#they’re campy the way I’m campy

[smile-files]

a doodle of my new teardrop gjinka!! i think they turned out pretty cute :)

[maddie-grove]

I’m still thinking about that “how Mean Girls demonizes hyperfemininity” video, because I do think that sometimes movies signal a female character’s loathsomeness by making her wear a lot of pink and frills…but Mean Girls is not an example of that. The kind of thing I’m thinking about involves a female character who’s not conventionally super-hot. Maybe she’s the wrong age (an officious older lady, an annoying prepubescent child), or the wrong size, or just not quite as typically stunning as the leading lady. Her outfits/styling are feminine, but they’re out of date or unflattering or exaggerated to the point of campiness. Her “badness” usually isn’t the sexy kind; she’s shrill or bossy or overly ambitious (but not in a seductive way), or she sucks in a way that’s a bummer (like she’s a bigot or a child abuser). And maybe it’s about appealing to an “ewww, cooties” instinct, or signaling that this older woman is frivolous and immature and ridiculous, or it’s making a pretty specious point about vanity (even though the heroine usually has styled hair and significant makeup as well). But that’s not what Mean Girls is doing. The Plastics look like that because that’s what a Hot Girl looked like in 2004, and they’re in an environment where you’re brutally punished for deviating from that ideal.

[kirshnikweesnaw]

Amadeus (1984), Elvis (2022), and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) are the same movie and if you’ve seen one you should watch the others

[greenglowinspooks]

Alright, since it’s no longer 2 in the morning and my head’s a bit clearer, I present to you:

Liminal Riddler

So, not everyone in the DC fandom knows about this, and I’d bet that even less people in the Phandom do, but at one point, the Riddler had cancer. Had, past-tense, because he cured it. With the Lazarus pits.

And yeah, not everyone who gets dipped in the pits has to be liminal, but one would assume that the sudden replacement of a large number of malignant cells throughout the body is gonna do something.

The Riddler already acts quite a lot like a DP ghost in some interpretations anyways. He’s got a strict gimmick that he genuinely can’t part ways with, he’s campy and fun, he’s incredibly violent, etc.

Also, the way that he would react to this whole thing would be funny as hell.

Do I think the Riddler would really care if the GiW was after him? No. This is Gotham, the government is constantly going after him anyways.

Do I think he would care if Danny was being hunted down by the same people, and his parents were involved? Somewhat. He probably wouldn’t care about Danny specifically, at least not right away, but a young boy running terrified from his own parents would definitely bring back some bad memories, and he would probably give him a hand (if for no other reason than to get back to plotting crimes instead of dealing with childhood trauma).

Do I think the Riddler, whose entire thing is being smarter than everyone else, would care if the GiW somehow let slip that they thought he didn’t have human intelligence? That they believed him to be nothing but an echo of human life?

It’s not even a question. He would be the most insufferable person in Gotham within the hour. Genuinely nothing could stop him, especially not if Danny was helping jailbreak him from Arkham every time he got caught.

Almost every major road is closed. Every warehouse on the Docks is on fire. Somehow, they managed to color the clouds and smog a bright green.

The natives of Gotham would probably get those anti-ghost laws and acts overturned faster than the Justice League, if only to make the Riddler stop. His traps and games aren’t even lethal at this point (due to Danny’s insistence), but they’re so genuinely annoying that the general population is about to beat the GiW agents to death themselves just to get the Riddler to quit it already.

Also, I think that during this whirl of chaos, the Riddler would become quite fond of Danny.

He’s a bright young boy who’s very fond of wordplay, and inventive enough to keep up with him. Aside from the inevitable crisis of “oh god I’m becoming the bat,” he’d probably be happy to take on Danny as his protégé. Even if the boy won’t let him kill anyone (rude), he’s a terrifying getaway driver and can turn the both of them invisible and intangible, making Arkham escapes a breeze.

Hell, the Riddler would probably be willing to make a false identity for the two of them, just so he could get the boy proper schooling.

(Yes, he thinks that the entire education system is a sham and that he could do much better, but Danny wants to go into aerospace engineering, and the Riddler isn’t one to squander someone’s interest in learning.)

(Also, Echo and Query would find the whole thing hilarious)

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - It's Quiet but Sweet RN

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

I'm early I know, I have a v busy weekend.

Jan 2025 Week 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

Your Sky (Sun iQIYI) ep 8 of 12 - So awkward and so cute! I love the sibling relationships in this show. They’re all so wonderful. 

Could we talk about Thomas in that aborted sex scene? That ultra sensual sniff test neck thing?

He did a phenomenal job at conveying Japanese thirst with Taiwanese payback, unique IMHO for Thai BL. Kong did a pretty standard Thai style uke call and response, perhaps a bit more sexy than most. But Thomas was really spectacular. All in all, a particularly sensual make-out scene, rare in this kind of BL. I applaud the actors and director.

These two are so lovely.

OMG Lee has a phi he likes? Where did this nugget of joy come from?

Hyung romance crumbs are a go! Just for me? How kind. Goodness Lee has got great game, watch that boy work. He certainly didn’t get it from his older brother. Also that was such a smooth approach, what a classy way to get permission to court. I don’t know why we got this inserted tiny short story, but I’m not mad about it. I hope we get more. But this is crumbs, can’t expect it. 

ThamePo (Fri YT) ep 5 of 12 - I love how Po understands Nano's feeling of heartbreak as just that, since to lose a friend (or friends) can be as painful as losing a lover. Po is such an empathic character, I love him so. 

The Heart Killers (Weds Gaga) ep 7 of 12 - I did bark with laughter at Style’s dad interrupting them. Also I enjoy the tension of knowing that there is doom in coming. It’s fun to watch these actors really stretch themselves to portray loving boyfriends with secrets. Bison looks like a determined little feral thing, Fadel just looks tired poor baby. 

Caged Again (Fri Gaga) ep 10 end - Pet fish baby + cat = snack…… EPIC. Also giving a cat a career as a stuntman is genius. 

Final Thoughts

A sweet and innocent show with an absurd premise = sunshine penguin + grumpy panther become human boys and fall in love. With great leads and sides, a solid (if campy) support cast, and sweetly queer backbone, this still never entirely resonated with me because it was just a little too slow. Still I can totally understand why others loved it so much. 8/10 

Fourever You (Thurs YT) ep 15 of 16 - I love that North has no artifice whatsoever. But frankly I’m really more interested in the 2 pairings still to come. If we are lucky. Arthit “getting bitten by piranhas” thing was hilarious. 

Sangmin Dinneaw (Sun iQIYI) ep 2 of 10 - Of course I love the argument over linguistics, this time honorifics. So good. But the rest of this ep was pretty slow. 

Perfect 10 Liners (Sun YT) ep 11 of 24 - Gun is a little dim, poor thing, but I do kinda adore him. Yotha is a bit of a melodramatic queen though I love how he deadpan responds to teasing and always acts exactly like a boyfriend. And I see GMMTV’s patented “single brain cell club” is back. 

The Boy Next World (Sun IQIYI) ep 1 of 10 - Well it’s certainly intriguing. And I like this pair better here than in their first series. 

Ossan‘s Love Thailand (Mon YouTube) ep 1 of 12 - Oof. Well, it’s better than the original, but that’s not saying much (from me). It’s slightly less overacted. I still find the lead utterly unappealing and I have no idea why anyone, including the audience, is supposed to be interested in him. But if he looks like Earth maybe it makes a little bit more sense? Mix is great. Honestly? This just made me wanna rewatch Thousand Stars.  

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

See Your Love (Taiwan Weds Gaga) ep 13 end - What a darling little show. I genuinely couldn’t have enjoyed it more. About a deaf care worker and his spoiled broken little prince. Taiwanese at its softest and best. Highly recommended. Easy 9/10

(for me the only flaws are the first 1/3 and the fact that it's unlikely this will be a big rewatch for me)

Our Youth AKA Miseinen: Mijukuna Oretachi wa Bukiyo ni Shinkochu (Japan Tues Gaga) ep 10 end - The feeding each other water thing when the water-bottle trope is so prevalent in JBL = just so good. 

Summation 

Adapted from a Korean Webtoon I can see why this went to Japan, it's super harsh for KBL Essentially a story about two lonely boys from opposite sides of the track who fall madly in love in high school, despite the fact that one is  repressed and the other abused. Despite a rough premise (trigger warnings) this is an oddly lovely little show. Darker than is my personal preference but sublimely stylish, turns out sometimes that combo works for me (see The 8th Sense). The world that springs to mind is “refined.” I enjoyed the restful distancing feel of the filming style.

This is an easy 9/10 from me. 

Eternal Butler (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 5 of 12 - I’m sorry but if you have a sex robot, he should be self lubing. Just saying. Also…… better at parking (pun not intended). I like the sides now. I’m enjoying this more than the first installment, easer power dynamic to digest. I do kinda adore the main couple and all their kinks. 

When it Rains it Pours (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - Convoluted story about a man in a relationship who is sexually unfulfilled and his friend who is in love with him, who accidentally become secret confidants.

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 15 of ? - no time this week, two next week.

It's airing but......

Winter Is Not The Death of Summer (Thai ???) - has been picked up to air on WeTV, or something? Criminals who meet in prison fall in love. I did find it on YouTube, initially un-subbed, then subs happened by which time I got distracted. It is very pulp but intriguing. For now it's to the wayside until someone tells me it landed safely. Occasionally Thai pulps want to be edgy and it's not a good look on them. But sometimes they do good.

In Case You Missed it

End of year wraps are here!

2024 Trend Report

MY BEST & WORST BLs of 2024

Best Kisses (and sex scenes) of 2024

BL's 2024 Quirky Awards

2024 Awards - Quick Picks

Next Week Looks Like This:

January Drops

1/15 Impression of Youth (Taiwan Weds Viki iQIYI) 9 eps - Same team as DNA Says Love You, so I have high hopes.

2025 Line Up

BL Announced for 2025 - PART 1

BL Announced for 2025 - PART 2

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

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

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

It me. (Fourever You)

Gayest bridge in Thailand is back!

Love a good lap lie.

I NEED MOAR!!! (all Your Sky)

(last week)

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

[forecast0ctopus]

I feel so ridiculously catered to with your art it’s insane. Not only is there a delectable selection of soggy pathetic men, but to a truly frightening degree you draw media I’m obsessed with. I never thought I’d see 60s Star Trek, 80s Re-animator, and 2000s Psych all lovingly rendered by the same human. Your art style is everything I love— sharp bold lines without sacrificing expressiveness and gesture. You not only capture the likeness but the essence of every character you draw. And the way you draw HANDS is genuinely life changing. I often see your art on my dash, so much so that I can’t believe I haven’t actually been following you for months. When I realized I immediately had to rectify that by going crazy in your shop.

anyways this ask got way out of hand, no pressure to respond if it stresses you out, I just wanted to say your art is SO cool and thanks for continuing to share and create, despite it being a tough world out there for the arts. Also, since we seem to somewhat share a taste in media, have you seen The Lost Boys? To me it’s the spiritual third point on the triangle of American Werewolf and Re-Animator. It’s a campy 80s homoerotic vampire movie but they’re punks in California. I think you’d enjoy

AH TYSM!!!! i do love drawing soggy pathetic men..... i have Many of interests and am always pleasantly surprised when other people like all the same things i do :D full disclosure the hands are a direct holdover from drawing danny phantom fanart in like 2012 hdsfkj anyways thanks so much for ordering, still catching up on things but i am trying to have everything sent out as soon as i can!! I HAVE IN FACT SEEN THE LOST BOYS what a great movie..... ive got to watch it again ive only seen it once about a year and a half ago..... campy 80s horror save me.. save me campy 80s horror.....

[once-upon-an-animation]

Things I would like to see fixed in PJO S2:

- More worldbuilding, but do it in a way that isn’t heavily reliant on dialogue. Show us more of the camp, maybe let us meet some of the other characters.

- More humor. PJO is supposed to be a fun adventure story where the dark and serious elements are balanced out by the humorous moments. S1 felt so somber and cynical, and I feel like that isn’t the right tone for Percy Jackson.

- More whimsy/campiness! Mr. Riordan, your books got really weird and silly sometimes! Let your show be weird and silly sometimes too! Not everything needs to be dark and gritty. It doesn’t have to be super childish, but there needs to be more magic and charm in this world.

- Let the trio be vulnerable to traps. Yes, I know it makes sense for them to know the myths or whatever, but if you want the monsters and traps to feel like they’re a serious threat, you can’t have them be this easy to explain and maneuver. Conceal them better; make them tougher to figure out. In addition, show off more of Percy’s street smarts. We love this character because of his ability to think fast and improvise a bad situation even if he doesn’t know all the details of the relevant myth. Emphasize that more; it’s not everyday that he needs to be a walking encyclopedia.

- Luke and Annabeth’s relationship needs more oomph. Their relationship felt kind of hollow in the first season, and y’all need to tighten that up in future seasons because their relationship is only going to get more integral to the plot. It’s okay if you want to leave out the crush, but man, you should have given them something.

- For a story that was inspired by a boy’s struggles w/ ADHD and dyslexia, the impact of these conditions felt kind of absent during the actual quest itself. I’m not saying that they need to go overboard with this or anything, but if you’re going to do neurodivergent representation, I feel like it should have a stronger presence during the actual quests, yes?

- The action scenes are kind of weak. Sea of Monsters has a lot of action going on, so y’all will have to really think out those action sequences so you can capture the excitement within them. I’ll be disappointed if the action in S2 feels as flat as it mostly felt this season.

- Annabeth is not a stoic character. She’s actually quite expressive; she’s just selective about what she discusses, and sometimes she chooses to convey emotion through action, behavior, or cryptic words instead of explicit words. But she was never stoic, so please allow her to actually show more of this emotion. It’s okay to let her be vulnerable; that’s what endears most people to this character in the first place, and that’s why that chair scene stuck with people. Therefore, this need to make her this mostly unshakeable girl boss should go away. The girl is a sentimental character; let that stay.

- Please fix the dialogue. Less exposition, more characterization.

[iamnotthere-idonotdie]

i saw a youtube comment today on a video essay about the batman (2022) and i just felt the need to screenshot and share some things on it:

i’ve had thoughts about this for a while.

i wrote in a draft a while ago about how i love the costume design in the batman because it made each character feel like real people and i decided i might as well share those thoughts now.

the costume design in the batman was one of the key elements that drove this film home for me. it made it so much more gripping, because it humanized these characters we’ve grown to see as just drawings on a page. these aren’t superheroes and supervillains. they don’t have powers, they don’t live in a fantasy world. they’re people who wear combat boots with their capes and cut holes out of their cat-eared ski masks and wrap cellophane under their army/navy-surplus store hoods. they’re just people with skills and agendas and trauma who are just trying to fight their way through life in whatever way they think is necessary and right.

they don’t rely on their suits as their strength.

and to touch on the point the commenter made in the first part, about how bruce wouldn’t be a “master of dual lives”: i think that’s a perfect way to sum up this character at this point in his life. he’s only been the batman for two years. and during these two years he’s been acting as vengeance. he still harbors a lot of anger in him and it’s been radiating through the batman. he hasn’t learned how to compartmentalize those two sides of himself, if he ever will.

we’ve seen a little bit of this in other batman movies and other media, but not to this extent, in my opinion; not so that it is defining him as a character in this significant of a way. it adds so much more complexity and depth to bruce wayne and it makes it so much more realistic and believable.

one thing i think shows this really well is how bruce and batman ride the same bike throughout the film. it’s not an expensive bike. it’s not specially made with gadgets and a bat symbol, we don’t see a new bike for batman until the very end of the film.

the batman is no longer vengeance, he’s hope. and hope doesn’t hide in the shadows. hope isn’t waiting to find a fight. hope is a beacon, not a warning.

the dark knight trilogy was a turning point for superhero movies. it showed that they didn’t have to be campy and comic book-y. it showed that they can be gritty and poignant and cinematic. the batman just took that thought and elevated it to an even higher level by making these characters feel like real people. by adding even more complexity, more richness, more gravity to these characters we all know and love. and in a market as over saturated as batman, this take on the story was like taking a sip of water when you wake up in the middle of the night at three am: refreshing as hell.

i don’t know, maybe i’m rambling and maybe this is kind of all over the place. but i just love the symbolism in this film and i literally cannot wait to see what more incredible and genius moves matt reeves and the rest of the cast and crew make in part two.

[dandelionjack]

@corallapis

your additions to the ‘they’re-in-a-tv-show’ theory that was already floating around made my jaw drop so here’s two more additions to yours

1. if everything we’re seeing is a pastiche or in-universe version of the tv show “post-2005 doctor who”, then wouldn’t it make sense for there to be a showy, campy master-esque villain that is emphatically NOT the master but effectively magpies their repertoire? they make a song and dance routine of viciousness, they openly flirt with the doctor (“sweetcheeks”) while threatening to kill him and treating the companion as a toy, they PLAY THE SAXON MASTER’S THEME on the piano. except “the master” doesn’t exist in this in-universe show — the doctor refers to the rani, the bishop, god knows what irrelevant time lords but doesn’t mention their best enemy. there’s a koschei-shaped hole in the narrative. who fills it? maestro. a title so close to “master” that italian fans were struggling because that was their official translation of the master’s name in the first place. the entire character is all but screaming “look at me, i’m Not-the-Master”

2. you came up with another intriguing theory — what if the episodes each are based around one essential element of a tv show thematically; i.e. space babies was ‘story’ and the devil’s chord ‘music/soundtrack’. makes me think — what if boom is ‘conflict’ and 73 yards is ‘setting’? throwing that up in the air apropos of nothing, of course, it’s all speculation. but wouldn’t that be cool? every snippet of information i’ve read about 73 yards suggests that it’s incredibly location-focused. folk horror stories can almost always be boiled down to the strained relationship between The Land and the people living on it. the only quote we’ve seen from it so far is fifteen saying “it never ends, the war between the land and sea” — once again, evoking landscape, geography, place. setting. 73 yards is a precise measure of geographical distance. as for boom, we know little about it and i prefer to keep it that way until it’s released, but the hitchcockian vibes promised and the premise itself make me think either ‘conflict’ or ‘suspense’

[clockwayswrites]

Like Betta Fish Do Part 19

Chapter 15 when on Ao3, Masterpost WC: 2870 CW: WARNING THESE ARE SPOILERY Canon Typical Violence, Blood, Injury,

Danny knew he was smiling like a love sick fool when he pulled back from the kiss, but he really didn’t care. It was still far to nice to be able to kiss Jason whenever he wanted: like when Jason was picking him up for their date.

“So, where are we going and what’s with the backpack?” Jason asked as he handed over the spare helmet.

“Nope.”

“Nope?”

“Nope, you don’t get to know where we’re going,” Danny said.

The flat stare he got in response was pretty impressive on Jason’s part. “Fish, I’m the one driving.”

“That you are,” Danny agreed. While Danny didn’t exactly inherit his dad’s driving habits, it was still better that Jason was the one behind the wheel (or the handle bars in this case).

Jason waited a long beat before giving an exasperated sigh. “Then I need to know where we’re going.”

“Your helmet bluetooths to your phone, right? I’ll pull up the directions and press go. You just have to follow them.”

“The directions it gives for the city are shit.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Then I’ll tell you the road we need to be on outside of the city and you can ignore it until then.”

“We’re leaving the city?” That seemed to get Jason’s interest at least.

“Yeah, so have a little sense of adventure and trust me, okay? I think you’ll like it.” Danny hoped Jason would like it. He couldn’t top the museum date, but he hoped this at least would still be a good one.

“Course I trust you, koi,” Jason said and followed up his words with a light kiss.

“Koi?”

“They’re good luck fish.”

“Oh, Ancients do you have the wrong person for that,” Danny said, laughing as he put on his helmet. “Now hand over your phone so I can get us going.”

“Bossy.”

“You like it,” Danny said as he pulled up the route to the small town.

“Damn right.”

-

The whole drive was a little magical, which Danny hoped boded well fro the rest of the date. The trees were in full fall color, the wind on the road wasn’t too cold yet, and, best of all, Danny got to spend it pressed up against Jason’s back.

There was no doubt that they were in the right place as soon as the passed the cheerfully painted wooden sign on the edge of town and the large banner next to it declaring it was the Fall Harvest Festival that weekend. The sign spanning the first set of streetlights in the old fashion downtown didn’t hurt either. Or all the stalls and people milling about. Or the smell of food.

“A harvest festival?” Jason asked, the words slightly distorted by the helmet.

“They have a market place set up and live music and food,” Danny explained quickly. Please, please like it. “But it’s really just good timing to make the trip worth it. Really we’re here for somewhere specific.”

“I don’t suppose I get to know what that is either?”

“Nope! I thought we’d grab lunch and something to drink first before we make our way there.” Please think the plan was okay.

“Something smells delicious, so I’m more than down for that,” Jason agreed easily, and Danny breathed a quiet sigh of relief. So far, so good.

Jason’s nose ended up leading them to cider, pulled pork sandwiches, and tornado potatoes- which were a spiraled monstrosity on a stick (as was only right for fair food). They were a little after lunch, which meant that they were able to find a place to eat at one of the many picnic tables set out across the town square.

Danny had to hand it to the town— it was nice. Sure, it was campy and the number of gourds used as decoration was little extreme, but it was all fit together in a way that was just the right level of quaint. Jason started them on an absurd game ‘tourist or resident’ as they ate. If they both agreed resident, they had to come up with what the person’s job or archetype in the town was.

It ended in a ten minute debate if one lady with truly impressive hair worked at the nail salon or florist.

“Receptionist at the law office,” the grey haired lady who had ended up sharing their table cut in.

Danny went beat red at having been caught out in their game.

“Guess or fact?” Jason asked, unbothered.

“Fact, sonny. I’ve been in this town for fifty-three years now, there ain’t nothing I don’t know,” she said with a proud sniff. “Good guess on the baker though, spot on where that one. Make sure you stop by that booth.”

“Will do, ma’am,” Jason said, balling up their trash to throw away.

Danny happily escaped the table with Jason.

“Ancients that was embarrassing.”

Jason had the audacity to just laugh. “Nah. She didn’t mind.”

“She’s going to tell everyone our guesses,” Danny said.

“So what? We didn’t say anything rude about anyone— well, other than that one set of clearly tourists who were being jerks so they deserved it. We’re just adding to the local flavor for this year.”

“If we go down in infamy and get blocked at the boarder next year, I’m blaming you.”

Jason just smiled softly at him. “Already planning for a next year?”

Danny floundered for a moment, opening and closing his mouth before he just shrugged. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

“Good, I like that. Now where’s next on our list?”

-

Next on their list turned out to be a bookstore. Not just a bookstore- one of those bookstores that had been in the same building for a century. Books were stacked on top of books, shelves formed a maze, organization was a myth: in short, it was a fire hazard and it was amazing.

Jason might have been a little in love.

“Wow.”

“Yeah?” Danny asked, shifting on his feet a little as he looked up at Jason from out under his bangs.

“Yeah, fish, this is great.”

Danny’s shoulders relaxed. “Good, then go look around and pick something out to take home, my treat.”

“I could be here for hours,” Jason warned, already starting down one of the narrow corridors.

“Then take hours,” Danny said, smiling indulgently as he followed him. “We just ate, the day is young. If I get done looking I’ll check out with anything I’ve found and just go read on a bench at the festival.”

“Text me if you do that?” Jason asked, tilting a book to see the title better.

“I will, promise, but right now I’ll stick with you.”

Jason reached out and squeezed Danny’s hand, taking them deeper into the shop. Danny followed along for about half an hour, Jason commenting to Danny on some of the things he was finding. He lost Danny what seemed to be the science section, of course, and continued to explore for almost another hour.

He really only stopped his exploring because he stumbled upon Danny in the back corner, curled up under a rosy light in an ancient armchair. Danny was completely engrossed in a book. Leaning against the bookcase, Jason took in the sight. There was a little, warmed part of him that almost ached at it. It was the sort of thing that he wanted to come home to.

After only a minute, Danny looked up, clearly feeling the eyes on him. Jason watched the smile bloom across Danny’s face.

“Hey,” Danny said quietly. “You look like you found quite a pile.”

“This?” Jason said, hefting the stack of books. “This is me being restrained.”

Danny laughed, uncurling and sliding off his seat before he grabbed another book from the end table beside him.

“You found some things also?” Jason asked as they walked towards the register.

“Yeah, a book on local ghost stories—” Jason couldn’t help the amused snort at that “—I know, I’m a walking cliché. And a journal of an inventor that I thought looked cool.”

“Ah, I see you’ve found your young man,” the elderly shopkeep said, putting down his own book. “Have you thought more about the astronomy book?”

“Oh, um, not today, I don’t have that much to spend,” Danny said, nearly mumbling the words.

Jason frowned a little. “I can get it for you, fish.”

“What, no! I’ve planned this date, I get to treat you,” Danny said.

“Alright,” Jason relented. “But only one of my books; you shouldn’t suffer because I’m a bibliophile.”

Danny narrowed his eyes at Jason for a moment before nodding. “Hum, fine, but not the cheapest ones.”

“I can settle on that,” Jason said with a little shrug.

While Danny was fishing his wallet out of his backpack, Jason caught the shopkeep’s eyes and mouthed at ‘Do you ship?’.

‘For your boy, I’ll make an exception’, the man wrote on the back of a business card that he tactfully slid over. Pleased, Jason subtly wrote out his address while the shop keep wrung them up, putting the astronomy book secretly on Jason’s bill. It did look like a lovely old book with the navy leather cover and gold foil. It could easily be a present for the holidays.

By the time they were back out out the street and walking through the market, Danny’s backpack hung heavy with the weight of the books, but he refused to let Jason carry it. Chivalry wasn’t dead, he insisted, which was ridiculous reason but Jason let him have it. The backpack filled up even more as they both bought a few things at the market to be presents (Jason thought Alfred would love the local tea blends especially).

More ciders and then hot chocolates were the drink of choice with dinner— potpie for Danny and fish cakes for Jason. As they ate a band set up in the pavilion in the middle of the square, playing with the setting sun. The light had just dipped below the horizon when Jason stood and offered Danny his hand.

“I will so step on your toes,” Danny warned, but he was smiling as he took Jason’s hand.

“That’s alright, I’ve got sturdy boots.”

They found a spot on the corner of the dance floor and Jason twirled Danny into his arms, earning a breathless little laugh for his efforts. It really was the perfect evening and a much needed break. Tomorrow he could get back to the city and being its protector and to the cases that were nagging at his mind, tonight was just about him and Danny and this odd little town.

-

Red Hood stumbled through the window of his safe house and hit the ground hard. The scream of pain choked off in the back of his throat as his body seized. Bloody fingers scrambled against the worn linoleum.

He needed to call someone. He wouldn’t make it if he didn’t call someone.

His comms were shorted out.

Something had had happened in the fight.

It had been the normal sort of trouble— a new shithead trying to bring new drug onto his streets. It should have been an easy bust. It had been an easy bust.

But then the feeling of burning had burst in Jason’s chest— a molten heat that he had felt so sure would consume him.

He had stumbled. It left an opening. Just enough space for a knife to catch him just wrong under the armpit. A bullet solved his immediate issues, but when Jason had tried his comms, there had only been static.

The staggering trip back to his closest safe house had been agonizing, but he needed to get to a working comm. He needed to get up and get to a working comm.

He got his arms under him. A scream of pain ripped from him as the twisting motion wrenched at the wound. Legs next. Push himself up.

Only a few feet to stagger.

Blood slicked fingers fumbled the comm. No no no— he couldn’t— Jason followed it to the ground as it dropped. He struggled to pick it up and activate it.

“Help.”

He couldn’t hear if anyone heard him. He didn’t even know what channel this comm was tuned to. Desperately, Jason ripped off his helmet and shoved the comm into his ear.

“Help.”

“Hood?”

Oh, it was Dick.

“Hood!?”

He sounded desperate.

Was he hurt? Someone was hurt. Jason had to…

“…help.”

-

Dick all but smashed through the window of the safe house. The only reason he didn’t break the glass was that if Jason was as hurt as Dick feared he was, Dick would need to be able to secure the safe house to treat Jason.

He was lucky that that the security was down.

He was terrified that the security was down.

Now worried of an ambush, Dick crept silently through the window. That was��� that was a lot of blood.

“Jason, come on, please.” That was Fish’s voice.

Fish knew? Surely if Jason had told his boyfriend about the nightlife, he would have told Dick he had? What was…

Fish was cradling Jason to his chest, half propping him up. Blood pooled under them. Jason’s helmet was discarded to the side and his boyfriend had a tube of glowing green liquid lifted to Jason’s lips.

“Just drink up.”

Glowing green liquid.

“You’ll— you’ll be fine. Just drink up.”

Lazarus water.

“What the fuck are you doing to him?!?” Dick’s escrima sticks buzzed to life in his hands.

Fish’s head whipped towards him, color draining from his face. “It’s not— you have to let me—”

“Get the fuck away from him,” Dick growled, enunciating each word carefully.

The man slide his finger over the top of the tube, effectively capping it so not to spill. “Nightwing, he’s bleeding badly this can—”

Dick slid his foot forward just an inch, starting to shift his weight. “It can nothing. He would never want to use the Pit again!”

“It’s not— no, it’s not the Pit—”

He lunged.

The right stick hit, buzzing loudly on contact. The guy screamed at the impact, but held onto the vial of Lazarus water.

The guy’s other hand shot forward, Dick blocked with with his arm and twisted. His foot slipped— like stepping on wet sand. Dick contorted to compensate with his free hand.

His hand sunk into the floor.

Holy fuck—

Dick’s other hand was slammed down too, trapping it. No, no, no— Dick struggled against the floor that he was part sunk into, the cracking linoleum shifted slightly, but Dick was stuck.

“Oracle!”

Static answered him.

“What did you do to my comms,” Dick growled, watching as the guy pulled Jason back into his arms. Was this all a trap? Was Jason’s boyfriend sent by Talia or Ra’s and had just been binding his time? Was it all an act? Did the cheeky, laughing, bumbling man that Dick met last week not exist? Was the way that Danny looked at Jason a lie? “What did you do to Jason!?”

“I didn’t! I didn’t do anything, I found him like this,” he said. He used his thumb to part Jason’s lips.

“Stop it!”

He didn’t. He poured in that toxic, glowing green sludge down Jason’s throat, speaking softly in Jason’s ear the whole time.

Dick screamed and struggled against the floor. No, please no—

“…you can hate me. You can hate me and scream at me and hell, once Jason is stabilized I won’t try to stop you doing whatever you need to. But Jason is still bleeding out. The ectoshot will help, but it won’t fix it completely. I need you. I need you to help me sew up wherever he’s bleeding from and, I don’t know, get a transfusion going. I don’t know where things are in this place.” He looked up at Dick from under his bangs and Dick could see in the now glowing green eyes some of the same guy— the same fish that he had met last week. “Please, feel however you want about me, but help me save him. He needs both of us right now, okay?”

Dick didn’t know what to say; didn’t know if he was about to make a deal with the devil.

“Please. If I free you, will you help? Just— punch me after if you need to, just help me save him first.”

That devil was the only thing keeping Jason alive.

Why did it always end up like this for his brother?

“Let me up.” Fuck everything. “I promise, I won’t try anything until after Jason is safe.”

The guy studied him for a moment before nodding. He laid Jason down carefully and reached out to Dick. The buzzing tingled through Dick’s skin again and he was able to pull his hands and feet free of the floor, one at a time.

Dick really wanted punch the guy right then and there.

Jason was more important.

“Get Jason’s jacket off, I think it’s a torso wound— maybe his left arm,” he ordered instead as he moved to the fridge to get a blood bag to start it thawing. “Find it and put pressure on it.”

He could punch someone after Jason was saved.

-----

AN: You should never trust me when I have a character goes 'ah yes, I'll worry about that tomorrow'. But remember, if you pitchfork me, I can't write the rest of this~ I'll try to spare you all and have the next part next week if I can! It will go into how Danny was there too.

Special shout out to @mokulule for making it worse! Trapping Dick in the floor was her idea. As she pointed out- he'll have nightmares about this now. (So sorry Dick.)

But look how cute the first part of the chapter was! That's good, right? Stay delightful darlings, don't stab me!

Due to being shadow banned (likely from tagging) and the new post editor, I'm not longer tagging! Follow the link and subscribe to be notified instead!

[thyme-in-a-bubble]

Omg congrats on 3.5k!!!!! I’d like to celebrate with you by requesting “try a plum they’re better than sex” with eddie munson, with the prompt ��one muse riding the other while the tv plays in the background,  movie forgotten entirely.” Thanks and congrats again!! 🩷🩷

a/n: i am slowly catching up to all of these old celly requests...

∼ gentle reminder that feedback, but especially reblogs are the way you support writers on here ∽

masterlist | join my taglist 

You should have known that ulterior motives were in play when your edgy neighbour, from the trailer right next to yours, invited you to watch a movie on his dingy little television. From stolen looks through your windows to the time you nearly dropped your cup of coffee catching sight of him too fresh out the shower, the palpable tension between you two could have been cut by a butterknife. 

So before the campy horror movie’s villain had even appeared on screen, you’d shifted into his lap, lips locked, hands everywhere and the flick long forgotten. 

“Fuck, you have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do this,” Eddie groaned against your skin as his lips descended your neck, nearing with every nip the swell of your tits that his palms already cradled greedily, “every time I run into you or even just see you in your window, I feel like I’m about to bust,” you can’t help the giggle that escape your lips, “what?” he smiled, gazing up at you as both his hands squeezed your boobs up towards his grin, “what’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” you gasped airily as he buried his face in the soft valley, fingers hastily tugging at your neckline before they dragged further down your form, “I just really like you, that’s all.”

“Well,” you watched with your mouth agape as he worshipped your form, “I like you too,” smirking up at you as his hands pressed you further down onto his lap, “really like you.”

“Yeah,” you giggled once again, excited flush staining your cheeks as the painful tent in his jeans deliciously nudged against your throbbing core, “I kinda got that message.” 

“Oh, no, trust me,” he purred deeply as he gently caught your jaw, “you have no idea yet just how much I like you,” ushering you back down before his lips could fiercely seize yours once more. 

© 2023 thyme-in-a-bubble

[crazylittlejester]

So I know it’s 6 months away, but what would the modern au Links do for pride month? I know even if any of them are straight and cis, they probably love the campiness of it.

War goes to pride every year since he got outed in high school, and the usual people who get dragged along with him now at this point in his life are Wild and Athena. (He’s gay, Wild uses the label ‘queer’ while he tries to figure out his gender and his sexuality, and Athena is a lesbian.) Those three Dress Up and its a highlight of the year for them, they have a lot of fun. Twilight and Sky (both bisexual) have gone a few times too and had fun, but they’re not huge crowd people and it gets overwhelming for them so they stay home most years, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t enjoying all the smaller celebratory things happening around their city

Legend uses the ENTIRE month to say “it’s because i’m gay/trans, isn’t it?” every time someone is mean to him

“gods, during PRIDE MONTH??? this is so homophobic” is a regular phrase that comes out of War’s mouth the whole month of June (during the other eleven months of the year any minor inconvenience is simply just “this is sooo homophobic”)

Wind is a little terrified to come out to his grandma because he doesn’t know how to explain being pan to her (and she WILL listen to him and support him, he’s just worried), but War got him a little flag one year and it made him really happy and it sits in a pencil holder on his desk. He’d buy rainbow cookies at the store and if his grandma was like “Wind, are you gay? it’s okay if you like boys, cariño” he would panic and go “I JUST THINK THEYRE NEAT. THATS ALL.”

Twi has one of those t-shirts that are like. the bi flag but on top of it are dinosaurs and explosions and it says “BOTH” in a firey font and he wears that a lot in June

I think Hyrule would lowkey forget about pride month- not in a homophobic way (because he ain’t straight either) he’s just so into his rocks and other things that he wakes up some random day in June, sees a video of War with a pride flag around his shoulders screaming and jumping up and down next to Wild on his close friends instagram story, goes “thats nice”, goes back to bed, and then wakes up fifteen minutes later and goes “OH MY GOD ITS PRIDE MONTH-“

Four is still figuring his shit out and is still in the closet, but he’ll participate in whatever parties get thrown at the dumbass trio’s apartment

[mwesrik]

Okay bit of a different post for the finale than my usual meme rant because I’m just done with everything today

Fandom is my safe space. It has been since I figured out what the internet was. And frankly I’ve been having a really shitty time recently.

And what the OFMD fandom is doing rn is frankly making me really fucking pissed

I understand being upset at character deaths. I understand being upset over budget cuts or lack of character development that you wished for. I understand being upset over the direction a show has taken.

But the way people are literally ABUSING the writers of a show that has been GROUNDBREAKING makes me sick.

YES! The budget cuts messed up the pacing and character development. You can think of Izzy’s death whatever you want. But to drag down a show, that has done so much for the queer community. With writers and actors and crew who have done their absolut best to make us feel seen and heard and to give us a mainstream story which is filled with queer joy. It just sets my teeth on edge.

I liked the finale. I cried over Izzy and wish HBO were less of a cunt firm and had given the show more episodes. I wish Ed and Stede had talked and I wish we had more episodes.

But I was overall happy. Because the main couple had their cheesy, happy moments. They literally said they loved each other for fucks sake. And everyone is fucking focused on Izzy and not even talking about the the main couple anymore. Not because they suck but because they’re not their blorbo they can project their angsty fantasies onto. And I like Izzy, I really fucking loved him but he was a side character. One that was quite obviously doomed to die since season 1. So saying the show is ‚literal dogshit now‘ is just such a wild jump to me.

His death was also obviously rushed because of the lack of time. It’s not the fault of the crew!!! that they had to adjust their script to the funds and time they were given.

I can’t come onto the internet to be happy about my favourite show being queer and dramatic and campy, and sure a bit messy because everything is fucking DRENCHED in toxicity and whinging.

Sorry if this offends anyone, if anyone even sees it but this really pissed me off today. My one thing that cheers me up made me even more depressed today because people have no inhibitions anymore as soon as their favourite media isn’t perfectly aligned with their image of how it should be.

TL,DR: I’m really over the OFMD fandom being toxic over Izzy and other issues while ignoring all the brilliant things this show has given us.

[harborisms]

hey hey — i’m looking for new roleplay partners over discord now that my semester’s over and i’ve got some free time. 18+ please, as i’m 20. advanced literate to novella. i love playlists, pinterest boards, the whole shebang.

some plot ideas i’ve been itching for (bold is who i’d prefer to write):

country boy / city girl. an enemies to lovers vibe. he’s always teasing her & she thinks he’s a hick. bonus points if they’re the talk of his small town. hoping to use a mike faist fc.

serial killer with a soft spot. this can be as dark or campy as we want. i have a female slasher oc (havana rose liu fc) i have been dying to write more — maybe you’re her next target and she chooses to keep you instead; maybe you’re who she’s been protecting this whole time; maybe she’s doing it just because and your muse is caught in the crossfire.

older woman / younger man. happy to write whoever in this dynamic & settle on any type of plot. maybe she’s his boss or professor. a lot of ways this one can go! 

single father / younger woman. i would love for an enemies to lovers vibe — think syd & richie from the bear. or we can go more slice of life — she’s the babysitter or school teacher. no set fc for this.

much more of a long shot: a post apocalyptic plot. can be a 1x1 or a mumu. would love to incorporate a mix of dynamics from romantic to familial. we would spin a wheel to see what happens next and keep it all up to chance; or get nitty gritty with what we plot out and stick to it. inspired by twd / twdu and tlou.

feel free to dm me, like this or reply & i’ll get back to you. 🤍

[moonshynecybin]

you cantttt just say rosquez feminization and not elaborate…. penny for your thoughts

shout out to @lestelledreams who sent me another ask like this but tumblr ATE my response when i tried to post it. luckily i draft in notes app…okay so it would be easier to list thoughts i DONT have about rosquez feminization… under the cut bc we do in fact get a lil nasty here

so i’ve talked a bit about some of the non-racing oriented things marc does for his body like his hot girl routine (laser hair removal. skin creams. slutty workout videos) like my girl enjoys being SMOOTH he enjoys being conventionally SEXY (personally. bush til i die but whatever live your truth marc) and the first time he’s doing it as. okay i’m famous and photographed all the time AND around my hot older crush/idol who has fucked more people than i’ve ever even met in my lifetime… like a little insecure part of marc is like this is what vale wants… and one thing about my man marc is he will COMMIT. so he waxes himself hairless the entire time they are fucking the first from 2013-2015 (and beyond) and frankly vale would like him either way but MARC gets off on it so hard… making himself pretty for vale… and maybe vale says something like that in the moment, just like mindless dirty talk about how good he looks how he made himself all pretty like a girl, and marc jolts like he’s been electrocuted and whines and comes right then even though vale had like JUST got inside him… and he’s curled around vale panting eyes shining leg hitched around vale’s hip asking him to keep going and it’s SO clear he liked whatever that was a LOT.

so vale uh. catalogs that information. and starts to test some hypotheses #olditalianmeninSTEM by which i mean the next time marc is blowing him he curls his hand into marc’s hair and tugs a little until marc looks him in the eye and vale just sends it like they’re whipping 310km/hr around the track— like breathless mischievous confidence… starts feeding him a stream of dirty talk, calling him gorgeous telling him nasty stuff about his tits riding that lovely edge of complimentary and degrading and getting sooo gender about it, and he watches marc’s eyelashes flutter and his hand on vale’s hip tightens and then marc like. literally chokes himself on valentino’s dick he’s clearly so so into it and vale feels crazyyyyyyy… SORRY..

and then it’s onnnnn baby it is. using the feminine forms of italian endearments in bed. playing with his tits. losing the condom. weird roleplay where they laugh so much. it is delightfully horny and slightly goofy gender transgression that they are both SO obsessed with… like the sex whiplashes through tonal dissonance it is simultaneously the most intense thing they’ve ever felt and like. lethally campy. at one point they are BOTH the baby girls bc they love being hot and are not serious people

that being said it culminates with vale just like. buying disgustingly expensive neon yellow designer lingerie and leaving it in marc’s motorhome with a lil note that has like. a dumbass turtle doodle on it instead of his signature. like something very silly and valentino. and then they have the WORLD’S most insane sex about it where vale says all kind of nasty stuff about marc being his best girl and spits in his mouth and tries to get him pregnant. hashtag catholic weirdo moments. crucially it is never formally discussed until like. genuinely ten years later when vale is like impish nervous smile WE REALLY SHOULD HAVE TALKED ABOUT THAT EH? and marc’s like ? best sex of my life? wdym?

[unsiredtribrid]

I can’t help but think it’s sort of a pattern that tvdu fans prefer the women that are flashier and more pronounced about everything. Like the amount of hype for Caroline and Lizzie exceeds their counterparts and I think it has to do with a mixture of things.

Like in good faith, Caroline and Lizzie have the relatablility to the audience going for them. Caroline always felt like she ‘was never the one’, which is something a lot of people resonated with, and it’s also been made ‘cool’ to dislike Elena for the same reasons people bash Bella Swan. The writers had Caroline be the mouth piece for dunking on or shaming Elena unecessarily a few times, not limited to but including when she threw it in Elena’s face that her humanity had been off before and called Elena a hypocrite for telling her how bad it was despite the fact it actually wasn’t Elena’s choice and it was forced off by a (what should have been traumatic) sire bond to a man who was abusive to both of them. She was also given that ‘zinger’ (lmfao) where she told Elena she had a gift about making everything about herself when Elena was just attempting to tell her how much she would regret this and it would be traumatic, because she cares about her friend, which was completely reasonable. They went out of their way to have Caroline kind of speak for the audience about Elena at times and idk… It did not land for me, but I think people eat it up. Especially since Caroline also garnered a lot of the love interests and people in the tvdu fandom are mainly about shipping.

Lizzie had relatability to people too, firstly because she was a lot like Caroline. There are also a lot of neurodivergent people in fandom who probably appreciated the attempt at representation there despite Julie fumbling it most of the time. I still think there’s a reason why the gen audience can see Lizzie as so multi-dimensional but less so Josie or even sometimes Hope. This gets ‘worse’ the farther you dip into the casual audience. It’s not bad to have favorites and I’m not trying to shame anyone or say they’re wrong, lol, but I just think it’s interesting that it’s always the flashy characters that are loud and pronounced about their feelings and wants that people gravitate to.

Jenny Boyd gives a very campy, exaggerated performance as Lizzie and people enjoy it. Similarly, Katherine was the Petrova that was the most camp and people loved her the most, usually being dismissive of the others. I saw someone say this and it really stuck with me:

ignoring the mis-spelling of Rebekah because they were cooking. I would go even further and say it’s also, like. People want characters to be transparent about their stance and emotions. Lizzie often voiced where she was at, which is why so many people say ‘well at least Lizzie said she didn’t want to hurt anyone and she seemed to feel bad’. But like with Josie, she didn’t say that part out loud and some fans even noticed that Josie didn’t say I love you back to people most of the time. Like Josie is such a repressed character and she struggles with saying what she feels or wants out loud, which people don’t like as much. Sometimes they even assume worse things about her because of that unwillingness to speak on certain things.

Similarly, Caroline wore her heart on her sleeve and was praised by fandom but then when Bonnie didn’t feel like talking (to Elena or others or whatever) the fandom would jump on/disparage her sometimes or act like it was cruel. And then finally, Elena’s personality is much more muted, especially since we’re told at the start of the story that she’s (in Caroline’s words) in her ‘blah phase’ because of depression. People wrote her off pretty quickly as being boring or bland, and characters like Katherine call her dull and imply she’s bland too. This is seemingly in character for Kath to do so it’s not even a problem, but I think the audience took it as like the actual truth and just agreed, lol.

Idk where I’m going with this but I’ve just noticed that the understated or more repressed f characters in tvdu get less love than the flashier more camp ones. Some of this is just simple personal preference but I still wonder sometimes about all the influencing factors