#ep 2 was ok. i liked the concept

[branchiopod]

actually listening to tma for the first time bc i’m doing a horror campaign and a player likes it so. research. and uhhhh fanon depictions were certainly a Choice

[xwhitenoise]

So I’ve started on Neverafter, right, and despite being sort of a baby when it comes to more grotesque horror elements I’m enjoying it so far

but some of the content warnings are for things that are... honestly really trivial and would not have warranted timestamped warnings in any other season, and I feel like they make the idea of content warnings themselves seem kind of frivolous and silly overall. Which is. The opposite of what they should be doing.

[tacagen]

gotta say, the new dw intro really scratches my brain just the right way

[velvet-games]

he’s so normal :)

I actually drew this before a lot of the recent stuff I've been posting; it was just me trying to figure out a good redesign for vox. I might make a proper redesign explanation later, but here are some quick notes while I'm still playing with it:

vox trapzod and alastor trongle :)

^^ ok but unironically this was kind of a hard decision since I have mixed feelings about vox's body type

stuff I was considering:

1) vox is alastor's foil and has a similar body type to alastor at least in part because you're supposed to be comparing them (It's actually so cool cause I was watching TB Skyen's reaction to ep 2 and he immediately predicted that they would have beef lol)

2) tumblr sexyman bod <3

3) I LOVE @/bestosunglass' way of drawing him, and it made me realize that I kind of love the idea of vox being a little bigger than alastor? it's very big himbo puppy + lithe cat energy

4) not sure what my headcanons about vox's body are in terms of biological vs tech yet, but I think I want to lean toward tech (which is customizable)

I love the angst concept of vox having the freedom to change his body with relative ease, which makes him feel like he has to constantly update and update and update and update and update and it's never good enough because he could always change something and he'll never quite be good enough--

basically being a victim to his own progress-oriented mindset

and also treating himself like a product; if it's not working, if it's not the best, newest model, then it's broken and useless and disposable

tbh alastor's ability to find beauty and art in the old (not necessarily based on function, but on character and care) would be good for him

ooc or not, as someone with dysmorphia issues myself, I really want an "I like your body because it's yours" moment from alastor

I think all of that + toxic masculinity would probably mean vox would make himself comically buff (at least at first) lol

5) but I like drawing him kinda scrawny ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ it's just weird because I kind of want to audience to pick up on the fact that he's not actually hypermasc but vox would totally (mostly successfully) broadcast that to the characters in the show

6) I think a trapezoid is a good shape for him! it contrasts well with alastor being a kind of sly and striking triangle shape. trapezoids are more interesting and dynamic than rectangles, but are still more stiff and business-like than triangles (p sure I am completely misunderstanding shape theory here but it makes sense to me lmao)

vox is such a mess of vibes? like he's a cult leader he's a televangelist he's a hypnotist he's a business shark he's a tech CEO he's a newscaster he's a TV he's a computer he's a literal shark he's a mastermind he's a pathetic fanboy

still not sure which of those is the most important/what should be obvious in his design

obsessed with the concept of TV knobs as buttons but it's kind of old fashioned

I headcanon him as having been a nerdy kid that got kicked in the shins for being obsessed with TV/tech lol

also hc him as being vaguely and very obliviously transfemme; the buffness can also be overcompensating for a lack of masculinity both physically and mentally

[justmy-account]

List of byler-gates

I’m just bored, but read it anyways, it’s fun

there sooo many of them, and i’m still pretty lazy so this isn’t perfect, but just let’s start

Mikhailgate

This is practically anti byler theory, but nvm

So, Dimitri has a son named Mikhail, which is russian version of name Michael, Mike

So, people were just saying that instead of Mike, Will will end up with Mikhail(who’s technically Mike bc of the name, yk)

I think everyone was just joking, oh, good ol’ times

and willloveinterestgate is the same

Lettergate/Pocketgate

These theories aren’t the same one, but it’s basically the same concept, ig

The basic thing is, that Mike wrote a letter to Will(singed Love, Mike)

In pocketgate, Mike has the letter saved in his triangle pocket, bc in st, characters many times has letters, that were important to them, in their left pocket(above the heart), for example Hopper and El(Hopper’s heart-to-heart), Jonathan(acceptance letter to college) etc.

And he would just take it out in the middle of confession or sth

+the triangle always points to Will like an arrow

Lettergate is just basically the same, ok, idk how to describe it differently 

Twelvegate

Not exactly a byler, but theory, that Will was number twelve in HNL, and that he’s El’s actual twin

And from that, there’s theory that Will has powers, but wasn’t n. 012

Okay, back to byler

This is same as rainbowgate i think

Flickergate

This theory is very lovely! after Will tells Mike that rolled seven in s1, the light behind them flickers

and since ud is frozen on nov6 83, when you signal sth from ud, it should appear at nov6 83-s1

this connects to electricgate(i dunno if sth like this exist, but just keep reading), the electricity~are friends electric~will possibly having electric powers

so mike and will could go together in s5 to ud on a mission or sth, and kiss in wheelers garage, and that would make the light flicker(i’m so good at explaining things, right😐)

will and mike going to ud together is predicted by mike and will sitting on upside down couch in last ep. of s4

Birthdaygate/Memorygate

Soo, remember how they forgot Will’s birthday? what if all wills memories, that people reminded him of in the shed are gone? his birthday, building castle byers, meeting mike… and that’s why mike says that his life started the day he found her, bc he doesn’t remember meeting Will

for me, it’s really weird, they couldn’t just forget Will’s birthday, no, this ain’t it

Kiss at lovers lake

I’m not sure if this has a different name, but it’s that their first kiss will be near lovers lake

evidence: patrick(the kid who died at lovers lake), had a nickname “berlin wall” or sth(we saw this in the school newspaper), and it was devided to four, same as hawkins

and song heroes is abt couple who lived at different sides of berlin wall, and idk, it just connects, okay?

when will painted the map of hawkins while he was possessed, mike was holding blue and yellow meter

Eightfifteengate

Context: will left the wheelers at 8:15 in s1

in s1e1, time mark 8:15 is literally the shot where will disappears in the shead

i think there’s a season 2 soundtrack called eight fifteen

tw: time fuckery: while will was recording on halloween night, the time says 8:04 while he’s recording mike saying “did you agreed with this?”, but when joyce rewatches it, it show 8:15(byler)

“ it’s 8:15, you’re late”

btw, clocks and watches from hiroshima are stuck at 8:15

aaanywaaay, there’s just too much 8:15 things, aaah(this is just a few)

what it has to do with byler?

well, 15-8=….(wait for it)….seven. a byler number. it was a seven!

also, “the first lie”, when murray says this to jancy, the time mark is… guess what, 8:15

there’s this theory with the songs “the first lie” and “the first i love you”, and it just connects 

Motelgate

theory, that after mike’s “love” confession to el, they went to a motel for sleep, and mike and will had to share a bed, and we could possibly see flashbacks of it in s5, and it would kinda explain the two day skip

Colorgate

blue and yellow meet in the west, i’m sure you know this one, and there’s sooo many evidence in this

mattduffersbasementgate

It’s too late for this to be true, but the duffers are(/were) holding every cast member that ships byler in their basement, lol

bloopergate

Bloopers from byler scenes, basically, for example “not when i was the spy, oh fuck”, basically Finn and Noah being all giggly, i guess

bloopergate implies to every blooper, but why not to mention it

curtaingate

Sth like, that when there’s some fight happening between characters, if curtains are open, it means they’re open with their feeling and opposite 

Example: milkvan make out scene-closed, but you don’t love me fight-opened

Bonus: „ but they like the curtain. people like us are just trying to look behind the curtain”(my very bad quotation of murray, yk what i mean)

Also, Suzie had blue and yellow curtains, and they were opened

And, “and i love her and i can’t lose her again”? Also curtains closed, like wtf, this fandom is crazy

piggybackgate

El knows abt Mike and Will. she saw how they act around each other, she’ve heard will saying “you’re the heart” to mike, saw that mike has Will’s painting now

New Coke Theory

basically, old coca colla is mileven, new coke is byler. it contains some of the old ingredients(mike), and new ones too(will). not everyone likes(bc its gay ship). and when you look at scenes with can of new coke, it’s many times symbolizing byler vs. milkvan

one of my favorite new coke theory examples is this: in s3, after el gets attacked by the flesh monster, she tries to crash a can(but she doesn’t have her powers, so she can’t). this is a can of new coke(byler) and she can’t crush that/destroy it. and in this scene, we get a flashback to the lab, where she crushes aka destroys regular coke(mileven)

phonegate

mike and will not calling each other, bc of joyce’s telemarketer job(he won’t stop whining abt it)

————

i miss all these little silly theories abt literally everything

i hope the byler tag will be like this once again

maybe we could start naming our new theories “gate”s again

for example: heartfeltgat, strangerwritersgate, snowkissgate or sth

anyway, byee

[mcclens]

Everyone's familiar (and sick) of the Buddy Daddies being compared to Spy x Family thing. But I was thinking and realized something funny--

In SxF Yor and Loid try hard to look happy & married for the facade and their fake family. In BD Kazuki and Rei never really try that ? they're already written to act and look like "an old married couple" (director's words)

And yet the side characters (like Anna, Shigeki, the moms) think (know) they're more than friends who have a daughter together.

I think that's also one of the reasons why I like Kurusu family dynamic more. Because it feels more real and is never an act and they never try to make their family seem "properly real" in the way the Forger's try to seem perfect. I mean at the start they're like "ok we gotta play pretend family!" but post ep 3 it was all natural lol

After Rei accepts himself as Miri's father and after their talk with Misaki, they're already committed to Miri, and I remember watching SXF and just thinking WHEN are things gonna move forward?? The slowburn is burning too slow I'M IMPATIENT when is loid gonna accept anya as his daughter--

Sure, Yor and Loid are strangers, compared to Kazuki and Rei who have lived together for 3+ years.. and share a bank account... But it feels like they're still stuck at that "strangers" bit for the whole first season. I'd call them acquaintances even lol. But I get it, SxF is slower and has more of a slowburn, VS Buddy Daddies that had 12 episodes + 4 cd dramas. But even then, BD was easier for me to get attached to. (But also. I'd absolutely KILL to have BD have 2+ seasons like uhhhh yes give me all the "unnecessary" fillers and random stuff, I want to see it all, anything, I'll take it. ANYTHING. PLEASEEEE)

Also I'd call SXF a pretty vanilla anime, it's meant for all ages, it has a lot of genres that appeal to a wide range of audience (like romance, comedy, action, fictional fantasy (mind reading, loid's costumes...)), it has a fun concept, nice characters... It doesn't have blood, death, the idea that the main characters could die, no lives are at stake, it doesn't have the same approach to childcaring like BD has (the whole daycare episode, oof), it doesn't have same sex parents.

[guardianspirits13]

Ok now for a list of things that I'm kind of iffy about or wish they had kept from the books. It's worth noting that I can't think of a single show exclusive scene they added that I did not like, and most of the changes were integrated flawlessly.

Starting out, the pacing. I'm hoping this gets better with time, especially given that the second episode has much more time to breathe. The whole first episode felt a little cramped, and some of the exposition felt a bit... exposition-y. I don' t think there is much they could have done to get around this though so I'm not gonna dwell on it.

As a fan of the series, I love how they introduced the structure and function of the PJO world with the intro, but I think the jump from "Percy sees things" to "everything is all real" felt a bit abrupt. I am curious what first time fans think about this, and again the first episode covers a lot more ground page-wise than ep 2.

Manchild Gabe... I am not sure how I feel about this. In the books he seemed downright threatening and even with Percy's 12yo bravado, he was still an intimidating figure. His bickering with Sally seemed more like your typical dysfunctional relationship than a power imbalance... both can be harmful in their own way, but I'm still undecided on how much giving Sally a bit more agency in her relationship with him effects the larger story. The whole "not all monsters look like monsters" thing works well in the books with Gabe, but I guess they were redirecting it to foreshadow Luke's betrayal? I'm not sure.

...which brings me to Sally. I was unsure about the casting, but she has earned her stay to me. I always imagined her as a bit more subdued, especially with the more intense iterations of Gabe. She's kind and gentle and has a rebellious streak, but as worried as she might be for Percy she hides it inside of herself. I think her being a bit more expressive as a character works in this setting though, especially since we aren't seeing her through Percy's kid colored lenses. She feels a bit less like the perfect, kind, and understanding mother Percy sees, and a bit more like a real-life single mother trying to keep some of that childhood wonder alive despite everything. She does seem younger than I would have expected, but that's a nitpick on my end. I think she is one character that I will always have a separate book/show counterpart for in my mind.

Ok. Now for Clarisse. Out of all the characters I was skeptic about, I think she's the only one who didn't win me over. This is a writing issue, nothing at all to do with the actress. She was characterized more as a 'queen bee' type mean girl than a bully who picks fights just to feel worthy of her father's approval. She would be better fit for a vindictive daughter of Aphrodite than a daughter of Ares. My mind might be changed in the future but we got most of her scenes in these first two episodes so I'm doubtful. The one moment that had potential was when Percy broke her spear, but the Clarisse I know would not back off just because there is an audience.

There was no hellhound... I was kinda looking forward to it, and it does emphasize that even camp isn't really safe for Percy and is a catalyst for both his quest and the idea that there is a traitor. I can kind of see why the cut it for thematic purposes so Percy feels safe for once in his life, but that's only if I squint.

The scene cuts. I know, I know they're supposed to mimic book chapters. I get it. But it just doesn't work for me, it feels like there's a lack of establishing shots and the black screen is long enough you think the tv is buffering. It's an interesting idea in concept, but the execution falls flat.

OH also as far as things that were missing- the 3 fates. I know this is in the show since it was in the trailers, but I'm curious as to where they're gonna put it now.

Anyways minor nitpicks aside these two episodes were an emotional roller coaster and absolute masterpieces of television cinema.

[sixteenstrikes]

PLEASE talk more about DurgeWyll and Hozier, PLEASE... I am rotating the songs you posted and the vision is so good

thank you for asking me :) (the doors close sealing you in the crypt)

i joke. ok first of all i need to cite ten @bladesmitten as a resident durgewyll expert and direct you to his blog... she's written some incredible fic & analysis of the durgewyll romance and made a lot of gorgeous wyll edits and art in general, can't rec his blog enough.

i have sadly never played through the durgewyll romance & only watched it so there are undoubtedly story details i am unaware of. alas i have only played the tav version of his romance so far

some spoilers for durge beneath the cut. i tried to be vague but a warning there. also i didnt stick my oar into unreal unearth or any of the adjacent eps for that album .. sorry

all that being said here are my 2 cents

i think the main draw for picking hozier songs for durgewyll is that incredibly sexy dynamic they have of being each other's foil as well as each other's love interest. both wyll and durge are bound to an inescapable doom within the story: to pay with their body and soul for the fate of baldur's gate. durge must destroy it to please their father, wyll must save it. (wyll's saved it already, at the cost of his soul, and durge has to sacrifice their soul to destroy it as (redacted), but i wont go further on that tangent lol. its fascinating though.)

i think a core concept of wyll to focus on here as well is his faith. in his act 2 dance scene, in response to one of the dialogue options, wyll replies that he 'still keeps faith in the old tales of true love'- this is crucial. wyll is the man to whom the gods gave a cold shoulder. he has no love or faith for them. but he keeps faith in the old tales- he keeps faith, specifically, in durge.. 'his greatest adventure'.. and if durge chooses to resist their father's authority, they spurn a god for wyll's sake. there's an incredible amount of mutual devotion there.

there is also the monster hunter/monster dynamic. i haven't delved into it much here bc i am more interested in how eerily wyll and durge parallel each other as twin mirrors and exiles from the gate, the light and dark sides, sharing almost a common doom, trapped in the long shadows of their fathers.... man. but the monster dynamic should absolutely be examined and explored, it's fascinating. i think it's another compelling aspect of wyll's character. he's a man with a lot of resonant contradictions. a monster hunter who refuses to hunt the monster of baldur's gate and instead severs them from the one who made them .... a monster hunter who holds out his hand to the monster he is supposed to kill... wyll's love of the mysterious and strange and his kindness, i think, predispose him to see durge as an ally and a friend. not from naivete, but from an open heart

my hozier picks for durgewyll overall:

it will come back - i love the way the view shifts in this. one of my top durgewyll picks for the way it evokes a lot of the horror & tragedy that wyll looks into and doesnt flinch away from & the hunger durge has toward wyll extending his own lonely & friendly hand

shrike - i see this as primarily from durge's view. picked for the devotion & regret

NFWMB - applies beautifully to both of them. theeeee durgewyll song to me from andy's works... consider the lyrics from both person's perspective to feel the world open beneath your feet lol

as it was - ditto, i think it encompasses both perspectives. also one of my favorite songs he wrote so im biased lmao. i think this is another very resonant choice for the durgewyll dynamic

like real people do - feels an overly obvious pick but it could work especially well for a resist durge

no plan - could be an intriguing choice. i can't quite swing it but some of the lines in this for durgewyll... i like them...

you could definitely make a case for from eden for another from durge's view. gives me a feeling of a durge who's not resisting but idk

[rosewaterconley]

I solved a mystery that only I care about lol

ok so I have no clue what I'm doing and social media terrifies me. I will probably never touch this account again. why did I have to follow 3 algorithm-selected accounts to get into this website? I can actually name 3 people I'd want to follow on here and it's none of the people your fucking robot told me to follow. but hey, I feel like I have to post it here rather than my blogspot since nobody in the world actually uses blogspot and I want people to see this!

so anyway, there's this band out of the city of Milwaukee called Hero of a Hundred Fights. they dropped a couple CDs in the early 2000s and seem to have broken up, though all their members have been in bands since. that'll be important a little later. for now, Hero of a Hundred Fights are important to me on 2 levels:

I'm a Wisconsinite who has a tiny bit of an obsession with local history and art and really fuck with their weird mathy little corner of the 2000s hardcore scene

I'm a Faction Paradox fan and their 2001 EP The Remote, The Cold contains numerous references to the series! if you've heard of this EP before, it was probably in the context of some "music that references Faction Paradox" list or another

about #2... see, everyone already knows that track 2 is called Faction Paradox and track 3 is called The Celestis. we've all long since put together that the title is a reference to Lawrence Miles' Interference. but what about the lyrics? unfortunately, we don't know. they're not online, and the vocals are good, mind, but rather incoherent.

well, we didn't know. until I ordered a CD copy for like $8 lol. that's all it took! so here you go, the lyrics booklet plus some of the other artwork featured on the CD. artist Nick Slough did a great job on this art and it's a shame only the cover is widely available online (though that's hardly a problem unique to the physical version of this one album). turns out, this is some kinda concept album based on the Miles novel Interference. cool! really love the lyrics on Rope especially. "I need your blood to get this vessel running" and "my life was in your hands, I cut them off and now they're mine" are both raw as hell.

the cover art is pretty interesting. this album was recorded in 2000, released in 2001. the entire creative process occurred before the first standalone Faction Paradox release, The Book of the War. this means the album is entirely Doctor Who-based, not based on the FP series itself. it also means, if we assume the humanoid characters on the art are supposed to be the Remote, that this is the first-ever professional art depicting them!

disclaimer: the booklet lyrics don't 100% match up with what's said in the songs! it's mostly accurate but unfortunately there are some sections missing, some repeated bits that are only written once et al. that's all par for the course but I figured I'd mention it - especially in the case anybody wants to use this to transcribe the lyrics on Genius or some other site like that.

and while we're here, Hero 100 member William Zientara has been in a billion different bands, and I think he's probably the most responsible for the Doctor Who theme on this album. See, he was also in a short-lived band called Managara - named after a Doctor Who tie-in novel so obscure even I, owner of a complete set of Virgin New Adventures who spends my work breaks combing through digital copies of old fanzines, have only ever heard it discussed a handful of times. one of their songs is called Happiness Patrol. more recently, in 2021, he was in the band Fuiguirnet, who have a song called What Grows From the Seeds of Doom! which means Zientara has been randomly tossing Doctor Who references into songs from at least three different bands for twenty years!

so uhh without any further rambling here's the lyrics and art:

[kendrixtermina]

Tentatively Trying To give Doctor Who a Chance again

For the record: I was a long-term fan of the show, but new & classic, until Chibnall's total ineptitutde at character writing made me ragequit forever halfway through his era. I was honestly planning to never watch again cause I felt like even if it got good again what i liked about the show was gone forever & it would forever be tainted by all these bits I hat.

What got me back was Ncuti Gatwa looking genuinely passionate in those gifsets & hearing that he was a longtime fan, which gave me a sense that this is again made by ppl who care about it & get it, which is not a feeling I've ever had since Chibnall took over. I was wanting it to be good, but at the end of series 11 I just found myself just... not excited for the next episode or season, whereas through the last 2 showrunners, though they had their flsws I could never watch the next ep quick enough. They weren't perfect, like, for example, RTD used too many reset buttons and Moffat too many repetitive gimmicks, but they always really sold me on at least the broad strokes of their concept & character, and then that was just... extremly absent. Tropes at best and nondestinct planks of wood at worst. There just wasn't a single real consistent character.

And then on top of that we got the timeless child bullshit that destroyed everything I liked about the Doctor's character.

We've had bad & wonky episodes before but never, I think, a head writer who fundamentally doesn't GET the MC or the science fiction genre.

So even now I'm only giving this a chance with great reluctance.

Expect a series of posts on the actual episodes.

I assume Donna is getting "fixed". Normally I'm quite the tragedy buff & don't like "fixing" canon unhappy endings, but, like with Rebuild of Evangelion, I am willing to accept it here because it's the same writer doing it so it won't contradict the theme, and because it's been so long, we've all had to live with the Bad End being the de the facto status quo, so it feels earned rather than cheap. Plus, many years passed in-universe for both Donna and the Doctor. The weight is still there, even if it's lessened. If both RTD himself and hardcore Donna fans are OK with it, who am I to say it's wrong.

[telomeke]

15 people, 15 questions

I got tagged by @colourme-feral (at this link here), @pandasmagorica (at this link here), @wen-kexing-apologist (at this link here), @dribs-and-drabbles (at this link here), @belladonna-and-the-sweetpeas (at this link here) and @airenyah (at this link here). Thanks for tagging me guys! 🥰 Hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season. 💖🎄

‌

1. Are you named after anyone?

Not anyone in particular; Mom's dad set out the names for the children of his sons but not his daughters. So Mom gave me a name that incorporates the concepts bright and strong. I sometimes like to think I was named after a laundry detergent. 🤣

2. When was the last time you cried?

I can't remember exactly… I never used to cry, not at stories or movies, unless they involved dogs dying (because that was my first exposure to grief, when my little furry boy died on me during my teen years). After more family members passed away though, I felt my core shift and now know what it is like to be moved to tears by a more human-centric grief and loss (I think I wasn't allowing myself to feel that before, as part of that armor you put on when out in the world as an adult).

And ever since I learnt my lessons I've cried a lot more often, sharing heartfelt moments with characters on the page or on the screen because I'm less afraid of showing emotion (as in, I no longer think of it as some kind of weakness). I think the last time I cried may have been watching Last Twilight? When I watched tough guy Mhok shedding his hard protective shell to love Day unconditionally, with the motivations behind his acts of love going mostly unnoticed and unseen by the object of his affections – e.g., the sunflower just before August turns up late, setting up Day's surprise birthday party and basically giving him away to others when you know his heart is telling him to keep Day for himself. 😢 (I've not watched Ep.7 yet, so I don't know if the meaning of any of this will change moving forward, or if there are more tears in store though.) And yes, I think the last tear I shed was when Mhok grabbed Day to kiss him at the end of Ep.6, to prove that he was loving him truly for his own sake, not plying him with secondhand emotion out of pity as Day had been led to expect from the world.

I may write more about Last Twilight in the future… It's easy to think of romantic love as a gift to be received, but Mhok really does exemplify that the human nature of love is rather more tied to wanting to give of oneself, and (for romantic love at least) that experience only achieves its fullest completion when it is met with the recipient giving you their love in return (or crushing your heart with rejection or indifference instead). And I do see the parallels between love rejected and grief; "grief is just love with no place to go" rings so very true.

3. Do you have kids?

No I don't, and it is maybe the one regret in life I will allow myself. "No regrets" is a great motto to live by, but if I could do things over again I might choose to have kids (whether my own biological kids or my own adopted ones; I'm a little too far gone and set in my ways to consider this now though). Never wanted kids before (noisy, troublesome, a dampener holding you back I told my younger self) – but when my nephew came along it was like somebody flicked a switch and I realized it was OK to feel that kind of unconditional love for another human being, for no other reason than the privilege of loving them. And I think being a parent (unlike a romantic partner) allows you to love truly unconditionally, without expecting anything in return.

4. What sports do you play/have you played?

Used to like playing soccer/basketball/badminton as a kid, but only unseriously and very badly. Nowadays I swim a lot and the gym is my second home (but I'm not at all some bulked-up gorilla; I don't have the genetics nor the inclination to abuse my body with steroids, which is the only way to look like the bodybuilders and fitness models IMO). But exercise does wonders for your mental health in addition to your physical fitness; it's been my refuge whenever things got horrifyingly stressful in life by providing an outlet for stress, plus endorphins to make you feel better. It just doesn't feel like it would be any good when you're going through it, but you can sense it after. Which is also part of why it's so hard to get yourself up and exercising when you're down; the hardest part is overcoming the inertia that is doubly weighted whenever life is stressing you out. I always have to remind myself that the more I don't want to go to the gym, the more it is I probably need to go.

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Sarcasm? What, ✨MOI✨? (Yes I'm being sarcastic here. I can be a bit too barbed with people I know, so I've learnt to pare it back, but my propensity for sarcasm has done me no favors in the workplace. It's also why I understand people putting up hard-shell defenses – shoutout to Pran in Bad Buddy and Mhok in Last Twilight.)

6. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

I think their general demeanour and what their overall body language is conveying.

7. What’s your eye color?

Darkest, darkest brown; so dark it looks black in all but the brightest light. You can't see where my pupils end and my irises begin.

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings all the way. Don't like horror movies and I won't pay to watch them.

9. Any talents?

I have a number of interests, but whether or not I have any talent in them is for others to judge because – even though I'm proud of some of the things I've done – my ever-critical perfectionist's eye can never fail to see flaws and things I could've done better. Everything is always falling short in some way. So my interests are: languages and linguistics (I can handle a few languages, but only a couple have acceptable fluency while the rest are still in pretty rough shape, IMO). Love to write (in English only, more focused on fact than fiction, but even then the inspiration doesn't always flow). I have an ear (but not an abiding love) for music, so I will often be singing if I'm alone and need more than silence around me. I'm interested in biological sciences (wanted to be a palaentologist as a little boy; isn’t that every kid's dream at some point?) – animals, plants, and nature fascinate me. I used to like dabbling in visual arts, but that's been deadened a bit by having to work with some of that in my job (maybe that's why the visual aspects of BL will always fascinate me though). And I think I do have a knack for research, looking things up and putting facts together so that they can convey some kind of message or bigger truth.

10. Where were you born?

In the delivery room of a maternity ward. My roots are in Asia though, if that's what this question is getting at. 😆

11. What are your hobbies?

Scrolling through Tumblr takes up way too much of my time, but yes that is one of my hobbies. I watch BLs now and then, and from that I go on to do the odd write-up about aspects that interest me (especially culture, linguistics and BL visuals). Another current obsession is baking up fruitcake variations (part of the culinary landscape of the season) and this will continue as a hobby until I've baked it out of my system. I love to watch cooking shows, but I do this more to pick up tips on how to make my meals quicker, easier and tasty enough for me (I don't love cooking, but I cook a lot, to get around dietary intolerances more than anything else). Also – gym and swimming a few times a week.

12. Do you have any pets?

None at the moment. We had dogs growing up and I am an avowed dog lover. But when you're a working adult it wouldn't be fair to leave a dog alone for most of the day while you're out at the office, so I never got one after I began working. Plus dogs don't last long (15 years is already geriatric for a pooch) and I'm not ready to face the shattering grief when they have to leave you. But never say never... Maybe I'll get a kitty for a change? 🤔💖

13. How tall are you?

I'm tallish; tall in some countries, average in others. Taller than Singto, shorter than Ohm. 😆

14. Favorite subject in school?

Art and art history? We had a dream lecturer who made the subject come alive. Also a psychology elective that I took, for all its insights into the human mind. In school school it was a mix depending on my mood and the topic of the day: English, geography, biology, chemistry, mathematics, or art. Didn't like physics or economics at all.

15. Dream job

Something in research and analysis backing up the boys in The Sign. 😆 Or maybe volunteering at a charity to help with food/housing (but I can probably only think about doing this after securing my own retirement).

Onward tagging (I can't count so don't expect this to be 15): @7nessasaryevils, @crzshaly437, @faillen, @dimplesandfierceeyes, @neuroticbookworm, @greenreflections, @recentadultburnout, @thecleopatrawannabe, @nihilisticcondensedmilk, @allthegoodusernamesaretakenhuh, @lamonnaie, @non-binarypal7, @twig-tea, @williamrikers, @gillianthecat, @hughungrybear, @solitaryandwandering, @starryalpacasstuff, @rane-ab, @serafyne, @silvercrystal1, @tsukitsuki077, @5raccoonsinatrenchcoat, @vegasandhishedgehog, @reformedcharacter, @writerwithoutsound, @bengiyo, @gelofhellyeah, @shortpplfedup, @dc-alves, @zhaagdewin, @chickenstrangers, @ranchthoughts and anybody else who wants to play! As always no pressure if you don't wish to play either.

If you've already played do tag me with a link so I can read your 15 answers too! 🥰 (And I left out some mutuals because I see you've already been tagged; let me know too if you've already played so I can head on out to read your post as well! 😍)

‌

[nichestartrekkie0-0]

Another fic- Una and Hemmer! (Friend-fic haha)

Words: 1.8k 

Rating: Teen- creep at a bar, plus some mild mentions of death/drinking/self harm via drinking 

Summary: Una and Hemmer fend off a creep at a bar…it devolves quickly into an existential chat and some shenaniganizing 

Timeline: Between ep 2-3! (Before the Illyrian colony) 

(Not a ship thing between Hemmer and Una- they're buddies.)

Title: He'll know.

It was dark, crowded, and loud. Hemmer hated events like this. He never understood the concept of getting drunk under the table as a bonding exercise between species and peoples. 

So, he got up. Made the excuse he needed air. 

Then, he made a beeline for the bar. 

Usually, most bars didn’t have what he was looking for, but this particular bar was run by a Human. She had to have something like it. 

“Excuse me can I get-”

He cut off. 

Something wasn’t right. 

He glanced over. Una was a few seats down, with a humanoid man practically breathing down her neck. Her shoulders were tense. For an Illyrian who could pack a punch– that was pretty damn tense. 

Something cracked in his grip. That man was a little too close for Hemmer’s liking. 

And– as Una’s body language suggested– hers as well. 

Setting down his glass, he stood and stalked over. Before he could ask Una anything, the man reached out and grabbed her hand. 

The words just came out.

“Get your hand off of her.”

The man turned. “Excuse me?”

“I’m sorry.” Hemmer sneered, “Maybe I wasn’t clear enough.”

He took a deep breath, the plan forming in his mind almost instinctively. 

“Get your hand off my wife.” He snapped, “Touch her again without her consent and you’ll no longer have a hand.” 

Una, bewildered, gave him a quick look. Hemmer winced a little in return, trying to keep his body language imposing. 

Play along.

She gritted her teeth and nodded. 

“Excuse my husband.”  She smiled, baring her teeth, “He’s Andorian, you know how they get.” 

Hemmer rolled his eyes. “Afgain’im, ayiid oona’ek boh.” 

My friend, maybe we should leave. 

Standing, Una smiled sheepishly at the man and leaned in. “That would be the Admiral’s son. The Admiral, who we’re meeting tomorrow for the conference.” 

Hemmer stopped in his tracks. “Oh.”

Oh.

“How are we-”

“-Going to play this off?” Una groaned, “Great question. We better go tell Chris before he has an aneurysm.”

Hemmer held up a hand. 

“Excuse us.”  

Leading Una back to the table, they sat down. Hemmer looked at Una, and Una looked at Hemmer. They both sat in silence for a second before they moved to speak. 

“You go first.” Hemmer said quickly.

“Oh no, it was your amazing idea.” Una snipped, “You get to tell him.” 

Wincing, Hemmer laid a hand on his captain’s shoulder. “Pike, my friend-”

“-I got hit on at the bar and Hemmer had the genius idea of pretending to be my husband!” Una blurted, head falling into her hands, “It was to fend off the Admiral’s son too, which means we’re in deep if they find out.” 

Hemmer blinked. Once, twice. 

“What happened to me telling him?” 

“Ok.” Pike sighed, “So, let me get this straight. You lied to the son of the militant, die-hard Admiral we’re trying to reason with, and the lie is that you’re both married…to each other?”

“Yes, Captain.” Hemmer scoffed, “Who else’s husband would I pretend to be in this scenario? Yours?”  

“Just checking!” Pike sighed, “Well since you both are on the welcome team tomorrow, I guess you’ll have to fake it until you make it.”

At Una’s disgusted face, Pike raised his hands. “I didn’t say it was fair. It’s only two days.” He shot Una a look.

“Two days, okay?” He smiled gently, “You’re strong, you’ll make it.” 

“You know, I’m here too.” Hemmer groaned, rolling his eyes. 

“You’re the one who got us in this mess!” Una snapped, “I could have handled it!”

A pause. A quick silence fell over the table.

Hemmer took a deep breath. “Una. I didn’t do that because I thought you couldn’t ‘handle it’, I intervened because you shouldn’t have to. It’s not because I don’t trust you, or think that you’re not capable, but because I…”

He coughed a little, “You’re my friend. I do not stand by when my friends are in danger– or god forbid– getting hit on by a drunk creep at a bar.” 

She sighed, “Alright, alright.”

“Now what?” Hemmer scoffed, “Do we craft more lies, or should we both hide in our quarters for the rest of the trip?”

Pike nodded slowly, “I may…have an idea.”

…

Twelve hours later: 

“This is stupid.” Hemmer scoffed, “We are going to get caught.” 

“Chris said it’d work!” Una hissed back, adjusting her dress.

Hemmer winced, fixing her headdress for the fifth time. “You put too much faith in that man-”

“-Oho! Says the man who managed to befriend the socially anxious cadet! Where’s your optimism? Or do you save it all for Uhura?!” 

“Let us not bring-”

“-No, no! Let’s both be irritable and miserable!” She cried quietly, “I’m sure that this plan will go swimmingly if we look like we want to drown ourselves!” 

“Una.” Hemmer’s hands dropped to his sides, “I don’t like this either. Do you know how many years it’s been since I’ve worn this?” 

He gestured to the old tunic covered in swirling patterns. Engagement patterns. 

The idea was to announce their elopement to the welcoming party and the crew of militant humanoids. The planet that they surveyed happened to be warp-capable, unfortunately, and Pike was trying his best at diplomacy despite wanting to bash his own head in. 

The Admiral and his son happened to be questioning the legality of Una’s marriage, which had somehow seeped into all of the conversations so far. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that they were both skeptical and hoping to use her as collateral. 

So, the idea was to announce their elopement, and then renounce their previous statements as soon as they were back in Federation space. 

Una’s face fell. “I know. I’m sorry-”

“Don’t be.” Hemmer scoffed, “I got us into this mess-”

“-I should have asked Chris for a different plan.” Una sighed, “It’s only been a few months since-”

“-It’s ok.” 

“You keep saying that.” Una huffed, “I don’t think you mean it.” She leaned down, eyes filled with understanding. “The last person you need to hide from is me.” 

Hemmer’s head jerked to the side. 

“I…We do not have to like things to accept them.” He adjusted her headdress again. “I do not like this, but for you, I will make an exception.” He snorted, “Especially since the Admiral’s son seems adamant to add you to his collection.” 

Una sighed, “Alright. If you still don’t want to do this, I can go out alone.”

“No. Just be glad I didn’t ask you to wear my wife’s old engagement dress.”

“Why?”

Hemmer leaned in, whispering, “I have no idea what ‘neon-pink cheetah print’ looks like, but I assume it’s horrendous.”

Una let out a laugh, “Oh? You didn’t tell me your wife liked color!”  

“Yes.” Hemmer smiled, “I was gracious enough to give her the budget when we decorated our home.”

“Doesn’t the male Aenar usually decorate-”

“-Yes. I made an exception for her.” He rolled his eyes, “As I now do with you. Be grateful I let you pick your dress.” 

Una’s eyebrows raised. “Oh, you ‘let me’ pick my dress?”

“Oh, great.” Hemmer sighed exaggeratedly, “Here we go.”

The door creaked open. 

“Will you guys quit bickering for five seconds?” Pike hissed, “I’m starting to think you might actually be married-”

“Oh no,” Hemmer said dryly, “I’m way too expensive for Una’s tastes-”

A dull thud echoed through the room as Una whacked the Chief Engineer with the nearest heavy object. Unfortunately for him– an empty ashtray. 

“Shut up!” She giggled, “We need to look serious!”

“Oh?” He sneered, rubbing his arm, “I thought you said this wouldn’t work if we looked miserable?” 

Her chuckling subsided into a small smile. 

“Alright.” 

Pike raised his hands, “Are we going or are we not going?” 

Hemmer rolled his eyes, “Please, let’s get this over with.” 

…

They were still chuckling as they exited the boardroom. Not a bad way to start a sham marriage. 

As they returned to their quarters on the Enterprise, Hemmer slowed as they passed by the mess hall. His senses were much better than a human’s- and sometimes even surpassed Una’s. 

“Fork. It. Up.” Chapel crooned, “He wore the fucking hat.” 

Hemmer groaned. The conversation was most certainly about him and his traditional garb. 

Noticing his slow pace, Una stopped in the hallway. 

“What-?” She paused, no doubt her ears picking up the scattered conversation. 

“Oh.” She smirked, “Is it the hat?”

“Shut up.” 

It took a bit to get un-ready, but soon they were back in casual clothes at the Enterprise bar. 

“What were you going to order?” She asked, pushing his glass towards him. “You know, before this all went down?” 

Hemmer smiled, his hand reaching for a bracelet that was carefully hidden under his uniform. 

“A blue Hawaii.” He chuckled, “That was…her favorite.”

Una stopped. 

“You don’t drink.” 

“Not anymore, no.” 

At her confused expression, he exhaled heavily. 

“It’s been eight months since she passed. To the day.” He nodded curtly, “I…drank a lot after the funeral. Too much. Almost killed myself, actually.” He shrugged. 

“I…didn’t know what to do. I didn’t think the pain would ever go away.” 

Una nudged him. 

“Are you alright?”

“No.” He smiled a little, “No, it still hurts. But, if I may, there are two types of hurt people. Those who are hurt and hurt others, and those who are in pain and choose to do better.”

As he stirred the blue drink, he took a sip and winced. “I admit in the beginning I didn’t feel this way. But now, I can’t imagine wishing this on anyone else.”

Turning to the side, he coughed a little. “B’Ashera. That still tastes like-”

“Hemmer.” Una leaned in, “Thank you.”

“For what?” Hemmer spat, trying to dull the taste of coconut with a glass of water, “Trauma dumping?”

“It’s not trauma dumping if I asked, and secondly, I wanted to thank you for being honest.” 

“Eh.” He grinned, “The last thing we need to do is hide from each other.”

Una winced, her hand immediately rising to her badge. 

There was a slight pause. 

Hemmer shook his head. Despite his constant affirmations, Una was still scared of what other people thought of her. Of what she was rather than who. 

His head turned towards a distant table, where Pike was groaning and handing over what looked like a stack of credits to Chapel. 

Hemmer scoffed.

 “...He’ll know when he needs to know.” 

Una sighed, “The last thing I want to do is hide from him.”

He leaned in, “So, I say again…” Pausing, he smiled sadly. 

“Chris will know when he needs to know.” 

[absolutebl]

This Week In BL - The Floodgates Have Opened

Oct 2022 Wk 1

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying the most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

The Eclipse (Fri YT) 9 of 12 - Aye is such an intense and focused little thing. The eye contact with these 2 is beyond eye fucking into something more like eye soul-mating. The pool kiss was fine, but they looked cold. GMMTV loves a pool kiss. 

My Only 12% (Fri iQIYI) 9 of 14 - this show makes me cry. Fee is a wonderful friend. This was a good episode, it was fun to see Eiw come into his own. I look forward to the reunion next week.

Ai Long Nhai (Mon iQIYI) 2 of 10 - I figured it out, this is Make it Right the uni years! That’s why I like it. Nhai Is apparently flirtier and gayer when drunk. I’ve known some British lads like that. OK so sex happened. I like that there was some kind of confused drunken consent. But also serious regrets and bisexual identity crisis. Poor Nhai: You can’t have your friend and eat him too. This plot is moving quickly: it’s ep 2 and they have slept together and confessed, plus a one month trial relationship. I like it. This is messy gay in a way I appreciate. 

Ghost Host, Ghost House (Weds YouTube & Gaga) 1 of 8 - I'm enjoying the lead pair, the meet cute, and the combative nature of their relationship. I’m not wild about the premise but I like how different it is from all the previous “my ghost boyfriend” takes on this concept. More “our human pet.” I’m beginning to be weirdly charmed by how bureaucratic the Thai afterlife always seems to be. 

Big Dragon (Sat Gaga) 1 of 8 - Basically we have player love-rivals (a girl)/enemies to lovers + a rich/poor pairing: Yai & Mangkorn. It had a good hook but most of the ep was dull; thankfully Gaga has a 1.5x speed. The acting is bad but the sex scene was fine: dominance struggles, lots of switching, and verse stuff. *we likie* This show is using drugging (impaired judgement/dub-con/both men), sexual extortion, and blackmail as a plot device not unlike LITA. But it’s using antiheroes and presenting everything, including the characters, in a negative light. Thus right now in BL we have a great example of how the same plot device can be depicted differently and result in an entirely different perspective and watcher experience. In other words: a narrative I’m hating in LITA doesn’t bother me here, because of characterization.  

Work from Heart (Thurs YouTube) 3 of 7 - The agro yet deeply in-crush behavior of our tsundere seme is kinda fun, but the fashion remains truly terrible and the most unpleasant performer in this show. Although it’s got competition. 

Love in the Air (Thurs iQIYI) 8 of 13 - the premise and blackmail set up for this couple really fucked with me (because Sky is a broken angel-baby and Pai is an irredeemable pustule). I am not happy about it: DUMPSTER FIRE TRASH WATCH ALONG HERE. That said, there is a GREAT analysis of Sky’s character here (that I totally enjoy and want to be true, but I think gives Mame too much credit). 

Fahlanruk (Sun GaGa) 4 of 12 - So Fah’s bf cheated first? Okay, still doesn’t justify his behavior. Honestly, I really can’t stand this show. Now we are playing a game of how long can I go before dropping it.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Takara-kun and Amagi-kun (Japan Thurs GaGa & Viki) 7 of 8 - these two pretty much define awkward. Takara because he is trying desperately to keep his cool reserve (and perform perfect seme) while simultaneously being so in love/lust with Amagi in high school where desire is, by definition and practice, uncool. Amagi is all frenetic movements and angles, like he cannot control his limbs or his emotions, everything is deeply confusing to him including Takara’s affection. Watching them stumble around each other and agonize over every little movement and conversation is an exercise in joy, patience, and agony. It’s all so “teenager” I can hardly stand it. This episode, however, was more about Tanaka coping with learning his friend is 1. not straight and 2. deeply in love with an adorable weirdo. It was a quieter ep than I expected but sweet. “He said something cute and I couldn’t help myself“ is so traditional Japanese seme in one sentence I can’t even.

Kabe Koji (Japan Mon Viki) 1 of 10 - basically this is A Man Who Defies the World of BL + Senpai This Can’t be Love (as @heretherebedork said). Nakao Masaki playing a sunshine bouncy himbo character is a fucking revelation, I didn’t think he had it in him. But our tsundere uke is far too tsundere for me, and despite the premise (AN IDOL LOVE INTEREST!) I do not not really like it. I just hate the stalker photograph obsession thing (My Engineer, SCOY, STCBL, now this) and I can’t support a character that starts out this way, it’s apparently a trigger I didn’t know I had until BL tried to romanticize it. I love Nakao Masaki (in a non stalker, no photos kind of way) so I might muscle through but... 

Once Again (Korea Fri GaGa) 7-8fin - Cute date plus hand holding and a mild but sweet moot kiss does not a satisfying ending make. They are great boyfriends even if only for a few days. As expected, like Kissable Lips, this one ends sad. Can’t stop the Koreans when a temporal paradox and death is on the line. They do love their tragedy, not to mention unavoidable fate. 2/10 NOT RECOMMENDED

It’s Airing But I’m Not Watching It

War of Y - 20 eps A spy have reported in on a spoiler assessment of the first 2 installments here. 2 more to go. 

Oh My Sunshine Night 16 eps - I’m scared it’s gonna be sad, so I’m waiting for spies to tell me it’s safe, so far reported to be quite the soap opera. 

To Sir With Love AKA Khun Chai 10 eps - dito OMSN, so I’m holding until it finishes its run. 

My Roommate - 32 eps of 2 minutes each? Terrible production values, worse than the pulps. I not bothering. 

In Case You Missed It

180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us had a sad end, or at least, not a happy one, so I will not be watching it. I’m happy to leave it permanently listed dnf. 2022 will be the year I dnf’d the most BL, partly because there’s so much of it. (Thailand is at 108 BLs and counting this year). 

I talk a lot on this blog about linguistics (language intersecting with culture) here’s a fun podcast from Hidden Brain on How language shapes our perspective on life. 

Gossip

HIStory 5 is coming! Called HIStory5: Love in the Future. Since it’s going to be the only one under the 5 moniker I’ll probably default (like it did with H4) to just calling it H5. 

That omegaverse Thai BL got cancelled. Probably because of the fuss being kicked up about it. I am sad. No trash watch for me. Maybe Japan will still do one at some point. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Starting: Remember Me starts tomorrow, Thai (Sun Gaga)1 of 8. 2 Moons 3 Thai (Mon ??) 1 of 10. Roommates of Poongduck 304 (Korea Thurs Viki) 1 of 8. SELF Thai (Thurs ??). My Tooth Your Love (Taiwan Fri Gaga & Viki) 1 of 12. Hard Love Mission Thai (Sat WeTV & iQiyi?). Wish Me Luck Thai (Sat ??). 

I’m traveling so I may not be able to watch the ones I already have in rotation, let alone track down the new babies. You on your own peeps, best of luck! 

Honestly Thailand, too many. You gotta stop now. We saturated. 

FULL October 2022 line up is here.

This week’s best moments?

The return of That Staircase in Eclipse! 

Tell us something we don’t know, Aye. 

Breaking news: Cute bit is very cute. 

Work from Heart: I just love the sniff test trope (AKA I like the way he smells) one of my favs. 

Although neck kisses are good too, thanks Ai Long Nhai. 

Activating seme agressive tendencies. 

Bisexual rep, yes please! 

And a direct address of drunk one night stand regrets. You’re doing well little pulp. 

Such boyfriends. 

The most seme line in a BL ever. 

(last week)

Current earworm? The Rose’s Sour 

[wenjunting]

watching asy ep 5 (first eval part 2)!!

程潇多骂爱看 (cheng xiao, scold more, we love to see it) was trending on weibo a couple hours ago so i'm excited :-)

ollie is so cute (i just watched the first ep of boys planet... he is so cute) + LEADER!

a group w/o an overly flowery intro? nice

lin zhanshuo having a Vocal Moment i appreciate it! i think he fits the song super well

everyone in switch together is like. so individually talented honestly. ollie picked a Great team

sudden concept change??? this is reminding me of the k group vs g group style thing from bp999...

wait switch on is also good omg

yin junlan & chen xinhao dancing tgt 🫢

ok i had a slight thing against fang yuheng for a hot minute bc of the voting thing but. but he's cute. he & kim dongbin are a good pair!!

enone 🥹 leader & maknae hug 🥹

"the winning group is... we'll let him say it" RAIN. RAIN STOP. and it was all in korean too LMAO

oh my god zhang shengxi gave the 胜 (sheng) (means to win) in his nametag to lin zhanshuo LIKE...

JIANG XINXI!!!!!!!

their backdrop & lighting is so good? the intro part was awesome

everyone is just going "oh jiang xinxi helped me a lot" that's my man fr

lqz: "shu hao! where's the sheep?" // sh: "it (the other group) just left" HELLO this is war

LQZ. J A C K E T

炸了 they have sm charisma

"你期待吧" "you'd better anticipate us" this last grp is inspirational story material

my top 3 are still there yuehua sweep 🙏 but some of the other good trainees are so low (the live voting was also weird but live voting is usually weird ig) anyway aihe debut pls 🙏🙏🙏

ok so it turned out cheng xiao scolding was in the vip version which i do not have so i'm going to catch up on the clips tomorrow

[shirecorn]

I find it incredibly funny that we both tuned out of fim after the comic book episode. Understandable experience I suppose.

Sunset shimmer in Equestria Girls is a wild ride. Ngl one of my favorite characters but she has So. Many. Different. Forms. It’s ridiculous. Regular unicorn, Demon form, Phoenix form, regular magical girl to horse girl form(?), daydream shimmer form, element of harmony form, too many forms. If you ever draw her it will be fun to see what aspect(s) you draw from.

I love your art style! It’s very pretty! I was drawn to your blog cause I saw your redesigns of the alicorns. Inspired how they are larger then life. I then spent over an hour hour scrolling through your speculative biology stuff. Your art has a great flow too it, and you have great concepts that kept me wanting more.

I was still a teenager when Power Ponies aired but my siblings and I all sort of looked at each other and said "this show is too different from what we started watching and has become something we don't enjoy anymore" and just stopped right there.

That episode really felt less like a story to be told and more like Content™. Like the current showrunners didn't have anything to say, they just needed the characters to move around on the screen so they threw something together using buzzword salad of what media was getting views at the time.

Today, there's a distinct difference between season 1-2 and the show that follows. There's less singing and less meta-plot. It's more episodic, and feels more "plot of the day" and characters only change and grow from the beginning of the episode to the end. It doesn't feel like it stacks.

But that's ok! Especially for me picking and choosing which episodes to watch. I rally don't feel like I'm missing anything when I see a description for "the ponies are in go-karts in this one" and decide to skip it.

---

Damn sunset shimmer how come your mom lets you have so many merchandise variants forms? I will probably only watch one ep with her because equestria girls doesnt interest me

---

Thank you! I really like my style as well!! I am especially proud of how well it works in quick sketches so I can get a lot of ideas out in a short amount of time.

I need to make new posts with stuff I have in my head, like mermaid singing mechanics (oh its almost mermay!) and the super fun connection I have between unicorn and kelpies. Oh you're gonna love it. Just wait 2 months to a year for me to get around to it lol

[hyunsung]

every month of 2023! thankyou @euijin @seungs, @foxinys, @huiracha & @shorelinnes for tagging me

JAN: popular - the earth is flat!yoongi; fave - since i only giffed 2 things that month... 221231 hyunjin

FEB: popular - jimin live; fave - between us ep. 01

MAR: popular - hyunjin birthday live lil present; fave - yoongi concept film. its been so long since i giffed anything like that damn...

APR: popular - hyun..minbin? is that what they are called?; fave - 5 star trailer. love this set.

MAY: popular - mushroom hyunjin live; fave - i love the colouring on the hyunjin live i must admit... or this topline unveil set

JUN: popular - han quokka ☹️; fave - fnf mv i guess...

JUL: popular - minho vlog; fave - i agree but also: msp set ❤️‍🩹 (& <3liming for marsi)

AUG: popular - hyunchan; fave - that was the only set i made... help

SEP: popular - possessed hyunjin; fave - ...msp again

OCT: popular -TMA chansung; fave - snugglesungie 😞

NOV: popular - felix shaking his head (...ok); fave - i like this hyunjin stage set or sad gay boy in bathtub

DEC: popular - jeongsung skz code; fave - agreed.

tagging: @avizou @kimtaegis @moonkhao @ye-xiu @loversmore @aimeegbbs (feel free to ignore)