#TAME framework

[callowaysinks]

This but in the context of Mike Levin's work on bioelectric patterning and how bodies know and forget their own shapes

https://www.youtube.com/live/TK2o_ObVt-E?si=DbQs3E2b-atAMssx

a wikipedia poem on software entropy

[bitchesgate3]

I will always be in favor of playersexuality. Until the day game designers have more nuanced understandings of sexuality.

Game designers still only understand flamboyant gay, mean lesbian, slutty bisexual, and quirky queer. Any identities not those are not even recognized. And any complex characterizations are only afforded to "normal" straight characters.

While Larian gave us a step in the right direction, they are still coming from the above framework and trying to reiterate upon that. And you have to understand that framework in order to recognize why their implementation is still somewhat shallow while still being the best offered compared to other games in the genre.

In the past, every time I encountered a woman in a romanceable video game who correctly represents my own experience of bisexual/pansexual identity, she was only romanceable by male characters.

These are women who have tough exteriors on a spectrum of "bitchy femme", a midpoint of "aloof androgynous", to "tough masc". All points that are gnc in some way, but all are women who also have a soft interior that is interpreted as conventionally feminine.

Game designers interpret these two traits (outward gnc and inner softness) as a nullification to heterosexual woman. Time and time again. Falling into the stereotype of being a woman for a man to tame.

Will they ever understand? Or do people as a whole just don't understand the many ways bisexuality can take shape?

[drdemonprince]

The word “vanilla” comes up a lot in your writing and it’s always with negative connotations.

I fully accept that my own reactions to it are my responsibility alone and no one is making me feel a certain way. But I do wonder if there are ways to have conversations around sexuality that don’t elevate one kind of sex over another in a demeaning way that make vanilla sex almost a running joke.

As someone with pretty severe sexual trauma history for me even having enjoyable vanilla sex is pushing boundaries. To actually be able to initiate, seek out and enjoy sex of any kind has been challenging.

The increased use and acceptance of vanilla as a derogatory term is unfortunate I think as it invalidates the experiences of many sa survivors and makes it feel like sex is only valid if it’s kinky.

In saying that having lots of friends in the kink/fet scene I know they’ve fought really hard to not have their sexual preferences demonized.

So I do understand.

I just wish my preferences weren’t always made out to be boring and dull, and thereby made me boring and dull.

This seems especially prevalent in queer spaces.

I think one of the biggest problems in how people conceive of diverse sexualities is by attempting to place all sex acts upon a single spectrum from "extremely kinky" to "tame." Under this framework, activities like PIV and oral are viewed as neutral precursors to the more racier and extreme forms of sex that a person must "work themselves up" to -- and this obscures that those supposedly neutral sexual activities can be both incredibly exciting to some, and downright disturbing and traumatizing to others.

I am also harmed by this and have written about it on this blog quite a lot.

Like you, I am harmed by the presumption that PIV, fingering, and oral are neutral sexual acts that are lower on the intensity spectrum than things like being slapped or choked. I find receiving oral to be far more intense, triggering, dysphoric, and disturbing than anything in the rape play/primal/dub con/intoxication/hypnosis realm that I enjoy -- because I like and want those things, and I do not want oral.

My problem with oral isn't that it's "boring." It's that it is fucking traumatic for me.

I also find completely un-kinky sex in general to be profoundly alienating and triggering in most instances.

I am harmed by the idea that PIV and oral are more benign, neutral forms of sex, just as you are.

I need language to articulate that the sex acts that most people view as the default are in fact alienating and disturbing to me *as a sexual assault survivor*. In fact, the most common form of sexual assault that I have experienced has been people forcing non-kinky sex on me that they assumed I had to be game for, since I liked the stuff on the more "intense" side of their imagined spectrum.

The cishet, nonkinky world has already created terminology for the views around sex that create these problems, and that's "vanilla." And so I use "no vanilla" to broadcast that I want absolutely nothing to do with anyone who holds that worldview.

I don't think expressing my boundaries (which people repeatedly and forcefully attempt to trample over in all sexual spaces, including kinky ones!) is me derogating people who do not share my kinks. I don't think I'm hurting anyone by rejecting the dominant viewpoint of society. And for what it's worth, I will reiterate again, I don't think people are boring for liking non-kinky sex.

I think that we all benefit from unpacking our assumptions surrounding what sex is or can be, and for many sexual assault survivors it is immensely healing to take pre-written societal expectations surrounding sex off the table.

It's not inherently kinky to reimagine what sexual pleasure might look like, I suppose, but anyone who is doing that kind of deep reflective and interpersonal work is already taking steps to liberate themselves from the cishet power structure that gave us the notion of obligatory "vanilla" sex.

I think that instead of feeling like the term "vanilla" is a thing that you have to defend, you might be better served by simply defending your own right to define your sexuality in whatever ways you choose.

People who are having weird hypnosis fantasy sex are not sneering at you for enjoying what you enjoy. We want you to be free and at ease in your body. What we're sneering at, when we criticize "vanilla," are the dictates that a person must have sex in a certain way, that some forms of sex are more neutral than others, and that we OWE sexual partners certain activities and sexual responses.

"Vanilla" sexual values and assumptions are the enemy of all sexual assault survivors. You don't have to be interested in any remotely freaky shit in order to benefit from us all collectively destroying the notion that certain forms of sex are the default that we owe to people. We ALL benefit from being able to reject the sex acts we do not like as loudly and proudly as we want.

[trashprinxe]

Let’s have a talk about malleability and TTRPGs

I come from a theatrical background. Did theatre for most of my life, majored in stage management, the works. Plays and the way they function are deeply embedded in my psyche.

So when I design and play games, I come from that theatrical framework.

Now — on the one hand, you have Shakespeare. Fairly universal stories, yeah? You can cut it up, switch things around, put it into a multitude of settings. And it still works! King Lear in space. Romeo & Juliet as pirates. The Scottish Play (old habits die hard) done avant-garde. It’s malleable!

On the other end, you have hyper-specific plays about hyper-specific themes. Angels in America. The Laramie Project. Venus in Furs. Etcetera. You can’t remove the core themes, change the setting, switch scenes around: without erasing the core intent of the work and the story it’s trying to tell.

And in the middle, you have plays that are somewhat malleable. Almost, Maine, for instance. It’s made up of vignettes; you can do only some of them, if you so choose. It’ll still have the same impact.

I believe TTRPGs exist on a similar spectrum.

You have systems that can accommodate many different genres or play styles. People play dnd this way. Pathfinder comes with pre built settings that run the gamut

PbtA games are hyperspecific. Monster of the Week is about, well, monsters of the week. Remove that, and you’re playing a different game.

Call of Cthulhu can be set in any time period, but you still have to be up against Eldritch horrors. If you’re able to fight the monster, that’s a different intent than the game was built for.

Lyric games are akin to 4.48 Psychosis (everyone should read that, by the way, it’s a master work of avant-garde theatre).

And so on and so on.

Nothing is better or worse than any other. It just exists, on a spectrum, in the same vein as playstyle or crunch do. Everyone has their preference.

But with any game, there comes a point where you’re no longer playing that game.

10 Things I Hate About You is not The Taming of the Shrew, though it were based on it. There’s a limit to even the most forgiving game to where you’re no longer playing that game, but something you and your table have created for yourselves.

You can’t take the queerness or religion out of Angels in America. That’s a different play altogether.

It’s a spectrum.

I choose to design in the specific. That’s what resonates with my brain. You may want to play something that’s capable of handling more universal narratives. That’s fine too!

But we can’t ignore the bones of the system, and it’s incorrect to say we’re putting on Hamlet, when we’re actually performing The Lion King.

So: the Theory of Malleability (working title).

I don’t have a great end to this. Just musings. But I hope it makes sense to you too.

[neyafromfrance95]

the storytelling in nosferatu 2024 is multilayered, it is full of symbolism and metaphors and should be analyzed within the framework of the gothic medium and context.

orlok is the manifestation of ellen's desires. and in this sense, orlok *is* ellen. or at least the part of her spirit that she has been repressing since her desires are viewed as inherently sinful and impure in the puritanical victorian society.

orlok assaults ellen, yes, but this too should be viewed as a metaphor within the context of the storyline.

the desires that ellen has are viewed as dark, thus she perceives them as violent since she fights to tame her own identity that hungers to be freed. orlok coming to her during her puberty is a metaphor for her sexual awakening. it is viewed as dirty, so she experiences it with shame and as if it's unwelcome.

orlok is an appetite. whose appetite? ellen's. it's not simply an appetite for sex. it's an appetite for life and power. this underlying conflict within ellen is revealed when she is talking to anna on the beach and confesses that she hungers for smtng beyond what is given to her.

speaking of anna, the film hints at her love for ellen being more than platonic friendship. so, it's notable that orlok afflicts anna after she sleeps with ellen. what does this mean metaphorically? well, perhaps anna's feelings for ellen have grown to the point where she starts feeling discomfort in the life she is living, and the inability to face and accept her feelings manifests into the sickness. the four rats on her body represent her family and the darkness that befalls anna represents the crumbling of her false idyllic life. in this case, orlok is anna's appetite for ellen.

so, what happens in the end? yes, ellen sacrifices herself but what happens on a deeper level?

by succumbing to her desires (orlok) willingly, she embraces her own self and accepts her hunger, thus freeing herself of shame - purging the darkness. her desire is dark no more, it's basked in the sunlight and surrounded by the lilacs. she dies bc she transcends into one with own self!

[thesoftboiledegg]

"Summer Of All Fears" has a good concept, but Rick and Morty's used the "fake reality" concept so many times that it's hard to get invested. I kept waiting for a reveal that they're still in the matrix, which made me struggle to care about the character development.

The fact that Summer and Morty started acting increasingly like Rick--rude, blunt, destructive, cynical--seemed like another clue to me. When the episode started leaning in that direction, I thought "Yep, knew it!"--until the reveal that they're NOT in the matrix and that was just a gag to trick viewers, like me, who thought they had it all figured out. Fair enough, I guess.

Now that we know the truth, starting the episode with Morty and Summer leaving the matrix and showing their lives in flashbacks was a decent twist on the "fake reality" plot, which usually takes up the entire episode. I loved the character designs, especially rugged adult Morty at the beginning, and Beth and Summer scenes are always great.

Until Summer ruined it, anyway. I also thought that their reconciliation scene was a little corny, which isn't a term that I'd use to describe a scene in a Rick and Morty episode. Endless cynicism gets old, and the writers were smart to move away from that, but I felt like the crew purposely engineered this scene to make the audience say "Aww!" before the next round of destruction.

Anyway, the punishment that Rick cooked up for stealing his phone charger was pretty nasty, especially after what Morty just went through in "Fear No Mort." Morty just suffered trauma from living multiple lives in a night, and Rick decided to...put him through that again? Damn, dude.

I realize that Rick didn't mean to leave them in the matrix that long, and he wiped their memories at the end (I also noticed that he started drinking after they came out, so maybe he did feel guilty), but it was still harsh for somebody who's supposedly changing.

When Morty trapped Rick in the matrix, I thought he'd get what's coming to him, but he broke out pretty quickly. I guess you can't fool Rick with his own invention.

Beth's not too concerned either, huh? Summer might be her favorite, but she's not angry about the punishment until Summer's new attitude starts getting on her nerves.

Rick was still pretty tame for the rest of the episode, and he even saved the United States from a nuclear meltdown at the end, but I'm getting tired of the casual cruelty. This leads into one of my biggest issues with the newer episodes: when it's a plot-driven episode, Rick is usually mean. But when it's character-driven, he's suddenly nicer.

Ian Cardoni just keeps getting better, though. He's not a perfect soundalike, but I don't think he has to be. He clearly understands Rick's personality better than the maniacs who are still all over Instagram, begging Adult Swim to #ReinstateRoiland.

One of the early reviews noted that the episode had a dark twist, but I definitely didn't expect this. Summer Smith is nobody's victim. I love that about her, but it also led to her knowingly giving Morty PTSD. She'll do what it takes by (almost) any means necessary...and honestly, I don't think she felt THAT guilty about it.

Overall, "Summer Of All Fears" has a decent premise, good pacing, great character designs and enough heart that it doesn't totally undo all the development from the past seven seasons. However, it also exemplifies two of my issues with the newer episodes.

First, it feels like a mashup of previous adventures ("Fear No Mort," "Rick: A Mort Well Lived" and a touch of "The Vat of Acid Episode") with a new coat of paint over the framework. And second, the show can't seem to decide if it wants to be serialized or episodic. Rick keeps jumping back and forth between "bitterly cruel" and "gruff but trying to change," sometimes in the same episode, and I wish he'd just get the meanness out of his system already.

[komsomolka]

The US formulated a policy in the early 1990s on how to reform and domestically transform Russia in the image of the US (Cohen, 2001). The reforms that had been initiated by Gorbachev and further developed by Yeltsin was to be outsourced to Washington. Diplomacy between the West and Russia was primarily focused on reforming Russia as an object of security rather than engage Moscow in pan-European affairs, which fuelled a sense in Russia of having fallen under a sort of colonial tutelage. The relationship was summarised aptly by Bill Clinton in 1996: “We keep telling ol’ Boris, ‘O.K., now, here’s what you’ve got to do next—here’s some more shit for your face” (Talbott, 2007: 201). [...]

The West returned to the historical idea of having a “civilising mission” or “white Man’s burden” to tame the barbaric East, which was applied to Russia (Browning, 2003; Lehti, 1999: 28; Linklater, 2011; Zielonka, 2013). [...] Although, the new civilising mission was reconceptualised in liberal democratic language. [...] For example, the EU’s “Common Strategy of the European Union on Russia” in 1999 argued for multilateralism, yet the document did not present a joint framework and instead outlined a vast number of tasks that Russia must implement. Institutions were not used to harmonise competing interests and facilitate benign competition. Instead, institutional and diplomatic engagement is used as a tool to reward good behaviour, which is commonly defined as accepting unilateral concessions. [...]

The ideological foundation for the solidarity and identity of the collective West has completed the Othering of Russia from ethnic to ideological inferiority. The focus on an Asiatic ethnicity as the source of inferiority is largely absent after the Cold War, and when it emerges it stands awkwardly out from the mainstream narrative. There is seemingly a complete transition from ethnicity to liberal values as the West clothe all competing security interests in the language of competing values. Some exceptions do occur as for example the Estonian politician, Tiit Made, argued in 1991 that the Russian people were wild and uncivilised as Russian women had for centuries been raped by the Mongols and Tatars, which is common Russophobic rhetoric in the Baltic States (Neumann, 1998).

Russophobia: Propaganda in International Politics by Glenn Diesen.

[summerofofelia]

Just in case some people aren’t aware, Jojo (director) said that The Heart Killers is a loose adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew/10 Things I Hate About You.

Apparently some people have been disappointed that The Heart Killers is gonna be more comedy than serious which baffles me because my expectation has always been that this is gonna be a little goofy because it’s literally based on a Shakespearean comedy. Jojo tweeted about this in April. They didn’t bait and switch you.

There’s lots of serious queer media out there if you want to consume it and there’s nothing wrong with that but as someone who grew up when the trope bury-your-gays was popularised and Glee was groundbreaking queer representation, I love seeing queer media being unserious and playful.

And what I’m also excited about is GMMTV stepping outside of their usual school/university framework and going for a BL with a completely different setting. More please!!

[leonardhoee]

William Rex MBTI Analysis

I just finished William’s route for the 4th time and wanted to write this since I see a ton of people on the personality database website mistyping him.

William is a classic Entj 8w7 tbh and I think the reason people aren’t clocking it is because of the stereotypes surrounding that personality type. Not every entj 8w7 is a demon war criminal with no feelings or morals. As one myself I saw a lot of myself in William with the way he thinks and operates and his values. He also reminds me a lot of Sylus from Love and Deepspace and that’s what made me start questioning the typing they have for him right now. Both him and Sylus are “healthier”representations of that personality type and are more in touch with their Fi.

If this makes sense to you guys please go to the PDB website and vote ENTJ 8w7 for Will so we can get it corrected.

Analysis under the cut.

1. Extraverted Thinking (Te):

Te is the primary way TeNi’s interact with the world around them. Te is all about efficiency and getting things done. It is the TeNi’s primary decision-making process, which means that if a decision is needed in the moment, they will rely on what makes the most sense logically.

William’s Te is at the forefront of his personality. Most of the info about him comes from the full love bonus story from reading both endings. In that story something that really stuck out to me was his statement, “I will make this power obey my will, control it, and tame it,”. He’s saying this in response to his moral dilemma about his power being able to take away people’s freedom. Rather than lament his ability to control others, which he considers a contradiction to his core values, he chooses to impose order on this chaos. A true monarch. His immediate response is to take control with no hesitation. His fate should’ve been a threat to him so his response is to become the master of his own curse.

On top of that, his sense of justice is incredibly firm but at the same time he believes in the ends justifying the means. He uses his powers as a tool for punishing those he deems to be oppressors, stating that those who trample on freedom are “unforgivably evil.” Furthermore, his Te ensures that his sense of justice is actionable. He doesn’t just hold abstract ideals; he transforms them into concrete systems, and actively uses his powers to enforce justice for those who violate his moral code.

Basically, all his decisions and values are rooted in clear, rational frameworks, where he sees himself as the ultimate arbiter of morality. This efficient, results-driven perspective is absolutely Te dominant.

2. Introverted Intuition (Ni):

Ni is the way that a TeNi perceives their inner world, it dictates the way they store information and how they perceive that information. It also heavily dictates the path that their train of thought will take.

William’s Ni is interesting because it shows up in his fixation on the concept of destiny and freedom. He recognizes the irony of his existence: born to value freedom above all else, yet cursed with powers that inherently strip others of theirs. But because of his age dominance, this contradiction doesn’ paralyze him but instead motivates him to enforce his moral philosophy with conviction and to use the hand date has dealt him to do so. His Ni allows him to create a unified vision of justice and morality, framing his powers not as a curse but as an opportunity to shape the world according to his ideals. His long-term perspective is evident in his acceptance of his role as a “villain,” choosing to happily shoulder the consequences of his actions rather than compromising his vision. This is evident throughout his whole route when he asks MC to record his sins as an irredeemable villain to make sure that the legend of the self righteous monarch lives on for generations even after he’s met his end.

3. Extraverted Sensing (Se):

Se helps the TeNi use their senses to understand the world around them. They enjoy living in the moment and are capable when it comes to dealing with things that they can experience and touch in addition the purely hypothetical. This is because their Ni and Se fall in the middle as far as preferences go, so they’re able to flip back and forth to use each one as it’s needed. Se is also what drives them to search out playful new sensory experiences.

William is shown to take pleasure and satisfaction in the way he delivers his punishments. The route makes a point of describing his eyes and the way William takes pleasure in his own ferocity during these punishments. He doesn’t just want to “get it over with” he wants to have the full experience of commiting the sin. His ability to focus on the tactile and sensory aspects—the sights, sounds, and even the emotions evoked—demonstrates a strong tertiary Se. And this tertiary Se doesn’t only manifest in his violent acts—it also shows in his appreciation for beauty, art, music and even sex (Ex: the scene of him eating strawberries in the cafe with MC, his passion for music, his interest in connecting with people from all walks of life). He’s the type of person to savor physical pleasures and immerse himself in the present moment of those things.

4. Inferior Introverted Feeling (Fi):

Fi is the ENTJ’s last function. Fi helps them to assess situations to see how things match up to their values and beliefs. They may think of their Fi as their “gut instinct”. It helps them learn to be sensitive to the values and feelings of those around them. It can act as a warning system when they think a decision makes sense logically, but somewhere inside, Fi is the alarm saying it’s a bad idea. However, because Fi is the TeNi’s weakest function, they will often act with the swift decisiveness of Te first, before considering how their actions might affect the feelings of others or taking time to think about whether their decision lines up with their values.

So there’s 2 points that can be made regarding this. The first part is about his morals.

Despite his rational exterior, William’s deep internal conflict over his powers points to his inferior Fi. He considers his ability to control others a profound moral contradiction, as it conflicts with his core belief in freedom. However, instead of sitting and agonizing over this emotional struggle openly, he rationalizes it through his Te-dominant framework, and to simply become its master. Also his repeated acknowledgment of contradictions in his existence shows the tension between his powers and his values. He says in the bonus story, “I gave them freedom and found joy in watching them love that freedom, yet I would be the one to take it away again.” This self-awareness highlights his internal struggle, but his default response—to let people go for the sake of their freedom—reflects his Te- dominance rather than an emotionally motivated decision. He will let them go even if it breaks their heart.

This leads me to my second point about this. When falling in love with MC, William was faced with a dilemma. Being with her would, in his point of view take away her freedom which is a sin he refused to commit. However instead of spending the time unpacking that he immediately jumped to his ate function and did what he deemed rational in that moment which was to decide to leave as he always does. It’s interesting because his inferior Fi shows up in both ways, staying true to his values, but also having a massive oversight on MC’s feelings and desires in that moment and causes her a lot of pain. And that oversight remains until she (in ch 18) almost takes control of the situation even above him and shows him what she wants through a very blunt display (getting stabbed).

Enneagram Analysis: 8w7

William’s need for freedom and disdain for oppression are hallmarks of Type 8. He refuses to let fate, his powers, or external forces define him, asserting instead, “I couldn’t let something like fate deny me of being my own master.” This fierce independence drives his actions, from punishing oppressors to letting others go to protect their freedom. However, his control is not limited to himself; as an 8, he extends his authority outward, enforcing his moral vision on those he deems unjust and encourages everyone around him to become their own masters as well.

Between 8w7 and 8w9, William would be a 7 because of his Se. His boldness and ability to captivate others with his convictions make him a natural leader. This wing also amplifies his avoidance of emotional vulnerability, as seen in his tendency to rationalize rather than process his internal contradictions.

Why William Is Not an ENFJ or INFJ because those are the other 2 I’ve heard people saying.

Both ENFJs and INFJs are defined by their reliance on Extraverted Feeling (Fe) and a focus on interpersonal harmony. William, by contrast, prioritizes efficiency and justice over emotional connection, ruling out both types.

• Not ENFJ: ENFJs are people-oriented leaders who seek to unite and inspire others. While William’s charisma might seem ENFJ-like, his approach to supporting others is far more authoritarian and pragmatic. He enforces his ideals unilaterally, without the Fe-driven need to create collective harmony or prioritize the feelings of others. He says so himself in the bonus story that the things he does are out of self righteousness only. Entjs and enfjs can often get confused but the differentiation is that he helps others because he’s honoring HIS desires. He’s not doing it because of some grand desire to help others.

• Not INFJ: While William grapples with moral contradictions, his struggles are rooted in rational frameworks, not emotional exploration. Furthermore, INFJs tend to avoid direct confrontation, whereas William thrives in it. Additionally INFJs are Se inferior which is the main reason it’s ruled out. William is not Se inferior at all.

Why William Is Not a 7w8 or 1w9

• Not 7w8: While William’s charisma and love for freedom might align with 7w8, his motivations do not fit this type. 7w8s are driven by a desire to avoid pain and seek enjoyment, whereas William’s actions are rooted in a need for control and justice. His moral philosophy is too rigid for a 7w8, which would prioritize adaptability and personal pleasure.

• Not 1w9: Type 1s are perfectionists who pursue moral ideals through discipline and self-restraint. William is the opposite of self restraint. While he has a strong moral code, it is not driven by a desire for perfection or self-discipline but by a a self righteous desire. He says many times throughout the route that if MC thinks he is evil she is free to punish him how she wishes. He has never said he is a good or moral person and in fact says the opposite. He’s a villain doing what he values. His willingness to accept his role as a “villain” further supports his ENTJ 8w7 classification. He views himself as a necessary force of justice, even if it means being seen as cruel or self-righteous. His statement, “I followed my heart and chose to commit sins as a villain,” reveals his willingness to embrace moral ambiguity in pursuit of his ideals.

So in conclusion he’s an obvious ENTJ 8w7

Here are some screenshots I used as evidence

[ryin-silverfish]

Ping Jinchuan: A 19th century Sci-fi Shenmo Novel

Like all popular novels, when something sets a trend, many imitators follow suit, until the formula becomes its own genre of sorts.

FSYY is one such genre setter. Specifically, the "Battle of Arts" (斗法) formula, where immortals and deities are added into a historical event——usually a war, but it can also be something like Admiral Zheng He's voyage——and proceed to use said setting as an excuse to battle it out using spells, magical treasures, and formations.

It's such an enduring formula, late Qing novels were still following it. And because it's the 19th century, western technology and ideas were entering China and making their way into popular culture.

My first exposure to the results comes from Legends of the Eight Immortal Attaining the Dao (八仙得道传), where the narrator occasionally interrupts the story and goes: "Electricity-based technology is totally the work of Mother Lightning, guys!"

Why am I telling you all these random facts? Because Ping Jinchuan ("Quelling the Golden Stream") is that, but turned up to eleven.

Technically, FSYY is set in Shang dynasty China. Technically, Ping Jinchuan is an obscure 1899 novel about the quelling of rebellions in Qinghai and Tibet during the 18th century by the historical general Nian Gengyao.

However, considering that FSYY has 11th century BCE gunpowder weapons, and...the entirety of Ping Jinchuan, I really doubt the claim of the latter novel's author that the story is based on the eye witness accounts of his ancestor, who worked as an advisor under Nian Gengyao.

But if you insist, here's a rough summary of the historical background: the first war Nian fought in Tibet happened during the reign of Kangxi, because the Dzungar Khanate invaded Tibet.

The second rebellion Nian quelled in Qinghai, during the reign of Yongzheng, was started by  Lobzang Tendzin. He fought against the Dzungar Khanate with the help of Qing army, but rebelled together with local chiefdoms and Mongol leaders when he was not granted the rulership of Tibet afterwards.

(Confusingly enough, during the reign of Qianlong, there were also 2 other rebellions by the chieftains of "Greater and Lesser Jinchuan" in northwestern Sichuan, which might be where the novel's name came from.)

Naturally, the novel proceeds to tell a "Battle of Arts" story, about Tibetan Buddhist monks, Muslims, Daoist sages, and the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church duking it out with typical Shenmo novel treasures...and 19th century magitek.

There is potential for some serious analysis about Qing military expansion, violence on the frontiers, how foreign religions and people are perceived through the framework of popular fiction, etc. But honestly, after seeing the above summary, are you really here for *that*? 

I'm not, because I don't know nearly enough about the historical context, and the entire premise is ridiculous enough to defy any attempt at taking it seriously——unless the attempts are ironic.

Case In Point

The novel starts off pretty tame: Lobzang Tendzin, "King of Jinchuan", wanted to send his own Dalai Lama candidate to Tibet after the previous Dalai's death, as part of a power ploy to make himself the de facto ruler of Tibet.

He allied himself with Galdan, the Dzungar ruler, to force the Tibetans to accept his candidate at gunpoint——literally.

Their firearms and cannons got stopped by a Lama named Ding Chan, who used his meditation power to summon divine warriors and fend off the first wave of attack.

However, his meditation was broken by the plight of Jinchuan soldiers disguised as female refugees, and later, Galdan assassinated him in his sleep with a firing squad during a treaty talk organized by the Qing.

Emperor Yongzheng was not happy and sent Nian Gengyao and Yue Zhongqi to quell the rebellion. Also, Nian is actually the Heavenly Dog Star incarnate, who learned martial arts, classics, war strategy, and all sorts of neat stuff in his youth from a poor Buddhist monk.

Later, said monk and Yue's master sent a bunch of their disciples to Nian and Yue as reinforcement, before the battle began. 

Then, in Chapter 4, Nan Guotai was introduced as the fictional son of the historical Belgian missionary, Ferdinand Verbiest. Nicknamed "Little Lu Ban", he was well-versed in the arts of western machinery and firearms, and the first sign of the story going completely off the rails.

The first "Battle of the Arts" round was pretty standard——Five Phase Formation, magical breaths, treasures. But Nan was ordered to make 15 "mechanical carts" that could produce flames, in conjunction with a field of landmines, to assist in the breaking of the Five Phase Formation. 

Despite the similarity, they aren't tanks, but more like...trapped cargo trailers/RVs. Basically, they had "doors and windows" with built-in mechanisms that only allowed entry into the carts and could not be opened from the inside, and once the enemies were trapped, the carts became giant incinerators.

After losing the first round, the King of Jinchuan put up a recruitment poster for "talented followers of the Three Religions"...except the Three Religions weren't Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism, but Islam, Buddhism, and Daoism, since the story is set in Qinghai, where there was a notable population of Hui people (Chinese Muslims).

After seeing the poster, Galdan's wife decided to seek help from her own master, the Patriarch of the Snowy Mountains. He is a Muslim sage with 12 powerful disciples...who all wielded typical Daoist treasures.

They all got overshadowed by the next round of Steampunk Shenmo Battle, though, when an unrelated Daoist showed up with his trump card: "Strong Water", a.k.a. magical hydrochloric acid.

The magical HCI was then put into giant glass syringes and fired at Nian's troops, resulting in significant casualties. To bypass the HCI syringe cannons, Nan unrevealed his latest invention: the Skysoar Orb, a.k.a. hot air balloon.

The Qing troops then mounted firearms and cannons onto the air balloon, flew it above Galdan's camp to a height where the HCI syringes couldn't reach, and started shooting. However, they were all mortals, and got decimated when the enemy immortals flew up to take control of the balloons, forcing an emergency landing via needles.

After that, the hot air balloon was manned entirely by immortals, until Galdan covered his camp in a mesh of barbed wires, blocking the aerial fire but also making it impossible for him to use his own HCI syringes.

Then a little 13 years old immortal, Gengsheng the Acolyte, joined the Qing army, who's the reincarnation of the Lama executed by Galdan's firing squad. Abandoned at birth and adopted by a Daoist master, he was able to fly on clouds since he was 8-9 years old, which he used to travel to Europe. 

While he was there, a Swedish sage gifted him a powerful treasure——the Electricity Whip, which can be used to electrocute people to death...but also magically heal injuries with its currents.

I have trouble visualizing the thing. Is it a literal whip of lightning arcs (since it's described as being able to turn into a white beam), a taser, an electric cattle prod, a plasma whip, or the unholy lovechild of all the above plus a tesla coil?

Hilariously, the Electricity Whip treasure of the Nikola Tesla Sect (/sarcasm) stopped working when exposed to "dirty stuff" such as a woman's magical handkerchief. Classic folk magic style. 

After a bunch of boring fighting sequences, 6 of the 12 disciples of the Patriarch decided to get the big formations out, which were broken by buckets of pig blood. 

…Yeah, that's pretty much the extent of the author's understanding of Hui customs and Islam. (sigh) The surviving disciples went to get the Patriarch for help, who casted an AOE spell of poisonous smoke, water and fire to block the Qing troops' path...

Annnnnd Nan to the rescue again! With the help of Nian Gengyao's monk master, he built the Earth Travel Cart: a magitek subway train shaped like a pangolin, able to carry a hundred people and move a hundred Li per hour. It didn't need rails, you just dug a hole in the ground, put the train in, and it started tunneling through the earth on its own.

The entire army used 500 of these magical subway trains to bypass the Patriarch's AOE spell coverage, forcing them to retreat to their home base, Tianshan (Heavenly Mountain). Which is a real mountain range in central Asia and Xinjiang province, and going there from Qinghai is plausible. Kinda.

I'm still skeptical about the novel's claim that the path through Tianshan is the only path leading into Jinchuan proper, but whatever.

The Patriarch put his most powerful formation on said mountain pass——the Ice Freeze Formation, which will insta-freeze immortals, mortals, and flying birds alike when they step in range.

Then comes the craziest part of the entire novel. Honestly, everything after this chapter is pretty boring and formulaic, which makes it the perfect note for this article to end on.

Nan suddenly revealed that the current Roman Pope is the grandson of Matteo Ricci, who's the mentor of Nan's dad, and took his hot air balloon to Rome to get reinforcement. To no one's surprise, the Pope's treasure is a cross.

The Pope agreed and took his 12 disciples——supposedly because it's the same as the number of apostles——to the snowy mountain.

He gave a cross and a white candle to each of his disciples; they walked straight into the Ice Formation and broke it by holding the two holy objects up in the air, while loudly chanting (a highly localized translation of) "Hail Mary!"

After making his grand entrance, the Pope neutralized the Patriarch's spell attacks and turned his last disciples' army of soldiers back into their true forms——a bunch of farm animals.

He then told the disciples that as the Roman Pope, he had authority over "Russia, England, France, Netherlands" and all the European nations, and he'd leave the Patriarch to mind his own business if he surrendered and stopped interfering in the war.

Three of the four examples he gave aren't even Catholic, but maybe the Protestant Reformation just never happened in this novel's 18th century world because Pope Magic.

The Patriarch accepted the cease-fire treaty, went back to teach his religion to the population of northwestern China, and that's pretty much it. His last female disciple (Galdan's wife) got her troops' firearms neutralized by the Pope's cross, taken prisoner, and executed by Nian. 

After revealing that the Qing immortals' power also came from the Grace of Our Lord and Savior, and that was why westerners couldn't use spells (but could make electricity-based treasures?), the Pope flew back to Rome on Nan's air balloon, exiting the novel once and for all.

Which is a pity, because in the second half of the novel, one of the defeated foes escaped to (Ottoman?) Turkey to beg their king for reinforcement, and the Russian Tsar agreed to help the Jinchuan troops to make his French wife happy. I want my Papal 13 vs. Russian Orthodox Bishops Shenmo battle, dammit!

Food for thought: if the Pope was Matteo Ricci's grandson, and Matteo Ricci was also a mentor of Ferdinand Verbiest, Nan's dad (historically, Ricci died 13 years before Verbiest was even born)...

...Is this a timeline where the Jesuits won the Rites Controversy, Ricci cultivated himself into the first Catholic immortal, and ushered in the age of Syncretic Daoist-Catholic Steampunk? 

[eatmangoesnekkid]

One thing about me is that you can take me out of the African village but you will never take the African village out of me. Can you wear underwear or bottoms in your home? Me, I can not —not in my home, maybe in an Airbnb at best! Wearing anything over my vulva and hips beyond a piece of fabric, dress, or skirt feels claustrophobic no matter how cold it is outside. And I truly believe that allowing our root chakra to breathe in our homes not only elevates our lower body sensitivity and vulva consciousness but also gives our entire body more life and unrepressed vitality. And definitely sleeping naked is amplifying for our total body wellbeing I promise.

Embodiment (being fully alive in our bodies) is often one of the most missing links in transformation work. We have bodies, but when we have all these layers of clothes on, we tend to forget about our bodies. Those who live in tropical or warm climates have more opportunity to be naturally embodied than those who don’t simply because they get to wear less clothing. And our tissues get to take an Air bath. The sanity!

Our world doesn’t like to see the full primal power of the feminine in women and tames it out of us as little girls. It lies to us and scares us with religion that teaches us to suppress the feminine in our maiden years, to be nice and sweet, and pleasing to our “sky-daddy.” Our bodies then become exhausted from having to use up and leak out a lot of life force energy in order to fit into these flaccid “good girls” frequencies never meant to hold our fullness.

“She is a virtuous woman!” The world celebrates us when we shrink our power, don’t move our breasts, bellies, and hips, have no relationship with our bodies below the neck and are always doing, doing, doing for everyone. Our world not-so-secretly wants us to be domesticated, bored, and dehydrated and thereby controllable, as we graduate from being “good girls” into our next phase, being “good moms,” awww “such perfect moms,” the Big Mamas who will sacrifice their health and magic to cook and clean up behind everyone in the family, including other grown adults until they get a stroke that sits down them permanently. Oh, our beloved world loves when we lose our playfulness and radiance, when we stop laughing and being silly, and all that is left for us to do is to self-soothe through shopping all the time, keeping corporate structures thriving and economically in tact. This world gets us to obey by labeling women who refuse to burn out and have accessed their enormous multidimensional creative power as bad, wrong, sluts or undesirable, which has never been further from the truth for many of us.

Begin to say “yes” to the path that allows you to organize structures in your every day life that do not allow you to lose connection with your body— hips, vulva, pussy, buttocks, lower back, legs, feet, breasts, spine, throat, belly/womb/cervix, etc.

And why on earth would I, as a grown arse woman, wear underwear or bottoms in my own home and oppress my female body, walking around with an angry vulva that can't fully breathe because I’m unwilling to move through physiological taboos, fears or discomforts built by masculine frameworks that shame wetness, arousal, desire, female health, etc? Why would I not give my body more of the blood, lymph, and air flow nutrition it craves? Chile, please! 🙏🏿

Me having fun before I descend into this work cocoon next week. —India Ame’ye

[nemainofthewater]

Thank you for tagging me @terresdebrume!

Rules: share the first lines of ten of your latest fanfics (or up to if you have less!) & tag 10 people.

Tagging @thebansacredbanned, @tavina-writes, @howlingmoonrise, @tinypinkmouse, @zhoudadudugongjin

@airgiodslv, @sinni-ok-sessi, @minnarr, @westiec, @pathsofpassion and anyone else who wants to play!

The soft look (your eyes had once) - Cliopher stumbled as he stood from the formal obeisance, legs numb and unwieldly below him.

good and ill together - The sun was setting, casting its beams straight into Raphael’s eyes and, he knew from constant rehearsals and Robin’s fussing both, spinning gold thread from his hair and picked out the matching yellow embroidered on his robes.

we'll bleed and fight for you - “Fitzroy, beloved,” my fanoa said as he entered my workroom, “you did extract a promise from Circe not to challenge the Lord Magus of Ysthar to the Great Game Aurieleteer, did you not?”

the anvil of discussion, dissent, and debate -

The Development of a Rational Framework to Evaluate Magical Workings  

Orfeo, R1, Robin2

The accelerating integration and use of Wild Magic into systems traditionally optimised for Schooled Magic poses a significant challenge for the future. In the post-Fall years, each of the Nine Worlds has established varied systems of Hybrid magic.

5. small sacrifices - Cliopher sat in the chair that he refused to call a throne and waited for the next petitioners to arrive.

6. no escape from reality - “He’s looking at you again,” said Mu-jiejie. She had abandoned all pretences of discretion and was shamelessly staring past Shen Jiu’s shoulder. Absently she reached up to fiddle with a loose lock of hair, sighing in consternation.

7. The Road to Trevor - Megan spotted him first in Nice, sauntering up the Rue Des Anglais, wearing a jauntily perched hat, an oversized pair of sunglasses, and a linen suit that looked as though it had been forgotten about in the bottom of a backpack for three weeks. 

8. to subdue the enemy without fighting - Qiong Ding Peak was a bastion of calm, its snow-capped tip peeking shyly from the thickly gathered clouds, and grey and black clad disciples strolling purposefully through the beautifully cultivated meditative paths.

9. The Fox's Scales - War with the Liao Kingdom was inevitable.

10. The Taming of the Yu - “As for Fifth Brother…” Jingyan hesitates, unsure.

[absolutebl]

helloo...

i know i'm late, but i just binge watching Triage last night. i kinda love it that the mystery about the story revealed gradually. and the leads had nice chemistry, despite the low heat. and i enjoyed bingeing on it and pulling an all nighter.

so, i'd like to ask you, do you have any recommendations on bl series like Triage that are completed or ongoing, that the show would be enjoyable on binge watching?

it's super fine if you don't answer this.

thank youu and have a nice day.

10 BL Series to Binge Watch with Complex story elements

Okay, I'm not really a binger so these are my best guesses at keeping the tension alive. Also it seems like you want something on the meaty end in terms of length so only Thai and Taiwanese stuff qualified.

Case study: Triage (so obviously that would be on this list)

1 Until We Meet Again

YouTube

Without question, a work of narrative genius with a powerful and cohesive romantic backbone and stellar performances. It is (to date) the only Thai BL (of c.250 watched) that I’ve rated a 10/10 predominantly on the basis of story structure. That said it is also very well cast (and it’s a BIG cast), with solid production values, and enduring pair branding as well as being the best Thai BL from a storytelling perspective. I think the story is good enough to carry the tensions. I also binges this on my first watch (it was already out when I discovered it) so I can attest to it being bingable. More discussion on why I love it so much here.

2 He's Coming to Me

YouTube

Boy and ghost boy fall in love, must solve ghost’s murder. Peak pining but also pretty tame, features my favorite sweet but important coming out sequence. The third in my precious triumvirate of unbeatable Thai BLs, that are only nominally BL because the story, acting, and production values are so good. (Together with UWMA & 1k*).

3 Not Me

YouTube

GMMTV gave us a dark disestablishment narrative (in a time of civil unrest) with established queer award-winning director Anucha and starring the biggest guns of BL, OffGun and THIS WAS AN AMAZING THING to get to experience at the time - nerve racking but remarkable. But was it ACTUALLY BL? It certainly has a lot of BL elements, but in the end romance was not what this show was about, or even what it was genuinely trying to be as a performance piece. Still a remarkable moment in Thai cinema, certainly worth your time. Don’t worry, it all ends happily. Full review.

4 I Feel You Linger in the Air

grey (YouTube for some)

I truly loved this time travel romance BUT for the ending it would have gotten a 10/10 from me. IFYLITA is an exquisite BL, from filming techniques to narrative framework (much like Until We Meet Again). Steeped in history and family drama it edges into lakorn (but no as much as To Sir With Love and with way less scenery chewing). This is an elegant and classy BL… from Thailand which normally doesn't even try for classy. If HEA's are NOT important to you, you'll be fine, but I struggled. More here.

5 Kiseki: Dear to Me

Gaga & Viki Y

The plot is totally ridiculous and slightly unhinged, but that’s normal for Taiwan. It involves all the tropes under a very casual framework of gay mafia gangs + food = love. Absolutely every character is queer. There’s a gum-ball machine of cameos, elder gay rep, great chemistry from all pairs, and a KILLER side couple. As a result Kiseki is a poster child for Taiwanese BL, and I happen to love Taiwanese BL. Bonus? They also managed to END IT WELL, which we cannot expect from Taiwan. (Triggers for knife play, child abuse, lingering trauma.)

6 Make a Wish

grey (Trailer)

(from Sammon - Manner of Death & Triage) about a doctor who can see the dead and strikes a bargain with a wish-granting irreverent tree angel to try and cure himself - naturally they fall in love. Stars Fluke Natouch opposite not Ohm, but who cares bc Fluke has chemistry with everybody. Once again the Thai afterlife is incredibly bureaucratic but I enjoyed the premise and the unfolding of the story (it’s not predictable but still satisfying and with nice little twist). I like that the doctor is just gay af and has a fag hag bestie and everything. The cast is excellent but the comedic stylings are often too overblown and tonally off. It had sad parts and did make me cry but is ultimately happy with a great sex scene, good smiley kisses, and all the agency.

7 HIStory 3: Trapped

Viki

Basically the definition of enemies to lovers from Lin Pei Yu. This is a cop + the mafia man he is chasing but WAIT, they fall in love. Added bonus side couple: assassin and nerd cop ALSO falling in love. It’s great. All the leads are stellar. Its high heat, fun action, and a bit of a mystery drama but pretty about all of it. My only warning is that the main couple doesn’t entirely end up together, it’s implied, but… amorphous ending.

8 Never Let Me Go

YouTube

Bodyguard romance where poor boy must watch over rich boy for family obligation reasons. Simple premise well executed with a few bumps that made it feel like it was trying to tackle too much (when it wasn’t). Still, an enjoyable show that benefited from being handed to PondPhuwin who did a stellar job with their roles and chemistry. Of GMMTV handing out new series to established pairs in 2023 this is one of the most successful IMHO. It's typically Thai in that it's a bit bloated and has a confusing plot, but at least it HAD a plot and the central relationship is solid and loyal. The Our Skyy 2 follow up is great too. And very much adds to the cannon in a fun way rather than feeling superfluous - making this show ultimately 14 eps rather than 12.

9 The Eclipse

YouTube

GMMTV does gay Blacklist with a good boy/bad boy pairing. This is a good show but the cast is excellent and the leads are absolutely flawless, which elevates it beyond just "a good show." We got a nuanced and multifaceted burgeoning relationship: philosophical (and socio-political) conflict contrasted to moments of empathy; flirtation contrasted to moments of genuine affection, plus plenty of angst. This narrative is less about love than it is about courage and tenderness. However, near the end the pacing was off and the plot frustrating. Still, this is an enjoyable watch, with a finale that features verbal consent and a fun blooper reel.

10 Ghost Host Ghost House

YouTube

This is light horror combined with family drama built around a well executed BL trough-line that felt honestly queer with fantastic chemistry from the lead pair. (I hope that we see more of them.) Pluem delivers the softest most seductive krap ever, Tod Techit (Kewin) is one of the prettiest humans on the planet, and watching these boys flirt over noodles is an unalloyed pleasure. Use of I/you pronouns is super interesting and cute as well. For me, personally, the surrounding cast, premise, and story didn’t resonate but if you like a touch of gothic in your BL this might appeal.

BONUS!

3 Will Be Free

YouTube

Queer AF crime thriller about three 20 somethings on the run after accidentally killing an assassin: a grifter, a nerdy mafia kid, and a stripper. They're chased by more assassins out for revenge.

It’s actually a remarkable piece of storytelling, using a pressure cooker of tension and suspense to bring about investigations into what love, romance, friendship, and identity actually mean. This show probably doesn’t qualify as BL but it does qualify as very very queer.

What it does well is examine many different aspects of queer identity, morality, and life choices based on repression and or acceptance of that identity using the framework of a crime triller.

It’s an adventure narrative, our three main characters are on the run together, being chased by assassins who are themselves dealing with the grief that results from love, all kinds of love. Meanwhile the 3 protagonists fall in love with each other and explore the boundaries and meaning of friendship/love.

Manner of Death

WeTV

Gay romantic suspense series with added cactus baby. Doctor & Mafia boy can't keep hands off each other, so also end up with chili plant baby.

Am I making sense? No? Well neither does it, but ho boy is it fun to watch MaxTul do... whatever it is they're doing.

I like MoD a lot but I’m conflicted over it being actual BL. It’s a great gay romantic suspense, although the mystery element is its primary weakness.

MaxTul, the Kings of Chemistry, are, of course, perfect and perfectly cast (and chemically unfair), but their romance thread is more a distraction than an addition. Still, I could watch them make-out the phonebook. Watch along here.

(source)

[dominateeye]

Last week Trump fired two members of the National Labor Relations Board, leaving the body without quorum and the ability to process cases. Many unions are wallowing in despair because they are so reliant on the government, but there is an elephant in the room here nobody wants to address. Why is the labor movement so dependent on the government in the first place? Can we afford to be in a situation where one orange man can suspend the union process? The moment has opened our imaginations to what labor organizing would be like without the NLRB. ...

In the early 1900s, workers across the U.S. faced low wages, long hours, and unsafe working conditions, which were made even worse by the Great Depression. Workers responded with militant strikes and sabotage. ...It was in this context that Congress created the legal framework for ‘collective bargaining’ that eventually consolidated into the National Labor Relations Act in 1935.

...For the government, workers’ self-activity was too uncontrolled. It interfered with “the free flow of commerce” and risked revolutionary destabilization of the class system. ...Since they could not beat labor out of existence, the next best thing was to take control over what it meant to be a union. Unions were enshrined in law and given an “acceptable” avenue to express themselves. Union structure and practice were molded to promote ‘industrial peace,’ thereby defanging labor’s more radical tendencies.

In this context, Trump has pretentiously sabotaged his government’s own mechanism for containing worker militancy. But it remains to be seen if a dysfunctional NLRB will lead to unions “taking matters into their own hands.” ...We do not need more of the same labor movement. We need a different direct action movement that operates beyond the control of government – on our own terms – for a world that meets human need and not the profits of the ruling class. Labor’s strength has always been grounded in its control of production, not these arenas of ‘collective bargaining’ we are funneled into by the NLRA. The shopfloor is where class war is waged, while the bargaining table is where labor goes to be tamed, integrated, and defeated.

So however disappointing a dysfunctional NLRB is, it is healthy for labor to think outside the box. Do we even need to be recognized by the NLRB? ...I stress this should not be a secondary strategy we use when our dear NLRB flounders. It is the only direction that guarantees our power. Regardless of Trump’s shenanigans, the winning strategy for labor has always been to abandon the state’s polite bargaining framework.

Taking matters into our own hands will require a great transformation of the labor movement’s habits. In the nine decades since 1935, unions have been shaped to rely on the NLRB. Union leadership will be reluctant to go down any other path; Indeed, that could mean eliminating their own careers since their job is to serve the NLRA’s style of unionism to workers. For this reason, it will be key to develop other kinds of unions, like the IWW, where rank & file committees have control instead of comfy union officials.

Further, most unions have bargained away their ability to ‘take matters into our own hands’ by signing contracts with no-strike clauses; The law does not allow for direct action if the NLRB can’t make quorum. So the heavy legal consequences remain for workers who have signed away their power. Obviously, the government will be more than willing to use the NLRA to protect capitalists from any contract violations. Again, the contract framework provided by the government is more about maintaining the class system than helping workers. ...Unions need to be rebuilt from the ground up, by the rank & file, in a way that preserves the freedom to strike. Then we will have the freedom to move in situations like this. ...

Trump’s gutting of the NLRB is timely. It’s happening at a point where the tameness of the working class is at an all time high, and union membership is rock bottom. It makes sense for them to sabotage the NLRB until unions prove they can ‘take matters into their own hands.’ It’s like a test to see if social control is even required anymore. Perhaps labor is so domesticated everyone will slave away without disrupting anything. But I know we can shake things up.

[hechiceria]

what genre even is companion? Definitely sci-fi, but it feels weird putting it down as a final girl horror when she spends most of the plot winning, and also weird to put it down as a thriller given it felt remarkably un-tense. this movie did not cultivate an emotional reaction to most of its plot except for a very few scenes where it was trying maybe too hard to compensate for a relatively idle rest of the movie, which is why i cant really sit and feel about it im really just immediately engaged in the thoughr exercise it presents. I don't think it's trying to be funny often enough to call it a black comedy. it's relatively tame on action for an action movie.

a movie doesn't *need* a genre but I think companion needed a stronger framework to guide whatever questions it wanted to explore with its premise.

[celoxfi]

Why Bitcoin’s $77K Floor and Pakistan’s Crypto Pivot Could Reshape Trading with CELOXFI in Focus

The crypto market’s rollercoaster just took another wild turn, and the chatter is heating up. Bitcoin’s flirting with a supposed “bottom” at $77K, while Pakistan’s throwing its hat in the ring with plans to legalize digital assets. It’s the kind of news that keeps traders up at night—part hype, part hope, and a whole lot of “what’s next?” Amid this chaos, the spotlight’s shifting to how platforms like CELOXFI might steady the ship for U.S. traders hungry for clarity in a space that’s anything but predictable. So, what’s really going on here, and why does it matter?

Let’s start with the big call shaking up the market. Arthur Hayes, the BitMEX co-founder who’s never shy about stirring the pot, dropped a bombshell in a recent analysis. He’s pegging Bitcoin’s floor at $77,000, claiming the dreaded quantitative tightening (QT) phase—central banks’ go-to for sucking liquidity out of the system—is basically toast. To him, the macro storm that’s been rattling crypto is calming down, and Bitcoin’s resilience is shining through. It’s a bold take, no doubt, especially with the market still licking its wounds from the latest correction. Traders are watching closely, some nodding along, others skeptical, but everyone’s asking: is this the signal to jump back in?

Meanwhile, half a world away, Pakistan’s making moves that could ripple far beyond its borders. The government’s cooking up a legal framework to greenlight crypto, aiming to lure international cash and tame the Wild West vibe that’s long spooked regulators there. It’s a 180 from their old stance—less “ban it” and more “bring it”—driven by a hunger to tap blockchain’s economic juice. For a market that’s been under the radar, this could be a game-changer, opening doors for global players and giving digital assets a legit foothold in South Asia. The buzz? It’s not just about Pakistan—it’s a sign more nations might follow suit.

So where does this leave the average U.S. trader, still jittery from scams like that $32M Spanish Ponzi bust? Volatility’s nothing new in crypto, but these shifts—Hayes’ floor call and Pakistan’s pivot—hint at a market finding its footing. That’s where platforms built for the grind come in. CELOXFI platform analysis shows it’s doubling down on what matters: real-time data to track these swings, encryption that doesn’t mess around, and compliance that keeps things above board. For Americans burned by hype-and-dump schemes, it’s less about chasing moonshots and more about trading with eyes wide open.

Hayes’ optimism isn’t blind, though. He’s leaning on Bitcoin’s knack for thriving when fiat systems wobble—think inflation jitters or geopolitical mess. If he’s right, and $77K holds, it’s a green light for traders to rethink their plays. Pair that with Pakistan’s push to regulate, and you’ve got a global scene that’s less shadowy, more structured. Platforms like CELOXFI fit naturally here, offering tools to dissect market noise and manage risk without the fluff. It’s not about flashy promises—it’s about giving U.S. investors a shot at navigating this new terrain without getting rug-pulled.

Pakistan’s move, meanwhile, isn’t just local news. As more countries flirt with crypto laws, the domino effect could steady the market long-term. Imagine a world where digital assets aren’t just for the degens but a legit piece of the financial puzzle. For traders, that means picking platforms that can roll with these punches—ones that prioritize security and transparency over smoke and mirrors. CELOXFI platform analysis highlights its edge: cutting through the chaos with insights that don’t leave you guessing.

The market’s mood? Cautious but buzzing. Bitcoin’s $77K floor could be the reset button traders need, while Pakistan’s crypto embrace might signal a broader thaw. For U.S. investors, it’s a chance to ditch the blind bets and lean into platforms that deliver the goods—think risk management that actually works and data you can trust. The future’s still a gamble, sure, but with these shifts, it’s looking less like a crapshoot and more like a calculated play.

Curious how this all shakes out? Keep an eye on the trends and dig into platforms that can handle the heat. For more on navigating this wild ride, check out https://www.celoxfi.com/index.html.