#bad date tale

[absolutebl]

BLs to Recommend to Your Queer Friend

I put these in each bracket in levels of accessibility, as in “how easy I think they are for a non-BLer to enter into” without explanations of genre needed. 

Bleeding Heart Romantics 

Semantic Error

Bad Buddy

A Tale of Thousand Stars

Earnest Queer

The New Employee

My Ride

Drama Llama Indoor Kids

Our Dating Sim

Cherry Magic

My Love Mix Up

Repressed Arthouse Aesthetic 

Old Fashion Cupcake 

Love Life On The Line

Restart After Come Back Home

Hot Mess Gay Babies

The Eighth Sense

Moonlight Chicken

Hawt Mess Kinky Fuckers 

Bed Friend

KinnPorsche

My Beautiful Man 

Bonus Round: 

Adventure bois with a side of queer

Manner of Death

Not Me

Long Time No See

3 Will Be Free

He’s Coming To Me

From @mestizashinrin who asked me: 

“recommend a queer person to first start in BL”

(source)

[sophie-hatter-jenkins]

Final Chapter - The Loyal Companion - Now Complete!

Lily Evans endures a series of disastrous first dates at her new favourite bar, The Loyal Companion. Still, at least the whiskey is good. And the bartender is cute. Not her type though. Nope, definitely not.

Chapter 6 - Nothing

An unexpected pep-talk and a new message on her dating app lead Lily back to The Loyal Companion once more. But is all as it seems?

Read it on AO3: From the Beginning // Latest Chapter

Here we are! The final chapter!

Thanks so much to everyone who has come along for the ride, but most especially @ginnyw-potter, who has been my beta reader, my chief cheerleader and this story's biggest champion since the beginning. Thank you for everything!

The Loyal Companion was my first foray into writing Jily, and I was both stunned and thrilled when it was recently nominated for a 2024 Jily Award, in the AU Long category. What an honour! It's been an absolute joy to become part of this wonderful, welcoming community.

Anyway - I've had a blast writing The Loyal Companion, I hope you've enjoyed reading it just as much. 

Snippet below the cut.

At about half past seven on Tuesday evening, Lily answered the door to find Sirius Black, of all people, standing in the corridor, carrying a bouquet of pale pink roses. 

Just like every other time she’d seen him, he was dressed entirely in black, though this ensemble was much smarter than any that Lily had seen him wear before. Gone were the ripped jeans and band t-shirts; in their place were polished boots, dress trousers, an open necked shirt and an impeccably cut wool coat. He honestly looked like he’d stepped out of the pages of a high-end lifestyle magazine.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she blurted, gaping at him. 

Sirius’s lips twitched in amusement. “I’m fine, Lily, thanks for asking,” he told her. “How are you?”

Wincing at her own poor manners, Lily stood to the side and beckoned him into the hall. “I’m fine. Sorry. I was just surprised to see you.”

“No worries,” he shrugged. “I’m here to pick up Marlene. Is she ready to go?”

So that explained the sharp outfit and the flowers. “Right. She’s still in the shower, I’m afraid. What time did she say to be here?”

Sirius checked his watch. “Seven thirty.”

Lily nodded sagely. “Ah. In that case I have some advice for you: The first rule of Marlene is that you should always add thirty minutes onto any time she gives you. Come and sit down while you wait for her.”

She led him down the hall and into the living room. Sirius shrugged out of his coat and flopped down onto the green velvet sofa, looking immediately at home.

“Nice,” he commented, looking around. “Very you.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Lily told him, smiling. “But thanks—I really like it. I was actually about to put the kettle on. Can I get you anything to drink?”

He grinned. “That’s usually my line. But yeah, tea would be nice.”

“How do you take it?”

“Black with four sugars, please.” Lily’s horror must have registered on her face, because he sighed deeply. “Yes, you heard me right, and yes, I have been told on more than one occasion that it indicates deep-seated psychological issues, but frankly, that will be no surprise to anyone who’s ever met my mother.”

Lily raised her eyebrows. “Sounds like she’d get on well with my sister.”

His lip curled sardonically. “In which case you have my most sincere sympathies.”

Continue reading on AO3

[lunarharp]

into the deep end - 30k T orufrey fic, focusing on memory trauma, disability, and romance.

the sweet oblivion of the victim, the poisoned freedom of the witch.

for one moment - it had felt like two parts returned - the needed reunion of two disparate halves. no more secrets, no more pain.

the moment you get to give back what you never wanted to take. that moment, under the night-blooming flowers, when they had both let out the same single broken sigh of relief.

but they were never whole to begin with, were they?

qifrey swore he wouldn't say 'sorry' to this man any more if he could help it - sorry is cheap now. he didn't want to be in a position ever again where you only have 'sorry' left. so he just looks down into the threads of his blanket, strains his eye until it hurts, feeling his insides - his throat, heart and head - burn with pain. he expects more, but olly says nothing.

olly says nothing.

[kayleerowena]

hey! did you know i have a book coming out in less than 2 months? THE WITCH'S WINGS & OTHER TERRIFYING TALES, an 'are you afraid of the dark?' graphic novel with three middle-grade horror stories based on hispanic urban legends, comes out october 3rd, and you can preorder it right now!

i'm super proud of the work i put into this book, and the other stories are also absolutely amazing. i hope you all love it as much as i do! i'd appreciate people spreading the word on this, since preorders are super important to a book's success!

[arainaizevran]

do u ever think if wyll never got much into romantic relationships bc he thinks it's selfish?

he might put it under the guise of wanting a fairy tale romance but im sure he's read a lot of heroes' stories, most of them ending in tragedy... and to make his beloved go through that? to endanger them when enemies inevitably use them as leverage against him?

he might've also had a relationship too at one point... until he learned a very valuable lesson on balancing his love/personal life and his duty as the blade

he thinks it's a selfish thing; to love someone is to possibly endanger them, to risk their life, to have them be second best because his duty will always come first.

it's a lonely life for the blade of frontiers.

[heliotrope155]

This is one of my favourite panels that breaks down Kory's humour as being aware and playing up the act, and it's hilarious to me, because this is so much like what I think of (another favourite character) Cas' humour too (where he deliberately plays up his lack of knowledge).

[sskk-manifesto]

Ep 5!!!

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Ok, so I have no idea if you pay attention to those kinds of things, feel free to skip the question! But I am rewatching bits of ODT and was wondering what might have been your favourite hugging situations in BL this year ;>

Hello @troubled-mind. And I do pay very much attention. I love hugs.

And speaking of Our Dating Sim. This one is definitely one of my favourites. [EDIT: I only realized later you wrote ODT and not ODS]

It's a back hug and a butt pat. It's peak domesticity. One of my favourite moments of the year.

I Cannot Reach You

This hug was so much. Yamato was really going through it here. The hand detail. Oh...I love them so much.

Unintentional Love Story

They might not have been the greatest kissers but Tae Joon hugs were so good. And this moment is also one of my favourites of the year.

Be My Favorite

Adorable. I just love how Kawi is trying to resist Pisaeng cuteness but also not really. This show was probably the biggest surprise of the year for me.

And to finish I get two. Our Skyy 2 - Bad Buddy | 1000 Stars

Because all of us.

These were the first ones that came to mind.

Thanks so much for the question.💜

ASK ME MY TOP 5 OF ANYTHING BL 2023

[allthegothihopgirls]

ok so i'm completely up to date with twdu EXCEPT for ftwd season 3+, i feel kind of obliged to finish it now

[mr-entj]

Have you experienced worst date with women?

This was back in college but I once took a classmate on a date who claimed to be a 'huge roller coaster buff' like me. I took her on one of those roller coasters that shot straight up into the air and then straight back down (Superman) because I figured we'd start with an easy ride that had no twists and turns. I asked if she was fine with that choice and she said it was okay.

As we're getting strapped into our seats, I noticed that she was getting nervous so I asked again if she was fine and she repeated that she was okay.

The ride finally launched us upwards and she started screaming like a banshee, which initially wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but then she suddenly turned to me, mouth open, and bit me on the shoulder. As in, she full on Mike Tyson'd me, teeth to skin, jaws locked. My immediate reflex was to tap her on the head to release me as we were suspended hundreds of feet in the air.

After that, she was mortified and avoided me for weeks, but I found the whole thing pretty funny. We kept in touch after college and I'll always have the memories (and scars) from our date.

[sophie-hatter-jenkins]

New Chapter - The Loyal Companion

Lily Evans endures a series of disastrous first dates at her new favourite bar, The Loyal Companion. Still, at least the whiskey is good. And the bartender is cute. Not her type though. Nope, definitely not.

Chapter 5 - Not James

After her last, disastrous visit to The Loyal Companion, Lily's attempts to move on don't quite go according to plan.

Read it on AO3: From the Beginning // Latest Chapter

Snippet below the cut.

If Lily had to describe Sunday morning in a single word, she’d probably have gone for ‘horrific’. 

Her inevitable hangover was as vicious as it was thoroughly deserved; her throat was raw, her head felt as though it might split open and had something actually crawled into her mouth and died? It certainly tasted as though it might have done. Tequila leached from her skin, infusing her bedroom with an alcoholic stench that didn’t help ease the nausea rolling in her stomach one bit—and neither did the mortifying flashbacks that kept slipping into her mind no matter how hard she tried to suppress them. 

It seemed incredible that fewer than twenty-four hours earlier, she’d been looking forward to going back to The Loyal Companion and opening up to James about her feelings. 

What a difference a day makes.

She’d been such an idiot, making assumptions about him and misunderstanding his intentions. Not only had she made a complete fool of herself over him, she’d then proceeded to embarrass herself in front of the entire bar. Lily wasn’t sure she’d ever felt more humiliated in her entire life.

Cringing, she rolled over and buried her head in her pillow, using it to muffle her strangled, shameful groan, and stayed that way for an age, until her phone pinged with a message. 

The sound struck fear deep into her chest. What if it was someone reminding her of yet another awful thing she’d said or done after several-too-many margaritas? But, whether it was simple curiosity or a complete lack of self preservation, she couldn’t resist for long and reached for her phone. 

The message she saw was like a life ring thrown to her in the middle of a storm.

Continue reading on AO3

[projectbluearcadia]

Yeah (*4) Where Is My Lover, Baby?

Partial Spoilers for Season 1 of Obey Me! Readers Be Warned.

[ Just a few minutes after Annelie was abducted... ] 

Lucifer: Mn... 

Lucifer opens his eyes and blinks at the pillow shoved against his face. He slowly sits up and looks around his darkened room, rubbing the cheek that Annelie kissed before she left. 

Lucifer: Where did she disappear to...?

Lucifer gets up and starts wandering his room before settling into an agitated pace as the minutes tick by. 

Lucifer: It’s not like her to wake up in the middle of the night. 

He leaves his room and starts wandering the house instead, quietly searching room by room. 

Lucifer: She couldn’t have...

Lucifer pauses in front of the stairway to the attic before he makes his way up, still searching for her. 

???: What are you doing up here?

Lucifer turns, surprised, towards the owner of the voice. 

Lucifer: Belphie... you’re awake?

Belphie: How could I not be? You’ve been tramping around the house for the past 20 minutes. 

Lucifer keeps glancing around. 

Belphie: What’s wrong with you? Finally going senile?

Lucifer: I’m looking for Annelie. I told you about her, remember? Short chestnut hair, hazel eyes, little acne scars on her right temple? The most beautiful smile you’ve ever seen?

Belphie: She probably got sick of you. I can’t believe she stayed this long. 

Lucifer: ...

Lucifer falters before he shakes his head. 

Lucifer: No. She wouldn’t just leave me without saying anything. If she was angry with me, she’d tell me go fuck myself and then leave. 

Belphie raises an eyebrow. 

Lucifer: Something happened. 

Lucifer starts pacing again. 

Lucifer: I know something happened, but what? Where could she be right now? 

Belphie: ...why are you so rattled about a succubus?

Lucifer: Rattled? 

Lucifer stops. 

Lucifer: Don’t be ridiculous. I do not get "rattled." 

Belphie: Well, whatever. If you would quiet down already, I want to get some sleep. 

Lucifer pauses again. 

Lucifer: Belphegor, have you seen her?

Belphie: Even if I had, why would I tell you?

Lucifer stares at his brother for a very long moment as if processing the words. 

Lucifer: You have. Tell me what you saw. Before I lose my patience. 

Belphie: You flip gears quick. 

Lucifer: Tell me. 

Belphie: What are you going to do if I don’t? Kill me?

Lucifer’s anger wanes, his expression softening. 

Lucifer: ...I would never even consider that, Belphie. 

Belphegor seems a little startled. 

Lucifer: I don’t need your help, though I would have liked something more to go on. I hope you calm down by the time I come back with breakfast. 

Belphie: You’re becoming a slave to her, you know that? 

Lucifer: Maybe you’re right.

Belphie: That succubus will end up killing you.

Lucifer: ...

Belphie: You’re... are you fucking insane?!

Lucifer: ...that’s a possibility. But my sanity shouldn’t matter to you. 

Lucifer starts to leave. 

Belphie: You’re an idiot. 

Lucifer waves, and Belphegor seems to think to himself for a second.

Belphie: ...some guy in white picked her up. Probably her boyfriend. 

Lucifer: Thank you, Belphie. 

Belphie: ...

Lucifer leaves the attic and makes his way outside, searching for traces of either Annelie or the man in white. 

???: Looking for me?

Lucifer whips around to see the man who kidnapped Annelie, and he flinches at the sight of him, as if he’s just been stung. Sharp, metallic wings droop against his back, a set of gears rotating and clicking in midair around his head. He bows and raises a hand to his chest, revealing the fact that his metallic fingertips are closer to claws. 

???: My name is Barachiel. Pleased to meet you. 

Lucifer: You’ve stolen and sullied that name. 

Barachiel: Have I? 

Lucifer: Where is Annelie?

Barachiel: Ah, you really are straight to the point, aren’t you? Rest assured; I haven’t harmed her. 

Lucifer: Return her to me.

Lucifer’s demon form slips, and Barachiel laughs. 

Barachiel: Don’t be so hasty. In the first place, if you kill me, then you’ll never know what I did, will you?

Lucifer: Then why don't you tell me what you did, return her, and I'll consider showing you mercy.

Barachiel: Well, there is a fairy tale I absolutely adore, you see. It goes by a few names... Aschenputtel... Cenerentola... Cendrillon...

Barachiel smiles. 

Barachiel: Cinderella. I loved that story, and as I spent time lingering between the realms, I found myself wondering... What if I made my own Cinderella?

Lucifer: What nonsense are you spewing? I asked you what—

Barachiel: Ah, are you not familiar with the classic? Then, allow me to retell an abridged version, as much as it pains me. In a kingdom far away, we find Cinderella, an average woman, really, serving cruel masters for whom she holds no love. She suffers, laments, and one day, when all hope seems lost, her fairy godmother waves her wand, and she is able to meet the man of her dreams. Love at first sight, instant chemistry, an overall spectacular night...except for one thing.

Lucifer shifts uneasily.

Lucifer: Which was?

Barachiel: Well, the fairy godmother’s magic could only last so long, you understand? So, as the clock struck midnight, Cinderella’s stupendous gown was reduced to rags, her diamond jewelry nothing more than strings ripped from a carpet. Her prince, poor, naive boy, could no longer recognize her, and she fled from his side in the throes of immeasurable despair. 

Lucifer takes a fleeting moment to comprehend what Barachiel just said. 

Lucifer: You sick son of a—

Barachiel: Ah, but our Prince Charming always has a way to find a happy ending with his princess, doesn’t he? 

Lucifer lets out a low growl.

Barachiel: Ahaha! I really love that passion in your expression. I was right to choose a succubus as the catalyst to your "true love" story.  But if you don't remember to control yourself, you might forget all~ll about your sweetheart. And you don't want that, now do you? 

Lucifer: ...

Barachiel: In the original tale, of course, Cinderella leaves behind a glass slipper, which the Prince promptly finds and uses to track her down. 

Lucifer: Annelie doesn't have such possessions. 

Barachiel: Aha~ I'm aware. But...

Barachiel twirls his fingers through the air as he grins. A moment later, a ruby-red, crystal heart delivers itself to his hand. 

Barachiel: There is one thing. One very important thing.

Lucifer stares at the heart, and he flinches as it lets out a pulse, the light inside it shifting and changing. 

Lucifer: What is that? 

Barachiel: Come on; don't pretend to be stupid on me. It's Annelie's heart. Or rather, the thing she has in place of one. 

Barachiel gives the heart to Lucifer. 

Lucifer: It's...warm. 

Barachiel: What? Really? 

Barachiel touches it. 

Barachiel: Nope. Still cold to me. I wonder if it's because she loves you? Nah, doesn't matter. In any case, you'll find her using that little clue. Woah there!

Barachiel avoids Lucifer's blast of magic.

Barachiel: Almost forgot to mention that while it's out of her body, I'm the only one keeping it beating, so... 

Barachiel traces one of his claws against his neck while Lucifer seethes with barely concealed rage. Unbeknownst to him, his brothers have stirred from sleep and currently watch the scene with their own measures of anger. 

Lucifer: Why?

Barachiel: Why did I do it? Hm... Probably because I was bored? It’s nothing so grand as I have a grudge against you, although that could be interesting to experience. Maybe I should fall in love with Annelie myself and make myself sick with jealousy as a little extra spice?

Lucifer: Your madness is an insult to ASPD. 

Barachiel: To what? Nevermind. 

Barachiel claps his hands, sending a harsh, metal clang throughout the area. 

Barachiel: I’ll give you...42 hours to find her. I’d actually give you longer, but I can only keep the lifeblood connection open for that amount of time. After that, she’s dead, no backsies. 

Barachiel smiles and waves as he unfurls his metal wings and starts to flicker out of existence. 

Barachiel: Best of luck, Luci. 

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

ngl it's getting rly annoying seeing people say "remake of x game!" constantly. people are so obsessed with the idea of remakes lately. they don't wonder what the next new game will be like. they just want remakes (including in franchises that don't do those often. not every franchise is Tales, where they've been doing remakes actively throughout its lifespan and not just during this Uwu Remake Era).

with FE, remakes make me a bit eh bc they've all sold poorly or just barely made a profit. Marth's games' remakes on top of the failed Tellius sales almost sent FE into its grave. SoV is just... there. it happened and the fandom moved on, save for the Alm and Celica alts in Heroes.

but like, it was so annoying watching VA interviews and just seeing the word "remake" thrown around so much from the chat. people want "remakes" of games that just don't need them. updated ports is one thing, but entire remakes?

there's more to FE than remakes, but it's all people seem to talk about. I'd like Tellius ports as much as the next girl for people's accessibility (and specifically bc IS' lack of marketing destroyed those games' sales and now they're so rare they're super expensive), but a remake? it's not necessary. even with quality of life features added, those games only need ports. I play them very regularly and frankly have way more fun with them than I do with modern day Menu Emblem.

also, I don't want the fandom wank carrying over into remakes of games that never even had wank. the biggest wank Tellius ever had was the Ike vs Micaiah wars in the fandom, which were not only a fraction of what happens now post Fodlan games but also weren't anywhere near as aggressive.

idk I'm just tired of remake this, remake that. it's also because of the rampant remakes in the industry that I'm tired of it, but it's also tiring to see it constantly in this fandom. I'm glad that FE7 is coming back, but as a port on the Switch and still as a GBA game. FE4? super glad it came back as a port (JP eShop only). remakes though? too tired of the concept (especially when FE remakes have not only almost killed the franchise from lack of sales but were otherwise just mediocre and moved on from pretty quickly). I also don't trust the FE fandom with remakes at this point. character hate is so rampant in this fandom that for the life of me I don't even want Tellius ports if it's going to save me the headache and aggravation from people's lack of character comprehension. :') that shit will turn me into a hard stan and my blog will have to be painted in my blorbo just to keep haters away. :'''')

[echthr0s]

it used to be that I could and did take Watchmen (2009) with incredible seriousness, and there's still a part of me that's going ape over "the inherent monstrosity of violent apotheosis" and so on and so forth, but mostly what I'm thinkin through this 3+ hour blue and yellow cringe-CGI riot is some combination of "hee hee hoo why his dick look like that", "lol imagine bein the doctor that has to give a Rorschach test to the guy whose whole schtick is the Rorschach test", "Big Figure's henchman... calls him.... Mr. Figure........ *wheeeeeze* *knee slap*", and "considering that Laurie hits the flamethrower button on Archie when she comes, I think that you could call the previous scene where she hits it on accident when it's parked 'premature ejaculation'"

[insomniac-arrest]

Kids love violence and horror actually ❤️

it's so funny when people critique dark tropes and plotlines with "this isn't appropriate, people ACTUALLY going through this" because the human condition is like. very much the point.

[h34vybottom]

Rokurou Rangetsu