#pete from disjointed

[igotmyhashpipee]

IM BACK WITH A DUMB MEME

[quietwingsinthesky]

choosing the believe that the seagull is buttons come to bring izzy back from the dead because what the fuck was that

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Scandals, Face Offs & Disappointments, Oh my!

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

Oct 2024 Week 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

Jack & Joker (Thai Mon IQIYI) ep 6 of 12 - 3 tiny girls ragging on Jack was possibly the greatest opening sequence ever. Poor Jack. He is so not single anymore - so far as everyone around him is concerned. 

Love Sick 2024 (Thai Sun iQIYI) ep 5 of 15 - Sports day continues. We get a little backstory on the respective crushes on Noh. The jealousy between Phun & Earn is way more extreme in this version. I'm not mad about it. I love a claiming. Although it is so unfair of Phun to claim Noh when they agreed not to go there, AND he’s dating someone else. The byplay with Pete’s ex was fun. I wonder if we’re supposed to suss that Noh knows he’s gay in this version? 

I'm doing a face-off style watch along of this new version versus the original 2014-2015 version. Where I decide with each new ep which one wins. I will render a final judgement at the end. Frankly, I'm warming to this show way more than I thought I would give my extreme affection for the original.

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 7 of 12 - Oh it’s so cute that he just wants to officially move in. And the necklace claiming thing was darling. Mini boyfriend era. Min being a kept baby girl was kinda fun. The family thing was too sweet. Oh noes my man has been strangled! Oh good he’s okay. Stupid breakup “for the plot” moment, they could have easily been separated by baddies, we didn’t need to go through this. 

Fourever You (Thai Thurs YT) ep 3 of 16 - I don’t care how cute he is or how longing those beautiful eyes, ghosting is a pretty big offense. Especially high school first love. I’m glad Ter is being difficult about it. Still the backstory is getting frustratingly confusing. It seems increasingly convoluted (full of girls) and I’m not sure what happened. So I’m not sure if I should be on Hill’s side or Ter’s. I’m beginning to feel manipulated and I don’t like it. I still like the show, but not as much as I did last week. I’m on a roller coaster here. 

Battle of the Writers (Sun YT) ep 11 of 12 - It remains odd, disjointed, but still modestly entertaining. Ozone using a well placed Phi for manipulation purposes made me happy. Random het wedding is random. 2 drunk horny sunshine babygurls was cute tho. 

Every You Every Me (Thai Mon Gaga) ep 2 of 10 - AKA Just one meet cute after another. Nice queer rep this time. It’s lovely, just not my style BL. 

Addicted Heroin (Thai Tues WeTV) ep 10 fin - Okay so last week half the ep was eng subbed and this week only 3/4. Whatever. Please note my extreme annoyance with everything about this show will color my rating. As it should. Ready for a mini rant?

Conclusion

What to say about this damn show? It wasn’t what I wanted and I didn’t like it. I’m disappointed in myself for having expectations and in it for not living up to them. It starred August for fucks sake! How could they fuck it up so bad? I wanted it to be a Thai reinterpretation of the brilliance that was Addicted giving us the ending that we never got to have but the narrative deserved. I got a resounding nope. The side couple was messed with, rearranged, and then entirely dropped and forgotten. The main romance was weirdly obsessive without any physical payout or emotional resolution, as if this remake were the censored Chinese version. All characters acted irrationally most of the time, and from what I could tell there was no logic to the ending, which seemed to be to minors escaping to a beach, abandoning their schooling, families, and respective futures. It was a hot mess. Without being hot. 4/10 fatally flawed, do not bother

Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) ep 5 of 10 - it's bad. I don't like it.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo (Korea Thurs Gaga) eps 1-2 of 8 - High school student Do Hoe lives with his violent and brutal father who runs a Taekwondo gym in a rural area. Then cheerful Ju Young arrives who dreams of going to college for Taekwondo. Joy begins to fill Do Hoe's dark life. An unexpected incident forces them apart, they reunite over a decade years later.

Make no mistake this one is dark. And Korea can go many directions when it leans dark. So I’m not entirely sure what to expect. All the triggers: child abuse, corporal punishment, alcoholism, gambling, and a few other things. But also a fantastically awkward kiss. Oh this is VERY good. I’m enjoying it. Tumblr is officially losing its tiny mind about it. What can I say? This hellhole loves it some gritty dark angst with high romance and deep meaning. All hail the return of Queen Hwang Da Seul. 

My Damn Business (Korea Sat YT) eps 3 of 7 - He kinda is the worst boss ever. Now he’s turned into a drinking buddy whether baby likes it or not. I really feel for this kid. I do want more backstory on both of them. Why are they the way they are? All that said….. phenomenal kiss. Thanks boys. 

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 4 of ? - I do like the brothers relationship. Even though we know it’s gonna become romantic, it’s nice to see them all teasing and friendly. Meanwhile I’m getting a little exhausted by the bullying and I’m very much ready for the revenge narrative to continue.

Although I understand we have more of a spiral first, could we get on to some actual kissing soon? 

I'm shallow I just wanna see BV kiss the next boy. It's the BL world's version of Pokemon.

Our Golden Times (Hong Kong YT) 6 fin - Okay so this was the last ep! 

Summary

This was an odd disjointed little piece, but the most BL BL we’ve ever seen out of Hong Kong. The optics are good and it’s enjoyable for what it is, which is a circumspect, badly subbed, and slightly odd yet earnest reunion romance. I liked it more for what it could be, and for what it represented, than for what it actually was, but I still liked it.

7/10 recommended with reservations

I would like to nominate Our Golden Times @bengiyo as a candidate for the next "Girl you tried." Because it really did try hard to be the best little BL it could be under the circumstances.

First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) ep 11 of 12 - I do like all the couples, and in classic Taiwan style we’re ending ultra sappy (when they don’t fuck it up, and I don’t think this one will). Mei is the secret power behind the throne - as we all knew - love this for her, and us. 

Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 5 of 10 eps - I'm falling beind because my subber is, but sort-of trying to keep up. I don’t know. Just Japan messing with us, I guess.

Eccentric Romance (Korea Weds Viki) eps 3-4 of 12 - It’s oddly erotic with all the gym stuff but also awkward and weird with the jelly plus suspicion. (Hi GeonU, another Thai/Korea BL for you? Is it a thing for you now? Could you recruit Jimin to the cause? I mean you go him into a reality competition. BL is right there. Waiting. Pretty please with a shirtless hottie on top?) Anygay, I keep thinking that this show would actually be better if the Thai character were just a Korean character and this was just a regular KBL. Although, it probably still wouldn’t be very good.

It's airing but...

The Hidden Moon (Sat WeTV) 10 eps - This is a supernatural romance (my ghost boyfriend trope) by Violet Rain (I Feel You Linger). A man is hired to write an article about an old mansion in Chiang Mai being converted into a café. He sees the ghosts of people who died at the mansion, falls in love with one of them. Was substantially recast. I loved IFYLITA except the ending so I think I'll let this one run it's course you can tell me if it's work tracking down... if they managed to land it. I have my doubts.

Next Week Looks Like This:

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

Still Coming:

10/21 Love in the Big City (Korea Mon Viki) ep 1 of - Okay, this is both a movie (already out) and a series. Neither one is likely BL and I can't imagine it will end happily. Here's your synopsis:

Cynical fun loving student Young pinballs from home, to class, to on night stands. He and Jaehee, his female besie and roommate, frequent nearby bars where they push away their worries about life, love, and money with soju and hookups.

Apparently this is causing a homophobic ruckus in SK right now. As is wont to happen when one puts a really big name in the gay lead and your country is, well, pretty damn homophobic. Brokeback mukbang anyone? (Oh yes I am aware I'm a turd, but I'm too old for this crap. I guess that makes me a coprolite.)

10/23 See Your Love (Taiwan Weds Gaga Viki et al) 10 eps? - Zi Xiong, a third-generation heir, attempting to flee from taking over their family business, meets and falls in love with Shao Peng, who works as a hearing-impaired nurse. From the same production house as Kiseki Dear To Me in partnership with Shinehouse Theatre, funded by Taiwan’s BIGART + Japan's Rakuten (Viki). Show includes Lin Chia Yo (Be Loved in House: I Do). Director Chiang Ping Chen’s childhood experiences with his deaf uncle have inspired the drama.

10/27 Perfect 10 Liners (Thai Sun YouTube?) 24 eps! - New directing yet another university BL with engineers + their mentees. Based on a Jittirain novel. with a massive cast and massive run time. We will be watching this until APRIL of 2025!

ForceBook playing the same old characters = enemies to lovers tsunder/sunshine jock/nerd thing.

PerthChimonSanta are doing the cohabitation cool guy/dork trope.

JuniorMark are doing popular sunshine meets lonely sad boy (the only interesting pair IMHO).

Not sure if these will be interwoven (We Are style) or shorter stand alone runs-within-the-run of 8 eps each (Y-Destiny style).

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

You just kissed his brains out, what do you think? (Eh, we all know the aniyo is coming. This uke is made of tsudere and 아니요 ) (Damn Business)

I know, it's not a good show, but just LOOK at his face.

And the uke drunken shenanigans was brilliant. Loved it. (Battle Writers)

I did LOVE the twist on Golf. (Love Sick 2024)

Joke coming for our hearts just like...... it's TOO MUCH. War is SO DAMN GOOD. (J&J)

Calling out the trope HDS?

Gah. So awkward.

(Both from LFTCOT)

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

Sigh, Tumblr in its infinite wisdom doesn't like too many at-ings.

[rorytunes]

how do you come up with lyrics when you're writing a song?

Oh I love this ask so much. This will be a rambly and long response with a lot of examples. I have many thoughts. I'll preface this by saying I'm really weird about my lyrics so this might not work for you. Plus I'm not actually very good. But hopefully something is helpful!

For me, lyrics are devices for storytelling most of the time. It's different from writing prose in that you have to be conscious of how the whole line sounds as well as your idea.

I try to make a habit of studying other people's lyrics, both the masters, and just people I really look up to. This is my biggest piece of advice. Study!!!!

For example, I like the twisting wittiness of Alex Turner and Pete Wentz's lyrics, so I'll try to pop that into a mix, or the subtle irony in The Smiths' work. I'm a HUGE nerd, and by proxy a huge fan of the very nervy and dense lyrical style in the things Ryan Ross writes, hence I follow some of those patterns as I see them in my work and find ways to enhance them. I did the same for the imagery in David Bowie's work, Leonard Cohen's poetic devices, Bruce Springsteen's storytelling. I take inspiration and figure out why I like them and why I might not like my own work.

Easy way to write a song, I find, is to twist a whole bunch of sayings, pop culture references, or similar:

From I'm So Tired by Fugazi:

From Fluorescent Adolescent by Arctic Monkeys (if you haven't heard this song, take a look at the other lyrics. This is a really snappy song with some very clever twists)

Here's The Nerve by the Brobecks, presenting an idiom, and then twisting it into something attention grabbing:

Some of my favourite lyrics use similar sounds and rhymes within themselves. Alliteration works really well. Here's a lyric from Zealots by the Fugees:

They keep the interesting sounds with a subtle inner rhyme on that first line, close it out on the second. They do the second with raps/format/parallax, and they also use alliteration. It makes for a VERY satisfying rhyme scheme that's also fun to sing.

This next one is from Piledriver Waltz by Alex Turner:

The alliteration creates an interesting soundscape, with the imagery and the reference to the Heartbreak Hotel. Also note how "back booth" rhymes with "how to lose". He follows these "ooze" sounds in the rest of the verse as well

My favourite subject was (kind of still is, I only just graduated) literature. This has given me a very sound-focused angle to my lyrics, and as such, I'm never satisfied unless the sounds in my work carry the right emotion. This is why different methods rhyming can give work a really interesting angle.

On that note, I use unexpected twists to create an effect. Take a look at Sugar We're Going Down:

There's no rhyme here and it creates an anxious tension that fits the song. Love that unresolved feeling a lot

Reading a lot, both prose and poetry, REALLY helps with finding imagery and vocabulary inspiration. I like Rimbaud, Emily Dickinson, Gabriel García Márquez, Kafka, and Yeats at the moment.

One thing I've been doing that helps me a lot is spending 10mins or so before bed filling up a page in my notebook with everything that comes to my mind. I'll read over it in the morning at take it all in. Usually it's a bunch of random crap but sometimes I'm a bit clever with it.

If you don't have a plan, lyricism is going to be a bit tricky. One of my main issues is that I run out of ideas a lot, and this gives me disjointed lyrics. This is can be fixed (albeit frustratingly at times) if you plan out what you want to say, and have a clear idea of your message/story/whatever. Of course if you're just being abstract you can disregard the main throughline a bit but I'd still recommend a general plan.

Hope something here helps. I pressed the post button too early so this is an edit, and I didn't get to say everything I wanted. Feel free to ask questions!

[boing-o]

top 5 fob songs?

Ok, I haven't listened to their whole discography on purpose yet (I'm pacing myself, going chronologically) but literally all my favorites are from Folie... to me it's the perfect fob album. It sounds like a very natural progression of fob's sound, leaning further into pop in a very fresh way while maintaining their punk and soul inspirations. The improvement in Patrick's vocals is also huge. He plays with a richer, darker sound which makes every song so much more dynamic. Some people find the lyrics disjointed and wax-poetic but personally I find them very beautiful, the vagueness helps. I even like Pete's slam poetry in 20 Dollar Nosebleed. Musically every part is more sophisticated than any of their work before (especially the drums. This is the first album with drum parts I actually like). Plus it's fucking funky. Folie's sound would be the hardest fob sound to replicate.

1. Headfirst Slide

2. 20 Dollar Nosebleed/West Coast Smoker

3. w.a.m.s.

4. America's Suitehearts

5. What a Catch, Donnie

[startrekfangirl2233-writes]

Does Your Mother Know?

Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell x Reader

Description: You've always been a wanderer - wild of spirit and wild at heart. It figures that you marry a wanderer yourself. So when the two of you are finally in the same place, you capitalize on the opportunity. It doesn't help, though, that all of your husband's aviators seem intent on flirting with you. So you have fun with them.

Warnings: None. This is just cute. Mentioned Hannix

Word Count: 2539

A/N: This is another Discord fueled thought. This time, it's brought to you by ABBA and the movie Mamma Mia! It's a cute (I think so anyways) fic about how the Daggers find out Mav is married!

Also when did Maverick enter my Masterlist?

AO3: Cross-posted Here!

My Masterlist

It's a hot summer night in San Diego. The Hard Deck's got all of the windows and doors open and you're quite content to sip on the colorful cocktail in front of you while you watch the Naval Aviators swan about. You've been coming to the Hard Deck since before Penny bought the place, enjoying the low-key dive bar charm of the place. San Diego’s always been home for you, no matter where your life and career take you.

You love going to bars, really you do. But after months away on a book tour, right now your favorite place for a drink is in your house with your legs thrown over your husband's lap. He makes the best margaritas and you're a simple woman. He's really all you need. Isn't that a jarring realization? Your younger self would be calling you boring right now. You'd spent most of your twenties, thirties, and the better part of your forties jet setting around the world. When your friends were getting married and having kids, you were volunteering in the Serengeti or writing a book in Paris. Sure you've had your fair share of flings, but you never expected to find anyone you'd want to spend the rest of your life with.

Then an aviator with a heart of gold and an ass perpetually on fire laid a line on you in a dingy bar in Italy where you were trying desperately to finish the next chapter of a book for your publisher. Pete took your breath away with just a few words and you found yourself in a committed relationship for the first time in years. It had been a little disjointed, your relationship bouncing from coast to coast as the two of you snatched the odd moments together. In truth, you loved that Pete was as free roaming as you were. So the two of you made it work. You didn't even need to think to agree to marrying him when he popped the question a year into your relationship. 

Nearly four years of marriage later, and your husband is still the sexiest man you've ever met, even when he's driving you crazy by pulling crazy maneuvers strapped into the cockpit of a plane. Which is what relocated the both of you to San Diego a few months ago. He'd been at a top secret site out of China Island for a while, doing something he couldn’t tell you about. You didn't care so long as he was safe.

When everything went down with first the Darkstar (which you're not supposed to officially know about) and then the Uranium Mission (also something you shouldn't know) shortly after, you put your foot down. It had been too close to losing the love of your life. That's what Pete is. Even though he's 15 years older than you, he's your heart and soul. This time when the promotion came across his desk, Pete had taken it, you know, more so for your sake than his own. So you finally settled back in San Diego, making the house Pete bought in the 90s a home and enjoying having Pete around permanently. 

The permanent station had also meant getting to know Pete's squad. But with book signings and your book tour right after the Uranium Mission, you never got the chance. At least, that is, until tonight. You're still a bit tired, as you've only been home for a couple of days. But Pete had been dragged out for drinks with his squadron, his kids really, and you promised you would meet him at the Hard Deck so you could meet them. You've only met one of his aviators before and that's because you have his life in pictures in a photo album and in Pete's hangar in the Mojave. Bradley’s his kid, so of course you’ve met him.

Pete had told you he'd find you in an hour. It's been a bit longer than that, so you start to look for him in the crush. You’re not the tallest woman in the world, and honestly, neither is your husband the tallest man. You like to joke that he’s perfectly sized for you just as you are for him. Penny's rushed off her feet at the bar, so you can’t even ask her if she’s seen him. So you decide to give it a few minutes before you try again. Just as you settle back down into your bar stool, a body muscles up to the bar next to you. You brace yourself for the inevitable line this young man is going to lay on you.

"Penny, m'dear? Can I get another Stella for myself and a second of whatever the pretty lady is drinking?" That's a Texan twang if ever there was one. This must be the irascible Hangman. You sneak a look at him from over the rim of your cocktail glass and wait to see if he's going to bite at an older woman looking at him. To his credit, he doesn't recoil at all. You smile at Penny when she quirks an eyebrow in his direction as she drops the drinks off. You make a shoo-ing motion with your fingers and settle in for the ride.

"So…" He's smiling sunnily at you, every inch of those pearly whites bared at you. "What brings a gorgeous lady like you to a bar like this?"

You snicker a little at the compliment. Oh, if only he knew. "I've been coming to the Hard Deck for years, kid."

He barely flinches at your nickname for him, continuing to flirt shamelessly as you sip on your drink. You reach your limit when he puts a hand on your thigh. You push it away before drawing the straw between your red lips. If there's one thing your age has taught you, it's how to wear lipstick that stays put. Looking at this flirtatious young thing, a classic song comes to mind.

"You're so hot, teasing me. So you're blue, but I can't take a chance on a kid like you. It's something I couldn't do."

You place one manicured hand against his stomach, lightly tracing your fingers over the rigid muscles.

"There's that look in your eyes. I can read in your face, that your feelings are driving you wild. Oh, but boy, you're only a child." With every word that drops from your lips, you lean closer. You can see him flush darker until he gulps.

To his credit, he doesn't quit though, "So does that mean I have a chance?"

"Well I can dance with you honey, if you think it's funny. But does your mother know that you're out?"

He chuckles awkwardly before turning tail and running away. He starts up a flustered conversation and you see Pete's entire squadron face you while you're sitting at the bar. You give them a cheeky wave and a wink and that's when you see them make the plot to try seducing you. What else could it be?

The next aviators to come up to you certainly are a gorgeous duo. Payback and Coyote if you remember correctly from the last pictures Pete had shown you. If you were about 20 years younger you'd be all over them, but no. Now, Pete's the only man for you. Even so, it's flattering all the same as Payback approaches you first to lay on lines about how you're a class above any other girl in the bar. It's true, you are, if only because you're completely besotted by a man who is a class above any and all of the kids swarming the place.

Your voice is playful and flirty as you respond. "I can chat with you baby, flirt a little maybe. But, does your mother know that you're out?"

He gives up at your coolly amused tone, retreating back to his friends avidly watching the show.

Coyote takes it a step even further, leading you onto the dance floor. You're happy Pete has your phone and wallet because you won't be leaving them on the bar. He's a good dancer, Coyote is. At least until he starts pushing in even closer to you. You tip your head up seductively, and purr into his ear, "Take it easy. Take it easy, better slow down, boy. That's no way to go. Does your mother know? Take it easy. Take it easy, try to cool it, boy. Play it nice and slow. Does your mother know?"

You're not expecting him to blanche outright at your words, though. Of course, when you turn to face the aviators, you see Pete in their midst, horribly unhappy and glaring at Coyote with the entire weight of his disapproval. You just wink at him and grin when he gets the point, smirking at you having your fun.

When you move back to the bar for a soda, it's Fanboy who walks up to the bar to shoot his shot. These young aviators. You'd despair of them if you didn't know their type so intimately by now. When they make a bet, they have to win. Fanboy's tactic is to be seductive in Spanish, trying and failing to ply you with sweet nothings. You drag your eyes up and down, smiling. He's really a cutie. But not your type. 

"I can see what you want, but you seem pretty young, to be searching for that kind of fun. So maybe I'm not the one." Your voice is amused as you trail your fingers teasingly down his cheek before sending him away with a pat on his ass.

The aviators cheer when he joins them. Of all the men, only one is left, the sweetheart wearing glasses you know has to be Bob. He takes the most encouragement before he carefully makes his way up to you.

“I’m sorry about them, ma’am.” He’s really very cute. He blushes all the way to his ears when you grin at him. For Bob alone, you make a concession, tugging him close, kissing his cheek so it leaves a crimson lip print before murmuring into his ear, “Now you're so cute, I like your style and I know what you mean when you give me a flash of that smile. Oh, but boy, you're only a child.”

You drag Bob out onto the dance floor, smiling as he stumbles over his feet as you dance with him. He’s even hesitant to set his hands on your waist. You take mercy on him and leave him by the pool table. The others are giving him impressed looks as you move back to your empty bar stool. That's when you see Bradley finally make his way to the pool tables. He’s dressed in his traditional uniform of jeans shorts and open Hawaiian shirt over a white tank. You watch Bradley’s eyes light up as he adds his money to the pot Pete’s standing guard dog over and stands by his side waiting for whoever is left to go.

The only aviator other than your de facto step-son left to try flirting with you is the sole female in the group. The incandescent firebird herself. If there is an aviator that both Bradley and Pete both love to chat to you about, it’s Phoenix. You can see the way she changes her entire posture within a few steps. When she loosens her hair from its bun, you know it’s not Natasha Trace who walks up to you, it’s Phoenix. She’s smiling seductively and you grin fondly at the younger woman. The first thing she does is flag Penny down.

“Hey, Penny!” She’s smiling sweetly.

“Hey, Natasha!” Penny exchanges a look with you as you sip on your cocktail.

“Can I get twenty-four shots of tequila please?” You wince at the thought, having had too many tequila hangovers during your youth.

“Are you sure, Natasha?” Penny’s eyebrows are sky high as she lays the shots down on a tray. But while you’re expecting her to carry the tray back to the pool tables, she stops and downs one shot, then two, then three. That’s when you stop her with a hand on her forearm.

“Whoa, there. Take it easy. Take it easy. Better slow down, girl. That's no way to go.” You push a glass of water to the younger woman. But she just smiles at you stubbornly and downs another shot.

“Nope. M’not stopping. Not until you give me your phone number.” She downs one more, and you wrap an arm around her waist.

“Take it easy. Take it easy. Try to cool it, girl. Play it nice and slow.” You grab the tray in your other hand and stagger her over to where Bob is waiting with a pulled out chair. You leave Phoenix there and turn towards the final pilot to try to seduce you. 

“What about you, kiddo? D’you want to try too? Or should I name the winner of your bet?” 

Bradley’s smirking at you.

“Dance with me?” He proffers a hand to you as the jukebox begins to play the same song you’ve had running through your head all night. The first thrumming beats of bass send your blood racing. You grin as Bradley leads you into a whirling dance, nearly rushing you off your feet. When the song runs out, he wraps an arm around your shoulder and leads you back over to the pool tables.

“So, who won, ma’am?” You grin at Hangman. “Hey, Brad! Does your mother know that you’re out?”

“Well, seeing as how you’re my godmother and you’re standing right there, I guess she does.” You can’t resist cracking up at the gobsmacked look on the aviators’ faces as they look between you and Bradley like you’ve grown a few extra heads. Pete presses a kiss to your forehead and tugs you close. You peck his lips and rest your left hand against his chest. That’s when Phoenix finally sees the wedding ring.

“Bagman, seriously?!” She’s fuming. “You started this whole-ass bet not noticing that she was married?” She staggers up out of her chair and smacks at his chest weakly. You can’t resist your smile as the bigger man wraps her up in his arms and she goes willingly.

“Pretty sure they’re head over heels for each other.” You whisper that into your husband’s ear grinning at the fond smile Hangman gives Phoenix as he sets her back into the chair and presses water into her hands. This time, you note amusedly, the stubborn little thing actually begins dutifully sipping from the tall glass.

“How do you know, Mrs. Mitchell?” You grin. “Why, Admiral Mitchell, don’t you know? That’s how you look at me, and how I look at you.”

He drags you into a chaste kiss and introduces you officially to his squadron. Bradley’s busy pocketing the cash and you know that you’ve just as easily adopted six more aviators, like your husband had and like you had an inkling you would. So much for any more boring nights. You’ll count yourself lucky if you don’t have to post bail for Pete and one or more of the kids ever again. Though you wouldn't bet on it.

I DO NOT CONSENT TO HAVE MY WORK POSTED, TRANSLATED, OR PUBLISHED ON ANY SITES OTHER THAN HERE OR ON AO3 BY ME. IF YOU SEE MY WORKS ANYWHERE OTHER THAN HERE OR AO3, THEN THEY HAVE BEEN POSTED WITHOUT MY PERMISSION AND I WILL BE WORKING TO TAKE THEM DOWN.

Taglist:

@desert-fern 📻 @mayhemmanaged 📻@roostette 📻 @roosterforme 📻 @dakotakazansky 📻 @cassiemitchell 📻 @thedroneranger 📻 @cherrycola27 📻 @chaoticassidy 📻 @genius2050 📻@sarahsmi13s 📻 @lovinglyeternal 📻 @bobby-r2d2-floyd 📻 @roosters-girl 📻 @disturbedbeautywrites 📻

[earlgreytea68]

people have talked on here about their fave peterick songs and my fave and honestly the one I think has the strongest peterick undertone (beyond songs confirmed about patrick) is miss missing you. I feel like I could do a whole line by line analysis about it's relation to them during hiatus, and I don't even necessarily mean in a romantic way. You certainly could look at it a little like missing an ex, but also just missing that person who once knew you best and feeling a bit bitter and getting why you grew apart but also being like "but damn if we weren't really good together once". Between that and the music video it's just so good.

THE FACT THAT THE VIDEO TO GO WITH MISS MISSING YOU IS ALL ABOUT PETE AND PATRICK IS JUST TOO MUCH FOR ANYONE TO DEAL WITH, TBH.

I have long thought that Miss Missing You has a bunch of Patrick-penned lyrics in there: the "hot whiskey eyes" one being possibly the most obvious, but the way the line "I miss missing you" cannot be read as anything but a response to Pete's poem to Patrick with the line "I miss you missing me." The song also always feels to me like half of it was written during the hiatus and has that abandoned feel to it ("Cue all the love to leave my heart / It's time for me to fall apart," "Now you're gone," "The person that you'd take a bullet for is behind the trigger") but it's also got the reconciliation creeping into it (that verse starts out with "you're gone," but by the end of it the flames from the hot whiskey eyes are bringing him back to life, the darkness gets biggest but that's before it gets better, the devotion of "I will sing to you every day if it will take away your pain").

This song isn't about a relationship that fell apart. It's about a relationship that fell apart and revived. "I've heard you've got it so bad, 'cause I am the best you'll never have," but it seems like he's also saying, "You've got me right here": "Give me your filth, make it rough." "Let me trash your love" on surface level sounds like destroying the love, but actually, the idea that the trashing in this context feels like what's wanted, that it's a coming-together. "I see through you when we're sitting in the dark," speaks of such vulnerable intimacy. (I closed my eyes inside your darkness and found your glow.)

I think they want to pretend this song is about a relationship gone bad, but I don't think either one of them could actually write a song like that after they had found their way back to each other. Hence the disjointed double-nature of the lyrics. They use it for the video where Pete and Patrick kill each other, but that is not how Pete and Patrick end in YBC, and it's not really what this song is about, either. It's too them for that.

[mollymarymarie]

Hey hey hi! Ive a very important question because i havent been able to peice it tigether the million times ive read dear your holiness how does sirius' tattoo look like(the one he got pete to do)- yes this is very important lol-cause i cant really imagine it properly but i like the idea of a tattoo that seems as if its held by barely a thread

Hello hi hey friend! The bad news is I cannot draw for shit so I could not possibly sketch it for you, but basically it's a skeleton hand, middle finger raised (with the little red heart on the knuckle) except all the bones are sort of disjointed??? Like they don't quite fit together? And the ribbon around them that says "free from the wicked torment of sin, free from the last fuck I'm handing in" is just kind of sweeping around it, like it's the only thing keeping together??? I'm sorry this description is no better than the one in DYH but I am so shit at drawing, it would be even worse than this description, i promise you

[cybermagusnex]

Critics claiming Disjointed was about "substance abuse" completely missed the entire fuckin point of the show.

It went out of its way to show the many, many different ways cannabis can be and is used, and how it has both pros and cons. It also went out of its way to dissolve the arbitrary moral divides between cannabis users.

Ruth Whitefeather Feldman is a lifelong political activist fighting against legal entrapment and unfair incarceration.

Carter is a war vet with PTSD who eventually uses cannabis to unlock his emotions and deal with his trauma.

Jenny is a former medical student who still wants to help people medicinally, and uses cannabis to do that.

Olivia comes from a rough home life and uses cannabis to deal with her anxiety.

Maria is an extremely stressed suburban mom trying to be better for herself and her kids.

Dank and Dabbie are the "stereotypical" stoners that are constantly high as shit and getting into trouble, but they use cannabis to run a successful online business and draw attention to important issues.

Travis is a successful business owner in the cannabis industry and uses it to deal with anxiety.

Pete is a gifted grower who grew up around it and sees it as an incredibly helpful plant.

Anyone who watched this show and wrote it off as "SuBstAnCe AbuzSe" is willfully ignoring everything it was trying to say.

[ashlingiswriting]

Sugar

Natalie Berzatto x Pete, angst and fluff, pre-canon, 1.8k for @drabbles-mc

After Pete’s first Berzatto Christmas, Natalie sleeps badly all night long, getting up to use the bathroom, pulling covers on or off, batting away half-remembered dreams.

Pete's on his phone for hours into the night, which is unusual for him. Usually she gets to stare at him, just something to do while she can't sleep, but tonight he hides with his phone under the covers so the light won't bother her, and as a result, he's become a soft glow and a lump in the bed, hardly a person to look at. At some point the outside world lightens, the birds start singing, and she's so tired she goes into the sleep of the dead and stays there, solid, until the light is pouring in cloud-whitened but strong through the curtains.

Opening her eyes, she sees the ceiling is white too, and perfect. She pulls the covers up over her shoulders a little more and looks over. Pete's gone. That was pretty much what she expected.

She looks back up at the ceiling and waits for it to hit.

It doesn't.

Okay, she thinks calmly. Weird. She's just lost the best boyfriend she ever had in her life, a goofy guy who loves her like it's his job and his hobby and his life's purpose all rolled into one, and she doesn't feel anything about it. She probes at it like the spot where a tooth got knocked out, tongue to tender gum, and decides that maybe she's run out of emotions. She used them all up yesterday and now they're out of stock.

That's good, she thinks. She can work with that.

She sits up. Across from her, hanging on the wall, is a large red and yellow painting of flowers that they bought together at an art festival. She didn't expect him to agree on it—there's a violence to the colors despite the subject matter, and the style is disjointed, borderline abstract—but he goes along to get along, Pete does, and that peace is so peaceful that she's never really wanted to question it. Don't chew your fingernails, Bear, you're not five anymore.

Pete actually peeks through the door, like a kid trying to get away with something. Then he sees her, and sticks his whole head in. He needs a haircut, she notices absently.

"Hey," he says, a little rueful. "Are you awake? Darn."

Pete is the only man left alive who still says darn unironically, and he's wearing a powder blue sweater vest over a collared shirt in his own apartment on a holiday, and Natalie really would have married him.

"Yeah," she says carefully. "I'm awake." If she stays very still, maybe her insides won't get jostled. Maybe they'll stay asleep, and she'll keep on feeling nothing.

"I see." He comes to stand in the doorway, no more comedy to him, and says, a touch nervously, "So, I've been thinking."

"Yeah, it's okay, Pete," she cuts in. She didn't drink much, but she still got a Christmas hangover. "It's okay."

He smiles, brow furrow, all puzzled. "But how—"

"It's okay, okay?" Her heartbeat is starting to get faster, and that odd thing in her stomach might be nausea. "It's okay, Pete. Just. Just go ahead."

She smiles, which is the worst moment to start feeling, and of so course it's the moment the hurt hits her in the chest.

"Okay," he says, a little befuddled still, but relieved. He leaves. There's some sounds from the kitchen. He's packing up.

.

.

.

Five minutes later, he's back, bearing a tray that he sets down on her bedside table very carefully. Then he sits down beside her, pointing, proud.

"So that's fruit juice, morning mix of orange, pineapple, and a little bit of lemon. That's cinnamon sugar toast with loads of butter. I put it in the toaster oven so it would get all, like, caramelized? And that—" Pete pauses. He clearly cannot think of any ingredient or process details that he can elaborate on. "—That's scrambled eggs," he says. He looks to her, hopeful, but all she can do is look at him, then back at the food.

It occurs to her that Pete is quite possibly not breaking up with her after all.

"Oh, are you allergic to pineapples?" he says, apologetic already.

"No," Nat says slowly. He wouldn't make her breakfast to break up with her, right? Because breakfast is kind, but breakfast in bed right before a breakup, that's deranged. "I'm just—" But isn't everyone deranged? "—I'm just wondering, what made you think of cooking today?"

"Well, I read that book Carmy was talking about," he says, and it's the earnestness that gets to her, the excitement. He's got a spiel all ready, he's ready to dive in.

"Yeah?" she says, a new smile breaking across her face.

“Yeah," he says, even more excited than before, smiling now because she's smiling, and that's it. She launches herself at him, wraps her arms around his neck, holds tight. He holds her like he knows what he's doing, all big enveloping warmth, right hand rubbing her back. He doesn't question it.

“How’d you get it so fast?” she says, half-into his neck.

“Oh, I downloaded the Libby app ages ago. You know, it's like the best of both worlds. You get to support the library, but at the same time it's on your phone, so you don't have to worry about losing a physical copy, and—"

Nat's laughing now, so Pete turns his head a little and kisses her. Aims for her forehead, misses, gets all hair. Kisses her again anyways.

"You okay?" he says.

"Oh, I'm just all weird after last night," she says, peeling herself away a little, wiping her hair and tears out of her eyes in one quick movement. "So what did the book say?"

She knows, from the way he pulls one of the blankets up and around her, that he's caught the tears. But he just puts his arms around her little cocoon and keeps going.

"It's really interesting, actually. A little dense, but not academic. Kind of what you'd expect from Carmy?" He thinks on that for a second, then keeps going. "I couldn't stop thinking about this one part, which was less about cooking and more like this essay on personal history, and how sometimes, if there's something you really can't escape, like a thought or a memory or a person or a place, instead of trying to run away from it, you're better off trying to change the context. And there was a bunch of psychology stuff in there, but I'm not sure I really got all of that. Basically, though, it's about changing associations. Or adding associations."

His left arm still loosely draped around her, he reaches out, all six foot one inches of him straining, and manages to pick up the plate with the buttered cinnamon sugar toast on it. He holds it right under her nose, and she inhales. Her mouth waters.

"So," he says. "Sugar."

Nat gets it immediately.

"Sugar," she says, poking one of her hands out of her blanket cocoon to retrieve a slice.

"Sugar," he repeats, and then he sort of arranges himself against the headboard to be that much more convenient a human recliner, takes his own toast, and crunches away. "I'll run laundry today," he says, as if to pre-empt any comments about crumbs, though she wasn't gonna make them.

The toast is crunchy and decadent, with a surprising little edge of salt mixed in with all the sweetness, and Nat melts into his chest. It's a good silence, a long one, long enough to let all the residual doubts drain away.

.

.

.

Shortly after all the toast is gone, Pete's about to go for the eggs, and she intervenes. She kisses him.

The eggs end up going cold. The sweater vest ends up on the floor.

.

.

.

Some time later, right back where they were, though they're naked this time and sharing the blanket. Nat's staring at the painting again.

"We should get rid of that, right?" she says. "We should get something else. I don't know what I was thinking. It's not very you."

"No, I love it."

She looks up at him. He really is so funny, her man. "No, you don't."

"No, but I love the way you love it. Of all the paintings at the fair, this is the one that you stood and stared at the most. And I remember, you didn't even want to talk to the artist cause you wanted to stare at it for longer. You're so smart," he says, like that's not a non sequitur.

She can't help herself. "But you don't love it."

Pete looks from the painted poppies to Nat.

"I love you," he says. "That's, like, the same thing, right? Kind of like the transitive property in geometry."

Her forehead furrows for a second, and she just keeps looking at him. After a while, she finally says, a little slowly, like she's made a discovery, "My brothers think you're stupid."

"Yeah," he says, with the placid acceptance provided to him as a proprietor of two diplomas, a Chicago Stock Exchange salary, and childhood principally featuring a golden retriever named Noodles.

"Yeah," says Nat. "They're stupid."

Pete only laughs. "Oh, Sugar. They're your brothers."

She tilts her head to the side.

"How was that?"

"Sugar? That was..." Natalie thinks on it, then nods. "Pretty good."

"Didn't fix it," he acknowledges.

"But it was pretty good." She settles back into the crook of his arm and lets the twin comedowns from sugar and sex wash over her, warm and sleepy. She closes her eyes. Another silence, this one even better than the last, absolutely content.

.

.

.

The punchline comes months later, when they're both waiting in the hospital to for the chance to meet Richie's little girl. She was supposed to arrive hours ago. The labor's gone badly, Nat's nerves are shot, Mikey's nowhere to be found, and Richie's pacing the hall clutching an un-smoked cigar like it's a weapon. Donna arrives.

Pete says, going loud so she can hear him over the battling sounds of her mother and the nurse, "Now we just need to figure out how to put an Are You Okay in the toaster oven."

Nat laughs so hard that her mother actually stops arguing with the nurse to turn and look at her, but before she can say anything, Mikey comes sweeping in to say it for her: "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Natalie says. "Nothing." She elbows Pete, who's already spotted it too: Richie making a beeline for the nurse with an unhinged glint in his eye. Pete heaves himself to his feet and prepares to try for an interception, while she does hers without even standing up, throws her arm around Mikey and makes him bend down for his hug.

"Always something going on with you, huh, Sugar," he says. He smells awful, but he hugs just as well as Pete does, and she kisses his bearded cheek.

"Oh yeah," she says, with the placid acceptance provided to her as the proprietor of health insurance, half an apartment, and an engagement ring hanging on a chain around her neck, keeping secret till such a time as it will not upstage Tiff's big day. "That's me."

[igotmyhashpipee]

meme :3

[malewifejay]

hot take: they should’ve waited to release season three so we’d have more episodes. the whole thing feels wonky, rushed, and disjointed. i know why that happened, it was a result of the strikes and im glad the strikes happened, i would just rather have a better season even if it meant waiting longer. if that makes sense

this season could’ve been so great! i can tell from what we got it would’ve been my favorite season, but it was done dirty :/ like the whole arc of pete being able to leave the property, isaac and nigel’s engagement, the whole “puritan ghost being trapped underground” thing (which felt dumb the way it played out, due to the length of the season). and we could’ve explored more of like ,, the impact of flower’s absence for the first several episodes. also carol being a ghost ?? hello??? like we got a little bit of her and pete interacting but man… there should be more !!!! we needed more from this season man

ALSO WHEN ARE WE GETTING MORE SCENES WITH SASAPPIS AND JAY NOW THAT SAS’S GHOST POWER HAS BEEN REVEALED ?? LIKE. BRUH

idk i just cant help but feel like we got cheated, ya know?

like i said, im glad the strikes happened, i just think they should’ve waited to do the season three episodes so we could have a full season

[absolutebl]

There was a surprising amount of sex in Be Mine Superstar! I really wasn’t expecting it…. Similarly, Love Syndrome had a LOT less sex than I was promised by the trailer…

Are there any BLs that had either many more or many less NC scenes than you were expecting before you started watching them?

BLs that exceeded (or underperformed) sexy expectations

Interesting question. So far, not that many Thai BLs. But I think that's just because I pay attention to the pairs and the actors in Thai stuff, and you sort of get a feel for what they will (and won't) take on. So in your examples: I know JaFirst did high heat so I expected the producers to lean into that advantage as part of BMSS because, frankly, it didn't have much else going for it.

I haven't watched Love Syndrome III yet but knowing Frank I wouldn't expect it to go super high heat in terms of actual physical contact.

I guess the ones that have surprised me are mostly out of Thailand are pulps that I knew nothing about going in. Let me see...

Thai BL that ended up being way hornier/better than I expected

Secret Crush On You - such a weird show but BillySeng brought IT, whatever IT is, they got it.

Love in Translation - yeah, what happened in that sauce isle boys? Very saucy. Whatever pun, more please.

2 Moons 3 - about on par with ForthBeam from 2 Moons 2 but nothing else in the previous 2 series would lead one to expect the horny we got in this show on the main.

Second Chance - yeah it was a throw away pulp and this studio is hit or miss on chemistry but it had one of the best kisses of its year.

Big Dragon - I don't know what I expected form the trailers, but it wasn't as good as it turned out to be. Don't get me wrong, the rest of the show is naff, but the chemistry/heat levels are scorching.

Ghost Host, Ghost House - generally the horror stuff doesn't do chemistry well, but these two have some of the best chemistry EVER put into a pulp. I really hope we see more of them.

KinnPorsche - It's no secret I'm not as wild about this show as most, but I did think the VegasPete stuff was unexpectedly killer in all ways.

Oh My Sunshine Night - yeah it was exactly what one expects from OhmFluke but THE SIDES!!!! I mean... WHAT? I'm not mad, just pleasantly surprised.

TharnType - Okay but remember at the time what we'd had from Mame was LBC (relatively low heat) and other Thai stuff I was familiar with at the time was Make It Right, Love Sick, SOTUS, and UWMA. TT was way higher heat that I'd seen from Thailand before. And then...

Why R U? - ZeeSaint's "away trip to the beach" full on sex scenes plus repping for verse was just crazy at the time. Especially since Saint played Pete in LBC before this and Zee was new to BL. Add that to the very odd and disjointed (and miss-matched) SaifahZon counter story and WRU? was this insane all over the place viewing experience, including the heat levels. There was this "what will they do next?" kind of tension over the production. Not the story (because who was following that?) but the PRODUCTION. At the time, it was welcome, but truly bonkers. What a way to drive narrative tension... pure high heat chaos.

Thai BLs where chemistry failed meet my (relatively low) expectations

My Ride - honestly, if they had just gotten the kiss right this might even have earned a 10/10 from me

Unforgotten Night - ugh

Bite Me - double ugh

Friend Forever - I know I'm the only person who watched this but why could we not have gotten ONE kiss from the leads?

Nitman - studies have since shown us it is entirely not Noh's fault... see Oh My Sunshine Night

Wedding Plan - the leads were fine, but Mame usually fails me in every way except chemistry, so "fine" is not up to her usual standards. Those standards being predominantly "they hawt together" and nothing else. There wasn't even a side dish couple to pick up the slack noodle... so to speak.

Korean BL

For most of 2022 I was consistently getting surprised by Korean BL's chemsitry when it was good but now I've settled into half expecting it yet still being delighted when it happens and is well done.

I do think Semantic Error was a bit of a seed change for them.

The problem is, now we know they can do it, we are starting to get pissed when it's bad or entirely absent.

Taiwanese BL

Taiwan is the opposite of Korea.

I expect good chemistry and almost always always get it. I struggle to think of a time when they've disappointed me (in this arena). Maybe a few? But I tend to cut Taiwan more slack than other countries because they have so few BLs and they are generally so consistent. If they falter at all, at least the side couple will pick up the slack.

Japanese BL

I have no expectations of Japan. Life as a BL fan is a lot easier that way.

(source)

[musecraft]

alright ! i've had a full 24+ hours to Process — which may have involved a bottle of prosecco ( i don't drink btw ) & going through a few waves of tears — & i'm here ready to talk about the finale. of.md spoilers below the cut, obviously !

some things i actually did like ( a short list ) :

the plot on paper. the beats of a good story were there but it was so rushed through & poorly executed that it just felt messy, unearned, slapped together.

ed thinking stede is dead & disassociating so hard he goes on a rampage & murders several of the soldiers in very sexy ways, ie: bayonet flip. also ed coming out of the ocean like aphrodite, ready to murder in his black leather. slay.

jim & archie kissing Like That before going to battle. also jim throwing knives from in the trees. very hot, powerful trans energy there, i really enjoyed it.

unfortunately everyone on the crew looked very sexy in stolen navy uniforms.

spanish "you best believe everyone in this household is poison trained" jackie.

zheng existing ( i would like to formally request a whole show about her )

stede yelling 'for love !' when attacking the british. romantic stede my beloved.

most of izzy's main dialogue — especially telling ricky that what really matters about piracy is belonging to something in a world that has told you that you are worth nothing. & yes, even most of of his conversation with ed. izzy telling him it's ok to just be ed ? killed me. & blackbeard was both of us ? don't even. i did want him to apologize to ed properly & am still glad that he did but be careful what you ask your god for am i right.

the final panning shot of the crew on the revenge. beautiful shot despite it all.

issues i had ( a longer list ) :

the editing ? why so many harsh cuts ? the way it was spliced together only contributed to the chaotic & disjointed feeling. & of course, the pacing. i think these two issues are connected & probably not the fault of the writers themselves. the show clearly really needed all 10 episodes to do what it really wanted to do, & this finale is just begging for that lost hour of screentime.

it wasn't even a good fuckery lol.

i wish lucius & pete's wedding had been... idk, just more. something more akin to calypso's birthday, a proper celebration for them. i also wish they would have given an indication they're still poly. "i now pronounce you mateys" was good tho.

ed apologizing & saying i love you & stede not doing either one in return. stede not being sappy in his irl fantasy ? impossible, im really confused by that choice.

0 resolution for stede's entire arc ? 0 indication of self reflection on his part ? & thus no resolution for the primary conflict of the show's central relationship ? they didn't even talk about their future, it just cut to them standing there & stede saying "so i guess we're innkeepers now" as if that's all he would have had to say about that ? i know that this show handwaves away a lot of things, like travel times & the realities of sailing, but i thought the story was literally about this relationship, & we don't get to see them decide on what their future together will look like. it's framed as stede just kinda going along with ed's latest whim ( since you know, they've always worked out soooo well for him in the past ) even though it's the exact opposite of what he's been moving towards personally lately, all without even saying a word about it ? i'm not even saying that i don't like this ending, but it just again felt so unearned.

very little actual resolution for ed's arc. his whole deal this season was about deciding who he wants to be, but he flip flops every time something doesn't go his way & the episode gave us no reason to think that would be different now with their inn. also he just killed a bunch of soldiers after having serious trauma surrounding the act of killing throughout the entire series, but i guess we're just supposed to believe that's ok, he's totally fine, he's an innkeeper now ! (will say more on this topic in the final section.)

poly things not being handled well or outright forgotten about. like olu / jim / archie / zheng has all the potential in the world for a beautiful poly love story & we barely got to see them interact together at all. & to think i was all :eyes: when izzy was dubbed the unicorn because i actually thought for a few episodes there that they might be doing the same thing for polyamory in s2 that they had done for queerness in s1, showing the audience that it's ok to see ourselves in stories & not just on the fringes, we're not stupid or freaks reading into something that isn't there. but turns out, it wasn't there, & i was the freak & the clown all along. live & learn.

the elephant in the room ( rip izzy you beautiful freak ) :

here's the thing. obviously i was never going to be happy that they killed my most favoritest old man. the fact that he's dead just when he found something real to live for is literally heartbreaking to me. but i could have swallowed it as a natural & important part of the narrative if one small thing was done differently: izzy could have had an actual sacrifice. & not for ed, but for the crew. after his speech about living for the crew, him choosing to act in a way that compromised his safety but earned their freedom would have felt like a completion of his arc. but instead it was a stray bullet to the left side which he earned in stede's so-called suicide mission ( don't even get me started on that line given where izzy started this season ), an injury which the show has told us previously is 100% survivable.

in the crew sacrifice scenario izzy could have acted as the symbol of piracy itself, a way of life that is dying. he is, after all, The Pirate (aside from blackbeard himself) on the show. & he has a history of letting shit slide that kinda doesn't align with the way of life they're trying to build on the revenge, not just in s1 but also in the scene with lucius in s2 ("& you? are you happy with all this?" "well, this is a pirate ship, & i'm a pirate so... yeah, i'm good with it.") ricky says they are at "the end of piracy" & izzy is the last REAL pirate (including ed because at this point as he is moving away from that life). & as izzy himself says in s1, "the only retirement we get is death." izzy also shows pretty intense self-preservation, & most of his shitty actions in s1 are motivated by often misplaced survival instincts, ("i'm not dying. not for you & not for that ponce,") so having him go against this longstanding character trait to protect the crew would have felt earned after his dramatic growth. it could have worked. it still would have hurt, but it could have worked.

instead, the way it is actually framed, the narrative actively robs izzy of this symbolism & instead makes his death entirely about ed & ed's relationship to piracy. having him die in a random incident & then having his death scene be followed up by ed finally "officially" (for the third time) giving up piracy honestly flattens everything i find interesting about them as characters & their dynamic to each other.

ed & izzy have very clearly been in clearly a mutually toxic codependent relationship (platonic or otherwise) for decades, but the framing of izzy's death being the only thing that can free ed from piracy (& blackbeard) turns izzy from a complex character of his own into a 2-dimensional plot device. & if izzy truly couldn't exist without blackbeard, then it would make sense — but we've just seen that he can, actually ! that he is a person outside of that relationship, despite what he himself thought for most of his life ! that they can both exist outside of them, & there is a very real possibility that neither of them actually need blackbeard anymore. so instead his death feels cruel to me. & because we know this is the show where injuries simply don't matter unless we need them to, we know that this was a conscious choice, that the writers genuinely felt he had to die for the story (ed's story) to continue.

& you know, that's fair on some level. he's the lead after all. but i also think this framing is actually kind of reductive to ed's character ! i don't write ed, but part of what makes him so compelling to me is that he is... kinda a "bad person," but he wants to be better. he's extremely complex. he has trauma & big feelings & he doesn't always act on them in the right way. & he feels guilt & remorse — he knows he has done wrong in the past & wants to be better, even if he doesn't always know how. & izzy has admittedly been an obstacle to him reaching that end in the past, but to frame it as if ed's actions were because of izzy, & actually izzy was making ed be blackbeard & manipulating him into doing bad things that he didn't really want to do, then i guess now that izzy is dead ed is free to skip off into the sunset happily ever after with his man ! the bad influence in his life finally gone, so he is all healed ! never mind that his most recent return to piracy & killing spree as blackbeard had literally nothing to do with izzy & everything to do with thinking he'd lost stede again. never mind that ed's trauma has its roots in things that happened to him before izzy (his father) & things that also happened to izzy (hornigold). nope, izzy was the real shackle all along. he has to die so ed can be free, & he only ever existed solely to develop ed's pain. that's what this narrative feels like. & i just... don't like the taste of it on any level. izzy says himself that blackbeard was both of them. so why does izzy have to die while ed gets to move on, given they both have shown the capacity to do so ?

the bit that i think i like least about how it's executed is izzy saying "i want to go," especially considering how he & ed are both shown to be actively suicidal in the opening of the season, & he has since started to regain his self confidence from that lowest point. & maybe that line could be read as him just trying to soothe ed in the moment, but idk, it rubbed me the wrong way for him to say he still wanted to die when in fact he had just found something he actually wanted to live for.

so ! i think that's all i have to say about that ! if you've made it this far, thanks for reading ! i'll be working today on writing up a basic canon divergence for both stede & izzy, since i don't like how either of them ended the season out. sorry, but stede's simply not ready to give up pirating just yet, even for ed. & in my head, izzy is fine because he was shot on the left side & "science" tells us there's nothing important in that half of the body anyway. : )

[inquisitiveheretic]

for the fic commentary, could you do any passage of your choosing for hook, line, and sinker? i don't have anything specific in mind but i'm really fascinated by the language in that series and would love to hear you talk about it!

hm .. picked this bit from the most recent installment because i felt particularly satisfied w the effect while writing it:

this series is a delicate thing, cuz it's so deeply personal and the ideas/experiences that its gesturing at are very specific but very murky. one thing im aiming for is a sense of remove, some feeling of distance between the character + the events — my go-to way of doing that is describing sensory details not to bolster but to replace most discussion of feelings/thoughts, while tailoring those details to evoke a kind of restlessness n discomfort that's impossible to articulate directly (the darkness thickens around him, the spoon is gummy between his teeth, etc). i think there's often a disjoint w domestic spaces, particularly of your own (which isnt really your own) when you're a teenager, and that's at play here too. feeling the wrong size, or the wrong age, or in the wrong place or time, and all these little moments kind of scrape against you while being numbingly familiar at the same time

most of what actually happens in this series isn't talked about directly. blunt, simple descriptions of actions/events give the impression of objective observations so the things that Aren't Talked About are further obscured. there's a lot of dissociation here, he's often dislocated from his body, he slips out of his head, he's aware of things happening but they're often blurry or far away. only specific details stick. i also try to bring up pete at regular but random intervals, because he's sort of lurking around patrick's head all the time! sorry that last sentence was the only concrete thing i said thru this whole response ... my thinking around this fic is more abstract than most of my other work due to the nature of the unsayable at its core ....... im sort of trying to capture my own inability to articulate things thru the character's same inability (and perhaps refusal). idk

[love-bokumono-fics]

Fresh Crops! July 17 - July 23, 2023

This week's newest fics and chapter updates for Harvest Moon and Story of Seasons on AO3!

I Don't Cook, I Don't Clean, But Let Me Tell You How I Got This Ring - by CamTheYaoiFan; Complete, 1/1, 3k

Rating: Explicit; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: M/M Fandoms: A Wonderful Life Relationship: Pete | Jack/Rock; Characters: Pete | Jack, Rock Additional Tags: **NOTE: Some tags have been removed to make the post Safe for Tumblr. Please see all tags on AO3** Trans Male Character, Vaginal Sex, Table Sex Summary: After a long day of farm work, Jack can't expect to come home to a clean house or a hot meal, but at least he gets a treat from Rock.

The Wall Between Us - by Skullygal610; WIP, 14/22, 15k

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: F/M Fandom: Trio of Towns Relationships: Female Farmer/Wayne, Female Farmer/Ex-boyfriend; Characters: Wayne, Female Farmer Additional Tags: Adopted, farmer - Freeform, Hurt, Love, Unrequited Love, relationships, Denial of Feelings, Fanfiction, Parents, friends - Freeform, Guilt Summary: It all started with a rejection. Scarlett can't seem to get over the loss of her best friend since she rejected his confession of love. Already dealing with her own self-worth and feelings while keeping up with daily life, things soon become difficult when a familiar face from the past comes back to haunt her. Wayne struggles to let go of the only girl he loved. However, things never go the way he plans. His parents are across the world without him. Friends are constantly concerned about his well-being. He wants to change, yet she keeps pulling him back. Can they ever hope to rekindle their long-lost friendship, or will it become something more?

Stone Butch, High Femme - by Whybe123; WIP, 5/13, 11k

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: F/F Fandoms: A Wonderful Life Relationship: Muffy | Muumuu/Nami; Characters: Muffy, Nami, Lumina Additional Tags: Drabbles, One-Shots, Sapphic, I'll revive the harvest moon fandom myself if i have to, and im going to make it gay if i do it, Lesbians, wlw, Mutual Pining, Mild Angst, hurt comfort, Small Towns, Dating, Fluff, ALL THE FLUFF Summary: In light of Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life getting a remaster, I was faced with an obvious task; I gotta make this gayer. Enjoy the following disjointed collection of Muffy/Molly and Nami clumsily falling in love in that sleepy little valley we all came to love.

I'm Not Embarrassed to Love You - by TheHiddenStashOfFiction; WIP, 1/?, 2.1k

Rating: Mature; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: F/F Fandoms: A Wonderful Life Relationship: Celia | Seperia/Pony | Aya | Jill; Characters: Celia | Seperia, Pony | Aya | Jill, Takakura, Vesta, Marlin | Mash Additional Tags: Diapers, Romance Summary: After an embarrassing incident that reveals that Cecilia wears diapers, Maya reveals that Cecilia isn't the only one, and tries to prove to her that this won't be a roadblock towards their blooming relationship.

Butler Service - by Thefallen1986; Complete, 1/1, <1k

Rating: Explicit; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: F/M Fandoms: A Wonderful Life Relationship: Sebastian/Lumina; Characters: Sebastian, Lumina Additional Tags: **NOTE: Some tags have been removed to make the post Safe for Tumblr. Please see all tags on AO3** Older Man/Younger Woman, Butlers Summary: Lumina has Sebastian give her some service.

I Love You, I Truly Mean It - by rainbowcoral; WIP, 1/?, 2.1k

Rating: General Audiences; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: F/F Fandoms: Trio of Towns Relationships: Female Farmer/Lisette; Characters: Female Farmer, Lisette Additional Tags: Love Confessions, LGBTQ Female Character, Declarations Of Love, First Love, Romance, Sweet, Healthy Relationships, Love Summary: Holly doesn't love Lisette as a friend. She loves her, but she loves her romantically. Lisette loves fairy tales, and she wants to be loved as if she were a princess. To Lisette's surprise, Holly loves to listen to her talk about fairy tales.

The Language of Flowers - by spoopybat; WIP, 73/?, 176k

Rating: Explicit; Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply; Category: F/M Fandoms: The Tale of Two Towns Relationships: Cam | Kamil/Lillian the Farmer | Sato, Chelsea/Vaughn | Waltz Additional Tags: **NOTE: Some tags have been removed to make the post Safe for Tumblr. Please see all tags on AO3** Tags Contain Spoilers, POV Alternating, Background Relationships, Starting Over, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Friendship, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Minor Character Death, Background Character Death, Minor Violence, Minor Injuries, Physical Abuse, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Socially Awkward Characters, Cliche, Mutual Pining, Awkwardness, Awkward Flirting, Emotional Baggage, References to Depression, Dysfunctional Family, Melodrama, Family Drama, First Love, First Relationship, Sharing a Bed, Loss of Virginity, First Time, Vaginal Sex, Morning After, Morning Cuddles, Morning Sex, Christmas, Domestic Fluff, Kitchen Sex, Unplanned Pregnancy, Pregnancy, Morning Sickness, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Constipation, Arguing, Medical Conditions, Medical inaccuracies but I'm gonna do my best, Panic Attacks, Engagement, Couch Sex, Wedding Planning, Wedding Fluff, Weddings, Honeymoon, Body Worship, Making Love, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Mental Anguish, Spa Treatments, Fights, Making Up, Mental Health Issues, Depression, Language of Flowers, Emotional reunion, Reunion Sex, Pregnant Sex, Therapy Summary: Lillian, a young woman from the Sunshine Islands, left her home and moved to Bluebell. In hopes that moving to this rural farm town to escape her troubled past and find the happy life she had always wanted.