#syrena-del-mar

[syrena-del-mar]

Jeff Satur for Men's Folio Thailand, Issue 02 (June 2024)

[wildelydawn]

🤲🏻🦅😬 for the fanfic emoji game!

🤲 Would you please share a snippet of a wip?

I manic wrote some possessive KimChay the other day so here you go!

"If I gave less of a shit, you wouldn't even be here," Kim growls. "Instead, you'd have an album dedicated to me, about how much of a bastard I really am, how I broke your heart and your body, and there was nothing you could do about it besides cry to your brother." Kim moves his hands to Chay's hair, gripping the strands tightly, making the boy wince. "And now you're asking me for it? Do you know what I'll do to you?" Kim's eyes drop down to Chay's lips, and his voice cracks. "Do you know how much I want to kiss you?"

🦅 Do you outline fics or fly by the seat of your pants?

I answered this above! I think I do prefer to write randomly in a way. That way I don't end up with too many longer stories (which is the current problem I have now heh.)

😬 Which of your fics would you be most horrified for friends, family, or coworkers to stumble upon? 

Hmmm. I'm not sure? I think any of them, even the not smutty ones. Most people IRL only know that I write about serious topics, so if they found out I was writing creatively (and about a Thai mafia show or a nearly two decade old retelling of the legend of Arthur), they would be shocked. 

Thank you for the questions! I can't wait to read all your DFF meta when I start watching the show in a few days. ^.^ 🖤

Send me fic writer ask emojis

[syrena-del-mar]

Ah! Thank you so much, I’m honestly incredibly flattered that you’ve enjoyed my long ramblings. The metas are so much fun to write, so I’m glad you like them.

I’d also like to thank you for posting your thoughts whenever a new episode airs, I always have such a great time reading through your reactions as I scour the tags. More than once you’ve made connections that I didn’t realize before.

Just me every time I've stumbled on every single one of your excellent metas these past few weeks...

[ghostly-gifts]

🎃🪦 Trick or treat!!! 🖤🎃

On this creepy Halloween night, @syrena-del-mar has been haunted by the spoOoOoOoky ghost @the-water-nixie, and they've left behind a treat!

From your ghost-

Happy Halloween, @syrena-del-mar! 🎃👻🖤 Here is a little choose your own adventure: I’ve written two fics with the same inciting incident—one with a sad ending, and one with a happy ending. I hope you enjoy! Kim is sent on a dangerous errand… This is the good ending.   This is the bad ending.

[slayerkitty]

The DFF Experience: A Dead Friend Forever Fandom Round Up (Part 1*)

I had the wild idea of compiling links to all the various metas, theories, and other resources for DFF for everyone to use so that links and information were kind of all in one place. I dragged @shannankle along for the ride, and we combed through the tag to find all the things we could.

We most likely have missed something even though we tried to be as thorough as possible - if you think there is something we over looked that should be added let us know in the replies or the tags; if you write meta or other resource posts in the future, please tag us and we can add it to the post.

With that, please enjoy The DFF Experience!

Media: 

Official Trailer

Pre-Release/Pilot Trailer

Behind The Scenes

No More Dream - Barcode

Without Me - Bump

Por's RIP? Pic by @having-conniptions

Reviews: 

Dead Friend Forever is More Than Just A 90s Slasher Film Imitation by @syrena-del-mar

Dead Friend Forever is a Marvel of Mystery Writing by @lurkingshan

Phee, Jin, And A Masterful Misdirect by @lurkingshan

Fun Facts to Know and Tell: 

Non refers to his brother New as “P’New” during his argument with his parents in episode 8, confirming that New is the older of the two. 

White refers to Por as P’Por when he’s alone confirming he is younger and not lying about his age

Character Profiles by @raelle-writing

Based on screenshots, White and Phee do not go to the same school as the embroidery is different. 

Fuaiz says White’s parents are rich and engineers

What the Characters Know and Don't Know (As of Episode 9) by @raelle-writing

Actor Reveals About The Characters by @raelle-writing

Theories (Episodes 1-8):

Not Jin’s Video Theory by @raelle-writing

Not Jin’s Laptop Theory by @raelle-writing

Hints at the timeline/dates things happen by @yellingaboutkp

Why Uncle Dang Was Killed by @befuddledcinnamonroll

Is Jin final girl? by @blismytherapy

Non is dead (dead men tell no tales) by @mikuni14

Why So Many Maskys? by @slayerkitty

Tan is New by @tbhimnoteasyonmyself

Are The Boys Being Drugged (Are you High, Top?) by @italianpersonwithashippersheart

Non isn’t dead (alive men tell tales) by @respectthepetty

Theories (Episode 9-10):

Why Jin Sees Keng by @raelle-writing

Is Phee Still Playing Jin (Play On, Player?) by @yellingaboutkp

What's Up With White's Hallucinations? by @jeffsatyr with contributions by @italianpersonwithashippersheart

Tan is Going to Turn on Phee (and other upcoming episode theories) by @slayerkitty

Non Isn’t Dead (alive men tell tales, but they don’t change their clothes) by @subtextsays

Phi is on Tan's Hitlist by @respectthepetty

Non is Alive (Only Alive Men Tell Tales in Telenovelas) by @babyangelsky

Non is the Hidden Character And In This Essay I Will - by @babyangelsky

On The Episode 10 Preview by @crysta1ized

Non is Alive (Alive Men Tell Tales When They Paint in Grayscale) by @yellingaboutkp

Gas Mask for Masky? by @biochemjess

On What Tan Sees by @raelle-writing

Will Phee Tell Jin the Truth? by @mikuni14

How Much is a Hallucination and How Much is Real by @babyangelsky with contributions by @respectthepetty and @shannankle

White is the Mastermind by @sniggerwarning

Top's Scar and Masky on Crutches by @subtextsays

DFF Theory Time by @squishysquadstuff

Theories About White by @crysta1ized

Ninth Person Theory by @raelle-writing

Hallucination or Real? by @raelle-writing

Non is Alive for Now (Alive men tell tales if they're about to kick the bucket) by @harurio

A Scream/DFF Parallel Theory on Who's Behind the Mask by @crysta1ized

Tree Mark Theory by @babyangelsky

Episode 11 Preview Theory by @crysta1ized

New and the Antidote by @respectthepetty

White-Non Theory by @crysta1ized

*Due to the number links and mentions the round up is now four(!) posts. Please see Part 2 here, Part 3 here and Part 4 here.

[bengiyo]

Only Friends: There are No Heroines. They're Just Dudes.

I’ve been meditating on what I want to say about Only Friends for a while. I’ve read so many great posts coming from a lot of lenses I respect and admire. I loved @shouldiusemyname pointing out the 90s aesthetic of the show and how the creative team is unpacking some of what informed their early experiences. I think @respectthepetty is right to call out the way Boston’s aggression crosses lines and @syrena-del-mar reading Boston as a Machiavellian Prince, even as I think @waitmyturtles, @wen-kexing-apologist and @lurkingshan provide good reminders of the kinds of lenses we need to interrogate as we approach stories about queer people written by queer people. I’m enjoying the discussions on ephemerality happening around the show from @waitmyturtles, @ranchthoughts, @twig-tea, @neuroticbookworm, and others. I think, when it comes to how I’m approaching this show, I’m watching I the same way I watched Queer as Folk, a text we know the creative team is familiar with (@omarandjohnny).

I don’t watch this as a story about heroes and villains. They’re just people with mundane goals reacting to each other as their desires interface with each other. I watch this show the same way I watched Queer as Folk, Black Sails, Game of Thrones, How to Get Away With Murder, and similar ensemble cast shows. None of these characters are heroines dealing with flawed suitors. They’re a bunch of dudes in their early 20s with problems, many of which have to deal with sex. This show isn’t like La Pluie, which was big romance in which Saengtai was the heroine and Phat was the romantic lead. Only Friends isn’t a big romance that’s interrogating the nature of romance itself. It’s a gay ensemble drama.

At first, I wondered if this show would center on Mew’s perspective because he was our opening narrator, but it’s clear by episode three that the show doesn’t have a central narrator. This was a similar shift I had to learn while watching Queer as Folk (2000) in realizing that Michael’s perspective is not sacrosanct and that he can be an asshole just as much as any of the other guys. It was also something we had to appreciate in Noah’s Arc (2005). When you’re watching Game of Thrones or Black Sails, you choose the faction you most want to see win or most respect or admire. For Only Friends, I’m mostly watching it from a third-person perspective; I am watching to see how each character’s choices impact the other characters.

I want to stress how mundane much of this show feels to me. Watching these guys interact with each other and their world reminds me exactly of how I felt interacting with other people when I was 21-24 and hanging out in spaces like this. Just like with my argument that Sailom (Wedding Plan) is just closeted, I think most of these guys are just young and a little messed up.

I liked @respectthepetty talking about how she feels bad for Top because of how people see him as a body, and how Top may just be using sex as a coping mechanism to not be alone. I like how obvious Ray’s abandonment issues have played into his substance issues, and how that informs the way he tries to cling so tightly onto people. I like that there have been huge warning signs over Nick ever since we saw him violate Boston’s privacy and look at his photos (I was not surprised he bugged the car at all). I am so fascinated by Mew’s apparent need for control (@lurkingshan), which may be over appearances. I am curious to see how Sand responds to Ray throwing him back after opening himself up past one of his boundaries. I am stoked to see how everyone eventually responds to Boston’s callousness now that things are going to start coming out (@ranchthoughts). I want to know how Cheum and April deal with all the gays losing focus on their project when they were the only ones trying to secure the bag during the party.

For me, I find myself waiting for context from these characters rather than trying to dig it out myself. I think I am worrying less about why anyone is doing anything and more on the responses they illicit from everyone else. I think it’s fascinating for me that prior to this episode I don’t think Top had done anything egregious we’d seen. He’s said he’s tired of hooking up with guys like Boston and wanted to try Mew and, despite their games, he’s been straightforward with Mew; he’s only faltered at the point that he believed Mew lied to him first. No matter how sad and lonely Ray is, I don’t want him driving his car around Bangkok, and I think he needs to stop dicking around with Sand. I think Sand needs to stop playing Captain Save-a-Hoe with Ray and reaffirm his solo stance. I think Nick needs to recognize that Boston’s insinuations that they could be more are hollow and he should just move on. I think Mew should stop trying to win his relationships and be honest about what he wants. I think Boston should probably taste a little fist and have his worldview rearranged a little bit.

Please keep writing and unpacking the psyches of these characters! I’m enjoying reading all of the ways people are connecting to these characters. Still, I want to avoid blowing them up into high-drama figures because they’re just like a lot of the folks I knew (and still know) in the community. I had dinner with some of them last night. These guys are just people, and people sometimes fuck each other up. I think the mundanity of their actions is probably the most appealing part of this show for me.

[syrena-del-mar]

I find it so interesting when I compare him to GMMTV’s ‘04 liners (Fourth/Gemini). Sometimes I find Barcode to be both much older and much younger than them, which probably has to do with the influence of the big age gap between him and KP cast compared to their age gaps in MSP being smaller.

Their careers are going to be interesting to watch flourish and I’m personally excited for Barcode. He’s really good at crying and the nuances in his portrayal of Porchay made him such an enticing character. I hope to see the different ranges he can bring forth if he continues to act.

I'm really curious which direction(s) Barcode's career will go. He's so talented and has so much potential. His stage presence and confidence have grown so much in such a short span of time, it will be exciting whatever he chooses to do.

[lukaherehelp]

Okey, Detectiva Luka on the case!

I'll be cracking this plot open in order on how things will go so, sit down and relax, grab a coffee and something to munch.

This post will briefly attached things from this post by @syrena-del-mar alongside my post here on the movies,as well as the ones about Tan and Phee being the killers and Tan using poison on the guys, as well as my theory of why I think each mask is different and I think I know whom is behind each one (thanks again to @blmpff for the screenshots). All these theories have being a collective effort between the multiple minds in the bl/gl server so also a big thanks to them for being as unhinged about these as me djslkajdlkjass with that being said...

Let's jump right in, shall we?

So yesterday we discovered that the movie posters in Non's room are fake mock-ups of real life horror movies, right? and there's a fourth poster that can be found in Jin's room in the trailer that we haven't seeing yet in the series, but I'm going to talk about it as well. They go in these order:

Rivarium, Whisper and La Madre

and Jin's:

Devil

Imagine Jin's is where the bookshelf is in Non's and we get this order:

Rivarium ->��Whisper -> Devil -> La Madre

or may I say:

Vivarium, 2019 -> The Whisper, 2007 -> Devil, 2012 -> Mamá, 2012

the order they are in is really important because it actually shows us how the plot is moving. The movie posters give away the plot. Let's go in order:

What is important to us from Vivarium (2019) are two things: the looping element of its plot (not a timeloop) and the brood parasitism example they show at the beginning of the film and feeds into with the plot later on with the loop element.

Vivarium shows as at the beginning the brood parasitism of cuckoos, birds that don't nest their eggs and instead, sneak them into other birds' nest for them to raise them. The gang, quote "Non's Friends" are the cuckoo, leaching out of a bird to raise their babies. Or, in their case, draining Non (the bird) out of his ideas and kindness (the nest) for their own good. The loop element comes into these with two new cuckoos, Tan and Phee, infiltrating the group (the birds), but instead of using it to rip the benefits (getting their eggs in the nest), their true intention here is being full parasites. They are a virus contaminating the body that is the friend group. They are "The Boy", ready to kill.

And how do they do this? Here is where The Whisper (2007) comes into play. David as a concept, to be more specific, comes into play.

David is an eight-year-old boy that is not really what it seems. He's the son of a wealthy woman, so kidnapping him should be easy, but this provokes many deaths in the movie amongs his captors. Why? 'cause David, in reality, is a demon. A demon that can "suggest" and "influence" the people around him to do whatever he wants. Only Max survives and is able to kill David, but not after the later has taken with him the lifes of everyone else without moving a finger. Phee and Tan haven't moved a single finger against the group (yet), but "the killer" has being doing it ever so slightly. And even like this, the only death among the boys that has happend wasn't even by the hands of "the killer". No, Por dies because Top kills him. "The Killer" (Phee and Tan) are pitting the boys against one another without them even knowing. The only thing they have done truly is poison them (going again with the loop thing as the gang drugged Non in the past) so they allucinate. And one specific allucination brings me to the next movie:

@syrena-del-mar gave a really good synopsis:

Devil (2010) revolves around five strangers that become trapped in an elevator. As they struggle to escape, it becomes apparent that one among them is the Devil incarnated, manipulating events and tormenting the others with a series of disturbing manifestations. Meanwhile, outside the elevator, a detective investigates the strange occurrences, gradually piecing together the connection between the trapped individuals and the sinister presence haunting the building. As the situation inside the elevator becomes increasingly dire, the characters are forced to confront their darkest secrets and sins, each suspecting the others of being the Devil in disguise. Once they deny their sins, the devil is able to claim their soul. The Devil is unable to claim the last survivor's soul, because these one confesses and repents for having killed a family in a car accident and fleeing the scene. "

Y'all can see why Jin is the one to own this poster, right? But I think there's two reasons for this:

the first one is the obvious, which is that Jin, amongs all the boys, is the one that probably regrets the treatment towards Non the most. He really cared about him, and he harmed him as badly as the other did. But he is repenting, and he might have already done half of the work no so long after the release of the video...

Because the second reason Jin has these poster is the fact that he shares the same sin as Tony, the survivor, in Devil: a hit and run. In Jin's case, Keng's hit and run.

Jin's only allucination speaks for itself, so I don't think I need to add anything else to this point.

but Devil also begins with a bible verse:

"Be sober, be vigilant: Because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."

The devil, the lion here, are Tan and Phee... or in Jin's case, Phee specifically. Both boys are playing the long game dragging these revenge for three long years, but Phee has make it upon himself to get the closest to Jin. And I think is because he knows, he knows Jin was involved with what happen to Non, he knows about the video, and he wants Jin to pay as well. But avenging Non by killing Keng might be what could keep Jin alive at the end... or at least to not be killed by the hands of Phee and Tan.

Talking about killing! A little side track to point out that I definetly believe that White will survive yes or yes and as I said this morning, I need him to be like the main character in the book Final Girls by Riley Sager and kill Tee himself. Period.

getting back on track, LET'S BEGIN WITH @blmpff BLORBO, THIS SILLY GUY, or well, these three silly guys:

But there's four! - it looks like we have four masks but upon closer inspection I think is just three. Not only the eyes are different but also the face structure of each changes a litte bit and the last two here look identical, so I just think is a matter of actual production of the series and them having that same mask duplicated but because it has more "dripping blood" on the eyes, it doesn't look the same in both. In any way, I'm about to tell you whom is whom.

Our first Killer, "Clear Sight", is Tan.

Tan, in this theory, is New, Non's older brother.

So yes, I know, this whole plan is a revenge for what happend to his little brother, so you'll think that he would be a little bit more "passion" driven when it comes to revenge, but taking in account the other two killers... well, makes sense that the older one is the one being more focus and calculating about what they do. A "Clear Sight" amongs them. He's also the one that has poisoned the friend group, as I explain here. So yeah, cold blooded and with a plan in mind.

Which he has really well tight up with the second Killer, "Bloody Tears", since they flawlessly were able to fool us all when CS stole the motorbike from Tee but then BT pulled up with it.

So, whom is "Bloody Tears"? Say it with me class: is Phee. Yes.

His eyes are bloodshot and he's crying blood because hiswhole purpose with all of this is to avenge Non. He feels guilty over his last words to Non:

"You want me to forgive you? Just get lost and die."

He's the one being more driven by passion, by rage, by wrath. These absolute fuckers destroyed the Non he loved so dearly and he will destroy them.

So if "Clear Sight" is Tan, and "Bloody Tears" is Phee... Then whom is "Fresh Blood", our third Killer?

For the sake of this these "timeline" theory, we will go with the idea that "Fresh Blood", the masked killer with the fresh blood on its eyes and the cruch, is Non.

The obvious reason: the crutch. FB is the only one holding it, both when he appears in front of Top and when he's in the woods.

And we saw what Non was capable of three years ago when he finally snapped in front of the others, so I don't need to explain why the blood of his eyes is till fresh. He's a goner, he's fully commited to the bit, he will take all this fuckers to hell with him... including Jin.

Because Phee could spare Jin, but Non will not. And so we are down to four people by the end of these tale: White, Tan, Phee and Non.

Here is where the last movie comes into play: Mamá (2012)

Mamá is about two sisters, Victoria (f8) and Lily (f6), whom were living as feral children for five years in a remote cabin in the woods after their parents' death. They are put under the care of their uncle Lucas and his girlfriend Annabel, but when the two girls start to build a bond with Annabel, what kept them alive in the woods, Mamá, wants to take them back with her. And by the end, she almost does. On a cliff, both sisters make a choice: Victoria chooses Lucas and Annabel, and starts a new life with them; but Lily, whom loves Mamá dearly, decides to stay with her. Mamá after this, jumps off the cliff with Lily on her arms, activily killing her and turning them both into moths.

Tan is Victoria, Phee is Lily and Non is Mamá.

Phee, like Lily with Mamá, will choose Non. After all the blood they have spilled, is better to get lost in the woods than to comfront the police, honestly. They can just get lost and enjoy nature like they did when they used to visit the lake. They will just count Phee as one of the many victims these cabin has taken.

And so is Tan because he, like Victoria, will choose to live his life. But he was never Tan. He's New, and he can just let Tan die at these cabin and go back overseas as himself, leaving all of these behind...

And leaving only White as our final boy.

so yeah, those are my theories and how I think the series is going to play out, this post has taken me 3h and a half to right down, I can't feel my brain any longer dljsaldjalkjsd

[lurkingshan]

La Pluie Meta Round-up

Since many of us have decided to stop being normal about this show, I wanted to get a little more organized about tracking the great meta inspired by the episodes every week. Some of y’all are putting in work to write these amazing essays digging into the text and subtext of this show, and I want to make sure I’m not missing any of it, as well as have a central place to track my own. I thought this might also be a useful resource to others, especially anyone coming to the show late (please join us, this is the perfect moment to get into La Pluie). 

So without further ado, a round up of my favorite essays and posts to come out of the fandom on this excellent show. I will plan to update this each Saturday with the previous week’s meta as we go through the final four episodes. I tried my best to find everything but y'all know how faulty tumblr’s search and tag functions are, so if you think I missed something important, let me know!

First, the most crucial essay about La Pluie that everyone must read

We Must All Get Gayer and Louder About La Pluie Immediately (@bengiyo)

Second, a round up of some of the essays exploring the structure and intent of the story

Note: these may contain random spoilers for some episodes but are not specifically about any given episode

Four schools of thought on soulmates (@shortpplfedup)

Intentional subversion of the soulmate trope

Interrogating the romance genre (@chickenstrangers) 

La Pluie and the subversion of second lead syndrome

La Pluie and the subversion of the faen fatale

La Pluie: On the Lore 

Locations of La Pluie (@colourme-feral)

Name meanings in La Pluie (@recentadultburnout)

Narrative determinism versus genre determinism (@ginnymoonbeam)

On the subject of consent in recent bls (@williamrikers)

Romance tropes don’t work in real life (@heretherebedork) NEW

Romantic idealism in La Pluie (@ginnymoonbeam)

And finally, episode specific reactions and predictions

Note: These are spoilerific, starting at episode 4 aka when we all started really losing our minds over this show

Episode 4

Defying destiny (me and @bengiyo)

La Pluie Ep 4 And My Love Of Emotionally Available Characters (@bengiyo)

You (Yes, You!) Should be Watching La Pluie

Episode 5

La Pluie Ep 5 Stray Thoughts (aka birth of the Tai’s Dad is queer theory) (@bengiyo)

What we know about Patts (plus Shan and Ben’s vindication)

Working out the colors in La Pluie (@respectthepetty)

Episode 6

Hands in La Pluie Ep 6 (@wen-kexing-apologist)

La Pluie meets Nora Roberts (@syrena-del-mar)

On suspicion of Patts (@ginnymoonbeam)

Patts Was Going to Blow Tai. Tai Wanted It. Why That Matters. (@bengiyo)

You need to be watching La Pluie

Episode 7

Hands in La Pluie Ep 7 (@wen-kexing-apologist)

La Pluie: Maybe we will get a happy ending after all (@neuroticbookworm)

On the bed scene in Ep 7 (@ginnymoonbeam)

On the make out session in Ep 7 (@shouldiusemyname)

Episode 8

La Pluie and the Exploration of Romance, Competence, and Queerness (@bengiyo)

La Pluie: Do you still believe in soulmates?

La Pluie: The most important thing is that we really love each other

The Language of Love in La Pluie Ep 8 (@wen-kexing-apologist)

Third Child Syndrome: Birth Order Theory in La Pluie (@syrena-del-mar)

Episode 9

La Pluie and The Kind One (@sunshinechay)

Soulmate Skepticism vs Romanticism in La Pluie (@neuroticbookworm) 

the divine in me; the divine in you (@liyazaki)

The Kindness is the Point (@bengiyo)

The ultimate message of La Pluie

To love is a choice (@heretherebedork) 

What matters is CHOICE (@shortpplfedup)

Episode 10

A Jungian Perspective on La Pluie (@syrena-del-mar)

A Logical Love Doesn’t Exist (@fadelikeclouds)

break your own chains (@liyazaki)

Diving into Tai’s mind: Actions do not speak louder than words (@fadelikeclouds)

La Pluie: A Masterclass in Conflict Writing in Romance

La Pluie Breaks the Soulmate Bond

La Pluie: Not All Gays Are Great (@bengiyo)

La Pluie the Soundtrack (@shouldiusemyname)

Lomfon thoughts (@rocketturtle4)

On Tai’s isolation (@sunshinechay)

On villainising Patts (@shortpplfedup)

Pee Peerawich Can Fucking Act (@wen-kexing-apologist)

Revisiting episode 8

Similarities between Lomfon and Tai (@iguessitsjustme)

Tai and Patt’s incompatible conflict styles and Tais’ conflict avoidance (@ginnymoonbeam)

The Depths of Inner Turmoil (@syrena-del-mar)

The Soulmate Label (@indigostarfire)

Understanding the Core Four of La Pluie (@neuroticbookworm)

Episode 11

Balancing Self-Absorption and Love in La Pluie (@syrena-del-mar)

Checking in on the colors (@respectthepetty)

Connection (@wen-kexing-apologist)

Communication (@shouldiusemyname)

Even though they’ve separated it doesn’t mean they’ve failed (@chinzhilla)

It isn’t destiny- it’s freedom (@liyazaki)

La Pluie and the Aftermath

La Pluie: Thoughts on the Queer Subtext and More Patts Reflections (@bengiyo)

On Tai as a middle child of divorced parents (@slayerkitty)

On Tai’s special treatment within the family (@shortpplfedup)

Parenting in La Pluie, Episode 11 (@neuroticbookworm)

The narrative is letting Tai be unlikeable (@sunshinechay)

[italianpersonwithashippersheart]

You know what pisses me off about this all PheeJin stuff. It's taken over.

No matter what happens having TaCopper be such a huge part of the anticipation, them being promoted so heavily as a ship with this series was a mistake.

About 50% of all the comments under the BTS videos and reddit posts are about PheeJin.

Either that they love the ship, or the actors, or they are mad the writers "ruined" Jin by confirming he was the one that leaked the video.

Side note: Everyone seems to be pretty much treating the confession as confirmation. So do I. It would be a stupid as fuck writing decision to have Jin be not the person that realeased the video and confess to it anyway.

Instead of focusing on the show's themes like this excellent post outlines by @syrena-del-mar or even the topics of sex and voyerism like this post by @shannankle or another post I can't find discussing the way the show subverts the tipical way sex is punished in horror. EDIT: @shannankle found the post and linked it in the notes it was from @brifrischu with addition from @lurkingshan. Or even just enjoying the theorizing like this post by @mikuni14 or this one by @tbhimnoteasyonmyself. Most of the fans (again other places I am not looking at the tag here on tumblr) are mostly discussing Jin, PheeJin and whining that Tan is a killer and lost his mind.

Also not saying anything about the Jin fans on Tumblr I am not going in the tag for a reasons. But a lot of PheeJin shippers and Jin fans on other sites are using words I fucking hate to describing New and it's starting to low-key piss me off. All the: he lost his mind, he is derenged (i also saw lost his mind like his brother - which you know ew) it's getting on my last nerve and I would appriciate if we could be a little lighter with that kind of language please.

It sucks that such a great show now wrote itself into this conrner where it only has two options: Stick to the genre and revenge plot, have team masked killer win (and kill Jin and Phee if he is indeed a traitor); everyone is dead, depressing ending no one is happy; or Phee and Jin succed in bringing down "crazy" killer New, we get some nice violence is not the answear after school message and Phee and Jin live happly ever after.

The first two will make the fans crazy, and we know the BOC shipper fans are on all other level of insane. And the third will leave the rest of us with a show that detroyed his own message for the sake of a ship, AGAIN (might I add, ofts fans will know the struggle). Leaving the show bad reviews and claim outrage because TaCopper wasn't endgame and they got ruined.

And let me very clear, If I have too see the well-off/rich character all alive while the poor characters all die and get called crazy because they dared take revenge and be angry at their mistreatment. I will actually consider this the worse BL ending ever. That will piss me off more then the Last Twilight ending ever did.

[syrena-del-mar]

4, 7, 17, 26, 32, 33, 45, 54, 69 🩷 (You don't have to answer all of these. I'm just a nosy girlie 🙈)

Hiya Soph! No worries, I'm also a nosy girlie so I totally get it 😂 Also a warning, I definitely got a lil too passionate on question 54. I just love the holidays.

4. Favorite Chore

I really love folding as long as I'm on top of it and I haven't had a weeks worth of wash piled up. Something about freshly dried/warm clothes makes it really enjoyable.

7. Any groceries that you've been getting into lately?

So much ginger and turmeric. I bit the bullet and finally just got myself a new full-scale blender/juicer to get rid of my old nutribullet, so now I'm able to make smoothies with ginger without it leaving unblended pieces.

17. What's a movie that you saw recently that you really liked?

A Million Miles Away. I have always liked to support Mexican-American work, and so many scenes here felt like they had been pulled from my own life. Also, teachers always get a lot of flack in the media for being uninspired and uninterested in their students, but I loved that they showed how so much of his success could be tracked to teachers who cared for and inspired him.

26. Would you rather sit on the porch drinking sweet tea or sit by the lake drinking beers?

How about sweet tea by the lake? Jk. But really, I would definitely prefer to sit on the porch drinking sweet tea. I have a relatively low-grade alcohol allergy that causes some beers to break me out in hives that don't go away for days. The itching is insane and I never want to go through it again lol

32. How do you take your morning coffee/tea?

I have a concoction I've been making every morning since I found it last December. 10 oz. of coffee 2 oz. of fat-free milk. 1 pump honey 1 pump sugar-free pistachio syrup Some cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove to your liking. Tastes like the winter holidays in a cup, really delicious and I still haven't gotten tired of it. I'm definitely not a black coffee and one sugar-type of girl LOL

33. What's something you collect?

Pens. I have an insane amount of pens, it's so hard to find a good one that doesn't bleed, skip, or smudge. So I collect like crazy. Also, before the boycott, Starbucks cups.

45. What's something you wish you had more time for?

Travelling. During the pandemic, I was traveling everywhere and anywhere. I would take day trips to the central coast of California or even to neighboring states. When I wasn't working and I would take some time off, I was going to several national parks here in the U.S. Sometimes drive 15-16 hours to get to them.

Now that I've finished my doctorate and I'm in my field of choice... I'm working and studying for my licensing exams. I usually don't leave the office after sunset.

54. Do you decorate your house for holidays? Which ones?

I decorate for Dia de los Muertos/Halloween, but, I'm a crazy Christmas decorator. I go all out inside my apartment. There's not an area where it doesn't look like Santa hasn't thrown up all over. November 1st, everything comes out of storage, though honestly, if I had a particularly rough year, it's sometimes already out by mid-October.

Now, outside decorations? We have a family tradition where my sisters and I go to my parent's place after work every day for close to three weeks, starting mid-November, and we decorate the hell out of the family home. Last year, we put up close to 40k lights with music. We still haven't invested or figured out if we will ever do the expensive light controller box that syncs with lights, but we do build a lot of our decorations. This year we're going to be adding close to another 15k of lights between everything that all 6 of us bought at the sales after Christmas.

Funnily, if it were up to my dad, he would have stopped putting Christmas lights since 10 years ago when we all left. Unfortunately for him, my sisters and I haven't let him. Now he has a grandchild, so the decorating won't stop for some time.

69. What are you looking forward to next week?

I'm heading out to the Grand Canyon next Thursday for the first time in five years. I only have two days off, so it'll be a quick trip, but it's so nice to roadtrip again.

Ask meme for people in their 30s

[rocketturtle4]

Be My Favorite - When is the present actually the future?

I’m pretty sure writing this is about to consume my entire Saturday but by the time I wake up tomorrow La Pluie will have been out for 6 hours and my Sunday brain will have other things to think about! (it actually only took about half of it so I'm considering that a win)

I have read through my Tumblr feed for people’s thoughts on the latest Be My Favorite episode and I absolutely have to share because I found that while ideas and themes explored mirrored my own thoughts, the conclusions people were putting forth about where the show might be going were completely different.

(Posts I don't specifically reference in this but that which I definitely read and you should too include @syrena-del-mar and @shouldiusemyname here and @chickenstrangers here )

Also shoutout to @bengiyo because I used your sarge watches to reduce how much I had to go back and watch things.

LETS CLOWN

(am I, am I using it right? I have so many questions about the LINGO and I don’t know who to ask)

My Hypothesis: Kawi is going to be faced with the ultimate choice of remaining in the past or the present when the crystal ball runs out of charge and he will choose to remain in the past where he must face his uncertain future.

Okay, stay with me please

Question 1: When is Kawi actually in the present?

Last week I made a throw away post about the time travel being a metaphor for being unable to skip ahead in life without consequences. In particular this scene (a flashback at the very end of episode 4):

Got my brain thinking about how Kawi and the people around him freeze in their character development whenever he jumps forward, so maybe his present is actually in the past.

EVIDENCE

Timeline 1: OG Future

In this timeline Kawi essentially froze the moment the crystal ball was broken. In the OG Future he is distantly acquainted with classmates, sad for the death of his father (from whom he was distant), distant from Max and has never drunk any alcohol. This is all directly reflective of where he was at the time he broke the crystal ball.

Timeline 2: Future 2 – He’s Pisaengs best man

In this timeline he’s been back in the past, and acted very unlike himself because he assumes he's dreaming. At the end of this timeline he ends up in the very early stages of becoming Piseang’s bestie. We have not yet had serious (feelings) tension between Piseang and Kawi, only a single night of bonding and I would argue that in this particular future timeline, Piseang is not in love with Kawi. He has become a platonic bestie (something that could never happen without the time skip) because these were the emotions Kawi and Piseang had for each other in the past even if these were pretty fledgling emotions when Kawi left. (Also, Kawi now drinks heavily, something he did for the first time in this immediate past when he thought it was a dream).

Timeline 3: Future 3: Piseang is in love with him and abandons his own wedding.

In the past Kawi is more intentional with his actions to change things. We also see his confusion around how he became Piseangs best man because as Kawi continues to grow and learn this option doesn’t make sense (But as a frozen version of the previous past's future…) (I'm losing track of the tense I can feel it)

In this timeline we have only progressed slightly further through the past but all the development was around Kawi and Piseang and Piseang’s growing feelings  (Piseang getting Kawi the plushie happens in this Future’s linked Past). And we come forward to Piseang finally giving into his feelings and kissing Kawi. This scene is very similar to Piseang almost kissing Kawi in the past in the following episode (episode 3) when they fall over because in Piseang’s arc these things happened at a pretty similar point in time, its just that in this future he was frozen at his point of realization until Kawi’s consciousness returned to his body on the morning of Piseang’s wedding. He could only act after Kawi was back to being old!Kawi, because of things being frozen.

Timeline 4: He’s Famous and it’s a mess

In the linked past here, Kawi has JUST debuted as a lead singer, has turned down Piseang kindly but Piseang has made his devotion clear, has decided to date Pear ‘because he’s in love with her’ BUT Pear is feeling uncertain about her place in Kawi’s life (evidence: both the bar scene with Not, and the hospital scene) and is friends with Max again. (Also I'm not sure if I already linked @lurkingshans post with Kawi 'interupting his own growth arc midstream.' it definitely kicked my brain into gear)

In the future he is a famous singer, distant but close to Piseang, and friends with Max (why has Max stuck with him huh?) also Not and Pear and Kwan provide, in my opinion, strong evidence for their frozenness because we’ve just seen in the past that Not has feelings for Pear and Kwan has feelings for Not, and this is the exact feelings scenario we get in the future. There has been no change. They're frozen in their feelings from 12 years ago.

We also have had posts about the idea that Kawi has gotten drunk and kissed Piseang multiple times through this jump. (Which makes perfect sense if you freeze his character at this exact point of uncertain feelings that are being ignored) (@piningintrovert here) (also this post where for some reason my @ won't let me tag dropthedemiurge IM SORRY) (also here) @becomingabeing

Also his alcoholism is spiralling because he has not learnt anything about drinking responsibly in the (mere days/weeks) it’s been since episode 1 started (and alcoholism is definitely more complicated, but in this specific context you have an individual that’s just started drinking heavily because they’ve discovered alcohol and their life is super confusing and these habits aren't checked or changed because his growth is frozen, there are simply the consequences) (not saying this is the case just the case in the context of this theory)

Counterpoint

Kawi’s dad has survived surgery in the past but is still dead in the future.

I don’t necessarily think this is strong evidence against my point but it’s worth mentioning.

Question 2:

How does Kawi’s Memory Work in these Futures?

This is a separate thread but it’s related to my theory because in Timeline’s 2 & 3, Kawi appeared to have no memory of the intervening years. (Inference: He hasn't really lived them)

Timeline 4 was a little different but the memories seemed to need specific triggers (speaking aloud, seeing a person) to come back. We saw in his arguments with Pear and Piseang that he DID seem to gain and settle into his memories more as he thought about the intervening past (intervening past = the time between when he left the past and arrived in Future 4).

We see 2 different flashbacks of the ‘Pear leave’s Kawi’ moments. 1 seemed to be Kawi remembering (trigger is when he sees Pear for the first time). 2 seems to be Piseangs own memories (flashbacks are always so frustrating because who is remembering? Is Kawi remembering this too?.

Kawi also just slips into being less jaded and work focused than his (frozen) future self apparently is. (Sudden carfree metaphorical ocean romp definitely relevant here)

ALSO Kawi freaks out about his own memory in episode 7 3/4 10.30 (re Piseang’s new number) (this almost felt like young!Kawi was overlayed with old!Kawi and so we were getting conflicting reasons for the memory lapse (is he sick? did he call Piseangs old number as young!Kawi without thinking?)

Counterpoint

The scene at the very end of episode 7 threw a small but solid spanner in the works of my brain because when does this scene take place? Piseang says eight years, original jump forward was 12 (I think) so therefor this is in the intervening years. Which I kind of thought of as frozen/fairly nonexistent (Except specifically when a character thinks about them) so I am not sure how this scene fits in.

This could be something Kawi will specifically think about before going back in time

(see this post for more clowning @sparklyeyedhimbo)

(side note, his jacket looks super similar to the flashback jacket in this counterpoint scene - it's not the same one though)

How old is Kawi’s brain?

I also made a throw away post about this last week, I have no clearer thoughts on this except that it’s intriguing to ask how old the Kawi traversing between the past and the future actually is? This post is so long I’m just going to link it. It’s not very fleshed out.

Side Point

One thing that floated into my brain while thinking about all this was the recent Step By Step episode and the dissatisfaction everyone felt about the time skips. So often used as a means of progressing a characters life while rarely showing meaningful character growth.

Could this whole show be a commentary on time skips and their conceptual flaws as a means of fast-tracking character growth?

I think it’s a bit of a reach, but I also don’t tend to read into directors/creators intentions as much so I thought I’d put it out there for people to chew over.

Additional hypotheses/questions I’m chewing on:

Q: Will his dad survive if he chooses to stay in the past to take care of him?

Q: How many sets of memories does he have, does he remember any of the intervening past between main past timeline and future 2 and main past timeline and future 3? Are the memories getting overlayed?

Conclusion

 As @lurkingshan pointed out, Kawi interrupts his character growth when he jumps forward in time. We have to go back in time to keep growing. Yet we’ve gone back and forward and back and forward 4 times now and the future is always messy because the characters can’t live on without change for 12 years and still grow together. I could absolutely see the show choosing to go in the direction put forth by @wen-kexing-apologist and @stuffnonsenseandotherthings here also @lurkingshan and @ginnymoonbeam have interesting thoughts about Kawi having to stop trying to change the future and live with his choices to move forward.

It's just that I think he is going to do that in the past giving up his chance to jump forward without growth. Because he has to choose not to know where he is going, to truly live in the present.

Savy?

(please point out all the holes in my theory, I am so invested I need some PERSPECTIVE)

[shouldiusemyname]

Another Trip to The Shrink Boston

*Note - this is my lens and I highly reccomend reading @wen-kexing-apologist here on cruising which has contributed a lot to the way my generation views homosexuality and gay culture.

Oh man, where do I even begin...?

First of all, just wanna say that this show has my brain stuck in so many loops that I can't see straight (put semi-intended). And Boston, my boy. I love him, but he is a victim of my time (re: the aftermath of cruising culture and HIV).

As I mentioned before, Boston has took upon himself this role in the group and this is the value he sees in himself. He is the slut of the group. I completely agree with @syrena-del-mar 's read of Boston as a Machiavellian prince and one that is a product of my generation. I think it would be even more accurate to say that Boston is the outcome of promoting and embracing the Machivellian Prince traits, as I see him more aspiring to be a Machiavellian prince rather than actually being one (successfully).

I mentioned it briefly here and I would like to go into it further when it comes to Boston. I believe that Boston represents the idea of queerness being the sex you have. I remember growing up in an environment where being gay means having all the sex you can have with all the partners you can get, often more than one at a time. I would hear things like why would they even want to get married? Everyone knows that gay relationships are open relationships. It was so deeply imbeded in the conversation that I vivdly remember the first time I realized that queer people have "normal" relationships just like everyone else.

I want to insert a side note here because @wen-kexing-apologist 's post really made me realize that what I take as a known fact is something that happens very differently today and needs to be explained. So basically (and I'm generalizing here) all of that stems from the discussion around HIV that exposed or brought to light (in a more agressive way) the gay cruising culture. This served as fuel to the fire of gay=sex, Gay men cruising=no gay men have sexually exclusive relationships, etc...

Did I lose you? No? Good!

Because what I wanted to say was that I see all of the above as the idea or blueprint for Boston's character. From his cruising habbits, through his views of sex and virginity to the way he speaks about relationships. It's like hearing the voices I grew up around, which really lead to internalised homophobia disguised as anti-heteronormativity. (For the record, I don't think that anti-het.norm. equals homophobia, but I do think that this specific case has homophobic roots)

It's very much like the ideas that guide toxic male behavior. Boston lies and manipulates. He says what he thinks his pray wants or needs to hear in order to stay submissive. Take Nick for example - I fully believe that Nick would have been just fine accepting his status as fuck buddy without the manipulation. He would have stayed for the sex and crumbs of attention, fully acknowledging that this is what he can get.

However, Boston was taught to believe that sex requires manipulation, that everyone you sleep with more than once will catch feelings, and that you must string them along with false promisses of more than sex if you want them to keep being there waiting (so, pretty much how toxic men view women when it comes to casual sex - leading to views of gay men as being women rather than men who like men).

Ok, back to Boston and Nick! Just look at Nick's face journey here - he's not buying any of it.

See, Nick is getting a ton of mixed messages from Boston and he is COnFuSed! He isn't asking because he wants to hear 'be my boyfriend', he's asking because he honestly can't figure out what the hell is happening!

Boston forgets that if he wants to keep Nick around he needs to switch up his lines as they only work for one night stands. Now, he has Nick hearing all his 'I never go back for seconds' and 'you're my favorite' bs and he starts asking himself should I be reading something into this? Because he knows who Boston is and I really believe that he wouldn't have asked about their status otherwise. But, when Nick asks (cos he is just so so so confused bless him), Boston panics. He never (I'm assuming) had to deal with this before so instead of getting out, he just digs a deeper hole and moves in permanently. In his mind, he will never get to have just the sex with Nick if there is no promise of something more. So he promises, and keeps promising, with words, and actions.

Again, Nick is no buying this. He is sus af.

And no one was asking for this Boston. You came up with it ALL ON YOUR OWN!

I will carefully say that from what I've seen before and my personal experiences with the Bostons of this world, if he doesn't get out of the hole he will find himself catching feelings that he has no tools to deal with. Boston is enjoying the intimacy more than he's wiling to admit, but it will catch up to him. Once it does he's going to panic-react all wrong. He's going to kick Nick as far away from him as he can, making Nick believe it's his own fault. When in fact, none of this would've happened if Boston had not been such a victim of his own persona.

So basically, whatever happens next is ALL on Boston.

As usual, thank you for sticking it out and hope this makes sense 💜

[risu442]

✨ Challenge: Make a poll with five of your all time favourite characters, and then tag five people to do the same, and see which character is everyone's favourite! ✨

Tagged by @scattered-stardust 🥰 thank u!

Honorable mention to:

Barney Stinson (HIMYM)

All the Kinnporsche guys except Korn and Tawan (no actually I liked Tawan AS a character, I loved to hate him)

Lucifer and Bobby (Supernatural)

Wow, it was hard! Can't wait to see who u guys choose, but I guess it will be easy for u 🤣

I tag: @angels-holocaust @arewedoneyet @salamander89 @mousydentist @syrena-del-mar @ominous-meme @sherlockholmeson @alwaysandforeverlost (hi 💙), @vegasandhishedgehog @fuckyeah-itme @gaymber @ahomatsuri everyone who wants to play 🥰

[ghostly-gifts]

🎃🎨 Trick or Treat!! 🏮🎃

On this delusory Halloween night, @khathastrophe has been haunted by the spooky ghost @syrena-del-mar, and they've left behind a treat!

[slayerkitty]

The DFF Experience: A Dead Friend Forever Fandom Round Up (Part 3*)

Character Analysis (Episodes 11-12)

On Tee and Redemption by @neuroticbookworm

On Phee and New and Revenge in Episode 11 by @uwooyoungs

Failing Non and Paths to Redemption by @biochemjess

Mirror Justice in DFF by @brifrischu

On Jin and His Character by @raelle-writing

New: Righteous Villain or Straying? by @kerrikins

Jin is Not a Flat Character by @queenofhtesarcastic

On Tee's Lonely Grief by @tbhimnoteasyonmyself

Protagonists and Main Characters by @queenofhtesarcastic

New/Phee Brain Dump by @vegaseatsass

White's Fear by @thepetesimp

On Jin, Non and the Apology by @mikuni14

The "What Non Would Want" Debate

Thoughts by @befuddledcinnamonroll

What Non Would Want by @yellingaboutkp

Would Non Want That? by @raelle-writing

New and Goodness by @salamander89

Miscellaneous (Episodes 1-10)

Nine Circles of Hell: DFF Episode 7 by @syrena-del-mar

On Police Corruption by @raelle-writing

Squicks and Triggers (Episodes 1-8) by @wen-kexing-apologist-

Squicks and Triggers (Episode 9) by @wen-kexing-apologist

Squicks and Triggers (Episode 10) by @wen-kexing-apologist

DFF Episode 5 by @wen-kexing-apologist

Language Notes by @visualtaehyun

Language Notes (Episode 9) by @visualtaehyun

Language Notes (Episode 11) by @visualtaehyun

DFF, Found Footage Horror, Technology, and the Real by @shannankle

Role of Regret and Guilt in DFF by @aeternallis

On Perfect Victims by @leconcombrerit

An Ode to Older Siblings by @syrena-del-mar

Episode 9 Meta by @mikuni14

DFF Episode 9 by @blramblingx2

The Audience as Phee and Tan by @firstkanaphans

Celestial Pleasures: Miscellaneous Thoughts About PheeJin’s NC Scene by @syrena-del-mar with contributions by @lurkingshan

How Do You Feel About PheeJin And Other Commentary by @respectthepetty

Figuring Out the Timeline by @yellingaboutkp

Asian Culture And Context for the Reaction to Non and Keng by @delululover

Framing in DFF: Voyeurism and Sex by @shannankle

Selfish Desires and the Class War by @syrena-del-mar

Episode 10 Analysis by @venusssssssssss

Filmmaking in BL: The Horror Influences of DFF by @chaos0pikachu

Episode 12 Preview Analysis by @thepetesimp

No One is Doomed by the Narrative by @raelle-writing

Lord of the Flies and DFF by @koddyroddy

Miscellaneous (Episode 11-12)

Echoes of Guilt: Exploring the Thin Line Between Tee's Redemption and Salvation in Dead Friend Forever, Episode 11 by @syrena-del-mar

Genre Influences by @imminentinertia

DFF: Horror or Thriller? by @yellingaboutkp

Random Episode 11 Thoughts by @subtextsays

Desperation in DFF by @babyangelsky

On Horror Tropes and Audience by @chaos0pikachu and several others

*Due to the number links and mentions the round up is now four(!) posts. Please see Part 1 here, Part 2 here, and Part 4 here.