#montage japan edition

[pommpuriinn]

Mine mysterious Boyfriend

ੈ✩ synopsis - y/n is a very successful influencer who is known for producing aesthetically pleasing vlogs about her travels, normal day to day life, going to restaurants to taste test food. But even though she gets millions of viewers on a daily basis, her most popular videos are of her sitting down and explaining the latest drama to her never before seen boyfriend. Her viewers are so curious on how he looks since they've been together for a couple of years and y/n has always blurred or added a cute hand drawn character of a white dog with dark eye bags to cover his face whenever he gets in frame. That is until a trip to Japan where the couple was peacefully vlogging by a little tanghulu stand, and a streamer was filming not that far from the couple and caught them in 4K. Revealing y/n’s boyfriend to the world.

ੈ✩ pairing - soobin x fem!reader

ੈ✩ a/n - hey…𓏗-𓏗 it’s been a while since my last post and again sorry. I have been working and trying to get my bag. A little life update: I met katseye during their first fan event which was CRAZYt they are so pretty in person, then I went to see the txt vr movie seeing them so close was freaking me out while also kicking my feet (and yes I’m seeing it a second time I’m delulu). I want to start writing little scenarios of the members instead of full stories. Maybe it will help me write more and get more creative. Inspired by my girl Stephanie Soo and her husband (I love them!)

Y/n Rose started her channel 3 years ago and it instantly blew up because of her aesthetic style and people loved how relatable and humble she was with her new found fame through social media. Lots of people talk about how y/n is a loser stuck in a hot person’s body because of her clumsy self and does little stupid things that people find funny and cute. Her viewers didn’t just get invested into her very entertaining content, but because of y/n’s mysterious boyfriend. Who goes by Soob or Binie and sometimes toki which means ‘bunny’ in Korean. Reddit fans tried their hardest to try to find any photos of her boyfriend through her old post, but unfortunately nothing was found besides him being Korean because of the toki nickname and in videos he’s teaching y/n Korean.

Fans are so desperate to see his face since they know he has to be fine to be able to bag someone as beautiful as y/n, plus he literally has people post edits on tiktok of his hands because his hands are just that attractive to many. Luckily y/n’s fans are respectful and don’t push y/n for information even fans that meet y/n in person don’t sneak pictures of him and don’t answer people’s questions about him.

༚✧ ༚꒰ ୨୧ ꒱༚ ✧

Currently the two are flying back to Japan since it’s literally their favorite place to visit since it has everything they’re obsessed with like; anime, Nintendo store, and really good food. Y/n filmed a little montage of herself playing on her deco rog ally (a handheld console almost like a switch) then of her putting on skincare along with a face mask. Until tragedy struck because Soob took off his glasses and placed them on his seat before going to the restroom to wash his face, as he wanted to do his skincare with y/n and once he came back Soob completely forgot he placed his glasses down and sat on them.

The two gasped at the crack sound that came from his butt. “No you did not.” Y/n tried covering her laugh with placing a hand over her mouth, while looking at Soob and back at the camera. Soob slowly reached down and took a pair of now flimsy glasses causing the couple to silently laugh. Y/n accidentally hit her little table so hard that her camera fell off since it was placed at the edge. With Soob’s quick reaction he was able to catch the camera mid air, “y/n-ah!” He whispered yelled. “We can’t already start breaking things before we even make it to Japan.” Soob adjusted the camera in a better angle while y/n hid her face in her (Soob’s) hoodie trying not to be too loud.

After calming down y/n wiped her tears from laughing so much. “Show them your glasses binie.” Soob then held his glasses out like those people who review makeup products, with his hand behind the glasses so the camera can focus on the damage. “Mind you this is the second time this has happened. Where he sets his glasses on the chair goes do something then comes back and his ass does all the damage.” Soob breaks into a laugh. “Sorry that my ass is pretty strong.”

༚✧ ༚꒰ ୨୧ ꒱༚ ✧

Y/n gave a quick room tour of the big hotel room that has an amazing view of Tokyo with the help of her very cute boyfriend who is a great camera man. As y/n was talking she couldn’t help but look at how her toki was giving her heart eyes making y/n lose focus on what she was trying to say. “Stop looking at me like that!” He instantly smiled and continued to tease her. “Like what?”

Fans definitely screen recorded the clip and started making edits quickly. The two finished unpacking and were supposed to start getting ready to adventure outside, but y/n saw that Soob looked so comfortable laying on the bed that she just had to try the bed too. As y/n was now laying down next for Soob explaining their plans to the camera, he instantly got a wave of sleepiness with the warmth of y/n by his side. He set an alarm on his phone which he placed next to him and started to snuggle into her. Y/n was unbothered Soob hugging her or being in frame because she would just edit a sleepy yongmeong sticker over his face.

“He’s making me sleepy~” y/n snicker while watching her toki sleep with his head resting on her shoulder through her viewfinder. It didn’t take long before y/n closed her eyes and started sleeping with the camera still filming. She ended up editing a little fast forward clip of the two sleeping before it cuts to them actually walking down a little street with of course Soob being her cameraman.

༚✧ ༚꒰ ୨୧ ꒱༚ ✧

“So we’re actually at a convenience store because someone got sleepy and then got me sleepy, so we ended up sleeping for a couple hours.” Y/n explained, while also swinging their connected hands back and forth happily. “Blame it on the jet lag because I’m so used to New York time.” Soob tries to justify himself. “I guess.” Y/n playfully rolls her eyes at him making Soob laugh. The couple were a few steps away from the convenience store before Soob cuts himself off, “oh! Should we show them your fit?” He backed away to give the camera a full shot of y/n’s outfit. “No, I look like Adam Sandler right now!” Y/n whined, hiding her face with her hands slightly embarrassed by just wearing Soob’s hoodie again with loose gray sweatpants with bows running all down on sides of her legs, paired with her cute decorated crocs. She was still giving a coquette feel to the fit.

“It’s giving Adam Sandler meets coquette vibes.” Soob jokes further leaving a pout on y/n’s lips. “I’m joking. You look very cute.” Soob gently pulls y/n by her hand into a hug comforting her. Cute little gestures like that instantly boosts y/n’s mood, she could never genuinely get mad at Soob. “Let’s show the viewers your OOTD.” Y/n makes sure to just film from the neck down. “Binie has his classic white button up, wide legged pants, basic white shoes, and to top it off his brown bag. It’s giving very boyfriend vibes 101, very demure, very cutesy, very mindful.” Y/n and Soob burst out laughing, getting stares from a couple of people, but they didn’t mind.

“Let’s go get your flavored ice.” Soob wrapped his arm our y/n’s shoulder guiding her in the convenience store. “Oh my god yes! Guys I have been seeing that mainly in Korea there’s this thing- I forgot what it’s called, but it’s for people who love to eat ice. It’s peach flavored ice!” y/n was so excited making Soob smile down at her still filming. “It’s also because she would see those Korean cheerleaders do the little dance and then sit back down to eat the ice.” Soob added. Y/n pulled away from Soob and started the iconic dance the cheerleaders do, making Soob laugh more.

༚✧ ༚꒰ ୨୧ ꒱༚ ✧

To no one’s surprise y/n loved the ice and literally finished it in 5 minutes. They got a lot of snacks before heading to their next stop which is a popular tanghulu stand. It was a pretty crowded place since there’s lots of stores all around plus it was the evening, the perfect time to hang out. They weren’t the only ones thinking the same because not far from them was a female streamer obviously streaming also eating tanghulu with her friend. “Guys this is so good!” Her eyes wided while munching on the solid sugar-covered strawberry. She wasn’t paying attention that her chat was freaking out about a certain couple that was being shown in the corner. “Huh? Why is everyone freaking out? Is there a celebrity around here?” Even her friend was confused looking around.

The female streamer was now closely reading the comments until a certain comment in all caps shocked her.

#1: OMG IT'S Y/N AND SOOB!! U JUST REVEALED HIS FACE

“You just revealed-no fucking way!” The poor streamer panicked because they were also big fans of them, but she just unintentionally did something bad. She knew how private y/n is when it comes to Soob to the point where even if Soob is showing something on his phone that y/n blurs the reflection of his face on his phone in videos. The streamer quickly ended her stream abruptly, “dude I have to go up to them and tell them.” She looked at her friend with a stressed expression. “I’m sure they will understand. We’ll go together, plus you didn’t mean to show Soob’s face like that.” Her friend had a point. So she took a deep breath and began walking up to them.

As the couple was just finishing their second sweet treat of the day the poor streamer interrupted them saying their thoughts to the camera. “Um…I’m sorry to interrupt, but hi I’m Alice I’m a streamer and I was streaming literally not long ago and…”, Alice was trying to find the right words. “I didn’t know you guys were in the frame and many, many people saw Soob’s face. I’m so sorry.” Alice hated confrontation and was about to burst into tears with how their smiles instantly dropped. The couple looked at each other trying to feel words on what to say.

“Oh, um thank you for telling us instead of leaving us to find out online. Don’t feel sorry it wasn’t your fault plus we’re in public people are recording and taking pictures. Plus I know I could only do so much to try and protect Soob’s identity.” Y/n caressed Alice’s arm to try to make her feel better, clearly seeing her distressed face. “I can’t hide forever, and I again appreciate you telling us.” Alice was shocked at how they were taking this. ”And I’m assuming you're a fan since you know Soob and I.” Y/n wanted to lighten up the mood. “I am!” Alice bursted into tears. Making everyone laugh, as she got to free her emotions. “I loved you guys since the beginning and oh my god you are so handsome and she’s so pretty it’s insane! You are such a power couple and I love seeing Soob always helping you record and you always covering his face with yongmeong who is such a cute character!” Alice finally got to say what she always thought of saying if she ever got to meet them.

Both y/n and Soob’s heart was melting at the cute sight of Alice fangirling and expressing her love for them. They ended up taking pictures together and ensuring Alice that it’s okay and truly wasn’t her fault revealing Soob.

༚✧ ༚꒰ ୨୧ ꒱༚ ✧

It was trending everywhere the clip made it’s rounds and Y/n quickly addressed it before anyone would try to send hate to Alice, and Soob wanted to make a video with y/n after a couple of weeks finally actually revealing himself. He felt like it was inevitable for this to happen and it was bound to happen just not like this. With his decision to do this y/n was a bit opposed to doing this because she knows that Soob is a very private person. But she could tell Soob was already set on doing it.

“After lots of thinking I think it’s time to show the world the literal love of my life.” Y/n and Soob were certainly sitting on the floor in their living room back in New York with a yongmeong face pillow still covering Soob’s face. “Are you going to put it down?” Soob chuckled at y/n. “I’m nervous!” Y/n was more anxious than Soob. “I’ll do it then.” Soob took the face pillow and placed it on his lap. Y/n squealed seeing Soob’s face in the viewfinder.

“Hi I’m Soobin also known as Soob and Binie.” Soobin covered his face feeling shy with y/n hyping him up.

The world suddenly was more colorful, the air was fresher, and the water was bluer and clear now that Soobin revealed his face. People were happy having an actual face to the name and seeing the most visually stunning couple. Soobin even unprivated his instagram but his instagram was literally a fan page of y/n because it was girlfriend material photos of y/n, and his only post with his face was his most recent one that still has y/n in the picture. Which people found so cute that Soobin is so down bad for y/n.

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Random QL Superlatives: 2024 Edition

I will eventually do my faves list but since @lurkingshan opened the festivities I thought I'd give it a shot.

Best Obviously Fake Tattoos - Jack & Joker

There was no attempt at making them look even remotely real and I love that. Obviously the fact that they are on War does help.

Biggest number of Cats - The On1y One

CATS!!! I love them. That's it.

Best Plant Dad - Shiba Ryoma, Love Is a Poison

DELIGHTFUL. The sound effect, the visual effects, everything about these succulents was perfection.

Best Puppie - Mr. Mitsuya's Planned Feeding

FRITO! He's the best boy.

Most bilinguals in a show - Eccentric romance

The suspension of disbelief that it was required to just go with the premise that everyone understood thai but no one could speak it, it was already a lot. Then murder and kidnappings and a sweet friends to lovers somewhere in there. It was a show.

Best Product Placement Moment - Cherry Magic Thailand

Tay Tawan my beloved. Several times watching this show I had to pause and just sigh. He so pretty.

Best Neighbours - She Loves to Cook, She loves to Eat

I will move to Japan if I can have a meal with them.

Most unexpected use of a canvas - Sunset Vibes

Honestly this whole scene was hilarious in a way that I don't think was the point.

Most environmentally unfriendly flirting- The Trainee

They are too cute.

Best Fashion Montage - Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko!

Poor Hiroko. But also, can she make it any more obvious?

Best PSA - Wandee Goodday

Yeah I had some issues with this show by the end, but this was great.

Funniest use of a vegetable - Every You Every Me

I will never look at a carrot the same way again. This was hilarious. Just thinking about it makes me laugh. Best Fight Scene - Ossan's Love Returns

Their dynamic is everything. This show made me laugh so much. THEY ARE FAMILY!

Well that's all I got for now. It's been a fun year in QL Land.

[7nessasaryevils]

I'm back with things that made me clutch my chest, snap my neck, scream into the void etc etc... from ep 6 of Wandee Goodday.

Settle in my loves, we're in for one heck of a ride!

- starting us off strong with Yak waking up Dee, pouting about them not being able to see each other for a week because of the training camp, THE HEAD RUFFLE AND FOREHEAD KISS.... HELP ME IM GOING TO KILL THEM

- we're also back to the elephant pants and I cannot describe my happiness at seeing Yak wearing something that makes him comfortable while being with Dee

- that whole fucking montage... look at these domestic "we're just fuck buddies" assholes. Gentlemen, you wouldn't know "fuck buddies" if they were sucking your dick....

- TOOTHBRUSHES SIDE BY SIDE

- HES WEARING THE NECKLACE

- I had to physically stop myself from smacking my head into a wall at Yak's "I see you (Dee) more than I see her (Taem)" .... insert Scar's imsurroundedbyidiots.gif

- I love the way Dee thinks that Yoryak has no weakness? He genuinely seems surprised that Yak needs to go get trained 🥹🥹 also how worried he is when Yak explains his first loss...

- here's me toasting you Khun Yak for that sex joke 🤣👍🏽

-Patpran would be so proud... BET ERA MY BELOVED (if they fist bump I'll scream... oh phooey they didn't)

- them texting each other about their day... gwenchana gwenchana 😭😭😭

- I guess Oishi GreenTea is not sponsoring them 😅🤣

- Yak and Yei... just that scene...

- dee on the couch... quite obviously missing Yak... you dumbass ♥️🥺

- HE LEFT HIS PANTS THE- HE LEAVES CLOTHES AT DEE'S PLACE YOU DUMBASSES ARE SO INTO BOYFRIEND TERRITORY ITS OBVIOUS TO PLUTO!!

- that change in perspective... Golf... I see you and your masterful brain 👀👀👀

- HES WEARING THE PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNTTTTTTSSSSSSS

- Dee making a mess on the mirror on purpose (I'm not crying I'm NOT)

- sweetheart... you're in love with Yoryak... 🥹🥺♥️

- Cher? My darling? Give Yei a really good blowjob when he comes back because your hubby is fucking SMART (also yak and yei sleeping on a bed together... adorable sibling behaviour)

- me when Yak walks outside: ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh wandee is gonna show up he's gonna show up he lost the bet he's gon- OHHHHH YAK CLOSED HIS EYES AND WHEN HE OPENS THEM DEE WILL BE THERE!!!!

- me when i turned out to be right:

- "the atmosphere here is nice." "It got even better with you here." SOMEBODY SEDATE ME!

- hey pot? I believe the kettle is calling you black.

- give me a kiss... look at these two idi-

- you know when you have to put your phone down because you cannot believe the audacity? Yeah... that's me when Yak points right to his lips. Sir. You dumbass.

- my knees just gave out

- nobody hold me back im about my plant my foot into Ter's face

- KAAAAAAOOOOOOO HI BABY!!

- oh no. Oh no no no no. This is one time I do NOT WANT a whole "oh there's only one bed"!!!!

- side note: is this what happened with Billy and Babe when they went to Japan? 🤔🤔 thank you Kao 🤣♥️

- forget my foot. I'm dropping a fucking ANVIL on this asshole's face- where does Ter get off making decisions for Dee???

- DONT KISS HIM BACK OFF STRANGER DANGER STRANGER DANGER YAK HELP!!! (edit: two mins later I was even more pissed off because Ter knows that Dee has a boyfriend, "fake" as it is, and he still tried to kiss Dee! This dickhead!!!)

- WELL DONE DEE!

- well done P'Golf!! HPV knowledge my beloved ♥️♥️

- Dee no!!! Don't think about that horse-faced dick doctor (if I had a quarter every time I said that, I'd have two quarters only... but weird for it to happen twice - fuck you Dr. Charlatan!!!)

- YAK! Come get your man!!

- I'm all for you two seeing each other again but NOT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET THATS HOW WE DIE!!! MOVE YOU DUMB GAYS! (Edit: Kay but now think of the fact that Dee is terrified of crossing the street and how easily he does it when it's Yak he's walking to...this is okay I'm okay I'm so okay)

- love and the city... p'golf you fucking genius

- kisses in the stairwell... gods they really want me to choke don't they?

- second time I had to put my phone down... Yoryak... I'm this close to drop-kicking you across the country

- my body is yours... and so is your heart you idiot get to that realization faster!!! Pat would be so disappointed!

- Kao coming in with those truths... my utmost respect for you sir 🫡🫡

- oh shit...

- TAEM YOU QUEEN YES!!

- DEE YOU DUMBASS NO!

- hats off to Cher and Yei being adorable and happy in their sex lives which includes phone sex!!! We approve!!!

- the side by side!!!! Interesting to think of it as a couple making love vs. a couple fucking but it's actually two couples in love... awww

- OYEI AND CHER LIP KISS THANK YOU P'GOLF!!!!

- Kao. Sir. I'm erecting temples in your honour. Making merit. Fasting. Praying for you to find someone who loves you the way you want to be loved. I'm doing it all for you because you fucking deserve it.

- the pink on Dee's face... sweetheart you're so in love with him 🥺🥺

- GROUP DATE!!!! And our resident idiot gays are in matching pants.... lord gimme strength

- feeding each oth- breathe Nessie breathe. The idiots know not how they hurt you.

- Yak recognizing that something's going on between Yei and Cher is such a lovely thing. Now if only he could realize stuff about himself and Dee!

- third time I put down my phone... but to cry because Yak remembers Dee's fear and holds his hand I'm fucking fine don't touch me

- oh no... Yei you got yourself mixed up with loan sharks! honey no!

- yak comparing the pics of him, Cher, Yei and Dee to the family picture... this epsiode really said we're going to stomp on your heart Nessie...

- they're still holding hands... fuck

- I'm begging whatever deity is listening to me: please don't let there be a scene where Dee tells the public about yak's secret place

- one more word and I'll kiss you... on the lips. (Okay but the fact that he says this and still thinks he might be in love with Taem makes me feel like this 👇🏽

- Yei you utter romantic sap 🥹🥹🥹🥹🫡

- the story of how Yei and Cher met... fucking fuck 😭😭😭

- and then ending it off with Dee knowing that no matter what his feelings, the fact that Yak is the only person who makes him feel at ease... FUCKING FUCKITY FUCK

this epsiode came for my whole existence and the next one... the next one is gonna have me on the floor THANKS!

[goinghostie]

Hoshiai no sola / Stars Align Ep. 13 Teaser - English Fan Sub

Disclaimer: I am in no way claiming credit for Hoshiai no Sola or Stars Align/Hoshiai no Sora. I put this fansub together because the original video did not include English subtitles, and many overseas fans do not realize it exists. If English subs are added to the original video, I will remove it.

There was no official English translation for the Hoshiai no Sora tribute video that was posted by the animation team to thank fans for supporting the series. As such, I am sharing a fan sub that I have translated (apologies for any mistakes!).

The first half of the original video includes a montage of scenes from the first half of the series and is available to watch on TBS' anime Youtube account. The second half includes this teaser portion, which confirms that there is more to the story than we were able to see. This is because the series, which was originally greenlit for a full 24 episode cour, had the second half cut last minute.

The creator, Akane Kazuki, didn't want to rush anything or alter the story, and so the abrupt cliffhanger we were left with in episode 12 was meant to show there is more to the series. As of February 2023, Akane-san shared that he still wants to bring the second half to life, it just doesn't seem likely since he has exhausted his options within Japan. He has thanked fans for their support and urges us to continue showing support - with enough voices, it is possible that a studio may pick up the second half in the future!

Stars Align delves into topics that aren't typically covered in anime, for example, Yuu's exploration of their gender identity and Maki's respectful explanation on Shou being a trans man. In addition to this, the series also shows harmful partening styles and the effect they have on children.

It approaches each situation carefully and never shows the abusive side of situations in a positive light. Each scene is raw, emotional, and incredibly realistic. I have respect for Akane-san and the production team for tackling issues kids don't typically see in a series - ones that may be struggling with themselves and aren't aware just how negative an impact they have on their lives since that is all they know.

Stars Align is a series you could say was ahead of its time. One that resonates with many who can relate to the issues and struggles presented. It isn't a show for escapism, like most anime. It is a series that faces real struggles head-on.

To some, this is a weakness. But to me (and the many other fans who resonated with a kindred spirit in the series), Stars Align is a series that makes us feel seen. It shows that anyone can be struggling, even if they might not openly show it.

Stars Align's premature halting of production fits all too well with an overarching theme on the show - the boy's soft tennis team was threatened to be shut down, and it took a LOT of hard work and dedication for the kids to grow and save their team.

As fans, we need to come together and show support for a beloved series that was cast aside, just like our favorite soft tennis team. To join together and show support so that the second half of the story can be made, as intended.

How can we show support?

1. Spread the word - the more people who legally stream the series will show streaming platforms that the anime means something to subscribers. Stars Align is available to watch on Crunchyroll!*

2. Start conversations about the topics presented and the impact the series has!

3. Create content - art, fanfics, edits, theories...posting content about the series helps spread the word and introduce others to the series. To this day, new fans are discovering the series and love it just as much as the original fans back in 2019!

skyofstarsalign is a Twitter/X account dedicated to sharing fan support of Stars Align - it documents all support or mentioning of the series on the platform.

*While it can be difficult to keep talking about a series years after it premiered, the tendency to move on is exactly what makes support dwindle and fade. The support needs to continue - shows can be brought back years later, as was recently seen by Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits. A second season was announced due to support shown by overseas fans. Crunchyroll urged the studio to make a second season based on the high viewership numbers on the platform.

Please join us in showing support for Stars Align by introducing more people to the series and sharing what you loved most about the first half. Together, we can help Akane-san make the second half a reality!

[rocketturtle4]

How much is Mew playing stop, slow, go?

(I'm shadowbanned fyi so no idea how posting is going to go)

Okay so I had a thought about the tricolours of Mews shirt and beadspread but I had planned to leave it, until I saw this gifset by @raypakorn (partially used below) and then I had MORE Thoughts and then I watched OF again (again again again) and then I started spiralling SO

Have some thoughts that aren't a real theory yet. (@waitmyturtles as asked although not sure @ing will work right now)

From the opening we get red, green and white wristbands. I had several side convos with people (@anon451 +(@plantsarepeopletoo posted some other Mew related thoughts we discussed here)) about whether white was about sexuality or about pace or virgin status (there are, for the record, other people wearing white wristbads in the bar)

but after seeing the above linked gifset I became pretty sure white = yellow = slow (already a prevailing theory I think)

Mew wears tricolours in both his initial meeting of Top at the bar and his later return to the bar before taking top home with him. (That I think is evidence of this theory if it is a theory applying to only Mew ftr (and maybe Top when with Mew))

yellow, red, green on the top in shapes (I'll talk about the yellow background in a mo)

also his t-shirt above is yellow

tricolours again - yellow, red, green stripes this time

Later when we're making out we initially have green go:

(chairs and grapes)

but when Top tries to start things again after Mew stops them:

we're back in yellow for slow.

Also the bed scene

both on yellow (pillows), mew leaning into red

mew moves onto the green.

(For the record this bed spread also looks kind of blue however for the purpose of GO I am not sure the distinction is important because in a side convo with @plantsarepeopletoo and @anon451 and @lurkingteapot we discussed how the green go in some countries (like Japan) is blue AND in terms of light and primary colouts, blue is a primary colour that is needed to make green in painting etc but green is the colour needed to make blue in the light spectrum I'm pretty sure, so like blue/green is being considered equivalent here)

(Edit for additional info, from @lurkingteapot: ao (written 青, also read sei) is a colour that spans a spectrum of both what English calls blue and green, and it also means "fresh" in the sense of "green behind the ears" -- young leaves are aoba, aozameru is to turn green/pale (in the face), seinen is young men around twenty. To make matters more complicated, 蒼 (sou; deep blue) and 碧 (heki/hyaku; jade green) can ALSO both be read "ao", so it's sort of like, idk … English calls both blue and light blue "blue", but in Japanese, light blue is "mizuiro" ("the colour of water")? Colour boundaries just shift across language in fascinating ways)

(Edit also a helpful video about colours and how language shapes them @anon451)

ALSO there was a post going round saying the days of the week montage was linked to mew and the writing is yellow again (it is also yellow in the intro bit where we start with Mew)

So how much, for Mew specifically, are yellow and green (and red) important? I dunno.

BUT

In the days montage we have top in blue then green then green then blue again (blue=green=go = Mew is happy with current events)

does this mean something??? IDK but nobody else wears colours as much

The bar lighting is also interesing. Mew is introduced in yellow 1/4

Meets top in Yellow 1/4

and later in 4/4 sits with Top in yellow

despite the fact that when Chaeum sat next to him

they were not both in the yellow.

(if anyones curious bar also has Red = Stage area and Green = bathroom but I am focusing on Mew here because I am not sure the colours matter to anyone else...)

MORE YELLOW

Mews intro shot on a yellow couch to go with his yellow bookcase

(also side note most of the other intro's have tints of red or less colour but tops is just like GREEEEEN+blue):

Mew and top lighting during the confession scene:

top in blue, mew in yellow.

Does it mean anything? I don't know

current not really a theory is that yellow = slow = control

Because this is A LOT of yellow for it not to mean things.

[hospitalterrorizer]

diary450

12/17-18/24

tuesday - wednesday

sleepy now, tried to watch audition today, but could not,

the subtitles were too off, getting it via ... other means... now...

instead i elected to watch this film:

very good!! here's a couple shots:

i know these are very blurry but i love these shots of either the camera spinning very very quickly blurring everything together, the intense mess of experience/excess, everything on fire-feeling. the film is about madness but i think it does a rather good job of expressing how things feel generally, at times, i suppose the film's confines are that of a limit experience, a woman dances until she bleeds, a man struggles to free his wife from prison, the woman remains at the limit of the asylum and he feels the madness penetrate him, it expresses how porous we all are, rather than being strictly defined subjects with an inside/outside, we are all subject to these intensities and to deny them / the structures which seek to deny and suppress, can create a limit that one fears leaving, the woman afraid to leave the asylum, to reenter life outside of the authority of the doctors. a moving bunch of things here, and delivered by a silent film!! the editing, as well, communicates this heat/evaporation, images colliding, on top of one another, fast cuts, a great use of montage... i watched a video of two men discussing the film after seeing it, one mentions the director having seen abel gance's films, as well as some other avant garde works from europe, cabinet of dr. caligari is one other.

here's another couple, it felt so modern, this film, it always felt like something out of the 60s... so insane. i mean even still, it's a shocking work, arresting and unique, not much like it throughout history... at least it seems so. another thing i learned, from that video, i saw, i'll link it after this, apparently during the silent film era in japan they had narrators who would speak on the film as it went on, literary commentators adding to the film, adding description, adding exposition, i wonder about if this film was allowed to be out there on the level it is because of the benshi? that he knew he could go where he pleased, you know, knowing there would be a kind of safety net for the audience, or an interpretation of its images and plot... i don't know... it seems like such an interesting idea though, the narration of the images. one striking thing that they also mention in that interview, is that the benshi always came to the film after its completion, so they'd not influence it beyond the viewing experience... i wonder about making that a part of a film somehow now.

here is that discussion video:

very insightful i found, and this channel seems incredible for weird films... gonna have to pick through it.

i'm excited to see audition tomorrow, though... but because my sleep is so stupid right now, my gf is going to have to go grocery shopping without me. i feel really bad about that, hopefully the list i made is good... i cooked and cleaned and stuff today. i don't know, i feel in debt in ways i can never repay, and so useless and bad sometimes, like a bad person, i guess. i'm like a stupid pet, i feel like, sometimes.

here is an old photo of some flowers i took... to was the self pity away.

and then a seiko oomori song:

what else to say... i'm tired, i don't think i did a lot else, i had an idea for something to write, i should hold onto it for tomorrow, i think i just have the basic thrust, i should let that thrust ferment i suppose, overnight, and tomorrow get it down more solidly. oh, i did a hair mask today, my hair feels very nice, which is nice.

okay, i think that's all, really,

or not really, i was thinking about people who seem worried about the apocalypse, how i used to be like that as a little kid, wondering about when i lost that, it seems like when i was more able to focus on the kind of social hell my family would put me in at times, or they were concurrent for a while until at some point, the more total threat and source of dread seemed to be upsetting a parent for reasons that always felt arcane, and even now, upsetting people feels more immediate and heavy than the apocalypse. even that though, i've roughly gotten over it as a source of terror, or not even just roughly, it used to really bother me through highschool but in college it tapered off, although i guess it really took me trying to kill myself over it and surviving that it washed away, all things returned to a kind of pointlessness, until i felt like hazel motes walking from the river with rocks in his shoes, no apparent reason why, repenting for ghostly things, i guess. really all i'm getting at is a curiosity about if the feelings i'd had were about age, the terror re: apocalypse, if the person i saw expressing these things will grow out of it, if being more socially present is what made me lose those fears, or if it makes that a possibility, and wondering if i'm just lucky to have ever had that as a possibility, or if everyone does. i don't know.

so,

byebye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[boysplanetrecaps]

The Great Produce 48 Rewatch: Ep 4, Boombayah Challenge, Part 2

Welcome, or Welcome Back, to The Great Produce48 Rewatch Recap Project Thingy Dingy! Today we're going to a dark world... a world of fire and brimstone. It's Boombayah, Group 2, aka Hellbayah. The story was too big and required too many screenshots for just one post! When we left off, we were talking about the Boombayah team 2 -- Let's finish the story!

So, we were at Vocal rehearsal with Cheetah and Soyou, and the girls were doing a terrible job.

Hyewon interviews, “Everything seemed so bleak. I only volunteered because no one else did. I felt like we were messing up more because of me. I think it’s harder because I lack confidence.” And her Very Pretty eyes fill up with Very Pretty tears. Aww, Hyewon. I make fun of her but I really do appreciate the fact that she at least volunteered to be main rapper, even if she seems unable to follow instructions. 

Soyou tries again. She says, “Hyewon-ah, here’s some advice. We’re not judges up here. We’re here to help you.” The Love Theme from P48 plays on plinky pianos as she goes on about how the National Producers are the real judges, so…. “Please, at least raise your voices!!”  Cheetah encourages them to think to themselves, “This is exciting! I’m excited!” Soyou and Cheetah raise their arms like they’re cheering, saying “this is exciting! Yay!” and even Minami and Erii crack a smile.

Soyou is like, “omg, you’re smiling, yes, let’s practice fucking smiling now, since that’s where we’re at,” and they practice SMILING, my friends. 

Chowon interviews that she’s grateful to the trainers for helping and that all she wants to do is perform. She begins to cry, then says, irritated, “I promised myself not to cry!!” 

We get a montage then of Chowon trying to help Hyewon with the rapping. We see Hyewon recording herself and then listening to it back and being pleased with it, which is actually really cute. 

They have a meeting and Chowon tells them that the song is out of their control, so why not just do their best and try to surprise everyone with a good performance? Erii decides to try going forward. Well, I guess better late than pregnant never. Erii asks Chowon for help with the pronunciation and dance, and starts to actually learn and have fun. 

She looks so different when she smiles. 

Then they do a little product placement for some sort of diet beverage called “Calorbye.” It’s gross to have actual children promote your diet culture but whatever. We spend almost as much time on this product placement as we did for all of team 1. 

Things have gotten better, and they’re hopeful now. Will they succeed? 

(In the Spanish version, there’s some commercials here, including a commercial for Ford cars. Imagine living so close to Japan and deliberately buying an American car? Wild.)

Here’s PD48 editing’s blessed edit. 

My thoughts:

That was great!

Ha ha, jk.

No, obviously that was pretty terrible. 

Nanami tried her hardest, bless her, but she couldn’t quite relax her shoulders and get a groove on and really dance. She did do a good death stare toward the beginning and she varied her expressions. Also, she did a really decent job with the singing, I will really give her that -- much better than I would have guessed. In fact, I kind of wonder if she was autotuned, because some people who were there live said that the vocals were all really bad. 

A girl is a WHAT?!? Damn you, Stylist Unnie. 

Yuuka looked terrified most of the time, but smiled and moved her arms like she’s supposed to. She wasn’t embarrassing to wath or listen to.  

Hyewon did much better than anyone would have guessed she would. She managed to get that confused look off her face for at least some of the time, for starters. Yes, she looked down at the floor sometimes, and you could almost see her counting the steps sometimes. But still, when she had to actually rap, she basically did, bless her. Her dancing was also much better than most of the other girls’ -- she put more emphasis into it, straightened her arms, that kind of thing -- and when you consider her audition, this was a complete breakthrough. Good for you, Hyewon. 

Minami was sort of unsteady and nervous. She looked down at the floor a lot and seemed sometimes to be on the verge of breaking into giggles and other times to just releasing her soul from her body. She did some choreography but I don’t think it could be called dancing per se. 

Erii was vague and lifeless most of the time, but she mostly did the moves and vaguely made noises when it was her turn to rap.

Chowon was obviously the one person holding this team together. She was great and I have no criticism. Amazing that she’s just 15 -- she was such a queen throughout this process. I've seen people saying that even her performance wasn't that great, but given that (1) she was 15 (2) she had to be both leader and center (3) she had to teach the rap to the main rapper and teach everyone else pretty much everything else (4) she didn't actually evaporate, I think no one is allowed to criticize her.

Here’s a brief clip (like 8 seconds) from about 2022 of Chowon reacting to the performance. She’s saying, “I’m so sorry, Blackpink-sunbae-nim.”

The MNET edit seems to really try to make them look good. They could have zoomed in on some of the wobbliest dance moves, or instant-replayed some of the worst rapping, but instead they showed the judges noting that they were in sync, and the girls backstage smiling and applauding. 

Thankfully, a lot of praise is being heaped on Chowon, who Cheetah calls a dark horse. 

(If you don’t know the idiom “dark horse,” it means someone who you didn’t notice before, but is actually really great and a contender.) They also note that Hyewon has a pretty face. 

Jeremy says that he has a feeling group 2 will win, and Mary J Lee, who doesn’t have dark visions of the future, thinks group 1 will win. Group 1 should win, as they put on a watchable performance, but sometimes people just like things that are terrible. Viz: I am doing this project. The judges try to bribe the staff into telling them the result because they can’t wait. 

Here’s a link to the results scene, if you want to watch it.

The girls teleport to the Results Bathroom. Group 1 is fully expecting to win, based on all the praise they’ve gotten from teammates and judges. Even Chowon expects Group 1 to win. 

At first it looks like Group 1 will take it, although Erii’s 102 votes are absolutely infuriating to me. It bothers me when people vote for terrible performances. 

But then poor Chanjoo, center of group 1, gets only 22 votes to Minami’s 86 goddamn votes. Who voted for this child? Why? Tears begin streaming down Soyeon’s face when she gets only 22 votes as well, despite her excellent singing.

Everything about the voting, except for Yujin’s appropriate 198 votes, is pretty infuriating. Here’s the full results. 

Team 1 (loss): Kim Sohee 30 Ko Yujin 198 Lee Chaejeong 54 Park Chanju 22 Won Seo Yeon 22 Average: 65.2

Team 2 (win): Asai Nanami 144 Asai Yuka 30 Chiba Erii 102 Han Chowon 42 Kang Hyewon 44 Sato Minami 86 Average: 74.7

I really hate popularity games. 

Group 2 begins shrieking and sobbing in delight. 

Group 1 is just stunned, slowly wiping away tears. 

Chaejeong says that the National Producers just didn’t like their performance, trying to take it in stride like the mature soul she is, but no, not really. They just weren’t fans of anyone in your group. Plus the other group had some children in it, and apparently these people are fans of small dancing children. Sigh. 

Also, apparently there were some netizens who were mad at Group 1 for “picking on the weaklings” in Group 2, and may have voted them down on purpose to punish them. Great. Thanks. This is why we can’t have nice things.

And there ends Boombayah/Hellbayah. 

Thanks as always for reading along and enjoying the journey! You're a delightful human.

In the next we'll be covering the Like Ooh Ah teams, and after that the Very Very Very team, which is the last one of this mission. See you soon!

[variantia]

Has the year been hard ? Yes, things have been difficult. But that isn't going to stop Elsa from doing her annual Christmas concert. This is one tradition that won't die no matter what. All of Japan is watching, and ... well, all of the world is probably watching. As always, she wants to be an example and an inspiration.

This year, it's going to embody everything she holds dear and everything she thinks is important to being a hero. Not just a professional hero ; a hero in heart, in the everyday things.

When the music begins, it's a soft piano. The stage is dark, and Elsa sits knelt in the middle of it with only a soft white glow around her. Her features are barely even visible, only a silhouette. There are screens up in the background, pure white at first as she vocalizes the first few notes.

Then she starts to sing.

" ♫ When you ask me who I am+ what is my vision ? And do I have a plan ? Where is my strength ? Have I nothing to say ++ I hear the words in my head, but I push them away 'cause I stand for the power to change I live for the perfect day I love till it hurts like crazy I hope for a hero to save me I stand for the strange and lonely I believe there's a better place I don't know if the sky is heaven but I pray anyway ... ♫ "

It's one of the first songs that she released officially. Something that shows her true beliefs, that comes from her heart.

As she sings, the screens behind and above light up with photos. It's not some egotistical slideshow ; it's a montage of photos of the people she loves. Sometimes with her, and sometimes on their own as if those specific pictures are precious to Elsa.

There's a picture someone must have taken of her and Lo during a rescue, both looking tired but fulfilled to be doing what they're doing. A snapshot of Jin, during one of his days of work at her agency, sitting behind a desk with another employee training him on the phones, and both are smiling. A family photo of Elsa with her sister Anna, her brother-in-law Kristoff, and her nephew Askel, taken in Norway in front of the same rocking chair where Elsa and Anna's mother used to rock them to sleep. A series of photos of Elsa and Hawks taken from the set of a talk show where they're hugging while wearing each other's knockoff merch.

" ... ♫ And I don't know what tomorrow brings the road less traveled, will it set us free ? 'Cause we're taking it slow, these tiny legacies I don't try and change the world but what will you make of me ? 'Cause I stand for the power to change I live for the perfect day I love till it hurts like crazy I hope for a hero to save me I stand for the strange and lonely I believe there's a better place I don't know if the sky is heaven but I pray anyway with the slightest of breezes we fall just like leaves as the rain washes us from the ground we forget who we are we can't see in the dark and we quickly get lost in the crowd, oh ... ♫ "

In between the break of music and the final verse, there's even a short video clip, edited for the volume to be a bit louder, of Renata working at her agency. She's tying up Shuichi's hair, seemingly after a long session of some therapy or a bad morning or something, as they talk about something that's unclear.

The most impactful part of the clip consists of Shuichi side-eyeing whoever is behind the camera, followed by Renata ruffling his hair and beaming at the camera, ' Look at my beautiful boy, sabes que ? He is maybe a little different, but Dios mío, he's so incredible. '

" ♫ I stand for the power to change I live for the perfect day I love till it hurts like crazy I hope for a hero to save me I stand for the power to change I live for the perfect day I love till it hurts like crazy I hope for a hero to save me I stand for the strange and lonely I believe there's a better place I don't know if the sky is heaven but I pray anyway ... ♫ "

After all the pictures fade from the screens, a black background stays. The words ' WE STAND. ' scroll across in Japanese, English, and Norwegian.

And in a move that is perhaps ill-advised and that she knows will make her controversy worse, Elsa stands up. She stays in shadow, and lifts her hand up ; a single spotlight illuminates her palm. There across her palm is a recent but healed tattoo, consisting of a snowflake at first glance.

Inside the snowflake, however, is a star with the kanji for ' port '. Within Japan, this is the symbol for a person of privilege, usually a hero, who displays that they are a safe place for villains or struggling people who need help. Often those who use this symbol are painted as villain sympathizers or derided for giving sanctuary to truly horrible people. But heroes and civilians who want to make a difference and acknowledge that there's more to villains than bad people are starting to take this symbol back.

The last verse rings out with Elsa's hand still raised above her head, displaying this symbol for the world to see. She is a safe place. As a friend told her, she's a ' good hero '. And even though it shouldn't be a contradiction, sometimes it is. Despite knowing the backlash she'll get for it, both because of the way Japanese culture tends to view tattoos and because of the symbol itself, she holds her hand high. Any cost to her can be borne.

This is who she is. This is what she stands for. More people should stand for it. That's the message she wants to send : I am a safe place for those in need, and if you can be, then you should be too.

" ♫ I stand for the power to change I live for the perfect day I love till it hurts like crazy I hope for a hero to save me I stand for the strange and lonely I believe there's a better place I don't know if the sky is heaven but I pray anyway. ♫ "

[ogradyfilm]

Recently Viewed: The Sentimental Idiot

[The following review contains SPOILERS; YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!]

The Sentimental Idiot is a major departure from the other Hiroshi Shimizu films that I’ve seen—in terms of both substance and style. Whereas Mr. Thank You and The Masseurs and a Woman, for example, were decidedly rural, this postwar melodrama is a strictly urban affair, substituting the scenic landscapes and sprawling mountain trails of Japan’s countryside with the smoky nightclubs and luxury apartments of the big city. Despite these superficial differences, however, the director’s core thematic concerns—chance encounters, missed connections, and the transient nature of human relationships—remain remarkably consistent.

The protagonist is Yuri, a popular cabaret singer with a veritable army of male admirers at her disposal. When one of her regular customers is arrested for embezzling money in order to finance his habit of showering her with expensive gifts, she immediately intercedes on his behalf, going to great lengths to ensure that the misappropriated funds are properly reimbursed—not for the perpetrator’s sake, she repeatedly insists (perhaps a bit too emphatically), nor to repair her own damaged reputation (it is, after all, tempting for the general public to blame a “woman of loose morals” for leading an “innocent youth” astray), but simply because it is the right thing to do.

Produced for the notoriously commercial Daiei Motion Picture Company, The Sentimental Idiot feels more mercenary and less personal than Shimizu’s previous work; the plot is rather formulaic, and some of the supporting characters lack the depth and nuance found in his earlier ensemble pieces. Fortunately, such minor blemishes hardly diminish the excellence of the craftsmanship on display: the cinematography, editing, and performances are absolutely sublime. The ending sequence—in which Yuri belts out a mournful reprise of the title song as her spurned would-be lover forlornly wanders the rain-slick streets, his back towards the camera—is particularly poignant, rivaling even the exquisitely structured montage that concludes Ornamental Hairpin. And considering that movie’s borderline universal critical acclaim, that’s an impressive feat of visual storytelling indeed.

[theviruseye]

V-J Day in Times Square

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V-J Day in Times Square is a photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt that portrays a U.S. Navy sailor embracing and kissing a total stranger[1]—a dental assistant—on Victory over Japan Day ("V-J Day")[2] in New York City's Times Square on August 14, 1945. The photograph was published a week later in Life magazine, among many photographs of celebrations around the United States that were presented in a 12-page section entitled "Victory Celebrations".[3] A two-page spread faces a montage of three similar photographs of celebrators in Washington, D.C., Kansas City, and Miami, opposite the Eisenstaedt photograph that was given a full-page display on the right hand side.

[denimbex1986]

'Honestly, I had no interest in seeing this movie originally, simply by virtue of the billboard featuring an explosion. This implied that the film would be an action movie, about the nuclear bomb, as told by the American side. It seemed like poor taste. I imagined Nolan being his usual anti-special effects self and opting for a real nuclear bomb to be built and dropped on Japan again. Then he could shoot the impact and fallout in his favorite high-quality film stock and make it look cool. I really wasn't interested, but I went to the matinée anyway. Imagine my surprise when it went an entirely different route, but in equally bad taste.

Oppenheimer begins in cliché. There's a large traumatic event- an explosion of some sort, followed by a sweaty character waking up, or coming back from PTSD-enforced mediation. This is our first introduction to Cillian Murphy's blank face that we'll see using the same expression throughout the rest of the film. Have a good memory for faces? No? Fine, you don't need to. A nice chunk of this film cuts between poorly written quip and Cillian looking blank to quip and Cillian looking blankly at something else with his mouth slightly agape. Reader, I hope we've brushed up on Soviet montage theory recently, as you should know when you're being manipulated. Naturally, if a film's opening shot is cliché, there's absolutely no chance that it'll take a wild turn towards originality in later minutes. The entirety of the film is a series of empty aphorisms, contrived metaphors and visual analogies that first-graders, let alone theoretical physicists, would find condescending. Marbles in a fishbowl? I felt patronized. Proving genius by scrawling wildly on a chalkboard? Shame on you.

Oppenheimer's political wavering might have stabilized had he read his contemporary, Orwell, on matters like the Spanish Civil War. Nolan's use of dying metaphors and the like might similarly have improved had he read Orwell as well. Oppenheimer is rife with "metaphors which have lost all evocative power and are merely used because they save people the trouble of inventing phrases for themselves." One phrase that Orwell mentions, "toe the line," is even used verbatim in the film. I doubt that Nolan wrote this line with knowledge of the phrase's meaning, which is, as Orwell would phrase it, a "sure sign that the writer is not interested in what he is saying".

We are told repeatedly that Oppenheimer is, at least early in his career, a communist. Short of him telling us that he has some interest in the professors unionizing, there's no substantive understanding of what his politics were, or why. Considering that his history of leftist involvement is what gets him a good ole fashioned kangaroo McCarthy court, and is the central dramatic device for the whole film, Nolan might have done well to explain the philosophy behind Oppenheimer's beliefs, beyond family proximity and a desire to get laid. Instead, exposition is drowned out by music. It's too loud. Subtitled audiences are at an advantage against those of us who were subjected to the whims of the sound mixer. Every time a truly dramatic or thoughtful scene came on, the score would bump up and up, drowning out something politically nuanced or robustly scientific. The actors might have done well to yell over the music, at least it would have forced them to emote more. The bits of Science™ that we do get to hear are pop science, a stoner's understanding of the golden ratio, but for particle physics.

Nothing in the film is aided by the editing, either, which seems to have taken its pacing from Rick and Morty's Interdimensional Cable Quick Mystery segment, as hastily realized by the editor from Battlefield Earth.

As a character study, it fails. The writing for every character is the same. One of them drinks more, one of them throws flowers in the trash, one of them has an accent that makes some question his loyalty to the project. Everyone says Oppenheimer is an asshole. We only know this because we're told that he is. Yes, he's curt, but so is his lover who throws his flowers away. This botanical quirk could have easily been applied to our protagonist, his wife, his colleagues, even his brother. Nothing anyone does is particular to their character as individuals. However, only a true asshole would look at New Mexico and think, "we should bomb this."

I ran into a friend who had just come back from seeing the movie before I had watched it. I asked him if "the line" was said in the film. You know, "I am become death." Yes, he told me, but he wouldn't tell me how. This is by far the best scene in the movie and played completely seriously, à la Leslie Nielsen in Airplane. For this scene alone, I recommend watching this piece of comedy. Following my friend's lead, I also won't divulge the particulars of this segment. Once he says, "destroyer of worlds," you can leave the theater.

An especially strange component of the film is its entire plot, which focuses on Oppenheimer's McCarthy era hearings and the events leading up to it. There are all of two minutes total dealing with the actual effects of the atom bomb, which, let's face it, is why the audience is sitting in the theater in the first place. The box office can thank the billboard. Instead, we're treated to three hours of a man who willingly worked the US military apparatus getting told that he's going to lose his security clearance. Who cares? This might make an interesting chapter in his biography, but it's definitely not important enough to warrant an entire biopic. Clearance or no clearance, this man can spend the rest of his life in a mansion situated next to a conveniently sage Einstein. And what's this clearance for, anyway? Should we be cheering on another chapter of bigger, better bomb development? Are the Japanese a moot footnote in the larger picture of American military imperialism? That Oppenheimer focuses on his "martyrdom" and the McCarthy era's targeting of Real® Patriotic ™ Americans© despite their contributions to the military industrial complex is at best a mistake and at worst, deeply conservative filmmaking.'

[coolgirlvic]

Yesterday I went down the rabbit hole of the yt shorts (ik yt shorts but I don't like tik tok) of a Japanese cleaning company.

They upload videos of themselves cleaning hoarder homes and holy shit Japan has way too much single use plastics. Towers of cup noodles and chopsticks and pet bottles and stuff.

And people in the comments (people commenting in Japanese especially) are weirdly cruel about it? Like they call places like it hell and stuff like that.

The videos themselves are very edited and generally have a positive attitude, they have fun music in the background and they are edited kind of like a montage? Those that have English in them seem to be supportive of the people who need this service done.

[nwarrior777]

please don't test yourself, or filters (is it something like... app? i haven't exactly understood what you mean by "filters" but it's a little hard with terms for me here, because english isn't my first and i am a old clueless man if the thing is about computers) on that Pokemon episode, as i understood from that article it's very dangerous thing to watch

the article says that:

[the scene in that episode had] flashing red and blue fields occupying the whole screen, changing at a frequency of 12.5 per second

that article also says that:

[one of the seizures causing] factor is color. Certain colors are critical; in particular, the so-called saturated “deep” red.

[another factor is] the area the light stimulus occupies in the visual field. This is important because it actually determines how much of the brain gets stimulated. The consensus recommends the area of the flashing stimulus on the screen be not greater than 25 percent of the total area.

[another factor is] the flicker of the light source, and the “frequency” at which the light changes. In other words, how many times the light flashes in a second. In order to be safe, the consensus recommends that photosensitive individuals should not be exposed to flashes greater than three [3!!!!!] per second.

Close to 700 children were admitted to hospitals, mostly because of seizures [caused of this episode]

like.... it's not all factors causing seizures, described in the article, but how did they like... done everything wrong???.... how did they even animate that, 700 children (as i understood, it's amount of people getting in hospitals in Japan on episode tv airing day? not even all of people who get hurt by that?), are animators okay???? how?????? what the-

this is not okay. also i had a thought about this actually, i noticed that edits and meme animations now more epilepsy-trigering, with all that fleshy montage and everything?

yes it's because creators learned how to do cool action cuts and usually we are using energetic music with strong beats, BUT. we need to start doing something more safe. and tw warnings on videos, yeaaaah, but, if we will just continue making flashy action edits and animation in most, and will just slap tw on them, it will be like.... tons of content which people can't watch and it will be sad too. we need more safe animations and edits.

we need to make it a big topic.

god it feels like lately we have lost so much progress in terms of movies and tv and gaming actually remembering that people with photosensitivity conditions (epilepsy, migraine, etc) exist and that it’s SO FREAKING EASY to not include effects in your media that will send them straight to hell

we went from early 2000s “we are all petrified of another Pokémon Shock incident so let’s be nice to the people whose brains can’t handle the flashes” to “nearly every movie and tv show has a flashing lights warning crowdsourced on social media and games have been so emboldened to not give a fuck that we had a game with a literal seizure inducing machine built in”. I literally do not get to watch anything on launch day anymore unless I think it’s worth the extremely non zero chance of having up to a week of pain so bad it can make me faint.

what the absolute fuck happened??

[blockbhive]

[brainbuffering]

12 Days of Manga 2022

Day 8: Top 3 Seinen 

1) Hiraeth - The End of the Journey by Yuhki Kamatani from Kodansha (T: Leah Surgent L: Salud Campos Blasco E: Jesika Brooks)

[ID: English Volume 1 of Hiraeth - The End of The Journey by Yuhki Kamatani. A girl with short brown hair smiles brightly at the viewer. She has a flower crown of morning glories and wisteria (?) in her hair. The montage is also made up of japanese mountains, a 1930s Motorbike with a sidecar, a Shrine Gate, cranes and two other smaller figures: a man in black leather and sunglasses back to back with a person in long white godly robes and long white hair]

“After the death of her best friend, Mika is determined to follow her into the grave. But her suicide attempt introduces her to a world unlike any she's ever seen...full of gods and spirits and entities of which she could never have dreamed. But even with this world of wonder, can she find a way out of her sorrow?”

Yuhki Kamatani has got to be one of the most talented mangaka working in the industry. Their artwork is absolutley stunning, each panel a work of art in its own right, each line necessary to the telling of the story. I was waiting for Kodansha to release the series from Digital Jail before buying it, because I wanted to physically own it as a piece of arwork but alas... digital it remains.

But that does at least mean I can have pages and pages of screenshots saved to my tablet!

The series is a wonderful combination of dark, heartfelt, and hopeful. It’s a journey of three people facing the notion of mortality and what a death wish really is; from the perspective of a god who has accepted that their long time on earth is finally done and is happy for one final jaunt around Japan, an immortal who sees the curse of living forever as painful as the curse of inevitable death, and a suicidal teenager who longs to see her deceased friend once again.

I’m really eager to see how the series ends, and i’m rooting for Mika to finally choose life at the end of all this. It’s difficult as a teenager to be so suddenly faced with the concept of mortality, and seeing Mika tackle that from a suicidal perspective is incredibly moving. Seeing the philosophical elements laid out so beautifully and casually makes for a really fascinating read too, that makes you yourself think of how to aproach the notion of life and death.

Two volumes in, and Kamatani’s perspective is about as clear as you’d expect: Life is complicated, and death even more so. A long life is a good thing that should be saught after, but not at the cost of everything else in it. Kamatani looks at the importance of the connections we make with others, and how people cannot truly be gone as long as we remember them. Perhaps that’s a little cliche, but given how we’re still all in a stage of global grief in the middle of an ongoing pandemic, it’s an important thing to remember.

And as a final reminder, hey, Kodansha! If you ever want to release these books as physical editions I am more than willing to double dip for them!!!

2) Yakuza Fiance: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii by Asuka Konishi from SevenSeas  (T: M. Fulcrum A: Sopha Tyrant L: Arbash Mughal E: Abb Lehrke)

[ID: A Japanese high school girl with purple hair and red striking eyes looks over the shoulder of a boy hugging her. She is tugging his shirt down to reveal a large tiger back tattoo. There are red flowers (possibly camillas?) floating around them on a white background.]

“Too Much Love Will Kill You

Yoshino grew up the sheltered yakuza princess of the largest crime family in Osaka, the Somei. Due to her resting bitch face and dangerous family, no man has ever approached her. When her grandfather signs a truce with the Tokyo-based Miyama crime family, he offers her up as a truce bride to the Miyama leader's grandson! Kirishima Miyama is popular, charming, and seems totally normal. But behind his smile is a violent sadomasochist who thirsts for her dominance even more when she impresses him with her moxie! Even though she knows how bad yakuza can be, she's stunned by Miyama's viciousness. She can't turn him down with the East-West peace treaty on the line...so instead she steels herself to play ball!”                                    

Move out of the way Nisekoi, let’s see some yakuza teens in an aranged marriage get absolutely wrecked by the criminal underworld they grew up in!

High Schoolers they might be, but this is no sweetheart romance and I’m really digging it! The art work is really strong, especially the coloured inserts. It’s a very promising first volume and I definetly want to see what fucked up mess this all leads to! There’s far too much happy Yakuza romance going around, let’s see what happens if we actually explore the notion of organised crime. 

Now, how does that meme go? “He is definitely a red flag but red’s my favourite colour so what it do baby?” Kirishima’s is definetly not someone I would ever want to be in a relationship with, but boy howdy does he look good covered in someone else’s blood! And Yoshino looks even more beautiful when holding a knife to his throat and threatening to ruin his life if he steps out of line. There are a lot of unhealthy boxes being ticked by this series, so it’s definetly not one for those seeking out wholesome happiness. But not everything has to be “A Sign of Affection” you know!

I’m also facinated by the localisation choices being made in the official translation. Yoshino’s family speaks with an Osakan Dialect, which is usually translated into English media as a Southern American Dialect. However in Yakuza’s Fiance they have opted for a Northern British/Irish Dialect which feels quite refreshing! Why does english localisation always have to be so American? English Localisations are read all over the world, and whilst back in the 00s Australia and New Zealand would sometimes have seperate translations to North America (e.g. Fruits Baskets), that is no longer the case! At times the characterisation can feel a little disjointed with a lack of consitency between phrasing, and I wonder if this is the result of having a seperate translator and adaptor on the series?

If anybody happens to know if Fulcrum and/or Tyrant are on twitter please let me know, I would love to ask them my (polite and engaged) questions!

3) Delicious In Dungeon by Ryoko Kui from Yen Press (T: Taylor Engel L: Abigail Blackman)

[ID: English Cover for Delicious in Dungeon Vol 1. A human man in a full suit of metal armour holds a frying pan in one hand and a spatula in the other. Behind him, a dwarf with a big black beard, a halfling, and an elf in blue robes cook a giant mushroom on a spit roast. They are in a castle dungeon corridor, a red dragon looks in from the doorway behind them.]

“When young adventurer Laios and his company are attacked and soundly thrashed by a dragon deep in a dungeon, the party loses all its money and provisions...and a member! They're eager to go back and save her, but there is just one problem: If they set out with no food or coin to speak of, they're sure to starve on the way! But Laios comes up with a brilliant idea: ""Let's eat the monsters!"" Slimes, basilisks, and even dragons...none are safe from the appetites of these dungeon-crawling gourmands!”       

The most disapointing thing about this manga is that I cannot eat the food they prepare. Seriously, I know that the recipies for living armour are based upon regular crustacians, but that doesn’t mean they ARE crustacians! What does bug jewlery taste like? Does slime taste like bubblegum flavouring? Because it looks like it should...

As a DnD player, I really enjoyed all the references to role playing, especially the chapter with the mimics. Fucking mimics. I’m still angry about the door mimic my DM put me up against and I kept rolling like shit against.

Whilst the focus of the manga is obviously the humour, I’m really enjoying the developing relationships between the characters, and so far all the emotional beats have hit perfectly.

I’ve only read two volumes so far, and I’m not in any desperate rush to read the rest of th series, but I’m definetly going to be keeping my eye out for more in whatever inevitable coin boosts/sales happen so as they happen!

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Buff Boys Shirtless

Dec 2021 Wk 3

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Bad Buddy (YouTube) Ep 8 - Official secret boyfriends being adorable and getting exposed. I’m live blogging it here.

Not Me (YouTube) Ep 1 - oh goodie, Gun is crying already! You know he is the prettiest crier in the biz. Normally, I’m not a fan of the separated twins plot, it too soap opera, but this one seems like a serviceable (if patently absurd) execution. It’s generating lots of tension and Gun can handle the acting chops required. I’m liking it, but Not Me is NOT your mother’s BL, it is way more Manner of Death-ish (read: gay romantic suspense). But like with MaxTul I feel like I am in safe hands with OffGun so I’m happy to be taken for a ride. (That said it’s getting flack on 2 fronts right now: Thai government & international kpop dumbass fans, so I wonder if it might get pulled or delayed for edits.) 

Paint with Love (Gaga) Ep 4 - Yoon really is good, no matter who he plays against. This ep the leads got tropes like beach frolic, there’s only one bed, baby is a floppy drunk, and The First Kiss. Actually it was a REALLY good kiss and the first time I got any chemistry from Tae & Singto. Will that save the show? Maybe. A good kiss can do that, plus we get domesticity in the next ep. Meanwhile, Phuket beaches look hella clean after a year of lockdown. 

Loveless Society Ep 3 - the actors are doing their best but the sound, post production editing, and script = absolute pants. It’s not a matter of watching but surviving this BL at this juncture. 

Between Us (YouTube) special 6 - omg they dredged up the daddy/boy trope for us to chuckle at. These specials are the gift that keeps on giving. 

(Japan got the memo)

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Utsukushii Kare AKA My Beautiful Man (Japan - Gaga) Ep 5 - it’s still great (if you like this kinda thing, which I do). I LOVED getting Kiyoi’s perspective at last. Still not sure if they are gonna end this one happy or not. The suspense is killing me. 

Kieta Hatsukoi AKA My Love Mix-Up! (Japan - Viki/Netflix) Ep 9 - we jumped right back into the cartoon high school slapstick that is Aoki + first love. There’s something about this show that pushes absurdity to the limit but also stays so genuine and earnest about the high schoolness of it all. It’s a balance only Japan seems to be able to hit, and not all that often. Again, we’re in Cherry Magic territory. Oh and a quite cute first date was had! 

My Type (Taiwan indie - hard to find) Ep 7-8fin - they just leaned all the way into the ultimate puppy/cat pairing. It’s adorable. The ending was charming. Like if Mr X and I got courage, cuteness, and no censorship, but still kinda old fashioned Chinese BL but with no problematic tropes. What a bit of unexpected delightful fluff. Thank you, as always, Taiwan. 7/10 RECOMMENDED but it is VERY short. 

Mr Cinderella (Vietnam - YouTube) Ep 3 - the side dish couple are shaping up to be super cute. Another one to add to the list of pining since childhood. Honestly tho, is this Cinderella, as they are laying it out? I mean, I think we all thought the doctor was the prince. I’m confused. Meanwhile, is “bisexual awakening musical montage” officially a THING now? I think it might be. 

In Case You Missed It

Until We Meet Again is now on Viki. I think Wabi Sabi must have cut a deal with Rakutan, I keep seeing more and more of their stuff pop up there. 

Korean BL/GL production house STRONGBERRY (who released 6 titles via YouTube & Vimeo in 2021 including one of my favorites of the year: A First Love Story) announced recently that if they reached 100K subs on their YouTube channel, their next movie will release for free there. They are very gentle with their channel and never clutter up my Subscriptions with unnecessary content. So yeah, if you’re at all inclined please sub them.

BL 2022 Gossip - Thailand

Physical Therapy dropped a trailer, stars unknowns, starts Jan 23, on One31 Thailand with reruns on AISPLAY & GaGa. When a physical illness leads two hearts to meet, a young man and a therapist heal each other.

Heart by Heart is coming from Half Toast Production, adapted from the y-novel of the same name, stars all unknowns, teaser here. (Original trailer staring Gameplay is here, it’s now with a different production company and new cast.)

Work From Heart announced, stars Love With Benefits couple Gameplay and Folk, from DV8. A romance between two men set in the office.

One Love is rumored in production, billed as a BL sitcom (read: pulp) staring unknowns starts Jan 23 on One31 no word on international distribution. Follows the story of two young men who never stop flirting with each other.

Once In Memory a new short series (microfilm?) from Mind Trio got a teaser. It looks like it might be sad. 

MaxTul are indeed co-posting stuff again to their various social medias, which would indicate they are filming something together. ALL HAIL THE KINGS. 

BL 2022 Gossip Elsewhere

Taiwan announced The Ghost and I Becoming Family for 2022, a movie about gay and traditional marriage with a police officer who creates a bond between a human and a ghost. Stars Lin Bo Hong and (I think) Greg Hsu. (Back into early Chinese BL territory - Mainland China used to LOVE a gay ghost.) 

More promo material and rumors of an idol star in Korea’s Love in Spring. 2022 historical BL from WATCHA (Light On Me) which has started filming. Adaptation is based on the webtoon Spring of Crush by Noh Myung Hee. Plot: Hye Seong lives disguised as a woman because he seeks to flee the country, until one day a Geum Seong discovers his secret and falls in love with him. 

H I S T O R I C A L!!!!!! 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Reminder: Kieta Hatsukoi’s final ep, Mr Cinderella, and (hopefully) Not Me drop over this weekend. 

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here. I keep a full record there of everything I announce.

Adventures in miss-captions: 

“Do not spill any bean to anyone.”

~ Paint with Love 

After studying Thai for a while now, I get why they struggle with English plurals, but I still find it amusingly adorable especially when combined with an idiom. 

This week’s best moments?

Paint with Love giving us Singto’s career best BL kiss? That’s unexpected. 

(srsly Pharm? what happened to you?)