#we haven’t explored THAT chemistry enough

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

Yandere Cheerleaders + Football Team

The thing about cheerleaders and the infamous football team is that they’re quite accurate to their stereotypes

Now not every cheerleader team is run by a head girl who’s a massive bully 

Or that the football team is filled with dumb jocks that are just as violent if not worse

But they’re nothing to scoff at 

They’re beautiful

They’re athletic

And they're disciplined with confidence that comes with successful games and competitions

Such perks might give them quite a bit of power

Power that’s doubled when they’re working together

If you’d like to be happy you’re better off not figuring out just yet 

Since your arrival to the University, you’ve noticed more of your things have gone missing

Maybe this move made you more frazzled than you thought

Because you’ve found that you haven’t been able to keep friends like you used to

At least not without some help

“So you’re the new student, huh? Welcome to Energi University. As cheer captain, I’m really happy to welcome you finally!”

As she drags you along throughout your schedule, you’re waiting for the punch line

The moment she switches to embarrass you or smile coyly as she says something underhanded about your appearance

But she doesn’t 

Only twirling her hair as she asks you where you learned to glow like you do

You find it odd but you’re not complaining

Movies taught you that she and her team were top of the food chain 

so if they liked you enough maybe it’d trickle to some friends eventually

“Looking for a partner? Me too. How about we uh work together, freshie. If we finish before class ends you can have my varsity jacket and I can have yours.”

It seems it works as the beefy but beautiful captain of the football team partners up during chemistry

Between the two captains, you think you’re making progress

Finally beginning to make friends

But you couldn’t be farther from the truth

Already you were skipping right into the pitfall that was their playground—Energi University

It started with the cheerleader’s captain, gorgeous, rich, and with a serious attitude problem

She was making her daily rounds with her two main girls

‘Putting the worms in their place’ as she’d report to her team

Until she found something interesting 

a glasses-wearing nerd had been holding a file, scrolling through someone’s social page with such dedication they didn’t even realize they were being cornered

And its not just someone—you

while her girls were exploring the use of pins on the human body, she was going through this fairly thick file

A file all about you

Filled with hundreds of pictures of you some with consent some not

Extensive organized lists of your likes and dislikes

And a neat report on your current whereabouts and social circle

By the end of it, she was intrigued

She’s never been one for reading but she just can’t put it down

Having to be brought back into the real world when her girls are done playing 

“Already? Ugh, let’s go find the next one this little report of his might be worth selling to those stupid jocks.”

That’s just an excuse 

she’s combing over your photos again as she re-reads about the mundane drama in your life

“Babe, I thought you said you wanted to spend time with me? Not lose braincells studying!” 

Her boyfriend–captain of the football team is trying to draw her attention with kisses and inviting touches

But she’s just too focused

Eventually, he’s going to snatch it all away, taking a look at it

“Who’s this? Your latest victim?”

“Puhlease they don’t even know me…yet.”

The nights they spend together is searching you on socials as they filter through these words about your world

There’s just something about you that has them enraptured

For them it’s like when they first started dating, running off from their teams to gush about their latest finds about you

Texting all through the night about schemes to meet you

Whispering on the bus on their way to seasonal competitions

It isn’t long before the nosey teams start poking around

All it takes is a whispered mention of your name and they’re stalking your socials 

Some hire private investigators to tell all they can get their hands on

It’s like a virus how the whole team is eventually letting your distant lovely little life take up all of theirs 

At some point words and posts just aren’t enough

“Yo Cap, why don’t we just get them to come here?”

“Yeah! I know I can get my dad to extend a scholarship and dormitory if something happens at their old school.”

“Hmm, I do still have those lighter fluid canisters.”

“Oooh and I can get them out of the dorms for awhile!”

“Then  we can swoop in and be the knight’s of shining armor they’ll need!”

“C’mon, captain! Let’s bring them home, aren’t you tired of looking at them through the screen?”

“Don’t you think it’d boost our morale for the championship?”

“Yeah!!” Pleaassee!?”

What terrible captains they’d be if they let their teams down now

So the plan is set, you conveniently are stood up on a date when your dorm and campus is burnt down killing so many friends you made+

The mysterious fire destroying their security footage and all your belongings too 

Its natural you start looking for a new college, a safer option

“Hey (Y/n) why don’t you come to our next game? Forget about that horrible fire and cheer us on!”

“Wait how did you know–”

“Grapevine cutie! Now what do you say to a sleepover!?”

“Not after we do our victory party!”

“Oh, you’ll have to try our captain’s famous jello shot! It’s going to knock your clothes+ socks off.”

Both Captains will watch happily as the group swarms you 

Your questions about the slug you made plans with prior were drowned out in their shouting and giggling

Their goal wasn’t to make you worry 

After all, they had the power to dissolve all of that 

The Captains and their teams

“Now that we have them I don’t see any reason, why our teams won’t be planned for an all-around victory in the nationals.”

“Of course, though we could do it without them. Money and pure talent are a given for people like us.”

“Still there’s nothing wrong with sharing a good luck charm.”

“You are absolutely right..”

“Aren’t I always? That being said we’ll have to talk about the…hoarding issue.”

“Oh yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that. The next time one of your cheerleaders interrupts me, they’ll be dealing with more than broken legs.”

“And your players should know the next time they take my time with (Y/n) away they won’t just become paralyzed.”

[theunsinkableship1]

Lukola, the way they are

Lukola the way they are

Disclaimer: This is a Lukola space skip if you don’t believe.

This contains spoilers for the 1973 movie The way we were. If you haven’t seen it, I recommend you watch it and come back later. Once again, this is just pure speculation, one theory amongst many others.

I’ve been deeply immersed in the Lukola bubble for over a year now, and truthfully, it’s been an emotional rollercoaster, intense, unpredictable, and unlike anything I’ve experienced before. Spending so much time thinking about something so niche, so easily dismissed by others as irrational or far-fetched, is very unlike me. I’m not usually the person to fall headfirst into a phenomenon like this. And yet… here I am.

I can’t fully explain why this bond between Luke and Nicola grabbed me the way it did. It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t logical. But it has held me in a kind of emotional chokehold ever since. There’s something that I’ve recognized between them, something real, subtle, and hauntingly familiar. I feel it deeply, even if I can’t quite articulate what it is or why it matters so much to me. It’s a wonder. But I have my guesses.

One of my favorite movies from childhood, one I’ve returned to time and time again over the years. Is The Way We Were. And each and every time it breaks my heart like it’s the first time That film, in all its aching beauty, reminds me of the Lukola situation. In many ways, the dynamic between Luke and Nicola echoes the poignant, bittersweet rhythm of Katie Morosky and Hubbell Gardiner: The longing. The misalignment. The knowing that love exists, and yet watching as it bends beneath the weight of timing, society, fear, and compromise. Like Katie and Hubbell, Luke and Nicola at least in the way I perceive them, carry the glow of something rare and soul-deep, something that perhaps wasn’t meant to bloom under public scrutiny. What if Nicola and Luke were like Hubbell and Katie?

The way we were is a well-known movie, a classic but for those who need a quick reminder, it’s a romantic drama released in 1973 starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford. It follows the love story between Katie, a fiercely passionate activist, and Hubbell, a charming but apolitical writer. Despite their intense connection, their opposing values, her fiery idealism and his desire for an easier life, ultimately pull them apart. Set against the political tensions of mid-20th century America, the film explores how love alone isn’t always enough. Its bittersweet ending, where they reunite briefly but realize they can never truly be together, remains one of cinema’s most iconic heartbreaks.

In The Way We Were, when Hubbell and Katie meet at the end, years after their breakup, there’s warmth… but also a wall. Their chemistry is still there, the love is still there, but the timing, the life choices, the world around them, all of it conspired to keep them apart. One of the most heartbreaking parts of that film is the finality of that moment. Katie fixes Hubbell’s hair, a habit she had when they were together, and then they walk away, forever in love, but never to be together again.

In the movie, Katie is all intensity, political, emotional, and passionate. Hubbell is gentler, more passive, a golden boy who loves ease and harmony. When they fall in love, it’s electric, but never simple. Katie sees the best in Hubbell, believes in him, pushes him to be more. Hubbell is drawn to her fire, her belief in something greater, but he also fears it, because it threatens the peace he’s learned to survive within.

The story of Lukola, at least in the eyes of many fans, mirrors that emotional tension. Two people with different energies, caught in something deep, real, and not always allowed to bloom fully in the spotlight.Nicola has often embodied qualities like conviction, advocacy, self-expression, and openness. She's political, articulate, and fearless, not unlike Katie, who refuses to compromise her truth, even when it costs her. Katie is outspoken, impassioned, and intellectually alive committed to justice, expression, and truth, even when it makes others uncomfortable. Nicola can also make people feel uncomfortable not because she isn’t lovable, but because she isn’t predictable. Her humor is sharp, her presence subversive, her intellect disarming. Like Katie, Nicola has often been the more publicly outspoken one: defending her co-stars, advocating for peace in Gaza, women’s stories and trans rights, and embracing the literary and political Her Capricorn Sun gives her ambition and self-respect, while her Virgo Moon offers a detail-oriented emotional world, and her Sagittarius Rising adds boldness, curiosity, and philosophical depth. She is, like Katie, complex and not easily digestible for an industry that often prefers palatability. That Sagittarius Rising explains her outward warmth, wit, and sense of justice, a truth-seeker who is both humorous and expansive in her outlook. Her rising sign speaks to how she leads with energy that feels both fiery and thoughtful, resonating with Nicola's articulate and adventurous presence. Both Katie and Nicola are driven by a kind of fire from within. Whether it’s a creative mission or a political cause, neither can live a shallow life. Loyalty is central to both, once they give themselves, they give completely. But betrayal or ideological misalignment cuts deep. Both can appear composed or stubborn, but beneath that is a longing to be understood, seen, and accepted, as they are. But Katie and Nicola also have fundamental differences. Katie is all openness, all fight, all heart-on-sleeve. Nicola (astrologically with Virgo Moon and Capricorn Sun,) likely processes privately, with emotional caution, she may struggle more with initiating emotional exposure. Katie chooses her ideals over a man. Nicola's potential chart suggests a desire to blend the dream of a stable union with personal freedom.

Luke, on the other hand, feels more careful, image-aware, soft-spoken, and aligned with a system that values presentation.  His Leo Rising grants him the natural charisma, charm, and performer’s aura explaining his on-stage or screen magnetism, lush hair, and poised presence. It matches how people are drawn to him: not because he demands attention, but because he radiates a warmth that feels both gentle and royal. Aquarius Sun adds detachment, originality, and idealism, while Leo Rising ties it together with heart and visibility. But the Cancer Moon tempers this with a profound emotional core, meaning he’s more attuned to feeling than his Sun might suggest. It also explains a natural shyness beneath his public charm and an internal tug-of-war between independence and emotional safety. He’s like Hubbell: someone who loves deeply, but who may find it difficult to push back against the expectations placed on him. Both Hubbell and Luke have a magnetic, dreamy quality, and can be elusive in intimate relationships. Both carry a quiet ache, a longing for connection that’s often unfulfilled because they retreat rather than engage fully. Luke’s Pluto and Uranus dominance suggests he is more likely to undergo inner transformation and face darkness, whereas Hubbell avoids conflict. Luke might find strength in evolving through pain, he said he sees himself as less of a pushover than his Colin’s character, whereas Hubbell withdrew into passivity. The Cancer Moon makes him deeply sensitive, emotionally nurturing, and privately sentimental, someone who might hide his truest feelings under a shell of politeness or professional decorum. Hubbell, the All-American golden boy, thrives in a world that rewards simplicity, beauty, and charm. He is a good man, but one shaped by a system that never asked him to question his place in it. Luke, as a Leo rising with a tender Cancer Moon, carries the warmth and magnetism of the golden child archetype. He shines on screen, but there's a deep emotional undercurrent in him that, like Hubbell’s, may be both drawn to and overwhelmed by the intensity of someone like Katie/Nicola.

From Nicola’s perspective, stepping away from Luke, if she ever had to would not necessarily be about a lack of feeling. It might be about the harshness of reality. Being with someone in the same spotlight can feel like sanctuary or suffocation, depending on the day. She may deeply care for him, may have even loved him but protecting herself, her craft, and the life she’s built could come first. Nicola has carved her career through substance, sharp intelligence, and quiet defiance of industry norms. She’s not one to play a role offscreen just to make others comfortable. And if being with Luke, even privately meant being pulled into another orbit, another pace, another expectation of femininity or visibility, she may have sensed that love wasn’t enough to bridge that gap. Like Katie, Nicola could be someone with deeply held values and a fierce inner compass. She might be someone who feels too much and questions everything, while Luke, like Hubbell, could be more at ease in the mainstream, more conflict-avoidant, more inclined to fit than to fight. That difference can create a powerful magnetic pull and also a chasm.

Katie loved Hubbell, but she couldn’t bear to dull her convictions to stay in his world. She straightened her hair, softened her voice, tried to fit in, but in the end, it wasn’t her. If Nicola ever tried to adjust herself, make herself smaller, quieter, more digestible for the sake of harmony, she may have felt that she was betraying something vital.

If Luke is like Hubbell, he may deeply love and admire her, but feel pressure (from career, management, or internalized expectations) to choose a safer, quieter kind of relationship. One that doesn’t challenge the architecture of his public persona. Not necessarily because he doesn’t care, but because he doesn’t know how to fight for love that would require him to change his entire framework. Luke’s Cancer Moon would feel safest in a private, protected love one that doesn’t feel exposed or at risk. But the tension comes from his Aquarius Sun (which craves independence) and Leo Rising (which puts him in the spotlight). He may feel emotionally torn: the heart wants intimacy and protection; the public path demands performance and distance. Luke’s Mars in Virgo is more detail-oriented, cautious, perfectionistic and has a strong sense of duty. While Nicola’s Capricorn Sun and Virgo Moon echo that pragmatic realism, their two Moons (his in Cancer, hers in Virgo) are very different emotionally: she may intellectualize her feelings, while he deeply feels them. There could be tension in how they approach decision-making and conflict.

In both cases, the more emotionally expressive partner is the quieter one (Luke/Hubbell), while the more intellectually vocal partner (Nicola/Katie) speaks what others dare not say.

What makes the Lukola connection so compelling is how their dynamic subtly inverts the roles we see in Bridgerton and The Way We Were. On-screen, Nicola as Penelope plays the quiet outsider who loves deeply and watches from the sidelines, much like Katie Morosky. Colin, like Hubbell, is the golden boy unaware of the depth right in front of him.

But in real life, this dynamic appears reversed. Luke, much like Katie, seems steady, emotionally sincere, and possibly more willing to embrace something real, even if it's difficult. Nicola, on the other hand, resembles Hubbell, charming, admired, and caught between affection and ambition. Like Colin, Nicola is charming, ambitious, and outwardly self-assured. She may be drawn to Luke’s emotional truth while still navigating the expectations of fame, industry circles, and a life where simplicity feels safer than emotional risk. Nicola, in her real-life trajectory, is the rising star, funny, stylish, clever whose charisma naturally places her in the spotlight, yet she may feel ambivalent about vulnerability or romantic entanglements complicating her independence. Like Hubbell, Nicola could be seen as someone from a world that values simplicity, decorum, and upward momentum. She may be torn between the authenticity of a bond like Lukola and the easier public narrative. Like Hubbell, she might fear that love requiring change or compromise could cost her stability or alienate her from those around her.

Like Penelope, Luke has often been perceived as soft-spoken, gentle, and underestimated, but behind the boyish charm, he might hold depth and vulnerability that aren’t immediately visible. Both are observers, often watching from the edges, craving to be fully seen. Like Katie Morosky, Luke seems to love deeply and with conviction once he’s committed. There’s a sense of emotional loyalty, even stubbornness. Luke, too, radiates a quiet steadiness, like Katie, he may want more than the superficial relationship, even if he’s not always permitted to show it. There’s a fire under the calm. A desire to be chosen not just publicly but meaningfully. In Bridgerton, Nicola, as Penelope, is the yearning outsider who loves in silence, much like Katie. In life, Luke may be the one quietly holding space, like Katie, while Nicola navigates the public-facing, “Hubbell”-esque role, complicated by expectations, ambition, and perhaps a fear of disruption.

Their inversion only deepens the mirror effect: it’s not just their characters that resonate, but the way those roles flip in life suggesting a bond that is both cinematic and soul-level.

Nicola is intuitive, emotional, grounded. Luke may lean toward expressing through action or performance (Leo rising), not always verbal clarity. Luke’s Cancer Moon feels deeply and instinctively craves emotional safety and intimacy. When Nicola withdraws, his natural impulse might be to offer care or closeness, which could sometimes feel overwhelming or mismatched if she needs distance. This could lead to emotional misalignment, not from a lack of love, but from different emotional rhythms and coping styles. Misunderstandings could arise if they don’t verbalize emotions directly. Like Luke said in Italy, there needs to be good communication between two friends who fall in love.

Nicola’s Capricorn could want stability, control, and emotional structure. Luke’s Cancer Moon is nurturing, deeply sensitive, and emotionally protective but it can also be guarded, indirect, or withdrawn when overwhelmed. This could easily trigger her fear of instability, especially if she senses emotional retreat or unspoken feelings.

Luke and Nicola come from slightly different worlds. Not necessarily in status, but in tone and style. Nicola’s world is politically alert, inward, often quietly radical. Luke’s is perhaps more polished, performative, and traditional. Families or friends’ disapproval spoken or implied, could have played a role. Sometimes, it’s not outright rejection, but the invisible weight of not fitting into the box you’re expected to occupy beside someone so publicly cherished.

It’s easy to imagine they shared something real. Their intimacy, their comfort, their synchronicity, it reads like more than friendship. Maybe they were together, quietly, away from cameras and chaos. Maybe they talked about everything, scripts, secrets, the kind of future they each wanted. But sometimes, love has to reckon with reality. Different lifestyles, different family cultures, different definitions of “peace” can wear down even the strongest connection. For one, peace might mean stillness, stability, tradition. For the other, it might mean freedom, truth, and refusal to compromise.

And so, like Katie and Hubbell, maybe they loved each other in a deep and wordless way and still chose to part. Not with anger, not with blame, but with the bittersweet grace of knowing it couldn’t work as they were. They may never say it out loud, but some silences speak of a love that couldn’t survive the world but refused to die in the heart.

Your girl is lovely, Hubbell.” Katie says it to Hubbell in the last scene, knowing they’ll never truly reunite, yet still loving him. This famous line could easily echo in a future where Lukola no longer exists in the public eye but continues to haunt both hearts.

Katie and Hubbell’s love was real. So was its impossibility. This is the paradox that lives at the heart of Lukola, a love that feels inevitable yet exists within invisible constraints.

And just like Katie and Hubbell, Nicola and Luke, if their bond ever mirrored their characters, might have found themselves trapped between private truth and public duty between what feels right and what looks right.

This echoes the mirror theory: they feel each other, love each other, and reflect each other, but may not be permitted to join each other.

Timing was everything for Katie and Hubbell. If they’d met a few years later after Hubbell had grown into more of his potential and perhaps developed a backbone for conviction they may have stood on more equal emotional ground.

Katie loved Hubbell for who he could be, not necessarily who he was. That kind of love burns out. Hubbell, meanwhile, never really told Katie what he needed emotionally. If both had stopped idealizing each other and had more honest, vulnerable conversations, they might’ve built a life rooted in reality, in truth as Golda would say, not projection.

Their relationship always teetered on Katie bending or Hubbell retreating. What they lacked was a third space they built together, instead of folding into one another’s. A place where Katie could stay political and active, and Hubbell could still be creative without shame.

Katie wanted the world to change, urgently. But sometimes love means letting people evolve slowly. Meanwhile, Hubbell had to stop being passive and start showing up for the hard parts. If they’d each done a little more work on themselves, without expecting the other to carry the weight, they might have lasted.

If we had the chance to do it all again, tell me, would we? Could we?” sings Barbra Streisand, in “The Way We Were”

Lukola, like Katie and Hubbell, might always carry that question. Did we miss our window? Or was our love always meant to be a brief, breathtaking alignment?

Yet where The Way We Were ends in permanent goodbye, Lukola may still be mid-arc. Luke and Nicola are younger than Katie and Hubbell at the end of their story. There’s still room for growth, return, and reclamation, if courage meets timing.

Katie and Hubbell taught us that love alone isn’t always enough, but that doesn’t make it less real. Likewise, Lukola carries the ache of a connection that might not fit into the shape demanded by a certain part of public life. But that ache is sacred. It teaches. It mirrors.

In their emotional symmetry, supposed slightly political divergence, and unspoken longing, Lukola echoes The Way We Were, a love forged in truth, tempered by timing, and remembered forever in the softest corners of the heart.

Some people fear that Luke and Nicola like Hubbell and Katie might never work together again after Bridgerton, especially if their offscreen bond became complicated or emotionally intense. There’s a quiet anxiety that what once felt so effortless, so collaborative and creative, may now be too charged or too fragile to revisit.

But here’s the key difference: Luke and Nicola are not fictional characters, and this isn’t a script written to break hearts. Real people change. Real people heal. And real collaboration, especially between artists who genuinely respect each other, can take many forms.

Luke and Nicola’s on-screen magic is not common. The way they mirrored, moved together, enhanced each other’s performances, it was layered, nuanced, and organic. That kind of connection isn't something creators let go of easily. Whether they’re close personally or not, their shared understanding of rhythm and emotional storytelling is gold. Professionals know the value of that. And fans aren’t the only ones who see it.

Let’s say just hypothetically that Luke and Nicola did have a deeper bond that complicated things. That doesn’t mean collaboration is off the table. Artists work through far more intense dynamics all the time. Sometimes, distance and growth allow for reunion in new ways cleaner, more stable, even more powerful. If they ever did mean something to each other, that’s not a reason to avoid working together, they already do. In fact, it might be what fuels even more meaningful future projects. I don’t fear that for them. What I fear is an unhappy ending for them.

The Way We Were is a tragedy because Hubbell leaves. Because love isn’t always enough when the world around you won’t bend. Hubbell left because he couldn’t rise to meet Katie’s fire. But perhaps Luke is not like Hubbell. And Nicola is not like Katie. Maybe they are both fires, just learning to burn in the same direction. Or maybe they were once the sun and moon, orbiting in love, and now they are stars distant, but never disconnected. The last scene hasn’t been written. And even if they never share a screen again after Bridgerton, what they gave us, that ache, that truth, that beauty was already more than most actors ever get to give.

But in real life the Lukola story may still be unfinished. Perhaps they loved in the margins. Perhaps they still do. Or perhaps, they’re simply navigating different oceans now but carrying that deep, once-in-a-lifetime recognition in the quiet of their hearts.

And yet: unlike the movie, real life has no final credits, everything is possible until death. The connection, if it was ever real still lives, even if it has changed form. It lingers in glances, silences, what-ifs, and parallel choices.

So maybe Lukola isn’t Hubbell and Katie, maybe they’re the version who, given enough time, find their way back. Or maybe in our wildest dreams, they’re already walking alongside each other quietly, writing their love in invisible ink, until the world is ready to read it.

[joekeerys]

I find it interesting how we’ve never seen Jacaerys show any interest in women. Even in being betrothed to Baela, they act more like cousins than anything. His dance with Helaena was done almost entirely out of spite for Aegon, whom we’ve seen him show more interest in/affection toward as a child than anyone else. Then we have Cregan, whose relationship with Jacaerys in the book is…a whole other story. Jacaerys seemed quite fond of him in the short scene we got in the show too.

i’m gonna make a lot of people angry by saying this but i agree. i don’t think it’s any fault of the actors but jace and baela do not come off as a romantic couple at all. that’s entirely due to how condal & co chose to write them and their lack of scenes that would imply they’re anything other than close family. it’s unfortunate because i’d really like to see them explored more and they’ve already treated baela’s character poorly enough as it is. i highly doubt we’ll even get a kiss between them before jacaerys dies.

it’s obvious i’m a big jacegon shipper and, regardless of whether you view it as platonic/familial or not, the way they acted together as kids and the tension between them during the dinner because of that fallout is undeniable. we haven’t seen jace act the way he did with aegon with anyone else. i think some people downplay how much he looked up to aegon as a child (as they do with all of aegon’s relationships), especially considering it’s the reason why things were so tense between them after aegon very publicly betrayed him in 1x07. i’d argue that “everyone knows. just look at them.” coming from someone he admired so much is one of jace’s biggest reasons for feeling so inadequate his whole life. this got out of hand lmao but YEAH i think it’s interesting how affected jace and aegon are by each other and i do not see it as entirely platonic.

jace and cregan are a whole other story indeed. i’m not much of a jacegan shipper but cregan’s devotion to jace long after his death is interesting to say the least. i never bought into the whole sara snow thing and the absence of her in the show doesn’t bother me since it’s up in the air whether she existed at all and i take everything mushroom says with a grain of salt. i like the ship more as an idea. them seeing themselves in each other, jace finding someone he can be more comfortable with, and them finding a sort of intimacy in that. another instance where the he chemistry between them is pretty apparent and it helps that harry and tom are such good friends outside of the show.

i think there’s a reason why jace is normally written as gay in fanfics where he’s paired with a man, while the other party is usually written as bisexual. i wouldn’t go as far as to say that the showrunners write him that way intentionally because that would be giving too much credit to someone like sara hess who has called hotd “the gayest show on tv” for reasons beyond explanation.

i’ve always seen show jace at least as being more interested in men because that’s what we’ve been given. book jace is another story and harder to pin down. ultimately, i agree with you!

[erraticprocrastinator]

Reposting this on Tumblr because, why not?

I’d like to add, now that I’m free from X’s character limit, that I am aware that there are a select few people out there who do write or make art for certain ships with the goal of criticising or “fixing” the relationships and identities in canon, but, at least from what I’ve seen, I truly don’t believe that this is the majority of Hazbin shippers (or non-canon shippers in general). Especially for a show with such heavy queer representation, with a largely queer audience, where most of the popular fan ships are also queer, I don’t think most people are approaching this with erasure in mind.

I know that I, for one, definitely didn’t start shipping RadioApple because I wanted to ignore or change Lucifer and Alastor’s identities in canon. I just found myself drawn to the characters, and their potential for chemistry outside of a canon setting, and decided to let myself have fun with those ideas — which, until now, I kind of thought was supposed to be the purpose of fan content, anyway. I don’t ship them because I don’t like who they are in canon, or because I want them to ever get together in canon (I don’t!), just like I think it’s generally assumed that most people who make gender-bend content don’t actually want the characters to be a different gender, or that people who kill off their favourite characters don’t actually want it to happen.

I’ve truly never seen this be such an issue in any fandom other than Hazbin, even for other LGBTQ-friendly animated shows. I know that this fandom can be pretty hostile in general, but I can’t pretend that I don’t find it disheartening when the comments of almost every adorable piece of fanart I find are littered with things like “but Charlie is with Vaggie!”, “Alastor is ace so this would never happen” (a topic that honestly deserves its own post), or “Angel can’t be with XYZ because HuskerDust is confirmed!”. We know guys. We know. That’s why we sit here writing fanfiction, making fanart; to explore ideas we haven’t seen in canon, or that haven’t been expanded on yet. Fandom is supposed to be a safe space for people who want to test their creativity, not a place to jump on each other because of it. As always, if something isn’t your cup of tea, you’re free to scroll past, click back, or filter out. There’s no need to rain on content that ultimately isn’t harming anyone, especially, and I really can’t emphasise this enough, especially if you support non-canon ships in other fandoms.

[reveriebae]

No friendship

pairing(s) : Jung Wooyoung x reader

word count : 3353

summary : Wooyoung and you share a complicated connection, caught between desire and reluctance to start something serious. After a night of tension and flirty moments, things heat up between you and him, pushing your boundaries and complicating the friendship you two don't want to risk. The chemistry between you and him is undeniable, but both are hesitant to cross that line.

genre : slight smut

warning(s) : includes moments of intense physical attraction, sexual tension, and consensual encounters. There are elements of emotional conflict surrounding the characters’ hesitation to enter a relationship, mixed with steamy moments and explicit language. The narrative also explores the blurred line between friendship and desire, as well as the complications that arise from it. Let me know if I missed anything!

part of Songfic

Minors do not interact, 21+ only!!

🪐smut under the cut 🪐

The night was still young when you found yourself in the club, music thumping in the air, heavy with bass that vibrated through your bones. You weren’t looking for anything, not really. You came for the freedom that the lights, the noise, the crowd gave you. A temporary escape from the mundane.

But then you saw him.

Wooyoung. His smile wide, his eyes gleaming with that playful mischief. The guy you knew but didn’t know. He wasn’t a stranger; you’d shared too many late-night conversations, too many moments that bordered on something more, but neither of you had ever crossed that line.

You thought maybe it was for the best. No complications. No messy feelings. Just… friendship. The type of bond that meant you could laugh about anything, but never get too close.

But tonight? The way he was looking at you, leaning casually against the bar, something felt different.

He locked eyes with you, a flicker of something undeniable passing between you. Your heart skipped a beat.

You didn’t know why you’d let it get this far. Why you were letting yourself want more. You didn’t want a relationship. You couldn’t. You weren’t built for it. But there was something about him, the way he moved, the way his confidence and charm clung to him, that made it hard to ignore.

You pushed through the crowd, making your way over to him. Wooyoung’s smirk was quick as he saw you, as if he’d been expecting this. He was never one to shy away from a challenge.

“You look like you’re up to something,” he teased, his voice light, but the way his gaze lingered made it clear there was something beneath the surface.

You leaned against the bar next to him, not quite touching but close enough for the heat between you two to crackle. “I’m not sure if I am. But you definitely seem like you are.”

His laugh was low, almost dangerous, as he turned to face you fully, his shoulder brushing against yours. “Maybe I’m just enjoying the show,” he murmured, eyes flicking to your lips for just a second before he pulled away.

The words hung between you, heavy with unspoken meaning. There was that line again, that line neither of you wanted to cross. The one that could make everything too complicated.

“Or maybe you’re waiting for me to make the first move,” you shot back, unable to hide the edge in your voice.

He paused, his expression flickering for a brief moment before he grinned, that devilish charm back in full force. “Maybe. But I wouldn’t want to mess up what we have.”

You weren’t sure what you were trying to prove. Maybe it was the alcohol in your system, the way the music pulsed in your veins, or maybe it was just the sheer attraction you couldn’t deny. Whatever it was, you weren’t about to back down.

You moved closer, your breath brushing against his neck as you whispered in his ear, “We’ve crossed plenty of lines already, haven’t we?”

Wooyoung’s breath hitched slightly, but he didn’t move. Instead, he shifted, his body pressing just a fraction closer, enough that you could feel the heat radiating off him.

“You think so?” His voice was a whisper, barely audible over the pounding music. “Maybe. But I don’t think you want to get caught in this with me.”

His words were heavy with something that could have been a warning, but you weren’t backing off. Not now. Not when the pull between you two was so damn strong.

“I don’t know what I want,” you admitted, your voice low and shaky as you looked up at him. “But I know I’m not afraid of this.”

For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Then Wooyoung’s hand slid onto your waist, pulling you just a fraction closer until you could feel the tension between you two becoming unbearable.

“I can’t do this, you know,” he said suddenly, eyes darkening as he looked down at you. “I can’t be the guy who ruins what we have. I don’t want to mess this up.”

The weight of his words hit you, and a mix of frustration and desire swirled inside you. He was right, in a way. Neither of you wanted anything to change, yet there you were, caught in the middle of something that felt too real to ignore.

But there was no turning back now. The pull, the heat—it was too much.

“You won’t ruin anything,” you said, your voice barely more than a breath. “You want this just as much as I do.”

Wooyoung’s grip tightened, his eyes dark and intense as he leaned in, his lips brushing against your ear. “You’re sure about that?”

You didn’t answer. You couldn’t. Because you didn’t know. You didn’t know if this was a mistake or if it was the beginning of something neither of you were ready to face. All you knew was that you wanted him.

And when his lips finally met yours, there was no hesitation. No holding back. It was a kiss full of need and something darker, something you couldn’t define.

You both pulled away after a few moments, breathless, your chest rising and falling in sync. Neither of you said anything, but the silence spoke louder than words.

Neither of you was ready for what this might mean, but you both knew there was no turning back.

You weren’t sure what this was going to be, but you weren’t going to let it go either. You weren’t the kind of people who played it safe.

“You don’t have to do this,” he whispered, his voice rough, the tension thick between you two.

“I know,” you replied softly, but the smile on your face was almost predatory. “But I want to.”

Wooyoung’s eyes flashed, and he closed the space between you again, pressing his lips to yours with an urgency that told you both that no matter how hard you tried to deny it, there was no escaping what you were about to step into.

The kiss broke, but neither of you moved away. The space between you was charged with an intensity that neither of you had expected. Wooyoung’s breath was quick against your lips, but his eyes didn’t leave yours. There was a quiet battle in his gaze—want versus restraint. He wasn’t the type to fall into anything without thinking it through. But here you were, tangled up in something neither of you could deny.

“You don’t have to be so serious about it,” you teased, pushing back the wave of emotions crashing in your chest. “It’s just one night.”

But even as you said it, you could feel the weight of your own words. One night? That wasn’t all this was.

He raised an eyebrow, his lips curling into that devilish smirk you had come to know too well. “Just one night, huh?”

You nodded, trying to make it sound casual, but your voice betrayed you. There was a crack in it, a hesitation that made Wooyoung pause. He didn’t take his eyes off you, as if trying to read you, to figure out if you really meant it or if this was just the heat of the moment.

“I don’t want to mess things up between us,” he murmured, his fingers gently tracing the edge of your jaw, making the heat between you two even more unbearable. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want you.”

His words sent a shiver down your spine. He wasn’t wrong—neither of you were looking for anything serious, but there was no denying the chemistry. And the way he was touching you now, the way his fingers lingered on your skin, made it impossible to ignore how badly you both wanted this, wanted each other.

“You think this will ruin everything?” you asked, your voice soft, a little unsure, but filled with that same pull that had led you here in the first place.

Wooyoung stepped back slightly, looking you over carefully. He was fighting himself—fighting what you both knew was right there. The desire was there, raw and undeniable. But the question was: what would happen when the morning came? When the high of the night wore off and reality set in?

“Maybe,” he said with a shrug, though his voice held a bite to it, like he was trying to convince himself. “But maybe I’ll regret it. Or maybe you will.”

His words hit differently, sharp and full of uncertainty. You understood the risk. You both did. Neither of you wanted to open the door to something that would only make things messy. But here you were, standing on the edge, staring into the unknown.

“You’re scared,” you whispered, leaning in again, your lips grazing his, just barely enough to feel the heat of his breath.

“Maybe I am,” he admitted. But then his lips curved up into that signature smirk, the one that told you he was done fighting it. “But maybe I don’t care right now.”

With that, Wooyoung pulled you into another kiss. This time, it was more urgent, deeper, his hands moving to your waist, pulling you closer until you could feel the heat of his body pressing against yours. There was no more talking, no more questions. It was just the two of you, caught up in the pull of the moment.

But even as his hands roamed, as he kissed you with a hunger that made everything else disappear, there was still a flicker of doubt in the back of your mind. Neither of you had said it out loud, but the thought was there—what happens after this?

When he pulled away, breathless and panting, he didn’t say anything. His eyes locked onto yours, dark and unreadable. The same questions were floating between you two, unanswered. You weren’t sure if you were ready to face them.

“So, what now?” you asked, your voice low and teasing, but the uncertainty was there.

Wooyoung didn’t answer immediately. He took a step back, his gaze lingering on your lips for a second before he looked you in the eye, his expression still tight, as if he was trying to keep control of the situation.

“Now,” he said slowly, a crooked grin playing at the corner of his lips, “we figure out what the hell we’re doing.”

You felt your heart race again, the tension building up between you two. You weren’t sure what was happening, or what would happen next, but there was one thing you both knew: neither of you could turn back.

“You sure you want this?” he asked, his voice soft, yet laced with that same dangerous desire that was starting to consume you both.

You didn’t hesitate this time. “I don’t want anything else.”

And with that, the game changed. Wooyoung stepped closer again, his lips finding yours once more, but this time, it was different. No more words. Just the two of you, lost in something neither of you were prepared for but both of you wanted.

The tension in the room was unbearable, and it only grew when Wooyoung’s lips trailed down your neck, sending sparks through your body. His hands were everywhere—gripping your hips, your back, pulling you impossibly closer until there was no space left between you. You could feel the hard length of him pressed against your thigh, and you couldn’t deny the heat pooling between your legs. The craving was undeniable now.

“Tell me you want it,” Wooyoung breathed, his lips brushing your ear. His voice was husky, thick with desire, and you could hear the challenge in his words. He wasn’t going to just give it to you; you had to want it, prove it.

You slid your hands over his chest, feeling the warmth of his skin, the hardness of his muscles. His body was pressed so tightly to yours that every little movement sent waves of electricity through you. Your breath hitched as his lips found your jawline, nibbling and kissing his way down until they hovered just above your chest.

“Say it,” he urged, his voice almost a growl now, sending shivers down your spine. “Tell me you need it, that you need me.”

Your hands fisted into the fabric of his shirt, tugging him closer, desperate. You wanted him so badly, wanted to feel him fill you, take you like you both had been aching for. “I want you,” you whispered, barely able to breathe as your heart raced. “I need you, Wooyoung.”

A feral smile curled at the edges of his lips, and in one swift motion, he undid your pants, pulling them down along with your underwear, leaving you bare before him. The cool air hit your skin, but it was nothing compared to the heat that surged through you the moment his fingertips ghosted over your thighs, tracing patterns that made your entire body tense.

He leaned in, his breath hot against the sensitive skin of your inner thigh, teasing you. His lips brushed over your skin so lightly it almost felt like a promise of something far more intense. “You’ve got no idea what you’re doing to me,” Wooyoung muttered, his voice thick with need. “But you’re about to find out.”

Before you could respond, he pulled you toward him, his lips crashing into yours with a hungry force that left no room for hesitation. His hands gripped the back of your thighs, lifting you as he pushed you against the wall. You moaned into his mouth, feeling how his body pressed against yours, the hard outline of his cock straining against his pants. The friction made you ache.

Without breaking the kiss, Wooyoung’s hands slid between you two, and you felt his fingers against your most sensitive spot, teasing and stroking with expert precision. You gasped, your hips jerking instinctively into his touch, craving more, needing more.

“God,” you moaned, unable to control the sound of pleasure that spilled from your lips. Wooyoung smirked, clearly enjoying the effect he had on you. His fingers worked you expertly, making you dizzy with the mix of pleasure and anticipation.

“You’re so wet for me,” he whispered, his lips brushing your ear as his fingers pushed deeper. You gasped at the sensation, your body arching into his hand. “Let go, baby. Let me take care of you.”

The way his voice dropped made you shiver, the heat inside you building as he worked you closer to the edge. Your hands slid down to undo his pants, the need to feel him inside you overwhelming. When you finally freed him, he was already hard, his cock standing at attention, dripping with desire.

With no more words needed, Wooyoung positioned you, one hand gripping your hip, the other guiding himself to your entrance. His eyes met yours, searching for hesitation, but there was none. The need between you two was too strong.

Slowly, he slid into you, the initial stretch leaving you breathless as he filled you completely. You gasped, your nails digging into his back as the pressure inside you built, every inch of him sending waves of sensation through your body. He stilled for a moment, both of you gasping for air as the intensity of the moment settled over you.

“You feel so good,” Wooyoung groaned, his voice raw with pleasure. Then, without warning, he started moving, slowly at first, building a rhythm that had you gasping and gripping him even tighter. Each thrust was deliberate, pushing deeper, harder, until your body was trembling under the force of his movements.

His lips were on your neck again, biting, sucking, marking you as his as his hips slammed into yours. Every sound, every sensation was amplified by the intensity of it all. You couldn’t think anymore, couldn’t process anything except the feeling of him, the heat, the desperate need to keep going.

“You’re so tight,” Wooyoung murmured against your skin, his hands gripping your waist as he pushed into you harder, faster. You moaned in response, your body moving with his, matching the rhythm, chasing the high that was just within reach.

The way he fucked you—raw, primal—pushed you over the edge. You felt the coil inside you tighten until it snapped, your orgasm crashing through you like a wave. You cried out, your body shaking with the intensity of it, and Wooyoung followed right behind, his grip tightening on you as he came with a low groan, his thrusts stuttering as he filled you completely.

You both stood there for a moment, breathless, the world around you nothing but the sound of your heartbeats and the occasional whispered curse. You were both tangled in each other, skin flushed, and the space between you two thick with unsaid things.

As Wooyoung pulled out, he kissed you softly, almost tenderly, as if to erase the fire that had burned between you moments ago. “You know this... this can’t happen again, right?” His voice was quieter now, softer, but the edge of caution was unmistakable. You swallowed, your chest rising and falling in uneven breaths as you tried to process his words.

“I know,” you whispered, looking into his eyes, the heat between you still smoldering despite the air cooling. “But it just did.”

His lips quirked in a bittersweet smile, one that didn’t quite reach his eyes. He pulled you back in, his hand cupping your cheek as he kissed you again, but it was slower this time, more lingering, like he was trying to figure out where the lines between you had blurred. When he pulled back, he kept his forehead pressed against yours, the intensity of his stare leaving you a little breathless again.

“You know what I want,” he murmured, his lips grazing yours as he spoke, teasing with the closeness. “But I don’t know if I can give you what you need. I don’t know if I can be what you need.”

You closed your eyes, your fingers tracing the outline of his jaw, feeling the stubble under your fingertips. It felt familiar now, comfortable, despite everything. Despite the mess you both had just made.

“I don’t need anything, Wooyoung,” you said softly. “Except for this, right now. What we just did.”

He exhaled deeply, almost like a quiet laugh, but it held no joy—just frustration. “That’s the thing. This moment? I can’t stop thinking about it. And that scares me.” His hands moved to your waist again, his thumbs brushing over your skin in absent motions. “I don’t want to mess up everything we’ve got. This... us. I can’t.”

You lifted a hand to his chest, pressing lightly, feeling the steady beat of his heart under your palm. It was as though he was trying to hold onto something more than just the physical right now—something deeper, maybe even more fragile than what he’d let himself believe.

“It’s not about messing things up,” you said quietly, locking your gaze with his. “We’re not crossing lines we can’t uncross. We’re just... figuring it out. Whatever this is, whatever we are.”

Wooyoung’s eyes softened at your words, and for a split second, you saw a flash of vulnerability—something he rarely allowed anyone to see. His usual confident demeanor flickered, replaced by a quiet longing that made your heart skip.

“You’re right,” he whispered, and then his lips were on yours again, this time softer, more like a promise than an act of passion. He was still figuring things out, just as you were. But this... this wasn’t over.

[devine-fem]

why don't you like jayjon? Genuinely asking btw and I'm neutral btw I don't really ship superheroes kids, so yeah

Alright, firstly I have always come across damijon shippers that ship them as kids because their purest connection peaked when they were young so you kind of permanently keep Jon and Damian as kid in your head because of what DC did to them.

We ship them in a ‘wholesome crush on your best friend, twisting inside you over time that you snub out till you reach your adulthood and have the maturity to deal with it’ type of way. The beauty of Damijon is not the fact that it’s Bat x Super. I honestly don’t care for this dynamic ergo not shipping superbat and not liking Timkon at all. The beauty of Damijon is that they could become something with a friendship to back it up, then continue to push each other’s characters forward while being in a relationship if the writer cared enough. It’s a plus that they care for each other so much and have the personalities to really balance each other out.

I enjoy ships like Daminika, Dami x Colin and other Jon ships as well. I just only post damijon and talk about them. It’s only Jonj*y I have issues with. It’s not about ‘getting in the way of my ship’ nothing can ever get in the way of me enjoying damijon and fandom is just gonna have to deal with that. We all come here for enjoyment because we should supposedly enjoy DC for DC and find community in that, enjoy our ideas and takes on it and one person is not going to perceive or enjoy something the same way but we are so damn MEAN to each other. Damijon gets a lot of heat, mostly because twitter damijon stans are annoying and horrible and damijon antis are just as bad.

So the problem I have with Jonj*y is just deep rooted.

Firstly, I hate the way it came about. The last thing Jon’s character needed was to be in a relationship period but then for it to be a queer relationship used as a tool to garner sales? There’s nothing in the world I dislike more than queer baiting. The last thing we needed from DC was to pull something like this and as a queer person it just really gets under my skin - as it should anyone, to be honest.

Even regardless of that Jonj*y is the relationship equivalent of stale bread. They have no chemistry, Jay has no character besides catoring to Jon’s sexuality, and even if they were to explore him there’s no point because objectively they’ve tarnished Jon Kent way too much to be wasting comic ink on Jay.

I don’t like aged up Jon Kent as a whole, it’s not like I want him to stay a kid forever - obviously not. The fun of a comic book character is their growth! Jon over time should have never been able to get to the age he is now when other comic book characters struggle to get near that age in decades. I MEAN HE’S NEARLY OLDER THAN KON RIGHT NOW. Bendis did what he did to Jon because he ain’t even like him.

There are real serious issues with Jon Kent’s age up than him getting with Damian. I know how to seperate my ship/fanon from canon. I can go on and on about the problems with it without mentioning Damian once.

I had to put “JonJ*y apologist DNI” in my bio because the stans kept coming to my page and spewing BS 24/7 so I thought it was my absolute right to make sure they knew this page was not for them.

If you enjoy the ship at all then you will not like me because I have almost every single active Jonj*y poster blocked because I have fought with them at least once because they wanted to be stupid and spew nonsense on Jon Kent when you can tell they haven’t read a damn comic besides SSOKE and it really shows.

If you enjoy it, just block me. It’s only a matter of time before we fight anyway, so don’t waste your breath because the whole time you could be trying to open your mouth, you could open a comic book instead, how about that?

Thanks for the asks though, LOL.

P.2

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is: blipblot! @blipblot has 20 fics in the Stranger Things fandom on AO3 and 19 of them are in the Steddie tag!

Our anonymous nominator recommends the following works by @blipblot:

Do You Have a Mirror in Your Pocket?

A Lick and a Promise

I'd Build a Home with You

"Their work is always so incredible and fun and they’re just so talented!! And they’ve got so many fics out, and each one is just wonderful — especially their most recent big bang fic, A Lick And A Promise. The worldbuilding is breathtaking, the characterisations are flawless, and it’s so full of love and passion, it’s just all around a perfect fic ❤️" -- anonymous

Below the cut, @blipblot answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

I absolutely adore the chemistry that Steve and Eddie have together. Their stories build off of each other so well! The different aspects between being popular and unpopular, growing up rich and growing up poor, alongside the benefits and downfalls of both of those lifestyles and how they impact each other is something I love writing. They’re fantastic narrative foils for one another.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

I have tons but I would say idiots to lovers and enemies to lovers are some of my favorites. I love watching Steve and Eddie figure their shit out while also falling in love, it gets me every time.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

Is unconditional love a trope? I just love writing stories that focus on love, whether that’s brotherly love, romantic love, platonic love, it doesn’t really matter to me. I get the most enjoyment writing when I’m writing about how all these different types of love affect our lives for the better and for the worse!

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

There’s so many to choose from! Right now I’d say at the top of my list is gayjinkies phenomenal ‘I’m a lover, boy’, if you haven't read it please go check it out and send my love to them if you do!

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

This is such an excellent question, I’m not sure! I just finished my first Historical AU, I’ve written Fantasy and In Universe so I guess the next one I’d like to tackle would be a Modern AU. I think that sounds like an absolute hoot, I’m brainstorming ideas for one as we speak!

What is your writing process like?

It’s so chaotic, it’s ridiculous. I normally just write down everything that comes to mind in the moment and then slowly whittle it into something more legible bit by bit. It is very rarely in order and I very rarely know how it’s going to end but that’s part of the fun!

Do you have any writing quirks?

Quirks, I’m not sure! I feel like I’m known for how I write dialogue but anything more specific I’m not sure I’d be able to pick up on. Maybe pillow fights, I feel like those end up in my fics more often than not somehow.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

In a perfect world, I’d prefer to post when finished but I write pretty slowly so I hate not having anything posted for months at a time. That being said, my posting schedule is nearly nonexistent as well. I just post when I have enough free time to finish a chapter!

Which fic are you most proud of?

I would say Put the Lights Out and Cry. It’s the first one I’ve ever written and looking back on it now makes me really proud that I decided to take that leap of faith and post it. It’s not perfect and there are things I wish I could go back and change but at the end of the day writing it and seeing everyone’s responses to it were incredibly rewarding and I feel so lucky that I got to share my goofy diner au with everyone.

How did you get the idea for I'd Build a Home with You?

It was for the Omegaverse Valentines Day Exchange event so I was sent a few tag ideas from the lovely MysteriousMidnight and let those stew in my brain for a while. I really struggled at first to come up with something but eventually everything sort of clicked into place plotwise.

When writing I'd Build a Home with You, what was something you didn’t expect?

Oh god, for it to be so long! It was all supposed to stay in the school building but that didn’t work out with the plot I had in mind. But once I mulled it over for a bit I just kept writing until the ending felt natural. I’d say it worked out alright in the end!

What inspired A Lick and a Promise?

Watching old Westerns with my partner! It was right around the time that the first Big Bang was happening that I came up with the idea and I slowly added stuff to it in my mind until the next Big Bang came around and I thought, why not give it a shot?

What was your favorite part to write from A Lick and a Promise?

The dialogue between Steve and Eddie at any given point. I LOVED writing them bicker and tease each other while also learning more about one another. Writing dialogue is often my favorite part of writing in general but for this fic it all came so naturally that it was a joy to see how it all came out.

How do/did you feel writing Do You Have a Mirror in Your Pocket??

It was a lot of fun! Writing Steve still in high school isn’t something I do often so that was a fun challenge in itself, figuring out how to write him with where he was on his self discovery journey, not absolutely reformed but not totally at the beginning of that journey either.

What was the most difficult part of writing Do You Have a Mirror in Your Pocket??

I really wanted to find the balance between writing Steve being humbled without going too overboard with it so I sort of struggled with that. I wanted it to be realistic without humiliating the poor guy too badly. Good thing Eddie was there to help out in the end!

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

The one that’s coming to mind now is one from A Lick and a Promise, “Death may be in front of him, but Steve Harrington is standing beside him. He can’t ask for much more than that.” I’m pretty proud of how that came out.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

Right now my plan is to finish up Cosa Nostra, my Mob AU, and then *finally* finish the last two chapters of the sister fic to Put the Lights Out and Cry which is titled In the Alley if you want more of that universe in particular!

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

I wanted to thank the moderators that work on the Steddieunderdog blog for all the amazing work they do sharing work that deserves more attention! Y’all are the bees knees and I’m so thankful for the work you guys have done for the fandom <3 

Thank you to our author, @blipblot, and our anonymous nominator! See more of blipblot's works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[maybeitsapineapple]

THE GREAT GATSBY, LONDON 30TH APRIL

OVERALL:

A solid 7.5. I am NOT judging it as an adaptation of the book

If I liked the songs more I might give it an 8.5 but icl I think the songs are pretty mid. Also I swear to god the Gatsby/Daisy duet theme is Go The Distance from Hercules, especially when it comes up in Go

The individual performances are better than the thing as a whole. The charcterisation is fairly surface-level, and the first half is a bit rushed. Not in a ‘Nick’s whirlwind adventure’ type of way but in a ‘we’ve got to introduce all these characters fairly separately before we can start the plot’ kind of way. It is still a very entertaining experience, if you’re okay being entertained by visuals and vocals rather than substance and storytelling (which I am)

More specific thoughts under the cut!

TECHNICAL STUFF:

The party scenes look somewhat underpopulated. The dancing moves around the stage a lot to fill it, but if I’ve looked at the correct numbers the stage of the Broadway Theatre is like 10’ narrower than the Coliseum and the ensemble is the same size

The dancing was fun to watch and the ensemble are very talented but it looked a little incongruously modern at times

Set pieces are great. They look good and give the right sense of space/perspective without taking up too much space

Ensemble costumes look great. Cohesive but differentiated

Some of Gatsby’s outfits did not scream 'rich’ as much as I expected them to

One of the car doors came slightly loose which did make it look a little cheap, but you can’t deny that cars driving around on stage is fun. The positioning/angling is also good, and they take up space when they’re supposed to and don’t when they’re not

The lighting is fun and glitzy without being overwhelming. The night scenes look dark without being too dark. The spotlight during One-Way Road wobbled a fair amount though

PERFORMANCES:

Jamie Muscato obviously has a great voice, and it suits his songs, especially as he doesn’t sound quite so modern as Jeremy Jordan does on the OBC album. Great at portraying an earnest ball of anxiety, but there’s not a lot of mysterious, confident, public-persona-Gatsby build-up, so we don’t really get an opportunity for contrast. He’s charming enough in his scenes with Daisy, and he does pull off the growth from ‘ball of anxiety’ to ‘your wife’s leaving you for me’ convincingly, despite, again, not having a lot of time to do it in

Frances Mayli McCann suffers from having particularly uninteresting solos imo but delivers on the emotion even when the score doesn’t, and delivers her dialogue engagingly too. Obviously a brilliant voice and particularly captivating in Beautiful Little Fool, which is fortunate because it rescues what is otherwise a somewhat uninspiring final ballad

Corbin Bleu my love my fucking love. Everything he does is golden. His singing, his dancing, his speaking, his expressions, his movement around the stage. Unfortunately they sort of forget that he’s supposed to be the narrator for most of the middle

Amber Davies is, again, brilliant. Such energy, and she and Corbin Bleu have enough chemistry that it almost makes up for their godawful romantic subplot (which is not entirely the fault of the musical, in fairness). Doesn’t really make up for the somewhat flat characterisation

Joel Montague was lovely. Keeps it lowkey for most of the show, so it hits well when he really gets into it in act 2

JOJ is so good even with a broken arm. Very fucking growly. I am biased he’s my favourite Phantom (and Valjean too for that matter, although I haven’t really explored Les Mis boots so I don’t have many points of comparison)

Which bring us to Jon Robyns. I often find he’s a bit too nasal for my liking, but it sounds fine in an American accent, and I would have liked him to have a little more singing to do. Considering how much time he spends on stage, you sort of expect him to. His acting is a brilliant balance of laid-back but with the potential for anger always right there. He does smarmy bastard very well

Rachel Tucker. jfc she’s good. Like I knew she was good but like. She was funny and lively and then One-Way Road was just fucking chills for the entire song. In a show full of brilliantly performed solos this was probably my favourite, even though the song itself isn’t

[theheisenblog]

Showtime!

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Heisenblog! Before we go any further, I’d like to set up some groundwork and tease what I'm looking to cover!

For those unfamiliar, Breaking Bad follows Walter White, a timid, underdog chemistry teacher who gets hit with a life changing lung cancer diagnosis. Working two jobs to make ends meet and feeling deeply dissatisfied with his prolonged lack of agency in life, he decides to use his chemistry knowledge to synthesize the purest meth on the street in hopes of paying off his treatment (as well as fulfilling more personal needs regarding his ego). He partners with ex-student and delinquent Jesse Pinkman, deeming his knowledge of drug dealing to be valuable for their business operation.

I’m also going to be discussing Better Call Saul, a prequel set four years before the original series that focuses on Jimmy McGill, A.K.A Saul Goodman, Walt’s lawyer who uses underhanded tactics to keep the meth operation afloat. Less explosive than its counterpart, BCS takes a more subdued and psychological approach in its storytelling, detailing the nuances of Jimmy’s transformation into the criminal and comedic lawyer we know him to become. If you’re curious about either series and haven’t watched yourself, my posts should still be digestible, provided you don’t care about spoilers! 

The focus of my blog will be analyses of the themes, characters, and symbolism of both series. Breaking Bad delves into a range of themes including greed, family, change, identity, and masculinity, with its characters acting as vessels of exploration for such themes. I think my personal favorite to explore is masculinity, due to the real world irony of the show’s fans largely being men who…missed the point. A man provides, “even when he’s not appreciated, or respected” as series antagonist Gus puts it in the episode "Más". But when does the adoption of this outlook dip into toxic masculinity, the over-conformation to masculine stereotypes to the point of destructive behavior?

Another big theme I’m looking to cover is identity, as it strongly permeates both series. BB and BCS oversee a transformation of the protagonists from their original selves (Walter White, Jimmy McGill) into their alter egos (Heisenberg, Saul Goodman). The earliest definition of an alter ego describes a “trusted friend”, though at what point do either character’s alter egos serve them as a friend, versus destroy them from the inside? The etymology of alter ego is derived from Latin: “another I.” In a similar vein, at what point can these alter egos be considered “another,” instead of one in the same with the character’s true self? 

The beginning of Walt’s split identity in particular is cleverly illustrated with the use of a chemistry lesson on chirality, when mirror image compounds are non-superimposable. This is an example of symbolism used to illustrate an overarching theme and to flesh out a character. I find the use of chemistry to be the most interesting, so I’m looking forward to expanding on it.

I’ve gone on long enough for an introduction, but I hope I’ve given an intriguing taste as to what’s to come! Whether you’re a dedicated fan, casual watcher, or just someone passing by, I’ll do my best to make this an enjoyable read!

[michelleelizabethtanner]

Fanfic asks 5 & 20!

Ty so much for the ask!

5. Which WIP is first on your list to complete this year? Will you post a snippet?

I am DETERMINED to finish at least one entry into the 2024 Brio Fic Week. Idk what suddenly happened where my brain no longer can make Brio kiss and instead is just rotting on Animal Crossing Happy Home Paradise, but here I am, designing adorable cottages every day instead of smut writing. 😂

I have a good start though, I swear. It’s gonna happen. If I have to take a PTO day off work and make it happen, this fic is happening.

A Raw Snippet (I haven’t read through yet so this may change, but this is kinda the general feel I was hoping for):

20. Any plans to work on original fiction this year?

I don’t think this will ever happen. Original fiction is hard because you have the task of worldbuilding and characterization from scratch, which requires so much skill to do well. For me specifically, I also would need to feel some sort of passion or attachment to original characters to feel moved enough to invest the hours and hours it would take to create all this from scratch. And idk if I have it in me right now. Creating chemistry is difficult, as we know. Because as consumers of media we know that we don’t always feel that chemistry from fictional characters. So it’s kinda like all these stars have to align for the magic to happen. I suppose there are fictional genres other than romance, but pfffft, who wants to write that? 😂

But also listen, I am TELLING y’all, the GG fandom writers are so far ahead of the traditional romance authorship currently monetizing the most lazy and cliched trope, it isn’t even a competition. Maybe I’m biased because I especially love the Brio chemistry and I love reading original takes on what it looks like, I am yet to find a published work that executes the way you all do. There is so much self doubt in fic writing. But please believe me, if Colleen Linear-Storytelling Hoover can hoover in those bucks, the masterpieces we have gracing our AO3 fandom tag would have no trouble. The world-building, the use of character-affirming symbolism, the subtle exploration of the personal psyches and an unlikely kinship between two damaged, guarded people… We HAVE all that. Our trope is tailored. It’s sprinkled with believable, in-character pieces of structure that make it something unique and beautiful. Our “stuck in an elevator,” or our “high school dating AU,” or our “jealous of new love interest who won’t work out anyway,” is so much more immersive and visual than all these romances I keep trying to tolerate but can’t take seriously because those authors aren’t you guys. Fic has absolutely ruined me.

New Year Fic Asks

[thebluestbluewords]

the leaders of tomorrow (could be canon fodder of today)

“Auradon Preparatory Academy is a boarding school focused on building the leaders of tomorrow,” Evie reads off one of the glossy brochures they’d snagged from the lobby. “Explore our rigorous academic programs, competitive athletics department, and much more.” 

“Guess we’re the ‘more’,” Mal snarks, lifting her hands into the most sarcastic air quotes she can muster. “Villain kids aren’t exactly brochure material.” 

“Maybe you’re not brochure material, babe,” Evie says, flipping her hair over her shoulder in a sweet-smelling swoosh. “But I’m the most beautiful one on this campus, and I think it’s a travesty that they haven’t reprinted all their brochures to feature exclusively me.” 

“And me.” Jay adds, leaning over to snag the pamphlet out of Evie’s hands. 

Mal grins. “I could probably do that. Magic can do a lot of cool shit now that we’re not locked away. You want me to find and replace every stupid prep kid in this thing with your face?” 

Evie laughs, and the sound is so sweet that it makes Mal want to hit something. In a good way. “That feels like a waste of magic, babe. We probably have better things to do with our time.” 

“Yeah we do,” Carlos interrupts. He’s got the brochure now, and is flipping through it faster than Mal can follow. “Look. Dive into science with our state of the art chemistry lab, where students blah blah blah, nobody cares about teacher-student ratios, but look.”

Mal looks. 

“A science lab.” 

Carlos makes a gloriously disdainful noise at her. “It’s a state of the fucking art science lab. This is the best science lab money can buy. And we have student access.” 

Great. 

“So that means,” Mal starts, waving a hand. “We have what? Chemical weapons? Kingdom secrets?” 

She could go for a good chemical weapon. They used to throw colored smoke bombs at each other for fun, but if they can get their hands on better supplies, that means better smoke bombs, better fireworks, and potentially better weapons they can stockpile for when her mother inevitably tries to have them all killed again. 

Carlos shrugs. He’s a talented liar, but after so long spent in each other’s pockets, Mal knows his tells too well for him to get outright bullshit past her. He’s excited about something in the lab, no matter how cool he’s trying to play it off, “We could have chemical weapons, sure.” 

Mal narrows her eyes into a poisonous green glare. “Or?” 

“We could synthesize a chemical to melt through steel. Or get actual organic material for making melt away stitches that aren’t shit. Or explosives, if we want to blow the whole isle to hell.” 

His eyes are fucking lit up with the potential, and Mal doesn’t have the heart or the willpower to tell him that they’re not going to blow up the isle. 

Probably. 

“I wouldn’t mind blowing up my dad,” Jay says slowly, leaning over to peer at the picture of the science lab. “Like, we should probably follow through with the original plan, and get our parents through the barrier before we plant explosives around their beds, but I’m down for some chaos.” 

“Chaos sounds great!” Evie says brightly. “I was thinking that we should steal enough chemicals to glue Fairy Godmother’s office door shut so we never have to go to that ridiculous goodness class again, but I’m down for murder if that’s what everybody else is feeling!” 

[youshouldenvymebecauseofmytaste]

So I just finished XO Kitty so spoilers ahead

I really did enjoy this season. Now I wanna keep in mind for everyone that this show is basically just a soap opera and if you’ve ever watched the soap opera, you know for a fact that those couples break up and get back together so much like they changed partners more than square dancers. So I’m not putting too much stock into like the romantic and Tylleman because whatever pairing there is it’s gonna be great everybody on the cast has great chemistry and it’s written well enough that they all seem to work really well together.

Now on to the fact that we are seeing Kitty really start the healing journey and the grieving process. Because last season she was caught up in a whole thing about someone else’s life. But this season we really got to focus on her, trying to find a connection with her mom and especially that missing part of her family that she never knew about. And we got to see like the resolution of like family, feud and other stuff but clearly there is still like more trauma that Kitty needs to work through.

Now in the last episode, we saw Kitty go off with Minho off on tour or whatever which I don’t even know if her dad is going to approve of her going to do that but go off queen. I am gonna be really interested to see what happens in season three if we’re gonna be able to see what happened on tour if we’re gonna be getting flashbacks I’m hoping we get more episodes. But I’m always hoping we get more episodes. I think it’ll be interesting to see what their relationship dynamic will be because remember and keep in mind. We know very little about the romantic relationship dynamics a lot of these characters have with each other because we haven’t had a chance to sit down and explore it. So it’ll be interesting to see how they are. It’ll also be interesting to see if they even end up in a relationship we don’t know.

I do think there is a lot of issues with the queer relationships on the show, but I also think that people are forgetting that like Kitty is the main character like this is an ensemble cast, but the show literally has her name in the title. So yes, we’re not gonna see a lot of what’s going on with the other characters because we have a main character. And our main character is just in a weird place with how she feels romantically about a lot of stuff and is figuring it all out and so there’s nothing quite solid. And I mean, we don’t know what season three is gonna be I mean season three could be like anything in terms of like who Kitty is possibly gonna be dating but I also want us to keep in mind that Kitty hasn’t had a long term like mature relationship yet so we don’t know what that could look like or who it could even be with. Because who you have your first real mature relationship with it’s like a very different kind of relationship than like the relationship you have like with your high school crush

I also wanna say that since we’re like rounding up more to these kids like graduating I am wondering what their career paths are gonna be so I think we might be exploring that quite a bit in the next season because each season is a semester. And I also want to keep in mind that like the characters we see the most of are the characters that are important to the plot lines that Kitty is involved in. If a character is not in the show that much that means their plot line is not involved with Kitty’s.

That’s all to say I did really enjoy the show. I know what I’m getting into when I’m watching it. So I’m not one of the people who gets like very angry about stuff because like I know what I’m watching. I’m not like trying to get anything out of it and I think like a lot of people would be happier if they realize this is a full on soap opera and it’s a lot more fun that way 

[etaindelaserna]

Hello....Because you also love shipping, can I ask your thoughts on these ships : GoYuu & SatoSugu (JJK), NaruSasu (Naruto) and ZuTara (ATLA)?

Hey! You can ask me anything✨

Let’s see…

GoYuu

Personally I haven’t dived into this ship yet but I can see why people are interested in it: whenever Gojo and Yuuji are together they seem to share on brain cell and are just one big doofus force to be reckoned with.

Him and Yuuji have the same energy and they just click on that level. There is no awkwardness, no uncertainty, they just understand one another. Also they don’t seem to have any concept of personal space whatsoever with each other. Then there is the fact that they have had their fair share of losing important people to “the dark side” and being helpless to stop it. I can see Gojo looking at Yuuji and comparing him to Suguru. And because Yuuji isn’t losing faith in his purpose as a jujutsu sorcerer, it might help Gojo to make his peace with the past. I see them as a fluffy ship for the most part. Gojo perfect at everything being completely smitten with and supportive of Yuuji who has to try very hard. Then there is also the sensei/student dynamic and, if we bring Sukuna into the mix, a lot of animosity from Sukuna towards Gojo (with potential for situational comedy) and possessive behaviour from both Gojo and Sukuna. Also: Gojo is a shameless flirt while Yuuji is just cute and a ray of sunshine and maybe even wouldn’t realise it when he is flirted with. There are so many story building ideas and questions you can do with this ship.

SatoSugu

It does have a lot of NaruSasu vibes for me and yet SatoSugu works where NaruSasu failed. It is able to pull off comedy, fluff, tragedy and sexy with ease, which as a combination can be very addictive. Two characters who have a very deep connection and friendship driven apart by circumstances and the clash of their ideals. That’s heartbreaking stuff. There are so many What-if? questions you can ask about their story. Suguru left a wound that will never really heal. Also: they are both ridiculous handsome and talented characters whom I can see bickering about the most unimportant things just for the fun of it and because they cannot control their temper and ego around each other. The shameless flirt and the thoughtful one, the overachiever and the one, who can’t follow. I think they work pretty well as a ship because they have got so many dynamics you can explore.

NaruSasu

One of the big, popular Naruto ships that never clicked for me. Maybe because I didn’t like Sasuke much. Maybe because Kishi was just about to develop their friendship when Sasuke left. Sasuke’s motives never resonated with me and that’s probably why I had a hard time understanding why Naruto wanted to bring him back. It seemed due to obligation rather than friendship. BUT I can still somewhat see the appeal. Naruto yearning, thinking he can save him, fix him, wanting to show him that their friendship is enough, that he doesn’t have to seek vengeance, that love is worth feeling and that without loss or pain there can be no love to begin with. Also: they are constantly at each other’s throats, they both have grown up for the most part without their parents, they can relate to each other because of their trauma AND although they have different personalities they do share the same kind of humour. Much to work with but I never saw potential for something more than friendship. Even “friendship” was a hard pill for me to swallow the moment Sasuke tried to kill Naruto and Sakura. I see the drama, the tragedy, even the brotherly aspect of their bond, but not romance.

ZuTara

The classic tale of “from enemies, to reluctant allies, to friends, to we have deep but also complicated feelings for each other”. It’s the “love that was meant to be but never came to be” trope. And I’m always down for it.

Their chemistry was off the charts from day one. Both are incredible fierce, stubborn and loyal. They played well off each other due to the circumstances of Katara’s parents having been killed by the Fire Nation. I always got the impression that there was a deep connection and understanding passing between them every time they met. Almost like a constant “What if…?”, a “I understand where you are coming from but I still have to do this”. There was a certain something in the way Zuko looked at her. I never exactly understood why it wasn’t meant to be. Him throwing himself in front of her to protect her from the lightning?! I was a goner. They gave me the Dramione feels but with much more fan service in the canon storyline. In my head they’re endgame. End of story.

[holly-mckenzie]

Hey! What were your thoughts on S3 of Starstruck? It went in a very different direction than I was expecting and as a viewer I feel conflicted - I think it’s brilliantly written and reflective of reality and there’s a lot of beauty in what’s been explored this season, but emotionally I also feel a bit thrown.

hi clara!

Okay. So I have spent the last week thinking about it (I even explained to my counselor how I was a child of divorce now 😂)…. But I still fully haven’t grasped all of my thoughts so this may all sound a bit rambling. Spoilers Ahead!

First and foremost, in my most recent re-watch of Starstruck I kept on thinking about how Jessie loves Kate but… kinda brushes Kate’s friendship as not as important as a romantic one (e.g. - the speech she gives to Joe in S1E5). With this in mind, I do really love that most of the relationship tension and the overall love story of S3 is between Kate and Jessie. Their friendship is so precious to me and I adore it so much. So I do love the way that’s explored in the new season. Kate and Jessie are the real love story of Starstruck.

Other things I LOVED is Sarah and Steve’s relationship. They are honestly so funny, and I adore them so much! I also did like the evolution of Joe's character. Minnie Driver is always amazing as Cath, Shivani is so funny, and I loved Alice Snidden as Amelia (more on that later).

Now unto the important things. I kinda knew that S3 would go this route bc I felt like if it had followed traditional romcom tropes the next step would be marriage. Which I really couldn’t imagine Rose doing.

So when S3 was renewed I had a feeling that it would either go the marriage route, the we are never ever ever getting back together route, or something else completely.

But realistically it would be the breakup. I was hoping that the ending would be kinda unresolved where there was a chance that Jessie and Tom could get back together in the future. But Alas. However, this did not mean I was not in a complete in a state of panic leading up to S3 (if you follow me on Twitter, you know).

Honestly, imo if S3 was doing the we have different partners I FIRMLY believe that Jessie should have been with a woman, and Tom should have been with a woman of colour.

Me at Clem:

The new characters fell SO flat to me. Clem is nice enough and so agreeable, which I think is supposed to act as a foil to Jessie. This is obvs in the way that Clem wants marriage and kids. But I also feel like you see it in the way that Clem isn’t threatened by Jessie, which is a very stark contrast to the way Jessie reacts to Tom’s co-star in season 1, and the fight they have after.

And Liam is just there. No offense to Liam, but none of his scenes really felt like they could compare to the banter and chemistry between Jessie and Tom throughout the seasons. To quote the modern philosopher of our time:

So it was really hard to care about him and the relationships. Also something about his very existence reminded me of this interview Rose did during S1. Though that could be a nothing.

Overall I really didn’t care about these new relationships, bc watching Jessie and Tom in S1-2 is just so electric. The banter, the back and forth. The way they smile at each other, and make each other laugh.

But maybe that’s the whole point, that you could have electric chemistry with someone. But it could also all be meaningless bc that person is not the person for you.

As for Tom, I recently got asked if he was written as an asshole. But I don’t know how to answer that. Was he shit for cheating on his fiancé? Yes. But did I care that he cheated on her with Jessie, no.

I do feel like I’m not a huge fan of the way that Tom was written in this season. Throughout the show he is only shown in relation to Jessie or his work, with the exception of the Christmas episode. But I bc in the new series he isn’t with Jessie we REALLY see how his character is flat.

Now I do realise that it’s bc the show is about Jessie, but it still felt lacking. The fact that Tom doesn’t seem to have friends outside of Jessie’s circle is wild. The fact that he is getting married, and we don’t see his parents or brother is so 💀

Especially since Tom is a full Brown man (that is apparently somewhat religious). And somehow his family isn’t part of any of the wedding prep? That’s so wild and unbelievable (for me as a brown woman). I do realise Vinay is an asshole but I genuinely wish he had made an appearance in S3. It could have been so funny and it would have added some nuance to Tom's character. (We see Dan again, but not Vinay or the rest of Tom's fam? Come on!) I would love to see Vinay’s opinion on Jessie changed and his feelings toward the wedding, kiss, stag, etc.

I do understand Rose and the writers wanted to explore these ideas. And this is something she has clearly been thinking about since Baby Done. I also do think that in the latest series, we explore the anxieties through a queer lens by way of Amelia's speech. It strikes me as fascinating that Alice Snidden is openly bi, and her character is one of the only ones single.

Merryanna Salem, one of the most prolific film critiques of our time, articulated an idea about the queerness of Starstruck, and Queer Relativity in such a nuanced way. I highly recommend you read it. With this in mind, Amelia's speech, and Rose's feelings towards babies, its really not that surprising it ended the way it did.

But at the same time, it really seems like such a shift from the first two series in a way I simply don’t like (or understand). As I previously established Jessie and Tom are SO good together. Their chemistry is unreal, the show is just so bloody cute.

The show sets out to be a romcom, and that is what it does brilliantly in the first two series. Yet in S3, we really see a departure from that genre. It feels more a romantic drama, with comedic elements and I think its REALLY discombobulating. Specifically bc in most romcoms the couple gets together, and in dramas there is more grey area. Because I didn't read S1-2 as anything but a romcom, I didn't even entertain the idea of a break up. So to have it thrown in, in S3 seems so forced somehow.

Especially bc we have seen Tom and Jessie conquer the odds again and again. So to have the writers articulate they just aren't a good fit, and Jessie to say we want different things is strange. Maybe, I was watching Starstruck with blinders on, but it seemed in the previous seasons they were somewhat on the same page. Like even with this idea of Queer Relativity, Tom seems to understand it. He seems content to NOT get married to Jessie in S2 ending and what have you. So to suddenly be presented with a Tom who needs marriage and babies is discombobulating. Again, maybe I watched the show with blinders, but I did not catch the seeds of Tom and Jessie not being compatible, so S3, as you said threw me off.

And on some level I do think it’s kinda a redundant deconstruction of the romcom.

Join me next time where I dissect Starstruck through the lens of Race and Politics (or the lack there of).

[vanaglorie]

When did you start writing on Tumblr? Who was your first muse? OTP for your muse? NOTP for your muse? Have you any old muses that you’d love to bring back? What’s one random headcanon about your muse that people mightn’t know? What do you look for in a rp partner? Favourite trope? Least favourite trope? Are there any AU’s you’d like to explore but haven’t had the chance to yet? What about your muse are you most proud of?

munday meme

When did you start writing on Tumblr?

a very long time ago... like... somewhere in the period of 2012-2014 and it was also khr rp

Who was your first muse?

byakuran LMAO it was wild

OTP for your muse? NOTP for your muse?

i kinda ship him with everyone tbh i dont even care if its crack but the normal ones like 10051 and 10069 are pretty pog. but no specific OTP preference for me, as long as theyre strong enough to handle whatever comes their way

also no NOTP comes to mind i'll ship byakuran with anyone bc he's insane- really depends on the chemistry/plot

Have you any old muses that you’d love to bring back?

for khr characters i used to have bel and fon. lowkey would love to bring either of them back HAHAHA but byakuran will always be my one true love

What’s one random headcanon about your muse that people might not know?

byakuran can be a very attentive lover? ( ⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝)

What do you look for in a rp partner?

someone cool and easy to talk to, so that we can be goblins together and plot crazy shit, and a lot of you are really cool :3

Favourite trope? Least favourite trope?

fav: enemies to lovers, hurt/comfort least fav: hanahaki xd i always avoid ones that are just angst with no happy ending or comfort-

Are there any AU’s you’d like to explore but haven’t had the chance to yet?

all the cliche ones like office au, high school au i just think slice of life ones are cute :c also it means byakuran can be little shit living a normal life, sometimes i want good things for him

What about your muse are you most proud of?

i think he just does and says whatever he wants without caring about the consequences and i love that for him which means i just have to close my eyes and hit 'post' and apologise profusely for his rancid behaviour

[diviy420]

Romantic Movies That’ll Make You Believe in Love Again

Romantic movies have a timeless appeal. Whether you're in love, falling out of it, or somewhere in between, there's a rom-com out there that speaks to your heart. These films aren’t just about grand gestures and perfect kisses in the rain; they’re about real emotions, quirky characters, and the magic of human connection. In today’s blog, we’ll explore why romantic comedies continue to charm audiences and share a list of the best rom-com English movies that have captured hearts across generations.

Why Romantic Comedies Are So Beloved

Romantic comedies—or rom-coms, as we lovingly call them—are the perfect blend of humor, heart, and hope. They make us laugh, cry, and believe in happy endings, even when life gets complicated. At their core, rom-coms remind us that love can be unexpected, hilarious, awkward, and absolutely worth it.

Unlike heavy dramas or intense thrillers, rom-coms provide a feel-good escape. They take everyday situations—office crushes, chance encounters, awkward first dates—and turn them into unforgettable love stories. And the best part? We get to laugh along the way.

The Magic Formula of a Great Rom-Com

What makes the best rom-com English movies stand out from the crowd? It's not just about good-looking actors and cheesy lines. The best romantic comedies are those that offer:

Relatable characters with unique personalities

Clever writing that mixes wit and warmth

Emotional depth without getting too heavy

A satisfying ending, even if it's not traditional

When a rom-com hits all these notes, it becomes a classic—something you'll rewatch on a rainy day or during a night in with friends.

A Few Classic Favorites

Here’s a quick rundown of some of the best rom-com English movies that have stood the test of time. If you haven’t seen them yet, add them to your watchlist ASAP.

1. When Harry Met Sally (1989)

This film redefined the genre with its witty dialogue and the age-old question: Can men and women just be friends? Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan have undeniable chemistry that keeps this one at the top of every rom-com list.

2. Notting Hill (1999)

A humble bookseller (Hugh Grant) falls in love with a famous actress (Julia Roberts). The film delivers iconic lines and heartfelt moments that make it one of the best rom-com English movies ever made.

3. 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

A modern take on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, this teen rom-com is packed with sass, style, and one unforgettable poem scene. Heath Ledger's charm is reason enough to give this a watch.

4. The Proposal (2009)

Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds star in this hilarious fake-marriage-turned-real-love story. Set in the scenic Alaska wilderness, the chemistry between the leads is electric.

Modern Rom-Coms That Deserve the Spotlight

Romantic comedies have evolved, embracing more diversity and deeper emotional storytelling while still keeping the laughs coming. Here are a few modern gems you shouldn't miss.

5. Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

A romantic story meets family drama, set against the lavish backdrop of Singapore. With strong performances and stunning visuals, this film quickly earned its spot among the best rom-com English movies.

6. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)

Though technically a teen rom-com, this Netflix hit charmed audiences of all ages. It captures the innocence and awkwardness of young love, with a standout performance by Lana Condor.

7. The Big Sick (2017)

Based on a true story, this film brings cultural nuance and emotional realism to the rom-com format. It’s funny, heartfelt, and a fresh addition to the list of best rom-com English movies.

What’s Next for Romantic Comedies?

Streaming platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, and Hulu have breathed new life into romantic movies. They're producing more inclusive and globally inspired stories that reflect the diverse experiences of love. Expect to see more unconventional pairings, modern dating dilemmas, and heartfelt narratives in the next wave of rom-coms.

That said, there will always be space for the cozy comfort of a classic love story. Because no matter how much the world changes, we’ll always crave those butterflies-in-the-stomach moments that only the best rom-com English movies can deliver.

Final Thoughts

Romantic movies aren't just for Valentine's Day or movie nights with your partner. They're for anyone who wants to feel hopeful, laugh out loud, and maybe shed a tear or two. The genre might get mocked for being predictable, but there's nothing wrong with a happy ending every now and then.

So, if you’re looking for something heartwarming and fun, start with one of the best rom-com English movies mentioned above. Or better yet, grab some popcorn and binge them all. After all, life’s too short not to fall in love with a good rom-com.

Let me know if you'd like this formatted for a website or social media post, or if you want a version focused on newer films or lesser-known picks!