#unknown the series episode 10

[springgg-anddd-alll]

I’m not sure any drama from now on could top this scene

Episode 10: The Couch

Wow @lurkingshan, it’s like you really know me! This scene is exactly what I was going to talk about for Episode 10 because the fucking TENSION put so much weight in to the air when I was watching that I could hardly breathe. 

CHRIS CHIU

THE ACTOR THAT YOU ARE

Scene Breakdown time!

First of all, I love the little couple dynamic moments we get between Lili and San Pang, where Lili has to tap San Pang in to Yuan and Qian’s fight. San Pang arrives and in a very strategic move informed by knowing Qian and Yuan for a significant amount of their lives, he arrives with food he knows will go over well with Qian and will test Yuan’s ears (he comes down the stairs from his room to throw the food away after all). 

Which, let’s just acknowledge that when Yuan comes downstairs and takes all the alcohol and greasy food away, the moment Yuan approaches the coffee table, Qian looks back towards the TV screen pretending he is disinterested in the situation at hand. But his eyes give him away because he keeps glancing at Yuan when he thinks he can steal a second. And stealing is what he is trying to do because he keeps his head pointed directly towards the television, while looking for half a second at Yuan out of the corner of his eye when Yuan leans over to collect the food. After that moment, Qian does not look towards Yuan again until Yuan has turned around and Qian can stare at his back. 

It must be said. Chris is a phenomenal actor, because even without seeing his face, just the top of his head, you can kind of tell the mood that Qian is in as Yuan walks away, because he turns towards Yuan. We see Yuan look in Qian’s direction, Qian moves his head further back to look at San Pang, then looks away shaking his head. I acknowledge I’m probably reading too much in to it, but I can feel the incredulity radiating off of that head shake. 

Yuan heads up the stairs, and Qian looks towards the staircase only after Yuan has disappeared. His head movement is so much more obvious than his previous motions that it literally looks like Qian is breaking character, or like he was previously frozen and had only now been allowed to breathe. Qian’s eyes look up towards the staircase (towards Yuan’s absence), then downward as he thinks about his next move, then back towards San Pang, then down once more as he makes a decision about whether or not he wants to Start The Conversation. 

gif by @wanderlust-in-my-soul (my savior)

Qian here is trying to check that Yuan is out of earshot because he Will Not have the The Conversation about His Feelings if there is a chance that Yuan will know about it. 

With the heaviest of sighs, Qian gives San Pang an opening: “Did you buy those for me, or for him to throw away?”  Qian asks, and once again looks out of the corner of his eye, getting serious “Or for him to throw away?” 

And there is no doubt in my mind that it is the latter. San Pang bringing food that would trigger Yuan’s care instincts towards Qian, cause Yuan to intervene, and San Pang to bear witness to the tense and angry energy from Yuan towards Qian and force the issue. I think it’s partially why Qian does not deliberate for long in starting the conversation despite his hesitancy. 

San Pang scoffs and says in response “He wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t care about you. Xiao Yuan can’t bear to leave you alone.” holds up the salad as a physical example of the care that Yuan has for Qian. 

gifs by @wanderlust-in-my-soul

Qian gives another giant exhale and looks contemplative. Something that I do find really important in good acting is the use of internal monologue. Qian always has something on his mind that he is sitting with. And the benefit of a scene like this is that the production team, and the camera trust the strength of their actors to hold the silence that settles over the room as Chris runs the gambit of Qian’s internal thoughts. 

Qian is well and truly sitting with the acknowledgement of Yuan’s feelings from San Pang. Maybe I am wrong because I am not an actor, but I do not have the kind of intentional and conscious control over my face to have the kinds of lip twitches that Chris has when Qian is thinking about Yuan’s care for him. They may have twenty seconds of silence on screen, but that does not mean the scene isn’t still in motion. There are so many little things happening in the span between San Pang’s comment about Yuan and his next reflection on sending Yuan away. 

“Xiao Yuan can’t bear to leave you alone,” Qian turns that over in his mind, to me it’s like he’s feeling the weight of it on his tongue, in his body. Qian looks up, and then around, and tosses the remote to the side, breathes heavily again. That feels like a begrudging acceptance of the statement. At the very least it is permission from Qian to proceed with the difficult conversation. 

“Before I had Yuan leave the country, I had been thinking I was doing the right thing for you two. But seriously, be honest, did you feel empty when Yuan was away?”

gif by @wanderlust-in-my-soul

Qian blinks twice and we cut to a flashback of a lovely little isolated frame of Qian feeling Yuan’s absence. We cut back to a close up of Qian’s face and his lip twitches. Which I love because it feels like an involuntary admission. We know Qian, we know that boy is stubborn and stoic, that he muscles through all the pain, that he does not let many people see his weaknesses. San Pang asks Qian if he felt empty and Qian does. not. move. He holds exactly the same position, lounging on the couch with his hand behind his head like he is unmoved, unaffected by San Pang’s question. But that little twitch of his lip gives him away. San Pang has struck a nerve. San Pang has forced Qian to hold a spotlight to the feelings he’s been trying to numb for the last four years. 

“Let me tell you something. When Lili and I first got together,” 

I don’t know about anyone else, but I snorted at the way Qian turned his head to look at San Pang in warning. We still have not seen Qian approve of that relationship. And San Pang knows that he’s staring at the precipice of some truly hot water, which is why he follows up with a “hear me out.” 

Qian relaxes and once again turns to look away from San Pang. From San Pang’s position very little of Qian’s face is visible. So Qian keeps holding a position that will give San Pang as little of a chance of reading him as possible. 

“I’ve struggled too. I…I always wondered what happiness could I bring her? Was I doing the right thing? How could I face you? And then…I felt it wasn’t right. Life is too short.”

gif by @wanderlust-in-my-soul

Again, I just have to say. CHRIS CHIU IS A PHENOMENAL ACTOR. He does not move a muscle, but you know Qian is locked in on what San Pang is saying because of how he moves his eyes. When San Pang says “life is too short” you can actually see the moment where Qian starts paying more attention to San Pang’s words, because he looks away from the TV and more downward in thought. 

“Getting hung up over it for years, would it be worth all the lost time?” 

Chris changes how he breathes here. You can see Qian take in a deep breath, but he holds it for a few seconds, he lets his nostrils flare, and then you see a large release of breath in the movement of Qian’s chest. This is really really getting to Qian. That nostril flare was not because he was breathing in. Because he’d already taken a breath. It was not because he was breathing out, because we see that happen a few seconds after the nostril flare, without his nose moving again. When Qian flares his nostrils, he is holding his breath, for a rather noticeable amount of time too. 

I love Chris because he embodies Qian so well, I can almost feel the way Qian is feeling internally in all the subtle little ways Chris plays with how Qian holds and releases tension and attention. 

“Who’s been good to me?”

Qian blinks twice, letting the question hit him, and only then does he finally release his breath. 

“Who put me before themselves?” 

San Pang looks at Qian after he finishes asking these hypothetical questions. But Qian is still looking ahead towards the TV, trying to come across as disengaged in the conversation as possible. And San Pang notices that, and that is why he continues to talk. Because Qian is hearing him, he’s listening and processing, but he isn’t engaged. He hasn’t put his body in to the conversation yet, he hasn’t responded to anything that San Pang has said to him. So San Pang keeps pushing. 

“A lot of things are only between you and Yuan. Unless you really have something against being with a guy, Yuan’s the only one who will be by your side, no matter what. Are you really not going to confront it?”

And I love that we pull away from that question to Qian looking like he is lying in a therapist’s chair. And Qian holds that position he has been maintaining throughout the conversation for a few seconds longer. The number of times he blinks the only indication that what San Pang has said is getting through and that Qian is mulling it all over. 

And only then, after San Pang has said all these things about Qian and Yuan’s relationship, in a way that is not judgemental or against the idea of these brothers becoming romantically involved. Only after San Pang has said that Yuan would be by Qian’s side no matter what does Qian set his jaw and push himself up in to a sitting position to continue the conversation. 

San Pang does not know what happened at Le’s gang beyond them being beaten up. So while it is highly likely that he is aware saying that Yuan would follow Qian anywhere is opening a can of worms, he does not understand how much ammunition he has just given Qian to talk about the danger that loving him too deeply has put Yuan in.

We do not give enough credit to film actors for maintaining continuity across scenes, because this man sits up and the first thing Chris has Qian do is massage the back of his head, where the pain of his blood clot sits. I could probably sit here all day trying to talk about all the little facial expressions he does as Qian sits up and starts preparing himself to be vulnerable with San Pang. But we can leave it as merely that. Qian is getting ready to talk to San Pang about some deeply personal stuff.

Personal stuff that Qian usually does not typically get in to. Like, San Pang says he knows what Qian went through, but I do not think he does. I do not think Qian has told him about the sexual assault, or San Pang would not have been trying to throw women at Qian. 

gif by @wanderlust-in-my-soul

“San Pang.” He pauses, and you can see the way he is still noodling, thinking about whether or not he wants to talk to San Pang about all this. And notably, he does not meet San Pang’s eye when he begins “Do you know…” Qian looks to the side, he frowns a little bit, he taps the palm of his hand against the top of the couch arm. It feels so childish and small of him in a way that really struck me. Qian is nervous, he is redirecting that energy in to his motions. In to the tapping, in to looking away, in to not having to reveal deep personal truths sitting that close to another soul. “Do you know what my biggest wish in life is? My biggest wish in life is for them to be happy,” 

Ohhhhhh how that breaks my heart. Qian has suffered so much, he has done so much, he has survived so much. If you were to ask me, I would bet that Qian has never been happy. He was forced at a very young age to take over the role of caregiver. He is both a brother and a father to Yuan and to Lili. And it is a testament to Qian’s love for his family, and the pain he is willing to put himself through that Lili is so bright and vibrant and naive about some of the workings of the world. I believe that Lili is happy. I believe that Qian has succeeded in at least that much. But that is not something he has had a chance to do. “Even if the world comes down, I’ll hold it up.” I have not forgotten that line from last episode. Qian would hold the world together if it meant ensuring his sister’s happiness. 

I do not know what it is, but there is something in the way Chris moves his mouth after he says “My biggest wish in life is for them to be happy,” that just absolutely destroys me, because he makes himself look like this is such a huge confession. 

“Mine is the same.” 

gif from @wanderlust-in-my-soul

“I just want them to grow up healthy and happy, because I’m their big brother.” Qian’s words become so breathy and he’s jabbing his finger straight in to the arm of the couch to drive home his point. These are the words that matter, this is the wish that matters. Qian’s feelings, Qian’s happiness have nothing to do with it. If he’s empty so be it, as long as his siblings are happy and healthy he will wound himself a thousand times over. His fucking face here, once again is just…When Qian takes in a breath, it is shaky. You can tell by the movement of his jaw, which looks like it is moving from side to side a little bit. As he approaches the end of his sentence, it feels like he is trying not to cry. 

gif by @wanderlust-in-my-soul

Yuan’s life might be summed up in two words: Wei Qian 

But Wei Qian’s life is summed up in five: 

Because I’m their big brother. 

“We grew up together. You think I don’t know how hard life’s been on you? But you know that Yuan’s feelings for you are different.” 

Qian looks away incredulously, and there is something else there too, I think. Something in the way that Qian’s eyebrows furrow, the way his mouth hangs open, the way he breathes out. I don’t know that he can really believe that this conversation is happening right now. That San Pang would let these words reach the light of day, that he would acknowledge them so openly, so matter-of-factly. 

“We’ve tried everything. We even sent him abroad for years. You were miserable every day. You love him and he loves you.”

We get more of Qian’s thinking face here as San Pang says these words, his mouth agape, his breath quickening, his eyes moving back and forth as he sorts through his own thoughts. 

But I need to acknowledge San Pang. He has such an intriguing connection to Qian and his family. San Pang has power of Qian, because his parents are Qian’s landlords. He and Qian have been best friends for a very long time, and even though I think it is true that San Pang likely knows the most about Qian’s life history, he does not know it all. He is still, in many facets of his life, acting like a kicked dog and backing down every time he tries to push back against Qian now that Qian knows that he and Lili are together. But when push comes to shove. When Qian’s happiness is impeded, when Qian’s health is at risk, he will tell Qian what Qian needs to hear. 

Whether or not Qian is truly having a hard time parsing through his feelings for Yuan doesn’t matter to me as much as Qian getting permission from multiple people to actually pursue the relationship. In acknowledging all of this, San Pang, the man who at one point told Yuan he could like anyone but Qian, the man that sent Yuan away for four years, is telling Qian that it is okay for Qian and Yuan to be together. He is the external judge that is finally accepting this taboo relationship, because he knows that if he does not show Qian that it is okay for him and Yuan to change from brothers to lovers, that neither Qian or Yuan will have any chance in hell of long term happiness. 

“Even if you’re not together, he’ll be sad to see you sad.” 

Off come Qian’s glasses. Shit is getting serious now. Qian rests his head on his hand, he looks away from San Pang. He really sits with it, you can see the emotions rising up in him, in the way he breathes, in the way his nostrils move, in the way his lips tremble for a second before he speaks. 

gif by @ueasking

“I’m scared, you know?” he turns to look at San Pang, and he sucks in a huge breath through his nose. It’s the first time we’ve seen him breathe so obviously that way throughout the entire scene. GOD, QIAN KILLS ME. 

“You haven’t even tried. What are you scared of?” 

And this is the fascinating thing for me, right? Outside of Yuan, San Pang is Qian’s best friend, but they do not have conversations like this that often. San Pang has tried time and again to start the more serious conversations, to act as an emotional support for Qian, but Qian brushes those conversations off as much as he can. San Pang knew the medical issues, he knows the history, he knows about the pieces of Qian’s life that Qian can’t hide. But he does not know everything, Qian does not usually let himself be this vulnerable with San Pang, hell he hasn’t even told San Pang everything that happened with Le’s gang. He’s about to, but that is only because he is trying to make a point. 

I think he is only having this conversation with San Pang, only admitting he is scared, and confused about his feelings for Yuan because he has literally no one else to talk to about it, and he’s starting to break down to the point that he can’t hold it all in by himself. And San Pang keeps pushing. 

“You know he went to find Le by himself that day?”

“I know.” 

“He was surrounded and beaten by six people, and in the end…”

gif by @wanderlust-in-my-soul

He sucks in a breath. It takes him a moment to find the strength to form the words, so he forms a gun shape with his hand, which he points quickly a few times to fill the silence and the stillness in the room as he finds the shape of the admission on his tongue. He accentuates the severity of the memory with one final large motion. 

“...they pointed a gun at…” 

Ah, and there it is. The real reason behind Qian’s comment about wanting Lili and Yuan to be happy and healthy because he’s their big brother. Qian will not act on his feelings for Yuan, especially not right now because he is feeling guilty. Not just for sending Yuan away, not just because of the letter, but because Yuan’s unwavering loyalty, protectiveness, and love for Qian got Yuan hurt. Nearly got Yuan killed. Again. 

Qian’s whole world, his entire drive was shattered the day Yuan confessed, when Yuan told Qian that he was suffering. Yuan’s love for Qian was hurting him. But Qian just wants Yuan to be happy and healthy. The chance at having that world again was nearly destroyed with the realization that Yuan almost died abroad. His world was made complete again when Yuan returned home. And it was very nearly destroyed once more when Yuan walked in to that gang in hopes of protecting Qian. 

There is pain in witnessing the kind of love someone would die for. 

Qian can put himself in danger for the sake of his siblings, because from my perspective, Qian never thought his life had much worth. His formative years were filled with horrific abuse, assault under the guise of love, pain, suffering, doing terrible things just to survive. But this is all because he cannot see the forest through the trees, of the life that he has built, of the home that he has built, of the safety that he has built for his siblings. 

Yuan is not allowed to believe his life is less important than Qian’s because no one has ever thought that Qian’s life was more important than theirs. 

“Fuck, you- you’re telling me that now? Then, you…Right now, you…So, you’ve lost…”

Another quick shout out to San Pang, and moreso to the writing for San Pang that they don’t always let him have these brilliant speeches. He was able to navigate the beginning of this conversation because he knew mostly what he was walking in to, but with the reveal of Yuan and Qian’s near death experience, he is fumbling. 

The camera cuts back to Qian. I’d say Qian is listening to San Pang, but not fully present. Chris is doing so many things with his face in that moment. His nostrils are flaring, his lips are tightening like he’s trying to hold something back, he’s rocking his jaw from side to side. 

gif by @ueasking

“So, this isn’t a decision I can make so lightly.” He is almost crying now, he won’t cry, I think the only time we’ve seen him cry is when he was staring the prospect of Yuan’s death directly in the face during Russian Roulette and when he was hugging Yuan afterwards. But you can see the growing frustration and the threat of the tears very clearly on his face. Qian emphasizes the statement by once again jabbing his finger into the couch. 

“I have to consider the future.”  

“Do you want him to have a future without you?”

Let me tell y’all the way I collapsed under the weight of that question…it is no wonder Qian, notoriously quiet Qian, immediately shuts his mouth. I appreciate how much San Pang is willing to be the sacrificial lamb, because that is exactly the question that Qian needed to hear. That is exactly the reality that Qian, Yuan, Lili all face if Qian does not get his blood clot treated. A future without Qian in it. 

Qian needs to know exactly what he is doing to the people he loves by continuing to delay this medical treatment, but San Pang had to know that in asking it, it would only make Qian retreat back in to himself. Which is what Qian usually does. It was a miracle in it’s own right that San Pang was able to get Qian to voice this many of his concerns, to tell him the entire truth, to talk to him about the fear. 

gif by @ueasking

Qian closes his eyes, he lets the blow of the question absorb in to him, and he nods his head. Which, in my opinion, is a brilliant choice because the way he nods does not read to me as a confession that yes, Qian does want Yuan to have a future without him in it, and more so is an admission of defeat from Qian. But because we don’t get verbal confirmation either way, we do not, San Pang does not, Yuan does not get any confirmation one way or the other about what Qian is thinking. 

Qian just nods, lets the silence hang one moment longer, and kicks San Pang out. 

“Go home.” He says. But there is a more promising follow up “Let me think about it.” 

Which feels like the only thing Qian has really been doing for the last four years, but we’ve already established, that boy is about as moveable as a brick wall, and he and Yuan both serve to lose a lot if this goes wrong. 

And there you go @lurkingshan! 4103 words on the mouth twitch, nervous body language, and tears in this scene :D

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Lots of lovely kisses & an unwarranted upset in the standings

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

Oct 2024 Week 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

Fourever You (Thai Thurs YT) ep 2 of 16 - Yes yes J&J should be first but I am weak in the face of, well, frankly this man's face:

Pond = greatest piner in a dog’s age. The yearning in that boy’s eyes is obscene, it’s like the most explicit sex that only he can see and we’re just voyeurs.

Thus I continue to adore this stupid show and everything it stands for. No notes. May the fluff continue eternal.

Jack & Joker (Thai Mon IQIYI) ep 5 of 12 - Everyone is so skilled in this show, but War is truly glorious. Considering the pacing, I think we are probably in for some long periods of darkness, suffering, and pain soon. I’m not mad about that prospect, it’s earned and foreshadowed, I just thought I’d lay it out there.

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 6 of 12 - More boys from GMMTV with good communication. Who knew? Min has SUCH a white knight complex. NO SINGING. Good demanding kiss, though. Well, Ohm can handle anything. 

Meanwhile, this really is a bodyguard romance under another name. And I kinda wanna rewatch Never Let Me Go as a result.

Love Sick 2024 (Thai Sun iQIYI) ep 4 of 15 - Earn remains best boy and my favorite character. Phun is v jelly, as he should be. AND I like Ohm & N'Mik better in this version. I still prefer the original leads, but I’m enjoying this enough. 

I had no idea how much I missed Gunsmile! It’s so nice to see him on my screen again.

Monster Next Door (Thai Thurs Gaga ) ep 12 fin - I hate Diew’s mom. Hate her. So much. She may be my least favorite mom ever in BL. That’s saying a lot. No I don’t think she was redeemed. 

Conclusion

Adapted from the novel Godzilla Next Door by Jiwinil about an introvert who lives mostly in his room, until a loud annoying extrovert moves in next door. This was one of my top picks for 2024 and I’m delighted to say it satisfied expectations. A charmingly serene story of opposites attract, that featured good communication, patience, and genuine affection used to build a solid relationship.(I’m particularly delighted that our musician is a drummer and I don’t have to listen to him sing.) Yes it’s a tad slow but it’s very earnest and leans into the kind of sweetness that Thai BL does best. Doesn’t hurt that this starred an actor (Big) that many of us have been hoping would get a lead for years. I was pleased and comforted. This is not a kind of BL that suits everybody, but it suited me admirably. 8/10 

Battle of the Writers (Sun YT) ep 10 of 12 - Ozone and the Ice Prince (name still unknown) did their little dance. What an earnest and romantic confession from our Icy man. I literally said “no no no just kiss, no foreheads.” And it was a great crying kiss, my favorite. Honestly, that amount of emotion hadn’t been earned by this pair, but I don’t mind. I could watch a whole show just about them. Also woah! Major nekid on YT?

Thailand......

Risking demonetization for arse…...

I guess we’ve all been there. 

Where was I?

I’m happy with this episode since it was mostly my side couple. But the distribution of main couple and side couple and the focus of each episode is wildly erratic with this show. It’s very odd. (And let's be clear we ordered errotic not erratic.)

Every You Every Me (Thai Mon Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - Jade and Chin have lived over a thousand lifetimes. In each one they somehow manage to fall in love with each other. (This pair, TopMick was piloted in a My Universe ep, that was one of the only ones I liked.) Soulmate premise is a mix of Color Rush and La Pluie. Frankly, this isn’t as good as either, but it’s enjoyable in a slow cheerful way. Especially if you like this particular set of tropes. It’s quietly lovely and I like the leads. Sunshine is very very sunshine and our tsundere is a grumpy mysterious nerd. Trigger for domestic abuse. It looks like each episode is gonna be a completely different meet cute with the same pairing. It’s more linked vignettes than any overarching story. So if you don’t like this pair, you won’t like this series.

Addicted Heroin (Thai Tues WeTV) ep 9 of 10 - More sports day. (Everybody’s doing sports days right now.) Random sides kissing. Where did the glasses person come from? Was he introduced and I forgot about it? Oh that’s the evil cousin! Okay… anygay. Sides randomly flip-flop who they like and I don’t know what the fuck is going on. This show. I swear. Ooo caught kissing. And… killed? What a mind fuck of a soap opera. Honestly, I’m fine if he’s dead, I don’t care at this point I just feel jerked around. 

For some reason no eng sub for me for the first half. So I watched with Spanish subs (which is about as good as my Thai, only for different words). What a wild experience.

Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) ep 4 of 10 - Oh dear. I just can’t imagine ever rooting for this couple. Which means… Why am I watching this? 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

My Damn Business (Korea Sat YT) eps 1-2 of 7 - Oh I love it. Casual flirty westernized-style boss. Reserved reluctant cutie (yes we’ve seen the actor before). Is it disgusting workplace harassment? Oh most certainly. Do I enjoy it anyway? Yep, I’m warped. No defense, but at least it’s something from Korea. 

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 3 of ? - I like the lead being bullied and pushed to his limit thus turning into a psychopath. It’s gonna be a fun ride if it really goes Devil Judge just teens and actually gay. I wonder if it has the strength of its convictions? 

Our Golden Times (Hong Kong YT) 5 fin? - I guess that is the reunion? What an odd little piece. I’m not entirely sure what I feel about it except that this feels more BL than anything Hong Kong has given us so far (which isn't much). The subs are truly terrible. Since I speak absolutely zero Cantonese I can’t really fix them in my brain. I thought this was the final ep but then a teaser for ep 6 dropped so I we have at least one more. 

First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) ep 10 of 12 - It was a nice, if entirely unearned reunion. And the leads do kiss beautifully. Trust Taiwan. I am so glad that Orca is back! There was even a little language play flip-flopping just for me. Very cute. Also GREAT kissing. How long have we been waiting for Thailand and Taiwan to kiss? 

Eccentric Romance (Korea Weds Viki) eps 1-2 of 12 - Silkwood’s 2nd Thai/Korean colab. This has been in production since 2022 which is a LONG time in the BL world (worrying). But I like the concept: friends of 10 years who’ve been hiding feelings for each other enter the same university. Plus MURDER. Stars Yoon Jun Won (The Man BLK) and Thai actor Save Saisawat (Ai Long Nhai). I begin to think every The Man BLK member will eventually lead out a BL at this point.

It’s enjoyable in a weird way. Grumpy (hottie with a crush) + sunshine (captain oblivious). I gotta say, since this is the second relationship dual lingo style in our BL rn that it’s ALWAYS weird if the other half doesn't occasionally code switch languages, especially for specific words. In other words, the Korean dude is supposed to at least understand Thai, occasionally he’s should use a Thai world to get a point across. And the Thai dude is there to STUDY KOREAN, he should be slipping in and out of Korean regularly. Bah. 

It's airing but...

Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 5 of 10 eps - I never managed to get hold of ep 5. Frankly, it’s going to Netflix (I don’t subscribe) so I might not finish this out of sheer laziness. 

The Hidden Moon (Sat WeTV) ep 1 of 10 - This is a supernatural romance (my ghost boyfriend trope) by Violet Rain (I Feel You Linger). A man is hired to write an article about an old mansion in Chiang Mai being converted into a café. He sees the ghosts of people who died at the mansion, falls in love with one of them. Was substantially recast. I loved IFYLITA except the ending so I think I'll let this one run it's course you can tell me if it's work tracking down... if they managed to land it. I have my doubts.

Gangster and His Boyfriend (Korea ????) 8 eps? - was supposed to air 10/10 Kim Dong Bin (famous trainee & idol reality competitor, yeah that happens) stars as a fallen idol who unexpectedly becomes entangled in a gangster family. Discovers that his friend’s father is responsible for the murder of his entire family years ago. I don't know much about this one, neither does anyone else and I'm not sure where I got that release date so……

Next Week Looks Like This:

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

Still Coming Oct 2024:

10/17 Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo (Korea Thurs Gaga) 8 eps - High school student Do Hoe lives with his violent and brutal father who runs a Taekwondo gym in a rural area. One day, cheerful Ju Young arrives, he dreams of going to college for Taekwondo. Joy begins to fill Do Hoe's dark life. An unexpected incident forces them apart, they reunite ten years later.

10/21 Love in the Big City (Korea ????) 8 eps - Okay, this is both a movie (already out) and a series. Neither one is likely BL and I can't imagine it will end happily. I'm giving both a pass but here's your synopsis.

Cynical fun loving student Young pinballs from home, to class, to on night stands. He and Jaehee, his female besie and roommate, frequent nearby bars where they push away their worries about life, love, and money with soju and hookups.

10/23 See Your Love (Taiwan Weds Gaga & Viki) 10 eps? - Zi Xiong, a third-generation heir, attempting to flee from taking over their family business, meets and falls in love with Shao Peng, who works as a hearing-impaired nurse. From the same production house as Kiseki Dear To Me in partnership with Shinehouse Theatre, funded by Taiwan’s BIGART + Japan's Rakuten (Viki). Show includes Lin Chia Yo (Be Loved in House: I Do). Director Chiang Ping Chen’s childhood experiences with his deaf uncle have inspired the drama.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Addicted Heroin

Incidentally he didn’t ask to “be with Ter” he asked if he could flirt/court him. jeeb doesn’t really have a direct translation, but it isn’t “be with.” 

Fourever You

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

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

[cubfan135-facts]

cubfan135 fact #21:

Hermitcraft season 6 featured an unknown individual known only as The Jingler, who conducted a series of pranks on several hermits. Those who fell victim to the Jingler's pranks were often referred to as being "#Jingled". Some pranks included (but are not limited to) vandalizing Grian's map room to say "You have been J-J-Jingled!!!", and leaving a mysterious book in Hermitville with coordinates that merely led to a sign reading, "GG You've been had! #Jingled".

The Jingler's identity was never revealed by the time Season 6 had concluded. Fans and hermits alike speculated their true identity for years. Many fans believed them to be Grian, however it was unlikely as Grian already had two prankster alter egos in Season 6, Poultry Man and The Salmon Ghost. GoodTimesWithScar was revealed to be the Jangler, a different entity entirely with no official ties to the Jingler. Rendog was suspected of being the Jingler for asking his viewers to "jingle that [notification] bell" at the end of his videos. Tango was also suspected of being the Jingler, as his returns to the server coincidentally aligned with the Jingler's pranks.

The most in-depth search for the identity of the jingler on the Hermitcraft server appears to be from Joehills. Upon checking the community mailbox, Joehills discovered a message from the Jingler left in every hermit's mailbox. Deciding that he could not let this devious behavior continue, he set out to follow a trail to reveal their true identity. He initially asks for the help of his viewers to gather intel from other hermit's videos, however this effort would prove fruitless as the Jingler carefully made sure to never reveal themselves on camera. Joe suspects a parrot by the name of Jingles to be behind the pranks, claiming that the parrot works for ConCorp. However, it is possible he was actually thinking of Captain Jack Sparrow, the CEO of ConCorp, and the lead seemed to come to a dead end.

The Jingler's identity was still unknown by the end of season 6, leaving both fans and hermits to speculate on their identity for years. Many began to believe there was no one true Jingler, but the hermits as a collective conducted a multitude of pranks under one common alias.

The Jingler's identity was finally revealed on April 23, 2022 on the Hermitcraft 10-year anniversary livestream. Cub admitted to being the Jingler, notably only after being asked directly by Jevin. Grian in particular was so distraught by the revelation that he joined the discord call from his mobile phone to comment on the situation.

Hermitcraft season 6 began in July of 2018, meaning that the identity of the Jingler was kept a secret for roughly 4 years. It is possible that this is the longest-kept secret in all of Hermitcraft history. The only known "evidence" of Cub being the Jingler is when he is seen during Impulse's Season 6 episode 32 asking if Grian has completed the infinity room. It is likely Cub was inquiring either to see if he could vandalize the map without Grian noticing, or to see Grian's reaction if the prank had already been carried out. Besides this small piece of circumstantial evidence, there was virtually no proof of Cub being the Jingler prior to April 2022. The most concerning detail in this story is, perhaps, the fact that the identity of the Jingler was only revealed when Cub was directly confronted by Jevin on stream. It is unknown if Cub ever planned to reveal the Jingler's identity on his own, and he very well may have intended to take this secret to the grave.

[twig-tea]

2024 BL/GL/QL Round-Up Post

Since I did this last year, I thought for posterity I'd post another reflection on everything I watched that completed in 2024. For me, that means anything that started in 2023 but the last episode was in 2024 is on this list, but anything that was still be airing after 31 December 2024 11:59 my time (EST) is not on this list, even if the bulk of the show did air in 2024.

A few stats:

[The image is TL;DR for what follows lol]

I watched ~150 discrete pieces of new QL content in 2024 (series/films) that I tracked [It gets complicated with specials and split seasons but I did my best to be consistent]; plus 10 things that I would consider "adjacent". For contrast, I listed 110 pieces of discrete content in 2023; that's a 45% increase year over year!

This clocked in at an est. 900 hours of new BL/GL and adjacent content (up from ~600 in 2023--which also tells us that the content I tracked was a little longer overall because that's a full 50% increase in terms of hours spent).

The new content I watched came from 9 different countries [same as 2023]: (Cambodia [1], Philippines [2, down from 3], Hong Kong [1], Japan [32, up from 18 in 2023], Korea [20; was 19], Myanmar [2, up from 1], Taiwan [12, up from 6], Thailand [75; up from 56], Vietnam [4, down from 7]), China [5], and then 3 joint effort productions from Thailand/Korea [2] and Thailand/Taiwan [1]

This means just under ~47% of the content I watched on this list is from Thailand [close to the 50% in 2023]

So many more shows had multiple or varied distributions this year, but like last year ~85% of my content was on 3 platforms: YouTube [38%; down from 40%], GaGaOoLaLa [30%; up from 23%] and iQIYI [17%; down from 21%] Note: I'm in Canada and my access routes are sometimes affected by that.

As unbelievable as it sounds with all that, I did actually drop shows this year! I dropped 9 shows, which is I think more than I've dropped in my entire previous 20+ years watching queer asian media combined (that might be an exaggeration but I do really hate dropping shows); 4 Thai, 3 Filipino, 1 Taiwanese and 1 Japanese (listed at the very bottom of this post if you want to be messy). I didn't track any dropped shows in 2023.

And if you're wondering how many shows there are in the world in total, I am aware of an additional 11 shows I just did not have time to even start (2 from Cambodia, 4 from the Philippines, 3 from Thailand, and 1 each from Korea and Myanmar). That does not include the vertical short reels that I didn't track this year--see @ellsieee 's tracking post for these--as well as several GL shorts from JPC media YouTube channel and Sastra film app YouTube channel that I just have not had time to try or even keep track of, though I do peek in on them to see if there's anything that looks particularly good, and I do always link these folks in my GL round-ups.

All of this doesn't include re-watches or catching up on old shows, or non-QL queer media, or non-queer media (the hets sometimes do deserve rights); but does include films as well as shows.

I hope you all appreciate that with this much content, and with my general brand of being unable to make decisions, I really struggled to narrow down a top 10 list. What follows is the best I could do lol

Top 25 QLs I'd Recommend From This Year:

[Links are self-indulgently to what I thought was the most relevant post I'd made this year relevant to that series/media, mostly spoiler-free pitches]

She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat S2 (Tsukutabe) [GL]

Love in the Big City

Love For Love's Sake

Tadaima Okaeri [anime]

Ossan no pantsu ga nandatte ii janai ka (Oppan)

Marahuyo Project

Knock Knock Boys

Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo

Love is Like a Poison (Doku koi)

Ossan's Love Returns

Twilight out of Focus [anime]

At 25:00 in Akasaka

Cooking Crush

Cherry Magic [anime]

Cherry Magic Thailand

Takara no Vidro

Soul Sisters / Twin Rabbits [GL]

Perfect Propose

Unknown the series

Paradise of Thorns [film]

Blue Canvas of Youthful Days

The Secret of Us [GL]

Mr Mitsuya's Planned Feeding (Mitsuya-Sensei)

The Time of Fever

A Man Who Defies the World of BL S3

I tried to put these in some kind of order but honestly if you asked me to rank them the numbering would change all the time and I would combust. The ones I liked best are closer to the top of this list. I also debated back and forth on whether Paradise of Thorns counts as QL so many times. But in the end I decided the main character was queer and queer romance of a sort was at the heart of the drama, so I've left it in this list even though technically it should probably sit with the 'adjacent's.

Worth noting that though only ~20% of the content I watched was from Japan, ~45% of my favourites were from Japan.

+5 notable pulp offerings worth mentioning:

Bagan Beginning (Myanmar)

City of Stars (Thailand)

Gym Affairs (China)

To the Ex Who Hated Me (Korea, GL)

Under the Oak Tree (Vietnam)

I think I'll do a top 10 GL post separately since we had enough content to warrant a top 10 (yay!) but this is already long enough. I just want to take a second to acknowledge that this year was so much better than in 2023 when I didn't feel like I could recommend any of the new GL shows. Thank you content creators for better and more GL in 2024, please keep that energy for 2025!

Bonus: Not a QL but worth calling out:

How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (Thai film)

I saw both this and Paradise of Thorns in theatres during the Toronto International Film Festival and they were both so powerful! Extremely different tones but they surprisingly hit on similar themes, and very beautifully filmed. HTMMBGD was a complicated film filled with very rounded and complex characters, and I still think about it all the time. Very excited for more folks to have access to both of these soon.

Sidenote: The fact that I watched 45% more shows in 2024 than I did in 2023 and still managed to keep my rec list to 30 (*cough1cough*) does seem to back up the general feeling that though we had more content, we didn't have a proportional rise in good content. I do want to crunch those numbers in another post.

Double Plus Bonus: Best Older QL Content I watched for the first time in 2024:

Life as a Girl / Joshi-teki Seikatsu (Japan, 2018; I'm so sad I missed out on this one for so long due to misinfo, it is fantastic! Thanks to @so-much-yet-to-learn for helping propel me to this one)

Iron Ladies (Thailand, 2000; thank you for the rec, @happypotato48)

Nacchan's Secret / Himitsu no Nacchan (Japan, 2023; thank you @furritsubs for making this watch possible)

Can I Buy Your Love From a Vending Machine / Sono Koi, Jihanki de Kaemasuka? (Japan, 2023; thanks to @nicks-den for making this watch possible)

I Fell In Love with the Villainness (Japan, 2023; watched because of a convo with @pilanthitasanilaphat)

Doi Boy (Thailand, 2023; this one I had on my list and just had to work up the energy to watch, but it was a beautiful film and I'm glad I did)

BL Metamorphosis (Japan, 2022; another thank you to @furritsubs)

Dear Dad (India, 2016; thanks to @neuroticbookworm for the rec!)

Salty Blue / Kakenuketara, Umi (Japan, 2023, thank you again @nicks-den!)

[I can't believe I forgot this at first] The Miracle of Teddy Bear (Thailand, 2022, thanks for going on that journey and writing great meta with me and for calling me out for forgetting @lurkingshan!)

There is so much good content in the world and despite my best efforts I haven't seen everything! So grateful to the fansubbers and people who write about past shows so that those of us who missed them the first time still get a chance to see them.

In terms of my output based on all this input, I continued not lurking this year, and have enjoyed it very much; see my Top 10 posts from 2024 here as well as the content I linked in my recommended shows above--going through the process of adding those links really highlighted to me how much more I've written this year, and how much more motivated I am to write about shows I love. It's no surprise I had dedicated posts for most of my top shows! To highlight a few specific projects this year that I'm proud of, I participated in the Love in the Big City Book Club read and watch-alongs organized by @lurkingshan, which was such a fun project that I am grateful for, and I started my GL Odds and Ends posts (tagged with #gl recs) that I am still feeling out but am really enjoying seeing the impact whenever someone watches a show because they found out about it through one of my posts. I also made an appearance on several episodes of @the-conversation-pod and had an incredible time trying out different things in a quarterly 'Dispatch' and having some really rich conversations with @bengiyo and @shortpplfedup. I love this corner of tumblr that we've carved out for ourselves as a QL watching community, and I just want to say to everyone I've interacted with in 2024: Thank you, and wish good things for you all in 2025!

Full list of 2024 shows under the cut for anyone curious! [Mostly in order it completed but may be slightly off--if a special aired immediately after the final episode I only list them as one thing and count the airing of the special as the end date, for example].

Bagan Beginning

Love Senior the Series

After SunDown

VIP Only

Twins the Series

Last Twilight

Night Dream the Series

My Universe

Bake Me Please special episode

Sahara Sensei to Tori Kun / Mr Sahara and Toki-kun

Love for Love's Sake

7 Days Before Valentine

Happy Ending

PitBabe the series

For Him the series

Cooking Crush

The Sign

Chaser Game W

Playboyy the series

Perfect Propose

Ossan's Love Returns

Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna S2 / She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat

Cherry Magic Th

Dead Friend Forever

Sukidoya / Although I Love You and You / Sukiyaken kedo dou yaroka?

Healing Thingyan

Love You in Every Multiverse

Cherry Magic (anime)

Please Teach Me

Anti Reset

Jazz for Two

Blank the Series

A Secretly Love

To Be Continued the series

Love is Better the Second time around / Koi wo Surunara Nidome ga Joto

City of Stars

Sea You Soon

Human Too

Man Who Defies the World of BL s3

Gray Shelter / Gray Currents / Grey Current

Gym Affairs

1000 Years Old the Series

Love is Like a Cat

To the Ex Who Hated Me

Lady Boy Friends the series

Deep Night the series + Special Episode

Unknown the series

Memory in the Letter

You are My Star

Lonely Girls

Boys Be Brave / Roommates / I Can't Confess

Blossom Campus

Two Worlds

VIP Only special episode

Pray In Love

I Fell In Love with My Male Best Friend

Friend With Benefit

Stay By My Side special episode

23.5

You Made My Day

Living With Him

City Boy Log pt3

Anti-Reset special episode

The Time of Huan Nan

Xiao Xiang Yi Jiu

Inverse Identity

At 25:00 in Akasaka

Only Boo!

Tadaima Okaeri

Love Bully (Club Friday)

Blank the Series S2

Marahuyo Project

The Two of Us

Blue Boys

OMG Vampire!

My Stand-In

We Are the series

Ossan no pantsu ga nandatte ii janai ka / Oppan

Wandee Goodday

Under the Oak Tree

The Rebound

Love Enemy

Love in the Apocalypse

Bad Guy

My Marvellous Dream is You/ Dream the Series

Century of Love

Knock Knock Boys

Be Your Star

Meet You at the Blossom

BOYTOY

The Secret of Us

Ayaka is in love with Hiroko / Ayaka-chan wa Hiroko-sempai ni koi shiteru

My Love Mix-Up!

This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans

Love Sea the series

Cosmetic Playlover

City Boy Log s4

Sunset Vibes

Mr Mitsuya's Planned Feeding

Takara no Vidro / Takara's Treasure

Paradise of Thorns

I Hear the Sunspot

The Time of Fever / when your temperature reaches my fingertips

4 Minutes The Trainee

Twilight out of Focus

Happy of the End

The On1y One

Live in Love

Heaven'sxCandy

The Two of Us s2

Addicted Heroin

I Saw You In My Dream

Monster Next Door

Our Golden Times

Affair

First Note of Love

Battle of the Writers

Reverse 4 U

Unlock Your Love

Chaser Game W s2

Let free the Curse of Taekwondo

Uncle Unknown

The Hidden Moon the series

Love in the Big City [the series]

Smells Like Green Spirit

Red Whisper

Eccentric Romance/PT is Love

My Damn Business

Apple My Love

Dominant Yakuza and Wimpy Corporate Slave

The Nipple Talk

Kidnap the series

Every You Every Me

Jack & Joker

People Come Later

Blue Canvas of Youthful Days

The Loyal Pin

Let's Eat Together Aki and Haru 2

Love is Like a Poison / doku koi: doku mo sugireba koi to naru

Bad Guy My Boss

Haunted Hearts

Seoul Blues

The Renovation

Love Sick 2024

Love in the Big City [the film]

Spare Me Your Mercy / Euthanasia

Soul Sisters / Twin Rabbits

My Hot Butch Roommate

Whisper Me a Love Song / Sasayaku you ni koi wo utau

Boys' Christmas

Bonus: FuFuKnows bi-weekly shorts [every other week they post a short film, almost always a QL storyline; there were 23 in 2024]

And those QL-adjacent shows I mentioned [these are all adapted from QL media or starred QL actors or were part of a QL franchise but did not have a canon queer romance at the core of its storytelling]:

The Spirealm

Close Friend 3 - Soju Bomb

How to Make a Million Before Grandma Dies

Man Suang

High School Return Of A Gangster / I, a Gangster, Became a High Schooler

Kimi to Yukite Saku: Shinsengumi Seishunroku

Hoshikuzu Telepath

A Balloon's Landing

Peaceful Property

My Strawberry Film

The shows I dropped:

Time the series

Beside You

Sugar Dog Life

The Whisperer

Kiseki in Tokyo

Q18

Sky Valley

The Fate Trap

Dear Miss Becky

And as a shout-out in penance, the shows I had on my list to get to but haven't yet watched:

A Blue Sky (Cambodia)

Ending Friend (Cambodia)

Pretty Boys (Philippines - requires an access fee on VivaMax+)

Oh My Boo (Philippines)

The Perfect Heartbreak (Philippines)

Where I found You (Philippines)

My_ the series (Myanmar)

What's In My Bag (Korean GL - requires an access fee on Vimeo)

Complicated (Thai)

Club Friday: Hot Love Issue (Thai)

2nd Chance (Thai; not to be confused with Second Chance, this was a smaller 3-episode short series from this year)

Thank you for reading!

[spotlightlowlife]

status is superficial

Ozzie and Bee "enjoy slumming it with the low class plebs" according to Mammon what was there defence? 'Wanna fight' and 'ew you, nobody wants you'.

Where exactly is the lie?

They didn't even dispute the claim because it's true and that's not a testiment to how humble they are when their mixing with the poor places them at the top, since amungst their peers they are powerless and obligated to conform even though there seems no leadership.

It's sort of more decent that dispite being upfront about not caring, exploitation and making an example of those who step out of line, Mammon sat happily by a pair of void of personality robots and would try to pursue an equal and Satan has a literal angel on his shoulder.

Bee and Ozzie however, like their relationships with their partners, their relationship with the public is a transactional power imbalance where everybody has themed superficial perceived fun, these practical gods hang out and show off and nobody is really comfortable.

They are no different to Stolas, where's the proof otherwise?

Things aren't looking good for him either. The same episode had Stolas loose his status and the public instantly turn on him

and not just the general public who watched the trial, a janitor who was working at the time jumped at the chance to give Stolas a piece of his mind

not to forget that we saw many random imps willing to take out Stolas right at the start when we hardly knew him

and his regular hunter Striker has issue with the power structure in general

Stolas fetished Blitzø, pilot and main series, season 2 was intent to make him more sympathetic but showed us that he cornered Blitzø when he could do with feeling better about himself. He has property that Blitzø's business hinged on and Blitzø so Blitzø agreed to their transactionship. What exactly Stolas was famous or infamous for is unknown however the mighty has fallen.

Yet Bee holds high position, she is a leader of a ring of hell. She is hellhound like and throws parties for the helhounds, she dates a hellhound who gets to unwind at parties with his 'own kind', who he invites, after a days labour for yet another higher rank of demon.

If Bee were to loose her status like Stolas, would hellhounds being bottom of the pack, the low paid jobs and the orphanage/prison/dogpound suddenly be an issue?

We saw someone who resorted to threats and intimidation quickly, can we really say that this person is genuinely liked?

How about Ozzie who may be just as responsible for Fizz's branding as Mammon? The timeline continues to make no sense, when did Fizz first enter the pagents, before or after the accident? He seems a teen when they were announced yet has been winning for the last 10 years yet is way into his 30s? It's clear that Ozzie supplies the physically disabled imp with robotic limbs, seems nice but then remember they're a couple, when did their pairing happen and how? What was agreed upon before they met where the sexbots, Fizzbots are manufactured by Ozzie who makes a range of adult toys.

Fizz served two masters who are equals but Ozzie doesn't like Mammon, Fizz makes a big scene as he leaves behind a sociopath boss to go full time with his other boss, lover who he lives with and shares a bed with, acts as a PA to, works with and has the same interests as. Fizz is seen as cute by Ozzie, the lust guy, which is nice but this cuteness is shown by him being babied and carried around like "a purse dog" while others like him must know their place.

A lot of business hinges on Ozzie and what he distributes, who is he without if stripped of all of this?

Though it's probably never going to be the case, there's every reason to believe that these characters aren't liked at all but are intimidating, manipulative grifters who have capitalized on 'dating down' and it just so happens that their partners directly boost there supply.

[lurkingshan]

Random QL Grievances: 2024 Edition

For every superlative there must be an equal and opposite grievance. It's just science, the universe demands balance! So let's get into the Festivus spirit and begin the airing of grievances.

Most Infuriating Implosion of a Good Show: Last Twilight

When I think about how much I loved this show for the first 3/4 and how I felt as Mhok and Day watched the sunset on the cliff at the end of episode 9... we really coulda had it all. Justice for Mhok!

Worst Failure to Set Off the Chekhov’s Gun: Dead Friend Forever

Not only did they show me a dropped axe in the penultimate episode that never got picked up and used in the finale, they also didn't let me see Non's biggest betrayers die a bloody death. I had to watch Phee kill New and then get an ambiguously happy ending. Unforgivable!

Most Egregious Blue Balling of the Audience: The On1y One

How dare they build such a beautiful, careful relationship narrative and then just... not finish it. Not only did we not get an end to the story, we didn't even get to see Tian and Wang express their feelings. I will never forgive the creators of this show for playing these games.

Side Pair that Deserved Better: Arun and Tattoo, Jack & Joker

Where is their actual romance, show? WHERE IS IT?! You have a chance to make it right in the coming special and I pray you take it.

Messiest Show Built Around a Great Character: 23.5

The show was an unholy mess, but Ongsa (as performed by Milk) was the nerdy cringefail lesbian of our dreams. She deserved better!

The WHY?! Award for Blowing a Great Show on the Dismount: Unknown

I make this exact face when I think about how close this show came to perfection, and how needless the ending stumbles were when the book version was right there as a guide. What was the reason?!

The Everyone Involved Needs a Timeout Award: Jazz for Two

How did this show get made? I need a detailed explanation of exactly what they thought they were doing with this horrific depiction of a series of abusive relationships framed as romantic.

Worst Letdown for Me Personally: Wandee Goodday 

Will anyone ever make the fuck buddies to lovers BL of my dreams? It definitely hasn't happened yet. I am Plakao just making frustrated faces at everyone throughout this show.

Worst End of an Era: My Strawberry Film

What was the point of this show? What was it trying to say? I watched every single minute and I still have no clue. It gets bonus hate for ending the Drama Shower project on such a bum note.

Silliest Use of Lore: Sunset x Vibes

They teased us with past life dreams and gorgeous seascapes and Naga fantasies and all we got in the end was some ugly ass jewelry.

Noble Idiocy Hall of Shame: Blue Canvas of Youthful Days

I loved this show a lot, so you can imagine my dismay when they did a double noble idiocy + time skip ending. I am still so disappointed.

Petition to Free Ohm Pawat: Kidnap

To go from roles like Pat in Bad Buddy and Phukao in 10 Years Ticket to this... oh how the mighty hath fallen. I know my guy had some scandals but surely this was enough penance to set him free from terrible script purgatory. Right??

[vani-ash]

Hi, I'm new here, I've just discovered Jeff a couple of weeks ago. And now I feel like a teenager again with a celebrity crush 😅

I'm very busy irl and I'm slowly working my way through his acting gigs and music videos. As a Jeff expert, what do you suggest a newbe like me should watch/listen to/read/know? I'm a little confused about all the Jeffs :D

a jeff expert 😭

Hi! Welcome!!! ❤️🥰 I hope you understand by asking this you have given me the opportunity to info dump about this man 😭 I'm sorry in advance but here is a (still very long) basic guide to Jeff Satur :)

Acting

I don't know what you have and haven't watched yet but his main show is KinnPorsche (which you can watch on IQIYI) his character Kim is only a side character though.

There are two series you can watch on youtube

He she It (3 episodes, about 50 minutes all together)

Labeled as a horror but it's not really.

Ingredients the series (21 episodes, each aprox 10-20 minutes)

Cute slice of life series about cooking

He just had a movie come out called The Paradise Of Thorns, it is on Netflix in Thailand (and will probably come to netflix in other country's too eventually) so you either need a VPN or other site to watch it currently

Happy Ending

Jeff is currently in the process of making his own series called Happy Ending.

He has made a pilot for it but it hasn't actually been filmed yet and is scheduled to start filming sometime around the middle of this year, and be out around the end of the year.

Vamp

He is also going to be part of another show called Vamp, Also not filmed yet but scheduled for sometime this year.

Wuju Bakery

This was filmed back in 2023, and was meant to come out the same year and then the date got moved twice, something happened and the company that was making it did some shady things and now its unknown if this will ever actually air, but you can still find bts photos and people often reference this show so I'm going to mention it here.(There is also 40 second trailer)

Call Me By Fire S3

Jeff was also on a Chinese survival show called Call Me By Fire S3 (can be found on youtube, there is english subtitles)

Music Videos/Jeffcest

Jeff has been making music for 10 years, (he used to use the names Jeff the Demo and Jeff Garden if you want to look up any of his earlier songs on youtube)

Due to his whole vibe (and specifically his music video for Ghost, which is actually a two part MV continued in his other song called Yellow Leaf)

People started shipping him with the characters he plays in his music videos. This has been labeled as Jeffcest, and each Jeff is a clone, the clones are each named after their respective song titles unless they already have name, pretty much everything about Jeffcest is fan made.

The most prominent of Jeffcest being a character called Sunshine from the music video Dum Dum. (There are 3 music videos for Dum Dum, Thai, English and an Unchained version)

(Ghost and Lucid are two of the other most used)

Jeff has dressed up as Sunshine during a concert and was also just brought back in Jeff's most recent MV called Ride Or Die. (which only came out 5 days ago)

Sunshine has his whole own lore (not fanmade comes from Jeff) which I wont get into here but if you want me to explain feel free to message me :)

Jeffs most popular song is probably Fade (based on the views, 208 million)

But his other most popular song is probably Why Don't You Stay which is an OST from KinnPorsche. There is a Thai and English version.

All of his MVs have an interesting story line so they're all worth watching at some point.

Some songs Jeff is featured in:

Far - Silvy ft. Jeff

แผลเป็น (scar) - bodyslam ft. Jeff

Steal the Show - Shaun ft. Jeff

จำนน (White Flag) - Nont Tanont ft. Jeff

Other Things

Whenever Jeff preforms, wherever he is, it rains. He got joked to be the son of the rain god due to how often this happened, and for Halloween 2023 he held a contest for people to design him as the Rain God. (Rain God is also often used in Jeffcest)

Acounts

Jeff has his own company/studio called Studio on Saturn

Twitter - Instgram

On the last day of the month this account will post his schedule for the upcoming month letting you know when he has any scheduled events.

This Youtube account often posts fancams of the whole event from most of Jeffs events.

This youtube account posts any Lives Jeff does.

Brands

Space Shuttle No.8

Jeff put out his first album last year and it came with a box set (can no longer be brought but I have photos of the whole thing here :)

Pets

This man has so many cats like 20 something last time i heard him talk about them 😭

(And I don't know where to put this but his fans are called Saturdayss or Sats)

i am so sorry how long this is but I hope this was what you wanted and helped 😭💛💛💛

[gunsatthaphan]

~ Monthly BL Breakdown: October 2024 ~ 

☔️ Happy November!!! 🍂 (and Happy Halloween 🎃👻)

Disclaimer: ALL shows can be streamed here or here, as well as on Youtube and other platforms. For more info on where to watch what, check out this post! 

New breakdowns are coming at the end of every month - feel free to add stuff! -> previous breakdowns

What came out this month? (green = seen/currently watching)

🌟 Fourever You - October 3rd (Thailand)

🌟 Uncle Unknown - October 4th (Taiwan)

🌟 My Damn Business - October 5th (South Korea)

🌟 Every You, Every Me - October 6th (Thailand)

🌟 DMD Friendship: It Takes Two (reality show) - October 6th (Thailand) 

🌟 Eccentric Romance - October 10th (South Korea) 

🌟 Blue Complex - October 10th (South Korea)

🌟 Taming the Bad Boy - October 15th (South Korea)

🌟 Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo - October 17th (South Korea)

🌟 Love in the Big City - October 21st (South Korea) 

🌟 See Your Love - October 23rd (Taiwan)

🌟 See You (movie) - October 25th (Taiwan) 

🌟 Perfect Propose: Dream Edition - October 25th (Japan) 

🌟 Blue Canvas of Youthful Days - October 26th (China)

🌟 Perfect 10 Liners - October 27th (Thailand) ✅

🌟 Stealing From My CEO - October 27th (China) 

Monthly Likes / Dislikes

❣️ - Nothing overwhelming going on lately lol but I'm currently enjoying Peaceful Property a lot, it's so unique and fun and I really hope they consider adding more stuff like this in their 2025 lineup!! 🥺

New series & movie announcements

🎥 8 Hours (sequel to 4 Minutes) - Coming 2025

🎥 A Perfect Match - Date TBA (Taiwan)

🎥 Knock Out - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Who Can Define Popularity - Date TBA (South Korea)

🎥 Haunted Hearts - Date TBA (Philippines)

🎥 About Faith - Date TBA (South Korea)

🎥 Love Casting (BL reality show) - Date TBA (Taiwan)

🎥 Eyes on You - Date TBA (Hong Kong)

🎥 Winter is not the death of Summer but the birth of Spring - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Beloved Enemy (novel adaption from the author of My Stand In) - Date TBA (?)

🎥 Match Play - Date TBA (South Korea)

Other news from the BL world

❗️ The Korean BL Love Class will get a third season, allegedly with the same cast from the previous seasons. Further details are unknown.

❗️ A second season for the Thai BL 4 Minutes was announced titled 8 Hours. The author Sammon will partner with Be On Cloud again and the show will go into production in 2025.

❗️ Actors Mew Suppasit and Tul Pakorn publicly got engaged at the launch event of Mew's new single "Absence".

❗️ The Thai network channel One31 held their 2025 lineup on October 17th. The following BL productions were announced:

Taste

The Wicked Game

Love Carved in the Moonlight

❗️ The Thai production company Idolfactory released a teaser for their upcoming lineup for 2025. The corresponding event will be held on January 12th. The teaser however revealed the following series prior to the event:

Interminable (starring BillyBabe)

My Sweetheart Jom (starring SaintPoom)

Cranium (starring BeckyFreen)

Somewhere Somehow (starring FayMay)

❗️ After it was disclosed that DMD actors Thomas and Kong would no longer participate in the upcoming series The Next Prince, it was announced that Net S. and JJ R. will take the roles of Calvin and Jay respectively.

❗️ GMMTV released a statement saying that the announcement of the winner of the Y-Find contest has been postponed from October 31st to November 30th due to the large number of submissions. Earlier this year the company announced the project as a way for Thai fans to submit original stories, one of which will be chosen to be adapted into a series. Whether or not the postponement will have any effect on the company's upcoming 2025 lineup event is unclear.

Upcoming series & movies for November:

👉🏻 Bad to Bed - November 2nd (Taiwan)

👉🏻 Love in the Air: Koi no Yokan (remake of Love in the Air) - November 3rd (Japan)

👉🏻 Our Youth - November 5th (Japan)

👉🏻 Episode 9. Nineteen, Eighteen (special ep) - November 9th (South Korea)

👉🏻 All the Liquors (movie) - November 13th (South Korea)

👉🏻 Caged Again - November 15th (Thailand)

👉🏻 Your Sky - November 17th (Thailand)

👉🏻 Mhom Ped Sawan (bl side story) - November 17th (Thailand)

[fishenjoyer1]

Fish of the Day

Today's fish of the day is about the goonch by special request!

The gooch, also known as the giant devil catfish, is a fish that I've written about before, and those of whom have been on this email list may remember from back in February 2022. Known by the scientific name Bagarius yarrelli and synonym Bagarius bagarius (which may be another smaller species, and may simply be a misnamed juvenile goonch catfish), this fish is well known for their huge size. Found across the Indian subcontinent and Southern Asia, particularly the basins of Indus and Ganges. Living in particular in shallow beds, underwater caves, and submerged cliff faces, as these fish are known for frequenting areas of both shallows and of great depth. Most of the resources on this fish are based around the fishing legend of them. As such a large, fast, and violent fish, many anglers have created almost a mythology around them, based around tales of man eating fish, and of the skill required to find and catch them.

Very little is known about the goonch catfish, and most public perception of it comes from the American TV show Animal Planet segment called River Monsters, which searches to catch large and dangerous fish worldwide. An episode of this show covered the mythology of the Goonch, specifically after a series of people were pulled underwater the Kali River of India. It was found that a particularly large goonch (as long as 6ft 7inches, and weighing over 160 pounds) was the cause of the attacks, sightings supported this, and all local crocodiles were too small or not known to be in the area of attack, with no other large predators as far upriver. However, other than humans, on occasion of getting large enough to forcibly drown them, the diet of the goonch is entirely carnivorous. Goonch eat: invertebrates, crustaceans, amphibians, and fish. Although when larger they've also been recorded taking down much larger prey, such as water buffalo.

There is almost no knowledge about the reproduction of goonch catfish. All research I have done suggests there are no instances of captive breeding, and no observations of wild spawning. Most catfish spawn in the warmer months of summer, with female catfish releasing anywhere between 3,000 to several hundred thousand a season, with male fish releasing milt to fertilize these eggs. During these spawning seasons, catfish often meet in rocky crevasse at nests, where sometimes one parent will watch the eggs in species of monogamous fish. However, there is some more knowledge about the goonch catfish itself.  Their wild lifespan is unknown, but in captivity Goonch Catfish live anywhere between 5 to 10 years, and display no sexual dimorphism between male and female goonch.

That's the goonch catfish, everybody! Have a wonderful day!

[boneyspades]

RANKING ALL REMUS EYESHADOW/MAKEUP THROUGHOUT THE SERIES

ladies and gentlemen and other figurations of being the tism is getting to me. since Remus is my fav (along side virgil) I want to rank his lil eyeshadow thingy he's got going on/makeup or whatever U call it from every single video he's been (asides included)

idk if it'll be two parts or whatever but this is all just in good fun so don't overthink

and just in case I get them comments THIS ISNT A CRITICISM THING. I'm not putting down whoever actually did the makeup or whoever thinks differently that is not my intention, I'm just doing a silly lil rank cus why not. again. don't think too hard on it.

#18

"My Characters read YOUR tweets"

very blue

y is it so blue?

maybe it's the lighting???

idk, it just doesn't GIVE like the rest for me

low-key looks rushed imo

no hate tho ofc

#17

"Incorrect quotes Vol 4"

more purple but idk

WHERE HIS UNDER EYE BAG THINGYSSS

I feast on the under eye bag shadow thingys

not really much to say

love this pic of him tho, he very ":D"

#16

"incorrect quotes Vol 3"

it a bit brighter than last one

but he got a lil bit under the eye and I like it

scruffy hair +1 point

not really much to say about it

#15

"Virgil reacts to Anxiety from inside out 2" or whatever the videos titled (fear outfit/fearmus)

NO GUYS PLEASE

I LOVE FEARMUS

I LOVE THE FIT

THE FIT IS THE BONUS POINTS

the black in the eyeshadow thingy don't look blended

that's my whole problem

I love fearmus

I feel bad putting him this low

but this is makeup ranking, not outfit ranking

"spicy :D"

#14

"Incorrect quotes Vol 2"

jester man :)

my goth ah brain going like "darker = better"

idk there's not much to really talk about

#13

"Virgil reacts to Anxiety from inside out 2" or whatever the videos titled (Normal outfit)

"But xav," you may be asking, "you've already done this video's eyeshadow thingy"

well it's different from the fearmus eyeshadow, like U can tell

I guess it was filmed on a different day?

either way, I like :)

again not much to say, I just like it

#12

"We made a Sanders sides anime intro"

✨blendddddedddd✨

my brain can't decipher if he's wearing white foundation

not really much to say

I think he silly AF in this vid

#11

"Into the Unknown"

I guess it's a lil unfair since it's hard to really see cus of the filter over it

giving OG Remus vibes

we love the OG

but not quite there yet

sad he didn't get his own lil outfit like everyone else

#10

"What makes the perfect gift"

I might be a bit biased cus I like this episode alot-

plus he got his lil sweater on :)

I like his sweater :)

but we aren't talking about that we talking about the eyeshadow

idrk what it is about it that I like so much

I just like it

part 2

[paulkleestan]

Even More Random IZ facts!

The show itself never reveals where exactly on Earth ZIM and Dib live although the comics confirm it is in the United States. Zoomed out maps used by the Tallest in one episode put it somewhere around the upper Midwest region, either in Michigan or Ohio (some fans theorize it to be Detroit)

In early brainstorming stages the show was originally a more light hearted Mork and Mindy style comedy about an alien misunderstanding human social norms and learning a lesson at the end. Jhonen decided after a sleepless night to go a bit darker by making the alien a hostile invader

The various symbols seen on Irken property in the series have specific meanings. The two eyed symbol is for all of the Irken race and the one eyed one is for Invaders specifically

Jhonen rejected every voice actor who auditioned for GIR because he thought they were “too good”. He ended up giving the role to his friend Rikki Simons who at the time had no voice acting experience

ZIM is responsible for the death of every named Almighty Tallest shown in the series(4)

Dib and Gaz are heavily inspired by Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, respectively, from The X-Files

Almighty Tallests Red and Purple were actually unnamed in the original run of the series. Their names started as nicknames given by the IZ crew and fans and only became canon after the show ended in the script of the unaired episode “The Trial”

Dib has been voted as IZ fans’ favorite character (surprisingly not GIR) and is Jhonen’s personal favorite

Had the series not been cancelled, TAK would eventually come back to Earth and become ZIM’s reoccurring archenemy

It is unknown if the Almighty Tallest are naturally tall or if their suits are just robot shells that they pilot inside their torsos. Jhonen has not given a definitive answer on purpose to keep fans guessing

Enter the Florpus was supposed to end in a cliffhanger, with TAK breaking out of Moo-Ping 10 (space prison), setting the series up for a potential sequel

The Control Brains are the true authority figures of the Irken Empire, with the Tallests only being figureheads. They are actually Irkens that are genetically-engineered to not require bodies

The episode “Lice” was originally called “Lice Nazi”. Nickelodeon obviously did not approve.

Minimoose is canonically genderless and uses they/them pronouns

There is no 100% definitive answer for why Invader ZIM was cancelled by Nickelodeon and even Jhonen himself does not know the exact reason. The most plausible theory is that the ratings it pulled in did not justify its enormous animation expenses.

[absolutebl]

We've had recent disappointments with the endings to series. For me, Last Twilight, Only Friends, and 23.5 stand out. While I loved the Sign to the end, there was that unexplained Tharn getting his freedom from Chalothorn, which made the very ending not quite perfect. And while I loved Century of Love all the way through, I know some folks were disappointed at the ending.

What are some QLs that you consider to have really strong endings?

OOOO what a great question!

10 BLs With the Strongest Endings

Some BLs had better endings than the rest of the show deserved, and some were saved by the ending, while still others built up to a good ending throughout. So I suspect it kinda depends on ones definition of strong. But here are mine (you'll never guess what's at the top? but...) it's in no particular order

Seven Days - no but ACTUALLY think about it. That ending is truly phenomenal. It ties everything together, gives hope for their relationship without being cheesy AND is crazy romantic, plus it brings the narrative full circle. That ending shot, the direction, the plot, the characters, and the story ALL tied in a neat little bow. It ends by indicating that something is starting for them, something familiar it's just now they are together. Fabulous.

Light On Me - on the beach, the whole friendship group, the kiss that mirrors their couple habit of cheek squiging? Peak YA BL. It reminded me of Make it Right, and that's no bad thing... for me.

Our Dating Sim - domestic boyfriends and then the pan over to all their couple photos. So exactly them.

To My Star - yeah, the sex scene, but remember this was when we finally realized that JiWoo not only liked him all along but actually desired him all along. The tsundere character breaking open for us to see the soft underbelly. Suddenly, all of his behavior made sense in retrospect. They used the final ultra romantic sex scene as a CHARACTER REVEAL. Fucking genius.

Semantic Error - the BOYFRIENDS of it all, the harken back to both the anime and the manga (with that spank bank file), the teasing and then the breaking of the forth wall. It was multiple cheeky punches out to the audience in a tiny stinger of a scene. Not to mention it had a kind of BL "ending fairy" thing that connected to them both being idols. Perfectly executed.

Love For Love's Sake - back in beach territory but wow. I mean this show starts with an ending. And it takes a lot for me to believe in the happiness of a parable about death and self worth. They managed it with this show. But that ending was killer.

My Beautiful Man - the ending made me reassess everything about the show, the story, and the characters. The ending made me love the show. It changed my mind. It BLEW my mind. I might have kinda lost my mind. In real time.

Unknown - there were struggles with this show and not everyone enjoyed the ending but I totally flipping loved it. FINALLY. You can't tell me that "you don't even know what I dream of" line doens't live in your head rent free.

Unintentional Love Story - not the ending scene so much as the whole final episode, it's so good. It brings the story together, we get multiple big realizations, sad baby, learning that baby was abused too, defending baby, baby defending himself. RINGS!

The Eighth Sense - so much peak boyfriend after so much angst. The casual language play and teasing, the stealing of the drink, just everything, and also how very very college it all is.

10 Others I just LOVE

Be Loved In House: I Do - ultra pasteurized cheese fest

Laws of Attraction - THE CAPED WEDDING OUTFITS

About Youth - rainbow kiss cheese fest

Long Time No See - BLOOD COVERED KISSES

Restart After Come Back Home - the pan around lens flare kiss and everything it MEANS

Bad Buddy - It was so CLEVER

DNA Says Love You - the claiming and then the tussle at the cafe? Gorgeous. Adorable. No notes.

Oh! Boarding House - a family gathering while the dads are holding hands behind the couch, adorable

Where Your Eyes Linger - that damn glow up

Tinted With You - perhaps... poly?

Wow... so few Thai BL. I guess this is Korea's strength in the BL sphere? Also more Japan than I expected and outsized rep for Taiwan. (I actually could have stuck a few more from Taiwan on here but they just get SO CHEESY.)

(source)

dated mid August 2024, not responsible for great endings after that date

[antipathy-arsonist]

nobody talks about like. how fucked the madcom series timeline is. like it goes

madcom 1 -> unknown amount of time passes -> madcom 2 -> unknown amount of time passes -> madcom 3 -> unknown amount of time passes -> madcom 4 -> once again. unknown amount of time passes (enough for hank to get a new outfit. waoh) -> madcom 5, hank gets his head ripped off and his jaw obliterated. almost immediately into madcom 6, madcom 7 hank gets thrown off a cliff and set ON FIRE. (Joshua graham reference 🤔) and now hes dead. BUT OHOHO you know what they say. ain't no rest for the wicked hes fighting for their damn LIFE in hell during madcom 9.5, their revived as a half mag in 9 and immediately thrown into a fight with the auditor and they get their arm ripped off right after at the start of episode 10 and the at the start of 11 THEIR BACK IN FUCKING HELL BUT NOW ITS WORSE BECAUSE OF THAT FUCKING CLOWN AND THAT FUCKING FIRE DEMON. oh yeah and they get the same arm that they regrew in 10 ripped off AGAIN.

like. yeah man if all that happened to me that fast id go fucking crazy too.

anyway madcom is a body horror blah blah. im brainrotting about the dumb ninja again and we should talk about him bleh bleh bleh...

[atamascolily]

Walpurgis no Kaiten SIDE:HOMURA trailer reactions

I admit, when this was first announced, I didn't think it was going to be a big deal. I was expecting something similar to the Wnk 1.1 trailer, which had an extra scene tacked on but what otherwise identical to the original release. I was not expecting an entirely remixed version combining both of the previous trailers + new footage, with a lot to unpack!

Because of the way SHAFT creates the films, backgrounds are done separately from character animation and then combined. Still, there's something very eerie about seeing these otherwise familiar shots devoid of people,not to mention the symbolism of the empty thrones combined with the shot of Devil Homura being cast down.

Once again, I repeat my assertion that in spite of their obvious differences, these two spaces are two versions of the same thing--"reality" and "illusion" (inasmuch as those terms apply anymore in this space.)

The shot of the spinning fans and stained glass are from the same location as the staircase tower where the headband!Homura is falling. Also, if you look closely, you'll note a familiar figure in the crossed shadows at the center of the screen, partially hidden behind the fan. Kyubey spotted, this is not a drill.

(How does this space work? I have no idea, but I'd bet money that it rotates so that the orientation is constantly changing, because "spinning in circles" is such a big theme, both visually and metaphorically.)

Nagisa has died and gone to heaven (literally on both counts) and is now consuming a parafait as big as her head. She's never going back, lol.

There is a teddy bear in a cage visible in the background along with a monogrammed "R". Granted, witches are supposed to use runes, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't remind me of Roberta the Birdcage Witch, who appears briefly in episode 10 of the original series. (It contains human legs and not a teddy bear, though.) Considering that Charlotte's birthday candles appear behind Mami in a different shot, it sure seems like witches and attributes of their labyrinth may be openly manifesting in Mitakihara as reality breaks down.

Oh, and speaking of hands, you can see the mark on Nagisa's nail in this shot, so she's definitely still a magical girl.

The bears also appears as winged cherubs in the carousel scene a few moments later. The heralds of the Last Judgement sounding the trumpets? A symbol of childhood innocence? Another spinning thing that goes around and around? Being taken for a ride? All of the above?

Once again, Nagisa and her double are juxtaposed here as mirror images and reflections of each other, and they're enjoying themselves immensely.

This scene of an unknown hand reaching out to caress a comatose Homura's face and examine her teeth like a horse is disturbing and rightly so. I've seen a lot of people saying that this is the same hand that stabs the salamander, and I agree--this is our primary antagonist, whoever she is (pity her nails aren't visible, as that would give the game away).

[As an aside: what is this unknown person wearing, because it sure isn't a Mitakihara school uniform.]

This is the same Homura that is visible through the mirror--their eyes and headbands are the same. I knew something was off about this when I saw it in the original trailer, and now I have proof. Ditto for my assertion that this movie is going to involve constructs and artificial persons--that may be Homura, but right now it's an empty shell with no personality. The real question is why construct it in the first place?

Also, I might be reading too much into this, but I think it's unwise to assume that the hand that is holding the mirror belongs to the Homura reflected within it. I think this is the unknown person (let's be real, probably also the antagonist Homura) giving instructions to her minion/doll/construct/Homunculus. For evidence, I just have a gut feeling that this movie is going to do screwy things with selfhood and mirrors and reflections, and also the background in the mirror appears to be more like the background in the face-caressing shot than it does the background of the sky in the shot itself. We'll find out when the movie comes out what's actually going on there.

Examining the teeth is a Nutcracker reference, but it sure doesn't make this scene any less disturbing.

What happens next is not shown, but given the general theme of "people falling backwards", I expect that this Homura construct will do the same thing. Where else is there for her to go?

The background light in this scene makes me wonder if it takes place at the same time (or at least the same time of day) as Devil Homura falling. And now we get to see the aftermath!

This is the stunned face of someone who fucked around and is just now finding out. Note the crossed shadows over her face (same as with Kyubey above) and how one eye is cover/one wing is still intact--more "half" imagery.

(But who threw her down? Who threw her down?? Did she fall on her own or was she pushed??)

However, you can't keep Homura down for long, and she immediately counterattacks, summoning her salamander (who is now swole as hell) for a power-up. This is the money shot of the trailer and for good reason--it's visceral and compelling. Magical girls are powered by their emotions and here Homura takes the manifestation of all her feelings straight into her heart; it doesn't get any more symbolic than this.

In addition to being straight out of The Adolescence of Utena, what's most striking to me about this scene is how the world is literally dissolving into blood. We saw the same thing in Rebellion when Homulilly manifested, so whatever happens next will likely parallel that scene in some fashion or another.

Also, yes her wings are partially white now. No, I don't know what that means. I don't know what any of the feathers means, exactly.

The giant salamander concerns me: what the hell has it been eating to get so big? Considering that Homulilly's nature is self-sufficiency, i.e. she draws strength from her own suffering, this does not bode well for Homura at all....

Last but not least, we have Madoka surrounded by some kind of "spirits" representing anonymous, faceless young women in virginal white gowns a la Princess Serenity from Sailor Moon. Combined with the cathedral aesthetic, my guess is that these represent the Eternal Feminine within the Law of Cycles and/or Madoka herself, which she is oblivious to. There are 15 of them, as 14-15 continues to be a significant number in this franchise for reasons I still don't fully understand.

There isn't an official translation that I know of, but piecing together the trailer voice-over with what's come before and what people are saying with my rudimentary Japanese, I think it goes like this:

Watashi wa kibou no tomo ni - "I will go with hope" in Madoka's own voice, from original trailer

Zankoku no made ni yasashii kagayaki, - "A cruelly gentle glow", new dialogue, spoken with multiple voices.

kibou wa anata to tomoni - "Hope will go with you" in Madoka's own voice, also from original trailer

watakushi no inori no kigen - "the origin of my prayer", new dialogue, multiple voices, using the formal feminine pronoun watakushi, which no one in the cast has historically used for themselves. Hence why I think these voices are part of the Law of Cycles/the Eternal Feminine - it would make sense for them to use this pronoun!

anata to kanaeta kiseki wa kitto watashitachi o michibiite kureru.-"The miracle I made with you will surely guide us" in Madoka's own voice, also from original trailer.

sono yasashi-sa de anata o kizutsukete shimau - "I will hurt you with my kindness", Homura, new dialogue.

(EDIT: Official English version is up, and I was wrong about the last line, it's "With that kindness, you yourself will be hurt". They also translate the second line as "A radiance so kind, that it is even cruel", which ties back into the imagery for the Law of Cycles and also Homura's remark in the original anime about kindness leading to greater cruelties.)

Also, while I haven't tried this myself, I've seen several fans report that if you play the scene backwards, you get Homura saying "shiawase no tame ni" (for happiness) as she transforms, so it looks like we did get some backmasking, just as I'd hoped, and I'm so delighted to have called that one.

[wen-kexing-apologist]

2024 Recap: ✨A Summary✨

Post your most popular and/or favourite edit/gifset/analysis for each month (it’s okay to skip months!)

@lurkingshan tagged a post that I was a co-author on and thus I am feeling inspired to also do this post.

January:

most popular: Comparison of Tharn and Phaya irl and in fantasy

favorites: Top 5 "Oh" Moments Ask || Feelings Made Visible: Design Choices in The Sign post.

I loved getting asks, so answering the "oh" moment question was really fun! And as disappointed with the quality of The Sign by the end, I still really love the essay I wrote reading way to in to the color and lens flare choices and how they relate to the animals Tharn and Phaya are associated with.

February:

most popular: Symptoms of a System Error: The Manifestation of Myungha’s Depression in Love for Love’s Sake

favorites: Symptoms of a System Error: The Manifestation of Myungha’s Depression in Love for Love’s Sake || The Ways Non was Failed in Dead Friend Forever || DyFy Body Language Breakdown

Love for Love's Sake was fucking incredible, and I had so much goddamn fun writing this post about the ways in which different video game structures are implemented in this series. Dead Friend Forever may have stumbled right at the end in my eyes but holy hell was the writing around the abuse Non suffered strong! And you know I love me some Fire and Dynamite.

March:

most popular: Pitch to get people to watch Love is Better the Second Time Around.

favorites: Trans Allegory in Cupid's Last Wish, co-authored with @lurkingshan and @so-much-yet-to-learn || Unknown Episode 6 Breakdown Breakdown || Top 5 (or 3) Seme & Ukes Ask

CUPID'S LAST WISH IS A TRANS ALLEGORY EVERYONE AND EVEN IF THE NARRATIVE IS NOT THE STRONGEST I THINK IT IS WORTH WATCHING FOR THAT REASON. Ohhhh Unknown how I loved writing essays about you...And of course, I am going to love any opportunity I am given to talk about 180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us

April:

most popular: Episode 10: The Couch

favorites: Episode 10: The Couch || Parallels in Unknown Episode 9 || Losing my mind over Unknown Episode 8 || Unknown, Episode 10: Qian and Yuan || Favorite Body Language Indicators Ask || Favorite Physical Acting Performances

Y'all. I wrote SO much in April and so much about Unknown in April. I am beginning to understand why my writing petered out the next couple of months. But damn if Unknown did not go hard for so long, I had so many worms in my brain about it.

May:

most popular: Episode 12: Ties

favorites: Episode 12: Doors!

June:

most popular: How in character Dee and Dr. Devil's research was

favorites: And the Hands Have It!

It felt like it had been forever since I wrote about hands/body language so I was very excited to have some inspiration to actually write again.

July:

most popular: I Love Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko and I think everyone should watch it

favorites: I really enjoyed doing the Asian QL Ask Game

Ohhh how the mighty have fallen. I loved so much of Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko and I'm glad I was so passionate about it at one point, but I was sad about how it ended. I love when the tumblr community does the tumblr community thing and we get to spend some time passing around tags and asks and getting to know more about people's likes and dislikes in different aspects of BL. I feel like it encourages people to write more about shows and I love seeing new analytical posts about the shows I am watching.

August:

most popular: I’M BACK BABY! Takara’s Treasure, Ep. 7 Scene Breakdown

favorites: I am being so so sincere when I say that Episode 10 of The Miracle of Teddy Bear has just secured a spot as one of my favorite BL episodes of all time. || I'M BACK BABY! Takara's Treasure, Ep. 7 Scene Breakdown

GOD I LOVE THE MIRACLE OF TEDDY BEAR, definitely one of my favorite posts of the entire year. But I can't not thank Takara's Treasure for giving me enough to work with to write my first scene break down in a fourth month time gap.

September:

most popular: Bengiyo's Queer Cinema Syllabus: The Watermelon Woman

favorites: Bengiyo's Queer Cinema Syllabus: The Watermelon Woman

lmfao this was the only thing I wrote in Sept.

October:

most popular: praise of how The Legend of Vox Machina adapted The Chroma Conclave Arc from Critical Role

favorites: Love in the Big City Ep 1-2 || Love in the Big City Ep 3-4

Spoiler alert: Love in the Big City was such a fun viewing/fandom experience and I loved every minute of watching and writing about it with the book club people!

November:

most popular: Literal Heart Eyes

favorites: Love in the Big City Ep 5-6 || Love in the Big City Ep 7-8 || Bengiyo's Queer Cinema Syllabus: The Handmaiden

December:

most popular: Random QL Superlatives

favorites: Random QL Superlatives || QL Grievances

I loved giving awards to the most ridiculously niche moments in TV shows. I had so much fun coming up with the superlative categories!

It's funny because I feel like my writing really dropped off a lot this year. But doing this 2024 Recap was super enlightening for me to see that maybe I just do not understand the passage of time because I did actually write stuff every month!

You can go here to find your top 10 posts of each month.

[lurkingshan]

Unknown Final Episodes: A Pact?

Thanks all who voted in the poll about your plans for viewing the final episodes! Interestingly, we’re kinda split between people who intend to watch as soon as the eps are accessible and those who want to finish up weekly. We’re a small active community, and the shared discussions after each episode have really enhanced the watch experience. I’d hate to lose that in the final stretch, especially if the tag is full of spoilers and some of us end up having to filter.

So I am proposing a pact: how about we still keep to posting about the episodes on the weekly schedule, regardless of when we each individually watch them? If we did that, we’d finish up like this:

April 20: Ep 10

April 27: Ep 11

May 4: Ep 12

I will personally probably go ahead and watch the eps once they’re available, but I’ll happily commit to still posting weekly about one ep at a time. I want to keep talking about this show for another month! And for folks who just can’t hold it in, maybe we can use a specific tag like [#unknown the series spoilers] so folks sticking to the weekly watch can filter that but not miss the discussion on the current episode.

What do folks think? Very open to other suggestions!