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ranchthoughts · 11 months

Text

thoughts on genre, tropes, Bad Buddy, and My School President

and here she is! the full text all together, not split into the three parts previously posted here: part 1, part 2, part 3

I also go more in detail about a lot of the terms and concepts I use here (indexes, conventions, genres, intertextuality, etc) in this post here, in case you would like more context

[strap yourselves in, this is loooooong]

The BL “genre” has so many conventions - in narrative, characterization, themes, settings, iconography, filmic techniques, and of course, tropes.

Bad Buddy and MSP do not lack these genre conventions (both are stories about boys in love, both are set in schools which is very common in Thai BLs especially, both explore a budding relationship and other social and emotional problems of youth, both hit familiar plot beats like confessions and narrative/emotional climaxes, both utilize many editing and sound effect techniques seen in other BLs, and both deploy many BL tropes like cheek kisses, head pats, forced proximity, looming, etc.). However! Bad Buddy and MSP are atypical in their deployment of genre conventions, especially with regards to trope usage and pacing - they go against genre and trope expectations to subvert seme/uke roles and dynamics and they space their narrative beats differently than other shows. As a result, the shows feel familiar but also fresh to BL audiences.

Bad Buddy, MSP, and tropes

BL tropes index so much information to audiences familiar with the genre (e.g., the nature of the relationship between characters, the seme/uke dynamics, other social information, etc.). Bad Buddy and MSP take these familiar indexes, with their well established meanings, and mix them up, give them new contexts, and use what they normally tell us about the characters, social context, relationship dynamic, etc. to tell a new story.

There are SO many examples of this so I have decided to focus on two “subcategories” of tropes: the faen fatale and tropes which are strongly associated with seme/uke dynamics.

Faen Fatales

In most BLs, the faen fatale (thanks to AbsoluteBL for the term) is a character (male or female) whose sole purpose is to drive a wedge between the main pair, often serving as a catalyst for their relationship/confession, and who generally does not get much character development or identity of their own.

In Bad Buddy, Ink seems like a classic faen fatale: she is introduced as an old high school friend that Pat was interested in and Pran was jealous of because of that fact, and now in the present day of the show Pat pursues her again and Pran is once again jealous, especially since it seems Pat is succeeding (they get food together, they hang out a lot, Pat wears the bracelet Ink gave him in high school, etc.). Pran believes that Pat likes Ink and that they are well on their way to being together, if they aren’t together already. Pat even tells Pran he likes Ink. However, it becomes clear quite quickly that Ink is not a typical faen fatale. Her interactions with both boys feel platonic, she shows just as much interest in fostering a friendship with Pran, and when Pat uses Pa’s patented “Four Ways to Tell if Someone Likes You,” Ink fails in every category. She does act a a catalyst to Pat and Pran’s romantic relationship in some ways (e.g., Pat using Pa’s patented Four Ways he learned to assess Ink to realize his own feelings for Pran), and she does act as a barrier to their relationship as some of Pran’s hesitation post their ep.5 kiss comes from his understanding that Pat has a crush on Ink (though of course their family and friends present the main barrier). However, Ink has her own personality, interests, and crucially, her own romantic arc. She is a fully fleshed out character who never had anything but platonic feelings for either lead: ergo, a subversion of the faen fatale trope.

In MSP, there are a couple of potential faen fatales, but neither develop that way in the end. Sound is introduced as Tinn’s rival, and romance media logic would suggest he will fulfill a love rival role in the show, competing with Tinn for Gun’s affections (especially as Sound is interested in music like Gun and he joins Chinzilla). Even Tiw suggests Tinn should look out for Sound moving in on Gun. However, Sound never shows interest in Gun and quickly gets acclimated into the band, only briefly presenting a threat to Tinn and Gun’s relationship when Tiw witnesses them having a seemingly intimate moment but that is sorted by the end of the episode. Like Ink, Sound never has anything other than platonic feelings for either lead and ends up with his own romantic arc. The other possible faen fatale in MSP is Nook, though she is present so briefly. I think other shows would have stretched out her plot line more and had her fill more of a faen fatale role. As it stands in MSP: Gun sees her give a gift to Tinn and compliment him, he gets jealous and snaps at Tinn, and then the show/Tinn immediately reveal to us and to Gun that it was a case of mistaken identity (Yo was catfishing with Tinn’s picture). In a matter of minutes, Nook went from being a faen fatale set up to simply someone involved in another character’s arc, part of a problem that Tinn and Gun could work on together.

Neither Bad Buddy nor MSP have faen fatale characters, though there are characters that could, and indeed seem to be set up to, fill that role. Both shows subvert our expectations and BL tropes by having potential faen fatales be uninterested in either lead and possess more character development than most other examples of the trope (including their own, completely separate, romantic arcs). In the case of Ink, this also subverts typical BL handling of female characters, who tend to be few and far between and generally relegated to the under-developed role of faen fatale.

Seme/uke Tropes

Most BL shows can be read through a lens of seme/uke dynamics, which originated in yaoi. The seme is the “pursuer” character and the uke is the “pursued”. There are certain physical (height, skin colour, etc.), social (age, wealth, social capital, etc.), and personality (active vs. passive, extroverted vs. introverted, flirtier vs. shyer) markers which are typically associated with either the seme or the uke. For example, semes tend to be taller, wealthier, older, flirtier, tanner, more active, and have a higher social status, while ukes tend to be shorter, poorer, younger, shyer, paler, and have a lower social status. “Seme” and “uke” roles are also sometimes conflated with masculinity and femininity (semes are “masculine” and ukes are “feminine”) and sexual preferences (semes are dominant and tops and ukes are submissive and bottoms). There are also tropes associated with either the seme or the uke, like ukes typically give cheek kisses and semes forehead kisses.

Thus, things like height, age, wealth, personality, presumed sexual preference, and the role they take in tropes can index the character’s status as a seme or a uke, and in turn the character’s identity as a seme or uke in the narrative (pursuer vs. pursued) indexes a character’s personality, sexual preferences, etc., however unrealistic and simplistic that is in real life. In a BL, we would expect the seme (pursuer) and uke (pursued) characters to exhibit most, if not all, of the associated seme or uke traits and roles in tropes, though this is not always true (and some BLs have little to no seme/uke dynamics at all).

In terms of physical, social, and personality markers in Bad Buddy, Pat exhibits slightly more “seme” traits than Pran, like his larger size and more “rugged” and “typical” masculinity compared to Pran’s neatness. However, both Pat and Pran take the seme or uke role in tropes about the same amount of time, with Pran having several significant moments where he embodies the seme role (looming over Pat, licking his fingers, drying his hair, etc., not to mention the post-sex scene in ep.11) and Pat many significant moments where he embodies a uke or even “feminine” role (casting himself as the girlfriend at the bus stop, being clingy, pretending to be sick so Pran will give him a sponge bath, etc.). In fact, tropes often happen twice, with Pat and Pran taking turns in the seme and uke role (e.g., both take turns cleaning the other’s face, both cook for the other, both kiss the other’s cheek, etc.). Furthermore, and I’ve spoken about this before here: both Pran and Pat deliberately take on the seme role during their ep.7 Flirt-Off bet (”whoever falls in love first loses”). To win the bet, they have to be the pursuer (i.e., seme), and thus spend the episode taking it in turns to exhibit the seme role in tropes (Pat takes off his shirt multiple times, Pran looms over Pat, they wash each other’s faces, they take the seme roles with Ink and Wai at the noodle shop to make the other jealous, etc.), thus also spending the episode taking it in turns to fulfill the uke role in tropes. The fact that the seme and uke roles in Bad Buddy are so interchangeable and balanced (they sometimes ever play the narrative roles of pursuer and pursued at the same time) demonstrates the show’s upending of traditional seme/uke dichotomies.

In MSP, Tinn and Gun are pretty much the perfect seme and uke in terms of physical and social markers: Tinn is taller, wealthier, has a higher social status, and even has a female “faen fatale” (more typical for seme characters), while Gun is shorter, poorer, from a marginalized club at school, and has a male “faen fatale” (more typical for uke characters). Some one on Tumblr (and I cannot for the life of me find this post again) mentioned that Tinn is a little “feminine” coded when it comes to romance (he is the dreamer, the romantic, always imagining romantic situations), while Gun is more what we’d think of as “masculine” when it comes to romance (more brusque, less sappy), though I am not sure how applicable these types of divisions are to BL. In term of preference markers, there isn’t much sexual content to go off of, but MSP does mention the TinnGun vs GunTinn divide in ep.12, never coming down on either side, and one of the things the homophobic teacher says is that he thought Gun was more “masculine” so he is surprised to see him dating a boy. Overall, the show deliberately eschews and criticizes the association of top/bottom or masculine/feminine with the pair. Furthermore, Tin talks a lot about wanting to be Gun’s boyfriend, to belong to Gun - and as @cinna-bin points out here, for a genre that equates seme with dominance, the one who shows and has ownership of the other, it is pretty subversive to have the seme character in the narrative express a desire to be “owned”. Like Pat and Pran, Tinn and Gun are fairly egalitarian when it comes to which role they take in tropes (Tinn catches Gun when he falls, Gun touches Tinn’s chin constantly, they both kiss the other’s cheek). I’ve talked about this here too, but often Tinn will imagine a moment with himself in the seme role (e.g., wiping Gun’s face) that won’t come to fruition, but when it does happen in real life, the trope is reversed and Gun takes the seme role (e.g., when it happens in real life, Gun wipes Tinn’s mouth). In MSP, the deployment of tropes is more about natural moment and real life, and less adhering to strict role divisions. This back and forth feels more accurate, more high school - they both take it in turns to boldly initiate and then to be shy (all the aborted kiss chances, etc.).

Finally, I’d like to add that there are many moments in both Bad Buddy and MSP where the characters are aware of the romantic tropes and intentionally utilize them to further a romantic agenda. We aren’t exactly subverting tropes here, but we are playing with them deliberately and consciously in a way you don’t get in a lot of BLs so I thought it worth mentioning here. Most of these instances come in the Bad Buddy ep.7 Flirt-Off or from Tinn’s day dreams and include:

Pat employing the “drinking from a water bottle/pouring water on yourself” and “shirt off” tropes to try and get Pran hot and bothered in ep.7

Pran looming over Pat during the bet

Pat and Pran trying to make each other jealous by employing various classic tropes with Ink and Wai respectively while eating noodles (opening their water bottle, feeding them, wiping their mouth, etc.)

Pran symbolically losing the bet by wiping Pat’s mouth

Tinn imagining himself wiping Gun’s mouth

Tinn imagining a Ghost moment while cooking with Gun

Tinn making a joke about a “hot underwater kiss”

Pacing

Both MSP and Bad Buddy are also slightly unconventional when it comes to pacing. Both shows hit the standard BL narrative beats (falling for one another, confessions, first kiss, confirmation of relationship, conflict, beach eps, etc) but at unconventional timings, they utilize a lot of time skips, and they also condense plot lines which in other shows might have been much longer.

The Placement of Narrative Beats

I will focus on two of the main places where both Bad Buddy and MSP diverge from the usual BL placement of narrative beats. Firstly, the first kiss on both shows: while there is a lot of variety in the timing of first kisses for BL shows, Pat and Pran’s rooftop kiss at the beginning of ep.5 is perhaps a little earlier than usually, especially since the two do not truly confess or get together until the end of ep.7; and in MSP, their first kiss comes quite late, especially given the numerous near-kisses that happen throughout the latter half of the show. The first kiss for MSP coming in ep.12 is not unheard of for a low-heat BL and really makes sense given the tone and setting of the show (lighthearted, high school), but combined with the early confession of feelings (hinted at as early as ep.3, and fairly confirmed in ep.6) as well as those fake-out kisses makes it feel unusual.

Secondly, both shows eschew the typical ep.11 of doom structure of a BL, where ep.11 sees peak emotional angst and the narrative/plot climax, in favour of a ep.10 (and even ep.9 in Bad Buddy) of doom, an ep.11 denouement, and an ep.12 conclusion. Eps.9 and 10 in Bad Buddy are when Pat and Pran’s friends and parents, the two biggest barriers to their relationship, find out about them. Pat is shot, they learn the real story behind their parents feud, there are a lot of emotions, etc. In ep.10 of MSP, there is the finale of Hot Wave and Gun’s mother’s illness (culminating in her receiving surgery at the end of the episode). Neither show has the main couple break up in their eps. of doom, like is common in other BLs’ ep.11 of doom, though they do have their relationships tested. Ep.11 in both Bad Buddy and MSP are instead the denouement, a quieter, more introspective look at the emotions and plot event of the previous episode(s). Pat and Pran run away from their families for their “honeymoon” on the beach and come to terms with everything they’ve learned, and MSP focuses more on the aftermath of Hot Wave and the tensions and emotions among Chinzilla, though there is of course parts about Tinn and Gun’s relationship in the face of disappointment. The final ep. for both show is thus given a bit more breathing room than in other BLs - they don’t have to wrap up the emotions and plot lines of an ep.11 of doom AND conclude the series, and can instead focus on wrapping up the series and even introducing new ideas and a look into the future (there are timeskips in both ep.12s, Bad Buddy does their PatPran breakup fake out, and MSP explores homophobia).

Time Skips

While time skips aren’t unheard of in BLs, especially in the final episode, Bad Buddy and MSP’s usage of them interject a level of realism into the series that isn’t always seen. The time jump of 6 or so months at the beginning of ep.7 in Bad Buddy means the tension build of the Flirt-Off doesn’t happen over a matter of days or weeks but in fact months. Pat and Pran are stubborn, this won’t be resolved quickly, and it give time for the tension to realistically reach a breaking point. MSP features several time skips in ep.9, ep.10, and ep.12, stretching both the Hot Wave competition schedule and Tinn and Gun’s budding relationship over a much more realistic full school year, instead of pretending the competition and build up of tension or feelings could be happening over a span of weeks. Paradoxically, the fact that the shows use time skips instead of showing (either in full, in part, or in a montage) the parts they skip (the Flirt-Off, the weeks of Tinn and Gun coming closer together and Chinzilla practicing) connects to my next point: the shows aren’t afraid to speed things up sometimes. The use of time skips both slows down the narrative and emotional arcs over a longer period of time while also demonstrating that the shows feel confident in their narratives: there is no need to stretch story lines out over episodes and episodes.

Condensing Plot Lines

The most striking thing about Bad Buddy and MSP’s pacing is how fast they move through plot lines, especially compared to other shows. In Bad Buddy, the plot line where Pat and Pran are anonymously and unknowingly flirting with each other through gifts and notes left at each other’s doors could have been the plot line for most of a show, if not a whole show, but it is introduced and resolved within ep.2. Ink is introduced in ep.4 and seems to be a potential faen fatale, but by the end of ep.4 this seems somehow unlikely and by halfway through ep.5 it is confirmed that she won’t be. The Flirt-Off happens in large part off-screen, in the 6 months or so time skip between eps.6 and 7, and is shown to us and resolved in ep.7. Other shows could have spent episodes if not half the show exploring that plot line.

I've talked at length about the pacing of MSP here and a bit here - like Bad Buddy, MSP moves quickly through plot lines that might have spanned episodes or even a whole season in another show. By the end of the first episode, MSP establish that Tinn is soft and pining hard over Gun (instead of keeping up the premise that he is cold and out to get the music club), the finale of Hot Wave comes two episodes before the end, the plot lines around Gun’s mother’s health are resolved in about one episode (the conflict around Tinn keeping Gun’s mother’s illness from him is resolved in a couple of scenes, and she has surgery and is pronounced ok by the end of the episode), any jealousy plot line around Nook is resolved in two scenes, the conflict introduced by Sound joining the band is resolved in one episode, and so on. Pretty much every problem introduced at the beginning of an episode is resolved by the end.

Bad Buddy and MSP feel confident, like they know they have narrative material to spare and don’t need to stretch plot lines out with twists, miscommunication, and jealousy. Thus, they move through plot lines much more quickly than other shows would.

Both shows feel so fresh because of this - they keep things moving, they surprise us by resolving things faster than other shows would, they don’t linger in jealousy and miscommunication like many other shows do, they skip over parts that other shows might have lingered on for the biggest punch, and they break the patterns that us, the audience, have come to expect from BLs (like the ep.11 of doom). Even the progression of the relationships, which we know will be romantic and probably happy in the end (these are BLs after all) and conform vaguely to enemies-to-lovers and will-they-won’t-they conventions, stay fresh: Pat and Pran have kissed and all but confessed their feelings, but they now embark on a months long Flirt-Off bet that delays them actually getting together. We know Tinn has a crush on Gun from the end of the first ep. and we begin to see hints that Gun might like him back from ep.3 onwards, and at first the show seems like it is going to go the typical romcom route wherein Gun doesn’t realize Tinn’s crush is on him (especially with him offering to help Tinn flirt with his crush), but like I talked about in my post here, they don’t and instead have Gun know it is him Tinn has a crush on, he’s just uncertain and a bit scared. Bad Buddy and MSP are both quicker and slower than other shows: they move through plot lines without lingering, but they use time skips to create realistic long term development of the core relationships, allowing the characters to build tension, live in hesitancy, and in the case of Tinn and Gun, be realistically slow in the physical progression of their relationship.

Conclusions

Bad Buddy and MSP subvert audience expectations with regards to tropes and narratives - like their handling of the faen fatale trope (both shows give us characters that could be faen fatales, and probably would be in other shows, that do not fulfill the narrative role of a faen fatale and receive character development and arcs of their own unlike other faen fatales) and how they play with expectations surrounding seme/uke dynamics (those who embody the seme or uke role in tropes aren’t necessarily the ones who exhibit the most seme or uke physical, social or personality markers; tropes iterations are balanced and reciprocal). Both shows change up the usual BL timelines and expected pacing - they hit their peak narrative, emotional, and angst climaxes before the standard ep.11 peak, plot beats come quicker than in other shows, and story arcs that are usually dragged on in other shows are concluded more quickly. On the other hand, both shows are “slower” than other BLs in other ways, like their usage of time skips to create realistic progressions of the core relationships. As a result of these subversions of BL genre conventions, the shows are familiar but also fresh to BL audiences.

But what does this say about Bad Buddy and MSP, and the BL genre in general?

Firstly, these shows remind us again of the importance of intertextuality. Texts (and this includes television shows) are intertextual; they all refer to one another and cannot exist separately from other texts. BLs especially are very intertextual - they have so many shared elements (tropes, characters, locations, etc.) they always (deliberately or unintentionally) draw parallels to other BLs. We would never notice how Bad Buddy and MSP diverge from other BL shows if we did not by necessity/automatically think of all previous BLs while watching them. Furthermore, where and how Bad Buddy and MSP divert from genre conventions and previous examples of the genre demonstrates their relationship to the genre and underlines the messages the shows are trying to send. Bad Buddy and MSP subvert the particular genre expectations they do and in the way they do to make a point - by giving new meanings to familiar conventions and juxtaposing typical meanings of genre conventions with their own (either explicitly, or through the audience’s intertextual analyses) the shows ground themselves in a different world view than other BL shows and give a more nuanced and realistic look at human and queer experience.

For example, the way Bad Buddy and MSP move quickly through plot points (avoiding extended plot lines centering on jealousy or miscommunications) and the reciprocity of their trope usages (deliberately balancing the seme and uke dynamics of their lead pairs) is unusual in the world of BL. It serves to emphasize the reciprocal and egalitarian nature of the lead pairs’ relationships which we also see in their treatment of one another (communicating, understanding each other’s needs and taking turns acquiescing to make the other happy, e.g., ep.11 where Pran agrees to run away and stay on the honeymoon to make Pat happier and then Pat agrees to return home to make Pran happier, or Tinn and Gun being so supportive and understanding of one another’s dreams and physical boundaries, etc.). In this post @miscellar argues the lack of miscommunication as a plot device in Bad Buddy is inherently queer and that the show as a whole does away with heterosexual/heteronormative tropes. In their reciprocity, egalitarianism, and communication, Pat and Pran and Tinn and Gun eschew the standard power dynamics of BLs which come as a result of BL’s encoded seme/uke dynamics, which in turn come from heteronormative and misogynistic ideas in the het romance genre and beyond about men and women. Defying genre conventions in some ways (e.g., subverting tropes) strengthens and underlines how the shows defy genre conventions in other ways (queerer, more realistic stories; fairer treatment for women; less heteronormativity, etc.) - these smaller, more obvious subversions of genre conventions and expectations indicates to us, the audience, that we should be prepared for larger, more subtle and implicit shake ups of genre conventions and expectations, ones that might rewrite the BL genre code for the future.

By reflecting on what Bad Buddy and MSP change, we can understand and identify the standard BL world view and set of assumptions. For example, by weakening and subverting seme/uke dynamics and their associations with things like dominance/submission, masculinity/femininity, and top/bottom, Bad Buddy and MSP reject the heteronormative and misogynistic assumptions that underlie most BLs: that gay couples have a “man” and a “woman;” that the penetrated must be feminine, weaker, sex averse, etc. like women are in heterosexual relationships; that there is always an unbalance of power (social and/or sexual) in relationships. While these are “just” romance tropes, or you might say that it’s odd to be so absorbed by the dynamics between two characters (particularly when it come to analyzing seme vs. uke and top vs. bottom), in a world where these tropes and their execution, and the preferred sexual position of a character and what that says about their personality etc., are so tied to other things and issues like misogyny, homophobia, etc., refusing to engage and deliberately obscuring are pretty radical things that say a lot about the message and view point of the shows.

Bad Buddy and MSP feel more realistic than a lot of other BLs. This is not to say that shows have to be realistic to be good, or even that viewers/that I prefer realistic shows, but it is certainly something that strikes me when I think about Bad Buddy and MSP. The relationship progression is slower, there is less dwelling in miscommunications, they even have not entirely happy but hopeful endings (Pat and Pran are continuing to hide their relationship from their parents, but it seems they are coming around; Tinn and Gun face homophobia from people in their lives, but also receive support from their classmate and parents). And beyond being realistic to the “real world,” they also feel more realistic to the queer experience: queer relationships don’t usually have such strict relationship roles and power dynamics, adhere so strictly to heteronormative ideals, or exist in world without homophobia or disapproval. They are varied, often deliberately contrasting and rejecting hetero norms, and sometimes involve being scared to come out (even to accepting parents), facing homophobia, and living in a “glass closet” limbo.

Many people have talked about how Bad Buddy walked so MSP could run - Bad Buddy was more heavy handed and noticeably deliberate with its trope subversions, intentionally trying to correct problems that have existed in the BL genre since the beginning, and this allowed MSP coming later to be more subtle with their changes, working them even more seamlessly into the style and the tone of the show. After MSP, what will be next? Where is GMMTV, and BL as a whole (in Thailand and beyond) heading? I’m excited to find out.

Bibliography

@absolutebl, specifically these posts: 1 (faen fatales), 2 (seme/uke), 3 (seme/uke tropes), 4 (GMMTV correcting for its mistakes), and all their posts about BL tropes

Agha, Asif. 2003. “The social life of cultural value.” Language & Communication 23: 231-273.

Ahearn, Laura. M. 2012. Living Language: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology. Hoboken: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Bakhtin, Mikhail M. 1982. “Discourse in the Novel.” In The Dialogic Imagination: Four Essays by M.M. Bakhtin, edited by Michael Holquist, translated by Caryl Emerson and Michael Holquist, 260- 422. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Chandler, Daniel. Semiotics for Beginners. http://visual-memory.co.uk/daniel//Documents/S4B/semiotic.html

Chandler, Daniel. Genre Theory. http://visual-memory.co.uk/daniel//Documents/intgenre/intgenre.html

@cinna-bin: https://cinna-bin.tumblr.com/post/704496825511641088/his-boyfriend-words-matter

Irvine, Judith T. 1996. “Shadow Conversations: The Indeterminacy of Participant Roles.” In Natural Histories of Discourse, edited by Michael Silverstein and Greg Urban, 131-159. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Laineste, Liisi, and Piret Voolaid. 2017. “Laughing Across Borders: Intertextuality of Internet Memes.” European Journal of Humour Research 4, no. 4: 26–49.

@miscellar: https://www.tumblr.com/miscellar/674021449476997120/here-are-a-few-things-off-the-top-of-my-head-1 AND edited to add this post, which is so crucial to understanding how intentional all this is when it comes to Bad Buddy: https://www.tumblr.com/miscellar/710442440997371904/hello-in-a-convo-we-were-having-about-qls-that

Proctor, Devin. 2020. "Intertextuality." In The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Mass Media and Society, edited by Debra L. Merskin, 849-50. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

@ranchthoughts (myself): 1 (signs, symbols, icons, indexes, genre and BL), 2 (Bad Buddy and seme/uke tropes), 3 (MSP and imagination vs. reality), 4 (MSP being a good-natured show), 5 (MSP and narrative structure and pacing), 6 (Gun and knowing about Tinn’s crush); and everyone I referenced in those posts as well

Wiggins, Bradley E. 2019. The Discursive Power of Memes in Digital Culture: Ideology, Semiotics, and Intertextuality. London: Routledge.

#bb #bb meta #msp #msp meta #bl meta #ranch thoughts #bad buddy #my school president #this post is a monster... it's a full thesis basically #ppt thoughts

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frostbite-if · 2 years

Text

DEMO TBA

Winter games: frostbite is my first interactive fiction game with twine.

You are the future of figure skating, or, so you can be.

You are one of the most promising rookies of the season, and your promise hasn’t went undetected. You are scouted to join the olympics team of top figure skaters, a team formed by the eccentric top figure skater Heidi Valentine. In preparation for that years winter games.

Form romances or friendships, train with figure skaters of legend, soar to the top of the ice skating world-or don’t.

play as male, female or nonbinary, as well as straight, gay, bisexual romantic portions.

build or destroy relationships with your teammates

find out your teammates origin, your own origin, or none

romance any of the four romance options; the prodigy, the perfectionist, the star, and the competition

choose your athletic background before figure skating (hockey or gymnastics)

the opportunity to stand at the top of the world of ice, or fade into the background

update your character journal/notes as the story goes on

a hopefully accurate depiction on figure skating

A link to character appearances made with art breeder and Piccrew:

THE STAR

Heidi Valentine |m|

Description: 5’9. Long limbs, littered with various bruises. Black, almost blue hair growing out to his collarbone, caramel skin and eyes a light brown. A dimple in his right cheek.

Heidi is the one who scouted you for his team, and to him, you are his muse.

People who loved him, called him…eccentric. People who hated him called him a raging lunatic. Either way, love him or hated him, you had to admit he was a living legend. His skill couldn’t be denied. At least, not in the figure skating world. He’d dominated the figure skating community at a world level, leaving a trail of gold medals in his wake. And yet, inexplicably, the day of his 20th birthday he’d retired. At 21 years old he’d already lived the life, figure skaters years older could only dream of. A life he was now offering to you, his muse.

Your notes: eccentric, chaotic, more than a little bit awkward, more than a little too excitable, and more than a little too eager to please; at times Heidi causes more problems than solutions

THE PERFECTIONIST

Sun Nari |nb|

Description: 6’3. Inky hair gathered in a small ponytail at their nape, aquiline/Roman nose. Big eyes and long lashes. They are long with knobby knees, and large hands.

It’s no secret they dislike you. After all, before you came along they were the one supposed to be scouted for the team Heidi was forming.

They will surpass you. They will do better than you, and they will never admit they watch videos of your skating at night with admiration. Never that.

Your notes: every time you run into them they start threatening to surpass you? Offered them a water and they told you your efforts to seduce them wouldn’t work, turned red and started stammering.

THE COMPETITION

Wisteria Florian |f|

Description: 5’6. Hair in dark braids, usually tied up in a high bun. Upturned eyes and a full mouth. She has a small tooth gap when she smiles.

Wisteria was already scouted to play in the olympics two years ago, when she was 19. She trains under the same coach as you, and yet she was the one that was chosen, straining your relationship with her.

She’s arrogant and makes no pretence about it, she’s also loyal, supportive and more protective than someone who’s supposed to be your natural competitor should have been.

Your notes: she gave you a tray of food and other self care products, with the note; for your health. Not that you’ll be able to surpass me, even in top condition. You’re currently unsure if it was an attempt at kindness or if you should be annoyed and seek revenge.

THE PRODIGY

Alexis Kimura |m|

Description: 6’0. Angular, upturned eyes. Dark hair, pale skin and pale lips. Sharp features that create an intimidating look.

Everyone knew about Alexis. Whe he was born he was already proclaimed the future of pro figure skating. After all, his mother was the famed figure skating icon, Suzuki Kimura, and from his skill to birthline, there was no doubt he’d be nothing short of a legend.

Your notes: a little emotionally stunted, more shy than he portrays, and with a good heart underneath, you think you could get along…if he stopped acting like socializing would give him a plague.

#interactive fiction #twine game #if wip #twine if #frostbite-if

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scifigeneration · 4 months

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Pluto: Netflix’s anime masterpiece explores how robots ‘feel’ when humans exploit them

by Thi Gammon, Research Associate in Culture, Media and Creative Industries Education at King's College London

There have been many TV shows and films inspired by the dual fear and excitement surrounding advances in artificial intelligence (AI). But not many exhibit such masterful craft and profound humanity as the new Netflix anime miniseries, Pluto.

Pluto is adapted from a manga series of the same title (2003-2009), created by Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki. The manga version – considered a comic masterpiece for its beautiful art and sophisticated storyline – incorporated fundamental elements from Osamu Tezuka’s celebrated manga series Astro Boy (1952-1968), including the beloved android adolescent who was the titular character.

youtube

Pluto is set in a futuristic world in which humans and robots coexist, albeit within a hierarchy in favour of humans. Robots excel in various jobs ranging from nannies and butlers to architects and detectives, but they are treated as second-class citizens.

Although robots gradually gain their own rights codified into law, they are still exploited by humans, who downplay their worth and emotional intelligence. As much as humans depend on AI, they also feel threatened by it.

An AI murder mystery

Pluto, which has both Japanese and English audio versions, follows German robot detective Gesicht (Shinshū Fuji/Jason Vande Brake) as he traces the mysterious killings of robots and humans. The world’s seven most advanced robots (including Gesicht himself) and robot-friendly humans (including his creator) are the targets of this assassination scheme.

What’s most perplexing is that the murders appear untraceable. This suggests that the killer might be a very advanced robot, challenging the belief that robots can’t ever kill humans due to their programmed constraints.

This enigmatic case echoes the cautionary message found in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein – beware of human beings’ ambitious dreams and creations. While the story begins as a murder mystery, it evolves into a thoughtful drama about the conflicted relationships between humans and androids.

While Pluto draws on many familiar sci-fi concepts, it distinguishes itself through its meticulous character development and the depth of its micro-stories. Every character is complex, and the audience is able to get to know them and become invested in their fates. The anime’s unhurried pace also allows viewers ample time to contemplate its philosophical questions about consciousness evolution and the powerful impacts of emotions.

Despite all its brilliance, however, the series is not without flaws. It has a dated representation of gender roles, with no female characters – whether human or robot – playing an important part. None of them break free from the stereotypical role of nurturing, stay-behind support for their exceptionally capable and powerful male partners.

Animation of the year

Pluto maintains a melancholic tone throughout – but despite this overarching dark ambience, it is at times romantic and moving. It exalts love, friendship and compassion without falling into sentimentality, evoking an emotional resonance reminiscent of Blade Runner (1982).

The series emphasises that life, or the process of living, imparts character and humanity, transcending biological organs and blood. Androids may initially be devoid of complex emotions, but they develop sentience through everyday experiences and interactions with fellow robots and humans.

Robots can even learn to appreciate music, as manifested by the charismatic North No.2 (Koichi Yamadera/Patrick Seitz), who was designed for intense combat but grows weary of warfare. The narrative underscores the simultaneous beauty and danger of emotions – particularly the destructive force of wrath.

With great technological advancements and comfort, this futuristic world is still torn by war. It poses the question: “Will war ever end?” – reminding us of the conflicts and tragedies happening in the real world. The anime suggests that an end to war is unlikely as long as hatred persists.

For me, with its beautiful art and riveting narrative, Pluto stands out as one of the best Netflix productions of all time. It’s certainly the best animated work of the year.

#science fiction #futuristic #artificial intelligence #Netflix #anime #science fiction and fantasy #Pluto #sci fi anime #naoki urasawa's pluto #Youtube

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jess-the-vampire · 2 years

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As someone involved in the star vs fandom it does kinda weird me out in terms of hunter and willow that ppl are making the “Can’t guys and girls just be friends” thing?

Like i have had that argument before, but it only really applies to very specific situations for me, like either a romance either feeling forced between the characters just to force one, or the show is extremely bad at presenting m/f friendships.

With star vs, and anyone who knows me knows how much i hated the romance subplot, that show had a nasty habit or just....making every single m/f friendship (That didn’t involve ponyhead but the fans didn’t care about her much anyway) romantically implied in some way or another?

star and marco

tom and star

kelly and marco

marco and jacke

Star and Oskar

janna and marco (Janna bullies him but also flirts in some scenes)

Marco and Hekapoo (But that’s a whole thing in itself)

Tom and Janna technically were one of the few that really didn’t have any explicit implications and even then they’re a popular crackship and the only reason they probably interacted in the show was because they were a popular crackship before that point.

Like Star vs is a flawed show and it has a lot of good from it i do still enjoy, but that show fails to really showcase healthy M/F friendships that either don’t turn romantic, have implications, or are actually healthy.

Even those you could argue for are ones with very little to work off of.

and there’s lines of dialogue even IN the show that seem to push this idea males and females can’t be friends, even if purely on accident. You’ll have scenes like jackie and marco be friends (Before the show ends so it doesn’t mean much), followed by tom telling star “She should date a best friend and she already has one”, unintentionally implying some pretty negative stuff. (Because she had ponyhead and in the beginning of the show she considered both her and marco to be her “Best friends” but tom ain’t implying she is somehow an opponent, so it comes off like it’s because he’s a guy and also feels unintentionally homophobic as a result).

even star and marco, the main friendship/ship in the series, failed to work for it’s own fans, for a multitude of reasons and bad writing that i can’t get into everything because we’d be here all day. But for a lot of people that relationship not only became toxic, but forced, as if the writers were trying to make you like it instead of making it feel natural as time went on.

And you can feel free to disagree on this with me, but i feel this is a far better example of “Why can’t girls and boys be friends?” then something like toh.

Toh doesn’t force every single guy and gal into some implied romance, the show is chock full of platonic friendships between girls and guys luz, willow and amity are friends with gus (more luz and willow), you have hooty and lilith become pals, hunter and luz are pretty strictly platonic in the show (Tho fans who ship them for fun are allowed to do so)...

even side friendships, steve and Lilith, viney with jerbo and barkus, hunter with both viney and skara, ect ect.

and most of these friendships are shown in extremely positive lights (Excluding ones such as bria with her two guy buds) without a ton of unhealthy implications.

These shows are not the same sure, and you could say it has a lot to do with star prioritizing the shipping over the plot and trying to cater to every ship over it’s own story, but the point i wanna make here is that i think it’s weird as hell to claim hunter and willow is “Taking away from male and female friendships” in a series that doesn’t even have many m/f onscreen romances to begin with?

Pretty much all M/F couples in toh are like....side couples who don’t get much in terms of screentime, outside of alador and odalia (And we see how that went down).

Like maybe if we’re lucky we’ll get something for caleb and his witch lover in s3 or possible future content (Maybe even camila and luz’s dad?), but willow and hunter are the only real prominent romance between a girl and boy on this show?

So this whole argument feels silly to me.

You can def not personally care for them to have a romance, but the idea that this show is pushing the idea “Men and woman can’t be friends” is not only wrong, but extremely strange for a series where they are the only prime example of a healthy one in the show.

Because i have seen shows who do this poorly, and i think it should come up when appropriate, and not simply because you personally just don’t like m/f romances or want them.

F/m romances can still be good ones when well written, and huntlow as a ship is still representation and clearly makes some people feel very seen.

We absolutely could benefit from m/f friendships who don’t turn romantic in more shows and movies, but toh is not really doing much of that and this criticism should not apply to them.

Because if they were pushing that idea, this show would probably not be as good as it is.

#the owl house #toh #huntlow #the owl house hunter #the owl house hunter #willow park #star vs the forces of evil #svstfoe #svtfoe #golden guard #toh golden guard #the owl house golden guard #the golden guard #and reminder i still like stuff from star vs #but the romance is......bad....and it ruins most of the relationships in the series #if not all of them

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watermelinoe · 6 months

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You're bi correct? Do you mind, when did you realize you were bisexual? Has it been easy or difficult for you?

i started questioning my sexuality when i hit puberty, around 12 or 13. the thing was that i was a pretty online kid. and i was unfortunately exposed to a lot of fetish content bc of my interest in webcomics (sites like topwebcomics didn't separate adult comics from general audience comics) and that made it really difficult for me to figure out if i was actually attracted to girls or just seeing other girls as sexual objects. the other thing was that i didn't really know you could be bisexual. i knew you could be gay. i read yuri manga and webcomics like "i was kidnapped by lesbian pirates from outer space" and i drew original female characters in lesbian relationships. but my impression of bisexuality came from maureen from rent and whatever was going on in rocky horror picture show. it seemed purely sexual.

i was really frustrated that i was sexually into girls but romantically interested in a boy. it was confusing because i knew i liked this boy, but with my girl friends we'd have sleepovers and we'd sleep in the same bed and i thought about what it would be like if we kissed, and meanwhile i didn't really think about kissing the boy i liked? i designated all of my female friendships as platonic, by the way. the kissing thoughts were just thought experiments, i guess. i tried dating a different boy who asked me out in middle school and it just felt embarrassing and burdensome and the intimate moments we had made me feel unclean. i just thought my feelings for boys and girls should be the same if i was really bi, and they weren't.

i think by high school though i was thinking of myself as bisexual. i didn't really ever have to come out to anyone that i remember. i was the only girl in my class with short hair who didn't wear makeup. some other girls were uncomfortable with me, i knew, especially when we had to change together in p.e. or choir or theater. my haircut was even a point of contention with the directors in one of my extracurriculars because every other girl in the performance had long hair and i ruined the homogeneity. i tried to grow my hair out my sophomore year and even wore contacts and mascara, i couldn't stand it and had it all cut off again before it even reached my halfway down my neck fjhgksfjdg

(as an aside i'm forever grateful that the trans social contagion was only a point on the horizon when i was k-12 bc my crossdressing ass might not have gone unscathed)

but as i touched on before, i really struggled to recognize when i was attracted to other girls. i would draw boys (or male celebs) that i found attractive, and that artistic motivation seemed obvious. meanwhile i had a close friend and i once named a piece after her because some drops of ink spilled on it and reminded me of her moles. we exchanged portraits of each other. yet i was oblivioussss i fumbled her so hard, i was dumb as hell.

it got difficult again when in college i discovered i don't want to look at or interact with dick in any way, and i had to reconcile that feeling and decide if i thought you could be penis-repulsed and bisexual (yes bc all forms of attraction count toward your sexuality)

tl;dr i probably realized when i hit puberty, the inconsistencies in my feelings really bothered me for a long time and the sense that i wasn't like other girls had me feeling alienated on some level, but i had some really strong female friendships and that helped me. the fact that randos can look at me and tell that i'm into other women makes me anxious abt their reactions and it frustrates me when people act like all bi women look straight. being bi is kinda difficult ngl but i am happier w my sexuality now than i've ever been

#answered #so there were other factors fucking with me but i think being bi can be confusing and difficult #i do think positive bi representation matters for little kids #same as being able to see gay people in loving relationships #it helps you recognize it in yourself and normalize it

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brzatto · 9 months

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Hello again! Since I started watching season 2 of the bear I've been building up some thoughts regarding the overarching plot and characterisation. I haven't been able to share my ramblings with anyone else, so I hope it's ok to share them with you. It's been a while since I've been this disappointed by the direction a show has taken. :(

I mentioned before on one of your posts that I saw Carmy as asexual, or at least not seeking a physical or romantic relationship with women. In season 1 I was so happy that Sydney was kept as a colleague/friend, which carries into season 2. I was legitimately hopeful to get just one show where the main character doesn't have a contrived romance storyline. I feel they always just derail the main plot for meaningless character interactions with terrible dialogue, with male and female characters never being allowed to just be friends. When Claire was introduced I audibly GROANED. Manic pixie dream girl has entered the chat.

The scene in episode 6 where Richie and Mikey are saying how in love Carmy is with Claire, how amazing she is, how hot she is—it felt like they were trying to convince me and not Carmy. You and others have said before how Claire just exists to be a love interest, and every scene with her does nothing except try (desperately) to solidify that. I feel like I'm being repeatedly beaten with a bat that has "Claire is nice so you should like her" written on it. The scene where Richie is legitimately upset that he messed up the generator and is worried Carmy will dismiss him—why was Claire laughing at that? I thought she was meant to be nice? That's what every character keeps telling me... Every scene with her drags, every character that mentions her name suddenly causes the scene to shift to focusing on Claire. It's like Claire is the centre of the universe and is pulling in and crushing everything with her gravitational pull.

When Carmy kissed Claire in episode 5 it made me lose hope for his characterisation. It was like I was instead watching JAW's character from Shameless. All nuance thrown out the window for a rushed relationship with no chemistry. His journey to heal from his traumas and come to terms with Mikey's death sidelined to make way for boring shot reverse shot talking scenes with Claire. Carmy doing restaurant business? Nah, let's watch him and Claire have some boring dialogue during a car journey.

Hater mode activated: Claire as a character is boring, shallow, and only added because "hur dur boy must like girl". Despite what her character was supposedly introduced for, I think her introduction just caused season 2 to waste time on meaningless fluff that actively made other characters worse by association.

I have 3 episodes left to watch but I'm feeling pretty low about this season. I shouldn't have expected an asexual main character because I just set myself up for disappointment, but the bear really had me thinking it wouldn't do something this lame. I'm still carmrichie for life though, your fics are keeping me hanging on. Sorry for such a long and depressing ramble in your inbox. ❤️

P.S. The scene with Richie and Mikey confronting Carmy in episode 6 really gave me vibes of Carmy being closeted and feeling pressured about his friendship with a girl (similar to what you previously said about the monologue in s1e8). I also got vibes of Richie trying to hide his own insecurities with women by being vulgar in this scene.

hi! <3

if i’m being honest i agree about everything :/ and i hate saying that this show’s disappointed me because all of my friends know just how much this show means to me and the steel grip it’s had on my brain for the past year since the first season first came out… i feel like i’m partially the problem because my expectations were probably too high + the shift between s1 and s2 was very drastic and i’m honestly not a huge fan of change either. i’m not sure exactly what i expected from s2 but the demo and remodeling of the beef felt very rushed to me… like the restaurant was undergoing very significant changes but all of that felt like it was put on the backburner in favor of focusing on the characters. and obviously a show will focus more on individual character storylines than settings (and i actually did really enjoy some of the growth we got for our side characters, sydney marcus tina and richie’s episodes were all amazing and i loved that sugar’s presence was much more prominent this season) but like you said the claire plotline with carmy felt very out of place and ooc… it just felt extremely weird for carmy’s character to make this jump from s1 where we see all the emotional trauma he still suffers from being so attached to mikey, how he uses the beef as a distraction for his grief but obviously those two things are deeply intertwined for him and by obsessing over the beef day and night carmy still remains entrenched in mikey by extension—there’s still so much about carmy’s trauma in relation to mikey that’s been left unaddressed and imo he still largely lacks closure and i was expecting that to be fleshed out properly in s2 but instead he spent all of it being infatuated with a girl we were introduced to for the very first time this season.

can i say something actually. ik the creators and both jaw and ayo have all said that there won’t be any romance between carmy and sydney but i feel like they actually will be endgame and the creators are just trying to throw fans off so they won’t expect it LMAO or at the very least the way the writers have set up the storyline leaves it open as an option if they do change their minds and decide to go that route eventually. i’ve said before that i don’t ship them but i think there is a genuine and undeniable bond between carmy and sydney, although i enjoy their relationship platonically their dynamic and relationship has waaayy more depth than whatever carmy and claire are supposed to have going on… and i hate disliking female characters for being bland and stale because 9 times out of 10 it’s never their fault that they’re written that way, but seeing how realistic, grounded and likable our other female characters are (sydney, natalie, tina) it feels like there’s less of an excuse for her to be that way. she feels like a generic self insert pulled out of a x reader fanfic 😭 i immediately got the romantic vibe from her and carmy even from the season trailer but seeing what we’ve been told about carmy’s character i was sincerely hoping that i was misinterpreting it and she was just his cousin or something lmfsodoajaoaj and it felt so cheap and tacky for them to pull the “actually she’s his estranged childhood friend and he’s always had a crush on her!” card in e6. i also agree with what you said about that conversation sounding like carmy being closeted while richie and mikey tease him… also was kind of put off by the way they were talking about her tbh especially considering the fact she’s supposed to be carmy’s age and we know they’re both significantly older? i’ve also actually never considered interpreting it as richie overcompensating in that scene since he was still with tiff at the time (who i actually loved… i have my beef with carmy and claire but i would stand by tiff and richie until the end of time actually) but now that you mention it i think that makes sense too… much to think about

i can’t remember if i’ve said this before in another post but i also really disliked how love triangley they framed all of sydney’s interactions with carmy in relation to claire… i understood the purpose of other characters instilling this seed of doubt in her about her partnership with carmy and whether or not she was capable of trusting him, really trusting him, but i feel like there were multiple moments of unnecessary tension between the three of them and like you said, i’m so tired of contrived romance subplots in shows where there’s a female and male lead. i love carmy and sydney as individual characters but the possibility of their relationship being romantic just genuinely does not compute with me in my brain… that being said though it genuinely was very wild to me that everyone involved in the show made it clear on multiple occasions that there was no intention of sydney and carmy’s relationship going in that direction, just for them to introduce some random white girl this season just to give carmy a love interest. like? this season was longer than the first one and they still weren’t able to flesh out carmy and claire’s relationship and dynamic the way they did with him and sydney in s1, they felt so incredibly rushed and it was ABSURD to me when carmy openly admitted to liking and even loving her because those are things that feel like they should be so monumental for someone like him, who is supposed to be emotionally traumatized and romantically inexperienced—it was honestly strange to me hearing him tell even richie that he loved him and you know how i feel about them so. anyways you pretty much summed up my feelings towards claire and her plotline perfectly, and i genuinely wish that weren’t the case but i feel like that plays a part in why i find myself so incapable of rewatching this season t_t and i know objectively the point of the plotline was to show that carmy actually isn’t at a place in his life where he’s capable of maintaining a healthy romantic relationship/balancing it with his work but it still just felt strange to derail from the whole grief theme/mikey plotline for that when i was expecting them to delve even deeper into that this season instead.

i’m assuming you’ve finished the season since sending me this—just in case you haven’t i’ll refrain from talking about anything else that might spoil you but i will say that the one thing they absolutely did correct this season was e7. i’ve been dying for a richie centric episode and that gave me everything i could’ve asked for, it was so so gratifying seeing richie find his niche like that and i’m so excited to see what else the series has in store for him. this season wasn’t all bad but i was admittedly disappointed by a few things—nevertheless all that being said i did actually genuinely enjoy how the season ended and where it left off; that felt a lot more like s1 to me and i’m eager to see how they’ll pick things back up between carmy and richie specifically next season… hopefully s2 is just a product of middle child syndrome and s3 will blow us out of the water

#sorry for answering this late i’ve been crazy busy lately and i was waiting for the chance to sit down and reply to this properly 😵‍💫#and of course i don’t mind! i love getting long messages in my inbox tbh #thank you for sharing your thoughts with me 🤍🤍#been meaning to give my thoughts on carmy and richie’s interactions this season as well… that’ll come later #ask

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honest-moth-of-silver-grove · 7 months

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Could I request a matchup? For male and female companions?

I’m a young(Er) adult whose more of an introvert. I’m quite pale (not due to vampirism) but genetics. This and a condition called POTS makes me dislike extreme heat. (And extremely cold.) Things in the middle temperature wise is when I thrive. So I live for Fall and Spring. I have dark hair and lots of freckles and moles. Some of them are kind of big and embarrassing but most are in areas that are usually covered (stomach, upper thighs).

I enjoy reading books and writing stories. I also love baking, and I especially enjoy singing while I bake. I don’t sound super good but it’s more of a happy place thing than a performance thing.

I’m not very open, especially to strangers. I mean I’m really nice and try to be polite and friendly but I don’t really trust anyone. I’m always on the lookout for something bad to happen. I don’t know why I just am.

I enjoy being outside in nature but not with other people or large groups. Like concerts are NOT my thing lol. For me being outside is a reflection time for grounding myself away from the noise of the world.

However I am not an outdoorsy person. I do not enjoy camping. Or extreme hiking. I greatly enjoy my indoor plumbing and air conditioning m/heater.

Alignment wise I think I’m neutral good. Or chaotic good. Honestly it depends. Like if it’s an asshole boss or misogynistic government making the rules I say fuck em because they’re unjust. But at the same time I feel guilty jaywalking because it’s technically illegal and could potentially be dangerous/cause accidents.

I’m not very romantic but I do long for romance. I just think it has to be the right person at the right time for me to really open up. I move super slow even in friendships. And sex to me isn’t just a bodily function it’s way more meaningful. I can’t do one night stands. And for me to even consider having sex I would need to trust and respect the person and know they respect me in return.

I’ve been through ALOT of trauma in my life. Like way more than the average person which is probably why I’m so closed off and internally judgy of other ppl. I would really like a s/o who’s been through a few challenges of their own, so they’d “get” it in a way. I don’t really relate to people who’ve had easy happy lives. It just doesn’t compute to me lol.

So who do you think I’d be a good fit for??? (Both male and female companions please!! And thank you!!)

-🔴 Red circle nonnie

Okay, for you 🔴 Red Circle Anon, I’m thinking your companion matchups would be Gale (Male) and Karlach (Female)!

☸ Gale is a perfect companion for you! More of an introvert himself, Gale doesn’t always “get” social interaction, so he greatly appreciates your preference to mingle in smaller parties on occasion. He’s spent quite a lot of time in Waterdeep with just Tara his Tresym and his Mother, Mrs. Dekarios, so he is used to doing things on his own: reading and practicing spells and the like. He loves that you are into reading as well. Despite teasing from Tara, he thinks it’s a perfectly lovely date idea to sit near each other, reading your respective texts.

And he greatly enjoys reading all the things you write, if you’re willing to share them. He finds it incredible how you can weave (ha, get it, weave?) such fantastical plots and emotions together. I mean he is a wizard, but he thinks his ability to influence the physical and astral world around him has nothing on the power behind your mighty quill. He also enjoys listening to your singing from the kitchen as he works on various potions and spells. He needs to hear it every so often, almost like how he needs to consume magical artifacts: it brings him peace and grounds him in a reality he vows he won’t let slip away.

Gale adores your freckles, I mean adores. He probably has them all mapped out somewhere in his study. He loves trailing his finger from one to the other, especially when it makes you blush. Gale also has no issue using his magic to accommodate your need for milder temperatures due to your condition. Whether you need it cooler or warmer, he can use his hands to help you regulate your body temperature. And if that isn’t enough, he can conjure large amounts of ice or fire. Whatever you need, your wizard will get it for you! He makes a mental note to read every piece of literature on the subject he finds in his travels. He finds every part of you stunning, illness or moles be damned, and has no problems reminding you of that, as many times as it takes.

He himself isn’t the most fond of roughing it so to speak, but he does love feeling the sun on his cheeks and the wind on his face. He especially enjoys taking walks with you, holding your hand as he over-explains the history of magic and its role in The Weave.

He is very pleased that you’re a kind and courteous person like he is. His Mother raised him to be a respectful man and the idea of being with a partner who takes joy in unnecessary violence or revels in others' suffering makes him physically ill. He cares so much about others, as evidenced by his fear of hurting a large population should the orb in his chest explode. He cares that you care too.

Contrary to you, however, Gale thinks himself a huge romantic. He perceives love often, even when it may not be there. It’s not that he’s desperate, it’s just that the “boring” parts people often think mean nothing, are the parts of a relationship that mean the most to him. The quiet. The parallel play. The kind words here and there. The interest in the other’s hobbies. That is love to him. That’s not to say he isn’t interested in sex, oh no. He quite enjoys the feeling of your bare skin on his, the sweaty tangle of your limbs, and the euphoria that comes with it. But, similar to you, he sees it as a joining of souls. (Quite literally if you agree to make love in the astral plane with him.) He worships you and you alone and wants to be worshiped in return. Please give him your undivided romantic attention- he thinks you’re such a wonder, he doubts whether he’s deserving of it at times.

Gale may not show it often, at least not in ways people might think, but he’s endured a lot in his life as well. Despite holding up Mystra as this wonderful goddess, it becomes clearer how unstable their relationship (if you’d call it that) was. He was so wounded, he tried so hard to mend it and ended up planting a bomb in his chest trying to fix it. And then there’s the thing with the Mindflayers, sheesh. Talk about a tough break. It’s rough, but Gale is determined to keep going to fix it. He has to. For himself, and more importantly for you.

Once both issues are addressed, and the current evils vanquished, he’d want more than nothing to settle down with you back home in Waterdeep. He’d love to introduce you to his Mother, and Tara (if you haven’t already met her). You are the love of his life. And he can’t wait to share the rest of it- the good and the bad- with you.

♨ You might think Karlach isn’t your best match, her being quite loud and outgoing, but you’d be wrong. The two of you are like this perfect balance of Yin and Yang- where she wants to dive in headfirst, you advise caution. Where she wants to swing first and ask questions later, you’d rather work out an agreement. The two of you often end up compromising on each of your extremes to find a happy middle that works well for the two of you.

She does find it a bit frustrating that you don’t tolerate extreme heat very well, as it can make sleeping in the same bed difficult if the weather is already warm out. But she understands. When her internal engine is fixed, she’s certain her temperature will be much more tolerable to you. On the other hand, she’s incredibly proud that she can save you from freezing temperatures, should night ever be particularly cold or you two find yourselves deep in the Underdark.

And she loves your moles. No, really, she thinks they’re the cutest little things! She’s a red tiefling who spent years watching every kind of soul and creature imaginable enter hell, but none compare to you and your many beauty marks.

She’s not the most fond of sitting and reading for extended periods, but she loves it when you read aloud to her. She can sharpen and polish her weapons as you regal her with all the many stories you’ve written down over the years. She loves the imagined ones just as much as the real recorded ones. (She especially loves it when you include her in your stories, she finds it so flattering!)

And she lives for your baking. As a Barbarian she’s almost always hungry. (Hey, a girl has gotta keep up that strength somehow!) She’s so glad you’re gifted in that department. Her attempts almost always end up resembling charcoal more than any sort of food.

Despite having been forced to fight in hell, Karlach has the personality of a golden retriever. She loves most people and is pretty polite to those she meets. Of course, that doesn’t mean she’s not gonna challenge them to a fight, but she has the decency of mind to say a greeting first. So it’s safe to say she appreciates your good-naturedness as well. You are two peas in a pod that way.

However, unlike you, Karlach loves a good loud and large gathering; she fits right in! She’s loud and large herself! But she knows you have a limit for those sorts of things, so she won’t drag you to too many of them.

Alignment-wise, Karlach is the embodiment of chaotic good lol. She’s a Zariel Tiefling Barbarian with a heart of gold.

She too can’t rush into physical romance, not because she doesn't want to, but due to her engine. When sex is potentially dangerous, you’re forced to rethink what romance and love mean to you. Karlach gets coming at it from a different point of view. And she has no problem waiting until you’re both safe and ready to be with each other in that way. She’s had her fair share of trauma as well. But whereas you claim to be closed off and judgy, it seemingly made her happy and wise. The two of you both underwent difficult times and developed your own unique trauma responses that just so happen to complement one another. Karlach may be saddened that happiness and joy don't come as easily to you as they do to her, but she’ll be damned if she didn’t try her hardest every day to bring those things to you. You’re the love of her life, after all.

#baldurs gate imagine #bg3 imagine #bg3 x reader #bg3 matchups #baldurs gate x reader #red circle anon #bg3 #bg3 imagines #gale #karlach #matchups

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mmmteaaa · 1 year

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Ok this sounds stupid but listen:

Platonic KizuHara.

(sorry in advance for the horrible English and for the long rant).

Like not kidding, Kizuna and Uehara are like besties and love each other platonically.

Think about this:

• They are opposites. Sun and moon. One of the best relationship dynamics. So I know my idea is right.

• The social, egocentric (probably gay) with a hidden inferiority complex Kizuna Tomori, and the not-social, (probably gay too) and more serious person who has problems communicating with others.

•I imagine before the killing game, Uehara would observe his classmates because he didn’t know how to socialize and he then saw Kizuna. A bit loud, social, outgoing, and does not care about what people think of her.

•Then Kizuna realizes Kinjis’s staring and thinks something along the lines of- “I knew every guy was the same. It doesn’t matter even if their a boring priest”- or something

•Like, Kizuna doesn’t understand the concept of a guy being non-romantically interested in her.

•And she does her usual as she would do to guys that are interested in her- she tries to flirt with him.

•Kinji would be like girl what and immediately back off.

•So Kizuna is now confused kinda like in her free time events.

• Probably asks Kinji if he’s gay or something (he most likely is).

•Yes it’s an awkward start but imagine; one day the whole class has a meeting at whatever place and they start talking about random things.

•Kinji probably realizes that Kizuna is hiding her true emotions.

•And Kizuna is probably wondering why he isn’t into her.

•After that, they decide to spend more time together. Kinji tries to get Kizuna to open up and learn to be more social, and Kizuna to understand she can have male friends who aren’t only with her because of her looks (difficult considering she’s in the same class as Haru and Mitch)

•The class would be like “wtf when did they become friends” and are mostly praying for Kinji (ironic I know) so he doesn’t end up corrupted.

•I think Kizuna would try and seduce Kinji but this time more subtly. Like accidentally falling on him or getting too close to him just to “prove” him. Maybe he tries to give him a makeover. And paints his nails and does his hair or something.

• Kinji is still not into her (obviously).

•So now is Kinji’s turn and he decides to invite the class to the orphanage. Kizuna probably told him to do so. She told him to invite the class to a place he likes. She was not expecting an orphanage.

•She is not enjoying it, she doesn’t interact with kids or with anybody at all.

•She’s not used to hyperactive kids running around and ends up sitting under a tree to rest.

• And there is Kinji, observing everybody. So as usual, they make small talk.

•Kizuna goes like damn you’re always with kids how tf do you not know how to talk to people-

• So Kinji just tells her that he’s not used to talking to people of his age because of his job and blah blah blah and he tells Kizuna how, though loud and a bit annoying, he admires how social she is and how she doesn’t care about what people think.

•And Kizuna proceeds to trauma-dump on him telling him that he doesn’t know her and that she doesn’t understand why Kinji doesn’t want to hook up with her and that that has never happened to her.

•To which, Kinji tells her that she wants to know more about her in a friendship way, in a platonic way.

•And that’s how they start the true platonic relationship.

•They just hang out like friends that care about each other as if they were married. Kizuna tries to help Kinji with being social (failing) and Kinji helps her to overcome her distrust of men and be closer to her female peers.

And this was it, thank you for coming to my TED talk, very sorry for the SUPER LONG rant and the bad English, bye bye

#danganronpa another #kizuna tomori #uehara kinji #damnthiswasalongrantdamn #danganronpa another despair academy #kinji uehara #tomori kizuna #platonic relationship #what did i just write #dra

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treeba-rk · 2 months

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Yh i agree about people s obsession with new duos. And don t get me wrong, sometimes new and unexpected duos are great, i m talking to the treebark burner account! Ranchers were also great, and totally out of nowhere. But i think people are a bit too obsessed with 1 creating new duos and names in order to portray new narratives and theories and 2 making every close relationship romantic or familiar, as if close friendships, qprs or just good ol' rivalries did not exist 3 ignoring female ccs, even more so when it gets in the middle of a ship (this happens with women in every single piece of media btw).

Male-female friendships (or ships) are often ignored bc i feel a lot of fans feel as if these fanon relationships are somehow more "real" and not roleplay bc they are a "straight couple" (c'mon people, most of us are queer what are you doing with this mentality?), and are more likely to assume you ship the creators and not the characters, or worst, to actually assume the ccs are together irl (which was the reason some female ccs were against shipping in the 1st place). Re: this point, I will give an special mention to bee duo though, the fans really assumed they liked each other irl, which was very creepy considering they were underage at the time.

F/F ships are also often snubbed, although lately i ve seen them become a lot more popular, such as nature wives and more recently Gem & Pearl (ik the ship has a name, but i ve decided to ignore it bc we are better than that), which has been satisfactory to see. Still a long way to go though.

Hope i have explained myself correctly 👉👈 english s not my 1st language so i m kind of nervous about dping such a long post about such a complex issue. Feel free to correct me

no you're all good! thanks for the ask 🫶

also sorry to anyone who's here for tree bark only bc this acc is basically my alt now lmaoo (due to me keeping anon off on main)

you're right that ppl want to create new duos and narratives but sometimes... those ppl aren't that close. or had three interactions in a series. that isn't to say they're not friends or friends can't become close in a short amount of time. but the fandomisation and trying to come up with an incomprehensible name instead of saying their names is kinda ?? to me personally. not that's bad, it's just... i don't really get why you won't use their names. especially when it's not a long established group that frequently collabs.

you're so right about male-female friendships and especially in this fandom. i feel like m/f shipping in this sphere (outside of the obvious lizzie/joel) is seen as taboo bc it could leak into m/f irl shipping. at least that's why i was squicked out for like two years. esp bc m/f irl shipping was / is a problem (for example, i still see ppl asking in their public yt comments if stress and iskall are together. during hc2 people thought mumbo and false were dating when he was like 17 and she was in her early twenties and it's just fucking weird to truth in people's comments).

(unrelated to this discussion but i will always be salty that the antihcshippers never bring up the point of REAL AND ANNOYING M/F IRL SHIPPING IN COMMENTS and instead bully scar/grian shippers on twitter or whatever. really shows that they never cared about cc's "boundaries" or feelings and just want that fandom moral superiority. quick have you been to comment sections of eps posted by the women in like 2017. have you seen the random twitch chatters.)

the fanon side of m-f friendships/ships in hc is interesting bc pre gem and pearl, the three women had their "designated guy bestie that they always collab with" and it's quite obvious who: stress-iskall, cleo-joe, false-ren (to a lesser extent cub). former two are basically the only prominent m/f ships (iskall in particular plays into it). i had talked to ppl in dms about why false/ren isn't prominent and my main theory is what i call the yaoi shield bc ren is shipped with a lot of men LMFAO (also something something about ren/iskall and false/stress being complements to avoid the "boring" m/f shipping).

but i still wish m-f friendships get more recognition 😔 like if you're not shipping them in the character sense, there's no risk of being seen as irl shipping, so technically it's no different from same gender friendships, right? 🤡 and i do not like the instant "siblingification" to create a fanon familiar bond to avoid shipping. like sometimes it works. a lot of the time it doesn't. people can just be friends. and they all are actually friends.

ok, more of a tangent here, but dug up an old ass convo from 2021 in which there was a point like "sometimes romantic relationships can happen between ccs and it is definitely more feasible than ccs becoming family via marriage/adoption" and i said "so technically 'shipping hcs' are less weird than 'same family hcs'. hm". soooo 🤡🤡🤡 it's totally fine if you don't wanna ship, but it is also TOTALLY fine to keep them as friends instead of siblings / family hcs. i think this fandom has enough awareness now to know you mean friends when you portray them as friends.

i'm happy to see more yuri bc yuri is almost always the least popular in fandoms. but i think m/m and f/f also has the vibes of "less likely to be perceived as irl shipping so we can go wild" while m/f character shipping is still treated with caution? and people really don't want ccs to misinterpret it as irl shipping? tbh i feel like the modern day fandom has gone into "god forbid a man and a woman are friends" that m/f is seen as the "boring" "cop-out" and it goes all the way around. like yeah sometimes it's boring. but not the point of it being nonexistent lmfao like m/f could be funnnnn!!!!!! and they can be queer too!! bi4bi, t4t!!!! or they can just be hetero idk!!

anyways. as a m&f / m/f main i have Thoughts. but yeah 👍

#ask box #answered #shipping

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destinyc1020 · 7 months

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Lmao notice the two male friends you mentions are Darnell her gay assistant who some fans on this app I’ve seen literally talk so bad about him and how he’s leeching off Z and need to find something to do other then following her around and Kamil a guy who played her brother so of course no one is going to ship those two with her like those are terrible examples. Again timdayas who don’t even call themselves that don’t even shio her with Tim just literally think they act so similar and are the male/female version of the other. It’s funny how that really bothers some of you Tomdayas. Like idk what to tell you Tim and z are love interest it’s natural for people to ship characters and weirdly do it with the actual actors in real life but actual Timmy and z Stan’s are not shipping them together it’s randoms and twitter Tom stans that want to paint Z out to be some type of hoe and Durk reasons as to why Tom can do better and should leave her.

But wait...according to YOUR logic, why WOULDN'T they ship these "friendships" with her when they are actually her friends? 🤔

You're basically talking yourself in circles Anon..... If you only ship Timmy and Z's "friendship" (like you so claim), then by your logic, why wouldn't people also ship her and Kamil, and her and Darnell? They ARE actual besties! 😏

Like idk what to tell you Tim and z are love interest it’s natural for people to ship characters and weirdly do it with the actual actors in real life

Literally NOBODY has an issue with Z having a love interest in films Anon.😒 NOBODY. Z has had Hunter as a love interest, JDW as a love interest, Josh and Mike (upcoming) as love interests, etc.... Like, the list goes on and on. Nobody has an issue with them. 🤷🏾‍♀️

People only have an issue with those who try to force a "romantic" shipping on Z with co-stars that she's not actually romantically involved with. Got it? Why do you think people have an issue with you Timdaya shippers??

THINK about it for a second.

Also, while it may be common to ship characters who play love interests together, it is NOT respectful (imo) to ship two actors irl with each other who are NOT both single. ESPECIALLY when it is a known fact that one (or even BOTH!) actors are in long-term, serious relationships with other people. It's just weird and gross when fans do stuff like that. 🥴

It not only disrespects that actor, but also their significant other imo. It also makes things WEIRD for the two actors who are just trying to work together and do their jobs (which, we're already seeing at times with Timmy and Z) because most of the time, they really are JUST FRIENDS, but fans push this "other" strange romantic angle on to them, and it makes their interactions weird. 🥴

Btw... you completely ignored and glossed over the fact that SOME Tomdaya fans just don't like Timmy because his fans can be insufferable, and always have to drag Tom (and even other actors) for every single little thing. But you casually chose to leave that part out I see... 🙄

but actual Timmy and z Stan’s are not shipping them together

But some of them DO Anon. That's my point. Plus, what does it matter WHICH group is doing it?? The point is, there are Timdayas that ship them together and it's RUDE and disrespectful PERIODT.

Again timdayas who don’t even call themselves that don’t even shio her with Tim just literally think they act so similar and are the male/female version of the other. It’s funny how that really bothers some of you Tomdayas.

Hun... you totally BLEW your cover with THIS ☝🏾 statement. 😏 Maybe I should ask YOU: Why does Zendaya being in a loving, long-term, happy relationship with Tom Holland bother YOU so much?? You're obviously NOT a "Tomdaya" fan.

Gee...I wonder why you'd rather ship Z and her barely-seen "friendship" with Timmy, than Zendaya with her ACTUAL BOYFRIEND Tom Holland? 🤔

Oh wait... Don't answer that....

We already know the answer girl.... 🙄

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lasenbyphoenix · 3 months

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Unshakable Faith (2023)

Episode 2 Breakdown

Now on the mainland, Ji Danyang has lost his voice due to being struck on throat by Officer Hongmei when in HK. Hongmei is tasked to accompany him by train to the project base in Luman, and the KMT arrange a sniper to be at train station when they arrive.

Nurse Bai is roped into being part of the welcoming party and gives flowers to Ji Danyang when the sniper shoots at them. Officer Hongmei races to the sniper's nest and arrests a suspect who turns out to be Police Captain Chen - her new team leader.

Ji Danyang settles in at the project base while the police team search for the sniper and his accomplices. When needing to go to town for extra supplies, Ji Danyang is escorted by Officer Hongmei where his desire for freedom to roam clashes with her duty to protect him. After rescuing a kid from the canal Ji Danyang meets Nurse Bai again who takes him to her father, a traditional doctor who offers to treat his throat with acupuncture, much to Officer Hongmei's disapproval.

The treatment works and his voice is returned, and he finds Nurse Bai in the project base cafeteria to thank her. Officer Hongmei continues to be suspicious of everyone and everything and Secretary Lu warns Ji Danyang that making friends with the nurses will cause rumours to spread.

............................................

Our math man doesn't like his every move being shadowed and our policewoman is a little on the overzealous side, which sets up the pattern for their future interactions, but this is a spy drama and the sniper proves she's got a reason to be.

We get a lot of new supporting characters introduced in this episode - including Police Captain Chen (Li Xinze, costarring with Liu Xueyi for the third time after Love and Redemption and The Blood of Youth), and Secretary Lu who clearly has a crush on Nurse Bai and doesn't like idea of the handsome math man as romantic competition.

We also get a very contrived reason for our male lead to meet our second female lead, but I dont hate it because the image of her trying to take a blood pressure in the back of a moving car is quite funny. And a second meeting just to cement their new friendship and to take him home to meet another important supporting character - dad. Dr Bai is played by Ding Yongdai who was the Emperor in both Nirvana in Fire and The Blood of Youth, and I'm really enjoying him in this role.

Oof, do watch out for the janky english voiceover with mismatched subtitles when Ji Danyang shows off his knowledge of the Hippocratic Oath to Nurse Bai.

#unshakable faith #unshakable faith episode reviews #liu xueyi #li xinze #peng xiaoran #ding yongdai

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ranchthoughts · 11 months

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thoughts on genre, tropes, Bad Buddy, and My School President

This is a monster of a post (almost 5k words) so I’m going to post it in pieces, and then in full. This is Part 1 (of 3): part 2, part 3, full.

I also go more in detail about a lot of the terms and concepts I use here (indexes, conventions, genres, intertextuality, etc) in this post here, in case you would like more context

The BL “genre” has so many conventions - in narrative, characterization, themes, settings, iconography, filmic techniques, and of course, tropes.

Bad Buddy, MSP, and tropes

There are SO many examples of this so I have decided to focus on two “subcategories” of tropes: the faen fatale and tropes which are strongly associated with seme/uke dynamics.

Faen Fatales

Seme/uke Tropes

In terms of physical, social, and personality markers in Bad Buddy, Pat exhibits slightly more “seme” traits than Pran, like his larger size and more “rugged” and “typical” masculinity compared to Pran’s neatness. However, both Pat and Pran take the seme or uke role in tropes about the same amount of time, with Pran having several significant moments where he embodies the seme role (looming over Pat, licking his fingers, drying his hair, etc., not to mention the post-sex scene in ep.11) and Pat many significant moments where he embodies a uke or even “feminine” role (casting himself as the girlfriend at the bus stop, being clingy, pretending to be sick so Pran will give him a sponge bath, etc.). In fact, tropes often happen twice, with Pat and Pran taking turns in the seme and uke role (e.g., both take turns cleaning the other’s face, both cook for the other, both kiss the other’s cheek, etc.). Furthermore, and I’ve spoken about this before here: both Pran and Pat deliberately take on the seme role during their ep.7 Flirt-Off bet ("whoever falls in love first loses”). To win the bet, they have to be the pursuer (i.e., seme), and thus spend the episode taking it in turns to exhibit the seme role in tropes (Pat takes off his shirt multiple times, Pran looms over Pat, they wash each other’s faces, they take the seme roles with Ink and Wai at the noodle shop to make the other jealous, etc.), thus also spending the episode taking it in turns to fulfill the uke role in tropes. The fact that the seme and uke roles in Bad Buddy are so interchangeable and balanced (sometimes they even play the narrative roles of pursuer and pursued at the same time) demonstrates the show’s upending of traditional seme/uke dichotomies.

In MSP, Tinn and Gun are pretty much the perfect seme and uke in terms of physical and social markers: Tinn is taller, wealthier, has a higher social status, and even has a female “faen fatale” (more typical for seme characters), while Gun is shorter, poorer, from a marginalized club at school, and has a male “faen fatale” (more typical for uke characters). Some one on Tumblr (and I cannot for the life of me find this post again) mentioned that Tinn is a little “feminine” coded when it comes to romance (he is the dreamer, the romantic, always imagining romantic situations), while Gun is more what we’d think of as “masculine” when it comes to romance (more brusque, less sappy), though I am not sure how applicable these types of divisions are to BL. In term of preference markers, there isn’t much sexual content to go off of, but MSP does mention the TinnGun vs GunTinn divide in ep.12, never coming down on either side, and one of the things the homophobic teacher says is that he thought Gun was more “masculine” so he is surprised to see him dating a boy. Overall, the show deliberately eschews and criticizes the association of top/bottom or masculine/feminine with the pair. Furthermore, Tinn talks a lot about wanting to be Gun’s boyfriend, to belong to Gun - and as @cinna-bin points out here, for a genre that equates seme with dominance, the one who shows and has ownership of the other, it is pretty subversive to have the seme character in the narrative express a desire to be “owned”. Like Pat and Pran, Tinn and Gun are fairly egalitarian when it comes to which role they take in tropes (Tinn catches Gun when he falls, Gun touches Tinn’s chin constantly, they both kiss the other’s cheek, etc.). I’ve talked about this here too, but often Tinn will imagine a moment with himself in the seme role (e.g., wiping Gun’s face) that won’t come to fruition, but when it does happen in real life, the trope is reversed and Gun takes the seme role (e.g., when it happens in real life, Gun wipes Tinn’s mouth). In MSP, the deployment of tropes is more about natural moment and real life, and less adhering to strict role divisions. This back and forth feels more accurate, more high school - they both take it in turns to boldly initiate and then to be shy (all the aborted kiss chances, etc.).

Pat employing the “drinking from a water bottle/pouring water on yourself” and “shirt off” tropes to try and get Pran hot and bothered in ep.7

Pran looming over Pat during the bet

Pran symbolically losing the bet by wiping Pat’s mouth

Tinn imagining himself wiping Gun’s mouth

Tinn imagining a Ghost moment while cooking with Gun

Tinn making a joke about a “hot underwater kiss”

To be continued in parts 2 and 3

#bb #bb meta #msp #msp meta #bl meta #ranch thoughts #bad buddy #my school president #part 1 of 3... this post is a monster #ppt thoughts

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