#thank you for asking buddy I love you

[chaosandwolves]

Hello lovelies

I was lucky enough to snatch a commission from @bucksketch

This is something that has been on my mind for so long and I could finally ask one of my fav artists to bring this to life

Everyone,

The Stucky Buddie AU

There is no fic (yet)

But I think they fit them so well

Buck with his trying to save everyone, trying to always do the right thing, burning down the world for his loved ones

Eddie with all the trauma that hardened him on the outside at first glance but he'll do everything for the ones he loves

Buck with the whole transformation he goes through while the core of his heart never changes

Eddie with all that grief but slowly making his way through healing

The friends to lovers

The always having each other's backs

The saving each other

Yeah I love them all

[thatbuddie]

I'm sorry but Eddie would NOT respond to bpreg like that... he'd be telling Buck like "haha Buck it was so weird, we were a couple, and you were pregnant with my baby... I think it's because you were a sperm donor once anyway I WOULD donate my sperm to you any day if you just asked. If you could get pregnant, of course." And Buck nods and says "yeah if I could get pregnant I'd want to have YOUR kid not anybody else's even if I was in a relationship with someone else." And then they stare at each other and smile and fist bump because they're BROS.

ANON KSKSKSKSKSKS STOP “i would donate sperm to you if you could get pregnant” HELP ME

YOU’RE SO RIGHT

this really makes me want to write a fic where buck CAN get pregnant and he DOES WANT to get pregnant and eddie really offers his sperm because he wants to help his best friend be a dad like he’s always dreamed of, right? and anyways, “we already know we’re good co-parents so i could help you with this baby, too. as best friends.” and buck immediately says yes because a baby is already amazing but having his best friend’s baby? absolutely perfect!

and then when they’re in the middle of planning how the sperm donation will go buck says something about how much easier it would be if they could just do it the old fashioned way. and eddie says, “i mean… we could… it really would be easier. and we’re best friends right? there is nothing we can’t share.”

so buck and eddie fuck as best friends!!! and buck gets pregnant with his best friend’s baby!!! YAY!!!!!

[ethosiab]

TANGTHO!!

could i mayhaps get a cubfan?

hope you’re having a lovely day!

god???

[vote for tangtho in this poll and ill draw something for you!]

[eddiediazenjoyer]

thinking about post established buddie conceptions of shannon makes me CRAZYYYYYY like we always talk about shannon and eddie being in the hole Together and how her asking for a divorce was her getting out and leaving eddie in it. but. crucially. she didn't actually get out of the hole bc she died. so in this world where buddie finally get together and eddie gets Out. where does that leave shannon? now he's the one leaving her in the hole as he gets out. bc she will forever be trapped on her way out of the hole. so close, but still in it. she didn't get to have ANYTHING, and eddie, bc he's the one who survived, gets to have everything. and she didn't even get to get a divorce. eddie gets to have it all, their son, a real, true love, a family-- an entire life and shannon is stuck forever asking for a divorce from a man who compared their marriage to falling into a vat of chocolate and slowly sinking to death. and he got to get out and learn what love and life should actually look like. but she never did. and i think eddie would hate himself for this

[dailyinkk]

Okay, we get it. But this is actually getting kinda of annoying ngl (i voted for geno too btw)

[eddieisinlove]

For a November prompt: what about Buck and Eddie taking a hike on a crisp autumn morning and stealing a first kiss?

Thank you for your request! I hope you like what I came up with :)

Eddie enjoyed the occasional hike, so when Buck proposed to take him to his favorite hiking spot, he agreed immediately. They woke up on a sunny Saturday, dropped off Christopher at the Wilson's and drove to the hiking path. It was early November. The air smelled like earth and fallen leaves. Buck and Eddie started hiking, the conversation flowing naturally, like it always did. They never seemed to run out of subjects. "Ta-daa!!", Buck exclaimed in a very Buck way when they reached a plateau. The view of LA was amazing. A comfortable silence lay between them. Eddie looked out towards the city and thought about his life. This was the kind of morning he'd always wished for, just enjoying an activity with someone- -with someone he loved keeping him company. The kind of morning he always wished he could have had with Shannon but never got the chance to. The kind of thing he had with Buck. The realization blew over him like the soft breeze ruffling his hair. Buck put a tentative hand on his shoulder. "There's actually a reason i brought you here.", he said. Eddie turned to him. "What we have", Buck continued, "Means more than a friendship to me." Eddie's heart started beating faster. He wondered how he hadn't noticed how much he loved Buck until now. He could feel it everywhere. "It means more to me too", he whispered, the words refusing to form any louder. The day was still early when they kissed for the first time, a promise to hold on to each other forever.

[lanlishiba]

Hiya Dull, you are v. Cute!

I would love to gift you a fluffy plush bee :3 Hope you have a lovely day~✨

Aww he loves it!! Tyyy!!

[lynnbutlertron]

hii sorry im too nervous to comment but i just wanted to say youre doing gods work with your globox and rayman art and youre so right, it makes zero sense that theres little to no content of them together 💔

OH ANON THANK YOU SERIOUSLY. I AM SO GLAD YOU SAY THAT BECAUSE im new to rayman and upon realising that i am genuinely the first person to take them seriously i thought there was like. a reason no one shipped them. like i was overstepping some evil line in the rayman fandom and the rayman fans were going to come get me in my sleep or smthing.

SO THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!! i just think theyre silly to be honest and playing rayman with my buddy and watching rayman content is so much more enjoyable with the raybox lens on. im really enjoying getting into these games and learning more so expect more art of them once i learn more !!!!!!!!!!!

Here just for u anon a doodle i forgot to post!!!!^__^

[littencloud9]

kunichuu + "you're not winning"

hehehe hii!! the sillies ever

"You're not winning," Kunikida mutters under his breath. Unfortunately, Chuuya hears him, and they squawk indignantly. "What the hell kind of boyfriend are you!" From the other end of the table, Yosano holds a glass of wine, swirling it around. She watches them with a confident smirk. Her lips are stained red. "You're a lightweight, sweetheart," Kunikida sighs. "You can't defeat Yosano-sensei in a drinking game. I don't think you can defeat anyone, to be ho—" He's interrupted by Chuuya tugging on his ribbon, dragging him roughly. Before Kunikida can say anything else, he's silenced with a fierce kiss. Yosano makes a gagging noise that goes ignored. When they separate, Chuuya has a fire blazing in their eyes. Kunikida should've known better than to say they cannot do something, because now, Chuuya will do absolutely everything to prove him wrong. Even if it means passing out in the process. He shakes his head. How did he fall in love with such an idiot? "If I win," Chuuya begins, poking their finger to Kunikida's chest, "you will let me do whatever I want. For... for a week!" He holds back a laugh. "Sure. I'll even let you blow up Dazai's dorm." "Fuck yes!" Chuuya pours themself a glass of wine, raising it to Yosano. "Bring it on." Yosano grins, clinking their glasses together. "Of course." Chuuya ends up passing out after three glasses. Kunikida expected nothing else.

[pigeonxp]

I do not think there’d be EddieTmmy lovers the way there is for BT, just my thoughts when I thought about it for a while but I think the racism would play out differently: “Eddie as horrible for not seeing poor baby uwu Buck” vs “ew racist Tmmy Eddie get better standards Bucks right there” type of vibes, I think they’d still be shitting on Eddie in defence of Buck and making Buck out to a poor pure baby who is too good for Eddie anyway

u are actually so right and u should say it louder. the amount of hate towards eddie is ever increasing, and in general there is nothing the narrative can do to make people stop hating on him, just like how there is almost nothing that it can do for people to stop the "buck can do no wrong" perspective. there is no right way to move, because every direction leads back to eddie hate. its unwinnable and this should be studied more i fear.

[moeblob]

Oh that's a dwagon! (they're so cute!)

Siblings that hoot and holler together, stay together. (thank you so much!! I love these silly lil kids)

[mazzystar24]

I've been thinking that this 911 Verigo AU will be canon divergence. Kim will have an accident, but she will be saved by Eddie, and it will be a closure for Eddie's grief. And unlike in the movie (if it's true that Buck is the ex fiance who has unrequited feelings for the MC), Eddie realises that he is in love with Buck.

Stop cos why is that such a good idea like sorta Eddie’s opportunity to save Shannon and kinda parallel that and kinda building on that theme of like reliving and fixing the ending (presumably) of traumas because we also have bobby with amir wanting him to understand how he felt - but tbh I have mixed feelings on that cos I think Eddie more so needs to realise that Kim isn’t Shannon and that he needs to let Shannon go as well as the romanticisation of their relationship

I have been loving the idea of them kinda giving us confirmation of feelings on either (or both) side (s) by the end of this and then going into confirmed slow burn mode

[twig-tea]

Rose's Day of Asks

Top 5 beach day scenes.

Have a great Day💜

Rose ILU this Day of Asks is supercute and also I love how you've tailored this ask to my personal interests and inability to limit myself to five choices!

Beach scenes are all about that transition, from one phase in a relationship (usually not-yet-a-relationship) to another. A good beach scene uses the beach as a metaphor even as it also highlights the beauty (and intensity) of the ocean. The ocean is for contemplating things bigger than we are, and helping us to feel humble. And the beach is a place for raw honesty.

With that in mind, there are so many to choose from because most directors get this instinctively! So I'm going with my heart and the scenes that came to me first (and ngl, that have the best gifs):

His: I Didn't Think I Could Fall in Love

I love this scene so much; the intensity in this hug is everything to me. These two kids are both so terrified of being in love with one another, and both so relieved they don't have to lose this connection they found. The ocean being the thing that first brought them together (via Shun falling in and losing his keys lol) is now looming in front of them as the thing that will separate them for a time (because they met on an island). It's not a typical beach day scene, but it's the first one I think of because of how hard this scene hits me every time. And of course I love thinking about it in the context of the very different rocky lakeside beach in the sequel film.

The Eighth Sense

The ocean was (again) what brought them together, and was also a source of trauma in the past for them both; the exchanges "why did you kiss me?" "to get past your trauma...why did you kiss me?" "to give you trauma" was iconic even before it became Too Real. I love how the ocean is a looming presence in this entire story; the trauma from both of their childhoods looms even on campus, it's there as a soundtrack to their vulnerable conversations, and of course it's in the background of their first sexual encounter. When Ji Hyun acts out the 'two steps forward one step back' with Jae Won before Jae Won finally breaks and admits he wants to be with Ji Hyun, that movement is like a wave relentlessly washing up on shore. Anyway! This entire series is an ocean scene to me.

Blueming

SiWoon's first kiss by the water going so poorly, the brief sulk, and then DaUn initiating this re-do moment?! Whew. In terms of standard "beach scene" fare, this ranks highly at the top for me because of the second take at a first kiss. I love a realistic 'oh wait it's my first time so I'm actually not very good at it' moment. This also comes after the first time they've really talked and listened to one another; plus it comes with a bonus "blinding light of love" visual. Love it.

Until We Meet Again

Is there anything more iconic than this scene? The double confession; the flirting; the lift; playing in the water; the kiss. These two were so desperate for an escape and this scene was real catharsis. And of course this dialogue; Intouch insisting that in order to get through what is to come, they'll need each other. Heartbreaking considering we know what they both do not long after this. It becomes almost a curse for their reincarnated lives--you won't be happy until you have me with you. AND THEN WE GET THE PROPOSAL SCENE that perfectly parallels this one, between Dean and Pharm in Between Us the series. The only thing I love more than a beach scene is a beach parallel. Speaking of which....

Last Twilight in Phuket

How do I choose only one beach scene from this set of shows? There are so many; I love all of them so much. So many from ITSAY: The hammock scene; the scene on Their Beach where Teh and Oh-Aew play the most tension-filled game of chase I've ever seen; the float and underwater kiss; the post-kiss blow-up; the conversation they have when Teh first reappears in Oh's life and Oh says he isn't sure he can be close to Teh again (!)...and then of course in IPYTM the scene where they reunite and agree to try again. But I'm going with LTIP because of all the symbolism they wrapped up in this scene. Teh and Oh-Aew try to go to their beach but it's closed, they need to instead go to the public beach, and so their goodbye is imperfect. We get to see the way they are both so much more comfortable being in pubilc and visibly together than they were in I Told Sunset About You--this is something they both had to work on for different reasons. They're both struggling with having to say goodbye, because they'll be going to different universities. They also know they're leaving Phuket and they talk about how by the time they come back, Phuket will have changed. This moment at the beach bridges their childhood and adulthood, and is so symbolic of life as ever-changing and those changes being impossible to stop.

Gameboys the movie

Speaking of beach scenes that aren't about getting together; this was a particularly good moment because it was not about establishing their relationship it was about reaffirming it/cementing the strength of their bond in the face of separation. I loved that they go out there ostensibly to spend time together and get away from the crowded house but it's also a way for them to have the scary looming conversation about separation. I love so much how good this show is about real conversations, and this one felt so real. The way they talked about not holding one another back, and how they could make it long distance, and what that would look like for them in future...it made me so happy. Gav and Cai looking at the possibility of long distance as doable and not an immediate obvious need to break up was such a breath of fresh air after so many noble idiot plots that all rely on the assumption that long distance is not doable. ANYWAY also this scene is just really pretty.

Life~Love on the Line

This one is so interesting because it was the moment Ito convinced himself he couldn't stay with Nishi. Technically this is the morning-after-the-beach-day but I'm counting it because it's such a unique version of the beach day; in this case, the truth Ito thought he was facing was that he and Nishi had no future--rather than seeing the blinding light of love for what it is facing his own fears head on, he closed his eyes and embraced them, and ruined years of their lives. This scene is an important reminder that the beach is not an infallible relationship panacea! It is your (the character's) responsibility to bring the right energy to it or it may lead you astray.

Bad Buddy

Pat and Pran at the eco-village finally with a moment to themselves, admitting to one another that they feel most free when they're together. This is the first time they acknowledge to one another that the situation they're in is bullshit; that they actually do like one another's company, and that maybe there is a possibility that this thing could actually work between them, if they try for it. I loved this scene so much as a turning point for them, and the way it keeps pulling in and out so we get these close-ups of Pat and Pran, and then the camera pulls away and we see how small they are. The perspective in this moment is so important. As is the hand touch (whew).

Theory of Love

This is one of my favourite twists on the beach scene: Khai goes to the beach alone because he has to figure himself out. He's not at the stage where he's ready to have an honest conversation with Third yet, first he needs to have an honest conversation with himself and realize his own feelings. He has a good, open conversation with someone he hurt in the past in order to figure himself out in the present and pave way for his future with Third. And then we get the bestie trip when all of them go together, which was delightful.

Bonus gif because I don't have enough shots of group friend trips in this list and it's so important to me that after this solo trip Kai comes back with everyone:

Your Name Engraved Herein

This beach scene is crushingly painful. Birdy and Jia Han go as far as they can to scream their frustrations into the sea, have a moment of freedom, but with the knowledge they can't have any more than this and will be saying goodbye afterwards. It's the most devastating truth of all of these faced at the beach: They can't be together in this time and place.

Bed Friend

The silhouettes are iconic; I love the way body language was used for these shots. And the way it felt like King was finally, slowly getting Uea to see him as a dating prospect in these moments? Really beautifully done.

Be My Favorite

Including this scene because it is one of the few beach scenes that leads to a rejection (of course the show then fixes this later with a parallel scene at the end, my beloved). I loved this anti-beach moment; rather than going to the beach to face hard truths, Pisaeng (and then following him, Kawi) went to the beach to hide from the truth. But the beach doesn't work that way and Kawi had to face hard truths after all, including the truth that in this universe he ends up losing Pisaeng from his life entirely because of the way he treated him. The line "you want to get in the water but are afraid of getting wet?" from Pisaeng to Kawi was so heavily loaded with meaning. Perfection.

The Day I Loved You

This was such a beautiful gesture, especially from a high school boy. Including this as an iconic beach scene because it both does what a beach scene should do (get the characters to face hard truths, be honest, and progress in their relationship) and was intentionally meant to invoke a trip to the ocean (they're freediving!) at home for Nikko so I don't even feel like it's cheating.

Night Dream

The show wasn't perfect but the way they paced the reveals about their past with the flashbacks was good storytelling and the tension in this beach scene was palpable over several episodes!

The Eclipse

This conversation between Akk and Ayan made me cry. The entire sequence, driving out with Ayan as an interloper, hiding from the The World Remembers crew and their boyfriends, Ayan being so worried about Akk because he is so on alert for suicidality, and Akk just doesn't know how to face any of it. Ayan telling Akk "you're allowed to be weak" broke me. Luckily the beach is here to help facilitate personal growth. [Also have to shout out again the reciprocal beach scene where Akk then says the same thing back to Ayan, my beloved]

Love Sick

I love them your honour. AUGH. Honestly, the Love Sick scene that always comes to mind is the night before this when Noh is dancing on the stage whipping his hoodie around his head and Pun is watching him fondly, but this moment afterward in the quiet of the morning, when they've agreed to have just this moment of truth by the sea and then go back to their lives, is so beautiful (especially your gif of it Rose!). This is another melancholy one, where they're coming to the sea to admit that they want what they can't have, and giving it to themselves anyway for one night (little did they know, they were going to fail at abstention lol). The longing is so palpable between these two in these scenes, so much good tension.

My School President

Gotta have at least one scene with the whole crew! What i love about this beach outing is that the hard truth they were facing was not about whether or not they cared about one another, but how to tell people and when--and this is one of the reasons why it's important it's a group trip, because that decision affects the whole group. And look at this gif, it is perfection. These kids are puppies! I love them.

3 Will Be Free

Talking about group dynamics reminded me of this iconic moment. It's not quite a beach day trip in the traditional sense because they're on the run etc. and this is night time, but it's very personal to me. The sea said make it poly, so they did.

Never Let Me Go

Can't talk about one of Jojo's series without bringing up this other one. Listen, I know that its placement in the series was...oddly timed [I think my mother might be dead, let's go to the beach and frolic]. But this is one of the most beautifully shot and colour graded sequences, and for aesthetic reasons alone it is on my list! Sometimes I am but a simple bisexual (which is also why I'm using this shot from the BTS rather than one from the show, even though there are so many pretty ones to choose from). Speaking of!

BONUS GL addition:

Lulu

Gotta have at least one song! This entire GL takes place at a beach house so the whole thing is pretty much beach or beach-adjacent scenes but this one where they are flirting and then sing together was a good turning moment for them; and of course it calls back to when they first met (where Abi saves Sophie from drowning) and also parallels the end credits scene. I was so here for how thirsty Sophie was as soon as Abi showed up, and this beach scene is one of the places where this played out most memorably to me.

[hubbydaddies]

Rei will say the most romantic shit and then expect not to get kissed for it. I wouldn’t be able to believe it if it weren’t for how fucking dense Kazuki can be about Rei’s bluntness.

[howlonomy]

Don't know how this looks, but I got Clover to walk!

That is. So much smaller than I thought...

There we go!

Miiiiiiiiiight try and make their running animation, but I don't know yet, it might be a bit much.

Also don't worry, I didn't go for the method you did, I found a pixel sprite making site and did it there, though I did have to copy paste the original Pixel Clover, anyways enjoy! I am tooooooootally not procrastinating the actual serious works again, nope hahaha!

WAAIITT THIS LOOKS SO GOOD?!?! LOOK AT THEM WALKING IT FEELS SO REALLL

LOOK AT THEM GO!!!!!

[lurkingshan]

Hi Shan!

I hope you're doing well and thank you for all your metas and recs. They are always such a great read!

I have realised that I am quite anxious about currently airing shows not sticking the landing (IFYLITA mostly, I only seem to care about this one recently). You may have previously written about it(?), but which dramas (BL or otherwise), do you think have the most satisfying endings?

Oh, and bonus question, do you have an ending that you approve of, was really good and all, but you would never ever rewatch it because of *too many feels*?

Hey Kat! Thanks for the ask. I totally get the fear of a bad ending, it has soured many a drama experience, and sometimes it really does take you off guard. I feel like when most dramas end I'm just happy if the ending doesn't retroactively ruin anything, let alone it actually being meaningfully good. I had to think about this for a minute, but I do think there are some dramas where the ending is so good it actually enhances the overall story and watch experience.

First, a few that I would classify as having really lovely happy endings that feel very well-earned after lots of pain and strife

My Lovely Sam Soon

This drama is a classic from 2005, and it caught me off guard with how invested I got. It's a pretty standard romcom about a quirky "fat" (*stares into the camera*) woman who gets hired by a chaebol restaurant owner. They start out adversarial before eventually falling in love, with the hero working through his surprising feelings for this woman who does not fit his image of his ideal partner and the heroine overcoming her own body image and self-esteem issues. Sounds basic, right? But something about it just works. At the end, the heroine sings a love song to her beau with her terrible singing voice while he looks on adoringly, and something about it was just so touching that I actually burst into tears.

My Mister

One of my favorite endings of any drama ever. Our heroine Ji An has been through it, and via a platonic relationship with her older boss, she gets the support she needs to turn her life around. I spent half of this drama white knuckling in fear that they would try to turn the relationship romantic, but they stayed true to the purpose of this narrative. Instead of a romance, we end with the two of them running into each other on the street after a time skip. They meet eyes, he sees that she is happy and well and they just smile gently at each other. Perfection.

The Untamed

Possibly a controversial pick, given that this is significantly altered from the novel, which has a much better resolution to the romance. But given the constraints this adaptation was under and the need to keep the relationship ambiguous for censorship reasons, I think this show did a remarkable job of getting the romance across. This ending where they meet again on a hillside, Lan Wangji calls his name, Wei Wuxian turns and we see a smile slowly light his face up is absolutely beautiful and a very romantic note to leave us on.

This second group of endings are more bittersweet resolutions, but ones I thought really added to the poignancy of the stories and made the relationships feel all the more epic

Bad Buddy

Something that always surprises me about the way people talk about BBS is they often seem to...forget that the ending is actually really fucking sad? I guess because the couple is together and still happy with each other, folks overlook the deep melancholy of the circumstances under which they are able to maintain their relationship. So let me remind you! Pat and Pran are in a long distance relationship, they are still not out to anyone but their closest friends, and they are forced to put on a charade in front of their families so everyone can carry on pretending. They are still hiding, their family relationships are irreparably altered, and we know it's a constant strain on them. It's a perfect bittersweet note to drive home the serious sacrifices they are making in the name of filial piety even as they refuse to give each other up.

Crash Landing on You

Switzerland, the true MVP of this story. Se Ri and Jung Hyeok do not have the option of simply choosing one of their home countries to live in together, and both have obligations they cannot abandon at home. And so in the end they settle for being mostly apart, taking time together in neutral territory as often as they can manage. Is it enough? No, but it's better than moving on from each other.

Goblin

This story is a tragedy and it stuck to its guns on that while also finding a way to give the characters (and the viewers) some kind of happiness to hang onto. Shin is doomed to live forever and watch Eun Tak die over and over again, but at least he also gets to meet and be with her before each death. Him meeting her again in her second life, with the looming knowledge that he will outlive her again and be left alone, is a perfect combination of joyful and mournful, very appropriate for this story.

I Promised You the Moon

One of my favorite romance endings ever, because it does what the genre rarely allows in acknowledging that the couple may not, in fact, stay together forever, and that's okay. Oh-Aew decides to take Teh back because he wants to be with him and he hopes they may be better equipped to deal with their issues in the future, not because he feels confident things will not go wrong again. In fact, he directly acknowledges that they probably will. It's a very mature resolution and a fitting end to a coming of age story.

Someday or One Day

This time travel story ends with the leads deciding to break the loop they have been living in, sacrificing their romantic relationship in the process. It's a brave and selfless choice made to protect others, and the narrative rewards them by giving them some hope of another path to each other in the future. We leave them meeting again at a different time with a significant age gap and no memory of each other, and a hope that they will find a way to each other in this new reality.

These next two kind of stand on their own as unique, as I have not seen other dramas that pull off what their endings do

The Glory

The best thing about this drama is that it's a revenge story where the revenge is fully carried out, no one is given unearned redemption, and every character gets exactly what they deserve. That probably shouldn't be revelatory, but in my experience, it is! Asian dramas love to hand out unearned redemption to villainous characters, but this drama was simply Not. Having. It. It was such a satisfying watch.

Utsukushii Kare

The ending of this one pulled off the neat trick of reframing everything that came before it, flipping the perspective so that nothing about previous events actually changed, but our understanding of what it all meant was turned on its head. This is a difficult writing trick that requires deep understanding of your characters' psychology and full command of every detail of your story, and it was incredibly impressive. It instantly turned it into one of my all-time favorites.

Bonus question: Dramas with endings that were fantastic, but that made me never want to watch again because of the feels

I had to think on this one a bit because I actually really enjoy getting into my feelings over dramas and regularly torture myself by rewatching sad shit. But I did come up with two dramas that I probably won't ever watch again for different reasons: The Red Sleeve and Secret Love Affair. With TRS, it's rooted in a specific kind of pain that I found quite brutal as a viewer: the total denial of any moment of happy catharsis, which was an intentional and appropriate choice to underline its message. This is a love story that the heroine did not want or choose, and so she never gives in and embraces it, and neither can we. The show refuses to romanticize the concubine life and I respect it, but boy was it hard to watch.

With SLA, it's more a matter of the anxiety it provokes. That drama was, hands down, the most stressful watch experience of my life, even more than thrillers that are intentionally trying to stress me out! The romance is actually super compelling but you can't relax for a moment because everything is on a knife's edge. And the ending was not at all happy, but somehow still managed to feel like a breath of fresh air for both the heroine and us, because we finally escaped that confining dynamic she was trapped in. A perfect ending to a brilliant drama and also a watch experience I am not looking to repeat.