#drama arc fives

[lonewolflupe]

Taking a breather after a mission featuring ARC trooper Echo and Drama ARC Fives

I absolutely picture them like this after a mission. Echo's just normal, hanging back and taking a breather, whilst Fives is just.. ✨ Dramatic ✨

@ghostymarni sorry for almost messing up your work call with these 😂 @aknightreaderr I know you'll enjoy theatrical Fives

[fantasticgothicpeachsludge]

Thinking about padawan Cal being on Coruscant during Fives’ arc and somehow running into him and getting an echo off of something Fives had on him. Then helping him, whether by getting him in contact with Quinlan somehow (I think the council would be more likely to believe him over a child, even if they could feel Cal wasn’t lying)

Or in a disaster lineage Cal AU going “I’m gonna call my dads, no offense (full offense) to Anakin, but I think he likes the Chancellor too much to think rationally about this.” and then calling Cody and Obi-Wan, and Palpatine’s plot is uncovered and everything is OKAY and Fives is OKAY and nothing bad ever happens again.

[sailorkamino]

ice breakers with torrent company

you: lets play a game called smash or pass

hardcase: we get to break stuff?

you: no dear, smash refers to fuck

rex, choking on rations: what!?

you: lets start with droids! what about an astromech?

fives, with no hesitation: smash

torrent company: [stunned silence]

fives: why didn't you guys answer?

echo: i think you should stay away from r2 from now on

fives: IM NOT SEXUALLY ATTRACTED TO R2D2, ITS JUST A GAME

obi-wan:

[attila-werther]

YES!!!!! finally. the dynamic I crave most. a long fucking last.

[stardust9905]

I didn't ask to be called out like this-

*made an entire Tumblr account dedicated to clones from TCW and TBB*

clone wars writers: We're gonna create a new series to explore Anakins arc more and make his fall more understandable. We will also explore the Jedis culture before the Empire. You'll have Obi-Wan, Anakin, Ahsoka and many more amazing Jedi to show you this era of the universe :)

literally all of us: clones, clones, clones, clones clones clones clones clonesclonesclonesclonesclonesclo-

[parachellum]

I don't have another fandom blog, so I'm just putting this here, but I'm putting it under a cut so it doesn't fucking blast anyone's dash like the color of the rainbow post. But feel free to ignore this bc this is not sams related lmao

But anyways, I have Thoughts about Stolitz from Helluva Boss and nowhere to put them so I'm putting them out to the void and yeah, sorry, it is long as fuck 😔. My general opinion is that I do like the ship, I find it compelling and I want to study it under a microscope, but I do think the show doesn't really execute it well.

First of all, the show establishes them to be in a business/transactional relationship, but suddenly shows that they want genuine intimacy with each other? Like, where did that appear? Before episode 6, I mean. Episode 6 is the first time that the series shows that they both may like each other, but before this, they don't hang out in a particularly "romantic" way or even get to know each other. It's just constant sexually aggressive flirting from Stolas and Blitzo being annoyed. And you can argue that episode 5 shows that Blitzo may like Stolas because he chooses to save him over teaming up with Striker, but I don't think it does a particularly good job of it. We don't really see them appreciate each other as people, so the foundation and defining quality of Stolitz so far is still majorly transactional sex. Which is to say there's not really a foundation for a romantic attraction or any implication that there's something that draws them towards each other beyond business and sex.

Then Ep 6 happens and I like... Honestly, I can accept how they portrayed Stolitz with Blitzo in his hallucination scene, I can see why Blitzo would want to be with Stolas beyond "fuck him to keep the grimoire and keep IMP open". Similarly with Stolas with his focus episode in S2 EP1, which kind of explains why he wants Blitzo beyond physical, but I don't think the show does enough to justify them feeling *genuine* affection. At best, I think they show that they're using each other for personal emotional gain rather than caring about each other. And there needs to be more development to show the transition from that to romantic attraction.

I think Stolitz has the potential to be a ship that showcases how two people navigate their own emotional baggage and inability to communicate properly to change themselves to actually get a proper relationship (which I think is what most people find appealing? Not the actual relationship as presented in the show, but the "I can fix him/them" fantasy of it), but I do think the series doesn't develop it well enough or went through with it too fast.

Like, in Blitzo's hallucination scene, I can buy that he may want Stolas beyond a transactional relationship, but not because he really loves him. I don't think the scene frames Stolas as his "ideal lover" as most people seem to read it. Rather it shows Blitzo's awareness of the power dynamic, but also the fact that Blitzo craves recognition and praise from people, especially authority figures, which Stolas is. Compared to Blitzo, Stolas is far more powerful and successful as well as a Prince; that he would give Blitzo attention even though Blitzo is an imp is probably like catnip to Blitzo. On the other hand, when Blitzo climbs up the stairs, we see 1) Stolas' feathers cleans up all the gunk and 2) Blitzo is also cleaned from the mud/paint and his clothes transform to his work suit. Blitzo creating his own business despite being an imp has shown to have garnered him respect (like with Striker), but it's also only because of Stolas that he can even recreate his own identity to be this respectable boss figure; I think there is a sense of debt that Blitzo feels towards Stolas. But the main point seems to be that while he feels indebted and trapped by Stolas' attraction to him, it's also because of Stolas that he himself feels "clean" and "worthy"

All in all, rather than genuine romantic attraction, it feels more like Blitzo likes Stolas because of how he wants a solution to his own insecurities and sees that being provided by Stolas, as well as the fact that he may want approval from such an authority figure-- especially one that doesn't seem to be chased off by his usual front of crassness or pushing people away. Like a "I want to date the people I envy" type of deal. It also seems like Stolas is the only person Blitzo is currently having sexual relations with? Or at least on the regular, so that probably adds to the confusion between projecting his emotional baggage and attraction.

For Stolas, in the S2 Ep1, it felt more like he's projecting a memory of happiness onto Blitzo rather than genuinely liking Blitzo. One of the most impactful moments in Stolas' childhood is the day he met Blitzo; it's a moment of genuine joy and connection, and from the way he recognizes Blitzo immediately, it's clear he obsesses over that, especially in his loveless marriage. From the way the show then presents Stella and his time at the party, it doesn't look like he made any more meaningful bonds with other people. Stolas, I think, even mentions it himself: he's been waiting to feel this kind of passion and it feels even more meaningful that it comes from "his very first friend". It feels more like a desperate attempt to latch onto just one relationship in which he feels he's not trapped within his own social status as well as to relive his past when he felt happier and less weighed down by his obligations to marriage and social appearance. I think he does feel that he can be his true self around Blitzo, but it's less because of who Blitzo is as a person and more because of what sentimental nostalgic value Stolas has projected onto Blitzo/what Blitzo represents to Stolas.

Like, they're both essentially using each other to deal with their own insecurities/baggage (short of actually addressing it and/or getting therapy) and not really caring about each other as people. But I think it would be compelling to see them work through that to either break off from this mutually toxic relationship or work on themselves to commit to an actually healthy relationship.

But then the show tries to jump to them already having romantic feelings without doing the dirty work of dissecting their insecurities and showing how that develops into genuine affection for each other. To me at least, Stolas saving Blitzo in Ep6 doesn't really show he loves Blitzo; to be more specific, that his desire to escape his own aristocratic life and marriage through Blitzo has transformed into love I think you can still argue that he just doesn't want to lose his only outlet of self-expression, or what having sex with Blitzo does *for him*.

On the other hand. I can definitely see the transition happening in Ep 7 when Stolas realizes he's hurt Blitzo and wants to end the transactional relationship to make Blitzo happy. But! The point still stands that I don't think the show really makes it clear what the trigger for that transition was, what about Blitzo made him see Blitzo as a person rather than tool to deal with his own trauma? What made him treat this outing/date more seriously and with more emotional investment than the monthly sex or the time at Loo Loo Land, etc?

I know it's now getting Stolas to address the power imbalance part by getting a crystal for Blitzo so that their transactional relationship will be dissolved, but it doesn't actually address the fact that Stolas' attraction towards Blitzo kind of amounts to (or should amount to) him just wanting to feel better about his own life rather than Blitzo, like does he even know who Blitzo is?? Outside of sex and work?? I don't think so. And if he does, the show doesn't show that, so it's kind of a moot point.

Although, for Blitzo, it's in-character that he's still confusing his own hang-ups with romantic attraction, because he still hasn't really gotten over his coping mechanisms or worked on himself. The show still shows that he's constantly coming onto other people to make himself feel better rather than thinking about what the other people *need*; for example, Loona as a 22yo doesn't need the overprotective and doting father in her life, but that is the type of father Blitzo *wants* to be. He's thinking about his own childhood and daddy issues and the father he wished he had instead of what will actually help and match Loona. Similarly, he completely ignores all the boundaries sets by his sister and hunts her down for reconciliation because he wants to patch things up and not because she needs him in her life; she just wants to move on from him.

However, I do still think HB probably should've shown Blitzo and Stolas interacting with each other beyond the "Stolas aggressively comes onto Blitzo and Blitzo gets irritated" dynamic and allowed them to have moments where they realize qualities about the other that makes them go "maybe he isn't so bad after all" or "he's someone I'd like to know more about". For me, to make this relationship work or be viable, there has to be something genuine about their dynamic despite the miscommunications and transactional set-up, because that should be the real foundation of their romantic attraction.

BUT I also acknowledge that this is an indie animation series, so they deserve some slack. Especially since the time between video uploads can take months. I doubt they want to release an episode to their fans and audience only for it to develop a character arc by a micro-inch. I can see why they want to make the pacing a bit faster and hit the main beats of the ship development. And I probably just feel this way because I binged all the published episodes recently instead of waiting out the hiatus like a true fan. In any case, I still like Stolitz and would pay my fucking soul to get them to talk to each other like actual adults.

[gothictyped]

“  i know you probably hate me right now but i don’t have anyone else to talk to.  ”

𝙲𝙾𝚄𝚁𝚃𝙽𝙴𝚈   𝙲𝙰𝙻𝙻𝙰𝙷𝙰𝙽   𝚂𝙰𝙸𝙳   :      ❝      i   know   you   probably hate   me   right   now   but   i   don’t   have   anyone   else   to   talk   to.   ❞   

𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙼𝙿𝚃   :   exes   with   feelings      (  accepting   )   

＊⭒✧   —      that   was   the   𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔰𝔱   𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔱   of   all   of   this   mess   ,   wasn't   it   ?      gwen   didn't   𝙷𝙰𝚃𝙴   courtney   ;   she   couldn't   bring   herself   to   hate   her   ,   even   when   she   made   𝑛𝑜   𝑏𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠   at   all   about   her   own   personal   feelings   about   the   goth   girl   after   everything   that   happened   between   them   .   ᵈᵘᶰᶜᵃᶰ   …   god   ,   how   she   wished   she   had   never   ,   ever   kissed   him   ,   never   let   him   get   her   guard   down—   maybe   she   &   courtney   never   would've   been   put   through   all   of   the   hell   their   friendship   (   if   courtney   could   even   begin   to   consider   the   possibility   of   them   really   being   friends   again   with   how   badly   she   had   screwed   up   )   had   been   through   because   of   it   .   but   after   that   night   under   the   blue   harvest   moon   ,   part   of   her   was   actually   𝚂𝚄𝚁𝙿𝚁𝙸𝚂𝙸𝙽𝙶𝙻𝚈   hopeful   about   rekindling   things   .

❝      𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓉𝓃𝑒𝓎      …   i   never   hated   you   .   never   .   but   ,   you   don't   have   to   like   ,   apologize   for   needing   someone   to   talk   too   .   ❞  

 

it's   stunning   ,   truthfully   ,   that   courtney   is   seemingly   giving   her   a   𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑢𝑖𝑛𝑒   𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑   𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒—   of   course   ,   gwen   isn't   risking   𝔧𝔦𝔫𝔵𝔦𝔫𝔤   𝔦𝔱   by   mentioning   it   ,   but   it   was   nonetheless   surprising   for   her   as   she   sits   at   the   brunette's   side   ;   admittedly   still   a   bit   ᵒᵘᵗ   ᵒᶠ   ˢᵒʳᵗˢ   after   her   rather   public   break   up   with   duncan   just   the   night   before   .   did   it   even   really   count   when   he   didn't   seem   to   genuinely   care   about   her   over   getting   under   courtney's   skin   with   everything   they   did   together      ?     

 

❝   you   can   always   talk   to   me   …      what's   up   ??   other   than   …   well   ,   𝑦𝑎   𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤   .   ❞         @atyped   

[lurkingshan]

What are some JBLs you recommend that have good kisses AND a good romance plot

LOL I can hear the pain behind this question, anon. It’s true that a lot of JBLs with a good romance story fail to deliver on the physical intimacy side of things, though that is becoming less and less the norm. I do have some that I think do both reasonably well. I don’t know exactly what “good romance” means to you, but I’m going to assume we’re talking about well-executed romance plots, regardless of the show’s overall genre and focus, where the characters and relationship arc make sense and don’t randomly derail somewhere along the way. Here’s what I got:

I Cannot Reach You

This is a high school friends to lovers (the cream of the crop for that trope, IMO). This is a story about realizing feelings and building the courage to change your most important relationship, so you’ll have to wait a bit to get those kisses but once you do, I think you’ll be pleased.

His

The second chance romance for me. This is a bl film about two men who come back together after a bad breakup and figure out how to make it work. I love them and this story so much.

Old Fashion Cupcake

There’s only one kiss in this short and sweet show, but it’s a real doozy. A super tight workplace age gap romance that knows exactly what it’s doing.

At 25:00 in Akasaka

Two actors who went to college together meet again when they are cast opposite each other in a bl drama, and get tangled up in the blurred lines between their professional and personal relationships. Angst, baby!

The Pornographer

This series features some of the best kissing and sex scenes you will see anywhere in the bl genre, but warning that it’s a twisted and wild ride. There are five installments and you gotta watch them all to see the full picture of the character and romance arcs. It’s so rewarding if you do.

The End of the World With You

From the same mind of the previous entry and similarly hot and wild and weird. This show has more going on than the second chance romance at its core, but it themes come together beautifully.

Tokyo In April Is…

Another second chance romance, this one features a lot of sex but also deals with heavy subject matter, so mind the CWs. It’s one of my favorites of last year and the love story in this one has really stuck with me; it’s beautiful and so hard won.

Love is Better the Second Time Around

This one comes with a disclaimer that it goes off the rails in the final two episodes, but you asked for good kissing so it would feel wrong not to include it. Yet another second chance romance (are you picking up on a theme here?), this one gets two former high school lovers back together as adults to sort out their misunderstandings, lingering feelings, and buckets of sexual tension. It was so good—until it wasn’t.

[sanyu-thewitch05]

What if F! Yuu's dad got transported to Twisted Wonderland with her headcanons

Pt. 2 Pt.3 Pt.4

I thought of this concept after watching those Fantasy Dad comedy reels.

When your dad woke up from the coffin before you, lemme just say it was pure drama.

🦀:"Yuu, get back in the coffin! We're surrounded by weird men and boys in cult clothes!"

He was even more distressed when you came out holding Grim in your arms.

That's when Crowley explains you and your father's predicament.

🦀: So you're telling me we're stuck in a twisted Disney universe at an all-boys school, and you expect my daughter and I to stay here? Ain't no way that's happening! Yuu, come on! We're finding a hotel!

Somehow you and your father end up staying because Crowley convinced him that ya'll should stay in case he finds a way home.

Y’all still end up at Ramshackle.

But where the path differs is with the overblots and Malleus.

Your dad saw Malleus and you in the garden and put a stop to it. Hank Hill style.

🦀: Yuu, who are you talking to in the garden, in the dead of night?

🦐: Just a friend, dad!

🐉: So this must be the father everyone is talking about.

🦀: Who are you and why do you look like a demon?

🦐: Dad!

🐉: Ahaha, mortals think of such creative names for us.

🦀: Yuu, get back inside this guy is weird.

🦐: Don’t be rude, dad! He’s my new friend!

🦀: Oh really? Then what’s his name?

🦐: Tsunotaro/Hornton.

🦀: And did he tell you that?

🦐: Well….he wouldn’t tell me his real name so he asked me to give him a nickname.

🦀:I’m going to give your pale thin haired creepy self five minutes to leave before I kick your ass!

🦐: Dad!

During the Riddle Overblot arc, when Ace comes to stay with you, your dad is just onto his tactics.

♥️: Please, can I sleep in your bed? I swear I won’t take up much space!

🦀: Listen here boy, she may not be able to catch onto your tactics, but I can. I was once a teenage boy too. You’re not sharing a bed with her.

🦐:….ha….yeah…..to the couch you go. I’ll see you in the morning.

🦀: Yuu, lock your door before you go to sleep.

He pays Grim in tuna to make sure he keeps the boys in line when it comes to Yuu.

[celtigxr]

- - - - - The Pink Dread Master List

Aemond Targaryen x Plus Size!Celtigar!OfC Slow Burn - Friends to Enemies to Lovers

Summary: Theres so much bad blood between these two, but there is also longing... for what they used to have, for what might have been, had it not been for Aemond's betrayal.

Alternatively: First loves. Heartbreaks. Betrayals. Jealousy. Revenge. And repeat. The feud between former friends, Aemond and Valeana, sends a shockwave of social chaos for the Seven Realms as all gather to King's Landing for the Royal Conclave. A season of peace, intended to forge alliances through courtships and marriages, only for it to become a war of a different kind.

Cross Posted with AO3

Mindful of tags of TW below

Please reply if you want to be added to the tag list

Disclaimer: AI is not used in the writing of this story. It is primarily used to generate images when needed (for dresses, mostly), and to help with unique bard like songs, since I am terrible at writing songs and poems. Other than that, rest assured every word is written by me. I will clarify in each chapter when AI is being used and what for.

General Tags: MDNI, AemonxValeana end game, other ships, AFAB, PlusSize!OFC, Celtigar!OFC, Disabeled!OFC, Jealous!Aemond, Angry!Aemond, Healthy!Viserys, Enemies to Lovers, Aged Up characters, Fix It AU, The Dragons Do Not Dance, Eventual Smut, Redemption Arc for Aegon, Slight AegonxOFC, Slow Burn, pining, longing, angst. More may be added along the way. Genre: +18/MDNI, Romantic Comedy, Angst, Young Adult Drama, if Bridgerton had dragons. TW/CW: The story will contain realistic mental health themes. To avoid tumblr taking this post down, they will be coded:

Things such as E. D." Unalive Ideations, B0dy Dysm0rph!a, Blatant Fatph0bia, P T S D, descriptive trigger-induced anxiety attack due to P T S D, and a brief S A (By all definitions, it is, but... You'll see).

Other tw: Typical themes you find in the asoiaf universe. TW will be posted for individual chapters as we go. More may be added here.

Author's Note: Val and Aemond are end game in this, but the other ships are a surprise. I've got spreadsheets n shit.

Credits: Story cover made by me, divider found on pngtree

Prologue: With Friends Like These Chapter One: Return of the Crabs Chapter Two: Familiar Strangers Chapter Three: A King's Command Chapter Four: Unforgiven Chapter Five: Aegon's Doom Chapter Six: Aegon's Delight Chapter Seven: O, Brother Chapter Eight: Still Falling For You Chapter Nine: Protector Chapter Ten: What a Pity Chapter Eleven: Peace of Mind Chapter Twelve: High Horse Chapter Thirteen: Girl's Night Chapter Fourteen: The Will of Man Chapter Fifteen: Restless Chapter Sixteen: Eggs & Bacon Chapter Seventeen: The Daring Chapter Eighteen: Hydrangeas Chapter Nineteen: Pyres & Proposals Chapter Twenty: Family Matters Chapter Twenty-One: Green & Black Chapter Twenty-Two: Maiden's Day Chapter Twenty-Three: A Clash of Princes Chapter Twenty-Four: The Black Dread Chapter Twenty-Five: You Know Nothing Chapter Twenty-Six: A Helping Hand Chapter Twenty-Seven: Worth Less Chapter Twenty-Eight: Terrify Me Chapter Twenty-Nine: Eclipse Chapter Thirty: The Realm's Delight Chapter Thirty-One: Dark Sister Chapter Thirty-Two: Heart Racing (TBA) Chapter Thirty-Three: A House United (TBA) Chapter Thirty-Four: The House of Valyria (TBA) Chapter Thirty-Five: Defiled (TBA) Chapter Thirty-Six: The Ultimate Price (TBA) Chapter Thirty-Seven: Of Storms & Sirens (TBA) Chapter Thirty-Eight: ( to be written ) More chapters to come...

EXTRAS:

Music:

Please do not re-post, redistribute, or plagiarize my stories. I have no problems being a Karen and reporting immediately upon discovery without warning. All rights reserved for GRRM, the creator for this universe and characters, and HBO.

[reiding-writing]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love ����

thanks for sending this ml 🫶

fun fact, i uploaded my first ever fic on the 6th of november 2023, and over the five and a half months since then i have posted an additional 55 fics, bringing my grand total to 56 as of the 20th of april 2024 😭

here are my five favs 🫶

TRANSGRESSION

You're in love with Spencer Reid. He's in love with somebody else.

WARNINGS: SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE MAEVE ARC, LOTS of misunderstanding, Spencer is kind of a bad friend, lots of arguing, major character death

pairing: spencer reid x gn!reader

genre: ANGST

wc: 8.2k

a/n: this is basically just angst after angst and although technically it has an optimistic ending for the reader, poor spence does not get the same courtesy—

COPYCAT

A copycat killer recreates a notorious case that the FBI solved in 2004, and their best option for solving it comes in the form of the original killer themself, you.

PART ONE, PART TWO

pairing: s3!spencer and gn!unsub!reader

genre: mystery, crime drama

wc: 4.5k, 14.4k

a/n: it’s a two parter but i’m putting it here as one fic because it’s just one continuous story 🫶 sociopath!reader you will always be famous in my heart

JEALOUSY

6. "Don't touch me."

WARNINGS: spencer is a bit of a twat but apologises profusely afterwards, arguing, happy? ending

pairing: spencer reid x gn!reader

genre: angst

wc: 2.5k

a/n: part of the climacteric event that just ended a few days ago, i love making characters suffer for the sake of entertainment 🫶

FORGIVEN

You lied to him with good intentions, but when he finds out the truth he says something detrimental in the heat of the moment. After weeks of radio silence any chance of reconciliation is almost lost after you get critically injured in the field.

WARNINGS: SPOILERS FOR IAN DOYLE ARC, harsh arguments, death wishes, gun mentions, major character injury, details of gun related injury

pairing: spencer reid x gn!reader

genre: ANGST with a happy ending

wc: 3.7k

a/n: this has gotta be one of my top favs just because i really think i managed to hit the nail on the head for the angst part of it

LITTLE THINGS

You'd like to say that you were entirely successful in emotionally removing yourself from your coworkers, but Spencer had managed to work himself into a crack in your emotional wall and the rest of the team is starting to notice.

WARNINGS: fem!reader, reader being dismissive and cold duh

pairing: spencer reid x cold!fem!reader

genre: fluff

wc: 1.5k

a/n: i knew i wanted to add a cold!reader fic in this list, but i wasn’t sure which one, so after some deliberating ya girl settled on this one, it’s a cute introduction methinks

thanks again @cumulo-stratus for sending this my way, and fic authors please don’t hesitate to self promote even if it’s not prompted by anyone else, put yourself out there my guys

[ballerinarina]

𐙚LET'S TALK ABOUT... DIEGO, LILA & FIVE

Okay, firstly I need to state that I'm going to say my impressions about the season four of The Umbrella Academy, focusing on the subway plotline. My considerations are very long (I'm talkative!) and about what I watched in the episodes and what I read on social media, so, I am totally open to opinions too!!

As an hyperfocused girl, I've been thinking about the subway arc plot decision during an absurd amout of time. I watched it a few times and read a lot of opinions. Yet, I still feel a little... surprised (?) by the intense hate over it.

It's not about liking or disliking the new couple that I'm talking about. Since naturally people would prefer one ship over another, it was obviously waited that the opinions would be divided.

I just... can't understand why people hated it so much as if it was a bad plot decision. Diego and Lila are beautiful together, i agree! They have a long, real and strong love story together. But why people are acting like this new plotline erased all their relationship together? Relationships are more complex than that.

Feelings are more complex than that. Humans are.

Actually, I may say that the psychological development that happens in the subway is way more interesting because Lila and Diego love each other, as much as Five loves Diego too.

This being said, I don't mean that I think a cheating plotline is interesting because of the cheating. I actually use to dislike it a lot. However, dealing with cheating in a black-and-white way as if it's an indefendible action is not clever. Sometimes, some things I read make me realize that people are so stuck into traditional morals that their capacity of thinking and analyzing complex emotional situations is kind of... damaged.

𝐒𝐨... 𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐗 𝐃𝐢𝐞𝐠𝐨 𝐨𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐗 𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞?

The Umbrella Academy is known as a series with very human and complex characters. That's what makes it so good, from the beginning! That's why I think it's kind of sad to judge their relationship with a typical moral view.

Claiming that Lila didn't deserve Diego, for example is so... so sad. She was an amazing mother and wife. She tried to go back to them for six years and as soon as she could she went back! Not even thinking twice! She loves Diego, of course she does!

Loving Five doesn't make her love for Diego less strong.

I really don't think Lila X Five is just neediness, however, no way. They already spent two seasons constructing a beautiful (friend) relationship before and in this horrible context they spent a lot of time taking care of each other, being each other's support. Considering this and their communication development — jokes on season 3, kindness in the beginning of season 4 — it's not surprising or nonsense that it turned to become romantic. People and relationships change, love is built and adapted.

I don't think Lila stopped loving Diego (i mean romantically, but even if she did, she surely didn't in other ways of loving that are as beautiful as it is) but that doesn't make her love for Five false, and Five loving and having a relationship with her doesn't make him a bad brother either. That's why I emphasized that TUA is a series with complex relationships. Why do you get upset and surprised when another relationship between complicated characters is built due to the tragedies of the script?

If this didn't cause outrage before, could it cause because, this time, when things get complicated, the plot resource used questions the standard romantic drama format expected by the system?

𝐍𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭? 𝐎𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫?

I guess one of the main arguments I saw was that their relationship didn't make any sense and that their scenes were extremely out of character, but I don't think it could be sustained when they both are characters who go through a lot that makes them change, alone or together. What they're claiming being out of character may simply be character development under non-ideal circumstances.

It seems like there's an strong resistance to open their minds while watching and realize that love isn't something that can only happen once and/or once at a time and under ideal situations. Diego and Lila's marriage crisis, Five and Lila developing ther friendship inbetween work cumplicity, Five looking more lost and tired in his decisions than before, the fact that it is the second time he has been trapped in space-time — which is a big trauma for him, since, from the first season (in the first apocalypse) we have been shown that, despite being introverted, arrogant and reserved, it is precisely "relating" that serves as a point of refuge for Five not to go crazy, lowering his guard and being kind...

All of this constructs very well their psychological coherency. "He wouldn't treat her like that during season 2 or 3!", "Lila would never be a domestic mother/ Five wouldn't work do CIA!". Well, we're talking about them now, not there.

One of the plot decisions to start this season was that the characters were living between what they kind-of-desired, but things still weren't fine, they still weren't getting what they wanted.

Five being free from the world-ending, but stll not being able to relax and live a simple retired life as he wanted. Klaus being sober and free of the ghosts, but insecure and anxious. Allison having Claire and Ray, but still unable to live a happy marriage and career. Viktor having his place working with something that makes him comfortable, but still unable to find love. Diego and Lila having a family and marriage and still unable to feel happy because the domestic work dynamic wasn't working...

Adulthood. Real life. None of those situations were out of character, as much as none of the psychological changes they suffered were too.

𝐀 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐦

Since I don't really see the point on why would all of the happenings between them three could be claimed as "nonsense", even less "unasked" or "unnecessary" — because it's a work of fiction and, even if it may not be what the public wants to watch, it is not something that needs to prove its usefulness, just as events (that tie together well, because coherency matters) do not need to prove their necessity in art —, so it makes me even more sad that clearly mostly of the reactions are based on conservative views of marriage.

I know this season is not perfect, and it had a lot of defects, so I'm not saying the arc is perfect. As all the other arcs, it happened in a hurry, making us the public less abl to feel the 7 years of development. Complaining about how the arc was executed is perfectly fine, actually: after all, we know that 4 episodes were cut from the original script, as were many recorded scenes (including a big part of the subway plotline).

AIDAN: "There's a lot of the relationship with Lila that we filmes but they cut it. It took weeks to film it and they used a few minutes in a montage. That wasn't right. It also made very hard for the viewers to believe when we spent weeks filming scenes to set up that scenario."

But when I bring the conservatism theme (misoginy and remnants/consequences of the monogamous religious structure), it's because, even if we have lots of other of worse defects on other parts of the season, the biggest public overreacting opinions have been undoubtly about Five and Lila.

Anyone who spends more than 2 minutes in the comments on Twitter, Tiktok or even here knows that most of the time people've been sad and angry treating them both as if they were turned into cheaters with no morals (Five as a new kind of scroundrel asshole, Lila as some kind of ungrateful whore and I've even seen people problematizing their enemies phase, or the age difference as if one of then, or even the director, were predators, which is pure nonsense) and I can't even express how it makes me deeply melancholic.

I can't see how reacting as if the situations they were put in and their actions toward it in the scripts were absurd, terrible and dumb can't be just conservative, because they were actually very well tied script decisions, used in a bold way. With an interesting and well written enemies to frenemies to friends to lovers trope, they managed to write something fun and that developed both of the characters in their early-season-conflicts-arising-from-other-seasons.

𝐒𝐨? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧, 𝐂𝐞𝐂𝐞?

I truly just... Can't understand how some people ended up having collectively such insensitive opinions about the relationship of two characters who were so... vulnerable.

Non-ironically I even saw a lot of people defending they would prefer Five to end up with a “real life Dolores” plotline (since the author felt the need of a romance) than with Lila, or that he shouldn't ever fall in love with anyone else than Dolores. It sounds so... Insane. I can't see how someone can have any kind of shipping-affection for his "sick" relationship with Dolores. It was, for me, a completely heartbroken arc.

While watching this new season, actually, it made me almost warmly happy, as a Five fan, to see him having someone to take care of him in hard times like that. Last time he didn't have it. They loved each other, they constructed this love and even if it was constructed under a refuge, extremely vulnerable situation, as much as even if it was constructed over a hopeless and trust-breaking decision towards their loved Diego, it doesn't make it less real and beautiful.

They aren't bad people. They aren't cheaters. They were desperate.

I'm happy they found love in each other. They were victims but managed to construct a beautiful relationship to survive and it doesn't make them love less Diego, as a brother or as a lover.

Of course it breaks completely my heart that Diego and Five died without making peace, but while watching not even for a moment I considered that they stopped loving each other. They're brothers, they've went through a lot.

They were doing so fine getting along together since they came back from the apocalypse.... There's no way it would "destroy" and "erase" (terms used by some fans) all the progress that's been made... I think it would be a very shallow interpretation of their relationship and a very futile interpretation of the events. Some of the public is seeing the situation as if Five slept with his wife since the beginning, not as if he had felt in love with her in a very apocaliptical and hopeless situation.

It's essential to remember that nothing said romantic happened for six years. It turned this way only after they having practically given up hope of returning home, so exhausted they were.

I really don't think that such a desperate and lonely situation would erase all the love and dedication Diego have for Five (and Five has no reasons to stop feeling it for Diego too, obviously). Diego was totally the sweetest during this season, he did his best, but Five did too... Now they fought but it doesn't mean their relationship would be forever broken. They were both stressed out, of course, it was a sensitive situation. But, i don't think it would... However with an apocalypse going on, they just didn't have enough time.

Diego was clearly open to understand Lila better, so I really doubt he wouldn't try to do the same with Five. But, again, they were both heart broken, hot headed and with no time. It's sad and it affect them, but "destroy and erase" are very heavy terms and inconsistent with the context of their relationships.

I don't know. I don't know how to conclude this analysis. I just… Am sorry. I honestly feel lucky to have been able to experience Diego, Lila and Five, but I'm so sorry that I couldn't see these three hearts find peace in their complicated loves, even during their final moments. These are three very beautiful love relationships that grew up tangled up and that, unfortunately, couldn't unfold in time to hurt less their lovers.

It felt wonderful and desolate. I hope more people can feel it like i did.

[romanceclub-confessionss]

Confession:

"Why is fandom so impatient for sex scenes, especially when the current trend in RC is slow burn storytelling? We are now in an era where authors and creators are finally taking their time to craft nuanced, meaningful relationships. You know, the kind where the characters grow, bond, and evolve together instead of just jumping into bed five minutes after exchanging names. Slow burns are delicious! The tension, the buildup, the will-they-won’t-they drama—it’s a whole experience. But nope, for some fans, it’s like, "If they’re not smashing by chapter or by the end of season 1, what’s the point?" And don’t get me started on the obsession with “rooster boys” in RC.

Why are so many fans gravitating toward these arrogant, cocky, emotionally unavailable LIs as if they’re the pinnacle of romantic fantasy? Is it the trauma? The angst? The toxic charm? Sure, I get the appeal of a good redemption arc, but half the time, these “roosters” barely grow as people, and fans are still swooning over them as if bare minimum decency is award-worthy. Meanwhile, the kind, stable love interest—the one who actually respects the MC—is relegated to “best friend” status. Because God forbid we value emotional maturity over bad-boy antics, right? So now we’ve got this bizarre dynamic where fandom is out here yelling, "Give us sex and give us something!" while the actual storytellers are like, "How about some emotional depth and character development instead?"

And fans still complain that “nothing’s happening” in slow burns, as if emotional growth and romantic tension aren’t happening on every damn page. Maybe the real problem is that we’ve been conditioned by media to crave instant gratification rather than the beautiful agony of a well-paced story. Let’s let authors cook, okay? A good slow burn is worth the wait."

[the-bloody-sadist]

in case no one else has asked, please list your top 10 BL manga/manwha? 👀

i am. very interested in what other media you enjoy, especially BL

Combining these two bc I didn't wanna leave the second out!

(I wasn't a big fan of Blood Bank personally but I'm so glad it helped you with your world building Lil Whale!!)

I'm hoping some of these are unheard of for you guys because THERE ARE SO MANY BL/YAOI AND I READ THEM CONSTANTLY BUT NOT SO MANY ARE FANTASTIC AND MIND-BLOWING AND SPECTACULAR AND DEEPLY PSYCHOLOGICAL! I'm pretty sure I'll end up listing WAY more than 10, mainly because I want to highlight ones I feel like a lot of people haven't read. ALSO because I read so fucking many of them that I've collected a stash and NOW IS MY CHANCE TO YELL ABOUT THEM.

Just a disclaimer, these are not in any sort of order, as they're all about the same level in my head, just grouped. I'll list the "big name" BLs that I adore after these! First up are the ones that either have a quiet fandom or aren't well known! Since there'll be so many, I'm not going to say much about them, just know that usually no BL/Yaoi is perfect to me, since there are many bad psychology tropes here and there or unnecessary cruelties that aren't exactly realistic etc., but overall, I like the way that the story and characters are handled and/or love the art.

Here's the top five of my top ten that's not a top ten bc there are so many (I just said I wouldn't group them but I lied my ass off apparently):

Jealousy [Scarlet Beriko]: This is one of those that emotionally hits so hard that it will stick with me forever and I will usually tear up just a tiny bit when I think back to the moments that made this one so beautiful. A lot of times a story with major hurt, angst, and tragedy won't wrap up with enough to make me scream and cheer at the end. But THIS ONE DID. And I stopped reading for a while when a big event happened because I thought it would end horribly and I'd have to suffer three weeks of fiction-induced depression for a man who wasn't even real. BUT NAY. The themes you get in this one revolve around loneliness (huge draw for me, it always hits), mafia-connected characters and the rivalries from that, self-destructive prostitution, and characters who have difficulty receiving love without freaking out. Are those even themes idk. OH WELL. YOU GET THE POINT. I want this one on my shelf. You might've heard of it, but the fandom is silent so I never did. T_T OH ALSO THE ART ON THIS ONE IS GORGEOUS I FUCKING LOVE IT.

Hitori to Hitori no 3650nichi [Hitomi]: First of all, favorite manga artist. FAVORITE MANGA ARTIST. I'm never exactly sure if the artist is also the writer or if the writer is never the artist or...BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER. Anyway! I listed this particular title because it was the first that I found by this person - but then I discovered it was a part of a bigger series, and there are like I DON'T KNOW FIVE DIFFERENT MANGA?? OR SOMETHING??? Related to this one. I don't know which order, I just know that I read them all in a frenzy. THE CHARACTERS. OH! OH THE CHARACTERS! Oh my gods, it's so good. LMFAO. The arcs these characters have are fantastic, and I loved the fact that the abuser in one is shown to be the victim of abuse in a prequel story, and that his anger issues and other elements of his personality came about to affect him and destroy him. Just...I don't recall the details, READ IT. That's all. Spectacular depictions of nuanced trauma within abusive relationships.

The Beast Must Die [Lee Hyeon Sook]: This remains one of my favorite depictions IN ANY MEDIA of a psychopath, because it's SO accurate and I'm SO fucking proud of the author for doing their research and OH MY GODS YOU GUYS IT'S ABOUT TO GET A DRAMA CD LET'S FUCKING GO! This story is so good. It's so evil. It's so psycho-thriller. It's so WELL DONE. It features a dark academia-ish secret society within a college setting who hunt people for sport, sometimes. LIKE. Come on. And the psychopath (dark hair) IS THE MAIN LOVE INTEREST! You could literally hear the summary and go "oh this is for Sadist". And I don't get a lot of those that deliver this well. SOMETIMES the art makes me twist my head a little but YOU KNOW WHAT I DO NOT CARE OKAY? It's just SO good. There's murder, there's kidnapping, and - most importantly - a main character who doesn't just DEAL with whatever the psychopath does. He's smart, he fights back, he learns to understand psychopathy to determine if he should remain with the love interest...it's fantastic. That's all. I will stop. *BANGS THE WALL*

Aporia [Seontae]: ALL HAIL THE HEALTHY BDSM RELATIONSHIPS THAT STILL HOLD TENSION AND EMOTIONAL WEIGHT AND SPEAK TO ME!!!!!!! HELLO!!!!! This is my favorite BDSM-themed story. Everything is consensual, but is everything safe??? Not when it comes to the main character's emotions and tendency to sacrifice his wellbeing for a partner. BUT NOT TO WORRY, HIS SADISTIC LOVE INTEREST IS CONSIDERATE AND ATTENTIVE AND CARES ABOUT HIS FEELINGS!! This is, perhaps, one of my favorite depictions of a REAL sadist. A real one as in a realistic, irl BDSM-relationship sadist. Someone who is just as worried about taking care of his partner as he is about hurting him JUUUUST right. ANYWAY! THAT'S ALL! READ IT! HE'S LITERALLY ME!

Royal Servant [MasterGin, Chungnyun]: Okay, we were talking about healthy BDSM in the previous one, now let's talk about TOXIC BDSM-THEMES THAT I LOVE. Lmao. DO YOU LIKE MASTER/SLAVE DYNAMICS? DO YOU LIKE STORIES WHERE THE ARC LEADS TO THE ABUSIVE MASTER EVENTUALLY LEARNING TO NOT BE ABUSIVE AND LOVE THE SLAVE? YEAH ME TOO. I DON'T NEED TO DESCRIBE THIS ANY FURTHER. AUTHOR OF ANGEL BUDDY, THIS IS THE ONE THAT I KNEW HER FOR FIRST.

A bunch of other good ones you may or may not have heard of (I won't describe every one of these unless I have something particular to say, so enjoy the pictures from them that I snatched):

Love me in the Wilderness [Wang Tao]

Neon Sign Amber [Ogeretsu Tanaka]

Zetsubou ni Nake [Shinou Ryo]: Guys. This story is UNIQUE AS HELL. I had to say something about it. The premise is that a man who was raped turns around and goes back after his rapist and rapes him back, and then they fall in love. IT'S....the amount of times my jaw dropped was insane on this one. SOMEHOW IT'S WRITTEN SO WELL. SOMEHOW THEY NAILED THE STRANGE REALISM OF IT AND HAD ME TEARING UP OVER THE INTENSITY OF THE RAPE SCENES. VERY WELL-PACED, VERY TRAUMATIC IN A GOOD WAY. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. The way they come to love each other after this crazy foundation of mutual rape is IMPRESSIVE. Kudos to the writer.

Love or Hate [Yeongha]: This is a very well-known one but there's like zero fandom so I think it fits here. Also a lot of hate going around for it? Which I never understood, fuck those guys. This remains one of the most beautifully-written that I've ever read, and I mean that purely in like...the ACTUAL writing on the page. I'm talking poetry, purple prose. I just recall being blown away by that, and no manga before or since has ever reached its level. For once I felt like the writer was also a novelist because of the way that they put things, and had a clear voice in the style. Did the main boy end up with someone I didn't want him to end up with at the end? Yes. But I felt like it fit pretty well, and it was sort of a tragedy, and it was supposed to hit you painfully in the gut. A lot of people were mad at the main character for that and I don't really think it's fair. In any case! A beautiful story with complex characters and intriguing dilemmas. Highly recommend it.

Shangri La no Tori (Birds of Shangri La) [Ranmaru Zariya]

Two in Six Billion [Denzou]

The Pizza Delivery Man and The Gold Palace [Upi]: Great story and character-building so far! I will say that once it became porn, it dove a little too heavily into it for me. Like I only needed one scene of the porn, I was enjoying the panic attack scenes much more. BUT YEAH, IT'S ONGOING, SO WE'LL SEE WHERE IT GOES! But the panic attack scenes were the reason I read it and yes, I did tear up.

Sleeping Dead and Living Dead [Asada Nemui]: I RECENTLY FOUND THIS ONE AND ADOOOOOOREEE IT SO MUCH. I DO NOT CARE THAT IT'S AN OLD SCIENTIST AND HIS ZOMBIE PATIENT. NORMALLY THAT WOULD HOLD NO SWAY OVER ME, BUT OH GODS, THE ART IS SO PRETTY AND THE STORY IS SO GOOD. I LOVE THE LITTLE ZOMBIE MAN! I LOVE THE LITTLE ROMANCE THEY'VE GOT!

Private Lessons [ANCO, Mongya]: It's cuuuuute what can I saayyyyy it has BDSM and threesomes and I liked it. Very entertaining. Scratches the BDSM itch and the little SUB WAS SO CUTE. Anyway.

Kingyo no Ubugoe [Gontaku Nido]

From Points of Three [White Eared]: Threesome dynamics!!

Silent Lover [Qiang Tang, Bai Li Jun Xi]: I STOPPED THIS ONE AT A CERTAIN POINT BECAUSE IT DIPPED INTO WEIRD M-PREG AND STUFF I CANNOT READ. But BEFORE all that, I was deeply ingrained in this one. It has a main character who can't speak (a particular weakness of mine) and he's OH SO CUTE and he's given as a sex slave basically to the emperor (emperor? idk he's a kingly man, something like that), and the emperor is evil but learns to be soft and yet it takes a LONG TIME SO I WAS BAWLING HYSTERICALLY OVER SOME OF THE HEARTWRENCHINGLY PAINFUL SCENES IN THIS FOR THE POOR YUU-ER. A good read until it decided to go the omegaverse-by-magic-potions route. I didn't stay to figure out where it actually ended up.

Yoru wa Tomodachi [Ido Gihou]

Toumei na Ai no Utsuwa [Hitomi]

Re:Birth [Misuaki Asou]: The singular omegaverse story in existence that I actually liked. Hopefully that says a lot. Mostly because it's about the omegaverse elements NOT being present for the main character and him trying to fake it because he's lonely and afraid that his partner (an alpha *shakes off the disgusting label because who the fuck thought alpha was a cool word*) will leave him if he finds out he's just a regular guy (aka beta I guess? ABO is weird idc).

Sahara no Kuro Washi [Soutome Emu]: MASTER SLAVE MASTER SLAVE---

Haru ni Kaeru [Kunieda Saika]

Incorrigible [Bbong]

Well Done! [ANCO, Mongya]

Nemuri Otoko to Koi Otoko [Zariya Ranmaru]

Even If You Don't Love Me [Pando]: It dropped off SUPER hard (it's ongoing still) but damn was it good in the beginning. I am sick and tired of where it's at currently but the psychological manipulation and the horror of a certain twist in the storyline was CRUSHING to me. I only wish that it would have gone a better way after it happened, because it slowly destroyed itself and became like a lot of tropey rape stories. The asshole just keeps being an asshole and it's not really where the story seemed to want to go with that. But otherwise, it started off strong and I'll give it kudos for that.

Bigger titles I'm pretty sure everyone has heard of that I enjoy:

Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai [Yoneda Kou]: Is it a little unrealistic that literally everyone in this story is gay apparently and wants to fuck one man apparently and/or rape him? Yes, absolutely. Does that matter once you're in the story and it's so good and all these unrealistic cruelties make a really strong bond between the main love interest and this self-destructive masochist who's probably not really a masochist but only interested in hurting himself because he doesn't know how else to handle his trauma from childhood? Ummmm yeah. Anyway! This one had a lot of inspiration and a lot of tears and a lot of obsession from me. I re-read it all the time, I watch the movie over and over, I listen to the audio drama and cry at my favorite scenes. Do I care in the end that it's a little unrealistic at times? No but I do laugh sometimes when I'm about to share it with a new person. Because BL is just like that generally and you've got to put up with a little of those tropes to find your favorite stories. THIS IS ONE OF THE TOP FAVORITES OF ALL TIME FOR ME BTW, IT'S ONLY SO LOW DOWN HERE BECAUSE PRETTY MUCH EVERYONE IN YAOI KNOWS ABOUT THIS ONE ALREADY, AND WE'RE ALL AWARE OF HOW GOOD IT IS.

ENNEAD [Mojito]: I will say that this is basically the best manga/comic/manhua...what's the Chinese word idk ANYTHING OF THIS MEDIA TYPE that I have ever read. It's not done, and people have been complaining that it's starting to fall into the common BL tropes but you know what I do NOT care. Mojito is a genius, Mojito is a master storyteller, Mojito is beautiful, Mojito is strong - I just love Mojito and this work. So much. The action, the horror of rape, the deep-set character conflicts and dilemmas and internal turmoils. Everything, nailed it. Nailed it. And not to mention it's set in FUCKING EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY AND THEY'RE ALL GODS AND THEY HAVE SUCH COOL BATTLES AND COSTUMES AND DUDE???? I'm so hooked. That's all.

Killing Stalking [Koogi]: OBVIOUSLY. I don't really need to say anything about this one except that yeah, some of the psychology is a little off and some of it is just super shallow. But I loved the characters and that's what mattered in the end. I fell in love with Sangwoo too and it ripped my heart out when I read the ending. I was depressed for like two weeks and it was the first story that had ever affected me that way, but I was also younger and this was one of my first yaoi/BLs and yeah. GREAT story though, fantastic storytelling, very lovable characters. Sangwoo was handled so much better than most "asshole/kidnapper/rapist" characters and I will never stop appreciating that, because a lot of writers tend to forget that your villains have to have redeeming qualities if you want us to like them (????). Jinx, I'm fucking coming for you. Suck my dick. KOOGI FTW.

Missing Love/A Married Man [In Hyerin]: Some of the DESCRIPTIONS of how trauma works especially of the sexual nature in this story are SO. SO. GOOD. However, I am beginning to grow VERY ANNOYED at where it decided to go with the most current updates of the story. The author did enough trauma to the main boy, now it's getting so incredibly excessive that it's overdoing it and the author's kinks are showing through. LIKE I GET IT. Okay? I do. But this one became too much and I need him to return to the actual story arc of going through that trauma so he can HEAL with the right person taking care of him.

MadK [Ryo Sumiyoshi]: I am into NONE of the kinks that would lead to me picking up this manga. I hate demons, I'm not a monsterfucker, I can't do extreme guro, and yet I SAW CANNIBALISM. THAT WAS THE ONE THING THAT I THOUGHT I'D GIVE IT A TRY FOR. And then accidentally I got obsessed because the plot is AMAZING and the writing is SO GOOD and who cares if I hate demons and monsters ALL OF THEM ARE BADASS AND HOT (??) AND IT CEASES TO MATTER. Good on the writer for making them appeal by personality alone and expressions and whatever else you signed a deal with the devil to make me like because it worked. Also the guro is beautiful, so it doesn't even matter. Hannibal levels.

Warehouse [Killerwhale]

Painter of the Night [Byeonduck]

Viewfinder/Finder [Yamane Ayano]

Given [Kizu Natsuki, Gusari]

Nii-Chan [Harada] (and basically every other work by Harada)

Sadistic Beauty Side Story [Geumsan Lee, Woo Yeonhui]

Dine With a Vampire [Pangin, Pinko]

Angel Buddy [Mastergin, Chungnyun]

My Partner's Tastes and Fetishes [Deok Hwa]

Interview with a Murderer [KJK]

On or Off [A1]

Steel Under Silk [Snob]

The Pawn's Revenge [Evy]: It was going to be SO GOOD! And then it dropped off harder than a boulder from a balcony and I have absolutely no idea why the author took it the way that they took it, but go off I guess. It's boring as hell now but it started off with promise and I enjoyed the art and character designs. Too bad, I suppose.

Caste Heaven [Ogawa Chise]: An old classic with all the sticky sometimes icky mostly ridiculous BL tropes but hey, it's cute. It's sexy. It's fun. I don't care.

Wet Sand [Doyak]: We're still in the beginning stage of this one but I'm excited to see where it goes! Plus the art SLAPS ASS like nobody's business.

19 Days [Old Xian]: I hate comedy, I hate fluff, I hate buddies that never become lovers, but none of that mattered when I picked this one up. The duality of man. Bite-sized chapters and ACTUALLY AN EVENTUAL ROMANCE that none of us thought we'd ever get.

Legs That Won't Walk [Black Apricot]: Although this one dropped off hard for me and I'm really just following it to see if it picks up again and does something interesting (it probably won't) I did enjoy it in the beginning. I just get tired of the "asshole just keeps being an asshole and nothing else but woobified slut keeps coming back to him??" without the strong and realistic undercurrent of Reasons Why Someone Would Come Back such as manipulation or threats or unhealthy attachment. Perhaps it was sorta there in the beginning with them but now I'm just like why are we still continuing this story.

Pearl Boy [Inking, Zoy]: *Awkwardly scratches neck* It's not the best okay? It's not. It's really not. I don't like half of the things that occur in this one, but the ART, bro. THE ART, BRO? That's what got me into it and what kept me into it, PLUS I do like little Jooha. I stayed for Jooha, too. Dooshik drives me a little batty most of the time and looks ugly for half the story to me, but when he's badass, he's pretty badass, so I can forgive him. I really don't know why he has such drastically changing appearances because I thought he was someone completely different for a bit LMAO. In any case, I have to admit I like the uhhhhh danger that Jooha gets himself into and the crazy things that make no sense but you know what he gets hurt and then there's comfort and rescue and they cry and I cease to care that it makes no sense. (Sorta, I don't actually cease to care I just laugh awkwardly and go okay sure that's how it works because it's so hard to find stories that don't do this LOL I'm beating a dead horse) BUT WHY DOES HE CUM PEARLS? WILL WE EVER KNOW? WHO THE HELL THOUGHT OF THAT AND WITHOUT A SUPPORTING MAGIC SYSTEM IN THE WORLD TO MAKE THAT MAKE SENSE? IT WENT DOWNHILL SO FAST AND THE ENDING IS TERRIBLE BTW. THE VILLAIN SUCKS.

That's it. I can't talk to much or I'll run out of words but HOPE YOU GUYS FIND SOME NEW READS!!

[beanpodz]

Things they could have done instead of the Lila/Five romance plot:

1. Lila and Five continue being frenemies and both form a common bond stuck in the subway system when they both realize they were both manipulated by the handler. Like what if Lila still hated Five for killing her parents in the original timeline. You get the comedy and drama of Diego struggling to support his wife and brother. You get Five having to deal with the turmoil of having to come to terms that while his actions were all a means to an end, they still hurt people. You get Five being back in the apocalypse and Lila gets to see the life he had to live for longer than she’s been alive. She begins to understand his reasoning for doing what he did. You get Lila having to learn to accept Five as family and get through her past trauma. And then you can have a funny scene where Five and Lila come back from the underground being mean besties and Diego having no fucking clue what happened.

2. Lila runs into the subway adventure because she needs a break from her new monotonous life. We keep that but instead of her developing a fucking Colleen Hoover ass relationship with her husbands brother, she actually gets a arc that fosters growth. Her and Five could both be incredibly bored of their new lives but going through 7 years alone, almost being killed and eating rats (the exact excitement they thought they wanted to go back to), leads to them getting their last hurrah but understanding all they really want is to go back home to the people they love. Five wants to go back to his family and finally live our his life’s goal. Lila wants to go back to her kids and actually talk with Diego. They bond on their journey and come to find a new understanding of family and home.

3. They BOTH find the Five deli and while all the other Five’s are telling him to give up and accept that the apocalypse is inevitable while the umbrellas are still alive, Lila pushes him to find another way. Lila knows the impossible is possible. She got her parents back. She found love in a 60’s psych ward. She escaped the kugelblitz and lived another day. She is a good mother despite the woman that raised her. Her and Five have the one common goal of LOVING their family so much they would do the impossible to save them. They find another way to save the world and the subway is actually useful beyond a quick resolution and a convoluted romance plot.

And I think all of these include the ‘little Greek guy’ thing but it keeps the original humor we felt as an audience because of course Lila would never cheat on Diego with Five and the idea is hilarious

Also I think Five should tell Lila about Delores in all of these and the softness and love he has for her makes her miss Diego but that’s just a me thing

[carto0ncritter]

PLEASE DO NOT HARASS THIS PERSON.

I'm genuinely tired of HB/HH/Vivziepop stans putting words into my mouth.

"You literally hate everything about the show"

Fyi, I didn't hate the premise. I also don't hate: 1) The animation; 2) The voice acting; 3) The potential the show had, and hopefully still has, since it will apparently have at least four seasons.

But ever since HB went from being about the misadventures of assassins in Hell, into a romance drama between two characters who are clearly toxic for each other, that's when I started hating the plot. The third point you made is true, I do hate the plot, and I will continue to do so, unless all this focus on an abusive gay ship (Stolitz) shifts back to what got me and a lot of other people into the show in the first place. And no, I'm not going to stop being vocal about it just because someone else told me to. You're on the internet buddy, learn to accept the fact that not everyone will have the same opinions as you.

And that's really NOT something to get worked up about.

"Just stop watching it if you are this upset about all of this"

Maybe you should stop going into the critical tag if you know that what you're gonna find there will upset you. Just a thought.

And if you've come across my post by searching "blitzo" "moxxie" "millie" or "loona," all you had to do was read the very first sentence I wrote (having to do about my issues with the latest episode) and click off my post because clearly criticism of your beloved show triggers you. And no, I won't stop tagging the characters like this even if I have something negative to say about them. This perfectly explains as to why:

"You hate the main character"

Which one? If you mean Blitzø, then no. I don't hate him. I literally said it in the tags.

But if you mean Stolas, then yeah, I hate him. So what?

"You hate most of the characters in general"

If by most characters you mean Stolas, then yes, I do.

But uh... I don't hate any other character aside from maybe Loona? She's written so inconsistently. There's no real development when it comes to Loona. She acts like a huge bitch and a spoiled brat despite receiving love from her dad for five years straight. She is a grown ass woman who kicked Blitzø in the balls after telling Octavia that Stolas is "trying his best" when he clearly wasn't. She physically abused Blitzø just because he called her out RIGHTFULLY, remind me why she didn't beat the shit out of him again in the latest episode after Blitzø wanted her to overwork herself AND didn't pay her for a month?

Oh and there's also the time Loona cheered for Blitzø, tucked him in and called him dad. Why is she abusive towards him in the very next episode?

That's the inconsistency I'm talking about.

As for the other main characters:

I genuinely relate to Octavia. And I feel sorry for her. Enough said.

I don't care about Millie. It's too little too late for that.

I'm not sure how to feel about Moxxie. Where is his character arc even going? What is his character arc? Learning to stand up for himself for the millionth fucking time?

Stella is a wasted character whose only purpose is making Stolas seem "innocent." I hate what the writers did to her.

Also yes, I dislike Viv for reasons that are 100% valid and available to the public, so I'm not making stuff up.