#especially big ones like rak

[incorrecttowerofgodquotes]

OH MY GOD SHE LOVES REPTILES

THATS WHY SHES SUCH CLOSE FRIENDS WITH RAK IM CRYING

[bengiyo]

Love Sea: Tongrak is Kind of an Asshole, and I Like It

I watched this yesterday with some friends, so my Stray Thoughts were a little scattered because we were talking about BL conventions, Thailand's tourism goals, and who MAME was. Now, with some time to think, I wanna talk about my favorite thing: Tongrak is a rich asshole. I love this for Fort and Peat.

He Looks Down on People Poorer Than Him

We open with Tongrak dressed inappropriately for his trip and the weather, whining on his phone, just to show his disdain for even being sent on this vacation.

Then when he first arrives on the island, he looks around at people enjoying themselves and a sign they dedicated to their home reading "Heaven on Earth" and immediately called it hell. This is these people's home! He is a guest! I deal with this show in my home city all the time. Be respectful!

Next, the first thing he does is start shouting at Mahasamut about the motorcycle and his luggage. He doesn't slow down to ask if Mut can speak the central dialect, or if there are alternative modes of transport. Instead he just screams at the man and then starts talking shit in front of him like he can't understand what is being said. I give Americans shit for doing this in other countries, and I give northerners shit for acting like they can't understand our accents down here along the Gulf.

He was rude about that bar, too. He went there for attention, and got pissed at the idea that people there might be into Mut more.tjsn him. He then stormed off without paying for his drink!

This man is so stubborn and petty that he literally just starts sending him thousands of baht instead of just asking him to speak in the same dialect as him. I'm totally with Mut on not speaking to him nicely until Tongrak did it first. What's so wild about this scene is that it's text that Rak is mad that his condescension is having no effect.

Mahasamut is Responding to Tongrak's Energy

Mut is just responding to what Rak is giving him, and is doing everyone a favor by bearing the brunt of this spoiled man's fits. He was even kind enough to let this man know right away that he could understand him.

The big thing for me is he can see when Rak is trying to get one over on him and turns that around. Rak tried to play like he had the upper hand sexually and felt played. He tried to play about being full and got played.

We see that the people of the island admire Tongrak, and he's involved in their lives. He's clearly playing a role here that Rak's friends hired him to play to help their cranky friend relax and finish his book.

I also like that Mut has made it clearly he is down to fuck with Rak whether he pays for it or not, because Rak is trying to hook up with someone for inspiration for his novel. I like that he removed the wealth component there, because it's clear Rak is used to throwing money at all of his problems.

Finally, Mut stopped immediately when he realized he'd actually scared and upset Rak. He doesn't actually want to hurt this man.

Why This Rocks for Peat and Fort

These two found a good rhythm in Love in the Air. They're good at this form of asymmetric bickering and flirtation. However, this time Peat gets to play the older, richer character. It's fun for me, because I think there's going to be a bunch of transference from LITA that covers how much of a jerk Rak is being to others.

I am glad that these two aren't reprising the same characters, and are being given a reasonable way to take advantage of their existing dynamic and tools. It's interesting that these guys can tap into similar beats without it feeling like the same characters.

On the Colorism

I see it, and it's there. However, I don't think MAME is an outlier in using it in her shows. There's a really rough sequence in Fish Upon The Sky (with Neo no less) that comes to mind immediately. I also just think that the skin tone stuff seems built in to a lot of the works we encounter (especially considering that some of these guys are literally brand ambassadors for skin lightening products or clinics). I think there's something to say about the way Mut is teasing Rak with a country bumpkin bit that could almost be read as race play, and there's maybe something to unpack there with far more nuance than I think we normally bring to BL.

But hey, while I have you here, now's a good time to say that if we want to tackle how race affects the queer experience, For The Boys is right there!

[petrichoraline]

so far love sea is visually gorgeous - plenty of beautiful scenery, sun-kissed mut and rak with his perfect makeup. there is always something happening and there's barely a dull moment if any. the longer conversations flow naturally (I especially liked the talk they had while eating about the island, the people and mut's life)

we got instant chemistry between the characters not only in the sexual sense but also in the way mut handles rak's immature behaviour and in the way rak responds to mut's attention and care. there have been a few moments of vulnerability, we've learnt about both of their childhoods and about where they stand in terms of their relationships with guys - it's refreshing to see both characters address that their relationship could be an issue on the small island mut was raised on and then have them both state they're okay with who they are and can't be bothered with others' opinions. i feel like in other shows that's usually a conversation for later or one that never really happens.

other big advantage of the show is the side couple who is entertaining to watch and very endearing. also so far all the side characters have been very positive towards both mut and rak - connor seems to care about his writer on a personal level, mut's friend is proud of his bro, the locals love mut and no one has been mean to rak so far; even the girls witnessing rak's jealousy fit were also left giggling.

there are just positive vibes all around aside from rak and mut's personal problems (and as this show seems to talk about the tourism industry and local businesses and mentioning people trying to marry rak, I think there will be a point where the worse sides of living on the island will be displayed prominently but for now the atmosphere is really pretty and calming)

[ella-norah]

Ella watching Love Sea episode 1 (part 1)

Finally having some free time (exam weeks are hell as usual) and i decided to watch the first episode of Love Sea. And I also had an idea to share my thoughts after each episode, so well - here it is.

One thing that caught my attention is the way Mut run his hand through his hair and well, I'm gone from this world.... How can someone be so hot doing it??? (the images below are my very interesting screenshots)

Also, I already love Rak! He is so pretty!!

Rak's reaction when he realizes Mut's the one picking him up is so funny to me. Of course, I understand where Rak's coming from (he's from a big city, he's not used to small town dynamics yet).

More of Mut running his hand through his hair - that's gonna make me feral whenever I see it... at least I think so

Mut's solution is definitely good, but Rak's not happy about it, is he?

Rak is so perfectly dramatic and I love him for it!

Mut's smile is absolutely gorgeous! (Fort's is too, when I am at it!)

More of Rak's dramatics, which I completely love without a single doubt about it. The phone call and multiple repeats of how he wishes to go home are absolutely perfect. Rak's dramatic, so deliciously dramatic, and I am so here for it!

The way Mut just casually picks Rak's suitcases and carries them behind Rak, without Rak even paying any attention to it - amazing! Even when Rak calls Mut an idiot during the phone call with Connor and Mut just smiles shaking his head. Gosh, I already love these two so much.

Mut, darling, I adore you! He just took Rak's phone without a single care about it - perfection! purest perfection there is! and the smile Mut gives Rak - *screaming internally*

While Connor and Mut speak, Rak is positively fuming - so annoyed that they talk about him, while he can't do anything to stop them.

But to be fair, having his expression be called "kitty eyes" could definitely annoy Rak more.

The island being called Heaven on Earth is so suitable! The visuals are absolutely gorgeous - the beach, the ocean, the nature! Everything's so gorgeous! I'm in love honestly!

No wonder Rak's reaction is teary eyes and simple comment of how beautiful. (I agree, Rak, I agree)

The way Mut keeps using southern dialect of Thai to speak to Rak - such a tease Mut is! Love that about him! Especially since he used the central dialect to speak to Connor.

So quick to chase Mut away, are you, Rak? Would that even work?

But also, not understanding what Mut is saying is quite a problem, isn't it?

Is Rak really that mean, huh, Mut?

After all, it's not Rak's fault he doesn't understand you, Mut, is it? But yes, Rak has a very pretty face.

Oh, my!! Already getting under Rak's skin! That's gonna be interesting!

A few deep breaths should definitely help, shouldn't they?

Mook's appearance makes me smile so much! She's a cutie, and she's very hard-working!

Aya speaking in English is such a good detail - she's a very good secretary!

And I adore her smile - it's such a beautiful smile!

Poor darling, she's so overwhelmed already - and it's just the first day.

Oh, and Chanya's appearance as Vi - she's such a gorgeous woman! And obviously means business.

Poor Mook, she is definitely not happy about being ordered around by Vi. And no one listens to her, poor sweet girl.

I love that Palm is all like - what a beautiful man, he's just my phi's (Mut's) type and then Rak is all like grumpy about Mut.

This moment, when Rak looks aside and says "Who would want to know?" is reminding me of Sky so much!

Rak trying his best not to look interested in what Palm is telling him, but he still failed at one moment, when Palm mentioned that Mut is open to guys too. Of course Mut is somewhat of an island celebrity and of course that everyone finds him so hot and swoons over him. That doesn't surprise me one bit.

Still fighting it, Rak? Well, not that I'm surprised about it, but still. It makes me giggle. It's gonna be so damn good when Rak finally gives in. And what drama would that be if it's too soon.

For someone who's not interested in Mut, Rak is definitely not letting Palm leave. so interesting

Why would Palm think Rak would be interested? Hmmm.... maybe because he's just trying to talk all the best about his phi? Or maybe because Rak is showing more interest than he thinks.... all the possibilities there are endless

I love how Palm is so pleased with himself! Like aaaaaaaaa, man, you are so pleased, that smirk says it all!!! And I love the slogan - The treasure of this island goes by name Mahasamut. It is such a cool slogan.

Honorable mention to the poor pen that fell into the ocean in the beginning of the show, left there and forgotten. RIP pen (i laughed so much about this, maybe too much...)

Because it's so late, I'm gonna stop with part one now. Watching this episode feels much longer than I planned (maybe because i keep replaying the scenes... just maybe), but anyway, part two of the the episode will come tomorrow, at some point of the day.

Peat is absolutely gorgeous in this show! I am losing my mind over how gorgeous he is!

Actually, I am losing my mind over this show in general!

[kitsumidori]

This took so long! And the reason was that I keep getting creative burn-out.

I've been wanting to do a headcanon post for the main siren character's (excluding the Calypso's) and this took way longer than I thought it would.

Key note

Along with the tattoos, another noticeable trait is the elf-like ears, each in different shapes and lengths.

Like in cannon, only 6 women can become sirens. There were instances of fake sirens which were women using make up to make tattoos and fake elf ears.

Sirens have a slightly longer life span than most humans, likely due to their demi-god status.

For now, I don't have a lot of headcanons for Sirens specifically. If I have more ideas, I'll update this.

Lilith

She gained a slight mutation due to both the Eridium usages and the forced ejections by Jack.

Freckles because she looks cute with them.

(Also I remember her vaultlander figure description called her the most powerful ginger in the world)

Hates Scythids. When she and her team first encountered them, she immediately jumped on Bricks shoulder and refused to get off until those "cockroaches from hell" were gone.

Was caught one night having a secret tea party with Butt Stallion (In her defense, she wanted a pony since she was 7).

Immediately adopted Angel once the whole Jack is dead thing settles down.

Maya

She's terrified of heights (somewhat cannon from her Runner dialog) mainly uses her wings for combat.

Before she came to Pandora, her hair was so long, that it was starting to trail behind her.

She cut it to her main style shortly after arriving at Pandora.

Did at one point consider going back to Athenas, but after Ava's situation with those monks, she ultimately decided to stay.

Has the biggest ears out of all the other sirens, but doesn't like to show them.

Axton did call her Dumbo once, she suplexed him and no one dared to call her that again.

Has a surprisingly strong sense of smell (somewhat cannon in the Wam Bam dlc where she was able to sense Hammerlocks moustache)

Loves mangos, like REALLY loves mangos. Give her a basket full of them and she'll die for you (medaforicly)

Angel (TW: mentions of abuse)

The scar on her left eye was from Jack trying to install an Echo Eye on her. Her body rejected it and Jack didn't even bother to remove it.

When Lilith found out, her silent fury was loud enough to scare a flock of Raks.

Struggled with eating without throwing up during her recovery, took her awhile to eat solids.

Pre-rescued: Jack would constantly put make-up on her not only to cover the bruises he gave her, but to also cover her freckles, a trait she gained from her mother.

Similar to Lilith, she gained a mutation from the Eridium usages, but her's is more noticeable due to years of constant Eridium ejections.

A lot of her clothes were hand-me downs from Lilith

Tannis

Her Phasesight powers were originally Steele's. However since Steele never chosen a successor, her powers were given to Tannis.

Used her illusion ability to hide both her tattoos and her ears.

Acts as Angels crazy aunt, to which everyone is surprised that those two got along very well.

Amara

Is BBF (Best Buff Friends) with Krieg, Brick, and Mr. Torgue. The four did an arm wrestling contest that ended in a draw between Amara and Krieg.

Loves gummy candy, especially ones with fruit juice in the center. Moze would usually have a tin with her whenever she's with Amara.

(Speaking of which, don't leave a fruit drop tin alone with her, she'll devour them all in one sitting)

Ok I really doubt that Amara can even summon wings, but let me pretend because Amara with multiple wings sounds cool!

Ava

Her parents died not because she accidentally leached them, but because the monks of Athenas wanted to take her with a bullshit excuse that there's a great evil coming.

They didn't believe the monks, which caused them to take her by force.

It ended with the monks killing her parents, and Ava leaching the monks.

Has a pretty big appetite, likely due to her siren powers.

(But more like she'll sneak into the kitchen at 2am to steal food kind of appetite than draining people's souls)

Total cringe fail. But to be fair, she's 14, and 14 year olds are allowed to be a little cringey, as long as it's harmless.

Her siren wings are based on the wings Troy uses in his boss fight.

[butterflyintochains]

Finding Out

Sequel to 'Those Small Details' - except this time the team finds out about Kris and Erik. Hilarity and chaos ensues, because it's them, of course it does.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Intuition - Jake, Jarry, Rusty

Training is odd today, especially where the four musketeers are concerned. As if there's some grand secret the four of them are sitting on. Jake watches Kris and Erik skate laps around the rink, two streaks of white with raven black hair flying behind them both. They stop at the blue line and talk about something. ''Oh, hey, Erik, wanna recreate Raleigh?'' Kris says.

Erik projectile spits his energy drink out, looking flustered. ''Kris, are you...''

Kris smiles, and rolls his eyes. ''Oh, no, no, not with the kids around. The other thing from Raleigh, with Duncan Keith?'' Erik smirks, and downs his bottle. ''You're on.'' Rusty watches as they set up a race, Jarry notices the electric gaze they share. They take off, skating backwards in a lap around the rink, Kris just barely beats Erik out. Erik doffs his helmet, Kris says. ''Still got it.'' Erik nudges his hip, and says. ''Never lost it, Legend.''

Jake blinks first, looking to his two best friends. Rusty and Tristan both nod, there's something there, there has to be something there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Languages - POJ, Rakell, and Dragon

Pierre-Olivier, Ricky, and Marcus are in a rather unique hockey position. Serving as common tongue confidants to two absolute legends of the sport. PO being Tanger's sounding board in French, Raks and Dragon being the same in Swedish for Erik. The trio have kinda bonded over this, and learned from their leadership core along the way. That doesn't mean they're particularly prepared for everything. As they learn twice in one day. The boys are getting ready for a big game against Vancouver, Erik looks over to Kris. ''Ready, hjartat?'' Marcus and Ricky have to contain their shock. PO almost spits his mouth guard out when Kris responds. ''Let's do this, amour.'' Okay, okay... what the fuck?

The game ends with a 6-5 loss in a dramatic shootout, with Sam Lafferty of all people ending it with a ripper. Kris, like he always does, blames the loss on himself. Erik kneels in front of him, comforting him in near perfect french. ''Kris, regardez moi, sil vous plait. Je t'aime, mon coeur.'' PO sends Sid a slack jawed look, Sid is misty eyed. Kris asks, in near perfect swedish. ''Lova mig, alskad?'' Erik nods, and says. ''Oui, je vous prometre.''

This is when Marcus nearly faints, because Kris says, eyes shining with something older than his little Frans. ''Jag alskar dag ocksa, Erik.'' Ricky looks to Geno - who was closest to Horny back in the day. Geno just smiles, and shrugs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sleep - Gravy, Ned

The team are about an hour and a half out from a game against Minnesota, and are all assembled for roll call in the lobby. Except for the two most important defencemen on the team. Sully sends Gravy and Ned to wrangle them down for the bus to XCel, they first try Erik's room. Ned knocks on the door. ''Hey, Karl, game day, remember?'' Nothing, he tries again. ''Erik, we kinda need you up for the game, dude.'' A friendly hotel maid, Kayla, Ned remembers from this morning, says. ''Mr Nedeljkovic, Mr Karlsson isn't in that room.'' Gravy asks, feeling Sully's frustration three floors up. ''Where is he, then, Kayla?''

Kayla smiles and says. ''Room 15, Mr Graves.'' She goes back to her work, Gravy quickly realizes. ''That's Tanger's room.'' They go down the hall, Ryan looks in the peephole, seeing the duo in Kris' bed, arms wrapped around each other tight. ''Oh... my God, Ned, look.'' Alex takes a look, they look so peaceful, and on any other day he'd hate to disturb them. But, it's a work day. So, he knocks. ''Kris, game day, we're all waiting for you.''

Kris says, sounding half asleep. ''Okay, I'll be right down.'' The duo head down, and inform Sully of status. A few moments later, both Erik and Kris appear in the lobby, suited and booted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jealousy - Flower

It's become tradition by now, ever since 2017, for Flower to hang out with his three brothers after games against each other. Erik, for all his novelty, has slotted in nicely to that tradition. Erik knows Kris and Flower used to be partners in crime, and loves seeing his partner with his old best friend. But, that primal part of him still thinks they're sitting way too close together. God dammit, Kris is his. So, Erik slides up next to Kris, who instinctively wraps an arm around him, allowing Erik to lace their fingers together. ''You jealous, amour?''

Erik says, free hand placed on Kris' thigh. ''No idea what you're talking about, hjartat.'' Flower looks perplexed, fluent in two languages, and competent in two more. He knew they were a thing once upon a time, but that was ages ago... wasn't it? ''Uhm, so... what the hell? I thought you two were broken up!''

Kris nods, and kisses Erik's temple. ''We were, we've been back together since 2019, we live together now.''

Flower turns to his old leaders. ''So, uhh, did you two know about this or...''

Sid nods, looking bashful, any other season Flower would no doubt have known well before anyone else. ''Yeah, we've known for a while.'' Geno adds. ''We were like this too, Flower.'' Erik grins like the fucking cheshire cat when he jokes. ''No sniffing around my man, Fleury, cool?''

Flower smirks, already planning his family initiation prank, maybe asking Tags to put 'Lovebirds' on their jerseys. ''Got ya, Karlsson.''

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kiss - Everyone Else

Team lunch after a long training session is brotherly as always. The older guys on the team sit and eat together, talking about other games and potential strategies against their rivals. Kris dumps his lunch dishes, when his phone pings - PA zoom meeting. ''Alright, boys, the PA needs me. I'll be in the media room for the next hour or so.'' Kris zips his team hoodie up, adjusts his hat, and - as if they're at home and not in front of the whole team - leans down to kiss Erik on the lips. They come up for air to stunned silence. ''Uhh, Kris, I think the cat's outta the bag, hjartat.'' Fuck, right, they're not at home, but he's the conscience of this team, so fuck it. ''I think it's been out of the bag for a while, amour.'' He kisses Erik again, and says. ''I'll see you at home, have fun on powerplay drills.''

Erik smiles as Kris strides away to his meeting. ''You're cooking tonight!'' Kris, pleased as punch with himself, spins around to say to his partner. ''You love me, don't deny it.''

Erik nods. ''Damn right I do. You love me too.'' Kris finally admits it in public, after all these years of secrecy. ''Oh, fuck yeah I do.'' He goes off for his meeting. Carts looks to him for some kind of explanation, so do Eller, Nieto, and Acciari. ''Well, when did this all happen?'' Noel asks. Erik just vaguely says, finishing his lunch. ''Raleigh 2011.'' Because neither of them feel like rehashing their story, it's time for writing its new chapters.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just a quick ficlet, it's twin felt unfinished, so I just had to have the rest find out - including Flower, because there's no way he wouldn't. And, these two are just utterly shameless when everyone does find out.

[canmom]

comics comints 2: Solo Leveling

OK, more comics comments! Last time we talked about The Incal by Moeb and Jodorowsky! And you can read the rest of this little series here.

Solo Leveling

(2018-2021; original webnovel by Chugong, adapted to comic form by h-goon, illus. Jang ‘Dubu’ Sung-Rak, trans. JJoelle and edited Michelle Kim [official], + various scanlation groups such as Flame Scans and Jaimini’s Box)

The second comic I read on the plane back from the States, and then for much of the day after, was the manhwa Solo Leveling, which is (deep breath) a South Korean webtoon adaptation of a litRPG reverse-isekai web novel. If you’re not familiar, I’ll explain what all of that means in a minute. Also I’m gonna talk spoilers so heads up.

To briefly summarise the premise: the modern-day world has been changed by the manifestation of a bunch of dungeons, and the bestowal of supernatural powers onto random members of the populace. These ‘hunters’ descend into the dungeons, which are like little alternate dimensions, to prevent their denizens escaping and mine the magic artefacts inside.

The world’s ‘weakest hunter’ Sung Jinwoo ends up in a special ritual chamber which slaughters most of his group, but declares him a ‘player’, giving him the unique ability to grind for levels, which leads to him gradually becoming one of the most powerful hunters in the world... as he scratches away at the central mystery of who created this leveling-up system and what’s the deal with the dungeons in the first place.

This is... not really a comic I’d normally look at, but it kept popping up whenever I opened Mangadex, and I recently did an animation challenge run by animator Vann Oba who is a very skilled artist with a talent for dynamic compositions, and he had a lot of praise for this manhwa, so I figured I’d take a shot at it. And, certainly, from an art perspective, there’s a lot to write about.

But first let me address the story. It has that compulsive page turning quality of a serial fiction that is regularly dropping cliffhangers, such that I found it hard to stop reading (being shattered after my flight didn’t help). Ultimately, it left me feeling pretty hollow. The bulk of the story sees Jinwoo falling into a series of drastic situations, and defeating a series of stronger guys; midway through the story he gets the ability to resurrect the dead to serve him. The big reveal turns out to be that there’s a war between alien gods, and the whole dungeon thing was a complicated scheme by the angels to prepare humans to fight off the gods, and the ‘system’ was a way for Jinwoo to synthesise himself with one of those gods. Of course, he fights off the bad guys... and then goes back in time to undo the entire plot and make it so that the dungeons never showed up in the first place.

In short, a big old power fantasy. Jinwoo toys with his ‘dark’ powers, and we’re told repeatedly that we should worry about him getting corrupted, but he always remains motivated by the wellbeing of his family above all, and that doesn’t really go anywhere. And that was generally my feeling coming to the end of Solo Leveling: ‘is that it?’ It all felt quite hollow.

Which is... a sign that the genre just isn’t really for me, I guess. I can’t say it was poorly executed, just that the masculine power fantasy - of being cool, handsome, hard working and cunning, and getting rewarded for it - doesn’t really connect with me.

There were some interesting elements to the story, like the geopolitical angle on the dungeon delving - at one point the Japanese hunters and the Korean hunters work together, which is secretly a scheme by one of the Japanese hunters to do away with all the strong Korean hunters and put himself in the big leagues. (In the end, the Japanese guys mostly die and Jinwoo jumps in to save nearly all the Koreans). Wonder what’s behind that one! There’s also a Chinese hunter who recurs throughout the story, always looking very cool, but doesn’t do especially much; there’s an evil Korean hunter who went away to serve the Americans.

I don’t want to read too much into it, like this is just what the author thought would be a compelling plot development rather than some kind of heavy-handed allegory. But it is an angle that’s not present in the usual ‘leveling up’ sort of litRPG story.

The strongest hunters are likened to nations in of themselves, forces that the various countries have no choice but to appease and defer to since they cannot enforce any sort of laws on them. It would be interesting to imagine what might be done with this - some kind of spin on the tech billionaire who has unimaginable amounts of power but still very normal human foibles, perhaps creating their own little microstates where they’re corrupted by their absolute power - but mostly they’re just buff guys who like to fight.

Anyway, enough on the narrative, let’s actually talk about it as a comic!

So, this is a webtoon. That’s a specific format of comics (만화 manhwa) originating in South Korea, designed for reading on the web. You can read a bunch more about them over on the Korean Webtoons Wiki.

The main difference between a webtoon and a traditional comic is that webtoons present their images in one long vertical strip. (The vertical strip is sliced into subimages, since it’s hard to handle an image that’s over 100,000 pixels tall. This means you need a reader, such as Tachiyomi, that’s set up to handle webtoons correctly, lest you get a slice through the panel every 4000 pixels.)

This is a true ‘infinite canvas’ format, placing massive gutters between just about every panel, and every panel takes up the full width of the page. Dialogue balloons sometimes overlap panels but frequently float in that gutter space between. This format means you lose the dramatic effect of the page turn, or the large splash panel, but you do get the feeling of a continuous, endless flow of images, and it means you’re free to pick any aspect ratio for a panel you like without any concern of fitting around other images. There are also tricks like making a panel small so it’s overwhelmed by white space.

Above, I’ve taken chapter 108 of Solo Leveling and stitched the images together vertically and horizontally. Each of these columns was originally in the vicinity of 12000 pixels tall and 720 wide. The number of panels - 65 in the above example - is probably comparable to a standard issue of a comic. Indeed if this chapter is representative the comic as a whole probably has around 11000 panels in total.

For some panels that want a wide composition, they’re actually rotated 90 degrees - easy to read on a phone since you can just flip the device 90 degrees, a little harder on desktop. These panels get very very wide, so wide that you can’t actually fit the whole panel in a 16:9 screen. Which creates the interesting effect of the image gradually being revealed as you scroll the phone, almost like the scrolling backgrounds in Belladonna of Sadness.

OK, so that’s the layout, what about the art in that layout?

If there’s one word that seems central to just about all of Solo Levelling’s art is ‘dynamic’. It’s an action comic, and to portray action, Dubu pulls out just about all the tricks: really extreme poses, lines dissolving into speed lines, debris and smoke shapes, and as the cherry on top, digital tricks like chromatic aberration and motion blur. Here’s a typical fight scene panel (sorry to have to present this so small, Tumblr’s inline image restrictions are a pain):

(This version has the Korean onomatopoeia, though the official translation replaces them with English).

This shows a lot of the tricks. The composition uses a combination of radiating speed lines and arcing dust elements with motion blur. (There is a small amount of digital motion blur in this panel, others use it more heavily). The camera is at a high angle, looking down, so the horizon is not visible.

The characters are drawn in an angular style, with off-balance poses and dramatic perspective distortions that make some limbs seem much larger, and a very strong grasp of overlap and foreshortening. The protagonist’s coat is flaring up behind him, again signalling that he’s moving quickly.You have the classic raised knee, with the foot tapering to a point. The figures are made of angular, organic shapes; the foreground character conveys a twisting motion while the cross-shaped pose of the protagonist halts that flow. The shadow under the foreground character is broken up by the speed lines.

This panel shows examples of the motion blur. It’s also got a great example of splatter shapes. The protagonist’s arm’s shape is distorted by the speed he’s moving - not just by breaking up the lines into hatched speedlines, but also the shape of his hand is longer and pointier.

It reminds me a bit of the work of Mary Kim and TB Choi, or within comics, Fujimoto Tatsuki (though rarely using negative space or hyperdetailed debris in the way Tatsuki does). The effect is very impactful, but it can be so relentless that by the end it gets a bit exhausting, especially in the final battle scene.

Even outside of the fights, this dynamic sense of shape and pose is the defining feature of the comic. Characters mostly wear fairly simple, modern outfits, but they’re drawn with a lot of attention to the nuances of cloth folding. A standing pose will have a powerful sense of silhouette; characters will slouch, lean, or stand in contraposto.

There’s also a ton of love for drawing cool mens’ bodies, with a very strong sense of how muscles go together. (The girls in this story, by contrast, have very diminished roles, and need a great deal of rescuing.) There’s a very strong sense of how to make someone seem imposing.

In this panel, for example, we have a pose that heavily emphasises the character’s hulking stature, especially the shoulders and arms (big-medium-small design principle). The horizon line is low indicating a camera that’s looking up, he’s leaning forwards, and his head is very small compared to the body - the character is just over seven heads here but if you corrected for the forwards lean it would probably be around eight heads. The protagonist’s own physique also gradually gets buffer over the course of the comic, although never to this extreme.

All in all, it feels incredibly ‘modern’ as a style. Even more so when you take into account the colouring, which is very overtly digital: a lot of bright, saturated colours and gradients that display well on a screen, as well as the glows, blurs and occasional chromatic aberration to signal psychic effects.

I would be curious to know more about how this style developed, what its precursors are. I know much, much less about the history of manhwa than the history of manga.

Tragically, the artist behind this comic, Dubu, died recently at age 40 of a brain hemorrhage associated with a chronic health condition, putting him alongside Kim Jung Gi and Kentaro Miura as renowned, prolific artists who died young in the last few years. It’s hard to know what to say about that. Obviously it’s impossible to know what would have happened in a universe where he hadn’t spent three years drawing a 179-issue manhwa at a very demanding level of technical polish... but it’s hard to imagine it helped, right?

The modern manhwa industry seems to be as intense and demanding as the manga industry, if not more. There’s a couple of major webtoon platforms hosting a vast body of user-created webcomics, some of which the platform selects to promote, of which only a tiny subset are actually put on the highest level and paid. In other words, to get an actual job making manhwa, you have to do a vast amount of drawing on a spec work basis and likely play the social media game well to boot. Dubu ran a studio called Redice, which specialised in creating adaptations of webnovels, so he probably had a different route into the industry - regardless, to stay on top (and Solo Leveling is apparently the most successful of all manhwa, with tens of millions of readers on official sources, and unknown amount more on scansites), you have to work superhumanly hard. As in, harder than the human body can really handle.

@lyravelocity​ remarked to me recently, when I was stressing about my own low output, that a lot of the great works of art we admire basically swallowed the life of their creators, cathedral-style, and we have to remember this when we try and measure ourselves against them. She’s right. (And yet...)

I don’t want to imply that like someone was standing behind Dubu’s desk cracking a whip. The mechanisms here are more subtle than that: the draw of accomplishment, standing alongside other artists, fame and recognition, etc. I’m sure he genuinely wished to put his all into Solo Leveling and make it the best possible thing it could be. I can understand that.

In this comic, the protagonist is selected to ascend to world renown and superpowers by his fervent desire to live, despite spending his life at death’s door. Afterwards, with his second chance, he works furiously to advance his skill (fighting) and ultimately his hard work is rewarded: he becomes the most powerful boy in the universe, saves his mother from disease, protects his sister and adopted little brother figure when they’re attacked, and ultimately gets to save everyone from the story happening in the first place.

In the real world, the result of such intense hard work might be... you die at age 40. And most people who pursue it don’t get to briefly enjoy having a world famous manhwa out of the deal either. Perhaps that’s the fantasy that the litRPG genre is selling: it’s not just the fantasy of being powerful, but of becoming powerful -  hard work actually getting rewarded, like they say it should be.

Man, that’s bleak!

...next up we have Animal Man, so I won’t even have to work to turn it into an introspective metaphor for its own creation, Morrison’s way ahead of me.

[feuqueerfire]

Yin and War Interviews and Videos

Like some other pairing's Interview Content Indexes I made, here's some for YinWar because I feel like maybe I'll watch a bunch of their content

Watched

[Aug 13] DAN - น้อยแต่มาก (Daybed) [Official MV] - saw a tiktok with clips from this, cute

[Aug 14] ANAN WONG: หยิ่นหยาง EP.2 | แผนแกล้งมาเรียน แต่เนียนตลบหลังคุณ “วนรัตน์” - ep 2 of Yin's channel and ummmm it's about drawing but apparently War sells NFTs and talks about them here and shit, so no thanks, didn't finish watching

ANAN WONG: หยิ่นหยาง EP.4 | โชคชะตาเป็นใจ ดลอะไรให้มาเจอกัน!!? - they go wakeboarding and it's cute; there's a little schtick that they met each other there just by chance lol

[Fave] ANAN WONG: หยิ่นหยาง EP.9 | ปิกนิกเปิดใจ! ใครเสียน้ำตา!? - this was really interesting! It's a New Year's episode, they talk about the past year 2021 and War even cried. They talked about how they felt when they couldn't go to work, the uncertainty of whether Love Mechanics will even happen, and War considering leaving the industry (?). It's interesting to hear, especially from actors who aren't part of GMMTV and don't have the backing or resources of a big company or the near certainty that they'll get jobs even if it's side roles. Yin/War aren't very fanservicey in these videos but it was interesting here how often they mentioned the word 'work'

ANAN WONG: หยิ่นหยาง EP.10 | แก๊งภัยสังคมรวมตัว! วันของหยิ่นมันต้องยิ่งใหญ่!! - Yin graduation! Cute to see his uni friends who aren't actors or anything, also cute to see him interact with the fans (they were very orderly in the video)

Love Mechanics OST | หวานเกินไป (Too Sweet) - Bonnadol (youtu.be) - Freaking cute I don't wanna let Vee/Mark go T.T also funny with Mark stuffing the cotton candy in his face + slapping Vee in revenge lol

หยิ่นหยาง EP.13 | สามทหารเ��ือเที่ยวทะเลกระบี่ ใครไม่ปวดหัว [...] - Yin + some other people (P'Aun, Go, War, Prom) go on vacation. I wish I was at a beach

[Fave] หยิ่นหยาง EP.20 | "พลอยวี" ย้อนวัยให้ดู สมัยจีบกันเค้าทำอย่างงี้!! - Yin and Perth video where they play as Vee and Ploy and show us the sweetness of their 3 years! I was grinning throughout the whole video fr. @ 7:40 Vee says "Let's go kha" and Ploy says "Let's go khap" and it's soo good to me. Also, they discuss Vee and Ploy's relationship, how they feel about each other, the cheating aspect, and I really like these opinions from the actors and how they understand the characters.

[Aug 15] "กลรักรุ่นพี่" กลับมาทั้งที จะไม่ React ได้ไง | กลรักรีแอค EP.1 ft Yin + War - I didn't know Yin thought it was hard to ride the motorcycle and that he fell many times

พลอย-วี มารีแอคชั่น "กลรักรุ่นพี่" | กลรักรีแอค EP.4 ft Perth + Yin - goddamn this was a sad ass episode

[Aug 16] WAR WANARAT: วอร์คราฟ Level.2 🎮 | แรงดึงดูดน่ารู้ แต่ยูอะน่ารัก! - @ 4:30 Yin says "Kha rak aaeng(?)" to mean I love you as a pun, so I don't think he uses Kha as I pronoun but can't tell if he uses Aaeng as the you pronoun for War or not. @ 5:00 War uses Khun for the you pronoun to Yin but is that the one he uses always? Research continues on to discover which You pronouns they use for each other. I'm pretty sure they generally use Pom for I pronouns. Wait ?? @ 9:10 Yin says "You are sad" as a pun and uses the pronon Meung and I can't tell if it's part of the pun or not like does hea sometimes casually call War who is older than him meung??? Anyway, I think in general they both use Pom/Khun and idk whether that's normal or interesting among other BL ships with the same age composition or with nonceleb Thai people of the same age dynamics. Also, Yin looked good in this

WAR WANARAT: วอร์คราฟ Level.14 🎮 | เปิดโลกอัพสกิลสารพัดอาหารป่า กินเลือดงูเห่า!! - War and Prom go to a restaurant to eat exotic meats like snake, ostrich, etc. Also, they talk a bit about Nuea and Mark, together and as separate characters (this is where War depends Mark waiting)

[Aug 16]  WxY Ep.1 | ระหว่างขนมหวานกับหยิ่นวอร์ อะไรจะหวานกว่ากัน?? - Bro I’m dead, this is the most fanservice I’ve seen them do and it feels like such a stark contrast to how casual and friendly they are in their own Youtube videos from late 2021-2022 lol I see them say completely outta pocket shit on tiktok clips and was like wow where even are they like that since they’re not like that in their own youtube videos but now i see. Although the fanservice was still like... jokey and funny, so not going the “we’re real” route at least.” Also, Yin used P’War once and also called him Nong once for teasing and that’s my pronouns research for this episode

Love Mechanics novel: idk when but probably around this date, I downloaded Meb and the sample 25%. I only skimmed it and was honestly mostly just curious about how the first sex scene was in the novel. Also, first person just isn’t for me anymore I think, especially about romance.

[Aug 17] [FAVE] WxY Ep.3 | หยิ่นวอร์ออกเดทเติมความหวาน - bro this is like crackfic except it’s like crackfanservice. Them also losing it multiple times in the middle of the fanservice is hilarious too. it’s the one where Yin draws stick figure War with 3 legs, they have Nong Walter, the snake and ladders game.

WxY Ep.6 | หยิ่นวอร์ เผ็ดนี้แพ้ไม่ได้ โจ๊ะ โจ๊ะ - eating spicy food and crying. I wanna eat street fuchka and cry but be unable to stop eating cuz it’s so good

Laneige Weekend with YinWar EP.01 | ขี่ช้างจับรัก พักใจกับหยิ่นวอร์ - With elephants.

Laneige Weekend with YinWar EP.02 | ร้อนขนาดนี้ เอาอะไรมาหวาน!? - that ice cream land

[Aug 18]  Laneige Weekend with YinWar EP.03

[Aug 19]  Laneige Weekend with YinWar EP.04 

Love Mechanics Director's Cut - Watched the ending of ep 2 and start of ep 3, both of which I’d actually watched already from tiktoks lol 

[Aug 22] [Fave] Laneige Weekend with YinWar EP.06 | น่านโยกโยก ไปน้ำตก แต่โดนตกไม่รู้ตัว - Where they go to the waterfall. Been wanting to watch it since the “P’War’s gone :< Ai’War!!” tiktok. 

[Aug 23] ENOFLOVE CHANNEL กลรักรีแอค EP.10 Love Mechanics Reaction Ep 10 with Yin/War. How do they manage to watch the after-credits scene with other people? I get embarrassed just watching them watch it. Anyway, episode 10 has like a compilation of their cute scenes with a song bg at the very end after the after-credits and it reminded me just how cute Vee/Mark are. Also I can’t remember but somewhere around after halfway, after seeing idk Mark be worried about or be annoyed with Vee, Go asked in a fanservice-y way to Yin like “Do you scold War when he comes home late, Yin?” and Yin just furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and didn’t answer. Very interesting how Yin/War switch between a lot of fanservice, jokey fanservice, and no romantic fanservice depending on the situation/the people asking them for the fanservice.

[Aug 24] Laneige Weekend with YinWar EP.07

[Aug 26]  Laneige Weekend with YinWar EP.08 Shoot an MV + eat unique ice cream + a Q & A quiz. Cute tiktok from it 

[Aug 27] [FAVE] 20210505 Shopee Live: YinWar CUT | LM workshop + P'Vee vs. N'Mark: Found because of this Reddit post where Yin discusses his acting and how feels about Vee. I love getting to hear more about characters from the actors and both War (like in War’s youtube channel Level 14 w Prom) and Yin seem to have deep understanding of them. I agree with him that Mark isn’t so innocent and kind either and Vee certainly has issues that make him the way he is. Still, I’m not Team Vee, I’m just Team MarkVee Being Cute and Endearing

[Aug 28] Laneige Weekend with YinWar EP.09: Just the part where they put on makeup on P’Go and talked with him

[Aug 29] Laneige Weekend with YinWar EP.10: didn’t finish watching bc it seemed boring, rip since it’s their last of the season. Won’t watch the specials with OhmNanon because I saw someone say it was awkward and I can’t deal with that

[Aug 30]  “เอิร์ท-มิกซ์” VS “หยิ่น-วอร์” พิชิตภารกิจลับ! | E.M.S EARTH - MIX SPACE EP.17: Funny to have Earth calling Mix nu and ter while Yin/War are using khun pronouns with each other lol Especially because the two ships use khun with each other (like Earth uses khun when referring to Yin or War), so the formality in terms of you pronouns between Yin and War is the same as Earth and War lol I’m seriously just so fascinated by Yin/War using khun. Anyway, this was cute and fun ^.^

[Sep 1]  พื้นที่หาทำ EP.5 Supalai: Cute recent video that only had Thai subs, so I had to use the extension that transforms one cc to another language cc. The tiktoks from this are cute tiktok 1 tiktok 2

[FAVE] PARTNER IN CRIME - YINWAR: dude a heist bl trailer directed by P’Jojo just for a concert? give me more

To Watch

Love Mechanics Behind The Scenes

En of Love: Love Mechanics

ไม่ใช่ไม่รู้สึก - Tom Isara [Official MV]

หยิ่นหยาง EP.22 - YinWar on Yin’s Channel

They talk about pronouns here https://youtu.be/IF9Vn00qsrQ?t=149

[mournus]

Who really has some growing left to do, and who is the most balanced mentally?

I would say all of my characters have growing to do. I'm a big believer in mental/emotional weaknesses, and since especially my reapers are quite physically invulnerable I do like to make sure they can be #got in other ways.

Howwwwwever I'll just do those who are standing out to me rn

The ones who really need to get their shit together:

Ronan. Do I rly need to explain why. He is immature and whiney and delusional and closeted and JUST so much. He needs all the therapy ever.

Kaili. He lacks so much confidence, he lacks faith in his abilities, he lacks friends. They will need to learn how to use their powers properly first I think, with some mentorship and guidance they will be able to get to a good place mentally.

Leila. It's probably impossible she's a huge mess and I doubt she will recover poor girlie.

The ones who are most balanced:

Sean. He is generally quite mature, quite emotionally intelligent, and very healthy and down-to-earth. He's probably the sanest of all my characters.

Rak. UNBOTHERED RAK. King of optimism. You literally cannot put him down. He's always thinking of solutions to problems and is such a good person to have around.

[oh-three]

✘ ▼ △ ✂ ☣ ☢ ☠ ¿♥ ϟ for any of the depressed horses, you can pick which (and feel free to add the Sixth Sister into the mix too)

✘ Have they ever committed a murder?

They're all insane, but none of Unit Arrel would go that far. Not while loyal to the Light Side of the Force...

▼ What is their greatest fear?

Rak- maybe not his greatest fear, but meeting with his Jedi Master again would be a nightmare come true. Getting tortured by Vader is another big one.

Vori- losing Rakesh, probably. There's never any romance between them (as I've already said, they're more of a brother-sister best friends type thing) but if Rak were to die...? That's the end of the world for her.

Brakan- of the war potentially reaching Coruscant. Of course, it does, and other things go down right around then, and he's not the only one among them far from happy.

Trohr- of the war. Of being called back out to fight in it, of it reaching Coruscant...The war plagues his nightmares. Poor kid.

Tindri- I'm not sure if she's really afraid of anything, but she definitely tries not to think about the fact that Jurr is getting up in his years and could pass at any time. She may pick on him, but he really is a father to even her.

Linaleh- of losing any of those in Unit Arrel. Especially of losing Trohr, Vori, or Brak. She's like a mother duck (is that how the saying goes?), herding them all around and watching over them.

Loktof- of the Republic falling. He hates the politics of it all, but he prefers the current system over its more tyrannical counterparts. The clone army is an unnerving thing to him.

Jurr- the fall of the Jedi Order, the fall of any of those within Unit Arrel. They're his life, and he's proud of how they've all changed and evolved since Cin tossed them into the chaos that is the Guard alongside him.

△ Name one thing from their past that they regret.

Rak- the fact that he got one of the worst masters possible. He regrets that he was never able to properly stand up for himself, that he was never strong enough to defeat his master.

Vori- losing touch with Rakesh (he also regrets it, but not as much as the stuff with his master).

Brakan- the whole thing about Maul killing Qui-Gon and the affects it had upon him for being the same species (even if he's Iridonian and not Dathomirian).

Trohr- watching his master's clone commander die in his place. It inflicted a lot of trauma upon him, having someone sacrifice themselves for him like that.

Tindri- ?????????? I feel like she'd have a lot of regrets.

Linaleh- whatever had happened in her past that made her so protective of the children of Arrel. I mean, it has to be caused by something.

Loktof- probably one of the times he accidentally injured Rak. Or their rivalry, how it most likely had started out as resentment for one another, how they never fully let go of it.

Jurr- he's an old man, he regrets a great many things.

✂ If they had to choose one weapon to carry forever, what would it be?

Lightsaber? Lightsaber. Though Jurr wouldn't mind discarding it to forever rely upon the Force for protection.

☣ Would they kill someone close to them if they had to?

Rak- this is a complicated one. Possibly. It would certainly depend on the circumstances and what's at stake, what era of his life he's in. He struggles to trust, to get close to people. If anyone were to betray that, oh, they'd be goners.

Vori- Never.

Brak- Couldn't hurt a fly.

Trohr- not on purpose, though I could see him doing it by accident in a major panic attack or such. An then he'd have even more trauma.

Tindri- would definitely joke about it, would never do it.

Linaleh- if she did, it'd be either Rak or Loktof. Their more blunt personalities annoy her when directed at the children.

Loktof- absolutely.

Jurr- only in self defense, and only if he had no other choice. He'd never act on malice himself.

☢ Would they survive an apocalyptic situation?

Rak- 100%

Vori- only if she stuck by Rak and got lucky.

Brak- probably not. If he did, he'd never be the same.

Trohr- he definitely has the ability to. His experience on the field in the Clone Wars gives him an advantage.

Tindri- Maybe. Someone might kill her for her sarcasm, though.

Linaleh- Nope. She'd be the one to sacrifice herself so the others could get away.

Loktof- would probably get himself killed with his aggression toward others.

Jurr- since when did the mentor figure ever survive? Obi-Wan in the OT, Doc Brown in BTTF before Marty changed the timeline, Wu when the Great Devourer swallowed him early on in LEGO Ninjago (though he technically didn't die)...

☠ Do they fear death?

Rak- Take a guess? 😅

Vori- Nope. She'd be too optimistic about surviving to be afraid.

Brak- has a similar mindset to Rak in there being things more frightening than death, but he still fears it nonetheless.

Trohr- same as Brak.

Tindri- Not really. She genuinely doesn't care all that much about it.

Linaleh- not for herself, but for others.

Loktof- Nope.

Jurr- same as Linaleh. Though he has a bit more self-respect than she does for herself.

¿ Are they easily frightened?

Rak- Nope.

Vori- Depends. Jumpscares? Definitely.

Brak- Yes.

Trohr- Also yes.

Tindri- I swear she's fearless. 😂

Linaleh- she's like a mother watching her five-ish year old fall over.

Loktof- also pretty fearless.

Jurr- not easily frightened, but is capable of being frightened far more than Rak, Tindri, Linaleh, and Loktof.

♥ Have they ever acting out of heartlessness?

Rak- not as a Jedi.

Vori- could never.

Brak- literally incapable of it.

Trohr- Nope.

Tindri- yes, but only in pranks. When she's particularly pissed, she's meaner with them.

Linaleh- hasn't but totally would.

Loktof- every time he looses control when he and Rak spar.

Jurr- when he was younger, maybe. But not in a very long time.

ϟ Have they ever gotten pleasure from causing others pain?

Rak- But of course!

Vori- Nope.

Brak- he'd be sick to his stomach if he did.

Trohr- he certainly would have turned out that way had Unit Arrel not saved him from the war.

Tindri- with her pranks, definitely. It's part of why she does them, boredom and humor aside.

Linaleh- if they hurt the kids, then yep.

Loktof- always.

Jurr- Never.

[moonglittering]

20 & 25.

✨ anonymous. meme. still accepting!

sorry this is late... i have been busy listening to kendrick lamars big steppers album for the 45385398th times... :)

20. Does your muse like pet names? Do they like calling their partner pet names?

he likes being called simple pet names. babe is the big one, tho. omg he’d love to be called that! another one he really likes is angelface. also, pet names in different languages? that’ll always make him happy, especially since he usually uses terms of endearment in different languages, too. he has his terms of endearment for anyone who he likes enough for them... but here’s a few that he leans towards when it comes to romance.

qin - bae. wo dei baobao - my treasure. qin ai de - darling. xiao huaidan - little villain. said sarcastically for if his boyfriend might be a bit of an asshole lol. shagua - silly melon. bendan - dumb egg.

the bottom two are for playfully scolding!

anyway.

khon dii - my love. daaling - sweetheart. yoot rak - beloved.

among others that are more personalized.

but at the end of the day? vi mostly ends up calling his boyfriends like... bro and dude. lmao. or homie gljfdsgljf. he whips out the terms of endearment only in certain relationships, depending on who he’s with in his verses and stuff.

25. Does your muse consider romantic holidays ( such as Valentine’s ) important to celebrate when in a relationship?

not really. they’re cute for the novelty, but he also thinks they’re really lame lol. even when he’s charmed by romantic holidays, he’s more of a qixi type of person or a 520 day person. western valentine’s day gives him a tummy ache. nah, he don’t really fuck with romantic holidays like that. like, even the holidays he do celebrate he never goes all in with them. unless it’s 4 / 20, then he’s definitely in it!!!

however, he would think it’s a little sweet if he’s taken out on a little date or something on romantic holidays. not a must, tho.

don’t expect much fucks to give from a guy who doesn’t even acknowledge his own birthday.

[todorroki]

Terrible Fathers The Series (Love Sea ep 3 thoughts)

i think this show is so funny. like i'm enjoying the beauty, the vibes, and the emotional moments for the first 50 minutes then suddenly BOOM peat's moaning then 5 minutes later i have a tear in my eye from fort's acting. i'm being swung around on Mame's Crazy Coaster. do not ask me what's going on. i'm having too much fun to answer.

also rip anyone who watches this ep on iq's web player. they're unable to display text in italics AND song lyric translations overtake actual dialogue. what is this terrible user experience. and you gotta pay for it!!!!!

if love sea is going to give me one thing, it's gonna be BEAUTIFUL SHOTS. my god i could go on and on taking so many screenshots of this episode especially.

i feel like we're getting more of the girls' relationship in the series compared to the book, which is a Good sign. last week's preview of 'will you be my girlfriend?' got me good. someone correct me if i'm wrong, but i don't remember fake dating happening in the book.

and the plot gears finally start turning this week! rak gets a call from his panicked sister about their father showing up, which causes him to hole up in his room. that in turn gives us serious mut (thank u for that.. fort looks So hot when he's being stern and assertive) and the sweet star gazing scene. i don't want to say much about rak's family because i feel like i might spoil something LMAO

one of my favorite scenes so far is when they go in the waters at night my GOD IM SO GODDAMN WEAK FOR A BRIDAL CARRY I CHEERED!!!!!! and the kiss in the water was ROMANTIC AS HELL. i'm so thankful for the entire production team for this scene. the waves were so strong yet they were all in the water doing their best to film. it must've been really challenging and difficult, so kudos to everyone. i, for one, am very proud of this whole part.

someone.. more peat in glasses please!! rak waiting for mut to fall asleep so he can cuddle him is sooo cute. i love their puppycat relationship. so many soft, heart-warming moments in this episode.

now onto the series of events in mut's house. plus points for the sunlight behind them in this kiss scene. idk anything about cinematography but it felt mesmerizing in a way.

the audible OH! i yelled when they REALLY started Kissing after mut's little trauma dump. I'M NOT COMPLAINING THOUGH comfort him every ep if you want >:) i'll take as many ncs as they wanna Give. i got duped by the first quick fade to black like 'oh ok so they're not-- NEVERMIND!'

gonna go into nc detail for a second here but i'm so glad we have nip sucking this ep. i was waiting for that. love sea Does Not miss in the nc department. ALSO DUDE WHEN DID FORTS TIDDIES GET SO BIG

AND THEN the best scene this episode: emotional mut, a showcase of fort's acting ability. i teared up a bit. it was soo so soft.

the angles, the lighting. BEAUTIFUL beautiful scene. i could not put it into words how much i adored this part. mut's difficulty in asking him to stay, rak telling him to keep being himself, them stroking each other's fingers with their hands intertwined, mut's little giggle when rak agrees, rak's laugh, the flurry of kisses after.. I LOVE ROMANCE!!!

i predicted right, we're going back to the city next episode. i can't say i'm too excited because i love the island setting too much, but the dreamlike vacation doesn't last forever!! the plot must move.

also ps they fixed rak's missing audio line in ep 2. i was rewatching a few days ago and finally heard it LMAO at least they're aware...

[linelpisffxiv]

So, the story there is that I bought my friends the whole Hammer set, because I know my friend’s brand on one character. They’re getting the hammers and liking it.

Friend then made a glam with the hammers, but also said it looked like a rougher, darker version Rakka.

Rakka is a bright eyed miqo’te... who happened to be experimented on by Aulus mal Asina even during the Gaius years. He has some shark features, but is someone who is generally a positive influence on Lin, especially during StB-era. So we got talking about how Lin would react.

While Lin would be freaked out if he just suddenly turned, I brought up “Serial killer Raks” as a hypothetical.

That then evolved into a different question.

Rakka’s name is Rakka B’ in game. (Generally I’d just call him Rakka B in-story if I ever did. Probably would have him say he can’t remember his family name other than it starts with a B before this, but I never thought about it)

So what if he was a clone.

Oh, and Rakka A is also a clone, with wolf stuff instead of shark stuff. And is the evil one.

I also joked about C and D potentially existing for other stuff.

But then I was like... hey, I’ve been meaning to get Lin a story about how she got her Shiro house from a Kugane Nobleman as a gift but no clue what she would do to deserve it cuz she’s a bit too big now and wouldn’t bully someone at that point in story.

But what if... Rakka A is taking out his frustration on random Garleans. He’s a smarter predator/killer with that.

What if one gets away from him and heads to Kugane? Whether he’s a cruel asshole who blackmails this Kugane person or penitent and just has a friend, that’s where he goes. And Rakka A can’t get to the Garlean. So he’s aiming for the noble to get to him.

Lin ends up doing it with Rakka on vacation after the DRK quest to get her mind off everything and re-find herself in a casual, less break-y way. Stopping some assassin, no problem.

But it also gets into Lin’s own issues with Garleans and whether she’s willing to let one die for the sins of Livia and Gaius, even for his own. But at the same time, the noble didn’t do anything to deserve death, so she tracks him down, and sees the dark side of her best friend. Of what he could be, and what he truly is.

The story is more on Rakka’s psyche, even if it’s “How Lin got Plot 23 in Shiro.” Lin’s just the muscle and face.

[aeonian-knoxville]

Adventure of a Lifetime (Rake Yohn)

Request: “ik he’s more viva la bam but could u do something rake yohn related plsss <3”

Not to pat myself on the back but usually I don’t think I can pull of cute fics but I’ve been loving the ones I’m writing

aeonian-knoxville’s main m.list

“Get my good side” You told Dico, turning your head to show the left side of your face as he held a camera up really close to your face. “You always look good,” He said grinning. “Don’t let Rake hear you say that” you warned Dico. “Hear who say what?” Rake came up to the two of you then sat down next to the parked van. “Nothing” You said, making your way to sit with him on the floor, you made room for yourself in between his legs.

You looked up at him innocently and gave him a quick kiss to change the subject. Dico walked away to go bug someone, probably Raab, and it was just you and Rake comfortable in each other’s presence.

Rake and you had only been dating for a couple months but you felt like you had known him your whole life. Rake, likewise, also felt very strongly about you. In fact that’s how you two ended up in Iceland together.

He knew it was a big step asking you to travel with his friends especially at the last minute but you accepted his invention so there you were with the love of your life thousands miles away from all your worries and troubles. You loved everything about Rake, including his friends. They were very chaotic but in a good way, they kept you entertained and they always included you when you were around.

“Isn’t it so beautiful” you asked Rake, you leaned into his back, relaxed. “What’s beautiful? You?” he said nonchalant “No” you giggled, “just like everything I guess” you couldn’t believe your eyes.

Even if you guys were in the middle of nowhere, the beautiful green grass and mountains that surrounded you guys, the clear blue lakes you’ve passed by and even though the sky was grey because it was cloudy and raining; it was all perfect. You took in every minute of it. “So is Ryan going to really do it?” you asked your boyfriend what his friends plans were.

Two of your boyfriend’s friends made a drunken bet last night that one of them would go down a waterfall in a barrel and the other one actually bought the plane tickets. “He has to, there’s no way he can back out twice” “Wait, you guys already tried to get him to do this?” You asked, laughing. “Yeah, in the winter but he pussied out at the last minute. He kept saying he was going to do it until we drove to the waterfall and told us “there was no way in hell” he was going to do it” Rake said remembering it like it was just yesterday

“You guys are insane” you shook your head in disbelief but you couldn’t stop laughing, imagining how it went down once Ryan broke the news. “What are the chances, we’re going to scare you away after this is all done and we go back home” Rake asked you seriously. You thought about it to mess with him a little but then finally said, “None, you’re stuck with me and I like your friends” “That’s the first I’ve heard that” He said surprised, “I thought after Bam stole that barrel from the chemical site you would’ve been thinking about what you got yourself into”

“Oh trust me I was but then I realized maybe that’s why I’m so comfortable with you and your friends. You guys don’t care, you just live and make memories. Who else could I get these amazing experiences from?” You started to shiver from the cold creeping up on you as you and Rake wrapped his jacket around you, holding you closer.

“I absolutely love you” he gave you a kiss on the top of your head.

You were a bit shocked, you and Rake had told each other “I love you” before but only in a joking way. “What?” You asked, whipping your head up towards him. “I love you. I really do. You don’t have to say it back but I just wanted you to know” He repeated himself, very secure with his answer. “I’m always unsure of a lot of things but I have never been more sure to know that I love you too” you told him, both of you adoring one another.

Rake was about to kiss you before you two had Bam’s voice “Okay, okay love birds, we get it” the both of you rolled your eyes but laughed, of course they would ruin a moment like that, “Let’s hurry to the waterfall so we can prove once again Dunn is full of shit and we came out here for nothing again”

“I already told you guys, last time that water was like negative twenty degrees, I would’ve gotten hypothermia” Ryan tried to defend himself as you and Rake got off the ground and hopped into the van with the others. “Are you sure you can handle us?” Rake asked one last time. “I wouldn’t want to spend this moment with anyone else” you said, happier than ever to be brought along on such a strange adventure.

[pair-annoyed]

Anime I Watched This Summer

Summer 2020 has officially come to a close. It’s fall in Animal Crossing and the trees are beginning to turn. Much like quarantine, I spent a lot of my free time watching anime when I wasn’t stressing over starting college. Now that the school year has begun, I thought it would be nice to reflect on everything I’ve watched! 

These Anime were seen between 6/14 - 8/31 (my Birthday!) and are listed in chronological order.

They will be rated on a 1-10 scale; 1 meaning complete garbage, 10 meaning masterpiece. I will offer my thoughts on what I did/didn't like about each show!

1. Bakemono no Ko - 8/10

This was such a great way to start out the summer! I love the dynamic between Kumatetsu and Ren. Overall its a little cliche, but it’s also very wholesome. It’s by the same studio that made Wolf Children (which I loved!). so I knew it was going to be good. My favorite aspect of this movie was its backgrounds and world building! 

2. Wan Sheng Jie - 9/10

Oh my gosh! I know that this is technically a donghua, but its on MAL, so it counts. This show quickly became my favorite slice of life of all time. I adore the art style and all of the characters. The comedy, plot, and design blends so well together. Everything in Wan Sheng Jie feels warm and comfy. It’s also confirmed for a second season! After seeing its cliff hanger ending, I’m so anxious for what comes next! 

3. Dororo - 7/10

I’ll be honest, I’m a sucker for studio MAPPA. I really liked the historical aspects of Dororo. From the outfits to the ways characters behave, its grounded in the constraints of feudal Japan. I would have given this show a higher score if it was a little more grounded in science. I feel like more time should’ve been given to the demons and antagonists of the show. Our MC was so over powered, which made the final fights of the series more lack-luster. I think its less of the anime’s fault and more because the original source material is from the 60s. That being said, I loved this show! It was cute and action packed. Though it isn’t perfect, it holds its own.

4. Bungou Stray Dogs - 5/10

The concepts and action are misconstrued in Bungou Stary Dogs. This is one of those shows that I chose to watch because it was all over Tumblr. The powers themselves are cool, but I can’t understand why this series is so praised. At it’s core its predictable and basic. The fights seemed low stakes and low energy. None of the humor really felt like it belonged. It tried too hard to be something it isn’t. I don’t think I’ll watch beyond this first season. 

5. Kami no Tou - 4.5/10

First off, fuck Rachel, me and my homies hate Rachel. I really really had high hopes for Tower of God. It paves the way for Webtoon adaptations in the future. Its such a shame that this adaptation SUCKED. I have not read the source material, I’m going solely based on the anime. It wasn’t good? It was horrible. I hate Bam, I hate Rachel. I think all the characters expect Rak were awful. Please don’t make a season 2. Please. If you’re interesting in Tower of God, just read the webtoon. 

6. Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun - 7/10

Shoujo anime is my guilty pleasure. I especially liked the way Gekkan Shoujo tackled Sakura and Nozaki’s relationship. Besides just the main characters, even the side characters were enjoyable! It was a fun and creative show. My only complaint is how dense Nozaki is, but I also absolutely love that part of him.

7. Jojo no Kimyou no Bouken (Parts 1-2) - 6.5/10

Jojo is not the saving grace of shounen anime. It isn’t something super revolutionary and it certainly will never be a 10/10. Part 1 was so slow and boring. Jonathan was just mediocre at best. I definitely liked Joseph a LOT more than Jonathan. Part 2 overall was much easier to watch than part 1. The fights are good, but there’s just something about Jojo that I can’t get behind. Although I’m completely bashing this series, I’m going to keep watching it. At this point, I wanna know what a stand is. 

8. Clannad - 5.5/10

I was expecting Clannad to be sad, but instead I got a cute, slice of life, romance. It wasn’t unenjoyable, but it was also a pretty slow-burning show. I loved watching Nagisa and Okazaki slowly fall in love with each other. It was funny at times and sad at other points. I am currently watching Clannad: After Story (which I’ve heard is heartbreaking), so I’m hoping to get some catharsis out of that. 

9. Otome Game no Hametsu Flag shika Nai...  - 6/10

This show is only 12 episodes, and yet it still has filler episodes for some reason? I’m a person who doesn’t typically watch isekai because the genre is so over done. However, when it’s done in a very specific way it’s really fun to watch! This show was definitely a lot of fun, it’s also cute and has so many interesting character-character interactions. The ending is painfully cliche, but I think it adds to this shows charm. 

10. Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen  - 8/10

I loved Love is War so much! I love their weird romantic dynamic. I love the characters, and I love the animation. It’s over the top and executes it humor masterfully. The entire show fills you with anticipation for the two main characters. Kaguya is my favorite character. Although I haven’t seen season two yet, I most certainly will! I’m so upset I hadn’t seen this show sooner.

11. Great Pretender - 8.5/10

This show is so colorful and bubbly. The animation is so smooth and they are able to tackle so many different kinds of things given its plot. The whole show itself just feels like summertime. It came out not to long ago, so some people may not be familiar with it. On top of the show itself, the music is great, with a Jazzy OP and and ED that features Freddie Mercury

12. Steins;Gate 0 - 8/10

 I loved the original Stein;Gate so much! So it’s no surprise how much I liked the second season. It builds significantly off the first season in a sort of “off shot” OVA kind of way. The events of Steins;Gate 0 don’t actually happen, but that doesn’t stop it from being meaningful. The big “twist” was predictable and a bit of a let down, but I still enjoyed this. Granted, I’m bias. 

13. Seishun Buta Yarou wa Yumemiru Shoujo no Yume wo Minai - 9.5/10

I sobbed. So much. This movie was phenomenal, it was such a trip. Having watched the original series, this tore my heart apart. It gets a high score for being able to take the characters I love and creating a wonderfully emotional experience. If you haven’t seen Bunny Girl Senpai, please watch it, and then watch this movie. You won’t regret it! 

14. Hotaru no Haka - 6/10

Grave of the Fireflies made me stop watching anime for a while. Studio Ghibli created something grim, something that leaves the viewers feeling hollow. Its a movie about WWII from Japan’s perspective. As an American, all I could feel while watching this was immense guilt. I will say though, that some of the movies main plot could have easily been prevented if the main character had swallowed his pride. His younger sister was also my least favorite character. I get that she’s a kid and that kids are fussy, but you would think that during wartime, she’d be more understanding and at least try to eat the things she dislikes. 

15. Yagate Kimi ni Naru - 9/10

This was a great way to end the summer. This is more that just GL romance, its a love story. Its about growing up and learning to understand your feelings. I related to Yuu so much, which made this more emotional than I expected. It’s really unlike another romance anime I’ve seen. I hope it gets confirmed for a second season. If not, I’ll be reading the manga. 

Seasonal Shows: (Things that are still airing as of 9/5/2020)

1. The God of High School  7.5/10

Another thing done by studio MAPPA. Are you surprised? I absolutely love the action in GoH. The plot however, is all over the place. The story seems fragmented and hard to follow. Like Tower of God, it was poorly adapted. I’m giving it such a high score, because it’s SO much more enjoyable then Tower of God. 

2. Enen no Shouboutai: Ni no Shou - 4/10

My thoughts on season 2 are about the same as my thoughts on season 1. The only difference is that this season has more Jojo references. I’ve rated it lower because its so repetitive. I’m so sick of watching it, but I’ve got to see it through the bitter end.   

3. Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 2nd Season - 8.5/10 

All I’m going to say about Re:Zero is that I love it. I can’t give an accurate review of it because I’ve been hyping this season since it was announced. If you’re into non-typical isekai, watch Re:Zero, its so enjoyable!

[hyathrys]

Tog blorbos?

Hello!!!

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most): Khun Aguero Agnes. When I first read TOG, I was like “head empty, Khun pretty” XD. I also love his big brain strategies. Like, sir, please leave some brains for the rest of us.

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped): Bam and Rak :D. Bam’s eyes are so expressive and round imo. Rak, especially in his compressed form, is Very Shaped. When I tried to draw his head, it ended up like a box with teeth XD.

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave): Personally, I think the scouts in general are underrated because among the positions, they have the most diverse skill set, but if I had to narrow it down: Shibisu and Hatz. I am so proud of Shibisu because in the second floor, he could barely pass through the shinsu wall, but now he’s faring well in the higher floors, which have higher density shinsu. Hatz is very dedicated to his craft and I would love to see him grow as a swordsman.

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week): Yellow May hasn’t even shown up yet and she’s already taken up space in my mind!!! I think it’s because Maschenny is already there and all she needs to do is to summon her to get her character reveal. Consequently, Maschenny is also a glup shitto by association. BUT, once she finally appears, I will not shut up about Yellow May. SIDE NOTE: SIU has stated that the Khun family’s blue hair comes from Argentina’s flag. But did you know that the yellow sun in the middle of the flag is called Sol de Mayo (Sun of May)??? Which makes Yellow May being assigned to Khun Maschenny more perfect??? Ugghhhhh Yellow May reveal 2022 pleaassseeeee

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave): Rachel. The idea that she just used Bam from the moment she met him is ok. However, I also love the idea that she was genuinely nice to him during their time in the cave, then she only hated him when they entered the Tower; I think it goes well with the theme of sacrificing things as you go up the Tower (in this case, her relationship with Bam). Also, she holds so much info that could tell us more about the Tower (and possibly the Outside), but she’s like, “no I won’t tell you ❤” which I think contributes to the hate towards her XD. Hope we get her POV in the future.

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason): Also Khun HAHAHA. To be fair, we have a lot of ammunition against him. One is the inevitability of being left behind by Bam (whether intentionally or not) and it has been the focus of several fics I’ve read (usually by Khun dying). There’s also the firefish issue where we don’t know the exact price of him using its powers. There’s also his family issues, which is a lot to unpack. I haven’t read fics recently, but I would like to see a Khun POV of the 2-year coma. As in, he’s in a dreamlike state (is that how comas work???) and because he can’t wake up, he’s forced to face manifestations of his issues.

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell): White. While I know RaKhunBam powered him down recently, I would love to see him face the consequences of his actions. When he finally dies, I want the souls to physically drag him to superhell :).