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jacquelinemerritt · 1 year

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Dragon Ball Z: Abridged - Christmas Tree of Might Review

Originally posted on December 25th, 2015

Goku starring in a Christmas special somehow makes perfect sense.

It is incredibly strange to me the ease with which Team Four Star blends the themes characteristic of a Christmas special with the universe of Dragonball Z. The idea that Goku would be the most stalwart defender of Christmas in the universe works surprisingly well, and making it so the Tree of Might sucks the Joy of ChristmasTM from the earth instead of its energy is a change that I didn’t question for a second.

I’m also reminded of Princess Snake, and I see this film as a good indicator of the growth experienced by Team Four Star between then and now. Back then, they wrote an entire episode based on the (unfunny) joke that Princess Snake and Solid Snake share the same name, so why not have her voice be a (albeit decent) David Hayter impression? With this film though, Team Four Star has taken the strange concept of a Dragonball Z Christmas film and built upon that in every possible aspect.

Part of the success of this is that they go out of their way to imbue every aspect of the film with signifiers of the Christmas season; the inclusion of Christmas music at every opportunity is one of the tricks they use most often, and their use of a metal rendition of “Deck the Halls” as the theme for the destruction of the earth is particularly clever.

All of the villains being “misfit minions” of Christmas is a great touch as well, and though the casual mentions of animal rape and child molestation tip slightly over the line of good taste, it’s still made very clear that these villains are just the type of despicable who would wish to destroy Christmas.

Except for Turle, that is. His story of the injustice of Freeza Day is just unfortunate enough to raise the question of whether or not we have a right to celebrate joy and peace when many around us are suffering, and Team Four Star wisely leaves that question unanswered. Even the reveal that Santa didn’t visit planet Vegeta out of fear for his own safety calls into question our willingness to actually spread the love we preach during this holiday.

Another significant moral question is raised when Gohan passingly mentions the rise of depression and suicides during the holidays, as he makes fun of Yamcha for his obsession with material possession causing him to feel destitute. Who’d have thought that a comedic adaptation of a silly Japanese anime would raise such significant questions about our holiday?

Rating: 4.5/5

If you enjoyed this review, consider supporting me on Patreon.

Stray Observations

I love that Krillin’s wish for a kickass Christmas tree is the reason for Turle and his gang’s arrival.

King Kai: “Are we laughing at Yamcha, ‘cause I’m always up for that.”

Gohan: “Santa’s just gonna bring me books again.”

Chi Chi: “He brings you what you like, and what do you like?”

Gohan: “I like books!”

Gohan: “Don’t talk s*** about Santa!”

Jinga: “Jinga!”

Beru: “And Beru!”

Tien: “F***ING WEABOOS!”

“This is so non-canon it hurts.”

Goku: “What’d you get for Freeza Day?”

Turle: “He blew our planet up!”

Merry Christmas, everyone!

#dragon ball z abridged #dragon ball z #team four star #dbza #film criticism #dbza christmas #am i jumping ahead a little?#absolutely #but i couldn't resist posting this one on Christmas :)#I think this review is solid #and I love Christmas Tree of Might so much #it was actually my introduction to Dragon Ball Z: Abridged #so thanks to you friend who showed me this great episode of a fantastic series #also!#happy Chanukah #merry christmas #happy holidays #and a very wonderful time to all of you!

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highfantasy-soul · 2 months

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Things I LOVED in NATLA Episode 7 - The North

Lt Jee actually being worried for Zuko!!!!

And Iroh tenderly bandaging Zuko's head 🥺

Zuko desperate to make sure his father doesn’t truly think he's turned against him!!!!!

A FANTASTIC set-up for his eventual ACUTAL turn against his father

Zuko genuinely thanking Lt. Jee 😢

And aaggghhhh!!! Zhao being a tricky slimey mf

This is a slick way to get Zuko being blown up without the pirates - though they're fun characters, I think this set-up enhanced the themes they were exploring in the season more

TEAM AVATAR!!

So cute that Aang excitedly tells his friends he made a connection with Zuko - Sokka is unimpressed while Katara has hope that people can turn out to be good.

Agna Qel'a!!!!

It looks GORGEOUS! And love that it has a name now!!

Apparently it was given a name in one of the books, but they never did name it in the show, so I'm glad they did it here

I don't even care that they know it's the Avatar right off bat and they're ready to welcome them in - it was cool as shit flying over the city on Appa

Maybe they had scouts out that saw Appa flying and brought news to the city, same as the scouts who saw the Fire Nation fleet - I'll accept that

Them treating Aang like a weapon rather than a person 😡

It's something that comes up a lot in the series and I'm glad they aren't shying away from it

Lol Katara's sibling jibing at Sokka staring at Yue 🤣

I love these little sibling moments - they're just so cute

And Sokka now hard-core staring at the ground instead of at Yue because Katara said he looked like a weirdo doing that 😅

Zhao's overacting at how pissed he is 🤣

Then his 'omg I can yes and this. I can SO yes and this!' as Iroh tells him what he 'think's happened

Oooohhh Iroh's understated insults at Zhao's qualifications

And Zhao's comeback about no record of failure unlike Iroh😐 bitch, that still doesn't make you qualified!

More Azulaaa!!!!

I really love this added storyline to see exactly why Azula is the way she is

It's great to see that her place as next-in-line isn't a shoe-in here - she's desperate to show her father that 'she's the one' and will do anything to get there

Sokka's heart eyes 😍

Stewed sea prunes 😭😭😭

"It tastes like home" 😢

I like this intro to Pakku - like with Sokka, they're not doing a comical level of sexism, they're making it more realistic

YUE IS A BEEENNDDEERR!!!!!!

Also, using it for the most important things: dessert

Sokka's absolutely abysmal (bet very endearing) interaction attempts with Yue 😅

Her little fake gasps as he keeps saying the wrong thing, but smiling because she knows what he means, she's just teasing him 🥺 incredibly adorable

Love that they have a conversation that actually has substance!

Don't hate me, but in the cartoon, they never had a substantive conversation ONCE. It was just Sokka flirting, Yue giggling, then Yue freaking out and running away - rinse and repeat like, 5 times in the course of 3 episodes.

Omg Hahn isn't a dick!!!

I like the more mature tone they've taken in the live action - they can have jokes, but for serious topics like…idk, a battle against the Northern Water Tribe being genocided, they make the characters take it seriously

GOOOOODDDD the adults expecting Aang to be a master strategist and offensive weapon!!

This actually makes sense that they'd believe he could do it - Aang is the culmination of all the past Avatars, so they'd assume he has all their knowledge and power.

The poor kid just got out of his iceberg, though!!!

"Airbending is primarily a defensive discipline"

You tell them, Aang!!

"But you're not JUST an airbender" :( don't bring logic and reality into this, Arnook

"I did it with the help of my friends 😊" sweet baby Aang

And here's Pakku, telling Aang what a lot of watchers were frustrated about this season: uuhh maybe you should have been focused on your training

While that's a legit comment, I think the live-action showed why Aang didn't pretty well

Love love LOVE that we're introduced to healing with respect rather than the distain it was shown in the animated series

Healing is a wonderful and beautiful skill and I'm glad we got to see Katara interested in it (and it being used) rather than Katara sadly moping into the igloo filled with children learning healing

Sometimes, when people try to make things less sexist, they end up making it more-so. I think that happened with the animated series where healing was actually put up in conflict with combat - where combat was clearly shown as the 'better' skill and healing was 'stupid and bad, we don’t want to do that'. The live-action showed that healing is an important and powerful skill, the only issue comes when you aren't ALLOWED to do anything else. Healing itself isn't the issue, the fact the women are kept from combat IS the issue.

Nice Hahn and Sokka fishing for info about Yue

Avatar Kuruk RESPECT!!!!

LOVE Yue getting more character here!

She can pop into the spirit world! It makes so much sense with her having part of the moon spirit inside her!

The live action fleshed her out soooo well!

Poor Sokka not understanding AT ALL why someone would want to go to the Spirit World for fun 😂

"Don't do that. Don't make it less than what it is"

Such an important message for EVERYONE. You don’t have to have the most tragic of backstories for your trauma to be important. This isn't the oppression olympics - we aren't doing the whole 'well someone else has it worse so you can't complain' bullshit.

Everyone has hurt in their lives and everyone deserves to have their hurt taken seriously and healed. It isn't 'strength' to pretend it's nothing - it's strength to face it and accept that it was important, not something to shove under the rug

Yue reminding Sokka about what makes him special - his care for his friends! He's not a selfish guy - just because he wasn't the best leader or warrior when he was 13 doesn't mean he has nothing to offer the world

"Hahn is everything a girl could want. But he is not the boy of my dreams" 😭😭😭

"Being the Avatar means being the one who bears the burden: alone."

The thing is: like in the animated version, this advice MAKES SENSE! But it's how you USE the advice that makes the difference

No, you can't put all the weight of responsibility on your friends, but neither can you do it without any help - or without caring for others. It's very much advice coming from pain: all the Avatars got hurt because they DIDN'T abandon their friends and so they're giving a skewed version of the advice onto Aang to try to spare him the pain they went through.

It's Aang's job to find the balance

Sokka's fish carving that Yue thinks is a bear 😭😭😭

I wanna see it, props department!!!!

Yeess!! Katara's first confrontation with Pakku!

I like how she still tries to lead with diplomacy, making her case, and Pakku has 'reasonable' excuses not to let her fight

Instead of him being cartoonishly sexist, he's much more realistic giving 'logical' reasons for Katara not to be in combat, but she stands up anyways because she knows it's wrong.

I can see how some might find Aang not wanting Katara to fight to be jarring, but this is in line with the animated series

When they're going into particularly dangerous missions, Aang does have a tendency to try to do it himself and tell Katara to sit this one out - he does it in The Winter Solstice: Part 2.

He's just been told a past life's love was killed because he didn't keep her out of his fight, he has no idea how he's going to win this battle, and he's realizing that he does see Katara as someone incredibly important to him. It's in line with who Aang is to try to keep her safe and away from the battle

Zhao coming up with nicknames for himself 😑

Iroh straight up calling Fire Nation 'info' propaganda!!

While some people could see this as 'treason', when you're in positions of power in high-control groups, you KNOW it's propaganda - you HELP CREATE the lies and when people are going to do something stupid (like attack the North without a solid plan), you let them know that they're being stupid if they're going to make battle plans based on the lies you've helped spread.

Zhao and his dumb bitch destiny 🙄 he's such a great villain - he's one who's bought into his own lies

"The plan is to prove my father wasn't wrong to trust me with this mission. The plan is to go in and capture the Avatar once and for all. The PLAN is to reclaim what is rightfully MINE!! 😤" - "So, no plan? 😐" - "I'm working on it uncle 🥺"

This exchange = gold. Pure gold.

"It's almost as if he's working for someone else - someone much smarter"

WOOOOWWW Iroh, throw that shade a little more, why don't ya 🤣

Though I LOVE that they're giving Azula her brainy due - she's smart and she's the one not to be underestimated.

AZULA'S LIGHTNING!!!!!!!

Love how she stood up to her father, but because she was able to 'prove' her strength, he respected it rather than punished it

"Set me loose" AAAAHHHHHHH

SUPPORTIVE BROTHER SOKKA!!!

Love how matter of fact Katara is "I'm going to challenge Pakku to fight" - just like that. She's decided, so it's going to happen.

Sokka admitting Katara was right 😭😭😭😭😭

"Who's talking sense? What I'm trying to say is: go kick his ass" FUCK YEAH THAT'S RIGHT!!!!

Aang trying to go forward and help Katara, but Sokka holds him back

Love the sibling solidarity!!

The fight is almost beat for beat the one from the animated series!!!

I love that the live action knew exactly which sequences to put in almost 1-1 from the animated - this fight being one of them

"Is that all you got?!?!" FUCK YEAH!!

"They'll just say I lost" "Did you?"

The fact that it wasn't just Pakku's opinion that would change everything - Katara's actions inspired everyone else, even if Pakku didn't want to change his decision.

Change isn't made by changing one man's mind - it's about standing up to them and inspiring others (like in the Imprisoned storyline) to stand up too

Even inspiring Aang to realize that the conclusion the other Avatars came to from their pain was wrong - that Katara was right and that EVERYONE gets to choose whether to fight or not for themselves

Avatars aren't the only ones who worry about protecting people - it's a human, family thing, not just a mystical force of balance thing

Only Aang can write his own story - not anyone else.

This is a great through-line for the whole series where everyone has expectations put on them and they have to decide themselves who they want to be

Don't eat the sooty snow, Momo!!!!!

"Ok, time to fight"

I like that we end on the fire nation ships arriving: next episode is going to be THE BATTLE

[Masterlist of my NATLA thoughts]

#natla #natla positivity #netflix avatar #atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar netflix #live action avatar #yue #sokka #katara #aang #iroh #zuko

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wanderlust-in-my-soul · 5 months

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Top 5 shows that you enjoyed giffing this year

Shan, thank you for this question! 💚

Now I can come up with five more fantastic shows I enjoyed giffing this year, what makes things way more easy for me to decide on the shows! 😊

Basically, I liked every series I giffed... those I stopped giffing were the ones I lost interest in over the episodes. But there were some series which stood out for me, be it because of the story itself or because of how visually pleasing the show was.

So for this answer I'm gonna start with one of the most beloved shows of mine this year:

I Feel You Linger In The Air

This show has everything for me. The love, the romance, the most saddest fuck this year, the intimacy, the cinematography, the story, everything was pure beauty and I enjoyed watching every piece of it so much. I am still waiting patiently for the special episode and I will wait for it till the end of my days.

In second I present you another beautiful series with two people who desperately needed to talk to each other about their true feelings:

Tokyo in April is...

On a technical aspect, it was fun coloring this show. I like to destroy filters and make the sets look more natural. And with this show it felt like they used all the yellow or all the blue and sometimes it was impossible to make it look good, but other times I felt really good with my coloring. The other side was my personal and @nieves-de-sugui's love for this story that made it so enjoyable to gif the scenes we loved the most. Thank you again for all your requests! It really made the experience of this show a very special one!

Next in line is a show I didn't know I would love as much as I do. Like Last Twilight I went into this show without great expectations and was blown away by its perfection:

Be My Favorite

The lovestory of Kawi and Pisaeng was one of the most beautiful written stories for me this year. From the first moment on I loved Kawi and his awkward and depressive ass. Yes, the drunken kisses weren't my favorites, but at least he finally came clear with his emotions and those two made the best couple and I lost it, when the series showed us how they live their happily couple-life. I want that with all of my favorite couples. The beginning of a relationship is always beautiful in those shows, but the life with the person you love the most and who loves you the most is something I really want to see from time to time. They will forever live in my heart!

Without many words we come to number four:

Kiseki: Dear To Me

Taiwan and its lightning! Those gifs are so satisfying to make and to look at. The camera work and angles made those scenes so fucking beautiful and overall I enjoyed giffing this series very much. I could play with my coloring without ruining the scene too much, because it was overcolored from the beginning. And it felt good to clear those scenes up a little bit. A plus was the fact that I loved AiDi's and Chen Yi's kissing scenes and watching them doing exactly that over and over again wasn't the worst 😅

I end this top five which is a secret top ten with a series that touched many of us with its great storytelling:

The Eighth Sense

JaeWon was the most depressed, most precious character for me this year. I thanked the series to show therapy sessions, it gave depression and trauma a face and him punching his "friend" was so fucking satisfying to watch! Sometimes it felt like a dream far away and other times it felt way too real.

Ask me Top 5 BL Anything from 2023

#bl game #ask game #anything bl 2023 #bl drama #bl series #i feel you linger in the air #ifylita #shigatsu no tokyo wa #tokyo in april is...#be my favorite #kiseki: dear to me #the eighth sense #thank you for this ask! 💙

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absolutebl · 1 year

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This Week in BL - Disappointing Doom

Feb 2023 Wk 3

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

Ongoing Series - Thai

My School President (Fri YT) ep 12fin - Them openly dating and flirting with each other (finally) while keeping it “secret” was hilarious. No surprise they got outed tho. The whole “coming out homophobic teacher” sequence was very extra but suited this show. And ending with prom could not be more YA. Plus smiley kisses!

CONCLUSION?

GMMTV gave us a classic high school set Thai BL with tropes like messy boys singing their feelings that was Love Sick for the modern age with all the gentle sweetness and pining ache, but none of the dated damaging tropes or issues. Yes, we’ve seen it all before, but this is me: I ADORE this shit. Who let my BL be this wholesome and funny? This show was fantastic, it’s only flaw was the singing (and that’s my baggage). My favorite GMMTV offering to date. 9/10 (could go as high as 9.5 on my more forgiving days)

Bed Friend (Sat YT, GaGa & iQIYI uncut) ep 2 of 8 - I’m ending my week with this one these days. I feel like this is an EXCELLENT life decision. King’s pining is WBL levels of EPIC. Uea’s ma may be the worst ma in Thai BL (and that’s some stiff competition.) Ah getting tested together, such a right of passage. I like King a lot, his attitude, life philosophy, the way he looks an Uea, everything. This show is GREAT.

Bed Friend extra sexy bits explained:

YouTube has the cut version with slightly less sexy content (this is what I’m mostly watching).

GaGa ALSO has the cut version, BUT they have “extra clips” with the uncut content, you’ll need to find and watch them separately.

iQIYI has the uncut version with the above mentioned extra sexy bits integrated back into the full episode.

Okay?

Okay.

Moonlight Chicken (Weds YT) eps 5-6 of 8 - The break up btw Wen & Alan was really hard to watch, both actors are so good. Speaking of good actors, where did GeminiFourth come from? Seriously? I love these characters almost as a much as TinnGun. Heart’s parents are EVIL. Told ya they’d kiss as this couple bf TinnGun. Back of head wrap ‘Kiss’ tho, haven’t seen one of those from Thailand in ages. Old school. And then Khaotung just broadsides us with PAIN. This is such an aces show, but it is A LOT.

Never Let Me Go (Tues YT) ep 11 of 12 - More cute BF intercut with agony. Holy role reversal dad butler! Otherwise a somewhat lackluster ep 11 of DOOM as dooms go, but I’m okay with that.

Chains of Heart (Sat iQIYI) 1-2 of 10 - This is a suspense thriller about smugglers, amnesia, and lost love. Haii is good (and gorgeous) in the lead but the story is choppy, disjoined, and confusing. May be intentional, bad writing, or the captions being particularly bad (or all 3). It’s an interesting and different start. Not good but interesting. It reminds me a little of Manner of Death only with better action sequences. But I’m not sold on it because MoD had MaxTul, and this... does not. Ep 2 did not improve matters. When Ken & Lue flirt it’s fine and the Thai food bits were fun. (Kao Soi is one of my fav northern dishes, I’m sad he didn’t get to finish it.) At the funeral, why are they all texting when it can be traced and they could just be talking to each other? Honestly, everybody behaves like an idiot in this show. So I guess this is a revenge narrative? I’m so confused. They pretty tho, so I’ll keep watching because I am weak, but if you can wait, I think this is one that’s gonna be better as a binge.

Our Winter (Thai & Korea YT & TikTok under ThaiMiniSeries) eps 1-7 of 14 - TutorYim microseries, told in vertical (TikTok) shorts. (Thanks to the BL spies for reporting in.) Cute Trope snippits but Korean is HARD to understand with a Thai accent. I’m not watching it with Eng subs and I’m not wild about this style short form but still - cute. Funny how they styled TutorYim so that they look slightly Korean - wardrobe and makeup wizardry.

Hit Bite Love (Sat YT) ep 6 fin - Degrassi Junior BL concludes in a very soap opera way, with new characters and new/extra drama. Trigger warning on the original trigger. The investigating cop was super hot tho. Can we give him a BL? Also I liked the final scene makeup tons. But honestly what a total mess. I don’t know what i just watched and neither does it. 3/10 (sorry babies)

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

HIStory 5: Love in the Future (Taiwan Weds Viki) ep 9 of 10 (or 17&18 of 20) - Kind of a filler ep and lackluster for a penultimate DOOM installment. But the HIStory franchise gets this way sometimes.

Jack o’Frost (Japan GaGa) ep 2 of 6 - I’m finding it a bit dull.

It’s Airing But ...

My Beautiful Man 2 (Viki & Gaga) - Because there are only 4 eps, I’m waiting to binge this.

Boyband ep 2 of 10 - Stopped airing on YouTube, and only available in Thailand & Japan. Not sure if they’re working a distribution deal or just fucking with us.

Destiny Seeker (Tues WeTV ) 10 eps - it’s not on any WeTV I can get ahold of. Bad Buddy the pulp rebirth meets Japanese handsome host club action. FairyGodBLer came through for me, but I’m collecting to binge just in case. It’s my new policy with the grey stuff.

Cafe In Love (Thai) 10 eps on Ch3+ - Thai pulp, about trying to save a coffee shop. Same as above.

Gossip

Thailand’s famous gay pink milk comes to Oakland, CA, USA. This amuses me greatly. And yes, next time I’m in the area, I’ll probably try to hunt it down. (What is Pink Milk?)

Kim Ji Woong is doing fine on Produce 101 5 Boys Planet. I agree with the pundits that he’ll likely make it through. (Yes, I think he’s a better actor than idol, and yes, we will mostly lose him from BL if he goes all in with whatever group results from this.) But does that matter when Peak Time is also airing? No, because Peak Time is MUCH better and more interesting show and it has Karam (Happy Ending Romance) fucking KILLING IT. You all know I love Leo’s voice but clearly VIXX-euphoria distracted me, because I had no idea Karam was such a stable vocalist. He’s insane and it’s fun to watch a 2nd gen fucking SERVE it up (have you ANY idea how hard Mirotic is to do LIVE?).

In case you missed it

Viki has acquired the airing rights to Advance Bravely. We can’t expect it to be much altered, but at least it will be legally available, and one hopes the subs will improve.

Viki added The Eighth Sense to their upcoming KBL roster, new one to me. “A university romance about the confusion often felt by college youth regarding life and love.”

KBL A Shoulder to Cry On AKA Comfort the Boy coming to Viki, March 13. (MUCH anticipated by me, this is a high school set hurt/comfort delayed by OMGEA X scandal.) This will be the first BL to star idols from the same group! Fingers crossed it’s good because this is a group that definitely needs BL’s support.

Next Week Looks Like This:

02/28 = Tin Tam Jai (Thai Gaga & iQIYI) 10 eps - Adorable Tin has a life-long dream to marry an older boy in his neighborhood, Park. Same production co as Coffee Melody & Ai Long Nhai. I'll likely binge it.

03/01 = The Promise, (Thai WeTV) 10 eps - friends-to-lovers, follow up to a previously aired miniseries Phupha | Nanfah. Because of this and the WeTV platform I likely won’t bother.

03/02 = All the Liquors (Korea Gaga & Viki) 8 eps - Liquor company rep and party boy Han Ji Yu buts heads with hot chef Park Ki Hoon, who doesn't drink.

03/02 = Heesu In Class 2 (Korea unknown prob Viki and/or Gaga) - A gay(er) version of Sex Education. I’m still not sure this one is actually happening.

03/03 = A Boss and a Babe (Thai YouTube) 12 eps - ForceBook in an office set boss/employee rom-com.

03/04 = Love Syndrome (Thai unknown prob iQIYI or Gaga) 10 eps - trailer, violent, hot/cold, hurt/comfort, amnesia. (Stars Frank formerly of FrankDrake.)

Full list of upcoming in March 2023 is here.

2023 forthcoming BL master post. (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED)

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

That tentative hand GOT me bad.

I love it when a character call’s out another character’s main characteristics. Very meta. (Moonlight Chicken.)

OMG hot cop!

Make up game ON POINT.

(Hit Bite Love.)

SO GOOD. (Bed Friend)

(last week)

Current Kpop(ish) earworm? SHAUN & Jeff Satur - Steal The Show, you should watch it ALL THE WAY to the end, just trust me. Have I ever led you astray?

No.

Don’t answer that.

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waitmyturtles · 6 months

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A little weekend update from my corner of drama world over here!

1) On the Old GMMTV Challenge front: I have my very last installment of my Bad Buddy OGMMTVC Meta Series dropping tomorrow morning! What a labor of love this series has been — it’s allowed me to see Bad Buddy in almost all the facets in which I’ve thought about it over this past year in which I’ve discovered Thai BLs, and to apply all the comparative lenses from the older shows I’ve previously consumed. It’s been a JOY, and huge thanks to those of you who have read along each of my mini theses! Tomorrow, I’ll meditate on the emotional openness that allowed Pran to move to Singapore, away from Pat, Dissaya, and Thailand. Stay tuned!

2) I have a very full slate of dramas going at the moment, and because I’m recovering from this GNARLY flu that I got (great job, flu shot), I am not committing to writing meta for every show. That being said, I hauled the first two episodes of The Sign last night; this is actually my first Idol Factory show, and first Billy show, and, uh — IT’S REALLY GOOD. Did NOT expect this. It’s not only coherent — the plot AND the acting are EXCELLENT, Billy and Babe have FANTASTIC chemistry, I love the tomfoolery of friend Yai, and Thongthai and Khem’s cute weirdness in these studly cop bods has me howling. I love this show! I’m so happy to support Saint in his next venture, and I’ll be coming up on Secret Crush on You soon for the OGMMTVC to get familiar with the early side of Idol Factory as well. I would like to see this dude Babe in more shows! He’s REAL good.

3) I’m also not writing about Bake Me Please, and I have to catch up on watching this, but thank goodness for short series that move move move, because I see we have a MingDean ShinPeach smooch in today’s episode, and, yay! The plot is a little whatever, but I think Guide’s underrated as an actor, because he and Ohm also have EXCELLENT chemistry.

4) My god, what’s coming out this week — the rest of Shadow, the premiere of Cherry Magic Thailand. Really wish I had time to watch Cooking Crush, but I’ll catch up sometime on that. The vital ones — Last Twilight, What Did You Eat Yesterday?, and my EOY watch of La Pluie — are filling my heart. Such good shows on.

We keep truckin’ — see you tomorrow for the end of the BBS OGMMTVC meta series!

#the bbs OGMMTVC meta series #drama accountability #the sign the series #the sign #bake me please

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bl-inded · 1 year

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Our skyy 2- Wrap Up

Since this is an anthology and I, being the simp that I am, have watched all of the original shows, I thought it'd be fun to rank all the episodes.

The thing is, even though I have watched all of the shows, my opinion on these episodes are very reliant on my opinions of the original show as well. Meaning if I loved the original show and the our skyy episode was meh, it might be ranked lower than shows I didn't feel so highly about, but the our skyy episode delivered. Anywho-

7. Sky in your heart (ep 3-4)

Tbh I wasn't the biggest fan of the original show, but this episode was very in tone with said show. It was overall, cute. The greenflags were greening with the communication and lack of jealousy. You go boys! Live your happiest life.

But I did miss the other pair of the show (idk if you can technically count it as this show since they were two 7 episode series, but I would have liked to see even a cameo from them). Good vibes. I liked it.

(what i didn't like in a side note is the chunky ring design)

6. My school president (ep 9-10)

To anyone who hasn't already, you havvvveee to go watch the original show. It is so sweet it will give you diabetes. And I loved the concept of this episode.

As a fanfic author I was mostly here for the validation that all our headcanons are canon. But, it felt like a highlight reel with roles reversed. Which is interesting but 2 episodes wasn't enough time to develop that story.

For what they attempted they did aight! I kinda wish we got something more post canon in their universe, happy cute boyfriends™, but yk. It's okay. More Fourth and Gemini always makes me happy. Plus the cast seemed to have fun filming it if the behind the scenes are any indication.

5. A boss and a babe (ep 11-12)

Listen, half the excitement of our skyy is missing these characters. So it was surely a choice by gmm to time this episode riiiighhhttt after the finale of the show.

That being said, this episode was pretty dang fun. Am I still mourning the loss of multiple unresolved storylines from the show they set up and literally forgot about- yes (Drake, you deserved better🤧). But considering our skyy 2 is the biggest "who took my FANFIC out of ao3 and into YouTube" plot ever, I'll overlook it.

This episode managed to do what neither enchanté nor abaab did- show me the appeal of forcebook. They are very cute in light-hearted settings. I'm yet to see them thrive in the drama, but only friends is happening soon... Soooooo

4. Never Let Me Go (ep 1-2)

Now thiss was a perfect soulmates AU for TV (or YouTube in this case) if I've ever seen one. We got the time travel, the drama, the classism all wrapped in a ball of all fluff and no angst. They understood the assignment.

Again. I missed my second couple (I am Perth Stan, I can't help myself. The 6 of us who demanded justice for Chopper, I see you!) But I didn't miss them too much, coz the premise was fun.

(I also loved the house set that they had!! I wanna go visit it if it's real!)

3. The Eclipse (ep 5-6)

These two episodes are single-handedly responsible for increasing the average number of kisses in Our Skyy. I wasn't even expecting this many? Even if it was basically just prep for Khao and First in Only friends, I'm still here for it.

It was also surprisingly an episode that caused a lot of debate about Akk and/or Ayan being out of character, which I didn't expect, but have my opinions on.

But overall, it was an extremely sweet episode with political and social commentary that the show had, but commentary lite. The locations were fantastic! I honestly just want more First and Khao in everything, please and thank you.

2. Bad Buddy x A Tale of a Thousand Stars (ep 13-16)

(please don't kill me)

Speaking of who took my fanfic out of ao3, OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD. I knewwww we can trust in P'Aof for delivering a story. BUT DID I EXPECT HIM TO PUT ALL MY FAVS IN THE SAME SCREEN AT THE SAME TIME???? What great times we're living in *sighs in bl*.

Watching EarthMix slip back into phuphatian was a pleasure. Ohm and Nanon are sooo awesome! I missed Pat and Pran so much. The crossover could have easily gone into the forced-for-fanservice territory, but they had a plot for it!🤌🏼

They brought back characters that felt like home. Even the conflicts were so lived in. It is self aware in what small things can blow out of proportion.

Watching Pat and Pran in their college years hiding their relationship after reading countless fanfics about it- just, tears. Thanks! I love them. I missed them. I'm living for this. I see why this was at the end. Worth all the hype and more.

Still screaming about this, and have been for two weeks. Will keep you updated on when or if I stop.

Buuuut the reason I didn't rank this at the top is because we didn't get enough bad buddy in the crossover. I loved both the shows, but i feel like pat pran were slightly overshadowed. I was lowkey cringing by the end too with the second atots recreation of the series!? Oh god. But we got a proposal! And the confirmation it's an open secret?!? And whatever tf it was that korn and wai were doing backstage🤡. So it was almost in the number one spot, it's just that I preferred my actual number one spot episode more.

1. Vice Versa (ep 7-8)

Did I expect vice versa to be this high on my list, nope. Did I fall and virtually adopt this kid as soon as he came on screen... Maybe👀. Are Jimmy and Sea climbing up on my couples i can't wait to see more of this yes- also maybe.

But even otherwise, I think this episode had the most solid and cohesive storyline. Everyone felt familiar and acted in character. They even wrapped up the whole random-kid-showed-up-at-our-front-door plot surprisingly well. Like if you watched the episode, they left very clear hints.

They even kept the colour theme (even though multi colour isn't technically a colour, would have gone with white or black maybe, but that's just me).

I did not expect this to be my number 1. Actually, i was barely even looking forward to this episode. But it was a pleasant surprise.

And I was shooketh, considering my biggest complaint about the original show was that they left too many threads loose.

Jimmy and Sea were so good! Got me even more excited to see them in Last Twilight (in P'Aof we trust).

***

Now that that is over (and if you're reading this far) can we talk about how many birthday plots there were??? I feel like every other week there was a birthday. Just confused about it, that's all.

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littleragondin · 8 months

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Rules: list 10 of your comfort shows and then tag 10 people

I've been tagged by @bengiyo, thank you! (っ˘ω˘ς )

- Doctor Who: Whatever my mood is, whatever the reason I need some comfort, there’s always one or two episodes of this one that will provide exactly what I need.

- Sense 8: Sometimes I just need to watch people connect, love, learn to understand, and help each other across the world to feel a little less alone a little less sad, and this one does that so beautifully.

- Batman the Animated Series (1992): This one is just a huge part of me. It birthed my love of Batman, super heroes, comic books, animation, and it stays my fave incarnation of the bat. Either in French or in English, this one is always here for me.

- Criminal Minds: I've always had a soft spot for procedural shows- i love a mystery of the week format with a team I can imprint on. So despite the copaganda of it all, I still love this one dearly, the team is one of my favorite and I can rewatch it endlessly.

- Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna: That show opened me up and put me back together when I watched it in february, and I find myself coming back to it often, putting on an episode here and there when I need to feel soft.

- Until We Meet Again: I know this one may not sound like a very comforting show at first glance, what with all the tragedy and sadness. But it’s full of hope, and things DO get better. It also has two fascinating families, great sets of siblings (as always, my weakness), and fantastic friendships. I just cherish it so much, I cry a lot but I always come out of it feeling warmed up.

- Takara kun to Amagi kun: This one did a lot of heavy lifting for me this year. It's soft and gentle, a little silly, it's short so I can watch it over a bad day... it's like a nice little desert and a great pick me up.

- Daria: There are days where nothing can make me feel better but that smart, acerbic, cynical teen and her surviving high school. I discovered this one once I was out of high school but I still feel very attached to Daria who reminds me very much of one of my best friends.

- Love Is More Than a Word: it may not be very well known, and it may have suffered a lot from censorship plot wise giving it a rushed end, but I love this little show beyond words. I adore bumbling magistrate Tao Mo who is so kind and gentle, his relationship with Gu She, it's funny and sweet and touching and they have a wedding at the end I just - I just love it.

- And then, I realized that while I rewatch stuff a lot, when I really need comfort I tend to skim through shows just to put on some very specific scenes so here's a little selection of what has comforted me the most this year: the "Jiu hugging Tian after thinking he got hurt" and the "I love you too I MEAN THE KIDS LOVE YOU" scenes from Khun Chai, the five (ish) Nick/Neil scenes from Love Syndrome III, all the dancing endings of I Will Knock You, the Malik/Ken duet from Rainbow Prince, the "my future boyfriend"-and-squeal between Sky and Jiao in SCOY, the scene where Onoe runs after Kaburagi outside the bar from Ameiro Paradox, the Sean/Maitee crumbs in Star in your mind, the drunk scene that leads to Rak realizing that he's in love with Diao from RakDiao, Xiao Lanhua's proposal to DFQC from LBFD, the hand holding on the bridge in Kieta Hatsukoi...

As always, if you feel like doing it (and haven't done it yet!) 'll tag @troubled-mind @heretherebedork @sparklyeyedhimbo @petrichoraline @benkaaoi @coquelicoq @sauvechouris @scienceoftheidiot @dengswei and @iguessitsjustme

#thank you again for asking!#can't present stuff i like without babbling about it i'm afraid aha #i rewatch shows a lot but to pick myself up I very very often just... go back to small moments that made me feel good #tag games

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thebroccolination · 1 year

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I saw you mentioned Queer As Folks recently. OMG how I missed Brian and Justin. When they went angst, they reeeeeaaaally served angst. I seriously don't have access to watch the entire series in my country, I can only watch snippets from youtube. I'm so sad 😭 Can you share with me what you like most about QaF and maybe if you have your favorite Ao3 fics about them. Thank you so much, Key ❤

Aaahhh, Anon!

You've unsurfaced some deep memories.

Okay, I just finished writing the thesis below. I'm back from the future. A lot of what you're about to read is pure emotion, so I apologize that it's not, uh. Well structured or especially rational. Queer as Folk was very formative for me, so my thoughts on it are very formless. \:D/

•

I watched Queer as Folk in high school, and it was a core experience. I vaguely remember writing Brian/Justin fic, but I think I mainly just read, and unfortunately, all of the fic I read was on LiveJournal, so I have no idea how to find it anymore. I'm really, really bad with names and titles, so I'd really only know them if I saw them again. :')

I have hot takes, though!

As far as fandom goes, the US version was phenomenal. So much fic. So much fic, and I loved it so much. The fanvids, the art, the meta, etc. It was such a great fandom.

BUT as a show, I preferred the UK version. I thought it was better crafted, the story and characters felt a lot stronger, and the dialogue was fantastic. It felt more inclusive in every way, and it had this…cozy warmth to it. Even at his worst, Stuart is nowhere near as much of a menace as Brian, and I think that's because he has Vince, and Brian has Michael.

(I didn't like Michael. At all. \:D/ The actor is lovely! I just regularly pined for the character to be pushed through a nineteenth floor window and then get stepped on by an elephant tourist visiting family at the Pittsburgh Zoo.)

The US version also screamed Written by White Cis Gay Men Who Held a Weird Grudge Against Lesbians and Didn't Believe Bisexuality Is Real. I was a "definitely straight except for that one time and that other time and that other other time I had suspiciously queer thoughts and also argued a shade too passionately about queer rights at the dinner table" teenager, and while I loved Brian and Justin as a ship, the UK version made me feel like I could find friends who'd feel like family one day. (And it came true, and they're queer, too.)

I think of the US version of Queer as Folk as fandom fodder. After every episode, I'd dive into LiveJournal, read fics, meta, look up fanvids, etc. I learned so much from Elder Queers who talked about safe sex and the importance of getting tested and all the things either referenced in the show or totally ignored that Elder Queers were like, "This was ignored but if you're ever in Justin's situation, here is what you do, please promise you'll do this."

The UK version is the one I rewatch when I want to revisit that warm, safe feeling.

And it'll always fuck my brain up that the US showrunners of Queer as Folk watched Stuart fuck a fifteen-year-old that was blatantly framed as "this is a bad thing, Stuart is doing a bad thing, everyone is aware that this is a bad thing, this is very bad, Stuart" and thought, "Okay, the bad thing is that he's fifteen, so let's age him up to seventeen and make him the love interest instead of the best friend who's the same age."

MIND. BLOWN.

I mean, it explains why Michael's all [evocative hand gestures]. His English counterpart actually ended up with his hot Irish best friend. And, like, Vince is obsessed with Dr. Who, so they gave Michael comic books? Like? Why not Star Trek? And he's obsessed with Brian and has the same soul-destroying crush that Vince has on Stuart, but there's a point to Vince's crush on Stuart the point is that they end up together and Nathan is a high school boy who is genuinely meant to be a blip on the radar in the background of their story.

It's been long enough that I don't hate Michael anymore, I'm just still fascinated by CowLip's bizarre story decisions.

Here's how I'll summarize my complicated relationship with the US version of Queer as Folk:

Season five was an insult to me personally, and I never watched the last episode. That stupid ending reversed all five seasons of Brian's character arc and landed him exactly where he was in the first episode, only multiple years older. And CowLip talked about it like it was brilliant and not a pathological misunderstanding of how storytelling is meant to operate to connect with audiences.

But.

I remember watching the Babylon bombing episode. Viscerally. I was staying at my sister's house, and I waited until everyone fell asleep. I snuck into their home office to watch the episode on their computer because I kept all queer media I watched secret from everyone in my very conservative family. I turned the volume down to one bar, kept the lights off, and held my shallow breath whenever the house made any kind of noise. Because Brian had never said "I love you" before, and this was it, because he thought Justin would be one of those corpses rolled out on a gurney from the club where they met, where their friends and family all gathered, the only place they felt safe being gay.

And many years later, when something similar happened far, far away at Pulse in Orlando, a memory surfaced of secretly watching an episode about love and desperation and grief. Of feeling caged inside a sexuality prescribed to me. And it was the first time I came out on social media.

Because it was a ridiculous show in some ways, and a terribly written one sometimes, but I think it also cut to the quick for many of us who just…didn't have anything else. We didn't have many options back then, and the fandom was massive, and it nudged me a little closer to understanding who I am and who I love.

#kiranokira answers #queer as folk #i just reread this and i've never felt more like i have adhd tattooed on every inch of me #i'm so sorry anon this show apparently comes with a word vomit button

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tm-trx · 1 year

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Step By Step, ep 8

in which everyone is a bit of a sad sack

sp*ilers below the cut (we’ll get to you, Jaab)

This was such a great episode. So many ups and downs. I loved it.

Put/Pat

The moment I’ve been dreading finally arrived. And it was exactly as awful as I thought it’d be. It was so painful to watch Pat break Put’s heart. (And later, the realization that Pat’s heart is equally as broken was just as painful.) Ow ow ow. I loved it.

And then Put confronts Jeng about his feelings, and I think threatens to out him? I think that’s what he meant. Which, yikes. Please, let’s not do that, show. Even if it’s just outing a boss dating his employee. I fully understand that the ending of this series will need some big conflict, but not that.

Jeng/Pat

Pat’s “not-date” date with Jeng was actually really fun to watch, in contrast to all the sadness that preceded it. Until Pat got tipsy and Drunken Truth Time gave me secondhand embarrassment. (That is your boss, Pat!)

I don’t really understand why Jeng thinks it’s okay to confess while he’s still Pat’s boss. Up until now, he’s seemed like a very strait-laced guy who wouldn’t dare. And he doesn’t even have much of an indication that Pat has feelings back, so it’s not like he’s giving in to mutual attraction or thinks that it’s worth the risk. (Even though the risk is all about Pat’s job, not Jeng’s let’s be real. Jeng has nothing to lose, except maybe reputation and that’s debateable at his level of society. Pat would lose his job and his reputation.) Still, he was very genuine in his conflicted feelings and that dream confession about killed me, it was so sweet. I do really like him. I just need him to get his head together and not listen to his dumb friend’s advice. Find a way to get Pat out of your direct report, and then date him!

“Pat’s sadness.” - Just kill me now. Jeng, you are too much.

The lightbulb moment! What a fantastic way to end the episode. So good.

Jaab/Jen

^ - See above. Good lord, what a beautiful shot. Thank you, director of photography.

I’m disappointed we aren’t getting more of Jaab and Jen. They were shaping up to be a great second pairing, but it feels like it’s going to be a throwaway storyline with no substance.

What’s Next?

At this point, I’m not as sure about how this series will end as I was with Put, but here’s what I’m speculating based on what we’ve seen so far:

Pat and Jeng start dating; their relationship gets revealed (most likely on accident because of something Put does - I think this is more likely because Put is hurt but not evil); all hell breaks loose, Pat leaves the company (and/or Jeng does); time skip; Pat is working elsewhere when they meet up again and start dating. Put has an epilogue meet-cute with a character played by Kao. (I can dream, okay?!)

P.S.

This episode’s MVP is Chot, for instigating the classic ‘run away holding hands’ cliche. That was great.

P.S.S.

When I wrote this, I thought there were only 10 episodes. Turns out there are 12, so there is tons of extra time for shenanigans and Jaab and Jen to get some actual story. We can only hope.

#step by step the series #thai drama #bl drama #ql drama #step by step #tmtrx watches dramas

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ashesandhackles · 1 year

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8 TV Shows

Thanks for the tag @yletylyf <3 <3

Rules: list eight TV shows for your followers to get to know you better! 1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Years, years ago, I sporadically watched earlier seasons of Buffy and enjoyed it for the campy fun they were. And then I watched, "Innocence" - Season 2, episode 14 and I was obsessed with Buffy Summers. Buffy Summers is that one character of all time for me - she is heroic, aspirational but she is also flawed and messy and so delightfully complex. I love her and I forever have a soft spot for Sarah Michelle Gellar for playing her.

2. Fruits Basket

I first read Fruits Basket as a manga, saw the first anime adaptation and the reboot came out during the pandemic. Fruits Basket is a very important piece of media to me because of the way it tackles abuse and the nature of systemic abuse. The show/ manga's ideas of rehabilitative justice were truly ahead of its time. Also the anti hero of the story is my all time fixation - Shigure Sohma.

3. Inuyasha

Another long running manga turned anime. Something about this series turns me into a nostalgic goo. It's probably Rumiko Takahashi's brand of characters, where there is something interesting going on with each of them. But my forever love from the series is Sango, the girl who crawls out of her own grave <3

4. Fushigi Yugi

I greatly dislike the main lead in this anime, I great dislike the romance in this series but my heart went out to the antagonist, the main lead's once best friend Yui Hongo. And if this series wasn't so enamored with its ridiculously cheesy and tiresome main romance (i do not have enough criticism for how truly bad it is, believe me), it had decent worldbuilding and politics. A fact that the original manga author knew and corrected with her spin off prequel - the vastly superior manga Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden (with likable main heroine! an intense romance that never takes over the plot!). She is currently writing Fushigi Yugi: Byakko Senki and I am curious to see what she does there.

5. Nana

Nana is about my early 20s life lol. Co-dependent, almost romantically charged friendship with a roommate/best friend? Check. Misogynist, controlling boyfriends? Check. Intense but fucked up relationships? Check. It's like this show reached into my heart and displayed it to the world.

6. Shadow and Bone

I'll be honest: my interest in the show is largely due to the fact that I have read the Six of Crows duology and loved those books. I only read the original Shadow and Bone series recently, just so I can keep with the main plotline in season 2 and boy, the original trilogy is very poor lol. The only thing that has bones of something interesting is Darkling and his relationship with Alina, and watching Season 2, I feel the show writers aren't comfortable tapping into that. Too much time moralising "this is bAd!!" - lol, yes we know. It is very childish finger-wagging writing, and it's very boring and not at all reflective of human experience (Shadow and Bone writers need to watch Nana to understand how to write abusive relationships without making it look like they are doing 'Toxic Ex Boyfriend for Dummies'). The reasons why Crows shine so much is because they are based on books that are good. And I agree with general consensus that the moral universe of the Crows and the Shadow and Bone stories do not match at all, and it creates horrible discrepancies in narrative framing.

7. Cowboy Bebop

This is a show that has influenced my writing the most: dream-like vigenettes for characters? People dreaming and having nightmares? Characters stuck in the past? I wish I could be as subtle and genre-bending as this show often was. So beautiful.

8. Death Note

If you have inhaled animes during your teen years, you won't go without bingeing Death Note. Fantastic premise, fantastic protagonist and just outright brutal to watch. I keep returning to it time and again.

Tagging @merlins-sequined-hotpants @hinnyfied @bluethepineapple @phantomeo @thedreamermusing @turanga4

#tag games

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phdmama · 1 year

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Hi. I’m hoping you can help. For various reasons I want to move over to fics that aren’t Larry, the only fanfic I’ve ever read. (Love your writing and always excited when I see you post anything; love fics about actual adults; any shift I make won’t keep me away from your Larry fics!) Do you have a ship you think is similar to Larry and maybe easily accessible? One problem is that I haven’t watched the shows that underlie some of the other big ones I see, like Sterek or Destiel. From what little I’ve seen, Destiel especially piques my interest. Should I watch the show before reading? Any starter/foundational/really well known fics you’d recommend I start with? I’m sorry for bombarding you with questions. 🥴😔 Thank you so much!

First, thank you SO much for your lovely words about my writing!! xox

And I love this ask, but I'll be really open about my own bias, which is that I read ships/fic in stuff where I've never really interacted with canon and I'm fine with that. I'm much less picky about specific ship and much much pickier about writing and stories.

The other thing that might help me would be if you had a specific vibe about Larry that you've enjoyed?

If you are comfortable with Harry Potter, Drarry is an absolutely phenomenal ship and there's such an enormous depth of history and writing and talent in this fandom, I just cannot even. I've written a ton of Drarry, and I tend towards less "being dicks to each other" and much more towards "we've kind of sorted our shit out now let's gooooo" vibe. Even if you haven't read HP but have a pretty good grasp from just the cultural infusion perspective, you should be fine. And again, there's SO much amazing fic there, and I can totally point you towards some of my own favs. This list is woefully out of date, but there's so much good content here!

If you have seen Captain America TFA and the Winter Soldier, those are all you need for one of the most brilliant Stucky series ever, by my darling friend @vmohlere, the Infinite Coffee and Protection Detail. It's brilliant, just amazing, and I can't even tell you how many times I've read it or how much it's impacted me! (Honestly again, if you have sort of cultural knowledge of Steve and Bucky, you will probably be fine.)

I haven't read a ton of Destial, so I'm not sure I have recs there, but I will say, I've never watched the show and had no trouble with the fic!

I've only seen 30 minutes of the first episode of Teen Wolf and I have devoured about 8 billion Sterek fics and can give you so many recs if you want them! There's some absolutely stunning fic in that fandom!

Have you read Red, White & Royal Blue? I 100% recommend the book, I know not everyone loves it, but I really do, and it reads closer to a really good fic to me. And there's SO MUCH good fic!! @clottedcreamfudge is one of my all-time fav authors there.

Let's see. Are you familiar with Check, Please!? Online webcomic, gay college hockey players. Zimbits (Jack Zimmerman and Eric Bittle) might actually be one you'd enjoy. The comic is fantastic in and of itself, it's definitely a "small southern ball of sunshine and grumpy Canadian hockey-bot" (with a bunch of UST and pining and stuff)! So good. Highly recommend. And again, there's SO much great fic! I actually read a lot of different ships there, and there's great stuff!

Buddie seems to trend very much towards no smut/fluffy type fics, which I have to be in the right mood for, but there are some absolutely great writers in that fandom! (Including @hattalove who wrote some of my fav Larry fics!).

Okay, this is a lot, I know!! Please don't hesitate to message me for Sterek recs, and Drarry recs if you want! I'm currently absolutely OBSESSED with gay hockey players, both fictional and rpf, so reach out if you want some recs there!

#fic rec stuff #not fandom specific #I love to share what I love #so please don't hesitate to come talk!#I HAVE SO MANY RECOMMENDATIONS FRIEND

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chinzhilla · 7 months

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Do you have any fave Thai BL series? If you do, what's your top 10?

hiiii thank you for the ask! 💙 and oh yes of course i do!! i'm not gonna actually rank these but here are my top ten thai bls in no particular order (with commentary bc i always have to be the most verbose person in the room):

The Eclipse - i think this one goes without saying if you’ve been following me for long. it's the first bl i watched live, before this blog even existed, and i imprinted on it like a duckling. that's the firstkhao effect i guess, and also my penchant for repressed sadboys and characters who are so attracted to each other and so mad about it

Manner of Death - may be surprising since i haven’t posted about it much but this drama is just. perfect. one of these days i’m gonna do a rewatch and i’m gonna be SO annoying about it. tension and release doesn't get any better than this, and the entire time the plot is plotting and it's fantastic!!

My School President - this one should also be obvious given it's the source of my url and also basically the reason this blog exists. this is the show that escalated my bl obsession to critical mass and left me with no choice but to make a sideblog about it. the soundtrack is banger after banger, every character is lovable, there are such genuine touching moments, and gemini and fourth just kill it the whole time

A Tale of Thousand Stars - i don't think any show has made me cry more. i was warned but nothing could have really prepared me cause it's like this drama was made in a lab specifically to target all my emotional weak points. i related a ton to tian and his need for escape and agency, and his growth and redemption over the course of the series is really just beautiful

Bed Friend - this show is a bit of a sexy comfort watch for me. to watch uea go through absolute hell and come out the other side getting the love, respect, and devotion (and cat ears) he deserves is just sooo satisfying. and did i mention how sexy it is?

La Pluie - closest i ever came to writing actual meta was while watching this show. its take on soulmates is so refreshing and thought-provoking and i really appreciated its emphasis on family and the trauma it can bring even when everyone loves each other. also gorgeous chemistry from the leads and lomfon and tien had me in a chokehold for weeks

Only Friends - obviously the show has been very polarizing but y'all all know where i stand. i'm not without my criticisms of how THAT storyline ended but there are far far far more positives than negatives for me. and in terms of pure entertainment they DELIVERED

Not Me - another one i don't talk much about but absolutely adored. every relationship in this show could have essays written about it (which i'm sure has been done) and the seanwhite first kiss is actually one of my favorites

Laws of Attraction - charn wasn't on my screen for a minute and i was already in love with him. this is another one with a great plot, good chemistry, and a captivating side couple. the only thing it doesn't hit right on the mark for me is the physical intimacy (especially bc i couldn't help but compare it to mod) but it makes up for it with hot lesbians (silvy pls give me a chance)

I Feel You Linger in the Air - no it's not over yet and yes i'm two (almost three) episodes behind but listen unless they really screw the pooch right at the end this one absolutely deserves to be here. once again the chemistry is chemistrying and the setting and mechanics are FASCINATING. however i have a feeling it's gonna join the ranks of atots as dramas i adored but might not everr watch again due to emotional devastation

honorable mention to Shadow which is currently airing and which i am obsessed with so far. if i ever do another version of this list it may well be on there

#bon answers #anon #thanks again anon this was fun!!#thai bl #bon.txt

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zuckarr · 2 years

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happy birthday, Yoichi ♡ 早乙女与一生誕祭2022

Back in November 2015, when season 2 of the anime Seraph of the End was airing, I wasn't well. I was desperate, going through deeply confusing and painful emotions and my whole life was devoid of purpose. I didn't know who I was anymore. I had no strength to deal with my continuously toxic family. I had no friends, just one special person who unfortunately, maybe even unknowingly scarred me. All I know is that I chose to watch that anime and when this character, Yoichi Saotome, showed up I felt something. After a few episodes, he said a few words that resonated with everything I've been through - "I am still under that bed". I realized I related to that mental image. It was extremely real to me because I was indeed hidden for the longest time, just like him, and I was hurt and guilty and horrified by life. Just like he was.

From that moment on, I felt some sort of unique, heart-warming, inspiring connection with him. To me, he became more than just a character in a story. My devastated mind saw nothing but light whenever I thought of him. Yoichi showed me who I wanted to be, and showed me how to be that person by simply existing in an anime series. To this day, I still wouldn't know what to call him - my guide? My angel? My alter ego? My friend? There's one thing I do know, though: I feel loved thanks to him.

I, who used to wallow in self-hatred, am now writing love letters to my future self every now and then. That's what the picture above shows: it is a screenshot from one of my edits with Yoichi, in which I included one of the hand-written love letters I wrote to myself in my native language.

I don't think I could express in words how absolutely messed up I was before discovering Yoichi, and to what extent he healed my very soul. I hope it is at least clear that it's... a lot. Yoichi means a lot to me.

The story that this character comes from says that Yoichi was born in 2004. His birthday is on November 23rd, so he turns 18 today. I couldn't really make something noteworthy for him - I usually post a drawing or an edit - but that's okay. I am writing this little letter, after all. In one way or another, he will always, unquestionably help me.

Happy birthday, my love, my guiding star, my sweetie. Thank you for everything.

---

Special thanks to the people I met along the way who I shared this fragment of heart with. Shout-out to @telesticmajesty who is infinitely precious and essential to me, @shadsie who drew my wonderful tumblr icon and other amazing Yoichi drawings, @bardbaric who gifted me a lovely Yoichi drawing and has always been kind to me, @grimbunny who takes great care of my love for Yoichi and even brought me a Yoichi keychain from Japan, @hyakuyaaaaaas who appreciates me endlessly and always lets me know she supports me and gifted me fantastic Yoichi drawings, @amarevia and @houdadraws and @mysillystuff and @ammerynth for the unforgettable commissioned artworks, @fauxvvalor for being my personal favourite Yoichi centric blog, @rivaillicious and @solarshadow and @redsnowelora for being perfect friends who I shared my love for Yoichi with, and the list could go on but I'll stop now...

You guys are all special to me. Maybe it doesn't sound like a big deal, but you all meant something good for me which I'll keep close to me for as long as I live. I hope that on one lonely day, this gets to be a reason to smile. Thank you!

-Dan

#seraph of the end #owari no seraph #yoichi saotome #ons #friend tag #<3 #personal #letter

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cheryls-blossomed · 1 year

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Hi there, I know that you don’t engage with the flash fandom or watch the show anymore but I just wanted to bring up some observations that have been discussed on your blog in previous years which was right. The first is the chemistry between Grant and Candice I remember that it was frustrating for us when people would say they don’t have chemistry anymore simply because the writers didn’t give them scenes to show it off and blame it on the actors. I mean as per the usual pattern, season 9 has given them more opportunity to show it off and now the same people who said they didn’t have it anymore have changed their tune even though it’s simply just the writing being better.

Secondly, the issue of fandom never being satisfied don’t get me wrong it’s absolutely valid for people to have advocated more westallen especially with how the last 3 seasons went, but now we’re getting it *finally* it’s like some part of fandom are never satisfied. It reminds me of some of fandom’s reaction in season 3/4 when we had it good. if it’s a hug why wasn’t it longer if it’s a kiss why wasn’t it more intense…etc. now in season 9 it’s ‘oh they should’ve had a sex scene in episode 1’ which is just unrealistic. Valid criticisms are always allowed of course it’s just the nitpicking that annoys me, ha.

All that being said, it’s nice to see Barry & Iris working together and spending more time together it’s what we deserve for the last season of the show. You were one of the few level-headed fans in the fandom and I really do miss your well-rounded commentary on the show but I completely understand you stepping away as the show isn’t what it used to be. I hope you do one for the series finale. Take care ❤️

Aw, thank you for dropping by again, nonnie! I may have stepped away from the fandom/show in the last year, but I really loved the conversations and discourse about the show and Westallen. It's really what I miss most from fandom: all the amazing conversations. I'd like to do something more to celebrate Iris and Westallen: maybe a retrospective-type meta after the finale airs. I definitely plan to give my thoughts about the series finale and reflect about Barry and Iris's story, so there's definitely going to be more to come from me on this blog! I am really humbled by your kind words. 💛

Yeah, I like to think a lot of what was discussed previously on this blog is from experience of watching this show and having seen the high-points and low-points in material. I've never believed that Candice and Grant's chemistry just disappeared: the material just was not there for their chemistry to shine the way their chemistry did in seasons 1-4. Episodes like 5x05 and 6x11 and 6x17 and 7x18 really allowed us glimpses into how great their chemistry remained, but overall the writing did not invest in material that showed off that chemistry. I think in many ways having such a Westallen-centric episode right off the bat in season 9 showcased what could have been if the writing had invested in the right material for the last like four seasons. Because their chemistry was per usual fantastic in 9x01.

And for sure: some fans are never satisfied, and that's going to always be the case. But the things so many of us did hope for: more intimacy, WA outside of STAR Labs, more romance, more best friends in love-type content, more scenes in their bedroom... we got that in 9x01, which was really nice. There was really good Westallen content in the episode: a lot of which I know I had been hoping for for several seasons now.

Overall, I thought 9x01 was really promising and was a pleasant surprise. The Westallen content was great, and I would hope that this through-line of Westallen in story arcs together carries throughout the season.

#anonymous #replies

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absolutebl · 1 year

Text

This Week In BL - Strongberry Kisses!

Dec 2022 Wk 3

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

Ongoing Series - Thai

My School President (Fri YT) 4 of 10 - Gun gets flustered and then Gun gets flirty and comes over all spoiled prince, and poor Tinn loves it suffers. Thiw is the greatest wingman and it was the cutest date inspection: Tinn (confusedly carrying 2 ice creams ) just trailing behind a sunny excitable Gun. Yes, Gun is very extra. Yes, I skipped the singing. But oh my goodness do I love how much this is a traditional Thai high school BL. Thank you so much GMMTV. I missed this style of BL.

Never Let Me Go (Tues YT) 2 of 12 - I have to say that I’m not entirely sure about Chimon’s casting in this role (he is one of my all time favorite GMMTV actors), but I love Perth. Perth has the hardest role, and he’s such a great nuanced actor with such an expressive face, only he could really pull it off and still feel sympathetic. Meanwhile ironically named Pond = yet another Thai actor made to swim who can’t. That said, PondPhuwin and the attack of the subtle flirtation = wonderful. Honestly? This is a much better role for Pond than FUTS.

Between Us (Sun iQIYI) 7 of 12 - It’s still good, the leads are great, everything else is meh but at least I’m not bored? WATCH ALONG HERE.

609 Bedtime Story (Fri WeTV) 5 of 11 - So P’Mum is starting to figure out the science (do we call it science?) whatever. In other news, 3 years later, OhmFluke still give the softest sweetest most romantic kisses evah. P’Vee and Game are breaking my heart, honor the sides indeed.

I Will Knock You (Fri Gaga) 6 of 12 - Noey has a very baby Dom thing to his bully behavior which is oddly cute. Or is that just me being warped?

Remember Me (Sun Gaga) 11 of 14 - (it’s been extended 2 more episodes and into 2023, what joy is ours) We have switched to mostly focusing on Name and Em. I actually like the 2 actors, it’s just they keep getting stories I don’t enjoy. The JaFirst characters break up is not unexpected, presumably, they had to do some thing to honor the episode 11. After my bd reaction to The Yearbook I’m beginning to lose all faith in this production team.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Choco Milk Shake (Korea Strongberry Tues YT) 11fin - I have to say it felt a little manipulating and there was a lot of dwelling in sad and then a time jump, and then resolution, which is very classic for a Korean drama, but Strongberry usually bucks trends. Still, all the kisses are really good and I do love how the animals w kept their personalities. I’m going with 8/10 RECOMMENDED more below

My Tooth Your Love (Taiwan Fri Viki) 12fin - The parental abuse, and horseback riding thing was weird. ending with a marriage equality muscle flex and some domesticity was classic Taiwanese BL. I do love that and they were so cute! But ultimately this was oddly disappointing at the end, I think partly because as good as the leads were the crumbs were both excellent too and I wish they had more screen time. 8.5/10

The New Employee (Korea Weds Viki) AKA The New Recruit AKA Shinib Sawo - From WATCHA (Semantic Error) virginal Seung Hyun scores the office internship of his dreams but on his first day at work he gets into it with his cool reserved boss. As you do. Stars Moon Ji Yong (Once Again). Based on Moscareto's web novel of the same name, directed by openly gay & queer activist Kim Jho Gwang Soo (Just Friends?). Grumpy/sunshine, boss/emp, age gap. WAIT, he lives in the same neighborhood as the To My Star boys! And this show reminds me a little bit of that one, same kind of energy. Frankly this is what I wanted from this new crop of office set KBLs ALL ALONG. Fantastic. At last!

Candy Color Paradox AKA Ameiro Paradox (Japan Fri Gaga) 2 of 8 - I’m not sure about this one, I am liking it OK but it is oddly mature while also being kookie, and also immature. Maybe it’s just Japan being its usual complex self.

The Director Who Buys Me Dinner (Korea Thurs iQIYI) 3-4 of 10 - The premise of the show is so weird. But once the pink smoke appeared, and I decided we’re actually in a paranormal drama and not an office romance, I’m better about it. Also it’s really nice to see the lead pair start to actually like each other.

Oh! My Assistant (Korea Thurs Viki) 7-8fin - There was a lot of me going awwww in ep 7. But in the finale, the triangle and jealousy seemed shoehorned in so that in the end, I was kind of torn. 7/10 More below.

It’s Airing But I’m Not Watching It

Love Bill (Vietnam Sat YT) - Bah Vinh is back but I’m too distracted. Also there’s a lot of fund raising stuff going on. I’ll wait and binge.

The Star Always Follow You (Vietnam YT) - same Team RL peeps we have seen before (Sunshine, Stupid)

Till the World Ends (Thai YT) 10 eps - it seems to be good but I don’t know about the ending, so I’m waiting.

Ended This Week

Choco Milk Shake (Korea YouTube) Stongberry gave us a full length BL on YouTube! It’s a BL miracle and an endless delight. It was wonderfully cute, unexpectedly hilarious but expectedly silly, a little too poignant, occasionally gut wrenching and with a somewhat expected weird (but happy-ish) ending. The actors playing the two pets must have had the best time. As, indeed, did I watching it. Jealous Milk made me cackle so hard it scared the actual cat on my lap, Choco was perfectly cast, and the chemistry was ultimately decent. In Strongberry I still trust. Thank you thank you, may we have another, sirs? 8/10 RECOMMENDED

My Tooth Your Love (Taiwan Viki) While, I really loved this show, it had a fun premise, and a solid lead pair with charming chemistry and delightful, domesticity, not to mention great communication, I wasn’t wild about some of the darker themes it explored, even though it did a good job with them. But while the crumbs and sides were v adorable they were chronically underused. If I gave half points this is a solid 8.5 but since I don't it’s gonna be an 8/10 MUCHLY RECOMMENDED

Oh! My Assistant (Korea Viki) This is a very silly show that acts like it comes from a very silly yaoi. Reserved out gay younger assistant (we stan) pretending to be tsundere but is actually just v shy and smitten by his cheerful (seemingly straight) chaos bi himbo artist boss. I think the cross cutting in of old footage with the replacement actor after the re-cast did affect the chemistry with this pair. There was no way around it. Even KBL isn't usually this awkward and repressed. Although this show had the best bisexual awakening sequence ever put in a BL, and I really wanted to love it, I just didn't. 7/10 RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

2 Moons 3 (Thai) finished it’s run this week. Rumor is it’s banal. I’m waiting to collect all the eps and then I will try to binge before I finish my 2022 wrap ups.

Why You... Y Me? (Thai YT) It's not primarily a BL, but another meta show about BL shipping, with side BLs. I await @heretherebedork ‘s report on whether to watch or not.

Gossip

Nutt Witsarut (Daisy in Secret Crush On You!) will play the role of Gyogung in 9Cats Studio's upcoming series Hot Bamee and Yummy Gyogung (y-novel adaptation).

PitchBank from Golden Blood (AKA Segus & Tenon) will be the side couple in new medical Thai BL Mystique in the Mirror.

TutorYim (Cutie Pie) have a busy 2023, they’re starring in upcoming micro project Our Winter, possibly for Tik Tok distribution. They also took on JimmyTommy’s lead for Middleman’s Love and will have a cameo in KBL Jun & Jun (filming now). TutorYim will ALSO star in 2023 KBL (yes Korean) First Love's User Manual under A-Plan International’s Silkwood (Peach Of Time).