#the saga of the star shirt continues

[kindahoping4forever]

The 5SOS Show Tour Bogotá - 30 July 2023

[unclewaynemunson]

The edancy siblings saga continues! | AO3 link

So, in case it hasn't been made absolutely clear yet: Eddie is not a stalker. He is not stalking Karen and Nancy Wheeler. That is not what's happening here. Seriously. They just... appear wherever he goes, lately. Like on the other side of a window when he's in town with Jeff, headed to the record store to spend their Saturday morning listening to the newly released Motörhead album.

It happens before he really knows what he's doing. He can't even help it, he's just like that sometimes: he'll panic and make dumb decisions as a consequence. It's not even a real decision, this time; blame it on his poor impulse control. He's nothing but an unwilling participant in this situation.

'Eddie, no,' Jeff quietly protests.

Eddie, yes, Eddie's brain loudly counters.

'We're having brunch here whether you want it or not,' he blurts out while pressing the menu in Jeff's hand.

He doesn't think he has ever had brunch in his life – unless having a coffee and a cigarette with Wayne at 12pm on a Saturday counts.

But here he is, about to have brunch in some fancy way-too-expensive looking cafe because he saw a mother and her daughter through a window and his own feet decided to disconnect from his brain and take matters into their own hands. Or rather into their own feet. Or, well, not their feet, his feet don't have feet, that'd be weird as fuck.

Anyway. Apparently he and Jeff are about to have brunch together, with Karen and Nancy Wheeler perfectly lined up in Eddie's vision.

It's a place where neither Eddie nor Jeff would want to be found dead under any normal circumstances. The interior consists of various shades of pink and beige, there are plastic flowers and pink napkins on every table, and the menu on the wall is written in letters so curly that they're barely even readable. The whole place is filled with people from places like Loch Nora and Maple Street, wearing expensive clothes and with even more expensive handbags on the floor next to their chairs. A group of giggling girls that Eddie recognizes as sophomore cheerleaders is sitting in one corner, an old lady with a bunch of blonde nieces or grandchildren in another one, and spread out across the room are countless couples that are all made up of women looking like they just walked out of a copy machine matched with equally bland and bored looking men in button-up shirts. And, among those people, right behind Jeff's shoulder, the woman and the girl who Eddie is very much not stalking.

'What the hell are we doing here, man?' Jeff hisses under his breath. Eddie doesn't quite know who, between the two of them, looks more out of place in here: the trailer park metalhead or the black nerd in the Star Wars shirt.

'Having brunch,' Eddie states, like it's not only obvious but also a perfectly normal thing for them to do. He's not really looking at Jeff, but rather staring right over his friend's shoulder. He tries to imagine himself somewhere at that table; it conjures a truly laughable image in his head.

Jeff is right: what the hell is he doing here? He keeps finding himself on the fringe of a life that will never be his anyway.

'Eddie?'

It sounds worried; Eddie rapidly blinks a few times to get himself back to earth, back to his own table. The one he's sharing with Jeff, who looks at him like he's afraid that Eddie will tell him he has some incurable illness and will die a tragic death within weeks.

'You wanna tell me what's going on?'

But before Eddie can even begin to answer that, they're interrupted by a woman in a pink apron who looks at them from behind her glasses like she's ready to call the cops on them.

'Would you boys like to order something?' she asks in a tone that doesn't conceal very well how desperately she wants the answer to be no.

'Just a coffee, please, ma'am,' Jeff says, at the exact same time Eddie tells her they'll both have 'The brunch special, please, with extra scrambled eggs and bacon.'

He can barely suppress a yelp when Jeff kicks him underneath the table.

The waitress shoots an annoyed, yet slightly helpless, look back and forth between the two boys.

Eddie gives Jeff a pigheaded glance and repeats his order with emphasis.

'What the hell is this all about?' Jeff hisses at him as soon as the waitress has her back turned to them. 'I know you don't have the money for that, I'm not gonna pay for this huge fucking breakfast, dude!'

Eddie widens his eyes while pushing his lower lip forward, causing Jeff to give him another painful kick against his shin – but also to sigh with his head in his hands, which Eddie immediately recognizes as the ultimate sign of defeat.

'Okay, then. But only if you tell me why the hell we're here.'

Almost subconsciously, Eddie brings his hand up to his mouth and starts gnawing at his already chewed-off fingernails. His curls have finally reached shoulder-length, and he likes the way he can hide behind his hair now.

The thing is, he has never talked about this with anyone ever before. He doesn't know if he can. It's not even like he believes he owes Karen Wheeler any of her secrets; of course he doesn't. He simply feels like it's too big to talk about. He cannot foresee the consequences of letting the truth out. Right now, it's just this thing constantly simmering right beneath the surface of his brain; if he actually talks about it with someone, it will undoubtedly become much, much more than that. It'll become something real – something ugly.

Apparently, Jeff catches him staring, because he turns around in his seat to look over his shoulder.

When he whips his head back, his eyes are wide and his mouth is slightly agape.

'Dude,' he says, slowly. 'You can only deny it so many times; you do have a crush on Nancy Wheeler!'

Eddie groans and buries his head in his hands.

'Oh my God, please never say that ever again.'

'Holy fuck.' Something resembling malicious glee is coloring Jeff's voice. 'You totally–'

'I said,' Eddie emphatically hisses at him between clenched teeth, 'never say that again.'

'Dude, you should totally ask her out! I'd give you a two percent chance she says yes, but if the gods are willing to grant us that miracle, it'll give me a chance to get closer to Barbara! You should–'

Eddie can't take it any more, not one word of this. He has to put a stop to this right now.

'Remember how I told you I never knew who my mother is?' he blurts out, the words stringing together too fast and his voice slightly too high.

Jeff's face instantly changes into one big question mark.

'Look at her – at Nancy,' Eddie tells him in a hushed voice. 'And at Mrs. Wheeler.'

Jeff dares another glance over his shoulder. Nancy and her mother don't seem to notice a thing about the two metalheads three tables away from them. They're caught up in what looks like a nice and easygoing conversation, full of smiles while they're sipping from large glasses filled with ginger tea.

'Now look at me.'

Jeff looks at Eddie for a full five seconds, neither of them saying a word.

'Dude...' Jeff finally all but whispers. 'Are you saying what I think you're saying?'

Before Eddie can even do so much as nod, the waitress appears out of thin air next to them and ungracefully dumps two huge plates filled with a whole arrangement of breakfast foods on their table.

'Nooooo,' is all Jeff says after the waitress has disappeared, his voice dropped down to a conspiring whispering volume. He stretches out the single syllable into eternity. 'No way. Mrs. Wheeler?! How the fuck is that even possible? Are you, like, sure about it?'

Eddie nods. 'Wayne told me,' he confesses. 'Back when my dad got locked up and I came to live with him. He was the only one who knew. Thought he owed it to me to tell me the truth.'

'Jesus Christ,' Jeff says in-between two huge bites from a croissant that's crumbling all over his lap.

'I know, right,' Eddie murmurs.

'So are we like... Watching them?' he asks with a raised brow. 'You do this often?'

'No, man!' Eddie quickly ensures him. 'Not, like, actively, at least,' he adds, feeling a bit embarrassed. He shoves some more eggs into his mouth to buy himself some more time.

'I dunno why I seem to enjoy hurting myself so much,' he finally explains when his mouth is empty again. 'Whenever I see any of 'em, I just... Can't seem to look away. And I can't help but wonder what it would've been like if she'd made another decision eighteen years ago. I know it's ridiculous, because if she had, Ted Wheeler would never have married her, so those three kids wouldn't even have existed, and it would've been me and her against the world or some bullshit.' He sighs again. 'I know it doesn't make any fucking sense. I'm dwelling on things that aren't even real.'

When he looks up from his toast, he sees Jeff giving him this look that kinda makes him regret sharing anything. He doesn't want to be pitied, for fuck's sake.

'Nah, I get it more than you think, man,' Jeff says quietly. 'I always think about what it would be like if my dad was still here, y'know. It's not just the big moments, when people tell me he'd be proud of me or some shit like that. It's especially in the little moments. The everyday kinda shit. I wonder if he'd have shared music with me, if he'd read the same books as I do, if he'd ever help my mom go grocery shopping, what it would be like if he helped me with my homework... It's only natural that you do that, I think. Maybe we all do it, to a certain extent; rewrite history a little bit in our heads.' He gives Eddie a tight, sad smile.

'It's probably even worse for you,' he continues. 'I only see my dad in pictures and I still miss him like hell every single day. But at least I still have my mom to tell the coolest stories about him. I have a grave where I get to mourn him properly. We have all those made-up rituals to commemorate him together. But you – you got none of that. You only got questions that got answered with more questions. And you get to see your mother and your siblings walk around town all the time, knowing that they have no clue who you are.'

Eddie keeps his gaze focused on the crumbs on the table to prevent himself from showing any emotions he doesn't want to show. Damn, what would he be without Jeff and his boundless amounts of wisdom?

'Wait, does she know?' Jeff suddenly asks.

When Eddie looks up, he sees a frown on Jeff's face, like he's worried about something.

'I don't think so,' he answers. 'I ran into her at Melvald's once. Tried to talk to her, just to see what'd happen. Made a complete fool of myself, of course. It was embarrassing as shit, but at least I can be pretty sure she thought I was just some random lunatic.' He sighs. 'But I'll never be entirely sure.'

Three tables over, the Wheeler ladies have finished their tea and are getting up from their seats.

'You're right, it was stupid going here,' Eddie mumbles.

'It's okay, man,' Jeff says, still in that soft voice filled with understanding. 'The food's pretty amazing. We still got plenty of time to go to the record store when we're done with this. Speaking of which... I bet you fifteen dollars to buy Another perfect day that you can't finish your plate before me.'

Eddie stares at him blankly. 'I don't have fifteen dollars.'

Jeff's face breaks out in a wicked grin. 'Well, in that case you better buckle up and finish your eggs real soon, Munson.'

It doesn't entirely take Eddie's mind off the Wheelers, but he appreciates the gesture so he grins and starts viciously attacking a bunch of sausages. And when he spares a glance towards the bar to see the horrified look on the waitress' face, he finds himself unable to hold in his laughter.

[denimbex1986]

'As David Tennant bursts back onto screens for Doctor Who‘s 60th anniversary, he’s also made his solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community clearer than ever.

The 52-year-old star features alongside former co-star Catherine Tate as Donna Noble in the trio of Doctor Who specials from returning showrunner Russell T Davies. The cast also includes trans Heartstopper actress Yasmin Finney as Donna’s daughter, Rose.

Finney’s prominent role in Saturday’s (25 November) episode “The Star Beast” sparked fierce reaction with LGBTQ+ fans praising the inclusion and bigots (as usual) sharing their fury.

Tennant’s three-episode run – which has already involved a heartfelt conversation around correct pronouns – kicks off a new era of Doctor Who which promises major LGBTQ+ talent as Ncuti Gatwa takes over as 15th Doctor this Christmas.

From Drag Race icon Jinkx Monsoon to musical theatre star Jonathan Groff, there’s plenty in store for queer fans.

Throughout it all Tennant has remained a steadfast ally, so here’s five times the acclaimed actor has showed up for the LGBTQ+ community throughout his career.

David Tennant making waves with trans Tardis pin

In the lead up to the Doctor Who 60th anniversary, Tennant appeared on The One Show and The Last Leg earlier this month where the Scottish actor was spotted wearing a trans flag themed TARDIS badge as a small act of solidarity with the trans community.

Naturally, fan praised the actor for his initiative, but the wholesome saga doesn’t end there. The badge creator, Dr Jamie Gallagher, soon announced on Twitter that over £18,000 had been raised in badge sales and all proceeds would be going towards LGBTQ+ homeless charity AKT.

Humbly reacting to the joyous news, Tennant later said while he couldn’t take “any credit”, the badge perfectly “suits what Doctor Who is all about”.

It’s not the first time Tennant has showed his support through the medium of pin badges. Earlier this year eagle-eyed fans spotted him wearing a non-binary Pride badge on shows such Saturday Night Takeaway, The Graham Norton Show and This Morning.

Unapologetically standing up for trans children

In July this year, Tennant took his pro-trans message one step further during the press run for Good Omens season two.

In a viral image, fans caught a glimpse of him sporting a black t-shirt with a crystal clear pink hued slogan emblazoned on top. “Leave trans kids alone, you absolute freaks”. We love to see it.

The top, which comes from online store Crooked, caused a stir online with many fans flocking to social media to share their joy. Around a similar time the TV star was spotted wearing (yet another) badge with the pride colours and the words: “You are safe with me.”

The pin badge managed to rile up anti-trans activists Posie Parker and Graham Linehan who launched separate attacks on Tennant, insinuating he is a pedophile and “groomer”.

But this hasn’t deterred Tennant, who continues to stand up for trans rights.

Delivering an emotional speech during Pride month

During Pride month this year, Tennant appeared on the Ed Miliband’s Reasons To Be Cheerful podcast where he praised the importance and joy of Pride month in modern day Britain.

“Do you know what’s making me cheerful at the moment? It’s Pride month,” he told the podcast.

“The fact that Pride Month is existing and is flourishing and is something that’s happening at a time when the world seems to be getting in some corners worryingly intolerant and weirdly backward.”

As usual his words impacted LGBTQ+ fans who shared that his powerful statement moved them to tears.

“We can’t take our foot off the gas,” the actor continued. “We can’t expect that we will always travel in the right direction towards acceptance. We’ve all got to be fighting that fight every day.”

It’s a message echoed by his wife Georgia, who shared her solidarity with the trans community in October after an attack by prime minister Rishi Sunak. “To the trans community, I stand with you now and always. I, like you, am going nowhere,” she said in a post on X.

Spreading the message of inclusivity in his TV series Good Omens

Doctor Who is not the only sci-fi, fantasy world Tennant has inhabited this year. After four years, Prime Video finally dropped the second season of Good Omens which sees Tennant playing demon Crowley opposite Michael Sheen’s angel Aziraphale.

In a wild turn of events, after huge fan speculation, Crowley and Azirphale made their romantic tension explicit after sharing a dramatic kiss at the end of the season.

Although fans will have to wait until the (still to be confirmed) third season to find out if the loved up couple will finally get their acts together, Tennant has no doubt about the importance of inclusivity in the series, which he spoke about during an interview with the RadioTimes podcast.

During the interview, he explained that the show delivers a message for “this fractious moment” in society that earth can be “quite a nice place to live”.

“That’s why this show connected with a certain group of people,” he continued. “There is an inclusivity to the world view of Good Omens, there’s a joy in celebrating whoever you happen to be.

“And that’s something [creator Neil Gaiman] is very keen to communicate: a message of kindness and openness. That is why the tone of Good Omens is positive, open, joyful and fun.”

Once an ally, always an ally

Tennant’s allyship hasn’t just started over the past year.

As far back as 2008, during his stint as the 10th Doctor, he hit back against the idea that dressing flamboyantly and being called “gay” is an insult during an interview with The Telegraph.

A few years later, in 2012, he showed his support for a Diversity Role Models campaign tackling homophobic bullying.

“It is essential that young people have the opportunity to meet role models from the LGBT community to help break down the stereotypes and prejudice that lead to bullying,” he said at the time.

A decade later, it’s no surprise David Tennant has consistently proven himself as an LGBTQ+ ally, through and through.'

[peachjagiya]

https://www.tumblr.com/peachjagiya/755198778095616000/you-can-do-a-ted-talk-lecture-on-one-taekook?source=share

I will be doing a series of Ted Talks called: "Is it coincidence or is it just......... Taekook?!"

First episode is:

"The Paradox of Oh No, Oh Yes and its Timings" In this episode, we will talk about how Jungkook played the song twice in early 2023. On the 2nd time he did, he played it as the last song with lyrics during his winter ski date concept while watching the stars and "aurora" in March 2023. His words, not mine. He started this portion of his "ARMY date" livestream with high energy, cringing and giggling, then committing to the winter date act. By the end of the stream, minutes after he played Oh No Oh Yes, he was in tears and brushed it off as "rhinitis". 1 month after, April 2023, while JK left SK for the first time in a while to LA and start working on his songs, Taehyung went live and shared that Jungkookie recommended him Oh No, Oh Yes. He even lit a candle because "Jungkookie does it in his live" he then proceeded to play Maybe, a song he penned about someone who told him they are Twin Flames and will melt each other away when the world is cold during winter. The most crucial part of this episode is what happened hours AFTER Taehyung went live and shook fans with the information: Jungkook's brother's IG account posted Oh No, Oh Yes in his story. 🤯 Fast forward to September 4, 2024. Tae went to join Firenze event in Paradise Hotel, the same hotel TaeKook stayed at and filmed Run BTS TikTok challenge. On his way to the event, he posted a story of the sunset with Oh No, Oh Yes in the background. He was there for dinner event. The next morning, Jungkook flew to the US. Note that Paradise Hotel is near to the airport and 4 days prior was his birthday while 2 days after that, September 3, was their 12th year anniversary of meeting eo.

To wrap this Ted Talk up, the lyrics to Oh No Oh Yes:

"More than a ring on a ring finger

I chose a love hidden to the public gaze

Even if I show that I'm a strong woman

Always in my heart

I'm shaking of pain

Oh no, we're two sinners

But no, we can't separate........"

I still have more episodes of this "Is it coincidence or is it just.... Taekook?!" such as dissecting To Find You, Sweetheart Shirts, Dream Premiere and many more. Shall I send a weekly Ask to you so we can all discuss and dissect together? 😁

Omg.

This made me smile so wide! 😁😁😁

The Oh No, Oh Yes saga is one of my favourites because of how spaced out it was, like a continually referenced strand running through the year.

Like sometimes a song is just a song, right? But the way it kept cropping up, it feels special like a little Easter egg 😂 I could hardly believe what I was seeing when Tae posted that sunset 5 months on.

I also love that even the platonic explanation, that they just shared and enjoyed the song, shows their closeness. It's undeniable.

Omg PLEASE send a weekly Ask, that would make me so happy.

Thanks anon. I love this. 💜

[kraekat29]

Rafe's eyes were full of stars, honest to God. JJ gritted his teeth, leveling a hard glare at John B, who ignored him, focused on Rafe instead.

Ruby rubbed her eye, looking up at the tall blonde. "Hi?"

Rafe stood there a second, his mouth open.

"Trying to catch flies?" Ruby asked, quirking a brow with a soft, teasing smile on her face.

Rafe shook it off, closing his mouth with a snap. "Nope. Uh, Rafe Cameron." He stuck out his hand.

Ruby slipped her much-smaller hand into his and shook. "Ruby Routledge. My, uh, my brother is your employee."

"Right, yeah, course he is," Rafe said easily, messing with the cuffs of his shirt.

"You're not mad that we were late, right?" Ruby asked, fiddling with her bracelet. "We really didn't mean to be. I'm sorry."

Rafe waved her off. "Nah, I don't mind. S'alright. 'Cept..."

Ruby looked up at him from under her lashes. "'Cept?"

"'Cept I lost a couple bucks from it. Nothin' huge, just twenty thousand."

Ruby's mouth fell open, Sage (who had moved to stand by JJ and John B) mimicking her expression. John B rolled his eyes and JJ bit the inside of his cheek to keep his mouth shut.

Ruby swallowed hard, looking down. "Sorry."

"Hey, s'okay," Rafe said, taking her chin between his thumb and the knuckle of his forefinger and lifting her head. "You wanna make it up to me? I'll waive it all for your pals."

Ruby nodded slowly, shooting a quick confirmation glance at John B. "Yeah. Yes, please."

Rafe nodded, a grin spreading on his face. "Let me take you out."

"Done," Ruby said quickly, a sweet smile quirking at the corners of her mouth. "Sounds fun."

Sage pretended to gag, pointing her finger in her mouth and sticking out her tongue. John B nodded proudly, folding his arms like he'd orchestrated the whole thing.

JJ stared daggers at Rafe, trying to explode him with his mind.

and the saga continues😂😂

[thebladeblaster]

Lured in

Summary: Shun angst post-Poseidon with some canon divergence at the end. The Saint of Andromeda laments about what has become the life of himself and his brothers. Could spin off into an alternate Hades chapter. (Based on manga canon. That’s why Shun has brown hair.)

It has been months since their desperate battle against Poseidon. One felt themselves longing and empty after the five of them parted ways likely to only reunite when the world was in peril again.

When had they become so distant?

That was the question Shun asked himself. He sat back in his chair. His auburn locks spilled messily onto his shoulders while his blue eyes seemed far away in thought. He wore a green shirt and white overalls. In front of him was a desk with some papers and a pen. There were various assignments and stacks of books that reached up higher than his lamp.

Athena had told them to try to live normal lives now as if Kido had not taken away any chance they had at such lives. They lost six years of an important developmental period of their lives to become child soldiers. Killers.

The thought of it made Shun nauseous. As much as he would rather do anything than return to that life unless the world was at stake…they really couldn’t do anything else. Shun had not realized the weight of how many years of their lives they lost to Kido’s schemes until he was met with just how much material he would have to learn to even attempt to even enter a public school at his age.

The sheer volume of the content to learn was beyond daunting. He was sure that the others probably wouldn’t even bother with it, especially Seiya. But…but he won’t give up!

Shun was determined to do something else with his life that didn’t involve killing. Every time he felt his will to continue trying to learn buckling he remembered the horror he felt when he was forced to kill. He HAD to do something else. Anything else.

He felt that the grief from that kind of life would drive him insane if it hasn’t already. His brothers had already become so desensitized to such a life killing their enemies without a second thought. Despite this he still loved them though it was definitely concerning…

He was still counting his stars for what was in his eyes his one win from the whole Poseidon conflict: Not killing Sorrento. Though, his accidental killing of Io might cancel that out…He decided he was going to think positively rather than lingering on where he slipped up.

The Saint had tried his damndest to not kill Io, but it just seemed inevitable. Their enemies were willing to die for what they believed in, such as they were. They weren’t so different…No they weren’t different at all. They were in fact the same as Mariners.

He wishes that they could have saved them by showing them that they fought for no reason. That was the cruel joke. They fought for nothing. Poseidon was led astray by a master manipulator. He NEVER intended to fight Athena in this era.

Pfft…

Shun almost laughed in pure grief. Tears stained his cheeks. He was thinking about it again. All these holy wars, all this pointless fighting, all for nothing…That’s what so many people fought and died for? The perverse power grabs of two twins left a mountain of bodies in their wake.

Most of Athena’s army was devastated and there was a single Mariner left. They didn’t have to die. NONE of them had to die. They would have all had normal lives without Saga.

Sigh…

But, Saga was going through something himself. He was caught between good and evil such as the curse of the Gemini. He couldn’t even really blame Saga who wasn’t in control of his actions. Shun found it difficult to blame anyone. Everyone was suffering.

They should just…stop.

He didn’t know how, but they needed to stop with all these ambitions and plans. It all made him sick. He didn’t want to deal with any of this but he felt like he was in too deep to ever escape any of this. After all, he spent most of his life being trained to be the Andromeda saint…It was that experience that had given him his one father figure…only for him to be taken away from him by war.

Maybe he should talk to June. She was one of the few he had left and he didn’t know for how long. He felt closer to a girl whom he’s never seen the face of more than his own brothers honestly. The more they marched on slaughtering more people trapped in war like themselves the more alienated he felt from them. Their hands were becoming more and more tainted with blood. He felt as if their morals were wearing away and they were becoming mindless dogs of war.

A few months ago he would say that they were different from the Saints following Saga but he didn’t think so now…Especially if he thinks about how they’ll become if they survive to become the same age they were.

His conscience felt heavy…He wished he could stop all of this somehow but he couldn’t help but feel that it would all happen again. It inevitably would.

This was a cycle. A concerning cycle that has gone on since the dawn of life. It wouldn’t stop. It would never stop.

“You know what…I just need some fresh air.”, Shun thought as he tried to bury his dire thoughts.

He forced himself out of the Kido manor and stepped outside. His eyes drifted up to the night sky. There the constellations of his brothers and himself’s destiny shone brightly clustered together. So close in fact that Andromeda and Pegasus were connected.

That made his mind drift to Seiya…He couldn’t describe the feeling he had, but he felt that their fates were indeed linked. Not that he could guess why though…He couldn’t see Phoenix anywhere in the night sky…Just like he often couldn’t see Ikki.

And now he’s feeling sad all over again. Why did everyone have to split off exactly? Like he understood that Seiya was looking for his sister but what was everyone else’s excuse? He endured six years of hell to see Ikki again only for him to just up and disappear from his life whenever he wasn’t in mortal danger. At least back then he had that reason to keep fighting not knowing where it would lead to…A cruel joke. Maybe he was just being clingy? He just felt so lonely.

His master was gone and he didn’t have a connection to any of the Gold Saints or any of the living Saints outside his brothers besides June. The only one he probably had ANY relationship with was Aphrodite and it wasn’t exactly pleasant…and he killed him.

Right awkward…

He felt like he didn’t belong at all…He felt like an alien. His values were considered foreign to even his brothers now. The connections he had were few and far between.

That’s why he decided that he’s going to become a doctor no matter how difficult it is. He wanted to help people without spilling blood for once. He wanted to heal…

A cold eerie breeze blew by him. It felt like an ill omen that the universe sent him telling him that absolutely won’t happen. He’ll be dragged into conflict no matter what.

That was the one thing he truly hated.

And he would go. Because his only choice would be to do so or die as it has been since he was seven. His hands were shaking as he couldn’t shake off these negative thoughts.

He wished that the conflict could all just end…He would do anything for it to just end and for everything to remain peaceful.

Then, Shun felt a magnetic pull. He didn’t understand what it was. He felt like something was calling him. It was probably another conflict as he had dreaded.

He was going to jump directly into hell again. This time literally.

Despite this he felt himself going anyway. He couldn’t stop as he knew there was no way out of it.

Fight or die that was the ultimatum he has been given his whole life. This time…he thinks he’ll choose the latter. If he sacrificed himself as his constellation foretold then this would all stop. This guilt. This pain. All of this.

Shun felt himself running practically sprinting towards his death. He felt far too trapped. Something had to give out.

Tatsumi…

The boy stopped when he noticed Tatsumi stand in front of him. Kido’s right hand who had taken pleasure in putting them through hell and stole away both their childhoods and futures stood in his way���Why? This is what they trained for. This is what they have been conditioned to do for their whole lives: fight or die. So why was he stopping him?

“Lady Athena wishes for you all to stay put. You, Seiya, Shiryu, Hyoga, and Ikki are henceforth never to set foot in Sanctuary again. If you do, you will be executed, as per Athena’s orders”, Tatsumi said.

“What…?”, Shun questioned, raising his eyebrow.

He couldn’t even understand what he was hearing.

“She desires for you all to live normal lives. This will be the Saints last battle.”, Tatsumi explained.

“What are you talking about? We MUST always be by Lady Athena’s side when the world is in danger—“, Shun replied, blinking as he thought about what he said.

Why was he jumping into this? He didn’t want to fight. He couldn’t stop…This way of being had a death grip over his soul. What on Earth was wrong with him? He felt compelled, hypnotized, almost brainwashed…

Ever since Saori had become Athena they just couldn’t resist this strange desire that had crept into their hearts to throw their lives away for her. He doesn’t understand when or how their feelings changed. He was sure that he was still indifferent to Saori up till…Sanctuary. Then, it was just Athena. Athena. Die for Athena.

His mind felt hazy as his hand lingered close to his chest. To the pendant he had received from his mother.

“Have we been hypnotized?! No…no…that can’t be true. Lady Athena is a good goddess. She is the Guardian of Earth. I’m…I’m overreacting. It’s just been drilled into my head since going to Andromeda Island. That’s why…we haven’t been hypnotized. That’s silly…”, Shun thought.

Shun noticed Tatsumi’s gaze drift over to the pendant as he sweated nervously.

“You heard me! So, back off and go back to your studying!”, Tatsumi said, more forcefully trying to hide his nervousness as he raised up the very same kendo stick that he had used to beat them for years.

Was this a test? A test to see just how dedicated they are to Athena. It seemed like it had to be a trick considering the lives they’ve lived up to now.

“You can be free…”, Shun was taken aback when he heard a strange voice.

It felt bizarrely familiar to him as it gave him a chill. His mind felt hazy as he felt compelled again like he HAD to go. Shun unconsciously stepped forward as Tatsumi tensed.

“I said no!”, Tatsumi yelled as he swung its blade.

To him it might as well have been in slow motion so he took the time to grab the Andromeda cloth and wore the cloth box. There Tatsumi still was trying to strike him at a snail’s pace. He doesn’t get how Tatsumi hoped to stop any of them. Shun after a few microseconds of waiting which felt like minutes to him staring at the kendo stick he decided to just move out of the way and keep walking.

By the time when Tatsumi would have struck Shun was long gone. Heck, he was already on his way to Greece.

“There must be something wrong with me…Have I changed as they have as well?”, Shun thought.

Shun felt multiple cosmos at Sanctuary clashing. There was indeed a conflict going on as he thought. How did he know that though…?

He was heading to Greece, right? Where was he going…? He felt himself being pulled somewhere by an invisible force…It was the answer to his feelings he felt. Shun found himself in front of a Victorian style castle in Germany.

“Why did I come here…?”, Shun thought.

His mind felt fuzzy and his chains jingled with unease. Like they knew something or sensed danger. Or both. The cloth assembled itself into him on its own.

He was quickly surrounded by men in purple armor…They all felt so vaguely familiar. It was like the knowledge of their identities was on the tip of his tongue. His chains jingled again going into their formation of the Andromeda Nebula on their own as his mind was…drifting.

“I MUST get there…This is…This is where I’m supposed to be…”, Shun thought, hazily as his eyes were cloudy.

In the castle a woman with long jet black hair was playing massive lyre before she suddenly stopped. She could feel a cosmos that was rapidly fluctuating in not only power but between mortal and immortal. The woman was glad that he had not run into any Saints on the way who would have surely sensed it and tried to assassinate him on the spot.

“Welcome home, Lord Hades…My dear little brother. I have been waiting for you.”, the woman thought.

To be continued…

[jacquelinemerritt]

Dragonball Z: Abridged Episode 11 Review

Originally posted August 19th, 2015

Equal parts reverence and revision.

The Freeza Saga is, as best as I can tell, the most famous arc in all of Dragonball. As such, the majority of the audience of Dragonball Z: Abridged would inevitably be approaching Team Four Star’s adaptation of that arc with a lot of pre-existing feelings about the story it is trying to tell, inevitably allowing those feelings to guide them in forming a critical opinion of it.

This “baggage” is clearly present among everyone in Team Four Star, and they are careful to open their second season and beginning of the Freeza Saga with a lot of reverence for their source material. But that reverence for the source material never blinds them, as at this point they have begun to recognize that the story they are telling, while related to the original Dragonball, is ultimately a separate being of its own, and they begin to treat it as much.

This is clear from the inclusion of a flashback to Goku’s first time meeting Mr. Popo. We as an audience potentially unfamiliar with the source material can assume that Goku and Popo have met before at some point, though we do not know how they met or what their meeting was like. This flashback very clearly articulates that Goku’s relationship with Popo is no different from Krillin’s relationship with Popo; they both fear him for the sadistic, omnipotent taskmaster that he is. It also serves as a more effective introduction to Popo than his actual introduction.1

Their reverence for the source material comes in how they handle the tone of Krillin, Gohan, and Bulma’s departure for Namek. It’s a dangerous and important mission, and both the source material and DBZA take it seriously. Unlike the source material, however, Team Four Star chooses to let the weight and importance of the mission come through Bulma, in both the performance (thanks to Megami33’s excellent voice acting) and use of score.

This is one of many revisions Team Four Star makes to the text, and they do so with good reason; Bulma is shallow, self-centered, and bitchy in the original, and there’s absolutely no reason one of the two only female characters should be this terrible a person.2 In this, Team Four Star acknowledges the strengths of the original story, while addressing some of the more problematic aspects of that story, and this is a trend that they continue to build upon.

Rating: 4.5/5

If you liked this review, please consider supporting me on Patreon.

Stray Observations

1I love the “pecking order” speech as much as anyone else, but seeing that Goku is just as afraid of Popo as anyone else more clearly establishes just how intimidating this guy is.

2Another change they make is with Chi Chi, who goes from a bitchy buzzkill to a reasonably concerned mother, countering a very unfortunate trope present in a lot of shounen anime (as well as Western cartoons, but that’s for another day).

Mr. Popo: “Oh, look at that, a woman who doesn’t know any better. What are the odds?”

Cutting to a drugged up, gurgling Goku as he still essentially votes for Bulma to go with Popo is a great visual gag.

Mr. Popo: “Yep, this carpet gets about ten thousand miles to the soul.” Bulma: “What?” Mr. Popo: “The gallon.”

Mr. Popo: “Making toast!”

Bulma: “So it responds to your name?” Mr. Popo: “No, it just knows better.”

Chi Chi: “Did you carry a baby around for nine months with a man who literally thought you had Cinnabons hidden in your shirt?”

Ambient ocean noise at Kame House and the ambient noise at the hospital give us a glimpse at the great sound design to come.

Weird how a Three Stooges reference is basically highbrow comedy in this show.

[midnight-and-his-melodiverse]

MIDNIGHT'S WRITING SUMMARY 2022

PART ONE: The Writing Stats

--Pre Writeblr--

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

--Post Writeblr--

☀️JULY ☀️

Notable excerpts from this month

Stars, Bits, and Bytes, Episode One:

“Why did we decide to do this again?” A young kid with a striped green shirt and black hair with one bang hanging loose between his two blue eyes said, looking up towards the taller girl beside him. “I remember you saying that you wanted to check out the Titania! But isn’t it still under construction?” The taller girl replied, as the two of them strolled side by side through the dense canopy of trees. The sun had crossed through the middle of the sky and as they continued walking, the reflection of the rays off a large steel-gray dot in the distance caught their eyes. The boy named Lyric smiled. “I think so, but I’ve wanted to take a look at it for a while, ever since we got that advertisement on TV about it.”

☀️AUGUST☀️

Notable excerpts from this month

Midnight and the Gift of the Melody Blade (old version):

The silvery radiant moonlight shone and reflected off the logo; a bright sunset, with piano keys replacing the rays of the sun, on top of the coffee shop. Through the large windows in the cafe looking into the many tables that were on the inside, the moonlight painted the wall with shadows.

Inside, there was a soft ambiance of chatter between the many people that were at the shop at that time of night. Underscoring that, was pleasant jazz music that played through the small speakers.

A bell tone rang through the cafe, as the double doors opened and a customer walked through. 

Melody Blade Saga Shorts #1:

Dev was dusting around and struggling to clean their mess of a headquarters, thinking that they would be better off having their own helper take care of that for them. Despite having a delight in causing chaos with their partner in anarchy Staticlight, they had a great soft spot for pets. Especially dogs. Which was why one day they showed up at Penwood City’s small pet store, with the intent of grabbing up their first pet.

“Hello there! What can I help ya with?” the lady at the front counter said, amidst all the happy chatterings of pets of all kinds. Dev paused and thought for a moment while looking at the cages behind the desk. A certain crimson like skin toned dog with a cute face that looked like a pillow of fur stood out to them. They excitedly pointed at that cage. “I’ll have that one, please!” Dev said. The lady walked over, picked up the cage and placed it on the desk. “Just a warning,” they began. “Most hellhounds are prone to intense anger issues, if you learn to help control them they’ll be fine!” Dev gave a thumbs up in response, placing the needed money on the desk and quickly disappearing out of the store, with their new pet in tow.

Back at their headquarters, Dev admired the hellhound. “Aww, you’re so adorable and fluffy!” They cradled their pet as it barked softly. They looked back at the mess of their room. “Wanna clean all this?” Dev asked the dog. Without a response the hellhound raced around the room, quickly tidying up most of the mess, killing a janitor in the process, then sprinting back into Dev’s arms licking them affectionately.

☀️SEPTEMBER☀️

Notable excerpts from this month

Stars, Bits, and Bytes, Episode Two:

“We’re counting on you to save us, Miss Arietta and Mister Quintus,” exclaimed an old and gruff voice, reminiscent of military generals out of the AI’s front-facing speakers. Through the confident and assertive cadence that came with his voice, they noticed that those vocal frequencies lightly rumbled through the ship, and that startled both the kids, but mostly Lyric.

Quintus leaned forward to click off the communications, with a sharp click that let him know that process had been successful. Turning his sight to the rainbow of buttons in front of him, he clicked a light blue one, and almost instantly, the harsh, and noisy melody of the engines let everyone know that life had officially been given to this long-dormant craft that had sat in construction for a long while.

—- —- —- —-

Almost ten minutes had gone by since the initial startup of the Titania, and Lyric looked outside the large plexiglass dome window. Many thoughts had run through his mind as he stared into the vast, and beautiful abyss of pure darkness speckled with many little dots of white light. Many of which seemed to twinkle a sort of greeting as they left behind the distant blue-purple marble of Terra Melodiae.

He had remembered that in science class, Lyric was never given the answer to how big the universe was. At the time, it seemed inconsequential to think that the universe had an unlimited breadth of many planets, stars, and other unexplored galaxies.

Yet, he had the perfect piece of logic to complete that puzzle. The one piece of logic that stated that yes, the universe is in fact an endless wasteland with an extraordinary abundance of intergalactic landmarks that have been untouched by human footprints.

As he zoned out on these many thoughts, he noticed that the number of specks of white light outside the window had grown significantly. That couldn’t have just been a dream, Lyric thought to himself.

The ship seemed to abruptly slow to a halt as it hit orbit and was taken into the merciful weightlessness of the final frontier. It was like they had dove into a large sea of stars, because they shined so marvelously against the dark sky.

They seemed to be slow dancing in space, like a graceful ballerina following steps with a leisurely waltz, because they were moving so slowly in the orbit, that it was hard to perceive if they were actually moving.

Goblin Theft Auto: Misfits of Penwood City:

Leshi Desxia was a very young goblin, in the beginnings of her double digit years, who was averse to large groups of people.

Whether it was in the form of innocent family reunions or celebrations which posed no harm whatsoever, many gatherings of friends bickering amongst themselves or in some cases at each other, if a conversation was heated enough, gangs, and or criminals shadowed under the veil of night, she would not budge in going out of her way to avoid such situations.

Although by her own accord, her life was pretty lonely. Even with loving parents, Leshi’s fear of large groups was strong enough that every day felt like she was isolated in a prison of her own fears and anxieties.

However, all this changed, for what she assumed was the better, when one sunny morning she was awoken from her slumber to the cracking of wood.

Leshi swiftly ran to investigate the commotion, and found one burly goblin and another smaller one with glasses on.

Stars, Bits, and Bytes: Side Stories #1

As Lyric and Ottava were flying the Titania on their way to the local lake, Lyric wondered if the many tourists would take notice of the very out-of-place steel blue spacecraft, landing at such a place. That didn’t matter to him, though. All that mattered, was that he was very nervous.

He had never, in his young life, ever seen a beach or lake, or learned to swim. His curiosity took hold, and he tried to interface with Intra, from his far seat in the middle of the ship.

“Intra, initiate.” His cadence speaking those words was a little shaky, but other than that it was a bit assertive, good enough to converse with Intra.

Almost instantly, a blue light pulsed, indicating that Intra was ready to respond.

“Intra, what is the weather like in Penwood City, and how hot will it be today?”

“Mister Lyric, the weather in Penwood City, is sunny with a chance of showers later on in the day, and the temperature is a moderate 23 degrees celsius. No major wind is forecasted. Does this satisfy you, Mister Lyric?”

He wasn’t expecting Intra to direct a question at him, but he answered anyway. “Yes, thank you Intra.”

🎃 OCTOBER 🎃

Notable excerpts from this month

None :( (this is the first month where my writing output drastically dwindled, due in part to one, working very extensively on one single project, and two, spending too much writing energy on making those Tiny Scene Sunday prompts way longer than I would've made them lol)

❄️ NOVEMBER ❄️

Notable excerpts from this month

Melodiverse Museum, Crossover Shorts #1

Midnight was graced with the immense beauty of a soft and serene forest landscape with muted rays of sunlight welcoming him into this new home. Behind him however, Staticlight seemed afraid, he shuddered in anxiety, briefly glitching with his body being wiped like a computer screen, then returning back to normal, and continued walking along with him being wary of every step.

“…Uh, Midnight.” Staticlight started, beginning to hide his face. “I hope you didn’t notice that little blip that happened there… I get very nervous around new environments.”

Midnight sweetly smiled. “Staticlight, that’s alright!” He placed his shoulder on Staticlight’s. “Would you like some comfort, so that you could get used to this new place?”

Staticlight sighed. “Yes, that would be very nice, thank you.”

He spotted a quaint small forest home, with vines draping over it’s windows that kept bugs out but it’s usual glass barriers were invisible, being replaced by a magical barrier. In the distance, he saw the figure of a short goblin girl and four other figures leading her away from the house.

What are they doing? Midnight thought, as he instinctively pulled out a sapphire blade with a purple aura of music notes hovering around it, called the Melody Blade and tugged Staticlight as he broke into a sprint while he straggling behind, determined to liberate this goblin girl from these supposed misfits.

Midnight and the Gift of the Melody Blade (new version!)

Penwood High, at least on the outside, looked like the way every school usually does to students entering high school: like a prison for your thoughts, mind, and creativity. But to Midnight however, he had a hunch that once he saw that pledge to all kinds of species diversity, that his educational experience was going to be a fun romp through interesting subjects.

Unfortunately for him though, due to a biological curse he inherited from his previous mother, everyday he had to keep his supernatural sibling named Staticlight from getting them both into trouble, and Midnight knew that of course was an exercise of futility.

🎄 DECEMBER 🎄

Notable excerpts from this month

Prompt VII from "prompts to shake things up", with the prompt list being created by @juicywritinghoard!

It had just hit the onset of evening, when Midnight had to take a trip to the emergency room, accompanied by Staticlight, after Midnight had felt a horrible headache come on.

Staticlight did his best to drive carefully within the maze of traffic that was Penwood City’s roads, to get Midnight safely to that location, and soon enough they pulled into Penwood City’s hospital parking lot.

Midnight had to lean against Staticlight for support as they sprinted into the emergency department, in which there were many other people waiting, in this sea of bright fluorescent lights, soft couches, and tightly compacted cubicles which occupied a small number of nurses.

He sat down at one of the cubicles, facing a human nurse with blonde hair, hazel eyes, and a green-red striped t-shirt on. She smiled before turning her gaze to her computer, mentally preparing to write notes about his situation.

“What’s your name?” She smiled, though of course there was a hint of seriousness within her tone.

Midnight responded back with the same formality.

“My name’s Midnight Altera Starleaf.”

He could hear the nurse typing from behind the plexiglass that separated them, and very quiet mumblings as she did so.

“Birthday?”

“June 19th, 2006.”

More typing.

“Why have you come to the emergency department?”

“Just a few hours ago, a horrible headache, with no cause from what I could remember, started up and left me unable to sleep soundly, so we left to drive here.”

There was more typing.

“Have you drank enough and eaten enough today?”

“Yes.”

There was a final moment of typing before she clicked a couple times, and under the glass slipped a sky blue bracelet with Midnight’s date of birth on it to him, which was tightened onto his wrist.

Melodiverse Holiday Specials #1: Midnight and the Snowflake Spirit

“T’was the night before Christmas, when all through the house…” Midnight was snug in his bed, in between a thing of heaven that was a large and fluffy baby blue blanket that laid over his body. Trying not to fall asleep, he couldn’t begin to deny the comfort that came from it, as he listened intently to Staticlight telling him a classic christmas story: one of a silent night, cozy fireplaces, children tucked into their beds, a man with a big white beard and red jumpsuit, and gifts left under an artificial tree.

“Not a creature was stirring… Not even a mouse.” Staticlight briefly paused. “Wait, wait, wait, hold on. The fuck is this christmas story?” Staticlight took a glance at the colorful book he was reading this story from. There was everything from snowmen, to kids dressed in snow-appropriate gear, with scarves, mittens, and knitted hats, and then there was reindeer and small little elves in the corner of the page.  

Why do children even read this? Staticlight thought, and closed the book, throwing it onto the soft carpeted floor. At that point, he didn’t care for the safety of a precious book. All he knew was the fact that he was angered by a simple Christmas story.

--------

PART TWO: The Monthly Overviews

So, for this I'm just going to skip past the "pre-writeblr" months and go straight to the "post-writeblr" months!

☀️JULY ☀️ - July was the first month in my new writeblr journey! I feel like I accomplished what I could when I was first finding my footing. This was also the month I began working on Stars, Bits, and Bytes!

☀️AUGUST☀️ - August was the second month, in which I did some writing here and there, but most of it was spent on writeblr ask games.

☀️SEPTEMBER☀️ - Now September. This was without a doubt my most productive month on writeblr, in the five months I've been here. I wrote a lot for Stars, Bits, and Bytes (specifically for Episode Two), Goblin Theft Auto, and a Stars, Bits, and Bytes side story!

Now that I've overviewed the summer months of my writeblr journey... time to get into how the remainder of the turning seasons went for my writeblr blog!

🎃 OCTOBER 🎃 - Coming off of the creative high of September's creative output that I had sustained through the month, I was creatively drained through much of October, and even took a short 4 day break off of Tumblr entirely to regain my creativity, during the week of October 10th - 17th (I returned from my break on the 16th lol)

❄️ NOVEMBER ❄️ - And with the end of that creativity drought brought on by October, November soon enough reinvigorated me to write some stuff! Within that month I started a new WIP, which I called the Melodiverse Museum (basically a gallery of sorts, for short Melodiverse stories) and began writing the first self-crossover short for it!

During November, I also managed to rewrite the entire beginning of Midnight and the Gift of the Melody Blade, so that was nice!

🎄 DECEMBER 🎄 - With a satisfying close to November, the month of Christmas was upon us and with the holidays fast approaching, I began writing holiday specials for the Melodiverse. Three were planned, but only one ended up getting half-finished, and that was one called "Midnight and the Snowflake Spirit". Hmm, maybe I'll finish that holiday special within January...

Overall I feel content with the amount of writing I managed to accomplish for this year, and I am greatly excited for the future writing ventures that will make their way to this blog, when Arc II of my blog begins!!

[gekken]

Been playing the hell out of Lego Star Wars: the Skywalker Saga, and I have to say I'm disappointed at how the levels are just not fun to replay. The open world was decently fun to explore and puzzle solve in, I have no complaints about that, the voice acting was generally fine, and overall was a good addition to the game.

But replaying levels in free play is just not fun, since it seems to stick you to the default level characters most of the time. And certain story moments will more often than not swap you back to the default so like Dooku and Obi Wan can say their voicelines to each other at the end of Attack of the Clones. But what if I wanted Luke or Ahsoka or Darth Maul to clash swords with Dooku in that fight? For the most part you can, but at sometimes odd moments it will insist you be the level default characters.

I remember the old games letting you pick and choose which characters you wanted to take into a level and then it would fill in the rest with randoms from categories that you might need to get everything in a level, and I honestly miss that, being able to swap to anyone is nice but kind of annoying, with how much menuing can be involved.

Levels are short, which I don't hate but I don't exactly love, and part of the story is told through free roam now, which I don't love but don't exactly hate. It was honestly a bit confusing at first, I started with episode 4, and was thrown off by walking around as C-3PO and R2 and having constant "would you like to continue the story?" prompts pop up while stuck in a tiny canyon after the escape pod. In a way, it does make it feel more fluid, but there are some moments I would like to revisit, and I'm not sure if there is an easy way to do that.

Episodes 7 through 9 were also kind of lacking in a lot of areas, the levels and free roam areas aren't as good as the ones from 1-6 and they only had like, 3 jokes, Kylo Ren is a huge Darth Vader fanboy, Kylo Ren doesn't wear shirts very often, and. I can't remember what I thought the third one was. But yeah, the sequel trilogy was a definite low point for me when I was going through the campaigns.

They also love having you chase and punch the hell out a creature or character for collectables or quests, and you can't just beat the hell out of them, you have to let them get some distance or maybe let some time pass? There were a few occassions where I was keeping pace with the runner and they wouldn't register damage until I backed off and then caught back up. Trying to shoot them had similar issues. These collectable/missions sucked, and while they didn't come up too often, I was never happy to some across them.

Like, it was fun enough, I'm still going for 100%, but it's changed from an enjoyable slog to just a slog.

[midnight-and-his-melodiverse]

Thank you so much for the tag @aohendo!!

Here's (more) than seven lines, of which I wrote for a Melodiverse piece that is not connected to any current WIP:

"Though of course, this headache had been persistent and was pounding at his skull like a person playing timpani in an orchestra of pain, and he groaned slightly.

Staticlight meanwhile, was fiddling around with a butterfly knife he always seemed to carry around with him.

"Mr. Midnight?" someone called from far away in the room.

Midnight opened up his eyes, and followed Staticlight to accompany the doctor who shortly led them to his office.

He got Midnight to sit in a soft chair. He gazed around the room and amidst the bright white walls, there were posters of which he recognized from certain books being written.

There was the spacecraft of the Titania, from Stars, Bits, and Bytes and a picture of Midnight, Staticlight, Dev, and his pet hellhound Soapie, from the Melody Blade Saga.

"So hello there, Mr. Midnight." the doctor began. "You can call me Dr. Saturn if you so choose, or call me by my first name Emmett if it's more comfortable for you."

Midnight shook his hand. "Nice to meet you Dr. Saturn."

Dr. Saturn had green eyes, purple hair, and a white button-up shirt, over a black shirt that had the text: "Mirrorventure" in a sci-fi like font, and below it, was a picture of four teens staring into the abyssal eye of a strange portal, which had rainbows behind it. Midnight gasped in astonishment when he saw it. "Woah, you have a MIRRORVENTURE SHIRT?" Dr. Saturn chuckled. "Yep. It's my favorite one to wear while thinking about the amazing time I'll have reading it when it's finally completed in the future!"

"So anyway, what brought you here?" Midnight then explained about his horrible headache to him. "Sorry that you're going through that man. But I guess some relieving news is that you're just going through growing pains! And don't worry, I can relate because my son is also a night demon and his horns are just coming in as well." Dr. Saturn smiled. "if you want to come and look in a mirror, you can see your little blue stub of demon horns trying to grow out!" Midnight laughed. He was glad that he wasn't alone in his growing pains. But he really wished for his headache to go away.

He walked to a mirror to see a reflection of his demon horns. "See, isn't that neat, Midnight?" Dr. Saturn called out as Midnight just stared at himself in that mirror for five minutes. They all walked back to Saturn's office. "I know I'm your doctor, and those demon horns growing in overnight may have been a sudden surprise, and I may be breaking formality here, but why would you want those removed when even as stubs, they look sick as hell?" Dr. Saturn grinned at him. "Here, have some medicine to get rid of the headache, and keep it by you in case it flares up again, because you can expect the headaches to keep happening as your demon horns continue growing in." The sun was just coming up as they left the emergency department and headed back home."

I leave this as an open tag!!

Heads Up, Seven Up

Thanks for the tag, @eccaiia!! This draft of Prince will heretofore be known as the glue collage draft, because oh boy is there some cutting and pasting happening right now. On the upside, I got to use a scene I wrote and thought I wouldn’t get to use at all!

Last 7ish from that, Iiriok speaking:

“When you were with them, did you feel safe?”

He had felt…

Safe.

His breath caught, heart pounding and pounding his ears, throbbing his hands, burning his eyes and he couldn’t do this, not here, not ever, not—

Prince Thaav had been safe.

They had cared.

Kiris buried his face into his knees.

Tagging: @junypr-camus, @daisywords, @midnight-and-his-melodiverse, @houndsofcorduff, @imperiumchronicles, @kyofsonder, and an open tag! Spread that tag game cheer!

[thankskenpenders]

I haven’t been keeping tabs on the man because that’s just... not a thing I do, believe it or not. Nobody has busted down my door to inform me of something insane like a new Scourge comic or more legal threats lately, so I haven’t looked at his Twitter. But I realized the other day marked the 12th anniversary of Penders first announcing his intention to make new comics starring Knuckles’ daughter Lara-Su, continuing his Archie Sonic run. The formal announcement of The Lara-Su Chronicles as a series would only come in December 2011, but in July 2010 his copyright battle went public via an announcement posted to his personal forum, which also explained what he was going to do with his newly copyrighted material

In that time, we’ve seen scattered individual pages, promotional art, script drafts, translation snippets in multiple languages, T-shirts, phone cases, masturbatory Screen Rant interviews, a bunch of con appearances on both sides of the country, the decision to make an Echyd’nya conlang, many Twitter ponderings on Echyd’nya reproductive biology and sexuality, and previews of a bespoke The Lara-Su Chronicles motion comic reader app that’s perpetually in early development. But Penders has yet to release a single chapter from what is apparently book one of a seven-part graphic novel saga after 12 years

By my count, in the time it’s taken him to make and release any new comics, 253 official English language Sonic comics have been released. That includes Archie, IDW, and the Forces miniseries. And of course, that number would be even higher had we not seen a 16-month gap due to Archie losing the license and the team being rehired by IDW

Despite the number of messages I receive wanting me to rag on him endlessly for every little thing he’s ever said and done, I don’t actually get off on kicking an old man when he’s down. But he’s apparently back to taking pot shots at the IDW comics (which he has not and will not read) for attention on Twitter, so I figured some perspective was due 💖

[45percenterthen]

Belated bday fic for bearer of cursed fruit facts @seraphlm and thee plant dad cas truther @cactuscas !! Love u guys v much, happy bday <3 (ao3 link here)

“Fuck’s a horoscope again? It’s like, stars and shit, right?”

He bumps Cas’ elbow, who’s squinting at one of his fern-looking-things like he’s experimenting with horticultural telepathy. The saga of the fern-thing has been turbulent, to say the least. It’s wilting a bit, leaves curling in on themselves like tiny fists. Cas has spent the past few days carting it from one window ledge to another, muttering to himself about humidity levels with a familiar air of irritated devotion. Dean reckons the whole underground bunker situation probably isn’t helping. It’s well travelled, though, for a plant. Dean thinks it should be more grateful.

Cas nods, releasing a leaf with a sigh and sitting down next to Jack. “Indeed. Stars and shit.”

Jack’s engrossed in some magazine, finger tracing the words as he reads. Cas reaches for the edge of the page to hold it taut for him, and Dean can practically see his other hand itching for his phone. Diagnosis time for the fern-thing. Dean’s never seen a favorites bar so wholly taken up by gardening websites. Dean’s pretty sure the definition of true love is pausing Die Hard to read an article about potting soil drainage.

“Do you want to hear yours, Dean? It’s for this week.”

“Sure, kiddo.” To be honest, Dean thinks the concept of fate can very much, actually, go fuck itself. Jack looks delighted though, so he keeps it to himself. He stirs a bit of extra butter into the eggs because that’s the way Jack likes them, dutifully not looking at Cas to avoid a depressing conversation about his cholesterol levels.

“Oh! It says you’re lucky this week, Dean!”

“Awesome, bud! Time to stock up on the scratch cards, eh?”

Sam chooses that moment to come lumbering in. The state of his hair suggests a sleepless night, or that a recent localized hurricane that targeted his bedroom only.

“Hi Sam! We’re reading horoscopes. Dean’s an Aquarius.”

“Oh, cool.” Eileen had been delayed on a salt and burn with some of the new-hunter-network people. Sam looks suitably mopey about it, forlorn housewife that he is. “Mercury’s in marmalade, and all that.”

“Aquarius is ruled by Uranus,” Jack continues, and Sam instantly chokes. On air, apparently. Bastard.

“One more time, Jack? Dean’s ruled by his –”

“You’re a child, Samantha.” Dean looks around for the nearest something-painful-not-fatal to throw at him. Plant’s a no. Instant divorce. He glances at the eggs, but decides he doesn’t want to spend his morning getting egg yolk outta the tile grouting.

“Dude, oh my – I should’ve just checked your horoscope,” Sam walks over to the fridge, catching the Mary Berry’s Baking Bible that Jody sent them for Christmas in mid-air. “Would’ve saved us a talk.”

“Eat your pineapple and shut up, man.”

“Did you know that pineapples are technically berries?” Jack says. Dean wonders if Cas introduced him to WebMD-for-plants. Or maybe this is just a side effect of being The New God on the block. Berry omniscience. “Well. The outside bit is. Bananas are berries too.”

“That’s weird,” Sam closes the fridge door. Stares into his bowl like he’s offended. Dean’s offended Sam eats nothing but fruit in the morning. “After the heaven rebuild. You should, like, fix berries.”

Jack turns to Cas solemnly. “Should I fix berries?”

“Perhaps you should concentrate on heaven, first. Then we can see about berries.”

“I don’t want to ruin the fabric of our established universe,” Jack says, and Dean’s struck, once again, with the sudden realisation that he’s making eggs for the most powerful entity in Creation. Mondays, man.

“I don’t think Chuck had any such purity of intent in mind,” Cas says darkly, pouring more milk into God’s glass for strong bones and teeth, and yeah, Dean’s pretty keen to steer Cas away from that particular line of conversation.

“Hey, what’s Cas’ horo-whatever?” He takes the eggs off the heat and walks over to the table, leaning over to see what the hell magazine this is, actually. Looks Rowena-y. Is the Queen of Hell sending his son-God care packages? That’s one way to establish diplomatic relations.

He rests his hands on Cas’ shoulders, stroking his thumbs at the neckline of his t-shirt when he feels tension. He decides against pressing a kiss to Cas’s hair. Just ‘cause he’s with a dude now, doesn’t mean he’s gonna be all gay about it. Cas’ left hand comes up to cover his own. Their rings clink.

“Cas doesn’t have a birthday, though.” Jack frowns at the page slightly, apparently looking for the section on fallen angel anomalies.

“Then we’ll have to pick one –” Dean starts, just as Cas says, “September eighteenth.”

Cas tips his head back against Dean’s chest, peers up at him. He’s got dried toothpaste at the corner of his mouth. Dean grins stupidly at his upside-down face. “September eighteenth, yeah.” Something swoops in his chest. Cas is earnest, and it’s unbearable. He loves at full volume, and Dean’s as grateful as he is undeserving. He squeezes Cas’ shoulder. Tradition, and all that.

Jack taps the page. “It says you’re a Virgo, Cas!”

They’re still staring at each other as Jack starts reading aloud. Dean brushes hair off Cas’ forehead and thinks, for once, he’s landed himself the permanent kind of happy. Dean’s pretty sure he’s loved him for years and years, quietly, achingly.

There’s the sound of cutlery against ceramic, and Dean looks up to check Sammy’s not weeping into his fruit bowl out of sheer girlish pride or whatever. He’d made it six words into his best man speech before the waterworks. Dean’s never letting him live it down.

⁂

“So,” Dean says later, after Sam’s gone to collect Eileen from town, and Jack’s off on heavenly refurb duty. “My lucky week, huh?”

Dean circles his arms round Cas’ midriff. Lets his chin rest on his shoulder, because he can, and also to check Cas isn’t half-assing the washing up.

“Apparently so.”

Dean hums. It’s funny. They’re married. And yet moments like these, the big ones, still manage to make him a bit nervous. It’s stupid. He’s hardly gonna say no. But Dean supposes they’ve never managed to get anything in the right order. Two deathbed confessions amidst a decade of friendship. An ‘I love you too’ echoing off brick in an empty room. Two kids co-parented before they even kissed, and they were already living together when they started dating. Someone get Nicholas Sparks on the phone.

“Perfect week to put an offer down on a house then, right? That one on the lake?”

Cas drops a fork into the bubbles. He turns his head to reply and Dean takes it as an opportunity to kiss what’s within reach. The smile lines around his eye, his temple greying with the proof that Cas loves him. He’s all in. Dean is too, terrifyingly.

“Really?”

“Yeah, dude.” Dean nods at the fern guy. “Your plants would appreciate the sunlight, right? And there’s a room for Jack.”

Cas spins in his arms, leaning against the sink to look Dean in the eye. Dean grabs at his soapy palm, intertwining their fingers, confident in his sappiness when no one’s watching.

“I know I always say Sammy didn’t make the most of his college experience, but dorming in my forties isn’t exactly what I meant –”

“You’ll miss him, though.”

“Of course, man. Lived with Sam my whole life. But,” Dean relinquishes the hand to cup Cas’ face, “I kinda wanna do my own thing now. With you. So, move in with me, Mr. Winchester? Somewhere… overground?”

It’s so off-your-feet sweepingly romantic Dean feels like he deserves a medal. Maybe this is their karmic justice after the proposal debacle.

Cas is smiling at him, soft and sweet. “Okay, Dean.” He puts wet hands around his waist and Dean doesn’t even care that it’s seeping through his t-shirt. “Lake house it is.”

Dean leans in, kisses him three times in response. He lingers on the last one, smiling against Cas’ mouth. Cas knows what he means.

[therappundit]

***THE RAP PUNDIT’S HIGHLIGHTS [Part 4]: More of the Best of 2022***

...and Happy Halloween!  💀

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gallery/2016/oct/31/scary-vintage-halloween-costumes-in-pictures

https://therappundit.tumblr.com/post/687884232044986368/the-rap-pundits-first-half-highlights-part

https://therappundit.tumblr.com/post/688815947113496576/q1-done-but-then-some-more-part-2-of-the

https://therappundit.tumblr.com/post/698604730616791040/the-rap-pundits-highlights-part-3-more-of

****RANKED IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER, JUST HOW I WAS COMPILING THEM AT THE TIME**** …

The saga continues....BOO-tang....BOO-tang.....

“FlyGod Jr.” - Westside Gunn feat. DJ Drama & Doe Boy

https://soundcloud.com/westsidegunn/flygod-jr?in=westsidegunn/sets/10-336277330

“Science Class” - Westside Gunn feat. Busta Rhymes, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah & Stove God Cooks

https://soundcloud.com/westsidegunn/science-class?in=westsidegunn/sets/10-336277330

“Shootouts In Soho” - Westside Gunn feat. A$AP Rocky & Stove God Cooks

https://soundcloud.com/westsidegunn/shootouts-in-soho?in=westsidegunn/sets/10-336277330

“Drop An Album” - Boldy James & Evidence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGCBHkXN5r0

“Black Pinot” - Meyhem Lauren & Daringer feat. Action Bronson

https://soundcloud.com/meyhemlauren/black-pinot-action-bronson-daringer?in=meyhemlauren/sets/black-vladimir-1

“White Rabbit Freestyle” - Marco Plus

https://soundcloud.com/itsmarcoplus/white-rabbit-freestyle-1?in=itsmarcoplus/sets/tha-soufside-villain-lp-1

“Skylar Diggins Interlude” - Marco Plus feat. Kenneth Cash

https://soundcloud.com/itsmarcoplus/skylar-diggins-interlude-feat?in=itsmarcoplus/sets/tha-soufside-villain-lp-1

“Pointing Fingers” - Archibald Slim feat. Ethereal

https://powrecordings.bandcamp.com/track/pointing-fingers-feat-ethereal

“Can’t Punk Me” - JID feat. EARTHGANG

https://soundcloud.com/jidsv/cant-punk-me-feat-earthgang

“Wish Upon A Star” - Smoke DZA feat. Curren$y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmdC_Wr_9pE

“Eulogy” - Joey Bada$$

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daRZhJyyz_s&list=OLAK5uy_nT7XMqHPNPTSaNtVxXe_kRpnPAZrsrPis&index=6

“Postcard” - Papo2oo4, DJ Lucas & Subjxct 5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-zXCc2KVvU

“1080p” - Papo2oo4, DJ Lucas & Subjxct 5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jPt826VWVU&list=OLAK5uy_mUXzTT8GQ-2Kyf2VGy-z1eRelBFw35pNk&index=8

“Dave Chappelle Is Wrong (Beef With God)” - SHIRT

https://mellomusicgroup.bandcamp.com/track/dave-chappelle-is-wrong-beef-with-god

“LOVE4ADOLLA$” - GRINCHN’4$

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuoS_3wOhVE

“FACE CARD” - TTM Dawg feat. Shawny Binladen, Big YAYA & Big GLTAOW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6sIipJZGMo

“Dame Lillard” - Ot7QANNY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i15gKYJu8k&t=26s

“Texas” - MarijuanaXO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnkXxt7pdNA

“Can’t Believe It” - Kid Cudi feat. 2 Chainz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH6RX316F_o

“Do Better” - Ab-Soul feat. Zacari

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c77E28DB_jE

“What won’t he do?” - Father

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PstTyVkMP8

“Step” - Jugg Harden

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdXXcg8M_qg

“Can’t Sleep” - Gudda Tezz feat. Nate Milli

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvpWIwHpFmg

“Dirty Laundry - Shady Ray feat. Jameel Na'im X & Young Act

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTwiidopM6E

“POZA” - Rick Hyde feat. Rome Streetz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMLHU2WRWxM

“Cristalle Jr.’” - Psalm One & Custom Made

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqv7xtXS0fU&t=111s

“O Tre Nine” - Boldy James & Nicholas Craven feat. Gue Wop

https://nicholascraven.bandcamp.com/track/0-tre-nine-feat-gue-wop

“Maneuver” - Lakeyah feat. Flo Milli

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6nm92_Y0jQ

“The Facts” - Kenzo B feat. Young Devyn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJAQpz-AsYk

“Free Rio” - YN Jay & Peezy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkQ0VtJAL1A

“Rta” - Drego & Beno

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNbJzxKmFCs

“Sorry We Was Trapping” -Drego & Beno

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NdYIMu5eT4

“Vaxuum Sealed” - Drego & Beno feat. BabyTron

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0qxpccmmL4

“223′s” -Midwxst feat. BabyTron

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh_HAsFL768

“Flu Game” - Reese LAFLARE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v90XPlqdAmY

“New Jack City” - Ralfy The Plug feat. OTM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRY26WsFzrw

“FOOTBALL HEADS” - Maxo Kream feat. Benny The Butcher

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEBSBLPCnKY

“Hot Shit” - Cardi B feat. Lil Durk & Kanye West

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1BLp2cPg5o

“GOD DID” - DJ Khaled feat. Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend, Fridayy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7JPFeh8MT0

🎃

[absolutebl]

THAI BL COMING IN 2021 - Master Post

Alphabetical order. 

Bad Buddy series - airing now 

BL couple: new PatPran or PranPat

Actor couple: new OhmNanon or NanonOhm (like OhmSingto I wouldn’t expect this to ship, but then I thought Nanon would never do BL so.. shrug?)

Origin: Book (Behind the Scenes) adaptation, enemies-to-lovers  

Status: promo content, full trailer. started workshopping in June 2021 

Wait I've seen them do BL before? Seriously? Fine. Nanon in My Dear Loser+ like everything GMMTV not BL, Ohm in He’s Coming to Me, Make it Right, Dew the Movie, The Shipper + like EVERYTHING BL.

Side dishes: Drake (Mork in My Tee & P’Mil in 2gether) and Fiat (Pure in MGYG & Day in SOTUS S)

Rumours: It's from GMMTV with BL director Backaof attached (1000 Stars, He’s Coming to Me, Dark Blue Kiss, Still 2gether), so it's gonna happen. Apparent enemies (actually secret friends) to lovers in a Romeo & Romeo star-crossed story. 

Predictions: Both actors and director have a history of picking quality projects with decent scripts, and production values are likely high. Should be excellent but low heat. Ohm will have his shirt off a lot. 

Between Us - moved to 2022 

BL couple: established WinTeam

Actor couple: established BounPrem, PremBoun

Origin: Until We Meet Again (from novel The Red Thread). Adaptation of spin off novel (Hemp Rope) turning secondary couple into mains, continuation of story arc.

Status: Hopefully July 2021 but probably later, promo content, not yet filming as of March 2020.  

Wait I've seen them do BL before? Long Khong as KinNat or NatKin (+ You Never Eat Alone & Wabi Sabi’s 2021 Seven Project)

Side dishes: Fluke (Pharm) and Ohm (Dean) are expected to reprise their roles from UWMA. 

Rumours: It's from WeTV with established (if inconsistent) BL director New (who did UWMA), so it's very likely to happen. Boun said in an interview that they don’t anticipate filming until early 2021 (depending on local politics & C19), so earliest release is mid 2021, but that’s optimistic. 

Predictions: The book, Hemp Rope, tells WinTeam’s romance from the start, so we might get some recon reboot action (like LBC2). I expect this to be slightly higher heat than what we get from GMMTV. 

Bite Me - COMPLETED 

(full trailer) - Mark Siwat as a delivery boy who inspires a grumpy chef. It feels like we are in Oxygen territory and that was one of my favorites last year.

SO SLOW 

Close Friend - COMPLETED

Actor couples: established multiples OhmFluke, JaFirst, KimCop, JimmyTommy, MaxNat, and YoonLay

Origin: 2Moons & Gen Y, Until We Meet Again, Why R U, TharnType 2, YYY

Type: six episode run featuring established BL couples, 1 ep each 

Wait I've seen them do BL before? All of them, that would appear to be the point. 

MIXED BAG

Call It What You Want 1 & 2 - COMPLETED 

BL couple: TimeBenz 

Actor couple: JamesAit (ship’em if you DARE) 

Origin: Supposed to be partly an exposé about what happened on the set of 2m2. Yet another installment in the saga of the 2 Moons franchise being a hot mess. Dark underbelly, anyone? 

Side dishes: Kaprao (TharnType & 2 Moons 2), Michael (Jay in Oxygen). 

DNF

The Cupid Coach - COMPLETED 

BL couple: LatteNight 

Actor couple: TeePeace 

Status: Jan 2021 air date - 10 eps, on Line TV

NOT RECOMMENDED

Golden Blood - COMPLETED

(teaser trailer) 

Stars familiar side dish Gun Napat (Techno from LBC) as a rich kid who needs a bodyguard. The soft Thai version of Where Your Eyes Linger which is FINE. Contains ALL the tropes and 2021′s BEST side couple. 

RECOMMENDED - REVIEW HERE 

Y-Destiny - COMPLETED

(Formerly: Destiny) 

BL couple: multiples

Actor couple: established YoonLay & PerthLay (this‘ll be fun) plus other established pairs 

Type: Sampler box of meat cutes 

Wait I’ve seen them do BL before? Lay + Yoon as NottPun in YYY, and Perth + Lay as RamKing in My Engineer. Max & Nat (DewBlue in Why R U), Korn (Wang in YYY), Peer (Ohm in YYY) 

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS - REVIEW HERE

Don’t Say No - COMPLETED 

BL couple: LeoFIat

Actor couple: JaFirst

Origin: MAME’s spin off from TharnType, TharnType 2, Love By Chance universe

Wait I've seen them do BL before? Ja was in Until We Meet Again as Pharm’s cousin Sin (that WIG) and First was in 2gether as Mil’s friend. 

Rumours: Friends to lovers + a good boy/bad boy pairing on a sports romance foundation (basketball). Higher heat D/s dynamic already causing controversy, going to be a dumpster fire of misery or joy, probably both. 

Predictions:  It’s MAME. So, ya know, expect some slam dunk kidnapping, a light dribbling of rape, and me turning into a basketcase.

RECOMMENDED only if you’ve nothing better to do (episode by episode dumpster fire recap here)

Enchanté - now listed for 2022 but status unknown 

BL couple: Theo+ unknown (see rumours)

Actor couple: Book+ unknown (see rumours) 

Status: Confirmed for 2021, full trailer.  

Wait I've seen them do BL before? Book is in Friend Forever as side character Tutor Kit. Fluke Gawin (Mork in Dark Blue Kiss), Fluke Pusit (Way in The Shipper). 

Rumours: It's from GMMTV but no director is listed, so I put this in the likely to happen stack. Secret admirer romance with a touch of Cyrano de Bergerac and dose of Boys Over Flowers. Theo returns from France and starts a written flirtation inside a library book (!) at his new uni with the mysterious Enchante. His best friend Ak hunts for Enchante’s real identity, and 4 senior boys step forward - all intersted in dating Theo: a nerd (P’Phupha), a musician, an artist, and a jock. It’s confusing as Ak might also be in the running. 

Predictions: New framework for Thai BL (although not for yaoi) and I’m intrigued. Low heat but very pretty. 

Fish Upon The Sky - COMPLETED

BL couple: new MorkPi 

Actor couple: new PondPhuwin 

Origin: Book (same author as 2gether & Theory of Love) rivals/enemies-to-lovers + makeover 

Wait I've seen them do BL before? Phuwin (Dark Blue Kiss & My Tee), Pond is new to BL. Neo (Na in Tonthon Chonlatee, Gord in My Tee), AJ (Non in Dark Blue Kiss), Mix (A Tale of a Thousand Stars) 

Rumours: Dentist (!) Pi has a crush on this boy and he thinks Mork likes that boy too. Mork, of course, likes Pi. Engineering boys step in to give Pi a makeover and advise him on his love life. 

Predictions: So many tropes in just the trailer: piggyback, floppy drunk, claiming, camping, wound tend, lap lie. Plus it’s rivals-to-lovers so I’m going to adore this one. Expect something in the 2gether style, sweet and low heat. 

NOT RECOMMENDED 

KinnPorsche - now listed for 2022 

BL couple: new KinnPorsche

Actor couple: new MileApo 

Origin: Book adaptation, mafia/bodyguard romance 

Status: Probably second half of 2021, long teaser trailer, lots of promo content, reported issues with the author.  

Wait I've seen them do BL before? The titular characters are played by actors new to BL - intentionally. Jeff & Gameplay (of Ingredients) playing Kinn’s younger brother and Prosche’s younger brother respectively, Tong (P’Thorn from TharnType also in Second Chance) plays Kinn’s older brother, Green (Suthee from 2 Moons 2), Us (Matt from I Am Your King) and Toto (My Engineer) play bodyguards. Perth (Ram in My Engineer) also shows up. 

Rumours: Has been cast. Mafia kid, Kinn, is assaulted and flees into the arms of student Porsche. Porsche, a national judo champion, helps Kinn escape and Kinn blackmails him into becoming his bodyguard. They fall in love. In the book there is a surrounding cast of brothers and bodyguards also with BL romances. The series also includes a turf war. 

Predictions: I would guess this one is the most likely on this whole list to go in a TharnType direction. The trailer indicates they took the smart move and went dark with high production values, since that’s a niche they could make their own - but Thailand is scared of dark BL, so we could end up with something inconsistent. 

Lovely Writer - COMPLETED

BL couple: new NubsibGene

Actor couple: new KaoUp

Origin: Book Nubsib 

Wait I've seen them do BL before? Kao (Korn in UWMA), Up is new to BL  (Wave in The Gifted 2016). Kenji (Technic in TharnType etc.)

Rumours: It's from three studios with established BL director Tee (TharnType) attached, so it’ll happen. It’s about a BL writer who, in the process of casting and filming his first BL series, falls in love with the lead actor. 

Predictions: I expect this to be low heat and high angst. Another one commenting on the BL industry, but without as much possible damage. It’s going to rest almost entirely on Up’s performance, so I hope he’s good. Expected tropes here. 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 

Nitiman - COMPLETED

BL couple: new BomJin

Actor couple: new NohJom

Origin: Book adaptation, university enemies to lovers 

Wait I've seen them do BL before? Jom played Por the photographer in Tonhon Chonlatee, Noh is new to BL and acting. Kaownah as Song (Lhong from TharnType) + Turbo as Jay. 

Rumours: Jin is the most sexy engineering moon to ever moon about campus, sadly he is mooning after a girl who broke his heart. He thinks his ex is now dating Bom, when in fact they are cousins, and Bom has had a crush on Jin. Jin feels guilty for misunderstanding Bom so befreinds him. Bome starts flirting hardcore but Jin is clueless. Seems a lot like 2gether meets Tonhon Chonlatee. [The story is supposed to have been written as slash fic for K-pop idols JB/Jinyoung of K-pop’s GOT7. Talk about crossing the streams.] Kaownah and Turbo were supposed to star in My Umbrella but that got cancelled. This is not the same story, although people keep confusing them online. 

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS - REVIEW HERE

Not Me - delayed, now listed for 2022 

BL couple: new SeanBlack

Actor couple: established OffGun  

Origin: unknown

Status: Confirmed for 2021, probably end of the year, official trailer.  

Wait I've seen them do BL before? Of course you have, in everything GMMTV.

Side dishes: Mond (Water Boyy), First (The Shipper), Fluke Gawin (Dark Blue Kiss), Puimek (SOTUS S), Gigie (2gether)

Rumours: For GMMTV with established queer award-winning director Anucha attached and starring OffGun! This is the dark, gritty gang-set BL series we all expected from Motorcycle (before it disappeared from the radar). They are having Gun play twins.

Predictions: This will happen or people will riot. Since it’s GMMTV + OffGun expect low heat but high drama.

My Boy the series - COMPLETED

University-set pulp airing on Line TV that looks like a pastiche, although the POV is out gay (v rare). Enemies to lovers meets secret romance + all the tropes. 7 minute trailer..

DNF 

My Engineer 2 - delayed, now listed for 2022  

BL Couple: RamKing, BohnDuen, TharaFong 

Actor couple: PerthLay, CooperPoy, MDShane

Origin: My Engineer the series 2020. Second season, continuation of story arc, shifted focus to side couples.    

Status: No release date, filming to start in April, so far just promo content. 

Wait I've seen them do BL before? Yes, this is a spin off, most of the support cast (except Mek) are expected to reprise their rolls. 

Rumours: Pulled from this truly adorable gossip and promo vid. My Engineer 2 will probably begin filming in April. 

Predictions: It’s supposed to still release in 2021 so with post production my guess is for an October, but more likely November release.

Seven Project - COMPLETED 

Studio Wabi Sabi’s answer to Y-Destiny (trailer) is a seven episode sampler pack 3 BL, 3 het, 1 GL. hinted at in UWMA’s late 2020 fan vids. 

Includes: 

BL Earth (In in UWMA) & Santa 

Yacht (Pond in LBC1&2)

BL Boom & Peak (TeeFuse in MIR)

Plan (Can in LBC1&2)

GL Samantha (Manaow in UWMA + lots of other rolls) & Pineare (Del in UWMA, Yuri in Love Sick)

BL Boun & Prem (WinTeam in UWMA)

Perth (Ae LBC1&2)

NOT RECOMMENDED but the BoomPeak ep is okay.

1000 Stars AKA Tale of Thousand Stars - COMPLETED 

(AKA A Tale of Thousand Stars) 

BL Couple: new PhuphaTian

Actor couple: new EarthMix

Origin: Book

Wait I've seen them do BL before? Earth (in Water Boyy, ToL, LBC), this is Mix’s first BL. Khaotung (2gether), Drake (2gether, My Tee), Nammon (SOTUS S), White (Love Sick) 

Rumours: It's from GMMTV with established BL director Backaof, so it's happening. Filming delayed due to C19. Location shooting is the suspected reason Earth was not in the ToL special. Originally slated for 2020. 

Predictions: Earth and Mix are ship-friendly and do a ton of promo. GMMTV has spent bank on this one, I’d be surprised if they never aired it but clearly there are some serious production issues what with lack of air date and continued delays. 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 

Top Secret Together - COMPLETED

Status: Airing May 2021, trailer, some promo material 

Wait I've seen them do BL before? Newyear (YES! I am Your King), Aof (Make it Right), Yuuki (Oxygen) 

Rumours: Studio Non Noi producing for Star Bangkok. Features 5 couples so it may be a bit of a soap opera, think Friend Zone but more gay. The most exciting thing is that anchor couple Newyear & Both are an ACTUAL couple. So is this Thailand’s first BL staring an out gay couple? The stories look like pretty standard tropes: hazing, enemies-to-lovers, internship office romance, friends-to-lovers, jock/nerd, homophobic father, and so forth. 

RECOMMENDED WITH SERIOUS RESERVATIONS 

The Yearbook - COMPLETED 

Status: Airs July 2021, trailer on Line TV, 10 episodes

Rumours: Directed by Mean (Tin in LBC) and featuring Prem (Team in UWMA) but staring unknowns. It’s a reunion romance about high school bffs (sweethearts?) who parted badly and reunite years later because of a tragedy (?). 

RECOMMENDED WITH SERIOUS RESERVATIONS 

Love Area - on hiatus, moved to 2022

Restaurant set, stars Pak Chavitpong (the only good thing about Cupid Coach) and guest drop in from Jeff Satur (Ingredients). Thailand tackles love triangles pulp style. 

My Mate Match - COMPLETED 

cohabitation love triangle from Starhunter, stars Jet & Jame & Big (Jack & Koh & Pharawee from Gen Y) on LINE TV. 

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS 

Peach of Time  (technically K-BL) - COMPLETED 

Status: Airs Aug 30 2021, 10 episodes, trailer, BTS 

Crossover project between Korea & Thailand involving Mii2 AKA JimmyTommy AKA SaifahZon (publicity stills) and Choi Jae Hyun of Run On. This is not the first co-funded co-acted BL venture: Call It What You Want was a Thailand & Taiwan joint project (language: Thai), and Present Still Perfect was Thailand & Japan (language: Thai, Japanese, English). It looks like Peach is Korean set and support cast though, so I think we can expect high production values, short episodes, Korean language. (I really REALLY want a Japan/Taiwan co-project.) About a Thai boy, Peach (Jimmy), who travels to stay with his online Korean friend. There’s drama with the mother and a ghost. 

RECOMMENDED ONLY IF YOU LIKE SAD

Completed but... 

I Promised You the Moon - Follow up to I Told Sunset About You with the boys now at university.

DID NOT WATCH 

The Best Story (mini series) and new YinWar vehicle. 

NOT RECOMMENDED UNHAPPY ENDING 

RUMORED 2021 BL PROJECTS & KILLS 

2gether the movie (Thai trailer) - intended release April 2021 but postponed due to C19.

2 Moons 3 - not happening. Actor who played Wayo left, actor who played Pha on hiatus, actors playing Ming & Kit will not return, it’s known that the actor who plays Forth is also uncomfortable with continuing. If it does happen it will be all new cast... again. 

Absolute Zero - adaptation of an alt-timeline story (think HIStory Obsessed) with New attached to direct. Wabi Sabi dropped teaser and moved to 2022 it looks like. Moved to 2022.

AcadeX - Harry Potter meets The Gifted, no listing in MDL for this one yet not sure how much BL it will be, but it is from Starhunter so we can expect *some* BL. 

Bitter Sweet - stars the same actors as My Engineer. But revolves around the co-heirs (played by Cooper & Sean) of a fancy Hotel in Bangkok plus the head pâtissier (Ploy), and head chef (Inntouch). I think we can assume Cooper & Ploy are paired as per usual, which means Sean & Inntouch are playing off each other, might be fun. Perth and Lay are also supposed to put in appearances. Moved to 2022. 

City of Stars - apparently Starhunter has acquired the rights to adapt this y-novel which I am excited about. Starhunter is notoriously terrible about story structure, so an adaptation is better for them. No cast yet. Moved to 2022. 

Gen Y 2 - listed as coming out December 21, 2021 from Star Hunter. Moved to 2022 because it starts so late in the year. 

Loveless Society - Thailand bringing us an office BL pulp with mature actors set in art & marketing worlds. Adult friendships, cheating and other mature darker themes. Think Friend Zone only gayer. Supposed to be coming to Line in November 2021 (trailer). Seems to be not particularly trope dependent and it feels a it like something from Vietnam. MDL has an extensive blurb, all the talent looks new to BL/acting. 

Motorcycle the series - was supposed to release in 2019 and had a trailer, got bumped to 2020, and now? Who knows what’s up with this one. Dead I think. Moved to 2022.

My Ride - book adaptation, there was a trailer but... production issues. Slated for 2020 from LineTV but never dropped. Doctor meets motorcycle taxi driver in an “other side of the tracks” romance. Billed as sweet and innocent. Also features at least one BL side couple. The screenwriter is Fluke Teerapat (AKA Wad in SOTUS & Golf in My Bromance) the director is new, so that might account for delays or struggles in production. Stars actors new to BL. This one is on my hit list as likely to get killed before ever seeing daylight. If there is a breakout popular BL for Line at the beginning of 2021, they might activate this one, but the number of unknowns makes me nervous. Moved to 2022. 

Paint With Love - Met is a wedding organizer who has hired Phap, a poor artist, to work on a painting for an upcoming wedding. Phap ruins something and has to work for Met to pay off his debt. Stars Singto (SOTUS) as the uke, and Tae (2 Moons original Forth) as the seme. Teaser trailer. 

The Sweet Robot - has been cast but with predominantly unknowns, Sib from I am Your King is the only one i recognize. Supposed to have sf/f elements. Moved to 2022. 

Secret Admirer - book adaptation (teaser) about an ordinary guy still in love with the older boy he lived next door to during university, starring Earth (who I think plays the older character) was Wayo in 2 Moons 2 opposite Fluk is seasoned but not done BL. Side characters include Art (was in What The Duck opposite Mew, which was v high heat BL). Yut was in I am Your King, What the Duck, and 3 Will Be Free. Anusorn Soisa-ngim is based in Thailand and was the director of 2 Moons 2 and is well known for LGBTQ+ rep and cross country projects (Present Perfect with Japan and Call It What You Want with Taiwan).  I think he’s a good director I just don’t like his stories very much. Moved to 2022. 

Secret Crush on You - co-produced by and featuring (but NOT staring) Saint and directed by Cheewin (sigh) with all fresh faces. (Previously known as Stalker the series.) It looks like pure pulp and I’m not wild about the plot (very similar to Secret Admirer) but could be better than expected as it’s adapted from a novel. Has a GL side couple! We are all very excited by this. Cheewin is an okay director when he has an actual story to follow, so I’m cautiously optimistic. Moved to 2022. 

Something in My Room - horror BL start Nut (Oxygen). I’m in, I love Nut and I like how BL handles a ghost story (So Much in Love, Y-Destiny, He’s Coming to Me, Peach of Time). Moved to 2022. 

That’s My Candy - new KimCop vehicle from Starhunter, about an LTR between a doctor and his boyfriend, that looks to be a “could be the future of MarkKit but we gonna pretend otherwise but they’re basically the same characters” just like Gen Y repackaged 2 Moons. Hey, whatever works for them, right? Already picked up by LINE TV as a 10 ep arc. Moved to 2022.

The Theory series (teaser trailer) - university set but a couple of mature themes and decent acting, kinda like what FUTS should have been only pulpy. I think it’s En of Love stye, so three separate but equally weighted love stories from within a cross over friendship group. Familiar faces include Dome (Beam in 2 Moons 2) opposite Benz (Praram/Pralak in En of Love: This is Love Story), and Ken (Tum in Lovely Writer who I LOVE). Moved to 2022.

Tell the World I Love You - so much for Perth (Ae from Love By Chance) never doing BL again. He’s opposite Bas (Wayo/Wayu 2 Moons, Gen Y) in this action movie which has completed filming and was supposed to release to theaters in April 2021. Established director Poj, support cast include Bank (Gen Y). About two teens falling in love caught up in the world of gagsters. Because of C19 it was never distributed to theaters. It looks like Starhunter is looking to cut a deal on wide release. Fingers crossed. I REALLY want to see this one. Moved to 2022.

The Tuxedo - stars Chap (from Y-Destiny & Lovely Writer) opposite Green (2 Moons 2 & Lovely Writer minor rolls) directed by Mike who did Golden Blood. Moved to 2022.

Unforgotten Night (adapted from the y-novel Mafia's Bad Love) - listed as in production. Office grunt Kim has been pining after his senior for a long time. To forget about him, he decides to have one night stand with a random stranger. That stranger becomes obsessed with him. Mafia man Kamol is kinky and (I’m assuming a Dom) and no one is able to satisfy him until Kim. This has the feel of a KinnPorsche knock off (like Gen Y was for 2 Moons), but hey if that doesn’t get made who are we to look down on the Golden Bloods of the BL world? However, it features a gay poly triad and a GL sub plot with Wabi Sabi’s Sammy. 

Stars Yoon (YYY) as the mafia Dom and Ton (Y-Destiny, he was opposite the boy who time-slipped) as the sub. Familiar faces include Atom (who was one of Dean’s business friends who teased Pharm in UWMA) and T was Kay in Oxygen,

Honestly, the poster makes me think this might all be a joke. Moved to 2022.

What Zabb Man! - from Starhunter a large cast foodie romance that looks a little bit like their next Gen Y without KimCop anchoring it. Moved to 2022.

Final Thoughts 

Most anticipated? Between Us or Bad Buddy 

Most important to the industry? Seven Project 

Most angsty? Not Me

Most precious? Lovely Writer 

Most challenging? Call it What You Want 

Most intriguing framework? Enchanté 

Funniest? Y-Destiny 

Trends? 

It’s really nice to see a lot of “yep, he’s gay.” Now that the coming out hurdle is gone, let’s see what OTHER romance plots we can come up with. Mmm’k? 

I noticed we have little to no High School set stuff for 2021. Since Love Sick, Make it Right, and YA tropes are favorites of mine I’m a little sad, but also happy to see them move away from casting minors, so... shrug, I guess? 

My personal 2021 ranking predictions (I’m notoriously bad at this and I like to know how wrong I was at the beginning of the year from when I do best ofs at the end): 

Between Us - purely on the strength of UWMA’s script + WinTeam 

Bad Buddy series - because Nanon in BL + Ohm! 

Fish Upon The Sky - all my favorite tropes 

Enchanté - Thai BL trying on some Japanese yaoi + traditional romance tropes 

Lovely Writer - interesting concept + Kao 

KinnPorsche - we need a good mafia BL + Jeff & Gameplay 

Love Mechanics the series - it’s VeeMark & I love my hot messes 

Not Me - OffGun but very dark, not sure my heart can take it 

Y-Destiny - PerthLay but YYY was too much for me, so not sure 

A Tale of Thousand Stars - so many delays, I’m worried 

Top Secret Together - concerned about the lack of publicity but excited by the out queer rep 

My Ride - worried about the lack of publicity + unknown cast & crew 

The Cupid Coach - same as above, since Friend Forever, I’m scared 

Call It What You Want - I just don’t want to know how bad the BL world is

Do you remember when all we got was Love Sick, SOTUS, and Make it Right? 

[danakin-skywalker]

Star Crossed (Danny Wagner): Chapter Four *FINALE*

Two bands, both alike in dignity

At Lollapalooza where we lay our scene

From ancient grudge break to new mutiny

……. a pair of star cross’d lovers………

Taglist:@flowervanfleet @weightofdreams-gvf @sierraahhhh @stardustschords @amourleger @ageofsewingmachine@theweightofstardust @samkiszkabreakmyback @gretavanhoney @koifishkoifish @prettyintopeerpressure @greta-flanveet @fosterkidwiththebrokenjaw​ and potentially you, just lmk! (also if you asked to be added specifically to this fic’s taglist and want to continue to be tagged in my future work, also lmk)

(A/N): Well, all good things eventually must come to an end. This chapter marks the conclusion of the Star-Crossed Saga and I can’t express enough how thankful I am to everyone who read, liked and/or commented on this series. It hasn’t been my most popular but I’m really proud of how it turned out. I can’t say I’m really jumping to write another chaptered fic anytime soon, just because this one took so much planning and time and as we/ve seen I’m not *amazing* at posting on a schedule. But now that this is done I can get started on Active pt II and the requests I have in my ask box. Until then, enjoy the finale!

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Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Y/N POV

By some incredible stroke of luck, I made it back to the tent after my brothers had fallen asleep. I carefully climbed into my sleeping bag and tucked myself in tightly, hoping that if either of the boys stirred they wouldn’t see the fresh set of love bites decorating my neck, chest and inner thighs. I wanted to be annoyed at Danny for this habit of his, marking me up, but I couldn’t possibly admit that it didn’t also exhilarate me to walk around adorned with proof that someone loves me. 

And that was the last thought that ran through my head before I was whisked off to sleep. He loves me.

That warm fuzzy feeling flowing through me, however, was notably absent when I woke up the next morning with a shiver. I was startled to find my sleeping bag zipped open, and my hair tossed to the side. Even more startling, the tent was noticeably empty save for me and the entrance was partially left ajar, hence the cool breeze that stirred me from my slumber. I took a few moments to take in my surroundings before my heart sank to my stomach like a brick in water. I scrambled out of the tent, throwing on shoes before all but sprinting to Danny’s campsite, hoping by some stroke of luck I could get there before my brothers did.

DANNY POV

I tried my best to rub the remaining sleep from my eyes in effort to hide how late I had returned to the tent the night before. My hair was down and my shirt fully buttoned to hide any proof of our late night hijinks, knowing if the guys found out it would only push me further onto their shit list. We ate breakfast in tense silence. I knew Jake had probably told them I was going to see her last night, and the fact that I was in such good spirits this morning probably told enough. 

Suddenly, from the other side of the table, Jake groaned, “Oh what the fuck is she doing back?”

I spun my head around to see none other than Y/N, still in the same clothes I had torn off of her the night prior, racing toward our site. 

“Jesus, Danny, great job ending things.” Sam muttered into his coffee sarcastically.

I opened my mouth to say something snarky back to him, but hesitated when I saw the look on her face. The sheer panic in her eyes. And I rose from the table as she approached us breathlessly. “What’s wrong?”

“They’re coming.” She heaved out between breaths. “I don’t know where they are, they were gone when I woke up, but they know and they’re pissed.”

I heard Jake and Sam stand up at her words, in alarm but also in suspicion.

“Why should we believe a word out of your mouth?” Jake challenged, and I watched her raise an eyebrow at him. “Cut the shit. What, did you tell them where we’re staying?”

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes since I was already turned away from him. But I turned back around as she retorted. “Obviously not if I got here before them. Can you consider for even a second that maybe I’m not involved in this bullshit rivalry? What reason would I even have to lie about this right now?”

Jake shrugs and steps closer to her, “To get in our heads, make us quiver with anticipation for something that’s not coming.” He took a step too close and before I could think I felt one of my arms reach out and latch onto his wrist tightly, making him stop in his tracks.

“She. Is not. Part of this.” I growled at him.

Josh finally rose from his place at the table and quickly walked over to stand between me and his twin, putting some distance between us. “Okay, okay, let’s all just chill out for a second. No need to escalate this any further.”

“Oh, I think we’re not quite escalated enough.” To my side, Y/N let out a shaky breath as she looked past us. I followed her gaze and, sure enough, was met by the two aging members of Thunder Bugs, standing tall and looking angry.

Their eyes flitted across the group until they landed on me, and knit their brows curiously.

“Oh, new drummer? Took my advice then, Kiszka?” The shorter one said. I clenched my jaw in anger, and Jake stalked right up to him until they were neck and neck. Y/N and I ran over to try and pull our respective boys back.

“You fucking wish you could take credit for any of the shit we’ve done with Danny on board.” Jake spat at him as I tried to tug him back, before he looked up at me and threw my hands off of him with a scowl.

“Jackson, stop it!” Y/N grunted as she wedged herself against her brother and pushed him back. “Heath, what are you guys even doing here?”

Her taller brother, Heath I guess, stood with his arms crossed as his eyes burned holes into mine, taking slow steps closer to me. “I’m not pleased with the condition new kid is returning our baby sister in every night.” 

I couldn’t help but raise my eyebrows at his statement. Unless something has been happening on her walks home she seemed to be returning in what could be considered high spirits to say the least.

My expression must’ve displeased the other one, Jackson, because he reached over to Y/N and harshly tugged down the collar of her flannel and hiked up her left leg, revealing dark hickies I knew would be there. “That jog your memory?” He snarled. She gasped at the sudden aggressive contact and flushed at all the eyes on her body. My hands tightened into fists in anger. 

He dropped his hands just as quickly as he had moved them and stepped closer to me. “What game are you playing at here? Huh? Marking up my sister? Claiming your territory? Claiming what’s ours?”

He stepped closer and closer with every question until we were nose to nose. He was shorter than me, but looked stronger. Anyone’s game. I felt Jake, Josh and Sam move to stand behind me in case he struck. “She’s not yours.” I spoke through gritted teeth, doing everything in my power to not throw the first punch.

He laughed in my face, letting his head fall back slightly before his face fell dark again. “Well she’s certainly not yours to mark up like your own personal cash whore.”

Before I could think, my arms were shooting toward him and being pulled back by two more sets of arms behind me before I could reach him, another holding me by the collar of my shirt. I didn’t have to look to see the shocked faces of my band mates as I fought against their hold. I’m certainly not typically one to start a fight.

Jackson laughed that smug fucking laugh again as he took a few steps back, holding his stomach lightly with how much of a fucking kick he was getting out of my fury. “You know what, I’m glad we ran into each other again. Because now you’re not little fucking kids and I can kick your ass like a man.”

Jake and Sam loosened their hold on me at his words, taking their own steps toward him. That is, until Y/N spun Jackson toward her and slapped him hard across the face. 

All four of us froze in shock.

Y/N POV

Silence fell over the campground as all eyes turned to me. Jackson’s hand reached up to rub his fast-reddening cheek. What can I say? I give a good bitch slap. However, the several groups of people passing by who stopped at the noise made the situation even further less than ideal.

“You guys are ridiculous! All of you.” I turned to look at Danny’s band mates as well to make sure they knew I was talking about them just as much as my brothers. “Both of you think the other is plotting against them when in reality, none of this relationship has anything to do with you.”

Heath came up behind Jackson, turning him to examine his face, “Stay out of this, Y/N, this isn’t your fight.”

My eyebrows shot up and I whipped my head over to face Danny and his band mates. “Oh, what? What was that? One more time for the asshole in the back?” I locked eyes with Jake as I lifted my hand to my ear in exaggeration, and he squinted at me. But the view of Danny’s lips curling into a small smile in my peripheral egged me on. “It’s… not my fight? Revolutionary.”

“Well you’ve certainly managed to weasel your way into it.” Jake bit out.

I stepped closer to him (them, I suppose). “Yeah, no thanks to you, jackass.” I could see Josh and Sam’s eyebrows fly up at the way I was talking back to him. “The problem is that you’re all too stubborn to admit that the shit you said about each other all those years ago turned out to be true.”

This time, Jake arched a brow in surprise. “Oh yeah? Enlighten me.”

I rolled my eyes at him, “I mean clearly the problem was rooted in the fact that you guys were missing Danny. Did your drummer act unprofessionally? Yes, even you can’t argue that. Have you since solved that problem with a new drummer and become better for it? Yes! Why is all of this even still relevant?”

My head turned to Sam as he piped up, “It’s still relevant because they had no reason to come down on us the way they did! We aren’t the ones in the wrong here!”

“You aren’t the only ones in the wrong.” I corrected him, turning around to face my brothers again, whose smug smirks dropped when they met my gaze.

“Admit it. You guys were washed up. You let the fame get to your head and I watched you come home complete strangers in the shape of my brothers. That’s why you needed to stop. And I watched you slowly change back, day by day, into the boys I grew up with who were obsessed with making music and not fucking fan statistics and asserting dominance over goddamn teenagers!”

Jackson sent me an angry frown, but I knew that deep down just like Heath he knew I was right. 

I stepped back to address the whole group again. “And the worst part about all of this is… You’re all so talented. So talented. You make this beautiful music and you have this bitter hatred inside and it makes me sick.” I found my voice cracking a bit by the end, overwhelmed by the situation and desperate for it to not end in a fistfight that would jeopardize both bands’ futures. “Can’t you see you’re turning into the very thing you despise?”

Again, a moment of deafening silence fell over the campground. Suddenly nobody wanted to look at me, until Heath heaved a sigh and tilted his head up to me, “Listen, Y/N, you know I agree with you on this. But you don’t know this guy at all. Your brother and I, we’ve been to our fair share of festivals and we’ve seen the other end of little flings like this, the male musician end.” He raised his eyebrows knowingly when he said the last part, before adjusting his gaze to glare at Danny. “And I’m not gonna sit here and let this motherfucker turn my little sister into his little music festival slampiece when you have real feelings for him.”

My mouth dropped open in disgust at his words. Jackson and his temper were one thing, but this was a devastating blow from Heath. In a split second, I saw a flash of black hair whip past me and suddenly Danny was right in Heath’s face. “DON’T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT HER LIKE THAT! I LOVE HER!” He roared.

Danny had his fists closed tightly around the collar of Heath’s shirt and Heath’s eyes were blown wide open, clearly not expecting this intense of a response. Before Jackson or the other guys could get involved and make the situation worse, I quickly approached them and put a hand on Danny’s shoulder, feeling the tension ease a bit at my touch. His fists loosened and released Heath’s shirt. I gently guided him back and slid my hand down to entwine it in his.

Much calmer, but still with earnest intention, Danny spoke again, “Can’t you idiots see we’re in love? You’ve been so selfish you assumed this relationship was about you when it never was.” He turned his head between the two bands to address everyone.

I watched as everyone stared dumbly back at us, unable to form a response. I quickly grew impatient and blurted out, “You know what? Fuck it, I don’t care anymore. Hate each other forever. Duke it out right here in the middle of a public space for all I care. Just please, for fuck’s sake, leave us alone.” With that I turned around and Danny turned with me, throwing an arm around my shoulders as we walked away from their dumbfounded looks. I could feel five pairs of eyes burning into my back as we disappeared into the forest.

We stayed silent as we walked down the trail, both trying to process everything that just went down. It wasn’t until we reached the mildly-populated creek that tears started falling down my face. Danny immediately enveloped me in a hug, squeezing me tightly against his chest. “Shhh, don’t cry. Everything’s gonna be okay.” He murmured into my hair, neither of us knowing how true that statement could possibly be.

He held me for another few minutes while my tears gradually stopped, before he leaned down to whisper, “You know, that was pretty badass of you back there; speaking up and calling everyone out. It was… it was kinda hot.”

The comment achieved its desired goal when I let out a muffled snort into Danny’s chest, before pulling back a bit to peer up at him. He reached his hand up to wipe away the last few tears from my puffy eyes. 

“Yeah, well you don’t look too bad either when you’re ready to throw hands to defend my honor.” I mumbled with a small smile. 

Danny chuckled down at me, before letting his face fall again slightly at the thought of the encounter. “You know none of what your brothers said is true right? I would never consider you a… I would never think of you as that. You know that right? This isn’t just a fling to me.” His hands came to rest at my cheeks as he held my gaze closely.

I nodded slowly, wincing a bit as I replayed the conversation in my head as well. “I know that, Danny. You’ve never made me feel that way once. My brothers just… Sometimes they think they know everything about everything and they just don’t.” I looked to the side and rested my head against his shoulder. “They know nothing about us. None of them.”

I reached my hand up to rest it onto Danny’s chest and he reached a hand up to enclose his around mine. “Let’s just try not to think about them right now.” He murmured, as he lightly started to sway our bodies. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized we were, in fact, in a slow-dancing position.

I closed my eyes as he slowly rocked us back and forth, gradually spinning in a circle. It only took a few moments for him to start humming a song that I soon recognized as “Rocky Mountain High;” the song he was playing when our eyes met for the first time. It’s not really a romantic song by nature, but it couldn’t have felt more amorous as I started to hum along with him, lost in the glowing warmth of Danny’s presence against me.

By the time the song ended, we were just repeating the outro into each other's ears, hoping to make the intimate moment last. 

And this was how my brothers and his bandmates found the two of us when they approached the clearing of the trail. They stopped short of approaching us immediately, taking a moment to watch the two of us entwined in each other, completely lost in our own little world. It wasn’t until Danny’s eyes reopened and he halted his movements that I even knew they were there. I turned to follow his gaze and squeezed his hand a bit when I saw them. We pulled away a bit to stand next to each other, hand still interlocked, waiting for someone to start talking.

To my surprise, it was Jake who spoke first, “Look, we owe you an apology. All of us. We…” He paused for a moment to find the right words. Or maybe to drum up the humility to say what he did next. “We were wrong. We jumped to conclusions and wedged our way into a relationship that’s none of our business, all because we were blinded by some stupid years-old grudge.”

Sam piped up next, “It’s clear to us now that you guys have something real and we shouldn’t have tried to come between that. We’re really really sorry.” He cast apologetic eyes onto both of us.

Again, I nodded slowly as I mulled over their words, before turning and raising my eyebrows at my brothers expectantly. Heath nudged Jackson, who sighed before looking at me earnestly, “I’m sorry. Heath and I, as usual we said some shit we shouldn’t have in the heat of the moment and I wish we could take it back. You’re our baby sister and we just wanted to protect you, and instead we ended up hurting you.”

“At the end of the day, we’re still your big brothers and we love you.” Heath added, making me crack a small smile. With an exaggerated eye roll, he shifted his gaze to Danny. “And I suppose our love will have to extend to the one you love as well. Especially when you’re willing to smack the shit out of Jackson for him.”

The rumble of soft laughter filled the silence as everyone thought back to that moment, Jackson reaching up to rub his cheek in memory. “Yeah, that hurt like a bitch, by the way.”

I raised my eyebrows at him, “Good, you were acting like one.”

After a moment, we closed the gap between the two groups and individual hugs and apologies were shared. I was sandwiched between my brothers in a conjoined bear hug, laughing as they smothered me with their bodies. Sam hugged Danny for a long time and the two whispered to each other before pulling apart. 

Danny went over to clap his hand onto Jake’s shoulder and talk to him about something, so Sam approached me. “I’m really sorry.” He mumbled, sincerity deep in his eyes. I leaned over and wrapped my arms around him, and he squeezed me back. “I should’ve just listened to him when he told me how he felt about you. He talks about you like you hang the stars in the sky every night.” Blood rushed to my cheeks at his words, and I gave him one last squeeze before pulling away. “We don’t really know each other so I can’t speak for you, but I think you’re gonna be good for him. I really do.” He continued.

I smiled warmly up at him and he returned it. However, I turned around at the sensation of someone tapping my shoulder. When I did, I was face to face with none other than Jake. I couldn’t help the smile falling from my face slightly as I looked at him, and he sighed in acknowledgement. “Look, I’ve been a huge asshole to you and I know you probably think I’m just a terrible person by now. That isn’t me, and you didn’t deserve it. You were trying to help and we berated you for it. I don’t know how you can forgive me but I really am sorry for how I’ve treated you.” He looked down at the ground shamefully. For the first time, my heart softened a bit for him.

I reached a hand out to place it on his shoulder, and he looked up at me. “I don’t think you’re a bad person Jake. I never thought any of you were. Clearly you care a hell of a lot about Danny and he’s lucky to have a friend like you.” 

A small smile snuck onto Jake’s face and he mirrored my action, placing a hand on my shoulder as well. “What he’s really lucky for is stumbling into a girl like you in a place like this. You two really must be meant to be.”

I smiled at him and turned to look at Danny, who was now talking to my brothers. He caught my gaze and his lips curved upward slightly in recognition before returning to the conversation. I turned back to Jake and replied, “I feel lucky too. Because I really think you might be right Jake.”

I watched Jake’s smile grow for a moment before I felt someone crash into me from behind, throwing their arms around my shoulders in a tight embrace. “I’m Josh by the way! We haven’t talked yet but I don’t hate you either. You seem really sweet and I’m sorry that my brothers can be major dicks sometimes.” 

I couldn’t help but laugh at his happy-go-lucky tone as Jake leaned around me to gently kick Josh for his comment. “Well, nice to meet you, I guess, Josh!”

Once the apology-fest was winding down, we all headed back into the trail, my hand naturally falling back into Danny’s like there was a gravitational pull. I begrudgingly let go to return to me and my brother’s campsite, a little less begrudgingly when I realized I was coming up on 24 hours in these same clothes. My brothers and his bandmates were now interacting almost unrecognizeably, talking animatedly and sharing opinions about guitars and old bands and venues in the Midwest. When we went to split, we all agreed to meet up at the Rex Orange County set later in the afternoon. 

As I changed my clothes and ate from our steadily depleting stash of food in the trunk, I couldn’t seem to wipe the stupid grin off my face. Everything was resolved. Well, not everything. Today was the last day of the festival and who knew what the fate of our relationship would be when we had to part ways. In a way, this festival has felt like a bubble of sorts. Separated from the chaos of the real world waiting outside. I remembered Danny mentioning a tour and my heart sank a bit at the idea of touring once again separating me from someone I love and cherish. Yet, eager to make the most of the time we had left, I tried to push it out of my mind as we approached the Rex venue. He had already started to play, the calming tones of “Sunflower” echoing around us as we whipped our heads around searching for the boys.

Suddenly, I felt a strong pair of arms snake around my waist. With a gasp, I quickly turned and was met with a kiss on the nose from Danny, beaming down at me. “Found ya. Come on, we’re over here.” I didn’t even have time to blush before he took my hand and started pulling me through the crowd, my brothers following behind. The Kiszka brothers smiled when they saw Danny reapproaching with me and my brothers in tow. The guys greeted each other and Sam passed Jackson a joint he had lit, which my brother of course accepted happily.

Danny shuffled to stand behind me and took both of my hands in his, wrapping both of our arms slightly around my torso as he swayed a bit to the guitar pouring out of the speakers. I closed my eyes and swayed with him, allowing myself to forget for a moment that I was surrounded by my brothers and his band and thousands of strangers. I pretended it was just us.

I was pulled out of my trance when Danny mumbled into my ear, “You should join us for a leg of the tour.” I stopped swaying in surprise, tilting my head a bit to encourage him to continue. He chuckled under his breath and pressed a quick peck onto my temple before continuing, “I’m serious. We’re gonna be doing a bunch of shows in Michigan alone, probably a couple in Wisconsin too.” When I didn’t respond immediately he started rambling, “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I know this is all still new and we can absolutely take it more slowly if-”

I loosened my hands in Danny’s to turn around and silence his worries with a kiss, guiding his hands behind me around my waist to a rest at my hips. I pulled back after a few seconds, remembering who we were around, and smiled up at him. “I’d love nothing more. And you don’t have to get so nervous around me, I love you, remember?”

As soon as the words left my mouth I realized I hadn’t actually fully articulated it yet. Said those three words in that order. Danny essentially had, in front of everyone, and somehow I hadn’t yet until now. But I certainly wasn’t looking to take them back by any means. Danny grinned down at me and pressed a slow kiss onto my forehead. “I love you too, Y/N. So much I don’t think I’ll ever not get flustered at the sight of you.”

I couldn’t help but giggle at his words as I leaned into his chest and we started swaying again. I could feel eyes on me but I couldn’t bring myself to care. Because at last, everyone who mattered didn’t mind, and for all I cared anyone left who minded could fuck off.

Because we had finally secured our happily ever after, and I wasn’t gonna let it slip away any time soon.