with KBL remakes of other country’s het dramas* (Something in My Smile anyone?), or other countries doing their BL takes Kdramas, or having to pick ones that KBL will shrink to the usual short treatment. 

In other words: 

direct 1 to 1, Kdrama ---> KBL only! 

Also, I gotta keep myself under control. So I’m picking TOP 10. 

10 Kdramas I Want Remade as BLs 

Welcome to a regular installment of MAKE IT GAY, YOU COWARDS! 

1. Hospital Playlist

HOSPITAL PLAYLIST hospital playlist hospital playlist hospital playlist hospital playlist hospital playlist hospital playlist hospital playlist hospital playlist hospital playlist 

*gasp* 

This is my favorite Kdrama of all time and I would DIE for the queer friendship group version. Same deal, same egos and attitudes and specialities, just ALL of them are queer.  

2. Descendants of the Sun

Look it could just be gay and not a whole lot would change plot-wise except there’d be real tension and issues with them getting together because military dude. There could still also be conflict between healer/warrior life philosophies. Could still be the same flirting dynamic. 

Go on, ask me how much do I want gay in the Korean military to happen in a BL? SO FLIPPING MUCH. Will it ever. ABSOLUTELY NOT. 

I am a perverse mf. 

3. Uncanny Counter 

Secret cabal of queer af superheroes fights demons out of a noodle shop. Outcast is outcast and bullied because he’s gay. Gay = superpower. It writes itself. *waves hand in air* Make it so. 

Actually I’d settle for Strong Woman Do Bong Soon only gay as well. 

4. Gogh, The Starry Night

Basically a kind of in office-set Boys Over Flowers (reverse harem romance meets bully romance), and I’ve been wanting that for a while from BL. 

Hell, I could see just a BL Boys Over Flowers, for that matter. Doesn’t qualify though because it’s technically Japanese. Also I think, if anyone does this, it should be Thailand. 

5. W

This is one of my favorite Kdramas ever, because it is all about the narrative journeys. Also it uses a narrative conceit, portal fiction (which is portal fantasy, only the portal is to a fictional world) that is popular in Asia but not the west. I love this kind of alt reality story* and W is unquestionably the best of the best. 

6. Run-On

Emotionally unavailable (spectrum? demi?) poor little rich kid jock trying to do the right thing meets morally grounded sunshine orphan chaos monkey. Everything else could stay the same, their jobs and roles, the publicly issues, the relationship issues (can’t be gay when daddy is a politician) and sports bullying plot thread, even the hyung (formerly noona) romance side dishes could be the same, only BL. 

7. What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim? 

How could I not want this dynamic? It’s basically old school whipping boy and watching Foei in Cutie Pie just makes me want this to happen from Korea more. 

8. Heirs 

Of course I want this messy craptastic bully meets spoiled prince abusing his power... only gay. Why tf not? Terribly problematic no matter what, but the messy would be such fun to watch play out as queer if the uke is a boy, especially if he is a super tough street kid type, since the power differential is a bit less extreme when they are both male so it wouldn’t be as anti-feminist as the original. 

9. When the Camellia Blooms

Single dad in a small town trying to make a new life for himself, younger sunshine paladin cop falls in love with him. Whole town is against them. Frankly this one works BETTER as a gay romance than it did as a het one. 

10. Romance is a Bonus Book

I love me a noona and a pining boy since childhood, I think this could be done gay too. Something in the Rain features the variation on this dynamic that I like even more (best friend’s younger brother) but I like the second half and ending of Romance is a Bonus Book better, so I think it would be a better as a direct adaption. But if I had my druthers just combine both stories, then adapt. 

Others I’d love to see BL: 

Melancholia 

Beauty Inside 

Thumping Spike 

Strongest Deliveryman 

Love and Leashes 

Mystic Pop-Up Bar 

Rookie Historian 

100 Days My Prince 

Lawless Lawyer 

Devil Judge (nash)

Doom At Your Service (although I feel like we are kind of getting this with Dear Doctor, I’m Coming For You Soul from Thailand).

I didn’t say True Beauty because I kind of feel like Light On Me is the BL version of True Beauty already. 

* Ask me how much I want Taiwan’s Lost Romance remade as a boy falling into a BL? No seriously, I’d wait because I WANT THIS MORE THAN I WANT FOOD. And food is my love language. Anygay, if you are as into narrative tropes as I am watch this show. (It’s on Viki.) 

(source)