#kaos studios

[breakingarrows]

Homefront: Invasion Media, Justified Violence, Images with no Substance

Homefront is a strange artifact of the seventh generation of consoles. Its setting is the familiar fantasy of an invasion of the United States by a foreign power and it came from a studio and publisher who would cease to exist less than two years after release. Homefront attempts to present images of horror, and has a desire to ponder whether we are justified to enact horror upon the enemy in return, but this was never going to be the game that ascended its duty to be budgeted entertainment beyond all else.

In Homefront the United States is invaded by North Korean forces and the game picks up two years later as you are recruited into a resistance movement that culminates in joining the US Army for a counter-attack on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Homefront joins the likes of many works of fiction engaging with the idea of a foreign invasion of the United States, namely Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Red Dawn. John Milius, the director and co-screenplay writer of Red Dawn, one of the most famous works of invasion fiction, is credited in Homefront as creator and writer. A later exposé in Game Developer by Leigh Alexander would reveal Milius did no writing work on the game, which was instead largely attributed to  C.J. Kershner. It would not be surprising if THQ simply paid Milius for using his name in marketing rather than for any actual writing work.

Why do we so often fantasize about foreign invasion? Invasion literature has been around since the late 1800s, and while the Cold War provided the greatest backdrop, the genre persists to this day and has expanded into video games. A contemporary invasion by a foreign power is not always the choice. Sometimes it is invasion by aliens: Resistance 2, The Bureau: XCOM Declassified, or alternate history takes: Wolfenstein: The New Order/New Colossus, Turning Point: Fall of Liberty. I find contemporary history the most interesting, as it lays bare the motivations and collective feelings of the people both behind their creation and those who play them. In an interview for IGN, Michael Thomsen asks Lead Level Designer Rex Dickson why North Korea and America, Dickson explains, “The reason we chose America and Americans is because—if you look at Eastern Europe, Africa, or Iraq, they're used to violence. There have been wars in these countries, they're exposed to it. America is unique in that we have this mentality that we're almost indestructible. We're the kings, we're dominant. We live this life of excess and convenience that most people don't have. Ripping that away from average Americans is a key theme in Homefront. Of all the cultures on the planet Americans are perhaps the least equipped to deal with something like this. Most people wouldn't imagine that it could happen, let alone how they would react to it if it did happen. Some of these other cultures are hardened by this stuff and have seen it for years. Americans have almost never seen it, and wouldn't it be interesting to explore how they would react if it did happen here?”

When the Soviet Union crumbled so too did the universal boogeyman for American fear and propaganda. The specter of the Soviet Union still shows itself within fiction, just look at the Ultranationalist faction of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for that, and while modern Russia remains a favored source for antagonistic forces, just look at the rogue Russian general in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019), Homefront originally picked the other national boogeyman and successor of the Soviet communist fears: China. However, this was an element changed by Danny Bilson, Executive Vice President of Core Games at THQ who had a very hands-on role in Homefront’s development, as detailed by the exposé. Unfortunately for Kaos Studios, China also happens to have the largest market of potential customers. The effect of this market can be felt in many industries, though one of the most illustrative is film, with even the titanic Marvel Cinematic Universe changing The Ancient One in Doctor Strange from Tibetan monk to Celtic woman and Iron Man 3 having additional scenes in which Chinese surgeons operate to remove the shrapnel in Tony Stark’s chest. It is ironic that the remake of Red Dawn released in 2012 also had China as the invading force and was forced to change pre-release to instead substitute in North Korea, reflecting Homefront’s development. Despite these changes, Homefront would sell well but not well enough to save either Kaos Studios or THQ from shuttering within two years, and Red Dawn would be a box office bomb and still not be released in China despite their post-production edits. It is a strange relationship between the US and China, as it is apparent that the US dislikes, fears, and yet relies on the economy of China. This fear is to the point that people fantasize about a Chinese invasion and then realize they need to sell it to the Chinese market to succeed. It is perhaps this reliance that feeds it, an ouroboros of dependency.

There is also, within fiction, the need to position the United States not as the aggressor but as the underdog. This is why with the transition from World War 2 to “modern” warfare, Call of Duty traded the frontline soldiers for special operations. We now valorize those who don’t have access to the excessive force available to the modern army but are instead constantly outgunned and outmanned. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare’s segments centering on the USMC had them hopping from one location to the next in a futile effort to locate and arrest opposition leader Khaled Al-Asad.  It is the British SAS who end up locating, and executing, Al-Asad, not the USMC. This failure within Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is an obvious allusion to the United State’s own efforts to find and capture Osama Bin-Laden that didn’t succeed until 2011. In the modern time the US does not have an equivalent force to face off against on the battlegrounds of fiction. We like to imagine Russia and China have the potential, but the truth is that US spending on military continually outdoes the next ten countries combined. Instead, we either fictionally depower the US through some economic crisis or build up a new opposing force, both of which are done by Homefront. Here North Korea unites with South Korea before annexing, through subterfuge, Japan and other Southeast Asian nations upon which to draw up the manpower required to invade the unstable United States.

Fighting an equivalent force who is the aggressor fulfills two desires: one is that it gives the player a challenge to overcome that also fits cogently within the fiction, and two, it allows us to commit justified violence that we are denied in our real life. I don’t think it is too much of a stretch to claim that everyone has to deal with things they wish they could change in real life but lack the power to do so. We come up against and our feeds are filled with things that we find unjust, but have no ability to circumvent or stop. We also cannot take out our anger against it in a justified way, and so we find different outlets for this anger. Some pick to bully and harass people online to the point of death, others might just schedule an appointment for a wreck room where they are given lease to enact violence they cannot do in everyday life. Engaging in fiction is another outlet for this anger, as we can place ourselves within the mindset of a character who is allowed to enact justified violence against their offenders. In games we get to more actively occupy the role of someone who can do what we cannot. For works such as Homefront, there is also the tinge of patriotism as we get to fight for our country, within the familiar images of our country, though here, as in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, it can mean those symbols of America are a Hooters and White Castle.

We are generally positioned as the victim due to the presumed innocence that comes with being invaded. In our reality the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq were failures. Having the US invade another country, however justified the fiction may make it, would call to mind too many questions and doubts regarding our own current history. Instead we become the ones whose homeland is threatened. This theme was surprisingly contemplated by developer David Jaffe in his unproduced pitch titled “Homeland” which also saw the US invaded by China but was meant to reflect the US’s own invasion and brutality towards Afghanistan and Iraq. Homefront, however, does not present itself as an expression meant to make the player reflect on the feelings of those whose homes we have invaded in the past. Instead, it is a call to commit justified violence against a brutal enemy.

Games are violent, much more so than any other medium. The amount of bodies you destroy frequently tops those of even the most excessive 1980’s action flicks. Due to this, that excess of violence has to be justified, usually by making the enemy less than human through their actions and disregard for human life and decency. When replaying Fallout 3 some years ago the thought that dominated my mind was the way the Capital Wasteland beckoned the player to reflect the violence present everywhere back onto its citizens, from raiders to super mutants and ghouls. While playing Homefront that same thought came through, especially during the level “Heartland” in which you make your way through a “survivalist” base decorated with human body parts in such a way that reminded me strongly of the raider and super mutant locations of Fallout 3. Places that displayed such a level of horrific dismemberment that you would never think twice about committing such acts yourself. Here, in Homefront, it assuages the players' consciousness that, while you are fighting fellow Americans, they are less than the citizens of the America you are fighting to liberate. They are less than human, haven’t you witnessed their brutal acts of killing for sport and fun, of executing captured soldiers and lamenting that they won’t have anything else to do during the day? Squadmates comment on the brutality and how while they also hate the invaders, they would never debase themself to this level of violence in retaliation. The Korean People’s Army, or KPA, are also very violent figures. Their oppression of Montrose, Colorado is on full display during the introduction, which uses the sit and look mechanic of exposition made famous by Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The KPA abuse and kill, force those who remain to live in squalor, and respond to their losses by bombing an entire city. Homefront beckons the player to reflect this violence back onto them, through not only violent resistance but also through immoral weapons like white phosphorus.

Similarly to its appearance in Spec Ops: The Line, white phosphorus is a horrific weapon whose appearance brings into question the morality of whoever is using it. In Homefront it is the resistance member Connor who obtains and orders the usage of white phosphorus rounds during an assault on a fuel depot of the KPA. It appears in an earlier level with comment from your more level-headed resistance member Rianna (whose status as a woman is thankfully affirmed by her bare midriff amongst the fully covered men) who questions the ethics behind its usage. Connor is an angry man, someone who has been radicalized by the KPA’s actions and has no qualms about using every means available to reflect their violence back on them. He justified the phosphorus rounds as the KPA was going to use the weapon against their people, so why not do it first?

The first mortar round ignites a wide area, leaving enemy soldiers to walk around screaming and burning. A second round misfires and nearly kills you and Rianna. Connors comments lay bare his intense hatred of the enemy, such as burning soldiers being met with the retort, “Thought I smelled Korean BBQ!” Rianna’s counters are supposed to balance out his attitude underneath the guidance of their leader Boone. However, returning from a mid-game mission you find Boone dead and the Oasis, a retreat hidden amongst the suburbs in which the resistance lived in peace, destroyed. This could be the moment Rianna becomes radicalized like Connor. Were this a better written game her radicalization might have been explored. Perhaps she would become even more extreme than Connor, or reconcile her anger with the universal injustices war brings about. Instead we only get the few dialogues I can draw this potential from, as the rest of the game progresses without much mind given towards this arc. Sadly it exists more in my mind than in reality. Connor sacrifices himself in the end, allowing the US military to drop bombs on an approaching convoy of KPA vehicles to secure the Golden Gate Bridge, bypassing having to answer the question of whether his methods, anger, and willingness to commit any act of violence in the name of resistance was worth the victory. To Connor the answer would be yes, but no one else gets a chance to speak.

Not only does Homefront fail to engage with the themes of violence but also frequently fails to sufficiently present images of violence. Throughout the campaign you will be presented with images of horror that, while depicting horrible things, fail to have substance or texture to them.

There are some effective images in the game. Early on you witness a mother and father executed as their child cries. After, the soldiers walk away and leave the kid to tearfully walk to the bodies of his parents. It's cheap, like killing the dog, but still effective at evoking revulsion and sympathy. Later on you will ascend a treehouse, a symbol of childhood, which is subsequently blown to pieces by the KPA. The visual metaphor is a bit heavy handed, but again, effective. Lastly is when you encounter a community of survivors living on a cul-de-sac of single family houses, the epitome of  the American Dream, and end up having a firefight within them. At the outset a mother and her screaming baby are trapped in the same house as you. Having a screaming baby cry as you kill enemies in the front yard of an American suburb is something I don’t think I have ever played through or will again. Michael Thomsen for IGN’s preview of the game felt much the same way, “I felt like I'd made a horrible mistake drawing the Korean attack into this woman's home, imperiling her and her child without any benefit to them. They weren't fighters or rebels, and my reckless scramble across the city was costing them the remnant shelter they had kept for themselves.”

Homefront’s obsession with American images extends to the innocence of children, as throughout the first half of the game you are presented with the destruction of their innocence by the KPA again and again. The parents executed in front of their child, the destruction of a treehouse, a baby amidst a firefight, sleeping toddlers and a baby in the resistance Oasis base, the sounds of children playing just out of sight, waking up to drawings of children taped to the bottom of the bunk, moving through an emptied school, and a mother wailing as a child coughs within the labor camp. It never commits to showing violence enacted directly upon children, as when you return to the destroyed Oasis later the only bodies are those of adults. Children are the epitome of innocence and purity, and the image of their constant destruction at the hands of the invaders is another way the game beckons and justifies your violence towards them.

An area in which Homefront fails to have the dramatic effect intended was in the mass gravesite you discover. Within the baseball field’s diamond (yet another twisted image of Americana) the KPA have been digging mass graves and filling them with the bodies of those within their labor camps. The sight of it enrages Connor, and later you are forced to hide amongst the bodies in order to avoid detection. The moment is supposed to be horrifying in both that a mass grave by itself is a horrific sight, but also that you are now amongst the bodies and cannot cry out for fear of discovery. Hiding amongst the dead is not a new act, but video games lack the texture or care required to sufficiently render the horror of it, especially budget titles such as Homefront. When white phosphorus is used it fails to capture the real terror of it, the heat, the smell, the damage it can wreck on a human body even when not fully engulfed as is so often depicted in games. I remain steadfast that games do an injustice in gamifying weapons such as these. Their acceptance erodes what we are willing to give over to thoughtless entertainment and undercuts the severity of their real life use and consequences.

Homefront stumbles not only in depicting a horrific occupation but also in emulating the type of game it is clearly modeled after: Call of Duty. It was not until the final mission of the game set against and on top of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco that I felt the thrill of virtual combat take hold. Homefront lacks the funding afforded by Activison and therefore falters in both moment to moment movement and feel but also in spectacle. Even here at the final hour the limits of the budget shine through, as the landscape of San Francisco is clearly a flat image. A sufficient matte painting backdrop for a multiplayer level in Call of Duty, but not a very impressive landscape to view as the helicopter rides into battle. Their vehicle mission in which you pilot a helicopter yourself and escort some tankers is painfully slow paced but a relief from the even slower stealth sections of the mission prior in which you simply sit and wait for the companions and game to both tell you when exactly to pull the trigger. Most of the game is following Connor and occasionally pushing square to enact canned animations. Even the ladder climbing is something you don’t control but instead just watch after engaging. John Walker for Rock, Paper, Shotgun would go so far as to say, “Homefront is barely a game. I'm drawing the line here. It's an interactive cutscene with occasional shooting galleries.”

This is the sort of middling game from this generation that I have a morbid curiosity in and am somewhat happy to finally play. As a game it isn’t very good, as a work of art it is at least a text that I can draw various readings from. As an entry in the first person shooter genre I think it fulfills the role of generic shooter you might see played in the background of an episode of any network television drama for a few seconds. A fitting metaphor for Homefront is that even a rotting corpse can provide food for fertile soil, and while many readings are provided by this text, it remains a work that exists more for dissection than entertainment.

#video games #homefront #kaos studios #playstation 3 #writing #criticism

[snowstudios1]

Tiny tyrant

#Kaos #skylanders kaos #skylanders #fanart #digital sketch #kaos skylanders #skylanders fanart #art #digital art #clip studio paint #look at him #he’s a menace #he will commit arson

[summoned-skylander-au]

+Skylander AU Master Post+

Summary: What if Eon had two sons and the ancients decided to meddle with their lives.

Characters:

Kaos Ethernia -19

Oldest son by 3 minutes. Has his portal master marking on his forehead and darkness marks around his eyes. Is hot headed and is extremely goal driven, unlike his brother. He is caring in his own way by doing small acts of service or gift giving to people he cares about. People often think he looks scary due to him having no visible iris or pupils

Cole Ethernia -19

Youngest son. Portal master marking is on his chest. He is energetic but dosen’t have many goals that he personally wants to achieve. He is known for jumping in with to a situation with little to no plan ( just like his brother). He is the face man.

Eon Ethernia - ???

Portal master marking is on his chest and his left eye is gone. He is quite overprotective which often becomes a detriment to his sons. He is caring and always up to listen to anyone*

*some certain individuals are exempt from this

*More will be added to this post later as the more stuff is made for this au*

#skylanders #skylander AU #summoned #summoned skylander au #skylander Portal master oc #eon #kaos #skylanders eon #master eon #skylanders kaos #art #digital arwork #clip studio paint #iPad

[misstilltoe]

KARD did and gave Korn his "strength".

#thai actor #thai drama #until we meet again #kao noppakao #studio wabi sabi

[laf-outloud]

Lawrence and Philemon's IG stories (x, x)

The WIndy cast being welcomed to Santa Fe Studios... though I'm not sure the scarf is needed this time of year. 😂

#philemon chambers #lawrence kao #santa fe studios #WIndy bts #WIndy #walker indepdendence #welcoming alien

[sihayart]

🌍Γεα και Ουρανός🌌

#art #my art #my art is trash #italian artist #greek tumblr #greek aesthetic #greek mythology #mythology #gea #uranus #greek gods #gods #naive art #kaos #zeus #ancient greek #epic #clip studio sketch #clip studio illustration #clip studio paint #digital drawing #digital art #digital illustration #illustration #myth #mythological art #greece #ancient greece #earth #space

[produsenkaos1]

BERKUALITAS, 0818-0958-4233

BERKUALITAS, 0818-0958-4233

#produsen kaos studios produsen kaos studios #Produsen Kaos : kaos polos hitam #kaos polos #kaos distro #kaos kaki #kaos abu abu #kaos anak #kaos berkerah #kaos batik #kaos brand local #kaos couple #kaos custom #PT. ARKANA PUTRA BAROKAH #Kami Melayani Order Delivery #Juragan Cukup Telpon/WA. Kami Akan Datang Ketempat Juragan Membawakan Beberapa Contoh Sampel Produksi Kami. Terimakasih #produsen kaos studios #produsenkaosstudiosprodusen kaos studios

[ayakashibackstreet]

I swear, finding Switch games for my mum is absolutely harrowing, pretty much nothing has a Polish language version and my mum's English knowledge is limited to knowing words like 'Continue', 'Options', 'Listen' and 'Love' so...

#Basically what I'm saying is that if Nintendo doesn't believe we're profitable enough to give us our language as an option #then I don't believe they're at all entitled to my money #I mean hell they don't even technically sell Switches here #Some Czech distributor does #And if something's broken in your Switch and you want to use your warranty you have to send it in to Germany #Basically fuck that so far the only game I found is Kao the Kangaroo and that's literally a Polish game #(which can afford to provide like 15 languages even though it's by a small studio! go fucking figure!)

[nanaosaki3940]

My Fav Shoujo-Josei Manga Recommendation

Currently, I've indulged myself in Korean manhwa/webtoon, so I decided to go back and read some Japanese manga for a change. And I highly recommend checking them out since these are some of my favorites. Most of them are pretty new, and it wasn't that long before they started serializing in various shoujo/josei magazines.

(Some of them are ongoing, and some have come to completion)

Veil Museru Kurai no Ai o Ageru (Choking on Love)

Firefly Wedding (Hotaru no Yomeiri) Kimi no Yokogao wo Miteita (Looking at Your Profile)

Nijuu to Seijuu (20 and The Beast) Fundari, Kettari, Aishitari

Damenzukon Kono Kekkonha Out Desuka (Getting Married To a Good-For-Nothing -Would This Marriage Work?) Hananoi-kun to Koi no Yamai (A Condition Called Love)

Unmei no Hito ni Deau Hanashi (How I Met My Soulmate) Shujinkou Nikki (Heroine's Love Diary)

Tonari no Stella (Stella Next To Me) Hikaeme ni Itte mo, Kore wa Ai (Love, That's an Understatement)

Kawaii Nante Kiitenai!! (You're My Cutie) Futarijime Romantic

Kimi to Barairo no Hibi Uruwashi no Yoi no Tsuki (In the Clear Moonlit Dusk)

Higashi Sengoku-san no Make-up Doll (Make Up For You) Isso Anata ga Todome wo Sashite

Gomen ne, Hatsukoi (I'm sorry, First Love) Kekkon Yoteibi (Date of Marriage)

Chorokute Kawaii Kimi ga Suki (I love you, my naive sweetheart!) Narita-kun wo Semetai!!

Dose Koi Shite Shimaunda (Anyway, I'm Falling in Love With You) Studio Cabana

A Sign of Affection (Yubisaki to Renren) Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii (I'd Prefer It If We're Strangers in Our Next Life)

Anata ga shitekurenakute mo (Even if you don't do it) It Takes More than a Pretty Face to Fall in Love (Kao Dake ja Suki ni Narimasen)

Moekare wa Orenji-iro (My Boyfriend in Orange) Na no ni, Chigira-kun ga Amasugiru (And Yet, You Are So Sweet)

Hayaku Shitai Futari (Let's do it already) Daifuku-chan to Ouji-sama (Daifuku-chan and the Prince)

Koiseyo Mayakashi Tenshi-domo (Fall in Love False Angels) Killing Line

Rinko-chan to Himosugara Koi Wazurai no Ellie (Lovesick Ellie)

Pink to Habanero (Pink and Habanero) Honey Lemon Soda

Loving Yamada at Lv999 (Yamada-kun to Lv999 no Koi wo Suru) The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague

Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) Skip and Loafer

#veil #museru kurai no ai wo ageru #hotaru no yomeiri #kimi no yokogao wo miteita #nijuu to seijuu #fundari kettari aishitari #hananoi kun to koi no yamai #unmei no hito ni deau hanashi #shujinkou nikki #tonari no stella #hikaeme ni itte mo kore wa ai #kawaii nante kiitenai #futarijime romantic #yamada kun to lv999 no koi wo suru #the ice guy and his cool female colleague #koi wazurai no ellie #moekare wa orenji iro #na no ni chigira kun ga amasugiru #a sign of affection #yubisaki to renren #firefly wedding #a condition called love #Chorokute Kawaii Kimi ga Suki #studio cabana #Uruwashi no Yoi no Tsuki #in the clear moonlit dusk #shoujo manga #shojo manga #manga recommendation #the apothecary diaries

[insanityclause]

EXCLUSIVE: One year ago we told you that a second season of John le Carré adaptation The Night Manager was quietly being developed under the codename Steelworks.

Now, Deadline can reveal that the BBC and new co-pro partner Amazon have gone big on a supercharged two-season order of the thriller, with Tom Hiddleston returning to lead, Hugh Laurie coming back as EP and with a new director in I Hate Suzie’s Georgi Banks-Davies. A third season has also been greenlit. David Farr returns as writer and Stephen Garrett is showrunner.

The Night Manager Season 2 will begin filming later this year and will pick up with Hiddleston’s Jonathan Pine eight years after the explosive finale of Season 1, going beyond the original book, which was written by the celebrated British writer in 1993. Additional plot details are being kept under wraps and there is not yet confirmation as to whether EP Laurie’s Richard Roper, who was last seen in the back of a paddy wagon driven by arms buyers who were not best pleased with him, will return to star. Hiddleston will also EP and will discuss in more depth on tonight’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Produced by The Ink Factory in association with Character 7, Demarest Films and 127 Wall, and in co-production with Spanish partner Nostromo Pictures, The Night Manager Season 2 was sold to Amazon by Fifth Season. The first was co-produced with AMC.

New director Banks-Davies, a BAFTA-nominee who takes over from Susanne Bier, has credits including I Hate Suzie, Garfield and upcoming Netflix series Kaos.

The Night Manager Season 1 was a huge success, watched by millions and winning multiple BAFTAs, Emmys and Golden Globes including best actor for Hiddleston. Also starring Tom Hollander, Olivia Colman and Elizabeth Debicki, it followed Pine – who ran a luxury hotel in Cairo – as he attempted to infiltrate the inner circle of Roper’s crime syndicate after being hired by Foreign Office task force manager Angela Burr.

The first season was commissioned more than 10 years ago and the show has since been remade in India, lapping the UK version by swiftly having a Season 2 greenlit for Disney+ Hotstar in May last year.

Simon Cornwell and Stephen Cornwell, le Carré’s sons who run The Ink Factory, said Season 1 proved “a landmark moment for the golden era of television – uniting on-screen and behind-the-camera talent at the top of their game – and an audience reception which was beyond our wildest imagining.”

They added: “Revisiting the story of Pine also means going beyond the events of John le Carré’s original work: that is a decision we have not taken lightly, but his compelling characters and the vision David has for their next chapter were irresistible.”

Amazon MGM Studios Head of Television Vernon Sanders said: “We are elated to bring additional seasons of The Night Manager to our Prime Video customers. The combination of terrific source material, the wonderful team at The Ink Factory, a great writer in David Farr, an award-winning director in Georgi Banks-Davies, as well as the talented cast truly make the series the full package.”

Hiddleston said: “The first series of The Night Manager was one of the most creatively fulfilling projects I have ever worked on. The depth, range and complexity of Jonathan Pine was, and remains, a thrilling prospect.”

BBC content boss Charlotte Moore added: “After years of fervent speculation I’m incredibly excited to confirm that The Night Manager is returning to the BBC for two more series.”

The Night Manager series two is created and executive produced by Farr, based on the characters created by le Carré. Additional executive producers include Garrett for Character 7, Banks-Davies, Laurie and Hiddleston; Joe Tsai and Arthur Wang for 127 Wall; Stephen and Simon Cornwell, Michele Wolkoff, and Tessa Inkelaar for The Ink Factory; Adrián Guerra for Nostromo Pictures; William D. Johnson for Demarest Films, Nick Cornwell, Susanne Bier, Chris Rice for Fifth Season and Gaynor Holmes for the BBC.

#tom hiddleston #the night manager #seasons 2 and 3 #official #jonathan pine #hugh laurie #booked and busy

[snowstudios1]

Cole: “Lmao, ur bald”

So I may have made a new AU :)

Here he is.

#digital art #clip studio paint #art #skylanders #fanart #skylander au #digital sketch #cole #summoned skylander au #au #kaos skylanders #skylanders fanart #skylanders portal master oc #skylanders kaos #kaos au

[hannah-heartstrings]

@gray-ace-space requested sparkly purple ace icons and I had a lot of fun and got a bit carried away. XD

Free for anyone to use.

Pink ones here.

Credits for the photos I used to make them:

Top Left: Purple Glitter Texture Background by Danijela Racic from Getty Images

Top Middle: Cartoon Shooting Stars Lavender Purple Sky by tkrcartoon on Judy Kao’s Images

Top Right: Purple Lavender Watercolor Background by Lana Veter on Canva Pro

Middle Left: Light Purple Glittery Background by Dorin Tamas from Canva Pro

Middle Middle: Night Sky with Stars. by Nednapa from Getty Images

Middle Right: Purple Nebula Space Background by Wahyu Prasetiyo (Ntorial Studio) from Ntorial Studio

Bottom Left: Sparkling Purple Glitter by CMBar from Chrome Design’s Images

Bottom Middle: Defocused Particles Background (Purple) by DKosig from Getty Images Signature (I like that they just called them particles, I legit went and renamed the file to match.)

Bottom Right: Purple Butterfly Bokeh Lights. Bokeh Defocused Background by snjewelry from Getty Images

I didn’t even know some of these sites existed till I looked at the photo credits, Canva Pro pulls from a lot of places, I might have to check some of these out.

#purple aesthetic #ace icons #ace #asexual #asexuality #ace positivity #aspec #icons #free to use

[waitmyturtles]

Turtles Catches Up With Old GMMTV: Until We Meet Again Edition

[What’s going on here? After joining Tumblr and discovering Thai BLs through KinnPorsche in 2022, I began watching GMMTV’s new offerings -- and realized that I had a lot of history to catch up on, to appreciate the more recent works that I was delving into. From tropes to BL frameworks, what we’re watching now hails from somewhere, and I’m learning about Thai BL's history through what I’m calling the Old GMMTV Challenge (OGMMTVC). Starting with recommendations from @absolutebl on their post regarding how GMMTV is correcting for its mistakes with its shows today, I’ve made an expansive list to get me through a condensed history of essential/classic/significant Thai BLs produced by GMMTV and many other BL studios. My watchlist, pasted below, lists what I’ve watched and what’s upcoming, along with the reviews I’ve written so far. In a LONG POST, I’m writing today about New Siwaj’s incomparable drama, Until We Meet Again.]

TW: suicide, suicidal ideation, psychological trauma

Gah. I am so psyched to be finally sitting down to write my thoughts on Until We Meet Again, but I’m actually at a bit of a loss on where to start. There is SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT.

I think, where I can start, is to first say that this was, in my opinion, AN ABSOLUTELY SPECTACULAR SHOW. I did NOT expect this, at all. I’ve been around the way with New Siwaj, the UWMA screenwriter and director, a few times now for the OGMMTVC -- his writing on Love Sick, his work with Cheewin on Make It Right, and his work on MAME’s novel in Love By Chance have all been on the OGMMTVC list. I know that Between Us, the UMWA WinTeam continuation, was considered mostly a let-down for weak writing, and that New’s more recent shows, including A Boss and a Babe and Double Savage, were viewed quite critically (although I am a Double Savage apologist, for which I’ll explain my viewpoints later in this post). 

So. What I did not expect from 2019′s UWMA was to experience so many layers in a drama à la the work of Aof Noppharnach. Yes, I cannot believe I’m going here, to compare a New Siwaj drama to Aof’s oeuvre, but damn if I will, because good lord, New took his magic hat of tricks, pulled out THE GOOD STUFF, and made it all work. 

This is a list of themes that I saw in UWMA, that will help me structure this long write-up, but by no means should it be considered complete, as I’m sure I’m missing themes that you all likely caught in your watches and re-watches:

1) A new narrative structure for New -- balancing the impact of side couples by leveraging focus, equally, on two MAIN couples 2) The continuation and end of the 2019 trend of reincarnation and spiritual connections to love 3) Intergenerational queer trauma (micro-level) 4) Generational acceptance of queerness (macro-level) 5) Food and its Proustian effect on memory 6) Reflections on filial piety and the devastating effects of expectations -- and how children and parents seek redemption, particularly in New’s work

And before I even dive into THIS list, can I just say: MY GOD, FLUKE AND OHM. And Earth and Kao! But FLUKE AND OHM. Jesus, does New have an eye for talent -- from the Make It Right guys, to Perth and Saint, and then to Fluke and Ohm. I was seriously TAKEN with their chemistry. I did hear from a number of folks during my UWMA live-blogging that they can’t rewatch UWMA because of Fluke/Pharm’s rendition of the blushing maiden trope, but for my tastes -- I think the way he rendered the trope was really necessary to communicating Intouch’s story, history, and emotions, and just -- Fluke just ATE this role, my gawd. And Ohm/Dean responding in kind vis à vis Korn’s regret. YOW. It’s been a few days since I finished the show, in a total RUSH of drama hunger, and I’m still shaking my head and MARVELING at their performance.

Okay, back to the themes list. So, early in my Thai BL journey in the fall of 2022, after I had watched KinnPorsche and The Eclipse as my first two Thai BLs, I watched A Tale of Thousand Stars (way before the OGMMTVC was born), and noted that I appreciated the lack of side couples in the ATOTS storyline. I now realize, through the OGMMTVC, that side couples are both a BL trope and a byproduct of the drama styles from which BLs were born, the ensemble-based dramas like Love Sick, Senior Secret Love, and Kiss/Kiss Me Again.

New’s Make It Right -- while beloved in my heart, for the chaotic duos of TeeFuse and FrameBook -- WAS messy, with all the other couple stuff happening around it. That, along with Love By Chance, made me wonder -- why do BLs that center fabulous dyads with sizzling chemistry take away from that energy with all the side couple action? Even Together With Me, a non-New Siwaj and non-GMMTV drama, got sidelined in part with a VERY questionable side couple plot in BrightFarm.

Reflecting back on KP and The Eclipse, I had that question in mind as I started UWMA, and wondered where the Alex and WinTeam storylines were going to go. But, frankly, I ended up appreciating what NEEDED to happen with DeanPharm and KornIntouch, because -- the original novel storyline clearly demanded that these two couples, who were NOT side couples, but MAIN couples, needed a MAIN spotlight for their collective story to be told. @clairificusrex mentioned in a liveblog comment (THANK YOU, LOVELY HUMAN!) that New Siwaj benefitted in the screenplay from having a wonderful original novel to work with, and while I don’t read Y Series canon, I can only imagine that this was indeed the case.

So, New, in order to hew to the novel, had to perhaps hold back his usual instincts to muss up the main couple vibe, by centering DeanPharm and KornIntouch. With that control necessary to the story -- I think the narrative STRUCTURE of the drama just blew open. It was FASCINATING, it drew me in, and the structure allowed for another New predilection to be leveraged WELL, in his love for flashbacks. @lurkingshan, you mentioned that your taste wasn’t necessarily aligned with New’s fancy for flashbacks, which I totally understand -- I think flashbacks hurt the overall narrative structure of Double Savage earlier this year. But I think, here for UMWA, they were necessary, and I might very well be apologetic to that considering what I DID see in Double Savage by way of the story that New ended up screenwriting over there in regards to intergenerational family trauma (again, more on this later in the post).

This narrative structure lent itself handily to the next four themes on this list, all of which deal in memory, in spiritual roots, and/or in the generational passage and inheritance of trauma and emotion. 2019, as we know now, was a big year for shows themed around Thai spiritual culture and/or reincarnation. We have He’s Coming To Me, we have Dew the Movie -- we have art here, queer-centered art, that does not lend itself to happy endings, that depicts, through reincarnation or, in the case of HCTM, a ghostly purgatory, how DIFFICULT it had been to be comfortably queer and/or openly out in past and present Thailand.

And then UWMA comes along, telling TWO generational stories, intertwined by the red thread, but also, in the words of the WONDERFUL @bengiyo, connected by Korn and Intouch’s intergenerational queer trauma, the most PERFECT coinage of a theme for this show. In 1988, when Korn and Intouch die, they cannot be out. They cannot even be SECRETLY in love. Their bad dads use the foulest of language to describe their love (much like Phop’s dad in Dew). And Korn kills himself, and Intouch follows.

And what we learn, through Dean and Pharm, are the emotions, the regrets, the LEARNED BEHAVIOR that Korn and Intouch have picked up on in the afterlife, embedded in Dean and Pharm, that keeps Korn and Intouch’s love alive, with CORRECTIONS and ADJUSTMENTS made by Dean and Pharm that reflect on how not only Korn and Intouch’s love has changed and improved, but also how Dean and Pharm are learning how to love EACH OTHER, themselves, as they adjust to their OWN belonging to each other, in Pharm’s own words. GAH -- my aching heart. (Thank you to @lurkingshan for talking this through with me early on in my UWMA watch.)

I mean. THE DEPTH OF THIS. Intouch is a terrible cook, and Pharm is like, a restaurant-level chef?! Pharm is so resistant, and Dean is so FORWARD? (OHM THITIWAT, GAH!!!) (Listen. Pharm. P’Deeeean can grab MY butt, okay?) (See what I did there, @lurkingshan and @bengiyo? THANK YOOOOUU.)

And Pharm’s blushing maiden approach. Yes, I will also admit, that sometimes, it was a little cringey. But I think the blushing maiden trope was really necessary to the story -- ESPECIALLY IN THE CONTEXT of Intouch’s anger, ciphered through Pharm in the last episode. And I think that Fluke Natouch ultimately rendered the trope beautifully -- again, especially against the gorgeous ending of the show. Oh, THAT CONDO SCENE, PEOPLE. I LOST IT. 

Of course, Intouch would want to hold back through Pharm in the present day. If Intouch DIDN’T hold back vis à vis Pharm -- he might lose Korn again, if Pharm missteps with Dean. Intouch may have felt that HIS forwardness lent to their troubles -- so Intouch holds back, through Pharm. And Intouch ultimately communicates his love for Korn differently in the afterlife, more hesitantly -- through a resistance to intimacy, and through food and cooking in Pharm, which itself was another amazing move in this show.

Listen. Even my pinned post says what I value in dramas, not just in BLs. You give me food in BL, and I give you my heart. But also, let’s talk about the meaning of food in Asian dramas for a second. It’s no coincidence that MANY Asian dramas and doramas center food, including my favorite BL of all time, Kinou Nani Tabeta/What Did You Eat Yesterday?. If you don’t know Asians, of any ilk -- let me make a BROAD continental and sub-continental judgement. ALL WE THINK ABOUT IS FOOD, lol. While I’m with my family, while I’m working, while I’m writing meta -- I’m thinking about food, I’m thinking about what I want to cook, what I want to order, how I can mix the cuisines I love (Thai-Indian curries, anyone? YUM). Malaysians literally boast about having multiple meals, way past three meals, a day. We Asians are proud of our cuisines, and we want y’all to be EATING, A LOT, and to try all our dishes. (ITSAY, your Hokkien mee is calling me...) 

But, also: FOOD MEANS FAMILY. Let me say it again: FOOD MEANS FAMILY. You FEED the people you LOVE, with delicious food. Shiro and Kenji. Kurosawa and Adachi. The guys in Jack o’Frost. The guys in The Eighth Sense. Omg, even Kinn and Porsche. We’re seeing it in Tokyo In April Is... And Pharm, to Dean, Intouch to Korn.

And BESIDES Intouch/Pharm becoming a great cook, GOD, the story ALSO INCLUDED the Proustian reference of the madeleine and involuntary memory -- but in SUCH a stunning way, as to RECALL DEAN’S FAMILIAL MEMORY of eating his grandmother’s Thai desserts -- his grandmother, Intouch’s sister, and how Dean could get an indirect spotlight into Intouch and a depth of an understanding of Intouch’s happiness besides his love for Korn. And how Pharm EMBODIED that love for Thai desserts through Intouch’s family lineage. Oh, just get me MESSY, PEOPLE. FUCKING GENIUS SHIT. 

Memory on memory on memory. Dream on dream, nightmare on nightmare, tears and red threads, inherited trauma, intergenerational trauma. The micro-level of what Dean and Pharm had to live with on a daily basis in their recollections of Korn and Intouch. The macro-level of what Pharm and Dean experienced when all of their parents accepted them for who they were as queer individuals, and their partners, as well. How Dean’s dad could ACTUALLY RELATE to Dean himself, because Dean’s dad had been rejected by Dean’s mother’s family. And how that ALLOWED Dean’s dad to accept Dean and his choice to be with Pharm. How that trauma was relieved, how Dean and Pharm DID NOT HAVE TO PHYSICALLY RELIVE what Korn and Intouch had gone through, and how those involuntary memories that Dean and Pharm carried vis à vis Korn and Intouch traumatized them until Dean and Pharm could RECEIVE their OWN familial acceptance.

The LAYERS OF THIS SHOW. Before I get to the last theme on my list, I really just need to metaphorically slam my palms on an allegorical table and give New Siwaj a huge hug, because THIS SHIT IS NOT EASY TO PROCESS ALL AT ONCE, and I can’t wait to do a UWMA rewatch to try to catch more (and I’ll likely need to write another meta, ha, when I do that). I mean, again, just to use food as an example of a kind of storytelling TOOL to INDICATE memory, especially in the context of lost and found love, of intergenerational trauma and relieving regret -- BRILLIANT. BRILLIANT.

And. The last theme on the list, the theme of filial piety, of Asian family systems and devotion and loyalty and expectations, and the devastating effects on the micro-individual level (and even the macro-social level as well) that those expectations can have. 

So, I watched Double Savage, screenwritten by New Siwaj, out of order from UWMA. Very quickly, since many of you have likely NOT watched Double Savage because it’s not a BL (but it DID have Ohm Pawat and Perth Tanapon in a hose-off scene -- you can’t take the New Siwaj out of New Siwaj, amirite): Double Savage is about Korn (Ohm P.), a middle son who is branded a jinx by a HORRENDOUS Thai-Chinese father, and how the abuse leveled on Korn by his dad has intergenerational ripple effects across their family and community. 

Let’s break this down. I now know that New Siwaj does bad dads from Thai-Chinese lineage very well. UWMA’s Korn is expected to take over a mafia business. His dad is disapproving that Korn doesn’t want to take over the business -- which is an UNQUESTIONABLE and EMBEDDED expectation in most Asian family lineages (hello, Jeng and Step By Step) -- AND Korn’s dad is ALSO disapproving in Korn’s love for Intouch and vice versa. Separately, Intouch’s dad is disapproving that Intouch is in love with Korn, a mafia scion. 

Modern times are modern for a reason. 1988 was 31 years from 2019. I want to emphasize here the understanding that Korn and Intouch likely had -- that besides running away, there was no other existence for them to be together than to kill themselves and be together in the afterlife. And running away, and still living and existing, would have been a guilt-ridden and dangerous existence, for what Asian children are expected to do and live for vis à vis their parents. Korn likely HAD NO OTHER IMAGINATION for a life that he could live OTHER THAN to take over his father’s business and to be a heteronormative adult in the late 1980s. And, to top that all off, both of their dads were fucking assholes. 

I really liked how this was juxtaposed to the relationship between Dean and his father. Dean was clearly set up to be as stubborn as his dad. Meaning, at least to me -- that Dean was FAR less likely to be told what to do by his dad, that Dean would and maybe COULD, stand up to his dad. We didn’t see it happen, but I could have imagined Dean not accepting “no” for an answer from his dad to accept Pharm. (Makes you think about Pat, Pran, and Ming, no?) Dean had Korn in him. Dean/Korn was NOT GOING TO TAKE THAT SHIT AGAIN, and that was CLEAR. I want to emphasize: THAT’S BIG. That was BIG on New Siwaj and the UWMA novel writer to include that in the story. That’s parental defiance. That needed to happen in order for Dean and Pharm to survive. As an Asian, that gives me a kick of welcome energy.

But I also really want to note what New Siwaj did at the end of the show, something so deft, it might have left non-Asian viewers wondering what was going on. In the condo scene, Dean and Pharm are ciphering Korn and Intouch -- and when Korn’s father shows up in the wheelchair, Korn’s father knows what’s happening.

And Korn apologizes to his dad. Korn had already apologized to Intouch, but Korn also apologizes to his dad, and to his brother, and to his nephew in Sin. This really gets me, y’all, I understand this as an Asian. Korn is APOLOGIZING for the PAIN he caused in his family AND in Intouch, because -- filial piety. He knows what he did to himself was devastating to the Asian family system he was born into, to the Asian society he was born into, and he apologized for the suicide he committed unto himself that caused that extra-social pain. 

Like. As crazy as that sounds, it’s also an INCREDIBLY SOPHISTICATED way to ACKNOWLEDGE that Korn had broached a social boundary, and Intouch had followed him. THAT IS A HELL OF A LAYER TO ADD TO THIS STORY, ONE THAT I DID NOT EXPECT, and that SHOOK ME at the end of this series.

A similar situation happened in Double Savage. Despite the horrendous psychological abuse that Double Savage’s Korn received from his father -- an adult Korn ends up apologizing to his father for the trouble that HE may have caused. Now, what I appreciated about Double Savage was that THAT dad was like -- no, no, *I* should be the one apologizing. BUT, I want to indicate and emphasize here, that BOTH storylines acknowledge that Asian children NEED to know, SHOULD know, ARE BORN TO KNOW, that their actions have collective effects on a wider family system. We are born to understand and think like that. We are not dealing with an individualist Western perspective here. (I literally FLIPPED when I realized that New Siwaj has had MULTIPLE CHARACTERS NAMED KORN APOLOGIZING TO BAD DADS, and I’m an Asian over here UNDERSTANDING WHY, and I’m just like, pfffftt GGGAAAHHHH.)

Why am I harping on this? BECAUSE: vis à vis EVERYTHING ELSE that is lineage-based in this story -- from children being born, to intergenerational trauma, to reincarnation -- UWMA is structured around an über-macro theme of worlds being linked, by threads, by genes, by history, by spirit, by trauma. We are collectively linked. Babies are born -- we saw many babies in this show. Children belong to families. Lovers belong to lovers. Dean PHYSICALLY belongs to Intouch’s family, and Pharm to Korn’s family. A happy existence will be when a family accepts a child’s partner. Happiness is in a family growing, not a family shrinking. Warmth and growth and love happens when a happy family sits at a table and eats together. 

As Pharm says at the end of the show -- oh, my HEART -- “I belong to Dean.” Yes, you do -- because you have become Dean’s family, and Dean has become Pharm’s family. Korn’s family BELONGS to Intouch’s family, and vice versa. They are destined, MEANT to be linked together, AND TO BE FAMILY, ALL TOGETHER.

Kurosawa and Adachi become family in the Cherry Magic movie. WDYEY’s Shiro and Kenji become family by way of living and eating together. Even if BBS’s Ming doesn’t acknowledge Pran -- Pran is Ming’s family. LOVE. MAKES. FAMILY.

What Korn apologized for was the impact his decision had on his family — WHILE HE WAS IN LOVE WITH INTOUCH, WHO KORN’S FAMILY WAS NOT ALLOWING KORN TO MAKE AS KORN’S NEW FAMILY in the 1980s. Korn was able to apologize in the afterlife — BECAUSE Dean and Pharm DID WHAT HE AND INTOUCH COULD NOT DO, by way of generations, by way of family acceptance, by way of inherited trauma and STOPPING that inherited trauma in its tracks -- very much like Pat and Pran banding together and doing the same for themselves. Dean and Pharm did the hard work of making the relationship a real one, in every aspect of their intimate, micro-level family lives, to a public, external existence in the world. Korn could FINALLY experience the release of GUILT he had towards Intouch and towards Korn’s family, now that Korn’s love for Intouch could FINALLY flourish outside the constraints of filial piety through Dean. THIS IS HUGE. I have no words to tell you what the BRILLIANCE of this means to me as an Asian. LOVE MAKES FAMILY, and LOVE THAT IS ALLOWED TO FLOURISH GIVES YOU THE RELEASE TO BE YOUR TRUE SELF. 

Dean had learned from the inherited trauma that he got from Korn that he needed to stop the trauma train in his tracks, and he did, and he confronted his father, and his father blessed the union of Dean and Pharm. When Dean took the gun away from Pharm, and embraced Pharm, Korn and Intouch KNEW that they could finally be safe in the afterlife. Dean and Pharm were the ciphers that finally ALLOWED Korn and Intouch to exist happily together in spirit. Korn, especially, could exist freely, now that he was relieved of his guilt. Dean and Pharm were, LITERALLY, Korn and Intouch’s FAMILY -- the FAMILY that ALLOWED the FINAL RELEASE for Korn and Intouch to be together as their true selves and spirits. 

And Dean and Pharm confirmed that in FRONT of the family member, in Korn’s father, that had originally caused all this pain. The intricate layers, communicated to a primarily Asian audience, of Korn apologizing to his father, and then of Dean embracing Pharm and confirming their love AND Korn and Intouch’s love, in front of that former barrier -- that is GROWTH and FLOURISHING in the face of generational defiance, and about as sophisticated and eloquent a communication of familial transcendence as I could possibly imagine seeing in Asian drama art. WHOA. I’m a little out of breath with this.

Wow. And speaking of being one’s true self: I deeply loved that Dean and Pharm took a three-month break. I loved that Pharm was smart and strong enough to demand a break to understand if DEAN and PHARM -- INDEPENDENT of ANYTHING they had INHERITED from ANYONE -- actually loved each other and belonged together. Fuck. Pharm was like, no -- this one’s on me. I need to see, outside of ANY INFLUENCES, FROM ANYONE, ANYWHERE -- if I love Dean, if Dean loves me, and if we belong together. Brave. Badass.

AND, I truly loved how Korn and Intouch -- DEAN AND PHARM’S FAMILY -- came BACK to Dean and Pharm’s dreams to offer thanks. I loved how, in the end, the past and his family came back to give Pharm that little contextual nudge to say to Pharm, it’s okay to love Dean for Dean, AND to love how you two came together, through Korn and Intouch. And Pharm could acknowledge, finally, that he belonged to Dean. God damn.

This story was so multilayered, SO complex, SO filled with a respect for love at its highest and most complicated levels. This story was filled with CRITICAL SCRUTINY towards Asian family systems and the trauma that those systems can render. This story was filled with an acknowledgement for the power of LOVE that those same family systems can offer unto children who NEED pillars of love and support (Pharm’s mom and brother, badasses!). 

Y’ALL. I just, I DID NOT KNOW that New Siwaj could DO THIS! I know that UWMA is considered his best show, but like, this is his best show BY A LOT, A LOT. Double Savage, in contrast, had a lot of narrative and structural issues that detracted from the core stories of filial piety that were ultimately very important to tell. 

UWMA did not fall into that trap. It was SMART, it MOVED (FOR SEVENTEEN EPISODES! I SLAMMED THIS SERIES! I could have watched MORE, I cannot believe I’m SAYING THAT!), it was. It was just BRILLIANT. It was an ode to romantic love, to family love, to the power of memory. In 2019, it joined He’s Coming To Me in a burgeoning echelon of cinema-influenced BLs in storytelling, soon to be joined by I Told Sunset About You, ATOTS, and others. It took the sad endings of He’s Coming To Me and Dew the Movie and said -- not today. Today, we will let love LIVE, let QUEER LOVE live, in REAL LIFE, in REAL TIME, and we will not let our lovers live in regret. We will take queer love, we will give queer love FAMILY, and we will give it the HONOR IT DESERVES.

Until We Meet Again is a must-watch of the highest order, and goes on the shortlist of shows that I will refer to as one that makes me proud to be an Asian. It was easily one of the most important shows I’ve watched in this project. All credit to New, Fluke, Ohm, Earth, and Kao for a PHENOMENAL experience -- my heart and mind have been bettered because of this show. 

[FLUKE. AND. OHM. Fluke and Singto coming thru in Shadow the Series? Sign me the FUCK up. Actors on actors. WOW. Did UWMA ever introduce me to another crop of dudes who can fucking tear up a screen. I had SO much fun watching UWMA, whew!

And, yep. I had to follow this up with 2gether, ha. I’m going to spare myself a little pain, if y’all don’t mind, and combine my write-up of 2gether with Still 2gether. I know there’s a lot to be said about the lack of intimacy in 2G, which I can’t wait to dive into, but I can’t help but to also run into another wall of analysis with dear P’Aof’s work in S2G. I’ll make it all work!

After I get myself together with 2gether (HA) -- it’s ITSAY time. I will be planning on watching ITSAY TWICE before writing, as I’m preparing myself to catch EVERYTHING I can before I pen words. Stay tuned.

Status of the list below. As always -- if you have feedback, send it my way!

1) Love Sick and Love Sick 2 (2014 and 2015) (review here) 2) Make It Right (2016) (review here) 3) SOTUS (2016-2017) (review here) 4) Make It Right 2 (2017) (review here) 5) Together With Me (2017) (review here) 6) SOTUS S/Our Skyy x SOTUS (2017-2018) (review here) 7) Love By Chance (2018) (review here) 8) Kiss Me Again: PeteKao cuts (2018) (no review) 9) He’s Coming To Me (2019) (review here) 10) Dark Blue Kiss (2019) and Our Skyy x Kiss Me Again (2018) (review here) 11) TharnType (2019-2020) (review here) 12) Senior Secret Love: Puppy Honey (BL cuts) (2016 and 2017) (I’m watching this out of order just to get familiar with OffGun before Theory of Love -- will likely not review) 13) Theory of Love (2019) (review here) 14) 3 Will Be Free (2019) (not a BL or an official part of the OGMMTVC watchlist, but an important harbinger of things to come in 2019 and beyond re: Jojo Tichakorn pushing queer content in non-BLs) (review here) 15) Dew the Movie (2019) (review here) 16) Until We Meet Again (2019-2020)  17) 2gether (2020) and Still 2gether (2020) (watching) 18) I Told Sunset About You (2020) 19) YYY (2020, out of chronological order) 20) Manner of Death (2020-2021) (not a true BL, but a MaxTul queer/gay romance set within a genre-based show that likely influenced Not Me and KinnPorsche) 21) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) (review here) 22) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For The Sake Of Rewatching Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS 23) Lovely Writer (2021) 24) Last Twilight in Phuket (2021) (the mini-special before IPYTM) 25) I Promised You the Moon (2021) 26) Not Me (2021-2022) 27) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) (thesis here) 28) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) and Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS (2023) OGMMTVC Rewatch 29) Secret Crush On You (2022) [watching for Cheewin’s trajectory of studying queer joy from Make It Right (high school), to SCOY (college), to Bed Friend (working adults)] 30) KinnPorsche (2022) (tag here) 31) KinnPorsche (2022) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For The Sake of Re-Analyzing the KP Cultural Zeitgeist 32) The Eclipse (2022) (tag here) 33) GAP (2022-2023) (Thailand’s first GL) 34) My School President (2022-2023) and Our Skyy 2 x My School President (2023) 35) Moonlight Chicken (2023) (tag here) 36) Bed Friend (2023) (tag here) (Cheewin’s latest show, depicting a queer joy journey among working adults)]

#until we meet again #until we meet again meta #uwma #uwma meta #ohm thitiwat #fluke natouch #deanpharm #dean x pharm #pharm x dean #kornintouch #korn x intouch #intouch x korn #earthkao #kao noppakao #earth katsamonnat #ohmfluke #new siwaj #double savage #double savage meta #ohm pawat #perth tanapon #ohmperth #turtles catches up with old gmmtv #turtles catches up with thai BLs #turtles catches up with the essential BLs #the old gmmtv challenge #ogmmtvc #asian family systems #asian family dynamics #intergenerational trauma

[absolutebl]

Until We Meet Again

This is going to be a watch along starting in Oct 2022, right before Between Us (the spin off) airs. But since I have never done a proper analysis or review of UWMA, I'll start with that. 

Until We Meet Again is a 2019 Thai BL from Studio Wabi Sabi directed by New Siwaj. 

It is an adaptation of the y-novel The Red Thread by LazySheep. I watched shortly after it aired in late 2019. You can currently (still) watch it on YouTube. Trigger warning. 

Quick Pitch  

UWMA is, without question, a work of narrative genius with a powerful and cohesive romantic backbone and stellar performances. It is (to date) the only Thai BL (of c.170 watched) that I’ve rated a 10/10 predominantly on the basis of story structure. That said, it is also very well cast (and it’s a BIG cast), with solid production values, and enduring pair branding as well as being the best Thai BL from a storytelling perspective. It is one of my favorite BLs of all time and I have probably rewatched at least some parts of it over 20x. 

Narrative Frameworks 

UWMA is long for a Thai BL at 17 ep of c.45 min of fresh content which means it comes in at around 13 hours total. It’s tropes include fated mates (or soulmates), past love/tragedy, sins of the fathers, and family drama. It has a strong seme/uke structure and multiple couples (both hallmarks of Thai BL). Leads are grumpy/sunshine pairings, with a side dish of sunshine/tsundere. It’s medium heat but still rather sweet, because while all couples are followed into the bedroom, there’s a very strong emotional chemistry component that renders the physical chemistry somewhat background to the pure love connection driving the relationships. As a series, it is paced well, but is perhaps not the best one to binge watch. To me it feels like a show that needs room to breathe. 

The production values are high but workmanlike. There are some flaws in sound, wardrobe, makeup, and repeated establishing shots. But the crew and cast were clearly bigger and better funded than any Thai BL production since. I would hazard a guess that this was one of Thailands most expensive BLs (with the possible exception of KinnPorsche). 

Thai Language Corner

From a Thai linguistics perspective it’s pretty standard for a college set BL. I do use both DeamPharm and WinTeam as examples when talking about basic and more complicated linguistic couple dynamics (more here). OhmFluke, however, are a bit more interesting IRL. 

New uses staggered couple framing, central aperture faming, peekaboo framing, and lighting to contrast the secretive and doomed nature of the past relationship against the attempted recovery and reformation of the modern day. He paid very little attention to manga style or BL’s yaoi roots, possibly because his style as a director is evidently not at all influenced by it. 

This show stars Fluke Natouch as Pharm [reincarnated In] and Ohm Thitiwat as Dean [reincarnated Korn] AKA OhmFluke. They are a branded pair who since UWMA have done Close Friend 1 & 2, and Oh My Sunshine Night and have more BLs scheduled for 2023. 

It also stars Earth Katsamonnat (AKA Smol Earth or CooHeart) as Intouch or In [Pharm’s past self] and Kao Noppakao as Korn [Dean's past self]. Earth has gone on to co-brand as SantaEarth starring in 7 Project and My Only 12%. He had acted in several BL shows prior to UWMA, although Fluke would have been the most experienced lead actor on that set. Kao would go on to star in Lovely Writer. Both Fluke and Earth are openly gay and were out at time of filming and promotion. 

The support couple (or side dish) featured Prem Warut as Team [Pharm's best friend] and Boun Noppanut as Win [Dean's best friend]. BounPrem are strongly cobranded and have since co-lead 7 Project, Even Sun, Long Kong, and guest-coupled in Cutie Pie and You Never Eat Alone. They will anchor Between Us the spin off of UWMA (an adaptation of Hemp Rope) reprising their roles of Win and Team. In UWMA their couple has relatively little screen time but they absolutely stole fan attention and adoration. 

UWMA also featured Samantha Coates (AKA Sammy) as Manow [Pharm's best friend] and Pineare Pannin as Del [Dean's sister]. Sammy is a staple of many BLs, being an active member of Wabi Sabi’s stable. Del is best known for playing Yuri in 2014′s Love Sick, Thailand’s first big hit BL. These two starred together in Wabi Sabi’s only GL (part of 7 Project.) (Don’t bother, it’s still all about the boy.) 

I am telling you all this up front because I will make mistakes and refer to everyone by their character or actor name all the time. Sorry. Also I want you to know how biased I am. 

I LOVE this show.

And now....

the watch along. 

Episode 1 - Oh, I Forgot...

It has probably been about a year since I did a rewatch of UWMA. And I think I’ve only ever watched the first installment of the first episode one time through. I didn’t forget how dark it was, but I am reminded why I always say ‘original trigger warning” on UWMA.

I can see why I like to the show from the start, because it does open on a crying kiss. I am an absolute sucker for a crying kiss. This time around, I noticed the intrusiveness of the music a lot more, especially in KornIn’s stuff. 

Earth turns in a killer opening performance (in the great cry off between him and Fluke that is this show). In that moment before he picks up the gun, Earth almost does look like Fluke will later on. It’s a really interesting bit of facial performance and acting. 

I got to say, barring some of the darker Japanese BL, this is probably the most powerful opening sequence we’ve gotten in the genre. Honestly, if this show we’re being released right now I don’t think it would’ve had this opening. They would’ve kept the trigger, but it would’ve appeared more chronologically towards the end.

Is this a pleasant way to start a BL? No. 

Is it powerful? Yep.

Manaow and Del are still 2 of my favorites. We were robbed with their GL.

Oh my God Prem looks like such a baby.

I like that there are these extra bits with extra characters in UWMA, like in the cooking club. We don’t get a vast ensemble casts like this anymore. Not even from Thailand, not with this attention to detail. I kind of miss it. The little extra bits set in different parts of the university, they remind me a bit of origin yaoi.

Honestly Fluke is one of the best blushing maidens to ever blush. It’s still not my favorite archetype but he does do it beautifully. The part where Team jokingly says he’ll protect his two friends, is pretty telling actually. Since he’s going to have to step up to the plate later and try against and older boy. I do adore this friendship group. In the end, perhaps Pete & Kao’s friends (Kiss series) beat them out slightly. But not by very much.

And the set up for the whole show:

I will keep searching until I find you. 

30 years later... 

(You know, when I was first watching this show I always called it Until You Again, in my head.) 

I wonder how hard it was for Fluke to cry on command like that, all the time. Here watch this AMAZING FMV of Fluke and Gun (Theory of Love) having a cry off. 

WinTeam and the towel in the locker room is still one of the best early couple moments ever.

The end of the first episode and we haven’t even had a proper meet cute. And yet the pacing feels. I think because the show opens so top-heavy with the deadly drama at the beginning of the episode. 

Honestly, I forgot how sort elegant and well executed to show was. I’ve grown to no longer expect that from New. It just goes to show that he’s one of those directors that really excels and thrives when he has a very strong script.

Episode 2 - The High Beans! 

I love this meet cute. LOVE IT. Can’t wait to watch it again. But first the library (not quite) assignation. 

One of the best prevailing themes of UWMA is this idea that making food, and specifically Thai desserts, is meditative and important for the cook. But also that preparing food is about the love and affection that you sprinkle feelings into the dish like seasoning, so that people can taste it when they eat.

Note the only other guy in the cooking club? That’s Best Vittawin from Check Out and a bunch of other higher heat BL. Also some of you who are paying attention to the language might notice that Luk Choup is mentioned quite a bit. Yes that is the same name as the character in La Cuisine. It’s also the desert that In makes with his Maa, and that Pharm makes into special star shapes for Dean in Ep 3.

Honestly KaoEarth never much resonated with me, but on this rewatch I am liking them so much better than I ever have before. It that @heretherebedork​ ‘ss influence? Possibly. I think it’s also because of both My Only 12% (which is making me like Earth more as an actor) and Lovely Writer (which made me like Kao more).

One of my favorite character development threads in the show is Dean’s relationship with his siblings. I love how austere and cold he is at the beginning of the show. But how, after being with Parm for a while, he mellows around Don & Del. It is Pharm who brings a family to Dean in the end.

The note passing in the secret smiles and the spitting of the orange juice remains very cute.

I am quietly obsessed, well not quietly (because I’ve never quiet), about Dean with his hand in his pocket.

Honestly, the only time Dean takes his hand out of his pocket is to touch Pharm.

And there it is, FINALLY, the mung bean meat cute! 

Best ever. 

This is such a GREAT romance. 

Pharm starts to cry and Dean immediately touches his face. There is a reason I call Dean the most handsy seme in BL. He is pretty much never not touching Pharm from this moment on. It’s glorious (and very unlike KBL and JBL). 

And you can see him look at his own hand and surprise, because he is clearly not a touchy-feely person. But being then he just accepts this about himself and will do everything he can to be close to Pharm from here on out. 

I love how New does this dirty screen peekaboo shot on DeanPharm right before he cuts back and forth to KornIn, it’s like framing foreshadow since normally this style of short is used with KornIn so highlight the secrecy of their relationship. 

Episode 3 - Wabi Sabi Shows Off The Stable

I just realized one of In’s friends (played by Title Tanatorn) is also in Remember Me and My Only 12% airing right now. Boy needs a series. He v cute. Also “HI DR SING!” (Sorry, due to Triage, Tonnam will always be Dr Sing. Although he is also a side character in LITA right now. Honestly my brain is becoming an MDL for Thai actors in BLs. Of course, Perth is great in this role, a foreshadow for all the crying he’ll do in LBC2. I am sorry we never got to meet his character older. It would’ve been nice for him to have gotten closure with the Pharm as reincarnated In. I wonder if his character got to meat Pharm did in the book?

And Win’s Patented move the casual arm throw. Honestly, Win gets all of the best lines in this show. No wonder we all like him so much. I hope he stays a witty and snarky in Between Us. 

I have to say, Dean’s soft voice is one of the best in the biz, thank you Ohm. Almost as good as Solo’s (Oxygen).

And so Dean learns about Pharm’s panic attacks and the after effects that his past self’s actions have wrought on the person he loved the most. And he reacts in the most seme way possible. Honestly he is such a poster child seme in this series. 

Also he flirts. 

In a VERY Dean fashion.

Dean: I’m still single.

Pharm: I am single too.

Dean: Not for long.

This is the show where I first learned that in Thailand do you say “bur” when you want someone’s digits. This makes me unreasonably happy.

Meanwhile back in the past selves, In is so brave. The worst consequence of the tragedy that lead to their reincarnation is that his future self is so timid and afraid because of what was done to In in the past. It’s really the only reason I forgive Pharm’s blushing maiden actions. I think of that fact of his personality as somewhat dictated by the past, much like his panic attacks. 

The bit where Pharm is serving Dean breakfast in his condo for the first time and he puts out a carafe of water and there are little flowers floating in it? What are those flowers?

Meanwhile, he way Dean fixes Pharm’s hair and tie and then Phram misspeaks “gin” gets me every time. Although I gotta say if a boy cried like that every time he met me, I’d probably have backed off my now. 

Episode 4 - Bisexual Rep & Stereotyping. Are we happy or sad? 

Does one get pleased to see bisexual rep or annoyed by the stereotyping? At the time, because it was so rare in BL (still is, actually), I was pleased. But now with Mame busting in on the bi/pan=predatory slut trope regularly I’m just annoyed. 

P’Alex (Mean in his best role, fight me Tin stans) as a sleazy bi actor won over by food. Honestly? Been there done that, been that done there, and fucked that. Oo, I’m three for three!

OK so in LITA when Payu says/implies that he wants Rain to talk like a good boy, really he wants him to talk the way Pharm does to Dean (all the time). Pharm is so bloody polite. 

So cute that Dean won’t allow Pharm to be jealous for one second. Dean has no interest in playing any of the normal BL games. These two are fated, gay, and into each other and he has no interest in pretending otherwise. Oh he will tease his uke like a proper seme, but only because Pharm lacks faith in Dean’s constancy.

The scene with Pharm and the girls carving the dumplings is one of my favorites. It’s so cute the way Manaow teases Pharm with Del’s sibling connection. Also it’s really sweet the way that Pharm instantly understands the complexities of Dean’s familial relationships, and immediately sets out to heal them.

Win and Dean racing. 

Look, competition is how 2 semes show their love for each other. 

And then the most famous scene in a BL that’s full of famous scenes.

Does anyone one in BL execute the feeding trope better? I think not. And if you can name one, leave a comment and make a case for it. 

In addition to having one of the best soft commanding voices in Thai BL, Ohm has got to have one of the best side eyes as well.

I love that Del is already protective of her brother’s boyfriend.

Happy clap hands we get the first date and the penguin walk next! 

Episode 5 - The Ping-guine Walk! 

I would like to stress from this moment on that we, the collective BLers, do not talk about Dean’s driving in this show. Or we did at the time, but that time has passed. Just ignore, okay? Cause it cray cray. 

Del cooking for her brothers is so cute. Also the way she gently teases Dean about Pharm. Love her! 

And now the first date. 

The bus trip so Make it Right. Just FYI Thailand and Korea LOVE a bus trip in romance (BL or otherwise). They tend to do it the most. Japan has done it a few times too. But the others not so much. 

Also sharing earbuds = MIR again. 

I do love P’Sorn. 

Yes, that’s Na from Kinnporseche but we knew him when (also forthcoming Wish Me Luck).

I love the aquarium visit. 

Pharm doing the penguin walk. 

Dean’s expression when Pharm does a penguin walk. 

Dean secretly taking photographs of his cutie. It’s just wonderful. Pharm is so bouncy and cute and Dean is so soft and indulgent. And it’s one of the few times where we get to see Pharm be a little bit more like In. Dean spends the whole time looking at Pharm rather than the fish. He’s so doting. 

It’s so good. 

The story about the sea ogress and what to do with a traitorous lover. Pharm’s response is actually typical uke, as possessive as seme are, it is usually the uke in yaoi & BL who ends up being the most fierce about ownership in a relationship. Because the uke has, in many ways, sacrificed part of their identity to the seme (in In’s case, all of it), their’s is the more powerful claim by right of sacrifice. It’s very old gods, ancient instincts. 

Meanwhile there’s Dean always making his intentions crystal clear. 

That hand hold. 

But also... 

No Dean, he doesn’t trust you, and for a very good reason.

And finally we have everybody’s least favorite character in UWMA: Ja’s wig.

There’s a wild speculation around this wig. 

Perhaps he had just finished Ror Dor and had no hair? Or had just come back from serving in the military? No matter wha,t it’s totally unacceptable. 

Thailand is never allowed to use wigs. It’s one of the sacred rules of BL. It’s a bummer because Sorn & Sin are fab minor characters. (They will rep for the “elder gay advice giver” archetype. One of my favorites.) 

Episode 6 - The Read Thread Kiss

This rewatch I really feel a lot more for Korn than I ever did before. He really did try to warn In that it wasn’t a good idea for them to date, like he knew he wasn’t gonna be brave enough, even for love. But In is so relentless and so cute, who could resist? 

Everyone eating lunch together and teasing each other and Del finally relaxing around Dean is one of my favorite little vignettes. Also, everybody laughing at Dean rgr “forgetting to swallow.” And my boys holding hands under the table. It’s glorious.

I also like how we get to see Dean reacting to the past negatively too, finally. And his siblings are so worried about him. This crack in his stoic armor. 

I do love Pharm standing up to Alex before the play. And the fact that Del records it and sends it to Dean is just so good. Especially knowing what happens next. 

The fated mates of the red thread. 

Dean’s faculty cohorts are all such frat boy type dicks. I kinda love their sleazy mame-ish little ways.

Honestly there’s nothing carnal when these two kiss but it’s so beautifully romantic and soft. 

I love love love the way Dean checks in on Pharm and tidies him up, afterwards. It’s so sweetly caring and careful. 

And then the big realization about reincarnation over shabu shabu. 

I gotta say, as a chronic rewatcher, this show stands up to a rewatch better than pretty much any other Thai BL I could name. Probably because it has so many character vignettes, and little moments of side affection between friends as well as lovers. There’s a lot of meat and sweetness to revisit. 

Episode 7 - Possibly my Favorite Episode 

The tiny snippet where Dean sees Pharm as In is actually one of the saddest bits of this whole show. It’s rough watching DeanPram figure everything out. 

I do love the scene where Pharm meets Dean’s younger brother. Don tricks Dean into coming over, and everybody teases them. 

I feel like every episode I say “this is one of my favorite scenes.” Which just goes to show why this is my favorite Thai BL ever. 

Meanwhile, sitting on the couch crying, DeanPharm finally figure out that they promised to find each other and that they are both experiencing the same feelings of reincarnation. This particular exchange of gifts is so significant actually talk about it as an example in my blog post on the trope. Gift exchange is not a trope I love but it has a lot of meaning in this particular instance. 

Public claiming of a relationship is one of my more favorite tropes on the other hand, which means the next scene where Dean has to run Alex off is just too good. When I talk about Thailand in the context of age dynamics as part of culture, I use the example of how hard it is for Team to protect Pharm under these circumstances - where he is fighting against Alex who is not only older but from a different department. It’s such an important insight into Team’s character, that he’s willing to stand against Alex even though the whole social structure is against him. Dean sweeping in and running Alex off is just so powerful as a result. Also I really love the way Dean is always touching Pharm and tidying/playing with his hair and clothes - it’s so proprietary and boyfriend. It also shows that Dean is never not thinking about him, his eyes are always on Pharm whenever they are together. 

And this ep ends with WinTeam and the forehead kiss in the convenience store. Finally there’s some movement on their romance. This really is one of my favorite episodes. 

Other Stuff Related to this Show

Why Until We Meet Again is special among Thai BLs

Thai Desserts in Until We Meet Again 

BL With the Highest Chance of Breaking Into The West - Until We Meet Again (I wrote this before KinnPorsche) 

Sex negativity as part of the seme/uke dynamic 

Thai Food You Should Eat Because of BL 

(source)

So I will try to updated this original doc as much as possible, but sometimes Tumblr just stops me from editing, in which case I have to repost and add. So I’ll be putting a rough date here, please don’t get mad if something is out of date and I can no longer fix it. October 2022. 

#Until We Meet Again #UWMA #bl series review #bl watch along #thai bl #best bl #best bl ever #best romance #DeanPharm #ohmfluke #WinTeam #BounPrem #KornIn #KaoEarth #Fluke Natouch #Ohm Thitiwat #Earth Katsamonnat #Kao Noppakao #Prem Warut #Boun Noppanut #soulmates #fated mates #reincarnated lovers #the red thread #between us #bl review #bl series recap #thai bl review #bl reviewed #bl in restrospect

[misstilltoe]

Korn & Intouch's words🥲❣️🫂

#thai actor #thai drama #until we meet again #kornin #earth katsamonnat #kao noppakao #studio wabi sabi

[laf-outloud]

Philemon's IG story

It's a WIndy reunion at Universal Studios!

#lawrence kao #larry teng #philemon chambers #laura terry #brit morgan #brandon ja #tian richards #walker: independence #WIndy shenaniventures #universal studios