#gonna go see what I can find on YT just to enjoy him for a bit

[lickingyellowpaint]

Dick Biondi...

I'm tearing up a little on this one. Voice of my childhood and the guide to so many tunes I love to this day. 'Legend' feels like too small a word for this guy.

And when every other radio station played garbage, Oldies 104.3 was there for us throwbacks. And that was everything sometimes.

Rock in Peace, good sir. Thank you for the music.

[quixoticprince]

Yayyy!! Yippee!! I finally get to make one of these!! Art without the text under the cut and some long-winded elaborations:

How long I've been playing: well, it hasn't been a straight 11 years, rather off and on - but I have drawings of these guys dating back to when I was 14, so I'll give it to me. And man I had no business reading the fanfics I was reading back then It's also crazy how this was a super influential media for me in so many ways. It's the reason I ever made a tumblr, it changed the direction of my drawings for a long while, my broken sense of humor (gmod animation memes and yt poops were the brainrot back then), tf2 Sniper changed my god damned gender (rather, it was the inspiration for me to start socially transitioning at 15). This is part of my personal lore that I tend to not admit to 😓

Your main: I've always been completely ass at the game, and I can play flexibly, but I enjoy playing Sniper, and more recently as Heavy. Whenever I'm sitting around somewhere, occasionally throwing sandwiches and attracting Medics, I feel like this:

Favorite character: When I was younger it was definitely Medic, and I think you can tell that he's still up there based on how much I've drawn him! However, since getting back into it, I've felt quite a shift in focus towards Heavy, very strongly. It's unfortunate that he's side-lined in a lot of fanwork, and I think I'm also complicit in this so far - but for me it's cuz, how tf2 works is that it's going to prioritize humor over character and consistency haha, and Medic is just so loud and insane that he's really easy to make fun stuff with. Heavy is a more serious and grounded character, not to say that he's not funny or that he doesn't have his own cartoon slapstick moments! But that aspect of him is what is really really intriguing to me. I love his quiet, stoic, and intimidating character, I like how loud and boisterous he is when filled with bloodlust in contrast! I love his bird story and him getting into wrestling as a child from Poker Night. I love his back story setting, there's so much to extrapolate from a young boy in Russia growing up during WWII, what his parents must have been through before that from the aftermaths of the revolution, all the way to his fathers execution and his imprisonment. I love his strong relationship with his family, his role as an older brother, as a protector, as a man - the way that he performs these roles - and because I personally see him as bisexual - how his orientation intersects with all that! He is incredibly fascinating to me and I wish that he was played around with more to see a lot more corners and angles of these things that I listed! There's way more that I want to say here too but this is getting very long 😅

Character I relate to: It's so interesting that a lot of the characters have very strong, tho maybe dysfunctional, families. Heavy, Demo, and Sniper in particular really speak to me in that relation. From Heavy being an eldest brother (I am also an eldest sibling) the parentification that comes with that, especially with him probably being like 10 years older than his sisters from the looks of it. Demo and Sniper both struggle living up to their parents expectations (although there's a lot of love there from everyone), being disappointments in one way or another (not gonna deep dive into that lol), and the general alienation both of them feel. From Sniper not knowing why he's not like other Australians to Demo being "a black Scottish cyclops." And well, I'm Filipino, I'm queer, and mentally ill so - there's a lot to project there!

Class you want to play as: I find Medic incredibly stressful to play as but I find the idea of battle medics incredibly funny. However I usually find myself rushing around madly trying to cater to everyone, and I'd like to just not give a shit and just start stabbing people with a saw lol

Favorite ship: "I just like the dynamic" - The dynamic:

No but fr, they're really compelling to me, I'd probably need a longer more thought out post as to what I like about them and I was already going crazy up there ^ Overall tho I like that they're practically built for each other in terms of mechanics, really plays into my desire to spiral into intense codependency haha. I also think that Medic's drive to cheat death and hide behind meat shields plays really well into Heavy's desire to be a meat shield and a protector, and how nice it is in turn, that Medic can grant this man who's been around death, starvation, and war invulnerability. (He outsmart boolet, yknow?) They're also depicted together a lot and I like how much they enjoy each others company, and bring a lot of joy to each other. It's beautiful to me :'^)

Character you like to draw: What can I say! Medic is handsome! He is very fun to draw and easy to make memes and shit posts out of!

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - I hand out a couple of high scores & have qualms about pairs

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top. I didn't get many screen shots this week, so welcome to a WALL OF TEXT. Duh duh duh dum.

July 2024 Week 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

We Are Cute (Weds iQIYI) ep 16 fin - TanFang are ridiculous but I have grown to truly love them. ChainPun at the end made me hoot with laughter everyone was a meme of FINALLY. In fact, I loved all the pairs, this was a great ensemble piece.

I was left mildly wondering if Arm will ever lead a BL. 

All in all? 

I really enjoyed this show. It was slow to find its stride (I didn’t get into it until ep 7) but I’m very glad I gave it a chance. It’s a soft ensemble piece with multiple couples and very little plot, but I didn’t care because it’s not trying to be anything more substantial. Essentially this was a series of vignettes covering one year of uni for a queer friendship group finding love, new friends, and laughter. It’s not being harsh with us or it’s characters the way some offerings of this ilk have been (side eyes Friend Zone and Only Friends) nor did it tumble into Gen Y chaos. In fact, this reminded me more than anything of a refined and elevated Love Sick - just with older characters and occurring within a genre that has matured too. It has that close queer friendship group meets earnest gentleness that made me adore Love Sick so much. In other words, this was Thai BL at its finest, finding it roots again 10 years on, but also stretching upwards and showing us what it could do with that original seed. So? I loved it. Did it blow my mind? No. But it left me smiling and made me belly laugh quite a bit. 9/10

Technically it should probably get an 8/10 - too much singing, but I’m bubbling over with nostalgia rn.

Wandee Goodday (Sat YT) ep 12 fin - I struggled to watch that fight. But that’s because it was so well done for a BL. Lots of speeches this ep. (I said too cheesy right before Dee did.)

I like Drake & Title as a new ship. Hope it sails. Also some decent ace rep. 

On a totally different note: Good use of frosting. But… you know I’m gonna say it… NO SINGING. 

Final thoughts:

What a FUN show. A charming quintessentially modern Thai BL about a doctor and a boxer who start as a one night stand and then fall in love. Great rep for everything from Muay Thai, to safe sex, to FUN sex, to ace, to bisexuality, to smiley kisses, to the first legal gay wedding in a Thai BL. It’s a delight and I enjoyed (almost) every single moment of it. 

An easy 9/10. 

I do hope we get more GreatInn.

The Rebound (Weds Gaga) eps 7-8 of 12 - So Ryu’s ma is evil? And Frank is giving me serious second lead syndrome. Also he’s been working out a lot. I noticed my dude, thank you. I don't think we've ever gotten this kind of focus on a side dish before. The show is in dangerous territory, since he's so good he's taking attention away from the leads. Also, I think Zen is completely aware of what is going on with this love triangle, he just doesn’t want to put up with their nonsense. I even like the cute side crumbs. 

On a complete aside: why are crime lords in BL always in bathtubs? Asking for… the other genres. Wouldn’t it be hilarious if The Godfather entirely took place in bathtubs? A Real Man has a large… tub. 

And we end with mass murder? WOW! Chaotically played my dearest pulp! 

Century of Love (Weds Gaga) eps 3-4 of 10 - These boys are playing complicated roles with lots of layers to them. Daou is doing a great job. We can see the old man inside this kid. Offroad... I’m not convinced, he’s chewing the scenery a bit. I actually think he has the more layered and complicated part to play. So I'm giving him a chance to subtly show that cheerful façade fracturing with delicacy. But I worry we may be back in JamFilm territory where one partner can’t quite keep up with the other's skillz.

All of this is to say, this is still a better acted piece than I was expecting. (Although the surrounding cast and special effects are doing our leads no particular favors.)

It’s hugely enjoyable but uneven (with those occasional injections of slapstick humor) I’m not entirely sure the production knows what it wants to be. I wish it had the courage of its convictions to lean into the “I feel you linger in the air” aesthetic. Now that I know Thailand can go there, I’m a bit annoyed when a show like this, which should, doesn’t. Which is not to say I’m not enjoying it. I am. A lot. Just that I should probably lower my expectations. Daou, however, is so damn good, he keeps getting my hopes up.

This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans (Fri iQIYI) ep 3 of 8 - Oh no we have a lonely poor little rich boy. Catnip character for @heretherebedork. Meanwhile, I’m liking the layers of the main romance, with everybody having hidden agendas and such. Nice tension. Of course I love the eroticism around smells. One of my favorite tropes. But I’m not sure I buy the relationship chemistry between the leads when this much lying is going on. 

My Love Mix-Up Th (Fri YT) ep 7 of 12 - I am growing to love Fourth's version of this character. He’s so frantic and confused, but in a completely different way from the JBL. It’s a bit more whiny and a bit less cartoonish. But it resonates with me more. He's less of a meme tho. The photo moment! I literally squealed, "Gah!!! They are so cute!"

Linguistic moment. Did you hear in the cupcake section that Half went to rao/ter? Very sweet. (The boys use rao/nai.)

Also, yay for the twist on the school counselor character! Best thing ever. I would like the entire story of Nop & Sin GMMTV, please and thank you. Also… NO SINGING. 

Sunset X Vibes (Sat iQIYI) ep 6 of 12 - I’m continuing to enjoy this a lot. It’s a fun cast. A touch twee for me, and I’m really hoping they amp up something other than the romance soon, but I don't mind ending my week with these two.

The Trainee (Sun YouTube) ep 3 of 12 - I'm enjoying this show so much, just not as a BL (yet). It’s honest to the internship experience of overwhelm (such as I recall, it's been A WHILE). I’m not sure how much BL I’m getting from it thus far. I mean our leads shared a long glance or two but that’s about it. It’s very slow burn. But I don’t mind that since I’m liking the surrounding stuff. Can't stand the girlfriend intern character tho. I hope she get redeemed.  Or killed.

Love Sea (Sun iQIYI) ep 6 of 10 - Halfway through I had already finished my drink out of sheer boredom.  Trash watch here.

Knock Knock Boys (Thurs Gaga) ep 9 of 12 - Frankly I’m finding this relatively dull right now. Lovely kisses tho. Best and Seng are great together, consummate BL pros, not a pair I had on my bingo card. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

I Hear the Sunspot AKA Hidamari ga Kikoeru (Japan Weds Gaga) ep 5 of 10 - I like how much we can see K’s intense liking and emotional need for this loud broken kid. And how easy it is for him to admit to that truth. Because what he’s going through is so much worse than admitting to having feelings. The acting is fantastic. Sometimes I forget how great Japan can be. And then they decide to remind me. Oh, it’s SO GOOD. 

Takara's Treasure AKA Takara No Vidro (Japan Mon Gaga) ep 3 of 10 - Another one I’m finding boring. Just japan’s version. The vintage yaoi “old dude creep trope” I see. It’s been a while. 

It's airing but...

Meet You at the Blossom - it's your funeral (or, more likely, one of the main characters'). You can argue but... statistics. You know my feelings on this matter. MY BLOG, remember?

GIF by mypotatokun

In case you missed it

The Time of Fever AKA Unintentional Love Story 2 (Korea movie) trailer released to Korean theaters 5/25. HoTae & DongHee, side couple from Unintentional Love Story are back! Same actors, same character names. I love them. Devastated this hasn't had international distribution. I demand you tell me the moment you find it!

The Last Time (Thai Fri YT) - Got bumped to Aug 2. Convoluted story of loss and possible reincarnation or something.

Next Week Looks Like This:

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

July Releases Still To Come

7/24 I Saw You in My Dream (Thai Weds Gaga) - Dee Hup is behind this one so I have high hopes. Younger boy chronically teased his whole life by the older boy next door suddenly starts having horrific prophetic dreams about his bully and must save him.

7/26 4 Minutes (Thai Netflix or iQIYI?) - Great, a rich boy studying business at uni, suddenly gains the supernatural power to see four minutes into the future.

7/29 Battle of the Writers (Thai ????) - trailer here, TutorYim return, and while I adore them, I really hope this is better than Middleman's Love. Won't be hard. However: the premise? Ugh. Something something authors fighting - save me. Why don't writers understand that nothing is more boring than writers?

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

No time this week, I'm having computer issues.

(Last week)

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

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

Sigh, Tumblr in it's infinite wisdom doesn't like too many tags.

There's these tricks, remember.

[alollinglaughingcat]

i... accidentally discovered 100% Wolf and im absolutely going insane

something i like to do for fun is to watch kinda of shitty animated wolf/dog/animal movies like, yknow, like Pets United or Underdog, or, famously, the Alpha & Omega series, mostly cause i see some YT review about how bad/goofy they are and it's something to waste an hour or two

and i saw a 100% Wolf bad review and was like "ha another bad wolf furry movie! i'll watch that. oh it has a sequel movie coming out soon? cool. oh, it has a series? with two 20+ episode seasons? oof the series probably butchers the quality/integrity of the movie... i'll watch the movie but the series will probably be to bad to watch---"

AND THEN I WATCHED THE SERIES AND IT. IT WASN'T BAD.

granted im only up to like episode 14 or smthn before i HAD to take a break (literally i watched the movie this morning and i havent taken a break for ANYTHING) (except feeding my foster kittens)

BUT LIKE???? it's not GOOD quality necessarily, either in animation or plot or character development, like I'd say it's kind of like Miraculous Ladybug quality, but a little worse? but i just LOVE it. i LIKE the characters. i ENJOY the silly little plot. i LOVE that it just fucking??? does things??? and never gives you answers to them???

like hello??? Batty the 100% DOG gained the ability to go were-human and NOBODY QUESTIONED IT OR INVESTIGATED IT FURTHER??? (but i love Batty's character and i love how she got voted the pack leader instead of the main character or his rival even if it didn't stick and i love how she wanted to return to being a normal dog at first but then grew to love her werewolf pack and she doesn't wanna go back and the episode where she was like 'what is my future after the academy if i cant join the night patrol? what do i want from this new life?' was MUAH CHEF'S KISS even though that ALSO did not technically get an answer/resolve)

and what happened to Cherry????? is she on the good guys side now or is she still on the bad guys???? hello???? she was evil for like TWO episodes and then got redeemed and rejoined the good guys again except HELLO REMEMBER that she was probably in cahoots with the OTHER secretly-bad-guy-pretending-to-be-a-good-guy and said guy (Ric) just??? never confronts Cherry for abandoning the bad guys???? even though he SHOULD??? unless Cherry is secretly still on the bad guys side???? WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH CHERRY??? I NEED ANSWERS (and i hope there IS answers in the future but knowing this show its just gonna forgor about it XDD)

AND WHY IS RIC SO SIMULTANEOUSLY STUPID AND SMART??? one episode he's literally evil mastermind and it's so expertly written and i LOVED the foreshadowing for him being the secret evil guy except now that he's revealed to be the evil bad guy he's so stupid sometimes???? why'd they butcher you bro 😭😭😭

SPEAKING OF THE BAD GUYS JUST. FUCKING CHILLING ONCE THEYRE REVEALED TO BE EVIL. what's up with Hotspur??? he was literally the movie villain big baddie who like tried to literally MURDER all dogs and also imprisoned his brother and basically tried to murder his brother and his nephew (LITERALLY Scar-Mufasa-Simba style lmaoo they didnt even try to hide it and its so fuckin funny to me) and then we enter the series and he's just???? allowed to continue being a respected werewolf elder and also running his evil dog shelter??? i get that the series is almost sort of a 'separate/alternate canon' but technically at the end of the movie they also showed him just like?? doing community service?? i literally find it so fucking funny that when someone tries to commit an Evil (see: Cherry, Ric, Hotspur, etc.) the rest of the characters are all like "hey i know you tried to murder me but just do some community service and you can join the pack again kay? 🥰"

but despite the little plot holes the series still seems to run so smoothly and i just love how it knows the right amount of seriousness to take itself, and i love how all of the characters work together... like they could have just had Ivan be a stuuuupid bully forever but within the first few episodes they were already showing him being a better person and being a good member of the pack, all while still keeping his personality... like he even tried to protect Batty's secret!!! even though he was being dog racist you KNOW he would still protect Batty and Freddy with his life even though they're dogs because THEY'RE HIS PACK!!!

also i just love how Freddy LIKES being a dog! like obviously in the movie he reached the conclusion that dogs weren't bad/inferior and he was fine being a pink poodle instead of a big scary werewolf like the rest of his family, but i was afraid the series would revert him and make him all "oooo im just a stupid dog i want to be a powerful wolf!!! no one takes me serious!!" but nah, in the series he's literally like "being a dog is the fucking best and if you disagree you can fucking suck it 😎" AND in 200% Wolf the whole plot is going to be that he DOES get transformed into a wolf and he WANTS TO GO BACK TO BEING A POODLE!! i love that!!

i also love Batty, did i already mention that? i love that she is literally a dog. she is a DOG, who happened to end up being able to turn into a human because of unexplained magical shenanigans, and she still acts primarily like a dog even when human, and she's just so fucking awesome, and my only wish is that she actually got to be the pack leader instead of that being a one-off thing lol. i also love Scarlet too, and i really really really hope that as like the opposite to Batty, Scarlet ends up getting turned into a dog/werewolf lmao. let the wolf hunter become the wolf!!!! if it can magically happen to Batty, it can magically happen to Scarlet XD

also more Cherry please wtf is going on with her i love her

anyway i just needed to ramble because this is my new obsession and i am not going to be able to shut up about it 😭

[reylogirlie]

(Some of) My other ships

Now, Reylo is my OTP. It is what I consider to be one of the best fictional love stories of all time.

I mean, look at them?!?With that being said, however, I wanted to make a post about my other ships. None come near Reylo, but I just wanted to gush a bit. I wonder if we have any other ships in common So here in no order, is my list:

Bunnydoll- Amazing Digital Circus

Okay, I know it’s confirmed we’re getting no main romance from this show. And I know Jax is supposed to be an ass no one likes. With that being said, they were lowkey cute in the episodes shown so far.

The look he gives her when he says “She (Pomni) still thinks this is a dream.” Or when he calls her Dollface 😫😫😫😫 (I’m whipped for pet names) there’s even like a live zoom call between the cast posted on YT where Jax’s va says “I love you Ragatha” at the request of a fan and it’s so cute 🥹 I also got parent vibes from them in the pilot when they were showing Pomni around.

It’s giving strict mom and idgaf dad.

Ik it’s probably not gonna be cannon and I don’t care that much if it is (does not hold the place in my heart that Reylo does) but I think there’s potential there. Maybe I enjoy their fannon a bit more than cannon, idk 🤷‍♀️

Felix and Tamora - Wreck it Ralph

Now, they are so wholesome like 🥹

He’s so whipped from her from the very start. I love their love story in the first movie. Felix is so whipped for her from the start, and she doesn’t trust easily due to her trauma.

Yet, Tamora warms up to him steadily and eventually realizes that the two have fallen in love- and it’s okay that she’s learned to love again, she’s not betraying her original love and that just because he went out horribly doesn’t mean Felix will.

I also love how Felix is patient and respectful towards her. When he learned their term “dynamite gal” triggered/upset Tamora, he never said that again. He resorted to other names (lady love, Tammy, etc) and I love that. He’s not perfect, and he was clearly a bit tone death towards Ralph in the beginning of the movie, but he really is a great guy. I sorta get the nice landers- I’d wanna be his friend too if I was in a video game tbh.

They’re wonderful, I love them.

Buzz and Jessie- Toy

Them. I had a Jessie, Buzz, and Bullseye doll when I was little-

(I was also Jessie for Halloween one year)

Anyways, I’ve always loved them. Again, opposites attract. Jessie has extreme trust issues from being abandoned. She still gets anxiety from being in tight spaces.

Buzz knows how to calm her during panick attacks, he always reassures her she won’t end up alone, and he’s who taught her how to trust again.

Even when he’s switched by Lotso, he still finds her beautiful 🥹

Jessie also brings out a different side to him- even got him to Spanish dance in front of everyone at the end of 3 ☺️

They always steal the show, and I can’t wait to see them in Toy Story 5 (Yall can tell Iove Toy Story, right?)

Chilli and Bandit-Bluey

Okay, as of right now they’re probably my second favorite ship. Like I’ve even written fics about them (not nearly as much as Reylo, but a few) and I could go on.

What I absolutely LOVE about Chilli and Banditis the fact that they give something fresh to cartoon. Most tv parents are either toxic or they simply exist as parents and not a couple. Like not toxic per se but they exist to raise the protagonist.

But Chilli and Bandit? They are still so in love and they have a relationship outside of being parents. They disagree sometimes, but what married couple doesn’t??? They still make time for each other despite their busy lives, and they allow each other to still spend time with their friends and go out.

Not to mention, they show their daughters what they should want in a relationship someday. They’re still affectionate despite their gross (yet typical) tendencies, they take the L for each other (Bandit eating Bingos special so she feels important and Chilli doesn’t have to suffer/ Chilli telling the girls to lay off Bandit when they’re mad about moving despite agreeing with them), they’re gentle with each other when the other is triggered/upset (The Show/ Stockbrid) and overall, they know how to balance parenting, their love, their work, friends, and family all while being so damn cute.

The fact whenever Bluey or Bingo pretend to be a married adult and use the term “bahbe” implies that Bandit speaks like that to Chilli 🥹 (honestly cannon because we see their sweet talk all the time)

They’re just so sweet, wholesome, healthy, and they’re honestly my favorite part of Bluey.

So there’s my other ships. I wonder if we have any in common 🤩 If you want a part two I’m down for it, but don’t worry this is still a Reylo blog and that will still be my main content :)

[golbrocklovely]

i saw someone on twitter seriously have a go bc snc were focusing more on their social life than their professional life. like what? thats insane. they’ve worked 24/7 for the last 10 years. they deserve to enjoy themselves for a while.

and i have to laugh. people saying theyre going to stop watching snc and laugh as their careers fumble? babes, if they depended solely on yt views for income they’d be uploading far more frequently. besides, they have 12 million followers and easily bag a million views on a video in the first 24 hours. a few dozen fans boycotting them is not going to make even an ounce of difference. but hey, if it makes you feel better, all power to you. (“you” being those fans ofc). not to mention they have investments and other business endeavours outside of youtube. your online hissy fit will do jack shit. (again, “you/your” being those fans)

:)

i think that's the thing i find so funny about this fandom. first off almost 99% of the drama is started by twitter. or at the very least they're the loudest at all times. they also think a lot of us feel the same way as them just bc it's an echo chamber over there. so when they all start calling snc out on something or think that that everyone feels the same way, they feel like they are making an impact by saying they'll leave or stop supporting if snc don't meet their demands.

and babes, if you really aren't enjoying your time here, you can go. it's fine. no one is holding a gun to your head and telling you to stay. but don't expect snc to do everything you want them to do. it's just not gonna happen.

sometimes i don't get this fandom. bc look, when i was here back in 2020/21, i got some of the backlash that the boys were facing. i understood parts of it, for sure. but there was a lot, and i do mean a lot, of extra shit that went on that made it much worse. and that side of the fandom… they cried wolf too many times. you don't get to do that repeatedly and then think that snc are gonna stick around to actually hear what you gotta say.

and especially rn, what exactly are ppl pissed off about?? bc look, you wanna say you miss when they were posting a lot more, sure. i get that. i miss them posting more often too. but you gotta also realize maybe WHY they aren't posting so much. and blaming their new gfs isn't one of those reasons.

they have explained that they basically had little to no personal life at one point, that all they were doing is working. that they didn't get to spend time with their friends or gfs bc they were working so much. sam, the man that never addresses drama, is asking fans to cool it. he full on said that he was miserable a year or so ago bc of all the stress he was under. and then colby, the man that doesn't cry ever, had a full on break down in 2022. and didn't even admit it until midway thru 2023. he doesn't read comments anymore bc they get so bad sometimes. or how about that colby even stated that he didn't even want to tell this fandom that he had cancer bc he knew how everyone would react if he went bald………. what does that tell you???? that we aren't trustworthy. that snc feel the need to pull back bc we are all toxic.

at what point do we turn the mirror on ourselves and realize hey, maybe i've taken things too far??

and reality is, a LOT of this only popped up once they both got gfs. a lot of fans say those two aren't to blame or they're not upset or they don't actually want to date snc, but at the end of the day them finding someone to love was the straw that broke the camels back. and you gotta sit back and wonder why does seeing snc happy make me upset and want to leave?? (if someone reading this is one of those fans)

bc rn, i'm more into snc than i have been in a while. i want to see them happy and healthy and enjoying life. sure, colby being in his feels (or sam even) was a fun time, sure. i love me some balcony tweets. but at the end of the day, i don't want him jaded and unable to find love again. why the fuck would i wish that on someone i love dearly??? same with sam. sure. i can joke about kat and how i want her new song to tear him a new one, but i still want him to be happy. i want him to be able to move on from his relationship with her. and that's not a cut at her. no one should be stuck feeling like shit. take it from the person that has been like that for years and still really is in one way or another: i wouldn't wish heartache on my worst enemy. so why would i do that to someone i say i care about??

but back to your ask lol

yeah, the twitter fandom thinks it's all high and mighty but it lost that spark by 2022. their words mean nothing, snc have pulled back bc that side of the fandom sucks (but also bc they want a break), and now they are facing the consequences of their actions and don't like it. womp womp. there's still almost 12 million of us babes. a couple 100 of you leaving ain't gonna do shit.

[d-nessi]

CHAPTER 2

<3 ONLY US <3

A/N:

I really tried hard to put a lot of sweets, fluff and flirty things in. also a bit of drama (rly just a bit)

minimum of swearing.

Wordcount: 2k

proofread?: not really

as always I'm german so I hope my English is not that boring <333

the title of this chapter is the name of the song bella sang together with jacob fawler <333 I LOVE HER VOICE WHEN SHE SINGS!!! >__<

(this is not my video on yt :) )

also I use HE/SHE (just because I forget sometimes and also love using all)

and I can`t find if skipper is male/female so I tried to avoid the pronouns.

summary: You just want to enjoy the time until bella have to leave but things changes fast!

so fast you can`t even realize what just happen with both of you. time runs out too fast and things gonna be flirty and heating up your both blood more and more.

pairing: Bella Ramsey x FemReader

A bark comes from the other side of a door. Not any door….BELLAS door. yes I meet her at her Home.

The door opens and a little barking dog runns all around me excited to meet me. As soon as Bellas voice echoed in my ears skipper just sits beside her while she gets prepared for the walk.

"morning", bella says and put on the leash on skipper. "good morning" I greet her.

"isnt it a bit too cold outside for shorts?" I look at her with worries in my eyes. "its ok. I`m often outside, got an active immunsystem" he giggles proudly as we all start to walk into the beautiful world that is surrounded by huge trees, mountains and a small and absolutely clear river.

I look at skipper and smile. "I saw the post of yours on Insta. it is awesome that you adopted skipper."

"yeah skipper was on set and I instantly fell in love with the little cutie" she says happy while taking out the ball, throws it after making skipper off the leash.

"You both are such cuties" realizing I wasn't thinking I grab a stone and just throw it into the river while she looks like she's frozen for a moment with a noticable blush. Im moving on and can feel her gaze on me. Bellas heart starts to race and she tries to find the right words. "Y/N…What is this betwe---"

the mobile of her interrups suddenly the sentence I really wanted to hear.

"Ramsey hello?…….ah..yeah just go ahead…..no…sounds interresting…" that was a total lie. I can clearly see something is burden him.

"but how early?………in 2 days!?" he seems to getting really nervous.

"yes….no there is no problem. Will be there then…it`s still calgary?…ok yes thank you and see you there. bye" she puts her mobile back in her pocked obviously stressed out with a sad face.

"is everything ok? something happen?" I make my way to her as close as I can. "that was Neil Druckman….He asked if I could come sooner as he is currently casting a lot of people for Season 2 including the cast for Dina and he would like me to be there to make sure there is chemistry between me and the Dina cast."

Dont be a dick right now I thought to myself and put on the best fakesmile ever. "but that sounds good! Thats the best way to make this show even better." I pretend but yeah truly that wasn't a lie. "When earlier you must leave? in a week?" I don't realize how serious things getting right now.

"2 days…." she says in a frustrating way and grabs skippers leash only to move on quietly. "Bella…there will be friends on set right? pedro and all the new friends you gonna meet!

"I'll be gone for like 1 or 2 years. yeah great I mean....shit I cant believe this is happening!" she starts to arguing with a face as if Lady Mormont itself wanna cut your head of. Scary and so cute at the same time.

"But this is your chance to make it big again! what the hell is your problem!?" honestly right now Im really confused. She looks at me and I can feel my soul leaving my body.

"BUT you're not with me!"

oh…wait what? She looks at me like a puppy who got lost. "you're a really good friend and sometimes on set it's so boring. most of the time they want to do their work and after that Im in my hotelroom…just me." I am not shure if this is the true reason like…come on they seem to have so much fun on set.

Bu…did….did she just friendzoned me?

I could work from my Laptop I thought to myself and took a deep breath. "well how get we gonna managing this? in 2 days? I need to do some things that's left" I start

"I will talk to my manager and fix everything if you want" she looks at skipper who's just sitting beside her trying to comfort her. "that's huge bella" I admit but smile slightly at her."

"well ok so than lets start and get ready for the flight" I say calm and she smiles so bright even the sun seems dark. I look deep in her eyes and a red shade on her cheeks find its way.

Our way seperate after the walk and I manage to get work and flight together. There's only one problem………

Again a knock on the door. Skipper barks again and the door swings open.

"hey aaaah….." staying here infront of my future wife with all my luggage. "the flight is in two days Y/N" obviously looking confused.

" yeah there is only one thing. I gave notice of my apartment for a whole year, but that counts from today and not just in 2 days.

Now I'm standing here and wanted to ask you if I could sleep at your home." She laughs and let me in. "It's not very big and I only have one bed but I just sleep on the couch" she says while showing me around. "No no, I sleep on the couch, no problem." I just wave with my hands.

Looking to her there is this feeling again. I'm slowly but surely becoming aware of what it means to have this tingling sensation. it drives me crazy and the thought of being close to her is almost painful. I don't know where I stand with her anymore but definitely not in the 'come on let's cuddle zone'.

'FrIeNdZoNeD'

She just want to be friends with me. I hate my fucking feelings and I try my best to ignore.

I already thought she might feel the same but I was so wrong….so fucking wrong it makes me sick. Sometimes I wish I have a Damon that could just stop feeling any emotions but I just watched to much vampire diaries.

"it's late, I make some dinner and go shower. if you want we can watch a movie later." she grabs some ingredients in her kitchen.

"sounds good! You need a hand for something?"

"no it's ok. if you want you can shower first", he looks to me with a questioning face and I agreed.

"you have a towel? or is it enough to come out of the shower completely naked?" I simply ask cought him offguard looking completely blushing at all my words. here we go I can't stop teasing him.

While I'm in the shower I thought deeply about telling her how I feel. I just can't go with her and not even touch her for once. Being in love with someone you can't have is pure agony.

"smells good" I come out of the shower and really thought about to just tease her more and changing my clothes in front of her. I smirk and was about to drop my towel when she immediatly turns arround and disappears into the bathroom.

I giggle and take a bowl of food eating and waiting for her to come out. After 30 minutes I started to worry and went to the door.

"Bella are you ok?" I carefully listened to what she is saying. "Yes, everything is fine," she conveyed to me. Lie…….. and I didn't know that because she's sitting in the shower letting the water run over her the whole time. Bella was confused and she is more than aware of what is happening here. Too shy to admit what she's feeling, she prefers to swallow all the great feelings and hope it goes away. funny because that's absolutely hopeless. it's getting worse, more and also….she friendzoned me."shit…." she mumblet.

I make myself comfortable on the couch and wait impatiently when she finally comes out in an oversized hoodie and shorts. She gives me a nervous smile and sits on her bed with her bowl.

"ok movie..any favorite you want to watch?" I ask and wait for her to awnser. "I'v never watched Jurassic Park so why not this?" she ask and I agree.

I start the movie and make myself comfortable on her bed beside her ignoring my heartbeat that just dance like a fire in the wind. Bella looks to the TV and follows the story.

I lay back with my Hands behind my Head. Jeeeeezz I can feel the Air is getting more intense and I don't blame it cause hell there is sitting an absolutely beautiful guuurl beside me not knowing what I feel, not knowing that my heart gets electrocuted by her smile. I coul'd just take her face in my hands and kiss her blessed soul out of her.

I didn't even realize that my eyes only watching him. Studying every corner of his face and hell this is painfull when you can't do the things you really wan't to do. Thoughts are buzzing in my head that even scare me.

She's been looking at me…the whole time and I'm so preoccupied I don't even realize it. My heart is literally jumping and my whole body can't take the tension anymore.

"Don't you want to finish your question from the day before?" I say without averting my eyes.

"I already did…" she whispers as if trying with all her might to keep up the lie but failing.

"than say it…again" I come closer like I want to intimidate her.

She blushes and I can clearly hear her breath goes wild. I already know the answer and still words wouldn't be enough for me. The gap between us is getting smaller and smaller so that I can feel her breath on my lips when suddenly her mobile rings. AGAIN ..I swear that thing has something against us.

She completely shreeks up and takes her phone. She answers with a trembling voice. "H… hello? No, Mom, you're not disturbing me right now." Her face turned bright red, first looking at me and than very quickly to her lap. She can brush her mum off while I got up in time to have a drink. crap…. I just thought silently. It's getting late now, so I decide to lie down on the couch and turn off the TV.

"good night Y/N" she lays down in her bed and it's like I can hear still her breath.

As if the breathing almost becomes a whimper. I wake up and see that it is totally dark outside. a look at the clock tells me that it's already 2:42am. The whimper comes from Bella's direction so I just turn around again. Is she crying? I startle immediately and walk carefully to her bed. There she lies… curled up and asleep. She must be having a nightmare.

"No…" I only hear a very low murmur. Enough of that…. I just snuggle up with her under the covers behind her back. An arm wraps around her as I snuggle my face in her hair. She smells so good I have to keep my thoughts to myself. She feels me and startles, turning to me out of breath but hiding her face on my neck.

In the corner of my eye I can see that she is quite red with slight tears in her eyes. I just smile, caress her cheek and literally feel my heart want to erupt. I give her a hint of a kiss on the cheek and close my eyes as I wait for her breathing to become more regular.

There's only us…only you and me I thought smiling and fell asleep together with her in my arms.

WOOP WOOP that was soooo freak'n cute to write and that's just the beginning <333 there will be more Chapter and next chapter is getting moooore snuggle loveydovey <333 :P

For more Chapters, stories and more just look at my Masterlist ♡

[kwangyanese]

idc i thought this was funny as hell. i personally find that flamboyant gay men can be annoying sometimes but seokcheon is an exception (it's so exagerated it becomes funny in a good way), and considering how other episodes go i thought this was pretty light hearted, they really went easy on the boys. and you could tell riize was extremely nervous and not knowing how to react but they were just going with the flow. also kinda smart of them to make this 2 episodes and cut right when it's wonbin's turn, who i think is the one most viewers were waiting for & the one seokcheon is obsessed with. i get the feeling the next episode is gonna be 30 mins full of wonbin just to get as many views as possible lol 🤣 i get the hustle tho

now i saw sooooo many briizes being homophobic to the hosts and to riize themselves on twt and yt comments. which is hilarious cos if you click on their profile it's full of riize x reader smut or them thirsting over them. this is my problem being in a fandom with young people like what type of backwards thinking is that are you twelve. and saying they were forced to go there when shotaro literally asked to be invited and wonbin watched the episodes that seokcheon namedropped him??? like cmon now these are grown ass men. if they didn't want to go they wouldn't have.

now on reactions... personally i enjoy when the guests are not flustered or shy and actually fully play along, after all this show is basically some guy complimenting you over and over, just own it. i was actually surprised shotaro and sungchan got shy lol especially considering they were in a group with jungwoo who has a similar personality to the main host. taro looked really nice up close, i wish he wasnt wearing contact lenses tho :( and btw what a missed oportunity of showing his legs properly!!!!! like slow down man wonbin's not going anywhere. sungchan showing his abs is great actually #kingoffanservice, if i had a 8 pack i would never wear a shirt. he's soooo pretty up close, seokcheon saying he is as beautiful as a woman is SOOOO real.

i thought it was hilarious that sohee acted like a deer in headlights lol and the hosts teased him a lot being basically predators vs prey (loved the lion vs antelope comparison), which was kinda nice. however when seokcheon asked sohee to touch his head you could tell he would rather cut his hand off with a dull knife 😭 poor lil guy was disgusted

eunseok acted exactly the way i like it and he only broke character once <3 he actually looks very pretty up close. anton was having the time of his life when he was sitting down and really stepped up when it was his turn, even if you could tell he was still a lil embarassed. i hope they never give him a nose job lol

overall they were laughing a lot and the atmosphere didn't seem tense, so it's a success in my eyes. if they were to bring another bg there i hope it's zb1, i would kill to see hanbin up close.

also it'd be so nice if there was a lesbian version of this show 😭😭😭😭😭😭 there is so many pretty girls that i'd love to see up close.

[dearweirdme]

Been seeing people cry about lack of social media posts since 2016 when Jungkook didn't tweet for Tae's birthday for the first time, this was the first "Taekook broke up!" crisis I witnessed and it's happened approximately hundred times a year since. Afterward Tae told us that Jungkook cooked for him that day. Jungkook has never cared much for social media. He would disappear from Twitter for months at a time, he's the only member without an Instagram account, and he only has one post on his TikTok and is otherwise mostly using it to watch and like other videos. I really just don't think he is interested in making social media posts/content. He only seems to enjoy doing live streams, which makes total sense to me because he likes candidly talking to people instead of trying to write his thoughts down. He probably prefers supporting the people in his life through that kind of action, directly to them and personally. I get that. No one is ever gonna make me care about whether someone posts on social media or not. I am incapable of caring. It does not mean anything to me. I do not quantify friendship or relationship status based on that. The crazy thing is people going to Taekooker spaces to cry about this. I have to wonder if they're just looking for a reason to hate on one of them. Because surely they realize people here think there's much more to Taekook's relationship than what we are lucky enough to see. Jungkook texts him. Calls him. Walks/drives a few minutes to his house. COOKS FOR HIM. Probably...you know...does other stuff for him. 😁 Chill. I get people are disappointed with stream and YT numbers but stop projecting that and lashing out at people Tae cares about and who clearly care about him. You are only stirring up more negativity and that is not helping anything. It is an incredibly toxic mindset to think that not posting on social media means they don't care about each other. They do not owe you or any of us public demonstrations of their feelings or affections. Ever.

Hi anon!

I very much agree!

I thought what Jk said about Instagram during the live he did while he was in NY was very telling.

Instagram is great if you want to show the art you like, the clothes you wear, the traveling you do.. your interests, tastes and maybe some details about your life. I feel this is what Tae does, and Namjoon as well. Jk however, does not easily share those things. I think he doesn’t want to, because he also doesn’t mention much in his lives. Jk likes to show his honest reactions. That is how he show who he is. And it works for him. Take the live he did about Jimin, that is so much more showing his feelings (not in the jkk way ofcourse 😂) than sharing a post on instagram. Jk knows how fabricated Instagram can be. He has had so much experience with something being posted (not only on instagram) and it being different from the real situation probably.. and I can understand that not being what he wants now. By doing lives Jk is in charge of the moment and of what is being shown and what the context is.

Tae finds doing lives more difficult I think. In my opinion it’s because Tae does not want to share too much of his emotions and feelings with the world. Seeing him emotional during his live yesterday was really something to me.

[straystars-and-planets]

Hey, I get it. Losing Channie's room has been an upsetting and emotional experience for a lot of STAYs, including me. They were always something that cheered me up on the weekends. More than anything I am sad for Chan -- he's often said he really enjoys being able to livestream and interact with STAY, and my biggest hope is that he is doing okay right now. He didn't deserve the initial backlash, and he certainly doesn't deserve the shitstorm (pardon my language) happening across social medial (tweet, tiktok, bubble particularly) right now.

(Goes without saying but this is all my personal opinion/thoughts, feel free to ignore, take with a grain/spoonful/ocean of salt)

Right now I am so frustrated with the narrative that this happened solely due to poor management on the part of JYPE and/or JYP. To be clear: I have many reservations/issues with the way JYP and JYPE manage their groups/artists. Whatever your opinion on SKZ's management, that is not the main issue here. Because it was STAY who created and contributed to the situation we are currently in today.

In fact I'm ANGRY that STAY and other fans of Stray Kids are not taking responsibility for their role in all of this. I think enough has been said about the openly toxic content creators/social media accounts who went out of their way to speculate and circulate rumors about groups having conflicts/drama with Chan and/or Stray Kids, so I'm trying to keep this part short. TL;DR - these "STAY" go against what Chan himself has explicitly stated multiple times across different platforms:

He has asked STAY to stop defaming and hating on other artists. In the specific YT live that was the subject of the initial "drama" he even went out of his way to say "I'm not going to name names" and "I'm not gonna say specific artists."

He has told STAY to stop sending hate or to spam JYPE. At in-person fansigns, fan calls, on Bubble and on lives, Chan has said "Don't hate the company" or something similar. I can't recall the exact words but he has also stated or implied that when fans do this it ultimately reflects poorly on Stray Kids and stresses him out more.

But I also wanted to shed light on the ways I think many STAYs who are unproblematic or largely neutral in this situation may have inadvertently amplified the messages of the toxic/vocal minority of the fandom or unintentionally made the situation worse. A lot of times we react emotionally to any unfavorable or negative news about our favorite artists/idol groups. I get it - for a lot of people Stray Kids are an anchor, safe space or home where they can be themselves and find comfort. So when we hear about anything negative it's easy to have a knee-jerk response of protect protect protect. But I think in that process many STAY (once again, who are mostly unproblematic and not trying to start any drama) don't think about how the ways they go about finding information, letting others know about information and defending Stray Kids are causing small incidents to evolve into large scandals.

I can't claim to know all the solutions or fix everything in this fandom, but there are some things I've noticed that could be done better, or in a way that doesn't reflect poorly on SKZ. As individual members of a larger fandom, I hope that in the future we can focus on not engaging or at least minimizing engagement with the toxic + vocal minority of the fandom that tries to stir up drama. These accounts are trying to get attention at the expense of SKZ and STAY by creating conflict.

What do I mean by that? First up: when you do see a video that appears to be speculative or for the purposes of spreading rumors/gossip, don't just share it immediately. I get it, it's a potential "threat" SKZ's reputation/wellbeing. But look into it before you post: are there any outside new sources, official posts, or statements by SKZ members or JYPE actually backing this up? And if you have mutuals/friends who are asking what's going on, can we refrain from sharing the content directly? DM them a TL;DR or summary. Try to reduce the use of share functions (like reposting, quote retweets, sharing tiktok links, etc.), all that does is boost problematic/speculative content into the FYP/feeds/TLs of more people. After a certain point mass commenting "take this down" or "is this true?" is just going to boost the engagement on these kinds of speculative posts. Hopefully it goes without saying, but try not to 'like' these kinds of speculative videos/posts. At the end of the day, any/all engagement from well-intentioned STAY trying to discourage toxic behavior and inform others will lead to better metrics (views, likes, shares, etc.) for these problematic accounts, which may encourage them to continue posting "controversial" content. TL;DR - Bad PR/exposure is still PR/exposure for the part of the fandom we DON'T want to amplify.

and PLEASE, for the love of all that is holy, can we stop with the cryptic comments? I know this usually comes from a good place - we don't want negative words trending in association with SKZ. But cryptically commenting "omg I hope [member name] is okay...." is just going to rile people up more. Just either comment directly a brief summary or send the person a DM. If you comment a brief but clear summary then it also helps prevent other STAYs from potentially engaging with speculative/gossip content to find an answer + people will read that instead of also commenting "what happened?" Half the time I feel like these minor issues snowball into giant problems because some STAYs freak out when other members of the fandom refuse to be clear about what the actual fuck is going on.

Finally, just leave other artists out of this. Full stop. EVERYONE loses the minute STAY involves other artists, other companies and/or other fandoms. Seriously. Yes, sometimes there is very obvious evidence (footage of artist interactions, screenshots, vague artist instagram posts, etc.) that there is something going on between two individuals in the K-pop industry. But until Stray Kids or JYPE says anything about it, trying to get other parties involved is only going to hurt SKZ and STAY. It's contributing to the image that STAY is a toxic/aggressive fandom. It's going to turn away baby STAYs or people considering becoming STAYs away from SKZ's music and content. It's going to reflect poorly on SKZ because their management and other people in the industry may assume they badmouth other artists/colleagues and sic their fans on them with no reason or for irrational reasons. And (as we have witnessed) it might result in SKZ being penalized for something that should never have blown up to the point it has. Even if other fandoms or certain social media accounts are trying to provoke STAY, let's try to be the better/more generous people (we don't have to forgive them, but no need to expend so much energy/attention on them). Ignore/block/disengage/report - stop quote retweeting/quoting these people and drawing more viewership towards accounts who are trying to stir the pot. Don't actually tag these people, use a slash/punctuation to break up the tag so they don't get more attention/engagement (ex. @/[account name]).

Small ending note: let's not forget the agency of the artists themselves. I know we all have misgivings with how Stray Kids is managed. That's fine. Consumers/customers are allowed to be critical of the way a company is managed or how a company manages its employees and business. But we have to trust that Chan and all the other members know what they are doing.

[weebnotheree]

꧁༺♡⚜『𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝟚 - 𝑀𝑟. 𝐶𝑟𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑥 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟』⚜♡༻꧂[PT1]

𓂀 ♡ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟙♡ 𓂀

Y/n's not here yet. This story will be based on the lines in the movie you'd know if you've seen the movie.

𝚅𝚘𝚝𝚎 - 𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚎 - 𝙵𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠

______________________________

Meena was running through the forest trying to get away from something that was chasing her. She tripped and fell along with her flashlight as she tried to grab it but the ground fell from under her and fell.

Landing on the ground breathing really hard she looked up hearing a creek of a door opening. She looked in front of her to see just that. A tiny door. She crawled through it as it got bigger enough for her to fit through it. 

It's reversed at the end bc the person that reposted it didn't want to get copy writer...

[ᴛʀᴜᴍᴘᴇᴛ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ʙʟᴏᴡɴ]

A king of hearts came in through the door with a couple of other animals dressed in blue and red cards in front of him blowing their trumpets.

"What's going on?!"Meena said with a fake scared look. (Bc they are performing at the theater) "No time to explain! Run away!"Johnny said. All of the kids dressed as flowers along with the others that were on the stage ran away off stage.

"[bumps into someone]Oof! Oh, hey Sammy, you really got those moves locked down now, hm?" Buster asked in a cheerful voice at the little red-orange fox(?). "I sure do Mr. Moon" The pup says "Yeeah, look at you[laughs happily/cheerfully]"walking away up the small staircase but tripping on the last step. Buster continues to walk while people are walking by, he compliments them with a thumbs up "Great job everybody! Great job"

Sorry this is BEYOND short, um..i am still gonna work on this one...i just cant find sing 2 on anything else and YT doesn't really have it on there and I for sure cant rent or buy it...but for now this book is still on going...and I have to go in the livingroom an watch tv in there at lunchtime...and I will be back in the room updating....idk when so yea..and I might have to gt wallm...tomorrow I have to wipe le walls bc apparently we're having cleaning days on saterdays now....so the weekends and Friday wont be the same, sorry!

And can someone tell me where I can watch Sing 2 for free on something without buying it! Like..i already watched it but I wanna do it on my computer..like yt not on the fliPING livinroom TV where EVERYONE CAN SEE!

I hope you enjoyed! Bye mini dumplings! <3

[enneamage]

What’s the weirdest thing to me is I kind of don’t get why tommy is floundering content wise I honestly think he’s way more insecure about the numbers than he says he is but everyone is down on numbers, it’s not quarantine anymore people are busy, but I think he’s taking it personally and it’s making him insecure (I also think this is why he’s sticking by dream tbh but that’s a different thought) what I’m confused about is comparatively he is still doing good and maybe it come from he also had the farthest to fall but he is a natural entertainer and his content does best when he drops the persona a little his (for example his live show went very well) but instead he seems to be really upping his persona I also don’t know why he seems so desperate to find something new because there’s been many things that really seem to have worked for him I do think he is jealous all his friends have big projects and he doesn’t but I think he needs to find something he enjoys and just commit to it I feel like he’s overthinking it but I also think he’s so scared of becoming irrelevant or he doesn’t wanna see something he genuinely enjoys fail I also think his fan base has grown up a little and he needs to decide if his content is gonna grow with them or if he’s going to continue to make content for kids/young teens like his yt videos tend to be

I have a superstition. It’s not really a theory because there’s nothing data-based backing it up (that I can point to), but years ago I started to believe that every two to four years the internet does a ‘full rotation’ when it comes to public figures, where the landscape shifts to a new cast/layout of people who are popular among The Youth / blowing up. The closest I can come to explaining it is that school tends to move in two to four year brackets so the peer-to-peer spread of something popular gets concentrated in those waves. I remember thinking ‘we’re coming up on the two-year mark’ a few months earlier when it came to the DSMP wave and man it’s really hit that two year pattern, down to the month.  

Nobody Is inherently doomed because of this and there’s always exceptions, but people generally have to switch up what they’re doing to some degree every two to four years because of the flow of who’s watching and what their headspace is like; you generally only get your young audience once. I feel like Tommy is aware that what goes up must come down because I remember him mentioning on stream that the fanbase for the DSMP was an anomaly, and that it would have been normal for them to have faded off in popularity at the time he was talking. I think that would have been around mid 2021, so in a way he was already accepting the fact that what goes up must come down. It wouldn’t make it any less emotionally difficult, but Tommy does have a stats nerd streak to keep him grounded.

I think there’s room to find a balance in what he does next. He’s said that he tried a lot of things this year, so there’s a line to straddle between keeping the things that made his content ‘work’ in the past and having to transition into a new era. I’m nobody’s Youtube advisor because appeasing the robots is not my strong suit, but it is his, so he’s going to be strategizing what he wants to do versus what he needs to do from here.  

[eloriis]

SUPER MAX! - max verstappen

in which. . the rising pop princess and the three-time wdc are caught in dating rumours — mv1 x f! reader

notes : pt. 2 is here earlier than expected as a small ty for 100 followers!! tysmm and i hope u guys liked this two-part series as much as i did <33

type : smau ⋆ face claim : madison beer

( part 1 )

liked by maxverstappen1, taylorswift, landonorris and 42,89,265 others

y/nuser GREAT BRITAIN YOU WERE SO GOOD FOR ME TONIGHT!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE BEST NIGHT TO FINISH MY EUROPEAN TOUR AND I LOVE YOU SO MUCH MWAH 🫶🏼🫶🏼

user34 STOP THIS WAS SUCH A GOOD CONCERT OMFG I BLACKED OUT THE WHOLE TIME

user74 I CRIED WHEN SHE PLAYED GORGEOUS AND WINKED AT MAX 😭😭

user73 MAX?? MAX VERSTAPPEN?? THE F1 DRIVER?? WTF??

user74 YEAH HE WAS IN THE VIP STANDS WITH HIS FRIENDS AND WAS BLUSHING AND SMILING SO HARD WHEN GORGEOUS AND DAYLIGHT WERE PLAYING BRO OMG 🥹🥹

user47 ALSO THE WAY SHE CONFIRMED THEIR RELATIONSHIP?? BRO I DIED OF LAUGHTER. I WAS SHITTING TEARS 😭😭

maxverstappen1 i had such an amazing time finally seeing on stage, mijn koningin 🫶🏼 ( my queen )

y/nuser tysm my king <33

user86 MY QUEEN AND KING⁉️⁉️ BRO ILL KMS

user19 such fitting names tho 😍

user26 tonight seems like a great night to sleep on the railway tracks 😍

landonorris max was such a simp the whole time u were on stage omg 💀💀

charles_leclerc he had literal hearts in his eyes the whole time

maxverstappen1 have you seen her?!! i was so happy and proud of y/n. she’s so well on all of her shows and it’s about time she gets praised for it publicly.

y/nuser stop ill cry :( ilysm maxie <3

user95 ok bro…we get it. you love ur amazing and talented girlfriend. pls don’t run into our faces i CANT handle it.

user74 this is so disgusting omg ew ( no it’s no. this just makes me feel so single that i wanna cry. )

user36 it’s official. i’m gonna die alone 😍😍

user59 GUYS?? IM SO CONFUSED RN?? WHAT ARE THE DRIVERS DOING HERE?? WDYM?? HUH?? SOMEONE HELP??

user74 LMFAO DUDE MAX AND Y/N ARE DATING AND HAVE BEEN FOR LIKE ALMOST 4 YEARS‼️‼️ GOD KNOWS HOW THEYVE MANAGED THIS LONG BUT THEYRE SO HOT TOGETHER OMFG DUDE

user59 HOW?? WHERE CAN I FIND THE VIDEO?? PLS I NEED TO KNOW

user74 U CAN FIND TONS OF VIDEOS IF U SEARCH UP Y/N AND MAX REVEAL ON YT!!

user59 TYSM OMG ILY BRO

user74 ILYT BRO

“GOOD EVENING GREAT BRITAIN!! How’s your evening going so far?” was echoed throughout the concert hall and multiple cheers were sent back to the main character of the night. “I’m glad that you all are enjoying your time with me today before the tour comes to an end for a while!”, a loud “NOOOOO” was heard from a corner of the audience and everyone burst into laughter.

“I don’t want to leave you all either!!” Y/N reached out her hand towards the crowd as she had a pout on her face. “But let’s make this last night memorable, yeah??” she cheered out to the crowd as eveyone began cheering along with her.

“I now present to you a song that has never been played before in any of my concerts!! I hope you guys enjoy this song as it was written about someone who holds a special place in my heart for a long time” it was deadly silent until suddenly a tune that majority of the crowd seemed to know by heart. It sent the entire crowd into shock before some of them started screaming their lungs out to the song that was being blasted out by the speakers.

“MAX! MAX! MAX! SUPER MAX!” everyone was jumping up and down screaming their lungs out by now. The camera that was displaying everything on the big screen behind Y/n panned towards the V.I.P suite where everyone could see Max Verstappen on his knees covering his face with his hands while Lando Norris, Daniel Ricciardo and Charles Leclerc were standing beside him laughing so hard that all of them had tears in their eyes.

Everyone cheered when Max had finally stood up and was smiling so hard it looked like his face would split in half with the amount of force he was using. If anyone asked him in the near future if those were tears that were slowly gracing his waterline of his eyes, he would defend that statement until his death.

liked by y/nuser, landonorris, charles_leclerc and 10,96,296 others

maxverstappen1 happy 4th anniversary to the person who has been there for all of my accomplishments and disappointments and has loved and supported me throughout all of this.

i love you to pluto and back 🖤

user27 definitely not crying rn guys

user97 @user97bf where’s ur effort?? DO BETTER BRO. DO BETTER.

user38 THIS IS SO SWEET OMFG IM ON MY KNEES OM THE FLOOR MELTING CUZ OF THIS AIHEBDJWNSN

user69 OMFG GUYS. SHE ANNOUNCED THAT THEYRE DATING AT LIKE 12:15 AM. SHE DID AFTER EXACTLY FOUR YEARS OF THEM DATING OMFG. ILL CRY.

y/nuser i love you so so so much maxie, you’ll never understand just how proud i am of you. you’ve managed to come so far and i just know that you’ll go even further in life, my life 🥹🫶🏼

maxverstappen1 i know one thing, if i have to go forward in life, you’ll be coming with me. whether you like it or not. you’re stuck with me now and forever.

liked by maxverstappen1, user69, charles_leclerc and 36,29,978 others

y/nuser happy 4th anniversary to the best person i could ever ask for as a partner in my life. you have been there for me through so much of my life and it’s only fair that you can finally share the happiness and success with me not only in our home but outside it too <33

i love you so so so much maxie. to pluto and back 🤍

maxverstappen1 i love you the most schat. i’m so proud of you, i hope u know that ( darling )

y/nuser i literally love u the most?? i know maxie, i’m so proud of u as well <33

user19 guys…THE MATCHING HEARTS BRO. MY HEART HURTS AWJRBJENSJ

user25 THIS IS TOO MUCH FOR MY WEAK HEART. I AM TOK WEAK FOR THIS.

user36 THIS IS SO WHOLESOME BRO AIWHBDJWHSKA

landonorris parents omg 😰💪🏼

y/nuser maxverstappen1 it’s about time we adopt a child…i think this one is on the market 😋

maxverstappen1 no please not this one 🙏🏼

landonorris HEY! ILL HAVE YOU KNOW I AM NOT A PICKY EATER AND WILL EAT WHATEVER U GIVE ME. YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL TO HAVE ME. HMPH!

maxverstappen1 …you refuse to stay in the same room as FISH??

landonorris this is why mum is my favourite parent.

y/nuser AWH HES SO PRECIOUS! HES SO CUTE. PLSSPLSPSLPSLPSLL

maxverstappen1 …fine omg. ugh

landonorris EVERYBODY. call me lando norris-l/n-verstappen now ‼️‼️

⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪

@bingussthirdtoe @llando4norris

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Korea drops my favorite cameo ever & gives KISSES

Entirely subjective yadda yadda. Organized sorta by favs in each category.

Sept 2023 Wk 1

Ongoing Series - Thai

I Feel You Linger in the Air (Fri grey) ep 4 of 12 - Well that’s one way to find out if he’s gay, see how he reacts to reading a het sex scene out loud. Yai is flirting so hard it’s like he knows everything. 

Dangerous Romance (Fri YT) ep 4 of 12 - Oh no! I love them. Also cohabitation trope! Also ALL the other ones: hair dry, meet in childhood... GMMTV going no frills with this one.

Hidden Agenda (Sun YT) ep 9 of 12 - Zo’s drama over Pat helping Joke flirt seems awfully manufactured. I’m losing faith in this show. Could GMMTV PLEASE hand JoongDunk a decent script? 

Only Friends (Sat YT) ep 5 of 10 - Sand & Ray are the only interesting couple, and I’m pretty much only watching for them. They gonna go south fast, tho, and they're already ruined by persistent singing. Ooo. When Sand said Top "stole his ex" did he mean Boston? How gay. 

Naughty Babe (Sat YT) ep 2 of 8 - The pronoun conversation had a bonkers translation but I enjoyed the actuality of it. The reasons for Yi's trickery are very convoluted soap opera. But I suppose that is the amnesia trope for you. 

Be Mine Super Star (Mon Viki) ep 10 of 12 - Boys. We discussed this already. No sex in onsens! I found this one dull, until the end when LLS showed up. Happy to just have him in everything. Thank you Thailand. Looks like it is a classic ep 11 DOOM next week. Who cares? 

Venus in the Sky (Tues iQIYI) 1-2 of 10 eps - The usual Thai pulp claptrap this time a reunion romances in and around a convenience store between a boy who recently quit his job and his former bestie who is now a doctor. Mostly not great acting, plot, or production but the sound is okay and no bad effects or singing (so far), so that’s something. The gay brothers have a fun relationship. It’s vampy and campy but fun. I like it but not sure anyone else would.

Love in Translation (Sat iQIYI) ep 4 of 10 - The date was cute but I still don’t like the lead or the premise (we moved into Cyrano de Bergerac territory). It’s moving slowly but it seems like we might be over the crush/stalker part of the narrative, so that’s a relief. 

Crazy Handsome Rich (Sun Gaga) ep 2 of 10 - I just can’t. The sound is too weird. With punch down humor and other issues incoming I may DNF this. You’ve been warned. This ep we got to see LLS with his shirt off. Did anything else happen? 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Jun & Jun (Korea Thur Viki) ep 8fin - No wonder he is everyone’s favorite hyung, boy can read the room like no one else. I love that we got to see exactly how clingy and demanding Choi Jun was always going to be. Only Lee Jun is easy-going enough to put up with him. Also I’ve never watched a KBL with more innuendo. For Korea this was… raunchy. I gotta say had Laws of Attraction not come along, Simon might have been my favorite character of 2023.

Final thoughts on Jun and Jun:

A delightful office romance about an ex-idol who joins cubical life only to find his new boss is his first love. Others boys are sniffing around too. Operative word being "sniffing" as much of this romance involves smell. With a snappy script, enjoyable sides, a pretty as peaches cast, and descent chemistry this show made up for in style what it lacked in substance. I like fluff. I loved this. I smiled every moment I was watching. With tons of rewatch potential (especially the last few eps), my only caution is this is for fans of the BL genre only, I don’t think it’ll work for anyone else. A solid 9/10 from me. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

I like that Korea is trying high heat, but Taiwan and Thailand are leaps and bounds better at it.

Love Class Season 2 (Korea Fri Viki) eps 9-10fin -

Omg they so cute as flirty bf. Eeeeeeee! CAMEO!!!!! My fav guest couple ever! So exciting!!!! I love that they intersected with MY Strongberry couple (Private Lessons). I’m not used to this but Holy innuendo Korea, what with Jun & Jun and now this show? It’s a bit much for my gay little heart. The final episode was entirely unnecessary, but it was fun to see them being all domestic and stuff. Maru with his dumb lettuce leaves was hilarious. I feel like I need to rewatch this one to really understand it properly, so I will likely do that soon.

Summary of Love Class 2:

3 couples form within a semester of university: 1. a hyung romance reunion of exes, one of whom has a dangerous past, 2. a friends to lovers romance, and 3. a mature student and TA one night stand + complexities (many aspects of which had me laughing). I enjoyed the characters and dialogue of this show immensely. It was a little bit more breezy and friendly than I was expecting after the first installment, Love Class. I’m not entirely sure Korea can handle multiple couples like this because it definitely felt disjointed, especially the 3rd more mature couple (also my favorite) who probably should’ve had their own series. But it was definitely fun and something different from Korea. 8/10 RECOMMENDED

Also, Korea tried to give us higher heat... that was... interesting. I mean, you tried hon...?

Kisseki: Dear to Me (Taiwan Tues Viki & iQIYI) ep 4 of 13(?) - Everyone is a sad sack this ep. Ooooo. Teach/student my favorite. We never get this one. It’s messy. I’m not sure if there is a plot. I’m not sure they’re sure if there is a plot. But I am still enjoying it.

Why R U? (Korea Wed iQIYI) eps 5-6 of 8 - Why is the Fighter character always so frustrating regardless of name or country? Ji Oh stalking his crush via IG is so relatable. He’s very first crush awkward, unsure, and sweet. They also gave a nice kiss - I love the backpack drop (kiss version of a mic drop?) I still hold that if you haven’t seen the original this might not make much sense. But I am enjoying it. 

My Personal Weatherman AKA Taikan Yoho (Japan Sat Gaga) ep 4 of 8 - Oh goody, another JBL where we have to pay attention solely to what they do and not what they say. 

Minato's Laundromat Season 2 AKA Minato Shouji Coin Laundry Season 2 (Japan Thu Gaga) ep 9 of 12 - Big fat sigh. 

It's Airing But...

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) ep 3 of 24 eps - I couldn't get hold of it and I'm not mad. I'm putting it on hold until distribution gets sorted, or icky get their shizz in order (like that'll happen).

Next Week Looks Like This:

Starting

9/15 You Are Mine (Taiwan Gaga) Secretary has to deal with grumpy boss.

9/15 Bump Up Business AKA Bump Up Project (Korea movie) suspected cinema release? I don't know much about what's going on. Last status update. Love story between a trainee who is about to debut and a celebrity from the same agency. Kpop boy group OnlyOneOf has signed up to star in this idol-based BL (based on a webtoon). They’ve been auditioning for this since Libido IMHO. You can watch me chronicle their BL MV series in this post. It’s from Idol Romance who will do sad but can do good kisses (Wish You, Nobleman Ryu, Once Again, Kissable Lips, Poongduck 304, Tasty Florida, Tinted With You).

Still To Come In September

9/26 I Cannot Reach You AKA I Can't Reach You AKA Kimi ni wa Todokanai (Japan ????) - Adapted from the manga, childhood best friends: The cool, smart one who’s good at everything, and his average, dorky friend who struggles. Always by the other’s side, but not together in the way they truly want to be. No matter how hard they try, their hearts cannot reach each other.

9/27 Absolute Zero (Thai iQIYI) - from 2021, Studio Wabi Sabi and New Siwaj finally bring us this “time loop to prevent tragedy” romance. We don’t always get HEAs from them, so I'm on my guard.

9/27 Bon Appetit (Korea iQIYI) - from 2022, 8 eps from GoGo Studio, romance between an office worker who lives off junk food and the man next door who cooks well.

9/? Mr Cinderella 2 (Vietnam YouTube?)

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED).

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

I love him. And I love his version of this character better than Jimmy's.

I also love it when a show gets meta. (Both Why R U? Korea) Why they didn't just go for YRU? the world may never know.)

(Last week) 

[a3r3n]

CATCH FIRE (ACT. II)

|| N. YT

Pairing: Yuta × girl!reader

Genre: strangers to lovers!AU, suggestive, arranged marriage!AU

Word Count: 3.2k

⚠️Warnings: there’s a kinda suggestive part, I don’t think it can be considered smut but I’m warning you; mentions of sex and sexual thoughts

A/N: this is the sequel of Catch Fire, you can read it as a one-shot of its own but I suggest you read the first part as well if you haven’t yet, just to understand the whole story better since there are some references! Also, you can’t imagine how many times I’ve read this and I’m not fully convinced yet. I decided to make it suggestive and not smut because I didn’t know if you’d like it. So, if you want some smut in the next part (yes, there’s gonna be one last part), let me know <33

🌼 Nct 127 Arranged Marriages!AUs Masterlist

🌼 Act I - Act II - Act III

Summary: Yuta had been mean to you from the very first second you met each other, treating you with resentment and rudeness as if it were your fault that your parents had arranged your marriage without your consent. You were unhappy too, but you still tried to be kind and nice to him despite his bad attitude. That was until an unfortunate accident has happened to you, and he was the only one who could help you. That led to an interesting conversation you didn’t even pay attention to, but your words didn’t go unnoticed by Yuta who, from that moment on, has completely changed his attitude and has been weirdly nice towards you. That makes you suspicious but glad you can finally get along, though what he has in mind is a little more different than what you expect.

«Will you be fine, all alone here?» your mom says, wrapping you in a tight hug. «If something happens and you want to leave just call us, and we’ll book you a flight, okay?»

«First of all, I won’t be alone,» you reply, hugging her back «then, it’ll only be for a couple of weeks. Don’t be so apprehensive, mom! I’m old enough to take care of myself.»

Your mother sighs, and you know she’ll never stop seeing you as her little girl and worrying for you. After all, she’s always your mother. Another hug and she finally lets you go. You wave goodbye to your father too and wait until they disappear from your sight, then you turn to Yuta to let him know you’re ready to go back to the hotel – or wherever he wants to take you.

Much to your relief, after your accident he decided to stay in Tokyo, and he even spent a whole evening making a list of all the activities he wanted to do with you. Actually, since you had that conversation in your hotel room he’s been quite… agreeable, to say the least.

First of all, he’s not treating you as an enemy anymore.

He kindly replies every time you talk to him, doesn’t ignore you, and even smiles at you! You discovered he has a bright personality and isn’t as scary as he looks, and you sometimes find yourself wondering if he is the same person who left you wandering through the streets of Tokyo alone at night.

If you wake up late, he always keeps something for you to eat; when you both have to get ready in the morning, he puts some music on and always chooses your favorite artists; if your parents drag you to some interesting places, he always offers to take pictures of you. You hope he hasn’t been doing all of this out of pity, but you’re relieved you’re not on his blacklist anymore because that’s not a fun experience at all.

What you’ve been enjoying the most, however, are the nights you spend talking about the most disparate topics, telling each other stories that become more intimate and deep as time goes by, and that’s how you finally got to know him, and he got to know you. You told him about your lonely childhood and the kids who used to make fun of you, and he told you about his passion for soccer and how heartbroken he felt when his dad told him he had to work with him and forget about becoming a soccer player. «I still play, but I’ll have to give it up soon,» he told you one night, bitterness in his voice.

«You know, you don’t necessarily have to,» you said, crossing your arms behind your head and looking at the ceiling. «I work with my father too and I’m his only heir, you know? If we get married and we take the reins of the businesses, I’ll let you play soccer as much as you want.»

He chuckled and turned to look at you, but your gaze was fixed on the luxurious chandelier that was lighting up the room, and you didn’t notice him. «Try to say this to my father. He’d kill me,» he then said, moving his eyes away from your face.

«He doesn’t have to know,» you chuckled too and, even if he knew you’d said that with a light heart and in a half-jokingly way, he liked seeing you caring for him much more than he’d admit.

Your parents had noticed the huge change in your relationship too, but they hadn’t dared say a thing and only kept observing you from afar. Actually, you and Yuta still acted a bit cold towards each other when your parents were around, as if you had made a silent deal to keep on with the ‘we hate each other’ act. But anyone could tell the thick tension between the two of you didn’t exist anymore. It was completely gone.

It’s not like you’ve suddenly decided you’re meant to be together and can’t wait to get married – no, you’re still convinced marriage isn't your thing, and you still feel resentment towards your parents. But at least you could say you and Yuta are slowly starting to like each other as people, maybe even as friends. Getting married terrifies you as always, but given that you’re convinced you can’t love anyone, the thought of marrying a person whom you at least like comforts you a little.

What you didn't know, though, was the reason behind Yuta's sudden change of attitude. He wasn't pretending to be nice; he wasn't faking it. Since you had opened up to him and let him know your thoughts on the situation, he had sincerely started to see you from another perspective and slowly began to like you. He found out you could be pretty fun, and he enjoyed the deep late-night conversations that allowed you to get to know each other's personalities, tastes, and opinions. He didn't want to marry you either, but he got interested in you.

Above all, he couldn't stop thinking about your view on love and marriage. He was so surprised that a sweet girl like you didn’t believe in love or, at least, didn’t believe she could love. Yuta isn’t a hopeless romantic, but he knows for sure true love exists, and the fact that you don't believe there's some for you got him a bit competitive, leading him to a challenge against himself to make you fall in love. He didn’t want you to love him; he just wanted to show you that you could love, and to do that he needed to earn your trust and become your friend first. That’s why he erased you from his blacklist and started being nice as if you had been friends since forever.

That’s why he shares his earphones whenever the car ride is too long and you’re getting bored, lets you choose the movies or TV series to watch before going to sleep, offers to blow-dry your hair if you’re feeling too tired.

The more he got close to you, though, the more he got interested in you. Without even realizing it, he started to pay attention to everything you said, noticing all the little details of yours which he found adorable.

And that’s how it all started.

If you wake up late and don’t show up for breakfast, Yuta always brings you a croissant but makes sure it’s filled with chocolate because that’s the only way you would eat it, and he can’t help but smile at the way your eyes beam whenever you take the first bite as if you've never eaten one before. When you have to get ready in the morning, it’s now become usual for the both of you to brush your teeth together while listening to music, and he often finds himself staring at your reflection as you hum to your favorite songs, hoping you won’t notice the light in his eyes if your gaze meets his in the mirror. If you’re enjoying a place you’re visiting and want to take some pictures, he insists you should take some of yourself too and offers to do it, telling you 'one more' even if you’ve had enough, just to see you smiling for him a little longer. He adores the way your hair caresses his cheek when you put your head on his shoulder during your long car rides, and he wishes the vehicle would never arrive at your destination if you happen to fall asleep and he has to hold your head up to keep it from falling. He adores the way you focus while watching a movie, holding back the urge to ask you to lie in bed next to him and cuddle for a bit. Yuta adores the way you keep your eyes shut from the second he turns the hair-dryer on until he’s finished, taking advantage of the moment to appreciate all the little details on your face, from that mole you always hide with the concealer to your long eyelashes.

The more he gets close to you, the more he wishes he would be the one you’d fall in love with, even if he’d never admit it.

«Hey, are you ready?» Yuta asks from the other side of the door but you can’t hear him. Loud music is playing on your phone, and your voice can be heard along with the singer's one. As much as he would love to listen to you a bit more, you’re late, and Yuta is afraid the show will be over by the time you arrive if you don’t hurry up. «Y/n?» he asks for the second time but when he doesn’t hear you reply, he slightly opens the door, revealing your naked back barely covered by your ponytail and the rest of your figure enveloped in a black, sparkling dress. «Y/n?» he says again, making you turn to him.

«Oh Yuta, I didn’t hear you! I’m almost done here! I just have to find my high heels and that perfume… shit! Where did I put it last time? I swear it was in my...» you keep on talking, saying something about how forgetful you are, but Yuta isn’t listening anymore. All he’s able to focus on is how beautiful you look in that dress and how much he’d like to rip it off of you. As soon as that thought crosses his mind, he shakes his head in an attempt to get rid of it, mentally slapping himself for having even thought of it.

«Here it is! Now the shoes… Yuta, are you okay?» you ask, tilting your head as you notice he’s been quiet the whole time, thinking that maybe you’ve annoyed him.

«Um… um yes, I’m fine, just hurry up, or we’ll be late,» he says with a confused look on his face, then goes back to the room.

As he'd expected, you arrive at the theater some minutes after the play has started but luckily for you, no one makes a fuss about it and you’re able to reach your private box without any problems. You’re watching Madame Butterfly, a play you’ve always wanted to see in a theater after your cousin had shown you the screen adaptation. When you saw the billboard sponsoring the play, you had immediately asked Yuta to buy some tickets, and as much as theatrical plays bore him, he couldn’t say no to your shining smile and pleading eyes. So here you are, trying to focus only on the actors on stage and what they’re saying since Japanese isn’t your first language and you often get some words wrong. Your task turns out to be more difficult than expected though, with Yuta’s eyes fixed on you.

He tries to pay attention to what’s happening on stage. He really does. He just can’t help it if you’re looking stunning tonight, your skin gleaming under the lights, the vent of your dress revealing your legs, making Yuta wonder how it would be to… here we are again with the forbidden thoughts. You’re going to be his wife anyway and he’s fully aware of it, but he also knows he can’t let himself go like that if he doesn’t want to fall and get hurt.

Stop it, he tells himself, hoping you didn't notice his – not so – subtle gazes.

But you did. You can’t directly see him since he’s sitting right next to you, but you can feel his eyes on you and oh, you’re enjoying it so much.

Maybe it’s the way your skin burns under his stare, or maybe it’s the shivers you feel running down your spine. All you know right now is that your brain has completely forgotten about the play, only thinking about how much you’d like to have Yuta’s hands on your body right now.

«Shit,» you whisper, squeezing your tights as you realize the effect those thoughts have on you.

Your little action doesn’t go unnoticed by the man sitting next to you, and as much as he tries to convince himself it was probably nothing, he can’t help thinking that, maybe, you're having his exact same thoughts.

And maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to tease you a bit and see your reaction.

Maybe you could take your relationship to another level and spice things up since you’re going to get married anyway.

He knows he’s playing with fire. He knows he will fall for you if he doesn’t halt his instincts now. He knows he will get hurt, given all your previous statements about you not being able to fall in love.

Bold of you to assume you could change her mind, a voice inside him says, and he agrees with it but still doesn’t care. He just pretends he’s not going to catch feelings for you and decides a little flirt won’t harm anyone. Otherwise, he’s ready to catch fire and just watch over you like the sun.

«Did you enjoy it?» Yuta asks, closing the door of your hotel room.

As if I paid attention to it, you think but what comes out of your mouth is just a faint 'yes'. Actually, you don’t remember anything about the play, if not some confused fragment. All you could think about the whole time was Yuta and Yuta only, and you keep thinking about him even as you take off your clothes to wear an oversized T-shirt and a pair of sport shorts you use as pajamas. And this is how you find yourself wishing it would be him to take them off of you.

You blush at that thought and jump on your bed, hiding your head under the pillow to make the image that’s just appeared on your mind go away. You wouldn’t have any problems teasing him and pushing all of his buttons until he’d have you pinned on the mattress under his body. You just don’t want to. You’re afraid that would make things awkward between the two of you, above all because you have this stupid habit of pushing boys away after sleeping with them if your feelings aren’t strong enough. That’s how you broke up with your exes. That’s why you couldn’t even be friends with benefits with someone. If you don’t like them enough, you become weird around them until you push them away, and you don’t want that to happen with Yuta too, both because you’re friends now and because you’re going to spend the rest of your life with him.

«Is everything alright?» you hear him ask from a corner of the room.

As you turn around to face him and tell him you’re just tired, everything you’ve thought up until now suddenly vanishes from your mind. Yuta is leaning on the wall that connected the room to the bathroom, arms crossed on his chest, hair wet, and only a towel around his waist, again.

He looks devilishly handsome. Breathtakingly divine.

When you realize you haven’t answered yet, you just nod, but as soon as your eyes meet his, you’re overwhelmed by a rush of lust and desire, and you don’t know if it’s coming from him, from you, or both.

«Like what you see?» he suddenly asks with a shameless look on his face while sitting down on his bed, right in front of you. You can feel your cheeks burn and your breath becomes shaky, but you can’t let him know you have already abandoned all your good intentions and are eager to let him do anything he wants to, at least not yet.

«Not really,» you say, shrugging «are you going to get changed, or do you want to sleep with only that on?» you then add, pointing at the towel around his waist.

A smirk appears on his face. «I don’t know. If I sleep completely naked, will you stare at me like you were doing earlier?»

«As if,» you scoff, then look at him straight in the eyes with a Cheshire cat grin. «If I remember well, you were the one who’d been staring at me the whole night.»

You guess you caught him off guard as if he didn’t expect you to notice his gazes. Taking advantage of his temporary inability to speak, you continue. «Why do you look so surprised? You thought I hadn’t noticed the way you were looking at me?»

«It’s not my fault you looked stunning tonight,�� he whispers, and you blush again at his words, feeling butterflies both in your stomach and your core.

You lean forward with the elbows on your thighs and a teasing smirk. «Are you saying you like me?»

«I’m saying you’re beautiful.»

«But you like me.»

«What if I do?»

«I thought you hated me until a couple weeks ago.»

«Things can change» he stops for a few seconds, then asks: «Do you like me?»

«I think you’re handsome,» you answer nonchalantly.

«But do you like me?»

«What If I do?»

«If you do, I’ll expect you to come here and lie next to me as soon as I switch the lights off.» With a challenging gaze, he leans towards the light switch and presses the button.

A few minutes go by, and you’re still sitting on your bed. Your brain is hesitant, but every other part of your body pushes you towards Yuta. The thought of catching feelings for the guy had never crossed your mind until that very moment.

Bold of you to assume things might be different with him, says a voice inside you, and you agree but still don’t care. You don’t care if you don’t fall in love; you don’t care if you do. Besides, it’s too late now to think. You stand up, walk to his bed, and sit on the edge of it.

«Come closer,» he whispers, wrapping his arms around your waist.

You crawl to him and hesitate a little before sitting on his lap. «Are you sure you want to do this? You know, it’s not easy to… satisfy me,» you giggle.

«I’m pretty confident when it comes to… this. The real question is: are you sure?» he asks, moving his hands from your waist to your cheeks.

«I am. I just hope you meet my expectations,» you say with a mocking tone in your voice.

«The boys you’ve slept with disappointed you pretty much, didn’t they?» He’s probably joking, but what he doesn't know is that he’s actually right. You can’t reply, though, since his hands are now touching some parts of your body you didn’t even know were so sensitive.

«What we’re doing won’t harm anyone, right?» you manage to ask, biting back a moan when he presses two fingers right on your sweet spot.

«If anything, it’ll only do us good since we will get married.»

«We could be spouses with benefits» You both chuckle at your words.

«Just be careful not to catch feelings.»

«Don’t worry, I don’t run this risk,» you laugh softly «but, maybe it’s you who should be careful.»

You’re joking, using his own words against him, but those words sound bittersweet to his ears. He isn’t being careful, letting you enter his heart like that.

Once again, however, he convinces himself it’s going to be just sex, and it's not going to romantically affect him.

Then, he flips you over and gets rid of both his towel and your shorts, shutting your mouth with his own as he kisses you with passion, hoping that way he could finally shut his thoughts too.

©Aeren All Rights Reserved. Please do not copy, repost or translate any of my works.

[eri-cheri]

Now that we have reached the last chapter of the year. It is time to do a 2020 roll call of what I like to call, “State of the Shippers”:

1. IzuOcha. Status: Placated.

-IzuOcha’s could celebrate several cute tidbits throughout the year. Mini moments as they say.

Anime Highlights: The OVA’s came in clutch with moments for shippers all around and IzuOcha is no exception. We got a cute tidbit where Izuku and Ochako bumped into each other and were flustered.

Manga Highlights: Christmas kept on giving to this fandom as the AM doll Izuku gave Ochako made many appearances. A cute fist bump between the two was also exchanged and Mina was right there bouncing with y’all.

Heroes Rising: Izuku super man carried Ochako to safety. And was Angy she was injured. Fans could enjoy the small Lois Lane moment.

Troubling Signs?: Ochako said “I would like to be excluded from this narrative” when it comes to her feelings for Deku. She’s a hero damnit! So if they are in for something, probably won’t be while they are still in school.

II. DabiHawks. Status: Yikes.

- Dabi and Hawk’s very public breakup set this fandom in disarray but also kind of disayay?

Anime Highlights: None yet. This fandom was cruelly cock blocked by Bones. Sorry DabiHawks stans.

Manga Highlights: Where to begin, my goodness. With these fans, I guess the good and the bad is a plus in this homoerotic double agent relationship. We have the notion that Dabi may have known Hawks when they were kids, which may be a positive? Hori sure loves his childhood friends. Other than that. The GIRLS WERE FIGHTIN’. Hawks is now permanently scarred by Dabi and I don’t think it was kinky folks. Tokoyami inserted himself in the middle to White Knight Hawks, Dabi broke up with him via YT expose and overall, shippers could anguish in the absolute MESS that this ship endured this year. But I’m sure that’s part of the appeal. So...yay?

Heroes Rising: They were both in it.

Troubling Signs?: The entire relationship is a troubling sign which again, is part of the appeal. Maybe Hawks will cuddle up with Dabi’s father after the war. That’s troubling! Speaking of...

III. EndHawks. Status: Yearning and Burning.

-If there’s one thing Endeavor couldn’t stop worrying about, it was his hot (in more ways than one) new side piece who probably should have looked at the fine print when signing a contract to be a recurring guest star on “Keeping up with the Todoroki’s”.

Anime Highlights: A fateful meeting finally in high definition for all our eyes to see! Hawks’s unwavering support of his biggest hero was endearing to watch and their shenanigans together spurred the anime onlies to finally jump on the biggest May-December ship in the series.

Manga Highlights: Endeavor’s admiration and concern for Hawks seeped through the pages as we entered our most exciting arc in the manga yet. Fate split these two up yet entwined their downfall together. And that Fate’s name was Dabi...or should I say ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️ or should I just say Touya!

Heroes Rising: “Don’t bite my head off, Endeavor.” Geez, can you flirt a little less loud Hawks?

Troubling Signs?: They say never meet your heroes and Hawks is in for a rude awakening. We shall see just how deep his admiration runs or if Endeavor’s past will split our dynamic duo up for good.

IV: TodoDeku. Status: “Precious”

-Shoto’s “Midoriya is in Danger” radar was highlighted in both manga and anime. 4th User’s quirk, who?

Anime Highlights: “Midoriya hasn’t returned yet.” “Where’s Midoriya?” “Midoriya! Grab my hand!” “Have some of my Soba Midoriya.” Shoto gets it. His emotional support friend is a danger magnet. TodoDeku’s also enjoyed tiny tidbits in the OVA such as a hand grabbing scene. Gotta hold tight to those crumbs.

Manga Highlights: Two Words. “Precious Friend.” Deku comes in w/o arms or legs fighting for Shoto and Shoto’s honor. These two spent the entire year worried sick about each other, and going against all odds to save each other. Precious Friends indeed. TDDK fans ate.

Heroes Rising: Shoto kicks some dog ass and then faints thinking of Deku (and Bakugo but shh. Let the shippers rejoice.) On the bright side, we have a 3rd movie coming featuring “The Three Musketeers” so shippers of TdDk can HOLD TIGHT to what’s to come.

Troubling Signs?: Shoto still doesn’t know about OFA and he’s gonna have LOTS of questions after this arc. Will Deku finally tell him? If not, it could make or break the ship.

V. TodoBaku. Status: “Shining through the city with a little funk and soul.”

-Who knew the greatest comedy duo we needed was Shoto and his hot headed “friend” or not friend? It still remains unclear to Shoto. Regardless, these two had a fun year.

Anime Highlights: “I wanna see your cute face”, disco dancing, and more fun in the provisional license training. Plus the OVA added some cute moments between the two such as Bakugo staying behind to save Todoroki during a dangerous excercise and his adorable plan neatly animated for us. I’d say TodoBaku’s really were resurgent and energized this year!

Manga Highlights: Shoto, that is not how you properly Catch a Kacchan, I’m sorry. But at least you did it you mad lad. As with Deku, Shoto spent the year worried sick about Bakugo. While the anime let us have our fun, these two were suffering in the manga.

Heroes Rising: Again, Shoto put a dog down and then fainted with Bakugo on his mind (and Deku but we ignore that. Shush.) TodoBaku’s have the 3rd movie to look forward to which is bound to have some amazing content!

Troubling Signs?: They have a lot of trauma to deal with. And a lot of Deku to worry about. I also imagine Shoto will be hurt about being left out of the OFA secret. We shall see what 2021 has to offer.

VI. KiriMina. Status: Unbreakable.

-Changing your hairstyle to match the gal who inspired you in middle school? Sorry y’all but if Mina were a guy, I’d say that’s gay af.

Anime Highlights: We got that backstory Bois. Red Riot’s origin might as well make him be called Pink Riot. Again with Hori and the childhood friends though I wouldn’t exactly call them friends. They just went to the same middle school but Kirishima was highly influenced by Mina’s Chivalrous spirit! A ship is born!

Manga Highlights: The influence is mutual! Mina creates a move based on Kirishima’s unbreakable and we all let out a collective “awwww”. Also in the war arc, we got Kirishima making sure Mina’s chivalrous spirit shines through right into Gigantomachia’s mouth! KiriMina may just be the unsung MVP’s of this arc.

Heroes Rising: They were in it.

Troubling Signs?: I can’t think of a single one. KiriMina’s can enjoy a peaceful sailing.

VII: KiriBaku. Status: Crumb Collectors.

-2020 was an uneventful year for KiriBaku but Bones made sure there were crumbs aplenty! Thank God for OVA’s!

Anime Highlights: KiriBaku’s did thrive in one episode! Kirishima reflects on the sludge incident and evolves his quirk based on inspiring words from Bakugo! Hooray! KiriBaku’s can thrive in their blossoming friendship. The OVA also has Kirishima (and Kaminari but shh) once again following Bakugo’s lead when it comes to the training excercise. How can you not? He’s so manly!

Manga Highlights: Not gonna lie. There is nothing much here this year. I did find a teeny tiny flake in Aizawa’s flashback. Kirishima and Bakugo are sitting next to each other. Oh! And at the hot pot gathering, Bakugo sits next to Kirishima! Eat your crumbs KiriBaku’s! There’s always next year!

Heroes Rising: Kirishima hangs with a lazy Bakugo and delivers the most hilarious line in the whole movie. “Silly Bakugo, there won’t be villains here!” Hahah... Silly Bakugo. Oh you~ KiriBaku’s can inhale the fact that those two sure love to hover around each other!

Troubling Signs?: With great crumbs come little responsiblity. No trouble if there’s no content! 🤔

VIII: KamiJirou. Status: Singing their hearts out 🎶

-If there’s any ship that’s coming close to canonization, I think this is it, folks! “Think of the person most important to you!” Can’t argue with Midnight!

Anime Highlights: Kaminari does non stop encouraging of Jirou and her hobbies! He works super hard to learn guitar for her sake! We love a king who can encourage his queen!

Manga Highlights: Kaminari thinks of the most important person to him and surprise! It’s Jirou! All of the feels can commence.

Heroes Rising: They were in it!

Troubling Signs?: Kaminari does love his women. And men. Kaminari overall is a huge flirt. But Jirou appears to have his heart strings. ❤️

IX: BakuDeku. Status: Rising. 👑

-Alternative Statuses include Winning, Thriving, Soaring. It’s just been non stop content this year. 2020 is truly the year for BakuDeku. The shippers can rejoice.

Anime Highlights: Three words. Be. My. Cane. The OVA’s helped fan the flames of the BkDk hearts with a surprise! Deku tops! Not only that, we got a lovely shoulder tap of encouragement in the canon material. While in season 4, Deku’s primary focus was Eri. Bakugo and Deku still had their moments to be hella gay.

Manga Highlights: Where do I even begin? I guess we’ll just cut to the chase with Bakugo Katsuki: Rising. We finally saw Bakugo’s true feelings manifest for Deku and if getting stabbed for him isn’t the ultimate showing of love, then idk what is. BakuDeku’s rounded out the year with the Volume 29 cover AND the volume 29 cover drafts to eat at our heart strings. Overall, their relationship got the spotlight in the manga this year. And we’re bound to start 2021 with a dramatic confrontation. Hand holding seems to be the key with these two and it didn’t stop with Heroes Rising...speaking of.

Heroes Rising: The entire movie. Like....yeah. That’s it. [OP, your bias is showing. You have to be SPECIFIC.] {But random criticizer in my head, if I lay out the entire plot of the movie, my post will be too long} [OP....] UGHHHH Okay okay. The POPSICLE MELTING. THE HAND HOLDING. THE CHARACTER DESIGNS OF WHAT MIGHT AS WELL BE THEIR LOVE CHILDREN. Did I mention? “It’s fine if it’s you?” CAUSE YEAH. Oh and All Might randomly officiating their wedding in their heads like idk. Isn’t it just simpler if I say the whole movie??!

Troubling Signs?: Well these two’s relationship is extremely delicate and while it has non stop soared this year, Deku might not take too kindly to Bakugo almost dying for him. Will they stop pushing each other away? Time will tell.

That’s all for this year folks! Happy Shipping and good luck to everyone next year!