#like personally i love mess and drama in my romances so i get not being into chyrt like truly it’s not rly my cup of tea

[gawin]

my favorite thing about jack and joker so far is the pacing. the first episode took its time introducing the characters as they were in the past. especially jack, you really get to have a strong sense of him and yin did such a great job portraying jack’s good heart that i never bought his bad boy façade in the present. the kind of heart jack has isn’t easily swayed and instead of being tainted by the cruelty, it rises to the occasion and wants to help those who can’t. you just know it, you can FEEL it in the acting and the way he’s written. i appreciate that so much!

as well as war portrayed such a volatile teen who wanted to be seen and validated by his parents but never felt good enough and when he decided to help jack, he did it recklessly and caused a huge mess that only seemed to confirm to joke that he is broken for good but you know who isn’t in joke’s eyes? JACK

second and third episodes are the aftermath of the first episode and they really show just how much joke wants to make it up to jack for what he’s done. SINCERELY. as a person. it isn’t just because he likes jack romantically. you can see glimpses of joke’s feelings but they’re not all there is to it. jack represents the kind of goodness joke admires, that he wishes his world could be full of

joke likes jack for who he is as a person and he wanted to help him five years ago just as much as he wants to help him now

it’s not just about the romance. in fact, it has taken the backseat for now and i do like that a lot because the story is allowed to build up, just as the characters. they all have motivations that go far beyond romantic love. the drama talks about inequality and morality and nepotism and how much violence creates more violence, as well as extreme poverty leads people to make desperate decisions

jack and joker has a story that it wants to tell sincerely and characters that have depth and complex emotions and goals and i’m enjoying it a lot!!!

[katyusha454]

I think I've found the most tragic ship in BG3 and I need to rant about it

I've seen a decent number of people discuss and write about Dark Justiciar Shadowheart, but they always focus on what she's like post-game when she's fully committed to Shar. Which is a fine thing to focus on! Especially when you're writing smut where she's a mean domme. Post-game DJ Shadowheart is a fascinating character. But I feel like people neglect to consider what she's like during the transition phase of Act 3, where she's become Shar's Chosen but hasn't yet Done The Thing that caps off her personal questline. And there is SO MUCH potential for angst and drama during that time frame.

IMO the most important aspect of this stage of her development is that she is not evil yet. She simply made a single bad decision and now she feels like she's in too deep to do anything but double down on it. She's spent her whole life trying to "fake it 'till you make it" and she's only just now starting to transition out of that and into sincere belief. All the misgivings and insecurities she's shared with you are still there, just buried deeper. That desire to love others and do good hasn't yet been completely stamped out. In my Dark Justiciar Origin run, I try to do good things whenever possible as long as I can find a way to rationalize it as benefiting Shar. (but I still ended up saying enough evil-sounding things to make Minthara incredibly horny for me)

So where does Karlach fit in?

Well, turns out when you play as Origin Shadowheart, Shar doesn't make you break up with your partner. In fact, Shar says absolutely nothing to you about your romantic situation. This is really weird if you're romancing anyone other than Karlach, but I think it makes perfect sense for Shar to tolerate a relationship with Karlach for the time being. It's the ideal opportunity for Shar to prove a point. Karlach is dying, and no matter what Shadowheart does, this relationship is going to end in painful loss. Shar wants Shadowheart to fall in love with Karlach only to have that love abruptly ripped away from her. It perfectly demonstrates everything Shar believes about love: that it's fleeting and will always hurt you in the long run. Better to just avoid it entirely so you don't get hurt.

And Shadowheart knows all this. She's studied Sharran scripture extensively, after all. She knows that Shar is trying to teach her a lesson, she knows that the longer the relationship lasts and the more emotionally intimate it gets, the more the end is going to hurt. So why doesn't she break it off? Partly it's because she loves Karlach and doesn't want to end things; she's probably in denial at least a little bit. But I think it's also partly because she's a bit of a masochist. She thinks she deserves to suffer because she knows, at least subconsciously, that she's still not a very good Sharran. She can see the loss coming and she hopes the experience will bring her closer to Shar.

You'd think Karlach would be unwilling to put up with DJ Shadowheart's fanatical bullshit, but personally I think Karlach would stick it out for a whole mess of reasons. Number one, she can still see the good in Shadowheart and she refuses to give up on her partner. She's clinging tightly to the hope that Shadowheart can still be redeemed, even though she probably understands that it's a long shot at best.

Number two, she blames herself. When you play as Tav/Durge or another Origin, Shadowheart will have a conversation with you before deciding what to do in the Shadowfell. But if you play as Shadowheart, none of your companions says a word to you. In the context of this ship, I choose to interpret that as Karlach being too trusting. She's seen the good in Shadowheart, after all. She's so certain Shadowheart will do the right thing that she doesn't think she needs to speak up. It's not until too late that she realizes what Shadowheart needed was for someone to say "hey, are you sure about this?" So now she feels she needs to make up for that failure somehow by continuing to try and nudge Shadowheart in the right direction even though it seems impossible.

And number three, Karlach's just plain lonely. As fucked-up as this relationship is, she's still getting companionship and intimacy, and she doesn't think she has time to cultivate a new relationship if she breaks up with Shadowheart. She wants someone to be with her and hold her hand at the end, even if that someone is a brainwashed cultist.

In sum, both of them know that their relationship is extremely unhealthy; that it's hurting them now and will hurt them more in the future. But they both refuse to end it for their own reasons. And good gods, the ANGST. ARE YOU FEELING IT NOW, MISTER KRABS?

[mamawasatesttube]

one of the funniest aro traits i have is that i NEVER notice people i know being romantically into each other. they can be the most obviously pining couple in the world flirting ridiculously hard right in front of me and ill just be like wow, look at us three besties all just hanging out :) and then they'll be like btw we're dating now! and ill go WHAT???? oh that was romance??? WHOA. like yay happy for you!!! i just didn't clock it at all whatsoever!!!! (part of this is that im just an affectionate person with my friends and ill happily flirt with my besties and physically lay all over them with absolutely no romantic intent. so i forget that sometimes people are flirty or always concerned with each other for romantic reasons. like. EVERY time it's just oh YEAH... i forgor again...)

anyways, i like to hand this to bart allen, aroace extraordinaire. guy who just straight up forgets romance is real and not something they made up for video games with romanceable companions. he's happy for his friends when they say they're dating someone, bc they're happy so yay! but until they come out and say it he will NOT clock any sort of romance going on.

now i also like to imagine that when the gang are all like in their late teens to early 20s, there's some RIDICULOUS lesbian drama going on. cassie and cissie have been kinda sorta dancing around each order for ages, but then after kon's death and resurrection cassie got distant and cissie and anita started spending more and more time together, and cassie isn't proud to admit it but she maaaay have gotten jealous and fucked rose about it, and now cissie is giving her the cold shoulder. and rose keeps flirting with cissie even though she and cassie keep having unplanned hookups, and anita just asked cassie to be her plus one to a wedding and cassie is shocked she didn't ask cissie and what's going on?! is anita hitting on her??? omg??? wait but what's going on with cissie?? and....

anyway, all of this to say cassie is going the fuck Through it and it's a mess that she keeps bemoaning to kon while languishing on his couch and eating all his ice cream (kon is listening wide-eyed like "wow. if i ever need romantic advice, i'll ask you and then do the exact opposite of whatever you say.") this whole ridiculous affair is going on for months.

until one day there's a core four sleepover and kon is like soooo is it the time of night where we start unpacking the latest developments in cassie's love life? and cassie goes AUURGHGHRHH!!!! yes but oh my god shut up don't say it like that auugghhhh

and bart just looks at her and tilts his head like a puppy dog and asks "wait. you have a love life?? since when???"

silence.

cassie gawks. kon looks positively gleeful.

and then tim starts laughing so hard he doubles over and accidentally slams his head into the corner of the coffee table hard enough to get a mild concussion. bart's aro swag claims yet another victim

[ilovechuuy4]

if you are not taking requests at the moment please ignore this (aside from how much I adore your writing and how I need it in my veins)

if you're taking requests, then could I request Chuuya and Dazai (separately and with a gn! reader) when they cheat on the reader and how they get back together? angst to fluff. my heart could never handle your angst, your writing is too good and it would genuinely wound me in ways I would never recover from.

love you :)

I Told My Friends I Hate You, but I Love You Just the Same✯*٭˙∘

Chuuya/Dazai x Gn!Reader (seperate)

Warnings; Thick tension / Angst

Description; They cheat but then want to get back together with you.

A/N; HAI SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG I FEEL SO BAD BUT I HAVENT HAD MUCH MOTIVATION TO WRITE ANYTHING. PONDERING SO MUCH RN. SORRY FOR THE RANDOM FANFIC DISAPPEARANCE AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY!!!!

🐟Dazai ೃ⁀➷

⋆·˚ He intentionally cheated on you, the night you caught him with another person in the bed y'all shared TOGETHER.

It was a late night when you arrived 'home' or the place you thought was home. You shuffled inside the eerily quiet apartment, but something was off, usually your boyfriend was home waiting for you on the couch but today wasn't the same as you heard distant moaning from your bedroom. You skittered to the bedroom, swinging open the door a loud thud and then a recoil of the door. Your eyes widening at the sight of Dazai in bed with another. 'Why?' is all you said you couldn't find any other words to say as tears pierced your eyes and trickled down your face that was already a red hue from frustration.

The brunette couldn't even say a word before you stormed out the entire complex. Running down the empty streets of Yokohama tears streaming down your reddened face. You weren't sure where to go other than Yosano's house it was your best bet. When you arrive, you were already heavily breathing as you rang the doorbell. It was already pretty late so you weren't sure if she was up or not but to your luck, she was. As she opened the door, her eyes snapped open at your tear-streaked face.

"Oh Y/N what happened.?" She asked, gently pulling you into the house and closing the door. She wrapped you in a gentle hug, her hand rubbing your back as she listened to you explain what exactly happened. Yosano was astonished, it was obvious Dazai would do a thing like that cause he's well, dazai. But in the bed y'all shared together is an entirely different step. 'Cmon lets just go get you some change of clothes and get you to bed." Yosano says as she guides you to her bedroom.

Once you had taken a shower and borrowed some of Yosano's clothes, the two of you rest on the couch for the remainder of the night watching different dramas, romances, actions etc. When you woke up in the morning, your phone had multiple of missed calls and messages from Dazai himself. You read through some of the messages; “Im sorry” “Hey, please answer me.” “Baby, please.” They were all simple messages but as you read further down, they got more urgent and desperate even. “Hey i know you’re getting the calls, answer me.” “Please im SO sorry, Y/N, please text me.” and so on. You bite your lip as you read through the messages you felt worried, if that was the right way to put it. You let out a staggered breath as you sought up the courage to call your boyfriend.

As you sit there on the soft sofa, listening the rings echoing in your ear, you eventually here the soft ‘click’ of the call being answered and on the other line, an urgent and distressed tone. “Babe? Hey where are you?! You didn’t answer any of my calls or messages! What happened!” His breathing was loud as you heard the shaky breathes, he let out. “Fuck, i know i messed up and im sorry. That thing i done, i know it was fucked up and im sorry! Please forgive me it won't happen again!” He explained through the phone, on his side he was biting his nails.

You hadn’t heard him this distressed since missions he had for the agency. “Dazai, calm down.” You mutter through the phone, you didnt know what to say there really wasnt much. “I just need you to calm down. Im fine, just meet me at Yosano’s house i guess.” You said fidgeting with the strings of the shorts. You couldn't lie to yourself, you missed him. Maybe it was hard to forgive what he did but you really did miss him.

Rubbing your temples, you slowly stand up going to the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of water. You sip on it slowly, waiting for your boyfriend to arrive. Thirty minutes go by before you hear knocking on the door. You sit up from where you were leaning against the counter before you slowly shuffle your way to the front door, Yosano wasn't home, she had left a note that said she went out and she'll be back later.

You knew that it was Dazai, not only because he told you he'd be there soon but the urgent knocking on the door. You opened the steel door, the hinges creaking. You stare at the taller figure, his eyes seemed to be "shaking" as he stared at you before hugging you tightly. You could feel his body trembling against your own, you couldn't fully forgive him for what he did, you knew it would take time and he knew that too.

You let out a staggered breath before resting your head on dazai, forehead pressed firmly against his shoulder. You could feel the brunette slowly massaging your hips, the other cupping the nape of your neck. "I'm sorry." You heard him say beneath his breath, you knew he wasn't all too big on apologies so for now this was okay. The hug meant a lot to you.

"It's alright, you already know I can't forgive you though. We can work around all the flaws, nobody is prefect." You tell him, but deep down you knew you'd slowly end up forgiving him, you loved him, you always would. You felt him gently grip your chin, pulling it to make you look at him.

"I mean it. I'm sorry. I'll never do it again, I truely do love you." The bandaged man spoke, he was sincere, you knew he was. The way he looked deeply into your eyes, forehead pressed against your own as leaned in to slowly kiss you, lips colliding in a tender kiss. "I love you, I dont want anything changing that." He managed to mutter out, slowly pulling away with a smile, tears pooling in his eyes, things were going to be okay.

🍷Chuuyaೃ⁀➷

⋆·˚ You misinterpreted EVERYTHING. the thing you saw wasn't the story behind any of it, he didnt enjoy seeing you like that.

You, the pretty joyful person that was going out with a "scary" port mafia executive? Maybe opposites really DO attract. But that didn't seem to be how things work out today. You wanted to surprise him, bringing him some lunch and a new wine you found, you had everything planned for a nice lunch date. You had taken time out of your day to refrigerate the wine so it was still cold when arrived, to go get food not gourmet or anything but food nonetheless.

Did that mean nothing to Chuuya? The love and affection? The time you spent doing everything to make him the happiest man alive, it meant nothing? When you had arrived in the corridor to Chuuya's office, there he stood with another, that same person kissing the man you love. Chuuya's eyes we're wide, he didn't see you but they we're wide but you didn't care about that, you cared that he didn't automatically push her away.

You could feel the paper bag with the wine inside slip from your hand, shattering on the ground with a loud crash. It echoed through your own ears and the ears of others that were nearby. You watch as Chuuya snaps back to reality, his mind and body know fully processing that his colleague kiss him, in front of you. He heard the loud shatter of the glass, his head snapping over to wear you stood, tears flowing down your face that was erased from any other emotion other than sadness.

You feel yourself stumble back before sprinting out the large building, not even giving yourself a chance to rethink your decisions. Tears kept pouring down your face they wouldn't stop, no way. He wouldn't actually cheat, right? The image only rolled through your head like a record on repeat. You could hear heavy steps chasing behind, laboring breathes as there was deep, staggering, almost terrified yells of your name.

"Y/N!! Just give me a damn minute to explain!" Chuuya yells, his voice trembling with every word. He didn't want to use his ability in this type of situation, he didn't want it to seem like he ruled over you cause of an ability he wasn't even born with but that wasn't the point. He kept sprinting right behind you, no matter how hard it was to breath, he just needed you to stop.

You didn't want to turn back, you couldn't. He couldn't see you like this. Broken, if you'd have to describe it yourself. You just ran. Ran and ran and ran until you were unable to anymore. You were letting out deep gasps of air as you could quite literally feel Chuuya staring into your back. "Darlin' would you just give me a chance to explain what happened?" The ginger spoke, gently sitting down on the ground next to your out of breath form.

You didn't have the energy to argue back as you just give him a small nod. Chuuya pulls you close, letting your head rest on his shoulder. "You know I didn't cheat right? It was a big 'ol misunderstanding, I didn't kiss my colleague I wouldn't ever do that to you in a life time." Chuuya told you, he was sincere when he told you this as he reached down, interlocking the both of yall's fingers together.

You glance at him worrily, you wanted to trust him you really did but there were so many questions. "Then why didn't you automatically push her away?" You ask, your breathing now back to normal as you trace your thumb on the lines in chuuya's hand. "I wasn't expecting anyone to kiss me, it took me a moment to process anything. Im sorry darlin', how can I make this big ordeal up to you?" The blue eyed male asked you, glancing over at you with eyes that begged for all your forgiveness.

You had a blank stare on your face for a moment as Chuuya was practically begging for your forgiveness with his piercing blue eyes. You exhale with a soft smile, you couldn't stay mad at him even if you wanted. "Just a kiss then." You answered, it was always an "apology" Chuuya enjoyed even if he always asked multiple times more if there was "anything else you needed" cause a simple kiss didn't seem like a good apology.

Chuuya let out a soft huff, he knew it! He knew you were going to say a kiss, he had a love, hate relationship with this sort of an apology, but he leaned in and kissed you anyways. It was slow and tender and full of silent love that sometimes neither of you shown. You let out a content hum as y'all kiss before pulling away, this was enough for now you knew that you'd pester him later though. It was a silly misunderstanding on your end and you're up to admit it too.

"I'm sorry again, doll. It won't happen again. Hell of you want I'll try to dress unattractive?" Chuuya teased, his hand running up your thigh as the two of you sit on the curb of the side walk. "How could you, of all people, dress unattracively?" You ask, letting out a soft laugh under your breath. "Well I'm not sure, sweetheart. But I could sure try for you."

[chrisgotitall]

can we have the moments where Mike Faist and actress!Reader have a fun friendship during their promotion of the new movie drama, thriller, literary human psychology as D. Fincher movies, their characters have an intriguing and complex love interest (he plays an ambitious, manipulative, intelligent main character and she plays an independent, passionate, sweet character)

Several clip interviews, Q&A with the rest of the cast, preview, defined their relationship, as if the fans ship them because of what they say to each other or others about their chemistry on set or their actions moves towards each other (like mike and reader as friendship goal, teasing each other for 4min, being a old married couple, chaotic moment...) and audience reaction. :)

R and Mike connected instantly, from the very few days on set. They developed a strong bond, a tight friendship throughout their work experience. And of course, like it happens for every couple of male and female actors in this industry, they were being shipped all over the internet.

The amount of clip compilations all over the internet was enormous both complementing their friendship and their alleged romance.

Reader and Mike being cute for 5 minutes

There was a clip of her passing behind him on the red carpet while he was doing an interview. He sees her and says “Hello” smiling at her. She says “Hello” imitating his tone and casually touching his shoulder while passing to reach her interviewer.

Another clip showed the two of them literally mirroring each other and then noticing the action and laughing it off. Oh, and if that wasn’t cute enough she touched his leg while laughing.

They went on Agree to Disagree together and let’s just say that the amount of eye contact they held up to each other was crazy.

The question was: “I am the best karaoke singer on the team”

Mike scoffed and put the glass of water on “strongly disagree” while Reader put it on “disagree”.

“If you’re there I’m definitely not the strongest singer at all,” he says.

“Oh shut it, Jake Kelly” she responds, referring to his role of understudy in Newsies.

Another clip showed Mike casually removing a hair from the sleeve of her sweater.

“What’s the best thing about playing your characters?” they got asked in an interview.

Mike said: “I mean my character is not really a nice person. But I think the best thing is really that, you know, like getting to study how his mind works and why he’s doing specific things. He’s manipulative and mean which is not easy to be when there’s R working with you…” he answers.

She chuckles, “You did great tho, you delivered amazingly” she says.

“Thank you, thank you”

R and Mike Faist being a married couple for 7 minutes

“When you’re in the room when she does what she does it genuinely changes the air in the room and everyone is completely stunned by what she does” he said in an interview while she was next to him shaking her head no.

“Not because I have to say something nice back but really watching Mike Faist performing in front of you leaves you astonished. He’s such a deep feeler, first of all as a human, and that helps him amazingly with his acting. He’s brilliant” she says back.

There were a few clips on set. One when they laugh when he messes up his line and another one when she adjusts a piece of his hair from his face.

But the cutest and fan favorite is the clip where Mike defends R after some sexist comments about her clothing in the movie.

The comment sections of course were crazy as well.

“OMG they’re the cutest”

“Honestly I’m a little jealous but they’re so freaking cute together”

“Notice how Mike is always the quietest in interviews but when he’s with her he’s constantly participating”

“Uhm… why is no one talking about her hand placement in the first clip”

-”Also him clearing his throat before continuing speaking after she touched him”

“The other cast members are just existing while they’re blatantly flirting with each other”

“Their chemistry in the movie was palpable and after this it’s obvious why”

“Am I the only one that heard him call her “darling” while thanking her after she complimented his acting?”

-”NOOO, I heard it too, oh my god they’re so cute”

“He just looks so at ease with her”

“There’s no way they’re just friends, come on”

-”Absolutely not. All that touching seems done before”

“Their compliments to each other are adorable, there’s so much estimation between these two”

“The way he stood up for her after those horrid comments. Mike Faist, the man you are”

“He looks at her so lovingly, I’m gonna cry”

“That should be me but that’s also my queen, so it’s fine”

“GIIIIIRL, she’s down bad”

“He would be one of the best looking guys she’s ever been with”

“They honestly fit each other soo well”

Of course they never dared to admit or confirm a romance but a picture of him at the opening night of one of her broadway shows started a fire of rumors that wasn’t so easy to extinguish.

[longbobmckenzie]

Things I'd do...

... if I were a Fusebox writer. Fusebox, if you're reading this, feel free to take these into consideration. I know you won't though because it would require more work on your part.

(note: this ended up being a lot longer than I expected, but I probably should have expected that)

5 girls, 5 boys

Let's go back to the early seasons when we started off with a full lineup of 5 couples to start off with. Like I said, this means more work, more characters. But it also allows for...

More unromanceable characters

Hear me out. The last truly unromanceable male character was... Toby? I think? But for the most part, all the male characters from S6-S9 are available in some way (even if it's only at the finale/reunion, which is really just a copout from FB because they don't want to branch routes but still want to be able to say that everyone's romanceable).

Here's the thing. Everyone wants to romance their favourite characters, nobody wants to meet a character and really love them only to find out you can't have them. Trust me, I've been there. But it's also not the end of the world, and it means you can read/write fanfics for that character, pine for them from afar, etc etc. Maybe it's my sadism talking, but it kind of makes things more interesting in a way? To me it's kinda boring to have all these guys in the villa who would get with me at the drop of a hat (obviously excepting the slow burn LIs).

But the thing about unromanceable characters is that you NEED them in order to write a realistic season with distinct characters who aren't just interchangeable with one another based on MC's choices. Those characters can help drive the plot, they can have canon storylines, they can be friends, they don't have to share dialogue, etc etc.

First coupling

So with those first 2 points out of the way, here's what I'd like for the first coupling:

Of the 5 guys, 1 is completely unavailable to be chosen, and another is not an endgame LI. Think Noah and Rocco in S2 - one can't be coupled up with but is still a slow burn LI, the other CAN be coupled up with but is always going to be dumped. I think this formula from S2 works so well because it still means you have 3 OG guys to be endgame LIs but also allows for the other 2 to be part of fixed plots.

I want the boys to choose instead of the girls. HOW HAS THIS NOT BEEN DONE YET?!?!?! On the show, the girls only picked on day 1 for the first... 1 or 2 seasons? and then it was always boys choosing until they started messing around with other options. But this could work SO WELL for the game! MC has the choice for each guy to step forward or not. If she steps forward for the unromanceable guy, he picks someone else. If she doesn't step forward for someone, he won't pick her. If she steps forward, gets picked, and then steps forward again for someone else, that person steals her and it gets acknowledged throughout the game a bit (minor branching!) If she doesn't step forward for anyone, she ends up being the last picked. IT WOULD BE SO MUCH FUN

Couples/Sneaking around

You shouldn't be able to do bits with someone you're not coupled up with except under certain circumstances:

Casa Amor

You're developing a relationship with someone but not able to couple up with them (or one of you gets stolen) and you're upfront with your partners about going to the daybeds together

You're sneaking around behind people's backs but there WILL be consequences

Just honour the couples, that's the point of the game. Stop letting people go to the hideaway with people they're not coupled up with.

Consequences/Drama

Further to the above, there should be consequences for BOTH parties if you sleep with someone you're not coupled up with. Even if you go to the daybeds and your partners know about it, they should be able to say how disrespectful that is to them.

Sneaky kisses always have a way of coming out on the show, so the same thing should be done in the game. It's harder to branch because some players may choose not to kiss anyway, so those people shouldn't be attacked for something they haven't done. But if you kiss someone and your partner finds out and breaks up with you because of it? And the partner of the person you kissed also dumps them? That would be fun!

Female villains

Just stop with the whole thing where one girl constantly gets up in MC's face. Whether it's because the girl is gunning for the same guy or for other reasons, it's so tired and annoying. Or a girl being a bitch for absolutely no reason.

And especially stop making them WOC!

More filler scenes

This has been one of the big complaints over the last few seasons, and that's the lack of filler scenes. There needs to be a balance, obviously, because you don't want too much filler - but this is how we learn about the characters' personalities. Let us be involved in fun chats, give our MC a personality other than "everyone loves me except that one bitch who hates me for no apparent reason," let us chill with the other islanders instead of constantly being involved in drama, eavesdropping on conversations, investigating who slept with who, and doing a million challenges

(Slightly) Longer season

Season 2 is the only deviation from the typical 13-14 "day" season (S1 is technically 7 weeks squeezed into 14 days, later seasons use volumes instead of sticking to a morning/afternoon/evening format but they fit so much into them that they just feel chaotic). Adding a little filler and stretching the seasons out a bit (5-7 volumes seems reasonable?) should make them more enjoyable to play (and replay?)

Cliffhangers

I love cliffhangers (insert joke about all the LIs I like who do rock climbing), but not every episode/volume needs one. It's perfectly fine to find a natural ending to an episode (like going to bed at the end of the night, which was common in S2), and save the cliffhangers for when they really matter

Make the challenges make sense

I didn't play S8 and I'm not playing S9, but I've heard some complaints about the order of challenges - playing Mr & Mrs in Casa Amor, etc. And I saw that today's volume included the Excess Baggage challenge, which is fine, but that one should always be near the beginning

Have the 'get to know people' challenges (kissing challenges, truth/dare, never have I ever) in the first few volumes. Once people are coupled up and relationships are developing, hit 'em with the snogathon to maybe create some drama (and do it when new bombshells have just come in so you get a chance to kiss the new guy). After Casa Amor, you can do Mr & Mrs, any other couple compatibility challenges (or do one of these just before Casa Amor to create some drama just before splitting up the couples), and of course Snog, Marry, Pie.

Have a few of the random obstacle course challenges, food challenges, building tents/sandcastles/whatever challenges interspersed throughout, but make them mean something.

And for the love of donuts, make the challenges in Raunchy Races objective - none of this 'coolest person' or 'hottest person' or whatever, just stick to tallest/shortest/oldest/etc or 'one person must snog the person they fancy the most' or whatever like in S2

Casa Amor

I think CA is a great plot device, but there's a fine line between 'too long' and 'not long enough' that's hard to figure out. But either way, let's stop with the hideaway and sending couples on dates, because nobody's coupled up in CA. Give everyone a chance to get to know everyone. Have a couple guys who aren't interested in MC. If MC is wlw, give some scenes with her LI where they can talk about the future and wanting to couple up when they have a chance, etc.

WLW Routes

I don't do WLW routes in the game so I don't know exactly what the experience is like, but I know that it's not great - carrying on a romance with someone with no consequences but also not being able to couple up with them and sometimes watching them also be carrying on a relationship with whoever they're coupled up with.

I don't have any brilliant solutions, but why not spend every night on the daybeds together until being able to couple up? Why not have two guys who couple up together on these routes, like in S3? Or bring in another character like Sammi in S1 to even out the couples? Or an NB/bisexual character who could couple up with a girl or guy depending on what MC does?

Ultimately, the show and the game are extremely straight-coded, and it's not easy to account for players being able to couple up with female LIs early on, but every option should be explored instead of just doing what they're doing every season.

[ceruleanwhore]

As someone who enjoys otome games and also Gravity Falls, I, like many others, have thoroughly enjoyed playing the fan-made grunkles dating sim and 80’s Ford demo. Between those being released online for our enjoyment, Disney making the Twisted Wonderland otome app game, and the Book of Bill being released for an adult audience, I’ve recently started to think more about what an official Gravity Falls otome game might look like and what I would want from one. I’d like to take a minute to share my thoughts on that and I’d also love to hear all of yours.

So, first off, there’s the matter of setting. With something like Gravity Falls, there’s a lot of different options here given all the different points in the timeline plus a whole multiverse. I think it’s most likely and reasonable for something like this to be set in Gravity Falls (town) as opposed to taking place somewhere in all of Ford’s dimension hopping or something. The question then becomes ‘when’, and I think there’s really just three main options — back in the 80’s when Ford is doing science but before he meets Bill, during the events of the main series, or after Weirdmageddon is over.

The question then becomes how plot-heavy this would or would not be, which would determine when they set the game. Some otome games, like Ikemen Prince, can have a rich, well-developed plot that sometimes even becomes the main focal point and overshadows the romance of some routes (Sariel’s route definitely does this in ikepri). Others, like Wonderful Wonder World, are far more focused on the interpersonal relationships without much focus being put on an overarching plot. I think an official Gravity Falls otome game would actually be more likely to be plot-heavy, as a way for Alex to Trojan horse a bunch of new, significant content under the guise of something unserious. Personally, that’s also what I would want from such a thing. If we go with this, then it would have to either be in the 80’s or during the main series. 

If it’s set in the 80’s, I see it as a way for the team to sneak in some Journal 1 (and maybe 2) pages and then watch us squabble over if they’re canon or not. I think it most likely would be set shortly before the point when, in the canon of the series, Ford contacts Bill so we get to see where he’s at mentally and emotionally and we get to hear directly from him about all the stressors that, in the main series, pushed him to make that decision and summon Bill. Now, to be fair, every single otome game I’ve ever seen has one LI who’s really sick somehow and I don’t think it would actually be far-fetched to set this after Ford summons Bill and present him like the sick LI, which would make for maximum plot and drama. Plus, if it’s set after Bill is summoned, then Bill could become the villain LI with the twist being that the MC just fully joins him and supports him instead of ‘fixing’ him. If it’s set during the series, then the plot comes from the MC getting dragged into this whole mess of trying to prevent the literal apocalypse, failing to do so, and then saving this town from the literal apocalypse, all while solving massive family issues for old men and children alike. Bill could still be a LI in this too.

The next question is then who the MC and the love interests would be. Since Gravity Falls already has canon multiverse stuff and interdimensional travel and whatnot, I really want a MC who’s from our world and ends up popping out of the bottomless pit or something one day. Plenty of otome games have something like that as a framing device and I think it would really help the audience to project onto the MC and really be able to envision themselves in these situations, which is kind of the whole point. The main thing for me is that I think the fan-made games have it exactly right and choosing your pronouns at the start is a great feature this game would need to have, but I’d also add that, if they’re going to include an image of the MC in special photos or even sprites, then the user should be able to customize what the MC looks like to some extent. If app store otome games can let you customize an avatar, I don’t see why the same customization can’t be used for the MC in the CGs.

As for love interests, there’s usually at least 8 in a game, at least from what I’ve seen. Something else I’ve seen is that you’ll start out with however many LIs and then, later on, more are introduced, typically in some sort of sequel/act II, and I think this could work really well for a Gravity Falls otome game in particular. If it’s set in the 80s, then we could start with Ford, Susan, a couple cryptids, maybe Bill, and maybe Preston’s father and/or mother but then later on we could have Stan and Fiddleford come to the shack. Maybe we could have Shermie Pines, maybe we could have a new character who’s a friend of Stan’s from prison or some shit. If it’s in the main series, then Ford coming out of the portal and Bill Cipher would be the late entries with the mains being Stan, Manly Dan, the Multi-Bear, Mothman, probably still Susan, and Fiddleford.

Putting this all together, what I personally would want is a plot-heavy game set in the 80’s where, shortly after Ford summoned Bill in his desperation after what feels like four years of getting nowhere at all, suddenly the MC just pops out of the bottomless pit. The prologue would cover that plus MC realizing where they are and when it is in the GF timeline and reacting to that. I’m thinking something like the ikesen prologue where, when they realize that this is Gravity Falls in the 80’s and science man is already communing with the evil triangle, they freak out and run off and, as they literally run around town and through the woods, they meet the other LIs. Picking your route would determine where you end up staying.

If you stay with Ford, you get to him early enough that he listens to you and starts figuring out how to kick Bill out of his mind, plus you the reader would get some bonus journal pages from the first two journals. If you stay in the woods, you can hang out with the cryptids and learn more about the lore and worldbuilding of Gravity Falls through their perspectives. If you move in with Susan in town, you could start working at Greasy’s and get the townies’ perspectives on the area’s weirdness since the memory gun doesn’t exist yet and they haven’t all had their memories stolen. If you end up with the Northwests, I would want it so you could date either of Preston’s parents and then, upon completing both their routes, you unlock a secret third ending where polyamory saves the day and you get both and get to not just become a decent parental figure to Preston but guide these people into becoming better parents as well. Plot for this variation would be around conspiracies, both the one about how the Northwests didn’t actually found the town and also some other cover-up type stuff, probably pertaining to the local supernatural activity and exploitation of it.

The ‘deadline’ would be MC going home, but I like the idea that the method of how MC will be returning varies depending on where they’re staying and what the main plot is of that route. It doesn’t matter much since, as is the case with any such otome game, the MC will just choose to stay there as soon as a way home becomes available, but I think some variety could be nice. After choosing to stay, we’d get another prologue and an Act II where MC chose to stay with Ford and he’s fixed his Bill problem, so now Stan and Fiddleford have come to town. In the prologue, we’re introduced to their characters and the MC would go over how Stan had been invited to come so he and Ford could figure their shit out and then, shortly after that, Ford invited Fiddleford to come on down so they could further explore the bottomless pit and start figuring out interdimensional travel together, without Bill. The prologue ends with a third, unexpected guest showing up though — Shermie Pines.

The way I see Shermie working in this game is that he was not the baby in the flashback and this is their chance to retcon that. Shermie is the twins’ older brother who they were never particularly close to and who went off to fight in Vietnam while the twins were in high school. After coming back, he got married and had a kid and he even got a good job in engineering with the degree he got through the military, but untreated PTSD is a bitch so that marriage blew up and, around that time, he was talking to Ford on the phone and heard Stan there, so he asked if he could come out and see them. Turns out, he quit his job and is having a bit of an existential crisis over custody issues, how he just quit his job, and all the pressure from their father. For the first time, we see Shermie as an actual person and also for the first time, he’s really connecting with his brothers. Cue MC then also coming into the picture and helping him start talking about his trauma, both from his childhood and from the military, and getting him to start seeing a therapist and all of that. 

I personally don't really see a good way to do a Bill option where you join him and take over the planet but I don't doubt that Alex could make it work. It could also be another one that gets a special extra poly option with Ford, which could potentially be interesting. It would certainly be a different take on the traditional 'good ending'/'bad ending' thing we get with other otomes, like maybe you could only unlock it by playing the bad endings of all the other routes.

Idk, what do y’all think? Let me know!

[anzulvr]

Imagine Karma having a bad day and a smart af reader who can see through him instantly catches on and tries to do little things to make him feel better but doesn't do anything direct bc they know that Karma isn't so great with admitting he's upset and he eventually opens up and cuddles up to them and omGHW RKSIAJWWNAOQ

KARMA X READER WHO READS HIM LIKE AN OPEN BOOK

This took like 2 weeks I’m sorry there’s so many requests 😭

Karma has never been the best at hiding how he feels, it never even seems like he tries to as he’s very open and honest about what he thinks.

No one can really read him except for you.

He doesn’t know wether to think of that as a good thing or not. You understand him but is having someone like that something he wants?

He sits down next to you in the morning for first period. He came late and he has this grouchy look on his face, you ask him what’s wrong.

he brushes you off “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”

It was obviously something still you didn’t want to be pushy.

The rest of the day you could tell something was weighing on his mind so you made it your life’s (or days) mission to make him feel better.

You spent the rest of the day trying to cheer him up

passing him notes during class, (Korosensei sees you but doesn’t stop you from doing it when he sees Karma smiling while reading them)

Messing with him during your sparring session

“[Name] you sure you want to fight me? I’m not going easy on you.” (He totally will)

“You don’t have too! I’ve been practicing too.”

mid way the fight you realize you overestimated yourself, even with him letting you hit him it was somehow hurting you more.

“[Name] I’ve seen cats that hit harder than yo— PffttHAHAHA WHY DOES YOU TICKLING ME HURT MORE??”

you realize there was no beating him through sheer will but you did know he was ticklish and that’s a big enough weakness to exploit.

You were also just being extra corny all day just for the sake of it

“This (love) song reminds me of you.”

“[name] that’s so chessy it’s gross.” he says trying to hide the smile creeping up his face

You went to his house to hang out for a while

“Karma, let’s watch [insert really overrated action move]!”

“I thought you said you didn’t want to last time.”

“You like it right? I want to watch something you like.”

His heart exploded right then and there. How could someone be so sweet without realizing it

mid way through the movie his spirits seemed raised so you ask.

“Karma do you mind me asking why you were upset today?”

“t’s really nothing I’m surprised you could even tell. No one else said anything.”

“I just pay extra attention to you, they didn’t say anything cause you have resting bitch face”

“Obsessed much?”

“As if! seriously though, what happened?” You had to push further for him to admit anything actually happened

“I just got into a fight with some stupid guy”

“Really? That’s it? You get into fights like everyday.”

“It’s a long story. Him and his friends were talking about you and it really set me off because I’d already had a shitty morning— my parents called to tell me they already made plans to travel to New York after they told me they’d stay here for atleast a month?”

“Oh wow- I’m sorry Karma, I know they promised and everything.”

“Yeah. Uhm sorry— I didn’t mean to unload that much.”

(Sorry??? He says sorry??)

“Huh? You don’t have to apologize, I want to know these things cause I care.”

“Oh. Thanks [name], you’re the only person I’d ever tell these things too.”

“Whys that?”

“I trust you too much, who knows when you’ll blackmail me with this.”

“Blackmail is your thing not mine!”

“Mhm, that’s what a blackmailer would say. Anyways let’s finish the movie the best part is coming up!”

“I was hoping you forgot we were watching that snooze fest.”

“In what world is [super mega overrated action movie] a snooze fest??“

“Do you hear yourself right now..?”

“You don’t see me complaining when you make me watch those romance dramas you like.”

“What are you saying, you never shut up about how unrealistic the scenes are.”

“Cause they ARE— in what world do guys get in car crashes, stay in mid air for 5 minutes and look good while doing it??”

“…in what world does an antihero ninja go around fighting people to save humanity.”

“To be fair we’re trying to kill an alien octopus to save the world from exploding these days.”

“Yeah.. if you asked me a year ago which of these events were most likely to happen I wouldn’t have guessed alien octopus world explosion.”

“Right, to be honest the car accident in true beauty seems fairly realistic in comparis- [Name] LOOK THATS THE SCENE!”

in the end you fell asleep on the floor together when you woke up he complained about how you slept though it. (He fell asleep 5 minutes after you.)

[lurkingshan]

Every time I see a Wedding Impossible GIFs on my dash I keep thinking that when it's over I'd love to read your take on what went wrong with this show. In a form of a very spiteful rant preferably.

(the show probably doesn't deserve too much of your time but I am just very VERY curious and had to share)

WELL! I was considering just letting this show go quietly into the night, but I will take this excuse to do a good rant instead.

*cracks knuckles*

You asked what went wrong with this show, but truly, nothing went right with it. From top to bottom, it's an utter waste of a good premise and a total destruction of the rare opportunity to get some positive queer rep into a het kdrama for a broader audience than will ever be reached by a ql. Let me list the most glaring problems:

They made Do Han a supporting character in his own narrative. Do Han, his sexuality, his desire and need to hide who he is to protect himself, and his desperate plan to avoid a life he doesn't want is the core of the story. Despite that, the story treats him like a minor supporting character with limited screen time and virtually no interiority or character development that made any sense.

The relationships were poorly written and the bonds were not believable. Ah Jeong was meant to be Do Han's ride or die bestie, but nothing in their scenes together or her behavior towards him suggested this was actually true. They seemed more like acquaintances who were friendly enough but had no real loyalty to each other, or even like she was a random actress he hired to play his wife. And Ji Han and Do Han had no brotherly bond or affection to speak of; their relationship consisted entirely of Ji Han throwing tantrums and demanding things for no reason other than he wants them, and Do Han trying to avoid being forced into them.

The leads were terrible people and the show did not realize that. Do Han's brother and best friend entered into a romance while she was engaged to Do Han. Ji Han thought it was a real relationship and did not seem to feel any guilt about pursuing his brother's lover. Ah Jeong was under a contract she agreed to as both his best friend and as a job to protect him and did not seem to care that she was breaking her commitment and threatening his safety. They gallivanted around flaunting their relationship in public with no regard for Do Han or his reputation whatsoever. And the show tried to convince me that Do Han was the selfish one in this scenario for the great sin of being gay and not just fucking off and getting out of the way of their relationship. Ji Han and Ah Jeong were never held accountable for what they did to him; instead we got to watch many scenes of Do Han being shamed and berated. Anyone who contributed to the writing and depiction of this can get fucked.

Every element of the story was poorly written and the resolutions were either unearned or so badly set up that they fell flat anyway. Do Han was being harassed and stalked and the story only barely cared about this. The family drama was boring and the grandpa character was a mess of contradictions who changed on a dime depending on the demands of the plot. There was no chemistry to speak of between the leads. The romance was utterly unbelievable and developed so poorly that it was impossible to care about whether these two assholes got together. The show used romcom tropes randomly to fill time even if they didn't fit. The final episode was stuffed with cameos by actors with personal connections to the cast and crew in the hopes it would distract us from what an unsatisfying conclusion it was, and the whole thing ended on a bizarre wedding gag that didn't work at all. The only good part was Do Han coming out on his own terms and leaving to go live his own life in New York, but the way they framed that was so gross I couldn't even enjoy it.

Most importantly, the messages of this show were deeply, unforgivably homophobic. This story went out of its way to tell us over and over again that Do Han is a selfish coward for being closeted, that his sexuality is a burden for his loved ones, that his family and friends are the real victims for having to deal with him, and that he was the one in the wrong for trying to protect himself. At no point was he allowed to get truly angry at the way his family and friends were treating him; he remained benevolent and shouldered the guilt and blame for everything, despite doing absolutely nothing except try to live an authentic life. At every turn the show depicted his siblings and grandfather and friend being hateful and/or careless with him, but then told us it was Do Han's fault for being who he is. They wanted us to blame the gay character and sympathize with a brother who resented him for not being the straight business leader he wanted him to be, and a friend who betrayed him without a second thought. The show argued passionately that the lies Do Han told to protect himself were the real problem, not the homophobia and hatred and rejection he faced every day of his life. It was an abysmal and offensive message and exactly the opposite of what a responsible piece of media would be trying to communicate.

I don't know if the people who made this show are actively malicious or just deeply incompetent, but they had no business telling a story involving a queer character if they were going to do it like this.

[fourraccoonsinacoat]

How the Dark Urge playthrough adds depth to the Astarion romance.

Hello, Tumblr! Welcome to my midnight dissertation on how the Durge romance scene adds a whole beautiful layer to the Astarion romance, because I can't stop thinking nonsense about a fictional character in a video game. Join me.

Also, spoilers ahead for the Dark Urge playthrough...obviously.

So, the Durge romance scene starts with your necrofabulous demon butler, Fel, showing up and saying some shit about your romanced companion.

I should also mention the timeline here, cause that's important. In my Durge playthrough, this scene triggered in the Mountain Pass. So we'd saved the Grove, went wilding in the Underdark, almost got roasted and toasted in Grymforge, couldn't fucking figure out how to get out of the Underdark (thanks for nothing, Halsin), so we go back up top and take the Mountain Pass. We then proceeded to completely miss the creche, stumble into Last Light Inn via being jumped by the Harpers, and save Isobel. (At this point in my playthrough, I knew I'd messed up because we hadn't found the creche, so I backtracked to the Mountain Pass.)

We had barely scratched the surface of the Shadowlands.

So, Fel is there talking shit. And if you're romancing Astarion he says: He is so afraid. So, so afraid. Of everyone, besides you, who he ought to fear most.

This shows that Astarion is already starting to feel ~feelings~ for your Durge, to his great discontent. You're something different, dare he even think it...special. Ew.

Again, this is before the majority of Shadowlands, before all the Thorm drama, way before Moonrise (at least in my playthrough) and That Bitch Araj.

Durge tells Fel to fuck off, and Fel says some more shit and Durge gets a dialog option that says: We are indomitable together. You underestimate us.

And I love that line because it shows Durge thinks of Astarion as an equal. Not something to fix, despite how broken the both of them are. But equal, and stronger because of it (insert some nonsense about two broken things being stronger together as one. It'll break your heart.)

Then, Fel responds to that dialog option with: You are wrong to consider another your equal. So, here is this child of a literal god - Bhaal - considering Astarion an equal. Yes, Durge doesn't know that yet, but I love the headcannon of the litteral child of a murder god looking at Astarion and going, yep I like you, let's go be chaotic and tragic together and maybe help eachother heal in the process.

So, Fel fucks off.

Durge wakes Astarion up and recounts what just happened and Astarion is Astarion about it, but then the Urge takes over and your Durge looses control. You wake up and are tied up by Astarion (but not like that) and he is obviously taking the situation more seriously after presumably seeing you pass out and lose it. Your Durge can pass a saving throw to resist the Urge and express that you understand what he's saying "Whatever this is. It won't win."

His response if you make the save is: "Easy now, darling. You've got this. And I've got you."

And don't tell me this dude doesn't care about Durge at this point, way before he admits it out loud once you get to Moonrise/speak with That Bitch Araj.

So, you get through the night and Astarion cuts you free once you're back in control and admonishes the Durge a bit and says they need to talk.

Astarion tells the Durge that they're not alone in this struggle and that he's there for them. He says "that's not who we are" when referring to the things they both did while under the control of an abusive authority figure. He says "we make our own choices, and you made the right one last night."

I love this whole scene because it really establishes the dynamic between Astarion and the Durge as a supportive one. A lot of Astarion’s romance involves the MC being in the role of the person providing support and reassurance, and I love that about the romance. I love that this masculine character is shown being vulnerable and that a part of his arc involves coming to terms with needing support (as a trauma survivor, myself, who had and still has a lot of toxic independence issues to deal with, I feel you.) But in this scene, we see a completely flipped dynamic that I think really adds a depth to the romance that can go missed if you don't do the Dark Urge playthrough.

Durge is the one in need of support and reassurance here, and Astarion provides it confidently and sincerely. He tells your Durge that they'll get through this, and that he will be there to "make sure" they do.

It's so ride or die, and I love it.

I could go on about all my headcannons in regards to how the Astarion and Durge romance progresses, but this nonsense has really gone on long enough. Apologies for the mindrot, I just adore well written characters.

My point is, go do a Dark Urge playthrough and romance Astarion!

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - The Sign is Slaying

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top. Happy new year, BLabies!

Jan 2024 Wk 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

The Sign (Sat YT) ep 8 of 12 - Tharn in Phaya’s too big clothing is the cutest thing in the world.

I gotta to say something about Babe's acting really quickly. I love the way he’s inhabiting the personality of his naga character with reptilian eye and body movements and (I don’t know how to put this) a certain reserved, elegant, slithering- ness. He's very good this new boy of ours. (He come from something physical like dance?)

I adored them doing the walk of shame and being teased.

ALSO I enjoyed the way they handled Tharn’s gender in the past with his costume (the pha chung hang is gender neutral but that green top is a kinda combo m+f) and pronouns et al.

Language corner:

They are using ancient pronouns. I *think* I heard: daow (3rd), khun/jao/tan (2nd), kaa (Ist) - all pronouns in use are gender neutral - to the best of my understanding.

Last Twilight (Fri YT) ep 10 of 12 - Ooo. Day comes out to fam. Also his maa legit took his phone away and said

“I don’t mind you being gay but you can’t date a poor.”

Still, these 2 do kind of make the best secret boyfriends ever.

Also I begin to love Night: “that’s my baby” indeed. You special ain’t ya?

For Him (Thurs iQIYI) ep 7 of 12 -  I’m starting to find this pretty boring at this juncture. Bummer, because for a while I was enjoying it.

Twins the series (Fri GaGa) ep 11 of 12 - The stuff with the spy on the team is super boring. I’m not wild about the side characters either. So most of this episode was a bust for me. I did like First’s ex. 

Pit Babe (Fri iQIYI) ep 9 of 14 - Charlie & Babe = honeymoon phase. Jeff & Kim = forgotten. Pete & Way = riddles wrapped in alphas but actually enigmas. Everyone else = gang bang phase…. Apparently. Trash watch happening here.

Cooking Crush (Sun YT) ep 6 of 12 - Loved that this was a mutual kiss. (Also how comfortable are OffGunn kissing now? Babies!) I’ve moved from indifference to absolute loathing of the side couple tho.

Oddball LIES from the script = the gayest bridge in Bangkok isn’t lit up after 9pm.

Meanwhile, very important kicky kicky feet and Doc is a dork about flirting now that he’s all in. Looks like we get the official boyfriend ep next week.  

You and My Stars YT 2of 2(?) - Couldn’t find it. Not fussed. 

Time the series (Thai Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - Okay so there’s a gang and someone named Chris is killed and his boyfriend, actor Foam, is jumped back in time to save him? NO SINGING. Between Chris’s death and that time-slip there’s some kind of accidental murder, a pink pocket watch, Chris being alive again but also a different person, and a make out scene. Are you also confused? Actually, the real question is: Do we continue watching? Remember we (the collective BLorg) do not trust MFlow. 

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) ep 21 of 24 - The acting has been pretty terrible all along with this series, but this one is the worst. I just can’t. I may tune in for the last installment but this one is a DNF for me. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Although I Love You and You AKA Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka (Japan Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - It’s utterly adorable. Very manga, but so far not grating on my nerves. They so cute! You know I adore a hyung romance. Add a v gay sauna scene and an OUT gay boy and just... YES. All the married breeder regulars being overly invested in their pretty cook’s queer drama queening, it's so good.

AND THEN a confession in the first episode? Japan sure loves to mess with the pacing of plots drops.

Also, how much do I want to eat every single piece  of food in this darn show? 

Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 5 of 8 - Man I wish this were better I enjoyed this more. Sigh. I do LOVE the stepbrother sides. Of course I do. But how can this feature 2 of my favorite relationship types (age gap, stepbrothers) and not be my favorite BL airing? Japan, how do you ALWAYS do this to me? 

VIP Only (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 9 of 10 - I don’t know. I just wish this were better. Also shorter.

I really miss KBL right now.

It's done I Need to Catch up

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - will binge when I have a spare day.

The Servant and the Young Master - from Veitnam so I assume it's on YouTube. I never even noticed. Anyone?

After Sundown - aired on Netflix Thailand. No word on inter release.

It's Airing But...

[INTERNATIONAL] Cherry Magic (Sat YouTube) ep 3 of 12 - yeah Japan put the smack down on our boys. Sadness. You can use a VPN if you like. Read all about it here.

Ossans Love Season 2 (Japan Gaga) - 5 years later, will anything have changed? This is Japan so… probubly not. I won't be watching this. I disliked Season one and actively hated the follow ups. No thank you.

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 14 eps - Dear Playboyy, it's not you, it’s me… I hate you. You’re about as deep (and as palatable) as a shot glass of cum. While I'm sure you’re someone’s kink, you're my weakest link. Goodbye. I DNFed this at ep 5. Frankly I'm impressed with myself for getting that far.

Night Dream (Sat YT) 6 eps - It’s a pain to track down and I really didn’t like the first episode so… DNF  

The Whisperer (Sun ????) 10 eps - Thai horror BL that ALSO involves cheating (what joy is mine). I don't think even the perfect single dimple can motivate me to watch. Word is... it's terrible.

7 Days Before Valentine (Weds WeTV) 10 eps - Giving me Luminous Solution vibes. I'm waiting to binge if safe.

Dead Friend Forever (Thai Sat iQIYI) - horror, meh, tell me if it's worth my time?

In Case You Missed it

All my year-end round ups:

TOP 10 BL Trends of 2023

Top 10 BL Secondary Pairs of 2023

2023 BLs Best Trope Execution Awards! TOP 10

BL 2023's Best:

Back Hugs Thailand & Elsewhere

Cute Bits of Domesticity

Boys Feeding Boys

BOOP!

Best Cuddles

Heads in Laps

Touching Head Touches

Thailand Put His Head on Your Shoulder

Put Your Head on My Shoulder (not Thailand)

BEST KISSES (not Thailand)

BEST KISSES FROM THAILAND

All the BLs Announced for 2023 that didn't happen

Next Week Looks Like This

More Coming Jan 2024

Beside You (Thai YouTube)

1/24 Love For Love's Sake (Korea Gaga)- based on the Manhwa ‘Love Supremacy Zone’ by Hwacha. A young man is dropped into a game based off a novel he loves. His mission is to make another player, YeoWoon happy. But then the game starts unfolding completely different from the novel.

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.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Why are the oversized flappy flappy sleeves so adorable? (The Sign)

Pit Babe

Frankly 2024 is starting on a whimper... mostly from Babe.

(Last week)

[wonderingpanda]

Hello!! Could you please either write a scenario or Headcanon for either rottmnt or bayverse x reader for pining turtles (turtles with a crush on reader) and how they try to “romance” them? Who’s more upfront who isn’t it? What kind of gestures they do? Please and thank you

Love Me Please

Rise!Turtles x Reader

Originally I was going to do both Bayverse and Rottmnt but I wrote this pretty late and couldn’t come up with many ideas for Bayverse. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Raphael

I feel like Raph is the kind of person to act casual around his crush and then freak out later

He’ll get excited around you and try to show you extra care

He’s also going to be very worried for your safety

If you had plans to go over to the lair and end up being 10 minutes late he’s already picturing the worst

Raph does try show off his muscle and strength sometimes

Particularly if you watch him train, it’s a huge confidence boost

But his favourite moments are when you get to watch him win against one of his brothers while sparring

Oh come on you totally cheated. Sorry Leo rules are rules. That was awesome Raph! O-oh Y/N! Thanks.

He is a gentle giant so you can expect him to be extra attentive to your every need

And of course he’s giving out the best hugs of all time

While he may be pretty chill about his feelings, if you flirt with him it will leave him a flustered mess

I’m talking, he may be unable to form coherent sentences for several hours

At the end of the day, he just really wants you to like him and will always be there for you no matter what

Leonardo

Oh boy, here we go

The second Leo realised he liked you there was no more peace

You won’t get a single moment alone because this boy will just be everywhere

He’ll try every pick-up line he can think of and will find any excuse to flirt with you

The guy has no shame because he makes it look like a joke

Spoiler alert, it’s not

Have I ever told you I think you’re beautiful No, why? Cause you’re beautiful. Aww thanks Leo. *kisses on the cheek* *Dies inside*

While Leo might act confident on the outside if you try to flirt back with him his heart will instantly melt

But he’d never show it of course, he’s too cool for that

He is also a complete drama queen so he may occasionally dramatise things when talking about you with his brothers

And yes, he will talk about you frequently because how else is he meant to go over your every interaction from that day

He’s also an easily jealous person so if he sees any of your human friends as competition, hide them

Hide them fast

Another important thing to note is that he loves to show off

He’s got fighting moves, skateboard tricks, video game scores, comic collections and more

He loves you, wants you and will let you know loud and clear

But he’s only “kidding”

Donatello

Donnie is far more reserved in comparison to Leo

He also has a very complicated idea of what he wants

He wants you to know he likes you without you knowing he wants you to know he likes you

That being said, there are a lot of different ways to tell if Donnie is pining for you

He’ll feel more comfortable with you in his lab vs others

Lots of gifts and is always free for whatever favour you need

You can expect to be given more privileges around his tech

But that’s also because he wants to impress you with it

He might also make small comments to hint he likes you

What were you thinking!? Ah but you see my sweet beautiful Y/N, he wasn’t thinking. Don, quit flirting with your girlfriend and come save me! Not my girlfriend!…*whispers* yet.

He’s the kind of person who will admire from afar and won’t try to get super close physically

Although if he’s really excited then he may give you a hug or two

He will also pretend to hate any romantic aspects of holidays to hide how much he’d love to experience them with you

Valentines, mistletoe, New Years kiss, he acts like he can’t stand them

And you can bet that after every moment you two have he’ll be in his lab celebrating like there’s no tomorrow

Because a dancing Donnie is a happy Donnie

Michelangelo

Mikey just goes with the flow

Wait he likes you! Oh well, time to show tons of love and affection

It’s hard to tell if he likes you or not because he acts the same way around everyone else

Lots of physical affection, big hugs, warm smiles, hand holding

One unique thing you might be able to nitpick at though is his kisses

That’s right, Mikey will constantly be kissing your forehead or cheek if he gets the chance

You’re also one of his biggest inspirations

The amount of times this turtle will tell you to hold your pose so he can sketch it

He wants you to understand that to him you’re beautiful and inspiring

Compliments are another big thing for Mikey

He won’t stop telling you how pretty, smart and cute he thinks you are

Hey Y/N do you mind standing right there for a second? Uh sure, another drawing? Yup! Sorry you’re just so pretty I can’t stop drawing you. Awwww Mikey! That’s really sweet.

He is definitely more upfront about his feelings and is just waiting for the day he can open up and say he loves you

I hope this was similar to what you wanted. Have an amazing day/night wherever it is you are!✨

[silviakundera]

Now that the final SoKP episodes have passed thru my eyes... Things I miss from the novel:

* Sorry but Jiang Xuening should have killed You Fangyin's murderer with her own hands.

* Jiang Xuening becoming obsessed with Xie Wei's cooking, such that she loves to quietly hang out in the kitchen with him whenever there's a break in the scheming. It's their safe space.

* Jiang Xuening going from being in the palace and part of the target/victims of the rebellion in Life 1 to being one of the financial backers of it in Life 2 and accompanying their fighting forces as they move up through the country as Xie Wei outsmarts the emperor & Xue family & Lord Pingnan's forces at the same time. Spending her 2 years away building the capital needed to help spearhead the rescue of the princess and then go to fuck up the emperor who sent his sister a letter to end her life for the benefit of the country.... (chef's kiss)

* The glorious revolution and making the royal family kill each other to save themselves in order to demonstrate the type of people they are

* Jiang Xuening moving into Kunning Palace at the end, as basically the unofficial minister of finance. She ended up in the same place at the end, but hearts & minds are changed and so the result is different

* Jiang Xuening putting the pieces together that the princess died in the 1st life due to her pregnancy & the emperor cutting ties (intrigue!) Team Fuck The System helping her safely give birth to her son, who she loves despite his origin. Our fav lesbian never has to get married to another dude and can just chill with her son, the cabinet of ministers, and her Ning Ning (with psycho husband in tow, but hey nobody's perfect 😂). Using her power to spread schools for women's literacy with Xie Wei terrifying the detractors into submission.

* When they try to use the Jiang family in the capital to threaten XW and he's like, so what? I was gonna pay back those bastards next for Ning'er so you're saving me time lmaaaaaaoooo

* Speaking of which tbh I prefer the lack of a last ditch bandaid on the Jiang family relationship. She's let all of the pain of the past go and isn't personally seeking to take anything away from them in this life... but she is just done with it. Dad is nicer but he's let his wife behave like this and has been mostly hands off. Feels sorta like Story of Minglan to me - letting the favoritism & emotional abuse happen while playing nice guy. In both novel & drama, he spends years not protesting how Jiang Xuening is cast as the troublesome, uncouth, inferior model. But then the drama decides to rehabilitate them. (Though to be fair, even the drama was half-hearted on this 'wash', cause at the end she's mentioning they're not close and in the last scenes the parents are with the sister and Ning'er is with her found family.)

Improvements in the drama:

* I liked that we got to see Jiang Xuening tell multiple people that she loves XW before she gives him her answer. The angst of it being uncertain what conversations she's having with the princess & ZZ, the risk that she's going to abandon XW for being a hot mess... it made for good dramatic tension in the novel. But for the ROMANCE and creating a sense that the feelings he has are truly returned... It makes the ship better.

* The relationship that FL and ML had with the fake Xue Dingfei was richer. He was a standout for me.

* Yan Lin had a happier ending. He really stole my heart in this 2nd life and like Jiang Xuening I felt no need to see him haunted by his vile actions in another universe. It was emotionally satisfying in the drama to see him at peace. You got us all rooting for him.

* Consolidated the Lord Pingnan plot! We really didn't need to get into their factions and introduce more antagonists.

* Consolidated the You Fangyin romantic interests - no need for a marriage of convenience with 1 dude and then Xie Wei's buddy also carrying a torch.

* I felt like the drama gave Zhang Zhe more personality and I did find it delightful when he was "fighting" side by side with Xie Wei.

* Xue Shu (the Xue daughter) felt like a more developed, fully realized antagonist.

* As much as it "sings" in the narrative to have her end up in Kunning Palace with power in the government at the end of the novel (that was brilliant)... maybe emotionally it spoke to me more to see her initial wish from the start of her rebirth fulfilled. Her original reborn goal was to avoid reentering the palace & exit-out of everything to have a quiet life of peace. None of that power ever made her happy.

* Marriage scenes of the otp thank uuuuuuuuu

* No and actually.. After her royal marriage in the 1st life she definitely doesn't need another big celebration. And with her messed up family relationships and his dead parents... Them doing the marriage ceremony all on their own, cause it's another pact between them, makes a lot of sense and I dig it.

* The reverse callback of whispering while she's waiting for a kiss to say "I'm yours" instead of "get out" 👌👌👌

[pepsiiwho]

ROMANCE REAL!

I'm a heinous, devious multi-shipper and I always have been and always will be but for now I won't get into sleep's harem. Right now I'm just gonna word vomit about my two biggest Hypnos ships and what im thinking of writing for them with the information we have currently with the new teaser.

If you don't like Zagnos, Arenos or Hypnos getting some well deserved loving (in which case, you can fuck off now) then skip this one. If you'd like to avoid spoilers for my next possible wip (not that this is nearly coherent enough to explain anything I'll write) run away. Now.

Okay. Anyway. Hi true believers.

So, the dynamics of both ships are different to me fundementally but on the outside they look incredibly similar (I have a type). the basics being that Zagreus and Hypnos is more a will they/ won't they childhood friend romance with a twist of like "you stole my whole family and I resent you for that" and "you're the one person in this literal hell hole I can't just fix and it's driving me crazy". Initially Zagreus was like, the one constant nice, polite and understanding person Hypnos had in his corner. Because of like 3 lines of dialogue in the first game (of which I shan't even speak!) I fell out of love with the ship just because of how jarring and heart breaking it was. But I have love for them and have worked in tandem with cano, for once in my life, and can fix it all.

This was a long way to say, Zagnos exs. They dated and it was great. Very puppy love but after a point Hypnos got comfortable enough that he felt discontent with the fact his boyfriend was more beloved in his family then he was. They clash over it, Hypnos gets upset that zagreus gets THREE sets of families, HYP'S INCLUDED, while Hypnos can barely manage one on a good day and Zagreus just does NOT get it. Eventually they break up because they're just too different. Hypnos bows out, in his self-deprecating way, and they're done. Considering the second game, I think this happens shortly before Mel is born/ or conceived. One of the two because news/birth is a whirlwind that takes all of Zag's attention so they have a lot of unfinished business.

Obviously the titans attack only like a year or so after Mel is born and then everything goes to shit and my scene of the escape happens. At this point, Zagreus is still very in love with Hypnos— he never really stopped oops— but their time has run out and it's too late. He goes into the fray. Womp womp. We're caught up.

Arenos, on the other hand, was always an escape from the mess of the house and the family drama happening there. Hypnos the forgotten and unloved son paired up with Ares the forgotten and unloved son. They are very different yet have a shared loneliness no one else really gets? It helps Ares has his weird fixation on the chatonic gods and their entire lineage. So they meet at the post game dinner and Ares is instantly smitten and wants to wisk Hypnos away. This is, surprisingly, the significantly more affectionate and fluffier ship in my mind. He wants to adore his god and obsess over him as Hypnos deserves. Ares is a lover boy to me and Someone who's been deprived of such love his whole life needs someone who's too enthusiastic about his mere existence. Anyway, when the titans attack and Hypnos gets out with Mel, he loses contact with Olympus because they go off the grid and he's too weak to reach ares in his dreams or anything. Until Mel begins communication with her kin up top, Ares assumes Hypnos is dead. He is not normal about it. WOO!

Which brings us to now. The scene I have in mind is post game or like later in the game? In this idea Zagreus has been freed and olympians can come and go from the crossroads without alerting the enemy faction.

The concept for both ships is the same: X goes to crossroads and finds Hypnos sleeping, unwoken for (long period of time here) and unreachable. Im imagining the scene from Snow White. X walks up, ruminates on Hypnos and their past together and then kisses him before crumpling on his sleeping form, overcome with grief.

Naturally, the grief is different. Zagreus for lost love. For another thing lost to him through this conflict but due to his own negligence, not the Titan's whims. He chose to ostracize his love, he chose to ignore him when they were all of 30ft away from each other at any given time. His Hypnos, his sleep, who protected his little sister and (perhaps) helped guide his family to safety/defeat the titans whatever. The fates were as cruel as ever.

Ares, in my mind, would find Hypnos earlier. Before the titans are defeated fully. Seeing his lord sleep, his beloved, his heart and dreams left comatose and out of his reach enrages him. He has a new resolve coming out of the meeting, unable to do anything but wish for the utter decimation of any and all against him and the head of whoever put his love in this position.

The crossroad I'm at though (ha) is If true loves kiss can prevail... I love happy fluff good ends but tragedy is so lovely... Id love to hear other's thoughts as well. Feel free to send asks to continue the convo or reply ... or tags of course... sigh... they're so important. Also more Hypnos ships soon.. first on the block: Apollo and Hermes!

[yuri-is-online]

An office shoujo think post

so you know that post from wttmcsms? The one about having a fake ring to chase off the men, a character who doesn't notice it, and flirts with reader trying to prove he'd be the better husband:

I came up with a slight idea for a dating sim based off of it by expanding the original concept just a tad... but I would appreciate some advice lol. It would be a super simple project with the classic neutral, bad (sort of), and good endings to help me practice the coding stuff.

The Setting: it's a simple office rom-com, nothing too deep or serious. The MC has recently decided to start wearing the ring due to some bad experiences at their previous job and is encouraged to do so by their best friend who promises to help keep up the ruse.

original concept/the flirt- same as the above described scenario with no real changes... he would be the "first route." Very shojo flirty love interest who wants to prove himself to the MC and teases them a whole lot. Pretty simple not too much drama?

the pathetic guy- Lennox... he's short and normally really self assured but for some reason he turns into a pathetic mess around the MC on his route. He's a bit of a loser when it comes to romance and constantly shooting himself in the foot to the point it is surprising how well put together he is outside of it. Similar in concept to the flirt's route except he's not a smooth operator.

the tsundere- megane ceo ikmen except she's a woman. She's the sister of your best friend and doesn't remember hearing about you getting married but what if it's true? And she's lost her chance? Because she keeps sticking her stupid foot in her mouth and making it sound like she hasn't been in love with you all this time and when she learns you aren't married that just makes it worse. Because if she flirts with you now then won't she just be like all the other people who made you uncomfortable?

My problem is I would want to add a fourth normal route but I can't settle on a good trope to model it after... the reason being I have a yandere route planned and i know that's not everyone's cup of tea lol. But tropes are difficult, so here are the potential ones I was kicking around:

let's sexualize that old man- idk middle aged salaryman who works at the company tm. The problem is I wanted to also make him a little more pathetic which is Lennox's trope. I guess we don't have a kuudere, which sort of works well for the middle aged man trope.

rivalmance- the MC is a secretary and the business they work for makes some sort of product... so I guess there could be another secretary? Maybe for the cfo of the company. I'm thinking of a rich, bratty ojou-sama. A Regina George type... except less pink and more black??? I'll be honest I am not as fond of this one might need to take it back to the drawing board.

senpai- a pretty obvious trope for this sort of set up... a mentor at the company, maybe the retiring or senior secretary who is very soft and big brotherly who is really gentle in how he expresses his concern over how little your husband seems to care for you, but not because he wishes he was him. If he says that enough maybe he'll believe it?

kohai- MC is new to the company so maybe a little bit of a timeskip where there is a new secretary who really wants to prove himself. Super big golden retriever energy with a person who desperately wants to be taken seriously but is a bit clumsy so you don't at first. He insists he loves you but everyone in the office brushes his feelings off as a crush and it's super annoying!!!! But he's got really chubby cheeks so his pouting is just too cute to listen to what he's saying.

or something idk. I want to work on the demon thirst trap idea but... I really need to practice the code to do that well so I need to do something much much simpler first and office shojo is pretty simple I suppose.

[harlowtales]

Jack and Y/N keep their relationship a secret and hide their true feelings 🤫

18+ only Adult Themes - Romance/Drama

Jack slipped out from under you resting your head on his chest and your leg flung over his legs. The moonlight hit his lean muscular body and broad shoulders just right.

“Jack” You said hoarsely, “Why didn’t you wake me? I have to go. We have that big meeting in the morning.”

“You never stop working do you?” He said mid-yawn.

“Well we can’t walk in there together.” You said practically

“And what would be the fucking big deal if we did.” He said defensively

“Jack come on be sensible.” You said getting up hurriedly to start finding your clothes.

“Be sensible” he mocked you “Look I gotta pee, when I get out of the bathroom if you’re gone I’m telling everyone at the label what we’re doing in all those “dinner meetings.”” He gently threatened as he pecked you on the forehead.

This had gone too far already. At first you and Jack couldn’t stand each other and now you were sneaking around behind everyone’s back. You had even went on a few getaways to remote places in disguise using fake names. So far so good. Nobody at Generation Now knew. It would ruin your career if it was found out that a top CEO at Atlantic records was messing around with talent half their age. You had even met Jack’s family and had a hard time looking them in the eye as you were almost old enough to be his mother.

“Ah, good, you’re still here.” He said, now wearing his underwear and a tank top. He was the most gorgeous man you had ever been with. His eyes sparkling blue were an incredible compliment to his cherry red pouty lips and pillowy famous curls. He made you belly laugh which you hadn’t done in years and was wise beyond his years.

He was so open to learning from you about life and business. In fact Jack was in love. He had fallen hard a while ago but knew if he told you it would mess up everything. So he continued to see other people and so did you, both knowing nobody came close to what you had with each other. The jealousy was also growing with the two of you trying to act like you were above it.

“You sure you have to go now or you got another situation waiting?” Jack asked with a smirk trying to hide his insecurities with a bit of jerkiness. He had pulled you close now, towering over you, making it harder to leave.

“Don’t you have like 10 bitches on speed dial to come over after I leave?” You said slightly salty

“At least 10.” Jack said truthfully “But why when my hands are full right now.” He said grabbing your behind with both his hands and kissing you.

“Jack I...” You started to say in weak protest

“Just at least fucking cuddle with me y/n. Don’t leave like this.” He said softly guiding you back to the bed. “You know I gotta get my little spoon on.”

Jack made you loosen up a bit. You had tried shrooms, gone to soccer games in England, and been to “the hood” with him in Louisville to get the best food. All things you never would have done before in your CEO circles. Whenever you were in public you acted professionally with some mild friendliness and so far nobody was onto you. Drama was just happy you were getting along. While you and Jack cuddled it made you think back to when you first met.

You thought he was a pompous pretty boy with the way he strutted into your office with 4 of his best friends, manager, bodyguard, and two girls that you couldn’t figure out what they actually did on his team. He thought you were a typical snotty CEO with your blazer, hair pinned up, pencil skirt, heels, and glasses. Jack wasn’t much for New York slick business person types.

“Mr.Harlow.” You remember saying when you met him.

“Jack will do.” He said politely but with an edge in his tone. He didn’t like being called Mr. Harlow.

“Mr.Harlow.” You continued coldly, ignoring how he wanted to be addressed. “You have one more album you have to do under Atlantic. We are interested in purchasing Private Garden Records.”

“No fucking way.” Jack said immediately. “Y’all will turn it into some commercial shit.”

“Mr…” You said

“It’s Jack. Call me Jack or I walk out of here.” He said hotly

“Jack let me handle this.” Neelam said sensing he was getting too angry to negotiate

“Just tell her it’s no.” He said

It was the worst meeting with Atlantic holding one more album over Jack’s head and threatening to take over the label he built from the ground up with his friends.

“You were rude and you’re going to fix this” Drama said shaking his head when Jack made his way to Atlanta to talk it over with the “3 Kings.” As Jack called his “OG’s”. “I know Y/N, she does solid honest business. It’s a good offer you should consider. Nothing would really change, and The Homies would have even more reach. You could even sign James and get Gee over from Gotti. This is business Jack. Your heart is always on your sleeve. I want you to take Y/N out for dinner and squash this dumb beef you have with this woman. Be careful, she’s beautiful, you know how you are especially with older women.” Drama cautioned.

“You don’t have to tell me. Snotty bitches ain’t my type.” Jack said pissed Drama was asking him to break bread with that vulture who wanted his label. If Private Garden was owned by some New York big machine, it would lose its Louisville distinction. He would not let her have it. “Fine, we’ll make peace but she ain’t getting my label.” He said begrudgingly.

“Whatever Jack. At the end of the day just remember you can have 20% of something major or 100% of nothing. I’ll support you no matter what.” Drama said

Jack offered to pick you up from the airport. He was waiting in the back of an SUV when he caught sight of you. Urban looked at him sideways “You good bro?” He asked knowing that look on Jack’s face and suspicious there was attraction on both sides hence the hostility.

“I’m fine why?” Jack said not taking his eyes off you. “I just want to get this over with bro.”

“You don’t have to do this. You could say fuck this bitch and it’s a wrap. Do your last album and go.” Urban said which actually was exactly what Jack wanted to do, but Drama’s reputation could be damaged if he didn’t at least try to recover from the earlier meeting in New York.

You had your long thick dark curly hair in a slick ponytail. It was specially blown out for the occasion, a simple body hugging black dress, minimal jewelry, Versace sunglasses, a cute clutch bag, and smelled incredible with your favourite Marc Jacobs perfume. You went for a minimal glowy look with your makeup, not wanting to be too flashy for Louisville.

You looked breathtakingly elegant and classy. You knocked on the SUV window and Jack opened the door to the huge back end. “Y/N” he said coldly

“Mr. Harlow.” You said just as icy back. “Urban.” You nodded to his best friend. “Do you ever go anywhere by yourself?” You asked Jack not expecting Urban to be on a business dinner.

“Anything you say to me you can say in front of Urban.” Jack maintained mesmerized by your legs as you crossed them in sitting to take a load off from your flight. “You look tired. Must’ve been a long flight on your broom.” He dug at you.

“Listen Jack…” you said irritated

“Ah she finally said my name Urb.” Jack smiled which annoyed you even more.

“Are you always this mature?” You said sarcastically rolling your eyes.

“Let’s just get this over with to say we did it ok?” Jack said turning to look out the window. “You ain’t getting PG anyway.”

“Jack I would never take it from you.” You said earnestly catching him off guard. “I want to buy it to make sure it’s not lost and it can grow into something amazing for Louisville.”

“Oh, I guess we can talk about that.” Jack said thoughtfully. Urban shook his head knowing it would be hard for Jack to withstand an offer coming from such a gorgeous smart woman. “Urb, you wouldn’t mind if I took this one alone with Y/N would you?”

“Aside from the free meal, I would rather be anywhere else.” Urban said happy to get out of listing to business talk.

“Y/N” Jack said shaking you awake. “Baby it’s time to get up.” You had dozed off and didn’t realize. You were holding Jack from behind in a spooning position.

“I had the weirdest dream about when we went for dinner.” You said groggy wishing he had let you dream. “I was just getting to the part where we…you know.” You remembered your one nightstand with fondness.

“It’s a thin line between love and hate baby.” Jack said kissing you. The deal to buy PG was a year in the making. Today was the day for all parties to sign on the dotted line and you would be taking over as CEO of the label. “We’re gonna make PG great babe.” He said. He had grown to trust you.

“Jack…I…I love Y…Kentucky. I love Kentucky and I won’t turn into anything else. It’s all you. I’ll just be making deals expanding the label. You’ll burn out trying to be all things to all people and I will do anything to make sure you’re ok.”

“You sure it’s just Kentucky you love?” He asked looking deeply into your eyes overwhelmed with emotion.

“Jack we can’t…I mean you and me can’t…” You stuttered suddenly sweating a bit.

“I know I know but I…I could handle it if it ever happened.” He said deciding not to say he loved you and focus on business.

“In a perfect world sure. That would be…amazing.” You said trailing off in a wishful gaze.

@okaaay-mice @itsyagirljaz