#very happy korea is finally doing at least something about all this

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Happy Songkran!

Not sure, but a few of the Thai shows may be impacted by New Year this next week.

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

April 2025 Week 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

Perfect 10 Liners (Sun YT) ep 24 end - Can you believe we made it through 24 episodes (like this is 2014 or something)? Anygay...

The single brain cell committee trying to put together The Proposal was kind of funny. I do think that of all the couples to get married this is the one that shouldn’t. They are the least healthy, but what can we do? 

I knew from the get-go that I was going to struggle to figure out how to rate this show. Twice as long as most other BL’s and with 3 fully represented main couples, played by pairs that I have mixed feelings for. Thus I have to go straight down the middle. I would’ve given our first story a 7/10, our second one an 8/10, and our final a 9/10, which brings us in at a solid 8/10. Frankly, that feels like that’s what this show was, about 80% of a good BL.

Conclusion

This was workmanlike Thai BL in a university setting in which nothing happened to some very nice boys in fun friendship groups. The most noted thing about the show was its source, GMMTV punched down and phoned it in with this one. The kissing was good, the pairs were decent, and the directing was... well it was there. Each of the three main couples turned in solid performances to the best of their respective comedic abilities. Your enjoyment will wholly depend on which pair/story is most to your taste and how much you managed to tolerate the others (and the sides) as a result. I highly doubt this will ever be anyone's favorite BL. 8/10 is a fine rating for something this mediocre. Puts the B in BL.

Top Form (Thurs WeTV) ep 4 of 10 - Drunken shenanigans and their consequences. Especially when the boy is obsessed with you. (Meanwhile, the hair in the eyes is driving me batshit.) I'm still enjoying this. It’s sort of old-school BL in a very odd way. I like that. Especially with nothing out of Japan right now. The 21 day courting was cute. And of course I loved the linguistic negotiation. But he’s definitely gonna catch that cold.

Oh the HONEY.

I forgot this part was coming. ARGH NO too sticky!!! The carnage. The clean up. Twas sexy tho.

Sweet Tooth Good Dentist (Fri iQIYI) ep 3 of 12 - Whipping boy trope is a go. But also this dentist is so gone on this broken sunshine with self worth issues. The dorky earnest friend is good too. Enjoying.

My Golden Blood (Weds iQIYI) Ep 5 of 12 - I just can't. It's too awful. I did try. DNF.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Heesu in Class 2 (Korea Fri Viki) eps 5-6 of 10 - I love this show. Love. It. The catastrophic trip. Heesu being an utter frenetic basket case. The PINING from Seungwon and the fact that we all know he isn't ever gonna do anything (unless some one forces his hand lips). It's fantastically maddening.

Secret Relationships (Korea iQIYI) ep 7 of 8 - Ooo truly unhinged. Excellent. Honestly, I just feel sorry for Da-on with all these boys obsessed, even our puppy. And now the "kidnapping for love" trope. Very old-school. China used to adore this one. It's nto my favorite but it suits this show.

Business as Usual (Korea Thurs Viki) Ep 2 of 7 - Mostly back story not a whole lot happened. Looks like we are in for a meaty confrontation next week tho. Good.

Fight for You (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 4 of 12 - I don't mind a fake dating trope, even if I'm not sure how we got here. Actually, this has gotten oddly cute. I like them more as they fall in love and flirt and drink than I do as solo characters. 

Exclusive Love (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 10 of 12 - more death. Not enough of blondie. And none of my beloved sides? Bah. 

It's airing but......

Sashes and Hearts (Pinoy YT) 13 eps - Philippines is doing Drop Dead Gorgeous only all gay boys queening their asses off. Doesn't interest me, not sure if it's BL.

Last Meal Universe (Thai ????) 8 eps - An alien who has come to destroy earth instead falls in love with Thai food and then the Thai boy who cooks it - realistic, actually. I got a link to watch but it still wouldn't work for me, so I guess I'm waiting to see what happens.

Lost in the Woods (Weds Gaga) 7 eps - Not my thing, dropped at ep 2.

Boy Next World special - only available paid, so I didn’t bother.

Your Sky of Us - Normally, I don’t really report on the specials or the extras or even the spinoffs or season twos, but I gotta say in episode 2 Lee’s claiming sendoff was one of my favorite things to happen in BL this year. That silent "back off" was so perfectly executed. Most of the rest of this special has been just fluff, but it might be worth watching the whole thing just for that 30 seconds. (Sorry couldn't find a gif of it, but TRUST ME. Chef's kiss!)

In case you missed it

Secrets Happened on the Litchi Island (China YouTube) - This one unexpectedly dropped and there are still a few follow up snippets/adverts continuing with this couple.

Summary

This was an interesting, beautifully atmospheric but plotless BL about a boy who falls in love with his older brother‘s best friend in an idyllic countryside jungle setting. The boy is quite femme and open about his identity but his lover is... not. This dynamic ads an element of queer authenticity that's often missing from all BL, let alone something from China! I don’t know what it actually wanted to be, but it felt like a BL had a love child with one of those weird Chinese relaxation farm propaganda channels. The kisses are great, the chemistry is lovely, and the setting stunning. It’s odd but charming in a very weird, very queer, way. I have to say, I quite enjoyed it.

As a BL it gets an 8/10 from me, but as a piece of queer cinema I actually think it's worth more than that. You should all watch it. Who knows how long it will be allowed to stay up on YT.

Next Week Looks Like This:

COMING IN APRIL

4/16 Something Is Not Right (Korea Weds Viki) - trailer Blueming spin off. Ba U and Hun have been friends since they were kids – but Ba U has harbored unrequited feelings for Hun for years. Eventually, Ba U tries to cut off his entire relationship with Hun, much to Hun's confusion. In a last-ditch attempt to get over his feelings, Ba U takes his friend's advice and asks Hun to date for a single week. Hun accepts.

4/19 Secret Ghost (Thai Sat Viu) ?? eps - The trailer dropped and it looks particularly awful.

4/20 Boys in Love (Thai Sun YouTube? ) 10 eps - Our only true high school BL from GMMTV this year and it's fresh faces for the youths and old favs for the teachers. It's milk teeth Make it Right and fine with me. I like lotte milk. Also DIMPLES! Yay! I suspect they are using this one to test pairs for future shows. Like a Project 101 Thai BL. (Honestly I just invented an amazing reality TV for you GMMTV, you're welcome.) Like My School President in 2023, this could be a major sleeper hit for me.

4/20 My Stubborn (Thai Sun ????) ?? eps - trailer Mflow's next high heat office romance involving best friend's younger brother, boss meets intern, bit of a love triangle, GL crumbs, and few other tropes.

4/25 My Sweetheart Jom (Thai Fri YouTube) 12 eps - trailer Saint is back in a BL, but this is what he chose? When he gets int rouble, Yothin needs to find a safe place. Instead of sending him overseas, his father sends him to the countryside. There, he is under the watchful eye of the village headman Jomkhwan.

4/26 The BangkokBoy AKA Bangkok Boys AKA The Bangkok Boy (Thai Sat ????) ?? eps trailer - Action, crime and revenge meets gangs, mafia, and more. Oh my.

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 MOMENT

Well that bit from Your Sky of Us with Lee's nonverbal MINE of course.

Yes I liked it more than the honey, honey.

(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

[pretty-blkgirl]

Soul’s Desire [Ch. 28]

-Masterlist-

~~~~|~~~~

You wanted nothing more than to hold onto Changbin’s hand. You wanted him to kiss your forehead, and give you a reassuring smile.

But you’d be damned before your mom found out you had found your soulmates. You wanted to believe she had changed, you really did, but the mother you knew would see your relationship as something she needed to destroy.

She wanted you to believe no one loved you, she was good at doing just that, and you couldn’t lose the boys.

So, you and Changbin walked side by side to the lobby. You saw your mom before she saw you. It had been two years since you had seen her in person. She looked beautiful, as usual.

When she finally spotted you, her eyes lit up and she practically started jumping up and down. You wished you could smile at her supposed excitement, but your frown deepened a little.

“Hello Mom,” You said as soon as you were close enough to her, “Welcome”

“Don’t be so formal, girl” She laughed, “Give your mama a hug”

You two hugged. She squeezed you so tight, nearly suffocating you. To an outsider, this looked like motherly love. It looked like a parent finally reunited with their baby. It looked like a happy moment.

To you, the hug was cold. Calculated. Fake.

When she finally let you go, she looked at Changbin.

“Mom, this is Changbin. He’s-”

He can’t be your boyfriend to her. She’d do anything she could to turn him against you. She can’t know.

“-my best friend. Besides my members, he’s probably the person I’m closest to here”

Your mother nodded and Changbin bowed politely.

“That’s sweet, nice to meet you.” She turned back to you, “I barely ate on my flight, how about we get an early dinner?”

“Okay” You agreed, “I hope you don’t mind Changbin coming with us”

She narrowed her eyes at you, a sign that she was about to start arguing, but she fixed her face and grinned.

“I don’t mind”

The three of you left the company, wearing masks and hats to try to remain as unrecognizable as possible. Your mom kept trying to speak to you, but you didn’t have it in you to give more than short, to-the-point answers.

After a while, Changbin started to talk to your mom a little. He was nothing short of charming, even when he wasn’t trying to be. Your mom took a liking to Changbin by the time you guys reached the restaurant, and that made you a little more at ease.

At the table, she put her attention back on you.

“So, Y/n, tell me about your group members”

You nodded, “There’s Dae, Penny, Yumi, Hana, and then me. I’m the youngest. Dae is our leader and producer, Yumi and Hana are our main singers, and Penny is our dancer”

“What do you do then?” She asked

“Everything” Changbin answered for you, “She’s an ace, in my opinion. She reminds me of someone in my group”

Your mom nodded, “Does the Penny girl not sing?”

“She does, we all sing and dance and stuff, but I guess we all have our specialties” You explained

“I saw your little music videos. You girls aren’t half bad”

“Thank you, mom”

“I didn’t like a lot of your choreography though. It’s too provocative”

Changbin sighed deeply, “If I can give my opinion, I think LUCKY just has a more mature concept. They’re sexy, they’re cool, they’re seductive”

“Y/n isn’t none of those things though” Your mom laughed, “She looks so out of place in those videos.”

“Can we try not to insult me, Mom?” You questioned, low enough to keep other people from hearing you but loud enough to express your anger, “I think our concept fits me well and the group has gotten great feedback. I respect your opinion, but you don’t have to be rude”

There was silence for several moments after that. Changbin was very proud of you, and you didn’t feel too bad for speaking up, but your mom looked noticeably upset.

“I’m sorry,” She said after a long while

“It’s fine. Let’s just eat so we can leave”

The food was great, at the very least, but the evening was awkward. Your mom wanted you to take her on a tour around Korea before she went to her Airbnb, but you declined, stating you “needed to get some work done”

She wouldn’t leave you alone until you promised to make some time to spend with her.

Your guilt grew as she blew kisses at you from the car you called for her, wondering if she was really doing her best and if you weren’t putting in any effort.

Changbin decided to take you back to his place, grabbing your hand as soon as you two reached his complex.

“Don’t feel guilty” He said, “You did nothing wrong”

“She’s trying to change, and I’m just… dismissing her”

“You don’t know what her motives are. Your hesitation is valid and it’s only fair that you keep your guard up around her. If you want to rebuild your relationship with your mom, that’s fine. That doesn’t mean you go back to letting her manipulate and control you”

In the apartment , he gives you a much-needed hug. A few tears left your eyes, but not many. You didn’t feel like crying, and Changbin knew that, so he took you to the couch and put on a show you two had been binging.

As you settled into the couch, you tried your hardest to get your mom out of your mind. However, you had this unsettling feeling that wouldn’t go away.

~~~~|~~~~

Taglist: @chuuyaobsessed @h0rnyp0t @prttyxbby @yukichan67 @hanniemylovelyquokka @xxeiraxx @loveforlee444 @whatdoyouwanttocallmefor @cunninglibrarian @holly-here @galaxy4489 @hyunmikim @yougottobekittenme @hyeon-yi @katsukis1wife @multi-fandom-nightmare @staybabblingbaby @kozumesphone @fuck-you-im-gae @thatonedarkskinnedsiren @just-a-blackthorn-cookie @champagneconfetti

[alexlwrites]

𝑩𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑯𝒐𝒎𝒆

✿𝑷𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈: OT7xReader

✿ 𝑺𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒚:   The one where, after living abroad for years, you move back to Korea and your old high school friend Namjoon offers you his place to stay while you get settled, casually forgetting to mention that: a) he still had a massive crush on you. b) he lived with six other guys.

✿ 𝑻𝒂𝒈𝒔:  Romance, Humor, Fluff, College AU, angst if you squint.

°•. ✿ .•°

𝐅𝐚𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐩𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐎𝟑 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐤𝐨-𝐟𝐢

°•. ✿ .•°

Part 12 - What?

(<<< part 11)

Jin is sick.

Full on sick, bed-ridden, will-written (he left everything to his family dog, hoping to install chaos even in his after life), shivering in his near death state.

To sum up his pitiful state, Jin had the flu.

As the eldest, he was always thrown into the role of caregiver and he truly didn’t mind. Jin thrived knowing that his friends were well-fed and taken care of and the apartament wasn’t a pit of despair, dirty laundry, testosterone and food poisoning. Taking care of others filled him with prime and a beaming sense of purpose. He liked his loved ones happy and, furthermore, he liked being the one to provide said happiness, whether for his amazing cooking abilities or gentle, refined comedy.

But now, nearing the end of his life by the hands of a sneeze that just wouldn’t snooze, he regretted spoiling his dongsaengs rotten, because none of them had a single clue on how to help him or, at the very least, not worsen his state. 

Namjoon’s voice echoed from the kitchen, a place he had been previously banned from, but brought back to in those desperate times “How much sugar do I put in this?”.

Nevermind. Jin wasn’t that desperate. 

“None!” he coughed , feeling his soul leaving through his mouth as he hacked his lungs out “It’s a soup, you tall noodly buffoon.” 

“What’s going on?”

Jin turned his red, teary, tortured eyes towards the door, where you stood with your backpack, taking off your shoes.

Namjoon scurried from the kitchen, seemingly untormented by the cloud of smoke left behind him and the alarming wheezing sound that foreshadowed nothing good.

“Y/N!” he called sweetly and leaned in to kiss your cheek, a brazilian habit he picked up from you, but funnily enough only seemed to use with you “Jin is being mean to me!”

Ugh. As if Seokjin wasn’t sick enough, he was then forced to watch his back-stabbing, sugar and baking powder wielding, Big Bird of a friend drape himself over your much smaller and much less Sesame Street looking body.

Jin wasn’t in his clearest state of mind, so he didn’t stop to ponder on the implications of the ache in his chest and the twisting sensation in his stomach at the sight, chalking it off as one of the symptoms of his imminent doom and not at all a sign for something much bigger and catastrophic.

“Why are you being mean, Jinnie?” you asked as you removed the koala-like grip Namjoon had on you and put away your stuff.

“He’s trying to poison me” he croaked from his pitiful burrow in the L shaped couch “Putting sugar in the soup.”

“Joonie, please we have talked about this. More than once.” Jin couldn’t help but purr with satisfaction as you chastised his lanky friend. Finally, he thought, sweet vindication “Don’t worry, Jin, I’ll get you something to eat.”

Those last few words sounded as if they were whispered from a thousand miles away, barely background noise as Seokjin once more slipped in and out of consciousness.

When he woke up again, there was a cold towel against his forehead and a pleasant smell filled his senses. You stood by his side, holding a bowl of something that smelled absolutely divine and Jin had a short, intrusive thought that this is what heaven looked like.

“Good to see you awake.” you said as his eyes blinked open “Sit up, I made you soup. Sugarless. You should get something to eat.”

Jin stretched his tired body, feeling the dull ache in his muscles complain about the movement. HIs fever seemed to have gotten better, but there was still some uncomfortableness left by his sweaty, snotty state.

Even so, he betted he still looked great. Sexy even, in a plague-esque, victorian child sort of way, like Timothee Chalamet. Hotter, both in looks and temperature, than most men in his life.

“Where’s everyone?” he asked, noticing the empty and unusually silent and peaceful apartament. 

“They left a while ago. Joonie had classes.”

“Ungrateful bastards” he mumbled “I could’ve died since then!”

“From the flue?”

“From resentment!”

You laughed, placing the porcelain bowl carefully in his hands “Trust me, you don’t want any of them taking care of you.”

“Maybe Yoongi.”

“Yeah” you agreed “Maybe Yoongi.”

He ate in silence for a while, watching you make yourself busy around the room, unpacking your school bag and fixing yourself something to eat. “How are you feeling now?” you asked after sometime in quietude.

He coughed, folding over himself as his whole chest heaved in a violent fit. “Better”

Your arched a doubtful brow “You sure?”

Jin raised two thumbs, smile looking like a grimace. 

“Yeah, very convincing except for the snot and smoker’s cough you have” you said, pushing him to lie back on the couch, hands on his burning chest “Stay down, soldier, I’ll take care of you.”

Those words sparked something in Jin’s chest, a sudden rush of fondness and affection that heated his cheeks even more. He had proudly and happily taken the role of caretaker in their friend group and never resented, but there was no denying the warmth that sentence brought him. 

Your relationship with him had always been casual, at best, just exchanging crossed jokes and puns that made no one else laugh but the two of you. And although he liked to joke about your position as his future wife, there hadn’t been many attempts from either parties to deepen your friendship. You were just… Comfortable, Jin guessed. There was no strain to keep a conversation going, no awkward stepping around each other like there usually was in the beginning stages of getting to know someone.

Maybe it was your similarities that made you so at ease around each other, Jin pondered, weirdly contemplative in his pile of sickness by the couch. You were both the funniest people alive, great cooks, caring and exceedingly beautiful indivi- 

Woah, he paused. When did he start thinking you were beautiful - exceedingly so? You were cute, sure, but beautiful? His eyes followed you across the room as you cleaned up the slight mess scattered around the space, accessing your features: lit up eyes, easy smile, soft looking hair and skin that begged for him to reach out and touch…

Jin halted his dangerous line of thinking. Was this a side effect of the flu or an epiphany? Was the pounding of his heart just a sign of the decomposing of his body or just the feeling of unbound gratefulness at being taken care of? Or was it just…

You.

***

You. 

Jungkook thought about your existence within his life half wistfully and half infuriated. You were simultaneously the reason why he had a hard time leaving his room after waking up and paradoxically the current only reason he did. There was nothing new about early mornings with his hyungs hogging the coffee and sleeping on top of the dinner table, but seeing you by the kitchen sink or holding stupid Yoongi’s stupid hands always kickstarted his heart, even if painfully so. He had been living with you for quite a few weeks now and his body and soul had yet to get accustomed to your presence in his routine - still, you were everywhere, from your perfume invading his senses to his Marvels movies he could never watch the same way now that he knew how it felt to see them with your arms around him. 

Jungkook had to act. Not only because he couldn’t hold his feelings inside his surprisingly muscular chest, but also due to the movement he could see happening around the house hold. From Namjoon clinging onto you like a disease, to Hoseok’s threats and Yoongi’s silent plottings, Jungkook knew if he didn’t do something, someone else would.

And he was nothing if not a sore fucking loser. 

So Jungkook got to planning, cataloging everything he knew about you and your routine to come up with the perfect moment to ask you out. He had not gotten as far as considering what he would do if you said yes (start dancing? Yell? Fireworks? Punch Namjoon in celebration? Who fucking knew) but in order to not panic he had to take everything one step at a time and hope for the best, even if his previous relationship histories pointed in a different direction.

On the day he chose as The Perfect Day™, no one was supposed to be home, out having classes, at work or spreading havoc somewhere around campus ( mainly Taehyung and Jimin). No one, except you, enjoying one of your rare days off. 

He had armed himself with an arsenal of your favorite things, from pastries to flowers, one more tube of lipgloss to add to your insurmountable collection and crocheted trinkets he tried to make himself but turned out looking like unidentifiable blobs (he hoped he could charm you with his attempt, at least). He practiced his speech until the words left his mouth automatically, leaving no room for mistakes or blabbing. 

And he hoped, God did he hope, that you would give him the time of your day and spare him of the misery of having you so close and not being able to touch. 

But things started going south as soon as he reached the first step of the stairs up to their apartament and ran face first into Hoseok, carrying a bouquet of roses and a bag from the same bakery Jungkook had just visited.

They stared at each other in dumbfounded silence for a few seconds, seeing but not processing each other’s presence and what it meant until Hoseok said “What are you doing?”.

Jungkook spluttered indignantly, “What are you doing?”

“I’m doing what I said I was going to do!” 

“So am I!” 

A second passed and no one moved. One second later, Jungkook bolted up the stairs, followed by his cursing hyung as he hoped that his toned thighs would give him an advantage in the race for your heart.

“I should be the one to ask her out!” Hoseok yelled from five steps behind “I’ve known her the longest!”

“And did nothing!” the maknae replied, starting to break a sweat “It’s my turn! You lost, old man!” 

“Old man? I’m only a couple years older than you! I’m Y/N’s age! Are you calling her old?”

That made Jungkook trip up a step, slowing down his ascent “No! At least I can call her noona! What can you call her, huh?”

“I don’t know what I’m calling her, but I know what I’m calling you when I’m throwing you down the stairs: an ambulance!”

“Better make sure they know how to fix your broken heart when she says yes to me!”

“And if she says no?”

***

And if she says no?

Rejection was never something Jin gave much thought about and he wasn’t about to start now. 

It was less about the belief that no one could reject him (although the concept did seem foreign to most) and more about rejecting the idea of missing opportunities due to fear of rejection. He could move on from being denied something, but never from regretting not taking chances.

And maybe this was a chance worth taking. Maybe, he thought while still observing you from his death bed (the couch), he could allow a joke to grow into something bigger and get to know you a little better. You didn’t have to start dating and then get married right away, but he saw potential in your congruent personalities. 

And what more could he ask from a woman besides a sense of humor and the ability to feed him without poisoning him? The universe had already handed you to him in a platter.

“Y/N” he called softly.

You raised your head from across the room and smiled softly, further finalizing his decision with the way your eyes lit up “Yes?”

“Go out with me.”

Your eyes widened in shock “What?”

“What?”

They turned their heads to the door, where Jungkook was pressed against it with eyes as big as saucers, holding it close with his weight before it burst open to a panting Hoseok and, in the back, an appalled Yoongi stepping out from the elevator.

“WHAT?”

°•. ✿ .•°

𝐌𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧! 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝

Back Home Taglist: @luvtaeha ;  @powiepow ; @sercyan ; @marvelovernfan  ; @emberfulclass ; @sanjiroo ; @tinyoonsblog ; @mayla548 ;@dreamamubarakk ; @i-like-puppy-mg ; @akshstudios ; @familiarlikemymirror3 ; @onlythebest-106 ; @shyloh-the-cornsnake ; @billy-jeans23 ; @hwanggumchi ; @bangfantanfic ; @akshstudios ; @lovelycammy ; @cestlabellemort ; @lachimolala22019 ; @wtvbabes ; @taekritimin123 ; @kiki-zb ; @comingupwithacoolnameishard ; @sir-knight-slytherdor ; @toomuchtellyneck .

[waldau]

hi! can i request reader kissing mingyu's moles, please? or his whole face, honestly 😚 (the urge to pepper kisses across his pretty face is too much sometimes 🥺)

homecoming — kim mingyu | 1,561 words | fluff

this. also i accidentally typed "abby" instead of "baby" so cheers to that. since it's already the sixth in korea, happy birthday to none other than our very own kim mingyu!!! he's a huge ball of human sunshine and i love him so much :) thanks for sending in this request at such a good time, anon!

gender neutral reader. warnings: none.

there's very few things mingyu loves more than you, his members and what does he does for a living.

okay, that's a lie. there's only one thing he loves more than you, his members, and what he does for a living.

it happens to be coming home to you.

as much as he loves going to new places and trying new things, there's something about the knowledge, the certainty of coming back home to you every single time that makes him giddy all the way from his head to his toes. he could be absolutely sleep-deprived because of his terrible international schedules or because of his turbulent flights, but the thought of coming back home to you breathes life into him like nothing else.

he could almost fly to you, when he makes a mental list of everything he's going to do with you when he comes back home, free from schedules and appearances even just for a little while. he loves seeing the literal light in your eyes that appears when you spot him. he loves your arms which cling onto him with almost as much strength as he usually has, and the kisses you give him.

maybe, just maybe, mingyu is indecisive when it comes to you. but he can't choose only one thing he loves about you. he loves when you smile at him, when you tell him about everything that's happened in your day, when you let him in on jokes with your friends, when you get him things that reminded you of him, when you stroke his hair oh-so gently when he has a headache — the list is endless. and every single thing about you makes him love you a little more every single day.

mingyu is sappy. he doesn't mind being called a simp in the least. how could simping be a bad thing, when it comes to you? he's proud of the way he shows off how much he loves you, loves the way you don't shy away from showing him off to your friends, and is amused by the way his members pretend to be disgusted every single time they see you being affectionate with each other. he loves being yours and he loves that you're his, too.

but this?

coming back home to you a day before he promised to be back? pushing open the door to your shared bedroom and seeing your eyes widen before you push your laptop away and throw yourself at him, squeezing him so hard that he coughs and pats your back?

it might be his most favourite thing about you. so far.

"gyu!" you finally exclaim, pulling back to look up into his eyes. "i thought you were coming back tomorrow?"

"we had a choice to go back earlier if we wanted, so i took it. obviously."

"obviously," you repeat.

once upon a time mingyu was shy to hold eye contact with you for even five seconds, but now he swears he can do it for hours, if you would let him, and if both of you had the time. "i missed you. so much."

"i know, baby," he says, leaning down to kiss your forehead. "because i missed you too."

you say nothing, simply wrapping your arms around his waist and burying your face in his chest, pressing kisses to his collarbone over his shirt. mingyu wraps his arms around your shoulders, pulling you close and letting you hold him for however long you want to. you hate being away from him for so long, and he hates it too, but being like this with you makes up for it.

"dinner?" you ask, pulling away from him. "and then cuddles?"

"i'm not too hungry," he says, hands now moving down to your waist, unwilling to let go so soon. "but i'll take cuddles first. we can have something before we sleep."

"done."

you stare into each other's eyes for what feels like just a few seconds to mingyu before you kiss the tip of his nose. "what was that for?"

"did you forget you wanted to shower? you texted me about looking forward to using our new shower."

mingyu groans, hands bunching up the fabric of your hoodie. his old hoodie, now yours. "do i have to?"

"you said you wanted to, baby. won't it help you sleep better?"

just because you're right doesn't mean it's fun. he huffs and makes a big show of letting you go, loving the placating kisses you place on his cheek. both of you know it's going to be a lost cause if you kiss him on the lips. you give him one final kiss before promising to cuddle with him the whole night.

true to your word, you're waiting on the couch underneath a blanket, snacks arranged on the table in front of you, and the television in standby. there's this show you started watching together before he left for his tour, and as much as mingyu wants to know what happens after last episode's cliffhanger, nothing seems more enticing than holding you in his arms and marvelling the fact that he's back with you again.

his favourite person in the whole world.

"really? your favourite?" you ask, turning around in his arms and looking up at him, chin resting on his chest. you look so good, he thinks, heart twinging mildly for no reason.

"hm?"

"you just said i was your favourite person."

he didn't realize he's said that out loud. "yeah," he says, grinning, because it's true. "of course you are."

"and you're mine. my favourite human."

"...human? you have a favourite non-human thing, too?"

"wonwoo's cat," you say solemnly. "obviously."

"hey," he pouts, grumpy just the slightest bit. "you're my favourite everything. i should be your favourite everything, too."

"but you're my everything," you say with a straight face. "and i'd love you even if you became a cat somehow."

"stop," mingyu mumbles, pushing his face into your hair so you don't see him blushing. "you can't attack me like that."

"you're my boyfriend, so..."

mingyu huffs and settles his chin on your head. it's comforting, your familiar weight in his arms as he feels your ear press down right over where his heart is. he hopes you hear how it's beating for you.

"hey," you say a while later, muffled by mingyu's hoodie. he lets go of you just enough so you can turn and look at him. "how was your tour?"

"i missed cooking for you," he blurts out. "i mean, the food was great, and i know you would've loved seeing the places we saw, but i just missed seeing you smile."

"yeah?" you ask, a shy smile taking over your face. you've been together for quite a while and it still amazes mingyu that you get shy every time he says something like that. he hopes you know he's never going to stop.

"mhm. i think...i think we should go to LA the next time you're free."

"we're free, you mean," you say with a small frown. "it's so hard for us to get holidays at the same time these days."

"i know," mingyu soothes you, kissing your forehead. "but i like being like this with you. and i'll be like this for however long you want us to."

"forever," you say immediately, drawing a giggle out of mingyu.

"if only."

you sigh and push yourself up so that you're straddling mingyu's waist, legs on either side of his thighs, hands on his shoulders holding him in place. then you lean down, and even though he knows what's coming, it doesn't stop a little shiver from running through his body.

"welcome home, gyu," you say, pulling away from his lips. "i love you."

mingyu struggles to form words for a few moments. "i love you, too," he breathes out eventually. it just never stops being true. in fact, the more he says it, the truer it gets. you're his everything as well.

"i love you."

mingyu frowns. "i...love you...too? so much?"

you shake your head and the next thing he knows is that he's being attacked with tiny kisses to his face. little imprints of your love over every inch of his skin you're able to lay your lips on.

"stop!" he giggles, making no actual attempt to dislodge you. "it tickles!"

"one for every day you were away from me," you say, before attacking him again.

it's only after a minute that he manages to pull you off, making you sit on him again. "hey, i definitely wasn't away for a month! i'm scared to see what you'll do if i'm gone for that long."

"i'll find a way to tag along somehow. also, did you know?"

"hmm?"

"your moles are where your lover kissed you the most in your previous life."

mingyu blinks. "do you believe that?"

you shrug. "it sounds nice, doesn't it?"

"only if you were my lover in my past life."

you turn your face away from him, and even though he can't see you, he knows you're too flustered to come up with words.

"i just realized," he says, turning your face gently back to him, "you don't have any moles near your lips. want me to fix that so we can look at them in our next life?"

taglist: @bookyeom @wootify @strnsvt @cloudycaramel @thepoopdokyeomtouched @minnieminshi @nonononranghaee @hrts4hanniehae @viewvuu

[kiopop]

hi, happy opening to everyone. i'm beyond excited to get to writing with you all and bring my muse to life. i'm jeong (or jong, if that's easier for you). i go by he/him, my timezone is gmt+9 and i'm 26. currently this is my only muse in the directory. if you're interested in plotting with me, all you have to do is like this post and i will dm you. i'm also open to plotting on discord if you prefer it that way.

for more information about kio click here: about him & career timeline

i. ✩ an only child born into a traditional korean family. kiyong lives his first few years of life happily with his parents in bucheon until his parents finalized their divorce. ✩ being a child of a divorced household is looked down upon in korea and kiyong experiences that first hand. people treat him differently and judge him. that alone is enough for him to want to prove everyone wrong. ✩ one day he's watching tv with his mother. she tells him that the singer on screen used to be her favorite idol while she was growing up. the sentiment is enough to catch kiyong's curiosity. this is when his obsession with wanting to become an idol starts. if he wants to prove everyone wrong, then he needs to become an idol to show society that, even as the son of divorced parents, he can become a successful and beloved person. ✩ at 12 kiyong auditions for ydh entertainment and passes his audition soon after. he's determined and hardworking, easily becoming one of the higher ranking trainees. ✩ although kiyong gives it his all, his training time keeps growing. at first, he's told it's due to his young age, but eventually other trainees his age start to debut. it hits his confidence quite hard, making him question everything, but kiyong is too stubborn and has spent too much time training, so he keeps going. ✩ his biggest wish is to debut in a boy group, he likes the idea of having something like siblings. ydh entertainment considers him for the lineup of sodapop but ends up not including him in the end as he doesn't really fit the vision they have for the group. ✩ in a final attempt to accomplish his goal, kiyong joins a survival show, hoping to make it to the final lineup, and he's pretty close to debuting, but ultimately gets eliminated after reaching one of the top ten ranks. ✩ however, right after, ydh entertainment offers him a soloist contract, and he takes the chance as it's his last option to finally debut. he's not entirely satisfied, but at least he has reached his goal. ✩ in 2022 kiyong makes his debut as kio.

ii. ✩ kiyong loves being an idol. he likes the attention he gets and the fact that people look up to him. to him, it feels like he's making a difference in people's lives, including his own. ✩ he's always been approachable and makes sure to treat everyone with kindness. he's not shy, but he does have his quiet moments. he's more of an introvert than an extrovert, though if someone approaches him, he will make the effort to talk to them. ✩ his focus is mainly on producing and writing music. he's helped create some great songs for other groups and is planning on growing his credits in the future. he has also helped create choreographies for others. although he's more of a singer than a dancer, but he still finds it enjoyable, and it helps him improve his own skills too. ✩ kiyong is never one to complain, but he's not very satisfied with how little ydh entertainment is promoting him. he wishes for more and wants to be promoted better, but he's also too kind to confront them directly. ✩ getting into scandals is very unlike kiyong. he stays out of trouble and does what his company tells him to. he makes sure to treat everyone with kindness and keeps his distance from the dating life because being a singer is his only purpose in life, and he doesn't want to risk ruining what he worked so hard on building.

iii. open plots ✩ i would like for kiyong to have a close friend or two. maybe they cloud have met as trainees and kept the friendship alive till now. kiyong hasn't changed much from his old self, he's always been true to himself and is a very honest individual. he treats his friends like family and would never hesitate to lend a helping hand. ✩ likewise, i would love to explore a more negative connection too. kiyong doesn't hate people, but he certainly can dislike how a person behaves, and it would be interesting to see how he would handle a situation with another idol who he clearly doesn't get along with. ✩ as for his love life, kiyong definitely had none up until now. he was far too fixated on debuting while he was a trainee, so he wouldn't have dated. however, he could have had a crush on someone, or maybe they liked each other, but when his crush asked him out, he rejected them and their dynamic would have changed after. this can be taken up by f&m muses. ✩ maybe someone who kiyong likes to practice with or write/produce new songs with. it would be fun to have a thread where they are working on an unreleased song and see their thought process throughout it. ✩ kiyong is always trying to learn new instruments, maybe this person is teaching him how to play a new one. ✩ perhaps someone who invites kiyong to a party, but doesn't tell him what kind, so kiyong shows up and is shocked by the sight. this would work well with a muse who drinks or smokes a lot. kiyong would react worried and try to get this person to leave with him. i would like for this plot to be a bit deeper, at least emotionally. i'm imagining a more angsty vibe. ✩ someone who believes kiyong is being fake friendly. they try to put him into situations to make him show his true self... only that kiyong is already being himself. this keeps going for a while until either the person realizes they were wrong all along or kiyong gets very emotional. ✩ a person who's currently crushing on kiyong, but he's unaware and perceives them as a good friend and nothing more. this can be another rejection scenario or a yearning forever connection. please keep in mind that as of right now, kiyong wouldn't reciprocate anything romantic, even if he develops feelings too. ✩ this person simply has the knack for dragging kiyong into trouble. maybe someone who is rather clumsy and does these things accidentally and knowing that kiyong is friendly and helpful, they could ask him to fix these situations for them.

[pttucker]

⸢And everyone lived happily ever after.⸥ I always hated that phrase. However, the current me dearly wished for that phrase to become true. [Constellation, 'Demon King of Salvation' has reached his ■■.] [You have become the 'Oldest Dream'.] The disappearing lights in the distance resembled the Constellations that still remembered me. And with that, my endless voyage got underway. [Your ■■ is 'Eternity'.]

I was this close to making a reaction post about the supposed "miracle" that happened and why the worldline wasn't collapsing despite Oldest Dream no longer dreaming.

I mean, I was certain it was because Dokja was maintaining the dream and maybe he himself hadn't realized it yet, what with him literally being Oldest Dream. Guess he had one final trick up his sleeve.

I will say that I'm super amused that my theory of him being an avatar and not knowing it was apparently 100% correct but in a manner I completely did not expect. If I have to pick, I wanna say that the moment he chose to break himself apart was right here:

That left only three people behind. "Kim Dokja." It was unknown who among Han Sooyoung and Yoo Joonghyuk called that name out first. The former asked with a questioning pair of eyes. "We are getting off together, right?" [Someone has activated 'Lie Detection Lv… '] That prompted Kim Dokja to smirk softly. "Of course. We should." ['Lie Detection' has confirmed 'Kim Dokja's' words as truth.] "Let's go."

Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky. Dokja scheming until the very last second. Sacrificing himself for his companions One. Last. Time.

Though not as much of a sacrifice as before; he'll still get to "read" about them just like he loves and technically he will also get to live with everybody in a big house just like he wanted. So while part of me is clenching my heart, it's overall a happy ending.

And I looooove that we've circled back to Dokja's ■■ and why it has both the meaning of Eternity and Final Chapter.

I'll admit that I'm still a little fuzzy on what exactly happened with Secretive Plotter, the 999ths and Oldest Dream. I guess they reached the epilogue of their stories and this is the epilogue of Dokja's story? So now they're off in an entirely different worldline once again?

And it seems we have 34 chapters of epilogues to go through now! As well as ongoing side stories! The latter of which I still need to figure out if anyone is currently translating into English.

I'll admit when I heard that ORV had ongoing side stories I wasn't certain what exactly they'd be about but it appears we've still got a lot to wrap up even after the happy ending and you can't tell me that at least in one future side story (or maybe one of these epilogues) Dokja doesn't meet himself again or at least realize that he's missing half his memories.

...Or perhaps his companions will realize something fishy is going on, what with living right beside him and Dokja not remembering a whole 50% of his life. Hmmm.

A tale of this new world continued to flow on. But then, just as the subway's doors closed, Han Sooyoung looked behind her with a slightly unsure, hard-to-read face of someone that left something behind. Even Yoo Joonghyuk looked back, too. The only person who didn't was Kim Dokja. Han Sooyoung and Yoo Joonghyuk's gazes ran into each other, and they began growling at the same time. "What you looking at?!" "I should ask you that, you basta…"

Well, if nothing else, I do dearly wish to see more of these three idiots together. I love that both of them refused to get off the train until they were certain Dokja was coming with them and they both seemed to sense that they'd just lost something.

And I do wonder how exactly the world is going to go on after all of this mess and if they really will try to take Joonghyuk's sword from him. (Not a good idea.)

I mean, they seem to still have all of their abilities and stats? I think? So they're just supposed to live in normal, modern day Korea as if nothing happened while having superpowers??? And I assume most of the world's population is gone unless that was miraculously rewritten.

Or...???

Guess I'll find out.

[richincolor]

New Releases

It's officially fall and that means all the spooky books are coming out as well as the start of the holiday romances. Looks like the fall book release season is going to be full of literary goodness for everyone.

Ros Demir is Not the One by Leyla Brittan Holiday House

Ros will do whatever it takes to get the guy. At least… she thinks she will.

Sixteen-year-old Ros is a go-getter. When she wants something, she makes sure she gets it.

But a lingering rumor (and maybe some ambivalence about her half-Turkish heritage) has kept Ros from achieving the kind of reputation she deserves. So, after years of plotting her big comeback, she just needs one thing: a hot, adoring guy on her arm at junior year homecoming. And when she meets charming new classmate Aydın at the Pine Bay resort over the summer, she thinks she’s found The One.

It doesn’t work, though. And things get messy when Ros’s plan ends up hurting the only friend she has left… poor, sweet, forgiving Eleanor. This has happened before—things tend to get messy with Ros around—and it’s getting harder for her to ignore the pattern of hurt feelings. Plus, it seems like Ros and Aydın aren’t really meant to be. What kind of a plan results in everyone ending up unhappy? Not a very good one.

A not-quite rom com starring a bold, outspoken antiheroine, this Turkish-American Romeo and Juliet remix is refreshingly snarky. Witty, whip-smart dialogue plays with the complexities of multicultural identity and female friendships, from Ros’s very first screw-up to her unconventional happy ending.

No Rules Tonight: A Graphic Novel by Kim Hyun Sook & Ryan Estrada Penguin Workshop

From the creators of Banned Book Club comes a young adult graphic novel about unveiling secrets, confessing your crushes, and finding yourself: all in the mountains of South Korea on Christmas Eve.

It’s time for the annual winter camp at Anjeon University. A full weekend, deep in the mountains, with no parental supervision. But this is no ordinary getaway. It is 1980s South Korea, where political tensions are high and curfew is strict. Luckily, it’s the only night of the year when Koreans have no curfew, no obligations, and no rules. Christmas Eve.

In the snowy mountains, everyone has a different plan for their one night of freedom. Hyun Sook is trying to restart her banned book club but has to hide from a boy she suspects of being a spy. Taehee and Kiwoo are trying to build up the nerve to confess their feelings for one another, while Sujji pines after her crush, ready to risk it all and finally tell someone the secret she’s been hiding for her entire life.

Acclaimed creators Kim Hyun Sook and Ryan Estrada deliver a cinematic, hilarious, and heartfelt story about the universality of growing up, making friends, and falling in love.

The Dark Becomes Her by Judy I. Lin Rick Riordan Presents

Ruby Chen has always played the part of the dutiful eldest daughter: excelling in school; excelling in piano lessons; excelling at keeping her younger sister, Tina, focused on extracurriculars meant to impress college admissions officers.

But when a ghost from the spirit world attacks the sisters in the middle of Vancouver’s Chinatown neighborhood, Ruby’s life is plunged into a darkness that no amount of duty can free her from. Overnight, Ruby’s sister seems to change. There are strange noises coming from her bedroom at all hours; and the once sweet, funny Tina has been replaced by something dark and unnatural.

As Ruby races to save her sister from demonic possession, she is thrown into an ancient battle over the gateway to the underworld. On one side, an evil traveling temple known for making dark wishes come true has returned to Chinatown after many years—intent on breaking down the gateway and unleashing the evil within. On the other side, the guardians who must stop them.

And in order to survive, Ruby must not only face the horror taking over her community, but must also confront the horror within herself.

Chinese and Taiwanese mythology get the Junji Ito treatment in this bone-chilling, propulsive story that takes the horrors of the Asian diaspora experience to a whole new level.

Killer House Party by Lily Anderson Henry Holt and Co.

Red Solo cups? Check. Snacks? Check. Abandoned mansion full of countless horrors that won’t let you leave? Check.

The Deinhart Manor has been a looming shadow over town for as long as anyone can remember, and it’s been abandoned for even longer. When the final Deinhart descendent passes, the huge gothic manor is up for sale for the first time ever. Which means Arden can steal the keys from her mom’s real estate office…

It’s time for a graduation party that no one will ever forget. Arden and her best friends Maddy, Remi, and Shane, each have different reasons for wanting to throw the party to end all parties. But when the manor doors bar everyone inside and the walls begin to bleed, all anyone wants to do is make it out alive.

The Dead Will Never Haunt Me (Murder, She Wrote #3) by Stephanie Kuehn Scholastic Press

The final installment in the suspenseful, modern update of the classic mystery TV series. Perfect for fans of One of Us Is Lying, Sadie, and Gossip Girl.

“What does it mean if our own sense of right and wrong isn’t enough to keep us from committing the unspeakable?”

When Beatrice Fletcher joins her father on a work trip to the University of New Mexico, she knows she’s sacrificing time with her friends back in Cabot Cove trying to solve the last clue of an enigmatic game they’ve been playing. Yet it’s worth it if it means she can interview celebrated film studies professor William Vance, whose newest documentary touches on a murderous cult, a misdirected bombing, and a tragedy from Bea’s mother’s childhood.

But when a string of poisonings targets girls in Vance’s film program, Bea has more to worry about than ancient family history. Someone knew she was coming to campus and why. And now that she’s insinuated herself into the students’ circle, could she be next on the hit list? Like her great aunt Jessica, Bea will need cunning and logic to get to the bottom of the attacks and figure out what all of it has to do with the game back home.

And time is running out…

This Land is Our Land: A Blue Beetle Story by Julio Anta DC Comics

Jaime Reyes is an ordinary high school student in El Paso, Texas, with a deep love for his family, culture, and home. Whether it’s working with his dad at the auto shop or a multi-generational barbecue filled with music and dance, Jaime loves nothing more than his neighborhood’s spontaneous gatherings that go late into the night. But lately he’s begun to realize that he and his border community are being used as pawns in an increasingly toxic immigration debate.

The last few months have seen armed troops deployed along the U.S. and Mexico border, manufactured crackdowns at official border crossings, and now at the community level, a mounting resentment amongst a group of disaffected and reactionary youth who believe they’re being “replaced” by El Paso’s growing immigrant population. And to make matters worse, one of Jaime’s oldest friends, Riley, has bought into the propaganda. What started off as innocent web searches has now led Riley down a path to joining an unabashed hate group with a chapter in El Paso looking to cause some real-world violence.

But Jaime’s problems get even more complicated when he finds an odd bug-like artifact while stargazing. He starts feeling a little different—like there’s another voice in his head pushing him towards his most base instincts. And to make matters worse, he’s been having surreal dreams that show him that the true threat El Paso faces isn’t “illegal aliens,” but actual aliens known as the Reach. In fact, according to his dreams, Jaime is meant to pave the way for the Reach’s impending invasion!

Heir (Heir Duology #1) by Sabaa Tahir G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

An orphan. An outcast. A prince. And a killer who will bring an empire to its knees.

Growing up in the Kegari slums, AIZ has seen her share of suffering. An old tragedy fuels her need for vengeance, but it is love of her people that propels her. Until one hot-headed mistake lands her in an inescapable prison, where the embers of her wrath ignite.

Banished from her tribe for an unforgiveable crime, SIRSHA is a down-on-her-luck tracker who speaks to the earth, air, and water to trace her marks. Destitute, she agrees to hunt down a killer who has murdered children across the Empire. All she has to do is carry out the job and get paid. But then, she falls for a charismatic and inconvenient fugitive who keeps getting in her way.

QUIL is the crown prince of the Empire, nephew of a famed and venerated empress, but he’s loathe to pick up the mantle when his aunt steps down. As the son of the most hated emperor in the history of his people, he, better than anyone, understands that power corrupts. When a vicious new enemy threatens the survival of the Empire, Quil must ask himself if he can rise above his tragic lineage and be the heir his people need.

Beloved storyteller Sabaa Tahir masterfully interweaves the lives of three young people as they grapple with the burdens of power, the treachery of love and the devastating consequences of unchecked greed. Get ready for a dark and breathless journey that will captivate readers and that may cost these young people their lives―and their hearts. Literally.

Make My Wish Come True by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

A sapphic Netflix-esque Christmas movie meets How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days​ from the New York Times bestselling author duo of She Gets the Girl Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick.

Hollywood teen actor Arden James’ messy reputation is interfering with her career when a notoriously picky director won’t give her a role based on her party-girl image. So she and her publicist make up a lie – not only is she from a small town (true) but her childhood best friend Caroline, is her long-term girlfriend (false) and she can prove it when she goes home for Christmas.​

Caroline Beckett hasn’t thought about her ex-best friend Arden James for years, focusing instead on her dreams about becoming a journalist. When Arden turns up on her doorstep and promises her an article in Cosmopolitan magazine on their twelve snow-covered romantic days together, Caroline agrees to play along. ​ But when old feelings start to bubble up, what will fall faster – Arden and Caroline or the Christmas Eve snow? ​

A gorgeous, heartwarming cosy romance – perfect for the holidays!

[dxdoha]

yaaaay, she's finally in! hi everyone, it's sera or sarah (whichever you prefer because i like both) and i'm here with my girl, bae doha - a tier c agent who mostly works in espionage, a girl can show many sides to her personality simultaneously which is probably considered crazy to most people but i swear it's not her fault. if any of your muses want to engage in some wild shenanigans, please do like to plot and i'll come over to u to plot and possibly share discords if you want that! i'll put a hopefully (?!) shortened little summary of her under the cut! if you want something more in depth, you can look at her profile here as well!

when i decided to write her, automatically i thought of spy x family as a tiny part of her backstory was inspired by it if you couldn't tell already!!

doha in a way, is trying to figure out the cause of her parents' deaths, as in who turned their house into a fire cockpit so she has been trying to get her hands on documents or sensitive information on any villain she can encounter on missions (if she feels as if they could be the cause of it).

by the way, she was about to die too in that house but her mom basically protected her til the very end and she did survive long enough to be saved.

from the orphanage she stayed at, that was when her abilities started to go out of control and she would manifest like multiple copies of herself so they'd have an extra two dohas running around. doha was just that one kid who stands in the corner, a lonely kid but with the ability to make clones of herself, people see her differently.

she got adopted at the age of 11 from super spy parents and you'd think that normal parents look for a child because they just want a normal little happy family, right? well it was like shopping to them when they decided to take doha home. her powers intrigued them and everything and they thought simply having a baby was too much work.

went into school fairly early, like a month after she got taken home from the orphanage. private school in korea pretty much, which had her parents pull some strings in order to get her into it but it worked, due to her mom's profession. went there until she was able to pass exams in order to enter the academy, which she ultimately joined once she was sixteen. finished in the top five basically, barely made it up there actually!

has been a tier c agent for not even a full six months? she's still pretty new. she has gotten better at espionage though due to her father's teachings in combat and her mom tries to help her temper her own emotions; got her charm from her.

you can be charming and be a loser at the same time, that's doha basically. the number of times she embarrasses herself during a mission was plenty but thankfully no one notices.

but anyone can definitely find other sides to her if they encounter any of her clones around doha's vicinity. just a warning that one may be meaner than the other or one much more confident and less embarrassing than the original. in the end, they are all still her. real doha is more empathetic at least.

all still her in terms of personality, ones that are buried i guess!

plot ideas anyone?

so many orphaned kids in this rp so maybe there was one that was in the same one as doha and witnessed her powers go out of control?

you dropped some sensitive information somewhere out in public that could make or break you on accident and now doha managed to find it?

met one of doha's clones out and about and then you meet doha herself and she seems completely differently from the one you met earlier? because that happens sometimes.

fellow spies apart of n.e.p.a, rise up!

not gonna lie, i am a big fan of romance whether it becomes something or not so like... maybe there is someone who just completely charms her by doing something cool and badass.

two terribly lonely souls drinking at a bar to have fun, or go to a cute bakery to have a perfectly crafted cake all to themselves.

frenemies? rivals? we love those! two people who love to compete with one another every chance they get or just one of them waiting for the other to fail / embarrass themselves so they can laugh? it's endless.

for a more serious plot... maybe you heard about that one family who became collateral damage to a villain attack and you suspect doha was apart of it in some way? as in she was effected by it? or you've been in the medical field and suspect something instantly? public isn't aware of it.

if nothing else, we can brainstorm! that's a-okay with me too!

[hdcarmine]

hi everyone!! the name's anth (27, he/him, est), and i'm really excited to be here! i'm equally excited to bring to you a muse that i've really come to love, who i'm super excited to get to write out! i'm bringing you lee carmine junmyeon! you can call him junmyeon, you can call him carmine, but never call him by lee carmine junmyeon! anyways, he's a former ballerino with big dreams of being a dancer & vocalist in a kpop group, rather than what was set out for him! under the cut, i'll give you some info about him and if you'd like to plot, don't be afraid to like! click here to read his profile.

he's born as lee carmine junmyeon / junmyeon carmine lee in rome, italy, on may 13th, 2003. he currently holds a dual citizenship in italy and south korea.

his mother works for the ministry affairs and his dad works as an artist & art professor at seoul national university. he spends a little more time with mom, rather than dad, since dad went back to seoul often to teach. they live in rome until carmine is eight due to his mom now becoming the vice president of ministry affairs.

he's a #richboy with his parents coming from rich families

got picked on a lot because he really didn't know a lot of korean when he got back to korea. he has a scar on his left knee from being pushed down at the playground in his neighborhod. he definitely became a lot more reserved than he was, truthfully.

despite this, however, he's always popular in school because he's rather good looking. at least he had that going for him?

got really into dancing when he was young, but his parents kind of made him do ballet instead of any other kind of dancing (which he really wanted to do) since ballet was much more proper and such. he was a little annoyed, but he just taught himself other kinds of dancing and even joined the dance team at school to learn outside of ballet. at one point, however, he gets lucky and his parents finally send him to the dance classes anyways; gave them more time to not have to worry about him anyways.

always was a good student, did well on his college entrance exam because he always did a lot of studying.

had to really convince his parents to let him sign the contract for hydra labels. decided that maybe it wouldn't be that bad to let him be an idol or whatever - so, he was rather happy that he's moving toward exactly what he wants to do.

okay onto the juicy: his personality.

very kind of boy next door type. the type of person that you'd want your parents to meet, but almost at the same time; you don't want you parents to meet him cause you're going to be compared to him. prim & passionate, steadfast and courteous. he's kind of really just a good guy.

however, he tends to be rather quiet until you actually talk to him. because he was picked on often and the things that happened to him - he doesn't really trust a lot of people, so he tends to have some walls up because of that. this, in turn, tends to make him seem pretty alluring - especially because he's so good looking, anyways.

don't get him wrong though - even though he's calm and such, he definitely will bitch you out and curse you out in italian because you don't know what he's saying.

he can be blunt and straight-forward once you know him... or when he's talking in italian and you don't know what he's saying. other than that, he's very gentleman-y, a prince in some sense.

he's also perfectionist. so, he's always running through something until he feels like it's perfect. if it's a group performance, expect him to be running the practice room like the navy.

he wouldn't fully say he's super close to his parents? it feels as if they all know kind of surface level stuff about each other, in a way. kind of just in the sense of their lives are sooo busy, there's only so much they can know about each other. they know enough. it kind of makes him ache a little bit, though, when people are a lot closer to their parents cause he kind of wished that it was a lot more surface level than holidays and seeing each other from time to time. the curse of a busy life.

he kind of likes spending money. tends to have a lot of expensive things because of his parents money. he loves to spoil so any future boyfriend... you're going to be spoiled rotten. his future group members will also not have to worry about buying things cause if they mention that they want something, consider already having his card in your hands.

he's fluent in italian, korean, and english. only reason he's still fluent in italian is because his parents always use it with him. (his parents are pretentious)

whilst being good at both singing and dancing and being pretty, myeon's a really good artist too; something that he gets from his dad.

i... think that's all i've got !

[catch-me-hello]

Let’s talk about Shining SOLO.

Let’s get the main story out of the way first. This show was a huge rating success, despite the K-pop fans being REALLY upset when the previews started.

According to Koreaboo’s article, “Netizens Criticize YG Entertainment for TREASURE’s Alleged New Dating Reality Show (Fans are not happy),”  the vague promos and quotes from insiders framed this show as a dating show in which final couples would win at the end. Meaning the idols would actually be dating the girls and becoming coupled up, at least for the show. Here are some of the social media posts from fans when the promos first came out:

I hope that the ratings bomb and it doesn’t become buzz-worthy. I’m scared that the other companies will copy them. F*ck YG should just go out and KTS for doing this. How can they market it to fans by filming a reality dating program with influencers? Crazy ba*tards. (Note from me: Just so you know how toxic netizens can be, KTS stands for “kill themselves.” As horrifying a thing that is to say, it’s a pretty common insult online.)

This is so shocking. I’m someone who truly is not delulu, but isn’t this still what we’d hate to see our favs doing the most?

I think the members would hate it too, so why are they filming such things? Just now when fans asked Doyoung to give a spoiler on their upcoming contents, he said that his head hurts just by thinking about it f*ck… (Note from me: Doyoung very likely was under orders not to give out spoilers for the show, so I think he gave an evasive answer.)

YG earned too much off of BLACKPINK that they’re delusional about their standing. They don’t seem like they’re in the right mind. They need to tank to get a grip.

Netizens also felt this show was a desperate act on behalf of YG Entertainment because TREASURE was in a state of “nugudom,” and this show was “nugu behavior” on their part. “Nugu” means “who” in Korean, and it basically means a state of being nobodies. This feels like a desperate insult from the fans, the way we would call someone a total nobody in English, even if that person were famous. TREASURE may not be famous on the level of BTS, but they have a huge following, albums that sell in the millions, and sold-out concerts.

This kind of insult does make sense in a juvenile way. Imagine being an adolescent girl with a crush on a guy, and that guy goes on a dating show and breaks your heart. The natural defensive reaction is to call him a total nobody and say you never liked him anyway. That’s how a lot of K-pop fans reacted to the news that their TREASURE idols would be dating on a reality show. Which made doing this show a genuine risk for the group.

Fortunately for them, the risk paid off. According to Wikipedia, it received positive responses from both critics and fans, especially in Japan, where several of the group members are from. The ratings were high, and it was popular on streaming services not only in South Korea and Japan, but also in Taiwan and Thailand.

I find that reassuring. I know this is too much to hope for, but maybe Shining SOLO will lead a change in thinking for K-pop fans, maybe that letting their idols date is not so awful after all, and their entertainment company should absolutely not under any circumstances KTS.

Something else I found interesting (and really should not have been surprised by) is that several of the women on this show were actresses trying to make a name for themselves in show business, and this was a great opportunity for them. It was a somewhat risky opportunity, because they were initially facing the wrath of the fans, but given how popular the show wound up being, I’m sure it will be great for their careers.

Here's what I was able to find out from another article on Koreaboo:

Kim Ye Won, our fashionable model and sculpture artist from Part 1, was found through her entertainment managers at KPLUS. She had already been on one dating show in Japan called Romance Before Debut. She’s still currently modeling, and I assume still making sculptures.

Yoo Mi Ho, our cat-owner and queen of diplomacy from Part 1, went on to have a supporting role in the SBS K-Drama The Killing Vote.

Lee So Won, our Part 1 Canadian who told people what they wanted to hear, was actually in a Netflix K-drama called A Killer Paradox. She’s signed to Blossom Entertainment.

Lee Ji Yeon, the one who connected with Asahi in Part 1, graduated from Dongduk Women’s University. When she came to Shining SOLO, she had played the lead role in a 2022 web drama Is there Equation in Love? However, she seems to have left show business.

Lee Ha Yul, our multi-talented artist from Part 2, is a new actress under a HYP subsidiary acting company. According to a post I found on Twitter, she was actually training to be a K-pop idol but changed her mind to focus on acting.

I couldn’t find much else. It looks like Ji Soo is still dancing, so I don’t know if she ever tried a different career.

And finally, at the time of writing this, YG Entertainment is playing it safe, insisting that none of the members of TREASURE are dating. The show may have been a success, but now it’s back to business as usual.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Some Surprises

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

NOV 2024 Week 1

Ongoing Series - Thai

Fourever You (Thai Thurs YT) ep 5 of 16 - I love this show, but I absolutely hate the main couple's communication style. Or complete lack of communication style. I really hope the other couples are not gonna be this bad and it’s just because this one is leaning into the worst of BL archetypes. But I’m not confident. Poor Ter dating Hill put a big old target on his back. Earth being a dramatic stressed gay queen was peak comedy tho. Apparently the good kisses are only on WeTV (I am annoyed) so props to the giffers who keep me supplied. You're doing the BL gods work.

I suddenly realized, after the bullying sequence, that one of the reasons I’m liking this so much is it reminds me of early Japanese yaoi. There’s something about the dynamics of the characters and the way they're reacting to situations that’s not very Thai BL feeling. And if I think of this is more JBL, I forgive it. Or maybe that’s just why I’m liking it so much despite its flaws? Difficult to understand my own feels about this show.

Jack & Joker (Thai Mon IQIYI) ep 8 of 12 - I don’t like this new evil-bonkers rich kid character and whatever is going on with Jack and Rose and that whole story. It’s boring. And then my brain short circuited. No further thoughts... just War in a wife beater. 

Love Sick 2024 (Thai Sun iQIYI) ep 7 of 15 - Phun's bitch face really is epically wonderful. I kinda enjoy everybody ribbing the two of them because they have no idea what’s actually going on. I'm chronicling my experience with 2024 as compared to 2014 here.

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 9 of 12 - Omg cutest boyfriends EVER. I don’t even mind how cheesy their bf era is. Does this lull jive with the rest of the story? Nope. But ya know that’s GMMTV’s thing these days, flailing during the final act.

Perfect 10 Liners (Thai Sun YouTube?) ep 1 of 24 - Pretty standard Thai BL university fair. I am hoping it’s better than ForceBook’s previous offering. Yet another sniff test. Is this the trope of the year? Meanwhile, they also deployed the crash into me trope in episode one. Who do they think they are? Taiwan?

New is directing this uni BL with a massive cast + massive run time. It's an endurance test ya'll - we will be watching this until APRIL of 2025! Su su na.

Every You Every Me (Thai Mon Gaga) ep 4 of 10 - I really like that they had the bandwidth to give us a little side couple with this installment. Fun crumbs. Meanwhile, the thing with the shirt in front of the mirror was extremely sexy. This installment was very sad though. And, of course, I’m not happy about it. To top it all off, next week is musical themed, so you know I’m disgruntled about it. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

See Your Love (Taiwan Weds Gaga) ep 3 of 13 - Aw spoiled neglected rich boy wants to be cared for and spoiled honestly. I do love them. Also tiny idiot syndrome is spreading. 

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 6 of ? - The side couple (teacher student, hyung romance but he’s using em) interesting. Not sure how I feel about them. The subs are so bad it’s largely incomprehensible but I’m still enjoying it for no defensible reason. 

My Damn Business (Korea Sat YT) eps 5 of 7 - I love that our uke can be such a little shit. I love it when a tsundere has some serious snark and attitude to back his petulance up. Also liquid courage. At least we got to the root of the tsundere. Also neck kisses and cuddles! 

Eccentric Romance (Korea Weds Viki) eps 7-8 of 12 - Oooo, cute kiss. Drunken but adorable. I do like it when they use older Korean actors in KBL, they actually know how to kiss. Has the kiss saved this show? Possibly. I’m shallow. 

Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 7 of 10 eps - Our con man is such a good little homemaker. And it’s sexy yukata time! Love this trope. 

Love in the Air: Koi no Yokan (Japan Sat Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - Same plot as the Thai original, only from Japan. Very similar so far. I hope Rei is a bit more smart and Arashi is a bit less of a sleaze. I still get too much secondhand embarrassment and my mame alert is blaring.  I'm wary.

Blue Canvas of Youthful Days (China Sun iQIYI) eps 1-2 - Triggers for child abuse, alcoholism. Two artists, one an abused rich kid and the other a tough scrappy poor kid, in the same art prep school. I of course adore the side couple of the much younger kid and the older teacher. Oh, I do like it. But it's CBL, I'm very scared as to where it might go.

Bad to Bed (Taiwan Sat YouTube) ep 1 of 10 - Influencer Wan Xiong suffers from insomnia, it’s a physical and mental battle. As he tried to find a solution, he encounters five boys along the way. I'm putting this on the list because it's airing and I just found out about it but I didn't have time to watch it yet. I hear it's v weird.

It's airing but...

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

Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) 10 eps - I DNF'd at ep 7, I couldn't make it. I am weak. Life is hard enough right now, this show is making it harder. It’s not what I want from my entertainment.

Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo (Korea Thurs Gaga) eps 4 of 8 - I put this one on pause. It's too heavy for me right now. I'll wait to know if the ending is hard fought happy (and then watch) or not (and won't finish). Sorry all, rough times this side of the screen.

Random I watched it

Vending Machine Sabi Koi AKA Can I Buy Your Love From A Vending Machine AKA Sono Koi, Jihanki de Kaemasu ka? (Japan 2023) - This show is utterly adorable, impossibly awkward, and kinda old fashioned. About a cute nerdy little office worker (he's out!) who has a big'ol crush on the tall hulking vending machine guy. They fall in love. And that’s it. And it’s charming. There’s some first name eroticism, because Japan, and there's emphasis on communication, which is so not Japan, but turns this into an organically loving and talkative relationship. There’s a bit of an age gap, and our office cutie may or may not have a muscles fetish (the hot bod not the shellfish) because (if I’ve told you once I’ve told you 1 million times) Japan always goes kinky. And you know what, I loved it. 9/10

Next Week Looks Like This:

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

November BL:

11/4 Our Youth AKA Miseinen: Mijukuna Oretachi wa Bukiyo ni Shinkochu (Japan Mon Gaga?) 11 eps - Minase was an exemplary high school student who hates Hirukawa, head bully and top delinquent. But then Minase uncovers Hirukawa’s secret and the two get intimate.

11/15 Caged Again (Thai Fri WeTV) 10 eps - Penguin escapes zoo by turning into a human. Gets trapped again and a panther falls in love with him.

11/17 Your Sky (Thai iQIYI) 12 eps - Due to an unforeseen situation, a naive freshman and the campus’s popular senior agree to pretend to be a couple - but their fake deal begins to generate real feelings.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Honor the crumbs indeed. This pair is so much crumbs it's practically dust. (Love Sick 2014)

God he is so stupidly in love.

(lask 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

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

[dangermousie]

I have been feeling in the mood for rewatching something very melo and old-school and of all possible dramas, the one that comes to mind is delightfully melo 2004 kdrama Say You Love Me with very young Kim Rae Won. 15 eps of deliciousness. The plot is take Dangerous Liasons but make it wholesome ie the best thing ever.

Kim Rae Won and Yoon So Yi are a pure and unworldly couple brought up by Buddhist monks who consider holding hands the height of sexual ecstasy. Alas, they end up in the Big City of Sin and things are about to go pear-shaped as they meet Yina, who the drama tries to claim is more complex than what she really is - a batshit secondary girl so beloved by old kdramas and yours truly. She becomes KRW's boss but does not like seeing all that pure and happy love so she asks her hot friend with benefits to seduce the girl while she decides to work on Kim Rae Won. Honestly, I watched this over a decade ago, so all I remember is monks, KRW's cheeks, happy ending with bicycles and the below scene where Lady Cougar finally gets her claws into Buddhist Virgin. (@aysekira is now groaning because I shared it with her earlier.)

So, our pure as the driven (or more aptly never driven) snow KRW brings his drunk boss to her house.

He: OK, I brought my supposedly drunk boss home, can I go now to dream of butterflies and puppies? She: I have Kim Rae Won in my house! In other words, not so fast, buster! I know the lighting is arthouse but this drama ain't!

He: OK, I really need to go home, my equally virginal gf is coming back in the morning! Maybe she will let me get to the second base, I must be ready.

She: I can talk or take my top off. It's a kdrama, so I'll talk.

Does she mean she is into bdsm? Well, at least she is being honest, even if he doesn't seem to be happy with it.

At this point, even almost a monk dude is realizing something is way off and trying to steer it into safer channels.

Seriously, adorable! I want to pinch his cheeks! So does she, even if it's a different set of cheeks.

God, I miss the craziness of old school secondary girls. They were so unhinged and glorious! Also, clearly there was no sexual harassment and hostile environment claims in old timey kdrama Korea because she's not just any cougar, she's his boss! (If you ask me what job monk educated dude of monkishess could possibly, I will frankly admit that I do not remember, and cannot honestly imagine.)

We have all so been there with truly awkward convos with insane people.

OK, I laughed. She literally pounces on him from behind like a demented bear. Btw, the fact that they are wearing about 17 layers of clothing makes it even more surreal. Between them they are exposing about three inches of skin total and that includes the noses.

Meanwhile, in case we don't get the irony, his Pure Girlfriend is gazing lovingly at his necklace and thinking 'I love my boyfriend because he'd never give up the jewel he promised to Jesus Buddha to anyone but me. Certainly not the sleazy boss lady who must have more STDs than James Bond'

Meanwhile, at the Den of Sin, Buddhist Virgin tries to extricate himself. However, he is surprisingly non-efficient for a man who's a foot taller and a good 100lb heavier. Even if his Buddhist principles prohibit punching her in the kisser, surely he can shove her or something. Or just fall backward on top of her and smoosh her.

And then she goes for the kill. I note that despite his clenching his fist in emotional agony, soon he's macking on her quite thoroughly with his mouth. That is what happens when you get abstinence only education and never enjoy yourself despite healthy libido. Your poor hormones probably go "quick quick before his beliefs suppress us again, this is our only chance!"

Birds and bees indeed! (Also, I see where your hands are, buster. They are around Ms. Cougar!)

(I half expected it to be a rose and for it to wilt or at least a petal to fall off, iykyk)

In the morning after, she is enjoying her beauty sleep and he's understandably freaking out. (Sinfully, he is now down to mere two layers of clothing and secondary girl, to show her sluttiness, is down to merely one!)

OK, I like to make fun but I do genuinely feel bad for the kid especially since I am much much older than I was when I first watch this drama and I just want to cut crusts off his sandwiches, tell him to avoid strange women and carry mace or something.

He bolts from her touch and she is genuinely surprised. I am not sure why as he's a devout dude with a serious girlfriend; if she wanted a more pleasant end to her night, she should have dragged in a character played by Jang Ki Yong, who's sort of made a niche for a younger hunk rejoicing in casually being banged by older ladies. (If you want to feel really old, Jang Ki Yong was 11 when this drama came out. You are welcome.)

If you think this face means realized this was a dumb choice and unlikely to lead to anything good, you are not familiar with old time kdramas. I genuinely do not get her obsession because sure KRW is cute as hell but the sex couldn't have been much good and he generally treats her as a leper.

His gf comes home but he doesn't meet her because he is too dirty and unworthy to see her!

And then they talked it out and worked it out.

Ha!!!! This is a 15 ep drama, we are only getting started baby!

So yeah, watch me rewatch this insanity.

[canary0]

Aug 13th - Dracula 2023

The Diary of Mina Murray

It’s been so busy! I keep trying to sit down to write and something new comes up!

The most significant thing, of course, is that Jonathan and I were finally married fully and legally yesterday. Lucy and I finally finished getting everything together the day before, including the photographer. We posted an offer at a local art school, and found someone with an interesting style that’s not exactly typical wedding photography. Lucy thought we should go a little more traditional, but it suits us. We’re not exactly traditional ourselves.

We got married, as promised, up at the abbey ruins. Lucy’s former paramours showed up, Mr. Morris and Dr. Seward, and Mr. Holmwood even made an appearance. He looked quite tired – apparently he is dealing with wrapping up affairs of his father’s estate and title, though Lucy’s presence seemed to be of great comfort. Ms. Swales also made an appearance, as healthy and cheerful as she has ever been. She seemed to be feeling quite confident, though she would only give me a cagey smile when I asked what might have her in such a good mood.

Mr. Hawkins also appeared, since his gout isn’t giving him too many problems just at the moment. I can only hope the kind man is finally on the other side of it.

The ceremony was beautiful – we wrote each other vows in conjunction with a traditional CoE ceremony, and the sky was as blue and clear as it has ever been up at the abbey. The ruins of the ship served as an… interesting backdrop to it, as it is still being cleaned up and investigated.

We returned to the house for the reception, and it was lively with conversation. Lucy managed to sweet-talk a local baker into putting together a beautiful cake on short notice (as well as an invitation to come to the reception and have some, a move of which we both heartily approved). The meal was put together between Lucy and her mother, who insisted that, “I’m still well enough to do this.” As anxious as she is, Lucy certainly got her sweetness at least in part from her.

It was lovely to finally meet the men Lucy had written so much about, and the conversation with them was quite jovial, asking for stories of their adventures. Mr. Morris and Mr. Holmwood are apparently very old friends indeed, and picked up Dr. Seward during an adventure in Korea which threatened family he was visiting at the time. It sounded like quite a harrowing experience, but it forged three very different men into fast friends.

We did ask to speak to them in a few days, once Arthur returned from his father’s estate and the wedding hubbub has died down.

Ms. Swales came up to us during the reception, both be and Jonathan and Lucy together. She took all of our hands and told us how glad she was to be able to be here on this day, and how happy she was to have met us. She took a particular interest in Jonathan, frowning.

“Poor dear,” she said, “It looks like you’re dealing with a bit of anemia again, hmm?”

I honestly hadn’t noticed a difference – he’d been fairly energetic lately, and seemed quite recovered, but the elderly sometimes have the experience to notice things we don’t have the experience to at our age. She just patted his hands with a smile and handed him a small tin of tea, telling him, “You take this, dear, and you’ll feel better in no time. I wish I could stay here and see more of you two, but I must be off to Exeter tomorrow. My granddaughter-in-law just welcomed my great-granddaughter into the world, and I promised to come help her get a night’s rest and a shower once in a while.” She chuckled. “Ah, I remember those years. Though I suppose I should give you two my number for if you decide to take that road, hmm?”

I admit, I turned bright read and Lucy laughed. Jonathan smiled, and said, “We would love to keep in touch, Ms. Swales.”

She wrote down her number and folder it around a key, handing it to me. “Here, dear,” she said, “Consider this my wedding present. I have a cottage here, but I can’t take much with me, and my granddaughter has everything I need at her place. You might find something useful in all the bric-a-brac.”

I accepted it and gave her a hug. “Thank you so much, Ms. Swales. I’ll be sad not to be able to talk in person so much, but we actually have a home in Exeter now. We may see each other soon.”

She grinned broadly. “Well, isn’t that something! I look forward to seeing you all again then, dear.” She hugged all three of us before making her way to the cake. She must have made her way out at some point in the shuffle, because we didn’t see her afterward. Jonathan make a cup of the tea she brought right away to have with the cake himself, and it’s true that he looked much better afterward.

We have been spending time together ever since everyone left – a sort of mini-honeymoon. We plan to go see the house tomorrow, and speak with Mr. Morris, Dr. Seward, and Lucy.

In our room last night, a large bat flew up to the window. Jonathan was quite awake at this point and glared at it. I rose from bed and closed the window, and he handed me a rosary to hang over the window that he had acquired recently. We pulled the drapes, as well.

Jonathan commented, “I can’t trust any nocturnal animal anymore, it feels like. I feel sad for them, though – I’m sure they would much rather be out, eating fruit and bugs and living their best bat lives than serving him.”

I sighed and nodded, getting back into bed and snuggling up to him.

(A/N: I love Ms. Swales, won't lie.)

[loevhyuck]

i wrote the mark question! super respect your answer and appreciate you taking the time to write a thoughtful response. it’s funny you say you struggle with accepting your bisexuality bc that’s exactly what i struggled with too, and thought that marks words were incredibly similar to what i used to say to myself. mark also had to grow up from a very young age, just like me. i noticed him talking in interviews around child era that he still feels like a child on the inside which is common for people who struggled through things they couldn’t control in their childhood. i also think that’s why he’s such a perfectionist and so hard on himself, it’s the one thing he can control, himself. and i can’t even imagine the pressure of the public eye on him at all times especially from such a young age. i think he’s done a beyond amazing job of handling himself and his career while working through all of these things that could be happening. unfortunately i haven’t had the chance to watch the documentary yet. maybe things will make more sense once i watch it

thank you so much for the question :( it was really interesting to answer because actually, to be honest, i've been thinking about this for a while too. even though mark said, in the documentary, the question of who he is has a lot to do with the fact that he's in two units + superm and that he doesn't know whether he's canadian or korean, i think it's a little deeper.

bisexuality is a very sore subject. i live in a homophobic country where i can hardly ever be happy with a girl because i will always have to hide if I don’t want to move. like i need to date man. and it's even worse here than in korea, and i really don't understand why people expect anything when you could lose everything. but here the problem is that I’m not sure how much i’m not deceiving myself and whether i’m really bisexual. where is this spectrum and what makes me bisexual and what doesn’t. just as i would be “more normal” if i were straight. If in adolescence I didn’t think much about it, now it has intensified tenfold. why can i experience all this and is it really a part of me, as far as it makes sense. as well as the inability to really tell anyone this.

yah. it's true. i have the same feelings about growing up quickly. as well as his words that he would like to finally grow up by 30. that he still doesn't feel old enough. or when they were previously asked in 2017 whether mark would like to grow up, he answered no. but it seems to me that he is very reasonable, but still childishly naive. smart beyond his years, but very much in himself and with his own thoughts. he is self-absorbed and it seems like both success and loss for him, because his thoughts eat him up. but i hug you two tightly.

considering how much workload he had over these ten years, it’s really impossible not to be proud of him. but it’s so sad to see how much he worries about his career, what he wants to do and how much energy it all takes from him. especially when he answered the op that his hard work and how hard he works is not something worth striving for. can we just support him? because when you are under constant stress, good words will never be superfluous. he matured very quickly and took responsibility for his actions, in words, he put everything on his career and I don’t think he will ever be able to walk away from that. at least I'm glad that he is surrounded by people who love him. his family, members, loved ones/friends. is his latest interview for the october magazine so sincere? especially when a seemingly perfect person in everything says how envious he is of those who are confident and love themselves.

thank you again :( it’s very interesting to discuss this with you. a big hug.

[mikaylawilson25]

My Summer 2024 Seoul Trip!

This summer I took a long flight over to South Korea! This is a trip that has been on my bucket list for the longest time. So, after months of planning, my brothers and I finally made it happen. I would definitely recommend visiting South Korea at least once in your life. I’ll share a few tips that helped me through my travels, as well as some places in Korea I would highly recommend!

Flights and Other Expenses

When looking for flights, where I live does not have access to a one-way flight straight to South Korea. We flew to Toronto and had a layover there, then from Toronto to Incheon Airport. The sooner in advance you look for flights, the cheaper they will be. So, it’s always important to plan beforehand! Another thing I wish someone told me was what to pack on my flight. If you have a carryon bag, be sure to keep these things in mind: a pillow, headphones, charger, book, snacks, water, a toothbrush/toothpaste, and a blanket. Our entire flight was over 15 hours. They give you food on the plane, but you won’t know if it’s something you’ll like so be mindful. Also, whatever you do, do not drink out of a public water fountain. It’s also important to keep in mind where you will be staying. In Korea, it’s easier (and way cheaper) to book an Airbnb. Our Hosts were very sweet and helpful for us, considering we were traveling to a whole other country, where we barely knew the language. It was very convenient as well, right in the middle of Seoul.

Seoul!

I am a very observant girl. A few things I noticed are different in Korea and in the US, is that small talk is nonexistent. Everyone just minds their own business, which personally I love. I hate small talk. In Korea, public transportation is so convenient and efficient. The subway systems were very easy to pick up on and got us from point A to point B quickly. There are apps you can download to find your subway route. You could walk anywhere as well. The city was very safe, it felt like. There were CCTV cameras on every corner. At first, I was nervous that it would be hard to fit in because of the language barrier, but I had no problems at all. Everyone in stores, restaurants, or on the subway was very sweet and had no problem helping us out if we needed. Also, a lot of things were electronic. At restaurants, you could just order your food on a tablet and then send it in that way.

Gyeongbokgung Palace

This was one of my favorite days. My brothers and I took the wrong subway route and ended up on a random street. We kept walking and they stopped at a cute little store with a cherry blossom tree in front of it. There were two ladies working and they motioned me into the building, showing me some beautiful dresses. One lady asked me to try it on and I agreed. Why not? She gave me a jacket and a purse as well. The clothes were the Korean traditional Hanbok. She took me toward the front of the store and asked if she could do my hair. Of course, I said yes to that, too. I got to pick a hairstyle, and I chose a French braid with flowers. When she was done, and my brother got his outfit on too, she pointed down the street and told us to go take pictures down there. I was confused at first because, again, this was not our stop. We followed the crowd of people, and it took us to Gyeongbokgung Palace. It was so beautiful. There were so many people in their traditional clothing taking pictures. We took pictures, of course. My mom was a very happy lady that day. I would highly recommend taking a few hours of your trip to visit Gyeongbokgung Palace!

Lotte world

If I’m being honest, this might have been my favorite part of the trip. I watched videos and read about Lotte World before we came, but it was even better in real life. It was an enormous mall, with its own theme park next door, and the connected Lotte World Tower. Oh, and also an aquarium! There was one building with about 6 stories, and then a connecting building, also with 6 stories, specifically for food. I originally thought the aquarium was going to be lame because it was in a mall. I was so wrong. It was so beautiful and there were so many animals I’ve never seen. My favorite were the axolotls and the beluga whale. The connected lotte world tower is in the top 10 tallest buildings in the world. We took an elevator to the top and you could see the whole city from up there. There were so many stores and restaurants in this mall that we had to come back a second day just to walk through the whole thing. There are so many places to shop in Seoul, so it’s important to be mindful of that when budgeting.

I look forward to going back to Seoul, and I want to visit Busan as well. South Korea is very beautiful, and this was definitely my favorite trip I have been on.

[thebreakfastgenie]

1, 4, 14, 19, 28 for the writer asks!

Finally answering this 😅

the last sentence you wrote

His gesture jostles BJ’s half-raised coffee cup and it sloshes. 

4. a story idea you haven’t written yet

Oh I have so many. Putting aside the ones I've written tiny bits of, the one I think I care the most about but haven't actually started at all is the MASH AU where the original cast works in an ICU in New York at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. I have a lot of ideas for drawing parallels between the situations and reworking certain elements of MASH. I wasn't going to spoil it but I'm pretty sure I have before and who knows when I'll get to it so what the hell: The main plot points I have worked out so far: Henry Blake, who runs the unit, finally retires/transfers/takes leave/whatever. Everyone is happy for him, sees him off, and puts him in a cab. A few blocks away he starts feeling sick, gets out of the cab to avoid further exposing the driver, walks back to the hospital, and collapses as Radar checks him in. Radar then tells the rest of the unit what happened. Henry deteriorates quickly and as he's dying, Hawkeye knowingly violates PPE protocol to give him some human contact and comfort. This leads to Hawkeye getting quarantined and he forgets his phone charger. He doesn't get sick, but when he gets out of quarantine he finds out Trapper quit. He plugs in his phone and finds several missed calls but no voicemail, only a single text message that just says "😘" Radar tells Hawkeye there's a new doctor on the unit and the story ends with Hawkeye giving BJ a tour. I have a pretty clear vision for all of that, but for the pacing to work right I need to show the day-to-day of the unit for a while and get the audience attached to this version of Henry before he gets sick. I have a few ideas based on episode plots, but they're a lot looser right now. I think Henry getting sick is really the climax so I only have like the last one third of the story plotted out.

14. where do you get your inspiration?

Most of it just kinda... happens. With fic it's usually something in the source material, but with original fiction I get inspired by very specific observations from real life, and sometimes that happens with fics too. So one time I was carrying a bottle of wine into the house and it was super icy and I imagined what would happen if I slipped on the ice and broke the bottle and that's where Chianti came from. But usually it's either something that went by quickly in the show that I want to dig into more or something that makes me say "what if?" like "what if Margaret was pregnant and got an abortion?"

19. the most interesting topic you’ve researched for a fic

You know, it's funny, I'm a researcher when I'm writing something research-able, but a lot of the fic I write is very character-driven and short so there isn't a lot of in-depth research to do. I did get into the weeds on buildings at Bowdoin College in the 1930s to make sure I was making plausible references one time but I think the most interesting was the fairly quick "is yellow fever endemic in South Korea?" (No, but it doesn't matter for my purposes.) With The West Wing I don't need to do as much research because I already have a government degree and studied that era of politics a bit. The main thing holding me back from writing my COVID MASH fic is the research, though. I need a better understanding of exactly what an ICU in a major city was like in March-Summer 2020, even if I take creative liberties I want to do it from an informed position. I'm not one of those people who never wants to hear about COVID in fiction, so I'm not put off by the topic, I'm just not sure exactly how to find exactly what I need and haven't yet been motivated to figure it out.

28. your least favorite part of the writing process

Just... being stuck. That part where you have to just sit and marinate an idea until you're ready to write it. It's maddening! I actually like everything else... I mean writing is torment but if it wasn't it wouldn't be worth it. I like writing more than having written, even when it's torturous, because the satisfaction comes in doing it.