#you guys should watch the vampire gay show

[sunflowersinheaven]

another wip, that i wont be able to finish for a while

[absolutebl]

These Weeks in BL - This Is Very Late, Or Right on Time depending on where you sit on the temporal debate team

Sorry I got distracted by work. In my defense: I was paid.

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

March 2024 Wk 1 & 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

Cherry Magic (Sat YouTube grey) ep 12 fin - Unfortunately, there was singing. But what can we do?

A soft charming warm hug of a show about crushes and mind reading and self worth, with no-fuss execution from a consummate team and an OG lead pair proving why they remain eternal and deserve to grow up. Look, here’s the thing, Cherry Magic is a great Thai BL in its own right not comparing it to any other iteration. But even when I do compare (and I've seen all the Cherries and read the manga) it still stands. This is a great show, a solid adaptation, and a pleasing take on the original yaoi. I personally like it better than the Japanese live action, but I think that’s because I just really like Thai BL and I LOVE TayNew. I doubted them for this and I shouldn’t have. They did a great job, as did the sides. I will say all the kissing was both present and better than any other iteration. As it should be. Definitely one for the rewatch rotation. 9/10 

Deep Night (Thurs iQiyi) ep 1 of 8 (10?) - Damn it, I love it. And I don't want to. It’s more classic BL than I thought it would be, and far less Only Friends or Playboyy. (Thank fuck.) We got a big cast and a lot of tropes going down out the gate, including SMITTEN popular hot guy versus nerd with secret identity. (Incidentally, Khem did drop into rude / informal when arguing with his Aunt and defending his ma. Bratty boy.) The leads have good chemistry (First always does), and everyone is very pretty. The main boy reminds me of J-Min's role (and look) in Love Class 2. I am entertained. (And faintly wonder why this isn't a MosBank vehicle.)

To Be Continued (Thai C3 Thailand grey) eps 1-3 of 8- High school sweethearts who had a bad break up reunite a decade later when both of them have full time jobs (celebrity & doctor). Dr Ji is a familiar face (hi Dream it's been a LONG time) and everyone is way too old for high school, but I guess I prefer this to child actors?

I'm enjoying it, actually, the cast may be older but they're solid as a result and the chemistry is on point for a pulp. Whether our celebrity is on the DL or cheating or something else remains to be seen but he sure is smitten. The way he LOOKS at Ji = hawt.

Frankly? Celebrity/doctor is a good pairing and this is a solid Thai BL. I hope we have a nice angsty reason for the break-up and we're not in another Promise situation. I like the sides too. Carry on, little show, I'm disposed to be pleased with you.

City of Stars (Fri iQIYI) eps 5-6 of 12 - I am enjoying it, actually. It’s incredibly silly. But I don’t really mind. STOP SINGING. 

1000 Years Old eps 3-4 of 12 - I love that these kids basically adopted a vampire pet. And one of them accidentally got a vampire boyfriend. This suddenly turned from a PNR into a family drama about domestic gays opening a food stall and I'm not mad about it. Nothing makes sense and I don't care because... rainbow umbrella!

A Secretly Love (Thai WeTV grey) eps 1 of 10 - I don’t love it. I make no bones about the fact that a pining uke rarely works for me, especially if he’s younger (cute supportive besties not withstanding), the power dynamic isn’t good. I always like Kimmon, he’s a stiff actor but v pretty. (I shallow af.) Still it’s time he started acting his age… literally. Having to watch ads again as well… for this? Ooof. I'm not sure I'm strong enough.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Perfect Propose (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 6 fin - It was very cute. I liked that there was uke instigated kisses. However I have some reservations on this one, much as I enjoyed it.

Adapted from Mayo Tsurakame’s manga, production team included Tadaaki Horai (My Love Mix-Up!) and Takeshi Miyamoto (Old Fashion Cupcake). Essentially Perfect Propose was about finding hope in a person when all other hope is gone. This show focuses on apathy, and perforce is somewhat apathetic and un-engaging especially as the pacing was off (and with only 6 episodes? now) However, this is countered by great visuals, good archetypes, and a clean story of childhood sweethearts reuniting after loosing their way in life. I landed on 8/10 mostly for a demanding younger seme and some great kisses. 

Unknown (Taiwan Tues Youku YouTube) eps 2-3 of 11 - Oh it’s great. I love it. I’m still worried by how gritty and "Taiwanese short-esk" it feels, but wow does this hit all my favorite taboo tropes and buttons. I also adore the little found fam, they the cutest gay older bros ever. The younger one who wants so bad to grow up and take care of the older one and pushes himself because into self sacrifice that’s the only model of love he has. ARGH. BOYS. Why so much pain, just smooch already! Sheesh. It's on YouTube for some of us, here's the schedule.

AntiReset (Taiwan Fri Viki/Gaga) eps 6-7 of 10 - They remain questionably cute, and that is probably going to be my ultimate review of this show. Awe cameo! (Hi babies, hope the ghosts are leaving you alone.) The irony does not escape me that the person in the relationship with the most emotional acumen is, in fact, the robot and not the human. I'm sure that's meant to be deep.

Love is Better the Second Time Around AKA Koi wo Suru nara Nidome ga Joto (Japan Gaga) ep 1 of 6 - A tortured second chance romance featuring a reported and a successful celebrity(?) academic. The kid actors look nothing like their adult counterparts, but they do look much younger. So, okay. Ah the utter embarrassment of first love. Oh I like it a lot, so very messy Japanese emo. Sigh. Here we go again.

Although I Love You and You AKA Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka (Japan Thurs Gaga) eps 8-9 of 10 - They are a cute couple. They both trying so hard and so confused and awkward and polite in trying to understand each other but TERRIBLE at communication. 

My Strawberry Film (Japan Thurs Gaga) eps 3-4 of 8 - I don’t know how I feel about this. But I do know it’s not my thing because it’s not BL. I’ll finish it because it’s short but… meh. 

It's done, ready to binge, but I have no time

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - will binge when I have any spare time. 2024 is crazy busy for me so far.

The Servant and the Young Master (Vietnam YouTube) - I will try when I have a window of time.

Began Beginning (Myanmar YouTube) - A Burmese BL? @heretherebedork vouched for it, so I will watch eventually.

It's airing but...

Dead Friend Forever (Thai iQIYI) - finished it's run and I won't be watching it. It's horror with BL elements and the ending, well, let's just say that's a "no thank you" from me.

Ossans Love Season 2 (Japan Gaga) - 5 years later, will anything have changed? This is Japan so… no. I'm not watching this. I dislike this franchise.

Time the series (Tue Gaga/YT) 10 eps - dropped it at ep 4.

Takumi-kun (2023) movie version AKA Takumi-kun Series 6: Nagai Nagai Monogatari no Hajimari no Asa released on FOD 3/5/2024. The original project was a 6 ep series. Having seen all the previous iterations and read the (terrible) yaoi I admit to being intrigued. If anyone finds eng subbed please let me know with a link in comments or in a DM? For those intersted in this show, probably the world's first true BL franchise I chat all about it here.

Gossip

James Supamongkon has withdrawn from the series Love Upon A Time and the NetJames pair is no more. Net Siraphop will continue with the historical BL project alongside a new partner. Can I interest you in Tod Techit... almost as pretty, legs for days...

The Complete Chronology of the Assault Case Against GMMTV Actor Win Pawin

I'm merely directing your attention to these articles, I do not wish for discussion of this content on this blog. Please don't ask for further info, I don't know the answer, follow the link that's why it's there.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Still Coming

3/21 Two Worlds (Thai IQIYI) 10 eps - announced here. One of those "he's dead Jim so time travel" thingames staring MaxNat. I'm over them but Asia flipping loves this trope and I do adore MaxNat. Phupha (Gun) and Khram (Nat) love each other but Phupha is murdered. Then Khram is pulled to a parallel world where, 12 years ago, Khram and Tai (Max) were in love. However, Khram was killed by Thai’s dad. Now Tai finds alter-Khram apparently alive. But then there is ALSO an alter-Phupha (played by Gun Thanawat who is Khom the repressed butler bodyguard from Unforgotten Night).

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

How flipping adorable is this vampire with his big gay umbrella? SUCH A DORK and we got more vampire dorks coming.

Thailand has found its vampire line and it's awkward and geeky and quite cheerful. 'Bout what we expected, to be fair. It's a good look for them.

And vampires.

In other news...

That's your random moment of thirst, Lim Jimin shirtless AKA my Just B bias (I mean, I could talk about how good his extensions are and how I love a husky voice in Kpop but really, just LOOK at him). I'm very very very shallow, remember? Full vid is here.

Why am I mentioning Lim Jimin (aside from the obvious)? If Just B doesn't break soon, I could some of them transitioning to BL. Jimin in particular would be a win for us, obvs.

Also, can we talk about Bain (my bias wrecker) KILLING it on Build Up? I had no idea he was that good. Anygay, this has been your Kpop end note.

Seriously tho, is ANYONE else watching Build-Up?

(Last week - well, 2 weeks ago)

Streaming services are listed how I'm (usually watching) which is with a USA based IP

The tag bragade: @doorajar

If ya wanna be tagged each week leave a comment and I will. Easy peesy.

[musclesandhammering]

Spn Opinions That’ll Have Me Burned at the Stake Pt. 2: Electric Boogaloo

I’m back and bitchier than ever. For reference, here’s part 1.

• Season 5 wasn’t that great.

• D*stiel isn’t real, it’s a sucky ship, and that confession scene was just the writers pandering to the rabid deancas fans cause they knew they were the only ones still watching the show lol. And they left it ambiguous enough that they could still say it was meant platonically if they needed to.

• I hate how they watered down both angels and demons post-season 5ish.

• I liked Ruby 1.0 better than Ruby 2.0.

• I hate Honey!Cas. They just did that cause they didn’t know where to take his story from there, needed him out of the way, and thought it would be funny. It was insulting.

• Jack should’ve been played by an actual child so everyone’s abuse of him would resonate with the audience for what it was (casual fans are brain dead and need to be spoon fed).

• Victor Henrikson deserved more time on the show.

• I said it in the last post, but Alex is way more interesting than Claire and should’ve been given the lead role in the wayward sisters storyline instead.

• Dean is canonically straight and for Christ sake if you guys wanted bi rep, there’s about a thousand other characters that are strongly coded or implied to be bisexual (including Sam!) but y’all didn’t focus on them because it wasn’t actually about representation, it was about making it more plausible for your dumb fetishised gay ship to actually happen (spoiler: it didn’t).

• Season 3 and Season 6 were some of the best ones, you guys just don’t have any taste.

• Claire is not Castiel’s daughter and saying she is erases Jimmy and insults her, and even Cas himself acknowledged that on the show.

• Castiel is canonically NOT gay and Misha constantly saying he is is annoying and airheaded. He’s been attracted to women IN THE SHOW and he’s not even really male, so calling him a Gay Man is reductive and just plain wrong. Also, it’s veeery sus that- given how bi/pan folks are even more underrepresented than gay people- that one of the rare times where the bi/pan label actually fits a character BETTER in CANON……. the allies and monosexuals adamantly reject it. Hm.

• “Curing” vampires or werewolves or demons shouldn’t have been a thing.

• The Winchesters cause most of the bad shit that happens and then they just force supernatural beings to fix it for them- tell me again how they’re Super Special Heroes.

• It shouldn’t be possible to make angels human by removing their grace, because (unlike demons, werewolves, etc) they were never human to start with. If you drained me of all my blood, I wouldn’t magically transform into another species, I’d fucking die.

• Making Billie go crazy was dumb.

• Rowena was one of the most interesting and charismatic characters on the whole show- they just didn’t know what to do with her character.

• The archangels, Lilith, and Azazel should’ve been the biggest threats on the show. No other knights of hell, no god and his sister, no Cain, nothing like that. Having every villain just get progressively more overpowered made the show unbelievable and repetitive and annoying.

• The kernel sanders king of hell guy was hot.

• Dean is misogynistic as HELL, homophobic, likes racist porn, is a narcissist, pervs on teen girls, & thinks all non-human people should be exterminated… and that is all CANON.

• Most of John Winchester’s abuse is fanon.

• Fans portraying Cas as a smol bby who colours in colouring books and has a bee plushie is so fucking annoying.

• Instead of having so many gigantic cosmic storylines with god and his sister and alternate dimensions and even the angel and demon tablets, they should’ve just scrapped those and made the stein family and the bmol and the alpha vampire storylines way bigger than they were. Less cosmic stuff, more earth-based stuff.

• They ruined Lucifer’s character post-season 5. Before that, he was more sympathetic and reasonable than Michael. After, he was a spoiled child hurting people for fun.

• Everything from season 7 on is garbage. All of it. There’s bits of goodness here and there but overall seasons 7-15 are trash.

• How the fuck are there actual people who are deangirls and hate Sam?? The space where your brain should be is empty, I swear to god.

• If there was gonna be any lgbt rep in the Wayward Sisters group, it should’ve been Jody and Donna instead of Claire and Kaia. Those two were boring as hell and had zero chemistry or build-up, but Jody/Donna had plenty of chemistry and was very believable.

• Meg has the best and most realistic redemption arc of anyone on the show.

• Chuck was not likeable or charismatic enough to carry off as big of a villain arc as they gave him. Also that whole thing was stupid and WAY too Out There.

• All the angels should’ve been aroace. All the demons should’ve been pan.

• I stanned Cole so hard up until he changed his mind about hating Dean. That was disappointing.

• Sam went through the same shitty childhood Dean did (plus Bonus Abuse on top of it) and he didn’t turn out Like That.

• I cannot think of a single person that was asking for a spin-off about the Winchester family, like that has to be the most boring thing.

[nfcv-saltmine]

To christen this blog, how about you compile your top 10 reasons NFCV should not be watched either as an adaptation or its own thing? :3c

Only ten? I have like. 40, at least. But oh well! I'll be happy to provide with ten, for a start. ❤️

(Warning for mentions of SA and death)

Reason number 10: The characters all suck, in one way or another. The only ones I have some sympathy for is Hector who was never given the chance to evolve, and was forced to be a victim the whole show, and Trevor, who is never taken seriously and is mostly there to be mocked by those who are supposed to be his friends.

The others? Dracula is a joke who can't keep his own men in line. He has to wait for a #girlboss to enter and insult his wife to his face. He spends most of his screentime being a poor little meow meow, gaslighting everyone into thinking he deserved the happy ending he got. Isaac is boring and his "deep arc" really is just inconsistent and a bad version of game!Hector's arc. Lenore is. Lenore. :) Going from a manipulative villain to a poor little meow meow so fast it's ridiculous. The lesbian vampires just exist to be lesbians and pretend the plot is more deep and complex than it is.... it's not enough to have good ideas. You need to execute them properly.

Concerning Nocturne? Only the girl who was kidnapped and used as Erzsebet's juice box has my compassion. Everyone else sucks, from Maria being twitter personnified, to Annette being a cunt who gets a pass because she's black. Tera doesn't do shit to defend her own children when Annette insults them right in front of her. Edouard is there for cheap drama. The Abbot Emmanuel's logic for why he does what he does doesn't make any sense. Erzsebet has no charisma and is a cheap replacement for the villain Dracula should have been (not to mention her plan is stupid because we saw vampires being touched by sunlight with no problem on multiple occasions. :) And Olrox literally went to met his future bf in plain daylight. Clearly the sun musn't be THAT much of a problem). Olrox and his bf are there to be gay. And Juste... Juste deserves his own post for how dirty they did him. Richter isn't THAT bad compared to the rest of the cast, but I do not care for him (except when he gets shit on for no reason), he's just a cheap mix of Trevor and Game!Richter. And Drolta is Game!Isaac with boobs. Would be cool if Game!Isaac wasn't constantly shat on by NFCV fans, the same who love Drolta. :)

Reason number 9: You like representation in your media? NFCV sucks at it. They have: man who gets raped by both a man and a woman, two lesbians who exist just to be lesbians and could very well be written out of the plot, two gay men with a rushed relationship who share very little screentime together (four scenes and the first one is them meeting) yet we are supposed to be affected by their romance, one man who is implied to have a bf so vaguely that most people probably have missed the one hint there was of it, and lesbian main villain who uses a random woman as a juice box and potentially is mindcontrolling her (would be hot if said villain had any charisma and random woman was more than a fridge)

Reason number 8: Character developments are either bad, meh, or inexistant. Isaac goes from ordering his night creatures to kill every survivor at the end of an episode, to build them graves and rebuild the town and pretend to be so deep and nice and caring for said innocents and future people of this town in the next. Hector started a nice guy trying to live in peace, has lived as a nice guy trying to live in peace while getting mocked and shit on and used and abused by everyone, and ended as a nice guy trying to live in peace but now in a Castle and with one finger less. I guess Trevor is less of a drunkard than before (but it's not like we saw him drink THAT much before). Lenore's development is not much of a development than it is the writers trying to convince us she was always sweet and tragic and Good Deep Down and make us forget her evil doings...

Reason number 7: There's lots of ACTUAL anime out there with prettier animation, if that's what you like. Or you could. Play the games. ❤️

Reason number 6: The couples are bad. Sypha is rude and never showed any interest or appreciation for Trevor's own interests or findings. They don't have an actual spark, despite "cute" moments here and there. The moment Sypha asked Trevor to travel with her just made me question what she saw in him considering now she's been treating him (also the moment she decides to nickname Trevor as "Treffy" is embarrassing more than cute. Doesn't help that it's the same moment where she pulled him aside to scold HIM for getting mad and defending himself against Alucard's bullying). They lack a proper build-up, because the show loves doing things offscreen and expecting us to go along with it, but they NEED to be together because they NEED to have sex because they NEED to have children even though they completely destroyed the reason why.

Alucard and Greta. Haha. Oh Alucard and Greta. You'll see in reason number 1 the biggest reason why Greta sucks big sweaty balls, but one of them is that she's just a generic girlboss. Her and Alucard are not an official couple, but considering the parellel they made with Draculisa at some point (Alucard bowing to welcome her in his home, like Dracula bowed to Lisa to welcome her in his lab), and her line "lucky you have me to run your life for you now", I think it's implied. And I do not buy it. :) (They both suck anyway, so who cares)

Richter and Annette DEFINITELY have NO chemistry at ALL. Annette spends most of her time HATING Richter, who is only, along with everyone else, trying to help her. And when they finally see each other again after multiple episodes of being away from each other, during wich everytime Annette mentions Richter it's to insult him, when dares to pretend she was worried for him and they have a little "cute" scene together...? NO. THEY DID NOT EARN IT. THEY BARELY SHOWED ANY INTEREST IN EACH OTHER BEFORE RICHTER DISAPPEARS, ANNETTE SEEMS TO DESPISE HIM MORE THAN ANYTHING. And one of the worst things is that thinking of HER, a woman he JUST met and who just kept insulting him, that Richter unlocked his powers??? I CALL BULLSHIT. YOU CANNOT RUSH THINGS TO THIS DEGREE, NO.

I ain't talking about the two gay couples because there's literally nothing to say. The lesbians are supposed to be cute and the gays are supposed to be hot. It's just fetishization at this point.

Reason number 5: Female characters are either fridged or girlbosses. That's it. Don't expect much variety here. Because apparently to be a woman you have to either shut up and die, or be super strong and rude. (Or be a BDSM mommy. :))

Reason number 4: CHURCH BAD mentality with no nuance. Because it's so cool and edgy. And that works for both shows. :)

Reason number 3: The villains sucks too, when you have your brain turned on. You might like the ideas or the designs (though Erzebet Sun Thundercat's design is so awful i can't understand why anyone would like it. Also Carmilla is ugly guys?? Her head melts into her hair, come on), maybe a scene here and there, but when it comes to the execution? Urgh. I already talked about Dracula being a poor little meow meow, but what I can add that him and Isaac are fucking stupid for going with Carmilla's plan. Isaac is fucking stupid for blaming Hector and going after him. And Carmilla is fucking stupid for treating Hector the way she did when he wasn't intending to go against her before she makes him her prisoner and beats him up.

Reason number 2: Play the games. The themes and ideas taken from them are bastardized and done poorly in the show, when they're not straight up ditched.

Isaac's arc? Game!Hector's but more inconsistent and pretentious. Trevor and his family being rejected and hated by the people? Castlevania 3 (and this fear and dislike of them won't end until centuries later, with Simon). Dracula welcoming Isaac and Hector and making them his generals? He did so in CoD and they were literal children seeking a home, wich he helped and shared his own essence with. Not two random dudes who happen to have powers of their own. Alucard vs Dracula and the tragedy of blood fighting blood? Symphony of the Night but way too early

Alucard literally steals Trevor's spot as the main character and the one who is supposed to kill Dracula first, wich is a MAJOR part of the games and the CV universe, completely taking away the Belmonts' purpose as the only ones capable of defeating Dracula. It was completely unnecessary, too, if what they wanted was family angst, as Alucard could have simply been about to stake his father, but because of his love for him, would have been unable to give the final blow. Leading to Trevor giving the final blow himself, so his "friend" wouldn't have to go through the pain of doing it himself, thus keeping the Belmonts' unfortunate purpose intact and still making for a poignant father/son tragedy. But no, they just had to make Alucard the MC and make him destroy the core of the games they are supposed to adapt, on top of making him a cunt.

Oh, and this idea of Dracula being the literal Lord of Darkness? Not just any vampire, but the most powerful of them, a straight-up demon, respected and feared by all creatures of the night, who has multiple terrific forms and cannot be killed by any weapon... other than the Vampire Killer? Out the window! Now we're SUPPOSED to think he's big and scary and dangerous, but he can be killed with a piece of wood and no one respects him! Barely fear him! Not even Death, who is supposed to be his closest confidant and most devoted servant, is now an entity that uses him in the dark and don't hold any respect for him. Pathetic.

There's no respect to the source material. The VK means nothing now, wich is coherent with the fact that Belmonts mean nothing now, because Dracula means nothing now and nothing is near as epic as it is in the games. Nothing that makes "Castlevania" Castlevania matters anymore, it's just bullshit, and chances are, what you like from the show you will prefer in the games.

Reason number 1: It handles trauma and sexual assault like the purest shit.

It's something to not give a shit about Trevor's trauma wich happened offscreen. It's another to treat the trauma the characters go through RIGHT IN FRONT OF US like it's nothing.

As much of a cunt Alucard is, I cannot excuse the way his case with Sumi and Taka was handle. Forget how their reasoning for betraying Alucard was shit and the way they decided to go at it was unnecessary. The fact is, they tricked Alucard with sex. Giving him the deepest kind of affection sexual creatures can share, making him so very vulnerable, making him believe he was loved and not alone anymore... only to betray him. Forcing Alucard to kill them before they kill him. It's a truly traumatizing experience that can easily lead to the victim struggling to trust anyone, on top of having a very complicated relationship with their own body from then on.

How does NFCV handles that? It makes Alucard piss on the corpses of his old friends, then have him tell his story to a random #girlboss who jumps on the occasion to make a joke out of it, comparing this very obvious sexual assault and betrayal of his trust with her willingly sleeping with a married man.

Funnily enough, Hector was going through the same thing at the same time! He has been manipulated and seduced by Lenore. She's the only one who treated him decently (because Carmilla is supposed to be a smart bitch who can trick Dracula and his court, but not smart enough to understand that physically assaulting Hector and letting him rot in a cell naked with only molded bread for food and freezing water thrown at him to wash is a bad idea.), the only one who talked to him, offered him gifts such as books, a bed, a desk. She worked her way into his heart until he fell for her and "willingly" had sex with her... and then, in this crucial moment, where Hector was at his most vulnerable, she stabbed him in the back. Made him her slave with a magic ring. Then went on to say "Shh, the real people are talking" to him when she talks about her brilliant plan to her sisters, and then going "i gave you what you always needed. i made you into my pet." when Hector expresses his horror and pain about the situation.

At the end of s3, there was absolutely no doubt that Lenore was an evil, two-faced villain. And there was hope that Hector would go back at her when he pensively looked into a fire, a parallel to when he burned down his home with his parents inside, and foreshadowing for chaos to come... but nope! Next season, he makes sex jokes with Lenore like we're supposed to believe they share chemistry, and he PROTECTS her from Isaac, and let her die on her own terms because she could not handle to be trapped in the same kind of life she tried to trap Hector in! And Hector's sexual assault is only mentioned ONCE, so Lenore can go "oh shush, you were having fun". :)

Actually, it's not that NFCV handles sexual assault and trauma badly. It's that it does not believe men can go through them, clearly. It uses very heavy topic for cheap drama and nothing else. Lenore did not need to have sex with Hector and trap him with a magic ring for her plan, not any more than Sumi and Taka needed to fuck Alucard if all they needed to do was use some magic object on him to trap him. Ellis just wanted something he could masturbate to. And THAT is supposed to be the Peak Adaptation Of All Time? Seriously?

Oh you also have Richter's trauma. They literally gave him a mom just to fridge her and use that for a little bit of drama that only really matters ONCE, when Richter runs away from Olrox in the dungeon, and Annette hates him for it... but then he quickly gets over this years-long trauma and next time he sees Olrox, it's as if he's just another vampire. It's not as bad as Alucard and Hector's cases, granted, but it's ridiculous. A clear case of bad writing who feels the need to rush things.

SO YEAH. Plenty of things wrong here, and plenty more to come. ❤️ I can't possibly tell them all in just one post. It wouldn't be fun. 🥰

[alexwilltellyouthings]

Entirely self indulgent rating post about the top 10 TV shows that made me fucking insane for some reason

10. Sense8

God, this was so good. Such a blessing. I saw part of the cast during a Pride Parade and it's one of my favorite memories. I felt every possible emotion with this show, I love it.

9. The Last of Us

This is kind of a cheat, because the obsession comes from the games, but it is what it is. It's one of the few games that had a big impact on me and I closely relate it to my relationship with my dad. Can't wait to cry my heart out at season 2.

8. Good Omens

It's a given, isn't it? That stupid angel with his stupid demon and their stupid God. GRRRAAWW. A lot of thoughts and feelings came from the fandom, I have to point out. It's been very nice.

7. The Umbrella Academy

I have the first issue of the comics autographed by Gerard Way!! I mean, yes, it's because I'm a MCR fan, but it became even more precious after I got into the show. I'm rewatching right now, preparing for the last season. I'll be a mess when I say goodbye to them. Can't even really think about it too hard or I'll cry right now.

Continues under the cut

6. Our Flag Means Death

LISTEN THIS CHANGED EVERYTHING TO ME. What do you mean we can have a show THIS queer? It's all I want now. I ate it up. I smiled so much. I wanted this so badly and had no idea.

5. Interview with the Vampire

Feels like it should be top 3 honestly but I'll get there. This is also a cheat, I've been reading the Vampire Chronicles since I was like 15. Growing up with Anne Rice probably messed me up but hey at least I have great taste. And seeing them on screen? The way they made it BETTER? And Lestat?? Who has been haunting me for 15 years on and off??? And the second season and their reunion and and and?????????? I'm STILL insane about them and will be forever, I'm afraid.

4. Doctor Who

Listen. Listen. Okay. Yeah. What can I say? If you get into it, you're doomed. And I have been doomed for 10 years at least. I stopped watching for a while and got back last year, and it hit me all over again. I love this dumbass genius alien in a way that's calm, even. Just a permanent part of who I am now.

3. The Untamed

The year was 2022, it had been a while since I had a proper fixation and I didn't think it would happen with this danmei live-action, but then came Wei Wuxian. Guys, if I tell you I fell in love. Couldn't stop thinking about him. Everyday I was plagued by his smile and red ribbon and tragic backstory, yadayadayada. I really like other characters too, and their stories, but WWX did something to me that I still don't quite understand.

2. Queer as Folk (US)

This was a looong time ago and it didn't really persist over time like the others, but it was my first actual obsession. I was clinically insane over these gays. I had no one to talk to about them, so for every episode I wrote several pages of notes to comment to my (only) friend at school the next day, the poor thing. It was pretty much all I talked about because I spent EVERY MINUTE we had to talk going over the notes and explaining the episode. Like, between classes, during breaks, everything. Months of that. She held on firmly because she was a good friend, but I'm aware it must've been terrible. Like I said, insane.

1. Dead Boy Detectives

Maybe I'm putting this up here because it's my current hyperfixation? Maybe. But I don't think I have felt something hit as strongly as this since QaF over there. This time I can participate in fandom so I don't need to write every thought I have because it's all a big talk anyway, but I'm still pretty much having those thoughts all the time for *checks notes* nearly three months. I'm writing more than I have in years. I'm back at Tumblr after I don't know how long. I'm staring at GIFs over and over like I have the fucking time for that. I'm distracted at work daily. I talk about it in therapy. I have the main cast's notifications on. I'm getting involved in fandom discourse sometimes even knowing I shouldn't. It's a nightmare. I love it. I love them.

If you read all of this, congrats! Now you know how my mind works, kinda!! I'm open to talk about any and all of these shows. It's amazing how they mess us up. It's also scary, but anyway.

[vampiremotif]

*kicking my feet and twirling my hair* if you guys liked ben daniels as santiago in interview with the vampire you should really watch him in the exorcist tv show where he plays a gay priest

[silviakundera]

Snowfall watch comments ep 11-12

Ep 11

Vamp Daddy is feeling violated and would like some clothes now, thx. "You keep staring at me. Even if you don't feel embarrassed, I do feel a sense of shame."

Sorry, the villain is erotically, psychotically obssesed with you, so no

Loser Li: "Aren't you a big shot? Aren't you a socialite? You think you're above me just because of your wealth and power?"

Vamp Daddy:

Literal army observing the toxic gay happenings: ... um I think that was supposed to be your inside voice

Mu Lihua is obviously making excuses to herself to use the magic yang ring, which is killing her

BACKSTORY: in which it was all the fault of Vamp Daddy'd grandma for deciding to burn alive both his dad's chicken killing concubine and also her son. Sorry grandma, burning a small child alive while he screams for his big brother is uncool and I'm not surprised she went berserk and killed y'all. 🤷

If that kid grew up to be our mildly evil doctor bestie, I think u 2 should hug it out and say bygones are bygones. Yes he gave you some vampirism but also, you survived 100 years to experience some great fashion choices and meet an incredibly weird blind girl who is very into you. It's not all bad.

Loser Li is literally crying here, just barely hanging into any dignity by a thread, while Vamp Daddy calls him out as looking heartbroken. 🌈

MORE BACKSTORY: Loser Li ran into Vamp Daddy when a teen and naively thought this rich dude could magically fix his sister w his rich people powers. Except some people shot up the joint and Vamp Daddy ran away and his sis died. No magic fix for his sister. No one else to blame, so he hates himself and the (handsome) stranger that he'd unrealistically pinned his hopes on.

Loser Li has all that pent up rage bewing inside, yet still takes time out of his busy gangster schedule to sit on bed beside Vamp Daddy and removing his muzzle, "If you want to escape, that's fine. We can both die together if it comes to that."

More flirting, angst, bars

"You did well."

oh... kay

Loser Li's boss wants to just dispose of Vamp Daddy if the scans don't show anything else exciting. I do not think Loser Li is gonna accept this.

Any more than I can accept more screentime for nepo baby. At least it smoked out doctor bestie!

Jin nepo baby is kinda being used as a plausible deniability There Is A Hetro Explanation For This on Loser Li's character. Except not really, because his behavior and words are also internally consistent with her being a childhood playmate when a sevant kid, who now he wants to draw the line with for multiple reasons (the best one being, he's a murderer & active criminal). Also, bisexuality exists.

Ep 12

We're bringing the gf and doctor bestie along for the ride! Thanks Loser Li, I missed them.

I can barely recognize my fav loser in brown leather.

The trio reunited!

Doctor Bestie is so annoyed that Vamp Daddy keeps being defeated by Loser Li, when he could simply solve this all by killing him

Is Doctor Bestie gonna clock the Mu heir?

Vamp Daddy offers Loser Li both money and 🌈 friendship 🌈 and he's soooooooo shook

Mu Lihua having more seizures because she can't let go of her mood ring. smh.

Midly Evil Doctor Bestie: some people evade all responsibilities and some people bear them all, to feel alive. He's the latter.

Me: and you're the 1st kind, right? right????

Really love his chill. I want to know what's behind it. 🕵

Vamp Daddy alone in a room with Loser Li and very deliberately seducing him while pretending not to: "I will perish together with you." It's the guy I care about, not the girl. People can want & feel multiple things at a time. I didn't know you then but I do now - we know each other.

seriously - the way the actor for Li Yingliang does this swallow at him saying they know each other well now and then Vamp Daddy nods in assent. The body language and his face.👌👌👌

Fuck, Vamp Daddy knows he hooked him

Vamp Daddy and Sus Doctor play Mahjong with the villians and I'm fairly certain they're just fucking with them.

Loser Li looks annoyed to be losing yet again in life but tbh what result do you expect when gambling with someone 100+ years old

The allusions to his brother !!! Is the doctor his brother???? If so DOES HE SUSPECT?? ?????

Vamp Daddy trying to hard sell Loser Li until the last moment. Run away w me and join my polycule. I have riches and also, I'm me 👁👄👁

I think our fav villainous bisexual is just scared to take what he wants.

He is convinced there's no way back after you sell your soul to the local warlord and is scared to contemplate the alternative; if he walks away now, that means he could have found a way to walk away before - which means he's partially culpable for the wrong he's done.

They're staring at each other thru the window now. It's very romantic.

[theonevoice]

Sorry if this is a little foggy and poorly worded, but I have been sitting on this thought all day, after working on a scene from Mamoru Hosoda's Wolf Children, and might as well put it here. The scene in question is the one where little wolf-boy Ame, sweet child who loves stories and picture books and who struggles to come to terms with his hybrid identity, one day while out in the woods with his sister and his mother on a sort of wolf-training excursion suddenly starts crying. And the reason why is crying is that, in all the picture books, he keeps seeing the wolf depicted as the bad guy that ends up shooed away or killed. And because of such representations, now he wants to repress his wolf identity, that has always been a lively and funny, although hard to figure out, part of his life. He is terrified of being what he is because the narrow representations that he has access to tell him that the world does not like people like him. It's a powerful little moment in a beautiful movie, that always makes me tear up, and if you missed it I highly recommend you watch it. If you are not into anime movie and just curious of the scene, I found a clip on YouTube:

Anyway, this scene made my lonely braincel twitch, and I was thinking, now that we are approaching the end of this glorious - as far as the mediascape is concerned - year 2023, that many people underestimate the enormous power of fantasy narratives in expanding the borders of gender (and minority in general) representation. Having an author canonically establish that certain fixed categories do not apply to one or more characters for in-universe reasons takes away that nasty oblique excuse that some people use to deny and disparage diversity in media (where I live they usually sound like "they only made this character a person of color to please the woke liberalsTM even if the historical context doesn't allow it", or even, comically, "it is narratively implausible that this character is or shows to be queer but they were forced to do it by THE GAY LOBBY" - yes, this is an actual conspiracy theory loudly promoted by Italian journalists and politicians, and yes, I am personally deeply ashamed by it). Obviously, almost none of said people has the faintest actual interest in narrative aspects, but they still use the excuse to pollute the public discourse and attack minorities. And I am aware that there is a possible dark pitfall here: in the best possible world, we should not need to take the route of fantasy settings to have something that should never have been denied in the first place, but from a pragmatical standpoint it does work. Having authors saying "nope, sorry not sorry, they are wolf-children / angels and demons / weird vampires / anachronistic pirates in a fantasy context so your self-proclaimed laws of plausibility do not apply and you can shove them where the sun does not shine while we enjoy the show and put this beautiful, funny, delicate, deep and sad things on screen", is like having a cultural picklock which is also a cultural battering ram thrusting the representation-door open. Shows like Good Omens, Our Flag Means Death, What We Do in the Shadows (and their fandoms with their massive collective creative endeavour), by offering the symbolic shield of a fantasy setting can establish a safe space where 1. queer people (especially young people but not only) can finally recognize themselves and stop feeling like they are alone and don't have the words and images they need to describe themselves; 2. not queer people can get used to a larger set of possible identities and not only realise that 100% of said idenities are in fact - hold on to your butts - still people with thoughts and feelings and needs, but also, through the power of mimesis, acquire a deeper understanding of forms of life that they don't directly experience. Including, hopefully, understanding how similar we all are when it comes to us being ultimately a bunch of naked apes who walk on this spinning rock trying to be as little miserable as possible.

Again, sorry if this sounds clumsy and blunt, given how delicate and complex this subject is (one does not simply walk into Mordor talk about the lives and needs of other people like that), but I had this thought stuck in my shallow brain wrinkles and I wanted to try and put it into words.

[goose-books]

please check out @yvesdot's remastered debut! trust me, it's worth a read and a reread and a re-revisit. for the blog tour, i give you... another blast from the past, an old-fashioned writeblr-style comic sans powerpoint!

Something’s Not Right, published by tRaum Books, will be released October 10th 2023 and is available to preorder at Amazon, Bookshop.org, and itch.io. It will also be available upon release signed from Bookshop Santa Cruz. yves. will also have a local event at 6:30 PM on October 12th at the Santa Cruz Diversity Center and another on January 4th 2024 (to be announced) at Bookshop Santa Cruz.

(my sixth favorite story is koschei, btw. shoutout to koschei. sorry i left you off the slides)

(slides described under the cut)

all slides are written in white comic sans on a black background.

slide one: text reading "FIVE reasons YOU should read" over a cropped image of the cover for Something's Not Right, featuring the title. smaller comic sans next to the image reads "by yves."

slide two: at the center of the slide, text reads "1. IT'S GAY!" smaller text boxes, scattered around the slide, read:

so many transgender people

you want fluff? we got fluff. you want angst? we got angst. you want high octane drama? we got it

you like metaphors for queerness? we’ve got metaphors for queerness

some characters’ identities are plot relevant! some of them just happen to be trans!

there’s even an m/f couple i actually like!

there’s literally a lesbian robot what else am i supposed to say

first book where i ever saw a they/them lesbian referred to as a woman and they at the same time <3 <3 <3

you want monsterfucking? we got—

between the first and third boxes is this image of feathers. beneath the monsterfucking box is this image of a halo/eclipse. beneath the they/them lesbian box is the anakin image from this post, reading, "dyke business. go back to your drinks"

slide three: the top of the slide reads "2. CLEVER USE OF TROPES AND TALES." the bullet points beneath read:

the author was a lit major & lovingly: it shows

fresh takes on everything from sexy vampires to demigod/human romance

do you like russian folklore? do you wish it was set in your high school

hansel and gretel story followed immediately by wlw fairies

STORY WHERE VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN GOES TO A PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCE

an arrow points from the sexy vampire bullet to an image of edward cullen, captioned "this guy isn't in there." another points from the frankenstein bullet to a picture of the book Frankenstein, captioned "this guy is, tho"

slide four: at the center of the slide, text reads "3. DELIGHTFUL NARRATIVE VOICE." smaller text boxes read "the sheer range of the range of character narrations in this book is impressive and so fun" and "we got teen talk we got litfic prose we got monsters narrating we got ordinary people." there are also three quotes from various stories, set in speech bubbles:

“Everyone’s cousin Tanya says she’s done it with an elf dude. That doesn’t mean shit.”

“And all of these things were true, and simultaneous, and all of them were occurring only a moment before she might be killed, and rise again.”

“At first, the plants seemed quite innocuous, and Ephraim watched them pile up on the windows of the little greenhouse with mild curiosity.”

there is also an edited image of the "she doesn't have the range" meme, reading, "they have the range."

slide five: the top of the slide reads "4. DON’T LIKE ONE-OFFS? NO PROBLEM!" the bullet points beneath read:

do you prefer your short stories unrelated to each other? completely tonally variant?

SNR has got that!

do you prefer your short stories interconnected? do you like recurring characters? do you want to see… characters from OTHER yves. projects?

SNR has got that too!

smaller text boxes read "Red and Eliza from Forest Castles are there!" and "maybe avner too. i'm not allowed to say"

there is also a picture of hannah montana's "best of both worlds" album.

slide six: the top of the slide reads "5. THERE ARE NEW STORIES IN IT!" the bullet points beneath read:

already an SNR fan? already have a copy? you haven’t yet read the new content!

THREE new stories

what if the alien abductee you were interviewing had questions… for you?

what if you had to love-potion your crush… for someone else?

what if you had to come out to your date… AS A MONSTER?

there are clipart images on the side of an alien spaceship, a bubbling potion, and a lit candle.

slide seven: word art with a glowing green shadow reads "max's favorite stories :)". each story blurb goes with a corresponding image:

Six Hours Under: the woman on the L train is crying, dead, and very very pretty. [clipart of a train]

Monsters and The Guy: there’s a guy in Arrivals. he’s being weird about it. [clipart of an airport]

The Hands and The Mouth: the story-speakers speak only in script. there are only a few of them left. [clipart of rolling waves]

Don't Feel Guilty: a teen’s plant collection starts to unnerve their father. [clipart of a leaf]

Blood Orange Tea: getting trapped at work with your crush is awkward even when you’re not a vampire. [clipart of iced tea]

slide eight: large text reads "THANK YOU. GO FORTH AND BUY SNR." in smaller text is the information paragraph from this post.

[can-i-see-your-passport-please]

A Collection of my Creations in the HLVRAI so far

Heyyy thought I should do this as a new pinned postttt

My asks are, unless they are closed, always open, and I'm always down to hear your thoughts and ideas and shit! If I didn't answer an ask, it's most likely because I didn't have the energy to answer it and it's now just sitting there and I cannot answer it because it would be awkward. But I am cherishing it <3

CHECK OUT MY FRIEND DIMONDS'S STUCK TOGETHER AU WHERE BENREY AND GORDON GET FUSED INTO A SILLY GUY NAMED BERDEY

hehehe anyway

All my HLVRAI fanart and writing in general is here on my art blog!

Here's a vampire AU I made! Twist to this is that Gordon's a vampire, Benrey's human and just weird as fuck. There's no real plot to this (though at the time of writing this post I do plan to write a fic or two), but @/winkyfaceanon has made two really sweet fics for this AU, check em out!

Here's a compilation I made with my friend Dimonds for all my reasons Gordon's a lil bit gay for Benrey, please skip the first 38 seconds I'm begging you. Oh, and if you're gonna leave a comment about how I'm Wrong, or if the video pisses you off, you can do this very simple thing called Just Stop Watching The Video (can you tell i've gotten annoying comments on this video)

Here's an older animatic of the bridge for the song Horror Show! This is what my first designs looked like btw fjndksjnfjknds

Here's three small and silly animatics <3

Here's a Frenrey animatic of the song uwu by Chevy! I still think this one's REALLY cute <3

Here's stuff I've made in Gmod! A lotta Frenrey, as you may expect from me at this point.

MY FANFICTIONS

These are listed in order of when I wrote them, and they take place in different continuities for the most part. Pretty much all of them are Frenrey, so if you don't like Frenrey you mayy not want to read it. Majority of my fics are oneshots, since I have low motivation jnsdkjfnds. I don't write smut (I'm literally sex repulsed asexual and a minor /silly), and don't tend to write hurt no comfort except for once, but I do write pretty heavy angst. Please read the content warnings for a lot of these.

I explicitly forbid any of my creative work from being fed into an AI in any way.

IF YOU SEND ASKS ABOUT MY FICS I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER

unnamed. Takes place post-canon. Benrey at this point has been alone for months, isolating himself after Xen and spiraling really badly. Then he leaves the house once aaand runs into Gordon. Reunion ensues. I didn't name it because I couldn't think of a name and it was my first fic. Read the content warnings.

You're still here, and you're beautiful to me. Takes place post-canon. Benrey respawns after Xen, and none of his injuries are healed. He then finds Gordon, who helps to take care of his injuries. I personally consider this one of my best works. There's things I'd change now, of course, but I still love it a lot. Read the content warnings.

as long as your heart continues to beat. Takes place during canon. Benrey's listening to Gordon's heartbeat after the betrayal. And then it stops. This one isn't beta read and I wrote it in like, a few hours on the fly, so it's not my best, but I like it.

Cuddles are the best cure for depression actually. Takes place post-canon. This is exactly what it says on the tin. Benrey's got depression and can't get out of bed, Gordon cuddles him. Short but sweet.

If ten million fireflies lit up the world as I fell asleep. Takes place post-canon. Gordon and Benrey are kinda in a relationship, and Benrey gets a package at the door that he's not letting Gordon see. In the middle of the night, Gordon gets to see what it is. This one's REALLY cute, and I really love it. It's fluffy and it's sweet.

all for the love of you. Saying this straight-up, READ THE CONTENT WARNINGS. Takes place post-canon. Tommy finds a... note from Benrey that he wrote before Xen. I have more complicated feelings towards this fic, I don't personally like it as much in retrospect and think I could've done much better on it, but I'm putting it here since it is still one of my fics. Read the content warnings, for the love of god.

Benrey gets drunk fic. Takes place post-canon. This is just a fluff fic I wrote for the third HLVRAI anniversary where Benrey's drunk and flirting with a very sober and very gay Gordon, who does not know how to cope with this.

do your job and keep them safe. Takes place during canon. This is... well, let's just say it's a reframing of HLVRAI from Benrey's perspective (at least, in align with my headcanons). Only the first thousand or so words are on Ao3, the rest are in Google Docs, as I made... choices that could only be made in Google Docs. I always link my Ao3 because it has the EXTREMELY necessary content warnings, which I couldn't include on the Google Doc. I personally think this is one of my best works, and if you are in a space where you can read it, please do, this over anything. Read the content warnings.

you're alone. and it's all your fucking fault. Benrey has respawned from Xen, in an apartment, and realizes that he is all alone and cannot be near his friends again. This is one of the only hurt no comfort fics I've written, and can serve as a bit of a prequel to that unnamed fic (if you'd like to see it that way). Read the content warnings.

[mistninja]

do you like reading fantasy? do you like magical swords, wizards and dragons? do you want to get into anime/manga but dont know how? well im a weeb and a fantasy nerd who has nothing better to do so here are some recs ig

Do you like the Cosmere for the convoluted magical systems and the creative ways the magic is used in fights? Watch Jujutsu Kaisen. First season has 24 episodes, there is one prequel movie (good place to start too) and a second season coming soon. You could also read the manga, but I personally think the anime is easier to follow and overall more enjoyable to me (on the other hand, the manga comes with Extensive notes on how the magic works so you might prefer that). Another good show is Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (on Netflix, 64 episodes).

Do you like the Cosmere for the interconnected large universe and The Lore(tm)? Get into Fate. You know how Cosmere fans loooove talking about timelines and where to start with the Cosmere? You can do that again with Fate, even more complicated this time! A good place to start would be either Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works or Fate/Zero. Both are on Netflix, UBW has 26 episodes and Zero has 25. You could go straight to the source material, the visual novels, but I haven't played them so I can't talk about them.

Do you like Realm of the Elderlings, or historical fantasy? Watch Vinland Saga. The first season has 24 episodes, second one is currently coming out weekly (close to finishing), and it is on Netflix. Haven't read the manga but it seems to have some really good art. Another option would be (I think) Berserk, but since I haven't read/watched that, I can't really say. SIDENOTE but if you like Black Sails you should also check out Vinland Saga im so serious. BS isnt fantasy but i needed to get that out there.

Do you like The Locked Tomb? This one is quite obvious but watch Revolutionary Girl Utena, it inspired the books *a lot*. It has 39 episodes, a movie and a manga, general consensus is that the manga is not very good so just watch the show. Look up trigger warnings. And you might also want to check out Puella Magi Madoka Magica (the original show has just 12 episodes, theres a lot of extra content but I have not seen/read the rest so i would say its not necessary).

Do you like an epic adventure and a giant world filled with amazing places to explore? Completely unironically you SHOULD read or watch One Piece. Fantasy fans already get into gargantuan book series with thousands of pages what is a thousand episodes to you? I assure you it is worth it. Hunter x Hunter is also good, I can't say much about it because I just started it recently.

More general recs under read more.

Little Witch Academia. Cute fluffy show about teenage witches. Some similarities with The Owl House on Disney.

Witch Hat Atelier. Manga only for now, follows a young girl who gets taken in as a witch's apprentice, has some darker elements.

Re: Zero. Guy from our world gets sent to another world and then dies a bunch of times. Psychological horror in a fantasy setting.

Akatsuki no Yona. Princess goes on an adventure to find legendary dragons and save her kingdom. Some romance.

Vanitas no Carte. Vampires in a steampunk setting. Gay (?)

Black Clover. Basically whatever you think Naruto is about, but shorter and more goofy. Boy with no magic wants to the greatest wizard of all time, gets beefy.

Ghibli movies: Kiki's Delivery Service, Ponyo, Princess Mononoke, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, The Castle in the Sky, The Cat Returns, Spirited Away. These movies are more on the magical realism / low fantasy side.

Noragami. Supernatural. Gods and spirits are real and walk among us, the story follows a god who has no followers and a girl who accidentally becomes half-spirit. Some cool fights. Really great music.

Shadows House. Creepy house where shadow people live, along with their "living dolls".

Dungeon Meshi. Manga with upcoming anime, havent read it but seems like a fun adventure with some horror elements (?) but mostly about cooking and monsters.

[egipci]

Bourbon Street Parade

They drove down to New Orleans looking to buy some hex bags from an old connection, but they were out of luck. A little girl, no older than eight years old, appeared in front of the door wearing green fairy wings, in her hand a magic wand with curly plastic ribbons coming out the end of it. She ran the ribbons through her fingers and looped them around and made a motion as if snipping them and craned her neck back and said Old Al was dead forever. Dad rubbed his eyes with the flat of his palm, his mouth down-turned, his jaw clenched. She stretched her arm out and pointed her wand towards the river. She said you better look for some other guy but watch out for all the phonies.

Thanks, Dean said, and held out his family-size bag of tootsie rolls. She shook her head. He wagged his eyebrows and rattled the bag like, you sure? This is the good stuff. Two for five at the gas station this morning but he was already down to a third of a bag and this made him feel very generous. Again she shook her head. He made a show of unwrapping a candy and throwing it into his mouth. She gave him a disgusted look and took off.

O-kay, he said. He scraped the taffy coating his teeth with a fingernail, struggled some to get out what was stuck between them while he thought carefully about touching Dad’s elbow or offering some other comfort. He swallowed, fake-chocolate taste thick at the back of his throat, and looked at his dad and Dad sighed and slapped his shoulder and said let’s go and started walking down Conti, leaving the car behind, always knowing what to do, walking fast like he did in huge strides that you had to jog a little to keep up with him for five, six blocks, past blow-up ghosts in front of homes covered in mesh cobwebs and kids inside them screaming, the street narrowing in, the sidewalks getting busier. Out of nowhere Dad crossed the street and there was a beep and Dean waved his hand at the guy behind the wheel and there were startled angry apologetic looks exchanged and Dean turned again looking for his father and caught sight of his turning left on Bourbon and called out after him and rounded the corner, his hand on his dead phone heavy and useless in his pocket, his eyes trained on Dad’s shoulders, so far behind him now and between them fat Batman in gray suit and hard plastic cowl, Michael Jackson who couldn’t moonwalk, Dolly Parton with foam tits and cowboy hat, chick waddling in mermaid tail, sexy nurse, squad of stormtroopers, preacher raging into a microphone, Ghostface, Black guy in a shoulder-length brown wig and beige-colored bathrobe, three little kids drumming on upside-down buckets, vampire with plastic fangs and red running down her chin and down her neck and her sternum artfully between her boobs, innumerable sweaty costumeless midwestern couples drinking liquor in plastic cups, murder victim with axe sticking out his head, scarecrow, Neo in leather duster, sorority girls in heels, fun-loving gay dudes, Pennywise and closely-related generic clown, a second and third Ghostface, beer sweetness in the air and gumbo and a big manly hand on his ass squeezing and Eagles cover band singing the full moon is calling the fever is high and the — corner of St. Ann where Dad turned right and disappeared into one of the courtyards or up into the rare green aurora flashing over the Mississippi a hundred yards away with its sewage smell, leaving Dean forever with his candy and choices to make like does he go back where he came from or does he walk miles up and down Decatur for the ghosts to watch and laugh from their balconies or does he ask for a phone to please call my dad and even worse than that the humiliation of asking where are you where should I meet you why would you leave like that should I go back to the car?

But then he heard the shouting. A large-sounding, murderous-sounding man was cursing insanely. His voice echoed and spilled out into the street. Dean pushed in a narrow metal gate that led into a poorly-lit path that led into a creole courtyard just as Dad turned the corner on his way out and said found you and just as Dad turned the corner Dean made some embarrassing girlish sound and threw himself back against the wall, gasping wildly, his heart rabbiting, hopped up on high-fructose corn syrup, threatening to bust out through his ribs. Pressed his hand to his chest to keep it in place. Whatever misery Dad saw on his face made him grin wide and sharp. Across from Dean he leaned against the wall. Only three feet between them now. But Dad tugged on his jacket, pulled him closer. Dean tripped over his feet, into Dad's chest, held on to Dad's arms for balance. Dad said, Here you go, laughing. He held a cloth pouch in his hand, tried to fit it in Dean’s right pocket but found it full of candy wrappers. He tsked as they fell soundlessly to the ground and said, gonna make yourself sick bud, slow and deep and pitying, teasing, hot in that eye-prickling way. He pulled Dean’s jacket open and left the pouch and its mysteries inside the inner pocket then his hand on Dean’s chest.

I was right behind you, Dean said, belly swirling with taffy and four whole months since he’d last had Dad’s hands on him.

I know, dude.

I found you.

I know, Dad said, huge careful hands cradling Dean’s skull. He said hey come here, and his hot open mouth was on Dean’s skin and his beard scratching and his teeth and he tilted Dean’s face up finally and then there was nothing for it. Dean closed his eyes.

[princess-dirt]

Long Rant, please ignore... or don't

Growing up, my mom would tell me how handsome I was, how I'd have to be careful with girls because of how many I'd have to deal with. She told me this as early as elementary school.

Of course, she couldn't have been more wrong. I grew up with undiagnosed adhd and likely autism. I had social anxiety and horrible self-image issues. I never cared how I looked, but hated how I looked. I was socially awkward and could barely talk to girls. That's to say very few girls ever approached me.

I was thinking about this, and only now have I really connected the dots. The patriarchy and heteromormativity of the world fucking sucks. Like I grew up and every good thing about my appearance that my mom would say never materialized. No wonder I suffer so bad from self-image issues. I had my mom pushing it down my throat that I should have a girlfriend, but also to be careful of girls, but also that they'd be all over me, but also that I have to make the first move since I was a guy.

I think the worst part about all of this is that when I was in high school, the lack of any romantic relationship really fucked with me mentally. I already had a pretty shit childhood, so it was frosting on the cake. It got so bad I fell down the alt-right pipeline and was a few months away from becoming an incel.

But I watched MLP. This show was the first time I was ever really taught empathy, and it changed my life. Fast forward senior year, and I've been experimenting with how I look. I have alt and queer friends, I'm learning about myself.

I spill my heart out to my mom about everything and how trapped and hopeless I felt about relationships. Like 20 minutes she listened to me. I was crying and desperate for any bit of advice from my parent.

"So are you gay?" My mom asks sounding almost annoyed.

Which leads to me begging her to listen to me and to take what I am saying seriously.

"Well, how do you think I feel?" She says now sounding angry.

This same conversation happens a half dozen more times. Each time I become more desperate for any hint my mom cares at all.

"You just need to approach them and be nice."

"You should try harder."

"Are you calling me a bad mother?"

"I didn't raise you this way!"

Now, both of my parents are brainrotted by Fox News. My dad is mentally ill while being the most toxic man ever, never being emotionally available for me ever. My mom still thinks I just need to try harder and that girls will just throw themselves at me. Her state of delusion is horrifying tbh.

It sucks because they will both die never having known their son. They'll die never knowing I use he/they, never knowing I'm pansexual, never knowing I crossdress, never knowing I cosplay, never knowing me, the pansexual nuero divergent femboy. And I don't feel bad over it.

I know my story about this kind of shit is way more common that I'd like. I've seen tik toks with very similar events I've mentioned with 100s of 1000s of likes and comments.

To think a generational gap could have such destructive consequences. My only solace for this is that I was able to overcome their horrible parenting.

It seems to me that as each day passes, the only way I'll remember my parents when they are long since dead is the mental scars they've left. I hate it, but I love my parents. They tried their best, but their best failed me and my 3 brothers horribly.

Anyways, back to watching Vampire Dormitory. It's a gay ass anime about some twink and a vampire.

Edit: finished episode one, the Twink was girl. I feel so betrayed.

[rollercoasterwords]

hi rae how are uu!!!

i was reading about mulvey and the female gaze and i remembered you saying something about how it pushes bioessentialist agendas but i don't remember what u said exactly so do you mind sharing a piece of ur mind about this again

also!!!!! i've read captive prince with ur influence and then read ur laurent's pov rewrite and god!!!!! it was so so good it brought me to tears and made me laugh out loud and scream into my pillow at times... the first book didn't stick out to me that well but afterwards?? their dynamic is everything i was missing in life. also reading the first book in laurent's pov was an otherworldly experience, him getting surprised to see damien isn't the definition of all things evil like he thought ahhhh u captured him perfectly i think

also read all for the game series (saw a fanart of neil in ur blog and it kickstarted me getting into yet another fandom) and i was like wtf is this and then later i was like wtf is this but in a positive way. now the characters are all my babies (except kevin like yes i understand his struggles and all but i still see that guy as a little bitch which is a bit ironic when andreil are the biggest bitches to exist but still)

also binge-watched iwtv and goddddd gays with communication problems who happen to be vampires i love them all sm <333 do u have a fav character i wonder AND any thoughts on the last episode?

anyways i hope life is treating you kindly much kisses and good wishes <3

hi i'm good hope ur doing good as well!! such a fun message hang on let me take this piece by piece...

mulvey's male gaze the bane of my existence lmao...yeah the entire theory is rooted in bioessentialism. basically mulvey is basing her theory in freud who assumes that the categories 'father' 'mother' 'son' and 'daughter' are stable + static & therefore assumes that the categories 'male' and 'female' are stable + static biological categories which engender inherently different psychic/interior qualities. mulvey's entire argument hinges on the idea that men will be categorically unable to relate to/empathize with/see themselves as women onscreen--this argument begins to break down when you start asking questions like 'how is mulvey defining 'men' and 'women'? is she defining them, or is she assuming that they're static biological categories? are they static biological categories?' also i disagree with the idea that people are categorically unable to identify with characters across sex and/or gender & think it's kinda dumb tbh. to be fair, mulvey's theory was meant to apply to a pretty specific context and has largely been taken out of that context in ways that are very annoying but not necessarily her fault; still, when the original theory is so rooted in bioessentialism i don't really find any of it useful.

anyway. moving on to the fun stuff captive prince omg!! so glad u enjoyed the series & my own take on laurent...it was SO fun trying to get inside his head & imagine what would have been going on in there i love him so much <3 <3 tricky to write tho bc i was definitely trying 2 walk the line of like. not diminishing/excusing laurent's cruelty while simultaneously showing why he acts the way he does in the first book...abuse as cyclical etc...

and aftg lol such a trip...wtf is honestly an accurate response it's a wild ride but so much fun <3 & not liking kevin...valid honestly i like him but i also don't care abt him that much compared 2 the other characters...u should read 'the sunshine court' at some point it's abt jean & it will probably make u like kevin even less lmao

& finally. iwtv!!!!!!!! i've been obsessed w that show the past few weeks i just binge watched season 1 & have now been watching season 2...SO fucking good omg. personally my favorite character is. armand <3 idc what he does they could never make me hate him...last episode was soooo good claudia is my second-fave character just a smidge after armand i truly think her story is probably the most interesting + tragic out of all of them like. makes me feel a bit crazyinsane thinking abt it BUT her & madeleine. oh my goddddd that scene broke me. don't have many more coherent thoughts currently other than wailing + tearing my hair out etc but i am having a great time nonetheless...

anyway thank u 4 the message love catching up life has been busy but mostly treating me kindly hope it's doing the same for u!! <3

[desertfangs]

How do you feel what the show is doing to the characters? Especially to Daniel?

Listen, I don't love it. But before I go on, let me just say this is my only my opinion and I'm not trying to steal your joy if you do! The show just doesn't work for me. If you want to know why, read on. Otherwise, feel free to scroll on past and don't let me yuck your yum. The first thing I heard about the show was actually that they were making Daniel an old man and it was going to be second interview and I was immediately wary. I mean, a second interview might neat but why does it have to be a mortal Daniel conducting it? Changing Daniel's story that much meant that Devil's Minion--the real, true-to-book Devil's Minion--could never happen. Armand's whole character arc in that section is learning to love and accept that he deserves loves and making the decision to turn and not lose Daniel. Daniel's whole arc is wanting immortality, falling desperately in love with an immortal, and finally accepting that he cannot have it and is willing to die at peace in said immortal's arms. None of that happens if Daniel is old now, end of story. No matter what the show does with flashbacks, whether or not it gives them time together than TV!Daniel has forgotten--forcibly or otherwise--that story is irrevocably changed.

But the trailer looked great!! I was willing to give it a chance. I'm also a huge fan of Lestat and Louis/Lestat was my first and formative ship in this fandom so I was willing to hear it out and see what story it was trying to tell. I figured yeah, it sucks that they've changed my favorite guy but maybe the rest of it will be good! I watched every single episode. But sadly, it just didn't work for me.

None of the characters feel like their book counterparts to me. Of course, your mileage may vary on that score, but to me, they don't have anything in common: their personalities, their motivations, their goals (such as we are given them, which I feel is quite lacking)... none of it lines up to me with the characters I've known and loved for so long. Louis is telling the story and I don't feel like I understand him in the show very well. Lestat is loathsome and hateful and doesn't even have a care for Claudia. Why is Armand pretending to be human? What game are they playing?

For Daniel in particular, Young Daniel seems lackluster and bored, trolling gay bars to score drugs and disinterested in his interview project, when in the book, Daniel the Reporter Boy is passionate about it, curious about people and their stories, respectful and gently prodding. TV!Daniel is angry and aggressive, rude and pushy. (The flashback bar scene in particular really felt like it lacked a complete understanding of what makes these characters tick, and then we got the Rashid reveal and it's like.. OK sure, but why should I care? Who is this guy?)

I don't recognize these characters or how they relate to each other. Add to that the way the timeline was totally changed and the fact that the lore feels very Generic TV Vampire rather than Ricean, and it's just not my bag.

I'm happy for all of the people who love it! I just cannot join you.

Thank you for the ask, anon, I have no idea if this is the answer you were hoping for and I'm sorry if not.

[jvstheworld]

The Buffy Re-watch: S2E6 (part 1)

Halloween

I have never gone pumpkin picking. Halloween isn't a big thing for me, not even as a kid.

Vampire videoing Buffy, should have checked your batteries before you left home.

Buffy is resourceful.

Other vampire just slinking off into the night before he can get caught.

Angel on a date. He is trying.

So Cordy is back dating Devon now?

Cordy and Angel do get on, and get better later when the spin-off happens.

Awww, Angel looks like a sad puppy when Buffy leaves.

Halloween is a no go for vampires? That doesn't ring true for every Halloween episode.

Larry is an asshole. His behaviour is him trying to overcompensate for the fact the he is closeted gay guy trying to avoid suspicion from the other people around him. It's the 90s, and let's face it, it wasn't great to be gay in high school. After he comes out he is a lot nicer to people because he doesn't have to keep up the pretence that he is some macho, woman loving dude. It's called character growth and I am here for it.

Xander, there is nothing good about getting beaten up. If your ego is so fragile that you won't let your friend, who is a girl, help you then that's a you problem and you need to fix it. Also, Larry was talking trash about Buffy, she definitely gets to bust in and scare him off.

'She's not his type.' Yeah, Cordelia is so not Angel's type, right now. But put them in a new show, give Angel a personality and Cordelia some character development where she dedicates her life to helping others, and in a few years she will be.

'It would be wrong' let's steal from Giles anyway. Also, how many times does this phrase get repeated by Buffy throughout the show?

Cross referencing is not a hobby, Giles.

Buffy panicking to distract Giles, so she has to resort to telling him that Jenny called him a babe. She probably didn't in front of students. Then you have Willow shaking her head in slight disappointment that Buffy had to do that. I love it though. At least Giles buys it and made him happy.

Cordy really has no idea Angel is a vampire. When does she actually believe them?

Yes, the point of Halloween is the free candy.

Ethan seems so charming. Makes for a good bad guy, yet he only appears in 4 episodes: this one, 'The Dark Age' in two episodes time, 'Band Candy' in season 3, and 'A New Man' in season 4.

Spike being smart by analysing how Buffy fights so he can be better prepared for later. He likes her too. This is just amping up his obsession over her.

Part 2 tomorrow.