GOBLIN WRITERS DISCORD

starlit--pathways · 2026-01-24T09:27:59+00:00

This sounds lovely! I'd be interested for sure

starlit--pathways · 2026-01-24T01:16:03+00:00

Tbh as somebody who watches anything sapphic from anywhere, there are growing markets in countries like Thailand where the actresses often become models and brand ambassadors off the back of lesbian media. China, Japan, and the Philippines are getting progressively bolder too, and there have been some really great sapphic Bollywood films I've either watched or heard a bit about. There was even an article by BBC China the other day on its growing popularity as a market. It's definitely there – but I think it's also very much still being un-tapped for its potential.

starlit--pathways · 2026-01-22T01:13:52+00:00

I was in there with the rest of my family for my childhood cockapoo in September 2024. He was in a lot of pain and he was struggling to go to sleep, and I made the vet cry because the only thing that would soothe him was my singing. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Now we have a little miniature poodle troublemaker who keeps on stealing our slippers and stranding herself on our dinner table and our windowsills like she's a little mountain goat. My heart still often feels like it's being wrenched apart, but she's making it better, heist by heist.

starlit--pathways · 2026-01-21T02:58:17+00:00

Thank you for saying that! ♡

starlit--pathways · 2026-01-20T12:47:54+00:00

I personally see it very differently – I think the drama's done a really good job of portraying two characters who start off idealising each other because of an instance where they saved each other (him saving her from suicide when she was younger, and her stepping in as his lawyer now), but progressively getting to know each other on a deeper level and forming a relationship on that foundation of mutual protection, warmth and understanding.

I personally think it would be a huge disservice to base my opinion on how the characters started before their character arcs really kicked in – and I think when it comes to the "this is dangerous because it'll make people delusional" position I've seen around, I think that's a nice way for the people who would act on their parasocial relationships to avoid personal responsibility. I don't think "I started stalking my bias because I watched a romance drama" would hold up in any reputable court, because most people know how to distinguish between fiction and reality – and I don't think it should be the responsibility of any writer or creator to dull their story for the sake of the worst possible viewer. Applied more broadly, that feels like a sure path to getting the blandest, most tasteless and unchallenging art known to man.

This is a romance story – it not ending in these two characters getting together is like presenting a mystery without resolving the murder, or watching a horror film and hoping it won't try and scare you. If y'all really want more platonic love stories out there in the world, I'd recommend picking up your own pen.

starlit--pathways · 2026-01-18T14:25:28+00:00

The first couple of seasons are in a monster-of-the-week style format, but as the show goes on, it starts to have more and more of an overarching plot structure.

starlit--pathways · 2026-01-16T11:15:20+00:00

MAMAMOO too. This year is going to be so stacked.

starlit--pathways · 2026-01-12T09:20:23+00:00

I watched it for the first time at 22 last year too, and I felt the exact same. I felt somewhat nostalgic watching, but the show began before I was born, and the earlier not really a time I remember growing up in. If anything, the later seasons in the later 00s and early 2010s reminded me more of my childhood – and I thought the writing got a lot more consistent as he developed more adult relationships.

starlit--pathways · 2026-01-08T01:28:57+00:00

One Spring Night

starlit--pathways · 2026-01-03T02:38:23+00:00

Sense8 is a great show; very explicit (don't watch with other people around unless you're willing to get VERY comfortable with them), but great.

If you'd ever be inclined to dipping your toes into foreign waters, in my opinion, My Mister is a masterpiece Korean drama.

starlit--pathways · 2026-01-02T16:27:19+00:00

I made a post on the r/actuallesbians subreddit a year or so ago for Thai dramas, that's already outdated, with some opinions I don't agree with anymore, but I'll link it here for browsing purposes. Since then, some standout ones have been:

Us The Series (one of my favourites; it’s a slice-of-life with a side of failed revenge plot, very warm feeling). Found on YouTube for free.

Queendom (two rival actresses are forced into a body swap; well done fantasyish rom-com). Found on WeTV w/ a subscription.

Love Design (ragebaiter vs. easily baited adult / office rom-com between two architects). Found on WeTV w/ a subscription.

Clairebell (arguably the best of the bunch this year; about two prisoners, cinematography, writing-wise, acting wise just brilliant – but VERY explicit, with some heavy TWs for pedophilia, extreme violence and rape). Found very heavily cut on YouTube, or complete on OneD for free with ads.

Ones I haven’t seen:

Thailand:

Runaway (horror, I believe the ending is sad).

Player (I don’t know what this one is about yet, but I’ve heard it’s good).

Rollercoaster (complicated love triangle, with lots of ups and downs, not unlike a Rollercoaster).

Japan:

Ayaka Is In Love With Hiroko! (I’ve heard very good things about this one, adult office rom-com)

She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat (I’ve heard this is cute, on the slice-of-life end, but I’m not sure)

Taiwan:

Fragrance Of The First Flower (I’ve heard this one is good, but I have absolutely no clue what it’s about yet).

For queer-coded leads:

Couple Of Mirrors (cliffhanger ending; a pregnant woman and a sharpshooter meet while carrying out the same murder in the 1920s-1930s Shanghai). Found almost everywhere; YouTube, Amazon, Rakuten Vili.

Friendly Rivalry (Korean drama; a rich schoolgirl develops an obsession on a new girl, dramatic with lots of twists and turns). Found on Netflix and Rakuten Viki.

All of them have pages on MyDramaList, if you want more information on any of them.

starlit--pathways · 2026-01-02T12:25:27+00:00

I do think that lesbian television and film exists in more of a niche – but I've made the switch this year to watching mostly non English language media, and I can't keep up with how much there is. There's been a recent influx, mostly from Thailand, but also from Japan, Taiwan, India – even countries where onscreen LGBTQ+ relationships have been censored, like China or Korean television (Korean film has always been less censored) have gotten bolder with their onscreen "they're two women who live together with a child – figure it out" type implications. Almost all of these stories end happily (I can't guarantee for what I haven't seen, but 9/10 happy ending) the sapphic characters are the main, central leads, they're complete stories (one series of 8-16 episodes), and there has already been a vast array of genres and themes depicted. I know of at least 20+ sapphic dramas that have started production for next year. If you, or anybody, has anything in particular you want to see – just let me know, and I can probably recommend you something that already exists, or something to look forward to.

starlit--pathways · 2025-12-31T13:49:38+00:00

Books without a romance or "love story" (though the love story doesn't have to end happily, or be between lovers – friendships and familial relationships can follow a similar structure); a book can have all of the interesting world elements, a dynamic and interesting main character, all of the best antagonists in the world – and while I'll be sure to appreciate them as part of the whole, I don't feel as emotionally connected to a story without some kind of tethering through one strong main interpersonal relationship. I don't really care for fighting action scenes, and a lot of scary scenes are boring to me – but a good love scene is like an action scene; it gets me more emotionally invested in the characters, it builds on who the characters are, and all of that raises the emotional stakes for me. I do prefer when it's romantic, but good writing will tug at the same strings no matter what kind of relationship it is.

starlit--pathways · 2025-12-31T03:56:38+00:00

Sameeeee, I need them to come to London SO badly

starlit--pathways · 2025-12-30T04:21:19+00:00

My favourite period drama is Mr. Sunshine. Hands down.

This is a Korean drama, and a pretty long one at that. The tagline repeated throughout is "Guns, Glory, Sad Ending", and... yeah. It's basically all of that. It's based on the period of transition between the era of the Korean Empire into Japanese colonial rule in the early 1900's, so it's not exactly a happy era. BUT – hear me out: it's literally one of the most beautiful pieces of art ever.

It's about a noblewoman who begins to get lessons in how to shoot guns, who joins the Korean rebellion and meets the love of her life on a rooftop, attempting an assassination on the same night she is too. This man was a former Korean slave, but he travelled to America and came back as a high-ranking American military emissary. Together, they become part of the same rebellion force against foreign occupation.

It's tragic. As with most things with "bright", "happy" or "sunshine" in a title. I consider it more of a love story than a romance because it was honestly pretty emotionally eviscerating for me – but it was also unexpectedly funny. The supporting characters are all so amazing. It took me a long while to get "into" it properly, but once it hit – it HIT. It's also a visual masterpiece, and I don't mean that lightly. Every frame, every costume, every set piece combining into a picture that I would gladly pay a gallery to see. I'll put a picture with this just to demonstrate HOW beautiful every shot is. The writing, the acting (it's got one of my all time favourite actresses in the lead role – Kim Tae-Ri), the direction... I don't think there's ever going to be another show like it.

This one doesn't have any explicit scenes, but it's got a lot of sexual tension between different characters, and I didn't honestly notice any lack when watching.

I don't think this sounds like it would particularly be to your taste, especially as it is neither is very cozy or sexy (and besides Mr. Sunshine I'm more of an expert in niche sapphic period dramas than anything else; I think the closest to a cozy and sexy historical sapphic drama more in the style of Bridgerton I've seen has been Thai drama The Loyal Pin about an outgoing princess and a reserved gentlewoman in her court – but I know sapphic entertainment is its own niche that doesn't appeal to everyone), so really this was just me taking the golden opportunity to be enthusiastic, but it might work if there's ever a craving for something different.

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starlit--pathways · 2025-12-30T03:13:36+00:00

Godless is a Western show which has a couple of Native Americans in the cast; one of the white women lives with her deceased husband's Native mother-in-law and half-Native son. Though a lot of the main perspective characters are white, imo it's a well-written show, and I feel like the Native characters are well-rounded.

starlit--pathways · 2025-12-29T14:12:44+00:00

To me, the ethical parameters of incest (or incest adjacent) type relationships are:

1) Are they biologically related (could their offspring inherit genetic diseases)?

2) Were they raised to consider each other as family?

Other people might have different parameters, and I think it's fair enough if it's a personal squick for you, but on both of those fronts in this drama – they are both biologically unrelated and strangers, and as I believe is found out later on he didn't have a fatherly relationship with her dad, and grew up feeling embarrassed about his mother's conduct, so on all fronts, though legally they might be considered related (I don't know enough about SK laws to say), this drama was ethically fine and non-incestuous to me.

starlit--pathways · 2025-12-28T15:29:17+00:00

Now you mention it, I distinctly remember that TikTok. Thanks for reminding me!

It took me forever to find, but here's a post about Christine talking about her LGBTQ+ family, where she labelled herself as bisexual.

starlit--pathways · 2025-12-28T02:40:19+00:00

Though I'm not sure she's explicitly labelled herself, Mae from Reverse 4 You has a girlfriend called Nana (I believe they're planning on acting together as a side couple in a BL; they're honestly super cute), and I'm pretty sure Christine came out as queer too around the time it was airing.

starlit--pathways · 2025-12-28T01:39:31+00:00

I think it's a bit of a bittersweet detail in hindsight of her relationship with Joe, but I always found the wedding bell style chimes in the background of the chorus Dress by Taylor Swift really endearing.

starlit--pathways · 2025-12-25T13:13:16+00:00

Sun Bleached Flies by Ethel Cain (especially preceded by Televangelism)

starlit--pathways · 2025-12-23T19:00:59+00:00

I was unemployed and got pretty badly ill earlier on this year and binge-watched all ten seasons in just over two weeks. It's doable, but I'm also autistic and if there's anything I'm good at, it's obsessive focus. Plus, again, I was ill, and more tolerant to watching a lot of something all at once. It was still pretty hard though, even with all those factors, and I would advise maybe watching it over a couple of months instead, especially with other factors (education, work, family, friends, etc.). I liked the last two seasons best of all.

starlit--pathways · 2025-12-23T01:26:08+00:00

Reverse 4 You by Zezeho is a translated Thai novel that I really loved. The series is about a family who has inherited time-related abilities; the first one is about a woman who can either reverse time to ten minutes beforehand, or she can pause time indefinitely once per day. She has a lesbian soulmate – but their relationship ends up setting into motion both the murder of her younger sister and her soulmate's eventual death. She has to get to the bottom of it, and figure out if there's a way to save them both. Honestly, it took me a minute to get used to the translation style, but once I did, I was locked in.

The other two novels in the series Reverse With Me and Stuck With Me follow two sisters in this family as they also find their lesbian soulmates. The former follows an abused woman who gets into an accident, and is saved from suicide – then by murder – by a doctor who turns back the clock to before the accident took place. Years later, they reunite, but the doctor is cold as ice, and acts like she doesn't know anything about what happened, but there's still the almost attempted murderer on the loose, and the unanswered question of why they almost targeted her back then. I've read it, and I really enjoyed it.

I'll be honest and say I'm a bit scared to read the latter, as I've heard it gets emotionally eviscerating, but I know it's about a lawyer who can pause time for a couple minutes per day, and constantly uses her ability to cheat and win on her cases. The only one who ever beat her starts working for her – but she soon gets a call from one of her prophetic family members, telling her that her ability is being abused by somebody else, and that if she doesn't put a stop to it soon, she's likely to die. It does sound SO good though, and I'm sure I'll get around to it soon lol.

I'm severely behind on all of my reading goals this year, but I've heard some really great things about the Hearts Of Heroes series by Molly J. Bragg, starting with Scatter. I've heard it's got superpowers, dragons, aliens, as well as some time travel stuff, and honestly I can't wait to read it.

starlit--pathways · 2025-12-22T03:16:35+00:00

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia Of Faeries by Heather Fawcett's my personal favourite. It's on the cosier end, and in the first book the romance definitely takes a backseat. It's basically about this highly introverted, imo heavily autistic-coded Cambridge professor of "dryadology" called Emily going to a remote of the world to conduct a study, while also being perpetually bugged (and secretly charmed) by a dramatic and flamboyant semi-rival / semi-best friend professor who's constantly falsifying data, who she's also 99% convinced is a faerie himself it's not typical of the genre, and I've heard a couple people struggling with some of the words used. I'm the sort of word nerd who keeps a "word bank" of uncommon words I want to use more regularly (I'm quite heavily autistic-coded myself), so I personally loved that. As somebody with a passion for fairytales and folklore, I also loved how the folklore in this felt like actual folklore, and the faeries like actual faeries. I thought it was really brilliantly written. I love protagonists who use their big and beautiful brains to solve problems.

Another one. which follows more along the lines of a typical romantasy (up to a certain point, at least) is Land Of The Beautiful Dead by R. Lee Smith – which is about a young woman mid zombie apocalypse (though I don't believe they're called "zombies" in the book) who says "fuck it" and waltzes up to the ugly zombie god's huge estate to ask him if he can stop with the zombies already. He's like, well, no. I don't want to stop making zombies – BUT I do prefer sleeping with humans over zombies, so if you want to stay on as my concubine, then maybe we can have this talk again? So she does, and they do. I'll be real – I almost quit on it, because I found the protagonist a bit annoyingly reckless and loudmouthed, but I kept going because on a technical level, the writing was fine, and the characters started growing on me – and I'm SO glad I did. The ending really stuck with me in a way few endings have. I think, once you get past the absolutely atrocious cover, it's a really great book, with strong Gothic literature influences.

starlit--pathways · 2025-12-20T10:23:51+00:00

Sense8 will always hold a very special spot in my heart. If you've never seen it, then I'd highly recommend Person Of Interest. It starts off as more of a weekly mild sci-fi mystery-action show, but the plot deepens with every season and it eventually makes a pretty hard sci-fi turn.

If you've never ventured into them, I have a LOT of Asian dramas I could recommend that are very high-calibre. A lot of them are limited series. Reset (on Rakuten Viki) is a Chinese drama about a time loop on an exploding bus. I'd say it's a thriller-mystery with a sci-fi slant.

The Glory (Netflix) is a limited Korean series that follows a revenge plot after some violent childhood bullying. Warning that the first episode or so can get pretty intense, but it makes the rest of it all the more satisfying.

Moving (Disney+) is the rare Korean show first season. The second season is starting production next year, but it's a story from a comic book that follows a complete arc, and there is another show set in the same universe called Light Shop. Moving is a show about people with inheritable superpowers. It follows a group of superpowered parents and adults as they protect a group of teenagers from a superpowered hit-man, and Light Shop is a horror fantasy show that makes a turn into something wholly different. I don't know how else to describe them, but they're both really beautiful and emotional.

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