#mono-loguing

[mono-blogs-art]

one of my favourite things in revue starlight is how winning a battle just does not matter.

in the beginning, it's pretty easy - you snooze you loose, your star is knocked down, and it's curtain call. whoever wins also has the emotional and narrative victory.

they start to break this down almost from the start. in episode two, karen comforts junna after beating her, and it brings them closer as friends. in episode 6, "winning" for kaoruko is ultimately secondary to gaining futaba's attention, and the two are chummier than ever after their battle.

hell, hikari's entire existence in the story is after she lost all her brilliance - by all accounts, she shouldn't even be in a condition to participate at all. but she got a second chance to fly to tokyo and to set things right, despite being severely disadvantaged. only when she's able to overcome her doubts and starts believing in her and karen's joint future, her weapon is transformed and upgraded. and of course, karen looses everything as well, but she literally claws her way back into the theater to get her rematch. for a series that tells you from the very beginning that you will loose everything if you don't win, and that there can only ever be one top star, in the end, winning the battle is secondary.

gekijouban really takes this to its extreme; every battle has a very clear winner and loser - but the loser always gains something more. futaba wins, but kaoruko not only gets her bike, but also a promise for the rest of their lifetime. hikari gets her ass beat in like, minute 2 of the performance, but is granted a literal medal and a second chance by mahiru to go do things right, for real this time. nana loses against junna, but what she gains is the brilliance she's been looking for all this time since episode 1. claudine properly defeats maya by simply besting her and knowing her weaknesses, and what does maya lose? exactly nothing - instead, they promise to play another round, and infinite rounds as partners. another promise for a lifetime.

karen dies. the protagonist literally drops dead, no heartbeat, and loses her life on stage and it does not matter in the end. she is stabbed, beaten, costume ripped apart, her body and soul emptied out completely and yet she gains her life and passion back. because it's not about winning or losing. it's about giving it your all, barring your soul to the art and to your partner. that's why the losers don't lose. that's why karen was able to "trick" the giraffe's system in the series, and also why the revues in the movie don't even abide by this system anymore.

i just really like it, and the more i realized that, you can really see the progression of the battles throughout the series.

[mono-blogs-art]

these are just the 5 partner-revues of the movie

intimate stabbing - HiKaren (Super Star Spectacle)

outright obsession - JunNana (Pen: Chikara: Katana)

confused pining - MaHika (Medal Suzdal Panic)

"no one knows me like you do" - MayaKuro (A Beautiful Person, Or Perhaps It's)

lifelong promises that always sound suspiciously like wedding vows - FutaKao (Wagamama Highway) (she even put a ring on her ring finger I mean come on!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

that's my contribution for the day

[monocotyledons]

hmm. after i watch the season finale of jet lag the game s13 (when it comes out on youtube) i'm gonna go back and watch some of the earlier seasons. i've heard good things about s5 (new zealand w toby) and s12 (hide and seek japan) so i'm gonna give those a shot

[rarilight]

here have some raritwi fic spoilers bc its a cute scene

[monoshikis]

I'm completely normal,

[yumiarts]

I was watching void paradox and noticed something about the ep names

Reference to Michael’s mono logue in MyStreet season six when aphmau gets lazered

And also references to the song “lost in thoughts all alone” the song that plays during aphmaus flashbacks I believe

[anniekoh]

The Gaza Monologues (link goes to downloadable PDFs in multiple languages) https://www.gazamonologues.com/copy-of-team

are personal stories of a group of children from Gaza which were sent out to the world and performed simultaneously on October 17th 2010 by over 1500 youngsters in more than 50 cities in 36 countries all over the world.

The week before the "International Day of Solidarity with the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People" on November 29th 2010, the Gaza Mono-Logues reached the harbor of the UN headquarters in New York and were performed twice in its venues.

Nov 19, 2023

ATTENTION THEATRE MAKERS, A MESSAGE FROM PALESTINE: ‘Ashtar Theatre have launched an urgent request to theatre makers around the world to publicly read or perform The Gaza Monologues on November 29th 2023.

Please tag their social media https://instagram.com/ashtartheatre/

[batonchic]

-What if im autistic?

-Why?

-I mean... Idk.. i don't really know who i am. i feel like in every social interaction i have with someone i fake my emotions and throughout years of being "that guy who talks to everyone,but has no real friends, so he's kinda weird" i adapted to being around people, and now, when i found my friends, who's actually more family to me than actual parents or siblings, if I hang out with them, i have this strange behaviour, that even I don't understand, but i feel like i just don't need to monitor all my movements, words and feelings, even though it's the habit now, and i have other traits that possibly can be result of being autistic like hyper fixation, hypersensitivity to sounds and textures of things, constant obsessive thoughts and..

-Or you're just overthinking, you're just searching for a reason to justify your actions, an excuse for you to be unlike others even though you're not, you just want to be special. You're fcked in the head, go kys

-Why you so mean?

-I am you, you're talking to yourself..

-That's fair, we'll repeat that monologue later.

-okay

These me-me dia(mono)logues are killing me

[the-ghost-of-mr-dolphin]

Who up mono-in they logue

[mono-blogs-art]

Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko - The Lesbian Office RomCom You Needed

Blatant flirting, hilarious misunderstandings, and lesbian shenanigans aplenty - this show is funny, over-dramatic, and most of all gay as hell. Here's my review! Spoiler-free version first, and a more detailed spoiler-y version under the cut. I hope you enjoy!

A quick summary: Overall: 9/10, you should absolutely watch this! Genre: RomCom, with some serious elements and a heartfelt exploration of sexuality Watch if you are looking for... : A silly and fun time, a happy ending, misunderstandings, and character development. Highly recommended to watch this with your partner(s) or your sapphic friends! Watch out for... : Although the tone of the show is mostly comedic, it contains discussion & depiction of homophobia at the workplace and past trauma relating to that Where to watch: Official TL on GagaOOLala, or Fansubs by @furritsubs (highly recommended!)

"Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko" (Ayaka-chan wa Hiroko-senpai ni Koishiteru) is a Jdrama adaption of a manga by the same title. The series premiered this year July 2024 and has wrapped up a short while ago, with a total runtime of 8 episodes of 24 minutes each.

The title of the show already says all; the plot is simple: Junior staff member Ayaka is head-over-heels for Hiroko, her senior at the company she works at. And she has decided to go on the offensive.

There are many obstacles in Ayaka's way: first of all, Hiroko is 13 years older than her (they are 23 and 36), and her superior at the workplace. Hiroko is beloved by both her superiors as well as her staff, so Ayaka's love for her is just one of many. And no matter how blatantly she ups her advances (and girl, she is BOLD), Hiroko is 100% convinced that all the flirting is just misplaced, straight-woman obliviousness.

The irony of it all is that Ayaka is absolutely barking up the right tree, because Hiroko is a lesbian, but has been firmly in the closet at work - something that she has no plans on changing. Her professional life and her personal must stay completely separate, at all cost. The only place she can truly be herself is the lesbian bar she's been a regular at for years.

^ Me when I'm a lesbian disaster doing insane mental gymnastics

However, "giving up" is not in Ayaka's vocabulary. As her seduction attempts keep escalating and being misunderstood, Hiroko's hard exterior begins to crumble bit by bit. Can Hiroko finally overcome her rigid ways, and let herself fall for someone?

Although the show is first and foremost a comedy, both Ayaka and Hiroko as characters are handled really well. They have their own problems, insecurities, reservations about the other, and both have a simple but great arc over the course of the series. Ayaka is discovering her sexuality, something she had never even considered before falling for Hiroko. What does being in love with a woman mean for her future? And Hiroko, who is already very confident in her sexuality, is confronted by her past trauma, and the fact that she's still not ready to come out despite the changing times. And while being undercover has saved her career in the past, it has also made her feel alone and isolated. She likes Ayaka back, but can't allow her true colors to show.

Something that I find very hard to achieve with comedy shows is the switch between funny and serious, and I think that Ayahiro manages this very well. Both of our main characters feel grounded enough in reality that when they get emotional, it feels relatable and sincere. For a silly show like this, striking a balance like that is crucial, and save for a few pacing issues in the later half of the show (that I honestly didn't mind at all), I think the show totally nails it. Ayahiro is not a realistic show, but it contains elements of reality that made me connect to it, despite all the insane shenanigans that go on. And because of that the show made me laugh and cry as much as it did, often in the same episode. It works, and Kudos to the writers (and actors!) for that.

Speaking of actors, one thing I must mention is that the show is very well made. The actors (especially Mori Kanna as Hiroko is the standout for me, she has a natural charisma and gay swagger) do a fantastic job, the leads' chemistry is great. The production overall has some real money behind it, with lots of changing sets that all look great and have been crafted with care. Ayaka's outfits are absolute KILLER, she is giving insane femme energy. The show also looks very pretty, the color graders turn that saturation up to 100 and it fits Ayaka's rose-tinted world well.

That's it for the spoiler-less part, I'll now get into specific characters and plot points with full spoilers up to the end of the series under the cut. If you don't want to get spoiled, I hope the review until now made you want to watch the show for yourself! I hope you enjoy!

First of all I need to disclaim that I have not read the original manga that she show is based on, so I can't compare the series to its original and how the plot is written there. I do intend to read it (I hope it gets localized to German so I can support the official release, but I might check out the English Official TL anyway before that) but for now, I will only judge the series as is.

Ayaka: Our protagonist is a femme fatale, in... another meaning of the word, I guess. She is a disaster, bad at pretty much everything she does except not giving up. Once she has set her mind to something, she will get it done. That leads her to often be inconsiderate and unable to see what others around her are feeling, which goes mostly for her best friend Risa, but also for Hiroko, whose feelings she also fails to consider even when pursuing her. Ayaka has to learn the hard way that her naivete is hurting others, and herself. She hasn't really thought her advances through, simply acting on instinct. But as the series goes on, she takes her feelings and her newly discovered sexuality seriously, and grows comfortable with calling herself a lesbian. She is also unashamedly horny, like, Oh My God, this girl is trying to get laid so bad. This is hilarious and refreshing to see, and although her seduction attempts are often played as comedic, it doesn't feel like she is being ridiculed for her sexuality by the show. Ayaka often crosses boundaries (physical and emotional) with Hiroko, both out of naivite and in deliberate attempts to seduce her. To me this was never truly infuriating, even though sometimes she really did go too far, but for me it always kept in tone with the comedy of the show. Even when Ayaka finally comes out in front of the entire office, she makes it clear that she doesn't want Hiroko to do the same if she's not ready.

Hiroko: Our deuteragonist is probably my favourite character in the show, and I think she's very relatable and well done. As an older lesbian, she's got plenty of experience, having even earned the title of "The Ace" in her lesbian friend circle for being a talented womanizer. But a traumatic experience of losing her last partner due to being found out at the workplace has changed her. She's afraid to get attached, she's unable to let people get close to her true self. So when Ayaka is fighting tooth and nail to get to her, Hiroko is caught in conflict between her feelings of attraction and her past trauma. She does everything in her power to dismiss Ayaka's advances to protect herself, and later when she learns that Ayaka is in fact not straight (duh), she still turns her down to protect Ayaka's (and her own) career. Hiroko is a bit of a conservative - something she's also called out for in her lesbian friend circle - she believes that coming out at work is impossible and irresponsible. And you know, I get it. Not only does she have personal bad experiences with exactly that, it's also not unreasonable to think it would be a bad idea to hook up with your junior of 13 years. Like, I get it girl. Hiroko is clearly attracted to Ayaka, not just physically but also emotionally, because Ayaka is everything Hiroko wants to be but can't. And that leads to Hiroko constantly underestimating Ayaka, even treating her like a child. She thinks Ayaka is not really thinking the gravity of her actions through, and she gets called out for that and has to overcome it. In the end, Hiroko ends up being a character that needs time, and needs to unlearn a whole bunch of shitty behaviour, something the show clearly also shows is being worked on and that Ayaka also respects (more on that later).

Risa: Easily the character I struggled with the most, Ayaka's best friend Risa is complicated. She's very observant but also shy, and secretly harbors a crush on Ayaka. Quietly struggling with her sexuality, she only decides to come out when she realises that Ayaka's feelings for Hiroko are serious. Oh, it's messy! She confesses to Ayaka, who in turn has to struggle with her feelings for someone else, but also not wanting to lose her closest confidant. And to her credit, Risa takes the rejection quite gracefully and continues to support Ayaka in her pursuit of Hiroko. However, Risa also outs Hiroko against her will to Ayaka, which... is just a shitty thing to do, even though she just wanted to help her friend. Good motive, still murder. After the conflict between Ayaka and Risa is resolved, Risa just kind of... is around, quietly worrying in her corner and kind of (in my opinion) overstepping her boundaries with Hiroko. I don't dislike Risa, but I thought her character was not done super well in parts, and although I understand the complicated situation she herself is in, the show doesn't really let her grow as much as the other characters. Anyway, good for her for bagging the hottest chick at the lesbian bar, though. Good for her!

The "break-up": The story's conflict comes to a peak when Hiroko finally realises there is only one way to shut this all down. She needs to fulfill Ayaka's desire, and then turn her down, once and for all. But Hiroko at this point still thinks Ayaka is immature and hasn't really thought her actions through. Ayaka sheepishly asks for a kiss, so Hiroko kisses her. "Now you've achieved everything you wanted." We're done, you can give up on me and this childish crush you have on me. And most importantly, I can let you go, too. Not realising that Ayaka wants much more. She wants a real relationship, she wants the kiss, sex, real emotions, she wants to see Hiroko's true self too. She wants a partnership.

The Finale: With the encouragement of her peers, Ayaka finds the courage to express her feelings to Hiroko one last time. And she finds just the right words to finally get through to her. Hiroko realises how much of an ass she's been all this time, how she ended up hurting the girl she loves and herself by denying herself happiness. This whole scene was so well done (Kudos to Kato Shiho as Ayaka, this is probably her best scene in the entire show), brother I cried so hard. And finally Hiroko can say what she should have a long time ago: "I'm sorry."

One year later: In the show's worst case of bad pacing, we immediately cut from their tearful reunion to "one year later", lol. I don't mind the sudden jump too much, but maybe a bit of a slower fade-out would have softened the blow, because I think a few people probably found this very jarring xD not too bad for me. I was actually positively surprised that we actually get to see the aftermath, see how their relationship has developed a year into it.

I've seen a few people complain about this "no-sex scene" (lol) and I just want to add my two cents. I actually really like how this scene played out, for two reasons. Reason 1 is that it's just very much in-character for Hiroko. We've seen her struggle back-and-forth with the intimacy Ayaka wanted from her for the past 7.5 episodes, and her own internalised homophobia and constant fear of "crossing the line". She's a traumatized person, and it makes total sense to me that even one year into the relationship, she's still struggling with sexual intimacy. Sure, a whole year is a long time not having sex with your partner (even though you both clearly wanted to from day 1) but like... it makes sense for Hiroko. She's still working through the past 10+ years of repression. I do understand how this scene can be interpreted as "the show is afraid to show them being horny and sexy together, they're cowards for making Hiroko so obsessed with Ayaka's "purity" etc" and like, yes, that is a totally valid interpretation, but IMO also a quite bad faith one.

"I'm happy to know you feel that way. Which is why, could you please wait a little more, just until I sort my feelings out?" "What?" "I want to cherish you, Ayaka." "Right." "I'm sorry for everything, Ayaka." "For everything?" "In the end, it seems like I still haven't came out yet. I understand that I'm making you endure something when you don't have to. But… I do want to be with you, and I want to keep my job. I'm really sorry for making you put up with my selfishness."

^ Like, that is the conversation that follows. It's not just about sex for Hiroko, that kind of intimacy holds a deeper meaning to her and she's just not ready for it yet, and trying to sincerely tell her partner that. And when Ayaka reaffirms her willingness to be patient in this scene and is respectful of Hiroko's choice, Hiroko realizes that she's being a stupid coward, and finally makes a decision...

... to come out in front of the whole office, who's been gossiping about their relationship the whole year anyway.

And that is the end of the show!

So really, Hiroko did manage to overcome her fears in the end, and it took her a whole year into a healthy relationship to do so. And I think that is honestly much more realistic than some people would like to believe. Is the smooch in front of the whole office silly and cheesy and over-dramatic? Of course, but that's the entire show so far. And if you think that kiss-and-dip is dumb then I can't help you, I think you just don't like fun.

Oh yeah, and my reason 2 why I thought that no-sex scene was done well is because it's just funny. Ayaka has been DTF since minute 1 of the show, and her still being unable to get it this far into it is just funny. I would have loved a little nod to them finally getting down at the very, very end, but eh, I can live with it like this. They've conquered the emotional hurdles, I'm certain they will cross that other bridge when they get there on their own time.

Conclusion: "Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko" is a great and incredibly funny lesbian show that touched me emotionally much more than I thought it would. It made me cry several times, the production and acting quality positively surprised me, and honestly deserves my Nr 2 spot of favourite Lesbian JDrama after Tsukutabe (which is a 10/10 show) for now. I really hope this type of show gets imitators, adapting relatively short stories into mini-series with great quality. I appreciate the more adult tone of this series, its shameless comedy while still being able to hit serious beats with real emotion. From what I've seen of the BTS, the actors and staff also handled the subject matter with respect and care and had a lot of fun making the show. I don't think a season 2 is needed, but I do hope that the series can inspire more similar works. I love Ayaka and Hiroko, and I'm so happy they got their happy ending, and by God, I hope they have the best sex ever in their beautiful lesbian future. God bless.

That's it from me, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this show as much as I did! Hopefully see you soon!

[snarwin]

Kinds of Logues

Pro

Epi

Dia

Mono

Ana

[monocotyledons]

hello again jet lag the game fans of tumblr, i have finished season 4 and it was a fuckin blast. drunk ben and constantly nervous adam are great. george wormington is a masterpiece. also why did no one tell me about how funny brian is in a snarky aggressive way

[monoshikis]

Honestly, just boop me as much as you want

[flowers-of-io]

Ghost Fragment: The Hellmouth (page 1)

⚬ page two ⚬

[trainstoppin]

IT'S LIKE THAT ON PURPOSE?

[perfectfangirl]

the title 😭 i love it!--- your mind once again, rad away and this mystery serum being tied together in their creation would be so interesting and these chems [and perhaps all of them in the games] needing human trials and that might mean testing on irradiated subjects/ghouls oof wow. have never thought about it like this! that would explain the skull type insignia on the bottles, it wouldn't make sense why someone would take these unless... it's? really poisonous to ingest? for standard people? wow. yes, i've watched lots of oxhorn's videos and have just started to get to his show commentary and did end up watching the one on vault 4, thank you rad away being used for human testing kinda is starting to make sense given how it has numerous and prominent side effects in itself. to my understanding, i think it's a pre war chem as well. i wonder if they couldn't make a better formula before the bombs dropped... yeah you know what you state here is odd and interesting because... to me, when cooper passes out at the super duper mart, it's almost like even taking the serum wouldn't or shouldn't have helped him at that point, not unlike roger. but their symptoms aren't even the same! like is that man even starting to go feral without that mystery chem or is he just going through withdrawals like i need to knowww yes omg the dia[mono?]logue with lucy and cooper at the super duper mart was pretty odd, when she said "one of those" i think i was thinking of the ones inside who were toasted but like? she was outside talking about the ones she helped escape? yeah here, it seems confusing how she talks about it but i didn't think of the fact maybe lucy sees cooper as somehow different than the other [nonferal] ghouls. her not being able to understand ghouls going feral versus nonferal ghouls but seeing a difference between nonferal ghouls and cooper is particularly intriguing. she mentioned roger "was sick" but didn't seem to understand going feral is fatal [or rather, the end stage of ghoulfication]. i assume cooper didn't know about the feral ghouls in the super duper mart either [though he clearly knows what kinda business they got running in there, i wonder if he's ever been inside? damn] ok so listen--- previously rad away was addictive. it stopped being addictive around fallout 3, i'd say. so i almost have to wonder if perhaps this mystery serum has components of rad away in it? oof yes, him taking the serum [whatever it is] really would present a good explanation for why he's so goddamn smooth. he's still missing a nose but his skin and symptoms seems so different than other ghouls depicted in the show. yes! we know they made a concerted effort to make cooper a pretty ghoul man but also not exactly doing it for other ghouls in the show too is also a choice 👀. there's a deeply entrenched agenda in here and while one could say it's to lend to a performance and appearance that was not off putting or disturbing to the viewer, it's a really curious one when the choice words are "handsome" and "attractive". like we've left the realm of a "human" performance and now we're entering sexuality and sensuality. the show accounts have even gone so far as to play up people finding him handsome. like idk exactly what they're doing but we're onto them 🧐

ooo and this goes back to me wondering if the serum is just a chem combination of rad away [and/or maybe other chem combinations] and that's why the show hasn't gone out of its way to name it or make it a clear thing [at least just yet]. if there's a lot of it, maybe this is another clue it's a pre war chem? but then again, i do think it's mentioned dom pedro is a gang leader, war lord type. so him and his associates would have the tools, skills, and knowledge to either transport or create most of these drugs to my understanding, then. this also leads credence that the drug being used on cooper is working since they trapped that poor man down there for thirty years and he came out fine [at least visibly]. that kinda means dom pedro at least knows this drug and its uses and who it's for and that it works i guess? the honcho gang implying cooper's a mutant [to their understanding] is interesting since [super] mutants are made by the forced evolutionary virus 👀 oh yes i genuinely think we are being introduced to a super mutant type [character] with thaddeus. maximus and thaddeus himself seem to think he might be turning into a ghoul but initial watch, i thought super mutant the whole time. especially after the enclave easter egg with siggi episodes before. ooo you've made sense to me the hibernation theory, great explanation here. yeah, i haven't seen nearly enough commentary on maximus as a child with the fridge because he really should also basically be ghoulified as well? then i started wondering if they actually dropped nuclear bombs or something else but that would call rose being ghoulified into question. [unless there's faulty memories here]. maybe he was saved by rad away or rad x or something and there's a good explanation. idk i feel like maybe bakersfield was more than just an easter egg? hard to know without season two--- it would just make for some good story lines if included but if it's just an easter egg, it's a chilling [good] one. again, thanks for the in depth analysis, there's so much to think about and it's only one (1) season, you're brilliant, friend

starting to see the poetry in moldaver keeping rose all this time in her feral state and the possibility of cooper and lucy forming some type of bond where lucy would theoretically do the same [though i don't particularly think cooper would end game exactly this way at least not in the show] but then i started wondering... just how long was rose ghoulified? i am curious if they'd show moldaver and/or rose flashbacks because a timeline or even just scenes would be interesting to the story. like if rose's ghoulification was fast, i wonder if moldaver was incredibly sentimental and grief stricken and this situation just happened? or was it slow. like most ferality is. and moldaver and rose got to talking. what if rose asked moldaver to keep rose around even... after... as... evidence? i mean lucy got to see all what hank did this way. with verified proof. it's obvious there was sentiment there too with moldaver but... the twist, the exposure of that what hank did was the sharpest revelation, i think. at least the most prominent in those moments... i think moldaver [implied at least to me] loving rose and then keeping her as a feral ghoul is with detailed purpose. i definitely think there's going to be more things similar to this in the show. whether it has anything to do with cooper and/or lucy, i guess the writers will show us in time but i can see parallels being drawn, maybe not as tragic or even as stark. but i do think there will be more than what we saw with roger and rose.