#They both are criticized for lots of really bad stuff

[ann3ofabyss4lred]

SPOILERS FOR CLSSS OF 09: FLIPSIDE..

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I'm disappointed in flipside...was worth it show us foot fetish? Jecka being s3xu4lly traff1cked? Like they didn't implied it ..they showed her half naked..very draw in detail..they showed her body naked when she off herself. Nicole sitting and putting her feet on Jecka's dad's mouth????....it was misery p0rn...it also feel like the creator disliked how much people were saying "oh the girls are so cool".. like they wanted to criticized men but also paint the girls from using men as hypocrites?? So they butchered their characters?..Idk..now looking back at it..there were things that I disliked about the first game...but didn't see right well with me... Like there are red flags..even if Nicole is really depressed and Jecka too. They acted like "I want to be d3pr3ssed..I'm making a d3pr3ssed playlist on iTunes" "if I fake this disorders" u know for the audience to laugh at them as if they weren't really depressed...(not saying they aren't..NICOLE AND JECKA ARE REALLY DEPRESSED) ..but there's q lots of people ..that believe girls love to pretend they have disorders...as misogynistic and ableist it is..some people think that way..that's why they put it there as humor...

I think they had luck on flipside because instead of saying "ha they hypocrites,many girls empathized with the fictional girls in some way..or don't feel them bad about those men being used...because they were bad and they still see the girls as victims...even if they aren't good people" and they didn't shame Nicole for being misandrist and was always proven right.

I don't know how to redact this shit..it does feel like they criticized society...but also...get off on misandrist girls....and many stuff feels for shock value..more than actual criticizing or creative comebacks...

In flipside is basically disguised fetish...and do have in mind some men get off misandrist girls..(aside from the real valid reason to be misandrist like s3xu4l trauma) like some boys and men get off or also mock (or both) women reduce them to "u guys only play videogames and do anything thing for s3x".

So just disappointed in the game.i did got bad vibes on the first game..but didn't see about it..also we got queerbaited with Jecka and Ari...and have in mind this written by a weirdo and a man..

Also the joke of "was it q Pakistani or Palestinian Man traff1cking me" was not it..

Maybe I'll do q post explaining why flipside was disguised fetish and why I got those vibes from the first game but not very high..

Still love Jeckole and any girl pairing there..except Nicole and Ari...

READ THE REBLOG...THERES SHITTY THINFS ABOUT THE CREATOR

[digital-roots]

Coming as someone who was in both the mcyt(mainly dteam) fandom and the hazbin hotel/helluva boss fandom, dream and vivziepop are eerily similar in how cult-like and defensive their fanbases are

[artsycooky13]

top 3 fave bbys in the burrito show (bonus SUPER LONG tags on how i feel bout the characters)

[ladyalicentshightower]

I think people overestimate how feminist team black is. If someone brings up how Baela should be the heir to Driftmark, it's always "she would've been Queen if not for the Greens!", ignoring that 1, she would be Queen consort, not a Queen in her own right, and 2 she has a legitimate claim in her own right to Driftmark. Team Black's goal is to crown Rhaenyra, but Rhaenyra becoming Queen isn't a win for feminism because it does nothing to dismantle the rest of the patriarchal system that exists in Westeros. From what we've gotten so far, it reads that Rhaenyra wants to be the exception and not the rule. Rhaenyra has made a lot of bad political decisions, which means she can't acknowledge Baela's claim because it would weaken her own claim (blatantly admitting her eldest sons are illegitimate would not end well for her to say the least). So she betrothes Jace and Luke to Baela and Rhaena to kind of atone for that, like as a consolation prize Baela will be Queen and Rhaena will be lady of Driftmark, neither of them would hold either title in their own right. It's good matches because the kids like each other and will treat each other well, but it's not a feminist win or a feministic liberation. It's usurpation, usurpation that takes place because Rhaenyra has to do damage control after having illegitimate children and after a serious of bad political decisions (both hers and her fathers, Viserys is the arbiter of this entire mess). To me, Rhaenyra is very reminiscent of Mary Queen of Scots, I can see a lot of elements drawn from Mary's history in Rhaenyra's story and character, down to their sons eventually taking the crown they failed to claim/keep.

[fvckw4d]

The concept of queerbaiting annoys me. I was told that it refers to a work of fiction pretending to cater to a queer audience but then pulling back from it to avoid alienating homophobes, which is an incredibly specific thing. But a lot of people seem to think that it instead means "any time there's any gay subtex, metaphor, or ambiguity" or "whenever something from 1995-2012 was being a normal amount of homophobic for the era."

[raven]

honestly reading fanfiction is kind of fun not even on like the level of eating junk food i just really love to see unskilled writers with their natural inclinations and quirks

[dizzybevvie]

I love you analysis I love you awareness of negative tropes I love you recognising that media isnt perfect I love you not being able to handle negativity I love you different interests I have different relationships with I love you the way that changes my perspective on criticism

[waywardsalt]

the dilemma of having ideas that would be best expressed as comics but being afraid to draw

[galene-gothic]

𝖸𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝖿𝗎𝗍𝗎𝗋𝖾 𝗌𝗉𝗈𝗎𝗌𝖾’𝗌 𝗆𝗈𝗌𝗍 𝖺𝖽𝗆𝗂𝗋𝖺𝖻𝗅𝖾 𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗂𝗍𝗌

୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅* ‧₊ I hope this reading found you in good health, every reblog is appreciated and thank you for everything :) ˖♡ ˎˊ˗ ꒰ 🐇 ꒱

˗ˏˋ༻ʚ♡︎ɞ༺ˎˊ˗             PAID SERVICES (summer sale and offers)

︎︎⊹ ! ೀ Pile 1 ꒱

Right away, your future spouse is a scarily hard worker like a hardcore hustler. They’re often thinking about their work because to them it’s a huge responsibility, they are always thinking about ways to work harder and do more in terms of work, to make their work better in some way. Also, they’re someone who doesn’t show when they’re struggling. They follow the classic philosophy of “if a problem can be solved, there’s no use worrying about it and if it can’t be solved, worrying will do no good.” They’re really wise and mature, they’re also refined yet raw. Due to how refined, wise and mature they are, they might not fit in with others because unfortunately, most people are not that way, in fact, due to how people feel intimidated by them, others could act as if your person is the superficial one and the fact that despite their refined nature, they have candid and clumsy moments, and are just so down to earth leads to others misunderstanding and criticising them but they still choose to practice gratitude and stay true to themself. They’re also able to maintain a very “fake it till you make it” mindset, except they’re not even really faking it, they believe that a person doesn’t become ‘somebody’ just because they achieved stuff externally, they believe that a person is always ‘somebody’ before they even achieve anything at all. Which is why they pay curtsy to everyone and try to maintain a confident, elegant and abundant mindset. They’re also very independent. They are able to overcome and grow from every obstacle that they face. When they’re faced with the consequences of their actions or even just bad luck.

If they can think about a time when they did something that caused someone else to experience a similar situation, they just take it as bad karma and work through it with grace instead of victimising themself. They’re able to accept both the positives and negatives that may cover their way because they understand that that’s just the way life is. They understand that life is a growing experience and that life would be very boring if it weren’t for the ups and downs. They have something very ‘dream girl/boy’ about themself. They’ve dealt with moments when they’ve felt like no one was there for and with them. They’ve felt left out in the cold and unsupported by others. They’ve dealt with break ups (be it romantic or platonic) but have been able to find solace within themself. At such times, when life seems to be throwing curveballs their way, they go within themself to find answers, they look to the past and move forward while still making the most out of their present. They’re also extremely loyal regarding matters of the heart (love of any sort - romantic, platonic, familial, so on and so forth). They’re extremely ride or die and because they themself, have experienced low moments, they know how to connect with those who are struggling. They have a lot of empathy for those they love. They try to understand their loved ones on a close personal level, desiring to know their vulnerabilities, weaknesses, shadows and skeletons, wanting to love them through it all. I hope that you enjoyed the reading and that it resonated, much love and take care, until next time 💞.

︎︎⊹ ! ೀ Pile 2 ꒱

Your future spouse is extremely ambitious, they have it in them too push forward despite the self consciousness, fear or criticism from others. They are very fiery as a person and pretty connected to their inner child. They actively think about their childhood and try to work through any issues that may have stemmed from back then. They know how to have fun and act childlike at times. They know how to play with an idea and let it grow into what it wants to be over time. They know how to not commit to things that may not lead to the results that they desire. They’re also really good at communicating and especially when writing, the writings that they put out - be it an email, message or article, they try to make sure that it has a certain eloquence to it. They’re extremely charming, I’m getting ‘Rasputin’ by Boney M. They possess a natural charisma due to their ability to use words to their advantage, have fun and their fiery nature when it comes to life, including their ambitions. They’re probably really popular among the ladies (if it’s a man that you’re inquiring about) 😭. How dare they? How dare they be attractive to girls who are not you? Ahaha, well, good for you though, they’re a total heartthrob. Despite, their fiery nature, they have a certain grounded quality to them, they know how to adjust their priorities in order to experience the life that they desire to live. They also have a tendency to have their work consume them, when they’re working, they dislike having anyone even talk to them because they’re so immersed and focused, and they work really well. They prioritise play and know how to have fun but they don’t do it at the expense of their work. They’re very intense, when they work hard, they work hard and when they play hard. they play hard. They’re quite a flirt honestly but when it comes to love, they’re very loyal, they desire to be their partner’s fully and to have their partner be their’s completely too. You may wonder why being this way is admirable but it truly is, they have a very well rounded character.

Even though they’re popular with the ladies or gents (depending on who you’re inquiring about), they do not forget their own values and character. They know how to hold themself to high standards while still treating those around them with respect. They know how to climb the social ladder without scamming, cheating and lying to people. Also, random but their sexual capabilities are great too, their tongue does more than just spew out charming words after all 😔. They know how to put themself first and be an old school respectable person in many ways. They know how to value certain traditions and values without putting down those who aren’t traditional. They know how to have a nuanced understanding of everything and understand that everyone goes through phases. They know how and when to give tough love, they also know how to grow through tough love. They’re very intense so if someone hurts their feelings, they’ll either outright cut them off, refusing to communicate at all or will stand up for themself very firmly. If something doesn’t make sense to them, if they feel wronged, they are going to fight back for themself. They’re also going to stand up for you and fight for you if anyone wrongs you. When they love people, no matter how many arguments or troubles may come in, they don’t leave them. They have it in them to ride until the end. However, when things do end, they have the ability to realise that if the other person gave up or treated them a certain way, the loss wasn’t even great to begin with. They have strong self respect and will move on completely without any attachments at all if wronged. They’re very loving and caring though, they pay attention to the little details and also express love in grand ways. They’re also fiercely loyal once committed so it makes sense as to why they get so angry when they’re wronged. They’ll always have your back though. I hope that you enjoyed the reading and that it resonated, much love and take care, until next time 💞.

︎︎⊹ ! ೀ Pile 3 ꒱

Your future spouse is really good with words. They’re very charming and they do it in a very swift, and unsuspecting manner. They’re adored deeply. They’re very childlike and ambitious in their thinking. They are able to have free ambitions the way children do. They’re quite fearless, they have it in them to push towards their goals regardless of what the outside world may be saying because there’s a certain childlike quality to the way they think. They prioritise passion and excitement, they explore different hobbies, skills and things. For them, stimulation is very important. They’re also always able to stand empowered. This pile is similar to pile 2 but pretty different at the same time. Your person is confident and doesn’t fear things as much as pile 2’s person does. They’re also very competitive, they excel in almost every field and they’re known for it. Just a really multifaceted person. They’re well skilled in multiple areas and things. They’re really loveable, they know how to have fun and when they’re around, it’s automatically more fun and lively. They have a very “we live once, might as well do it all” kind of mindset. Their reflexes are impressive too. Also, they’re a fast learner. They overcome obstacles with ease and grace, pretty fast too because they don’t even let anything get to them. They’re consistently working on their goals causing them to achieve their dreams pretty quickly and efficiently. They have a strong sense of direction and don’t let their head or actions go to the wrong places. They’re communicative and are able to keep up with fast paced, high energy environments. They’re a crazy competitor to have in this fast paced world.

Success is attracted to them just because of the way they think, are, act, etc. They’re hopeful regarding everything and are also able to make friends easily. They’re consistently making progress in life. If right now, them and another person were in the same position as an intern, they could come out as a CEO in just a few years while the other person would have come up to be an employee. Not only are they this strong, fun and dynamic personality wise but also very mature when it comes to emotions. They try their best to understand the emotions and mindset of the other person. They like to form peaceful resolutions and have the understanding that healthy relationships require compromise. They don’t mind making major sacrifices for those that they love. They try to communicate and move on from resentments. They truly do want to make it right with those they love, even with those who they don’t have attachments to, they choose to be the bigger person. Also, due to how much they have and their mindset that’s whole and mature yet childlike, they’re genuinely happy for others. They know how to clap for other people’s achievements and genuinely mean good, genuinely feel happy for them. I aspire to be more like your future spouse ahaha. Also, even though, they’re forgiving, mature, sacrificing and try their best to communicate, and work through differences (they’re really good at accepting people’s differences, especially their loved ones’), once they’re done, you’re as good as dead to them. I hope that you enjoyed the reading and that it resonated, much love and take care, until next time 💞.

[dapg-otmebytheballs]

The thing with the "why are you making them look bad" "why are you finding reasons to hate" kinda responses when someone brings up racist remarks and microagressions both from back in the "fetus" era and all the way till WAD etc, it reveals the way too many people view bigotry as something that happens Elsewhere. Something that is done by Other People and not us you me the people around us the people we love the people we idolise. But everyone is capable of harm, and it's quite revealing with defensive attitudes like that that people assume we're calling to boycott or asking you to stop feeling anything positive towards them or whatever else it's built up to me.

Guys. Even we haven't stopped feeling positively about them (at least for the most part, and those who have, fair play to them we all have our own personal threshold for how much we tolerate). Like that's the whole reason we're around, you kidding? Nothing I watch is free from the problematic stuff. I watch comedians who make off-colour jokes but I still feel fondly towards those comedians without feeling the need to erase the fact that they make problematic jokes and need to do better. I watch shows with bigoted themes without feeling the need to scrap them completely but I also don't hold back on my criticisms just because I like the show. And if anyone else who enjoys these things mocks those criticisms or expects me to shut up about them I see it rightfully as the insult that it is.

These social issues are bigger than us, and the thing is they really do change at a snail's pace. But putting another hurdle in front of the snail by saying "this is just spreading hate, you just hate them, go watch something else then" isn't really helping that pace. It's just showing that because an issue isn't personally affecting you, you're seeing it as not worthy of receiving criticism.

I watch youtubers far more "problematic" than DnP actually. And I love them! And I see them grow over time, I see it reflected in how they talk in videos from years ago vs now and it gives me a lot of hope. But people change because they are given a reason to change. And trying to get those affected and hurt to not even express disappointment is not gonna get you anywhere except making it clear to us who is a safe person looking to make the space welcoming in a material sense and who is just keeping up appearances and waiting for us to tire ourselves out and leave.

[shiroisotto64]

Fionna & Cake hcs

Fionna

She’s and adrenaline junkie. No questions asked. She loves to bring you with her on adventures! Fighting is already fun, but it’s so much better with company. (Especially if you’re dating)

You’d have to help her keep the apartment in check. It’s a mess when she’s not reminded to tidy it up. Put on some music and she’ll be more willing to get up and clean.

KEEP HER OUT OF THE KITCHEN. This woman CANNOT cook to save her life. That’s why Fionna and cake each sandwiches and take out. She’s tried but Fionna has a track record for burning water so…

Really affectionate and doesn’t mind PDA. She gets flustered but will return you’re affections without question. She’s also always hyping you up. New outfit? She’s the first to comment. Killed a bad guy really quickly? She’s quick to pull you into a strong hug afterwards.

Date nights are anything under the sun honestly. Cuddling in bed? Yeah. Going to a concert? Absolutely!

You could go skating, swimming, anything really but it’s best to do something that can keep her occupied. If she gets bored she’ll kinda space out. She doesn’t mean to though and will apologize later.

Simon

He likes to read to you. In fact he’ll lend you his books to read so you can both talk about it afterwards. He gets really excited to do this and tends to ramble. So you’ll have to excuse him.

Once you say something he’s more conscious and tries not to do it anyone unless your encourage him. He still has his dark days but it’s way easier with you. However Simon hates feeling like a burden.

So he’s not the best with communicating his problems. He tends to lock them away until he snaps. He always feels horrible and leaves for a bit to calm down and clear his head.

He’s an introvert. But if you want him to go with you he’ll try at least. But he will be vocal about it if he feels uncomfortable and wants to go back home. Date nights are pretty chill honestly.

Baking, watching movies / documentaries. Reading or talking about books together. He likes when you talk about you’re interests! He’ll listen and ask questions so he gets it to. He gets real flustered with PDA so keep that in mind to.

Marshall Lee

Real laid back and chill. He plays his guitar while y’all hang out. He has and still will write songs about and or inspired by you and his friends.

He’s really supportive. He encourages you to go after you’re dreams and do whatever makes you happy. Marshall finds it real cute when you wear his shirts or button ups.

Hell he encourages it even. He vents to you about his mom sometimes. He really appreciates you listening and is even more appreciative if you give him advice on how to properly talk to / get through to her.

Has a sweet tooth. You can easily bride him with sweets of any kind. Want him to wash the dishes for you? Whip out a box of his fav cookies from the store. He’s never washed dishes faster in his life.

You’d end up paying for a lot of stuff, sorry. He tries his best to get money singing on the corners and streets of the town yet it only pays so much. He really appreciates it if you’re patient with him.

He’s ok with Pda and will reciprocate you’re affections but doesn’t expect to not be teased in the process.

Gary

He’s like a mother hen. He gets worried if you don’t answer his texts within 10 minutes honestly. It might get annoying and if it does? Gently tell him how you feel and he’ll do his best to be more patient.

He likes cooking and baking for you. And it makes his whole week if you praise his skills and tell him how much you love it. Bonus point if you can bake or if you give him constructive criticism!

He likes it when you play in his hair. He loves it when you pull his head into you’re lap and run you’re fingers through his pink hair. He’ll be out in minutes honestly.

Gary swoons whenever you put on his sweaters. He has bought the both of you matchin ones. And he is also the type to wanna get matching couples outfits. Just putting that out there.

He likes it when you to clean together. He cleans the dishes and you rinse them off. You both finish that much faster and after he goes up behind you to embrace you. He’ll stay like that for as long as you let him.

Gets flustered by PDA but welcomes it anyways. And Gary is super affectionate at night. He doesn’t care if he’s big or little spoon just hold him.

Finn

He’s affectionate and tries to be as honest with you as he can. But Finn isn’t the best with negative feelings. We all saw how he struggled to help Simon and was a bit awkward while doing it.

Another adrenaline junkie. He likes to go camping and adventuring with you. Anything fun and active and he’s in. Finn Is also very considerate of the things you like and will get you something that reminds him of you while he’s out. Or something he knows you’ll like.

Really playfully. He’ll sometimes just pick you up and throw you over his shoulder before walking off to go knows where. He has complete faith in you and is real happy if you feel the same!

Doesn’t get jealous, like at all. Like I said complete trust in you. He doesn’t question you’re actions and just goes with the flow. He’s very comfortable with you’re bond.

He’s chill with Pda. If you hug him he’ll hug back. You want a kiss? You got it. No questions asked. He is protective of you though. Yet is also confident in you’re abilities but if you need help he’s there in the blink of an eye.

Winter King

Loves to sing to you! He’ll declare his love to you in and out of town. He loves to spoil you. Anything you want is yours. He always smiles at you whenever he catches you looking at him.

Will pull you in to dance with him. You both go ice skating all the time and if you don’t know how he’ll teach you. He’s real patient with you, so don’t worry. He tries to impress you. He’s very subtle about it but if you pay attention you can see it.

He’d melt if you sat on his lap while he sat on his throne. He has introduced you to ice Marcy. I think you’d all get along pretty well. Kinda like a little family. Also his two guards love hanging out with you.

Training and skating you name it they’re in. Simon chuckles while he watches them drag you around. He’s really affectionate to. You both are attached at the hip! He has to have a hand on you at all times or he’ll explode.

Winter king can’t help but to flush if you pull him down to press kisses to his face. He also loves when you run you’re fingers through his silky hair. He lets you go in his lab. He answers you’re questions if you have any.

Candy Queen

(I couldn’t find any gifs I’m sorry)

She’s the clingiest. You’re not allowed to go anywhere without her. You can barely get alone time in the bathroom. She’s always writing new songs to sing to you.

She’ll put on a show to win you’re praises and affection. Like i said she really affectionate. She’ll take naps on you throughout the day. She does drool a little but you’ll be ok.

Not much to say I feel like shes really straight forward. She’s not ashamed of the pictures she has of you in her room and openly flirts with you. Dose not mind PDA she heavily encourages it even.

Gets all giddy if you annotate affection. She’d be chill to watch cartoons with you while you both laze around doing nothin in particular.

[but-a-humble-hellsite-user]

I created this blog for one purpose - civil arguments against radfems and/or TERFs (I've seen some people belonging to those groups use one, some use the other, and some use both).

It is my strongly-held belief that the online/Tumblr trans movement fails at discourse in several ways, most notably telling radfems/TERFs to kill themselves wherever they pop up. (Technically speaking, Tumblr users do this with everyone they deem problematic, but that certainly doesn't make it acceptable.) This helps no one, and fosters animosity everywhere, as well as normalizing this sort of extremely bad behavior.

I have a few other problems with the mainstream trans movement. If you've read this far, I hope it's clear that I am not a TERF/radfem, but seek to argue with them civilly instead of by saying "kys terf (look how strong my argument is 😎)"

I will try my best to be as civil as possible on this blog. However, I am a human being, prone to irrationality and bad behavior just like everyone else. If I fuck up and say something unacceptable, please do tell me.

That said, you will never see death/rape/anything-of-that-sort threats coming from me. Fun fact: it is staggeringly easy to not wish for people's deaths on the internet!* Just remember that's a person you're talking to and ask yourself "Do I really want to be this hateful and rude because someone said something I don't like?"

As of this post being written, I don't block people. I can't see this policy changing unless someone committed some extremely egregious offense** against me that merited it.

There are no DNIs on this blog and you'll probably never find any. That said, if you bring racism, anti-Semitism, misogyny***, homophobia****, or similar sentiment onto this blog, I will tell you to fuck off because that is very much not welcome here.

Lastly, I am trans. (I will probably never state more about myself than that.) I will acknowledge this. This means that, yes, I may find myself biased in some respects, and I will try to keep that in mind.

*Oh yeah, I will sometimes probably be sarcastic, mildly angry, etc. on this blog. As stated, I am a human being, so please tell me if I say something fucked up. However, apart from that, this is a blog that is civil, but certainly not one where I will never use humor, anger, memes, or normal internet user stuff. I have emotions.

**No, that is not equivalent to "someone said something I don't like". To me, "egregious offense" means "you put racist comments on all my posts" or "you sent death threats in my inbox" or similar.

***I mean actual misogyny. I most certainly don't deny that trans women face misogyny in unique ways, but there is nuance here and I am not about to go around claiming that any criticism of mainstream trans movements is misogyny. "Trans women are disgusting and should be killed" is (trans)misogyny, just like "women are disgusting and should be killed" is misogyny. "A lot of online trans spaces seem to be encouraging bad behavior" is not.

****Same with homophobia. "Gay people should go to hell" is homophobia. "Online queer culture sometimes promotes entitlement and here's why I think that" is not.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Lesbians WIN & I'm excited about a Thai BL again!

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

April 2024 Wk 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

My Stand-In (Thai Fri iQIYI) ep 1 of 12 eps - Adaptation of Chinese novel Professional Body Double by Shui Qiang Cheng. Stars Up (Lovely Writer) and Poom (Bake Me Please) directed by the same team as KP (not a recommendation IMHO - my biggest criticism of KP was the clashing directing styles). The MDL description made it sound complicated af but actually it's not so bad. In fact it's GOOD.

Stuntman Joe dies on the job and wakes up in the body of another Joe who has an entirely different life. But our Joe just gets his new body right back into his old existence, full of friends, enemies, and one troublesome ex. Poom is absolutely killing it in the lead. Mek is perfectly cast as the Actor du Jerk. I’m not sold on Up’s bratty brokenhearted rich kid... yet. The show though, I like it. I like a one (two) night stand starting things off and I like a lot of morally gray characters. Fun fun!

Deep Night (Thurs iQiyi) ep 8fin - The lesbian moms are the cutest thing in the world and my favorite thing this week. Bar none.

Summation:

It's about a host club and all the gay boys in it and some stuff that's not important because... PEOPLE OF EARTH WE HAVE A HONEST REP OF POLY IN A BL. Stand up and raise your hands in prayer to the Thai BL gods because sure as shit no one else was ever going to give this to us. For that alone this show gets 8/10 from me. Bonus Lesbian moms and great kisses.

Two Worlds (Thurs iQIYI) ep 7 of 10 - Say what you want about MaxNat all these years that they've been paired makes them great onscreen boyfriends. And you know me, I'm a total sucker for linguistic negotiation. Makes my heart go all mushy. That said, now that the leads are together, I’m really uninterested in all the drama around the ex-boyfriend/triangle. I'm glad this is only 10 eps.

1000 Years Old (Thurs iQIYI) ep 11 of 12 - They gave me the tiniest teaser for the kinky vampire BL that I have wanted my whole life. And now I'm just fucking annoyed with the rest of the show. 

We Are (Weds iQIYI) ep 3-4 of 16 - Q & Toey are the only interesting thing going on. I actually didn’t like this pair in My School President, but I’m enjoying them here. The others are all fine but these two have my heart. I have questions like: did Phum ever get his shopping bags back? And why is Phum driving a different colored car half way through the ep?

Only Boo! (Sun YouTube) ep 3 of 12 - The quality is good (it’s GMMTV) but the acting is... not. Still I loved that Moo just made the confession for both of them. Very in character. Does this plot remind anyone else of Footloose? Just me? Side couple was cute but now a bit too stalker for me. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Unknown (Taiwan Tues YouTube & Viki) ep 10 of 12 - It’s fantastic. Such a great show. We are so lucky. This is basically Taiwan’s The Eights Sense. I didn’t know they had it in them, but I’m really glad that they did.

Living With Him AKA Kare no Iru Seikatsu (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 3 of 10 - As JBL’s go this is way more my speed (than Alaska). It’s just so sweet and awkward but charming about it. The confession was so earnest. 

Blue Boys (Korea YouTube) 2 of ? No MDL link - It’s very sexy this one. Not sure what Korea thinks it's doing, but I’m not mad about it. 

Gray Shelter (Korea Thurs iQIYI) ep 5fin - summation: About a slacker nursing a crush on the (brief) older stepbrother who abandoned him. Upon finding him again he moves in with him, upends the mans lost suffering life. A dark gritty piece with confusing subs making it too chewy to really grok. It's trying to do too much for its length. The tension is real and the acting is good, it's just everything else stymied clean execution of the core concept. Frankly I spent this show expecting (and wanting them) to just fall into bed together - in a kind of desperate fight sex. It didn’t happen, and I’m disappointed by the non-ending we got. (Whether it’s going to have more in the series or not.) 7/10 I'm open to changing the rank if a part two fixes this one's flaws.

Boys Be Brave AKA Roommates (Korea Thurs Viki) ep 1-2 of 8 - Oh dear. Terrible hair. Jock nerd pairing. OCD baby cakes. Cohabitation trope. Killer side couple. Def unhinged. 

At 25:00 in Alaska AKA 25 Ji Akasaka de (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 2 of 10 - I’m still genuinely not sure about this one. It’s just a little too awkward for me in the wrong way. I expect all Japanese BL to have a certain aura of awkwardness so I don’t know what it is about this one turnign me off. I do enjoy that we’re getting both stories, the one between the actors, and a little bit of the roles that they’re playing on screen but... yeah

Love is like a Cat (Korea Mon Viki) eps 7-8 of 12 - The leads finally had a moment but there is negative chemistry. Why am I watching this? 

It's airing but...

Lady Boy Friends (Thai WeTV grey) 16 eps - reminds me a bit too much of Diary of Tootsies only high school. Not my thing. DNF unless it turns a corner and is truly amazing.

Memory in the Letter (Thai WeTV) - 6 eps, when it's done, tell me if I should bother?

In case you missed it

Kiseki Chapter 2 (Sun iQIYI) 6 eps - finished its run but I won't be finishing it. Stays dropped.

GMMTV announced the second half of their 2024 line up. I got excited and picked my favorites, details + trailers here. Basically my ranking is:

The Heart Killers

ThamePo

Revamp

Sweet Tooth

Perfect 10 Liners

The Ex-Morning

Ossan’s Love Thailand

Next Week Looks Like This:

What happened?

Knock-Knock Boys (Thai WeTV) - 4 college friends conspire to help their friend lose his virginity. Familiar faces like Seng (yes, Billy's previous pairing) and Best, news here. But will it actually air this month?

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.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENT

I have adopted him. He is MINE. I love him, your honor. (The Stand In)

I love them SO MUCH. (Deep Night)

(Last week)

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire

If ya wanna be tagged each week leave a comment and I will add you to the template. Easy peesy.

[ghostofacrow]

Dune discourse is uniquely annoying because there's a bunch of extremely obvious, in-your-face orientalism perpetuated by the main characters that's being discussed at nauseum and is very easy to dismiss and completely overshadows any actual issues with the movie, like the refusal to use recognisable arabic phrases or the hiring practices. I'll be charitable here and assume that people have a rightfully negative reaction to how those images of white people, particularly Jessica, are used as marketing material, instead of just not getting the point, and with how often concerns like this are overlooked, I can understand why they aren't receptive to "no this thing that media does uncritically all the time is meant to be bad THIS time actually trust me bro just read this 1000 page book".

Seemingly the entire film crew having cold feet about including references to real world anti-colonial movements or just normal Arabic would always be concerning, but especially given the current situation in Palestine and it's all overshadowed by the colonisers in the book acting like colonisers because every other issue is more complicated. Dune, as a text, still believes in noble savages and "hard times create hard men" nonsense. I'm really not coming at this from a "don't criticise the thing I like" angle, but debates about Jessica's outfit have made me learn nothing besides occasionally seeing really cool pictures of real arabic clothing, while reading Haris A. Durrani's dissections of the books and the current adaptation has actually tought me a lot of stuff about both the book and the real world.

If you haven't seen his Dune essays, you can find a collection towards the bottom of this page: https://history.princeton.edu/people/haris-durrani

https://acoup.blog/2020/01/17/collections-the-fremen-mirage-part-i-war-at-the-dawn-of-civilization < This blog post isn't specifically about Dune, but it uses the Fremen as an example to discuss the historic origins of the noble savage trope (Acoup is generally a cool history blog, mostly focused on greek and roman history)

I love Dune but it's so problematic, just not for the obvious reason and dissected Frank Herbert's actual politics and the strange intersection of conservatism and anti-colonialism is fascinating. You should criticise Dune, I would just like the criticism to be better, especially because focusing on the thing that is framed as bad in the story gives every chud an easy way to dismiss criticism of the text as bad media literacy

[physalian]

Writing Tone #2: Avoiding Manufactured Sincerity

There’s a scene in season 5 of My Hero Academia where two beloved teachers have been brought to some high security prison to interrogate a captured villain that turns out to be a brainwashed childhood friend of theirs. The scene is really dramatic, these two teachers are screaming at this guy, heartbroken, and when I saw the episode (shortly before quitting the entire show mid-episode over how bored I was) I was not at all as outraged and horrified as they were.

It was so tonally jarring, and so unfounded within the plot, that it was almost uncomfortable to watch. The villain they’re interrogating isn’t unfamiliar, but the plot-twist-surprise childhood friend is a stranger no one but these two care about.

I didn’t care, couldn’t empathize with why they were upset, knew nothing about their relationship with the guy beyond the ham-handed flashbacks given right that moment. I wasn’t prepared to mourn the loss of this random character, wasn’t primed ahead of time with the idea that this was a possibility to dread the scene before it happened. I was just waiting for it to be over and when it finally was, the impact it had on me was a resounding: Well that was weird. Now back to the plot.

Unfounded sincerity is the uncomfortably ugly step-sibling of plots that are starved of sincerity—look at most of Phase 4, but really, starting with Thor: Ragnarok in the MCU. Many Marvel properties are afraid to embrace the emotional moments and resort to bad jokes to laugh at themselves before the audience can laugh at them. Because how dare a late-stage superhero story about mythical gods be at all sincere in its relationships, its quiet moments, its tragedies. Nope, time for jokes.

Unfounded sincerity is when a story goes far harder with the drama, the love-declarations, the angst, the humor, where it’s trying really hard to convince the audience to care and it just isn’t working.

This happens when arguments start out of nowhere, as well, when characters explode at each other in a heated screaming match that hasn’t been left to fester for nearly long enough, undercooked and hard to swallow.

This happens when characters fall suddenly, madly in love with each other with zero dubious intervention to explain away the sudden passion.

It happens particularly when characters care a whole heck of a lot about someone the audience doesn’t, at the expense of characters the audience is invested in.

It happens when characters have emotional breakdowns and start crying over what ends up reading like spilled milk. When stoic and strong characters break over something they normally would never, for ~drama~.

This is usually both a tone and pacing issue, and a serious case of telling. The author hasn’t done any of the work ramping up a situation or relationship for proper delivery of these emotionally charged moments that are written like critical character beats we’re supposed to care deeply about.

So how does this happen?

1. The author *really* wants this scene, but writes it too early into the story

Unless there’s foul play involved, or this is a romantic comedy that isn’t supposed to be a realistic and healthy depiction of how romance works, characters suddenly declaring love for each other at the cost of their own well-being, their own character arc and journey, and their other motivations can be very frustrating to read.

But the author wants to get to the Good Stuff, so they coast on the “male + female leads = relationship” expectation without writing the why (and so ensures the rise of so many gay ships in the process). Or the male + male leads” or what have you.

2. The author cannot fluidly change tone and characters explode, instead of simmer

An argument that comes out of nowhere can really take your audience out of a scene. Your characters suddenly look ridiculous and your audience can’t follow what’s going on or why they’re so upset. This is different than a character exploding seemingly out of nowhere, but who we know has been building resentment for dozens of pages and loses it over something otherwise inconsequential.

These scenes are painfully, obviously there for manufactured drama and don’t feel natural. These characters don’t feel like people, but playthings, action figures manipulated by the hands of the author.

3. The characters involved are underdeveloped

As in the My Hero scene mentioned above, of the three characters in the scene, the “friend” we’re supposed to care about is a non-entity. The two teachers could have lost their minds over this guy’s sudden death, or the reveal that he turned traitor, or that he murdered younglings and puppies and kittens, to the same emotional impact, because we don’t care about this guy (or, I don’t, at least. I didn’t, and shouldn’t have to read the manga).

You can of course have characters who grieve non-entities, like the fridged wife trope. The difference is the audience knows we’re not supposed to know or care about that lady and the character she never was. This happens pre-plot, not mid-season 5. The frigid wife is the catalyst for the character we then come to know, not a character whose death radically changes our heroes from the people we’ve already established.

4. The tonal jump is just too extreme from the established rules of the story

Abrupt changes in tone can be very tricky to pull off, and almost always fail when it surrounds an abrupt shift in character dynamics (as opposed to something more plot-related). As in, your lighthearted comedy suddenly stops the plot so two characters can scream at each other, when this level of emotional charge hasn’t been established as a possibility.

Or the aforementioned emotional breakdown that just leaves audiences uncomfortable like the awkward friend trying to soothe a weeping companion.

—

Unfortunately, the fixes to these situations are either delete that entire scene, or go back and do a lot of rewriting so there’s enough build-up to justify its existence. Go back and write in that simmering resentment, all the little frustrations, a pre-existing tension within the relationship that is always primed to snap.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder and there’s a reason the “slowburn” is so popular. Setting out from the beginning to write a fast-paced, passionate romance tells your readers to expect exaggerated displays of emotion.

My favorite musical is Moulin Rouge. This movie is insane. Everyone is hyperbolically emotional and nothing is half-assed. The dances, the belting singing, the costumes, set-design, editing, the declarations of love– they’re all dialed up to 11. So characters screaming their love or rage from the rooftops is a *lot* but you’re prepared for it from the opening scene, knowing exactly what kind of movie this is.

Even if you don’t start your story with the level of drama it will eventually reach, there should still be some sort of progression when it comes to character drama.

Last Airbender didn’t open episode 2 with the emotional intensity of Zuko and Azula’s last Agni Kai… but it did show you that this isn’t just a lighthearted comedy in episode 3, with the reveal of Gyatso’s body and Aang’s violently emotional reaction.

Speaking of episode 3, they didn’t throw in Gyatso out of nowhere. We know from the show so far that a) Aang is the last of his kind, and b) he doesn’t know this. Everything leading up to this reveal is lighthearted, sure, but with that undercurrent of dread, waiting for Aang to see for himself, waiting for that other shoe to drop.

So some things to keep in mind are:

Prime the audience with dropping that first shoe, make them aware of the building tension (romantic, aggressive, grief, or otherwise), even if not all the characters are aware.

Build that tension. If your characters will eventually explode, let them be mildly irritated first, then annoyed, then frustrated, then angry, then raging until they can’t contain it anymore.

Make sure every party involved in this dramatic moment is someone the audience actually cares about, not just someone they’re told to care about.

TL;DR: Don’t pull the trigger prematurely. It’s most obvious with suddenly passionate arguments, characters flinging insults and hurts the audience isn’t prepared for and doesn’t know about, in effort to move the plot along before it’s fully cooked.

So unless there’s some drugs or fairy magic involved, or one of these characters has a gun to their head forcing them to do this right now, people don’t just explode in a rage without some buildup first. People can explode in a rage over a seemingly inconsequential and unrelated thing, but they’re likely already upset and this one little thing is the final straw. Audiences love the anticipation of what that final straw will be, and whether the explosive drama is rage or romance, “slowburn” is immensely popular for a reason.

[aroaceleovaldez]

Is it me or people haven’t really been talking about pjo7? Like there is barely posts about it

Yeah, no, a lot of people just aren't interested in/reading the CoTG trilogy. It was kind of the same with TOA and MCGA (and TKC) in just waning interest in the franchise after HoO, and particularly for TKC/MCGA/CoTG them not being main series installments. CoTG trilogy in particular is also getting a lot of general disinterest/distaste in how it's publicly acknowledged to be just advertisement for the show and the overall downward trajectory of quality in the series. Particularly a lot of people take issue with the absolutely useless plotlines of like CoTG trilogy and TSATS, the blatant glaring inconsistencies/frequent retcons, and the fact that both CotG trilogy and TSATS were post-Rick announcing that he wouldn't be making any more major Riordanverse installments (which he then almost immediately took back re: announcing TSATS as a PR move, in response to the negative reaction of how he responded to criticism about Piper and Sam and such). Also people really dislike that it's being tacked onto first series as a marketing move. Plus, the fact that because of that, it doesn't have it's own name for the trilogy, people don't really have a good means to discuss it because they don't know what to refer to it as. We're all outright refusing to call it PJatO like the RR marketing wants because it's not PJatO, but they failed to give us anything else to refer to it as because they don't want us to refer to it as anything else. So just... nobody's calling it anything, then. Nobody's discussing it at all.

In general though the lack of interest is not surprising, given most of the fandom checked out after HoO to begin with and things have been steadily dwindling since then. Also particularly that CoTG is a filler mini-series between HoO and TOA, so skipping it doesn't really mean you're missing any information. It's kind of a "this trilogy could have been a short story saga" type thing. Like, if CoTG was formatted like Demigods and Magicians, or Demigod Files/Demigod Diaries or something I think a lot more people would be interested in it! Even though not a ton of people read the companion books, they're generally more digestible for the audience than a whole new trilogy (sorry TKC and MCGA). Just think of how many people read Demigods and Magicians but not TKC. Honestly I genuinely think they would have had more success if they just did three new companion novels of short story anthologies. Like, hey, what if instead of really bad excessively long plots about Percy's quests for college, we get more short stories of Percy's little quests a la Singer of Apollo/Stolen Chariot/Sword of Hades/etc? And then to flesh out each book a little more you could do short stories for other beloved minor characters from first series to continue it being advertisement for the show and hype up other characters that will appear. Like, what about another Clarisse short story? Or a Chris short story? Or the Stolls or something? Some TA stuff? Who knows!