#haunted hearts series

[scioneeris]

Haunted Hearts #4 WIP Progress

Violet needs to chill.

Cypher can’t chill until she does.

Oscar would really, really like to.

(So would the author!) and here begins the thread of my usual writing and editing woes before publishing. 😉😅 stay tuned for more!

[cheracarmichael]

1st Promo Card for #4 in the Haunted Hearts Series, The Haunting of Grey Garden.

[cattatonically]

Curse of the Stag's Eye - Glenn Quigley (part of the Haunted Hearts series)

Synopsis

High on a wave-dashed cliff, the ancient standing stone known as the Stag’s Eye jealously watches over a cursed lighthouse with a grisly past. Paranormal investigator Rhys has chosen this place to hold his first-ever ghost tour. Ghost-hunting veteran Dawn and her boyfriend Nikesh are eager to go exploring, while first-timer Gaz is hoping to learn more about the spirit world. He also intends to learn more about Rhys for various reasons, not all of which are entirely innocent.

The ghost of a murdered lighthouse keeper is said to climb the stairs every night, tending to the light, but other, far more sinister phantoms may lurk in the shadows. As the night wears on and the haunting becomes more and more hazardous, Rhys and Gaz grow closer. However, it soon becomes clear that not everyone on the tour is being honest about their reasons for being there. Can the supernatural activity be blamed on the curse of the Stag’s Eye or does someone know more than they’re letting on?

Curse of the Stag’s Eye is a part of the Haunted Hearts Series.

Haunted Hearts is an Own-Voices Paranormal Romance Series about love and the things go boo in the night. Join us on our romantic journeys over 10 books from some of your favorite authors! Be sure to read the entire series so you don’t miss a moment of falling in love, or sometimes falling into a happily ever after-life! Each book is a standalone but why not read them all? Everyone deserves the HEA!

My Thoughts

Anyone who knows me know that I’m obsessed with ghost hunting shows. I have seen just about all of them that are available on Discovery+. It came as no surprise to me that this book would appeal to that side of my interests, and I can honestly say that I was not at all disappointed.

There are some spooky tales associated with the Stag’s Head Lighthouse, but Gaz isn’t quite sure any of them are truly believable, no matter what his charming (and handsome!) tour guide Rhys says. Gaz is determined to prove Rhys a fraud, while Rhys just wants to have a good ghost tour, and have a good time.

There’s more to this whole experience than meets the eye, and learning the secrets of the Stag’s Head Lighthouse was a seat-gripping experience from beginning to end. Even as the mysteries surrounding the lighthouse unravelled, it was the relationships that were being built between Rhys, Gaz, Nikesh, and Dawn that really appealed to me.

Dawn really came into her own, and really stepped up to the plate when she needed to. I really enjoyed this about her greatly! She really grew on me throughout the book, and I really felt for her and her experience. And of course, she was instrumental (more like nosey and meddlesome) in the romance between Gaz and Rhys.

I love their instant attraction to each other. It wasn’t anything over the top or spectacular, but it was present, and I felt it came about naturally between them. Through the course of a very, very intense evening, they had their ups and downs in a short amount of time, but if they can overcome that, they can overcome just about anything, I think.

I really loved that this was such a good start to my spooky season reading! This was a fantastic book, and I can see this being an intro to an entire series. I’d love to see more of these characters, and their ghost hunts together!

[heretherebedork]

If I had two nickels for boys in thai dramas eating noodles with tears in their eyes and joy in their hearts because they found families that accepted them unconditionally and got to come home... I'd have two nickels. It's not a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Upcoming QLs - November

🇹🇼 Bad to Bed

Nov 2nd | MDL | Trailer | YT - JCShow

🇵🇭 Haunted Hearts (Film)

Nov 2nd | Trailer | YT - Regal Entertainment Inc

🇯🇵Love in the Air: Koi no Yokan

Nov 3rd | MDL | Trailer | GagaOOLala

🇯🇵Miseinen / Our Youth

Nov 5th | MDL | Trailer | GagaOOLala

🇯🇵Doku Koi: Love Is a Poison

Nov 5th | MDL | Trailer | Netflix - Worldwide

🇹🇼 The Nipple Talk

Nov 8th | MDL | Trailer | GagaOOLala [8/11 EP1 ~ EP5 22/11 EP61 ~ EP10]

🇯🇵Kimi no Tsugu Kaori wa / Fragrance You Inherit

Nov 8th | MDL | Trailer | TBD

🇹🇭 Caged Again

Nov 15th | MDL | Trailer | iQIYI

🇹🇭 Mhom Ped Sawan

Nov 17th | MDL | Trailer | TBD

🇹🇭 Your Sky

Nov 17th | MDL | Trailer | iQIYI

🇹🇭 The Heart Killers

Nov 20th | MDL | Trailer | Gmmtv YT ; iQIYI (Uncut)

🇹🇭 Petrichor

Nov 23rd | MDL | Trailer | iQIYI

[bengiyo]

Ben’s Big BL Blurb 2: Fall is Finally Here

I am simply too busy with worth, family, other hobbies, and life to write about every show in real time anymore. I’m sorry to all the Stray Thoughts readers who’ve reached out about whether I would pick that back up, and I simply just do not have the time to do them anymore. Instead, I’ll try to do one of these as often as I can to catch up on things.

First, let’s go over some shows I finished recently that I don’t think I wrote much about.

First Note of Love

I was so happy to see Michael back on screen, and I was glad to see that he’s still able to get great chemistry with his co-star. Unfortunately, I don’t think this show was very coherent, so I didn’t get a lot out of it emotionally. It was a pretty inoffensive watch overall, and thus an easy show to put on without having to work through too much. I liked the work between everyone, and Mei Lei was such a fun character. Probably won’t return to this one, though. 

Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo

This is probably the show of the year for me. There’s so much I loved about this show. I loved that the characters had sex, but were neither rewarded nor punished for it; their sex didn’t solve any problems. I also really love how this show explored how childhood trauma expresses in two different kinds of boys, and I love that we got to see a bully reckon with his actions and get closure. I love that this show ended with them being kinda poor, but happy together. I love how messed up they both were about everything. I loved that Juyeong wasn’t stupid, and could read what was going on.

I clearly need to write a separate post to unpack everything I felt in this show.

Let’s move on to what I’m watching currently, in no particular order…starting with the lesbians, and then the worst BLs.

Apple My Love

Genuinely having fun with this GL. I like how quickly most of the drama plays out. It’s giving me quite a bit of secondhand embarrassment, but I like the characterizations in this show. This new production house brought us Knock Knock, Boys! and Monster Next Door this year. We need to keep an eyes on them. 

Haunted Hearts

I’m so fascinated by Oxin Films teaming up with Regal Entertainment. The leads are very attractive, but the cinematography is really boring. I’m trying to stay invested, but it’s kind of a sleepy watch. Also amused that they started airing a ghost romance right after Halloween ended. I’ve kind of moved on emotionally from the season.

My Damn Business

This show could be good, but it’s not. I struggled with episode 5 because our lead looked more relaxed and happier with his senior than the guy he’s getting into a romance with. There’s something missing here in this one, but I can’t exactly put my finger on it. I think it’s primarily a side effect of the short run time, but I think the boss’s interest isn’t landing properly for the employee to respond to. 

Eccentric Romance

This show could be good, but it’s not. Still, I am obsessed with a murder mystery being the primary source of confusion between our leads. I was willing to forgive this show a lot of its rough edges, but it failed to handle the turn from friendship to sexual/romance really well. I feel like our guys just started dating and having sex, and I’m a bit frustrated that they didn’t talk about it really at all, particularly since this show features two different languages spoken on screen. Genuinely looking forward to seeing how this one finishes. 

See Your Love

I’m not sure this show is exactly working that well, but everyone is very pretty and I’m having a decent time watching it. I like the way Shao Peng stands up for himself, and I like that nothing that’s happened has been totally unbelievable or unreasonable (at least with the mains). I’ll be curious how the hard of hearing and deaf viewers respond to this one once it’s complete. 

Love is Like a Poison

This show is actually so funny. I love that Shiba is in his own lawyer genre separate from everyone else, and I really like how the two of these guys have become a team. I’m curious how they manage to resolve the scamming next week, but this has been the most unexpected dynamic of the year. 

Love in the Air: Koi no Yukon

MAME won this year, y’all. We all have complicated feelings about her, but she’s secured a loving adaptation from a Japanese team that’s put solid effort into bringing her characters to life. Every character feels correct compared to their Thai counterpart we saw on screen, and that’s a strong sign that the writing behind MAME’s work is strong, even if we all have issues with the way she tackles certain themes. I’m really impressed with this adaptation, and really like this version of Rain.I also feel like this show is doing a better job blending the forthcoming couple focus shift.

Our Youth

We just got this show, but damn does it feel sharp! I’m always going to be a sucker for a cinephile character, and I’m so compelled by the way Minase is drawn to Hirukawa. The scene in episode 2 where Minase has to leave Hirukawa’s house might be one of the most impressive sequences we’ve had in a while, requiring a great deal of choreography and effort from the actors and the camera crew to pull off, and I’m excited to see how these characters split and then come back together. 

Smells Like Green Spirit

Let me just say that I need another Abe Alan appearance when he isn’t playing a character doing horrible things to his students. I’ve enjoyed meditating on the 90s with this show and what that era felt like. I’ve liked how the show has tried to focus on how different parents (especially the moms) have responded to their kids coming to terms with themselves. I’ve also really enjoyed the friendship that’s grown between Mishima and Kirino. I’m struggling with Yumeno a lot, because I’m really not a friend of bully romances. Still, I feel like this is one of those shows I’ll remember for a long time because of its focus on the 90s. 

Blue Canvas of Youthful Days

I think @lurkingshan covered reactions to episode 5 and episode 6 better than I could, and I loved @twig-tea giving context for the film history moment in episode 6. I remember screaming into the chat for friends to show up for this when I got to that moment. This show has two great pairs of dynamics going on that mirror well. It’s got such a strong handle on its characters’ motivations and how they would respond to the actions from each other. It’s probably the tightest thing I’m watching now, backed by extremely dialed-in performances. I will be thinking about Qi Lu organizing his potential first kiss with Qin Xiao, and how unapologetic he’s been about the entire affair. He’s being selfish here, but I kinda like it. I’m so thankful that we are somehow still getting this show, because goddamn do the Chinese actors deliver on chemistry sometimes.

Interview With the Vampire Season 2

I finished this with a friend last week, and holy fuck is this show still so, so good. We watch a lot of gay romance because of BL, and I am having so much fun watching the show about gay divorce. I loved the time we spent in Paris, Daniel’s shifting role in the narrative, and the new insights we got into Lestat this season. I will miss Claudia so much, and I have to give a standing ovation to Delainey Hayles stepping into the role of Claudia and doing the damn thing this season. I just love seeing my little fucked up gay people torment each other on screen.

I'm still thinking about Louis and Lestat reuniting in a hurricane after Claudia derided this as yet another chapter in their stormy romance.

Dropped Shows

Unfortunately, everyone can’t win. Some of these shows are just too long for me to keep up with them, and oftentimes I get bored. I’ve currently dropped:

Lovesick 2024 - I may go back. We’ll see

Jack & Joker - It’s just too long, and they just killed Jennie and a kid. I’m good.

Fourever You - I’m bored with Earth always playing this character type.

Pluto - Namtam and Film are beautiful, but this looks too messy right now.

Every You, Every Me - Wasn’t intrigued after episode 1, but the commentary may draw me back.

Kidnap - Ohm is not enough to keep me invested in this show. 

Uncle Unknown - How did they make a 6 minute show feel slow?

I’m genuinely not trying to be harsh to Thai shows out here, but I just do not have the time to keep up with all of them when they’re this long and dragging.

Thanks for stopping by, and let me know if there’s something I missed that I should check out.

[sleepyminty]

An observation with this genre of ‘little sister’

[blorbingqls]

peaceful property final thoughts: what is a home?

i remember the first time peaceful property was released as a mock trailer in gmmtv part 1 for 2024, and how excited i was for the series to air. i thought it to be a perfect ghostbusting plot for a show - and taynew have acted in many other non-BL shows that i was not too worried for it to be a BL or not BL. and internally, after seeing that trailer, i had an idea on how the show was gonna be on what it means to have a home, have a family and understand its better meaning.

now that the show has ended, it has come true in its best form. all the spirit stories was so rooted in the little things that most people would want, and each story ngl made me cry. it gave emphasis on family, on building homes, building warmth and building a sense of familiarity with love and care. and how even with care, the financial difficulties of most people get highlighted. it was endearing to me, because it gave me every flavour of drama, angst, hate, anger, horror, fear and love i thought i didnt need but i did. so badly.

i can definitely say the show was a lot on breaking, healing and building new stuff over the old, with the theme remaining constant over all of the episodes. personally, it provided a new meaning to home. we list a lot of thing while we talk about what home means to someone, in poetry, prose, media and daily life. and i believe you cant find one absolute meaning of home. the show said the same thing here as well. however, it add more depth to the things already said. how home lies within the people, not the buildings we create. its the memories that emphasise a home.

and i think here, the best example to explain home was through uncle somkid. the denial of care and affection he felt through years doesnt equate to the comfort he got at last, knowing his father did love him all those years, left him memories and things behind. and for us as the audience, probably, the arc that somkid got may not be correct because one may think the emotional unavailability of gramps and the whole family doesnt give the correct closure that somkid probably needed. but we find out somkid saying that he finally got the closure he needed. and that is something only he could justify, not us.

i learnt a deeper meaning of how home is everything - the chaos, disagreements, fights, denial of love, hate, laughter, envy, jealousy, pride, ego, disappointment, love, care, affection, warmth, being safe and content of being together with people. and feeling that all with people has become so valid. because you go through all those emotions in the course of life with people/buildings/memories you used to call/call/will call home. these feelings dont remain constant but they show up.

the way i interpreted "home" is still vague and may be incorrect, but i have felt this as i keep defining more homes over the course of my life. i have felt these emotions somewhere or the other while being in homes and its now something which makes me feel warm and content. and this show, made me feel it all.

will like to end my string of thoughts with this thought in mind.

[anpanman95]

im currently hating Rose but i am also profoundly scared of this bitch

[thunderstomm]

▪︎HAUNTED HEARTS 🩷 CLANKIE 🩷 Monster High G3 Fanart

Happy February!! This drawing is the first of a “small” collection of ship artworks I’m doing, because what else does a single person obsessed with Monster High do during the month where romance is most prevalent? This collection will have a mix of both canon ships, and non-canon ones that I adore, as well as the winner of the Instagram “Fang Vote” I held ! And, who better to start with than Clankie, the stand-out new relationship of G3! This artwork, and the tagline given to Clankie, is inspired by the episode “Pyramid Schemes”- I hope that you can see how !! I adore Clankie so much, and I hope that they officially put the label of romantic partners on them in Season Two !!

Who do you want to see next?

CHARACTER/S: Cleo De Nile, Frankie Stein

Time Taken: 2-3 Days

Program: Procreate

Likes, Comments and Shares are appreciated!

DO NOT TRACE OR REPOST MY ART!!

[scioneeris]

[scioneeris]

Crossover with Haunted Hearts! 🥰 enjoy!

First of the spooky oneshots up on Patreon!

Some spooky fluff with Harry, Quinn and Ghost Hedwig. Enjoy~!

[guardian-angle22]

TK/Carlos + Touch

↳ 2.08 Bad Call 

[acourtofquestions]

credits: AOKI Art / @aokiart_ (on Instagram)

[athousandbyeol]

and could you tell that you were scaring me? called me crying, said you thought you were in love with me.

❣:

@a-slut-for-vegaspete @pxvvar @kxttxnkxttxn @forcebook @ellasaru12 @vecchiozooeee @shakalakaaa @forcebookish @topapologist @fuckingcrescendos @first-kanaphan @25shadesoffebruary @burnsuncomet @vhsbabyxx @topmewera @topmewbot @topmews @topmeow @itsmelb @sailingsnow @littlegrittle @alcairsei @themainlightfragrance-blog @omarandjohnny @forcebookbrainrot + all topmew enjoyers <3

[talaofthevalley]

Vibe check for borderline crack but also kinda serious AU where Baldr somehow finds himself heart freeloading in Riku years after his death, and now Riku has a keyblade wielder with a body count hanging around over the events of the mainline games. Baldr haunting the narative figuratively AND literally.

Extra features such as Riku and Baldr having extra strong light in them because to quote the intro to KH1 "the closer you get to light the greater your shadow becomes" but much like how negative times can easily overtake positive ones, it's not easily noticeable.

Featuring events such as:

Hanging around Destiny Islands as an incorporeal ghost that can barely interact with Riku but spending most of his time sleeping or at ease kinda does wonders for all those repressed emotions and trauma.

Adults think Riku has an imaginary friend. Riku was halfway convinced he was being haunted thanks to Baldr's white hair, eyes and lashes.

Baldr gets attached. Just a little bit.

Watching Riku struggle with his inner darkness and feeling abandoned in KH1 hits a little too close for comfort for Baldr, but hey, he knows from experience that anyone's voice would be preferable to the darkness.

Baldr clocking Xehanort almost immediately and going what the fuck. What the hell are you doing. Bastard what happened to you after all these years. Finds out Xehanort's trying to create Kingdom Hearts and is all OH so when *I* try to do it, you kill me, but if it's you, it's totally fine? I hope the kid beats your ass.

Baldr popping in as a voice in the climax and giving Ansem Seeker of Darkness a crisis before he dies, which he didn't quite *mean* to but he can still read emotions as a heart ghost. Feels kinda good he's not gonna lie.

Riku eventually grows taller than Baldr and he feels slighted. Offended. You're supposed to be a pipsqueak stop that.

Riku instead of turning into Ansem SoD in KH2 takes on the form of Baldr from connecting with his own darkness and, by proxy, Baldr. Instead of getting taller he gets shorter.

Cue Baldr weighing the pros and cons of Riku revealing his new form in front of Xemnas like- Cons: The possible rise of danger my heart innkeeper will be in. Pros: Chaos.

Sora squinting at Baldr!Riku until he screams and points like "YOU'RE THE GUY! FROM RIKU'S DRAWINGS! THE GHOST!" and Kairi doesn't get it until Sora reminds her of the guy Riku sometimes talked about when they were kids and drew pictures of and then SHE'S pointing like !??!!?! and Riku's like uuuuhhhh I can explain but it'll take a while.

"You know Xehanort? Why didn't you say anything??" "Yeah he was my classmate. And then he executed me after I killed the others in our class. And some of our upperclassmen. It's not the best conversation opener."

Riku becoming understandably distressed once he finds out how exactly Baldr died and the lead-up to his breakdown. Has to go talk to Mickey and be reassured that if Riku ever loses his way in the darkness again, they'll pull him right out no matter how many times it takes.

Baldr tries very, very hard not to be bitter.

"My feelings about my friends, sister and place of birth are complicated on the best of days, but I'm glad you don't have to live with the suffocating guilt and anxiety that there's something inherently wrong with you for having even a sliver more darkness in you than what's considered acceptable and worrying your loved ones will put you down if they find out. I'm glad you have people who understand you, and who try to understand you."

"Do you ever wish you could meet your sister again?" "I'm content mourning her."

The state of Sora, Riku and Kairi's friendship and complicated feelings about each other is almost enough to give Baldr an aneurysm when he feels them.

The fun of DDD where Baldr can take a solid form inside the dream realm and meets young Xehanort when his death is still fresh in his mind :^ )

Baldr, finding out about what happened with Eraqus and his apprentices; "Goddamnit Eraqus."

Someone telling Riku to follow his heart and he goes "Are you asking me to kill?"

Baldr; The number one guy who can get under Xehanort's skin and tear down his 'specialest guy' mindset, and only partly because his emotions are an open book to him. Takes a look at adult versions of him and goes "Oh I want to bully him so bad, it'd be so easy." Xehanort; Has spent the last decades researching darkness because of Baldr, while also pointedly not thinking about Baldr, that Baldr killed their friends, or that Xehanort killed him.

Why is Baldr in Riku? Eeeh, unsure. Mayhaps the kids were all meant to go to Quadratum after they died but Baldr went "nope" and drifted around instead until Riku was born and his heart went "oh twinsies". Maybe his classmates have been looking for him, after time has passed to think and reflect yet there's still been no sign of him.

And since I'm a sucker for happy endings all the DR kids reunite in Quadratum and Xehanort and Baldr can now kick each other's ankles and be the kind of pair that would be unbelievably toxic where they different people but it somehow works. Being able to read your partner's emotions would be very one-sided in any situation except where they can read yours right back.