#let wen kexing be cringe

[sirenofthegreenbanks]

an angle that i think is underexplored with wkx is that he is very unpleasant to be around for the first third of the show because he is a fake, self-righteous gossipper. he talks shit about people behind their back with an insufferable, righteous air. he avoids vulnerability and lifts his voice to make clear he holds the monopol on being morally correct. ive seen him put into queen bee and mean girl clique leader roles but i think rather than this, he is much less self-contained and less self-aware as he is convinced he is. in media, the queen bee or the leader of a mean girl clique is calculatated, whip smart, self aware, and unapogoletic about it. she doesnt want to change, she likes what shes doing. she knows shes mean; she enjoys it. wkx thinks he is the underdog, but he has too much power to be the underdog anymore. hes like a white feminist girlboss thinking he is being oppressed when in actuality, he is on his best way to becoming what he seeks to call out. in our witch hunt purity culture public humiliation perfomative activism era, this is incredibly on the point

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

Currently Watching - May

aka The Masterlist

Because I love a good little list - in alphabetical order! 😊

Regularly updated during the month, latest update 31.05.2024

A little link to my favorite bl-tropes-collection 💙

I am happy about gif-requests 🌼

Here you can find all of my gifs.

At the end you can have a look at what we can expect in April with a MDL link and a link for a trailer (if avaible).

This is guaranteed to contain spoilers!

1. 25 Ju, Akasaka de 🇯🇵 (7/10)

I really enjoyed this episode. It didn't feel like a filler. I loved to see some of Hayama's thoughts and emotions. He liked Shirasaki since forever and I really hope they can find their way back together. The pain is so bittersweet. They like each other, but because of walls and misunderstandings they can't live their feelings. Really good episode this week!

2. Cityboy_Log 🇰🇷 (16/?)

I am so confused right now. Sometimes these time jumps are confusing. But okay. Those two made up. And only Jihan apologised? I hate jealousy, extreme jealousy, but I think he didn't need to apologise... I think Jaejun should apologise too, at least for his flirty behavior and this fucking kiss. I still need time to love this again and I hope this story is not going to be more fucked up with cheating and stuff...

3. My Stand-In 🇹🇭 (6/12)

The only thing I can say about the last episode is: I am obsessed with this kiss... There is nothing more in my head. Brain empty. This series is becoming more and more interesting. I am emotional invested now!

4. Only Boo 🇹🇭 (8/12)

I love these two. They are adorable and a blessing on my sundays! We got our first kiss this week and it was a first kiss. It was a little bit awkward and hesitant and cautious and it fit their character really good. I love their energy and the fact that they love each other like they are. It is such a healthy relationship.

5. Wandee Goodday 🇹🇭 (4/12)

From One-nicht-stand to friends with benefits to fake boyfriends... And Kao is right, they have crossed the line with only being fake boyfriends a while ago. Jealousy is beginning to blossom. The wish to kiss each other is groing stronger day to day and I love it here! And is it not normal that you need time to come clean with your own feelings and getting over a year long crush? I totally understand both of them for not letting go of their crushes of years that easy.

6. Word of Honor 🇨🇳 (20/36)

Those two flirt a lot and are a married couple. Everyone knows that. And I love and enjoy that! Overall this is such a fun watch and the different sects and intrigues are sometimes a little bit confusing, but interesting. I love this world of martial arts and I love how protective Wen Kexing is over Zhou Zishu.

Finished in May

Series

Unknown 🇹🇼

The story about found family, childhood trauma and struggling topped with a lovestory between "brothers". They aren't brothers by blood so I really didn't care and just enjoyed this forbidden and hurtful lovestory to the fullest. This was exactly what I hoped for! The longing, tension and hurting is so good! The love between them is real and strong, but Qian is afraid and can't just let his heart decide over the head, yet. He loves Yuan, but is afraid what that means for them and especially for Yuan's future. I love this series so much! I didn't expect too much when I started it and got hooked really fast and in the end my entire week pointed to the saturdays and te new episode and the interaction here with the fandom. The last two epsiodes lost a little bit track and were to cramped with things that didn't need to be there, but I still loved this whole experience! So fucking beautiful! One of my all time favorites. A clear and big 10 out of 10!

Love Is Like A Cat 🇰🇷

The last two epsiodes were so bad I didn't want to gif any scene for this post... I cringed through this whole series... well at least through those parts I didn't skip. I mean, I could not even watch the kiss-scene, because all I could see were the few beard stubbles around Mew's mouth like he didn't get all of them while shaving. And they were so visible against the lightning. And all of their relationship felt so rushed and don't get me started with the thai/korean translator thingy. The concept of this was interesting, but bad executed. It really hurt my feelings to rate a korean bl this low, but everything, the plot, the acting, the dialogue, the script... everything was bad. When I close one eye really tight and think about this cutie Dae Byeol I can give it a 3 out of 10, but really not more.

You Are Mine Special 🇹🇼

This was not on my list this month, but here we are. And what can I say? They kissed a lot! So many kisses! If someone likes kiss, here ya go! It was sweet and a good ending to their story, but a little bit to sugary for me. But that is a personal preference. Those two get engaged and Shun Yu's mother approves of their relationship. It was kinda sweet seeing our CEO as "just" the boyfriend. I guess it is what you wish for as a special episode. I am not mad about it. I give it a solid 7 out of 10.

Blue Boys 🇰🇷

What was this ending? I am speechless and so damn angry! They overcame every misscommunication trope and ended like this? The bad-bitch-wanna-be-girlfriend? The If-I-can't-have-him-no-one-can-bitch? Really? It was a solid web series with great acting and incredible chemistry and they ended up breaking up, because a jealous bitch would destroy Jaemin's life if he continued dating Namyi? And Namyi is now thinking it is his own fault, because his family is rich and because he fell in love? I don't like it here. That ending was stupid. Sorry. Overall a 7 out of 10.

Memory in the letter 🇹🇭

I enjoyed this cute series so much, until the final episode... What was that? It was sweet and kinda wholesome, a little bit tacky, but that was alright and I really liked how they fell in love over the mirror. But that ending? The dad's best friend is now your boyfriend? And he looks so fucking different! Like a total different person. I know, love should be blindm but lets me real, if that was me, I would be: Stop. Who the fuck are you? Why is a 40 year old man hitting on me 20 year old? This felt so bad... I have no problem with the whole time travel, but 20 years is too much! And he is his father's best friend. He delivered his future boyfriend. That felt so wrong! I was a fan until ep 5 and with 6 everything went down... I still give it a 7 out of 10.

Boys Be Brave! 🇰🇷

Okay, it ended.... like that... where is the special epsiode? I want to know how the last date goes between Balgeum and Inho. I am happy for our main couple and they are cute as fuck, but what is with our unlucky side couple? Balgeum wants to become a better person for Inho and that is quite cute, unnecessary, but still kind of understandable. He needs to feel like he can offer Inho something more, while Inho is happy what he already has to offer. But with social backgrounds, I kind of understand him. But where is this special epsiode or spin-off?! I need it! Now! But I am really happy with the ending for our main couple. They are adorable! But the time skips with the hair-extansions confused me a little bit. But for me a strong 8 out of 10.

Kare no Iru Seikatsu 🇯🇵

They got their happy ending and I am happy with that. We got an I love you and some cozy snuggle time. What more do I need? Nothing... A coffee perhaps, but that's okay. I like this series. It was a cute watch with some heartache, but overall it was sweet and cute and positive. And I love Haruna for telling Natsukawa that wanting the best and happiest life for someone you love and at the same time refusing to give that person the thing that would make them the happiest is stupid. They are happy, I am happy. A happy 8 out of 10 for me.

Short Film

Movie

Dropped in May

Looking forward to in May

Upside Down aka Inverse Identity 🇨🇳 - Trailer (May 3rd)

Wandee Goodday 🇹🇭 - Trailer (May 4th)

My Marvellous Dream Is You 🇹🇭 - Trailer (May 8th)

Blossom Campus - Trailer 🇰🇷 (May 16th)

OMG! Vampire 🇹🇭 - Trailer (May 19th)

No international release dates:

A Balloon's Landing 🇹🇼 - Trailer (Coming to cinemas on May 10th)

The Time Of Fever 🇰🇷 - Trailer (Coming to cinemas on May 15th)

Manji Reverse 🇯🇵 (Coming to cinemas on May 24th)

The Time Of Huannan 🇹🇼 - Trailer (Coming to cinemas on May 31st)

[brazilian-whalien52]

Let's play a game!

Think about the oldest BLs you have ever watched. They must have been released at least before 2020. Now name 5 to 10 iconic scenes that you can't forget

1. Sotus (2016) - Okay even if we do have problems with the use of wife today. This scene will never not be iconic. In fact, Every time Kongpob Opened his mouth in the first episodes of Sotus it was pure gold

2. Advance bravely (2017) - Is it a cliche scene? Yes. But I absolutely have him fighting and walking shirtless in the rain playing in my head 24h

3. History 3 Trapped (2019) - Shao fei trying to show off with a girl (but not being able to go further than hugging) and ending up just going absolute insane when Tang yi makes out with a men is definitely top BL scenes to me. Truly they don't make enemies like this anymore.

4. History 3 Make our days count (2019) - Absolutely insane that this kiss changed my brain chemistry but nobody talks about it anymore. Traumatized so many gays that learned to not make out in the couch unless you lock the door.

5. Puppy honey (2016) - maybe because this was my first Thai BL, but this Offgun scene always makes me go "oh". I am pretty found of it. Also the shower soap scene that feels like the start of a porn hahah

6. WaterBoys - this is not a positive scene. But lives rent free in my mind why a swimming club would choose to do a snow-white play instead of the little mermaid? It is 2024 and I still want to know.

7. Make it Right 2 (2017) - when he fell in love with the smell of the other fart? Is this a fever dream or truly happened? I can't trust myself anymore

8. Yuri on Ice (2016) - leaving dramas but I can't forget to mention this scenes

9. What the duck - Idk but I always remember the wedding proposal, maybe because it was the first queer one I saw where the guys were protagonists? The show is terrible thou, I do not recommend.

10. The lovers (2015) - I don't think I can ever forget the sense of humor on this show. Made me cringe so hard and can not be scrubbed off. They watching porn together was a crazy scene thou.

Honorable mentions to; love by chance, 2moons and tharntype. Also atots, theory of love, guardian and he is coming to me that do not feel old to me so didn't make the cut.

Anyway if you are not tagged and want to take part feel free.

Tagging: @absolutebl @sparklyeyedhimbo @shannankle @thepancakelady @wen-kexing-apologist @formayhem @heiscomingtomygrave

[twig-tea]

BL/QL Ask game : The Ugly, the Bad and the Worst

Thank you for the game, @clara-maybe-ontheroad! And thanks for tagging me @clara-maybe-ontheroad and @lurkingshan! I started out by saying to myself that I'm going to do my best to ignore my urges and just answer the first thing that comes to me rather than treating this like a quiz. And then I went into a fugue and worked on this for >5 hours. WHOOPS.

Original version here for anyone else who wants to play!

Also quick warning, this is asking about the worsts, so TW for mentions of horrific plot points below.

Worst soundtrack / weirdest song choice in a BL

Ohhhhh man, ok so the first thought that came to mind was Never Let Me Go, which mostly had fantastic background music, and that's maybe why when it didn't hit it stood out so badly (sorry to my man Pond, not all BL actors should be singers! And having his OST play over their kiss in Part 7 4/4 was just mean). For the record I love this show (actually maybe it should go in one of the below categories because so many tumblr folks dislike it) but this was rough.

Most cringe-inducing line (cute)

These don't tend to stick with me...there are so many, and I am allergic to sincerity so everything earnest is various levels of cringe to me. So with that in mind, basically everything Gavreel ever said in Gameboys counts.

Most cringe-inducing line (actually bad)

Anytime someone said "Once I start I won't be able to stop" or some variation.

Most stupid decision made by a character

Jun Ho deciding to die rather than bite Min Hyun in Kissable Lips. Min Hyun was offering. it would have made Jun Ho human. He could have had his friends around to make sure he didn't go too far and kill him. Instead he decides to fade away in his arms like a dick. WHY.

Special mention to NuengDiao going back to his hotel where his murderous uncle is waiting with no plan other than to walk in wearing a suit and a cocky expression in Never Let Me Go.

[@bengiyo and @wen-kexing-apologist are correct about Teh giving up his spot to Oh Aew in I Told Sunset About You as the actual correct answer, btw]

Worst plot line

Every penultimate episode crises resulting in the leads splitting up so that they can reunite in the finale that are not earned and significantly detract from my enjoyment of a series [this list is not comprehensive]: 2Gether, Minato's Laundromat S2, Enchanté, Love Class, Plus & Minus.

The most problematic show you've watched

I've seen literally all of them so this feels like an unfair question lol there are layers of problematic; like, is it even worth considering all of the problems with A Round Trip to Love, or The Shortest Distance is Round, or What the Duck s2? I wrote out summaries for these and then decided no thanks. If anyone wants to know they can DM me.

In terms of series that are problematic but not often considered problematic, I'm calling out Love Area the series. It hits two of my pet peeves: shitty treatment of a poor character by an oblivious rich love interest that directly affects their sources of income, and an ableist subplot. I think it also has an unearned separation in the penultimate episode but honestly I remember thinking they should stay split up so maybe it was earned.

A show people love but you find bad

Vice Versa. Sorry to all who love that show. I wanted to like it; the colouring and cinematography are beautiful and the alternate universe was neat worldbuilding. But the plot makes me so, so angry.

Ditto Cutie Pie the series. I just can't enjoy it.

A show people find bad but you will defend

Honestly there are several, but the one that is most disliked that I will ride hardest for is probably Secret Crush On You (which I argued ended with one of the most healthy relationships in a BL here LMAO). I get why people find this show hard to watch, the cringe is real. But the gender expression! The found family! The "he's a weirdo and that's why I love him" dynamic! The mutual lusting! The body dysphoria! The fact that both start by playing into BL tropes and it's only by throwing those out that they can actually have a meaningful relationship! The way both characters have real growth! And like yes Toh is a fanboy stalker but that is problematized in the show! It gave us the growth from fanboy to faen that Be Mine Superstar didn't. I have a lot of emotions about this show.

ALSO because I cannot stop, I will forever to my dying breath defend Color Rush. I don't care what you say about dead fish kisses I can't hear you over the incredibly powerful metaphor about the queer experience!

A show that is just objectively bad but you enjoyed it

Bahahhaha. Um. So many, my friends. OH I'm going to take this chance to shout out the lesser-known webseries Discipline Z: Vampire (Korean, YouTube, 2020). It's ostensibly a sequel to Discipline, but the only thing they share is a single character so you don't need to watch it to understand what's happening in Discipline Z (they are entirely different shows in every way; Discipline is more youth slice of life with a queer story as part of the ensemble). Listen, I'm talking about this show in this category for a reason; it's about a vampire who falls for a street dancer, whose motley crew of hacker friends help rescue the vampire from an evil corporation that wants to experiment on him to understand his immortality. It is BAD.

But. BUT! I love it. Everyone is so pretty. There is a cute hacker girlie. There is scifi nonsense to explain immortality. There is a good kiss. There are characters willing to sacrifice to do the right thing. I am a simple woman. [Fair warning to my happy ending only pals: this ending is ambiguous at best; there was supposed to be a follow-up epilogue for the couple, but it never got filmed.]

Bonus, En of Love was absolutely trash and it has a very special place in my heart. It's not good (like, at all), but it's great.

A bad show that you kept watching because you were intrigued/fascinated

Let's go with Physical Therapy the series. At some point I just kept watching like a car wreck to see how bad it could get. Also shout-out to Dinosaur Love, which was...similarly bewildering.

A bad show that you kept watching because you were horny

@lurkingshan already stole my first answer for this, but oh man I stay a Why R U apologist for the Fighter/Tutor chemistry. I actually think somewhere in there is a really interesting show, if the pandemic hadn't made it impossible for them to film the ending that they wanted to, but based on the Korean version and the parts that we were told had to be cut, maybe it would have actually made it worse. But just to get on my soapbox for half a sec, Tutor was in debt, working himself to exhaustion, and Fighter (after he got over himself) protected him at his one job, joined him to help him meet his sales targets at another, hired him for a third, paid off his debt collector to take the pressure off, and then took him on vacation to help him relax--twice. I have issues with depictions of poverty in BL but at least my man secured the bag while also pursuing love or whatever. Also he whispers "get inside me" while they're making out, sorry, Tutor will forever be a fave of mine.

Since that's taken, I'm going to use this as an excuse to shout out the hotness of My Day the Series. It was predominantly not great but the heat moments....

A bad show that you kept watching because of that one character

I'm giving this to Noey Watplu from I Will Knock You. I was obsessed with him. I want his confidence so badly. I love how he's essentially a dork in cosplay but gets away with it because of his rizz. Truly iconic. This man decided he was being seduced and said "bet". I really enjoyed this show because of him and him alone.

A bad show that you would still recommend

I'm going to put Ghost Host Ghost House here. It's "bad" in the sense that it had low production values (like, really bad, so bad the time of day changes at random because they lost the light while filming). But the romance was cute, the story around the romance was interesting, the worldbuilding around the merit credits was fascinating, the side mystery was so heartbreaking, the various characters actually had a lot of difficult emotions to portray, and overall I think this show is underrated.

I also already have and will again recommend YYY as a fun and fascinating watch to anyone who asks about it, @waitmyturtles is correct on that call.

The character that ruined a show the most

There are several annoying sides in BL, but I'm giving this to the side hets in My Oxygen. A fujoshi who records people without their consent for online clout is bad. A doctor using his role as a doctor to get closer to his patient is really bad. Pretending to be interested in his friend because the girl he likes is a fujoshi is worse; then using her brother as his friend's stand-in when his friend won't put up with it anymore is the WORST.

Most awful character that you hated

I mean, Lhong in TharnType takes it for not only arranging the gang rape of Tar, but being forgiven for it in the series. Neung in Tonhon Chonlatee comes a close second for attempting to rape Chonlatee and then claiming the moral high ground against his homophobic "friend". Tony in History 5: Love in the Future doesn't get enough hate for trying to murder someone just because he was his love rival. Namning in La Cuisine had her love rival bullied, beaten and who knows what she was going to do with that gun. Also shoutout to @wen-kexing-apologist's answer of Korn, in KinnPorsche, he was so insidiously evil, it was so well done.

Most awful character that you loved

I'm going with "awful" as not necessarily (just) morally bad but that people didn't like: Jaime from Win Jaime's Heart. Objectively he's a fuckboi of the worst calibre. He agrees to go on a webshow in which he dates Heart so that he can seduce the creator of the show Winston. And Jaime is so charming that I don't care about his bi wrongs (partially, to be fair, because the premise is ridiculous so it's hard to take too seriously).

Special mention (because it's not a series) to Wine in Red Wine in the Dark Night. I love a murder twink (speaking of, things are looking really good for me to stay in love with Ai Di from Kiseki if it keeps on this track).

If we're interpreting "awful" as characters that other people don't like, it'll probably go to Toh from Secret Crush on You or Gus in Diary of Tootsies. They're flawed, they're femme, they're fantastic.

A character that wasn't awful but that you just don't like

Can in Love By Chance and the sequels. Tinn is an asshole and knows it; Can is an asshole but is also self-righteous, but in all honesty his biggest flaw for me is that he's not competent and I have little patience for that.

A hero that should have been a villain

Tempted to give this to Ko from Love Poison for essentially trying to love spell date rape his love interest--this is only not that bad because magic isn't real so of course it doesn't do anything.

Possibly Athit (Boun's character) from Even Sun? I put a question mark there because this was so convoluted and hard to follow I'm not even 100% sure I remember it right, but from what I remember, this was not a romantic story at all.

Taking a totally different approach to the question, Joke from Hidden Agenda should have been a secret villain (in the sense that he should have been scheming and sociopathic but hiding it, ineffectually, from Zo) in order to make the series make sense, but apparently I can't have nice things.

And finally, special mention to Phu in The Promise for being the villain for so many of us already.

A morally bad character you're into

Zhu Zi Shu, canon war criminal and child murderer from Word of Honor. He thought he was doing bad things for good reasons (protecting the people he loves), realized he was just doing bad things and the people he loves were all dead anyway, and crafted a convoluted plot to get out of the secret society rules that he created to prevent anyone from leaving. And then he wanders aimless until he meets Wen Ke Xing and becomes as loyal to this equally morally dubious man as he was to his secret society. I love him (and them) so much.

Same type of deal, different scale of crime: Akk from The Eclipse. I have a soft spot for this trope.

A morally bad character you're not into and you wish people would stop being into

Xue Yang from The Untamed. Also a mass murderer, but doing it just for the vibes/to avenge his finger, so he gets zero love from me. People woobify him just because he's sassy it's...rough.

The show that disappointed you the most

From hype to execution? So Much in Love / Ni Yam Ruk. I slogged through such awful subs TWICE (because they claimed they redid them, but they are still terrible) to try to give this show a chance, because the premise sounded right up my alley. I still think there's a show in there that I would have liked, but it is literally unwatchable.

Most disappointed from what the show seemed like it was doing at the start to what it delivered in full is a tie between The Shipper and Step By Step.

The Worst Show of Them All Because of Your Own Reasons

That's My Candy. I've only ever dropped/not finished I think 3 or so shows? And this was the most painful and the one I am least likely to ever finish. The pairing was overplayed, the comedy was heavy handed, and the plot was absolutely cringe inducing. It was literally torture trying to watch this.

If you made it this far, thank you for reading!

Tagging @visualtaehyun @nothingsbetterthancoffee @lurkingteapot @snidgetwrites @formayhem @slayerkitty @respectthepetty @ginnymoonbeam no pressure as always! And if you play and I didn't tag you but you're reading this, tag me anyway! I love reading everyone's answers.

[theheightofdishonor]

BL/QL Ask game : The Ugly, the Bad and the Worst

by @clara-maybe-ontheroad

This looked fun and it's been a second since i've talked on Tumblr about what i've been watching.

The categories are :

Worst soundtrack / weirdest song choice in a BL

Anytime they’ve made First Kanaphan sing. This includes Moonlight Chicken’s theme song, it includes Only Friends and it includes the Eclipse OS. The boy’s already talented as hell, why must he also be forced to sing?

Most cringe-inducing line (cute)

Gun’s roar in My School President. It’s adorable but it makes me cringe

Most cringe-inducing line (actually bad)

I was going to try to name scenes I hadn't done before but the bathtub scene in VV is still unmatched. For those of you who haven't watched the show, there’s this scene early on in Vice Versa where they’re sitting in a bathtub and Puen’s like “oh your heart looks like it’s been unused, let me wipe away the dust from it” and it’s so cringe, to the point that I still remember it vividly. I also think of this as the point where the show took a turn for the worse. My household refers to it daily.

Most stupid decision made by a character

When Wen Kexing decided to fake his death and expected Zhou Zishu to just shrug and move on with his life. What a fucking dumbass.

Worst plot line

In Tharntype 2 when Type made that whole plot to kidnap Fiat and make him think he’s going to be raped. It was so out-of-pocket and made Type’s character 10x worse than he’d ever been.

The most problematic show you've watched

Recently? I watched Double Mints which isn't a show but is ql. It was great, very fun.

A show people love but you find bad

2gether is bland and boring, I said what I said. But that's a basic opinion to have on tumblr so I'll admit to finding La Pluie boring. I tried to like it, I really did but it's a no. I also couldn't get into GAP the series which was devastating.

A show people find bad but you will defend

SCOY ofc is excellent. I have seen people criticize aspects of Bed Friend and I think that show was very good for the most part.

A show that is just objectively bad but you enjoyed it

The Shipper just is genuinely a bad show. I'd go as far to say that it's malicious though perhaps not intentionally so. Regardless, I did very much enjoy it. Tharntype too.

A bad show that you kept watching because you were intrigued/fascinated

Oh there's a lot I could name for this. VV obviously. 609 bedtime story wasn't necessarily bad but it was mediocre and disappointing so I suppose that counts. I liked the concept of My Sweet Dear, enemies to lovers is always my jam, especially when it's food-related but it wasn't that good.

A bad show that you kept watching because you were horny

Tharntype and WRU?. I didn't initially plan on watching either but I was so desperate after BBS to find something with good chemistry and I heard these had that so.

A bad show that you kept watching because of that one character

I watched the entirety of I Will Knock You because I was charmed by Noey.

The character that ruined a show the most

Puen in VV is still my least favourite love interest ever in a ql but Mork from FUTS also comes close.

Most awful character that you hated

The stepbrother from history 4. I like a good toxic relationship and obsessive love interests but he was too much even for me. (though as is the way of things, i think i've become slightly more fond of him over time, why am i like this).

Most awful character that you loved

Everyone in Only Friends, especially Nick. And the office worker Mitsuo from Double Mints. And Type from Tharntype. I like awful characters sometimes, alright.

A character that wasn't awful but that you just don't like

Neungdiao and Palm from Never Let Me Go both intensely irritated me for different reasons. This next one is also going to be unpopular but I couldn't stand Techno in Tharntype either.

A hero that should have been a villain

I'm still annoyed that Kinn turned into a classic bl protagonist midway through instead of staying terrible. Also Mork is a villain and should be treated as such.

A morally bad character you're into

Charn from Laws of Attraction is so my type that my wife laughed and called me predictable.

A morally bad character you're not into and you wish people would stop being into

I honestly don't care what other people are into but I find Vegas from KP overrated.

The show that disappointed you the most

Recently, Step By Step. I had very high hopes for that show. I've also given up on Dangerous Romance and have very little hopes that it can redeem itself.

The Worst Show of Them All Because of Your Own Reasons

The Bad Buddy Our Skyy eps. It's the one show that I 100% wish I had never saw. Did irreparable damage.

Well on that note, this was super fun to fill out. I'd tag people but I don't think i'm familiar enough with the ql community here on tumblr to do so.

[i-am-just-a-kiddo]

Fic Writer Interview Meme

tagged by dear @vishcount 💕 am sending you a lot of love because you are doing amazing, even if it doesn’t feel like it. don’t be so harsh on yourself. and thank you for the tag, I did my best. 

tagging @cortue, @intyalote, @the-cloud-whisperer, @not-saying-revolution-but and every writer that sees this and wants to do it! 

I was rambling again so there’s the usual cut

name: here just kiddo please - iamjustakiddo on ao3

fandoms: just for shits and giggles am gonna try and list all the fandoms i’ve written for? roughly chronologically speaking, my first fic was for Kuroshitsuji and the we go to Harry Potter, SKAM, Narnia, Sherlock Holmes (unpublished), Peter Pan (unpublished) - I don’t write for any of these anymore? except for Narnia which I might return to when the mood hits. I’ve written a ton for BTS and The Untamed, and still wish to write more for Nirvana in Fire. I’ve also written for Winter Begonia, Hwarang and YYY: The Series. Current WIPs are Word Of Honor, The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty, Original Sin - none of those will probably see the light of day. I’ve also had thoughts of writing for Killer and Healer, Strangers from Hell and Avatar: The Last Airbender.

two-shot: hmm I guess my two oneshots for YYY could count as a two shot? am not sure, but I simply had different ideas and seperated them instead of writing one coherent oneshot.

most popular multi-chapter fic: my BTS Mafia AU Take Me Into Your Skin. I’m quite proud of this one because it was my first ever multichaptered story back when I wrote it in 2018 and it turned out to be over 160k words long, which is just wild? I guess I cringe at it a lot and I would change a lot about it now, but am still proud of it because I had a lot of fun and am still fond of the story. (Statistics - Subscriptions: 144 / Hits: 18319 / Kudos: 519 / Comment Threads: 83 / Bookmarks: 295)

actual worst part of writing: everything currently. I feel a little bit like an imposter doing these games right now, cause I haven’t written anything that I’m truly proud of recently (or like, this past year I guess). This slump is very hard to get out of.  Under normal circumstances, the worst part of writing is when I know what I wanna write but it doesn’t come out? and when every sentence just sounds horrible and not at all how I imagined. Also the physical act of writing is difficult because I get tired so easily and when I don’t manage to get into hyperfocus and a nice flow, it’s just exhausting. 

also coming up with summaries, fuck that. 

how you choose your titles: i’m very basic and usually use some quotes or lyrics, but recently I’ve been trying to be more creative with my titles? I need to exercise that because I truly wanna learn how to come up with my own titles that sound nice. I suck at them so much 

do you outline: absolutely. my memory sucks badly so I always try to keep an overview in my notebooks because I can’t trust my brain to remember all the important details I come up with. Working with notes is also so freeing because I’m free to do anything I want and don’t need to worry about actually writing it? I like having visuals for my stories so it feels like an anchor I can hold on to when I’m lost.

ideas you probably won’t get around to, but wouldn’t it be nice: oh boy this is difficult, because I don’t have specifics for any of these ideas and that’s why I never get around to do them? I guess bringing my Wen Kexing and Wang Zhi character studies into shape is the most doable project rn. I would also love to finish my Original Sin fic because I really want to write a proper case-fic with actual plot but am just so stuck on that and too stupid for my own criminal cases so currently I’ve put that on hold. 

An idea that I’ve had for years now is a Sokka/Suki/Toph future fic? I would ignore what happens in LOK and for some reason I’m stuck on the thought that I want to explore this OT3? I want to explore how in their adult lives, they would fit together and especially how Toph could work as addition to the relationship Sokka und Suki have? I would love to explore the individual relationships they have with each other but I’m also very nervous about it because I’ve never written for ATLA and I don’t know if I can explore this properly. 

another idea that’s been on my mind ever since Singularity dropped is a taegi Dorian Gray AU? I’ve already done a little bit of research about 19th century Korea and Korean portrait paintings because of course, I would wanna make it as historically accurate as I can manage but honestly, I feel this project is quite hopeless. I think I also have very conflicting ideas about how I should do this and if it’s even a good idea to realise. 

Recently I’ve been thinking about writing a slow-burn enemies to lovers adventure story because I have Cravings. I don’t know if this would be an original project or some type of AU for some fandom, but I just really want to write about two people on opposite sides clashing together and having to work together, forming a reluctant bond and just. exploring the progress of that? Maybe there would be horses, probably historical, or maybe fantasy? I have no idea, I just wish I could write something like this some day. 

callouts @ me: stop being pretentious. not everything needs to be existential dread. don’t project all your issues into every character you write. not every sentence you write needs to be a Masterpiece and sometimes less is more. bring more structure to your stories instead of just aimlessly drifting. learn grammar for god’s sake.

best writing traits: i have no idea sorry. maybe that I heavily rely on my empathy? but i  truly do not know.

spicy tangential opinion: I don’t have any spicy opinions I think? Just do what you enjoy. Write what you want, you can worry about what to with it after. If you want to get rid of thoughts just do it. Don’t think about how it looks to other people, because unless you show it someone, it’s your art. It’s okay if it takes time, even if it’s frustrating. Pressure doesn’t help with creating art so maybe allow it to grow organically. is this spicy enough yet? don’t let people tell you you are less of a writer because you do things differently. there are methods, ideas, guides, advice - but there shouldn’t be rules to what makes you writer. everyone works differently. and to everyone who struggles - i know it sucks but as long as you find joy in writing, it’s not hopeless. sometimes things need a break or sometimes it needs a different shape and that’s okay ❤ did I reach the level of spiciness required here? 

summing up, I just wanna send strength to all writers out there because oh boy do we need it! and sending a lot of gratitude to all the fic-writers out there that have made my nights and days more enjoyable by sharing their passion. 

[three--rings]

Word of Honor Ep 32 Reaction

Ok, I’m doing it, I’m going in...I’m scared.

(After having seen the ep: HOLY CRAP.  That was a lot.  A lot.)

Okay I now see I’ve kinda screwed myself by reading the novel in between because now I’m having trouble remember what was going on in the show and what was the novel because plot wise they are very different.  But...yeah.  So we’re going right into that infamous cliff scene, huh?  :(

Great great great.  When you have to pause the show just to fight off the tears so you can keep watching.  And like nothing’s even HAPPENED yet.  My heart just BREAKS for Wen Kexing.

I can’t I can’t I can’t.  That moment, when ZZS went to him and freaking got SO CLOSE like he was going to just kiss him and all he says is “Stop it” and draws his sword to stand with him.  Like.  Like.  I can’t. 

I have to say I kinda wish the big cliff dive wasn’t so tinged with cringe due to bad cgi and overdramatic song. 

So, I don’t really get Xie-er’s part here.  He allies with WKX for like 2 seconds and then betrays him but it’s totally pointless?  IDK.  That’s just weird to me.  (And obviously I was both spoiled for the events on the cliff AND the ultimate outcome because it’s the internet.  I do kinda wish I got the real impact of them..)

(BTW none of this is in the novel, so that’s not relevant.)  Am I just procrastinating now because I don’t want to go back to the pain?  Yes.

😭😭😭😭 He thought it was a dream at first!! 😭😭😭😭😭 Oh god this show isn’t fair at all.

So suddenly it’s not a problem that everyone knows the Scorpion King is his son?  Like he is still a famous assassin/gang/murderer, right? still confused.

So, okay, I haven’t actually gotten farther than just seeing WKX’s body but let’s admit this is not the most skilled plotting.  Like hey, MagicShamanDoctor gives ZZS a magical healing potion that can restore life to anyone and ZZS doesn’t need it anymore for some reason and in the very next scene WKX falls to his death.  Like, seriously, I understand this is all just heightening the drama but it’s not done as well as it could have been. 

The fire omg...😱

Ok...very touching and well acted scene of ZZS drinking but I’m so confused by the elixir/meridians/nails what is happening?  Is he destroying the nails with the power of his mind?  Trying to break his meridians and die?  Trying to release himself to seek vengeance?  Honestly the book is much more believable in this regard.  Like the nails require surgery to remove and months of recovery...you know while you entire system rebuilds itself.

I’m having the hardest time remembering what everyone knows right now.  Like...no one has discovered that Zhao was behind Rong Xuan and Chief Gao’s deaths yet, right?  honestly keeping this AND the entirely different plot of the novel straight in my head has done in my poor braincells.

Me, hearing YBY talk about Chang Qing.  Oh, cool, we’re doing his backstory.  This is the same from the book.   “You established the Ghost Valley and the water of Lethe...”  Me:  Or...not I guess.  🤷‍♀️

Ok, I am SO CONFUSED by the translations of YBY’s words here.  He says he didn’t tell you (Chang Qing) before you died that “our child” died outside Mount Qingya. (sp?)  That there was a young man who died for Rong Xuan but he grew up to be the chief of Ghost Valley.

Okay, umm, what?  First of all that all makes no freaking sense and I have to assume this is a translation problem.  Secondly, “our child”? ??   Wait.  Is it trying to say Rong Xuan is “our child” and WKX is the young man who grew up to be the valley master?  Okay...yeah if so the English is extremely confusing.  Also uh...just yeah.  I watched it twice and only puzzled that much out because of what I know from the novel: i.e. that Chang Qing was Rong Xuan’s father and YBY’s friend. 

What, Xie-er you couldn’t have figured this out earlier and NOT gotten WKX “killed?”  I’m very cross with you, young man.

[demoniqt]

Chapter 5

When Lao Wen arrived with a teenage girl, Zhou Zishu first assumed the young lady to be his little sister (though in retrospect, he didn't know why he assumed that at all since Lao Wen wouldn't have brought his sister to a matchmaking interview).

"Miss Gao Xiaolan is the daughter of the General Gao," Wen Kexing said, indicating the young lady that looked a little too young to be in a matchmaking interview.

"General Gao," Zhou Zishu repeated slowly, recalling the heroic but overbearing man that he had met during the battle of Chengwu Gate. He remembered the man commenting on his admiration for Zhou Zishu's skills in singlehandedly keeping the gate from being sieged by the Northern brutes.

"I know him," Zhou Zishu confirmed, a little disconcerted by the appearance of the general's teenage daughter.

"General Gao thinks highly of you and he... thinks that his daughter would be a good match for you," Wen Kexing said, with a smile that Zhou Zishu was pretty certain that only he could tell was strained.

Zhou Zishu surmised that the general had probably heard from the grape vine that he was looking for a spouse and thought that it would be appropriate to (forcibly) insert his daughter into the candidate pool.

It annoyed him that the general would inconvenient his crush matchmaker just to have his way but he tried not to let it show for the benefit of both Wen Kexing and the man's poor daughter.

For her part, Gao Xiaolan looked shy and embarrassed at being put into this situation by her father and Zhou Zishu felt a wave of pity for her. It must not be simple living with an overly assertive man like her father.

"So, what do you like to do?" Zhou Zishu asked kindly.

"Oh, I... uhm. I like to cook," she replied softly, cheeks blushing brightly.

There was a pause after that borderlined awkward. Usually, his matchmaking candidates would use that question to advertise their skills and their interests to Zhou Zishu but it was obvious that Gao Xiaolan was either too nervous or embarrassed to pick up the conversation.

"Miss Gao helps run the soup kitchen near Shantang Street," Wen Kexing interjected, clearly trying to help the situation.

"Yes," she said. Then seemingly unable to think of what else to say, she repeated, "Yes."

"Do you play any instruments?" Zhou Zishu asked after a short pause, desperate to keep the conversation going.

"I play the Guqin," she admitted, head still bowed and gaze locked on the table. "I'm not very good at it though..."

Her words trailed off and the two adults in the room looked at each other.

"Would you mind if I talk to Matchmaker Wen in private for a while?" Zhou Zishu said to Gao-guniang, who nodded wordlessly.

The moment they entered another room and he closed the door, he turned to Wen Kexing.

"She's a little young for me," Zhou Zishu admitted with a cringe.

"It's alright if you think so," Wen Kexing said with a small smile, "I will just tell her father that you are not the right fit."

"Thank you," Zhou Zishu replied, feeling relieved at not having to meet the poor girl's father to reject her. Wen Kexing touched his arm soothingly.

"Zhou-daren," Wen Kexing said with a smile. "I'm glad that you feel comfortable enough to tell me things like this truthfully. Please, if you ever feel the need to unburden yourself, I am here to listen."

****

"He's perfect," Zhou Zishu lamented to his ever-suffering friend who sighed.

"You should tell him that," Jing Beiyuan said with a dead-panned look, lifting his wine cup for a sip.

"What? No," Zhou Zishu said immediately. "Then he'll stop being my matchmaker and I won't be able to see him again."

Jing Beiyuan closed his eyes and wondered why his friend was such an idiot when it came to his love life even though he was a certified genius in martial arts, mechanical creation and toxicology.

"Then you should ask him to be your match," Beiyuan said and for a moment Zhou Zishu contemplated it. Then he asked;

"What if he says no?"

"What if he says yes?" Beiyuan shot back at him. "Why would he say no? You're a Marquis. You are favoured by the Emperor. You are good looking. You are rich. You're talented. You have properties and servants of your own."

"But those are not good reasons to say yes," Zhou Zishu shot down. "I want him to say yes because of me not because I'm rich and have a title."

"Well, matchmakers highlight those things so," Beiyuan commented with a confused expression, "Why go to a matchmaker then if that's not what you want highlighted?"

Zhou Zishu slumped onto the table with a groan and covered his head with his hands.

"Because I had no choice," his voice was muffled but Jing Beiyuan could hear the resignation in his voice. It made him feel a little bad for deriving so much enjoyment from his friend's dilemma.

Just a little.

"Well, you have a choice now," Beiyuan told him, patting him on his back. Zhou Zishu turned to give him a confused look.

"He's your choice," his friend said. "And what do you do when you meet someone you want to marry?"

"You court him, of course."

End Chapter 5

Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me a Match

Summary:

Zhou Zishu was supposed to get married under the decree of the Emperor but he has yet to find a suitable candidate. Most of the matchmakers in the capital has given up on him until this trendy matchmaker that's been gaining fame catches his attention.

However, to the frustration of the matchmaker, Lord Zhou is rejecting every candidate he proposes, not knowing that the one that Zhou Zishu wants to marry is HIM.

Cue lots of misunderstanding and courtship fails.

Notes:

This came about because of Ep 23 where ZZS asked WKX to matchmake him with someone and the two of them shared a secret grin lol. It's your fault, ZZS!

Chapter 1: Meet Wen Kexing

Zhou Zishu was deep into his third bottle of wine by the time the matchmaker made an appearance. He wasn't late per se. Zhou Zishu came ahead of time for an early start in his drinking. He felt he needed it after the day he just had.

The servant led the man in white into the room and the first thought that came into Zhou Zishu's head was:

'Shit, I didn't know that this was an interview with a candidate or I would have changed before I came here.'

The man was a beauty, that was for sure. And though Zhou Zishu himself was no slack, he had a long and stressful day at work which culminated to him arguing passive aggressively with his cousin aka the asshole of an Emperor that he had helped put on the dragon throne. The one that decreed for him to get married by the end of the fucking year.

Was he sour about it? Yes, very much so. And he's going to make that very clear every time his cousin brings up this sore topic.

So what if he is single and ready to mingle? He likes it that way.

But his interfering cousin likes to stick his nose into his business.

His salty thoughts were redirected when the young man settle onto the seat opposite him and instead, went directly to: 'Shit, he's beautiful.'

"Zhou-daren, I presume," the young man said with a smile, opening a white fan to cool himself in the summer heat.

Insanely, Zhou Zishu noticed that he had an extremely attractive beauty mark. And when the young man opened his lips, Zhou Zishu's eyes went directly to his red lips and his dirty, dirty mind wondered how it tasted like. Or felt like.

He must have been more exhausted than he thought. He never used to be so... horny. He wasn't Duan Pengju.

"I am Wen Kexing," introduced the young man. "I am your matchmaker."

Everything in Zhou Zishu's distracted mind came to a screeching halt.

"What...?" came out of his mouth involuntarily. Oh, he's so disappointed his usually expedient mind couldn't even garner a more intelligent reply.

"I'm your matchmaker," the young man repeated, looking a little concerned at him then at the bottles on the table.

"No, I heard you," he replied quickly. "I just thought... never mind."

"Alright," Wen Kexing agreed amiably. "Would Zhou-daren go through with me what kind of candidates you are looking for?"

"I want a beauty," Zhou Zishu said, staring intently at Wen Kexing, who involuntarily blushed.

"Of course, someone who will match Zhou-daren's beauty is a must," replied the matchmaker coyly and Zhou Zishu's lips twitched.

"Someone well-read," Zhou Zhou continued, reaching out to touch the white fan where a lovely poem was written with beautiful calligraphy. Wen Kexing looked down to see what he was indicating and smiled.

"Did you write that?" Zhou Zishu asked.

"Yes," Wen Kexing replied. "Do you like poetry, Zhou-daren?"

"I like literature of all kinds," Zhou Zishu answered, still charmed by the matchmaker. What a pity he wasn't a candidate.

"What else are you looking for?" the matchmaker redirected their conversation again.

"Someone who can cook," he continued. Then he asked, "Can you cook?"

"Fairly," the matchmaker answered, seemingly unaware that HE was being interviewed as well. "My parents passed away when my sister and I were quite young so I had to learn to cook for both of us quickly or starve."

"Oh," Zhou Zishu said, more pensive now. "She's lucky to have you."

"Well, I'm lucky to have her too," Wen Kexing replied him. "If it wasn't for her, I would be a mess."

Then seemingly realising how far from the topic they were, Wen Kexing visibly snapped back to their original conversation.

"What else?"

"I hope they don't mind travelling," Zhou Zishu replied. "I travel for work sometimes and I would like to bring my significant other with me. It'll make travelling more enjoyable."

"Travelling sounds nice," Wen Kexing said, with a wistful smile.

"You don't travel much?" Zhou Zishu asked the matchmaker, wanting to know more.

"Like I said, I raised my sister after our parents death, so I didn't have much opportunities to travel," the younger man answered.

'Marry me and you can travel all you want', his inappropriate mind supplied and Zhou Zishu actively squashed his mental quip by taking a gulp of his wine.

"What about your manor? Wouldn't your spouse need to stay back to care for your household?" Wen Kexing asked as he took a sip of his own wine.

"Oh, my shidi will run the household in my absence," he said. Then thought for a while, "Though if my future spouse can help me with the burdens of the household, it'll take a load of my shoulders."

"So, someone who is responsible for running a household as well," commented Wen Kexing. "I will look through the candidates and see who I can suggest for you, Zhou-daren."

"Take your time," Zhou Zishu said, pouring a cup of wine for himself and then for the matchmaker. "I don't mind the wait."

"Didn't Bixia give you a time limit?" Wen Kexing asked, nodding in thanks for the wine.

Damn. He knew about the decree.

"I don't believe in making hasty decisions when it comes to marriage," said Zhou Zishu. "It's why so many matchmakers say that I'm difficult to work with."

"Well, of course you have to take into account who you're marrying," said Wen Kexing in an outrage. "Marriage is for life."

Damnit. He was looking more and more attractive by the second. Why did he have to be the matchmaker!?

"In anyhow," Wen Kexing continued, completely oblivious to Zhou Zishu's internal despair. "I will do my best to provide you with the perfect bride."

End Chapter 1

Because I like this series, so I'm posting it on tumblr. Hahaha.

[sirenofthegreenbanks]

a03 writing wrapped: 17, 27, 29, and 30! 💕

17. Your favorite character to write this year?

wen kexing from woh from zhou zishu‘s perspective! youve seen some of my descriptions of his hair and body language and quirks already!! hes a character that i love a lot and learned to love even more this year, and i kind of kickstarted my own characterization of him when i wrote that one let wkx be cringe! post :D i havent really written him cringey yet but it was important to my perception of him

also: zhou zishu from woh. i found out what i enjoy writing about him the most this year. mostly i write from his perspective for some reason, and many of my zzs versions tend to be very similar. i tried something new this year and it was really fun

27. What do you listen to while writing?

i have several playlist from other writing projects and three (3) playlists curated specifically for tyk. lately ive been listening a lot to taylor swift even though im not a taylor swift fan. there is just smth about her songs that make it very easy to slip away into a good headspace. though i need to be in the mood for it. sometimes i will listen to artists that are recommended to me or an artist‘s radio. i also really like spotify‘s recommendation songs function based on the playlist im listening to. but i dont always listen to music, i need to be in the mood for it. sometimes i just want to hear the words flow or the background noises from my place

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

im sure there are several! but one im very proud of and that kinda showed me that yes, i can indeed write! is this one from good things that lie in the hand:

"pocket knives are actually very good at lying in your hand when you close your fingers around it. they have a good feel to them, like stones. and they have ridges. while u trace these ridges u can imagine all the little, smart, brilliant things that are tucked away in that pocket knife‘s little body."

generally im very proud of the entire thing. its silly and whimsy and unpolished and perfect to me. it showed me that there are words inside of me that can and will flow effortlessly when im in the right headspace, that writing can and will feel good and fun, and that there is skill and a sense for structure in me even when im not aware of it

30. Biggest surprise while writing this year?

see the above lmao!!

but to expand on this, im wowed and proud to see the signs of my own growth. sure, i was more confident when i started out, im generally an anxious mess 24/7 currwntly which is Not Fun. but i understand things about storytelling and my own preferences and skills, my own style, now that i didnt before. for a very long time writing was just me getting a feel of being creative with words in this way again after i thought i would never be able to bear it ever again. my priorities have shifted a lot since then, which shows how far ive come

ask me writing questions about my ao3 wrapped!!

[sirenofthegreenbanks]

hello yes here it is! it was found everyone it was found and its healthy and sound!

if anyone has seen my 'let wkx be cringe post' could u please bring it to the section with the toys & stuffed animals that would be great

[sirenofthegreenbanks]

my point is that wkx is cRINGE. ive read many fics that explore this side of him, but he is still too--how do i say it--attractive there. no, not attractive, its more like ,,, he is too experienced and good at what he does, in the end, his plans still work out. he is too rooted, he is too grounded. wkx is not grounded. the main objective of his character growth is that he is a bad schemer if by himself and that he is not aware of it despite numerous instances proving otherwise. if by himself his schemes are like, throwing shit at the wall and see what sticks, and hes carried through it by rage and fear and devotion and determination and practise and habit, hes a survivor. hes like an animal that thinks it wants violence but in reality it wants love. i know that sounds sappy but its true!! doesnt zzs make gently fun of him for it? isnt it zzs's role to recognize him for who he is, a person in desperate need of love and acceptance, a child that got beaten and dehumanized, that needs a hug and someone to love him unconditionally? wkx is very smart and very good at certain things, hes grounded and experienced at certain things. im not trying to woobify him. but i think, its absolutely criminal to not explore this side of him more, i love it so much and i think he deserves it

an angle that i think is underexplored with wkx is that he is very unpleasant to be around for the first third of the show because he is a fake, self-righteous gossipper. he talks shit about people behind their back with an insufferable, righteous air. he avoids vulnerability and lifts his voice to make clear he holds the monopol on being morally correct. ive seen him put into queen bee and mean girl clique leader roles but i think rather than this, he is much less self-contained and less self-aware as he is convinced he is. in media, the queen bee or the leader of a mean girl clique is calculatated, whip smart, self aware, and unapogoletic about it. she doesnt want to change, she likes what shes doing. she knows shes mean; she enjoys it. wkx thinks he is the underdog, but he has too much power to be the underdog anymore. hes like a white feminist girlboss thinking he is being oppressed when in actuality, he is on his best way to becoming what he seeks to call out. in our witch hunt purity culture public humiliation perfomative activism era, this is incredibly on the point