#I can’t wait for ep 11

[jsvausvqbd]

Can I just say I love how Love Next door is tackling adult relationships?

It clearly conveys that love itself is not enough to maintain a relationship afloat; commitment, proper communication, and a good support system are essential. Otherwise it won’t work, regardless of how much two people may love each other.

[deus-ex-mona]

my sleep schedule is s c r e a m i n g

[haedgaf]

rewatching inazuma 11 after a year and this time i’ll not stop at season 1

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - We In A Slump, but help might be coming from a very strange source

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Sept 2024 Week 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

Jack & Joker (Thai Mon IQIYI) ep 3 of 12 - I don’t have a lot to say except that the plot is somewhat predictable but the show is still very engaging. War is fantastic. I’m enjoying it a hell of a lot.

Monster Next Door (Thai Thurs Gaga ) ep 10 of 12 - The second leads are getting better in this one. I understand where they are coming from, which makes their conflict so much more understandably painful, and honest to a friends2lovers trope. The main couple is kinda standard college relationship drama, but they are cuties.  

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 4 of 12 - How is Ohm so damn gorgeous? Meanwhile, babies’ first argument. And it’s sponge bath time. Q has got to be wondering if Min is as meticulous with all kinds of care and attention to detail all......the......time. Somebody here in the hellhole said something about this being "the most BL to ever BL." And I think they’re right. At least right now. Although, watch out, we got us a new contender from the east.

I Saw You in My Dream (Weds Gaga) ep 11 of 12 - I do love the continuation of the perversion, in a good way, of the punishment trope from last week's episode. Oh, has the show finally remembered its title? NO SINGING. 

Addicted Heroin (Thai Tues WeTV) ep 7 of 10 - More kidnapping and an attack and now there’s a girl involved and somebody’s going to China and I don’t understand anything! And I don’t really care. Is this how the actual book originally went? Because it’s wild. Also TOO MANY of flashbacks. I guess they got a bit of a boyfriend era, and the claiming during the water fight was cute, but otherwise...... meh

Love Sick 2024 (Thai Sun iQIYI) ep 2 of 15 - One shouldn’t make comparisons, of course, but all I can think about is how amazing Captain was as Noh in the original series. Thus this show is mostly just making me want to rewatch the original. It’d be an interesting twist to have Aim be queer instead of a damaged cool girl slut. Was the helmet hand letting go a foreshadow of the iconic bookstore hands letting go? Also, I gotta say for the second episode of a series there are already too many flashbacks. Why are they using filler when they have so much content crammed into so few (comparable) episodes for a series? It’s annoying. Stop it.

Live in Love (Sun Gaga) ep 4 of 5 - This show has some interesting, if heavy handed, things to say about shipping and trolling, but also predatory/proprietary female behavior. It’s fascinating to see it tackled head on, if handled in a profoundly clumsy manner. I’m not sure how I feel about it. That said, most of this episode was actually an advertisement for a resort in Phuket. 

Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) ep 2 of 10 - I'm getting What's Wrong with Secretary Kim? vibes from this show. Only this is WAY more bullying. It’s very old-fashioned 90’s billionaire romance novel only gay. It’s never a good sign when I’m watching two boys kiss and I really want one of them to just bite the other ones lip off instead.

Battle of the Writers (Sun YT) ep 9 of 12 - No ep this week. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Sugar Dog Life (Japan Sun grey) ep 8 of 10 - Gosh it’s so frikin adorable. Baby got sick. He has SUCH A CRUSH. And such a courageous little confession! Yay! Can’t wait for next week. 

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YouTube) ep 1 - sure, yes this is, in fact, just Ba Vinh doing his thing with pretty boys again. And yet...... There is a REASON this leapt into the standings guns blazing. So it’s high school set but it's stepbrothers trope. (My, aren’t we popular this year?) I know, but I NEVER get tired of this trope. We got us Bach (BV's sullen tsundere) and Dat (babygirl meets bully). It’s GREAT how the brothers' dynamic is entirely different at school than when they're at home. My ear isn’t trained for Vietnamese, but I think Dat is using different pronouns depending on his location (his personality entirely shifts when he’s at school). I’m not sold on the Bach character, although I always trust BV to serve in the end (at least we know the kisses will be good), but Dat is utterly in love, a touch spicy, and reasonably complex. The surrounding cast is good too, my favorite pretty boy is there playing top dog (woof), and one of the besties is out gay (YAY!). The plot of the show is...... well...... absent. Nothing happened. But if we are aiming for Love Sick slice of life style BL, I'm game. Subs are appropriately terrible and confusing. But I like it A FUCK TON so far, so I’m gonna keep it in rotation. Nice to have Vietnam back in play. What a shocker.

2024 has been a year of upsets.

Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 3 of 10 eps - I weirdly enjoyed the farcical music and the utter absurdity of the court case. I also liked how it highlighted what a good team these two are. Frankly I don’t mind a bit of an antihero sleazy lawyer + conman, it's engaging. I’m getting wholesome out of Thailand. I don’t really need it from Japan at the moment. Also I don’t believe for one second our conman actually is serious about the relationship. Conmen gonna con. I'm reminded of the scorpion and the frog fable.

First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) ep 8 of 12 - I love Orca so much. I do not love the autotuned version of Orca, but I knew what I was in for with this particular show, it's in the title after all. I did laugh a whole lot when Laing used kha. Hon, I don't think that word means what you think it means......

The On1y One (Taiwan Thurs Gaga) eps 11-12fin - I never thought I’d say this, but the pacing was off in the penultimate episode. Taiwan, and its chronic misuse of flashbacks strikes again. That said we eventually got a "lock in" trope and Wang being the biggest little flirt shit in the cafe OMG!!! Of course, you shouldn’t use a girl to torment your bf, but it was so well done, I can’t really complain. Meanwhile, teacher kisses. And now I understand exactly why they’re present in this narrative. Clever. Bummer of a burden on that ending though. I cannot see how they’ll manage to stick this landing. [That was ep 11]

AND NOW EP 12 - doomey doomey doom

Not the water bottle trope! Argh the teenage lust of it all. Just stop it. Wang is so smart he knows exactly how bad he has to be to leave the class. And his bf certainly knows that too. And......

......

So that was not an ending and I’m not happy about it and no one is surprised. Even I’m not surprised. I’m just disappointed. Even tho I suspected this was where we were headed I'm disappointed. That’s it. That’s all I got. How do I review something that was such a crushing let down?

Conclusion:

Based on a Mou Mou novel + the Your Name Engraved Herein team, this is old-school coming of age BL and it was bloody fantastic. Tsundere seme to beat all tsundere (smartest + tallest + bestest at everything but people) meets socially-ept cutie smart-ass uke. They're living together by end of ep 1 and start kissing by end of ep 2. A stellar tense slow burn stepbrothers trope that ate my life and than just belly-flopped the finale. What I'm left with is epic levels of disappointment and well...... at least nobody died? My standard "fatally flawed" rating for any BL is 4/10 so I guess that’s what I’m giving it. 

Before you ask me for the stats: Taiwan does not have a history of second seasons. I went ahead and ran the numbers and the odds are certainly not in our favor. I put the chances at 2%.

Yes, I contemplated a revenge rating of 2/10 but even I'm not that mean.

It's airing but...

The Hidden Moon (Sat WeTV) ep 1 of 10 - This is a supernatural romance (my ghost boyfriend trope) by Violet Rain (I Feel You Linger). A man is hired to write an article about an old mansion in Chiang Mai being converted into a café. He sees the ghosts of people who died at the mansion, falls in love with one of them. Was substantially recast. I loved IFYLITA except the ending so I think I'll let this one run it's course you can tell me if it's work tracking down... if they managed to land it. I have my doubts.

In Case You Missed It

Falling For My Boss is vertical format (nash) short from Korean BL about a happy-go-unlucky man who keeps losing his flower shop business because of romantically misbehaving employees (apparently it's a thing). When his best employee brings in a new boy he's worried she's falling for him, but it turns out it's his own heart on the line. He a clueless softy and The Boy is a lost broken sweetheart, making this a gentle little snippet of a show. There's a baby linguistic negotiation, some hung slinging, awkward handholds, and everyone is very pretty. For me the absence of kisses and the vertical format were more annoying than the length, which felt fine but many viewers will find too short. I enjoyed the 30 minutes of cute. All of which makes this a solid 7/10 from me. It was originally only available on this one ap in very short form with ads so I wasn't gonna bother. Then some kind soul cut it together without ads and stuck it up for download. Say thank you.

Oddball recommendation next: This podcast episode touches on some stuff we see in Thai BL so I think it's worth listening to. Journalist Dominic Faulder on the Complex History Between Thailand & Myanmar

Happy of the End (Japan Gaga) - Completed its run. A boy is disowned for being gay, dumped by his boyfriend, and ends up in a dysfunctional co-dependant relationship with his would-be kidnapper. We were due for another messy JBL and it's exactly as expected. I do not like it at all and DNFed. Gossip round the hellhole is that was a solid decision.

Marriage Equality Law has officially been enacted in Thailand...

Yes the actual law. Goes into effect Jan 22, 2025

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

Coming Oct 2024:

10/3 Fourever You (Thai iQIYI?) 16 eps - New directs Earth (UWMA, 12%) + Pond (Century of Love, 180 Degrees), Bas (Gen Y, 2 Moons) + Maxky (Why You… Y Me?) and other familiar faces like Bever. Sampler pack university BL from Wabi Sabi that looks like it's trying to be a gay Boys Over Flowers (4 older med students hot boys) and I'm not mad about it. Trailer Not sure who's distributing this but my guess is iQIYI since they had the last few from this house.

10/7 Every You Every Me (Thai Gaga) 10 eps - Jade and Chin have lived over a thousand lifetimes. In each one they somehow manage to fall in love with each other. (This pair, TopMick was piloted in a My Universe ep, that was one of the only ones I liked.)

10/10 Eccentric Romance (Korea ????) 12 eps - Silkwood’s 2nd Thai/Korean colab, that has been in production since 2022 which is a LONG time in the BL world. I'm worried but I like the concept: friends of 10 years who’ve been hiding feelings for each other enter the same university. Plus MURDER.

10/10 Gangster and His Boyfriend (Korea ????) 8 eps? - Kim Dong Bin (famous trainee & idol reality competitor, yeah that happens) stars as a fallen idol who unexpectedly becomes entangled in a gangster family. Discovers that his friend’s father is responsible for the murder of his entire family years ago. I don't know much about this one, neither does anyone else and I'm not sure where I got that release date so……

10/21 Love in the Big City (Korea ????) 8 eps - Adaptation of Booker-nominated famous coming of age novel of the same title by Park Sang-Young. Cynical yet fun loving student writer Young pinballs from home, to class, to Tinder matches. He and Jaehee, his female besie and roommate, frequent nearby bars where they push away their worries about life, love, and money with soju. As time passes Jaehee settles down and leaves Young to face his problems on his own. Young finding comfort in the arms of the series of men, including one whose handsomeness is matched by his coldness and another who might be the great love of his life. Not really BL. Stars Kim Go-eun (The King: Eternal Monarch), Noh Sang-hyun, and Nam Yoon Su (The King’s Affection). This already released as a movie and isn't very well regarded, this date is supposedly an international release as a series. I'm wary of it being BL.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

I got nothing, The On1y One drove me into a funk.

(Last week)

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in its infinite wisdom doesn't like too many at-ings.

[redpillsfortheblues]

I don’t mind the major plot change or the new themes, messages and motivations in the writing of the show. I read the pjo series when I was around 10 or 11 and I raced through the rest into HoO after that. Since then, I hadn’t read them like at all. After ten or more years. Now in my mind, it all felt like a cohesive work, even with the change in perspective for the second series and riordans growth in writing, pjo still felt like a really strong piece of work.

Before the tv series started, I revisited the pjo books and was surprised that I found the writing not that good. I mean, it’s meant for children, so it could only be so complex and it has to be goofy to be entertaining for children. But I had also revisited Harry Potter recently and I didn’t feel the same way about the writing as I did in pjo. Harry Potter and the sorcerer’s stone is meant for children but the writing is wayyyyy different. It’s hard to explain but when you listen pjo you feel like the story is so goofy that it’s very hard to be immersed in the world unlike in Harry Potter.

In this new adaptation, the approach is more serious, the characters motivations and personalities are more polished, and the plot runs smoother with the major changes that riordan makes.

I’m very pleased with the way it’s turned out. This tv series is like a polished version of pjo. I can’t wait for the last ep and hopefully future seasons with even more alterations to the writing to make it an incredible, perfected piece of work that can stand on its own— apart from the books.

[clairedaring]

watching ep 1 of my stand in, my impression was that the series emphasized quite a lot on joe's bottom virginity...

gif of the wonderful @supanuts

... yet they forgot to include my two most favorite little tidbits regarding this is (1) joe explaining why he's always been top his entire life and (2) joe forewarning ming before they fuck that if his sex skills is mid, he better tell him first. so here are the two excerpts from chapter 10 and chapter 11 respectively.

1. joe explaining why he's been top all his life (this happens during their meal at the restaurant together)

Yan Ming Xiu looked at him. Zhou Xiang’s attraction and desire for him is so obvious that it can’t even be concealed. Actually, there is no reason to conceal it. Between men, it’s better to be direct. Each takes what one needs. Zhou Xiang leaned close to him and softly asked, “So, have you really forgotten me?” Yan Ming Xiu gripped his chin and gently touched his lips, “Maybe I’ve only just remembered you.” Zhou Xiang burst out in laughter, “It’s quite timely.” He bit YanMingXiu’s lips, gently tugging it, “But I’ve been thinking of you every day.” Yan Ming Xiu asked softly, “Think of me? Thinking of me topping you?” “Actually, of me topping you but if you’re not willing, I can only suffer this time.” “You’ve really never been a 0?” Zhou Xiang jokingly responded, “Nope. I wanted to be (a zero) when I was young, but people wouldn’t even look at me because they thought I looked too mature. When I got older, it was even more unlikely. There are more 0’s than 1’s in the circle…so many fresh meats waiting for me; you think I’d go looking for people to top me?” Yan Ming Xiu gently reached his hand into Zhou Xiang’s clothes and pinched his slender waist, then says coarsely, “So then, if you’re going to do it with me, it’ll be your first time (being a zero)?” Zhou Xiang laughed, “Exactly. Don’t you have to be responsible?” “Haven’t topped you yet, what’s there to be responsible for?”

2. joe forewarning ming before having sex

Zhou Xiang smiled at him, “Let’s agree on something first. I still have to work the day after tomorrow. If your skills are not up to par, you better say so ahead of time, don’t dupe me.” He’s heard of people having to go to the hospital from their first time (being a 0). He just wants to have sex. That’s all. He didn’t want to be embarrassed. Although his words sound quite conservative, Zhou Xiang’s eyes have already nakedly swept at Yan Ming Xiu’s abs. His muscles are too beautiful and his skin so exquisite that it’s reflective. Yan Ming Xiu looks very thin when he’s wearing clothes but that’s probably because he’s so tall. Zhou Xiang didn’t expect that once Yan Ming Xiu remove his clothes, his body would be so firm, paired with his long legs and his face, click-click (clicking his tongue sound), his mood right now is just like a straight male having sex with an exceptional beauty.

so yea these are my two favorite bits that didn't really make the cut even though they were definitely hinting at it already. the other is probably joe was invited to a threesome (to which he declined) before getting the call from ming for that meal.

but in general, i think the series is really fast paced as opposed to the novel and i can see them being able to go through most major plot points of the novel. incredibly excited for ep 2 as everyone could probably tell from my spamming of my stand-in gifs these past two days.

[fae-renjun]

OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE CAMERA — h.sh

ep. 11 — take a chance with me [𖦹 wc: 830+]

previous | masterlist | next — (listen to take a chance with me by niki for the ideal experience)

“that’s it for today guys! all of you did a great job, i can’t wait for us to start shooting tomorrow!!” the rest of the cast said their goodbyes and shuffled out of the room. wonbin shot seunghan a knowing look just as taesan wiggled his eyebrows at you before both musicians left for uni band practice for the upcoming end of year concert, followed by yizhuo who said something about having to style the band. sungchan, shotaro and eunseok said their goodbyes and filed out as well, patting seunghan on the back as they did. sohee and anton walked up to seunghan, holding back laughs as they gave him a hushed pep talk. 

you were too distracted by your conversation with karina and leehan about scenes that might need to be changed to notice seunghan’s nervous glances towards you as his two younger friends left the room. as you finished your discussion with your friends and closed your binder with notes on the film, leehan looked over your head and at seunghan, giggling before leaving the room and dragging karina with him before she could say more than “have fun!”

you spun on your heel to face seunghan, “so.”

“so?”

“where are we going?”

“oh! yeah sorry. um. we’re going to kwangya cafe first, and then, would you want to see a movie?” he said, rubbing the back of his neck in nervousness as he finished his question. you looked at him, holding back a smile, “seunghan i am literally directing a movie right now. do you think i don’t like watching them?”

“oh, yeah,” he laughed in embarrassment. “the local theatre is playing pride and prejudice for its anniversary i think. i remembered you talking about it and i’ve never seen it so i got us tickets.”

your whole face lit up and seunghan was relieved. 

you started talking about how much you loved the movie and how excited you were for him to see it as you packed up. he kept listening, asking questions and nodding his head. when you got to the cafe you cut off a short rant about cinematic techniques in romance so you could order, after which you said, “oh my god i’ve just been yapping about movies again. i’m so sorry.”

seunghan laughed and brushed it off, “don’t worry. it’s cute. i like listening to you.”

“oh. well. i wanna know more about you too though.”

so, the two of you delved into a conversation about his dance background, his love for pokémon, and any mutual interests the two of you shared. before you knew it the food and drinks were over and it was time for the film.

in the darkness of the small movie theatre, your elbows bumped against one another on your shared armrest every time one of you reached for the popcorn bucket in between. you kept subtly glancing over, trying to gauge the boy’s reaction to all your favourite scenes, observing as much of his expression as possible with the light from the large screen in front of you. every time you reacted to a scene—giggling when lizzie rejected mr. collins or sighing as you watched darcy’s hand flex for the 127th time in your life—seunghan would look over and wonder why he’d never tried harder to talk to you before now. 

seunghan was anything but dry and boring. he launched into a mini-monologue about the movie as soon as the two of you exited the movie theatre, and you were grateful for it. You’d always felt like you were too much for people, you’d been told you talked too much and too fast about the things you loved and were too passionate about movies and making them to pay attention to real life. but you never felt like you were too much around seunghan. more and more each day you were hoping his presence in your life would become permanent, and that it wouldn’t end as soon as the short film was done. 

the sky darkened as the sun set while he walked you back to your apartment. when the conversation you had been having came to a lull, you said to him, “you don’t have to do this you know? walking me back to my apartment and all.”

“oh it’s no problem, it’s on the way to my apartment anyway.”

“oh.”

“and i just wanted to,” he finished. you hummed in response, not knowing how to reply. soon, you arrived and said your goodbyes to each other. but as you turned around to open your door and he turned to leave, you spun back towards him, “seunghan?”

“yeah?”

“was this a date?” “only if you want it to be. see you tomorrow, future oscar winner,” he said with a grin, not giving you a chance to process his words and reply before leaving. The final part of his sentence only registered in your head as you walked into your apartment, the thought of it gracing your lips with a smile. 

a/n: not that anyone cares but this takes place the same day as the tpwbib prologue :))

taglist (strikethrough = can’t tag): @billiondollarworth @nujeskz @secretiny @soobs-things @talk022 @renjuneoo @flaminghotyourmom @academiq @luffysgfforevaa1 @yujinxue @starwonb1n @icewons @calumsfringe @seunghancore @snowyseungs @yoursyuno @taroddori @miyawwn @https-yeonjun @shoberi @milktea-academia @sseastar-main @p-d1ddy @woonagi-lemon @lilriswife4life @kyusqult @chuutaroo @parkwonbinie @soheendo

© 2024 FAE-RENJUN. All Rights Reserved. Do not copy or steal any of my posts.

[imgeekgirlfan]

The Curse of Cassandra [EP : IX]

Read in Ao3 : here

Pairings :  Qimir x f!reader(SEA Reader)  [The Acolyte]

Content waring : 18+ smut/nsfw, dubcon, drugged, fingering, p in v, unprotected sex, creampie

tags/themes : Alternate Universe - Dune & Star wars, Partners in Crime, Strangers to Lovers

Summary : 'The Jessica Crime'  named after Paul Atreides' mother, instructs the Bene Gesserit to 'never fall in love and always prioritize humanity over personal feelings.' Your love for Qimir is no different from Lady Jessica's love for Duke Leto—a love that will lead to great losses. You come to realize this truth as you uncover his hidden secrets and true identity.

Status: just finished writing this fic! (It will end in Episode 14)

A/N : Great news! I just wrapped up this fic, and it’ll be finished in Episode 14. I’ll need a bit of time to proofread it, but I’ll do my best to post updates frequently so you won't have to wait too long!

Also, I want you to listen to this song while reading this episode. It fits perfectly with the moment: Ciara - Paint It, Black.

Ps.If you enjoy my work, please reblog it. Just liking the post won’t help others discover it.

➡  Intro // EP : 1 // EP : 2 // EP : 3 // EP : 4 // EP : 5 // EP : 6 // EP : 7 // EP : 8 // EP : 10 // EP : 11 // EP : 12 // EP : 13 // EP : 14 (Completed)

[Episodes 9] The Jessica Crime

"You’ve been acting strangely since you woke up. What happened to you?" 

Qimir's voice echoes faintly from outside your consciousness. You can’t even tell from which point in time it’s coming—past, present, or maybe it’s all just a future that hasn't happened yet.

Loss of temporal footing.  Another voice fills your head, but this time it is the voice within your mind. The brief explanation brings you instant clarity. This is one of the symptoms experienced by those gifted with the ability to perceive across the dimensions of time. The flood of vast information overwhelms your mind, making it impossible to process in an orderly manner, intertwining the past, present, and future into a chaotic blend that is nearly impossible to separate.

You must find your anchor point, a point that makes you aware you are standing in the present.

The familiar voice urges you, guiding you on your next steps.

You recall the taste of spice in your tea cup—that peculiar blend of sweetness and fiery heat lingering on your tongue. You commit these sensations to memory, anchoring yourself in the present moment, while everything else beyond this remains as visions of what has been or what is yet to come.

"I think you’re taking too much spice." 

This is the present, you remind yourself, as Qimir pulls the tea cup from your grasp. At the mention of spice, your thoughts momentarily drift to Arrakis, the planet you once saw in your dreams. Arrakis used to be the primary source of spice, which was once the most valuable substance in the universe. But now, it’s merely a rare, costly drug, dismissed as useless by most.[1]

Few know that spice isn’t just a hallucinogen; it also enhances the ability to see into the future. That is why you need to consume it, despite the many side effects it has on your body.

You need to stay alert tonight to anticipate and prepare for what is coming next.

There’s a sedative in the food. 

You quietly review your plan in your mind. You have learned extensively about medicines from Qimir—how to identify herbs and concoct various potions with precision. Crafting a sedative isn't difficult; the challenge lies in administering it seamlessly so that even someone as sharp as Qimir won’t suspect a thing.

I used a method from the Suk School[2], you think, letting your mind drift back to the memories of your ancestors, back to a time before Paul Atreides became the Lisan al-Gaib.

You travel back to a pivotal moment in the galaxy's brutal history when House Harkonnen ruthlessly annihilated House Atreides. They initiated their plan by sedating everyone present before storming in to slaughter soldiers and servants, saving the key figures for last.

Your consciousness remains anchored in that moment, hearing the deep, mocking voice of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen as he taunts Lady Jessica, the Bene Gesserit and mother of Paul Atreides: “The sedative's effects were precisely calculated. We even know the exact second you will awaken.”

The method was simple: by knowing only height and weight, the Suk doctors could concoct the sedative in the precise dosage needed to control both the onset of drowsiness and the moment of awakening. Using this technique makes everything appear seamless and natural, as if the drowsiness were merely a result of natural fatigue rather than the effect of a drug. Qimir wouldn’t suspect he had been drugged—not until he woke up the next morning.

And by then, you’re certain you’ll be long gone from him.

He might harbor a slight suspicion now. you think, watching Qimir across the dinner table as he takes a bite of the Bocha[3] you prepared. But because he loves me, he chooses to trust me rather than doubt. And that will be his mistake.

“You’re awfully quiet,” Qimir remarks. You notice he’s finished eating and is now pouring you a glass of plain water—no spice. “What’s on your mind?”

You sense the growing suspicion in his eyes, sparked by your own lethargic and distant demeanor—a side effect of the spice and the temporal disorientation swirling in your mind. You know that Qimir's questioning isn't a good sign. If his doubts continue to deepen, the whole plan could easily unravel.

Clenching your fists, you deliberately press your nails into the soft skin of your palms, using the pain to anchor your mind in the present before responding in a calm voice: “I was just thinking of Arrakis. I dreamed of it a few nights ago.”

Arrakis. Qimir's brows furrow as he recalls how he’s heard you mutter the name of the ancient planet many times in your sleep.

He knows only that Arrakis was once the home planet of the Fremen, but beyond that, he knows little else. After the Holy Jihad ended, the stories of the Fremen became forbidden tales, lost to the sands of time. No records remain to testify to their existence. If Qimir hadn’t met you, he would have never believed that any Fremen still existed in this galaxy.

“Tell me,” he says softly. “About what you saw—about your home planet.”

You freeze for a moment, your mind pulled back into the past once more. Someone asked me this same question long ago.

How long? A thousand years, perhaps.

Deep in your consciousness, you find yourself sitting at the mouth of a sealed stone cave on Arrakis. Your gaze drifts over the distant rock formations and stretches of sand, a sense of peace settling over you. Cradled in your arms is a young Fremen woman of your age. As the night remains still, your lips meet in a silent kiss. She looks at you with eyes full of love, gently placing her hand on your cheek and whispering softly, “Usul, my beloved, tell me about your home planet.”

You blink, and the image shifts back to the present. The Fremen woman is replaced by Qimir. They share nothing in common except for those same eyes filled with love looking back at you.

Your heart wavers with confusion, a momentary urge to abandon your plan and confess the truth surging within you. But you can’t—there's no turning back now, only the choice to move forward.

“Arrakis was a desolate and arid planet, harsher than any other in the universe,” you say, setting your glass down on the table. “Water was so precious that we had to wear stillsuits at all times. These suits were designed to reclaim the body’s sweat and moisture, turning it into drinkable water.”

Qimir stares at you in amazement, a hint of apprehension creeping into his expression. “Are you saying that the Fremen used to drink their own sweat and... pee?”

You nod, almost smiling at his reaction. “We reclaimed even the water from corpses.”

“How did it taste?”

"Much worse than regular water," you reply, even though you've never actually tasted water from a stillsuit yourself. The memories of others make you feel as if you had. That warm, bland liquid was disgusting and bitter. "It was stale and unpleasant, but it was drinkable. We didn’t have much choice."

“That kind of life must’ve been incredibly hard.”

“Harder than anyone could imagine.” You hear a haunting wail deep within your mind as memories of brutal, unforgiving times resurface: stories of the Fremen fighting against ruthless rulers who came to exploit and plunder this planet, just to survive each day.

You take a deep breath before continuing, “But those hardships made us strong. We did whatever was necessary to survive.”

Qimir senses the bitterness in your words—the coldness laced with an undercurrent of isolation and pain hidden beneath those brief sentences.

He studies you for a moment, taking in your face and the deep blue eyes unique to the Fremen. The longer he looks, the more he senses a change within you. It’s as if you are no longer the person he once knew but someone from a distant, ancient world—a world he could never truly reach or understand, no matter how hard he tried.

Qimir moves closer, his hand reaching for yours. That's when he notices the small crescent-shaped marks from your nails on your palm. He stares at them for a moment before lifting your hand to his lips and pressing a soft kiss on the wound. “You’re not alone anymore, Hara.”

You know that whenever Qimir calls you by your Fremen name, it’s his way of expressing love and comfort. It always makes your heart soften, even though you know, deep down, that these feelings should never have existed in the first place.

The Bene Gesserit learned a harsh lesson from this long ago. They called it ‘The Jessica Crime,’[4] named after the mother of Paul Atreides. 

It is said that her love for Duke Leto led her to follow her heart rather than obey the Sisterhood's orders, giving birth to a son when she was supposed to bear a daughter. This act altered the fate of the universe by bringing forth the Kwisatz Haderach prematurely, sparking a galactic war that ultimately led to unimaginable losses.

Since then, the Bene Gesserit established an inviolable rule—a warning passed down to every sister of every generation: never fall in love and always place the greater good of humanity above personal feelings.

You alone truly understand Jessica's thoughts, even though you exist in different times. 

For to forbid someone from loving is like forbidding them from dying. As long as humanity has a heart, that rule will always remain impossible to follow.

Under the intoxicating influence of the spice that still clouds your senses, the world around you feels like a mirage. Even as Qimir's lips trail up to your mouth and neck, lingering in a slow, tender kiss, and his large hands caress your body, sending shivers of electricity through your skin, 

This is real. All of this is real. You remind yourself as you surrender your body and being to his embrace.

You are fully aware that you're making the same mistake Jessica did. You grasp this truth with perfect clarity, knowing the consequences that will follow. Yet you allow it to happen because denying it would only arouse suspicion. Besides, deep down, you don’t want to deny your own feelings. This might be the last moment you and he share together before your fragile bond shatters beyond repair.

Your fading consciousness returns briefly as Qimir guides you to the bed. His hands deftly undo the knots of your clothes, just as he does with his own, leaving both your bodies and souls exposed.

Qimir pulls you onto his lap, your bare skin pressing against his, every soft curve and firm muscle meeting in intimate contact. You feel his growing arousal beneath your thighs.

For the first time, he lets you touch the cross-shaped scar on his back. You trace it gently, unable to stop yourself from asking, “Did it hurt much when you got this scar?”

“More than words can express,” he replies with a faint smile, though his eyes shine with anger at the memory. “I’ve never forgotten what happened that day.”

You don’t press him further; you know when to ask and when to remain silent. Besides, curiosity is unnecessary for you, as you've already glimpsed some of what he's faced and the terrible things he's done. Qimir may be gentle with you, but he's not a good man. His hands are stained with the blood of countless lives, and yet you still allow those hands to roughly explore every part of your body, fully aware of who he is and what he's done.

Your breath hitches as Qimir's fingers pinch and knead your nipple, sending a jolt of heat that spreads across your face. His other hand slowly glides down your stomach, lower and lower, until it reaches your most sensitive area. His fingertips explore your folds, circling your clit before sliding inside. He moves with a steady rhythm—neither too slow nor too fast—just enough to awaken your arousal. It wasn’t long before your desire soared, and the slickness between your legs made you ready for what comes next.

You lean over Qimir, carefully lowering yourself onto him, taking your time. A wave of desire washes over you as the tip of his cock gradually enters you. You exhale shakily, resting your forehead upon his shoulder, savoring the feeling as every vein of his length drags against your gummy walls. filling and stretching you in all the right ways. The sensation is overwhelming, a mix of intimacy and longing as your bodies merge completely.

Qimir's arms wrapped around your waist, holding you firmly as you begin to move your hips, riding his cock with a slow rhythm. He presses wet kisses along your jaw, trailing down to your neck, where he bites and sucks, leaving marks as if to claim you. Meanwhile, your nails dig into his back, uncaring that it might hurt him—you're certain he enjoys it.

A moan escapes your lips as Qimir thrusts up into you, his hips smacking sloppily against wet lips between your legs. bullying his cock deeper inside you. He begins to rut into you with increasing force, making your entire body tremble with pleasure, the intensity building as he swiftly took control. guiding your hips to move in sync with his, alternating between slow and quick thrusts. 

The rhythm of desire is as tangled and complex as the threads of time. He knows exactly what you need, and you know what he desires, as if you've known each other for an eternity.

As your bodies move in perfect synchrony, chasing the orgasm that coils tight in your stomach, your thoughts and emotions begin to merge into one. While making love with Qimir, you catch glimpses of fragmented memories hidden within him, each flashing before your eyes like a rapidly playing video. You see the deaths of Jedi, the twisted desires, and the ominous shadow of a man wearing a cracked metal helmet, its surface etched with a twisted smile—the Sith who tried to kill you in your dreams.

They’re all the same person—each one is him.

“Qimir!”

You cry out, your voice breaking as your eyes widen in shock. Your entire body quakes with an indescribable sensation, torn between the bliss of your orgasm and the terror buried deep within your mind. You hear Qimir's low growl in your ear as he drives into you harder, relentless thrusts, until his movements begin to slow. His cock throbs inside you as he finally releases, painting your insides white with his cum, filling you to the brim and overflowing.

Qimir leans back on the bed, his breathing noticeably slowing, his eyelids heavy with exhaustion. He looks more drained than usual but still has the strength to pull you into his arms. You barely dare to breathe, lying stiffly under his hold, watching him as he drifts off to sleep in mere moments.

You remain still for a while, waiting until you’re sure Qimir is in a deep sleep before carefully untangling yourself from his hold. Slipping out of bed, you dress quietly, your mind already knowing what you must do next. But when you glance back at Qimir one last time, hesitation grips you.

You bite your lip, knowing that the wisest thing to do right now is to gather your belongings, escape this place, and contact Sol immediately. Yet your mind refuses to settle until you confirm the truth with your own eyes, even though you already know deep down that the vision couldn’t possibly be wrong.

Moving with quiet precision, you find yourself in front of Qimir’s office—a place you were never allowed to enter. The door, locked with a digital passcode, is something you don’t know; however, the images from your vision guide your fingers as you type the code accurately. The door slides open.

Inside, the room is large and spacious, a blend of an office and a workshop. One corner holds a cluttered desk, while another is filled with tools and equipment, and shelves and crates are haphazardly cluttered around. 

But what draws your attention most is a metal chest on the lowest shelf. Something within seems to beckon to you, like a faint whisper, urging you toward the secret waiting to be uncovered.

Kneeling on the floor, your hand trembles as you reach out to touch the chest. The cold metal startles you slightly, and a sudden fear wells up within you, making you hesitate to open it. I must not fear. Fear is the mindkiller. You recite the Bene Gesserit litany in your mind to calm your nerves before finally deciding to open the chest with a swift motion.

What you find inside makes you cover your mouth in shock. The truth Qimir had been hiding all along now unfolds before you. 

Inside the chest lies a helmet made of cortosis, its dark, tarnished metal streaked with dull gold. The helmet is cracked in several places, though it has been mended. Its most distinct feature remains intact—the grotesque smile carved into the lower half of the helmet—the same smile you’ve seen countless times in your dreams

You think back to the events on the Trade Federation ship, where Qimir had appeared instead of the Sith. His face superimposes over the helmet in the chest, and in that instant, everything becomes crystal clear.

The man you've lived with all these years, the only one you've let into your life, is the very source of the darkness that haunts your dreams. Beneath the facade of a freelance trader and gentle lover lurks a terrifying truth—He is the Sith Lord, the threat to the galaxy, the ruthless Jedi killer, and possibly the one who may take your life.

Footnotes:

[1] This fic tweaks canon a bit—In canon, stopping spice use means losing prescient vision forever, but in this fic, you can quit without issue.

[2] Suk Doctors, trained at the Suk School, are elite physicians in the Dune universe, usually serving only wealthy families.

[3] Bocha is a crispy, delicious dish from The High Republic era, often served hot.

[4] According to the Dune novels, Lady Jessica’s defiance of the Bene Gesserit by having Paul Atreides is called 'The Jessica Crime,' a lesson for future generations to always control their emotions for humanity's sake."

[1moreff-creator]

Trying to figure out the DRDT chapter 2 murder method, with evidence! (Theory)

CW: Murder, mentions of suicide, hanging, general brutality.

So, I’ve noticed a lot of people have given their predictions for the second case murderer, the motives and all that. This is obviously what most people care about, and I love reading predictions for it!

However, I am not most people. I also am really curious about the exact murder method.

You see, DRDT has consumed my brain mercilessly, and thus I have decided I can’t wait for the hiatus to end, and want to see if I can figure out the murder mystery with the clues we have. As a warning, this doesn’t actually help much with the culprit, but I will give my thoughts on that at the end.

I think a decent job! It’s not perfect, and I’m fully expecting to get a lot if not most of this wrong. I will be happy regardless of whether I’m right or wrong, so what matters is that I had fun thinking about it! Right? :D

This took me hours.

Spoilers up until Chapter 2 ep 11, and… further? Maybe? It’s just a prediction, but with evidence, so, you decide if you wanna read it.

Where we left off

The cliffhanger currently consuming me, as you may recall, happened just after David started his Tumblr sexyman arc, with Charles cutting in with just a fantastic line (“You’re out of your element!”). He says that, while trying to prove David’s innocence, he realized something bigger, before proclaiming he and Teruko fucked up.

As many have pointed out, Charles cuts in when David mentions the time of death, meaning he’s likely realized something about that.

What Charles has probably noticed is that the note Arei received never mentioned if she was supposed to go to the playground at 7:30 PM, as the characters had assumed because of the fish and the nighttime rule for the Relaxation Room, or AM. The fish could have easily been kept in the water jugs found outside in a trash can, so it’s pretty feasible that the murder actually happened at 7:30 AM. Unfortunately, Nico, the only one keeping track of the fish, likely fed them before David went there, and thus before 7:30 PM, so we can’t tell for sure when they were taken.

(This is because Nico mentions they fed the fish after dinner, and they likely ate before David. Whit mentions having a ‘late dinner’ when he and the gang meet with Suspenders Man in the kitchen and send him to the fish, David even mentioning he wasn’t expecting anyone else to be there. Assuming Nico ate dinner with most of the class, they would have eaten before David went to the Relaxation Room, which we know was around 7:30 PM)

However, if Charles is only bringing the possibility up now, it’s likely the right answer. Also, as you’re gonna see, the murder method I believe was used requires quite a bit of setup that would have been easier to do at nighttime, without potential witnesses showing up out of nowhere.

Now, this is where I’ve seen most people stop. Content with knowing what the cliffhanger itself is about, they don’t think further into the murder method. But I will, because my life is extremely empty.

Let’s get to the evidence!

“Truth Bullets” (let’s pretend)

-First, the layout of the scene.

(Ultimate Artist coming through-)

The exact position of things doesn’t matter, but it helps to visualize. The seesaw, to the dismay of Korekiyo stans, is unimportant and can be disregarded. Here are the takeaways:

•The ground near the entrance is scuffed. This heavily implies something went down in the playground, and we probably aren’t dealing with a crime scene switch.

•The fish, you should be acquainted with.

•The spinny thing will be important.

•Not pictured is a sand pit without sand. This isn’t important, but I do find it funny.

•Then, the swing set. I’d like to point out that the rope attached on one end to Arei has nothing on the other end, and rather remains there via a knot at the top of the swing set. This is important because of:

-Broken Neck: Arei’s neck is broken, alongside:

-Veronika’s Account: Although a hanging can cause someone’s neck to break, it wouldn’t happen to Arei if she were to be hung from that height. She would either need to weigh more, or fall from higher. Because the rope Arei’s corpse hangs from is tied with a knot, it can’t extend further than what we see, meaning she was likely hung from somewhere else (if that’s even her cause of death).

-Bound Wrists: Arei’s wrists were bound with duct tape at some point.

-Duct Tape on Spinny Thing: There is duct tape covering every handlebar the spinny thing has.

-Longer Rope: There was a longer piece of rope bundled up below the spinny thing. Teruko claims it’s a couple yards long. I don’t use that unit of measurement, but it sounds like it’s large.

-Flickering Lights: According to MonoTV, one of the lights in the playground was flickering. The way he acts when inquired implies this had something to do with the murder.

Going away from the playground now, we have the trash can.

-The note: You know this one.

-Eating utensils, food, painting tools. Unimportant.

-Water Jugs: Likely where the fish were kept overnight. Notably, the handles are snapped in the middle.

-Needle and thread?: I’ve seen some people mention there’s a needle with a bit of black thread that none of the characters address when dealing with the trash. Personally, I think this isn’t going to be important, but I do have a place for it if it ends up coming up. That is:

-Ball of clothes: Charles takes this from the dress-up room. It’s apparently held together with starch (not an adhesive, just sticky, but sure), though I wouldn’t be surprised if it was actually created with the needle and thread. Again, I don’t think it’s important, but you can choose to believe it was used here if you want. It’ll make sense later.

-The gym. I’ll be honest, this is the one thing I don’t know how to fit in. During the investigation, Teruko makes memory to how the gym looked before and after the Nico incident. I’m not great at Spot the Difference, but for the life of me the only thing I could see change was the missing fan and the missing ‘grippy thing’ on the pull-up bar. I don’t know how that would fit with the mystery, so I’ll be glad if anyone can figure something out.

-The motives: Not important for the method, obviously important for other reasons.

So, with the evidence laid out, what can we figure out?

Theory Time

When I said I spent hours thinking about this, I mostly meant running through several theories at once, trying to see which one made the most sense. I went to some weird places: from a crime of passion disguised as a suicide, to drowning her in the Relaxation Room, to somehow getting from the Movie Screening Room to the Playground (MonoTV had mentioned punching through the wall would get you there), to Arei herself being the one originally trying to murder…

But in the end, it was simpler. There are three important facts which help narrow down the options.

-Arei’s neck was broken. This eliminates simpler killing methods such as strangulation. Something happened which broke her neck, yet:

-Her wrists were bound. A broken neck is instant death, but Arei’s bound wrists imply the killer feared she would struggle. This eliminates a crime of passion. This thing was premeditated.

-The murder happened in the playground. The scuffed floor, broken light, duct tape on spinny thing and the other rope all make it clear. There’s no crime scene switching here. This eliminates stuff like the drowning in the Relaxation Room I mentioned.

All of this makes me believe that Arei was hung from somewhere in the playground, likely after the killer bound her wrists to stop her from struggling. The scuffed ground serves as evidence of an initial struggle. It doesn’t quite look like that, but frankly I just don’t know what could have caused the exact shape in the ground, so a struggle it is.

However, how? If Arei’s neck broke from her hanging, as per Veronika’s Account, she would need to be hung from somewhere else first, in a way that she either weighed more or fell from higher. Now, at first, you might assume that she had to be simply hung from higher, since it’s impossible to make Arei weigh more than she does. But what if I told you, there is a way to achieve that?

Enter: the water jugs.

I don’t know about you, but the way those handles are broken looks to me like they were snapped too cleanly for human hands. It almost looks… like someone tied a knot around them, then exerted a bunch of force on the rope.

(WARNING: Geometric depiction of a hanging a bit below)

We know for a fact there are at least two pieces of rope: one longer, one shorter. It would be possible to tie the two ends of the shorter one around the handles of the water jugs, then tie the middle around Arei. Water’s pretty heavy, so the extra pull of the water jugs would exert an additional force to her body once she stopped falling, one which could serve as one of the reasons her neck broke.

…Now’s probably a good time to mention, I have no idea why the killer did half the shit they did. I cannot explain to you why they would do this with water jugs. I’m just telling you how my brain’s interpreting this evidence.

However, this doesn’t exactly solve the height problem. You still can’t hang Arei from the swing set directly, as the jugs would hit the ground. It’s still necessary to hang her from higher up, although thankfully it’s easy to see where that would happen.

Yeah, the railings of the playground. The problem, naturally, is how to get there. Or rather, how to get the rope there.

Well, here’s a question. How would you do something like that if it was lower down, but still unreachable? One answer is to try to throw the rope over the railing, so that one end stays near you, and the other, on the other side of the railing. Of course, that’s impossible with a rope of this length and a railing of this height, but the concept can still be used in conjunction with something else. Thinking about the other pieces of evidence we have, there is one that stands out as particularly strange, doesn’t it?

Exactly. The ball of clothes. Because throwing a ball, especially one as light as this one would be, is much easier than throwing a rope, you can set up the hanging spot by tying one end of the rope to the ball, and throwing that over the railing.

You might think it’s still too far up, but think of it like this. How far can you throw a basketball straight up? Probably enough to clear two floors, at least given enough attempts. The ball of clothes would have more drag, yes, but it would be lighter. Keep in mind the killer had all night to get this right, and they could have even climbed on the swing set if they needed a bit more height. It’d be awkward, but possible.

There is one more piece of evidence that makes me think this is the case. That is, the flickering lights.

The lights weren’t broken, but they did get fucked up. This is by far the clue which gave me the most trouble when thinking about this, since it just seemed so impossible to achieve. However, this ‘ball of clothes’ theory gives us a solid answer. On the way up, the ball of clothes may have hit the lights:

This wouldn’t break the light, but it could displace it, causing it to flicker… or something like that. I’m sorta banking on J giving a proper explanation with her pre-established expertise, since I’m no electrical engineer. However, I see no other way this could have happened, so it’s the answer I’m giving for now.

So now we have the long rope on both ends, all that’s left is actually pulling Arei up. Except, that’s still quite complicated, isn’t it? Already pulling her up would take quite a bit of strength, but the main problem is the ‘going down’ part.

For Arei’s neck to break, she needs to enter free fall, then abruptly stop halfway. That would mean you need to stop the rope from moving on the way down, but how? Just using your hands is impossible, because you’d get burnt.

Enter: spinny thing.

The duct tape tipped me off that this thing was important, and once the use of rope is factored in, my first instinct was to use it for a sort of pulley system.

Weave the rope through a few of the handlebars, then tie a knot around one of them. That way, if you make the thing spin, it will drag the rope with it, sort of like a roll of film in reverse.

Then, once Arei reaches an appropriate height, you spin the thing the other way, letting her fall at full speed for a bit. When you want to stop her, you would just need to stop the carousel from spinning, which may take a bit of strength, but it’s perfectly doable.

Now, this explains how the murder could have been done, but where does the duct tape come into play?

…

Yeah, good question. My best answer is that the rope somehow burnt a friction mark into the spinny thing, which the killer feared would give away their trick. After all, even if the duct tape is more noticeable, it’s harder to make a connection between that and the murder than a friction burn, which while harder to notice, would point more directly to the pulley idea.

Yeah, it’s not a great answer, and it’s frankly the part which still puzzles me the most, but it’s an answer, so I’m going with it for now. Open to change, though.

Notably, this is also the part of the crime where I feel the gym may come into play. Again, I have no idea what the relevance is, but if it has something to do with this crime and not just the Ace - Nico incident, perhaps the grippy strap of the pull up bar was somehow used to better grip the spinny thing’s handlebars for the pulley trick? Again, this is one piece of evidence where I could use the help.

And so, we’re done! Practically all of the important evidence was used, and I can’t find any contradictions in the reasoning!

Closing Argument

The killer first put water from the Relaxation Room, fish and all, in some water jugs before nighttime.

At nighttime, they stuck together Teruko’s and Hu’s old clothes with either starch or the black string. Going to the playground, they tied a long rope they got from storage around the ball of clothes. They repeatedly threw it up, until they managed to get the rope over one of the railings in the playground. However, on the way up, the ball of clothes hit a light and displaced it, causing it to flicker. MonoTV would later remove this light.

After that, they tied one of the ends of the rope to one of the carousel’s handlebars, possibly looping it around some of the other handlebars to make sure it would work as a pulley. The killer left the water jugs in the room, first tying a shorter piece of rope around their handles, and took the ball of clothes back to the dressing room.

After that, the killer wrote a note. They had overheard the Eden-Arturo-Arei situation, and used that to lure Arei out to the playground at 7:30 AM. She potentially arrived just before the killer, based on the scuffed ground being a bit far from the door, but the killer got there just a moment after, before Arei could understand the situation.

The killer overpowered Arei, scuffing the ground near the seesaw in the process. They eventually bound her wrists together, and wrapped the middle of the rope attached to the water jugs to Arei’s lower body. Possibly around her waist, as to prevent rope burn injuries from giving the trick away.

After that, they tied the unused end of the longer rope around Arei’s neck, and moved to the spinny thing. Using the grippy strap they got from the gym (maybe), they grabbed one of the handlebars and spun the spinny thing so that the rope was pulled in and around its handlebars. This also had the effect of pulling Arei up towards the ceiling.

Once Arei was high enough, the killer quickly spun the carousel the opposite way, then abruptly stopped it just a few moments later. This caused Arei to free fall shortly, before suddenly stopping. The force of that stopping broke both Arei’s neck and the handles of the water jugs. Arei died here, if she hadn’t already asphyxiated beforehand.

All that was left for the killer to do was cleanup. Retrieve the longer rope and hide it under the spinny thing; set up Arei’s body to look vaguely like a suicide; empty the water jugs on the ground; throw them away, alongside the duct tape and the note. The killer’s trick had also left marks on the carousel, which they decided to cover up with duct tape. Finally, the killer reconvened with everyone at around 8 AM for the motive announcement.

And with that, all questions are answered. Well, except for:

What the fuck

Like, why would the killer do this? It’s so unnecessary cruel, when they could have just hung her. I was honestly worried, as I thought about the method, that the killer would end up being Veronika, just because it’s so fucked I genuinely can’t see anyone else doing this. But Veronika doesn’t have a motive to do this: she’s talked about wanting to enjoy the trials for as long as possible, and it’s been set up if she murders, it would be of boredom. Doing that before a motive announcement which would make things interesting doesn’t fit her at all. Or maybe I’m coping.

The answer to the question of why the killer chose this method is only part of a larger question, though. So, knowing the method, how does that change the final question?

Who did it?

EDIT: DISCLAIMER: The following part of this blog is outdated. Go here to read a revised version of the method, with a different culprit. It's a reblog of thebadjoe's reblog of this post, as they pointed out a lot of flaws in my original theory (adult content warning for Arei's corpse). I'm leaving the rest of my original post up, but just know I now believe the killer to be Eden, with an accomplice.

Let me start by saying that I can’t definitively say anything about anyone, even knowing the murder method. However, this *does* paint some of the theories in a different light.

Smaller theories

I’ve seen a few people suggest everyone from Charles to J or even Arturo. A lot of these theories are decent, but some rely too much on certain assumptions which may or may not be disproven if this method is accurate.

Charles is ruled out. The murder required moving the corpse around postmortem, and while there wasn’t any blood around, Charles’ necrophobia would make it impossible for him.

A theory I saw was that J may have used her remote to open secret trapdoors and move around rooms, taking advantage of the placement of the playground in relation to the Movie Screening Room. However, while that theory is interesting, the murder is perfectly possible without these trapdoors, so the main argument kinda goes out the window. Although I guess it’s possible her remote could be used to make the carousel go spin, but that’s kinda ridiculous if you ask me.

Arturo was ruled out from the beginning because the handwriting in the note is too pretty to be a doctor’s. That’s a joke, and Arturo would actually be quite capable of the crime. In fact, he’s sort of become my second most likely culprit, even if he was accused early in the trial.

Hu / David manipulation, in shambles

A popular theory states that the killer was manipulated by David to do the deed. The most common victim of this manipulation theory seems to be Hu Jing. However, in my opinion, the sheer brutality of the method pretty much rules this out. David may be a good enough manipulator to get somehow to kill Arei, but I really doubt he’d be able to convince them to do… all this.

Especially since he has no reason to order the specific method, which would imply it was born from the killer’s own mind. So, even if David actually told them to kill Arei, they decided to use this insanely elaborate method all on their own. And, listen, I don’t care how you feel about Hu, she wouldn’t do this.

Is it still possible? Sure, I guess. Does it look a lot weaker under this method? Absolutely.

The surprisingly strong Whit/Eden allegations

I didn’t make this theory considering these two the killer, I really didn’t. I still don’t think they are. And yet, they are the only ones who could benefit from this method. How? The BDA.

You see that loophole, right? I noticed the moment I saw the rule. The way it’s written seems to imply the BDA only plays when three ‘spotless’ see the body, ruling them out as the murderer. Except, that’s not how it’s worded. It doesn’t say ‘three non-murderers’, it says ‘three people who didn’t witness the murder’.

So, pray tell, what happens if the culprit has their back to the victim when they die? Simple; they didn’t witness the murder, so their eyes count for the BDA.

How does this help? Well, imagine if Teruko had been the one to kill Arei. By making a contraption where she can be sure Arei dies instantly upon something happening (in this case, abruptly stopping the spin of the carousel), she can make sure her back is turned the moment Arei dies. Of course, the moment she turns around, the count for the BDA goes up to one, but it doesn’t trigger, since you need three.

Then, when Teruko ‘discovers’ the body alongside Eden and Whit, the BDA plays; one person (Teruko) had already ‘discovered the body’, so Eden and Whit seeing it would increase the BDA count by two. That makes three, BDA plays.

And yet, during the trial, if the murder method hasn’t been found out, Teruko could claim she isn’t the murderer because of the trickily worded BDA rule.

Now, we obviously know Teruko didn’t do it, but Eden and especially Whit are common theories. This could be used as evidence, except…

There’s a pretty obvious problem there. It’s not them, but Teruko who asks to team up in a group of three for the BDA, and it’s also her who suggests going to the second floor. Then, the playground is the last place they check, and Whit even questions Teruko when she suggests going there (the infamous ‘hanging out there’ line).

I wouldn’t rule out Teruko’s bad luck making her pick the absolute worst possible partner possible, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that neither Eden nor Whit were proactive in the search method, which goes against this potential ‘BDA alibi’ plan.

As for the rest of the theories, I don’t quite believe them. Yes, Whit definitely has more issues than he lets on, but he has no motive to do this (remember; he asked an entire group of people to reveal his secret if they had it, so the only reason his secret lasted until the trial was Rose throwing it away). Eden even less so.

And in the end, it really is the motives which points us to what I believe to be the killer.

Yeah, it’s Levi

As does what I believe is most of the fandom by this point, I think Levi is probably the killer.

Many have already theorized about the remaining motives, so I’ll spare you the ordeal and tell you: Just with the information all the characters have access to, it’s possible to narrow down Levi’s secret to ‘murdered someone’, ‘poisoned competition’ and ‘dead family’ (I know the last one’s Xander’s, but the characters don’t really have access to the Bonus Episode).

However, Eden can eliminate the ‘dead family’ one, as Levi has talked about his family with her, and they’re not dead (He also mentioned having brothers in the present tense during the trial, but just in case).

Min’s Bonus Episode makes it likely her secret is the ‘poison competition’ one, though how the characters are gonna figure that one out is beyond me. The point is, Levi’s secret is the ‘murdered someone’ one, the one Arei had. And, listen, in-game logic aside, you don’t just give that secret to the victim of the case and then have it mean nothing for the murder.

Other suspicious behavior has been noted, such as him wanting to start voting time quickly when David did his thing, him quickly checking the motives when they became public (keep in mind, as some characters mentioned, it’s possible the killer thought just killing someone before the motive reveal would be enough to prevent it), etc. Also possible foreshadowing such as Ace claiming Levi could ‘snap [his] neck with his bare hands’ and Levi promising to protect Eden in the trial, which is exactly what Arei did before dying.

However, something I feel people overlook is that not only did Arei get Levi’s secret, but it was also Levi who got Arei’s secret. A secret which, keep in mind, wasn’t public knowledge until the trial, when Levi finally revealed it. Sure, David and Teruko knew, maybe Eden at best, but other than that, only Levi knew of that secret.

And this is where the murder method may come in. I’m still unsure. Because the only reason I can find for this amount of elaborate planning and brutality, beyond the BDA thing which I mentioned likely isn’t important, is the killer having a deep grudge against Arei.

Levi is a guy who cares about his family. Sure, he was disowned, but he claims it was good, because he and his family were ‘bad influences on each other’. He seems like he genuinely wants the best for his brothers, it just so happened that the best thing was going their separate ways.

So, how do you think he feels when he learns that Arei, someone who had already insulted and belittled him, calling him a pushover and stuff, did horrible things to her sisters? If he doesn’t have the full picture, it’s not impossible to see how that may make him angry at her, especially with his already established anger issues.

Not to mention, keep in mind the setup for the crime was done one night after the Nico - Ace incident, one which ends with Levi grumbling ‘why do I even bother?’ as he locks himself in his room. This could imply a complete loss of faith in the group in general, which could lead to him deciding to kill.

Of course, that theory has more holes in it than Swiss cheese. Levi’s outbursts of anger don’t really last long enough for it to explain such a long and elaborate murder scheme. Not to mention, if he really did react negatively to the motive, he’d have done it the moment he received it, not several days later. He has murdered without remorse before, if his secret is to be believed, but until we get the specifics, we can’t know for sure how okay he’d be doing something like this.

However, the important question Levi as the culprit answers isn’t the ‘why?’, but the ‘how?’.

I’ve sorta glossed over it until now, but it would take quite a bit of strength to stop the spinny thing in the trick. I don’t think Levi’s the only one capable of it, but he’s certainly the most capable, if that makes sense. Not to mention, actually overpowering Arei in the first place wouldn’t exactly be easy. Plus, the ball of clothes being involved implicates him in a meta-sense, as it could technically count as his talent being involved in the murder.

The problem, of course, is that I have no definitive evidence. His custom weapon, brass knuckles, wasn’t involved at all, and there’s no way to place him at any of the important scenes. No one has an alibi for nighttime, no one has an alibi for 7:30 AM, and pretty much no one has an alibi for the Eden - Arturo - Arei incident (afternoon of the day of Nico’s attempted murder, when for now we only know Hu, David, Nico and Teruko where talking in the Relaxation Room. Though of course, the exact time is impossible to know).

I suspect he’s going to be suspected for the motive and the strength thing, and either someone will come up with something incriminating, or he’ll make a slip-up a la Mondo. I have no idea.

So… what did we learn?

Kinda nothing. As you can see, the murder method doesn’t really point to a killer in any definitive way, so we’re just back where we started, basically. But hey! It was fun! I guess.

Now, back to crying over the hiatus. See you!

[vestaclinicpod]

Audio Drama Sunday - 6th October ✨

🌲 @hellofromthehallowoods (170) that conversation sure packs an absolute punch when heard in full, doesn’t it? 11/10 voice acting!! I can’t believe I didn’t see this verdict coming but now I worry that this isn’t something Nik fully wants anymore and is instead a part of Marolmar’s new plan for him… What an amazing season. I love you Hallowoods and I am already waiting for your return 🖤

🧳 Travelling Light @monstrousproductions (35) Another lovely episode which made a fantastic birthday treat for me. I couldn’t agree more that getting out for a good chunk of time in nature is the most healing thing ever 🌱 I love Annalisa. 

🎩  @ethicstownpod season finale!!! I’m trying to grapple with the presence of the entire cast in this episode. I don’t know why, but I envisioned Noah as MUCH younger than they apparently are and did a triple take when their vocation was revealed. What a great season! 

🖥️ The Magnus Protocol (fluff ep) OKAY but it’s not really fluff in the context of the current canon, is it? It’s just a bit painful!! Why?!

🗺 Tales From the Lost City @tales-from-the-low-city (11) gave us a fantastic new episode about the dangers of genius. I feel like we’re meant to get our red string out for this season but this show is such a comfort listen for me that I’m happy to just let the stories and imagery wash over me like a gentle breeze. 

Have a great week!

[tzuu-died]

braven and superbia theory :]

so my discord server allowed me to be stupid on main and rant about bravern at 11:30pm my time, so here’s just.. everything copy and pasted LMAO

also, posting this before ep4 drops, i can’t wait to see if any of my ramblings made sense

theory under the cut, spoilers for bang brave bang bravern ep. 1-3 and ep. 4 preview

the theory is this: bravern and superbia are the same species, possibly related to the deathdrives

firstly, in episode 1 and episode 3 we see bravern with a mask thing covering his face. and when you look at superbia, it seems as though they have something similar

i wouldn’t say that part is superbia’s actual face, due to the purple highlights/crystal looking things on their body. bravern’s eyes are green, and he does have a green crystal or piece of glass on that gold part of his face

and also, bravern has a green background in his transformation sequences and when we first meet him.

there’s also a green trail left by him when he flies in the intro + uses his blade.

the show’s logo briefly flashes green in the op

and the green in bravern’s cockpit + the weird green liquid from ep3

and superbia’s eyes do flash purple in the op, so i’m willing to bet superbia wears a mask much like bravern when we first meet him

and now when you look at bravern and superbia, they do seem very much alike

plus, the opening hints at superbia being somewhat relevant at least, due to the fact that in most anime openings, the fight featured in it is at least somewhat relevant to the story

and also, bravern knows superbia

the “you never change” implies that bravern’s fought against superbia before, or known them in the past

plus, the opening and show kind of confirmed lulu pilots superbia

1. lulu and isami have very similar outfits when piloting

2. this scene in the opening. the character does resemble lulu and the necklace looks like it was made to resemble superbia

3. again, the weird liquid in the mechs’ cockpits

so in other words, bravern and superbia are definitely very similar

plus, we saw that bravern was losing to superbia without isami

without a pilot

and lulu magically appeared on a beach after superbia was defeated. and coincidentally, superbia was in the deep waters when we first see a hint of them.

and i just wanna point out that smith had no idea what lulu meant when she said her name, but bravern understood.

and he didn’t look too happy about that

and in the preview for episode 4, we see a few scenes of bravern essentially being in a shitty mood. kind of looks like he’s lashing out here?

and then at the end we see a scene of lulu looking confused, and we immediately cut to this?

so to just tldr the point that bravern and superbia are part of the same species:

1. they share similar traits and visuals in the show (mainly the colours i talked about)

2. they both have pilots

3. they have a history together (we see superbia scoffing at bravern a few times, and bravern’s quote: “you never change”)

4. bravern shows a clear dislike for superbia and isn’t all too happy about lulu

and now, the other thing: bravern and superbia are some advanced form of the deathdrives, or are related to them

so first off, when the deathdrives are defeated, they go kaboom and explode into this weird cube shaped stuff

and what happened to superbia after bravern and isami’s attack?

additionally, when battling superbia, bravern attacked them with a punch, which they stopped with a purple shield

and what else uses a purple shield?

yup. the deathdrives

and in episode 2, bravern explains that they’re inorganic, metallic organisms that gained something like a conscience. and both bravern and superbia show to have that

bravern’s can be sean very clearly. he talks a lot.

superbia? all we hear from them are shrieky noises and scoffing. and what do we hear from lulu? also that

so to just tldr this entire rant/rambling:

bravern and superbia show signs of being from the same species. they both needing a pilot to achieve their true strength, without them they’re not as strong.

the deathdrives also show similarities to them; that being the similar way they “die” (we’re not sure if superbia actually died in ep3, so i’m putting the word in these “ ”guys), similar abilities (barriers/shields, flight, weaponry?).

so basically, to put all of this short: bravern and superbia are some advanced form of the deathdrives, probably existing to be something like commanders in an army, seeing how superbia kind of teamed up with the deathdrives?

anyway, hope this makes sense LMAO 😭

[taeminie]

About us, don’t you worry at all. Though your club doesn’t allow lovers, I can wait until you’re a uni student. If your faculty doesn’t allow that either, I can wait until you graduate and get a job. No matter how long. I’ll always wait for you right here. Who told you that we can’t have lovers? Your club rule. Doesn’t it say you can’t have a lover unless you win Hot Wave? Where did you learn that? Listen carefully. My club rule says no lovers until Hot Wave is over. It doesn’t say anything about winning. So that means... you and I...

Ep. 11 | MY SCHOOL PRESIDENT 2023, dir. Au Kornprom

[littlespacereader]

hii there i dont rly know how this works so i hope im doing it right >-<

can i perhaps req little!crosshair hcs and how the batch would accommodate him and help him? they would be the best big brothers to him ik!!! ^^ if also omega could be included too not as a cg but i think she'd be so sweet about it n the best sister :o

GET OUT OF HERE!! Don’t actually because this is such a cute idea!!! Before I read this I always saw Crosshair as more of a CG but THEN this request had my brain short circuit with ideas!! I absolutely love a Little who doesn’t want to regress but is loved and accepted by those around them that they start to regress without realizing it! And that’s definitely Crosshair! I decided not just to write a general Headcannons for him but him as a Little throughout the first seasons to the current season. So we see Little Crosshair before the empire, during and after. This is LONG, I think I got a little carried away!😅😅

(I will keep updating this every Wednesday so that it’s up to date with the show. If you’re reading this right now it is updated to Season 3 ep 11 - Point of No Return)

Without further ado, please enjoy Little! Crosshair Headcannons with the Bad Batch as Caregivers & Omega as a Little sibling! Thank you for the request and feel free to leave another if anything from this inspires you! 😄

Little! Crosshair🎯Headcannons / Storyline 🤍 (SFW)

Tags/ TW - BAD BATCH SPOILERS, mentions of clone wars & bad batch typical violence (shooting/death), classification au, accidents, cuddles, self doubt/hatred

Background on the Republic and on Regressors in the Clone Wars era:

Just like every citizen, every clone of the republic must be tested for their Classification and have it on their file. They get it right after they’ve finished all their training and their ready to be shipped out into battle. As much as the Kaminoans would like for all of the clone to be Neutrals, they have no control over it. They just hide all notes about it and tell the republic all their clones are neutrals. But the clones know otherwise. Though most of the clones are Neutrals, there are the few exceptions. It’s rare to get a Caregiver Clone, but even rarer to find a Little Clone.

The Bad Batch have been and continue to be anything but normal. So when it comes for them to get classified, the results don’t come to much of a shock. Each one test right after the other, then waits in their shared room for everyone to come back and say their results.

Hunter is the first to test and his comes back as a Caregiver. Then Tech is up and is tested as a Caregiver as well. The two are shocked at first, never expecting their classification to come to any use. Then Wrecker test and his comes back as a Little with the age of a big kid (7-9). That…wasn’t much of a shock to the team. What is a bit shock to the team is Crosshair’s classification.

Little Crosshair before the Empire & Omega :

Crosshair is the last one to test mostly because he’s the youngest. He expects, no, he knows he’s a neutral. So when he’s told otherwise he loses it. He demands the droid test him again, then again, then again. But it’s the same result every time. He’s a Little with the age of a little kid (4-6).

He starts to panic. Before he sees his brother he takes time for himself to try and calm down but he can’t. He has this stern tough guy persona to himself. What if his brothers see him differently? What if they think he’s not as capable? What will happen when he regresses? No! No, he’s never going to regress. That is not happening.

After a moment of pulling himself together and cooling his emotions, he leaves and head back to his room with the rest of the squad. Wreck is eager to hear his classification but Crosshair just shrugs him off saying he’s a neutral. Tech and Hunter share a look but don’t say anything.

Crosshair can feel it bubbling inside, almost scratching at the back of his brain to regress but he fights it. Wrecker always regresses after a long mission. Something inside of Crosshair always yearns for him to do the same with him.

Crosshair keeps his classification well hidden. No one questions Crosshair on his Neutral classification and he doesn’t regress…that is before their latest mission goes south.

Crosshair gets hurt, badly hurts. A broken leg and possibly a concussion. He hits the ground HARD. His leg hurts and his head is pounding. Wrecker picks him up and carries him back to the ship with the others. Once they’re all safe in the Marauder, Hunter and Tech realize Crosshair regressed.

Wrecker doesn’t understand what’s happening and questions it. “Why’s he acting like that?” “Because he’s regressed” Tech explains plainly. “But he’s a neutral.” Wrecker adds, but Hunter shakes his head, “He never has been. Isn’t that right Crosshair?” Crosshair just looks away as tears start to fall from his eyes.

They start to take care of him while he’s injured and regressed. The more they do, the more Crosshair realizes his regression isn’t such a bad thing after all, So the crew of the Marauder start to learn a few new things about their newly regressed squad member.

For one, Hunter is Crosshair’s favorite person. When he isn’t around Crosshair he begins to panic and look for him. It’s an unspoken truth with the Batch that when Crosshair regresses he’s always hanging around Hunter. “Hunter?” “Over here little sniper.”

Hates cutsie nicknames. Really only accepts Little sniper, Cross, and very rarely little one.

He’s a very quiet Little as opposed to Wrecker who is a very loud energetic Little.

Though he is very quiet, he does have a voice when it comes to something he doesn’t like. He is extremely stubborn. (More below on this)

Wrecker loves to take the lead and guide Crosshair to play along with their crazy games. He’s an older headspace than him so he loves to be big brother.

Whenever Crosshair is upset, Wrecker will bring him Lula to make him. As much as he doesn’t want to admit it, it does make him better.

Crosshair is super cuddly when he’s regressed. But you can’t force him, he just walks over to either Hunter or Tech while they’re relaxing in their bunk, doesn’t say a word, and just snuggled up beside them.

Tech loves to read to him, it always seems to relax him and sometimes it makes him fall asleep with all the knowledge.

Crosshair throws tantrums often. He is a fussy Little. When something doesn’t go his way, he doesn’t want to do something, or something wasn’t what he wanted he will throw a huge tantrum.

He also fights most if not all of Hunter & Tech’s rules. They’re getting a bit tired of his constant rebellion to their rules but nonetheless their as patient as they can be with him, knowing he’s probably lashing out because he needs some attention and is too shy to ask for it.

In and out of his regression his brothers love and respect him. They don’t look down at him for being a Regressor and they certainly don’t underestimate him.

No toothpicks when Crosshair is regressed, as it’s too dangerous. Instead the Batch find him an alternative in the way of chewable necklaces and teethers. Pacifiers are labeled too babyish by Crosshair so the alternatives make him feel a lot better.

When Echo joins the team, Crosshair doesn’t regress for a while around him. Nervous of the new Caregiver on the ship, though he’d never admit it.

When he does eventually regress, Echo is extremely kind to Crosshair. Whenever he get fussy or is on the verge of a tantrum, Echo seems to have the magic touch or the magic saying that starts to settle him down. “Why don’t we go look at the stars outside?” “I don’t want to!” “Oh, well I guess I’ll just go out by myself and look at the starts. *sigh* I’ll just be so lonely.” He leaves the ship to look at the stars and find Crosshair beside him a minute later.

After their mission with the Jedi during order 66, they meet Omega. And at the same time as meeting Omega, Crosshair begins to have terrible headaches. Usually when he has a headache it turns into him regressing but this one is doing the opposite. Plus now with Omega, he can’t help but feel a slight twinge of jealousy for her.

They learn that Omega is a part of their squad. But not only that, she’s also a Little same headspace as Wrecker.

Crosshair fights with the team against being on the opposite side of the Empire. Deep down he just wants things to be the same as they were before.

When they are captured again, Crosshair hold his head in pain. Whatever was going on, Omega seemed to sense it. She takes a seat by him and takes his hand in his. “I know this isn’t your fault.” Maybe this isn’t his fault. Before he’s decided whether he was going to ask her about it or just roll his eyes, the Empire goes to take him away.

“Ct-9904 you’re coming with us.” Hunter is the first to stand up and block them from taking Crosshair but he is punched in the stomach. Crosshair is dragged out of his cell, casting one last worrying look to his squad.

Little Crosshair during the Empire (Season 1)

The Empire begins experimenting on him to keep him as their “good soldier.” In doing so his regression starts to fade away for him for the time being. He doesn’t feel the usual pull to regress like he did before.

His brothers leaving him behind doesn’t hit him at first. But when the realization and loneliness hit him, it’s like a train. Late at night in their old barracks, Crosshair lays awake in his bed. He longs for Hunter, Tech or even Echo to come and comfort him. But now as the Empire’s perfect soldier, he forced himself to push it down.

(The Reunion s1 ep 8) When he gets injured by the cruiser engine and is medically evaluated off the planet he involuntarily regresses for the first time since joining the empire. Something happens with him getting burns to the side of his head. It makes his chip or his motives to stay with the Empire wavier.

His injuries brings him back to when he first regressed with his squad. Except now he was surrounded by medical droids. He freaks out but is only restrained more by the droids until they finish the proper treatment to the burns on the side of his head. He has an accident while they treat him, something that has only happen on extremely few occasions. The embarrassment eats away at him.

Once treated he is sent to his barracks to heal. This time everything feels different. He cries as he sit in his bed all alone. He longs for Hunter, or Tech, or Echo, or even Wrecker to make him feel better.

(War-Mantle s1 ep14 & Return to Kamino s1 ep15) When Hunter is captured by the empire, Crosshair makes it a point to be in charge of his arrest. While he acts sassy on the outside, Hunter sees right through it all. When Crosshair confronts Hunter in his cell Hunter asks him about it, “Crosshair…when was the last time you-.” “I DON’T! Not anymore.”

(Kamino Lost s1 ep16) Capturing Hunter was the biggest part of his plan. Why? So the rest of the squad could come and get him. With everyone back together he offers them to join the empire once more. But again, they refuse. Crosshair lashes out. Hunter and Crosshair fight which results in Hunter taking down Crosshair.

During their escape out of Kamino, Omega and Crosshair have a chance to chat. She really just wants to connect and be an older sister to him, being a Little herself. But he scoffs her off, choosing to self isolate himself rather than make friends with Omega. There’s also something inside of him that feels a bit of jealousy when he sees Omega around the others, especially Hunter.

Crosshair save Omega from drowning. He looks around at the guns surrounding him. He wasn’t going to shoot Omega, he was saving her life! But he’s done too much damage and that shows in the way Wrecker, Tech and Echo look at him.

They offer him a choice to join them again, no questions asked. There’s something deep down inside of Crosshair that’s screaming at him to join his squad again. But his stubborn need to be a good solider wins over and once again his squad leaves him. As they fly away he can’t help but let a few tears fall.

Little Crosshair during the Empire (Season 2)

The Empire left him on that platform in the ruins of Kamino for thirty two rotations, left to starve.

By this time back with Empire he is starting to notice more and more clone question the Empire’s intentions. The first of whom that really gets Crosshairs attention is Commander Cody.

It’s like a breath of fresh air to work with Cody. But even he could see that a good soldier like Cody is even questioning the Empire’s intentions. This starts to have Crosshair thinking about the Empire’s intentions for him.

After Cody disappears, Crosshair continues to work for the Empire but his treatment gets worse and worse. The stormtroopers disrespect his abilities, he eats alone and is isolated from everything expect work.

At night Crosshair stays awake, curled in a ball crying. His regression is becoming a big issue for him. He can’t stop feeling the pull to fully regress but with how the Empire is treating clones he scared he’ll be disregarded if he did.

(The Outpost s2 ep 12) Everything changes when he’s assigned to the Outpost. There he meet another clone named Mayday who reminds him so much of Hunter. It brings that Little feeling deep down inside. It doesn’t help that Mayday is also a Caregiver and can sense that Crosshair isn’t the neutral he says he is.

When they go out to retrieve the items stolen by raiders they come to find that all their hard work has led them to just retrieve new armor for the stormtroopers that plan on replacing them.

During the battle to get the supplies back, Mayday pushes Crosshair out of the way, saving his life but injuring himself. Though he insists on Crosshair leaving him, Crosshair doesn’t abandon him there. Instead he helps him go back to the Outpost.

There were moments spent huddled next to one another as the snow blew back and forth. As injured as Mayday was, he always tried to comfort Crosshair who regressed on and off because of his worrying about Mayday. “It’s okay Crosshair, we’ll make it. Just stay close to me. I’ve got you.”

Crosshair takes his arm and wrap his around his shoulders for support. Both to support Mayday as he walks and for the comfort of keeping him close.

Eventually they do make it back to the base. Crosshair lays Mayday down for a minute as the Lieutenant comes over to the two. He begs him to get a medic for Mayday, tears falling down his face. But the Lieutenant mocks Crosshair, saying how weak and expendable the clones are and how angry he is that they came back empty handed. When Crosshair looks to Mayday, he’s passed away.

Crosshair losses it. Everything he felt about the Empire fades away. He realizes the mistake his made and more than anything wants to be back with his squad. But he’s stuck here, with the Empire. He begin to cry, holding onto Mayday hand as the Lieutenant turns away.

There’s only one way out and that’s the option he goes for. He takes his gun and shoot the man. There’s a sense of relief that washes over him. But that relief immediately turns to exhaustion. He crumbles to the ground as storm troopers run over and passes out.

When Crosshair awakes he’s taken prisoner by Hemlock and Emerie. They inform him that they’re going to use him to capture Omega. It’s with this knowledge Crosshair sets out to do one last good deed to redeem a bit of his old self.

He breaks out and goes to the communications board where he sends out an encrypted message to the Bad Batch, “Plan 88. You have to hide. They’re after…..”

The last part of the message doesn’t go through. Gas fills the room and Crosshair collapses. Hemlock walks through the gas as it doesn’t affect him. He tells Crosshair of the mistake he’s made and how he’ll pay for it. A single tear falls from Crosshair’s eye before he passes out.

His punishment is being thrown into a cell, forced to be subject to different test both of his defective qualities and his Little classification.

When Omega is captured, she find Crosshair strapped to a table unconscious. At least the two Littles of the Batch are reunited.

Little Crosshair is back with the Batch (Season 3)

Crosshair has lost hope of ever escaping Tantiss. He has his usual schedule of trying to train him to be some brain washed assassin (doesn’t work on him), then he’s experimented on and then thrown into his cell. Most nights he’s alone, left to cry. But soon, Omega starts to visit him.

At first he tries to steer her away from him. Saying mean things so she’ll leave him alone and escape herself. He feels in some twisted way he deserve this punishment. But unlike everyone who he’s felt abandoned him, Omega never gives up on him. She visits him every night.

Some nights he’s regressed, others he’s not. Omega stays with him through and throughout. She loves his little side, though it’s mostly just him crying and holding her hand through the cell door. The small comfort is needed.

They break out! Omega takes the lead getting them out of the prison while Crosshair mans the guns. He feels comfortable not making the decisions and instead letting his sister do it for them. Though nowadays his shooting isn’t as good as it used to be thanks to all the experiments to him.

Once free they crash land, steal a ship and travel to meet Hunter and Wrecker. The whole adventure brings Crosshair very close to Omega who looks after him like Wrecker used to. He now protects her at all cost.

When they land, Omega is first to run and hug Hunter and Wrecker. The happy reunion is ruined by Crosshair as he also steps down off the ship. Too much betrayal has caused their relationship to splinter. It makes his heart sink

(The Return Season 3 ep 5) Back with the Batch and back to somewhat safe place. Crosshair tries to find his place back in the group again. But he knows Wrecker and Hunter don’t trust him at all. So he isolated himself from the group, looking to instead fix his shaking hand. The only one who’s close to him is still Omega. She urges him to talk to Hunter who has given him the cold shoulder.

When Echo arrives they realize they need to go to an imperial base to help unlock a datapad from Tantiss and free the clones. The only issue, this isn’t just any imperial base, this is The Outpost.

Wrecker is kind enough to give him his old armor back. He steps inside the Marauder and changes. Looking in the mirror he sees a hint of his old self again. The hope makes his heart stop for a second.

Walking outside brings back all the memories of Mayday, something that wrenches his heart.

He lashes out at Hunter throughout their entire time at the Outpost. It brings back old memories of when Crosshair would deny regressing, throw a tantrum, eventually break down and regress with Hunter.

The only thing is, Hunter is not being as kind as he used to be. Crosshair hasn’t exactly been kind to him and the rest of the Batch. So it’s all expected.

There’s small insults thrown here and there between Hunter and Crosshair. All with Omega and Echo trying to get the two to talk to one another, knowing that’s how it would fix everything between them.

When they enter the Outpost, the team works on the datapad while Crosshair slips away, looking through the outpost, remembering the last time he was there.

Out of the corner of his eye he spot a group of clone helmets and in the middle sits Mayday’s helmet. He immediately goes over and fixes the helmets, putting Maydays in the middle to honor him. A stray tear falls from his eye as he stares at the helmet. He quickly wipes it away, unaware Hunter had been watching him.

But slowly but surely Crosshair and Hunter get on each other nerves to the point of having an all out argument with one another. Hunter questions Crosshair’s loyalty to the squad and Crosshair just lashes out, saying things only to hurt Hunter.

Their argument is interrupted by a giant monster! (Of course) During the mission to get rid of this giant monster, Crosshair and Hunter work together for the first time in forever. Crosshair saves Hunter’s life by merely getting eaten himself.

After that they just sit in the snow, breathing heavy next to one another. They look over and silently there’s a difference in the air. All the anger all the heartache is gone. What’s left is what they were before, brothers, Caregiver and Little.

They walk back to the squad. Wrecker runs over and hugs the two together in a group hug like he used to do. Echo smiles at Omega saying “See? They always work it out. And this time Hunter’s not bleeding from one of Crosshair’s tantrums. I’d say it’s a win win.”

Once they start packing up to leave, Hunter and Crosshair get a moment to talk to one another. “Hunter, I…I thought I knew what I was getting into with the Empire. I thought I was being a good soldier.” Tears threaten to spill from his eyes. It’s all too much. Now that he’s in Hunter and the squad’s good side. He feels the need to regress once more.

Hunter steps up, walking over to Crosshair, “Nobody really understood what was happening back then.”

“I’ve done thing, I’ve made mistakes.” The tears that threatened to spill start falling as soon as he turns and looks at Hunter.

Hunter decides to clear the space between them. He brings Crosshair close and wrap him in a hug, something he hasn’t had in forever, “I have regrets too, Crosshair. All we can do is keep trying to be better. And who knows? There just might be hope for us yet. It’s okay my little sniper. You’re home now.”

Crosshair just cries and cries into Hunter’s shoulder. So much being built up over time that just finally being let out. After a moment Crosshair lifts his head and Hunter wipes the remaining tears away. “I already told the squad, tonight you and I are going to spend some quality time together. Sound good?” Crosshair nods, taking his hand and being led onto the ship.

The night feels like a dream to Crosshair. He’s finally able to fully regress and feel safe doing so. He cuddles close to Hunter and never leaves his side. With him, his old chewable necklace that getting pretty worn out.

(Infiltration s3 ep 6) Things remain pretty peaceful until a call from Rex comes through. The Batch are brought to give anymore information about Tantiss to Rex.

Crosshair meets Howzer again, who rightly so, doesn’t like him. Hunter sticking up for him brings a sense of warmth and happiness to him. His brothers truly accept him again.

But seeing the Assassin clone has Crosshair’s heart stop all together. This is bad, really bad. He fears not only for his own safety but mostly for his sister safety who the Empire desperately wants. After everything the two have been through together Crosshair couldn’t be without his big sister.

(Extraction s3 ep7) Running away from the assassin is a daunting task. This clone is good and Crosshair’s shaking hand isn’t helping. He still is useful but not as good as he hoped to be.

Once outside Crosshair check up on Omega, “you good?” “Un-huh.” “Got your crossbow?” “Yup.” “Sure you can carry those supplies?” “Yes.” “Stay close. It’s easy to get lost in this terrain.” Omega smiles but rolls her eyes, “You’re as bad as Hunter.” “Oh, I’m much worse.”

As they journey through the forest to get to the pick up location with Echo, Crosshair can sense the clone assassin is close. He turns to go alone, hoping to draw the assassin away from Omega.

The assassin seems almost mad at Crosshair for not being one of the assassins like himself. As the fight goes on, Crosshair is starting to slip up. The assassin hold his underwater and he struggles to breathe. But thankfully the rest of the team gets there to save Crosshair before he drowns or worse, falls down the giant water fall like the assassin did.

Hunter and Omega rush over as Crosshair coughs up water. Both the Caregiver and the Little are worried about him.

Finally they are about to be picked up when an old clone commander Wolffe tries to stop them. But after Rex’s speech, he has a change of heart. Crosshair notices how more clones, like Cody are beginning to question the order like all of them.

Once saved by Echo and heading to Padu, Wrecker and Omega begin to regress and play around the ship. And despite it all, Crosshair joins them, letting the worries of the missions and what happen tonight.

(Bad Territory s3 ep8) Hunter and Omega worry about Crosshair’s shaking hand. He tried to hide it from all the Caregivers and even Omega but everyone begins to notice it.

So while away on a mission Hunter instruct Omega to have Crosshair check it out. Sadly though it isn’t a medical issue. It’s because of the severe anxiety and PTSD he has since Tantiss.

Despite being against it at first, Crosshair follows Omega along and listens to his older sister as she teaches him how to meditate. At first he thinks it stupid and is about to walk away but she takes his hand in his.

With a deep breath he closes his eyes and focuses. And without him noticing, his hand stops shaking.

(The Harbinger s3 ep 9) Crosshair and Hunter work as the ultimate Dad team duo against Ventress who the don’t trust or want Omega to be around.

They work extremely well together. Despite getting their butts handed to them by Ventress they both see that their main priority is to keep Omega safe. That to them is what matters most.

In the end, Ventress warns them about Padu, saying it’s not safe. While it shouldn’t bother Crosshair, it eats away at him all night. Maybe they should leave? Maybe they should hide? He wakes Hunter up and explains his worries. “No use in staying up all night worry Cross, here. I’ll protect you and Omega tonight.”

It seems Crosshair was beat to Hunter’s bed by Omega who’s cuddle against his side. Old Crosshair would’ve been jealous. But now? Now he feels happy to have both of them around. He snuggles with the two. Happy to be protected by Hunter and happy to protect Omega.

(Point of No Return, s3 ep11) While Crosshair hasn’t been on Padu for as long as the others, he feels a bit sad to see it go. He sticks with Hunter, helping to load supplies onto the ship before the take off.

Just as they’re making their last trip BOOM! The Marauder, their home, explodes. Hunter, Omega and Crosshair run to the docks to find an unconscious and injured Wrecker. Crosshairs heart stops seeing his brother so injured.

But they’ve got bigger issues. They look to the skies and see an Imperial cruiser entering the airspace. He subconsciously goes closer to Omega, knowing that they’re here for her.

The three take off, trying to figure out a plan. Hunter suggests Crosshair stay with Omega while he finds a ship for them. Crosshair happily agrees, afraid of being away from Omega. The two run away, hiding with Wrecker’s unconscious body as AZ works on him.

Crosshair can see it in Omega’s eyes and on her face. She’s guilty. The people of the planet are being hurt and she feels as though she is to blame for it all. Crosshair wishes he could say something to reassure her it’s not her fault but he doesn’t say anything.

They watch as Hunter’s plan fails. He falls into the ocean. Crosshair grabs a view finder frantically and searches the ocean. His heart doesn’t start pumping again until he sees Hunter’s head pop up from the water. “He’s okay.” He says both to Omega and to himself.

Back inside Omega stops Crosshair and tells him she’s going to surrender herself. Crosshair is immediately against it, insisting they stick to Hunter’s plan. But Omega has made up her mind. She doesn’t want to see another suffer because of her.

Her plan is simple, hide a tracker on her and have Crosshair shoot a tracker on the ship. That way they can track her to Tantiss and they’ll be able to save the other clones, Crosshair is not confident on the mission. He doesn’t agree with it but Omega made her mind up. She’s doing it.

So when Omega surrenders herself they find her tracker, leaving it up to Crosshair to be the one to put the tracker on the ship.

Storm troopers are everywhere. With only seconds to shoot the tracker he’s attacked by troopers. He stops them and then takes his position again, but this time the ship is taking off.

He shoots and…he misses. The tracker lands in the ocean and the ship takes off with Omega with no way of tracking her at all.

Crosshair just watches the ship leave, in shock and in anguish. Tears fall from his face under his helmet as the ship gets small and small before disappearing from view. He failed them, he failed her.

How will be ever face Hunter and Wrecker who don’t know? How will be able to live with himself?

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - I Still On1y Care About...

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Sept 2024 Week 1

Ongoing Series - Thai

Monster Next Door (Thai Thurs Gaga ) eps 7 of 12 - Deeeelightful. They are so damn cute + a nice kiss! The rise of the green flag semes continues. I like it when Diew flirts and shows that he does have some experience in a relationship, and he can/will flex his power. Props to God for being a man who remembers to TAKE HIS DRINK with him. 

Addicted Heroin (Thai Tues WeTV) ep 4 of 10 - Yep I still like it and all its toxicity. It’s fun to see how closely it follows the original. Now I really can’t wait to see how this one ends. Since this time around we get an actual ending.

Battle of the Writers (Sun YT) ep 6 of 12 - How did they know that what I wanted more than anything was a side couple = spoiled prince + demon lord? How clever they are to give them to me. Meanwhile, in a shocking twist, the leads have known each other since childhood. Because why be original? 

I Saw You in My Dream (Weds Gaga) ep 8 of 12 - Oh it’s very cute. I love Ing. I love that Ai was honest with his bestie. Best friend's older brother trope is a go! Also good kisses all round. 

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 1 of 12 - Ohm has his shirt off less than 5 min in. I guess GMMTV is learning what we want. My boy Title is the creep character again. I’m assuming that’s why GMMTV brought him on board at this juncture. Sigh. New boy, Q, looks like Mek’s younger brother. Ultimately? I'm not convinced on this one. It is doing what it says on the tin, but nothing more than that. I’m not wild about it, but I will keep watching.

The Trainee (Sun YT) ep 10 of 12 - The more OffGun BLs, the more time they spend communicating as characters in those BLs. It’s kind of charming. They've become the pair that advocates for communication in relationships. I like it as evolution for their brand. Flirting via the printer was very fun. Especially as the Thai script is so beautiful.

Live in Love (Sun Gaga) ep 1 of 5 - I guess this is a lockdown narrative? Odd choice. A lot of familiar faces but from more minor rolls. Is this from the Destiny Seeker people? It feels like that. It’s a bigger cast than I was expecting, and a sort of classic university BL of the kind star Hunter produces. Or the end of love people. Pretty classic Thai pulp stuff. I’m mildly enjoying it. Hali is too hot to be the dorky second lead. Nice to see Boat back on my screen. However, it is… what’s the word I am looking for? Oh yes. Boring. Plus singing. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

The On1y One (Taiwan Thurs Gaga) eps 5-6 of 12 - I entirely lost my mind over this show this week. Fuck me it's so good. The delicacy sends me. I keep expecting it to be clumsy and then is just isn't - it's so subtle and it demands we pay such close attention. I feel like I'm holding my breath the whole time I'm watching.

Cliff's notes on these 2 eps as follows:

The pure unadulterated tsundere of it all.

The awesome angst, it aches.

The series of repercussions after the fight was pacing genius.

The brilliant juxtaposition of "the kid who self isolates too easily" versus "the one who has been forced into isolation" meets both of them being smart enough to know why they react out of hurt, but neither can stop doing it.

Baby’s reaction to learning he’s going to be left behind = to instantly make plans to do the leaving in the future hurts my heart in the best possible way.

"Maybe what we call eternity is just persistence."

Maybe one boy simply deciding to be another boy's rock is romance. 

Production better nail the second half of this show! It better be the world against them from here on out or the audience is gonna riot.

And by "audience" I mean me.

Sugar Dog Life (Japan Sun grey) ep 5 of 10 - Oh noes! Poor baby boy!!! My heart hurts. But also gah so cute and next week they shack up together! Hooray! 

I Hear the Sunspot AKA Hidamari ga Kikoeru (Japan Weds Gaga) ep 11 - too much time spent on the girl again. I don’t need excuses for why she’s a bitch. So can we talk about Taichi instead? It’s such a good characterization, this boy who understands everything about other people but doesn’t notice anything about himself, including his own abilities of observation. The person who is special never realizes how special they are, I guess. The soundscapes are so good with this show. The moments where prod decided to be silent are so vital and so pivotal and used with such delicacy and strategy, it’s truly audio magic manipulation.  

First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) eps 7-8 of 12 - I loved how Orca just jumped on the stage. What a great side couple. CHARMED I TELL YOU. Orca was all… singing? Naw. I came back to fuck the manager's brains out. Anything less than that is unacceptable. 

Takara's Treasure AKA Takara No Vidro (Japan Mon Gaga) ep 10 fin - Essentially this was a growth story for Takara and an exercise in patience while the two of them learned each other’s quirks and languages. It was also an exercise in patience for me... who doesn’t like the power differential of a weaker younger character having to do all the pursuing while constantly feeling like he is inferior to the older popular hot character. I know this was a BL that was definitely for some people, since plenty liked it way more than I did, but I didn’t like it very much even though there’s nothing objectively wrong with it. It simply wasn’t to my personal taste. 7/10 

Seoul Blues (Korea Fri? YouTube) ep 5-6 of 8 - Enter an ex or something? Well he certainly has a type. Bah. This whole series seems to be mainly about cheating. It’s very annoying because they are all so pretty. 

Happy of the End (Japan Tues Gaga) - Based on a manga, longer than usual run time. A boy is disowned for being gay, dumped by his boyfriend, and ends up in a dysfunctional co-dependant relationship with his would-be kidnapper. We were due for another messy JBL. Messy gay pain here we go.

Oh it’s exactly what I expected. Do I like it? No I do not. And ya know what? There is plenty airing. I have a bad feeling about this one. DNF 

It's airing but...

4 Minutes (Sat Gaga) eps 1-6 of 8 - Gaga picked this one up so we can watch it there. I'm waiting until the end, it seems angsty and confusing and full of awful people being awful. But also... high heat and I'm shallow. So we shall see which devil wins (and how it ends).

The Hidden Moon (Sat ????) ep 1 of 10 - This is a supernatural romance (my ghost boyfriend trope) ‘เดือนพราง’ by Violet Rain (I Feel You Linger)... A Bangkok writer is hired to write an article about an old mansion in Chiang Mai which is being converted into a café. He gets into an accident and nearly dies on his way there. After that, he sees the ghosts of people who died at the mansion, one boy catches his attention. Was substantially recast. Couldn't find it. Didn't really look.

In case you missed it

Meet You at the Blossom (China) - I'm eating crow, binging the fucker, and live blogging. It's just taking me some time. This isn't really a bingable show, not for me anyway. It's A LOT to take all at once. No new one this week.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Plus:

9/9 Jack & Joker (Thai Mon IQIYI) 12 eps? - Be gay YinWar, do crimes. Dehup gives us Yin, War, Mark and a few other familiar faces in a Leverage sitch, only queerer.

9/14 Love Sick 2024 (Thai Sat ????) ?? eps - Remake of the original. I'm scared too.

9/15 Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) 10 eps - Assistant to a player boss who is in love with that boss decides to quit to save himself. The boss then makes a move. (A gay What's up with Secretary Kim?)

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

Coming SEPTEMBER 2024:

9/17 Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 10 eps - Lawyer and a con artist meet at a bar, pair up, fall in love.

9/28 Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YouTube) ?? eps - oh I don't know just Ba Vinh doing his thing with pretty boys again.

9/? The Time of Fever (Korea iQIYI) 6 eps - HoTae & DongHee are back! Side couple from Unintentional Love Story, same actors, same character names I an WILD for this.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Not sure what this is from but I capped it for a reason so, shrug.

The scent trope AND the childhood crush trope? I see you suckering me into one trope because I like the other. Clever, Battle. Very clever.

(Last week)

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in its infinite wisdom doesn't like too many at-ings.

[lurkingshan]

with such limited options/possibilities for the finale episode of i feel you linger in the air (jom's impending disappearance and khun yai bawling in the garden hugging the air), do you have any specific things/scenes/expectations you hope to see in ep 12?

Not Yai bawling in the garden hugging the air! Oh that’s just too sad to contemplate.

I think there are a few options before us for the ending. Episode 11 closed the main emotional arc of the series: Jom found a purpose, and a true love, and a community, and most importantly, the desire to keep on living. Even if he can’t be with Yai anymore, I believe he will be okay and the experience he’s had in the past will bolster him and give him confidence to rebuild his life back in the future.

As for the romance, well. As I mentioned way back before this show began, with time travel narratives sad and ambiguous endings are always on the table. We’ve been given no reason to believe that the Yai he knows in this time and place would have any way to follow him to the future, we know Jom does not have control over his ability to move through time, and we have been told that he will disappear by the will of whatever magic brought him here in the first place when the time is right. So I really doubt these two will be able to be together. We also know there are several doppelgängers in play and that at least some of the characters in the past have one in the present (Yai seems to have had one in an even more distant past). We still don’t know if these are past live incarnations of the future folks and if this is tied to reincarnation, but that seems likely to me. And there is no indication that the doppelgängers have conscious awareness of their other iterations.

I foresee one of three endings:

Jom will return to the future and eventually meet a doppelgänger of Yai. It will not be the same Yai, but perhaps a person who shares his soul, so it’s about as happy an ending as you can get with this set up. This feels most likely to me.

Jom will return to the future and there is no Yai doppelgänger waiting for him there; the lovers are separated indefinitely. We see Jom looking at his sketches and historical documents to find a trace of Yai, and everybody cries. This feels a bit less likely but still possible.

A secret third thing that will blow my mind.

Regardless of the romance ending, I just hope the finale is able to stay true to the beauty of episode 11, which was such a poignant close to Jom’s time in the past. And I hope we leave all the past characters in a good place, with Yai going to Europe as planned, Eung Phueng getting the safe abortion and life away with Maey she deserves, Fong Kaew finding peace, and Ming, Prik, James and the rest all as okay as they can be given the time and place they live. And I would love to see the new life Jom builds for himself in the future and be reassured that he is happy there.

[simply-whump]

The Blood of Youth (少年歌行) - Whump List

Whumpee : Xiao Se played by Li Hong Yi, Lei Wu Jie played by Ao Rui Peng, Wu Xin played by Liu Xue Yi and Tang Lian played by Li Xin Ze

Synopsis : As a disciple of the Lei Clan, Lei Wu Jie can't wait to prove his worth as a hero. His trip to the city Xue Yue is waylaid by an unfortunate mishap at the Villa of Fallen Snow. As proprietor of the Villa, Xiao Se is less than pleased when his establishment is damaged by the antics of a young, wannabe hero. Demanding he make amends for the damage he caused, Wu Jei can think of only one way to appease the grumpy Xiao Se, and that is to take him with him. With no other options, the two set off together, without any idea of what fate has in store for them. (MDL)

Genres : Wuxia, Historical, friendship, youth, fantasy

Note : This was an unexpected fun watch ! I didn't get bored at all watching this drama and the brotherhood between the characters was great.

Warning ! Possible spoilers below!

Xiao Se ( Xiao Chu He / Prince Yong An)

Ep 1-3 : None

Ep 4 : (Flashback) Hit by a powerful magical attack, on the ground shaking, passes out, can’t use martial arts since that day — (Present) Hit, thrown to the ground, punched

Ep 5-8 : None

Ep 9 : Arm pierced by a needle, momentarily in pain

Ep 10-13 : None

Ep 14 : Stabbed in the shoulder, bleeding, concern for him

Ep 15 : None

Ep 16 : Collapses after giving some of his energy, concern for him — Unconscious, carried on Wu Jie’s Back, speaking weakly — Unconscious in bed, treated, in pain (Gif Set) — Wakes up in bed — Given medicine

Ep 17-18 : None

Ep 19 : Uses his full strength to save his friend knowing it might kill him, fighting, hit by an energy blast, spits blood, passes out, concern for him — Doctor says he can’t save him, concern for him

Ep 20 : Still being treated with no success, bleeding from the mouth, treated by a more competent doctor — All his friends want to protect him (not really whump but it was a great moment) — Doctor says his life is still at stake — Very weak — (They’re all going on a trip to cure him)

Ep 21 : None

Ep 22 : Told he only has 5 days to live

Ep 23 : Participates in the fight even though he is dying, concern for him — Taken away, spits blood, treated, in pain, knocked out (Gif Set)

Ep 24-26 : None

Ep 27 : Teary-eyed, grieving 

Ep 28-35 : None

Ep 36 : Fighting — Thrown to the ground, attacked — Pulse taken

Ep 37 : None

Ep 38 : Enters an array that makes him face his inner demons — Worried for someone — Has a difficult fight, arm cut, injured, spits blood, shielded and protected by his friends, on one knee holding his chest

Ep 39 : Has a difficult fight, thrown to the ground, spits blood, more fighting, on one knee, concern for him, helped up — Collapses unconscious, concern for him (Gif Set) — Unconscious in bed, concern for him

Ep 40 : Crying

Lei Wu Jie

Ep 1 : Fighting, thrown to the ground, groaning in pain

Ep 2 : Grabbing his chest after using some power, in pain — Fighting, thrown to the ground — Grabbing his chest after using a powerful attack

Ep 3 : Collapses, grabbing his chest — “Knocked out”, injuries “magically treated” (kinda hard to describe) — Wakes up in a cell, (flashback) fighting, tied up, captured

Ep 4 : Tied up to a tree

Ep 5-7 : None

Ep 8 : Powers acting up after drinking some liquor, collapses, passes out — Has a difficult fight

Ep 9 : Passes out from exhaustion — Has a nosebleed

Ep 10 : Uses a powerful skill, passes out

Ep 11 : Crying

Ep 12-14 : None

Ep 15 : Poisoned, weak, given energy

Ep 16 : Shocked after killing for the first time

Ep 17-18 : None

Ep 19 : Fighting, thrown to the ground, spits blood — Wakes up in bed

Ep 20-22 : None

Ep 23 : In pain after using a lot of power

Ep 24-25 : None

Ep 26 : Crying, emotional

Ep 27 : Teary-eyed, grieving

Ep 28-37 : None

Ep 38 : Has a difficult fight, spits blood

Ep 39 : Fighting, choked — Fighting his friend (Wu Xin) — Exhausted, almost collapses, caught before he can fall

Ep 40 : None

Wu Xin (Ye An Shi)

Ep 2 : Knocked out

Ep 3 : Crying

Ep 5 : Fighting, hit, grabbing his chest — Crying

Ep 6 : Has a difficult fight, puts his dislocated shoulder back in place — Passes out after using a powerful technique — Collapses exhausted

Ep 7 : Teary-eyed

Ep 29 : In pain after using his power to save someone, grabs his chest, spits blood — Unconscious, chained

Ep 30 : Chained and unconscious, was experimented on

Ep 31 : Was brainwashed, fighting his friends, headache 

Ep 36 : Chained, unconscious — Fighting his friend, trying to resist, headache, controlled, attacks Xiao Se

Ep 39 : Controlled, fighting his friends, mind-control broken, unconscious

Tang Lian

Ep 1 : Fighting, hit, holding his chest

Ep 2 : Fighting, thrown to the ground, grabbing his chest, struggling to stand up, passes out after using a powerful attack

Ep 3 : Wounds treated

Ep 19 : Stabbed in the leg, hit, thrown to the ground, concern for him, stabbed in the other leg, spits blood

Ep 25 : Has a difficult fight, bleeding from the mouth, grabbing his chest, collapses, weak

Ep 26 : Very weak after the previous fight, dies

Ep 27 : Mourned

>> Another whump List with Li Hong Yi

>> More Whump Lists