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dagger-n-ravvi · 14 days ago

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Chapter Fourteen: The Bad Ending

So uh. Epel actually got an extremely key, and insanely lucky double-natural twenty on his constitution check to fight back the paralysis just before he went into the room with Rook’s creepy brother, Eveque. This allowed him to move around, and as a result, Eveque got intimate with him right away.

Equally lucky, Vil rolled successfully on his medicine checks to make Epel’s mouth poisonous, so Eveque only had to kiss him before he was poisoned to death. All that means Epel came out of that terrifying interaction without being taken from the Night Raven College campus.

It would have been SO much worse if he had. And this is that story.

Warnings for sexual assault, physical assault, non-con, kissing, groping, anal sex, long-term imprisonment, sensory deprivation, and serious physical injuries.

Previous | Fic Index

A03 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/55557751?view_full_work=true

Epel is supine, and surrounded on all sides by soft, gel-foam padding. He can’t move, and it’s so, so dark. A diving mask has been sealed over his face to allow him to breathe, but otherwise, every inch of his skin is in contact with the foam. He’s nestled in place like a jewel in a box…

Or a porcelain doll. He takes a short, shaky breath and lets it out. He’s too tired to panic. Too wrung out to cry. So he just lies there bleakly, staring into nothing as disbelief tries to fight back his growing dread. Is this really happening? Is he really trapped like this, just waitin’ for that creep…?

Rook and Vill had just stood there, letting him kiss and fondle him right in front of them. And then…

Epel shudders, thinking back to the moment Eveque’s disgusting hands had lifted him out of the chair, and into the trunk. It was made of sturdy wood, and about the size of a coffin. Epel’s face had been inches from the shipping label as Eveque had held him cradled in one arm, and opened the lid with the other. He can still remember what it said:

Manipuler Avec Soin CDV Eveque Hunt 14980 Rue de L'Eglise Shaftlands, Eyrie

Above the shipping label was a colourful stamp in the shape of an eagle with its wings outstretched. It looked extremely expensive and official, like a royal coat of arms.

And beneath that was a big, sturdy padlock to keep the trunk shut.

Epel takes another shaky breath, and slowly opens his eyes. Shaftlands, Eyrie. He doesn’t know where Eyrie is, but at least he’s going to the Shaftlands. With a little luck, he’ll be close to home…

He wants to go home.

There is no way to measure the passage of time. He can only feel that the crate is moving. Twice... or maybe three times now, it’s been jostled. His mind grows fuzzy as hours, maybe days tick by. Motes of light and strings of static flicker just in front of his face whenever he opens his eyes. He knows that nothing should be there. Not without breakin’ that padlock.

For a while, he’s sure that he can hear his own heartbeat. It's so loud that it pulses through his entire head and body with the force of a thunderclap. Over and over and over...

Until eventually, it fades, and just fully stops.

He slowly realizes that he’s lost track of his body. He knows that he still has arms and legs, but as time passes, the feeling becomes more and more disconnected. When he tries to focus on it, he’s met with the disconcerting sensation of being both gigantic and tiny at the same time. A single point of matter, and the only thing that exists in the entire universe. Each breath makes the space he’s in seem to flex. In, and out. In, and out…

He opens his eyes, and sees nothing. He can’t tell whether he was sleeping, or maybe whether he’s still sleeping? He doesn't feel hungry, but he’s becoming more and more sure that he’s going to die in here, before his captor even has the chance to bring him to Eyrie. He’s going insane…

“Nnnghhh-“ He whimpers, and tries to stretch his arms and legs. They remain paralyzed, and don’t respond to his growing sense of claustrophobic fear. He remains trapped in the dark, padded all around and helpless as an inanimate object. Tears start to pour down his face. This goes past unbearable. It goes past any sense of endurance that he previously had. It never ends, and he can’t get out.

He might NEVER get out-

“Ahhh-AGHHHHHHH!” Epel screams, throwing his magic out around him in agonized desperation. The crate vibrates around him, rumbling through his entire body in a deeply cathartic rush of relief. It peters out, and he slumps against the foam, panting and shaking from the exertion. YES. Yes. He did it. He felt it. It wasn’t much but it was something! He made his surroundings move! He can make it move!

He rests for a moment, and then screaming again. The crate rattles violently, bringing his awareness back to his cramped arms and legs, pressed neatly and inescapably into pockets cut into the foam. He can still remember Eveque lovingly pressing him into place, after he strapped the breathing mask over his face.

“What a precious thing you are. Be patient, little marionette~ We shall play once you arrive.”

“NOOOOO-OOOOO!” Epel screams again. The crate rocks violently, and then fully flips over. Wood splinters, and then blinding, painfully bright light sears into his deprived eyes. The spots slowly clear from his vision, and he’s able to squint up through the mask with watering eyes. There’s a gap punched through the foam and wood just past his nose, and light is shining through it.

“Ghhh… nghhhh…” Epel pants as crippling exhaustion surges through his body. He can see silver metal, and thick, yellow straps just past the hole in the crate. The inside of a van? A plane…?

‘Where in the blue hell am I…?’ He groans to himself, before slowly fading into sleep.

Epel jostles awake to a heavy thump that reverberates through his entire body, as though the crate has been picked up, and then set down on top of something hard and flat. There’s a brief pause, and then a double click as a set of latches are undone. Just past his nose, the lid of the trunk opens…

And Eveque is staring down at him. His expression starts off concerned, but quickly softens into delighted glee. It’s startling how much he looks like Rook, all smiles and enthusiasm. Epel glares up at him, not liking that smile one bit. Rook was someone he thought he could trust…

Someone who put him into this hellish predicament.

“The idiot postmen dropped you in transit. I’ve never liked them.” Eveque reaches under Epel’s chin with both hands, and slips the mask off. He sets it aside, and then snaps his fingers. Epel feels something thin and tight curl around his wrists, ankles, neck, waist and fingers, as though invisible strings have tied themselves to his body. They gently lift him out of the case, and stand him up.

“Nghhh…?” Epel’s vision narrows woozily as his feet press into the floor and all the blood rushes away from his head. His chin falls to his chest, reminding him that he’s still wearing that baby-blue pinafore dress. He’s so dizzy…

“A rough journey little one?” A string gently pulls Epel’s head back up. He grits his teeth, takes a deep breath to clear his head, and looks around. He can already tell by the sound that this is a big room. It’s dimly lit, but after all that darkness in the chest, it’s still bright enough to make him squint.

“Your new home~” Eveque’s strings slowly turn Epel around in a gesture of forced awe, like he’s an innocent maiden in the throes of summer. There’s a fire crackling in an enormous, stone fireplace. Soaring windows with peaked, gothic frames flank it on either side, looking out onto a bleak, snow-covered landscape. Big snowflakes are slowly falling through heavy fog in a silent, hypnotic curtain, blotting out everything further than a few feet away. The rest of the room is all polished oak, exposed rafters, and neat, spartan furniture. It’s a little eerie for being so bare. His ma and pa’s place had all manner of knicknacks and handmade bits hung up and shown off on shelves. This place looks more like a hunting lodge. Somewhere you live just long enough to get what you need.

“What do you think?” Eveque’s hands gently wrap around Epel’s waist from behind. “Are you excited to be free?”

Without waiting for an answer, the strings tug his hips back and forth in a cute little wiggle.

“…” Epel grits his teeth. He wants to rip this guy's head off. He clearly loves the sound of his own voice, and he ain’t making no nevermind to how fucked up this room in the middle a’ nowhere really is. He stares fiercely out the window at the falling snow, mind racing. He might be nearer to home then he first hoped. Harveston is also up in the mountains, and Mount Mohns is part of a huge range. Maybe he actually has a chance…

“Do you find the snow peaceful as I do?” Eveque’s thumb gently careses his cheek from behind.

“… yes…” Epel whispers through clenched teeth.

“Magnifique~ You are so delicate…” Eveque chuckles, and then his hand wraps ever-so-gently around his throat, covering him from chin to collarbones.

'SHIT!' Epel panics, sucking in a breath and holding it. Did he get sold to someone who gets their jollies by killing?!

Eveque chuckles again, and lightly strokes the front of his throat with his index finger. “I can feel you trembling. My little brother must have been aching to sink his teeth into you. Tell me~ Did he or Schroenheit have a taste?”

His free hand slides down the center of Epel’s back, and then clutches his backside through the fabric of the dress. “Has anyone had a taste?”

Epel's pulse is racing as he swallows hard. "What... what are you talking about…?”

He knows what this sick fucker means, but he’s gotta play innocent. He’s all dressed up like a maiden with bows and bare feet for a reason. But this is getting more and more dangerous, and he’s gotta do something...

His eyes land on a rack of heavy, cast iron tools beside the fireplace. A shovel, a brush, and a poker…

"You truly don't know?" Eveque sounds delighted. "What a treasure you are, so sweet and unspoiled..."

His fingers squeeze gently around Epel's throat, forcing his head to tilt back. Eveque looks down at him for a long moment with an expression that's terrifyingly feral and hungry. And then he leans forward and presses a long, lingering kiss to Epel's lips. And then another, slipping his tongue between his teeth.

‘Shit, shit, shit!’ Epel’s stomach churns, and he viciously bites down on Eveque’s tongue.

“Mmm-!” The strings around Epel’s neck and the top of his head snap taut. One latches onto his chin and forces his mouth open, but not fast enough. His teeth sink deep enough to draw blood before he’s stopped.

“HA! What a feisty attitude for such a delicate face!” Evanque breathes.

“I’ll git you more if you gimme yer neck!” Epel snarls.

“Is that so~?” Eveque spits a glob of blood onto the floor, and then seizes Epel’s head by the hair. The strings around his chin force his mouth open, and Eveque immediately fills it with a blisteringly deep kiss.

“Mnghhhk!” Epel gags as his tongue scours his lips and mouth, raking over the roof of his mouth and lips until all he can taste is of copper. His face stings where the strings have dug into his skin.

“A bad little marionette deserves punishment~”

The strings jerk Epel over to the couch and bend him over it. They pull his own hands through the motion of pulling the back of his dress up, exposing the bloomers underneath.

“Like I give a fuck about what you think I deserve-!” Epel shouts, face going bright pink in humiliation and rage. Is this asshole gonna spank him?!

“Such a pretty face for such spiteful words,” Eveque laughs, and large fingers grope Epel’s backside through the bloomers with the eager anticipation of someone feeling a present through the wrapping paper. “Let me show you something…”

Magic gathers in the air around them, and then a small door that leads to a closet under the stairs clicks open. With eerie, disjointed grace, two people walk out of it and over to the couch.

“… tarnation…?” Epel’s anger curdles sickeningly into horror. Were these two just living in there?! Stored away like dolls…

“Beautiful, non~? My beautiful, petits jouets…”

The puppets’ eyes are hazy and unfocused. One of them, an ephemeral beauty with auburn hair and hazel-green eyes, looks back at Epel as he stands in front of the couch. The other is delicate and small, with black hair and angular, feline cheekbones. He just stares blankly into the middle distance, eyes half closed and slightly milky over what used to be striking, gold irises. If his chest hadn’t been rising and falling in slow, shallow breaths, Epel might have thought he was dead.

“Your new little brother is here~” Eveque coos.

They both crawl up onto the couch, and nuzzle their faces into Epel’s cheeks. Gossamer-thin, nearly invisible strings extend from every inch of their bodies, and their skin is cold. Epel can’t help shuddering in disgust. They are bound, one of them is comatose, and the other isn’t even trying to fight back. It’s with a prickle of horrified goosebumps that Epel realizes Eveque must have been taking a student from Pomefiore every year, for years. The red-headed puppet must have been this way for an entire year, and the other...

“… How long? How long have you been doing this?” Epel half whispers. Who are these people?! Why did no one find them?!

“This technique I have perfected was the work of decades~” Evanque says with a satisfied sigh.

“Decades?!” Epel’s eyes go wide as dread burns down the back of his neck. He suddenly, vividly remembers how Rook started to tremble, and went silent when Vil first asked him to help. He was scared, and it wasn’t of Vil, or of the curse he’d put on Epel.

He was afraid of his brother.

“Decades~ But even as I try, I cannot make my little songbirds speak to me. Schroenheit surprises me with his skill.”

Eveque gives each of the puppets a soft, affectionate kiss, then waves a hand. “Take care mah petits joyuets. He bites~”

The red-headed puppet walks behind him, and the black-haired puppet in front. Soft, slender fingers trail gently over the small of Epel back, lightly enough to raise goosebumps on his legs and shoulders.

“You sick freak- mnfff-!“ Epel shudders as the black-haired puppet leans forward to kiss him. The milkiness in his eyes is even more noticeable now, and his body has a faint, but distinct smell like a sick animal. Epel holds his breath, feeling conflicted. A part of him does wanna bite, but this poor thing is practically dead. Also, this ‘kiss’ is eerily sterile. Like a child pressing two dolls together, all he feels is the soft pressure of lips against his, with a mechanical nuzzling motion as the strings guide their heads through the motions of making out.

“Relax now. Your journey was very long.”

“Hhh-!” Epel’s breath catches as small, cold fingers catch on the waistband of the bloomers, and start to drag them down. Inch by tiny inch. Epel cringes, squinting past the black-haired puppet’s face at the rack of tools by the fire. He ain’t gonna stand for this. No. He ain’t lettin’ this go NO further!

The puppet kissing him jumps just a little as he starts to draw upon his magic. Epel ignores him, and mentally reaches for the fire poker, ready to hurl it straight through Eveque’s heart…

“Mnghh-?!” Epel gasps as a surge of much stronger magic crashes through his body. It has a similar feel to the strings puppeting him around, but the little pinches and tugs are inside him, deep in the pit of his stomach and around his heart. Across the room, the fire poker weakly lifts, and then falls out of the stand with a heavy clang.

There’s a long moment of silence, and then Eveque slowly stands.

“This is what you wanted?”

Epel’s eyes go wide, “I uh… don’t know what you’re talking about,” he lies. The puppets both stand, then step away and kneel on the floor, heads bowed and hands in their laps. Eveque walks over to the poker, and picks it up, making full eye contact with Epel as he does.

“What a crude tool.”

He swings it hard at the red-haired puppet’s face.

“Stop!” Epel would have flinched if he could. His eyes snap shut, and his breath catches tight in his chest-

He doesn’t hear the tool hit. He shakily opens his eyes, and sees that Eveque has stopped it just a hair’s breadth away from the red-headed puppet’s nose. He’s hasn’t moved, but he has closed his eyes, and his chest is hitching with tiny, terrified breaths.

“If you ask for a thing, then you should receive it,” Eveque says softly. Then he flips the poker around and whips the handle across Epel’s backside. Pain tears across his skin in a blinding rush that surges halfway down his legs and up his spine.

“AGHHH-!“ Epel shrieks, squeezing his eyes shut tight. Eveque brings it down a second, and then a third time-

snap-!

Epel screams as white-hot pain sears through his hip. It buckles slightly beneath the heavy, iron tool in a place that was never intended to bend. Throbbing pain quickly overtakes the surface-deep sting of welts on a level that is truly agonizing, and suddenly, he can move. Vil’s curse finally drops, and he leaps out of the way of the fourth strike.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

His hip is screaming in pain, but the terror of knowing he’s been THIS badly hurt rapidly suppresses the agony until all he can feel is the pounding in his chest. Eveque jumps back, looking extremely surprised before a terrifying, predatory grin spreads over his face.

“I knew Schroenheit’s little curse was too good to be true,” he breathes.

Epel whirls around and sprints for the door.

“NGKA!” He cries out as the strings snap taut around his body, stopping him dead in his tracks. They’re so tight around his legs that he can see them making tiny lines in his skin.

“Where are you going, little one~?”

“Let me go!!! I’ll kill you!” Epel screams, struggling forward with all of his might. A few of the strings snap, just enough for him to struggle forward another step. One of the ones wrapped around his left forearm break through the skin, and a drop of blood runs silently down his arms.

“I had so wished to hear your beautiful voice speak kindly to me,” Eveque says softly.

“NGHAAAA! YOU SICK PIG FUCKER-!” Epel thrashes as Eveque walks up behind him, and then puts a hand on the back of his neck.

“GHH-HNNN-“ Epel chokes as an ice-cold sting stabs into the top of his neck just below his skull. It feels terrifyingly as though a single, razor-thin string has stabbed itself straight through his neck. Before he can react, there’s a sense of pressure, and then a violent, wrenching twist-

Epel can’t move.

He can’t speak.

He’s completely naked, and suspended a few feet above the floor by invisible strings. A warm, slender body is pressed to his chest, and another to his back. Two sets of arms are entwined around his body. The black haired puppet, and the red-headed puppet…

Soft, supple skin glides against his own, slick with sweat. All three of them are dangling from their strings about a foot off the floor, and being pulled through the motions of slow, passionate sex. A red-headed puppet. A black-haired puppet.

And now a purple-haired puppet as well.

Hips grind into his own from the front, and hot, slick pressure begins to roll sinuously over his cock. Slowly, rhythmically. Again, again, again…

A matching, steady pressure begins to grind persistently against the opening of his ass. It’s slippery, and stings a little as it holds itself there, slowly spreading him open. The welts across his backside start to throb, but the pain is deeply muted, like he’s been given a heavy painkiller...

Epel’s breath catches as the pressure increases, and then a cock abruptly slips inside him. A sense of warm, spreading fullness pulses through his body, making his stomach muscles clench up and shiver helplessly. All he can do is focus on the feeling, and the filthy sound of wet, slapping flesh as the red-head rides him.

‘No... Please… no…’

“Are you going to cum for us, petite joyeut~?”

Large fingers gently twist Epel’s face away from the red-headed puppet, and Eveque’s tongue pushes deeply into his open mouth. Epel’s stomach flips as his tongue is dragged out and dominated, leaving no corner of his mouth untouched.

Eveque breaks the kiss moment later, then presses his mouth back against the red-headed puppet’s lips. The strings guide their faces through the motions of a shared, passionate kiss. Epel can feel him trembling, and panting unhappily.

He doesn’t want this either.

Epel wants to say something. Scream. Maybe burst into tears. All he manages are pants, and voiceless whimpers as his body is penetrated. Violated.

The slaps start to get louder as the red-headed puppet is forced to ride him more quickly. He spasms, and then warm, slick wetness spatters Epel’s stomach. The pace of his panting hitches and catches, sounding even more unhappy and overstimulated.

“What a naughty thing you are~” Evanque says delightedly. He gives the red-headed puppet a playful smack on the ass, shoving him down deeply onto Epel’s cock. “Since you finished early, you must have more~”

Evanque snaps his fingers. The cock slips out of Epel’s ass, and both puppets drop gently to the floor. The red headed puppet falls to all fours, ass lifted invitingly in the air. The black haired puppet mounts him, and then begins to fuck him at a brutal, punishing pace.

“So eager~ You excite them”

Evanque gently turns Epel around and pulls him down onto his lap on the couch. For a long moment, he simply holds him there, legs spread and limp, unresponsive body utterly bared as the sounds of panting and slapping grow even louder.

“What a beautiful, fresh body~” He reaches between his legs, lines his cock up with the opening of Epel’s ass, and gazes into his eyes as he lets him sink onto it. Epel stares back at him, shaking with fury, frustration, and agonizing fear.

‘Die, you DEMON. You horrible man! How could you be related to Rook?!’

Evanque pulls him in close for another deep, invasive kiss, and his cock breaches Epel’s entrance with a flash of stinging, spreading pressure-

Eveque jolts. He makes a strained choking sound, and his tongue suddenly begins to taste like copper again where it’s still pushed into Epel’s mouth. He shudders hard, and then the strings wrapped around Epel’s body abruptly go slack.

“Hhh…” Epel exhales hard as his body slumps and falls backward off Eveque’s lap, and he lands on the floor in a crumpled heap. Above him, Evanque spasms again, face turning purple, and then black. He stares down at Epel in horror and betrayal, mouth soundlessly open as foamy blood pours down his chin.

And then he slumps and falls down on the couch cushions, and all Epel can see are his legs as they twitch once, and go utterly still.

It is suddenly, eerily silent. Everything below Epel’s waist hurts. One of his legs are twisted around at an uncomfortable angle, but even though he feels strangely lighter and less exhausted than he’s felt in days, he still cannot move.

‘What… what just happened? Am I going to die?’

Epel gets no answer. He can’t see anything other than the couch and Eveque’s legs. Even that is only lit by firelight.

Firelight that dims, and then slowly goes out.

It’s pitch black, and so quiet that Epel can hear the other two puppets breathing somewhere behind him. He’s exhausted, and if it weren’t for the continuing, intense throbbing in his broken hip, he might have fully passed out.

He’s barely conscious and trying bleakly to think of ways he can just end it all sooner when suddenly the lights turn on. There’s a rush of footsteps, and then someone grabs his shoulders and turns him over onto his back. For a gut-wrenching moment, he sees Eveque looming over him…

But then the face swims into focus. The eyes are green, not grey. The chin is smaller and more slender…

“Putain de bordel de merde, putain, putain, putain…” Rook stammers, pushing Epel’s hair off of his face and feverishly feeling his cheeks and forehead with the back of his hand. “NO.”

Almost violently, he flips Epel over onto his stomach and clamps a hand over the back of his neck. Magic surges outward from his hand, heavy enough for Epel to taste. He cringes, unable to think what Rook could be doing. His neck ain’t hurt. It’s his ass that got beat near to a pulp…

Someting connects deep inside the core of Epel’s neck, just below the base of his skull. His next breath comes with mind-blowingly intense ease, and it’s tinged with a cry of pain that has been trying to claw its way out of his chest for hours.

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" Epel screams, curling up into a tiny ball of misery and pain. "FUCK! FUCK! AGHHHHHHHH-“

Epel begins to sob uncontrollably. Rook holds him, crying and stammering something in French to him over and over.

An eternity later, Epel finally calms down enough to breathe, and open his eyes again. Just past Rook’s shoulder, he can see snow falling heavily past the big, picture window.

And two, perfectly still bodies lying on the floor. Rook must have turned them onto their sides, because they’re lying all neat with their arms curled in like they’re sleeping. So that means Rook is gonna heal them next…

Rook wraps Epel up in a big, quilted blanket, then stands with him cradled in his arms.

"Wh-wait! Th-hhh-them… help th-them…” Epel pleads, chest hitching with exhausted hyperventilating breaths. Rook just shudders, and holds him tighter.

“Cuh-hhh- cain’t we wu-wake ‘em? Please…” He reaches out of the blanket and shakily grabs Rook’s shoulder.

“It is too late for them,” Rook whispers in a haunted undertone. “I… I wasn’t even sure that you would-”

His voice breaks, and he swallows hard. “Vil is coming. I knew that I would need to be fast, and came ahead of him. He will take care of this, and do what he can.”

"T-too late? But... but..." Epel feels numb, sick, and destabilized. He can’t stop thinking about the way his breath felt against his shoulder, the way he shuddered...

Epel twists away from Rook’s chest and dry heaves over his arm. Nothing comes up but acid, pain, and saliva.

“I... wa-hhh-wanna go home..." he whimpers.

"I will take you," Rook promises.

He walks out the door with Epel in his arms, without once looking back at his dead brother, or the final victims of his handiwork.

#my poisoned apple #fanfic #twisted wonderland #epel felmier #vil schoenheit #aged up characters #mystery #whump #dead dove do not eat #dollification #abuse of authority #rape/noncon #rook hunt #ace trappola #twst

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bengiyo · 1 month ago

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Ben’s Big BL Blurb 2: Fall is Finally Here

I am simply too busy with worth, family, other hobbies, and life to write about every show in real time anymore. I’m sorry to all the Stray Thoughts readers who’ve reached out about whether I would pick that back up, and I simply just do not have the time to do them anymore. Instead, I’ll try to do one of these as often as I can to catch up on things.

First, let’s go over some shows I finished recently that I don’t think I wrote much about.

First Note of Love

I was so happy to see Michael back on screen, and I was glad to see that he’s still able to get great chemistry with his co-star. Unfortunately, I don’t think this show was very coherent, so I didn’t get a lot out of it emotionally. It was a pretty inoffensive watch overall, and thus an easy show to put on without having to work through too much. I liked the work between everyone, and Mei Lei was such a fun character. Probably won’t return to this one, though.

Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo

This is probably the show of the year for me. There’s so much I loved about this show. I loved that the characters had sex, but were neither rewarded nor punished for it; their sex didn’t solve any problems. I also really love how this show explored how childhood trauma expresses in two different kinds of boys, and I love that we got to see a bully reckon with his actions and get closure. I love that this show ended with them being kinda poor, but happy together. I love how messed up they both were about everything. I loved that Juyeong wasn’t stupid, and could read what was going on.

I clearly need to write a separate post to unpack everything I felt in this show.

Let’s move on to what I’m watching currently, in no particular order…starting with the lesbians, and then the worst BLs.

Apple My Love

Genuinely having fun with this GL. I like how quickly most of the drama plays out. It’s giving me quite a bit of secondhand embarrassment, but I like the characterizations in this show. This new production house brought us Knock Knock, Boys! and Monster Next Door this year. We need to keep an eyes on them.

Haunted Hearts

I’m so fascinated by Oxin Films teaming up with Regal Entertainment. The leads are very attractive, but the cinematography is really boring. I’m trying to stay invested, but it’s kind of a sleepy watch. Also amused that they started airing a ghost romance right after Halloween ended. I’ve kind of moved on emotionally from the season.

My Damn Business

This show could be good, but it’s not. I struggled with episode 5 because our lead looked more relaxed and happier with his senior than the guy he’s getting into a romance with. There’s something missing here in this one, but I can’t exactly put my finger on it. I think it’s primarily a side effect of the short run time, but I think the boss’s interest isn’t landing properly for the employee to respond to.

Eccentric Romance

This show could be good, but it’s not. Still, I am obsessed with a murder mystery being the primary source of confusion between our leads. I was willing to forgive this show a lot of its rough edges, but it failed to handle the turn from friendship to sexual/romance really well. I feel like our guys just started dating and having sex, and I’m a bit frustrated that they didn’t talk about it really at all, particularly since this show features two different languages spoken on screen. Genuinely looking forward to seeing how this one finishes.

See Your Love

I’m not sure this show is exactly working that well, but everyone is very pretty and I’m having a decent time watching it. I like the way Shao Peng stands up for himself, and I like that nothing that’s happened has been totally unbelievable or unreasonable (at least with the mains). I’ll be curious how the hard of hearing and deaf viewers respond to this one once it’s complete.

Love is Like a Poison

This show is actually so funny. I love that Shiba is in his own lawyer genre separate from everyone else, and I really like how the two of these guys have become a team. I’m curious how they manage to resolve the scamming next week, but this has been the most unexpected dynamic of the year.

Love in the Air: Koi no Yukon

MAME won this year, y’all. We all have complicated feelings about her, but she’s secured a loving adaptation from a Japanese team that’s put solid effort into bringing her characters to life. Every character feels correct compared to their Thai counterpart we saw on screen, and that’s a strong sign that the writing behind MAME’s work is strong, even if we all have issues with the way she tackles certain themes. I’m really impressed with this adaptation, and really like this version of Rain.I also feel like this show is doing a better job blending the forthcoming couple focus shift.

Our Youth

We just got this show, but damn does it feel sharp! I’m always going to be a sucker for a cinephile character, and I’m so compelled by the way Minase is drawn to Hirukawa. The scene in episode 2 where Minase has to leave Hirukawa’s house might be one of the most impressive sequences we’ve had in a while, requiring a great deal of choreography and effort from the actors and the camera crew to pull off, and I’m excited to see how these characters split and then come back together.

Smells Like Green Spirit

Let me just say that I need another Abe Alan appearance when he isn’t playing a character doing horrible things to his students. I’ve enjoyed meditating on the 90s with this show and what that era felt like. I’ve liked how the show has tried to focus on how different parents (especially the moms) have responded to their kids coming to terms with themselves. I’ve also really enjoyed the friendship that’s grown between Mishima and Kirino. I’m struggling with Yumeno a lot, because I’m really not a friend of bully romances. Still, I feel like this is one of those shows I’ll remember for a long time because of its focus on the 90s.

Blue Canvas of Youthful Days

I think @lurkingshan covered reactions to episode 5 and episode 6 better than I could, and I loved @twig-tea giving context for the film history moment in episode 6. I remember screaming into the chat for friends to show up for this when I got to that moment. This show has two great pairs of dynamics going on that mirror well. It’s got such a strong handle on its characters’ motivations and how they would respond to the actions from each other. It’s probably the tightest thing I’m watching now, backed by extremely dialed-in performances. I will be thinking about Qi Lu organizing his potential first kiss with Qin Xiao, and how unapologetic he’s been about the entire affair. He’s being selfish here, but I kinda like it. I’m so thankful that we are somehow still getting this show, because goddamn do the Chinese actors deliver on chemistry sometimes.

Interview With the Vampire Season 2

I finished this with a friend last week, and holy fuck is this show still so, so good. We watch a lot of gay romance because of BL, and I am having so much fun watching the show about gay divorce. I loved the time we spent in Paris, Daniel’s shifting role in the narrative, and the new insights we got into Lestat this season. I will miss Claudia so much, and I have to give a standing ovation to Delainey Hayles stepping into the role of Claudia and doing the damn thing this season. I just love seeing my little fucked up gay people torment each other on screen.

I'm still thinking about Louis and Lestat reuniting in a hurricane after Claudia derided this as yet another chapter in their stormy romance.

Dropped Shows

Unfortunately, everyone can’t win. Some of these shows are just too long for me to keep up with them, and oftentimes I get bored. I’ve currently dropped:

Lovesick 2024 - I may go back. We’ll see

Jack & Joker - It’s just too long, and they just killed Jennie and a kid. I’m good.

Fourever You - I’m bored with Earth always playing this character type.

Pluto - Namtam and Film are beautiful, but this looks too messy right now.

Every You, Every Me - Wasn’t intrigued after episode 1, but the commentary may draw me back.

Kidnap - Ohm is not enough to keep me invested in this show.

Uncle Unknown - How did they make a 6 minute show feel slow?

I’m genuinely not trying to be harsh to Thai shows out here, but I just do not have the time to keep up with all of them when they’re this long and dragging.

Thanks for stopping by, and let me know if there’s something I missed that I should check out.

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