#i love you Problematic Wife Characters

[sacredashes]

Male characters don’t seem to inspire this kind of public venting and vitriol.

Mythal (& Solas) // Anna Gunn's I Have a Character Issue

[cowboyinternist]

idgaf about harrison kipp idgaf about tamika flynn idgaf about library tweens however. debisode ^_^

[mermaidsirennikita]

So I saw your tags about how the Ravenel series is a bit mid, and I don't disagree despite liking some of them a lot? Marrying Winterborne was my first intro to Kleypas, and it fucks real hard, I love it. I have a soft spot for Chasing Cassandra because I enjoyed Tom in previous showings, and I found their dynamic compelling.

But I didn't even finish Ethan's book because I couldn't be arsed, and I bought West's and wished I hadn't I was so incapable of getting into it. Anyway, this is all to say that you're not wrong, and are in fact generally right.

(In positive news tho, re: Marrying Winterborne, never gonna be over the scene where she agrees to fuck him and then after she's in the bath and he's like "I'm changing her agreement" before realizing "Oh shit, I've made this woman panic, fuck shit". Anyway, have a great day.)

"you are not wrong, and are in fact generally right" I sincerely love this lol, it sounds like something I would say to a friend of mine

Marrying Winterborne DOES fuck so hard, and I think that because of this, the series in general gets a strong rep than maybe it should...? Because in terms of popularity, I think Rhys is absolutely up there with some of Lisa's top heroes--people like me who prefer her older books love him, people who prefer the Ravenels adore him (generally). I don't think I've met a Kleypas fan who doesn't love that book, though I'm SURE some don't. And you do really need to read Cold-Hearted Rake for the background of MW (the first time I tried to read MW I did it without CHR and was like "this fuck is this"). I wonder if this is why CHR gets so much flack? Even though, and I will die on this hill, it's PROBABLY better than Devil in Spring and definitely better than Devil's Daughter and Hello Stranger? (I really need to give Chasing Cassandra another fair shot because I remember very little of it; I think the one-two punch of Hello Stranger and Devil's Daughter, two of my least favorite Kleypas books, made me very burned out when I read it.)

Ethan's book was very disappointing to me because I actually was very excited about Garrett as a heroine beforehand. And I do.... wonder if Kleypas changed plans, the way she famously did with Scandal in Spring. Because there's a scene in... MW I think? Where Garrett and Tom have like, an arm wrestling moment, that makes me wonder if the original plan was Garrett/Tom. Again, I need to reread Chasing Cassandra to really experience THAT pairing again--but I do think Garrett/Tom would've been more interesting than Garrett/Ethan.

I mean, HS was also fucked from the jump because it had that really racist "Ethan got his sexual education from an exotic Indian woman" thing, which shocked people into calling Kleypas out, and I think triggered the Great Kleypas Editing Hackjob. Which, by the way--it does speak to how much name and expectation matters, because while what Kleypas wrote into that book is absolutely awful and unacceptable, I feel like it's portrayed as this shameful anomaly when I can think of at least one smaller name (but still notable) author who wrote a historical with a MUCH worse depiction of India around the same time. Which doesn't excuse what Kleypas did, I just dislike the idea that Kleypas was the only one doing that in the 2010s, when that's faaar from true. Historicals still haven't figured that out, and sometimes I think the recaps of how the Hello Stranger issue was handled read very "look Patrick, we saved the city" because the biggest name got dogged into apologizing/editing. Either way, Hello Stranger is mid without that content and it's gross with it, so I usually put it at the bottom of my rankings. Either way, it ain't up to par and I can't judge it fairly in its edited form at this point.

Devil's Daughter is just Not Good. And I will take my lashings from everyone who loves that book, because everyone loves Kleypas soyboy West Ravenel, and I just have to say--do these people like THE BOOK? Do they like PHOEBE? Because everything I see is all about West West West and even if I was into West, which I Am Not, I feel like there has to be more to a book that's being upheld as one of her recent bests than "I love him". Sorry, the plot of DD is boring at best and lame at worst. Phoebe hates West because he was her dead husband's childhood bully, and I do mean childhood? And sorry to Phoebe's dead husband, but he's dead and fictional and I never met him and I don't care. And West is a less interesting Leo Hathaway. He stopped drinking and realized booze was giving him the dad bod, so he's hot now (my kingdom for a dad bod historical hero). And now he's boring because he's not a rake anymore and has responsibilities, but like? He just sounds like a fuckboy before his redemption lmao. Like a bit of a wastrel. Leo Hathaway was out there crying in a public sphere and giving great advice to Kev Merripen like "if you don't get with my sister, one day you're gonna wake up covered in tears and your own come and realize you have nothing but regrets" to which Kev goes ".... is that what.... you do...?" Leo Hathaway readily admitted to waking up on the regular covered in tears and semen. That's a true wreck.

And Leo is in itself the softer Kleypas hero type--other "redemption" heroes are like, Sebastian, who kidnapped his wife's best friend and threatened to rape her! Derek Craven, who was born in a drainpipe and fucked for money for years (not that this is anything to feel bad about, but he does) and owns a degenerate gambling hell lol. John McKenna, who comes to find his childhood sweetheart with the explicit intention of like, filling her belly with his fetid seed and siring a bastard on her so that she'll be humiliated forever I cannot. Why would I be impressed with West going "I was kind of a loser tbh" YOU ARE FINE. THIS IS BORING. GIVE ME ANOTHER THING TO CARE ABOUT.

But yes, I love that scene in MW so much. To me, a lot of MW's charm is that Rhys severely does not know how to talk to women, or romance them in a tender way (him fucking shit up with Helen with the flower situation is hilarious sorry). And he also does get legit douchey with Kathleen, lol. He very much gets a little threatening and is all "SO YOU WANTED A BIT O' ROUGH" and Devon has to do a mild Westcliff moment. Kleypas heroes: always mad when their best friends get sexually aggressive with their women, always ready to forgive after like a week.

[eloiseyybish]

Does anyone else think about how kinda problematic it is for people to just assume that Eddie is gay because of how he has treated his wife and gfs?

He was a bad husband to Shannon, but I'd always assumed (based off we know from canon) that he felt guilty for getting Shannon pregnant and married her due to the pressure he felt from the Church and both their Catholic families (THIS is where the Catholic guilt comes is friendos - not exactly related to latent homosexuality).

Not to mention, Eddie needs THERAPY and a lot of it to deal with his unhealthy relationship with his grief. Like, the whole point of the Kim arc is to show that he has unresolved feelings for Shannon. Ultimately, he knew she was going to leave him, and then she died before they got the chance to actually talk further about what that meant. He never got that closure from the relationship that he may have gotten from her if they managed to go through with the divorce she wanted. At the end of the day, Eddie looks back on his time with Shannon with rose tinted glasses because his memory is being selective (something that happens in grief a lot, you remember what you want to remember and forget the...less good times), and sees her as the big love of his life because of that. Not to mention, he started having panic attacks with Ana because (and they actually say this in the ep) it was becoming a ready-made family (which ties back to his unresolved feelings for Shannon and her role as both Eddie's wife and Chris' mother...). It felt like Ana was stepping straight into Shannon's place, and Eddie struggled with that whole concept.

Not to mention, Eddie has been a terrible boyfriend to every single woman he's dated and it's so deeply problematic to say that he's treated them badly because he's gay. Like, do you see how bad that is?

It's actually super misogynistic to say that if he suddenly started dating Buck that he would treat him so much better and be a great boyfriend to him... just because... he's a man. Eddie (in his current state) would be a terrible partner to anyone!

Also, just a little note here, I'm not saying you can't have headcanons for characters, but the insistence that Eddie is a gay man because "there's no other explanation for how he's treated the women he's dated" is actually so harmful, not just to women but also to gay men.

I just wish people would think a bit more about the things they say and what the meaning behind what they're actually saying.

Anyway, sorry for the rant (and you can disagree with me if you want, that's what fandom is for, but don't start sending me hate because you will just be blocked, I don't have the energy)

[kestrel-of-herran]

the gemma discourse lately...... yes she shouldn't die to further the markhelly agenda. that's idiotic storytelling. no self-respecting writer will assassinate a character like that. that's why i can't understand why some viewers think this is the route the finale will take, given the quality of the writing and the thought put into every choice so far. it would invalidate her autonomy by giving lumon license to dispose of her after torturing her, and would problematize the other relationship in a way that would drive viewers away. it's simply not going to happen.

don't you think it's ridiculously predictable if we're told multiple times that cold harbor is meant to kill her and then she does die??? wouldn't that be an incredible let-down from a plot perspective as well?

what the "gemma dying for markhelly is racist" (won't happen) discourse misses entirely is that markgemma driving off into the sunset after lumon ruined their lives absolves mark of his own actions in severing himself in a way that's narratively deus ex machina. this is the biggest conflict of the finale, not markhelly vs. markgemma but outie mark vs. innie mark.

can you create your own little slave to forget your pain for you and lock him in a torture labyrinth (mark s. and gemma are both held against their will) until he's no longer of service to you, take all the help he can give you and then murder him? i think the show needs to be explicit on this point, but it's obvious that reintegration is a long process that won't be completed until the two marks are completely aligned in terms of goals and emotions, e.g. until either mark s. is in love with gemma and wants to leave with her too, or mark scout is in love with hellyna and want to help her take lumon down. either of these options needs more development to be realized, which is what we have more seasons for, but in the finale the first step towards that synchronization will likely be taken. there will be a change of mind, a change of heart, a change of perspective for one of the marks that will be instrumental in deciding the next direction of the plot.

the marks aren't one yet -- there's the alcoholic widower desperate to rescue his wife, and the newborn prisoner trying to grasp happiness despite his limited existance. we haven't been told what memories they share, we haven't seen how they feel about them, so it's premature to declare gemma the obvious choice because we don't know how innie mark feels about that.

but it's also incredibly frustrating that so many people see this as a binary in which gemma either lives/leaves with mark or dies in lumon. i'm convinced mark and helly will get gemma out of lumon, no matter which version of the marks is active, because neither mark nor helly would perpetuate her suffering. hell, helly's memorizing the map to the elevator as we speak.

but whether either of the marks will choose to leave helly alone in lumon is the real dilemma here. there's really no choice to be made about gemma surviving -- she has to live through this or the writers risk upsetting the morality of the narrative in a way that would invalidate the human rights angle of the story.

but it is that same human rights angle that applies to the markhelly problem as well. can you create a person to give yourself "emotional convenience", then have him fall in love with another person's "pr stunt solution", and kill him after using him? can you meet helly -- with all her fire, all her fearless fight for life -- and say she's better off killing herself so you can go and live your full existance, an existance she's barely been granted a taste of? is that ethical?

[queenvhagar]

My perhaps controversial take on the HOTD characters, the GOT characters the writers are trying to mold them into, and the GOT characters they actually most resemble in the books (in my opinion - feel free to disagree).

Disclaimer: these are entirely disconnected series with unique characters, so it's impossible to do what the writers of HOTD seemed to be trying to do in season 1 i.e. mold the characters from Fire and Blood to fit the characters of GOT to try to recreate the success of the early seasons. Given this, I tried to choose one single character analogue from GOT that each HOTD/FB character is most like, but oftentimes the reality is that if any single character from Fire and Blood resembles a Game of Thrones character it is likely that they are a combination of more than one. All of this said, here is who I think the writers are trying to fit certain HOTD characters into vs the character they are actually most like (according to Fire and Blood):

Rhaenyra Targaryen: obviously the show wants her to be the new and improved Daenerys, a protagonist everyone can root for who wants to revolutionize the existing order. In reality, Rhaenyra is most like Cersei: a woman who seeks to use her three bastards to usurp thrones and gain even more power than she already has, all while committing incest with a family member and using her power to punish and silence her enemies. She uses the existing system to raise herself up and keep others below her. She does reach her goal of ultimate power but ultimately she is unable to hold it. In pursuit of holding onto power or gaining more of it, she watches as her children die early deaths. The smallfolk despise her for her methods of ruling. Eventually, she will cause her own downfall and die before her time.

Alicent Hightower: the show wants her to be Cersei, a mean-spirited, jealous woman protecting her problematic children and using her status as queen to put others in their place (they even used Cersei scenes as audition material for the role). In reality, I see Alicent as most like Catelyn - a flawed woman, mother to a king, seeking to further the rights of her son in the hopes of protecting her family from those who would harm them, guided by her own sense of justice, honor, and understanding of the laws of the land (and of course, hyper aware of the bastards in the room). All she wants is her and her children's safety, and she is willing to go to war for it. In the end, however, she watches as every last child is taken from her before she herself dies alone.

Viserys I Targaryen: the show wants us to see him as the ultimate father who loves his child unconditionally and always supports her, and that his view of right and wrong should be what guides the world. In reality, he is most like Robert Baratheon: a weak king unsuitable for rule whose mistakes and complacency lead to civil war after his death. His preoccupation with past events and people, and his role in a former love's demise, leads him to neglect his current wife and their children and make decisions that create long-term issues for his family and the realm.

Criston Cole: as soon as Criston turns away from Rhaenyra, the show wants you to view him as a Meryn Trant type of Kingsguard - a man unconcerned with honor and violently anti-women, more than willing to carry out terrible acts commanded of him. In reality, Criston is like more like Jaime: he seeks to make a name for himself as a knight, guided by his own sense of honor and justice, though he is judged by others as lacking such principles. His devotion to his position on the Kingsguard and his love for the royal family motivates him. Occasionally his self-confidence and delight in goading his enemies can make him appear callous and proud. Although he is not officially the royal children's "father," he has guided and protected them and their mother from early on in the absence of their official father.

Daemon Targaryen: the show wants you to both love and hate Daemon. It seems he should fill many roles that Jaime did - a sword fighter whose swagger and danger mix together, whose dishonorable acts follow him through the world. He acts primarily out of love or his pursuit of it, whether for his brother or his lover and her children. The viewer is supposed to see that deep down he is a good guy, no matter how many characters say that he's not. In reality, I see Daemon as a more capable Viserys III: a man adamant in his family's racial superiority, who believes he and his loved ones should have access to unchecked power because they're better than everyone else. A man who enjoys exercising his power over others and demanding obedience out of fear of his wrath. A man who uses his younger family member to further his own interests without much thought to her own wishes or agency and willing to hurt her if she doesn't act the way he wants her to.

Otto Hightower: the show wants you to view Otto as a new Littlefinger, someone sly about his intentions who uses spies, information, and unsavory methods to take advantage of the ruling family and further his own interests and increase his own power. I see him instead as more similar to Tywin: a Hand of the King seeking to put his family close to the throne in pursuit of legacy and advancing his family's station, a man who arranged for his daughter to marry the king so his blood would sit the Iron Throne and bring his family power for generations, a man acutely aware of the political world and how the game is played and willing to get his hands dirty to play it.

The Strong boys: the show wants you to root for Rhaenyra's perfect, good natured and pure intentioned sons as if they were the Stark boys (mixed with Jon Snow). Raised in a good family, these boys know right from wrong and love each other. Yet some people unfairly think less of them for their birth. In reality, the Strong boys are closest to Joffrey, Tommen, and Myrcella. Bastards set to inherit positions they have no claim to, they are coddled by their mother and protected from any consequences to their actions. When one attacks another child, their mother demands that the other child's family is punished for their actions (and doesn't even reprimand the child for his role in the conflict). The result is the child has no remorse for the harm done, and the other child's family festers resentment against the child. Some people uncover the truth of their birth and object to their place in the line of succession, and these people are killed for speaking the truth. Eventually, a war is fought to keep them and their mother away from the throne, resulting in all of them being killed.

Aegon II Targaryen: the show wants you to see him as Joffrey 2.0. A man interested in viewing sadistic acts for his own pleasure, who abuses women for his own enjoyment, and who is unfit to rule. In reality I see Aegon as closest to Robb: a first born son reluctant to rule as king once his father dies but who rises to the occasion to try to keep his remaining family safe. A king willing to fight his battles alongside his men, no matter the risk it might pose to him. A king who tries his best to rule but makes mistakes along the way that cost him dearly. In the end, he watches as he loses everything, and he dies young.

[felicity-worthington]

Why is “Doctor Odyssey” a television show that very cleverly shows the depth of the human condition?

So, I have seen some people say that Doctor Odyssey is fun (especially because of Ody3) but also just a superficial show with no plot and I have to politely disagree. I think this show is the opposite, it's just supposed to look silly and superficial at first glance, as you can see when they repeat the phrase "we constructed a paradise" in the weekly recaps.

It is supposed to look like that, it is the idea of a cruise itself, for a week you escape the real world, you enter a new constructed one, which is supposed to be paradise without problems. But here's the thing, here is why there's a doctor and two nurses on this ship: it's just an idea, it's not real.

We especially see this in the episodes "I Always Cry at Weddings" and "Quackers" and of course in the main storyline of Max, Tristan and Avery navigating their relationship and their constant struggle with what they really want in life.

Let's start with "I always cry at weddings" to deconstruct the idea of superficiality with the weekly funny themes and the show only being silly because it's quite obvious here I think. I mean, a man commits suicide in this episode because he's deeply conflicted about what he really wants out of life and how he thinks there is an incurable darkness within him. And we see him, his bride and his best man as an example of how this construction, this idea of heteronormative happiness is just that for a lot of people: just an idea that doesn't guarantee you happiness, but actually destroys lives (not everyone's, of course). And we start this episode superficially, with a couple about to get married on a cruise, the perfect wedding in perfect paradise. But as the episode progresses, we see the cracks and then it gets very real. The scenes with the groom breaking down in the infirmary, the bride talking to Avery and Max after the suicide and her mother's confession are all absolute tearjerkers in the best way. I mean, watch that scene and then tell me again that this show is just a silly Riverdale for adults:

This is actually one of my favorite scenes of the show because the delivery of the line "we need to help this boy" is just perfect, the actress did an amazing job. Also, the character herself says "she pretended her fears away", which underlines the show's idea that this is a paradise where people should just forget their worries, but actually real life catches up with you no matter where you are, you cannot hide from it.

The other example I was thinking of is the latest episode with the Quackers community, which is super silly in a lot of ways and I love that, don't get me wrong.

And then you have this older couple, the leaders (?) of this community, who seem extremely superficial and silly, I mean, going on cruises to go on a quack treasure hunt? So silly. BUT then the cracks start to show again as one of them, the husband (I don't know what his name was, so I'll just call him the husband and her the wife), shows a serious condition, the compulsive urge to swallow objects. When confronted, the wife literally denies it, unable to face the ugly truth. In her world everything is perfect, she and her husband are on a never-ending treasure hunt on paradise cruises, and when something real, something problematic threatens that, she can't accept it at first. And we see that again later in the episode when she refuses to leave the ship:

She wants to stay in paradise, in denial, on the surface. But that's not possible, you can't ignore real life:

But this is her and her husband's dream, an endless paradise in search of ducks, and it's hard to let go and take a deeper look at life and accept that floating through life is a nice idea and might work for a while, but it can't go on forever:

regarding her husbands condition:

Once again the theme of what we want (superficial) and what is really going on (what is behind the construction of paradise) is mentioned.

All of this, and all of the recurring themes I mentioned, are also at play with the three main characters and their constant struggle with what they really want out of life. In a way, their calling to help people is fulfilled by their professions, but then they keep asking themselves, "Is this enough? Is this what I really want out of life, taking one cruise after another?

The theme of constructed ideas versus what is actually going on is also seen in their throuple situation. Max and Tristan have probably always seen themselves as straight, and now they are getting a deeper look at who they are and what they really want out of life. And that is scary, and it often takes years to deconstruct habits and self-image.

But there is no unnecessary weird teenage drama in this show, it is very real. It is supposed to look superficial, you only have to look a little closer to see that it is not.

So once you deconstruct the idea that this is all superficial, you will see that yes, it is silly, so is life and we need those silly and funny moments in life and in this show, but it is also very, very deeply human in many tragic but also good ways.

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

In response to the Mile High Job post, I hate that Parker implies that poor flight attendant slept her way to a promotion/better shift. Her day is super weird but her cat is fine and her life is saved. That rumor, however, might stick and that didn't really feel like Leverage to me.

Agreed!

The thing with Leverage is that it's a show from the late 2000s; it feels contemporary, but actually it is a bit dated. And, like all shows, it had some problematic elements, which get a bit more Obviously Problematic as time goes by (I am just waiting for someone to write a lengthy call-out post in 5 years' time and for the Discourse to start.) For example, Tumblr loves to declare that Leverage has a "canon" throuple, but if anyone read that and then watched the show they would be profoundly disappointed - while it's a fantastic ship with a great many shippy instances, Elliot has a lot of onscreen No Homo moments, and frequently is shown sleeping with random women (I personally read him as aromantic). Similarly, there are two big relationships in that show: Nate/Sophie, and Parker/Hardison. And we all wax lyrical about the brilliance of Parker/Hardison and how healthy it is, and for good reason; but we gloss over how unbearably "I hate my wife/father I cannot click the book" Boomer humour Nate/Sophie is.

(He literally calls her a shrew in one episode. She throws a tantrum and sulks if he doesn't remember the exact details of how/where they met. She's stereotypically 'romantic' and he's stereotypically 'cynical' and she has to Save Him From Himself, and he self-deprecatingly says he should just know when to stop arguing because she's always right. Like... it is a grubby and uncomfortable dynamic; but, it's also aimed at a different segment of the audience that is older than me, and that's okay, actually. It just means I don't much care for the ship myself.)

Anyway, this is one other such instance. Clearly someone in the writers' room thought that was a funny joke, and not enough people disagreed, and so in it went. What's nice is that Sandi McCree, who plays the other flight attendant that stays on the plane, actually kind of saves that joke for me with her performance. When Parker first boards and declares that her co-worker is not coming in, McCree looks disgruntled at the sudden change to her staff list when she wasn't informed; she's annoyed at management. Then Parker makes the sleeping-with-pilots comment, and McCree looks disgusted and furious -

An expression she then pulls at Parker every time she sees her for the rest of the episode, even when Parker is technically not doing anything particularly weird. It's not necessarily intentional on McCree's part (Parker IS very weird in this episode, so it very much can be a response to that), but to me it means you can read it as "This woman is absolutely furious at the lateral sexism of this white girl because We Love And Support Each Other On This Plane." So, for me, between that and the aforementioned revelations of the day (the plane was brought down by the domestic terrorists of a Fortune 500 company, but saved by... a few unexplained Official People who snuck aboard??? And the other flight attendant was made to miss the plane after all under mysterious circumstances and was not promoted??? What???), I don't think Sandi McCree's character wouldn't put those pieces together.

[sevwords]

“james potter better than me 😤, because had that been me on the floor and snape 👺 stepped over me to hold MY dead wife 👻. i'd rise right then and there.”

lol ok this was the most pathetic thing i read today!

btw, i hate that snaters try to make this scene seem super weird. like, it's actually a very common scene in fiction. wow, a character finds a person he loves dead and his first reaction is to hug her and cry, oh my god, how weird 😱!

in fact, it was supposed to be a dramatic/sad scene, you know? but apparently you can't be dramatic/sad in a scene anymore because "it's problematic". it's over for you, snape!

[emma-o-yt]

Rick Riordan's problematic age gaps

Apparently reddit hates criticism because this got removed from there after a few minutes, maybe I can get it back up...anyways.

The age of consent in Texas is 17, Texas is where Rick lived (according to wikipedia) up until 2013. And yet...here we are.

Where do I even begin with this bullf*ckery? How about the most egregious of all?

Luke and Annabeth

We have two lines confirming their mutual feelings, one from The Demigod Diaries:

"Overtime, Annabeth developed a crush on Luke. As Annabeth got older, Luke developed feelings for her, too."

Mark of Athena (from her conversation with Venus):

"First there was Luke Castellan, her first crush, who had seen her only as a little sister; then he’d turned evil and decided he liked her—right before he died."

Now let me remind you, Annabeth and Luke have a seven year age difference, they knew each other at 7 and 14. By the time he died, Annabeth was just 16, while he was 23. And it's implied he begun returning her feelings a little before he asked her to run away, perhaps when she was 14. He's paralleled with Percy as Annabeth is his string in the river styx. He asks Annabeth explicitly if she loved him romantically (and she denies because Percy is there).

It's disgustingly inappropriate but at the very least they don't end up together...as for when they do...

Sadie Kane and Anubis

When it comes to immortal romance, I usually go for coded age. Anubis is thousands of years old but is mentally and physically 16, which is fine and dandy except for the fact that Sadie is 12. What do you want me to say except Rick is disgusting for promoting this.

Speaking of extreme age gaps:

Calypso and Leo

When you have a philosophy that every character must end up in a relationship, you run out of sensical options to pair up. Now, I'm a Caleo hater mainly because of how it retconned PJO and also because they are very toxic.

Now hold on, doesn't Caleo fall into coded age? Calypso is 15/16 and Leo is 15, so it's A okay! I suppose, if it wasn't for Calypso's past loves.

Odysseus, he had a wife and a son who was 20 years old in his final year on Ogygia, he is well into adult age. She also mentions the privateer Francis Drake and his wife Elizabeth, he was 45 when he married her.

If your defence is that she's actually thousands of years old, then that must also apply to Caleo. You cannot have it both ways.

Hazel and Frank

It's not that bad but it's necessary to mention for the point I will be making.

The timeline is messed up but I think they're 13 and 16 and meet at 12-15. I mean, come on.

Misogyny and Racism

What do these have in common? Well in 3/4 or 4/4, the younger one is female. In 2/4 or 3/4, the younger one is a person of colour.

Remember Nico? His crush on Percy as revealed in HoH? Well in MoA, there's a cheeky little red herring that happens a bit before Annabeth's talk with Venus (where it is revealed that Luke liked Annnabeth back). She wonders if Nico had a crush on her, but denounces him as too young. Now, Nico's age is inconsistent, I am unsure of his gap with Annabeth but I do know his gap with Percy. It's 3 years 5 months in PJO and 2 years 5 months in HoO (the series we are currently in).

So in RR's messed up mind, a white boy having a relationship with someone 2 to less than 4 years his senior is inappropriate. But a black tween girl dating someone 3 years her senior is just fine, a 12 year old biracial black girl dating a 16 year old is daijoubu, a 15 year old mestizo Latino boy dating an elderly woman is relationship goals, or the reverse a 15 year old girl dating middle aged men is a tragic romance and a 12 year old girl having mutual feelings with a 19 year old man is a "love story for the ages"!

The tv adaptation is so infuriating for this, they made Annabeth black, a lot of the changes they made came off as micro aggressions but especially her relationship with Luke. It's reduced to Luke simping for Annabeth behind her back and it's even worse because you can visibly see how large their age gap is. Heck, Charlie Bushnell and Leah Jeffries have a smaller age gap than book Luke and Annabeth.

Adultification is a huge real life issue. Children of colour and especially female children of colour are seen as less innocent than their white counterparts. Rick, who is dedicated to inclusivity should've known better than to include these illegal relationships. Stans will try and make excuses but it's there, deal with it.

As a black teenage girl who has been a fan of Rick's work for 12 years, I am disappointed.

[starillusion13]

Yunho×reader fic,where yn is divorced from mingi,and yunho is also divorced(Both are recently divorced).

Mingi wants yn back,so he calls her to meet in a resto,but there she meets yh who is an old frnd,they greet e/o. Mg gets a Lil jealous....(This was just a beginning in my head)

Can u make it plz(if u hav time)

Never Yours

Pairing: bff!Yunho x f! reader (husband! Mingi x wife! reader: divorced)

Genre: Fluff, slight angst, bff2l

Warning: Mingi is a toxic husband here, using reader’s feelings, neglecting and ignoring the reader…basically he is a bad guy who doesn’t know how to care for others. Shouting in public, divorce, bestfriends to lovers, confession, fluffy moments. Except for the angst scenes, everything is pretty normal.

W.C: 4.6k Network: @k-vanity

[Please read the note in the end.]

🫧

“y/n, this is not working how I wanted.”

How he wanted…

Your husband’s sudden serious tone made you look towards the entrance of your bedroom, knowing all the unspoken words behind that particular sentence. Not working--- nothing works between you two after the marriage. Why didn’t one of you think about this before everything started? It started out as a normal hangout with both of you meeting each other at Yunho’s house and that’s how some common topic sparked a connection between you and Mingi.

Yunho has been your best friend since elementary school and when he found out about your little affection towards his friend, he obviously supported your feelings, of course hiding his own behind the smile.

Still, he warned you about Mingi’s irrational behaviors and his characters that he and other friends find a bit problematic to deal with. But you ignored these comments. Love is blind. You never noticed that Mingi’s attraction towards you was not out of love but a pure obsession. He observed his friend’s subtle glances towards you and your oblivion self not noticing the obvious state of your best friend. And that’s how he took the best opportunity to approach you, to get so near to you that it made Yunho distant even farther from where he was.

Mingi is always a step ahead from his friend and so he successfully blocked Yunho’s perspectives from your eyes. He treated you like a princess in his university days. You three were always seen together but after getting into the relationship with the youngest one, Yunho made himself busy with joining a painting class. You are well aware of his passion for paintings and pouring his emotions into it.

Three years of university love led to the day of marriage.

You still remember the look Yunho gave you when he handed you an invitation card on the day of your wedding. Your confused eyes staring at him earned a chuckle and he patted your head, “come to my wedding……with Mingi.”

“your wedding? All of a sudden?”

He gulped and nodded before turning around and disappearing into the crowd of people spread across the grand hall. Mingi came up beside you, snaking a hand around your waist, following your way of vision, finding no one particular in sight and glancing towards the envelope in your hold.

“What's this, love?”

He noticed your absence of response and pulled you closer to repeat the question when you glanced at him and to your hand, “Yunho’s wedding invitation card.”

He smiled, “oh…he is marrying? So sudden?”

“yeah, I asked him about this but he didn’t say anything.”

He kissed the side of your head, “let’s not think about this. This is our day.”

Yeah, that was the only last day when it felt like yours.

You loved Mingi with all your heart but for him it was all just a game of obsession. To win everything over his friend. Not into marriage for more than a year, he started to show his hidden true self which was all hidden behind his façade of love.

The glints of his unusual behavior were all displayed in front of you since the first day but you never cared to notice them because you loved him. you wanted him as a part of your life. You wanted his love.

You noticed him staying outside the house longer than usual. Him ignoring your texts and calls and blaming you for the roughness in your relationship.

The same remark—the relationship between you both is not working how he wanted. How did he want it? And what about your side? Does he care to listen to you? Simply, No.

He never cared for you. You were a bait for his pride. Getting the most popular girl of the campus and the beautiful girlfriend making him a lucky bastard in his friend’s group was all he wanted. The hurt and lost expression on Yunho’s face was enough to boost his ego. Smirking to himself, he pats his friend’s back, “get a girl, dude. You look so lonely these days. What happened?”

Yunho would glance at his friend and just smile.

 ‘You took away the most precious part of my life.’

.

.

.

It’s been six months that you have parted your ways with Mingi. One might wonder how you got out of his obsession. Lily, the only daughter of the rich business partner, offered a huge deal of money and who is he to ignore the offer. His statement that you both are not working together leads to the divorce between you two. You didn’t question him and never tried to reason to try it in a different way.

You didn’t even cry because all those sleepless nights and hopeless days have not left a single piece of feelings to stay back in yourself. You left his house without turning towards him for the last time. And he didn’t even call you back when you closed the door behind your back.

It was a Saturday afternoon when you were chatting with your school friend when you suddenly got a text from a person whom you didn’t want to keep in touch with but somehow it turned out that it was not the same from his end.

‘Can you meet me today?’

Why? You wanted to ask him. your fingers trembled and tears slid down your cheeks, remembering how he texted you for the first time after he got your number.

‘Hey! It’s nice to meet you.’

You should not have proceeded your friendship from that part. You should have just remained as a passing stranger or a casual friend. 

You stared at the message of him texting you to meet him today. All of a sudden? Why? You don’t know, not even having a hint of the meaning of his text. Before you could dwell on the thought more, your phone started vibrating, indicating you had a call. The same person. Your mind didn’t process what to do further and you swiped the call button to green.

“hello, y/n.”

Why does his voice still have the same effect on you like it had during the university days? Why is he making you regret leaving him? Why do you still care for him? why?

Why can’t you forget him?

“Mingi…”

“Are you free today?” His voice was low and he was patiently speaking to you as if there was no hurry like the other days when he didn’t have a bit of a time to look at you for a second.

“yes.”

“can you please meet me today at your favorite restaurant?”

“but we are no longer like before. Don’t forget you gave up on me.” you pressed your lips tight and prevented yourself from crying into the call. You couldn’t let him know about your weakness. You don’t want to feel stupid, the way you were stupid in love with him. even though you wanted to say so many things to him yet you decided to stay silent, hearing him calling your name when your tears were flowing down your cheeks.

“please…we should talk about everything. You didn’t utter a word when you left me.”

I left him? And he did nothing? It was not his fault? He is not guilty for anything. So he is blaming you for all these?

“There's nothing to talk about. we are done.”

“please. I want to say sorry.” He quickly murmured his apology when you denied to meet him.

After a few more requests, you agreed to meet him in the evening. When you agreed to meet him, he quickly cut the call. As expected from him. Why did you agree to meet him? Are you out of your mind? What will you do? What will you say after meeting him? you don’t know but still you want to clear your mind off and there’s so much to confront him.

Back of your head hit the mattress and your blank eyes staring at the ceiling, when the thought of your best friend came across your mind. After both of your marriages, you never contacted him because he changed his contact details, isn't active on social media and also moved to a different country with his wife. Mingi doesn’t like you to have contact with any other boy and so you didn’t want to try to contact him.

The last shared moment between you both was—

“Congratulations, Yunho. I wish you a great and happy life ahead.”

He smiled and rested his palm over your cheek, thumb caressed the skin and his eyes following how your eyes were sparkling and you were smiling brightly at him. you were glowing in front of him.

“I hope you are happy, y/n.”

no other shiny thing could compare your radiance and he knew one thing.

Mingi is really a lucky bastard. He always gets everything whatever he wanted before him.

How is Yunho doing out there? He must be very happy with his wife. It’s been two years since you have last seen him, talked to him.

.

.

.

A simple straight peach coloured knee length dress with a little no-makeup look with your hairs resting on your shoulder, you reached the restaurant.

As soon as you entered the glass doors, you looked around to find the familiar face which you swore once to never come across again but here you are searching for him again. You stopped in your tracks when you found him sitting at the table near the wide window. You took a step back when you found him smiling with someone on the call and you thought to turn around and return back home.

But your trance broke when someone held your forearm and whispered your name, “y/n…”

You quickly glanced to your side, eyes going wide when you noticed who the person was.

“Yunho… is this real?”

He nodded and left your hand when he noticed the table at the far end where you were looking at previously. But to his surprise, you hugged him and pressed your face against his chest, “ I missed you, Yunho. Where were you all these years?”

Hesitatingly, he raised his hand to pat your head. The warmth of your body against him, the tears staining his shirt and your fist clutching him. the main reason for your tears was meeting him after years or you were overwhelmed with Mingi’s apology?

Actually you wanted an embrace in which you could cry. And you chose to let your heart out to Yunho in spite of Mingi. He caressed your hair, few people glanced in your direction but neither you nor Yunho cared about it. He was desperate to know everything from you, he could feel that you were crying not only because of him but there’s something more you were hiding. He knows you too well, more than yourself.

When his eyes again went to that table, he saw the raging eyes glaring back at him. Mingi was not happy with the moment you both were sharing. As if you would love the moment with him. He stood straight from his chair, keeping his eyes fixed on you and started walking towards you.

Yunho averted his eyes from his friend and looked down at you, stroking your hair, he whispered, “y/n, Mingi is here. He doesn’t like us to meet like this.”

You shook your head in his embrace, refusing to part from him when he tried to pull you back. He was confused yet deep down he wanted to hold you close like this the whole day. Whatever he wants with you is always achieved by his friend and it makes him feel jealous to say less. He wants to steal you from him. even if it’s possible. What about you? Would you like to accept him the way he wants you?

“Yunho, long time no see. How come you are here in this country? Vacation?”

Mingi’s voice bloomed in the light chatter of the people surrounding you. As a reactive action, you pulled apart from Yunho and stayed beside him, looking down and collecting your composure.

Yunho forced a little smile and nodded, “yeah. I’m on a vacation, just to spend time in my home country for a while and then go back.” You could hear a hidden hurt in his voice, you both have spent so much time to notice this even after so many years.

“Where is your wife? I don’t think she would like to see you here being so close to another woman.” Mingi had a mockery in his tone. He never leaves a chance to make Yunho realize that you are not his and never would be.

Yunho cleared his throat and replied, “we are divorced.”

Divorced?

“divorced?” your soft voice made him look at you and he smiled before patting your head. His usual activity whenever something problematic is going on in your life or his and he would pat your head as a sign not to worry about it. He would be fine and could handle it on his own. “What happened, Yunho?”

Mingi chuckled irritatedly. You mentally scoffed at the audacity of him laughing at the situation.

“don’t worry about him, y/n. I suppose he will get another one.”

“Shut up, Mingi. Don’t think everyone is like you. I wonder how you both are friends when he is so unlike you.”

“y/n-“

“no, Yunho. Let me speak. I have had enough. Enough of him.” you raised your voice making the oldest quiet and confused while the youngest one had a wide smirk on his face. He was enjoying the scene you were creating in front of all the people in the restaurant. You could feel the stares and low whispers all around but you were on your spot and wouldn’t let this chance slip to make him realize, “stop your games here, Mingi. Nothing is serious to you in this life. You seem to believe everyone and everything to be working according to you. No, it’s not. You are wrong here.”

“and what makes my wife believe that this is wrong?” Mingi folded his hands and titled his head when he chuckled, clearly amused by your act.

You hissed and grabbed the collar of his black shirt and glared, “I am not your wife anymore. Don’t forget that you and I are not related anymore. And I regret the fact that I even have to associate myself to you as your ex-wife. I regret everything. I regret my six years because of being with you. You destroyed my life, Mingi.”

Ex-wife…you are divorced. This news was shocking to Yunho and the way he was looking at you didn’t go unnoticed by Mingi. He clenched his jaw when he felt that he still has that adoration and love in his eyes for you. Tears were flowing down your eyes and you cared less for your appearance because you wanted to care for your heart which was lost in an endless feeling of hurt.

“Because of you, I did everything that you have told me. I have loved you so much that I distanced myself from everyone because you never liked others to be around me. I was blind to notice that you wanted me as your puppet and all you wanted to show off to others. You have used me in every step of your life, in the end, you blamed me that our relationship is not working because of me. It's because it's not working how you wanted. And what about me? Have you ever thought about what I even wanted? Why did you make me dream of things which you will never be part of? Why Mingi why?”

You were shouting at this point and Mingi was losing his temper hearing your words. Each word slipping out your mouth was irritating him. He himself knew that you were not his love but his obsession. A game to win. To win over Yunho.

“what the fuck are you saying, y/n? be in your limits.”

“I won’t.”

“y/n-“

 A loud sound echoed in the area. You slapped him. the thing which you would have done long ago. You don’t know from where you got the sudden courage today but you were proud of yourself to not hesitate to let it all out. You needed this and now a little relief settled inside you.

But the thing you didn’t expect is an arm wrapping around your shoulders and a pair of lips touching the side of your head with a whisper, “My good girl.” Looking towards the owner, you realized Yunho was smiling at you but before you could say anything he looked back at Mingi and glared.

“I suppose this hurts your ego and image so if you still want to insult yourself you can stay here. But I won’t let her be here anymore, especially with you. I don’t know what exactly happened between you two but I know for her happiness and to see her smile, I can do anything.” Yunho pointed a finger at his friend, “and I won’t ever let a single drop of tears fall from her eyes. And the things you did to her, I will make you regret it.”

“She is not yours.” Mingi rubbed his cheek and brushed his shirt. Mingi smirked when he saw the fuming rage of Yunho hearing his statement but Yunho chuckled, making you both confused.

“and you couldn’t keep her as yours.”

When the youngest extended his hand to grab your bicep, Yunho grabbed his wrist and clenched his jaw, “don’t even fucking touch her. Get lost from here.” He breathed heavily and continued, “I don’t fucking care where you want to go but we are leaving this place right now.”

“Yunho-“

“Keep quiet, y/n. we are leaving unless you want to repeat the mistake again.” He has never spoken to you in such a low and demanding way. He waited for your move to see if you refused to go away from him but you squeezed his hand tight and nodded, which as a signal to him, he smirked at Mingi.

He took your hand in his and turned around but as soon as he stepped outside the glass doors, he pointed at a particular car and told you to go there and he would be coming in two minutes. The hesitation of being left alone was well aware to him and he himself didn’t want to leave you but he had to go inside for once. Eventually you stepped towards the car and his eyes followed until you stood beside it and looked at him. He gave you a smile and went inside the doors again, he met Mingi on the way and stopped him.

“why the hell are you here?” Mingi asked in a frustrated way.

Yunho chuckled and patted his shoulder, “just to let you know one final thing. Even if you tried to win her over me. she was never yours. She was always mine to start with and I got her back from you.” Giving a final smile, he went back to his car.

As soon as he reached near it, he saw you petting a cat and wiping your tears.

“y/n…let’s go somewhere.”

You stood up straight and furrowed your brows, “where? I don’t want to be a bother.”

“y/n, have I ever told you that you are a bother to me? ever in this whole life since the day we first met in our childhood.” He smiled softly and cupped your cheeks. You shook your head and smiled when he planted a soft kiss on your forehead.

It took almost thirty minutes to arrive at the cliff. Both of your favorite places and the place where you could relive your memories. You were lost in your thoughts until he opened the door for you and extended his hand with a smile on his face.

Standing at the edge of the cliff, you let the fresh cold air caress your face with closed eyes. Yunho was enjoying the city view from where he was leaning against his car and his way of vision stopped at you, a smile automatically spread across his face. He admires you a lot…hell…he loves you a lot.

“y/n…”

“How is life, Yunho? Is it different from how you thought?” you asked him and turned towards him, mimicking his posture against the car.

He bit his lips and looked up at the sky, “I don’t know. I felt like I was lost when you got married.” He looked towards you and smiled, “I felt I am nothing without you.”

You laughed at him, if it were other times, you would have teased him for these lines but somehow neither of you were joking right now and you both were well aware of this. You are lost without him too.

“Me too.” You breathed out.

He furrowed his brow, “what do you mean?”

You took his hand and stared at it. The size difference between you both always makes you smile and it still has the same effect on you, “I have not seen you for years and today I feel like I got myself back again. Thank you.”

“what happened between you and him?” he was hesitant to ask but still as your best friend, he felt like asking you, to know what made you two separate…for good. At Least he was glad that you got to know about his real intentions maybe.

“Have you ever fallen in love?” your sudden question perked his ear up and he inhaled when your innocent childish face flashed in front of his eyes…the first time he saw you in the school courtyard. He nodded, “yes.”

“did you feel like you got everything you wanted?”

I got you but you never were mine.

“Maybe…” he wanted to say more than a word but your questions were puzzling his mind and not getting the answers he wanted. “But why are you asking me this?”

“coz Yunho…I felt like I was in paradise when I fell in love with Mingi. I had everything and I was happy…but I didn’t realize it was all just an illusion to trap me in his game. I was blind for him. I ignored you for him. I gave up everything for him. I couldn’t differentiate between right and wrong. I was lost in a void of lie. I-“

He pulled you in front of him and hugged you tight, pressing a long kiss on top of your head, “I know, y/n…it’s okay. You are here with me. We are here together. He can’t separate us again.”

“he was everything to me…but I was never his.”

“but you are always mine. Sorry if I’m late.” His arms around you tightened and your hold faltered. Mine?

You looked up and he was smiling but still you could see tears, “why are you crying, Yunho? Aren’t you my strong boy?” you wiped his tears. You haven’t seen him so weak in front of you. In childhood days, he had cried to you so many times but as you both grew up, he became a tougher and stronger guy, hiding his emotions behind his smile and always distracting you from all the negativity by his goofy side.

“I love you, y/n. I love you so much. Fuck…whenever you are with me, I feel like to keep you away from everyone. Today, after all these years, I realized how much I love you even more than I could realize. I think about you everyday. I have loved you everyday and I don’t why you are the only one who can make me feel like this.”

You cupped his cheek and he closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of your palm, “I married her to get over the fact that I was deeply in love with you. Seeing you in the bridal look made me realize that you won’t be ever mine. I have lost you. You were standing there in the most mesmerizing look with a hope in your sparkling eyes for him…not for me.”

“Yunho…”

He opened his eyes to meet your starry eyes under the night sky, “you could have said to me earlier.”

“but I was never yours.”

“And I was never his. I was just an obsession.” Tears fell from your eyes.

He leaned down, his lips ghosting over yours, “but you are my dream. Everyday I felt like to fall asleep forever just to see you for once where you are mine.”

“kiss me, Yunho. Don’t wait any more, you have already wasted these years. Before you lose me forever, make me yours. Make me feel like how it is to be someone’s dream.” You smiled before he pulled you in a kiss.

A kiss for which he waited from the day he tried to confess to you.

So this is how it’s like to be yours, y/n.

The slow rhythm of lips, the desire in each other’s embrace, the warmth of love, the admiration in their eyes and moreover the love they can feel in the kiss. The cold air surrounding the warm embrace they were sharing under the dark night with twinkling stars like the twinkling hope for each other.

Parting from the kiss, he pecked your lips and planted a soft kiss on your forehead.

“I don’t want to lose you ever. From now on, wherever you go, I go.”

“I love you, Yunho. I should have realized this back then when I had a crush on you but I always thought that you were interested in other girls and I was just a best friend. I was so shocked that you never told me about your lover but suddenly handed me your wedding invitation.”

“I never loved her.”

“So you only married her to forget me. Using her?” You stared at his brown orbs and glanced how his brown hair was blowing in the wind.

He shook his head, “no. She knew it already. She even stayed up late at night when I couldn’t fall asleep. She was a good person and I helped her to run away with her lover. It was all planned to settle in a different country.”

“Thank you, Yunho. You still remained as a good person, a person I fell in love with. I don’t want to lose you too. You are perfect, Yunho and this hurts me.”

“You are my perfect dream.”

“But I exist in reality.” You chuckled lightly and he laughed heartily before pulling you to his chest.

You tightened your grip around his body when he hummed and resteda his chin on top of your head, “tell me I am not dreaming like always and you are finally mine. I am yours and he didn’t snatch you away from me.”

You kissed his chest, “even if this is a dream. Let’s not wake up together. Let’s be like this forever and dream of each other like this. You are mine and I’m yours, Yunho.”

“I always felt like I was never yours but now I feel like to be with you for eternity. Let’s run away.”

You smiled and closed your eyes in his embrace, “together.”

[Anon <3 I hope this is okay with you. I feel so emotional whenever I write for Yunho. I should declare officially that he is my bias. Anyways he is MY MAN 🎀]

Note: please I want to thanks to people for reading and reblogging. Reviews are always appreciated. Spread love not hate. So basically I guess you have come across my recent posts regarding me abandoning all my smut fics and drafts coz of an issue. But yeah! There’s a thing I can do, I can omit the smut parts and post the fics. How about it? Would you guys still read it?

Taglist: @mymoodwriting @justhere4kpop @anyamaris @yeoobin @icchyi @jwnghyuns @piratequeen-queenofgames @dinonuguaegi @oreharuuu @hwanring @hyuukah @kazscara @aceofspadesbiofalltrades @nvdhrzn @meowmeeps @vtyb23 @haechansbbg

[open!]

[absolutebl]

10 Best BL Shows with the Hottest Sexitimes

Because this is English and word order matters, this title means the show itself has to be good AS WELL AS the scenes high heat, as opposed to the best sex scenes in BL. The two are not necessarily the same list. Anyway I tried to pick both high heat and a fun show. This was hard (pun intended).

FYI expect triggers with your high heat.

(Oh right. For me to get a 3/3 heat rating the BL has simulated sex in it or very close to it. And usually one or more other sexual acts like bjs, a-ply, etc...)

So, I went to the spreadsheet, and sorted it by high heat and then ranking, and here is what I got. I think #1 will surprise you. What will not surprise you is it's mostly Thai and Taiwanese.

10. TharnType (and follow ups)

Thai 2019 Viki

Should it still rank, all these years later? I am sorry to say, yes it should. University setting, great acting and complex characters, interesting friendship groups, enemies to lovers, seriously angsty coming out, high production values, AMAZING chemistry, multiple BL side couples with all the issues, damaging queer rep, strong seme/uke and husband/wife language, classic tropes and lots of them bad.

But it's famous for a reason.

This was KinnPorsche before KinnPorsche.

9. Addicted: Heroin

China 2016 Viki

When Chinese BL was good it was very dirty good and when it was bad it was censored. This is the model for that statement: rich kid falls madly for the genius poor kid in his class, starts an aggressive pursuit, includes kidnapping for love, obsession, stepbrother trope, plus some cheating. I love this BL because of what I could have been.

Just stop watching it after The Sex Scene. Okay?

8. Love Stage!!

Thai 2022 YouTube

This BL surprised me with its charm. The acting was good, the leads were appealing, support cast on point, and the production values high. It followed the original manga story arc relatively closely: boy falls in love with girl as a child, grows up to discover girl is actually a very pretty boy.

Although there are some quintessentially Thai changes that mellowed, softened, and extended the romance arc and heat levels.

7. HIStory 4: Close to You

Taiwan 2021 Viki

Nancy Chen directs, the side dish plot is basically a pastiche of problematic BL tropes inherited from the above. Great chemistry, high heat, stepbrothers, dubcon, obsession, stalker etc…

They sexy tho.

6. My Day

Pinoy 2020 YouTube

The set up on this one is enemies (also boss/employee) and they don’t like each other to start. But that gets resolved pretty quickly. And then they are some of the cutest, hottest, and best boyfriends ever.

This is an under-appreciated BL, IMHO.

5. Cutie Pie

Thai 2022 YouTube

Very high production (and heat) and a lot of visual references to live action yaoi gave this show a whiff of Japan but ultimately it stayed firmly in Thailand’s BL camp veering from absurd to appealing to annoying and then back to absurd again. If you can roll with the arranged marriage conceit and very lifestyle D/s relationships, the chemistry is spot on even if the plot is naff and driven by miscommunication.

Watch this one for the pretty, give it a pass on depth. (It has depth, it just depth of tongue kisses.)

Also the follow up: Naughty Babe

4. Bed Friend

Thai 2023 YouTube but for high heat you'll net to watch on iQIYI

Office frienamies transition a flaming hot one night stand into a f-buddy relationship that is built on a puppy/cat dynamic (and kinks into it at one point). Our puppy is loyal, smitten, and protective with endlessly longing eyes, while our cat is snarky, prickly, and deeply damaged (ALL THE TRIGGERS).

NetJames give lovely high-heat with excellent chemistry and tuned-in performances of surprising depth, unfortunately the story ultimately failed them. Had the show had the strength of its convictions and kept to a tighter, darker, harsher 8 eps it would have been the first high heat to earn a 10/10 from me, but once they fussed with it, it dropped to a solid 8/10. Could have been great but was overworked.

Still if high heat is your thing, this one will not let you down.

3. HIStory 3: Trapped

Taiwan 2019 Viki

Basically the definition of enemies to lovers from Lin Pei Yu. This is a cop + the mafia man he is chasing but WAIT, they fall in love. Added bonus side couple: assassin and nerd cop ALSO falling in love. It’s great. All the leads are stellar. Its high heat, fun action, and a bit of a mystery drama but pretty about all of it.

My only warning is that the main couple doesn’t entirely end up together, it’s implied, but… amorphous ending.

2. Why R U?

Thai 2020 Viki

No one knows what’s going on, not even the characters, but absolutely no one cares 'cause it's so thirsty. The plot seems to be "great chemistry and make sure Zee's shirts are NEVER BUTTONED PROPERLY." We, the collective, have a pro Hawaiian shirt anti-button stance, so rah rah rah! (Still the most confusing thing about this show is: why they didn't just title it YRU?)

The FighterTuror sex scenes still stand as some of the best ever fielded in a Thai BL. I will not be entertaining opposition on this matter.

1. Be Loved In House: I Do

Taiwan 2021 Viki

A cute classy office set BL with a few plot raised eyebrows, but no other concerns. ALL THE TROPES plus a general sweet softness that’s pretty rare from Taiwan, who usually prefer to go hard, but all their signature domesticity.

There is one high heat sex scene and it's great. But it's the whole package of classic sappy Taiwanese BL that puts this at the very top for me.

Generally just v high heat?

Hottest sex scenes in BL is frankly gonna be largely a matter of your personal taste.

But if the ones mentioned above don't work try:

KinnPorsche

Love in the Air

Big Dragon

HIStory 3; MODC (the BL that shall not be named)

Be Mine Super Star

Manner of Death (and anything else with MaxTul)

Oh My Sunshine Night (sides)

Secret Crush on You

Wedding Plan

Most dark JBL has very good high heat, but... ya know.

For @samara44 by request.

Dated Nov 2023, not responsible for amazing high head that came after.

(source)

[mrcrawly]

opinions on the House MD main cast

officially finished with the first season of House MD. *tom and jerry howling and screaming noises*

House: spent the entire season up until ep21 teetering between "what the fuck is this guy's problem" and "god he's so fucking funny." he reminds me of a sad wet cat. someone please get him brown contacts. he's an asshole. no he's not an asshole. i hate him. i love him. when he's sad i cry. i need to diagnose him with something. no one understands him like i do. he's shockingly subtextually bisexual for a show from 2004. he's so problematic and you could never write a character like House today.

Wilson: getting a little tired of the whole "my marriage sucks and i have no apparent desire to repair it" gimmick but God he is SO cute. also my mom works n oncology so i liked him from the start. he's very sweet and i like him. James "that smugness is a very attractive quality of yours" Wilson please don't die.

Cuddy: i LOVE HER no notes. also her outfits are bomb. i unfortunately don't have much to say about her just yet but im excited to see more of her i love Lisa Cuddy

Cameron: ok she does annoy me a little bit (girl you are TOO GOOD for House he does NOT want you) but she's so cute and i love her. i hope we get a little more of her development in regards to her husband and such. House better back up that is my WIFE!!!!!!!!!!

Foreman: lwk when i heard his name for the first time i went "like a George Foreman? like the thing i make my grilled cheeses on?" but i love him so much he's so sweet. he's so nice to all the patients even though he's constantly having to stick them every five minutes free my man. can't wait for him to get a little more development

Chase: he actually pisses me off so bad like i can't make that shit up he makes me so mad. the only particular reason for this is when he was constantly berating that little girl in episode 16 "Heavy" and everything that went down with Vogler. praying that they redeem him

also ill post head canons for them eventually im just generally hesitant to do that so early into a show in case im proven wrong but they're fun so watch out for that!!!

[godhandler]

Masterlist

some of my work contains adult and uncomfortable stuff such as problematic cross-ships, toxic behaviors, hurtful language etc. do take care of your own mental health and do not attempt works that cross your limits. please heed the warnings for each work and proceed at your own discretion.

fic requests are open! do drop an ask, your thoughts, or just a hello! i love talking to people here <3

#mana talks - for all meta analysis, headcanons, extra lore

yours, mana xoxoxo

s - smut, a- angst, f- fluff, personal favourites- 🏮

Jujutsu Kaisen

Kamo Noritoshi

The Homo Economicus in Love - (s, a, f) - | Impacts of income inequality on unethical college love, a thesis paper, aka 'i was just a bet?' trope| 🏮

#1 - Operation Kamo | college majors

See No Evil (s, a, f) - | bram stoker's dracula | 🏮

prologue

Obeisance to the Arrow (s, a, f) - | arranged marriage with Noritoshi Kamo, and all that entails... |

#1 - Omiai | #2 : The Ring Ceremony | #3 - Menarche | #4 - Cursed Bride | #4.5 - Sweet Dreams | #5 - Man and Wife and the concept art | #6 - Husbandly Duties | #7 - Jealousy, Jealousy | #8 - Ice-Cream Date | #9 : The Lady Kamo

+ drabbles arranged according to the timeline

How Was Noritoshi Kamo Found To Have Blood Manipulation?  - (a, f)

Hey Handsome! - (a, f) - | Noritoshi gets hit on, right in front of you |

The Question of Heirs - (f) - | Noritoshi Kamo, concussed, talks about having kids |

An Inkling of Refuge - (a, f, hurt/comfort) - | After the massacre at Shinjuku, each other is all you have left |

[finding out that you're pregnant] - (f)

Echo - (a, f, hurt/comfort) - | When your kids inherit the Ten Shadows, Megumi Fushiguro gets to meet Divine Dog White again after 16 years| 🏮

Ryomen Sukuna

Priestess (s) - | Lord Sukuna rewards his most devoted follower |

lord!sukuna x knight!reader 1 (a, f, s) - | Cannibalism done right | 🏮

lord!sukuna x knight!reader 2 (a, f, s) - | Sukuna takes another knight|

sukuna x possessed!reader (a, f, s) - | Demonic possession <3 |

Martial arts coach! Sukuna (a, f, s) - |God-complex maniacs pining for each other| 🏮

cottagecore!Sukuna (a, f) - | Sukuna cooks for you |

"romance" (f) - | English language tutor |

Choso

Kill The Damned Phone (s, f) - | a lazy morning fu-- dammit the phone keeps ringing! |

choso x geto!kenjaku (a, f, s) - | cult leader x altar boy | 🏮

Geto Suguru

quick fic (f) - | your teen daughter wants to start dating |

cult leader!geto x secretary! reader (s, f)

ragdoll runt (a, f, s ) - | geto, weeks before defecting|🏮

Tokyo Day (a, f, s) - | meeting suguru a decade after his defection, this time as a married woman | [COMPLETED]🏮

#1 | #2 | #3 | #4

Satosugu

5 : 14 AM (a, f) - | satoru wants suguru to quit smoking |

underground boxer!geto x always-bets-on-him!gojo (a, f)

Nanami Kento

quick fic (s, f) - | Nanami Kento doesn’t know your real name, only your touch |

tired manager!nanami x kpop idol!reader (f)

Ieiri Shoko

dealer!shoko x reader (a, s)🏮

Higuruma Hiromi

swipe that nose like a credit card (s, f) - | riding his face <3 |

Gojo Satoru

Satoru At Rest (a, s, f) - | your terrible ex-boyfriend is having way too much fun haunting you |

#1 | #2 | #3

Can't get it up (s, f)

Itadori Yuuji

teenage delinquents (s, f) - | idiots in love have their first kiss |

Fushiguro Toji

Rent A BF! (f) - | young toji fushiguro x reader |

character | prologue | #1 | #2 | #2.5 | #3 | #3.5 | #4 | #5 | #6 | #6.5 | #7

[friendlyneighborhoodamara]

Can't sleep so I'm gonna talk about Akane Tendo's reputation among fans. It's no secret I'm an Akane fan, and I'm glad that the fandom seems to be kinder to her today than in the past. In light of this, I'd like to address some of the common arguments people make or used to make against her.

For reference, a significant chunk of the humor in Ranma 1/2 involves Ranma, often intentionally, pissing Akane off, to the point that she hits him really, really hard. This is a pretty common comedic trope in shonen anime prior to like...I wanna say the 2010s? (I never watched Naruto since it looked bad but I am pretty sure that's Sakura and Naruto's dynamic.) Anyways, while I joined the fandom recently, I have learned that when the show came over to America in the early 90s, Akane was SUPER controversial for treating Ranma like this, with her critics calling her a violent domestic abuser and misandrist, and her reputation has only really recovered recently.

Now, if the "girl character beats up boy character in fit of rage" trope is something that isn't your taste in comedy, then it's not your taste in comedy. However, it's important to keep in mind qualifiers for Akane's behavior. Akane at the start of the series has been harassed by boys at her school who want to beat her up and force her to date them, leading to her having a justifiably poor perception of men and boys. Her hating boys and seeing the worst in them is very different from a man hating women due to patriarchal expectations, and even then she treats boys who are nice to her like Ryoga well.

Honestly, the only area where her dislike of boys gets kinda like morally problematic in my view is if you interpret Ranma as a trans girl: while I joked in an earlier post that Akane is a TERF, one could argue that, albeit unintentionally, Akane's negative reaction to seeing Ranma naked in her bathtub (even if accidentally) and then calling him/her a pervert plays on transphobic rhetoric against letting trans women use the women's restrooms like we're supposed to. (Humorously, most of the people mad at Akane seem to be, ah...not exactly fond of trans!Ranma headcanons, but I digress.) If other trans girls or our allies don't find the slapstick funny for that reason, fair enough, but I don't feel bothered by it given how most of the time Ranma gets hit it's for being legitimately rude and again the violence is very unrealistic.

Admittedly, if Ranma 1/2 had a more serious tone and grounded level of violence, Akane hitting Ranma would be abusive. But in the series, martial artists can walk off stuff like being crushed by a boulder, so Akane beating Ranma up by kicking him/her 50 feet into the sky because she thought he/she was trying to feel her up is not so much like domestic abuse and more akin to a wife giving her husband a light dope slap. Remember, much of the violence in this series is basically just that of a Tom and Jerry cartoon, albeit with an early Dragon Ball aesthetic. Furthermore, Ranma - as much as I love him/her as a character - is usually the instigator, with the wiki even having a list of the cruel nicknames he/she gives her, so it's not as if her actions are unwarranted:

There is, per some people, a gendered component to this discussion, that if the genders were flipped, this wouldn't be funny since Ranma doesn't hit Akane. Now, firstly, if you're a man and a 35-year-old anime not having a boy beat up a girl enough is your worst experience with "sexism", well...get over it. Secondly, in terms of wider media, men commit violence against women that is framed for laughs all the time (ex.: Miroku in Inuyasha, another Rumiko Takahashi series, is a male character where his running gag involves him groping women, which is a more realistic form of violence than anything Akane dishes out), so the notion that it's only women who hurt men in media for laughs is untrue. Thirdly, the notion that hitting Ranma is viewed as okay because "he's a boy" is dubious since he does canonically turn into a girl and Akane hits Ranma regardless of gende, and despite his claims to the contrary he/she doesn't really hate being a girl as much as he/she claims. As a concession, I will note that especially in the past some writers can be reluctant to show slapstick against women, but this is more due to internalized misogyny and viewing women as weak and needing protection. Personally, even assuming that Akane was a boy and Ranma was wholly a girl, I'd have no problem with the slapstick since it's clearly goofy and unrealistic.

Anyways, I'd like to conclude by saying (1) I am glad that I joined the fandom at a time when Akane is being perceived more and more fairly as a flawed but generally pretty nice and hilarious character who has a good deal of pathos despite the clearly slapstick-y nature of the series, and (2) thanks for reading this long, very sincere post.

[whoishotteranimepolls]

Poll analysis part 5

This one isn't so much related to fandom behavior. Overall, it's more about how certain characters or apparently where some people draw the line enough to have made a fuss in the comments or my inbox. I find it interesting where the standards are for some people and I mean I just drew the line at no sentient weapons or mechs

And when I say cause a fuss that would mean causing crap in the comments to messaging me asking me to ban characters or entire franchises because they're problematic for various reasons which I will get into. To flat out harassment of me for allowing these characters in my polls and the people who voted for whatever character they have a problem. It's the full spectrum of bad behavior. This is going to get weird

Izutsumi from Dungeon Meshi why is she the only character people are causing crap about for being 17? I have gotten so many messages about this one character. No one gives a crap about the other underage characters apparently, but the 17 year old cat girl is too much. And again, I think I would have gotten at least one message about one of the 15-year-olds but no just the underage cat girl. I am so confused why this is the line for so many people. When I say she has been a problem, she has been in two polls and she has been the source of 7 polite messages. 12 not nice messages full on harassing messages. Calling me a disgusting pervert for even allowing her in my polls. 11 comments that had to be deleted 12 tags/Reblogs that had to be hidden. All because they said something like she's 17 you perverts. I have set a new record for the amount of people I've had to block over a single character and she's been in two polls. I didn't get this much crap over the character that looked 12.

Kikuri Hiroi from Bocchi the Rock! My original problem character because of her Moe art style she looks 12. Even though she's 28, I've resorted to just putting her age in the post to avoid the things turning into a dumpster fire after that first poll.

Uncle Iroh was a character. I did not expect to cause issues because everyone loves Uncle iroh. Apparently some people find it weird that some people find him hot. Because multiple people have made a fuss in comments or in my inbox about how it's gross or weird to find him hot because he's a grandpa. Ironically, one of the people making a fuss about iroh really has a crush on Silvers Rayleigh the irony in that is hilarious.

Toji Fushiguro I've gotten a few messages about him saying he should be banned because he's a crappy father. A terrible person and anyone who finds him attractive should seek psychiatric help. People he's a villain calm down This is Tumblr. I feel like people have forgotten Loki mania where he was considered the god of Tumblr. I think Tumblr has a thing for villains. Look at the persistence longevity of the Hannibal fandom. So please calm down people it's still not a justifiable reason to ban a character from my polls.

Dracula from Castlevania because genocide and sexism once again I'm sorry people sometimes find villains hot. I'm confused about the sexism part. I think it's because of the way he treated Carmilla, But I'm still confused because that man loved his wife

Franken Stein from Soul Eater. I've gotten a message that he should be banned because he's a groomer. I watched Soul Eater and I'm also confused about this one. If any Soul Eater fans can anyone help me? I'm again so confused about this one. If anyone from Soul Eater should be banned for bad behavior, it is not Stein

Gojo, is a little bit of a headache character for me for the thousands of comments I've seen calling him the Blue-Eyed demon seriously Tumblr what has this man done to you? How did he hurt you? He is also a character I have had people message me asking me to ban because apparently he's racist. I'm so confused.

And to build upon this, someone sent an entire list of characters that should be banned because they have blonde hair and blue eyes because if they win that reinforces white centric colonial beauty standards I should have screenshotted that message. These polls are done for stupid fun and I don't think they are going to reinforce colonialism. In fact, many of you have told me they're going to kill the British monarchy and I think that's the opposite of reinforcing colonialism. That list is too long to post in its entirety here. Remember I said this was going to be a little weird.

Someone actually messaged me saying I should not put Victor from Yuri on Ice in future polls because he is not a good representation of the lgbtq+ community

I've also received similar messages about Grell Sutcliff and Yamato for the trans community

Dungeon Meshi You think would be free of criticism because it's so loved however Laios Touden should be banned because he's blonde with blue eyes and a bad representation of people with autism. I wish I was making this up. Marcelle and Falin are not safe either because some people have it out for blondes and they are also not good representation of the LGBTQ+ community

A bunch of Fullmetal Alchemist characters should be banned including Mustang, Hawkeye, Ed, Alphonse, Armstrong, Hughes basically everyone but Scar. Because those characters perpetrate and promote genocide, racism, ethnic cleansing, imperialism, the military industrial complex, colonialism, fascism, sexism, misogyny, and white supremacy. I honestly think someone missed the entire point of the show but that's just me.

Someone wants the entire Apothecary Diaries franchise banned because it's sexist, misogynistic and a poor representation of Chinese culture.

And basically any villain or abusive parent. Someone has complained about or pushed to get banned because it makes them uncomfortable. Because God forbid characters have flaws

So many One Piece characters are problematic just for being One Piece characters not for anything they've done in the story or their character arc or anything like that. It's really because I have a group of people that think I should ban the entire franchise from my polls because the one piece art style is misogynistic. Oh boy. I should have screenshotted some of the essays I received in my inbox. Some of you need to take a chill pill because if I get another essay about one piece being misogynistic because of the art style, I'm going to shame you by posting that crab publicly. Because I will admit the art style is not for everyone, but especially when it comes to the female characters. But those female characters are some of the best written you will find in all of Shonen anime. Plus if we really want to start banning anime franchises for being misogynistic, It's going to be a bloodbath. Because if One Piece is misogynistic for the art style, Naruto is misogynistic for the writing. And I could probably find something misogynistic about most Shonen anime. So again let's not even go there.

The only justifiable reason I would ever ban a character is if the fandom becomes so toxic it's no longer worth it for me to put up with the drama. Now all the blogs I have had to block have been dedicated to one of two things. Naruto or Dungeon Meshi. One of those fandoms I already refer to as my problem child fandom and the other one I hate to say is quickly becoming its twin.

So can we all just agree to calm down because if I banned everything someone had an issue with because it's sexist, misogynistic, racist, etc. There would be no characters left. So let's calm down everyone and please keep the complaints and the tantrums to a minimum. I am a fellow fan that runs this blog for fun and I'm very tired of this crap.