#but also good breakup

[clottedcreamtea]

CHAPTER 8!!!! sorry for disappearing every so often. writer and artists block :( got into mlp for a while and now its going away. promise i still love cookie run haha

Morning came much too quickly for Royal Milk Tea Cookie’s liking. The sun shone in through the great glass window behind the warm bed, and he shifted closer to the warm body that was beside him, burying his face into its chest. He was met with similarly warm arms that wrapped around him as he did so, and a smile spread across his face. This was what everything was leading toward, Royal Milk Tea Cookie decided at that moment. Every hardship he had endured, every moment he spent anxious that the dragon would take him away, take his mother away… it was all so that he could feel happy and safe in the arms of someone he truly loved.

“Everyone, evacuate the fortress! A dragon is attacking the kingdom!” A guard shouted, bursting through the doors of every room to alert the guests and servants within the kingdom.

The moment was spoiled almost as fast as it had arrived, and Royal Milk Tea Cookie only had moments to open his eyes before screams were echoing through the hallway, guards slamming doors open to evacuate all their guests from their rooms.

Everything passed in a flash. One moment he was safe in their bed, and the next Clotted Cream Cookie was carrying Royal Milk Tea Cookie through the hall and out to the dock, where a dragon had perched upon the fortress, exhaling smoke across the kingdom.

“Quick! Get to your ship!” The watcher from last night called from her post alongside the king, who was facing the dragon with fire in his eyes. Clotted Cream Cookie grabbed Royal Milk Tea Cookie’s hand (when had he set him down?) and began pulling him toward the dock, where Captain Caviar Cookie was already removing the anchor from the sea and letting down the sails.

“Consul!” Financier Cookie ran up behind the pair, joining them as they made their way toward the Pearl Legion ship. “Are you alright? Oh,” Financier Cookie noticed the clasped hands, and Royal Milk Tea Cookie could see hurt cross the paladin’s face. 

“Yes, the guards alerted us of the threat and we left as soon as we heard. What about everyone else?” Clotted Cream Cookie dropped Royal Milk Tea Cookie’s hand, voice taking on an objective tone as he pressed about the others on board the ship. 

“I’m unsure. You are my priority, so I left to find you first,” Financier Cookie stated. 

The trio made their way further toward the ship, looking up to see the green-and-pink dragon now soaring overhead, having abandoned the fortress, and dipping down over the forest, sending several trees flying with the force of the drop.

“Look out!” One of the watchers called, and within an instant, Financier Cookie was missing from Royal Milk Tea Cookie’s side, replaced with a great pine tree, one that could have crumbled the paladin if she hadn’t been swept away. 

“Financier Cookie!” Clotted Cream Cookie called. “Are you alright? Where are you?”

“She’s here,” The watcher spoke again, and the pair of Cookies turned, and met with a Cookie no older than them, skin brown and crunchy, hair deep chocolate with caramel streaks. She was the watcher from the night before! Who was she? “Are you two alright?”

“Yes, just frightened,” Royal Milk Tea Cookie assured, his hand gripped tight in Clotted Cream Cookie’s once again. “What about you, Financier Cookie?”

The paladin was being held tight within the arms of her savior, whose face portrayed nothing but kindness. It was likely in response to the near-death situation she’d just been saved from, but Royal Milk Tea Cookie could swear it looked as though Financier Cookie was entranced by the watcher.

“I’m alright,” She managed to breathe. “Thank you, Caramel Arrow Cookie. I would have been crumbs if you weren’t watching our backs.” 

The watcher flushed, letting the paladin go. “Oh, after you charmed me last night it’s only fair I save your life today, haha!” She chuckled awkwardly. “I’m glad you’re alright, Financier Cookie. You three should really get back on your ship, now. The Hollyberry Isles are only half a day’s journey if you sail straight West. We can take this dragon!” Before any of the Republic Cookies could reply, the watcher was off again, speeding through the snow on her way to protect the king and her home.

“She was nice,” Royal Milk Tea Cookie remarked, looking at how Financier Cookie watched her savior disappear into the white. “Right, Financier Cookie?”

“Yes, I spoke to her last night at dinner. Her strength and honor are admirable. I hope we may meet again after our venture,” The paladin stated, coming to her senses once more. “Let us retreat to the ship. If we want to save further nations from destruction, we need to beat the dragon.”

“YOUR ATTEMPTS AT FINDING OAT MILK COOKIE YIELD NO RESULTS, I SEE,” The dragon had now abandoned its target of the forests and had flown to meet Royal Milk Tea Cookie and his companions. “I SMELL GREAT POWER WITHIN YOU, MILK TEA COOKIE. YOU HAVE DISCOVERED YOUR TALENT, YES?” The dragon was immense, towering over the trio of Cookies. It was intimidating, but Royal Milk Tea Cookie stood his ground.

“My name is Royal Milk Tea Cookie! And yes!” Jam boiling within him, Royal Milk Tea Cookie’s proximity to the Licorice Sea allowed for his pearls to begin collecting the substance, growing into small minions rather than licorice spheres. “I have discovered my talent. If you wish to take any Cookie’s soul stones, I recommend you leave this kingdom alone and move on to your next target.”

“OH, ARROGANT COOKIE!” The dragon had perched before the trio, and quickly flicked its tail, swatting Royal Milk Tea Cookie apart from the others and knocking him against one of the fallen trees, knocking his air out of his lungs and collapsing his licorice abominations. He began heaving, dizzy from the impact. After failing to regain his balance, the blue-adorned Cookie resorted to falling into the snow, breathless. “YOUR POWERS MAY BE THOSE OF LEGEND, BUT I AM A DRAGON. YOU ARE NOTHING TO ME AND YOUR EMPTY THREATS MAKE ME LAUGH.

“THE MILK VILLAGE, WHERE I FIRST FOUND OAT MILK COOKIE, KNOWS NOTHING OF HER WHEREABOUTS. THEY LIED. UPON THE DESTRUCTION OF OAT MILK COOKIE’S HOME, THE MILK VILLAGERS TOLD ME THAT SHE HAD LEFT TO FIND TEA KNIGHT COOKIE. I WILL SEE YOU AT THE NEXT KINGDOM, MILK TEA COOKIE.”

The dragon flew off, leaving Royal Milk Tea Cookie’s body alone in the cold, white snow.

“Royal Milk Tea Cookie!” Clotted Cream Cookie approached his friend as fast as he could, falling to his knees and helping his friend back to his feet. He was limp, and Clotted Cream Cookie felt fear fill his jam. “Financier Cookie, help me carry him to his cabin. We need to continue the trip the moment we’re on board.”

Vision blurry and body shaking, Royal Milk Tea Cookie felt himself pulled aboard the ship, dragged toward his cabin, and laid in his bed, his Pearl Legion Guard terrified at the state of his ward.

“By the Divines,” The guard exclaimed, dropping his spear on the wooden floors as the ship began its trek toward the Hollyberry Isles. “Please tell me a doctor is on board?”

“We don’t need a doctor,” Clotted Cream Cookie assured, kneeling by the bed and laying a hand against Royal Milk Tea Cookie’s cheek, who leaned into it almost too heavily. “He’s just had the wind knocked out of him and is stressed about finding his mother. He may have a concussion, but there is no major injury that requires medical asistance. He just needs someone by his side and to rest while we travel.”

“Consul–”

“No, Financier Cookie. I’m going to stay by his side.” 

“Clotted Cream Cookie, with the way he feels toward us… toward you, is it the wisest to stay by his side?” The paladin tried to reason, not understanding her fiance’s feelings. Financier Cookie was a wise paladin, but she was not incapable of feeling jealous when the Cookie she loved demanded to stay by the side of a man who adored him. “We are engaged, and this conflict of emotions that he shares with you–”

“I said no, Financier Cookie.” Clotted Cream Cookie cut off his partner for the final time. “I understand that you mean well, but I cannot be with you when Royal Milk Tea Cookie is under all this stress. He needs someone and I want to be that someone. Do you understand? We are not compatible and I need you to leave me be, is that clear?” There was anger in the blond Cookie’s voice as he explained himself, rushed and frustrated that this was taking so long to get through to Financier Cookie.

The brunette stuttered, but cleared her throat and managed a response. “Yes, Consul.”

“Good. We may discuss this further at a later time, but as of now, I would prefer privacy with Royal Milk Tea Cookie. Guard, he is under good care. You are dismissed.”

Both shocked at the quick dismissal, Financier Cookie, and the Pearl Legion guard made their way out of Royal Milk Tea Cookie’s cabin, settling to wait outside against the ship’s banister, staring out at the waves. 

“Are you alright?” Clotted Cream Cookie turned back to his friend, eyes filled with concern. “Can you breathe normally again?” Royal Milk Tea Cookie nodded. The Consul sighed, relieved. “Good.”

“Would you lay with me?” the shorter Cookie managed, still unnerved from the impact.

“Oh. Of course.”

The pair sat in silence, listening to the waves crashing against the side of the ship, no longer the deep purple of the Licorice Sea, but a deep blue. It was reassuring to know that another licorice beast wouldn’t be surprising the crew anytime soon. 

Clotted Cream Cookie broke the silence first. “What did Dark Cacao Cookie talk with you about?”

Royal Milk Tea Cookie smiled weakly. “He’s my grandfather.”

“By the Divines!”

“Half-grandfather, actually.” Royal Milk Tea Cookie corrected himself. “But basically the same thing. He killed my actual grandfather.”

“What?”

“His name was Swiss Choco Cookie, my grandfather. He could control the Licorice Sea like I could, but he used his power to try and steal the Dark Cacao throne. He wasn’t even from this kingdom, actually. His mother was from the Vanilla Kingdom. So I’m actually a Vanillian in my dough, but my mother was raised in the Milk Village. Isn’t that a crazy turn of events?”

Clotted Cream Cookie was speechless. His mouth opened and closed as if he wished to speak, but nothing would come out. It was one of the most complicated family lines Clotted Cream Cookie had heard of, but a large majority of the Creme Republic citizens were from the ancient Vanilla Kingdom, so it wasn’t quite as unusual, apart from the true Ancient lineage. Royal Milk Tea Cookie began to laugh before tears pricked his eyes and the laughter soon turned to heavy tears.

“Oh, goodness,” Clotted Cream Cookie moved himself into a sitting position and maneuvered Royal Milk Tea Cookie to be in his lap, facing him. “Royal Milk Tea Cookie, what’s wrong? Was it something I said?”

“No,” The blue-eyed Cookie sniffled, leaning into his companion as he cried. “It’s all just so much, Clotted Cream Cookie!” The tears only grew heavier as he spoke. “My mother isn’t my mother, Oat Milk Cookie is an Ancient Hero’s child, my father is nowhere to be found, and Financier Cookie nearly died!”

“Yes, but–”

“But what? There is no upside, Clotted Cream Cookie!” Royal Milk Tea Cookie twisted the fabric of Clotted Cream Cookie’s shirt in frustration. He had been so stressed and hadn’t let anyone see it. Now that the tears were flowing there was no chance they’d stop anytime soon. “My grandfather was awful, my mother is awful, and Cookies are getting hurt because of me! Even if you somehow convince Financier Cookie to end the engagement, she’ll still be heartbroken! There is no upside!”

The crying had turned into broken sobs, and Royal Milk Tea Cookie was shaking in Clotted Cream Cookie’s arms. The blond Cookie wasn’t sure what to do. It had been a decade since he had seen his dear friend, and never in his wildest dreams did he think that this would be how the reunion went. Cookies were in danger and Royal Milk Tea Cookie’s life was on the line. Everything was real, now. Clotted Cream Cookie felt hopelessness swell in his chest before pushing the feelings away and pulling Royal Milk Tea Cookie into a deep, warm embrace. They couldn’t both be emotional wrecks right now.

“It’s okay,” He whispered, breathing deeply to try and make his friend do the same. “Take deep breaths with me, okay? There’s an upside, Teacup, I promise. There we go, in and out.”

Royal Milk Tea Cookie was slowly starting to regulate his breathing, taking slow breaths, though still fighting back tears. “Divines,” He sniffled. “What upside could there possibly be?”

“I’m here with you,” Clotted Cream Cookie smiled warmly. “I’m helping you find your mother and I’m trying to show you how much you mean to me. I know it’s been too long and you need time, but I have never stopped loving you, Royal Milk Tea Cookie. Believe me when I say that.”

“Oh, I know, Clotted Cream Cookie,” Royal Milk Tea Cookie sighed, exasperated from crying so much. “That’s what’s so difficult. I want to just fall into your arms and believe you because I love you, too.”

“Then why don’t you?”

“I don’t know!” Royal Milk Tea Cookie shouted. “I don’t know. There’s nothing stopping me apart from the guilt of taking you from Financier Cookie.”

“You aren’t taking me. I didn’t want to agree to the engagement in the first place.”

“It just feels too perfect. Does that make any sense?”

Clotted Cream Cookie leaned back against the wall of the ship. “I don’t think I’ve ever thought something was too perfect.”

“Well, this is too perfect. I’ve gotten everything I could ever hope for all my life, and it’s only because of the dragon my mother wished on that it all came true.”

“Oh,” Clotted Cream Cookie breathed. “I understand what it is, now.”

“What?” Royal Milk Tea Cookie said, confused.

“It’s the legend. Subconsciously you think that the only reason I still love you is that the wish said you’d achieve all this success.”

Royal Milk Tea Cookie stumbled as he spoke. “N-no, I don’t think that!”

“You do, Teacup. It’s okay to admit it.”

“You’re getting too comfortable with that pet name.”

“I love you because you’re perfect, Royal Milk Tea Cookie!” Clotted Cream Cookie declared, clasping their hands together. “Not because of a legend and not because of anything else. We were best friends as children, and I swear to every magic power that there is that I have loved you ever since. Do you understand? Oh, no, wait–”

Tears were filling Royal Milk Tea Cookie’s eyes again, and he pressed himself into Clotted Cream Cookie’s chest as he wept. But this time, it wasn’t out of distress and fear, but out of relief and happiness. Tear tracks stained both of their clothes, but Royal Milk Tea Cookie simply pressed further against his partner. “I’m sorry,” He cried. “I know. I know you love me and I love you too but it’s just so hard to accept it while everything is crumbling.”

“Shh, I know,” Clotted Cream Cookie stroked Royal Milk Tea Cookie’s brown hair. “I know it’s hard but I’m here and your mother is waiting in the Republic and Dark Cacao Cookie seems like he will always welcome you back in the kingdom. We’re all here for you.”

There wasn’t much else to say, Royal Milk Tea Cookie decided. He continued crying into Clotted Cream Cookie’s chest until he couldn’t cry any longer. The pair finally moved to lay back down in the cabin rather than leaning against each other, Royal Milk Tea Cookie falling asleep after the long discussion and even longer session of crying. Clotted Cream Cookie eventually stood up and left the room, letting his partner rest.

“Is it my turn?” 

“AH!” Clotted Cream Cookie nearly jumped out of his dough as Financier Cookie caught him leaving the cabin.

“I didn’t try to eavesdrop, but I heard most of it.” Her face was flat, as usual, but her tone was not. “I tried to be good to you, Clotted Cream Cookie. Mille-feuille Cookie was like a mother to me, and she convinced me that you needed a companion.”

“Your companionship was greatly appreciated, Financier Cookie,” Clotted Cream Cookie assured, keeping himself calm and his voice even. “But it was clear that I had always longed to reunite with Royal Milk Tea Cookie, was it not?”

Financier Cookie sighed and turned away.

“I know you cared about me, and I cared about you, as well. We just didn’t feel the same about each other, and that wasn’t going to change.”

“I suspect you wish for me to end the engagement?” Financier Cookie asked, simply. “There is work to do to end it. Papers to be filled out and forms to be signed. It won’t be as quick as you’d like, I’m sure.”

Clotted Cream Cookie looked into the paladin’s eyes, tired and exhausted from the intensely emotional conversations he had to keep having with the closest Cookies in his life. “Do whatever is easiest on yourself, Financier Cookie. I will not wait for the engagement to end before enjoying my days with Royal Milk Tea Cookie. He is in need of support, and I wish to support him as best I can.”

Financier Cookie sighed deeply and dropped her trained temperament for only a few moments as she came to terms with the situation. “You truly love him, don’t you?”

“I do.”

She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. “Then I will let you pursue him. I did care about you, and that will not change for a long time.”

“I understand.”

“This may make the journey more uncomfortable than it needs to be, Consul.” Financier Cookie had put her guard up once more. Clotted Cream Cookie smiled.

“I understand. Would Caramel Arrow Cookie’s presence make it more bearable?”

Her face flushed. Her guard was down again so quickly! “Was I so obvious?”

Clotted Cream Cookie chuckled. “Just to me. I know what you look like in love.”

[yourangle-yuordevil]

Crowley bby you did your best and you deserves a gold "you tried" star but a group of two is NOT a clear definition AT ALL

[edorazzi]

Page 31 of my Miraculous Mentor AU comic A Matter of Trust! In which Felix consciously experiences "friendship" for the first time and Ladybug takes a chance on Chat Noir! 🎧💿

Index | Start | Prev | Next (coming soon!)

Weekly updates each Sunday! You can also read ahead early on Patreon, and/or buy me a Ko-fi if you'd like to support my work! 💖

[slavhew]

jakey + dirkjake sandwiched between my organic chem notes. a poem in there somewhere

[wra-1-th]

so let me get this straight.

fob releases love from the other side and a week later panic splits (read: brendon gave up). and fob releases heartbreak feels so good the next day.

mate that’s actually hilarious

[deadbutnostink]

Lil brush test ft crowley because i need more of her long hair

[brother-emperors]

It’s a little bit ‘I was the match and you were the rock, maybe we started this fire/We sat apart and watched all we had burn on the pyre,’ and ‘Do you understand that we will never be the same again?’ from Bastille’s The Things We Lost In The Fire

and a little bit:

‘A l’instar de son aîné, Caius Antonius sait se montrer délicieux. Il est cultivé, intelligent, plein d’esprit, gracieux, amiable. Surtout, il appartient à la même génération que Brutus, au même milieu. Depuis le départ de Cassius pour l’Orient, il y à quatre mois, Marcus a vécu avec des hommes dont il pourrait être le père, ou avec les soldats, des bas officiers plus âgés mais qui ne sont pas de son monde.’

and also

‘En juin, Cassius a enlevé Laodicée et définitivement défait les forces de Dolabella. Jugeant les autres à sq propre mesur, le beau Publius Cornelius s'est souvenu de ce qu'il avait fait subir à Trebonius…Cassius passant pour un homme violent et rancunier, pour un ami fidèle aussi, Dolabella s'est dit qu'il allait payer la mort horrible de l'ancien gouverneur.’

Brutus: Assassin par idéal, Anne Berner

actually it’s mostly about how my entire playlist for the road leading up to Philippi (after both Brutus and Cassius leave Rome after the assassination of Caesar) is Bastille’s Bad Blood album on repeat. I want their relationship to get messy. There’s another version of this scene that gets a lot more teeth to the subtext of the conversation, but I wanted to play around with it first before committing to like. room layouts. there was originally a couple of transitional panels before the last 2 because I wanted Brutus to really chew on this thought he has, but augh. stairs. didn’t feel like drawing those.

ko-fi⭐ bsky ⭐ pixiv ⭐ pillowfort ⭐ cohost ⭐ cara.app

[yourdearestaliengerbil]

Places in the Human World That I Feel Like They Would Love

Fandom: Obey me! Shall We Date TW: None Relationships: Satan x GN!Reader, Mammon x GN!Reader, Lucifer x GN!Reader

-Lucifer

Thrift stores

This may seem strange since he seems to prefer more “classy” places but 

It's so vintage and old, that he feels like a kid in a candy store 

He tries to hide his excitement but you can see it in his eyes

He loves these places, he’s almost like an old man and it is so endearing 

You definitely have to look through every single record with him and he’ll always buy a few

Maybe even inviting you to listen to them with him at home

Sometimes you find really weird or funny ones that you like to put on whenever he is stressed to put him in a silly mood (not that he gets in those, or so he claims)

Sometimes the two of you get matching suits from the store

And he pretends to hate it so so much

It's just weird to him, to be wearing a stranger's clothing

But you like it and he likes you

-Mammon

Gas stations

They probably have them in the devildom too but something about those fluorescent lights and bright signs at night in the human world hits differently

The two of you will stop at one of these during a midnight drive to take a slushie break

You'd get your favorite flavor

And he'd want every flavor

And then you'll end up saving yours and drinking most of his after paying

It just tastes better because it's his

And he really doesn't mind sharing his slushy with you, as long as he can have yours in return

By the time the two of you reach the car, you're both left in giddy excitement

And it’s late but you guys dont care, you just sit by the gas pump

You'll laugh and talk and giggle about everything

You two always seem to be in that "honeymoon" stage

And

It’s everything all in one moment

Just the two of you enjoying this moment together, not thinking of anything but how much you love one another

Then when you start driving again, the two of you are screaming your favorite songs to one another, while getting over a brain freeze

-Satan

This one is kind of a given

A Barnes & Noble

Or a 2nd-N-Charles

He loves spending hours with you walking around the store and just 

Reading everything he can get his hands onto 

The amount of books he buys at each visit could definitely fund the store alone for a good few months 

Oh and you know that as soon as the two of you get home he'll want to have a day with you all to himself where you both read aloud to one another

You would stay up for hours on end that night, just trying to get a book read

I like to think that he'd start with the biggest one just so that he has to hear your voice for hours as you sit in-between his lap reading

And when it gets too late and you fall asleep, he'll close the book and tuck you in

[clowningaroundmars]

aromantic mike chilton for @aggressivelyarospec week!!!! :D

accompanying story under the cut!

It didn't work out with Julie.

They had broken up and decided it would be best to stay friends. After all, with Mike... nothing really changed at all. Like... nothing.

And that was kinda the problem.

Julie didn't think herself to be too judgmental of a person, not after everything everyone's been through. She and the Burners worked hard, played hard, and succeeded together (oftentimes against all odds).

They slept in cuddle piles after dinner some nights whenever Julie could slip away for more than a day without arousing her dad's suspicions. They passed bongs around for a lung-hacking hit or two, went skinny-dipping in the lake at night, patched up each other's bloody wounds countless times.

And then somewhere down the line, Julie fell in love with Mike.

She had no idea when exactly, since she doesn't really do feelings like that, can't afford to with a life like hers. But it happened... somehow.

Julie couldn't quite place exactly what it was that initially drew her to him, especially at first. Sure, the guy was friendly, decisive, assertive without being too overbearing, and unbearably charming. But.

It was the charm that caught poor Julie totally off-guard, really. She'd often hear her father ranting and raving about his golden-prodigal-son-turned-traitor, and his ID photo in his file wasn't really much to look at, either. Julie would never admit it out loud, but she had snuck down to Motorcity for the first time ever with low expectations.

Later, she came back up to her pod in Deluxe with stars in her eyes.

But she wasn't in love with him then, no. She knew this because she was pretty sure her constant Mike Thoughts did not manifest until after the kids all went to Antonio's together for the first time.

It was summertime, around nine months after the group was (un)officially formed. The heat had Mike shirking his jacket and leaving it in Mutt, and his old t-shirt was getting a tad bit tight after all the exercise he was getting around the hideout, especially after Texas moved his workout gear in and Mike took him up on his offer for semi-regular sparring sessions.

And boy, did that Mike fella fill out. Mhmm.

Even Julie-- a girl who was mostly blind to typical male affections directed at her in school-- had to admit to herself that when Mike put on a little more weight in the right places, when his biceps bulged a bit as he flexed an arm and his shoulders got a bit wider... it took a lot more effort to wrench her studious gaze away.

Geez Louise.

Before long, she was doodling their initials and combining both of their names in her little sketchpad. Gag. Gross.

But Mike never seemed to pay attention to her the same way in return. She didn't catch him looking away from her at inopportune times, and he'd never lay a single hand on her aside from a typical friendly pat on the shoulder, or a comfortable lean on an arm while the Burners all lounged around during movie nights. Hell, he seemed more affectionate with his best friend Chuck than he was with her most times.

So she kept her thoughts to herself. Easy peasy. She kept secrets from her dad, from her friends, and now from Mike. Like everything else, she created a neat, separate file in her head and tucked that little secret away. She managed to conceal it for long enough.

Until it became too big to ignore.

And then it happened.

And it really just... happened. Julie hardly registered herself even doing it.

It happened like this: Mike had rescued Julie from certain death at the lake after she crashed an out-of-control 9 Lives out through the barricades and into the water, and they were panting and coughing up water on the sand after Mike succeeded in dragging her out. Dutch and Texas were busy racing around and distracting the Kanebots, luring them all away from the pair.

Julie didn't say anything. Neither of them did. Julie just... surged forward when she blinked the water out of her eyes and saw him, his angelic face hovering mere inches away from hers. She remembered the dewey drops on his long lashes and the warmth of his lips more than anything else.

And then she's pretty sure she blacked out afterwards because the next thing she remembers, she's waking up on the couch wrapped in blankets and towels, wearing Chuck's hoodie.

She doesn't ask anyone why Chuck opted to be the guy to lend his clothes to her.

(It wasn't Chuck who lent it to her though.)

After Jacob makes sure she has a steaming mug of soup in her hands and is generally fussed over enough, he bids her a goodnight and leaves a big holoscreen playing old-timey anime shows for her.

Shortly afterwards, Mike slips into the room on feet far too quiet for a rowdy teenage boy like him. Julie almost misses his entry and startles when she notices him casually leaning on a wall over to her right, almost blending in against the garish grafitti and street signs.

They sat down and spoke quietly, privately.

Julie appreciated that Mike had enough tact and forethought not to confront her in front of all of the guys. Thank god. Julie wouldn't even know how to handle the endless teasing that would inevitably assault her from all angles if they ever even suspected that she had a crush on Mike.

And how embarrassing, really! The only girl on the team falling for the charming and roguish leader of a group of rebels. Double gag.

It was by some miracle that no one ever suspected Julie's true feelings, and that the actual love interest found out before anyone else did. Lucky her!

And incredibly, Mike shared her feelings too! Who would've thought it! Definitely not Julie, that's for sure.

Mike hadn't even seemed to glance her way at all in all the time they had known each other. He always maintained the same level of friendliness with her as he did with the other guys. But he confessed then that he knew Julie was special, and that their bond that grew in the time they had known each other was special, too.

Wow. Look at them, both hiding their feelings so well! It's like they were meant to be.

So they agreed to go steady.

Eventually, they told the rest of the Burners. Well, it really was just that it was kinda hard for them to ignore when Julie would sneak her index finger over to Mike's hand and hook it onto his pinkie as they walked back to their cars after a quick errand run for the Skylarks or an easy mission.

So they decided to make the announcement at Antonio's, which Julie thought was perfectly poetic. It was where she first fell in love with Mike, and now here they were a year and a half later, making it official.

They didn't expect the other guys' reactions, though. The Burners received the news... lukewarmly.

"You guys were in love?" Texas spewed bits of pizza all over the table as he chewed with his mouth open. Ugh. Typical Texas.

"Oh! Wow... uhm. Congrats, guys." Chuck seemed to hide behind his hair even more as his shoulders hiked up in a nonchalant shrug.

Dutch rubbed his chin. "...Yeah. Uh, yeah...? Cool. Congrats, you two."

And then silence fell over the table.

"Is... is there a problem with this, or?" Julie dared to press.

Everyone silently exchanged glances.

Mike-- bless his heart-- misread the situation and clasped his hands together on the table.

"Guys, look," he started, "this isn't gonna change anything about the team. We're still gonna be friends, I’m not prioritizing Julie over anyone else on missions. It's just... we're gonna... we're gonna be the Burners, except I’m dating Jules now! That's all!"

Mike smiled warmly at all his friends. Chuck chewed on his lip.

Dutch bobbed his head thoughtfully. Then, after a while, he said "nah, yeah. We figured. I mean, you're a pretty great guy so it's not like we thought you were gonna up and abandon us or anything. It's just that... uh. So when did this uhhh, yanno, this whole thing start?"

Julie blinked.

Mike cocked his head. "Start?" He asked.

"Y'know, like when did y'all start liking each other? Because uh, no offense, but this is kinda comin' out of the blue for us. Literally nobody thought this was gonna be a thing. Tell us some stories!"

Mike blew out a breath and leaned back in the booth. Julie smiled.

"Weeeellll," Julie squinted with excitement and then let the cat out of the bag.

She told them all about it, how in this very same booth she watched as Mike's t-shirt stretched over his muscles all those months ago and how his smile seemed to shine brighter than the diner's neon signs. Then about how she leaned against Mike's broad chest after agonizing for hours over not being able to free him from her father's maximum-security prison that one time. About all the dreams she'd have of them together, the intimate late-night talks they'd have while having a couple of drinks on the rooftop of some abandoned building. How she loved his bright eyes and strong hands...

When she finished, she had a dreamy kind of look all over her face. Mike had a brow quirked, but he smiled back at her all the same.

Everyone exchanged glances again.

"So Mike. Was it like that for you?" Chuck asked eventually. It had a strange sort of lilt to it, like he was in on an inside joke that Julie wasn't.

She bristled a bit.

"Oh! Uh." Mike glanced around quickly. "Not... really? But Julie's super pretty, so when she confessed to me, I was pretty stoked."

Mike grinned like a goofball. Julie grinned like a goofball. The rest of the Burners looked skeptical.

"Hm. Cool! Well, great." Chuck turned back to his loaded pizza slice.

And just like that, things mostly went back to normal.

And, uh... Mike was right, this... really wasn't changing anything between them and the Burners. Like at all.

A small part of Julie was kind of hurt by it, but she tried to wave the feeling away. It was nonsense, and she should be happy. Mike loved her! He just wasn't a romantic type, that's all. He loved his friends, loved being a Burner... it was fine.

Right?

It was normal for her to have to remind Mike every now and then to go out on a date with her. He's a busy guy, and this was his first relationship. Julie just had to be patient.

Patient... patient. Yeah. She could be patient.

It was when Chuck joined them for their sixth "movie date" in a row that the patience was starting to run a bit thin, though.

Chuck and Mike settled side-by-side on the communal couch, swapping snacks as easily as breathing and nursing a popcorn bowl between them. Mike hooked an arm over Julie's shoulder though, so Julie said nothing.

It was a couple of months later when Mike makes a quiet confession to her as they laid together in his pristine bed one night.

"I don't really like kissing all that much," he mumbles, face half-buried into his pillows. "But I like holding you. Is that okay?"

Julie's heart sinks into the covers. But she nods anyways. "Yeah. That's okay."

"Really? Do ya mean it? It's not weird or anything, right? We can still be together but not kiss. Maybe I can give you forehead kisses instead?"

Julie sighed softly. "Mmnyeah, that's fine."

"It's not you, it's me, Jules. I just--"

"Mike. Trust me, I get it. It's okay, seriously."

Mike gave her a grateful smile back.

Damnit. Well.

Anyways, life continued on. Julie resigned herself to accepting the fact that her boyfriend was just simply a guy's guy.

Julie liked cars but Mike was all over Mutt. Loved the damn thing more than he loved her, honestly. She loved being a Burner, but it seemed like it was Mike's purpose, like he was more devoted to the city under the dome than he was to his girlfriend. And above all, Mike loved the Burners. All of them. He spent a bit more time with Chuck than he did with anyone else in the team, but he was always there for everyone just as passionately.

Which was. Fine.

Freeing Motorcity from her father's reign of terror was indeed way more important than holding hands with a cute boy!

Duh, of course, stupid Julie.

Whatever.

When they inevitably broke up, it blindsided Mike. He thought they were the best of buds! The bestest of buds-- aside from him and Chuck, of course! But while he loved Chuck fiercely, his love for Julie was... different. Fierce but different. He could never describe it in words but he knew what he was feeling was real.

He loved Julie! So when she suddenly broke up with him, it was like getting hit with a sack of flour out of nowhere.

They were leaned up against Mutt's hood on a cliff overlooking Lake Erie when Julie finally broke the news. They were casually smoking a cigarette, passing it back and forth. Mike's idea of a "date." Anyways.

"I can't really keep doing this, Mike." Julie sighed out a cloud of smoke. She said it so matter-of-factly, as casually as if she were simply commenting on the weather.

Mike whipped round to look at her. "Keep doing what?"

"This," Julie threw her hands up and tucked them into her vest pockets after handing Mike the cigarette back. "This... 'relationship'. It's not working out."

"What... whaddya mean? We just started dating, it's kinda too early to tell--"

"No, Mike." Julie interrupted loudly. Her eyes were avoiding Mike's face carefully. "No... it's not. We've been together for months and we have never moved on from our friendship. You... just admit it, dude. You're just not into me."

Mike pushed himself off of Mutt and placed his hands on both of her shoulders, forcing them to stand face-to-face. "Julie, look at me." He had his jaw set.

Julie swallowed as she peered up at him from her bangs.

"I love you more than you can ever know. I know I’m messing up, but... but I’m trying, okay? Just give us one more chance, Jules. I can make it right, I know it!"

Julie took a step back, wrinkling her nose. "Mike! Just give it up, okay? I know you don't feel the same about me as I do about you," she pleaded, mortified. "It's okay! It's fine! We can just move on and let it go!"

"B-but it's not! No, Julie c'mon, bro--"

"Bro?!" Julie exploded, hands in the air now. "Are you hearing yourself right now? Am I your girlfriend, or your bro?"

Mike gaped at her like a fish, mouth opening just to close again. Then, he hunched his shoulders and shoved his hands in his pockets.

He kicked a couple of rocks off the cliff, watching the pebbles scatter and plummet dozens of feet below.

Then he ran his hands through his hair, a nervous habit of his, before returning back to Julie.

He exhaled loudly. "What... what's the difference? You... isn't that what dating is all about? Being best friends with your partner?"

Julie glared at him. "Yes! And it's also about being more than that, too!"

Mike scoffed. "More than friends? What does that even mean? Nothing is more important than friendship, Jules. Not in Motorcity."

"Nothing is more important than friendship?! Mike--" Here, Julie took a step back to pinch her nose and exhale. "Look. When I confessed my feelings to you for the first time, what were you feeling?"

"What was I feeling? Uh, I dunno, happiness I guess? What, did you want me to say that I didn't care? I care about your feelings, Julie! I do!"

"So you started dating me because you didn't want to hurt my feelings?!" Julie shouted.

"Where are you getting that from?!" Mike shouted back.

"Mike! You are just not into me! I can just tell! It's okay! W-we can just be friends, like how we used to be. I don't even know why you're fighting me so hard on this, I'm the one breaking up with you. You can't change my mind!"

"Right," Mike huffed, "because you don't love me anymore. No, I get it. It's fine."

They glared at each other for a beat.

Then, Julie shoved her hands back into her vest pockets. "No, Mike. I do love you. I just think..." she sighed, all the wind in her sails blowing away, "I just think it's best for us to go our own separate ways."

Mike startled. "Wait, what? Jules... are you...? You're not leaving the Burners, are you?"

"No, I'm not leaving the Burners." Julie says through clenched teeth. "I'm just gonna take a quick break and then when I come back? We're gonna be just friends again, Mike. Alright?"

Mike inhales deeply, his own anger trickling out of him like water as well. "... Fine. Fine, yeah. Whatever you want, Julie." He hangs his head.

They then stare off into the horizon together, watching the twinkling star-like pinpoints of light on the underside of the dome. Watching as the lake's waters undulate and shimmer in the darkness of the cool evening, a gigantic dark mirror reflecting the pinpoints back to the ceiling.

Mike idly scuffs his boot on the ground again, putting out their shared cigarette. In a sad sort of way, the dying ember of the smoldering stick being stomped out into rocks and gravel was a lot like their relationship: dead and done. And of course it had to be Mike to put them both out, huh. Right.

Real poetic.

Julie turns around wordlessly, climbs into Mutt and sits in Chuck's seat.

Time to go.

After a few seconds Mike nods once, fixes his collar and slides into his own seat.

The ride back up to Deluxe is quiet.

Except this time, it had been a long while since they had the time to relax like this. These days, Kane's attacks were getting more and more savage, brutal... and cunning.

It was a couple years later when the kids were a bit older --but not that much older at the same time-- that they all filed past the doors of Antonio's and slid right into their usual booth.

Kane's latest attempt at a hostile takeover of Motorcity involved way too many sneaky double-crossing spies all trying to break the Burners up and weaken the city's best defense. Sneaky bastard, that Abraham Kane.

But they thwarted him yet again, despite it all. They beat the bad guys, restored peace back amongst the gangs and the civilians, and saved the day.

It had taken weeks this time, but they succeeded.

So now to celebrate, they're placing their orders for the greasiest, most heart-clogging fast food on the menu and sitting back to happily sip at their drinks. They're finally enjoying their time together again, and Mike is especially pleased that everyone made it out alive.

Sitting elbow-to-elbow with his bestest friends in the world, Mike takes advantage of a lull in the conversation to clap his hands together and get everyone's attention.

"Okay, guys!" He announces. "So, I'm pretty sure we're all kinda fried after... y'know, everything. Everyone's probably too tired to care about what I'm going to say next! So... confession time."

"Hmhmm! Spill, then," Chuck smirks, his chin in his cyborg hand. It was a recent upgrade to his prosthetic, and it shone a beautiful silvery-blue under the diner lights.

Mike chuckles nervously. "Uh, I... I think that... I figured out that I can't fall in love!"

Everyone stares at him.

Chuck casually slurps his milkshake through a straw.

Dutch turns to him then. "Wait. You knew?"

Chuck sits up. "Uhh hahaha, whoa. Where'd that come from? You psychic or somethin'?" He deflects awkwardly.

"You're clearly not surprised," Dutch points out.

"Pfft yeah I'm not surprised. Who's been Mike's best friend since, like, kindergarten again?"

"Ah. And ya didn't think to let me know anything back when we were dating? Sure would've saved us a lot of time," Julie quipped drily.

Chuck holds his mismatched hands up. "Now hold on a minute! I didn't know back then, obviously. Besides, you two dated years ago for like... three seconds!"

"Two years ago, smartass," Julie snips back.

Mike clears his throat conspicuously. "Guys! Guys, no need to fight over me," he jokes awkwardly, "because I, uhm, I've decided I don't belong to anybody! I'm just me, and I'm not dating anyone. Like, ever."

Everyone turns back to him again.

With four pairs of eyes on him, Mike draws in on himself a bit as he continues. "Yeah, it's. It's something that I've been kinda discovering about myself and I'm still... exploring it. But I'm pretty sure I've never had a crush in my life. I was just walking through life distracted by everything else for so long that I never noticed it, but... yeah. I've just. I've just never felt love for anyone else before, I guess."

"Which is fine," Chuck blurts out suddenly. "It's... it's fine! That Mike's never fallen in love with anyone. It happens. Some people just don't experience a common thing most people do... like romance, or sex. Yeah! Totally normal!"

Dutch smirks at Chuck. "You too, then? You a non-romantic as well?"

Chuck shakes his head so hard his bangs swing. "No! Nuh uh, I'm a lover, not a fighter. I'm definitely a romantic!"

"Why so nervous all of a sudden, then?"

"Because," Chuck replies, "because... it's fine! To not ever fall in love or like... date, or kiss or have sex or whatever. We're in Motorcity now, and we can get to do whatever we want. And if we don't wanna date, then we don't have to!" Then he clamps his mouth shut.

Mike perks up then. "That's right! And ah, yeah! Speaking of, Chuckles... lemme tell ya, I really gotta hand it to ya. If it weren't for you, I'd've never figured this one out. So, thanks, buddy! As always, you really had my back on this one."

Chuck and Mike smile at each other and Texas raises a brow.

"Huh?" Texas says. "What's that s'posed to mean?"

Chuck titters nervously as Mike pulls up a screen and opens up a forum.

"It means that Chuckles here helped me find a site that explained everything I was experiencing! Or... not experiencing, really."

Chuck clears his throat, clearly relieved. "Uh, yeah! Well, after Mike's like, 10th girlfriend that one time he couldn't stop bringing people back home, he came to me all frustrated and stuff and... well, we went off to find my friends in the LARPing arena to see if anyone had any idea why he was burning through dates like Mutt burns through tires. And so someone suggested he might be aromantic, and uh... well, the rest is history!"

Dutch and Julie hummed in acknowledgement.

Everyone knew what that was like, how weird it was that Golden Child Mike all of sudden started bringing people home from parties and bars shortly after his breakup with Julie. Sometimes he even had two people on his arms, some men, some women. Never the same person after two or three times, though.

They were all perplexed when they first heard laughing and chattering behind Mike's bedroom door. Once the moaning started, though... well! Everyone poked fun at him the mornings after and teased him to varying degrees, but things were mostly chill in the beginning.

Everyone remembered Mike's frustrations after a while, though. How he could never quite land a steady relationship-- no matter how hard he tried, with whoever. It got to the point where the Burners stopped their teasing and became quite concerned after Mike introduced his 5th girlfriend in the span of like... 6 months, once upon a time.

It was shortly after his final breakup that Mike flopped down onto his best friend's messy bed one evening and finally had The Conversation.

It went well, all things considered. Chuck, patient as ever, listened to his friend and then when he couldn't offer any solid advice, he offered a distraction. The LARPing arena proved to be much better help than they could ever hope for.

Ever since then, Mike's been up late into the night often, completely engrossed in all things aromantic. He wanted to learn more about it, yearned for a community that knew exactly what he was feeling; so he stayed awake just swiping through sites and PDFs on his holoscreens, eating every bit of information up.

Now, it looked like Mike was at peace with himself and his station in life after all this time. That was a relief!

"Aromantic! That's it! Look at this, guys." Here, Mike grins and pulls up a photo of a striped flag. "This is the community flag. Look familiar?"

The colors of the flag had two shades of green at the top that then cascaded into white, then grey and then black.

Texas leaned forward. "It looks like Mutt!" He practically shouts.

Everyone laughs.

"Yeah, that sure is a you flag if I've ever seen one," Julie quips.

"Right? Like it was meant to be! So I guess I'm part of this community, then. I mean, this really is a kickass flag..."

"But what does that mean, though? That you can never fall in love with anyone, ever?" Julie asks.

Mike closes his screens and clasps his hands on the table, exhaling a bit. "Uhh, well? Well, yeah! I can't ever fall in love... but it doesn't feel that way to me! Ugh, I'm probably gonna do such a bad job explaining this," he laughs self-consciously.

"It's okay, dude. Take your time," Dutch smiles warmly.

Mike shoots him a grateful smile back. "... It... it's like. Well? It's like... I've never felt butterflies in my stomach before, so I have no idea what that's like. But I like you guys, a lot. Like a lot, a lot. I love hanging out with you all even though I don't think about any of you guys like that. I love making friends-- like true friends-- and I can't stop thinking about how happy hanging out with people makes me. I guess I'm just way more platonic than romantic, because I am just... so bad at love! God, I've never had so much trouble with anything in my life before like I have with romance," he groans, grimacing.

"And when Mike Fucking Chilton says that, that's how you know he's struggling!" Dutch puts in.

Everyone giggles.

"Wow," Julie gives Mike a side-long glance. "Finally. Something that The Great Mike Chilton is bad at! We've finally got him, boys."

Texas leaps out of his seat and enthusiastically karate-chops the air. "Hoo-WAH!!! Finally! Something I got over on ya, Mike. Texas is better at romancing than you!"

Julie rolls her eyes.

Mike guffaws. "Psshhwhat? C'mon guys, I'm bad at plenty of stuff. This isn't the first!"

"Oh yeah? Name one thing!" Dutch challenges.

"Uhhm well uh, I...? I'm pretty bad at... hm." Mike drums his fingers on the table. "I'm bad at coding! I'm not nearly as good as Chuck at the software and tech side of things!"

"But ya could be! You could totally learn how to, if you'd just sit down with me for more than 20 minutes," Chuck points out.

Mike stubbornly folds his arms across his chest. "Well, I don't wanna! What're you gonna do about it?"

And just like that, the kids all return back to normalcy, bickering and quibbling about nothing as they finally receive their food from the waitress. Soon after, Chuck and Texas are throwing pizza toppings and wadded up paper at each other and Mike is mom-ing at them to quit it before they all get kicked out.

It was as if nothing even happened.

It was simultaneously comforting and also thrilling how easily Mike was accepted back into the fold; the Burners' Heartless Leader who could never fall in love.

On the inside, Mike was deeply grateful and his heart felt full upon learning this, though. It was a nourishing feeling that his bestest friends in the whole world who worked hard, played hard, lived fast and free alongside him... they loved him and accepted him back, no matter what. It was a much nicer and fuzzier feeling than any romance-filled relationship or hookup ever gave him.

Now, the Burners are finally leaving the diner, all tipsy and giddy from their impromptu late-night happy hour session.

Mike has a casual arm slung over Chuck's shoulder as they traipse on over to Mutt. Everyone casually daps each other up and offers quick goodbyes before climbing into their respective cars.

Mike slides behind the wheel and exhales. Chuck clicks himself into his secure harness.

"Well! That went pretty well! A little too easily, honestly but," Mike breathes.

Chuck's blonde head bobs. "Well yeah, dude. Of course. What'd ya think, that'd we kick you out of the team for that?"

Mike shrugs and turns his skeleton key into Mutt's ignition, bringing her to roar awake again. "I mean... no. But, y'know. It's weird, having a leader of a gang that can't ever fall in love, right? Like some heartless freak or somethin'. I dunno," he chuckled wryly.

Chuck frowns. "Mike. You're not a freak," he says firmly.

Mike gives his best friend a sidelong glance. "Chuck..." he speaks, voice low, "it's not like that! You know what I mean... it's just that sometimes people who are different don't get treated so well all the time, yanno?"

"Yeah, sure, back up in Deluxe," Chuck argues. "But it's different down here in Motorcity. It's good here for people like us!"

Mike hums thoughtfully as he drums his fingers on the wheel. "Yeah, you're right..." then, he smirks at Chuck. "So if that's true, then why didn't you come out, back there? I actually thought you were gonna do it. It even looked like Dutch suspected something, too!"

Mike smiles at his friend, who is doing his best impression of a carseat cover now.

"Mmnyeah... yeah, I could've." Chuck gives a noncommittal shrug, hesitating.

"What's wrong?"

After a few seconds, Chuck swipes at his bangs self-consciously and clears his throat. "Uhmm well... being aromantic and never falling in love is kinda... badass, don'tcha think? But for a guy like me, never wanting to have sex and being a dope for romance is just pathetic," he laments. "If people hear that I'm asexual and that I never want to bang anyone, I'd get laughed out of the room! It's not an asexual thing, Mikey, it's a me thing."

Mike throws Mutt into reverse and backs her out of their parking spot with practiced ease.

"Chuckles. My guy. Look, who cares what other people think? If you don't wanna bone, you're just not gonna. That doesn't hurt anyone at all, so screw anyone who says anything about it. If anyone gives you a hard time, call me up and I'll spin the block for you,"

Chuck bursts into a peal of nervous giggles. "Whoa, whoa Mikey, geez! Christ, thanks, man but that's really not necessary. I appreciate you, though,"

They smile at each other again.

Then after a beat, Mike adds, "plus, if they know about aromanticism, they're gonna eventually find out about asexuality, too, dude."

Chuck laughs weakly as he clutches his arms. "O-oh...! Yeah... yeah that's tr--"

Mike suddenly slams his boot down on the gas pedal and Mutt growls as she lurches into hundred-mile-speeds from a standstill. Her tires screech loudly on the pavement and she leaves a giant plume of smoke and dirt behind as everyone careens over a drop straight onto the Deluxian Supply Pipes.

"Miiikkee-eeyyyy!!! We just ate!" Chuck screeches, horrified. He clings onto the car seat with both hands as Mike laughs.

Chuck's screams and Mike's loud, joyous shouting and whooping can be heard far and wide throughout Motorcity as they race all the way back home.

[the-impossible-bird]

it's sad bitch hours for me 24/7 lately and I'm resorting to quick messy drawings of fictional gays

[dont-get-axe-murdered]

Has anyone EVER mentioned in season 1 how that last time Crowley ever interacted with Aziraphale before the bookshop fire was after he hung up on him. From his perspective Azriaphale called, Crowley outright ignores him for probably the first, and later finds what he thinks is the crime scene of his best friend (and more). Crowley didn't answer once and lost everything.

Now that you're in tears, allow me to get you sobbing: Aziraphale has repeatedly ignored Crowley, hesitated to answer, and fought against him. Now, imagine you're Crowley and for the first time you understand what you want and need and you dare to ask for it. You hype yourself up to ask for more, push yourself to be vulnerable. Then, you are interrupted and cruely gutted through miscommunication and misunderstandings and conflict of interests and the toxic manipulation of outside parties. You realize you've lost, and you're desperate and you're feelings are too big for your words and you are somehow grieving something that hasn't really ended but it falling apart between your fingers. So you call one last time, you pull the most unfair and cruel stunt you can because you can't do anything else to show your love. You need him to understand the gravity of it all. You call out to him, pleading. And he doesn't reciprocate the one consistent thing you've done for 6,000 years minus one event that almost lost you everything. And you lost it again anyways.

[gunsatthaphan]

~ Monthly BL Breakdown: July 2024 ~ 

🫐 Happy August!!! 🐝

Disclaimer: ALL shows can be streamed here or here, as well as on Youtube and other platforms. For more info on where to watch what, check out this post! 

New breakdowns are coming at the end of every month - feel free to add stuff! -> previous breakdowns

What came out this month? (green = seen/currently watching)

🌟 Takara no Vidro - July 1st (Japan)

🌟 This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans - July 5th (Thailand) ✅

🌟 The Boyfriend (Gay Dating Reality Show) - July 9th (Japan)

🌟 The Next Altitude (BOC lineup event) - July 9th (Thailand)

🌟 Century of Love - July 10th (Thailand)

🌟 Meet You at the Blossom - July 11th (China/Thailand/Taiwan)

🌟 Heavens x Candy - July 13th (Japan)

🌟 Sky Valley - July 20th (Philippines)

🌟 I Saw You in My Dream - July 24th (Thailand)

🌟 4 Minutes - July 26th (Thailand)

🌟 Love Enemy - July 26th (Thailand)

🌟 Mitsuya Sensei no Keikakutekina Ezuke - July 26th (Japan)

🌟 Battle of the Writers - July 29th (Thailand)

Monthly Likes / Dislikes

❣️ - 👎🏻 No series but I find the whole Y-Find thing really fucked up like what are they thinking? I know it's the usual capitalism but to leave the winner with nothing but a paycheck and NO rights to their story whatsoever is wild to me. Kinda makes me want to write a story about Thailand's biggest company completely screwing over their fans and submit it lmao 💀

New series & movie announcements

🎥 Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo - Date TBA (South Korea)

🎥 P.S. You (starring Yoon Phusanu) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Buddy Boy - Date TBA (South Korea)

🎥 Project Red (movie, starring BillkinPP) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Dear My Paradise - Date TBA (South Korea)

🎥 I'll Turn Back This Time - Date TBA (Taiwan)

🎥 Host Friend - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Pretty Boys - Date TBA (Philippines)

🎥 Luminous Begins (prequel to The Luminous Solution) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Eternal Butler (sequel to Anti-Reset) - Date TBA (Taiwan)

🎥 The Hell Guard - Date TBA (Thailand)

Other news from the BL world

❗️ After the withdrawal of Chimon W. from the upcoming BL Perfect10 Liners, GMMTV announced that company-newbie Santa P. will be taking on the role of Gun and thus become Perth's new partner in the show. Furthermore they announced that Chimon will still be taking part in the upcoming series Hide & Sis.

❗️ The production company Headliner Thailand announced that actor Seng Wichai will no longer participate in the upcoming BL project The Bangkok Boys due to scheduling conflicts. It has not been revealed whether or not his role will be recast.

❗️ Actor Frank T. made a post on Instagram, announcing the end of his ship with fellow actor Long Shi Lee, saying that there won't be any more joint projects as they are pursuing separate acting careers.

❗️ The annual Digital Awards Thailand were held on July 14th. The following BL actors/productions won:

UpPoom - Most popular pairing (My Stand-in)

GreatInn - Couple of the Year (Wandee Goodday)

MeenPing - Best Couple in a Sports Themed Series (The Rebound)

MosBank - Best BL Couple

❗️ Max Nattapol (Manner of Death) and Na Naphat (Until We Meet Again) will be paired as a side couple in the upcoming GL Petrichor. The show is an adaption of the novel of the same name and author Sammon has been confirmed as the screenwriter. An airdate is still unknown.

❗️ Former GMMTV actor Mike Chinnarat has joined the cast for the upcoming Domundi BL Your Sky as the character Oh. An airdate is still unknown.

❗️ GMMTV announced that their newly announced project Y-Find will accept submissions until August 31st. The project gives (only Thai) fans the opportunity to submit original BL/GL stories, one of which will be chosen to be extended and adapted into a series. The winner receives 30.000 Baht (~800$) and has to sign a copyright transfer agreement for the story and will not be involved in any of the further productions processes as all rights will be transferred to GMMTV. (wtf lmao)

❗️ The Korean vlog-style BL City Boy Log is getting a fourth season. An airdate is unknown.

❗️ GMMTV released a statement, declaring the end of Ohm P. and Nanon K.'s work as a pair and the end of the OhmNanon ship as a result. The pair debuted in Bad Buddy in 2021 and reunited for Our Skyy2 in 2023. According to the statement they want to pursue separate careers - Ohm will be the lead in the upcoming BL Kidnap where he is paired with Leng T. while Nanon has taken a step back from acting.

Upcoming series & movies for August

👉🏻 Sugar Dog Life - August 4th (Japan)

👉🏻 Summer Night (bl side story) - August 5th (Thailand)

👉🏻 Cosmetic Playlover - August 6th (Japan)

👉🏻 Monster Next Door - August 8th (Thailand)

👉🏻 First Note of Love - August 12th (Taiwan)

👉🏻 The Paradise of Thorns - August 22nd (Thailand)

👉🏻 My Idol - August TBA (South Korea)

[stellar-jay]

"Exactly?"

"Exactly. And precisely," I challenged him.

[jkpng]

happy pride month (25/30)

[least-carpet]

Hiiii, if it's not too much, can you describe the biggest differences between the live action characters and the novel characters in MDZS? They are a lot, so I will love even the difference between few of them! I haven't seen the live action and I don't know if I will ever, but I am curious, considering all the meta. Anyway, thank you in general, even if you don't answer!

Hello anon! This has been in the inbox forever because there are soooo many ways to answer this! However, let me be transparent that I've watched maybe like 1/10 of CQL. Among other obstacles, I simply do not care that much about Lan Wangji and he's always there (even though Wang Yibo is giving it his all... it's not his fault I'm a hater...). Chewing through a book with Ms. Mxtx's commentary was just more enjoyable to me, and even then, to be honest, I still liked SVSSS better. (I just love Shen Yuan/Shen Qingqiu so much. That dude is wild.)

Still, the live action definitely affected how I understood certain characters (...primarily Nie Huaisang) and made me interested in relationships that I didn't pay any attention to in the novel. (I freely admit that the nieyao brainrot is 100% CQL's fault.) Also I found Wang Zhuocheng's Jiang Cheng very cute and loveable. It definitely contributed to my Jiang Cheng Brain Disease.

LISTEN. HE HAS BIG SAD EYES AND THE MEANEST SNEER AND HE MIGHT BURST INTO TEARS AT ANY TIME. HE IS A BABY. A baby who could kill you with his terrifying lightning whip! But a baby nonetheless, to me.

So if you want someone with a real and knowledgeable opinion on the live action, I'm probably not the right person for that! However, here's one difference that changed a bunch of stuff about the characters that I found compelling in the novel: the second flautist.

CQL adds Su She as a second flautist doing unorthodox cultivation in a couple of different places, including at Qiongqi Path, where he seizes control of Wen Ning and is therefore responsible for Jin Zixuan's death. Removing the responsibility for Jin Zixuan's death from Wei Wuxian creates a bunch of cascading character and relationship implications that I don't love.

Firstly, all of the people who cautioned Wei Wuxian against his unorthodox cultivation are now... wrong. If he never lost control, then actually his assessment that he could maintain control wasn't overconfidence, it was just true, and he was persecuted because the Jin needed a scapegoat and wanted the Yin Tiger Tally, not because his cultivation path actually involved significant risks and drawbacks. (To be fair, the Jins actively exploited those drawbacks, the public perception of his cultivation, and Wei Wuxian's failure to manage his reputation. But it matters whether the risks exist or are just made up.)

Secondly, removing his responsibility for Jin Zixuan's death transforms both Wei Wuxian's character and how we understand his relationships with Jiang Yanli, Jiang Cheng, and Jin Ling. Because, in the novel, he kills Jin Zixuan under duress but also after a lifetime of conflict with him. Like, he hates the dude, he doesn't think he's worthy of Jiang Yanli, and he's not willing to examine his hatred and resentment even though Jiang Yanli loves Jin Zixuan and wants to marry him, even after she marries him and has a child with him. (I would argue that a lot of the resentment is because of the eventual marriage; by marrying Jiang Yanli, Jin Zixuan becomes legally recognized family to the Jiang siblings, while Wei Wuxian's relationship with them has no social recognition; I think Wei Wuxian is deeply threatened by that but can't articulate it.) It's a huge failure! Like, dude, you loved someone and you killed that person's beloved spouse. That points to a certain degree of repressed jealousy, possessiveness, longing, arrogance, the list goes on... I am so compelled by that conflict, and the adaptation just erases it.

This also affects how we read Jin Ling's relationship with Wei Wuxian. In one scenario, a teenage Jin Ling is (eventually, minus one little stab) ending the cycle of violence by not seeking vengeance for his father's murder. In the other, it was actually someone associated with Jin Ling's paternal family that killed his father, and he's maybe just... coming to terms with that? One of these scenarios is so much richer and more interesting.

How it affects the relationship between Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian is a little more subtle. It locates the responsibility for a lot of the harm done to the Jiang siblings with the Jin sect, not with Wei Wuxian, removing some of Wei Wuxian's culpability in the devolution of his relationship with Jiang Cheng. If Wei Wuxian isn't guilty of wronging the Jiang family (and instead is also a victim of the Jin sect), then all of Jiang Cheng's rage and betrayal was misdirected. They were both tricked. In some ways, maybe that's easier to patch up after canon? (I wonder if this is why many CQL yunmeng shuangjie reconciliation fics have Jiang Cheng apologize to Wei Wuxian, but not the other way around?) But it's so much less interesting to me!

Finally, it removes Wei Wuxian's tragic flaw! Dude is legitimately a genius but he's got hubris coming out of his ears and it fucks him up big time! This is classic stuff. Please stop flattening my boy!!

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

All I’m going to say I think now that my brain remembered part of what it was thinking is that Taylor and Joe went through a lot together (good and bad) and regardless of how it ended or what led to it they both seem to be determined to keep that private and not throw each other under the bus and in the end they’re just two very, very different people whose outlooks in the long term were just never going to align and never has that been clearer.