#kidnap the series ep 9

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

You're not fighting this battle alone anymore.

[hughungrybear]

I just realised, depending on how good the soundproofing of their new home, Mhen prolly gained a new trauma listening to MinQ's sexy times 😅😂😂😂

Edit: Whelp. LOOKS LIKE HE DID HEAR THEM 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[lurkingteapot]

look, I now realise that the way Min and Q wake up in ep 9 is probably supposed to indicate some mutual oral action the night before, but what my mind jumped to immediately was a scene from British queer movie "Beautiful Thing" (1996) and that one camping scene from Merlin season ... 3?, both of which assess that sleeping top-to-toe is the least gay way to share sleeping space.

so you can see why I was a little confused.

[spynorth]

thinking about it and lucas is ... actually a considerable douche to most of the women he interacts with in the show. except for ros bc i’m fairly certain he knows there’s always a fork and/or pen nearby.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Boyfriend Era is a Go

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

NOV 2024 Week 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

Jack & Joker (Thai Mon IQIYI) ep 9 of 12 - I have to say it, the heist stuff is stupid and all the sidekicks are idiots to the point of annoyance. But Yin and War are truly stellar at these parts. And in general in these roles. Can’t knock 'em. It’s been a year of some very good kisses and this has to have been the best. So this show is top of the standings this week for that kiss alone. Like srs boys? I mean to say, BOYS! How dare. Breaking the internet like that.

Honestly, let's be clear, these two have had killer chemistry since the En of Love and we all expected great things. And now, here we sit, suffering great things from these kings. Thank you, Sirs, may we have another?

Love Sick 2024 (Thai Sun iQIYI) ep 8 of 15 - I'm chronicling my experience with 2024 as compared to 2014 here. The Per Win story arc never interested me in 2014 and I’m not enjoying it now either. But Mick and Ohm are better in 2024. Nong Mick is a standout character, and a brilliant glow up in this version and he’s a confident little shit (affectionate). The mains are good too, but Phun and Noh always were great characters, and these actors are quite good. Possibly better than the original. 

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 10 of 12 - More bf era delightful diabetes. They are the best boyfriends and the cutest family in the entire world. No exceptions. Next week is definitely doom tho. 

Every You Every Me (Thai Mon Gaga) ep 5 of 10 - Talk about making consent and communication sexy! *fans self* Whoah! That was unexpectedly great. The blatancy of the lust in this one was fun too. And the general casual switch nature of the relationship = delightful.

I like the little acting course we're getting from these tw. They are both quite good. I’m not sure I really enjoy the stories that they’re telling, but I do like how they are telling them.

Fourever You (Thai Thurs YT) ep 6 of 16 - Hill is the premier torch carrier of this year. My goodness. He sure nursed that crush. While I really like this main couple, I’m happy to have some of the others start to creep into the narrative at this juncture. Alone HillTer are a bit intentionally miscommunicative and saccharine. But the screen-time distribution amongst couples seems a little strange. That said, couple 2? No thank you. I really don't like North as a character at all. I find him incredibly unappealing. Ordinarily I'd be on his side because....... blackmail trope renders Johan automatically a complete arse. But at least this is 2 unlikable characters being jerks to each other?

Perfect 10 Liners (Thai Sun YouTube?) ep 2 of 24 - Say it with me Thailand: negging is NOT romantic. Frankly, Arc is just an asshole and a bully with anger issues. But…… Yay cute sides! PondSand they funny. (Book, to me = never very funny. I don’t think comedy is his bailiwick. Look, comedy is HARD ya’ll and usually not in that way.) 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Our Youth AKA Miseinen: Mijukuna Oretachi wa Bukiyo ni Shinkochu (Japan Tues Gaga) ep 1 of 11 - They’re doing some interesting stuff with the framing (both filming style and narrative) that makes this extremely old-fashioned feeling (like Takumi-kun level). I keep saying that this year, but it feels like BL is doing a lot of rediscovering its roots right now. This one even had a goldfish. And abuse. (The two, oddly, often go hand-in-hand in JBL ) And overall...... it’s a bit weird. Which I don’t mind from Japan. Japanese BL can get weird in a good way. Oh I like it. Bully meats smart loaner, total opposites attract, both are lonely and broken and NEED each other, and all that.

See Your Love (Taiwan Weds Gaga) ep 4 of 13 - Oh dear, our poor little rich boy is very broken indeed. The sides are utterly ridiculous.

My Damn Business (Korea Sat YT) eps 6 of 7 - I don’t normally like a love triangle, but I kind of like this one since it gave our uke a bit more depth and agency. And charm, quite frankly. So far he’s been a very dower character.

Eccentric Romance (Korea Weds Viki) eps 9-10 of 12 - Okay boyfriend era is a go. Goodness but they sure are adorable. 

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 7 of ? - The slow burn is really very slow. To the point of frustration. But I'm still enjoying the show, just not as much as I was.

Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 8 of 10 eps - Even Japan is going through a bf era rn I see. How unusual.

Love in the Air: Koi no Yokan (Japan Sat Gaga) ep 2 of 10 - I’m slightly less annoyed by this one than the original (but I was VERY annoyed by that). I think mame is being tempered by a few things:

There’s so much less time spent on the back-and-forth, because this is a much shorter show, so I have less time to be frustrated by it and the utter uselessness of 75% of these characters.

Also, there's that innate Japanese awkwardness of portrayal & social interaction, which makes the unpleasantness of the characters' behavior and touch more understandable.

This, in turn, is married to the natural kink factor of JBL.

There’s a clearer Dom sub from the get go with this version, makes the blackmailing a little bit more tolerable because it's clearly Play. (negotiated or not) Simply put, daddy wants his brat to beg. And honestly? So say we all.

On a completely different note, the wardrobe for this show is terrible. Like truly bad BAD.

Blue Canvas of Youthful Days (China Sun iQIYI) eps 3-4 - Well I guess that’s that disability dealt with. Meanwhile, competitive bullying art students? I am very amused. Zoo date was cute. This is unquestionably a BL (I’m even more scared now). Still, the gay boys dealing with the straight dude’s crush was truly hilarious. So much "our gay drama doesn’t have time for your het bullshit." Classy move, I smell some Taiwan in this show.

Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo (Korea Thurs Gaga) eps 4-8 end - I was reliably informed this has an HFN end so I decided to watch. Noble and self sacrificing with both of them taking the blame.

My thoughts are...... mixed.

High school student Do Hoe lives with his brutal father who runs a Taekwondo gym. When cheerful Ju Young arrives to train, they fall in love. An unexpected incident forces them apart, they reunite over a decade years later. Essentially this is a brilliant narrative about finding love at the worst possible time, surviving chronic abuse, and the way we process mental, emotional, and physical trauma overtime. Yes it’s also a romance, but that’s not primarily what this story is actually about. I can recognize its genius, but this type of narrative is not for me. I’m reminded of bittersweet painful shows like To My Star 2, or The On1y One, or even Not Me. Is this BL tangential or is it some other genre entirely? Am I questioning my own taste because I did not like its content, or because I do not like its genre? And if it’s not BL should I even render judgment? I think I have to lean into the way I approached some of those other shows, which is to say: it is not for me but I recognize that it is of an extremely high-quality that is certainly for someone else.

Recommended, but only if you like masochistic cinema. Under those circumstances 9/10

(but know that if i were rating for my personal taste? 7/10 I’m never re-watching this, and there is a small part of me that wishes I never had) 

It's airing but......

Love for Loves Sake got some kind of special supposed to air 11/9. Not sure what, why, or where. Only the rumor that it...... is. I'll believe it when I see it...... literally.

The Hidden Moon (Sat WeTV) 10 eps - I've been reliably told not to bother, so I won't.

Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) 10 eps - I DNF'd at ep 7, I couldn't make it. I am weak. Life is hard enough right now, this show is making it harder. It’s not what I want from my entertainment.

Bad to Bed (Taiwan Sat YouTube) 10 eps - This is a little too low production value even for me. And just very very odd. DNF

In case you missed it

Uncle Unknown finished its run on YT. Censored Chinese BL with paralytically bad production levels. But certainly BL. Boys reunite after a break up only to discover one of them is the step-Uncle of the other. Much to my own shock and surprise I watched all 12 episodes of this. Fortunately, each episode is about 5 minutes long. Under those circumstances is it worth it? Maybe. It’s bad. But not offensive. So that's a win. And you know me, I love a weird take on the stepbrother’s trope and incest taboos. 5/20 watch it only if you have nothing better to do

Next Week Looks Like This:

Gosh there's a lot on right now.

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

November BL:

11/15 Caged Again (Thai Fri Gaga) 10 eps - Penguin escapes zoo by turning into a human. Gets trapped again and a panther falls in love with him.

11/17 Your Sky (Thai Sun iQIYI) 12 eps - A naive freshman and the campus’s popular senior agree to pretend to be a couple - but their fake deal begins to generate real feelings.

11/20 Winter Is Not The Death of Summer (Thai Weds YT) ?? eps - Criminals who meet in prison fall in love

11/20 The Heart Killers (Thai Weds YT iQIYI) 12 eps - Jojo directs FirstKhao & JoongDunk in an action romcom about assassin brothers (Khao & Joong) who meet a tattoo artist ex-booster (First) and a mechanic (Dunk). I'm highly amused that Joong plays the older brother to Khao and that we have a take on the Taming of the ShrewBL. I like that everyone is morally gray. This has all GMMTV's best chemistry in one BL and some fresh concepts that I've only seen tackled in m/m romance novels (check out Amy Lane's Racing for the Sun, thank me later). I'm excited. My only quibble is Jojo, I like his style but his characters can get unreliably messy so…... this gonna be interesting.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

The insane level of his babygirl heart eyes.

Just, have mercy.

(last week)

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

[flwoie]

LOVE IN DISGUISE — PARK SUNGHOON

SUMMARY Secrets are meant to be kept. Sunghoon never keeps secrets though, well except one—his friends being members of a super secret spy team. He finds out on the night he gets kidnapped and is rescued by them. That night, his friend offers him to be a part of the team to stop an organization, SPY-DER LILLIES, from destroying their campus and agency, I.R.I.S (International Resource for Intellectual Spies). And like the goofy goober he is, he joins for a jetpack and to impress his longtime friend and crush, the black cat agent, in order to win her heart before the spiders come crawling up his back.

TUNE IN TO WATCH THE SERIES OF SUNGHOON LEARNING HOW TO BE THE WORLD’S GREATEST SPY WITH HIS FRIENDS AND HIS JETPACK!

STARRING spy! sunghoon x spy! f! reader (WITH txt’s beomgyu, loossemble’s yeojin, lsfm’s kazuha, nwjns’ minji, kiof’s belle, xdh’s junhan)

GENRE smau + written, romcom, episodic, friends to lovers, college au, spy au, characters inspired by my friend group, heavily inspired by that one spy kickin’ it episode (s3, ep 21)

CONTAINS 15+, profanity, light violence, brainrot😭, spy terminology isn’t fully accurate, also 50% of the chapters in here are not even spy related, incorrect timestamps (pls ignore) (chapters will specify warnings)

STATUS airing (whenever i feel like it @ 5PM CST) | july 9, 2024 - …

SOUNDTRACK

TAGLIST IS OPEN ✧ SEND AN ASK OR COMMENT UNDER MAIN MASTERLIST

🗯️ GUYS IK IVE BEEN DIPPING SMAUS BUT TRUST ME, I WONT DIP THIS ONE….

📻 : “I.R.I.S. TEAM 5 REPORTING, OVER…!”

MISSION #001 — PILOT IN DISGUISE

↳ sunghoon joins his friends’ spy team

one : jetpack joyride [0.9k]

two : the haters be hating [0.3k + smau]

three : my tall american friend

four : cuz im a sigma…👻

five : theres many girls in the fish

six : chicken butt

seven : when there's a screen, ao3 must be seen

eight : im gonna touch u lil bro

MISSION #002 — PARTY IN DISGUISE

↳ the boys throws a boys-only party in the lair while you’re out of town

nine : back early [0.2k]

ten : w rizz amirite

eleven : fake gucci pants..

twelve : H H HELL NAH🤦‍♀️ [0.5k]

thirteen : like the roblox game?

fourteen : the hell is spoogle images [0.7k + smau]

MISSION #003 — ENEMY IN DISGUISE

↳ the team keeps tabs on an I.R.I.S spy-in-training, who’s possibly a part of the SPY-DER LILLIES

fifteen : and ur dumb

sixteen : hide ur ladies🤫🥱

seventeen : luh luh loserrr

eighteen : what an ugly pepperoni […]

ninteen : PAUSE…

twenty : btw calc is short for calculator […]

twenty one : diss me diss me now u gotta kiss me

MISSION #004 — GAMES IN DISGUISE

↳ when the team is sent on a mission to defeat a tech team of SPY-DER LILLIES, they get transported to the internet world

... to be added

MISSION #005 — WITNESS IN DISGUISE

↳ the team joins a witness protection program after witnessing a fight between two canadian spy organizations

… to be added

MISSION #006 — CRUSHES IN DISGUISE

↳ in order for sunghoon to pass his final spy assessment, he needs to get over his crush

... to be added

MISSION #007 — CAMP IN DISGUISE

↳ the team is recruited to be camp counsellors for I.R.I.S spies-in-training

... to be added

enhypen masterlist

[adachimoe]

Not-so-masterpost list because tumblr's tagging and search sucks ass

As the title says lol

A Series of Posts About Adachi's Role in the Plot of Persona 4 and How It Has Been Misunderstood for 15+ Years

What the bad endings teach us about Adachi

Adachi's fixation on Mayumi Yamano

Adachi is the person in the fog who shows up in the shopping district

Adachi's imaginary dick waving contest with Namatame

In which I try to deduce if Adachi watched the Midnight Channel based on whether Dojima was home or not

Yu Narukami's Obsession with Adachi

Dude wants to be Adachi's girlfriend

Dumbass

Waxing poetic about the color of Adachi's eyes

Arena Ultimax Arcade Mode

This shit even happens in BBTag

Adachi Stuff / Ramblings

Adachi and School

Adachi and the Japanese Economy (lol)

Remember that part in April where Adachi tries to frame Yukiko?

Adachi was not actually assigned to guard Mayumi Yamano, was he?

The 3rd P4 Audio Drama

"Tiger mom"

Was JYB really intentionally cast as both the protag and Adachi?

Was that actually Adachi in Persona 5?

?? Adachi went to a NYE party ??

How Bayside Shakedown inspired Adachi's character

Adachi's overseas transfer

Was Adachi's first choice even police officer?

The contrast between Adachi and Namatame (And a follow-up)

Adachi's relationship with the Dojima family and why Adachi sent the 2nd threat letter

What was Adachi's mistake?

Adachi as the Investigation Team's Shadow

P4 Anime and Golden Anime Staff: Adachi's Popularity Among the Staff

Wake up babes Adachi got a shoutout in Metaphor

Tetsuya Kobayashi's comments on Ying Yang

Golden Anime Adachi Cafe

Things You Can Miss In-Game

Adachi and Cabbage

Adachi did not facilitate Rise's kidnapping

Nanako reveals Adachi hates bugs lol

Localization and Translation Related Topics

Yuka Someya Loved the Stage Play

Izanami saying that Adachi's power was tainted by "magatsu"

Clarifying what Adachi says in P4U2 about his sentencing

Adachi calling Izanami a bitch and how this relates to Sho

Adachi was not trying to remind you of Yosuke

This World Has Gone to Shit

That time Adachi pretended to be Dojima's wife

"Putting It In" and "That Settles It"

Adachy-baby

Yukiko's funniest line

Setting and Word of God-esque Stuff

Adachi's Persona Club P4 profile (sorry but he's been 176cm since 2009... It was the anime that got it wrong when they made him 173cm...)

All of the Persona Club P4 profiles

Adachi Q&A from Persona Stalker Club

No, Atlus did not say that the culprit was originally Dojima

Yes, Atlus did consider Yukiko and Yosuke to be the culprit

About Adachi's Social Link

Bayside Shakedown as an Inspiration for Adachi

Arcsys and Atlus on the development behind Episode Adachi

Arcsys made Adachi easy to play because his fans are girls

Full translation of Katsura Hashino's Persona Club P4 Interview

It's the Adachi Ending, not the Accomplice Ending

The P4 Anime Staff on Adachi's Cabbage and Ai Bullying Adachi

Random stuff in Persona Club P4

Posts About Not-Adachi

Yu Narukami's catchphrase is "Calm down"

Yukiko, before and after the TV World

Yukiko as a vehicle for slapstick humor

The Mudoon Curry

Is Namatame from Inaba?

Why is Witch Detective a parody of Twilight?

MAN, A WATERMELON

Context for Yukiko and... Cooking

Teddie is Bugs Bunny

The Time I Signed Up to Play Persona 4 Pachinko

Summary of the 3rd Golden anime audio drama, A Sense of Gratitude

The "Ah-ha! I S.E.E.S. it!" segments on Persona Stalker Club

Explanation + Episode 1

Episodes 2 and 4

Episode 5

Episodes 6 and 7 (no q&a)

Eps 8 + 9

Eps 10 + 11 (plus PSC Cafe)

Eps 12/13/18/19

Eps 20/23/24

Eps 25/26

V Ep 10

[becauseimanicequeen]

(I'm writing this after painting for almost 9 hours, so it might not make sense, lol, but here goes...)

Reading some thoughts/theories about My Stand-In the past couple of days has been equally entertaining and frustrating.

Some made me laugh because they matched my usual delulu theories (and I love delulu theories). (The whole reason I started my tumblr almost 5 months ago was because I wanted a space to share my delulu theories on DFF, lol.)

But, some of them were just... No. No. Fuck no!

And I'm writing this as someone who was raised on soap operas, Days of Our Lives in particular (which is weird because I'm not even American). Characters being kidnapped, possessed, dying and coming back to life is just a normal Tuesday for me. And I've mentioned earlier that I won't mind ridiculous shit happening in My Stand-In for this reason.

But...

If it turns out that Joe steps out into the light and magically travels back in time to a moment before Joe 1.0's accident so he can stop that from happening... I will riot.

Fortunately, I'm pretty sure they won't do this (even though I've been wrong about story progressions before).

But if they do, it will completely erase all of Ming's progress. Even though I know how fucking painful it can be to lose people you love (and add his guilt for being a part of Joe's untimely demise the first time on top of that), that was a big part of why he was so willing to sacrifice everything for Joe this time when he got a second chance.

(Yes, Ming is still a brat and all that, but it doesn't change the fact that he also gave up his anonymity/privacy to make sure Joe would find him, put up boundaries Tong wasn't allowed to cross, made an effort to be with Joe which Joe also noted was different, blackmailed Tong and his own family to be with Joe, was ready to trade places with Joe in the latest kidnapping, etc. All of that is progress.)

Sure, My Stand-In isn't really about Ming. It's more about Joe. But the same goes for him.

Stepping into the bright light (which is often a symbol of death/near-death experiences, even though the Master said it would break a cycle, so it might not even mean that he will pass on) to end his suffering doesn't feel like the choice the character I've seen in 11 episodes would make.

Joe will come back because, to me, he does the right thing rather than what's easy. If he's convinced it's the right thing to do, he does it (sometimes without thinking). He's shown it several times throughout the series (he even helped Tong, of all people, in ep. 11 because he knows what it's like to grow up without parents and didn't want the same for Tong and May's child).

Furthermore, there is no way Joe will leave when he still has unfinished business (especially with Joe 2.0's mom).

(I mean, come on, she's had a huge fight with her son twice now. Both times right before he was hospitalized. Cut her some slack!)

Having Joe travel back in time will fall flat for me, even if he decides to seek out Joe 2.0's mom and help her care for her son.

Again, I fortunately don't think this is the way they're going with the show. Instead, I think something will stop Joe before he walks out through those doors and steps into the light.

He might hear something (possibly Ming), he might see something (perhaps the flashbacks they included in the teaser for ep. 12), or he might just change his mind because he realizes he still has unfinished business (and love for Ming) and chooses life.

Or, he steps into the light (to break the cycle), but instead of passing on, he sees everything that happened after his first accident, realizes he's no longer a stand-in (at least in Ming's eyes), and is then faced with the choice to wake up from his coma or not.

Either way, I need Joe to choose. And I need him to choose life. Because he's coming back in one way or another. Of that, I'm sure.

(Just don't make him travel back in time. Pretty please, don't do this to me, lol.)

[miss0atae]

BL fashion in Kidnap the series (EP 9):

It's been a long time I haven't done a BL fashion, but thankfully the latest episode of Kidnap the series was here to help me find something to write again in this tag!

I'm glad to see the return of the transparent glasses. I loved them on Q in the first episode and it's nice to see them back. I wish he was wearing them more.

If you've already read one of my BL Fashion post, you must know how much I like printed shirt and this one is no exception. It's not the easiest one to wear, but even if it's not in Q's usually fashion style (after all he was playing a role) it works well.

This episode was putting an highlight on glasses. Here you have Min with orange tinted sunglasses that works well with his white t-shirt. Funny how he was wearing Q's favorite colors: orange and white. Min can't lose any chances to show how much crazy in love he is with Q.

I would never recommend to wear this glasses (they look too plastic), but it was quite funny and paired with his lovey-dovey expression and a nice printed shirt you can actually look good too with them.

[mikuni14]

Dead Friend Forever - Ep 9

(I wanted to eat a cake when the episode started and I ended up sitting through the entire first scene holding it in front of my open mouth like a 🤡, it was so embarrassing when I caught myself doing it. Yep, DFF everybody! I was so invested that I couldn't watch and chew at the same time)

This is the 9th episode of this series that I rated 🔟, this series is really something else. There are still 3 episodes left, the series is devoting more and more time to what is happening in the present time and I'm starting to worry whether... 3 episodes is too much? Won't the endings get dragged? Will it stick the landing? My anxiety is 📈.

I love how this series is run, how natural it flows, how it jumps smoothly in "time and space" without being chaotic and incomprehensible. The narration, editing, pacing are 10/10. (But unlike the plot, my thoughts are very chaotic, as seen below lol)

It's amazing how everything that happens can be described as the butterfly effect. How Top's stupid smashing of the camera set off a chain of events that ended in the destruction of the entire family and a heartbreaking tragedy. I like how sharply focused Tan is (I'll just call him Tan, I'm lazy), how he's fully willing to sacrifice EVERYTHING, how he makes sure that Phee doesn't desecrate Non's memory with a new relationship.. It seems to me that Tan doesn't tell Phee everything because 1) someone stretched the wire that killed Deng 🤔 2) he doesn't seem particularly concerned about Por being dead 🙂

I like how in Phee's relationship with Jin, Tan makes Phee feel guilty, treating him as Non's boyfriend and how Phee does it to himself too. I once heard someone say in regards to romantic relationships, that it is impossible for new feelings to be born without the death of old ones. And this is another thing I love about DFF: they show the complexity of human feelings, including something as complicated as the fading of an old love and the emergence of a new one, the feeling of guilt associated with it, the feeling of having to hold on to the flame of memory and feelings towards the old love that has not ended normally, that could have been hurt, that could have been a victim, so these feelings are somehow "obligatory" for that old love, plus a sense of guilt and agony, because there is a probability that the new love could have once hurt the old love…

We can also say that the series explained why it all took 3 years. As predicted, it turns out that they couldn't get anything out of the boys, who usually just cut off their conversations and left. Then they all finished school, Phee and Tan had no results (because they're also, only boys, Tan couldn't do anything on his own, and Phee, well, he was distracted) and they simply went away to their studies, maybe different universities and the catalysts that accelerated the events now were: 1) the traumatic death of Tan's parents, which left him with nothing to lose, he probably also went a little crazy 2) Jin leaving the country 3) a unique opportunity of gathering everyone in one place

What I also really like is the realistic approach to the tiring, old trope that lying to loved ones "for their good" or for some "secret mission" that is supposed to bring happiness to everyone actually ends badly - unlike some series I have watched recently 🙄 DFF approached it realistically and clearly showed that people lied to by their loved ones, suffer a lot and feel betrayed to the point of not wanting to continue contact with someone who "wanted only good for them."

Questions: Photo of Non and Keng - they are in the clothes from their kidnapping, so the photo must have been taken then and only now given to the press/corrupt police to mislead, or it is photoshopped. Anyway, these are not new photos, and Keng looks safe and sound, the photo is taken from the back and he doesn't look like someone after a car accident. How did Tan get into school? After all, a student has some papers from the previous school, no one suddenly appears at a school and starts going there??? The series shows Tan under the influence of his psychedelic drug, with him having blurry visions and acting obviously drugged. However, when they are in the house and also under the influence of drugs, they act quite normal and only have clear visions, and surprisingly everyone has similar visions (except Jin, who also sees Keng). But apart from that, no psychedelia, strange colors or blurred image. And why would White also have a vision of the masked killer?

Finally, two comments: The sex scene - my jaw dropped, I didn't expect it, I didn't expect them to go all the way. This scene (as well as the entire series so far) shows how incredibly compatible and harmonious Phee and Jin are. (Now there are no more excuses that a decent sex scene can't be done in other BL series lol) I'm vibrating seeing how Tan is happy with what's happening even with Por's death. This is real, pure hatred, I hope they won't fuck it up and Tan won't "convert to goodness, love and brotherhood" and become "good" and "forgiving" and "a better person than them". I like how the show shows action and reaction and sticks to it. The entire logical progression of events is shown, from that stupid camera through Non's fall, the tragic deaths of Non and Tan's parents, ending with Tan standing with a smile over the chaos unfolding before his eyes. And yes. Including the fatalities. I'm vibrating.

My favorite moment, no surprise 😍

Forgive the quality of the photo, but Ta has such a great body, muscular, but in a natural, casual style 😍

[kissorkill16]

Me: *pulls out a long list* We're gonna be here a while.

First of all, I was thinking about stepping into Nicky's life a little more. I'd like to explain why he acts the way he does before/after he got kidnapped, why him and Delroy hate each other so much, and what he thinks and how he feels about his friends.

1. I came up with this multi-part series called "When We Were Once Happy", a story before Trinity moved to Raven Brooks. Bubba is present in this story, Aaron, Mya, and Lucy were Nicky's first friends, and Mr. Peterson is a genuinely nice guy. We could add some flashbacks to Nicky's life before he became the "town weirdo".

2. If you read some of @fazbearedits 's fanfics, you'll learn that they came up with the idea that Lucy and Mya are the Shadow Man, the incarnation of Nicky's fears. How they were the ones that mentally broke Nicky during his time in the basement and forced him to play games with them. I actually loved that idea, and I added onto that they were angry at the world for letting them die so early, and they were especially angry with Mr. Peterson because they thought he was the one responsible for their deaths. However, Lucy was the one who wanted revenge, Mya just wanted to be with her mother.

3. I'd write about how Trinity even found out about the Golden Apple Amusement Park in the first place, because in S2 EP 1, she just...knows. Like how did she find out that Golden Apple Amusement Park was a thing? Did someone tell her about it? Was it a scrapped scene that we don't know about? If I was writing the series, I'd actually take the time to show how she even finds out about these kinds of things and people.

4. @fazbearedits really went all in with their fanfics to show how much of a potential bitch Finch is. Read "Back To School" and "This Is Halloween", and you'll see what I'm talking about. The girl scout literally took a picture of his mental breakdown, printed it all around school, made everyone at the school laugh at him, and lied about it to the principal. Then she comes to school dressed as Nicky in an unbuckled straightjacket.

5. I'd expand on Finch's bitchiness too, but I'd also give her a redemption arc. Where she's threatened to apologize for her actions, and Nicky says she can make it up to her if she helps him and his friends out with the whole Crowface mystery.

6. Screw it, I'd give everyone who's a dickhead in this show a redemption arc. Except for the Forest Protectors, the Forest Protectors deserve death.

7. I wrote some fanfics about how everyone's starting to treat Nicky nicer after his kidnapping and mental breakdown at his house, and how Jay and Luanne promised to actually be there for him when he needed it.

8. In some of my fics, Mr. Murtaugh is like a 50/50 kind of villain. He's Nicky's therapist while at the same time, he's a Forest Protector. But as he keeps up the weekly therapy sessions with him, he starts getting a little attached to him.

9. After the second trailer for Season 2, I noticed that she's become a little hard on her friends, with all of the weight on her shoulders and how she's gotten more questions than answers. She starts ignoring her friends protests or how they tell her that she's going too far or working too hard. Then after she locks Nicky in the basement, she begins to see the errors of her ways and promises to be a better leader.

10. While I don't completely like the parents in WTRB, I think they could be good people too. With Jay and Luanne being neglectful to Nicky and Donald and Amanda (that's what I'm calling Mr. and Mrs. Bales) not being able to trust their daughter, I'd want to fix that too. After Mr. Peterson's arrest, Donald and Amanda promises to try to trust Trinity more.

11. I know some people think that Franklin is The Guest, and that could end up being true, but I also like to think that The Guest is just an evil crow demon that possesses Aaron Peterson.

12. Remember this from the pilot?

It'd be a big part of the story, it'd control the weather and be the entire source of the Forest Protectors power. Nicky would have it, having no idea what it does, but still holding onto it, because he knows whoever wants it is not to be trusted.

13. For the finale, I'd write a fic of how all the kids are at the Golden Apple Amusement Park, riding the Rotten Core rollercoaster, trying to get away from The Guest. The Guest dies in the end, Mr. Peterson burns his remains, and we move onto the next villain.

The Shadow Man.

[viscerawrites]

fearing what the light finds •/ a casual intro

genre •/ contemporary, eventual portal fantasy

overall goal •/ a series of connected short stories, currently planned to be posted on ao3 as written.

part of •/ project mixtape

target age range •/ 18+

tw •/ kidnapping, captivity, sexual assault, murder, attempted suicide (and ongoing suicidal ideation), depictions of trauma and mental illness, highly complex feelings around abusers, disordered eating, poor self-image, self-blame, generally dysfunctional behavior.

---

author's notes.

this series of short stories is part of a bigger project that i, for now, am calling mixtape - where i create a character and use the discography of a specific band to "document" the character's life story (or generally significant personal story).

fearing what the light finds is based around the discography of the band Spiritbox, and is currently planned to encompass all their songs up to their ep The Fear of Fear. any new music they release may or may not be added to the series; we will see!!

---

the gist of it.

fearing what the light finds follows the character of Eden Jade Heller. Kidnapped at the age of 19 and held captive for 9 years, Eden Jade is 28 years old when she murders her tormentor and attempts to end her own suffering, only to be saved by the faceless entity who comes to her in her dreams. Believing that it is there to guide her into death, she finds herself shocked and in disbelief when she wakes up in a world that is nothing like her own.

---

taglist: none yet!

[hughungrybear]

Why must Title bring chaos to every GMMTV series that he is in? 😅😅😅😅 At first, I thought Q is being unreasonable with his sudden jealousy (well, he is) but James (Title) confirming that there is probable cause for jealousy is ascending me 😂😂😂

[beesmygod]

JJBA PART 5, VENTO AUREO IS THE UNDERBAKED MESS I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT FIXING...PART 2

FIX 1: MORE KOICHI FOR THE MASSES

koichi! we love koichi, don't we folks? i know i do.

who's koichi? oh shit, that might be hard to explain.

pictured: koichi, in his dormant, yet most powerful, form.

if you DON'T recognize this little gremlin above, his appeal might be totally lost on you, and his appeal is necessary to understand if i'm going to convince you of what a fucking missed opportunity his narrative purpose could have been.

that's koichi hirose, the short king of morioh. i didnt think i would like him at all after realizing he was being set up as the deuteragonist and companion to the titular jojo of part 4, josuke. like, who the fuck was this little dork? get outta here! im here to see the joestars kidnap children and have homoerotic adventures. i am not here to be subjected to the trials and tribulations of a friendless, spineless, standless dipshit. i assumed he was going to be the designated joestar hypeman for the chapter, a role usually carved out for precocious children.

wrong! koichi gets hit with the stand arrow (the arrow the gives you stands, remember this) early on and gets dragged into a frightening battle of good versus evil right in his own backyard. the arrow and the responsibility that comes with it acts as the main catalyst for his transformation from nottie to hottie. in contrast to the bastardly joestars and their ilk, koichi is a genuinely kind, empathetic, and honest person; he's intended as a foil to the mischievous josuke. he brings to the table the platonic ideal of an every-man who rises gallantly to the challenges thrown at him because its the right thing to do. the series folds koichi as a main cast member to the point where he is one of the very few people on planet earth to draw a smile and praise out of jotaro kujo.

who's jotaro kujo? uhhh.

hmm. i'm getting to my point. but it might require a chart:

POINT: jotaro kujo, the man who probably has with the strongest stand in universe, who appears in 4 chapters out of a total of 9, and who is probably one of the most recognizable and beloved characters in manga history, trusts literally one person on the entire planet: koichi hirose.

SO:

when koichi shows up in part 5 right from the jump to act as the part 4 connective tissue, there is absolutely no reason why he can't stick around for longer than he does canonically so that he can satisfyingly fulfill his role as official vibe checker. let him be important!

---

oh my god, i can hear jojo fans groaning as they scroll through all that shit. so what?! did you make me read all that just to say "there should have been more koichi?!"

look, i need to make sure "we're" all on the same page and understand the perspective i'm coming from. "we", in this case, being the audience of both jojo fans this is primarily aimed at and fandom rubberneckers (greetings friends) who shouldn't have to comb a wiki exhaustively to decode my unhinged ramblings. it's essential background info that koichi is a fan favorite both in canon and in fandom. we gotta understand the role he wound up playing in the overarching struggle of good versus evil in his hometown to understand his narrative role in part 5.

YES. there SHOULD have been more koichi! but not just because we like to see him! he provides an established, trusted moral backbone for the audience. his reputation as a reliable guy is such that jotaro sends him on his own to investigate a young man who may be related to the dreaded bisexual nemesis of the joestar bloodline, dio brando. this is a big fucking deal. if dio has a kid that's really bad. how many backup plans did this guy have (answer: dude you have no idea).

---

ugh! part 5 koichi! if you really want to scream look up how he looks in the rohan spin off series.

in ep 1 of the "golden wind", koichi arrives in italy looking for our new jojo, giorno giovanna (who sucks, but that's a whole kettle of fish we can only barely touch on now). koichi, who has the street sense of one of those dogs that gets carried around in a luxury purse, instantly gets robbed by petty street criminal giorno in a rare burst of personality never seen again after this initial story-line.

okay whatever. after skipping a few eps, giorno and koichi team up to defeat the first stand together after drawing its ire during giorno's weird mafia test. the stand, black sabbath, stabs its victims with a stand arrow (the arrow that gives stands), causing them to either die or gain powers. this might be controversial, but its my personal opinion that its probably not good for a mafia to have a factory that creates jerks with super powers and its right to try to shut that down. after the fight, giorno reveals his dream to koichi of joining the mafia with the explicit purpose of reforming it from within. koichi promises not to report to jotaro about the fact that there's ANOTHER STAND ARROW until after giorno is initiated into the gang. god. jesus christ.

first of all, this GANG-STAR thing is the silliest shit anyone has ever heard. this is literally his for real goal throughout the entire story-line. which could have been great! but people within the fiction should react to this like hes telling them he's going to invent the first bicycle for fish instead of looking at him with the kind of wonder and glory you reserve for jesus christ himself. this train of thought leads to too many thoughts about giorno's lack of personality, so let's set it aside for now. i think giorno should maintain this insane goal, but he should actively have to convince people that he is capable of doing something that fucking nuts.

second, no way would koichi agrees to this absolutely braindead truce lol. koichi doesn't know giorno from adam; the sense we're supposed to get is that koichi innately senses that he's a good guy from his little speech and we, the audience, are supposed to take his word for it. but there is nothing convincing or authentic in how the situation plays out. there's a level of naivety/stupidity applied to the characters involved for this situation to work at all: i dont know why telling jotaro in florida that there's a stand arrow in italy would impact giorno's mafia standing at all. especially considering the arrow breaks and no longer functions shortly after giorno's initiation. koichi should find giorno's dreams and desires spurious and continue his investigation for jotaro, both to impress him and because its the right thing to do. he should also be like "heh, i took care of a stand arrow for you mister kujo". let him have another win. fuck it. why not.

third, koichi doesn't know that the stand arrow is destroyed and i have a hard time believing that he, a victim of said arrow, would do anything other than raise serious alarms over the proliferation of objectively evil stand users in italy where dio's son coincidentally happens to live. the following arc in which giorno and his new team mates go on a hunt for a hidden treasure should have been a series of demonstrations to koichi that italy was being cleaned up by a joestar (as opposed to the danger of being exploited by a brando) and was ultimately in good hands. this would require giorno to get some wins in during this time so he would actually have to do something for a change.

keeping koichi around long past where he does in canon could and should have given giorno a chance to demonstrate a different form of heroism to contrast the pure-hearted pursuit of justice championed by koichi. in eventually winning over a familiar and trustworthy character, giorno would have proved himself to be more than just "dio's son", a fact which should have hung over this part like a dark cloud.

but that's. that's next time.

[kisskissbanggang]

Jumpspace Renegade - ep. 9 ✨🚀

[7k words, 25 min. read - Brief Jisung x Fem. Reader, Brief Seungmin x Fem. Reader - Stray Kids Multi Fic, Scifi!au, Choose Your Own Adventure - SFW/Suggestive/Smut in Other Chapters - Changlix, Somewhat Tough Relationship Talk, Seungmin is a Flirt and a Fiend, Jisung is a Flake but What Else is New, Chan is a Dick but What Else is New, Banter and Tension and Light Fooling Around, Dumb and Unusual Punishment, Dating Philosophy Crisis, Finally Landing on Phaborus, Intense Action Near the End, Kidnapping, Scifi Gun Violence, Always Check the Tags]

[Special Season 2 Premiere! See A/N. Polling for this episode will close at 7PM PST on Sunday, June 18, 2023. Episodes will resume posting on Fridays 7pm pst with polling closing on Saturdays 7pm pst. 💕]

[A/N: Welcome back space chasers! This has been Season 2 in my head while developing and writing, so Season 2 it shall be. I hope you enjoy our continued adventure with our lovable crew 💕✨🚀]

[Series Masterlist | Come Say Hi!]

“Well?” Jisung asked you. “What do you want to do?”

You scanned the eyes of the men at the table while you stalled with a hefty glug of your coffee. 

“Well,” you repeated, “I think seeing the market sounds fun, to be honest.”

Not to mention it’d theoretically give you a little space from Seungmin, who only sort of looked a little smug at your decision. Almost like he’d won a wager with himself. 

Jeongin finally emerged from Changbin’s cabin. 

“Come on, bro,” Jeongin urged him. “What’re you gonna do, just stay in there all day?”

Changbin's reply was indecipherable from inside his room. Seungmin got up from the table, clapping Jeongin on the shoulder and venturing in to see if he could cajole the mechanic himself. The cabin boy promptly gave up and tiredly shuffled downstairs. That left you, Hyunjin, and Jisung. 

“Well,” Hyunjin grinned, getting up before following suit. “Gotta get back to work. Nova, you’ll want to watch us land, won't you?”

And now it was just you and Jisung. You poked the angry love bite Minho left on his jugular.

“He got you good,” you laughed. 

Jisung spitefully grabbed the collar of your shirt and pulled you closer to search for any marks of your own. “Yeah, well, what about you? He suddenly ended up back in the brig after giving me hell all day?”

“I'm painfully misunderstood,” you pouted, squealing when Jisung grappled you into his arms. 

“So what I'm hearing,” he teased while he pecked kisses into your neck, “is there's free real estate.”

“In your dreams!” you squawked, retaliating despite letting Jisung’s lips catch yours a couple times. You were, embarrassingly enough, on the verge of making out a little, but that’s what being friends with Jisung would entail for you both, right? He absolutely seemed like the casual type, and you were all about that in this time of your life. But it was right then, when Jisung halfway moaned, halfway whined into your mouth, that you came to your senses, pushing your hand into his face and climbing out of the galley booth while you caught your breath. 

“Come on,” the pilot teasingly pleaded. “Chan and Minho can’t have all the fun.”

“Fat chance!” you defiantly refused.

“Hey, at least it’d make Chan stop giving me shit!” Jisung called after you. 

“What, so he can give me shit instead?” you razzed back on your way out. 

You were in a good mood, all things considered. The sheets on your bed were nice and refreshing, your cabin having fully cooled down after Minho’s shenanigans. You grabbed your shower supplies, scampering off to the head in hopes that everyone was too preoccupied to be in there at the moment. The water was delightfully warm, your skin still reeling from profusely sweating in the ship despite your shower the previous night. You honestly had to badger yourself to leave, but your pruney fingers were thankful for it. 

And on top of everything, the Ambler was pleasantly cold in contrast to your hot shower. Everything was simply serene. 

Until you found Felix in the workshop. 

He was too preoccupied to notice you come in, roughly packing the boat, the four-wheeler and the speed bike at the same time. A scowl cut into his sharp features. Felix didn't acknowledge you when you crept closer. He was stubbornly attempted to loop a strap around a crate in the boat from where he was standing on the floor. 

“... Hey,” you attempted. 

No response. 

“That was rough in there,” you awkwardly commiserated. 

Still nothing.

You set your things on the workbench and hopped up into the boat, grabbing the strap from him and lashing down the crate yourself. He refused to meet your gaze when you jumped back out. 

After a tense beat, though, came a sniffle.

You pulled Felix in for an impromptu hug, wrapping him into your arms and rubbing his back. It took a moment before he let out a shaky breath, and then the tears came. Felix clutched onto the sleeves of your hoodie. 

“I’m sorry, dude,” you consoled him.

“I’m so stupid,” came his muffled voice from your chest. 

You grabbed his face and made him look at you, his freckles shiny wet with the residue of blotted tears. “You’re not stupid,” you scolded him. This whole thing wasn’t really your wheelhouse, but you at least had common sense. “You know that. You’re the one who’s hurt, he's the one that did something monumentally stupid.”

Felix dragged the back of his hand across his face as he nodded. “I know,” he sniffled. “I feel dumb for still wanting him.”

“It hasn't even been half a day!” you gently reminded him. You tried to sound confident. It, at least, felt like the right thing to say. “Sit in it for a bit, you know? When one day at a time is too long, try one hour at a time.”

“Thanks, Nova,” Felix nodded appreciatively. He tried to square his shoulders and neutralize his expression again. “Now get out of here. Watch the landing.”

It felt bad to leave Felix be, but maybe you were projecting. You preferred to have company when shit hit the fan, but it was likely Felix was the opposite. In all likelihood, he’d let you know when he felt better on his own. You ventured back into your cabin and changed, loving how welcome your comfy leggings felt now that the ship’s internal temperature righted itself. Phaborus was well within sight outside your window now that the Ambler had turned to let the planet fill your view. You leaned your palms onto the windowsill, enjoying the clouds swirling over the ocean’s surface.  

A beep in your cabin made you jump. 

“Phaborus approaching,” crackled Jisung's voice over the intercom. “Crew, prepare landing protocol.”

Adrenaline balled in your chest. This wasn’t like leaving T’kaarm, despite how similar it felt. In the case of leaving the spaceport, you were leaving behind everything familiar. Going to Phaborus was your first time going somewhere entirely new. You slipped your ratty sneakers on again and jogged out of your cabin. 

Most everyone was assembled on the bridge already by the time you arrived. Jeongin was sitting in Seungmin’s office, paging through old charts with his feet kicked up on the desk. Chan was hanging out at the console behind the pilot's station. Hyunjin was lounging back in the small library, lazily reading his tablet while Changbin was finally out of his cabin, now up overhead on his ladder and working inside another ceiling panel.

Felix climbed up the stairs at that moment, wiping his work gloves off on his trousers when he spied the mechanic. He seemed to think about this for a solid beat, and then promptly turned around and left before you even thought to protest. Your gaze following him back down the stairs brought you to the couch in the back of the bridge. Seungmin was seated there, cozied up under a blanket and fiddling with the packing tubes for his charts.

“Finally done?” you brightly asked him.

Seungmin’s expression cracked. “The first one is done.”

Jisung rocked in his chair at his station and grabbed his headset again. He glanced back over his shoulder.  Even though it was originally his ship, you had to admit that the pilot’s chair fit him like a glove. “Everyone better get their butt in a seat,” he nagged. “Or don’t, I don’t care.”

The navigator patted the couch beside him, beckoning you to come sit down. You lingered for a second. Why not sit with Hyunjin? Or Changbin, or Jeongin? You were hesitant for some reason, until you saw the mischievous edge to Seungmin’s grin. This alone shifted your pause to intrigue. You settled down onto the couch, trying to keep your wits about you and still enjoy the view of the planet looming in your view. 

Until Seungmin poked the spot in the crook of your neck, practically on your shoulder. It was the one mark you'd managed to get since you came on board, one dumb little hickey that Chan had sloppily left in his fervor when you two hooked up in your cabin. You clapped a hand to the bite and effectively swatted Seungmin off in the process. He only grinned in response. 

“Got a problem?” you cheekily interrogated. 

“Just a shame you’re so disloyal,” Seungmin winked back. “I was betting you're fun on dates.”

“What,” you smirked, “so now you can’t date me?”

The ship’s engines roared further back in the ship, likely boosting the Ambler into Phaborus’ atmosphere. On the bridge, most anyone who wasn't already belted fumbled around to do so. Craning your neck to see, you spotted Changbin sitting on the desk of the nav office, casually chatting with Jeongin. Seungmin seemingly pulled a belt out of the couch and clicked it on. At the pilot’s chair, Jisung flipped on some music to concentrate, the volume at a subtle roar. You searched your side of the couch but came up empty-handed. 

Right on cue, Seungmin slid his hand down into the couch between you. He fished out one end of the belt that Jisung had no doubt installed himself, and then reached across your lap. The move brought his face mere inches away from yours. Your breath caught in your throat again. 

“Date? I’m afraid not,” Seungmin shrugged, aloof. “Not really into dating.”

“Then what are you into?” you asked, your eyes darting down for a second when you heard him work the clasp of your seatbelt.

Seungmin’s grin was infectious, but now you caught yourself scanning the room again. With how low you were talking and the ambient noise of the ship, no one was bound to hear you two, and with how you were sat in the back of the bridge, you were in no one’s sightline. “Maybe,” he chuckled under his breath, “I’m into seeing how far I can push you, since you seem to love games so much.”

Your lip curled into a small smirk. “Now I'm playing games with you?” 

He poked the spot on your neck again, the pad of his finger pausing for a moment. “Seems like it. You’ll only flirt with me but it looks like someone already took a bite out of you.”

“And you know it’s a bite?” you pouted, feigning innocence. 

What happened next surprised the ever living hell out of you. Seungmin leaned closer in, his lips gently pressing to your pulse, inches away from Chan’s hickey. You shivered then, your hand jumping to clutch Seungmin’s knee. Still, no one was the wiser. In front of you, Jisung was plenty preoccupied, accelerating the ship a bit more and bobbing his head to his music. Chan was donning a headset, shielding the mic and chatting away with Fed Patrol to keep the landing clear while he tapped away on his console keyboard with his free hand. Who knew what Changbin or Jeongin or Hyunjin were up to. 

Who cared?

Seungmin capitalized on how startled you’d been and snuck an arm down around your waist, huddling you closer. He surreptitiously passed the edge of his blanket over your lap. His teeth grazed your neck then, before you felt him briefly nip and suckle at your skin. You pulled away with a gasp now, voice far more hushed than it needed to be. “Jeez,” you laughed breathlessly, trying to get an accusing eye on Seungmin. “Not even a kiss first?”

The navigator scoffed. “You’ve had plenty of chances to try and get one the old-fashioned way.”

“You don’t seem too old-fashioned to me,” you retorted, gasping again when Seungmin reeled you in closer.

“What,” he chuckled in your ear, his lips tickling you again, “you’ve never fooled around the old-fashioned way?”

The ship rocked hard when the Ambler finally entered Phaborus’ atmosphere.

Meanwhile, Seungmin’s hand mirrored your own on his knee, except it only took a second for his fingers to drift further up to your thigh. Almost instinctively, you parted your legs an inch, if only to see what his next move would be. 

“You enjoying this?” Seungmin taunted you, determination outlining the gruffer tone of his voice. “You loving how anyone could just turn around and see how crazy you make me?”

“I’ve hardly even done that much,” you defended, your voice lower now to match his. Seungmin’s hand slid from the top of your thigh to the inside. His lips and teeth were still working your neck over.

“And you’ve done just as much to stop me,” he softly challenged.

“You want me to stop you?” you shot back. Your own hand on his knee followed suit, slinking up his thigh.

Seungmin jumped, unintentionally squeezing your leg in the process. “Not at all,” he shook his head. “Like I said, I’m really good at playing chicken.”

“And now that I’m all warmed up,” you smirked in reply, “so am I.”

The navigator’s warm hand brazenly caressed your heat over your leggings, nearly making you scramble off the couch. 

This was undeniably hot.

It was deliriously fun.

And it was unmistakably gross.

Fooling around in the potentially full view of the crew was dizzyingly exhilarating.

The last thing you wanted was to be bested by Seungmin, so your own hand ventured towards the noticeable bulge under his coveralls. Hopefully this was all imperceptible in the dim cabin, and under your blanket for added measure. Seungmin bit down a gasped curse.

“You’re fun, you know that?” he grinned, breathless.

“Enough to kiss me?” you taunted.

Seungmin instead kissed your neck for what seemed like the hundredth time. “Maybe later, if you play your cards right,” he offered. 

You wriggled in Seungmin’s grip, the way he was practically holding you down so he could work you up and tease you driving you mad.

When the cabin lights snapped back on. 

The two of you bashfully slid a solid foot apart from each other, at least as far as the confines of the couch and your seatbelts would allow. You tossed your end of the blanket back at Seungmin, who caught it and stuffed it into the corner of the couch. It was hard to tell if the red tinting his cheeks was him being mortified at being interrupted or him trying to catch his breath after being so lost in the moment.

“Touchdown in ten…” Jisung announced to the cabin before counting down, casually shouting over his music.

Chan spun around in his chair, setting his headset on the console and getting out of his seat. He stretched for a moment and tucked his tablet back under his arm.

“What now?” you asked.

“Watch,” he directed you nonchalantly, pointing out the window. The lights lining the top arm of a large gate came into view as the ship settled down underneath it. What sounded like static rushed over the hull. “Sterilizing,” Chan explained, swirling a pointed finger upwards. “Now we wait.”

“We don’t get to go outside yet?” you asked, almost whining. The port came into view once the Ambler fully landed. There wasn’t much to make out in the night, but the sparse lights out in the port town silhouetted buildings and walkways. The urge to explore was itching at you.

Chan giggled as he beeped open his cabin back at the top of the stairwell. “‘Fraid not, dude. Gotta sit overnight per quarantine protocol. Not much to see until sun-up anyway.”

“Says you,” you sighed, rolling your eyes. You tried not to keep staring outside. Instead, you glanced back at Seungmin. 

It seemed that, with the lights back on, the navigator had officially begun thinking with his top brain again. Self-conscious didn’t begin to explain his expression, but he still looked a bit smitten.

“Well?” you grinned. “You have any plans?”

Seungmin smirked back at you, about to say something when–

“Yes,” Jisung suddenly cut in, dropping his headset around his neck. “He does! I’m helping him and Hyunjin make sure we’re all prepped to get everything done in a day cycle tomorrow. Now, shoo, go to bed.”

“Bed?!” you complained. “We just got up!”

“We slept in,” Jisung argued. “If we land on a planet, that’s the new day cycle for us. Now, Nova, sweetheart, again: shoo. Away. Begone.”

“I’m not gonna sleep a wink,” you huffed, still getting up regardless. Seungmin looked like he could murder Jisung at any second. 

“My condolences,” shrugged Jisung. He cheekily grabbed Seungmin’s chart out of his hand and wagged it at him. “Come on, Seung, follow the map.”

Seungmin stiffened his jaw and firmly shoved his hands in his pockets before reluctantly following Jisung. He looked back, though, as if to give you a chance to change his mind. You offered a small wave farewell before you left the bridge, heading back downstairs.

The spraying seemed to stop the moment your feet hit the galley floor. This was agonizing, simply thinking of a whole new world outside that you’d have to wait to explore. You crossed back into the workshop. Apparently, you weren't the only one wanting to enjoy the view. Up overhead in the loft, Felix was spreading out a blanket over the couch. 

“Needed some space?” you called up to him. 

He silently nodded. His arms extended up over his arched back in a tall stretch before he crawled into his blanket nest. The bay window was open, giving you a peek at the gorgeous night sky that you’d just descended from. 

“I’ll see you in the morning?” you tried adding. 

Felix only stuck up a thumb from where he was cocooned. 

You brushed off any remaining fretting that you could manage. Felix had to cope with this in his own way, even though you still weren't all too sure how to help, anyhow. Instead, you pushed open your cabin door, and were now faced with the lights of the port illuminating the ocean behind the ship. You crowded the window. The dark waves outside in the night ominously lapped at the shoreline, white seafoam lining the tide like lace trim. 

All this, and you were remarkably tired the second you attempted to even sit on your bunk and will yourself to sleep. It was instant, the quiet rush of waves outside lulling you to close your eyes and rest. 

🚀✨🚀✨🚀

Sleep didn’t last too long this time. The night cycle really only lasted about six hours, and that had already started before the Ambler touched down. You blearily scrunched your eyes open, only to be immediately startled fully awake.

A bird was sitting on a beam outside, squawking. You stared. Again, as embarrassing as it was to admit, you’d never seen a bird in person. You bolted out of bed and grabbed your toiletries, making a mad dash to the central head and opting to brush your teeth in the shower. Another shower seemed a little redundant, sure, but you knew that if you threw off your routine more than you already had, you'd be a goner. The light shirt you picked out was sticking to your still-damp back when you finished getting dressed and ran back into the workshop, boots untied. 

The boys all stood in front of the bay door, with Changbin waiting to push the button in the outfit you helped pick the other day. You were about to join them when a finger hooked into the collar of your jacket. 

“Hey-!” you jolted, wriggling until you noticed it was Chan holding you in place. 

“Hold on a second, cadet,” he grinned. 

Manhandling you to sit down on a crate, Chan grappled your arms up so he could slip a ridiculous armored vest onto you. He next plonked a laughably big laser rifle into your hands before you could protest. Your eyes darted around. Aside from you, no one else was noticeably armed except for Changbin, who had a zap gun clipped onto his belt. Felix was wearing a much slimmer armored vest and had his blaster safely holstered. 

“Dude,” Seungmin gawked. “What the hell are you doing?” He attempted to step forward when Chan got in the way, stooping to rest his hands on his knees with that shit-eating grin directed at you. This wasn't good. 

“I second that, Chan,” Felix shifted uncomfortably. “You know the Phaborians are weird about outward hostility, especially after Fed Patrol took over the Hatchery. Subtlety’s key, bro.”

“And someone needs to learn that the hard way,” Chan nodded enthusiastically. He didn't take his eyes off you. “You wanna act like a hotshot? Think you're a professional, Miss Nova?”

You attempted a lighthearted laugh. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, dude–”

“I’m talking about how you FUCKED THE BOUNTY, NOVA.”

“I– uh, well…” you trailed off. Out of the corner of your eye, the boys all displayed different levels of surprise. 

Except for Seungmin. He shook off his momentary shock with a scoff before busying himself with his packed charts. Meanwhile, Jisung was looking everywhere but at you. In fact, he was currently very interested in the ceiling. 

Chan, that asshole, he knew that Jisung slept with Minho too, didn’t he?!

“Well, how the hell do you know?!” you flustered.

“You know what Lee likes to do when I go to check on him?” Chan asked, crazed and exasperated. “He’ll talk at me ad nauseam until I leave. Will not shut the fuck up. Most annoying son of a bitch we’ve had down there in a while.”

“So he’s annoying,” you huffed, “what about it?”

“So guess what he won't shut up about today?” 

You remained steadfastly quiet. 

Chan clasped his hands together. “Allow me to rephrase. So, guess who’s apparently a terrific lay?" The captain was so proud of himself. “Now, as you know, I already know. I don’t even care that you nailed Jisung. But the bounty? Have some standards, cadet.”

By now, Seungmin’s cheeks were fully flushed. His frantic, wordless gaze darted from Chan, to you, to Jisung, all in a miserable triangle. You felt like shit, plain and simple. 

“Still doesn’t explain the dramatics,” Felix argued behind him. 

“If Nova is gonna be part of the crew,” Chan shrugged before putting his hands on his hips, “then she has to learn to be a bit more discerning. She was reckless, so she’s going to learn the hard way what difficulties that can lead to.”

With this, Chan strode over to Changbin and pushed the button for the workshop door that he was still holding. The heavy surface unsealed and rolled up, its gears grinding and squeaking in the mechanism. Outside, it was a gorgeous day on the Phaborian surface. 

“We clear, cadet?” the captain grinned back at you. 

You understood why Jisung liked the ceiling so much now. “Affirmative, Captain.”

“Next time,” Chan giggled while he pulled the lever for the workshop ramp, “if you have the chance to shoot him in the dick, do that. Now go, have fun being in the sun all day.”

The boys watched the captain stroll back towards the weapons rack. Meanwhile, the ramp extended out and reached out to the ground below.

“What about you?” Jeongin scoffed. “What’re you doing all day?”

“Me?” laughed Chan. He glanced back at you, and then at Jisung before grabbing an arm cannon off the wall. “Since I’m the only one I can trust to not fuck the bounty, I'm keeping watch. Have fun.”

You finally let out a deep sigh when the workshop door slammed shut behind Chan on his way out to the galley, but now there was a new presence to be wary of. A trio of Fed Patrol officers walked up the ramp, the misters on the slipdock’s gate activating overhead when they approached. Changbin engaged a crane arm to grab the four-wheeler and hoist it up and onto the ramp. The officers scanned everyone’s faces, checked the licenses, manifests, and inventories in Seungmin’s hands while they rummaged through Hyunjin’s pack, and then split up to check out the saddlebags on the four-wheeler while they inspected Seungmin’s charts. Each of the officers shot a hefty glance at you and the huge rifle in your hands. You quickly slung the ridiculous weapon over your shoulder by the strap to try and look less menacing. Seungmin was still not looking at you. When he was finished, he simply thanked the Fed Patrol officers and stalked down the ramp while Changbin brought down the boat through the sanitation mist to be moved onto another arm to lower the vessel into the water next to the slipdock. 

Jisung waved you over to follow him then, and you got up, really feeling the weight of the stupid vest and gun on your shoulders. 

“So, that was torture,” Jisung flippantly greeted. He slipped off his eyepatch before putting on a pair of sunglasses. “Chan must’ve been in a mood this morning.”

You nodded absently. Beyond the port, the island that made up one third of the Hatchery extended up into a mountain, covered in forest. However, these weren’t the kinds of trees you were expecting. You’d been predicting you’d finally see palm trees, but these were thick, fluffy evergreens, like Christmas trees. To be fair, you’d only seen these potted or simulated as well, but you were hoping to see a more tropical region of the planet. Morning haze gathered from evaporating condensation, giving the woods beyond the port a dreamy look.

“Sunny out,” Jisung blithely observed while he walked down the ramp with you. “It’s usually pissing rain. Phaborus has been dealing with mass evaporation from the oil drilling that started a few years ago, so that might be why it feels dryer around here, lately.”

You vaguely nodded. Just off the slipdock, Seungmin was hopping into the boat with Changbin and Jeongin. The navigator accidentally caught your eye, judging by the way his cheeks reddened again and he sharply turned his gaze away. 

“Close your mouth,” warned Jisung. You were about to question why when you both passed through the cloud of mist. Weirdly enough, it smelled artificially sweet instead of strictly sanitary.

The second your boots touched the solid ground of the slipdock, you were suddenly caught off-guard by how instantly you nearly crumpled at the knees. Jisung immediately shot out a protective hand to grab your elbow and steady you for a moment. You paused then, straightening back up. Simply the weight in your body felt different away from the magnetized floors of the Ambler, away from any magnets. This was your weight naturally held to the ground, and it somehow felt even more natural than your day to day life, only knowing dumb magnets since the day you were born. 

Minho was right. Nothing beat real gravity.

It was hard to marvel at this properly though, not with the Phaborians working the dock all staring at the weapon strapped to your back.

“You good?” Jisung asked, but he wasn’t looking at you. His gaze was focused back at the ramp behind you, with Felix now guiding the speedbike on the crane arm through the sanitation mist.

“I’d be better if you took this stupid gun,” you cracked a sardonic grin at him.

The pilot sneered right back at you. “What, because I let Minho catch me in a moment of weakness?”

You reached over, pinching one of the purple spots on his neck. “Looks like it was a real fun moment of weakness.”

“Look, I’m grateful that you didn’t put any more heat on me in front of the guys,” Jisung placated you, even leaning over to kiss you on the cheek. “And,” he added, “I’d repay you right now, but I have no room.”

“No room?”

Jisung shrugged helplessly when the bike touched down on the ramp. He walked up to it and easily straddled the seat.

You gawked at him. “I thought you were coming to the market with us!”

“I am!” chirped Jisung with a rev of the accelerator. “I’ll see you guys there!”

Of course, you didn’t get a chance to retort. Jisung already stomped on the clutch and zoomed off, leaving a haze of vapor behind him.

“Come on, dude,” called Felix behind you. You whipped around, seeing the weapons specialist already seated on the four-wheeler. Hyunjin was packing a saddlebag before waving you over. He carefully seated himself on one of the mudguards behind Felix and patted the other one across him.

“No sidecar, huh?” you teased.

“Afraid not,” Felix shook his head. He reached a hand out to you. “Now come on, give me the stupid rifle before you take somebody’s foot off.”

“... You sure?” You looked around the slipdock again. Something about the Phaborians’ expressions told you they really didn’t like the look of you carrying this thing around.

“What,” Felix smirked, “would you rather hold it? A professional is offering to get you out of a bind here.”

“He has a point,” Hyunjin added. “I’d honestly rather throw it off the fucking dock but if we’re taking it, I’d rather Felix carry it.”

“Fine,” you finally resigned. “If you want to go against the captain's orders so badly, be my guest.” You slipped the strap off your shoulder and handed the rifle to Felix, who checked the safety switch and shouldered the gun himself. Huynjin reached a grabby hand over to you, unclipped the bulky armored vest, and started pawing it off of you to stow in one of the saddlebags. The thing practically took up a whole bag by itself. Once again, Hyunjin patted the mudguard in front of you, urging you to sit down.

“Chan’s such a hypocrite sometimes,” Felix rolled his eyes.

“Yeah,” Hyunjin agreed. “You should ask him about the bounty we picked up from the Caravan.”

With the weight of the gun and vest off of you, you let your skin and bones settle into the gravity again. This was almost indulgent, feeling how natural it was just to stand like this, not feeling anchored to the ground through your feet. Easing down onto the mudguard across from Hyunjin, you practically savored the way the four-wheeler shifted on its suspension to carry all three of you. The appraiser grinned at you when Felix revved the engine and sped off. You followed suit, bracing one hand on the small cargo basket behind Felix, currently holding Hyunjin’s bag, and leaning into the acceleration. 

There was almost too much to take in, as the four-wheeler sped along the coast. The Phaborians, while humanoid in stature, stood tall and lithe, with retractable fins for swimming at their backs, arms, hips, and feet. Apparently, as you passed by, some of the denizens of the Hatchery, mostly feminine, liked to keep their fins out, decorating the semi-opaque appendages with tattoos or jewelry. A street vendor you zipped past was selling airbrushing and glitter just for fins, just like the little stalls that would pop up back home on T’kaarm. Summers growing up, you would occasionally treat yourself to a little glitter design on your shoulder or ankle. Tourist traps were the same everywhere.

This wasn’t even mentioning the ocean. There were boats upon boats out in the gorgeous bay of the Hatchery. Cruisers idled with sunbathing tourists stretched out on their spacious decks, while casual fishing boats milled around, leaving minimal wakes. Meanwhile, jet skis and speedboats weaved in between and around all these vessels, enjoying the morning waves and sun. 

This was sublime. The air was thick but felt good to breathe. 

Hyunjin reached over and gently got your attention by squeezing your hand. “It’s really your first time off the spaceport?”

“Yeah,” you nodded, still a bit dumbstruck.

“Well, you’ll know your way around the market,” he smiled. “They’re the same anywhere. Haggle hard. They tend to start really high here, even by tourist trade standards.”

You were about to ask when you were finally going to see this market, when the buildings suddenly gave way to a massive square, completely filled with stalls and tents. As opposed to T’kaarm’s markets, which were mostly tucked away into sprawling systems of alleyways, this was a labyrinth of shops and vendors all occupying a remarkable plot of land right on the waterfront. Phaborians and off-planet tourists and traders alike milled about in the busy square, bartering and shopping and chatting. Felix parked the four-wheeler under a tall evergreen and pinched his long-sleeved shirt away from his chest as much as he could with his armored vest in the way. 

“I should’ve dressed lighter,” he grimaced. “I don’t remember the last time it was hot here.”

You nodded in commiseration, yanking off your jacket and tying it around your waist. Felix quickly gave up, opting to take off his gear to remove the shirt entirely before putting the armored vest back on, but leaving the front unbuckled to allow for more ventilation.

“I have to offload some of this inventory first,” Hyunjin explained, rummaging around his bag. “You guys go have fun, I'll catch up with you in a bit.”

You nearly sprinted off, but didn't want to lose Felix. Despite him following close behind, you grabbed onto his hand and ventured deep into the market, almost immediately overwhelming yourself with the sights and smells amidst the heat. Felix dutifully kept up, occasionally reeling you back to show you something. A shopkeeper sold small robotic birds on perches. A roving vendor with a cooler was offering fishing bait, the mechanical, wind-up kind or the traditional bait made of meat scraps. Further down, a food stand carried fried crabs the size of volleyballs. You were looking through a rack of sunglasses when you finally looked through your hip bag to count your measly credits. 

Felix reached over and pushed your hand down. As it turned out, he had another pair of shades in his other hand. He leaned over to the vendor, immediately haggling down the price and then handing over his own credits instead. The vendor thanked him, but muttered something when you both left.

“What did they call you?” you surreptitiously asked. 

Felix looked back over his shoulder to you while he slipped on his new sunglasses. “What did it sound like?”

“... Clishaur?” You winced, positive you weren't close to replicating the word you just heard. 

“Glizhorr,” Felix simply corrected you. He handed you your new glasses. 

“What does it mean?” you asked, feeling awkward while you put them on. 

Felix stiffened his jaw down through his shoulders to stand tall while he walked the market with you. “War dog,” he curtly explained. 

You felt bad, letting Felix take Chan’s stupid punishment for you, but you had to admit, he definitely carried the gun like a pro. If anything went down, you’d rather he be the one carrying it. 

“Let’s change the subject,” Felix offered with a tired smile. “What were you doing at the spaceport? Aside from gigs, I mean.”

There wasn’t much to share, you explained while you walked together. Felix bought a meat skewer for you two to split. You dropped out of school when you were old enough that your parents wouldn't get fined for it, worked a bunch of tourist gigs, your siblings ran away in search of a better life, your mother ran after them, and your father was drafted. When you suddenly found yourself alone, that was when you played more fast and loose with how you made money. Your whole life had turned upside down in the space of a very long year, years ago. You did a little bit of time, got saddled with Klave for a parole officer, and that eventually led you here. 

You tried to cajole Felix into opening up as well, but he was far more guarded. His mother had said “military school or reform school” and he chose military school, which turned into a short stint in the marines before he brushed far too close to an early grave than he would’ve liked. 

No wonder he ended up with Chan.

Felix couldn’t hide the small grin he had when he told you about meeting Changbin. They were actually working together when they got recruited. Felix had been working at a host club, and Changbin was fixing slot machines when they met, and soon they were shaking down tourists and running jobs together before Chan scooped them up. 

“Changbin was the first person to never ask me to change,” Felix smiled to himself. 

“That’s because he’s smart,” you nodded. “You’re fine the way you are, dude. We’re not our choices, you know?”

“Unless you’re into murder,” Felix dryly shrugged. 

You playfully shoved his shoulder. “Thanks for ruining my point.”

A small stall at the end of one of the market’s rows was selling little hand-painted boats. The vendor started you at 50 credits and you immediately argued down to 30, praising the workmanship but citing the multiple other stands you’d come across with similar little boats. As expected, the vendor tried 40 before you pushed 30, and when he agreed, you were able to get it down to 25.

“You’re a natural,” Felix praised. He jumped, patting a hand down onto his pocket before grabbing his communicator. He read while you eagerly awaited an update. “We gotta go,” he ruled. “Hyunjin found a temple. It’s a couple blocks away so let's move the four-wheeler.”

You tucked your small souvenir into a padded pocket of your waist pack and trotted after Felix. Thankfully, as you both had been weaving in and out of aisles of the market, you weren’t too far from where you’d parked. You hopped back onto your seat on the rear mudguard of the four-wheeler before Felix took off, ducking and dodging through traffic with a practiced ease until you came upon a pretty stone courtyard only a couple minutes away. This was a more organic structure at the back of the entry, looking like it could very well be a sea stack that’d been hollowed out to serve as a temple. The space was tranquil, a quietly regal escape from the commotion only down the road.

However, this wasn’t quite the case when you and Felix entered.

“Eyes on the ground unless spoken to,” Felix furtively directed you. 

You quickly turned your gaze to the floor, a beautifully carved stone surface with complex, iridescent designs interweaving and circling each other. 

The tension in the space was palpable.

“–I’m afraid I’m not explaining this well,” Hyunjin said ahead of you. “I didn’t steal this.”

“But someone did,” came a stranger’s voice, gravelly yet feminine. “The viscount’s son has been refused marriage rites because this pendant had been taken.”

“Yes,” Hyunjin patiently acknowledged, “and that’s terrible, and that’s why I came to return this.”

“Forgive me, tradesman, it is just that it feels very convenient that the viscount’s son described the assailant as a human that shares a resemblance with you.”

“I respect that, your holiness,” refuted Hyunjin, “but I’m not a unique looking human. I’m literally just returning this and expect nothing back.”

“Nonsense,” the priest fired back. “You are familiar with our culture. You know these pendants are valuable and that we are a people who will always repay a good deed. And now you’ve brought reinforcements?”

Felix straightened up beside you, grabbing your arm and leading you behind him. “Our apologies,” he bleakly attempted. “We can wait outside.”

The attendees by the priest froze when Felix turned to leave, all staring at the rifle on his back.

“Interesting. An innocent good deed yet you’ve brought this hound to help you.”

“You misunderstand!” Hyunjin pleaded.

You looked up now, ready to intervene somehow, but Felix was already coming up to grab Hyunjin.

Except that the temple attendees suddenly had their own firearms now.

The elder priest grimly folded her arms. “Careful of your next move, tradesman,” she firmly warned.

“We’re not doing anything!” Hyunjin panicked, reaching in his bag, “just let me show you–”

Two shots rang out. One grazed Hyunjin’s hand, making him drop his messenger bag and the pendant in his hand immediately. The other came from Felix’s blaster, his aim carefully missing the firing attendee on purpose. 

The next minute was pure chaos. A firefight ensued on the spot, with you and Hyunjin making a break for the entrance while Felix covered for you. However, another attendee got in your way, raising their fins in an attempt to block you. You were thrown back into Felix, who quickly caught you with a free hand–

But left him open to catch a shot, right in his exposed waist. Felix barked out a curse and crumpled to the floor but you managed to get an arm around him, yanking the rifle off of him to try and make him easier to drag along with you. You frantically scanned the room for Hyunjin, only to see him thrashing and uselessly trying to fight in the midst of getting dragged away into a back chamber by the temple attendees. Another couple attendees reached for you then, but you quickly grabbed Felix’s blaster. You fired a warning shot at the feet of one attendee before ducking out the door and slumping Felix over the cargo basket of the four-wheeler before peeling out of the courtyard. 

This was a nightmare, but you just needed to get back to the ship.

That is, until two temple attendees came screeching onto the tight street with their own four-wheelers. You revved harder and tried to figure out what the hell to do. 

It was at that precise moment that you realized that, despite what he’d assured you, Jisung never met up with you at the market. He had no idea this was even going on. You had to find him.

Right?

But, then again, Jisung was smart and had his own ride. If you got back to the Ambler, Chan would know what to do. And Minho was a medic in the marines, wasn’t he? He might even be able to help Felix.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - So Many GREAT Kisses!

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

(Please notice I am now using 6 dots in all ellipses because according to Taiwanese BL that's how we queers roll. Who am I to argue?)

Sept 2024 Week 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

Jack & Joker (Thai Mon IQIYI) ep 2 of 12 - A most excellent glow up. And it’s still a great show. And I cannot wait to see the many different faces of War. Bring on the Leverage of One action-packed mess. I'm waiting.  

Monster Next Door (Thai Thurs Gaga ) ep 9 of 12 - I’m gonna say this because it drives me crazy. Why are boys in BL, when out and about the countryside, always dressed inappropriately for Thailand? If it’s hot, takeoff your damn jacket. I don’t mean to be crass or crazy or whatever. But don’t wear a jacket when it’s 90° with 90% humidity. In Thailand, jackets are for malls. Meanwhile, I’m an extrovert and that still seemed like an exhausting trip. Although, I suppose they didn’t show all the drive time in the van, when everyone is asleep.

Meanwhile, why are the sides so frustrating in this show? Authentic friends-to-lovers is always a slog. Finally a kiss! And a decent one.

New character? Aw! Hi Yu!!!! Gosh Putter is so cute.

Where were we? Oh yes, Beer is now heartbroken. Always the great fear in F2L that the friendship will be destroyed as a result. And it’s a decent fear. 

On a completely different note, I cannot help but wonder when somebody’s chue len is Beer, if that is because beer was involved in their conception. Like, it’s the name you give your "oops baby" from that drunken night at the club. Don’t mind me. I’m just over here in the corner being crass.

Battle of the Writers (Sun YT) ep 8 of 12 - That was one of the cutest wake up sequences ever depicted. Utterly adorable. And now he’s blind again? Oh my God this is such a soap opera, I can’t even. Meanwhile, wicked ice prince finally made his move. Gah! Why aren’t we getting more of this couple? I always love the sides best with this production house.

I Saw You in My Dream (Weds Gaga) ep 10 of 12 - I love a hard fraught game of badminton. Even though we actually didn’t see play. YoIng claiming was so cute!!! And their shower kiss was v hot. Yay little show! Also cute use of the punishment trope!

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 3 of 12 - The weight upon the shoulders of our idiot good guy kidnapper continues to pile up. So does the affection. The dude playing Q has sanpaku eyes. Cool. He’s not a particularly good actor though. Rough because everyone around him is giving their very best.

The problem is. I'm noticing. I shouldn't be noticing all the talent trying so hard. That usually means there is something wrong with the story, or there was something wrong on the set.

I don't know what to say at this juncture except I have the sinking suspicion this might not actually be a good show. (Covers head and cowers. Don't hate me.) I'd loved to be proved wrong, but my faith is GMMTV is only about 50% these days. And it probably should be lower.

Addicted Heroin (Thai Tues WeTV) ep 6 of 10 - I was so confused by how we suddenly got on a trip together, that I went back and re-watched the previous installment. And it still isn’t explained. So I have no idea why our leads are on a trip but apparently that’s the next trope to hit. I also have no idea how they're suddenly boyfriends. I’m just generally confused by this episode. It’s like an alt reality. We skipped over all of the stuff where they actually got into a relationship. In general I wasn’t wild about this episode.

The Trainee (Sun YT) ep 12fin - The most realistic thing about this show is that everybody is everybody else’s ex on any given set. I feel that in my bones. Or do I mean boner?

Frankly, both actors look better after a glow up and I guess pretending to be more their actual ages suits them? Considering what was actually done to invoke youth (a lot of the shine and gloss) aging them was an anti-glow up. A great mattification? Well...... this was a somewhat lackluster finale. (Thank you, thank you, the pun was unplanned. It's a gift.)

I don’t know. I guess I wanted to see Jane suffer? Work HARD to get the kid he abandoned back? I would’ve liked to have seen Ryan a little bit more competent and capable and his job. Maybe dating someone else. But I also do not want any more episodes. This was more than enough. So instead no separation, just boyfriends and a montage of their lives together, getting new and better jobs, moving in together, being supportive and sweet, etc... LOOK: It’s never a good sign when I immediately want to rewrite the show that I just saw.

In conclusion:

A story about a group of interns at a commercial video production company. While I genuinely love OffGun, I’m not convinced this was a good vehicle for them. Is it terrible for me to say, I miss their PickRome days? I don’t think they’ve ever had rolls that suited them better. Still, theirs was the best storyline in this ensemble piece masquerading as a BL, although they still fumbled the ending. Thus, I enjoyed about a 1/3 of it as much as possible, and 2/3 of it less than conceivable. 7/10 and I seriously considered dropping it to a 6/10 so don't push me.

Love Sick 2024 (Thai Sun iQIYI) ep 1 of 15 - Not gonna lie I was very skeptical. But I like it fine. Better than I expected because it’s been changed just enough. But it does need to stay changed. I don’t know what I’m trying to articulate here but…... I guess we’ll see.

Live in Love (Sun Gaga) ep 3 of 5 - It’s cute in a weird disjointed way. I’m enjoying it enough, I guess. I do like how forthright and direct Kla is. 

Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - Ah. Bully romance. My old frenemy. Of course making this office based means +10 for workplace harassment. Well well well. This will be red flag party town I see. How VERY old school yaoi. It’s all very Cdrama CEO = dudes in suits walking on parquet (minus all the gay sex of course.) The jumping around between times and unfinished scenes is very strange. Is this Starhunter chaos only applied to a timeline?

Imma say this so they hear it at the back. YOU HAVE TO CHANGE THE HAIR. If you do time jumps: change. the. hair. It's the easiest and best clue if you aren't going to apply a filter or other cinematography tricks. JUST CHANGE THE DAMN HAIR STYLE.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

The On1y One (Taiwan Thurs Gaga) eps 9-10 of 12 - And now we all start using six dots in our……? A new coded way to indicate that one is into BL? I did think we were in a slight mire with ep 9, too much teacher filler. Not enough time spent with our boys. Meanwhile, sports day. Pouty Baby utilizing the power of Ge, in front of all of the classmates who do not realize how hard he is flirting and activating babygirl = one of the greatest things ever to happen on my screen. Essentially this was a version of the claiming trope, only nobody knew it but the two of them. Fucking genius. Yes, I watched it multiple times. Then babygirl is injured, the carrying and the flirting!!!! Gah!

I don’t mean to trivialize the show, but this is me and I can trivialize everything even something as brilliant as this. But that conversation about history at the beginning of ep 10...... Was that about topping and bottoming? Because it sure seemed that way.

And then...... Possibly the best only one bed trope twist ever?

This show is so fucking amazing.

And I am so worried about the end.

Sugar Dog Life (Japan Sun grey) ep 7 of 10 - I love the kinkyness of our baby boy’s fantasy. Where he is the gift and his boyfriend is in uniform. Very nice. Thank you Japan. Never one to let kinky dogs lie. Also, the premise continues: one half thinks that they are already boyfriends and acts like it, and the other half is still trying to become a boyfriend. It’s absurd in that way that only Japanese miscommunication extraordinaire can be absurd. Also could Kyosuke be any more under his boy’s thumb? 

Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 1-2 of 10 eps - Shiba is a top lawyer, angular aggressive bespectacled workaholic cat-type (Kitten? Babygirl? Tsundere? Some unholy combination of all 3?) I am reminded I should be more considerate of my potted plants. OMG the teasing and the little tongue sticking out. Haruto is such a flirt. I love this dynamic. What fun! Manic pixie dream boy but MAKE HIM EVIL! Or very high? Or a grifter? I have absolutely no idea what’s going on. But I’m enjoying it. It’s very...... very

First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) ep 7 of 12 - Oh! Good kiss. Smart to have the younger character initiate. I also like that he put a stop to it and then went and had a long conversation with a friend about it. Cautious boy. Also shows how in control of the situation Sea is becoming. It works for this BL since he has the stronger personality. I don't care what the characters say, this is about Sea becoming a rock for Neil.

But the secondary couple is actually winning this show. I want so much more of them. 

Seoul Blues (Korea Fri? YouTube) ep 8fin - I’m not sure that blackmailing and entrapment, especially of your ex, necessarily justifies cheating. Plus I never like it when it’s gays against gays. But what did I expect from this show? This whole series was basically Korea’s version of messy gay. If you liked Only Friends you’ll probably enjoy this bullshit. And they were quite pretty. I, however, am monumentally displeased. 4/10 FATALLY FLAWED but still, basically, BL, however…... do we want to support this kind of behavior?

KOREA PLEASE GIVE US A NEW PROPER BL!! WHERE ARE YOU? WE ARE SAD AND LOST WITHOUT YOU.

It's like now they discovered boys can kiss they can't be happy.

It's airing but...

The Hidden Moon (Sat WeTV) ep 1 of 10 - This is a supernatural romance (my ghost boyfriend trope) by Violet Rain (I Feel You Linger). A man is hired to write an article about an old mansion in Chiang Mai being converted into a café. He sees the ghosts of people who died at the mansion, falls in love with one of them. Was substantially recast. I loved IFYLITA except the ending so I think I'll let this one run it's course you can tell me if it's work tracking down... if they managed to land it. I have my doubts.

Happy of the End (Japan Tues Gaga) - A boy is disowned for being gay, dumped by his boyfriend, and ends up in a dysfunctional co-dependant relationship with his would-be kidnapper. We were due for another messy JBL and it's exactly as expected. I do not like it at all. And ya know what? There is plenty airing. DNF 

In case you missed it

I FINISHED Meet You at the Blossom (China). I ate crow, binged the fucker, and live blogged the experience. I enjoyed it a lot and got quite witty (I think) there are also puns (warning). But if you don't wanna slog though it, here are my final thoughts:

This was undeniably a wuxia and most definitely a BL. Evil stunning princely Cheekbones meets and falls in love with the bisexual disaster Dimples of his dreams. There’s a lot of floaty fighting, tangled plot, and overworked emotions. From start to finish it is exactly as it claims to be, including more than the expected amount of sexual claiming (dubious conscent to the point of rape). I’m not wild about the wuxia genre, but I will tell you what I do like: Very pretty men in flowing robes + eye makeup + hair ribbons wafting about stabbing and kissing each other plus ridiculous soap opera machinations. I also like cheekbones and dimples. AND I love a stupid gay sleeve, okay? There was also truly epic levels of stink-eye, and that too is to be lauded. This show left me grinning like crazy. Was it great? Not really, but it was a great experience and I enjoyed it immensely. 8/10

4 Minutes (Gaga) Ended - Spies reported in to say the ending was not-exactly-unhappy and mostly lackluster. I'm torn over whether to watch. My natural disinclination to binge, meets my dissatisfaction with wishy-washy, is going up against my love of high heat and pretty men. Oh the age old struggle between art and lust.

Mitsuya-sensei no keimakutekina ezuke finished and it’s reported to be solid. Age gap treated with respect. I'm curious, so I'll check it out if I can get hold of non-G-drive subs.

Next Week Looks Like This:

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

Still Coming Sept 2024:

9/28 Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YouTube) ?? eps - oh I don't know just Ba Vinh doing his thing with pretty boys again.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

I love love love this execution of the punishment trope. What's Ai going to do to you, Yu? Ride you to death?

I Saw You in My Dream indeed.

Sigh. This show. (Addicted Heroin)

All praise one of BL's best-in-show glow-ups. Nicely done, Jack.

James, on the other hand. Never needs a glow-up. Still the prettiest. Has been since Oxygen. (Battle of the Writers)

He's playing the role of Saint in this show, thank you very much. Speaking of which, wouldn’t that be just the most gorgeous pairing in the entire universe? Saint and James? I’ll be in my bunk. 

Taiwan giving us a boop! Reminds me of Be Loved In House I Do, right up there with TharnType as chronic boopers.

Why is he SO GOOD in this show?

All Frist Note.

(Last week)

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

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

Sigh, Tumblr in its infinite wisdom doesn't like too many at-ings.