Krista Posted November 18, 2024 Posted November 18, 2024 (edited) Slightly off-topic, but I have to get this off my chest. And, there are people who do play video games that frequent this community, I'm thinking. I do not play very many games. I have three that I've followed: Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and The Sims. Admittedly, the writing for Mass Effect 1, 2, and 3 were fantastic, I really loved it. I'm not a Sci-fi person at all, but it was easy to get into, and it progressed nicely. The Sims is something I get nostalgic with and play here and there, but it is way too riddled with bugs, some game breaking, and only working when modders and creators fix shit for the developers. But, Dragon Age was at one time my favorite franchise. It is the game that I replayed numerous times. Origins needs to be remastered. I wish they would have done that, but since it is an older game the task may be too much for them. Dragon Age 2, was a rush job, but the writing was still decently strong, it fell flat everywhere else because they didn't have time to do much within a year and a half that Electronic Arts gave them. Inquisition became more open world, very meaningless task heavy, but the writing was still on par, it felt fleshed out and the characters were decent. Now, Dragon Age: The Veilguard - sucks. They boasted about having a great Character creator, which they do, but you have to really work on making your character not look like a cookie cutter Pixar character. I've spent hours in it, then get into the game, and edit them for a couple more hours because even though they have a lighting preview, you can't see them in action. You have to be careful not to make them cross-eyed for example. The hair selections for males are limited at best. And we're just not going to talk about the Qunari's foreheads... it takes a lot to work around that. The scenery is nice to look at as well, but weapons, attire/armor, and item customization is pretty much non-existent. That's about all the good I have to say about it though. The characters are awful, none of your past progression in the series really impacts the game either. They took away your options to be 'mean,' as well. A lot of your response choices do not match the tone of the scene you're currently in. There's too much, "around the table.." talking, where every character has to self-reflect, analyze, and get validation. It sounds like a self-help group, not a group of people that are out to save the world. Speaking of, despite the world crumbling around them, a lot of their reactions are light. The story around them is mostly done with a light and breathless touch... there's no flesh, bone, or meat to any character early on, if at any. If you're expecting that to change, like I did - you're sorely mistaken. The game doesn't get good until the final act, but damn that's hundreds of hours away. The villains just suck, there's so much about them that's one-dimensional, so they become laughable at best. They're supposed to be cunning old elven gods, but they're so stereotypical villain they lose their bite. It is severely preachy on certain aspects of the game, that shouldn't be preachy in the game, with the time period it is set in and the like. It takes away from the dark fantasy element entirely, which is what the genre is about. I wouldn't even call it a Dragon Age game, since it does gut your choices from previous games, despite the storyline advancing from game to game. It should have included a lot of the past decisions on some impactful level, but it doesn't. This was a rebrand with skeletal elements to hopefully get money from people that have been waiting for this game for over 10 years. That is obvious. The fact that these people had 10 years to write the story-line, villains, main character's voice/tone, and ability to respond to the world around them is frightening. This should have been a master class in writing, especially since they have so much source material to build on. They also had 10 years to write fleshed out, multi-dimensional characters to support your Rook as well. My biggest issue is: There's no moral implications, or choices that really call into question any sort of morality. Some of your companions belongs to factions that have a rather morally questionable past. The Crows for example, an assassin guild that don't blink an eye about killing people when they get handed a contract. They conscript children for training, and do illegal trafficking, etc. You cannot learn or question that, not even when you choose the faction in the beginning. Aside from a colorful gloss over, of your character origin, you don't get a lot more. The moral choices you make, have little impact, they always work out. The choices and sides you choose end up coming back to neutral or good... It also, and I agree with a game reviewer that said: It feels like this was written by people who had HR hovering over their shoulders. - There's nothing with any depth in the writing, like I said, nothing with any meat on the bones. Every conflict is resolved in 'validating' and self-reflective conversations. You cannot make people hate you in this game... it always comes back to this group therapy session stupidity. I paid full price for this nonsense. It makes this game more laughable, because it is also in the running for Game of the Year... although, a late outside shot at it, but still. Save your money if you haven't bought it, wait for it to go on sale. Edited November 18, 2024 by Krista 4
Zombie Posted November 18, 2024 Author Posted November 18, 2024 15 hours ago, Krista said: HR hovering over their shoulders yup, the root of all evil 👿 15 hours ago, Krista said: there are people who do play video games that frequent this community, I'm thinking no reason we can’t have Gay Games here seems it is a thing - anyone playing? https://itch.io/games/free/platform-web/tag-lgbt 2
Page Scrawler Posted November 18, 2024 Posted November 18, 2024 (edited) 6 hours ago, Zombie said: No reason we can’t have Gay Games here seems it is a thing - anyone playing? https://itch.io/games/free/platform-web/tag-lgbt Adding to that: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/11934326-LGBTQ-Inclusive-Gaming/ One of my favorite games with LGBT characters: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1129190/Our_Life_Beginnings__Always/?curator_clanid=11934326 Edited November 18, 2024 by Page Scrawler 2
PrivateTim Posted November 20, 2024 Posted November 20, 2024 On 7/25/2024 at 8:09 PM, W_L said: Has anyone seen the netflix miniseries "Someone Has to Die"? It's set in the 1950s Fascist Spain under Franco-Regime with a gay relationships and desires hidden among the wealthy elites. Hotel Portofino on PBS in the U.S. is set in the 1920s Italy with the rise of the fascists and a gay relationship and desires hidden among the wealthy elites of Britain who traveled to Italy with an American Chicago mobster thrown in to boot. 1
W_L Posted November 25, 2024 Posted November 25, 2024 Right now, I am immersing myself in several online stories before I head off on vacation around Dec 16-20. One of them, I think some GA readers might find interesting, despite the difference in culture. It's called Back to My Youth, it's the story of a man, who goes back to the body of his high school self, and saves his best friend, later his boyfriend/partner, who would have died in a sanatorium due to the "treatments" for homosexuality. It's an interesting story as it comes from a Chinese cultural perspective. Here's a link for the fan translation https://chrysanthemumgarden.com/novel-tl/btmy/ The website is also pretty good if you're trying to get access to underground published gay literature from China, though private gay publishing exists in China, it is too censored to be exported (unlike Japanese/Korean BL), so it's rare to find english translations of gay Chinese novels. 2
Page Scrawler Posted November 25, 2024 Posted November 25, 2024 3 minutes ago, W_L said: so it's rare to find english translations of gay Chinese novels. Sounds interesting! Hallmark came up with a new reality series, titled "Finding Mr. Christmas". It's like a gay version of The Bachelor, with some mistletoe and holly thrown in. Taking "Make the Yuletide Gay" to an absurd degree, methinks. 2
Zombie Posted December 17, 2024 Author Posted December 17, 2024 (edited) this plopped into my YT ‘in-tray’ - can’t think why not been mentioned here, so is it just fluffy dross? Edited December 17, 2024 by Zombie 3 2
LJCC Posted December 17, 2024 Posted December 17, 2024 6 hours ago, Zombie said: this plopped into my YT ‘in-tray’ - can’t think why not been mentioned here, so is it just fluffy dross? YouTube knows you gay boy. It's time to come out. Also, if I'm filming something like a naked touchy-feely scene with a woman and I'm getting a boner, I may be straight. *glares at Taylor Zahkar-Perez* Just saying... 3
Zombie Posted December 19, 2024 Author Posted December 19, 2024 Chroniques Sexuelles D'Une Famille D'Aujourd'Hui (2012) Has anyone seen this movie? It kind of qualifies here because the older son in the family is bi (or bi-curious) and also he’s hot It’s very French, quite funny, and shot in cinéma-vérité style - “a style of film-making characterized by realistic… films which avoid artificiality” and, uh *coughs* it sure does that You see, the film kicks off with the premise that the mum is confronted by the headmaster (she’s just been summoned to the school) suspending the younger son who’s just been caught at school in biology class “wiggling the weasel” under the desk and filming it to fulfil a dare by his classmates. Which leads to mum+dad engaging with their sons about what they get up to and where they might have ‘gone wrong’. And so one thing leads to another as the cameras follow the various family members around while they, er, get up to what they get up to… But here’s the thing - because it’s cinéma-vérité what you see is actually happening, not faked… There’s an interview online with the film’s directors and the principal actor (the younger son) in French (link below) + an English translation I got somehow (also pdf) but I don’t know if a pdf on an iPad can be attached? https://www.toloda.com/sites/default/files/cs_dossierpresse.pdf 2
Page Scrawler Posted December 25, 2024 Posted December 25, 2024 (edited) Awww. Just watched this last night. (I needed a break from the barrage of Hallmark movies my son has inflicted on his dads.) The young actors are so talented beyond their years. Three queer kids from Montreal revel in the freedom granted to them by the summer holidays. However, they are pulled back to reality and their loyalties are tested, when they investigate the disappearance of a friend. Edited December 25, 2024 by Page Scrawler 1 2
drown Posted December 25, 2024 Posted December 25, 2024 6 minutes ago, Page Scrawler said: Awww. Just watched this last night. (I needed a break from the barrage of Hallmark movies my son has inflicted on his dads.) The young actors are so talented beyond their years. Three queer kids from Montreal revel in the freedom granted to them by the summer holidays. However, they are pulled back to reality and their loyalties are tested, when they investigate the disappearance of a new friend. This seems like a most wonderful tip. I put it on my list. Films like this give me hope. Thanks. 1 2
Krista Posted December 28, 2024 Posted December 28, 2024 (edited) I watched three older films during some downtime whilst sick. I guess they were peaceful little things for me to watch, but I wouldn't say I'd recommend any of them unless you like slow-paced, lulling sort of films. I didn't intend to watch films of that nature, I read the descriptions and they were interesting enough to hold my attention. I just couldn't help noting how similar they all were. Sublime, Five Dances, and Seashore: They all use long periods of visual cues between action or spoken dialog between characters. Sublime is about a teenager coming to terms with his sexuality and falling for his straight best friend. It is focused a lot on music, as they're in a sort of garage or friend-group band. They write and perform their own music, which I thought wasn't too terrible sounding, as some of the films similar in nature have such terrible songwriting it makes the whole performance aspects laughable. So, I do give them credit for that, but a lot of the film is focused on the quiet contemplation of the main character, it is focused closely on his face a lot of the time, or with him looking out in the distance. There's never a ton of dialog between the characters that moves the plot along, until the waning thirty or so minutes, when the character can no longer cope with being quiet about his feelings. So, it is very slow in that regard, to where it leaves you wondering why the first 2/3 of the film couldn't have been shortened a little bit. I did like it though, if you like wandering sort of films, but for a lot of people it more or less could easily become background noise. Seashore is very similar, as in there is a best friend pair that spend most of their screen time together, but they don't really say a whole lot. A lot of the film is them bantering, and one character visits family members that's renting from his father - who doesn't seem like that good of a person, and he's distant from his son and the rest of them. Most of the plot happens in the last thirty minutes, and it seems to come a bit out of left field, because it was so slow and shallow through most of the film. I liked this one the least of the three, mostly because the two characters smoked a lot and I kept thinking both of them would be end-stage COPD by the end of the film and it distracted me. Five Dances is about a group hired to be performative dancers for a show. Most of the film is shot in a rehearsal rental in front of a mirror. There's five dancers, two women, three men. Out of all the films, I thought this one suffered most from the lack of plot and spoken dialog. I wanted to know the main character's backstory more. A lot of the film is of them dancing, the dances are supposed to help move along the plot, as they become more in-depth with what little we get to know surrounding the characters. The main character is likable as he is, but he comes off a bit lost, - which I know was intentional as he's from Kansas and hadn't been living in New York for over a month. He lived with a guy - we never know if they were lovers or just roommates. Either way, after landing the dancing job, he becomes homeless so he sleeps in the rehearsal rental on a sleeping bag, he's caught so he moves in with one of the other dancers. The relationship that drives the last thirty or so minutes of the film happens without a lot of words, so to me it comes across as a bit too awkward for my liking. He wasn't someone that experienced with his own sexuality and dating in general, but that's not what made it awkward. It felt like a very adult version of, I shared a snack with you, so now we're dating... as one moment he's sharing a snack with one of the guys they're dancing with, then the next interaction they have - the guy tries to seduce them after they stay later to rehearse. The side dramas with the other dancers just seemed to fill the space as well, and I much rather would have liked the space to be filled with the main character's story, since most of the film was of them silently rehearsing their dancing. --- Either way, all of them were slow, none of them had a lot of dialog, and all three of them took concentration to stay with it, but I honestly don't know if many people will like films where you could literally skip through large portions of it, and not miss anything of importance. Unless you really like artistically heavy handed scenes that go nowhere. Being used to it, as a lot of indie films are of the same mold, I can get through most of them, unless the story falls completely apart, which I only felt happened with Seashore. Edited December 28, 2024 by Krista 3
drown Posted December 28, 2024 Posted December 28, 2024 (edited) On 11/18/2024 at 2:18 AM, Krista said: I do not play very many games. I have three that I've followed: Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and The Sims. Admittedly, the writing for Mass Effect 1, 2, and 3 were fantastic, I really loved it. I'm not a Sci-fi person at all, but it was easy to get into, and it progressed nicely. The Sims is something I get nostalgic with and play here and there, but it is way too riddled with bugs, some game breaking, and only working when modders and creators fix shit for the developers. I think we may enjoy the same kind of video games for their story-telling aspects. Their worlds were so captivating to me! And I also did not enjoy the Dragon Age installments released afterwards. I would recommend Baldur's Gate 3 to you. It received a lot of praise, and rightly so. The storytelling is superb, but the meaningful choices in there are almost unbelievable in the context of a video game. Edited December 29, 2024 by drown typo 2
Cane23 Posted December 29, 2024 Posted December 29, 2024 On 12/17/2024 at 2:25 AM, Zombie said: this plopped into my YT ‘in-tray’ - can’t think why not been mentioned here, so is it just fluffy dross? I've read so much better stories here than this one. Film is...I don't know...maybe cheap is appropriate word. Taylor Zakhar Perez's acting is so amateur that it hurts. Nicholas Galitzine is a bit better. Altogether - I've expected more! 1 2
Ron Posted December 29, 2024 Posted December 29, 2024 I read that Kitt Williamson of Eastsiders will have a new series set to run on Revry next year. It was the first time I’ve heard of Revry so I downloaded the app for the service to take a look at it. I saw that the British Queer as Folk was there, so I started watching it. I was bored. For a gay themed video service it was weird that the show was censored — curse words cut out and shots showing any nudity were subject to a blur edit. What purpose did that serve?
Krista Posted December 29, 2024 Posted December 29, 2024 8 hours ago, Cane23 said: I've read so much better stories here than this one. Film is...I don't know...maybe cheap is appropriate word. Taylor Zakhar Perez's acting is so amateur that it hurts. Nicholas Galitzine is a bit better. Altogether - I've expected more! I DNF'd the book, mostly because of your same reasons. It felt like the writing was shallow at best through most of it. It also got really bogged down in the middle by... nothing of importance. As soon as the humor and light writing gets old, so goes the story altogether. I really didn't enjoy it. The film, I would agree the acting from Taylor was so limited, he was completely overshadowed by every other actor on screen, no matter the amount of screen time they had. The ending was entirely too cheap, if the books ended the same way, fine, but the ending ruined what I thought was already rather shallow of a film. 1 2
empath Posted December 31, 2024 Posted December 31, 2024 (edited) On 12/29/2024 at 8:19 AM, Cane23 said: Altogether - I've expected more! On 12/29/2024 at 4:39 PM, Krista said: The ending was entirely too cheap, if the books ended the same way, fine, but the ending ruined what I thought was already rather shallow of a film. Agree. This book is one that made me think that perhaps I could actually be a writer. I respect anyone that writes something to share with the world, but as a reader and viewer I found this one very Hallmark-y. I did think the book was better than the even fluffier movie. Both left me wanting a better, more realistic story, which really is when I started contemplating writing my own. I have vowed to stay away from both politician's sons and British princes in my stories (both reading and writing) for now. The "rich boy" trope has never been as interesting to me as the “destitute nobody saves the world through great struggle and personal sacrifice” theme. Edited December 31, 2024 by empath 1 4
Krista Posted January 1 Posted January 1 10 hours ago, empath said: Agree. This book is one that made me think that perhaps I could actually be a writer. I respect anyone that writes something to share with the world, but as a reader and viewer I found this one very Hallmark-y. I did think the book was better than the even fluffier movie. Both left me wanting a better, more realistic story, which really is when I started contemplating writing my own. I have vowed to stay away from both politician's sons and British princes in my stories (both reading and writing) for now. The "rich boy" trope has never been as interesting to me as the “destitute nobody saves the world through great struggle and personal sacrifice” theme. You know something is bad when you press pause or put it down, and think... "hell, even I can do better than this..." lol. 4
Site Administrator wildone Posted January 1 Site Administrator Posted January 1 So have been caught up in Canadian made movies of late Yes, Canada does make them Not sure if they are available in your neck of the woods, or if they have been mentioned yet or not. Some are on YouTube for both free and for pay. I'd choose the free if I were you . Giant Little Ones - A bit of a different take on a common gay troupe but definitely worth the watch. Was introduced at the Toronto International Film Festival and limited release in the US. Breakfast with Scot (one T ) - I saw this years ago, but didn't realize it was a Canadian movie. Not sure if it really got shown outside of Canada. If you are not totally sick of a bit of a Christmas Themed ending, you hopefully will laugh. Ordinary Magic - Not gay in anyway, but I was browsing and found this one. Ryan Reynolds at the age of 17 playing a 15 y/o that was raised in India as Jeffery Ganesh Moore. No memory of Canada until his father dies and he has to move to Canada in the winter, with his aunt. Watched some others but not sure if I liked them or not. Probably not if I'm not talking about them 1 4
Dodger Posted January 6 Posted January 6 On 1/1/2025 at 3:45 AM, wildone said: So have been caught up in Canadian made movies of late Yes, Canada does make them Not sure if they are available in your neck of the woods, or if they have been mentioned yet or not. Some are on YouTube for both free and for pay. I'd choose the free if I were you . Giant Little Ones - A bit of a different take on a common gay troupe but definitely worth the watch. Was introduced at the Toronto International Film Festival and limited release in the US. Breakfast with Scot (one T ) - I saw this years ago, but didn't realize it was a Canadian movie. Not sure if it really got shown outside of Canada. If you are not totally sick of a bit of a Christmas Themed ending, you hopefully will laugh. Ordinary Magic - Not gay in anyway, but I was browsing and found this one. Ryan Reynolds at the age of 17 playing a 15 y/o that was raised in India as Jeffery Ganesh Moore. No memory of Canada until his father dies and he has to move to Canada in the winter, with his aunt. Watched some others but not sure if I liked them or not. Probably not if I'm not talking about them The 'Ordinary Magic' storyline seems vaguely familiar, but I swear I have never seen or heard of it until now. I will watch with interest. A lot of good movies have come from Canada and many famous actors/comedians who a lot of people assume are American. John Candy, Leslie Nielson, Jim Carrey, William Shatner, Keanu Reeves, Mike Myers, Dan Akroyd, Pamela Anderson, Donald Sutherland, Ryan Reynolds, and director James Cameron are a few prominent examples. 1 2
W_L Posted February 2 Posted February 2 I just finished a translated gay Chinese Webnovel (Danmei genre, kind of like BL with more family drama) that made me cry and laugh several times. Here's a description of the story: it's a rebirth and second chance romance story https://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-daily-life-of-the-reborn-adopted-son-of-a-wealthy-family/ Here's the English translation: https://98novels.com/the-daily-life-of-the-reborn-adopted-son-of-a-wealthy-family/ The synopsis' earnest depiction of the love between the two male main characters drew me into the story. There's a lot of PTSD, regret, false equivalency, and real love in this 164-chapter story. It took me over 2 weeks to finish it, but it was worth it. The Main Character (MC), Chen Wengang, was "saved" in his past life by his lover, Huo Niansheng, but he was too psychologically damaged from the betrayal and disfigurement from his time in prison (he took the fall), to be open to the true love, so he never expressed what was in his heart. ( 😢 The funeral scene in chapters 135-136 from their past life/timeline will make you ball your heart out. 😢 After reading the account of their relationship in the past life/timeline you get why the MC is so regretful and where the PTSD comes from.) Quote When Chen Wengang was nine years old, he was adopted by the Zheng family of Jin City after his father died in the line of duty, leaving him dependent on the hospitality of others. From being a ward of a wealthy family to wandering without a home, he became acquainted with and fell in love with the eldest son of the Zheng family. However, he also faced betrayal and deceit from his lover, bearing the weight of countless rumors. Most scions of prestigious families looked down on Chen Wengang. At the darkest moment of his life, Huo Niansheng, a playboy who had once mocked him, appeared before him and raised an eyebrow, “You used to be so aloof; how did you end up in such a sorry state?” Chen Wengang was leaning against a graffiti-covered wall, a cigarette dangling between his fingers, and a half-grimace scar on his face. Huo Niansheng casually approached and borrowed a light, “If you’re truly homeless, why not come with me?” Chen Wengang got into Huo Niansheng’s car. Little did he know, that this decision would shape his entire life. No one knew why the cunning Huo Niansheng was so persistent with an underground lover who was disfigured. He remained indifferent, not indulging in the extravagance of the nightlife. Later, Huo Niansheng died in a cruise ship accident. In the farewell letter he left for Chen Wengang at the end of his life, he wrote, “I never knew if you truly loved me, and unfortunately, I may never find out in this lifetime.” Afterward, Chen Wengang was reborn at the age of twenty. He had not been disfigured yet, and there were many regrets that he could now rectify. Most importantly, he could give Huo Niansheng a second chance. The last 6 chapters of the novel are "extras", like bonus chapters that propose parallel universes where the couple have different relationships and encounters (warning on the last chapter, might not be for everyone, most readers didn't like the last alternate universe scenarios). 1 2
Zombie Posted February 3 Author Posted February 3 (edited) reminds me of a gay Thai movie I saw some years ago, Phor Lae Lukchai, involving time travel to relive ‘roads travelled’ and so change actions /decisions in order to prevent tragic outcomes +achieve happiness Edited February 3 by Zombie 2
Drew Espinosa Posted February 3 Posted February 3 7 hours ago, W_L said: I just finished a translated gay Chinese Webnovel (Danmei genre, kind of like BL with more family drama) that made me cry and laugh several times. WL, have you read any of the 188 novels? I've read Years of Intoxication and Sissy a couple of years ago, and I've been meaning to read more, but it's been hard for me to choose which one I should read next. 2
Page Scrawler Posted February 3 Posted February 3 I just finished reading The Vanished Ones, by Chad Lucas. On Rhodenroode Island, a remote colony of the Homeland, there sits a Mission on the Hill, where boys are taken in and taught the ways of the faith. Darian is the only trainee of his race there, and he doesn’t remember how he came to the Mission. All he remembers are brown hands and the belly of a ship. Life among the other boys and the cantankerous Brothers is not always easy, but Darian is determined to live up to the lofty calling the leaders of the Mission have laid out for that one day he will carry the Sacred Word to places it has yet to reach. But when another trainee at the Mission disappears—the latest in a string of vanishings—Darian is determined to solve the mystery that begins to shake his faith in what he’s always been taught. When Darian and his friend Micah sneak away from the Mission and head east to see what they can learn about the rebel sect supposedly responsible for the vanishings, they discover that the island holds far more secrets than they ever could have imagined—and somehow, they must save the other boys at the Mission from a danger even greater than they realized. 2
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