#most of these are my 2023 babies but a couple are older and my very fave bottle of fifi got left out because shes a delicate baby that leaks

[sucrepudding]

Got my fav perfume bottles and spread them out for my friend 2 see on snap but I thought I'd post it here 2 4 my perfume mutuals >:3

[otomiyaa]

Top 23 of 2023

Top 23 of 2023 on Tumblr is out and it made me remember something....!!! For those who also remember, I started this game last year and I just thought it would be nice to do it again. For reference, my post is ofc long gone, but here's Mia's~~

Tagging: @ticklygiggles & Everyone who wants to do it lol

Part 1: Fandom Faves 

01. Favorite new fandoms of the year: Red, White & Royal Blue, Honkai Star Rail

02. Favorite new ships since this year: Henry x Alex (RWRB) Sampo x Gepard (HSR), Ballister x Ambrosius (Nimona)

03. Favorite anime/TV shows of the year: Atarashii Joushi wa Do Tennen, Our Flag Means Death Season 2, Niehime to Kemono no Ou

04. Favorite movies of the year: Red White and Royal Blue, Nimona

05. Favorite characters of the year: Furina!!!! (Genshin Impact), also Gepard Landau (Honkai Star Rail), Miguel O'Hara (Across the Spiderverse), and a big honorable mention to the Fontaine gang in Genshin Impact (especially Freminet and Neuvillette)!

06. Favorite soundtrack of the year: Genshin Impact - Fontaine soundtrack and the Our Flag Means Death Season 2 soundtrack

07. Favorite book/manga/comic of the year: The Work Love Balance manhwa, and RWRB which is older but I discovered it thanks to the movie coming out.

08. Favorite games of the year: Genshin Impact, still my fav^^

09. Highlight of this year to remember: Bowuigi trending as a ship.

Part 2: Community Review

10. Favorite Tumblr moments of 2023: Tickletober with the very own list Mia and I created, and even though it was a negative thing at first - getting swarmed with kind words from you guys after I lost my blog. I'm a mere humble person but you guys seriously made me feel a little important for a moment there ^///^

11. Favorite fan art of the year: Hard to say, but I'll say this sampard piece I got from Val baby for my bday, and this Ukatake commission by @dokidoki-muffin, this spiderdads commission by @giulscomix, and this Ittorou commission by @chibimochii have also stolen my heart!

And ofc all other commissions of this year (the bowuigi one fs;ijogij; and miguel one omggg, the pokemon commission so CUTE). And *wiggles fingers* I have more on the way....

12. Favorite fic of the year: Hard to say but I've been enjoying a lot of the Tickletober works specifically by @lovelynim and @ticklygiggles, and also this Nimona fic by @bambinella has become a fav, and all RWRB fics by @kourtniwritesagain!!!!! I still need to reblog them here.

13. Favorite ask game of the year: I can't remember which ones I played, but I remember there was a time I had reblogged "post your anonymous confessions" or something, and it resulted in the most interesting asks and conversations with you guys^^ I liked that.

14. My top achievements as a writer/artist/creator/blogger: If I'll be around in a year, this won't be 'writer' but 'blogger', but for this one as a writer, it'll again be completing all 31 days of tickletober right on schedule despite a minor intervention.. :"D

15. My own best fic/post of the year: I have no idea! But if I ask AO3, it answers that my best fic of this year is my bowuigi fic mahahaha (based on kudos btw).

16. My most underappreciated fic/post of the year: Let's give that award to these 2 poor Tickletober fics (which I enjoyed writing a lot) that were not reblogged by anyone meaning they are no longer on Tumblr since my account loss:

Day 21: Horns/Fangs | Sariphi x Leonhart, King of Beasts (Niehime to Kemono no Ou) 

Day 23: Party | Momose x Shirosaki (Atarashii Joushi wa Do Tennen) 

17. A post of mine that got more popularity than expected: My comeback post! The comments, likes and even reblogs, I couldn't have ever imagined.

18. Something I changed on my blog since this year: You tell me 😂 No but besides the whole blog change, another change is that I got over my embarrassment and was brave enough to commission a couple of artists this year. Me and my money are now in a happy place!

Part 3: Next Year

19. Something I didn’t post this year but would like to do next year: A fic recommendations/faves post (from other writers). Wonder if I'll ever get to it, since my reading and fic reblogging is already not what I like it to be, meaning that every fic I reblog would probably belong on that list lol. But alright, I'd like to make a faves of the faves list then.

20. Goals for next year: Read more...!!! Read more books, more manga, more webtoons, more tickle fics. I love them, so I should read more! My truest ambition.

21. 2024 releases I look forward to the most: Every single update for Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail, and also: Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, Inside Out 2, Deadpool 3, Venom 3, Kimi ni Todoke S3, and Beastars Final Season!

22. Something else I look forward to next year: Traveling to Japan with my boyfriend! Also: receiving more tickles cuz why not. And last but not least, seeing Taylor Swift live at the Eras Tour in Amsterdam!

Part 4: Spreading Love

23. Shoutouts to people who made my 2023 a better year: I know, and you might know, I didn't do so well last time since I tagged a bunch of friends but also forgot to mention some... not because I didn't care about them but because I am a flopper. So to prevent this embarrassment I won't mention any names this time.

I especially would like to thank everyone who is still around, who is reading this, who followed my new blog. To be honest, on my old blog I felt flattered to have so many followers but I was also aware it was the effect of being active for 7 years in a ton of fandoms, and that it didn't say anything about the accurate number of people appreciating what I was posting.

But to be at already almost 500 followers on this blog? Where I only post shit? Now that's a compliment I will gladly accept. Thank you to all of you for the support!

Last but not least, special shoutout to the friends I talk to on Discord sooo much now, you know who you are!

Question list for copy paste below!

Part 1: Fandom Faves 

01. Favorite new fandoms of the year

02. Favorite new ships since this year 

03. Favorite anime/TV shows of the year 

04. Favorite movies of the year

05. Favorite characters of the year

06. Favorite soundtrack of the year

07. Favorite book/manga/comic of the year

08. Favorite games of the year

09. Highlight of this year to remember

Part 2: Community Review

10. Favorite Tumblr moments of 2023

11. Favorite fan art of the year

12. Favorite fic of the year

13. Favorite ask game of the year

14. My top achievements as a writer/artist/creator/blogger

15. My own best fic/post of the year

16. My most underappreciated fic/post of the year

17. A post of mine that got more popularity than expected

18. Something I changed on my blog since this year

Part 3: Next Year

19. Something I didn’t post this year but would like to do next year

20. Goals for next year

21. 2024 releases I look forward to the most

22. Something else I look forward to next year

Part 4: Spreading Love

23. Shoutouts to people who made my 2023 a better year

[xoxobuckybarnes]

July 2023 Stucky Fics

Completed

All Roads Lead to Home (Rated: M, Words: 159K) by emeraldsage85

Summary: Steve tracks down Bucky after the destruction of project insight and brings him back to live in the tower. It's not always easy but the two of them work on healing and creating a life for themselves, including dealing with some feelings they've never expressed towards each other. Civil War fix-it.

Snickerdoodles Are the Way to Steve’s Heart (Rated: T, Words: 15K) by HMSLusitania / @hmslusitania

Summary: Steve can't help but be a little annoyed when Natasha signs him up for a cooking class - a couple's cooking class. At least, he's annoyed until he meets the instructor, who might just be the most attractive man Steve has ever laid eyes on. Featuring chef!Bucky, bitterly single Steve, and their meddling friends.

a place to stay (Rated: M, Words 8K) by yammz / @yammz

Summary: Steve sighed before he continued explaining, “So Bucky and his family moved away from Brooklyn, and I would see them every so often if his parents came to visit New York. They’d always swing by to say hello to me and my mom until I was a teenager and Bucky…” he groaned, burying his face in his pillow. Natasha finished for him by repeating the words she had heard so many times before, in every account of Steve coming into his own identity, “Bucky Barnes is Rogers’ sexual awakening.” A college AU where Steve tries really hard to ignore how right his friends are about him. And how hot his childhood friend is.

Brooklyn Baby (Rated: M, Words: 33K) by sprinkle_of_cinnamon

Summary: In which Bucky is just trying to live life and enjoy his unofficial official table at the obnoxiously hipster coffee shop, but some guy named Steve stole his spot. Or, the time that Bucky unintentionally befriended the Avengers and had no idea.

Bucky Never Wanted to Fight (Rated: T, Words: 2K) by hailvodka

Summary: Maybe the stress is getting to him. Maybe that’s why he got in the fight. That’s his mother’s theory, at least, and as she dabs her cloth at the split skin over his eye, she lets her heart break where he can’t see it. What she wouldn’t give to steal back his childhood from this cruel, cruel world. Thing is, that’s not it at all. Bucky never wanted to fight. But when he saw that scrawny little blond kid getting beat to hell by three older boys, he didn’t hesitate. He fought. — Vignettes from Bucky Barnes's life, age thirteen to a hundred-and-something.

If I Could Stop the Clock With You Tonight (Rated: E, Words: 10K) by Voylitscope_speed / @voylitscope​

Summary: "Mm, see, but you don't actually know that," James says, shaking his head, but looking amused. "Not until you taste this. You might hate it." "I've been your audience, though. I've been right here watching you make all that," Steve protests, grinning. "I've seen your cooking focus and how you use your hands and everything. There's no way this won't be amazing." There's a pause after Steve's words. It's probably a very brief and barely noticeable pause, but it feels long and mortifying to Steve as he plays his own last few sentences back in his head. "Glad you think I'm good with hands," James eventually says, ending Steve's misery, but making him flush even redder. (Or: Natasha hires a private chef to cook Steve's birthday dinner. Steve's not too sure about the idea of a total stranger in his apartment on his birthday, but Chef James is incredibly attractive and very charming. He also seems oddly familiar. That might just be because Steve has met him before.)

You’re my Honey, ain’t cha? (Rated: E, Words: 121K) by CelticCross

Summary: Bucky Barnes is a hotshot developer who specializes in buying up land for practically nothing and developing towns and housing estates. His latest project involves buying up vast swathes of farming land in buttfuck Indiana, as Sam laughingly calls it, only Steve Rogers of Rogers Honey Farm, isn't selling. The farm belonged to his ma and Steve ain't going anywhere. When multiple contract lawyers are sent packing with their tails between their legs, and in Clint Barton's case a recipe for a honey cake, Bucky has to decide exactly what he's going to do. He needs that farm in order for the project to be completed. When he finds out who Steve really is, he has no option but to go and visit the farm himself.

***The author is going to be removing the fic so read or download by August 30th***

All Happy Families (Rated: G, Words: 11K)

Summary: There was a baby in Steve’s living room. There definitely wasn’t a baby in his living room last night, he was sure of it. Sure, he hadn’t been in his apartment for a few weeks, busy with his fruitless search for Bucky, but he checked the place three times last night for any breaches. He would’ve noticed a baby. And nothing had woken him up, and he hadn’t been a heavy sleeper since the war. The baby—judging by the pink onesie and haphazard pigtails, he was assuming it was a she—stared at him, silently chewing on a slobbery fist.

I Believe in Something More (Rated: M, Words: 74K) by cydonic

Summary: In April of 2014, two very important things happen: The Winter Soldier is prepped for a mission as part of Project Insight which never ends up happening, and Steve Rogers finds out his mother is dying. In October of 2018, Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers meet in the Sculpture Garden at UCLA. Bucky has spent the ensuing years building a life for himself, learning that he likes to study in the sunshine and build friendships with people who just think of him as ‘that nice guy who’s really smart’, not what he used to be. Steve has tried to make it in Brooklyn, but everything reminds him of Sarah. He needs a change of scenery, and following his childhood best friend Sam Wilson over to California seems to be the way to do it.

WIP

Treading Water (Rated: M, Current Words: 171K) by sparkagrace / @sparkagrace & art by Dyslexic_Fetus (Reagy_Jay) / @reagy-jay

Summary: Olympic swimmer Bucky Barnes always believed that when the time came to retire, he would walk away with his medals and world records firmly in the history books and never look back. He never thought the water would leave him first.

***Part of the series Lane Lines: Lane Lines (Rated: M, Words: 132K), Lumière (Rated: M, Words: 5K), & New Traditions (Rated: M, Words: 6K)***

Lost Vocabularies that Might Express (The Memory of These Broken Impressions) (Rated: E, Current Words: 32K) by dorian_burberrycanary / @burberrycanary

Summary: The worst of times, like the best, are always passing away. How’s that for some consolation on the road?A post-The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Stucky fix-it as part of the all-American road trip, detours included.

***Part of the series A Man Takes His Sadness Down to the River (The Consolation of Philosophy): The Same River, Twice (The Man Is Still Left with His Hands) (Rated: G, words: 4K), Still Left with the River (The Paradox of Motion) (Rated: G, Words: 14K), &  Not Language by a Map (The Grammar of Sensation) (Rated: E, Words: 20K)***

a league of their own (Rated: E, Current Words: 26K) by burning_brighter / @burning-brighter

Summary: Steve’s sixteen-year-old son’s one and only dream is to play in the Major League. He thinks he has a shot when the team get a new coach, retired MLB legend and Steve’s high school crush, Bucky Barnes. Steve hasn’t thought of the man in many years, but seeing him brings back many memories that push Steve to reach out to an old friend and maybe make new ones on the way. What happens when Steve gets to know Bucky properly? What happens when they open up about their darkest secrets and deepest fears? There’s really only one thing that can happen.

Rereads

Bucky Barnes Has His Shit Together (and Other Lies He Tells Himself) (Rated: M, Words: 13K) by betts

Summary: You’d think a guy who owns one of the most successful bakeries in Brooklyn, has a million-dollar smile and that antiquated good ol’ boy charm, blond hair and blue eyes and biceps for days, would know what’s what. But don’t let that fool you: Steve Rogers is a mess.

[im-just-a-br0adway-baby]

Encantober 2023 Day 16: Grief

The end of January was always a hard time of the year for Julieta and Agustin. January twenty-sixth was the original due date for the child they were supposed to have when Luisa was two years old. Julieta and Agustin were so excited that they were having another child together, but their lives would come crashing down that spring. She got several tests done at the hospital and it was confirmed that she miscarried.

The months after the announcement were the most devastating months for Julieta and Agustin. They saw the door disappear slowly before getting a confirmation from the doctor, which made them anxious. That was when they went to the hospital to get the confirmation. The entire family grieved the loss of their potential new child, sibling, cousin, grandchild, and nibling, but Julieta carrying the child made her the most traumatized.

Now, every year on January twenty-sixth, the Madrigal family hosts a private memorial service to remember the life the child could have had with them. Alma would tell the story of the would-be Madrigal to Mirabel, Camilo, and Antonio and have a yearly candle ceremony by the lake. While they also celebrated the life the child could have had, Julieta and Agustin could not get themselves to even try to celebrate their child’s potential life.

When the child’s would-have-been eighteenth birthday approached, Alma decided to hold a ceremony at Casita and have Julieta make a cake for them. As much as she did not want to, she agreed anyway because they would still be an important part of the family, and it would have been her child, after all.

While she was baking the cake, Mirabel came into the kitchen to see her mother clearly upset while baking. She could not help but walk in to see her mother crying and see how she was doing.

“Hola, mami; I couldn’t help but notice you still crying while baking. Are you still upset about the miscarriage?”

“Si, Mirabel; I really hope you never have to deal with this when you get to my age. It’s one of the most devastating things any mother could go through. That’s why we always say how you were our miracle baby, because we didn’t think we would be able to have any more children after that.”

Mirabel sat at the kitchen island while Julieta continued gathering ingredients. “I hope you don’t mind, mami, but could you tell me about your pregnancy a little bit? I know it didn’t last long, but I wanted to know how it felt.”

Julieta signaled Mirabel to come near her. “I was so excited about having a third child. Your tia was visibly upset and jealous since she was trying so hard to conceive and knowing I was able to do so twice after her made her visibly upset. But she still supported me and was just as upset when I announced the miscarriage.”

Mirabel hugged her mother once she told that part of the story. She wanted to learn more about the older sibling she could have had, but she also knew there was not much information to be revealed since her pregnancy did not last very long.

“You also have no idea how excited your papi and I were when I was pregnant with you two years later. It was also why I got so emotional when you were born. It also made me worried because of the last pregnancy. So I was kind of overprotective of you when you were born. I didn’t even let your tia Pepa or tio Bruno hold you for a couple weeks because I was too scared of losing you.”

Mirabel began helping her mother with the cake by taking out some flour and sugar from the cabinet. “Do you remember how you felt after the miscarriage was announced?”

“It was the most devastating news your papa and I got. We went to the hospital that day because we saw the door fade and we needed to do some tests at the hospital to see if we didn’t miscarry. Once we did the test, they diagnosed the miscarriage and that was when we and the rest of the family got the news.”

Julieta put a bowl on the counter and Mirabel started to scoop flour into it. Julieta got the milk and the butter from the refrigerator and put it on the counter. “Do you still sometimes wonder what kind of gift they would have had if they were born?”

“We sometimes do; we wonder a lot of things about the child if we ended up having them. Like, what their interests would have been, or which one of the adults they would have been the most attached to. Bruno liked to joke about how they would have been the most attached to him just to tease me, since Isabela was the most attached to you abuela and Luisa was the most attached to your papi.”

Julieta took two cups of water and put it in the bowl of flour. Isabela and Luisa came into the kitchen to see their mother and sister working on the cake. “Hola, Mami and Mirabel, we just wanted to see how the cake was doing,” Isabela mentioned.

“The cake is getting done. I just needed to give Mami some motivation to make it,” Mirabel replied.

“What’s been going on?” Luisa asked.

“I’ve just been thinking about the child I would have had, like I always do when we have these ceremonies,” Julieta explained.

“Mami, I know that this is the hardest day of the year for you and papi, and you’re not wrong for still grieving for their potential life. But you still understand why Abuela holds these ceremonies every year, right?” Isabela explained.

“Si, because the life they would have had would still be special and to teach us that even the potential life is precious.”

Julieta’s daughters hugged her excitedly once she mentioned the reason. “So you still understand the meaning of these ceremonies,” Mirabel mentioned.

“And besides, you still have three amazing daughters that fill your life with joy everyday,” said Isabela.

“And you still call Mirabel your miracle baby and express how grateful you are that she’s here, alive, and healthy,” Luisa added.

Julieta hugged her daughters back. “Do you want to help me with the cake? Mirabel offered and we would need this done in a couple hours.”

“Si, mami, we would love to,” Luisa replied.

The cool-colored sisters gathered more ingredients for the cake and helped Julieta finish making the cake. They put it in the oven after gathering the ingredients and helping Julieta mix them in the batter. After a half hour, Julieta took the cake out of the oven and Mirabel got the icing out of the refrigerator, and all three girls iced the cake. Each daughter then decided to be in charge of one decorating process for the cake and it was done within another half hour. The four women looked at the cake in awe to see how great it looked.

“I’m sure it’s going to taste as great as it looks,” Mirabel pointed out.

“And it’s all because I got my three amazing daughters to help me out,” Julieta added.

Alma came into the kitchen to see her elder daughter and her three cool-colored granddaughters finishing up with the cake.

“Is the cake almost finished? You have been in here for several hours,” Alma pointed out.

“Lo siento, mama, I was just thinking about the grief this miscarriage has given me and was telling Mirabel about my pregnancy at the time. I understand that I’ve been dreading this day every year for eighteen years, and I’m still going to in the future, but I’m starting to find some more positives on this day too,” Julieta explained.

Alma smiled and gave Julieta a hug. “I knew you would one day see the good in these ceremonies. You know that we celebrate all the Madrigals in this house, even the ones we lost and never got a chance at life.”

“I understand now, mama. And now, even Mirabel understands too.”

[heyiwrotesomethings]

Photos

ShinoMitsu Week 2023 Day Three

A/N: Modern AU for this one. I know they had photography in Japan by the time Demon Slayer takes place, but I had a very specific idea in mind. Hope you like it, thanks for reading! Word Count: 2,000

Mitsuri hadn’t meant to arrive so early, but her mom had sent her on her way because she was digging a trench into the floor with her anxious pacing. Now she found herself sat on the couch of the upstairs apartment where the Kochou family lived above their family pharmacy, stuck between Shinobu’s sisters with Shinobu herself nowhere in sight.

Apparently she was helping her dad with some sorting and wouldn’t be back up for a other hour or so, and that was how Mitsuri became the hostage of Kanae and Kanao, but honestly she was more so trapped by the older sibling than the younger who seemed content to simply watch her eldest sister cook.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you Mitsuri!” Kanae had smiled, pulling Mitsuri around wherever she saw fit, taking full advantage of Shinobu’s absence. “I was beginning to worry that Shinobu had made you up!”

“Ah, nope! I’m real. I’m sorry for not finding the time to introduce myself sooner.” Mitsuri apologized contritely, but Kanae would have none of it.

“Oh, it’s not your fault, I’m sure. I know how Shinobu is. She can be such a handful sometimes, always overcomplicating and overthinking and so, so stubborn.” Kanae took Mitsuri’s hands in a gesture of gratitude, “She is very thoughtful and sweet underneath all of the angst, so I’m very glad you gave my grumpy baby sister a chance, you really are a saint, Mitsuri!”

“I- I don’t know about that!” Mitsuri blushed, hoping Kanae couldn’t feel how sweaty her hands were becoming.

Then Kanae got an evil glint in her eye that Mitsuri had seen Shinobu herself have on occasion, usually when she was about to verbally destroy someone who absolutely deserved to be taken down a few pegs. But whereas Mitsuri grew to love that cunning look on Shinobu, on Kanae she felt a measure of fear. Mitsuri gulped.

“Speaking of my grumpy baby sister, I know just the thing we can do until she comes back,” Kanae grinned, pulling Mitsuri to sit on the couch beside her, “Kanao, could you bring over Shinobu’s photo album, please?”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Kanao was right to be a little hesitant, but Kanae promised to take full responsibility for whatever happens. Whatever that means.

So that was how Mitsuri found herself in the middle the her girlfriend’s sisters, Shinobu’s photo album on her lap while Kanae shared stories and turned each page, making sure to point out the cutest and most embarrassing pictures as if Mitsuri hadn’t already been guiltily burning the images into her brain to forever hold and cherish. She prayed that Shinobu would spare her life for her transgressions.

Shinobu had been premature baby, and needed extra oxygen in the hospital. There were a couple photos of her with her head beneath a plastic dome that provided her with the extra oxygen she needed.

“I thought it looked like she was going to space,” Kanae chuckled, “so I started calling her the astronaut baby.”

Shinobu had been so tiny that her father’s arms nearly engulfed her in one picture. Her little hand too small to fully encircle her mother’s finger in another. Even in the arms of a four year old Kanae she looked like a doll.

A little further along was Shinobu at three in mud-caked overalls with the biggest grin, hands full worms and pill bugs.

“Shinobu has always liked bugs a lot, I see.” Mitsuri smiled, “On our walks, she always stops to put the worms back in the grass after a rainy spell.”

“Some things never change.” Kanae shook her head fondly, looking down at another picture of Shinobu chasing her with the same handful of bugs.

So many pictures, so many stories. Shinobu with her sisters, making a sandcastle at the beach, playing in the bathtub, cute Halloween costumes, first day of school, cute scribble-y drawings that Shinobu’s drawing style still matched to this day, missing baby teeth, friends and extended family, track meet ribbons, report cards, science fair projects, family camping trips, all the way up until the day of the science club’s first place win at the regional academic conference a few weeks ago.

“Thank you for sharing this with me. It’s been a lot of fun.” Mitsuri was positively glowing with happiness, “I feel like I know Shinobu even better now.”

“The pleasure was all mine. If you want, you could save any of your favorites to your phone.” Kanae offered.

“Really?! I’d love too, thank you so much!”

“I think you two are playing with fire.” Kanao cautioned, eyeing the clock.

“You’ve been enabling us, Kanao. You have just as much a part in this as we do.”

“Shinobu won’t get mad at me. She always knows who the true mastermind is.”

From the entrance hall they could hear the door begin the rattle before swinging open, a familiar tired groan followed the closing of the door soon after.

“It’s been nice knowing you, Kana-nee. It was nice to meet you, Mitsuri.” Kanao settled comfortably on her portion of the couch, watching the two older girls try to speed through the album while Mitsuri snapped several photos, unwilling to go without them even at the possible cost of her own life.

“It’s always like ‘If You Give a Mouse a Cookie’ with mom and dad,” They could hear Shinobu gripe as she kicked off her shoes, “They ask you to do one thing, and then another and another, there’s always something else! They have two other daughters sitting upstairs who aren’t expecting company, you know.

“Speaking of which, when Mitsuri gets here, you can make your introductions or whatever, but if you try to embarrass me in any way, I will…” Shinobu paused at the doorway to the living room.

Her eyes fell on Mitsuri first, how could they not? She wasn’t worried about Kanao, but long had she been exposed to Kanae’s terrible influence? For a moment, she stared back at the owlishly round eyes of her older sister and her girlfriend, before she heard a rustle. Mitsuri’s eyes flicked to her lap and Shinobu heard several clicks of a camera shutter before Mitsuri’s eyes darted back up to meet hers.

Slowly, Shinobu’s stare lowered to Mitsuri’s lap and she blanched when she saw the thick book resting atop her thighs. Her gaze then dragged upward to Kanae’s.

“Careful Shinobu,” Kanae chuckled nervously, “we wouldn’t want you to pop a blood vessel… again.”

“Start running.”

Kanae squealed, flipping over the back of the couch as Shinobu lunged for her. She crawled over the couch as Kanae ran to her room, Shinobu probably would have caught up if she didn’t stop to snatch the photo album from Mitsuri’s lap along the way. Instead she ended up running into the door just as Kanae closed it.

“You’ll have to come out of there at some point!” Shinobu warned, smacking the door with a threatening thud.

“Please, Shinobu, show your sister mercy!”

“The only sister I have is Kanao. You will be dead by morning!”

“Shinobu, please don’t kill her!” Mitsuri pleaded, “She was only helping pass the time until you could come back.”

“She could have suggested a game or turned on the tv! She deliberately chose to humiliate me!” Shinobu countered, now very red in the face.

Mitsuri jogged over to Shinobu, cautiously touching the shorter girl’s tense back, “You shouldn’t feel humiliated, Shinobu. I love every part of you, and being able to see so much of your life laid out so plainly for me to see is something so precious to me that I will treasure it until the day I die.”

A muffled ‘aww’ could be heard from Kanae’s room and Shinobu pounded her fist against the door in warning before slowly turning to face Mitsuri, though her eyes still fluttered over the ground and her cheeks were still beet red.

Mitsuri coaxed Shinobu’s gaze upward with soft fingertips to her chin and jaw. Then she kissed away the vein that strained so visibly against Shinobu’s forehead that it was borderline concerning.

“I am sorry that I looked at your photos without your consent. Could you ever forgive me?”

Shinobu bit the inside of her lip and nodded meekly softly after. She could never be mad at Mitsuri, try as she might sometimes to put her foot down. Mitsuri had a her wrapped around her finger since day one and she was lucky that Mitsuri seemed to use her power over her sparingly.

“It’s strange,” Kanae hummed, “It’s pretty quiet out there, but I swear I just heard the crack of a whip.”

Shinobu pivoted quickly towards the door, “You’ll be hearing the crack of your door getting pulled off of its hinges if you don’t shut the hell up!” She warned.

“Hey, Shinobu,” Mitsuri wrapped her arms around Shinobu from behind, tugging her away from Kanae’s door, “If you promise not to kill your sister, I’ll let you look through all of my baby pictures the next time you come over. That way we’ll be even, right?”

Shinobu exhaled, relaxing against Mitsuri’s chest. She would really, really, really like to see Mitsuri’s cute little round face…

“It’ll take a lot more than that to atone for all of Kanae’s transgressions against me, but I suppose this deal will stave off her execution a bit longer.”

“You’re a real life saver, Mitsuri!” Kanae praised, “When the time comes that you want to get married, you have my blessing.”

Before Shinobu could lunge for the door again, Mitsuri easily pulled her away, “Hey Nobu, why don’t you show me your room! I’ve been looking forward to meeting Fugu personally. Kanao told me about the caterpillars you guys are raising in there too, I’d love to learn all about them.”

“Yeah? Okay, let’s go.” Shinobu thought about it briefly before untangling from Mitsuri’s arms, taking her hand instead, she lead her to the next door that was her and Kanao’s room.

Once Shinobu had some cuddle time with Mitsuri to help her cool off, and the Kochou parents closed shop for the day and came up to make dinner, Kanae felt it was safe enough to rejoin the family. But she did use Kanao and Mitsuri as body shields just in case Shinobu got any ideas.

Mitsuri had a lot of fun getting to know all of Shinobu’s family over dinner and games. She was already looking forward to spending more time with them in the future. As Shinobu was getting ready to walk her home, Kanae sidled up to her and whispered in her ear,

“Next time I’ll bring out the home videos. Just wait until you hear what her first word was, you’ll just die.”

Mitsuri really couldn’t wait to be invited back and she would be sure to arrive extra early.

“Kanae didn’t say anything weird to you just now, right?” Shinobu asked, eyeing Mitsuri suspiciously as they walked down the sidewalk hand in hand.

“Nope!” Mitsuri squeaked, her tone and sweaty hand giving her away.

Shinobu groaned, bumping her head against Mitsuri’s bicep, “You’re going to owe me a lot more than baby pictures if I ever find out what she’s plotting.”

“Every bit of me is yours. You can ask for whatever you want from me as penance in return for whatever trouble Kanae gets us into.”

Shinobu smiled shyly before she sighed and shook her head, nuzzling Mitsuri’s arm, “Just remember that you owe me baby pictures. In fact, I think you owe me every cute picture and video of yourself that you can find.”

“I will have them all laid out for you tomorrow.” Mitsuri promised.

That night when Mitsuri had crawled into bed, she practically had to smother herself to keep her squees of delight quiet as she rolled around beneath her covers and scrolled through her phone, trying to decide which of Shinobu’s precious photos to change her home screen to.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Ending the Year FINE & simple

Dec 2022 Wk 4

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying the most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Never Let Me Go (Tues YT) 3 of 12 - Butler Dad (v.2) is going to be a problem, I can tell. Chimon is a cute, if suspicious, flirt. Palm, on the other hand, is the gentlest flirt imaginable. He wants spoiled prince + attack dog dynamic so bad. As, indeed, do I. 

Between Us (Sun iQIYI) 8 of 12 - still enjoying it very much, annoyed by filler couples, WATCH ALONG HERE.

609 Bedtime Story (Fri WeTV) 6 of 11 - Oh, I see! The Mint storyline is to give more characters motivation to murder Dew. It’s all set up. How clumsy. Meanwhile, we got a confession right on schedule, classic romance beats. 

I Will Knock You (Fri Gaga) 7 of 12 - Whatever. 

Remember Me (Sun Gaga) 12 of 14 - Honestly? I’d DNF this show but its almost done and I've watched 12 already. Sunk cost fallacy in action. I’m not going to make this mistake with this production house again. JaFirst cry well, but I’m vetting and binging these in future.  

My School President (Fri YT) 5 of 10 - no ep this week, resumes Jan 6

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

The New Employee (Korea Weds Viki) 2 of 8 - It’s giving me life, this one. Pining boss. Drunk lesbian bestie of awesome. Plus gay player (former college heartthrob) is a fun background for the faen fatal, not to mention rainbow rice cakes. COME ON. RAINBOW RICE CAKES! 

HIStory 5: Love in the Future (Taiwan Thurs Viki) 1 of 20 - A cheerful kid from 1999 travels to 2022, works as a deliveryman, and meets an heir with a domineering personality. Directed by Nancy Chen (HIStory 4, Papa & Daddy). The time travel premise is interesting, the leads are giving me whipping boy vibes, but I don’t like seme’s stalker energy. It feels very HIStory franchise which means it could go any direction but sensible and I’m expecting problematic tropes. However! The sides are GREAT - they’re an office romance boss/intern relationship. And this is 20 full episodes so we will get plenty of them. Also, is that Taiwan I see giving us a femme character? I am all amazement. I think I like this show, actually. (Note; will be referring to this as H5 going forward.) 

The Director Who Buys Me Dinner (Korea Thurs iQIYI) 5-6 of 10 - Is there a not very small part of me that wishes this were a love story between the earnest assistant baby boi, and the older anxiety-riddled rockstar? Yes. Although I did not expect Korea to go there with the lipstick mark AND an actually gay idol. What alternate reality are we currently living in? Also, is every character in this show slightly insane? Yes. Is every actor in this show slightly too pretty for my emotional well-being? Also, yes. Bring it on 2023. 

Candy Color Paradox AKA Ameiro Paradox (Japan Fri Gaga) 3 of 8 - I think I just don’t like the photographer character much (although he’s very typically Japanese tsundere seme). Really quite a good kiss though, for Japan. On the flip side, it was nice to see the reporter being good at his job (competency porn is a very underused trope in BL). Then we get confession, immediate retraction, and a disbelief counter attack. Then more kisses. Huh. This isn’t progressing how I expect. And that’s kinda nice too. Oh Japan, you so cute & trixie. 

It’s Airing But I’m Not Watching It

Love Bill (Vietnam Sat YT) - Bah Vinh is back but I’m too distracted. Also there’s a lot of fund raising stuff going on with them. I’ll wait and binge.

The Star Always Follow You (Vietnam YT) - same Team RL peeps we have seen before (Sunshine, Stupid)

Till the World Ends (Thai YT) 10 eps - it seems to be good but I don’t know about the ending with that kind of title, so I’m waiting.

Moonlight Chicken GMMTV’s Midnight series (Weds YT) 1 of 8 eventually - first segment has begun bit it’s not the EarthMix messy gays. Sorry all, I’m so not interested in messy hets, so I’m waiting until they grace my screen.

In Case You Missed It

Coffee Melody special feat TitNuea & Jean like it’s counterpart was rather dull, but I find this a more appealing couple than the mains so I liked it better. 

Moments Of Love - featuring SmartJames AKA LeonPhob from Don't Say No) from Foremorfilm Production supposedly aired Dec 24 directed by Golf Tanwarin (609 Bedtime Story and The Eclipse). But it has no rating on MDL so I guess not? 

Next Week Looks Like This:

2023 forthcoming BL master post is in the works... wait for it... I’m doing all the 2022 wrap ups first. Also waiting for the last of the studio announcements. 

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Mujigae-tteok (Korean rainbow rice cake) - a new item has entered my never ending food quest list. 

OhmFluke do domesticity well, gotta give them that. 

Quick end of year thoughts on 2022 BL & the future of these weekly posts: 

Honestly? Overall it’s been a fine year for BL with some good shows & and some ho shows, and also a lot of dross. But the most notable aspect was the overwhelming quantity to keep up with. My work world is opening back up with tons of travel. This plus my recent revelation that I actually prefer binge watching (especially the lower quality stuff) means that I can’t keep up with BL if it keeps up this insane pace. 

So in 2023 you can expect me to try to keep these weeklies updated with what’s airing, of course, but also pull back on how many I personally watch and summate. 

In 2022, BL sort of became my 2nd job, and it doesn't pay well enough for that.

All that said I think... 

2023 is going to be GOOD for BL. Happy new year! 

(last week)

Current Kpop earworm? I’ve been in a “beastly” mood recently so it’s Lee Gikwang’s (Beast, Highlight) Don’t Close Your Eyes. I forgot how fucking banging that opening rift is. Thank you Kpop gods for putting the 2nd gens through the ever eternal slut phase. 

Now just put them all though a BL phase and we’re golden. Yes, I am thinking of Unintentional Love Story (Gongchan B1A4), why do you ask? 

[theoptimisticdaydreamer]

It is rare that the ending is the most aggravating part of the drama. Love to Hate You did exactly this. I flew through this show in a matter of days and loved so much about it. I love the honest communication between the FL and ML, the lack of a love triangle, the chemistry between the FL and the ML, not dragging out any storylines, the bromance between the ML and the 2ML, and the hilarious older actress character Soo-jin. I was not expecting the ridiculous shenanigans of the final episode. The only thing that saved the final episode was the fact that they got back together and there is a happy ending. Everything leading up to that point made me want to tear my hair out.

This has definitely turned into a comfort romance drama that I will happily rewatch. Except fast forward through the entire 10th episode until the end because it is stupid. 

~~~Rant Incoming~~~

I had such high hopes in the beginning because after the reveal that FL had a colorful dating past, the FL and the ML decided to date in secret and lie that they had broken up. Woo- don’t let the rest of the world decide your relationship when you are happily together. Now, in the year of 2023 and the fact that in real-life actors have successfully dated in secret for MONTHS, if not YEARS, and that at this point the ML is an established actor and the FL is a successful lawyer...their actions after this decision make no freaking sense. When you are dating in secret, and your “break-up” is fresh public gossip, YOU DO NOT GO TO EAT IN A CROWDED RESTAURANT. YOU DO NOT GO OUT FOR KARAOKE. 

THEY SHOULD KNOW HOW TO BE FREAKING DISCREET. 

If they had flown under the radar for a couple of months, it would have all worked itself out. Its not like they couldn’t have a dating life together in private for heaven’s sake. He has a second house and a car (though really should get a second car that is not bright blue and more discreet). There could be dates on the beach, in the park, in SECLUDED LOCATIONS. They could go out to eat in restaurants in rural towns run by people who don’t give a damn that he is a popular actor. But nooooooooooooooo.

The FL runs into the rabid mob otherwise known as the ML’s “fans”. The audacity of these bitches. I despised them the entire season and wring their necks in the final episode. Get a life already. 

Then he holds a press conference. He states directly that he shouldn’t stop living his life just to please his fans. He proposes (!!!) to her during this press conference. This also gave me a lot of confidence that they were going to do away with the break-up-for-stupid-reasons troupe. Honestly, this would have worked. If you draw from present-day reality, it is a growing trend where popular actors/celebrities/idols write letters to their fans that straight up say I’m getting married, having a baby and I’m very happy. And there is support for them. Support from people who know where to draw the line in their love for a famous person. And once the support for his relationship changes enough in the public eye, the brands will also cave. It would have worked. 

Until the FL, in the second burst of stupidity this entire show (the first being that she believed he was dating an minor based on one scene only and running with it and not stopping to fact check whatsoever), decides to BREAK UP WITH HIM during this live broadcast press conference. What is frustrating is up until this point, they TALKED TO ONE ANOTHER before making decisons that impacted the both of us. Yet all of a sudden, she is making this huge decision for the both of them, NEVER TALKING TO HIM ABOUT IT BEFOREHAND, acting like its the best for the both of them (she can’t possibly know this). She didn’t give him A CHOICE. Also the fact that this was not done privately really rubs me wrong. Also, SHE NEVER APOLOGIZES FOR THIS. Even when they get back together, she never admits any freaking fault in breaking them up in the first place- not making decisions for the both of them, not essentially discarding him and blindsiding him with the breakup (which is exactly what his first love did which was the source of all of his relationship trauma). 

It is so incredibly stupid. SO FUCKING STUPID. 

And then she doesn’t talk to him for a month?! What!

It also really bothers me when she never answers him when he asks her “circumstances can always change, so what’s different now, what changed”. Because if this happens again, what will be her response? Will she act rashly without talking things out with him? Will she assume that she knows whats best for the both of them but actually foolishly break both of their hearts in the process? Circumstances changed with his first love and that lead her to reporting him as a stalker out of fear of what being in a relationship would do to her image. I’m not saying that the FL is going to report the ML for stalking but she has not proven that she is anything but a fair-weather lover. When the going gets tough, she gets gone (WHICH IS CONTRARY TO HER ENTIRE CHARACTER). 

Their reconciliation conversation is honestly one-sided when it shouldn’t be.  She asks him why he’s here then if he’s going to break up with her because he didn’t need to do that in person. That makes no fucking sense because she literally broke up with him during the press conference. They were no longer together after that. That’s how breakups work (especially with the added humiliation of being broken up with on live TV after proposing to someone).  He rightfully points out that she was the one who closed their chapter. She then says nothing else and he says everything. She is the one who should be doing all the talking. 

SHE NEVER TAKES ANY ACCOUNTABILITY FOR HER WRONGS NOR SAYS ANYTHING THAT SHOWS THAT HER FEELINGS FOR HIM ARE STRONGER NOW AND SHE IS NO LONGER AS EASILY SHAKEN. 

When he pushes her to give him answers (which he wholeheartedly deserves). She either says nothing, acts like a SIMPERING WOUNDED RABBIT, or AS IF ITS HIS FAULT (when she punches him for “being mean” I wanted to whack her with a newspaper-- she caused more emotional damage hands down). The nerve. 

If you are going to write the breakup to be so nonsensical, you should have the respect for the ML and the FL and their relationship up until that point to write the reconciliation BETTER. She should have apologized and given an indication that things will be different and I die on that hill. 

Also for her to be so proud of it later is insulting honestly. 

Their reconciliation hug was very sweet (all of their affectionate scenes were) but that came down to the actor’s chemistry and physical acting and had little to do with the script itself.

What was also against her character was how the guys at the law firm had to “save” her public image. I’m surprised she didn’t defend herself considering she is headstrong and violence-prone in literally every other aspect of her life. It was nice though that they came to her defense and supported her in the sense that they had her back after beginning the season being wary and distrustful of her. I wish it would have happened a different way is all- one where she sticks up for herself first.  

The romance between the 2FL and the 2ML was forced and annoying. They possess absolutely no chemistry and I would have prefered more scenes of the ML and the FL. The 2FL grated on my nerves more and more as the season went on (so freaking shallow and romance obsessed with nothing else to her character) and by the end, I wanted to reach in and drag her off the screen. Also, that public girlfriend-proposal was so uncomfortable to watch. I don’t know how he thought that was a good idea but I can guarantee you that at least 75% of women on this planet (which is a high enough % to freaking STOP) don’t like public proposals (especially featuring complete strangers).The feeling of public pressure and scrutiny is unbearable. She was visibly uncomfortable and he’s was like where is my answer. There was no convincing conversation before hand. Based off of the conversations they have had up until this point, absolutely nothing screams relationship ready. To be honest, the 2FL needed to find joy in her own company first.

I am happy that they didn’t forget about Choi Soo-jin considering that was the entire reason the FL got hired in the first place. I am glad that after 10 episodes we can see her successfully finish her job for her first client. 

Final critique (that applies to the whole show in general), is that I am not a big fan of the overuse of alcohol. Yes, I get that drinking is a big part of Korean culture but it was completely unnecessary to exist to the extent it did in this show. Alcohol should not be necessary alongside every single social interaction. You can have a good time without alcohol. You don’t need to turn towards alcohol every single time you are sad. Can the media stop showcasing people self-soothing with alcohol? It implies that alcohol is necessary when it really isn’t. 

All in all, a surprisingly enjoyable romantic comedy that delivered on both the romance and the comedy. Just think that the entire 10th episode could have been rewritten to do the characters and the storyline justice.

[aonoexpat]

05-11-2023 (1/3)

As I shelter from the rain in Elrond on my last night on Te Waipounamu in the very same spot in which I spent my first night, I'm going to try to take the time to catch you up on my adventures!

(I might add some photos into these posts later, atm I'm waiting to receive them from friends)

SO, after taking that illegal shower and feeling very cheeky and proud about it, I drove over to Tauranga Bay with my friend. We made good use of the fact that we had two cars at our disposal, so we left one in the parking at the end of a 1.5 hour walking track, and rode together to the parking at the start. Then we enjoyed the wonderful weather as we hiked along the coast line, almost losing our hats to the incredibly strong winds every now and then! I spent a long time just standing at different spots along the edge of the cliffs, breathing in the fresh air, feeling the wind in my hair and the soft grass beneath my feet.

At the end of the track we got to see a seal colony hanging out in the sun, with little babies playing on the rocks and swimming in the waves:

That day I finally crossed the Rubicon, and booked my ferry back to Te Whanganui-a-Tara after a long time of being in two (or sometimes more) minds about the next steps in my trip. I initially planned to be back in the city in time for Halloween, which didn't end up happening. More on that later. But what's left unchanged since then is that on the 10th of November I will re-join the team at the bar I had worked at (and tremendously enjoyed) last time I was there!

The next day my friend and I headed North along the coast to Karamea. The road offered some beautiful views:

We had parted with our third friend, but in the parking lot at the start of two beautiful hiking tracks up there we spotted her car. We left a note under her windshield wipers to let her know we were there, and decided to walk the larger loop track in the opposite direction. And lo and behold, after walking for about ten minutes she came walking right towards us! We had a very excited reunion, and she walked the track backwards with us, pointing out her favourite spots. We saw adorable little Toutouwai and beautiful stone formations, the Moria gate and Ōpārara arch:

After that we paid a visit to the Box Canyon cave, which was an incredibly cool experience. My favourite moment was when we had just entered the cave and other hikers (an older couple) there heard us come in, and decided to make exaggerated ghost sounds. Then they came out of the shadows and asked us if we heard the ghosts, acting all scared 😂 We walked down the cave, every now and then just turning off our torches to take in the absolute darkness. We squeezed ourselves through narrow passages, climbed up into other parts (it truly felt like a Minecraft cave system to me), and saw one of Aotearoa's largest spiders: the Nelson Cave Spider!

After that we headed back South, and hiked the Charming Creek track. This one was probably the most boring hike I've done here! A large part of the track was just a straight, flat path through the woods. It became a lot cooler though when we could walk along the train tracks of the (g)old mine carts that had been prevalent here, and ended up at a nice waterfall:

[greenunoreversecard]

Greeny's Musings of a Madman ep.1 pt.1

Today on Greeny’s Musings of a madman, I am going to be combining my absolute love of rottmnt, music and writing to present the people with this absolute mess of a playlist and character analysis mix! (Basically I made a playlist of songs I think Leo would listen to and feel the need to justify my choices)

-Early 200’s music/Kesha-

Jumping right into it, I have quite a few 2000-2010’s songs, most of them are kesha. Leo is, for lack of a better term, very flamboyant. The early 2000’s was quite a revolutionary time for the music industry, with many artists we listen to today paving their path during this time. 

  This era definitely had and still has in effect on people of all ages, even now, during 2023. With Leo being roughly high school aged (depending on where you look at him, pre or post movie.) We can assume his father is around Gen-X, maybe a millennial. And with him being a middle child, as Raph is the oldest, it is quite likely that he was experiencing this genre of music from a young age. So, I’d like to think he’d keep the music from his childhood with him, so I put some in this playlist. He definitely seems like he would enjoy Kesha’s music, so I did put a lot of that on there, but he would likely listen to more than just Kesha. 

-The Rare Americans-

I put a couple of The Rare American’s songs on the playlist. So I’ll explain in the order in which they show up.

Odd Ducks- This song is about being proud to be different. Seeing as Leo and his family are quite different from the normal, as most of them are mutants, I feel like at times, he might not exactly have enjoyed being different, but comes to terms with it, and takes pride in that fact. 

“I'm an odd duck, darling and I'm proud to be

I'm an odd duck, darling, doesn't bother me

I'm a strange bird, baby, I'm the first to say

I'm a strange bird, baby, it's the only way”

Cats Dogs & Rats- The song itself is a commentary on modern society, dealing with a ‘cat’ who, drowning in the fast pace of life, finds himself powerless against the system as he is sentenced to life in prison. Knowing Leo has trouble with thinking he’s inadequate, He would likely feel like things are indeed moving too fast, and he can’t keep up. So, He’d probably enjoy this on a certain level, and while he’s not in the same situation as the MC of the song, he could relate to the relentless feeling of time racing by. 

“Got lost, clowder, group of cats

Lost cause, louder, dogs in a pack

Yes boss, now sir, mischief of rats

Numbers matter, we’re all stats”

-David Bowie-

I believe it’s in the “Al Be Back” episode that Leo has that outfit that lowkey looks like Ziggy Stardust. So I had to put some Bowie songs in the playlist.

List of Bowie songs I put on the playlist:

Heroes-2017 remaster

Space Oddity-2015 remaster

Rebel Rebel-2016 remaster

Ziggy Stardust-2012 remaster

Rock ‘n Roll suicide-2012 remaster

I do in fact realize I can do an entire rant about how it would fit his character. I just don’t feel like it.

-Billy Joel-

On the topic of older music, I did put some Billy Joel songs. Why? Because I love his music. Also you cannot tell me Leo doesn’t relate to Vienna. Anyways, explanation time. 

Vienna- Vienna is a song about life, and the crossroads you encounter. The first line is “slow Down you crazy child” 

I feel Leo would really like this song, as he feels the need to be perfect. And, due to his inexperience as leader, he might feel the need to do everything all at once. I feel he needs the reminder that life is a journey, and it’s important to slow down and experience it. 

“Slow down, you crazy child

You're so ambitious for a juvenile

But then if you're so smart

Tell me why are you still so afraid? Mm

Where's the fire, what's the hurry about?

You'd better cool it off before you burn it out

You've got so much to do

And only so many hours in a day, hey”

Moving out (Anthony’s song)- This song focuses on the aspirations of working and lower-class New Yorkers, the song puts into question the amount of effort it would take for the characters to achieve their own slice of the “American Dream.” I feel like that because they are self acclaimed “dirt poor” Leo might really ponder the american dream and the effort it takes to achieve it, and if it's even worth it. 

“And it seems such a waste of time

If that's what it's all about

Mama, if that's movin' up then I'm movin' out

I'm movin' out, mmm mm

Ooh-ooh, uh-huh, mmm”

Only the good die young- I know this song is about Joel and this catholic girl but I thought the title of the song was ironic as he tried to sacrifice himself. 

“Well, only the good die young

That's what I said

Only the good die young

Only the good die young”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Individual song timeee~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s called:Freefall by Rainbow Kitten Surprise- This song overall is about someone who spent their whole life trying to be a good friend to others, but is always resented and left alone. With nothing else left in his life, he turns to the devil for friendship, and even the Devil is unwilling and unavailable to him. Rather than turn the narrator to vice or put up a fight, the Devil pushes him further into despair, suggesting that he give up, commit freefall.

And while Leo doesn't really struggle much with friendships I Really feel like Leo would relate to this part: 

“Don't get me ventin' on friends who resent you

'Cause all you've ever done is been a noose to hang on to

They thought was a necklace and reckless

They fell into Hell where you both hang with nothing to do but

Scratch, kick, let gravity win like

Fuck this, let gravity win like

You could leave it all behind”

Because yes, he does portray signs (not taking into account his self sacrifice) of depression/possible Suicidal thoughts. And he struggles with being emotionally vulnerable.

Afraid by The Neighborhood- We all know he has issues with self image, and how useful he can be to the group. This song, from my perspective, is worrying about if you’re enough, and if you’ll ever amount to anything, or be remembered. I know he definitely struggles with the same anxieties the song mentions, and thus I added it.

“When I wake up, I'm afraid

Somebody else might take my place x3

When I wake up, I'm afraid

Somebody else might end up being me

(Being me, being me)

Being me can only mean feeling scared to breathe

And if you leave me, then I'll be afraid of everything

That makes me anxious, gives me patience

Calms me down, lets me face this, let me sleep

And when I wake up, let me be”

A/N:I will post a part two, because I have much more to cover, I just haven't written it yet and I wanted to get something out. Feel free to add stuff and give advice in the comments! Reblogs are welcome :)

[phoebehalliwell]

What would be your ideal cast for the next generation in 2023?

hmm that's difficult mainly bc i really don't watch that many teen drama so i don't have a solid list of actors in the appropriate age range lmao but i love a challenge nonetheless so here we go!!

for wyatt i would kind of love to cast something of an already famous person to kind of really hit home the idea of Legacy tm but the issue is bc wyatt is so big in narrative he kind of just. gets less plot. so that actually might not work. so tbh really i think the move would lowkey be casting a nepo baby. honestly i would love wyatt russell (same name besties?!?!?) but he is just a shade old. if you've only seen him in falcon and the winter soldiers i am begging you to expand and see his cali babe range.... he's in black mirror, 22 jump street, ingrid goes west, lodge 49... babes. like. beyond that, charlie hall who was in sex lives of college girls as that like. really manic guy whitney went out with. and then third option but also on the older side would be alex roe who played the male lead on the tv siren that i think like. only five people watched (excluding myself: four). i think he could swing the necessary earnest energy.

chris honestly should probably be The Star kind of hte one who brings the most draw to the show ideally someone who already has something of a fanbase in a gifset before i've used thomas doherty before who checks two boxes in that he already has an established fan base coming from both the descendant's franchise & also the gossip girl reboot and of course he is also devastatingly handsome in a very cliche way and we already know can play a slut. so that's actually three boxes. another option which i thnk would Slay but again he's a little older would be logan lerman <3 like. y'all see it rite? wild card would be tommy martinez.

for melinda i think a couple solid options would be sarah catherine hook from first kill, sarah desjardins from. well im gonna say yellowjackets but i know her from riverdale lmao. or kaitlyn dever from booksmart also potentially kaylee bryant from legacies or brenna damico from descendants

rest of the next gen under the cut ❤️

for the twins tamora & kat, ideally, they are played by twins. but i do not know a lot of famous acting twins those would have to be found. however, some actors i really like would be liv hewson from santa clarita diet (gone too soon, rip). i think louisa harland from derry girls could be really fun. katherine langford from. well. best known for 13rw but fuck that show. wild card would be storm reid from a wrinkle in time.

henry jr i will be honest i have no idea what he looks like in my head other than he has dark hair. so i'm just gonna spit out some options. archie renaux from shadow and bone. gavin leatherwood from sabrina maybe. mekki leeper from slocg. anirudh pisharody from 9-1-1. booboo steward from (twilight) julie and the phantoms. asher angel from shazam.

pj functionally serves as the leader of the cupitches so i would love to again see her as someone with a good amount of draw honestly i would love to see danielle rose russell as her like those scenes in legacies where she plays lizzie disguised as hope is the exact vibe we're going for. other excellent options imo would be madelyn cline or sabrina carpenter

parker and pj together kind of carry the emotional brunt of the cupitches mainly because peyton is so young it's just easier to defer to her sisters til she's old enough to properly shoulder the burden of a solo narrative. so w both pj and parker the actress needs to slay the solid exterior // cracks slip through; for pj that's the super cool capable princess form parker that's the badass unflinching warrior, both of them are hiding A Lot. so really, any of the pj castings could work for parker imo and vice versa. but some parker specific ones would be savannah lee may from julie and the phantoms, i love that she's kind of got like this baby faced nice energy but can play just like the mean girl. i would love that dichotomy w parker of someone who does not look violent always packing a knife you know? other than that: emma myers from wednesday, odessa azion, or emily alyn lind from gossip girl (tho between you and me eal is my personal fancast for penn)

for peyton she really is the baby of the family so again it would ideally probably be someone new to the scene bc they're so young but i think good existing options would be trinity likins who plays jellybean on riverdale or shay rudolph from the babysitters club.

and then as other casts for the eventual bianca mimi keene from sex education or amita suman from shadow and bone. for melinda's roommate ale mariselo zumbado from genera+ion possibly, ale's character is mexican so i would really love a mexican actress to be cast. google is not aiding me in this hunt. melinda's (new) whitelighter effie freya mavor from skins can defo do the scottish accent, i also think gracie dzienny from first kill & slocg could bring that necessarily wackadoodle energy. over with kat's plotline viola could be played by bola koleosho. more characters to come who ideally would also fit here but no spoilers yet !!

[k-white]

I wanna give my 2 cents for the GMMTV 2023 trailer lineup, going in the order they where presented in the live event and with no BL/GL, Lakorn division all together baby

So let's start:

Enigma: I am sucker for cursed schools/supernatural shows, not a big horror fan tho so if the show is able to balance the horror theme I'll be able to enjoy it, as for cast I really like Prim tho with Win I still have some reserves but considering that he is playing a completely different character here I am more open to him, tho I have to add if he is actually a teacher it means he is a lot older than Fa so if there is a romance I won't like it please no teacher/student relationship

A Boss and a Babe: the title is trash, the show semes the basic office drama with the e-sports and youtuber spinn that does not speak much with me, Force and Book have good chemistry but not very exited for this one, tho I hope this is better than Enchante sorry but that show is not great

Find Yourself: I like "noona romances" where the woman is older it's nice when they show that older women can attract younger man, tho romance based lakorn usually bore me, we have Earth and Podd here wich is a plus but I will have to see the show to be able to judje it, I already had a trailer appear good to have the show be not so much

Double Savage: After Not Me series that have crime as a plot spark my interest, and tho I basically understood nothing of the conflict other than a girl was involved, I liked Ohm's and Perth's performance in it, tho Foei being part of it after SH4 let's say he is not on my faves list to say the least

Hidden Agenda: classic university set BL with a plot that seems the mix of 2gether and SIYH(hope it is better cuz this show was not it) tho it intrigues me more than the previous 2, I onestly like Joong and Dunk I think they have potential and I also really like the rest of the cast so I will toon in for this one

23.5:...THIS!!! first GMMTV GL with Milk and Love! I am so exited for this, it also looks so genuenly cute and sweet and they look adorable, tho I would have loved to have another 2 girls as a 2nd couple Gemini and Fourth are indid cute, one of the series I am most exited about

The one with the Thai name: ok onestly this look like a bore fest, also Neo as second lead sindrome?NO😭... tho I will try it cuz this who I am, I have to watch at least the first 3 episodes to make an opinion It could surprise me

Cooking Crush: another one I am EXITED for, first of all OffGun wich is a surprise for real, Neo in general BUT specifically Neo and Gun in a show together, it's a show about cooking and I really enjoy this type of stories, also happy to see Neo and Mark in a very differnt setting compared to OF and as a side couple I am genuinly exited for them and this show

Wednesday Club: ok this is messy, and I don't really understand the plot, all I get is that they are all middle children that started hanging out after 2 almost got arrested, they are supposed friends, and they have rules for theire friendship, I like it tho, I usually really like choral shows from GMMTV, some of theire best lakorns to me are the ones with a lot of protagonists, like 55:15 or P.S. I Hate You, also I really like almost all of the actors in this

Last Twilight: Ok this I'm exited for, I like stories that talk about disabilities, also it is directed by P'Aof wich we know is a verh talented director, also I like Jimmy and Sea they have a sort of confort that fit this typo of stories, I feel like I am really gonna like this differntly to Vice Versa wich disappointed me, also Mark is here!

Loneliness Society: this look estetically good but it feels kinda like your classic romance lakorn, I know it's a remake i have not watched the original one, still like the other ones I will try and watch at least the first 3 episodes when it airs

Only Friends: Ok I literally rewatched the trailer like 20, if not more, times the trailer and saying that I am obsessed is reductive, this is the highlight of 2023 for me and I trust P'Jojo to make a good show, and also all the boys already outdid themselves in just the trailer and First Khaotung and Neo are some of my favourite and this I think is the right project to show Force Book and Marks abilities

Faceless Love: I have the confirmation that straight romances don't really spark my interest😅 seriusly this seems really boring to me sorry but all the het romances does, cuz it always the same story basically, it is only spyced up in the havier dramas wich I like... same 3 episode rule

Dangerous Romance: ok I like this, it has very cool tropes like rich×poor, enemies to lovers, class conflict drama, the whole situation with the brother, the story is cool and has the right amount of angst, the acting is very good by the trailer(expected from this 2) I am still a bit pissed at both of them, Perth more considering the LBC incident, but I wanna give this show a try cuz the plot is what I am interested about, also this 2 seems to have good chemistry, also my boys Pawin an Papang and my girl View are here so it's a plus

Jungle: Oh for fuck sake why is there no english subtitles!!! and I don't speak any of the subs languages!!! Ok so they are all playboys and all know each other? Mix is a bartender and a hunter? I have no idea what the plot is only that it's a big messy one... until we get subtitles I will just go by visuals and they look amazing, also Mix and Nanon in the same show!!! also Pat my Wife!

Cherry Magic 30: we have no trailer and considering that I still have to watch the og I will refrain from expressing any opinion NEXT!

Midnight Museum: Oh this is intriguing! a victorian inspired supernatural/horror set in a cursed? museum with maybe unded creatures it is speaking to my supernatural/fantasy/heart with GUN? and Ploy and Namtam? like sign me up!

Our Skyy 2: special episodes of some of our favourite couples from BL? YES PLEASE! I am exited for AkkAye, PatPran, PhupaTian the most, depending on NLMG I will see about PondPhuwin(happy they didn't chose FUTS) the others I will watch but are less interesting to me

Beauty Newbie: Not the webtoon collaboration😅 that made me laugh not donna lie it was so unexpected, and I even know it was based on a webtoon! still this is really similar to True Beauty, also Win playing Win again... this stories based on makeup, surgery beauty that try to give a lesson on "real beauty" with only pretty actors are not my thing I will probably not watch this, wich saddens me cuz I really like Fha and this is her only project

the last one is the Bright movie but since we will probably never see it I'll skip it

thank you for those wich read all of this, remember they are just my opinions everybody is free to like and enjoy whathever they want, averybody has theire own taste

sorry for the lenghty post by and have a good day/afternoon/night depending where you are!💗💗💗

[stormclouds-chainmail]

[Image description: several Reddit screenshots. Image 1 and 2 described here. Images 3 to 5 have alt text which I've included here too as Tumblr sometimes loses alt text.

Image 1: Reddit user Dependent_Top_4425: Robins see their reflection in your glasses and go into attack mode.

Reddit user RazorFlea: Why the fuck did Batman teach them that

Image 2: Reddit user MyCatCalledLuna on Dec 26, 2023: My favourite Reddit post is someone whose sis-in-law is pregnant with a girl and her brother wants to name her Stephanie which SIL doesn't like (brother will not accept another name). You then find out they have two boys already, Richard and Jason, named by brother. Someone asked if he liked batman and it ended badly for the brother.

Reddit user gibbsith on Dec 27, 2023: @ MyCatCalledLuna i'd never seen that post before so i looked it up and Yes its crazy but my fave comment was on the update post where someone was like "i cant believe someone was a big enough robin stan to fabricate this lie and keep it going!" to which someone rightfully responded "tim drake behavior"

Image 3: an AITA post by u/JustBeingHonest4 titled AITA for telling my SIL that no one in our family is named Stephanie?

Verdict: Not the A-hole

I can't figure out if I did anything wrong, or if so, what, because I honestly have no idea what's going on. Hopefully someone here can give me a clue. Here's the relevant info, as far as I know.

My brother and his wife are expecting their first girl after two boys. I love Ricky and Jace, and so does my SIL, but she has always wanted a girl and is very excited to be having one. She also wants to name the girl Chloe, as she loves that name. My brother hates the name Chloe and really wants to name their daughter Stephanie. They have been arguing about it for a few weeks, since finding out the gender.

I got to my parents house late last night and my SIL was the only person still awake. We talked for a little bit, and she asked me the weirdest question. She asked me if I knew any stories about great aunt Stephanie. I was so confused. I literally said "who?"

SIL clarified that she was talking about our grandmother's older sister that died when grandma was a little girl. Our grandma had two sisters, but their names were Judy and Lynn. There's no one in our family named Stephanie, as far as I know. I told as much to my SIL. She changed the subject after that, and we soon went to bed.

This morning my brother and his wife were both sulking during breakfast. Even the kids could tell. Ricky kept saying "stop being grumpy on Christmas." So it wasn't just my imagination. I got my brother alone and confronted him. He snapped at me for "meddling" and told me to stay out of his marriage.

My brother is pissed at me, and my SIL won't even talk to me. I'm afraid to say anything to my parents and drag them into this, especially since I still don't know what this is. Either my grandmother had a secret sister that I don't know about but my brother does for some reason, or my brother lied to his wife to convince her to name their baby Stephanie. Both options seem equally weird to me. Maybe there's a third possibility I'm not seeing?

Reddit, am I the asshole? If so, please explain to me why. I don't want to be the reason Christmas is ruined.

Update: Most awkward Christmas Eve dinner ever. Gotta keep this short; lots going on. Everyone now knows what my brother was doing with the kids names(except the kids obviously). They are pissed. Weirdly my mom is the most pissed. A Christmas truce is in place for the kids, so no fighting on the holiday. However the baby is definitely going to be named Chloe. My brother very quickly backed down when my mom said some few choice words to him. The topic is completely banned for the rest of festivities, so, for now at least, they've tied a bow on the situation.

Image 4: Christmas morning update: Aside from some glaring over a couple of the boy's stocking stuffers (Robin Funko pops) everything went well with the gift opening (as well as being woken up at 5:30 AM by being jumped on by one's nephews can). I think my brother realizes he crossed a line and has been very attentive to his wife. He mentioned getting Chloe's name embroidered on some stuff when they get home. He even told mom he would do the Christmas breakfast so she could have a break and he gave me an "I'm sorry" grin when I opened his gift. I think everything is going to be fine.

Image 5: Comment from Chandak562: Your brother is a comics fan, right? Is he by any chance a big Batman fan, because I'm seeing a kind of pattern with these names.

Reply from op: Yeah, big time. How did you know?

Reply from FKAlag: Let's just say that if this baby had been a boy he would have suggested Tim.

Reply from op: That was the name he wanted if they were having a boy! How did you know that?!

Reply from FKAlag: These are all the names of former Robins. As in BATMAN & ...

Richard Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown and Damian Wayne.

EDIT: In all fairness, it was u/Chandak562 who figured the Robin connection out.

Reply from op: I am going to confirm this on Wikipedia, but if you're right, and I can't imagine why you would make this up, my brother is about to be in so much trouble.

End description]

i’ve always thought reddit is a hellscape but my friend just sent me this and yk what maybe i’ll give it a chance

[journeydb]

October 31 2023 Barcelona

Happy Halloween! This afternoon we had a community costume party at the community center at our Illa de la Llum apartment complex. People really dressed up, kids and adults alike! There were witches, pirates, Spidermen, clowns, ghosts, pumpkins, and firefighters, as well as many other creative costumes. The committee running the party did a great job decorating and they also laid out an amazing spread of food that people had donated. I couldn't eat a single thing.

The little ones were adorable and some took it more seriously than others. I think these girls are supposed to be black cats, don't you?

Oscar and Michael's girls took their picture with me and I was impressed with their costumes. The twins, Valentina and Paula are preteens now and a lot more serious than they used to be and their "little" sister, Julieta, who is nearly as tall as Valentina, is always trying to keep up with them. Me? I'm just a kid at heart so Little Red Riding Hood seemed perfect for me.

Oh my gosh, the baby angel and toddler Batman were so cute!

I had just enough time to go home and make dinner for Bruce before the Trick or Treaters arrived. First they stopped at our neighbors' door, where the dad, Keko had rigged up a very scary light show. The kids loved it and I actually heard a few kids scream.

The kids were all so excited to Trick-or-Treat in our complex, where we usually have about fifty kids show up at the door. I had mostly small toys and trinkets for them because I don't believe in giving out lots of candy, but I also did have a few dark chocolate mini-bars without too much sugar.

As the night wore on the kids got older, so by the time we ran out of candy and toys, I turned out all the lights and wouldn't answer the door.

As Bruce and I left for the party at our friends Carla and Carlos's place, we stopped at Oscar's. I had bought a woodsman costume for Bruce and he didn't want to wear it so I gave to Oscar earlier in the day. It turned out to be pretty scary with the wolf mask he already had so we staged a photo with The Big Bad Wolf menacing Little Red Riding Hood and it turned out to be rather convincing.

By the time we arrived at Carla's place, everybody had been eating and drinking for a while and the sangria was flowing and the karaoke was loud, but we all had fun with it, even the husbands.

I'm not sure what the "stick your tongue out" move on Branka's part was all about but Mafe (Maria Fernanda) looked happy and Carla's dog looked bored.

Pepi, Fernanda, and Carla got a little carried away with the groping scene and it looked like the color scheme for the costumes was black and red, so I guess I fit in, kind of.

Araceli and Angie fit right in and Javier was dressed to save everyone's Souls, so we were in good company.

The guys usually don't like to dress up and Toni and Bruce were no exception but whoever was under the scary mask, and I think it was Carlos, didn't read the playbook.

Michele's mother, Iria, looked lovely in her Day of the Dead costume. I'm still not sure what Araceli's costume was supposed to be but the thing on her head looked like a spider.

I'm not good at karaoke, especially in Portuguese, but I did my best to sing along with everyone else. Michele was the best and had the sultry voice to be able to pull off the Latin pop and jazz songs.

If there is one mixed drink I like here it's definitely sangria and Carla makes a yummy pitcher with lots of fruit. I might have had a couple of glasses but I felt like it was more. Bruce wasn't complaining.

It was one of, if not the most fun Halloween parties I've been to in a long time but by the witching hour I was ready to call it a night while the rest of them partied on. Even the kids here stay up later than I do!

Yes, there WERE children at this party but none of them sang karaoke, to my knowledge. Iris is a pre-teen now and her devil costume was not appropriate because if there has ever been an angel child, she is it. Julia made a good witch but, apart from a few meltdowns I've heard she has had, she's a really sweet little girl, so that costume was off base. Of course, it's Halloween, so people are supposed to dress up like someone else, especially their alter ego.

I didn't know the other girl, I think she was a friend of Santiago's and I don't even think she was wearing a costume, but Santiago was his usual mischievous self. He seemed to be sans costume also, unless there was some significance to the t-shirt that I missed.

Iris has always been like Julia's big sister. Since their mothers are best friends that makes sense. They are both getting SO tall and they aren't really little kids any more, either. Iris just turned twelve in September and Julia turned nine in July. Iris is taller than I am and Julia will be by the time she turns ten next summer. It always happens that the little ones are taller than I am by the time they are ten!

[nct-sky]

Sky's Family

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Disclaimer: All characters are completely imaginary and do not exist in real life. Names, places, occupations, and experiences are all made up. All the pictures are from Pinterest and are not mine. Credit to the owners.

🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙

[Parents – Park (Choi) Young-mi & Park Kyung-soon]

Sky’s mom Choi Youngmi was born in 1970 in Seoul, South Korea. This is also where she and her older brother grew up and went to school. In 10th grade she met an exchange student named Park Kyungsoon.

Sky’s mother Park Kyungsoon was also born in 1970 but her hometown is Chicago, Illinois. She grew up with her American-korean father and mother and her two younger brothers. In 1985 she decided to do an exchange year in her parents’ home country.

Upon meeting each other in school the two started seeing each other in secret. South Korea isn’t known to be the most supportive country for homosexual couples and both of them were very aware of this.

After Kyungsoon’s exchange year ended she went back to the US. From then on the two had a long distance relationship and only fell in love more. It took another 3 years until the two would see each other face to face again. Youngmi had graduated from high school and decided to study english and chinese in Chicago.

The two were over the moon to finally meet again and went on many dates. While Youngmi went into the language direction for her studies, Kyungsoon started her studies in physics. And while the two got busy studying they never lost sight of each other. They even moved into the same dorm room together to be closer to each other.

It didn’t take much longer for them to officially come out to their parents and after finishing their studies they moved into an apartment together. Youngmi started working as an author while Kyungsoon got work as a research scientist. Soon the money started flowing in and the two were able to buy a small house for themselves. 1993 they decided to have a biological baby through ‘In vitro fertilization’.

Youngmi got pregnant and gave birth to their first baby girl named Sanghee. Only a year later they had another child, Sora. After their first two daughters the two focused on raising them and continuing their careers. They married in 1996 and two years later they had another daughter, Seohyun. Their last daughter, Soomin, was born in 2002.

Their daughters followed their interests and dreams while Kyungsoon and Youngmi would continue in their respective careers and stayed together till this day.

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{Sisters – Sang-hee & Seohyun & Soomin}

Sky’s sister Sanghee was born in 1993 and is the oldest of the four. She would go on to become a nurse in America while simultaneously falling in love with a man in 2012. They married in 2018 and in 2023 their first baby is on the way.

Seohyun is Sky’s younger sister by four years. She is born in 1998 and is following in her mother’s footsteps in science. She studied biology and is now also a research scientist. She got together with a boy in 2014 and got pregnant by him in 2016. They married the same year, and she gave birth to a healthy baby boy named Insu. They sadly divorced only two years later in 2018.

Sky’s youngest sister is eight years younger than her and is born in 2002. She is currently studying japanese and chinese to become a teacher. Sky gets along with all her sisters and has never lost contact with them.

🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙

©︎ nct-sky - all rights reserved. do not copy, repost, or translate my work on Tumblr or other platforms.

[down-the-yaoi-hole]

Vacation boys love reads! Split personalities, magical virgins, and the crème de la crème: DICK FIGHT ISLAND.

I spent a week in the woods with my cousin / best friend / platonic life partner for my summer vacation this year. We would go hiking in the morning, and then came back to our AirBNB to read all afternoon--it was heaven on earth. Naturally, I brought along a couple of books I wanted to finished and didn't read ANY of that shit. No, instead I read some very good, and some very bad boys love. Here's the best of the best and the best of the worst!

My favorite read of the week was by far "Double Trap" by Goodmen, available on Lehzin Comics. It was like watching a soap opera... I just kept reading the most absurd plot points aloud to my cousin so she could laugh along, but truthfully, I LOVED every second of over-the-top melodrama. This comic is like if "Killing Stalking" and "Banana Scandal" had a baby... an edgy affair with some great humor.

Jinsung (our twink MC) has always had a crush on big brother figure / boy next door, Yura, who's 6 years older than him, 6 inches taller than him, and took Jinsung in after his parents died in a car accident. Jinsung has accepted that Yura won't return his feelings, until ONE NIGHT when Yura suddenly comes onto him! They f*ck, and Jinsung is left dripping c*m the next day while his 'big bro' gets ready for work, seemingly unable to remember anything that transpired between them! Was it another man entirely who came onto Jinsung? Or was it.... A SPLIT PERSONALITY??

10/10 so far, since this is an ongoing comic, but it has everything I look for in a boys love manhwa: good art, drama, humor, a terrifying man with bags under his eyes, and lots and lots of kinky, borderline CNC sex!

My next favorite read of the week was "Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!" by Yuu Toyota. If the title alone doesn't sell you, you're making a big mistake. Huge.

Adachi (another twink MC) turns 30 while retaining his virginity and discovers a special power: he can now read minds! Much to his surprise, his coworker, Kurosawa, apparently has a THING for him. Every time they get close, Adachi can hear Kurosawa thinking about how cute he is, how sexy he must be under his baggy clothes, how much he just wants to F*CK him, and slowly but surely he warms up to the attention and starts dating Kurosawa.

8/10, and I will definitely continue reading as it publishes! The art is solid, the writing is HILARIOUS, and I'm always a sucker for a cute lil office romance.

Apparently, "Dick Fight Island" by Reibun Ike has been making its way around TikTok, so when my cousin and I stumbled across it in a Japanese bookstore, she MADE me buy it--and I will thank her with my dying breath that she did. This is hands down (dicks down?) the FUNNIEST SHIT I have read in AGES.

The story is set on a remote island populated by a dozen or so different clans. Every year, the clans get together and have one representative battle it out for the title of king. How do they fight, you ask? Well the rules are pretty simple: whoever c*ms first, loses.

When our MC, Harto, returns from studying abroad, he brings a new, surprise technique into the competition: prostate stimulation.

Full of excellent in-jokes for longtime boys love readers, "Dick Fight Island" is a humorous romp with some great, uncensored peen front & center. 10/10 for absurdist comedy.

Probably should have sorted these according to genre, rather than my personal timeline, but there you go! Some great reads from summer vacation 2023.

[popentertainmentconcertreviews]

Aly and AJ – House of Blues – Orlando, FL – April 12, 2023

Seeing Aly and AJ perform in the new millennium was both amazing and nostalgic. Aly and AJ Michalka are sisters from Torrance, California who started their music careers when they were 13 and 15 years old, coming out with their first album titled Into the Rush, which featured well known songs “Rush” and “On The Ride.” Being a 90’s baby and growing up listening to them on Radio Disney and watching them on Disney Channel shows and movies like Cow Bells and Phil of the Future, you just have to know who they are, because how could you not? 

During the show, the pop rock sister duo played the entirety of their newest album, With Love From, along with a few songs from previous albums, a touch of the beat… and We Don’t Stop. I didn't listen to their new album before attending the show, so my experience felt almost like a live album release party. Of course they also played the classics like “Potential Breakup Song” and “Like Whoa” from their album Insomniatic, along with a couple other songs from the early 2000’s that pretty much everyone knew considering everyone became very excited when they started singing it and they the audience was practically yelling the lyrics word for word.

They were energetic and lively on stage and interacted with the audience like we have all been the best of friends for decades. I loved it when they referenced being Disney kids and spoke about their older music since I'm sure most, if not all, of their fans know them from their Disney acting and music days.

The energy they had with each other on stage was touching and you could really tell how much love they have for each other and performing together. Before they started performing their song “Slow Dancing,” they mentioned the song being meant to slow dance to and told the audience to dance with whoever they came with or if they came alone and were comfortable, to ask for permission to dance with a stranger next to you. Seeing the whole venue either dance with who they came with or even sway on their own, while singing along was so beautiful and toward the end of the song, people started holding up their flashlights on their phones. It was such a beautiful moment of the show.

Their performance has opened me up to their newer music and I think that everyone should “Rush” and experience Aly & AJ live because you will not be disappointed.

Kai Lyan

Copyright ©2023 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: April 14, 2023.

Photos by Kai Lyan © 2023. All rights reserved.