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httpknjoon · 5 months ago

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say goodnight and go | myg

plot | that time when everyone seemed to be doing something on valentine's day and the popstar and her bassist have all the time with their single asses.

w.c | 3.3k

pairing | bass guitarist!yoongi x popstar!reader

genre | enemies to lovers, popstar x bassist, fluff, angst

note | wrote this last-minute today, just something short n sweet for valentines. enjoy!

main masterlist | series masterlist | want to request?

DAY 103: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA

Your fans from South Korea are one of your most active fanbases, always showering you with praises and support through social media. You even heard one of your songs becoming a trend on their online platforms, with celebrities and big local personalities doing it. So to show appreciation for them, you and your management decided to stay in the country for a longer amount of days.

So far, you have done your back-to-back concerts, variety show appearances, and media interviews, making sure that your fans will get a lot of content. You also got to do some shopping in Myeongdong with Cal and Paul in your first two days in the country since you know how great everyone's skincare products are.

"Are you going out?"

It's your last day before you leave for another country tomorrow. You sat on the nook near the big window of your hotel room, overviewing the busy streets of Seoul, when Cal came in and checked on you.

"I would love to, but I don't like to see couples eating each others' faces on the street." you shuddered in exaggerated disgust, Cal laughed in response.

Tearing your eyes off the scene, you see your assistant all dressed up. From her usual jeans and dark-colored hoodie, she wore and pastel green coat dress and white boots. She also wore white fuzzy gloves, tights, and a scarf for the winter weather outside. Her hair is also styled in soft waves.

"You are so, so pretty." you smiled as she gave you a twirl. "Where are you and your fiance heading?"

She looks up, recalling her agenda for the day, "We're going to Nami Island, I think. I don't really know. Art planned the whole thing."

"Sounds nice."

You tried to smile before looking back to the window. A sense of heaviness sits on your chest as you hug your knees closer to your body, resting your chin on it. The feeling you have been trying to avoid today, Valentine's Day, cannot help but revive itself in your system. But it has been looming over you for a while now, especially in Seoul, where there are a lot of lovely, cute couples everywhere.

"You okay?" Cal asked, sensing your aura shifting.

"I am, I am!" You turned to look at her again, smiling to reassure her. "Now, go on and enjoy that date. We know Art has a low tolerance for waiting."

She chuckled before giving you a quick hug that you know means well. As soon as the door closed, you were back staring outside the glass. You watched the cars move in different directions, and people walked around places. You watched almost twenty-two stories over them, but your mood cannot keep up and remained low ever since you woke up today.

For the first time in years, you are alone in this day of romance. You tried to stay optimistic about it, thinking that you should be grateful you got out of that toxic on-and-off relationship. But man, wouldn't it be nice to be with someone in this cold, cuddly weather outside?

You sighed, combing your fingers through your unstyled hair, before getting up to your bed. You thought of just taking advantage of your free time to rest in the midst of your ongoing world tour.

"I don't think I can bring this with me, Juwon."

Yoongi let out a sheepish chuckle while holding a brown bag of Tupperware filled with kimchi, braised potatoes, lettuce, rice, and marinated uncooked bulgogi. His cousin laughed.

"Not my problem, man. Mom saw one of your videos online and said you looked thinner. She wanted to make sure you're eating a lot, especially now you're in the country."

It has been more than a decade since Yoongi visited his birth country. Unlike his parents who come and go to South Korea yearly, he never got to visit since he moved to LA. When his mother learned that you would be taking your tour to Seoul, she called up every family member to let them know Yoongi was coming. Everyone was delighted to see him after a long time. His grandma even handed him an envelope money, just like when he was a little kid. Yoongi tried to decline it shyly, but his heart warmed when she told him to keep it as it was for all the Lunar New Year he missed.

"She really wanted to see you, but she and Dad are celebrating their anniversary in the UK right now," Juwon told him while they sat in one of the cafes just on the outskirts of Seoul. "She always told everyone how her nephew is a celebrity in the US."

Yoongi laughed, cheeks warming up, "I'm not a celebrity. I'm a bassist for one."

"Eh, it's the same." his cousin shrugged, making both of them laugh. "You know, a lot of YN's fans here think you two are dating."

Yoongi's jaw tenses at the mention of you. Considering that you two are barely talking right now, being tangled in such gossip with you is a little startling for him.

Juwon continued, "Like, I would scroll on social media and I would see edits of you on stage made by your fans here. There are talks about her performances and gimmicks with you on online forums."

Yoongi knows. His father even asked him once about his relationship status with you during the holidays. When he was on his way to the cafe, a young student recognized and asked him if you two are together after asking for a selfie. And he answered the same thing.

"We're not dating. I'm just her bassist."

Juwon seemed to not really care about Yoongi's relationship status with you, just wanting to share the growing popularity of the topic. They went on talking about life and everything big happening to them. Yoongi appreciated his cousin not mentioning his failed engagement or asking him personal questions about you (since that is something other people do). A couple of hours later, Juwon had to go.

"I'm taking the missus out. So, I really should go," he explained, smiling sheepishly.

Yoongi smiled before they shared a quick hug, "Of course. I'll try to visit again after the tour so I can meet everyone."

It was only afternoon and Yoongi was already on his way back to the hotel. Love is everywhere, he can feel, hear, see, and even taste it with how sweet the heart-shaped candies he sees from the street vendors. On the bus, he cannot help but feel outcasted by how everyone comes and goes in two while he sits alone in the farthest seat. He tried not to be a bitter hater about today's event. But how can he be single right now and there are middle-schoolers holding hands in front of him?

He rolled his eyes as he walked past the young couple who was walking too slow for his liking. Just a few distance from the hotel, he stopped when he got a call from someone.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Yoongi. Are you in the hotel right now?" Art, who's on the other line, asked.

Yoongi continued walking, "Yeah, just arrived. Why?"

Today is meant to be their free day before flying to Thailand tomorrow. He recalls any possible reason why the tour manager would call him today.

"Yeah, uhm, can you check on YN? Callie has been trying to contact her, but she's not answering any texts or calls. She just wants to know how she's doing."

His heart dropped, making him pause near the elevators. He has not really talked with you alone these past few days. You two barely had conversations after that little argument the week after the holiday break.

Yoongi scratched his brow, "Uhm, how about Noah or Akio?"

"They are still on their way to visit Busan. Fred is out of town too," he replied.

Knowing there were no other choices, his shoulder slumped like the whole world fell on it, "Okay, I'll check on her."

"Okay, thank you, Yoongi!" Art sighed in relief. Yoongi heard Cal's relief in the background, thanking him too, "Thanks, Yoongi! Please tell her to text me back."

After saying where your room is, the call ended. Why can't you answer the calls? Yoongi tried contacting you himself when he got in the elevator. Although he knows that you might ignore him, he still tries just to avoid knocking on your door again. But you did not answer. So he got to the floor higher than his and immediately looked for your room.

He felt his heart beating faster when he stopped in front of Room 2202. Chewing on his lip, he raised his finger before the doorbell. He wished he had the same determination when he knocked on your door months ago. He held his breath when he clicked it.

But he got no response. It took him three more tries before hearing footsteps inside and by that time, he was more worried than nervous.

"What— Yoongi?"

Instantly recognizing the person who interrupted your movie marathon, your creased forehead softened up as your shoulders slowly tensed down. Yoongi didn't speak immediately, causing you to just stand there while his eyes scanned your face with lines forming between his brows. You felt like shrinking again under his gaze, wondering if other people feel the same way when your bassist looks at them.

"Were you crying?" he asked since he quickly took notice of your tear-stained cheeks, puffy eyes, and lips.

When you look away, Yoongi can read the embarrassment on your face. He thought you looked cute even though you just cried, but still he was worried by what was the reason behind it. But he didn't want to ask, to cross the line like you said that night. So he didn't.

Instead, he cleared his throat, "Art called me. He said you—"

To see you open the door wider as if you are inviting him to come in is a surprise to him. Your eyes meet, communicating with no verbal words in between. But when your sight starts moving from his eyes to his nose then to his lips. Something in your stomach twists. Before anything happened, you spoke, moving your eyes back up.

"Please, just come in. Someone might see us in the hallway."

Always careful. Yoongi stepped in with the same brown bag in his hand. He waited for you to close the door before speaking up again.

"Art called me and he wanted me to check on you. Cal is worried you were not answering her calls."

Your lips gaped as you forgot where your phone was. Since you were left alone hours ago, you spent your time watching rom-com movies, including the one you were just crying about before Yoongi knocked.

"Wait, I'll look for it."

Yoongi watched you rush to your messy bed. He still has not moved from the same spot near the door, like his feet were nailed to the ground. Not less than a minute later, you came back with your phone in hand.

"Just texted her back. I was on DND since last night, I didn't notice," you explained and why were you explaining to him? You don't know.

He didn't say anything and just looked at you blankly. What was to say anyway? You noticed him not really speaking much when you're around. You mean, Yoongi does not really speak a lot, but you observed how quieter he got when the holiday break ended. The eye contact lessened and so did the small bickering you two do in every rehearsal. It feels wrong to annoy you like before again. There are so many times you want to, but you just can't.

You were chewing on your lower lip unconsciously while looking down at the paper bag in his hand, and could not bring yourself to look up. Yoongi silently wondered what was going on inside your creative head.

"What's that?" you broke the silence, referring to the bag.

"Oh... uhm... it's food from my aunt," he replied, lifting the bag. He pulled out one of the Tupperware. "She wanted me to eat more, said I'm getting thinner."

You don't know why, but that made you chuckle. Yoongi smiled upon hearing your little laugh.

"Have you eaten?" he asked, even though it can be a risk over the line you spoke about before.

But instead of reminding him about that stupid line, you replied, "Ice cream is food, right?"

Yoongi clicked his tongue, shaking his head like you were a great disappointment. He pulled out each Tupperware one by one and placed it on the nearby marble counter.

"Have you had these foods before?" he asked and you simply shook your head. "Then, you're going to have them now."

Yoongi didn't care if he crossed that imaginary line because his mom would kill him if he didn't make you eat lunch. Heading to your kitchenette, he looked for a pan and turned on the stove.

"I will just cook the meat. Then, we'll eat this with rice and the side dishes." he explained while putting the meat on the hot surface.

"What... What should I do? Should I help? Do I have to do anything?" you asked, heavily confused.

Yoongi chuckled at your innocent questions, "You can just watch, YN."

And you did while being intrigued and amused at the same time by the unexpected scenario. Just twenty minutes ago, you were crying over Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler. But now, you have your bassist cooking before you.

Yoongi cooked all of the meat since he could not really bring it with him tomorrow. He will make sure to eat them all if you do not enjoy it anyway. There are no plates in the hotel room, so you two had to improvise and use the lids of the Tupperware as plates. It was also a relief that his aunt included chopsticks in the bag.

He noticed how your eyes lit up as he explained the side dishes, particularly the potatoes. He picked one and placed it on your 'plate'. You hummed as you tasted the sweetness on your tongue.

"I love this. So much better than room service!"

He smiled before getting you some kimchi on your plate too. That's when your expression dropped, he noticed.

"It's kimchi. Don't worry, it's good."

"What does it taste like? And how should I eat it?" you asked, staring at the very red dish.

"It's spicy and sour. It can be sweet too. Depends on who made it. But my aunt always preferred it spicier." he explained before eating some. Yeah, it's spicy. "Do you eat spicy food?"

"I like spicy foods, but this one looks really spicy. It's very red."

He laughed, "It's good. Taste it! You can eat it alone, with rice, or meat. Like this."

Yoongi pulled his chair next to yours, simply to make you a lettuce wrap like in a local Korean barbecue place. He didn't sit too close, but sensing his familiar scent once again made your heart jump as you watched him make you a lettuce wrap.

"Here. Say 'ah'." Yoongi opened his mouth demonstrating.

You tried not to smile, your head messing with you again, as you followed his order. He helped you with the lettuce wrap. Immediately after chewing it, there's a burst of flavor in your mouth. The kimchi is spicy, sour, and maybe a little salty. But you liked it.

Yoongi smiled when he saw you nodding your head, "See? It's great, right? You should really listen to me more."

You glared at him before picking up your chopsticks to eat. Eating in comfortable silence, Yoongi quietly observed how you enjoyed the meal he brought, specifically the kimchi. He was pleased to see you munching on the dishes.

"Slow down on the kimchi." he teased you at one point, but you just scrunched your nose at him.

"I should have added matching couple-shirts in my merch during the concert. I would have earned millions here."

After having your late lunch, you and Yoongi found yourselves in the same nook you were sitting at earlier today. You two sat on each corner, looking down on the noisy and busy city moving below. It felt like the events after the afterparty were forgotten for the meantime as you two chatted about 50 First Dates, the movie you were crying about, and how he preferred The Wedding Singer more. There was a debate for a whole twenty minutes about it and you were sure Yoongi just let you win, so you can move to another topic.

"Yeah, on my way here earlier, every couple who will get on the bus wears the same thing. I looked like a sore thumb." he quipped, earning another laugh from you while you took another bite of kimchi.

The side dish was almost completely consumed by you alone, much to Yoongi's surprise.

"I told you to slow down on the kimchi." he teased you again.

"But it's good. Tell your aunt it's good, send her flowers for me," you suggested.

He scoffed, "Oh, my aunt would love hearing that and will probably send you five more Tupperware of this."

"Well, sign me up. I wouldn't mind having stock." you grinned before taking the last piece of radish.

He shook his head, laughing, "And you finished it all."

You carefully placed the empty Tupperware in front of you, raising both of your hands like you were a suspect caught, "Not guilty at all."

"She would really love you." he chuckled, leaning back on the wall of the nook.

"Well, that just means she has a very great taste." you quipped, looking outside.

Mirroring Yoongi, you rested your back on the wall while still looking outside. In contrast to your full and contented stomach, your heart feels light at someone's unexpected appearance in your hotel room. You were so ready to watch movies all day and maybe call for room service for food. A small smile forms on your lips.

Unbeknownst to you, Yoongi feels the same thing. Mainly, he was happy the food his aunt made did not go to waste and he got to eat it with someone, who obviously enjoyed it. He tried not to chuckle when he saw a spot of the red sauce near your lips. Before he could even stop himself, his thumb gently wiped it off your face.

You held your breath at the sudden touch with your eyes flickering to meet his. He was frozen on the spot, still in the leaned-in position. For a second, the city noise is drawn out. Until he pulled back and you noticed his cheeks have a very slight tint of red.

"Uhm... there was sauce." he mumbled.

"Hmm..." you awkwardly responded looking away.

Silence joined the room again and Yoongi felt like he had gone past the line already. He slapped his head mentally with what he did. The silence reminded him of a scenario that happened at the end of last year. As he feels it getting into him, he gets up.

"I-I should go. We have an early flight tomorrow."

You looked back at him and were always easy to read for him. But, he didn't want to assume that you wanted him to stay based on your eyes alone. But you did, you really did. Maybe for a companion for tonight? You cannot tell, but you enjoyed this casual conversation with him. You can just hope he did too.

"Okay," you replied, almost a whisper.

You watched him gather the Tupperware back into the paper bag, not moving an inch in the nook. You waited for him to look back at you before he leaves, but he was too focused on the fucking Tupperware. So, you just turned your head outside, letting out a sigh.

And just when Yoongi is about to turn the doorknob, he takes one last look at you. His shoulders depleted, seeing you alone while watching the city outside.

"YN?" he called your name and he was unsure if he saw a glimmer of something in your eyes when you turned around. "Good night."

You forced a smile on your lips, "Thank you, Yoongi. Good night."

note | a little preview for the tour's second leg too...

SERIES TAGLIST

kindly check out my taglist rules on my pinned post :)

@busanbby-jjk @jimingirl95 @treacherqus @jajabro @marnz1990 @ktownshizzle @notarshia @m00njinnie @thelilbutifulthings @tarahardcore @livisdoingfine @jungshaking @eridanus-lynx @enthralled-bandit @goodnight-n-go-home @ronyiboniyy @jimeg629 @lveegsoi @madussthoughts

PERMANENT TAGLIST (CLOSED)

@dunixxd @cixrosie @jksjx @embrace-themagic @buttvi @starbtslove @missseoulite @vanntaesworld @kenqki @imajinthis @stopeatread @seolaquotes @greyrain23 @chimchimmarie @petalsofink @jayhope88 @moonchild1 @laylasbunbunny @nikkiordonez12 @misshale21 @marblemoonstones

#bass guitarist! yoongi #yoongi fluff #yoongi x reader #yoongi imagine #yoongi au #yoongi x y/n #yoongi x you #bts drabble #bts aus #bts fanfic #bts x reader #bts x you #bts x y/n #yoongi fanfic #bts suga #httpknjoon #love is... on tour myg #Spotify

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demonking-propaganda · 10 months ago

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13 spoiler-free reasons why you should read Mairimashita! Iruma-kun

...if you haven't done so already 👀 (With "spoiler-free" I mean I'm not describing plot points or characters, but under the cut I'll discuss the overarching themes, so be warned if that's too much for you. The first 7 reasons may be enough lol)

It's both funny AND wholesome. I literally can't read it without laughing out loud, and there are a bunch of chapters that make me cry every time I read them.

It's clever! The Japanese version contains several puns based on the kanji "魔" (read "ma", = devil, demon), starting from the title, but it's a recurring pun. The English translation adapts them pretty well. Plus, there are some of the best plot twists in recorded history (IMO). And the names and characteristics of most characters are based on real-life demonology.

It's queer AF. Like, really gay. There are explicitly homoromantic relationships and several nonbinary and gender non-conforming characters. One of these is the best unashamedly nonbinary character ever written. Plus, the manga premise can be seen as an allegory of hiding in the closet. The only thing that made me uncomfortable because of cisnormativity (boys in drag as a joke) is completely fixed in later chapters, and very well so.

It's feminist, without being preachy or paternalistic. Simply put, the women/girls are three-dimensional, complex characters, as the norm should be. And there are lots of them, without it being a harem (...the harem trope is actually used as a joke).

It's spooky and adorable, imagine Halloween vibes all year round. Both main and background characters are super diverse, and if you like monsters there is stuff for you.

Most characters are neurodivergent-coded. It's basically the autistic/ADHD manga.

The art is phenomenal. It's especially good to see the improvement of the art style over the years (the first chapter was published in 2017 and the manga is ongoing). Some panels are really breathtaking.

8. The story is about personal growth - like most shounen manga, fair enough. But the protagonist, Iruma, is so far from toxic masculinity I dare say he's the antidote to it.

9. It's also about found family, the discovery of unconditional love, and trust, and healing from familial trauma.

10. It's about finding a group of friends you belong to, and transforming your weirdness into a strength, identifying and cultivating what you're good at instead of fitting into a mold.

11. It's about the beauty of learning in your own way, and the importance of education and the shaping of future generations.

12. And the reason why I opened this blog: it's about fascism and fighting against it. I mean real fascism, as in "a powerful individual/group wants society to be hierarchical and oppress certain minorities, elevating a specific subset of the population based on intrinsic characteristics which are being misleadingly treated as merits". Ethno-nationalistic stuff. More specifically, it's about being a somewhat politically illiterate person, who learns about systems of oppression beyond personal injustices. It's about questioning what is the best way to arrange society.

13. Most importantly, this manga gives you hope about the future, something I find harder and harder to have. Hopelessness is dangerous - as people without hope stop fighting. This manga makes me actively feel better. Since it's ongoing I can't ensure it will always remain that way, but I've come to trust the author enough that I expect it to.

#osamu nish my beloved #this manga was seriously life-changing for me #i can't overstate this #partially writing this post as a reference for myself #because i recommend m!ik to most people i know #so i have all the reasons in one place lmao #feel free to use this the same way #mairimashita! iruma kun #m!ik #welcome to demon school iruma kun #wtdsik #iruma kun #mairuma

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sweetinsaniiity · 9 months ago

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ateez as !mafia members

pairing: y/n x ot8 members (bullet format headcanon) genre/au: mafia!au, no smut, but still MDNI since there are depictions of violence (fitting for mafia members), though they are not explicitly described (warnings below), toxicity in relationships, falling in love, red flags, marriage, engagement, pregnancy, betrayal, deception, bank heist rating/warning: PG-18+ so MDNI!!! no smut (though there are hints of it), however the genre itself has mature settings, gun use, !daddy dom Hongjoong, mentions of sadism! Seonghwa, two-faced! Yunho, sociopath! Yeosang, Stockholm Syndrome! San, manipulative! Mingi, lunatic! Wooyoung, brutal! Jongho word count: 6K words (approximately 750 words per member) synopsis: Just Ateez in the mafia with their personalities and how they found love in the most unconventional manner. notes: I've been getting a lot of requests for mafia! Ateez and tbh, I've been itching to write something like this anyway while, spoiler alert, the second part of Sick, Little Games is ongoing. This was a plot for something else, but oh well. Enjoy! Warnings at the end. taglist: @ginger-mingi @0rangemilk @ruubyrubes @oddracha @jaytheatiny @roxannecos

networks: @cultofdionysusnet @wonderlandnet @othersideoutlawsnetwork @illusionnet @pirateeznet

HONGJOONG

The Sovereign; the head, the brains

pure evil because why the hell not?

honestly lacks empathy, he will get what he wants, come hell or high water

no nonsense bullshit leader, he is an extremely calculating, conniving and diabolical mastermind

he walks the talk and immediately takes action after making a bold decision without a second thought

always gets make fun of because of his height, but it's okay, they'd be dead by daylight

when getting information, he doesn't get involved. why?

because he's the one who taught everyone they needed to know, every bloody, gruesome detail

brilliant strategist and an absolute criminal genius, nothing gets past him

could off anyone or anything without any expression or remorse, whether they're innocent or not

there are rumours that Hongjoong had tied a cinder block on someone's foot and the tossed them in the ocean for information

or that perhaps he broke into prison alone to save Seonghwa and then broke back out without getting caught

we will never really know, but if it makes your skin crawl, then it's probably true

and speaking of Seonghwa, the other half of Matz, they built the mafia from scratch

feared by many but will burn the world to make his members happy

will sacrifice the world if it means being with them

or sacrifice Wooyoung if he gets pissed enough

but with how Wooyoung is, he'll end up sacrificing himself, instead

he will never, ever admit that he has a soft spot for the man, though

the others aren't any better either

but he'd tell himself, as long as he'd think of them as five year olds to begin with, being a leader becomes a bit easier

he meets you when he was in the pub one night and he saw you go in the bathroom

he was stunned and was immediately smitten

without thinking, he got up from his seat, went into the bathroom, locked the door, and waited for you

you were surprised and scared, obviously, but blushed when you realized that this was the guy that you've been eyeing all night

but you were too drunk to flirt back, so you ended up puking on his shirt

Hongjoong saw red, and in a fit of rage and lust, he demanded that you come home with him to make up for it

it was so embarrassing and the next year, you automatically remembered it when you woke up

you also woke up to a naked man who slept peacefully beside you and you were mortified, and you knew that this man was no normal man, so you couldn't make a move to leave

but it was okay, his demand to take you home turned into marriage after two years

!daddy dom

very demanding both in his profession and in bed

although you didn't agree on everything he did, you had no right to stop it, and if anything, you admired how he ran his empire

there has never been a time where left you unsatisfied not only in that area, but also in general when he has to get busy

not big on affection but loves holding hands, though he will never admit it

would get on his knees if you asked him to

8/10, approach him with caution

SEONGHWA

The Sadist; devil incarnate in looks and in action

causes as much pain as possible for his own benefit

not necessarily a schadenfreude, just extremely bitter and very goal-oriented

he doesn't hide the fact that he's a sadist, but he doesn't go around bragging about it

he just doesn't give a shit, he didn't invent the moniker

but Seonghwa never k*lls, ever

which makes things worse because he's a very patient man, he will get the information he needs even if it took him days or weeks

it prolongs his enemy's agony, in his mind, they'll eventually give in, and he's usually right

the other half of Matz

went to prison for Hongjoong because he wanted him to start Ateez immediately

he didn't mind prison, it was rather peaceful for him

if anything, it served as a turning point for his criminal life, he had made tons of connections, both by force and from his charm, and Hongjoong was less than surprised

if anyone was to grow their network, it was him because when God made Hongjoong, 95% was for his insane leadership and criminal mind, the rest was unknown

as a person, Seonghwa is cold and expressionless. the only time he shows emotions is when he's in an "operation"

he always gets his hands dirty, he would disable his enemies, but he would never end them

the fear of d*ath and the unknown is delicious, he said

it made him feel alive, or feel in general

he may not be the leader, but his members have a certain respect for him

except for Mingi. he does care for the taller member a lot, but Mingi made it his life's mission to annoy him as much as possible

and unfortunately for Mingi, his manipulation tactics don't work on him

"You think I'm an idiot?" Mingi would tease.

"Hardly. I think you posses above average intelligence," he would deadpan

you meet him when you tried to join the mafia

Seonghwa isn't a saint, but you're no angel either. you eliminated everyone trying out just so you could be on top

you didn't care if you cheated or crossed anyone, you had to be on top even if it killed you

and unknowingly, you had sparred with Seonghwa, and he lost

when you found out he was the Park Seonghwa, you were embarrassed because he had let you win on purpose

it hurt your ego, you had never lost before to anyone, and Seonghwa's smirk told you that he knew this

you trained under his wing, and slowly, you began to fall for him

he looks like he has never moved for anyone, like a panther, his moves are elegant, mysterious, and sleek

and you're the only he cares enough to hurt about, you were what truly made him feel alive rather than the blood that totaled his hands

at first, he rejected you, he didn't want romance to hinder him from his job and all of what came with it

you were heartbroken, but you accepted it, it made sense, falling in love wasn't in your cards, but you fell anyway

Seonghwa couldn't stay away from you, however, whenever he saw that you were making steps to move on, his heart would bleed

in the end, you won, because he did fall for you, he fell much, much harder

in fact, he had fallen for you way before you did, he just didn't want it fester in case it stopped him from being the ruthless Ateez leader

!possessive boi

so much so that he pretty much coerced you into a relationship, not that you minded, you thought it was hot

if he can't have you, then no one else can, he's going to make sure of it

a walking, talking, oversized red flag, but you're colour blind

the members often teased him for being whipped, he would just glare at everyone until they left

you always melted whenever he would pull you and gently kiss your on the forehead

in public, you'd both be very professional about the work, but when it's just the two of you, God knows how much you both can't keep your hands off of one another

9/10, approach at your own risk

YUNHO

The Serpent; a treacherous snake who will betray you

he's very friendly, like that of a small puppy, and may seem like he's very reserved

but make no mistake, Yunho excels in using psychological t***ure and will go to no end for his goals

behind his smiles is a brutal man who is worse than Seonghwa, for a man who is willing to betray anyone is very ruthless and powerful

when the enemies are getting interrogated, he often makes them believe that they are safe and that he's on their side

he will listen to them, bring them food and comfort items like clean clothes, clean pillows, and the likes, while they are detained

facade drops when he's done getting what he wants and destroys the enemy before they catch on

or when he's in an especially cruel mood, he would sometimes warns his enemies that he'd hurt them

the enemies would then panic while they're imprisoned, but Yunho would never do it. He would do this everyday until the prisoner goes insane waiting

but for the most part, Yunho typically let Hongjoong and Seonghwa handle all the bloody details, he had more penchant with the ones he had the settle some scores with, which was not common

he has a soft spot for Jongho because he's the only one who would shake his head at him when he got too far

Jongho would also be the one who'd tell him to cut his 'playtime' short because in his opinion, it's waste of time

he's so good at his act that the members don't even know his real personality sometimes

but Mingi, the other half of YunGi, does

they've been together all their lives, what's another life of crime? Only Mingi truly understands him

and you did too, you knew Yunho for who he really was and he absolutely loved you for it

Yunho and Mingi were childhood friends who had moved away when you were in middle school

you had the biggest crush on Yunho and you never forgot him even after all those years, and apparently, neither did he

one day when Yunho robbed a bank and held everyone hostage, his breath was caught in his lungs when he saw the fear in your eyes as you held your hands up

at first you weren't sure, but when you took a closer look at the man who had decided to rob the bank you worked at, you couldn't help but grasp

he completely aborted the heist and took you with him instead, much to Mingi's surprise

you didn't want a criminal for a boyfriend, but unfortunately for you, Yunho worked on his facade

he did everything to win you over, be it flowers, clothes, jewelry, etc.

you were going to fall for him all over again if it's the last thing he'll ever do, he had no idea why he was doing it or why it had to be you, but it had to be

you always frowned at him, he can't buy your love, so he changed his tactics, he began to cook, massage your back, rub your feet, and do every acts of service he could think of

and his hugs were always the tightest

Yunho was close, all he had to do was just do whatever it was that made you squirm, and behind all the sociopathy, he was genuinely happy that you were seeing him for who he was

you fell in love with the facade and he dropped it when you did, but it was too late

you knew in your head, that you shouldn't, but you couldn't help it

you didn't mind, he treated you like a princess and he was so sweet, and deep down, you knew Yunho was a good man

but was he?

every time Yunho thought about, he couldn't but smirk as a chuckle bubbled up from his chest

but he did really love you, he's always had, there's no doubt about it, how could he not when you're the most beautiful person he's ever laid his eyes on?

that love is based on his own standards, though, and you shall never find out, he'd rather end you than let you go

9/10, if you value your sanity, keep your distance

YEOSANG

The Resistance; he refuses to do bad by choice

he prefers to stay in the shadows because he doesn't believe that violence is a one and done all deal

he's more of a backup just in case things get messy

one could say that he's a pacifist, a peace monger of some sorts,

a very cunning and calculating person, however, when his patience runs thin or worse, out

has a very deceptive face that he uses to his advantage and he usually looks calm

but he's a true sociopath with no true open compassion with very warped beliefs

equally as psychotic as the others, if not worse

the others are very upfront about their brutality and violence

but Yeosang pretends that he doesn't like violence because of his disconnect with the world

but when he does get violent, the hair on everyone's arms rise

even Hongjoong is sometimes horrified of his actions, believing that he originally had good intentions, but lost them along the way

his pacifism is for the greater good, at least in his mind, but he definitely goes too far with his wickedness and delusions of grandeur

one time, he watched Yeosang interact with their enemies and he became very unsettled

he was just talking to them as if it was just a normal day

until he heard Yeosang say, "This is a brawl. I'll let the last man standing go free."

both of them watched as the enemies started betraying and eliminating each other until the strongest man was left

Hongjoong raised a brow when Yeosang offed the last man and he asked him why

"I don't like people with no honour," Yeosang shrugged. "He has no loyalty to his team."

Jongho, his best friend, wasn't at all surprised at how twisted Yeosang's logic was

they both decided to send him to a mental hospital for the time being to sort himself

that's a lie, the last thing the police would look for to find a criminal was in a mental hospital

and that's where he met you, he couldn't help but wonder why someone as sweet and innocent as you would be doing here

you never did tell him your reason, but he didn't care, he slowly lost his mind when he realized that he liked your company

when you saw him, you thought he was cute, until you found out that he was actually crazy in the head

that didn't stop you from hanging out with him though because you were curious why he was always alone

Yeosang mentioned that he has a violent background and he was pleased when you just shrugged and said that everyone lives differently and some things that are right for others may not be for another

he knew then and there that he had to have you

imagine Hongjoong's surprise when he picked up Yeosang and he threatened him that he'll remove the mental hospital from existence if you didn't come along

and he actually would, all you had to do was say the word

the leader sighed when all you did was smile at him, looks like Yeosang found someone to tether him down

the way Yeosang was looking at you as if you'd tell him to actually to burn the hospital was endearing and so Yeosang coded

8.5/10, just don't get in his way

SAN

The Assassin; the indestructible gladiator

if a job or task seems difficult, consider it done when it comes to San

the perfect machine, he will do everything and anything that is asked of him without questioning whether or not they're moral or ethical

he's very by-the-book and indifferent, his cruelty depends on who's asking and it ranges from tame to absolute destruction

extremely skilled at hiding his atrocities and never leaves behind any evidence

which is why he is Seonghwa's favourite member

because a psychopath following a psychopath always ends well for everybody

despite his rugged appearance, San is very quick-witted and very scheming, especially when he's about to get caught

second to Yeosang in making himself try to look normal in public

the only difference being that he is very hollow and he doesn't have a sense of entitlement in what he does

San is not interested in knowing why his tasks are the way they are nor why he has to do them while Yeosang only does them if he think there's some greater good in them

the sooner he does what is asked of him, the less headache he has

because he's perfectly aware that he's a tool for the mafia to use for their own benefit and he's perfectly fine with that

his platonic soulmate, Wooyoung, is trying to dissuade him from this line of thought, he's deeply saddened that that's how San thinks of himself

the tattoo on his thigh remind him of that everyday

he saw you for the first time when Seonghwa had instructed him to eliminate you because you were at the wrong place at the wrong time

at first it wasn't a problem so he kidnapped you in broad daylight

when San took the mask he had put on your face and took a closer look at you, his biggest problem started then and there

he had never seen someone so small, so pure, and so utterly scared of him

he couldn't do it, he couldn't eliminate you, especially not with his own hands, his heart wasn't letting him move at all

for the first time in his life, he felt the need to disobey

it was love at first sight, so after explaining to you honestly why he had to do it, you halfheartedly went into hiding in his house

he lied to Seonghwa that you were gone, and the older wasn't convinced, but regardless, he let it go for now

it was certainly a new arrangement for both of you, you were angry because you knew he put a hit on you

your greedy brother sold you to the mafia so before you changed your mind, you told San to do whatever he wanted with him

San smirked, for all the people he took orders from, yours was the one who made his heart sing

one day, Seonghwa visited San's house by surprise after a couple of months, he was shocked that you not only were you alive and well, but you were now playing house

so San does the most insane thing he could do, he proposed to you in front of a jaw-slacked Seonghwa

Seonghwa almost had an aneurysm when San came clean, mafia morals states that it's taboo to touch a member's partner

it wasn't difficult for you to say yes, you had come to love San for who he was although it was difficult at first

he was a gentle lover, and you didn't care what he was or what he's done, San's loving and caring personality made up for it

you two would stargaze on his roof as you both held hands, sometimes he would put a rom-com movie to make you happy, or he would plan a picnic just for the two of you

being engaged to San was the best decision of your life

you genuinely love the way he was, killing machine and all, but you couldn't help but fall in love with him more

especially with how attentive he was on your needs, especially adjusting to the mafia life

his kisses were definitely the sweetest

9/10, you'll be safe as long as someone doesn't put a price on your head

MINGI

The Politician; his silver tongue can make pigs fly

he has the ability to gain control in literally any situation because of the power he exudes

very charming and very dangerous because of his impeccable confidence towards himself

as charming as he is, he is mostly mad, intimidating and mad

smooth talker, he can get away with justifying his atrocities

he is a textbook diplomat, he can talk his way to get whatever he wants, whenever he wants, from whoever he wants

him and San made a deadly combination, one did whatever anyone wanted and the other can convince the enemy that being dead was good

Mingi's charisma is something to be trifled with, everybody wishes to shoot him but somehow find themselves compelled to not do so

highly intelligent and loves to manipulate people for fun to make himself appear more trustworthy, much like his childhood best friend, Yunho

in actuality, he is a heartless, psychopathic animal who would do anything to conform his sick-minded personality

when he's irritated, he'd violently force others into unfair deals sometimes for the mafia, sometimes because he's bored

expert extortionist, by the time the enemy realizes that they've been made to say and do whatever Mingi wanted, it's too late

there is no backing out because Mingi has no problem ending people who waste his time

he has no mercy, because unlike the other members, he eliminates swiftly, he doesn't care about playing games

his members, especially Seonghwa, Yunho, and Wooyoung, loved playing with their victims, Mingi did not

he also eliminates for absolutely no reason but for his entertainment and his intimidating aura helps him in this regard

as a person, Mingi is actually rather chill

San said that if he didn't know how deadly Mingi was, he would have killed him a long time ago with hoe annoyingly chill he was

"Look at this schmuck," San would scoff. "Doesn't even look like he can shoot a gun."

"Wanna find out?" Mingi shrugged. "Your muscles ain't shit."

and that's how he won against an angry San, who was blinded by his annoyance, when he smacked the gun out of San's hand

things like these always come easy to him, all he had to do was exploit their weakness and use it against them

and it was how he almost has you in the palm of his hand, all you had to do was surrender to him

he hadn't mean to see you, one day he was out with Yunho for coffee and when they were about to leave, you passed him and your scent was captivating

one thing that made his brows raise was that, yes, his manipulation worked on you, but something didn't sit well with him

you felt like the prettiest girl whenever Mingi would shower you with gifts and loads of attention

he was your type of guy - tall with jaws craved by God, body slim and hips begging to be held - he was a dreamboat in your eyes

sooner or later, what turned out to be curiosity on his end, transformed into an unhealthy obsession

you were his, whether you liked it or not, whether you knew it or not

and so you rejected him when he confessed his want for you, which absolutely shocked him, all you did was smirk, you had him where you wanted him

but it was your turn to be shocked when he smirked, all the obsession he showed, the attitude, the gazes, the confession, he had you where he wanted you

you couldn't help but laugh when you realized at how you manipulated each other, but Mingi was starstruck

you weren't complaining much, he had the most dominating hold on you, and if you escaped from him, you'd pay, because you can always run, but you never hide from him

10/10, do not approach

WOOYOUNG

The Hedonist; disorder and havoc are what makes him fully function

wholeheartedly believes that chaos is the only solution to peace

the most deranged out of everybody, his mania has no limit because unlike the others, his violence brings him pure pleasure

is the most headache-inducing member because of his impulsiveness and inconsistent cruelty, which makes him one of the most frightening members

he can be very cruel, and when he is, his methods are very, very slow and prolongs the agony of his victims until they beg him to just end them

sometimes they're so fast that his enemies don't know what hit them

- the master of prolonging his victims and playing with his food before devouring them

it all depends on his mood, but the point is, his unpredictability is what makes him very dangerous

he is highly capable of hurting everyone without hesitation due to his lack of restraint

however, what sets Wooyoung apart is his high impulse control, this means he can control himself on command

what makes him especially dangerous is that he is completely aware of what he's doing and he knows that consequences of his actions, he just doesn't care

in short, Wooyoung is absolutely crazy and not in his right mind

it was technically his fault why Yeosang was as unstable as he was, but he thought to himself, he was doing his friend a favour

"Have you ever regretted meeting me?" Wooyoung grinned.

"Every single day of my life," Yeosang scoffed.

sulking, he dragged San with him so they could get a tattoo together, later, he offed the tattoo artists for agreeing with him and not bothering to stop his decision

he was surprised that San didn't even protest, but that was his closest friend so he won't argue

when Yeosang was sent for damage control, the man just face palmed himself and left, deciding that he'd rather get punished by his leaders than involve himself in this mess that is Jung Wooyoung

but make no mistake, as demented and highly unstable as he is, he is Hongjoong and Seonghwa's right hand man and the members respect that

though they are close to ousting him and the members are very, very close on making a petition to demote him

brilliant planner, he plans his attacks in advance, as impulsive as he is, he always prefers tactical planning rather than facing his enemies face on

after all, his strategic mind was what led him to plan and steal you from your home

you were the enemies daughter, and Wooyoung's insanity knew no bounds because for all the things he had made plans for, your capture was the one that made his skin tingle and his blood run fast

but you can't change a leopard's spots, despite all his planning, Wooyoung ended up climbing your window at night so he can see you

you were half naked as you prepared for sleep, but you ended up screaming so loud when you saw a shadowy figure climb your roof

he quickly covered your mouth and you both his under the sheets when your father came in the room

you sheepishly told him that you saw a bug fly in from the window and got surprised, in the end, he bought the excuse and left

"Hello, princess," Wooyoung smirked as he traced your skin with his finger

you squirmed, you knew Wooyoung's fascination for you and at first it irked you, but only because both of you were in a Romeo and Juliet situation

you have always been attracted to him, and he knew it, but you couldn't do anything about it

months and months after that, he still kept pursuing you and it got so bad that he would purposefully pick a fight with your father just so he could have an excuse to see you

your father was livid, it wasn't really a secret how much of an absolute lunatic Wooyoung was in the mafia world

however, even he couldn't deny how intelligent Wooyoung was and how his operations were always a guaranteed success with no loose ends

Wooyoung being with you had more pros than cons and at the end of the day, your father was a businessman

when your father had requested a meeting with Ateez and proposed a merge, they had agreed after both sides presented their thoughts

your father hissed at Wooyoung to hold his horses when he tried to grab you

imagine everyone's surprise when Wooyoung said this merge would have happened anyway, because you were already four months pregnant

9.8/10, intelligence and insanity would bring the apocalypse

JONGHO

The Liar; the most complex out of them all

while everyone focuses on being out there in action and extracting what they need to know, Jongho preferred to be in the side lines

not that he didn't know how to be out there, rather, they don't want him in there

Jongho is extremely cruel, and what the other members are good at, he's twice as brutal

he's twice as sadistic as Seonghwa, the only difference is that he doesn't get pleasure in hurting, twice as deceptive as Yunho, though not as arrogant about it, and he's twice as manipulative as Mingi

a lot of their enemies always underestimated Jongho and it only made him smirk

he always looked calm, emotionless, and nonchalant most of the time, it's usually this time where Jongho strikes

an exceptionally clever and absolutely cunning criminal genius and is most similar to Mingi - he doesn't like to play with his victims

his bloodthirst has does not accept limit, it's to the point that fellow member, Yunho, once suggested that the mafia may not even be enough to satisfy his bloodthirsty ravaging

with all of that being said, Yunho had took it upon himself to pull Jongho out of the action

"Goddamn it, Jongho, so much blood," Yunho clicked his tongue in annoyance when he saw that the enemy was long gone. "What did you use?"

when he lifted up a frying pan, Yunho's mouth drops, how much force had it taken for Jongho to produce this much blood with that?!

instead, he became the interrogator, and he is in charge of extracting even the hardest information he can get

which is fine by him, he's sick of being told off by his leaders about his brutality anyway, he owes no one an explanation

Jongho doesn't like to get his hands dirty, most of the time he can manipulate someone or force even an entire group to give him what he wants without lifting a finger

so now, Jongho's content with sticking to the question, the physical and psychological t**t**ing was his members' forte

however, even some of the members fear him, it isn't like Seonghwa where it's fear out of respect

some enemies are hard nuts to crack, and this is when Jongho enters, they call their last resort

easily the most dangerous and spine-chilling member, he doesn't get involved in all the brutality now, but when he does, they're very vile

they're so vile and atrocious that Hongjoong had instructed that only the worst of the worst should be brought to Jongho

his best friend, Yeosang, tried to contest this verdict, but to no avail, even he knew how bad it can get with Jongho

of course, the higher the peak, the harder the fall, and in most cases on his end, it's pure, unadulterated rage

this is Jongho's biggest weakness as it causes him fatal flaws of mistakes that are very much crucial

like that one time you callously kicked him out of the local library

despite his ruthlessness, he actually loved reading and gaining knowledge on the most mundane of things

so when you started your new job there, of course, he took notice of you, how could he not?

you were something worth reading, you were an enigma that tempted him to read further on, but he stopped himself, he wasn't all evil - you were innocent, his life wasn't for you

you looked so sweet, he didn't want to corrupt you, but oh, did he want to so badly

his thoughts were interrupted with a phone call from Yeosang, and the next thing he knew, he was seething in anger outside

in your defense, you didn't mean to, you took notice of him too and you cheeks blushed all the time, you panicked and didn't mean to kick him out

you were going to pay for this, he thought, and so he had this brilliant plan of following you into your apartment

you were about to close the door when his foot stopped it and he squeezed his way in, you didn't even have time to be surprised, he left before he could do anything

"Dude, you're an idiot, that isn't how you pick up girls," Yeosang snickered in delight

"Rich coming from the guy that met his girl in the nut hut," he snapped

in the end, he did man up and apologized to you the next day, and to Jongho's surprise, you invited him to your place for coffee

you confessed that you had a bit of a crush on him, this straightforward attitude made his heart skip and he tried to dissuade the confession

but you surprised him more when you admitted that you knew what he was and what he does,

you were the daughter of a man who owed money to Ateez, and your father did end up paying all of it back, but Mingi wanted him gone anyway

Jongho decided to let him go since he did do his end of the bargain

it was absolutely wrong, you couldn't get him out of your head, and when you were about to forget him, he suddenly showed up at your new job

you eventually found out that his love was the most genuine

he wasn't the biggest fan of physical affection, but he did love showering you with it the best he could

he loved fixing your hair for you when it got windy, he loved patting your head and then leaning in to give you nose boops

the way he listened when you talked without making it about himself, it meant a lot to you

or when he would eat your favourite food with him even though the food you liked wasn't his cup of tea

or perhaps when he automatically removed food from your plate that he knew you hated

your favourite was when he would hold your hand under any table, or any hidden physical contact

10/10, extremely dangerous, do not approach at all costs

𝙵𝚞𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝙽𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: please do not take this seriously. This is not a representation of the Ateez members in real life and this is not a go-signal for anybody to fulfill this type of fantasy. This is figment of this author's wild imagination to share with anyone and it shall stay that way.

𝙳𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜: @thecutestgrotto

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absolutebl · 4 months ago

Text

This Week in BL - Thailand Stuck the Landing! Thailand!

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

March 2025 Week 1

Ongoing Series - Thai

ThamePo (Fri YT) ep 13 end - A truly great final episode. The best that Thailand could do. Good rapping too. (I do enjoy a tonal language rapping) Could have done without the goddamn auto tune on the singing tho.

Still that Notting Hill moment with Po and his friends, “this is Thame, my boyfriend” will likely go down in history as one of my favorite claimings in all BL. And it’s one of my favorite BL tropes. I have already rewatched it multiple times. Genius.

Review

The boyband idol romance I've been waiting for from Korea, only Thailand did it instead. Quintessentially Thai and very GMMTV with good production values, great chemistry, and a solid support cast. It also was a hung romance mostly driven by external conflict and a found family reunion trope so I didn’t mind (too much) that the romance thread felt secondary. I loved it (except, of course, the singing). 9/10

Perfect 10 Liners (Sun YT) ep 19 of 24 - I love that GMMTV prop masters are just putting random American 80s bodice rippers lying around Thai men's dorm rooms. I don’t know why I find it so amusing but I do. I’m not happy about the friend snooping in his friend's box (kinky), but I’m pleased with the friendship itself after all is said and done.

“Heaven was fast” made me hoot. So damn funny. And now we have a Cyrano de Bergerac plot? Faifa = the eternal self sacrificer. And that was definitely the best kiss of the series so far. It has gone into consideration for best kiss of the year.

The Boy Next World (Sun IQIYI) ep 9 of 10 - Oh dear, I’m having one of those “please don’t make them actually act” moments. But I'm still enjoying this show. Miracles may never cease. I’ll just skip this front bit of ep 9 in the future. I’m not really feeling the side couple either. But the damn premise is so strong and the leads are good (when they’re not overacting). Mame sure loves her tired old BL tropes like faen fatalle but she has (so far) managed to avoid her worst inclinations with this one. Will she stick the landing?

Meanwhile, the single most unrealistic thing in this whole show is that there are actual physical photos in that yearbook.

Flirt Milk (Sat YT) ep 7 or 10 - Well at least stuff is actually happening in all the relationships. The question is, do we care? Also, I have a terrible case of second lead syndrome, and I have from the very start. I just love that actor. (Oppa!)

Ossan‘s Love Thailand (Mon YouTube) ep 9 of 12 - I see it’s the Thai tourist board mandated “get them out of Bangkok occasionally” episode.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Secret Relationships (Korea iQIYI) ep 2 of 8 - Ooo, the bloody nose trope! Haven’t seen that in ages. Ooo x2, toxic exes! But Korea flavored toxic rather than Thai toxic. Interesting. It’s more reserved and mean-spirited and stylishly cruel. I’m certainly intrigued. I quite like the main couple too, they’re awkwardly adorable. I love the way they keep swapping the care trope back and forth. The workplace gossip and family abuse was really hard to watch though. This show is packed full of stuff, all the relationships are complicated and slightly dysfunctional and codependent.

I like it a lot.

Eternal Butler (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 12 end - This was basically a wrap-up ep, it didn’t advance the plot much. Still it was nice to see a show tackle the eternal youth situation head on. The voice over at the end from our robot who will not age talking about the way the world will perceive them as his lover does age, THAT made me tear up.

Last Downlaod

The story of a boy and his bodyguard/butler/robot falling in love. The robot is very queer and kind of kinky and mostly in charge. This dynamic feels a little healthier and less like indentured servitude than the previous installment in this series, but it’s still somewhat troubling in base concept. Nevertheless, casting a pro bodybuilder as the robot certainly help me to rise above my scruples. BL made me do it. I'm a terribly shallow human. Ultimately, I pronounce this show oddly charming - if you can overlook the implications of "just a robot who can't say no." 8/10

FC Soldout (Korea Thurs iQIYI) ep 8 end - cute scaredy-cat kiss. Cute soft proper kisses too. I love these boys. Adorable confession. I cackled over the resulting dynamic. But the football captain and the idol are still my favorites. Gutted we got no smooches from them. This time, when our captain uses the word "exercise" baby boy, I don’t think he means the football form of exercise.

Final Score

An oddly cute sports reunion romance, about an actor and a football player who meet again for convoluted reasons. Essentially one of them is an obsessed fan, and the other one has been pining since high school. So they're kinda stalking each other. They get together after some shenanigans. With a solid side couple it was only the parasocial relationship thing that wigged me out, but it really bothers me. Especially since, had it not been there, this might’ve been the sports BL of my dreams. 8/10

Fight for Love (Vietnam YT) ep 5 - Full of exes and faen fatales.

Impression of Youth (Taiwan Weds Viki) ep 9 end - Frankly, if you date a kid you shouldn’t be surprised when he behaves like a kid.

PAUSE.

Is that?! OMG yes. That is Marcus Chang playing the role of the professor! I wonder if this means we might get him in a BL? I might just lose my tiny mind.

Summary

An artist seeking inspiration goes to a beach town to teach where he falls in love with one of his students. An odd disjointed little show that managed to somehow overcomplicate a simple premise. What could’ve been elegant was instead fussy. Despite some expectedly good sex scenes, there wasn’t much chemistry between either pair. Chemistry might have carried this show but without those naked shoulders to ride on, there was no structure and less hope. 7/10

Checkered Shirt (Korea YT) ep 5 of 8 - Ouch. Denial is apparently a river in Korea. This is a bit realistic for my BL. OH WAIT. The story about a man in the closet is called The Checkered Shirt?! I see what you're doing there. Clever, little KBL. Clever.

Exclusive Love (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 5 of 12 - What tf is going on with this show? It’s wild but not in an appealing way, in a weird wet dish towel away. I get why @heretherebedork finds the crazy pining side couple appealing, but they’re too frustrating for me. I now mostly just love the sweetly unhinged little assistant.

It's airing but......

Gelboys (Thai Weds iQIYI) ep 1 of 7 - I’m giving this show a pass. It’s just too far out of my wheelhouse. I don’t have patience right now.

Sashes and Hearts (Pinoy YT) - Philippines is doing Drop Dead Gorgeous only all gay boys queening their asses off. Doesn't interst me, not sure if it's BL.

The Last Time (Thai WeTV) 8 eps - Looks dark so I'm giving it a pass until I know about the ending.

Last Meal Universe (Thailand Sun ????) 10 eps - An alien who has come to destroy earth instead falls in love with Thai food and then the Thai boy who cooks it - realistic, actually. I got a link to watch but it still wouldn't work for me, so I guess I'm waiting to see what happens.

In case you missed it...

Wattpad author talks about trying to make a Thai BL out of her KP fanfic (Allure of the Siren). Trailer here.

A Perfect Match (Taiwan iQIYI) - A not very well regarded Taiwanese sports BL from earlier this year picked up for rerelease. Reports from spies (hi twig!) are that this is a "sports BL that did everything it could to show no sport at all" and NOT good. So it's getting a pass from me.

Next Week Looks Like This:

3/12 My Golden Blood (Thailand Weds YouTube) 12 eps - Trailer. GMMTV taking on Weds nights and midweek discourse (they hope) with this hotly anticipated vampire series. I happen to find Joss watchable but this looks very bad and also very Kissable Lips. But at least Thailand is finally giving us the trashy gay vampires we richly deserve? Just realize we don't deserve much.

3/12 Lost in the Woods (Thailand Weds Gaga) 7 eps - Announced for 2023, adapted from a novel of the same name. Fifa just graduated high school and travels to a remote province to take care of his grandma, before starting uni. There he meets Chief Hem, a forest ranger.

Bah, how annoying. We don't usually have a slump this bad in the spring. What am I gonna do with myself?

Upcoming March 2025

3/20 Top Form (Thailand Thurs WeTV) 10 eps - Trailer. Adaptation of a Japanese manga starring Boom (Chains of Heart) opposite Smart (Don't Say No). Actor recognized as the "The Sexiest Man of the Year" has his first-place position usurped by newcomer. But while he sees them as rivals, turns out the new kid has other ideas. I'm super excited for this but hate watching on WeTV so gonna be a challenge.

3/28 Heesu in Class 2 (Korea Fri ????) 10 eps - Trailer. Adaption of the comic by Lily, about a shy unpopular boy with a secret crush on best friend who somehow also ends up his school's relationship counselor. Supposed to have completed filming in 2022, the fact this has been in dev hell since then somewhat mitigates this being my most anticipated BL of it's original year.

2025 Line Up

BL Announced for 2025 - PART 1

BL Announced for 2025 - PART 2

20 BLs Announced for 2025 That I'm Really Excited About

GMMTV 2025 Line Up - My Totally Biased and Wildly Flawed Feels

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Aside from that idol boyfriend claiming?!

Yeah ThamePo ate this week. No room in brain or heart for others.

Not that it matter right now. Things are lackluster and dire.

(last week)

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

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miraculouslbcnreactions · 4 months ago

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Sorry if you've already covered this, I'm rewatching some of the show thanks to a younger sibling watching it, and I'm wondering how you'd rewrite chloes s2 (and some part s3?) episodes.

Style Queen/ Queen wasp alone end on a confusing note since I can't really tell if they want chloe to be seen as "possibly redeemable", "starting redemption" or "choosing to still suck". Allegedly, from the wiki, the staff said that *supposedly* they'd always planned for chloe to be a character that, I quote " willingly refuses to change...pulls ppl into toxic relationships by having them focus on potential good rather than ongoing cruelty".

I know you choose to avoid following what the staff say, but I'm curious, how could chloe have been written if she was meant to show how some people choose not to change despite potential for good? Or how would a proper redemption go?.

Again sorry for the long ask and if you've already responded to similar questions. I really love your analysis posts!

I'm glad you like my stuff and never worry about asking something that's been asked before. It's no big deal for me to link previous posts and, if you missed it, others probably did, too!

I've talked about redeeming Chloé quite a bit, so I'll just link to my Chloe Deserves Better tag as that's got lots of posts to read if you so choose. I've only really discussed damnation at a high level, though, so let's dig into that as it is a valid path.

Before we begin, I'll note that I would not take this path in canon because I don't think it's appropriate for little kids who may relate to Chloé (thus me wanting this message to come from Gabriel who no kid will relate to). If Miraculous were a teen drama, then this would be a fine choice as teens and adults are able to handle more complex and nuanced plots. (Reminder, Miraculous' target age group starts at age five so that's how I gage what I would and wouldn't do in canon. For the main plot elements, you generally want to aim to the youngest viewers, not the oldest.)

Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, let's damn Chloé!

The big problem with Chloé's canon "damnation" is this:

they'd always planned for Chloe to be a character that, I quote "willingly refuses to change"

While this is the right way to approach a damnation, it is NOT how Miraculous approached Chloé. While it's true that she doesn't change, it's also true that no one really asks her to and that's an important part of a proper damnation arc. Rare indeed is the person who just magically changes all on their own. They generally need to have something driving their change and Chloé never got that.

To dig into this, let's talk about Despair Bear because Despair Bear is basically a mini version of Chloé's overall story.

What Canon Did Wrong

In Despair Bear, Chloé does something mean, leading Adrien to threaten their friendship:

Adrien:(sighs in disappointment) Chloé, how long have you and I been friends? Chloé: Since we were adorable little tots, Adrikins. (Pouts) Adrien:(disappointed) Well, I'm sorry Chloé, but I can't be friends with someone who treats other people like this. You've gotta be nice to people! Chloé: N-Nice? Adrien: Yes, nice. It's not that hard.

This threat makes Chloé freak out and start acting nice because she wants Adrien to stay her friend. That leads to this:

Chloé: I know. This way, no one can be mad at me for calling the fire department. I'm really nice now, did you notice, Adrikins? Even Ladybug said so! Didn't she, Jean-Pascal? Adrien: I'm proud of you, Chloé. I think you've proven that you're capable of making an effort to be nicer to everyone. Chloé: Aww, Adrikins! So we'll always be best friends, forever? Pinky swear? Adrien: Pinky swear! Chloé: (Exhales and saunters off) (To Kim) So, those macarons are dreadfully ugly. (Kim sighs.) (To Mylène.) Those are so greasy, you can see yourself in them. (Mylène cries and faint.) (To Marinette.) Urgh. Too disgusting for comment. (To Rose.) Those look horrible. (Rose faints.) Adrien: She'll never change!

This is the problem with saying that Chloé had a proper damnation arc. She does what Adrien asks, then reverts because he let her off the hook. He made surface level effort and, unsurprisingly, got surface level change. You can't go to the gym once and get muscles! If you want muscles, you have to keep going for weeks! Months even! Progress is slow!

The same is true for damnation arcs. To properly damn Chloé, Adrien needs to stick to his guns and hold her to a higher standard for more than a single episode so that she can demonstrate true unwillingness to change. That's not what canon gave us. After this episode, this conflict goes away and Adrien says nothing when Chloé hurts people. He's not even disappointed when Chloé reverts! He's totally cool with her being mean again. This is the face he makes when he says that she'll never change!

[Image description: Adrien smiling and laughing as Marinette makes a face at Chloé who is offscreen being mean.]

To be clear, it's not Adrien's job to change Chloé, but this episode made him her motivation and then took that motivation away so it's wrong to say that she refused to change when asked. She did change when asked and maintained that change for as long as she had to.

It's also important to note that change is a slow and messy process. If you want to help someone change, then you need to allow them grace as they work toward their goal while also having clear boundaries for what you won't tolerate. Chloé maintaining her niceness for one episode and then reverting isn't enough to actually damn her because it's too big an ask. For this damnation to work, Adrien has to think that Chloé is working to improve over multiple episodes with only the occasional slip up.

To show what that might look like, let's rewrite Despair Bear and give it some proper fallout.

Rewriting Despair Bear

Our new version of Despair Bear plays exactly like canon, but instead of Chloé reverting while Adrien is still there, she now only reverts after he's left. We're also changing the ending dialogue a bit:

With this little change, we let Adrien stick to his guns. Chloé now knows the rules she must follow if she wants Adrien to be her friend. She has also proven that she knows what following those rules looks like. This leads to an arc where Chloé is nicer to everyone, but only when Adrien is around. As soon as he leaves, she's back to her old ways. This shows that she truly doesn't care about changing and culminates in a moment where Adrien catches her in the act, then confronts her about it. This gets us something like this:

Adrien: Chloé! I thought you were going to be nicer? Chloé: I am being nicer! Adrien: But only when I'm around. Chloé: Of course, why would I be nice when you're not around? Adrien: Because you want to be a nicer person? Chloé: And why would I want that?

The dialogue will go on to make it clear that Chloé has no interest in changing and so Adrien cuts her off because he can't trust her anymore. This will lead to a scene with Plagg where we get something like this:

Adrien: I don't understand, Plagg. Why does Chloé want to be mean? Plagg: I don't know kid. But I do know that you can't make people change. Until she's ready to try, there's not much you can do.

This lesson will also be supplemented by Queen Bee's story.

Queen Bee Rework

I think we can all agree that Chloé's first appearance as Queen Bee was a total disaster! She was selfish and petty, proving that she was totally unsuited to owning a miraculous. This is a great way to show that Chloé isn't hero material! The problem is that she got a second chance to be a hero and that second chance completely undid the initial message.

Chloé's first time as Queen Bee was a fluke. She found a miraculous and misused it, but it's worth noting that no one asked her to use it to be a true hero. No one pushed her to be a better person. As soon as the miraculous came from Ladybug, Chloé started acting like a hero. This reframes the message to be that someone needs to believe in Chloé for her to be a hero instead of keeping the message that Chloé just isn't meant to be a hero. To make Queen Bee work in a damnation arc, Chloé needs to be a bad hero no matter how she gets her miraculous.

This is how I'd rework the Queen Bee arc to make that happen.

First of all, Chloé no longer outs herself to the world. Instead, she uses the miraculous selfishly, but maintains her secret identity from everyone but Ladybug and maybe Chat Noir. We're going to pair this with the civilian side of things. Marinette knows that Adrien wants Chloé to be a better person and Marinette loves Adrien, so she tries to help by letting Chloé stay Queen Bee even though Marinette doesn't think Chloé is a good pick.

Chloé proves Marinette right. Every time Chloé gets the bee, she's more focused on looking good for the cameras and being seen as Ladybug's friend than she is on saving the day. This will culminate in Miraculer, the episode where Chloé rejects an akuma. In the new timeline, this will be how Gabriel learns Queen Bee's identity, but only Chloé and Gabriel know that this happened. Chloé now has a very hard choice to make: does she act like a hero and tell Ladybug that she can't be Queen Bee again or does she keep the identity reveal a secret so that she can stay Queen Bee?

Chloé picks Queen Bee.

The season three final comes along and Chloé gets akumatized while Queen Bee. This only happens because Gabriel was able to manipulate her by putting her parents at risk. This is also how Ladybug learns about the identity reveal, meaning that Miracle Queen is 100% on Chloé and not Marinette.

We're also changing the fallout. Instead of Miracle Queen revealing the identities of the temp heroes, it's now how Gabriel finds Master Fu to completely remove all blame from Marinette's shoulders. The Adrigami fight goes away and the message becomes all about Chloé and her choices. If Chloé had been a true hero, none of this would have happened, properly damning her.

After that, I'd either remove Chloé from the show or let this be the thing that finally makes her change. Her extreme low point where she finally realizes that actions have consequences, leading her to want to change, but that's hard to do because she's burned all her bridges so she has to build some new ones. Not totally sure how I'd let her do that. Maybe have her take down Lila or use Zoe to redeem Chloé since Zoe is an outsider who hasn't been burned. There are a lot of options.

The Audrey Complication

I didn't address the issue of Chloé's mom in my rework because, if the goal is to damn Chloé, then I'd probably cut Audrey as there's no reason to make Chloé that sympathetic if you're not going to use that sympathy. You can still keep Audrey and damn Chloé, you just have to acknowledge that Chloé's situation is keeping her from changing. It's nice complexity, just not necessary and probably a little too much for Miraculous' indented audience. There's also the option to save the Audrey reveal until after Miracle Queen. That's the route I'd go if I was redeeming Chloé after Miracle Queen as I don't want to get into her backstory until it's time to start making her sympathetic.

If you keep Audrey and plan to totally damn Chloé, then I'd cut my suggested conversation with Plagg and Adrien and replace is with Adrien talking to a human character. My ideal choice for this is Luka. I like to change it up so that he and Jagged Stone have a complicated relationship, but that Jagged never fully abandoned Luka. Jagged was just on the road a lot and kept Luka a secret for his own protection, all of which gave Luka some issues that he had to work through when he was younger. This would help explain why he's so chill now. Therapy is a hell of a drug.

This means that Luka has been through the kind of things Adrien and Chloé are going through and can speak to them from a place of understanding. He can acknowledge how hard it will be for Chloé to change because of her parents' abuse while also acknowledging that her victim status doesn't mean that people need to let her hurt them. This is actually how I use Luka in a Chloé redemption, but it works just as well in a damnation as the message is the same no matter which path you take.

As you probably noticed, all of this requires some level of serialization because of course it does! Damnation arcs aren't something you can do in 20 minutes. They have to be given room to breathe which is why it's a terrible idea to do a damnation arc or a redemption arc if you're not allowed to have plots that span multiple episodes. You can do them in episodic shows, it just needs to be the type of episodic show where the episode-specific plots are episodic, but there are strong overarching sub-plots that are allowed to be serialized.

#anon ask #chloe deserves better #ml writing critical #ml writing salt #formula show problems

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thydungeongal · 9 months ago

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Reading your recent posts about "DMS make it work" and like, I'm a pretty new GM, I have a home-brewed campaign I want to run for my players and attempted twice so far, this second time is working a bit better, but lately I've been noticing that genuinely, the reason why this isn't working out well is because noone wants to engage with my goddamn world, my players make up characters and I have to tell them how to fit them into my world or make up while new tribes etc to make them fit.

And when I try to U know, actually have them follow the path I've set I get really worried about "railroading" when I'm still far more open than a actual adventure module. Every time I think about like adding in some cool epic moments I would also enjoy I remember posts about "DMS who want players to play prebuilt stories should just write a book" but like ... Modules are prebuilt too?

Yeah, there's definitely a balance to be struck between, you know, players actually being willing to engage with the GM's prep and the GM prepping their games in such a way that there are meaningful ways for the players to actually interface with the game.

Like okay, a lot of the objection to GMs plotting out a story ahead of the time also applies to a lot of modern adventure modules: a lot of modern adventure modules are basically presented as a linear succession of events that need to happen for the story to progress, which just completely turns player narrative agency into an illusion. This is why whenever I talk about GM prep I stress the fact that the GM shouldn't just prep a linear succession of encounters but more like a situation or a location and then let the story be whatever happens when the players engage with that situation or location. On the player side, conversely, as part of the give and take it is important that players be willing to engage with the GM's prep without needing to be led by the nose and being proactive, engaged players.

And since you mentioned modules, I think it's important to mention that older (I'm talking late 70s and early 80s) adventure modules for RPGs rarely presented any kind of linear narrative that required a succession of events to be completed, but they were more like. A place or a situation for the characters to get stuck in. And that sort of adventure design still has value imo!

So yeah, there is a lot of nuance to this discussion, but I do need to make a point here: these past few posts have been very much about players rejecting the premise of the game itself. Part of being a good player (including GM!) is respecting the effort the other players put into the game. There can always be an ongoing discussion about what players want out of the game and how the game should progress. But outright refusing to engage with what the player actually bringing the game to the table has actively set up for you is downright hostile and an expression of a toxic player culture that treats the GM as a special type of guy who must serve the other players.

#thydungeongal answers

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accio-victuuri · 8 months ago

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it’s been a while since i’ve shared my recent reads! so here’s what i have picked up in the past months. felt inspired cause i’m really enjoying the story i’m reading now, w/c i initially picked up as a manhwa but i’m impatient so i switched to the novel. it’s called the hunter is gonna lay low or the hunter wants to live quietly. it’s such a gem! cause it starts of pretty simple and funny then the author manages to put in the plot and well, it’s plotting. lol.

if you like systems/dungeons, cast of characters, time travel, mystery and the most delicious slow burn then this is for you. i hope this gets animated at some point cause it’s so good! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 this is the only novel on the list so it’s pretty special that the story led me to WANT to read the source.

i’m literally listing what i’ve read so yeah. and pretty much a v short reaction to it cause there is a lot (53). it’s a mix of ongoing and completed works at the time of writing and when i read it so i’ll mark that too.

1. Sweetie, Sweetie, Sweetie - this title is so misleading cause you would think it’s a modern story full of sweetness when it’s not. this deals with kingdoms/royalty, superpowers — and isekai.

2. How my Daddies Became mates (completed) - first foray into mangas because i most prefer manhwa/manhuas — i know, sacrilege. but yeah, it’s a cute story of two dad telling their kid how they met and fell in love. It’s so wholesome! a short read when you feel tired of all the toxic bl stories. 😂😂😂

3. Unintentional Love Story (completed) - pick this up! it’s so good! slice of life kind of vibe and falling in love in a small town.

4. Someone like You (completed) - this was something i started before and went back in now that it’s completed.

5. Isekai no Sata Wa shachiku shidai - i don’t really go for Mangas but this one pulled me in! I love myself some isekai plot. it’s just sad that no one has updated the translation for so long so that may put some people off in picking this up.

6. Bend over Backwards (completed) - corporate slave x international model. if you like this kind of dynamic then go ahead. Only 40 chapters plus a bunch of side stories so this kind of thing is a good choice.

7. Dinner with a Vampire - pretty obvs with the title.

8. Mister Wonderful teases me

9. Romance but not Romantic - omegaverse! the kind where the omega needs the alpha but initially hated him.

10. Be, Be. - omegaverse with modern royalty!

11. Smoky Nectar 1 - a short read that continues to a part 2 and it’s good ✌🏼

12. Smoky Nectar 2

13. Reincarnated to Devil King Evelogia’s World - this is so uniquely unhinged that it became. endearing. No. I swear. I haven’t read anything like it. I love it tho. Maybe some people will find it over the top but it’s now one of my personal faves.

there’s an animated version of it if you wanna start with that just to see how cute they are lol.

14. Bullying the Dog - an MC who didn’t get much love then he meets the ML who shows him what it’s like. it’s so somft.

15. Bittersweet Martini (completed) - i’m gonna cheat here and copy/paste the first comment on this story cause i think it perfectly describes the story: “If you're looking for a casual pleasure read with a green flag story with heavy flirting, which leads to a lot of blushing but also deals with a more serious topic towards the middle, without leaning too much into the drama, then look no further.”

16. Over the Paradise - guideverse with zombies!

17. Hero vs Villain - what happens when the supposed hero and villain become friends and fall in love? this was so nice!

18. Night of London - vampire and werewolf pairing! come on! Let’s gooooo! 🙌🏼

19. Kill my love - omegaverse and assassins!

20. Turning - Another work that i would most likely pick up the novel version cause it’s that good! Regression theme! ❣️plus the setting is they are in a kingdom where people have powers.

21. The Moon is coming to me - I have already talked bout this before and it’s one of my absolute faves! I didn’t know the Manhua was released! So i was so happy to enjoy it in that form. The translation for this is very close to the end so pick it up!

22. Cozy Obsession - transmigration where the MC knows how the story goes so he is trying his best to change the ending.

23. Summertime (completed) - one of my favorites! love it when friends become lovers and some may say the ML here is manipulative but i wanna say in a good way. lol. anyway, it’s classic, atleast from the MC’s side that you’ve known this person some time and that summertime everything has changed.

24. My way with you (completed) - gonna cheat again with this one by pasting here what someone commented: “LISTEN UP GUYS this one has everything: healthy happy relationship, supportive friends, trauma and healing, mysterious past connections, beautiful men, hot af smut, 100% consent, cutest lovey dovey couple, NO drama, NO “misunderstandings”, NO second ml, NO annoying interfering side characters. You will cry, but because it’s just so good.” 💯

25. Netkama Punch - i haven’t finished and progressed much as i would like tho i know a lot of people have this as their favorite! I will get back to it! The premise of hidden identity and online gaming is one of my fave so i will surely pick this up again.

26. Through the Years - i haven’t finished this yet but it’s a lot of people’s fave

27. Fools (completed) - disillusioned guy meets excitable puppy 🤍

28. Moonquake (completed) - a very unique concept. people on earth have powers and then some of them decided to rebel and live in the Moon. Our MC is one of the best ones on earth and is supposed to bring down the leader of the rebellion. but you all know what happens, they fall in love! AHHHHH! and i have to say the art in this too is exceptional.

29. Men’s wear store and the Royal Princess (completed) - this may be weird for some or slow / not enough action lol. i enjoyed it tho! the MC cross dresses and finds someone who loves and accepts him!

30. Ex Hot Neighbor (completed) - a story that centers around a misunderstanding! MC thinks he can’t date the neighbor cause he’s his friend’s ex. but nope!

31. Forest Sea (completed) - A good and solid fantasy story. Please give it a try! The whole birds vs snakes thing was kinda weird at first but the author made it work.

32. When you were asleep - this hasn’t been updated in a while and it’s so sad because the art is topnotch! the plot is good too, especially the dreamscapes but there’s still a lot to discover cause we wanna know what happened in the past. Why is MC even having these dreams and all that.

33. Beum & Go’s Unholy…. - still ongoing and read few chapters

34. Spring, the color of love (completed) - what a wonderful story. Oftentimes, as a reader, you have that sense of boundary with the narrator. But this one — you can feel and understand what the MC is thinking and going through. even tho i haven’t experienced what he did, i can totally get it. this is one of those tropes where they fall in love during their school years and some misunderstanding happens, they meet again years later and try again. something i would love to re-read even if there are parts of it that hurt. and it’s just proof that if something is meant to be, it will come back to you.

35. Keep Holding On (completed) - a short and sweet read with friends to lovers trope!

36. Wolf in the House (completed) - i am so late with this cause i feel like every list has this story as one of the best. I have to agree! it’s so good! tho i have to say i’m more attached to the second pairing. this one is a perfect mix of fantasy, action, comedy and romance. A solid recommendation!

37. Touch within the Abyss (completed) - AAAAAHHHHHH! a hitman x blind cinnamon roll! read it now! please! it’s so sweet! their love and care for each other is so pure 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

38. 99% in love season 1 (completed) - from bestfriends to lovers in the cutest way! they start fake dating and it leads to more obvs.

39. 99% in love season 2 - their college life and this one has smut scenes!

40. Alpha Trauma ( novel ongoing ) - if you know Omega Complex then you might be aware that this is a sequel of sorts but follows the second lead’s love story if you may. Everyone loves Dohyun so i’m one of those happy readers who is happy that he gets his own story, tho the POV in this is not his but his Omega. If you like ABO and campus setting then this may be for you.

41. Soul Sealer’s school life - The MC is the soul sealer who has to do good deeds to prolong his life, then he meets the ML who has a strong spirit in him. It’s a perfect blend of fantasy, comedy and not so much romance as of the moment. The art is 💯 and i really like to see where this goes!

42. Guidance with Benefits - still ongoing and read few chapters

43. Chiguha Kuna Kisu (completed) - if you like a short read that will make you have overall good vibes then this is it. school setting, two cute boys, a fortunate miscommunication and starting a relationship. it’s so good and made me want to look for more mangas! 🤍

44. Spicy Milk Candy - yandere but in a good way. that’s all i’m gonna say.

45. Ruby Red wo Kamikudaku (completed) - i’m just gonna add the summary below but it’s truly a unique read!

Akane is an Omega who can see people's pheromones as multicolored "crystals”. During his school days, when he was lonely because of his peculiar constitution, he meets Makise, a school nurse teacher. 5 years later, they are miraculously reunited, but Makise has a secret

46. Yume Nara Doko Made Yurusaremasuka (completed) - corporate slave x young policeman. 6 chapters of sweetness!

47. Sparkling Baby (completed) - this is supposedly a sequel for the second lead, but i haven’t read the first story. I just love how the MC/ML first met and then made a mark on each other as strangers — but it wasn’t there time yet. and so they meet again later and navigate their lives together. What attracted me to this story is how the MC changed because of love. For years, he had this sense of what he think is love and looking back, maybe it didn’t work out because love isn’t supposed to be like that. What he found with the ML is real and why it feels different.

48. Ashita kimi no mono ni shite (completed) - this so wholesome! school setting and friends to lovers. quiet boy x cool guy

49. Koibitu Keiyaku chu ni suki (completed) - friends to lovers! fake dating. and well, look at them. so precious together:

50. Camboy Bunny (completed) - i think the title says it all. A delicious read!

51. Beyond the Memories - AAAAAHHHHHHH! the story in itself should be sweet and fluffy but the author manages to squeeze in the undercurrent of there is something wrong. as a reader, there is something big that we don’t know and once it comes out — all of it will be shattered. it looks like there is some sort of regression and MC doesn’t know this but the ML does. The question here is when his memories will come back and will he forgive the ML. We are not in that part yet with what’s available right now so i’m excited!

52. Private Call (completed) - another omegaverse.

53. Senza Replica - guide/esper. very few chapters out and something i will go back to.

I read everything except the novel at BATO. 🫶🏼 covering my may-october 2024 reads.

#personal #accio victuuri reads #book recs #manhwa recs #manhua recs #bl recommendation #danmei recs #manga recs #aside from yizhan and work the rest of my time goes to reading lol

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a-big-chicken-nerd · 11 months ago

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Ice Emperor related fic recs?

ohohoho most certainly

thin ice breaks easily by lightningchicken has gotta be my all time favorite ice emperor fic. never fails to make me go a little insane its SO GOOD

lost and found by idkwhyimhere5462 is an absolute banger with the plot being utilized so perfectly to really show off what ice emperor was like during his reign as well as vex and boreal and their dynamic and its extremely good

adventures with the ice emperor by idkwhyimhere5462 is a series of absolutely banger oneshots

ruler from another realm by cybersearcher is an absolutely iconic one and a must read. not your typical ice emperor fic but the never-realm world building is too good

whetstone by spinchip is awesome i love the open ending and the continuation of akitas plot and the characterization SO much

i hope we both die by spinchip is another banger by spinchip because btw spinchip does nothing but bangers so definitely check out all their zane and post-ice emperor fics both on ao3 and tumblr

bitter cold by redboar is a LONG one!!! 100k+ words!!!! ice emperor is so cool in it and the way vex and grimfax are written is extremely good

i think that i damned the both of us by penofwildfire is truly premium quality toxic yaoi if shipping ice emperor and vex is your thing

how the frost forgets by kzfine is still currently ongoing and its super good so far with plenty of focus on vex as well which is always excellent to see

the ultimate guide to re-becoming zane julien by fronhdoesthings is awesome and still currently ongoing and it has really good illustrations and is just overall great

there are a lot of great zane focused post-never realm fics as well but i tried to keep this list to just ice emperor ones that stay WITHIN the never realm LOL one billion fics upon ye

#ninjago #fic rec #ice emperor #vex #zane #ns11

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duchessonfire · 6 months ago

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Savior Carl!AU re-read Part 2 Chapter 6

Follow-up of my re-read of Part 2 Chapter 5. If you're not interested and don't want to have your dashboard spammed, you can block the tags Duchess reads and Savior Carl AU reread.

Commentary for Part 2, Ch 6 below the cut (spoilers for part 2 ahead):

Work has officially started again and I'm swamped so I'm only getting back into this re-reading now. (Btw, I'm currently listening to "toxic till the end" by Rosé and my god it's so Savior!AU Cegan... Same for "number one girl" from her Rosie album)

So, chapter 6, the beginning of the heatwave. This is so funny because I still remember writing part 2 and being like, okay I have 2 more chapters and the Claimers plot is done, so what can I do to shake things up at Sanctuary? And at the time I was teaching a class on the short story "Roman Fever" by Edith Wharton and I was explaining to my students the whole stereotypes about southern Europe from the povs of characters from England or the north-eastern coast of America, how the warmer climate is associated with looser morals, promiscuity, how people used to cold climates start to act a bit erratically when it's too hot and they let go of some of their inhibitions. And as I was preparing for this class, I was like... wait a minute... *lightbulb moment*

Anyway, this is how the idea of the heatwave came about and it's crazy that it is still ongoing in part 3, but at the same time it feels very fitting. Right when Negan has decided he's going to be a good man and keep things platonic with Carl, I turned the oven on and blasted them with heat :)))) No regret.

This chapter is very much a pivotal moment in the story because a lot hinges on it. In the previous chapter, Negan showed Carl a surprisingly human and compassionate side of his personality, but everything that has been happening since the start of part 2 (the increasingly erotic tension between them, Negan's cruelty) is still there.

In the Savior!AU, it's very important to me that Negan never becomes too nice. I have nothing against fluff or nice!Negan (in fact, I'm currently writing the fluffiest, nicest Negan ever in my Strawberry Mama Cegan fic), but I started writing the Savior!AU back in 2021 because there was a lack of Cegan fics where Negan was still the sadistic, cruel leader from the canon. Back then, there was a plethora of fics where Carl was sexually abused by Shane, or assaulted by the Claimers, and Negan was the only one who understood/rescued Carl, as well as a lot of fics where Negan immediately became protective of Carl and put him above everyone else right after meeting him, basically 'love at first sight' fics. As much as I enjoyed those stories, I was chagrined at how few fics there were where Negan was still Negan, still cruel and sadistic and egotistical, even when he clearly favored Carl over everyone else (a great example of this, and to me still one of the best Cegan fics ever written, is Wildflowers by Gemjam).

So, to me, this what the Savior!AU is and should always be: a story where Carl and Negan fall in love, yes, but where Negan is still Negan, still monstrous and power-hungry just as much as he's loving and protective, and this is in fact is the main obstacle of their relationship: that Negan's cruelty and thirst for power will always get in the way for as long as he's the leader of the Saviors.

This is why it's so important to me to keep all those moments when Negan is canonically cruel and ruthless. And this chapter has a big one with Mark getting his face ironed off.

Carl is so absorbed by him, by his sheer presence, that it takes him a second to notice that Negan is inspecting him right back, unmoving from his spot by the stairway. His gaze trails along where Carl is slumped against the wall, from the top of his head to the tip of his toes, slowly, down and then up again, and there is nothing concealed about it, his appraisal plainly obvious. His lips are slightly parted, letting Carl glimpse at his pink tongue, the tip caught between his teeth. He can’t feel hotter than he already does, but the rolling knots in his stomach are both new and familiar. He’s reminded of that time in the parking lot, of Negan’s susurrating voice making him feel like he was on a rollercoaster. When their eyes meet, Negan’s hand tightens briefly around Lucille’s handle, before going lax again. He moves forward and Carl knows he should straighten up, knows he should kneel, but he does neither. Instead, he stays right where he is, never taking his eyes off of Negan as he gets inexorably closer, his footsteps an ominous toll that sends Carl’s heart careening inside his chest. Negan stops right in front of him, the tips of his boots grazing Carl’s own. His gelled hair is curling at the temples and his skin is shiny under his salt and pepper beard, a sheen of perspiration covering the bow of his upper lip and the slight curve at the top of his chin. Negan makes a low sound, between a laugh and a sigh, and Carl’s eye follows the movement of his lips with rapt fascination when he speaks. “Pheew,” he breathes out, sending an exhale of peppermint-sweet air in Carl’s face. “Even in here, it’s hotter than the devil’s asscrack.” Then, unexpectedly, he asks, “Wanna hold her for me?”

There is SO MUCH happening here. Carl and Negan looking at each other and lusting after each other openly (the first time in the fic that it's mutual and not just one-sided), Negan's flex of the hand that shows he's barely restraining himself from grabbing Carl, Carl knowing he should kneel but staying standing because he's becoming aware of the fact that the rules don't apply when it's just him and Negan away from everyone else, Negan asking Carl to hold Lucille (the symbol of his battered heart and erect cock intertwined and wrapped in barbed wire) while he goes to have sex with someone else, so basically asking Carl to hold his heart while he fucks one of the wives...

Negan smirks, teeth flashing, and Carl should know better than to think he can hide the effect Negan has on him. “Thanks. Things might get a lil’ loud in there. Just a heads-up,” he winks. Carl swallows, hard. He is pretty sure the sweat rolling down his face must be sizzling, puffs of steam coming out from his every pore. As if on cue, he feels a plump drop of perspiration trail from his temple, along his chin and down his Adam's apple, before pooling in the hollow of his collarbone. Negan’s gaze, previously light and playful, turns dark and riveted as he gives Carl’s face a long once-over, slowly going down from his sweaty brow to his flushed cheeks and lips before settling on his neck, just above the soaked collar of his t-shirt. His gray eyes stay there for long seconds, transfixed, before Negan suddenly blinks, gaze flicking to the ceiling as he mutters under a raspy breath, “Je-sus.” Carl doesn’t have time to fully grasp what just happened that Negan is already moving, disappearing inside the wives’ apartment with a sharp exhale and a shake of his head. His warm and spicy scent lingers in the air around Carl, thick and heady.

This is one of my favorite moments in this chapter because it's really difficult to write a longing/erotic scene where in fact nothing is happening, especially when I have to tread the line of Carl's pov, of him still being mostly innocent and unaware of what Negan wants to do to him, while at the same time knowing it (as shown in the dirty dream that Carl has right after this moment).

I'm not going to quote the dirty dream, but I did want to have Carl explore his sexual attraction to Negan on his own before any smut happened between them. It felt important to me that Carl had at least some time to accept that he's sexually attracted to Negan, that this anticipation builds, before anything happened. A boy doesn't go from being sexually repressed for four years to jumping into bed with a man 3x his age out of nowhere. (Btw, Carl masturbating while thinking of Negan was inspired by this awesome fic Secret Handshake by Gonfalonier) (I'm realizing now that these re-read posts could also be a great place to rec some Cegan fics. If you like them, do show them some love!)

Now, the beer scene. Not gonna lie, I still have no idea where the inspiration for this one came from but I am SO PROUD of it. It's just the most devious interrogation technique. Negan knows very well what he's doing, that Carl probably never had a drink in his entire life, that he will be affected by the alcohol, less able to think and lie, all of this without touching a single hair on Carl's head.

And of course at the end of the scene is this awesome moment that will haunt Carl again and again:

He keeps his tone casual, but Carl doesn’t miss the dangerous edge in his voice when he asks, “And since when do you take orders from pretty boy Mark?” He opens his mouth but before he can answer, Negan snaps, “Drink.” The bottle is more than half-empty, its taste milder than before, hints of sweetness coating his tongue underneath all the earthy tanginess. It takes Carl a second to remember the question he was asked. “I don’t. I just… I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.” The crow’s feet around Negan’s eyes mellow for a brief instant, his expression turning understanding. But it only lasts just that, an instant, before anger takes over once more. He leans forward, towering with all of his height over Carl. His lips brush against Carl’s ear, but there is nothing seductive about it. It’s a warning, plain and simple. “Don’t be soft, it doesn’t fuckin’ suit you,” Negan growls.

It's not just the lie that bothers Negan, but the fact that Carl lied to protect *Mark*, young and fit Mark, who's already charming the pants off Amber and now Carl too. This is the first time that Negan is jealous of another man that Carl interacted with since Shane. After Carl killed Shane, Negan thought all the competition had been eliminated, that he was finally the only man in Carl's orbit, but now he realizes that it's not necessarily true.

The line "don't be soft" especially will come back in part 3 because Carl will never be able to forget it. Negan sees that Carl's lie was not done out of love for Mark but compassion, that Carl has a good heart, and of course it's something that Negan appreciates and admires, but at the same time, it's also something that deeply frightens Negan. Negan associates softness with weakness and, as his talk with Gabriel in the "Big Scary U" episode highlights, he is intent on eradicating weakness: the weakness that made him afraid of killing walkers in the "Here's Negan" flashback episode, the weakness that made him forget to turn the generator back on because he was afraid it would attract walkers and which led to Lucille's medication be ruined, the weakness that let him be captured by the Valaks Vipers biker gang, the weakness that made Lucille kill herself rather than fight cancer... Like Shane, Negan is desperate to turn Carl into a hardened and ruthless killer because they both think it's the only way Carl can survive: by being as merciless and cold as they are, because Negan and Shane have seen too many good and soft people die horrible deaths and they'll be damned if they let this happen to Carl. Negan, like Shane, knows that the real danger is not the walkers or other people, but it's yourself, your own kindness and morals and empathy. Those are the things that get you killed. It's tragic that so much of Shane and Negan's abuse toward Carl is driven by fierce protectiveness and absolute terror at the thought of anything happening to Carl.

This post is far too long already so I'll wrap it up with two scenes: the conversation between Carl and Dwight after Negan left the room, and Negan ironing Mark's face off.

I can't remember if I've said this before but the relationship between Carl and Dwight was really unexpected. I never planned on them bonding but, as I wrote the story and re-watched the episodes about Dwight from canon, it just seemed natural considering all the similarities between them: the disfigured face, the fact that they started as Negan's enemies, that their blind loyalty and devotion to Negan is underpinned by seditious rebellion (Dwight because he let Sherry get away and Carl because he freed Rosita). Dwight often acts as a sort of moral bell tolling for Carl. He's the one reminding Carl of the harsh reality of Sanctuary, of who Negan is. And for all that Carl likes to forget, he has to acknowledge that Dwight is right about everything. There will never be peace at Sanctuary, not in the long term, because Negan's Sanctuary is the product of his grief and anger and desire for revenge after the death of Lucille. The very inception of the place stemmed from the worst parts of Negan, and no matter how much Negan rationalizes it, no matter how many rules he creates to justify Sanctuary's relevance, it will never be freed of the ghosts that haunt it, of the blood and bones it was built on.

I know I talk a lot about the significance of Lucille the bat (Negan's heart and dick wrapped in barbed wire, the most vulnerable symbol of his past turned into his most brutal weapon) but I think Sanctuary holds the same place as an embodiment of the best and worst parts of Negan: the name itself promises refuge, peace, shelter and security, but Negan has fostered an atmosphere of ruthless violence and competition inside it, has kept the workers subdued and turned the Saviors into a feral pack of dogs lashing out against everything and everyone. Like Lucille, Negan's Sanctuary is fenced and weaponized, its boundaries covered in walkers to keep everyone at bay. There's little humanity in Sanctuary, like there's little humanity left in Negan. It's there, but it's faint and it's kept fenced in, tucked away inside an impenetrable fortress. It never ceases to amaze me that with all the resources at his disposal, Negan could have made Sanctuary a place worthy of the name. It's clear he knows how to make a place attractive (his room is glorious in a bachelor pad kind of way, and so are the harem and the room meant for Daryl). But he doesn't. Instead he keeps the factory gloomy and frightening. Because the Sanctuary, like Lucille, was created out of grief and fury. Negan doesn't want to make it hospitable. He wants it to be a punishment on himself and everyone around him.

I'll finish with this glorious line, which encompasses Negan's jealousy, his pettiness, and his reflex to lash out at the people he cares about because he's still, deep down, a wounded animal snapping at everyone who tries to help him:

“Since you like cleaning up after Mark so much, get a mop. Your boy made a mess,” Negan sneers before brushing past him.

Conclusion; tldr: This fic is an oven and I'm turning the temp all the way up. Carl and Negan are terribly horny for each other, but it's all part of the cooking process. Negan is marinating Carl in beer. Carl is having a dreadful time remembering that the man he jerks off to is still a monster. Negan is the most tragic character ever and the Sanctuary is basically the haunted manor in a Gothic Victorian story. Only one chapter left for part 2.

#duchess reads #savior carl AU reread #cegan #carl grimes #negan #twd #cegan fic #carl grimes x negan #carl x negan #negan x carl

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s-aint-elmo · 9 months ago

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*twirling my hair* do you have some good yuri manga recs?

(lying on my stomach and kicking my feet) i'm SO glad you asked!

to preface this i'll be excluding better-known yuri or yuri that's recently gotten its flowers (whether thru virality or adaptations) (e.g. in love with the villainess, love bullet, bloom into you, etc. etc.) and will instead be recc'ing works i don't often encounter in the wild. some will be more well-known than others, but all of these i've enjoyed and would encourage others to check out! under the cut because. this got. so long. i heart yuri <3

multi-chapter

the princess of sylph (ongoing; self-publishing): plot-heavy fantasy yuri between a bereaved princess with the aura of a thousand sad hamsters and a persistent nun whose silliness conceals a deep well of trauma. gushed about it plenty here. i recommend starting with the serialized version, the proceeding to the twitter version + extras. cw: blood, violence, dismemberment (nothing too graphic, more standard monster-fighting fare).

i love amy (completed): school loner strikes an unlikely friendship with the girl known (and feared) for her violent tendencies and single-minded obsession with the school prince. cute but striking and skilled art with a surprisingly nuanced handling of trauma and neurodivergence. cw: attempted child murder, animal death (non-graphic). there are also depictions of standard yandere fare (kidnapping, torture basements) but they're always presented comedically.

i see you, aizawa-san! (ongoing): girl who steadfastly pretends not to see ghosts meets one she just can't seem to ignore: a deceased classmate and former j-pop idol, who has taken to haunting their classroom. ft. art that harkens back to classic shoujo and a supernatural mystery centred on the relationship between the two leads--that one of them can't seem to remember. cw: blood, body horror.

school zone girls (on hiatus): slice of life yuri comedy ft. a massive interconnected web of girls spanning at least three schools. it juggles gut-busting comedy with genuine heartfelt moments of character growth and connection and expresses it all through a solid, dynamic art style. the sprawling cast also makes for incredible outsider pov moments that lets us really appreciate how far some characters have gotten. this genuinely motivated me to revamp how i approached ensemble casts for my ocs.

brides of iberis (completed): wedding planner unenthusiastic about her engagement falls in love with a bride she's taken as a client. bittersweet but deeply loving; and so compassionate to each and every character, even the men the female leads have relationships with. cw: infidelity.

destroy it all and love me in hell! (ongoing): model student finds her miserable, tightly controlled life unraveling after being blackmailed by the class truant into indulging her ugliest impulses. toxic yuri extravaganza eleganza between two girls desperate for escape and the catharsis of fucking! shit! up!!! also hits that sweet sweet "love triangle as a conflict of ideals" beat. cw: blackmail, coercion, bullying, violence, emotional abuse, physical abuse, verbal abuse, adult/minor relationship.

yuri is forbidden for the yuri otaku (completed): passionate himejoshi enrolls in an all-girls private school to observe class s yuri in action, but never to engage in it herself--at least, until a misunderstanding wins her the resident gyaru's heart. a surprisingly poignant exploration of being queer in a repressive society and experiencing your queerness through the safety of unobtainable fantasy.

the superstar idol crushes on me today too (ongoing): failed idol-slash-middling radio personality finds an unwanted superfan in the country's biggest superstar. explores the merit of pursuing your artistic passions in the face of repeated failure, and what makes an emotional anchor in the fraught seas of showbiz. they are also just so so funny. what if i emphatically declare you my rival in show business but you've been in love with me since you saw me in a cooking show as a child actor and you take any excuse to spend time with me and have my attention with blinding enthusiasm

normality and monsters (ongoing): outcast weirdo witnesses the class idol devour their homeroom teacher in one bite and begs to be trained in the art of appearing normal. the art is snappy and charismatic, the monster design is properly grotesque, and the friendship of convenience between the two leads teeters between overcoming the monster's nature and just being a prelude to the monster acquiring a new meatsuit. cw: blood, gore, death, body horror.

a monster wants to eat me (ongoing): suicidal girl meets carnivore mermaid who promises to eat her if she develops a desire to live. it's been a while since i read this one, but the monster designs are once again sick as fuck and the drama of being cared for by a creature that finds you tantalizing is sooo juicy. cw: suicidal ideation, blood, gore, violence, body horror.

liar satsuki can see death (completed): high schooler who can see corpses before the death occurs strives to save as many lives as possible despite being branded a liar by the entire student body. this and ryouko's other manga, a walk to death, are pretty banging declarations on the value of living ironically (or maybe aptly) wrapped in so much death. blanket cw for blood, gore and death bc i tell you every mini-arc somebody dies in a fun new way and we'd be here all day if we listed them out.

anthology:

i'm the villainess but i'm being captured by the heroine?!: an anthology featuring heroines of otome games swerving hard and sweeping the villainess off her feet. i am such a sucker for villainess yuri. mean women forever. my favourite chapters are vol. 1 ch.1 and vol. 2 chs. 1 and 4.

honourable mentions:

my idol sits the next desk over! (completed): loner idol otaku ends up deskmates with her oshi and between jealous sabotage from a rival stan and the herculean task of acting normal around your fave, lands herself in the first and closest friend group of her life. one girl does explicitly have romantic feelings for another girl, but i bumped it down here because it isn't explored to the extent it could have been. it felt like it was setting up a slow burn only to end abruptly. do not recommend if you want a love story, do recommend if you want lonely people forging deep and enduring bonds of friendship.

the one within the villainess (ongoing): the villainess of an otome game reawakens for her condemnation and sets off on a path of vengeance for the sake of the beloved transmigrator who's occupied her body for years. it's ostensibly het, but to hear the way that the villainess speaks of her transmigrator, the first person to love her wholeheartedly and wish for her happiness and so inadvertently prevent her from becoming the hollow bitter woman she originally grew into...... like. that is yuri. like what if i knew your life in its entirety and loved you for it and i found myself in the position to give you the happiness i always wished for you to have. what if we wrote fix-it fic for each other on the fabric of the universe. what if we never even had a conversation but we knew each other the best and loved each other most. and we were both girls. do you understand why i'm insane about them. cw: blood, gore, violence.

#asks #manga #manga recommendations #yuri #please feel free to tell me if i missed any cws since i'm not usually someone who needs them #the superstar idol is like mayakuro if the rivalry was one-sided and maya was twice as open abt her claudine obsession #as i'm answering this i realize quite a bit has piled up in my inbox. i will. get to that #i waffled abt adding otherside picnic but i figured it's got a decent presence. but if u haven't heard of it and u like supernatural yuri #others i didn't add are: office romance ayaka loves hiroko; highschool makeover romance useless princesses (too long since i read it);#genderbender boyfriend sometimes girlfriend (too few chs out to judge how it handles gender n sexuality but rlly cute getting together);#highschool makeover romance 2 i was confessed to by my beautiful oshi #please tell me if you read any of these n what you think! i'd love to chat n i can't keep bombarding my one friend who'll listen #mine

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cdramastuff · 2 months ago

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would you share your top 3/top 5 dramas based on your personal enjoyment?

When it comes to cdramas, 2024 was absolutely magical for me since it gave me 2 absolute (and very different) faves at once. Before that, cdramas usually left me traumatised and / or disappointed.

First of all - Blossoms in Adversity. A show that is actually centered around the heroine and her choices (including her choice of a man). I honestly felt high from the fact that it was a female-lead drama from beginning to end. The main girl was never reduced to the position of someone who needs to be saved by a man. And her being feminine af while also badass af felt extremely genuine. I rewatch bits of this drama all the time, the romance is very cute, and the music is great as well (excluding the cringe ending that one can easily skip). The only downside is that I didn't enjoy the fight scenes as much, but that wasn't the main point of the series.

Secondly, Fangs of Fortune. I don't even know what to say here. The show was a fever dream that I still haven't recovered from. It owned and still owns my ass. The number of gifs I made for this series speaks for itself. The most beautiful shit I have ever seen. People who get my obsession with it are my kind of people.

Now for the older shows that stuck with me through the years.

Sound of the Desert (2014). In retrospective, main couple's relationship does have several not-so-comfortable moments, and yet, the two are my huge faves. Their bickering is life. Eddie Peng as the general who comes back from battles covered in blood, sweat and dirt, is the hottest a cdrama male lead could look, ever. It doesn't even bother me that his wig line is very visible now that the show is available in hd. Also, despite multiple rewatches, I still haven't seen the finale. I'd rather leave on a happy note. I don't even know if the ending is truly sad. In my heart, the two are living happily ever after.

Perfect Couple (2014). Another case of a series where I absolutely adore the cast. As someone who's seen just about everything with Wallace Huo, where he plays all sorts of jerks with all sorts of haircuts, this is the one role I keep coming back to. The ending song is one of my favest tunes and also one of the reasons I keep rewatching the drama. The main couple is yet again one that bickers 24/7, and that is obviously what I'm into. Occasionally, I feel guilty for not having posted any screenshots or gifs from this show to this day. Maybe I will.

Now that I mentioned all the stuff that I genuinely loved, I need to mention the cdramas that traumatized me, destroyed my soul and made me feel the rage of a thousand suns. I think about them a lot and can never forget them. That's the hatred that secretly borders on love, I guess.

The Journey of Flower (2015). I lovingly call it "A thousand swords show". No matter how horribly any male lead mistreats and tortures his girl, he can never top this shit. Ever. The things this drama did to it's main girl are unrivaled. I sometimes rewatch the cursed torture episode to keep myself in check. The short description of the thousand swords fiasco is here.

Investiture of the Gods (2019). Holy shit. I have no words for this. Watching the main girl destroy herself and her pet demon beyond repair worse and worse with each episode was one hell of an experience. Peak toxic shit. I feel like I should rewatch it now that some time has passed and see whether it will hit me as hard as it did the first time. I guess I love pain.

Princess Agents (2017). I'm pretty sure anyone who's heard of this show also heard that the production company did both the leads and the plot dirty in hopes to leave a possibility for s2. The only words I have to say about this are: Ice Lake. The show that made me swear to never watch an ongoing cdrama again. And yet, here I am, years later, watching all those ongoing shows, but dropping them the moment I feel they're not heading the way I want them to. Also, unlike the two shows mentioned before, I suspect rewatch value of Princess Agents is around 0. I'm pretty sure, in 2025 I wouldn't be able to sit even through one ep of this shit. I hoped that The Legend of Shen Li would make up for everything, but I guess I'll just have to live with this bitterness.

Honorable mention - Chinese Paladin 5 (2016). One of my first cdramas, one that gave me Elvis Han with violet hair. And also made me want to be taken to hell by the demon king so I can stay there forever. Lots of questionable stuff there, but man, was it an experience. I wish I could rewatch this drama for the first time again.

#welp i tried #i actually keep trying to pick the best show of 2024 and then i can't #also nice coincidence - 2 faves from 2024 and 2 faves from 2014

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ripplestitchskein · 1 year ago

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Thinking about this anti idea that the show switched gears on them. I don’t understand it. I’ve never understood it. I’ve already talked about how it’s pretty clear from the writing and show setup in the first few episodes what the focus would be but what baffles me is that it’s also just not true that the character’s issues are purely centered on and only expressed via the romance aspect. They are pretty good at applying the character’s issues to all aspects of their lives and interactions. Especially with Blitz because he is the main character.

Blitz, to put it simply hates himself, plain and simple. We all know this. He creates scenarios to force others to see him as he sees himself. He is a textbook case of someone who self sabotages due to extreme self loathing. He’s not sabotaging his work or his life in general though. We can see Blitz is hardworking, he is ambitious, he has his life together from a material perspective. He had a roof over his head, clothes on his back and food in his fridge. He provides these material things for a whole other person as well.

Where Blitz self sabotages is his relationships. It’s made clear from early on in the show it’s NOT just romantic relationships, it’s ALL of them. Blitz targets what he thinks will drive people away the fastest. I need it to be super clear that he does this to everyone and its ongoing even if sometimes it’s less prevalent. The show is about Blitz and Stolas, whether you like it or not they were the two characters who were focused on in the first few episodes. And the plot is driven by their issues and always has been, what gets disregarded in these arguments that the show is only about Stolitz now is how we see these issues manifest outside of the romance aspect of the show consistently and regularly just maybe not in entire episode long plots, it’s a through line.

With Moxxie Blitz insults him, he makes comments to make him uncomfortable. He targets little insecurities he has with himself. As we’ve gone along and they’ve developed he does this less, he compliments him more, he gives him responsibility. I think we see a good subtle example of Blitz’s influence in Moxxie on Full Moon. The Welcome to Hell, Bitch line was pure Blitz. His comfort with saying “So fuck him good sir”. These are the kinds of little things that slowly and carefully drive the changes in their relationship.

For Moxxie and Millie as a couple he inserts themselves into their relationship. He makes sexual jokes about them both. He mentions having a threesome with them. He follows and stalks them. It’s an odd and imo off putting behavior, one I think we’ve theorized about a lot and that’s lead to some interesting takes on his character and his view of monogamy in general. I don’t agree or disagree on the reasonings, I don’t have any info to make an informed decision on it but after Apology Tour it was kind of cemented for me that this behavior was also a pretty effective way to test them and drive them away. They are a very loving and committed couple, if I were a serial self sabotager faced with pushing away a couple to prevent them from getting too close, what is the best way to drive them away for good? Obviously, be the toxic third, have them join the Blitz Exes. He’s not going to admit that’s what he’s doing of course, so he approaches it in earnest like he does most things he is deluding himself about. Go all in on denial.

Blitz only ever tests the fence about them though, he never makes any serious moves on it, and he has largely stopped doing it at all after Chaz and Ozzie’s. I think that episode, how he felt after sleeping with Chaz, was the turning point for him when it came to them. It remains to be seen though.

I think GhostFuckers will be the place to explore it if there is anything left to explore about that. We seem to be getting a Millie based flashback and that might shed some additional light.

What also saves Moxxie and Millie from the full force of his self sabotaging behavior is that there is a built in buffer by them being his employees. He always has a way to keep them at arm’s length if there is a power dynamic he can fall back on.

With Loona she is a very closed off, anti-affection person. With her, the tact Blitzø takes is give her too much attention and show too much love. Smother her in affection no matter how many boundaries she sets and how much she protests about it. In Queen Bee he’s too in his head over Stolas to bother with that, and it’s sadly probably the most in sync they’ve ever been until the end. I pointed it out before but in Full Moon Blitz treats Loona very differently. He imitates her and actually snaps back at her when she says Stolas is dropping him, it was a very different interaction than earlier episodes and I think another subtle sign that how he feels right now is changing him and he’s making efforts. He hasn’t simpered at her for awhile. And he obviously is giving her a more active role in the day to day.

These are ongoing threads and they are all part of of the larger picture of Blitz’s growth and change. Just because a romantic relationship is helping drive that change doesn’t meant other things aren’t, or that the only changes or growth we see are only about the romance.

The fact that that there are two episodes focused entirely on Fizz speaks for itself.

#Stolitz #helluva boss

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xsherewrytesx · 1 year ago

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↳ Toji Fushiguro x f! black reader

summary. You and Toji were broken up for 8 months+. Your constant pressure for him to improve led to frequent fights, driving him to spend more time at the mechanic shop and racing than with you. Despite knowing you meant well, the strain became too much, and Toji eventually ended the relationship.

genre: heavy angst, modern au, 18+, explicit smut

fic warnings. ooc, profanity, mental health issues, toxic relationships, cheating, explicit smut, drug use, mentions of depression + more to be updated as story progresses.

Please read with proper discretion. this is a work of fiction. all characters are written to portray roles that are necessary to the plot and are in no way a reflection of their canon counterparts.

one + two + three + four + five + six + seven + eight

status: ongoing

#jjk x reader #jjk x black reader #toji fushiguro #toji x black y/n #black reader #jujutsu kaisen #toji x you #toji x fem! reader #toji x female reader #toji x black reader #toji smut #jjk x fem! reader #jjk x poc!reader

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elainsgirl · 4 months ago

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this has been said all around but I seriously do think the acotar fandom would've been different if sjm engaged with us. I know plenty of authors who engage with their fandom even if some are still toxic like boys of tommen. But I still believe more people would've stuck around and didn't have to deal with ongoing problems due to an author that neglects her fandom.

People are calling Elriels weird and delusional for thinking of a rejecting mating bond which the author literally talked about! how is that delusional for thinking the next book could be that? Elriels aren't stupid. Elain is literally uncomfortable around lucien. "Did elain tell you that?" that really pisses me off. she's clearly uncomfortable around lucien, anyone can see that from a mile away. And the thing with gwyn, I believe its due to the hatred everyone has with elain so they create this image of gwyn to replace elain. its so odd.

The only way the fandom would have been less toxic, is if Mass gave us insight on how SHE wanted the books to be read and the narrative she was trying to spin instead of everyone going wild and having random interpretations that don’t make sense and are clearly not what Mass was going for. That and if she had been giving some teasers from the next book here and there as well as telling us what we should expect from Acotar 5. If think this would hVe definitely calmed the shipwars down and actually create excitement for the next book. If you look at how chloe handled the fandom after T7, she left completely and now has a social media manager running her account whose been engaging w the fandom by posting snippets from previous books. Ofc BOT had its own shipwars and arguements as well as characterwars but how was that taken care off? The spotify playlists which confirmed couples, plots and whose getting which and how many books. Was there backlash? Sure, but chloe was far from it and eventually it died down and people began getting excited for the upcoming books and what was about to play out. Now when you look at her recent announcement, as far as I’ve seen there hasn’t been any negativity. Even those that don’t like the next couple haven’t created a fuss because they knew it was going to happen so could brace themselves. So if only Sjm had used the same technique but then you can’t really compare the two authors and their fandom considering one is significantly less popular then the other. The Mass fandom is so huge and despite the fact it seems like everyone is online - the truth is there are millions of readers across the world who aren’t online. They dont care about the ship wars or characters wars. They just want the next book. So I think it doesn’t register to BB or sarah that there’s so many polarising discussions taking place bcs its only a small part of this massive fandom taking part and creating these arguements. They’re going looking at the fandom as a whole - and many just dont care. So their silence & neglect make sense especially considering that I dont think Mass had any acotar content to share as she hadn’t written the book, Since acosf, CC was her focus. Not acotar.

Elriels being called delusional? What else is new. For an author that is suppose to be strictly “fated” mates - there wS no need for her to talk about bond rejection and what if two mates aren’t right for each other. “What if the forces be, put you with the wrong person?” 🤝 “what if the cauldron was wrong? What if that (Azriel) is what she needs?” Antis are quite confident when Sjm wrote “why not make them (elriel) mates?” Like, you cannot get more obvious then that. Elain has told us she doesn’t want her mate. Are antis respecting that? No. See, most people are able to clock on that when a woman is losing her boldness around a man she is uncomfortable and not interested. As for Gwyn - she’s a self insert for elain antis and someone better they can replace Elain with. Its a mess.

#elriel #elain archeron #lucien vanserra #gwyn berdara #azriel acotar #azriel shadowsinger #pro elriel #Srry I posted this late anon

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oasisdew · 1 year ago

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~~Given sequel and what we've got so far~~

We've gotten only two(2) chapters of the sequel so far and I personally think, the stage for the next arc is already set.

Given does follow a pattern in story-telling if you pay attention to it. And it does address one issue a couple (the main two couples) at a time meticulously.

The first arc was about RitsuMafu, and the plot was Mafuyu falling in love with Ritsuka and being forced to face his trauma from his ex's suicide and doing whatever was needed to move on from it, taking first steps towards healing.

Likewise the second arc was about AkiHaru, and the plot was Akihiko realising the extent of his feelings for Haruki and being forced to face his trauma of being in a longterm abusive relationship and doing whatever was needed to break free from the toxic cycle he was stuck in.

The third arc got a bit complicated with Hiiragi being mixed in the equation of RitsuMafu. Hiiragi introduced the problem that RitsuMafu were to face and got a subplot of his own (that's also still ongoing).

But essentially the third arc can be seen as divided in two parts the two parts that the two movies are covering. 1) 'Hiiragi_mix' as in the first part where Hiiragi (and Shizusumi) successfully did recreate the traumatic experience for Mafuyu again to face knowingly or unknowingly. And 2) 'to the sea' where RitsuMafu had to face that situation and prove the strength of their love and mettle of their characters to overcome the challenge.

But more importantly the main objective of that arc was Mafuyu getting full closure, not only from Yuki, but from the effects of trauma and grieving and the guilt that comes with it. As well as having to face the issues that traumatic experience gave him, as in his doubts about expressing himself, his doubts about his own worth as opposed to what he brings to table musically for Ritsuka, his hesitation of letting go of Yuki fully etc. These were all the issues that his previous relationship gave him. The unsurity of it all and the persistent feeling of fear of doing something wrong again with the everpresent feeling of perpetual shame and guilt for forgetting a person who for sure for a period of time he thought of as essential for his own existence. There's also been hints of his complex regarding Hiiragi specifically. Hiiragi is always being described as charismatic. Everyone thinks so. He has 'star quality' which Mafuyu probably fears(feared) he lacks. Yuki forming a band with Hiiragi wasn't easy for Mafuyu to take. Not in a toxic way, but in a deeply insecure way. We see him reacting oddly to Ritsuka praising Hiiragi in any capacity. Trying to not feel pressured by it, wanting more of Ritsuka's attention to himself. Literally fidgeting.

Then the same Hiiragi's band won CAC against 'given' and right after that Ritsuka joined 'syh'.

To Mafuyu it probably felt like Ritsuka leaving the loser band and vocalist Mafuyu for the winner Hiiragi. Ritsuka admitted it himself, Hiiragi was cooler than he imagined. Hiiragi successfully intrigued Ritsuka too. And Ritsuka was won over by him because Mafuyu wasn't enough. He needed to sing, and he couldn't.

(And then they metaphorically did throw him in the sea too. It was awful but I digress 😑)

But anyway, all these issues, insecurities, the culmination of it ALL as well as all the stages of grieving for Mafuyu, they were all masterfully handled in the last arc. Or second RitsuMafu arc.

Now that brings us to the second AkiHaru arc and like it or not, just like how Mafuyu had to grieve properly and find closure from all his remnant issues from his previous relationship and childhood, Akihiko will also have to face the issues he is still carrying from his last relationship. The gaslighting that he endured, the misplaced guilt that he probably still feels, the fear of doing something wrong again to fuck it all up for himself and Haruki and probably the band too.

And believe it or not, we have already seen the seeds of it. Also, I personally think Ritsuka will be the catalyst of Akihiko's arc this time and we are gonna get the Ritsuka arc either mixed with Akihiko's one this time or right after.

Now let's see what we got thus far.

1) AkiHaru LDR. Akihiko's ring and them living separately even in Tokyo as well as Akihiko's little show of flirtation to get Haruki flustered.

All of these point to something that I'm sure most of the fandom is vaguely aware of but can't put their finger on surely.

I personally think these point to the issues Akihiko brought from his experience of being the victim in an abusive relationship.

LDR is simply him choosing to not sacrifice his music for the sake of his relationship. He learnt from his previous relationship that that's not the way he gets to retain himself much less his relationship.

The ring is the symbol of his clinginess, or his innate urge to belong. To belong to someone. But with that also comes his fear of binding Haruki unfairly to himself. His need to be clingy to Haruki is constantly at odds with his fear of somehow being codependent or worse still, making Haruki codependent on him. So he himself is donning a ring and showing it off but he doesn't want Haruki to, especially if Haruki doesn't by his own accord. Haruki didn't show him his own need to belong to Akihiko, he simply asked, (with a strange look on his face too if I may add) if he should also wear a ring, and Akihiko declined. No matter how dramatic he tried to make himself sound to Mafuyu that's the root cause of it.

Akihiko living separately even when in Tokyo too also probably comes from the same fear and deep rooted issues. He was at the receiving end of such a relationship once and it was excruciatingly painful for him. His ex leaving the country for months and then coming back to only have sex for a few days with him(and then kicking him out but he had been gaslighted to think all of those as his faults so we no talk about it yet) while he was stuck in a place full of memories and yearning for those times to come back again and feel the love and happiness...he doesn't want any of those to happen to Haruki. He knows living alone is better than living with memories.

So on one hand he is desperate to bind himself to Haruki, donning the ring, going broke just to see Haruki every week, still bringing Haruki coffee, on the other hand, he is trying to set Haruki as free as he possibly can. Living separately, not making him wear the ring.

He is also still an insecure jealous mess when it comes to Haruki. It started with the second chapter of given and it's still going on. Akihiko wants Haruki's attention to himself all the time. He also needs to know that he still is desirable to Haruki and that comes from his abandonment issues. His parents as far as he is concerned didn't want him the moment he became a liability and don't even let me start on his ex. So being able to make Haruki flustered still is important to him. the assurance that he is still needed and desired and it's not all been just a whim on Haruki's part, or if it were indeed a whim, it's still there as strong as it was the first day, Akihiko needs to be reassured of it from time to time.

In contrast, I know that most of the fandom will disagree with me but, Haruki's issues are nonconsequential at this point. Is he probably sad to see Aki go? He obviously is. He also is possessive with his 'insect repellent' comment and seeing Akihiko instantly changes his whole demeanor. But Haruki is essentially in his essence this chapter. Thinking and planning and working. Missing Akihiko is inevitable but I don't think it's death sentence for Haruki. A large part of what Haruki possibly feels in this situation we see from Ritsuka's POV which is a trick Kizu uses frequently to mislead readers. Ritsuka is projecting high key. He and Haruki are fundamentally different. So he should be treated as an unreliable narrator here.

I think the difference between how Ritsuka and Haruki work is that Ritsuka can be at ease knowing that Mafuyu is at home safe and he himself has Mafuyu to come back to while he goes work outside forgetting everything in the world.

But for Haruki, he considers himself to be the home and can wait for Akihiko to come back to him indefinitely as long as there's a promise of him coming back.

Which brings us to the issues of RitsuMafu or more specifically Ritsuka that's been shown in this chapter.

So the issue with 2) Ritsuka is that he has no issues. I know there are many fans who want Ritsuka to breakdown or cry etc but the truth is that Ritsuka has no problem except for his own tyrant king workaholic self.

In previous arc we did get some covers that made us question about Ritsuka's mental state. 👇🏼 The main one being the left one but the right one too.

It's more been the words written on the left cover that were vaguely worrying. For the first time we saw him thinking about Yuki and the fact that he had been a big part of Mafuyu's life. And I understand some fans being disappointed that we didn't see him ponder on it again.

But the truth is, Ritsuka is 1) too healthy an individual by nature and by nurture to constantly be worrying about things that he can't control. He'll always find a way to cope healthily whatever the outside world throws at him and he did find a way to get closure from Yuki the last arc, it was to help everyone Yuki left behind get closure from him. 2) If he really indeed has to confront Yuki then it'll come after he has worked on his own issues so we'll have to wait and see if that happens ever.

Now that being said Ritsuka also does have to confront and control his own self. As they say, even the best things can be too much. And Ritsuka always had been and right now (after ten years period) especially is under the danger of being too much. For himself and for others.

To put it simply, he is too good. Thinking of everyone and how to make them reach their full potential and thus pressuring himself and occasionally others especially the ones he loves.

This started ten years ago though. The inferiority complex of 'given' being thought of as inferior to 'syh', the guilt he felt leaving his own band to play for the rival band.

As well as his need to commit himself fully to things that he has committed once and his continuous need to challenge himself which doesn't let him go easy on himself a bit. His need to fix everything, every situation and his ability to do so ends up making him cornered more and more and it's been piling up.

There's also this thing that he is biased about 'given'. He considers it his 'own' band, while he feels responsible for 'syh' and isn't one to shrink from his responsibilities. He gives his 100% to make Hiiragi shine, he specifically does so because he knows Hiiragi's potential.

But that doesn't stop him from feeling guilt towards his own band and especially mafuyu.

Now here's the thing, Hiiragi is syh's vocalist while Mafuyu is Given's. And syh's style is populist style, it's not about quality, it's about taste and syh and Hiiragi appeals to public taste more.

In Ritsuka's own words, they are 'flashier' than 'given'.

And here comes the conflict for Ritsuka. He has truly no one else to blame for but himself. He has made Hiiragi a star and now he wants the same fame for his beloved aka Mafuyu. That's what they were arguing about.

He wants Mafuyu and 'given' to become even more popular. It's literally the conflict of interest and he is fighting himself on both sides.

Which brings us to Mafuyu at last. Mafuyu isn't buying this. And that's deeply satisfying and comforting. Mafuyu who once was scared of Hiiragi 'stealing' Ritsuka's attention, or being too charismatic now wants no part in competing with him. He isn't scared of Hiiragi's brightness anymore and is deeply secured in Ritsuka's affection to the point where he actively is fighting with Ritsuka about music and says that he doesn't need to stand out simply because it's not Given's style. It'll sound fake and fabricated he says. And I agree.

I think this is what Ritsuka's arc is gonna be about, at least for now. He's been putting himself on spot too much, he once had this realisation that just because something is popular with masses, it doesn't mean it sucks contrary to pretentious intellectual beliefs. All because of syh and Hiiragi.

He'll have to come back to his senses now and realise that on the other hand popularity isn't and can never be the criteria on how you create art. Given's style is simply different from what appeals to mass but that's what makes given unique.

#given #given manga #given 10th mix #given manga spoilers #given meta #meta #my given threads #nakayama haruki #kaji akihiko #sato mafuyu #uenoyama ritsuka #akiharu #ritsumafu

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