#no shelter but the stars

[mylesficfavs]

Wonderful sci-fi lesbian romance novel! I loved reading this🛸🥰.

[hollis-art]

au idea... tng but it's set in the 80s and the enterprise is an apartment building rather than a ship

other tenants of the building include: -Picard (the head of the college that Data attends) and Q (no one really knows what he does, he just pops in and out whenever he pleases) -Troi (high school guidance counselor) and Riker (personal trainer) and Worf used to live here too but he moved out -Beverly (still a doctor) and Wesley (burnt out college freshman) -Barclay (works at Blockbusters w/ Data and Geordi) -Guinan (bartender of a secretly gay bar)

the ds9 apartment is a whole other story

[tawnysoup]

the fritter (frin critter)

[phoenixyfriend]

something something one of those those "Jango falls for Courtesan/Stripper/NightclubSinger/TrophyWife!Obi-Wan" AUs...

But instead Obi-Wan actually being a sex worker, he's undercover and still a Jedi, and either:

They split ways and run into each other a few months later with Obi-Wan in full Prude Beige Knight mode OR

The situation goes pear-shaped while they're still flirting and Obi-Wan has to break cover to grab a senator and jump out a window and suddenly this half-dressed glittery Person is batting away shots with a lightsaber and there's a bratty twelve-year-old who ALSO has a lightsaber threatening people with I Will Eat Your Liver if they keep staring at his dad's ass just because the sequined sheathe dress tore in a sexy place

[andromedaexile]

Wholesome ways to celebrate The Bell Riots

I saw a comment on the DS9 Reddit saying they planned to celebrate The Bell Riots by donating to charities that help aid those experiencing homelessness under the name Gabriel Bell or in dedication to Gabriel Bell!

Original comment:

[scissorcraft]

so. rescuing kittens, huh.

[baylardian-1]

i think kathryn would instinctively respond to the babies' chirps hehe and feel a bit cringe after realizing she did it :)

it becomes an apparent reflex around Resolutions and then i think she'd kinda fondly adopt the habit of communicating with them in chitters and chirps after their time on New Earth. i think itd be cute if she didnt have much control over it at first hehe :3 makes chakotay chuckle when she does it.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - new entries upset the rankings

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

April 2024 Wk 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

City of Stars (Fri iQIYI) ep 11 of 12 - Like most Thai BL pulps, this show doesn’t have much story to it. But I'm discovering that what it does have I actually really enjoy. I love that the gay boys got to play matchmaker for a change and I like how just GAY they are. It's nice. Refreshing.

We Are (Weds GMMTV iQIYI) ep 1-2 of 16 - University ensemble BL featuring PondPhuwin, WinnySatang, AouBoom, MarcPawinPoon. I like it. It��s old school Thai BL, but having fun with itself and its tropes. I’m not expecting much, so I don’t mind it waffling. All the couples are comfy. Chemistry is okay. Friendships are nifty. I like Pond's floppy hair. We fine. 

Two Worlds (Thurs IQIYI) ep 5 of 10 - What an extremely bloody episode. And bad guy turned out to be very bad indeed. And now pretty much everyone is dead. Nice kiss. Of course. 

Deep Night (Thurs iQiyi) ep 6 of 8 - It’s cute, they happy, not a ton happened. Random gratuitous bathing. As you do in BL. And I still think the sides should just end up in a thrupple

Only Boo! (Sun YouTube) ep 2 of 12 - Oh they very cute. Also very silly. 

1000 Years Old (Thurs iQIYI) ep 9 of 12 - No. NOT THE GUITAR. YES abandon guitar for the sniff test! Love this for them. And me. My most favorite trope defeated my least favorite trope. VICTORY!!!  

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Unknown (Taiwan Tues YouTube & Viki) ep 8 of 11 - It’s just so good. Baby went away, grew up, and learned how to become a temptation... and a husband. 

Gray Shelter AKA Gray Currents (Korea Thurs iQIYI) 1 of 5 eps - SooHyuk, only just surviving, reunites with YoonDae, his (brief) younger stepbrother who feels abandoned. They end up living together. The younger brother is played by Lee Jae Bin of Choco Milk Shake. OMG. STEPBROTHERS TROPE. Lucky me! Two in one season. Yay!!!! It's Korea so great visuals too. I shallow but yeah, this is great.

Living With Him AKA Kare no Iru Seikatsu (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - Kindly Ryota goes off to uni only to find his new roommate is his childhood bestie, Kazuhito. Kazuhito doesn’t have a girlfriend and Ryota tries to help him figure out why. Same director as Old Fashion Cupcake. It’s utterly charming. I am charmed. Also the framing is gorgeous (of course). Very stylish.

Love is Better the Second Time Around AKA Koi wo Suru nara Nidome ga Joto (Japan Weds Gaga) ep 6fin - I don’t know. Kind of a flat ending with the leads apart for most of it. I enjoyed this show but it never really hit with me. 

Summation

After a teen betrayal and resulting separation a reporter reunites with his first love. That love wants him back. I enjoyed the authenticity of a reunion romance explored in Japan's quintessentially contemplative yet surreal way. The juxtaposition of the tenderness of the sex scenes with this Japanese style of authenticity was oddly elegant but all in all this still fell a little flat for me. There's nothing objectively wrong with it, but in total the narrative felt sluggish and the main couple were just... stiff (in the wrong way). Frankly, I'd rather just rewatch Tokyo in April is. 8/10

Love is like a Cat (Korea Mon Viki) eps 3-4 of 12 - What is going on with this show? No, I get the plot. I just don't get the show or why I’m watching it. Annoying. 

It's done, but I suck

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps

To Be Continued (Sat C3 Thailand grey) ep 7-8fin - I can't for the life of me find the final 2 episodes. Haven't had a real hunt, but yeah. No dice so far.

It's airing but...

Takumi-kun Series 6: Nagai Nagai Monogatari (Japan Furritsubs) eps 1-? of 10 - I may wait and binge it.

Lady Boy Friends (Thai WeTV grey) 16 eps - reminds me a bit too much of Diary of Tootsies only high school. Not my thing. DNF unless it turns a corner and is truly amazing.

Kiseki Chapter 2 (Sun iQIYI) 6 eps - It’s so boring DNFed at 2.

Close Friend Season 3: Soju Bomb! (Weds iQIYI) 6 - The problem with situational comedy BL is it must be situational, comedic and a BL. This show gets 1 of 3 claims correct. 33% is not a passing grade. Dropped at 3.

Memory in the Letter (Thai WeTV) - only 4 eps, tell me if I should bother?

Next Week Looks Like This:

4/18 At 25:00 in Alaska AKA 25 Ji Akasaka de (Japan Thurs Gaga) 10 eps - Yuki lands his first starring role in a BL drama alongside superstar Asami (previously his senior at uni). Said superstar suggests they form a sham relationship until filming concludes. As they actually begin to fall in love, the spotlight begins to burn. I think I've seen this before (joke) and also the trailer doesn't inspire confidence.

Still to Come in April

4/25 Boys Be Brave! AKA Roommates (Korea Thurs Viki) 8 eps - Trailer Jung Ki Sub is Kim Jin Woo's slacker friend - and secret crush. So when Ki Sub crashes at his place, his heart tingles to be near him everyday. But as the short stay turns into permanent mooch, how long can Jin Woo keep his true feelings under wraps and hold back from confessing?

4/26 My Stand-In (Thai iQIYI) 12 eps - adaptation of Chinese novel "Professional Body Double" by Shui Qiang Cheng. Stars Up (Lovely Writer) and Poom (Bake Me Please) directed by the same team as KP (not a recommendation IMHO - my biggest criticism of that show was the clashing directing styles). This one looks complicated, lemme try: Joe is a stuntman for famous actor Tong. Joe falls in love with Ming but Ming sees Joe as nothing more than a Tong-replacement. After learning this horrible truth, Joe dies. Joe then wakes up in the body of another man also named Joe. He manages to rebuild the same life as before—with the same people eventually re-meeting Ming. Ming wants Joe back but Joe doesn't understand why. But Ming seems to know what's going on and wants to give him some kind of explanation.

I'm exhausted just trying to describe the plot.

Knock-Knock Boys (Thai WeTV) - 4 college friends conspire to help their friend lose his virginity. Familiar faces like Seng (yes, Billy's previous pairing) and Best, news here. But will it actually air this month?

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

NOTE: It looks like one of my personal favorites of last year Unintentional Love Story is getting a spin off!

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENT

Sniff test turning into a make out sesh? Please and thank you. City of Stars

(Last week)

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

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly

If ya wanna be tagged each week leave a comment and I will add you to the template. Easy peesy.

[billo-wingwaves]

they seem to be good friends!

[falling-star-cygnus]

ONE BADASS BILLY COMING RIGHT UP >W< -> these two know what's up

thank you all so much for your kind words, by the by!! words can't express how thankful i am that you enjoy my content <3 Masterlist

bare with me, this is about to be a dumpster fire of attempted trick shots and angsty dialogue. LET'S GOOO 🙌

It all happened in an instant.

The shot was lined up, non-lethal upon the Boss's request, and he swore he could see target lines painted in gold-

And the roof caved in on him.

"You've gotten soft, Kid."

It was one of the special occasions that the Hares' weren't making a deal for a Hollow Raid- one with some kinda mechanic enthusiast this time. Why were all the mechanics they met so hellbent on prying into his wiring anyway?

"And I don't just mean your mettle."

It made it hard to find a consistent repairman.

Billy didn't know what his bullet ended up hitting- when the shot went wide- didn't remember much of anything after his head was kathunked by a heavy piece of tin, but he knew it lodged in something fleshy. And he really hoped it wasn't one of his girls.

"Guess some things never change though, huh?"

....really hoped it wasn't one of his girls.

Squirreling his way out of this batch of rubble was thankfully... relatively... painless. At the very least the android kept the majority of his oil inside this time. If Billy ignored the piece of rebar in his abdomen then it wasn't there, and it clatters to the ground forgotten all the same anyway.

A note sits innocuously among the tattered remains of the warehouse, a single geometric flower etched in the corner. It's expensive paper, cardstock the android thinks, with roughly the same feel as a hit card.

Fitting. ________________________________________ Heey, Kid. Enjoy your power nap? By the time you read this, we'll be long gone. So don't bother searching too hard, kay? ;) Or blowing a fuse, the Hare broads are safe. For now, anyway, the tiny one- white hair?- put up one hell of a fight when you went down. Jeez. Anyway, I think you know how these things work. Deliver 5000D to XXXX and you'll get your girls back If you're quick about it, we won't even declaw your kitty ---------------------------+_____________|\_/^

Billy crumples the note before even reaching the sign off. He doesn't care. The location he was given was one he was familiar with, a little hole in the wall where foot traffic was light.

A hole in the wall where everyone had some sort of involvement with each other. No one would be there by accident.

No one would leave by accident either.

The android can feel a familiar buzzing under his plating. A buzz that tinted his video sensors with target signs rather than faces and made his trigger happy fingers even twitchier.

It was terrifyingly familiar.

He wanted to sink into it, let himself fall into old habits until the Boss ordered him out of it. And why shouldn't he, anyway? His family was gone. The people who let him be Billy instead of Billy Kid, the feared enforcer, were gone.

"You've gotten soft, Kid."

War was not a place for soft metals, or gentle hands, or off-beat dances. Billy had gotten careless, allowed himself to become too lax in the clumsy love of people who didn't quite know how to be a family.

This was his fault.

Something bumps into his sneaker.

Billy just barely manages to keep himself from shooting it down, and it's only because the tiny thing's green body registers as familiar.

"Amillion?"

Nicole's little Bangboo, as quiet a thing it is, chitters at him- clutching at his ankle like a needy dog. Billy hates that it soothes the fire ant itch- that need to hurt- under his plating somewhat.

"Did you get yourself hurt?" the android questions as he crouches down.

"Ehn-na. Nah, Nah!"

...yeah, he doesn't know why he asked either. Amillion is a hardy sucker. For a Bangboo, at least.

"Na- ehn-na! Ehn!"

It sticks out it's plush little hand, waving it was such insistence that Billy feels compelled to take it between his fingers. The android keeps his grip gentle, despite-

Discomfort spikes in Billy's head as memories- familiar, warm, memories- are inputted directly into his video processors.

Braiding soft hair, powering off in the sun with the smallest Hares curled into jacket, dancing in cramped living rooms with the weight of socked feet on smooth metal.

His family chases away that burning rage that had threatened to drown him- a life ring in a sea of brownish red tar that drags him back to his body.

"Ehna..."

It takes a few more seconds, mostly because every wire in his body is clinging to the remnants of his girls' voices, but the android snaps back to the present.

Amillion pats his palm with a comforting chirrup.

...right.. Billy wasn't a mindless weapon anymore. He wasn't going to act like one. ->;<- Slinking into a rusty warehouse with a bright green Bangboo hooked onto his shoulder theoretically should've been harder than it was. Especially considering his own choice of bright red leather.

Or- as Nicole would say- his choice of R255 leather.

Heh.

Billy missed his boss.

The android descends on the group with a flurry of bullets, ignoring the screams that ring out as the metal shells find new homes in kneecaps, elbows, and feet. Immobilizing shots.

Not lethal ones.

Although Amillion might not have gotten that memo, considering it's little machine gun causes... quite a few lackeys to drop. But what Billy doesn't dwell on can't hurt him. His abdomen throbs.

It doesn't take long for the head honcho to come scurrying out of his hidey hole.

What do you know, flooding an anthill with blood works just as well as flooding it with water.

The android shoves his gun into the hollow of his jaw.

"Where are they."

"Hey, hey, hey-!" he tries to backpedal, hands raised up by his head, "We can talk about this, yeah? Calm down-"

Billy is freshly out of patience, and apparently- so is the Bangboo, because they pull the hammer back at the same time.

"They're not hurt! Just- oh, who am I kidding, you're not going to kill me." He's not, but Amillion might.

"You've gotten soft, Kid."

It's odd to hear it said again, that phrase that's been rattling around his memory banks. Maybe he has.

Maybe it's not such a bad thing if it means more warm memories to look back on. The android pulls the gun back-

"Wow," the man chuckles, low and mocking and borderline hysteric, "You really have! Showing me mer- hrk!?"

-and pistol whips him.

"Believe me," Billy starts, holstering The Girls to take the man by the back of the neck, "Putting a bullet between your teeth sounds pretty good right now."

The man gulps and if the android had a mouth he'd probably grin.

"Killing you would be mercy."

Compared to what my girls' are going to do to you after I make sure they're ok, Billy tacks on- in the privacy of his head. His fingers twitch on the back of the man's neck.

"If I find out you've hurt them..." "I haven't! I haven't, I swear, they're all ok!"

...and this was the man that called the android soft? He caved so quickly..

After everything is said in done, the man hadn't been lying. Nicole, Nekomata, and Anby are all ok- sans the slight irritation of rope burns and metal cuff chafing. [Anby had to be restrained more effectively]

The girls' let him fuss over them for all of a few minutes before returning the favor tenfold. Which he didn't think was fair- the android wasn't the one that got kidnapped!

"You have a hole in your abdomen!" Nicole nearly screeches, shaking him by his lapels but being careful not to dislodge Amillion from the hook on his shoulder, "Billy!"

"You were in danger!"

[st4r-t3ars]

Snapshot

Sleepy cuddles time

[weregonnabecoolbeans]

I cannot articulate enough how badly I NEED Omega and Ezra to meet at SOME POINT

[mizuribbons]

i'm normal about things and stuff and *dies*

[thestarfishface]

hey recently I've been watching your livestreams (late because you stream in the middle of my school day) and I was wondering what colour Milo is? just out of curiousity :3

(sorry if this is weird, i'm just curious)

She is cow pattern <3

[1-800-crscnt]

-how i think the Coruscant Commanders + Hound think of not being considered fully sentient-

Fox: very upset but quiet about it. uses it to his advantage in careful ways to get away with things, or as a motivator (spite) to keep going on, and encourages some of the Guard to do the same if they also can’t make peace with it. Disciplines/reminds troopers about their status if he thinks they are being too “authentic” or “human” in public, but doesn’t do anything when they act more freely in private. if he thinks about it too long, he dissociates, so uses unhealthy coping mechanisms to prevent fully thinking about it.

Thorn: upset like Fox, and it turns into automatic dislike (sometimes outright hatred) of non-clones. uses anger to be very good & ruthless in his work, and protect his brothers. sees himself as less human than his other brothers (for other reasons), but encourages any sort individuality in private, and punishes it in public & around non-clones. doesn’t like to think about it, but has to, and it makes him so mad that he lashes out at brothers. Turns to unhealthy coping mechanisms to numb self or reaffirm that he’s making his own choices regardless of what they are.

Stone: hasn’t made peace with it, but always assumes he will be dead soon, so feels as though there’s no point in him specifically forming an opinion. results in seeing everything that contributes to individuality as inconsequential but ultimately safer to do in private, doesn’t actively punish or encourage either. doesn’t think about it, will not participate in any conversations about it, and will ignore any subtle attempts to bring it up. unhealthy coping mechanisms but doesn’t fully acknowledge that either, it’s all pointless in the end to him.

Thire: has “accepted” it. uses “but im not sentient, im just a clone!” to get away with anything he shouldn’t be doing, which is a lot of things, both good and bad. doesn’t fully see himself as a human being, and therefore not in control of his own actions. has a small part of him that does though, and (rarely) that part starts to hate both himself and other people, and this makes him lash out (claims this is also out of his control). encourages individuality even in public but in a very sarcastic manner, because he’s assuming none of it matters anyway. this is its own horrible coping mechanism from something else, but he has more.

Hound: refuses to accept it, but doesn’t know what to do about it, so just gets more depressed as time goes on. doesn’t turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms bc of everyone else preventing that + not wanting to risk hurting Grizzer somehow. tries to encourage individuality as much as he can, but doesn’t want to risk lives or ranks for others and himself. slowly giving up and turning apathetic about the whole thing, but likes to jog and cry in private to feel better.

-i hc that the majority of Coruscant clones base their entire sentience status on how unique/individual they are to a worrying degree, and see it as the quickest way to be treated better by other clones and sometimes by non-clones, so that’s why i use it so much here-

[adragonsfriend]

SW Prequels: 1 Politic Please, for the Naive Child

(A complicating narrative…but probably not for you, reader of this post)

The prequels, according to quotes from GL, have two main goals:

“How did Anakin become Darth Vader?” (How does good person become a bad one)

“How did the Republic turn in to the Empire?” (How does a democracy become a dictatorship)

The first goal, though perhaps not perfectly executed, is largely achieved. We see Anakin go from a child who wants to help others, to an adult willing so sacrifice children for his own selfish desires—and we the viewers understand that (if not always agree which) decisions he and others made caused him to follow that character arc.

What the Prequels do Not do

The second goal falls far short.

The prequels offer some broad factors in the Republic becoming a dictatorship (as well as why the Separatists were no better)—corporations in government, greed of the already wealthy, war, fear-mongering manifesting policy changes, etc—but does not examine them in detail. It doesn’t take particular care with the timing of when the main characters acknowledge Republic’s values as having been lost, or the construction of “democracy” in-universe, or to what degree planets like Alderaan must be stealing from the Mid and Outer Rim, or even how Padmé and Palpatine both being from Naboo potentially alters any political commentary to be about Naboo rather than on the Republic as a whole, and carries around a whole bunch of other careless world-building problems that muddy the waters of plot elements which should be fairytale-clear (look I was gonna link a bunch more individual posts, but I got tired. Go read @saga-ordsmed’s star wars tag—she writes more elegantly, scathingly, and competently about Star Wars’ political & narrative failings then I ever will).

The prequels are a story about Anakin and about values of personal responsibility, and any political commentary suffers for that.

We know that the Senate willingly votes Palpatine into absolute power, but we do not know what alliances led to that vote passing, what Palpatine has been doing inside the Senate rather than outside it (his Sith & separatist activities), what battles and press releases cause the tide of the Senate to turn. We are shown a few bad apples but largely left unsure what turned the whole Senate, other than “time” “decay” and “greed.” These are vague comments on human nature, not on systematic conflicts.

If we saw something like this deleted scene, where Padme gives a speech to the senate, or this deleted scene, where some Senators talk about the Delegation of 2000 confronting Palpatine, I might have a reason to believe Padmé has fresh insight into the current political instability when she says the Republic is crumbling (if we actually got some of the pointed comments from the Delegation of 2000 scene, I would never have been able to make this post). Frankly, all of Padmé’s opinions are already under narrative suspicion because of her choice to help cover up Anakin’s massacre; without taking time to establish her expertise in politics as separate from her decisions about Anakin, her words about the Republic mean little. But these scenes are deleted, and whatever the reason, it causes the prequels to fail at their second goal, even more than they do structurally by not paying it much attention.

The most convincing comments about the political state of the Republic and the Chancellor instead come from members of Jedi Council, who have deliberately held themselves at a remove from the political process—for philosophical and practical reasons—and so lack detailed insight into the Senate’s functioning (why have so many benevolent Senator characters if you’re not going to use them as such? Just put one in the room with the Jedi council for a minute, seriously).

The most interesting scene we get about politics is the scene when Anakin and Padmé chat in the field and Anakin basically says he thinks the right dictatorship would solve the Republic’s problems, and Padmé largely laughs it off. It has the potential to be commenting on how people become radicalized when governments do not serve them, but the scene is so short and Anakin is in such a unique position as a Jedi and someone being personally groomed by the Chancellor, that it falls flat in terms of telling us anything either fresh and interesting about GL’s perspective on radicalisation, or anything applicable to a wider group of people.

Instead, the scene is again almost solely about the characters. It tells us about Anakin, Palpatine’s influence over Anakin, a little about Padmé, and a lot about Anakin and Padmé’s relationship. This would be fine—stories are allowed to use politics merely as a backdrop to character-level conflicts—if the creator didn’t claim to be telling us how a democracy can become a dictatorship.

So the prequels fail as a detailed or even followable portrayal of how a democracy becomes a dictatorship. They set up a few dominoes, but largely do not connect them to one another—for that we must fill in elaborate headcanons, read a million and one comics that probably don’t help the matter, or refuse to pay the question any detailed attention at all.

What the Prequels do Achieve

I recall a day, quite a while ago now, when as a kid—9 or so—I was walking to a friend’s house. It was sunny; the lawns were green and the sky was blue but the pools were bluer. I don’t remember the exact trigger for the thought, but I suspect my eye caught on the American flag hung by someone’s door. Whether it was the first time, or only the most memorable time, I remember realising: There is nothing inherently stopping my country (the US) and the whole world from getting worse again.

Now, there was a lot that was limited and outright wrong about that thought: the idea that the world didn’t currently suck for a lot of people, that it couldn’t start sucking for me, that the safety I experienced wasn’t built on other people not being safe, that the world was necessarily headed in a positive direction at the time, and so on. Many children are obliged to realise those things far earlier, if they ever held such beliefs in the first place.

But it was a step on the ongoing path toward a more complex world view, and a necessary one.

What the Prequels do is to present a situation in which the Evil Overlord takes over not by having a bigger army, or by poisoning the Good King, but by asking for and being granted supreme power by the government which is supposed to be checking his power. It is not detailed, or nuanced, or particularly well orchestrated. The how is barely a concern. The Prequels are highly unlikely to tell an adult anything they do not already know—in fact they are more likely to reinforce overly simplistic, individualistic views of highly systematic, large scale issues.

But the prequels do present a naive child with the possibility that a democracy can willingly become a dictatorship, that a government and a world can become worse.

That is only a step—one everyone must eventually move beyond—but for the naive child, it is a necessary step.