#ONLY ONE HE HAS A CRUSH ON JUN WAS THE ASPECT ONE

[yuzuna123]

I don't like LeiJun there i said it.

It has no basis in canon, none at all. They only were at the same tournament. No crush on anyone's side. It's ZERO sided. Only thing going for it was the motion picture and the aspect comic where Lei seems to have an one sided crush on her which is, you guessed it NON canon. The motion picture also portayed Lei as an asshole, and that i didn't like. If Lei had a crush on her canonically i would be like okay? it does have some foundation and i could see why this ship would exist but canonically he didn't have ANY crush on her. Canonically, they only just knew each other as they were on the same tournament. That's all there is to them, and they only have an official art where they just stand next to each other. That doesn't say a thing about them.

I do think they were friends at least as Jin in hinted to know him for a long time based on an interaction he had with him in Tekken 6, but i do not see Lei as someone who used to love Jun as nowhere in the canon game content does it say he had feelings for her. And because if he did wouldn't he at LEAST try to tell her his feelings? since Kazuya his rival in love would be "dead" in the public eye??? but NOPE he didn't, they both went their separate ways, Jun went to raise Jin in Yakushima while Lei continued his job in Hong Kong.

That's ALL that happened. There is no shipping. It's not even semi canon, which that would imply romantic feelings on one side. It's simply just Zero Sided. No feelings on any side. And that's good, not every relationship between a girl and a guy must be one where one person has a crush on the other. Sometimes they are simply not interested in each other and that's fine.

to put it simply

Lei has no love interest canonically, unless you wanna mention that background random ex girlfriend he had in Tekken 4 he broke up with.

Jun's love interest is Kazuya.

[stormyoceans]

thamepo romance is so underdeveloped to meeeee 😭😭😭😭😭😭 like there's nothing there, i mean i guess they are in love because the script says so but... why? lol WHAT HAVE YOU DONE MONICA NOW I CANNOT STOP THINKING ABOUT JUNPO AND THAT ANSWER YOU GAVE ANON YESTERDAY AND AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SAW ME EXHIBITING THE MOST INSUFFERABLE BEHAVIOR AND DISPLAYING PRETTY QUESTIONABLE TASTE AND SAID WELL YOU KNOW WHAT MAYBE SHE DOES HAVE A POINT. TRULY LOVE THAT FOR ME

BUT ALSO LISTEN. IT'S NOT MY FAULT IF THEY INJECTED JUN'S CHARACTER AND JUNPO'S RELATIONSHIP WITH SO MUCH POTENTIAL. like im sorry but narrative wise there are so many interesting aspects that could be explored, so many delicious possibilities, so many angst filled years full of desperate yearning and suppressed desire

jun taking a step back because po likes thame and thame likes po and is gonna take care of him, so it's okay, this is for the best, jun never had any chance to begin with (jun always the second choice, always the side character, always the loser. thame had a better score than him as trainees, thame is the main vocalist of the group while jun is the sub, it makes sense that thame would get po too. he doesn't resent thame for it, it's just how life is. as the song goes: the winner takes it all, the loser's standing small, it's simple and it's plain, why should (he) complain?)

jun telling himself that what he feels for po is only a little unimportant crush and that if he nips it in the bud it's gonna go away quickly, except it never does. the more time po spend with the group the more jun falls for him and he can do nothing about it, he can only stand on the side being fatally in love with no end, no reprieve, his feelings unspoken, unacknowledged, eating him alive from the inside with how irrevocable and all consuming they are as he watches thame and po holding hands and hugging and kissing

jun going back to dating rumors after dating rumors, both with women and men, and some of them he does actually fuck, some of them are just the fans and the paparazzi blowing up any interaction he has with other people, but he still hopelessly clutches to each and every one of them in the desperate attempt to move on and show he's okay

and suddenly it's 10 years down the line and MARS decides to disband on their own terms (pepper and p'gam just had a child and he wants to be there for his daughter, everyone wishes to pursue some of their other passions), and then the impossible happens: thame and po break up. which doesn't matter, really, because jun can see how they still look and interact with each other and it's only a matter of time before they get back together and he's not about to make a fool out of himself

but then the dude who was supposed to direct jun's first big acting project after MARS disbanded decides to abandon them and the next thing he knows they bring po in as the new director. jun genuinely considers dropping out, has an argument with po about it too, bringing up the excuse of po still being inexperienced and a nobody in the industry and not wanting to attach his name to an unsuccessful project (because jun is an asshole anyway), but then po brings up jun being the one pushing him to be better all those years ago when they worked together over the MV for MARS' come back, and for once jun doesn't know what to say. he is also an incredibly weak man, and the movie IS a good opportunity even if jun's only playing the second romantic lead, and he is been lying and pretending and repressing for so long, how bad can a few more months be? so he shakes po's outstretched hand and says 'i'll be in your care then, khun director'

and as they work together they grow closer and closer and maybe there's a scene where jun has to kiss the lead actress and po doesn't understand why he feels annoyed by it. and i know it's cliche but eventually, when they finally confess to each other, po hits jun with 'i can't go back in time and make you my first choice, but you're the choice i want to keep making every single day from now on'

ANYWAY. I LOVE BEING DEEPLY NORMAL ABOUT SHIT THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN AND DRAG PEOPLE DOWN WITH ME ✌️

[mymoshangthoughts]

one thing i've been grappling with lately is the 'harem' aspects of shen yuan's story arc

like it's objectively my least favorite part. not if he actually had a harem, im all for multishipping and polyshipping, but the whole "every man fell in love with him" thing

which isn't really even that true to canon. yue qingyuan had a very turbulent relationship with shen jiu and his feelings toward shen yuan do appear to be a carryover from that relationship. and liu qingge's feelings toward shen yuan CAN be read as platonic, albeit with some stretches of the imagination given the whole succubus extra. tho i do think the more canon compliant interpretation is that liu qingge at least has a crush. zhuzhi-lang's feelings really don't read as romantic and neither does tianlang-jun's, and no other characters are really that obsessed with shen yuan. aside from his disciples but that is explicitly written as platonic. which basically just leaves luo binghe and liu qingge as the only members of his 'harem'

so while i dont think its not canon compliant to write all of those characters having a Thing for shen yuan, i actually think there was even some authorial intent in doing so, my issue is that i actually dislike that type of story-telling

like on a personal taste level, i dont enjoy the entire concept of "male lead and sub male lead". if you're gonna give your protag multiple love interests, just fucking commit to a poly ending istg. i'm just not really interested in love triangles at all

and beyond that, i really don't enjoy the trope of "everyone is obsessed with x character". it's a reeeeeaaalllyyy boring trope to me. i like contrast. i like complicated relationships. like my enjoyment of shen yuan's story would spike 3000% if yue qingyuan didn't like him. like walk with me, what if yue qingyuan, as the only person who both knew about shen jiu on a deeper level and cared for him deeply, was deeply uncomfortable with this pod person? what if he struggled with disliking shen yuan bc he still thinks its an amnesia situation but he kinda hates everything that makes him different from shen jiu. like im not even a yuejiu shipper (to the point that im not sure thats the ship name LOL) but i just think that would be WAY more compelling?

i dont really have notes on liu qingge's relationship with him because they did a good job establishing how they bonded over time and what they bonded over, so the relationship reads as realistic. i prefer to view liu qingge's feelings for him as (mostly) platonic solely because i detest the whole second-male-lead-trope, but the relationship makes sense and liu qingge's feelings make sense

but like... everyone else? im just confused. because look, i enjoy that shen yuan's disciples love him but............ because so much of his time with his disciples is off screen im left wondering why. like they have such a fierce unshakable loyalty toward him, but we almost always see shen yuan neglecting them in favor of spoiling luo binghe. like idk about you, but if my teacher neglected me constantly and played favorites, i wouldn't exactly be jumping to give him my life to defend him. and see, im sure that there was a lot of things that happened off screen to make them so attached. my problem is that it all happened off screen, ya know? im reading ning yingying ready to give up her life in battle to protect her shizun's honor and im just like "but why do you care?"

to some extent i also feel this way about liu qingge. they did more to establish the liuyuan relationship than most of the other relationships so i give it a pass, but tbh by the time liu qingge was fighting luo binghe every single day over a corpse i was a little bit "...why tho?". the extras did something to express their budding friendship and there is the whole 'he saved my life so i save his life' thing, so im not saying it was out of left field, but i was a bit taken aback by the development. it was one of those "huh... i mean i guess that makes sense?" moments for me

i also just feel like i'd be more compelled by shen yuan if he had more haters. cuz there's some really justifiable reasons for characters to dislike him. like what if mu qingfang resented him because he caused him to get kidnapped or his reckless neglect got disciples injured? i'm not saying that i want shen yuan to be demonized or widely hated, i'd just like if he got more push-back i guess. he does get pushback in canon, but it's all canon-fodder villains. sure, shen jiu's ex hates the ground he walks on, but her grudge is against shen jiu, not shen yuan, and she's a very two dimensional character who exists solely to cause problems and then die horribly.

tbh i think thats why i enjoy the cumplane friendship bc airplane doesnt seem to really get along that well with cucumber (and vice versa lol). they have the vibe of "we would literally never be friends if we werent literally forced together" which is a delightful vibe imo LOL. i like forcing characters together against their will until they get unwillingly attached. again, just a personal flavor that i enjoy, i think thats an aspect of liuyuan that i like too. so it's good to see someone on the main cast who isnt canon fodder be a little bit critical of shen yuan

tbh tho, my real issue isnt actually with the canon events of svsss. yes, i did read it and i had the reading comprehension to understand "the author is going for reverse harem vibes" and i chose to kinda ignore those vibes because, as stated above, i dont like them and since they're not 100% confirmed, i can come up with alternative explanations that remain canon compliant

my issue is that i keep running into the shen yuan harem fanon. which again, has PLENTY of kindling in canon. the people who read this book and said "shen yuan harem" were having good reading comprehension and picking up what the author was putting down. they're also just having a good time and i absolutely support that for them LOL. this is in no way a criticism of them or their likes or their fanon

my issue is with my own personal tastes

cuz normally even when i dont really like an aspect of a characters story, if i really like the character then i can just accept the canon of it. as an example, im squicked out by cannibalism but i really enjoy xue yang from mdzs (who has the whole weird 'i eat tongues in tea' thing). it's a squick of mine, but because i enjoy that character, i continue to characterize xue yang as having cannibalistic traits. even though theres a certain level of dubiousness to xue yang's tongue-tea thing (we dont actually see it, he just talks about it, and xue yang isnt exactly a reliable narrator). so if i wanted to get out of the cannibal xue yang thing, i could make justifications to avoid it. but because i like to be pretty dedicated to remaining as canon-compliant as possible with my characterizations, i chose to just endure my squick

and that's why im struggling right now. i know what my NORMAL reaction to finding a trope that i personally dislike in a character that i like is. my normal reaction is just the above. i want to enjoy the character for who they actually are within the text of the story rather than who i want them to be.

and within canon, shen yuan is a little bit of a "everyone somewhat irrationally loves and becomes obsessed with him" character.

normally i'd just accept it

but for some reason i really hate to accept it in this particular situation. i keep talking myself into circles over it. i keep trying to headcanon my way around the special treatment he receives. i keep getting annoyed when im reading a fic and suddenly in the background theres shen yuan with thirty suitors. and idk why i cant just accept it and move on

i maintain that for the majority of the characters, the harem vibes can definitely be explained away through canon compliant means that arent even a stretch, but i find myself trying to make that stretch for liuyuan. which i dont dislike liuyuan at all. and its not like bingyuan is my otp or anything. im very happy to just read a liuyuan fic or a bingliu fic or ship them both with other people. it's specifically the reverse harem aspect of it thats getting under my skin. its specifically the love triangle stuff. it's specifically the sub-male lead thing.

anyway i keep grappling with it bc a few reasons but one of them is that i realized some part of it legitimately makes me enjoy shen yuan less. like, when he's just some guy from a somewhat privileged background who got trapped in a porn novel he read, i like him just fine. but when he's The Most Eligible Bachelor Ever, then i start to roll my eyes and stop reading

and again, it's a canon compliant headcanon. just because i think that the yueyuan story arc would have been ten million times more compelling if yue qingyuan could tell he wasnt shen jiu and resented that, that isnt what happened. yue qingyuan either didn't notice that shen jiu had been possessed and seemingly enjoyed his changed personality. or he did notice shen jiu had been possessed and decided to do nothing about it and embraced the person who possessed him. i dont get my compelling arc of "you replaced the person most important to me and i dont know how to stop hating you for that and it hurts", i got what we got. and no shade to the yueyuan shippers who enjoyed what we got, but it wasnt compelling for me lol. it's why i dont really ship yue qingyuan with either shen jiu or shen yuan (even tho i adore his relationship with shen jiu and yue qingyuan as a character, i just choose to view yuejiu platonically cuz it wasnt my personal flavor for shipping)

anyway this is just me expressing a struggle ive been having lately LOL theres no real purpose to this other than this aspect of svsss just doesnt appeal to my personal tastes and for some reason, im struggling more than i normally would

i think i could like it more if there was more time spent on each of those relationships. or again, if they'd just committed to poly ending LOL. but tbh, as is, i just kinda wish those elements didnt exist within canon. because they distract a bit from the bingyuan instead of complimenting it (imo) and then theres no follow through on it other than the vague implication that shen yuan left a trail of broken hearts behind him. which again, just not a trope that appeals to me on a personal level

idk, i just realized recently that my personal distaste for it has caused me to just start avoiding shen yuan content and that kinda sucks cuz i do like shen yuan. and so ive been grappling with it

i might just try to make my own shen yuan content??? or maybe i'll just try to avoid him more thoroughly. cuz again, it's not like i think people are wrong for seeing what they see, i just dont like it.

i think an interesting solution might be to explore the actual world-building. like the world itself was built with harem-shenanigans in mind. since luo binghe is refusing his role as center of the harem, what if reality itself is attempting to bend the minds of those close to shen yuan to make him centerpiece. so its not actually that everyone loves him (somewhat) irrationally, it's that the world itself is acting as a love potion.

another alternative that we're just a bit limited by shen yuan's pov. like yue qingyuan IS struggling with those things but he's working really hard to hide it. liu qingge does not in fact view shen yuan that way, but the confusing words of the succubus combined with the aphrodisiac made him confused and scared. when he was calm enough to look at the situation later, he was embarrassed that he almost let himself get gaslit into a crush that he didnt even have. or something to that degree. the disciples all hold shen yuan in such high regard because there were countless off-screen moments that were very forgettable to shen yuan, and therefore not worth referencing or reflecting upon, but that fully explain the extent of their devotion to him.

or again, just go poly LOL. post canon is just an actual poly situation, but it's actually luo binghe slowly and accidentally falling in love with all the men who are pursuing his husband LOL and luo binghe reasoning that, look, if shizun is into it too, i can use shizun as bait to seduce them all..... or smth idk LOL. i do think that the worldbuilding of svsss is more primed for poly than most works lmfao considering that binghe is poly in pidw canon and clearly shen yuan was into that otherwise WHY WOULD HE READ A MILLION CHAPTERS OF POLY PORN. so with two poly husbands, feels like it would only make sense that the pair of them would date other people (both together and separate) once they've settled down and worked out all their insecurities. like at the end of the series, luo binghe is still Deeply insecure about so many things. but once he's had time to realize that his place in shizun's heart isn't going anywhere, why wouldn't he want to explore the fact that he is in fact poly?

my personal preference for poly fiction is that all parties like all parties (even tho thats not necessarily realistic to irl poly life LOL but they fly on swords so im not really looking for realism in my fiction) so i would def prefer fics where its like, bingyuan getting themselves a harem instead of shen yuan getting himself a harem. also my bingliu loving heart would be sad if it was just bingyuan and liuyuan LOL

all that to say, i want more liujiu content LOL loooookkkkk i love me a problematic hateship and those two are DELIGHTFUL. the amount i would kill for the bg pairing in a moshang fic to be liujiu instead of bingyuan or whatever else LOLOL i dont even want them happy together x'D i want them being toxic and terrible in the background. like shang qinghua is struggling with his mobei jun Situationship and he cant get any fucking sleep at night because liujiu are having a Roommates AU nextdoor and they keep trying to literally murder each other in the dead of night lmfao i want this so badly you have no idea. shang qinghua, somewhere near the end of his moshang drama, randomly sees them making out in the hallway and he's just like ".............i hate them both, if kissing could solve their stupid problems WHY DIDNT THEY DO IT SOONER I HOPE THEY BOTH DIE" and he goes to bed that night at least happy that he'll get some fucking sleep without wearing headphones BUT NOPE, NOW THEY'RE FUCKING AND SHANG QINGHUA WOULD BE VERY GRATEFUL IF THEY WOULD EITHER A. DIE, B. INVITE HIM BC NOW HE'S HORNY AND LONELY, C. DIIEEEEE

i want this fic now lol. bingyuan can be there too pfff, just a weird established poly couple who at some point hit on shang qinghua and/or mobei jun bc "oh hot guy" and then have a very nice threesome with sha hualing and now she's living on their couch and "airplane you dont understand she's eating snacks while reading my books and staining the pages, im going insane and i wanna scream and kick her out but also lowkey i think me and my husband are falling a bit in love with her and she has this weird ace girlfriend who stays over who is GORGEOUS btw, at least i think bc she wont take off her mask, and airplane dont you dare fucking hang up on me--"

like oki yeah thats the flavor i want for my background bingyuan. established, happy, comfortable, exploring their poly options. also bingyuan x sha hualing is underrated and i will die on that hill LOL i just think it's notable that basically all of luo binghe's original harem grew to hate him, dislike him, or ship him with his husband and sha hualing is the only person who still liked him and actually was close enough to him (proximity wise) to know what his personality was actually like and STILL liked him. ning yingying knew him at his most vulnerable and by post canon she basically doesnt give a fuck about him. liu mingyan writes smut about him and his husband. xiao gongzhu seems to despise him. qin wanyue still likes him but tbh i dont think she knows him very well and ALSO qin wanyue pisses me the fuck off. the fact that she was still pining after luo binghe mere moments after her little sister was brutally murdered reeaaalllly makes me dislike her. i know that this is more of mxtx and her generally bad writing of female characters and less of a purposeful character trait that qin wanyue was assigned, but im a death of the author type of dude and authorial intent and failings set aside, it makes qin wanyue a deeply unpleasant character imo. which leaves sha hualing as the only one who likes him, knows him well, and i still find likeable LOL. (yes i know that sha hualing killed her father for binghe but a. we have no idea if she had a good or bad relationship with her dad. b. its canonically established that demons dont think much of familial bonds in stark contrast to qin wanyue who is human. c. i like that sha hualing is a bad person LOL. my issue with qin wanyue is that she's an otherwise tepid person, she's not an interesting villain who plotted the downfall of her sister, she's just someone who thinks getting her dick wet is more interesting than grieving the death of her younger sister who she seemed to think was immature but otherwise didn't have a lot of bad blood with her).

back to the ot3 shenanigans and on the shen yuan side of things, i just think about all the times he was highkey ogling her when she showed up LOL like you cannot convince me this man is not bi and interested. he's also like "dont put your dick in crazy" (wise) and recognizes that sha hualing is off her rocker LOL but tbh i think thats part of the appeal of the ship. shen yuan is sitting here like "right, so she's literally the craziest person ive ever met, stop looking at her tits, omfg why did i think that now im not going to stop thinking that and oh god she's terrifying and horrible, i think i hate her but also ahhh i kinda cant stop thinking about her now?!?!". i love shen yuan struggling with falling in love with crazy (again LOL he already has luo binghe. now it would be TWO yanderes lmfao)

for the record, i do enjoy mingling quite a bit, my only reason i dont fixate on them more is that they're both very flat characters who dont interact much (again, mxtx does not write female characters well and it drives me a lot insane as someone who normally has all female blorbos. like its a testament to how much i love women that i put so much work into characterizing these cardboard cutouts that mxtx tried to sell us as women). i think theres a lot of potential for mingling to be a fantastic ship and their dynamic could be really great, but basically the most characterization we get for liu mingyan is she's an rpf loving fujoshi. her other traits are... she's composed? good fighter? doesnt take off her mask? very pretty? it's really barebones pickings if youre a liu mingyan fan and you basically have to fill in all the blanks for her personality from scratch. which is something im already doing for sha hualing, bc i love her LOL, so i just need to persuade myself to put in the effort for liu mingyan as well. my gl loving ass is doing all the fucking work here. my bare ass pickings for "these girls are in love" is "they were in the same room once" and No I'm Not Bitter (im VERY bitter). ngl i was very excited when i started reading svsss cuz i saw there was a lot of fandom for female characters so i thought "man maybe mxtx finally decided to pass the bechdel test" (a bullshit test by all accounts but man is it notable when your work CANT pass even that bullshit test). like i got even more excited as i started reading and the premise became apparent. this is the world of a harem novel??? holyshit!! the author is gonna have no choice but to write multiple interesting women!!! omgosh, i hope the protagonist befriends them or something! shit this is gonna be so cool, i am Ready. and then the most interesting woman i get is a yandere who is obsessed with the male protagonist. and nope i dont count su xiyan because she appears for one damn scene in an extra. i admit she seems really cool and interesting and i would love to get to know her more but ohwow she got fridged for the angst of a male character, ive never seen mxtx do that to a female character before 🙄. look, im definitely a fan of mxtx's works and i still adore their female characters even tho the writing on those characters is abysmal, i definitely dont go to mxtx's works looking for great female characters, im obviously in here for the boys love and technically speaking, well-written female characters are unnecessary for those purposes. its like going to a hamburger joint and complaining about their crappy tacos. like what did you expect bro, they serve burgers. all that to say, i still definitely criticize it and i think mxtx's works would only be better if there was more thought put into the female characters

like, if ning yingying was given an actual arc and we were able to SEE the scenes that made her so dedicated to her shizun. and by the point that she's getting into fights that are out of her league to defend her shizun, you've had a lot of time to love her and get to know her and love her relationship with shen yuan so you're just as anxious as shen yuan is about her safety. because she's an interesting and compelling character who was given screentime. and you explore her bond with luo binghe, how the love she had for him when they were younger morphed into disdain slowly and how they both felt about that. ning yingying struggling with "was the person i once knew ever real or was he always a bastard?" and luo binghe struggling with "did she ever actually care about me as an individual or was all of her kindness shallow lies?". im not saying introduce a bingying arc, im just saying that their friendship ought to have meant something to the both of them and i think that the work itself would have been better if it addressed what that friendship meant to them and made ning yingying a well-rounded character who had more personality than "she's oblivious and causes men to fight over her on accident" and "she's very loyal to her shizun"

that's just my preference tho. i prefer works that have well-written female characters (or at least characters who have more well rounded personalities LOL) but just because i prefer those works, it doesnt mean that i dont enjoy my time here. i still love ning yingying, sha hualing, and liu mingyan even tho i have to do all the work in rounding out their personalities LOL and i still clearly enjoy the work itself. that said, it does make it hard for my lesbian loving ass to get really into a yuri ship when the most interaction is "they got in a fight like twice" IM STILL HERE FOR IT, but my mind wanders to other ships where theres more food lolol. that said, i think ning yingying x sha hualing is underrated and more people should explore it LOL (look they were in the same room once and for all my complaints THAT IS ENOUGH FOR ME PFF)

anyway, rather than complaining about the food out there that isnt to my taste, i really should just make my own food LOL but i prolly wont. had a lot of writers block lately and besides that, its really Not That Deep. just me overthinking a minor issue where im like "ew shen yuan harem dnw" and wondering why the fuck i cant seem to get over it (also a very off topic rant abt mxtx writing women lol)

all of that to say, if anyone ever wrote a modern au moshang fic with chaotic neighbors roommate au liujiu and established poly bingyuan x sha huling, link it to me immediately bc now that ive mentioned this premise, i need to read it LOL maybe if i ever get money i'll commission a writer to make it (hmmm what if the moshang of it all is "help im in love with my shitty boss" on r/relationshipadvice LOL)

[mikuni14]

Jun & Jun Ep 7

Jun & Jun seems like the perfect office romance to me. It's just the way I like it, 1) the romance takes place in the workplace and the work is present in the plot, but it's still just the backdrop to the unfolding relationship, 2) the boss/subordinate relationship is NOT poisoning the romance and making it creepy 😬

There are many work-related elements in it that should appear, and which are dealt with in a way that doesn't make the romanse weird.

Choi Jun never behaves ambiguously, doesn't favor Lee Jun, doesn't "train" him as his specialest little boy. When Choi Jun flirts with Lee Jun, he always does it when they're alone. When they talk about work related topics, their conversation is all about work and I can clearly see the transition between flirting and work, even if it happens several times in one conversation. It shows perfectly in this episode. Choi Jun does not patronize Lee Jun. He gives him advice from time to time, as a more experienced person, but he doesn't treat him like a child. Choi Jun even behaves as if he is not interested in whether Lee Jun will pass the trial period, which I personally like very much, because it means that he treats him like an adult who should be able to take care of himself (a similar dynamic appeared in Our Dating Sim). Choi Jun is interested in Lee Jun romantically and separates this interest from work. When there's gossip, jealousy, nasty employee behavior, it's handled by OTHER senior employees, Choi Jun doesn't have to act like a knight in shining armor running to the rescue. Lee Jun gains recognition IN THE PUBLIC FORUM, he proves his worth with the TEAM, not by only impressing Choi Jun. I really enjoyed the scene in this episode of Lee Jun's idea presentation - who has interaction and is praised primarily by OTHER employees. Choi Jun effortlessly combines work with his crush 😄 When he invites Lee Jun to test fragrance samples, he does it because he wants to be alone with him, but also because he knows that Lee Jun is a perfume nerd. I want to say that I like many scenes in this series, but I was especially impressed by the scene from this episode, after a failed photo shoot. Choi Jun elegantly but firmly stakes his claim (just like Tinn 💖), then talks to Lee Jun. And in this conversation, they are both equal and on the same level. They flirt with each other, they are very sweet, they say nice and cute things to each other, and they also talk about work. And they both are professionals discussing different options, Choi Jun treats Lee Jun as a valuable team mate. He doesn't act like he's giving him special treatment, that he's giving way to him. He presents him with options and gives him the opportunity to WORK around those options. YOU HAVE NO IDEA how great and hot this scene was for me. It is their perfect understanding on all levels, both privately and professionally, that makes me feel all 💖💖💖💖💖💖 CHOI JUN DOESN'T TREAT LEE JUN LIKE AN UNDEVELOPED CHILD THAT NEEDS TO BE TRAINED TO ADULT AND WORK. ALSO NON ONCE DO I HAVE THE IMPLICATION THAT LEE JUN'S FUTURE IN THE COMPANY, HIS CAREER, DEPENDS ON CHOI JUN.

(Basically Jun & Jun did everything right where Step By Step did everything wrong.)

Both Juns are simply good characters, they are nice, sweet, but at the same time very sensual and this aspect is present from the beginning of their relationship. They have great chemistry, sparks fly between them ✨ And what I like is that they both talk to each other and that Lee Jun, despite a other admirers, knows exactly who he wants from the beginning 😎

One ep left and of course now I'm worried..

[nflstreetsanimereviews]

Tomo-chan wa Onnanoko! Review (manga)

With the Tomo-chan wa Onnanoko! anime currently airing, it seemed like a good idea to go back and read the manga. I kept up with it for a while when it was releasing, but at some point I lost track and never finished it, even though I enjoyed reading it. That’s a bad habit of mine. Anyways, since I’m keeping up with the anime, I thought it would be good to finally finish the Tomo-chan manga (nearly four years after it ended).

Tomo Aizawa, the Tomo-chan of Tomo-chan wa Onnanoko!, is a freakishly strong girl–so strong in fact, that she not only is part of the men’s Karate Club–she’s the best member in the club. Even more impressive considering that she’s only a first year. With such strengths come weaknesses as well. Tomo has a crush on her neighbor and childhood friend, Junichirou Kubota (Tomo calls him ‘Jun’, so will we), but due to the nature of their relationship, he sees her as ‘one of the guys’ rather than a girl. The two love to spar–often fighting for the most minor of reasons. Jun, rather than being a part of the Karate Club, Jun trains at the Aizawa Dojo, which is run by Tomo’s father. Due to Tomo’s rambunctious nature, Jun was unaware that Tomo was actually a girl until middle school. To be fair, if my friend only wore shirts and shorts, had short hair, and every day with them was like Prehibernation Week, I would assume they were a boy as well. Tomo wants to become more feminine in order to finally make Jun acknowledge her as a ‘girl’, but past habits are hard to break.

Helping Tomo with her quest to become more ‘girly’ is Misuzu Gundou, Tomo’s other childhood friend. Misuzu is a great foil to Tomo–she can fight with words as well as Tomo can fight with her hands. Her sharp wit was one of my favorite things about this manga. Jun and she have a lot of beef due to her trickery. Early on, Carol Olston becomes friends with both Tomo and Misuzu. Her airheaded and aloof nature only adds to her ‘girliness’, something that Tomo admires. Carol, while having her own boy problems, also offers Tomo help…although her help tends to be less effective and more bizarre than Misuzu’s.

What differentiates Tomo-chan from most other manga is that each chapter is only one page long. Each page is presented in the same 4-koma format, with them being different enough from each other to be its own ‘chapter’. If one wanted, they could read one ‘chapter’ each day–that’s how most people kept up with the manga when it was releasing, as it was released in daily one-page slices. Kind of like how one would read comic strips in newspapers. That alone gave Tomo-chan some novelty when it was releasing. Not many manga are released like that. Of course, considering that the manga is finished now, and that it would take more than two and a half years if you read one page a day, no sane person would ever do that. The paperback version of the Tomo-chan manga simplifies things–instead of 953 single-page chapters, they are all grouped together in 51 separate chapters spanning across eight volumes (with some extra chapters included with the volumes).

While the ultimate goal in Tomo-chan is for Tomo and Jun to start going out, what makes this manga worth reading is the comedy. Misuzu and Carol add a lot to the series, with their meddling with Tomo and Jun often ending up being humorous due to the two ‘bros’ being obstinate when it comes to love. It’s very clear that Tomo’s feelings for Jun are replicated, but with both of them being dense as a rock. Getting them to change from friends to lovers is a lot harder than saying “I think Jun likes you as well.” Even if you dislike romance manga, Tomo-chan shouldn’t be too much for you, since the comedic aspects outweigh it several fold.

Tomo-chan’s brief chapter length allows for story arcs to breeze by. There are rarely any take-backs in relation to Tomo and Jun’s relationship progress. The story’s pacing is fast, but not fast enough to the point where you don’t know what’s going on (or be ‘Chainsaw Man pacing’). There’s also a significant amount of character depth, which is surprising considering the format Tomo-chan was released. Most of this is owing to the fact that there aren’t that many characters in the manga. There’s only a handful of side characters, half of them being the main character’s parents, and the other half being various students from Tomo’s school. They’re all integral to the story as well, often colluding with Misuzu and Carol (or acting on their own) to get Tomo and Jun together. There’s also the fact that the characters, even the ones that you expect to be annoying, are fun to see. They do follow tropes, but that doesn’t define them. 

Honestly, Tomo-chan is such a light read that it’s honestly hard to scrutinize it. It isn’t akin to trying to critique a children’s cartoon–it’s more like trying to find flaws with Garfield. It really isn’t meant to be taken too seriously, and thankfully doesn’t pretend that it's deeper than it actually is. In a sense, writing a review of it of any length of more than ~500 words is too wordy. What I’ll say is that Tomo-chan manages to be compelling and avoids being shallow, despite the fact that each ‘chapter’ is only one page. The force of inertia takes out any ‘surprise’ that one may foresee when starting it, but that isn’t the reason why people read this manga. The fun of Tomo-chan is seeing where that inertia goes, and how various characters influence it. While it’s not how I read it, all of Tomo-chan wa Onnanoko! can be read within an afternoon. I’d give it a look if you’re interested in rom-coms, or just comedy in general. Also, check out the anime too if you like the manga.

70/100

[sluttywonwoo]

can i ask for svt's reactions to you wanting to be fwb with them? (i hope i worded that right)

seungcheol: would be 100% down and is super pumped about the no strings attached aspect, until he sees you going out with other guys and his jealousy gets the better of him.

jeonghan: you don’t even have to ask, it would probably just happen. hooking up would become so routine that you guys start to do other stuff together too… eating out, grocery shopping, watching tv at one of your apartments. it’d be like having a boyfriend without the title or commitment and jeonghan would be very into it.

joshua: i think he’d be a little unsure at first because he doesn’t want to fuck up your friendship, but would ultimately agree to it because he’s always thought you were hot.

jun: tells you that he needs time to think about it, then comes back with a box of condoms aksjdhd

soonyoung: agrees, but warns you not to catch feelings… only to be the one to fall head over heels for you.

wonwoo: knows it’s a bad idea, but says yes anyway because it’s been a while since he’s been laid and he’d been fantasizing about things he wanted to do with you for a while…

jihoon: he’d absolutely be down for it and is one of the only members to set healthy boundaries and keep his feelings separate from the sex

seokmin: almost says no because he already has a crush on you but then agrees because he figures if he can’t be with you sex is the next best thing

mingyu: he’d be the one to ask you and then think everything was fine until one of the other members points out that he’s actually in love with you and too dumb to realize it

minghao: another member who’s good about setting boundaries, but then cuts it off when he starts feeling emotionally involved :/ (but you’d confront him about it later and tell him you felt the same way and get together)

seungkwan: he’d be surprisingly easygoing about it, and would only come over when you were the one to ask him to lol

vernon: agrees, but only under the condition that you don’t actually have sex. hands and oral is on the table but he thinks that if he keeps his dick out of you it’ll stop him from catching feelings. he’s wrong.

chan: is in over his head when he says yes because he’s already whipped for you even though he doesn’t know it and then it only gets 10x worse when he has sex with you for the first time

[absolutebl]

Chatting over the DMs and the subject of one sided love came up. I’ve never specifically blogged this pairing. I like pining, so I like this slightly better than a full on enemies-to-lovers narrative.

Top 10 One Sided Crushes in BL (Semes) 

In order of my personal preferences and the seme’s level of obsession. (I prefer it when the seme is the one with the crush for power dynamic reasons.) I only listed BLs where one sided love drives the story, and that crush is the main motivation for the relationship (hence MoD didn’t make the cut). 

We Best Love (Taiwan) 

Old Fashion CupCake (Japan) 

Cherry Magic (Japan) 

Blueming (Korea)

Lovely Writer (Thailand) 

Addicted Heroin (China) 

Color Rush (Korea) - also Color Rush 2 

Nitiman (Thailand) 

Cherry Blossoms After Winter (Korea)

2gether (Thailand)

Some others that didn’t make the list: My Ride (just tooo soft, I guess?); Fish Upon the Sky; Physical Therapy; Our Days (Thailand); Restart after Come Back Home; Love Stage! (Japanese version, the Thai one is more mutual); Love Class (Korea - should be there but I couldn’t decide who to bump off), H3: Make Our Days Count (both couples are seme’s with major crushes), but ya know, the BL that shall not be named. this update is as of mid 2022 so some, like Minato’s Laundromat haven’t finished yet. 

Enemies-to-lovers does often evolve into one sided crush for a short while as the (usually) seme figures out his feelings have changed - see PeteKao in the Kiss series. But I chose only couples that started out one sided. 

I dithered over HIStory 2: Crossing the Line, it’s epic pining but there’s no real seme/uke dynamic. Taiwan LOVES one sided love and pining. Almost all of their BLs involve some aspect of this. 

Vietnam likes it too: Stupid Boys Stupid Love, My Lascivious Boss, and You Are Ma Boy feature seme crushes. Japan and China use it more in dark BL when seme obsession drives the narrative into kidnapping, rape, and the murder gay. It is also pretty common in early live action yaoi like Takumi-kun.  

Top 10 One Sided Crushes in BL (Ukes) 

Mr Heart 

TharnType 2 (ChampDoc)

Tonhon Chonlatee  

2 Moons & 2 Moons 2 

Plus & Minus

Secret Crush On You

Senpai, This Can’t be Love! 

Coffee Melody

Theory of Love

My Only 12% ? 

The piner is *usually* the seme character, and the story will be materially different if the one pining is the uke (because narratively a uke has a different set of actions he can take and must coax rather than pursue). I prefer to see the character with the power (seme) suffer. Partly because if the uke is pining and the seme can’t see that or take care of him, the seme comes off as an idiot or a jerk. That said, ChampDoc is one of my favorite side dishes.

Mutual Crushing & Pining 

There is also the beloved moot pining, where both parties are in deep crush but are separated by circumstances, miscommunication, or stupidity. TulHin and LeoFiat in LBC2 come to mind, also HIStory Obsessed, Be Loved In House: I Do, Where Your Eyes Linger, To My Star, Most Peaceful Place, 1000 Stars, and RamKing in My Engineer. 

And finally there’s a baby sub category of censored BL from China featuring *bromance* pining, which is some of the best but very repressed. Since it’s not really depicted we are often not entirely sure who is crushing on whom and when and if that’s motivating their actions or not. Nash. I would include Untamed, Word of Honor, Guardian, Advanced Bravely, Love O2O side dishes, and quite a few others in this category. 

Actor Gong Jun is the only one I know who has portrayed both uke and seme with crushes. Very impressive since style and motivation is completely different for the different archetypes.* 

* Tay has also done both uke and seme roles, but neither Shin nor Pete are primarily motivated by one sided love.  

Top 10 most epic LTP in BL (long term pining) 

Childhood Crushes 

Updated Aug 2022, no responsible for BLs unfinished as of that month. 

(source)

[sxfik]

let's talk about han seo, hockey and his relationship with vincenzo!

disclaimer: probably more unorganized than usual lol but i had a lot of thoughts on this. feel free to add on!!

hockey has been a connection to han seo that we have seen throughout the drama. hockey is a traditionally masculine sport, and focused on team building and brotherhood between the participants. hockey is also a violent sport, often very rough on the body and rigorous. the show utilizes hockey as a symbol of masculinity, and a representation of brotherhood, especially for han seo.

from very early on, hockey sets the dynamic between the brothers: the ice is a punishment and a reminder of han seo's relationship with his brother who uses hockey as a punishment for his brother's mistakes as well as a way to let off steam. the first notable utilization of hockey was prior to jun woo's reveal as han seok. we watch as han seo explains himself to han seok and han seok repeatedly hitting the puck into his stomach when angry and unsatisfied with the answers. this is the first real relationship we see between the two brothers. han seok uses han seo as a punching bag in order to let off his anger that he feels on a day to day basis and as a reminder to han seo of his place beneath him.

we can use this scene to infer about their relationship in their childhood. Mr. Nam has mentioned that han seo was abused by his brother as a child and has gone to therapy his whole life. as a young adult, he turned to drugs and partying and it is implied that he has wound up in the police station many times. han seok has used han seo as his punching bag and han seo molded his personality and actions in order to avoid provoking his brother. han seok has constantly reminded han seo that he is beneath him, both in blood along with intelligence and stature, and in order to satisfy him, han seo leveled himself down.

it’s important to note that this is certainly not true about han seo. we have seen that han seo picks up on situations much faster than han seok thinks (gummy bear scene), but refuses to let his brother notice as it can result in more abuse. the only reason han seo comes off as a bumbling chairman is because he isn’t as “cunning” as vincenzo or jang han seok.

it's also important to note that while there have been moments of a cordial relationship between the two, it is still an abusive relationship. even after moments where han seok has shown kindness to han seo, it is no excuse for the abuse that han seo has suffered. it is also not a reason to say that han seok is caring brother despite his abuse as he does not care for han seo beyond preserving him as an escape out of jail or death.

it's safe to say that han seo has never had a real brotherly relationship neither has he had a role model in his life and it shows in the early episodes. we see han seo mimic han seok's hockey tactics and throw pucks at his advisors (idk what to call them tbh) and even force the board members to drink spicy food without water (maybe this was a way han seok punished him when he was younger). han seo mimics his brother and attempts to be like him in these episodes. that is also why he sends thugs after cha-young and vincenzo: he is attempting his brother's scare tactics but it is clear to see that han seo is not the one for strategizing and well, being a villain. furthermore, we have noticed han seok's attachment to hockey sticks and how he deals out punishment (i.e. killing the prosecutor with a hockey stick, defending himself against intruders with the hockey stick, smashing in the car window glass with hockey stick) and han seo has bound to pick up this toxic relationship with hockey, and as an extension in the way he views his relationship with his brother.

we see this change as we watch the scene where han seo and vincenzo are on the ice together. both are stood opposing each other but in the same pose and in hockey gear. this establishes them as equals as both are equipped with the same armor and the same attack sticks. both of them have an equal chance at the puck. it heavily contrasts the scene we see where we see han seok, fully in armor and equipped to attack, and han seo in the lone suit with no protection or means to attack him back. we also note that when han seo scores, we see a genuine smile on his face and as vincenzo threatens light heartedly to "come here" and makes a move towards him, he playfully skates away. this is similar to how many brother's play on the playground together as kids: competitive but never cut-throat or attempting to maim each other. we also note han seo asking from approval from vincenzo, like a little kid would from their older sibling, asking if they did good, and vincenzo responds like an older sibling with playfully underplaying their contribution. we also see vincenzo granting han seo good advice to use/train his brain and asks him about his studies, the same way an older brother checks up on a younger one.

we can note that han seo feels comfortable around vincenzo in a way we don't see with his brother. vincenzo makes a move to throw a puck in his direction when he drops honorifics but we don't see han seo flinch in the same way that he does with han seok. even when vincenzo makes moves towards him, or gets closer he doesn't flinch, he just glides back. it shows that han seo trusts Vincenzo in a way he hasn't before. he also shyly thanks him for the advice and expresses a certain love to vincenzo, beyond just the admiration that everyone has for him (aka the vincenzo effect).

of course, we see han seo skate toward vincenzo and losing control but vincenzo catches him. he is caught off guard as he is caught though which might be telling us that han seok would have never made a move to protect his brother like that. even though i've seen many people criticizes the usage of "is this love" during that sequence, i don't believe it's used mockingly like adrenaline is. "is this love" is the song used when vincenzo develops a serious relationship with someone, most notably cha-young. what this song is doing in this scene is establishing a sibling relationship between vincenzo and han seo and noting that there is a specialty to their partnership, just like how cha-young and vincenzo's relationships are special.

most importantly (and what breaks my heart), han seo asks vincenzo repeatedly whether he will kill him. while this fear is warranted as han seo has aided han seok in many ways prior to him seeing the light and teaming up with vincenzo, we also know that han seo was fearful for his life with han seok. han seo walks on a thin line with han seok and never knowing when his life was going to end at his hands. han seok continually teased him and threatened him (we can infer this from the gummy bear and "are you going to kill me like you killed our father" and when han seok held the knife to his neck). not to mention, han seo now carries a watch gifted by han seok: a reminder that han seok has control over his life. han seo is continually fearful of when his brother will murder him and take that watch as his next trophy. except this time, we can note that han seo says something along the lines "i know you won't but i can't help but feeling uneasy." it really enforces how far han seok's abuse has hurt han seo. even with reassurances, he is still fearful that his brother, or someone he views as his brother will take it away from him.

it's important to note that hockey is a sport that emphasizes team building and brotherhood also encourages a little rough housing. han seok and hockey vs. vincenzo and hockey are the two opposite ends of what hockey is supposed to be as a sport. han seok and hockey empahsize the violence, and rough nature of hockey, where han seok is using the puck and the hockey sticks as weapons to attack defenseless people (han seok, those prosecutors, that poor car and also zumba snake choi and mr. han). han seok uses it to crush down han seo instead and leaves behind the team aspect. vincenzo on the other hand focuses more on the team building and brotherhood MORE than the violence, their scenes focused more on vincenzo giving advice and building han seo up rather than crushing him and pushing him down. we see han seo actually scoring and both of them being playful with each other, building a rapport with each other.

in episode 18, we can note that han seo is acting more and more like vincenzo (like how in the earlier episodes han seo acted like his brother). when revealing his hand in han seok's demise, he acts similar to vincenzo, leaning in and explaining how he pulled the rug from underneath his feet. we also see a new kind of boldness, a fire behind his eyes we don't see before this moment when he speaks to han seok. the same sport that was used to torment han seo has provided him the support and advice he has needed to turn his life around. i believe that having a genuine support system for the very first time has provided han seo the platform to change and grow, as well as gain confidence in himself and his abilities. in episode 19 and 20 i want to see han seo and vincenzo grow together and evolve into a relationship where both are comfortable and able to give mutual support and love to each other.

[pridewhatpride]

Do you have any gx rival shipping fanfic recs?

This ask has been sitting in my inbox for far too long. Prepare to get linked to half the Manjoume/Judai tag on Ao3 (FF.net is impossible to navigate and most of the works there are... questionable?).

I'll try to make this organised in some way...

My absolute favourite on Ao3 is Sour Candy by Aamalysstuff. Chapters: 1 Word count: 23,522 Reasoning: It's just... nice. It captures an aspect of teen romance that I just love- the awkwardness of sharing a room with someone you think you could never get along with just to find yourself wishing to never be apart from said roommate. And they share candy and music- what more can you want?

Moving on, there's Colour Theory by Sophisticated_Adult. Chapters: 1 Word count: 1,850 Reasoning: Well, I am a sucker for soulmate AUs and honestly? This is genius. This is the instance in which the only colours you can see before touching your soulmate are their eye and hair colour. So imagine poor Judai only seeing in greyscale and thinking he doesn't have one at all. Also this author is just great in general, in my humble opinion.

Another soulmate AU! All the King's Men by Souless_Robot. Chapters: 1 Word count: 2,434 Reasoning: Do you like pain? Do you want to see Manjoume suffer? Well, I do. So take the sweet promise of soulmates and flip it on its head by making Haou Manjoume's soulmate, while Judai is happily paired up with Johan. Don't we all love unrequited GX Rivalshipping?

A 2020 special: A Man in Uniform by Draconicmaw. Chapters: 1 Word count: 3,011 Reasoning: Has quarantine made you starved for interaction? Do you love platonic Manjoume-Asuka? Great! This fic has Asuka acting as the best wingman to Manjoume, who is the world's most disastrous bisexual. Judai is the sweaty and buff UPS man.

There's also Jun's (questionable) guide on how to go out with your crush by SheepySeconds. Chapters: 1 Word count: 9,567 Summary: In which Juudai stays at Jun's stupid apartment, keeps on getting injured in increasingly stupid ways, looks at Jun with those stupidly pretty eyes, and is stupidly impossible not to ask out, because Jun never claimed to have good taste or anything.

The last one-shot! parallel. by kaibaboy. Chapters: 1 Word count: 13,754 Summary: judai has never really had a 'special summer memory', and he finds himself wanting nothing more than to be able to understand the feelings of joy and euphoria surrounding the warmest season. manjoume ends up getting roped into his scheme, as always, but he finds himself going on yet another journey with judai — except this time, it doesn't end with them going in circles. this time, they finally meet at the intersection, and summer becomes sweeter than it had ever been before.

On to multi-chapter fics. Now. I haven't finished some of these (and some are even just on my to read list but deserve to be mentioned regardless), so I'll give you a summary instead of my own silly commentary (I also sometimes just don't have much to say ;;;;).

Straying by 111 (Insert). Chapters: 27 Word count: 219,653 Summary: The next time Manjoume saw him, Judai had a head full of spirits and a desperation that almost showed through. (I am recommending this just because a friend said it's good, honestly. I have yet to start reading it...)

Crushed by 111 (Insert). Chapters: 19 Word count: 150,973 Summary: Manjoume Jun should be dead, but he's not. The guard who throws the cell door open shouts a title different than the name running through his head over and over again. "The Supreme King has requested your presence." (Again, if Haou is mentioned, you know you're in for some fun pain.)

Take me home where I belong by space_lace. Chapters: 32 Word count: 43,668 Summary: For as much as Jun knew his brothers hated him, he never would have thought that they would be so willing to kill him. (In case you didn't hate Chosaku and Shouji enough- also, Manjoume struggles to live working as a cashier.)

Soul Reversal by Sophisticated_Adult. Chapters: 12 (Ongoing) Word count: 22,458 Summary: The roleswap AU no one asked for, featuring clueless rich boy Judai and bitter Very Much Not Rich Manjoume. Behold as two idiots with equal social skills just kind of flail around at each other. (This is just a dream come true. I love this author lol.)

Bonus Round! I'm now throwing unfinished stuff and pwp at you. Also two fics I just want you to read.

Saving You Saves Me by Osidiano. Chapters: 15 (Unfinished) Word count: 67,169 Reasoning: You see, this one has Manjoume as an actual believer. The Society of Light was not just brainwashing. The Darkness in Judai is also... strong. There is a lot of violence, but it's just... worth reading. I'm devastated it was never finished. It's honestly so so interesting.

Pentadic by spellcastersjudgement. Chapters: 1 Word count: 7,458 Reasoning: ... Technically it's Misawa centric. It's Misawa watching porn, which just so happens to be a camshow by Judai and Manjoume. It's honestly very fun to read. Misawa is very horny. Manjoume is a victim.

Super Stud by Hambone. Chapters: 1 Word count: 3,708 Reasoning: Manjoume is a people pleaser and he just so happens to encounter a horny fan whose name is Reginald Van Howell III. But Ulri! That isn't GX Rivalshipping!!! Listen. It's funny as fuck and Manjoume has an undying crush on Judai in it. I will die defending this fic. It's not my fault Jun is a hoe.

haven't you people ever heard of using the goddamn door by chancellorxofxtrash. Chapters: 1 Word count: 2,187 Reasoning: When I say that the polyamorous relationship Edo-Manjoume-Judai is amazing, this is what I'm talking about. This fic. It's godly. Nobody can touch this fic and get away with it. I will personally come and murder you Edo style.

The last entry is some shit user pridewhatpride has written. Don't actually read it, it's bad. Anyways, the new work in the series is coming out soon, so... Yeah, no skip this one. Unless you want your eyes to bleed. Bad fic boys. Nothing to see here. The first work is called Playing Rivals, but like... really. Don't.

Please read my shitty drabbles.

[thegreymoon]

Hi, I'm reading 2ha currently but I've stopped atm because I'm at the part where it's explicitly stated that wanning fell in love with mo ran when moran was 15years old? Is it true? That wanning has had a crush on mo ran when mo ran was just 15 while wanning was 30+? Isn't it grooming then?

LOL, no offence, anon, but I had a little chuckle at the idea of CWN grooming anyone 😂 He is just not capable!

OBLIGATORY WARNING: SPOILERS!!! 

The fact is, this book has a list of warnings as long as my arm that includes all kinds of obscenities, including mutilating and cannibalizing children, treason, torture, murder, genocide, sexual slavery and all flavours of non-con and rape. There are plenty of legitimate reasons to be uncomfortable and not touch it with a ten-foot pole, however, grooming is not one of them. 

When the mentions of this novel first crossed my dash, I checked out the summary and was immediately put off by it being a teacher/student relationship, which is a particularly squicky power imbalance for me and something I usually can’t click out of fast enough. However, when I actually sat down to read it, I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that 2ha actually subverted the power dynamics. 

First of all, grooming implies a predatory intent. It involves manipulating a minor into entering a sexual relationship. All key elements that would make it grooming are missing in this case. CWN has no predatory intent (or any intent, for that matter, unless it is to protect Mo Ran, teach him well and watch him prosper), he is incapable of manipulation and, honestly, sex does not really occur to him as more than a vague theoretical concept and something he knows other people practice, but which is certainly not a possibility for him. 

In addition, in the context of the society that they live in, the taboo of their relationship is not the age gap, but the fact that they are master and disciple, which, again, makes all the sense to me, because of the inherent power imbalance between a teacher and a student, and the sacred obligation they both have towards each other (but especially CWN towards Mo Ran). 

Another important thing: loving someone, and even finding them sexually attractive, is not inherently predatory. Acting on it is. There is a reason why the “But he wanted it!!” and “We’re in love!!” line of defence is laughable and gross in the context of large power imbalances, be it age gaps or teacher/student relationships. No matter how horny the teenager is, as an adult, it is your responsibility to make sure that no lines are crossed, and CWN absolutely maintains that boundary. Before the time skip, there is not a single instance of sexual contact between them that was not initiated (or forced upon CWN) by Mo Ran.

When it comes to CWN’s feelings towards Mo Ran, yes, they are soft, and yes, they are deep, and yes, even idealistically romantic, but everything about them is just so... innocent. All it ever amounts to is, ‘If I had a better temper, and if I was more beautiful, or if I was not so old, then maybe I could hope he could love me!’ But he never ever acts upon it. He does not think it is even an option for him. In fact, the book makes a point of underlining that he makes sure not to burden Mo Ran with his feelings. 

There is absolutely no grooming going on here, CWN keeps his love well hidden, to the point that for the longest time, Mo Ran thinks he does not even like him. In addition, CWN is ashamed of his feelings. He is well aware of the master/disciple taboo, he thinks his feelings are dirty and inappropriate and he does his absolute best to suppress them, to the point where these thoughts don’t even get the chance to fully form before he squashes them. 

Another important thing to mention here is that CWN was was raised by a monk and that his cultivation path was one of abstinence. Left to his own devices, sex with Mo Ran (or anyone else, for that matter) would never have happened. Another sad aspect of this whole thing is that CWN is utterly inexperienced, he has no idea how sex between men is even supposed to work, until Taxian-jun gets a hold of him. In his second life, the only reason he has any sexual thoughts at all is because of his explicit dreams involving adult!Mo Ran, which are not really dreams, but memories of a very thorough sexual education forced upon him by Taxian-jun. It is also important to note that CWN is very ashamed of what he thinks is a product of his own dirty mind and that he takes extra measures to make sure that he maintains an appropriate distance between himself and Mo Ran. 

I think it is no coincidence that CWN’s sexual attraction towards Mo Ran comes to the forefront after the time-skip. It is pretty clear that CWN is suddenly all hot and bothered and cannot control his boners only after Mo Ran has fully grown into an adult. It is obvious that he gets hard for the adult man in a way he never did for the boy. Another important aspect of the time-skip is that a lot of Mo Ran’s character growth and maturing (mental and emotional) takes place during this time, apart from Chu Wanning, which creates this huge dissonance in CWN’s brain and also eliminates the inevitable squickiness that would have resulted from him lusting after someone that he personally raised to adulthood.  

And all this is without even getting into what TXJ did to him when he captured him. CWN was so unwilling, it took a lot of time and extended torture before TXJ forced him to cooperate in bed. Even Mo Ran 1.0 was extremely predatory towards CWN, though he did eventually grow himself a moral compass after the time skip, and though the instincts to just hold CWN down and take him were still there, he had learned the importance of consent. When it comes to their sexual relationship, there is not a single moment where Mo Ran was not the one pulling all the strings. 

Anyway, TL;DR Chu Wanning never did a single thing wrong in his entire life. 

[reachexceedinggrasp]

When I first tried to watch Successful Story of a Bright Girl last year, I was mystified trying to figure out how old Ki-tae was supposed to be and whether the show was going to comment on someone maybe barely in his twenties being a top executive in a major corporation or if that's just not something we question.

And for a while it seemed it was the latter. The show is really over the top and the characters border on cartoonish (you need a very high threshold for both yelling and mugging to camera if you're going to watch it, the histrionics are constant), so I was like... sure. We can not question this, that's fine. And they do comment on his unrealistic youngness a little but not seriously. Okay. Just part of the silliness. He's a barely-out-of-university executive, whatever. I concluded Yang-soon calling him ajusshi was meant to be fairly egregious on her part.

I gave up on the show after the vehicular homicide incident (too far for me), tried to go back to it when I got desperate for a floofy romcom but couldn't find it in watchable form on the internet, eventually had to get it on dvd for working subtitles for the later episodes, and finally continued at long last only to discover in the middle of the series that he's apparently meant to be 29.

Which means before the time skip he was 28. Which means he was a nearly thirty year-old working professional who owns a house and a car romantically pursuing an impoverished seventeen year-old high school student who is being forced to wait on him as basically an indentured servant in order to keep her parents out of prison.

I mean...!

It never seems the slightest bit creepy because not only do they physically look the same age anyway, he has the maturity level and temperament of a moody fourteen year-old. The 'power' he has over her is played like the schoolroom antics of a boy pulling pigtails rather than any desire to genuinely take advantage of her situation. There's nothing predatory about his behaviour. He is not her actual boss, either, looking after him and his house is just a package deal with her working for the CEO (his boss/sort-of-foster mother).

I can't claim to be upset by this alleged age difference because I'm not one to be bothered by such things unless they're written in a deliberately fetishistic way, but taken at face value... the whole scenario is a bit...!

idk why they didn't just make him like 22. It's not as though he looks any older than that. Jun Tae calling him hyung honestly seems wild because Jun Tae is way more believable as being in his thirties. The driver guy is also supposed to be the same age as Ki-tae and looks way older. He always feels way older, too. Honestly, his crush on Yang-soon did strike me as a bit creepy because he really doesn't come off like a peer, especially at first. He comes across like an adult looking after a kid. Making it all the weirder that he's the one she calls oppa. Ki-tae may have been actively trying to lord it over her (because he's a jerk), but nonetheless he does feel like a peer. Just a peer who's a stuck-up asshole with too much money.

His pride and entitlement really are epic. He takes entitlement to new and dizzying heights. You've got to sort of appreciate how they committed to this character flaw and his hubris wasn't broken even well into the downfall, because of course it wouldn't be. It's a well-paced, realistic arc as frustrating as it is to watch him triple down so many times before he finally grows. It does make it difficult to ship them when he's SOOOOOO ungrateful and such a dickhead to a girl much less fortunate than he is who is busting her ass to help him while having zero reason to do so. She rescues him and looks out for him constantly in a decent, respectful way that is sincere and not patronising at all and he just screams at her for it. And she's never seen much of his good side to begin with.

We, the audience, see that he has this whole sweet, innocent aspect to his personality and that he was actually trying to do nice things for her but she doesn't see it because he always pretends he's not doing nice things and puts her down to her face. All his kind gestures are cloaked in assholery or are made in secret. He's super tsundere but she has no way of knowing this. No reason is ever given why she would like him or warm to him. They are, at times, extremely cute together but that's mostly because the actors have such good chemistry. In fact it's a real testament to their chemistry and charisma that I can invest in the relationship at all, because in general I hate this trope lmao. Bickering and bullying with no openly expressed tenderness is not romance for me. She puts up with no end of bullshit from him and he does nothing to deserve all her efforts, but she also never stops being mean to him or shitting on him in conversation and never admits that she likes him, so the tsundere really goes both ways.

And then her 'dream' to be in the army comes out of absolutely nowhere at the last minute and she treats him almost as badly over it as he treated her during his downfall, so like, whatever lmao. At least they're on equal footing, I guess.

It's not as bad as I thought it was when I quit it the first time, it's entertaining enough and a fun time if you know what you're getting into, it's just very juvenile and very... loud. I've also seen a lot of comments on how much JH has grown as an actor since this (and of course he has, this is way less nuanced and infinitely more mannered than he would be playing a similar character in Thank You just 6 years later- although I actually like Ki-tae and don't like the TY guy at all despite this) implying he was bad, but he did fine imo. He only has a couple really awkward moments and is mostly striking the right balance considering the OTT tone of the whole show. It's Jang Nara who was shockingly rough to me. If she weren't so naturally adorable her bad habits as Yang-soon would be catastrophically annoying. Apparently a lot of people don't rate her as an actress even now, but I think she was phenomenal in FTLY and Mi Young is up there with the best-realised performances I've seen in kdrama. The growth from here to there is very dramatic.

[tomorrowsdrama]

Give me your romance drama recs / drama update

I’m in the mood for a romance drama but am kind of stumped on what I should watch, so PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR RECS!  It can be kdrama, jdrama, cdrama (just maybe not contemporary cdrama since those really aren’t my bag), whatever.  Or even a period English piece.  I’m watching Do You Like Brahms? and really enjoying that so I wouldn’t mind something similar.  Of course, I am also down for something more adult/steamy.  Dysfunction is fine but it needs to have a happy ending.  I guess I’m feeling kind of sappy.  The key is that I want to swoon/feel those butterflies.  

To kind of give you an idea of what I’ve watched/am watching:

Currently Watching

Do You Like Brahms? - LOVE LOVE LOVE.  Slice of life and sweet romance done right.  When Song Ah and Joon Young smile at each other, I smile along with them.  Adorable and sweet without being twee.  An undercurrent of melancholy without being morose/a kill joy.

My Beautiful Bride - I’m loving this and highly recommend it for anyone who likes thrills, action, and a HOT  male lead single-mindedly devoted to his otp, who will go to the ends of the earth to be with her.  He literally lives only to make his otp happy.  While his love for her is what drives the plot of the story, this isn’t necessarily a romance drama.  I mean, sure, I swoon and my heart flutters when I see him beat a group of gangsters to a bloody pulp with nothing but his fists and a key.  And trust me when I say my hormones rage like crazy whenever he’s onscreen.  But I’m looking for a more ordinary kind of love story to add to my roster of dramas.  My Beautiful Bride is like two straight shots of the strongest whiskey in a shady dive bar - it’s intense, exciting, and totally gets me amped up.  However, sometimes I need a break from the Johnnie Walker and slight sense of danger and want a nice, soothing, cup of warm tea instead. 

Cruel City/Heartless City - So I know I just said I needed to mellow out my current watch list but I just LOVE this drama.  It’s got a great otp but again, its main focus is not romance.  Although, it does have one of the hottest kiss scenes in recent years.  If you thought Jung Kyung Ho was nothing but a lanky, beta, weenie, this drama will totally change your mind.  Plus, this is a re-watch so I don’t have to pay attention to everything.

Finished

Flower of Evil - I fully expected to not like this drama before it started because of the terribly misleading promos.  The only reason I checked it out was because I liked Moon Chae Won and Lee Jun Ki.  And boy am I glad I did!  I love me a devoted otp who also stop to take the time to make out.  The way Ji Won saved Hyun Su by just being herself and loving him and the way Hyun Su devotes his entire life to taking care of Ji Won and being a good husband to her - *chef’s kiss*.  OH, also, Kim Ji Hoon’s glorious long hair.  

My Unfamiliar Family - I don’t usually watch family dramas, but this was a nice little surprise.  The romance was sweet.  The healing family trauma aspect was heartwarming and done very well.  Not overwrought at all.  Some of the red herrings/misleading endings threw me a loop but overall, I enjoyed how they resolved the misunderstandings and conflict.  The re-discovery of love between the parents was nice to watch.  Really easy and enjoyable watch with a great slowburn friends to lovers pairing.  I identified with the female lead a bit too much sometimes heh.  Fun fact: The actor playing the dad also played the king in The King and the Clown who was obsessed with Lee Jun Ki’s character.

Dropped

When I Was the Most Beautiful / When I Was the Prettiest - This drama was so disappointing, it kind of upset me to be honest.  The first two episodes started off so promising.  My early 2000s dysfunctional jdrama with questionable teacher/student relationships loving ass thought I was finally getting a return to the good ol’ days (before anyone says anything, no, I do not condone teacher/student relationships in real life).  I mean, they had Ji Soo, the king of playing high school students with impossible one-sided crushes who you want to root for, playing a high school student with a one-sided crush on his art student-teacher.  We also had renowned hottie Ha Suk Jin playing his older brother and Im Soo Hyang playing the woman in between the two hot brothers.  It had all the makings of a wonderful throwback to the old school dramas. But instead, we got stuck with whatever the hell this drama is.  Anyway, disappointing!

The Merchant: Gaekju - I love Jang Hyuk.  I love sageuks.  I love Jang Hyuk in sageuks.  But this story just wasn’t working for me and there was not enough shirtless Jang Hyuk to keep my attention.

Kinda Watching On/Off

Me Too, Flower!  - An old drama that I randomly picked up because I wanted to watch something with Yoon Shi Yoon.  I am only watching this because of the Yoon Shi Yoon-Lee Ji Ah pairing because frankly, the rest of the drama kinda bores me.  Something I put on after work when I don’t want to be too involved/don’t need to concentrate too much.

Angry Mom - I started re-watching portions of this drama because of how pissed off I was about When I Was the Most Beautiful and the disappointment I felt when I foudn out Kim Hee Sun was playing Joo Won’s mom instead of lover in Alice (although from the looks of the posts in the tag, maybe she’s gonna be both? hahaha).  This is Ji Soo’s break out role and for good reason.  His crush on Kim Hee Sun’s undercover high school student mom is adorable and not creepy at all because (1) He doesn’t know she’s an ahjumma (a bit of suspension of disbelief is required for this drama because no matter how great KHS looks, high school student she is not); and (2) it’s completely one-sided and not reciprocated by KHS at all.  Sigh, I just want to watch KHS in a hot noona romance and Ji Soo in a good romance where (1) he gets the girl and (2) the plot is not completely asinine.

Stopped Watching but Really Need to Return to 

Ever Night S1 - Ok, I literally have less than 10 episodes left of this drama but for some reason I keep on putting it off.  I have a real problem finishing dramas I love.  Aside from the fact that I get easily distracted and hop from one drama to the next quite often, I think it’s also because I don’t want the drama to end.  I know there’s a second season, but it just doesn’t seem the same.  Anyway, I should just buck up and finish this drama already.

Novoland Eagle Flag - I took a break because the angst was just non-stop and I needed something a bit lighter. 

Six Flying Dragons - I binged like 10 episodes one day and took a break to give my poor eyes and brain a rest.  Then, in true me fashion, I got distracted by some other drama and now I can’t remember where I left off.

Mr. Sunshine - I love Lee Byung Hun as an actor and I am also a big fan of Byun Yo Han.  This is also the hottest Yoo Yeon Suk has ever looked to me.  But I kind of lost interest when it became apparent that all three male leads were going to be in love with the female lead.  I like the female lead just fine but it’s kind of annoying how everybody is in love with her.  I know this is a quality drama but honestly, I don’t think I will return to this unless I have nothing more interesting to watch. 

[notthatiwilleverwriteit]

Yo I'm sorry but I read your answer to that one ask about nsfw stuff in one day/19 days. And for the most part I agree, exept for one thing. Please, for the love of god, don't say this is a comic "for" women. Yes it's bl BUT Old Xian is not a god damn fujoshi. He is male and uses he/him pronouns. This is not a story focused to please female viewers. This is a story about boys in love by a man not some god damn fetish for women. Just because it has a "manga style" doesn't mean it's a "Yaoi" :')

Good afternoon, dear anon-san!

And thank you for your comment regarding my earlier answer about 19 Days being NSFW. I’m glad to hear you felt like you could agree with most of it even though there was something that rubbed you the wrong way. I have no problem with people disagreeing with me or coming forward if they take issue with whatever I have said. But I would be lying if I said answering your comment doesn’t make me nervous. BL and fujoshis are quite controversial topics that I’m sure will divide people reading this or following me. But I don’t think I would be doing anyone a favor if I wasn’t honest even if what I have to say is controversial. I would like to think I have always tried to be open to all kinds of opinions and perspectives even if they differ from mine, and I hope people will extend me the courtesy. 

“Yes it’s bl BUT Old Xian is not a god damn fujoshi. He is male and uses he/him pronouns.”

I don’t think I said OldXian was a fujoshi, but I can see how that might have been implied by me saying 19 Days is a work of BL. As a genre, BL is typically targeted at a female audience by female authors. However, that is just how it usually goes. BL has plenty of male fans, too, and they’re called fudanshi. I’m not saying OX is a fudanshi but rather that all kinds of people can be fans of BL. It’s not tied to one’s gender.

Also, while males writing BL certainly isn’t typical, it’s not unheard of, either. Sadly, the author’s gender is somehow considered relevant even these days which has resulted in many male BL authors using female aliases (and vice versa when it comes to females writing genres that are typically written by male authors). But there are some BL authors who are openly males, too. For example, D. Jun – the author of Guang Xiang and Here U Are – is apparently a male.

“This is not a story focused to please female viewers. This is a story about boys in love by a man not some god damn fetish for women. Just because it has a “manga style” doesn’t mean it’s a ‘Yaoi’”

No, having “manga style” doesn’t make 19 Days a yaoi. The fact that one of its major themes is gay love makes it a BL, though. Especially in the context of it being an Asian publication. Are there other kinds of relationships and themes included, too? Yes, most definitely! And they’re all intriguing and essential to the story. The comic is also about friendship, families, and coming of age, to name a few. But it can’t be denied a pretty significant part of it revolves around homoerotic love, and that kind of theme is mainly consumed by a prominently female audience. They are also more often than not heavily targeted at female readers and to appeal to their tastes.

Case in point, the good-looking male protagonists with lean muscles and the author not exactly shying away from drawing them at least half-naked. You could also say He Tian’s character is the kind that typically appeals to females – a dark bad boy with a hot bod and vulnerable, tragic past. And what do you know, he’s at least the second fan favorite - if not the most liked, even. Are we really going to pretend these aspects aren’t attracting and appealing to female readers? Am I really the only one seeing readers drool and squeal whenever OX publishes chapters featuring shirtless HT, moments of tender gay affection, or illustrations of suggestive poses (homoerotic or otherwise)? Is OX doing it intentionally to appeal to female readers? No one but OX can answer to that, but does it really matter? I don’t think it changes the end result; it attracts largely females and I’m sure many of them are avid consumers of BL, too.

I don’t think this has escaped OX, either. A couple of times by now, the comic has made references to BL genre, girls being fans of cute guys together and how that kind of material attracts the female attention (ch. 151, 295, and 296):

(Sorry for the cencor, but Tumblr wouldn’t let me post this otherwise...)

Those moments can basically be taken both as OX making light of the genre and the comic being self-aware. 19 Days makes funny metafictional references while also utilizing the BL conventions itself. It’s also a clever way if the author wants to take a stand on how their work is different from its predecessors in the same genre. Because I think 19 Days is quite one of a kind compared to other BL publications. And it has sparked conversations regarding the BL conventions, for example, ukes vs. semes. It can do all that and still be a BL as such that it appeals to females or fans of the genre in general.

Now, does any of that mean 19 Days can’t appeal to other kinds of fans, too? Of course, not! In fact, you yourself dear anon-san, are an excellent example of that. I think 19 Days is one of the few Asian BL comics that has attracted countless of Western fans, too, who are perhaps not that familiar with Asian BL. It should also be noted that m/m ships are hugely popular in the Western fandoms, too. They are just more tied to the original works and not really separated to become a genre of its own as has happened with BL in Asia, especially in Japan. As it happens, the stats of the Top 100 Ships on AO3 in 2019 were just published the other day, and whopping 69 of them are slash aka m/m. Do you think that is completely unrelated to the fact that fanfiction is mostly written and read by females? I’m not saying it’s the only reason because it’s more complicated than that, but it certainly indicates Western female audiences are also big fans of homoerotic content. And they, too, are often accused of “making everything gay”.

I also don’t have a problem admitting this: If 19 Days didn’t have homoerotic themes whatsoever and the boys were having crushes on females, I doubt I would have been interested in the comic. The other themes I mentioned above are interesting to me, but on their own and paired up with m/f endgame relationships they wouldn’t be enough for me. I don’t read 19 Days just for the gay content, but it is a significant reason why I originally checked it out and why I keep loving it. Personally, I don’t think being attracted to the gay aspect and loving the story and characters, too, has to be an either-or kind of deal. You can very well do both. Does saying this somehow make me less of a fan of 19 Days? I’m sure it does in some people’s eyes but frankly, I don’t need other’s approval to love and be interested in something.

So far, I have pretty much disagreed with everything you said, but allow me to offer you an olive branch, dear anon-san. I get why my BL-related notions may have upset you. I get where you are coming from with saying 19 Days isn’t a “fetish for women”. You don’t want something you love to be associated with something you clearly despise. Yaoi and fujoshis have a bad rep, and I’m not trying to pretend like it’s completely underserved. I read a lot of BL but don’t really agree with the hardcore fujoshi mentality or identify with them as a group. I also think BL works have many tropes and conventions that do not represent realistic gay relationships and are highly problematic. However, BL is a fictional genre with its own history, development, conventions, and target audience. And as an avid BL reader, I think just because something appeals to me in a fictional setting it doesn’t mean I’m advocating the same things in real life.

To be honest, talking about this kind of makes my stomach twist with dread and nerves because I realize many people might get upset over this. And putting yourself in this kind of position on Tumblr especially can be a bit risky. So, let me say it once again: People are welcome to disagree with me or think I’m as wrong as humanly possible. And I would most probably understand where they are coming from. However, I would also like to remind anyone feeling angry with me that this is just me coming from a different point of view. Just like you are, dear anon-san. As far as I’m concerned, you are free to enjoy 19 Days from your own perspective and me from mine without it having to mean we’re somehow robbing each other of something.

[thessaliah]

I'm not sure if this is relevant but I never really liked ryokira I mean I don't like yaoi in general but I always saw their relationship as one-sided You see, Ryo deep down, likes akira but he can only show that via trying to get akira, who was a suckup at the time, to get him to do what he wants But once akira becomes devilman and Ryo has no one to look down on, that drives him mad up until he finds out he's not actually ryo asuka I could go on but I'm running out of digits so wat u think?

Well if you’re talking about Crybaby, sure I agree a little there’s a strong need for that Ryo to control Akira, but in the Manga, I’m not sure if I agree-

We see a flashback of their relationship in the manga before Ryo went full paranoid, where they climb together and camp, admiring the landscape. They got along because their personalities were alike (still are in some sense, which Satan realized/brought up at the end of Devilman). In that time travel chapter with the native Americans, where Ryo’s not affected by paranoia which warps him (this is exactly what Satan was testing how fear changes people), he’s actually a soft-hearted, sensitive guy who can’t kill animals at all. And he’s always been like that (that’s why Akira was surprised by his change when he comes to him in Devilman opening chapter). He wasn’t too different from Akira. They were comfortable around each other because they had a very equal standing which was nice to see. The fear of demons and paranoia made him snap, do drugs, become unstable and more violent under pressure. That’s what Satan found out: how even a good person can be driven to extremes because of fear. And is fear and paranoia what they weaponize against humanity. The demons didn’t exterminate humanity in Devilman, the humans drove each other to extinction while Satan and Akira sat at the sidelines. 

(Would have been nice for uncle Go to give us more flashbacks before the demons rolled in).

Also, Ryo’s concerned about Akira losing his humanity and stressed over what happened to him in the few instances he as monologue in the manga. Where he’s scared and tries to be, with the limited page time as it’s a short manga, his emotional crutch all up until his change. He feels responsible for Akira, and he refuses to stay behind and get him hurt or fight alone. That’s why he crawls out his hospital bed to save him from Syrene even if he’s still injured. He is also stressed to help him; in fact, supporting Akira was his tragic last thoughts before he drove home and realized who he was. Getting those memories back changed Ryo who went from the most ardent champion to save humanity (far more than Akira and I think Akira’s distance with humanity began by losing Ryo) to Satan. This changed priorities too. Satan might love Akira, but Satan has loyalties and promises made to demons. Unlike Amon in the TV show of Devilman, love made them conflicted, but not enough to not be true to their previous loyalties.

Of course in a thematic and symbolic way, Akira has taken Amon’s power so is one of Satan’s demons, and the rebellion against demons for humans (initially) mirrors Satan’s rebellion against God for demons which Satan acknowledges in the end. That aside. Let’s talk about Ryo.

Ryo wasn’t trying to influence  Akira or anything, he was concerned by his safety and he was frustrated he couldn’t help him out because he was human. He couldn’t forgive himself because they promised to fight together. But there was no envy or need for Akira to listen to him. Ryo does say something protective like trying to stay indoors after Zenon’s broadcast, but isn’t an attempt to control Akira as a pawn, but because he’s scared Akira is going to die. Akira gets the same reaction when he found out Ryo went hunting demons on his own, he gets angry and forbids him to expose himself into danger. I think Akira came out even more controlling of Ryo in there too. 

I have always assumed that Ryo unconsciously wanted Akira to be strong to survive because he loved him. This is what killed Amon, Satan’s love for Akira, it wasn’t Akira’s ‘strong pure heart’ (such thing doesn’t save Akira without Ryo, and Amon kills him and takes him over) it was Satan who inadvertently destroys a mighty demon to empower their crush as reality warps sometimes by their whims without their explicit control. Zenon angrily accuses Satan and reveals their actions in the end, because they fell in love with Akira. I mean, on one hand Zenon’s right, Satan disposed of a powerful asset and ally to make a powerful enemy which wasn’t logical at all. But on the other hand, Zenon lashing out (at least one of Zenon’s male heads/personas) might be out jealousy, he kept trying to kill Devilman despite (or maybe because) Satan doesn’t want him dead.  In Devilman Lady, Zenon splits into three personas, and the main one becomes the super protective bodyguard of Lan, who is one of Satan’s new human split personas as Ryo was in the past, and puts unwanted moves on Jun, the other half of Satan. 

I highlighted the bold part because it’s what Akira and Satan (Ryo is just one of their incarnations) were about. That’s why Devilman Lady wraps up their story (Akira and Satan). It’s where it began and how it could have been: finally fighting side by side as allies as they shook hands on chapter 1. That’s the book ends. Where they sorted their things out and united forces after they failed to do (because the message in Devilman, written during the Cold War, needed to make them fail to be more memorable and it worked). Their relationship is very important - in all aspects, romantic, platonic friendship, their former enmity, and also family - it’s what drive both characters to change: Satan accepts humanity in such way that further experiences the pains of humans including the evolution phase to demonic and does so sincerely because has learned of past mistakes and wouldn’t let God win this time. This is all thanks to meeting Akira and those experiences as Ryo that led to the existence of Jun and Lan. Akira has learned to be at peace with not being human anymore, he’s matured and realized how he was being self-centered and lacked the big picture; that he too was an architect of his own misery. What drove this change is his relationship with Satan whom he wants to meet again to understand.  And they ride to battle as equals. On that splash page, they stand as generals each on a steed, versus Michael who is lone general on the angels’ side. Even if Satan is stronger and could pull the cred of being the leader of demons, Satan doesn’t want Akira as an underling. Doesn’t ask that. But to fight by their side for the freedom to live when angels want to take their world away. 

PS. I also not sure if consider Akira and Satan BL, Satan is intersexed (so is Akira when he wants - demons can pick their private parts, it’s very fluid as some of those special one-shots Nagai and his friends show us in detail). I know the fandom is mostly interested in Ryo angle but Ryo is just one of the human avatars/identities of Satan who isn’t male or human. 

[marshmellowmin]

Rebellion pt. 1 | Mafia!Jeno AU

Okay so this is a collaboration series between myself ( @marshmellowmin ) and the author @smorechan so please support us as we continue to release more content related to our overall theme that can be found on her blog. Thank you!!!

Jeno: Policeman. Joined the Seoul Police Department to avoid any unnecessary attention from them. Is in the running for Captain even though he’s only 20. Constantly blows away the police officers with his skills. Prefers to be around Jaemin when he’s at headquarters.

Years in Mafia: 5

Weapon of Choice: Glock 22 with laser

Body count: 7 (including the 3 in line of duty)

___

So, policy wasn’t exactly your thing. Even though that was all your family dealt with. Policies, Politics, Diplomacies, foreign affairs, homeland security - you name it, someone in your family works with it. Daughter of millionaire chaebol turned hard-ass politician, Choi Saewon, you could basically say you had it all. Money, lots of it. Friends, plenty of them to go around. Good looks, enough to shoot someone down with a glance. Brains, full of intelligence that got you accepted into KAIST. But you were missing a lot. Parental love - you saw your mother maybe twice a month. True friendship - you doubt none of the people you called “friends” knew anything more than your net worth. Discipline - now that, was out of the question. For an 18 year old freshman in college, you probably drank more than anyone you knew, probably had been high more times to count, and definitely didn’t hang around the best people when you had free time.

And that’s how you ended up here. Sitting in front of hard-ass police detective Lee Jeno as he stared you down with the smallest hint of a smirk. He sighed, running his hands through his black locks, leaning back in the swivel chair behind his desk. “You have a really bad habit of making trouble when you come from a family that only cares about public images.” To be fair, he was tired of having to clean up your mess because your family decided that if he did this, he was a shoe-in for captain during the next inter-agency election. You chuckled lowly. You stopped caring about your family’s public image ages ago-much to your mother’s dismay. You slouched in your seat and smirked at the officer in front of you. Since high school, you’ve been to this station more times than you could count and you’ve dealt with more than a few policemen. Lee Jeno has been a regular for you, since he was basically being controlled by your parents influence. Whatever he did, it was because your parents told him to do it.

“What’s it gonna be this time Officer Lee? Slap on the wrist? Phone call home? Overnight stay? Oooh or all of the above?” You had become quite close with Lee Jeno, mainly because he was the only officer who knew how to deal with you without beating your head in.

“It’s a bit of a different consequence this time Miss Choi. I’m afraid you won’t be going home for a little while. Parent’s orders.” His irritated expression turned into one of unadulterated arrogance. You could only assume that he was given permission to punish you in any way he saw fit, there was no other reason to be so cocky at the moment. “Instead, you’ll be spending the weekend following me around;  that, or I gave a warden whose willing to let you see what real life behind bars is like. Your choice?” His boot clad feet slid from the desk separating the two of you as he swung his center of mass around so he was leaning as close to you as the obstacle would let him.

“I guess you get to deal with me for the next 48 hours Officer Lee.” Mustering the brightest smile you could, you were already thinking of ways to make this Officer’s weekend more miserable than the devil himself could imagine.

Jokes on you though, because so was he.

Two hours and 20 million piles of paperwork later, Officer Lee was finally done with work. You had been bored out of your mind-and it didn’t help that the other police officers kept making disgusting comments about you. Officer Lee ordered you to sit behind his desk the whole time, and given how disgusting the rest of the officers were, you were fine staying where you were. You didn’t need an assault case on your hands. You sat behind Officer Lee’s desk and sat bored for a whole two hours.

“Alright, Miss Choi. You ready to go?” Officer Lee asked, gathering his personal things-wallet, keys, phone, the works. You nodded, seeing as he also had your bag of things from the evidence room. You figured it was best to listen to Officer Lee until you had enough leverage against him to get him to do whatever you wanted him to-which at this point, was let  you go. As soon as you two walked out of the station, Officer Lee’s phone rang. He picked up the phone and answered it very gruffly.

“What do you want? I have a job to do, Jun,” Officer Lee said, shifting his weight. It sounded like he didn’t like this Jun person. You couldn’t hear what Jun was saying, but you heard Officer Lee clear as day. “I have to accompany a juvenile for the next two days, Jun. I won't clean up your mess. Get Doyoung-hyung to do it. Don’t ‘But Jeno’ me, Huang Renjun. You screwed up. You fix it. What to you mean she’s already at my house? Why is she there? You what? Huang Renjun! Come and get your girl before this gets any worse for the rest of us. Yeah, I’m on my way. I’ll make sure she doesn’t leave before you get here. Yeah, whatever. See you.” Officer Lee hung the phone up and heaved a deep sigh. He looked at you and sighed again.

“Does this mean I don’t have to spend the next two days with you?” You asked, hopeful that  whoever this Renjun person is saved you from Officer Lee Jeno. But your hopes were crushed.

“Not a chance. You’re just gonna have to deal with some of my family drama. Also, from here on out, refer to me as Jeno, not Officer Lee. My family likes to make fun of the fact that I’m a police officer,” Jeno said, walking towards an apartment complex not far from the station. You walked behind him, not making a sound. Jeno’s life sounded complicated in many aspects.

As you approached the door, you made out a slim silhouette with slumped shoulder as they paced between the door and the wall on the other side of the hallway. Their head perked up at the sound of footsteps and you were met with a young man, no older than Jeno himself, his hair was dyed chestnut and the hopeful gleam in his eyes vanished when he saw you walking behind his friend. “What took you so long to get here?” He ran up to the two of you, pleading with Jeno to just open the door already.

“What did you do to your fiance, huh? That her only option was the hide away in a police officer’s house? I swear to god Jun, if you decided it would be funny to leave her out in the rain again and I walk in and see bullet holes in my coffee table, you are buying me a new one.” His voice was threatening as he pulled the keys out of his pocket.

“It wasn’t anything like that. We- we got into an argument okay? I don’t want her going on missions anymore. Not after what happened last time.” The poor young man was on the verge of tears, remembering the earlier fight.

“You know that wasn’t the right call Jun.” Jeno sighed, opening the door just as Renjun raced through, calling out someone’s name. You heard a female voice respond to his pleas before Jeno turned back to you. “I’m sure you are hungry, there is a good Greek diner down the street, we can go there. Plus, it would be better to leave them alone for the time being.”

He didn’t wait for you to decide before walking towards the stairs once agains and leaving you in the dust. By the time you had scaled the same set of stairs he had seconds before. He was already at the entrance of his building, typing away furiously on his phone, smiling. “Girlfriend?” You questioned, laughing as you walked past him in the direction of the blinking neon sign of a 24/7 diner.

“Best friend.” He responded dryly, shutting off his phone and walking into the diner. The diner was of a certain charm, as your mother would say. It was like a new school diner with none of the budget. All of the booths were damaged in some way shape or form, the tables were carved into like 20 times in the past day, and it smelled like burnt grease. The only real “new school” aspect was the electric menu above the counter. Everything else looked like it was out of the 50’s. How someone could spend more than five minutes in that place was beyond your comprehension. Jeno looked up at you expectantly, as if you were supposed to order for you two.

“What?”

“Aren’t you going to order?”

“No, I’ve never been here before. I don’t even know where to start!” You waved your hands frantically about your person, it was your way of dramaticising every situation. Jeno sighed heavily in annoyance and walked up to the counter.

“What’ll it be today Officer? The usual?” The man at the counter asked, leaning forward a little bit. The clerk was a greasy man and had a nasty beard that looked like it hadn’t been groomed in months.

“Make it two, one for me and one for the chick.” Jeno flatlined, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket. The clerk looked over at you and smirked.

“Finally got yourself a girl, ey? You got it Officer.” You couldn’t see Jeno’s reaction to the clerks comment, but you definitely rolled your eyes and internally groaned. You? Dating Jeno? Never. The day you dated a police officer would be the day you went on the straight and narrow. Jeno waved you over to a table and sat down across from you.

“Chick huh? Didn’t think we were on such casual terms. If I had known, I’d have called you dude this whole time,” You commented, making Jeno glare at you.

“Call me dude even once and I won’t hesitate to smack you.”

“Wow. Bet you’re real fun at parties.” You mumbled, shifting your gaze to the window to your left. You were too busy staring out into the streets to notice Jeno was staring at you.

“Y/N.”

“Yeah?”

“My friend will be joining us at the house tonight, try not to do anything promiscuous, please. He has enough on his plate right now.”

“Yah! I’m not that type of person!” You kicked Jeno from under the table. You didn’t know where he got the idea that you were the promiscuous type, but you felt deeply offended that he thought that about you. He really held you to no standards.

“Ow! What was that for?” He yelled, standing up.

“What was what for?” A new voice made your ears perk up. His voice was deeper, but sounded more immature than Jeno’s. You turned and saw a man, about Jeno’s height, wearing all black. You couldn’t really see his features but you really didn’t want to. You assumed this was Jeno’s friend, so you wanted to stay as far away as possible.

“She kicked me!”

“For good reason! You called me promiscuous!” You defended, crossing your legs and turning your head away from the injured male in front of you.

“Was I wrong in saying that?”

“Yes! Very much so!” You yelled. You weren’t worried about making a scene, you Jeno, and the new guy were the only three customers in the diner.

“Jeno, you really need to practice having a filter. It really helps in avoiding situations like this.” The new guy said, pulling up a chair and sitting down at the end of the table.

“Says the guy who can’t even admit he has a crush.” This perked up your ears.

“Crush?” You repeated, turning to the new guy.

“She’s more of a celebrity crush. Doesn’t count”

“Well it depends. Have you met her?”

“I think so.”

“What would you say your personality is like?”

“Strong silent and mean type,” Jeno commented, making the new guy glare at him. “What? I’m not wrong. You threatened Mark’s not-girlfriend girlfriend  the day you met her.”

“Who?” the new guy asked, obviously confused.

“The chick who Mark will not stop complaining about? Reorganized his entire lab and now he’s bitching about not being able to find his test tubes?”

“Oh is she the really bubbly one who’s always screaming at Mark?”

“That’s the one.”

“Ah I remember now. She deserved it. Also I wasn’t in the best of moods.”

“Okay, okay, back on track here. Is Jeno’s description of your personality correct or not?” You asked, getting impatient.

“More or less, yeah.”

“Okay then if you meet her again, be distant. Don’t let her know it’s a celebrity crush.”

“How would I do that?”

“Be around, don’t hide from her. But don’t speak to her unless it’s absolutely necessary. And if you really want to be spontaneous, corner her from time to time and be really serious. LIke in Kdramas!” Jeno scoffed.

“You want him to act like he’s in a Kdrama? Him?” The new guy glared at Jeno once again.

“It doesn’t sound so bad, I’ll try it. Thanks, uh..?”

“Y/N. And you’re welcome.”

“Alright well I hate to break the wonderful conversation you two were having, but the foods done and Jun’s calling us home.” Jeno said, making eye contact with the dude to your left.

“Like home home, or your house home?” The guy asked, his tone changing.

“Home home. Johnny apparently wants us all there for the next few days.”

“What are you gonna to about Y/N?”

“I guess I have no choice but to take her. It’s not like she’s not useful or anything. Johnny should approve.”

“I’m sorry, who’s Johnny? Where am I going? What am I useful for?” You asked, making Jeno sigh.

“It’s a long story and I’ll tell you when we get home. Which by the way, will be your new home from now on.”

“I’m sorry what?”

“Long story. Let’s go.” Jeno said, grabbing the boxes of food and walking towards the door. You and the other guy followed Jeno, the other guy quickly catching up to Jeno while you walked a couple paces behind the two men. You could barely make out the conversation they were having and eventually just resorted to reading the neon signs above your head as you walked down the streets.

The boy who had been at Jenos house prior to your visit to the Greek diner met up with Jeno and the other guy as you all walked past Jenos house, his face portraying that of a broken boy. You assumed his fiance didn’t forgive him. You walked in silence as the three boys in front of you made hushed conversation. You couldn’t help but admire Jenos features, him being the easiest for you to stare at while walking. His jawline was prominent as well as his cheekbones and other facial features. His eyebrows were straight and dark, but they fit his boxy face quite well. His eyes turned into little arches when he smiled, something he didn’t seem to do while on duty. Jeno’s entire personality changed around these two guys, and it was slightly attractive to you. The hardass police officer Jeno was no more while he was with the two boys, but instead he seemed almost carefree, like that of a normal adult who just came of age. He hadn’t had the chance to change out of his work attire, but he somehow looked less official in it now.

“Y/N.” Jenos voice pulled you out of your thoughts and you realized you were standing in front of an abandoned construction site. It looked stable enough-the building was only a few storeys tall and made of brick.

“Yeah?”

“Don’t walk away from me. No matter what happens or what you’re interested in, I need you to stay by my side until you settle into a room for the night, okay?” Jeno’s commanding but tender voice surprised you. He suddenly sounded like he cared for your wellbeing, and not just because it’s in your parent’s interest.

“Okay, Jeno. Lead the way,” you said, signalling that you were ready to go inside. He nodded and opened the back door, allowing the two boys to go in first and then you, Jeno following you in soon after. Your eyes were met with a basic hotel lobby with a front desk, old benches, an elevator, and a door to the staircase. Jeno grabbed your arm and led you to the elevator, where the two boys were waiting for you. They pressed the button labeled “B” and with that, you all went down to the basement of the old building. As soon as the doors to the elevator opened, your eyes bugged out of your head. The elevator went straight into a living room like space that had dark hardwood floors and white couches with glass coffee tables and white walls that were decorated with graffiti and pieces of modern art. There were multiple hallways leading away from the living room, one leading to a visible kitchen and dining area. The room was filled with people-more men than women-who all had their eyes on you.

“Jeno, Jaemin, Renjun, how nice of you all to join us. And Jeno even brought along an extra! Our girls should be pleased to have another girl joining them. Please, take a seat. The meeting is about to begin.” The man at the front of the room said, motioning for the four of you to sit and listen to the meeting that was in progress. Jeno led you to a spot near a graffitied “love kills” along the back wall of the room and made you stand beside him the whole time. One of the girls sitting on the couch in front of you shot you a sympathetic look before turning back to face the man who seemed to be in charge of this congregation of people.

“As you all may know, besides the lovely young lady in the back whom I have yet to meet, we are in the middle of a power struggle. China wants to limit all of their exports to the other countries and Korea doesn’t want to have to pay the tariffs on all of their Chinese imports. So, naturally we interfered with this process and now we have to pay the price. One of China’s biggest mafias attacked one of our own while on a job, and now we must protect ourselves and each other from this threat. She will now come up and explain the details of this mafia that attacked her. I expect you all to listen well.” The man ended his speech and sat down, a woman about Jeno’s age replaced his position at the front of the room.

“Thank you, Johnny. Yes, I was attacked by a chinese mafia no more than a week ago while completing a job that forced me to travel to China. I was to execute a corrupt businessman who had been in the child labor industry for years now. I missed my chance while he was in Korea due to personal issues and I was determined to complete my mission. So I followed him to China and executed him there. I had just called the local members to help clean up the body when I saw movement from my left peripheral. Immediately, I engaged the men in combat and barely escaped without much harm done to myself. The men who attacked me are apart of the Chinese Mafia, simply named, and consider themselves rivals of S-NCT and NCT-116. As of right now, our members of NCT-116 are gathering intel on the Chinese Mafia. We don’t know much, and until we do, watch each other’s backs. We’re gonna need everyone’s help and lord knows we don’t need to lose any one of us to this. Stay safe and good luck, that is all.” The woman ended her speech and was replaced by the man from before, Johnny was what the woman called him.

“She is right, everyone. So please, watch each other’s backs and for the love of god don’t die. Meeting adjourned. Yong?” Johnny looked towards a man with red hair. The man stood up and made a weird sign with his hands-a sign that everyone else replicated.

“To the world!” The red haired man yelled.

“NCITY!” The rest of the room responded, and with that, everyone dispersed. Jeno grabbed your wrist and led you to Johnny, who was still at the front of the room. Johnny watched you intently, as if he were deciding what to do with you. You suddenly felt extremely insecure, as you were wearing a ripped Rolling Stones tee and baggy ripped mom jeans with your hair in a messy bun. You weren’t exactly “presentable” for a meeting with a leader of some sort of mafia cult thing.

“So Jeno, what has our resident officer brought in today? A druggie? Maybe a dealer? OH! I know! A graffiti artist! Sorry to say Jeno, but I think the walls are filled with enough graffiti from Renjun and Chenle,” Johnny said, slapping Jeno’s shoulder. Jeno just rolled his eyes and pulled you in front of him-putting his hands on both of your shoulders.

“Johnny-Hyung, meet Choi Y/N. Choi Y/N, meet Johnny-hyung. He’s S-NCT’s leader and basically the most embarrassing dad you will ever meet. I think you’ll be of much use-you know, with your impressive criminal skills.” Jeno gently pat your left shoulder and left. He actually left you alone with a mafia leader. Typical Jeno.

“Well that was rude of him. Anyways, as you already know, I’m Johnny and I’m the leader of S-NCT. Is there anything you need me to clarify before I go into details about what you just bore witness to?” Johnny asked and you shook your head. You had inferred all your information, but you figured it was correct. You usually were. “Then sit down girl, cause you’re gonna be here a little while. I’ve got a lot to catch you up on.”

Twenty minutes later and Johnny finally finished explaining to you just what caused the meeting and you felt a strange anger towards the Chinese Mafia. You had also figured out that the girl who was attacked by the Chinese Mafia was Renjun’s fiance and a sniper from another Korean Mafia, K-251. Now, Johnny was asking about your skills and criminal offenses.

“Obviously, a criminal record means next to nothing here. But I need to know what you did so I can position you accordingly,” Johnny said, taking a sip from the water bottle he had a boy named Chenle grab him-much to Chenle’s reluctance.

“Position me?” You questioned, something you had become very comfortable with doing. Jeno was right when he called Johnny an embarrassing dad. You felt very at home here-more than you ever felt in your own home.

“Skill wise. Mark and Chenle are the IT guys, Renjun’s our sniper, Jeno’s our undercover intelligence, and Jaemin’s an assassin. Does that make a little more sense?” You nodded along, everything coming together in your mind. Jeno’s position was to gather intelligence on the police for the Mafia and possibly keep the police off the Mafia’s trail. It made sense once you thought about it.

“I think I understand. My dad is Choi Saewon, and my mom does youth programs everywhere. So I’m very well trained in politics and all that good stuff. But I hate it so I rebel. I go to major keggers at the frat house near the community college and I do whatever I can to ruin my image. I don’t want to be seen as the ‘Perfect daughter’ anymore. I’m more than my mother and my father will ever be. I attended KAIST because my dad wanted me to become an engineer because, and I quote, I have a ‘natural affinity for the world’s mathematical problems’, unquote.” You explained, sipping your water that Johnny ordered Chenle to grab for you.

“Interesting. So I could put you in IT with MArk and Chenle if that would be favorable for you, or I could have you work alongside Doyoung, S-NCT’s resident politician,” Johnny leaned forward in his seat, putting his elbows on his knees to support his upper body. This surprised you. Kim Doyoung, famous politician and bachelor, was apart of a mafia?

“Could I possibly just to my own thing? I’m an excellent escape artist and I’m a trained street fighter,” You said folding your arms over your chest. Johnny smirked and stood up.

“I was hoping you would say that. Well, Choi Y/N, welcome to S-NCT. I’ll have Jeno show you around and I hope you enjoy your life here from now on. We’re like a big family and now you’re apart of it too. So stay safe and stick to Jeno like glue. I’m sure he’ll protect you.” Johnny said, bringing you in for a hug. Your dad never showed you this much affection-ever. You were grateful for Johnny and his acceptance of your character. As Johnny released the hug, you saw Jeno turn the corner and walk into the sitting room. “Speak of the devil! Jeno! I have assigned you to take care of our newest recruit, I trust you won’t let her-or myself-down?” Johnny said, winking at Jeno, which made Jeno playfully hit Johnny’s arm.

“You got it Hyung. I wouldn’t dare let the famous Choi daughter come to any harm.” You suddenly felt a pang in your chest. Jeno only saw you as Choi Saewon’s daughter, his one way ticket to Captain of the police force. It stung.

“Jeno. She’s not just Choi Saewon’s daughter. She’s S-NCT’s resident escape artist, street fighter, and engineer. She’s Choi Y/N of S-NCT and I expect you to treat her as such.” Johnny said, giving Jeno a deadly glare that terrified the two of you. You finally understood just how Johnny became leader and kept the position.

“Yes of course, Hyung. My mistake.” Jeno said nervously. He avoided eye contact with you and lead you down a hallway and into the kitchen. “This is the kitchen and um yeah. Anyways that's the dining room and just down that hall is the gun range. Up those stairs is Johnny’s office, Mark’s lab, and Doyoung’s office. This way leads to our dorms and bathrooms 1-3. Go down this hall a little bit more and you’ll reach the gym and music room-yes we have one of those. Music nights are a bit of a tradition here. Down here is all of our guest rooms and yes, we have guest rooms and I’m glad we do because we’ve been getting a lot of new recruits lately. They all stay here so we’ve deemed this hall ‘Newbieland’. This is also where you will be staying when you’re here. Over that way is Jungwoo-hyung’s garden-it’s his favorite place to be so should you ever need to find him he’s probably there. So coming back to the living room, just over that way is the elevator that you will use should you enter through the front. The back door is through Jungwoo-Hyung’s garden and our garage is below. Um, anything else you’d like to know before I send you to bed?” Jeno rambled on and on before finally ending his tour. Thankfully, you were staying apart from him in this somehow huge underground space.

“Yeah, just one. What will I wear to bed tonight and for the day tomorrow? This is all I have,” You asked, gesturing to your worn out clothes. Despite being the daughter of a wealthy politician, you had to fend for yourself when it came to clothes and other luxury items. Your father forbid you from using what he called the “family money”, which only proved to you that he had no intention of associating with you now that you’ve become an adult. Which begged the question, why did he care if you spent a few months in jail or not?

“Someone should have spare clothes. Taeyong just took Mark’s not-girlfriend girlfriend shopping so she should have something, you two seem to be of the same size.” Jeno said, grabbing your arm and leading you to “newbieland”. He knocked on a door in the middle of the hall on the left that had been decorated lightly with pencil sketches around the handle and about eye level for you. A girl who was about your height opened the door in a tank top and mint green pajama pants that were covered in pandas.

“Yes, Jeno? How can I help you?” She said, opening the door completely to show off her messy room. Shopping bags were strewn everywhere and clothes lay on just about every piece of furniture besides the desk and the desk chair. It was chaotic but pleasing to know that you weren’t alone in your lazy habits.

“This is Y/N, she’s a new recruit but she has nothing. She needs to borrow some clothes for tonight and tomorrow.” Jeno said curtly, pushing you into the room. You glared at him and smiled at the girl.

“Y/N! Hi my name’s Y/F/N and I joined a few weeks ago. I’m the newest recruit so far in the sense of I had no prior affiliations. If we were going off of time here, Renjun’s fiance would be the newest but she’s very skilled and brings alot to the team so I don’t consider her as new as I am. I do hope we can be friends?” Y/F/N introduced. She seemed to ramble a lot but that really didn’t matter to you. You were happy to have a friend who didn’t know your net worth.

“Of course! Now about the clothes? Also, hun, I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I’m brand new, so you aren’t the newest recruit anymore. And I’m sure you bring just as much to the team as Renjun’s fiance. Don’t doubt yourself. It’s your worst enemy,” You smiled and walked into the messy room. Y/F/N smiled as well and ruffled through a pile on her bed, pulling out a tank top identical to hers and a pair of pink shorts with white polka dots. Not really your style but you were happy to accept something to sleep in that wasn’t jeans.

“These should fit, if not just come on back and I’ll find something else! And if you need something to wear tomorrow then just stop by around eight and I’ll find something for ya.” Y/F/N said, handing you the pajamas. You smiled at her gratefully.

“Thank you so much Y/F/N. I haven’t had a real friend in a while, and I hope we become good friends. I’m gonna go put these on now, have a goodnight!” You said, pulling her in for a hug, which she gladly accepted.

“Of course girlie! We gotta stick together if we’re gonna survive these pugnacious boys! Goodnight hun!” She shut the door behind you and suddenly you were alone with Jeno once again.

“You know, Y/N, I think you’ll fit in just fine while you’re here.”

“Yeah? Why’s that?”

“You’re a misfit looking for a family. That’s half of the people here, too. We all found a family here in the mafia, despite it’s obvious dangers. We all care about each other deeply and we’ll do anything to make sure we all come home from dangerous jobs in one piece. Jun’s girl almost didn’t come back and it hurt all of us. Another member, Xiaojun, he’s been in a hospital for a while and was in a coma. Taeil, the oldest member here, grieved him the most. Xiaojun’s accident was hard on everyone, especially since it was his first mission. We love and care for everyone who lives in this bunker, you’re now included. I hope you can find it in your heart to love us all the way we love each other, and the way we’ll love you.” Jeno looked at you, sadness in his eyes.

“Thank you, Jeno. I think I’ll like it here a lot. I’m glad you brought me here.” You said, giving Jeno a small smile-which he returned. Jeno had never smiled at you and it made your heart skip a beat. Maybe, just maybe, your heart had been melted by this hard ass cop.

[ladyanatui]

Ultimate Daiken Playlist, Pt. 1

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

This is the abridged version of my Spotify playlist for all things Daiken, mostly in order from the start of 02 to...eventually. Even so, this is still a pretty damn long list. My original aim was for 30 songs, but...uh, yeah, I surpassed that pretty quickly. It’s around 75 now. Yikes. So I split it up.

I have problems with self-control. Especially when it comes to my babies.

Part 1 specifically covers from the start of 02 to just after the defeat of the Digimon Kaiser.

TRIGGER WARNING: This post discusses depression, suicide, emotional abuse, and PTSD quite a lot. Take care of yourself, folks!

Spotify Playlist

Click the song titles for YouTube links (apparently you can’t have more than five videos in a post), and otherwise, enjoy me rambling about Daiken...as I am wont to do.

One final note: Within the lyrics, I’ve emphasized meaningful words, such as night/nightmare, dark/darkness, miracle(s), kind/kindness, courage/bravery, friend/friendship, sun/star/light, fire/burn/ignite, angel(s), and words related to water/drowning.

“I’m Just a Kid” by Simple Plan

I think I got a lot of friends But I don't hear from them What's another night all alone When you're spending every day on your own

I envision this as Daisuke’s life before becoming one of the Chosen, before meeting Ken. It’s pretty well established that Taichi and Hikari are the only legitimate friends he has during that time, aside from (possibly) his soccer teammates, but he’s not close with any of them. And worse, his home life is obviously not great: His parents ignore him, and his sister irritates him just to irritate him. That may seem like a normal brother/sister relationship, but a 17-year-old slapping her 11-year-old isn’t normal or healthy.

The truth is, Daisuke has no legitimate example of healthy family interactions, and in some ways, his home life is as emotionally abusive as Ken’s was. His parents insult him (his father calls him his “stupid son” when Ken first visits) and ignore him (Daisuke repeatedly says his parents wouldn’t notice if he didn’t come home and lies to them to avoid spending time at home), so he has no idea how to respond to compliments.

This also means that he latches on to the people he cares about, much the same way Jun latches on to attractive boys. He idolizes Taichi (calling him senpai when speaking with him directly), and he constantly seeks attention from Hikari. Since we don’t know what Daisuke and Hikari’s relationship was like before Takeru shows up, it’s all speculation, but Daisuke was probably way less aggressive and possessive of her before someone came to try to take his one friend away.

So Daisuke has no idea how to show affection (whether familial, platonic, or romantic) in a normal, healthy way. He’s never had a close friend (or any real friends probably), and he’s never been close with any of his family. He’s actually lived an incredibly lonely life.

“Dark Blue” by Jack’s Mannequin

This flood This flood is slowly rising up Swallowing the ground Beneath my feet Tell me how anybody thinks Under this condition So I'll swim, I'll swim As the water rises up Sun is sinking down

Similarly, this functions as Ken’s theme song for events prior to the start of 02. There are a lot of references to water--“flood,” “swim,” and I believe there’s talk about drowning as well--which is very fitting because of the Dark World (Ocean), but also because Ken obviously suffers from depression and the idea of drowning is one of the most used and most accurate descriptions of what chronic depression feels like (trust me, I know!).

But my favorite part of this is the last two lines from the quote. Let’s be real, the sun is a huge symbol when it comes to our goggle boys--they are bright, cheerful, energetic, and so fucking bright they could rival the sun itself. When Ken is so incredibly surrounded by darkness, Daisuke is the sun. There are so many things that support this, but most importantly:

The Crest of Courage is shaped like the sun. It doesn’t get more overt than that.

When V-mon evolves to Magnamon, it’s described as: “It was a miraculous evolution. As beautiful as the rising sun shining brightly on the world.”

Daisuke is the sun. Ken is the world. And Ken needs his sun to help him out of the darkness.

“Send Me an Angel” by Highly Suspect

Open fire on my burning heart I've never been lucky in love My defenses are down A kiss or a frown I can't survive on my own

Send me an angel Send me an angel Right now, right now

Before they met, before 02 actually starts, both Ken and Daisuke are effectively alone. Yeah, they’re surrounded by people (Daisuke more than Ken), but never of them have any real friends or close relationships.

This song is something I see Daisuke feeling in his more introspective moments (rare, I know), as what he needs more than anything is true love and companionship. When I say love here, I don’t necessarily mean romantic. While, yes, Daisuke has poor luck in romance (Hikari, hello!), he has poor luck with platonic love as well.

And I’m all for anything that references Ken as being an angel. Obviously, Ken would never agree to that sentiment, but a lot of the time, it feels like that’s how Daisuke views him. To Daisuke, [post-Kaiser] Ken is this amazing, beautiful, even verging perfect person, and you can see he feels that way just from the way he looks at Ken.

I also chose this song because it’s a small reference to something I drew not too long ago, which itself is based on a Lilo & Stitch meme.

“Duality” by Set It Off

I can't quite contain or explain my evil ways Or explain why I'm not sane All I can say is this is your warning

It's a cloak or disguise unleashed, gonna get it off No, I'll never get away Cause if I try to stray It only holds me closer No, I'll never get away I'll have it any way

Okay, this is very obviously a Kaiser song. But it’s also a Ken song. The whole thing about this song is that Ken is trapped as the Kaiser and doesn’t have full control over himself. And can he actually explain why he does the crazy evil shit he does? His explanation is that he thought the Digital World was a video game, but that’s obviously not the full picture. He can’t fully explain because the Dark Seed is what makes him evil as opposed to simply sad and lonely and traumatized.

“Numb Without You” by The Maine

You are my last, you are my first You kill me for the better You are the rising tide You're every fucking thing inside me now

You are the violence in my veins You are the war inside my brain You are my glitter and my gloom I am so numb without you

This is another Kaiser/Ken song. To an extent, this song has a sort of sadistic romantic aspect to it, but I’m choosing to ignore those undertones in favor of just the creepy sadistic part. This is sort of Ken singing to his Kaiser persona and also to depression in general. Because the Kaiser is the “rising tide” (oh, look another reference to water!) and the manifestation of his grief and trauma and mental illness.

But as the title of the song suggests, the Kaiser persona is also what allows him to still feel something. Without it, he’s in the complete numbness of his depression (which sucks, trust me), and he would rather have the Kaiser, who is violent and angry and bitter, instead of the absolute numbness of his grief and depression.

“Deer in the Headlights” by Owl City

Tell me again was it love at first sight When I walked by and you caught my eye Didn't you know love could shine this bright? Well, smile because you're the deer in the headlights

Met a girl boy with a graceful charm But when beauty met the beast, he froze Got the sense I was not her his type By a black eye and bloody nose But I guess that's the way it goes

Note: I (obviously) changed a few pronouns in the quote. It should be apparent what I altered based on formatting.

Here, we see the first time Daisuke and Ken meet. And I’m talking Ken (although evil Ken), not the Kaiser. Yes, this is referencing the soccer match they play against each other in episode eight.

It’s pretty damn obvious that eleven-year-old Daisuke is completely enamored when he meets the famous Ichijouji Ken. He blushes and stumbles over his words, and he is so overwhelmed and happy that Ken remembered his name after the match was over. He admires him, and when Ken tells him that he’s the first person to ever stop that move in the match, Daisuke just looks so pleased to hear the compliment.

Also, bonus points for any song that references the sun or light: “Didn’t you know love could shine this bright?”

“Love the Way You Hate Me” by Like a Storm

You say I'm insane I say You're afraid I get stronger from the pain I love the way you hate me

I'd rather be a sinner than a slave I'd rather be an outcast than just bow down and obey When it's all done there's only one Name upon my grave I'd rather be a freak than be a fake

Another Kaiser song. While the previous song could be placed pretty much any time during the first fifteen episodes or so, this one is distinctly set after they find out the Kaiser is Ichijouji Ken. The focus here is on the way the Kaiser (emotionally) gets off from how much the Chosen Children, Daisuke especially, fight against him and hate him. He enjoys watching them try so hard and keep failing because, while he desperately wants to have an opponent, he loves to win more--he does think it’s a game, after all.

“Lock Me Up” by The Cab

Why don't you Lock me up with joy and kisses? Lock me up with love? Chain me to your heart's desire

I don't want you to stop Lock me in and hold this moment Never get enough Ain't no way I'm ever breaking free Lock me up

This song is mostly in reference to the serious foe yay aspect to Daisuke and Kaiser Ken’s relationship for the first half of the series. The homoerotic subtext in their relationship is ridiculous, especially since they’re two eleven-year-old boys, one of whom (theoretically) has a huge crush on a female friend for the first half(ish) of the season. But you can bet that, if the Chosen Children had a second enemy during the Kaiser’s days, the Kaiser would be pissed and pull the whole “No! Motomiya’s my enemy. Only I can defeat him!” bit like he’s Kaiba Seto or something.

“Fallen Angel” by Three Days Grace

How can I take the pain away? How can I save...

A fallen angel in the dark Never thought you'd fall so far Fallen angel, close your eyes I won't let you fall tonight Fallen angel

But then there’s comes the very important part where Daisuke has a revelation. When he and V-mon meet Wormmon on the Kaiser’s base, Wormmon is determined and takes them to the Digimental of Miracles in an attempt to help them defeat the Kaiser and bring back his kind-hearted best friend. The moment Daisuke touches the Golden Digimental, something changes: It’s connected to Ken because it’s borne from his Crest of Kindness, and Daisuke is able to see that there’s more to Ken than his Kaiser persona. He knows that there’s good in him before they’ve even defeated him, and he wants to help him.

And seriously, bonus points for a song from Daisuke’s POV that refers to Ken as an angel. I’ll fight anyone who says he doesn’t see Ken that way. Legit.

“Breaking Down” by I Prevail

Lies, every time they ask me I just tell 'em that I'm fine Try to hide my demons, but they only multiply Keep me running from the voices on repeat inside my mind Everybody fucking hates you

I guess I never noticed how it came creeping in My enemy emotion but I can't sink or swim I say I'm feeling hopeless but no one's listening But no one's listening, but no one's listening

This song is in reference to the way Kaiser Ken’s psyche is falling apart. He’s having doubts. Creepy voices are talking to him. He’s confused about how the Chosen Children are actually defeating him. Chimairamon is a freaking nightmare and totally uncontrollable. And Ken is about to have a goddamn breakdown.

“Goner” by Twenty One Pilots

Though I'm weak Beaten down I'll slip away Into the sound

I've got two faces Blurry's the one I'm not I need your help to Take him out

Look how far we’ve come! We’re almost to the Kaiser’s defeat! (Dear god, this is a long playlist...)

Ken isn’t aware of how much he needs Daisuke to help him at this point. He’s too busy being the Kaiser and, you know, having a mental breakdown. But it’s important that Daisuke is the one there to help bring everything down. V-mon evolves to Magnamon and defeats Chimairamon with some badass moves (he is a Royal Knight after all), and Daisuke and the rest of the Chosen Children are finally able to get through to Ken.

“Not Gonna Die” by Skillet

Break their hold Cause I won't be controlled They can't keep their chains on me When the truth has set me free

Only when he realizes that the Digital World isn’t a game is Ken able to break through the hold that the Dark Seed (and Oikawa and BelialVamdemon, etc.) have on him. He tears off his Kaiser clothes and goes back to being just Ken. Just sweet, kind-hearted, adorable Ken.

Parts of this song, though, would be from Daisuke’s perspective. He’s determined, even though they have defeated their enemy, to help Ken, even that simply means sending him home to his family instead of letting Ken just waste away, which is frankly what it looks like he’s about to do during this scene.

“Tell Me Why” by Three Days Grace

Tell me why Does everything that I love get taken away From me? Why does everything that I love get taken away?

How come nothing ever lasts? It goes from good to bad to worse so fast All it takes is one and I'm gone, and you can't erase the past How come nothing ever lasts?

Obviously, this is a Ken-centric song, the focus being on his past when he saw his brother’s death, though Osamu’s death is nowhere near his fault. Yet again, Ken goes through a traumatic experience (Wormmon’s death), and for the first time, this is (somewhat) his fault.

While I linked the subs version, the English dub of this scene actually has a line almost exactly like this song: “Not again. Wormmon’s gone. Just like my brother. I was helpless to save him, and now I can’t save Wormmon either. Why do I keep losing people?”

Sorry, were you not wanting to cry today? ...Oops.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4