#is bc of my own personal lens i watched it through

[hella1975]

my friend watched banana fish and im actually.... kinda annoyed about it

[cheesey-rice]

I've been getting a lot of vids from international YouTube channels bc of my foreign language interests and I see a lot of international poc complaining about American poc being in historical shows and calling it the same ahistoricality as someone casting a white person to play a poc, and I've felt that I disagreed.

Just trying to articulate this from my perspective as a 2nd gen kid... I think that folks saying poc being in like British historical type shows in positions poc definitely wouldn't have been in at that period have a point when they say studios should just produce movies/shows that tell the history of actual poc instead of misrepresenting history of predominant white countries have a point in that yes, American culture and media definitely has this huge Blindspot to history outside of a certain sphere of white American culture influences... But I still feel like there is a definite difference between a white person being cast as a historical poc vs a poc being cast as a historically white person.

Bc when it comes down to it I feel like the perspective some non-americans might not have is that when you grow up in America you are raised as an American. Poc are not exempt from the American cultural concept of what our history is. Like regardless of how u feel about the musical itself Hamilton is a good example of how something that exists in our culture as American history is something that a poc creator was able to retell as their own history as an immigrant. Regardless of the quality of the piece, one wouldn't say that the people of color in Hamilton's production are talking about or reenacting American history in an unfaithful or inaccurate way because American history is their history and an immigrant writing a view on that history from an immigrant's perspective adds a level of nuance to the piece rather than taking it away.

But in the case of a white person playing an important historical figure of color, it's completely different. Like in the instance of that famous harriet Tubman case, a white person could not play the black woman who fought the white institution of American slavery her entire life. Because victimization at the hands of the institution of slavery on the basis of race in America is a history that cannot be said to be the history of all Americans. Non-black Americans and (also most black non-americans) are not going to grow up being continually affected by the social, financial, and legal ramifications of the institution that remain in this country. A person who has never experienced a life that continues to be affected by racism is not going to be able to accurately tell a story about race. And because America has relied on racial dogma to excuse free labor and human rights abuses used to build the agricultural basis of our society from the very inception of the nation, there is never going to be a story about a black American in our history that was not in some way affected or influenced by the experience of racism.

I understand that from an outside perspective seeing an American poc just say a casting choice is "racist" can sound like oh they're saying a white person isn't allowed to play this role what about creative freedom etc etc. But like, ignoring the knee jerk reaction to call everything 'cancelling' these days maybe realize that they're saying a white actor is going to do a worse job representing a character who experienced racism than a person of color and that's just a fact. It's not restricting art to criticize that the choices behind it make the actual piece worse in the long term for very obvious reasons.

[hausofneptune]

songs that give the same energy as these aspects/placements

[astro notes no. 008]

hey y'all! i'm sure this has probably been done before, but i thought it'd be fun to do a post where i can talk about music and astrology bc i'm very much so a nerd when it comes to both of those topics :) (i'm dipping my toes into synastry/composite placements in this post, and i'm still learning about those subjects so any of these notes sound like surface-level baby shit, that's why, i apologize in advance lmao)

also, if it don't apply let it fly, we all have different charts and so therefore aspects and placements will manifest differently for all of us.

disclaimers | masterlist | ask

 ༊*·˚ ˗ venus in the 12H | scorpio / cancer venus: unknown / nth — hozier

you called me angel for the first time my heart leapt from me you smile now, i can see its pieces still stuck in your teeth and what's left of it, i listen to it tick every tedious beat going unknown as any angel to me do you know, i could break beneath the weight of the goodness, love, i still carry for you? that i'd walk so far just to take the injury of finally knowing you?

i feel like it's worth mentioning that hozier has venus in aquarius in his 12H, which makes so much sense when you listen to his music. these placements are, i feel, indicative of loving extremely hard, even to your own detriment. they tend to crave deep, nurturing, spiritual connections in love. and although they might have the capacity to understand people on a deeper level, rarely is that level of understanding reciprocated to them in love (especially the venus 12th housers), which can result in this feeling of being "unknown". y'all's suffering usually results in amazing art though, which can be an upside depending on how you look at it lmao

༊*·˚ ˗ moon in the 8H | moon square / opposite pluto or saturn: good days — SZA

said i'm not tryna be a nuisance, it's just urgent tryna make sense of loose change got me a war in my mind gotta let go of weight, can't keep what's holding me choose to watch while the world break up and fall on me all the while, i'll await my armored fate with a smile still wanna try, still believe in good days

as an 8H moon native i literally cannot listen to this song without crying lmfao. i feel like there’s so much inner emotional turmoil that people with these placements experience, and these experiences can definitely harden somebody into the type of person who’s emotionally avoidant and seeks to escape through their work or self-destructive habits. or, they become someone who, despite of what they’ve been through, utilize their understanding of the “darker” side of life to help others, and at least attempt to seek out things that bring them joy recognize that you don't have to view life through the lens of the fucked up shit you've been through.

༊*·˚ ˗ venus in the 9H / taurus ruling over the 9H: bliss abroad — masego ft. sheléa

i'm a boss, i know you like that spend it all, and make it all back see the sea view right from the cockpit just a preview to one of god's gifts i love the way we have no limitations, every night a celebration you take me there you exceed my expectation, beyond imagination

this is such a cute placement to have, both in natal and synastry. in the natal chart, it can indicate being someone who finds pleasure in traveling and learning about cultures that are vastly different than yours, and even finding spiritual fulfillment through doing so. it also shows being someone who enjoys traveling and exploring uncharted territory with their partner (or finding love in a different country), as well as feeling the most fulfilled in a relationship with someone who you feel "enlightens" you and brings newfound wisdom to your day to day life. these natives could also end up attaining wealth through these endeavors as well.

༊*·˚ ˗ sun trine or sextile black moon lilith | mars conjunct uranus | venus aspecting mars / pluto (synastry): stroke — banks

it’s always in my head everything is always about you tell me you’re a book that i misread you just wanna tell me what to do you want me, you want me want me to stroke your ego beg for it, die for it i got the touch placebo

i like to refer to aspects and placements like these as the "you not finna tell me what the fuck to do" indicators. with the natal aspects, these are typically the type of people who like to push against the boundaries just to see how far they can go, and enjoy ruffling other peoples' feathers for fun. they're also visionaries, and tend to prioritize their individuality above all else and enjoy encouraging others to feel empowered as well. on the other hand, the synastry aspects can indicate a strong level of physical attraction and sexual compatibility, when they're afflicted it can very much so lead to power struggles, with mars/pluto being the one attempting to assert some form of dominance or control over venus. how that ends up playing out depends on the context of the individual natal charts of those involved, personally i'd rather eat a denim jacket than let somebody (especially a man) tell me what to do, but i digress.

༊*·˚ ˗ moon / mercury in 3H (synastry) | sun in pisces / taurus (composite): are you even real? — james blake

all i can do is trust in her late nights, i can see the lust in her acid rain is a first for her skies open up, share a cup with her cracking seals, guilty no appeal trip down the hill, strawberry fields are you even real? she said, "tell me how you feel" are you even real?

3H synastry is so sweet and so underrated, probably because it's not a house that people typically look at for an indication of "romance", but i feel like communication is an integral part of relationships that (clearly) nobody really takes into account. moon and mercury in the 3H can be indicative of giving/receiving words of affirmation with someone, as well as an ease in not only expressing your emotions to someone but having a very strong intellectual connection to them. it could also be indicative of having a strong bond with their siblings or immediate family as well. i also mentioned sun in pisces and taurus in the composite chart because the production of this song is so ethereal, and the lyrics are very domestic in a sense? i feel like it's representative of the spiritual connection and compassion that pisces brings, alongside the pleasure and security found in building a home with the person you love.

༊*·˚ ˗ pisces moon / mercury: count me out — kendrick lamar

i care too much, wanna share too much in my head too much, i shut down too i ain't there too much, i'm a complex soul they layered me up, then broke me down and moralities dust, i lack in trust

pisces moons are truly god's strongest soldiers lmfao. i spoke on this in a previous post and i'll reiterate it again because it's so real, but pisces is the only water sign without "armor", and therefore the water sign that tends to get hurt the most. and i'm speaking in terms of the archetype and not necessarily every person with prominent pisces placements when i say this (pls do not come up under this post talking about a pisces that hurt your feelings, we do not care), but pisces are very sensitive and kind-hearted by nature, and with the moon in pisces that can very easily manifest as becoming "captain save a hoe" and trying to help and fix everyone around you, even to your own detriment. in regard to having mercury in pisces, i feel like the upside is having a very romanticized way of speech and a general "poetic" ideological approach to life, and the downside is getting lost in your thoughts, as well as being misrepresented or not clearly understood in communication/connection to others, and therefore "shutting down" and opting not to speak at all.

༊*·˚ ˗ sun / venus trine or sextile neptune (natal or synastry): two weeks — fka twigs

i'll put you first, just close your eyes and dream about it higher than a motherfucker, dreaming of you as my lover i'll quench your thirst, just chase the high and stop your doubting flying like a streamer, thinking of new ways to do each other

i'm not gonna hold you, i feel like this is the perfect example of a song fully encapsulating what an aspect feels like. i feel like these aspects can make someone very ethereal, they may have a tendency to come off as impersonal or "out of reach" to those around them, and are typically very intuitive and spiritually-inclined. in synastry, this could make someone view their partner through a dream-like lens. aside from neptune's malefic characteristics (which typically show up more with conjunctions or challenging aspects) it's energy paired with the sun and venus can make a relationship feel like a fairy-tale in a sense. they may have a telepathic connection with one another, visit each other or communicate through the astral realm, and their intimacy can feel like a very spiritual experience for both parties.

as always, if you have any of the aspects or placements mentioned let me know how it manifests in your own life! and if you have any songs that you feel like are representative of any placements feel free to drop them below, i'm always looking for new music to listen to!

[ccuniculusmolestus]

Bunny Corcoran: Mother, Women and Sexuality (Masterpost)

Apologies for the shitty quality screenshot, idk why their quality got butchered.

Anyway I divided this thing into IV parts.

Intro

Camilla

Marion

Henry

INTRO & DISC.

Not to be a bunny apologist literally, he's sexist piece of shit, but you know whats funny? The way this fandom absolutely REFUSES to acknowledge the fact that, despite Richard's shady ass describing Bunny as "homophobic but not in a repressed way", Bunny could very well be gay or bi at the very least. The fandom just doesn't want to see it because he doesn't form "convenient" enough ships with major characters (he does. You guys are just cowards.)

Yes I know, sexist hetero men despise women just for being women, but they view women purely through a sexual lens. But Bunny's prude ass was NOT a pervert. I mean, this is the guy that got triggered when Richard asked him about his hickey.

Yes yes sexually repressed people can act prude-ish in front of people but be total pervs when alone, but nothing at all hinted at Bunny being a pervert who viewed women as walking meat bags. I just find it weird that the only two female companions he had (Marion and Camilla, aside from Judy bcs we never see them interact) he just...didn't like them. Camilla he was good to, occasionally, in a very platonic way ("paternalistic stance").

CAMILLA

And you know what drives me crazy? In this group of 5 boys and 1 girl, Bunny was the ONLY one who was never inappropriate (sexually) or sexual with Camilla. Even the openly gay guy in the group had kissed her at least once. Even her own brother-- not finishing that. Henry slept with her too. Richard kissed her, and wanted to sleep with her. Not Bunny. Yes, Bun was cruel to her in other ways, ordering her around, saying she was intellectually inferior, but he showed ZERO romantic interest in her. Which is kind of ironic to me. The only homophobe in that group was the only one not acting straight.

MARION

With Marion, my god, the way this boy behaved.

He called her his "reason of being", the purpose of his existence, but he could barely tolerate her. She was only a clip holding him together from those parts where he was falling apart; wounds left from a neglectful mother. Lets not mention how Marion is sort of an underdeveloped image of his mother; delicate, blonde, somewhat haughty.

That bitterness he probably feels towards Kathy was then pointed to Marion. Its so freaking clear that Marion is filling the "Mother" role in Bunny's life. She's "feminine" (a trait often associated with motherhood and vice versa), she's "bossy and businesslike". I don't need to explain this, I'm sure.

But watch Bunny's reactions to her; hes submissive for the most part.

For a man who's so incredibly sexist, it doesn't make sense for him to choose such a woman as his partner, does it? Now, either Richard entirely fabricated or exaggerated Bunny's sexism in order to justify his murder, or

His "dislike" for women didn't stem from the weird sexual obsessions misogynists tend to have, but from something else. It could be, purely, his mommy issues, or something else.

You know that whole, Bunny calling Marion that title, but treating her like a chore just reflects what a big performance his relationship truly was. He didn't love Marion, perhaps he liked her, appreciated or cared for her, but he didn't love her. Marion was, like every other thing in his life, just an element to uphold an image of himself. Potential beard? Maybe.

HENRY

Bunny's true "raison d'etre" might have not existed. The only person he could be said to gave been obsessed with was, truly, Henry. And im not just saying this for the sake of it. Bunny was invested in and attached to Henry, perhaps a result of his financial dependence on him.

I don't know guys, I just don't think its normal to snoop around your best friend's things often, or make multiple attempts to read their journal--

this boy was DESPERATE to know the inner workings of Henry's mind. Mind you, this is BEFORE Bunny found out about the murder, or had reason to suspect Henry for anything. Henry's said he was always nosing around for it, and he mentioned Bunny was an "obtrusive" roommate -- meaning this was normal occurrence for him around Henry. Yes, he was also kind of like this with others (Stealing stranger's foods, stealing Charles' cooking literally as he works in the kitchen) but neither of these required a sense of interest in the person he was stealing from. It was to serve his own needs.

Bunny also shows a reluctance to lose Henry.

After their fight, he's so overwhelmed that he doesn't know how to react (mentioned by Henry himself), and his first instinct is to try and cling onto whatever shred of normalcy there was left between them. Despite knowing the numerous cruel things Henry had written about him, Bunny just took it. He stayed somewhat amiable to Henry later. Yes, yes. He got annoying about "the blackmail" (or his inability to keep his mouth shut) but Henry and Francis BOTH tell Richard that Bunny doesn't see what he's doing as "blackmail".

In fact, i think Bunny the fool was trying to get "in" on the feeling of being in on a secret. Image below is regarding that German that started following them in Rome.

But his immediate reaction of pretending everything's fine isn't the first or last time he tries to keep things cool with Henry.

Henry, despite having to deal with Bunny's worst tantrums, was still treated with a degree of respect that seemed to be reserved only for him. Was he afraid of Henry? Hell no.

Bunny was never afraid of insulting Henry, or fighting with him. But he rarely ever got personal with him. Yes yes he complained about the money and every little thing, but the way he went after the rest of the class? Targeting their weaknesses? He would've known Henry's weakness, he was perceptive enough. But he didn't. He still treated Henry with respect. Deference. Described as "polite submission and respect".

With Henry, Bunny was totally emotionally vulnerable. Henry reactedd explosively twice during their arguments. The first is when he slapped Bunny so hard that he "left a big white mark on his cheek", and the second where he broke that chair when Bunny was fighting him in his room. Despite losing control, Henry maintained a level of composure. Bunny never did. He became hysterical each time, screaming and becoming violent the first time, but sobbing himself to sleep (IN HENRYS BED) the second time.

He slept in his bed. There was literally no reason for him to do that.

Except maybe he craved closure. Maybe he just missed his best friend. Maybe he was too shaken up to move from his spot.

And I don't want none of you fools being all "Henry didn't gaf about Bunny."

This is Henry's reaction to Richard essentially saying "You thought Bunny wouldn't be a problem??" And then reiterating that they're old friends.

Do you even understand the implications of that last line? Bunny, whose entire being was hidden under a carefully crafted persona, admitted his family's SHORTCOMINGS with HENRY. Bunny, whose image was everything for him. Perhaps his image WAS his raison d'etre. Bunny, who lived life as an illusion of his true self, projecting away his insecurities. Bunny, who would never admit that he was poor, that his family was flawed in any way, told Henry this. How many more things do you think he confessed, or what other parts of his past and home did he reveal?

Yes, he could have just been telling Henry those things to mooch him off, but he also mooched off his other friends.they didn't know a thing. Marion, who I believe his family hadn't met yet (?) Probably didn't even know. Amd if youre from a dysfunctional home, you already know the only people you've told about your home are special, hand-picked.

Henry was also the first and only person Bunny told about Camilla/Charles.

Perhaps it hurt him, being left out of such a major events of Henry's life because Bunny was sharing practically everything with him.

Alls I'm saying is, Henry meant more to Bunny than most people realize (and dare I say, vice versa), and the only reason people don't see it is because RICHARD didn't see it (fool saw the potential of the dynamic but then was like "nah bunny's too ugly for that").

Bunny was most definitely either a repressed bisexual/gay man, and you cannot change my mind. And while his hatred of women is vile and inexcusable, it stemmed from a place of deep personal issues and insecurities.

Anyway. I'm done rambling LOL.

[inchidentally]

Lando's eyes always sparkle when he looks at Oscar and it captures my heart every time. You can see that Lando likes Oscar very much and his eyes don't even hide it. God, their relationship is so intimate that sometimes it's hard to watch without feeling like a third wheel. Oscar, I don't know how you did it, but as a Lando fan, I'm grateful that I get to see this version of Lando every time he's around you.

straight up anon, the shift in Lando when he got a teammate who exists on the same natural wavelength as him has been a thing to behold ??

like, Lando is someone who goes through life looking for romance and he so easily gets a crush on anyone who populates his world with something special or beautiful. that's what has made Oscar such a unique relationship for Lando because Oscar doesn't consider himself or his life at all in the world of romance or fantasy. he considers himself extremely practical, "low frequency" and enjoying the simple things in life. he's not at all a typical heroic figure like Carlos or a big camera-ready personality like Daniel. Lando's interest in Oscar has been a slow but steady curiosity that has grown even without Oscar initiating a joint hobby or going on outings together or playing up a bromance for fans. Lando was definitely a little unmoored by the lack of all of that for a while!

the only two aberrations in Oscar's calm and cool are his pursuit of F1 and his fascination with Lando, which we know to have been intertwined as early as him moving to the UK at 14. there is serious romance in the way they ended up as teammates and major drama of Oscar's determination to get that seat.

but! then there's Lando saying how he sees them as similar to each other back in July 2023! bc Lando had always used self-mockery to interrupt his moments of earnestness and in a lot of ways was always striving to be Just A Guy to fit in with the guys in his life. his creativity would pop out very occasionally but mostly he became known for being naturally funny and able to click with just about anyone by matching their energy and adapting to their humor. he even took great pride in The Lando Effect - which ironically was more about Lando changing to suit Carlos and Daniel, who he has almost separate versions of himself with. he was the baby brother as always, wanting to hang out with his older brothers and wanting to fit in.

and then he gets Oscar as a teammate who seems content to just stay back and watch Lando and observe Lando and learn everything about Lando he doesn't already know. who seems to have no limit when it comes to handling the full range of Lando's personality and never tells - or even jokes - that Lando should change a single thing, even when it directly impacts Oscar. Lando doesn't have to match Oscar's energy and it turns out! they both like it best when Lando doesn't try!

which is when we started seeing lando.jpg reemerge and 7 podiums and a new hunger for even more and higher expectations of himself and a calmer, more authentic - less cartoonish - Lando on camera in challenges and social media. he even said how Oscar taught him by example the importance of "keeping calm and being yourself". of course silly, fun Lando is still there! he's still little brother to Carlos and Daniel and George and Alex! but those are now some of the many facets we've gotten to see in the past 14 months!

the winter break was a revelation because Lando spoke to fans solely through his camera lens and the reflections of the beautiful world he saw as he traveled. no goofing, no pretense, no corporate. his chosen pose for all his photos was partly in fun, partly symbolic of his confidence that he didn't need to sell these photos as selfies for them to blow up all over social media.

and all the while Oscar was quietly on his own down time and training, liking Lando's posts and saying "you went everywhere!" and listening to Lando recount it all.

then Lando came back to work this year and everything about him wore a new sheen of beauty and romance to it, including him having grown more beautiful. he's used his beauty more consciously when modeling and even LN4 and Quadrant took on a more stylized look. his new McLaren contract announcement was an entire aesthetic complete with a short film.

like, obv this whole post is me going off on a whole stupid thing but just. Lando was always meant to live his life in a unique way and he was always meant to see things through romance and art and music. he wasn't supposed to apologize for enjoying racing as a means of attaining perfection one day. and there's Oscar who reflects back to Lando all the quirks and things that make Lando unique that he's memorized over the years, listening to Lando's music in place of the usual silence in his own driver's room, helping Lando navigate unknown food and new lengthy words and knowing when Lando is comfortable to take the lead in public speaking and when Lando needs Oscar to step in and handle it. pushing Lando all the time as a teammate and the whole friction creates the pearl analogy.

idk it's just not as huge a leap as I thought last year to say that Oscar's comfortable, placid life has long had a splash of color in it at last in some part because of Lando and that Lando has become the most authentic and brilliant version of himself at least in some part because Oscar is there to always appreciate it.

like this little moment of Lando giving Oscar a nickname and Oscar finding it the best thing he's ever heard and Lando's half-stunned and delighted smile at being able to do that to Oscar is just all of that distilled:

Oscar's confidence has returned and he's smoothing over the awkward PR duties while Lando is relaxed and confident and the little quips like this just come so naturally. (the way Lando actually wriggles in his chair with delight over Oscar's reaction !!) like, Lando doesn't have to try ! he doesn't have to try to be anyone but himself ! there's someone here at work with him all day and every day who is delighted by him no matter what !

and what's even better is apparently! now that they both understand and exist on that wavelength together, they've returned from winter break circling around each other and looking for each other more than they ever have <3

[absolutebl]

I'd like to specify a request for good Thai shows that just finished. They're my favorite for many reasons, and I also enjoy getting to learn more Thai words.

Good 2023 Thai BL That Recently Finished (to Binge!)

(I actually held off answering this one until a few had ended this week because I didn't have many for 2023. It's not been great year for Thai BL so far IMHO. Now South Korea is KILLING it. So is Japan.. in a different way.)

My School President

9/10

GMMTV gave us a classic high school set Thai BL with tropes like messy boys singing their feelings that made this one Love Sick for the modern age with all the gentle sweetness and pining ache, but none of the dated damaging tropes or issues.

Yes, we’ve seen it all before, but I still ADORED this. And there is a lot to be said for the classics being re-executed perfectly. Who let my BL be this wholesome and funny? This show was fantastic, it’s only flaw was the singing (and that’s my baggage).

My favourite GMMTV BL offering to date. And yes, I've watched them ALL. (YouTube)

Step By Step

9/10

This was Thailand’s answer to The New Employee, and everything I loved about that show I loved about this one.

This was an office romance between stern boss and sweet subordinate that felt more authentic to an office environment than previous Thai BLs of this ilk. And that authenticity added tension to the narrative and character development (how novel). Now that might be because it has western source material, or it might be because it is actually kind of old-fashioned (it’s been years since I worked as an office grunt). I also really enjoyed the brothers’ relationship, and kinda wished they hadn’t attempted (and failed) to give said brother his own side BL.

(Gaga & YouTube & Viki)

La Pluie

9/10

This BL takes to task the fated mates trope and what it means to have love chained intimately to predestination. It’s about how faith in destiny before choice diminishes the authenticity of emotion, relationships, and connection. This is a high concept to examine through the lens of a BL.

By activating + examining the soulmates trope this show is challenging a foundation of romance: the idea that there is one person meant to be your one romantic partner all your life. This means that we, as viewers, spend much of the show worried about it having a happy ending, and that’s the source of both its brilliance and tension: would the narrative have the strength to truly challenge its own romantic core?

But, ultimately, all this elevated complexity was executed in a somewhat shaky manner with the narrative derailing into some serious pacing issues and characters manipulated by miscommunication. However, with good chemistry and decent acting all around, plus some excellent high heat and representation of consent and a few other rare tropes, this one has to (like it’s sibling show My Ride) earn a 9/10.

I enjoyed it even as it made me think. (iQIYI)

Make a Wish

8/10

PNR (from Sammon: Manner of Death & Triage) about a doctor who can see the dead and strikes a bargain with a wish-granting irreverent tree angel - naturally they fall in love.

Stars Fluke Natouch opposite not-Ohm, but who cares bc Fluke has chemistry with everybody. Once again the Thai afterlife is incredibly bureaucratic but I enjoyed the premise and the unfolding of the story (it’s not predictable but still satisfying and with nice little twist). I like that the doctor is just gay af and has a fag hag bestie and everything.

The cast is excellent but the comedic stylings are too overblown and tonally off. It had sad parts and did make me cry but is ultimately happy with a great sex scene, good smiley kisses, and all the agency. (grey)

Moonlight Chicken

8/10

I enjoyed this complicated little show, even though it’s spectacularly messy gay with lots of shrapnel and authentic pain.

I thought EarthMix turned in their most compelling performance to date. But it was GeminiFourth who stole my heart.

That said, the most interesting central relationship was that of Jim & Li Ming, their father-son angst mixed with evident affection made me tear up.

This was more slice of life than it was BL, but it ended happily so I’m not mad at it. (YouTube)

Never Let Me Go

8/10

Bodyguard romance where poor boy must watch over rich boy for family obligation reasons. Simple premise well executed with a few bumps that made it feel like it was trying to tackle too much (when it wasn’t).

Still, an enjoyable show that benefited from being handed to PondPhuwin who did a stellar job with their roles and chemistry. Is it going into permanent rewatch rotation? No, but a solid GMMTV offering. Of GMMTV passing out new series to established pairs this has been the most successful IMHO. PondPhuwin were about 10000x better in this than FUTS (and that's FUTS's fault, not theirs).

It's typically Thai in that its a bit bloated and has a confusing plot, but at least it HAD a plot and the central relationship is solid and loyal. Their Our Skyy 2 follow up is great. And very much adds to the cannon in a fun way rather than feeling superfluous - making this show ultimately 14 eps rather than the usual 12. (YouTube)

Destiny Seeker

8/10

A darn near perfect pulp featuring 3 likable grumpy/sunshine pairings with uncomplicated iterations of enemies to lovers. At least one half of each does a decent amount of pining and there’s good chemistry, classic tropes, and communication rep. It’s fun and full of linguistic jokes.

Sublimely cheesy but a good rainy day offering with tons of rewatch potential. (WeTV)

Bed Friend

8/10 (Triggers include: child abuse, attempted rape, family abuse)

Office frienamies transition a flaming hot one night stand into a f-buddy relationship that is built on a puppy/cat dynamic (and kinks into it at one point). Our puppy is loyal, smitten, and protective with endlessly longing eyes, while our cat is snarky, prickly, and deeply damaged (ALL THE TRIGGERS).

NetJames give lovely high-heat with excellent chemistry and tuned-in performances of surprising depth, unfortunately the story ultimately failed them. Had the show had the strength of its convictions and kept to a tighter, darker, harsher 8 eps it would have been the first high heat to earn a 10/10 from me, but once they fussed with it, it dropped to a solid 8/10.

Could have been great but was overworked. Still if high heat is your thing, this one will not let you down. (YouTube)

Between Us

8/10

Featuring the hugely popular side characters from 2019′s Until We Meet Again, Win Team (played by Studio Wabi Sabi's most popular, and commercially viable, pair BounPrem - Long Khong, You Never Eat Alone, Seven Project, Even Sun), adaptation of the y-novel Hemp Rope.

It’s a serviceable series about hot swimmers flirting and dealing with family drama in a sweetly earnest manner, but ultimately it squanders the talent in play. I would’ve preferred a cleaner narrative arc, less angst and more plot, fewer couples, and a shorter series.

That said, there’s nothing objectively wrong, sub-standard, or off-putting about this show. And it has lots of consent and other good qualities.

It’s fine. Watch along here. (iQIYI)

This list dated July 16 2023, not responsible for anything that came after, that'll probably be in end of year wrap ups.

[noir-fem]

PREFACE: this is just MY OPINION on some takes I've seen. This is meant to call out some team black fans who take things way too far and bully people, but I will not condone any kind of bullying or harassment in the comments. We can disagree, we can discuss our disagreements, but what we're not gonna do is bully or threaten people, okay?

Okay.

That being said, this is a friendly reminder that the Targaryens invaded a land that WAS NOT THEIRS then proceeded to take the things that they believed they had a divine right to through force and violence (aka their dragons, which are a metaphor for the weapons of mass destruction used in real wars). This is literally a metaphor for colonizers. GRRM wrote the dance of dragons as an anti-war commentary and made it clear that the Targaryens thinking that they're a divine race who are entitled to do whatever they want at the expense of the common man is a HORRIBLE WAY OF THINKING and this has gone completely over some of yall's heads.

Look, you can like whatever characters you wanna like for whatever reason! Nobody in HOTD is truly a good person, so there's no point in real people fighting with each other over it. But I'm tired of watching team black fans who justify their choice by saying this very thing proceed to bully and harass not only team green fans, but even the team green ACTORS because they don't like what the CHARACTERS did. Like, what happened to all of them being bad people?? And why call REAL people names, harass them, and even threaten them just because of what these FICTIONAL CHARACTERS did????

If it truly doesn't matter who you support because "they're all bad people", then why are you harassing REAL PEOPLE just because they don't like the same war criminals you do? "Both sides do bad things", so what moral high ground do you have over team green fans? One person on here said that some of y'all act like you're actually part of House Targaryen and it's true! If the Targaryens were real people who actually did these things, y'all defending them so staunchly would be worrying to say the least!

I love Aemond as a character, and I can understand his motivation for killing Luke, but I'll never defend him killing Luke because at the end of the day, children getting killed is unexcusable NO MATTER WHAT. I don't want to watch anything horrible happen to Rhaenyra's children any more than I want to watch Blood and Cheese happen to Helaena and her children. I love team green because I think they're interesting characters that I see a lot of myself in and I think that their actions make sense for the time period and circumstances they live in. However, I also look at their actions through a modern lens and would never condone some of the things they've done in real life.

Posting this bc I'm tired of seeing team green fans get called hypocrites while the people who claim to be feminists/progressives worship characters who represent the TOTAL OPPOSITE of feminism without a second thought. I'm tired of seeing certain fans make shitty takes saying that Alicent doing bad things "wouldn't be a problem if she would just own up to it!!", when team black fans go out of their way to justify Blood and Cheese and every other bad thing that their favs do.

Once again, keep the comments civil! if you start bullying or threatening people you're getting blocked and reported :)

[valhallasoutlaw]

In the spirit of "Problematic Media," I want to bring up my personal pros and cons of Hazbin Hotel before it gets lambasted into oblivion. I loved this show, but it's earned some criticism.

NOTABLE cons:

1) Strangely puritanical views of sex and putting Charlie in the position of a savior through a Christian fundamental lens. The show portrays sex as a sin, and Charlie is weirdly chaste/pure for a character in her position.

2) Rushed writing. I think this was a corporate boardroom decision bc "kids these days don't have an attention span and if it's longer than 8 episodes we won't get any ratings." Each episode feels like the beginning AND the end of a 3 episode arc with none of the story in between.

3) The last battle/season finale was just...bad. Only one Big Lazer, not enough time to enjoy the new outfits, no concept of power scaling. I still have no idea how strong any one character is relative to the universe they live in. Also, Sir Pentious NEEDED a competent battle moment. His death just felt underhanded.

4) So far I'm a bit of an apologist, but there's some interesting accusations about Viv in the workplace. Waiting to confirm more.

These are all huge dings to the show, but I'm at least slightly media literate and I can acknowledge it's flaws without having a meltdown. For me, the pros make it worth watching and rewatching.

PROS:

1) We've never seen this before. "Ooh this should be a show!" Has never ever been serious like this. Vivzie Pop actually fucking did it, and if she can, so can the rest of us. She's a breakthrough for indie creators and that's never been more important.

2) STUNNING characters. Yes, they're pretty monotone red/black and carry a sometimes same-y shape language, but the personality in their designs is so expressive and striking. I love looking at them and they're honestly iconic in their own way.

3) The music beyond fucking slapped. Electroswing at it's finest, brings out all the edgy stuff my younger self was too cringe to engage with. Living tombstone hits the big screen and it BANGS.

4) Again, THIS IS HUGE. We as artists can make it despite everything with AI and corporate filth. We CAN do it and Viv has showed us, problems or not.

[lovers-eternal]

no bc can we talk about astarion’s hyper sexuality

the reason why im so in love with his character & arc is because i see so much of my younger self in him.

it’s been really cathartic to interact and watch his story progress from the lens of my own personal experience. as a teenager i very much struggled with my relationships and thought being hyper sexual and having people lust over me was empowering. i thought that luring people in with my sexuality would develop into the strong, deep connection i was craving.

i was so desperate for that affection and approval. the people i was seeking it from knew that and abused it. i began to only see my body and sexuality as the only thing i could offer to partners.

now i get to help him grow and tell him the things that i wish i could’ve told my younger self. it’s also really helped me to look at myself with more grace. hearing neil talk about his trauma and how much he was able to pour into astarion because he felt so connected to his character is so beautiful.

i haven’t seen a lot of characters in media go through something so similar to me and my experience and it’s been so comforting. watching him express his boundaries and what he’s comfortable with is empowering.

[duncebento]

forgive me for randomly bringing this up in your inbox but u are one of the only people on this website i have ever seen actually understand hannibal lecter so i have to ask you. do you think he would legitimately find joy in helping a person get better or would he rather see them get worse and weirder like will did

ooh thank you! perhaps it’s because i find hannibal to be a relatable character, but do with that what you will…

anyway, my two cents is that will is a fringe case, and hannibal is generally interested in helping his patients “get better,” yes. it’s just that “better” for him is philosophically opposed to that of the psychiatric mainstream.

consider CBT, whose goal is to help patients move through their societies and lives without obstacle. it’s criticized for it’s passivity— “try to perceive your problems differently”— which ultimately relegates the systems and situations that oppress a subject and the jungian/freudian underlying bits of their psyche to an unerring tunnel that the subject must simply move through as best they can. you’ve probably heard this crit before, like, someone depressed because they’re working an oppressive job under an oppressive system might benefit from feeling calmer and more positive, but is ultimately not going to be meaningfully aided by much other than liberation, and the ideology of CBT has to largely ignore that fact.

hannibal doesn’t, though. he cares far less about getting people through their days and far more about what could be called the narrative of a patient, i think— revenge, desire, retribution, trauma, doom. he’s obsessed with the chimeric nature of man as god-imbued animal; he is constantly implicitly reminding his patients that the taboo only exists to censor that which occurs naturally to humanity. “getting better” cannot mean moving through the tunnel, then, it must mean excavation, destruction of that which constricts you in its evil or its opposition! chains off and mask untied for the god-animal!

as such, when hannibal’s advice is to commit murder, it seems to me boring and unnecessary to interpret that as the simple logic of an evil villain or a jokeresque agent of chaos. he is not even encouraging his patient to do something wrong, to his eyes. nor to do exactly what he does in rejecting all that he considers rude and ugly. he wants them to do the unique thing that compels them. in short, hannibal’s interest is that his patients live truthfully. taking jung’s “let things happen” to it’s deep-end conclusion. when killing is the only thing that satisfies you, kill: you are living according to god’s design, though you must be aware that the kind of creature you are cannot live for long in this society. it is as such that he is often not manipulating people to his ends, but to their own.

until will is concerned. will is his pet and plaything, and marks an illogic in hannibal’s philosophy of care. hannibal wants will’s truth to match his own, and his disinterest in will’s clarity is typified by his maintenance of will’s hallucinatory state. hannibal’s love for will is what i call “cave love” with my therapist: one lover, isolated from their society and living in a dark cave, achieves happiness by convincing a second lover of the beauty and safety of their isolation, creating a codependency in which each is the only path toward salvation for the other. hannibal wants desperately for will to be his, and for this reason he hobbles him.

this is just the lens through which i view him though. i haven’t seen the show in a while (and, in fact, i haven’t finished it yet bc i watch with my mom ^^;) so this is definitely a memory-based explanation. but i hope it’s interesting to you ^_^

[the-dark-abyss]

(Not a fic)

The thing is, Jimmy’s actually really good at the game.

Maybe not the death games, since hardcore has never been his strong suit, but the whole wet-cat-canary-curse thing doesn’t count anywhere else. For canon MCC events, he has the most wins of the Life Series members, second only to Scott. He’s been on not one, but two seasons of Empires SMP, and held his own in Decked Out 2. He got to level four! And nearly came back!

People play up the “Jimmy sucks he’s so bad” a bit too much, I think. I love the Canary Curse (so much angst potential) but seriously, when it comes into other series’ it gets a bit much. Bullying Jimmy for being a toy got old after the court case. It was dragged out a lot, and really the only one it felt in-character for was Joel (who was the main one I watched so it was fine anyway).

In Empires 1, he was actually respected. And I don’t mean that in a “he was a toy in E2 and nobody respected him” way, I mean it genuinely. The Canary Curse wasn’t all people knew him by, since the only season of TrafficLife that’d happened at that point was the first. He was Cod Boy and he had a really nice storyline. It’s brought into some of the other streams, too, but not as much as his Minecraft videos.

I know his friends, especially Grian and Joel, tease him a lot for whatever. That’s what they do, and they know when to stop (usually) and everyone knows it’s all in good fun. That doesn’t bother me. It��s when fandom takes it a bit far (and I’ll admit, for a while that’s all I saw him as. But his other series’ and streams are really fun and he’s great outside of TrafficLife :D).

For those who need to hear it: it’s not his whole personality, please don’t make it all he is, unless it’s through a TrafficLife fanworks lens (because it makes sense in that context!).

Personally, I love the characterizations of him as a bird/avian bc I devour Watcher/Listener Lore. But it’s cool to see him as other things! Like, idk, a cow for Ranchers?

He’s not a wet cat, please don’t make him the wet cat in ships or other fanworks all the time.

Anyway! Sorry, that’s my rant for today. Take it as you will, I can’t stop you. Make what you enjoy, and if you enjoy wet-cat-canary-curse Jimmy go wild ig. Just maybe keep this in mind?

[jovenshires]

9, 10, 28, 29 bestie !!

tyyyy bestie <3<3<3

9. What fic meant the most to you to write?

my wife, my best friend, the project i will always carry with me, dancing on my own. nothing like dealing with your own issues through the lens of a gamer boy who lives off of mountain dew kickstart and jurassic park movies <3<3

10. What fic made you feel the happiest to work on?

if we keep score was so so so much fun!!!! it really took on a life of its own and i LOVE to worldbuild so even though it was Stressful, i had a good time writing it for sure <3<3<3

28. How did you recharge between fics?

as i told you specifically i literally took like. a work week off. i listened to music, i binge-watched an anime, i went back to work after winter break, i read some of a book. it was great! back to the grind now though <3<3<3

29. If this were an awards show, who would you thank?

i was gonna answer this like a joke but it made me emotional so here are my genuine very real thanks KLNFKNFKLNFKNL

i'd like to thank smosh first and foremost for getting me through what has objectively been one of the most difficult years of my life. the company's been through ups and downs, but so have i, and i find a real genuine comfort in these guys playing board games and making memes so truly thanks so much to them. especially tommy and spencer bc where would i be without them KDNKLSNFK

thanks of course to soupy for being the second person to post a spommy fic and co-pioneering this nation with me. i am so honored to have her as a mutual, a friend, and a peer. her works are incredible and she jumped into the deep end with me when no one else would. and to add onto that i'd like to thank every spommy writer for sharing all of their incredible works, and every spommy nation member for commenting or giving kudos or coming into my askbox. genuinely you all made my year so much better and inspired me to keep creating and keep growing. i love you all so much, there are no words to describe how grateful i am for you <3

thank you to julie, who accepted every insane stray thought, text message, and rambling fic plot. she sat there as i described iwks in detail in my car on the way to the mall. god's bravest soldier. she's truly a real one for that, i might have stopped talking to me by now LMAO. thank you to mauricio for entering back into my life, validating every insane thing i've ever said, and just overall being an amazing friend. we have been through so much together you and i and im honored to be on this crazy journey with you now. shoutout too to snel and baflegacy who have also gotten a TON of my insane ramblings via dms, i adore yall and im so honored to have gotten to know you. <3<3<3

i cannot stress enough how HUGELY thankful i am to stella. when i tell you none of my works would be where they are today without her. she does the very stressful and tedious task of reading over my works for me, and i am forever grateful. like almost none of the fics i've written would be even half as strong as they are without her help. not to mention she's just one of my favorite people on this planet in general; i love talking to her and being in this online space with her and creating with her and yeah. my partner in crime, thank you so so much.

and finally: all of smoshblr in general. i have been here for six years now, and i've never had a fandom feel so much like home. all of my friends and mutuals, new and old, and every other follower of mine to boot. you all know who you are - i adore each and every one of you. thank you for everything. <3

send me fic writer asks!

[jamsofdeath0]

sometimes I think about that video I watched a long time ago of someone reviewing/rating generally just talking about their thoughts on Kirby air ride having played it the first time as an adult. they didn't particularly like it. thought it too simplistic for a racing game. but it always rubbed me wrong they didn't play it with a single other person. Kirby air ride is a party game above all else. playing it alone is a venture of masochists and challenge runners (masochists with style). it's in no way the intended format. does that make the game bad? the fact you cannot truly enjoy it by yourself without making your own rules for it? I'd say I've had fun playing air ride alone but only when achievement hunting. giving myself a task and trying to fulfill it.

but then that isn't me making my own rules for it. that's me playing an intended mechanic but by myself. so perhaps it's more accurate you won't get any fun out of it by yourself if you haven't had fun in it before. no one's going to pick up the game and start achievement hunting. but if someone's had enough fun with it with friends they might try and do that by themselves.

another person called air ride the precursor to Battle Royales. I wanted to be offended because ew but they're not really wrong. What is city trial if not the running around and collecting power-ups part of a battle royale? You run around finding weapons (rides) and power-ups for said ride. You fight whomever you come across and race to events. After 3 to 8 minutes depending on your settings you play a mini game.

But ive had more fun with air ride then just about any batyle royale? Is it bc its casual? bc its kirby? I would assume it's because it's the less people and perhaps couch co-op has a thing to do with it. 100 people is just overcompensating. 4 to 8 (or perhaps 50 if you truly must go big) is alot more fun. And when they're in the room with you that just adds infinite value.

so Kirby air ride isn't a fun racing game. but in the end it's more of a party game. trying to label it as simply a racer would be like labeling Mario party as a strategy game. not technically incorrect but I don't think most people would wholly agree.

So is the original opinion that the game isn't very good invalid because they played the game wrong? By themselves instead of with a friend? Perhaps its invalid to call it "bad" when you werent looking at it through its intended lens. A telescope isnt broken bc you looked through the wrong end. But that doesnt mean you're wrong for not having fun with it. Fun is a personal thing. And one cant be blamed for not KNOWING they were looking through the wrong end. That the game theyre playing only truly hold value with another person to enjoy it with.

[baroquespiral]

hello. i saw a video featuring aella then saw your twitter through it. i immediately stopped watching the video as i do not agree with many of their takes, but i would like to understand them without watching a video about kinks through the lens of the political compass. could you possibly explain what gender maximalizing is, what a gynocratic traditionalist is, and what the sphere you operate in is called? Thank you. (there was an article when i looked it up but im not going on medium)

wait what video with Aella am I in lol. anyway most of the things in my Twitter bio are at least partly a bit, do not represent any kind of relevant external movement or phenomenon, and you are not going to find explained anywhere else anyway so. "gender optimizationist" is a kind of contrarian response to the formerly popular position of "gender nihilism", a framework that tried to decentre the discourse of innate identity in justifying/accounting for gender fluidity, transition etc. by basically adopting the maximally deflationist position that gender is entirely an ideological construct covering material oppressive systems but letting people identify & do whatever they want with it is truer to the premise of its abolition than restricting specific behaviours and identities as actually existing "gender". I actually do find this useful to bring up when TERFs claim stuff like "trans people believe in innate gendered souls or what role you fit determines your gender" etc. but still think it concedes too much so my own position of "gender optimization" is like, gender is real at least insofar as something we consciously construct, people's identities aren't less objective than their historical origins and we can and should continue the project of shaping and rebuilding it until we make it something that can accommodate the maximum of everyone possible (and leave exits for people who don't want it)

"gynocratic traditionalism" is not entirely compatible with this and while I didn't take either completely seriously I used to struggle with this more before I got into Thelema and clarified my spirituality & ontology in a lot of ways. for completely personal poetic/psychosexual reasons I was simultaneously inclined to read gender as actually real in a metaphysical/spiritual sense, albeit one that doesn't map to biology or patriarchal gender roles and mostly derives from reading The White Goddess by Robert Graves way too young. almost nobody remembers it now but that book was part of the broader "matriarchal antiquity" trend, a huge influence on Wicca and the New Ageier side of second wave feminism, and argues that the original religious/magickal tradition was the essentially henotheistic worship of a Great Goddess of life, death and nature, who was self-sufficient but produced for her own pleasure a secondary male god who dies and resurrects with the agricultural cycle. human gender is then a reflection of this higher metaphysical order, with woman as the superior term in the hierarchy, and the "warrior" dimensions of masculinity being descended from a form of sacrificial kingship ritually representing the life-death cycle of the Goddess' lover. I'd basically argue the "gender optimizationist" position relative to left queer theory but this relative to right-wing mythopoeic traditionalist accounts of gender, which as an intensely capital-R Romantic personality I did at least get the appeal of and offered it as a "feminist" alternative to. people like RFH have kinda picked up the baton of that now although I have some obvious issues with her framings. I used "gynocratic" instead of matriarchal bc one of the interesting things about Graves' version of this hypothesis is it doesn't actually focus on motherhood and reproduction as much as the wombyn TERF stuff; for instance instead of the more famous Wiccan "maiden/mother/crone" formulation for the Goddess' three aspects he uses "maiden/nymph/crone", implying that the default adulthood stage wasn't necessarily settling down and popping out babies but a freewheeling sexuality where reproduction was an individual choice supported by the community, controlled by abortifacents etc. should probably clarify that, after quite a bit of going back and forth on it and my Twitter presence was designed to be plausibly deniable in either direction, I am pretty much a low-Kinsey bisexual cis guy who socialized into predominantly queer, especially trans spaces mostly just due to neurodivergence and general nonconformity. a lot of my weird gender politics is subtly in dialogue with MonetizeYourCat-era Tumblr stuff (imo the more honest version of today's mainstream heteropessimism) about whether it's even possible or ethical to exist as that you didn't mention them but just to have on record re: the other stuff in the bio, "presuppositional leftist" applies the idea of presuppositional apologetics to my left commitments in the sense that they're not premised on any descriptive claim about reality but rather presuppositions of why politics would even matter to me in the first place, and "Canadian materialist" is a joke on Canadian idealism. my Substack bio is more up to date with where I'm at now but I like keeping the Twitter one around bc every now and then someone has a really funny reaction to it I don't really have a "sphere I operate in" so much as I float around the edges of different subcultures, study them and make friends with people I find interesting. currently I feel like I'm kind of in tpot, kind of in the "irony left" and kind of in parapolitics/esoteric "schizoposting". and also trying to carve out a niche in the online subcultural arts scene: my major passion project rn is my indie press and in particular our serial fiction journal (new issue coming out this month!) featuring two of my novels

[communistkenobi]

Hey I have a question - you seem to know your stuff when it comes to politics and theory, and I love your analyses of media. I was watching Andor and though I could pick up on its core message, I was disappointed in myself because I couldn't recognize the smaller details of why and how they showed it. Like all these posts on Tumblr analyzing why they took the characters in the directions they chose, what they showed verbally and what was left unspoken for the audience, how it actually depicts rebellion accurately compared to other shows - I would've never recognized all that myself. Do you know how I can start learning more about this and being able to think critically about stuff through a social/political/economic lens? Are there any prominent books/how can I start learning from things that have happened already in history? Thank you so much!

Thank you! There are a couple answers to this. One is that if you specifically want to “practice” looking at media more critically (not negatively, just in the sense of like, what is this “doing” with its story/characters/set/etc?), I would recommend consuming movie and game and show reviews. I watch a lot of them on youtube and listen to podcasts that frequently talk about media, and I less frequently will read more formal reviews on news outlets. And also if i watch a movie and don’t understand the ending or something I’ll google the movie title + reddit and read what people are saying. Mostly I’ll disagree with them but that itself helps inform my own opinion better and narrow down my feelings. If you want to watch video reviews, Dan Olson (FoldingIdeas) and Jacob Geller on youtube are probably my favourites for those, the former for movies and the latter for games. These aren’t review channels per se, they moreso do the kind of media analysis you were talking about. I think they provide a good blend of political discussion as well as discussion of the component parts of a film or game (like editing, or play mechanics). I feel like I learn a lot just by watching the way other people construct their own opinions and connect them together.

Another fairly easy thing to do is to watch more movies and shows. Like I’m embarrassed by how little movies I’ve seen in my life, and I feel like the more I watch the more I feel confident in talking about why I thought a movie did or didnt work. I also think that, if you’re able to, having a friend or a group of people to discuss movies/shows/etc with helps a lot. Like the act of verbalising your own opinions for other people to understand is also a skill that you can develop, and often figuring out how to present your opinion to someone else will help you figure out what those opinions are in the first place.

I’m not sure if I’m a good person for specific recommendations on reading history/politics/theory. I frequently will pursue topics that interest me when I hear other people talk about them. I think what you first want to narrow down is what topics interest you the most - time periods, places, specific ideas or concepts, etc - and then go from there. don’t think you need to learn about all Politics and History. I really like that one post on here about how it’s really easy to become above average at something simply by spending a little bit of time on it. for example I know more about cartography than most human beings on earth right now, not because I know a shitload but because most people don’t know a lot about the topic at all. And I’m just saying this bc like I remember feeling very intimidated when approaching serious historical and political texts because they all sounded similarly authoritative and knowledgeable about everything, even though in actuality their field of expertise is pretty tightly specialised.

Anyway idk if any of that is helpful at all lol. In the same way you will hear people saying you need to practice to get better at drawing or knitting or whatever, I think viewing this as a skill you want to develop in yourself simply by watching other people and trying to summarise your own thoughts helps a lot, which sounds corny and no-duh maybe, but it’s the most reliable way I’ve been able to get better at expressing myself.

[oathofkaslana]

hi lee!! i saw someone pair army dreamers (kate bush) /w himeko. and you are the most honkai pillled person i know;; so I thought you’d probably appreciate it and be able to understand it (and. be sick over it) a lot more than me.

I hope you have very very nnice day 💜

HI I HAVE THOUGHTS ON THIS FIRST BEING THAT YEAH. MY GOD YEAH THAT IS SUCH A HIMEKO SONG YEAH....

as you know, one of my favorite ways to analyze himeko is through an anti-military lens. several things i like about this:

fits in w moon shadow and that doctor's guilt over sending children to the battlefield, thus creating a story w anti-entropy and schicksal about military. schicksal deals with so much exploitation ofc but the ones most relevant to this are its use of valkyries as warriors and how the artificial stigmata they are given will eventually corrupt their body and kill them + the fact that valkyries can only biologically be young + common themes of like. romanticizing heroship and martyrdom to an extent which are extremely common in military propaganda + otto's ulterior motivations that he used schicksal for.

adds layers into her backstory w her believing her father actually loved her more than his work and applying to his field after welt lied to spare her feelings..... Fuck. my god. do you see........ footprints of a father............... himeko being used as a tool by her father to get closer to welt for his own gain................

the way it fits in w kiana and mei's story when it comes to sacrifice. <- obviously not to a t. their conflict is more about watching someone you care for make difficult decisions with potentially difficult outcomes and supporting them because its something they truly genuinely believe in w their entire heart.

makes particular lines like this particularly interesting: Fu Hua: Sacrifices are inevitable in the war against the Honkai. Fu Hua: You know that better than I, Major. Showing mercy to the wrong people can be disastrous. Himeko: You have no idea what “sacrifices are inevitable” even means. Himeko: The tragedy is not how many people have died… Himeko: …But how we’ve grown accustomed to the idea that people must die for others to live. ^ particularly kills me bc i think it demonstrates what hi3's commentary on sacrifice is! hi3 isn't really making a moral stance on sacrifice imo. i think it moreso tries to examine how we think of sacrifice and how we're weirdly desensitized to it (again, text above + this one particular interaction on kiana's first mission where himeko explains the protocol that if any of them are corrupted, their teammates are expected to kill them without mercy) and the motivations behind sacrifice (of course much of it coming from a love and want to make the world better, but theres also this theme against sacrifice being someone's duty and sacrifice as a product of someone's own guilt.) hi3 makes a point to distinguish those types of sacrifices versus an action born out of a genuine and deep love and understanding of the world and it's beauty (particularly present in, of course, elysia; kiana; himeko; and ragna*)

also prev quote. cmon man. classic military shit do you remember how in second eruption otto wants to kill siegfried and cecilia bc he realizes they could be a threat to him?????????

*from chapter 25. himeko quoting ragnba:

Himeko: “We fight for the good in this world and things we deem important.” Himeko: “They may seem small, insignificant, but that’s only because they are seeds.” Himeko: “These seeds that are destined for something good will one day blossom and thrive into a beautiful garden.” Himeko: “So, don’t cry for me, comrades.” Himeko: “I have died, but my death will fertilise the soil that grows hope.” Himeko: “And the flowers of the future will one day find something they want to protect.”