#then again i usually love mame's writing so

[pharawee]

WEDDING PLAN 💍 19 July 2023

[isa-ghost]

do u have death family headcanons....

NO FUCKING MAMES I HAD 14 OUT OF 15 DONE FOR THIS ASK AND THEN TUMBLR YEETED THEM. I'M GONNA SCREAM AND COMMIT MURDER, IDR THEM ALL. FUCK.

ANYWAY YOU BET YOUR GAY ASS I HAVE DEATH FAMILY HCS.

qPhil headcanons masterlist

Family walks, Chayanne on Phil's shoulders and Lullah on Missa's. Or they do that thing where there's one kid between them and they take either hand and lift/swing them together.

Family gardening. Missa using his reaper scythe to harvest things, Chayanne and Lullah replanting seeds, Phil going full crow brain and hoarding all the harvested crops in crates.

The kids are Phil & Missa's biggest wingmen. Lullah will lead them somewhere and then be like "Oh. Oh nooo, oh noooo my asthmaaaa" and teleport away. And then suddenly there's Chayanne with a table for 2 and an entire kitchen setup with a dinner in progress.

They'll plot "relaxation" days for Phil and Missa too. It's a toss-up if either of them actually relax though. Missa's better at it than Phil at least.

No one cheered harder about the prison kisses than Chayanne and Lullah. They wish their dads a very "do it again. Often."

Phil and Missa are constantly conspiring together about cool things to do with/for the kids. Even when they're away from each other they'll write books leaving the other a message like "shhh don't tell the kids :)"

They'll also plan days Just for one of the kids where whatever the family does is centered around their interests. It's nice for them, because although they have mutual interests and are more than willing to do whatever the other wants, they still have unique interests and it can naturally get tiring being a package deal. Especially when so many of the other eggs are only children and get doted on by their parents with undivided attention

They get separation sadness a lot bc reaper duties and Phil's extremely deep sleep/vivid dreams keep them apart so often, but their little system of leaving gifts (Missa his paintings, Phil misc trinkets) for each other works. It's not as good as a hug or quality time though :(

Everyone's passing each other's accents to one another. Missa finds himself slipping up saying "bewk" (book) or some shit, meanwhile Phil keeps saying stuff with a Spanish accent because of Missa and Lullah and everyone keeps adopting German words into their vocabulary because of Chayanne.

Phil and Missa are both good at pvp, they love sparring with each other and teaching the kids. Chayanne is way more into it than Lullah, but Lullah loves to learn regardless, and she loves hearing Phil infodump about strategy and timing and whatnot.

Missa and the kids will team up and get Phil on one of his Philzaing rants. They'll be like "what do you MEAN you couldn't physically carry all three of us on a flight? :(" and there Phil goes, raving about how weight matters with flying and safety and blah blah blah. And he KNOWS they're getting a rise out of him most of the time. Yet he falls for it every time.

One day,, one day we'll get a 4/4 family build project,,, They want to do it do bad,, So far it's just been 3/4 make it and the 4th is delighted to be shown it by the kids whenever they're around again. (August 2024 Edit: KILLS MYSELF)

Phil and the kids have started half-purposely obtaining as many birds as they have bc it's funny to see Missa come back from reaper duties to MORE birds that he just has to accept live there now.

The kids love Phil's crow murder to death (pun intended) and are used to interacting with them. Missa not so much. Which has made for countless funny moments. He's still bewildered that they're so attuned to throwing something shiny at him and then aggressively cawing. He doesn't understand them like Phil can.

Something something the four of them having a seance together where Lullah taps into her medium abilities to communicate with Kristin bc Goddess of Death is part of the Death Family. She loves to tease Missa (usually about Phil) and she ADORES the kids.

[laurenkmyers]

Hey, hi! How're you doing??

First off, I gotta say you're my favourite Love Sea blog right now; I absolutely adore you. Secondly, because I have no one else to talk to, I was wondering if you noticed too how similarly abrupt the ep 8 NC cutoff was to the LITA PrapaiSky bathroom scene before the birthday disaster? Both moments are very charged, albeit in different ways. The PrapaiSky moment had such a tender scene cutoff that only made the subsequent break-up so much more painful. And MutRak's scene was just as charged, if not so much more, and it seemed like it was obviously leading to something and then it just? Flashed to the next scene??? Not to mention, there seems to be a solid emotional beat missing between that NC cutoff and the sweet kiss Mut and Rak share after Mut comes home. It almost feels like during the bedroom scene, Mut might have confronted Rak a bit further about the sudden distance he was putting between them again. It makes sense if during the high of sex, Rak ended up confessing that he likes Mut too. Especially if Mut openly expressed how angry/hurt he was. It would explain Rak's affection, tenderness, and not to mention, shyness during the kiss scene later.

I wouldn't be surprised if this scene has an extended cut in the boxset. There might not be, but I feel like it will. Either way, someone needs to write fanfiction for that scene.

Anyhow, thank you for listening! Love you, bye!

HELLO!!! HI! ARGH 🙈 THANK YOU. This is insanely sweet. I'm good thank you, darl- how are you???

I WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE WITH ALL OF THIS. EVERY SINGLE WORD. You're spot on. And I've also said similar things to a few others, but never quite this coherently.

It felt....unfinished, for lack of a better word. There did feel like a weird disconnect, which was EXACTLY the same feeling as the LITA scene.

Mame, for all her faults, usually has a really good grasp on her nc scenes and utilising them for actual narrative purposes and not just gratuitously, because they're mostly character driven purposes. This one felt like it needed more because you have Rak, who we've already established is a brat who likes to be in control, trying to take back the control he feels is slipping by avoiding the inevitable (that being his ever growing feelings for Mut) and he's doing so by blatantly goading Mut into action.

Now Mut is very good at understanding that Rak needs his space, and he's not one to overstep when it matters, but the man may be the greenest flag of all time, but he's also still human. And hearing the man you're quite possibly already head over heels in love with, threaten to 'eat' some faceless man when you're standing right there? Anyone would snap. What Mut is also very good at, is taming brats. Oops, sorry Rak. Your carefully curated need for control isn't always healthy, and you need someone to get you out of your head and into bed to loosen you up.

The tension in that scene was spectacular. It highlighted so beautifully Rak's willingness to actually submit, as he lets Mut not only physically hold him down with a half heart struggle, but to use words to let Rak know that if he allows it, Mut will give him exactly what he needs, but only if he wants it. Because Mut's 'What's it gonna be? Without your permission, I can't go ahead with it.' gives Rak a sliver of control back, letting that ball bounce back into his court. So to then have Rak chose Mut and then cut that pivotal moment short, the beautiful build up we'd been given tipped us over the edge but cruelly snatched us away mid-fall and we never got to hit that landing. It's sad really. Because the nc scene would have would have made perfect narrative sense.

And I also wouldn't be shocked or surprised if there was an extended cut in the boxset either. Let's hope there is. I need to see it.

Thanks for the wonderful message, love you too nonnie!!! Please come again! I love talking about this shit!

[yaoi-reading]

I could write a huge list of thing that russians took away from me.

And one of them is desire to do anything at all. It is fun to write about the most interesting you've read in 2023, because part of it is anticipation to look back at this post years later and compare with your current taste, interests and so on. I can no longer do it. I am not sure will I be alive at the end of this year, or will my city be free and unoccupied, or will Ukraine still exist, or will western politician not push us to sign some agreement with russians-terrorists-occupiers which equals death sentence in the future to all of us. And those ruminating thoughts are quite exhausting. But nonetheless I decided to make the list of the manga that caught my attention in 2023. Previous versions you can find here (2021) and here (2018).

4-gatsu no Tokyo wa by Haru - ok, I've got nostalgic feelings from this manga, the mood, the tropes and the vibe reminded me bl manga of early 2000s but with updated setting and more modern. And I enjoyed it so much.

Play After Call by Ohtako Mame - not a fan of dom-sub universe stories but the art, storytelling, characters and chemistry between them are top notch

Ao no Flag by KAITO - coming of age story about friendship (and love)

Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai by Yoneda Kou - at some point i started unironically to wonder maybe the only valid reason not to die is to read next chapter of my favourite manga. Love love love it to pieces.

Bokura no Micro na Shuumatsu by Marukido Maki - ok, i love Marukido Maki, I could read anything written by her. Maybe it is not the best but I remember reading this story about the end of the world before going to sleep and wondering if I wake up next day and continuing to read it during russian massive missile attacks while hiding in the basement and hearing explosions outside.

Ore wo Shiranai Kyou no Kimi by Tonda Moko - time loop and time travel

Totsukuni no Shoujo by Nagabe - gem from Nagabe and once again manga that I read mostly during air raids in the basement. This manga is licensed and translated into Ukrainian. And I am so happy about it! Great story about loneliness and isolation.

60-okubun no Futari by Denzou - dark and twisted, not something you would usually enjoy but it was rather interesting and reminded me a little bit of Harada's twisted stories.

Joy by Etsuko - somehow I was laughing out loud while reading this manga, got a nostalgic feeling from reading it because somehow it reminded me fluffy shojuo stories of 2000s (though it is bl)

Contradict by Ooshima Kamome - rivalry among students firefighters written by Ooshima Kamome? yes, please. I will read anything by her and will ask for more

Ginmokusei no Shitateya by Mamita - men in suits!

Wizdoms by Nagabe - school of magic with anthropomorphic animals, should I say more?

Another thing that russians took away from me is economical stability and it is quite challenging to support and buy works of my favourite mangakas (the death of bookdepository didn't make it easier) and my plan to finish my collection of Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai is down in the dumps. But if you can please-please-please support mangakas buy their works, merch, etc.

I also want to say thank you to the Armed Forces Of Ukraine. It is the only reason I was able to return to my home last year and continue to live here as normal as possible.

[theflagscene]

Getting to know your BL mutuals - 2022 Edition

What has been the BL(s) that took you by surprise this year?

Takara-kun to Amagi-kun - I honestly wasn’t expecting much from this and tbh, it didn’t offer much but damn if it wasn’t the sweetest simplest little series ever. The story was simple, it was a very classic high school Yaoi plot but it was so damn sweet. The characters were a joy to watch and I did not expect to love them as much as a did.

Eternal Yesterday - Another BL out of Japan which I honestly don’t usually enjoy very much, but this just grabbed my attention and crushed my heart. I adored it, the story was amazingly bittersweet and the chemistry between the characters was so great.

Ghost Host Ghost House - I honestly wasn’t expecting much from this one and was so pleasantly surprised by not only the amazing acting and chemistry and the plot was so damn heartfelt.

What has been the BL(s) that you felt a disappointed with this year?

Check Out - After episode zero I was super interested in what was going to come from the show, but when it actually started to air it was one massive disappointment. They were all terrible people, like there was barely a single character in the series that is likeable. Honestly had they kept them vacationing, maybe going for a ‘finding ourselves’ road trip kind of feeling that episode zero had, it would’ve been way better.

Love In The Air - I don’t know why I was expecting better from MAME, after these past few years I was hoping she would’ve matured and her writing would’ve gotten better, but I was just disappointed as per usual. I don’t know why I keep giving her series the benefit of the doubt, it’s like I’m in an emotionally ab*sive relationship with her series. Which lets be honest, MAME would love, that type of shit is part of her MO after all.

Oh! My Sunshine Night - What… How… Where… Who… WHY!? Just I cannot fathom someone getting this script, reading it and saying: yeah, totally makes sense, let’s do this! I just cannot even.

What has been your favourite BL this year?

Not Me (is started in 2021 but ended in 2022 so it counts) and The Eclipse, hands down my favourites. I’m not kidding when I say both of these series got so far under my skin that I feel fundamentally changed as a human, I fully admit it.

Favourite BL couple(s) of 2022

AkkAyan, SeanWhite, WinTeam, CakeEiw and Jaeyoung x Sangwoo.

If you had to suggest a BL for someone what would it be?

For something kind of light and simple, with really classic Yaoi tropes, I’d say Cherry Blossoms After Winter. It’s sweet, it’s short, it’s colourful and it has a HEA.

For something heavier, Until We Meet Again. I really feel like UWMA is like top tier one percentile level BL content, it’s plot is engaging, the acting is fantastic, the characters draw you into their emotional world so easily. Everyone plays an important part in the story, it’s just something that will make you laugh and cry and think, especially if you’re a queer person. Korn and Intouch’s tragic love is something that can resonate with so many people in the LGBTQ+ community, especially older queer folks who lived in the era those two characters did. That type of prejudice and the toll it takes and how terrible it can end, yeah, it’s something that a lot of queer people can understand.

What's your non-BL favorite for this year?

I don’t watch a lot of series/shows that aren’t BLs, I’m actually more of a movie person than a series person. So BLs are really the only series I tend to watch, I like that they tend to be short. I don’t have a great attention span, hence why I like movies better. But I did watch Wednesday on Netflix and it was great, really enjoyed it.

[italianpersonwithashippersheart]

@quotethatshow MAME is the creator of TharnType and a very controversial figure in the BL sphere. She made some legitimate great contribuitions, as she was among the first creators that first brought high heat and good intimacy into live action thai bls. She is a very classically (as in yaoi/manga) oriented writer. However many people including myself find that her way of balancing problematic and toxic tropes with the romance is off putting. Her earlier work gets it the worse tbh (like tharntype which was the first adaptation she was fully in creative and monetary control over she owns her own production company that is all about adapting her own works) and she has improved a lot.

I merly suggest not to start with her work because they are vast, she tends to write a shared universe (in a way that doesn't always makes sense) and she is very controversial. Especially tharntype.

Now I love toxic bls and toxic yaoi so my issues aren't with the toxicity but the writing itself.

Anyway here are links about the shared universe and tharntype in specific that I feel best sum up the way I tend to feel about Mame (disclaimer these are obviously pretty negative leaning because that is how I lean to tharntype but I have enjoyed old and new work of Mame before and at the time it aired I did ended enjoying stuff about tharntype that said I think it aged poorly)

@absolutebl primer here Also this blog is a great source of bl recs. Op has done many lists based on countries and tropes.

and @waitmyturtles great peace on tharntype here the notes are super interesting full of people that enjoyed it when it was airing because it was all the high heat BL had. And other opinions. Also @waitmyturtles has been doing this The Old GMMTV Challenge that largely about learning about Thai BL as a genre and the history of that. It also talks a bit about Bad Buddy.

I think Bad Buddy is a great first choice, they do have an amazing first kiss. And I think like @waitmyturtles hints at in her Old GMMTV challenge post it would be great to rewatch it later once you oriented yourself around the genre some more to catch up all the reference you might miss at first viewing. Now I want to point out I don't think that missing the reference hurts the viewing experience so you shouldn't be too worried about that. As mentioned Bad Buddy is a great place to start. A lot of people started with Bad Buddy or Kinnporsche because it was among the few BLs that broke containment (along with another one that is not very good).

Anyway sorry for the wall of text. I do also realize that the links provided have a lot of information and I apologize if that is a bit overwhealming.

Anyway this is a great time to be into bls, there is a lot coming out. If you are looking for places to watch them those that aren't youtube are usually on Gagaoolala or IQYU.com or VIKI (or pirate sites: dramacool or kisskh) of these streaming services I can only actually raccomend you pay for Gaga or Viki. If you have to pick one go for Gaga. They get a lot of good Japanese BLs that otherwise wouldn't get that much international releases. And a lot of amazing queer content from all over. And they are the only service that is specifically about queer content.

Anway again sorry for the info dump. I suggest to try many different things at first until you figure out what you like and what you don't. And then you will probably get a good sense on things you might skip or watch. I think you should probably check out TharnType for yourself and make up your own mind on it. I just don't think it should be your first BL.

Last thing, fairness check: I think both @chaos0pikachu @ineffable-opinions have made positive posts on tharntype and mame in general. I have seen them around my dash but I honestly don't really rememeber them because I didn't super agreed with their opinions on this drama. But I do want to mention it to be fair. I also want to mention that I follow at least two people who love TharnType and completely agree with the critiques on it @lurkingshan even stated as much in her reblog of @waitmyturtles tharntype review. Like I said I think eventually you should watch TharnType and make up your own mind about the way Mame handles certain things. It definately shouldn't be your first foray into BL at least in my own personal opinion.

Also I want to mention again for the Mame defenders that might read this I have liked other Mame stuff, I think Don't Say No is still my favorite of hers, and that's a TharnType spinoff. Love in Air is in all sense a better TharnType and Wedding Plan had a very queer story and pov. But all shows come with caveats and stuff that you kind of just have to tollarate or ignore because again I have personal issues with the way she writes certain stuff. But I rambled for long enough so I am going to stop there.

Thanks yall for voting!!! BAD BUDDY is the winner so I'll start with that (I hope it's a good one)

Sooo @yearningsea If ur not mistaken I'm about to see the best BL kiss in this show Looking forward to it...

I've read all of your comments and taggs...(yeah I'm taking this seriously)🫡

@italianpersonwithashippersheart thx for letting me know that Between us is a spinoff and I have no idea what this means DO NOT START WITH MAME 😅 yeah u can send me the links

@yannig I've watched quite a lot non-Asian queer media but there almost nothing good rn

Sometimes is good to watch a show that can get you angry so @smallhero6 I'll chack Theory of Love.

@mikuni14 @heiscomingtomygrave you two are making me curious about TharnType...let the mental damage being 😈

I checked the trailer of Tale of 1000 stars sorry @gilrael @onlyifyoubadd but seems too sad, I'm not ready to cry 😢

@chaos0pikachu @ineffable-opinions thx for recommending not only BL dramas but movies, novels, manga/manwha, anime... I hope I have enough time for all of that.

@lililasagna @khathastrophe thanks for scrolling through my blog... you're right I'll like Kinnporsche I'll watch that next...

[bengiyo]

Love in the Air Ep 13 (Finale) Stray Thoughts

Trigger Warning: sexual assault, intimate partner violence, rape, physical abuse

We've come to the end of the road with this show, and I generally think it's for the best. It's been a fascinating experience watching a MAME show again, especially one well beyond my comfort zone. Still, there's always something yikes happening.

When we last left off, Prapai and Sky were making a lot of good progress (despite the losses in the sartorial struggle) before a major misunderstanding reared its head. I'm not exactly keen on Prapai's method for reconciling with Sky, but we did get to see Rain be protective of Sky and I love that. Today we can expect Gun to show up, and I hope Rain murders him.

Man, after six episodes, I'm still not into the second intro song. I usually like to give a final listen on finales but I'm skipping.

Damn, Rain is manspreading so wide.

Tonnam is so entertaining. I'm looking to more of him next year.

I'm going to miss the Rain and Sky friendship.

Ugh, a flashback of how Sky ended up with Gun.

The amount of teenagers drinking in Thai dramas is really just so worrying for me.

I have a permanent cigarette burn scar on my hand. Fuck Gun.

I don't enjoy seeing any of this happen to Sky.

I am glad Sky has someone he can call when he's upset now.

A post-coital wipe and the phrase "drained you out." Is BL finally acknowledging our precious bodily fluids?

MAME and her teams are great at getting the most out of actor chemistry.

This guard at the race is like, "I do not see it," with Prapai trying to get with Sky right in front of him.

I hate Gun so much. I also hate that they tricked Prapai into giving them access to his apartment.

I want to hear from some Thai speakers if Sky was directing reassurance at himself in the equivalent of second person.

Why the horror sounds as Rain appeared before Sky?

Rain is a good friend. He knows something is wrong with Sky and is determined to look after him. I just wish he'd called or texted Payu.

Ah, the friend faked being a guard. This is sad. I don't like Rain being tricked into handing his best friend over to his abuser.

Hm, this is vile. The psychological torment is so targeted and cruel.

That's right, the whole squad rolled up on the condo.

Oh, this is upsetting. These guys gotta suffer.

I'm sorry, that ass whooping isn't enough. Rain also hasn't gotten his licks in.

Very glad they didn't stay in the condo.

I sincerely hope it helps Sky to finally tell someone about what happened to him.

And here I thought we'd avoid mics rubbing against fabric sounds.

Prapai has to race forever at the cost of a dead rapist. I'm sure we'll have thoughts about the trade.

So Sky met Prapai's whole family OFFSCREEN???? Why didn't we get to enjoy that??

Well we ended on an amusing note.

Final Verdict: 8, Recommended with Reservations. I genuinely think this is a difficult show to enjoy without an appreciation of MAME's kinks, her specific quirks, and the way she writes stories about survivors. I enjoyed the overall cast chemistry, even if there are moments that didn't always track for me.

[demiromanticmickey]

Tagged by @ralbeleren 💕

1. Your all time favorite BL & why

Until We Meet Again. I just love it idk. The soul mates trope is not one I usually go for but they made it so unique what with the reincarnation, healing from generational trauma/homophobia, the fabulous friend groups and families, focus on consent and safe sex, two bi boys (one of which actually says he's bi), and so much more I'm forgetting. Like, this show had everything. It was incredible. It helps too that they emphasized soul mates are made, not found.

UWMA was also the first Thai BL I watched (that I also stumbled onto as it was airing) and my reintroduction into BL so it forever has a special place in my heart for that.

2. That one BL that scarred you for life

None?

I mean, there's stuff from way back in the day I'd love to forget but I don't remember the names of the series/movies or the full plots even. But like the general BYG, age gap, inc*st-y, r*pe kinda stuff that was in pretty much every BL manga/anime. :/

3. Is there any BL that made you feel single?

As an aro, I don't even know what "feeling single" means. Never had that experience in my life!

4. If you could change one thing from a BL, which would it be?

For miss Mame to not take over writing for ACTL and ruining TinCan!

5. That one BL you detest.

I don't "detest" any BL I've watched since getting back into the genre. And if I'm not enjoying my time with a BL, I'm dropping it. Rather not waste time on something I don't like.

6. Your Top 5

1. Until We Meet Again is always number one.

But the others, in no specific order: The Untamed (YES IT COUNTS), Sotus s1, I Told Sunset About You, and Color Rush. Although Not Me has had me in a chokehold since the mock trailer so I'm likely going to have to rearrange this later.

7. That trashy BL that you lowkey like

I'm gonna go with Tonhon Chonlatee. LISTEN. I know it's awful! But Khaotung and Podd really sold that shit! And ugh, RIP Mike & Toptap 🏳. We'll probably never know just wth happened between them.

8. Your favorite Korean BL

It's a toss up between Color Rush and Where Your Eyes Linger. Tbh I only didn't include WYEL on my Top 5 list because I needed to make room for ITSAY.

9. But also your top 3 for KBL

I've only watched three. So, the ones I just mentioned plus Mr. Heart. But I would not include Mr. Heart in my top 3. It was fine, just not for me.

(Would love some recs tho! As you can see from reading through this post, I'm into mostly that sad, slooooow burn type of shit w a happy ending.)

10. Season 2? Which one?

Eh, the only s2 of a BL I've watched and that I think surpassed s1 was Still2gether. But, I wouldn't say it's a favorite despite how much I liked it and how much I like Sarawat.

And I know some people hate it but I loooved Friend Zone s2, although that is not strictly a BL so... 🤷🏻‍♂️

11. A bunch of dramas will air soon, which ones are you the most excited for?

BETWEEN US, KinnPorsche

Also that new BL with Zee. Cutie Pie, that trailer did look kinda good 👀

From GMM 2022: Moonlight Chicken, Never Let Me Go, The Eclipse.

*And shout out to the GLs I wanna see too: Gap the series, The Girlfriend Planner.*

12. I tag

Look, I only follow like 60 ppl on this thing and that's how I like it. If you follow me and you watch BL consider yourself tagged.

[life-rewritten]

GIFTS OF BL! AKA CHRISTMAS GOODIES FOR BL FANS WHO LOVE ANGST, PASSION AND CHEMISTRY.

Merry Christmas BL Fans. I've been trying to be a bit more festive on here, and so I've decided to write out a gift box for every BL fans full of Christmas goodies and suggestions you might want to see based on different tropes, genres and plots in case you haven't caught up with them. Or just my opinions and ranks of some of my favourite BLS that are incredible for each category. So Yes I am a weird person who views suggestions as presents. Finding a new show with all the things I love that remind me of certain other shows that I already love is like a gift to me, I love binge-watching shows that make me happy, excited and is an emotional journey, for me the gift is falling in love with many other plotlines and finding a new passion that inspires or makes me happy just at the thought of the show. That's a great gift. So if you're like me here is the first Gift Box: Merry Christmas :) let me know what you think about these shows, are there other's you've seen? Add them to the box so we can all find new shows to love. Enjoy:

GIFT OF BL! The passionate, angsty and chemistry lovers.

Ahh yes, it's those type of shows, those shows where you find your self obsessed and crying over the incredible and crazy love story between two hot-headed people who are meant to be together but for some reason instead, they hate each other. I mean are we surprised? Haters to lovers always have this incredible sizzling fire on fire chemistry that is explosive at worst but also delicious to consume at best. They are the ride or dies, they're the fighters, they're the shouters, but they're always meant to be together. And not all angsty couples have to be haters to lovers, some on this list aren't, they're drawn to each other, by some inexplicable thing. This soulmate connection isn't as warm/ soft as you want it to be, but it's more firey and loud, it's in your face, and it makes you jealous because once they fall in love and learn about each other, it's unconditional and so effective. These kinds of couples form bonds where they need each other? At some path in their life, the other person is their person, to help them grow, to help them learn, to accept their flaws, to love themselves, to heal, to trust etc. This kind of bond all the time leads to something so beautiful and also an exciting experience worth always rewatching time and time again. And suppose you're like me and you love depth. In that case, these couples and plots normally have so much subtext and depth in their stories; people feel turned off at first by their surface interactions because the characters usually are incredibly flawed but actually you get to see a journey with them as they grow and become better. That's something I enjoy with all these shows, we learn so much about them, they feel real, flawed, messy but also just so exciting to analyse and question as well. By the end of the show, you're either emotionally exhausted in a right way about the love they have, or you're crying so hard because they found each other and became the best versions of themselves through it all.

Sorry, these type of shows are my favourite to discuss. And if you're like me, then I hope this list is a gift box for you to explore and find new loves in case you haven't watched some of these. Or nostalgia just to remember shows like these that touched you and made you so happy. Let's discuss about it.

Tharn and Type

Haha if no one knows me, you won't understand how obsessed I am with this show. For me, this show for both seasons is everything I want and more. Which is weird because this show can be viewed as an uncomfortable experience; toxicity, questioning about some moral issues, non-consensual confusion etc. The righteous me feels weird every time I have to recommend this show to people because it's very polarising. So I'll start first by saying the trigger warnings: there are conversations about r*pe, and non-consent in this show, questions about abuse and predatory behaviours in the show. If this really triggers you, this isn't a gift for you, and I get it.  

But whilst on the surface this show seems like another toxic version of what makes BL hard to watch, with those tropes, I think people tend to misjudge this couple's story a lot. There are issues with the writer, and it depends again what your stance is on it. But for Me the reason why Tharn and Type are on here is because it's a ride, I think it's an incredibly written show, with fantastic acting despite the novelty of the actors, an amazing director and production despite the small budget and an amazing plot despite the first few episodes confusion/discomfort. This story is incredible, with a lot of layers. If you are someone who loves layers, psychological conversations about nature vs nurture, if you are someone who enjoys plot twists, and character arcs and development this show is for you. This couple will take your breath away; this couple will break your heart and repatch it over and over again with their longing, chemistry and love.

At the end of the day, Tharn and Type is a love story at the core, about two flawed people who find a love that gives: healing, comfort and strength. Some people don't see it like that but the way these two love each other, the journey they go through with each other even in the sequel is still amazing to watch and enjoy if you get it. It's why there are so many essays and analysis derived from this show; it's not us being Mame warriors as people would call it, it's us seeing what the story is showing, bringing out the forgotten details to light, making sure people understand the message of the show.

All people see in this show is fighting and then passion, but that's not what this show is about, it has angst the characters are authentic and flawed as humans are. Still, at the core, it has love, sweetness and a soulmate connection that makes you question everything about love and also want something like it ( I know CRAZY). It's like weird for me to say I want to find my Tharn to my Type, but somehow it makes sense, I really adore these twos love, and for some people, it's not like that, and that's okay. But for some others, this show is a gift, and if you're like me who always feels conflicted about some stories in BL lacking passion, chemistry, structured plots, with twists that make you have to rewatch time and time again, then this show is for you. It gives you everything you want in both seasons. But only if you are open-minded enough to see it.

Why it's a gift: The passion, the angst, the haters to lovers, the chemistry, the naturalness of the actors, the soft sweet moments that make you envious, the plot oh the plot, the excitement and conflicting feelings, the questions it brings, the discussion it gets, the love story at the core. It's everything for people like me For others: Others will love the chemistry and the passion between the two actors, may not see the message and view it as a guilty pleasure and may be triggered by many conversations in the show. But all in all, if you stick with this show, it'll always end up being a good show no matter what you feel about it. In terms of representation: I've seen a lot of LGBTQ who have appreciated Tharn and Type because of it's the courage to tackle specific topics on tv, some have praised the naturalness and focus on a character like Type who is incredibly flawed but incredibly understood because of his circumstance, a real character who makes mistakes, is stubborn, rude and angry but grows and learns to accept himself as he falls for Tharn.

Why R U

Another absolute incredible gift. Except warning, not the show haha. I honestly believe with my whole heart that this show would have been everything in 2020 had it been directed by better people, edited better and COVID didn't happen. This is why this show is like such a pain to me because I love this show so much, this show made me move on from my obsession with the previous s and found a new show like it which I wasn't expecting. And yet I still advise people not to watch the show.

The gift box here is to watch this show as an edit. So here is a present for you if you haven't seen this show, watch this (1-hour summary) modification of one of the couples in the show, and it'll make you so emotional. And then you can decide if you want to watch this show fully. The reason why I can't recommend the show to people is that I was not too fond of the cringe humour, the loud sound effects, the cuts in the story and the lack of attention to the other side characters.

But for Fighter and Tutor, I would die for this show. This show brought a gift to BL, and that's Saint and Zee as a couple. It's incredible. They are electric to watch on the screen, and they made me fall for this couple even more. But honestly, the reason why I love these twos story is again the plot; It's funny because again like the previous show, this show had a lot of subtexts and hidden depth others didn't understand, people again assumed from on the surface tit was a show about fighting and lust but it wasn't. It tackled the same conversations; internalised homophobia and how it affects you and shapes your actions, it showed a hater to lovers story where two people found comfort, strength and hope with each other. It had two flawed and exciting characters that you couldn't help but fall for. If I loved Tharn and Type previously, I've never wanted a love story the way I want what Fighter and Tutor have.

I mean it's incredible, the way Fighter shows up for Tutor in this show, their effect on each other as they fall in love, they're each other's catalyst to growth and hope, whether it's Fighter learning to fight for what he wants and choose his path for himself, confront his father and become less suffocated from the life he thought he had to live or to overcome his internalised homophobia that was slowly killing him, or it's Tutor learning to trust in life again, and growing strong and finding someone to lean on when he thought he had no one, or him finding his strength also to fight for what he wants, to become vulnerable and let people in, to hope for a new path and happiness. This show broke me. Honestly, these two are a gift for people who love passionate stories.

There is a plot there's so many hints and subtext to their love story, how they've both loved each other secretly for so long. Still, because of fear and homophobia they didn't act on it and turned it to hate for a while, how once they accept their feelings and become brave they know they're each other's forever, they're so pulled and obsessed with each other. And Tutor! Tutor is an incredible lead, he's sassy, he's confident, he doesn't take nothing from others, he doesn't let himself be in a toxic situation, he's powerful and incredible, and I loved watching him on screen. And Fighter may be annoying on the outside, but he's soft, melty, vulnerable and such a great boyfriend when he accepts what he feels for Tutor. Their love is incredible. It's unbelievable, so if you haven't seen this show click on the link and cry and fall in love.

Link Here Enjoy

Why it's a gift: It's a show you will fall in love with for these two, there's another couple you'll also fall in love with for different reasons, but for Fighter and Tutor their chemistry, angst and passion is so exciting to see. The way they fall for each other is also incredible; this show never fails to have moments that tug at heart and make you envious of what these two have, again this show has a completely rounded plot for these two, it's a romantic comedy, their edit is like watching a great movie and being affected. The show is also packed full of amazing actors, music and scenes that you won't want to forget. If you love skinship, SaintZee are kings of showing passion on the screen, mostly also unscripted, they became Fighter and Tutor entirely, and you can see their love ooze from them, and their longing drives you insane. But that's what an extraordinary, passionate story does. It makes you lose your minds at how great these two are, how breathtaking they can be and how much their love makes your heart melt and also race because it's like fireworks, explosive and beautiful and worth the view.

For others: This show may seem generic since it's set in a university and it's engineering (I'm afraid I have to disagree when people say stuff like this), the actual show directing is weird, it's cringy, and you may be turned off and distracted from these two's plot because it's not put together properly. There are moments that you may not clock on like the past flashbacks and what they are trying to tell you about these twos dynamic: so many people didn't get that they loved each other from the first time they saw each other but refused to accept it especially Fighter who pretended to hate Tutor because it was the only way to avoid what he was feeling for a while.  There is a very long version of a beach vacation that seems like there's no plot. Still, it's just showcasing how in love these two are, and how much they realise what they have with each other, how much all their pent up attraction is finally exploding and showing at the surface i.e. they can't get enough of each other. It makes it all the more painful later when they have to break up because they literally can't part with each other, they need the other's touch, presence and more to feel safe and comfortable.  If you love skinship; the beach scenes are the best moments for you,  you will scream at how natural these two are. But you may just think that's all they have. In terms of representation: There are conversations about accepting who you are, and internalised homophobia is a big obstacle for Fighter and Tutor they learn to accept themselves as they fall in love. Fighter is incredible standing up to his father later and fighting for Tutor. It's just a great BL that people can watch as a romantic story and get lost in for a while, it's romantic, passionate and it doesn't feel uncomfortable or unnatural, there's a plot, and it has a happy ending. A perfect show to get away from stresses and reality for a while. That's why I love it.

Mood Indigo

Enough of the happy love stories that have happy endings; Suppose you love painful soulmate bittersweet endings with angst and passion. Mood Indigo is for you. Oh My When I say my heart broke so much because of this show, I mean it. My heart was damaged, I felt sad, but instead of feeling defeated as I do with other BLs with unhappy endings, this was so incredible? It was tasteful, the angst is there, but it's not like the typical haters to lovers angst. It's more dramatic in a different way; it's also touching, and again, the chemistry of the main characters is incredible and will make you scream.

You're rooting for them to make it, you're hoping they choose each other and yet you oddly understand despite being upset at how it ends. This a prequel to another series called the Novelist, you can watch both these two, and it would be a great time. The actors are incredible as with Japanese shows, the storyline is exciting, and as a writer, it's touching, and there are moments where it makes you want to cry. It doesn't feel as depressing as you think it would be (if you've watched the sequel) it feels oddly healing and real. If you like couples with immense longing, and passion for each other, with more self-discovering and deep conversations about themselves, this show is for you. Skinship and love are also more tasteful, and it doesn't feel lustful or crass. It feels like watching art, that's all I can say. And it does have a semi-happy ending depending on whose perspective you watch from; I've watched from both, I've cried at the Novelist because of both, I've also squealed at seeing one of the characters get healing and closure. I've smiled, but I've also watched another beautiful connection to grow. What these two have is special despite how they ended.

Why it's a gift? Realism and a lot of reflections and questions. If you like deep stuff this is for you, add a spice of chemistry and passion, and it's so beautifully done. Not all love stories need a happy ending, but there are some bonds worth finding and making and Kido and Kijima is one of those. Also if you're not a fan of happy fantasy endings and closures, this is for you, this is very real, bittersweet and it hit the right notes. It's worth watching and deciding how you feel about it.

For others: The story does feel slow as with a lot of Japanese BLs, sometimes you may miss out on the deep meanings and reflections the show brings so it may feel more moody and gloomy for no reason. If you love happy endings, then this may not be for you. You may end up disliking the actions of Kido or Kijima and may end up not understanding why people root for them and cared about their relationship.

In terms of representation: This tackles again you guessed it internalised homophobia, (IH) it's the biggest thing BLs like to tackle, this is more realistic and deep. It's very practical about life, and it's just a great show; cast, production and story that showcases an LGBTQ relationship.

History Trapped

Crime and mystery with a side of Passion, Angst and Haters to lovers?? You have History Trapped. This is just incredible. I remember judging at first because I was hesitant about how good it could be. But No, I loved History Trapped. I think it's one of the Best BLs out there, that does what it says it will do, it has an exciting plotline that you can follow and immerse your self in, but the love story is also at the core. I love all the actors in this show, and their chemistry is ridiculous, many scenes left me smiling and grinning from ear to ear. I love how the story is an angsty love between a cop and a gangster-like it's so funny to see how their two groups react to the love they have. I love the revelations and plot twists in the show, we have an exciting plot trying to uncover the mystery of the death between two people both connected different ways to our main couple. It's so good because it's just a nice story overall. The plot is good. The acting is good. The love story is good. And like every hater to lovers, the character reveals, and arc is deep and interesting to unfold. I also think the side couple is good in this show, also passionate and interesting to watch. Also 20 EPISODES?? Damn, worth it, worth it all.

Why it's a gift A unique BL not set in highschool. Angsty, dramatic haters to lovers that is incredibly beautiful and enjoyable on screen. Their chemistry and passion are addicting to watch, and the actors are great. The plot for the main couple is well written, fleshed out and exciting to follow. It is a ride of emotions, and it'll make you obsessed. For others: I really don't know why people would dislike it. Maybe the low budget but I think it makes up for it with the plot and characters. I do think the side couple's story is not as fleshed out as the main but they're a good side couple that is nice to see on the screen. Maybe the ending? It's not the sweet fantasy happy ending you expect, and from this writer, I think it's a pattern so no shock, but it's not depressing or defeating. It's okay.

In terms of representation: I won't say this is like a serious story focused on LGBTQ and issues, but I think that's why I like it as with my other shows, the focus is on the plot, the mystery and the characters, once they fall in love that's it, there's no deep questions or denial about what they are, and I love that. (Not sure about side couple there may have been some questioning) and it's a story with an LGBTQ couple falling in love and choosing each other despite being from being different worlds and opinions on what's moral/righteous. That's why I love it.

I told sunset about you.

Oh, Hi, ITSAY. It seems like I can't forget you or move on from this show. Haha. I've written long paragraphs about the other shows, but I feel like for ITSAY  I don't have even to explain it just watch it. It's worth everything, the production is exquisite, the acting incredible, plot: deep and outstanding, the passion, chemistry, longing and ANGST: Out of this world. Remarkably for a 5 episode show, this show's couple broke me, made me cry for hours and made me addicted and obsessed with them. They were perfect for each other, friends to haters to friends to lovers again. They were fireworks, explosions, and more. And this show was art. Everything was tasteful; everything had meaning; everything had a purpose. This show was the definition of meta, and it made me so happy to analyse. Five hours will go by with this show; it's a gift honestly the best thing I can recommend to you. You will scream and shout and cry and feel jealous, angry, crazy and then you'll feel elated. No other way to put it. Go watch this show if you haven't.

Why it's a gift: Acting: Outstanding Directing: Outstanding Plot: Outstanding Meta: Outstanding Everything: Outstanding

For others: This show may feel draggy to some who don't like over dramatics, a lot of crying, a lot of moping, a lot of angst, but it's done by incredible actors who do them well. The ending of the show feels incomplete because after all the drama, angst, even if it's a happy ending which is great, it felt weird, rushed and empty. Like it was missing something so that might be a bit anti-climatic for you. Still think the show is worth it.

In terms of representation: Again we have IH, but this time we focus on a coming of age storyline and view how people deal with the influx of feelings, how it makes you lose your self, find your self, and know your worth. The characters all grow after being flawed, they find themselves and learn and question their sexuality for a lot of people it's relatable, there are potent discussions in the show about this and meaningful moments and scenes that make it worth it and perfect for LGBTQ +

Many more gifts I can't explain:

Where your eyes linger: Korean, ANGSTY, Short and incredible. Will leave you feeling a lot of emotions. Worth the 80 minutes trust me: bodyguard and spoilt kid story. Longinggggg and repressed attraction it hurts.

Together with me: Not the next chapter, I would avoid the next chapter. But the first together with me? Worth it. Angsty friends to lovers, questioning of IH, and CHEMISTRY, actors who are incredible in real life and also on-screen with each other. A bond worth seeing. You can catch them also on Manner of Death which I also would recommend: same thing Angst, Drama, Chemistry, Passion, Murder, Mystery. Gah MaxTul are incredible.

Friendzone 2: Skinship for days. Chemistry for days. A messy story that you need to look at the subtext for days. Very interesting to analyse incredibly real and flawed characters who you get to see grow. Watch both Friendzone 1 and 2; you may end up hating the couples because it's messy; cheating, uncomfortable moralities, etc., but it's a ride I would never forget.

Night Flight: Oooo a movie, gloomy, moody, realistic and also artistic. Will make you cry for days but worth it—incredible acting, a deep storyline that will break you but also make you feel something. Passion in a very different way from the others, it's not about skinship but about the love these two find as they realise they are each other's key to freedom one way or another. The angst is crazy, the situation is scary, but it takes your breath away and touches your heart differently. I would recommend hundreds of times over and over again. It's everything to me honestly, and I don't like bittersweet endings. Trigger: questionable scene r*pe and bullying and mentions of su*cide.

Theory of Love: Angst, Angst, Angst! Pain and tears all in one but guess what it's a happy ending. Haha fooled you; based on a great book Flipped, about the pain of unrequited love turning requited, flawed 3D characters you'll hate then cry for then love. An incredible OST!  And the chemistry that keeps you on your toes. Worth it too. Lots of crying and shouting.

Untamed/Mo Dao Zu Shi: Angst for days, love in the subtext, censored but worth it, acting is incredible, a great plot that's not just focused on the romance, fantasy and all things nice, drama and pain, crying and deep, extraordinary characters, 3D villains, will change your opinion on a lot of BLs, incredible directing, production and cast. Worth it. This is an actual gift for a BL fan like read the book. I'll link the translation here as a gift, read the manhua, watch the anime/donghua, listen to the non censored audio drama (my fave). This is an incredible experience. It's a true gift and will talk about it when more I write my gift box for anime and fantasy fans.

Link For Book here - Have a great time with this it’ll make you obsessed

So this Christmas period whenever you want an alone time, rewatch these shows, cry and scream at these shows if you love this type of shows. Obsess and find your self lost in these shows, analyse and ponder on the meaning of these shows. And distract your self with joy and happiness at these shows. I hope these shows also end up feeling like a gift to you. Angsty, passionate couples are just great to see; they require so much depth to their characters, natural actors who aren't uncomfortable with showing passion on-screen and are devoted to their craft, and incredible plotlines that make you question and learn things about your self. Maybe I'm being dramatic, and it's not that deep, but these shows were worth it, and I hope you find one or you rewatch one that makes you happy this Christmas. Feel free to discuss with me about these shows, what did you like about them, what are your opinions, which are your favourite, what other shows will you suggest let me know!

Other Recommendations

GIFTS OF BL FOR FANS WHO LOVE DISCUSSIONS OF REPRESENTATION

[salvadorbonaparte]

Yiddish

Minority Languages of Europe Challenge 2/? - Let’s see how many I can do before the semester starts

What is the language called in English and the language itself?

Yiddish is called pretty much the same in the language itself except for an obvious spelling difference:  יידיש‎. It is also sometimes called mame-loshn which means mother-tongue. 

Where is the language spoken?

Yiddish is spoken all over the world in the Jewish Diaspora. It originated in Germany but some of the most active Yiddish communities can be found in cities like New York or London. It is recognized as the official language in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, but there are almost no active speakers there. 

How many people speak the language?

With its status as a diaspora language, and one that isn’t recognized in all places it is spoken in, it is difficult to say how many speakers there are. In addition to the geographic spread, Yiddish is spoken by many as a second language, either on a fluent or conversational level, but not as a native language. A rough estimate could be between 1.7 and 2 million speakers. 

Which language family does it belong to? What are some of its relative languages?

Yiddish is a Germanic language that is very closely related to German (to the point that it is almost mutually intelligible when spoken). The language evolved in the Jewish Diaspora of medieval Germany, which is why the basis of the language is Germanic with influences from mostly Hebrew, which was used in religious contexts. Later, a strong Slavic influence was added after the Diaspora shifted farther east. Modern Yiddish also has influences from English. 

So while it is a Germanic language, its unique position as a language of the Jewish Diaspora means that it shares some relations with Semitic and Slavic languages (mostly in vocabulary).

What writing system does the language use?

Yiddish is written in a modified version of the Hebrew writing system. While Hebrew uses an abjad, Yiddish uses an alphabet. Words with Hebrew origin are usually spelled like in Hebrew (without the vowels). There also exist different ways to write Yiddish in the Latin alphabet. 

What kind of grammatical features does the language have?

The Grammar of Yiddish is very similar to German, with some crucial differences like number of cases. Yiddish has three grammatical cases and genders. 

There are some influences from Semitic and Slavic languages in the grammar as well, like nouns derived from Hebrew still taking Hebrew noun endings. 

What does the language sound like?

Short answer: Similar to German. To a German native speaker, Yiddish simply sounds like a strong regional variation of German. 

Here is the link to a video where Yiddish is spoken. 

Here is the link to a song in Yiddish. 

What do you personally find interesting about the language?

If you know me, you know that I have been interested in Yiddish for a couple of years now. I even almost studied it at university before deciding to focus on general linguistics first! I love how Yiddish incorporates all these influences from different languages and how they are reflected in the vocabulary, orthography and grammar in different ways. I also love that Yiddish also influences languages that previously influenced itself - a lot of slang words in German and English for example has Yiddish roots. Someone stop me before I start writing an entire essay on Yiddish again. 

[absolutebl]

What apps / platforms / sites do you use for watching BL? I'm happy to pay a subscription fee. Thank you for your help!

Unfortunately there isn’t a one stop shop for BL. Not even just Thai BL. So here’s a big ol’ resource post for you. 

YouTube - Oxygen etc...

Mostly I use YouTube for things like Oxygen, and fannish content like music vids, interviews, and talk shows. I suggest subscribing to the production studio’s and distributor’s channels there (this is a good way to show support as # of subs increases exposure + ad revenue). Even if you don’t intend to watch on YouTube, subscribing helps the studios a lot. 

Globe Studios - Gaya 

GMMTV - 2gether, Gifted, I’m Tee, Chonthon + OffGun, TayNew, BrightWin, and SingtoKrist promo vehicles  

Mauve Series - Oxygen 

Mind Trio - Calculating Love

Oxin Films - My Day 

Star Hunter - The Moment, Gen Y 

Studio Wabi Sabi - Until We Meet Again, Between Us,  Love Mechanics, Seven Project, Love By Chance, The En of Love 

Wayufilm Production - My Bromance  

WHYRU Channel 

Lovely Writer 

I like YouTube’s mobile interface best since I prefer not to watch on a PC. I don’t have a YouTube monthly subscription, but I’ve considered it. I’m not really down with YouTub’s corporate culture or politics. The value for money hasn’t evened any of this out for me yet, especially as YouTube monthly sub is higher than most every other platform - with less value ad content. 

YouTube is unstable for BL. Some shows never get there, and proprietary distributors like GMMTV have a history of pulling all their content arbitrarily (e,g, Our Skyy has been down for months and only just showed up again). Both TharnType and Why R U are currently down. Usually, studios start jacking around with the older shows when newer spin offs are launching or going into promo. 

Where else to get ‘em? 

It really depends on the show. 

Thai Distribution Direct - TharnType 2

TharnType 2 is being made available direct via the originating Thai distributor. I encourage you to watch it there so they can get the ad revenue: https://tv.line.me/tharntypetheseries 

* To be smart, any Thai distributor worth their salt should take this tactic and then move the content, with a relaunch and “extras” over to their YouTube channels say after 6 months or so (if they can’t get a secondary distributor like Viki or Netflx intersted). It would maximize exposure, fan interest, and revenue. 

** From an industry stand point, I wouldn’t expect TT2 to STAY available direct from Line indefinitely. So watch it NOW.  

Netflix - SOTUS & Love Sick 1

SOTUS & Love Sick first seasons are on Netflix, with follow up seasons on YouTube. You need a Netflix account to watch. You can also find them on YouTube but if you have Netflix, watch them there. 

Also these are good ones to push onto possible new BL recruits. The more watchers the better, since maybe it will get Netflix to fund and buy more queer content. I have concerns with Netflix corporate, but they are one of the few actively funding queer romance projects right now, so... yeah?

Viki - Love By Chance 2

LBC2 is on Viki, behind a paywall. But since Viki doesn’t have very many Thai BLs (they have some from Taiwan like the HIStory series), I haven’t subscribed. I’m waiting for them to hold enough IP to make it worth my while. Also, I have reservations about LBC2 and Mame’s writing in general, so just LBC2 isn’t enough for me, personally. 

Viki is a subsidiary of Japanese company Rakutan which also holds Kobo, and I like what they do to go up against US based conglomerates. (All cards on the table, I’ve visited Rakutan corporate.) We will see if they really double down and focus on BL. If they do, I’ll sub. 

Fan Subs & Uploads - Cherry Magic 

Cherry Magic (Doutei dato Mahoutsukai ni narerurashii) out of Japan has an excellent fan subber doing the bulk of the work to make this accessible. I watch it through them, and I tip them $ for their labor. If you watch this one and like it, I encourage you to do the same. https://irozuku.org/fansub/tag/cherry-magic/ 

Less Savory Options - Daily Motion & Drama Cool

You can find ripped and rebranded low grade eng subs if you are desperate from Daily Motion. I tend to use Bento Box’s channel or BL Series HD. You can find hard to reach stuff like He’s Coming to Me (HIGHLY recommended), ITTSAY, MGYG, and LBC2 there. But the content originators aren’t getting any money from it, so it’s a bit of an ethical dilemma.

How do we get more made if these don’t earn money? And yet, how do we watch when they aren’t distributed internationally? 

The other option in this same vein in Drama Cool, it’s the only place I have found Friend Forever. 

How to keep track? 

Frankly the best source for all this kind of information is MyDramaList which does exactly as it says, allows you to organize, kept track of, and discuss Asian dramas. 

There is a thriving BL community there. Commenters will share links with each other. I don’t have an account but my spies do.  

Hope this helps. 

File this under my questionable relationship with international DRM and IP. 

No tags to protect the guilty. 

[jojosbabe]

Helloo, this is Sofie's main, may I request some headcanons for SDC Dio with small, shy s/o who is very loving? (Or if you want to write about my selfship with him that's totally fine, I think you've heard me talk about my dynamic with him enough, ahaha~) NSFW is very welcome, but not required if you don't feel up to it at the time. Thank you~

(Hi hun. Yay first request! And its dio.)

I can do both.

I will keep it open somewhat for others to enjoy too.

Dio with a shy smol bean s/o

Sfw:

Dio admires your sweet approach to life. He find this very amusing.

Dio over time can help you get more confident and open. He has a strong presence and while it intimidates some,it entices others. I assume it entices you.

Dio and you often love reading and lounging around in his mansion. Usually he sits by you in his reading studies. Stroking your hair or arm as you lay on his lap. These are nice downtime moments for dio.

Dio is very protective and territorial. He will not let anyone look at you in any wrong way. You. Are. His. No one elses. If anyone tries to harm you or over step their boundaries. He will not hesitate to kill or mame them. Remember dio can be ruthless to his enemies. Though he loves to play mind games with his foes the most.

Dio loooooves to dress you up. Your small and look so sweet and delicate in those flowing dresses or stunning suits he picked for you. "Such a beautiful thing aren't you my dear" he'd coo to you.

He would have all his servants and minions protect you as well. Dio would probably say "Your small,and such a beautiful pet for dio. We wouldn't want you hurt now do we?" Most likely vanilla ice or n'doul would accompany you outside during the day(unless you too are a vampire then your probably just gonna chill with dio at nighttime). They would make sure to protect you. Unless they want dios wrath oof

Dio would definitely have you wear his jacket. Proudly. "Look at my beautiful pet! Aren't they lovely?!"

Dio is comforting in his own way. He does deeply care for you. Its rare to see dio upset this way. But rest assured your loved. As you may remind him of his mother. And he loved her very much. Nobody has touched his heart like you. And he is ever grateful. He doesn't want to lose that. Not again.

Dio is proud to have a s/o like you. May or may not show you off.

Nsfw:

Dio can and will take advantage of your shy coy personality. He'd tease and tease and tease until you can't take it. And then tease some more. Cheeky devil.

He'd have you wear the most sexiest lingerie or outfits. "Turn around again for me pet? ...mmmmm thats niiice"

Probably in a gold or red. Maybe some silk or velvet materials.

If your not naked. He is. One if not both of you are probably naked at some point if not a lot during your time with dio.

He loves to kiss and lap at your neck or behind your ear. "Such lovely sounds you make darling. Why don't we see what else makes you tick?"

He's a vampire so...hickies or love bite marks or scratches are a high probability. If it draws blood. He'll lap it up immediately.

Dio can be a gentle lover. However.....only if he's in the mood and you ask. He's mostly a "i.lord dio. Request that you bend your ass over that table!" And the fact your a sweet and shy person. Yeah this entices him more.

He isn't afraid of public sex either. As what is better than lord dios glorious peen?! If your not comfy. He will do semi public or secluded enough. But he will be loud and heard.

He is can and has used toys on you. His favorite ones make you giggle as they are inside you. As your laugh brings much joy to the time stopping vampire lord. Nothing too big or small. Just right. And their probably gold or some extra shit as he wouldn't have it any other way.

His favorite ways of foreplay are food play. Hot baths. Music. Softly playing.

His dick i hc and measure(sdc dio) is about an 8 inch about. Thick and a nice sized head. (Its big ok?) Nothing too big to hurt but its um....pretty nice. So if you can take that. Bless you.

He has used the world to fuck you from another room. This startles you at first. But over time. It becomes a normal thing. If dio isn't in the mood to do it himself he will use his stand. (Muda muda baby)

Dio loves spanking you. Just to hear you squee.

You being so small gives him much joy and a powertrip and seeing you underneath his large frame and big throbbing dick. Makes him feel the world greatest high. "Don't worry pet. I won't bite...hard. how you tremble. Such a sweet one you are *licks lips*"

Dio gave you the autographed nudes lets be honest here.

Dio has little to no problems lifting you up and eating you out. Or if you'd like to give oral more. He will and can make you go all the way down on him. Facefucking you till you swallow ever last drop of him.

You dont stop till dio says its ok.

Praise lord dios body and you'll be in for a treat. He will take great pride in this. And will treat you with such a gentle touch.

He has a tendency to carry you over the shoulder around the mansion and pretty much anywhere. Your his pretty little precious pet after all.

Just all in all your dios sweet pet. And he loves you.

Collars. Lots of cute collars.

I hope i did ok. I don't do dio often so i apologize if i didn't do well.

Much love

- Jojosbabe

💖😎

[the-villain-vanessa-cortez]

Dr. Flug x Reader: The Club

I don’t really speak Spanish but I’m leaning. Those who don’t know I have southern Native American/ northern Mexican ancestry (along with Eastern European and Asian so I’m literally a mix of everything). But anyways I’m not sure where exactly the show is supposed to take place, I kinda just assume maybe a big city like San Francisco or LA makes sense to me. But sense I know that it is a Latin American show primarily, I headcanon most of the main characters are some sort of Latin. Plus I actually prefer watching it in Spanish. Idk feels more authentic? Also like I said it’s kinda helping me learn Spanish since I can understand it but I’m working on creating sentences. This is a reader insert but you’ll be basically filling in as my character Vanessa. Obviously I haven’t said yet but I am a musical theater major/performer and so I love to do fics surrounding musicals and what not. I’ve been listening to in the heights (fun fact I used to live in NY) and the Latin themes got me inspired. If I could literally find people to do performances with me with characters or something that would be amazing.

SONG: The club

MUSICAL: In the Heights

I don’t write genders now because I realize that anyone should be able to enjoy but I do write for more feminine characters if not asked for specifics. I am actually non-binary myself but I do present feminine (although most times I just exist idk but if I’m getting dressed up I’ll mostly look feminine)

I’m going to include most of the Spanish that is in the song. It’s nothing really big. It kinda just feels inauthentic to not include it. Maybe you can learn some things too.

Wepa= Hey!

Y cada día = and every day

Sí = yes

No mames = no way!

—————————————————————

The city was bursting with excitement as “Latin dance night” was approaching at sundown. Villains and their friends could gather for a night of fun and dancing. The idea was that just because you’re evil doesn’t mean that you have to be lonely. There were other thematic nights but this one was specifically for those south of the hemisphere. The temperature was steadily climbing in the past few weeks and everyone was itching to get out and enjoy the cool night air. Being located in Southern California meant that there were bound to be a lot of people at the party. “Latin Night” happened every other weekend and (y/n) found herself frequenting a lot. There they could dance and have fun with other villains. There was a wide range of people and some not-so-people that would show up just for the sheer fun. (Y/n) felt pride rise in their chest upon the sight of so many beings in one place celebrating their heritage.

(Y/n) managed to convince one awkward doctor to come with her for the night. On top of that, they were even able to convince him to show his regular face after telling him about all the different kinds of villains that would be at the place. He usually didn’t like going anywhere without his protective bag on his head, but (y/n) told him that there was nothing to fear. Dr. Flug examined himself in the mirror feeling shy. He wore dark blue jeans, a flannel over a blue t-shirt, his normal sneakers, and his medium length dark brown curly hair tied at the base of the back of his head. Strands of curls framed his face and he tried to smooth them down. Flug met his dark brown eyes in the mirror and sighed. He felt ridiculous and thought about what (y/n) would say once she saw him. He began tracing one of his scars on his face with a shaky hand. It was true that (y/n) was giving him more and more confidence to go out without covering his face like he normally did, but he feared this would be too much. Although, knowing that there were going to be worse looking people and even some not-really-people at the event made him feel a lot better. He’d seen some really ugly villains in his time and figured that it wouldn’t be that bad.

“Slys! We don’t have all night” there was a knock at his door and he turned around shyly.

‘I guess this is it’ he thought as he answered a quick, “come in.” The door swung open revealing a beautiful (y/n) who was wearing an equally beautiful red knee-length dress and black heels. Their (h/c) hair was done up and they wore a seducing smile. They looked like they could kill a man based solely on good looks alone. Flug felt his entire face burn up in red, almost matching (y/n)’s dress.

“Hey not bad Dr. Slys” (y/n) gave a slight punch on his shoulder and stepped closer to embrace him. This didn’t help his nerves or red face situation.

“T-thanks” he choked out and pat his friend on the shoulder. True they were only friend for now, but that didn’t stop the feeling he had for them take root and blossom in the pit of his heart, no matter how many times he tried to kill it.

“Come on let’s go!! We will have fun I promise you. Whenever you want to leave, just tell me and I’ll take you home.” (Y/n) gave him a reassuring smile and he nodded as they began walking out of the mansion, hand in hand.

“Hey!! (Y/n)!!! The whole club shouted as (y/n) and Dr.Flug stepped in the vicinity.

Flug grasped onto (y/n) even tighter and tried to seem cool. He was, in fact, the very opposite of cool.

“Hey this is kinda nice. I really like what they’ve got going with the lights. So this is the place where you spend your weekends? And did I mention you look really great tonight? Because you do-“

(Y/n) cut him off and patted his chest, “Slys, for me just relax.”

“Relax? Què relax? I’m relaxed!” Flug tried to brush it off.

“Wepa!! (Y/n)!!” Another group of people called out as Flug and (y/n) made their way more into the club. Flug felt a little jealous at all the attention (y/n) was getting and he could tell they were eating it up. He began speaking again, “so I guess you’ve been here before? As you know I don’t go out much in fact I’ve been so busy with work. Y cada día it’s a brand new thing my boss wants. Not to mention I’m not really good at dancing, but maybe you and me could sometime hang out some more..?”

(Y/n) turned back to him and smiled cheerily. They could tell that he was extremely nervous and that’s why he was rambling so much.

“Let’s go get a drink.” They grabbed their friend’s hand and led him to the bar. There they met one of (y/n)’s friends that Flug recognized as Jason. Jason was once a hero like (y/n) who also turned to the dark side. Then he also worked as a ‘villain for hire’ where (y/n) and him became close friends.

“Is that?? Doctor Flug Slys??” Jason slapped the thinner man’s back and pulled him in closer.

“Uh, yeah” flug tried to hide his face in embarrassment. He hadn’t really let Jason see what he looked like under his bag and he could feel the heat rise with in him and his chest tightened.

“Aw man. What you need is a good drink.” Jason slapped Flug on the chest and turned to a grisly looking man on the other side of the bar that separated the workers from the patrons.

“Bartender! I would like four shots of tequila-“

“Oh I don’t drink..” Flug looked away and Jason smiled with his arm still around the doctor.

“Make that five then!” Jason winked and turned back to his friend, “so what brings you to Latin night at club ‘Wicked Merlin’?”

Flug continued looking at the ground and doesn’t realize (y/n) had slipped away a little bit ago.

“Well. (Y/n) decided it would be good for me to go out. And now I’m starting to regret that decision really.” He looks to his side and sees that (y/n) is not next to him anymore.

“Speaking of which, where did they go?” Flug began to get worried. Jason laughed as the five shots came their way.

“Who knows. I’m sure she’s just dancing, knowing her. But anyways you should drink it’ll take away your nerves. If you want to have fun you need to drink.” With that Jason downed his two shots and handed the remaining three to Flug. Flug stared at him for a second before deciding to knock one back and preparing for the sting.

“Alright there you go! As long as you drink, I’ll buy” Jason gave a great big smile. For being a villain, he had a good heart.

“No no you don’t have to do that” Flug said after taking the second shot. He could feel his face flush from the alcohol enter his bloodstream.

“Nonsense! I just copped a bag from my last gig so I got cash to blow. Besides, how many times do you get to go out and have fun? Also, knowing you, you’ll be a cheap date” Jason laughed and Flug found himself unable to say no.

“Fine but this is all I’m having.” He swallowed the last shot and Jason tugged his arm.

“Hey is that (y/n)?” Jason pointed across the room at their red figure talking to someone Flug didn’t recognize.

“Who are they talking to?” Flug tried to inquire.

“Some dude… I don’t know man, I think they're trying to make you jealous.” Both Jason and Flug we’re starting to feel the effects of the alcohol. Flug crosses his arms and puffed.

“Jealous, I’m not jealous. I can take all these men, whatever.”

In just that second, the unknown man grabs their hand and pulls them to the dance floor. The two began to dance to the Latin music blaring overhead. It doesn’t take long before the entire dance floor is cleared out until it’s just (y/n) and the unknown man dancing in the center. The music speeds up slightly and the dancing continues. Even though Flug is beyond jealous he can’t help but feeling impressed at how great his friend is at dancing. They never would have seemed like the type who could completely tear it up on the dance floor. For a little bit, Flug felt joy grow within him and he studied their moves intently.

“(Y/n)!! Let me get the next one!!” Other people began to call out wanting to dance with the new star of the show. The way they were sweating and flexing their body on the dance floor made Flug want to join in even more. On top of that the alcohol was really starting to kick in and gave him an extra boost of confidence. He liked to dance secretly in his lab when he knew he was alone. He was Latin after all! He never would admit it, but music was in his soul and he enjoyed the twists and turns music would make in his mind as he listened.

Everybody clapped and cheered as (y/n) and the unknown stranger finished dancing. They caught Flug’s eyes and offered a warm smile and ran over to join him.

“I had no idea that you could dance like that” Flug started sheepishly. Suddenly it felt like all his confidence was gone.

“Well when you have enough practice, you get pretty good. Wanna dance?”

“Oh no I don’t dance.” Flug grabbed his shoulder.

“So you can be a doctor but not learn how to dance?” (Y/n) jeered and elbowed him.

“Sí” Flug stared blankly. He was lying but he didn’t want (y/n) to know.

As everyone was coupled up, (y/n) grabbed his hands anyways and pulled him into them.

“Nope. Don’t believe you. You got perfect dancing hips.” (Y/n) placed their hands on his shoulders and he tentatively slid his clammy hands on their waist.

“Here like this. You go back first then go forward” (y/n) swiveled their hips forward making Flug take a step back. His face grew red again as he realized how close he was to (y/n). They slowly got into the rhythm and continued going back and forth.

“Okay now I’m going to go around you and you’ll stay in place but turn to face me. This is called ‘the rejection.’” Flug gulped in response and nodded. He knew what they were trying to tell him and he followed suit. (Y/n) crossed begins him and he spun to face them. It wasn’t that hard, but appeared to be more complicated than it really was. They continued taking turns doing this and everyone started to notice.

“Oh god they’re starting to watch us.” Flug started to get worried.

“Then let’s give them a show!” (Y/n) smiled devilishly at him and pulled him into her chest once again. Their body was flushed with his and he felt tingles go up his spine. He never felt so alive and scared at the same time. They made their way across the floor and (y/n) really began to take off. To everyone’s surprise Flug was able to keep up with them and (y/n) took notice.

“I knew you could dance lier!!” They smiled as they continued salsaing across the floor. Flug grabbed them by the waist and threw them up so that their legs would wrap around his torso. They stopped for a second to pose with the music and then he grabbed them again so they could continue spinning. The whole crowd was going wild and Flug could feel his stamina start to drain. He spun (y/n) into him and flipped her over his arm and brought his face close to their’s as the music came to an exciting end. The club went wild again as another song began to play. (Y/n) began to laugh and gave Flug a kiss on the cheek. Just then Jason appeared clapping and singing to the music.

“No Mames!! Holy hell you two were fantastic!! Who knew!! Did you two rehearse that because wow” Jason was extremely wasted by this point.

“Some people are just that good.” (Y/n) winked at Flug who just shrugged his shoulders.

“Alright. I’m going to go grab a drink. I’m way too parched.” (Y/n) said before patting their friends on the shoulders and walking over to the bar.

Once (y/n) was out of sight, Jason punched Flug on the arm in a more or less friendly way.

“Some date you got there” he said and kept winking at Flug.

Flug was rubbing the now sore spot on his arm and looked irritated. “Yeah I know.” He stated plainly.

“Well have you told them yet? You know, how you feel?”

“What??” Flug was growing impatient.

“Come on it’s obvious. You like them. We all know in the villain community.”

Before Flug could answer there was some buzzing noises and a flash of light before a complete and utter blackout.

—————————————————————

Those who know the musical knows what happens next. But I’m also not going completely by the musical.

[douxreviews]

Lucifer - ‘All About Eve’ Review

"You never forget your first."

Yes, it's another plot device intended to keep Lucifer and Chloe apart. (Gee, like that's never happened on television before.)

That major gripe aside, I think Inbar Lavi was good casting. When you have an already established, talented ensemble cast of well-defined characters, it's difficult to bring in another major character that works, much less a love interest for the lead, much less someone who had a starring role in the Bible. But Eve indeed has the look of someone who lived in a garden her whole life without access to hair salons, and she was definitely rocking that "girls just wanna have fun" vibe.

But what's really going on with her? It's an awfully huge coincidence that Lucifer's ex showed up right the heck now, while his relationship with Chloe is at the point of either advancing into love affair territory or collapsing entirely. And how come no one has even mentioned yet that Lucifer just killed Cain? If I remember my Bible correctly, Cain was Eve's son. You'd think Lucifer would have mentioned something that huge.

Maybe Eve is what she appears to be: crazy for Lucifer, bored with Heaven, desperate for fun. But I doubt it. I also thought it was really interesting that Lucifer asked Eve what she truly desired, and she lied to him. Lucifer's mojo doesn't work on Eve. Must be important.

At least it's refreshing to see a woman so hot for Lucifer, because who wouldn't be? We're used to Chloe keeping Lucifer at arm's length and resisting his exceptional good looks and charm. And okay, maybe not so charming in a bathrobe with bedhead surrounded by empty takeout containers, but Eve's arrival seems to have jolted him out of that.

Who saw the ending coming a mile away? Chloe was ready to tell Lucifer that she missed him and wanted him in her life, and of course she walked in on him with Eve. At least they weren't in bed together. And at least Lucifer didn't see Chloe come in. I'm a little sad that Eve was the one to kiss Lucifer in devilface. It should have been Chloe.

As usual, I don't have a lot to say about the Case of the Week. Even though Lucifer and Chloe ended their partnership, they of course ended up solving the same crime from different angles. Who else knew right away that the killer was Toby, the business partner? The fun parallel was that Toby was like Chloe, the reasonable, hardworking partner, while Pablo the victim was the crazy creative partner, like Lucifer. Hopefully this isn't foreshadowing.

Meanwhile, Linda's pregnancy seems to have created the world's strangest ménage à trois. An angel, a demon and a psychiatrist walk into a doctor's office – it's like a joke that writes itself. And I absolutely loved Chloe and Linda having "the talk," mostly because Chloe ended up listening instead of talking as Linda exploded with angst and confusion about her angel baby. The bubble wrap babyproofing was also hilarious.

I have no idea where this plotline is going: happy? tragic? But it's a lot of fun. At least so far.

Bits:

— Title musings: All About Eve is a famous old movie about established actress Bette Davis threatened by ambitious ingenue Anne Baxter.

— Eve has been in Heaven longer than anyone. I remember Abel being in Hell the longest, too.

— Fun bar fight. I don't usually love the bar fights. And honestly, I don't usually find constant sex jokes all that funny, but Lucifer always makes me laugh. Check out that absolutely perfect devilish smirk.

— When Eve kissed Lucifer in devilface, who was thinking of Buffy kissing Angel in vampface? Yeah, everything makes me think of Buffy. I admit it.

— Auntie Maze. Was that a deliberate reference to Auntie Mame? Or am I just showing my age?

— During the auction, Lucifer and Chloe were again wearing similar clothes. As I said in my previous review, that's often a visual cue that two characters are simpatico.

Quotes:

Ella: "He was decapitated?" Maybe a huge conclusion to jump to, but to be fair, Ella does see a lot of awful things in her job.

Lucifer: "It hurts, not being accepted for who you are… I would imagine."

Doctor: "Do you see that little protrusion right there? You're having a boy." Amenadiel: "A boy?" Maze: "Better luck next time."

Eve: "You know, the garden, the snake, the apple." Lucifer: "The metaphors were a bit off." Eve: "That's true. The forbidden fruit was less of an apple and more like a banana. A very large banana." Lucifer: "It's true." Eve: "You never forget your first."

Amenadiel: "My very own mini Amenadiel. No, no, wait, wait. A mini-diel."

Linda: "There's a good chance it could come out with wings. Wings! Is that even safe for a human to deliver? Should I have a C-section? Will insurance cover any of this?"

Linda: (to Chloe) "With all the bad comes a lot of good. I got a best friend out of this. And the most fascinating patient in the world. And this baby. Who saw that coming?"

I am really enjoying this season. Three out of four lengths of bubble wrap.

Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

[papermoonloveslucy]

LUCY on MERV

1971-1986

Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. (1925 – 2007) was an American television host and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer who went on to appear in film and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986, Griffin hosted his own talk show, “The Merv Griffin Show.” He also created the internationally popular game shows “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune” through his television production companies, Merv Griffin Enterprises and Merv Griffin Entertainment. Both game shows are still airing as of this writing.  

“The Merv Griffin Show” ran from October 1962 to March 1963 on NBC; May 1965 to August 1969 in first-run syndication; from 1969 to 1972 late night weeknights on CBS; and again in first-run syndication from 1972 to 1986. The show's longtime bandleader was Mort Lindsey. Griffin frequently clowned and sang novelty songs with trumpeter Jack Sheldon. Griffin's conversational style created the perfect atmosphere for conducting intelligent interviews that could be serious with some and light-hearted with others. Rather than interview a guest for a cursory 5- or 6-minute segment, Merv preferred lengthy, in-depth discussions with many stretching out past 30 minutes. In addition, Griffin sometimes dedicated an entire show to a single person or topic, allowing for greater exploration of his guests’ personality and thoughts. More than 25,000 guests appeared on “The Merv Griffin Show” including numerous significant cultural, political, social and musical icons including four U.S. Presidents. From 1974 to 1986 the show won twelve daytime Emmy Awards.

“The Merv Griffin Show: A Salute To George Marshall” ~ July 29, 1971

Guests: Lucille Ball, George Marshall, Edgar Buchanan, Glenn Ford, William Holden, Mort Lindsay & His Orchestra

Director George Marshall worked with Lucille Ball on Fancy Pants (1950), Valley of the Sun (1942) and 11 1969 episodes of “Here’s Lucy,” mostly location shoots. 

“The Merv Griffin Show” ~ October 12, 1973

Guests: Lucille Ball, Gary Morton, Desi Arnaz Jr., Lucie Arnaz, Gale Gordon, Robert Lewin, Ronald Reagan (recorded voice message)

A Salute to Lucille Ball featuring her husband and children, and her two most famous co-stars. Ronald Reagan, then Governor of California, calls in.

Lucy says she has finished Mame which won't be released for six months. Merv says the buzz is that the film is one of the best musicals in history. Lucy refutes  the rumor that Lisa Kirk dubbed her singing voice. As for dancing, Lucy credits choreographer Ona White with getting her in shape after breaking her leg. Lucy says she wore eight to ten wigs in the picture.

Ball says she usually refers to the ‘Lucy’ character in the the third person.

Lucy says the Goldwyn Girls never wore costumes, only wigs [a slight embellishment]. She mentions Eddie Cantor and Roman Scandals (1933, above).

Merv: “Did a man one day say 'Make her a star?'” Lucy: “No, he said 'make her.'”

Lucy references the “Here's Lucy” episode in which Lucie Arnaz imitates Cher: “The Carters Meet Frankie Avalon” (HL S6;E11) aired a month after this interview, on November 19, 1973.

Lucy says that she met Gary Morton while doing Wildcat on Broadway. She says that she wasn't feeling at her best at the time and had taken on too much. Merv says he knew Gary Morton before Lucy did. Morton jokes that Merv had one voice for speaking and another for singing; the ‘Jim Nabors’ of his time.

Lucy: “The one thing I'm very proud of is that I know my craft.”

Lucy says that her daughter is the more successfully independent. She says her son is independent, but not sure how successful it is.

They talk about their neighbor, Jimmy Stewart and how he walks his big dogs around the block. Lucy says that Jimmy and Gloria Stewart have a huge vegetable garden. A Romanian neighbor did not recognize Stewart and turned him away when he came to the door trying to give away some of their surplus crops.  

Lucie and Desi Arnaz Jr. join the conversation. Lucie says that she sees her mother frequently because they work together. Desi and Merv talk about tennis, a sport they both played avidly. Once again, Desi says that he did not play Little Ricky on “I Love Lucy,” although they were born on the same day.  

Lucie recalls her first appearance on her mother's show: as Cynthia on “The Lucy Show.” Merv puts up the now familiar (but colorized as the original was in black and white) publicity photo of Lucy and her children taken during “Lucy is a Soda Jerk” (TLS S1;E23) when Lucie was eleven years old. Although this is her first ‘named’ character in the series, Lucie was an extra in “Lucy is a Referee” (TLS S1;E3) in 1962.

Desi Jr. says that he left “Here's Lucy” during season three in order to do a film, but by the time the shooting was over, his contract had expired and he decided to move on to do other things. Desi Jr. went to college for a short period of time - a week and a half.  

Lucie: “I think I've been to the best dramatic school by just being on her [Lucy's] show for six years.”

Gary Morton tells how he and Lucy flew to Warrensburg, Ohio, to see Lucie do a summer stock production of Once Upon a Mattress. He then talks about how proud he is of Desi Jr.'s performance as Marco Polo in the film Marco (1973).The film wasn't actually released until two months after this interview. Lucy hosted a home screening of the film.

Merv welcomes a surprise guest, Bob Hope. They talk about Bob Hope's house, which was under construction in Palm Springs when it was engulfed by fire, allegedly through arson. Joking, Gary Morton holds out a lit cigarette lighter!  

Hope mentions the four films he did with Lucy, even the one they consider the least memorable, Critic's Choice (1963). Lucy calls it a flop. During the filming of The Facts of Life, Lucy was always asking Hope if she had successfully shed the 'Lucy' character. Bob tells the story (which he has told before) of when a Desilu stockholder interrupted the filming with her super 8 camera.

Hope: (about Lucy’s reruns) “She's on so much, you can just flip the dial and see her raise her children.”

Lucy compliments her writers, Bob (Carroll) and Madelyn (Davis).

Hope jokingly says they shouldn't talk about his political affiliations with Washington because he's having enough trouble with his taxes as it is. Lucie says that the President [Richard Nixon] is having trouble with his, too! In late 1973, Nixon was in the headlines for mistakes on his tax returns.

Merv runs the first clip of Mame, despite it not being completely finished in post-production. Lucy says it will be released at Easter. Even Lucy hasn't seen it! [The MPI DVD version of this interview does not include the clip.]

After a commercial break, Merv introduces “Uncle Harry himself” Gale Gordon. Gordon says that he just adores Lucy, even after fifty years in the business. Lucy claims that Gordon is just as good at the table reading as at the final filming. He tells Merv that his mother Gloria Gordon played the landlady on “My Friend Irma” both in the 1949 film and the 1952 television series.

They talk about about Gale Gordon's on-set nickname, 'Old Soggy Crotch', because he was constantly getting wet during episodes of “Here's Lucy.”  The show actually bleeps out the nickname because the word ‘crotch’ would not pass the censors!  Merv puts up a still from “Lucy Makes A Few Extra Dollars” (HL S4;E6) which depicts Gordon covered with food!

Gary Morton relates that when Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor guest starred on the show, he complimented Gordon on his performance, and assumed that he must have been born in England. Although raised in England, Gordon was actually born in New York City. Lucy says he is now the mayor of Borrego Springs, California.

After a break, Merv introduces the President of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Robert Lewin, who presents Ball with a plaque of commemorating her 13 Emmy nominations since 1951. Lewin says the plaque has an 'extension' for her next 13!  

Merv shows a clip of Lucy accepting her Emmy for Best Actress. He claims it is 1967, which Lucy questions: “67?  I didn't know I won one in 67.” Lucy is correct. The year was 1968.  

“The Merv Griffin Show” ~ April 9, 1974

Guests: Lucille Ball, Bea Arthur, Gene Saks, Gary Morton

This show was taped on March 24, 1974, on location at the Hollywood premiere of Mame at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood. Among those interviewed are Lucille Ball and husband Gary Morton; Beatrice Arthur and husband, director Gene Saks.

One of the many fans lining the red carpet for Merv's interview with Lucy was Michael Z. Stern. He later wrote about the experience in his book I Had a Ball: My Friendship With Lucille Ball. Stern recounts that he made a large sign that read “WE LOVE LUCY” which (along with his arm) made it onscreen on “The Merv Griffin Show.”

“The Merv Griffin Show” ~ February 4, 1980

Guests: Lucille Ball, James Brolin, Michele Lee, Natalie Wood

Lucy talks about teaching comedy seminars in college, although the grading confounded her as it was solely a question and answer seminar. Lucy points out someone named Stuart (although he doesn’t appear on camera), one of her former seminar students who is in the studio audience.

Lucy compliments Merv as one of the best 'listeners' of all talk show hosts.

Lucy stresses that she's not a funny person, but credits her daughter and Gary, her husband, with the attribute.

Merv begs Lucy to do the Lucy Ricardo “Waaaa” cry for him. Lucy is initially reluctant, but she does it for him.

Four days later, “Lucy Moves To NBC” was aired. Lucy's visit is likely to promote that event.  

In 2017, Get TV celebrated Lucille Ball's birthday by airing this interview and the 1973 “Merv Griffin Show” interview of Lucy back to back, followed by a rare screening of Lucy's appearance on “Van Dyke & Company.”  

“The Merv Griffin Show” ~ June 24, 1982

Guests: Lucille Ball, Ethel Merman, Ginger Rogers

Lucy shares the stage with two powerhouse performers from her past. Merman guest-starred in two back-to-back episodes of “The Lucy Show” in 1964. Ball had done five films with Rogers during the 1930s. She guest-starred as herself on a 1971 episode of “Here's Lucy” (S4;E11).

TRIVIA

Lucille Ball is responsible for Alex Trebek hosting "Jeopardy"! Lucy was a fan of the short-lived game show "High Rollers" hosted by Trebek. When Merv Griffin was looking to reboot "Jeopardy" Lucy suggested he consider hiring Trebek and the rest is history!

[almostarchaeology]

A Lesson Plan for Videogame Archaeology in the Museum

By Adrián Maldonado

I didn’t wake up that morning thinking I’d be playing an original Street Fighter II Championship Edition arcade console in just a few hours. It turned out to be a very good day.

So I was on Long Island recently for our annual, far-too-short family visit to America. It was also my daughter’s second birthday but it was raining and we needed an indoor activity. She loves planes, trucks and trains, and we were assured that the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City has all that plus good hands-on activities and a toddler room. We were not disappointed on any of those fronts.

But unbeknownst to us, the Cradle of Aviation Museum also has a major videogame history exhibition on at the moment. And this was no ordinary rinky-dink travelling exhibit.  I’m talking all the consoles, or at least 60 different ones, all playable, alongside some 30 original arcade cabinets. Whose birthday was it again?

It’s been a minute since my last post, so get ready for a nerd onslaught. This post will attempt three things: a straightforward review of a videogame history exhibit; some sense of the wider context within videogame museums I’ve been to recently; and finally, something a bit different: a lesson plan for teaching kids about videogames in the museum. I should probably change the blog title to Things No One Asked For, Ever, but in the meantime, do enjoy the blatant work avoidance.

Capsule review

This exhibit is actually a sequel. It began life as a temporary event called The Arcade Age in December 2015, which focused on recreating the experience of arcade gaming using some 50 playable cabinets. The recreated arcade was only accessible in three daily 90-minute sessions. The layout showed the influence of superhero arcadologist Raiford Guins, who was consulted for this exhibit, in its attention toward recreating the dark, cramped, noisy ambiance of an arcade. Judging by photos of the original exhibit, it also had a cool sideline on related material culture like Street Fighter II action figures and Pac-Man lunchboxes. It originally ran through April 2016, and was then extended to September 2016.

After its success, it was redesigned as a more comprehensive exhibition, From the Arcade to the Living Room: A Video Game Retrospective 1972-1999 in November 2016, now including a full history of home gaming consoles alongside a reduced but still impressive list of arcade cabinets. The website doesn’t say whether this will become a permanent exhibit, but they are selling season tickets for hardcore gamers until December 2017. It was this exhibition I stumbled upon one fateful day in June.

Wall of ancestors

The games are laid out in roughly chronological order, beginning with the carcass of a Computer Space cabinet from 1971 at the start. Curator Seamus Keane has been damn near exhaustive, going beyond the usual focus on ‘Golden Age’ arcade games and providing real working examples of lesser-performing systems like the Neo-Geo and the Atari Jaguar. Fulfilling the dream of a 90s indoor kid, it was perhaps the first and last time I’ll ever play a CD-I and a 3DO (note to me 25 years ago: neither was worth the wait).

Besides the snippets of information provided next to each console, historical context was a bit light and there was no clear aim or agenda for the exhibition. Media surrounding the opening fleshed it out a little more, but not much: for curator Keane, it was “a concept I had in my head of telling what I felt was somewhat of a lost history about the social culture and the popular culture, as well as the technological history of the arcade game itself and of the arcade as a social setting.” Hope you caught all that between rounds of Marvel Vs Capcom.

There were only a few thematic displays but they worked well – a wall of ephemera included a Nintendo Power Pad, several strategy guides and a Game Genie (!). A wall display on the Great Video Game Crash of 1983 included a screen playing the documentary Atari: Game Over (2014) next to an Atari 2600 with an ET cartridge you could load yourself, a crucial part of the home gaming experience you rarely get to experience in a museum setting. A cabinet of dead peripherals was also eye-opening in an unexpected way; the juxtaposition of Sega 3D Glasses and a Sega Dreamcast mouse from a decade apart made me think of how Sega was so often ahead of its time, and yet somehow lost the console wars. In the tech world, it doesn’t always pay to be first.

Videogames in the Museum

Touch the artefacts

I���ve been to several videogame museum exhibitions now (and even some videogame museums!) and can confidently say that this was one of the most fun. There was a wall of NES games and a wall of Atari games, but the core of the arcade was in a long, low-ceilinged dark hall. There, the half-assed display cards dwindled to a minimum and the game was the thing. Original cabinets, many of them with fucked-up decals from years of play, were ready to rock, no MAME here. Aside from the usual Golden Age of Arcade stuff, there were plenty of classic 90s cabinets from my era, and even some left-field entrants like Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker, which I thought was a masterpiece when I first played it in 1990 and has accrued tremendous baggage since then.

Best of all was the chronological row of home gaming consoles buried deep in the bunker-like arcade hall. Here in glowing cubicles of glass but not out of reach were the venerated SNES and Genesis games of my formative years, alongside the also-rans like the Sega Saturn. I showed my 2 year-old daughter her first game of Super Smash Bros for the N64. She picked up the control and held it up to her ear like a phone. I have never loved her more.

The ragtag army of 90s CRT veterans

Each console was hooked up to a full-on CRT TV, no messing about with flatscreens, as I’ve groaned about previously. As the exhibition website puts it, they are “all on old school TV tubes!” Each TV was different from the next one, as they had clearly been scavenged piecemeal from various Long Island attics. Some had flatter screens, some bulged out lewdly, but all were hard-bitten survivors from the 90s. They are the real heroes here.

How does this rate? While the Computerspielemuseum in Berlin clearly wins out in almost every way in terms of playability, historical context and design, there was something about the scale of the recreated arcade and lack of interpretation here that charmed me. As Guins has pointed out, the material presence of the cabinets and the consoles are part of the gameplay; they are designed to draw you in and beg you to grab them, and whatever their flaws, their physical interfaces shape how the game is played.

Beyond Retro-Nostalgia: A Lesson Plan

Ready player one

At one point I was able to play technician: I was able to revive a blank TV screen by switching it to channel 3. I felt like a wise elder. I also may have felt very old because I was surrounded by schoolkids. It was a weekday, and we shared the exhibit with a group of fifth-graders (Year 6 for UK readers). For once, it was genuinely interesting to share a museum with a school trip. There have always been children in the videogame exhibitions I’ve visited previously, but they’re always there with their aging nerd parents (of which I am now very much a number). It is certainly worth recording the stories told to a new generation about their cultural heritage. But it was enlightening in a different way to hear what kids said to one another when playing these games.

What I heard blew my mind. I was playing the Double Dragon (1987) arcade cabinet (I’d only ever played the NES version, so this was very exciting indeed), when two boys walked behind me – one of them said to the other, “Double Dragon! I love that game!” How did he know? What else did he know? Has the Internet already made everyone like Wade from Ready Player One? Other kids swapped stories about the games they’d tried, and I felt almost compelled to start writing these candid observations down. They were like little archaeologists unearthing the artefacts of my past and puzzling over what they might mean – but also making more interesting connections with recent games than I could with my nostalgia specs on.

On my way out I ran into one of the schoolteachers and thanked her for taking the kids here, and congratulated her on how well-behaved they all seemed to be even though they were surrounded by a hundred flashing screens. I asked whether this was part of a specific class, and she said no, they usually take the kids to the Cradle of Aviation Museum because science and whatnot, but they dropped into the arcade exhibition because it was there. I asked if they would follow it up in class at all, and she said no.

The Atari Jaguar: and alternate future of 64-bit gaming

That struck me as a bit of a missed opportunity. Here were a few dozen kids having a great time in a museum, handling the technological ancestors of their favourite devices and games. The kids I heard were knowledgeable about videogames, native to them. For all the action in teaching history through videogames, there are no easily accessible resources out there to teach videogames as rare artefacts of a meaningful past. In what other museum exhibition are you allowed to handle, let alone grab and generally get all up in, the archaeology? What better way to learn than by playing?

Don’t get me wrong – museums with videogame exhibitions often provide their own series of educational resources and programmes for school visits, but a quick and very unscientific search shows little coherent agenda for dealing with the historicity of videogame and the material cultures of gaming. As more videogames end up in museums, we do the next generations a real disservice if the whole message is just about how videogames used to be pixellated and now they’re not. The game is not just the visual but the physical, and every console and medium enabled and constrained ways of playing, creating cultures of gaming. To get beyond nostalgia, we need to draw out the untold stories which will engage kids who are playing these objects for the first time.  

There’s at least a PhD thesis in here

Digital archaeology guru Jeremy Huggett recently reminded us about the need to deal with the historicity of technology: as the workings of our gadgets inexorably disappear into smaller and more efficient packages, we know less about how our devices work, and think little about why they are built the way they are. So break open a few controllers and cartridges to teach the history of computing. We assume a linear progression from worse to better technology on the basis that the invisible hand of the market chose the best products over time. So tell the story of the Sega Dreamcast, recognised for its merits only long after its demise. The market of ideas is always in conflict with the actual market, and real innovation is always pitted against the chance for real profit. Teach the Great Video Game Crash and its mountain of destroyed cartridges; debate the value of excavating the recent past, and what else of theirs will remain to be excavated.

It’s not all about the tech, either. You don’t have to wait for Assassin’s Creed: Cuban Missile Crisis to teach kids about the Cold War and why we’re (still) not playing nice with Russia. You can start with games like Contra and Missile Command and talk about ways in which war found its way even into children’s bedrooms in the 1980s. Maybe have a frank discussion about all those Battlefield games they’re playing now. Play the first ten seconds of Double Dragon to introduce the term ‘toxic masculinity’.

There’s a million ways to sneak learning into a trip to the arcade. Teach the kids how to critically read the artefacts; what could be more archaeological?

More photos here.

Follow us on @AlmostArch