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wilwheaton · 10 months

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When you watch The Curse, you are watching two children who were abused and exploited daily during production. No adults protected us.

This was originally published on my blog in August, 2022.

I had a wonderful time at Steel City Comicon this weekend. It was my first time at this particular con, so I didn’t know there was such a huge contingent of horror fans, creators, and vendors who attend.

I love horror, and I was pretty psyched to be in the same place as John Carpenter and Tom Savini, across the street from the Dawn of the Dead mall. Pittsburgh feels like one of the places horror was invented, at least to me.

A number of these horror fans came to see me, and asked me to sign posters and other things from a movie my parents forced me to do when I was 13, called The Curse. I had to tell each of these people that I would not sign anything associated with that movie, because I was abused and exploited during production. The time I spent on that film remains the most traumatizing time of my life, and though I am a 50 year-old man, just typing this now makes my hands shake with remembered fear of a 13 year-old boy who nobody protected, and the absolute fury the 50 year-old man feels toward the people who hurt him.

I told this story in Still Just A Geek, and I’ve talked about it in some podcasts I did on the promo tour, but I’ve never put it out in public like this, in its entirety.

I suspect someone at the publisher would prefer I tease this and hope it drives book sales from people who want to read all of it, but I honestly don’t want to have another weekend like this one where everything is awesome, except the few times people who have no idea (and why should they) put that fucking poster in front of me, and all the fear, abandonment, and trauma come flooding back as I tell them that I won’t sign it, and why.

To their credit, each person was as horrified as they should have been, told me they had no idea (if they didn’t read my book why would they), and quickly put the poster away. They were all understanding. I am grateful for that.

But I really don’t need to tell this story over and over again, so here it is, with a child abuse and exploitation content warning, so I can just tell people to Google it.

After Stand by Me, everything changed. The attention from entertainment journalists, casting directors, and especially teen magazines came pouring in. The movie was a generational hit, beloved by critics and audiences alike, and every single one of us could pick anything to do next.

River’s parents and his agent got him Mosquito Coast, with Harrison Ford, as his next movie. I also auditioned for the role, but I knew even then that River was going to book the job. He was perfect, and I’d have to wait a little bit for my opportunity to come along.

I went on a lot of theatrical auditions after Stand by Me. I had tons of meetings with directors and the heads of casting at every major studio. It was all a very big deal, and I felt like we were all looking for something really special and amazing as my follow-up to Stand by Me.

At some point, a couple of producers contacted my agent with an offer to play one of the leads in an adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft’s “The Colour Out of Space.” The script was titled The Farm. (It would, of course, be changed when the film was released).

I read it. I did not like it. It was a shitty horror movie, and I saw that right away. It was the sort of thing you rented on Friday when the new release you wanted was already out of the store.

My mother, already an incredibly manipulative person, used every tool at her disposal to change my mind. My father threatened me, mocked me, told me “It’s your decision” when it clearly wasn’t. It was all so weird; I didn’t understand why they cared so much.

I told my parents I didn’t like it and didn’t want to do it. I clearly recall thinking it was a piece of shit that would hurt my career.

It wasn’t the first thing that had come our way that I wanted to pass on, and every other time, it hadn’t been a very big deal.

Sidebar: I was cast in Twilight Zone: The Movie, in 1983. The film tells four stories, and I was cast as the kid who can wish people into cartoonland. It was a GREAT role, in a movie I still love. (Note that Twilight Zone had four directors. One of them got three people killed. The segment I was cast in was not that one. I mention this because too many people zero in on this to deflect from what this whole thing is actually about.)

But I was CONVINCED by my parochial school teacher that if I worked on The Twilight Zone, which she had determined was satanic, I would go to hell. (This woman and her bullshit played a big role in my conversion to atheism at a young age, but when she told me that, I was all-in on the supernatural story they taught us in religion class.) I was so scared, more scared than I’d ever been to that point in my life, I cried and wailed and begged my parents to not make me do the movie. And I never told them why, because I was afraid my dad would laugh at me for being weak and afraid. My agent tried to talk me into it, and I wouldn’t budge. It’s the only thing I deeply and truly regret passing on, and I really hate I made that choice for such a stupid reason.

Okay. Back to The Curse.

This time, when I told them how much I hated it, they wouldn’t listen to me. My mother, already an incredibly manipulative person, used every tool at her disposal to change my mind. My father threatened me, mocked me, told me “It’s your decision” when it clearly wasn’t. It was all so weird; I didn’t understand why they cared so much.

That is, until they made me take a meeting with the producers of the movie, in their giant conference room on the top floor of a tall building in Hollywood. All I remember about this place was that it was huge; the table was way too big for the five of us who spread around it, and there were floor-to-ceiling windows on three of the walls, but the room was still dark. There was a weird optical illusion in the center of the table, this thing they sold in the Sharper Image catalog, made from two reflective dishes with a hole in the top of one. You placed an object in the bottom of the bottom dish, and it made it look like that object was floating above the whole thing. They had a plastic spider in it. What a strange detail for me to remember, but it’s as clear in my memory as if I were sitting in that room right now.

One man, who I presumed was the executive producer, was European or Middle Eastern (I didn’t know the difference then, he was just Not Like People I Knew), and I was instantly afraid of him. He was intimidating, and seemed like a person who got what he wanted.

So we sat there, my father who didn’t give a shit about me, my mother who was cosplaying as someone with experience, and me, thirteen years old, awkward as fuck, and scared to death.

I don’t remember what they said to me in their pitch or anything other than how uncomfortable and anxious I was to even be in that room. I tried so hard to be grown up and mature, but I — and my parents — was way out of my depth. I’d done one big movie and that was it. We didn’t have my agent with us, who had lots of experience and would have known what questions to ask.

No, in place of my experienced agent, my mother had decided she was going to be my manager, and she tackled the responsibility with an enthusiasm that was only matched by her absolute incompetence and inability to go toe-to-toe with producers the way my agent did. She was outwitted, out-thought, and outmaneuvered at every turn.

“You don’t have a choice,” my father commanded. “You are doing this movie.”

So we sat there, my father who didn’t give a shit about me, my mother who was cosplaying as someone with experience, and me, thirteen years old, awkward as fuck, and scared to death.

At some point, this man, who is represented in my memory by big Jim Jones sunglasses under dark hair above an open collar, said, “We are offering you a hundred thousand dollars and round-trip travel for your whole family. We will cast your sister, Amy, to play your sister in the movie.”

It all made sense, now. I was only thirteen, but I knew my parents were pushing me so hard because this company was offering me — them, really — more money than I’d ever imagined I’d earn in my life, much less a single job.

I knew that the right thing to do, the smart thing to do, was to say no. There would be other opportunities, and it was stupid to cash myself out of feature films for what I thought was, in the grand scheme of things, not very much money.

It’s incredible to me that I knew all of this. It’s incredible to me that I could see all these things, plainly and clearly, and my parents couldn’t (or, more likely, chose not to).

So after this man made his offer, all the adults in the room ganged up on me, selling me HARD on this movie.

My mother said, “Don’t you want your sister to have the same opportunities you’ve had? Wouldn’t it be fun and exciting to go to Rome? Think of all the history!”

The experience was awful. It was the worst experience I have ever had on a set in my life, by every single metric. The movie is awful, and it is the embarrassment I knew it would be.

I don’t think about this very often, because it’s super upsetting to me. Right now, I’m so angry at my parents for subjecting me and my sister to this entire experience. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

In that moment, I felt bullied and trapped. All these adults were talking to me at the same time, and I just wanted it to stop. I just wanted to go home and get out of this room. I just wanted to go be a kid, so I did what I’d learned to do to survive: I gave in and did what my parents wanted.

The experience was awful. It was the worst experience I have ever had on a set in my life, by every single metric. The movie is awful, and it is the embarrassment I knew it would be.

But here’s the thing: when you watch The Curse, you are watching two children, me and my sister, who were abused on a daily basis. The production did not follow a single labor law. They worked us for twelve hours a day, on multiple film units (while I work on First unit, second unit sets up and waits for me. When I should get a break to rest, they send me to Second unit, then to Third unit, then back to First unit. I was 13.) without any breaks, five days a week. I was exhausted the entire time. I was inappropriately touched by two different adults during production. I knew it was wrong, but I was so scared and ashamed, and I felt so unsupported, I didn’t tell anyone. I knew my dad wouldn’t believe me, and my mother would blame me. Anything to keep the production happy, that’s what she did. That was more important to her than the health and safety of her children. The director was coked out of his mind most of the time, incompetent, and so busy fucking or trying to fuck one of the women in the cast, he was worse than useless. He was a fading actor who was cosplaying as a director, as in over his head as my mother. My sister and I were never safe. Instead of harmless atmospheric SFX smoke, they set hay on fire in barrels and blew actual smoke onto the set. They took buckets of talc, broken wood, bits of wallpaper and plaster, and threw it into my face during a scene inside the collapsing house. My sister is in a scene where she goes to get eggs from some chickens, and they attack her. So they hired Lucio Fulci, the Italian horror master, to direct her sequence. His idea, which everyone was totally on board with, was to throw chickens at my sister. Live chickens, live roosters, live birds. Just throw them at a nine-year-old girl. Oh, and then tie them to her arms and legs so they’ll peck her. All of this happened under my mother’s observation, and with her full participation.

Everything I need to know about who my parents are is wrapped up in that experience: the total lack of concern for my safety and happiness, treating me like an asset instead of a son, lying to me, manipulating me, and using me to get things they wanted, and then gaslighting me about it.

If just ONE of the things I can remember happened to someone I loved, I would have grabbed my kids, gone to the airport, and flown home. Fuck those abusive assholes in the production. Let the lawyers sort it all out. Nobody hurts my children and gets away with it.

My mom says she “had some talks” with the producers. She claims that, once, she wouldn’t let us leave the hotel. (God, what a fucking dump that place was. It was just slightly better than a hostel.) I have no memory of that, but honestly the entire experience was so traumatic, I’ve blocked most of it out.

The movie was the commercial and critical failure I knew it would be. My parents spent the money. I don’t know what they spent it on. I got to keep fifteen cents of every dollar, so . . . yay?

My sister and I hardly ever talk about this. I suspect it was as upsetting and traumatic for her as it was for me. I told her I was writing about it, and asked her if she remembered anything. She told me she’d been lied to her whole life about this movie. Our mother let her believe she had been cast on the strength of her audition. “I was excited to work with you,” she said. She reminded me about some stuff I’d blocked out, including a scene where my character’s older brother (played by an actor named Malcolm Danare, who was kind and gentle, and made both of us feel safer when he was around) shoves my character into a pile of cow shit. When it came time to shoot the scene, the mud they’d put together to be the cow shit looked an awful lot like cow shit. When Malcolm pushed me into it, we all found out it was real cow shit. I was FURIOUS. The director had lied to me and had allowed me to have my entire body shoved into an actual pile of actual cow shit. I don’t remember what I said, but I remember he treated me the exact same way my father did whenever I got upset: he laughed at me, told me I was being too sensitive, reminded me that he was the director and he wanted to get a “real” performance out of me, and concluded, “If it bothers you so much, we’ll get you a hepatitis shot,” before he walked away.

My sister also recalled that, after she survived the scene with the chickens, it was the producers’ idea to give her one as a pet.

Okay, let’s unpack that for a quick second: you’ve been traumatized by these birds, so we’re going to give you one as a pet. That you’ll somehow keep in your hotel, and then will somehow get back to America. It will shock you to learn that neither of those things happened.

She remembered, as I do, the huge fight I had with my parents in our kitchen, where I told them I hated the script and I hated the movie. I didn’t want to do it, and I hated that they were making me do it.

“You don’t have a choice,” my father commanded. “You are doing this movie.”

“This is the only film you are being offered,” my mother lied to me. She made me feel like, if I didn’t do this movie, I would never do another movie again in my life. I had to do this movie. As my father bellowed, I had no choice.

Both of my parents denied this argument ever happened. Can I tell you how reassuring it is to know that my sister, who was also there, remembers it the same way I do?

The makeup department decided they would literally cut my little sister’s face with a scalpel, in three places, and put bandages over them.

But one thing she told me, the thing I did not know, the thing that makes me so angry I want to break things, actually managed to make the entire experience even worse than I remembered it.

There’s a scene after her chicken incident where I check up on her in her bedroom. She’s got cuts and bruises, and I guess we talk about it. I don’t remember and I can’t watch the movie because I’m terrified it will give me a PTSD flashback (I’ve had one of those and I recommend avoiding it). Here’s the thing about that scene: she has some cuts on her face, and those cuts are real. They are not makeup.

I’m going to repeat that. My nine-year-old little sister had actual cuts on her face that were placed there by an adult, on purpose.

The makeup department decided they would literally cut my little sister’s face with a scalpel, in three places, and put bandages over them. My sister told me our mother wasn’t in the makeup room when this happened — honestly, it seemed like our mother was strangely and conveniently absent when most of the really terrible things happened to us on the set — and when my sister told her what they’d done, she “lost her shit” at the production. She was pissed, I guess, which is appropriate and surprising. I wonder what would have to have happened for her to put us on a plane and get us home to safety? I mean, her son being abused daily didn’t do it, and her daughter being CUT IN THE FACE ON PURPOSE didn’t do it.

I just . . . I can’t. I can’t understand or comprehend allowing your own children to be physically and emotionally abused. They were literally selling my sister and me to these people, like we were some kind of commodity.

This was a tough conversation. My sister’s experience with our parents is very different from mine. My sister and I love each other. We’re close. I know it’s hard for her to hear that her brother, who she loves, was so abused by her parents, who she also loves. I was really grateful she made the time to talk to me about it, and grateful the experience wasn’t as horrible for her as it was for me.

As we were finishing our call, Amy also remembered one man, a young Italian named Luka, who was our driver for the movie. I haven’t thought about him in thirty years, but I can see his face now. He was kind, he was friendly, he taught us how to kick a soccer ball, and in the middle of an abusive, torturous experience, he stood out as a kind and gentle man. I mention him because she remembered him, which made me remember him, and goddammit I want at least one small part of this thing to not be awful.

The Curse remains one of the most consequential times the adults in my life failed to protect me. I’m 50. I still have nightmares.

Ultimately, as I predicted and feared, this piece of shit movie cashed me out of respectable films forever. I got offers for movies, but they were always mindless comedies or exploitative horror films. They were never the serious dramas I wanted to work in after Stand by Me. The industry looked at me and River, wondering if one or both of us would become a breakout star. They quickly saw that River was doing real acting work, and I was in this piece of shit. For River, Stand by Me was a beginning. For me, it would turn out to be pretty much everything, at least as far as film goes.

There are thousands of reasons film careers do and don’t take off. Maybe mine wouldn’t have taken off anyway. Clearly, it’s not where my life ended up, and I’m super okay with that now. But when all of this happened, it hurt and haunted me.

The Curse remains one of the most consequential times the adults in my life failed to protect me. I’m 50. I still have nightmares. Everything I need to know about who my parents are is wrapped up in that experience: the total lack of concern for my safety and happiness, treating me like an asset instead of a son, lying to me, manipulating me, and using me to get things they wanted, and then gaslighting me about it.

This annotation is the last thing I wrote before I turned this manuscript in, because opening these wounds is hard and painful. I put it off as long as I could, and I feel like I’m still holding back, because just this small glimpse of the experience has taken me a week to write. I can’t imagine trying to go back and unpack the whole thing. (Note that is not in the book: I’ve made an EMDR appointment to work on this because the nightmares have come back after the weekend).

Fuck The Curse, and fuck every single person who exploited and hurt two beautiful children to make it. You all participated in child abuse, and you all knew better. Shame on all of you. I hope this follows you to the end of your life. I hope that living with what you did to innocent children has been as hard for you as it has been for me, because you deserve no less.

#tw abuse #tw child abuse #tw exploitation #child actor #still just a geek #lucio fulci #trauma survivor #speaking up for the child who was silenced by his abusers

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milquetoast27 · 7 months

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The Secret of Sherlock Holmes

GRANADA FANS. If you have not heard of this play, NOW IS THE TIME TO HEAR ABOUT IT. I'd been saving it for a rainy night and it was SOO good 😭😭Please allow me to elaborate.

[heads-up, there are no video recordings of it. I listened to the audio and followed along with the script. Not ideal, but still gave me a vivid image of what was happening on-stage.]

The nuance between screen and stage allows the actors to achieve different effects that are not possible with an on-screen adaptation. Characters do not turn to the camera and just tell you their innermost thoughts, but they can in a stageplay- and it's here that we really get to hear Brett and Hardwicke's ideas about Holmes and Watson- not much of it was unfamiliar as I'd read most of Brett's views in interviews, but it was really cool to get that confirmed in an official production that he worked on. Honestly, Brett had that feeling of "I can fix him" that I think exists in all of us Holmes fans, and totally went for it. The canon (and the Granada series) is rife with subtleties and 'show, don't tell', but it is honestly refreshing for once, to have such powerful emotion depicted dramatically and audaciously on a stage. It is all too often throughout the stories that Holmes and Watson are awfully reticent about their feelings. This play is an explosion of their private thoughts that leads to finally, thankfully, a wonderful reconciliation. I love it so much as it clearly advocates for open communication being a vital factor for a good friendship. There's a good reason for why that never happened in the canon; I think it has a lot to do with the shyness and reticence of the English, and I would not be surprised most particularly with Victorian men. But Holmes and Watson do still have their moments in the canon (e.g. 3GAR & FINA), and it's what makes them stand out so shockingly much in their time.

I appreciate that this play gives us viginettes of Holmes and Watson's life together all the way up to The Final Problem. It not only sets us up for the climax later, but also shows us specifically Brett's Holmes and Hardwicke's Watson. There were changes made from the original stories, and yet felt so wonderfully in-character and flowed really well through the actors. The play exclusively stars Brett and Hardwicke, and the purpose of redoing scenes from the canon, such as STUD, NAVA, or CHAS was to highlight the status in their relationship, for example Holmes's displeasure at Watson's marriage and subsequent loneliness- important scenes that communicate Holmes's dependence on Watson. These small glimpses also give us the much-needed humour for any balanced Holmes production! It not only communicates the warm and light moments that they shared, but also helps us get more invested in this particular pair on the stage, which is still vital, even if we're already attached to the characters.

The implications that arise from Brett's portrayal of Holmes is fascinating. He admits that he'd have been dead within two years without Watson, without the indispensible role he played in controlling his addiction and mental state. He admits of the lonely and awful childhood he shared with his brother. The fact that Holmes comes forward and tells us this himself suggests he is very psychologically aware of himself and how his mind works. He understands why he has addictions, the reasons for his barriers and difficulty with emotional vulnerability. Assuming Holmes is very interested in the criminal psyche, but also his own due to his eccentricities, it makes so much sense that he would psychoanalyse himself to this degree, but also be frustrated with how little he is able to move from his rigid mindset. This interpretation works so wonderfully for Brett's Holmes, and I am so glad for this portrayal he has given us. When it comes to canon Holmes, however, I feel that this is more likely to be unconscious. I can never shake how much of Brett is actually within his Holmes. While his comes close to the original, I still see them as separate people. Granada's adaptation tends to play up Holmes's melancholy/depression a little too far for me, like a far-away, mythical creature that can never be understood, because we never get much of an opportunity to see what he really feels (perhaps Eligible Bachelor or Master Blackmailer might come close). But I feel that almost defeats the character. To me, Holmes is flawed and troubled, but he is simply human. The Secret of Sherlock Holmes portrays this fact wonderfully, because all of those feelings are rising to the surface.

We move further into speculation, but I think Brett's Holmes has also a fairly healthy understanding of the difference between social constructs and necessities, which take more importance in a queer/neurodivergent reading of him. He understands that his upbringing was due to an "accepted convention", and we see time and again how Holmes disregards social conventions or constructs and does his own thing. It's why he gets frustrated at others for not understanding him, but also accepts that it will never come easily to people. That's why he's very lucky for Watson (and Mrs. Hudson and Lestrade!) :)

Holmes's darker emotions, and Watson's fierce devotion are displayed most prominently throughout. When Watson comments on Holmes's childhood, Holmes lies about it, woeing internally over how much he conceals, to even someone as close to him as Watson. He privately shares his desire to be "found out", because sharing his feelings to Watson is too difficult. His friend takes his word for it, appreciative of the times Holmes is able to speak frankly about himself. Holmes wants to be open, and Watson wants to listen, but it's Holmes's barriers preventing it. This feeling and experience is so raw and human, and something I would imagine would resonate with many people.

The latter half of the play focuses primarily on Holmes's cocaine addiction. Pastiche writers really like that sore spot, huh. Watson's perceptiveness and powers of observation are on full force in this play. Watson can tell when Holmes is high (as a medical man, most likely), and even deduced that Holmes may still be living by Mycroft's body language. But when it came to Holmes's return from the Great Hiatus...

Something that canon Watson seems to completely forget is his anger towards Holmes. In the story, he is so star-struck and relieved that he barely considers any other feeling. Hardwicke does briefly touch on this in the Granada episode with "I thought I would be as trustworthy as your brother," but it really doesn't go further than that. In The Secret of Sherlock Holmes, Hardwicke goes FULL FORCE. This is what we needed!!! It was a powerful, hair-raising performance. When Holmes has clearly not understood the harm he has done, Watson leaves. Actually slams the door. And when he returns, he makes it very clear to Holmes why he is hurt. And yet, his devotion remains, for when Holmes starts explaining his creation of Moriarty, it takes a while before Watson is fully convinced. Watson is extremely compassionate and empathetic, yes, but he's also very grounded and level-headed, and he must draw the line somewhere. It doesn't take him long to forgive Holmes, but he knows his anger has a place in that room, and allows it to be. I appreciate that it's taken just as seriously as Holmes's troubles.

The only reason either Holmes or Watson are able to communicate so finely with each other- even through shouting and crying- is because of their emotional awareness. It's what makes their relationship work, because they are both aware of how much they mean to each other. When they move past the difficulty of sharing such feelings, their bond grows stronger.

#granada holmes #acd holmes #sherlock holmes #jeremy brett #edward hardwicke #victorian husbands

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absolutebl · 9 months

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This Week in BL - There's so much airing even I'm struggling to keep up

That's why I'm late.

Aug 2023 Wk 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

Laws of Attraction (Sat iQIYI) 6 of 8 - Oh no. I am totally in love with the escaped young master & his smitten bodyguard. How did that happen? (Be careful P’Thee the broken ones are the most tempting. Tin understands.) NO SINGING! Trust Thai BL to destroy any moment of sentiment I might have by picking up a damn guitar. And we finally get Charn’s Batman villain origin story. Good use of back hug! This is a GREAT show. Melodramatic as fuck, but GREAT. Gotta say this pair in NOT Thailand’s best kissers but not everyone can be Zee++. Still I think that + singing + a touch of overacting is likely to keep this out of the 10/10 club.

Dangerous Romance (Fri YT) ep 1 of 12 - Rich /poor dynamic with characters & set up exactly as expected. Chimon is great. Perth is good too. A real rich-kid bully, Heirs level or Japanese F4 evil. All the teachers are also corrupt (that’s kinda a Thai thing, I think because they can't call out the government). I gotta say, Marc is doing a bang-up job as the jock friend, too. And the kiss twist was fun. All in all, this is good. And you know me, I love a high school BL.

I Feel You Linger in the Air (Sat YT) ep 1 of 12 - The time travel historical romance many of us have been waiting for. Adaption of y-novel by Violet Rain, from the producers of Lovely Writer. Heartbroken architect is transported to the 1930s. Nonkul (actor playing Jom) keeps reminding me of Cho Han Gyeol from Love Mate. It’s a bit slow to start but interesting when it hits its stride. The pacing feels like a Chinese historical (makes me wonder if this with be 4 or 6 act structure). Nonkul is a wonderful actor. They weren’t sharing the screen for long, but the leads seem good together. I’m in.

Only Friends (Sat YT) ep 2 of 10 - Well. It’s entertaining, I'll say that for it. Addiction. Manipulation. Queer as folk & all that jazz. (No jazz for you, Thailand. Oh no! I’m giving them ideas.) I would like it to turn out that Mew is actually manipulating everything. This is his revenge con on Top. Mew is, after all, supposed to be "the smart one." Gotta say, this is darn near perfect casting. But honestly? This show could just be about Ray & Sand. Their story (and them in it) is easily the most riveting. Sand better be careful, the wildly broken ones are always the best in bed, because they don’t care ao they have no shame and that's HOT.

Hidden Agenda (Sun GMMTV YouTube) ep 6 of 10 - I like how soft Joke’s version of seme flirting is. It’s mellow, like his voice gets with Zo. I also liked Zo casually chatting to his friends about how he feels about being flirted with. His friends gave good advice & were supportive. Oh no! A boy in a BL went into the rain ALONE. What ON EARTH will happen next? The argument was interesting, because it gave us insight into Zo’s maturity & ability to handle a relationship. I’ve been wondering why anyone would like him, and now I know. Joke & Nita’s backstory is fun. I like the gay boy protecting the straight girl reverse beard action. On a complete aside, I really like Dunk’s makeup in this series. It’s very Kdrama.

Low Frequency (Sat iQIYI) ep 7 of 8 - The house ghosts trying to help are cute. The plot is at least... a plot? I don’t know. Dias Ex Mafia is a new one on me. (COME ON THAT’S A GREAT PUN, PRAISE ME!) I’m ready for this show to be over.

Be Mine Super Star (Mon Viki) ep 7 of 12 - Honestly, the whole time I’m watching this I’m just thinking I wish JaFirst got better scripts. Speaking of, I don’t object, but these characters sure moved into sex fast. I really don’t quite understand how Daddy & Hot Doc got together so fast either. It feels like their story was meant to be spread out into the other episodes but didn’t get cut in properly, so it ended up all in this one? Or is it just the pacing is particularly bad in this show?

Dinosaur Love (Sun iQIYI) ep 8 of 10 eps - I have no idea what is going on. What are all of Dino’s friends doing? What do they want? what’s their point in the story? I’m even annoyed by Peak, and love him. Sex scene which they tried to make sexy. Operative word being tried. Although, there was some interesting after sex discussion about mechanics. And there was a cute bathtub chat about pet names. But this show is a lotta work for very little pay out.

Wedding Plan (Wed YT & iQIYI) ep 5 of 7 - I like the sunshine sides? PUNCH LOM 2023! Trash watch here!

Love in Translation (Sat iQIYI) ep 1 of 10 - Pushy older bro is Earn from Love Sick, yay! And he’s the hyung of a side couple, which is "best friend’s older brother" trope! My favorite!!!! Have we seen this in BL before? I don't think so. Anyway, DOUBLE YAY! The main couple… eh. You know I loathe stalker characters. And I viscerally HATE this one. Almost as bad as SCOY, not sure I can take it, actually. The squealing of "Tammy!" is worse on my ear than any off-key guitar strumming. I may have to DNF or fast forward through all his parts… but he’s the lead. What to do? I do like the “Chinese” businessman actor. He very cute. (On an aside, I was just reading about commercial real estate as the loophole for foreign property investors in Thailand. Cool plot point.) I’m getting a Taming of the Shrew vibes from this. Just me? For now it's living at the bottom of the list for sheer unadulterated loathing of Phumjai. Not the actor, he was my favorite and only good thing about Our Days. But this character? NO.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Jun & Jun (Korea Thur Viki) ep 5 of 8 - This is basically the gay Boys Over Flowers of my heart. Or as close as I think we’ll get from BL. I like both of the 2nd leads, even though I suspect Simon of actually being into everyone’s fav hyung. Cute to see the Mr Heart boys back on my screen, oh so briefly. Such a Taiwan trick, reusing a beloved couple like that. Nice gimmie to the fans. Meanwhile, Choi Jun - boy sure knows his angles but his motives? Please don’t let this be another arranged marriage beard situation? I can’t take 2 in the same month.

Stay By My Side (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 8 of 10 - The boyfriends ep! JC is biggest simp spoiling his baby EVER. Taiwan = the sappiest of saps. “Owning the same key” is such a cute way of putting it. Also I love the "knew all along" twist, made me happy. The angst is silly but that's normal in Taiwanese BL.

Love Class Season 2 (Korea Fri Viki) eps 3-4 of 10 - Pair 1: Lee Hyun is such a wide-open, bleeding, no-shame romantic. It’s kinda great. Boy has a poet’s soul & NO artifice. J-Min is startlingly good, very nuanced. I know I keep saying that, but I’m v surprised by his skillz. And… add in creepy stalker, goody. Pair 2: The "other student couple" I’m not into, also NO SINGING. Pair 3: The underwear gift was so fucking funny. “I’m going reap the boxers I sewed” is next level script excellence. These two are brilliant at gayest-of-gay flirt-negging, I'm INTO IT. One of my housemates said, in response to my audible cackling, "You seem to be enjoying your shows extra much tonight."

My Personal Weatherman AKA Taikan Yoho (Japan Sat Gaga) ep 2 of 8 - Oh I love love love them. It’s so old school yaoi and SO JBL. No other country could produce this kind of show. I love this little feminist aspect where the weatherman treats his boy like a 1950s housewife & said boy thinks that makes him an indentured servant. Clocks. But also, the way our weatherman LOOKS at his boy. He is so in love. (It looks like we skip next week for holiday reasons?)

Sing My Crush (Korea Wed iQIYI) eps 5-6 of 8 - It remains enjoyable.

Minato's Laundromat Season 2 AKA Minato Shouji Coin Laundry Season 2 (Japan Thu Gaga) ep 6 of 12 - At least we know Minato actually desires Shin, he just won’t do anything about it. Also, Minato chose the perfect person to come out to. That's nice for him. Finally, Shu & Asuka are glorious. Sides are winning these days.

Stay Still (Hong Kong Tues YouTube) ep 3 of 5 - A proper faen fatal has entered one of our couples. She won too, since she ended up marrying the boy. Still not sure about this show (and it should have convinced me by now). I definitely like the tattoo couple better than the reunion couple. Still, not a lot happened in this episode and this is short series, they don’t have time to waste. It remains intriguing but not... erm... good.

In case you missed it

River Knows Fish Heart is leaving Gaga soon. It's a decent little bully romance Chinese BL (pulp) - yes, you read that right. Actual CBL. Not great, but if you're into the CBL stuff, especially the early stuff, this has some of that tenor only made in 2018 (I have a feeling it was shot in 2017 and skated through). Anygay, just staying. Catch it before it disappears because with CBL once they gone, often, they gone forever.

Friend. Boy Friend a new Thai BL pulp was supposed to start airing on Aug 19th. I can't find it. Neither can MDL.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Everything from Thailand seems to be dropping on Sat & Sun this month. It's a good thing I got quiet weekends for a while. Also the BL firehose is upon us, so much content.

Starting this week:

8/20 (tomorrow) My Universe series (Sun iQIYI) 24 eps - This is sampler pack BL, 12 pairs, each pair gets 2 eps, not sure on the order they’ll drop. Known couples include EarthBank from Destiny Seeker and KaownahTurbo from Love Stage!!!, fresh faces otherwise. Jane to direct.

8/22 Kisseki: Dear to Me formerly known as Miracle (Taiwan Tues Viki & iQIYI) 13 eps - From screenwriter Lin Pei Yu (We Best Love, H3: Trapped) features a student doctor forced to take care of a gangster. I love the premise and like the writer.

8/23 Why R U? (Korean remake iQIYI) 8 eps - I find everything about this hilarious. I mean if Korea remakes it, we lose all the sexy and then... would we have a story at all? No we would not. Not even for 8 short eps. It’d be like one of those mesh shopping bags.

8/24 Man Suang (Thailand movie, domestic cinema release) - historical drama about Thai burlesque with KP’s MileApo.

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

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Another show reviewing itself. (Dino Love)

Don't insult bastards, Lom. (Wedding trash)

I would like this adorable romcom GMMTV, please and thank you.

See what I mean? Trixy.

Thanks boys. (All Only Friends)

(Last week)

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ahdriking · 3 months

Text

Mansuang Review:

Mansuang was amazing. I was particularly impressed by Apo's performance as Khem, which was emotional and complex and deeply moving. His story was riveting to me. I personally love characters with trauma in their backgrounds, who have been beaten down by the world into a certain way of thinking and behaving, and Apo captured that experience gracefully and expertly. There is palpable pain in his performance of the darkest moments. I will say that they could have expanded upon his character development a lot more. It would have been nice to have a bit more emotional nuance in his journey towards self-love and acceptance, but I definitely didn't feel unsatisfied by where his narrative ended up. The movie was already juggling so much they clearly just didn't have the time to dedicate to expanding upon the nitty gritty aspects of his healing.

I will say that I am honestly kinda surprised this didn't have any romance in it at all, because there is such a good foundation for it that it feels like they wasted? Like, Khem feeling that no one cares about him except for his body could have been the gateway to Chatra demonstrating care and affection for him outside of sex, proving that he's capable of being loved for who he is. That jumps out at me. That might have been an opportunity for them also to have expanded on Chatra's character, and given him more presence and personality. Khem is a protector, that's clear in the way he treats Wan, but he so often has to sacrifice himself in that role that it would have been devastatingly effective if Chatra had had an opportunity to take care of him in some way instead.

I loved the *bad touch* backstory, for whumping reasons, but it did leave me a little confused. Why did Khem have to have sex with those people? Was it because he's ambitious enough that he'll sell himself to advance his position? Was it because someone was forcing him to, like a boss or person in power? Was it because he felt he had no choice, or was protecting Wan from something? I just wish we could have gotten to know him better, because we get to see the impact of the trauma but we don't really get to understand it, and that leaves me wondering. It felt like, during the dance scene where Khem goes off script, that he did that as an attempt at seduction, because seduction is what he knows and what he expects. He's used to trading in on his beauty and sex appeal to get what he wants. That suggests so many characteristics to me that just... don't quite exist in the rest of the story. And there's no real conclusion to it other than Khem, at the end of the story, choosing to be a dancer because he's at peace with his place in society. Again, lots and lots of opportunities were built up that just didn't quite manage to hit a home run.

Mile did a fucking fantastic job with what he was given, but I was a little disappointed with his role in the story. I felt like the relationship between him and Khem was half-done and underdeveloped, but it had so much potential! He put in an absolutely solid performance, and knocked the emotional scenes out of the park, but I couldn't help but feel like he wasn't given the chance to really shine.

Tong killed it. Killed it fucking dead. That man has the screen presence of a King, which surprised the fuck out of me cos I thought he was a character actor based on his performance in KinnPorsche. But no, this guy has range. I was very impressed.

Bas did a great job playing a racist sad boy. RIP Wan.

In conclusion: a flawed movie, but still so enjoyable and so, so worth watching. I cannot fucking wait for Shine, I hope that it delivers in some of the areas Mansuang wasn't able to.

#mansuang #mansuang review #mansuang spoilers #apo nattawin #mile phakphum #man suang

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tea-and-tickles · 10 months

Note

heyaaa it’s me again:3 you can choose whoever you’d like for the ler! (i’m the one who requested lee kasa HAHA)

*i crawl out of a flaming hole in the ground on my hands and knees. i am disheveled and holding charred pieces of paper held together with a paper clip* I FINISHED THE FIC

anon, tsukasa has never been my favorite character, but thank you so much for this request. it was a challenge to write a character that i was less familiar with and it was SO FUN! and also, fair warning... i got carried away. it's a 4k word fic. it is... honestly equally a ruikasa fic as it is a tickle fic. still! i worked really hard on this so i hope it was worth the wait! thank you SO MUCH for your patience as i worked on this!! have a lovely day! :D

"all the world's a stage (so show me how this story ends)"

a/n: i am posting this at 3:30 in the gddamn morning. i have a date at 11. i am going to bed now.

!! kink blogs please DNI. i do not fuck with ns.fw blogs interacting with me. if i see u i'm blocking on sight !!

Summary: Alternate Title: 4 times Rui tickled Tsukasa on accident + 1 time he did it on purpose.

After Rui tickles Tsukasa while Wonderlands x Showtime is prepping for a new show, Tsukasa can't seem to get him out of his head...

Warnings: Tickling.

Kamishiro Rui x Tenma Tsukasa from Project SEKAI (Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage!)

Word Count: 4.3k

“Tsukasaaaa! This is so neat!” Emu bellowed. “I love how Prince Pegasus is all like, pchoo! Pow! Bop! at The Manticore!”

“You said this is a story you made up for your little sister?” Nene asked.

“Indeed!” Tsukasa proclaimed. Recently, Wonderlands x Showtime had toyed around with performing more completely original works at the Wonder Stage. Of course, their shows always had a personal touch (this was nearly impossible to avoid with Tsukasa’s flair for the dramatic, Rui’s inventive streak, and the sheer scope of Emu’s imagination. Tsukasa sometimes wondered how Nene did it). But they were always based on something. Cinderella but with robots. A theoretical continuation of Sleeping Beauty. King Midas with audience participation. Okay, that last one was a lie, if only because Rui couldn’t make a machine to magically transmute carbon to gold. But it was definitely on brand.

“Saki and I used to play dragons when we were little. But when she got sick, she wasn’t able to play the way she used to. She talked a lot about missing the adventures of Prince Pegasus, my character, so I wrote down new adventures to read to her when I visited her in the hospital!”

Tsukasa was, admittedly, a little apprehensive about performing this. The Chronicles of Prince Pegasus were fun, even enthralling, when it was just him and Saki. But what would his troupemates think? An audience? If he allowed himself to think much more about it, he might just back out.

“Obviously this is a rewritten version, adapted for the stage and adjusted to be even more harrowing!” The others were still reading. Tsukasa couldn’t stand the silence. “But! I would love to hear your thoughts!”

“It’s really interesting, Tsukasa,” Rui said. It was the first time he had spoken since they began reading the script. “I’d like to make a few tweaks to streamline the story and to give us some wiggle room for a bit more improvisation, but I really like the premise. A classic, yet exciting hero’s journey.”

The others nodded in agreement. Phew. This might go okay after all. No, of course it will! “Tweaks? To a star’s original fiction?! How could you, Rui?!” Tsukasa joked.

Rui gently elbowed Tsukasa in the ribs, to which he yelped and jumped almost a foot in the air. It didn’t quite startle him (after all, someone as brave as him wouldn’t crumble beneath such a light touch!), but it… tickled? “I know. I’m the worst,” Rui said. “Now, let’s discuss casting. I think…”

Huh… weird. Tsukasa hadn’t anticipated that such a light touch would make him react in such a way. And why was his face a bit warmer?

Surely it’s just the summer heat.

Tsukasa cursed the fact that he was 5’7. Not because he didn’t feel masculine enough or because it somehow took away from his dramatic breadth; rather that Rui put everything too damn high up for him to reach. He was thankful, really. When the troupe actually began production on this show a few weeks ago, Tsukasa found it so surreal. He’d starred in plays, sure, but he’d never written one that got performed! This was the opportunity of a lifetime! Still, how on Earth was he supposed to get into character if he didn’t have Prince Pegasus’ sword?! His cape?! After all, the sword was arguably the focal point of the showdown scene they’d be rehearsing today. Getting up to the blasted things might as well have been a show in and of itself. Tenma Tsukasa, desperately balancing on that treacherous swivel chair—in vain. Tenma Tsukasa, clawing his way up the mountain that was the shelves backstage—only to lose his grip. Tenma Tsukasa Found Dead in Phoenix Wonderland was hardly an appealing show title. This was clearly a losing battle.

“Hey, Rui? Can you give me a hand?”

There he came, his knight in shining sweatpants. “At your service.”

“Thank goodness! I can’t seem to reach the props we need for the next scene. Can you reach?”

Rui stared up at the top shelf where Prince Pegasus’ trusty sword and cape lay. He cocked his head to the left, then to the right. Incredulous. Tsukasa knew Rui was strategic to a fault, but this was excessive. “Hm. Now how did those get all the way up there?”

“You tell me! You’re the prop master!” How strange, he thought! Perhaps this was an exercise in dramatic irony?

Rui began to chew his knuckle. “I am, aren’t I?” Okay, maybe not. That nervous tick was something Rui only did when he was actually nervous—or confused. Think, Tsukasa. Think! There must be something to be done about this predicament! Rui was doing… something. Surveying the scene, perhaps? What more was there to survey? Ground, climb, props. Beginning, middle, end. “To be honest, I don’t know how I got those up there in the first place. I can’t even reach that high. Maybe someone else moved them?”

“Who? Robo-Nene?”

“Maybe.”

“Ugh. You’re impossible,” Tsukasa groaned (with a surprising undertone of affection, he realized). “Wait, what about the ladder? Where is it?”

Rui shook his head. “Emu gave it to one of the contractors for the new splash pad they’re working on in the kids’ area.”

“Great, so what do we do now?”

Rui went back to chewing on his knuckles. Interesting technique… Tsukasa wondered if it might help him think of something.

…mm, nope. No dice. His mouth kind of just tasted like salt now.

“Oh, how about I lift you up?” Rui suggested. “The top shelf is about eight feet off the ground. I should be able to get you up high enough to reach.”

Tsukasa internally kicked himself for not thinking of that sooner. But of course, as the brave troupe leader he was, he had to inspire confidence in his dear director. “Aha! Brilliant plan, Rui! Yes, let’s conquer this conundrum once and for all!”

Rui chuckled. “That’s our star.” Those words made Tsukasa’s stomach flutter in a way that almost… pleasant? He decided he’d unpack that later. Rui carefully positioned himself behind Tsukasa, hovering his hands just over Tsukasa’s waist. “Okay, ready?”

“Ready!”

1, 2, and 3. Tsukasa was in the air… and suddenly fighting for his composure. Much to his chagrin, unlike the harnesses he’d used to fly in past shows, the sensation of Rui’s hands on his waist was incredibly ticklish. The fact that his fingers just wouldn’t stay still certainly didn’t help. What on Earth was this pattern? It all happened at once—his stomach fluttered. His core muscles tensed. His lips pursed in an absolutely desperate attempt to suppress a yelp. If he moved, he might give himself away. Curse my body for this betrayal!

“Tsukasa? Are you—”

“I’mfinehahathanks!!” Definitely not convincing. Still, there was time to save this. Tsukasa clambered for the props, and once they were safe in his hands, he landed safely on the ground, heart still pounding in his chest and blood rushing to his face. Turning completely away from Rui would be suspicious, but he had to cut his losses somehow.

“Th-Thanks for your help,” Tsukasa said, fastening the royal blue cape around his neck. Ah! Wait! He could pass it off with his costume! Tsukasa did a dramatic half-turn, the cape unceremoniously tangling behind him. Turns out the stale air of the shop was not exactly conducive to flowy capes.

“Of course,” Rui replied. Tsukasa imagined Rui grinning from ear-to-ear. Normally it came across as smug, but… part of him wanted to turn around, just to see if it looked different.

A beat. Neither moved and neither spoke.

“All right, want to start rehearsing the scene in fifteen?” Rui asked.

“Yeah, sounds good.”

Rui made his way back onto the Wonder Stage. Something told Tsukasa that this would stay etched into his brain for the foreseeable future.

Rui.

Rui, Rui, Rui.

“Our star.”

There was a pit in Tsukasa’s stomach. It had been days since the prop incident, as he called it. He’d been thinking about Rui for much longer than he usually did. His sly, grinning face; his voice; his praise; his stupid jokes—and his hands on his waist. Tsukasa longed for Rui’s touch, and he longed for that touch in particular.

He didn’t get it.

Tsukasa had never had a real crush before. Wait—was it even a crush? Can one develop crushes that quickly? He was at least a little prepared for the butterflies and the racing thoughts. But tickling? Did people fantasize about their crushes tickling them? Was this normal? Then again, maybe it wasn’t actually about the tickling, right? No, surely he just wanted Rui’s attention. That made enough sense. But then again again, why was he so fixated on that moment in particular? Not all the other times Rui had touched him? Why was he so fixated on Rui’s fingers dancing across his skin? Of nails gliding across his stomach and hands lovingly squeezing his sides? Of gentle kisses to his cheeks? Of laughing without a care in the world as Rui showered him with compliment after compliment?

No one could ever know about this. Not the troupe, not Saki, not Toya, and especially not Rui. But Tsukasa was an actor. Surely he could put on a brave face.

…

Or not. Dress rehearsals were actually kind of a disaster. Sure, Prince Pegasus was victorious even without his sword, he rescued his sister, yadda yadda yadda. Tsukasa could go through the motions. But he kept finding his eyes drifting to Rui. And for the most part, Rui hadn’t noticed (thank God), until the final scene.

“Pegasus! Remember, you’re talking to your sister, not the audience!”

Damn it.

“Right! Sorry!”

So the scene dragged on. They ran through it twice. Then three times. Tsukasa’s mind was foggy with heat, frustration, and Rui. Rui’s attention. Rui watching him. Rui judging him. Rui’s disappointment in his lackluster performance. Rui’s disgust when he inevitably learned what Tsukasa had been thinking lately. The urge to cry pricked the corner of his eye.

“...and scene!” shouted Rui. “That was perfect.”

Reprieve. Tsukasa wasn’t absolutely convinced, but it would do for now.

…

Rui’s show notes went in one ear and out the other. There was no way for them not to. While Nene and Emu listened intently, Tsukasa just pondered whatever… that was. This was bad. Very, very bad. Tsukasa had struggled with roles before, but never for this reason. Never because he was so utterly enamored by a guy that he couldn’t focus. What did this mean for him? If he couldn’t surmount a little crush to play a simple fucking role, how could he possibly convey the hero’s journey? Tomorrow Prince Pegasus would appear just as pathetic as Tsukasa was. He needed to will this away, or at least shove it down long enough to—

“Tsukasa.”

Oh no.

“R-Rui! My friend! What can your star do for you?” Jesus, did he really just say that?

Rui frowned. Tsukasa drew in a sharp breath. He saw this coming from miles away, but his stomach churned all the same. “You seemed distracted today. That isn’t like you. I was worried, and… I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Exhale.

…that’s it? That’s all he had to say? In just ten seconds, Tsukasa had gone through all five stages of grief and prepared a (quite beautiful, he thought) monologue explaining his “poor” performance. But Rui, ever the wildcard, threw that plan out the window. Of course, any actor can handle a little improv! Right…?

“Oh, yes! I was just…” Think, Tsukasa. Think. “…uh, the heat! Yes, that’s it. I was simply dizzy with the summer heat!” If Rui’s expression was anything to go off of, that wasn’t very convincing at all. So much for improv.

Rui’s contorted face quickly softened to a concerned one. Absolutely none of this was going to plan. “Tsukasa, are you nervous?”

Of course I am, Rui. How can I be calm when your stupid, pretty face is right in front of me? How can I be calm when all I can think about is you ti—

No. But Rui saw right through him. Lying was absolutely not an option. He could, however, conjure a different motivation—it just had to be in character. “Maybe a little. It’s just… are you sure we’re ready to perform tomorrow? I know all of our characters came easily to us, especially mine, of course, but this might be our quickest turnaround yet!” …yeah! Something like that.

Rui seemed to contemplate this answer for a moment (or, at least, that was Tsukasa’s best guess. Rui’s facial expressions were not known for their readability.) He smiled, laying a hand on Tsukasa’s shoulder. “You know I would never put on a show that I didn’t think we could perform. As your director, I have the utmost confidence in you and the others.” Then, he lay his other hand on Tsukasa’s free shoulder, just as tenderly as the first. “And I know our star won’t let us down.”

This wasn’t out of the ordinary. Rui was usually sincere, but felt recontextualized. Tsukasa knew something about Rui, or maybe himself, that he didn’t before. Impulses took over, and before he knew it, Tsukasa found his face buried into the nape of Rui’s neck and his arms wrapped tightly around his body. This was so incredibly selfish. But then Rui’s arms found their way to Tsukasa’s back. It wasn’t as if the two had never hugged before, but it might as well have been. Rui had taken on a different role in Tsukasa’s mind: of an eccentric and colorful casanova.

His soliloquy was suddenly interrupted by the sensation of Rui’s fingertips stroking the length of his back. This was getting ridiculous—could he catch a break today?! Each new spot Rui touched set Tsukasa’s nerves ablaze. Rui’s nimble fingers traveled all the way down to the small of Tsukasa’s back, then slowly back up again, tracing his spine to the valley between his shoulder blades. The higher Rui went, the harder it was for Tsukasa to stifle the giggles bubbling up from his diaphragm. He prayed to God, the universe, anyone who might hear him, that this moment would last a little while longer. But, with one final squeeze, Rui let go.

Tsukasa now prayed that golden hour would obscure the blush on his face. “Um—thanks for… that, Rui.”

Rui smiled (if he even stopped smiling in the first place?). “Of course. I’ll see you tomorrow.” And, in true cheesy-romance-movie fashion, Tsukasa stared as Rui disappeared beyond the sunlight-bathed horizon.

This wasn’t going away, was it?

Tsukasa loved the way the Wonder Stage transformed Rui him and his friends. He’d learned this term once, social facilitation, and that described it perfectly: the crowd was the extra push the troupe needed to be the best they could be. Somehow, all the fears he’d had from the previous day had washed away. Emu’s acting demonstrated a surprising level of depth. Nene found confidence on the stage she didn’t have elsewhere.

And Rui? The Wonder Stage brought him out in his purest form.

Rui had long since moved past his days of typecasting, especially with how well-received Thorpe was—but no one would dare say he was a bad typecaster. When Rui assigned himself a role, he played it well. Case in point, today’s villain, The Manticore.

Suspense hung in the air as the audience watched Prince Pegasus approach The Manticore. “You,” Prince Pegasus snarled (so far, so good). He sauntered over to his nemesis, hand on his sword’s hilt. “You have a lot of nerve, kidnapping my sister and thinking I wouldn’t track you down.” This wasn’t going badly after all! Rui had no idea how right he was yesterday—that even if Tsukasa was plagued by this… preoccupation… he was still more than capable. It was all such a rush.

Rui chuckled. Or was it The Manticore? Really, they may have been one and the same. Like Rui, The Manticore was charming, cunning, eccentric, and a little bit too handsome for comfort. But no matter! Like any good story, the Prince would surely emerge victorious; he would defeat his nemesis with courage and wit alone.

And then it happened; something unscripted. Rui placed a finger beneath Tsukasa’s chin, tilting it upward. Tsukasa’s cheeks burned. And as if matters couldn’t get any worse, Rui’s finger then pivoted inward, mimicking a lion’s claw. It tickled. And it drove Tsukasa crazy. This, of all times?! Rui had to know. He was testing him. His resolve. His talent. Tsukasa’s composure teetered on that claw for entirely too long.

“My Prince,” The Manticore (Rui???) cooed. “The choice is yours. The sword, or your sister.”

Tsukasa swallowed hard. But an actor can handle a little improv. Prince Pegasus bowed, offering his sword. “As you wish.”

“Woooow!!!” Emu cheered. “That was so awesome! That must’ve been our biggest crowd yet!”

Nene nodded. “I could really feel the tension between Prince Pegasus and The Manticore.

Tension was right. The amount of restraint it took not to kiss Rui then and there was kind of unbearable. But… Emu was right, too. It was an incredible show with an incredible turnout. So much so, in fact, that the four were already planning a rerun and new ways to make it even more incredible. (Emu and Rui’s idea of this was pyrotechnics. Tsukasa figured he could talk some sense into them another time). For now, they could ride the high of another successful show.

A few rides and a meal later, Emu and Nene began making their way home, leaving Tsukasa alone with Rui. This wasn’t unusual—the girls usually needed to get home a bit earlier—but something felt different. Not just Tsukasa’s little crush, that was hardly new. No, Rui seemed distant. Maybe a bit aloof. That pit in his stomach returned. After the stunt Rui pulled during the show, Tsukasa was convinced he had surely caught on to the thoughts plaguing his mind. And, seeing how Tsukasa just barely pushed through the scene, Rui had surely decided that Tsukasa was far too odd to be close to anymore.

…but that didn’t make sense. Rui was weird, sure. His directing methods were sometimes questionable and his inventions bordered on insane. But Rui wasn’t malicious. He was far too sincere to ever test Tsukasa like that. Plus! Rui hadn’t been distant this morning before the show!

And then it clicked. Tsukasa had made himself the villain in his own story! It wasn’t him, but his inner demons! Okay, that was probably a little heavy-handed for a tickle-crush on a boy. But his point stood! What a complex narrative!

Even with this realization, that pit remained. He wasn’t exactly certain, but there was only one way to find out. He had to know how the story would end, no matter how afraid he was. And so, putting on the bravest face he could muster, Tsukasa sauntered over to Rui.

“Hey, Rui.”

“Hmm?”

“What was… that? By the way?”

Rui chuckled. That damn chuckle. “Ah, did you like that little detail in the showdown scene? I thought a bit of improv would really add to—”

“—was it really just for the show?”

Rui’s face dropped. It was more satisfying that Tsukasa was willing to admit. “…what do you mean?”

“The way you tilted my chin,” Tsukasa said. “It was a brilliant choice! Very much in character! But… it felt like you.” If Tsukasa kept talking, he was certain his heart would burst out of his throat. “And… call me crazy, but I hope it wasn’t just for the show.”

The two stood, face-to-face, staring. Neither spoke. Neither moved. And for once, throughout this entire ordeal, Tsukasa saw Rui’s composure break. His hand covered his mouth, and his face turned a deep shade of crimson. Bashfulness looked good on him, Tsukasa thought. Rui’s piercing, yellow eyes met Tsukasa’s. It was familiar. It was the exact “cunning” way Rui had looked at him before.

Oh, wow.

“Tsukasa…” Rui mumbled. The corners of his lips quirked upward, and he laughed. Really laughed. An honest, breathless belly laugh that Tsukasa had never seen from him before. He was completely and utterly enamored by it. “I—I didn’t expect you to read me so candidly.” Rui stepped forward, taking Tsukasa’s trembling hands into his own. “You’re right. A small part of me hoped you’d notice.”

Tsukasa found himself laughing, too. “It took me longer than you know.”

This was comfortable. The both of them, equally shy and equally embarrassed. After all, if all the world was a stage, wasn’t there also a backstage? A green room? An honest moment between actors?

“Rui, can I kiss you?” Tsukasa spat the words out before he could even think about them. And, just as quickly, Rui leaned in, pressing his lips firmly against Tsukasa’s. It was awkward, and decidedly weirder than a stage kiss. But it was nice for the walls to come down. The masks were off. The audience was gone. There was only Tsukasa and Rui…

…and the familiar tickling sensation of Rui’s fingers along the contour of Tsukasa’s jaw. Tsukasa felt his lips part hopelessly into a big, goofy smile. “Wh–What are you doing?”

“Tickling you,” Rui answered. “You’re not the only perceptive one around here, my star.”

What was it called when the pit and the butterflies happened at the same time? Butterfly mosh pit?

“You noticed—AH!”

Rui’s fingers traveled down to Tsukasa’s neck, his nails dragging along either side. “Not at first, but I did notice that you never tried to stop me.” They darted wildly between the underside of his jaw and the crook of his collarbone, never staying in one place for too long. Even trying to trap Rui’s hand between his cheek and his shoulder didn’t work—his fingers could still wiggle away at his neck.

“YoHOU—! You jeheherk!!!” Tsukasa sputtered.

“Me? A jerk?” Rui feigned his best offended voice. “I thought you wanted me to do this!” Rui now had Tsukasa wrapped in his arms, trapping him between his wriggling fingers. This time, he pressed a little harder as he drilled his fingers ever-so-slightly into Tsukasa’s ribs. Tsukasa’s laugh shot up in pitch to an octave he didn’t know he could reach—and it grew even more frantic when Rui’s hands wandered to his sides instead. He couldn’t figure out what tickled more. Squeezing? Spidering? His brain was, frankly, too fuzzy to even think about it.

“I—! D-Don’t—ahaha!!—dohon’t make me say it!”

“Say what? Say that you want me to tickle you?”

“You know what!!”

“Do I? Surely I wouldn’t ask if I knew.” Heavens, Tsukasa wasn’t prepared for how much Rui would tease him. Each sentence seemed to be punctuated by even more tickles. No matter how Tsukasa squirmed or twisted, there was always another hand waiting for him, ready to poke at his side or claw under his arms. He could certainly say it was hell, but he’d surely be lying. The fact that Rui was giggling along with him somehow made the sensation even stronger. So, instead of trying to pull Rui’s hands away, Tsukasa simply opted to cover his own face. This seemingly only encouraged Rui to speed up. “Why are you hiding your face? Can’t I hear you giggle?”

“I—ehehe!! I’m embarrassed!”

Rui gasped. “Tsukasa? Embarrassed? What a fascinating turn of events!” Rui’s hands shot straight up to Tsukasa’s wrists as Rui just barely let his fingers graze Tsukasa’s forearms. His arms?! How was that even a spot that could be ticklish?!

Rui’s hands suddenly paused. It was quiet for a moment—much too quiet. The anticipation still wracked Tsukasa’s body. Though he didn’t quite understand why he was still twitching and giggling, he wasn’t exactly complaining. Still… he couldn’t possibly watch. As his hands rose to his eyes, Rui finally spoke.

“Hm… I wonder what happens if I—” Oh no. Tsukasa realized Rui’s were hovering over—

“DON’T YOU DARE—!” Too little, too late. Tsukasa shrieked as Rui’s fingers danced and scribbled all across his tummy.

“Oh! What an interesting discovery! I simply must know more about this spot…” At this point, Tsukasa had fully collapsed against Rui’s body. If not for being in Rui’s arms, he would have absolutely fallen to the ground. But, far too tired to fight back, Tsukasa couldn’t help but laugh away as Rui methodically mapped every bit of his torso. Knowing Rui, he’d have a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of his tickle spots after today.

And for once, Tsukasa really did feel like a star. Maybe not in the way a world-class Broadway actor would be, or a celebrity on the silver screen, but like the apple of Rui’s eye. Attention without performance felt so utterly foreign to Tsukasa—but he could get used to it, he thought.

Even as Rui lightened his touch and slowed his fingers, Tsukasa still found himself awfully ticklish at the moment. Even the slightest, unintentional movement of Rui’s hand sent him into another fit of giggles. Only after Rui removed his hands completely was Tsukasa able to really catch his breath. Though heaving, he gazed at Rui, who was wearing the dumbest grin he had ever seen. Had he not been so worn out, he would have laughed all over again. “I—I think you enjoyed doing that as much as I… um. You know.”

Rui chuckled. “I do know. As for whether I enjoyed it… open to audience interpretation,” he said with a wink.

Tsukasa sighed fondly. He gingerly took Rui’s hand in his. “Walk me home?”

“Of course, my star.”

#project sekai tickle #project sekai tickles #project sekai tickling #requests #tickle fic #atti.docx

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milkybonya · 2 years

Text

☆彡actor

🎼 love as: are we living out a fake fantasy or is this true destiny?_Actor

🎼 track 05 of the 낭만 (NANGMAN) -- do you believe in romance? series

🎼 you like Hwang Hyunjin... but you're not sure if you're falling for the male lead role that he acts out with you or for the real him.

!: suggestive content (kissing/making out), open-ended, ~1k+ (?)

#: actor!Hyunjin x actor!(gn)reader, y/n crushes on Hyunjin

[💌: finally finishing this up T_T a song that gets better over time: something by dress... big naughty's verse at the end makes me ascend]

he cups your entire right cheek in just one of his hands, stroking it with his thumb.

"my love..." he mumbles, his eyes settling on your lips.

your heart shouldn't be racing. you should be keeping calm... but you can't help it. the moment when he tilts his head and his locks fall over his eyes, his lips touch yours and his hands pull you closer, you have to use all your willpower to keep your knees from buckling.

"cut!" the director announces.

Hyunjin pulls away slowly, as if savouring the kiss despite it being completely scripted.

"was that okay? are you okay?" he asks, his hand still cupping your face. he seems to still be stuck in the kiss until he realizes and pulls his hand away.

"yeah, it was fine!" you reassure the boy.

he smiles brightly at you and his hands enter his pockets. someone from the production team calls him over and he excuses himself, and you're left fanning your face to get yourself to calm down.

your manager approaches you with some water.

"hey, y/n, are you alright? did you get too caught up in the scene?" they ask.

"yeah, i guess so..." you mumble, thanking them for the water and taking a sip.

you watch Hyunjin from afar and how he interacts with the staff, intently listening to them and nodding along. he's so dreamy... is it just because of the character he plays? are you falling for him or his character?

you're not a rookie actor by any means, and you've played plenty of romantic scenes before... never have you felt this way. but then again, and no offense to the other actors you've worked with, none have ever been quite this handsome.

you suck in a breath through your teeth, still watching him.

well, heck. why don't you put your acting skills to use and go approach him with somw fake confidence? nothing is stopping you!

so, that's what you do. Hyunjin immediately turns to you with a smile, and when you ask for a second of his time, he gladly follows you outside of the set.

"honestly, y/n, thank God you pulled me away. the staff were repeating themselves a lot back there," he explains with a giggle. you don't comprehend any of it because you're so busy staring at the way his thin, silver rings sit on his fingers and how his hands themselves seem to nervously dance with one another.

"but anyways, what did you want to talk about?" he asks, eyes wide as he gives you his full attention.

his long, dark locks tied half up half down expose his pretty T-zone.

"oh uh... well, i was wondering if we could exchange numbers and go over the script on our own, together, sometime?" you ask, not even missing a single beat despite your request being a little odd.

Hyunjin is sweet though, and doesn't question it much. yet, is he sweet or is he just acting that way because he's used to putting on an image?

"oh... are the scenes for next week making you extra nervous? don't worry, me too! we can definitely do that! here, pass me your phone and i'll give you mine."

your fingers brush against each other and your heart races. it wasn't like you weren't just kissing this man a few moments ago. yet you weren't really kissing him, were you? you were kissing a character. you, no, not even you but a character, was kissing another character.

identity crisis. the one problem with actors that people rarely discuss.

anyways, you get his number just like that. all according to script.

two days later, you're pacing around in Hyunjin's livingroom, muttering the lines to yourself as he makes you both some hot beverages.

"you look like a mad scientist right now," he says before chuckling. his laugh is like honey for the ears and it makes you stop walking, which makes Hyunjin think he hurt your feelings.

"i was joking, i'm sorry if i offended you," he calmly explains, but you firmly shake your head and tell him it's fine.

he nods in response and his hair, untied today, bounces around his gorgeous, tan face.

Hyunjin then walks over to you, drinks in hand and offering you one. you take it before he can warn you that it's hot, and it slips straight out of your hands.

smash.

the hot liquid spreads around the floor and Hyunjin urges you to step back as he runs to clean it up. he's straight out of a drama with the way he vaccums up the glass and wipes away the liquid from the floor, pausing to push his hair behind his ears and roll up his sleeves.

he knows exactly when to do what, and you're in love, smitten for his calculated moves and perfection. but is it even love if it's perfect?

"let me help," you keep offering, but his worried face and tone tell you to move onto the couch and rehearse the script while he cleans up.

it doesn't take long but it feels like an eternity for you as you watch over him. yet before you know it, he's holding out another drink to you, reminding you quickly that it's hot this time.

"thank you, Hyunjin. i'm so sorry."

"hey now, y/n. don't apologize! i'm just glad you're not hurt. now, let's finally practice, shall we?"

ah yes, practice. no small talk. no cuddling on the couch--why would that even happen?! your mind races ahead, already imagining scenarios with your co-actor...

"so the next scene seems to be an argument that ends in a hug. i start this one... honey. why won't you just hear me out?" Hyunjin's tone changes immediately as he adopts his character's tone.

"no, i think you need to listen! you've been going around seeing other people and i've acted oblivious for too long," you shout.

"other people? my love, i've only been seeing you--"

"don't you dare lie!" you cut him off at the perfect moment and let your voice shake, just like the script commands.

"those people theyre--it's all fake. but we're real, my dear. we're real," Hyunjin's voice grows more quiet.

"if we're real then why do you keep referring to me with different petnames. why can't you stick to one! who is it that you call 'my dear'? must be someone else! i've never heard that one before."

Hyunjin lets out a scripted sigh and races forward to wrap you in a hug. he feels so warm and the butterflies rage within you again, still persisting even when he pulls away to look at you while saying his next lines. his hands holding onto you keep you in place. once again, your legs have gone weak.

your eyes land on Hyunjin's plump lips. they're so red and shiny, coated with the sip of his drink he took earlier. you wonder how it tastes. you wonder how it tastes on Hyunjin's lips--no. you wonder how Hyunjin's lips taste.

and before you know it, you've gone off-script. you've broken out of your character and are pressing your lips to his and God it feels so good. they're warm, they taste bitter like his drink but sweet from the cookie he ate before, they're soft and... and he's kissing you back. he's holding the back of your neck to bring you closer as his other hand supports your back, he won't pull away, he won't take a breath until you do.

you finally pull away when you start to feel dizzy, and you both avoid each other's eyes for a few seconds. when you finally look at him, he looks dazed.

"um... y/n i think.. i think we should go back to the script," Hyunjin mumbles, crouching down to pick up the papers he forgot he dropped.

"and what if i don't want to," you say, too quiet for him to hear.

you wait for him to tell you that the kiss should've never happened and should never happen again. he doesn't. so, you hope it'll happen again. you hope you can break free of the script you're forced to follow.

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aihoshiino · 8 months

Text

chapter 128 thoughts!

a little late because i have been fighting for my life against sleepy bitch disease all week but HERE WE GO

Right off the bat, the little power level rankings for everyone are such a cute visual while also being a great way to quickly and immediately get across some super important and interesting info about everyone's capabilities going into the chapter. I won't comment on everything but there is some stuff I want to make a note of before going into things!

Ruby's acting skills being ranked as D and accordingly as her biggest weakness is pretty interesting. I was worried that might be left hanging but I'm glad to see the story continuing to acknowledge how much is riding on the movie's success and how Ruby's acting might not be able to bear that weight. That combined with One Other Thing really does have me start to seriously wonder if we won't have a lead actress switcharoo on our hands at some point in the future.

Melt's acting skill being ranked as B (the same level as Aqua, even!) made me go <3. He really has come such a long way from where he first started and the blood, sweat and tears he wrung out of himself during Tokyo Blade seems to have really paid off. Melt, my beloved!!!

Moving onto the chapter itself, I was really surprised to see Aqua playing Kamiki! I guess I shouldn't be with how hard that family resemblance has been played up but for some reason, I was really certain he was specifically playing Ryosuke, not Kamiki... I guess because it was originally stated he was 'the culprit'? Anyway, Aqua playing Kamiki is part of why I'm starting to wonder if either he or Ruby will end up backing out of their roles – having a pair of twin siblings play a real life couple who Definitely Fucked seems like the sort of things that uh, might put a dampener on the movie's intended reception, just from an in-universe perspective!

This chapter also finally gives us a name for the Crow Girl - Tsukuyomi! I felt SUCH a thrill when I saw her use that name because I had wondered last chapter if her pointed reference to the moon might be some indication that's who she was but at the time it felt like a stretch, so I didn't voice it. Gah, I should've put it in my chapter thoughts so I could be extra smug about calling it!

In general, I'm really surprised by how many of my long-term issues with OnK were specifically touched on in this chapter to a really eerily specific degree lol? But holy shit! Somebody actually acknowledging the huge bombshell of Aqua and Ruby's connection to Ai! Akane, specifically, finally fucking acknowledging that Ruby was also traumatized by her mother's death! Akane acknowledging Ruby exists at all!! Akane interacting with characters that aren't Aqua!!! Thank god!!!

I'm also becoming increasingly curious about the DVDs the kids saw. They're a pretty transparent retcon and I imagine we'll eventually see them for ourselves but I'm still itching to know wtf Aka was even cooking when he added them.

For all that was good about this chapter, though, I do have a pretty major issue with the way a lot of the emotional stuff is being skimmed over purely to not let the reader in on the content of the movie too early. This info isn't necessarily new to all the characters but there are some major bombshells about the culprit and Ai's relationship with him that we get no commentary on from the characters.

The biggest and most baffling missed opportunity here is Taiki, honestly??? Based on what Aqua says to him and the fact that Frill is going to be playing Airi Himekawa we can probably guess that her abuse of Kamiki will be laid bare in the movie. If that's the case then Taiki has just found out, possibly just from this fucking script, that his mother is a child rapist and he himself is a product of rape. The fact that we do not see any emotional response from him about this information beyond "that's on my mom you caught her slippin" genuinely fucking blows my mind! Completely insane!!! Was there really absolutely no space in the story for Taiki to have literally any time or room to process an incredibly traumatic dump of information like that???

that said, for my complaints... I won't pretend it didn't kick me in the gut to see Ruby all dressed up as Ai on that final page. Definitely her mom's daughter.

Break next week..........................................

#oshi no ko #oshi no posting #onk spoilers #oshi no ko spoilers #csa mention #sa mention

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reynoldscrawnjob · 6 months

Text

Cheat Codename

The main human actor of Cheat Commandos, who voiced the main “protagonist” Gunhaver showed up on the screen and smiled at the camera.

“Blargh! I’m Crack Stuntman, the actor of the Gunshaver from Cheat Commandos! I’m here for a very special episode of why it’s a bad idea to run away. You see, even if those you live with don’t treat you well, you still need them to survive. It may not be perfect, but even if you’re being tormented every day, you should stay with those you love because they love you deep down, even if they never say or show it.” Crack Stuntman then frowned. “Who gave me this script? This is a bunch of bologna, lucky for you, script writers, I’m desperate for money…”

“Now I remember what kind of shows I grew up on…” Strong Sad sighed as he watched Cheat Commandos.

Back on the show, Reynold was now back to his normal figure. He was thinner than he used to be, but he was still fed enough to be considered a normal weight.

“How are you doing?” Blue Laser smiled as he patted Reynold’s back.

“Honestly, joining you was the best thing that ever happened to me.” Reynold told him. “But you know what would be even better?”

“Destroying the Cheat Commandos?” Blue Laser grinned.

“You read my mind, sir.” Reynold saluted as he started to chuckle evilly. Blue Laser then laughed out loud, then they both burst out laughing maniacally.

Meanwhile, Gunhaver, Silent Rip, and Crackotage were sitting on their bean bags while playing video games, ones where ponies were beating up each other.

“Um, have you guys seen Reynold?” Silent Rip questioned. “He hasn’t begged to be fed in a while.”

“He joined Blue Laser, remember?” Gunhaver replied nonchalantly.

“Reynold’s a fool for joining their pack, pretty soon he’ll come crawling back.” Crackotage rhymed while dancing. “Haha!”

Suddenly, Blue Laser and his minions broke in, wielding laser guns, Reynold was holding his backwards. Blue Laser took it from him, Reynold frowned, until BL gave it back to him with the right side pointing towards the enemies, Reynold smirked.

“We’re under attack! Cheat Commandos! Riggedy roll!” Gunhaver pointed.

“Maybe next time, say “attack”.” Silent Rip rolled his eyes a little.

Gunhaver then tried to take out his gun, but instead he was holding a super soaker.

“What?! What is this?!” Gunhaver gasped in horror.

“We’re in the 21st century now. We can’t have real guns anymore.” Silent Rip replied.

“I forgot… Stupid censors…” Gunhaver grumbled.

“Who’s got the upper hand now?” Reynold chuckled, rather pathetically.

“How could you manipulate our little buddy?! He doesn’t know right from wrong!” Gunhaver scolded, sounding like he had some sort of morality now.

“Little?! First of all, there’s no indication I’m smaller or younger than you, you just always treated me like a kid just because I refused to go on a mission that one time! Second, even if I didn’t know right from wrong, who’s fault is that for always sheltering me?! Third.” Reynold then paralyzed Gunhaver with the laser, it spread to the rest of the commanders and he smirked.

“Look, we’re sorry, okay?! We were just trying to protect you from the outside world!” Gunhaver pleaded.

“Tell it to the Commander!” Reynold laughed as he pointed at Blue Laser who put his stubby hands on his hips proudly.

“Could this be the end of the Cheat Commandos?!” Silent Rip wondered.

“It’s no lie, we’re in trouble, we need a plan on the double.” Crackotage rhymed.

“Now it’s time for the commercial break, and now you realize why you shouldn’t run away with villains, kids.” Crack Stuntman told the camera. “And realizing is part of the fight!

“Buy all our playsets and toys!” The screen showed the set of the Cheat Commandos toys.

“Are you tired of smelling like flowers, sea breeze, or anything pleasant?” Strong Bad announced to the screen. “Are you tired of ladies coming anywhere near you for makeouts? I know I’m not, but if you are, The Poopsmith is selling a new cologne!”

The Poopsmith looked at the screen and held up a perfume bottle.

“Oh, screw this! I’m not going to sell this literal crap! Go find someone else to help you sponsor, I quit!” Strong Bad walked away, The Poopsmith looked at the ground sadly.

“Did you enjoy our commercials? That was from our sponsors! Now back to our special episode! Blargh!” Crack Stuntman announced.

“What a successful mission!” Blue Laser grinned and laughed as he dragged the captured commandos on a wagon. “Now for our takeover of the universe! Then the world! Then the town!”

“Oh boy, how can I help?” Reynold grinned.

“Just stay here and refreeze your former superiors every time they begin to move.” Blue Laser commanded.

“Yes, sir!” Reynold saluted.

“Reynold, you can’t do this!” Gunhaver told his former lackey.

“Of course I can, I am right now!” Reynold growled.

“Don’t you remember the good times?” Silent Rip asked. Reynold looked sad and sympathetic. He remembered him and his fellow commandos skipping across the beach as flower petals fell from the fly.

“Of course I do.” Reynold sighed. “Good times that never happened!” Then he froze the Commandos again.

“Don’t you see Blue Laser is just using you?!” Gunhaver questioned.

“Of course I see it!” Reynold whimpered. “Do you think I’m stupid or something?! Of course you do, but even his fake caring is better than yours!”

“Reynold, come home, you don’t know what you’re missin’, if you come back you can go on a mission!” Crackotage rhymed.

“I’ll miss your rhymes. But my mind is made up.” Reynold chuckled, then he realized something. “Oh darn it, I have to go, see you losers in a minute.”

Reynold crawled on his way to the bathroom.

“Though our situation is badder, we can count on the enemy’s weak bladder!” Crackotage laughed.

“That’s the worst rhyme you’ve ever made.” Silent Rip chided.

“You’re right…” Crackotage muttered. Soon, Crackotage, Silent Rip, Gunhaver, Fightgar, and Firebert broke loose. “We’re free! Free! Free as a bee!”

“What do we do now?” Fightgar asked.

“We need disguises, and that’s where you come in.” Gunhaver told Fightgar.

“Ahh, that was the best one yet, I feel bad for who has to go in there next.” Reynold chuckled as he walked out of the room on the left side of the hallway. Then he noticed his emo brother was standing in front of him, except he had stubble on his furry face. “Oh, what do you want?”

“Listen, sorry for being annoying, big brother.” Fightgar smiled while pretending to be Reynold’s younger brother. “Please come home with me and we can make amends.”

“Liar!” Reynold slapped Fightgar’s face, his spiky blue wig coming off. “My brother would never say such things! I’m not an idiot anymore.”

Then the other commandos hopped out of their hiding places.

“You’re outnumbered, buddy!” Gunhaver smirked. “You’re still the clueless and defenseless idiot we always knew!”

“So you admit you never thought highly of me?!” Reynold grumbled as he shook from anger, then he started sniffling as tears fell from his goggles.

“Uh, I didn’t expect that from the new Reynold.” Silent Rip shrugged.

“Uh… You okay?” Gunhaver questioned.

“I just wanted revenge, but you’re right, I’m nothing, do what you want to me, nothing matters anymore!” Reynold sobbed. Blue Laser watched this from afar, and was getting angry.

“Hey! Nobody talks to my newest recruit like that!” Blue Laser growled as he took out a larger laser beam. “Forget the mission, you all better get out of here or else I will use this even more powerful laser on you! You don’t want to know what will happen when I fire it!”

“Will it melt us?” Fightgar gasped.

“Worse, it will make you all UGLY and UNMARKETABLE!” Blue Laser laughed evilly, all five of the commandos darted away.

“You… You almost ruined our show, just to save me?” Reynold teared up a little.

“Sure did.” Blue Laser patted his shoulder.

“I thought you were just using me for evil exploits!” Reynold sniffled.

“I was, but I actually like having a friend, let’s go get another pizza.” Blue Laser smiled at Reynold.

“Awesome!” Reynold put his arms in the air. The two then drove off in Blue Laser’s ship to go order a large pizza.

#cheat commandos #fanfiction #homestar runner

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04tenno · 1 year

Note

Do you think that if the latest live action version of the games comes to be, they’d be a bit more open about the queer characters being queer? Not anything direct but not as vague as some of them are in the games?

I also wonder if they wouldn’t be held back by some of the same things the games are, would characters who receive less screen time get more of that. Really, I don’t know why I’d bother thinking about it so much right now but I must W o n d e r

Oh, like the Hollywood movie that was in the works a couple years back? I'm not entirely positive that one in specific is still going through, since Nagoshi was the one overseeing it and we haven't seen any news in years, but I suppose worst case scenario they could always do other live action adaptations.

RGG adaptations historically have next to nothing to do with the games or have any real supervision, so it depends on who's behind the wheel. Any opportunity to shake up and retell the existing stories does have potential. The original Like a Dragon movie and the stage show had Majima be a lot more forward than almost anything that was actually in the games at the time, for example, but they were still in the realm of plausible deniability.

So it'd be heavily dependent on the chosen plot, format, and priorities in the script and direction. If it's an all-new story and/or cast, well, I haven't seen Poetry of the Soul or the Yakuza prequel, so I'm not sure what the precedent is. But if it's a proper adaptation, which game/era is being adapted matters hugely for potential representation. And the format and priorities matter because a stage play, one-off film, a series of films, an average drama, and a miniseries all have vastly different amounts of time to dedicate to plot and characterization.

For example, one would expect no adaptation of Yakuza 3 would just Leave Out Mine's Motives Entirely and reduce him to a monster who wants all orphans dead, right? But the comic adaptation did exactly that. Of course, it was from Haruka's perspective and she has every right to think so, but considering the comic was specifically meant to summarize the whole of Yakuza 3 as a replacement for the wiki, choosing Haruka as the viewpoint character was a mistake from the beginning. But that's how it happened with only a few panels to tell the story, and a "plot-focused" Yakuza 3 film adaptation may make the same mistake.

In all honesty, though, I think the games have waaay more opportunities to make it work. A show might have a fighting chance, but the average RGG game now is about 48 hours, which would be grossly long for anything other than the annual NHK taiga drama (and honestly, those are still grossly long).

I personally think Yakuza: Like a Dragon is the queerest game not by virtue of having anyone declare their love but by having a host class that relies on charm in a game with only male enemies, having Essence of Titillation and Essence of Restoration work on female party members, having Ichiban get a honk-honk from a guy and it giving him the biggest stat boosts in the entire game, having those teasing hints about Nanba and Ichi or Zhao and Ichi, Having Nick In The Game Period, having the plot center around a family with two dads, having one of said dads' gender nonconformity be the most respectfully-depicted instance in the entire series (and referring to him as an actress and mother), having Ako in the game and both treating her normally and having her be voiced by a woman in the dub, having NPCs express wanting to be reborn as the opposite gender.

Like... that's the run-on sentence to end all run-on sentences, but I could go on. These Bitches Queer.

#long post #asks #my analysis #anonymous #yakuza #yakuza tv series #yakuza 3 #yakuza like a dragon #yoshitaka mine #haruka sawamura #ichiban kasuga #yu nanba #tianyou zhao #nick ogata #ako okano #SORRY TO EVERYONE WHO'S SENT ME ASKS I'VE BEEN TRYING TO RESPOND BUT WHAT I HAVE THE ENERGY FOR IS UP TO RNGESUS #speaking of grossly long. jesus christ that sentence is way too long #and also like #the studio has full control over the games. they don't have anyone to answer to except idk yokoyama #who is incredibly comfortable with same-sex attraction #and has grown a great deal with regard to gender nonconformity and trans people #with the film industry it's like.#if it's hollywood yknow queer people may be Profitable Right Now but there are just as many stories of censorship #but with japan's film industry we very recently saw the most prominent animation director get barred from making a movie with queer girls.#so i'd be more than happy with the games staying on the track they are now #i don't think we need to rely on adaptations and such to get us there because We Are Already Here Babey #i aint tagging all the shit i mentioned btw good luck

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itsohh · 7 months

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thoughts after completing mw3

I can firmly say its not worth playing unless your a fan of DMZ. as someone who isn't, its horrible.

the game turns 180 on the style of the campaign and you lose a lot of the liner gameplay which made the first two games so enjoyable. in order for what I presume was to cut corners they opt for a more open world more feel. while the other games did have this on some levels it wasn't done in a fun way.

for example 'alone' in mw2 you have the entire stealth aspect with johnny and then in mw1 (I can't remember the mission but its the one where you getting farahs brother) you do open objective as gaz with price and even though its a big area it still feels quite nice and focused.

this weird open world thing was seen in the second to last mission but it was still straight forward. honestly the game felt rushed, empty, spotty and full of fuller content. the story line wasn't very solid and felt ehhhh.

don't even get me started on some of the actual normal missions like 'kill invisible dudes who instantly snipe you before you can see me' fuck me that was horrible. they give the illusion of that you could stealth around them but every time I attempted gaz would get seen. so idk if that was scripted or not but it sucked.

the final mission felt lackluster and dull.

I'll give them that the final cutscene was good and did tug at the heart strings. but also it felt like his death was more for shock value? to reference the previous games. ah idk. it's not bad I suppose but I also feel like it was tacked on, I wish they made it a bigger deal

I can't help but wonder what the level design would have been if they had more time. I miss the way they did things in the previous games and it also so short. they established such a good begining in mw1 and then had maybe not the best game AI but a really good sequeal in mw2. mw3 falls so flat. I miss missions where you spend the entire time stealth, I miss the interactions between soap and ghost, or gaz and price.

for what they delivered it really wasn't worth the price. would I still have bought it? yes because I wanted to experience it.

the lack of optimisation is insane, sure its early access but we all know that they won't fix these bugs. on one mission I was forced to put my graphics on the lowest setting to load it. I have a current gen graphics card. for some random moments my screen would be covered in low pixel smoke that would only clear if I did a 360.

the graphics were of course, amazing and photorealistic but somehow didn't deliver on the immersion that the previous games did. the voice acting and acting alone carried this game unfortuantly let down by the shotty writing, cheap level design and general cash grab vibe to the game.

I thought that this was supposed to be the last game but with the lack of question still to be answered it does feel like they could have another one. without soap though... the team doesn't feel complete. any attempt to bring in roach at this point would feel like hes there to replace him which isn't idk great.

vlad's still out there, so is graves and then the entire plotline with valeria / alejandro has yet to be touched on. I imagined they will bring one of those in for the raid series

the game feels like it has so many holes, mainly why was so little amount of troops sent in. like at times it feels like there only 141 in the world and like ??? speshly with the final mission like your telling me they got only one hotel squad to go with price and soap? against a bomb threat caused by one of the biggest terrorists out there? wtf is everyone doing???

it feels weak and overall I rate the game 4/10

#mw3 spoilers #itsohh rambles #.

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emilycollins00 · 10 months

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Act 1 re-read! The show must go on!

. To be honest the show being next month is really insane given that they at this point didn’t even have a script

. And oh wow I didn’t expect that shout from Sakyo, it spooked me a bit

. 10 million yens I had to make the change and it’s like 63,602 euros holy molly no wonder Tsuzuru’s like fuck and Izumi like double fuck

. Question nº1 Why did Sakyo act like bad guy? Do we know what response he hoped to get? Trying to scare Izumi?

. Enjoyed the slap. That was stepping WAY over the line with the tricks.

. Also this game might have been just a tiny bit funnier funny had they been allowed to swear ksdhk

. Last condition being Izumi as the director now I’m like ok but what if she you know, had a job?? Did Sakyo expect her to leave it?

. Izumi is too good for Yukio there I said it

. Sakuya’s situation again tho oof, the fact he didn’t even tell their relatives?? And the FACT that he was already 2 days in right? My heart. The "thank you for calling for me” felt devastating. Feels like Sakuya reeeally didn’t want to even try to take any chances with them (ALSO crashing with friends?!! DIDN’T REMEMBER THAT!! Oh that’s a lot to take in)

. First time having his own room, I might really cry

. Masumi mentioning dating at this point wow, his vision is so… narrow I really feel conflicted, how lonely must you be to reach this point with someone you met on the same day

. In another universe where Masumi got paper kdhkfh Tsuzuru and Citron roomies waaah, I think it’d have worked but yeah, who better than to learn to take care of others for masu than tsuzuru

. LEGEND OF CURRY. Gotta love Izumi’s “what can I possibly with these leftover….?? Mmm I don’k know… oh wait?? CURRY!” <- has if that wasn’t your only option ma’am/j

. Can I just mention that this might have possibly been the first dinner both Masumi and Sakuya might have spent with others feeling this content? I cry

. “Our scriptwriter-“ misumi grandpa right? I love already knowing stuff

. “Paying my own rent on (place) is just scary” aint that true when you first begin to live alone

. MASUMI AGAIN BEING A SAVAGE NO HE DID NOT CALL TSUZURU HOMELESS

. IZUMI KEEPING AT IT AS WELL

. “With all due respect, are you nut” kissing location again

. Honestly they were lucky Citron and Itaru where there on their 1st day

. Tsuzuru my BELOVED, still I’d be with Izumi here, they took their chances but that was better than nothing. Making a 2-hour-play is A LOT in week what the- He’s so amazing pls

. ACTOR WHO WAS EXCELLENT WITH FEMALE ROLESGHJ KAZUMI (I still have to read about the story but-) I LOVE U

. Itaru felt scary talking so… like that and unlike him now that we know him more. I would have run away sdnk poor izumi

. “Tsuzu became one with his pc” help I can’t imagine the pressureee. Question nº2 I can’t help but think if he had done stuff like this before?? Or was this the start of him overworking himself?

. The script is done awwwiieee!! A LOVED hearing him so happy!! His VA did such a good job seeming so relieved/happy for real

. This part was SO scary, somehow, his way of talking as well

. Did itaru just try to (I don’t know if I’m using the word correctly) gaslight izumi??

. Masumi was reaaally not having it with Sakuya, again you can see somehow the only-child/big bro in a huge family differences

. Sakuya knowing all that from Masumi it’s wow. He truly remembers stuff

. I’m curious that for all that Itaru seemed to be hiding, he didn’t seem that surprised when the rest found out he was a gamer. Or maybe he didn’t really hide but just, went on his business?

. Someone let Sakuya in the manzai duo, these 3 are hilarious (I had absolutely forgot that Yuzo was from the spring troupe?? Oh WOW that was something. Also he really went hard, it was needed tho)

. SLEEPOVER AWW

. FIRST PICTURE AWWWWWW!

. That situation felt like an asmr with little snoring noises ghjkl

. That the first thing Yuki does when he appears is to give each of them a nickname while taking note for the costumes is sending me

. OH citron, and this scene. Him being honest with his feelings about him probably not being the best choice broke me a bit.. and Izumi being like, “then ill protect you” SOB, first breathing moment for citron maybe in that aspect since he came to japan. I love their friendship so freaking much

. “When did this goofball start acting like a prince?” MMMM I don’t think he’s acting Izumi

. OH again bc the drama when Itaru says he’s leaving was skdjn. Izumi “WHAT, WHY??” (also me in my room knowing it was gonna happen: WHAT, WHY??”)

. Question nº 3 Itaru says something along the lines of wanting to say it now so they had plenty of time to change it before it was late but like, how far could they be? They had 1 month so 4 weeks, 1st week was for the script, let’s say this is somewhat by the end of the 2nd is when Yuzo comes and they sleep in the stage, in less than 2 weeks you want someone to change? A bit all over the place for my taste

. But also he’s just over the place himself look at him? And then the iconic family play kauhsdkjk this was the beginning. (I COULD STAND TRUSTING SOMEONE AGAIN I CRY)

. Related to Q3 I’m still so confused with chapter 20 bc they say they only have five weeks to go?? I need help understanding

. I have to say, have we ever seen Sakuya speaking like this later on? I feel there was so much at risk here too so maybe its bc of that but wow Sakuya so… raw, hit me more than I expected

. Chap 23 broke my heart, fav out of the episode so far I think. Sakuya is SO strong as a character. ALSO feeling the need to be loved in a place? Masumi can relate this time and citron as well with the family stuff

. SDFGHJK their fight with godza I was like, “Just u wait just u wait just u waiiiit”

. Tsuzuru is so freaking relatable, not just bc we all have our circumstances that sometime stop us from doing things but like, time passes by so so fast and I was told so many time as I grew up but like, it’s so true. More true than I think I understood. Each year passes by even faster and I blink and we are already in August oof

. KAZUNARI APPEARS AWW I loved his enthusiasm since the beginning (“He’s annoying” “Masumi I know. Quiet” FGHJKL)

. No but I have to say Kazunari saved half the spring play somehow. Aside from Itaru talking in his gameplays, because the fact that he informed this many people, helped with the TV… I love him

. I also loved Yuki buying one, he definitely saw how much the spring troupe put themselves out there

. I don’t really get what brought Masumi to suddenly act like that after hearing “don’t act for me” from Izumi… I mean I kinda do but mmm felt forced to bring up his situation?

. The fanclub always felt all over the place and toxic honestly

. Anyway I loved how they all gave their opinion on how they react with love to make Masumi see it’s not the end of the world.

. Ok I really, really liked how Masumi told her that it didn’t matter if her acting wasn’t good. It was about putting yourself out there and how much passion and work you gave. Good boy Masumi (also good for Izumi for mentioning a later talk about boundaries)

. First play IM SO EXCITED!! I also love that the main thing despite what’s at risk that Izumi wants them to have a good first experience above everything. I love her so so much for real. (Also Matsukawa sounds so pro on the intercom!) this is it

. “we can ditch this town and travel the world!” we’ve heard this 93849 times and I don’t say this in a bad way bc VA did an amazing job, you can truly see the differences up until the finale oof/pos

. Oh my GOD they did it oh my god im so freaking proud, I swear im so happy I got to experience this again they worked so freaking hard good job everyone!! (I forgot Masumi being speechless and it made me even more emotional if that’s possible bc I already sobbed when they thanked the audience)

. More asmr <3

. WE SOLD OUT LADIES GENTS AND NONBINARY FOLKS I'M SO HAPPY I LOVED THEM HUGGING ONE ANOTHER

. Now I forgot Itaru was hurt what a reality check. For someone who wanted to leave, hiding an injury to keep going is a lot. Also I adored Citron intervention and his tone of voice. He can see the change in Itaru but doesn’t want him to overdo it, I love him <3

. Sakyo you tsundereee

. Man chapter 34 is a sea of tears in here I don’t have the strength to talk about it.

. Sakyo yakuza with a heart of gold indeed!! And Muku and Tenma (snott-looking boy ajshkhdk) aw

This was a perfect 1sr episode!!💕💕💕

#a3! reading club #em speaks

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thanidiel · 2 months

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Invisible

Recommended: 27- Benthos | 19 - Turn a Blind Eye

After all these turns, all these volatile to-and-fro’s that may only ever be credited to me, and the lapping currents in which, thankfully, madness lays dormant, there is one marid in the room still. It’s a true one; a real one. Not a shoddily applied half-metaphor. And I won’t speak so foolishly and redundantly at this point - dear mind of mine, you’ve been the abject audience to so many of my stories regarding why I don’t speak to her as she wishes with all the what’s, where’s, and how’s. At this point, I would spare us both of the impotent ravings of my rationalizations. I know I brought my marids into this marriage too, we all know it. I have a flock of them, even, flapping their pink floppy ears up and down around us both while we pretended, for a very long time, that they were more nuisances than anything else.

I’m well-fucking-aware. I know she feels like sometimes she must be living with an utter stranger, and I know, I know, I know, I know‒ I know everything about the questions she holds back. And, fuck, by the very fucking blood of my Father and Mother which made me, I’m so fucking ashamed of myself some suns that I’ve created my own haunts in her mind; where she wanders the same chewing hallways I once walked with a babe’s eye, this incomprehensible horror that always ends in a confused focus of where is she? and what happened to her? I know I did that to her.

I know, I know, I know.

I know.

And that makes it all the more frustrating to me that I’ve never managed to find a way for her to ever just speak to me. And that‒ however hypocritical it may be ‒pains me, though I’ve never once told her. I’ve always been a good lover in that regard. I don’t ask questions, I never press, I never say my love, what the fuck is up with you? I don’t.

So she just never tells me.

I’m the bad person here, so I play my role accordingly. I take the heat for being so close-mouthed, even though I have told, and told, and told her so many things, so many feelings, from the very start. I accept that script, and I embrace that spotlight.

I let her bow out, every time.

Because I know I wear it better.

But you know what? She isn’t here right now.

So I’m going to say it.

I feel like I know my fucking wife less than my wife thinks she does me. And believe me, I tried the same thing she did. I tried the kindness, the welcomeness, the looks and the gentle affections, I even did the good ol’ you can always share anything with me lines of bullshit conversation.

It didn’t work, so I fucking stopped. I thought she just needed time. But here we are, and I haven’t told her this either, and on the inside I am so fucking sick of the way my stomach twists every time she reminds me that I don’t know anything about her, after all.

It’s even worse in this last turn. Because now we’ve reached this point that we’ve grown older, and sometimes I feel like she earnestly grew up without me all this time. I make assumptions now of things shared between us before and she corrects me on how so much differently she feels, like the last time those ideas were even hinted to me were like some delusional mirage of our togetherness. How is that creeping up on me? I dine with her, I live with her, I sleep with her. I suppose I can’t honestly say we’ve made love all that much (though we have in this past moon, happily?), but I fuck her too.

And she just won’t tell me anything.

But she wonders why I’m not just content with what we have? Her fucking father died within a sennight of her meeting me, and in those three turns I’ve heard her talk a little about how complex it was for her, two turns ago. Maybe some moons sprinkled atop of that. Her mother? Her mother is in everything there is about Evilie, she misses her so much (or who knows how fucking wrong I am about that, too?). But I’ve spoken more of my Parents and how their respective absences affected my life than Evilie has her’s‒ and I was allocated a fraction of the exposure that my wife received in her own life. Let’s not (I say, rhetorically, as I absolutely want to fucking get into it for fucking once) even get into her sister. I’m the one that woke Evilie the fuck up in the first place. But I hear more from Abrielle, honestly, and we haven’t been able to sit down for those make-up talks before a night out since she moved out. I hear about how Abrielle feels about them, I hear what Abrielle regrets about them, I hear where it’s healing-but-complicated-or-maybe-weird from Abrielle.

What the fuck has my own gods-be-damned wife told me about any of this? Why won’t she? Why is it that I’ve had to stand so stagnantly, so still, in all my unknown, as I watch her just keep fucking going ahead of me? I can’t even give myself the luxury of saying that she’s just balling it all in. Because I’ve watched her mind change, palpably, on all of those. Because I act like I’m busy and go straight to the armory or our bedchambers when I see there’s candles lit in the kitchen. Because I see when that bit of hair near her ear looks a little stiff from the crying that happened earlier when she was alone.

It’s not as though I want my lover to be sad, and be comforted by me alone in that sadness. Rather, I want it to be understood right now that while I have lived such an odd and shoddy life, I at least know it’s not fucking normal that, since we’ve been together anyway, that I’ve never seen Evilie cry unless I’m sad or nearly killed myself.

Over the turns, I’ve told myself that she’ll reach out. I even made myself pretty optimistic for a while there, that maybe I could be there for her, and with her, if I just shook myself. If I got myself back into line with the sweet words, and sweet looks, and the conversations, and lovemaking, and that romance we knew we could feel, and started trying to show her that I’m not fucking sad about ‘us’, I’m fucking sad about how it’s all gotten to this point. I’m fucking sad enough to clamp my mouth closed and shut my eyes and just scream about how there was a place for me, and then suddenly I now find myself cold, in this awkward niche that isn’t as carved out as we imagined it to be; suddenly I now watch her at home in all of these spaces that either aren’t made for me, or apparently aren’t somewhere she wants me to be.

If that wasn’t the case, then why doesn’t she just talk to me?

Sometimes I feel like she’s made me into this hysterical thing, though I know well I would find a thousand other ways to serve out my usual regardless of where I am and who I walk with. Sometimes I feel like she’s written herself out of this relationship and there’s only ever me and how fucked up I am, and I’m trying to be relieved that I see her wanting to take up space now but that’s hard too. Sometimes I wonder why the fuck she keeps me around anyway, but there’s not really a nice counterpoint for that as I’ve done nothing someone else couldn’t do after I passed the reins off to Elise on the levies.

Sometimes, I feel like I’m so foolish that I wish someone with more wisdom than me‒ Severine, or Esen, or Kowa, or even fucking Elia‒ would just dress me down already for how stupid I look; vacillating, and vacillating, and vacillating, between ‘I’m fucking fed up and losing my mind!’ and ‘But actually I love her and I just need to keep trying’ with sometimes a splash of ‘look at how hard I’m trying with this metaphor that would make her scream’. Because I do look stupid. It even makes me look more fucking stupid than my other usual routine of trying to tell myself or other people, depending, that I’m actually not into Vander anymore every other moon.

It’s the two times in my fucking life that I wish I’d just stop talking with so much confidence.

Spirits, I can’t even tell you (as oxymoronic as that is to say to my autoaudientia), mind of mine, how easy it felt to love her this past sennight. It came so easily. I felt so enraptured with her, that awed interest on her face like she were enchanted by me, by us, all over again. And only because she was witnessing me love her purely, without anything else at all upon my mind - she was moved by that. It felt sweet, it felt like everything changed. And maybe some things changed, maybe I needed to be able to have enough space in my mind to just remember, genuinely, how much I love her in the grand scheme of the cosmos (versus the vaguely conformist pressure of maintaining the narrative of great love). Maybe it will be making things better for us now that we have (How I would suffer all I did twice over to just have this guarantee) stronger ground than we did before.

I pray for that; perhaps that will be the first thing I pray on when we’ve arranged where the shrine should go. I really do. I really do want to keep loving her, and I really do want it to all just be hot air and bullshit in the end on all of the meanness that wants to pass through my mind and into my feet, and I really do want to just be able to be content with where I am, and where we are.

And now‒

Now the marid’s back in the room.

And you don’t talk about the marid.

I try not to break the rule here, but I’m making myself nervous. I hate to even use the word, which makes the feeling worse, but I can feel this dread building up between my lungs because we’re back home and I swear to the fucking Fury I’ll kill myself if we just go back to how it was before our trip.

She’s taking off her gloves, and calling my name.

So I breathe in, and I look.

And the words fail me on how alive that smile looks on her face.

So I breathe out, and I smile back.

We don’t talk about Evilie.

#writing #xiaohu #evilie

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chrissytinat · 9 months

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It's time to talk about Banban again

I honestly wasn't initially going to revisit Banban, but the few people I've seen playing the fourth game(and I'm still wondering why they're advertising the sixth game instead of the fifth game) has reintroduced me to the games. Understandably, as a writer and someone who likes games and gaming, I have thoughts. I've made posts in the past about the first three games. I honestly think the second game was the best. But let's talk about the story and my main issue with it at this point.

A)One thing I predicted was that with how much came out so quickly, people wouldn't be jumping to play the later games. The fourth game seems to be slowly getting attention. it's certainly not as all over the place as the first three were, so I may have been right on this one.

b)It seems they've at least taken some advice by not introducing more characters in this one. EDIT: Or at least the new character they introduced was actually in the game it was introduced in for once.

But the story honestly feels like it's completely abandoned the original plot, the same phrase that opens each game. Despite what the intro says, it doesn't feel like time is a delicate matter. Aside from a quick line from Queen Bouncelia, there's really no other mention of our kid being a part of the plot. At this point I don't even believe there are any kids anymore. I've said it for the previous games, but in this one it 100% feels like that intro is just there to remind us why the character is there.

Let's talk about Bittergiggle and the supposed subplot of keeping him away from the queen. It honestly didn't feel like that actually had any actual reason to be there. Most of the interactions we have with the character feel more like, and pretty much are, scripted moments. I don't think he can really get by us. It's not like he pushes past us. He just kills the character like any other enemy in the game. It's just a setup for the end of this game in the series. For a character that was introduced as someone we should be keeping away, it didn't feel like we were. He was just there. As a writer, I feel like that could've been played with more. Story and game mechanics can go hand in hand. If you want us to believe it's a threat for him to make the queen laugh, show us. Give us moments where he's close to the queen and we have to fend him off.

Going back to the start of the game, the very beginning, something I also want to talk about is Chamataki and Tamataki. They truly became a victim of what I mentioned in the previous games. When you introduce too many characters it can become hard to follow. The amount of times I've already seen people play the game and completely forget they even met the character already proved that. Despite literally having a full boss battle with them in the previous game, no one remembered who they were.

I don't have much to say about the Stinger Flynn moment. It was a hallucination that didn't add much other than a cameo from Choo Choo Charles. There's nothing else I can really add.

I honestly don't feel like there's really any main story anymore, if there was one to follow to begin with. What happened to the kids? What happened to the other employees? Did anyone actually survive? Who really knows at this point. I wouldn't be surprised if the next game was what they consider to be filler considering they promote the sixth game instead of the fifth game on the menu screen even though both are set to release this year apparently. Why skip five? I'm no stranger to roman numerals. I know what five and six look like. It's either they're really putting the cart before the horse with promoting six instead, or something's up with five and this is a tinsy bit concerning.

I don't know how long they intend to keep the games going. It feels more like they're plotting them as they go. It doesn't feel like a cohesive story. I get passion projects. I get wanting them to be everything. But this feels like it needs more love before it should really continue on with more games.

EDIT: There is a note you can find from the player character's child. It still feels very forced and more like a reminder of why the player is there. It still doesn't feel like there's any real reason to be concerned about our character's kid(or kids, still no clue if the Claire character is a friend of our kid or we have two kids. It's bad storytelling if I have to ask that four games in). If time truly were a delicate matter as a parent looking for their child in this game, I don't think we'd be this lost from that plot four games in with a fifth game that I'm assuming is filler and a sixth game that seems to pick up where this one leaves off.

#garten of banban #gaming #mascot horror

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waitmyturtles · 1 year

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I can’t believe I’m writing something not related to Moonlight Chicken (✨Alan x Gaipa/Gaipa x Alan✨), but here we go, before the big MC finale: I managed to finish the totally wonderful 10 Years Ticket, my first Thai lakorn, out of a continued devotion to rummaging the rabbitholes of actors/actresses that tore my heart apart in previous dramas. In this case, in the aftermath of my ravaging affair with Bad Buddy, I had to catch up on Nanon’s and Ohm’s latest works. Dirty Laundry was an easy bucket. Ohm’s 10 Years Ticket was a hell of a something else entirely.

I understood that, going in to 10YT, lakorns are generally assumed to be soapy, and I had to admit that I was concerned about entering this tunnel -- especially because I have a history of being seriously disappointed by subpar cishet roles for my otherwise dear QL actors (AHEM MACHIDA KEITA, the man needs better scripts; Akaso Eiji is faring so much better). As well, I’m not even all that familiar with Ohm’s other BLs and non-QL dramas, as He’s Coming to Me is on my list of essential BLs to watch, and I’ll get to it soon (SOTUS first).

So anyway, I came into this apprehensive, especially considering how LONG the series is, at 16 episodes, and I knew there was violence, which I generally avoid. But I should have given GMMTV more credit. It was UTTERLY bingeable, a VERY DEEP study into long-term intergenerational family and community trauma, and I found it totally compelling as someone who’s trained in the social services. And, I am a huge fan now of director Fon Kanittha, who, VERY IMPORTANTLY, will be directing Milk and Love’s GL, 23.5 (EEEEEEEE). So I was glad to check off not just an Ohm box, but Fon’s as well.

AND! Because I’m still so new to Thai dramas, I’ve never seen a QL/drama with Off before (lord help me as I contemplate jumping into OffGun). And 10YT had a wonderful stable of GMMTV actors in Tu Tontawan, View Benyapa (who was fantasssstic), Pluem Purim (who was also great), and Foei Patara (so evil, so good!).

The casting was superb -- especially for the insanely difficult subject matter.

I don’t know if I want to spend that much time on the plot, but I’ll do my best to explain what plot points matter to why I thought the show was a success. The show centers on Ohm’s character, Phukao, whose half-brother, Mai (Pluem) is shot and killed when Phukao is a very young child. Phukao and Mai’s family are close with a number of other families in their community. Mai is a drug runner, and his girlfriend -- the older sister of one of the other friendly families -- takes the rap for the shooting and is sent to prison, causing almost permanent friction between the families. Later in the show, the girlfriend’s younger sister (Kongkwan, played by Tu), is reunited with Phukao; they were friends as young children, but separated after the shooting, and Phukao had a long-standing grudge against Kongkwan, until he realizes his feelings for her as an older teenager.

I’m going to add trigger warning tags to my review, because as part of the layering of intercommunity and intergenerational trauma of this show, I don’t think I’ve ever seen depicted in a drama a young child witnessing as much as young Phukao witnessed, including post-mortem scenes and episodes of abject family violence. So it honestly was not surprising to me that Ohm/Phukao and Tu/Kongkwan did not ACTUALLY have, quantifiably, a tremendous amount of screen or speaking time.

I peeped on the 10YT tag a few complaints that Phukao and Kongkwan were actually a pretty tame and not exciting couple, but I have to hand it to Fon, because -- I think she rendered these two teenage characters quite accurately. If I were studying Phukao’s and Kongkwan’s childhood stories in a social services course, I’d be amazed that the kids could even talk, considering what they experienced and witnessed by way of violence and loss.

In other big, macro words: this show was led VERY deeply by the criss-crossed storytelling of ALL of the stories of the families of the community that was destroyed by Mai’s shooting death. The domestic hell of Phukao’s family after the shooting. Phukao terrorizing Kongkwan’s family in retaliation. Off’s character, Plu, caring for his grandparents by entering the drug running trade and lying about going to college. View’s character, Zo, growing up without a mother. A queer storyline at the parental generation. Parents abandoning their kids, then showing up again. A mafia family storyline with corrupt police mixed in. And throughout all of this, a major theme of movie storytelling bringing all of these individuals along on their life growth paths.

It’s a lot of shit, terrible adult-level trauma that children and teenagers had to face, oftentimes alone, oftentimes with parents that were barely keeping it together themselves. People die in the show, parents die in the show. Kids are left to process alone. It’s just a LOT.

And maybe one or two parts were rushed. BUT: I truly think Fon balanced the script beautifully, and I give her major credit for that. To tell a story of FOUR FAMILIES and their interconnected trauma -- and to bring the story together to unite and reunite a group of childhood friends who commit to holding each other down -- it was no wonder this series needed 16 episodes, but it didn’t drag. It paced beautifully, the storytelling was varied, and everything was done honestly, especially the very empathic queer storyline, which I won’t give away, but I’ll just say this: ASIA, we need more elder queer stories, because you do them SO WELL when it happens. It was beautifully and heartachingly done.

What was refreshing for me to watch in 10YT, as I’ve been quickly educating myself on the history of Thai BLs, was to see multiple generations of actors in a storyline. I’m (COUGH) entering my early middle-aged years, and while I love our darling actors/actresses in their 20s, I do need to watch shows with cohorts more around my age as well. 10YT gave me a drama where each episode was led by a different family or entity, and that generational variation lent major authenticity to a show that would have otherwise been lost if it had turned into a teeny-bop vehicle for Ohm and Tu.

For the screentime that Ohm and Tu *did* have -- they were FABULOUS. Ohm was GREAT, Y’ALL. Mans got such chops. Gah. My heart. His poor character got sent through the trauma ringer. Tu mostly cried for her parts, but she played a tough cookie in Kongkwan, and -- not to spoil this, but I gotta say it -- she did pursuer VERY well. Get it, gurl. Off was fantastic, and I can’t wait to catch up with him in Midnight Motel. But for my money, View absolutely ATE her role, and I want to see her have a major role in some amazing all-star drama/QL at some point.

Was 10YT as SMART, and sharp, and critical of intergenerational trauma as Bad Buddy? No, they’re incomparable, because the stories were vastly different. 10YT laid out a reality that parents can actually fail. They can really, truly fail. And even while they fail.... children may feel an unspeakable, inherent urge to still love those parents. And maybe those parents can try to redeem themselves, in some way.

I’m realizing that what I’m loving about this modern crop of directors from GMMTV -- Aof, Jojo, and now Fon -- is that they do complicated characters VERY authentically. You, as a viewer, are almost not allowed to wallow in dualistic interpretations when trying to understand these characters. No good and bad here, unless it’s screamingly obvious. And I think that’s a really compelling ask for Asian directors to make of what is a majority Asian audience in Thailand, where filial piety towards families is the major name of the culture game.

I hope this could be considered a decent review, because I didn’t dive too much into the plot, as it really would take a huge amount of time to unwind it all, and I apologize that most of this review is just generalist meditation. But let me just say that if you have the stomach to watch a drama that depicts an Asian perspective on community interconnectivity and the trauma that those relationships bring -- then watch this show. Much of the ways in which the families HANDLED the drama in this drama reminded me of my childhood (without all the criminal and family violence, thank goodness). If you’re in an Ohm rabbithole, I’d say this is a must watch, because he was brilliant in an utterly wonderful script.

#10 years ticket #10 years ticket meta #thai lakorn #off jumpol #tu tontawan #view benyapa #fon kanittha #trigger warning #family violence #ohm pawat #pluem purim #foei patara

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chemicalbrew · 10 months

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@elendsessor listen, I love your blog and the way you curate stuff!!! that comment was honestly self-defeatist on my part, and I'm sorry if it made you doubt yourself, you're one of my absolute favorite mutuals at the moment (even though we don't talk, your blog is so awesome!), and I was genuinely worried you'd not follow me back when you remade, wahhh (mostly because I barely post fandom lately, and all I do is lazily scroll my dash and scout the katana zero tag, and I am so self-conscious about how much i love kz these days... i gotta stop with that)

ANYWAY!! back to your original inquiry, at full force

9. worst part of canon

stealth levels in games that are not otherwise about stealth tend to be quite ruinous. off the top of my head, two examples I am forever a little salty about are Ghost Trick and Katana ZERO (though it's partially optional in the latter - I always opt to kill my way through the prison on replays)

For Ghost Trick, that's legitimately the only issue I have with it. For Katana ZERO, however... the ending stretch of the plot is somewhat poorly paced\unsatisfying compared to everything else + hard mode is genuinely unbalanced to the point where I actually gave up on it last month (but god, the itch to play more has not left)

SMT4: rapid-fire complaints from someone who hasn't played other SMTs yet: most of the plot after the Tokyo reveal felt weak, the game needed to be a little more obvious early on about how your choices matter, I wish Flynn had a bit more personality, just to match his companions, the Isabeau twist in particular sucks ass, Burroughs turning out to be a goddess sucks even more, App Point costs were unbalanced, they could have afforded to use multiple asset sets for Domains, I didn't like the prospect of endgame grinding.

I said Chrono Trigger is perfect, but that's only if you ignore what follows after (especially the tie-ins attempted in CTDS). I still do not have it in myself to wholeheartedly love Chrono Cross

Pyre is a wonderful game, but the second half of it was a huge drag and could stand to be less repetitive

Hades has an ending that basically ruins the rest of the plot and it's BAD. also, endgame grind is way too tedious and the progression system can break in places

Brandish 1: the remake doesn't have speed options like the original game did, Tower is a bland-looking stage with awkward music, boss music in this game is uninspired outside of HEADLESS Brandish 2: literally nothing important to the larger narrative happens in this game when you think about it, endgame is not fun and absolutely ridiculous (I get why, but this is truly old school game design at its worst), boss music still sucks (most of the OST outside of the opening hour is honestly weak), there's a different Tower and it sucks for different reasons (backtracking yay) Brandish 3: the fact that the translation isn't out yet (serious answer: this game, iirc, has more backtracking than the others. Sanctuary was a really gimmicky stage in particular) Brandish 4: for fuck's sake, who decided the Temple stage was acceptable? it's literally an assault on the senses

Trails series: awful with ships. awful. the main ship of the first arc of the series is a case of adopted incest lol there's some other really gross tropes like this all throughout and I really don't feel like reciting them right now, so... I'll list other stuff: the games weren't intended to have multiple difficulties, so playing on anything that's not Normal will suck in some way you have to be extraordinarily meticulous to 100% or use a guide as the series went on, it became easier to break the difficulty into pieces with how ridiculous skills get despite that, superbosses and scripted losses that you have to win to 100% are a tradition of the series and can be really annoying to deal with as the series went on, it also started using more modern anime tropes to appeal to more people and it UNFORTUNATELY has been working

Ys series: modern games suffer from trying to be more like Trails, which they shouldn't <3 end of story

Xenoblade 1: battle system as a whole was unrefined and unsatisfying, worst sidequests in the series, female party members are all suffering in some way (Sharla's arc was cliche and unsatisfying, she sucks to use, her design is awkward; Fiora's situation was not explored deeply enough and she got fridged; Melia suffers in the story so much it almost turns into comedy and suspends disbelief) the only antagonist that resonated with me was Zanza.

Xenoblade 2: (DLC fixes most of this) The obvious: there needed to be less titties; The obvious again: Tora's introduction sucks ass (and he doesn't get truly better ever :() AND Tiger! Tiger! can go fuck itself; The introduction in general is slow and is why I won't replay this even though it's a GOAT; I actually like the gacha being around (I got lucky and the only real trouble I had was getting KOS-MOS imo), but it should at least become infinitely more generous in NG+. AT LEAST THAT. The infamous roadblocks to 100% like Ursula's affinity chart; The UI issues that everyone harped enough on; The maps got so much worse in this game compared to 1 like? I had so much trouble navigating here compared to other XB games.

Xenoblade 3: (DLC fixes most of this) literally the worst antagonists in the series; not a great party either (RIP Sena); Noahmio was kinda boring for half the runtime; in general the messages made by the game are not interesting to me and did not resonate like 2 did; the class system ruins every good change made to battle system; chain attacks suck, and not just their music - they're worse than 1's; weakest soundtrack (same issue as Brandish 2, where it starts strong but as a whole is eh); probably the only XB game that I do not ever intend to actually finish, because it's such a slog somehow.

The only sin Kid Icarus Uprising committed was its control scheme. Might have been justified, but it sucks.

Ace Attorney has too many issues to count <3 I'll just mention that: The series as a whole sucks at guiding you when you get stuck Big Top sucks, we all know this AA6 ruined Athena and Apollo and has questionable setting\design choices AAI2's last case dragged on for too long even if it was hype

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim's battle system as a whole really sucks if we're being honest, and nowhere is this shown off better than the final battle.

VA-11 Hall-A often goes overboard with humor, but its worst offense is the optional bullet hell minigame they put in

#zero.txt #whew i like pointing out flaws in things #TO BE ABSOLUTELY CLEAR ALL OF THESE ARE GAMES\SERIES I LOVE AND I WOULD NOT RATE THEM LOWER THAN 8\10 (except for xb3)#i could have elaborated on ys tbh but every game is so different....

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